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TROY  A Cohoes man killed 11-year-old Ayshawn Davis with a shot from a .40-caliber handgun in a drive-by shooting on Sept. 13, according to an indictment for second-degree murder handed up Thursday by a Rensselaer County grand jury.

Jahquay E. Brown, 20, of 324 Saratoga St. fired a .40-caliber handgun multiple times at a group of individuals and striking the victim Ayshawn Davis causing his death, the indictment states.

Ayshawn and other people were outside 2266 Old Sixth Ave. in downtown at 11:38 p.m. Sept. 13 when a dark-colored vehicle drove by and they were sprayed with bullets, according to city police investigating the shooting.

The indictment stats that Brown acted with another individual. This the first time in court documents that Brown was identified as the shooter.

Troy Deputy Police Chief Dan DeWolf previously said that detectives were searching to a second person involved in the fatal shooting.

Ayshawns violent death shook the Capital Region and sent tremors through Troy as he became the citys 12th homicide victim. Since his death, another person has been shot and killed in the North Central neighborhood raising the citys homicide toll to 13 this year.

Ayshawn was buried Monday at St. Patricks Cemetery off Oakwood Avenue in Troy.

The indictment was handed up to County Court Judge Jennifer Sober at the county courthouse Thursday afternoon. Its anticipated that Brown may be arraigned as early as Monday on the single count of second-degree murder. If convicted Brown could face up to live in prison. Brown currently is being held in the Rensselaer County Jail without bail.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

When Brown was arrested Sept. 24 at his Cohoes residence, a handgun and vehicle were seized by police when they executed search warrants.

In an unrelated indictment, two Watervliet residents were each charged with attempted second-degree murder, attempted first-degree assault and second-degree assault for a 4 p.m. Sept. 24 shooting of a Troy man at 28 ONeill St. in South Troy.

Kamao Douglas, also known as K-Dot, 18, and Amazin Cowan, 17, acted together in attempting to kill the man, according to the indictment. The two were accused of shooting the victim in the neck and the head, the indictment said.

Douglas is being held in the county jail without bail. Cowan is being held in a secure juvenile detention center.
Rodney Charles Collinsy, 72, died in 2018

A notorious assassin who worked for slain gangster Carl Williams and sent at least nine people to an early grave refused to confess to unsolved kills on his deathbed.

Rodney Charles Collins used his final breaths in 2018 to reject a last plea by police to come clean about a series of executions, including the murder of underworld lawyer Mario Condello.

The 72-year-old Melbourne-based contract killer died of cancer while serving a life sentence at Barwon Prison for the brutal murder of a couple in 1987 - for which he was convicted in 2007.

Despite investigators' long-held suspicions that Collins pulled the trigger on Condello outside his Brighton home in 2006, the mystery remains unsolved.

The deregistered lawyer was shot up to six times outside his garage just before his 10pm court-ordered curfew, the Herald Sun reported.

While homicide detectives believe the killing was the work of a hitman, they could not officially determine who carried out the job.

Despite investigators' long-held suspicions that Collins pulled the trigger on Mario Condello (pictured in 2005) outside his Brighton home in 2006

Pictured: Police look for evidence at the murder site of underworld figure Mario Condello in Melbourne on February 7, 2006

Condello's involvement in the Carlton Crew left him with countless enemies, including infamous gangland leader Carl Williams - who paid Collins up to $150,000 to pull the trigger on his enemies.

The disgraced lawyer had been charged with hiring an assassin to kill Williams' father and bodyguard.

Condello's brother Enzo believes Williams, who was clubbed to death in jail in 2010, ordered the kill on Condello from his prison cell.

'My gut feeling is that it was Williams,' Enzo told the publication.

'Rod Collins was a good friend of Williams. My theory is that Williams wanted him out of the way because he might have been a danger to him or his father.'

Collins was the go-to hitman for notorious gangland leader Carl Williams (pictured), who was later beaten to death in jail

While homicide detectives believe Condello's killing was the work of a hitman, they could not officially determine whether Collins (pictured) carried out the job

Just before his death, Condello was on the phone to a friend that ended abruptly after ten minutes when the fatal shots were fired.

'The next thing I heard was a bang and then three more bangs, then a period of silence and the phone got cut off,' the person on the phone told police.

Investigators also believe Collins was responsible for the murders of police informers Terence and Christine Hodson in 2004, Brian Kane in 1982 and Raymond Bennett in 1979.

He is also thought to have tied up and sliced open Michael Schievella's throat in 1990 along with the drug dealer's wife - who was almost beheaded with a knife.

Despite the countless crimes he is believed to have committed, the one that landed him in jail l was the slaughter of drug dealer Ramon Abbey and his wife Dorothy in the late '80s.

The 72-year-old is also believed to be behind the murders of Brian Kane in 1982 (left) and Ramon Abbey and his wife Dorothy (right)

Terry Hodson and wife Christine (pictured) were found tied up and shot in the head in Kew, Victoria

Damon Abbey, who was a child at the time, found his lifeless mother lying on the couch with bullet wounds and a cut throat.

He and his older sister followed a trail of blood out the back door to find their murdered father.

Collins was also a convicted rapist who was not going to be released from prison until 2042 when he was aged in his late 90s.

He was previously described by police as a 'deadset natural born killer' who was a 'dangerous man'.

Collins was raised by his grandparents as a youngster before he went to live with his alcoholic parents in the 1960s - propelling him into a life of crime.

At 14, he left home and got involved with the dark underworld of Richmond gangs and landed his first conviction before his 20th birthday.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Ukraine will not provide any military assistance to any of the sides of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, ARMENPRESS reports, citing TASS, president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a briefing.

Its not about that Ukraine will provide military assistance to any country, Zelensky said.

He also announced that calls on the conflicting sides, Armenia and Azerbaijan, to resume dialogue for the sake of the de-escalation of the conflict.

Earlier Ukrainian MP Lyudmila Marchenko spread information according to which Ukraine is ready to assist Azerbaijan at various domains.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
The Delhi Police on Friday cautioned against any gathering around India Gate due to imposition of Section 144 CrPC.

Police also said that a gathering of up to 100 people is permissible at the Jantar Mantar, but with a prior permission of the competent authority.

"The general public is hereby informed that in view of DDMA order on September 3, a total gathering up to 100 persons is permissible at the designated place, i.e. Jantar Mantar and that too with prior permission of the competent authority," PRO Delhi Police and DCP New Delhi, Eish Singhal said.

The order comes after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has planned a protest at the India gate on Friday against Hathras gangrape and murder case.

The party's official Twitter handle said: "Let's stand in solidarity against the barbaric Hathras incident. Today at 5 PM. Location - India Gate."

Earlier in the week, a major protest was seen near the India Gate, where Congress workers burned a tractor during a protest against the farm laws. The Delhi Police arrested at least 10 people in this connection.
A Dallas, Texas man was killed early this morning in a single vehicle crash.

Alabama Troopers said the incident happened at 2:55 a.m. on Alabama 40 2 miles east of Scottsboro.

Ricardo Segovia, 29, was killed when the 2004 Chevrolet 2500 he was a passenger in left the roadway on the westbound roadside. Segovia, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was not injured.

Troopers continue to investigate.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Army has discontinued its Rapid Equipping Force stood up during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to get urgently needed capabilities into the field in 180 days or less.

As the Army shifts from a focus on counterinsurgency operations to going up against near-peer adversaries like Russia and China across air, land, sea, cyberspace and space domains in large-scale operations, the REFs utility and mission has been in question.

The service is also disbanding its Asymmetric Warfare Group.

As our focus changes to great power competition and large-scale combat operations, Army analysis indicated that the personnel and resources could best be utilized in building the operational fighting force, an Oct. 2 Army statement read. To ensure the value of organizations work over the past 14 years is not lost, all lessons learned will be maintained by the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, via the Center for Army Lessons Learned, Centers of Excellence and other [Training and Doctrine Command] enterprise stakeholders.

The discontinuation wont happen overnight. Both organizations will be fully deactivated by the end of fiscal 2021 and will transition the mission of providing immediate support to other organizations, the statement noted.

Over the past several years, the REF hung on to certain missions and continued to advocate for its relevancy.

A year ago, Defense News sat down with the REFs director in a new, smaller office space at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, in a conference room surrounded by small counter-unmanned aircraft systems that it was rapidly fielded to units and considered one of its success stories.

In 2017, the REF was focused on counter-drone technologies; dismounted electronic warfare equipment; tethered intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities; and urban operations equipment including up-armored commercial vehicles. But many of those technologies have found other homes within the Army.

Story continues

As the service stood up its new security force assistance brigades, the REF expected a surge in work to support the needs of those units in the field as they deployed. The REF played a small role at the time, providing the first SFAB with a few items it needed ahead of deployment such as communications gear and an item that assisted the unit with indirect fires.

Last year, the REF was highlighting its nearly 10-year-old Expeditionary Lab, a 3D-printing trailer that can be deployed downrange to solve problems for units operating in austere environments.

Col. Joe Bookard, who is still the REFs director, told Defense News at the time that the REF would continue to fill the niche of urgently supplying soldiers with capabilities to meet immediate needs while they are deployed. He said that, in a way, the REF has been doing what Army Futures Command is doing now, but on a smaller scale: providing capabilities that are rapidly procured to a small number of soldiers for evaluation, and then refining those capabilities as needed.

In 2019, the REF addressed 400 requirements sent from combatant commanders to address operational capability gaps, Bookard said. Among some of the recent success stories is the tiny Black Hornet, an unmanned aircraft system that is now a program of record and was fielded as the Soldier Borne Sensor.

The REF was also working to transition two hand-held counter-UAS capabilities  the DroneBuster and the Drone Defender  to the larger force as official programs.
(Photo : Lucas Ludwig/Unsplash) How to Best Enjoy Orionids Shower? NASA Suggests to Camp Away the City (Photo : NASA/JPL) Orionid meteors appear every year around this time when Earth travels through an area of space littered with debris from Halleys Comet (Photo : Macau Photo Agency/Unsplash) Halloween Blue Moon

NASA gives out some suggestions on how to enjoy the Orionids, which is deemed as one of the most beautiful meteor showers in 2020 and it will be visible in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Hundreds of shooting stars will begin to light up the sky on October 2 and will continue to visit every night until November 7. However, the space agency said Orionids will peak on October 21.

NASA suggests the cosmic event is best viewed away the city lights. "Find an area well away from city or street lights," the space agency said in in a blog post. It also advised people to have a sleeping bag, blanket, or lawn chair to get the best experience.

"In less than 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors," NASA noted.

The space agency also advised stargazers to lie flat on their back with their feet facing southeast for those in the Northern Hemisphere or northeast for those in the Southern Hemisphere. "Look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible," said the American space agency adding that the show will last until dawn, so stargazers should carry a lot of patience while watching the meteor shower.

While the Orionids seems to come from the constellation Orion, it is not the source of the meteors. Spectators should not only on the radiant while waiting for the meteors. In fact, NASA said it is best look 45 to 90 degrees away from Orion to view the Orionids as they appear longer and more spectacular.

Meanwhile, Orionids got its name from the constellation of Orion, which creates a spectacular backdrop for this cosmic show.

Experts regard Orionids as one of the most beautiful showers in the year, which happens when Earth passes through debris left behind by its parent comet, the Comet Halley. As it finds its way to the inner solar system, the comet's rocky dust and nucleus sheds ice becomes Orionoid meteors that visit the Earth every October.

Astronomers note that meteors can travel as fast as 148,000 miles per hour, leaving gas trails in the sky that may last for a few seconds.

Halloween Blue Moon

Aside from a spectacular cosmic show, October will also have a rare Blue Moon, which will become visible on October 31, perfect for the Halloween.

No, the name is not about the color, but because it is the second full moon seen within a month as the first one came on October 1. This is rare event that happens only every 19 years, so the next one will appear in 2039. Moreover, this year's Blue Moon will be the first since World War II to be visible across all times zones in all parts of the world.

An EarthSky report shared that the term Blue Moon that means as the second full moon in a month comes from a Sky and Telescope magazine article in March 1946. James Hugh Pruett wrote the article entitled Once in a Blue Moon.

Pruett noted that seven times in 19 years, there were 13 full moons in a year, which means 11 months have one full moon while one month will have two. "This second in a month, so I interpret it, was called Blue Moon," Pruett said.

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Allowing the coronavirus to circulate through the U.S. population unchecked in an effort to achieve herd immunity is not the government's plan, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said, despite reports that White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Scott Atlas has pushed the idea.

"Herd immunity is not the strategy of the U.S. government with regard to coronavirus," Azar said in response to a question from Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., on Friday during a U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing.

"We may get herd slowing of transmission as we perhaps have seen in the New York area and other concentrated areas. Our mission is to reduce fatalities, protect the vulnerable, keep coronavirus cases down to the lowest level possible," Azar added.

Herd immunity happens when a large portion of the population becomes immune to the coronavirus, making it harder to spread, the Mayo Clinic says. It can be achieved through natural infection  when enough people are exposed to the disease and develop antibodies against it  and through vaccinations.

Most scientists think 60% to 80% of the population needs to be vaccinated or have natural antibodies to achieve herd immunity, global health experts say. However, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told lawmakers during a hearing in late September that a majority of the nation's population  more than 90%  remains susceptible to infection, citing recent studies.

White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has also said that letting the coronavirus spread uncontrollably in an effort to infect enough people to reach herd immunity would result in an "enormous" death toll.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pushed back on Republican Sen. Rand Paul's recent claim that New York has achieved enough herd immunity from the coronavirus and is "no longer having the pandemic."

Fauci said that around 22% of New York's residents have likely been exposed to the coronavirus, under the amount needed for herd immunity.

"They got hit very badly. They made some mistakes. Right now if you look at what's going on right now, the things that are going on in New York to get their test positivity 1% or less is because they are looking at the guidelines that we have put together from the task force of the four or five things of masks, social distancing, outdoors more than indoors, avoiding crowds and washing hands," Fauci said.

"If everyone contracted it, even with the relatively high percentage of people without symptoms ... a lot of people are going to die," Fauci said on Aug. 13.

An HHS spokesperson was not immediately available for CNBC's inquiry clarifying Azar's comments on New York perhaps seeing a "herd slowing of transmission."

Atlas, a neuroradiologist who was recently added to the White House's coronavirus pandemic response team, has publicly contradicted Redfield's remarks on how many people remain susceptible to the virus, a move that Fauci has called "extraordinarily inappropriate."

"You cannot assume that we are even anywhere near herd immunity right now in the United States," Fauci has said. "We have a long way to go to get to herd immunity."

 CNBC's Will Feuer contributed to this report.
Iranian Film Festival, San Francisco: Winners of the 2020 'Sepanta Awards' Announced

07/22/20

Sources: Tehran Times & Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco

Family drama "Labyrinth" was the top winner at the 13th Annual Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco by receiving awards in four categories, including best film and best director. The winners were announced virtually last Friday. Also due to the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, the festival ran virtually this year.



Labyrinth (2019)

Directed by Amir-Hossein Torabi

Directed by Amir-Hossein Torabi, the film is about Negar and Amir-Ali who are going to emigrate, but at the very last moment, they face a critical situation: their son, Bardia, goes missing. Now it is time to unfold all the family secrets.

The film written by Tala Motazedi also won the award for best screenplay and brought Shahab Hosseini the award for best actor.

The best actress award went to Mina Vahid for her role in "One Night in Tehran" directed by Farhad Najafi.

Farshad Mohammadi was selected as best cinematographer for "We Are All Together" by Kamal Tabrizi.

The award for best documentary went to "The Bridge of Victory" by Yasser Talebi. The film is about the construction of Iran's North-South Railway in 1938 and the countrywide railway, which not only changed West Asia, but it also changed the whole world as it made Iran the "Bridge of Victory" for the Allies against Nazi Germany.

"Ocean Behind the Window" by Babak Nabizadeh was picked as best children's film.

In the short film competition, the award for best film went to "Mandatory" by Javad Khorsha who also won the award for best director in this category.

The best screenplay award was presented to writer Panah Khodayari for "Pendulum", while the best actor award went to Reza Mirhashemi for "The List", and Sadaf Asgari was selected as best actress for her role in "Exam".

Parviz Rostami won the award for best cinematographer for his collaboration in "Fifth Narcissus", and "The Feast of the Goat" by Saeid Zamanian was picked as best children's short.

"Gelak" by Sirus Kaffash was named best short documentary. The film tells the story of a group of girls on Hormoz in the Persian Gulf that, despite all the hardships and sufferings, are not willing to sell the soil of the island, which has medicinal and edible properties. Inspired by the mountains and beauty of the island and using plant colors, they create very beautiful shapes and thus make a living.

The award for best animation went to "Noise" by Mehdi Barqzadegan, and "The Sixth Unit" by Ali Afshari was named best experimental film.

The Iranian Film Festival (IFF) was launched in 2008 to support the Iranian film and culture in the Iranian-American community of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

It is the first independent Iranian film festival outside of Iran, with no affiliation to any political or religious organizations.



Winners of the 2020 'Sepanta Awards'

Best Film: Labyrinth

Best Director: Amir Hossein Torabi for Labyrinth

Best Actor: Shahab Hosseini for Labyrinth

Best Actress: Mina Vahid for One Night in Tehran

Best Screenplay: Tala Motazedi for Labyrinth

Best Cinematography: Farshad Mohammadi for We Are All Together

Best Documentary: The Bridge of Victory by Yaser Talebi

Best Children's Film: Ocean Behind the Window by Babak Nabizadeh

Best Short Film: Mandatory by Javad Khorsha

Best Director for a Short Film: Javad Khorsha for Mandatory

Best Screenplay for a Short Film: Panah Khodayari for Pendulum

Best Documentary Short: Gelak by Siroos Kaffash

Best Actor in a Short Film: Reza Mirhashemi for The List

Best Actress in a Short Film: Sadaf Asgari for Exam

Best Cinematography for a Short Film: Parviz Rostami for Fifth Narcissus

Best Children's Short Film: The Feast of the Goat by Saeed Zamanian

Best Music Video: Kiss by Payam Ghorbani

Best Animation Film: Noise by Mahdi Barqzadegan

Best Experimental Film: The Sixth Unit by Ali Afshari

About Sepanta Award

When the Iranian Film Festival decided to give awards, the first name came to mind was Abdolhossein Sepanta [1907-1969], the father of sound in Iranian cinema. Sepanta, was also a director, screenwriter and producer who made The Lor Girl (1931), Ferdowsi, Shirin-o-Farhaad, Black Eyes, and Leyli o Majnun (1936). In honor of his role in Iranian cinema, the Iranian Film Festival chose his name for its awards in 2013, and presents the Sepanta Award every year in various categories.

About Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco

Iranian Film Festival (IFF), the first independent Iranian film festival outside of Iran, with no affiliation to any political or religious organizations, launched in 2008, is an annual event showcasing independent feature and short films made by or about Iranians from around the world. IFF is also a platform for the Iranian filmmakers living around the globe to express their vision and talent through the artistic medium of film. Iranian Film Festival (IFF) was established to support the Iranian film and culture in the Iranian-American community of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

Iranian Film Festival

6 Beach Road, 544, Tiburon, CA 94920 USA

info@IranianFilmFestival.org

www.IranianFilmFestival.org

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LANSING -- State Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed voter suppression charges against two men from out of state.

Jack Burkman, 54, and Jacob Wohl, 22 are accused of orchestrating a series of robocalls in August aimed at suppressing the vote for the November election. Nessel said the calls went out to nearly 12,000 residents with 313 area code phone numbers.

Any effort to interfere with, intimidate or intentionally mislead Michigan voters will be met with swift and severe consequences, Nessel said in a statement.

Nessel said her office worked with attorneys general offices in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois. She said all of those offices reported similar robocalls being made to residents in their states who live in urban areas with significant minority populations. An estimated 85,000 calls were made nationally.

Nessels office said Burkman, an Arlington, Virginia resident, and Wohl, a Los Angeles, California resident, targeted certain urban areas, including Detroit. Theyre each charged with four felonies:

One count of election law  intimidating voters, a five-year felony;

One count of conspiracy to commit an election law violation, a five-year felony;

One count of using a computer to commit the crime of election law  intimidating voters, a seven-year felony; and

Using a computer to commit the crime of conspiracy, a seven-year felony.

This effort specifically targeted minority voters in an attempt to deter them from voting in the November election," Nessel said.

"Were all well aware of the frustrations caused by the millions of nuisance robocalls flooding our cell phones and landlines each day, but this particular message poses grave consequences for our democracy and the principles upon which it was built. Michigan voters are entitled to a full, free and fair election in November and my office will not hesitate to pursue those who jeopardize that.

Nessel has been focused on stopping illegal robocalls in Michigan for awhile. Last November, she announced a series of initiatives aimed at making it clear to robocallers that they arent welcome in Michigan.

Burkman, a Republican lawyer, and Wohl both have a history of furthering right-wing conspiracy theories and were part of a smear campaign against special council, Robert Mueller. Wohl was recently charged with a felony for selling an unregistered security, according to the New York Times.

According to Nessels office, the recorded robocall message warns people about being finessed into giving your private information to the man and urges them to beware of vote by mail.

The robocalls falsely tell people that mail-in voting will, allow personal information to become part of a special database used by police to track down old warrants and by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts, the attorney generals office said.

The robocalls also falsely claim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will use the information from mail-in voting to track people for mandatory vaccines, Nessels office said.

A version of the robocalls provided by Nessels office says:

Hi this is Tamika Taylor from Project 1599 civil rights organization founded by Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl. Mail in voting sounds great, but did you know that if you vote by mail your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants, and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts? The CDC is even pushing to use records for mailing voting to track people for mandatory vaccines. Dont be finessed into giving your private information to the man. Stay safe and beware of vote by mail.

The charges were filed Oct. 1 in the 36th District Court in Detroit. Burkman and Wohls arraignments are pending.

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Boris Johnson has hinted the Rule of Six could be suspended on Christmas Day to ensure a family of five can have both grandparents round for festive lunch.

The Prime Minister this afternoon stressed the Government would do 'everything we can to make sure Christmas for everybody is as normal as possible'.

His comments came in an interview with ITVNews Anglia when he was asked if families of five would be allowed to have both grandparents round for the festive feast.

At the end of September, a desperate PM pleaded for Britons to 'save Christmas' by obeying his Rule of Six.

In an interview with The Sun, justifying the rolling out of a series of draconian measures to flatten the spike of the virus, he warned: 'The only way to make sure the country is able to enjoy Christmas is to be tough now.'

The promise of a relatively 'normal' Christmas Day today comes shortly after No10 issued a ban on trick-or-treating, squashing any potential for Halloween fun come 31 October.

A spokesman told reporters that thousands of families under local lockdowns in broad swathes of England should not mix, when asked whether traditional ghoulish events should take place on Halloween.

And it warned that elsewhere the Rule of Six applied, meaning parents face fines of up to 200 if their children are caught in larger groups going door-to-door for sweets.

Asked repeatedly about whether trick-or-treating can go ahead around October 31, the PM's deputy spokesman said: 'The Rule of Six is clear, it includes children. We are asking people not to meet in groups of six or more.

'In local lockdown areas we have been very clear that households should not mix. In other areas not in lockdown the Rule of Six applies.

'It is correct parents will be fined if children meet in groups of more than six children.'

Tonight, Johnson blamed the 'blase' public for causing a resurgence of coronavirus that forced him to bring in localised lockdowns affecting millions of Britons.

The Prime Minister accused voters of being 'complacent' over the summer and allowing Covid-19 to proliferate again, despite his Government allowing pubs to reopen and encouraging people to 'eat out to help out' hard-pressed businesses in August.

An Office for National Statistics (ONS) report released today estimated there were 8,400 daily cases of the disease in England in the week ending September 24. This marks a 12.5 per cent fall from the 9,600 infection thought to have been occurring every day the week before

Coronaphobia is back: Three-quarters are now either very or somewhat worried about the impact of the disease on their lives, according to the latest ONS indicators

Mr Johnson spoke in an interview about Margaret Ferrier, the SNP MP facing calls to step down as an MP after travelling from Glasgow to London and back while suffering from coronavirus.;

Asked if she should quit, he said: 'Im going to leave that one very much to the SNP and to their whips - thats for them to decide but its very important that everyone obeys the rules and the guidance  because you saw what happened in March and April in Scotland, across the country, we came together and got the virus down.

'Alas what happened since then is that everyone got a bit, yknow complacent and a bit blase about transmission and the rules on social distancing werent perhaps obeyed in the way they could have been or enforced in the way they could have been and thats why weve had to put in measures both in Scotland and elsewhere to bring it down again.'

And in a second interview with local BBC in the North East he added: 'What happened over the summer was a bit of sort of fraying of peoples discipline and attention to those rules.'

Asked repeatedly about whether trick-or-treating can go ahead around October 31, the PM's deputy spokesman said: 'The Rule of Six is clear, it includes children. We are asking people not to meet in groups of six or more'

Coronaphobia is back: Just 20 per cent of adults said they had met another household in a private place last week, down from 30 per cent the previous week, an ONS survey shows

The proportion travelling to workplaces slipped from 64 per cent to 59 per cent, after the government's guidance shifted to recommend doing it where possible

It came amid fears that London could soon follow parts of the North East and North West including Newcastle and Liverpool into localised lockdown.

Tonight 770 students at Northumbria University in Newcastle tested positive for Covid-19 as the city was named England's coronavirus epicentre.

All of the students, 78 of whom are symptomatic, are isolating for 14 days, along with their flatmates and close contacts.

At least 50 UK universities now have confirmed Covid-19 outbreaks, with 1,800 cases identified among students and staff, according to a survey.

It follows the news that infections in Newcastle have spiralled by 60 per cent to a rate of 250 cases per 100,000, according to health officials.

One in three Britons will be living under tougher Covid-19 rules than the rest of the country tomorrow, despite data showing local lockdowns don't work in most places and that infection rates have actually risen.

From Saturday, two million residents in Liverpool, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough will be banned from meeting people they don't live with indoors in a bid to curtail outbreaks there.

It will mean a total of 22.4million Brits will be living under some form of economically crippling and socially restricting local shutdown. Ministers have justified the measures by claiming they are the only way to stop a second national wave of the disease.

But data shows Covid-19 infections have doubled in the majority of areas in England that have been subject to long-term restrictions. In 11 out of 16 English cities and towns hit with lockdowns in the last nine weeks, the infection rate has risen at least two-fold and in some cases by more than 10 times.

In Bolton, Britain's current Covid-19 hotspot, there were 200 infections per 100,000 in the last seven days, up from 14 per 100,000 on July 31. In Wigan cases have risen from seven per 100,000 people to 102 in the same period.

Luton is the only area in the country which has successfully managed to drive down cases far enough to break free from the shackles of a local lockdown - but even the Bedfordshire town could be slapped with restrictions once again because cases have started to rebound.
(TNS)  The war on COVID-19 is getting smarter.New York Gov. Cuomo unveiled a new smartphone app on Thursday that alerts users if they've been within 6 feet of a person who has tested positive for the virus.The app, called "COVID Alert NY," employs Bluetooth technology to record whenever users come within proximity of each other, though Cuomo cautioned on a conference call with reporters that it's anonymous and collects no personal or geographic data."It doesn't give any names, doesn't give any privacy information," the governor said.The technology only works if a person who tests positive downloads the app and registers the COVID-19 diagnosis.In turn, the app retroactively alerts other users who have recently been within 6 feet of the infected person for more than 10 minutes."It's voluntary," Cuomo said. "You have to download the app, but it's a great tool that alerts you if you happen to be within 6 feet of a person who tests positive."He added, "It's going to give people comfort."The technology is available for free in most app stores and can be used in English, Bengali, Chinese, Korean, Russian and Spanish. The service will exchange data with similar apps being used in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, allowing for regional tracing.The app cost about $700,000 to produce, and the bill was footed with a mixture of federal aid and cash put up by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's philanthropic organization, according to Cuomo adviser Larry Schwartz.The beefed-up contact-tracing effort comes amid some troubling COVID-19 trends in New York.Out of 109,218 tests conducted in the state Wednesday, 1.27% came back positive, nearly a 0.3% uptick from the previous day.Cuomo attributed the slight increase to skyrocketing infection rates in a handful of coronavirus "clusters" in the state, most of which are in predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Rockland County and Orange County.With this month's celebration of the Jewish High Holidays, some residents have attended large gatherings in violation of social distancing and face mask guidelines, likely contributing to the spike in infections.Cuomo told reporters on the conference call that he had spoken with leaders of the impacted communities."They're going to take action on their own, community action," the governor said. "We're going to have public education, we're going to be handing out flyers and mailings and that's a good step."But Cuomo also faulted local governments for not doing more to enforce social distancing requirements."If they're not wearing masks, they should be fined," he said. "Enforcement works. If you speed in your car, you get a ticket, that's how it works. Compliance works, enforcement works. We're in this situation partially because local governments have not been doing compliance."City workers have headed out to COVID-19 hot spots in Brooklyn this week to hand out masks and literature on the importance of social distancing.In addition, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that hundreds of NYPD officers are expected to start patrolling the areas to ensure compliance.Cuomo welcomed that development."Compliance and enforcement is key," he said.
BOBCAYGEON  Anyone seeking an example of resiliency need only look to Don and Laurie Riley.

Just one month after opening the doors to Rileys Bar & Grill, their new restaurant in Bobcaygeon, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The couple had to pivot quickly to figure out how to continue to serve the community. Everyone had reached their stride and the eatery was poised to open seven days a week with patio service, when an early morning fire on June 24 levelled the redesigned 50 Canal St. restaurant.

With an estimated damage cost of around $1 million, the Rileys faced having to start from nothing, all over again.

After the shock wore off, we had to regroup and figure out what to do, said Laurie Riley, noting the initial thought was to rebuild. But no one thought this (pandemic) was going to keep going as long as it has. We still wanted to be there for the community like they were for us. The support that we have had throughout all of this has been overwhelming and humbling.

Working with their insurance provider and Parks Canada, the couple came up with a solution: a mobile kitchen. Riley hopes to have everything up and running for takeout and delivery after Thanksgiving. Having already excelled in that area prior to the fire, Riley doesnt anticipate too many bumps moving forward.

We already know that it works, so we used that to develop our mobile kitchen, said Riley. Honestly, this was the best way to get back into the groove.

The business will start off slowly, opening four days a week; 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays and noon to 7 p.m. on Saturdays. The plan is to expand hours and days as demand dictates.

The menu has undergone a slight redesign, combining a variety of favourites and new flavours. One of the mobile kitchens three deep fryers will be gluten free dedicated in order to continue to provide options to patrons.

Service will remain contactless and those wishing to order food can do so by calling 705-738-1802. Riley also plans to soon have an online option where people can order and pay in advance. Delivery will continue to be free in Bobcaygeon.

While the couple would love to rebuild, its still a giant question mark due to the uncertainty of the pandemic.

But at this point, nothing is off the table.
A recent survey question has revealed a staggering amount of Australian residents are struggling financially.

Alarmingly, the Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted the survey in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Every five years, the ABS asks survey participants how quickly they could come up with $2,000 within seven days as part of an 'economic emergency.'

Customers using a Commonwealth Bank ATM - a recent ABS survey has revealed many Australians are cash poor (stock image)

The ABS survey, conducted in 2019, showed almost 19.5 per cent of Australian residents would be unable to raise $2000 within a week

The Overall Life Satisfaction survey from 2019 revealed residents aged between 55 and 69 are unhappier than those surveyed in 2014

Results from the 2019 survey revealed close to 20 per cent of Australians were unable to come up with the money, a much higher proportion than past surveys, according to news.com.au.

The survey last year also revealed the Overall Average Life satisfaction for Australian residents fell from 7.6 to 7.5 out of 10.

As a direct result of the coronavirus crisis, Australia entered a recession in September for the first time in 29 years.

Figures released from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the Australian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell seven per cent in the June quarter - the largest quarterly fall on record.

The data also confirmed a 0.3 per cent drop in GDP in the March quarter, meaning the nation endured two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

A cook working in a restaurant in Melbourne, where life has changed considerably due to the COVID-19 pandemic (pictured on September 6)

'Our record run as a nation of 28 years of consecutive years of economic growth has officially come to an end,' Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said last month.

'The devastating numbers confirm what every Australian knows - that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our economy and our lives like nothing we have ever experienced before.'

Australia's current unemployment rate currently sits at 6.8 per cent, but some forecasters believe it could rise to as high as ten per cent leading into Christmas.

Those on JobSeeker currently receive at least $815.70 every fortnight from the federal government, while employers use the Australian Taxation Office to fund work payments to eligible employees.

Recent calculations from the Australian National University suggest JobKeeper and the boosted JobSeeker payments have saved over 2.2 million people from poverty.
Melting of the Greenland ice sheet has hit a rate unmatched in the last 12,000 years and is accelerating, scientists have confirmed.

Greenland lost more ice last year than in any year on record, and the melting has accelerated rapidly since the 1990s.

Image For Representation/Phys.org

But in the context of Earth's 4.5 billion-plus year history, melting in any one year or even a few decades amounts to the blink of an eye.



The scientists warned Greenlands rate of ice loss is on its way to becoming greater than anything weve ever seen in the 12,000 years unless there are huge changes to greenhouse gas emissions.

Also Read: Temperature Rise Saw Greenland Lose 586 Million Tonnes Of Ice In 2019, Should India Be Worried?

The study, which has been published in the science journal Nature, is based on the simulations of the changes in the Greenland ice sheet from the beginning of the Holocene epoch  around 12,000 years ago  and going forward until 2100.

weforum.org

"We know there's a lot of year-to-year variability, so what we were interested in doing is capturing the more meaningful trends over decades and maybe up to a century," said Jason Briner, a professor of geology at the University at Buffalo, and the lead author of the study.

Also Read: Greenland Ice Sheet Has Reached Point Of No Return, Thanks To Global Warming

"And when you do that, and think about the direction that Greenland is heading this century, it's pretty clear we're in quite anomalous times."

According to the study, ice mass loss rates during the end of the last ice age are comparable to the loss that occurred between 2000 and 2018 - about 6.1 billion metric tonnes per century.

Reuters

Future mass loss could be catastrophic  between 8.8 billion metric tons and 35.9 billion metric tonnes, depending on the level of greenhouse gas emissions.



"It is no secret that the Greenland Ice Sheet is in rough shape and is losing ice at an increasing rate," said co-author Dr. Nicolas Young, from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.



Also Read: In Last 24-36 Hours, Greenland Lost Ice Equal To 400,000 Olympic Swimming Pools. Most Drastic Melt In History



Greenland is currently the largest contributor to sea level rise  holding enough frozen water to raise sea levels by at least 20 feet  with Antarctica not far behind. As sea levels increase, coastal storms become more intense and devastating, meaning coastal cities and towns will either need to build stronger flood defenses or retreat inland altogether.

The researchers reiterated their ongoing call to world leaders to reduce emissions in order to slow ice sheet melting and reduce sea level rise.


Reacting to BJP parliamentarian Nishi Kant Dubeys allegations, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has said that he had no knowledge of the sexual harassment case filed by a woman against him in Mumbais lower court back in 2013. The CMs disclosure came in his Rs 300 crore defamation suit filed against Dubey and two others in a Ranchi court.

Godda parliamentarian, Dubey, in a series of tweets between July 27-29, had levelled sexual assault allegations against Soren. He had highlighted the seven-year-old sexual harassment case lodged by a woman against Soren in Mumbai and alleged that Soren had then misused his office to settle the case.

Dubey alleged that such an allegation against the chief minister was a shame on democracy. Mumbai police should re-investigate the matter, Dubey had tweeted on July 28.

Reacting to Dubeys comment, on July 29, Soren had tweeted that he would give a befitting reply to Dubey within 48 hours.

Also read: Once a protege of KCR, retired professor wants to try his luck in MLC polls

Following this, Soren filed the aforesaid defamation suit in a Ranchi court on August 4 against Dubey, Twitter and Facebook, seeking compensation of Rs 100 crore from each of the defendants.

Soren, in his plaint, disclosed that he had not entered into any settlement or compromise with the lady who had allegedly filed the complaint against him.

In fact, the plaintiff (Soren) was not aware of the purported complaint till the defendant (Dubey) tweeted and posted about the same, Soren said in his plaint.

He stated that he had instructed his lawyer in Mumbai to carry out a search of the court records. Due to the limited functioning of the court in prevailing pandemic situation and during religious holidays, the lawyer has not been able to provide any information to him, the chief minister said.

He stated that he would bring on record the facts in relation to the womans complaint whenever these come to his knowledge in future.

Soren said that it transpired from Dubeys tweets and Facebook posts that the woman had withdrawn her complaint out of her own volition within few days of filing the complaint and that too before the first date of hearing.

Defendant number 1 (Dubey) knows well that the plaintiff (Soren) has not entered into any settlement with the lady... He has made the tweets and posts with actual malice. In order to further disseminate his malicious statement, he has published the same by tagging popular name and widely followed persons..., Soren said.

He argued that the derogatory statements, amounting to an attack on his moral character, were made to lower his reputation in public estimation and excite adverse opinion against him.

The Ranchi court, which had issued notices to Dubey and others admitting Sorens defamation suit, is likely to hear the plaint on Saturday.

We have received the courts notice and we will present our defence on the next date of hearing tomorrow, said Dubeys lawyer Diwakar Upadhyay.
School abuse in Thailand? Thai UFC fighter enters Octagon! || October 2

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PHUKET XTRA - October 2 || Brought to you by PVCPhuket.com

First Thai UFC fighter to enter Octagon |:| Abuse claims at Private school continues |:| Less insurance, more flights! |:| Man arrested over rape of underage girl |:| Six more Thailand Covid cases

Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket

2- First Thai UFC fighter to enter octagon this Sunday



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Face mask warnings, Bangkok transit flights, Crocodile swims to Surin Beach? || January 21 Post when: Jan 21 2022 19:23:48 on: PHUKET XTRA - January 21 || Brought to you by @PVC Phuket



Bangkok transit flights to Phuket start Feb. 1 |:| Cops issue face mask warnings on Bangla Rd. |:| Woman, 21, found drowned in Chalong |:| Phuket COVID Update Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket #PhuketNews #Thailand 1- Bangkok transit flights to Phuket start Feb. 1 MORE: Test & Go to resume Feb. 1 with extra test requirement 2- Prime Minister rules out early election 3- Phuket face mask campaign targeting tourists begins 4- Woman, 21, found drowned in Chalong 5- Phuket COVID Update MORE: Thailand COVID Update

Test & Go to return Feb. 1! Drinking hours extended, 2 more Sandbox destinations || January 20 Post when: Jan 20 2022 19:27:03 on: PHUKET XTRA - January 20 || Brought to you by @PVC Phuket



Test & Go to return on Feb. 1 |:| Drinking hours extended |:| Sandbox expanded |:| Phuket to crack down on unmasked arrivals |:| Phuket jab strategy revealed |:| Joe Ferrari wanted to scare suspect Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket #PhuketNews #Thailand 1- Modified Test & Go scheme for tourist arrivals to return 2- Drinking hours extended 3- Phuket vows tough action on unmasked tourists 4- Phuket officials reveal booster jab strategy 5- Joe Ferrari wanted to scare suspect MORE: More on Joe Ferrari case 6- Phuket COVID Update

Billions approved for Patong Tunnel project || January 19 Post when: Jan 19 2022 19:07:49 on: PHUKET XTRA - January 19 || Brought to you by @PVC Phuket



Cabinet approved B14.6 billion to build Patong Tunnel |:| Tiger hunters homes to be removed from national park |:| Man welcomed to Phuket with gunshot threats |:| Phuket COVID Update Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket #PhuketNews #Thailand 1- Cabinet approves B14.67bn to build Patong Tunnel 2- Man welcomed to Phuket with gunshot threats 3- Tiger Killers homes to be removed from national park 4- Phuket COVID Update

Phuket begins 4th vaccine jab roll out || January 18 Post when: Jan 18 2022 19:38:02 on: PHUKET XTRA - January 18 || Brought to you by @PVC Phuket



Phuket starts to rollout 4th jabs |:| Insurance companies file suit against regulators over ban against policy cancellation |:| Abbot told to stop painting faces gold |:| Phuket COVID Update Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket #PhuketNews #Thailand 1- Phuket fourth jabs being rolled out MORE: Chalong Hospital offering walk-in AstraZeneca third-, fourth-dose jabs 2- Two firms file lawsuit against OIC head over insurance claims 3- Abbot told to cease face-gilding ritual 4- Phuket COVID Update MORE: Thailand COVID Update

Bangla shooting trial set for March! Test & Go restart proposal? || January 17 Post when: Jan 17 2022 19:16:27 on: PHUKET XTRA - January 17 || Brought to you by @PVC Phuket



Officials to propose restart of Test & Go |:| Phuket students all allowed back to school |:| Southern peace talks in Phuket |:| Bangla shooting trial set for March |:| COVID update Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket #PhuketNews #Thailand 1- Officials to propose restart of Test & Go quarantine-free entry to Thailand 2- Phuket students allowed to go back to school 3- Trial of Bangla shooter cop still postponed 4- Southern peace talks held in Phuket 5- Thai insurance companies look to sue regulators over COVID policies 6- Phuket COVID Update
Armenia accused Azerbaijani forces of shelling the main city in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region on Friday as heavy fighting raged for a sixth day.

After intermittent shelling during the day, Stepanakert, the main city in Karabakh, came under heavy bombardment in the evening with local residents hiding in shelters and some fleeing the city, an AFP team reported.

A separatist official, Grigory Martyrosyan, told journalists that public buildings, houses and infrastructure were damaged but the city would not be evacuated.

Baku and Yerevan have for decades been locked in a simmering conflict over the ethnic Armenian province that broke away from Azerbaijan in a bitterly fought war in the 1990s.

New fighting that erupted on Sunday has been the heaviest in decades and has claimed nearly 200 lives, including more than 30 civilians.

Yerevan said it was ready to work with mediators for a ceasefire but Azerbaijan insisted that Armenia must first withdraw its troops.

French President Emmanuel Macron has accused NATO member Turkey  which backs Azerbaijan  of sending in jihadist militants from Syria, which both Ankara and Baku deny.

A British-based monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported at least 28 Syrian rebel fighters had been killed in clashes, claiming there were more than 850 such combatants.

International calls for the neighbours to halt clashes and begin talks have intensified as fears grow that the fighting could expand into a multi-front war sucking in regional powers Turkey and Russia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides to immediately end all hostilities stressing that there was no military solution to the conflict, his office said.

 Indiscriminate shelling 

Armenia said Azerbaijani forces had wounded many people in Stepanakert but some locals said they were not afraid.

There is no fear. We have our pride, Arkady, a 66-year-old resident, told AFP. There will be victims. A war is a war.

Separatist authorities said ten emergency response workers had been injured in strikes.

Armen Muradyan, a former health minister volunteering as a doctor, said shrapnel wounds were widespread among civilians, showing indiscriminate use of military force.

The separatist government said Azerbaijani forces had destroyed a bridge linking Armenia to Karabakh and vowed a counterstrike.

There will be a proportionate response, said Vagram Pogosyan, a spokesman for the separatist leader.

 War crime 

Azerbaijan in turn accused Armenian forces of shelling its territory, including the town of Terter.

On Friday, more than 2,000 artillery shells were fired at Terter, said Hikmet Hajiyev, an advisor to President Ilham Aliyev.

This is a war crime.

Armenia defence ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan claimed 540 Azerbaijani troops had been killed in the last 24 hours.

Civilians were caught in the crossfire of the violence, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, adding hundreds of homes as well as schools and hospitals had been destroyed.

Yet residents on both sides said they were getting used to the sounds of war and spoke out against negotiations.

Arkady in Stepanakert, said he did not want talks with Azerbaijan that he described as nonsense, insisting the enemy should be crushed.

In Azerbaijan, too, some expressed little appetite for talks.

We are not afraid. We do not have a lot of wounded, Anvar Aliyev, a 55-year-old taxi driver, told AFP in the Fizulinsky district.

We have to return to our lands.

 Ready to engage 

Yerevan expressed its readiness to work with international mediators to halt the fighting.

Armenia stands ready to engage with France, Russia, and the United states to re-establish a ceasefire regime, the foreign ministry in Yerevan said.

But it said that talks could not begin unless clashes are halted.

Azerbaijan said that Armenia must first withdraw its troops, accusing it of fresh attempted aggression.

Frances Macron on Friday spoke to the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian and Azerbaijans President Aliev and reiterated his call for a ceasefire, the Elysee said.

Yerevan, which is part of a Moscow-led military alliance of ex-Soviet countries, has accused Azerbaijan of using cluster munitions prohibited by international law.

Turkish military are fighting alongside Azerbaijani forces, said the Armenian foreign ministry. Azerbaijan is using Turkish weaponry, drones and fighter jets.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday also expressed serious concern over the presence of foreign fighters in the conflict during a phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced similar concerns in a phone call with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

 Journalists evacuated 

Local and foreign journalists came under Armenian shelling in the village of Gapanly, Azerbaijans foreign ministry said.

This came after a rocket strike on Karabakh on Thursday injured four journalists, including two from the French daily Le Monde who were evacuated after undergoing surgery.

In a joint appeal Thursday, Putin, US President Donald Trump and Macron urged the two sides to return to negotiations aimed at resolving their longstanding territorial dispute.

Armenia has recorded 158 military deaths and 13 civilian casualties since Sunday. Azerbaijan has not reported any military deaths but said 19 civilians were killed after Armenian shelling.

Karabakhs declaration of independence from Azerbaijan sparked a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives, but it is still not recognised as independent by any country, including Armenia.

Talks to resolve the conflict have largely stalled since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.

burs-im-am/har
Housing finance company Home First Finance Company India Ltd on Friday said it has signed an agreement with Orange Clove Investments BV, an affiliate of US-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus, for an investment of Rs 700 crore. The transaction will be done through a combination of primary fundraise and secondary sales by existing shareholders. With this investment, Warburg Pincus joined the league of existing marquee PE shareholders True North and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Home First Finance Company (HFFC), however, did not disclose the stake acquired by Warburg Pincus, but sources close to the matter believe that it could be around 25 per cent shareholding.

"Warburg Pincus' investment in Home First at this juncture, is an acknowledgement of Home First's inherent strengths. Our strong focus on the salaried customer segment, our investments in technology and our deep belief in digital processes and payment mechanisms, have netted excellent dividends through multiple disruptive events," said Manoj Viswanathan, chief executive officer at HFFC.

HFFC is also planning an initial public offering (IPO) and has filed the draft red herring prospectus with the Sebi in December 2019 for which it received approval in January. The company has got extension from the Sebi to launch its IPO till March 31, 2021 in wake COVID-19 pandemic.

Established in February 2010, HFFC was founded by Jaithirth Rao and PS Jayakumar (MD and CEO of Bank of Baroda). As of 31 March 2020, the company had an AUM of Rs3,618 crore with gross non-performing assets at 0.87 per cent.

By Chitranjan Kumar

Also Read: BT Buzz: Are home loans with shorter reset under MCLR beneficial for you?

Also Read: Homebuyers take note! SBI announces special offers on home loans; know details here
A picture of the tandoori oven thought to have been used to dispose of Jamal Kashoggi's body after his murder two years ago has been released for the first time.

In the picture, a team of forensic police are shown inspecting the oven as part of the investigation at the Saudi Consulate where Kashoggi was killed on October 2, 2018.

To mark the second anniversary journalists and human rights activists called for justice for the The Washington Post columnist on Friday, holding a demonstration near the consulate in the Turkish capital.

A picture released by TRT World on October 2 shows a Turkish police forensic expert inspecting a tandoori oven as part of investigation into Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul

In July, a Turkish court opened the trial in absentia of two former aides of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and 18 other Saudi nationals over the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi (pictured)

It is believed that the oven shown in the picture was used by a team of Saudi agents to burn Khashoggi's body after he was killed inside the consulate.

The series of pictures also show the forensic team using UV lights to detect blood stains on the walls and floors inside the building.

In July, a Saudi embassy worker told the Khashoggi murder trial that he saw many 'skewers of meat' and was told by 'panicked' staff to light the oven on the day the journalist was killed and dismembered.

Zeki Demir, a local technician who worked for the consulate, told the court he had been called to the consul's residence, close to the consulate itself, on the day of the killing.

'There were five to six people there... They asked me to light up the tandoor (oven). There was an air of panic,' he said.

According to the indictment Demir also reported seeing many skewers of meat, and noticed that the marble slabs around the oven appeared to have changed colour as if they had been cleaned with a chemical.

The images released today also showed the police using UV lights to detect blood stains on the floor of the consulate (pictured) where Kashoggi was killed

In July, a Saudi embassy worker told the Khashoggi murder trial that he saw many 'skewers of meat' and was told by 'panicked' staff to light the oven on the day of the murder

Dozens of activists gathered at a memorial erected in Khashoggi's honour near the Saudi Consulate building in the Turkish city.

The activists denounced the journalist's slaying, which cast a shadow over the reputation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and criminal proceedings in Saudi Arabia as inadequate.

'Justice has still not materialized,' journalist Turan Kislak, who was a friend of Khashoggi's, said. 'A theatrical court has been in session for two years. However, no details on this subject has been given to the world.'

Today, activists held a demonstration near to the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul to mark the second anniversary of Khashoggi's murder at the site

The gathering was held outside the consulate building, starting at 1:14 p.m. (1014 GMT) marking the time Khashoggi walked into the building where he was killed

Last month, a court in Saudi Arabia issued final verdicts convicting eight unnamed Saudi nationals in Khashoggi's 2018 killing.

The verdicts by the Riyadh Criminal Court came after Khashoggi's son, who still resides in the kingdom, announced pardons that spared five of the convicted individuals from execution.

The trial has been widely criticized by rights groups and observers, who said it was conducted behind closed doors and lacked transparency.

'What happened to Jamal Khassogi's body? If a court has been in session for two years, we want an explanation,' Kislak said.

Turkey, which had insisted that the suspects be extradited and put on trial in the country, is now trying two of the Saudi crown prince's former aides other Saudi nationals in absentia.

Last month, it also indicted six other Saudi nationals, including two former consulate employees.

Prosecutors have indicted the 20 Saudi nationals over Mr Khashoggi's grisly killing at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018, which cast a cloud of suspicion over Prince Mohammed (pictured)

A team of 15 Saudi agents had flown to Turkey to meet Khashoggi inside the consulate for his appointment on Oct. 2, 2018 to pick up documents that would allow him to marry his Turkish fiancee, who waited outside.

The team included a forensic doctor, intelligence and security officers, and individuals who worked directly for the crown prince's office, according to Agnes Callamard, who investigated the killing for the United Nations.

Turkish officials allege Khashoggi was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw inside the consulate. His body has not been found.

Prior to his killing, Khashoggi had written critically of Prince Mohammed in columns for The Washington Post at a time when the young heir to the throne was being widely hailed by Washington for pushing through social reforms.

The Vienna-based International Press Institute, a press freedom advocacy group, decried the lack of justice for Khashoggi in a statement issued earlier this week.

'Two years have passed since Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, yet Saudi Arabia has failed to name or hold responsible the mastermind behind the killing,' IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi said.

Last month, a court in Saudi Arabia issued final verdicts convicting eight unnamed Saudi nationals in Khashoggi's 2018 killing, but the court has been denounced by many. In July, a Turkish court opened the trial in absentia (pictured)

'The fact that Saudi Arabia has managed to avoid any real consequences for this abominable act exposes the hypocrisy of human rights discourse by governments that continue to roll out the red carpet for the Kingdom.'

'The recent verdicts in the Saudi trial are a mockery of justice that the international community should not accept,' she said.

Meanwhile, Khashoggi's family and friends this week launched the work of Democracy for the Arab World Now, a nonprofit organization that Khashoggi founded not long before he was killed. They accused the United States of 'shielding the top Saudi officials responsible for his death.'

'Rather than cozy up to the Saudi officials who ordered Khashoggi's gruesome murder, the Trump administration should provide the transparency that Congress has demanded regarding our government's knowledge about Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman's role in this crime,' DAWN's executive director, Sarah Leah Whitson, said.
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Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 19:20 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48cb51b 1 National #KitaAgni,#NamaBaikKampus,gender-based-violence,sexual-violence-university,mental-health,UGM,Komnas-Perempuan,UNFPA Free

Indonesia will always remember Agni as the girl who ignited the fire in the fight against all forms of sexual abuse in the culturally conservative country.

In 2018, it was her story of assault that set off a wave of support and solidarity that gave Indonesia its very own #MeToo moment dubbed #KitaAgni (#WeAreAgni), which has arguably become one of the largest social movements to end sexual harassment that the nation has ever seen.

Two years on, Agni has graduated from university, and while she is still in awe and ever grateful for the positive force that her story has become, she also continues to fight the demons of trauma every single day.

Sitting in her small rented bedroom on a recent Monday, Agni often had to pause and take deep breaths as she recalled just some of the memories of her assault and her efforts to seek justice over the past three years.

Her eyes looked tired.

I feel very exhausted, to a point where I want to wake up and know that the sexual violence bill has passed; that theres a guarantee no one will ever have to experience what I feel, Agni told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview via video conference.

I want the right to feel safe.

Read also: Victims of sexual abuse on campus seek justice, support on social media

Agni is the pseudonym of a former female student of Gadjah Mada University who was allegedly sexually assaulted by another student in 2017 during a community development program in the province of Maluku.

After a long and tiring legal fight, Agni and her legal counsel, the UGM rectorate, as well as the alleged perpetrator, HS, settled the case out of court.

HS never got dismissed from the university, as per Agnis demand. But her story reverberated across the country, inspiring petitions, policies, social movements and discussions to end sexual assault on campuses, not only at UGM but also in other universities in Indonesia.

But even as she remains grateful for all that she helped inspire, Agni never really recovered from her trauma. Currently working in a private company, Agni said any information or news related to sexual assault could become a trigger.

I live alone now and I struggle every time I have these anxiety attacks; it takes me one to two hours to finally calm myself down. In those instances, I might hyperventilate, my chest would hurt, Id feel a prickling sensation [on my skin] and my lips would go dry, Agni said.

She said she was really tired of trying to keep herself from inflicting self-harm. If a security camera were to be installed in her bedroom, there would definitely be a recording of her crawling across the floor in agony.

I wonder if people will be disappointed to see me like this, Agni said.

For a while, she stopped talking and stared at her bedroom wall.

A student of Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University (UGM) signs a petition to support Agni, the pseudonym of a UGM student who was allegedly raped by a fellow student in 2017, and to encourage the university to take action against sexual violence on campus. (The Jakarta Post/Bambang Muryanto)

Recently weve always used the word survivor instead of victim to show that we are strong, she finally continued. We tend to forget that survivors are first and foremost victims. I want people to know that most of the time I am fearful, Im tired and I want to give up, Agni said.

According to a March report from the National Commission for Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), the number of reported sexual violence cases in Indonesia continues to increase, from 259,150 in 2016 to 348,446 in 2017, 406,178 in 2018 and 431,471 in 2019.

The report found that in the last 12 years alone, violence against women in Indonesia has increased eightfold.

However, not much has been said about the impacts of sexual violence on the emotional and mental wellbeing of victims, even though experts say they can be equally serious or even worse than physical scars or bruises.

According to the World Health Organization, one in every three women globally will be beaten, coerced into sex or abused in some other way  most often by someone she knows. Yet public services, such as quality mental health services, are rarely planned with womens safety, recovery and healing from violence in mind.

As a result of the trauma, many women survivors develop emotional or mental health problems that require timely, comprehensive and professional treatment. But too often, this critical health service is not available or accessible for a vast majority of survivors, especially in low- to middle-income countries.

Read also: Mental health: The forgotten element in human development

For Agni, it took a long time for her to tell herself that it is OK not to be OK.

My message for other victims is that you should take all the time in the world to heal and that its OK to be weak and unapologetic about it. Im not saying this to make you feel weak or say that you cant be brave; what I want to say is do it on your own terms, she said.

Be strong, but if you dont feel like being strong, then reach out to your friends.

Agni said that after her case was closed, UGM never bothered to contact her again, not even to check on her mental health. And under the current laws, victims of sexual assault like Agni are not entitled to get help from the government, including for their mental recovery.

Victims, she said, are never really given the opportunity to recover.

What we can do is help them go through that [trauma], she said.

It was, therefore, pivotal to have the sexual violence bill passed, as it would require the government to provide rehabilitation services for victims to overcome the physical, psychological and social impacts of abuse.

Its expensive and sometimes the victims dont realize that they need to recover. If this is well regulated, then [] theyd be directed to it, she said.

Contacted separately, Lidwina Inge Nurtjahyo, a lecturer at the University of Indonesias (UI) School of Law, said that although some sexual assault cases at UI remained unresolved and the university had not done enough to aid in the victims recovery, Agnis story had brought about some major changes in how it addressed sexual assault.

Agni, like her name, means [in Sanskrit] a fire that lights up the spirits of students and lecturers in universities who are fed up with issues of sexual assault on campus, Inge told the Post recently.

As a result, she said, the university had started conducting workshops on how to prevent sexual assault, which included familiarizing the concepts of consent and respect for other peoples bodies.

Read also: UI rebuffs criticism of consensual sex class

Agnis story has also inspired other student movements like UII Bergerak, which seeks to push the Indonesian Islamic University in Yogyakarta to take cases of sexual assault on campus more seriously.

Agnis case has raised awareness about the gender struggle, especially in Yogya, said Sabiq Muhammad, a member of UII Bergerak.

Antisexual violence causes or cases similar to that of Agnis used to be an open secret, but since the solidarity movement for Agni began, these discussions have gotten much more attention.

People march to mark the 2020 International Women's Day in Yogyakarta on March 8. The march raised awareness about the fight against sexual violence at universities in the city. The pictured sign reads: "Sexual assault on campus is more dangerous than the coronavirus." (JP/Bambang Muryanto)

Like UGM, many universities and schools have started drafting regulations on sexual assault on campus and included relevant learning materials during campus orientation.

Agnis case has also inspired news coverage on sexual assault on campus, including the #NamaBaikKampus (#CampusReputation) collaboration.

The project, initiated in 2019 by the Post, Tirto and VICE Indonesia, revealed indications of rampant sexual abuse in the countrys higher education institutions, based on the testimonies of 174 survivors from 79 state, private and religious universities.

As the person at the center of this movement, Agni said she felt there was still a long way to go until women in Indonesia could start feeling safe.

As long as the government is still absent [in this fight], we will just be exhausting ourselves, she said.

But she also believes it is progress whenever more victims of sexual assault speak up and reach out for help, even if it is on social media.

People are ready, they really need this bill [] If they speak up on social media, then they believe somebody will trust them. But these are people on the internet, not the state, she said.

Without the sexual violence bill, there will always be a gap between those who muster up the courage to seek justice and the things that can help them reach their goals.
WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she anticipates striking a bipartisan economic relief deal with the Trump administration, suggesting that President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis could speed up an agreement. She called on airlines to hold off on imminent furloughs pending a deal.

"This kind of changes the dynamic because here they see the reality of what we have been saying all along - this is a vicious virus," Pelosi, D-Calif., said on MSNBC.

"I'm optimistic. I'm always optimistic," she said. "We always have to find a path - that is our responsibility to do so - and I believe that we will."

Democrats had sought a $2.2 trillion package, while the White House's most recent offer was closer to $1.6 trillion. Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke Friday afternoon for 65 minutes and plan to continue their discussions, according to Drew Hammill, a spokesman for the House speaker.

The pace of talks - and the possibility of a deal - have picked up markedly in recent days. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters Friday that Trump had inquired about the status of negotiations Friday morning, shortly after the president announced his positive coronavirus test.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., sounded a positive note at a news conference in Kentucky." I'm trying to figure out here whether I should predict another bill quickly or not, but the talks have speeded up in the last couple days," said McConnell, who is not directly involved in the negotiations but is regularly briefed by Mnuchin. "I think we're closer to getting an outcome."

With the talks picking up steam, Pelosi released a statement Friday calling on airlines to delay imminent furloughs of workers whose jobs are at risk after payroll support included in the Cares Act expired Wednesday. Pelosi said a six-month extension of the Payroll Support Program would be included in any deal or passed as a stand-alone bill. American Airlines and United Airlines this week announced they would be furloughing a combined 32,000 employees because federal aid expired and the travel industry remains battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Both airlines released statements pledging to reverse the furloughs if Congress acts, but urged lawmakers to move quickly.

Washington Post photo by Demetrius Freeman

The U.S. economy plunged sharply into a recession earlier this year when the coronavirus pandemic led many companies and employers to lay off workers and temporarily close. The economy recovered a bit during the summer, but it has shown signs of lagging in recent weeks, particularly as several large companies have announced new plans for layoffs. That emerging head wind has helped revive talks between the White House and Democrats, but numerous significant issues remain unresolved.

Pelosi outlined some of them in a letter Friday afternoon to House Democrats that pointed to unemployment insurance, money for cities and states, and tax credits for children and families as among the areas where she had yet to reach agreement with Mnuchin.

"We are expecting a response from the White House on these areas and others with more detail," Pelosi wrote. "In the meantime, we continue to work on the text to move quickly to facilitate an agreement."

In a sign that a deal could be emerging, Mnuchin told at least one Republican senator in a phone call on Thursday night that the agreement with Pelosi would include a substantial amount of money for state and local governments, a provision numerous conservative Republican senators have strongly resisted, according to one person who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of the private conversation. The call was interpreted as designed to prepare conservatives for the White House to give more on state and local aid than they had previously expected.

A Treasury Department spokeswoman confirmed that Mnuchin held phone calls with GOP senators but would not comment on their substance.

Mnuchin and Pelosi have mostly conducted their negotiations over the phone, but they met at length in person on Wednesday. After Trump reported his positive coronavirus diagnosis early Friday, Mnuchin reported testing negative, and phoned Pelosi to inform her of that result, Pelosi said.

The speaker said that she had been tested Friday morning "out of an abundance of caution" and her office later announced that the results were negative.

After bipartisan talks broke down in early August, prospects for any new stimulus deal before the election looked grim, despite continued high unemployment and the virus' persistent spread. But with moderates in both parties increasingly anxious over Congress' inaction, negotiations between Pelosi and Mnuchin resumed this week and appeared to be getting serious, even as House Democrats approved their own $2.2 trillion bill late Thursday without GOP support.

The House is supposed to recess Friday through the election, but lawmakers could be called back to vote on a deal if there is one.

Several items have been agreed to, including a new round of $1,200 checks to individuals. Pelosi said they were nearing agreement on $75 billion for coronavirus testing and tracing, with Democrats pushing for language ensuring a comprehensive testing strategy.

Other key items remained outstanding, including state and local aid, unemployment insurance and a child tax credit. Pelosi's comments Friday suggested talks were getting into details as she described pushing for $144 billion for a portion of the legislation dealing with a hodgepodge of spending items including agriculture and transit support. She said the administration was trying to cut that figure down to $100 billion.

White House officials also called for striking a deal. Trump administration officials have been pushing much more aggressively for a stimulus package in recent days, amid Trump's weak approval numbers and signs of weakness in the U.S. economy.

Mnuchin said Friday that parts of the economy "need more help," citing in particular restaurants and other hard-hit industries. Several members of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, a trade group formed this year to lobby for an industry devastated by the coronavirus outbreak, said Friday that if Congress doesn't enact a substantial relief package, it could lead to the closure of 85% of small, independently owned restaurants nationwide.

On Fox Business, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow sounded optimistic about the odds of a stimulus package and suggested it was essential to approve additional support for small businesses and the unemployed.

"Would you rather have zero or would you rather have everything you want?" Kudlow said. "There has to be compromise in life."

Two people who have spoken with senior administration officials in recent weeks, commenting on the condition of anonymity to share details of private conversations, said the White House is pushing harder for a deal in part because Trump trails in the polls.

"People in the administration got spooked Trump hasn't risen more in the polls and that's given an impetus to a negotiated deal," one of them said.

In the early days of the pandemic in the spring, Congress rushed to pass four bipartisan bills totaling an unprecedented $3 trillion in spending. Many of the programs approved at that time have run their course, but with the election approaching partisan tensions have increased and Congress has not acted since.

Some conservatives, including a sizable minority of Senate Republicans, argue that Congress has already spent enough money and that no more action is needed in light of the ballooning budget deficit.

On Friday morning, leaders from the conservative groups Americans for Prosperity, R Street, the Libre Initiative, and Heritage Action joined a conference call urging lawmakers to reject any agreement.

"We are very concerned about any possible deal at this point," said Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity. "We are urging Congress: 'Do not do another spending deal.' "

- - -

The Washington Post's Tim Carman, Lori Aratani and Ian Duncan contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  White House adviser Hope Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting quarantine for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, who announced they also tested positive later Thursday night.

Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus after she traveled with Trump in the last few days, according to a person familiar with Hicks' situation.

Trump tweeted that he and the first lady "will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately."

Hicks is frequently in contact with the president and was with Trump as he traveled to and from the first presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday.

Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

She appears in a photo deplaning upon arrival in Cleveland, not wearing a protective face mask. Hicks also traveled aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for a Minnesota rally Wednesday.

Trump said in a Thursday night interview on Fox News that he had just taken a coronavirus test and that he and the first lady "spend a lot of time with Hope, and others."

(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 21, 2020 Dan Scavino (L), Director of White House Social Media, Hope Hicks, White House counselor, and Stephen Miller (R), White House senior advisor, walk to Marine One prior to departing with US President Donald Trump.

Bloomberg reported that Hicks was experiencing some symptoms associated with the coronavirus, according to people close to her who were told.

Hicks is the latest of White House officials to test positive for the virus. Previously, Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller had and recovered from COVID.

One of Trumps longest-serving political aides, Hicks was part of the original presidential campaign team that launched in 2015.

Listen to the news with our daily podcast

After rising to the job of communications director, Hicks left the White House in 2018 and took a corporate executive job at Fox. In February, the White House announced that Hicks would return as counselor to the president and aide to senior adviser (and Trump son-in-law) Jared Kushner. She has played a key role in communications strategy as Trump seeks re-election.

Story continues

White House spokesman Judd Deere would not comment on Hicks situation but issued a statement saying the administration is taking precautions based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. The President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously."

Trump has come under fire for holding rallies that pose a risk of the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans and infected more than 7.2 million. Experts say social distancing and mask-wearing are key to slowing the spread; neither are common at his rallies.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hope Hicks tests positive for COVID-19, Trump and first lady follow
Job Title: Community Engagement Manager



Organization: WEI/Bantwana



Duty Station:

Kampala, Uganda

Reports to: SRGBV Advisor

About US:

Since 1951, World

Education, Inc. (WEI) has been working to improve the lives of the poor through

education and social and economic development programs. The Bantwana Initiative

of World Education, Inc. is a recognized leader in delivering integrated

comprehensive interventions to improve HIV outcomes and the quality of life for

orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and families affected by HIV and poverty.

Rooted at the grassroots level, WEI/Bantwana builds the capacity of

communities, civil society and governments to coordinate and deliver integrated

comprehensive services for vulnerable children and families while strengthening

structures and service delivery across the HIV continuum of care.

About USAID ICYD Project:

The USAID Integrated

Child and Youth Development Activity (USAID ICYD Activity) aims to improve

learning outcomes, advance HIV epidemic control in Uganda, and ensure that

children and youth have the opportunity to lead resilient, healthy and

productive lives. The USAID ICYD Activity will deliver critical

HIV/GBV/violence prevention and response services to children and youth and

their families in communities, clinics, and schools. Within USAIDs Journey to

Self-Reliance Framework, USAID ICYD Activity will build the operational and

technical capacity of four Ugandan Primary Local Partner (PLP) organizations to

become direct recipients of USG funding within two years while strengthening

government capacity to deliver core services to children within an integrated

referral network and case management system. WEI/Bantwana is a leader in OVC

programming and organizational capacity development in high HIV prevalence

countries in southern and eastern Africa.

Job Summary: The Community Engagement Manager supports the

technical implementation of community-based SRGBV Prevention activities,

working in close collaboration with school-based teams to ensure smooth

referral and integration of school and community-based SRGBV programming with

case management and broader community social norms change interventions.

Implement community-based prevention under USAID ICYD Activity including scale

up of Village Child Case Management Committee (VCCMC) model, delivery of SASA!,

Stepping Stones and other prevention programming. The position will also

coordinate closely with the Case Management Advisor and other technical teams

to ensure case conference and district GBV and HIV data informs community

prevention activities. S/he will support technical capacity development around

Community Engagement of USAID ICYD Activity PLPs across all implementation

zones.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:



Manage,

lead and coordinate scale up of the VCCMC model with PLPs in targets districts



Support

and coordinate delivery of other Community Prevention programming including

SASA! Stepping Stones for out of school adolescent girls



Help to

ensure and coordinate strong linkages between communities and schools for

prevention service delivery and referrals for assessment and enrollment into

the OVC program.



With the

technical team, support scale up of integrated referral networks for HIV and

GBV prevention and response.



Train,

mentor, and support partner organization staff in the implementation of

community-based prevention activities.



Provide

technical support in the implementation of SASA! GBV and gender norms change

for adolescents, caregivers and communities



Monitor

the implementation of work plan activities, manage and track budgets for field

activities



Analyse

and monitor trends, opportunities and challenges related to implementation of

Community Prevention activities



Liaise

with the M&E team in tracking and reporting related targets



Compile

quarterly and annual progress reports and assist with writing other strategic

documentation.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:



The

ideal candidate must hold an advanced degree in Health, social work or other

relevant degree plus minimum of 5 years relevant working experience



At least

5 years proven experience in the design, implementation and management of SRH/

GBV /HIV prevention programs



Experience

in stakeholder engagement with local government at sub county, community LCs

and other community stakeholders and influencers



Experience

in working with multiple stakeholders leading coordination efforts



Excellent

interpersonal and communication skills



Ability

to work independently, take initiative and leadership



Familiarity

with data analysis and Excel

How to Apply:

All applicants

should submit a cover letter, updated CV, and three references to: BantwanaICYD@ug.worlded.org

with the position title you are applying for in the subject line.

NB:

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until positions are filled.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Deadline: 2nd October 2020 by 2:00pm

For more of the

latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline






New Delhi, Oct 2 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against three people in connection with its probe into the Lashkar-e-Taiba recruitment case in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam, an official said on Friday.

An NIA spokesperson here said that the agency filed the charge sheet against Muneeb Hameed Bhat, Junaid Ahmad Mattoo and Umer Rashid Wani, all residents of Kulgam, in the Special NIA court in Jammu on Thursday under several sections of the Unlawful Prevention Activities Act and the Indian Penal Code.

The case was initially registered by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in September 2017 after it was found that the banned terror organisation LeT was motivating youths such as Bhat and others to join the organisation and arrange for their travel to Pakistan for training on the basis of the valid travel documents on the recommendations of the separatist leaders.

The NIA registered a case in September 2018.

The official said that "investigation by the anti-terror probe agency established that LeT terrorist Mattoo motivated accused Bhat to join LeT and go to Pakistan for terrorist training".

"Another LeT terrorist Wani gave him funds to meet the expenses of his Pakistan visit. In July-August 2017, accused Bhat visited Pakistan on valid travel documents for terrorist training with the assistance of separatist leaders. He was imparted weapons training and also training for using secret social media chat platforms.

"After returning from Pakistan, Bhat remained constantly in touch with LeT handlers in Pakistan and active militants of Kulgam area on secret messaging platforms for carrying out subversive and terrorist activities in Kashmir Valley. He was working as a sleeper cell of LeT and further intended to join the militant ranks in banned terrorist organisation LeT," he added.

The official said that investigation also established that during 2016-2018, many Kashmiri youth were sent by separatist leaders to Pakistan on valid travel documents for getting terrorist training with active assistance of the commanders of militant groups.

"These youth got terrorist training in the terrorist camps in Pakistan for period ranging from five to fifteen days. After returning, they are initially used as sleeper cells by militant organisations and subsequently recruited for active militancy," the official claimed.

Mattoo and Wani were killed in separate encounters in the valley in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
While Proud Boys celebrated Donald Trumps recognition of the nationalist gang from Tuesdays debate, current and former members of the group, analysts and law enforcement warn that the presidents remarks, and his unwillingness to condemn white supremacist violence, risks emboldening similar groups.

Proud Boys-related social media channels have also seen a surge in new users and interactions this week.

The president invoked the groups name during the first presidential debate on 29 September after debate moderator Chris Wallace repeatedly asked the president to denounce white supremacism.

Mr Trump, asking for a name to reference, went with Proud Boys, after his Democratic rival Joe Biden suggested it.

Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, but Ill tell you what somebodys got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem.

Dante Nero, a former member of the hate group, told CBS News that the presidents remarks embolden its membership, while Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys organiser from Florida, echoed other members who were encouraged by the presidents recognition, he told the Los Angeles Times.

Theres a war coming, one Proud Boys supporter said on Tiktok. If Biden wins, were coming, and were coming strong.

The same day of the debate, the FBI issued an intelligence report warning that far-right groups and white supremacists pose a violent extremist threat to the US, marking the time between Election Day and the 2021 inauguration as a potential flashpoint for violence.

According to the report obtained by The Nation, Boogaloo adherents likely will expand influence within the Dallas area, where the document emerged, due to the presence of existing anti-government or anti-authority violent extremists, the sentiment of perceived government overreach, heightened tensions due to Covid-19-related state and local restrictions, and violence or criminal activity at lawful protests  that led to violence at otherwise peaceful and lawful protests.

Proud Boys members have spent the last several days promoting its interracial membership and dismissing, and mocking, attempts to portray the group as promoting or harbouring white supremacist ideologies.

Extremism analysts have argued that the group has advanced white nationalist views, while the debate over its memberships ideologies has skirted the president's refusal to distance himself from the group or flatly condemn white supremacism and other far-right violence.

The Anti-Defamation League said that the group is among an unconventional strain of American right-wing extremism.

While the group can be described as violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and misogynistic, its members represent a range of ethnic backgrounds, and its leaders vehemently protest any allegations of racism, the organisation said.

 Mary Trump says that the president was sending an 'order' to the Proud Boys

On Wednesday, the president told reporters: "I don't know who the Proud Boys are  Whoever they are, they need to stand down."

By then, the group had anticipated blowback, arguing that the about-face was merely keeping up appearances.

"Don't be surprised if he makes a statement on us in the upcoming days to appease the masses," Mr Biggs wrote online on Tuesday. But he knows we are the good guys.

The social media platform Telegram saw a spike in 300 to 500 new users just in the past day, according to Megan Squire, a professor of computer science at Elon University who tracks hate groups online, in an interview with Talking Points Memo.

She added on Twitter: Some confusion [and] hair splitting today on the morning shows about whether the Proud Boys are White Supremacists. Reminder that there are many ways to hate and Proud Boys are anti-Muslim, misogynist, [and] advocate political violence against their enemies, defined over-broadly.

Ms Squire said Proud Boys are definitely  by their words and actions  a hate group, so lets maybe use that terminology rather than getting in the mud debating over how many of their members are what demographic.

The self-described western chauvinist Proud Boys, identified by the Southern Poverty Law Centre as a hate group, was established by VICE Media co-founder Gavin McInnes in 2016.

Though the group has claimed it represents an anti-white guilt agenda against political correctness" as well as the alt-right label, the groups founder and members have embraced white nationalism and espoused fascist views, including anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric, often turning to violence.

Its among several contemporary right-wing groups with multi-racial membership, aligning along ideological lines promoting far-right nationalism.

The Proud Boys are among a fascistic, right-wing political bloc galvanised by the president and encouraged by his supporters, according to SPLC senior research analyst Cassie Miller.

They work symbiotically with right-wing media and a power structure  helmed by Trump  that is eager to clamp down on protesters and enact political revenge on progressive constituencies like Portland, wrote Ms Miller, arguing that the group and similarly motivated far-right groups are among political cudgels used as administrations street-level election campaign.

Last year, two Proud Boys members were convicted of assault and riot charges in connection with attacks against antifascist demonstrators in New York City in 2018.

In 2020, members of the Proud Boys participated in violent clashes between right-wing and left-wing groups in Portland, Oregon, and elsewhere.

On the right-wing social media app Parler, Proud Boys members celebrated their recognition on the debate stage.

Within moments of mention, the group incorporated the message into its branding, circulating images with Proud Boys, Standing By in yellow on black T-shirts.

 Trump rows back and says he 'doesn't know who the Proud Boys are' after debate outrage

Standing down and standing by, sir," Proud Boys accounts said on Parler and Telegram.

Trump basically said to go f*** them up! Proud Boys organiser Joe Biggs said on Parler. This makes me so happy.

Accounts also have circulated a meme illustrating the president wearing a Fred Perry shirt  a part of the groups unofficial uniform  and a peaked cap bearing the Proud Boys logo, with the text standing by for your orders general, sir."

Another meme includes a photo of Proud Boys members prepared to fight, next to an incorrect version of the presidents remarks at his debate that more acutely resembles a call to arms: Proud Boys can stand back and stand by, because someone has to take care of antifa and these people.

Although I am excited about our mention on the debate stage  I am not taking this as a direct endorsement from the President, organiser Enrique Tarrio wrote on Telegram.

Him telling the ProudBoys to stand back and standby is what we have ALWAYS done, Tarrio added.

On Parler, Mr Tarrio said: Standing by, sir.
CORONA, Calif., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Monster Energy earned BASES Top 25 Breakthrough Innovation honors for the launch of Juice Monster Mango Loco. The award is given to brands and products that succeeded in making meaningful connections with consumers, an impressive feat within an increasingly crowded marketplace. Beyond BASES requirements for products that reflect strong, distinct qualities such as mass potential, longevity, brand incrementality, category distinction or appeal toward a specific consumer target, this year's list includes all six of Nielsen BASES' activation profiles .

"Monster Energy is proud to be recognized as one of BASES' top CPG innovators leading the beverage industry," said Monster Energy's CMO Dan McHugh. "Mango Loco is one of many innovations in our Monster Energy family. With our unique energy blend and diverse consumer base, we are always offering new ways for consumers to enjoy Monster."

Launched in October of 2019, Mango Loco is reminiscent of "Dia De Los Muertos"  a Mexican holiday celebrating heritage and family with marigolds, mysticism, memories, and food & drink to entice the departed to join the festivities with the living. Celebrating this special occasion, Monster Energy's Mango Loco keeps the party going with its heavenly blend of tropical flavors.

Mango Loco is part of Monster Energy's elevated Juice line made with real juice and Monster's unique energy blend for a vibrant energy boost packed with flavor. The Juice Monster portfolio includes an array of elevated juice blends including Pacific Punch, Pipeline Punch and more unique blends coming soon.

Mango Loco is available at convenience and grocery stores nationwide. To learn more about the Juice Monster portfolio and all of Monster Energy's product offerings, visit monsterenergy.com .

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, it's the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at www.monsterenergy.com .

ABOUT BASES TOP 25 BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATIONS, POWERED BY NIELSEN

The brands that made the 2020 list reflect a wide range of products and approaches that succeeded in making meaningful connections with consumers, an impressive feat within an increasingly crowded marketplace. Beyond BASES requirements for products that reflect strong, distinct qualities such as mass potential, longevity, brand incrementality, category distinction or appeal toward a specific consumer target, this year's list includes all six of Nielsen BASES' activation profiles .

ABOUT NIELSEN

Nielsen Holdings plc is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide. Nielsen is divided into two business units. Nielsen Global Media provides media and advertising industries with unbiased and reliable metrics that create a shared understanding of the industry required for markets to function. Nielsen Global Connect provides consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers with accurate, actionable information and insights and a complete picture of the complex and changing marketplace that companies need to innovate and grow.

Our approach marries proprietary Nielsen data with other data sources to help clients around the world understand what's happening now, what's happening next, and how to best act on this knowledge.

An S&P 500 company, Nielsen has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world's population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com .

SOURCE Monster Energy

Related Links

http://www.monsterenergy.com


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A global virtual summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), RAISE 2020 - 'Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020' is scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 5, 2020.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a global virtual summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), RAISE 2020  Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020 on October 5, according to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

The summit is scheduled to be held from October 5 to 9, 2020 and is being organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog. The inauguration event will take place in the presence of Minister of Electronics & IT, Communications and Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad, eminent global AI expert Professor Raj Reddy, Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna among others.

According to the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Reddy will hold a session about developing voice-enabled AI that removes linguistic barriers on October 6, the second day of the summit. Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, and Brad Smith, President & Legal Head, Microsoft Global will also participate in sessions.

Also read: Bihar polls: NDA likely to announce seat-sharing soon, BJP holds meeting at Naddas residence

Also read: Pakistan PM calls for speedy deportation of Nawaz Sharif

RAISE 2020 will have a dedicated session on building inclusive AI that empowers one billion-plus Indians. The session will have Jenny Lay Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer of Microsoft sharing her views. Anita Bhatia, Assistant Secretary-General, Deputy Executive Director, UN Women shall also deliver a keynote in this session, which will have an all-women panel and is being curated by UN Women.

The ministry said that more than 15,000 stakeholders so far from across academia, the research industry and government representatives from across the world have registered to participate in RAISE 2020. Industry analysts predict that AI could add up to USD 957 billion to Indias economy by 2035, it said.

Also read: Unlock 5: Cinema hall to reopen with 50% seating capacity, states to decide on schools
House Democrats passed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus plan Thursday night that included another round of direct payments to American families. The bills passage does little to ensure the money - up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for married couples - will be coming anytime soon, however.

The House approved the measure 214-207, with 18 Democrats joining every Republican lawmaker in voting against the bill. It is expected to be dead on arrival at the Republican-led Senate where attention has turned to the Supreme Court nomination of President Trump pick Amy Coney Barrett and the Nov. 3 election.

The bill, backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, came amid days of negotiations between Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The two had reached an earlier agreement that any stimulus package would contain another round of direct payments to the public but failed to find consensus on an overall relief measure.

The Democrat bill  known as the HEROES Act  includes $500 billion for state and local governments; restarting the $600 weekly unemployment payments boost; $75 billion for coronavirus testing; and more funds for schools, food stamps and the U.S. post office. The bill also includes money for businesses, including bailouts for the airline and restaurant industries.

Under the measure, direct stimulus payments would include:

$1,200 for individual taxpayers with incomes of up to $75,000

$2,400 for married taxpayers with incomes of up to $150,000

Additional $500 for each dependent

Payments would be reduced based on income levels above those amount, capped at $99,000 for individuals and $198,000 for married couples. The definition of dependent would also be expanded to include anyone listed as such on a tax return. The previous stimulus, approved in March amid the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, capped dependents at age 17.

Republicans said the Democrat bill was too costly, pushing instead for a slimmed down $1.6 trillion proposal.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), India's most valued firm, plans to raise about Rs 40,000 crore by monetising its fibre optic assets through an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) structure.

Digital Fibre Infrastructure Trust (DFIT), a trust that holds all the fibre assets of RIL, will raise a total of nearly Rs 39,700 crore, out of which Rs 14,700 will be raised by making initial offer of its units to investors while rest will be raised via debt, as per the filing to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

DFIT will raise Rs 25,000 crore through debt that will be used to pare debt of the fibre optic arm. The fibre optic unit, formerly a part of Reliance Jio, has a debt of Rs 87,296 crore, including suppliers' credit.

As per the filing, the trust will issue fund proceeds for the purpose of refinancing or prepayment of its existing indebtedness.

DFIT, which owns 51 per cent of an InvIT in which RIL holds 48.44 per cent stake, will issue 147.06 crore units, at a price of Rs 100 a piece, to investors via a private placement, according to the prospectus filed with the Sebi.

The trust will not list the units on stock exchanges.

Reliance Industrial Investments & Holdings (RIIHL), the vehicle to invest in various subsidiaries of RIL, will be allotted 15 per cent of the units on a post-issue basis with locked in period of three years.

Earlier, Reliance had raised fund for Jio's telecom tower assets and Reliance Gas Pipelines through the same route. Canadian asset manager Brookfield had purchased stakes in both telecom tower and gas pipeline assets of RIL through InvIT.

By Chitranjan Kumar

Also Read: Reliance Industries to buy 2 million barrels of Canadian heavy crude to offset Venezuelan decline

Also read: Mubadala to invest Rs 6,247 crore in Reliance Retail

Also read: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries gives 172% returns in 6 months and it's not done yet




Haiti - DR : More than a hundred Haitians arrested in the Dominican Republic





Thursday, October 1, at a press conference, as part of the resumption of expulsions of foreigners in an irregular migratory situation (suspended for 6 months https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31834-haiti-news-zapping.html ) living illegally on Dominican territory, Enrique Garcia, the Director General of Migration (DGM), announced that on the day of September 30 alone, DGM inspectors arrested more than a hundred Haitian nationals in the sectors of the Grand Santo-Domingo who did not hold any type of legal residence document in the country.



Garcia indicated that Haitian citizens were currently detained in the Haina detention center in strict compliance with the health protocol to avoid the spread of Covid-19 and that after cleaning up their situation, those who do not have their papers to day or any work permit will be repatriated to Haiti this week.



In addition, he deplored that the criminal acts in which Haitians are involved in the Dominican Republic have increased considerably, stressing that many Haitian criminals have moved on the national territory clandestinely, to commit various criminal acts.



Finally, Enrique Garcia declared that the migration control operations of Haitians and foreigners of other nationalities will continue and strengthen and that all those who reside illegally in the country, will be arrested, detained and repatriated to their country of origin.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31931-haiti-flash-haitians-attack-a-dominican-soldier.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-31929-icihaiti-dr-88-illegal-haitian-migrants-repatriated.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31834-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31429-haiti-social-3-881-haitians-returning-from-dr-in-july-the-situation-in-figures.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31353-haiti-covid-19-unfpa-monitors-haitians-returning-from-dr.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31312-haiti-dr-almost-100-000-haitians-return-to-the-country-in-6-months.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31249-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31118-haiti-dr-more-than-17-000-haitians-voluntarily-returned-to-the-country-in-2-weeks.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30859-haiti-ouanaminthe-assisted-voluntary-return-plan-for-haitians-in-dr.html



S/ Haitilibre


















The Department of Education did not go through the normal procurement process when it engaged the Canadian company, Polymetrika, to implement and deliver the Leaving Cert calculated grades.

A department spokesperson said there was insufficient time to run the full process and instead it relied on an alternative, the Negotiated Procedure without Prior Publication, which "is used in circumstances where it is a case of extreme urgency".

Polymetrika developed the software for processing the data in order to come up with calculated grades. Two errors in coding, for which it was responsible, has led to about 6,500 students receiving a lower grade than they should have been awarded.

Read More

Up to 1,000 extra college offers may now have to be made and further checks are being carried out before the revised results issue to ensure there are no more mistakes.

US-based consultants Educational Testing Service (ETS), commissioned by the Department of Education last week to carry out independent checks, may have its report back by today.

The department spokesperson said that Polymetrika had recognised expertise in what is a highly technical and specialised field and its principal, Fernando Cartwright, was a former senior researcher at the Canadian Council for Learning and also worked with Statistics Canada.

The spokesperson added Mr Cartwright had worked in Ireland in the past, had an established relationship both with the Drumcondra-based Educational Research Centre and the Department, and had an understanding of the Irish education system.

Polymetrika was initially engaged on an advisory contract worth 75,000 but was subsequently given the task of implementing and delivering the calculated grades system and costs have risen to 160,000.

The department stated: "In order for the calculated grades model to be of value to students, results had to be issued by early September, to make Irish and international deadlines for entry to higher and further education.

"This imperative meant there was insufficient time in which to run a normal, full procurement process.

"The only way to achieve the goal of issuing calculated grades to students in the time available was to use an expert provider that is trusted, that had the skills and expertise to do the job and understood the Irish system."

In addition to Polymetrika, the Educational Research Centre carried out a number of checks, including a sample check of the coding used.

Meanwhile Green Party leader Eamon Ryan told the Dail yesterday that the Leaving Cert would go ahead next summer.

Taking Leader's Questions, Mr Ryan said: "The message to the upcoming Leaving Cert students is that there will be Leaving Cert exams next May and June."

Under pressure from Sinn Fein's Donnchadh O Laoghaire about the week- long gap between the report of the first error and the public disclosure, Mr Ryan said there was no intention to keep anyone in the dark. He said the Government has been assessing the scale and implications of the problem.

Mr Ryan said they would "make sure that there's no student who isn't able to avail of a course that they should have been able to access", adding that the problem had arisen from just "four characters being different in a 50,000-line code."

Read More

The CAO made a further 941 offers of college places for the current year to 868 applicants in yesterday's Round Three.

It includes 521 offers for Level 8 (honours degree) courses and 420 offers for Level 7/6 (ordinary degree/higher certificate) programmes. Some applicants received two offers.

The offers do not include any arising from the coding errors discovered in the calculated grades process.

Once the revised results are released, on foot of the review from ETS, the CAO will make new offers as appropriate.

There were meetings yesterday, variously involving the Higher Education Authority, representatives of the universities and institutes of technology, and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris to consider the prospects for new offers. While the colleges are disposed to taking in more first years, it is expected that areas such as Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary, will present challenges.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov had a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Zarif, during which they reconfirmed the necessity of a ceasefire in the contact line of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Russia.

The Ministers discussed in detail the situation in Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, expressed serious concerns over the ongoing large-scale military operations, as well as over the involvement of militants from illegal armed groups from Syria and Libya. The Ministers urged to immediately cease the fire and de-escalate the situation, refrain from provocations and militaristic rhetoric.

Lavrov emphasized that Russia will continue to make efforts for supporting a political-diplomatic solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict both at the national level and as OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair country.

The Ministers highlighted the role that regional countries, particularly the neighbors of Armenia and Azerbaijan, can have for creating conditions for the sides to return to the negotiation table.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Ontarios Special Investigations Unit says it wont charge a police officer involved in a pursuit that ended with a car hitting a bus, and two serious injuries.

On the morning of April 4, an Ontario Provincial Police officer westbound on Highway 401 near Leslie Street saw two vehicles speeding by him, according to the SIU news release.

He drove beside one car, which pulled over. The other continued and exited on the Bathurst off-ramp, driving west on Wilson Avenue and then north on Keele Street. Another officer joined in a pursuit of the speeding driver.

Shortly after, the driver ran through a red light and hit a TTC bus in the area of Keele and Sheppard Avenue. The 23-year-old man and 24-year-old woman in the car were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

The SIU is an independent civilian agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.

Cheyenne Bholla is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: cbholla@thestar.ca

Read more about:
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...
Michigan parties, politicians and newsmakers on Friday sent well-wishes to President Donald Trump after he announced he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 in an early-morning tweet.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was one of the first to put out a statement reacting to the news, saying no one is immune from the virus and uring people to wear masks to prevent its spread.

Other Michigan political leaders, too, have expressed condolences.

Wishing the President and First Lady a speedy recovery. The first family is in our thoughts and prayers, along with everyone else suffering from this insidious virus, said Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, in a statement posted to Twitter.

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox said the president is a fighter.

I know I speak for Republicans across Michigan when I say that we are sending our prayers to President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and the entire Trump family as they face this terrible virus together. President Trump is a fighter, and we wish him and the First Lady a speedy recovery," Cox said in a statement.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said in a statement the diagnosis served as a reminder.

Sending my condolences to the President and First Lady and wishing them both a swift and full recovery. This is a reminder that this pandemic is real, ongoing and indiscriminate. We must all stay vigilant and protect each other by wearing a mask and social distancing, Benson said.

Members of Michigans congressional delegation posted statements on Twitter reacting to the news.

Wishing the President and First Lady a speedy recovery. https://t.co/i77YJjZgH2  Rep. Haley Stevens (@RepHaleyStevens) October 2, 2020

Colleen and I are thinking of the President and First Lady after hearing the awful news. We wish them a speedy, full recovery.



Reminder: this pandemic is real and serious. We each have a role to play in preventing the spread of this pandemic. Wear a mask & social distance.  Senator Gary Peters (@SenGaryPeters) October 2, 2020

Cindy and I join with all the constituents of the First District in prayer, and wish @POTUS and @FLOTUS a complete and speedy recovery.  Rep. Jack Bergman (@RepJackBergman) October 2, 2020

Such terrible news that @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS have contracted this serious, real and deadly virus. I hope the President and First Lady quickly recover from their COVID-19 diagnosis. https://t.co/FJ56Rv01jq  Rep. Dan Kildee (@RepDanKildee) October 2, 2020

Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, however, expressed skepticism after the announcement.

I want to see the long-form test results.



This smells like another @realDonaldTrump con, this time to avoid another embarrassing debate performance.  Jeff Irwin (@JeffMIrwin) October 2, 2020

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.

Read more on MLive:

Trump wrongly says experts are divided on mask use to prevent coronavirus. Now he has the virus.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: No one is immune as President Donald Trump tests positive for coronavirus

Friday, Oct. 2, coronavirus data by Michigan county: Calhoun moves up to red; 23 counties now orange
WASHINGTON  Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where President Donald Trump was headed for treatment of COVID-19, is the nation's premier health-care center for troops and senior government officials.

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center opened Sept. 15, 2011 after the National Naval Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. were consolidated. The new facility opened on the campus of the naval hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.

It is named after Walter Reed, an Army doctor who led the research that discovered yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes. Since its opening in 1909, Walter Reed hospital has treated Army privates and U.S. presidents. Staff at the hospitals have also cared for members of Congress and the Supreme Court.

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the hospitals handled an influx of grievously wounded troops who were saved on battlefields by swift evacuation and advances in trauma care.

Trump wore a mask in July at Walter Reed while he visited troops being treated there.

First Lady Melania Trump was treated at Walter Reed for a kidney condition in 2018.

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged the White House to allow doctors treating Trump to address the country about his condition and care.

"It is extremely important to keep the public fully informed about what is happening," Panetta said. "It is particularly critical that information about the president's health is presented openly. The tendency is 'dont panic the public, dont tell the full story.' But I think its essential that the public know exactly what is going on. I really urge the White House not to pull any punches. Have the doctors stand up and make very clear news with regards to the presidents heath. It is the public's business to know what's going on."

Military hospitals like DC's Walter Reed could ease national ER overcrowding, save lives

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's COVID treatment: What to know about Walter Reed medical center
HOUGHTON, MI - They knew it would be a summer season like no other, so Roys Pasties & Bakery did what they do best. they planned for all sorts of scenarios, ordered up product, and started producing their award-winning pasties like crazy. Not knowing what to expect, owners Trisia and Roy Narhi decided to just be ready for anything.

This whole summer has been crazy busy, Trisia Narhi said. Were very grateful for how busy we are.
The first clues of whether a Covid-19 vaccine is effective in preventing infections among people may have already come in, a private agency tracking the process and scientific research has projected, pointing to protocols and enrolment data from American pharma company Pfizer.

The disclosure of efficacy data is being closely watched, particularly in the context of the presidential election in United States where president Donald Trump has on several occasions assured that a vaccine will be approved before the November 3 polling.

Pfizers is among half a dozen experimental vaccines being tested in large scale (Phase 3) human trials and, according to science informatics and analytics company Airfinity, it is projected to have had enough Covid-19 cases in the trial for its first interim analysis.

Covid-19: What you need to know today

An interim analysis is when a trial reaches a preset threshold of infections  32 in the case of Pfizers first of four  for researchers to review. If no fewer than 76.9% (26 out of the 32) of the infections are among those who got a placebo, the vaccine will have shown to be effective in preventing the disease as per the first analysis yardstick.

Watch: How Covid-19 has gripped Indias urban centres

Airfinitys projections suggest Pfizer would have hit the 32 cases threshold on September 27.

To calculate these projected dates, we have reviewed all clinical trial data and protocols received so far, collected enrolment rates for the leading candidates as well as the Covid-19 attack rate at the locations where they are running their trials. We then use a code to estimate how long it will take to reach the required number of Covid-19 cases in the trial using all this information, an Airfinity analyst told HT.

Also Read: Chronic respiratory illnesses, heart diseases among top three causes of death in India: 2017 data

Pfizers chief executive Albert Bourla has in recent appearances said the company expects conclusive efficacy data to come in by October  a position experts have been wary of. On September 26, a group of 60 scientists and public health experts from top American institutions wrote an open letter to Pfizer expressing their apprehensions and urging Bourla to not apply for regulatory clearance till all safety standards have been met.

Pfizers choice of 32 events is the lowest of all seen so far and has been widely criticised... there seems to be concern within Pfizer itself as the CEO has written out a company-wide email following the presidential election debate this week, said the Airfinity analyst, adding that Pfizers choice of four interim analyses in one phase III trial is unheard of in any vaccine trial. In the e-mail to staff, Bourla said the company will not heed to political pressure and that the references to vaccine development process in the presidential debate was disappointing.

Also Read: Indias Covid-19 toll reaches 100,000+

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which will take the final regulatory decision, is scheduled to meet on October 22 to review possible licensing and approvals for Covid-19 vaccine candidates, though it is unlikely to discuss any specific candidates, according to its meeting schedule.

According to Airfinitys projections, the next vaccine candidate to reach interim analysis threshold is Sinovacs inactivated virus double-dose vaccine (October 22, Modernas mRNA-based double-dose candidate (October 25), and Oxford-AstraZenecas adenovirus vector single-dose candidate (November 24). Oxford-AstraZeneca is also experimenting with double dose formulations which will take longer for the data. Moderna is US-based while Oxford and AstraZeneca are from the United Kingdom.

Also Read: Lonza confident of 2020 target for Moderna Covid-19 vaccine supply

Apart from these, USs Johnson & Johnson, Russias Gamaleya institute and Chinas Sinopharm and CanSino have the most watched vaccine candidates. These are among 18 vaccine candidates in Phase 2 and 3 trials. Among these, five have been given emergency authorisation for use among public or in some groups of people by Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates.

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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.
Fernando Torres Garcia, 46, self-surrendered and was arraigned at the Kern County Superior Court in California this week on nearly a dozen felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly misrepresenting an injury in order to receive undeserved workers compensation insurance benefits.

On July 16, 2018, Garcia allegedly reported to his employer that he injured his lower back and hip after he slipped while working in a trench to repair a water line.

Garcia was diagnosed with a lumbar strain and was placed on modified duty, to which his employer accommodated. Garcia continued to see his doctor as he claimed he was not improving and continued to suffer from pain. Garcia reportedly then amended his original workers comp claim to include his entire back, right hip, right thigh, right leg, right elbow, both knees and cumulative trauma.

An investigation by the California Department of Insurance revealed Garcia had numerous doctor visits between August 2018 and March 2019. During this time, surveillance was reportedly conducted on Garcia, and revealed he was able to lift heavy objects multiple times. However, since Garcia continuously claimed he was not improving he was referred for an orthopedic evaluation and given a rating of five percent impairment for his lumbar spine.

On June 21, 2019, Garcia underwent a Panel Qualified Medical Evaluation. After the evaluator reviewed Garcias medical reports, the surveillance footage, and Garcias physical examination and abilities, he determined Garcia did not meet the requirements for any permanent disability or ratable impairment. It was his opinion that Garcia misrepresented his complaints during his examination.

Garcias material misrepresentations caused deposition and surveillance expenses reportedly totaling $5,873.50.

The Kern County District Attorneys Office is prosecuting the case. Garcia is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 20.

Topics California Workers' Compensation Fraud
In New South Wales, Australia, about 120 km south of Wagga Wagga, lies a small community of farmers and cattle rearers called Brocklesby. The village was once an important station on the Culcairn-Corowa railway line, whose main purpose was to haul wheat from the region to the ports for export. Then the railway closed, and now all that remains in Brocklesby are the grain silos, the defunct railway tracks and a couple of scattered houses. It is said that the only exciting thing that ever happened here, or rather, the sky above, was a mid-air collision.

The strangest mid-air collision ever. The two Avro Ansons crashed and got entangled together.

The aviation mishap that put Brocklesby permanently on the map occurred on 29 September 1940. Back then, the Royal Australian Air Force operated a Flying Training School at Forest Hill near Wagga Wagga. The school was created as part of the massive British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), also known as the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS)a joint military aircrew training program established by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to train and produce pilots for the war. BCATP was responsible for training nearly half of all the pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, air gunners, wireless operators and flight engineers who served the war from the participating countries. To this day, the BCATP remains one of the single largest aviation training programs in history.

Forest Hill was a new air base, and roads and buildings were still under construction when its first course of flying training commenced in the summer of 1940 with the British-manufactured twin-engined Avro Ansons. On 29 September 1940, two Avro Ansons took off from Forest Hill for a cross-country training exercise over southern New South Wales. Tail number N4876 was piloted by Leonard Graham Fuller, a young man of 22 from Cootamundra, a small town less than 100 km away from base, with Ian Menzies Sinclair as his navigator. The pilot of tail number L9162, Jack Inglis Hewson, was younger still at 19. His navigator was Hugh Gavin Fraser. Their planned route was expected to take them first to Corowa, then to Narrandera, then back to Forest Hill.

An Avro Anson in flight during the Classic Fighters Airshow in 2015. Photo: Oren Rozen/Wikimedia Commons

The Ansons were over the town of Brocklesby, flying low at an altitude of 1,000 feet, when they made a banking turn. Hewson's aircraft was behind Fullers, and as they made the turn, Hewson went out of sight and beneath Fuller. Moments later, the two Ansons smashed together. The propellers of Fullers aircraft tore into the engine cowlings of Hewsons, and both engines of Fullers airplane were knocked off. The engine of Hewsons aircraft continued to run, but with the deadweight of Fullers airplane on top, Hewson was unable to pull away. Both Ansons thus became interlocked, one on top of the other.

The crew couldnt bail out just yet because that would crash the airplanes over Brocklesby. Somehow they would have to fly this freak combination out into the fields and away from the houses. At this point, you might expect that Hewson with a running engine had the best chance, but he was wounded when the spinning blades of the other aircraft sliced through his fuselage. By some miracle, Fuller discovered that he was able to control the pair with the ailerons and flaps on his airplane. Realizing he had a chance, Fuller ordered the others to jump. He then flew both airplanes using the engine of the bottom airplane for thrust and the controls of the top airplane to keep both airplanes steady. Fuller flew towards the base, but the planes became harder and harder to handle as the engine of the bottom plane began to lose power. After flying for some 8 km, Fuller ran the planes aground on a large empty field. The locked aircrafts slid 180 meters across the grass before coming to rest. According to Fuller, it was the best landing he ever made.

The extraordinary feat made headlines across the world, and cast a spotlight on the small town of Brocklesby. Fuller was praised for his decision to not bail out and attempt a landing, which avoided possible damage to Brocklesby as well as the airplanes themselves. Both Ansons were repaired and returned to flight service. Fuller earned a promotion. Unfortunately, he talked too much to the newspapers without permission. His superiors confined him to the barracks for fourteen days as punishment and also docked seven days' pay for this offense.

Stanley Bruce (left), the High Commissioner for Australia in London, talking with Sergeant Leonard Graham Fuller. Photo: AWM Photo Collection

When he graduated the next month, Fuller received a commendation from the Australian Air Board for his presence of mind, courage and determination in landing the locked Ansons without serious damage to the aircraft under difficult conditions. Fuller saw active service first in the Middle East, and then in Europe. He earned the Distinguished Flying Medal for sinking enemy shipping in Palermo Harbour. In 1942, Fuller was posted back to Australia as a flying officer, and became an instructor at No. 1 Operational Training Unit in Sale, Victoria. While riding a bicycle on the streets of Sale on 18 March 1944, he was hit by a bus and was killed.

There are two memorials to the crash at Brocklesby todaya historic marker at the landing site, installed in 1990 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the crash, and an Avro Anson engine, bought from a collector, and inaugurated in 2007 during Brocklesby's Australia Day celebrations.

The memorial at Brocklesby commemorating the successful crash landing in 1940 after the mid-air collision. Photo: Peter F Williams/Twitter

The Avro Anson propeller at Brocklesby. Photo: Mattinbgn/Wikimedia Commons
In the Pacific Northwest, even though there are huge variations in environment, the Douglas fir grows everywhere. Credit: NASA/NOAA

The Douglas fir is a tall iconic pine tree in Western North America forming a forest that winds unbroken from the Western spine of British Columbia all the way to the Mexican cordillera. The environmental conditions of Canada and Mexico are obviously very different, but even on much smaller scalessay, the top of a mountain compared with a valley below itthe rainfall, temperature, soil nutrients and dozens of other factors can vary quite a bit. The Douglas fir grows well in so many of these places that it turns a dramatically varied landscape into one smooth, continuous forest complete with all the species it supports.

I am an ecologist and used to think that the Douglas fir was simply a hardy tree, rarely hemmed in by environmental conditions or other species. But recent research done by my colleagues and me suggests that environmental conditions are not all that determines where plants and animals live in a landscape and the patchwork patterns of those distributions. These spatial patterns are also influenced by evolution.

Over time, species often adapt to local conditions, and these adaptations alter how and where they can live. For example, Douglas fir trees might adapt through evolution to thrive on both a dry mountainside and in a wet valley nearby. But my colleagues and I have taken this idea a step further to explore not just how organisms adapt, but how the process of adaptation itself can have profound effects on the patterns of where organisms live in a landscape.

Without adaptation, you might find a mixed patchwork of where species livea species of insect lives in the valley, but not on the mountains. When Douglas firs adapt to and grow on a dry mountain as well as in the wet valley, they create one continuous forest habitat where two very different landscapes used to exist. The birds, the insects, the deer, the flowers and all the other organisms that live in the forest can also now occupy both the valley and the mountaintop. Adaptation by the Douglas fir created a smoother distribution of species.

Adaptation, it seems, plays a larger role in determining ecological patterns than scientists previously thought.

Yellow-spotted salamanders in some ponds get eaten by larger predators, but in others, they adapted to eat more and grow quickly so that they would not be eaten. Credit: Mark Urban, CC BY-ND

A salamander mystery

In 1999, when I was a beginning graduate student in Connecticut, I wanted to understand how a predator called the marbled salamander affected the survival of the smaller yellow-spotted salamander in small temporary ponds. Much like the famous wolves in Yellowstone National Park, the marbled salamander is a keystone predator, and just a few individuals in a pond can determine which other species live there.

I spent months watching these ponds, but however much I tried, the patterns I saw just weren't making sense. In one pond, the yellow-spotted salamanders survived alongside the marbled predator. But in the next pond over, under nearly identical conditions, the spotted salamanders were quickly reduced to predator poop. I couldn't find an environmental explanation for this.

To figure out what was driving this unevenness of high and low survival, I collected salamander eggs from ponds where the small salamanders survived alongside the predator, as well as eggs from ponds without predators. I then raised these yellow-spotted salamanders in buckets and looked for differences between them.

Marbled salamanders are keystone predators in New England ponds, but adaptation by the smaller spotted salamander can dramatically change the composition of the ponds. Credit: Mark Urban, CC BY-ND

I found one surprising difference. The salamanders from ponds with the predatory marbled salamander adapted to the predator by becoming gluttonouseat and get big so you don't get eaten yourself.

In these little New England ponds, local adaptation had created spotted salamander populations with very different behaviors to allow them to survive predation from the marbled salamander. But before I could find out more, I finished my doctorate and found myself driving far away from these salamanders to a new job in California.

Adaptation, not environment, as a cause?

Over the next few years, other ecologists were beginning to recognize that evolution could happen very quickly. In one classic experiment, scientists put algae and a microscopic grazer into a tank together. At first, there were cycles of boom and bust, but after only a few weeks, the algae evolved defenses that prevented them from being eaten and stopped the large swings in population numbers.

Marbled salamanders were causing local adaptation in another species that was driving dramatic differences in ponds. Credit: Mark Urban, CC BY-ND

This was intriguing. My experience with the salamanders had taught me that evolution could happen not just quickly, but also differently in two nearby and otherwise similar ponds. If evolution affected population patterns in time, maybe it could also affect species distribution patterns in space.

I returned to my salamanders after getting a job at the University of Connecticut. This time, I wasn't interested just in how salamanders adapted to their ecosystem, but how their adaptations altered the ecosystem itself. I again raised salamanders from high- and low-predation ponds under the same conditions. But this time, I tracked what happened to other species in the artificial ecosystems I had created.

The predatory marbled salamanders eat small crustaceans. But the yellowspotted salamanders adapted to the predators by eating more of these small crustaceans too. Adaptation by the yellow-spotted salamanders resulted in far fewer crustaceans in the ponds. My experiment showed that this adaptation amplified differences in the numbers of crustaceans between ponds with and without the marbled predator. In this case, adaptation made two ponds more different than they would have been otherwise.

When I compared my experiments with what was happening in the natural ponds, I realized that I had discovered what was driving the perplexing patterns I'd seen years before. Local adaptation, not just the environment or other species, was amplifying the differences in these ponds.

Large cattle watering tanks make for effective experimental ponds. Credit: Mark Urban, CC BY-SA

Adaptation as a universal effect

I began to wonder: If this effect was happening with salamanders, could local adaptation also amplify or dampen spatial ecological patterns in other species? Was this a widespread effect?

Answering this question would require evidence from creatures all around the world. I recruited a bunch of biologist friends to help me sort through thousands of past studies on everything from bacteria to birds and look for evidence that local adaptation was changing the spatial patterns of these species.

Our team gathered information from 500 studies over the past 100 years. We found that, as with my salamanders, adaptation sometimes makes existing differences between places even greater than expected without evolution.

Adaptation can also create patterns where none existed previously. Widespread plants like goldenrods and aspens often evolve chemical defenses that change which insects can eat them. Adaptation creates new patchwork patterns of insect abundances and diversity across fields and forests where none would exist otherwise.

Just like the salamanders, Douglas firs undergo local adaptation that drives broad changes in where organisms live.

However, we found that in 85% of cases, adaptation dampened existing ecological spatial patterns. Organisms ranging from the modest apple maggot fly to the grand Douglas fir adapted in ways that reduced the variability of the landscapes in which they lived. Adaptation on small spatial scales smoothed out the patchwork of forests and meadows, populating both hilltops and valleys with the same trees, birds, insects and other organisms. Thanks to adaptation, the world in general is more homogeneous than it would otherwise be.

So next time you find yourself counting down the hours for your car to reach its destination, notice the natural patterns scrolling by your window. Many of these patterns reflect the hidden hand of evolution, which has ironed out the wrinkles and left the world a smoother place.

Explore further Evolution makes the world less ragged

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
According reports, the victim's family members have been confined within a single room of their house, and their mobile phones have been taken away by local authorities while Section 144 has been imposed in the entire region

The Uttar Pradesh Police, on Friday, continued its strict control over access to the Hathras gangrape and murder victim's family, manhandling Opposition leaders and blocking media personnel trying to approach the 19-year-old Dalit girl's village.

A delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs was stopped by police around 1.5 kilometres from the victim's home, while the politicians were allegedly manhandled and pushed.

MP Kakoli Ghosh, part of the delegation, alleged that women police personnel tried to rip apart her clothing, while shoving her around. Dramatic visuals of Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien being pushed to the ground also appeared on social media.

Condemning the incident, TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee claimed that the Yogi Adityanath government has let loose a reign of terror and "crossed all limits of decency".

"Is it a democracy? MPs are being heckled and pushed to ground. How come police officers have this audacity to heckle members of the Parliament? The state government, which has failed to protect to a Dalit girl and is busy hushing up the matter, is now using brute force against Opposition," he said.

Meanwhile, the small UP village currently mirrors a fortress as policemen are deployed at every nook and corner, and Section 144 has been imposed on the region. Media reports suggested that even though Section 144 only bars assembly of three or more people, there were restrictions on individual movements as well, and no person was allowed to enter the periphery of the victim's village.

I am standing a kilometre from the #Hathras village where the gangrape and murder of a Dalit woman has shaken India. No journalists are being allowed past this barricade. Why is @UPGovt blocking our right to report this? We will try our best. My reports coming to @themojo_in pic.twitter.com/mdE1xRJkAl  barkha dutt (@BDUTT) October 2, 2020

The local administration, however, claimed that the restrictions were put in place as the Special Investigation Team, probing the matter, is still in the village trying to collect statements and evidence.

The sub-divisional magistrate of the region told ANI that the Opposition and media were not allowed in the village so that there is no "meddling in the investigation".

SIT   ,                        :             , SDM  pic.twitter.com/yvq2bgUlXX  ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) October 2, 2020

The 19-year-old victim was gang-raped, tortured, and beaten on 14 September, according to the family. She succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday. The case has elicited sharp rebuke for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, especially after the family alleged that the police forcefully cremated the victim's body without allowing the family's participation.

Family alleges harassment, says police preventing them from speaking to media



Meanwhile, the family of the murder-gangrape victim has claimed that they are being harassed by the district administration and are being forced not to talk to the media or Opposition leaders.

According to local media reports, a boy who claimed to be the victim's cousin, said that the police has fortified the family's home while cops are stationed not only on the streets near their home, but also at their roof terrace and at every outlet of their house.

Reports also quoted the boy as saying that the family-members' mobile phones have been forcefully taken away and all of them have been confined within a single room of their house.

The boy, whose age was not reported but who appeared to be a minor in a video shared online (Firstpost has not independently verified the authenticity of the video), also accused the city's district magistrate of kicking one of the family members on the chest. The disrict magistrate, according to reports, has warned the family not to speak to the media.

The child said that he had escaped somehow through the fields and was sent by the family to ask reporters to reach out to the family.

Similar reports had come out on Thursday as well after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi posted a purported video of the victim's father making similar claims.

The man, around 50 claimed that he was pressured into going to a police station, where family members were made to sign some documents.

"But we are not satisfied with this. My daughter's case should be probed by the CBI and monitored by a Supreme Court judge. We are under pressure from officials and confined to our home while the media has also been disallowed from meeting us," the man is heard saying in the video.

                                                  ?       pic.twitter.com/6lIW1hdvDc  Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) October 1, 2020

The family's claims that the police was restricting their movement were supported by another news report, which claimed that the family was not even allowed to complete funeral rituals of the victim.

The report, published by ABP News claimed that the family has not even been allowed to collect the ashes and bones of the victim from the pyre, for further rituals.

The family had claimed that they had begged the police not to cremate the body in the dead of the night as Hindu rituals do not allow for cremation after sunset. But the police had locked them up and burnt the body without any participation from the family.

'Media will leave in few days, we will not': Hathras DM tells victim's kin

Another video surfaced purportedly showing Hathras District Magistrate Praveen Kumar Laxkar meeting the family at their home, where he allegedly asked the womans father to reconsider if he wants to stick with the statement or change it.

Aap apni vishwasniyata khatam mat kariye. Media wale main aapko bata doon aaj abhi aadhe chale gaye, kal subah tak aadhe aur nikal jaenge aur 2-4 din bachenge ... Hum hi bas khade hain aapke saath mein, thik hai. Ab aapki ichha hai, aapko baar-baar bayaan badalna hai, nahi badalna hai..."

(You should not destroy your credibility. About the media, I must tell you, half of them have left today the other half would leave by tomorrow morning... two or four more days maybe. Only we are standing by your side, alright. Now, it is up to you whether you want to change your statement repeatedly or not...), DM Laxkar tells the victim's father according to the video on social media.

A woman member of the family claimed they were being pressured by the district magistrate and feared "these people now won't let us live here", according to another purported video.

"Un logon ne mummy ke ulte seedhe video bana rakhe hain, us time haalat aise the ke jiske jo mu mein aa raha tha wo hum log bole ja rahe the... ab ye log humein yahan rehne nahi denge. Ye DM zyada hi chaalbaazi kar rahe hain, pressure daal rahe zabardasti... keh rah eke tum logon ki baton ka bharosa nahi hai, zabardasti bayaan badal rahe. Papa ko bulwa rahe keh rahe bayaan badalne se tumhari wo rahegi, hum log doosri jagah chale jaenge."

(They have made random videos of mother's statements. Soon after the incident, the situation was such that we were speaking anything that came to our minds... But now they (administration) won't let us live here anymore. This DM is a trickster, he is pressuring us. Says we are not reliable, we are changing our statement. They asked our father and told him that we lose credibility if we change the statement, we (administrators) will be sent to some other place,) the sobbing woman alleged.

UP Police claims Hathras victim wasn't raped, BJP leader accuses family of murder

A caste angle became more prominent on Friday in the crime, which many link to the deeply-entrenched social divide within the society.

Local newspaper, Amar Ujala quoted a local BJP leader Rajveer Singh Pahalwan, who claimed that the victim was killed by her own mother and brother. Pahalwan, who is also a Thakur leader and former MLA of the region, also claimed that the family is now changing its statement to incriminate four 'innocent' upper-caste men.

Pahalwan also named the sitting BJP MP Rajveer Singh Diler in his statement, who he said will be taught a lesson by the people in the next elections.

Pahalwan is from the same caste as the accused, while Diler is from the same lower caste subgroup as the victim.

According to the report, earlier, the parents of one of the key accused had said that their son was named in the FIR on the insistence of Diler and his daughter Manju. The family of accused also claimed that the initial FIR named only one person while the other names were added later on Manju's insistence.

Meanwhile, the UP Police made a bizarre claim stating that the Hathras victim was never raped and the allegations were made by 'miscreants' looking to spread caste tensions.

"The report of the FSL has come. It says clearly that samples did not contain sperm. It makes clear that there was no rape or gang rape," Additional Director Genera (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said, according to PTI.

Legal experts, however, debunked the theory propounded by the Uttar Pradesh Police that absence of semen from the body of Hathras victim suggested that she was not raped, saying presence of sperm cannot be an essential ingredient to prove the crime.

The ADG also claimed that the woman in her statement to police "did not mention rape but talked about 'marpeet' (beating) only".

But another officer had earlier said that the section relating to rape was added to the FIR after the woman told police that she had been sexually assaulted.

Reports, however, say that the post mortem report also claims that the victim suffered injuries in her genitals, which indicated the sexual nature of the crime.

The girl, in one of her final statements before death, had also told the police on Tuesday that the four men had raped her on 14 September when she had gone to collect fodder for animals.

The Supreme Court has, in various successive judgments, also held that the victim's testimony will be treated with 'highest importance' and will be deemed enough for conviction if supporting evidence is present.

With inputs from PTI
Jaipur, Oct 2 : Claiming "gross callousness" in handling of the Hathras gang-rape case, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday questioned why opposition leaders were barred from Hathras when the Uttar Pradesh government had nothing to hide.

He also questioned the cremation of the gang-rape victim in the wee hours of Wednesday in the absence of her family while the kin wanted to take her to their village home one last time.

Gehlot was speaking to the media after paying floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Secretariat.

"There is gross callousness in the Hathras case. The victim was cremated at 2 a.m. in the night. Have never heard of such a case," Gehlot said.

"You perform the cremation in the night with police help while the poor mother keeps screaming and requesting to see her daughter one last time... you do not even allow her to bid the last goodbye. Such an incident has never been reported," the Congress leader added.

Reacting to state BJP's questioning why Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did not visit Rajasthan even though rape cases were reported from this state as well, the Chief Minister said: "Recently, three BJP leaders wanted to visit Khervada village in Dungarpur. Party MLA Madan Dilawar and other BJP leader went there, but we did not stop them. The opposition has the duty to visit the spot and know about the ground situation in any case." "I want to clarify that they (opposition leaders) were going to Hathras as opposition leaders. As an opposition, you can call your leaders from Delhi and we will allow them to visit any place they want to go under police protection," Gehlot added.

Violence had erupted in Khervada and other parts of Dungarpur after applicants in the teachers recruitment examination wanted general vacancies to be filled by ST candidates. The Udaipur-Ahmedabad highway was closed for four days due to the violence.
The scientific case for the range of vaccines recommended by public health officials in the U.S. remains as solid as ever. But anti-vaccine propaganda has found its way into many reaches of American life.
The and on Friday signed an accord that aims to strengthen military cooperation and the North African kingdom's military readiness over the next decade.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper signed the 10-year agreement during a two-day visit to Morocco, his last stop on a tour of three North African nations, which began this week in Tunisia, where a military accord also was signed.

He also visited Algeria, the first U.S. defense secretary to meet with leaders there since 2006. He held a meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the army chief, Gen. Sad Chengriha.

No deals were known to be signed there, but the U.S. defense secretary reportedly discussed expanding security cooperation and security issues in the Sahel region just south of Algeria. The U.S. counts Algeria as a major ally in the fight against terrorism. is a major non-NATO ally of the

Esper met with Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita upon his arrival Friday. Full details of his plans weren't immediately disclosed.

The military agreement serves as a road map for defense cooperation and aims to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries and support shared security goals, according to a statement issued by the Moroccan Foreign Ministry.

The agreement centers on "consolidating common security objectives, especially improving the degree of military readiness, a statement from the General Command of the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces said.

Esper also met with the deputy minister under the prime minister, charged with national defense, Abdeltif Loudiyi.

The two officials expressed their satisfaction with the durability, distinction, continuity and dynamism of the bilateral cooperation, the statement from the General Command said.

Esper also met with the Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces, Gen. Abdelfettah Louarak.

The military deal is expected to further bolster cooperation between the two countries. Washington is Morocco's largest supplier of arms. Morocco hosts the annual U.S. military exercise called African Lion" canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(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.)
Everybody is just so amped and ready to go, its just like a wound-up toy, Riverside Discovery Center director Anthony Mason said of the staff as they prepare to open the new bear brothers exhibit.

Mason said everybody from the grounds staff to the zookeepers is looking forward to the opening of the exhibit with more than 20,000 square feet of space for the two grizzlies orphaned when they were just a few months old.

Ive been waiting for this for a while, Mason said Thursday, trying to hold back emotions as he spoke. This is a dream come true being able to give these bears, who were orphaned, a nice, forever home  one of the biggest grizzly bear exhibits in the country  with some one-of-a-kind features, and to bring something like this here to the community. It makes me tear up just thinking about it. I am so thrilled to have completed this, and to deliver this is a once-in-a lifetime thing for me, honestly.

Smokey and Bandit came to the zoo nearly three years ago as cubs after their mother had been killed in Wyoming, near Yellowstone National Park.
We wish Donald Trump, the president of the United States, a speedy recovery from COVID-19. We wish the first lady a speedy recovery as well.

The same for Hope Hicks. And Secret Service agents now infected. And the very many people Trump interacted with the past few days as he crisscrossed the country campaigning, often in front of largely unmasked crowds. We hope Judge Amy Coney Barrett  Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court, who recently stood near the president, unmasked  is COVID-negative. We are grateful Trump and Joe Biden did not shake hands or get too close to one another in their Tuesday debate.

This is a gravely serious situation for the most powerful nation on Earth, one struggling with a pandemic and a deep recession, with looming international threats, in the final legs of a sprint to a November election: infections in the very seat of power, potentially enabled by a superspreader-in-chief.

Trump is 74, among the age demographic typically most harmed by the disease; one study says 9% of septuagenarians who test positive for COVID die. The presidents doctors have repeatedly said he is the picture of health for a man of his years. If that is really true, we pray it pays dividends now as he battles a disease that has claimed the lives of more than 200,000 Americans  160,000 of them aged 65 and over.

We wonder whether Trump, who may have been an asymptomatic spreader for days, will rethink his stance on masks. In that debate, he belittled Bidens tendency to wear face coverings, as he so often has, saying, Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from him and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen. Despite debate rules telling audience members to remain masked, the presidents entourage all removed their masks upon entering the venue.

In early February, Trump told Bob Woodward the virus was deadly stuff, more deadly than even your strenuous flu, before he went on to liken the virus to the flu, repeatedly telling them the flu was worse and COVID would magically melt away.

Story continues

At a rally of largely unmasked acolytes last week, Trump said, It affects elderly people, elderly people with heart problems, if they have other problems, thats what it really affects, adding, It affects virtually nobody.

We fervently wish Trumps case is quick, and that he does not end up among those he defined as virtually nobody, both for his sake and for the sake of our nation.



2020 New York Daily News

Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme has not been taken up by many farmers due to 'excessive bureaucracy', according to land agents.

The Scottish government scheme, which opened on 7 September and closes on 11 October, provides grant funding for farmers to purchase equipment.

This can include sheep and cattle handling equipment, as well as GPS systems for agricultural machinery.

But very few farmers in Scotland have made an application for this funding, according to Galbraith, and it may be an indication of how future schemes will be delivered.

Most of the firm's clients had found the level of paperwork that needed to be in place before applying for the funding 'too onerous'.

Stewart Johnston, head of farm consultancy for Galbraith said: "They had to have already completed a carbon audit, to have detailed nutrient plans and veterinary plans already written up and to submit all this before applying for the grant.

"Most folk had completed their veterinary plans but not the other documentation."

The scheme is part of the Agricultural Transformation Programme (ATP), which was announced in Programme for Government 2019-2020 to promote changes in the Scottish agricultural sector to meet climate change targets.

While farmers are said to be generally supportive of the ATP, Galbraith added there was a 'significant degree of work' that they had to undertake to meet requirements.

Mr Johnston added: However, we expect that most future funding schemes from the Scottish government will be in a similar vein.

"I would encourage everyone to undertake a carbon audit now, and to look at their nutrient plans, to make it easier to apply for future grants.
With four weeks to go before Election Day, two top House Republicans  Jim Jordan, ranking GOP member on the Judiciary Committee, and James Comer, ranking Republican on the Oversight Committee  have released a report warning that widespread dysfunction with mail-in voting could put at risk the integrity of the nations electoral process.

The culprit: changes to state election laws and procedures, pushed by Democrats amid coronavirus concerns in the waning weeks before voting. States have long-established procedures for in-person voting. But now, the report says, some Democratic-run states have belatedly changed election administration procedures and moved to all-mail balloting  meaning that as many as 44 million total ballots will be mass-mailed to registered voters with no assurance the ballots reach the right person. The rushed schedule of changes gives many states no room for error as they attempt their first election with massive numbers of mail-in votes.

But first, the report makes a critical distinction between all-mail voting and traditional absentee voting. The two are fundamentally distinct, Jordan and Comer note. An absentee voter requests a ballot, that ballot is mailed to him, he fills it out and mails it back to election officials. All-mail voting, on the other hand, involves election officials sending out unsolicited ballots to every registered voter. The voter may already be planning to vote in person, may have moved from the jurisdiction, or may even be deceased, the report notes. Soon some states will be awash in unsolicited ballots.

This year nine states  California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Vermont  as well as the District of Columbia, will have all-mail elections. Some of the states have been doing it for a while. Others, like California, will be trying it for the first time  surely a high-wire act in perhaps the most contentious election in memory.

But even those states that have some experience with all-mail elections have had their problems. The report notes that in the 2012 and 2018 elections, the state of Oregon could not account for 871,000 ballots sent out  or one out of every eight ballots that the state mailed out. Nationwide, the Election Assistance Commission found that a total of 28.3 million mailed ballots were missing during the four federal elections held between 2012 and 2018.

Part of the problem: Those ballots, dumped in the mail by the millions, will be sent according to inaccurate and outdated voter registration rolls, according to the report. It notes that in 2012, Pew found that nearly 24 million voter registrations were no longer valid or significantly inaccurate. The law requires that the rolls be cleaned up periodically, but many local officials have faced Democratic opposition in doing so.

And what happens when the ballots hit the mail? Democrats in a number of states have been pushing to extend deadlines under which a late-mailed ballot will be counted. In Michigan, for example, a judge ordered election officials to accept mail-in ballots that arrive two weeks after Election Day, if they were postmarked the day before the election. Pennsylvania will allow ballots to be accepted until Nov. 6, three days after Election Day, even, in some cases, if they dont have a postmark.

It does not take a prophet to see lawsuits galore over late-arriving ballots. Weve already seen a preview of that in New Yorks congressional races this past summer. Gov. Andrew Cuomo changed election procedures at the last minute, the report notes, and election officials discarded thousands of ballots for lack of postmarks in one congressional primary  delaying certification of the result for six weeks. It turned out that the Postal Service, which usually postmarks election mail, had failed to do so for many ballots, leading to confusion and litigation about the timeliness of mailed-in ballots. Look for that situation to be repeated in November.

And then theres ballot harvesting. Several states, including swing state Nevada, have passed laws allowing party operatives and activists to collect ballots and deliver them to election offices. California has one of the worst laws. Prior to 2016, California had sensible restrictions in place allowing only a family member of the voter to collect and deliver a ballot, the report notes.

Then California passed a law that permits any individual to collect and return the ballot of another individual without any limitation placed on the amount of ballots collected, the relationship between the collector and the voter, or the relationship between the collector and candidate for whom the vote is being cast.

Democrats weaponized ballot harvesting to their advantage in California during the 2018 congressional election, the report notes. Although multiple Republican candidates had more votes on election night than their Democratic opponents, all saw their leads shrink due to ballot harvesting. In the days and weeks following the election, ballot harvesters flooded votes into the registrars office  eventually changing the results in four Republican-held seats in Orange County. The flood of ballots arriving so late after Election Day created considerable uncertainty and confusion about the results of the elections.

Put it all together, and the nations 2020 voting system is a recipe for disaster. What to do? The report has a simple solution: Vote in person. The best and surest guarantee of electoral integrity is for Americans to vote in person where safe and possible, the report says, with absentee ballots available for those who legitimately cannot make it to the polls. As Jordan has often said: If you can protest in person, you can vote in person. The report also includes statements from Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Robert Redfield that voting in person is safe amid worries about coronavirus.

What Democrats are trying to achieve around the country is a cynical effort using the coronavirus pandemic to inject uncertainty, inaccuracies and delay into the electoral process, the report says. The way to counter that, Jordan and Comer recommend, is as old as the republic itself: Go to the polls  literally  and cast a vote.

Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important statement at a high-level meeting held by the United Nations (UN) to mark the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women via video on Oct. 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday highlighted the extraordinary achievements women have made in the society and the challenges they face globally, calling for joint efforts to promote gender equality and women's development around the world.

Xi made the call in Beijing via video when addressing a high-level meeting held by the United Nations (UN) to mark the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Women are creators of human civilization and drivers of social progress, and they have made extraordinary achievements across all fields of endeavor, Xi noted.

In the ongoing fight against COVID-19, female medical and epidemic control workers, researchers, community workers and volunteers over the world, braving danger and working around the clock, have fought at the front line of the battle, Xi said.

"With their dedication and ingenuity, they have written heroic epics of saving people and protecting lives," Xi said. "They truly deserve our admiration."

In China, at the height of the battle against COVID-19, many women medical workers, in their tens of thousands, have taken on the virus bravely by putting themselves in harm's way, Xi noted.

More than 40,000 health workers from across the country rushed to Hubei Province, which was the hardest hit by the virus in China, and two-thirds of them were women.

"Their courage and hard work have shown the very best of the medical profession," Xi stressed. "Their devotion and sacrifice have kept the nation intact through difficult times."

Over the past 25 years, the powerful message of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing has unleashed many positive changes, Xi said.

The social status of women is significantly higher, and increasingly, women are playing an important role of "supporting half of the sky," Xi said, adding that gender equality and women's empowerment are now important goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

He stressed that the spread of COVID-19 worldwide has brought greater challenges to women.

"In both containing COVID-19 and promoting post-COVID economic and social recovery, it is particularly important that we address the special needs of women," Xi said, urging efforts to deliver on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

To this end, Xi put forward four major steps for the world to take.

"First, we need to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on women," Xi said, calling for special attention to the health, social and psychological needs and working environment of frontline women medical workers.

"We need to place the protection of women's and girls' rights and interests high on the agenda of both public health and economic reopening," he said, urging the need to crack down on violations of women's rights and interests.

"We need to improve social services, with priority given to special groups such as pregnant and postnatal women, and children," he noted.

Xi said special care may be given to women in difficulty such as those in poverty, old age or with disabilities, and efforts must be made to enhance benefits for women, address their concerns, and deliver results for their well-being.

"Second, we need to strive for genuine gender equality," Xi said. "Protection of women's rights and interests must become the commitment at the national level."

As the world pursues post-COVID recovery, new opportunities may be created for women to participate in decision-making and be more involved in national, economic, cultural and social governance, he said.

He stressed the need to eliminate prejudice, discrimination and violence against women and make gender equality a social norm and moral imperative observed by all.

"Third, we need to ensure that women advance at the forefront of our times," Xi said, urging efforts to protect women's rights and interests and improve their lives, and ensure that women's development goes hand in hand with economic and social development.

An enabling environment must be created, in which women are motivated, their creativity is unleashed to the full, and they truly feel satisfied, happy and secure, Xi said, underscoring the role of the government to be fully leveraged to mobilize all stakeholders to support women and help them live their lives to the full.

"Fourth, we need to enhance global cooperation in advancing women's development," Xi said, pledging that China supports the UN in making women's development a priority.

He said more should be done to eliminate violence, discrimination, poverty and other old problems and to address new challenges such as bridging the gender digital divide, so as to make women-related targets early harvest results of the UN's 2030 Agenda.

Xi stressed that equality between men and women is a basic state policy in China, noting the country has put in place a legal system comprising over 100 laws and regulations for fully protecting women's rights and interests.

In China, the gender gap in compulsory education has been largely closed, with women accounting for over 40 percent of the country's workforce.

Five years ago, Xi proposed a global leaders' meeting on gender equality and women's empowerment. Now the host of proposals he put forward at the meeting for advancing global cooperation in the endeavor have all been implemented.

Pledging China is prepared to do even more to support the global cause of women's development, he proposed the convening in 2025 of another global leaders' meeting on gender equality and women's empowerment.

"We still have a long way to go and need to work real hard to build a world in which women are free from discrimination as well as a society of inclusive development," Xi said.

"Let us work together and redouble efforts to promote gender equality and advance the global cause of women's development," he said.
What if your boss won't wear a mask?

It's a question some may be asking in the wake of news that President Donald Trump has contracted COVID-19.

The president has long held a dismissive attitude toward masks, seldom being seen wearing one, and as recently as Tuesday's presidential debate mocked former Vice President Joe Biden for constantly covering his face in public.

Now Trump's diagnosis raises a critical workplace issue: How do you confront a boss or colleagues who refuse to take precautions against COVID-19?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to provide a safe workplace.

Dow falls on Trump's positive test: Dow ends slightly lower after a whiplash day when president tests positive for COVID-19

Conspiracy theories teem on Social Media: Social media teems with conspiracy theories from QAnon and Trump critics after president's positive COVID-19 test

"Where it becomes fuzzy is what does that mean,'' says Tracey Diamond, counsel in the labor and employment practice group at the law firm Troutman Pepper.

OSHA recommends that employers encourage their staff to cover their faces in the workplace, but that is not a mandate, according to Elissa Jessup, HR knowledge adviser for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

"Employers ultimately have discretion, unless there are state regulations that require face masks,'' Jessup says. "In those specific states, employers would be obligated to comply with those regulations.''

In June, the SHRM found that 86% of organizations were implementing or considering mandating the use of masks, gloves, and other protective equipment. And 73% were implementing or thinking about performing temperature or medical screenings on site.

Will shoppers wear a mask now? Now that Trump tested positive for COVID-19, will shoppers be more compliant with mask mandates at stores?

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump hold hands on stage after the first presidential debate at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2020.

If your workplace isn't following such protocols, employees have a right to speak up and can take steps if they are worried that their colleagues aren't doing what's needed to keep their worksite safe.

Story continues

Sit down with your manager

Consider bringing your concerns directly to your manager.

The first course of action is to try to sit down with the employer ... and discuss that its making them uncomfortable that the workplace is not following (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance, or local or state guidance or mandates,'' says Diamond.

Before having that conversation, familiarize yourself with what your city or state is recommending or requiring. A Google search for COVID-19 standards or a check of OSHA's website can be helpful.

Head to HR

If you are uncomfortable talking to your manager, or nothing changes after your discussion, head to your company's HR department.

Under OSHA rules, your employer can't retaliate against you for making a complaint.

Request accommodation

If an employee has a health condition or disability, the Americans with Disabilities Act allows them to ask for accommodation that could enhance their safety.

"Those kinds of requests are handled on a case-by-case basis and are dependent on the facts of the situation,'' Diamond says. But accommodation could range from being allowed to work from home, to being isolated from colleagues in an office, or even a leave of absence.

File a complaint

If your concerns aren't being addressed, file a complaint with OSHA, which will typically alert your employer and will sometimes even visit the workplace for an investigation, Diamond says. An employee could also register a complaint with the local health department or state attorney general's office.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump COVID-19: What do you do if your boss won't wear a mask?
Pakistan is touting its home-grown JF-17 as a threat to the Rafale fighter of India. There is a good chance both will meet over the Himalayan Highlands. These propaganda claims are part of China's jabs to use Pakistan to prickle India, though indirectly.

The Global Times is a mouthpiece of Beijing and EurAsian Times stated that the Thunder has all the features of the J-20, claimed by these outlets, saying that it will have better performance.

Publicity about the Pakistani fighter on the web shows the plane has the most common technologies from the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China. But, the PAF has installed some tech of its own. The components of the Thunder are described as off the shelf Chinese technology, reported Defence news.

Inside the cockpit is a modern holographic heads-up display that is larger with a wide-angle, also used in the J-20. With an advanced sensor system that detects hostile missiles locking onto the plane, used in a J-20 type too.

The pilot of the plane has situational awareness when it is crucial when locked in combat with an F-35 or the F-18 block III. Flying the Pakistani Air Force plane is based on 4th generation jets, not 4++ like the Rafale. More awareness with less loop on actively managing the jet is an innovation. For the planned Block 3 Thunder, it will have information-based warfare capability and weapons enhanced, said Yang Wei, designer of the fighter jet.

Also read: Air Force Tests F-35 Integrated Electronic Warfare for Defensive Air Cover With Other U.S. Aircraft

Armed with PL-15 missiles

When the Indian Air Force got wind of an improved Thunder PAK JF-17 will be armed with Chinese PL-15 missiles for air to air combat. Another is the addition of an infrared search and track system that includes a redesigned airframe that has cross-section. Claims of having a pseudo-stealthy airframe are part of its design. Pentagon officials are worried over the PL-15 alleged by sources.

One concern of the U.S. is how far the PL-15 can hit a target, which is supposed to be 300 km though less with more range than AI-120 AMRAAM. It has as a 180 km maximum range built-in to hit targets.

According to general Herbert Carlisle, the PL-15 has more range than current U.S. missiles in 2015. China has been making weapons like the PL-15 with longer stand-off distances. He told FlightGlobal that the U.S. should make something way better.

PL-15 missile is guided by radar to its target and touted as better than what either U.S. or Russia can offer. Pakistan is needling the IAF for their lesser capable arms.

PL-15 is more than 4 meters with radar, which China claims is powerful. Lastly, is the rocket motor pushing the missile along. The PLA is afraid of the superior American AWACS craft and flying tankers that they don't have. Fear is great when these U.S. assets are in the air because Pakistan and China have paltry capabilities compared to that.

At some point, the PAF JF-17 did not mention it had cheaper and less sophisticated motors for the PL-15. But the Rafale has far more advanced avionics and their Meteor missile has a 150 km strike distance. It is smaller than PL-15.

Related article: Pakistan's JF-17 Has One Best Advantage Over Stealth F-35

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Financial concerns and stress for some families continues growing during the ongoing pandemic.

Nonprofit and community organizations in Cy-Fair, such as Northwest Assistance Ministries and Cypress Assistance Ministries, have worked to fill in gaps for local families with food, school supplies, financial assistance and mental health services for all ages.

Food Assistance

Cypress Assistance Ministries, a nonprofit for low-income families in need of assistance is seeking donations and volunteers in order to continue providing to the local community.

In order to serve the people who find themselves in crisis we need the money to help them with their rent, mortgage or utilities, plus money to continue to pay the rent and utilities on our buildings and personnel costs, said Janet Ryan, director of development for Cypress Assistance Ministries. The community continues to be generous in their donations of food. CAMs greatest need at this time is money and volunteers.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Gov. Abbott loosens COVID restrictions on restaurants, businesses for most of Texas

CAM is also serving an extra ZIP code that lost their local assistance ministry, Bear Creek Ministries.

With BCM closed, people who are struggling in that area have no local ministry providing assistance, so CAM makes food available to that zip code, 77084, as well and that is the area demonstrating the most need, Ryan said.

CAM is also in need of financial donations to help clients with bills and food.

Families in the 77065, 77095, 77429, 77433 and 77084 ZIP codes can receive free food with an ID and proof of residence at the food pantry from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday-Friday. The CAM food pantry is located at 11265 Huffmeister Rd. in Cypress.

CAM is continuing to offer school supplies for CFISD students including backpacks. CAM will be giving the backpacks out Mon.-Fri. from 10 a.m. to noon. Families must bring a photo ID, proof of residence and school registration.

CAM is in need of volunteers on Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. and Oct. 17.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/cypressassistance.

Q&A: Pandemic deals Cy-Fair Helping Hands tough blow

Cy-Hope , a nonprofit benefiting low-income students in Cy-Fair ISD, is hosting nonperishable food pick up on Wednesdays from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. The pickup will be located at the backpack barn in the back of the Cy-Hope property at 1275 Telge Road, Cypress.

Cy-Hope is also in need of volunteers for bagging food each month. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/CyHopeTx.

Cy-Fair Helping Hands, a nonprofit dedicated to homeless and low-income communities, is also providing food for Cy-Fair area families. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and the first and third Saturdays of the month Cy-Fair Helping Hands provides perishable and nonperishable foods from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with a drive-thru model.

On Oct. 8 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Mettas Local Eats, previously known as Cypress Area Eats is sponsoring a day of fundraising for Cy-Fair Helping Hands with Willies Grill and Icehouse. Both locations in Copperfield and Jersey Village will donate 15 percent of their proceeds to Cy-Fair Helping Hands from every customer that mentions the nonprofit.

For more information, including how to donate, visit www.facebook.com/CYFAIRHELPINGHANDS.

Northwest Assistance Ministries, or NAM, serves hundreds of in-need families a week through their onsite food pantry with both nonperishable and perishable foods and is using a drive-thru model.

NAM is providing food assistance Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at their main building.

NAM is also hosting another food distribution at IAH, 16152 John F Kennedy Blvd., Houston on Oct. 13 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. until supplies last. Attendees are required to wear a mask and stay in their car.

NAM is in need of food and financial donations. Frozen meat, fruit and vegetables, and canned and dry goods are needed for the food pantry.

Northwest Assistance Ministries has seen a consistent increase in requests for rent and food assistance, Chief Advancement Officer Brian Carr said. NAMs pantry is getting dangerously low on food. We are seeing a great need from the Greenspoint area and the zip codes nearest 77090.

NAM is located at 15555 Kuykendahl Rd. in northwest Houston. For more information, visit www.namonline.org.

Financial services

NAM also provides financial assistance for clients needing help with bills or other expenses after losing their job due to COVID-19.

Because of the way our funding is structured, our advice to our clients is to use to use the unemployment (payments) for your utilities, for your prescriptions, for some groceries and allow us to subsidize the rent because we can make that one payment to the landlord and get that caught up, Carr said.

NAM has launched an online application process for rent and mortgage assistance, where applicants can submit all appropriate documents without visiting the nonprofit.

We are very proud of this client centered innovation to our client intake process, Carr said. We will be able to handle a hundred or more completed applications every Monday without the clients leaving the safety of their homes.

For more information, visit www.namonline.org.

The Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce has a community resources page, www.cyfairchamber.com/wearecyfair, where small businesses can apply for SBA loans, catch up on the most recent mandates on COVID-19 from the state government and individual instruction for navigating loan and benefits application.

The chamber of commerce also hosts community luncheons, committee meetings and seminars over Zoom, open to the public per an RSVP. For more information, visit www.cyfairchamber.com.

Mental health assistance

Shield Bearer counseling sessions are being held through remote teletherapy sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit works with different financial situations to provide counseling for a variety of mental health challenges including grief, abuse, addictions and relationship issues.

According to the organizations Facebook page, Shield Bearer has experienced an increase in the demand for mental health services and is seeking financial donations to help the organization continue meeting clients needs.

For more information, visit www.shieldbearer.org.

NAM is also hosted a virtual tour of their Family Violence Center on Oct. 1 in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, domestic violence has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thursday, Oct. 15, is National Wear Purple Day to spread domestic violence awareness.

For more information, visit www.namonline.org/dvam.

Senior Pastor Floyd Smith with Igniting Gods Vision Ministry , a 19-year-old ministry in the Cy-Fair area, said the ministry has continued to operate the recently launched Turning Peer Pressure to Peer Power program and counseling for the local community.

Weve launched this ministry enough to where were already dealing with the issues they are struggling with, he said. Our goal is to save money to get our own building or land so well be able to bring them and go through the counseling process. My concern is on the counseling side and what people are going through at this time not only with the teens but also with the pandemic.

Cy-Hope also offers counseling and speech therapy both in-person and through telehealth. In-person appointments require clients to wear a mask, practice social distancing and wait in their car until the beginning of the appointment.

To schedule an appointment, call 713-466-1360. For more information, visit www.cy-hopecounseling.org.

chevall.pryce@chron.com
A security and research think tank, the Institute of Peace and Governance (IPEG) has urged government to pay more attention to the threat of separatists in the Volta Region who are developing into domestic terrorist groups.

In a statement, IPEG advised the government to show strength in its response so as to give re-assurance to Ghanaians on their ability and capacity to deal with the situation.

There has been increased concern over separatists violence following attacks carried out by the Western Togoland secessionist group, Homeland Study Group Foundation.

The group attacked police stations, blocked roads and attacked the Ho State Transport Corporation yard over the past seven days.

Thirty-four arrests were made by police and one death recorded.

IPEG had already warned that ahead of the elections, there could be a snowballing of discontent, disgruntlement, anxiety, anguish etc. in the country.

It noted that these separatist concerns may inadvertently prop up the terrain for violent extremism and terrorism since the security of the nation will be most tested in the year of its greatest vulnerability.

Now IPEC says the terrain is currently fertile for their activities since the security of the State is stretched in the run-up to the 2020 elections.

Besides, there is heightened tension due to swelling economic hardships resulting from the fallouts of COVID-19, it added.

It views these conditions as the appropriate theatre for these miscreants to conduct their separatist agenda.

The recent escalation from the separatists is an indication that they are transforming from a non-violent group to a violent group with sufficient capacity to execute their strategy.

There is most likely to be an increase in the number of such attacks from now till Dec 2020 and beyond, IPEG concluded.

It thus urged the state to harnesses its influence, authority and capabilities, irrespective of Election 2020 and whichever government is in power, to deal mercilessly with all persons identified as being directly involved in the activities of this group because they are in the process of changing to domestic terrorists.

---citinewsroom
Eight out of every 10 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the US have been among those aged 65 and older, and Trump has been reported to have high cholesterol and is also estimated to weigh about 110 kilograms. While he is considered obese for his height, the Presidents doctor said Trump was in good health after a full medical check-up last year. Earlier this year, Trump revealed he had been taking the controversial anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and it had caused no side effects. However, a person who is 74 years old has a 90 times higher risk of dying with the virus than somebody who is aged between 18 and 29, and they are five times more likely to end up in hospital, according to America's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Donald Trump, pictured with former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, regularly plays golf. Credit:AP A recent global study on the fatality rate of coronavirus found that the risk of dying from the virus increases dramatically as people age, partly because of an ageing immune system and also because people who are older are more likely to have underlying conditions, such as diabetes and lung disease, that seem to make the body more vulnerable to COVID-19.

'The older you are, particularly if your weight is up, and you have any underlying conditions the more the chance is you will come to grief either you can die or you are more likely to become seriously ill," Professor Collignon said. Loading Complications such as pneumonia are linked to a high coronavirus death rate, especially in patients over 65, or people who have cardiovascular disease or conditions affecting blood vessels of the brain. "The other side of it is you're probably more likely to have residual fatigue and problems afterwards if you are older," Professor Collignon said. "Donald Trump is in the age group of 70 to 80. So, he's obviously much more of a risk than if he was 40 or 50."

Professor Collignon said it was impossible to determine how ill the US President might become. Many people experience mild symptoms, such as a slight cough, a slight fever or a headache in the first week, before deteriorating at the beginning of the second week. This is when the immune system becomes over-stimulated and the virus really takes hold, and more life-threatening symptoms start to emerge. This is known as the cytokine storm. "It really is a waiting game," Professor Collignon said. "We will have watch to closely what happens over the next week or two. You might remember [British Prime Minister] Boris Johnson looked very well for the first week he had COVID and then didn't look so good and then went to hospital and was in intensive care." Loading

In the short term, Trump needs to remain quarantined for 14 days and have his breathing and heart rate closely monitored. The President has paused his election campaign to allow time to do this. "Most people in their 70s do not die from this virus," Professor Collignon said. "Some people in their 70s only have really mild disease and make a full recovery, but others can end up in intensive care or on a ventilator and have more problems down the track." Research is also increasingly suggesting the novel coronavirus can inflict lasting damage on the body's major organs, impairing for years the lung and heart functions of those who become critically ill with the disease. Long-term neurological or cognitive impairment is also possible in some patients with extremely virulent cases, some experts suggest.

Trump is not the first world leader to be infected with the virus during the pandemic. In addition to Johnson, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro also tested positive. German Chancellor Angela Merkel self-isolated after a doctor who gave her a vaccination tested positive for the virus and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau worked from home after his wife fell ill. The White House had its first COVID-19 scare in early March when at least three people who later tested positive came close to the President at his Florida club. They included members of the Brazilian Presidents delegation, including the Brazilian charge daffaires and ambassador to the US, who sat at Trumps dinner table.
In the months leading up to the outbreak of war in September 1980, the WRP stepped up its glorification of the Baathist regime. On July 28, 1980, the Political Committee passed a draft resolution which declared: The Workers Revolutionary Party welcomes and pledges maximum aid to the dynamic and radical policies of the Iraqi government led by President Saddam Hussein. By giving the land to the peasantry, granting autonomy to the Kurds, eradicating illiteracy, multiplying per capita income, and ending forever the domination of the foreign oil monopolies, the Arab Baath Socialist Party has advanced the Arab revolution and created a firm basis for cooperation with a revolutionary socialist regime [!] in Britain.

On the basis of this resolution, Healy commissioned a series of six articles, published in August, detailing, according to the News Line introduction, the social and economic development, cultural life,from art to archeologythe new role of youth and the political struggle of the Arab Baath Socialist Party and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to use the natural wealth of the country to improve all aspects of life of the Iraqi people. (August 9, 1980)

Six weeks later, Hussein and the Baathists used the national wealth to plunge the Iraqi people into a bloody war against Iran.

The historical background of the Iran-Iraq War is a territorial rivalry that stretches back for centuries and which was exacerbated by imperialist domination in the aftermath of the break-up of the old Ottoman Empire. Since the 1930s there had been repeated border clashes which were concluded with various imperialist-imposed settlements which merely prepared the seeds for a renewal of the fighting. At the heart of the longstanding border conflict has been sovereignty over the Shatt al-Arab, the waterway formed by the convergence of the Tigris, Euphrates and Karun rivers as they intersect and flow into the Persian Gulf. Iraqi governments have always insisted their country must have full sovereignty over the Shatt al-Arabas opposed to the Thalweg principle under which the boundary would be fixed at the median point of the waterwaybecause it is Iraqs only outlet to the sea.

In 1975, the Shahs regime in Iranwith the backing of the United Stateswon major concessions including the Thalweg principle after coming to the brink of an all-out war with Iraq. When Saddam Hussein announced on September 17, 1980 that he was abrogating the five-year-old Algiers Agreement he could argue, with some historical justification, that the 1975 agreement had been imposed upon Iraq by imperialism. But in so doing, he was merely echoing the complaint voiced by the Tehran government about every other treaty that resolved the Iraqi-Iranian border dispute.

In any case, whatever the legitimacy of Iraqs claim to sovereignty over Shatt al-Arab, it was clearly only a smokescreen for an attempt to annex a sizeable and valuable chunk of Iranian territory. Within hours of the eruption of all-out war, Iraqi troops had penetrated deep into Iran, far beyond any area traditionally claimed by Iraq.

The timing of the Iraqi invasion was critical in exposing its class character. By attacking Iran in the midst of the hostage crisis, the Baathist regime was clearly seeking the backing of US imperialism and the reactionary Saudi and Gulf regimes, all of which had been thrown into paroxysms of fear by the toppling of the Peacock Throne. Hussein was in essence saying, Iraqs military might, which had been built up to counter Israeli aggression, was now a gun for hire.

The launching of the war was the continuation, in fact the climax, of a steady swing to the right by the Baathists that had been consistently covered up by Healy. From 1975 on, relations with the Shahs regime and the Saudi royal family improved steadily; trade with the US rose sharply; the Iraqi CP was subjected, with the approval of the WRP, to severe repression; and in March 1980 the Baathists announced they were forming a united front of groups opposed to South Yemans pro-Soviet bourgeois national government.

In the wake of the 1978 Camp David accords, the Iraqi Baathists asserted that the leadership of the Arab revolution had fallen to their party. But for all their bluster about revolutionassiduously publicized by the News Linewhen confronted with a real mass and popular uprising in Iran, the Baathists feared it and fatally misjudged its power. To the everlasting dismay of Saddam Hussein, who in 1975 had helped orchestrate the pact with the Shahs omnipotent regime, Iran in the aftermath of its anti-imperialist revolution was not ripe for the picking.

The WRP responded to the Iraqi invasion of Iran in September 1980 with a lame attempt to bring its political books up to date with a denunciation of the war and a call for an immediate cease-fire. But it was not possible to turn Marxist analysis on and off like a kitchen faucet and the statement of its Political Committee, dated September 24, 1980, was shot through with contradictions which reflected the treacherous line which the WRP had pursued right up to the outbreak of war.

The analysis of the war and the political conclusions which flowed from it was dominated by the WRPs faith in the historically progressive role of Baath nationalism and its capacity to lead the anti-imperialist struggle. For this reason, it approached the war as if it were an aberration, a temporary diversion from the progressive logic of Baathism, rather than as an inevitable expression of the reactionary character of Iraqi bourgeois nationalism, its sinister anti-Persian chauvinism, its ultimate dependence upon imperialism, and its inability to formulate a viable program for the unity of the masses of the Middle East and Asia Minor.

Even as the Baathists were carrying out policies which directly served the interests of US imperialism, the Soviet bureaucracy and Zionism, the Political Committee claimed that the Arab Baath Socialist Party is, in the long run, the real threat to their intrigues and interests in the Middle East. It has demonstrated time and again that it is not subservient to these reactionary forces. (Documents of the Fifth Annual Congress, p. 20)

The reference to the Baathists as the real threat to imperialism in the long run proves that the working class in the Middle East, and, for that matter, in all the semi-colonial and backward countries, no longer entered into the political calculations of the Workers Revolutionary Party leadership. This blindness to the existence of the proletariat, let alone its revolutionary role, produced a craven capitulation to the bourgeois regimes and a perspective of complete hopelessness for the national liberation struggles. Thus, rather than calling on the working class to overthow the Iraqi Baathists and assume its rightful place in the leadership of the anti-imperialist struggle, Healy and Banda crawled on their bellies to the Baathists, pleading with Saddam Hussein to end the war lest the PLO would be deprived of a bourgeois regime to sponsor the struggle against Zionism.

This bankrupt dependency on the bourgeois regime was articulated as follows: As the Iraq-Iran warfare is taking place the real danger is to the Palestinian revolution in South Lebanon. The PLO has suddenly become dangerously beleaguered. Not only has it lost the immediate support of Iraq and Iran, but it cannot hope to rely upon the crisis-ridden Assad regime in Syria nor the two-faced King Hussein of Jordan. The Palestinian revolution and its allies in the Lebanese National Movement are threatened to the north by the CIA and Israeli-backed forces of Pierre Gemayals Falangists and in the South by Major Saad Haddads fascists and the Israeli army. (Ibid., p. 21)

Rather than declaring emphatically that the PLO had been betrayed by the Arab bourgeoisie, the WRP mourned the loss of its patronage and suggested to the Palestinians that there existed no alternative to this political dependency. Far from even hinting at the treacherous role of the Baathists, the Political Committee placed responsibility on the crisis confronting the PLO squarely on the shoulders of imperialism and the shabby maneuvers of the Soviet bureaucracyas if anything else could be expected from imperialism and Stalinism. Along these lines, the statement referred to the ICFI as a mere opponent of these counterrevolutionary forces. (Ibid.)

This political self-debasement was expressed in another formulation: We differ from the national liberation and the national revolutionary movements on the decisive question of the revolutionary party and the building of the World Party of Socialist Revolution. (Ibid.)

The implication of this statement was that the construction of the revolutionary party and the struggle for world revolution is a tactical question which Trotskyists debate with bourgeois nationalists. The very manner in which this issue was presented denied the historical materialist foundation of the policy of the proletarian party. The WRP clearly rejected the Marxist viewbased on objective realitythat the Baathists are the representatives of the class enemy of the proletariat. Instead, in the most extreme Pabloite formulation, the possibility was left open that a political convergence between the Trotskyists and one or another variety of bourgeois nationalism may be eventually realized and, on this basis, a hybrid World Party of Socialist Revolution built.

The reference to two political categories, national liberation and the national revolutionary movements, was made to establish a rough equality between the political character of the PLO and the Arab Baath Socialist Party.

The Political Committee stated in conclusion: The political yardstick against which every force is tested in the Middle East is the struggle against Zionist imperialism. The Workers Revolutionary Party can proudly say that its record has been principled, consistent and spotless. (Ibid., p. 22) This passage combined a theoretical blunder with an outright lie. The first sentence falsified the Theory of Permanent Revolution; the second violated the limits of human credibility.

Trotsky explicitly rejected the bogus political yardstick of the WRP when he wrote: One must measure not the attitude of every given national bourgeoisie to imperialism in general, but its attitude to the immediate revolutionary historical tasks of its own nation. (Third International After Lenin, New Park, p. 132)

Five days after the publication of the Political Committee statement, a supplementary statement, dated September 27, 1980, was issued by the Central Committee. This was no less treacherous and self-contradictory than the previous one. On this occasion, the WRP went as far as to urge the Iraqi masses to mobilize against the war by arresting the bloody hand of the war instigators and to seek unity with the Iranian masses in confronting the common imperialist enemy. (Documents, p. 24)

But the insincerity of this appeal was exposed by the fact that the Central Committee tactfully avoided mentioning the names of the war instigators/ Apparently, the bloody hand was not attached to any body! However, Healy and Banda (who authored these statements) did not fail to offer Saddam Hussein some friendly advise: The Arab Baath Socialist Party has consistently fought against every attempt to make it subservient to imperialism and Stalinism. For that, it has won the support of all revolutionary forces, including the Workers Revolutionary Party. It must understand that its present military offensive and war aims are a break with that policy, cannot be supported, and if persisted in will result in disaster for the Arab Baath Socialist Party itself. (Ibid., p. 25)

This statement ended not with a call for revolutionary action by the working class against imperialism and its national bourgeois agents, but rather with a pathetic appeal for a peace conference now of Iraq, Iran, the PLO and all those fighting the imperialists and Zionist enemy! (Ibid., p. 27) Presumably, this conference would have included a delegation from the WRP, with Healy and Banda serving as attorneys for Saddam Hussein to assist in the drafting of a peace treaty. The reactionary content of this statement is that the political and historical issues which gave rise to the war should be settled, with the help of the WRP, behind the backs of the working class and without the intervention of the masses under their own banners.

At no time did the WRP consult the International Committee as it proceeded to formulate, in friendly competition with the British foreign office, its own foreign policy.

As the war continued into 1981 with thousands killed and maimed, Healy was still attempting to cling to the coat-tails of the Baathists. Thus, at the Fifth Congress of the Workers Revolutionary Party in February of that year, a Manifesto which was unanimously adopted declared: Our opposition to the war does not diminish our support for the Arab Baath Socialist Party in Iraq in so far as it continues to uphold its struggle against imperialism and Zionism and support the Palestinian revolution. (News Line, February 7, 1981)

Healy was not prepared to let the corpses of thousands of workers and peasants in Iran and Iraq come between him and the Arab Baath Socialist Party. Retreating even from the WRP position of the previous September, Healy no longer held that the continuation of the war was incompatible with the defense of the Palestinian struggle against Zionism.

Such devious formulations cannot be attributed simply to mistakes of a theoretical nature. They are the work of a man who had directly sold himself and his party to the agencies of bourgeois states and who was working consciously and directly in their behalf. No other conclusion can be drawn from this record.

In the official statements issued by the Political Committee, Central Committee and Fifth National Congress, the WRP had sought to balance between the two opposing camps and had failed to specifically recognize the right of the Iranian regime to repel Iraqi aggression. A principled Marxist position would have explicitly stated that Iran was waging a defensive war against an opportunist attack by the Baathist regime in collaboration with US imperialism. It would have called upon Iranian workers to take up arms against Iraqi forces while maintaining an attitude of critical vigilance toward the bourgeois Islamic leaders, placing no confidence in their disavowals of aggressive designs against Iraqi territory and rigorously defending its political independence. At the same time it would have demanded that Iran renounce all claims against Shatt al-Arab and that the national rights of all minorities in Iran be respected. Moreover, it would have explained that the political roots of the interminable conflicts between Iranians and Iraqis arise out of the uncompleted democratic revolutions in both countries, the state divisions which hinder economic progress and obstruct the instinctive strivings of the masses of Iran and Iraq for unity. In addition, it would have explained that the sole basis for ending fratricidal conflicts and securing national independence from imperialism is through the unity of the proletariat of Iran and Iraq, the overthrow of capitalism in both countries and the common struggle for the establishment of the United Socialist States of the Middle East. In summation, it would have explained that the only alternative to fratricidal war, economic dependency and imperialist domination is the socialist revolution.

By early 1982 it was clear that the military position of Iraq was growing increasingly precarious. In May the Iranians scored major victories, culminating in the recapture of Khoramshahr. In typical opportunist fashion, without any theoretical explanation, this event was described in a News Line editorial, dated May 25, 1982, as a triumph for the Iranian revolution and its struggling masses. With equally typical shortsightedness, the News Line also expressed its full confidence in the intentions of the Iranian bourgeoisie: We do not believe Western claims that Irans next intention is to invade Iraq. If this did come about, we would oppose it as vigorously as we opposed the Iraqi invasion of Iran.

These stupid illusions expressed a complete absence of any Marxist analysis of the class nature of the contending forces. Blind to the new dangers in the political situation, the News Line went on to declare that Irans military successes had strengthened the revolution in the process.

This is a sign of the political development of the revolutionary masses, not only in Iran but throughout the world and the British working class should take note.

The Islamic Republic did not take notice of the News Line editorialists and pressed ahead with its attack against Iraq. In placing intolerable political and economic demands upon its people, the Khomeini regime exposed the fact that Islamic fundamentalism was nothing more than a messianic guise for the traditional expansionist aims of a capitalist Greater Persia, occupying the role of strongman in the Gulf. At this point the conflict ceased to be a defensive war on the part of the Khomeini regime and it called for a sharp change in the policy of Marxists, who would now be obliged to adopt a defeatist position in relation to the war.

However, the News Line, anxious not to offend the rising power in the Gulf and increasingly doubtful about the value of its ties with Iraq, issued only a mild rebuke using, as usual, the Palestinians as a cover for Healys political skullduggery: The Iranian invasion of Iraq is a disservice to the besieged Palestinian and Lebanese fighters in Beirut and to the Iranian revolution itself, and must be denounced.(July 16, 1982)

With the financial resources of the Iraqi regime bankrupted by the war, Healy decided that his alliance with Saddam Hussein was no longer of any use. The time had come to shift to the more promising bourgeois camp. But there were two major obstacles blocking Healys paththe prior opposition to the Iranian invasion and the initial analysis made by the International Committee three years earlier of the class nature and perspectives of the Iranian Revolution. In a statement dated February 12, 1979, the International Committee of the Fourth International laid bare the class nature of the Khomeini leadership and warned that no confidence should be placed in the Islamic clergy.

While acknowledging Khomeinis paramount role in the events leading up to the downfall of the Shah, the ICFI rejected any concession to his religious ideology and political program:

The truth is that the masses are moved by class questions, not religious ones. However, in the absence of an organized revolutionary leadership and because of the cowardly class collaborationist policies of Iranian Stalinism in the Tudeh Party, Ayatollah Khomeini and other religious leaders of the Shiite sect have been able to establish a virtual political monopoly on the opposition forces. Millions of Iranians today follow Khomeini not because they desire the reactionary Utopia of an Islamic state but because the Ayatollah symbolizes uncompromising opposition to the Pah lev i Dynasty and its autocratic rule. Khomeinis own political doctrine is vague, contradictory and ambiguous. It combines progress and reaction. Sharia law and the Constituent Assembly, oppression of women and personal liberty. The policies of Khomeini reflect the contradictory and equivocal nature of the bazaar merchants and other elements of the Iranian native capitalist class and petty bourgeoisie. These sections of Iranian society balance precariously between imperialism, the oil monopolies and the banks, on one side, and the Iranian masses on the other. Their semi-colonial position forces them to oppose US and British imperialism. But they cannot and will not challenge capitalist state power in Iran... Now it is the fundamental questions of the socialist revolution which predominate. It is the conscious mastery of these questions and the revolutionary practice dictated by a scientific grasp of the objective situation, that will decide the issue. What are these basic principles, established in over a century of revolutionary experience? The working class is the only revolutionary class in modern society. The revolution against imperialism is a world revolution, to which the revolution in each nation is subordinate... The capitalist state cannot be taken over and adapted to socialist purposes: its bodies of armed men must be smashed, broken up, dispersed. The people must be armed and mobilized behind a Marxist revolutionary party. (News Line, February 17, 1979, pp. 7-10)

The statement concluded with the elaboration of a revolutionary socialist program and the call for the construction of an Iranian section of the ICFI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wished a quick recovery and good health to his friend, US president Donald Trump and first lady Melania, after the couple tested positive for coronavirus.

Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery health, the prime minister tweeted just minutes after the US president announced he and his wife had tested positive for Covid-19.

Earlier, Trump had tweeted, Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for Covid-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

The US first couple had undergone Covid-19 tests after one of Trumps closest advisers, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the disease. The two returned positive result for the infection.

Praising Hicks, Trump had posted, Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid-19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process.

Trumps handling of the coronavirus pandemic has emerged as a major issue ahead of Novembers presidential polls. During the first presidential debate on Tuesday, he was severely criticised by his Democratic Party rival, Joe Biden.
Evangelist Alveda King: Trump Declares Lynching a Hate Crime and KKK and ANTIFA Terrorists NEWS PROVIDED BY

Alveda King Ministries

Oct. 2, 2020



ATLANTA, Oct. 2, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- Evangelist Alveda King submits the following and is available for comment: The first 2020 Presidential Debate was an eye opener for America. Regardless of media bias, we saw and heard President Trump defend America's families, America's economy, America's babies, America's environment and America's security.



Just days before the debate, POTUS released his PLATINUM PLAN for boosting the underserved communities of America. Therein he declared that lynching is a hate crime, and that ANTIFA and the KKK are domestic terrorists.



All of this compassion and progress from President Donald John Trump: His history of fairness in the African-American community extends far beyond his first term as President of the United States.



Now that we are just a few days from the 2020 elections, in many instances the media is rushing to amp up their portrayal of President Trump is a racist. In response, I ask America to consider President Trump's record during his first term of office; and his agenda for the next four years.



Promises made, promises kept.



As President 45, Trump has done a lot to Make America Great Again. And he's still not racist.



Finally, let us pray for everyone who has been impacted by COVID-19, the street riots, and all that is going on in America and around the world. Pray for our president and first lady, their family, all families, all people in America and around the world. God bless the one blood/one human race. SOURCE Alveda King Ministries



CONTACT: Leslie Palma, 917-697-7039



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In an emailed statement, Canada Goose representatives said, When we opened our flagship store in Chicago three years ago we received a warm, Midwest welcome and quickly became a necessity for Chicagoans with our function-first, high-performance apparel. At Canada Goose, we are deeply committed to the sustainable sourcing and responsible use of all materials in our products and our standards reflect that commitment. In April, we further strengthened those standards with the release of our Sustainable Impact Strategy, our inaugural Sustainability Report. Outlined in this report is our commitment to being 100 percent Responsible Down Standard-certified by 2021, as well as the introduction of reclaimed fur into our supply chain. We remain steadfast in our transparency about where and how we make our products and the standards that guide us. As another notorious Chicago winters begins, we are proud to continue to serve this beloved, Windy City.
Matthew Miller (pictured in mugshot) was sentenced to 600 years in prison for producing child pornography

An Alabama man has been sentenced to 600 years in prison after being convicted of making two young children engage in sexual conduct so he could record them.

A statement from the Northern District of Alabama announced that Matthew Miller of Tuscaloosa, received the heavy sentence on Thursday after his arrest in 2019.

Miller, 32, will spend 7,200 months - effectively a life sentence - in federal prison for producing child pornography with children as young as four.

'Miller was charged in a 20-count indictment for enticing two children under the age of 5 to engage in sexual explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual production of such conduct,' the statement read.

Miller was first arrested in February 2019 after authorities dispatched to his home in Cottondale over a sexual abuse report pertaining to a child.

Authorities obtained a search warrant for Miller's electronic devices, which contained 102 pornographic images that he produced of the two children.

He pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2019.

U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr. worked jointly on the case.

'Child predators seek out and victimize those that are the most innocent and vulnerable - children,' said Escalona.

'The sentences imposed today and yesterday in local child exploitation cases reflect the commitment of law enforcement in this district to prosecuting to the fullest extent of the law those who commit crimes against children.'

Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr. said Miller's crimes were 'not only disturbing, they are sickening' in a statement shared Thursday. Pictured: United States District Court in Alabama

Sharp added that Miller's sentencing was in response to his 'disturbing' and 'sickening' actions.

'The crimes for which Miller has admitted guilt are not only disturbing, they are sickening, and his actions robbed these children of their childhood,' he said.

'I am proud of the work of the FBI on this case, and I applaud the sentence handed down today, as Miller will spend the rest of his natural life behind prison bars.'

Court documents viewed by DailyMail.com showed that it was recommended that Miller be house in a facility near Tuscaloosa.

If Miller is ever released, he will be on supervised release for 'life' and must allow a probation officer to 'conduct periodic, unannounced examinations of any computer and Internet capable device' he will use,' court documents said.
ST. JOHNS, N.L. - A pregnant Scottish Highland cows four days on the loose from a Newfoundland farm in the middle of a snowstorm resulted in allegations of misconduct against a well-known politician and farmer.

A report released this week by Bruce Chaulk, the provinces commissioner of legislative standards, found Progressive Conservative Jim Lester, whos known locally as Farmer Jim, violated the code of conduct for members of the provincial legislature.

For want of a better word, I was more frustrated than alarmed that I did have to go through that process, Lester said in an interview Friday. But when you sign up for a position (as a provincial politician), life as you know it, I have found, quickly changes.

In the report, Chaulk investigated a broad array of allegations against Lester made by Gerry Byrne, who was then the provinces minister of fisheries and land resources. The bulk of the allegations revolve around Lesters interactions with fisheries and land resources staff whod given Lester unfavourable news related to his farming business.

I had an obligation to my staff to protect the staff, Byrne said in an interview. The senior staff had been feeling increasingly concerned about their interactions with (Lester.)

The report says Lester had a disagreement with conservation officer Scott Martin, who gave him a written warning on Jan. 13, three days after Lesters cow was brought safely back to his farm. The report includes emails from Martin saying Lester phoned him in February to say hed written a letter expressing his displeasure with the warning and he wanted to give Martin a copy. Martin also said Lester claimed there was political motivation from Byrnes department to punish him further for the errant cow.

I feel like this matter has gone way outside of our normal procedures, Martin wrote.

Chaulk said he did not find any breaches of conduct in Lesters dealing with Martin.

But in April, when the department contacted Lester to let him know his application to lease a piece of Crown land had been cancelled, Lester did violate the code of conduct, Chaulk concluded. Lester told the assistant deputy minister whod contacted him to see what happens after the next election. Lester then emailed him a few days later to suggest an amendment to his application.

A reasonable person is left with the appearance that (Lester) was using his position . . . to further his private interest, Chaulk wrote. He said Lester should apologize, be reprimanded and set up a blind trust so his farming business is kept clear from his political position.

In the report, Lesters lawyer said his client did not intend to be threatening.

Lester said he has apologized to the assistant deputy minister  I apologized for how he interpreted it, he said in the interview  but that hes not sold on the idea of a blind trust.

I do have a big concern about how this may set a precedent and may be a forewarning to all small business owners prior to getting into politics, that if they have to step away from their life, which is their business, they may think twice about it, he said.

Lester says hes going to meet with Chaulk to figure out how to move forward.

As for Byrne, he said hes willing to extend the hand of friendship to Lester and let bovine bygones be bygones.

And the cow, Lester said, has since given birth to a healthy calf and has had a great summer on the farm. Well have an eye out for her so shell not get away this time, he said.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.
A homeless man died of pre-existing medical conditions exacerbated by hypothermia after he was ejected from a London police station into sub-zero temperatures, an inquest jury has concluded.

Pericles Malagardis, 63, was found unresponsive outside Uxbridge station nearly five hours after he was asked to leave.

The inquest heard the "the deterioration in his physical condition was not noticed by station staff who watched a DVD inside as he waited overnight in freezing conditions to collect his dog.

The Greek national was sleeping rough at Heathrow airport and had gone to the west London police station on 4 March 2016 to collect the dog, which had been placed in kennels while he was in hospital the day before.

He was told the dog would be brought to the station for collection the following day.

Malagardis remained in the stations reception until 12:40am on 5 March before he was asked to leave and then removed by constable Bhupinder Kalsi with the aid of a colleague.

He then remained outside the station throughout the night and was not checked on until 5:30am, when he was found to be unresponsive and the London Ambulance Service (LAS) was called.

The temperature was around -1C at the time. Malagardis was pronounced dead in hospital more than an hour later at 6:45am.

In November 2018, PC Kalsi was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police for gross incompetence.

A disciplinary hearing heard despite awareness of the freezing temperature outside the station, the officer failed to monitor Malagardiss condition while he was outside for nearly five hours.

It was also found that PC Kalsi had been watching a film on DVD with a colleague for most of the night.

The disciplinary panel found the officer had also omitt[ed] information requested by the LAS regarding actions taken to support Mr Malagardis and failed to follow instruction and training, when dealing with unresponsive casualties, as set out in the emergency life support treatment training manual".

Sal Naseem, regional director of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said: This was a particularly tragic case, so it turned out, Mr Malagardis was close to returning to home as money had been raised by local well-wishers to buy his flight back to Greece.

He added: The lack of care toward Mr Malagardis by the officer and the staff member was particularly cruel and the failings of the officer to give adequate first aid was the major reason for her dismissal.

Mr Nassam concluded: Police officers have a duty of care for people they come into contact with, and Mr Malagardis was clearly failed by this officer.

More than four years on, the impact of Pericles Malargardis tragic death lives on. Our thoughts remain with those who knew him.

The second police staff member who took part in the ejection was separately found to have shown poor performance after a management investigation in December 2018. They were instructed to update their emergency life support treatment training.
A medical worker at the Lien Chieu District medical center in Da Nang City holds up a Covid-19 test sample, July 25, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh.

A woman returning from Japan tested positive for the novel coronavirus, raising the nations active cases to 38, the Health Ministry said Friday evening.

"Patient 1096" is a 24-year-old resident of Tam Dao District in northern Vinh Phuc Province. On September 30, she arrived at Da Nang International Airport on Vietnam Airlines flight VN311 and was quarantined on entry. Her sample was taken on the same day and the test result on October 2 showed that she was positive for the virus.

The patient is being treated in Quang Nam General Hospital in central Quang Nam Province.

On Friday, there were two recoveries, taking the number of recovered patients to 1,020. The nations Covid-19 tally is now 1,096 and the death toll is 35.

The active patients are being treated at eight medical facilities in the country and all in stable condition. One has tested negative once, two tested negative twice and four negative for the third time.

Vietnam has recorded 691 community transmissions and the rest are imported cases.

Over 15,000 are in quarantine, of these 200 are in hospitals, 10,000 in quarantine centers and the rest at home.

The global death toll has crossed the one million mark.
Final semester undergraduate and postgraduate examinations were held on digital mode in state universities of on Thursday, officials said.

University authorities said the exams were conducted strictly in two hour duration on digital mode giving no scope to students to consult reference books and texts while writing papers.

The exams for 104 subjects under 152 colleges at the undergraduate level of Calcutta University started at 10 am with candidates answering papers from their home, Vice Chancellor Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee told PTI.

The tests, of two-hour duration, kicked off in three different time slots from 10 am, 12 noon and 2 pm and the students were given the questions 15 minutes before the exams began, she said.

Each candidate was given another half an hour to mail the answers in pdf attachment to the college authorities, she said, adding it was difficult for a candidate to write answers to questions made known to him/her 15 minute before the scheduled time from voluminous reference materials.

At the postgraduate level, examinations for 68 subjects took place similarly as candidates answered papers from home in view of the COVID-19 situation.

"The virtual mode exams were held smoothly and we haven't received any complaint from college authorities," the VC said.

There were unconfirmed reports in a section of media about UG candidates writing papers in classrooms sitting on single desk each with masks after downloading questions from mobile/laptops at Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose College in city, raising eyebrows.

When contacted the CU Vice-Chancellor, however, said the university only arranges question papers and decides course materials for affiliated colleges but the administrative side and modus operandi of holding exams rests with the respective college authorities.

minister Partha Chatterjee did not take calls.

Another CU official said, a multiple choice format mode was mostly followed in setting the questions and the time limit was set after due consideration.

There are 1.5 lakh students, comprising both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, in Calcutta University.

In Jadavpur University, exams began in both Arts and Science faculties on a digital mode following all UGC guidelines, Vice-Chancellor Suranjan Das said.

A Jadavpur university professor said, around 1,800 students in the arts stream and 1,200 students in the science faculty wrote their papers in two time slots - 11.30 am to 1.30 pm and 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

The exams will continue till October 8, he said.

"There have been stray reports about few students not getting the questions but it was found that they had typed wrong mail ids and once they corrected it, they received the questions soon afterwards," the professor said.

VC of North Bengal University Subiresh Bhattacharya said, UG exams of a two-hour duration were conducted on virtual mode under 50 affiliated colleges.

"While candidates mostly mailed answer sheets with attachment, a few submitted hard copy of their sheets in sealed cover, 30 minutes after the exams were over, to the designated collection centre of the college," he said.

Minister Partha Chatterjee had on Tuesday asked power utilities, Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) and State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL), to ensure that there was no disruption of power supply during the exams.

The department had asked universities to conduct final semester exams between October 1 to 18 after UGC consented to the state's proposal in this regard.

(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.)
Prize-winning Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka, who was sentenced to two months in prison for causing a "public nuisance", was released by a Khartoum court on Thursday, along with four other artists.

"Hajooj Kuka, Doaa Tarig... and three other people were released by the appellate court," their lawyer Othman al-Basri told AFP.

Kuka, along with four fellow artists belonging to the "Civic Lab" collective, were in Septembre sentenced to two months in jail and a fine of 5,000 Sudanese pounds ($90) for causing a "public nuisance" and breaking a curfew imposed over the novel coronavirus.

The Civic Lab collective was formed in the wake of -- and inspired by -- mass protests that last year brought down autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

According to Sudanese activist Tahani Abbas, police arrested the eleven artists on August 10 while they were rehearsing a play following a complaint from neighbours.

Kuka had in August said on Twitter that he and others were "attacked during a theater workshop in #khartoum by islamists instigators. The police stood by the attackers and arrested us".

Basri said the cases of the six other artists will be reviewed on Monday.

Steven Markowitz, who produced Kuka's recent film "aKasha" -- shown at the Venice film festival -- took to Twitter to praise the decision.

"Great news!! Hajooj and the four artists have just been released... International pressure made a difference," he wrote.

"There are still six artists in jail pending appeal and many more people who have been arbitrarily detained in Sudan."

Markowitz had condemned what he called the "fake charges" against the artists, urging supporters to lobby for their release.

Another Kuka film, "Beats of the Antonov", won the People's Choice Documentary Award at the 2014 Toronto film festival, and the Sudanese filmmaker was recently invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body responsible for the Oscars.

Sudan is undergoing a precarious political transition under a joint civilian-military government that was formed on the back of months of protests following Bashir's ouster in April last year.

Bashir had come to power in an Islamist backed coup in 1989.
Camper fire claims the life of two people in Marshall County
A Bergen County man who works as a youth program director stands accused of producing child pornography after allegedly exchanging sexually explicit images with children, authorities said.

Police on Thursday arrested Jack Anderson, 25, of Fair Lawn, and charged with him production of child pornography, luring, endangering the welfare of a child and providing obscenity to a minor, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said in a statement. As of Friday afternoon, Anderson was being held in the Bergen County jail pending a first court appearance, according to court records.

It was not immediately clear where Anderson worked as a youth program director.

Police arrested Anderson after they were tipped off that he was allegedly talking with children under the age of 16 on social media, having sexually explicit conversations, the statement said. The Prosecutors Offices special victims and cyber crimes units discovered that during these conversations, Anderson received nude images from a child and sent nude images of himself to the child, the statement said.

Investigators also discovered that Anderson tried to meet with children several times in and near Fair Lawn, the statement said. Anderson ended up meeting one of the children at least three times, according to the statement.

Anderson allegedly used the screen names wrestler94 and jtanderson94," according to the statement. The office warns parents and guardians to be on the lookout for inappropriate messages from those screennames and asks them to call the offices tip line at 201-226-5532 if they see anything suspicious.

Any parent or guardian who determines that their child received inappropriate communications from the online screen names wrestler94 or jtanderson94 should contact the Bergen County Prosecutors Office Tip Line at (201) 226-5532.

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

Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon.
OTTAWAConservative Leader Erin OTooles worry that a conversion therapy ban could criminalize parents or preachers talking to kids about gender and sexuality is a total red herring, according to professor and advocate Kristopher Wells.

The Liberal government reintroduced legislation Thursday that criminalizes forcing minors into conversion therapy, a discredited pseudo-scientific treatment aimed at changing a persons sexuality to heterosexual.

OToole told the House of Commons Thursday while he opposes conversion therapy, the language of the bill could criminalize conversations about gender and sexuality between parents, faith leaders and teachers with children.

But Kristopher Wells, the Canada Research Chair specializing in gender and sexuality minority youth issues at MacEwan University, said that threat doesnt actually exist.

Conversion therapy is a very deliberate practice thats designed to fundamentally change, alter or repress a persons sexuality orientation, gender identity or gender expression, Wells said in an interview Thursday.

In any conversation, regardless of who is having it  so long as theyre not starting that conversation with the intent to try to convince somebody to change who they are, or starting from an anti-LGBTQ premise that being LGBTQ is not acceptable  then theres nothing to worry about.

Bill C-6 doesnt outright ban conversion therapy  adults can still consent to such treatment  but it creates new criminal offences for forcing conversion therapy on minors and adults, removing a minor from Canada to undergo conversion therapy, and on advertising or profiting from conversion therapy services.

But OToole told the House of Commons Thursday that, as drafted, the legislation could criminalize interactions between parents, faith leaders and teachers with children on issues of sexuality or gender identity.

Conversion therapy is wrong. And in my view, it should be banned, OToole told MPs.

(But) most Canadians dont want conversations between a parent and a child, or a religious leader or a teacher and a young person, criminalized either  I know (the LGBTQ community) doesnt want to criminalize the conversations of others. Because a community that has been unfairly persecuted for generations does not want to start unfairly persecuting others.

In fact, the Department of Justices summary of the bill explicitly says that the new offences would not cover private conversations in which personal views on sexual orientation, sexual feelings or gender identity are expressed.

A Conservative source told the Star Thursday that the legislation would be discussed at an upcoming caucus meeting, with the intention of finding a way for the party to support the legislation.

One possible amendment, the source suggested, would be to include similar language to that used in the Justice Departments summary of the bill in the actual legislation  making it clear that private conversations, so long as theyre not coercive, would not fall under the new criminal offences.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Justice Minister David Lametti said that the government is prepared to work in good faith at the committee stage to make sure that we get it right  leaving the door open to possible amendments.

But Lametti also said the government believes they do have it right when it comes to criminalizing conversion therapy without criminalizing private conversations.

Were not criminalizing ordinary conversations that adults have or a pastor or someone might have in the legitimate exploration of identity with someone, Lametti said.

What were trying to do is create an architecture where the young person is comfortable saying no, you cant do this. Weve had the conversation. Stop. Done.
The editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a prominent Chinese state-run media outlet, weighed in on President Trumps coronavirus diagnosis on Friday.

Trump contracted the coronavirus after senior aide Hope Hicks was diagnosed. Hicks traveled with the president on Air Force One on Wednesday, testing negative before boarding but developing symptoms later that same evening.

President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19, Hu Xijin wrote on Twitter, an app that is itself banned in China. The news shows the severity of the US pandemic situation. It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection.

The U.S. State Department in June designated the Global Times as a foreign mission, which limits the total number of visas granted to members of the organization. The outlet is owned by the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece Peoples Daily.

However, the Global Times differs from its parent publication in that it takes an even more aggressive pro-China stance. While Chinese officials may have to be circumspect in certain public statements, the Global Times can itself publish the sentiments that senior Communist Party members actually feel, Hu said in a 2016 interview with Quartz.

They cant speak willfully, but I can, Hu said at the time. The outlet has kept up its strident nationalism during the coronavirus pandemic.

Originating in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus has since spread across the world and has killed at least one million people, including over 200,000 reported deaths in the U.S. China is widely thought to have concealed the extent of the outbreak within its borders, and has responded to the crisis with draconian lockdown measures.

More from National Review
Russia has continued to stall meaningful discussions to make progress towards fulfilling its own commitments under the Minsk agreements, Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine Walter Braunohler has said.

He said this in a video address on the occasion of the International Day of Non-Violence.

"Over the past year, President Zelensky and his administration have been constructive in negotiations with Russia, clearly demonstrating their will to end the conflict in Donbas, achieve the de-occupation of Crimea and fully restore Ukraine's control over its internationally recognized border with Russia. Regrettably, Russia has continued to stall meaningful discussions that would allow progress toward fulfilling its own commitments under the Minsk agreements," he said.

At the same time, Braunohler stressed that instead of weakening Ukraine's resolve to defend its freedom and independence, Russia has strengthened it.

In his opinion, the Ukrainian people "are more united, more cohesive, more resilient than ever before."

Braunohler said that the United States stands with the people of Ukraine in their fight for their country's full sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"On this International Day of Non-Violence, we call on Russia to cease its aggression against Ukraine and recognize Ukraines right to full sovereignty over its territory," he said.

op
WASHINGTON - Stricken by COVID-19, a feverish and fatigued President Donald Trump was flown to a military hospital Friday night where he is being given Remdesivir therapy after being injected with an experimental drug combination in treatment at the White House.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/10/2020 (478 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, left, arrives at the White House in Washington, late Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, after attending rallies in Ohio with President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

WASHINGTON - Stricken by COVID-19, a feverish and fatigued President Donald Trump was flown to a military hospital Friday night where he is being given Remdesivir therapy after being injected with an experimental drug combination in treatment at the White House.

In a day of whipsaw events, the president, who has spent months downplaying the threat of the virus, was forced to cancel all campaign events a month before the election as he fought a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and is hitting others in his orbit as well.

The White House said Trump's expected stay of a few days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was precautionary and that he would continue to work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to keep up his official duties.

Trump walked out of the White House Friday evening wearing a mask and gave a thumbs-up to reporters but did not speak before boarding Marine One. Members of the aircrew, Secret Service agents and White House staff wore face coverings to protect themselves from the president onboard the helicopter.

In a video taped before leaving for Walter Reed, Trump said, I think Im doing very well, but were going to make sure that things work out. He remained fully president, all authority intact.

From left, White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino, Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, and President Donald Trump's White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, walk across the South Lawn to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Ohio for rallies with President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Going welI, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!! he wrote in his first tweet from the hospital Friday night.

Just a month before the presidential election, Trump's revelation that he was positive for the virus came by tweet about 1 a.m. Friday after he had returned from a Thursday afternoon political fundraiser. He had gone ahead to the event, saying nothing to the crowd though knowing he had been exposed to an aide with the disease that has infected millions in America and killed more than a million worldwide.

First lady Melania Trump also tested positive, the president said, and several others in the White House have, too, prompting concern that the White House or even Trump himself might have spread the virus further. He said in his video that his wife was doing very well.

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, left, with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, walk from Marine One to accompany President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One as he departs Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Several administration officials pointed to the Saturday Rose Garden announcement of Trump's nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court as the possible connection between cases that spanned Washington Friday. Former White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway, the president of the University of Notre Dame, and at least two Republican lawmakers who were also present at the event  Utah Sen. Mike Lee and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis  announced Friday they had tested positive and were isolating.

Also testing positive: Trumps campaign manager, Bill Stepien. Campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh confirmed news, first reported by Politico, that Stepien received a diagnosis Friday and is experiencing mild flu-like symptoms. Stepien, who joined Trump at Tuesdays first presidential debate, plans to quarantine until he recovers.

Trumps diagnosis came during an already turbulent period in Washington and around the world, with the U.S. gripped in a heated presidential election amid the human and economic toll of the virus. Trump's immediate campaign events were all cancelled, and his next debate with Democrat Joe Biden, scheduled for Oct. 15, is now in question.

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, left, with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, walk from Marine One to accompany President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One as he departs Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump has been trying all year  and as recently as Wednesday  to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is past, and he has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable. He has mostly refused to abide by basic public health guidelines  including those issued by his own administration  such as wearing face coverings in public and practicing social distancing. Until he tested positive, he continued to hold campaign rallies that drew thousands of often maskless supporters.

I felt no vulnerability whatsoever, he told reporters back in May. With the election coming up in about a month, he is urging states and cities to reopen and reduce or eliminate shutdown rules despite continuing virus outbreaks.

The White House tried to maintain an atmosphere of business-as-usual on Friday.

From left, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino, Assistant to the President and Director of Oval Office Operations Nicholas Luna, Senior Adviser to the President of the United States Jared Kushner, Senior Adviser to the President Stephen Miller, and counselor to President Hope Hicks walk to board Marine One with President Donald Trump at the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Washington, for the short trip to Andrews Air Force Base en route to Minnesota. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Trump remains in good spirts, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day, said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days.

The presidents physician said in a memo that Trump received a dose of an experimental antibody combination by Regeneron that is in clinical trials. Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley said Trump remains fatigued but in good spirits and that a team of experts was evaluating both the president and first lady in regard to next steps.

Late Friday, Conley issued an update that said Trump is doing very well and is not requiring any supplemental oxygen," But he said that, in consultation with specialists we have elected to initiate Remdesivir therapy," an antiviral medication.

From left, White House director of social media Dan Scavino, Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, special assistant to the President and White House trip director William Russell, and director of the White House personnel John McEntee listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Middletown, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

He has completed his first dose and is resting comfortably, the doctor wrote.

The first lady, who is 50, has a mild cough and headache, Conley reported, and the remainder of the first family, including the Trumps son Barron, who lives at the White House, tested negative.

Trump is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide.

President Donald Trump stands on stage with first lady Melania Trump after the first presidential debate with Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Both Democratic presidential nominee Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have tested negative, their campaign said. Vice-President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus Friday morning and remains in good health, his spokesman said. Pence was to resume his campaign schedule after his test.

Barrett, who was with Trump and many others on Saturday and has been on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, also tested negative, the White House said. It was confirmed that she had a mild case of COVID earlier this year and has now recovered.

Very early Friday, after returning from the Thursday afternoon New Jersey fundraiser, Trump stunningly tweeted, "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Air Force One to travel to the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Hours earlier, the White House confirmed that a top aide who had travelled with him during the week had tested positive.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday confirmed that the White House knew Hope Hicks, the aide, had tested positive before Trump attended the fundraiser.

I can tell you in terms of Hope Hicks, we discovered that right as Marine One was taking off yesterday, said Meadows. Several staffers were pulled from the trip, but Trump did not cancel and there was no direct evidence that her illness was connected to his.

From l-r, first lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, walk off stage at the conclusion of the first presidential debate Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Many White House and senior administration officials were undergoing tests Friday, but the full scale of the outbreak around the president may not be known for some time as it can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test. Officials with the White House Medical Unit were tracing the president's contacts.

Trump's handling of the pandemic has already been a major flashpoint in his race against Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware citing concern about the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday nights debate.

I dont wear masks like him," Trump said. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

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.

This shows a White House memorandum released Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020 by the Physician to the President, confirming that both President Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. (AP Photo/Wayne Partlow)

In a tweet Friday morning, Biden said he and his wife send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

World leaders offered the president and first family their best wishes after their diagnosis, and governments used the case as a reminder for their citizens to wear masks and practice social distancing measures.

Multiple White House staffers have previously tested positive for the virus, including Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert OBrien and one of the presidents personal valets. An RNC official confirmed Friday that Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel learned she had tested positive Wednesday afternoon. She has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday and did not attend the debate.

It is unclear where the Trumps or Hicks caught the virus, but in a Fox interview, Trump seemed to suggest it may have been spread by someone in the military or law enforcement in greetings.

The White House began instituting a daily testing regimen for the presidents senior aides after earlier positive cases close to the president. Anyone in close proximity to the president or vice-president is also tested every day, including reporters.

Trump is far from the first world leader to test positive for the virus, which previously infected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was hospitalized last month while fighting what he called a hellish case of COVID-19.
Northern Ireland's chief scientific adviser has cast doubt on a claim by the PSNI Chief Constable that 90% of people are adhering to the rules around face coverings.

Speaking at a Policing Board meeting on Thursday Simon Byrne said there has been a 90% compliance with the rule in retail outlets and on public transport.

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However, Professor Ian Young told BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show that "I don't believe that we have seen robust statistical data to support that".

"My personal observation is that certainly in large supermarkets the use of face coverings is in that sort of area, but I suspect that it is not as high as that in smaller stores," the chief scientific adviser said.

Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Alan Todd, who leads the police effort on coronavirus, told the Belfast Telegraph that while police "have not conducted a statistically authoritative study, the consistent feedback from (retailers) them is that there is a high level of compliance".

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Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts told the Belfast Telegraph that some retailers were seeing compliance levels as high as "80-90%".

However, he said "obviously that's not the case right across the board".

"We'd have other retailers that would say it wouldn't be as high as that, but broadly speaking the compliance, it's not perfect, but we're making progress," Mr Roberts said.

"We've still alot of work to do on it and it's still a significant challenge."

The Retail NI chief said the group were regularly engaging with the PSNI on the subject of face coverings.

"We have regular contact with them, it's not something that's being made us as they go along, compliance is still high, but people always look at things like this as glass half empty."

Mr Roberts expressed concern that the public were viewing face coverings as a "silver bullet".

"There's almost this perception that people think if they wear masks they don't have to use hand sanitiser or maintain social distancing.

"We're seeing increased reports from our members about that."

Unite the Union deputy Regional Secretary Davy Thompson said there were concerns around younger adults not wearing face coverings on public transport.

"We are getting a lot of 14, 15, 16 year-olds on buses who are not adhering to it and we've raised that concern," he said.

Mr Thompson said he could not comment on exact figures but the union were on record expressing their concerns around compliance among young people.

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Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said that he visited the Abbey Centre in Newtownabbey on Thursday evening and was "appalled" by the number of people not wearing masks.

"As someone recovering from cancer I have to take a very, very wide berth around anyone I see not wearing a mask," he told the Nolan Show.

"It causes me anguish, it causes me distress when I see people doing that because they don't know what I've been through."

Mr Dickson agreed that "sadly" nobody was enforcing the rules around wearing face coverings.

"I don't see much evidence of that at the moment and that is disconcerting," the East Antrim MLA said.

In a statement issued to the Belfast Telegraph ACC Todd accepted a lot of the public discourse at the minute around face coverings is suggesting that police arent doing anything in this space".

"Nothing could be further from the truth," he said.

"Whilst we have not issued any fines for people not wearing face coverings, we are working closely with Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Retail NI, Hospitality Ulster, Translink NI and other key stakeholders to assess the levels of compliance and any additional assistance that might be required and as always, we will respond to any call for service appropriately and proportionately."

Justice Minister Naomi Long is currently undertaking what has been described as a rapid review of penalties and enforcement of the coronavirus laws.
The Justice Department is fighting a court order that halted the use of a COVID-era loophole to detain hundreds of children in hotels rather than licensed immigration facilities and then expel them from the country without access to lawyers or deportation proceedings.

Hotel detentions for children, toddlers and infants  which sometimes lasted weeks  came about when the CDC issued a public health order March 20 that shut the border to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Under this provision, Customs and Border Protection began funneling minors who wanted asylum or lacked entry visas through a different chain of custody that bypassed protections that date back decades. These accompanied and unaccompanied children were detained under the CDCs coronavirus order, the government said, so they werent privy to safeguards for children detained under immigration law.

ICE officials said in the wake of a ruling banning this practice, no unaccompanied children have been housed in hotels since Sept. 11.

Melissa Adamson, class counsel for the children at the National Center for Youth Law, called the policy particularly egregious given there are more than 10,000 beds available at licensed refugee shelters.

The governments detention of children in unlicensed and unmonitored hotels presents a significant risk of harm to these children, as children are supervised by private contractors who do not have licensure or appropriate training in childrens development, trauma or legal rights, she said.

Jennifer Podkul, vice president for policy at Kids in Need of Defense, which provides lawyers to unaccompanied children, views the detentions as a symptom of a larger problem, that children who have legitimate claims for asylum are being denied due process. In order to avoid giving these kids their rights they were stashing them in hotel rooms, she said.

My understanding is that finding these kids in hotels around the country is kind of a needle in a haystack, she said.

The majority of at least 660 child detentions between March and July occurred in Texas, including some at a Doubletree hotel in Houston. The mostly unaccompanied children were held in 25 hotels in Texas, Arizona and Louisiana, according to court documents.

The children were kept 24/7 in mid-tier chain hotel rooms and supervised by MVM Transport, an ICE contractor normally used for transportation. MVM employees undergo a few hours of training on child development and crisis intervention during their two-day orientation, according to court documents.

The government said the children play board or video games and watch TV and movies to keep them comfortable, engaged, and at ease. But the trial judge highlighted a finding that a list of amenities is not a system of care for children of different ages and developmental stages. The judge also cited a report that found a detention experience need not require mistreatment to be traumatic for a young child.

In late July, Roberto Lopez, a community organizer with the Texas Civil Rights Project, visited a Hampton Inn & Suites in McAllen where he witnessed two unmarked white vans loaded with children and adults and several other vans parked in the hotel lot. Lopez saw people in scrubs going from room to room or seated on chairs on several floors. On one floor, a boy who was about 2 was gripping a baby gate in a doorway as an adult on the other side of the gate played with him. Lopez heard the cries of at least one child from the hallway. Employees at a nearby taqueria told Lopez theyd made about 60 meals for the children and families in the hotel whom they understood were awaiting expulsion.

Employees working with the children later physically blocked attorneys from contacting them about their rights, according to he Texas Civil Rights Project. The nonprofit group later sued the government for summarily expelling dozens of unaccompanied minors under the CDC order without due process.

Class counsel for the accompanied and unaccompanied children say holding children under these conditions, denying them access to lawyers and licensed care providers and expelling them from the country amounts to a flagrant violation of a longstanding settlement.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ruled the government had circumvented fundamental humanitarian protections, saying the conditions were not adequately safe nor did they sufficiently account for the vulnerability of unaccompanied minors in detention. Under the landmark 1997 Flores settlement, all detained immigrant children must be placed in state licensed facilities, supervised by childcare professionals and protected by due process afforded to refugees, she said.

In a footnote to her September order denying the stay, Gee called the CDC detentions an opaque, unregulated, ad hoc program.

The children were exposed to unnecessary risk, the judge said, because hotel staff in cities such as Houston, San Antonio, McAllen, El Paso and Phoenix moved back and forth from communities that experienced high rates of COVID-19 transmission and were exposed to travelers who could have been exposed at nearby airports.

The government has argued that the children were not protected by the order, nor were they entitled to immigration custody, since theyd entered the U.S. in violation of public health law, preventing entry during the coronavirus pandemic. The hotel stays are an emergency action, the rooms are safe and sanitary, and most children are expelled from the country within days, according to government lawyers.

A lawyer for Homeland Security told a panel of 9th circuit judges at a video hearing Wednesday that local communities would suffer irreparable harm if children stayed in licensed shelters because there isnt enough space to comply with social distancing requirements.

U.S. Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. in California countered with the governments own data, indicating a sharp decline in such detentions: Theyre only 3 percent occupied. They can go up to 30 percent.

As of late August, the shelters had more than 10,000 empty beds, according to pleadings.

Deputy Attorney General Scott Stewart disputed the 30 percent cap at group shelters, saying that number was based on early and less stringent calculations about the danger the virus posed. He told another judge: The concern, your honor, is that once we have a bottleneck, weve already got the problem that we were trying to avoid.

Class counsel for the children told the appellate judges that without access or information, there is no way to accurately assess the conditions in hotels.

Theyre all over the map when it comes to the number of children and where theyre being held, said Carlos Holguin, of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. Frankly right now this situation with children in hotels is sort of a black hole. The government has refused to give up information on any kind of a coherent basis regarding the treatment of these children and in facthas run out lawyers whove attempted to come in and assist children on a pro bono basis.

Podkul said the government has been inconsistent in claiming its goal is to protect people from the virus. This is an administration (that) is keeping immigrants detained in crowded ICE facilities. Theyre packed even with COVID running rampant. Theyre continuing deportation flights. Theyre sticking kids on crowded deportation flights yet theyre claiming that they cant legally process these children under the law. Its absurd.

Plaintiffs argued that legal services providers are often unaware that unaccompanied children have been detained under the CDC order unless a parent or family member calls seeking help.

The appellate judges are expected to rule by Monday on the governments request for a stay. A Justice Department appeal of the order halting the hotel stays is also pending.

gabrielle.banks@chron.com
The first custom-made Boeing 777 aircraft, part of the two-aircraft Air India One fleet which will be used by the President, Vice President and Prime Minister, arrived at Delhi International Airport from the United States on October 1. (Image: Twitter @DefenceDecode)

The VVIP Air India One is equipped with an advanced communication system which allows audio and video communications to function in mid-air with top-tier security against hacking.(Image: News18)

The modified B777 plane comes fitted with sophisticated defence systems called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) Self-Protection Suites (SPS). (Image: News18)

The new VVIP aircraft is fully loaded with systems like missile warning sensors, Guardian Laser Transmitter Assemblies and Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suites (AIDEWS) for maximum security. (Image: News18)

The state-of-the-art aircraft has sophisticated protection arrangements, as well as comfort inside. It is owned by the Indian Air Force after the handover, and will have a military classification. (Image: News18)
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Linkedin Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 19:01 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48c9653 1 National mahfud-md,Papua,shooting,shootings,Intan-Jaya,military,TNI,PGI Free

The government has formed a joint fact-finding team (TGPF) to investigate the recent killings in Intan Jaya, Papua, including the shooting of Papuan pastor Yeremia Zanambani in Hitadipa district.

Established under a ministerial decree signed by Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Minister Mahfud MD on Thursday, the team comprises ministry officials, members of other state institutions, intellectuals as well as several Papuan figures.

Noticeably missing, however, are members of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

This team has two weeks, starting from the issuance of the decree, to report the results [of the investigation] to the ministry, Mahfud said in a virtual press conference on Friday.

In addition to Yeremia's death, which occurred on Sept. 19, the team will also investigate other deaths that took place around the same time in September, including the shooting of a civilian named Badawi and TNI soldiers, Chief. Sgt. Sahlan and First Pvt. Dwi Akbar.

Read also: Churches union condemns shooting that killed pastor in Papua, urges Jokowi to take action

Mahfud said the government had received recommendations from many parties, including church unions, to investigate the incidents transparently under the law and to form an investigation team.

The security chief minister was in charge of the TGPF, with the ministry's secretary Tri Soewandono appointed as the chief of the steering committee, whose members include several deputies and an expert staffer from the ministry, a deputy from the Executive Office of the President, an executive from the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) and a Papuan public figure.

Meanwhile, Benny Jozua Mamoto from the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) has been appointed to lead the unit for its investigation in the field, which comprises members from different institutions, including the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) and several universities, the National Police, the Military Police, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK).

At least four Papuan community figures are also in the unit.

Over the past few weeks, the government has been under pressure from civil society groups and members of the public to investigate the recent shootings in Intan Jaya. Mahfud said an armed criminal group (KKB) was responsible for the incidents.

Read also: Intan Jaya pastor third churchman allegedly killed by security personnel, church says

The PGI has alleged that the slain pastor, Yeremia, was killed by a TNI soldier, which the military denies.

Komnas HAM commissioner Beka Ulung Hapsara said Mahfud's office had invited the commission to discuss the issue and the position of each relevant agency and ministry.

However, Beka said, they agreed to not include Komnas HAM in the TGPF in order to maintain the position of the state rights body  which usually spearheads investigations into alleged human rights abuse cases  as an independent state institution.

We have started our own investigation and will be discussing the results with the ministry. In addition, we will also monitor the work of the joint team formed by the ministry, Beka told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Beka said he respected the governments initiative to form the joint team, hoping that it was a sign from the government of its commitment to resolving issues in Papua consistently.
Panaji:

Union AYUSH minister Shripad Naik on Saturday expressed confidence that BJP would be forming the next government in Goa with a comfortable majority, bagging 21-26 seats in the 40-member State Legislative Assembly.

We are going to get the majority votes. My prediction is that we will get between 21 to 26 seats, Naik told reporters here after casting his vote this morning. Considering the response received by BJP, we feel the party will get two-three more seats than the last time.

Live Updates | Goa Elections 2017: North Goa records voting percentage of 16%, while South Goa records 14% with an overall turnout of 15%, till 9 am

The voters have shown tremendous enthusiasm in favour of BJP which was witnessed during the election campaign, the minister said. Talking about the party's announcement that it might to send a leader from the Centre to be the next chief minister, if BJP is voted to power, Naik said the elected representatives should decide who would be their leader and the final decision should be taken after taking central leadership into confidence.

It would not be right to make any predictions now as the elected representatives will take a call on that, he added. The election is being closely fought by major political forces BJP, Congress, AAP and MGP-led alliance, who have been campaigning in the coastal state for last two months, where polling is currently underway.

BJP's campaign was studded with several national leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah addressing the public meeting to rally support for the candidates. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party, which has for the first time forayed into Goa, is contesting on 39 seats. Counting of votes will be undertaken on March 11.

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With just one blemish in her eight-race resume, Test Of Faith cruised to her sixth consecutive victory when winning the first of two divisions of the $268,000 Artspeak Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Filly Pace  sponsored by the Artspeak Syndicate and Winbak Farm  at The Red Mile as Grand Circuit action rolled into Lexington on Friday (Oct. 2).

Marsala Hanover hustled for the lead from Post 8 and took the field by the opening quarter in :28. Test Of Faith landed in fourth moving to the first turn and started to edge off the pylons while Marsala Hanover sped to a :55.4 half. Into the far turn, Test Of Faith committed to race first over and inched towards the pacesetter heading to three-quarters in 1:24. Marsala Hanover clung to a diminishing lead in the stretch as Test Of Faith charged to her side and then right on by to win in a lifetime-best 1:50.3. JK Alwaysbalady closed from second over for third with Lady Midnight taking fourth.

We really think shes a special filly, said Ken Jackson of Kentuckiana Horse Farms. When Melvin [Segal] bought this one, Brett [Pelling] loved her and we decided wed come in with him and he was generous enough to let us in. When we started going to New York, Brett was pretty adamant that we had the best two-year-old pacing filly in the country and definitely in New York. And maybe its truly the case.

An Art Major filly out of the Cams Card Shark mare Cannae Cammie, Test Of Faith has banked $434,500 for owners Melvin Segal, Kentuckiana Racing Stable and Eddie Gran. Brett Pelling conditions the Fred Hertrich III-bred filly while David Miller sat in the sulky. She paid $2.40 to win.

Fire Start Hanover fired from the pocket at the top of the stretch and strode in hand to a 1:50.4 victory in the second division of the Artspeak.

Clearing command by a :28.2 opening quarter, Fire Start Hanover yielded the lead moving up the backside to 7-5 favourite Blue Diamond Eyes, who crossed over to the top past a :56.1 half. Making Waves angled first over rolling to the final turn and gained ground on Blue Diamond Eyes to three-quarters in 1:23.4, but Fire Start Hanover had enough room at the top of the stretch to peer out of her seat. The Richard Nifty Norman trainee powered to the lead entering the final eighth and strolled to the finish under wraps over Blue Diamond Eyes. Lindy At The Beach finished third with Making Waves taking fourth.

I know nothing about training a horse -- I only watch -- but shes done really well the last month, co-owner Marlys Pinske said after the race. We love The Red Mile. Weve come to The Red Mile for probably 40 years; were always here.

Co-owned by the Pinske Stables with David Hoese and Lawrence Means, Fire Start Hanover won her fifth race from eight starts, earning $145,836. Dexter Dunn drove the Hanover Shoe Farms-bred Somebeachsomewhere filly who paid $9.60 to win.

Dancinginthedark M looped to the top through slow fractions and accelerated under minimal encouragement to a 1:52.2 victory in the first division of the $316,300 Muscle Hill Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot, sponsored by Southwind Farms.

Cuatro De Julio cleared control to the first turn with Magical Muscle Man securing the pocket and Dacinginthedark M floating into third. By the first quarter in :28.3, Cuatro De Julio kept the tempo tepid heading to a :57.1 half, prompting driver Tim Tetrick to slide Dancinginthedark M off the pylons and towards the lead.

Dancinginthedark M cruised around the final turn to three-quarters in 1:25.2 as Cuatro De Julio readied to pull pocket for the stretch drive. However Cuatro De Julio stalled through the stretch as Dancinginthedark M strode to the finish in hand. Southwind Tyrion ripped down the center of the course to take third with 8-5 favourite Arnold N Dicky settling for fourth.

Hes always had tons of ability, Tetrick said after the race. His mind will once in awhile take over his gait and he kind of overtries to trot himself and hell make a mistake. Today we sent him in pretty good, but he was starting to get aggressive and we had to make a move. Weve been trying to teach him to race the right way. I was just trying to let him have a good day over this beautiful dirt and hopefully he likes it, and next time hell come back and remember that and be happier for it.

Bred and owned by Menhammar Stuteri Ab, Dancinginthedark M collected his third win from six starts, earning $91,961. Marcus Melander trains the Readly Express colt who paid $7.80 to win.

With 1-5 favorite In Range out of contention through slow fractions, Take All Comers ranged first over to nail Fly Light at the finish of a 1:52.3 mile in the second division of the Muscle Hill.

Johan Palema powered to the front with stablemate Fly Light settling into a loose pocket. Take All Comers sat third to a :28 first quarter with Moonstone US racing fourth and the favoured In Range fifth.

With a field stacked single file behind him to a :56.3 half, Johan Palema continued unchallenged to the far turn as Take All Comers edged first over with Moonstone US and In Range in tow to three-quarters. Johan Palema clipped three-quarters in 1:25 but shortened stride in the stretch. Fly Light lunged from the pocket to contest for the lead while Take All Comers continued to press on the outside. The pair sprinted to the finish but Take All Comers put a head in front and kept Fly Light at bay to break his maiden in his seventh start. Moonstone US finished third while his stablemate, In Range, finished sixth.

My theory is, especially with trotters, if theyre messing up because theyve got other things on their mind, youre better off gelding them if you want them to win here in Kentucky and in October, trainer Jim Campbell said of the freshly-gelded son of Creatine after the race. And this colt, he was like that. He wasnt a mean horse, but he was a big horse and just had other things on his mind and as soon as we gelded him it just turned a corner for him.

Before he got on him, he said Im looking forward to racing him today, Campbell said of his pre-card conversation with David Miller. Dave only drove him one time [at The Meadows]. Hes a horse thats big but has speed, and I think the five-eighths tracks just kind of hindered him a little bit. We got a chance to see what he can do on a big track today.

Take All Comers (Creatine - Nantab) picked up his first career win in seven starts for owner and co-breeder Runthetable Stables of Montvale, N.J. The win lifts his bankroll to $121,932.

The aptly-named Delayed Hanover took command, yielded for the pocket then retook command to maintain a firm lead through the stretch and finish of a 1:53.4 mile in the final Muscle Hill division.

Sweeping to the lead from post 3, Delayed Hanover let Jack Fire clear the top past a :28.1 opening quarter. Sonofamistery raced third into the backstretch and started to pull off the pylons, but lost stride in tight quarters as Delayed Hanover vacated pocket and circled to the lead. From there, trainer-driver Ake Svanstedt controlled the tempo to a :57.2 half and to three-quarters in 1:27.1 before speeding the Southwind Frank colt to the finish to cap the mile with a :26.3 final quarter. Jack Fire held second while Locatelli took third and Swingforthefences finished fourth.

He trained as good as the best horses in the whole spring, Svanstedt said after the race. I expect a lot out of this horse. Southwind Frank can be a good stud. He had a good pedigree and was a very good horse. This horse is a good-looking horse also.

Owned by Mellby Gard Inc. and Ake Svanstedt Inc., Delayed Hanover won his first race from three starts, earning $60,800. The Hanover Shoe Farms-bred colt, who began his career late due to sustaining an injury in the paddock earlier this year, paid $5.20 to win.

Grand Circuit competition resumes at The Red Mile on Saturday (Oct. 3). There are three divisions of the $359,300 Stay Hungry Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Pace and four divisions of the $349,000 Norman Woolworth Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Filly Trot. The card of harness racing gets underway at 1:00 p.m. (EDT).

(Red Mile)
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An estimated nine million Americans live abroad - half a million of them in Israel where observers expect an unprecedented number will cast absentee ballots in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.
The worlds first cast iron bridge still stands in Shropshire, England, across River Severn. Its more than two hundred years old.

Although cast iron has been used since ancient times to make pots and pans, cannon balls, and decorative pieces such as window grills and chimneypieces, it was never used for structural purposes until architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard suggested that a cast iron bridge be constructed to span the Severn Gorge in Shropshire. The Severn Gorge, later renamed to the Ironbridge Gorge after the bridge, is rich in coal, iron ore, and limestone, and a significant industry developed in the area to exploit these resources during the later part of the 18th century.

Photo: Bs0u10e0/Flickr

As the industry around the gorge grew, there arose the need for a strong and durable bridge to transport goods across the river. Because the gorge was deep and the banks instable, the bridge had to be single span and sufficiently high to allow tall ships to pass underneath, the river being a key trading route. The only material that was acceptable was cast iron, but nobody had built a cast iron bridge at this scale before. An iron bridge was begun at Lyons in 1755, but was abandoned because of cost, and a 22-meter-span wrought iron footbridge exist over an ornamental waterway in Kirklees, Yorkshire, since 1769.

Undaunted, architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard proposed an iron bridge which would link the parishes of Madley and Benthall over one of the busiest rivers in the country. Pritchards designs were approved by Act of Parliament and in 1777 construction began.

Abraham Darby III, an ironmaster at Coalbrookdale, was commissioned to cast and build the bridge. When Pritchard died just a month after work had begun, the responsibility of the project fell upon Darby.

Darby cast all the parts necessary for the bridgeover 1,700 individual components, with the heaviest weighing 5 long tons in his own foundry, and each component was cast individually to fit with each other. He borrowed techniques from carpentry, such as mortises and tenons, dovetails and wedges, and adapted them to the different properties of cast iron.

Photo: R~P~M/Flickr

When the bridge was completed in 1779, it measured 100 feet across and weighed just short of 400 tons. Curiously, there is no reliable record and no witness account that describe exactly how Darby managed to hoist a mass of iron and suspend it over a river. But in 1997 a small watercolour sketch by Elias Martin came to light in a museum in Stockholm. The painting shows a moveable wooden scaffold consisting of derrick poles standing in the river bed being used as a crane to position the half-ribs of the bridge, which had been taken to the site by boat from Darby's foundry 500 meters downstream. To rest the credibility of the engineering solution as depicted in the painting, a half-size replica of the main section of the bridge was built in 2001 as part of the research for a BBC.

Elias Martins painting of the Iron Bridge under construction, July 1779.

The success of the Iron Bridge inspired the widespread use of cast iron as a structural material across Europe and America, which was unfortunate because cast iron is brittle and has poor tensile strength. Throughout the 19th century, many cast iron bridges failed spectacularly. The most infamous was the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879, where 75 people lost their lives.

In 1943, the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic to avoid subjecting it to unnecessary stress and risk collapse. That same year, it was designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. In the subsequent decades, the bridge was strengthened by building a reinforced concrete strut across the bed of the river to brace the two abutments.

Today, the bridge is celebrated as a symbol of the Industrial Revolution.

Photo: Mike Gibson UK/Shutterstock.com

Photo: Michael Brace/Flickr

Photo: John Clift/Flickr
Crude oil prices took a nosedive today after President Donald Trump tweeted late last night that both he and the first lady had tested positive for Covid-19.

Brent crude slipped below $40 in Asian and European trading, and West Texas Intermediate stayed below $38 a barrel, after falling earlier this week.

Oil was already on the decline earlier this week, weighed down by renewed fears about demand recovery as new Covid-19 cases continued rising fast in Europe, the U.S., and India. The global total passed 34 million this week, up by a million from a week earlier. The death toll from the disease passed the 1-million mark this week as well.

In more bearish news, the U.S. Congress continued failing to strike a bipartisan deal on further financial stimulus. The only development in this direction was the House approving a Democrat-proposed bill for an additional $2.2-trillion in stimulus that is likely to hit a wall in the Senate.

As a result of legislators failure to reach a bipartisan deal, U.S. airlines began preparing for furloughs and layoffs that could affect as much as 45,000 people.

In yet more bad news, OPECs oil production rose in September, by 160,000 bpd, according to preliminary figures from a Reuters survey. The increase came from Libya and Iran, both exempt from the production-cutting deal that OPEC agreed on earlier this year to prop up prices.

Libya, which last month restarted production at three oil export terminals and several fields, is now pumping 270,000 bpd, according to an unnamed source who spoke to Reuters. A month ago, the country was only producing less than 100,000 bpd.

OPEC export data was also bearish: according to the latest figures, the cartel exported 18.2 million bpd last month, versus 17.53 million bpd in August. OPEC+ exported 22.84 million bpd in September, up from 22.11 million bpd in August.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a new report.

The New York Times reports several sources said McDaniel, the niece of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), was diagnosed with Covid-19 on Wednesday and is experiencing mild symptoms.

McDaniel is among those who have frequent contact with President Donald Trump, last seeing him on Friday. She has been at her home in Michigan since then, the Times reported.

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus early Friday, hours after top White House aide Hope Hicks was diagnosed with Covid-19. The Associated Press reports the president is in quarantine and experiencing mild symptoms.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, along with White House advisors Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the presidents daughter, all reportedly tested negative for Covid-19 on Friday.

President Donald Trump, who spent much of the year downplaying the threat of a virus that has killed more than 205,000 people in the U.S., is still expected to carry out his presidential duties from the White House residence without disruption.

McDaniel, 47, is a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party. She replaced Reince Priebus as RNC chair in 2017 after Priebus was named Trumps White House chief of staff.

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By Rod Nickel and Nidhi Verma

WINNIPEG, Manitoba/NEW DELHI, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Indian oil refiner Reliance Industries has agreed to purchase 2 million barrels of Canadian heavy crude per month, three industry sources said, as a substitute for dwindling Venezuelan supply.

The deal, large for Canada, shows how global buyers are scrambling for new sources of heavy oil. Venezuela's production has collapsed over the last several years, and U.S. sanctions have squeezed its ability to sell oil to international buyers, including Reliance.

The Indian refiner, which operates the largest refining facility in the world, is among several companies winding down purchases from Venezuela as a result of U.S. sanctions.

Reliance's purchases from Canada will last for six months, two sources said, while a third said it was confirmed for at least the fourth quarter.

With "Venezuela's collapse in production, (demand) needs to be met by someone," said a Canadian industry source, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Bloomberg first reported the sale.

Reliance did not respond to a request for comment.

Mexico, another major producer of heavy crude, has also seen production fall, as state oil firm Pemex has been hobbled by debt.

Canada is heavily dependent on oil sales to the United States, which purchased 97% of the country's exported crude in July, the most recent Statistics Canada data available.

The Canadian oil industry has struggled for years with deep discounts for its heavy crude, due largely to congested pipelines that carry it to U.S. refiners. This year, producers have curtailed production as the pandemic has crushed demand, which has helped elevate prices.

Canadian heavy crude for November delivery traded on Thursday for $10.80 per barrel less than the North American benchmark, according to NE2 Canada Inc. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Nidhi Verma in Delhi; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Brandons endangered small white ladys slipper orchids could be getting some extra protections in the future.

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This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Brandons endangered small white ladys slipper orchids could be getting some extra protections in the future.

The developer of a south end housing project, Stoneridge Equities Ltd., has signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Brandon and Nature Conservancy of Canada committing to the creation of an urban ecological preserve to safeguard the flowers and prevent their habitat from future development.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada, Stoneridge Holding Ltd. and the City of Brandon signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday promising to create an urban ecological reserve to protect the endangered small white ladys slipper orchids on a plot of land in southeastern Brandon. (File)

Earlier this year, concerns were raised about the potential impacts a development planned for a plot of land in southeast Brandon east of First Street and north of Patricia Avenue might have on the flowers, which are listed as endangered under Manitobas Endangered Species Act.

That plot of land is the third-largest habitat for that species of orchid in Manitoba.

Stoneridge is promising to set aside a portion of land on the plot to create a protective greenspace that will foster the ongoing stewardship of the flowers, monitor their well-being and create public awareness about the species.

A spokesperson for Stoneridge, Shane Pospisil of New West Opportunities, told the Sun by phone that hes not ready to announce the size of the land being put aside, but that more announcements are coming in the near future.

According to Pospisil, Stoneridge has been in talks with Nature Conservancy Canada about the land since 2008, but discussions around an urban preserve started in 2018. He hopes Thursdays announcement will help quell some of the fears surrounding the orchids and the development.

"This small white ladys slipper issue has been an issue thats divided many in Brandon for far too long," he said. "What we signed this morning is really aimed at bringing folks in the community together around conservation and really finding a balance that protects those conservation and environmental values and also allows adjacent development to proceed in a very respectful and protective way."

If it ends up being established, Brandon director of planning and buildings Ryan Nickel said it would be the first urban preserve in the city.

"We want to be a key partner in preserving the endangered species, and were pleased that the Nature Conservancy of Canada is on board and taking the lead," Nickel said.

He said he is looking forward to having space in town that helps locals learn about different species and provides a greenspace to a growth area for the city.

Another area like this being created in Brandon is unlikely, Nickel said, because there would have to be another focal point like the endangered orchid for it to happen.

See MOU  Page A2

Continued from Page A1

Speaking on behalf of Nature Conservancy of Canada, the organizations regional vice-president for Manitoba, Kevin Teneycke, said he hopes the process instils the developers with an understanding of the orchids and the risks they face.

The organization, which operates an office in Brandon, is a private, non-profit that partners with various groups to protect areas that sustain Canadian plants and wildlife.

"Hopefully they then acquire a sense of ownership and feel some pride about living in a community that places a value on natural spaces," Teneycke said.

He believes that the signing of the memorandum should give those concerned about the orchids hope that the flowers will be well taken care of.

 cslark@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ColinSlark
Sometimes presidents lie about medical conditions to distract from other, non-health issues. When John F. Kennedy was holding secret meetings dealing with the Soviet Union and the Cuban missile crisis, press secretary Pierre Salinger told reporters that the presidents schedule changes and lack of public appearances were due to a cold. He even released the presidents symptoms and temperature.
Theres no doubt Canadas residential school system is a dark and terrible stain on this countrys history. And no doubt that Canadians should never forget what happened and strive to better understand the brutal toll that history continues to exact on Indigenous people.

Theres plenty of doubt, however, that much of that will be achieved by giving federally regulated employees a paid day off work.

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault introduced legislation this week to make Sept. 30 (so-called Orange Shirt Day) a statutory holiday to reflect and honour the survivors of residential schools.

Even if we adopt the hopeful view, as many Indigenous leaders have, that a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation would be used as a solemn occasion of remembrance and help keep reconciliation efforts on the front burner, its still a symbolic approach to an issue that requires so much more than that.

And far too often, symbolic moves have been used by governments in place of the more concrete actions, funding and programs that are needed to solve the underlying problems.

The idea for a statutory holiday was put forward by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015. It was No. 80 on its list of 94 calls to action.

How about No.1?

That one called on governments to commit to reducing the number of Aboriginal children in care.

To its credit, the Trudeau government has recently put in place a new legislative framework to affirm the right of Indigenous communities to develop and enforce their own child-welfare laws and shift the focus away from removing children. But its very slow going, almost certainly underfunded and, crucially, hasnt actually solved the problem yet.

Across the country, more Indigenous children are taken from their homes by childrens aid societies now than were displaced at the height of the residential school system.

Theres a straight line from that modern-day tragedy to family poverty, inadequate housing, untreated addictions, intergenerational trauma from residential schools and a woefully underfunded child welfare system  all issues that have repeatedly been put on the back-burner.

What about No. 24?

We call upon medical and nursing schools in Canada to require all students to take a course dealing with Aboriginal health issues, including the history and legacy of residential schools ... This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism.

We need look no further than the horrific case of Joyce Echaquan, who died in a hospital in Joliette, Que., earlier this week, to know how much this is needed.

The 37-year-old Atikamekw mother documented through a Facebook Live video the final heart-wrenching moments of her life. That included hospital staff dismissing her cries of distress as they called her stupid as hell and hurled racist insults at her.

There have been advances in education on Indigenous health but courses are still not mandatory everywhere or comprehensive enough. And the ultimate goal of closing the gap in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities  No. 19  is still nowhere in sight.

Nor is No. 30. We call upon federal, provincial, and territorial governments to commit to eliminating the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in custody over the next decade, and to issue detailed annual reports that monitor and evaluate progress in doing so.

Were almost five years in and while a few statements have been made this hasnt even started to change for the better. In fact, the problem is getting worse.

Indigenous people make up five per cent of Canadas population but fully 30 per cent of the federal prison population. For women the situation is even worse: 42 per cent of federal female inmates are Indigenous.

This is a systemic problem and one of Canadas most pressing social justice issues. And yet it hasnt received the sustained attention or concerted actions needed from government.

When COVID-19 arrived, the provincial jail population in Ontario dropped by more than a quarter in the span of a month to reduce overcrowding so we know change can happen quickly when the right focus is brought to bear.

When the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation comes to pass  and whether or not the statutory holiday is extended to workers across the country beyond the few who are in federal employ  it cannot be used by government as a diversion from the harder work that still needs to be done.

Every measure we have to judge how a population is doing shows Canada is failing Indigenous peoples: child welfare, poverty, addictions and mental health, housing and clean water, education and employment, and incarceration.

So lets listen to First Nations child-welfare advocate Cindy Blackstock who welcomed the holiday with a heavy but. She said improving services for Indigenous families would have been better.

And she issued a warning: They tend to use these types of things to make the appearance that theyre doing something without changing the fundamental behaviour that has separated First Nations families for generations.

How nice it would be if, by the time this holiday rolls around, there were many more concrete actions to ensure a better future for Indigenous peoples for us all to celebrate.
Egypt is aware of its interests and is able to defend them, and everyone should pay attention to their own self and to the interest of their country, Shoukry said

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Thursday that the statements of some Turkish officials about Egypt are "surprising and contradictory.

He made the remarks during a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto in Cairo, where the pair had held a meeting.

"The repeated Turkish statements that deal, from a Turkish perspective, with what Egypt should do are surprising and contradictory," Shoukry said.

He added that such statements "serve as a claim that there are those who know the interests of Egypt better than those responsible for protecting its interests."

The minister said that Egypt is known for its commitment to international legal norms and the charter of the United Nations, and hence it signs agreements from a sound international perspective.

"Egypt is aware of its interests and is able to defend them, and everyone should pay attention to their own self and to the interest of their country," Shoukry said.

He also referred indirectly to the Turkish military presence in some Arab countries, saying, "what is the legitimacy on which some unjustly build their military presence in Arab countries?"

Relations between Egypt and Turkey have been strained since the 2013 ouster of Mohamed Morsi, who was a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government.

Egypt has repeatedly condemned Ankara's support for the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood.

Tensions have escalated in recent months over Ankara's military intervention in war-torn Libya, its violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and its search for gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, in violation of the territorial waters of Greece and Cyprus, two close allies of Cairo.

Addressing a virtual meeting of Arab foreign ministers organised by the Arab League earlier this month, Shoukry stressed the necessity of adopting a "unified and firm Arab policy" against Turkeys "destructive practices" in Libya, Syria and Iraq.

Conflict further heightened after Egypt and Greece signed a maritime demarcation deal in August establishing an exclusive economic zone between the two countries, sparking an angry response from Turkey.

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J oe Biden and his wife Dr Jill Biden have both tested negative for Covid-19, hours after President Donald Trump revealed he had tested positive for the disease.

The Democratic presidential nominee tweeted: "Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID.

"Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands."

It comes after fears that Mr Biden, 78, had been exposed to coronavirus during Tuesday's chaotic presidential debate in Cleveland.

In a tweet on Mr Trump revealed that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the disease, throwing the election campaign into fresh chaos.

Melania Trump said she is experiencing "mild symptoms" after she and President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

"Thank you for the love you are sending our way. I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good. I am looking forward to a speedy recovery," she tweeted Friday morning.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said President Trump was also experiencing mild symptoms, but continues to work from the White House residence as he quarantines. The Trump's youngest child, Barron, 14, has tested negative for the virus.

US Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett (L) meets with US Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah / POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Utah Senator Mike Lee also said he had tested positive for the coronavirus after experiencing "symptoms consistent with longtime allergies." Lee visited the White House on Saturday for President Donald Trump's announcement that he had nominated Judge Amy Comey Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Lee said in his statement that he had tested negative for the virus when he visited the White House for Saturday's event, which featured little social distancing and few masks.

The Utah Republican also met with Barrett on Tuesday in Washinton. The two sat in chairs that were distanced several feet apart but took a photo before the meeting in which they were closer together. He also spoke to reporters after the meeting, removing his mask in front of the cameras as most lawmakers generally do.
Kyle Rittenhouse, left, with backwards cap, walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha, Wis., with another armed civilian, on Aug. 25, 2020. (Adam Rogan/The Journal Times via AP)

Rittenhouse Lawyer Puts Biden Campaign on Notice for Defamation Suit

The Lawyer representing the family of Kyle Rittenhouse asked the presidential campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden to preserve records related to a recent campaign video. The video is defamatory to Rittenhouse and the records thus need to be preserved for potential litigation, the lawyer, Lin Wood, said in an Oct. 2 letter to the campaign.

The letter asks the campaign to delete the video from the internet, issue a retraction, and apologize. Otherwise, Wood will file the suit, the letter implies.

Rittenhouse, 17, faces murder charges for shooting three people, two fatally, during recent riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Videos from the scene indicate all three people chased Rittenhouse before he shot them. One, according to a witness filming the incident, tried to grab his gun; one was filmed striking him with a skateboard after he had tripped and fallen; and one pointed a gun at him. Rittenhouses lawyers said he fired in self defense in all three cases.

Bidens video showed a montage of clips including a 2017 neo-Nazi demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, other demonstrations, as well as a static image of Rittenhouse. The clips are overlaid with audio of President Donald Trump being asked to condemn white supremacists and militia groups during the recent presidential debate.

Bidens Twitter account posted the video with a comment, Theres no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night.

The juxtaposition of the audio, video, and Bidens comment conveys the false and defamatory impression that Mr. Bidens inflammatory words and Kyles picture are meaningfully relatedthat is, that Kyle is a white supremacist, a member of a militia group or was involved in the violence perpetrated on people and property in Kenosha and Portland in recent weeks, Wood said.

Every one of these inferences is capable of being and would reasonably be construed by the average viewer to mean that Kyle engaged in reprehensible and unlawful conduct.

In fact, Wood said, Rittenhouse is neither a white supremacist nor a militia member, the charges against him for the shootings in Kenosha are false, and he didnt participate in the Portland protests and riots.

Defamation is a serious matter, Wood said. Defamation by a national political figure that is broadcast to and seen and relayed again and again my [sic] millions of people is far more serious.

What the Biden campaign did is yet more serious, the lawyer said, because it threatens [an] American citizens right to a fair trial.

What jury can possibly sit in a fair judgement after what Mr. Biden has done to Kyle Rittenhouse? he asked, noting that the video has been seen millions of times already.

Wood asked the campaign to preserve all documents, including internal communications, relating in any way, no matter how remote to Bidens accusations against Kyle.

The Biden campaign didnt respond to a request for comment.

Wood is also representing Nick Sandmann, who has sued multiple media companies for misconstruing his interaction with a native American activist after the 2019 March for Life in Washington, D.C. Sandmann was 16 at the time. Of his six lawsuits, two have been settled so farone with CNN and another with The Washington Post.

Bidens video focused on Trumps reaction when Biden asked him to condemn The Proud Boys during the debate.

Proud Boys. Stand back and stand by, Trump said.

Proud Boys is a self-described conservative mens club. Its members come from various ethnic and racial backgrounds. Its official tenets denounce racism and only condone violence in self defense. Its members have been caught on video engaging in fights, often with members of anarcho-communist group Antifa. Its often difficult to discern who initiated the fights.

Trump condemned Proud Boys after the debate, though noting that he doesnt know much about the group.

The debate exchange started when the moderator, Fox News Chris Wallace, asked Trump if he would denounce white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities, as we saw in Kenosha, as weve seen in Portland? Are you prepared specifically to do that?

Sure, Im prepared to do it, Trump responded.  I would say, almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing.

When pushed to spell out the condemnation, Trump asked who specifically he should condemn. While he has denounced white supremacists many times in the past, hes never spoken against militias writ large. There are more than 500 militia groups in the United States. Most of them are right-leaning and havent engaged in any unlawful activities.
Bombarding people with adverts on television and radio for Viagra increases the number of babies that are born, a new study claims.

Viagra has been advertised on television in the UK since it was reclassified from prescription-only to over the counter medication a few years ago.

The new study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, claims that a one per cent increase in advertising of erectile dysfunction caused the birth rate to increase between 0.04 and 0.08 per cent.

Bombarding people with adverts on television and radio for Viagra increases the number of babies that are born, a new study claims (stock image)

Dr Tongil Kim is a co-author of the study and an assistant professor at the University of Texas in Dallas.

He examined the advertising stats of Viagra (sildenafil), Levitra (vardenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil) compared to the births at a hospital in Massachusetts between 2001 and 2010 as well as 15 million US birth certificates between 2000 and 2004.

Two neighbouring postcodes were examined in the study, with one receiving more erectile dysfunction adverts than the other.

Birth rates were found to be higher in the postcode that received more adverts.

Dr Kim said: 'One popular hypothesis for the increased birth rates focused on older male ad viewers taking the pill and fathering more babies.

The new study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, claims that a one per cent increase in advertising of erectile dysfunction caused the birth rate to increase between 0.04 and 0.08 per cent (stock image)

'The data, however, did not show an increase in the average age of the fathers.

'It is possible this effect plays a role equally across different age groups'.

However, another explanation of the findings is that the suggestive power of the adverts had an affect on some men even if they didn't purchase the pills.

Dr Kim said: 'As for the content of the ads, many of the ED drug commercials during the data period featured suggestive ad copy and content, which resulted in some people deeming ED drug ads inappropriate for family viewing, as demonstrated by a legislative bill that was introduced in 2009 calling to ban ED drug ads on TV between 6am and 10pm.'

Two neighbouring postcodes were examined in the study, with one receiving more erectile dysfunction adverts than the other. Birth rates were found to be higher in the postcode that received more adverts (stock image)

The research also found that erectile dysfunction pills were particularly effective among families with lower incomes.

Additionally, those people who consumed greater amounts of ED adverts were more likely to search online for pregnancy related content.

The researchers hope their findings will help monitor the 'united health consequences' of advertising by pharmaceutical companies.

Dr Kim said: 'This is not only a responsible thing to do, but it can also create creative marketing opportunities.

'For example, companies selling infant-related medicines and goods like children's cold medicine, baby car seats or diapers might use ED drug ads as an additional market variable to better anticipate and predict local pregnancy rates 10 months later - essentially their market potential - and improve upon jointly deploying marketing and distribution resources across various regions.'
Yesterday, the adversary continued to attack the Defense Army, using planes, helicopters, the entire arsenal of missiles and artillery, as well as armored tank units and special units. Artur Sargsyan, Deputy Commander of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army, said this to a briefing Friday.

According to him, the number of weapons, military equipment, and personnel used were unprecedented, especially in the northern and southern directions.

"There has been no significant change in the operational-tactical and tactical situation. Tensions eased slightly at night, but shelling continued unabated. The units of the Defense Army performed the tasks set before them brilliantly and flawlessly, thwarting the adversary's attempts to advance. Having failed, the adversary targeted the settlements and the civilian population [of Artsakh]. In particular, the cities of Martuni, Martakert, Hadrut, during which Armenian and foreign journalists were also injured in the cities," he said.

"Sadly, 54 [more] fighters of the Defense Army sacrificed their lives in the struggle for the defense of the homeland. The number of wounded is being determined; we have quite a lot of wounded," Sargsyan stressed.
In this Thursday April 16, 2020 file photo, The Amazon logo is seen in Douai, northern France. Amazon said Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020 that nearly 20,000 of its workers have tested positive or been presumed positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler, File)

Amazon said Thursday that nearly 20,000 of its front-line U.S. workers have tested positive or been presumed positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.

But the online retail behemoth, revealing the data for the first time, said that the infection rate of its employees was well below that seen in the general U.S. population. The disclosure comes after months of pressure from Amazon workers and labor groups calling for the company to divulge the COVID-19 numbers.

Amazon said in a corporate blog that it provided the data as part of its effort to keep employees informed, and to share details and best practices with governments and other companies.

"We hope other large companies will also release their detailed learnings and case rates because doing so will help all of us," Amazon said. "This is not an arena where companies should competethis is an arena where companies should help one another."

The Seattle-based company said that it examined data from March 1 to Sept. 19 on 1.37 million workers at Amazon and Whole Foods Market across the U.S.

It said it compared the COVID-19 case rates to the general population, as reported by Johns Hopkins University for the same period. Based on that analysis, if the rate among Amazon and Whole Foods employees were the same as that for the general population, it estimated it would have seen 33,952 cases among its workforce. That is 42% higher that Amazon's actual rate.

The company also said it is conducting thousands of tests a day, which will grow to 50,000 tests a day across 650 sites by November.

Companies have no legal obligation to publicly reveal how many of their workers have contracted the virus, and few are doing so.

Employers do have to provide a safe working environment, which means they must alert staff if they might have been exposed to the virus, according to guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency that enforces workplace safety. They are also obligated to keep track of COVID-19 infections contracted on the job, and must report to OSHA if there is a hospitalization or death related to the disease.

A perceived lack of transparency has left workers at various retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, to become amateur sleuths in their spare time. Unions and advocate groups have taken up the cause, too, creating lists or building online maps of stores where workers can self-report cases they know about.

In a statement emailed to The Associated Press Thursday night, Walmart said that "we believe that Walmart associates' rate of infection tracks, or is below, the current rate of infection of the general public nationwide." It didn't explain why it doesn't provide numbers.

Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents grocery and meatpacking workers, called Amazon's disclosure as "the most damning evidence we have seen that corporate America has completely failed to protect our country's frontline workers in this pandemic."

UFCW is calling for immediate action by federal regulators and a full congressional investigation.

"This titanic safety failure demands the highest level of scrutiny," Perrone said.

Explore further Amazon defends warehouse safety following report on injuries

 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
A 36-year-old man was arrested last Friday after police responded to calls that he had threatened to kill a neighbour with whom he was allegedly obsessed, as well as throwing objects out of the window of his fourth-floor flat and walking the streets shirtless while carrying a knife.

When the police arrived, the individual stood on his balcony, shouting various insults at the officers before throwing a figurine of a Cherokee Native American at them. The 40 centimetre-tall figurine, weighing more than three kilos, landed on the roof of one of the patrol vehicles.

When officers were able to arrest him at last, they found he had two pairs of scissors hidden in his pockets. The man also required medical treatment after he started to headbutt the floor.
Were speaking in the middle of a pandemic. Theres a presidential campaign. Wildfires in the West. Is it OK to be talking about art?

Its more than OK. I think its necessary. Art is not a luxury. It is a necessity, to feed the human spirit and mind, but also to undergird culture and the questions we ask ourselves. In a way, we need theater more now than ever, because we need to be reminded that we are all a part of a bigger story. And for me, the bigger story right now is how we see ourselves, how we treat each other, how we care for each other, how we govern ourselves. We need art to help guide us because there are very conflicting points of view right now.

I understand you were in a few shows during high school.

Well, yes, but only if I didnt sing. That was so humiliating. My high school was staging Bye Bye Birdie. I knew the drama teacher. And he goes, Well, Ill tell you what Hillary, you can be in the production, as long as you dont actually sing. I really did, and still have, just a pretty sad voice for singing.

After 2016, we started to see you a lot in the audience on Broadway. Is it an escape? Is it therapy? Whats the rationale?
Octopuses have often been likened to creatures from other planets, or galaxies. They can morph into almost any shape, colour and texture; they squirt ink, jet-propel water, squeeze into tiny bottles, can unfurl long capes or inflate into circus tents, can recognise humans (one dumping water on people it didnt like) and unscrew jars with their tentacles.

A life of awe and wonder ... a scene from My Octopus Teacher.

The term "cephalopod" comes from the Greek for head-foot; an apt description of these creatures without torsos, squid and octopus and cuttlefish, with limbs sprouting from their heads. Octopuses eight arms are crammed with neurons, which can touch, taste and function separately from the brain.

And now, with the new hit documentary My Octopus Teacher on Netflix, we can all watch a man fall in love with an octopus and document its startling ways in the most intimate of fashions. The days after it was released, my phone buzzed for days with dozens of people telling me to watch it (knowing I had revealed my love of the cephalopod and the deep sea in my book). I did and its stunning.

The Cut called it "The love story we all need", Pedestrian TV "An unbelievable doco that will make you weep."
Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who founded petrol station operator EG Group nearly two decades ago, are taking Asda back under British ownership for the first time since 1999, when U.S. retail giant Walmart paid 6.7 billion pounds for it.

Judith McKenna, president and chief executive of Walmart International said "The Issa brothers have a reputation for good brand partnerships, for convenience and for growth and thats really what we were interested in for Asda."

McKenna said the deal was not about job cuts and the new owners said they are targeting growth by expanding into convenience shops from its large supermarket and online operations, bringing Asda more in line with market leader Tesco and No. 2 Sainsbury's.

The Issas said they wanted to utilise their experience to help "build a differentiated business" at Britain's third-biggest supermarket chain, in which Walmart will retain an unspecified minority stake, as well as a commercial relationship and a board seat.

Convenience shift

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Retail veteran Roger Burnley will remain as CEO of Asda in a deal which ratings agency Moody's said allows Walmart to continue to refocus its international efforts on markets with more long-term upside, such as India and China.

McKenna would not say for how long Walmart has committed to remain an investor or comment on the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO).

"The brothers and TDR will help make decisions about what that future path looks like," she said.

The new owners said they will invest more than 1 billion over three years to keep prices low, develop supply chains and in e-commerce, in addition to convenience stores.

British finance minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the deal, which will see Asda retain its headquarters in the northern English city of Leeds.Last year Walmart's attempt to sell Asda to Sainsbury's for 7.3 billion pounds was thwarted by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority and McKenna said she expected the regulator to also consider the new deal.

Britain's highly competitive supermarket sector has been upended by the COVID-19 crisis, which sparked a jump in sales - and costs - as shoppers stocked up on goods during lockdowns.Reuters
(Natural News) U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly on Sept. 22 that the world must hold China accountable for causing the coronavirus pandemic. In a pre-recorded speech aired during the virtual conference, Trump described China as the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world.

We are once again engaged in a global struggle. We have waged a fierce battle against an invisible enemy  which has claimed countless lives, he added.

During the early stages of the pandemic  starting in the central city of Wuhan  the Chinese government chose to lock down cities, but allowed flights to leave China and infect the world. It did not warn the public about the risk of transmission until Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, the U.S. initially released a travel warning against China on Jan. 21 after the first infected patient with a travel history to Wuhan was confirmed. It imposed a full ban on Chinese travelers on Jan. 30. Trump said that China condemned his move to bar Chinese tourists even as the country itself canceled domestic flights and locked citizens in their homes.

The U.S. president also criticized the World Health Organization (WHO) for its complicity in covering up the full extent of the coronavirus. Calling the WHO virtually controlled by China, he lambasted the organizations false declarations that human beings cannot transmit the coronavirus, and people without symptoms would not spread the disease.

The WHO said in January that, based on data from Chinese health authorities, there was no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission.

As a result of the WHOs failed response to the pandemic, the U.S. announced its withdrawal as a member of the agency in Julyto take effect next year.

Meanwhile, Chinese leader Xi Jinping emphasized the need for cooperation in his speech broadcasted during the U.N. General Assembly. He added that nations must adhere to the guidance of science, fully exercise the WHOs leading role, and reject attempts at politicization and stigmatization.

Connection between WHO and CCP unraveled

Last Sept. 21, Republicans in the House of Representatives released an audit naming the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the WHO responsible for spreading the pandemic. According to the report, a global outbreak would have been prevented if both organizations acted sooner.

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul said concerning the House audit: 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.

Six Republican senators jointly introduced in July a bill that permitted Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic to file lawsuits against the Chinese government in U.S. courts. Arizona Sen. Martha McSally, a co-author of the proposed Civil Justice for Victims of COVID Act, said in a statement that Americans victimized by the CCPs lies and deceit deserve the opportunity to hold China responsible and demand compensation.

The presidents speech at the U.N. General Assembly and the moves by U.S. lawmakers shine a light on Chinas culpability in causing the global coronavirus pandemic. But prior to these, evidence of Chinas attempts to cover up its responsibility with the help of the WHO has surfaced.

According to critics of the WHO, it was too slow to recommend travel restrictions and other measures that could have addressed the spread of the coronavirus. It also accepted information from China without verifying if these were correct, given the Chinese governments practice of sanitizing the truth. The organization even praised Chinas response to the pandemic even though the CCP was concealing the real situation in the country.

Furthermore, a report has revealed WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus used to be a high-ranking member of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) responsible for brutal human rights abuses in Ethiopia. The U.S. designated the China-backed TPLF as a terrorist organization in the 1990s.

According to data from the Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. has the largest coronavirus caseload amounting to 6.9 million infections; 201,909 deaths and 2.7 million recoveries were recorded in the country.

Data from the same source indicate China has a caseload of 90,409 infections, 4,738 deaths and 85,304 recoveries.

Read more about China and the WHOs attempts to cover up the full extent of the coronavirus pandemic at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

McSally.Senate.gov
The best way to rebuild African Brother's Keeper spirits economically again, is to start from each country. No more soft landing anywhere. Please, do not infect their country with your problems. Some Africans wasted their God given talents, skills and resources, then rushed to other countries for rescue missions. For whia?

Poverty Alleviation is a well planned deliberate action not charity, Zakat, Tzedaka, Tithes or "gifted" used to satisfy conscience or our bloated ego. This is how some of the reasons Poverty in the land of plenty, flowing with milk and honey are justified. A false sense of security that fed into ostentatious ego.

How do we accomplish the tasks of persuading our Youths that find themselves in the worst economic situation since their Independence to stay home and fight for their future? Some Youths risk their lives hoping against hope that if they do not get to their Promised Land, life is not worth living.

African countries have high unemployment rates within and have been throwing fellow Africans out. This has been happening not only in Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa or Ghana but in smaller countries like Somalia and Somaliland that have enough problems to deal with Internally. The days of your Brothers' Keepers are dwindling unless African Youths hold the leaders they elected at home responsible. A country like Nigeria, had been so blessed, other Africans wonder how things could have possibly gone wrong with so many educated and talented people.

It is true that no matter what you do or say, some Youths are bent on bailing out, trying their luck outside their countries. Only when they face deadly situations do they cry and appeal to their Governments to bring them back home. After they have been rejected, humiliated, abused and unfortunately maimed as organ donors outside their country. Yet, there are those insisting they are going to be the lucky ones to survive these existential threats.

Seriously, does it really make sense that the same life you are willing to risk as worthless can be preferred and cherished by those struggling and trying to stay afloat in their own countries? People in desperate need of survival confronting their leaders for a better life are called inhuman and lazy because they do not rescue invaders looking for the same food and shelter they are fighting for at home. Brave angry people against hungry coward people!

This moral dilemma must be viewed from each side of view. One gave up on life, the other was holding on looking for a lifeline at home. One deserves to live for hanging on to life demanding justice at home while the other that refused to face their devils, expects to be brought back to a life they had given up at home.

There are accusations about those in Mediterranean countries refusing to rescue refugees drowning near their shores. "There have been repeated attacks on journalists and humanitarian workers by angry mobs and vigilantes," Panagiotopoulos, International Rescue Committee (IRC) Senior Area Manager for Lesbos and Chios, told CNN.

We have been told of wicked coast guards that allow Africans and Arabs to perish in the sea, about Arabs Sama boys selling Africans as slaves and for body parts; yet more Africans are departing their countries aware of these facts. It is hard for any African to claim they did not know what they are going to face during the deadly voyage. Even the skillful and talented ones were waiting at the airport to board any 707 plane.

Despite this, there are new business agents in the travel industry charging life savings that could start local trades, exploiting many of these naive Youths with promises of better life abroad. The truthsayers are ridiculed and condemned as envious (bad bele). But worse, are those struggling overseas lying to those at home that they are enjoying Promised Land. Knowing fully well that those Africans that are at the top of their careers are disrespected, humiliated and told to go back home to lift up their masses, if they are that good.

Groups of vigilantes are sending Arab refugees from Syria, Libya and Tunisia back into the sea without European rescue ship's in sight. While Arabs are exploiting African refugees demanding money from their families back home before they are freed as slaves or used as organ donors. Others have been noted for starving and abusing refugees apart from selling them as slaves.

The idea that you can bail out of a sinking ship into the mouth of sharks or ride the back of a tiger to freedom is not only short sighted but outright foolish out of self-delusion. There are some Youths today whose countries especially in Africa are going through fundamental changes for the worse, never experienced in their lifetime. You do not extinguish fire in a burning house until you turn off the gas from the source.

Our focus has always been on the inhumane treatment they received but not enough about the reasons African Youths do not revolt at home against Leeches that drove them out in the first place. Do not expect others to do what you are capable of and able to do for yourselves. The penchant for succor for other lands or that must come to help your country change, is a double edged sword. It may work for you today but work against you tomorrow. Change and "Freedom" must come from within the country.

World powers are very comfortable with Regime Change, even when they say otherwise. Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo and Libya at different points in their histories welcomed other countries onto their lands. Each and everyone of them have been left worse than before. The reasons are not far-fetched. One country invades another in its personal interest, not for the interest of the country invaded with religion, culture, language. If all failed, they flamed civil wars within you.

However, the real jobs creators are the African consumers that can afford to patronize and demand goods and services. Africans are prodigal consumers of expensive goods and services imported into the Continent. If Africans can only rediscover their lost tastes for their goods. Without local consumers, African businesses will die. If you start a one man business from your front house, garage or basement; as demands grow, you work extra hours. When you realize that you cannot meet local consumer demands, you employ your wife, children and then more people.

African businesses cannot depend on slaves like Foreigners did, they must empower more local consumers at affordable prices to increase sales and profits. Right now we drive prices too high as fewer people can buy basic needs. Africans must turn their lives around, starting businesses from individual countries instead of patronizing others and creating jobs outside your countries and Continent. Country by country, each must attract and tailor our tastes to home products to create more jobs for others locally.

Paul Krugman is right: My spending is your income and your spending is my income. Buying local products and services creates local incomes. The spending from more sales at affordable prices grows your income higher than hoarding. Indeed, trade by batter has not changed since we have been exchanging cocoa for tractors. The problem is, tractors are expensive and not locally made. It is currencies that have become medium of exchange. Keep more trade at home, save our jobs and increase local values of our currencies.
JOHANNESBURG - President Donald Trump has joined a growing group of world leaders who have been infected with the coronavirus. Some, like Trump, had been accused of not taking the pandemic seriously. A few are now sending Trump their wishes for a speedy recovery. At 74, the U.S. president is the oldest head of state to become infected with the virus, and his age puts him at higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19.

BORIS JOHNSON

The British prime minister was the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, after facing criticism for downplaying the pandemic. He was moved to intensive care in April after his symptoms dramatically worsened a day after he was hospitalized for what were called routine tests. He was given oxygen but did not need a ventilator, officials said. He later expressed his gratitude to National Health Service staff for saving his life when his treatment could have gone either way. Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, also tested positive in March and showed mild symptoms.

JAIR BOLSONARO

The Brazilian president announced his illness in July and used it to publicly extol hydroxychloroquine, the unproven malaria drug that hed been promoting as a treatment for COVID-19 and was taking himself. For months he had flirted with the virus, calling it a little flu, as he flouted social distancing at lively demonstrations and encouraged crowds during outings from the presidential residence, often without a mask.

JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ

The Honduras president announced in June that he had tested positive, along with two other people who worked closely with him. Hernandez said he had started what he called the MAIZ treatment, an experimental and unproven combination of microdacyn, azithromycin, ivermectin and zinc. He was briefly hospitalized and released. He has added his voice to growing pleas for equitable access to any COVID-19 vaccine, asking the recent U.N. gathering of world leaders, Are people to be left to die?

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO

The president of Belarus, who dismissed concerns about the virus as psychosis and recommended drinking vodka to stay healthy, said in July he had contracted it himself but was asymptomatic. Belarus is one of the few countries that took no comprehensive measures against the virus. Other top officials in former Soviet states who were infected include Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO

The palace of Monaco in March said the ruler of the tiny Mediterranean principality tested positive but his health was not worrying. He was the first head of state who publicly said he was infected.

ALEJANDRO GIAMMATTEI

The Guatemalan president said he tested positive for the virus in September. My symptoms are very mild. Up to now, I have body aches, it hurt more yesterday than today, like a bad cold, he said during a televised address. I dont have a fever, I have a bit of a cough. He said hed be working from home.

JEANINE ANEZ

The virus drove the Bolivian interim president into isolation in July, but she said she was feeling well.

LUIS ABINADER

The newly elected president of the Dominican Republic contracted and recovered from COVID-19 during his campaign. He spent weeks in isolation before the countrys July election.

IRAN

Iran, the epicenter of the Mideasts initial coronavirus outbreak, has seen several top officials test positive. Among them are senior Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri and Vice-President Massoumeh Ebtekar. Cabinet members have tested positive, too.

INDIA

Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, 71, recently tested positive but his office said he had no symptoms and was quarantined at home. Home Minister Amit Shah, the No. 2 man in Prime Minister Narendra Modis government, was hospitalized for COVID-19 last month and has recovered. Junior Railways Minister Suresh Angadi last week was the first federal minister to die from COVID-19.

ISRAEL

Then-Health Minister Yaakov Litzman tested positive in April and recovered. Litzman is a leader in Israels ultra-Orthodox community, which has seen a high rate of infection as many have defied restrictions on religious gatherings. The minister for Jerusalem affairs, Rafi Peretz, tested positive over the summer as cases surged nationwide and recovered.

SOUTH AFRICA

The countrys defence minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, mineral resources and energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, and labour minister, Thulas Nxesi, were infected as cases surged in June and July.

SOUTH SUDAN

Vice-President Riek Machar was among several Cabinet ministers infected.

GAMBIA

Vice-President Isatou Touray tested positive in July along with the ministers of finance, energy and agriculture.

GUINEA-BISSAU

Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam in April said he tested positive.

___

Associated Press writers around the world contributed.
The special session convened to address COVID-19 has dragged on into the fall, with no end in sight, as the fraught relationship between House and Senate leaders yields little in the way of coordination. Before an eventual adjournment, lawmakers are expected to resolve differences between overlapping legislation and the states spending plan.

State regulators have estimated that Virginians owed more than $184 million in past-due utility bills, including $137.4 million in electric bills, according to a preliminary survey that only took into account debt incurred before July 1 from a sampling of utilities.

That has almost certainly ballooned in the months since, and advocates say that the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 could prompt a disconnections crisis if lawmakers dont offer relief.

The SCC tried to be very clear when they extended the moratorium to Oct. 5 that they would not extend it again. They needed a policy decision, said Dana Wiggins of the Virginia Poverty Law Center. There is relief to be had. People deserve it now, especially as were about to head into the colder months.
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A teenager is fighting for his life and police remain on the hunt for the shooters after he was shot in Sydney's west.

Detective Superintendent Murray Reynolds of the Bankstown police area command said it was a "brutal attack".

The 19-year-old man was shot in the chest and leg after being pulled from the driver's seat of a car in Sefton at 11.45pm on Friday, Superintendent Reynolds said.

A 21-year-old male passenger escaped the incident with a minor eye injury caused by glass from a smashed car window.
Two suspects have been arrested after a United States consulate worker was found dead in Mexico on Thursday - a day after he was reported missing.

Authorities have said Edgar Flores was last heard of Wednesday when he was driving a white Chevrolet Silverado registered to the consulate.

Flores, a married father-of-two, was traveling along stretch of a road that connects the municipalities of Tecate and Tijuana in the town of Maclovio Rojo before he stopped answering phone calls.

Edgar Flores, who worked for the United States Department of Agriculture at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, Mexico, was found dead Thursday in Tijuana, a day after he was reported missing

Authorities said the U.S. Consulate filed a missing person's report Wednesday night after losing contact with Edgar Flores, an employee for the United States Department of Agriculture. A consulate pickup truck driven by Flores was located in Tijuana on Thursday. Authorities also said there were blood stains inside the vehicle

The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana filed a report with the local police, prompting a search that included agents from the Baja California, National Guard and the military since 9pm local time Wednesday.

The pickup was finally found Thursday parked off the road in an uninhabited area with both of its windows rolled down and blood stains on it.

Flores' corpse, which showed signs of violence, was located in the Tijuana town of Presa Rural near a ranch.

Edgar Flores was a supervisor for the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

At least two individuals, whose identities have not been publicly released, were apprehended Thursday in connection with Flores' death, according Isaias Bertin, Baja California's Secretary of Public Safety.

Flores, a Mexican national, worked for the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

He graduated in 2010 from the Autonomous University of Guerrero, where he majored in Biology.
The hoopla about Tuesdays debate has centered on attacking President Trump. Moderator Chris Wallace occasionally pressed Mr. Trump on race but did not follow up on questions to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Black Lives Matter. I was waiting to hear what Mr. Bidens answer would be. I am Black and a Democrat. In my view, Mr. Biden did not answer questions presented and had no plan on the issues if elected. The press makes a big issue about race and white supremacy, but Mr. Trump is no worse than other presidents on governing for equality and justice.
Gov. Gavin Newsom stepped inside the hollow base of a majestic redwood tree in the Santa Cruz Mountains last month and marveled at the giants ability to withstand a wildfire that ravaged the 118-year-old state park around him.

How the hell do these things make it? Newsom asked a park ranger.

The answer is that those trees evolved to endure a good burn. Fire is endemic to California. But the threat is changing now, thanks to the worlds warming climate and more than a century of poor forest management, among other reasons.

Newsom saw as much that day in September when he toured the extensive fire damage at Big Basin Redwoods, Californias oldest state park.

It wasnt the first time hed found himself in such a situation: Shortly after he was elected in 2018, Newsom and President Trump walked through the burned remains of Paradise, the Butte County town devastated by the historic Camp Fire.

About two weeks after Newsoms trip to Big Basin, he met with Trump again. By then the states fire season had intensified. Newsom urged the president to appreciate how the plumbing of the world had changed and that climate change is real.

While the president has not embraced that reality, Newsom has since tried to press fast-forward on Californias climate-change actions, betting they will help ease the endlessly growing threat of wildfires in the state.

He and other state officials have no time to waste.

California is burning more than ever, with a record 3.7 million acres blackened across the state so far and potentially weeks more of dangerous weather in store. The fiery crisis could quickly become a political one, too, as state leaders scramble to contain a worsening problem with myriad solutions, none of them easy to enact.

And its not just a climate issue: To most effectively reduce the mounting risk of catastrophic wildfires, the state will need to grapple with its overgrown forests and misguided development patterns.

We have not done enough, said state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who has taken a lead role in wildfire legislation in recent years as his district burned.

Politicians and policy experts broadly agree, though not necessarily on the best next steps. On the climate front, Newsoms most ambitious measure was a recent executive order prohibiting the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

He has also called for a ban on new permits for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a controversial method of extracting oil and gas from the ground. Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and two other lawmakers said they will introduce such a bill this year.

Much more is needed to prevent catastrophic fires, including more aggressive action to thin overgrown forests through measures such as controlled burns. California is trying to achieve that through a new partnership with the federal government that aims to reduce fire risks across 1 million acres of forest annually.

John Blanchard

But it will take years to achieve that goal, and a lot of reliable funding to maintain the endeavor in perpetuity. The state must also rethink its longstanding strategy of suppressing all fires, including nonthreatening ones that can help prevent places from burning more intensely later, said Henry McCann, a research associate at the Public Policy Institute of California.

Fireproofing homes in the riskiest regions is another urgent need, he said.

Theres no slam dunk or silver bullet solution, McCann said. Its an all-of-the-above type moment.

Environmentalists have advocated for even stronger steps to protect the climate, and therefore lessen the risk of ruinous fires. Their ideas include moving up the states 2045 deadline to get all of its electricity from carbon-free sources and managing a responsible shift away from oil and gas production.

David McNew/Getty Images

Weve got to stop being a drug dealer, essentially, said Kathryn Phillips, director of the Sierra Club California.

Abandoning fossil fuel production would be a tough pill to swallow in places like Kern County, where oil and gas remain pillars of the economy. Petroleum is so woven into the culture of Bakersfield that the mascot of the citys oldest high school, opened in 1893, is the drillers.

Newsoms environmental policies face strong opposition from conservatives including Republican State Senate leader Shannon Grove, who represents Bakersfield.

Republicans believe we need to have responsible forest management, not import oil from countries with appalling human rights violations that tear down rainforests and ignore environmental regulations, Grove said in a statement to The Chronicle. Californians deserve a governor with real solutions for issues that affect our families, not one who likes to grab headlines.

Newsom has been cognizant of the difficulties in making a seismic economic shift.

John Blanchard

None of us are naive in the state of California, as a fossil fuel production state, that we need to focus on a just transition for those who might otherwise lose work, Newsom said.

Part of the solution for places such as Kern County could be attracting electric vehicle manufacturing and renewable energy businesses, said Phillips of the Sierra Club.

The culture of oil is so embedded in the politics of the place that getting leadership there to think more broadly about how you develop a diverse, healthy economy has been a real struggle, Phillips said.

Infrastructure investments will be essential as California tries to move toward a carbon-free electric grid, experts say.

The state has struggled in that area, suffering rolling blackouts in August caused by a power- supply shortage during a heat wave. State energy leaders said reliance on renewable power was not to blame but admitted that regulators may need to rethink rules governing electricity supplies and reserves. Others have called for more spending on batteries to store solar power for use when the sun does not shine.

What we really need to be doing is building new stuff, said Leah Stokes, a UC Santa Barbara professor with expertise in climate and energy policy. We have to continue to create very strong incentives to build new, renewable energy as fast as possible.

Paying for some of the needed efforts to lessen Californias wildfire burden will be a major challenge for state lawmakers in the years ahead. Dodd, the Napa state senator, said he might now be willing to support using revenue from the cap-and-trade program, through which large emitters can buy permits to release greenhouse gases, for fire-related issues.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

We dont have an unlimited checkbook, Dodd said. What weve got to do is prioritize the existing money that we already have.

The idea of spending climate funds on wildfires has been advocated before by Sen. John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa (Orange County). Moorlach said the state must do more to reduce emissions from wildfires  a tricky dilemma. Californias history of fire means that some amount of greenhouse gases from wildland blazes is natural.

This year, as of Sept. 24, fires had emitted an estimated 102.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to the California Air Resources Board. The tally is bigger than the equivalent metrics for fossil fuel pollutants from any sector except transportation in 2017, the most recent year available.

If were serious about climate change, then neglecting addressing wildfires is disingenuous, Moorlach said.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

State lawmakers have also looked at ways to help homeowners cope with the greater risk of major wildfires. But progress has been modest.

State Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa, introduced what he called a big, audacious bill in 2018 that intended to make homes in the highest-risk areas more resistant to fire  and set up a $1 billion fund to help homeowners pay for retrofits.

The bill passed, but with watered-down language that did not go as far as Wood wanted. He said it didnt feel like Californians were ready for this, a situation he called really, really disappointing, because here we are again facing these fires.

I guess the challenge we really face here, Wood added, is that we have these fires in the fall, and then we come back in January and its raining and theres something else to work on.

California lawmakers need to recognize that housing policy is climate change policy, or should be, said state Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland. Smarter laws dictating where and how homes are built  allowing for denser construction in urban cores, while improving public transit  can help the environment by reducing energy used in transportation, she said.

Wildfire is a familiar problem to Wicks, who grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Placer County. Her father worked for the U.S. Forest Service for more than four decades and, though he retired years ago, still returns regularly to help fight fires, she said.

Wicks recalled walking her young daughter to school, just a few blocks away from their home, the day Bay Area skies turned an Armageddon orange because they were blanketed with so much smoke. Her daughter wanted to know where the sun went.

How do I explain to my 3-year-old that we basically destroyed the planet? Wicks said.

Shes worried about the world her and others children will grow up in, in the absence of more decisive steps to address wildfires and climate change.

Are they going to be living in an environment that allows them to go out and take a hike, Wicks asked, or are they going to grow up in a place where we have two or three months of toxic fumes that were all dealing with every single year?

Wicks said shes not deterred by the worsening fires, or Californias failure to solve other persistent problems. She has to keep pushing for bold policy changes, she said  she has no other choice.

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris
GOSHEN, NY  The Orange County Health Department is advising residents that if they worked at or visited Jays Deli, located at 534 Route 32 in Highland Mills, between Monday, Sept. 21 and Monday, Sept. 28, they may have been exposed to the new coronavirus.



Health Commissioner Dr. Irina Gelman recommends that if you think you were at Jays during that time frame, to watch for symptoms of virus, which may include but not be limited to fever, chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea.

Gelman advised residents to consider any public site in Orange County as a potential site of coronavirus exposure, due to a persistent increase in newly diagnosed cases throughout the county. If you become mildly ill, stay home and manage your symptoms.

For residents who have severe symptoms indicative of coronavirus infection, contact your medical provider to discuss a plan of care.

According to Gelman, the best way to prevent the spread of the virus, continues to be adhering to proper safety measures such as wearing your mask, avoiding unnecessary contact with others, as well as practicing basic personal hygiene. This includes washing your hands frequently and thoroughly, refraining from touching your face and avoiding unnecessary contact with others.

Should you feel ill, contact your healthcare provider first. Do not go directly to the doctors office, an emergency room or other healthcare facilities before calling. These simple steps will help prevent the spread of the virus and protect you and your loved ones, medical experts said.

For information about coronavirus testing, go to the county website. The Orange County Health Department COVID-19 hotline at 845-291-2330.

This article originally appeared on the Mid Hudson Valley Patch
Sacha Baron Cohen (Credit: AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Amazon has scooped up the Borat sequel, and will release it ahead of the US presidential election.

According to Deadline, the mockumentary comedy will land on Amazon Prime Video at the end of October, with the election taking place on 3 November.

The relevance of the movie being unveiled prior to the election likely relates to its reported name - Borat: Gift of Pornographic Monkey to Vice Premiere Mikhael Pence to Make Benefit Recently Diminished Nation of Kazakhstan.

Sacha Baron Cohen at the Borat premiere in Cannes, 2006 (Credit: John Shearer/WireImage)

Further to the clear political intention of the film, a spoof video, narrated by Sacha Baron Cohen's hapless Kazakhstani reporter, appeared online yesterday.

Purporting to be from 'The Republic of Kazakhstan's account, it hails Donald Trump as 'a strong premier who always put America and Kazakhstan first!', as well as saying that he is 'not racist', and saying twice that he 'never had stroke'.

Watch: Sacha Baron secretly filmed Borat 2

The release of the movie on Amazon is perhaps also significant considering Trump's adversarial relationship with the company's owner, Jeff Bezos, also the owner of The Washington Post.

It emerged last month that Baron Cohen had filmed the sequel to 2006's Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan mostly in secret, and had already screened it to Hollywood executives.

Congratulation to great friend of the Kazakh people @realDonaldTrump for winning debate today! Impressive and amazing result for a strong premier who always put America and Kazakhstan first! pic.twitter.com/qLljQ8b5UU  Republic of Kazakhstan  (@KazakhstanGovt) September 30, 2020

The filming only came to light after a fan spotted the British comedy star filming in Los Angeles and posted a video to TikTok.

Story continues

Read more: Baron Cohen unrecognisable in Chicago 7 trailer

However, Baron Cohen had seemingly been active over the summer too.

In disguise, he made an appearance at a right wing political rally in Washington in June, organised by the militia group the Washington Three Percenters, and succeeded in encouraging the crowd to sing along with a song featuring racist lyrics.

Sacha Baron Cohen infiltrated the Washington militia event in Olympia today.



A last-minute big donor paid to sponsor the event, and hire security & then that security kept the organizers from getting on stage to stop Cohen



"Whatcha gonna do? Chop em up like the Saudis do".



 pic.twitter.com/qnYMNYLv1l  Tee *55 Days Until Change* Mitch (@InsideASCIF) June 28, 2020

He also tried to prank interview Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani in a separate incident, Giuliani later claiming he called the police.

It's not known whether either footage will appear in the Borat sequel, or whether a second series of his show Who Is America? could be in the offing - though Cohen has previously said he isnt planning a second series.

In it, he conducted spoof interviews with political figures like Dick Cheney, Roy Moore and Bernie Sanders.
Evianna Van Santvoord, who is in kindergarten, does her schoolwork at home in San Anselmo, Calif., on March 18, 2020. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

California Parents Strike by Logging Their Kids Off Zoom Classes

A Zoom strike, in which parents withdrew their children from distance learning, swept across California the week of Sept. 28 to Oct. 2. It called for in-person classes to fully resume, as many schools across the state continue distance learning or only short periods of in-person teaching.

Joseph Chang of Kern County was one of the parents who Zoomed out. He recently posted a photo on social media of his second-grade daughter crying in front of a computer, and it went viral.

I had literally people around the entire country and around the world reaching out to me, Chang told The Epoch Times.

His daughters teacher was herself on the verge of crying due to difficulties with the online class format, and she ended the class early.

Children are crying because they can see their teacher, but cant hear her, or they can hear their classmates, but not see them, Chang said. Or they raise their hands, but they cant get called because the teachers cant see them.

He said having no class would be neutral. This isnt even neutral. This is causing emotional trauma to our children.

One of Joseph Changs five daughters cries due to frustrations with the online format of her second-grade class, in Kern County, Calif. (Courtesy of Joseph Chang)

The Zoom Out campaign is organized by the group Reopen California Schools.

Syndie Ly, spokesperson for Reopen California Schools, told The Epoch Times: Parents are just frustrated.  Weve written to the Board of Education, weve written to our superintendent, weve had rallies, weve done all these things. What can we do?

We came up with the Zoom idea. I know that its more drastic.  We have done everything that we can, and were still not open. We need something to take a stronger stance.

Ly encouraged parents to still request homework from their childrens teachers so they dont fall behind. But the parents did let the schools know why they withdrew their children from the online classes.

Ly has four boys, all of whom attend school in the Tustin Unified School District in Tustin.

Her oldest, a junior in high school, is taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes. His AP class is reduced to two days a week. You cant take a high-level, challenging class and be reduced to two days a week and then expect to pass the AP exam, Ly said.

Her other son, in middle school, has said he feels depressed because of being separated from his friends.

Her twins in elementary school were attending in-person class two hours per day, because the students were divided into shifts to minimize the number of students at school.

She felt it wasnt enough, and transferred them to a private school. Sept. 29 was their first day. They were so happy because  [it was] their first day back, Ly said.

Mari Keaton is a mother of three, with her oldest in private school and her other two in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, which mainly serves Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

One of her children has special needs, and thus has an individualized education program (IEP). But his time with his IEP teacher has been limited to about 20 minutes per day.

Thats all he gets. And so, my son has struggled since March, and it has taken us to have to pay a private tutor to come in, Keaton told The Epoch Times.

He needs his special classes, she said. Not every child is made out to be homeschooled. They need to physically be in a classroom.

Her 6-year-old daughter attends class for about two hours per day. The children sit at desks surrounded by partitions and arent allowed to leave their desks except to go to the bathroom.

I dont feel thats enough, Keaton said of the shortened class times. Its almost like us parents dont have any right to say how we want things to be.

Heather Manning of Bakersfield, California, is a kindergarten teacher and mother of four.

She said that, even in person, its hard to hold her kindergarteners attention for longer than 10 minutes. Now shes trying to do it remotely.

Some of her students arent supervised by a parent during their class sessions. Youre taking time away from your class  they have to go find a brother or sister  to help them, Manning told The Epoch Times.

Ive just seen them ask me all the time when theyre going to be able to come to my classroom, when are they able to see me, when are they going to be able to see the playground, Manning said.

She pays a tutor to be with her own children while shes working.

Ly said some counties in California with the highest level of participation in the Zoom Out were Kern, San Diego, and Sacramento.

The California Teachers Association (CTA) has expressed concern over reopening schools, saying teachers are eager open safely but that the CTA doesnt feel it is safe yet in many cases to do so.

CTA President E. Toby Boyd said in a Sept. 16 letter he sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom: Our concern for the safety and welfare of students and staff has been heightened by the fact that school doors are opening, or preparing to open, across the state through small cohorts, waivers, and as counties advance through the risk levels. Unfortunately, these schools are opening without the basic safety protections and testing required to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
It started with Hope, but it didn't really.

When Donald Trump and first lady Melania announced earlier today that they had contracted COVID-19, it put the spotlight on Hope Hicks, the 31-year-old senior White House aide who tested positive for the virus hours earlier.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Communications Director Hope Hicks on her last day at the White House in March, 2018. She has since returned to work on his re-election campaign. Credit:Getty Images

Hicks previously served as Trump's communications director and is said to be very close to the President who, according to some insiders, treats her like his own daughter.

But while Hicks may have been the closest known person to Trump to contract the virus, she certainly wasn't the only one in his inner circle to do so.
The upcoming meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad or Quadrilateral coalition is expected to collectively affirm the importance of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of growing Chinese assertiveness in the region.

The India-Australia-Japan-US Ministerial meeting in Tokyo next week will discuss regional issues and the foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral grouping are expected to collectively affirm the importance of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will participate in the foreign ministers meeting of the Quadrilateral grouping on October 6 during his visit to Japan. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during the regular media briefing that the agenda will be broadly focused on the post-COVID-19 international order as well as the need for coordinating responses to the challenges emerging from the pandemic.

The second meeting of the India-Australia-Japan-US Ministerial will be held on October 6 during the visit. In this meeting, Foreign Ministers of the respective countries will be participating, Srivastava said.The agenda will be broadly focused on the Post-COVID-19 international order as well as the need for coordinating responses to the challenges emerging from the pandemic. There will also be a discussion on regional issues. The Foreign Ministers are expected to collectively affirm the importance of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, he added.

This grouping is seen as a response to Chinas growing military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. It will be the first meeting of Quad foreign ministers amid border tensions between India and China.The agenda of the meeting includes maritime security, counter-terrorism, connectivity and infrastructure development with the objective of promoting peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.A meeting of Quad leaders was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last year.

ALSO READ: Vande Bharat Mission Phase 7: 820 international flights scheduled

The Quad meeting is expected to focus on strategic and security challenges in the region and joint strategy is likely to be discussed.The meeting would give an opportunity to the like-minded countries to discuss and improvise on global supply chains.Japan and India had recently signed a military pact enabling them to exchange supplies and logistical support.Collaboration in coronavirus vaccine development and response to COVID-19 are also expected to be discussed in the meeting.

ALSO READ: Pakistan High Court fixes hearing for Kulbhushan Jadhav case on October 6
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > The wrangle over Taiwan: An issue of muscle-flexing between China and the (...)

Recently visits of the US health secretary, Alex Azar and the U.S. undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and environment, keith Krach to Taiwan inspired further anger and wrath from China.China in retaliation against Taiwan sent 12 J-16 fighters, two J-10 fighters, two J-11 fighters, two H-6 bombers and one Y-S anti-submarine aircrafts which crossed the Taiwan midline, some crossing Taiwans air defence identification zone and south-west coast. Taiwan has recently complained of repeated violation by Chinese aircrafts this year and has regularly had to scramble of its F-16s and other jets to intercept them. Thus we witness a sharp deterioration of the Geo-political climate in North-China Sea threatening peace and stability in this region. China and Taiwan last fought on a large scale in 1958, when Chinese forces carried bombardment on the Taiwan controlled Kinmen and Matsu islands, naval and air battles. But now situation is highly serious, challenging and having sufficient ignition to threaten global peace and stability already badly inflicted by pandemic covid-19.Thus it is aptly required to understand the complexity of Taiwan issue.

The issue of Taiwan is one of the most vexed and complicated issues of world politics that shapes the Sino-U.S. relationships [ barring trade, cyber security,technology,Hong Kongs national security and others]. China regards Taiwan as a break away province, but Taiwan regards itself to be a sovereign state having democratically elected government, a democratic constitution, freedom of press and freedom of speech and expression and an active troops of 300000 to protect its boundary and territorial integrity. China often threatens Taiwan to grab it militarily. The US factor in China-Taiwan dispute makes it regionally and globally highly sensitive.

Geographical Location

Taiwan is a vibrant democracy inhabited by 23 million people. The main island of Taiwan has an area of 35808sqkm.It is called the Republic of China (ROC) and is a partially recognised country in East Asia. It lays some 180 kms across the Taiwan Strait from the South-Eastern coast of mainland china. The East China Sea lies to its north, the Philippine Sea to its east, the Low zone strait directly to its south and the South China Sea to its South-West. Smaller islands include a number in the Taiwan Strait, Penghu archipelago, the Kinmen and Matsu islands and other some of the South China Sea islands.

Specificity about Taiwan

The population of Taiwan is highly educated. Its annual GDP is greater than the Scandinavian countries. It is a strong manufacturing and electronic based countries. It has world class infrastructure, free and robust manufacturing environment having extensive parks. Taiwan is strategic ally of the US, but the US has no official embassy in Taipei. Along with the US other global powers like, The UK, Australia, Germany, Canada, Israel, India and others have no diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Only 15 smaller countries like, Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Swaziland, Honduras, Paraguay, St. Lucia and others have recognised Taiwan till date.

Historical Background:

Taiwan was inhabited by Austronesian tribal people from southern china. It was briefly colonized by the Dutch colonizers from 1624 AD to 1661 AD. Afterwards it was conquered and administered by chinas Qing dynasty from 1683 to 1859 AD. In 1895, Japan conquered it in the first Sino-Japanese war. After defeat, the Qing government had to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan remained under the occupation and governance of Japan till World War II. After World War II, the Republic of china stared ruling Taiwan after Japans surrender. Now Taiwan was taken over by China.

After World War II in 1945, we find an intensification of power struggle between the peoples republic of china, PRC lead by Mao Zedong and the republic of China (ROC) led by Chiang kai- shek, (KMT) Kuomintang of China. First we see a shift of Kuomintang under Chiang kai -shek to western part of China, but Chiang kai -shek soon realised that increasing influence of Mao Zedong and his ideologies in mainland China will not permit its survival. Therefore Chiang kai- shek shifted to a small tiny island of China named Formosa (then] and now [Taiwan).

In the 1950s Mao zedongs Red army moved to conquer all lost territories (imperial possessions) by bringing them under communist rule. China conquered Tibet and Xinjiang. But his troops failed to conquer Taiwan.

Immediately his arrival to Taiwan (former Formosa), the Mandarin speaking Kuomintang party imposed its interpretations of Chinese identity on a people that spoke Japanese and a diverse mix of indigenous Austronesian tongues.

The legacy of forced sinicization under Chiang and his successor Ching-Ching-kuo continued.

Changing Mood:

We find a sense of growing resentment and subdued protests by the inhabitants of Taiwan. As the power (economic, military, technological and others) of china grew during Mao, China started asserting enormously. With the increase of its power, china started asserting regionally and globally (occasionally). Till 1970, Chiang Kai-shek, the Republic of China held UNSC seat and UN membership. Till date, it was recognised by many western countries as the only Chinese government representative. But in 1971, the UN switched its seat to mainland China. The comity of nations established diplomatic relations with mainland China. The ROC government was forced to relinquish its seat in in UNSC and the U.N since then only a few countries have recognised ROC, the government of Taiwan fearing wrath, retaliation and deprivation from China.

Taiwan Identity:

Slowly, we find an assertion of separate identity from China in Taiwan due to its provocations and interferences. Following are some of its reasons:

Separation from mainland china arose a growing feeling in Taiwanese that they deserve a natural right to continue as a separate state.

The political awakening of the youth and new generation of Taiwan impelled them to assert Taiwan identity.

The suppression and threatening measures taken by china led to Taiwan awakening. The Taiwanese started asserting ethnic Taiwanese identity.

The emphasis on one china principal of the communist party of china and repeated threat of military actions against Taiwan has generated a sense of alienation among the inhabitants of Taiwan.

Conflicting claims

Beijing and Taipei sharply disagree on the status of Island. The communist government of China asserts that there is one china and Taiwan lies in its integral and inalienable territory. China asserts that Taiwan is bound by 192 Consensus held between the representatives of CPC and KMT ruling party of Taiwan. But the Tsai Ing-Wen led DPP government has rejected this consensus.

After the normalization of relationship between China and the U.S, after 1972s,the U.S.president,Richard Nixon visited Beijing and a joint communique was signed between the two countries in 1979.In this agreement the U.S. accepted one china policy and accepted Taiwan as the part of China. The U.S, administration switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei successor U.S.president, Richard Jimmy Carter terminated diplomatic relations with Taiwan in order to soften and hasten relations with China. But soon the U.S. realised its folly of giving excess leeway to China.China had started misusing the spirit of normalization of its relationship with the U.S. to hasten its power assertion in Asiatic regions. The U.S. congress passed Taiwan Relations Act [TRA] to assist Taiwan in situation of external threat to defend itself. Under this Act, the U.S. arm sales to Taiwan were worth 25 billion dollars between 2007-2018.The supplies of arms to Taiwan is one of the irritants between China and the U.S in normalization process.

During Chiang kai -Shek regime in Taiwan, we find an even and stable relationship between China and Taiwan but after his demise, we see a growing democratic movement in Taiwan under Chiang Ching Kuo regime. He allowed the process of democratization which eventually led to the 2000 election of the islands first non-KMT regime under Chen-Sui-been election in 2016 and 2020;Tsai Ing- wen defeated Eric Chu.The present incumbent asserts for independence of Taiwan from authoritarian and dictatorial regime of China.

Objectives of China

China now intends to become a pacific power. Its mission can not be realised until it territorially integrates Taiwan in mainland China.

It wants to control some of the worlds most cutting edge technologies. IN its realization of 5-G technology, it would be easier to get software micro chip from Taiwan which the U.S. has denied supply for China.

By control of Taiwan, China would get a leverage it could use to restrict or close the U.S. military bases in this region.

In this region lie the U.S. allys countries like Japan, South Korea and others. If China controls this region, it can easily choke off supplies of essential items like oil, vital for their survival.

Taiwan was under the great Qing Empire.

The ethnic make-up of Taiwanese population favours China. It is overwhelmingly Han dominated population in Taiwan.

The economic, military and geo-strategic compulsions force the U.S.to pay its attention on this region and Taiwan. The U.S. seeks to balance Chinas emergence as a regional and global power. In 1996, in the first presidential election in Taiwan, China conducted missile tests to influence the election process there. In its response, the U.S.president, Richard Bill Clinton ordered its biggest military display by sending military ships to Taiwan Strait to give clear message to China. In the same way, the present U.S president Donald Trump sent its military carrier Nimitz and Ronald Reagan to the south-China region in Taiwans support. In its effort to deepen its relations with Taiwan, the U.S.administration is proposing multiple arms deal, establishing embassy in Taipei and selling advanced weapons, missiles and latest warfare technology to it.

In short, we find a stiff competition between China and the U.S.to dominance and hegemony in south-east Asian region where lies a tiny islandic democratic country Taiwan where China wants to quell democratic aspirations of the Taiwanese by crude force.

[Dr. Sheel Bhadra Kumar, Associate Professor of Political Science, Government Girls college Mahasamund, Chhattisgarh]
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 06:28:44|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- September saw the smallest hiring gains since the pandemic-ravaged labor market started to recover in May. With more layoffs turning permanent, the U.S. economy faces a long, bumpy road to full recovery.

U.S. employers added 661,000 jobs in September, pushing the unemployment rate down by 0.5 percentage point to 7.9 percent, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday.

This compares to an upwardly revised 1.49 million jobs gains in August, when the unemployment rate fell by 1.8 percentage points to 8.4 percent. Employment growth peaked in June with a record job growth of 4.8 million.

"This is a very disappointing jobs report, suggesting that the rebound from the early, temporary layoff from COVID-19 are nearing their end," said Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University in Indiana.

"The bulk of remaining joblessness, and the historical decline in labor force participation remain significant barriers to economic recovery," Hicks said.

The BLS report showed that labor force participation rate, which saw an increase in August, decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 61.4 percent in September, which is 2.0 percentage points lower than in February.

Meanwhile, the number of permanent job losers increased by 345,000 to 3.8 million in September, the bureau noted, adding that this measure has risen by 2.5 million since February.

"Along with the drop in the participation rate, the rise in permanent job losers suggests an arduous recovery as workers' ties to employers and the labor market weaken more broadly," Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in an analysis.

Roughly 22 million people were laid off in March and April amid COVID-19 shutdowns, pushing up the unemployment rate to double digits. Even with the September data, payrolls are more than 10 million below pre-pandemic levels.

Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) senior fellow and Harvard professor Jason Furman, and Harvard Kennedy School research associate Wilson Powell argued that the newly released official unemployment rate understates the level of joblessness by 1.7 percent.

In an analysis published Friday, the two experts noted that an extra 773,000 people who were "not at work for other reasons" were counted as employed, and 4.4 million people have left the labor force since February, which means "realistic unemployment rate" was 9.6 percent in September.

The median projection for the unemployment rate is 7.6 percent at the end of this year, and 4 percent by the end of 2023, according to the Federal Reserve's latest economic projections. This is still above the historic low of 3.5 percent the country experienced before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The monthly employment report came one day after the release of weekly jobless claims report, which showed that first-time filing for state unemployment benefits dropped by 36,000 to 837,000 last week, marking the sixth time in the past 28 weeks that the number had come in below 1 million.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs -- state and federal combined -- for the week ending Sept. 12, however, increased by 484,856 to over 26.5 million, indicating the continued significant disruption in the labor market.

House noted that the monthly employment report is somewhat more backward looking than usual due to the fast-moving nature of the pandemic and relatively early survey period.

"A wave of high-profile mass layoff announcements in recent days and stubbornly high jobless claims suggest the speed of the recovery is likely to downshift even further in the coming months," said the Wells Fargo economist.

She added the weaker pace of labor market earnings as well as reduced jobless benefits will be a "headwind" on consumer spending in coming months and whittle down savings further.

According to a Bureau of Economic Analysis report released Thursday, U.S. personal income decreased 2.7 percent in August, following the expiration of the extra 600-U.S.-dollar per week unemployment benefits.

The federal unemployment benefits -- part of a 2-trillion-dollar relief package approved by Congress in late March -- expired at the end of July, but lawmakers remain deadlocked on the next round of relief.

Some states have started issuing a 300-dollar weekly supplement to unemployment benefits, based on President Donald Trump's order to extend extra unemployment benefits issued in early August after relief talks collapsed.

The Democrats-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday night passed a 2.2-trillion-dollar COVID-19 relief bill, despite that the Trump administration has only offered a 1.6-trillion-dollar package.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin talked on the phone Friday afternoon and discussed "areas of disagreement," according to Pelosi's spokesman Drew Hammill, who added that "discussions will continue."

Economists, as well as Federal Reserve officials, have argued that more fiscal relief is needed to sustain the economic recovery, warning of dire consequences if further fiscal support is not provided in time. Enditem
Melbourne bird lovers are in a flap after the city's newest peregrine falcon chicks hatched atop a city skyscraper this week, live on camera.

Thousands of fans of the 367 Collins Street falcons have been glued to the 24-hour livestream on a dedicated website to catch a glimpse of three new nestlings.

New hatchlings having their first feed on Friday. Credit:Peregrine Falcons Live Stream

According to regular followers of the feed, the first chick hatched shortly after 11am before two others entered the world over the following few hours.

Strong winds blew large pieces of eggshell away on Friday afternoon as one of the two adult falcons nuzzled the new babies to keep them warm.
A corporate relations manager who claimed she injured her neck as she attempted to pick up a box of information leaflets at an event in Budapest to promote UCD has settled her High Court action.

Jacqueline Ashmore had told the court she felt overwhelming and extreme pain in her neck when she lifted the box eight inches from the ground at the UCD stand at the Hungarian university four years ago.

Something awful had happened, there was this horrendous pain. I knew it was the box. It was like somebody had stabbed me in the neck. I thought I was going to vomit, she said.

The 57-year old woman who had worked for UCD for 24 years and whose case included a claim for loss of earnings and pension totalling over 700,000 had to stand in the witness box at times as she gave her evidence to the court.

She claimed she has been left with complex pain syndrome, has pain in her neck and down one side of her body and has a condition which means her neck is tilted to the right.

Jacqueline Ashmore leaving the High Court in Dublin yesterday. Her case included a claim for loss of earnings and pension totalling over 700,000. Pic: Collins Courts

In court this afternoon, Ms Ashmores counsel Diarmuid P O'Donovan SC told Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy the case had been settled and could be struck out.

Earlier, under cross examination from UCD Counsel, Sara Moorhead SC, Ms Ashmore was asked about complaints of pain from before the Budapest accident for which investigations had taken place at Beaumont Hospital.

Ms Ashmore said she had gone to hospital with symptoms but she was not diagnosed with any illness.

Asked how did she reconcile giving instructions that she had no ill health before the accident, Ms Ashmore said it did not stop her going to work. I was having investigations but it did not stop my life, she said.

She added: There is no doubt in my mind when I lifted that box I felt that pain, she told the court.

I have no doubt it was the box. It is the only reason I have not worked.

Jacqueline Ashmore, aged 57, from Santry, Dublin had sued her employer UCD as a result of the accident on November 16, 2012, when she was working as a corporate relations manager and attended Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary on behalf of UCD.

She claimed a box full of material was provided which was too heavy for her and allegedly caused injury. She had further claimed there was an alleged failure to adequately or at all notify her of the weight of the box and an alleged failure to provide her with any or any adequate training in the manual handling of loads.

UCD denied the claims and contended there was alleged contributory negligence on Ms Ashmores part and she allegedly failed to take account of any hazard represented by the weight or size of the box.

It had further claimed there was an alleged failure to simply remove the brochures from the box without having to lift the box.
Traditionally, the council has granted flat percentage raises across the board, with the exception of a few special raises as requested by department heads. But officials have said that only contributes to pay discrepancies from one end of the scale to the other because higher-paid employees get more money than those who get less pay.
Fellow Ghanaians, as we count down to December 7, it is only laudable that we activate what author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie described as the Bullshit Detector in her address to Harvard's Class of 2018, in order to track down and vote out disuniting elements in the upcoming election.

Indeed, the maniacal thirst and ambition of President Akufo Addo for power and outright opportunistic populism, has led him as a late septuagenarian to govern Ghanaians with utter contempt for commonsense and reduction of leadership to a Mafia style criminal enterprise in the last four years!

The Akyim Mafia, as His Excellency latest moniker depicts him, is working tooth and nail to compromise the unity of the Republic for his pyrrhic victory with everything he lays his hands on.

But in the hindsight, it appears in recent times there seems to be a celebration of evil leadership and global catastrophes that had brought the entire globe to its knees exactly hundred years ago. Around this time, hundred years ago, unpopular leaders like Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, to some extent, Joseph Stalin, were in the pipeline of leadership of the world. And nature appears to be celebrating their centurys anniversary of wicked leadership that characterized the first quarter of the 20th century with democratic tyrants and dictators across the globe today in the 21st century. The Coronavirus pandemics reign of havoc on the globe might convince you. Around 1919, hundred and one years ago, like the coronavirus deaths, the world was in the business of estimating deaths and casualties due to the First World War pandemic in which over forty (40) million people perished! History appears repeating itself hundred years later, and that is why the world seems to have been plagued by very unfit leaders, especially, many of those who came into power in not too while ago.

Fellow Ghanaians, perhaps, our dear president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, is one of the afflicted heads-of-state who have been brought to power to reminisce the world of those days of evil leaders, who ruled with iron fits hundred years ago, but this time around in a democratic robe!

Personally, I do not classify president Akufo Addo among such leaders whom nature has forced upon humanity to remind us the ordeal of those who inhabited the planet hundred years ago, and to perhaps hint us with the experience they had been through. For me, the more I read about Saddam Hussein the more I see peculiar features between president Akufo Addo and the former Iraqi ruler.

In Akufo Addo, I see a leader who is not truthful to his followers like Saddam Hussein; In president Akufo Addo, I see a leader who would do anything to retain power despite the palpable implications and repercussions of dire consequences looming; I have seen in president Akufo Addo, like Saddam Hussein who borrowed over forty billion USA dollars from Saudi and Kuwait, to collapse his country under the guise of wanting to restore the old glory of the ancient city of Babylon (Iraq); Like Saddam Hussein who disliked a section of his own people (the Kurdish in northern Iraq), president Akufo Addo is a stepfather to some citizens, a slave master to yet other Ghanaians, and not a truly nations father to all Ghanaians! Like Saddam Hussein who some historians described as being worst than Adolf Hitler, president Akufo Addo is a personification of incompetence with a diarrhoea leadership the type of which Ghana never witnessed in the sixty-three years of our history. In fact, if President Akufo Addo did not become president of Ghana, we would have written his name in gold in the pantheon of our history as the most competent president we could not have to lead us. However, the man is less than competent to the bone after assuming political power. His leadership has redefined incompetence to Ghanaians and exonerated former President Mahama of the borrowed robes he was dressed in. In Dagbani, we say, Kundung di-la yu biau zuu, bin gbahara gar-o Muani. That, the wolf has only unjustly earned a bad name in the jungle, there are a devouringly deadlier wild beast in the jungle than the wolf.

Fellow Ghanaians, out of sheer propaganda by his political predators, former president Mahama has been unjustly labeled incompetent leader, president Akufo Addo is an epitome of incompetence whose only talent as far as leadership is concerned, is to create-loot-and-share the content of national kitty through his numerous opportunistic, fraudulent, ghost, and grossly misplaced and unsolicited projects! It is rather unfortunate in Ghana that in our political experimentation, tribalism comes first before intellect! A simple intelligent consideration of over 98% of what president Akufo Addo claims to be fixing are nothing more than a vehicle to looting and milking dry, our collective wealth he has callously borrowed to cement the ties between him and his family and friends at the gapping sore expense of the Ghanaian tax payer! The miracle is that, some very educated Ghanaians have either deliberately or ignorantly subscribed to this complete thieving agenda!

Fast forward, in 1990 when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait the United States of America together with Russia, Egypt, and Syria joined military forces to launch the Operation Desert Storm (ODS) in 1991 to liberate the tiny but oil rich nation (Kuwait). According to Historians like Amatzia Baram, author of Saddam Hussein and Islam, in less than hundred hours Saddam Hussein and his more than hundred thousand troops were driven out of Kuwait. But because the USA forces did not occupy Iraq after driving him out of Kuwait, the Chemical Weapon user (on his own citizens) Saddam Hussein, thought the worlds exceptional powers (USA) was afraid of him so he declared victory on the Americans and called that humiliating encounter with the USA army as the Mother of all battles. He even built a Mosque and named it the Mother of all battles. Little did Saddam Hussein know the Operation Iraq Freedoms was on the way on the March 19, 2003. The phony victory became the bitterest pill when Saddam was caught cowering in a hole.

Again, earlier, in 1988, Saddam Hussein declared another phony victory over Iran when he attacked the new regime of Ayatullahi Khomeni in 1980 when, in fact, over ten thousand Iraqi soldiers perished two years later, and over one million people died eight years later, over nothing. The worse of it all was when Saddam Hussein unleashed the Tabun chemical weapon on the Kurdish people of northern Iraq, and over five thousand Kurdish died instantly with ten thousand others maimed. [1]

With all this, Saddam Hussein was completely unperturbed. In fact, a Professor of Psychology in the University of Colorado, Frederick L Coolidge, described Saddam Hussein as a sadistic tyrant who took delight and amusement in inflicting pain on people, the Kurds. And upon all this, Saddam Hussein sought to seek the blessings of Allah when, according to Prof. Amatzia Baram, used his own blood to be used to write the entire Quran and placed it in his Mother of all Battles Mosque in Baghdad.

Fellow Ghanaians, pay attention here to activities of president Akufo Addo since the advent of his government. Indeed, unlike Saddam Hussein, Akufo Addo never invades any other country apart from, perhaps, what is gradually becoming a western Togoland today when he deployed troops to that part of the country during the voter registration exercise motivated by kickbacks and an avowed electoral heist stratagem to rig the upcoming December polls. Like Saddam Hussein, President Akufo Addo has been a proud declarer of phoney victories, in the last four years, over his so-called achievements: including the economic growth he emptily boasts about that is essentially phantom; the coronavirus war he never had the nerve to fight headlong, and propaganda of every other project of his has been on the dazzling height.

Remember our elders say if the war leader commands, we shall fight to the last man, he is actually the last man behind his soldiers.

Today, the hell Ghana has become, gradually, when some people do not longer see the need to belong to this geographical expression called Ghana, is due to the obsessive ambition to escape the eventuality of becoming a one term president. A reason president Akufo Addo bamboozled Ghanaians into exposing their lives, dangerously, to a disastrous pandemic like the coronavirus, to compile a very needless, civil-war inducing new voters register to assist him rig election amidst prognosticating of electoral doom for him in the impending election of destiny come December 7.

Let president Akufo Addo know that by the grace of the God he deceived with unwanted Cathedra he used as a vow to win the 2016 election, which he has been unable to complete in four years, he would never win this years election even if he invades hell!

Like Saddam Hussein, president Akufo Addo and his gigantic Guinness world record government, have been peddling injurious falsehood about achievements they never achieved. And these white lies and outright untruths have actually had a colossal impact on the good people of this country.

In the Islamic exegesis, there is a famous story told by Prophet Muhammad about Isa [Jesus Christ the son of Marriam (Mary)] when the latter was travelling with his disciples and met children swimming in a river. One of the children was jeering and cheering his colleagues joyously but he could not join his friends to swim because he was a cripple. So, the disciples lamented on behalf of the crippled child and asked the master Jesus as a miracle worker to heal the child so that he could play with his friends in the water. But Jesus insisted that they should let the will of God prevail for God is imperfect Creator and has taken away the use of the childs legs for a reason. To this one of the disciples said, but his face looks as if he would be a kind, and merciful child. Then Jesus wiped the legs of the cripple to heal him. Immediately the child got up he dived into the water without any hesitation to swim with his friends. However, the disciples were still standing at the bank of the river expressing gratitude to God for His favours when the child suddenly and wickedly pressed one of his colleagues head into the water! And before the disciples could rebuke him, the former crippled sat on another childs neck into the water again, causing him to accidentally gulp down some water. The disciples looked at Jesus and heaved a heavy sigh of regret. Jesus Christ then called him back out of the water and instructed him to sit down. Immediately, he became a cripple again! Jesus Christ then said to the disciples, did I not tell you that it is not out of wickedness on the part of God that this child is cripple?

Fellow Ghanaians, when president Akufo Addo chased political power almost in the umpteenth time but woefully lose the elections, many Ghanaians thought God was wicked for denying him the power! Today, unless Ghanaians who are living under rocks, or the callous tribal lords and jingoists, we are all living witnesses to the abattoir and a living hell his government has subjected our dear country to. The man has ignored saner heads that have prevailed upon him to take of his knee on the neck of unbreathing country call Ghana! It is sobering epiphany!

Fellow Ghanaians, permit me to paraphrase the words of Pope Francis to end my epistle as a citizen and not spectator, of Ghana. According to Pope Francis, rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruits; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. And that, living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it isLife is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.

Under president Akufo Addo in the last four years, the others have only lost their jobs and businesses. Happiness, joy, have become the thing of the past for the others.

Like the cripple of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), president Akufo Addo shall be called back out of political power to his position of opposition come December 7. The man is a bulldozer of the very things that bind Ghanaians together and not a bridge builder.

The author, Abdul Hakeem Iddrisu (the Young Prof.), is a youth activist and a Game Changer.

Contact him on 0557762967

[1] Narration by Dr. Ronen Zeidel, (in the Documentary: Evolution of Evil  part 07) Iraq Analyst, Tel Aviv University.
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the war on rape and end crisis of justice amid outrage over Hathras gang-rape.

What is happening to our daughters is a matter of national shame. I humbly appeal to Honble PM @narendramodi- the nation looks to you to end this crisis of justice for our women & children. I implore you to lead the war on rape. Our daughters need you and we are all with you, Kailash Satyarthi tweeted.

The social reformers tweet came in the wake of protests against the gang-rape and torture of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh Hathras. The victim succumbed to her injuries in New Delhis Safdarjang Hospital on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a day after PM Modi sought strict action against the gang-rape culprits, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the suspension of Hathras superintendent of police Vikrant Vir and two other police officials for their handling of the case. Narco-analysis polygraph tests would also be conducted on everyone involved in the case, he said.

Opposition parties have called upon PM Modi to break his silence over the brutal rape of the woman.

The PM washes the feet of Dalits before elections but remains quiet when a Dalit daughter of Uttar Pradesh is brutally raped. We will organise a protest at India Gate at 5pm today. The PM will have to give us answers, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said in a video message on Friday.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As we enter flu season amid the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the MTA is doing its part to keep the brave men and women who operate our transit system safe.

On Thursday, the MTA announced it has partnered with Walgreens to provide free flu shots to all MTA employees.

The best way to stay healthy is to be proactive. Getting a flu shot minimizes the risk of getting sick -- not only for yourself but your family and co-workers, said MTA Chief Safety Officer Pat Warren. Last year, just five percent of our workforce took advantage of our free vaccination program. Given whats at stake this year, we can and need to do better. Were all in this together. Sign up and get your free flu shot today.

Starting Monday, Oct. 5, all MTA employees will be eligible for a free flu shot. The shots will be available at over 50 worksites throughout the MTA system, at all MTA Medical Assessment Centers (MAC) and at over 500 Walgreens or Duane Reade locations.

Those receiving shots at Walgreens or Duane Reade locations will need to present a voucher distributed to them by the MTA.

As highly accessible providers of care in the community, Walgreens and Duane Reade pharmacists will play an integral role in helping to protect MTA employees from the flu this season. We recognize how important it is for essential workers to be vaccinated against the flu, and doing our part means helping to reduce the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses in the New York area," said Walgreens Regional Healthcare Director Domenic DiPrimo.

To encourage transit workers to receive the free flu shots, the agency has launched the new Stop the Flu in Its Tracks campaign, with promotional fliers and posters distributed at worksites throughout the system.

Take advantage of this program and protect yourself from getting the flu. Dont put it off. Pick the most convenient location, make an appointment, and go get your free flu shot," said TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano.
As we mentioned earlier, President Trump's tweet announcing his and First Lady Melania Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis was his most liked, and most shared, tweet ever, according to analytics shared by Axios.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

The tweet, which was sent at 12:54 am on Friday, chalked up record tallies while most of America was asleep, meaning it will likely be remembered as Trump's most popular tweet ever. Judging by the reaction in the polls seen when the leaders of Canada and Great Britain came down with COVID-19, a diagnosis actually could help improve Trump's popularity by making him more sympathetic.

Of course, Trump's political opponents are fixated on Trump's distaste for social distancing norms. Though President Trump and Joe Biden notably didn't shake hands at the outset of the debate, Trump defended his decision to continue holding large rallies on the campaign trail, and also mocked Biden for wearing a mask every time he appears on TV. Those clips have been playing in a non-stop loop across cable news.

Self-styled "journalists" and "politicians" tweeted crude jokes, or even went so far as to claim they were praying for both the president and First Lady to succumb to their infections.

This is our "progressive" media folks. Spiteful, vindicative ugly people. I fucking despise them with a passion. They are a cancer within society, with nothing positive to contribute, just snark and the spreading of division for clicks and ratings. https://t.co/96rHzwBL7j  Yuri Bezmenov's Ghost (@HotelLubyanka) October 2, 2020

This REAL political candidate is going to make great decisions for his CA constituents - Im sure pic.twitter.com/8E2C1Q9zXx  mcm-ct.com (@mcm_ct) October 2, 2020

Hu Xijin, a top mouthpiece for the Communist Party of China, implied that the president deserved to be infected due to his "gamble" to play down the coronavirus, a comment that was first reported by Bob Woodward during the reporting on his book "Rage".

President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19. The news shows the severity of the US pandemic situation. It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection.  Hu Xijin  (@HuXijin_GT) October 2, 2020

Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have yet to weigh in, and VP Mike Pence has yet to confirm whether he has been tested since Trump's last test came back positive.

But as the reactions to Trump's condition grow increasingly spiteful and acrimonious, Paul Joseph Watson and Summit News have gathered some of the most egregious comments.

full offense I hope donald trump dies   alejas tejas  (@AlexisMarieYo) October 2, 2020

I hope trump dies ASAP  BLM (@stargrlintrlde) October 2, 2020

i hope trump dies https://t.co/b77CHHixfz  justem (@justinhintze) October 2, 2020

I guess this means I need to hope harder Trump dies slowly and painfully. https://t.co/ta1i6qd05O  AndrewC (@AndrewC_82) October 2, 2020

I hope you get a mutation of the virus that makes your anus fall off  Cam (@cameron_kasky) October 2, 2020

what a great way to start october #TrumpHasCovid pic.twitter.com/SomHU98xY8  chloe  (@notchIoee) October 2, 2020

party in the usa !!!! #TrumpHasCovid pic.twitter.com/pDVpoohQuy  nathan  walex au (@pixiewiIIie) October 2, 2020

CNN put the icing on the cake by turning the fearmongering up to "11".

CNN analyst and former Obama official Sam Vinograd says this is the most DANGEROUS TIME EVER in the history of the United States government. pic.twitter.com/7x6ESG2Pmd  Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 2, 2020

Trump never called the virus itself a "hoax" (though he did suggest the media was overplaying it) and he never said Americans should inject bleach. But both of these 'conspiracy theories' have apparently stuck.

Have you tried injecting Bleach?



I hear the smartest man said it's a good idea? pic.twitter.com/bNLBISROX2  Bearlissimo #BlackLivesMatter (@Bearlissimo1) October 2, 2020

How can you test positive for something that is a Democratic hoax?



Why did you even take a test, as I thought you said that if you dont get tested you cant get it?  Dan Whitfield For Arkansans (@DanWhitCongress) October 2, 2020

One ER doc repeated Joe Biden's line blaming Trump for all 200k+ COVID-19 deaths.

I have ZERO sympathy for you or your family. As an ER doc, I've lost 3 colleagues and a 27 y.o. healthy cousin to this virus. You're the reason 207,000 Americans are dead and over 1,200 healthcare workers. You've failed AMERICA. I can't wait to VOTE YOU OUT!!!  Cleavon MD (@Cleavon_MD) October 2, 2020

One Twitter user argued that "the Simpsons" may have predicted Trump's demise.

Still, not every reporter was completely devoid of class. One former Bloomberg scribe tweeted they wished both the president and the First Lady well.
New Zealanders will soon be able to travel to parts of Australia quarantine-free.

Australias deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack made the announcement on Friday, explaining that travel to New South Wales and the Northern Territory will begin from October 16.

The trans-Tasman bubble is only one way for the time being as New Zealands borders remain closed and mandatory quarantine arrangements on arrival are still in place.

Following the announcement that a shared rubbish bin in a managed isolation facility spread the virus, public health experts are urging the Government to rethink procedures in place at these facilities.

The Ministry of Health found a bin in the facility is a key player in the chain of transmission for cases who tested positive after leaving managed isolation in Christchurch.

The discovery is a reminder that the virus can survive and be transmitted via surfaces. Experts are encouraging everyone to continue practising good hand hygiene to mitigate the risks.

There were no new Covid-19 cases to report on Friday and a week has passed with no reported community transmission.

Global toll

The global Covid-19 death toll has climbed to 1.02 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, with the majority of deaths reported in the United States, Brazil and India.

The US is also at the top of the list for the most reported cases - 7.29 million of the 34.4 million reported globally. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are among those infected.

The world leader returned a positive test on Friday after one of his closest aides tested positive. Trump, who spent most of the year downplaying the threat of the virus, is reportedly experiencing mild symptoms in isolation.

He will continue to carry out his duties throughout his recovery, however, his diagnosis has thrown the US election into chaos. Trumps opponent Joe Biden, who has since tested negative, wished the president a swift recovery.

India, Brazil and Russia have all reported millions of cases - 6.3 million, 4.8 million and 1.18 million, respectively.

What should I do?

The Ministry of Health has published a list of 15 locations visited from September 11-20 by a family of three who later tested positive for Covid-19.

The extensive spread of the close contacts around the country has prompted the establishment of new community testing centres. Anyone who wants to get tested can find their local testing centres by visiting the Ministry of Health website.

Auckland is at alert level 2, and the rest of the country is at alert level 1. The geographic boundary of the Auckland alert level is the super city.

Face masks are not required in level 1 but will still be needed on flights.

If you are sick, call your GP before you visit, or call Healthline on 0800 358 5453.

To avoid contracting and spreading the virus, wash your hands properly, cough and sneeze into the crook of your elbow and throw tissues away immediately.

Reach out, find support from people who care. Connect with your community or help a neighbour in need.

Stuff
She has been a modeling sensation for years.

And Sofia Richie demonstrated her credentials yet again while posing up a storm for Instagram this Thursday in a slinky cocktail dress.

The model, 22, sizzled as she leaned against one of the outdoor banisters at her father Lionel Richie's sprawling 28-year-old Beverly Hills mansion.

Welcome to Lionel's place: Sofia Richie demonstrated her credentials yet again while posing up a storm for Instagram this Thursday in a slinky cocktail dress

She was advertising the women's apparel brand PrettyLittleThing and captioned: 'goodbye dresses, hello fall.'

Recently she popped over to her Instagram page and showed herself enjoying some quality time with a group of people that included Lionel.

Lionel was painting in the backyard during the art class where they were joined by Sofia's half-sister Nicole Richie.

Sofia posted a heartwarming picture of herself cuddling up to Nicole as well as the latter's 12-year-old daughter Harlow.

Family time: Recently she popped over to her Instagram page and showed herself enjoying some quality time with a group of people that included Lionel

Sofia's latest modeling shots and time with her family in the wake of her reported split from her beau of two years Scott Disick.

The 37-year-old reality TV dreamboat shares three children with his friendly ex Kourtney Kardashian whom he last broke up with in 2015.

This May Scott checked into rehab for 'emotional issues' and 'past traumas,' but checked out shortly thereafter.

In the wake of his decision to leave rehab Us Weekly reported he and Sofia were 'on a break until Scott straightens himself out more.'

Having a ball: Lionel was painting in the backyard during the art class where they were joined by Sofia's half-sister Nicole Richie

Finally on May 27, the day after his 37th birthday, the magazine revealed that Scott and Sofia had decided to end their romance.

Sofia was seen spending time with Scott in July and there were rumors they may have reignited their relationship.

The dynamic duo spent Independence Day together and a People source said in mid-July that they are 'trying to make things work while taking things slow.'

But in early August an Us Weekly source: 'Scott and Sofia have simmered down a little and Scott has been making a big effort to refocus on himself and his family.'

What a group: Sofia posted a heartwarming picture of herself cuddling up to Nicole as well as the latter's 12-year-old daughter Harlow

By mid-August an E! News insider said: 'They have been off and on for two months. Sofia really pushed to make things work between them after they initially broke up, but Scott officially called it off recently and they are no longer speaking.'

Meanwhile a source recently told TMZ that Scott and Kourtney 'are not a couple, even though they've been hanging out more since his breakup with Sofia.'

Dampening hopes of a reunion even further the insider shared: 'It's highly unlikely Scott and Kourtney will ever get back together as a couple. They still consider themselves a family and co-parenting their three children is a priority for both.'
Bollywood on Friday paid homage to the Father of the Nation on his 151st birth anniversary. From Sidharth Malhotra to Kamal Hasan, everyone took to their social media accounts to extend wishes.

The Bollywood fraternity on Friday paid homage to the Father of the Nation on his 151st birth anniversary. From Sidharth Malhotra to Disha Patani, everyone took to their social media accounts to extend their wishes. Stressing on his ideals of non-violence, actor Sidharth Malhotra urged his followers to stop spreading hate. His ideas of shutting down the violence with Ahimsa gives us the strength in fighting our own battles. Together lets avoid the spread of hate and negativity. he tweeted.Aaj hume Mahatma Gandhi ji ke vichaaro zaroorat ki sabse zyada hai. #GandhiJayanti #Jai Hind actor Riteish Deshmukh wrote in Hindi.

Actor-director Kamal Haasan paid tribute by sharing his daughters special video-song on Twitter. Happy Bday to Mr. MK Gandhi. Sharing what @Iaksharahaasan had sung for me when she was a child.Lets make India a place where Equality prevails-sare jahan se achcha, Gandhis India can still be ours! he penned down in the caption.Actor Randeep Hooda paid homage to both of the great leaders, Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, on their birth anniversary through a tweet.

Sharing a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, actor Emraan Hashmi commemorated his 151st birth anniversary. In a gentle way, you can shake the world. #GandhiJayanti. Stars Urmila Matondkar and Disha Patani also took to Twitter to wish her fans Gandhi Jayanti.

Happy Bday to Mr. MK Gandhi. Sharing what @Iaksharahaasan had sung for me when she was a child. Calling all Indians to remember the great man whose life was his message to us! Lets make India a place where Equality prevails-sare jahan se achcha, Gandhis India can still be ours!  Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) October 2, 2020

Also Read: Gandhi Jayanti 2020: PM Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat

Also Read: PM Modi pays tribute to Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid homage to the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, at Raj Ghat. The Prime Minister paid a floral tribute to Gandhi and paid respects to the leader. Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi tweeted on the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary adding that there is much to learn from his life and noble thoughts.
There is so much noise over the horror of what has happened in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh (UP), that it is difficult to believe that a week ago, the family of the 19-year-old Dalit victim was running from town to town, hospital to hospital, police station to police station, ignored, overlooked, forgotten.

I first met her family when they arrived in Delhi to seek medical help at Safdarjung hospital. Her father and brother were hapless and broken. Take me home, the woman had said to her brother Sandeep, younger by just a year. Those were her last words. By the morning, she was dead.

Sandeep, employed at a pathology laboratory and thus, a frontline worker in these coronavirus pandemic times, said many things to me, some from rage, some from sorrow. But what really stays with me is his response to my question on how they coped over the last fortnight. My sister was raped on September 14, he said softly, but its only after her death that anyone has bothered to give us attention. Till now, for politicians and for the media, we were invisible.

The Hathras rape  and despite the sudden counter-claim by the UP police, I will call it exactly that because it was in the dying testimony of the victim  has represented the failure of every institution in India. Whether it is the police, the bureaucracy, the politicians  we have all failed.

As I spoke to Sandeep, there was a sudden swarm of politicians eager to get onto the camera, jostling for their five minutes of fame. These were the same people who had not bothered to give this family  the father is a daily wager and the mother works at home  an iota of their attention all these days.

From being on the margins of public attention, Hathras is now in danger of being reduced to a noisy, unfeeling spectacle.

The egregious behaviour of the UP police has been the most brazen. The undercover cremation of this young woman, forcibly executed by the police by keeping her parents out, was just the first illustration of callous unprofessionalism. Lawyers and senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers say that for a senior police officer to give a statement that no rape took place and make a forensics report public goes against all tenets of a rape investigation.

For a moment, think of this young woman strapped to a hospital bed, strangled with her own dupatta, her limbs paralysed, her tongue cut, fighting valiantly to live. The gang rape charge was her testimony in her dying hours. She named the four men who she said did this to her. Her brother told me they found her lying in a pool of blood with no clothes on.

If indeed, there are gaps, a complete investigation, done quietly and with dignity, could have established that. Now, it will be very difficult for anyone to believe anything the state police says about this case.

Meanwhile, rape has become the predictable political pawn.

In the competitive finger-pointing between states, no one actually cares even a tiny bit about women, about Dalits or, indeed, about justice. The governments own data points underscore the inanity of this whataboutery. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics released just a few days ago tell us that 87 rapes are reported every day in India and that crimes against women are up by 7.3%. Remember, this is only counting the women who actually decide to speak out. For anyone who thinks that sexual violence is not compounded by class and caste, here is a fact; 10 Dalit women are raped every day, making up 11% of the reported cases.

UP tops the list of crimes against women and the girl child. Rajasthan tops the list of states with the most number of rapes; 18% of all rape cases in UP are that of Dalit women, compared to 9% in Rajasthan. A third of all rapes of Dalit women have been reported from Rajasthan and UP. So, everyone should spare us the political slugfest because it is just a convenient and noisy excuse to not do anything to make India safer for women.

The institutional response to sexual violence is critical. On this score, the UP police has covered itself in shame. At every turn, they have robbed the family of its agency to make key decisions.

I am not a big fan of politicians turning tragedy into opportunity, but I believe that which politician a victims family wants to meet is entirely their decision. Blocking Opposition politicians such as Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi from making a trip to Hathras and shoving them around on the expressway is just wrong. Its for the family, not the police, to turn the Gandhis away, should they so wish.

So far, we are making a mockery of the idea of justice. Soon, this headline will fade and we will all move on. Till the next horror strikes us. And it will.

Barkha Dutt is an award-winning journalist and author

The views expressed are personal

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a statement Friday wished President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump a speedy recovery after the announcement that both tested positive for coronavirus.

This virus doesnt care if youre rich or poor, a Republican or a Democrat, young or old. No one is immune. Not even the president, Whitmer said in a statement.

Trump tweeted that he and the First Lady had tested positive for COVID-19 early Friday morning.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Whitmer, a co-chair of Democratic challenger Joe Bidens presidential campaign, has taken a strong stance on preventing the spread of coronavirus in Michigan, and took some of the earliest and most aggressive actions nationally to stop its spread.

Trump has been critical of some of those actions from states, and during the debate last week named Michigan as a state with COVID-19 orders that were akin to living in prison-like conditions.

Related: First presidential debate: Trump says Michigans COVID-19 orders like being in prison

Whitmer, meanwhile, has been critical of Trumps leadership on coronavirus, nationally.

In her statement Friday she reiterated calls for people to wear masks and act responsibly.

Heres the good news. We can beat this enemy  but its going to take every single one of us working together to do it. Right now the most effective weapon we have is pretty simple: its wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth. Its washing your hands with soap and water. And maintaining six feet of physical distance from one another, Whitmer said.

She said urged people to act together to stop the virus, adding, My sincere hope is that todays news will serve as a wakeup call to every single American."

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS:

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued executive orders requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nosewhile in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces. See an explanation of what that means here.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/.

Read more on MLive:

Gov. Whitmer extends coronavirus state of emergency through Oct. 27

First presidential debate: Trump says Michigans COVID-19 orders like being in prison

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on COVID orders: Were not going to make a special exception for professional football

High school football, but no in-person classes? Parents wonder what gives at some schools
Gandhi Jayanti 2020: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tribute to the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, at Raj Ghat, New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid homage to the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, at Raj Ghat. The Prime Minister paid a floral tribute to Gandhi and paid respects to the leader. Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi tweeted on the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary adding that there is much to learn from his life and noble thoughts.

The Prime Minister wrote in his tweet, we bow to beloved Bapu on Gandhi Jayanti. He further wrote that there was much to learn from his life and noble thoughts. He wrote, May Bapus ideals keep guiding us in creating a prosperous and compassionate India.

Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar town of Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi or Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi adopted a non-violent resistance and was the forefront of the freedom struggle against the colonial British rule with utmost patience.

Also read: Hathras politics: Rahul, Priyanka taken into custody by UP police, march to Hathras stopped

Also read: Hathras Horror: Forensic report shows the victim wasnt raped, says UP Police

This led to India finally achieving its independence in 1947. Fondly known as Bapu, his unwavering belief in Swaraj (self-governance) and Ahimsa (non-violence) won him accolades across the world. Globally, Gandhis birth anniversary is celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence. Several events were held in India and across the world to mark the occasion.

Also read: Bihar polls: NDA likely to announce seat-sharing soon, BJP holds meeting at Naddas residence
Pak journo named Mamata Banerjee as one of the sympathizers

BJP leader Anupam Hazra, who had threatened to hug West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee if he got infected with COVID-19, has tested positive for the disease, health officials said.

Hazra, who has recently been appointed as a national secretary of the saffron party, was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata, they said.

He had complained of uneasiness and his samples were tested for coronavirus, the report of which returned as positive, the officials said.

After his controversial statement, the Trinamool Congress had lodged a police complaint against Hazra for maligning a public figure, who is a woman, thus violating the Constitution.
Woolworths is banning cash at three more stores.

There are now nine Metro stores in Sydney and Melbourne that are participating in a trial forcing people to pay using contactless cards.

The Rosebery store in Sydney and Yarraville and Caulfield North supermarkets in Melbourne will join the trial on October 12.

Supermarket giant Woolworths is adding three more stores to its cashless trial (Rosebery store pictured)

The Rosebery store in NSW and Yarraville and Caulfield North stores in Victoria will join the trial on October 12

Other stores already no longer accepting cash include Bourke Street and Elizabeth Street in Melbourne's CBD.

In Sydney, Metro supermarkets in North Sydney, Manly, York Street and George Street went cashless in July.

There are now nine Metro stores in Sydney and Melbourne that are participating in the trial, as they already see low cash payments (pictured, woman shopping at a Woolworths in Sydney)

CASHLESS WOOLWORTHS STORES Rosebery (NSW)

Yarraville (VIC)

Caulfield North (VIC)

George St (NSW)

Bourke St (VIC)

Elizabeth St (VIC)

Manly (NSW)

York St (NSW)

North Sydney (NSW) Advertisement

Around the country 1,041 stores still accept cash and card payments.

There has been a push for people to use card payments in shops across Australia because of the risk of transmitting coronavirus by handing over cash to store staff.

However, there are concerns that elderly people may be frozen out of some stores as some prefer to use cash.

RBA's 2019 Consumer Payments Survey showed cash use fell to 27 per cent of all transactions.

'As more and more customers choose to pay with cards, were trialling all electronic payments in a small selection of Metro stores which currently see very few cash transactions,' a Woolworths spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

'We understand cash remains an important payment option for many of our customers and it continues to be offered in all Woolworths supermarkets and the majority of our Metro stores.

'We will closely monitor the feedback from our customers during this trial.'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis could change the shape of talks toward an evasive stimulus deal.

"This kind of changes the dynamic because here [Republicans] see the reality of what we have been saying all along. This is a vicious virus," the California Democrat told MSNBC, adding that she would pray for the president's safety.

The House took its last votes of the week Friday before a planned October recess. Lawmakers could return to Washington to pass Covid-19 aid legislation and would get 24 hours of notice before a vote, according to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office.

During a monthslong tug of war over how much money to inject into pandemic relief, Pelosi has repeatedly argued the GOP does not understand the gravity of the Covid-19 outbreak. While she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are hundreds of billions of dollars apart on a price tag during last-ditch talks toward an aid agreement, Pelosi said she is "optimistic" about striking a deal.

"We always have to find a path, that is our responsibility to do so, and I believe that we will," she said.

Later in the interview, Pelosi added: "We'll find our middle ground. We're legislators. We'll get the job done."

The speaker and Treasury secretary talked on the phone Friday afternoon for more than an hour, Pelosi's spokesman Drew Hammill said. They discussed "areas of disagreement" and their "discussions will continue," he added.

The House passed Democrats' $2.2 trillion proposal Thursday night. Mnuchin has offered a $1.6 trillion package.

Writing to House Democrats on Friday, Pelosi said "our negotiations with the [Trump administration] continue, and I am hopeful we can reach agreement" despite "significant disagreement in key areas." The speaker wrote that she expects a response from the White House on those topics as "we continue to work on the text to move quickly to facilitate an agreement."

She listed areas of dispute such as unemployment insurance (Democrats have proposed $600 per week in benefits, while the White House has supported $400 weekly) and funding for state and local governments (Democrats have offered more than $400 billion, higher than the $250 billion proposed by the White House). She also cited disagreements over the child tax credit, earned income tax credit, child care assistance money and funds for Covid-19 testing and tracing.

Despite the impasse, Pelosi took a significant step Friday in saying the House could pass a standalone bill to send airlines aid money to help cover payroll. She said the chamber could also include funds to prevent tens of thousands of looming furloughs as part of the bipartisan plan she hopes to craft with Mnuchin. Airlines have asked for $25 billion to cover employee pay as the travel industry suffers.

The scramble to send more assistance to Americans comes as the U.S. recovery from widespread economic shutdowns this year slows. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 661,000 in September, a lower number than expected. Along with airlines, other major corporations have announced tens of thousands of new layoffs and furloughs this week.

On Friday, Pelosi said Democrats and the GOP "don't have shared values" about how to contain the virus and what to put in legislation. While they have come closer to agreement on an overall price tag, direct payments and small business aid, the sides remain divided over how much relief to send states and municipalities and whether to shield companies and schools from lawsuits.

Republicans have in recent months called for more coronavirus relief, but a deal has proven hard to find as they argue Democrats have expensive and unreasonable demands. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, among other GOP congressional leaders, has stressed the importance of coronavirus precautions including mask-wearing, but some Republican lawmakers and the president himself have not taken the practice seriously at times.
For help and support with related issues, visit The International Stillbirth Alliance at www.stillbirthalliance.org or stillbirth, premature birth and miscarriage charity Tommy's at

Chrissy Teigen's mother Vilailuck has shared a heartwrenching video of herself crying over the loss of her grandson Jack, before giving the baby a tender kiss.

Chrissy, 34, announced on Wednesday she had tragically lost her third child around halfway into her pregnancy, days after she was admitted to the hospital with severe bleeding.

On Thursday, Vilailuck, who also goes by the name of Pepper, shared several photographs of herself cradling the baby inside the hospital.

She captioned the devastating Instagram post: 'My heart aches love you so much baby Jack.'

Devastating: Chrissy Teigen's mother Vilailuck has shared a heartwrenching video of herself crying over the loss of her grandson Jack, before giving him a kiss

The family have bravely taken the decision to document and share their tragic loss in a bid to help anyone else going through the same thing.

The posts begin with a video of a hospital worker presenting Jack to Vilailuck, who soon begins to cry.

'You can touch him if you want,' the employee informs Vilailuck.

An emotional Vilailuck gently places her hand upon the child, before bending down to give him a kiss.

Heartwrenching: She clasps her hands together and bows her head down in a prayerful gesture

Painful: The hospital worker presented the child to an emotional Vilailuck

She clasps her hands together and bows her head down in a prayerful gesture.The next two photos show Vilailuck holding the swaddled-up child in her arms.

Chrissy had been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night after enduring a month of bleeding due to having a weak placenta and had been at the hospital since.

She revealed she was on 'serious bed rest' due to the bleeding and 'about halfway through her pregnancy', which is around 20 - 24 weeks. A stillbirth is when a baby is born dead at 24 weeks or later.

Emotional: Vilailuck began crying not long after seeing the baby

Tragedy: The next two photos show Vilailuck holding the swaddled-up child in her arms - the family have been sharing their experience in a bid to help others

Chrissy had previously explained: 'I'm about halfway through pregnancy and the blood has been going on for about a month, maybe a little bit less than a month.

'We're talking about more than your period girls, it's definitely not spotting. A lot of people spot but it's usually fine. Mine was a lot,' she explained.

Teigen had already been on strict bed rest earlier this month but explained she was admitted to the hospital after her bleeding had worsened.

Heartbreaking: Teigen and her husband John Legend mourned the loss of their child in the hospital

Grieving: Teigen shed tears as she sat on the hospital bed in a bravely honest post which she shared with her fans

What is a blood transfusion? The NHS writes: 'A blood transfusion is when you're given blood from someone else (a donor). It's a very safe procedure that can be lifesaving. 'A blood transfusion may be needed if you have a shortage of red blood cells. 'This may be because your body's not making enough red blood cells or because you have lost blood. 'For example, you may need a blood transfusion if you have 'a condition that affects the way your red blood cells work  such as sickle cell disease or thalassaemia 'a type of cancer or cancer treatment that can affect blood cells  including leukaemia, chemotherapy or stem cell transplants 'severe bleeding  usually from surgery, childbirth or a serious accident 'A blood transfusion can replace blood you have lost, or just replace the liquid or cells found in blood (such as red blood cells, plasma or cells called platelets)' Advertisement

'Everytime I go to the bathroom it would be blood, and honestly just laying there there would be blood.'

In an update on Monday, Chrissy said she and the baby were 'completely fine.'

'Hello from hospital. about to have my second blood transfusion which truly, truly, truly sounds more dramatic than it is. It's an IV, but instead of fluids, the blood of some kind human being out there,' she posted.

'Baby and I are completely fine, just missing the little things like walking...cooking...playing with the other buttbutts.'

Chrissy made the heartbreaking announcement she had lost her child on Wednesday night, where she shared several devastating photos of herself in the aftermath.

'We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we've never felt before,' Chrissy posted on Instagram.

'We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn't enough.'

The couple typically don't name their children until after birth, but Chrissy said they had already started referring to him as Jack.

'We never decide on our babies' names until the last possible moment after they're born, just before we leave the hospital,' she explained.

'But we, for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack. So he will always be Jack to us. Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever.'

There for each other: The couple held hands as Teigen laid in the hospital bed

Chrissy said: 'Everyday cant be full of sunshine. On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out. But we will hug and love each other harder and get through it'

Disbelief: Shortly after uploading her undeniably sad news to Instagram, Chrissy took to her Twitter page to further express her shock

'To our Jack - I'm so sorry that the first few moments of your life were met with so many complications, that we couldn't give you the home you needed to survive. We will always love you.

'Thank you to everyone who has been sending us positive energy, thoughts and prayers. We feel all of your love and truly appreciate you.

'We are so grateful for the life we have, for our wonderful babies Luna and Miles, for all the amazing things we've been able to experience. But everyday can't be full of sunshine. On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out. But we will hug and love each other harder and get through it.'

Heartbreaking: Chrissy shared a lengthy caption detailing their loss on Wednesday

'We love you, Jack': John also took to Twitter to share Chrissy's post, while writing: 'We love you, Jack' alongside five black hearts

Support: After Chrissy announced the news, some of the couple's closest friends, like Kim Kardashian and Gabrielle Union, voiced their condolences in the comment section

Take away the pain: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who just became a dad for the first time with husband of seven-years Justin Mikita, 35, said that he wish he could 'take away [Chrissy's] heartbreak'

Chrissy and her husband John, who share daughter Luna, four, and son Miles, two, announced in the music video Wild they were expecting their third child together.

Chrissy was met with an outpouring of sympathy and support from fans and celebrities alike, including Kim Kardashian, Gabrielle Union, and Hailey Bieber, following the tragic news.

'We're always here for you and love you guys so much,' wrote mom-of-four Kim.

For help and support with related issues, visit The International Stillbirth Alliance at www.stillbirthalliance.org or stillbirth, premature birth and miscarriage charity Tommy's at www.tommys.org.

Her loves: Chrissy is pictured with her daughter Luna, four, and son Miles, two
PIGEON  After operating for 40 years, the Pigeon Family Market announced it will be closing at the end of the month.

The market announced its closure in a Facebook post on Oct. 1, which extended thanks to all the customers, vendors, employees and other people that have become family to them over the years.

Shirley Ashmore, the general manager for the market, said that ever since the Meijer in Bad Axe opened, their sales have gone down.

We think that during the winter, it is going to get worse, Ashmore said.

The closure leaves the village of Pigeon without a grocery store to call its own, with residents having to travel outside of town to do their shopping.

Dennis Hug, the store owner who lives in the Harbor Springs-Petoskey area of Northern Michigan, has owned the store for about four years after buying it from the Schuette family. He also owns the Caseville Family Market, with both known as IGAs before taking their current names.

Hug said a lot of money was invested into improving the store when he purchased it, but the residents of Pigeon did not respond the way he hoped after cleaning and fixing the place up.

When you invest money, you expect a return, Hunt said. After operating the store for so many years, we were not able to take one penny of revenue out of it, we just kept putting money into it.

Oddly enough, Hug said the coronavirus pandemic was good for the grocery business, since people were eating their food at home instead of going out to restaurants, but they did see an immediate decline once Meijer opened.

Every store has a basic level of service needed for customers, and you need people working there for a good shopping experience, Hug said. When you cant get enough revenue to support that, you have to make a decision, which is where we found ourselves."

The market currently employs between 10 and 12 people, with more usually employed over the summer. Hug said that some employees will have positions available for them at the Caseville Family Market, while he is confident the rest will be able to find work as other businesses are hiring.

The meat and deli departments were the areas Hug acknowledged were the backbone of the market, with Todd Schuette, one of the previous owners, selling his sausages there.

We were fighting against Walmart for a while and we were doing fine because our meat and produce was better, Hug said. Meijer just brought a whole new level.

Hug acknowledges that big box stores like Meijer and Walmart do fulfill some shopping needs, since they are not just grocery stores, but also hardware and clothes stores. He also had come criticisms for dollar stores, where price trumps everything ahead of good customer service and being clean.

Doesnt every town want a grocery store of their own so people dont have to drive somewhere else? Hug said.

He also said the prevalence of online shopping and low gas prices were other reasons people werent coming into the market.

Hug also noted that when people shop at a dollar store, Meijer, or Walmart, all the money they spend on goods flows out of the community. The Pigeon Family Market has employed all local people and the money flowing into it has not left the community.

Whats going to happen to main street in Pigeon and Caseville is the small stores will struggle to stay open, Hug said. The Caseville Family Market is going to survive because of the summer crowd. Well be able to put the money from them in the bank to survive through the winter months."

The market will remain open until the end of the month, which is how long the inventory is expected to last. Starting on Monday Oct. 5, everything in the store will be 20% off.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has wished Donald Trump a swift recovery after the US president tested positive for coronavirus, the Kremlin said.

Mr Trump and First Lady Melania Trump revealed they had the virus late on Thursday, hours after it was revealed by US media that White House aide Hope Hicks had earlier tested positive.

In a telegram sent to the White House, Mr Putin expressed sincere support in this difficult moment and hoped for Mr and Ms Trumps speedy recovery.

I am certain that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus, Mr Putin said in the telegram, according to the Interfax news agency.

The bombshell news Mr Trump is now ill, just weeks before Novembers election, immediately threw the race for the presidency into chaos.

Mr Trump has gone into isolation at the White House and even if asymptomatic will be stuck there for an extended period of time.

Other get well messages for Mr Trump poured in from foreign capitals across the world.

My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus, tweeted UK prime minister Boris Johnson.

European Council president Charles Michel wished America's First Couple a speedy recovery, tweeting: Covid-19 is a battle we all continue to fight. Everyday. No matter where we live."

But disappointed by Washington's leadership during the global health crisis, some messages were laced with stinging barbs.

This demonstrates that the virus spares no one, including those who have shown scepticism. I wish him a swift recovery," said Gabriel Attal, spokesman for the French government.

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of China's state-controlled Global Times newspaper, tweeted: President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the Covid-19.

The news shows the severity of the USs pandemic situation. It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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Using smartphone check-ins twice a day for two weeks, sociologists in a national study have found a link between individuals' daily spiritual experiences and overall well-being, say researchers from Baylor University and Harvard University.

While other studies have found such a connection between spirituality and positive emotions, the new study is significant because frequent texting made it easier to capture respondents' moment-to-moment spiritual experiences over 14 days rather than only one or two points in time, they say.

"This study is unique because it examines daily spiritual experiences -- such as feeling God's presence, finding strength in religion or spirituality, and feeling inner peace and harmony -- as both stable traits and as states that fluctuate," said study co-author Matt Bradshaw, Ph.D., research professor of sociology at Baylor University Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR).

"Because surveys usually capture only one or two points in time, researchers often have to assume that associations between spirituality and positive emotions capture stable traits in respondents rather than momentary states of mind," he said. "But these findings suggest that stable, consistent spiritual experiences as well as short-term periodic ones both serve as resources to promote human flourishing and help individuals cope with stressful conditions."

Additionally, "the prevalence of smartphones makes this sort of 'experience sampling' study doable on a much larger scale than in the past, when pagers or palm pilots were used to trigger data collection," said lead author Blake Victor Kent, Ph.D., Research Fellow of Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital and a non-resident scholar at Baylor ISR.

The study -- published in The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion -- uses data from SoulPulse, a project funded by the John Templeton Foundation, to study religion, spirituality and mental and physical well-being. Participants were 2,795 individuals who signed up for the study after learning of it through national media -- including the Associated Press, the Religion News Service and The New Yorker -- and by word of mouth.

Kent said that daily spiritual experiences are measured as one of two types:

* Theistic spiritual experiences examine the degree to which God is experienced as present, available and active in the individual's life using six questions: "I feel God's presence," "I find strength and comfort in my religion or spirituality," "I feel God's love for me directly or through others," "I desire to be closer to God or in union with the divine," "I feel guided by God in the midst of daily activities" and "I feel close to God."

* Non-theistic spiritual experiences assess transcendent feelings not specifically connected to God or a divine being using three questions: "I feel a deep inner peace or harmony," "I am spiritually touched by the beauty of creation" and "I feel thankful for my blessings."

To keep daily surveys short and interesting for participants, 10 to 15 items were pulled from some 100 questions and appeared with varying frequency. They included assessments of depression or positive emotions with such items as: "I feel downhearted and blue," "I feel that life is meaningless," "I am unable to become enthusiastic about anything," "I am feeling happy," "I am feeling that I have a warm and trusting relationship with others" and "I have something important to contribute to society."

Another item asked whether, since the most recent daily survey, the person had experienced a stressful situation such as an argument with a loved one, illness, injury, accident, job stress, financial problems or tragedy.

"The findings indicate, as you would expect, that the wear and tear of daily stressors are associated with increased depressive symptoms and lower levels of flourishing," Kent said. "What this study really contributes is that daily spiritual experiences play an important role as well. Essentially, if you take two people who have equal levels of stress, the one with more spiritual experiences will be less likely to report depressive symptoms and more likely to indicate feelings of flourishing. That's a comparison between two people.

"But what about one person?" he said. "The unique thing about this study is we are able to show that when someone's spiritual experiences vary day to day, the 'above average' days of spiritual experience are associated with better mental well-being than the 'below average' days."

###

*The SoulPulse project was developed by study co-author Bradley R.E. Wright, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology of the University of Connecticut and non-resident scholar at Baylor's ISR. Other researchers included W. Matthew Henderson, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology at Union University; and Christopher G. Ellison, Ph.D., Dean's Distinguished Professor in the department of sociology at The University of Texas at San Antonio and Distinguished Non-resident Senior Scholar at Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion.
Waldron McCritty, chief executive officer of BE LUX I come from three generations of hospitality and management services, and have made it my mission to introduce to this segment the power of todays advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence, explains Waldron McCritty, chief executive officer of BE LUX.

The COVID pandemic has prompted people to change how they conduct their business and personal activities. More than ever, people have come to rely on mobile applications to order groceries, make appointments, and otherwise meet a wide variety of their needs.

With this in mind, Waldron McCritty, a black U.S. Navy and hospitality industry veteran, set out to revolutionize concierge services for those who want to enjoy their best-available lifestyle. He designed BE LUX, the new mobile app by Bold, Inc., to provide personal concierge service in todays high tech world. The BE LUX lifestyle management platform will help people with everything from travel arrangements to lawn care. All they have to do is sign up for a membership, and everything will be handled by quality trained service professionals.

I come from three generations of hospitality and management services, and have made it my mission to introduce to this segment the power of todays advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence, explains Waldron McCritty, chief executive officer of BE LUX. I have a passion for providing great services, and BE LUX is going to help streamline that process.

The company and its service platform, is a concept that occurred to Waldron while he was helping his family develop their property and hospitality businesses. He envisioned a mobile app that would help solve some of the customer services and logistics problems that they had encountered regularly. After researching and testing various alternatives, BE LUX was born.

Today the BE LUX app is available for download on Apple and Android devices. Users may choose a membership level that includes a range of services that suit their personal concierge preferences. Membership levels include Basic, Premium, and Executive, with service options that span personal assistant, home services, lodging, party and events, travel, and delivery service needs.

Members seeking Home Services, for example, will have all of their essential needs met without having to source the specific individual service providers to perform the work. Services such as yard work, repairs, cleaning, and laundry will integrate seamlessly. Likewise, those who choose the Executive membership level will have all of their office assistant needs addressed. BE LUX will help people save time and money by running errands, having groceries and take-out delivered, or making travel plans.

Five things to know about BE LUX include:

The company that created Be Lux, Bold Inc. is a certified Black- and veteran-owned business. Waldron served eight years in the U.S. Navy.

Waldrons experience in the military prepared him for entrepreneurship. He served with the Elite Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal and Counter Narcotics Units as an Operations Specialist, and Coordinator. After obtaining a degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering, he gained 15 years of professional experience in management and mobile technology.

The app is currently launching in Atlanta, but will soon be available in cities around the country.

Currently the services offered include restaurant and grocery delivery, package and liquor delivery, and transportation services. Transportation services include on-demand, as well as chauffeur services. More services will follow shortly.

The BE LUX platform and underlying services will focus on helping people with everything from simple chores to corporate office assistance.

Everyone wants more free time and less stress, despite all the daily tasks and chores to be done, added McCritty. BE LUX does all this and so much more. Constant attention to a list of to-dos around the home or office can consume a lot of time and energy. Users of BE LUX can while our trained service providers ensure that everything on their list gets properly handled in a timely and professional manner. BE LUX is the app for those who want to spend more time living their life to the fullest, rather than taking care of all the little tasks that need to be done.

Those interested in learning more about Be Lux can log online and watch a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmcwxEoI9tk, download the app: [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/be-lux-on-demand-concierge/id1529819519 or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.customer.belux. Please visit the website: https://beluxllc.com.

About Bold, Inc.

Bold, Inc was founded by Waldron McCritty, a black veteran whose service experience prepared him to be an entrepreneur. He spent eight years in various positions within the U.S. Navy. As a third generation concierge professional, he is tapping into new technology to help streamline this service domain. BE LUX is the revolutionary new App that offers advanced lifestyle management services. To learn more about the company and app, visit the site at: https://beluxllc.com.

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Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to allow politicians and media personnel meet the family members of the Dalit women who was allegedly gangraped in Hathras and later succumbed to her injuries in Delhis Safdarjung Hospital.

You must have known that I am admitted to the Corona ward of AIIMS after I was found Covid positive. Today is my 7th day here. I have not been able to meet anyone. I was not present at the hearing of special CBI court on Babri Masjid case. I have not spoken to anyone on telephone as well. But I have been following television news, the senior BJP leader wrote.

) @BJP4India                       Uma Bharti (@umasribharti) October 2, 2020

Watch | Like your elder sister: Uma Bharti asks UP CM to allow politicians in Hathras

The BJP leaders long thread of tweet comes soon after a Trinamool delegation which was on their way to meet the family was stopped on Friday. On Thursday, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were not allowed to visit Hathras and police cited the imposition of Section 144 as the reason of barring politicians. On Friday, the family members were not allowed to talk to media people as well.

Also Read: No rape claim before SIT report in Hathras case raises doubts, say experts

Referring to the Hathras incident, Uma Bharti said she is certain that the CM is handling the situation deftly. But the way police has locked the victims family offers various scope for debate and apprehension, the veteran BJP leader wrote.

The women belonged to a Dalit family. Police hurriedly conducted her last rites and now the family has been locked down. I dont know of any rule that prohibits the family of a victim if SIT probe is going on. This will raise question over the SIT probe only, Uma Bharti wrote.

Also Read: Hathras gang-rape case: UP cops barricade village to stop media, opposition from meeting family

Without mincing any word, Uma Bharti denounced the action of Uttar Pradesh Police and said UP polices action will be tarnishing the image of not only the UP government, but also the BJP government. The BJP leader also alluded to the recent groundbreaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. We are committed to bring Ram Rajya back in the country, she wrote.

Your image as the CM is very clean. I would request you to allow media personnel and politicians, including those from the Opposition to meet the family, the veteran BJP leader wrote.

Had Uma Bharti not been Covid-19 positive, she would have visited the family members of the victim in Hathras. After I get released from here, I will definitely meet the family members, she wrote.

I am senior to you in the party and I am also like your elder sister. I urge you to not dismiss my suggestions, she added.
Robert Madden was sentenced to six years and six months jail on Friday

A man wearing a Batman mask who also knew he was HIV positive has been jailed for six and a half years for raping another man.

Ian Robert Madden was sentenced on Friday in Brisbane for the savage sexual assault in April of 2019.

The district court heard Madden matched with his victim on the gay dating app Grindr before they agreed to meet up for oral sex at Madden's residence.

Ian Robert Madden has been jailed after raping a man in Brisbane. He wore a Batman mask during the unwanted encounter (stock image)

The men matched on gay dating app Grindr before agreeing to a sexual encounter (stock image)

The consensual sexual encounter turned ugly when Madden used chains to bind his victim's wrists before he anally raped him.

During the tryst described to the court as 'brutal', Madden wore a Batman mask over his face.

Despite knowing he was HIV positive, Madden chose to not wear a condom when he assaulted the victim.

Madden faced trial on eight charges this week including three counts of rape and he was acquitted on five offences but found guilty of one count of rape, common assault and deprivation of liberty.

Judge Jones refused to accept Madden's defence that the rape was not premeditated.

'The anal rape occurred after violence and including the binding of the complainant,' he said.

'It may well be when he arrived you may not have intended to do what you finally did do but there can be little doubt this rape was not a spontaneous action of the moment,' the Courier Mail reported.

Judge Jones added forcing the victim to 'relive that night' by giving evidence at the trial reflected a clear 'lack of remorse' from Madden.

Madden was sentenced to six years and six months imprisonment, with 13 months already served.

He will be eligible for parole in January of 2022.
The entire country is set for stricter household visitor restrictions as it emerged that 57 Covid-19 cases were linked to just one Cork restaurant.

A number of counties with high case numbers, like Cork, look set to escape, for now, joining Dublin and Donegal in being under Level 3 restrictions.

However, the National Public Health Emergency Team is recommending to the Government that, across the country, only six visitors from one other household should be allowed.

It is making the recommendation due to an alarming spike in Covid infections among 18-25-year-olds, described by one senior source as a "pinch point".

That is the particular pressure point that needs to be squeezed, that the message needs to be got across to, the source said.

It comes as another four deaths have been announced and 442 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Ireland to 36,597 with 1,806 Covid-19 related deaths. There were 170 new cases in Dublin, 47 in Cork, 28 in Donegal and the rest across every other county.

There have been more than 4,500 cases of Covid-19 nationally over the last fortnight as the country continues to battle a second wave. The five day average for cases is now 412 and 18 counties have an increased incidence rate when compared with last week.

Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, revealed on last night's RTE news that one restaurant in Cork was the starting point of a cluster that has caused 57 covid cases so far.

"We have one cluster, for example, tonight in Cork, from a cafe restaurant where a number of people from different households socialised," he said.

"At the moment, that cluster is at 57 cases. We have to cut down the size of these clusters, we have to cut down socialisation if we are going to get on top of this disease."

The meeting did not recommend that any other counties join Dublin and Donegal on level three, despite much speculation beforehand that Cork, Roscommon, Monaghan, and Galway would do so.

NPHET has advised the Government to extend the Level 2 measures currently in place for a further period of three weeks. The new visiting restrictions ordinarily apply to counties operating at Level 3 of the Governments roadmap for living with Covid only. Currently, in Level 2, visits can have up to three households in one residence.

The weekly HSE Covid briefing heard that while the capital, which is two weeks into its level three restrictions, is still seeing three times the infection rate of much of the rest of the country, evidence of flattening within the countys numbers is beginning to be seen.

The HSE is to conduct research via the Health Protection Surveillance Centre of 500 community-transmitted cases of Covid-19 for seven days prior to their positive test in order to add value to the contact-tracing process.

Giving an update on testing and tracing, HSE chief executive Paul Reid said that more than 93,000 swab tests were performed last week, with just under 16,000 contact tracing calls made.

Read More HSE boss welcomes the return of Tony Holohan

Of the positive cases notified last week, some 25% were aged between 15- 24, Mr Reid said, with 10% aged younger than 15, and 10% older than 65.

Local infection rates published on Thursday show that Covid-19 infection rates doubling in parts of Donegal, Cork, Roscommon and Monaghan between 15-28 September.

The latest Local Electoral Area (LEA) data show that infection rates have soared to a staggering 602.6 cases per 100,000 population in the Lifford/ Stranorlar area in Donegal, which continues to have the highest infection rate nationally.

In Cork infection rates have increased in 11 areas, quadrupling in the north west area of the city, trebling in the south central area of the city and Midleton, and doubling in the south west, south east and north east area of the city, Carrigaline, Cobh, Macroom, and Mallow and also increasing in Fermoy.




Google and Apples Exposure Notifications technology has helped New York and New Jersey design and launch apps that are capable of tracing Covid-19 contact. The apps are called COVID Alert NY and COVID Alert NJ and they are available for both iOS and Android users.





The Exposure Notifications was a collaborate initiative of Apple and Google, that the companies took in early April as an attempt to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.





The Covid-19 contact tracing apps were launched in an online press release on the New York State website where Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced their release.





The Exposure Notification technology integrated in the apps will help the apps track who people come in contact with, using Bluetooth. If later one of those people comes down with Covid-19, the apps will show a notification for it.





The NY and NJ governors further stated that they will join two more states; Pennsylvania and Delaware, in developing a regional network that would enable the apps to function across state lines.
An Oklahoma City lawmaker is working on new legislation that would make it illegal to burn the American flag.

State Representative JJ Humphrey (R) Public Safety Committee Chair wants to make the act of burning a flag illegal unless the act is for the purpose of retiring the flag.

Hes even gone so far as to suggest that public flag burning should be considered an act of arson, or inciting a riot.

Currently, 40 states have flag desecration laws, with penalties including fines and jail time. Critics have called it unconstitutional to impose flag-burning penalties, citing two Supreme Court Cases that ruled flag burning is an act of free speech.

Burning the flag is protected under the first amendment, Humphrey told News9. So, you got to get creative on what we can do. So again, Ive looked at is it arson when you are burning something out on the street? I think that it is.

Ryan Kiesel, executive director of ACLU Of Oklahoma, agrees with Humphrey. You cant back door your way into a constitutional piece of legislation by saying its for one thing whenever the effect is another, he said. The effect here would be to ban/prohibit the burning of the flag in a way that is consistent with the first amendment.

Still, if the legislation passes, a legal fight will likely ensue.

Kiesel added, Congress tried to do something like this around 30 years ago when they created a requirement the desecration of the flag was only limited to the disposal of the flag, but even then the United States Supreme Court said no, the effect would be to limit protected constitutional speech.

The proposed legislation follows violent protests in Oklahoma City earlier this year.

This is not Seattle, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said of the protests. Were not putting up with this lawlessness here.

A protester throws a U.S. flag into a burning barricade during a demonstration against the death of George Floyd near the White House on May 31, 2020, in Washington. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

President Trump has proposed making flag burning illegal in all 50 states.

We ought to come up with legislation that if you burn the American flag, you go to jail for one year  we ought to do it, Trump said in a public statement, after demonstrators destroyed American flags at a rally in Tulsa.

Humphrey said that even with a legal fight, he doesnt intend to back down.

Hey, when you burn the flag in front of a bunch of patriotic Oklahomans, can I get a witness? Youre going to cause some division, he said.
H undreds of students are self-isolating at Northumbria University after more than 750 tested positive for coronavirus.

A spokesperson from the university confirmed that 770 of the students have contracted Covid-19.

By comparison, Glasgow University has seen some 124 confirmed cases and there have been 382 recorded at the University of Manchester.

The Diocese of Newcastle has issued an appeal for volunteers on Facebook, saying that there are "around 300 student households in private accommodation" who need the food deliveries in the area.

Newcastle City Council is working with the university to manage the outbreak.

A spokesperson for the university said: As of Friday October 2, we can confirm that we are aware of 770 Northumbria University students who have tested positive for Covid-19, of whom 78 are symptomatic.

These students are all now self-isolating. Their flatmates and any close contacts are also self-isolating for 14 days in line with government guidance and have been advised to contact NHS119 to book a test as soon as possible should symptoms appear.

Manchester university student: Imposed isolation has been poorly handled

Reacting to the figures at Northumbria University, Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: We warned last month that, given the current restrictions in the region, the direction of the infection rate and the problems with test and trace, it was clearly far too soon for a mass return to campus.

We told Northumbria University they had a civic duty to put the health of staff, students and the local community first and we take no pleasure in now seeing another preventable crisis play out.

The university sector and the Government must address this public health crisis immediately.

A member of staff at Northumbria University, who asked to remain anonymous, said there was more face-to-face teaching there than at other universities in the region.

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 source said: We have high anxiety levels among staff and students who have a sense that the establishment is not listening to those anxieties about face-to-face teaching.

Theres a lot of frustration because almost everything that we deliver face-to-face could be done much more safely online.

Theres confusion about why we are not following other universities in the region who I think moved online earlier, pre-empting this.

It comes after the first coronavirus outbreak was reported in London university halls on Friday.

About 50 students at the Royal College of Music have been told to stay in the Prince Consort Village in Hammersmith after receiving an email warning of one confirmed case and two other suspected cases.

Sir Ed Davey: Government incompetence has made university coronavirus challenges worse

A spokeswoman for the university said no other buildings have been affected.

She added: Our student accommodation is not in lockdown. We currently have a small cluster of confirmed cases of Covid-19 at our halls of residence and these individuals, and those who share their facilities, are self-isolating while being fully supported by staff.

Around 56 universities across the UK have had at least one confirmed case of Covid-19, an analysis of university responses and media reports suggests.

Glasgow University students self isolating at home in Cairncross House / Alamy Live News

A surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks has led to thousands of students having to self-isolate in their halls at some universities  including Manchester Metropolitan and Glasgow University.

There have been more than 200 cases at the University of Sheffield and 177 University of Liverpool staff and students have tested positive, according to a PA news agency survey which contacted 140 institutions.

The highest number of cases among students and staff appear to be in northern cities in England as well as Scottish universities  which reopened first  but there have been cases at institutions across the UK.

There have been 47 cases among students at Oxford Brookes university, while at Sussex University one member of staff and 10 students are self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19, the PA survey shows.

A student leaves one of the accommodation blocks at Murano Street Student Village in Glasgow / PA

But not all cases among students and staff have been reported on campus. Some have occurred in local communities or in private halls of residence.

Discussing universities as part of an independent Sage meeting, Professor Christina Pagel from UCL called for people not to play the "blame game".

She said: I think theres this quite unhelpful framing that Ive seen in the media and when people are discussing it as if students are to blame for spikes in local communities and spikes in universities.

Actually, what youve done is you take people from across the country and put them in halls together in reasonably large groups.

If you stuck me in the house with seven strangers, Im much more likely to get Covid than I am where I am now, and I think that has to be acknowledged.

All the surveys have shown that younger people are just as worried about Covid as older people, that theyre just as likely to follow the guidelines, theyre no more likely to break the rules really.

She added: I think we have to acknowledge that students need to be supported at university and it shouldnt kind of be a blame game.

Additional reporting by PA Media.
The Atebubu Traditional Council has summoned the Zongo Chief, Sufailu Moro Osman over former President John Dramani Mahama's visit to his palace.



The summon, the Traditional Council reveals is to ascertain the circumstances surrounding Mr. Mahamas visit to his palace on September 17, 2020, at the blind side of the traditional leaders.



Speaking exclusively to Ghanaweb, the Dawuakwahene, and spokesperson for the Atebubu Traditional Council, Nana Boakye Yiadom confirmed that the Traditional Council has extended an invitation to Sufailu Moro Osman to appear in person at the Owusu Asare Palace.



Nana Boakye Yiadom averred they want to know under whose instruction and authority he welcomed Mr Mahama and Sanja Nanja knowing very well that the Traditional Council has severed ties with the NDC.



The Traditional Council yesterday summoned all tribal heads within our jurisdiction to the palace. We have made our decision known to them that the NDC is not welcomed on our land and so no tribal chief should entertain them."



There is another case that we are also dealing with and that is the case involving the Zongo Chief. Unfortunately, he could not attend yesterdays meeting and so we have extended another invitation to him to appear before us on Friday to explain why he allowed John Mahama to campaign for Sanja Nanja at his palace.



Meanwhile, independent checks by Ghanaweb indicate that the Traditional Council refused to meet Mr. Mahama during his visit to Atebubu on September 17, 2020.



Background



The former Member of Parliament for Atebubu-Amantin Constituency, Sanja Nanja, used some unprintable words against the Queen Mother of the Atebubu Traditional Council, Nana Afia Donyina II on Accra based Pink Pink FM in 2016.



The Traditional Council which felt that the actions of Sanja Nanja had brought the name of and authority of the Traditional Council into disrepute performed the dreaded Kodwane ritual to eternally ban him from seeing any Chief in the area and from visiting the Owusu Asare Palace.



He was also banned from attending funerals and all social events organised within the jurisdiction of the Atebubu Traditional Council.

Source: Ghanaweb









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As a practicing Catholic I welcome a reminder from our spiritual leaders that we examine our consciences and do everything we can to combat racism in all its forms. The truth, however, as explained in detail by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, after a thorough investigation, is that the tragic events that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor had nothing to do with racism. For our spiritual leaders to use it as an example of racism, and by implication, call for the indictment on murder charges of the police officers involved, is unjust, to say the least.
This is a reminder that covid-19 is an ongoing threat to our country and can happen to anyone, said Tom Frieden, who was director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Obama administration. Learning more about when President Trump and others with whom he had contact last tested negative and first tested positive will help understand this outbreak and limit the risk of further spread.
The government has so far provided cash assistance of over Rs 2.33 lakh crore in addition to free ration to pandemic-hit underprivileged sections of the society in the last six months that played a crucial role in demand generation and reflected in the recent signs of economic recovery, two senior government officials said.

Positive growth in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection, an all-time high Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) for manufacturing, and a robust export performance in the month of September are the testimonies that the governments Rs 20.97 lakh crore Aatmnirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India) package launched between March 26 and May 17 has worked, the officials said requesting anonymity.

Also Read: A review of economy in 1st half of FY 2020-21

The GST collection in September 2020 saw a positive year-on-year growth of 4% at Rs 95,480 crore for the first time since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown on March 25. PMI for manufacturing in September also surged at an all-time high of 56.8, signifying expansion of economic activities. According to the latest official data, Indias exports grew by 5.27% at $27.4 billion in September, after contracting for six months in a row.

One of the officials, who is privy to the meetings at the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) on the Covid impact mitigation exercise, said, All these money [Rs 2.33 lakh crore] and assistance [free distribution of food materials and cooking gas cylinders] have gone through direct benefit transfer (DBT) into the bank accounts and in the hands of deserving people, without any middlemen and any delay. Yet, critics say that government has not taken enough demand side measures by putting cash in the hands of people. Is this not putting cash in hands of people at the time of distress?

As on date Rs 68,921 crore financial assistance has been provided to 42 crore people under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP). The package was an initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic in March and it was a part of the Rs 20.97 lakh crore stimulus package that was announced in five tranches in May. The size of PMGKP was Rs 1.7 lakh crore.

Also Read: Not being risk-averse in face of Covid-19 crisis: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Giving details of the direct cash transferred to the poor, the official said, Rs 30,952 crore has been credited through DBT to 20.65 crore women Jan Dhan account holders. Almost 8.94 crore farmers under PM Kisan have been paid with two instalment of Rs 17,891 crore each. Rs. 15,000 crore fund for health sector is being implemented in three phases. Rs 27,000 crore spent so far under Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan. Rs 40,000 crore additional provision was made under MGNREGA [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act]. About 1.82 crore construction workers have received financial support of Rs 4,987.18 crore. About 40.6 lakh members of EPFO [Employees Provident Fund Organisation] took online withdrawal benefit of non-refundable advance from EPFO account amounting to Rs.10,615 crore and Rs 130.5 crore has been spent on paying premium to the insurance scheme for health workers.

Besides, 320 lakh metric tonne free food grains were given to about 81 crore people at five kg per beneficiary for eight months. This covers more than 60% of Indias population, he said. The government has also distributed about 16 lakh metric tonnes free pulses or chana to about 20 crore households, he added.

The government also provided free cooking gas to the poor. About 4.29 crore cylinders were delivered in April, 3.78 crore in May, 3.05 crore in June 2020, 1.05 in for July 2020, 0.89 crore in August 2020, and 0.72 crore in September, he added.

Officials said that the PMO and other arms of the government are monitoring the situation and the government would respond to any requirement of the economy. Even the Rs 20.97 lakh crore stimulus package was announced after intensive inter-departmental consultations and absolute consensus at the highest levels and the government is open to taking measures as and when necessary, a second official said.

In an interview with HT on Tuesday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she was open to one more stimulus, if necessary. One more may be needed is what we are hearing from the people who interact with us, and we are trying to see what it is that we can do, she had said in the interview.
Love Island star Eden Dally has revealed to his fans that he's part of the gruelling new reality show SAS Australia.

In an Instagram post shared on Friday, Eden, 28, shared a promotional image of himself on the program - and he looked very different, leaving fans confused.

One fan commented under the photo: 'Mate that doesn't even look like you!' while another agreed, 'that doesn't look like you'.

Who is that? Love Island star Eden Dally (pictured) has revealed to his fans that he's part of the gruelling new reality show SAS Australia. In an Instagram post shared on Friday, Eden, 28, shared a promotional image of himself on the program - and he looked very different

Eden wrote at length in the caption: 'Why did I do it? Because I'm an idiot ! All jokes aside, this was one of or if not, the hardest thing I have ever done. It was relentless, mentally and physically tough and with harsh conditions.

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'I always wanted to have a little taste of what my grandfather went through in the line of duty. It was pretty scary to read about. It gave me a new found respect for all the men and women who are fighting for our country and away from their families.

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'To protect us, and within some dangerous parts of the world. This has really opened my eyes and taught me a life lesson.

Not his usual look! Fans were left confused by how different Eden looked in the poster

His usual look: Eden normally looks more like this

One fan commented under the photo: 'Mate that doesn't even look like you!' while another agreed, 'that doesn't look like you'

'I am forever grateful for this unbelievable experience. And going through this has truly impacted my life. And is something I will teach the same values to my son'.

His girlfriend Cyrell Paule, 31, offered her support in the comments also, saying that she and the couple's son, Boston, who was born in February, are proud.

'Boston and I have always know that you are an incredible, amazing and strong individual.

Eden wrote at length in the caption: 'Why did I do it? Because I'm an idiot ! All jokes aside, This was one of or if not, The hardest thing I have ever done. It was relentless, mentally and physically tough and with harsh conditions'

Family: His girlfriend Cyrell Paule, 31, offered her support in the comments also, saying that she and the couple's son, Boston, who was born in February, are proud. All pictured

'I commend you so much for your reason as to why you're doing this... regardless of what happens just know we are already sooo proud of you.

'And we admire all that you do for your family. Love u more than all the chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce in the world' she wrote.

The network released the full line-up for the military-style competition on Friday, and it features a mixture of famous - and infamous - participants.

The contestants include 2018 Bachelorette Ali Oetjen, former Bali jailbird Schapelle Corby and sporting great-turned-reality TV flop Nick Cummins.

Tough: The network released the full line-up for the military-style competition on Friday, and it features a mixture of famous - and infamous - participants. Pictured: the SAS Australia cast

Tough! The celebrities have volunteered to take part in the Special Forces selection course, which will challenge their mental and physical toughness and push them to their limits

The trio will appear alongside publicist Roxy Jacenko, alleged drug cheat swimmer Shayna Jack and glamour model Arabella Del Busso.

The celebrities have volunteered to take part in the Special Forces selection course, which will challenge their mental and physical toughness and push them to their limits.

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There will be no excuses for the pampered stars, who have agreed to participate in gruelling exercises overseen by ex-SAS soldiers from Britain.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is hailing the signing of a 25-year cooperative agreement between Iran and China as a "major step" in advancing Tehran and Beijing's shared interests.

Congratulating the anniversary of the People's Republic of China's establishment, Rouhani said on Thursday that the mutual agreement "will also impact the international peace and stability and be effective on confronting unilateralism."

"The conclusion of the 25-Year Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Agreement between Iran and China is a giant step toward advancing common interests and countering unilateralism," Rouhani added.

Dozens of analysts, however, have harshly criticized Iranian officials for not being transparent about the long-term deal between Iran and China.

While top Iranian authorities, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, have trumpeted the deal as one of their most outstanding "achievements," China has so far avoided publicly commenting on it.

In August 2019, Zarif presented a road map to his Chinese counterpart to update the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership via a 25-year deal involving a $400 billion Chinese investment in Iran.

However, most of the arrangement's fundamental specifics have been kept "classified," even though they represent a potentially material shift in the oil and gas sector's global balance.

Based on the "Looking East" policy dictated by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian government has attempted to establish long-term agreements with countries such as China and Russia, though the two nations have so far opted to remain silent spectators of Iran's development.

Joining voices with Rouhani, Iran's Vice President, Ishaq Jahangiri, also wrote in a separate message on Thursday that "the finalization and signing of a 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership plan will mark a new chapter in Iran-China cooperation."

Meanwhile, Washington has cautioned against such deals. The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, cited the deal in July as another reason for the importance of extending the international arms embargo against Iran.
From 1976 on the policy of the WRP was marked by a thorough-going abandonment of Trotskys theory of Permanent Revolution and an adaptation to bourgeois nationalism which assumed grotesque dimensions. The central perspective of establishing the political independence of the working class, without which there can be no strategy for proletarian revolution, was entirely liquidated in pursuit of counter-revolutionary alliances with the semi-colonial bourgeoisie. Healy and Banda found new friends all over the worldfrom the bourgeois radical Gaddafi to the bloodstained tyrant Galtieri. Excuses, apologies and justifications were found for their crimes and betrayals, from the Libyan call for the self-immolation of the PLO to the execution of Iraqi communists.

There was one national struggle, however, toward which the WRP offered no such leniencythat of the Irish Republicans against British imperialism. The volumes of Marx and Lenin which had been gathering dust in the WRP library were brushed off whenever an IRA bomb exploded in London, and suitable quotations on the impermissibility of individual terrorism were culled from a specially-prepared index-file. One would have thought that the sole contribution of Marx to the Fenian question consisted of extended diatribes against nitro-glycerin.

The acid test of the WRPs attitude toward the right of oppressed nations to self-determination was not Libya, Iraq nor, for that matter, Algeriaas Banda, covering his own tracks, has recently suggested. The cutting edge of the struggle against imperialism in Britain is the uncompromising defense of the right of the Irish people to unify their country. The attitude of Healy, Banda and Slaughter was a foul mixture of chauvinism and cowardice. The last series of articles worthy of Trotskyism on the Irish question that appeared in the press of the WRP was written by the late Jack Gale in the early 1970s. This was before the WRP liquidated all work directed toward the building of an Irish section of the International Committee.

The hostility of the WRP toward the Irish struggle rose in direct proportion to its adaptation to the national bourgeoisie of the Middle Eastthus demonstrating that these relations had been developed not as part of an anti-imperialist strategy but rather as a political confidence game aimed at securing material resources to service Healys maneuvers with sections of the labor aristocracy in Britain. It is obvious that the ferocious denunciations of IRA terrorism had far less to do with a principled defense of Marxist theory and the education of Irish workers and youth than with the WRP leaders anxiety over their own legal status and their relations with Labourite reformists.

But putting aside any speculation about the personal motives of Healy and Banda, their attitude toward the Irish question had a definite political content that was expressed in various documents of the WRP. By 1981 the leadership of the WRP was well on the way toward rejecting the unconditional defense of the right of Irish self-determination. In fact, it must be stressed that the most abominable statements to appear in the News Line came after this political shift had been made.

In the aforementioned Manifesto 81, adopted at the Fifth Congress, the WRPs approach to the Irish struggle reeked of the arrogant paternalism of the Labour bureaucracy. The WRP defined its program toward Ireland not in terms of revolutionary struggle aimed at smashing British imperialism but from the standpoint of Government policy in the north of Ireland... based on scrupulous observance of the principles of non-intervention and self-determination for the Irish people. (p. 19)

This is the language of imperialist white papers and Whitehall. The three paragraphs reserved for Ireland never issued a call to the British working class to demand freedom for the Irish people. It is hard to believe that in a statement that presented the program that the WRP planned to implement once it had taken power there was reference to the north of Irelandthus indicating that Her Majestys Workers Revolutionary Government formed under Prime Minister Healy and Foreign Secretary Van Der Poorten (Banda) would recognize the 1921 Partition of the six counties and, even more incredibly, still view them as part of Great Britain! One can not help but wonder with foreboding what grim fate would have awaited IRA prisoners of war after their dossiers had been reviewed by Home Secretary Slaughter.

The next resolution which addressed the Irish question was Bandas magnum opus entitled Trotskys Theory of Permanent Revolution Today. Had the Old Man lived to read this improbable document, he would have publicly disassociated himself from it with the declaration if this is Trotskyism I am no Trotskyist. The Irish national struggle merited again no more than three brief paragraphs, buried inside a section of the document that carried the sub-title, Victory to the PLO. As a matter of fact, these paragraphs did not deal with the Irish struggle as such. Rather, the references to Ireland provided nothing more than a backdrop for the scoring of a few factional points against the Militant tendency.

While Bandas document acknowledged the historical legitimacy of such diverse trends within bourgeois nationalism as the Chinese Kuomintang, the Indian National Congress and the Arab Baath Socialist Party regimes in Iraq and Syria and proclaimed its unconditional defense of Cuba, the Nicaragua Sandinistas and the Salvadorean FMLN against US imperialism, (pp. 10-11) Ireland and the IRA seemed to have slipped Bandas mind and no one else inside the WRP leadership took any notice.

The probable cause for this omission was finally explained one year later, in the last programmatic document produced jointly by Healy, Banda and Slaughterthe Resolution of the Seventh Congress of December 1984. The Irish struggle was referred to as an inseparable part of the British Socialist Revolutiona claim which, when read within the context of the right wing evolution of the WRP, provided an orthodox-sounding cover for practical indifference to the specific responsibilities of British Trotskyists to the struggle against British domination of Ireland. As we will soon illustrate from statements which appeared in the News Line, the Irish struggle was seen simply through the prism of the developing class struggle in Britain and the practical interests of the WRP.

Quoting the famous passage in which Lenin denounced those formalists within the labor movement who vilified the 1916 Irish Rebellion as a putsch, the WRP leaders chose to distance themselves from this classical definition of the Marxist attitude toward wars of national liberation. They wrote:

Lenins remarks, however, do not exhaust the concrete problems posed by the Irish national struggle today in the periodnot of imperialist war and the domination of the British working class by reformismbut in the period of break-up of reformism and the developing socialist revolution in Britain and Ireland, (p. 58)

This quote was followed by a series of perfectly correct criticisms of the limitations of Republicanism which place proper emphasis on the decisive role of the proletarian class struggle in Ireland as the means of resolving the national question. But the suspect character of these assertions are indicated in the above formulationwhich replaced Lenins scientific characterization of the epoch with a new definition that amounted to nothing more, when read carefully, than an excuse for subordinating the entire Irish question to the political conjuncture in Britain. From the standpoint of Marxism, nothing was added by counter-posing the period of the break-up of reformism and the developing socialist revolution in Britain and Ireland to Lenins real definition of imperialismwhich, on the basis of an objective world-historical study of political economy, he characterized as the eve of socialist revolution. Moreover, by definition imperialism, which Lenin defined politically as reaction all along the line, heralds the break-up of reformism. Thus, the WRPs reference to the domination of reformism was a non-Marxist and an artificial construction which was smuggled in to justify their patronizing and egotistical attitude toward the Irish struggle.

Thus, the WRP would again and again denounce the terrorist actions of the IRA primarily from a chauvinist and selfish standpointi.e., its adverse effect on the class struggle in Britain, or more precisely, the political headaches it created for the WRPrather than criticizing bourgeois Republicanism from a principled position which recognized the vast historical significance of the national struggle in Ireland and demonstrated the inability of bourgeois nationalism to carry out the unification of the Irish nation and secure its independence from British imperialism. A critique which made the denunciation of terrorism, rather than the inability of bourgeois nationalism to reunify the island, its starting point placed a shameful question mark over its commitment to the completion of the democratic revolution under the leadership of the working class.

Let us now examine how this line looked in practice. In July 1982 the IRA carried out a bombing in Hyde Park, London, in which several soldiers and their horses were killed. This was denounced by the News Line in an editorial which was defended a week later in a Questions and Answers column reply to a reader:

Stating that the bombing occurred under conditions where the mass movement against the Tories is beginning to emerge, the News Line claimed that The bombings were a political gift to Thatcher which she lost no time in exploiting to the full. Within days the police were given another whopping pay rise and the SAS were called out as part of the security surrounding Falkland war service in St Pauls.

All this has been accompanied by a racist campaign directed against Irish workers in Britain and a fresh deluge of patriotic calls from the media. It was for these reasons that we called on the labour and trade union movement to denounce the bombings as a state provocation...(July 27, 1982)

Not only was this statement a libel against the IRA, which had claimed responsibility for the action. But it amounted to a previously unknown tactical novelty in the Fourth International: conjunctural opposition to individual terrorism.

Presumably, Healy and Bandawho, by the way, was somewhat less enthusiastic about armed struggle when it took place within ear-shot of Claphamwould take a different view toward individual terrorism during ebbs in the class struggle, that is, during precisely those periods when Marxists must wage the most determined struggle against such subjective methods!

In December 1983, just as the WRP was defending the betrayal of the print workers by the SOGAT bureaucrats (men of politically-moderate opinions) it replied to the bombing of Harrods with an hysterical denunciation of the IRA. The arguments employed by the News Line were so cynical and opportunist that it managed to undermine the principled struggle waged by Marxists against individiual terrorism.

It is an outrage against London workers and the Labourled Greater London Council (GLC), which has courageously [!] championed the right of the Irish people to self-determination. It is also an unexpected but highly welcome Christmas gift to Prime Minister Thatcher and her hated, crisis-ridden Tory government. (December 19, 1983)

This editorial, which occupied nearly an entire page, had nothing to do with a principled criticism of terrorism and everything to do with glorifying the GLC and reformist careerists like Livingstone. What ramparts were courageously manned by the GLC bureaucrats in defense of Irish self-determination? The News Line made a respectful bow before Livingstones firm gesture of support for the electoral successes of the IRA, and warned that such noble acts of solidarity were mindlessly damaged by the barbarous act of the Sinn Fein, whose reactionary xenophobia had become a blind hatred of everything British.

These statements not only exposed the political rottenness of the WRPs relations with the GLC; it also unmasked the hollowness of Healys and Bandas conception of self-determination, which had nothing to do with Trotskyism. To argue against the bombs of the IRA by eulogizing the paper bullets of GLC press releases is to completely abandon the Marxist defense of self-determination. As Trotsky wrote:

What characterizes Bolshevism on the national question is that in its attitude toward oppressed nations, even the most backward, it considers them not only the object but also the subject of politics. Bolshevism does not confine itself to recognizing their right to self-determination and to parliamentary protests against trampling upon this right. Bolshevism penetrates right into the midst of the oppressed nation; it raises them up against their oppressors; it links up their struggle with the struggle of the proletariat of the capitalist countries; it instructs the oppressed Chinese, Indians or Arabs in the art of insurrection and it assumes full responsibility for this work in the face of the civilized executioners. Here only does Bolshevism begin, that is, revolutionary Marxism in action. Everything that does not step over this boundary remains centrism. (Germany 1931-32, New Park, pp. 133-34)

The fight for this Bolshevik policy has no meaning outside the struggle to build a section of the Fourth International within the oppressed country itself. It is on this central question that Healy broke completely with Trotskyism. This is the real content of his political degeneration and capitulation to British imperialism.
Google unveiled its Pixel 5 phone Wednesday, and theres a lot to unpack. Right off the bat, it doesnt have the latest Snapdragon processor, it doesnt have a 1440p display, and it dumps the vaunted Soli radar that powered Motion Sense and Face Unlock. But there are a few other tidbits weve learned since the Launch Night in event that you might have missed:

It doesnt have any Pixel-specific chips

One of the reasons why the Pixel phones have such great cameras is because of their tremendous on-device AI abilities. On previous phones, that was due to specialized co-processors that work with the main chip to quickly process AI-related tasks. On the Pixel 2 and Pixel 3, the Pixel Visual Core handled those tasks, while the Pixel 4 introduced the Pixel Neural Core for handling photo processing, live transcriptions, and the new Google Assistant.

Christopher Hebert/IDG The Pixel Neural Core inside the Pixel 4 XL is nowhere to be found on the Pixel 5.

But on the Pixel 5, you wont find any homegrown chips to handle AI tasks. Google told Android Police that through optimization, it was able to get similar camera performance out of just the Pixel 5s Snapdragon 765G chip as it was the Pixel 4s Snapdragon 855-Neural Core combo. It remains to be seen whether there will be any material impact in AI speed on the Pixel 5.

Its not entirely made of aluminum

One of the upgrades Google listed for the Pixel 5 over the 4a 5G is the use of 100 percent recycled aluminum on the back, rather than plastic. However, that doesnt tell the whole story. The Pixel 5 includes both wireless and reverse wireless charging, which is impossible to achieve through metal without bending the laws of physics.

Google To support wireless and reverse wireless charging, the Pixel 5 doesnt have a full metal back.

What Google did was add a non-aluminum window that will transmit a charging signal. Then, as Android Police reports, it coated the whole back of the phone in a biocoat resin to mimic the feel of a unibody aluminum enclosure. Your eyes and fingers probably wont know the difference, but well be keeping an eye out for flaking and finickiness.

The exclusive new features arent really exclusive

With every new Pixel phone comes a raft of new features that tap into AI to make our lives easier. The Pixel 5 is no different. Along with a few new camera tricks, it also has two very cool features that blow away anything youll find on any other Android phone: Extreme Battery Saver, which can help your phone last up to 48 hours, and Hold For Me, which tasks Google Assistant with listening to awful hold music until someone picks up.

These features are exclusive to both the Pixel 5 and 4a, but they wont be exclusive for very long. Google has said the features are also coming to older Pixel phones. Were not sure when or which models will get it, but we suspect the December Pixel Feature Drop will deliver them just in time for the holidays. Were not mad at Google for bringing features to older devices, but its one more reason to skip out on picking up a Pixel 5 this year.

Active Edge is gone

This one probably wont upset too many people, but for the first time since the original Pixel launched in 2016, you cant squeeze the sides of your phone to activate Google Assistant. We kind of assumed this would be the case after Google dumped the feature on the Pixel 4a earlier this summer, but if you liked to quickly summon Google Assistant without asking or swiping, youre out of luck.

Adam Patrick Murray You wont be able to squeeze the sides of your Pixel 5 to launch Google Assistant like you could with previous Pixels.

Youll need to pay more if you want it quicker

Google might have cut the price of the Pixel 5 as compared to the Pixel 4, but you wont pay any less to get it quicker, even if you preorder. If you buy a Pixel 5, youll have an option to get it with free shipping, priority shipping for $14, or expedited shipping for $19. The quoted days are only a day earlier, so its definitely not worth it, but were a little perplexed why Google isnt sending all preorders out at the same time for free, like, you know, every other company.
MOSCOW, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A.A. Ponomarenko was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors for JSC Sheremetyevo International Airport (JSC SIA) for the next corporate year at a regular meeting of the Board of Directors held in person on September 30, 2020.

The Board of Directors also named members of the Audit Committee (Chairman A.S. Smagin), the HR and Remuneration Committee (Chairman R.N. Zinovyev) and the Strategy and Development Committee (Chairman A.S. Smagin).

In other actions, the Board approved the updated Charter of the Sheremetyevo International Airport Joint Stock Company for submission for approval to the special General Meeting of Shareholders of JSC SIA, scheduled for November 5, 2020.

The Board also approved the report on the fulfillment of the terms of the Concession Agreement dated December 25, 2018, between JSC SIA (as the concessionaire) and the Russian Federation, represented by the Federal Air Transport Agency (as the grantor) with respect to the airfield infrastructure facilities. As of June 30, 2020, the total investment in the facilities under the Concession Agreement totaled 14,774 billion rubles, including 8 billion rubles in borrowed funds. The main share of investments was allocated for the implementation of the following projects:

Reconstruction of Runway-1 (RWY-1). The project calls for a new cover for Runway-1 to be for a total area of 406,220 sq. m. The commissioning of the facility is scheduled for November of this year.

Reconstruction of the central apron of the Sh-1 sector, the main taxiway (runway) and the connecting RD-1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 (in terms of investment facilities - "Western section of the ASTC Apron" and "Apron of Terminal C - 1st stage "). The project calls for a new surface for aprons to be installed over a total area of 488,225 sq. m. The commissioning of the facilities is scheduled for September-October of this year.

Reconstruction of the taxiway RD-V (from RD-4 to RD-5). The project calls for new airfield pavement with a total area of 54,610 sq. m. Commissioning of the facility is scheduled for December of this year.

Construction, installation and other types of work on the projectsthe reconstruction of Runway-1, the western section of the apron of the ASTC and the taxiway RD-V (from RD-4 to RD-5) are being done in accordance with the plan and schedule approved by the Board of Directors of JSC SIA.

Sheremetyevo International Airport is among the TOP-10 airport hubs in Europe, the largest Russian airport in terms of passenger and cargo traffic. The route network comprises more than 230 destinations. In 2019, the airport served 49 million 933 thousand passengers, which is 8.9% more than in 2018. Sheremetyevo is the best airport in terms of the quality of services in Europe, the absolute world leader in punctuality of flights, the owner of the highest 5-star Skytrax rating. You can find additional information at http://www.svo.aero.

SOURCE Sheremetyevo International Airport

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VICTOR, N.Y., Oct. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), a leading beverage alcohol company, announced today the election of Nicholas I. Fink, chief executive officer of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc., to serve as a member of its board of directors, effective as of the close of business on January 4, 2021. This election increases the size of Constellation's board from 12 to 13 members.



"We are excited to welcome Nick to our board of directors," said Rob Sands, Constellation Brands' Executive Chair of the Board of Directors. "Nick brings extensive beverage alcohol, international business, and legal experience, and has a proven track record of leveraging consumer insights to meet consumer needs in fast moving, highly regulated markets. Nick will serve as a tremendous asset for our board as we work to continue building industry-leading brands people love and remain focused on our proven strategy of long-term, profitable, and sustainable growth."

In January 2020, Fink was appointed as chief executive officer of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc., a Fortune 500 global home and security products manufacturer of trusted, well-known brands such as MasterBrand Cabinets, Moen, Master Lock, SentrySafe, and more. Previously, Fink served as president and chief operating officer for the company and focused on identifying opportunities to maximize the company's growth potential. Before joining Fortune Brands in 2015, Fink held several roles with increasing levels of responsibility at present-day Beam Suntory, Inc., including president, Asia Pacific and South America, and chief strategy officer.

"I'm thrilled to join the board of directors at Constellation Brands, one of the fastest-growing CPG companies over the last several years," said Fink. "I've long admired Constellation from my time in the industry and remain impressed by the company's ability to stay at the forefront of consumer trends. I look forward to working with the rest of the board and lending my perspective to help sustain the company's success well into the future."

Fink earned his bachelor's degree from the Institut d'Etudes Des Relations Internationales in Paris, France, and a law degree from Northwestern University.

ABOUT CONSTELLATION BRANDS

At Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), our mission is to build brands that people love because we believe sharing a toast, unwinding after a day, celebrating milestones, and helping people connect, are Worth Reaching For. It's worth our dedication, hard work, and the bold calculated risks we take to deliver more for our consumers, trade partners, shareholders, and communities in which we live and work. It's what has made us one of the fastest-growing large CPG companies in the U.S. at retail, and it drives our pursuit to deliver what's next.

Today, we are a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits with operations in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. Every day, people reach for our high-end, iconic imported beer brands such as Corona Extra, Corona Light, Corona Premier, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, and Pacifico, and our high-quality premium wine and spirits brands, including the Robert Mondavi Brand Family, Kim Crawford, Meiomi, The Prisoner Brand Family, SVEDKA Vodka, Casa Noble Tequila, and High West Whiskey.

But we won't stop here. Our visionary leadership team and passionate employees from barrel room to boardroom are reaching for the next level, to explore the boundaries of the beverage alcohol industry and beyond. Join us in discovering what's Worth Reaching For.

To learn more, follow us on Twitter @cbrands and visit www.cbrands.com .

MEDIA CONTACTS INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS Mike McGrew 773-251-4934 / michael.mcgrew@cbrands.com (mailto:michael.mcgrew@cbrands.com)

Amy Martin 585-678-7141 / amy.martin@cbrands.com (mailto:amy.martin@cbrands.com) Patty Yahn-Urlaub 585-678-7483 / patty.yahn-urlaub@cbrands.com (mailto:patty.yahn-urlaub@cbrands.com)

Bob Czudak 585-678-7170 / bob.czudak@cbrands.com (mailto:bob.czudak@cbrands.com)

A PDF containing multimedia is available at: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/0bae2e5e-b217-4b21-a8d4-bcc984dab17e

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/00fbb02b-62c6-4346-893b-f126b4384089
Uttar Pradesh minister Ajeet Singh Pal on Friday described the alleged gang-rape of a 19-year-old Hathras woman and her subsequent death a fortnight later as a 'small issue', asserting that the Dalit teen was not raped at all.

IMAGE: Members of various organisations hold a protest against the gang-rape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, on Friday. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

"Doctors have already made it clear that the Hathras woman was not raped," Pal, the UP minister of state for Electronics and Information Technology said in a statement which is set to further aggravate the controversy.

The minister also described the incident as a 'small issue', asserting that the law is taking its course in the case.

"We can do nothing if the Opposition is attacking (the government). They have no issue and are raking up such small issues intermittently.

"They are just raising issues and doing nothing in the public interest," the minister told reporters when asked about the Oppositions' attack against the government over the issue.

On being countered by media persons if the Hathras gang-rape case was a 'small issue' according to him, he hastened to add, "I am saying the matter is being investigated. Doctors have said nothing of this kind happened. Whatever is found in the investigation would be made public."

UP's Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar too had on Thursday said that the forensic examination on the woman did not indicate rape.

"The report of the FSL has also come. It says clearly that samples did not contain sperm. It makes clear that there was no rape or gang-rape," Kumar had said on Thursday in Lucknow.

But legal experts debunked the theory, telling PTI that the presence of sperm on the victim's body cannot be an essential ingredient to prove the crime.

In a replication of the December 2012 Nirbhaya case horrors, the Dalit teen was allegedly sexually assaulted by four men on September 14 in a Hathras village and admitted to the AMU's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh in a critical condition.

She was on September 28 referred to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital in an extremely critical condition with spinal injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue and died a day later on early hours, triggering widespread outrage, protests and calls for justice.

The Hathras police, however, took her body to her native district and allegedly cremated her overnight without her parent's consent.
Commentary Myanmars Election a Chance to End a Cycle of Man-Made Disasters

A New Light of Myanmar photo showing Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein, left, junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe, center, and his deputy, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, right, at the airport in Naypyidaw on Nov. 15. (Photo: MNA)

Fortunately, Myanmar is not a country that suffers many natural disasters like typhoons, earthquakes, eruptions, etc. However, it is the countrys great misfortune to suffer severe man-made disasters. The damage has been catastrophic!

Chains of human-made disasters have destroyed almost everything in Myanmar and its societyits economy, its education system, its infrastructure, its political system and stability, even its integritywhich natural disasters cant destroyand caused countless damage physically and mentally. Actually, these man-made disasters are political disasters, as the leaders of the country, their wrongheaded policies and their corrupt and oppressive system have damaged all sectors of the country.

After restoring its independence in 1948, Myanmar was supposed to thrive and develop without any more trouble from war and foreign invasion (which are also man-made disasters). But the civil war started under the first national government, which fought armed rebel groups like the Burma Communist Party and the Karen National Union. But the countrys political system was rather stable, as it was an elected civilian government that applied a parliamentary system. Under that system, despite the armed conflict, people did enjoy the right to vote and to express their beliefs, as well as prosperity and development at a level beyond that of Myanmars neighboring countries.

But after just about 10 years, in 1962, General Ne Win staged a coup and introduced iron-fisted military rule to the country. It was just the start of the chain of man-made disasters in Myanmar destroying all bright prospects for the country after its auspicious independence.

Ne Wins military council later implemented a so-called socialist system, under his Burma Socialist Programme Party, with the country closed to the outside world.

Politically, his regime crushed all opposition movements, threw all dissenters behind bars, silenced all independent newspapers and quenched all civil society groups. Everyone had to live in fear, as Big Brother was listening everywhere. The whole society was damaged under this system. It looked like the society had been struck by a powerful storm. Yes, it was a man-made political storm that extinguished the political freedom of the whole society and individual rights (no more right to vote, either).

Economically, the socialist regimes policies proved totally misguided after 25 years of its rule. It was 1987 when the country was included in the list of the worlds least developed countries. It was a shame for the whole population, who prior to the coup that brought Ne Win to power had been proud of their nations reputation as the Asian Rice Bowl. The system introduced by Ne Win and his handpicked people, most of whom were ex-generals, made the country one of the worlds poorest. The whole population suffered as a result of this economic policy. It was also a man-made economic disaster that impoverished the whole population.

The first wave lasted for 26 years from 1962 to 1988 under Gen. Ne Wins authoritarian rule. It ended when a peoples uprising toppled his oppressive regime. But unfortunately, these man-made disasters introduced by Ne Win and his generals were just a first wave in a series of disasters to come for Myanmar.

More man-made disasters arrived when Ne Wins succeeding generals assumed power on Sept. 18, 1988. They included high-ranking military officials Saw Maung, Than Shwe and Khin Nyunt as leading members of the new junta, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council.

Politically and economically, similar patterns were repeated. But this time, the disasters were even worse.

The new regime wiped out all dissident groups; tens of thousands of dissidents fled the country and the rest were sentenced to harsh terms of imprisonment. The new juntas crackdown was like a tsunami wiping out the whole community of dissidents, killing about 3,000 peaceful demonstrators across the country and arresting thousands more activists and politicians. It was later known as the 88 Uprising.

This was the beginning of the second wave of Myanmars man-made disasters.

The country faced more disasters in the following decades; the ruling generals didnt relinquish their power though it was entirely illegitimate. Crackdowns and oppression of political dissidents were so rife that everyone felt as if they were living in a society of fear. Totalitarianism was in high gear, earning the country inclusion among the Outposts of Tyrannyalong with Zimbabwe, North Korea, Iran and othersnamed by then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Economically, the country grew so poor that poverty became a byword for observers when describing Myanmar. Job prospects were bleak as graduates drove taxis and soldiers ran the government. While the people eked out a living, the generals and their cronies profited from developments that lined their pockets with cash. Corruption was rampant and is one of the generals main legaciesone whose effects Myanmar is still suffering from today.

Plus, the military regime forced and fooled its own citizens, as well as the world, into accepting its continued rule of the country until 2010. Even after that, they managed to rule the country for the next five years as a result of the rigged and exclusive elections held that year.

Everyone knows this tragic story of Myanmar, which has lasted for more than five decades. But sometimes people cannot clearly see the whole spectrum of man-made disasters, as those illegitimate leaders have clung to power, committing serious crimes against humanity and stealing the peoples property.

During the past decades under their rule, the people of Myanmar have fought back against those men who brought in these terrible disasters. People have applied many means, like peaceful demonstrations, taking to the streets and even choosing armed struggle to fight against the regimes military.

Due to those struggles, Myanmar has reached a political stage in which citizens can cast their votes to choose the men and women they think will end the steady stream of disasters that have done so much damage to their lives in the past.

The new young voterswho number about 5 millionare luckier than their elders, who had to choose to do or die when they wanted to get rid of the men who were responsible for such man-made disasters. The entire population is lucky, now, that they do not have to risk their lives as in the past.

The upcoming election to be held on Nov. 8 is their chance to exercise their birthright, with a ballot paper, to choose persons unlike those men mentioned above who brought nothing but political disaster.

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Britons believe that the government was wrong to reopen pubs and to permit students to head back to universities for the start of the academic year, according to a new survey.

The finding comes after a new 10pm curfew for pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues was introduced and after hundreds of students were forced to self-isolate in their rooms following Covid-19 outbreaks at a number of British universities.

In a survey of 1,700 adults, YouGov found that 46 per cent of respondents thought that reopening pubs at the beginning of July was a mistake, compared with 41 per cent who backed the decision.

The poll, which was conducted between 29 and 30 September, also suggested that 45 per cent of people think it was unwise for the government to allow the return of students to university, with 40 per cent of those surveyed disagreeing with them.

However, the public backed the lifting of all other lockdown restrictions they were asked about in YouGovs survey, concluding that it was right to launch the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and for pupils to have returned to school.

Conservative voters were much more likely to agree with the governments actions than Labour supporters, according to YouGov.

The biggest area of difference between the two sets of voters was over whether staff should return to their workspaces, with 68 per cent of Conservative supporters and only 31 per cent of Labour backers in favour.

Although the government had previously sought to encourage workers to return to the office, Boris Johnson announced a U-turn on 22 September by telling people to work from home where possible.

In the same speech addressed to MPs in the House of Commons, the prime minister also said that pubs and other venues would have to close their doors at 10pm as a way of limiting the spread of coronavirus.

When pressed about the reasons behind the decision, housing secretary Robert Jenrick told BBC Radio 4s Today programme on Friday: "The advice that I received, along with other ministers, was that, because the virus thrives on close contact between individuals, the longer one stays in pubs and restaurants and cafes, inevitably, the more likely it is that the virus will spread.

"And, the later that you stay and the more drinks that you have, the more likely you are to have close contact with other individuals and the less likely you are to comply, he added.
WATERLOO REGION  O Canada is not the same in classrooms these days.

Its not that kids have forgotten the words. But students are told not to sing the national anthem, to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

And so every morning if the anthem plays over the school intercom, kids hum along behind their masks. Or stay silent.

In some classrooms, students are learning to quietly sign the anthem in American Sign Language.

Its among many small ways the pandemic has disrupted school routines.

Public health bodies caution that singing is an unnecessary risk because when people sing they often exhale droplets, which is how the virus spreads.

Put simply, people spit sometimes when they sing.

Teachers in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board have been directed to avoid activities that will increase the spread of respiratory droplets from students such as singing or cheering.

The playing of the national anthem remains a very important part of the start of each day, board spokesperson John Shewchuk said. But as a safety measure there is no singing of any kind happening in schools.

Public Health Ontario says singing, yelling and loud talking may generate more respiratory droplets and propel droplets further than normal speaking, thereby increasing the risk for those nearby.

Ontario music teachers have been told to consider humming rather than singing, while wearing masks.

Singing outside might be safe, says the Ontario Music Educators Association. But even outside, students who sing should stay three metres apart, wear masks, and face forward rather than in a circle, while the conductor stays six metres away behind a face shield or mask.

If all this saddens you, know that some day this pandemic will pass.

O Canada will be resurrected, sung in and out of tune by small voices as you may recall from just about any school assembly.

But for now quiet prevails. Dont sing, dont cheer, dont yell, dont talk loud, to the extent thats possible where children gather.
[October 02, 2020] Canada's COVID-19 exposure notification app soon to be available in Prince Edward Island OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 2, 2020 /CNW/ - Over the past months, Canadians have been following public health advice and doing their part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. As we continue to deal with the health and economic impacts of the pandemic, we need to work together to keep people safe and healthy and contain the virus, so we can build a more resilient Canada. The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Premier of Prince Edward Island, Dennis King, today announced that people in Prince Edward Island will soon be able to receive one-time keys from their health authorities to use with COVID Alert, Canada's COVID-19 exposure notification app. The app helps notify users if they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The COVID Alert app is free and voluntary, and is another tool to help limit the spread of COVID-19. Users who test positive for COVID-19 will receive a one-time key from their health authority that they can enter into the app. When the key is entered, COVID Alert will notify other users who may have come in close contact with that person for at least 15 minutes, and direct them on next steps based on their provincial public health advice. To safeguard the confidentiality and privacy of all Canadians, the app uses strong measures to protect any data it collects, and does not track a user's location or collect personally identifiable information. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada continues to be engaged on COVID Alert, and supports its use by Canadians. COVID Alert is available for download to all Canadians, and the application will be fully operational in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia in the very near future. The one-time keys provided by health authorities are now available to the people of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The Government of Canada continues to work with the other provinces and territories to bring their health authorities on board in the coming weeks and months. Quotes "The COVID Alert app is a tool that Prince Edward Islanders will soon be able to use to help protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities from COVID-19. As more people use it, we can slow the spread of the virus and help prevent future waves. We will continue to work with other provinces and territories to bring their health authorities on board so as many Canadians as possible can benefit from the app." The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada "Keeping Islanders safe and healthy has been our number one priority since the onset of the global pandemic. We have worked closely with our Chief Public Health Office and the federal government to put measures in place to help contain and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our province. The COVID Alert app is a welcomed tool to help Islanders stay safe and an additional resource that we can use in the fight against COVID-19." The Hon. Dennis King, Premier of Prince Edward Island "Already donloaded by more than 3.1 million Canadians, this app is an additional tool we can use to protect ourselves and our loved ones. I encourage you to download it and input the one-time key to notify others should you get COVID-19." The Hon. Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health "Congratulations to the people of Prince Edward Island who will soon have access to the full functionality of COVID Alert. This secure digital tool is an important part of our public health efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19, and I encourage all Canadians to download it today." The Hon. Joyce Murray, Minister of Digital Government "People in Prince Edward Island expect us to work together and do everything we can to continue keeping them healthy and safe. This is exactly what we are doing and we are pleased to make the COVID-19 Alert app available in Prince Edward Island soon. This app will help keep each other safe and I encourage everyone to download it today." The Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, President of the Queen's Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Quick Facts Since launching, there have been more than 3.1 million downloads of the app.

COVID Alert is available for Canadians as a free download from the App Store or the Google Play Store. When a user downloads the app, their phone sends out randomly generated codes via Bluetooth to other smartphone users who have the app and are within approximately two metres. If they test positive for the virus, users can choose to upload their random codes to a central server located in Canada . Once uploaded, the random codes are stored on the server for 15 days, after which they are automatically deleted.

. Once uploaded, the random codes are stored on the server for 15 days, after which they are automatically deleted. Since the app first launched, more than 645 people have voluntarily input their one-time key to notify others around them after testing positive for COVID-19.

Canadians who want to know more about COVID Alert can call 1-833-784-4397.

The Government of Canada established the COVID-19 Exposure Notification App Advisory Council to ensure the app meets the highest standards in public health outcomes, privacy, and technology. The members of the Council reflect Canada's regional and cultural diversity, and cover a wide range of expertise, including health, privacy, data governance, science, and innovation. Their advice informs the implementation and rollout of the app.

established the COVID-19 Exposure Notification App Advisory Council to ensure the app meets the highest standards in public health outcomes, privacy, and technology. The members of the Council reflect regional and cultural diversity, and cover a wide range of expertise, including health, privacy, data governance, science, and innovation. Their advice informs the implementation and rollout of the app. BlackBerry and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security completed a security assessment of the app before it was launched. All data provided to the app is securely stored and protected.

The COVID Alert app is continually re-assessed and updated as it rolls out across the country, based on provincial needs, user research, and testing. Users who already have the app downloaded should keep both the app and their device's operating system up-to-date.

COVID Alert is a collaboration between Health Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the Canadian Digital Service, and the Ontario Digital Service. It builds upon an exposure notification solution developed by Shopify volunteers in coordination with the non-profit Linux Foundation Public Health. It is also the work of a team of developers from across the country.

Linux Foundation Public Health. It is also the work of a team of developers from across the country. As part of our commitment to open and transparent government, the Canadian Digital Service is making its work on the app's development and testing available on Github.

The Canada COVID App is another digital tool that supports Canadians. It allows users to track their symptoms while receiving the latest updates and accessing trusted resources. Associated Links Download COVID Alert

COVID-19 Exposure Notification App Advisory Council

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Prime Minister announces new mobile app to help notify Canadians of COVID-19 exposure

COVID-19: Digital tools and apps for staying healthy This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

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Amid India and other nations' ongoing battle with Chinas aggressive and expansionist approach at virtually all its borders, a prominent Indian newspaper on Thursday ran a full-page advertorial to mark the National Day of the Peoples Republic of China. The content allegedly appeared on the 3rd page of the newspaper. Interestingly, the same was not displayed on its digital platform.

The article featured praises for China, listing its achievements and comes against the backdrop of widespread criticism over the Coronavirus outbreak and illegal claim over surrounding territories. The newspaper gave space for Beijing to preach and take the high road concerning the Ladakh stand-off, further showcasing itself as a global power in counter-terrorism, while the facts point in the opposite direction.

READ | 50 Years Of Cho La Clash: Here's How The Indian Army Gave A Bloody Nose To China

Netizens slam newspaper

Despite being demarcated, the article was not received well by Indian audiences who took to social media and called out the blatant propaganda. Netizens also questioned whether any Chinese media would allow Indian envoy to write a column similarly.

You might think this is some Chinese propaganda newspaper then you look at the top left pic.twitter.com/J6VanLyW6G  Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) October 2, 2020

Will global times or Xinhua allow Indian envoy to write an oped or a column ?? No. So why should Indian papers allow @China_Amb_India to peddle his propaganda ??  Kartikeya Sinha  (@Kartikeya12341) October 2, 2020

READ | US, European Officials Plan To Create Asian NATO To Contain Chinese Expansionism

Isn't there rule against this in India. This simply falls under the category of treason  GAURAV K (@GAURAVKAUTISH21) October 2, 2020

Lack of ethical standards in journalism  GP (@GP_freespeech) October 2, 2020

READ | US State Dept Report Accuses China Of Threatening Global Economy With Environmental Abuse

Such a rubbish rag!  Serendipity (@sslibran) October 2, 2020

This was apparently not the first time this has happened. Earlier on April 02, 2020, the daily allegedly had placed another advertorial by China to commemorate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

READ | US Says Arunachal Pradesh Is Indian Territory; Slams China's Advance Territorial Claims
John Bercow pocketed more than 19,000 in 'severance' when he stepped down as Commons Speaker - despite setting his own departure date and announcing it seven weeks in advance.

Government accounts show Mr Bercow received the golden goodbye when he 'retired' from the 155,000-a-year job on October 31.

Critics questioned why he was entitled to the 'bumper' sum, which comes on top of a million-pound pension pot that he did not have to contribute to.

The pay-off for the 57-year-old was bigger than the 18,860 handed to Theresa May, even though she was forced out of Downing Street amid a huge Tory revolt over Brexit.

The Speaker is covered by the same severance terms as ministers, who receive a quarter of their salary. The element of Mr Bercow's pay related to the role was 77,000, on top of his MP salary.

However, ministers typically lose jobs with no notice in reshuffles.

Government accounts show Mr Bercow received a 19,000 golden goodbye when he 'retired' as Commons Speaker last October

Mr Bercow had a controversial decade in the crucial role at the Houses of Parliament (pictured)

Mr Bercow was elected as Speaker for the duration of the last Parliament, having first taken the chair in 2009, and declared in a statement on September 9 that he would be giving up the job on October 31.

Mr Bercow's office blanked requests for comment on whether he accepted the money when he stepped down.

However, figures released in Treasury documents this week confirm the 'severance' payment of 19,221 was made.

They also show that Mr Bercow's pension pot is worth 952,000, and will pay him 35,000-40,000 a year.

Mr Bercow refused to follow the example of all PMs since Gordon Brown in giving up the gold-plated pension provision, although he did concede that he will not draw it until he turns 65.

A spokesman did not respond to enquiries about the severance payment.

John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Taxpayers will be ticked off at being bounced into a bumper payout for Bercow.

'This is yet another cost for a Speaker whose time culminated in wasteful expenditure and constant controversy.'

It previously emerged that Mr Bercow had a 'retirement' reception at Speaker's House shortly before leaving the chair.

Some 150 MPs and staff attended the event, which was disclosed by the Commons in response to a Freedom of Information request by MailOnline.

Alongside the 3,696 bill for the party, the public purse also met 'cleaning and removals' costs.

However, the authorities said they could not give figures or further information about the work because it could not be separated from other spending.

A spokeswoman for the Speaker's Office said of the spending: 'It is usual practice for the House to mark the retirement of senior officials.

'In the case of the Speaker, a reception was hosted for him by the Clerk of the House on 23 October. It was attended by 150 Members and House staff in Speaker's House.'

Since quitting as Speaker and an MP, Mr Bercow has taken up posts as a university lecturer in London as well as launching a lucrative after-dinner speaking career.

However, he has accused ministers of 'conspiring' to stop him getting a seat in the House of Lords.

During his controversial decade in the chair, Mr Bercow clashed with the government repeatedly over Brexit and faced criticism over allegations of bullying of staff, which he has always flatly denied.

When he took on the Speakership in June 2009, he pledged that he would only serve nine years.

But Mr Bercow then insisted he would stay on to oversee the Brexit process - despite fury from ministers and Tory MPs that he was biased towards Remainers.

The pay-off for Mr Bercow was bigger than the 18,860 handed to Theresa May (pictured tearfully announcing her resignation after a Tory revolt last May)
The Trade Union Congress has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari for comparing Nigeria with Saudi Arabia and some other countries in his independence anniversary broadcast.

The union said the comparison suggests that Buhari was defending fraud and the impoverishment of Nigerians.

Buhari had, in the broadcast, said it makes no sense for oil to be cheaper in Nigeria than Saudi Arabia.

The President said, Chad, which is an oil-producing country, charges N362 per litre. Niger, also an oil-producing country, sells oil at N346 per litre. Ghana, another oil-producing country, petroleum pump price is N326 per litre. Further afield, Egypt charges N211 per litre. Saudi Arabia charges N168 per litre. It makes no sense for oil to be cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia.

Reacting to the development, TUC, in a statement by its President, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, said the comparison was not necessary because Nigeria was not at par in all ramifications with Saudi Arabia and the other countries.

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) condemns the comparison made by the Federal Government in its address earlier today. The comparison with a country like Saudi Arabia was unnecessary because we are not at par in all ramifications with Saudi Arabia and the countries mentioned. It is like comparing black and white. It is that bad!, the statement said.

TUC added that Nigerias leaders have not made any meaningful achievement with huge revenue generated from oil.

The union noted that Nigerias leaders have squandered and looted the countrys resources without developing the country.

The statement added, Come to think of it, what has Nigeria achieved with all the money made from oil since over six decades of oil exploration in commercial quality? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. All what successive leaderships have done is loot, launder and buy properties in foreign land.

In many of these countries, money does not move around the way it does in Nigeria. Our politicians spray dollars at weddings in Nigeria! They use foreign hospitals, shop abroad and do all manner of crazy things.

So, if the President is defending the hike, what does he want to do with the surplus they will make from the hike? The same old story of providing infrastructure! Our roads are nothing but death traps. Our leaders are not patriotic at all.

TUC further noted that many of Buharis appointees are corrupt.

The president may not be corrupt but he has NOT been able to check his appointees. Many are very corrupt. Government is robbing Peter (masses) to pay Paul (politicians and cronies). It is ungodly and evil in the sight of God, the union said.

TUC stressed that the comparison made by Buhari amounted to defending fraud and the impoverishment of Nigerians.

The statement added, It is unarguable that in Nigeria, everyone is a local government but in Saudi, roads, water, and to some extent job are not big issues. PHCN gives over 70% of Nigerians estimated bills.

They have refused to meter our houses so they can continue to prey on us yet government is not doing enough to change the narrative. It is not fair.

It is ridiculous to compare Nigeria with Saudi, Dubai, or any other country, not even in Africa. With the natural resources that we have we could rule the world, but government is not interested. There is no need for this comparison because it looks like the President is defending fraud and the impoverishment of Nigerians.
Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect the deceased woman is not the boys mother.

WARREN, MI -- Police say a 6-year-old boy was killed execution-style during a double homicide at a home in Warren Thursday, and if the suspect is found, they may seek the death penalty through federal assistance. Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer made the announcement during a press conference Friday.

If we bring the federal authorities in, we may be asking for the death penalty for the person or persons responsible. Im not saying we are at this point, Dwyer said.

The death penalty has been outlawed completely in Michigan since 1963 and was abolished in 1847 for all crimes except treason. However, if the case moves to a federal level, it would open the door for a possible death penalty sentence.

When you murder a 6-year-old innocent baby, the person or persons responsible deserve the death penalty, Dwyer said.

The boy has been identified as Tairaz Moore. He was found in the home in the 2000 block of Otis Avenue near 9 Mile Road with a 28-year-old woman, who was also killed and has not yet been identified. The two were found by police Thursday after Detroit Police tried to make contact with the family of a man found burned beyond recognition in a car in Detroit. Tairaz is the son of the man found burned in the car in Detroit and the deceased woman was his girlfriend.

When police arrived at the home, no one answered the door, but officers noticed it was cracked open. The Detroit officers called Warren Police for help so they could enter the home. After going inside, they found the bodies of Tairaz and the woman. Dwyer says the two may have known the person who killed them and its possible both the Warren and Detroit murders were drug-related, but that is not known for certain at this point.

Regardless of the reasons, Dwyer says he wants to bring the strongest sentence possible once a suspect or suspects are captured.

The execution-style killing of a 6-year-old boy is truly evil, unthinkable, senseless and shows no regard for life," Dwyer said. Only monsters and godless creatures would pull the trigger on a 6-year-old and execute a child.

The investigation is ongoing and will continue around the clock according to Dwyer. The department has recovered some evidence already and is canvassing the neighborhood to look for clues and to speak with neighbors about what they may have seen. Some video recovered at the scene is expected to be released later Friday.

Dwyer pleaded with the community to come forward if they know anything about either case.

There are people that we know should come forward and provide us with the information to arrest the persons responsible. And I would plead with those people that have that information to either contact the Detroit Police Department Homicide Division or the Warren Police Department, Dwyer said.

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Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger has resigned from Gov. Gavin Newsom's COVID-19 economic task force, after tensions over the governor's refusal to reopen theme parks.

A spokesperson for Disney confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the executive chairman departed from the group, earlier in the week. The group of business leaders were organized in April in a bid to inject a different perspective besides that of politicians.

'We very much appreciate Mr. Iger's service on the task force and respect his decision to resign,' Ann O'Leary, the governor's chief of staff, said.

Disney CEO Bob Iger resigned from Gov. Gavin Newsom's COVID-19 economic task force, a spokesperson announced

The news comes after Disney announced on Tuesday that it will lay off 28,000 employees across its parks, experiences and products division

The news comes after Disney announced on Tuesday that it will lay off 28,000 employees across its parks, experiences and products division.

Included were employees at Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim.

California employment data shows that the theme park industry includes more than five dozen employers across the state. 10 of those companies employ 1,000 or more people.

It's a struggle for Disney, who has been able to open their Florida parks but have had to leave their California ones shuttered.

Included in the haul are employees at Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim

Advisers for Newsom have said that the state plans to roll out new public health guidelines for theme park openings by the end of the week. Leadership for the business group said on Thursday that the proposed draft falls short of the industry, however.

'While we are aligned on many of the protocols and health and safety requirements, there are many others that need to be modified if they are to lead to a responsible and reasonable amusement park reopening plan,' said Erin Guerrero, executive director of the California Attractions and Parks Association.

'We ask the governor not to finalize guidance for amusement parks before engaging the industry in a more earnest manner, listening to park operators' expertise, and collaborating with the industry on a plan that will allow for amusement parks to reopen responsibly while still keeping the health and safety of park employees and guests a top priority.'

On Thursday, Newsom rejected any notion that he was feeling pressure to allow Disneyland and other amusement parks to resume operations.

'The answer is, unequivocally, no,' Newsom said. 'We are not putting the health and safety of people visiting the state or recreating in the state at the parks at risk.'
Tesla said Friday it delivered 139,300 vehicles in the third quarter, and produced 145,036 vehicles.

That sets a new quarterly record for Tesla. In its previous best, Tesla delivered 112,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2019.

As of Wednesday, analysts expected Tesla to report deliveries of 137,000 vehicles over the last three months, according to a consensus of analysts surveyed by FactSet. Their estimates ranged from 123,000 at the low end to 147,000 at the high end.

Deliveries are the closest approximation of sales numbers reported by Tesla. Tesla shares were down nearly 5% in mid-day trading on Friday, amid a broader market sell-off after President Donald Trump announced that he tested positive for Covid-19.

Confounding some analysts, the company does not break out its delivery and production numbers by region. It also combines delivery numbers for its older Model S and Model X electric cars, and its newer Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

The Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover SUV comprised about 89% of the third quarter deliveries at 124,100 deliveries in the third quarter of 2020. The Model S and X, Tesla's older and more expensive vehicles, comprised the remaining 11% with deliveries of 15,200.

The company was back to producing more cars than it delivered, Tesla reported, including 128,044 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, and 16,992 Model S and Model X vehicles.

In the second quarter, Tesla said it delivered 90,650 electric vehicles but produced fewer vehicles than it sold -- 87,048, mostly Model 3s.

Tesla started 2020 saying it expected to deliver at least 500,000 electric vehicles this year, and has not changed that guidance. However, in financial filings, Tesla stopped saying it would "comfortably exceed" 500,000 deliveries this year.

On Sept. 22 at an annual stockholder meeting, CEO Elon Musk said vehicle deliveries would likely rise 30% to 40% versus 2019. That implies deliveries of 477,750 to 514,500 cars in 2020, a range that encompasses Tesla's previously stated goal to deliver half a million cars this year.

Just before the annual shareholder meeting, Musk struck a cautious but encouraging note about the third quarter. In an e-mail to employees, he wrote: "We have a shot at a record quarter for vehicle deliveries, but will have to rally hard to achieve it. This is the most number of vehicles per day that we've ever had to deliver."

During the third quarter, Musk's electric car maker had finally moved past Covid-19 health orders that caused its U.S. vehicle assembly plant to wind down to minimum basic operations in the spring but was still facing an auto sales slump impacting new vehicle sales the world over.

In August, Tesla saw sales recovering partly from that slump, driven by sales in China. The company sold nearly 12,000 vehicles in China that month, following earlier price cuts and a production ramp up there.

Tesla's Shanghai factory has the capacity to produce up to 200,000 vehicles a year, the company's vice president of foreign affairs in China, Grace Tao, said in a press interview with Xinhua News Agency in May.

With possible excess capacity at the Shanghai factory, Tesla now plans to begin exporting some of its made-in-China vehicles to Europe. Historically, it has exported only cars it produced in the U.S. to Europe.

In the U.S. in July, Tesla cut the price of its Model Y crossover SUV by $3,000 and canceled a lower-priced standard-range version of the SUV.
Londoners could find out of the capital is to be the latest city to be placed into lockdown next week - as its transport chief urged workers back onto the Tube network.

A high-stakes political meeting is due to take place to decide whether the city should face restrictions like those in Liverpool and Newcastle.

Any such moves are likely to face a sharp uproar from businesses still reeling from the last lockdown and last week's decision to get people working from home again.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and councils in the capital have urged the Government to implement additional measures for Londoners, but so far no extra restrictions have been put in place by ministers.

A spokesperson for Mr Khan warned last week that London was at a 'very worrying tipping point' and 'immediate action' was needed to regain control of the virus.

It came as Transport Commissioner Andy Byford urged people to use the London Undergorund more, saying tests by scientists had found it was clear of coronavirus.

The system is running a full service but receiving only a third of regular passengers numbers.

Swab tests were carried out on escalators, smartcard readers and grab handles, plus buttons and handrails on buses by Imperial College researchers.

Air samples were also taken at locations including Euston and Waterloo stations.

Mr Byford told the Evening Standard: 'We are ready when you are ready. The system is safe. We encourage people to use it.'

The system is running a full service but receiving only a third of regular passengers numbers

Andy Byford (left) wants perople back on the Tube. But Tower Hamlets mayor John Biggs (right) has told households to stop mixing

Meanwhile residents of the borough of Tower Hamlets in east London are being advised to avoid visiting other households by the local council.

In an open letter, the borough's mayor John Biggs asked those who live in the area to avoid visiting other households 'unless absolutely necessary' due to a rise in coronavirus cases.

Tower Hamlets' rate for the seven days to September 28 was 44.0 cases per 100,000 people, up from 38.5 the previous week.

The proportion travelling to workplaces slipped from 64 per cent to 59 per cent, after the government's guidance shifted to recommend doing it where possible

Coronaphobia is back: Just 20 per cent of adults said they had met another household in a private place last week, down from 30 per cent the previous week, an ONS survey shows

Mr Biggs called the situation a 'matter of life and death' and said urgent action was required, adding that the borough had one of the highest levels of Covid-19 in London.

He wrote: 'Despite a fall over the summer, we are seeing cases of Covid-19 rise and we need to accept that the situation is once again worsening.

'Tower Hamlets now has one of the highest levels of Covid-19 in London.

'As a second rise in infections hits us, we must take all steps necessary to limit the spread of the virus and protect those most at risk.'

He added: 'I am clear that the current national rules are a minimum and my advice to you all is to do everything in your power to protect each other.

'Our individual actions have consequences for us all.'

One in three Britons will be living under tougher Covid-19 rules than the rest of the country tomorrow, despite data showing local lockdowns don't work in most places and that infection rates have actually risen.

From Saturday, two million residents in Liverpool, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough will be banned from meeting people they don't live with indoors in a bid to curtail outbreaks there.

It will mean a total of 22.4million Brits will be living under some form of economically crippling and socially restricting local shutdown. Ministers have justified the measures by claiming they are the only way to stop a second national wave of the disease.

But data shows Covid-19 infections have doubled in the majority of areas in England that have been subject to long-term restrictions. In 11 out of 16 English cities and towns hit with lockdowns in the last nine weeks, the infection rate has risen at least two-fold and in some cases by more than 10 times.

In Bolton, Britain's current Covid-19 hotspot, there were 200 infections per 100,000 in the last seven days, up from 14 per 100,000 on July 31. In Wigan cases have risen from seven per 100,000 people to 102 in the same period.

Luton is the only area in the country which has successfully managed to drive down cases far enough to break free from the shackles of a local lockdown - but even the Bedfordshire town could be slapped with restrictions once again because cases have started to rebound.

Scientists, MPs and local leaders say adherence to the rules is low because they have been too 'complex and confusing' to follow. In Middlesbrough, the mayor Andy Preston said he would 'defy the government' and that his town would 'not accept these measures' because there was no evidence they would work.
Student activists protest against the Hathras gang rape case, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Oct 2, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Student activists protest against the Hathras gang rape case, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Oct 2, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 2 : For the past few months India had become used to webinars and other virtual gatherings on social media either to register a protest or push a campaign because of Covid-19. However, the Hathras tragedy has once again brought people out on the streets protesting and raising questions on the security of women in the country with a number of rapes and gang rape incidents reported across the country in quick succession.

Delhi Police sensed the possible outrage early and were quick to impose section 144 at India Gate on Gandhi Jayanti and send out the message to restrict the gathering at Jantar Mantar not more than hundred citing a DDMA order.

However, by evening, thousands of protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar with placards and posters demanding justice for the Hathras gang rape victim who died in a Delhi hospital.

Scores of people including politicians, actors and activists were seen giving speeches and interacting with the media in the national Capital as tempers rose over the Hathras incident.

Back in Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, the media felt offended when their entry into the victim's village was barricaded and journalists were stopped at a distance.

The victim's family was also not allowed to interact with mediapersons either. Visuals of mediapersons trying to sneak into the village and the confrontation with UP police went viral on social media.

After public gatherings were prohibited because of the on spread of pandemic, the Hathras incident is the first one to bring the protesters on the streets, in a departure from web seminars and online campaigns. Neither the fear of contracting the virus nor being booked for violation of sec 144 could stop the people from coming together.

By evening hashtags such as Dalit Lives matter, Women Lives matter, Hathras and Jantar Mantar started trending on Twitter, the only difference, this time it was the physical presence on roads and not just virtual presence on mobiles and laptops.

(Zafar Abbas could be reached at zafar.a@ians.in)
Judy Diaz was sitting in her apartment Thursday when the glass from her patio door suddenly blew out. Moments later, someone was pounding on her front door telling her to get out because the building was on fire.

I was so scared, it was overwhelming, Diaz said.

Diaz, her son and her dog Molly escaped from the apartment before it became completely engulfed in flames. Diaz said she lost everything as she gazed onto the blackened remains of her apartment.

She was one of 50 people who lost their home after a fire tore through the Avistar at the Crest apartment complex, located in the 12600 block of Uhr Lane on the Northeast Side.

San Antonio firefighters were called to the complex around 12:30 p.m. Fire Chief Charles Hood said crews could see heavy smoke from several miles away and immediately called for more resources.

Residents were able to evacuate before there were serious injuries.

Just a few apartments away from Diaz, Ouzman Hosein and his wife were lounging in their living room while his son was participating in a virtual classroom when someone started banging on their door. Hosein looked out to see the breezeway filled with black smoke.

We didnt have time to grab anything, we just ran out of there, he said.

In describing the terrifying ordeal, Hosein said all he could see was a cloud of black smoke, not knowing if he was leading his family to safety or into more danger.

Just thank god someone saw the fire and started telling everyone,Hosein said.

One woman, who was knocking on doors to tell residents to evacuate, suffered smoke inhalation and was treated on the scene. So far, no other injuries have been reported.

It took crews nearly an hour to contain the fire as residents gathered around, watching the building burn. Hood said half of the 36-unit building was damaged with smoke and water.

We are just thankful something like this didnt happen at 2 or 3 a.m., because it could have been much worse. Hood said.

Hood said arson investigators are on scene to determine the cause.
Members of Chandrashekhar Azad's Bhim Army and All India Students Association were among those who gathered at Jantar Mantar with posters in their hands as they raised slogans seeking justice for the Hathras victim. Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad said, It is not the administration, it is the work of the UP CM who has barred entry to all including media and national or political leaders. I appeal to all safai karamcharis to stop working and let this government live in dirt." (Image: News18)
Half of Americans Say They Will Not Get CCP Virus Vaccine, Citing Safety Concerns

Some are relying on possible drug treatments as an alternative

The first CCP virus vaccine is due to complete its phase 3 trial by the end of October, but almost half of Americans say they will not get the vaccine.

In a recent Pew Research Center poll on whether Americans will get the vaccine, only 51 percent said they would, down 21 percent from May. The other 49 percent cited concerns about the vaccines potential side effects as to why they wouldnt get it.

The unprecedented speed of vaccine development was made possible by Operation Warp Speed. Its the partnership created to address the manufacturing, development, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics by the Trump administration.

Although many people are hoping for a vaccine to possibly end the pandemic, the rate at which the vaccines are being developed has raised concerns about the safety and long-term effects of the vaccine.

For high schooler Sam Leong, who is up to date on her vaccines, she said she would skip it due to limited testing and safety concerns. How would we truly know if the COVID vaccine even works? Its not like it protects you from getting COVID 100 percent, Leong told The Epoch Times in an email.

Leong, who is a senior this year, said she was also concerned about the manufacturers lack of transparency, bringing up the UK vaccine testing [that was] stopped and then resumed without a clear explanation. They have not released why and have continued to test, Leong said. There has been no transparency.

Multi-national company AstraZeneca is leading the UK study. In the United States, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson (J&J), are racing to provide a potential vaccine to combat the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus that causes the disease COVID-19.

AstraZeneca halted its trial for several days after one participant was suspected of coming down with transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder that causes inflammation on both sides of the spinal cord. Symptoms include muscle weakness or paralysis, pain, and diminished sensation to light, touch, and temperature. There is no cure for the disorder and the cause is unknown in many cases.

AstraZenecas U.S. trial continues to remain on hold as of the publication of this story. The FDA is reportedly investigating if similar adverse effects emerged in the earlier trials of similar vaccines developed by the companys partner, Oxford University.

A subject receives a shot in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine by Moderna for COVID-19 at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle on March 16, 2020. (Ted S. Warren/AP Photo)

In Modernas first clinical trial of 45 people, three of the participants in the high dose group all experienced a grade 3 systemic adverse reaction to the vaccine and one from the lowest dose group developed transient urticaria (hives).

According to the FDA, a grade 3 adverse event (pdf) is a severe or medically significant but not immediately life-threatening; hospitalization or prolongation of hospitalization indicated; disabling; limiting self care ADL [activities of daily life].

We have no way of knowing who will react and you will not be compensated financially, Pam Long, a Medical Intelligence Officer for NATO Peacekeeping Forces and spokesperson for the Colorado Health Choice Alliance, told The Epoch Times. There is no liability in the U.S. for vaccines, their manufacturers, and the doctors who administer them.

Congress passed the Vaccine Injury Compensation Act in 1986 that gave vaccine manufacturers and those who administer the vaccine immunity from lawsuits by parents of a child that has been vaccine-injured. Parents have to file a claim with the federal government instead, under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Claims can only be filed for adverse events listed on the vaccine injury table (pdf).

Countermeasure Injury Compensation Program

Vaccines, drugs, and other countermeasures granted emergency authorization are also given immunity from lawsuits. Congress passed the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act (pdf) in 2005 allowing the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a PREP Act declaration giving liability immunity to entities and individuals involved in the development, manufacture, testing, distribution, administration, and use of such countermeasures.

Countermeasures that are covered include (1) drugs, biological products, or devices authorized for investigational or emergency use, (2) qualified pandemic or epidemic products, or (3) security countermeasures.

People injured or died from vaccines granted emergency authorization have only one year after receiving the countermeasure to file a claim and prove their injury under the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program, a federal government program established as a result of the PREP Act.

The PREP Act declaration for COVID-19 (pdf) went into effect on February 4, 2020.

Hydroxychloroquine

There are still no medications approved by the FDA to treat COVID-19, but many are being tested, including the much controversial and politicized hydroxychloroquine. Researchers around the world continue to look at its dosage, use in combination with other drugs, and timing.

There are now more than 80 studies that show that prophylactic (pre-infection) or early use of hydroxychloroquine prevents or significantly reduces the severity of COVID-19, Dr. Simone Gold, MD, and founder of Americas Frontline Doctors told The Epoch Times in an email. All studies that failed to show a benefit to being on hydroxychloroquine had one of these three flaws: the drug was given late in the disease (hospitalized), or at too high a dose, or without zinc.

Gold says that zinc is actually what blocks viral replication and hydroxychloroquine only facilitates the zinc.

One of the main reasons the drug was declared ineffective and why the World Health Organization temporarily halted its hydroxychloroquine studies around the world was due to a large study conducted by Surgisphere Corporation that declared hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine (with or without a macrolide) was associated with no evidence of benefit, but instead was associated with an increase in the risk of ventricular arrhythmias and a greater hazard for in-hospital death with COVID-19.

The study, published in one of the most prestigious medical journals, The Lancet, was retracted two weeks later on June 5, after an independent third-party auditor was refused access to the raw data to replicate the analyses presented in the paper.

Surgisphere took down its website on June 15, along with its social media accounts.

Prior to the pandemic, hydroxychloroquine was safely used throughout the world by people of all ages, including pregnant women and immune-compromised patients. The drug has been approved for over 65 years by the FDA for malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.

Since it came out 70 years ago in 1955, several million patients have taken the drug, Dr. Daniel Wallace, a prominent rheumatologist and Associate Director of the Rheumatology Department Cedars Sinai Medical Center said in an interview with Dr. Mehmet Oz back in April. There have not been any reported deaths from using this agent as monotherapy or taken only by itself.

Addressing the fear that hydroxychloroquine may cause heart problems, Wallace who has 42 years in clinical practice said, It is a problem with chloroquine, which is its first cousin, and it was a problem with hydroxychloroquine in the 1950s and 60s when doctors were using two to three times the usual dose. In the current recommended dose [400 mg], it really does not occur.

According to Zion Market Research, the global vaccine market was worth $41.7 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach over $69.8 billion by 2026 as a result of an increase in infectious diseases.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 00:22:21|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday noted the need for that the member states of the European Union (EU) to "join forces in key strategic areas" and said the EU plans to update its industrial strategy next year.

Von der Leyen told a press conference after a meeting of EU leaders on Thursday and Friday that the bloc will update its Industrial Strategy in the first half of 2021. The current strategy was released in March 2020 and the "last six months have changed a lot."

"The lack of production facilities in the EU for certain critical products became an issue and remote digital working methods became the norm," she said.

The update will take into account the EU's position in key technologies, such as batteries, microelectronics and hydrogen, and the efforts to improve the EU's resilience on raw materials, von der Leyen said.

She also said that the EU was carrying out a comprehensive review on how to adapt EU competition rules in a globalized and digital world.

Regarding the EU's digital transition, von der Leyen said the plan is to allow universities and researchers to tap into a huge pool of unused industrial data in Europe, and to build a European cloud.

The Commission will propose a law on Artificial Intelligence (AI) next year to ensure the proper use and oversight of the technology, she said.

She also noted that digital infrastructure investment in the EU will focus on secure connectivity and the "expansion of 5G, 6G and fiber."

In a document released after the EU leaders' summit, the European Council reiterated the conclusion that at least 20 percent of the funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, or roughly 135 billion euros (158 billion U.S. dollars), will be made available for the digital transition. Enditem
The Court of Appeal has set aside a ruling of the Bayelsa State Governorship election petition tribunal that nullified the election of Diri Duoye as the validly elected governor of Bayelsa State.

In a majority judgement delivered in Abuja on Friday, the court held that the petition by the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP) was statute-barred, and the tribunal had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

The court also said that the tribunal was not the proper forum to entertain the petition as it was wrong to have held that the candidates of ANDP were validly nominated.

The Bayelsa State Gubernatorial Petition Tribunal had in August nullified the election of Mr Diri.

The election was nullified based on a petition by ANDP which argued that it was unlawfully excluded from participating in the election.

Details later..
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A West Brighton man accused of shooting a gun on a street near his home last year is headed upstate.

Anthony Jackson, 44, has been sentenced to two years in prison stemming from the July 13, 2019 incident.

A criminal complaint said Jackson fired the gun in front of 1075 Castleton Ave., outside the West Brighton Houses, at around 3:55 a.m.

The complaint did not say why Jackson discharged the weapon. No injuries were reported.

Police said Jackson lives in a neighboring building.

The defendant was arrested several weeks later on Aug. 7, 2019.

He was indicted on charges of criminal weapon possession, criminal firearm possession and reckless endangerment.

Two weeks ago, Jackson pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to a lesser count of attempted second-degree criminal weapon possession to resolve the case.

He also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for possessing an imitation pistol on June 30, 2019, outside 1077 Castleton Ave.

Besides prison time, Jackson was sentenced Wednesday to three years' post-release supervision on the gun case.

He was sentenced to time served for possessing the fake pistol.

Defense lawyer Biju Koshy has declined comment on the cases.

Assistant District Attorney Kate Malloy prosecuted them.
GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemalas government says bars, theatres and its famed archaeological sites can reopen on Thursday after being  at least legally  closed for months due to the fight against COVID-19.

The government said limits on attendance and other measures will still be in place for areas where the new coronavirus is still spreading at relatively high levels  which includes Guatemala City and most of the countrys municipalities.

Theaters, gyms and other venues, including restaurants in shopping centres, have to limit attendance to one person per 10 square meters  a limit that also affects churches, which had earlier been allowed to open. Bars must have natural ventilation and cant allow more than five people to a table.

The new rules mean public parks, including national parks and archaeological sites, will reopen, as can fairs and swimming pools.

The Central American nation began gradually lifting restrictions in late July, though it only opened its borders and resumed full operations at its international airport less than two weeks ago.

The country has recorded 3,238 deaths from COVID-19 and roughly 91,000 people infected with the virus, including President Alejandro Giammattei, who said recently he had suffered relatively light symptoms.
(Photo : Photo by Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump (L) wears a face mask while he pays his respects as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose under the Portico at the top of the front steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building on September 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. Ginsburg, who was appointed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton served on the high court from 1993, until her death on September 18, 2020. (Photo : Photo by U.S. Airforce/Getty Images) A U.S. Airforce B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber carries air launched cruise missiles in this undated file photo. The United States and Britain launched powerful air and missile strikes against command bases, airports and training camps across Afghanistan October 7, 2001 using 50 cruise missiles and dozens of aircraft.

Two Boeing E-6B Mercury missile command planes have been launched recently and seen roaming near Washington DC and above Oregon state. This was right after the COVID-19 announcement of U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. The U.S. explains their side, calling the launch as a 'purely coincidental' and doesn't mean anything.

Missile command planes launched on Friday

Early Friday, Oct. 2, President Trump announced via his official Twitter account that he and the First Lady Melania Trump were both found positive with COVID-19.

Shortly before the news broke, two mysterious Boeing E-6B Mercury missile command planes were seen launched along both coasts of the US mainland.

RT There's an E-6B Mercury off the east coast near DC. I looked because I would expect them to pop up if he tests positive. It's a message to the small group of adversaries with SLBMs and ICBMs. pic.twitter.com/3ta9PmPxZD  Tim Hogan (@TimInHonolulu) October 2, 2020

Boeing E-6B Mercury planes are known as "airborne command posts," which can convey instructions to the fleet of ballistic submarines the U.S. has in waters around the world. It will then, deploy nuclear-tipped Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

These missile command planes are part of the country's program called "Looking Glass," that provides command to the US nuclear forces in the air, once the ground-based command centers stop operations.

What does this mean?

Twitter users obviously, have raised speculations right after the said launch of missile command planes.

They get sent there when the president isn't at full capacity to send a warning to adversaries not to nuke us. This is real folks.  defiant maraleia because the GOP are criminals (@maraleia) October 2, 2020

E-6Bs are airborne command centers for controlling long range nuclear missiles. The message is whatever is happening with the President, do not try any funny business because the USA is ready for nuclear war.  RJ (@RJLvegas) October 2, 2020

To stop all rumors, the U.S. Strategic Command spokesman explained to Fox News that the launch exercise were just "purely coincidental" and that "no change to the posture of the U.S. military," were made as, "The president remains the commander-in-chief."

ALSO READ: NASA Disappointed in Boeing Amid 61 Failures That Delayed Starliner! Could SpaceX have been the Better Choice?

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Jamie Pancho

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
AUSTIN, Minn., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a global branded food company, has announced its participation in the Dine, Shop & Share for No Kid Hungry campaign, aimed at raising funds to help kids get the meals they need to learn. In addition to a monetary contribution to support the campaign, Hormel Foods will match donations made through a special Hormel Foods donation link, up to $10,000, now through Oct. 16, 2020.

"As children start school this year, many are struggling to get the most important school supply: food. All kids need healthy food to do their best at school, wherever that may be," said Diana Hovey, senior vice president of corporate partnerships, No Kid Hungry campaign. "One in four kids in the U.S. could face hunger this year due to the impacts of COVID-19. Thanks to supporters like Hormel Foods, we are helping to ensure children have access to the healthy meals they need to learn and thrive."

Companies supporting the Dine, Shop & Share campaign offer promotions ranging from coupons and discounts to limited-time items while promoting the initiative to their customers. The "share" component encourages people to share social media posts that trigger donations.

"Dine, Shop & Share for No Kid Hungry helps raise awareness about this important issue and helps ensure children have access to healthy meals," said Jeffrey Frank, vice president of foodservice marketing at Hormel Foods. "We are proud to join many of our foodservice customers in supporting this initiative to help others."

The Dine, Shop & Share website provides information on the participating restaurants and stores as well as online promotions. Every $1 donated can provide up to 10 meals for kids in need. Meal equivalency varies during COVID-19 relief. Learn more at NoKidHungry.org/OneDollar.



Those wishing to have their donation matched by Hormel Foods should visit NoKidHungry.org/DineShopShare and click on the Hormel Foods call out or click here. From now until Oct. 16, 2020, the company will match all donations made through this link, up to $10,000.

As a leading corporate citizen, Hormel Foods donated more than $50 million in cash and product donations to help others over the last five years. To learn more about the company's efforts, visit https://csr.hormelfoods.com/.

ABOUT HORMEL FOODS  Inspired People. Inspired Food.

Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include SKIPPY, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, Wholly, Hormel Black Label, Columbus and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named on the "Global 2000 World's Best Employers" list by Forbes magazine for three straight years, is one of Fortune magazine's most admired companies, has appeared on Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" list for the 12th year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement  Inspired People. Inspired Food.  to bring some of the world's most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and http://csr.hormelfoods.com/.



ABOUT NO KID HUNGRY

No child should go hungry in America. But in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, 1 in 4 kids could face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.

Contact: Kelly Braaten

507-434-6352

[email protected]

SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation

Related Links

http://www.hormel.com


President Donald Trump is 74 years old, overweight and male -- factors that put him into a higher-risk category of Covid-19 patients and thrust his health into the spotlight just a month before the US election. The positive diagnosis for the worlds most powerful man and First Lady Melania Trump threw a new wrench into the gears of a chaotic campaign that many see as a referendum on his handling of the virus.

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A man accused of sexually and indecently assaulting a woman at massage parlour in Sydney's inner west in 2018 will face trial in the NSW District Court next year.

Matthew Cooper, 32, from Annandale, appeared in court on Friday where he confirmed his earlier pleas of not guilty to one count of assault with an act of indecency and two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

Matthew Cooper leaves court last month. Credit:Nick Moir

Police allege Mr Cooper attended a massage parlour in Camperdown on June 24, 2018 and assaulted a female employee aged in her 20s who was performing a massage on him.

He was arrested in March this year, after what police described as an "extensive investigation".
A court in India has ordered police to protect the family of a woman who was killed by four high-caste men, as police denied that the woman was gang-raped after burning her body.

The 19-year-old woman, of the 'untouchable' Dalit class, died this week after a horrific alleged gang-rape by four men in fields near her home left her paralysed with a broken spine.

The four men accused, described as 'upper caste' in local media, allegedly attacked the woman in the Hathras region, around 60 miles from Delhi, on September 14.

Local police issued a statement on Thursday saying that according to a forensic report 'no rape was committed'.

The four attackers, described as 'upper caste' in local media, are in custody and will now be charged with murder

This contradicts statements from both the victim and her mother, and also findings from the Delhi hospital when she was admitted, media reports said, stoking fears of a police cover-up to protect the attackers.

However, experts cast doubt on the forensic test cited by the police, saying it was conducted too long - eight days - after the attack.

Mishika Singh, a lawyer and activist, told AFP that the findings were 'in no way conclusive proof to say rape was not committed'.

This comes as a second woman, 22, also from the Dalit community, was gang-raped and killed in the Balrampur district just days after the teenager's brutal murder.

The 19-year-old victim's brother told Indian television on Thursday they were frightened and feared reprisals over the accusations.

'We're not safe in this village. They can do anything to us. We don't trust the police or the administration. Our fears have increased now,' he said.

The state's high court on Thursday ordered authorities to 'ensure that no coercion, influence or pressure is exerted upon the family members of the deceased in any manner, by anyone.'

Uttar Pradesh police guard the family house of a 19-year-old woman, who died after being allegedly gang-raped by four men

It sharply criticised police for reportedly cremating the young woman in the middle of the night - against the family's wishes and religious custom - after her body was brought back from the New Delhi hospital where she died from her injuries on Tuesday.

The court set a hearing for October 12, summoning both police and the victim's family.

The late-night cremation of the woman's body further stoked accusations that local police were protecting the alleged culprits and their well-connected, high-caste families.

The unnamed victim had been on a ventilator in intensive care after the savage alleged rape left her with multiple fractures.

A man holds a placard during a protest in Mumbai on Wednesday after the death of the first rape victim, 19, from the Dalit cast

She was only moved from a hospital in upstate Uttar Pradesh to one in the capital the day before she died.

The four attackers are in custody and will now be charged with murder.

The young woman had been cutting grass near her home when she was dragged into millet fields and stripped by the attackers.

Her brother told NDTV: 'My mother, sister and elder brother had gone to a field to get some grass. My brother went home earlier with a large bundle of grass, while my mother and sister continued to cut them.

'The women were a little far from each other. Four-five people came from behind, they threw my sister's dupatta (shawl) around her neck and dragged her inside the bajra (millet) field.

'My mother realised she was missing and went looking for her. My sister was found unconscious. They had raped her. The police did not help us initially... they did not take quick action. They acted only after four-five days.'

It has been reported that the woman's tongue was cut out by the attackers, however, it has since been clarified by officials that the woman lacerated her own tongue when she bit down on it as the men tried to strangle her with her scarf.

The Hathras district magistrate said on Tuesday: 'All four accused have been arrested. Under the SC/ST Act, her family has been given the financial support of Rs 10 lakh (11,000), in total. Reports of her tongue being chopped off are not true.'

A second woman, 22, also of the Dalit community was gang-raped and killed in Utter Pradesh, India, just days after the teenager's brutal murder shocked the country. Pictured: India's opposition Congress party supporters protest against the first killing in New Delhi

The woman's brothers, who say the police only acted when the case became a national scandal, claimed that officials failed to move her to adequate medical facilities in time.

'We were told that she would be taken to AIIMS (All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, New Delhi) but she was taken to Safdarjung,' one of them told reporters.

'Her condition was very bad. She was found in the bajra field, without clothes. Initially we even wondered if she was bitten by a snake. Three bones on her neck were broken. She had difficulty breathing... She needed oxygen right from the beginning. We reached here (Safdarjung Hospital) yesterday,' another brother told the local press on Monday.

The police in Uttar Pradesh state have denied the family's claims that they did not act fast enough and say that they will fast track a prosecution.

Hathras police chief Vikrant Vir told NDTV: 'This is a very unfortunate incident but we have been proactive in making arrests and helping the family in whatever manner possible. I will personally ensure swift investigation and that these men are tried in a fast track court.'

The case, the latest in a harrowing litany to plague the country, has been reported across the country and compared to the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape, a rape and murder which took place on a bus in Delhi and sparked waves of national protests.

Today around 300 protesters from the Bhim Army, a party championing the rights of Dalit community of which the woman was a member, entered the hospital premises and shouted slogans near the mortuary.

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest after the death of a rape victim inside the premises of Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday

Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Siddharth Nath Singh said: 'The incident is very saddening. Our government stands with the victim's family. Investigation started immediately and four accused have been arrested. Strict action will be taken. The law will take its course.'

'There is next to no protection for women. Criminals are openly committing crimes,' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a leader of the opposition Congress party, said on Twitter.

One woman reported a rape every 15 minutes on an average in India in 2018, according to the latest government data released in January.

The woman's home state of Uttar Pradesh, which ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, ranks as the most unsafe state for women in the country.

Last December, a 23-year-old Dalit woman was set ablaze by a gang of men as she made her way to a court in Uttar Pradesh to press rape charges.
Member representing Kaltungo/Shongom Federal Constituency of Gombe state, Hon Simon Karu, has said the official salary of a member of the House of Representatives is N800,000, while the office running cost for each member is N8.5 million monthly.

Many critics of the bicameral legislature contend that the cost of getting into the hallowed chambers and the subsequent maintenance are too high.

They argue that Nigeria should get rid of the upper chamber to cut cost, while others have called for a slash of salaries and allowances of federal lawmakers.

However, Hon Karu made the revelation on Thursday, at the Umaru Musa Yaradua Centre, in Abuja, during a Fix Nigeria@60 programme titled, Sustainable and efficient democracy: Issues on accountability and transparency in governance.

He said, The official salary of a member, House of Representatives which I also receive monthly is N800,000.

I told you I was going to say it, why dont you wait for me to say it? The office running cost of a member of the House of Representatives is N8.5 million. Those of you who know, know that I said exactly what it is.

The problem is what the constituents demand and when when you dont meet, they begin to call you names.

Just before I walked to the stage, I received three e-mails from my constituents demanding for money and demanding for jobs. When you dont, it becomes an issue, he added.

But the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreement, Hon Ossai Nicholas Ossai, told the crowd to disregard the figures mentioned by his colleague, Hon Karu.

I have never received such salary since I came to the National Assembly, and I have been in the National Assembly before my colleague, he said.

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Donald Trumps top spokeswoman insists the president will continue seeking a second term despite his positive coronavirus diagnosis, saying his next scheduled debate with former Vice President Joe Biden is still on.

Hes on the ballot, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News. Hes absolutely hard at work.  Were having to hold him back a bit.

That comment came amid a 12-hour-plus lull in presidential tweets. Mr Trump also did not appear on a noon-hour call with vulnerable seniors to talk about the virus he now has; Vice President Mike Pence took his place.

Ms McEnany was asked about a New York Times article that raised the possibly that some might question, now that the 74-year-old president has coronavirus, about him removing himself from the presidential ballot. She slammed that report as inaccurate, saying it appears merely the hope and the wish of the newspapers journalists that the president drop out.

What a ridiculous assertion by the New York Times, she told Fox.

Asked about the planned 15 October debate with Mr Biden, Ms McEnany did not mention a possible cancellation. That date, however, falls within the presidents 14-day quarantine period.

Havent gotten that far just yet, she said. Were focused on the president.

He is convalescing in the White House residence, aides say, with his top spokeswoman saying he is feeling good despite mild symptoms.

White House aides contend Mr Trump is working.

Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the president gave him five or six tastings around 8 a.m. and wants answers on them by close of business.

Ms McEnany said the president had telephoned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to talk about Covid relief legislation and other matters.
By Finian Cunningham

October 01, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Thousands of Turkish-backed militants from Syrias Idlib province have been recruited as mercenaries to support Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia.

Several reports indicate that the Syrian fighters were already dispatched to Azerbaijan before the latest flare-up in hostilities with Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are each blaming the other for the eruption of violence which unconfirmed reports suggest has caused hundreds of casualties in only a matter of days  marking the worst outbreak of deadly clashes since both countries ended a border war in 1994.

However, the apparent deployment of Turkish-backed mercenaries from Syria to Azerbaijan before the weekends clashes indicates a level of planning between Ankara and its Azeri allies to instigate the latest round in violence.

Furthermore, Turkeys defense ministry has admitted deployment of regular armed forces and carrying out war maneuvers in Azerbaijan over recent months, which followed a minor, but deadly clash with Armenian military in mid-July.

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Again, these background events point to a deliberate decision by Azerbaijan and Turkey to escalate the long-running territorial dispute with Armenia. Turkey shares ancient cultural ties with Azerbaijan. The leaderships in Ankara and Baku are united by the rallying slogan,two states, one nation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is this week amplifying Azeri grievances over Nagorno-Karabakh and has vowed to militarily support Azerbaijani brothers against cruel invasion by Armenia. Erdogans jingoistic rhetoric is fueling the upsurge in violence which could explode into a wider war.

Russia has traditionally strong ties with Armenia and is bound by a common defense treaty to defend the country. If Turkey, a NATO member, were to become openly involved in a war on the side of Azerbaijan that could drag Russia into the conflict and, in turn, other members of the NATO military alliance.

Moscow, along with the U.S. and other international powers, has been urging restraint from further military actions and a return to dialogue to resolve the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. The enclave is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it has been controlled by an ethnic Armenian administration supported by Armenia since it took over the territory after the 1988-1994 war.

Grievances and counter-grievances go back to the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman and Tzarist empires. An added layer of complication followed the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the emergence of rival territorial claims in the South Caucasus region. A still more foreboding historical backdrop: Ottoman Turkey carried the Armenian genocide in 1915-16 killing over 1.5 million. Present Turkish moves cast a sinister shadow for Armenia.

It is concerning that Turkey has apparently redeployed large numbers of militants from Syria to Azerbaijan. Given that the Turkish-backed rebels in Syria are predominantly associated with terror networks such as Al Nusra and other Al Qaeda affiliates, the apprehension is that the conflict with Armenia could spiral into a greater scale of bloodletting up to a full-scale international war.

The Azeri authorities in Baku have denied claims of mercenaries being sent from Syria. And Turkeys defense minister Hulusi Akar has made the converse claim, accusing Armenia of using mercenaries from Syria. The Turkish ministers claims do not stand up to scrutiny. Armenia is predominantly Christian while Azerbaijan is predominantly Muslim. It would therefore be an absurdity for hardcore jihadists from Syria to go fight for Armenia.

Besides there are credible reports of Syrian militants admitting to being recruited by Turkish private security firms. One militant is quoted as saying, Thousands of us are willing to go to either Libya or Azerbaijan. There is nothing for us here [in Idlib].

Turkeys recent track record is fully consistent here. It was Turkey that flooded Syria with Islamist terror groups in the failed covert war for regime change against Damascus. Since that failure, Ankara has redeployed its proxy militants to Libya where it supports the government in Tripoli against a rival faction. For Turkey, sending fighters to Azerbaijan would be an even easier logistical task given the shared borders.

For President Erdogan, Turkeys support for Azerbaijan is a proxy for his Neo-Ottoman ambitions of boosting Ankaras regional influence. Syria, Libya and more recently tensions with Greece and Cyprus over territorial claims in the East Mediterranean all fall into this pattern of Erdogans nationalistic aggrandizement.

His abysmal failure in Syria, however, checked by Russias intervention there to aid its ally in Damascus, may give Sultan Erdogan an incentive for seeking revenge against Moscow. Inciting a jihadist-style sectarian war in the South Caucasus on Russias southern border would be vengeance befitting the Machiavellian Turkish leader. One may speculate too that NATO powers would savor that kind of aggravation for Moscow on its doorstep.
Course Description

A second semeter elementary level Spanish course designed to help students acquire basic proficiency in communicating in culturally significant contexts. An integrated approach to teaching language skills with emphasis on vocabulary acquisition and basic grammatical structures. This course builds upon the foundation established in Spanish 101. Greater emphasis is placed upon oral and written expression. Reading and discussions are designed to increase comprehension of more linguistucally complex texts and more conceptually complex cultural issues.

This course fulfills the Diversity (D) piece of the Montana State University CORE Curriculum or 3 credits of the language degree requirement in Liberal Studies.

Meeting Place and Time

Online

This is an online course, but requires working with another student via Skype for oral exercises and debates. Despite not having classroom contact, students will have constant personal/virtual feedback from Veronica. Three oral exams will be taken via Skype and students will take one written exam every two Lecciones (Chapters).

Instructor(s):

Veronica Garcia Moreno

Veronica is from Seville, Spain where she studied Hispanic and Arabic literature and Linguistics. She received her B.A. in Hispanic Studies at MSU-Bozeman. Veronica is a Teaching Assistant Professor who has been teachong for nine years in MSU, both face-to-face classes and online classes. She has a Master's degree in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language (University of Leon, Spain), and a Master's degree in Intercultural Arab-Islamic Studies (University of Seville). Currently, she is living in L.A. and writing her Ph.D. dissertation (through UCLA) on Islamic influence in Spanish literature. Veronica loves studying comparative grammars and literatures.

Prerequisites

Spanish 101 at MSU

Tuition and Fees

If you are accepted into a qualified online program, see the appropriate MSU Online Only Tuition and Fee table.

If you are also taking face-to-face courses, please refer to the MSU Fee Schedule.

Required Books and Materials

The material for second semester Spanish is the same as for the first semester, so students who took Spanish 101 do not need to buy anything new. If additional material is required, Veronica will provide it.

Students who have not taken Spanish 101 must purchase the following material:

!Viva! Primer curso de lengua espanola

Edition: 3rd

Authors: Jose A. Blanco, Philip Redwine Donley

Publisher: Vista Higher Learning

ISBN-13: 978-1-62680-018-2

Price, new: $258

Students can purchase the book directly from Vista Learning here: Vista Learning Website. The text will also be available at the MSU bookstore.

NOTE: The text can be purchased used, but students will also need to purchase the supersite code available on the Vista Learning website.

Computer Requirements

Internet access

A device and browser that pass the system check for Brightspace LE, MSU's learning management system.

For More Information

For course information, please contact: Veronica Garcia-Moreno at [email protected]

How to Register

You must be accepted as a student to Montana State University to take this course.

Learm how to apply.

After your application has been accepted, you will register cis MSU's online registration system, MyInfo

Registration requires an PIN. Learn how to find your PIN.

Once you have your PIN, learn how to register through MyInfo
Hyderabad, Oct 2 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday visited the Raj Bhavan here to personally congratulate Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan's husband and renowned nephrologist Dr. P. Soundararajan, who was recently selected for the Dronacharya Award in nephrology.

The Chief Minister went to the residence of the Governor in Raj Bhavan premises and felicitated Dr. Soundararajan with a shawl and bouquet and conveyed his greetings and wishes.

Rao said that the entire Telangana is proud of the achievements of Dr Soundararajan and appreciated his illustrious career spanning more than 35 years and his research contribution in the field of nephrology and his service to the patients.

Dr. Soundararajan was one of the pioneers in the transplant of kidney collected from a brain dead snakebite victim and he has also organised more than 1,200 kidney transplants including 200 disease donor transplants, according to a statement from Raj Bhavan.

He has served as the head of nephrology unit in prestigious medical colleges such as Sri Ramachandra Medical College in Tamil Nadu and published more than 200 research papers in reputed national and international medical journals.

He was recently selected for the nephrology Dronacharya award in recognition of his services and contribution to the field of nephrology by the Delhi Nephrologists Forum.

The Governor and Dr. Soundararajan thanked the CM for the personal visit. Dr. Soundararajan has also honoured the CM with a shawl on the occasion.
Authorities have released the name of a man shot to death Thursday evening in Birmingham.

The Jefferson County Coroners Office identified the victim as Dana Odell Boyd II. He was 31 and lived in Birmingham.

The citys North Precinct officers responded at 5:10 p.m. to the 400 block of Fourth Avenue North on a report of a person shot, said Sgt. Rod Mauldin. They arrived to find Boyd on the sidewalk of an apartment building, unresponsive from a gunshot wound. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced Boyd dead on the scene at 5:21 p.m.

Mauldin said Boyd was among a group of friends outside the apartment building when two men approached them and shot Boyd. He said they have not established a motive and have not identified a suspect.

The deadly shooting is Birminghams 93rd homicide so far this year. Of those, 14 have been ruled justifiable and once accidental and therefore arent deemed criminal. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 132 homicides including the 93 in Birmingham.

Mauldin said police have limited information in the deadly shooting and asked that anyone with information call Birmingham police at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Uttarakhand Congress on Friday started its signature campaign against the recently passed three agriculture laws by the government. The campaign kicked-off at the party state headquarters in Dehradun.

The campaign was initiated by state unit head Pritam Singh by signing a letter addressed to the President to direct the Centre to repeal the laws or bring a new bill ensuring that the MSP mechanism will not be ended.

Singh said, The three laws brought by the Centre are absolutely anti-farmer. The Centre, under PM Modi, is working against the welfare of the farmers while promoting crony capitalism.

Lakhs of farmers are protesting against them and Congress will continue to support them. We request the President through the signature campaign to direct the Central government to repeal the three laws or bring a new bill to ensure that the MSP will not be ended, said Singh.

Also read: BJP leader wanted to give Mamata Banerjee Covid hug, tests +ve for virus

Meanwhile, the ruling BJP termed the campaign as a farce.

Bansidhar Bhagat, party state president, said, This is a farce and not more than a political gimmick. In all these years when they ruled the country, they never thought of working for the farmers, and now when PM Modi is working for them, they cant tolerate it.

This signature campaign against the agriculture laws only shows their anti-farmer mindset, said Bhagat.
The former vice president Joe Biden headed back to the campaign trail on Friday, capitalising on Donald Trumps positive coronavirus diagnosis and hospitalisation that  fittingly, with a single tweet  drastically transformed the presidential race.

Rather than a weekend of campaigning, Donald Trump will spend the next few days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in a special presidential suite where military doctors will be treating and monitoring the presidents condition. After months of being skeptical about the virus and its severity, the leader of the free world was admitted to hospital on Friday in a stunning development just 33 days before voters will decide whether he gets a second term. His military physicians did not indicate how long the president might remain at Walter Reed.

After himself testing negative despite sharing a debate stage with the president three days prior, Mr Biden headed to swing state Michigan in search of its 16 electoral college votes. But the normally energetic and loquacious commander in chief went dark, canceling his only official event of the day and an evening campaign rally. Mr Biden sent his prayers to the Trumps and said his diagnosis is not a time for politics but a reminder of how serious the virus is, while also touting the importance of masks before delivering remarks on his economic plan.

There were whispers in Washington among insiders and journalists about the presidents health, speculation that only intensified as morning became the lunch hour and then an early fall afternoon sun dipped behind the executive mansion that hosted what aides described as a mildly ill president. All top White House aides would say is the president had been energetic in the morning, barking out five or six tasks he wanted chief of staff Mark Meadows and other aides to complete by close of business.

Hes absolutely hard at work, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News. Were having to hold him back a bit.

But in an afternoon memo, the White House physicians office described the president as fatigued and mentioned its doctors would soon be advising the Trumps on next steps.

Mr Trump set mobile phones ablaze on Thursday evening as he tweeted or retweeted many times as he flew back on Air Force One from a fundraiser at his Bedminster, New Jersey, resort. But after announcing his and first lady Melania Trumps positive coronavirus tests in a 12.54am tweet, the president went dark.

The eerie silence immediately changed the campaign, with Mr Biden hopping aboard a rented Boeing 737 for a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but the president who dominates every news cycle and makes most national issues about himself was nowhere to be seen nor heard.

Im starting to get a weird feeling, one Washington insider said. For him to not tweet, the guy must be really, really sick.

As Ms McEnany spoke on Mr Trumps favourite cable news network, the Trump campaign announced all of his planned campaign events would either be turned into virtual ones or postponed.

The president was scheduled to hold a campaign rally on Friday evening in Sanford, Florida, where Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. That event was scrubbed before lunch.

The Sunshine State stop was key because of Floridas haul of 29 electoral college votes and the state of the race there: Mr Biden leads there, but by just over 1 percentage point, according to RealClearPoliticss average of surveys conducted there.

Now that he is likely to miss those rallies, Mr Trump would not spend time firing up his loyalists in states that have a combined 50 electoral votes as he tries piecing together states to reach the 270 needed to secure a second term.

The timing of the diagnosis, one month and a day before election day, left the White House fighting off speculation that the president might even drop out of the White House race.

Ms McEnany was asked about a New York Times article that raised the possibly that some might question, now that the 74-year-old president has coronavirus, about him removing himself from the presidential ballot. She slammed that report as inaccurate, saying it appears merely the hope and the wish of the newspaperss journalists that the president drop out.

Hes on the ballot, she added.

One option could be to have vice president Mike Pence fill in for the president during some campaign events, though he lacks the celebrity power of the chief executive.

His doctor announced the VP does not need to quarantine, despite recently being close to Mr Trump and other now-positive White House aides. In fact, his office announced that Mr Pence early next week will fly to Salt Lake City, Utah, site of his one and only debate with Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

The Covid convalescent period typically is 14 days. Falling within that window is the next planned presidential debate, in Miami.

Speaking of debates: city officials in Cleveland said on Friday they have been notified of more than 10 Covid-19 cases stemming from pre-debate planning and set up before Tuesday nights chaotic face-off between Mr Trump and Mr Biden. The officials said most of the cases hit out-of-state visitors and, so far, none of the debate-related cases include Cleveland residents. The Trump team did not wear masks when they toured the venue before the debate.

If the president completes a full quarantine, it would take him off the campaign trail as he is behind nationally by double digits in some polls, and down by over 5 points in a list of key battleground states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Nevada.

Mr Trump either leads or is within three percentage points in just enough key swing states to show election night could become election month: Arizona, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Georgia and Iowa.

Of those, he has visited Iowa just two times this year and Georgia three times.

The president has touched down on Air Force One four times each, respectively, in Nevada, Texas and Ohio. He has been to Arizona and Wisconsin five times each.

Only his recovery and the ability of his campaign and the US secret service to inspect and book rally venues will tell the story of what a possible return to the trail might look like.

Asked about the planned 15 October debate with Mr Biden, Ms McEnany did not mention a possible cancellation. Havent gotten that far just yet, she said. Were focused on the president.
All York Factory First Nation residents believed exposed to the novel coronavirus in the remote northern Manitoba community have now been tested  and, so far, only negative results are coming back, officials say.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/10/2020 (478 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

All York Factory First Nation residents believed exposed to the novel coronavirus in the remote northern Manitoba community have now been tested  and, so far, only negative results are coming back, officials say.

On Thursday, Chief Leroy Constant said 66 people who had been in contact over the past week with members of a family of seven who all tested positive for COVID-19 have now been screened for the virus.

Constant said rapid tests were used for 25 who not only had been close contacts but also had COVID-19 symptoms; 22 of those have come back negative. The other three are still being analyzed, he said.

The chief said the remaining 41 were tested via nasal swabs, which take longer to get results.

"Those tests are going to Cadham (provincial laboratory)," Constant said. "We'll get the results on Sunday. Right now, we're feeling good about the results we are getting."

Constant said six members of the family (father and five children) are continuing to isolate at home in the community, located some 700 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

"They are doing well," he said. "The nursing staff is monitoring them.

"But the mother is in hospital. She had a really compromised immune system to begin with, and it hit her hard. She is still on a breathing tube, but she is on the path to recovering."

The 36-year-old woman was in Winnipeg last month, being treated for a medical condition. Days after she returned to York Factory, she was informed she had been exposed to the virus while in the city.

By then, her husband and all five children had become infected. To prevent further spread, local officials ordered the entire community into lockdown Sept. 27.

Constant said those orders remain in place. Students who were at the local school Sept. 21-23 are among those told they have to stay in quarantine until Oct. 8, even if their tests come back negative.

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Other members of the community not considered close contacts of the family will be able to access testing starting Friday.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee called the results thus far: "Awesome news."

Constant said the band is working with Manitoba Infrastructure to restart local ferry service (last operating Sept. 25) so residents who have been stranded elsewhere can return to the community, as well as bring in needed cleaning supplies and groceries.

Meanwhile, "The airport in York Factory First Nation remains open, which can be used to transport essential services into the community," a spokeswoman for Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler said.

The community has launched a campaign to ask for donations of non-perishable food, baby food, bottled water, diapers, thermometers, cold medication, and toilet paper. Damien Lawrenchuk, of Food Matters Manitoba, said donations can be dropped off at 422 Notre Dame Ave., Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Slated to be released in cinemas soon, The Black Box marks Zaki's comeback to the silver screen after a four-year absence

A teaser poster has been released for new film The Black Box, expected to be released in cinemas soon.

The film stars Mona Zaki, and will be her comeback to the silver screen after nearly four years of absence.

The poster features Zaki with bruises on her face and a fearful look in her eyes.

She plays the role of Yasmine, who finds her house subject to a burglary by two armed strangers. She desperately contrives a plan to run away, but to no avail. Will she be able to survive this stressful night?

The Black Box is written and directed by Mahmoud Kamel, from a script by Ahmed El Dahan and Haytham El Dahan.

The film also stars Mohamed Farrag, Mostafa Khater, Sherif Salama, and Asmaa Galal.

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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In an interview on RTL radio on Friday, the new Chief of Staff outlined the current situation of our forces.

General Thull explained that he had no plans to radically shake up the Army, but continue in line with his predecessor. All the same, there were a number of challenges to tackle in the coming years.

First in line are the increasing digitalisation and issues of cyber security, as well as the modernisation and renovation of existing infrastructures. He stressed that defence remains the main role of the army, while it can also assist in times of crisis, citing Covid and last year's tornado as two recent examples.

The army intends to further strengthen its collaboration with our immediate neighbours in areas like transport aircraft, drones or military satellites, General Thull explained.

One major issue they faced was a lack of personnel, he said. A minimum of 50 new recruits were needed, as well as officers and specialised civil personnel. The focus would have to be on making career options for soldiers within and outside the army more attractive.
Thumbs up to New Simpson Hill elementary school in Tunnel Hill, which was recognized with the prestigious National Blue Ribbon School award. The small Southern Illinois school was one of 367 schools nationwide and one of 21 schools statewide to receive the honor. Molly Parker wrote in The Southern this week that the federal program is considered the holy grail of education awards, and is awarded based on a school's overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps in student subgroups. At New Simpson Hill, students overall saw improvement in testing scores between 2018 and 2019, and low-income students and those with individualized education plans made huge year-over-year testing gains. Superintendent Joe Nighswander said of the honor: "It reinforces that we have high-quality teachers here and they're doing a good job teaching the kids." Here, here.

Thumbs up to our local county clerks' offices. County clerks around the region, and their employees, are working hard in the lead-up to the Nov. 3 general election. Isaac Smith wrote in The Southern last week about the clerks' efforts to ensure those who want to vote by mail receive their ballots in a timely manner, and are able to return them and feel confident that their votes will be counted. In Jackson County, County Clerk Frank Byrd installed a ballot retrieval box outside of the courthouse, and is offering curbside voting for those concerned with COVID-19. In Union County, Clerk Lance Meisenheimer said there has been some confusion with the expansion of mail-in voting this year. "I'm constantly working to put out those fires," he said. We see the extra work clerks' offices are doing to ensure the security and safety of voting in this election, and we thank you.

Thumbs down to another Southern Illinois county being included in this past week's Illinois Department of Public Health warning list for COVID-19 spread. On Friday, IDPH added Hamilton County to the list, which is intended to help local people and officials make decisions about COVID-19 risk in their local communities. A county is added to the warning list if it meets two or more risk indicators. While it is disappointing that any Southern Illinois county is on the warning list, there was some good news last week as Williamson County was removed from the list after being at warning level for several weeks in a row. And, in past weeks, several Southern Illinois counties have been listed at once, so this appears to be a sign of progress. This progress is a sigh of relief, but we're by no means out of the woods. Let's remember we are one region, and we are all in this together. Continue wearing your mask, maintaining social distance, and washing your hands.

Thumbs up to the news that home sales are up significantly in Southern Illinois. Teresa Camarato, the designated managing broker/owner of Property TLC in Herrin, said real estate trends here resemble those in fast-growth, competitive urban markets, according to Molly Parker's story last week. Jackson and Williamson counties in particular are seeing an uptick in activity. Some of this is attributable to the pandemic. The Federal Reserve in March announced it would buy billions of dollars worth of mortgage-back securities, which escalated demand and dropped mortgage rates. Southern Illinois is outperforming state home sales numbers, and a surprising number of people shopping for homes here right now are out of the area. This is exciting news for Southern Illinois. We know what a great place this is to live, and we're excited to share it with newcomers.

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that the damage being done to the African aviation industry and on economies by the shutdown of air traffic owing to the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened.

According to new data published today by the Air Transport Action Group of which IATA is a member:

4.5 million African jobs will be lost in aviation and industries supported by aviation in 2020. This is well over half of the regions 7.7 million aviation-related employment.

172,00 jobs will be lost in aviation alone in 2020. This is about 40% of the regions 440,000 aviation [1] jobs.

GDP supported by aviation in the region will fall by up to $37 billion. This is 58% below pre COVID-19 levels.

The breakdown in air connectivity in Africa has severe social and economic consequences for millions. No income means the lack of a social safety net for many. Governments need to do all they can to reconnect the continent safely. Keeping borders closed, or imposing measures such as quarantines, that deter air travel, will result in many more livelihoods being lost and further economic shrinkage along with hardship and poverty, said Muhammad Albakri, IATAs Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East.

Testing to Restart Aviation in Africa

To minimize the impact on jobs and the broader African economy, an accelerated recovery of air transport across the region is paramount. This can be achieved through COVID-19 testing as an alternative to restrictive quarantine measures.

Thirty-one countries in Africa are opening their borders to regional and international air travel. In 22 countries, however, passengers are still subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. This effectively stops people from travelling. IATA is calling for the systematic testing of passengers before departure. This will enable governments to safely open borders without quarantine and better support recovery efforts.

Quarantine measures are crippling the industrys recovery and hampering its ability to support social and economic development. Testing for COVID-19 will enable Africa and the world to safely re-connect and recover, said Albakri.

---IATA
Toronto police have identified the man killed in a brazen drive-by shooting Thursday morning while he was about to take his newborn baby to the hospital.

Hamid Zakarie, 27, of Toronto, was standing outside his vehicle at about 9:15 a.m., after putting the baby in the backseat, on Patika Ave., near Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue West.

Unknown suspects then drove past and shot him, police said in a news release Friday.

Zakarie died at the scene. Police believe the suspects had been in the area for some time while waiting for Zakarie to leave his house.

Neither the baby nor a woman with Zakarie at the time were hurt, police said Thursday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

RS Rhythm Sachdeva is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: rsachdeva@thestar.ca
Apartments in a Melbourne skyscraper that rely on snorkel bedrooms for natural light will set a dangerous precedent, city planners have found, prompting them to reject plans for the multi-storey tower.

ASX-listed real estate manager Cromwell Property Group wants to reconfigure a Docklands building it owns, currently occupied by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and bolt-on a 54-storey commercial office, hotel and apartment tower.

But the design of apartments in the fund managers soaring, but slender, structure - destined to be the tallest tower in the precinct - has run afoul of Melbourne Councils planning rules. The controversial "snorkel" bedrooms have no windows to the outside, but windows facing an internal open air column in the building - similar to a lift well that's open to the sky at the top and has rooms backing on to it.

Cromwell's proposal for a 54-storey tower at 700 Collins Street, Melbourne. Credit:

The plans seem to fly in the face of the "Better Apartment Design Standard" introduced by the city in 2016 in a bid to stamp out poorly lit, shoebox-style developments.
By John Annese, New York Daily News

Americas First Lady has a foul mouth  and she used it to express disdain about Christmas and media reports on children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border two years ago, according to newly-revealed recordings.

Give me a f---ing break! she said of media questions about President Trumps family separation policy in a conversation recorded by former confidant and aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff.

She griped that the media didnt complain when her husbands predecessor separated children and parents at the border. Where they were saying anything when Obama did that? she said.

Some immigrant families were separated at the border during the Obama administration -- but Obama did not have a blanket family separation policy like the one Trump used to deter asylum seekers and illegal border crossers.

Wolkoff presented the recordings Thursday night on CNNs Anderson Cooper 360. The First Lady also expressed frustration with the annual White House Christmas celebration.

Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f--- about Christmas stuff and decoration? But I need to do it, right? the First Lady groused to Wolkoff in the July 2018 audiotape.

President Trump famously made political hay out of the so-called War on Christmas and famously boasted in 2017 that With Trump as youre president, were going to be saying Merry Christmas again.

Here's all of the Melania Trump audio played on @andersoncooper tonight. The audio was taped by her former friend and advisor @SWWCreative.



In the tapes, Mrs. Trump talks about:



- Family separations

- Christmas

- "Liberal media"

- The "I really don't care" jacket pic.twitter.com/N2Y8QtqD8n  Yashar Ali  (@yashar) October 2, 2020

Wolkoff, who wrote a tell-all book this year, fell out with the First Lady after she was blamed for the financial mismanagement of Trumps inaugural committee. She has since cooperated with federal investigators probing the inaugural committee over allegations that it was used a slush fund to enrich the presidents family.

President Donald Trump and Melania Trump are currently in quarantine after both tested positive fo the coronavirus. She said Friday she has mild symptoms but is feeling good.

As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.  Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 2, 2020
The Lenovo Legion Duel has arrived in Europe. The gaming phone combines a Snapdragon 865+ chipset with a 144 Hz AMOLED display (6.65, 1080p+) and a selfie camera that pops up from the side  this phone will be used mostly in horizontal orientation, of course.

The price is 1,000, though in some countries you can split that into four installments of 250. You can use the LEGIONEARLYBIRD promo code to get a Lenovo Smart Clock (typically 90) or a Lenovo Yoga ANC on-ear headphones (150).



Lenovo Legion Duel now available in Europe with some early bird deals

In some countries only one promo is available, thankfully it is the headphones, which are the better deal (and more fitting for a gaming phone to boot). Either way, the phone comes with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB UFS 3.1 storage.

Note: the euro phones come with only 65 W fast charging, even though the 16/512 GB models are supposed to support 90 W charging.

The Legion Duel is expected to start shipping on October 15. The phone is supposed to launch in the Middle East, the Asia Pacific and Latin America as well, but were not seeing anything yet.

Source: France | Germany | Italy | Spain
OTTAWA As the COVID-19 pandemic reached into the White House, infecting U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, Canada moved to relax border restrictions slightly to permit more international students, unmarried couples and relatives in compassionate cases to enter the country.

News of the Trumps diagnoses put the contrasting approaches by the two governments and their leaders in stark relief on Friday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has endorsed masks and social distancing at every turn, posted a statement on Twitter that he repeated later, wishing both Trump and his wife  who have not consistently adopted the same practices  a safe and speedy recovery. He recalled they reached out to his own family when Trudeaus wife Sophie tested positive for COVID-19 in the spring.

The prime minister was silent when asked twice whether he expects the Trump administration to manage the pandemic differently now that Trump himself has contracted the coronavirus. He underscored that Canada wants to see the virus come under control here and right around the world.

He urged other countries to take Canadas nonpoliticized approach.

Obviously there is an election going on in the U.S. where stances or approaches on COVID-19 have been a polarized, political issue, Trudeau said.

In Canada, weve been extremely lucky that it has not, that there has been a concerted effort across orders of government, across political parties, to work together to be there for Canadians and to get this virus under control. Were certainly going to continue with that in Canada and we recommend it as a path for people all around the world.

Trudeau said Canadas management of the epidemic, which has included a ban on all non-essential travel, has proven effective in limiting transmission by international travellers and their contacts. Most new infections here are due to community transmission, Trudeau said, which means Canada can afford to tweak its own border restrictions.

At Queens Park, Premier Doug Ford, who has been critical of Trump for trying to limit the export of pandemic equipment to Canada and for launching trade wars, wished him and his wife the best, reports the Stars Robert Benzie.

Everyone knows Ive had my differences with President TrumpBut believe me, I wouldnt want this to happen to my worst enemy. Prayers and thoughts are with them. We may have our political differences, but  put it aside. Im praying for all of them to get better soon.

In Ottawa, Trudeau pivoted quickly from Trumps diagnosis to the challenges facing Canadians.

Lets not forget that yesterday thousands of Canadians received a positive diagnosis of COVID-19, said Trudeau.

Trudeau and several cabinet ministers insisted that new eased border measures will not pose a risk, even as Ontario and Quebec are into a second wave.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair would not say how soon broader restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border might be lifted, saying they are being re-evaluated every day.

For now, Ottawa has announced expanded travel exemptions to allow further family reunification and let more foreign students into Canada, while stepping up quarantine and tracing efforts to prevent COVID-19 transmissions from across the border.

Since March, Canada has imposed tight travel restrictions against foreign nationals unless their visits are considered essential. Limited exceptions have been granted to immediate families of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, selected international students, essential workers and temporary foreign workers.

On Tuesday, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino expanded the exemptions to three new groups of visitors:

Significant others of Canadians, who are not married or common law, but are in a committed, long-term dating relationship;

Foreign nationals hoping to visit a relative who has serious illnesses or injuries and is dying; and

International students who are enrolled in a designated school that has a COVID-19 plan sanctioned by provincial authorities.

Starting next week, specific forms will be available on the immigration departments website for applicants in each category so they can be verified and receive pre-approvals before arriving at a port of entry. Entries may be permitted as soon as Oct. 8.

Strict 14-day quarantine measures will still apply, and people entering Canada must provide contact information for enforcing the quarantine and undergo screening by a border official.

Mendocino directly acknowledged Sarah Campbell who is battling cancer and whose fiance Jacob Taylor has been unable to rejoin her from the United Kingdom, saying he was glad to be able to make changes for compassionate cases like theirs, which he noted was her fiances birthday.

Dr. David Edward-Ooi Poon who founded an advocacy group calling for less restrictive measures, welcomed and thanked the government for the changes. He said it was a complex and difficult issue, but questioned the lengthy delay, saying an earlier mechanism would have brought peace for the family of Donna McCall, a Canadian mother who died waiting for her adult children to come to Canada.

The presence of federal public health officers at the border is also being scaled up over the coming months to cover 36 ports of entry that account for 90 per cent of all traffic into Canada during normal operations. A total force of 190 public health officials will also be deployed across the country by the end of March 2021.

And to improve information-sharing, the Public Health Agency of Canada has deployed digital portals for travellers to share their critical information, including through the tracing app, so data can be transmitted to provinces and territories quickly and securely.

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Oh, a storm is threatening

My very life today

If I dont get some shelter

Ooh yeah, Im gonna fade away.

-The Rolling Stones

Shelter. Its a safe-sounding word, a comforting word, a good ending to the story word. We have all needed shelter at one time or another in life if just to lay our head on a pillow for the night and sleep to be able to face another day. What is shelter, exactly? Well, Merriam-Webster tells us that a shelter is something that covers or affords protection, or an establishment providing food and shelter.

There are shelters like lean-tos in the open forest, homeless shelters in inner-city neighborhoods and animal shelters that care for strays until they might be adopted.

Remember Maslows hierarchy of needs?

Shelter fits right into those bottom two sections of the pyramid that talk about basic needs like food, water, rest, security, and safety. If you do not have these basic needs, safe shelter being one of them, then it is very difficult to focus on the more complex, higher needs like relationships and self-actualization.

I have worked in and around shelters run by the Red Cross and other organizations in times of need, and maybe you have too. The traditional shelter layout that most of us envision is a very large, somewhat open space like a church parish hall or a gym, with room for the cots and belongings of hundreds of people who, for some reason, need to be there.

These people are very close to each other, sleeping just a few feet apart. There is usually some kind of communal eating, with shared tables full of foodstuffs and community coffee pots. There are often common bathrooms, albeit cleaned and monitored to the extent possible. Helpers and volunteers often work in very close proximity to those in need.

Some days during my deployment for Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Louisiana, I would talk to literally hundreds of people a day, some for one minute, some for fifteen or thirty, depending on need. We worked, ate, comforted, and rested in very close quarters.

There has been the need for this type of sheltering and aid during Hurricane Laura and now during the catastrophic wildfires in California, some of the worst ever.

Shelter has recently become a concept and an operationalized idea that is fraught with challenges. The age of the COVID-19 pandemic has turned on its head the idea of getting many dozens or even hundreds of people in the same large room, living, and eating and breathing in the same vicinity, for days if not weeks at a time. This is virtually impossible. Or is that the keyword? Virtual?

We have all been asked to shelter in place for varying lengths of time since the start of this pandemic.

We have found ourselves staying in our homes for days, weeks, or even months at a time, with little contact with the outside world or even with others in our own extended families.

We have made makeshift home offices, set up school environments for our children, ordered our groceries and meals from companies who will deliver to our door, and driven by for curbside pickup of everything from internet purchases to communion.

We have found that parking by school busses that are reconfigured to be wifi hotspots might be the most reasonable way to stay connected while still sheltering in place, that place being the family vehicle. Our concepts of normal work, education, and providing for our families have been significantly challenged, altered, and modified, some perhaps for the foreseeable future.

What is the new meaning of seeking or providing or benefitting from shelter? There are several aspects to this new pandemic-inspired concept.

First, there will always be the physical component.

The facts as we know them now mandate that we continue to exercise caution in the form of physical distancing at least six feet from others any time we are outside our safe zones, which for most of us is our own home.

This physical distancing, combined with wearing face coverings, gives us the ability to essentially shelter in place no matter where we are, so that we can roam a little more freely to get groceries, fill up the car with gas or make short trips as needed.

Emotional support is going to be an ongoing need. This is hard. No question. I talk to people every day who are tired of being cooped up, tired of not seeing their loved one and friends, and tired of basically being on house arrest. We are human animals, and we crave social and emotional togetherness, closeness, and community. That is never going away, but it must be tempered until this pandemic goes away for good.

Connectivity that leads to communication is key. As discussed before by many others, use FaceTime, Skype, messaging apps, email, phone calls, and even good old-fashioned letter writing to keep in touch with those you care about.

The need for connection does not go away just because physical distancing is necessary.

School has been a huge issue for many families over these last many weeks. How do we go back to school? When do we go back? For how many days each week? Virtual versus hybrid versus online versus paper versus-you get the idea. Kids must be sheltered and protected, even as they learn.

This may be in the classroom with plexiglass and masks, or it may be at home with Chromebooks and headphones, or a combination of both.

Education is paramount, but safety is on the hearts and minds of everyone who has ever taken on the wellbeing of a child as a primary responsibility.

Daycare and the ability of parents to work is another major component of this new sheltering in place idea.

Are parents able to supervise kids while still doing their own jobs at home? Must in-home childcare and supervision be obtained in order for parents to go back to the office? Are kids sent back to school rooms that have been modified based on current knowledge in the hope that teachers and kids will all remain healthy?

Almost by definition, over the last six months or more, we have been physically and socially distanced, but we are still very much emotionally connected. That connection and common purpose are the only way that we will survive the stresses of the pandemic, social upheaval, climate change, and an economic downturn that has impacted so many in our country.

Educate yourself. Challenge suppositions that seem spurious or nonsensical to you. Protect yourself and your family in the ways you feel are scientifically based, logically thought out, and in the best interest of all.

Greg Smith is a psychiatrist who blogs at gregsmithmd.
By Josh Dawsey

October 02, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - President Trump and his wife, Melania, have contracted the novel coronavirus, he announced early Friday.

Trump, 74, was diagnosed hours after it became publicly known that Hope Hicks, a top Trump aide who traveled with him on Air Force One and Marine One this week, tested positive Thursday morning.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19, the president tweeted just before 1 a.m. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

The presidents physician, Sean P. Conley, wrote minutes later that Trump and his wife are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

====

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What happens if Trump becomes too ill to perform his duties?
A day after farmers associated with the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) showed black flags to Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini and former Haryana minister Karan Dev Kamboj during their visit to Yamunanagar, Sirsa MP Sunita Duggal faced the heat at Odhan village in Sirsa on Friday.

Duggal had gone to take part in a meeting after state BJP chief OP Dhankar asked all MPs to visit their constituencies in Haryana and make farmers aware about the benefits of the three newly enacted farm laws. When she reached there, however, the farmers showed black flags and raised slogans against her.

When contacted, Duggal claimed the protesters were Congress workers.

Once the common farmer hears about the benefits of these laws, the Congress party will never return to power, she added.

Farmers to boycott ruling party leaders: Yogendra Yadav

Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav said a total of 20 farmers unions in Haryana have decided to boycott the leaders supporting these three legislations.

Those supporting these anti-farmers laws will have to face public protests and black flags. The farmers have decided to hold a protest in front of the residences of Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala and jails minister Ranjit Chautala in Sirsa on October 6 to demand their resignation from the Khattar government. Then, we will observe minimum support price (MSP) Right Day on October 14 and gherao Delhi on November 26 and 27, he added.

Simmering anger

Last week, farmers had shown black flags to Haryana agriculture minister JP Dalal and Sonepat MP Ramesh Kaushik during their visits to Chhichhrana and Madina villages in Sonepats Baroda constituency. The agitators had also gheraoed the offices of deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala and Jannayak Janta Party MLA Devinder Babli in Uchana and Fatehabad respectively. Protesters also showed black flags to Dushyant in Kaithal too. BJPs Indri MLA, Ram Kumar Kashyap have also faced farmers wrath when they confronted him, leaving him with no option but to flee.
~More countries, islands move to high-risk category~

SABA:---The Public Entity Saba has announced some developments in light of the COVID-19 crisis. One positive development is that a COVID-19 testing capacity has been set up on Saba. At the same time, updates have taken place with regard to the entry and quarantine policy in the latest emergency ordinance. Several countries and islands moved to the high-risk categories, including Bonaire, Curacao, and the Netherlands.

Being able to test for COVID-19 and have quick and accurate results is an important tool to control any potential spread of the coronavirus. Since last week, Saba can perform Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing on-island with the installment of the necessary equipment facilitated by the National Institute for Public Health and Environment in the Netherlands (RIVM).

The number of tests that can be done on Saba is however limited, and will be prioritized for patients with symptoms, and for close contacts of any possible new case on Saba. In these situations, quick results can greatly reduce the risk of further spread. Most routine end-of-quarantine tests will still be processed off-island, either in St. Maarten or Curacao.

Testing persons without symptoms still remains a challenge for incoming passengers from the United States and Canada, therefore Saba has also extended its testing requirements for entry to persons traveling from outside the region to 120 hours maximum before arrival to the island. For persons traveling from within the region a 72-hour maximum result is still required.

Risk categorization

Another development is that Saba has updated its risk categorization of countries and islands per September 28. On the high-risk list are now: South and Central America, the United States, the Dominican Republic, St. Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, the Netherlands, and most of Europe. Classified as medium-risk countries are: Canada and St. Eustatius. Only Anguilla and St. Kitts and Nevis remain categorized as low risk.

It is required that all persons who want to enter Saba must email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request approval from the Island Governor for entry to the island. Requests are dealt with case by case. Persons from high-risk areas and medium-risk areas can be subjected to additional measures such as quarantine upon arrival and testing prior to and after arrival. Incoming persons from low-risk countries/islands still need approval beforehand, but require no testing or quarantining.

Central quarantine

Concerning the central quarantine policy, the Public Entity Saba announced that it will no longer be mandatory for persons from high-risk areas to stay in a government central quarantine location. Persons from high-risk areas now have the option to quarantine at home or a private location suitable for quarantine purposes. The government quarantine location will still be available for people who cannot stay at home or do not have a private location. The price is US $50 per person, per night. All quarantine locations will be monitored 24/7 through mobile surveillance.

Long-stay visitors

Saba is working with the hotels and accommodation managers on planning for a phase one soft opening for long-stay visitors. These visitors will need to follow specific requirements such as pre-testing, signing a quarantine waiver agreeing to a 14-day quarantine, and testing at the end of quarantine for people coming from high-risk areas. The hotels and the government together are drafting plans which contain elements such as supplying of food, check-in procedure, cleaning supplies, staff procedures, transportation, etc. An information package will be provided to the accommodation which will act as a guideline for the businesses and which will also have documents that need to be sent to potential guests.

Dive visits

The Public Entity Saba is furthermore working together with the local dive shops to put a protocol in place which will allow yachts to visit Saba for diving purposes. The idea is that the yachts will only come to the moorings, where they will meet with the designated dive shop. All paperwork will be done beforehand. The dive briefing will be done from a distance and the guide and divers will each depart from their own vessels before meeting under the water. Ultimately, no close or physical contact will occur and all equipment will be disinfected before and after each use.

In addition to this, the Caribbean Explorer has begun charters to Saba again. They also only go to the mooring and as they have their own dive permit, they conduct the dives themselves without any interaction with residents. Divers from both the Caribbean Explorer and the yachts are not permitted to come ashore.

The Government will continue to work along with the Saba University School of Medicine on a process for incoming medical students and professors to the island.
The European Commission has begun legal proceedings against the UK after the British government refused to withdraw plans to override key elements of the Brexit divorce settlement.

Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said a letter of formal notification would be sent to the UK after ministers rejected a demand to withdraw the provisions from the UK Internal Market Bill by Wednesday of this week.

In a press statement at the commission headquarters in Brussels, she said the move marked the first step in an infringement procedure with the British Government now invited to send its observations within the month.

This draft Bill is by its very nature a breach of the obligation of good faith laid down in the Withdrawal Agreement, she said.

The deadline lapsed yesterday, the problematic provisions have not been removed, therefore the commission has decided this morning to send a letter of formal notice to the UK Government.

This is the first step in an infringement procedure. The letter invites the UK Government to send its observations within a month. Ms von der Leyen gave no indication as to what action could follow if the commission did not receive a satisfactory response.

A UK government spokesman said they would respond to the letter in due course.

Britain has argued the Bill  which gives ministers the power override provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement relating to Northern Ireland  is necessary to protect the peace process if there is no agreement on a post-Brexit free trade agreement.

However the move infuriated the EU which accused the UK of violating its treaty obligations after ministers admitted it would breach international law.

Nevertheless, the EU response suggests it is in no hurry to escalate the dispute while talks on a free trade agreement are continuing.

The proceedings adopted by the commission are relatively common, with around 800 open cases against member states last year alone.

A UK government spokesman said: We have clearly set out our reasons for introducing the measures related to the Northern Ireland protocol.

We need to create a legal safety net to protect the integrity of the UKs internal market, ensure ministers can always deliver on their obligations to Northern Ireland and protect the gains from the peace process.
EDINBURGH, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --This long-term health economic analysis was performed to establish the cost-effectiveness for funding of the Dexcom G6 versus fingerstick testing. It examines UK-based type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients with elevated HbA1c. These elevated levels can increase the risk of developing diabetes-related complications. The Dexcom G6 falls well below the cost-effectiveness threshold set by NICE in order to be recommended for NHS funding.

PDF - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1305734/DexCom_Infographic.pdf

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/553571/Dexcom_Logo.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1305607/DexCom_Infographic.jpg
Luke Hemsworth and Maggie Q redefine relationship goals in their new horror film Death of Me, which sees the actors play a married couple caught in a web of secrets, murder and black magic.

Death of Me follows vacationing husband and wife, Neil Oliver (Luke Hemsworth) and Christine (Maggie Q), as they wake with a terrible hangover on a small island off the coast of Thailand, and no memory of the night before. They find horrific footage on Neils camera and attempt to piece together what happened that night, all while facing delayed ferries and a typhoon hitting the island.

The pairs chemistry sizzles onscreen and is almost distracting enough to forget about the murderous, cult-like group hunting them down. As they tell PEOPLE, that bond was forged while hunting down the best Thai food and laughing a lot together between filming.

Below, Hemsworth, 39 and Maggie Q (born Margaret Denise Quigley), 41, chat with PEOPLE about filming Death of Me, jump scares, the struggle of finding coffee in Thailand and more.

Saban Films Death of Me

Are either of you fans of the horror genre? Did you watch horror movies with your families growing up?

MAGGIE Q: Personally, no, I don't actually watch. It's just not my it's not my thing. Me and one of my sisters, we're both kind of a little too scared to watch scary movies. I watched my era of Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street. But The Exorcist, for example, I think was too scary for me. Those first two movies were totally terrifying, though, and it ruined me for all the rest and so I just stopped! Luke, are you a horror fan?

LUKE: I don't go out of my way to watch them, but sometimes I get that feeling where I want to be a little bit shaky in my boots. It comes from my mom, she loves zombie horror. She doesn't like to watch psychological horror. She probably wont like this film. But she's like, Yeah, as long as there's zombies and they're not real, it's all good!

Story continues

She loves the arts and I think she's instilled a good level in us of all of that. She's sort of my go to in terms of, What are you watching? What do we watch next? I don't know what my dad watches. He watches motorbikes and that's about it, I think.

Do either of you guys scare easily in your regular life?

LUKE: No no no, Im super tough, super hard, Ive got a family to lead, I dont get scared! Im an Aussie!

MAGGIE Q: I don't because I have big dogs, I've got big German Shepherds so I'm not afraid of anything in my house. If I hear a noise, hes on it.

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What was it like shooting in Thailand?

LUKE: It was great. I love that part of the world, I really do. It's kind of like Indonesia, and that area for me is very close to my heart because we spent a lot of time as kids growing up around there. I felt pretty comfortable in Thailand except for the language barrier, but their English is far superior to my Thai so communicating was pretty good most of the time. They're just the most beautiful people and they always say yes to everything even though they don't want to do it. So sometimes when you say, "Can I have a coffee?" It never ends up coming because theres no coffee there. Its a logistical nightmare!

MAGGIE Q: It was a logistical nightmare! Luke and I had this amazing assistant, her name was Dream and I remember it was so funny because we would send her on these little errands to get things like coffee or whatever and it was always really difficult, like he said, it's like a logistical nightmare. Shed come back hours later!

LUKE: Itd be 2 p.m., and shed be sweating, and shed be like, I couldnt do it.

MAGGIE Q: She's like, I couldn't get your coffee but I got you a chamomile tea, Is that okay? And we're like, Oh, damn it.

Saban Films

So in the movie, you guys play a married couple. Did you hit it off right off the bat or did it take time to get comfortable with each other?

MAGGIE Q: Oh it was like a normal marriage. We fought all the time, there was a lot of eye rolling!

LUKE: It was like wed known each other for 20 years. It was very easy. I think we were united against a lot of very difficult moving parts, like the director  nah, he was fine, Im kidding  but there were things we were, for lack of a better word, bitching about. It was good, it was an easy affinity.

MAGGIE Q: Filming with Luke is like filming with your best friend, because you're always laughing and you're always having a good time. He totally has your back. You never have to worry about any division. It's so easy. Sometimes with casting, when it's good, it's nice because you meet the person and you're like, Okay, I get why we're together for this as opposed to me and someone else or you and someone else. So that was nice, because it's not always like that.

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Did you guys develop any couples quirks or habits while filming?

MAGGIE Q: We did go out drinking!

LUKE: Yeah, I was going to say food  that was the thing that we were always united against trying to find the best Thai food, the best local food.

MAGGIE Q: Which was ironic because we were in Thailand, and we were like, We can do better! Lets keep looking!

LUKE: Yeah, or what's the freshest fruit? or who has the best green curry? and because Maggie's vegan and Im an eater of  things, there was a good symbiosis there. We were able to sample everything.

What was the most difficult scene to shoot and why?

LUKE: Its always the love scenes. It was nighttime, we were supposed to be off our heads and sweating and belt buckles are getting in the way and doing lots of awful, awful things, those times are never comfortable. You approach them with dread and are very relieved when they're done.

MAGGIE Q: We did laugh a lot though because it was so embarrassing and compromising.

LUKE: Most of them were in a holy place as well. I think the Thai people on the crew were very, very shocked. It was a very odd vibe. Fortunately, to Maggie's credit, she laughed about everything.

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Maggie, have you worked with any of Luke's brothers? Is Luke your favorite Hemsworth?

MAGGIE Q: I don't need to work with any of Luke's brothers. Luke will always be my favorite.

You're not just saying that because he's here, right?

MAGGIE Q: Thats exactly why Im saying it, and if another one were in front of me, I would say them! Ha, no, he's great and before I took this project, I asked one of my agents what he thought about him as an actor and just wanted his opinion. He was so complimentary of Luke. He said, He's my favorite actor of the three.

LUKE: Aw. Woohoo!

MAGGIE Q: He said, If you were going to work with anyone, he's the one that I liked the most. I was so excited because he's quite an opinionated, a sort of picky guy when it comes to actors. I thought that was the greatest compliment and so I was very excited, and I loved his work as well.

LUKE: (joking) I hate praise. Don't ever praise me, it's poison!

Death of Me is available in select theaters, on demand and digital October 2.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The federal Department of Homeland Security and the NYPD confiscated a large amount of the powerful sedative ketamine during the raid of a home in Midland Beach, authorities allege.

Rui Fang Lin, a 45-year-old woman, and Wu Chen, a 47-year-old man, were arrested inside their apartment on the 500 block of Lincoln Avenue at about 1:25 p.m. on Tuesday during the raid, according to police and the criminal complaint.

Officer armed with a search warrant swarmed the home in the joint operation between the NYPD Criminal Enterprise Division Investigations and Homeland Security.

Inside, authorities found three kilograms of ketamine, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

They also found scales and packaging typically used in drug sales, police said.

The suspects both have been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and are due back in Criminal Court on Jan. 5 after being released on their own recognizance, according to public records.

An attorney for the defendants declined to comment.
This article by James Clark originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues.

At the urging of lawmakers, the U.S. government's top congressional watchdog is launching an investigation into reports of widespread racism at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Government Accountability Office has agreed to conduct an independent audit of the culture, policies, and practices of the VA, at the request of Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), according to a statement by Warren's office.

The audit will seek to determine whether VA employees and veterans visiting the department's various facilities, clinics, hospitals, and administrative buildings experienced racial discrimination in the workplace.

The news comes after the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 270,000 of VA's nearly 400,000 employees, published the results of a survey of 1,500 union members.

The August survey revealed that 78 percent of respondents said racism was a moderate to serious issue, while a further 76 percent said they'd "experienced racially charged actions while working at the VA."

Just over half (55 percent) of all respondents said they'd witnessed racial discrimination leveled at veterans while at work.

"The GAO agreeing to conduct an independent audit is a good first step towards confronting and addressing the staggering accounts of racism and discrimination reported by VA employees and veterans," Warren said in the press release.

"The VA is the second biggest agency in our entire federal government and it's crucial that we root out systemic racism at the agency and all institutions."

However, the VA has pushed back on the calls for a formal inquiry.

"VA does not tolerate harassment or discrimination in any form," Veterans Affairs spokeswoman Christina Noel said in a statement provided to The Washington Post. "The senators' request to GAO is nothing more than a shameful attempt to besmirch the reputations of hundreds of thousands of dedicated career government employees at VA."

An Aug. 7 press release by the American Federation of Government included examples and personal accounts of racism experienced by its members, one of whom, Navy veteran Charmayne Brown, filed 18 complaints of racial discrimination against the Kansas City Veterans' Affairs Medical Center.

Brown is one of 50 employees there who have raised concerns about discrimination at the facility, according to AFGE.

"It's shocking that in 2020, not only are we still having to contend with racism at an agency of the federal government, but that it's getting worse" Everett Kelley, AFGE's National President said in the press release. "These survey results are shocking and unacceptable and must be addressed."

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The two defendants were among nine suspects who were identified and arrested by the police on Wednesday after they were seen in a viral video on social media sexually harassing a foreign girl

Egypt's public prosecution has ordered the detention of two teenage boys for four days pending investigations on charges of sexually assaulting a Sudanese teenage girl in eastern Cairo, according to a statement released on Friday.

The two defendants were among nine suspects who were identified and arrested by the police on Wednesday after they were seen in a viral video on social media sexually harassing a foreign girl.

According to the statement, the incident took place in the Al-Zahraa neighbourhood of Nasr City, and the victim, who has been interviewed by the prosecution, is of Sudanese nationality.

The girl told the investigators that only two of the suspects assaulted her, while a third was defending her.

She noted that the six others were just present at the scene, and did not attack or defend her.

During the investigation, the two defendants confessed that they had indecently assaulted the victim using force, as seen in the circulated video.

The prosecution ordered the seven detained boys be released.

The prosecution has notified the childrens helpline of the incident as the victim is underage, the statement added.

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I join Scott in wishing President Trump and the First Lady well in their fight, if it turns out that a fight is required, against the Wuhan coronavirus. I also wish that Trump had taken the risk of infection more seriously at the personal level. I wish he had learned from his friend Boris Johnsons experience.

In terms of public policy, I think Trump took the virus seriously enough. The administration, in effect, recommended a two-month (or so) shutdown of the economy and then deferred to the states on whether, and to what degree, economies should remain closed.

In my view, Trumps approach, broadly speaking, was at least as reasonable as the alternatives advocated by critics on both sides of the political spectrum.

But Trump never seemed to regard the virus as a much of a threat to his own well being and that of people around him. For example, he seldom wore a mask in public and there are reports that he didnt often wear one in private meetings. Reportedly, none of the five or six people who attended Trumps debate prep sessions wore a mask.

Trump mocked Joe Biden for excessive mask wearing. He held a large indoor rally in Tulsa at which hardly anyone wore a mask. A word from Trump, and the rally would have looked very different.

Wearing a mask isnt a guarantee against infection, of course. However, it defies common sense to deny that masks provide some protection against a virus that enters the body through the nose and mouth. I dont think Trump ever did deny this reality. However, his conduct suggested that he didnt take it seriously.

It seems to me that Trump gambled. He gambled that a fearless, borderline defiant personal approach to the virus would have greater appeal to the electorate than Bidens far more cautious approach. He gambled that the large campaign rallies he was holding would give him an advantage over Biden without causing him to contract the virus.

It appears that Trump lost his wager. I worry that the political price will be considerable, and pray that the price in terms of the presidents health and the health of those around him will be non-existent or, at worst, minimal.

UPDATE: To be clear about my views on masks, there are, of course, situations where it makes no sense to wear a mask. I dont wear one when Im walking in my relatively uncrowded neighborhood. Most of my lefty neighbors dont either.

Thats a very different context than, for example, an indoor rally like the ill-advised one Trump held in Tulsa.
Increases in seawater temperature can cause coral bleaching through the loss of symbiotic algae. Corals can recover from bleaching by recruiting algae into host cells from the residual symbiont population or from the external environment. However, the high coral mortality that often follows mass-bleaching events suggests that recovery is limited in the wild.

A joint research team from the National Institute for Basic Biology (NIBB), Tohoku University in Japan, and James Cook University in Australia has examined the effect of pre-exposure to heat stress on the capacity of symbiotic algae to infect cnidarian hosts using the Aiptasia (sea-anemone)-zooxanthellae (algae) model system. They discovered that the symbiotic algae lose their capacity to infect the host once they are exposed to heat stress. These results suggest that recovery from bleaching can be limited by the loss of symbiont infectivity following bleaching-inducing heat stress.

Coral reefs are the cornerstone of biologically enriched coral reef ecosystems, but their existence is in danger due to global change and warming. Coral-algae symbiosis is sensitive to increased seawater temperature, resulting in coral bleaching through loss of the algal symbionts, zooxanthellae. Corals can recover from bleaching by recruiting algae into their cells from the residual symbiont population or from the external environment. However, in the field, recovery from bleaching is often limited, resulting in mortality of corals due to starvation.

In a study published in The ISME Journal, graduate student of the National Institute for Basic Biology, Mariko Kishimoto, focused on the ability of symbiotic algae to infect the host following to heat stress and identified a factor limiting recovery from bleaching.

"In this study, we used Aiptasia (sea-anemone), instead of corals, as Aiptasia are very easy to maintain and use for experiments in the laboratory. And importantly, Aiptasia form the symbiotic relationship with the symbiotic algae, zooxanthellae, and also show bleaching under heat stress like corals do." Ms. Kishimoto said.

Symbiotic algae (CS-164) were cultured at 25 C or 32 C for 3 days and then their infectivity was tested at 25 C by counting the number of symbiotic algae in Aiptasia tentacles.

"The infectivity of algae was apparently lost after culturing at 32 C."

"Importantly, culturing Aiptasia, instead of algae, at 32 C did not influence infectivity."

"So our results showed that recovery from bleaching can be limited by the loss of symbiont infectivity following bleaching-inducing heat stress.", Ms. Kishimoto said.

Further study showed incubation at 32 C was non-lethal for the symbiotic algae which showed recovery of the loss of infectivity after culturing at optimal growth conditions.

The team also found that a different algal strain (CCMP2459) did not lose their infectivity after exposure to heat stress.

Associate Professor Shunichi Takahashi of the National Institute for Basic Biology, who led the research team, said, "Our findings suggest that heat tolerant algal symbionts might give a chance for bleached corals to recover".

###

The ISME Journal

"Loss of symbiont infectivity following thermal stress can be a factor limiting recovery from bleaching in cnidarians" by Mariko Kishimoto, Andrew H. Baird, Shinichiro Maruyama, Jun Minagawa, Shunichi Takahashi

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-00742-8
Posted on October 2, 2020

We are collaborating with FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, in an effort to identify misinformation and to ensure news consumers get the facts. This story first appeared on FactCheck.org.

In the hours after President Donald Trump revealed that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the novel coronavirus, an image began circulating on Twitter that falsely suggested the Trump campaign had sent a fundraising email to supporters to capitalize on the news.

But the viral screenshot of the purported email was not, in fact, a message from the Trump campaign  and appears to have been created as a joke.

Not everyone interpreted it that way.

undraising off of his diagnosis turns my stomach. Could it be a #Covidhoax2020 ? Who knows, one Twitter users post read, in part.

Another, from the president of the Georgia NAACP, called the supposed email sinister and insulting. (He later acknowledged that it was not a legitimate email from the campaign.)

The Trump campaign confirmed to FactCheck.org that the image did not show an actual email sent by the campaign.

The bogus email began, Friend, By now you have heard the news. President Trump and the First Lady has tested positive for the China Virus.

It later went on to say: President Trump would like to ask a favor. Will you please DONATE to help him recover from this disease?

In its fifth paragraph, the email suggested the push was to raise 421 million to ensure our President will recover to serve another 4 years!

That $421 million is the same figure referenced in a New York Times investigation, which found that Trump appears to be responsible for loans totaling $421 million, most of which is coming due within four years.

Editors note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here.

This fact check is available at IFCNs 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here for more.

Sources

Leonhardt, David. 18 Revelations From a Trove of Trump Tax Records. New York Times. Updated 30 Sep 2020.

Trump, Donald (@realDonaldTrump). Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER! Twitter. 2 Oct 2020.












Brooks said he would not be present at the event at the same time as Wilson, who is running as an independent against incumbent Democrat Dick Durbin, Republican challenger Mark Curran and others. Let me be clear, Im not affiliated with Willie Wilson in any way, Brooks said.
KIGALI  It is exactly three decades ago when Maj Gen Fred Gisa Rwigyema, one of Africas most revered warriors, was shot dead at Nyabwenshogozi Hill, just six miles inside Rwanda from Kagitumba border with Uganda. The charismatic General became the first casuality in a battle for power that lasted for four years and ended with the overthrow of Juvenal Habyarimanas government by the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), a rebel outfit founded by Rwandan exiles in Uganda.

Rwigyema was reportedly felled by an enemy bullet on the second day of a protracted guerilla battle by Rwandan exiles who were fighting to return home since the 1959 revolution that sent many Tutsi wandering about in neighbouring countries.

Born in Gitarama on April 10, 1957, Rwigyemas family fled to Uganda following the Hutu Revolution of 1959. After completing high school in 1976, Rwigyema went to Tanzania and joined the Front for National Salvation (FRONASA), a rebel outfit headed by Yoweri Museveni. Later that year, he travelled to Mozambique and joined the FRELIMO rebels who were fighting for the liberation of Mozambique from Portuguese colonial rule.

In 1979, he joined the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), which together with Tanzanian armed forces overthrew the government of Idi Amin Dada in April 1979.He later joined Musevenis National Resistance Army (NRA), which fought a guerrilla war against the government of Milton Obote and later Tito Okello Lutwa between 1981 and 1986.

Rwigyema was as tough as nails and never feared to take risks. In one of his several heroic acts, the Rwandan warrior rescued President Museveni, his wife Janet and son Muhoozi Kainerugaba from a deadly ambush staged by the UNLA fighters in Kireka, a Kampala surburb.

Ryigyema in the company of Salim Saleh and several other young fighters reportedly stormed the road block where Musevenis family had been held hostage and orchestrated a dare devil rescue operation that left the soldiers at the road block bewildered. Muhoozi would later confess that Rwigyemas military exploits inspired him to become a soldier.

I interacted with him a lot as a child because he formed part of my fathers body guard unit, Muhoozi said.

Rwigyema was one of the 27 NRA soldiers who attacked Kabamba Military Barracks, sparking off the war that lasted five years. During the bush war, he served in several capacities, including deputy commander of the First Mobile Force, the most elite fighting unit of the NRA. But despite his bravado in warfare, Rwigyema was only human and could also be carried away by emotion.

On February 21, 1983 for example, NRAs Mobile Brigade commander, Salim Saleh, was wounded in fierce fighting between the NRA and government forces led by the late Col. John Ogole at Bukalabi.

Rwigyema reportedly broke down and cried when he saw an injured Saleh being carried away to the rebel headquarters.

The two were too close that after Rwigyemas death, Saleh took charge of his friends family.

The Bukalabi battle demoralised the NRA because not only was the top rebel fighter injured, but about 10 senior NRA fighters, including Mwebaze Rwamurinda and Hanington Mugabi Kanunda, were killed.

But this did not deter Rwigyema from fighting on. In March 1985 when the NRA opened up a second front popularly known as the Western Axis, Museveni appointed Rwigyema its commander and after the NRA captured power in 1986, Rwigyema became deputy minister of defence and actively participated in eliminating remnants of the UNLA who were still operating in northern Uganda.

But despite all his exploits in war, sections of Ugandans continued looking at Rwigyema and his ilk, including current Rwandan president Paul Kagame, as foreigners.

Attack on Rwanda

Rwigyemas favours and ranks that he enjoyed while serving in the NRA did not make him forget the battle that awaited him,the struggle to liberate his home land and because of his close relationship with top NRA top leaders, including President Museveni, Rwigyema was never let down.

I decided that for the future of the Rwandan struggle, these officers could benefit from further training to add to the NRA guerilla training and experience. I nominated Fred Rwigyema to go for the Senior Command and Staff course in the US, an opportunity Rwigyema passed on to Kagame because he feared that the Rwandans would have decided on an unguided assault of Rwanda if he did not watch over them, President Museveni writes.

Sources say that a couple of weeks before the attack on Rwanda on October 1, there was an unprecedented disappearance of soldiers of Rwandan origin from different military barracks in the country.

Death in battle

While it is indisputable that Rwigyema was shot dead in the morning of the second day of the war, who pulled the trigger, however, has since remained contestable.

While the official version from the RPF is that he was killed by the enemy bullet while on the front line, there is a contrary allegation that Rwigyema was assassinated by a fellow RPF senior commander Maj Peter Bayingana who conspired with Maj Chris Bunyenyezi.

It is alleged that Rwigyema called a staff meeting with three close associates  Bayingana, Bunyenyezi and Stephen Ndugute. During the meeting, a fierce argument over strategy. Rwigyema wanted to advance slowly in order to politicise the Hutu peasantry and get them to join the RPF while Bayingana and Bunyenyezi wanted to seize power quickly, in total disregard of the Tutsi-Hutu divide.

In the middle of the dispute, one of the sub-commanders reportedly drew his pistol and shot Rwigyema in the head. In the resultant chaos, Ndugute escaped and returned to Uganda to inform President Museveni of the unfortunate events.

Museveni in turn sent Salim Saleh to Rwanda, where he found Rwigyemas body in a swamp and gave it a proper burial. Rwigyemas remains stayed in Kagitumba until the end of the war when they were reburied in the Remera Heroes Cemetery.

Following Rwigyemas death, his youthful friend and fellow combatant in Uganda during the Luweero bush war, Maj Paul Kagame (now General and President of Rwanda) was recalled from a military course in America to take over the devastated RPA command that was disarray and on the verge of surrender.

From the RPF press statement, Bayingana and Bunyenyezi died in an ambush staged by the government forces as the two were headed for a meeting with the Rwandan forces delegation to start the cessation of hostilities between the two fighting groups which would lead to peace talks. As such, it can be said that Bayingana and Bunyenyezi were betrayed by the Rwanda government, especially if it is true that the said plan to have peace talks was going on.

But President Kagame in a past interview with the defunct Weekly Topic vehemently dismissed speculation that the death of the three RPA officers was caused by internal conflicts. He asserted that the death of the three officers should be viewed as merely bad luck.

A Ugandan veteran of the RPF war, retired Major Okwir Rabwoni also concurs with President Kagame on the death of the two majors. They were killed in an ambush laid by the Rwanda forces commanded by Col Deogratius Nsabimana . They laid a kilometre long ambush. From where we were [RPA], we had huge bumps followed by heavy shootings. And we knew they had been hit, Rabwoni said.

Rwaboni was a sergeant when he and others deserted the NRA in 1990 to fight in the RPF war  but he returned as a Major in the Rwanda Defence Forces after the war.

To support Kagames assertion that the death of Bayingana and Bunyenyezi could have been a result of bad luck, Ugandan journalist Ogen Kevin Aliro interviewed the RPF chairman Col Alex Kanyarengwe in presence of RPF High-Command chairman, Major Paul Kagame in late June 1991 inside Rwanda and asked him what mistakes RPF/A had made during the war, Kanyarengwe answered: I cannot say we made any serious errors. Rather we met bad luck at the very beginning. We lost our charismatic chairman, Maj Gen Fred Rwigyema and his two deputies. That affected us.

Analysts contend that psychologically, if the two had indeed murdered their commander, they would have been seen as enemies of the RPF/A and as such, RPF/A would not mention their names as Kanyarengwe did in the interview with the Weekly Topic of July 5, 1991.

Rwigyemas death, like that of many generals in history has created a web of intrigue yet to be resolved 27 years later. Was he killed by the FAR sniper or was he shot in the back? Rwigyemas remains are interred at Remera Heroes cemetery in Kigali and the brave warrior still reigns as Rwandas most revered hero.

Related
In a major relief to thousands of Indian IT professionals, a federal judge in the US on Thursday blocked the enforcement of a temporary visa ban by the Trump administration on a large number of work permits, including the most sought after H-1B visas, ruling that the president exceeded his constitutional authority.

The order issued by US District Judge Jeffrey White of Northern District of California applies to members of organisations that filed a lawsuit against the Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security -- the US Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, TechNet, a technology industry group, and Intrax Inc., which sponsors cultural exchanges.

The ruling places an immediate hold on a series of damaging visa restrictions that prevent manufacturers from filling crucial, hard-to-fill jobs to support economic recovery, growth and innovation when most needed, the National Association of manufacturers said.

In June, Trump had issued an executive order that had put temporary bar on issuing of new H-1B visas, which are widely used by major American and Indian technology companies, H-2B visas for nonagricultural seasonal workers, J visas for cultural exchanges and L visas for managers and other key employees of multinational corporations till the end of the year.

The president had argued that the US needs to save and protect jobs for its domestic work force at a time when millions of them lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A number of IT companies and other US companies and those representing them had voiced their opposition to it.

Manufacturers went to court to challenge the administrations ban on certain visas because the restrictions both undermined the industry at a critical time and conflicted with the law, said NAM senior vice president and general counsel Linda Kelly.

We are competing with the rest of the world to find and develop top talent to support innovation in our industry. Todays decision is a temporary win for manufacturers committed to building that innovation in the United States, he said.

A long-term win for manufacturers requires policymakers to support meaningful reforms to our immigration laws that recognize the critical link between smart immigration policy and Americas competitive advantage, Kelly said.

In his order, the federal judge said that the president exceeded his authority.

Congresss delegation of authority in the immigration contextdoes not afford the president unbridled authority to set domestic policy regarding employment of nonimmigrant foreigners. Such a finding would render the presidents Article II powers all but superfluous, Judge White wrote in his 25-page order.

The judge noted that the text of Article I and more than two centuries of legislative practice and judicial precedent make clear, the Constitution vests Congress, not the President, with the power to set immigration policy.

If the fact that immigrants come from other countries inherently made their admission foreign relations subject to the Presidents Article II power, then all of this law would be superfluous, the judge said.

Indeed, there must be some measure of constraint on Presidential authority in the domestic sphere in order not to render the executive an entirely monarchical power in the immigration context, an area within clear legislative prerogative. Such unrestricted authority would be contrary to Congress explicit delegation of powers in foreign affairs and national security, White said.

The ruling by Judge White is in difference with a order passed by District Judge Amit Mehta of the District of Columbia in August, who ruled that he does not has the power to enjoin the ban while the litigation is under way.

The wisdom of the presidents decision to address those changed circumstances by restricting the entry of certain classes of aliens is a policy decision the judiciary is not well equipped to evaluate, he said.

The H-1B visa, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
WESTFIELD  Westfield will have trick-or-treating this Halloween despite the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Donald F. Humason Jr. said Thursday, but hes urging people to be smart and be safe.

Humason pointed people to a recently published set of guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC urges lower-risk activities like one-way trick-or-treating, where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up at the end of a driveway or yard. Families can pass by and grab them while maintaining social distancing from others.

Humason said organizations that host Halloween events in Westfield might do things differently this year. But he didnt feel the need to cancel trick-or-treat, which isnt really a city-sponsored event anyway.

I think even if we tried to cancel, it isnt practical. Its not enforceable, Humason said.

Elsewhere, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno has banned trick-or-treating for this Halloween out of concern that going door-to-door would spread the coronavirus. Hes taken a lot of heat for the decision, but has stood by it. He reiterated the ban this week while discussing a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Springfield.

Humason said hed never second-guess another mayors decision.

Every community is different. Every mayor makes the best decision based on conversations with public health officials, he said. For Westfield, this is the best decision.

Springfield is red on the states coronavirus warning map. Westfield is green.

Chicopee officials canceled the annual downtown Halloween event this year and are recommending against traditional trick-or-treating.

Halloween Update Halloween is NOT canceled but we have released important safety information, because COVID, that we... Posted by Mayor Will Reichelt on Thursday, October 1, 2020

On Thursday, West Springfield Mayor William Reichelt said that city will not cancel trick-or-treating, and he published a set of guidelines based on the CDC recommendations.

West Springfield will not host its usual Halloween activities such as the trunk-or-treat events at schools or the haunting at Mittineague Park because those events encourage gathering. Instead, there will be a Trick-or-Trail at the Morgan Road Pavilion. More information is available from the Parks and Recreation Department.

Humason said hes depending on Westfield residents to take precautions and keep a safe distance from one another.

Dont make us regret this decision, he said.

Also a worry in Westfield is the risk posed by college parties on Halloween weekend. College parties have been linked to community spread and Westfield State University students are back in town.

The winter holidays are right around the corner, and Humason said he and city officials are also meeting with event organizers concerning the Hanukkah menorah lighting and Christmas tree lighting. The menorah event, with its small crowd, will likely happen. The Christmas tree will be lighted, Humason said, but hes not sure about the ceremony or parade because of the potential to draw too many people.
More than 60 million euro worth of stock, including beer and food, has been written off by drinks and hospitality businesses, it has been claimed.

Figures supplied by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (Digi) show that pubs serving food have been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 restrictions.

The Government postponed the reopening of wet pubs on three occasions, which left bars in Ireland enduring the longest lockdown in the EU.

Representatives from the industry say that many of the pubs that do not serve food were preparing to reopen within days, with publicans ordering stocks of beer and arranging staff shifts.

Digi says that the cost of each of the false starts amounted to 20 million euro lost beer and food stock.

10,600 jobs are on the line. A 15% cut in excise tax could stop sudden unemployment. @eamonocuiv#SYL20 #SupportYourLocal20 pic.twitter.com/bQHbFk8RnA  Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (@DIGI_Ireland) October 1, 2020

In Dublin, each false start cost up to seven million euro in wasted beer stock.

A recent survey of publicans showed that almost half took on 16,000 euro in debt during lockdown to cover staff and business costs, with one in five as much as 30,000 euro.

Liam Reid, chair of DIGI, said: Drinks and hospitality businesses have endured the longest lockdown in the EU and the short notice nature of the Governments three failed pledges to reopen the industry is crippling businesses who are incurring costs with no means of recouping them.

60 million euro is only the tip of the iceberg while we risk a credit crisis in the industry where product is written off and credit terms are reviewed  a situation we need to avoid.

Dublin publicans, whose businesses have been caught in the Governments costly and unpredictable stop-start lockdown strategy, will endure further financial strain for the next period of weeks, or it could be months, we dont know.

Ireland is closing far more of our hospitality sector, and for far longer. Liam Reid

The key challenge for the industry right now is that current Government policy is an outlier compared with other European countries.

Ireland is closing far more of our hospitality sector, and for far longer. If this approach is maintained, and we fail to explore other ways of living with Covid and operating our businesses, it will cause long-term and irreparable damage to the sector.

The Government needs to urgently look at what other European countries are doing and adapt the current approach.

Under the current Covid-19 restrictions, restaurants are operating at approximately 60% capacity, pubs serving food at 50%, and hotels at 25%.

Figures published today suggests that some 63% of all accommodation and food service jobs in Ireland  which includes those in pubs, restaurants, and hotels  could be lost by the end of the year without further Government supports.

The report, commissioned by Digi, includes 36,300 jobs among the 15 to 24 age group.
Here is the weekly road construction report for District 29:

BRADLEY COUNTY SR-60 Construction of small drainage structures (LM 15.85 and LM 15.90): During this reporting period the contractor will be working on the construction of a new box culvert off the northbound shoulder of SR-60 (25th Street) near LM 15.85 just north of the intersection with SR-2 (Keith Street). The shoulder of SR-60 will remain closed for the duration of this work. Motorists accessing the shopping plaza at this intersection are advised to use caution and watch for workers and equipment moving in the area.



[Whaley Construction, LLC/Wagner/CNU227]



BRADLEY COUNTY Utility Work on SR-74 (OCOEE ST. N.E.) both directions from LM 16.26 to LM 16.88: Shoulder and single lane closure between Westview Drive NW and Keith Street NW. Signage and cones will be present. Motorists should use caution through the area and be aware of personnel and equipment between 9 AM and 3 PM with an estimated completion 11/30/20.



HAMILTON COUNTY SR-319 Repair of the bridge over the Tennessee River and Riverpark Drive (LM 2.2): The contractor will be performing repair operations to the bridge that will require lane closures in both directions. Extra caution should be observed of trucks entering and exiting the work-zone. During this report period the outside shoulder and outside lane of each direction are closed. Traffic is shifted to the left in both directions. Additional flaggers will be present as needed.

[Mid-State Construction Company, Inc./Osbonlighter/CNU205]



HAMILTON COUNTY I-24 Replacement of Belvoir Ave. bridge over I-24 and I-24 bridges over Germantown Road near MM 183: Lane shifts are in place on I-24 EB and WB under the Belvoir Avenue Bridge, at North and South Terrace approaching the Belvoir Avenue Bridge, and on Germantown Road under the I-24 Bridge. Alternating single and double lane closures will be required on I-24 EB and WB on 10/01/20 and between 10/05/20 through 10/07/20 from 9 PM and 6 AM. Additionally, there will be single lane closures in the north and south directions of Germantown Road under the I-24 Bridge and at the intersections with North and South Terrace. These closures will occur on 10/01/20 and 10/02/20, and between 10/05/20 through 10/07/20 from 9 AM to 6 AM the following morning. Motorists should be aware of the Belvoir Avenue Bridge closure and detour that was put into place on 04/20/20, and the new traffic pattern at Exit 183 on the ramp leading to the intersection of South Terrace and Germantown Road on 08/10/20. There is a 45 MPH speed limit reduction throughout the project corridor on I-24.

[Bell and Associates Construction, LP/Blevins/CMGC03]



HAMILTON COUNTY I-24 Resurfacing from the Georgia State line to near the ramp to SR-2 (US-41, US-64, US-11, Cummings Hwy): There will continue to be a paving operation on I-24 EB/WB involving lane closures as follows: Sunday - Thursday (8PM - 6AM). This project is continuous from MM 171 at the Georgia line through MM 178, just west of the US-27 split. Expect significant queueing of traffic. Manned attenuator trucks, variable speed limit signs, and two officers will be assisting in this operation.

[Talley Construction Company, Inc./Micka/CNT374]



HAMILTON COUNTY I-75 at I-24 Interchange Reconstruction: Watch for trucks entering and exiting project. Traffic should expect multiple lane shifts traveling through the interchange. Lane closures will occur Sunday nights through Thursday nights between 9 PM and 6 AM at the following locations: I-75 NB MM 1, I-75 SB MM 3 and I-24 EB MM 184.0 Traffic pacing may occur throughout interchange Sunday nights through Thursday nights between 9 PM and 6 AM. Additionally, there may intermittent shoulder closures at various locations for access to the median and roadside areas. I-75 NB to I-24 WB split has been moved back 1500 feet from its previous location. Welcome Center traffic intending to use I-24 WB now, will have to detour on I-75 NB to Exit 3. Detailed detour information will be available at the Welcome Center. The speed limit has been reduced to 45 MPH throughout the interchange. RESTRICTIONS: There is a 14' width restriction on the NB I-75 to WB I-24 interchange ramp. This affects wide loads at approximately MM 1.7.

[C.W. Matthews Contracting Company, Inc./Blevins/DB1801]



HAMILTON COUNTY US-27 (I-124) Widening from I-24/US-27 interchange to north of the Olgiati Bridge over the Tennessee River, including widening the Olgiati Bridge: Work on this project continues with activities occurring in the median and shoulders of US-27. Motorists should be alert for construction vehicles entering and exiting the activity area. Motorists should pay close attention to the detour signage posted. The speed limit on US-27 in the construction zone remains 45 MPH. Weather permitting, the contractor may implement temporary lane/shoulder closures on weeknights between the hours of 7 PM and 6 AM. At least one lane will remain open in each direction on US-27. On Thursday 10/01/20 thru Wednesday 10/07/20 from 9 AM to 6 AM temporary lane closures will be in place for southbound and northbound US-27 from the Olgiati Bridge to I-24 for milling and leveling of the asphalt, paving the surface and grinding of the bridges. On Thursday 10/01/20 from 9AM to 3PM a temporary ramp closure will be in place for southbound US-27 to 4th Street for working on the bridge joints. During this closure traffic will be detoured southbound US-27 to Martin Luther King Blvd. to Market Street to 4th Street. on Thursday 10/01/20 from 9AM to 3PM a temporary ramp closure will be in place for 4th Street ramp to northbound US-27 for working on the guardrail. During this closure traffic will be detoured southbound to Market St. to westbound Martin Luther King Blvd. to northbound US-27. On Thursday Night 10/01/20 from 7PM to 6AM a temporary ramp closure will be in place for the southbound ramp to westbound I-24 for working on the shoulder stone. During this closure traffic will be detoured eastbound on I-24 to 4th Avenue to westbound I-24. State Troopers are requested Thursday through Wednesday for these closures. RESTRICTIONS: I-124 (US-27)Southbound Exit 1C 4th St Of Ramp: No oversize/over dimensional loads; I-124 (US-27) Southbound Exit 1-B Martin Luther King Blvd. Off Ramp: No oversized/over dimensional loads; Martin Luther King Blvd. between Chestnut St. and Gateway Ave.: No oversized/over dimensional loads.

[Dement Construction Company, LLC/Micka/CNP230]



HAMILTON COUNTY TDOT Bridge Inspection on I-24 both directions from MM 178 to MM 182.6: From 7 AM to 5 PM on 10/01/20 and from 7 AM to 5 PM on 10/05/20 through 10/07/20, structure inspections will take place closing the shoulders with a mobile attenuator operation.



HAMILTON COUNTY TDOT Contractor on I-24 both directions from MM 171 to MM 178: There will be inside lane closures to support the installation of Emergency Mile Marker signs along this corridor. Work will be coordinated with the OGFC paving contract through this section of I-24.



HAMILTON COUNTY TDOT Contractor on SR-153 (STATE HWY. 153) both directions from LM 0.0 to LM 7.0: There will be inside lane closures to support the installation of Emergency Mile marker signs along SR153 Sun-Th (8PM -6AM). This activity will be coordinated with other construction work along this corridor.



HAMILTON COUNTY TDOT Contractor on SR-153 (STATE HWY. 153) southbound from LM 1.5 to LM 0.0: There will continue to be lane closures Sun-Th (7PM- 6AM)along the SR153 SB exit ramp servicing I-75 SB to support a friction coating application operation. One lane will remain open on this ramp during this activity.



HAMILTON COUNTY Utility Work on SR-29 (US-27) southbound at LM 23.70: Shoulder and single lane closure between Old Dayton Pike and McCallie Ferry Road. Signage and cones will be present. Motorists should use caution through the area and be aware of personnel and equipment between 9 AM and 3 PM from 09/29/20 through 10/09/20.



HAMILTON COUNTY Utility Work on SR-319 (HIXSON PK.) northbound at LM 14.73: Shoulder and single lane closure between Heron Cove Lane and Freedom Bay Drive. Signage, cones, and flaggers will be present. Motorists should use caution through the area and be aware of personnel and equipment between 9 AM and 3 PM from 07/27/20 through 10/09/20.



HAMILTON COUNTY Utility Work on SR-8 (CHEROKEE BLVD.) northbound at LM 11.06: Shoulder work between Bell Avenue and Overbridge Lane. Motorists should use caution through the area and be aware of equipment and personnel. Signage and cones will be present, 9 am - 2 pm, 9/24/20 - 10/07/20.

HAMILTON COUNTY SR-29 (US-27) Repair of the bridge over Big Soddy Creek (LM 20.6): The contractor will be performing bridge & roadway repair on the SR29 bridge over Big Soddy Creek. During this report period the contractor will have traffic restricted with one lane of SR29 south-bound closed and one lane of SR111 south-bound will be closed as it approaches the SR29 junction. Also, during this report period, the contractor will have one lane of SR29 north-bound closed. At least one lane of traffic in both directions shall always remain open.

[Mid-State Construction Company, Inc./Osbonlighter/CNU046]



HAMILTON COUNTY SR-2 (US-64, US-11) Improvement of the intersection at Edgmon Road in Collegedale (LM 22.7), including grading, drainage and paving: During this report period, the contractor will be performing grading, drainage and paving. Extra care should be taken while trucks and heavy equipment are entering and exiting the roadway. The roadway may be temporarily restricted to a one lane roadway by flagging operation.

[Talley Construction Company, Inc./Osbonlighter/CNU012]



HAMILTON COUNTY SR-317 (Apison Pike) Improvement project from SR-321 (Ooltewah-Ringgold Road) to east of Layton Lane: Lane closures and flagging operations will be required on SR-317, Apison Pike, to install power poles and transfer lines. The flagging operations will be performed on 10/01/20, 10/05/2020, 10/06/2020, 10/07/2020 from 7 AM to 1 PM and 3 PM to 7 PM. Closures will last about 2 hours per location. There will also be very short lane closures for blasting that will last five minutes or less. The contractor will have intermittent flagging operations during daytime non-peak hours for utility work, delivery of materials and equipment.

[Wright Brothers Construction Company, Inc./Osbonlighter/CNT336]



MCMINN COUNTY SR-39 Resurfacing from Maple Street (LM 15.2) to east of County Road 469 (LM 19.7): Work on this project is complete pending punchlist items. The contractor may have intermittent lane closures Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 AM and 5:30 PM to work on the punchlist and remove construction signs.

[Rogers Group, Inc./Wagner/CNU211]



MCMINN COUNTY TDOT Contractor on SR-310 (MECCA PK.) both directions from LM 0.0 to LM 6.38: There will be a paving operation along SR310 starting Monday, 10/5/2020 (7AM -6PM) (M-F). This operation will involve a flagging operation, allowing only a one-way movement in alternate directions. The traveling public should expect significant delays.



MCMINN AND POLK COUNTY SR-163 Resurfacing from west of CR-750 (Piney Grove Road) (LM 9.0) in McMinn County to US-411 (SR-30) (LM 1.0) in Polk County: During this reporting period the contractor will have intermittent lane closures on SR-163 Monday through Saturday between the hours of 7 AM and 5:30 PM for the installation of rumble stripe, permanent pavement markings, and snowplowable pavement markers. The speed limit has been reduced to 45 mph in the work zone. Motorists are advised to use caution and watch for flaggers assisting with traffic control.

[Wright Brothers Construction Company, Inc./Wagner/CNU137]



MEIGS COUNTY SR-58 Resurfacing from north of Ten Mile Road (LM 31.3) to the Roane County line (LM 35.1): During this period, the contractor will have one lane closed while performing resurfacing operations. One lane will always remain open. Additional flaggers will be on-site to assist with traffic control as needed.

[Rogers Group, Inc./Osbonlighter/CNU163]



MEIGS COUNTY SR-58 Repair of bridge over Hiwassee River (LM 5.22): During this report period, the contractor may have the roadway reduced to one lane controlled by temporary traffic signals. Additional flaggers will be on site as needed.

[Mid-State Construction Company, Inc./Osbonlighter/CNT103]

POLK COUNTY Utility Work on SR-33 (HWY. 411) both directions from LM 9.9 to LM 14: Mobile lane closures SR-40 junction to Ocoee River Bridge as crews transition work zone. Motorists should use caution and be aware of personnel and equipment when traveling through the work zones. Signage, cones, and flaggers will be present between 9 AM to 3 PM with an estimated completion of 10/30/20.



POLK COUNTY SR-40 (US-64) Bridge over the Ocoee River: During this reporting period, the contractor will be working on the westbound shoulder of US-64 (SR-40) to construct a new haul road. The westbound shoulder of US-64 (SR-40) will be closed for the duration of this work. Motorists are advised to reduce speed in the work zone and watch for trucks entering/leaving the highway.

[Charles Blalock and Sons, Inc./Wagner/DB1802]



POLK COUNTY SR-40 (US-64) Emergency slope stabilization near LM 20.5: During this reporting period, the contractor will be working to construct a retaining wall near LM 20.5 on SR-40 (US-64). The eastbound truck climbing lane is closed at this location and will remain closed for the duration of construction. Motorists are advised to reduce speed to 35 mph in the work zone due to a lane shift and to watch for trucks entering/leaving the highway

[Wright Brothers Construction Company, Inc./Wagner/CNU909]



POLK COUNTY SR-40 (US-64) Repair of bridges over North Potato Creek (LM 26.93): During this reporting period, the contractor will be completing work on the new bridge decks in both the westbound and eastbound directions. Traffic is reduced to one lane in each direction on US-64 for the duration of this work. Motorists are advised to reduce speed in the work zone and watch for trucks entering/leaving the highway. RESTRICTIONS: 12 ft. maximum width LM 26.93 Westbound 14 ft. maximum width LM 26.93 Eastbound.

[Jones Bros. Contractors, LLC/Wagner/CNT062]



POLK COUNTY Boanerges Church Road construction of a bridge over Old Fort Creek: During this reporting period, the contractor will be working to build new roadway approaches to the bridge over Old Fort Creek on Boanerges Church Road. Boanerges Church Road will be closed to all traffic for the duration of this activity. Detour signs are posted directing traffic around the closure onto SR-313 and US-411.

[Summers-Taylor, Inc./Wagner/CNT279]



RHEA COUNTY SR-302 Resurfacing from SR-30 (LM 0.0) to SR-68 (LM 8.9): During this period, the contractor will have one lane closed while performing resurfacing operations. One lane will always remain open. Additional flaggers will be on-site to assist with traffic control as needed.

[Rogers Group, Inc./Osbonlighter/CNU215]



RHEA COUNTY Grading, drainage, construction of bridges, paving and signals on a S.I.A. route serving Nokian Tyres: Construction continues at the Nokian Tyres SIA project just North of Dayton, TN resulting in SR29 experiencing slight lane shifts with no shoulders at the entrance to SIA roadway. The motoring public should be alert to the movement of construction vehicles in and out of the site.

[Dement Construction Company, LLC/Micka/CNU014]






The Prairie Doc: Do your part for the person across the table

columns
WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. - Over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, down past Chincoteague toward the southern tip of the Eastern Shore, sits an isolated spit of shoreline, near a wildlife refuge, that is home to one of the most unusual, and little known, rocket launch sites in the country.

Born as a Navy air station during World War II, it has launched more than 16,000 rockets, most of them small sounding vehicles used for scientific research. But the Wallops Flight Facility, which at the dawn of the Space Age played a role as a test site for the Mercury program, is about to reinvent itself at a time when the commercial space industry is booming and spreading beyond the confines of Florida's Cape Canaveral.

After the Federal Aviation Administration last month granted Rocket Lab, a commercial launch company, a license to fly its small Electron rocket from the facility, Wallops could soon see a significant increase in launches as the company joins Northrop Grumman in launching from this remote site. While Rocket Lab is largely focused on national security missions, Northrop Grumman launches its Antares rocket to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station on cargo resupply missions at a rate of about two a year, including a picture-perfect launch from the Virginia coast Friday at 9:16 p.m. Northrop also launches its Minotaur rocket from Wallops.

Rocket Lab wants to launch to orbit as frequently as once a month from Wallops, which would make the facility the second busiest launch site in the country, behind Cape Canaveral, which is on track to fly 39 rockets to orbit this year.

Hoping to give birth to another rocket hub on the Eastern Seaboard, the state of Virginia has over the last 25 years pumped some $250 million into what it calls the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, most of that coming in the last decade, said Dale Nash, the agency's CEO and executive director of Virginia Space. NASA has also made some significant upgrades to the site, including a $15.7 million mission operations control center, which opened in 2018.

The state also contributed to the $15 million it took to repair a launchpad after an Antares rocket exploded in 2014.

The efforts paid off when Rocket Lab, perhaps the most successful space upstart since Elon Musk's SpaceX, announced last year it would launch its Electron rocket from here. Once NASA signs off on the company's autonomous flight abort system, it should be cleared to launch, with a mission coming potentially before the end of the year.

Initially, Rocket Lab looked at Cape Canaveral, of course. But there are already a lot of big companies stationed there - Boeing, the United Launch Alliance and SpaceX. Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin is renovating a pad there while building a massive manufacturing facility nearby. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

"We ran a competitive process," Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's chief executive, said in an interview. In the end, Wallops was the winner because it had a facility nearby where the company could process its payloads, get the satellites ready for launch and then mate them to a rocket quickly.

"The whole facility is designed for rapid launch," Beck said. "And that's a real requirement out there right now from our national security and national defense forces, to have an ability to respond to threats quickly."

The company plans to keep at least one rocket on site at all times so if they get the call, "we can roll out to the pad incredibly quickly and get assets on orbit."

Rocket Lab's Electron may be a pipsqueak of a rocket, a mere 60 feet tall, about a quarter of the size of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, but the company hopes it will be a workhorse, launching once a month from here, in flights that should be visible up and down the Mid-Atlantic.

It already has had 14 successful launches to orbit, all from its launch site in New Zealand, earning a reputation for quick turnaround in an industry where getting rockets ready to fly was once a months-long endeavor. The Pentagon has taken notice. So has NASA.

The space agency has hired Rocket Lab to launch a small satellite to the moon to serve as a precursor for human missions by testing the orbit for the space station NASA hopes will help get astronauts to the lunar surface. That mission, scheduled for next year, would be the first NASA mission to the moon since the 2013 launch of a satellite-also launched from Wallops-that gathered data about the thin lunar atmosphere.

The moon mission would be a major milestone for Wallops and Rocket Lab, which has taken a clear lead in a race to build small, relatively affordable launch vehicles that could fly small satellites to orbit frequently and on short notice. That is of particular interest to the Pentagon and intelligence community, which has long wanted the ability to quickly launch a reconnaissance satellite over, say, North Korea.

Instead of launching large, expensive satellites that stay on orbit for years and are targets for potential adversaries, the Pentagon is also interested in putting up swarms of smaller, inexpensive satellites that could be easily replaced.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) put on a competition between companies to see if any could launch payloads to orbit within days of each other from two different launch sites. The DARPA Launch Challenge, as it was called, ended earlier this year without a winner. But the Pentagon has vowed to press on.

"Flexible and responsive launch is critical for the Defense Department and its desire for space resilience, and the challenge has advanced the growth of what is now a more capable launch marketplace to meet those needs than what we saw just two years ago," Todd Master, DARPA's program manager, said at the time.

As those capabilities grow and the newly established Space Force takes shape, officials hope Wallops, about 170 miles southeast of the Pentagon, could play a significant role.

While the number of launches now are relatively low, the cadence could grow dramatically, especially as Rocket Lab gets going. And Gen. John "Jay" Raymond, chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, has made it clear the department wants to rely heavily on the private sector.

"We have developed a significant amount of partnerships in the national security space business," he said during a recent event sponsored by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Like NASA, he said, "We share some of those partners. We share an industrial base."

Wallops wants to position itself to capitalize on the growth. Though space is tight, there is some room to grow. "We're like New York City; we can get a few more launch pads close together in here," Nash said. "We're urbanizing."

"One launch a month will not be a big deal," Nash said. "Once a week, once we get going, won't be a big deal either. ... We have the capability to grow to 50 or 60 launches a year."

Richard Branson has also gotten into the small rocket business, founding a company called Virgin Orbit that would launch a small rocket by dropping it from the wing of a 747 airplane. But while the space industry has made strides, there are still more failures than successes, especially in the early attempts to build small rockets.

In July, Rocket Lab had a major setback when one of its Electron rockets failed to reach orbit. The company quickly found the cause of the problem, a bad electrical connection, fixed it and launched successfully in August in a remarkably fast return to flight.

While others have gone bankrupt, Rocket Lab has been the unlikely success story. Founded by Beck in 2006 with money raised by venture capitalists, it has been able to move with alacrity from design to build to launch and has a significant backlog of launches that made Beck decide it needed a second launch pad in the United States for government customers.

The goal of the company is to launch its small and relatively inexpensive rockets much more frequently with on-demand efficiency that would allow defense and intelligence agencies to get satellites into orbit fast, and for cheap: dedicated launches start at $7.5 million.

Rocket Lab's two-stage rocket is made of a carbon composite material, and all of the primary components of the nine Rutherford engines that power its first stage are 3-D printed, the company said.

Like SpaceX, Rocket Lab intends to recover its first stages so they can be reused for future flights. Initially, Beck said, the company planned to ditch its rockets in the ocean, as had been the practice for decades. Recovering such small vehicles wasn't worth the effort, he thought.

"Boy, was I wrong on that one," he said.

After flying the vehicle a few times and getting a better sense of how it performed, Beck decided the company should attempt to reuse them - a decision he said would make the company more efficient.

"There was a moment when I was standing in the factory, and we've got Electrons coming down the production line," he said. "And I thought, 'How could I double this production in the shortest time possible?' And really, the easiest thing to do was just not throw it away."

Instead of flying the boosters back to land and then firing the engines to slow it down, as SpaceX does, Rocket Lab is going to have its booster deploy a parachute to slow it down as it falls back through the atmosphere. Then it would have a helicopter grapple it with a hook.

It successfully tested the method with a prototype in April and plans to try to catch a first stage by the end of this year.

In addition to the NASA moon mission, Beck has long been intrigued with Venus. Even before the announcement last month that scientists had discovered phosphine, a molecule that could be produced by living organisms, in Venus' atmosphere, the company had been planning to send a probe there to look for signs of life.

The mission tentatively scheduled for 2023 would be largely self-funded and launch most likely from New Zealand, but it could be yet another coup for the company.

"If you can prove that there is life on Venus, then it's fair to assume that life is not unique but likely prolific throughout the universe," Beck wrote on Twitter. "That's my view anyway."
Harvey Weinstein, former co-chairman of the Weinstein Company, in a 2011 interview. (John Carucci / Associated Press)

Los Angeles County prosecutors on Friday charged disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein with six additional sexual assault counts involving two more alleged victims.

Weinstein, already serving time in a New York prison following his conviction in that state, now stands accused of raping and sexually assaulting five women in L.A. County from 2004 to 2013.

Prosecutors added three felony counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation. Weinstein now faces four counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint and one count of sexual penetration by use of force, involving five women for alleged crimes from 2004 to 2013.

I am thankful to the first women who reported these crimes and whose courage have given strength to others to come forward, Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey said in a statement. The willingness of these latest victims to testify against a powerful man gives us the additional evidence we need to build a compelling criminal case.

The new charges include an incident that took place between September 2004 and September 2005 in which Weinstein allegedly raped a woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills. He is also is accused of raping another woman on two separate occasions in November 2009 and November 2010 at a hotel in Beverly Hills.

Weinstein was originally charged in L.A. County in January with sexually assaulting two women during separate incidents in 2013. The complaint was amended in April to add a charge that the defendant allegedly sexually assaulted a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel in May 2010.

Charges filed against Weinstein on Jan. 6 in Los Angeles stemmed from alleged encounters at hotels in L.A. and Beverly Hills in February 2013. An Italian model, who gave an extensive interview to The Times in 2017 , said Weinstein forced himself on her in the Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel after they met at the Los Angeles Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest.

Story continues

The woman said that she showed Weinstein pictures of her children and begged him to stop during the alleged attack.

He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do, she said.

Days later, prosecutors allege, Weinstein invited a woman to his room at a West Los Angeles hotel after a business meeting in the hotels restaurant and then trapped her in a bathroom, where he groped her while masturbating.

The woman, Lauren Young, later testified about the allegation at Weinsteins criminal trial in New York City. While on the stand, Young said the attack took place at the Montage Hotel and noted another woman was present and aided Weinstein by closing the door to the bathroom and leaving her alone with the mogul.

Prosecutors have not said if that person will be charged. The criminal complaint against Weinstein, however, noted that an accomplice aided him in restraining the victim in both the May 2010 assault and the attack described by Young. Greg Risling, a spokesman for the district attorneys office, said the reference to an accomplice in connection with the May 2010 attack was typical charging language that did not reflect the facts of the case.

The Times does not publish the names of alleged victims in sexual assault cases unless they come forward publicly.

Weinstein, 68, was sentenced to 23 years in prison in March after being found guilty of rape and committing a criminal sexual act in New York.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
MANISTEE COUNTY, MI  A Michigan man has been charged with his third OWI after he flipped his vehicle and rolled into a lake in Manistee County.

Troopers from the Michigan State Police Cadillac Post were dispatched to a rollover crash on Buttwell Road in Bear Lake Township at approximately 9:45 p.m. on Sept. 30.

Troopers arrived to find 57-year-old Frederick Anthony Bradford standing on the beach near Bear Lake in wet clothes from having been in the lake.

A preliminary investigation revealed Bradford failed to navigate a curve in the road, instead going straight ahead and hitting a boulder which launched the vehicle into the air. The vehicle hit the beach and rolled into the lake, police said.

Bradford displayed signs of intoxication. He was arrested after sobriety tests were administered and lodged in the Manistee County Jail.

Bradford was arraigned Friday in the 85th District Court in Manistee County on one count operating while intoxicated third offense. He was released on a $5,000 bond. His next scheduled court appearance is at 2 p.m. on Oct.14.
Offshore oil platforms are seen on April 20, 2020 in Huntington Beach, California.

Oil prices fell 3% on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, roiling risky assets, and as rising global crude output threatens to overwhelm the market's weak recovery.

Benchmark Brent and U.S. crude were both headed for a second straight week of losses. The uncertainty surrounding the U.S. president's health added to a series of jitters, including a lackluster U.S. unemployment report and increased supply from major world oil producers.

"It's been a rough week - and now the president's diagnosis sends a shudder through markets," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York. "The COVID-19 pandemic has weighed more on the oil market than any other asset class. This is a worst-case scenario for the oil market."

Brent crude was down $1.12, or 2.7%, at $39.81 a barrel, after earlier touching a session low of $38.79 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil benchmark, settled $1.67, or 4.3%, lower at $37.05 per barrel.

U.S. and Brent crude are heading for drops of around 6% and 5% respectively this week in a second consecutive week of declines.

The U.S. labor market recovery slowed in September, as non-farm payrolls increased by 661,000 jobs last month after advancing 1.49 million in August, the U.S. Labor Department said.

Trump's announcement that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 prompted sell-offs on U.S. and European stock markets.

Crude supplies from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose in September by 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a month earlier, a Reuters survey showed.

The rise was mainly the result of increased supplies from Libya and Iran - OPEC members that are exempt from a supply pact between OPEC and allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+.

Libya's production has risen to 270,000 bpd, faster than analysts expected after the relaxation of a blockade by the Libyan National Army.

Risk markets were also down on concerns about ongoing negotiations between Congress and the White House over an additional economic stimulus package to boost economic demand.

New COVID-19 cases worldwide have rise to more than 34 million, nearly 2 million more than at the end of last week, based on Reuters tallies.

This week marked the grim milestone of 1 million deaths and several countries are tightening restrictions and contemplating lockdowns as infections accelerate, prompting concerns about the impact on fuel demand.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 2)  Senate President Vicente Tito Sotto III and some of his colleagues reject the idea of selling the countrys war reparation properties in Japan  a suggestion raised by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Philippines acquired four real estate properties as part of the 1956 reparations agreement with Japan. These are the Ropponggi and Nampeidai properties in Tokyo, and the Noniwacho and Obanoyama in Kobe.

There are pending House bills seeking to tap these assets to fund the pension and benefits of veterans and military retirees. In a speech early this week, Duterte said the government is selling the properties to raise money for the beleaguered PhilHealth which now has an uncertain fund life amid allegations of billions lost to corruption.

Malacanang admitted selling the Japan properties cannot be decided by the President alone. It can only be done through the passage of a law enacted by Congress, as ruled by the Supreme Court in a 1990 ruling on previous attempts to sell the Ropponggi property.

READ: New laws needed to abolish PhilHealth, sell off Japan assets to boost fund

But a possible measure to liquidate the properties will will be opposed in the Senate, three lawmakers said.

Its impractical to sell those. They are symbols of our diplomatic ties with Japan, Sotto said in a statement.

Besides, there are many other government properties in the Philippines that we can sell instead," he added. Duterte earlier eyed selling state properties like the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex and the Philippine International Convention Center if money runs out for COVID-19 response.

Senator Koko Pimentel stressed that the war reparations belong to public domain and should not be sold, noting that there is no clamor or even sentiment from the people to sell these.

I will oppose the passage (of) that law in the Senate, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said. He said he agrees with Foreign Secretary Teodoro Teddy Boy Locsin, Jr.s stance on the issue.

Locsin has publicly criticized efforts to sell the Japan properties on his official Twitter account. On September 14, Locsin announced that the Department of Foreign Affairs submitted a position paper to Congress opposing yet another plot to dispose of the patrimony.

I will fight this to their end, Locsin tweeted, saying there are other ways to help the veterans.

In an apparent response to Dutertes speech, Locsin on Tuesday tweeted, I will never agree to the sale of our properties in Japan for any reason. He proposed that properties of government agencies with lousy COVID-19 response should be sold instead to augment the countrys pandemic fund.
Danny Healy-Rae says he despises serial objectors to the felling of trees.

He and fellow rural Independents now want a 2,000 submission fee to any objection from far-away city dwellers  a scale that would be 100 times the current processing fee of 20 per objection.

I despise the serial objectors. I hate them with every vein in my body  thats how much I hate them, and I have no time in the world for them, Mr Healy-Rae declared.

I actually hate them because I wouldnt object or interfere with anyone who wasnt hurting me. But these are 200 miles away from the people they are objecting to, and it is totally wrong, he added.

'Tis a fright to God. We dont have gold, we dont have diamonds, we have no resources of that kind in our country, Mr Healy-Rae said, outlining objections to a new Forestry Bill.

What we have at the present time is some of the grandest forests in Glencar and Cahirciveen and Killorglin and even Kilgarvan. All around us, ripe and ready to go  and we are in a standstill with nothing happening.

We have our own natural resource that was grant aided at the time and now they are not being allowed to cut it down. It is absolutely ridiculous.

Someone thats close by, or is affected, or has a reason to object, no problem in the world, he said. We must be democratic. But people that are being unfair and using the system to deprive people of jobs in our country, I do hate them anyway.

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Mr Healy-Rae said he knew of one woman who wanted to cash in her forestry investment because her husband was in a wheelchair and times were hard. But an objection had come in from a city dweller many miles away who was a stranger and did not know the locality.

He added that people were objecting because they wanted the trees to live, but they did not know the ways of the countryside.

Mattie McGrath TD said felling in Ireland had ground to a halt because of objections, and one individual, living in a city, had lodged no fewer than 86 objections to forestry moves around the country.

The new Government Bill was only proposing feeble and weak reforms.

He claimed that 30,000 jobs were at risk when indirect beneficiaries to the economic activity were added to the 12,000 directly employed.

Richard ODonoghue, the Limerick Independent, said the situation was directly affecting the major Government priority of building homes  because timber was not available. Construction is instead sourcing timber from Sweden and Russia, rather than from Irish forests because of the delays.

Sawmills could close down by Christmas, the rural Independent group says, while there are growers who are seeking to make good on 40-year investments only to come up against objections on philosophical grounds. The sheer numbers of objections had jammed the hearings system.

Mr McGrath said: We dont hate anybody, but people shouldnt have a facility to object without reasonable and sustainable grounds.

We would still allow for neighbours and people in the locality to object, and to do so free of charge. We dont want people in Dublin with frivolous objections affecting jobs in the rest of the country.

The Taoiseach later told the Dail: There is nothing wrong with people being tree-huggers and tree lovers. Trees are wonderful. Trees are probably the most effective thing we have in this country to fight climate change in the future.

We should grow far more than we are growing at the moment. The current planning process is paralysing the entire situation.

Mattie McGrath told him: They can hug them in St. Stephen's Green.

He had earlier said that tree-huggers who were serial objectors could chain themselves to a tree on a winter night if they felt so strongly about it.
Ontarios labour relations board has refused to hear a challenge by the provinces four teacher unions arguing the governments back-to-school plans are unsafe.

In a ruling released Thursday, Chair Bernard Fishbein said the board does not have jurisdiction to hear the unions appeal because no workplace order was issued, as the government argued.

Union leaders said the decision means the system will be soon be clogged with individual grievances about physical distancing, ventilation, busing safety and other issues.

Its both disappointing and disconcerting that the government chose not to engage with the substantive health and safety issues we raised about school reopening but instead pursued having the case kicked out on a technicality, in which they succeeded, said Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, which brought the appeal with the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association and the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens.

Addressing instances of insufficient safety measures in our schools will now have to be done on a case-by-case, classroom-by-classroom basis, which will do nothing to reassure educators, students, or their parents that this government has prepared an adequate reopening plan, Bischof said. In fact, the relevant experts tell us they have not.

The unions said the government did not adequately respond to its concerns about the reopening plans, and that those plans do not allow for proper physical distancing given class sizes, that a lack of proper ventilation in schools remains a huge concern, as does busing safety.

But a spokesperson for Education Minister Stephen Lecce said our plan to safely reopen schools is supported by $1.3 billion in funding for school boards, and is fully endorsed by Ontarios chief medical officer of health. Make no mistake: Our plan is the most cautious, comprehensive and well-funded in the nation.

Caitlin Clark also said we will continue to focus on our top priority  keeping students, parents, and staff safe in our schools.

The unions  which represent 190,000 teachers and school staff across Ontario  announced their labour board case in August.

They said the province had not taken every reasonable precaution to protect workers as required under the workplace health and safety act. Bischof had even called their plans morally unconscionable and legally wrong, noting the province has limited social gatherings to 10 people indoors, when some classes have upwards of 30 students.

Unions had been seeking class sizes of 15 to 20 students in order to keep to the recommended two-metre physical distancing.

Fishbein wrote that in the end, no matter what my personal view of the conduct of the government or the unions here, the alleged shortfalls of the guide, and the unprecedented gravity of the pandemic (which no one can or does dispute), I believe the governments positionis correct. The board does not have jurisdiction to do what the unions want in these proceedings.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the monthly government meeting (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has highlighted bright spots in the countrys socio-economic development in September and the third quarter at the monthly government meeting in Hanoi on October 2.



The PM said strong recovery was seen in agriculture, industry, finance, banking, and social welfare, saying it will create a good premise for economic growth in Q4 and the whole year.



As Vietnams economy expanded 2.62 percent in Q3, the nation will definitely enjoy positive economic growth, at least from 2 percent, for 2020, he stressed.



PM Phuc pointed out the countrys outstanding achievements in the January-September period with a record trade surplus of 17 billion USD, and foreign investment standing at 21 billion USD.



The economy has recovered quickly after disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak, with stable macro-economy, strong securities market, and stable exchange rates, he said.



The PM applauded export activities in the period, with exports surging 4.2 percent year on year, and disbursement of public capital increasing to the highest rate.



He went on by underlining the role of the State, private and FDI companies, saying they have become the important driver for growth and job generation in the country.



Agriculture was still a major pillar for the economy during this tough time thanks to bumper crops, high farming product prices and good export revenue. This year, taking advantage of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), together with the appearance of many processing plants, the sector is striving to export some 41 billion USD worth of farm produce.



He also expressed his delight that the Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) posted 52.2 points in September, as compared to 45.7 points in August, which signals a stronger improvement in the countrys business condition.



However, he said difficulties and challenges remained for tourism, aviation and transportation sector while the current growth still lags behind expectation.



In that context, PM Phuc asked his cabinet members to outline measures pushing economic growth as well as promoting digital transformation in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak.



He ordered increasing resilience in national development, particularly in 2021.
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We should also acknowledge, King said, that within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. The person who hates you most, he said, has some good in him. . . . Even the race that hates you most has some good in it.
YEREVAN, Armenia - Armenia said Friday it is ready to discuss a cease-fire in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces this week has killed dozens and left scores wounded.

The fighting is the biggest escalation in years in the decades-long dispute over the region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is controlled by local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. Cease-fire calls have come from around the globe.

On Thursday, leaders of Russia, France and the United States  co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group, which was set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1992 to resolve the conflict  issued a joint statement calling for an immediate cease-fire and resuming substantive negotiations ... under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

Armenias Foreign Ministry said the country stands ready to engage with the co-chairs of the group to reestablish a cease-fire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements.

Armenia remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the statement read.

Azerbaijans president says Armenias withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh is the sole condition to end the fighting. Armenian officials allege Turkey is involved in the conflict and sending fighters from Syria to the region. Ankara has denied that while publicly siding with Azerbaijan in the dispute.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview released Thursday that he welcomed the call for a cease-fire but it was impossible to consider leaving the population of Nagorno-Karabakh unprotected, facing terrorists and extremists fighting on Azerbaijans side under Turkeys sponsorship.

A cease-fire can be established only if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus, Pashinyan told the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.

In the Fridays statement, Armenian Foreign Ministry also condemned aggressive joint actions of Azerbaijan and Turkey and said that this aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh will continue to receive our strong and resolute response.

On Friday, Armenian military officials reported that Azerbaijan carried out strikes on Nagorno-Karabakhs capital of Stepanakert.

Azerbaijans Defence Ministry accused Armenian forces of shelling Agdam, Terter and Barda regions and attacking other areas.

Both sides reported destroying military equipment belonging to their adversary.

Nagorno-Karabakh officials said more than 150 servicemen on their side have been killed so far. Azerbaijani authorities havent given details on its military casualties but said 19 civilians have been killed and 55 more have been wounded.

Several journalists were wounded in shelling of the town of Martuni on Thursday. Two were French citizens working with Le Monde newspaper.

Reporter Allan Kaval and photographer Rafael Yaghobzadeh were taken to the Stepanakert hospital and operated on there, and were being evacuated Friday to Yerevan. The two were to be taken to Paris, Le Monde reported.

In an article published Friday, Le Monde said they had travelled to Martuni on Thursday to see for themselves the extent of the damage from this weeks fighting. They were with several French, Armenian and other journalists when the town was attacked.

The report quotes regional human rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan as saying four civilians were killed and 11 other people were wounded in the shelling.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked for decades in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, the site of a separatist war fought in the early 1990s and ending in 1994  three years after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The 4,400-square-kilometre (1,700-square-mile) enclave in the Caucasus Mountains, roughly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, lies 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Armenian border.

Turkey has said it would provide assistance to Azerbaijan if requested, but denied sending in foreign mercenaries or weapons.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Pashinyan by phone for the third time this week, and both expressed serious concern about reports that fighters from the Middle East were involved in the conflict.

Vladimir Putin once again emphasized the necessity of immediate cessation of hostilities and resumption of politico-diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, in line with the statement by presidents of countries that co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group, the Kremlins readout of the call said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday a cease-fire would be conditional on Armenias withdrawal from the separatist region.

As the Azerbaijani president has said, Armenia must withdraw from these territories in order for Azerbaijan to declare a cease-fire, Cavusoglu said at a news conference with his Italian counterpart in Rome. This is an absolute legitimate call.

He also called for international pressure on Armenia to withdraw.

If the international community wants to do something, it should (ensure) that Armenia withdraws immediately, he said.

Cavusoglu reiterated that Azerbaijan had not requested military assistance but that Turkey was ready to provide it if needed.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Azerbaijan a brotherly state on Friday and said its offensive in the separatist region aimed to defend its own lands and to liberate Nagorno-Karabakh, which is under occupation.

With all our capability and all our heart, we will continue to be by Azerbaijans side, Erdogan said, speaking at the opening of a hospital in the town of Konya in central Turkey. God willing, this struggle will continue until Nagorno-Karbakh is saved from occupation.

-

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Angela Charlton in Paris and Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed.
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ELLINGTON  More than three dozen horses inside a barn were able to escape Friday morning after fire tore through the building, officials said.

The fire broke out around 9:30 a.m. at a barn located on Jobs Hill Road.
The Paramount Chief of the Dormaa Traditional Council, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu II, has supported the call for the leaders of the two major political parties to hold a national debate, as Ghana prepares for the December 7 general elections.



The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama, challenged President Akufo-Addo to an infrastructure debate on Thursday, 20 August 2020.



Mr Mahama told the chiefs and people of Kwamekrom in the Biakoye constituency during his Oti Region tour that he is ready to settle the infrastructure debate once and for all, adding that President Akufo-Addo is at liberty to select the moderators and the institution that he wants to organise the debate, and he will show up any day, at any time and anywhere.



Even though there has not been an official response from the incumbent President, the NPP says it is not in their campaign plans to debate the former President.



The Dormaa Paramount Chief, however, supports the call for a national debate.



Addressing a gathering when the former president paid a courtesy call on him at his palace in Dormaa Ahenkro on Thursday, 2 October 2020, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu II, said: "I strongly support this debate between the two presidential candidates to enable Ghanaians to know the party with the better track record and decide who to vote for".



Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu II expressed the hope that the two parties would come to an amicable solution to participate in the national debate.



In the area of infrastructure development, the Dormaa Paramount Chief extolled the achievements of Mr Mahama during his tenure.



According to Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu II, he is always ready to praise any government that is working to develop his area and urged other leaders who would get the opportunity to govern the country to work hard to beat the record that has been set by Mr Mahama, for Ghana to develop.





Source: classfmonline.com









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In sincere remorse and sorry for an unscrupulous, slanderous and mendacious content recently published by Orient Daily Newspaper, which was inappropriately, unnecessarily and improperly linked to the Anglican Archbishop of the Province of the Niger and Bishop of Awka Diocese, His Grace, Most Reverend Alexander Chibuzo Ibezim; the media organisation has tendered an unreserved apology to the Anglican prelate.

In a letter of apology penned to the Archbishop, the media organisation noted that the news report titled "Awka Anglican Bishop, ex-knight in corruption scandal publication" and published on page 7 of their last weekend's edition, was never borne out of any ill-motivation towards or against his personality or office, and assured never to repeat such in future.

Dated September 28, 2020 and captioned 'Apology to Your Grace the Most Reverend Alexander C. Ibezim', the letter reads in parts, "Our attention has been drawn to a news report we carried on page 7 of our last weekend edition, titled 'Awka Anglican Bishop, ex-knight in corruption scandal'.

"Having now verified that story and the circumstances of its publication, we deeply regret that the story ever had to be so inappropriately, unnecessarily and improperly linked to Your Grace.

"May we, hereby, offer our unreserved and heartfelt apology to Your Grace for that publication.

"We are currently taking firm and appropriate internal measures to deter a repeat of this unfortunate error which, we can assure you, was never borne out of any ill-motivation towards the person and office of Your Grace.

"As an immediate step, we have pulled down the publication from our online portal and will duly publish an apology to Your Grace in our Wednesday, September 30 edition, if you would so permit.

"As part of your flock in the Province on the Niger, we hold Your Grace, and the office you so honourably occupy, in very high esteem and cannot knowingly allow any action to debase these, for whatever reason.

"We beg Your Grace to kindly forgive this publication, with our assurance that there will never be a repeat of it, in future and evermore."

Meanwhile, according to a statement from the Archbishop's media office, signed by the Director, Media, Communication, Research and Public Relations, Province of the Niger, Comrade Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, PhD, Archbishop Ibezim accepted the apology without prompting, but wondered what the rush to press without investigation. He noted the need for proper investigation by journalists before penning down sensitive issues.

"It would have been a different song, if the Orient Daily Newspaper had met us in court for libel, but when I saw their apology letter, I was handicapped. Journalists should be journalists and nothing else," he said.
Hamilton police are investigating after two robberies were reported near downtown ATMs.

Police say both robberies occurred after the victims withdrew money.

Police say a victim was approached by a suspicious couple after withdrawing money from an ATM in the area of King Street West and James Street North shortly after 7 a.m. on Wednesday.

The male suspect demanded the victim give him money. After refusing to hand over the cash, the victim was assaulted with an unknown object, police say. The female suspect, who had a knife, also threatened the victim. The suspects fled before police arrived.

Police say the victim was not injured.

The male suspect is described as being in his early 20s or 30s and white. The female suspect is described as a tall woman with medium complexion in her early 20s.

On Tuesday, an individual withdrew money from an ATM in the area of Main Street West and Bay Street South shortly after 7:30 p.m., and was approached by a man who demanded money, police say.

The man sprayed the victim with an unknown irritant before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash, police say. The victim sustained a minor injury.

The suspect is described as a white man with brown hair, wearing grey track pants and a black hoodie.

Neither victim was taken to hospital.

Police say no connection has been established between the two incidents, and are asking anyone with information to contact police at 905-546-3818 or 905-961-1876.
Billionaire retailer Solomon Lew appears to be gearing up for another attempt to topple Myer's management after requesting the embattled department store's shareholder register to contact minority investors for their support.

Mr Lew's retailing company Premier Investments, which holds an 11 per cent stake in Myer, formally demanded that the company provide it with a copy of the register, which lists names and addresses of all investors.

"Premier has requested these registers in order to consider writing to Myers members in relation to any resolutions proposed at Myers [annual general meeting] this year," Premier said in a statement to the ASX.

Solomon Lew has asked for a copy of Myer's shareholder register. Credit:Eddie Jim

Myer's notice of annual general meeting, released last week, lists four resolutions for shareholders to vote on, one of which is a re-election bid for chairman Garry Hounsell.
KALAMAZOO, MI  The city of Kalamazoo issued a statement saying officials are taking election integrity seriously, after receiving multiple calls from citizens concerned about the upcoming election process following the presidential debate.

Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema released a statement on Sept. 30 regarding election integrity that also referenced the Proud Boys, a far-right group whose Aug. 15 demonstration in the city ended with violent clashes between their members and counterprotesters.

Hate has no place in the City of Kalamazoo and we strongly denounce the Proud Boys and other hate groups that promote racism and seek to instigate violence and mayhem through their words and actions," Ritsema said in the statement. In Kalamazoo, we embrace the diversity of our community and everything hate groups like the Proud Boys represent is contrary to our values, beliefs and culture."

The city, in a release, also outlined several steps being taken to ensure a fair and safe election and explaining the options for both absentee and in-person voting in the days leading up to Election Day, Nov. 3.

Kalamazoo is committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all residents and visitors, the city manager said.

As the November election draws near, we are taking proactive measures to ensure all Kalamazoo residents can safely and efficiently cast their votes - whether by mail, during early voting or at the polls on Election Day, Ritsemas statement continued. "We will not tolerate voter intimidation, voter harassment or voter suppression and we reject attempts by individuals and groups that seek to put up roadblocks and impediments to voting or participating in our Democratic process.

Every vote will be counted accurately, and we encourage all Kalamazoo residents regardless of political party to participate and do so without fear."

President Donald Trump, when asked to condemn white supremacy groups during the presidential debate on Monday, Sept. 29, told Proud Boys to stand back and stand by.

Police in Kalamazoo have faced heavy criticism for the response to the Aug. 15 event involving the group, partly because officers were not there when violence erupted. Police have also been criticized for arresting citizens, and not arresting any Proud Boys.

Former Chief Karianne Thomas apologized for the arrest of an MLive journalist that occurred during the event. Ritsema has said the police response should have been different. Thomas has since retired from her position as chief, and former assistant chief Vernon Coakley was sworn in as the departments new chief on Thursday, Oct. 1.

Activist Quinton Bryant talked about Trumps statement during a protest in Kalamazoo on Wednesday, Sept. 30, the same night the city sent the statement denouncing Proud Boys.

I want to make sure we stress how important it is that we realize the message that came out of the Presidents mouth on that put all of us right in harms way," Bryant said. I think its important for city officials to stand up right now and say what he said was detrimental to the cause.

He said Trump gave the Proud Boys a pass and he was telling them to wait on his cue. Thats dangerous for Kalamazoo, Bryant said.

According to Vice, following the debate, the Proud Boys Michigan branch posted an image through social media app Telegram that shows a man standing with clenched fists among a crowd of men, with Trumps comments written on the image.

The city of Kalamazoo does not have any specific information on future rallies involving Proud Boys locally, Deputy City Manager Jeff Chamberlain said on Oct. 1.

We want to reassure all citizens that we are being vigilant about the upcoming election and taking proactive steps to ensure all votes are cast fairly and are counted, Chamberlain said.

Some of these extra steps include four new ballot drop boxes installed around the city of Kalamazoo at:

The Douglas Community Center, 1000 W Paterson St

Eastside Neighborhood Association, 1301 E Main St

City of Kalamazoo Stockbridge Offices, 415 E Stockbridge Ave

Kalamazoo Public Safety Station #7, 2331 Parkview Ave

An existing drop box for ballots is located at Kalamazoo City Hall, 241 W. South St. The city also touted:

Extended Clerks office hours up until Election Day

A new satellite clerks office at WMUs Bernhard Center where voters can register to vote, drop off absentee ballots, or vote in person on Election Day

The Kalamazoo City Clerk is offering extended hours and new options to help Kalamazoo voters cast their ballots this November. This includes a branch office at WMU, and four new drop boxes located in the City. Learn more: https://t.co/RDcugzjj6X pic.twitter.com/z1jrVW8J7S  City of Kalamazoo (@KalamazooCity) October 1, 2020

The new branch office of the city clerks office will open beginning Monday, Oct. 5, on the first floor of the Bernhard Center on Western Michigan Universitys campus, located at 1903 W. Michigan Ave.

This location and the City Clerks Office inside City Hall will both have extended hours in October leading up to Election Day, including evening and weekend hours.

Starting on Monday, Oct. 5, both locations will be open from 9 a.m.  5 p.m., with additional or adjusted hours on the following dates:

Monday, Oct. 19: 9 a.m.  9 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 24: 10 a.m.  6 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 27: 9 a.m.  9 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 31: 10 a.m.  6 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 2: 9 a.m.  4 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 3: 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.

In-person voting will remain an option for all voters on Election Day from 7 a.m.  8 p.m. Voters that plan to vote in-person at their polling location are encouraged to verify they are registered and confirm their location by visiting www.michigan.gov/vote.

Voters should wear a mask and socially distance to protect each other, poll workers, and the community, the city said.

Read more:

Michigan voters start casting ballots in 2020 presidential election

Vernon Coakley sworn in as Kalamazoo Public Safety chief

Kalamazoo commissioners briefed on hands-off police approach before violent event
Lake Countys two state representatives have announced the latest round of CARES Act novel coronavirus relief funds being released by the Ohio Controlling Board.

Reps. Jamie Callender, R-Concord Township, and John Rogers, D-Mentor-on-the-Lake, said the funds approved support mental health services, senior centers, and the states unemployment system, among other things.

Funds include the approval of $81.5 million of federal CARES Act funds to the Ohio Department of Health to expand the states COVID-19 testing capabilities. The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Service will receive $45 million for the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act to promote job creation and $141.6 million to supplement the states unemployment program, according to Rogers office.

The controlling board also approved $15.2 million for senior and adult day care centers. According to Callenders office, those are to meet certain safety standards, including reduced capacity and spacing, sanitation, signage and communication, facility standards, activity requirements and staffing protocols.

Locally, the Lake County General Health District Sept. 29 recommended that all of the countys senior centers should be closed for the rest of 2020 and a reopening evaluation will be made early next year.

The health district stated continued closures will minimize risk, prevent morbidity and mortality, and allow the time necessary for centers to develop proper testing protocols and safety measures, train staff, and monitor the burden of COVID-19 on Lake Countys most at-risk residents.

Also approved was $10 million in COVID-19 mental health response to fund contracting and community disbursements in support of response efforts in three primary areas, according to Callenders Office.

Those areas are: visibility and access for services; visibility and access for services, psychiatric inpatient and crisis care, and supports and capacity building for child welfare, first responders, suicide prevention and support for students and staff in primary, secondary and higher education.

According to Callenders office, other mental health related funds include:

$5 million for higher education mental health in support of the immediate behavioral health response and recovery needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic on Ohio college and university campuses to handle the rise in demand for mental health and counseling support services for students enrolled in Ohios public universities, community colleges, and non-profit higher education.

$8.5 million through the Governors Emergency Education Relief for higher education mental health for longer-term support and capacity development, connection to community resources, and implementation of behavioral health supports in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

$6 million through the Governors Emergency Education Relief for K-12 mental health to support capacity development, connection to community resources, and implementation.

$1.5 million through the Governors Emergency Education Relief for mental health coordination

Additionally, the controlling board approved the redirection of $750,000 in funds from Lorain to the Lake County Ohio Port and Economic Development Authority for initial work on a forthcoming waterway management facility on the Grand River in Fairport Harbor.

According to Rogers office, the project is intended to provide a long-term solution in support of efforts to improve Lake Eries water quality and allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the harbor, to meet the July 1 ban on open-lake disposal in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie made effective by Senate Bill 1. The funding is directed to the port authority through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Healthy Lake Erie Initiative.

I am glad to see the State of Ohio funding both immediate and long-term priorities as part of its evolving response to our current crisis, Rogers said in a statement. As we begin our economic recovery from the global pandemic, it remains critical for the state to help our communities recover and move forward into the future, while helping to supplement the immediate public health and employment needs of our neighbors.

Callender said in a statement the controlling board tool proactive steps to ensuring that CARES Act funding is being efficiently approved to help our state and facilities properly handle the challenges they have all faced due to COVID-19.
The WHO report said the Odisha government effectively managed the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

BHUBANESWAR: As the Opposition upped its ante against the ruling in BJD in Odisha in the ongoing monsoon session of the Assembly, alleging complete mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis, chief minister Naveen Patnaik put out on his official Twitter handle a World Health Organization (WHO) report that praised his government.

The WHO report said the Odisha government effectively managed the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

The Chief Ministers Office (CMO) on its official Twitter handle posted the WHO article which read, From Governance to Community Resilience: Odishas Response to COVID-19 which appeared in the WHO portal.

The CMO made this article public on the day when the Opposition BJP and Congress came down heavily on the state government in the Assembly and accused it of failing to manage the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Both the parties alleged that the patients were dying due to improper and inadequate attention paid by the COVID-19 hospitals.

They even said COVID-19 hospitals were fleecing money from the patients in different pretexts under the very nose of the health department officials.

State health minister Nabakishore Das, however, refuted all the charges of the Opposition and said the state had earned accolades from WHO and many other agencies for its efficient Covid management.

The CMO in a sticker attached to the Twitter post highlighted WHOs points for which the state has earned praise.

They are early containment measures, dedicated Covid Hospitals, effective monitoring, telemedicine and plasma therapy, realtime information through state COVID dashboard, training of 1,80,000 health workers and financial incentives, it said.

The CMO also said that effective governance, robust health infrastructure, testing strategy, technology-aided pandemic management, migrant management, decentralised management through gram panchayats and involvement of Mission Shakti helped ineffective management of COVID-19.

As of June 24, 2020, the state recorded an impressive recovery rate of 69.4 per cent, and the mortality rate of just 0.29 per cent, which is one of the best in the country. Odisha was the first in the country to initiate strict measures, the CMO mentioned.

The chief minister ordered an immediate closure of many public places on March 13, even though the state had not reported a single case of COVID-19, the article dated September 17 said.

It said that when the first case was reported on March 15, the state control rooms had been made operational, and capacity building of the district level health officials on preparedness and response activities, and public awareness campaigns on hand-washing and respiratory etiquettes were already initiated.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh has issued a statement over the joint statement of the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Artsakh, the statement runs as follows,

We welcome the joint statement by the presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries  Russian Federation, United States and France, strongly condemning the escalation of violence in the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict zone and calling for an immediate end to hostilities. This statement by the leaders of the three countries - permanent members of the UN Security Council has finally consolidated the collective position of the international community on the inadmissibility of the use of force, previously expressed by all members of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary General, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, and heads of states and governments of the European Union.

By continuing to reject the demands of the international community to restore peace in the region, Azerbaijan and Turkey are increasingly positioning themselves as rogue countries, demonstrating open rejection of generally accepted rules and norms of the civilized world.

Azerbaijan and Turkey not only persist in their unwillingness to follow the calls of the international community for an immediate ceasefire, but also consistently and deliberately increase the intensity of the hostilities. The Defence Army of Artsakh, which is now actually fighting also international terrorism, will continue to take all necessary measures to force Azerbaijan to end the hostilities, thereby contributing to international efforts to restore peace in the region. The Republic of Artsakh will continue to pursue a responsible security policy aimed at ensuring and strengthening long-term regional peace and stability.

At the same time, we believe that in a situation when Azerbaijan and Turkey enter into an open military alliance with terrorist organizations, which are outlawed by the civilized world, collective measures of the entire international community, including those of a coercive nature, are imperatively required to end the illegal acts of Ankara and Baku, which pose a threat to the entire world community.

In this regard, we once again emphasize that the international recognition of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh will not only allow the immediate end of the aggression, but also exclude the possibility of its repetition in the future. The international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh is an inevitable and logical result of the settlement process, which is not questioned by the international community, since the independence of Artsakh has strong legal, legitimate and fair basis. The sooner the process of international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh begins, the earlier the long-awaited and lasting peace will come into the region.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 2, 2020 / Right out of his college dorm room, a young Matt Corman released his debut mixtape entitled "Bars Over Bass." That was back in 2014, and ever since then, he's been on the rise in the independent hip-hop scene. In 2015, he followed up his debut with his sophomore effort entitled "Speak First."

He has always been known for "Making It Happen," and this is evident in his work ethic and the success that he has garnered over the years. He built his brand from the ground up with zero help from any massive labels. He even managed to quit his day job to focus full-time on his music and his brand.

Matt Corman is the real definition of self-made. He writes, records, engineers, and produces his own music. He didn't come from money, and he never had any connections to the industry. Every problem that he ran into, every challenge that he faced, he had to figure out how to "Make It Happen," even when he didn't have enough resources.

His fans have always been drawn to his authenticity and transparency. He is a genuine artist that knows what it is like not to have much, yet he promises to find a way towards "Making It Happen" every time. Matt Corman hopes to become a beacon of hope for independent artists to become what they truly want to be.

Matt Corman's music has been represented in various instances. The famous YouTubers Nelk and FaZe Rug have featured his music in more ways than one. His song "Need Your Lane" was featured by NELK, and it has garnered a lot of views on social media thanks to his loyal audience.

Apart from the work he does inside the studio, releasing songs at a fascinating level, Matt Corman has also had the opportunity of touring around the United States alongside big-time artists such as performing as a supporting act for Post Malone, Fetty Wap, Sammy Adams, and Cam Meekins.

His success hasn't dwindled at all throughout his entire career; in fact, it has grown subsequently greater than before. Aside from his musical endeavors, Matt Corman is also an entrepreneur. He has established his own brand called MIH Universal, which is an extension of who he is as a personality.

MIH stands for "Make It Happen," words that Matt Corman fully lives by. His entire career has been built by his perseverance to make things happen, and he fully believes that all of his success is proof of all the effort he has put out into the world. He even has the words "Make It Happen' tattooed on his right arm as a constant reminder.

With all of the success that he has amassed all on his own, Matt Corman seeks to become the head of his own record label. He aims to show independent artists what it really takes to become successful. He also has aspirations of reaching the Billboard's Top 10 list, as well as creating a hit that would make it to the number 1 spot of the Billboard's Top 10.

To find out more about the amazing Matt Corman, make sure to check out the official website.

Company: Matt Corman

Email: mgmt@mattcorman.com

Phone number: 508-428-2484

Website: MattCorman.com

SOURCE: Matt Corman

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/608858/Matt-Corman-Self-Made-and-Making-It-Happen-No-Matter-What
Donald Trump has used a speech at a charity dinner to accuse the Democratic Party of anti-Catholic bigotry.

Four years after Mr Trump broke with convention to use the Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner to level an attack at his then rival Hillary Clinton, rather than poke fun at himself, he again used the event to denounce the Democrats.

Mr Trump started his prerecorded remarks that were streamed to praise the Catholic Church for its role in the city of New York and in the nation beyond.

This organisation's incredible tradition of Catholic charity exemplifies the very best, not only of this city, but of this country, he said.

Yet, he then used the speech to attack China over the coronavirus, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans, a death toll many critics say Mr Trump is at least partly responsible for, and then claim anti-Catholic bias predominates in the Democratic Party.

Mr Trump, defending his decision to nominate law professor and conservative Catholic Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, insisted the White House would stand by her as she went through the nominating process.

 Donald Trump says he will 'sign executive order' against Joe Biden as president

We will not stand for any attacks against judge Barrett's faith, he said.

Anti-Catholic bigotry has absolutely no place in the United States of America.

One of the ironies of Mr Trumps comments was that while he claimed he knew about the Catholic faith because he once lived next to a magnificent Catholic Church, Democratic candidate Joe Biden is from a family of Irish-American Catholics.

In his remarks to the dinner, Mr Biden said his faith had helped him when he had suffered loss in his life - his first wife, a daughter and his eldest son.

I know for me, my Catholic faith has helped me through the darkness, as I've had to bury pieces of my soul into the earth, and eventually found purpose to live a life worthy of those I lost, he said.

And throughout my life and public service. I've been guided by the tenets of Catholic social doctrine  what you do to the least among us, you do to me. We have an obligation to one another. We cannot serve ourselves at the expense of others.

For many years the dinner, which benefits Catholic charities and is often one of the final opportunities for presidential candidates to share a stage before the election, saw candidates make jokes about themselves .

In 2008, John McCain joked that he had fired his entire campaign team. All of their positions will now be held by a man named Joe the Plumber, he cracked.

In turn, Barack Obama said: John McCain is onto something. There was a point in my life when I started palling around with a pretty ugly crowd, Ive got to be honest. These guys were serious deadbeats; they were lowlifes; they were unrepentant no-good punks. Thats right: Ive been a member of the United States Senate.

During the 2016 dinner, Mr Trump displayed the charm of neither, and when he attacked Ms Clinton he received boos.

"I wasn't really sure if Hillary was going to be here tonight because, I guess, you didn't send her invitation by email. Or maybe you did, and she just found out about it through the wonder of WikiLeaks, he said.

We've learned so much from WikiLeaks. For example, Hillary believes that it is vital to deceive the people by having one public policy and a totally different policy in private.

Ms Clinton was also rather pointed.

Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a 4 - maybe a 5 if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair."
The chief executive officer of the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM), Mark ODell has noted that medical insurance premiums in Malaysia have been growing at an unsustainable rate in recent years. Consequently, this could make such plans unaffordable for many people, including consumers in the middle-income group.

In a report by The Edge Markets, ODell highlighted that medical insurance premiums have been increasing at an annual rate of 6% to 8% over the past few years, and that LIAM is actively investigating the situation. We need to be aware of those drivers that contribute to higher medical insurance premiums and try to take the right actions moving forward, he said.

One reason pinpointed for the rising premiums is the high medical costs in the country, which was underscored in the 2019 Global Medical Trends Survey Report conducted by Willis Towers Watson, a global advisory, broking, and solutions company. In the report, Malaysia ranked second out of 13 Asian countries in terms of medical costs.

The report also noted that medical costs in Malaysia had increased by 13.1% in 2019, caused chiefly by the availability and adoption of new medical technologies and equipment. Other Asian countries that saw spikes in their medical costs as well include Vietnam (16.3%), the Philippines (11.5%), Indonesia (10.8%), and China (10.7%).

ODell emphasised, however, that high medical costs is only one of many reasons for the high medical insurance premiums, and that it is a broader issue. It has to do with the design of these medical insurance plans or particular hospital charges, which include consultation fees, hospitalisation fees, the cost of operating theatre, and more. There are many components to it, he said. He added that LIAM intends to work with other stakeholders to address these issues, namely the insurers, Ministry of Health, private healthcare service providers, and medical insurance policyholders.

One effort that has been carried out thus far is the setting up of the Medical Cost Containment Task Force (MCCTF) in 2019, established by LIAM, General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM), Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). The taskforce was charged to conduct an independent study on the key drivers of increasing medical insurance premiums, with the results scheduled to be revealed later this year.

ODell further stressed that the issue of escalating premiums is not problem specific only to Malaysia. For instance, Singapore had moved to implement several solutions for a similar situation last year, one of which is the introduction of co-insurance plans. Such plans allow policyholders to pay a lower medical insurance premium by setting a fixed percentage for medical costs in their claims.

ODell said that the MCCTF may propose a similar solution for Malaysia, noting that while co-insurance plans are not new within the country, there are very few choices in the market. We are not talking about a large amount of cost sharing by policyholders. It could be RM500 or 5% to 10% of the bill with a maximum cap. It does not need to be burdensome to policyholders. I would personally buy such a product if the premium is attractive, he explained.

Aside from addressing the issue of rising medical insurance premiums, ODell also highlighted that as of 2 September 2020, more than a million Malaysians  out of 13 million policyholders in the country  had opted to defer their life insurance premium payments. This is in reference to a relief measure that was announced earlier this year, allowing policyholders to defer the payment of life insurance premiums and family takaful contributions for three months. The total amount of premium payments being deferred is more than a billion ringgit, he said.

Additionally, ODell discussed the countrys stagnant 54% insurance penetration rate, specifically among the lower-income group. He said that the key reason for the low number lies in the B40 group, whose income is only sufficient to cover their daily expenses. LIAM hopes to increase the rate to 75%, and is working with MTA and BNM to find ways to do so. This includes exploring different distribution channels for the B40 group, instead of relying solely on agents.

(Source: The Edge Markets)

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Google Messages is a default app and has proved to be an important tool for people to stay in touch with each other. It features the Rich Communication Services, or RCS in short, which is a next-generation replacement for regular messaging services like SMS and MMS. As a general term, RCS allows the users to exchange messages, photos, videos, and other forms of media files with other RCS-compatible phones or phone numbers through data connections like Wi-Fi.Without an uninterrupted data connection, RCS will automatically fall back into the regular SMS/MMS mode. It gives the users benefits of instant messaging, as well as incorporates features like typing indicators, read receipt notifications, etc. It also supports group conversations. So, it is sort of like a mixture of SMS/MMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram.Time and again, Google brings useful tools to the Google Messages, but recently some tweets started making rounds. Hani Mohamed Bioud , a web developer and designer has posted a screenshot which suggests that Google is likely to be working on making the Google Messages app smarter than before. It seems that the users will be able to find specific messages in certain specified categories that will help the users to sort their messages into specific channels.At the moment, it seems that there are going to be five categories that will be available for users to categorize their messages into. These sections or categories include Personal, Transactions, One-Time-Passwords (OTP), Offers, and a category for perhaps miscellaneous messages labeled as More.This message categorization system is probably going to be introduced in the upcoming version of Google Messages, along with an additional supporting feature that will automatically delete OTPs after a day. Both the new updates are pretty interesting and exciting because a new categorization system will make the Messages less cluttered and more organized. And the automatic deletion of OTPs after 24 hours is also a much-needed update to keep the space of the messages clean and safe.It is not known when Google will officially roll out this feature for Google Messages, but you can try this message categorization system on the latest Beta version of Google Messages. Since Google usually brings server-side updates directly, it is hard to say whether most people will be able to try it in the Beta version also or not.On the other hand, Alessandro Paluzzi reported that Google Messages is also testing a new feature that'll lock the microphone button during recording, which is probably a good addition for privacy focused users.Read next: Google is bringing some more app-store options and newer billing policies for the developers in Android 12
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.

Students and teachers in about two dozen districts have tested positive for the coronavirus since the school year began, putting a pause on in-person instruction in those schools.

In most cases, the switch to all-remote learning is temporary -- typically for a few to as many as 14 days. And many districts have only had to send home students from one school, where the cases of COVID-19 were found, while students at other schools in that district continue in-person learning.

Gov. Phil Murphy has said that about 400 school districts started the school year doing a mix of remote and in-person learning, about 300 are fully-remote and 75 are doing only in-person instruction.

The state does not maintain a list of the schools or districts that have had to close down, but on Sept. 30 it launched a dashboard that identifies counties, number of schools and cases that were transmitted in school buildings or through school activities. Currently, 11 schools have had a total of 43 cases.

The state Department of Health issued guidelines for schools on how to handle positive cases, when to ask students to quarantine and when schools need to switch to remote learning.

Among the recommendations is to shut down the school if two or more people in multiple classrooms get sick within 14 days and a clear connection between the cases cannot be easily identified.

Closure is a local decision that should be made by school administrators in consultation with local public health, the state guidelines say.

Here are the districts we know to be affected so far. This list will be updated throughout the day as new information becomes available:

Atlantic County

Richland: St. Augustine Prep, an all boys Catholic high school, has moved to remote learning from Sept. 28 until Oct. 12 because of two unrelated student cases of COVID-19, according to a statement from the head of the school, Fr. Robert J. Murray.

Bergen County

Mahwah: Two schools in the township informed parents Sept. 21 that they had positive cases of coronavirus. Mahwah High School moved to remote learning Tuesday, Sept. 22. Its on-site hybrid model will resume Thursday, Oct. 1. And a staff member at Ramapo Ridge Middle School tested positive for COVID-19. That school did remote learning beginning Tuesday, Sept. 22. On-site classes for the middle school will resume Oct. 6. Joyce Kilmer, a school for fourth and fifth grades, notified parents Wednesday that it would move to remote learning while it does contact tracing for a staff member who tested positive for coronavirus.

Woodcliff Lake: Woodcliff Lake Middle School closed for 14 days after a teacher reported testing positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 10, Superintendent Lauren Barbelet told NJ Advance Media. The districts administrative team notified families and other staff members who came in close contact with the teacher on Sept. 8. The school reopened on Wednesday.

Burlington County

Medford Township: Lenape High School in the Lenape Regional High School District was closed Sept. 18 because a second COVID-19 case was discovered there. The school was reopened for in-person classes Monday, Sept. 21, principal Tony Cattani said in a letter sent home to parents.

Cape May County

Upper Township: The Upper Township Primary School is switching to virtual instruction from Sept. 29 to Oct. 18 after two staff members with cold-like symptoms tested positive for the coronavirus, Superintendent Vincent Palmieri said.

Dennis Township: The district had five positive coronavirus cases in September, with one student and four staff members, according to a chart on the districts website.

There are 10 cases linked to confirmed outbreaks associated with in-school transmission at three schools in Cape May County, according to the states coronavirus dashboard. Officials did not identify the schools.

Gloucester County

Washington Township: School officials announced Saturday, Sept. 12 that three district staff members tested positive for the coronavirus. Hurffville Elementary School, which had two of the staff cases, will be closed for 14 days. Hybrid instruction resumed on Sept. 28. Washington Township High School, which had one staff member test positive, also suspended in-person classes with the exception of some special education students. Remote learning was extended for the high school on Wednesday, Sept. 23 until Sept. 28 because another staff member and several students reported testing positive on Tuesday, Sept. 22, according to a letter to the school community from Superintendent Joseph N. Bollendorf.

Hunterdon County

MIlford: Holland Township School closed for one day, on Sept. 17, for contact tracing and a deep cleaning after one person reported testing positive for the coronavirus, according to a letter on the schools website.

Mercer County

Pennington: Hopewell Valley Regional School District said Wednesday, Sept. 16 that one case of COVID-19 was found at Central High School. The school was closed to staff and students until Monday, Sept. 21 to allow for deep cleaning, superintendent Thomas Smith said in a letter sent to parents. Toll Gate Grammar School was closed Sept. 28 until Oct. 1 because one person tested positive. Another case was reported on Sept. 30 at Hopewell Elementary School, according to a letter from Smith. Students there moved to remote learning for Oct. 1 and 2.

Middlesex County

East Brunswick: A freshman at Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools campus in East Brunswick campus tested positive for the coronavirus, officials announced Sept. 10. That campus did only virtual learning until Sept. 22. Half-day, in-person classes resumed on Sept. 23. The county vo-tech school system also has campuses in Edison, Perth Amboy, Piscataway and Woodbridge. Those schools remained open under a hybrid plan of in-person and remote learning.

West Windsor-Plainsboro: Community Middle School closed Sept. 16 for in-person instruction and was closed through Friday, Sept. 18 after one staff member tested positive for the coronavirus. No students have been sickened in the district. In-person classes resumed Monday, Sept. 21.

Monmouth County

Howell: Griebling Elementary School switched to remote instruction for 14 days on Sept. 12 for some students after a person in the pre-kindergarten through grade 2 school tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a letter from school officials to parents. Howell Township Schools opened Sept. 10 to students who were broken into two cohorts. Half attend in-person Monday and Tuesday and the other half attend Thursday and Friday.

Lincroft: Christian Brothers Academy moved to all virtual learning beginning Thursday, Sept. 25 through Friday, Oct. 9. In person classes are scheduled to resume Oct. 14, after the holiday weekend. Three students tested positive for COVID-19 within the past two weeks, although the cases seem to have originated outside of school, President Brother Frank Byrne said in a statement on the schools website. The all-boys Catholic High School has about 880 students.

Little Silver: A student at Markham Place Middle School tested positive for COVID-19 on the second day of classes, Superintendent Michael Ettore said in a letter to parents. As a result, students in cohort A of the sixth grade were asked to stay home from school as of Thursday, Sept. 10 until further notice for remote learning, he said last week. The school serves students in fifth through eighth grades.

Township of Ocean: Ocean Township High School has suspended in-person instruction from Wednesday, Sept. 23 until Tuesday, Sept. 29 because of three related COVID-19 cases. School officials told parents about the first case in a message Sept. 18. That student had not been in school during school hours but attended an outdoor extra curricular activity last week. The second case was reported Sept. 21 and on Sept. 22 the third case was reported, according to a message to parents Tuesday from Superintendent Jim Stefankiewicz.

Red Bank: Red Bank Regional High School switched to remote learning Sept. 29 and 30 because one student tested positive. Classes resumed Oct. 1.

Morris County

Chatham: Chatham High School on Sept. 9 announced it switched to remote learning two days into the districts planned hybrid school year after a student tested positive for the coronavirus. This case may be linked to a non-school event that took place over the holiday weekend, Chatham Superintendent Michael LaSusa said. An undisclosed number of additional cases were identified among students, according to a Sept. 11 letter from LaSusa to the staff and parents. Chatham High School said it would reopen Sept. 29.

East Hanover: Schools in the district will be virtual until Sept. 30 after a coronavirus case that affects multiple schools, a notice posted on the districts website says.

Long Valley: Long Valley Middle School was closed from Sept. 14 through Sept. 18 after an individual tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a letter from school administrators.

Morristown: Morristown High School switched to all-remote instruction for three days, Sept. 29 through Oct. 1, after a person affiliated with the school tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said. Morris School District officials said 37 people are quarantining for 14 days and that a close contact of the person who tested positive is also displaying symptoms and is waiting for test result. The district described the infected person as a member of the Morristown High School community and didnt say if the person is a student or staff member.

Passaic County

Pompton Lakes: Pompton Lakes High School reopened Sept. 29 after moving all students to remote learning on Wednesday, Sept. 15 because school officials learned that a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Three upperclassman from the high school tested positive the previous week. Those cases did not disrupt classes because they were linked to an exposure that was not related to the school setting, Superintendent Paul Amoroso said in a letter to the community.

Sussex County

Frankford Township: The district switched to virtual instruction for two weeks after a student tested positive for the coronavirus on Sept. 11, Frankford Township Superintendent Braden Hirsch said. Frankford Township has one, pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school with about 500 students.

Wantage: High Point Regional High School closed from Sept. 25 through Oct. 7 because two individuals tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 22 and 24 in unrelated cases, according to a letter from Superintendent Scott D. Ripley.

Union County

Cranford: Cranford High School reopened Tuesday, Sept. 29 after a person tested positive for COVID-19. The transmission occurred at a non-school event, Superintendent Scott Rubin said in a statement to parents. And one classroom at Hillside Avenue School was unable to have in-person instruction Tuesday, Sept. 29 while the township health department conducts contact tracing, Rubin said in a statement to the community Tuesday. That classroom will be back in-person Wednesday, Rubin said.

Kenilworth: David Brearley Middle-High School moved to remote learning Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 after a student tested positive after an exposure unrelated to school, according to a letter from school officials.

Elizabeth: Teachers in Elizabeth will work from home until Oct. 2 after at least three staff members tested positive for coronavirus. Students had been distance learning since the school year started but teachers were working from their classrooms. Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Academy was closed Friday, Sept. 11 for cleaning after a staff member tested positive for coronavirus. The other sick staffers work at Mabel G. Holmes School No. 5 and Juan Pablo Duarte-Jose Marti School No. 28, school officials said.

Westfield: Westfield High School switched to virtual instruction on Sept. 16 for two weeks after seven students tested positive for the coronavirus, the district superintendent wrote in an email to parents and guardians. Westfield High School reopened on Sept. 10 to a hybrid plan of in-person and virtual instruction. It plans to return to a hybrid calendar on Oct. 1.

Warren County

Belvidere: The entire school district moved to virtual instruction on Friday, Sept. 18 because of a positive COVID-19 case. All district buildings were thoroughly cleaned and reopened on Monday, Sept. 21, according to Superintendent Chris Carrubba.

The New Jersey Department of Health issued several matrices to help schools decide if and when they should ask students to quarantine or shut down school buildings if someone tests positive for COVID-19.

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

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
THE three men arrested on suspicion of being part of an illegal organisation in Limerick have been released without charge.

The trio  two man in their 20s and a third in his 40s  were arrested following dawn raids in the city earlier this week.

They were questioned at various garda stations in Limerick on suspicion of membership of what sources have described as a republican group which styles itself on the aims of the IRA.

Gardai had said thee men were arrested on suspicion of being part of an unlawful organisation.

Documentation and electronic devices were being examined by specially trained gardai.

As part of an ongoing operation targeting suspected dissident republican activity, gardai carried out searches at six properties in Limerick city and county this morning, gardai stated on September 30.

The raids were carried out by gardai from the Limerick Division and the Special Detective Unit, Harcourt Square, supported by the Regional Armed Support Unit.

The three suspects were held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

This allowed suspects to be questioned for up to three days without charge.

A file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to this matter.

Investigations are ongoing.
The Morrison government has laid out its road map to reform Australia's workplace laws after unions and business groups failed to find consensus on changes to spur job growth during months of confidential talks.

Attorney-General and Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter said he planned to put the government's overhaul in an omnibus bill, which will make it harder for Labor to block just the elements it opposes.

Attorney-General Christian Porter will push ahead with industrial reform after talks among interest groups failed to find consensus. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

A fix to the vague definition of a "casual worker" will be in the planned legislation to relieve fears among businesses that employees will be able to double-dip on entitlements and pay, as will changes to overtime rules for part-timers. Measures to encourage enterprise agreements and simplify awards will be included too.

"I think they're all very complementary and they work together as a group," Mr Porter said.
This November, the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford will be hosting two exclusive photography events, where the iconic aircraft will be the inspiration for the photos. Whether youre an amateur with the camera, or already have some experience, the aviation photography workshops, and after-hours night shoots are suitable for anyone looking to advance their skills, with the added bonus of exclusive access to the Museums aircraft.

The Aviation Photography Workshop is a full-day, hands-on course offering attendees the chance to learn, plan, execute and develop as aviation photographers. Learn about composition, shutter speed, aperture and ISO, in a practically led course, utilising the Museums historic aircraft to capture internal and external shots, cockpit photos and even working with a re-enactor to bring the images to life. Photographers will then put their newly acquired skills to the test and enjoy exclusive access to one of the Museums hangars for one hour after the Museum closes.

Choose the workshop that best suits your needs. If your aim is to have the confidence to take your camera out of automatic mode, join the beginners workshop on Saturday 21 November. If you are looking to develop your skills further, the advanced workshop on Sunday 22 November will help you achieve this goal. Workshops run from 10.00am until 5.00pm and costs 75 per person, this includes lunch and is limited to 15 people per workshop (over 16s only). Both courses are delivered by Lee Chapman of Chappers Photography, an experienced aviation photographer and lecturer.

The Photography Night Shoot event is not to be missed if taking stand-alone photos of the aircraft, outside of the hangars is something you would like to see. The Museum is delighted to host the popular evening event once again, perfect for capturing aircraft in the changing light conditions, as the sun sets and on into the evening.

Six historic aircraft from the Museums collection will be illuminated for the evening with LED lighting, and are guaranteed to provide a spectacular photo opportunity. Exclusively for the night shoot, aircraft from the Test Flight hangar, including the British Aerospace Experimental Aircraft Programme EAP, Fairey FD2 and the SEPECAT Jaguar ACT Demonstrator, will be displayed outside, giving photographers the rare opportunity to capture unobstructed images. Other highlights will include the Vickers VC10 C1K, Hawker Siddeley Dominie T.Mk.1 and the Lockheed Hercules C130K Mk3, displayed within the Museum grounds.

Taking place on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 November, the night shoot will commence at 5.00pm, with up to 150 photographers each evening enjoying after-hours access to the Museums grounds and the opportunity to photograph the aircraft like never before. The event will close at 9.00pm and tickets cost 40 per person (over 16s only). For beginners, there is the option to participate in a two-hour workshop in addition to the Saturday night shoot, for 65 per person. The Refuel Cafe in the Visitor Centre will open until 9.00pm serving hot and cold drinks and light refreshments. Pre-order your dinner when purchasing tickets, and receive a complimentary hot drink, options include Fish and Chips and Cheese and Onion Pie. The Museum has teamed up with Threshold Aero, specialists in aviation night shoot photography, to deliver this event.

RAF Museum Cosford Public Events Manager, Ulrike Stuebner said: You dont need to be a professional photographer to enjoy these events, they are suitable for all abilities, however there will be experts on hand to offer advice if needed. Were really looking forward to seeing the incredible images people capture, and were excited to showcase the aircraft in a completely different light, especially those usually displayed indoors. To ensure everyone has a safe and enjoyable experience, we are putting in place a number of precautions for the safety and wellbeing of our visitors, volunteers and staff. This has included reducing the number of tickets available, social distancing markers, queue management systems and barriers to control the number of individuals in each area. We are working closely with the Public Protection Officer at Shropshire Council to ensure the event meets the requirements of the health and safety legislation and guidance released by public health bodies and the government.

Tickets to the RAF Museums photography events are now available to purchase via the Museum website. Ticket holders must be aged 16 years and over. For more information on the event, visit rafmuseum.org/cosford
One of those officers, Detective Myles Cosgrove, who the F.B.I. said fired the shot that killed Ms. Taylor, described in the audio being uncertain about exactly what occurred during the chaos after the police used a battering ram to burst into Ms. Taylors apartment.

I just sensed that Ive fired, Detective Cosgrove said in an interview last month that was played for the jurors. But, he added: Its like a surreal thing. If you told me I didnt do something at that time, Id believe you. If you told me I did do something, Id probably believe you, too.

The grand jurors met in person over three days and reviewed police interviews of officers and witnesses at the scene, 911 calls and body camera videos from after Ms. Taylor was shot. They also met directly with detectives who had investigated the killing.

At times the jurors sound inquisitive or skeptical on the recordings, peppering the detectives with questions and pointing out inconsistencies in some of the officers accounts. Below are highlights of the evidence presented in the new recordings.

The audio does not include prosecutors instructions, which came into question after a grand juror spoke out.

The audio files do not include statements or recommendations from prosecutors about which charges they think should be brought against the officers who took part in the raid. Mr. Cameron has said that jurors were told that the two officers who shot Ms. Taylor  Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Cosgrove, both of whom are white  were justified in their actions.

Mr. Cameron said prosecutors statements and jurors deliberations were not recorded, as they are not evidence. He has insisted that the jurors were given all of the evidence and were free to pursue additional charges.
COVID-19 In Canada

B.C.s top doctor recognizes we dont always get it right

Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's provincial health officer, admitted at a press conference on Thursday that as the province adjusted guidance around schools as COVID-19 evolved, there was a lack of consistency across B.C.

I think its important to recognize that we dont always get it right, right off, Dr. Henry said. When we started sharing information about school exposures, our communications across the province were not fully aligned.

We are working through those kinks and continue to refine our approach, and I am confident now that our communication approach is aligned in all health authorities across the province.

B.C.s provincial health officer also defined exactly what constitutes a school exposure.

A school exposure is when a single person is confirmed positive for COVID-19 [and] has been in the school during their infectious period, Dr. Henry explained.

She went on to say that many health authorities are determining when a cluster is present in a school environment, which would be two or more people in school are confirmed positive.

Every time there is a school exposure, public health contact tracing kicks into gear, B.C.s provincial health officer stressed.

Dr. Henry confirmed that B.C. has not seen an exponential increase in COVID-19 cases. Instead, the province has been experiencing a linear increase that has slowed down.

B.C.s provincial health officer did continue to stress that there is still ongoing transmission in the community and people need to be cautious.

It sneaks up on us, Dr. Henry said. We can have explosive outbreaks if were not on our guard.

Halloween that is scary for the right reason

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, announced the province has release recommendation on how to safely celebrate Halloween in a way that is scary for the right reason.

The guidance includes only trick or treating with your family or cohort, and in your home community, avoiding touching high-contact items like doorhandles and railings, and handing out candy on your driveway or lawn.

Story continues

Dr. Hinshaw also highlighted that parents and children should try to choose a costume that allows for a non-medical mask to be worn, and people handing out candy should be wearing a mask as well.

Candy should be prepackaged and the use of a candy slide, candy catapult or another non-touch method can be considered for handing out candy.

The province has also created posters for people in Alberta to post at their house if they are in fact participating in trick or treating this year.

Ontario changes COVID-19 screening guidance for children, students

The Ontario government has made changes to its COVID-19 school and child care screening guidance.

The first set of symptoms children should be screened for are fever and/or chills, cough, shortness of breath, decrease or loss of smell or taste. Students and children with any of these symptoms must stay home, consult with a health care provider and receive an alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test.

The second set of symptoms children should be screened for are sore throat, stuffy/runny nose, headache, nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea, fatigue, lethargy, muscle aches or malaise. A student or child with one of these symptoms needs to stay home for at least 24 hours, until their symptoms have improved.

Students and children with two or more of these symptoms must stay home, consult with a health care provider and receive an alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test. Abdominal pain and conjunctivitis (pink eye) are no longer symptoms listed on the screening documents.

However, at a press conference on Thursday, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontarios associate chief medical officer of health, highlighted that schools and daycares should not require a negative COVID-19 test, or even a doctors note, for a child to return to a school or child care settings.

Just doing a test, on its own, is not going to necessarily help the situation, she said. If the parent has consulted the [healthcare provider], the child is feeling better, they should be able to go back to school.

Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontarios chief coroner and executive lead of the COVID-19 Testing Approach, stressed that the parent, the healthcare provider and the child work together to figure out the reason for these symptoms.

There are a number of things that can cause fever and chills, and there should be an evaluation, Dr. Huyer said. Just going to get a test doesnt allow that continued involvement of the healthcare provider and the parent.

Ontarios associate chief medical officer of health said the province consulted with both B.C. officials and Public Health Ontario about COVID-19 symptoms present in children. Dr. Yaffe revealed that up to 17 per cent of children with COVID-19 in Ontario had a runny nose when the infection started but it is also a very common symptom for other illnesses or infections.

She also said at least 20 per cent of children with COVID-19 are completely asymptomatic.

The B.C. approach is more that, they are basically saying, we know we cannot keep COVID completely out of the schools, so why are we looking for all these symptoms, Dr. Yaffe said. We are saying no, we want to find it if its there, if we can.

The symptoms students should be screened for in B.C. are fever and chills, cough, shortness or breath, loss of sense of smell or taste, or nausea and vomiting. Anyone with one of these symptoms (excluding fever) should stay home for 24 hours from when the symptom started.

If the symptom improves, you may return to school when you feel well enough, the B.C. guidance reads. If the symptom persists or worsens, seek a health assessment.

Any student with two of more of these symptoms in B.C., or a fever, should get a health assessment from a primary care provider and should not return to school until COVID-19 has been excluded and your symptoms have improved.

B.C. officials also indicate that a doctors note should not be required to confirm anyone health status.

Its not just a repeat of Stage 2

As officials in Ontario continue to express concern about COVID-19 cases in province, Dr. David Williams, Ontarios chief medical officer of health, said the province will not be returning to Stage 2, as it existed earlier in year.

Its not just a repeat of Stage 2, [there] may be some things that are similar to Stage 2 but its applied with a much more methodical metric, Dr. Williams said. Going at it in a way that is backed up by local data and what the local medical officer of health sees.

He added that there may be broad measures implemented across the province but also targeted rules for hot spots for COVID-19 spread in Ontario, primarily Toronto, Peel and Ottawa at this point. Dr. Williams also specified that some businesses or services forced to shut down operation in the future could be things that havent been closed since Stage 1.

With regards to restaurants and questions around possibly closing indoor dining, both Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the chief medical officer of health identified that most of the cases in these settings are between workers, not involving patrons, including before and after work, and in back rooms.

Some are being less than stringent about the public health measures with their staff when theyre not in with the patrons, Dr. Williams said. Just because a few are not adhering, it doesnt mean everyone should be punished.

Ford added that there has to be a justification to close restaurant operations, especially when there are some areas of the province that have less than five COVID-19 cases.

Ontarios chief medical officer of health stressed that provincial health authorities are not recommending that schools close at this point in time.

Some of the metrics that are being evaluated in any changes to the existing public health measures include the composition of the population (dense urban centre, rural areas with a spread out population), weekly and monthly trends in cases, effective reproductive number, testing issues and local outbreaks.

Ontario enhances salaries for personal support workers

The Ontario government announced Thursday that a $461 million investment is being made to temporarily enhance wages for personal support workers (PSWs).

We know the wages of PSWs do not reflect the critical role they have played throughout this pandemic, in addition to their ongoing care of our loved ones, Ford said in a statement. Today's temporary investment will bridge that gap and ensure this vital profession receives the appreciation and respect it deserves.

The wage increase is effective Oct. 1 and will apply to more than 147,000 workers. PSWs in long-term care, home and community care will received $3 more per hour. This amount also applies to workers in children, community and social services providing personal direct support services for the activities of daily living.

Eligible workers in public hospitals will receive an additional $2 per hour.
HAMDEN  Police are seeking information about a possible child-luring incident involving a high school student on Thursday.

Police responded to Mix Avenue Thursday afternoon for a report of suspicious activity, Capt. Ronald Smith said.

A 14-year-old high school student told officers she was walking home from school on Mix Avenue when a light gray, small, four-door vehicle pulled up very close to her, police said. She also told the officers she felt like the driver was trying to grab her.

The teen told police the driver said something to her and she quickly fled the area to get away from him and call police.

She described the driver to police as a white man with long hair in braids with numerous face tattoos. He was last seen headed north on Mix Avenue.

Anyone with information is asked to call Officer Mark Atwater at 203-230-4030.
Ontario dropped some symptoms from a screening list for school students Thursday and said those with only a runny nose or headache can return to classes if the symptom improves after 24 hours.

Abdominal pain and pink eye are no longer considered COVID-19 symptoms, and students can go back to school after 24 hours if they only experience one possible symptom and it is improving, according to the updated guidelines, which also cover child-care centres.

Students and children with two or more of these symptoms are advised to stay home until a health-care provider provides an alternative diagnosis or until they get a negative COVID-19 test result.

The changes come as the province struggles to shorten testing wait times and deals with a record backlog of results.

The province reported 64 new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario schools Thursday, bringing the cumulative tally to 447.

The steadily rising number of cases in school settings is a challenge for the Progressive Conservative government, which has faced criticism for not spending enough to ensure adequate distancing in classrooms.

Ontario reported 538 new cases overall Thursday, and three deaths, with almost 70 per cent of those cases clustered in the Greater Toronto Area.

The backlog of tests waiting to be completed hit a record high of more than 82,000.

The province reported 625 new cases on Wednesday, 554 on Tuesday, and a record-setting 700 on Monday, but has not moved to tighten restrictions on reopened businesses since. It has said any such moves in the future would be targeted at hot spots rather than broadly across the province.

Barbara Yaffe, the provinces associate chief medical officer of health, said that schools and daycare facilities should not require students and children with symptoms get a negative test result or a doctors note to return.

Parents responded on Twitter by saying they had, in fact, been requesting exactly that.

One week ago today, my kid got barred from a city-run daycare until we got him tested, wrote Phillip Mendonca-Vieira. In the testing lineup, I met lots of other parents there for the same reason.

We were told by the TDSB (Toronto District School Board) we needed a negative test to return to school for a runny nose, said Francisco Rivas.

The Opposition NDPs education critic, Marit Stiles, said parents who stood in line or stayed home with their children have a right to be frustrated at the horrible lack of clarity on when kids need a test, and when they should return to school or daycare.

Yaffe said some 17 per cent of children who tested positive in Ontario only had a runny nose, but that it could also be the result of another illness, and said a childs health-care provider should advise whether a COVID-19 test is necessary.
It's nearly time for the latest series of I'm A Celebrity - which will air in mid-November.

And new pictures taken at the historic Gwrych Castle show how the ITV crew are rushing to get everything completed ahead of the expected start date.

The 200-year-old castle, which has been reportedly rented for 1million, is the new location for the programme which cannot take place in Australia this year due to coronavirus.

Im A Celebrity 2020: The ITV crew are rushing to complete the imposing set in Gwrych Castle with just weeks to go... amid claims show is 'under threat' due to new lockdown rules in Wales

The works so far show an imposing structure where celebs are thought to be sleeping and taking on challenges.

The roofless ruins expose the inside of the structure and pictures show workmen building a structure with wooden beams.

A crane can be seem placing the beams in place and a black marquee has been erected nearby.

Clock's ticking: New lockdown gestrictions will come into force at 6pm on 1 October 2020 and will be kept under review (show hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly pictured)

Work has continued on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! 2020 amid claims the show is 'under threat' due to new lockdown rules in Wales.

Crew members were also seen preparing the castle in Abergele, North Wales, on Wednesday with cranes and scaffolding also being operated.

New restrictions will come into force at 6pm on 1 October 2020 and will be kept under review.

Lots to do: The works so far show an imposing structure where celebs are thought to be sleeping and taking on challenges

Splashing the cash: ITV are thought to have rented the castle at a cost of 1million for the series, which will inject money into preserving the structure

Engineering: The roofless ruins expose the inside of the structure and pictures show workmen building a structure with wooden beams

These include people unable to leave or enter the Conwy County Borough area or be in a ' bubble' with extended household members (people you don't live with) without a 'reasonable excuse'.

It comes after hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly made a quick trip to Wales in search of the new I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! castle on Wednesday.

Brushing aside the drama, the series' hosts Ant, 44, and Dec, 45, appeared in great spirits as they posed in front of a sign directing them to Gwrych Castle for a snap shared to their joint Instagram account.

The presenters appeared to bring the jungle vibe to the chilly town of Conwy as they sported brown and camouflage print outfits as they prepared to film for the upcoming edition.

They captioned the image: 'Quick trip to Wales in search of the #imaceleb castle. If only there was a sign... @itv.'

Producers are set to entertain viewers by making the contestants face ghost trials to adhere to the 'haunted' theme of the castle.

Not long to go: A white structure sits nearby as production gets underway
This story is no longer updated here. For updates on all aspects of the coronavirus, with local, state, national and global news, go to The Chronicles Live Updates page.

On Friday morning Eastern time, President Trump tweeted that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus. The revelation came after Trumps aide, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. The revelation has raised many questions about his health outlook, the future of the campaign and about who has been or is being tested among the circle of people he has come into contact with in recent days.

Even if someone has tested negative, it does not necessarily mean they do not have the coronavirus. Experts say it typically takes five to seven days after exposure to have enough virus in the body to generate a positive test result. If someone takes the test before that window and the result is negative, it could just mean the virus is present but yet sufficient to be detected  the person could already be infected but not test positive for a few days.

Here are the latest updates on the officials, family members and others in Trumps circle who have been tested for the coronavirus since the president announced his positive result. Three unnamed members of the White House press corps have also tested positive.

Stephen Miller: One of President Trumps top advisers and a speechwriter, tested positive on Tuesday. Miller said in a statement that he already had been self-isolating over the previous five days. He is married to Katie Miller, Vice President Pences communications director.

Adm. Charles Ray: The Coast Guard vice commandant tested positive on Monday after feeling mild symptoms over the weekend, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The news caused top Pentagon officials who had interacted with him to go into quarantine.

Kayleigh McEnany: President Trumps press secretary, who meets regularly with reporters in a variety of settings, including most days in the cramped White House briefing room, tweeted Monday that she tested positive for the coronavirus and was beginning quarantine. News accounts reported two press aides also were infected.

Nick Luna: The close aide and body man to President Trump has tested positive, according to tweets from journalists at Bloomberg News and the New York Times. He is married to an aide to senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, who is President Trumps son-in-law.

Chris Christie: The former New Jersey governor Chris Christie tweeted that he has tested positive for the coronavirus. In consultation with my doctors, I checked myself into Morristown Medical Center this afternoon. While I am feeling good and only have mild symptoms, due to my history of asthma we decided this is an important precautionary measure, he tweeted Saturday. Christie helped Trump with debate preparation prior to the presidents face-off with Joe Biden.

Rick Scott: Florida Gov. Rick Scott rushed to clarify that he has tested negative for the coronavirus Saturday morning after he said the opposite during a television appearance.

Ron Johnson: Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, tested positive for the coronavirus, according to multiple media reports Saturday. Johnson is the third GOP senator to test positive. Johnsons office released a statement saying he was exposed to someone infected with the virus on Sept. 14, stayed in quarantine for two weeks, in which time he tested negative twice. He returned to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 29 and was exposed to another positive individual, his office said.

Bill Stepien: President Trumps campaign manager Bill Stepien has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a Politico report.

Kellyanne Conway: The counselor to Trump said on Twitter on Friday that she tested positive. My symptoms are mild (light cough) and Im feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians, Conway, who has been Trumps counselor, said. As always, my heart is with everyone affected by this global pandemic.

Joe Biden: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden reported that his coronavirus test was negative by tweeting Friday: Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.

Kamala Harris: Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for vice president, tested negative for the coronavirus Thursday as part of the campaigns routine testing protocol, an aide for the California senator said Friday. She again tested negative on Tuesday, the day before her debate with Vice President Mike Pence.

Nancy Pelosi: The House speaker said she was tested for the virus Friday. Her deputy chief of staff tweeted that she tested negative Friday afternoon.

Dianne Feinstein: The California Democratic senator was tested for the coronavirus on Monday, with a negative result, her spokesman said. She was present at a hearingThursday where a GOP colleague who later tested positive spoke while not wearing a mask.

Mike Pence: Vice President Pence and his wife Karen Pence have tested negative for the coronavirus, a spokesman for the Vice Presidents office tweeted Friday. Pence has been tested for the virus routinely for months, according to the spokesman. MSNBC reported Saturday that both tested negative again.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump: Trumps daughter and son-in-law tested negative for the coronavirus Friday, a White House aide tweeted Friday.

Amy Coney Barrett: The Supreme Court nominee tested negative after being with President Trump last Saturday, the White House said. Barrett had previously recovered from a coronavirus infection

Mike Pompeo: The secretary of state told reporters he tested negative Friday.

Ronna McDaniel: The Republican National Committee chairwoman tested positive on Wednesday, a spokesman said.

William Barr: The attorney general tested negative five times between Friday and Tuesday, aides said. He planned to self-quarantine for now but was expected to return to work this week, they said.

Mike Lee: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a statement that he had symptoms consistent with longtime allergies but tested positive for the coronavirus. He is isolating for 10 days and plans to return to Congress to vote to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.

Thom Tillis: The Republican senator from North Carolina tweeted Friday evening that he had tested positive: Tonight my COVID-19 test came back positive. Im following the recommendations of my doctor. Thankfully, I have no symptoms and feel well. He urged anyone exposed or with symptoms to call your doctor, self-isolate, and get tested.

Steven Mnuchin: A spokeswoman confirmed Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is tested daily and was negative Friday morning. Mnuchin met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, earlier this week on coronavirus relief talks.

Mark Meadows: The White House chief of staff has tested negative for the coronavirus. His aide Ben Williamson also tested negative.

Hope Hicks: The president and first lady were tested after Hicks, one of Trumps closest aides, tested positive for the virus Thursday.

White House reporters: The White House Correspondents Association said in a letter Friday, Oct. 2: As of this moment, three White House journalists tested positive for COVID-19 today. All three had been at work at the White House and/or in the small press pool traveling with the president over the previous few days.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday invoked Mahatma Gandhi on the Father of the Nations 151st birth anniversary to declare that he is not afraid of anyone in this world.

I will not fear anyone in the world  I will not bow down to anyones injustice. I will win the untruth with the truth and I can bear all the sufferings while opposing the untruth, Rahul quoted Gandhi.

On Thursday, UP Pradesh (UP) Police had held Rahul along with his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi when they had tried to enter Hathras, which grabbed the headlines following the gang-rape and murder of a Dalit teenager (19) by four upper caste men.

Also Read: Hathras gang-rape: Lawyers demand presidents rule in Uttar Pradesh

Rahuls comment also underlined his intentions about his next round of agitations against the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

He will visit Punjab on Saturday to participate in a few programmes against the newly enacted farm bills that the opposition parties claim will only benefit traders and corporate entities in the agribusinesses.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, too, in her message on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, announced that the party would continue to fight against the farm laws. The Congresss agitation against three black (farm) laws will continue. I want to emphasise that this movement of farmers and the Congress will be successful and the farmers will win.

According to Rahuls aides, Punjab chief minister Amrinder Singh has organised a raft of protest programmes, including a tractor rally, on Saturday. Rahul is expected to participate in a few of those programmes.

Also Read: Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Mamata slam UP govt over Hathras gangrape

His aides said though many state units of the party have requested Rahul to attend their regional protest programmes, a final call on his participation in the upcoming events would be taken after factoring in the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak across the country.

On Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh administration had sealed off Hathras and the UP Police arrested Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra.

The Gandhis visited Hathras amid the Dalit victims family members allegations that the UP Police hurriedly cremated her at the dead of night at around 2:30 am on Wednesday in a bid to contain the public outcry against the heinous crime.

Sonia in her message also spoke about the injustice meted out to farmers, labourers and the working class, signalling that the Congress will continue its protests against the Modi government.

Today is the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest sympathiser of farmers, labourers and working people. Gandhiji used to say that the soul of India resides in Indias villages, fields and barns. Today is also the birth anniversary of our former PM, Lal Bahadur Shastri, who gave the slogan of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, she said.

But today the farmers and farm labourers of the country are agitating on the streets against the three anti-black laws. The Modi government is crying tears of blood to the donor farmer who grows grains for the country by sweating his blood, she said.

She reminded the public that the Congress has always made every law with public consent and before the enactment of the law, the interests of the people have been kept at the top.

She added: Democracy also means that every decision of the country has the consent of the countrymen. But does the Modi government believe it? Perhaps, the Modi government does not remember that it was not able to change the Right Compensation Law of the Land for the rights of farmers through ordinance.
Chennai Super Kings pacer KM Asif had become the first player to have breached the bio-secure bubble protocols in place in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2020, according to a report in Indian Express. Asif then underwent a six-day quarantine period as per rules and is back training with the team.

IPL 2020 FULL COVERAGE | IPL 2020 SCHEDULE | IPL 2020 POINTS TABLE

The newspaper reported that the incident happened when Asif misplaced his hotel room key. He then went to the reception to get a replacement, which is a breach of protocol as the reception doesnt come inside the designated bubble for the team.

It was an unintentional mistake but rules had to be followed. He underwent six days of quarantine and has now resumed practice with the team," Indian Express quoted an IPL source.

Asif, the pacer from Kerala, has played two IPL matches for CSK picking up three wickets. Both the matches came in 2018.

Meanwhile, the newspaper reported that teams would pay a huge price for bio-secure bubble breaches. An offence for the first time will result in a six-day re-quarantine without pay, while the second breach will lead to a re-quarantine coupled with a one-match suspension after quarantine. If a player breaches protocol for the third time, he will be removed from the tournament without the team getting a replacement.

Ambati Rayudu & Dwayne Bravo Fit to Play for CSK, Says CEO Kasi Viswanathan

CSK already had issues coming into the IPL season, with 13 of their members including two players testing positive for COVID-19. They were taken to a separate hotel and had to undergo further quarantine befroe being allowed to join the bubble again. Apart from this drawback, CSK also are without the services of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh as both are away for personal reasons.

CSK are currently last in the points table, having won only one of their three matches. They play Sunrisers Hyderabad next on Friday.
Tesla is said to buy 10 percent of LG Energy Solution in South Korea, but in the meantime, the American automaker from Palo Alto made a more decisive business decision in Germany. As the headline implies, Elon Musk and company have bought ATW Assembly & Test  Europe GmbH along with 210 of its employees.
A British expat has been found dead in a Thai forest two days after his local girlfriend claimed he had 'run away'.

Terrence Cockrill, 62, was discovered next to the black strap from a woman's handbag in Nakhon Ratchasima, northern Thailand.

His girlfriend, Nanthakan Kaewsiri, 43, told police he had run away when they stopped at a service station on Tuesday afternoon after returning from a holiday together.

The officer handling the case said Terrence, who had Parkinson's disease, had previously complained that he believed 'someone was trying to kill him' and he was suffering from paranoia.

Terrence Cockrill, 62, (pictured with his 43-year girlfriend Nanthakan Kaewsiri) was discovered next to the black strap from a woman's handbag in Nakhon Ratchasima, northern Thailand

Officers (pictured at the scene) said that there was a long strand of vine on the ground near Terrence's body

Police Captain Wuttisan Pakaphonmongkol, from Udonsap District Police Station, said: 'The British man and his girlfriend were not married but they had a joint bank account together.

'He was retired and his girlfriend does not have a job. She was supported by her boyfriend.

'The English man was suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Rescue teams began to search for the British expat for two nights and used divers to scour nearby lakes (pictured)

Authorities eventually located the dead body around one mile away by using a drone to fly over the dense woodland and view the area remotely

'His partner said that on Sunday he suddenly became troubled, he started having mental problems.

'He said that someone was trying to injure him, to kill him.'

Police said that Terrence, originally from Norwich, and Kaewsiri had previously lived in the UK together but they had been living in Chaiyaphum province in Thailand for two years.

Kaewsiri told police they had been driving back from a holiday on Koh Chang island to their home around 350 miles away when they stopped for a break.

She told officers she returned to the car to find he had disappeared and had torn one of the straps from her handbag.

Rescue teams began to search for Terrence for two nights and used divers to scour nearby lakes.

They eventually located the dead body around one mile away by using a drone to fly over the dense woodland and view the area remotely.

His girlfriend, Nanthakan Kaewsiri, 43, told police he had run away when they stopped at a service station (Kaewsiri pictured praying at the station) on Tuesday afternoon after returning from a holiday together

Officers said that there was a long strand of vine on the ground near Terrence's body.

But there were no physical signs to suggest the immediate cause of death and police doctors are now examining his body.

Police Captain Wuttisan added: 'The body is now at the Maharaj Nakhon Ratchasima hospital to conduct a post-mortem examination.

'The officers involved will investigate more CCTV footage from the gas station and all relevant evidence.'

Police Captain Wuttisan said he had informed the British Embassy in Bangkok about the death.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Spokesperson said: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Thailand.

'Our staff are in contact with the Thai authorities, as well as his family and have provided them with bereavement advice.'
Vang Lien Hoa, 22, is arrested along with around 250,000 synthetic drug pills in Lao Cai Province, October 1, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tuan.

A man in northern Lao Cai Province was arrested Thursday for transporting around 250,000 ecstasy pills.

Vang Lien Hoa, 22, was arrested by dozens of police officers while driving towards Muong Khuong Town, which borders China.

Two bags containing around 250,000 pills of synthetic drugs were confiscated from the vehicle.

"This is the largest amount of drugs ever found in the province," said a representative of the Lao Cai anti-narcotic department.

Hoa said a person in China had contacted him last week, offering him VND100 million ($4,306) to deliver the drugs.

On Wednesday night, Hoa drove his pickup to a local commune along the border to receive the shipment, before driving them to Muong Khuong and eventually China. He was arrested en route.

Hoa was accused to be part of a transnational drug trafficking ring that used Vietnam as a hub, authorities said.

Vietnam is a key trafficking hotspot for narcotics from the Golden Triangle, an intersection of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar and the world's second largest drug producing area after the Golden Crescent in South Asia.

From Vietnam, the drugs are taken to Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea and even Europe, Australia and Latin America.
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He's expecting his first child with his wife and Game Of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie.

And actor Kit Harington, 33, was pictured waving goodbye to friends when he stepped out in London with an oversized suitcase in hand.

He was sporting a casual style, wearing a green T-shirt and grey tracksuit bottoms, before his pals gave him a helping hand loading his heavy luggage into a car.

On his way: Dad-to-be Kit Harington waved goodbye to friends in London days after wife Rose Leslie debuted her baby bump in a magazine shoot

Kit was sporting his trademark curly mop and beard for his outing, as he prepares for his new role as a father.

Last week, Kit and Rose, also 33, revealed their exciting news when Rose showcased her blossoming baby bump in a magazine shoot.

A picture from the shoot for Make magazine showed the beaming actress, who starred as Ygritte in Game Of Thrones, with her growing bump on full display.

Loading up: He was sporting a casual style, wearing a green T-shirt and grey tracksuit bottoms, before his pals gave him a helping hand putting his heavy luggage into a car

Got somewhere to be? Ironed shirts were also being loaded into the car

While Rose debuted her bump during the shoot, she did not comment on her pregnancy during the Make interview.

The star did tell the publication that she and Kit have been isolating at their new Tudor manor house in East Anglia, which she jokingly referred to as 'the house that Jon Snow built.'

She added: 'It's incredibly old. We have a thatched roof, which currently has an enormous hornet's nest in it.

Love: Kit and Rose recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary, after tying the knot in June 2018 at Rose's spectacular family 12th-century Wardhill Castle in Aberdeenshire

'I do love to think about the house and all the people who have lived there. Were they happy, how did they live? All the families passing under those ancient beams.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Kit Harington and Rose Leslie for comment.

The couple recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary, after tying the knot in June 2018 at Rose's spectacular 12th-century Wardhill Castle in Aberdeenshire.

Rose was catapulted to fame with her role of Ygritte in Game Of Thrones where she met Kit who played love interest Jon Snow.

Speaking to Stylist magazine about her time in lockdown, Rose said: 'I feel incredibly grateful. My husband and I were fortunate to spend lockdown in the countryside.'

She continued: 'We raised a puppy in lockdown. We were trying to eke out conversation over the dinner table, talking about nothing but what we'd eat the next day.

'It has been an extraordinary time for all of us, it certainly slowed us down.'
In turn, Armenia says Azerbaijan employed a Smerch MLR system in the attack on the city of Gadrut.

Azerbaijan claims 19 civilians have been killed and 55 injured as a result of artillery shelling of civilian homes by the Armenian army.

"Fifty-five civilians have been hospitalized with various injuries, while 19 persons in total have been killed so far as a result of heavy artillery shelling of Azerbaijan's densely populated areas," the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan wrote on Facebook.

It is reported the Armenian military units continue to "subject to intensive artillery shelling" the densely populated areas  regional and rural centers, civil infrastructure objects  hospitals, medical centers, school buildings, kindergartens, executive buildings, and residential areas.

"As a result of the shelling of civilian infrastructure facilities by the occupying country's armed forces, 175 houses, as well as 41 civilian facilities were severely damaged. Vehicles belonging to civilians became unserviceable, while lots of cattle, livestock, and haystacks were destroyed as well," reads the report.

Armenia announced the shelling of Nagorno-Karabakh's Gadrut city by Azerbaijan's Smerch multiple launch rocket system, that's according to the country's defense ministry official, who said civilians were injured.

Later, he claimed the city of Stepanakert was shelled, with civilian deaths reported.

Escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh: Recent developments

On the morning of Sunday, September 27, fighting resumed between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Both countries blamed each other for shelling as a result of which they suffered casualties.

Armenia and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic declared martial law and general mobilization.

Azerbaijan, in turn, introduced martial law on September 28. Partial mobilization was announced in that country.

Azerbaijan said that during a successful offensive they took control of several villages of Nagorno-Karabakh, but Armenia denies the information.

Both sides claim that they inflicted huge losses on the enemy, numbering hundreds of killed soldiers and dozens of destroyed units of military equipment.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says Ukraine consistently supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The UN Security Council has called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately stop fighting.

Nagorno-Karabakh war: History

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region began in 1988, when the predominantly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.

In 1991-1994, the bloodshed conflict continued in the region, which ended with the signing of a ceasefire protocol. Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed itself an independent "republic." Azerbaijan did not recognize this, considering the territory to have been occupied by Armenia.
An attorney for one of the former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd has reiterated his request for the trial to be moved, saying all four defendants were threatened by 'violent rioters' after a hearing in the case.

Attorney Thomas Plunkett, who represents former officer J. Alexander Kueng, filed a memorandum in Hennepin County on Thursday in another attempt to move his client's trial to a different county.

Plunkett claimed that the attorneys and their clients were harassed by 'violent rioters' on their way to and from the courthouse on September 11, and that at least one attorney was physically assaulted.

'Attorneys and Defendants were harassed upon arrival and departure from the courthouse, wrote Plunkett, according to Star Tribune.

'The riot following the September 11th hearing shows that it is not safe for the participants if the trial is held in Hennepin County.'

Attorneys for all four officers (left to right) - Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Kiernan Lane - have asked that the upcoming George Floyd trial be moved from Hennepin County

The attorneys' previously argued that the news coverage surrounding the death of George Floyd (pictured) created a biased jury pool in Minneapolis

Attorneys for the other three former officers - Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane - previously filed similar venue requests for their clients as well.

Plunkett wrote that the 'riotous crowd' showed the men can't get a fair trial in Hennepin County, and that 'the Court simply cannot control the rioters and protesters who have taken to the streets of Minneapolis.'

Plunkett said Thao and his attorney, Robert Paule, were followed for several blocks by 'jeering protesters.'

Lane's attorney, Earl Gray, confirmed Thursday that he was punched and threatened, and said he didn't realize how dangerous the situation was until he got into a vehicle and saw the crowd.

'I will not be walking through something like that again,' he said. 'That was just insane.'

Plunkett said Thao (pictured) and his attorney, Robert Paule, were followed for several blocks by 'jeering protesters'

Plunkett wrote that protesters blocked Lane (pictured) as he left the court hearing and that he was physically assaulted

Protesters blocked Lane as he walked on the street and at one point he was physically assaulted, Plunkett wrote.

Plunkett also filed a police report saying Gray was verbally threatened with death, and that someone smashed a bicycle into his vehicle, causing $2,000 in damage.

'No recognizable plan was in place in advance of the hearing to assure the safe and orderly entry' of the attorneys and their clients, Plunkett wrote.

'Mr. Chauvin, who is in custody, was subjected to a degree of humiliation by being paraded in public dressed in jail clothes and body armor,' per Star Tribune.

Chuavin was escorted by sheriff's deputies to the court hearing and was visible to the crowd as he entered a back entrance.

Derek Chauvin (pictured), a former Minneapolis police officer, was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter

The attorney's argued that the international new coverage of George Floyd's death on May 25 has created a biased local jury pool.

Floyd, a black man in handcuffs, died after a confrontation with Chuavin in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Footage taken by witnesses showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds while he pleaded 'I can't breathe!'

Cell phone footage of Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and racism

Officers Kueng, Lane and Thao were at the scene during the incident.

Floyd eventually lost consciousness and was transported to a local hospital before he died.

Cell phone footage of the disturbing detainment was shared to social media and directly inspired a wave of anti-police brutality, Black Lives Matter protests that continued for nearly 20 weeks.

Chauvin was slapped with murder charges, while the three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

All four officers were fired from their positions at the Minneapolis Police Department.

Plunkett further argued that holding the trial in Hennepin County would not be safe for participants, witnesses could be intimidated and jurors could be affected by chants from the crowd, which were audible during the last hearing.

Attorneys for all four men have said pretrial publicity has made it impossible for them to receive a fair trial in Hennepin County, and they have asked for the trial to be moved. Judge Peter Cahill has not ruled on that request.

All four men are currently scheduled to stand trial on March 8, 2021,
Jack Hill - WPA Pool/Getty ImagesBy GUY DAVIES, ABC News



(LONDON) -- World leaders expressed their hope for a swift recovery for President Donald Trump after he announced that he and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19 overnight.



The president is now in isolation and is in the recovery process, just hours after one of Trumps closest advisers, Hope Hicks, also tested positive.



Among the first world leaders to react to the diagnosis were the prime ministers of India and Pakistan, Narendra Modi and Imran Khan.



Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health, Modi posted on Twitter.



Khan also wished the president and first lady a speedy recovery, and those sentiments were echoed by others around the world.



U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was previously hospitalized with COVID-19 and spent time in the ICU before recovering, tweeted: My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus.



German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom also expressed their hopes for a full recovery, while a French government spokesperson said that the diagnosis demonstrates that the virus spares no one, including those who have shown skepticism.



Russian President Vladimir Putin, who does not tweet, has sent a telegram to his U.S. counterpart and wished Trump a speedy recovery from coronavirus, the Kremlin press service said.



"I am confident that your vital energy, high spirits, and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus," the press service quoted Putin as saying.



While there has been no official comment from the Chinese government in Beijing, Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-affiliated Global Times, one of the countrys largest tabloids, said that the president and first lady had paid the price for his gamble to play down COVID-19 and that it will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, in a post on Twitter.



Trump is not the first world leader to contract the disease during the pandemic. Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro, 65, tested positive for coronavirus in July, having repeatedly downplayed the severity of the pandemic in the worlds second worst hit country with over 140,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. He only displayed mild symptoms and made a full recovery.



Perhaps the highest profile world leader to have been affected by COVID-19 is Johnson. In late March, Johnson, 56, claimed to have shook hands with everybody on a visit to a hospital where they were coronavirus patients, and later tested positive for the disease on March 27, along with several other government figures. His condition deteriorated 10 days later.



Johnson was hospitalized and spent time in the ICU before recovering, and has since admitted his weight was one of the potentially underlying factors that made him susceptible to the disease.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd October, 2020) The Lao-Russian joint military exercise, dubbed Laros, initially scheduled for this fall, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lao Ambassador to Russia Shiviengphet Phetvorasack told Sputnik in an interview.

"As for the joint military exercise Laros in Russia, scheduled for autumn, it has already been postponed to 2021. It was not possible to conduct it [this year] due to the spreading pandemic. So far, we have no information about the date of the exercise and the number of participants from Laos. Both sides intend to further develop close cooperation through the defense ministries of the two countries," he said.

The Laros drills were held for the first time in Laos in December 2019.
This is an opinion column.

Heres an easy rule for Alabama politicians: Whatever Roy Moore is up to, do the other thing.

Think it would be cool to ride a horse to the polls?

Try 20th-century transportation options, instead. Or if the weather is nice, ride a bike.

Feel an urge to wield a gun on stage while dressed like Howdy Doody?

Better leave your weapons at home.

The Gadsden Mall?

Amazon Prime.

These arent just good rules for politicians. Pretty much anyone can benefit from them. And now theres one more.

Feeling oppressed because you cant go grocery shopping without covering your mouth?

Just wear the dang mask.

Last month, Moore attempted again to regain political relevance  this time by suing Gov. Kay Ivey and the state health officer, Scott Harris. Seven aggrieved Alabama residents say their Constitutional rights have been infringed by state health orders, including Iveys statewide mask mandate, and Moore is representing those plaintiffs in federal court.

Thankfully for Alabama, Moore has proven a political failure, even among Republicans, and Im reluctant to mention him again, lest I give him the attention he craves. However, its hard to tell a few politicos theyre driving on the wrong side of the road if we dont note where the yellow lines are.

And right now, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth is riding in the wrong lane.

Hours before Gov. Kay Ivey was to extend Alabamas statewide mask order, Ainsworth said it was time to end it.

Shutdowns dont work. People want their schools open, their businesses operating, and their jobs protected, Ainsworth said. Masks should be voluntary, not mandatory. We have to Make America Great Again.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ainsworth has often landed on the side opposite Ivey. When Ivey was slow to respond to the pandemic, Ainsworth was fast. When she was reluctant to reopen businesses, he was for it. And now that Ivey wants to keep what appears working in place, Ainsworth wants to end it.

There seems to be a pattern emerging here. Whatever Ivey wants to do, Ainsworth is for the other thing.

Even, apparently, when that puts him on the same side as Roy Moore.

Ainsworth isnt the only Alabama politician to have landed there. However, State Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh has been mostly quiet since he said out loud that he wanted more people to catch the coronavirus and not fewer, and that he wanted to spend federal coronavirus dollars on a new Alabama State House.

Whats curious about such posturing, though, is that, despite it being couched in pro-business, lets-all-get-back-to-work rhetoric, very little of that talk seems to be coming from business. In fact, the mask order seems to have been good for businesses. If they keep employees healthy, then they keep them on the job. Also, the orders have given businesses the ability to make government the bad guy, instead of putting them in the uncomfortable position of telling customers to cover their mouths.

Instead, pushback against Iveys mandate comes from that old Alabama political reflex: We shall not be told.

And no one lives that creed like Moore.

But to her credit, Ivey shall not be told, either.

As governors in adjacent states have lifted their orders  or never made them in the first place, Florida  Ivey has decided to stick with what appears to be working.

And as Alabamians have incorporated the new accessories into their lives, the mask order has come to feel almost normal.

Alabamas coronavirus numbers have stabilized since a second spike after schools reopened, but the threat isnt over yet. The Alabama Hospital Association asked the governor to keep the order in place, as did the White House coronavirus response coordinator, Deborah Birx.

Again, Ivey listened to her experts, not her critics. For that, she deserves credit. Her decisions havent been easy and the path forward hasnt always been clear. I havent always agreed with her, but as long as Roy Moore is going the other way, we can feel better about the direction were headed.

And for Alabamas sake, governor, please dont stop.

Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group.

You can follow his work on his Facebook page, The War on Dumb. And on Twitter. And on Instagram.

More columns by Kyle Whitmire

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Recently we learned that Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad al-Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council of the UAE and ruler of Sharjah, called for the transformation of the Cathedral of Cordoba back to the Mosque of Cordoba, since Spain's Christians "don't deserve it."

What we weren't told is what occasioned him to say this  the all-important context of his demand  that is, his new book, The Inquisition (original Arabic here). Devoted to showing how the Spanish Inquisition abused Muslims, al-Qasimi apparently believes that it makes a strong case for Spain to turn the cathedral into a mosque as a form of "reparation."

During an Arabic-language satellite program discussing his new book, he said:

Allah willing, this book will have an impact; and here we demand at least the return of the mosque of Cordoba to us. I've demanded this before, and they informed me that the municipality had given it to the Church. So I said to them, "The one who doesn't own gave to the one who doesn't deserve." For this is our possession as Muslims; moreover, its return is easy and near, Allah willing.

In other words, and because his book makes the argument that Spain abused its Muslims in extreme ways  including by forcing them to convert to Christianity  the least it can do now is forfeit the cathedral to Islam.

However, just as the sheikh ignores the fact that "not only was the mosque [of Cordoba] built on a Christian site, but it was also built using materials from the sixth century Christian building destroyed by Muslims in the ninth century," so too does he ignore why Spain subjected the Muslims to an inquisition in the first place.

In 1492, the Reconquista came to a close with Granada's surrender. Instead of migrating to North Africa  whence most of its jihadi allies, namely the Almoravids and Almohads, had hailed  its nearly half-million Muslim population chose to remain. They were initially granted lenient terms, including the right to travel abroad and practice Islam freely. However, whenever the opportunity arose, they launched many hard-to-quell uprisings  several "involving the stoning, dismembering, beheading, impaling, and burning alive of Christians"  and regularly colluded with foreign Muslim powers (e.g., Ottoman Turks) in an effort to subvert Spain back to Islam.

A final "Muslim uprising in 1499, and the crushing of this revolt in 1501, led to an edict that Muslims had to convert to Christianity or leave the peninsula." Contrary to popular belief, the motivation was less religious and more political; it was less about making Muslims "good Christians" and more about making them "good citizens." So long as they remained Muslim, thereby operating under the highly divisive doctrine of "loyalty and enmity," they would remain hostile and disloyal to Christian Spain, and because secularism, atheism, multiculturalism, and just general "wokeness" were not options then, the only practical way Muslims could slough off their tribalism and fully participate in a Christian kingdom was by embracing its faith.

Under such circumstances, sharia is clear: Muslims should try to emigrate. But there has always been one important caveat: whenever Muslims find themselves under infidel authority, they may say and do almost anything  denounce Muhammad, receive baptism and Communion, venerate the cross, all anathema to Islam  so long as their hearts remain true to Islam.

Such is the doctrine of taqiyya, which has traditionally defined Islam's modus operandi under non-Muslim authority. Even before the Reconquista in Spain, "Sunni Muslims had invoked taqiyya to justify dissimulation under Christian domination in other periods and regions, including Sicily after the Norman conquest in 106191 and the Byzantine Marches." Unsurprisingly, then, taqiyya defined Islam in post-Reconquista Spain; one authority refers to a 1504 fatwa urging Spain's subject Muslims to employ taqiyya as "the key theological document for the study of Spanish Islam."

Once the edict to convert or emigrate appeared, virtually the entire Granadan population  hundreds of thousands of Muslims  openly embraced Christianity but remained crypto-Muslims. Publicly they went to church and baptized their children; at home, they recited the Koran and preached undying hate for the infidel and their obligation to liberate al-Andalus.

That these "Moriscos"  that is, self-professed Muslim converts to Christianity who were still "Moorish," or Islamic  went to great lengths to foist their deception cannot be doubted, as explained by one historian:

For a Morisco to pass as a good Christian took more than a simple statement to that effect. It required a sustained performance involving hundreds of individual statements and actions of different types, many of which might have little to do with expressions of belief or ritual per se. Dissimulation [taqiyya] was an institutionalized practice in Morisco communities that involved regular patterns of behaviour passed on from one generation to the next.

Despite this elaborate masquerade, Christians increasingly caught on: "[w]ith the permission and license that their accursed sect accorded them," a frustrated Spaniard remarked, "they could feign any religion outwardly and without sinning, as long as they kept their hearts nevertheless devoted to their false impostor of a prophet. We saw so many of them who died while worshipping the Cross and speaking well of our Catholic Religion yet who were inwardly excellent Muslims."

Christians initially tried to reason with the Moriscos; they reminded them how they became Muslim in the first place: "Your ancestor was a Christian, although he made himself a Muslim" to avoid persecution or elevate his social status; so now "you also must become a Christian." When that failed, Korans were confiscated and burned; then Arabic, the language of Islam, was banned. When that too failed, more extreme measures were taken; it reached the point where a Morisco could "not even possess a pocketknife for eating with that did not have a rounded point, lest he savage a Christian with it."

A Muslim chronicler summarizes these times: "Such of the Muslims as still remained in Andalus, although Christians in appearance, were not so in their hearts; for they worshipped Allah in secret. ... The Christians watched over them with the greatest vigilance, and many were discovered and burnt."

Such are the origins of the Spanish Inquisition (which, contrary to popular belief, targeted many more Muslims than Jews). For no matter how much the Moriscos "might present the appearance of a most peaceful submission," a nineteenth-century historian wrote, "they remained nevertheless fundamental Musulmans, watching for a favourable opportunity and patiently awaiting the hour of revenge, promised by their prophecies."

Thus, when a rumor arose in 1568 that the Ottoman Turks had finally come to liberate them, formerly "moderate" Muslims near Granada, "believing that the days under Christian rule were over, went berserk. Priests all over the countryside were attacked, mutilated, or murdered; some were burned alive; one was sewed inside a pig and barbequed; the pretty Christian girls were assiduously raped, some sent off to join the harems of Moroccan and Algerian potentates."

In the end, if Muslims could never be loyal to infidel authority  constantly colluding and subverting, including with foreign Muslims  and if conversion to Christianity was no solution due to the dispensation of taqiyya, then only one solution remained: between 1609 and 1614, all Moriscos were expelled from the Peninsula to Africa, whence Islam had first invaded Spain nearly a millennium earlier.

This is a fuller explanation of why Spain's Muslims were subjected to the inquisition than al-Qasimi is willing to give, for obvious reasons: dissembling and ever subversive Muslims (past or present) do not garner much sympathy  certainly not for Spain to start making concessions.

He also seems to miss the great irony: at least the Spaniards were liberating their own country, and giving those whose ancestors had invaded the opportunity to leave unmolested. This is far more lenient than how Islam has always behaved  invading non-Muslim nations and giving infidels three choices: convert, live as subjugated dhimmis, or die  as the learned sheikh knows full well.

Note: Quotations in the above account were excerpted from and documented in the author's book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West. Raymond Ibrahim 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.
At first blush, it seems to be a disaster in the making.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/10/2020 (478 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At first blush, it seems to be a disaster in the making.

A city with a modest but worrisome surge in COVID-19. A shortage of testing capacity that has left many people unable to get tested. In a crisis where rapid access to testing and results is essential to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, it's a perfect storm.

How much testing should Manitoba be doing in Winnipeg, and how far off that target is it now? Those are questions for which public health officials have few answers.

Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, was asked Thursday how many tests he would like to see done, in order to suppress the virus.

Suppression is the ambitious target for any testing program: enough individual tests to stop the chain of transmission of new cases. Infectious disease experts believe suppression has been achieved when the test positivity rate is at or below three per cent.

How much testing should Manitoba be doing in Winnipeg, and how far off that target is it now? Those are questions for which public health officials have few answers.

Although the province falls below that threshold, the city of Winnipeg currently does not  or so we believe.

Roussin rarely provides this number in his weekly briefings, but the enduring "code orange" threat assessment in place for Winnipeg and its bedroom communities seems to confirm it is currently above three per cent.

As for his optimal number of daily tests, Roussin, as he so often does, simply did not answer the question. He said "eradication" was not his goal. He never mentioned "suppression" or identified an optimum target for daily testing capacity.

However, it was hardly the worst omission from Thursday's briefing.

Roussin and Health Minister Cameron Friesen, also in attendance, could not provide a salient explanation for why so many people are finding it so hard to get a COVID-19 test. That's a problem because, to date, the evidence used to assess the quality and quantity of Manitoba's testing capacity has been largely anecdotal.

The long lines and long waits, people being turned away when testing capacity at a given screening site has been reached, are compelling. Remarkably, the lines have been so long, and formed so early in the day, people are being told before 10 a.m. to go home because capacity has been reached.

If we're not testing enough now, what is enough?

Again, Roussin and Friesen continue to confound attempts to identify a legitimate target number. They are also evasive when it comes to explaining why so many people are being delayed or denied access to testing.

To wit: if Manitoba can do up to 3,000 tests, why are people being turned away when its only doing 1,800?

After listening to Roussin and Friesen for nearly an hour Thursday, one is left with an overwhelming sense they do not want to reveal the real reason people are being turned away. Or, more worrisome, they don't actually know.

If we proceed on the basis they do know but don't want to say, we can come to some conclusions from an anecdotal evidence  which strongly suggests there is enough laboratory capacity and testing materials, but not enough front-line staff.

Although there could be a range of lab-related problems  lack of staff, absence of materials (such as testing reagents), lack of test kits  we can flag insufficient screening sites and resources when reports come in about people being turned away from testing sites even though the daily total of tests appears to below capacity.

There were many reports of long lines, long waits and people being turned away Wednesday, a day when more than 1,800 tests were performed. There have been recent times when as many as 3,000 tests have been performed in a single day, with many more days registered in excess of 2,000.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The alert app has the potential to increase the number of Winnipeggers trying to access an already over-taxed local testing system.

To wit: if Manitoba can do up to 3,000 tests, why are people being turned away when its only doing 1,800?

Friesen did concede it was difficult right now to find trained staff to work at the screening sites. Earlier in the pandemic, staff were seconded from hospitals to rapidly expand testing capacity. However, it became necessary to return those people to their normal jobs to help ease the backlog in medical procedures.

Friesen was mostly silent when asked if there aren't other sources of trained staff; people outside the provincial health-care system  private nursing companies, for example. All he could say was the province is trying to lure retired nurses to help out.

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world that is sent every Tuesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

COVID-19 alert app goes live for Manitobans Click to Expand Starting Oct. 1, the COVID Alert app works in conjunction with Manitoba Health on a large number of smartphone models. Posted: 11:58 AM Oct. 1, 2020 OTTAWA  Manitobans can now use a smartphone app to help track potential exposures to COVID-19. As of Thursday morning, COVID Alert will work in conjunction with Manitoba Health on a large number of smartphone models. Read Full Story

It's bad in Winnipeg right now, but the bigger concern with the province's evasiveness is there is only going to be more demand on the COVID-19 testing system.

Friesen confirmed the federal smartphone virus alert app is now active in Manitoba. If you use it, and get an alert you have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, you will be asked to self-isolate and  wait for it  get tested.

Obviously, the alert app has the potential to increase the number of Winnipeggers trying to access an already over-taxed local testing system.

There is a desperate need for more information, more clearly presented, on exactly why so many people are waiting so long to get tested in Winnipeg.

Manitobans would like to see a response that demonstrates Friesen and others realize this is an urgent situation. Right now, officials are excelling at excuses and falling well short of expectations on solutions.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Air-powered bows could be used during future hunting seasons in Michigan under legislation headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmers desk.

House Bill 4332, sponsored by Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, would allow any hunter to use pneumatic bows during firearm season, and let hunters with certain disabilities apply for a permit to use them during bow season.

In a statement, LaFave said the bows, which can be used with one hand, would allow people who arent able to operate traditional bows or crossbows to fully participate in the bow hunting season.

This technology will keep more hunters in the field longer, reinvigorate hunters that cant hunt due to injury or disability, increase exposure to Michigans great outdoors, and provide an opportunity for those who cant operate a crossbow," said LaFave, who was born without a portion of one leg and only full use of one arm.

At the committee level, critics of the legislation expressed concern air-powered bows operate more like firearms than bows or crossbows and should be treated as a firearm under state law.

The measure initially passed the House 70-37 in March, and on Wednesday passed the Senate in a 23-15 vote.

The Senate did not grant the legislation immediate effect, meaning if the governor signs the bill, it would go into effect 90 days after the end of the current legislative session.

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WASHINGTON  Omaha-area voters may have noticed an ad attacking Kara Eastman in which the Democratic congressional candidate appears to declare herself a radical socialist.

But the footage of her using that phrase was taken out of context.

The Eastman campaign posted the original video of her saying it during an online meet-and-greet session with members of Persist Brooklyn, a group that volunteered to help make phone calls and send text messages on her behalf.

Eastman told the group that her opponent, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., is one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the country and that Republicans are so scared of losing the race that theyve resorted to outlandish attacks on her.

Theres flyers going out to everybody in the district that Im a radical socialist and calling me Comrade Kara and all these over-the-top things saying Im inciting riots, Eastman said.

The ad, released this week by Republican-aligned Defending Main Street Super PAC, alternates between positive depictions of Bacon as an Air Force veteran who defends the police and Eastman saying the words Im a radical socialist again and again.
The Investigation Security Agency and Ministry of Public Security have just completed the investigation of a network sending people illegally to Australia with very sophisticated tricks.

The ring leaders, Tran Thi Le Oanh, 41, Director of the Ocean Travel and Overseas Study Consulting Co., Ltd, headquartered in Phu Nhuan district, HCM City, and Nguyen Thi My Phuong, 30, from Tan Binh district, are facing charges of organizing illegal immigration services and using fake papers of agencies or organizations.

Tran Thi Le Oanh (left) and Nguyen Thi My Phuong The people involved in the act of forging seals and papers and documents: (from left to right) Le Van Dai, Nguyen Van Tien and Vu Hong Tien

The remaining three members in this ring - Vu Hong Tien, 41, Nguyen Van Tien, 30 and Le Van Dai, 33, all from Tan Binh district - face charges of "forging the seal, documents of agencies and organizations.

According to investigators, the ring made fake papers to bypass the Australian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. By using these fake papers, the ring got travel and study visas to Australia for 28 people.

However, 20 people left Vietnam to Australia through Tan Son Nhat international Airport and 8 people have not left the country yet. When the visa expired, 10 people exited Australia and returned to Vietnam and the remaining 10 are illegally residing in this country.

Oanh, as the Director of the Oceania Travel and Overseas Studying Consulting Co., Ltd., used fake papers to apply for visas to enter Australia for these people.

My Phuong provided Oanh with many types of fake documents such as: transaction statements of banks; certificate of temporary residence of the police of ward 10, district 10 and of the police of Binh Tri Dong ward, Binh Tan district; and copies of ID cards, household registration books of several communes and wards in Ho Chi Minh City.

Phuong hired Le Van Dai to forge bank account transaction statements, with the price of VND2 million/sheet. Dai received information from Phuong to make fake papers as required, then asked Nguyen Van Tien to make fake seals to authenticate those documents.

Investigation agency determined that Tien alone made hundreds of fake seals at an apartment in Binh Tan district. The police searched the houses of Le Van Dai and Nguyen Van Tien, seizing 234 fake seals of all kinds.

Oanh also hired Vu Hong Tien to make fake papers and documents. Tien bought 89 fake seals of businesses, universities, colleges, vocational training centers, hospitals ... to authenticate fake papers.

Oanh and Phuong posted ads on social networking sites to find customers. They collected service fees ranging from tens to hundreds of million dong per case.

In another case, the Investigation Security Agency, Ho Chi Minh City Police is expanding investigation of another ring that illegal sending Vietnamese people to the US. The investigation was launched after the US authorities detected two Vietnamese illegally entering this country and deported them to Vietnam.

Linh An
The coronavirus consumed much of daily life in March for the Houston region, including things that are necessary but not constant, such as cancer screenings.

An IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science report published in April shows that a reduction of cancer screenings in the three months leading up to June 5 may have resulted in 36,000 delayed breast cancer diagnoses in the U.S.

However, the impacts of coronavirus on mammograms depended on the severity of the spread of cases in that region, according to studies presented on July 22 at the American Association of Cancer Research Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer.

STAY INFORMED: New Humble ISD dashboard tracks active coronavirus cases within district

Later detection could have an impact on the death rate, said Jessica Jones, assistant professor of oncology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and an attending physician at Memorial Hermann Cancer Center.

Research has shown that with medication, MRIs and mammograms we can effectively reduce breast cancer risks by 50 percent and curative rate, if we catch it early, is at 98 percent, Jones said. Every woman can get a personalized risk assessment predicting her chance of breast cancer.

Closing the gap

In the Houston region, hospital systems and breast cancer prevention nonprofits are trying to get screenings back on track.

Memorial Hermann recently rolled out its Breast Cancer Prevention Program at both the Texas Medical Center and UT Physicians Multispecialty Clinic-Bayshore.

Meanwhile, nonprofits like Project Mammogram and The Rose are raising funds through online campaigns to provide free mammograms for low income people.

On HoustonChronicle.com: More contagious coronavirus now virtually only strain in Houston

The Breast Cancer Prevention Program specializes in treating women who have higher risks of breast cancer with medication and additional screening. The program has been in the works for one year due to women getting less and less breast cancer screenings, Jones said. Although its currently only at two locations, the program is available for patients of any Memorial Hermann hospital in the Houston area.

We have missed 36,000 (cases) of breast cancer already so this breast cancer awareness month is more important than ever, Jones said.

Returning to the office

Ashmitha Srinivasan, chair of the breast division with Synergy Radiology Associates, said in March they were asking mammogram seekers to stay home for two reasons: they needed to make sure that they had enough personal protective equipment for medical staff and they wanted to minimize the exposure of the coronavirus to the community.

Now they know by wearing masks, washing hands often and through physical distancing, communities can slow down the spread of the coronavirus, Srinivasan said.

They screen patients for any COVID-19 exposure when they call to set up their appointments and when they arrive to the office. Every patient is provided with surgical masks as well, even if they have a homemade mask. Technologists are well equipped with PPE and minimize their exposure to patients.

So now, in September, we are recommending that the patients who we said please do not come in for a screening mammogram back in March, we can tell them please do come in. Its time to address your screening needs, Srinivasan said. Right now its important for all those women who have been putting off their screening mammogram back in March to actually receive care.

UT RESEARCHER: 20% of Houston may already have been infected with COVID

Erica Warner, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who presented a Massachusetts General Hospital study said many doctors are concerned about the delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Our survey shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted breast cancer screening, including surveillance among women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, Warner said. Our next steps will be to see if the affect of the pandemic on breast screening differed by demographic, geographic, or other respondent characteristics.

COVID and cancer

Srinivasan said she and their surgeons and oncologists are still unsure how to weigh whether an individual may be more at risk of getting cancer after contracting COVID-19, Srinivasan said.

As you can see, there are studies that are being done that are predicting how will this affect our community, Srinivasan said. And we want to minimize the damage, so to speak, by encouraging that all these women that have put off their imaging screenings, especially for cancer screening, to actually come in as soon as possible now so that way we can minimize the consequences of the delay in care and in delay in screening processes.

Disparities in healthcare also fall into disparities in breast health care as well, Srinivasan said.

Black women are affected more so by breast cancer because of the high mortality rate. And so we really want to encourage all women to come in for a screening, but especially high-risk women and especially the Black community to be aware of the consequences of delay in screening.

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Navigating mental health

Mental health already takes a toll when an individual is diagnosed with and treated for cancer. With the coronavirus pandemic, the economic downturn, and other extra factors adding on to the patients daily stress levels, they are greatly affected. While many of their patients, especially cancer survivors, are strong they also having this pandemic added to the burden Srinivasan said.

When hospitals had the no-visitor policy, they werent allowed to have the support system they would normally have for biopsies. Due to the anxiety brought on by treatments and screenings, Srinivasan said they normally would hug their patients and hold their hands before the pandemic to comfort them, but now she has to inform her staff, her radiologist and remind herself that they have to convey their empathy through PPE while physically distancing.

On HoustonChronicle.com: COVID-19s coming mental health toll is a disease of despair

Breast cancer, breast screening services in itself, is a very highly anxiety-provoking examination for the women, Srinivasan said. Especially cancer survivors who have had cancers in the past, when they come in for their routine surveillance, the appointment itself is a very anxious, worrisome procedure and when they actually had to weigh the risks between getting treatment and getting surveillance screening and to actually have the burden of worrying about the risk of COVID exposure, I mean, youre just adding everything on top of it.

However difficult the coronavirus pandemic has made the already stressful process of mammograms and cancer, Srinivasan says things are overall looking up. Patients have adapted to the new normal, but giving virtual hugs or air hugs, she said.

Things were very difficult back in spring but now I think slowly we are starting to see that people are being more optimistic and things are definitely on the uphill now, Srinivasan said.

savannah.mehrtens@chron.com
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By AFP

PALAISEAU: By night he is Freaky Hoody, the most tattooed man in France, whose tongue and even eyes are inked.

By day he is Mr Helaine, primary school teacher.

"There is always a moment of stunned silence" when he first meets the children and the parents, Sylvain Helaine admitted.

"But when I introduce myself and they see that I am a teacher like all the others, it's cool," he told AFP.

No part of the 35-year-old's body has been left untouched by a tattooist's needle.

"Mr Snake", as some pupils call him, had to travel to Switzerland to get his eyes done -- something that is illegal in France. "It was torture. They hold your eyes open and you feel the needle pierce" the white of your eye, he said.

- 'Don't do it!' -

"And you never know what will happen, which is why I say to people, 'Don't do it!' "But for me, I felt incomplete without it," said Helaine, who has spent 57,000 euros ($66,000) on his body art over the last eight years. Having his tongue tattooed wasn't the most comfortable of experiences either.

"It was so sore, it tripled in size. I was drooling and I couldn't speak afterwards. I couldn't drink for 20 hours and it took two days for me to be able to eat."

Known as Freaky Hoody on social media, where he has nearly 60,000 followers, Helaine insists that he does not regret any of his tattoos, from the coloured flowers on his shaved head to the demon head on his back. "I am probably going to end up completely black at 80," he added.

Beyond his school in the suburbs of Paris, Freaky Hoody is something of a star on the tattoo scene. Rather than doors being closed in his face, his tattoos have opened them for him. "Model agencies have taken me on for films and television series. I've met ('The Matrix' director) Lana Wachowski as well as Mathieu Kassovitz," the star of "The Bureau" and director of the classic French film, "La Haine".

- 'His eyes are scary' -

Helaine "came out" as a body art icon at school three years ago when he was still living with his mother, the only way, he said, he could finance his tattoos "on a teacher's salary".

His appearance, he argued, was a good lesson for his pupils in accepting and respecting others. "Children who see me learn tolerance of others. When they are adults they may be less likely to be racist or homophobic, and they will not look at disabled people as if they were something from a circus." And his pupils seem to agree.

"You should not judge him because of his appearance," said nine-year-old Gayane. "It is just his eyes which are scary, but he is very nice." Loic, one of his former pupils, said it was "worrying that people get stuck on physical appearance.

It is mostly the parents who react because today young people are more educated about respecting all appearances."

- Teaches tolerance -

Helaine said the only problem he has encountered was with "parents of children who were not in my class."

Some sent a letter to the authorities with pictures of him they found on the internet, and he was "sidelined" for seven weeks before being given the green light to go back to his class.

"I have nothing against tattoos but I think a teacher should be neutral when everyone is talking about what girls are wearing," said one father, Farid, 45, referring to the controversy in French school about some girls being sent home for wearing "inappropriate" dress.

"What he does in his private life is none of our business," insisted Lydie Songo, the mother of another child.

"My children call him 'Mr Snake', but I am going to talk to them about that. They have to accept him as he is. "Still it must be annoying for him to have all this attention."
Image Chris Wallace, the Fox News anchor, moderating the presidential debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Tuesday. Credit... Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Chris Wallace, the Fox News anchor who sat within 12 feet of President Trump while moderating Tuesdays presidential debate in Cleveland, has some stark advice for his networks viewers: Wear the damn mask.

Appearing Friday on Fox & Friends and other Fox News programs, Mr. Wallace repeatedly emphasized the threat of the coronavirus, pointed out the lack of qualifications of one of Mr. Trumps top medical advisers, and said he was acutely aware of his potential exposure after the president had tested positive for the virus.

Follow the science, Mr. Wallace said. If I could say one thing to all of the people out there watching: Forget the politics. This is a public safety health issue.

The anchor, who has expressed regret about the chaotic nature of Tuesdays debate, said he planned to take a coronavirus test on Monday on the advice of his doctors, who said that any infection could take several days to generate a positive result.

Several Fox News opinion hosts have accused much of the national news media of overstating the dangers of the virus, while defending Mr. Trumps prerogative to hold large rallies on the campaign trail against the advice of health experts. One frequent Fox News guest who downplayed the risks, Dr. Scott Atlas, has since become a top pandemic adviser to the president.

On Friday, Mr. Wallace was unequivocal in warning against Dr. Atlass advice.

Im going to say something and, folks, Im just trying to give you the truth, Mr. Wallace said. Dr. Scott Atlas is not an epidemiologist, is not an infectious disease expert  he has no training in this area at all.

Recounting his experience at Tuesdays debate, Mr. Wallace told viewers that members of Mr. Trumps family removed their masks after entering the debate hall in violation of the rules of the Cleveland Clinic, which had been contracted to oversee the health and safety protocols for the event.

Mr. Wallace estimated that he was sitting 10 or 12 feet from Mr. Trump. I never got any closer to him than what you saw on TV, he said, noting that Mr. Trump had decided there would be no opening handshake  and thank God for that!
The whole world outlook, and consequently also the inner political life of individual countries, is overcast by the threat of world war. Already the imminent catastrophe sends violent ripples of apprehension through the very broadest masses of mankind.

The Second International repeats its infamous politics of 1914 with all the greater assurance since today it is the Comintern which plays first fiddle in chauvinism. As quickly as the danger of war assumed concrete outline the Stalinists, outstripping the bourgeois and petty bourgeois pacifists by far, became blatant haranguers for so-called national defense. The revolutionary struggle against war thus rests fully on the shoulders of the Fourth International.

The Bolshevik-Leninist policy regarding this question, formulated in the thesis of the International Secretariat (War and the Fourth International, 1934), preserves all of its force today.

In the next period a revolutionary party will depend for success primarily on its policy on the question of war. A correct policy is composed of two elements: an uncompromising attitude on imperialism and its wars, and the ability to base ones program on the experience of the masses themselves.

The bourgeoisie and its agents use the war question, more than any other, to deceive the people by means of abstractions, general formulas, lame phraseology: neutrality, collective defense, arming for the defense of peace, struggle against fascism, and so on. All such formulas reduce themselves in the end to the fact that the war question, i.e., the fate of the people, is left in the hands of the imperialists, their governing staffs, their diplomacy, their generals, with all their intrigues and plots against the people.

The Fourth International rejects with abhorrence all such abstractions which play the same role in the democratic camp as in the fascist: honor, blood, race. But abhorrence is not enough. It is imperative to help the masses discern, by means of verifying criteria, slogans and demands, the concrete essence of fraudulent abstractions.

Disarmament?But the entire question revolves around who will disarm whom. The only disarmament which can avert or end war is the disarmament of the bourgeoisie by the workers. But to disarm the bourgeoisie, the workers must arm themselves.

Neutrality?But the proletariat is nothing like neutral in the war between Japan and China, or a war between Germany and the USSR. Then what is meant Is the defense of China and the USSR? Of course! But not by the imperialists who will strangle both China and the USSR.

Defense of the Fatherland?But by this abstraction, the bourgeoisie understands the defense of its profits and plunder. We stand ready to defend the fatherland from foreign capitalists, if we first bind our own (capitalists) hand and foot and hinder them from attacking foreign fatherlands; if the workers and the farmers of our country become its real masters, if the wealth of the country be transferred from the hands of a tiny minority to the hands of the people; if the army becomes a weapon of the exploited instead of the exploiters.

It is necessary to interpret these fundamental ideas by breaking them up into more concrete and partial ones, dependent upon the course of events and the orientation of thought of the masses. In addition, it is necessary to differentiate strictly between the pacifism of the diplomat, professor, journalist, and the pacifism of the carpenter, agricultural worker, and the charwoman. In one case, pacifism is a screen for imperialism; in the other, it is the confused expression of distrust in imperialism. When the small farmer or worker speaks about the defense of the fatherland, he means defense of his home, his family and other similar families from invasion, bombs and poison gas. The capitalist and his journalist understand by the defense of the fatherland the seizure of colonies and markets, the predatory increase of the national share of world income. Bourgeois pacifism and patriotism are shot through with deceit. In the pacifism and even patriotism of the oppressed, there are elements which reflect on the one hand a hatred of destructive war, and on the other a clinging to what they believe to be their own goodelements which we must know how to seize upon in order to draw the requisite conclusions.

Using these considerations as its point of departure, the Fourth International supports every, even if insufficient, demand, if it can draw the masses to a certain extent into active politics, awaken their criticism and strengthen their control over the machinations of the bourgeoisie.

From this point of view, our American section, for example, entirely supports the proposal for establishing a referendum on the question of declaring war. No democratic reform, it is understood, can by itself prevent the rulers from provoking war when they wish it. It is necessary to give frank warning of this. But not withstanding the illusions of the masses in regard to the proposed referendum, their support of it reflects the distrust felt by workers and farmers for bourgeois government and Congress. Without supporting and without sparing illusions, it is necessary to support with all possible strength the progressive distrust of the exploited toward the exploiters. The more widespread the movement for the referendum becomes, the sooner will the bourgeois pacifists move away from it; the more completely will the betrayers of the Comintern be compromised; the more acute will distrust of the imperialists become.

From this viewpoint, it is necessary to advance the demand: electoral rights for men and women beginning with age of 18. Those who will be called upon to die for the fatherland tomorrow should have the right to vote today. The struggle against war must first of all begin with the revolutionary mobilization of the youth.

Light must be shed upon the problem of war from all angles, hinging upon the side from which it will confront the masses at a given moment.

War is a gigantic commercial enterprise, especially for the war industry. The 60 Families are therefore first-line patriots and the chief provocateurs of war. Workers control of war industries is the first step in the struggle against the manufacturers of war.

To the slogan of the reformists: a tax on military profit, we counterpose the slogans: confiscation of military profit and expropriation of the traffickers in war industries. Where military industry is nationalized, as in France, the slogan of workers control preserves its full strength. The proletariat has as little confidence in the government of the bourgeoisie as in an individual capitalist.

Not one man and not one penny for the bourgeois government!

Not an armaments program but a program of useful public works!

Complete independence of workers organizations from military-police control!

Once and for all we must tear from the hands of the greedy and merciless imperialist clique, scheming behind the backs of the people, the disposition of the peoples fate. In accordance with this, we demand:

Complete abolition of secret diplomacy;

All treaties and agreements to be made accessible to all workers and farmers;

Military training and arming of workers and farmers under direct control of workers and farmers committees;

Creation of military schools for the training of commanders among the toilers, chosen by workers organizations;

Substitution for the standing army of a peoples militia, indissolubly linked up with factories, mines, farms, etc.

Imperialist war is the continuation and sharpening of the predatory politics of the bourgeoisie. The struggle of the proletariat against war is the continuation and sharpening of its class struggle. The beginning of war alters the situation and partially the means of struggle between the classes, but not the aim and basic course. The imperialist bourgeoisie dominates the world. In its basic character the approaching war will therefore be an imperialist war. The fundamental content of the politics of the international proletariat will consequently be a struggle against imperialism and its war. In this struggle the basic principle is: the chief enemy is in your own country or the defeat of your own (imperialist) government is the lesser evil.

But not all countries of the world are imperialist countries. On the contrary, the majority are victims of imperialism. Some of the colonial or semi colonial countries will undoubtedly attempt to utilize the war in order to east off the yoke of slavery. Their war will be not imperialist but liberating. It will be the duty of the international proletariat to aid the oppressed countries in their war against oppressors. The same duty applies in regard to aiding the USSR, or whatever other workers government might arise before the war or during the war. The defeat of every imperialist government in the struggle with the workers state or with a colonial country is the lesser evil.

The workers of imperialist countries, however, cannot help an anti-imperialist country through their own government, no matter what might be the diplomatic and military relations between the two countries at a given moment. If the governments find themselves in a temporary and, by the very essence of the matter, unreliable alliance, then the proletariat of the imperialist country continues to remain in class opposition to its own government and supports the non-imperialist ally through its own methods, i.e., through the methods of the international class struggle (agitation not only against their perfidious allies, but also in favor of a workers state in a colonial country; boycott, strikes, in one case; rejection of boycott and strikes in another case, etc.)

In supporting the colonial country or the USSR in a war, the proletariat does not in the slightest degree solidarize either with the bourgeois government of the colonial country or with the Thermidorian bureaucracy of the USSR. On the contrary, it maintains full political independence from the one as from the other. Giving aid in a just and progressive war, the revolutionary proletariat wins the sympathy of the workers in the colonies and in the USSR, strengthens there the authority and influence of the Fourth International, and increases its ability to help overthrow the bourgeois government in the colonial country, the reactionary bureaucracy in the USSR.

At the beginning of the war the sections of the Fourth International will inevitably feel themselves isolated: every war takes the national masses unawares and impels them to the side of the government apparatus. The internationalists will have to swim against the stream. However, the devastation and misery brought about by the new war, which in the first months will far outstrip the bloody horrors of 1914-18 will quickly prove sobering. The discontents of the masses and their revolt will grow by leaps and bounds. The sections of the Fourth International will be found at the head of the revolutionary tide. The program of transitional demands will gain burning actuality. The problem of the conquest of power by the proletariat will loom in full stature.

Before exhausting or drowning mankind in blood, capitalism befouls the world atmosphere with the poisonous vapors of national and race hatred. Anti-Semitism today is one of the most malignant convulsions of capitalisms death agony.

An uncompromising disclosure of the roots of race prejudice and all forms and shades of national arrogance and chauvinism, particularly anti-Semitism, should become part of the daily work of all sections of the Fourth International, as the most important part of the struggle against imperialism and war. Our basic slogan remains: Workers of the World Unite!
Police in Texarkana, Texas, are asking the public for help after an individual was witnessed throwing kittens from a vehicle window on September 15. A driver was also seen running over at least one kitten, which later died.

According to police: We know that it looks like the kitten might have simply fallen from under the car. However, that doesnt appear to have been the case. Witnesses there told the Animal Control officer that they saw the people throwing the three kittens out the window.

Police asked the public to call if they had any information on the vehicle or suspect. Credit: Texarkana Texas Police Department via Storyful
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Linkedin Nina Loasana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 08:00 478 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4899631 1 National COVID-19,coronavirus,virus-corona,virus-korona-indonesia,COVID-19-vaccines,vaccination,Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan,Coordinating-Maritime-and-Investment-Ministry,Sinovac-Biotech Free

The government has drafted scenarios and prepared logistical needs necessary to distribute COVID-19 vaccine across the archipelago, to make sure it can be evenly disbursed once available.

The scenarios were discussed in a coordination meeting led by Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan on Wednesday.

The vaccine is necessary for us now. Our main priority is preparing vaccination logistics, targets and mechanisms, the minister said.

Read also: Jokowi gives committee two weeks to draft COVID-19 vaccination plan

In order to distribute the vaccine evenly across the country, the government plans to procure cold chain equipment to store and distribute hundreds of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine from other countries.

State-Owned Enterprises Deputy Minister Budi Gunadi said two state-owned pharmaceutical firms, Bio Farma and Kimia Farma, currently only had the capacity to store 123 million out of 352 million vaccine doses.

Indonesia has forged cooperation with several countries regarding the supply of potential vaccines.

Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech partnered with Bio Farma to launch the late-stage human trials of a candidate vaccine in Bandung, West Java. The trial involved some 1,620 volunteers since August.

Kimia Farma struck a deal with Group 42 (G42) Healthcare, an artificial intelligence company in the United Arab Emirates, to develop a potential vaccine.

The Research and Technology Ministry is also leading a national consortium, comprising research bodies and universities, to develop the Merah Putih vaccine.

The Health Ministry also signed an agreement with UNICEF to procure COVID-19 vaccine through COVAX, a global vaccine allocation plan co-led by the World Health Organization aiming for even distribution of the vaccine.

Read also: Indonesia secures massive supply of potential COVID-19 vaccine until end of 2021

During Wednesdays meeting, Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) head Penny Kusumawati Lukito said the agencys technical team would check laboratories designated to mass produce the vaccine as well as the ongoing clinical trials.

The agency would also discuss with Sinovac regarding the vaccines delivery. After the vaccine arrived in Indonesia, BPOM would submit a halal certification for the substance to the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

In the meantime, the Health Ministry is training medical workers for the vaccination program. Two community health centers (Puskesmas) in Badung, Denpasar, Bali as well as Bogor, West Java would become the locations for vaccination simulation.

Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said medical personnel and other workers in health facilities would be vaccinated first. The second group [to be vaccinated] would be workers aged 18 to 59, which is a high-risk group."
As a retailer for almost a decade, we believe in the longevity and strength of our frozen dessert treat while also recognizing that the way customers shop and interact with brands will continue to shift and evolve quickly, Peter Srodoski, President and CEO of Steel City Pops said.

Steel City Pops is expanding the reach of our products and brand by partnering with other retailers via wholesale for the first time in the companys history. The goal is to broaden our retail store front strategy, the company said.

As a retailer for almost a decade, we believe in the longevity and strength of our frozen dessert treat while also recognizing that the way customers shop and interact with brands will continue to shift and evolve quickly, Peter Srodoski, President and CEO of Steel City Pops said.

The approach will also get Steel City Pops top quality dessert treats in front of new audiences. Steel City Pops has been working on its wholesale initiative for over a year, however, delving into wholesale amid a pandemic proved to be a tougher challenge than the company realized.

Steel City Pops has launched with six Piggly Wiggly stores in the Birmingham, Alabama area and is hoping to add additional wholesale partners soon. The six stores are now carrying four pack boxes. The boxes are available in Strawberry Lemonade, Chocolate, a Fruity Variety Pack (Strawberry Lemonade, Mango, Blood Orange and Lime), and a Creamy Variety Pack (Buttermilk, Strawberry Cream, Chocolate and Coffee).

This launch comes after the company launched its new e-commerce site earlier this year in which its frozen dessert treats are being shipped nationwide. The response to that launch has been overwhelming with the success far exceeding the companys expectations. Steel City Pops will be looking for wholesale partners nationwide to ensure that we reach even more consumers with this top-quality dessert, stated Srodoski.

Steel City Pops is a privately held company based in Birmingham, Ala., with stores across Alabama, Kentucky and Texas, and events and wholesale opportunities available nationwide. All products are all-natural, locally sourced whenever possible, and gluten-free, created in small batches to ensure the highest quality.

For additional information please contact: Jay Hassman at Steel City Pops by phone (205) 918-8708 or email (jay@steelcitypops.com).

You will also find further information on our web site at http://www.steelcitypops.com.
A community-led peace initiative was inaugurated in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area (LGA), the main theatre of the historic Southern Kaduna crisis, on Friday, with the Kataf and Hausa-Fulani communities pledging to end violent attacks.

The initiative, an effort of the Atyap Chiefdom in the Zangon Kataf LGA, is an 80-member committee named, Community Peace and Security Partnership, CPSP.

The committee was inaugurated at the palace of the Agwatyap, the paramount ruler of the Atyap Chiefdom, Dominic Yahaya.

A wave of attacks and counter-attacks had swept through the local government between June and August, this year, leaving scores of people, including children and women of Atyap (also Kataf) and Hausa-Fulani extractions, dead and precipitating a human emergency.

But on August 22, the warring communities held a peace summit under the auspices of the Atyap chief, Mr Yahaya, and signed a pact to end the killings.

Mr Yahaya, on Friday, said the new committee, the CPSP, was formed in fulfilment of a key resolution of the August 22 summit, following which he said, we now enjoy relative peace.

In further charting a more lasting solution to the peace process, it has been considered appropriate to implement one of the key resolutions reached at the Summit and to carry along the grassroots, which is the establishment of the Atyap Chiefdom Community Peace and Security and Partnership committee, the chief, Mr Yahaya said.

The committee includes members from the Kataf, Hausa and Fulani communities, Christian and Muslim local leaderships, Igbo community, Miyetti Allah, the pastoral Fulani group, youth and women folds, and the civil society.

Highlights

Highlighting the responsibilities of the committee, the chief said they would proffer solutions that will enhance peaceful co-existence and be proactive in determining matters of conflict triggers before they snowball into violence.

He said the committee would also advise on youth programmes and activities that would promote inter-communal relationships in the Chiefdom, and create district/village area sub committees for the actualisation of peace at the grassroots level and these committees would feed the main committee on security threats and other matters at the village level.

Reacting after the inauguration, the chairman of the committee, John Gora, the Dan Madami Atyap, said, we have accepted to work as a team against the violence that has bedeviled our community. By the grace of God, we shall have peace.

In what came quite different from the atmosphere of tension that is typical of a conflict situation, the packed gathering had people express desires to end violence, forget past wrongs, and live together peacefully.

If the passion with which he has spoken is anything to go by, I believe the committee will be successful, said the executive vice-chairperson of the Kaduna Peace Commission, Priscilla Akut, referring to the remark of the committees chairman, Mr Gora.

ALSO READ:

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs in the state, Samuel Aruwan, said, the initiative is grounded in the community, not driven from outside but we will do everything within our reach to support you. Atyap Chiefdom is setting the pace in peace-building and the world is watching.

Long road

Southern Kaduna, geographically part of Nigerias Middle Belt, is long known for deadly ethno-religious conflicts.

These are usually rooted in struggles for land resources and self-determination and settler-indigene divide, which have been left unresolved by successive governments and led to an atmosphere of mutual distrust, hatred and intolerance.

But apart from heavy security presence in the area now, there are also community-led peace initiatives going on. This has been seen in Jemaa LGA between the Fulani and the Fantswam and also in Doka, Kachia LGA between the Fulani and the Adara.

Beyond boots on the ground, that is, security presence, it is important for the communities to work for peace, Mr Aruwan said on Friday.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan is again striking against the capital of Artsakh, Stepanakert. The correspondent of ARMENPRESS heard the explosions. The situation is being clarified.

Human Rights Defender of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan wrote on his Twitter page that Azerbaijan fired three heavy artillery against Stepanakert. ''Azerbaijan just struck 3 times Stepanakert with heavy rockets. Seems residential buildings destroyed. Many casualties.'', he wrote.

''URGENT CLARIFICATION ... 3 rockets landed in Stepanakert, residential buildings have been seriously damaged. There is clear information about injured civilians, but there is no confirmed information about victims'', Beglaryan wrote, adding that he had used the word ''casualties'', not ''victims''.

''At the moment the strikes continue. air raid siren is still in force. We have no information about casualties, because we cannot abandon the shelters'', Director of Artsakh's Public Radio Ani Minasyan told ARMENPRESS.

The correspondent of ARMENPRESS reports from Stepanakert that at the moment there are no strikes, and the air raid siren is over.

The correspondent of ARMENPRESS reports from Stepanakert that air raid siren is again sounding.

Correspondent of ARMENPRESS reports from Stepanakert that according to still unconfirmed information the Azerbaijani armed forces struck a building in front of the Stepanakert military hospital, damaging also the building of the hospital.

Earlier today Azerbaijani forces fired Smerch rocket into Stepanakert, injuring dozens civilians.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
President Trump looks through a face shield while touring a Ford Motor Co. plant in Ypsilanti, Mich., in May. (Daniel Mears / Associated Press)

The presidents COVID-19 diagnosis announced Friday makes one thing certain: The coronavirus will remain the central issue in the election.

This is problematic for the president because his job approval on this topic is low. And, as a matter of election framing, the tables have been turned. President Trump has argued that his opponent, Joe Biden, is too old, too sick and too senile to serve. Now, Trump is the sick one, and Biden is healthy.

But Trumps illness also provides him with an opportunity to change the trajectory of the conversation on coronavirus, something he has badly needed. He can now cast himself with the people he governs, and offer at least a thimble-full of humility.

Essentially, for a president who has presided over a very divided country, theres a simple message for this moment: We are all in this together.

Its a sobering moment for the world to see the U.S. president contract a potentially deadly virus in real time. From their president, the American people will want resolve, optimism and a sense of calm. And they will want  and need  to hear from him some acknowledgment that he is now experiencing the same disruption that American citizens have since early this year.

Trumps usual style is to project that hes uncommon  uncommonly wealthy, uncommonly suited to fix the nations problems, uncommonly credentialed (i.e. not a politician), uncommonly accomplished (Ive done more in 47 months than you have in 47



years ).

Whether you believe these messages or not, this is the narrative hes written for himself. But now he has the same virus that has afflicted the Americans he leads.

In other words, hes just like the rest of us. Common. Human.

Trump will hate thinking of himself this way, but he needs to embrace it and recognize the opportunity his diagnosis offers to show leadership and understanding.

Its particularly important for older Americans, who are softer on the president than they were in 2016, to hear some humility from him now. He can show some kinship with them and offer understanding and comfort from a perspective of shared experience  and fear.

Story continues

Audiences matter here. The committed #resistance to his presidency wont come around, but seniors who were with him before just might. Hes struggling with them, I think, because they havent perceived him as taking their health seriously enough in this pandemic.

Seniors know they are the most vulnerable and most at risk of dying; now Trump gets that too, or at least he should. He needs to communicate as much to elderly Americans, who liked him better than Hillary Clinton but dont necessarily like him better than Biden.

This is a made-for-TV moment for a president who made TV for a living. He understands heroes and villains, story arcs and dramatic moments. Has there been a better opportunity in his presidency for something dramatic than there is now?

His coronavirus messaging has been uneven. Hes been recalcitrant in the face of medical experts telling him what to do and say. He simply hasnt embraced the seriousness of this pandemic, at least publicly, as many people wanted him to.

But Trump, in some ways, has been one of the luckiest SOBs in American political history. And now at the 11th hour in a campaign hes losing (at least according to the polls), hes staring at a huge opportunity to show humility, understanding and kinship with his fellow Americans.

Weve all been living this nightmare for months, and many of us didnt have the luxury of playing it down. That was a phrase Trump used with journalist Bob Woodward.

If the president didnt fully understand the meaning of what he was saying before, he surely does now. And if he can step in front of the American people to acknowledge that fact, lay bare his missteps and shortcomings and demonstrate gratitude for the sacrifices made by all Americans in 2020, he just might turn a terrible diagnosis into a positive moment.

That wouldnt just be good for his campaign; it would be good for the nation.

Scott Jennings is a longtime Republican advisor, former special assistant to President George W. Bush and CNN political commentator. He is a contributing writer to Opinion. @ScottJenningsKY

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of "aa-" of the main rated insurance subsidiaries of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (Zurich) (Switzerland). At the same time, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of "a" of Zurich (a non-operating holding company). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Zurich's consolidated balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorises as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, very favourable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

Zurich's balance sheet strength is underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), at the strongest level. The group's balance sheet strength further benefits from excellent liquidity and good financial flexibility, with demonstrated access to capital markets. A partially offsetting factor is Zurich's reliance on soft capital components to support its capital position, which include the value of in-force life business and hybrid debt.

Zurich's strong operating performance is supported by solid returns from its life insurance operations, consistent risk-free income derived from its non-claims management services for Farmers Exchanges (a leading mutual insurance group operating in the United States), and stable investment yields. Additionally, the underlying performance of the group's non-life business has improved in recent years, driven by stronger underwriting discipline, material cost reduction and a shift in business mix toward shorter tail and specialty lines. As a result, the group had a five-year (2015-2019) weighted average return-on-equity of 10.2%. Zurich's operating performance was adversely affected by COVID-19-related claims in the first half of 2020, particularly in the business interruption, workers compensation, and travel insurance lines of business. Nonetheless, the group reported a pre-tax profit, highlighting the benefit of its good diversification of revenue streams.

Zurich is one of the world's leading insurance groups, with excellent diversification by geography and product. The group maintains competitive advantages in Europe and the United States, a strong presence in Latin America and selective positions in Asia Pacific.

The FSR of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICRS of "aa-" have been affirmed with a stable outlook for the following subsidiaries of Zurich:

Zurich Insurance Plc

The Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland

Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Company

Empire Indemnity Insurance Company

Universal Underwriters Insurance Company

American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Company

American Zurich Insurance Company

Universal Underwriters of Texas Insurance Company

Steadfast Insurance Company

Zurich American Insurance Company

Zurich American Insurance Company of Illinois

Colonial American Casualty Surety Company

Rural Community Insurance Company

Zurich Insurance Company Limited

Zurich American Life Insurance Company

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright 2020 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201002005406/en/

Contacts:

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Senior Financial Analyst

+44 20 7397 0310

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NEW DELHI: BJP MP and actor Ravi Kishan has been provided with the Y-plus category security by the Uttar Pradesh government following threats to life following his speech in the Parliament on Bollywood-drug nexus links. He became the second Bollywood personality to be provided Y+ security after Kangana Ranaut.

In a tweet on Thursday, the actor expressed gratitude to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Ravi Kishan thanked the Chief Minister for providing security for his 'family and the people of his constituency' and said that his voice would continue to echo people's thoughts.

Live TV

"Respected Maharaj ji, with my security in mind the Y+ category protection you have activated for me, my family and the people of my Lok Sabha constituency has made us indebted to you and we thank you for it. My voice will continue to resonate in the House," he tweeted.

The BJP MP has been speaking against the drug cartel that is active in Bollywood. His statements have drawn a backlash from celebrities including fellow MP, Jaya Bachchan.
This comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week

US president Donald Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday. "We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately," the president tweeted early Friday.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

This comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after travelling with the president several times this week.

The diagnosis marks a major blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them even as cases continue to rise with less than four months before Election Day. And it stands as the most serious known public health scare encountered by any sitting American president in recent history.

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity Thursday, Trump said he was awaiting results of a COVID-19 test.

"Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know," he said, adding that the First Lady was also awaiting results.

Hicks travelled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland.

Trump had consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened.

"I felt no vulnerability whatsoever," he said told reporters back in May.

He has instead encouraged governors to reopen their states and tried to focus the nations attention on efforts to revive the economy  not a growing death toll  as he seeks another four-year term.

During the 90-minute first US presidential debate on Tuesday night, Trump displayed arrogance and continued scepticism of mask-wearing and mockery of former vice-president Joe Biden's regular use of masks.

During his exchange with debate moderator Chris Wallace, when asked about masks as a COVID-19 precaution, Trump said: "No, I think masks are okay. You have to understand, if you look I mean, I have a mask right here. I put a mask on when I think I need it. Tonight, as an example, everybody's had a test and you've had social distancing and all of the things that you have to, but I wear masks when needed. When needed, I wear masks. I don't wear a mask like (Biden). Every time you see him, he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from him and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen."

The White House got its first COVID-19 scare in early March when at least three people who later tested positive came in close proximity to the president at his private Florida club. That included members of the Brazilian president's delegation, including the Brazilian charge daffaires, who sat at Trump's dinner table.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Trump and Melania a "quick recovery and good health". "Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health," Modi tweeted.

With inputs from AP
Historian Dr. Joseph Scalice has come under attack from the Philippine Stalinists for his powerful August 26 lecture, First as Tragedy, Second as Farce: Marcos, Duterte and the Communist Parties of the Philippines, which examined the support given by the Stalinist Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and the various organis ations 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 widely.

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Australia and its youth wing, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), held three online meetings in defence of historian Dr. Joseph Scalice over the weekend.

On Friday, registered IYSSE clubs at the prestigious University of Melbourne (UofM) and Victoria University (VU) held a combined event discussing the significance of Scalices work. On Saturday, the SEP held two forums, one in Sydney and the other in the New South Wales (NSW) working-class city of Newcastle, on the same topic.

The meetings were attended by a diverse group of students, young people and workers from across Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, as well as regional NSW and Victoria.

In addition to VU and UofM students, pupils at Melbournes Monash, La Trobe and Deakin universities took part, along with Technical and Further Education (TAFE) students.

The IYSSE gathering adopted the following resolution:

This meeting registers its support for academic Dr. Joseph Scalice, and its unequivocal condemnation of the Stalinist slanders to which he has been subjected by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Scalice, through meticulous scholarship, has demonstrated that the CPP has consistently sought to subordinate workers and the oppressed in the Philippines to one or other section of the capitalist class. This bankrupt program, carried out based on the Stalinist lie that there is a progressive section of the national bourgeoisie, has led to tragic defeats and authoritarianism. The CPPs well documented support for the fascistic President Rodrigo Duterte is only the latest example. Scalice has done a service to students in Australia and internationally, and not only the many here who are of Filipino descent. He has helped clarify one of the big issues facing our generation: Stalinism. Through his scholarship, Scalice has shown that Stalinism is the antithesis of Marxism and communism. It is based on nationalism, and an orientation to sections of the capitalist ruling elite. These issues are critical as young people are shifting to the left and seeking to find out how to fight for socialism. We oppose the CPPs slanders that Scalice is a CIA agent. These assertions are a threat of violence and a confession of intellectual and political bankruptcy. This meeting resolves to spread Scalices lecture as far as possible, develop the widest discussion on the critical political issues it raises and oppose all attempts to suppress academic freedom, including the opportunist and threatening attacks on Scalice.

Attendees also viewed a video exposing CPP leader Jose Maria Sisons Big Lie that his party never supported Dutertes presidency.

There were extensive discussion and question periods at all of the meetings.

One University of Melbourne student, attending her first IYSSE event, said that the report and discussion was so pertinent. She had long felt like a closet communist, because of confusions stemming from the identification of communism and Stalinism. Scalices exposures of the CPP, she said, are important for young socialists seeking to oppose the anti-communist propaganda of the right, as well as the Stalinist perversion of socialism.

Another UofM student said Scalice is someone telling the truth and he gets attacked for it. If we dont defend people who are telling the truth, then the entire scientific endeavor of trying to find the objective truth is undermined.

A La Trobe student asked how IYSSE members and students can broaden this conversation about Joseph Scalice and distribute his lecture so that more people are aware of whats going on in the Philippines?

IYSSE members stressed the critical role of the World Socialist Web Site in the fight to defend Scalice and historical truth. It was necessary for those in attendance to grapple with the complex issues of history and political perspective raised by the lecture, in order to clarify workers and young people more broadly.

The Sydney and Newcastle SEP forums also adopted a resolution, which declared: To defend its rights, amid a major global crisis, a turn to authoritarianism and an assault on social conditions, the working class needs to know the truth about the history of its revolutionary struggles and betrayals. The development of a movement of the working class against capitalism requires the broadest democratic discussion of political perspective. For these reasons, Sisons lies, slanders and threats against Scalice are a direct attack, not only on Dr. Scalices rights, but also on ours.

In Sydney, a worker asked why some of his friends, who were impoverished Filipino workers, supported Duterte.

In response, SEP members explained that Dutertes rise could not be understood outside of the support extended to him by the CPP and organisations in the Philippines following its political line. This had generated widespread confusion. As has been the case internationally, the rise of right-wing and authoritarian leaders has been directly facilitated by the perfidy of the official left, and its suppression of mass opposition and anger from the working class.

Historical parallels were drawn with the imposition of martial law by Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. Under conditions of widespread ferment in the working class, and major strikes and protests, Marcos had only been able to institute a dictatorship because he was directly supported by one section of the Stalinist movement, while another subordinated popular opposition to a rival faction of the ruling elite, no less committed to authoritarianism.

In the Sydney forum, a student of Indian family background, said: I cannot state enough how opposed I am to the Stalinist and Maoist political lines. Maoism has had a foothold in India for many decades and its been a dead end for workers. The leadership has time and time again let workers down, let the people down, and stopped their struggles from going forward.

Its become a dead end of bloodshed and a massive waste of human life and potential. Thats definitely where Trotskyism comes into play, where the International Committee of the Fourth International comes into play. We need a real communist leadership that enables workers to act in their interests and that wont be channelled behind the capitalists.
Instagram artist Andras Veres is one of them, as he thinks the similarities between Alfa Romeo and Mazda from a design perspective could easily lead to a roadster born out of a combination of the two brands.So the Alfa that he created and shared last week on the social network is based on the Mazda MX-5, eventually envisioning a new roadster appearance that features the front fascia of the Italians mixed with other design cues borrowed from the Japanese.The MX-5 that the designer used for this rendering is the Club version that was announced by the North American branch of the Asian brand at the 2015 New York International Auto Show.The new Mazda MX-5 Club debuted with more equipment that was offered as standard, including the MAZDA Connect infotainment system that features a seven-inch touch-capable display, two USB ports, piano black side mirrors, and a nine-speaker Bose audio system with headrest speakers.Furthermore, Mazda also released an optional package that included BBS 17-inch wheels, Brembo front brakes, and a rear bumper skirt.But one of the biggest achievements of this new model was the reduced weight, as Mazda says it managed to cut no less than 150 pounds (68 kg) as compared to its predecessor. And this is all thanks to the adoption of Mazda SKYACTIV Technology and a new SKYACTIV-MT six-speed manual transmission that contributed to the weight reduction in a significant manner.As for the chances to see such a roadster ever see the daylight, youd better not hold your breath for anything like this to happen despite all the similarities that designers across the world seem to have noticed between Alfa Romeo and Mazda.
Photo: Contributed

Thoughts on the Speech from the Throne

With children returning to school, I can appreciate that this has been a difficult time for families figuring out new schedules and uncertainties.

Many residents are also reaching out to our office as different tax and payment deferrals start coming due and federal programs change.

In my next update, Ill go into more detail about possible EI program changes working their way through the legislative process in Ottawa.

Before recently heading back to Ottawa for a couple of weeks, I endeavoured to meet (safely) with as many people in the community as possible who wanted to connect.

We also set up a virtual roundtable meeting with local business leaders who rely on international trade. I wanted to see if there were any time sensitive or emerging issues that are a priority for them  specifically around my new Shadow Ministry portfolio of Export Promotion and International Trade.

Even with short notice, there was great attendance and I want to thank all those who participated, and the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission for co-ordinating.

There were many issues and suggestions that they brought forth which will be useful in my work on Parliament Hill.

Much of what we heard in the new Speech from the Throne on Sept. 23 sounded like it was cut and pasted from the last one ten months ago.

When you add statements made by the government over the last few months, there is nothing new that we hadnt heard before.

The prorogation of Parliament and the cancellation of all scheduled committees to achieve, as the Prime Minister noted, a relaunching of the economy" Throne Speech, seems more like a cover the government used to distract from uncomfortable political circumstances with the WE Scandal investigations.

Planting two billion trees was in the last Throne Speech. Planting two billion trees is in this Throne Speech. Yet, no trees have been planted.

What a lost opportunity to plant trees this summer and fulfil this initiative, when people were looking for work, and they could have been safely outdoors.

What was not said in the Throne Speech speaks volumes:

Unity

Sovereignty

Freedoms.

These are important values that I hear are top of mind for people and it is unfortunate that these do not seem to be priorities for the government.

The Throne Speech states, the government will also continue to address the opioid epidemic tearing through communities. It is not explained what this means.

Addressing this in the manner they have been focusing on over the past five years has not led to a reduction in overdoses, which are up substantially, including in our community and in B.C.

Small businesses are mentioned, but there is nothing new or hopeful to grasp onto. There is no inspirational relaunching the economy plan.

Its simply a listing of existing programs, many of which dont work for small business owners who still do not meet the requirements of the programs.

The speech also mentions creating one million jobs. However, the facts are that two million people lost their jobs at the height of the pandemic, and one million people are still out of work.

Hundreds of thousands of workers lost their jobs before the pandemic in the resource sectors due to government policies  with many more to come if nothing changes.

Other G7 countries have the same challenges with COVID-19, and yet we have the highest unemployment rate.

If the government creates stability and certainty, businesses and workers can have hope.

Please reach out any time. Stay safe.
Islamabad , Oct 2 : True to form, Pakistan has strongly condemned the acquittal of all the accused in the Babri Mosque case by an Indian court, terming it a shameful verdict. In its unending thirst to interfere in India's domestic affairs, it launched a broadside at the Modi government and its Hindu ideology.

Resorting to half truths, lies and prevarication, it attacked India's state institutions saying they too had succumbed to Hindu ideology.

"Pakistan strongly condemns today's shameful acquittal of the criminals responsible for demolishing the centuries old Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992," said Pakistan foreign ministry spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri during a press briefing.

"Yesterday's flawed decision by the Special CBI Court in India in the Babri Masjid demolition case is yet another manifestation of permeation of extremist Hindutva ideology in all state institutions of India," Chaudhri added.

Lashing out at the Modi-led government, Chaudhri said that the Ayodhya decision is a sad reminder that Hindutva ideology has superseded principles of justice and international norms.

"The pliant judiciary's decision is a sad reminder of the fact that under the fascist BJP-RSS regime, extremist 'Hindutva' ideology takes precedence over all principles of justice and international norms," he said.

Pakistan called on the Indian government to "ensure safety, security and protection of minorities, particularly Muslims and their places of worship and other Islamic sites on which the Hindu extremists and zealots have laid unfounded claims," he added.

Pakistan's angry response came after a special court in India acquitted all of the 32-surviving accused in the Babri Mosque demolition case. The verdict in the criminal case came after almost 28 years after it was pulled down by an angry mob in Ayodhya.

"Taking almost three decades to decide on the criminal act which was televised live and happened as a result of well-planned Rath Yatras and on the instigation to mobs by the accused BJP, VHP and other leaders of Sangh Parivar, tells the world that the Hindutva-inspired Indian judiciary miserably failed to deliver the justice again," alleged the Pakistan foreign office.

"The demolition of the mosque had resulted in BJP-led communal violence leading to thousands of killings. If there was a semblance of justice in the so-called largest 'democracy', the individuals, who had boasted of the criminal act publicly, could not have been set free," the statement added.

Pakistan also reminded over the decision by Indian Supreme Court last year, handing over the site of the historic Babri mosque to Hindus, stating that "the Indian top court set a wrong direction earlier by handing over the Babri Masjid premises for building of Ram Mandir to the very Hindu parties which had demolished the historic mosque." "The acquittal today is even against that verdict which had noted that the demolition was 'an egregious violation of rule of law'. These reprehensible developments with state complicity, coupled with RSS-BJP's deep-rooted hatred against minorities, particularly Muslims, point to India's fast descent into a Hindu Rashtra, where minorities have been relegated as second-class citizens," Pakistan foreign office maintained.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has strongly protested against Russias military conscription of Ukrainian citizens living in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

In accordance with international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the occupying power is prohibited from compelling protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces and from exerting pressure and carrying on propaganda at securing voluntary enlistment, reads the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

As noted, the Russian Federation violates the norms of international law by conscripting the protected population to the armed forces of the Russian Federation, prosecuting those who reject such service, as well as conducting mass military propaganda activities involving people of all ages, including minors, amidst rapid COVID-19 spread.

Since the beginning of the occupation, the Russian Federation has already conducted eleven conscription campaigns, during which about 25,000 people were illegally drafted into the Russian armed forces, the Ministry reminded.

"Russia must stop committing such offenses and strictly adhere to the obligations of the occupying power," the statement reads.

Ukrainian diplomats call on the international community to respond appropriately to violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

As reported, Russia launched the armed aggression against Ukraine, capturing the Crimean Peninsula on 20 February 2014.

On 16 March 2014, Russia held a so-called Crimean status referendum on the occupied peninsula, and two days later, on 18 March 2014, the so-called Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation was signed.

Most UN member states and other international organizations have declared the so-called Crimean status referendum illegitimate.

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When you need to warm up, what's your favorite winter comfort food?
Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we intend to prove it. Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends throughout. Here, they discuss the weeks events with Tom Moran, editorial page editor of The Star-Ledger.

Q. Lets start with the debate. Who won? And did either of you see fingerprints of former Gov. Chris Christie, who helped run Trumps debate preparation?

Mike: Nobody won. America lost. Any candidate as disrespectful and petulant as Trump behaved would lose support, but we know hes different. His supporters will stay with him. But theres still a small sliver of undecided voters to think about. But face it, Biden wasnt exactly Abraham Lincoln up there either. Biden missed opportunities, stumbled often and repeatedly fell into the Trumps trap by answering direct questions on his son Hunter or support of the Green New Deal.

Julie: This debate was an international embarrassment. I allowed my eight year old to stay up to watch and he turned to me and said, If I ever behaved like Donald Trump, I would be in so much trouble. If a third-grader can see that this is not appropriate behavior, what does this say about the president and his adult supporters? I think it is unfair to blame Chris Christie for this, insofar as it was vintage Donald Trump. He has only himself to blame for this debacle.

Mike: Christie is one of the best debaters in America (just ask Marco Rubio.) The best thing Trump has going for him is that Christie can help him fix his debate flaws.

Christie, once railed against thecrazies, mops up thethe Proud Boy @politicalstile president https://t.co/9y5WYxHiCB via @NorthJersey  Charles Stile (@PoliticalStile) October 1, 2020

Q. When President Trump twice refused to condemn white supremacy, was that a mistake or a deliberate decision?

Mike: Both. Its s a mistake because it will drive away many Republicans who are repulsed by white supremacists and expect them to be denounced. Low-tax, pro-growth, pro-opportunity, strong national defense Republicans dont want their neighbors thinking theyre racists. And it was deliberate. Trump knows he gets support from this community, so he will never condemn them. He has no problem criticizing great Americans like John McCain or John Lewis, but he cant say a bad word about torch-carrying racists in Charlottesville.

Julie: It was a deliberate decision to stoke his base and the deplorables who nurse grievances about the halcyon days when people of color knew their place. Lets call Donald Trump what he is: a racist. And if you vote for him, you are knowingly voting for a racist. You can make whatever other excuse you want for your vote but fundamentally, you are suborning a racist leading the most powerful nation on earth.

At the first presidential debate against Joe Biden, President Trump was asked to condemn white supremacists. He gave them "a huge win" instead #Debates2020 https://t.co/WZrNgDpC4J  TIME (@TIME) September 30, 2020

Q. The New York Times published a detailed study of Trumps tax returns showing that he paid no income tax in 10 of the last 15 years, and just $750 in 2016 and 2017. Will that hurt him?

Mike: Yes. Dont get me wrong, supporters will not leave him in droves, but this is different than other controversies that anger the left. Often, when he angers the left, he simultaneously fires up the right in a positive way. Nobody on the right is fired up that he pays so little in taxes, even if they defend it as legal. This only needs to offend among a small sliver pro-Trump working class voters from a few states who make $50,000 per year and are left scratching their heads questioning why they pay more in taxes than a billionaire they think is gaming the system.

Julie: I wish I could be as optimistic about the negative impact of this as Mike is, but I got too burned by the Access Hollywood tape to think that anything will drive Trumps supporters away from him. The electorate is pretty much solidified and if you are still on the fence, chances are that youre not voting this year.

Mike: Trump was like the challenger in 2016, meaning he got the benefit of the doubt among late-breaking undecided voters. The pile-on of stories like this do chip away small levels of support.

Q. Rep. Tom Malinowski says he has received several death threats this week from Q-Anon followers after co-sponsoring a Congressional resolution condemning the group, which believes President Trump is fighting a devil-worshipping cabal of leftists who sexually abuse children. If we ignore Q-Anon, will they go away? Does our politics need this extra dash of crazy?

Mike: This question is proof were not ignoring them. And they cant be ignored because some of their adherents have won primaries and will likely end up in Congress. But I agree with the premise, they get more air time than they deserve given how small their relative numbers are.

Julie: Groups like this love being discussed because they need the oxygen to perpetuate their conspiracy theories. In fact, they are similar extremist organizations,, which foment violence online until one of their supporters takes it seriously enough to execute on the insanity. Whether its the Oklahoma City Bombing or, more recently, the crazy Pizzagate conspiracy that resulted in a man showing up at a Washington, DC pizza parlor with a gun because he thought there was pedophile ring being run out of the back, these groups are a very clear and present danger. Sadly, until Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels decide to take them seriously, they will continue to perpetuate and grow.

A protector of child predators? Lord, it is sad to watch Sen. Tom Kean diminish himself with this lie about Rep. Tom Malinowski.https://t.co/Kw4Qc1oVvt  tom moran (@tomamoran) September 20, 2020

Q. David Richter, the Republican challenging Rep. Andy Kim in the 3rd district, said during a Star-Ledger editorial board meeting that he would remove all restrictions based on the virus, fully opening restaurants, bars and theaters and letting people assess the risk for themselves. Will that help him or hurt him?

Mike: Tough timing. It could have helped him in that district, but the spike in Lakewood (which is not in his district but borders it) is making big news there this week. People who were maskless in Ocean County last week are likely reconsidering this week. Masks and reopening should be separated as issues though. Richter is right that there is mounting frustration that Gov. Murphy is going too slowly on reopening, hurting small businesses and others. But I dont think any candidate in New Jersey should make the election a referendum on masks. Most New Jerseyans of all parties have smartly adhered to guidance to wear masks indoors and in any gathering.

Julie: Public sentiment is very much against Richter on this one, especially as transmission rates are skyrocketing in Ocean County. Its a politically suicidal claim to make.

Q. A bonus question on the debate: The Commission on Presidential Debates says it will change the rules to prevent another free-for-all. Are moderators going to have mute buttons? If needed, I will personally donate money to help defray the cost.

Mike: We all thought the same thing. Chris Wallace is a tough and good interviewer, yet he just got run over. The only thing that could have saved that debate would have been turning mics on and off. That would of course lead to charges of censorship though, so I dont think it happens.

Julie: This is a job for an elementary school teacher. They have the ability to shut down puerile bullies who are easily distracted and dont listen to instructions well.

Mike: Maybe Chris Wallace can get into the state pension system like everybody else.

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President Donald Trump walks with First Lady Melania Trump at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 29, 2020. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Democrat Lawmakers Send Well-Wishes to President and First Lady

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have received well-wishes from Democrat lawmakers including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) after testing positive for the the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus Thursday.

Gayle and I are praying for a speedy and healthy recovery for President Trump and the First Lady, Manchin wrote early Friday morning. West Virginians know firsthand how serious COVID-19 can be. Please continue being safe. Wear a mask, social distance when possible, and wash your hands.

Schiff a top critic of the president who led the House impeachment effort against him, wished the president well.

Wishing the President, the First Lady, and their staff a speedy recovery, Schiff wrote.

Former Democratic Presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) took to Twitter to send well-wishes to the Trumps.

My husband Abraham and I offer our best wishes and aloha to President @realDonaldTrump and the First Lady @FLOTUS and praying for their speedy recovery. We also send our best wishes to Ivanka, Tiffany, Donald Trump Jr., Eric, and Barron during this difficult time, Gabbard wrote.

Wishing the President and the First Lady a speedy recovery from COVID-19, wrote Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). This is another reminder to us all to take this virus seriously.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said, I wish the first family a quick recovery. Im praying for our country. Please, please, please wear a mask, keep your distance & stay safe America.

I continue to pray for the President and the First Lady, for all who have been infected during this pandemic, and for all of our frontline, essential workers, said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Conn.).

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) also wished the Trumps a full recovery.

Sean Conley, the physician to the president, said in a memorandum released by the White House that both Trumps are well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines advise people who have been in close contact with a COVID-19 patient should quarantine for 14-days because the incubation period for the CCP virus can last up to two weeks.

It is recommended that those who have had contact with the president and first lady will also be tested. The CCP virus causes COVID-19, a disease that causes flu-like symptoms often accompanied by a loss of smell and taste. It has a serious effect primarily on the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions. A small percentage of patients have died of the disease.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report
It may be fashion week in Paris, with showgoers in face coverings parsing runway looks from the latest designer ready-to-wear collections, but several thousand miles away from the French capital, out of the dank, dark belly of an industrial hangar, a potentially more momentous industry trend is  growing.

Mushroom leather might not sound stylish. But Bolt Threads, a start-up that specializes in developing next-generation fibers inspired by nature, is one of a growing number of companies convinced that the material is a viable replacement  in both form and function  for animal-sourced and synthetic skins.

In 2018, Bolt Threads began producing limited-edition products made from Mylo, a material made from mycelium, the branching network of threadlike cells that underpins all fungi. Now they are preparing to bring that technology to the world, thanks to an unconventional consortium of backers (and rivals) from across the fashion spectrum.
CLEVELAND, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second year in a row, KeyBank joins Entrepreneur magazine's list of Top Franchise Suppliers, ranking the regional bank among some of the best in the nation to empower franchisees to launch, grow, expand, or evolve their businesses. This year, KeyBank was ranked 8th in the Franchise Finance Category.

Link: https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/top-franchise-suppliers

"With so many businesses today facing uncertainty, it is important the franchising industry has partners it can rely on," said Jim Fliss, Senior Vice President and leader of KeyBank's SBA and Franchise businesses. "With the continued growth in our industry partnerships, we made investments this year to grow our Franchise Finance Team to ensure we can continue to deliver an unparalleled level of service through our specialized franchise sales, underwriting and loan closing professionals."

KeyBank's specialized Franchise Finance Team offers a full range of banking solutions to franchised businesses providing a holistic approach in helping clients. Offerings include solutions for startup, multi-and single-unit operators, merchant and treasury capabilities, commercial banking, investment banking, and Key4Women to support woman-owned businesses.

To develop the rankings, Entrepreneur magazine surveyed more than 700 franchisors on their satisfaction with quality, cost, and value of each supplier. The ranking comes from a healthy amount of data to truly find those who are excelling in the field.

"This recognition continues to be a source of pride as it is a testament to the hard work of our dedicated teams and validation that we are delivering on our promises. Helping clients and communities thrive is at the heart of everything we do at Key. Franchising has proven to be a resilient industry and accordingly we have built a significant amount of optimism into our future outlook," said Fliss.

KeyBank has been a consistent top SBA performer and is currently the nation's 8th largest SBA 7(a) lender. In addition, KeyBank is an industry leader in administrating the SBA's Payroll Protection Program, helping over 40,000 individual businesses across the nation obtain access to capital during the global pandemic.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp's (NYSE: KEY) roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $171.2 billion at June 30, 2020. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of more than 1,000 branches and more than 41,000 KeyBank ATMs and Allpoint surcharge free ATMs for many customers when using a KeyBank debit Mastercard nationwide. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC. 2020. KeyCorp. CFMA #200930-882270

SOURCE KeyCorp

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Curtis Stone is keen to return to Australia after what he calls a 'crazy time' living in the USA.

The celebrity chef has been based in Los Angeles with his family and just opened a new restaurant, Picnic Society.

However the 44-year-old told The Herald Sun on Friday: 'I really miss it, more than ever. It's a chaotic time over here in the US so I miss it even more knowing that where you are is a little nuts'.

Homeward bound? Curtis Stone (pictured) is keen to return to Australia after what he calls a 'crazy time' living in the USA. The celebrity chef has been based in LA with his family

He added that it would feel 'safer' and more 'stable' in Australia for himself and his family.

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'We have that conversation a lot in our house at the moment. Australia has never looked so enticing.

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'We've always held out hope we'd live between the two places or maybe move back one day,' he said.

The 44-year-old told The Herald Sun on Friday: 'I really miss it, more than ever. It's a chaotic time over here in the US so I miss it even more knowing that where you are is a little nuts'

Family man: He added that it would feel 'safer' and more 'stable' in Australia for himself and his family. Pictured with his wife Lindsay Price, 43, and their sons Hudson, 8 and Emerson, 6

Curtis was forced to shut down two of his Los Angeles restaurants in April, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Appearing on The Project in April, Curtis told Gorgi Coghlan coronavirus had forced him to shut down both of his Los Angeles restaurants.

'It is brutal. We are in Los Angeles, one of the hardest hit areas of America, and both our restaurants were closed,' he explained.

Safer: 'We have that conversation a lot in our house at the moment. Australia has never looked so enticing' he added

Aussie local: 'We've always held out hope we'd live between the two places or maybe move back one day,' Curtis said

The Australian chef was left with no choice but to turn his restaurant, Maude, into a marketplace and deliver food to people.

'You accept it and move on, and you've just got to be flexible and keep your people taken care of and employed, and that was always our goal,' he said.

Curtis is married to actress Lindsay Price, 43, and they have two children, sons Hudson, 8 and Emerson, 6.
A bit of personal news this week: This will be my final Mid-Valley Scam Alert. But dont worry, this column isnt going anywhere.
336pp, Rs 699; Aleph

The first woman Hindi short story writer was a Bengali, Rajbala Ghosh, who wrote under the nom de plume Bang Mahila. I came across her name when I was researching the earliest published Hindi short stories and found that her story Dulaiwala (1907), is widely regarded as the first published by a woman. I was curious. Who was she? How come someone whose mother tongue was Bengali, wrote in Hindi? There wasnt much information available on her online, barring some bare  and rather tragic -- details about her life. But then I discovered Bang Mahila: Nari Mukti ka Sanghursh by Bhavdev Pandey, a book on her by a former professor of Hindi in Mirzapur (where Bang Mahila was from). Pandeys book has a wealth of detail and provides an enthralling glimpse into the life and times of this remarkable woman.

Bang Mahilas family had migrated to Mirzapur in the late 18th century. Her grandfather Ram Ram Ghoshs two elder brothers worked for the East India Company, and had been transferred there from Chandernagore. The brothers bought large tracts of land in Mirzapur and Ram Ram Ghosh became a zamindar. He also started working as a vakil, one of the few professions available to Indian men at the time. Ghoshs son, Ram Prasann Ghosh, was Bang Mahilas father, and worked as a head clerk in the English firm Jardine and Skinner.

This background explains in large measure why Bang Mahila wrote in Hindi  her family had moved to a Hindi-speaking area almost a century before she was born in 1882. It was an extremely traditional household. She was not allowed to meet boys and girls her age, or to go out of her house because the street was usually crowded with people on their way for a dip in the Ganga, wearing little else but their gamchas. (The house was near a ghat and surrounded by temples.) But at the same time, her father, a scholarly man, taught her Sanskrit, English and Bangla at home. There was a library near their house, and Babu Ram Prasann Ghosh made sure Bang Mahila had access to contemporary journals, novels, poetry, plays. But it was Pandit Kedarnath Pathak, owner of the house where they lived, who taught her Hindi and proved to be a lifelong mentor, guiding her on her literary journey. If it hadnt been for these two men, Bang Mahila would have certainly remained illiterate, like a majority of women of her generation.

Most of her writing took place after her marriage: this was hardly surprising since she was married in 1893 at the age of 11 (her husband Purnachandra De was16). He became a ghar jamai and Ghosh babu got him employed at Jardine Skinner as well. And so, Bang Mahila, much beloved of her parents, continued to stay at home with her parents, husband and younger brothers.

Within the framework of this traditional but loving family, Bang Mahila, already reared in a literary milieu and encouraged to read, began her writing, which eventually encompassed magazine articles, translations from Bangla to Hindi as well as some short fiction in Hindi. This was a time of great debate around womens education and there was a wall of traditional opinion against the notion. Bang Mahila wrote passionately in favour of it, saying that education wouldnt make women shameless. But resistance to the idea was so strong that she couldnt come out openly in favour of higher education for women; she had to be content with saying that women should be educated enough to be able to write their own letters, make the home budget, read, and have a good relationship with their husbands (For the wife of a BA to be illiterate is a matter of great shame and anguish.)

Overall, her views on women were extraordinarily outspoken and forward-looking for her time. She pointed out that Western women had the freedom to marry for love, terminate their marriages if they couldnt get along with their husbands, whereas the illiterate Hindu woman was still steeped in devotion to her husband, observed purdah, was imprisoned within the four walls of her house. Her views created a stir but she defended them stoutly.

In 1894, her mentor, Pandit Kedarnath Pathak moved to Varanasi and was appointed the head of the library at the Nagari Pracharini Sabha, which had been set up for the propagation of Hindi. Through him, Bang Mahila was introduced to Varanasis literary elite. This process became easier in 1903, when Ram Prasann babu bought a house in Varanasis Kodai Chowki and the family began spending time there too.

Most of Bang Mahilas writing took place from 1902 to 1915. Apart from her articles in contemporary journals on issues such as womens education and purdah, she translated Bangla stories, particularly those which dealt with social problems (though initially she was inclined towards jasoosi stories and in 1902 she translated Bengali writer Dinendra Kumars detective fiction). But her interest gradually veered towards more realistic stories.

Among her own stories, the best known is Dulaiwala, an interesting, light-hearted story about a trick played by one friend on another. She also published Chandradev se Meri Baatein, which is not really a story, but in the format of a conversation that the writer has with Chandradev, in which she takes on no less a personage than Lord Curzon, and thereby British rule itself.

But just as everything was going smoothly in her life, tragedy struck. In 1909, Bang Mahilas 51-year-old father died. Soon after, her own son, a little over two years old, passed away. The two deaths almost broke her. To help her recover and get back on her feet, Pandit Kedarnath Pathak made a plan to bring out a collection of her stories and articles.

Poonam Saxena (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The publication of Kusum Sangrah from Allahabads prestigious Indian Press was an important milestone of her life. She began dividing her time between Kashi and Mirzapur, and attending literary events in Kashi. But life had far deeper sorrows in store for her. On 13 August, 1917, her husband suddenly died of a fall down a staircase. He was just 40. Bang Mahila was devastated. She gave up everything and retreated into the austere life of a sanyasini. She cut her waist-length hair into a four-inch close crop. She gave up wearing coloured clothes, and dressed instead in a simple dhoti and kurti. She ate one meal a day and went to bathe in the Ganga at five in the morning every day, regardless of the weather. And she stopped writing altogether. Pandit Kedarnath Pathak mourned what had become of his shining literary star, and tried to counsel her but to no avail. Four years passed by. But Pathak didnt give up. He knew if anything could free her from the fog of grief that had enveloped her, it would be sahitya. It so happened that the first edition of Kusum Sangrah had sold out and Pathak came to Mirzapur in early 1922 to talk to Bang Mahila about a second edition. His attempt to rekindle her interest in her work bore fruit -- she came to Kashi and read the proofs of her book. The second edition was ready by Diwali of 1922. But her active writing years were behind her.

She lived to see the country become independent, but wasnt destined to breathe the air of a free nation for too long. In 1947, she came to Kashi and, as was her habit, went to bathe in the Ganga early one morning, when she was attacked by a bull. She fell down and broke her leg. She was taken to the hospital where she stayed for two months. But her leg did not heal. Her brother brought her home to Mirzapur, where she lingered for two years, before she died on 24 February 1949.

Bang Mahila is a forgotten name today. But she deserves to be remembered.

Poonam Saxena is a journalist, writer, and translator. She has selected and translated the stories in the new collection The Greatest Hindi Stories Ever Told . She lives in Delhi.

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Turkeys direct intervention in the clashes in the southern Caucasus, which has been under the influence of Russia for over two centuries, risks a new confrontation between Ankara and Moscow. The international news media and Syrian local sources are abuzz with reports of Syrian fighters transported to Azerbaijan to support its battle against Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and occupied territories.

Despite denials by Ankara and Baku, some sources have already reported the first Syrian casualties in the clashes. According to Muzahem al-Salum, a former spokesperson of Jaysh Maghawir Al-Thawra, a Syrian rebel group that was once backed by the United States, the first group of Syrian fighters was dispatched to Caucasus a week ago before the fresh clashes Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed on Sep. 26. Salum claimed the fighters were recruited through a center set up by the Turkish-backed Sultan Murad Brigades in northern Syria.

Accordingly, a group of 150 fighters from Faylaq al-Sham reportedly crossed to Turkey from Afrin and then flew to Azerbaijan from Adana International Airport. The fighters were allegedly taken to training camps on two islands in the Caspian Sea for tactical training and told that their job would be to defend Azeri gas facilities. Al-Salum also claimed that the fighters were promised some $1500 a month and that the majority of the fighters were selected from Syrian Turkmen candidates out of concern for the language barrier. The Sultan Murat Brigade is reportedly expected to send some 2,000 fighters to Azerbaijan in the next couple of weeks.

Elizabeth Tsurkov, a fellow at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, tweeted that dozens of Syrian fighters crossed into Turkey from northern Syria in mid-September, citing her conversations with Syrian fighters relatives and friends. She added that she wasnt able to verify the reports that the fighters were sent to Azerbaijan, as contact with their families was cut off once they arrived in Turkey. She said some fighters had signed up for the deployment through WhatsApp and others at recruitment offices in the Turkish-controlled regions in northern Syria. Tsurkov also argued that the private Turkish defense company SADAT, which has close ties to the Turkish government, might have played a role in the recruitment operations.

Another confirmation came from a commander of the Syrian National Army. Speaking to Rudaw TV, Ziyad Haji Ubeyd said, The fighters had to join the battle in Azerbaijan to feed their families. He added that they are ready to go to war with the Turkish army wherever and if there is demand.

The Guardian reported that Syrian fighters have signed up to work for a private Turkish security company as border guards in Azerbaijan and that their training began a month ago. Two brothers from Syria who joined the program told the newspaper that they were living in Azez before their leaders helped them get to Afrin, where they were offered contracts of three to six months with salaries of $800-$1,200 a month to guard oil and natural gas facilities in Azerbaijan.

Our leader told us that we wont be fighting, just assisting in guarding some areas, one of them was quoted as saying. Our salaries arent enough to live on, so we see it a great opportunity to make money.

When we first started being offered work abroad in Libya, people were afraid to go there, but now there are definitely thousands of us who are willing to go to either Libya or Azerbaijan, another fighter told The Guardian. A Syrian National Army commander told Reuters some 700-1,000 fighters are planned to be sent to Azerbaijan.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also reported that hundreds of fighters from the Sultan Murat Brigade and El Amshat Brigades traveled to Azerbaijan via Afrin with the promise of $1,500-2,000 monthly salaries. SOHR put the number of fighters sent to the region so far at 320.

Armenia capitalized on the rumors, with its ambassador to Russia claiming that the number of fighters sent to the region has reached some 4,000.

While some observers are skeptical, pointing out the denials by Ankara and Baku, Syrian journalist Hussein Akoush reported on the first Syrian casualties of the war. Akoush identified the dead as Muhammad Shaalan of Atarib and Talha from Kafr Halab. SOHR confirmed the news.

As happened in Libya, the reported transfers to Azerbaijan have also sparked rifts among the Syrian rebel groups. Some factions accuse Turkey of undermining the Syrian revolution for its own interests.

Syrian Salafist jihadists have condemned the move. Sheik Abu Yakzan al Masri of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham abandoning the jihad to get involved in a war between a secular Shite and a Christian army" "one of the biggest sins. Abdulrazak al Mahdi of Ahrar al-Sham criticized the mobilization campaign for Azerbaijan.

The Turkish authorities have responded to the reports by spreading blame, claiming that Armenia was training Syrian Kurdish fighters to deploy in the occupied territories.

Armenia should send back the mercenaries and terrorists they brought from abroad and evacuate the Azerbaijani territories they occupied," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told the state-run Anadolu News Agency. Volunteers from the Armenian diaspora and Turkey had taken up arms in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the past.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans confirmed the transfer of Syrian fighters to Libya after initial denials. With this evidence that the Syrian militias have become a new intervention tool for Turkey, so the Azerbaijani buildup should come as no surprise.

The mobilization of jihadi forces in the Caucasus is alarming for several reasons. First, Azerbaijan is a predominantly Shiite country. The Salafist jihadist rhetoric against Shiism has fostered sectarian hostilities among the Syrian National Army factions, and the Turkmen groups transferred to Azerbaijan are no exception.

Indeed, in an unverified audio recording circulating on the social media, a Syrian rebel allegedly complains about the transfers. They are our enemies more than Jews and Christians We wont fight or stand with them in any way, the man reportedly said in reference to the Azeri army.

Although most of the fighters appeared to have signed up for the money, the presence of Sunni Syrian fighters in predominantly Shiite Azerbaijan is quite problematic for Russia in particular, as Moscow cannot stand idly against the risk of a Islamist jihadist revival. The rise of Wahhabism has been among the top national security concerns of the Russian security establishment since Chechnya-based armed militants led by Shamil Basayev seized the control of two villages in Dagestan and declared Sharia in the territories in 1999. Dagestan, which neighbors Azerbaijan, remains a stronghold of the Islamist vein in Russia.

Russias primary goal in getting involved in the Syrian conflict was to keep jihadists away from the region and prevent the return of the Chechen Islamists who joined the fighting in Syria. Once a corridor linking Syria and the south Caucasus is established, it would be hard to control.

Turkeys involvement in the conflict could be considered an attempt to shore up domestic support. But if Moscow comes to believe that Ankara has ulterior motives such as expanding its Turko-Islamist influence to the south Caucasus as part of Erdogans neo-Ottoman ambitions, it won't stand idle.

As Unal Cevikoz, a retired Turkish diplomat who oversaw the Caucasus file in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, put it, the unfolding developments in the South Caucasus put the region at risk of a Turkey-Russia confrontation.
The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Sign up to get it by email. This weeks issue is written by Damien Cave, the Australia bureau chief.

Australians used to talk about American politics the way they talk about sport  they followed the ups and downs, marveled at the competitor, and tried to game out who would win.

This year? Its more like the discussion of a car wreck involving a neighbor or an uncle.

For months, friends and even strangers have been asking if my relatives are healthy, worried they may have perished in the American coronavirus catastrophe. And this week, after a debacle of a debate and the news that President Trump and Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus, I saw and heard more than just empathy  also shock, dismay, fear, heartbreak and just head-shaking alarm.
SPRING ARBOR, MI  A group of alumni have come together to express their displeasure in Spring Arbor Universitys decision-makers after 11 faculty members were cut this summer.

Brad Ditmar, a 2003 SAU graduate, has created a Facebook page where dozens of alumni have come together to try to hold the university accountable.

The university sent an email to alumni saying the cuts were due to financial issues related to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but some of the professors being let go were odd choices, Ditmar said, because many are well-published and had been at the university a long time.

Ditmar said he and other alumni began looking into the universitys enrollment numbers and found that enrollment has decreased by about 50% in the last decade, and there has been no significant changes to turn that around.

There was nothing in the communication that said that these cuts are going to put us in a better position to make things better, Ditmar said. So we started to try to hold people accountable for business performance and say, Stop blaming COVID-19 for something that youve run into the ground.'

Jon Bahr, vice president for enrollment and marketing at SAU, confirmed faculty in the business, education, English, fine arts, sciences and theology departments had their positions eliminated prior to the fall 2021 semester. Bahr addressed enrollment by saying that while the current 3,100 students at SAU is below peak enrollment, it is in line with the demographic shifts seen throughout the region.

As we remain market responsive, we will make adjustments to areas where market interest is waning, while investing in areas where market interest is increasing, such as our recent program additions in nursing and engineering, Bahr said. We will continue to evaluate academic programs that allow us to meet the needs of the market while maintaining our commitment to the SAU Concept.

Because of the layoffs, SAU faculty sent a letter to President Brent Ellis, saying the recent cuts confirm a growing sense that under the leadership of our current vice president for academic affairs, Dr. Carol Green, the university is abandoning the SAU concept that has guided our institution for nearly 60 years.

As a result, faculty passed a no confidence vote in Green. The faculty cuts this summer have compounded preexisting problems, according to the letter, which lists a number of concerns, including a lack of transparency and collaboration and the vision Green appears to be pursuing for SAU.

Faculty requested Greens resignation. About a week later, Ellis responded, saying Green has his full support as the vice president for academic affairs, as well as the confidence of the board of trustees and deans of eight academic schools.

The small group of faculty members did not represent all SAU faculty in the no confidence vote, Bahr said.

Ditmar and other alumni have circulated a petition that has gotten more than 500 signatures, which were sent to board of trustee members at their SAU addresses.

Weve had zero response, zero acknowledgement, at least to me or any of the other leaders in the group, Ditmar said. ... So far, nobodys been able to get any kind of real acknowledgement or dialogue going with the board or the administration.

The university has provided communication to faculty, staff and alumni regarding the budgetary adjustments that were made over the summer, and the university is working to engage its community members to provide clarity around the direction the board of trustees has provided for SAU, Bahr said.

As individual alumni have contacted us directly, we have responded to those requests on an individual basis and offered opportunities for meetings and discussions," Bahr said.

There are three goals that Ditmar and the alumni group have for the administration: Get more accountability from the administration; review the layoffs and reassess them with department heads and have the board of trustees reaffirm the university is not moving away from a liberal arts focus.

Ditmar said the best hope of realizing these goals lies with the students. Bekah Black, a senior English major at SAU, said the decisions by the administration have been confusing and has left her with unanswered questions right now.

Two of the professors cut were in my department, and those two men were incredibly influential on me as a learner, writer, Christian and thinker, and I respect their academic achievements greatly, Black said.

The faculty who were cut were loved by students and influential to campus, and the cuts shocked and hurt a number of students, including her, Black said. She wrote a letter to the administration and had students submit questions they wanted answered. Common themes for the questions included the decision-making process the university uses and how administration plans to move forward.

Black is talking with Green and Ellis about scheduling a meeting to address those questions.

I cant speak for others, but at least for me, while I am saddened by the outcomes of the administrations decisions, I respect the difficult position theyre in, Black said.

Bahr added that decisions like the faculty cuts are hard and painful, and even during the pandemic, the university remains committed to living within its means and balancing its budget each year.

This commitment to good stewardship requires adjustments within our resourcing as we respond to changing market demands, but we remain steadfast in living out the SAU Concept as we provide intentionally Christ-centered education to our student body," Bahr said.

Similar cuts were announced at Adrian College this summer, but after what Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking called well-articulated and passionate feedback, he reversed the decision to cut several faculty in a number of humanities departments.

Passionate feedback, prompts Adrian College president to reverse cuts to humanities departments

READ MORE:

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Spring Arbor University announces new vice president for finance and administration
Green, teal and pink will be the colors of the day on Oct. 13, shining brightly at two Downriver locations, including the giant Uniroyal tire on I-94 in Allen Park.

Its part of a landmark campaign created to bring awareness to and increase funding for metastatic breast cancer, launched by METAvivor Research & Support, in partnership with Moore Fight Moore Strong.

According to Darlene Wilson, #LightUpMBC ambassador for Metro Detroit, the city of Allen Park and its police station are participating, as is the city of Southgate, which will illuminate its City Hall, library and pedestrian walkway.

But nationally the big attraction will be the Uniroyal tire, which was chosen as the Detroit landmark to be showcased on the #LightUpMBC@METAvivor Facebook Live broadcast at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Metastatic breast cancer, also known as stage 4 breast cancer, is not curable and means the cancer has left the breast and spread to other parts of the body, said METAvivor President Jamil Rivers. There is a lack of knowledge on MBC in comparison to early stage breast cancer, which leads to many widespread misperceptions.

To address this, on Oct. 13, Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, over 115 landmarks in all 50 states, as well as Canada and Ireland, will light up in the MBC symbolic colors of green, teal and pink as part of the #LightUpMBC campaign.

Iconic locations from Alaska to Florida include One World Trade Center, NYC, the Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth, Ford Field in Detroit, Clevelands Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the majestic Niagara Falls.

To view the illuminated landmarks across the globe, #LightUpMBC Live, a virtual benefit, will take place at 8 p.m. Oct. 13 on @METAvivor Facebook Live and www.metavivor.org. The virtual benefit will feature inspiring MBC stories heard from #LightUpMBC patient ambassadors at landmark lightings in their cities, as well as musical performances to help raise funds for metastatic breast cancer research.

An estimated 42,170 Americans will die from MBC in 2020, the equivalent of 115 women and men per day, said Laura Inahara, executive director of Moore Fight Moore Strong. The 115 landmarks that will illuminate this year represent the 115 lives lost every day to MBC in the U.S. alone. We hope that #LightUpMBC will not only spread awareness and raise funds, but also inspire people to truly want to make a difference for people living with MBC.

Wilson, a Troy resident who is currently living with metastatic breast cancer, said she hopes this event can help shine a light on the importance of awareness and funding for metastatic breast cancer research.

It is our hope that through additional research, we can make this a chronic disease instead of the deadly disease that it is today, she said.
GOTTINGEN, Germany, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

Combination of businesses will create a premium portfolio for advanced therapies

BIA Separations will be Sartorius' center of excellence for purification of cell and gene therapeutics

The life science company Sartorius announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to merge purification specialist BIA Separations into its subgroup Sartorius Stedim Biotech in a transaction totaling 360 million euros of which 240 million euros will be paid in cash and 120 million euros in Sartorius Stedim Biotech shares. Both parties have further agreed on three tranches of earn-out payments based on performance over the next five financial years. The transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory conditions, is expected to close in late 2020, and therefore will have no material impact on Sartorius' 2020 results.

BIA Separations develops and manufactures market-leading products for purification and analysis of large biomolecules, such as viruses, plasmids and mRNA, which are used in cell and gene therapies and other advanced therapies. BIA's technology for manufacturing scale purification is already used in production of the first commercialized advanced therapeutics and the company also has a strong presence with such novel drug candidates in the clinical pipeline. "Combining the teams and technologies of Sartorius and BIA will create a premium offering for the manufacturing of advanced therapies. The goal of our partnership is to enable such therapeutics to reach more patients faster and we are committed to continue delivering relevant innovations across the entire production chain," commented Joachim Kreuzburg, CEO of Sartorius.

Expecting continued very strong double-digit sales growth over the next few years, BIA is forecasted to earn sales revenue of approx. 25 million euros in 2020 at profit margins that will be accretive to both the underlying EBITDA margins of Sartorius' Bioprocess Solutions segment and of the overall Sartorius Group.

Founded in 1998, BIA Separations has invented and commercialized the unique CIM (Convective Interaction Media) monolith chromatography technology. In addition, it offers analytical technologies for process monitoring and optimization. At its headquarters in Ajdovscina, Slovenia, BIA employs a workforce of some 120 people. Following its strong growth, the company is currently more than quadrupling its production capacity, which will be operational in beginning of 2021. Furthermore, the company is significantly expanding its market leading process development services.

Ales Strancar, founder and CEO of BIA Separations, commented: "Partnering with Sartorius provides BIA Separations with a global sales and service network which will grow the sale of BIA Separations' products by an order of magnitude in the coming years. I am especially excited that our combined R&D groups will result in one of the strongest development teams in bioprocessing worldwide which will rapidly increase the number of products under development while substantially reducing time to market."

Rene Faber, the Head of the Sartorius Bioprocess Solutions Division, said: "We are really excited and very much looking forward to joining forces with BIA's experienced and highly talented team. Together, we will continue to invest into innovation and growth, accelerate the utilization of their superior solutions and provide customers worldwide with offerings that will advance their important work."

William Blair has been acting as financial advisor and Milbank and RPPP as legal advisors to Sartorius. EC Mergers served as financial advisor and Schoenherr Attorneys at Law as legal advisor on the sell-side.

This press release contains forward-looking statements about the future development of the Sartorius Group. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Sartorius assumes no liability for updating such statements in light of new information or future events. This is a translation of the original German-language press release. Sartorius shall not assume any liability for the correctness of this translation. The original German press release is the legally binding version.

A profile of Sartorius

The Sartorius Group is a leading international partner of life science research and the biopharmaceutical industry. With innovative laboratory instruments and consumables, the Group's Lab Products & Services Division concentrates on serving the needs of laboratories performing research and quality control at pharma and biopharma companies and those of academic research institutes. The Bioprocess Solutions Division with its broad product portfolio focusing on single-use solutions helps customers to manufacture biotech medications and vaccines safely and efficiently. The Group has been annually growing by double digits on average and has been regularly expanding its portfolio by acquisitions of complementary technologies. In fiscal 2019, the company earned sales revenue of some 1.83 billion euros. At the end of 2019, more than 9,000 people were employed at the Group's approximately 60 manufacturing and sales sites, serving customers around the globe.

Contact

Petra Kirchhoff

Head of Corporate Communications

+49 (0)551.308.1686

[email protected]

Follow Sartorius on Twitter @Sartorius_Group and on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Sartorius AG

Related Links

https://www.sartorius.com/en


MILFORD  The projected COVID-related expenses for Milford Public Schools has dropped $8 million from the original estimate delivered just two months ago, according to Chief Operations Officer Jim Richetelli.

At Tuesdays Board of Education meeting, Richetelli said the total projected expenses for Milford was $3.7 million. The original total projected expenses, given on July 27, was $11.2 million. Of the projected $3.7 million in expenses, about $2.4 million is covered by state and federal grants, and by allocating unspent funds from last years budget.

Richetelli attributed the huge drop in expected costs to having a better handle on the situation.

In July and August, we were giving you the very worst case scenario, he said. We really didnt know who we would be able to hire. We didnt know the number of people out there that would be available to us. We dont need as many certified and non-certified people in the classrooms.

Superintendent of Schools Anna Cutaia said the lower number should be applauded.

We looked at every resource in district to try and bring that number down, she said.

The school system saved money by not hiring an additional full-time custodian to keep up with the intensified COVID-related cleaning schedule.

We are achieving what we need to achieve as far as sanitizing and cleaning, Richetelli said.

Also, the isolation rooms, where students suspected of carrying COVID-19 are isolated pending pickup by their parents, is staffed with existing employees, supplemented by hourly off-duty paramedics and ambulance drivers instead of having a dedicated room monitor. The schools budgeted $126,000 for the isolation rooms.

Other major COVID-related expenses included hiring 4.5 full-time equivalent teachers at nearly $300,000, and budgeting for 24 substitute. The schools budgeted $427,000 for substitutes, who are in short supply this year, Richetelli said.

The rest of the expenses are for additional Chromebooks, strengthened internet connectivity and 210 mobile hot spots that were distributed to students without access to reliable internet connection at home.

Milford Public Schools will continue to operate on a Tier 1 instructional model. Tier 1 involves all students in school four days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday is a full day of distance learning.

According to Cutaia, there are five key indicators considered when making a decision on the appropriate instructional model: health metrics, social/emotional needs, academic priorities, availability of resources, and human resources.

Based on the current analysis of these five factors, it is warranted to remain in Tier 1, Cutaia said.

For more information on this model, see the Restart 2020-2021 Milford Public Schools Plan Handbook.

sfox@milfordmirror.com
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has moved the Upper Peninsula back to Phase 4 of her MI Safe Start economic reopening phases after a spike of coronavirus cases in the region.

The region will move from Phase 5, containing, to Phase 4, improving, starting Oct. 9. Its the first region in the state to do so, although Whitmer has consistently warned that the reopening phases would go back and forth depending on the data.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the U.P. has reported 2,684 confirmed cases of coronavirus; 1,749 -- or 59% -- have been reported in the past 30 days. And 1,395 -- or 52% -- have been reported in the past two weeks.

The change to Phase 4 will require people who can work remotely do to so, mean schools must follow stricter requirements for masking and place smaller limits on social gatherings.

After seeing the increase in cases in the U.P. region over the past several weeks and consulting with medical experts, I have decided to take action to protect U.P. families and move the region back a phase. I know this is hard. I know it will be an adjustment. But we cant let our guard down, Whitmer said in a statement.

COVID-19 is still a very real threat to our families, frontline workers, and small businesses. Everyone should implement these changes as swiftly as possible. This virus doesnt care if youre rich or poor, a Republican or a Democrat, young or old. No one is immune. Right now the most effective weapon we have is pretty simple: its wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth. Its washing your hands with soap and water. And maintaining six feet of physical distance from one another. Lets all be smart and stay safe.

The U.P. has seen an increase in cases in recent weeks, particularly in its westernmost counties.

Comparing the seven-day average of cases per 100,000 between Sept. 17-24 and that between Sept. 25-Oct. 1, several counties have seen large increases:

- Keweenaw County cases increased 500%

- Delta County cases increased 231%

- Dickinson County cases increased 121%

- Iron County cases increased 50%

- Houghton County cases increased 48%

- Menominee County cases increased 39%

According to state data, the U.P. has 710 total hospital beds and 322 are occupied. And, 42 of the U.P.'s 59 intensive care unit beds are occupied. There are 27 coronavirus patients hospitalized in the U.P. right now, with five in intensive care units.

According to the governors office, the U.P. case rate is at 283 cases per million and the positivity rate of those tested is at 5.1%. Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun has previously said experts say the positivity rate should be below 3%.

The governor is taking necessary action today to protect families, frontline workers, and vulnerable populations in the U.P. region, Khaldun said in a statement.

We will continue to monitor the spread and work together to fight this virus. With the 2020-2021 flu season fast approaching, we must also stay laser-focused on protecting ourselves and our loved ones. Get your flu vaccine, wear a mask, and maintain six feet of physical distancing. We will get through this together.

Whitmer visited the U.P. this week, encouraging people to mask up.

In a Monday interview with MLive, she said, Im not sure that masking is as culturally frequent as it is in lower parts of Michigan. And so, thats something that we really need to improve on."

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/.

Related stories:

Upper Peninsula could take a step backward in reopening as coronavirus cases surge, Gov. Whitmer says

Gov. Whitmer calls for Upper Peninsula to mask-up as coronavirus cases spike

Michigan reports 780 new coronavirus cases for Friday, Oct. 2

Friday, Oct. 2, coronavirus data by Michigan county: Calhoun moves up to red; 23 counties now orange
PORTAGE, MI  A mechanical failure has put a visit to Kalamazoo County from a historic World War II era bomber on hold until 2021.

The Boeing B-17G Yankee Lady had been scheduled to visit Portages Air Zoo  the Kalamazoo areas own Smithsonian-affiliated aerospace and science museum  on Oct. 3.

The museum announced Thursday that visit is off.

While this is an unfortunate turn of events, we all place the safety of the crew and passengers first on the list of priorities. We will look forward to rescheduling their visit in 2021, a statement from the museum said.

View the full photo gallery of the 2019 Yankee Lady visit to Kalamazoo

The Yankee Lady is the same type of aircraft, commonly called a Flying Fortress, that helped end World War II by crippling the Axis powers' ability to wage war, according to information provided by the Yankee Air Museum in Belleville.

This particular B-17 joined the U.S. Army Air Forces on July 16, 1945, shortly after victory in Europe was declared. Like the other nine airworthy B-17s in existence still today, the Yankee Lady did not see any combat action.

Also on MLive:

United Airlines returns to Kalamazoo airport after 3 months with no flights

Unemployed Michigan workers can get extra 20 weeks of benefits, state announces

A look at 40 years of Air Zoo history as Kalamazoo-area museum marks milestone
DENVER, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- HousingWire announced today that Kentwood Real Estate President and CEO Gretchen Rosenberg has been honored with its 2020 HW Vanguard Award. Rosenberg was selected for her outstanding leadership and for being a leader within the housing industry by "moving markets forward, each and every day" and positively contributing to the growth of the housing economy.

"In the program's most competitive year yet, 50 winners rose to the top, boasting their outstanding achievements in innovation and leadership," said HousingWire Magazine Editor Kelsey Ramirez. HousingWire's 2020 Vanguards have led their respective companies to spectacular success, as evidenced by expanding products, services, and profits.

"The achievements of this year's Vanguards are hard to overstate," said HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler. "They are leading some of the most iconic and successful mortgage and real estate companies in the world, and adapting and innovating even in the midst of a global pandemic. The Vanguards represent the industry's best and brightest, and we are excited to celebrate Gretchen Rosenberg's remarkable accomplishments."

As President and CEO of Kentwood Real Estate, Rosenberg's role first and foremost is to support Kentwood brokers. Today, Rosenberg leads Kentwood's growing elite team of over 240 Realtors in Colorado's finest luxury brokerage, which has produced more volume per agent than 99% of all real estate companies in the United States.

Under Rosenberg's leadership, Kentwood Broker Associates closed over $2 billion in total sales volume and closed over 3,000 transactions last year. The overall average sales price notably rose year over year to $767,556 with four of the top 10 highest-priced home sales in metro Denver, more than any other brokerage in the top 10, according to REColorado data.

Additionally, Rosenberg has led Kentwood through the COVID-19 crisis. Stay-at-home orders disrupted what would have been a record-breaking start of the 2020 spring residential real estate rush. As other brokerages scrambled for direction, Rosenberg's proactive leadership kept Kentwood's brokers in front of the crisis by issuing guidance with every new milestone.

The exclusive affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway's HomeServices of America in Colorado, Kentwood Real Estate produces more sales volume per agent than 99 percent of all real estate companies in the U.S. For more information, visit www.Kentwood.com.

SOURCE Kentwood Real Estate

Related Links

https://www.kentwood.com


New Delhi:

Stepping up the growth pitch, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das on Saturday expressed confidence that the economy will grow upwards of 7 per cent next fiscal.



For this years GDP growth, we have to wait till March-end. But next year, it will be upwards of 7 per cent, he said.



Drawing on Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys statements, the secretary said there will be transient impact of demonetisation on the economy, but it will not spill over to the next fiscal.



A large part of economy is moving towards digital transactions, he noted.



Despite the global headwinds, Das said Indias growth remains much stronger.



It has stayed afloat. Not only stayed afloat, but also doing well. Our commitment is to push growth momentum, he explained.



Listing various reforms measures as announced in the Budget, Das spoke of gains for farmers from integration of spot and derivative market in commodity.



He also dubbed announcement on contract farming and UGC as very big reforms.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Turkey and Iran are increasingly adopting "game-changing" drones as their weapon of choice against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, prompting fears for the safety of civilians and stoking geopolitical tensions.

"Not a day goes by without us seeing a drone," said Mohammad Hassan, mayor of Qandil, the mountainous Iraqi stronghold of Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"They fly so low Qandil's residents can see them with their naked eye," Hassan told AFP.

The PKK has used Qandil for decades as a rear-base for its insurgency against the Turkish state.

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDK-I) has similar rear-bases in other remote areas of Iraqi Kurdistan, from which it launches attacks across the border into Iran.

Turkey and Iran consider the Kurdish rebels as "terrorists" and routinely conduct cross-border ground assaults, air strikes and artillery bombardments against their Iraq bases.

Starting in 2018, both countries began using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance and even targeted assassinations in northern Iraq.

Drone use has expanded dramatically since Turkey launched a new assault in June, analysts and residents of affected areas told AFP.

Activists said dozens of border villages and adjacent farms have been abandoned by their terrified residents.

The drone strikes have also prevented thousands of Yazidis from returning to their homes in Sinjar district, close to the Syrian border, where PKK elements now have a presence.

"The Turkish bombing causes so much terror, so Yazidis are not coming home," Sinjar mayor Mahma Khalil told AFP.

- 'Mistrust, irritation' -

Despite public criticism, Turkey has continued its drone warfare -- likely because of new strides against the PKK.

For years, the PKK sheltered in Iraq's mountains, where manned warplanes and ground troops struggled to reach them.

But drones have allowed Ankara to track, identify and eliminate PKK targets within minutes, Nicholas Heras of the Institute for the Study of War told AFP.

Story continues

"Turkey's use of military drones in northern Iraq has been a game-changer in its war against the PKK," he said.

Ankara is now swapping expensive fighter-bombers like the US F-16 for drones like the domestically-produced Bayraktar TB2, which has better surveillance, can fly for 24 hours and is cheaper -- so "expendable" if downed by the PKK, said Turkish drone expert Sibel Duz.

In an exclusive interview in Qandil, PKK spokesman Zagros Hiwa told AFP Turkey had created a 15 kilometre (10 mile) buffer zone in northern Iraq with the help of its drones.

"Our forces have downed seven drones this year," he said, declining to provide details of PKK losses.

The PKK has had limited success with improvised drones of its own, commercial models fitted with explosives.

A US source familiar with Turkey's drones programme said US special operations forces in northern Iraq were bristling at the new "frequency and intensity" of strikes.

"The Turks are overflying US positions with armed assets, which is a no-no. There is general mistrust and irritation over all this," the source said.

- 'Shooting gallery' -

Iran first began deploying aircraft fitted with cameras during its 1980-88 war with Iraq.

The newer Mohajer-6 and Shahed-129 are Tehran's weapons of choice for northern Iraq, said Adam Rawnsley, who tracks Iranian drones for the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

"The way Iran is using drones against Kurdish targets in Iraq is 180 degrees different than how they use drones everywhere else. It's much more sophisticated," he said.

In a rare interview this spring, the head of Tehran's drone division Colonel Akbar Karimloo told local media Iran uses the aircraft for both surveillance and attack, and to provide forward observation for artillery and missile launchers.

Earlier this month, Iran said it would "take coordinated steps" with Turkey to counter Kurdish rebel activity along its borders. It did not specifically mention drones.

Baghdad and Kurdish authorities have said little on the expanding drone campaigns, and Iraqi officials have told AFP privately they have no leverage over Turkey or Iran.

After a Turkish drone strike killed two top Iraqi officers in the north in August, Baghdad expressed outrage but did not pressure Ankara.

"The general problem Iraq has is that larger powers tend to use it as a shooting gallery," Rawnsley told AFP.

Wim Zwijnenburg, who works on disarmament for Dutch peace organisation PAX, said avenues for recourse were limited.

"A lot of these strikes are in areas which are not very populated, so there's little information from people or journalists on the ground," he said.

Indeed, neither activists nor officials could provide a specific death toll from drone strikes in the north.

"That only adds to the obscurity of the drone campaigns," Zwijnenburg told AFP.

str-mjg/kir/rbu
Hong Kong: Analogue TV ends in 60 days

Hong Kong will implement full digital TV broadcasting on December 1. The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau today urged households using analogue TVs to obtain digital TV receivers for continued access to local free TV programmes.

According to survey findings, by July nearly 95% of Hong Kong households had switched to digital TV, with only 2.6% of households still using analogue TVs.

Analogue TV households can purchase a suitable digital set-top box or a digital TV set according to their family needs.

The Government has engaged the Hong Kong Council of Social Service to launch the Community Care Fund Digital Television Assistance Programme.

Analogue TV households benefiting from specified social assistance programmes or are of low-income will not be required to go through additional means testing. Eligible households can choose either a set-top box, a 24-inch digital TV set or a 32-inch digital TV set.

Within eight weeks after receipt of an application, the electrical appliances contractor will liaise with the applicant and arrange the delivery and installation of a digital TV receiver as well as disposal of the old analogue TV set.

As of now, more than 17,500 applications have been received, of which some 14,300 households have digital TV receivers successfully installed.

Application forms can be obtained from the 100 district service units that assist in implementing the programme and the Home Affairs Enquiry Centres in the 18 districts, or downloaded from the programme website.

The programme will run until July 15, 2021.

Call 2922 9230 for enquiries.

This story has been published on: 2020-10-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 18:26:23|Editor: huaxia

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HANOI, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- One more fatality from diphtheria has been confirmed in Gia Lai Province in Vietnam's central highlands, raising the death toll from the disease in the province to two, Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday.

The patient is a ninth-grader in Mang Yang District of the province who also suffered from congenital heart disease, the news agency reported, citing Mai Xuan Hai, head of the provincial health department.

The student was sent to medical facilities on Sept. 21 after having symptoms of coughing and high fever but died shortly after that, according to the report.

Local authorities have implemented disease prevention and control measures after the student's positive diphtheria test, the news agency reported.

Gia Lai has reported a total of 41 diphtheria cases, among which two have died and 38 have been cured and discharged from hospital, said the news agency.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health on July 9 launched a vaccination campaign against diphtheria, which, at its initial stage, will offer some 10 million doses of vaccines to 4.7 million people in four central highlands provinces namely Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum. Enditem
Harris County may shatter turnout records with as many as 1.5 million voters in this years presidential election, the county clerk estimates.

It also has achieved a less desirable position, however  the county will be the largest jurisdiction in the United States that cannot audit its election results because it uses a voting system that does not produce a paper record.

Of all the paperless votes in the country, about 1 in 5 will be cast here, according to an analysis by the New York University Law School-based Brennan Center for Justice.

If theres some reason to cast doubt on the election outcome, theres nothing independent of the software to turn back to with a paperless system, said Lawrence Norden, director of the centers election reform program. All you can likely do is re-run the results and have the software come up with the same results as the previous time. I dont think thats great for voter confidence.

Election integrity has taken on added importance this cycle as President Donald Trump continues to say the only way he can lose is if the contest is rigged. And two-thirds of Republicans do not have confidence the election will be conducted fairly, an August NBC News poll found.

Polling consistently has shown that Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a legitimate chance to carry Texas, bringing extra scrutiny to a state that has not seen a close presidential contest in a generation.

Even with a surge in mail ballots, which will be saved in case a recount is needed, Harris County likely will have more than 1 million in-person votes in this election with no paper trail.

Despite warnings from election security experts and an acknowledgment by past Republican and Democratic county clerks that new machines were needed, Harris County failed to follow the states other urban counties in doing so before 2020. Texas is one of 14 states that still permits paperless voting systems.

The county since 2002 has used the Hart InterCivic eSlate machine, remembered by many voters by its spinning wheel interface. It records votes on a mobile memory card which then is brought to a central counting site, uploaded onto a computer and tallied.

While Harris County has seen its share of election mishaps the past two decades  including perennially slow results, misallocated machines and even a mis-called race  the eSlates never have malfunctioned on a large scale.

Some voters long have complained that the machine does not print a copy of their selections. In 2018, a few said that a sticky wheel function caused them to mistakenly select the wrong candidate.

The switch to digital machines came amid a nationwide push toward electronic systems after the Florida recount debacle in the 2000 presidential election exposed vulnerabilities in mechanical punch-card systems.

Some election experts warned states and counties were merely trading one set of potential problems for another if systems no longer kept any paper record of votes. Rebecca Mercuri, then a computer science professor at Bryn Mawr College, traveled to Houston to testify against choosing the eSlate because its results cannot be audited.

Reached by phone in New Jersey last week, she laughed when told the county still was using the system. Replacing machines in the nations third-largest county is a difficult and expensive task, Mercuri said, but the process should have begun years ago. She said the continued use of eSlates was a 10 out of 10 concern.

Theres no checks and balances, as we like to say in government, Mercuri said. Theres no way to verify what a voter cast, or what they believe they cast on the screen is actually being recorded correctly.

A warehouse fire in 2010 destroyed nearly all of the Harris Countys fleet of machines. Despite some calls to at least use the mishap to switch to a paper-backed system, the county bought new eSlates.

The presidential election of 2016 marked a national shift back toward paper-backed voting machines, as Russian attempts to infiltrate American election systems became understood. Since then, Bexar, Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Fort Bend and Travis counties purchased paper-based systems.

Fort Bend County Elections Administrator John Oldham said he decided to make the switch after the Legislature in 2019 nearly passed a ban on paperless machines. Plus, his 13-year-old machines had begun to fail.

They were having issues with the capacitors on the motherboard burning up, Oldham said. The last couple years, we were getting 15 to 20 of these things happening every election.

Harris County failed to move as quickly, however. Both 2018 candidates for county clerk, Republican Stan Stanart and Democrat Diane Trautman, pledged to replace the aging eSlates.

We must replace the current electronic machines with a machine that produces a verifiable paper trail, Trautman said a few days after she won the election.

She initially had hoped to acquire the new machines in time for the 2020 presidential election  Houston even hosted a voting machine trade show this past July  but within months of taking office concluded the timeline was not feasible.

The county last December began soliciting vendor proposals, aiming to debut new machines in the May 2021 elections.

Launching a new voting system in a low-turnout election is wise because it allows county clerks to resolve inevitable problems with a wider margin for error, said Rice University professor of computer science Dan Wallach.

Otherwise, you're just inviting new system jitters making a mess when you really, really want smooth sailing, Wallach said in an email.

He pointed to Georgias disastrous rollout of a new system in that states July runoff, which caused block-long lines as poll workers struggled to get machines up and running.

Trautman resigned in May, citing health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her replacement, 34-year-old Christopher Hollins, is preparing to run his first election  likely the highest-turnout contest in Harris County history  with no blueprint for doing so during a public health crisis.

Hollins conceived an ambitious, $27.2 million plan that includes more early and Election Day voting sites, doubling the amount of poll workers, drive-through voting and longer voting hours.

He is stuck with the aging eSlates. In one instance, this has been a blessing. Hollins needed more machines to stock his additional polling sites; he secured 2,825 eSlates that Fort Bend and Travis counties no longer had any use for.

Harris Countys next voting machine, which Hollins said he hopes to recommend to Commissioners Court by the end of November, will produce a paper backup, he said.

He acknowledged there is no way to perform a manual audit of the eSlates, but said county residents should trust them for one more cycle. The system is never connected to the internet, and the clerks office has an IT team that looks out for any potential cyberattacks.

In terms of our ballots, before we place them on the machines, there are intensive logic and accuracy tests to make sure that the way in which you vote, or intend to vote, is recorded properly, Hollins said.

Early voting begins Oct. 13.

zach.despart@chron.com
Missouri prisons are seeing wildly different numbers of COVID-19 cases depending on the facility.

The prisons in Vandalia, Farmington and Bonne Terre each have more than 300 cumulative cases, while others, such as Bowling Green, Kansas City and Potosi have cases in the single digits, according to Missouri Department of Corrections data.

As of Thursday afternoon, the department reported 738 active COVID-19 cases among inmates in the states prisons. The bulk of those those cases are located in the Farmington Correctional Center, which has 274 active offender cases, and the Womens Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia, which has 177 active offender cases.

Since March, the department has reported 2,085 total coronavirus cases among offenders, with 1,347 of those patients recovering. There is one reported death linked to COVID-19 in the states prison system, so far, department spokesperson Karen Pojmann said.

That is more than double the number of prisoners infected at the beginning of September.

The department has conducted more than 54,800 COVID-19 tests since the pandemic began and recently started testing the various facilities wastewater to find potential traces of the virus, she said.

"If we find elevated levels of the virus in wastewater, we sample test the population, quarantine the housing unit or work area where positive cases occurred," she said.

Boxed-in testing of units also occurs. Offenders who test positive are moved to an isolation unit, while the remaining are quarantined for two weeks before returning to the general population.

Most of the cases did not have symptoms, and those who had mild symptoms did not always report them, Pojmann said.

"Wastewater testing is a pretty effective tool for identifying and containing cases and preventing widespread outbreaks throughout a facility," she said.

Some facilities, such as the Moberly Correctional Center have seen a spike in cases. While the Moberly prisons 16 active inmate cases are significantly lower than some other facilities, active cases there were as low as two last week.

Active cases in prisons are counted as part of a respective countys COVID case total, which partially accounts for a recent spike in Randolph Countys active cases, Randolph County Health Department Administrator Sharon Whisenand said.

At the Moberly prison, the department had initially implemented sample testing for 10% of the prison population, including staff and inmates, but testing was adjusted to include those who had come into close contact with a positive COVID-19 patient.

"At this point, offenders who test positive are placed in isolation," Pojmann wrote. "A housing wing may be quarantined if someone living in the wing tests positive."

Despite the recent spike, the Moberly prison and the Jefferson City Correctional Centers case numbers have remained low when compared to the two other mid-Missouri prisons in Boonville and Vandalia. Since March, the Vandalia prison has reported 316 total COVID-19 cases among inmates, 177 of which are active, and 24 staff cases, 12 of which are active. The Boonville Correctional Center has reported 137 total inmate cases, though only 22 were active as of Thursday afternoon. The Boonville prison has also reported 49 total staff cases, with nine of those being active.

Tim Cutt, a representative with the Missouri Corrections Officers Association, did not respond to calls seeking comment regarding prison staff cases.

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Forecourt operator EG Group and private equity firm TDR Capital have won the battle to take control of supermarket giant Asda (Nick Ansell/PA)

The billionaire brothers behind petrol forecourt firm EG Group and private equity firm TDR Capital have won the 6.8 billion takeover battle for supermarket giant Asda, which has 17 stores in Northern Ireland.

Walmart, the supermarket chain's US owner, has accepted a bid led by Lancashire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa following a lengthy auction process.

Walmart will retain a minority stake in Asda as part of the agreement.

The new owners have committed to keeping the retailer's headquarters in Leeds and has said it will invest to grow its convenience and online operations.

Asda is planning to open an 18th store in Northern Ireland at the former site of Nortel in Newtownabbey.

A spokesman for Asda confirmed all NI stores were included in the deal, adding: "There are no plans to deviate from any of the current growth avenues, including plans already submitted for new stores."

The deal with the Issa brothers comes more than a year after a proposed merger between Asda and UK supermarket rival Sainsbury's was torpedoed by regulators.

Asda has seen its fortunes improve recently with trading strengthening through 2020, as shoppers have spent more money on groceries during the pandemic.

In the quarter to June, Asda saw online sales double but the new owners will be tasked with expanding its digital business further to take advantage of soaring demand and make ground on rivals, such as Tesco, who have a larger slice of the market.

The new owners will also face the challenge of keeping prices low amid tough economic conditions for shoppers and potential new tariffs on EU-imported foods, with the other big four supermarkets all announcing a raft of price cuts in recent months.

EG Group has sealed the deal after its offer was favoured by Walmart ahead of a move by US private equity firm Apollo.

Last week, a third bid from Lone Star Funds, fronted by former Asda executive Paul Mason, was dropped after failing to meet the price of its rivals during the latter stage of bidding.

Walmart sought a sale after the UK's competition regulator blocked its merger with Sainsbury's amid fears the move would push up prices and reduce product quality.

The US grocery started new discussions over a sale of Asda in February, but saw these halted due to disruption as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the auction process restarted in July as Walmart sought to exit the UK, 21 years after first purchasing the Leeds-based retailer.

Blackburn-based EG Group, formerly known as Euro Garages, already runs forecourt convenience stores for Spar and French hypermarket chain Carrefour.

The deal will have to pass through regulators, although it is expected to be given the green light.

Last week, EG Group announced a trial involving three "Asda on the Move" convenience stores at its petrol forecourts.

TDR Capital, which also owns the UK's largest pub group Stonegate, owns a 50% stake in EG Group, sharing ownership with the Issa brothers.




Haiti - NOTICE : Spirit Airlines resumes its direct flights Fort Lauderdale / Cap-Haitien





Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) announces the resumption of non-stop flights from Cap-Haitien International Airport (CAP) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), from December 3, 2020.



Remember that Spirit's service to CAP will be the only non-stop option between the northern part of Haiti and the United States. The airline offers its customers three weekly flights: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, with connections to 22 major cities in the United States.



"We love giving our Guests more options, and we think flying people from Cap-Haitien nonstop to the U.S. instead of backtracking through Port-au-Prince is a pretty great gift to give as the holiday season approaches," said Doris Graham, General Manager in Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince for Spirit Airlines. "this route shows our commitment to Guests in Cap-Haitien, as well as to the Haitian American population in South Florida."



HL/ HaitiLibre


















02.10.2020 LISTEN

It is becoming one too many the treasonable agenda by the Ewe secessionists. These former Western Togoland natives are resolutely determined to cause ethnic violence, divisions and the ultimate disintegration of Ghana, a peaceful unitary nation in West Africa. Whether their action that has lately been exponentially intensified is to cow Ghanaians to yield in to the selfish, devilish and diabolic desires by the NDC political party or not, the NPP government and all discerning Ghanaians must unite to condemn and fight the opportunistic secessionists.

The intensification of their action is no doubt to give credence to the irresponsible machismo utterances by the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), if not a diversionary tactic to disengage the NPP from focusing on winning the impending 7 December 2020 elections to do much better things for Ghana. The NDC as a political party has resolutely decided to wreak havoc on Ghanaians should they not win the upcoming election 2020, hence have themselves initiated, and are executing, their own diabolic agenda not different from the unbecoming attitude by the secessionists.

Unwilling to hurriedly whip up any tribal sentiments, or be an ethnocentric, I decided to do a further research to confirm the veracity of the information forwarded to me on my WhatsApp wall by my brother-in-law on the illegality and falsities of the treacherous actions engineered by the Ewe secessionists in question. From my search on the internet, although the Ewes in then Trans-Volta Togoland, thus Western Togoland, voted in their majority in preference of amalgamation with French Togoland or separation from Gold Coast to continue with the UN Trusteeship. However, the majority of the overall count of votes cast by the entire ethnic groups or districts forming the Western Togoland favoured integration with Gold Coast, then on its way to becoming an independent country, Ghana.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Togoland#United_Nations_trust_territory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_British_Togoland_status_plebiscite

The Western Togoland comprised a number of districts of different ethnicities. They were the Mamprusi, Dagomba, Gonja, Buem/Krachi, Kpandu and Ho. Why then is it that only the Ewes, thus the latter three or two on the list, the supposedly intelligent ones among the lot, have started agitating for self-rule or integration with independent Togo, formerly French Togoland? The first three on the list, thus the Mamprusi, Dagomba and Gonja, have neither publicly nor privately identified with the secessionist criminal agenda initiated by the others.

https://legal.un.org/repertory/art76/english/rep_supp2_vol3_art76.pdf

During the plebiscite to either join Ghana or French Togoland or remain with the United Nations Trusteeship, the voting results went as follows:

District Union Separation Mampruisi 17870 3429 Dagomba 28083 6549 Gonja 3166 2729 Buem/Krachi 28176 18775 Kpandu 8581 17029 Ho 7217 18981 Total: 93093 (58%) 67492 (42%)

Source: United Nations Year Book, 1959, Cited in Bening, 1983

The government must not deal leniently with this treasonable activity by a few opportunists among the Ewes trying to cause the disintegration of Ghana for their myopic political cause.

I quite remember, if my memory serves me right, that under the military leadership of Colonel I. K. Acheampong, he moved troops to the Volta region and threatened to wage war against Togo should they dare cause any secessionist activities in that part of Ghana. The Togolese were making claims over that part of Ghana. Acheampongs quick move put a stop to that move made by Togo or their partners in the Volta region. Although the Akufo-Addo government is a Civilian government without that forceful power unlike a military regime, once a government, you have constitutional power and mandate to command the nations troops to quell any secessionist activity against your country.

The longer the government waits to deal a dizzy blow to the head of the nation-disintegration cause by the Ewe secessionists, the more dangerous the situation is allowed to fester to finally get out of control.

The NDC with their agents and assigns must be ashamed of themselves for claiming all these years that all Ewes are Ghanaians so they must be allowed to register and vote in Ghana general elections. All along, discerning Ghanaians including Rockson Adofo, the proud and the no-nonsense fearless son of Kumawu/Asiampa, the voice of the voiceless and the author of this publication, have been saying it is not any Ewe that is a Ghanaian, following the internationally-recognised demarcations of lands into sovereign states.

Now, those of us who have been upholding that belief are vindicated by a statement made by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for Tongu Constituency in the Volta region, himself an Ewe. He says and I quote, It is very worrying. That is why some of us insist there should be a high scale investigation into this matter. I have watched some of the videos. The war songs, chanting, and all of that. It is clear that it is not the Ewe associated with Ghanaians. It sounds more like the Ewe of the Togo people. The borders are closed, how did they get in?

However, it was this same Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa who not long ago, during the May 2020 nationwide voter registration of eligible Ghanaians onto the electoral roll was insisting the closure of Ghana borders was to deprive Ewes from registering because some live on the borders and keep going to and from Togo on daily basis to do business; purporting all Ewes are equally Ghanaians. Now that he risks being kicked out of Ghana parliament should the cause of his Ewe secessionists-colleagues succeed, he has come out telling the truth that not every Ewe is a Ghanaian.

To conclude, the Ghana government must not dither in its resolve to employ any ruthless but legal means as possible to put an end to this treasonable cause in pursuit by the secessionist's Ewes.

Rockson Adofo

Friday, 2 October 2020
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday joined a massive protest at Jantar Mantar against the alleged gang-rape and assault of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh. Addressing protesters, he said there should no politics over the incident.

There should be no politics on this issue. Why should such an incident happen in UP, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mumbai or Delhi? No rape incidents should happen in the country," said Kejriwal.

The entire country wants that the culprits be given stringent punishment, hang them so that such an incident is never repeated in the country. Some people feel that attempts are being made to save them. At this time, the victims family needs all the possible help," he added.

The woman succumbed to severe injuries she suffered when she was allegedly gang-raped and assaulted by four upper-caste men in the fields at her village in Hathras on September 14. The accused have now been arrested.

The woman was cremated in Hathras in the dead of the night, with her family members saying they were not allowed to bring the body home one last time. However, the police claimed they had the familys consent for the cremation.

Hundreds of people gathered at Jantar Mantar on Friday evening to protest against the barbaric gang-rape and murder, calling upon Yogi Adityanath to resign as UP chief minister. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bhim Army had earlier given the protest call, asking people to congregate.

The protest was also attended by Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D Raja. The UP government has no right to stay in power. Our demand is that justice should be served," said Yechury.

I will visit Hathras," said Azad at Jantar Mantar. Our struggle will continue till the time the UP CM doesnt resign and justice is served. I urge the Supreme Court to take cognizance of the incident."
Oil prices extended losses to fall around 2% on Friday after US President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, while a U.S. stimulus package eluded negotiators amid ongoing worries about demand.

Brent crude slipped on the news and was down 78 cents, or 1.9%, at $40.53 a barrel at 0516 GMT. U.S. oil was 79 cents, or 2%, lower at $37.93.

US oil is heading for a drop of more than 5% this week, while Brent is on track to fall more than 4%, in a second consecutive week of decline for both contracts.

In a tweet, Trump said he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. Trump said earlier he had started a quarantine process after Hope Hicks, a top adviser, had returned a positive test.

Oil was already in negative territory after a bipartisan deal for more economic relief in response to the pandemic continued to elude House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House, adding to fears about worsening demand without more support for the economy.

"The chief culprit appears to be a lack of a new U.S. stimulus package, reflecting the disappointment seen in other asset classes," said Jeffrey Halley, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA"

"Oil's upside was always likely to be limited, as fears rise about the global consumption picture, and from rising OPEC+ production," he added.

Crude supplies from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in September rose by 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a month earlier, a Reuters survey showed.

The increase was mainly the result of more supplies from Libya and Iran, OPEC members that are exempt from an agreement to withhold production between OPEC and allies led by Russia - a group known as OPEC+.

Libya's production has risen faster than analysts expected with the relaxation of a blockade by the Libyan National Army, which is trying to take control of the capital and is mainly based in the eastern part of the country, where many oil facilities are located.

Output of crude from Libya has risen to 270,000 bpd as the country ramps up export activity, a Libyan oil source told Reuters on Thursday.

New COVID-19 cases worldwide have rise to more than 34 million, nearly 2 million more than at the end of last week, based on Reuters tallies.

This week marked the grim milestone of deaths exceeding 1 million and several countries are tightening restrictions and contemplating lockdowns as infections accelerate, prompting concerns about the impact on demand for fuel.

Also read: Donald Trump, Melania Trump test positive for coronavirus; PM Modi wishes 'quick recovery'

Also read: Google Inc to pay select media publishers $1 bn for 'high-quality' content
Petoskey High School band directors, assistant principal remain on administrative leave

Superintendent Chris Parker addressed the situation regarding three band instructors and an assistant principal who are all currently on paid leave during Thursday's board of education meeting.
Press Release

Nokia reaches 100 5G deals and 160 commercial 5G engagements

 New wins validate company's progress in strengthening mobile radio product portfolio as transition to 5G continues

2 October 2020

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced that it has signed 17 new 5G commercial deals in Q3. With these wins, the company now has 100 commercial 5G deals with individual customers and a total of 160 commercial 5G engagements, including paid trials.

Nokia is present in all 5G early adopter markets, with deals with the top four US CSPs and the top three in both Japan and Korea. Just this week, Nokia signed a new 5G deal with BTin the UK and a renewed 5G deal with Elisain Finland.

Nokia's 5G portfolio is also gaining traction amongst enterprises. Enterprise customers now make up 12% of Nokia's 5G deals, with recent private wireless deployments including Deutsche Bahn, Toyota Production Engineeringand Sandvik. Nokia also boasts a 180-strong portfolio of private wireless customers, many of whom are expected to migrate to 5G.

Nokia's increasing 5G momentum amongst CSPs and enterprises is being driven by advances in Nokia's technology:

In February, Nokia revealed (https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2020/02/26/nokia-launches-end-to-end-4g-and-5g-new-radio-slicing/) it was first in the world to pioneer 4G and 5G network slicing, which enables operators to deliver unique, isolated 'slices' of the end-to-end network to their customers, tailored to specific applications.

In April, it introduced (https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2020/04/09/nokia-expands-5g-offering-with-new-radio-access-airscale-solutions/) the industry's first Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) solution that supports spectrum sharing between 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G.

In July, the company announced (https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2020/07/14/nokia-can-instantly-migrate-5-million-legacy-4g-radio-units-to-5g/) it can migrate five million legacy 4G radio units to 5G via a software upgrade, making it easier for operators to move to 5G.

Nokia made (https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2020/07/21/nokia-announces-first-commercial-5g-standalone-sa-private-wireless-networking-solutions-for-enterprise-customers/) its 5G standalone (SA) private wireless technology commercially available in July - the first network equipment provider to do so.

In August, Nokia contributed to the world's first large-scale 5G SA launch with T-Mobile in the US.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks, Nokia, said: "We are thrilled to have passed this 5G milestone. We know we still have work to do and that the market remains highly competitive. But, we are moving fast - and these wins make it clear that our progress is being validated by customers. We deeply appreciate their ongoing support and are committed to delivering for them."

Notes to Editors:

Nokia tracks 5G wins and reports publicly on its website ' 5G in action '. There is no standard industry practice for reporting 5G win data. Nokia's numbers are calculated as follows:

160 commercial 5G engagements refer to all engagements with customers, from signed contracts (deals) to paid trials

100 commercial 5G deals refer to contracted customers, with 17 since Q2

34 live 5G networks refer to both 5G public and private wireless networks which are now operational

88% of commercial deals are with operators, 12% with enterprises

Publicly announced deals on our 5G in action (https://www.nokia.com/networks/5g/5g-in-action/) page

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.
Washington County sheriff's office

FORT EDWARD -- A Clifton Park woman has been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide in connection with an Aug. 8 crash in Washington County that killed two people.

The Washington County Sheriffs Office says 29-year-old Lindsey B. Godfrey caused the deaths of Richard Chadwick and Alice Hahn by operating her car in a reckless manner that included using a cell phone, unsafe speed, and intoxication by drugs and alcohol.
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Linkedin Andrew Marszal (Agence France-Presse) Los Angeles, United States  Fri, October 2, 2020 09:05 478 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c489e080 2 Entertainment Brandon-Cronenberg,director Free

Releasing a horror film in 2020 presents a challenge: how do you compete with a deadly pandemic, raging protests over racism and the most viciously polarized US election in recent memory?

For Brandon Cronenberg -- son of legendary director David Cronenberg -- making an ultra-violent movie about corporate assassins who control other people's bodies through mind-hacking technology felt more appropriate than ever.

"If you look at Russian interference in the US elections, I think we're only just now starting to realize what it means to be a completely online society," he told AFP of "Possessor: Uncut."

"We're all in a sense hackable, and there's no way to close that door," he said. "That is human society now, and it will be interesting and possibly terrifying going forward to see what that means."

The movie follows cerebral hitwoman Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) as she takes over an oblivious victim (Christopher Abbott) and launches him into a horrific murder spree targeting an Orwellian CEO played by Sean Bean, who appeared in "Game of Thrones".

Released in theaters Friday by NEON -- behind last year's historic Oscar winner "Parasite" -- it has received rave reviews, but does not stint on highly graphic depictions of violence.

Hardened critics gasped during its January world premiere at the Sundance film festival.

"Violence in films should be visceral and disturbing -- it's more unsettling to me to see a PG-13 action film where 100 people die and nobody bleeds," said Cronenberg.

"If you're not taking violence seriously as a filmmaker, you're trivializing it. I think that is a more dubious position than showing it explicitly."

Read also: Disney confirms new 'Lion King' film with 'Moonlight' director

'Death of privacy'

The film imagines an alternate, dystopian version of our present, in which "physically controlling the brain through electrical impulses" has become a reality.

It is a vision familiar to fans of "Black Mirror" -- a dark tech-focused TV series that "has kind of cornered the market on this near-future sci-fi satire, and become a genre, in and of itself," said Cronenberg.

One episode of "Black Mirror" saw police investigate murders through literally downloading the image memories of potential witnesses.

In Cronenberg's film, the killers taking control of their victims' bodies "stands in as a metaphor for that kind of surveillance," said the director.

He wrote his film during the high-profile leaks from Edward Snowden, a former US intelligence contractor who revealed a National Security Agency mass surveillance program.

"I was feeling very angry about the death of privacy through technology, and the fact that governments were willing to violate privacy to that degree," said Cronenberg.

'More hate'

The movie's eye-popping gore will come as no surprise to viewers familiar with the haunting work of Cronenberg's father.

David Cronenberg pioneered "body horror" including Oscar-winning mutant sci-fi "The Fly," and directed the controversial "Crash" -- a thriller about sexual arousal and car crashes that won a special Cannes festival prize.

But its stars insist the gruesome depictions of "Possessor" are justified.

Riseborough told AFP the film's violence is "honest," but added: "The morality of whether that should or shouldn't then be represented externally, or on screen, is sort of a different question."

Cronenberg admitted: "I thought we would be getting more hate."
Local environmental advocates could once again have a greater say in the decision-making process as Aurora moves to revive the Towns Environmental Advisory Committee.

Until 2018, citizen members of the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) were appointed to review recommendations prior to a Council decision through a specialized green lens but their work, along with the work of the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee, were brought under the wider umbrella of the Community Advisory Committee established in the current term of Council.

But, according to a motion before Council this week from Mayor Tom Mrakas and Councillor Rachel Gilliland, it is time to bring back this specific group of concerned citizens.

The Town of Aurora declared a Climate Emergency for the purposes of naming and deepening our commitment to protecting our ecosystems and identifying key criteria to help reduce our carbon footprint and protect our community from the impacts of climate change, say Mayor Mrakas and Councillor Gilliland in their motion. The Town is prioritizing the process of creating a Climate Action Plan for the Town of Aurora, focused on reducing emissions and adaptation at the community level.

Local governments around the world have recognized the extreme emergency that climate change embodies and have expedited their own actions, and have called on provincial and national governments to strengthen action on climate change. The Town would benefit from a dedicated committee to address environmental and climate adaptation at a community level to discuss ongoing climate change, protections, energy conservation, education, environmental matters, and contribute comments to the Climate Action Plan and Community Energy Plan.

Should Council vote in favor of the motion, the Environmental Advisory Committee will be comprised of five citizen members and one Council member and the mandate of the Community Advisory Committee will be amended to remove environmental initiatives from its portfolio.

The move to re-establish the EAC coincided with a delegation made to Council at last weeks General Committee meeting by Claire Malcolmson, Executive Director of the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, who encouraged local lawmakers to take an active part in protecting tenets of the Provinces Lake Simcoe Protection Plan as legislation is reviewed at Queens Park.

Our big development lobby is very effective in Ontario right now. Growth is their major agenda and growth hurts the lake, said Ms. Malcolmson, underscoring the problem of phosphorus in run-off bound for the Lake Simcoe watershed. We really need the Province to know that they need to do the job they signed up to do when we had unanimous party support for the passage of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act in 2008.

Were asking municipalities around the watershed to call on the Government of Ontario to demonstrate their commitment to clean water, protecting what matters most, by ensuring the provisions in the Lake Simcoe Plan that protect water quality are not weakened and that policies protecting natural heritage are strengthened so that we meet the targets of the Lake Simcoe Plan, which we are not meeting.

According to Ms. Malcolmson, the initial target was to reduce phosphorus draining into Lake Simcoe to 44 tonnes per year after a peak of 100 tonnes per year in the 1980s.

The warning was we would go back up to 94 if we didnt take action, she said. We have exceeded that warning in the last 10 years. The average in the last 10 years has been 90 tonnes per year, much higher than the target of 44. There is no indication we can take our foot off the gas on phosphorous loads. Our organization is concerned that the phosphorous target would be challenged in the review of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan and we think that absolutely should not happen without far more robust science than we have seen coming from the Province on this.

There is a really big link between climate change impact and phosphorus loads in the lake. The belief at the moment is the increased strength and severity of precipitation are driving heavy flows into the lake at slightly new times of the year; those March and April rain storms on top of ice and snow, for example. Those just throw masses of phosphorus into the lake.

Ms. Malcolmsons delegation was received by Council and Mayor Mrakas said the Coalitions recommendations would be subject to a future motion. Councillor Gilliland echoed this enthusiasm and said issues like this would be perfect fodder for a revived EAC.

Hopefully we can include some of these discussions and concerns through the EAC side and hopefully that motion that is being put forward will enact a committee dedicated to climate change and adaptation in this world, especially Aurora, said Councillor Gilliland. I know we care about our community, we care about our climate, we care about trying to be cognizant of what we do to protect the environment, and this justcomplements that.
Americas First Lady has a foul mouth  and she used it to express disdain about media reports on children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border two years ago, according to newly revealed recordings.

Give me a [explitive] break! she said of media questions about President Trumps family separation policy in a conversation recorded by former confidant and aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff.

She griped that the media didnt complain when her husbands predecessor separated children and parents at the border. Where they were saying anything when Obama did that? she said.

Some immigrant families were separated at the border during the Obama administration  but Obama did not have a blanket family separation policy like the one Trump used to deter asylum seekers and illegal border crossers.

Wolkoff presented the recordings Thursday night on CNNs Anderson Cooper 360.

The First Lady also expressed frustration with the annual White House Christmas celebration.

Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a [expletive] about Christmas stuff and decoration? But I need to do it, right? the First Lady groused to Wolkoff in the July 2018 conversation.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump each speak on the phone sharing updates to track Santa's movements from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker on Christmas Eve, Monday, Dec. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)AP

President Trump famously made political hay out of the so-called War on Christmas famously boasted in 2017 that With Trump as youre president, were going to be saying Merry Christmas again.

Wolkoff, who wrote a tell-all book this year, fell out with the First Lady after she was blamed for the financial mismanagement of Trumps inaugural committee.

She has since cooperated with federal investigators probing the inaugural committee over allegations that it was used as a slush fund to enrich the presidents family.

By John Annese, New York Daily News (TNS)

More:

Pa. House lawmaker tests positive for COVID-19, delaying legislation on election, rent relief

Where Trump was before being diagnosed with coronavirus: timeline

Biden calls election battle with Trump Park Avenue vs. Johnstown
The ECB must prepare to issue a digital euro to complement banknotes if and when it becomes necessary, ECB board member Fabio Panetta has said.

Major central banks are studying the creation of officially sanctioned digital currencies to address demand for electronic means of payment and fend off competition from Bitcoin and other crypto tokens.

In a study, the ECB said a digital euro could help in scenarios where citizens abandoned cash, foreign forms of electronic money took over, or other means of payments became unavailable.

We should be ready to issue a digital euro if and when developments around us make it necessary, Mr Panetta said. This means that we already need to be preparing for it.

The ECB gave itself until the middle of next year to decide whether to go forward with the project, which is now open for public consultation.

A main concern is that this form of money might displace traditional deposits, hollowing out commercial banks and crowding out private solutions.

Last month, Irish Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf said that any introduction of a digital euro would be a complement and not a substitute for cash.

Before you worry about all that cash you have under your mattress, there is no immediate impending switch to such a digital currency, he said.

In an address to the economic think-tank the Institute of International and European Affairs, Mr Makhlouf said a switch to digital payments has a number of implications for monetary policy, particularly where it may lead to a dilution of a central banks control of the money supply.

-Reuters and Irish Examiner
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A government-ordered nationwide lockdown was set to go into effect Friday as Health Ministry statistics showed that Israels coronavirus numbers had reached record levels.

The education system and most non-essential businesses will be closed for at least two weeks with Israelis restricted to remaining within one kilometer (0.6 miles) of their homes except to get food and medical care.

Health Ministry statistics released Friday showed 7,755 Israelis tested positive for coronavirus in the past day, bringing the total number of confirmed active infections to 61,031. Of the 1,390 people hospi...
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Nine people, including three women, were arrested by the police in Assam for killing two persons they had branded as witches.

The incident, which occurred at a remote village in Karbi Anglong, was reminiscent of the 2018 killings of two youth from affluent Guwahati families in the district.

The police said the latest incident took place at Rahimapur, an Adivasi (or tea tribe) majority village on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.

A case of murder was registered against the accused under the Indian Penal Code and the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act. The accused will be produced in a court on Friday, the police said.

A woman of the village had died due to illness. So, when the post-death rituals were being performed, some villagers accused a mourner Bijoy Gaur, who is an educated youth from the village, of practicing witchcraft. Subsequently, a kangaroo court held him responsible for the misfortunes in the village.

What followed was a brutal assault on him. The police said a 50-year-old widow, Ramawati Halua, who is a relative of the youth, and her daughter had tried to rescue him but the mob pounced upon them. While Gaur and Ramawati died in the attack, the girl managed to flee. Later, the mob cremated the bodies, ostensibly after offering rituals to the local deity.

Gaur used to teach the village children. In a place where people easily get driven by superstitious beliefs, he always tried to inculcate a sense of scientific temper among children. The villagers viewed this as going against their traditional beliefs.

Karbi Anglong Superintendent of Police Debojit Deuri said that the girl had been kept under police protection. The village is virtually isolated. The locals have no connection whatsoever with people from neighbouring villages, he said.

Justice in the 2018 killings of Guwahati youths Abhijeet Nath and Nilotpal Das is still awaited. Over 40 people were arrested by the Karbi Anglong police after the incident of mob-lynching. The duo, both music and nature lovers, had driven to a remote village to soak in its beauty when a mob bludgeoned them to death after accusing of them being child-lifters.

On February 28 this year, a court in the hill district awarded life imprisonment to 12 people for lynching a 16-year-old college student in front of his father in 2013. The attack followed an altercation over auto-rickshaw fare.

Witch-hunting, a social malaise, claims on average a dozen lives in Assams tea belt and tribal areas every year. The killings have not stopped despite mass awareness campaigns by the state government and various NGOs. In 2017, the Gauhati High Court had observed that branding a person as a witch and then resorting to witch-hunting is a dehumanizing act and one of the worst forms of human rights violations.
(REUTERS)

Donald Trump has said that he is waiting for the result of a coronavirus test after confirming that Hope Hicks, one of his closest aides, tested positive.

The president said in an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News that his counselor, who is in her second stint at the White House, was confirmed as being infected on Thursday. She did test positive. I just heard about that.

She travelled with him to his rally in Minnesota on Tuesday. She is said to have symptoms and is at home in Washington DC.

Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Mr Trump told Hannity: "Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know  We'll see what happens. Who knows."

He has a rally in Florida scheduled for Friday and an event in Wisconsin on Saturday.

Later he tweeted: Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks arrives at the White House in Washington, late Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, after attending rallies in Ohio with President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Reports that she had tested positive for coronavirus first came from Bloombergs Jennifer Jacobs, who tweeted: Hope Hicks, who traveled with Trump aboard Air Force One to and from the presidential debate on Tuesday, and to his Minnesota rally yesterday, has coronavirus, sources tell me.

Ms Hicks has been seen both with and without a mask while travelling with Trumps team to rallies in recent weeks.

Jacobs added: No indication Trump has contracted coronavirus, but inner circle aide Hope Hicks has it, and is experiencing symptoms of the disease. She was in close proximity to him, maskless, in recent days. She was quarantined on AF1 on trip back from Minnesota.

Story continues

Asked by The Independent for a comment, the White House said: "The President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.

White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting Covid-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is travelling.

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks (L) and White House social media director Dan Scavino (R) walk to board Air Force One prior to US President Donald Trump departure from Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wisconsin, June 25, 2020. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

Ms Hicks is the closest aide to Mr Trump to have reportedly tested positive for Covid-19, which has infected some 7.3 million Americans and killed 207,000.

At the first presidential debate against Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Tuesday, Mr Trump insisted that there had been no negative consequences from his decision to hold repeated election rallies with little social distancing and with many audience members not wearing masks.

His friend Herman Cain, a business magnate and former Republican presidential hopeful, tested positive for coronavirus and later died from it after attending a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma in June, where he was among multiple attendees not wearing a mask. However, it is not known whether Mr Cain contracted the illness there.

Staff around Mr Trump are tested for coronavirus daily.

The president himself has repeatedly mocked the idea of wearing masks, although he has been seen with one occasionally. His CDC director, Robert Redfield, testified on Capitol Hill last month that wearing a mask could be an even more effective way to slow the spread of Covid-19 than a vaccine, once one has been developed. Mr Trump responded by saying that Mr Redfield must have misunderstood the question he was being asked.

Ms Hicks worked for the Trump Organisation before becoming a press secretary for his 2016 campaign.

Following his victory she became director of strategic communications at the White House and later communications director, before her resignation in March 2018., something sources at the time said she had been planning for several months.

She was recalled to the White House in March this year as counselor to the president.

Read more

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"No recess without relief" is the refrain from a coalition of business groups, which this week sent a letter to congressional leaders imploring them to not leave Washington for the 2020 elections without passing additional stimulus.

More than 200 public- and private-sector groups--calling themselves the Covid Relief Now Coalition--signed the letter, urging Congress to pass additional economic relief for small businesses before the November 3 election. Otherwise, they said, millions more jobs will be lost, millions of those now unemployed will lose benefits, and hundreds of thousands of companies could close their doors forever.

"This is a pivotal moment," the letter reads. "Congress needs to rise to the occasion and cast partisanship aside to provide a lifeline to get through this pandemic. Congress's failure to act now will result in negative economic ramifications that will reverberate for decades."

The letter was sent amid renewed stimulus talks between congressional Democrats and the White House, which are taking place this week. On Wednesday, House Democrats held off a vote on their $2.2 trillion stimulus proposal announced Monday. The package, which is being referred to as the updated Heroes Act, reportedly includes another round of $1,200 stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment benefits, worker health protections under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program.

While the House bill in its current form stands little chance of passing, both sides are continuing to negotiate. The Trump administration previously expressed interest in a bill with a price tag of around $1.5 trillion; according to a new report, citing people briefed on the deal, Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has proposed $1.6 trillion in additional Covid-19 relief.
SPRINGFIELD  The city is seeking developers to rehabilitate an apartment block in the North End thats been vacant for over seven years.

The residential market has been stronger as of late, including multifamily, and we wanted to be sure we exhausted any redevelopment opportunities with the property given its historic nature before advancing other alternatives, said Brian Connors, the citys deputy director of economic development.

He said he cant get into what other alternatives might be at this point.

The four-story brick building at 2612-2616 Main St., at the corner of Arch Street, has 17,000 square feet and 12 apartments. A housing court judge condemned the building in 2013 and the tenants, some of them had lived there for decades, were forced to move out.

The buildings problems included a potentially hazardous electrical system, inadequate smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, water leaks throughout the building and likely mold, and insufficient lighting outside.

The city already demolished an adjacent apartment building that once faced out onto Arch Street. That land is now vacant and is part of the parcel included in this request for proposals. The land totals 12,150 square feet, a little more than a quarter acre.

The property was taken by the city for nonpayment of taxes in 2014.

In 2015, the city struck a deal with the Pentecostal Christian Church, which planned to buy the property for $5,000 and invest $1.1 million to rehab it. The deal never went through and the city retained the empty building.

In the latest request for proposals, the city said the assessed value is $740,900 and the minimum bid is only $1,000.

The city is most interested in proposals that creatively integrate the site with the surrounding area, respecting zoning, and in a manner that creates a viable redevelopment opportunity and enhances the aesthetic appeal of the streetscape, the legal advertisement reads. The City prefers projects that preserve the existing structure but will consider any proposal.

Proposals are due to the procurement officer Nov. 18.

Among the ongoing construction projects in Springfield is the $15 million Overland Lofts project, which involves the rehabilitation of a former auto showroom, the Willys-Overland building, at 151 Chestnut St.
StreetTrend LLC, a fashion footwear and street wear brand company was launched in 2017 by Wayne Kulkin, former CEO of Stuart Wetizman for more than 25 years, in a joint venture partnership with the financial services and brand investment firm Hilco Global and its CEO Jeffrey B. Hecktman. Karen Katz has also been tapped as Chairman of StreetTrend's Advisory Board. Katz previously served as President & CEO of Neiman Marcus Group LTD LLC and has since been seated on several boards, including Under Armour and Casper.

As a self-described "sneakerhead" and as the CEO of StreetTrend, Mr. Kulkin first discovered the P448 brand in 2017 while traveling to Italy to source brands for his new street wear company. After several visits, Kulkin signed an agreement with P448 to serve as the exclusive distributor and marketing partner for United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan under StreetTrend LLC.

After great success as a distributor, StreetTrend LLC then acquired 30% ownership of NoThanks SpA in 2018, and Kulkin became the Chairman of the Board and a key driver behind the brands growth and success. StreetTrend LLC reports that the P448 brand alone has achieved CAGR of approximately 40% each year and has dramatically expanded its distribution channels to retailers such as Nordstrom, Evereve, Bloomingdales, ShopBop, Revolve, Printemps, Luisaviaroma, Illum, Level Shoes and La Rinascente.

CEO, Wayne Kulkin said, "Everyone is saying wholesale is dead - wholesale is not dead but it's evolving. The wholesale to DTC penetration will now move more towards a 70% / 30% split DTC to wholesale. This is the new reality." StreetTrend had already recognized this evolution that was only accelerated by the Covid pandemic and the P448 brand saw an increase of 800% on its digital channels in the first half of the year alone.

StreetTrend also took the opportunity to open new markets, most recently Taiwan, as well as new digital partners such as Revolve.

StreetTrend LLC investor and business partner Jeffery B. Hecktman, CEO of Hilco Global said, "Wayne has a grand vision for StreetTrend, and he has been successfully executing against it since we first met several years ago." Hecktman continued, "Wayne describes StreetTrend as a modern day incubation company - built from new global businesses and brands in the men's and women's fashion and streetwear sectors, with a focus on footwear ranging from sneaker to lifestyle categories for the consumer who wants fashion, technology and fit."

Kulkin added, "In the midst of the worst health and economic crisis of modern history, we launched a new design and creative services group with a network of experts and facilities to leverage shared knowledge, industry experience and best-in-class resources - called TheProjectSociety LLC."

To support the Project Society, launch StreetTrend LLC opened a 20,000 sq ft design studio in Elda, Spain with dedicated technicians and support staff  led by Creative Director Daniele Michetti. This new design studio enabled the company to launch footwear collections for four lifestyle brands, creating complete lines from sketch to market. Kulkin added, "all production and sourcing were executed in Italy and Spain - a critical factor in order to ensure premier design, quality and craftsmanship."

About StreetTrend LLC: StreetTrend LLC is a fashion footwear and street wear brand portfolio holding company under the leadership of Wayne Kulkin, former CEO of Stuart Weitzman. The company was formed in 2017 as a JV partnership with Jeffrey Hecktman, CEO of the international investment and financial services company Hilco Global, a firm with holdings in several retail and fashion brands. StreetTrend designs, manufactures, distributes and sells several footwear brands including P448 luxury sneakers at select boutiques and online at or www.P448.com.

SOURCE StreetTrend LLC
LAKE FOREST, Ill., Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Akorn, a leading specialty pharmaceutical company ("Akorn" or the "Company"), today announced the successful completion of its sale to certain of the Company's term loan lenders, which was approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the "Bankruptcy Court") on September 2, 2020. This milestone marks the culmination of Akorn's Chapter 11 cases, with the Company well-positioned to continue to fulfill its mission to improve patients' lives through the quality, availability and affordability of its products.

In tandem with the completion of the sale, Akorn's long-term debt has been cut by more than half, and the Company has secured a revolving credit line to ensure a stronger balance sheet and operating flexibility as it looks to enter a new phase of growth.

Doug Boothe, Akorn's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter for Akorn. We are moving forward with significantly reduced debt, better cash flow, strong operations and a diverse product portfolio that positions Akorn well for long-term growth and a brighter future in the years to come. Our ability to achieve the goals we set at the beginning of our restructuring process is a testament to the hard work and support of our associates, as well as the dedicated partnership of our lenders, customers and suppliers throughout this process."

Following the official completion of the transaction, Akorn is now operating as a private entity under the legal name of Akorn Operating Company LLC.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements," including those regarding the Company's long-term business plan and outlook. A number of important factors could cause actual results of the Company and its subsidiaries to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information, plans and estimates at the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, future events or other changes.

About Akorn:

Akorn develops, manufactures and markets specialty pharmaceuticals, including prescription, consumer health and animal health products. As an industry leader in branded and generic products in alternate dosage forms such as ophthalmics, injectables, oral liquids, otics, topicals, inhalants and nasal sprays, we focus each day on our mission to improve lives, through the quality, availability and affordability of our products. Additional information is available on Akorn's website at www.akorn.com .

Media:

[email protected]

SOURCE Akorn
by Mathias Hariyadi

The prime minister of the Melanesian nation accuses Jakarta of violating the human rights of indigenous Papuans. Indonesia replies by accusing Vanuatu of causing hatred among local Papuans and discrediting Indonesia's reputation in the international community by raising human rights issues to support separatist movements.

New York (AsiaNews)  In recent years, Vanuatu has become a political obstacle for Indonesias diplomatic mission to the UN due to its criticism of Jakartas human rights record.

The Prime Minister of the small country, Bob Loughman, renewed his attacks in a pre-recorded video address at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week.

The indigenous people of (Indonesian) West Papua continue to suffer from human rights abuses," he said in his speech.

Last year leaders from the Pacific Islands Forum respectfully called on the Indonesian government to allow the United Nations Office of the Human Rights Commissioner to visit West Papua province. To date there has been little progress on this front.

I therefore call on the Indonesian government to please heed the previous call of Pacific leaders.

The claims of the Prime Minister of Vanuatu are not very "new" to the Indonesian government, but they fuel existing political tensions with this small Pacific island nation.

Both Jakarta and its representatives in New York have railed against Loughman's criticism.

An Indonesian diplomat responded by saying that such criticism clearly shows the excessive and unhealthy obsession over West Papua only because indigenous Papuans and the population in Vanuatu share the same Melanesian ethnicity.

Mr Loughman is accused of interfering in Indonesian internal affairs, especially when Vanuatu expressed concern over Jakarta's lack of action and commitment to address human rights abuses against indigenous Papuans.

A young diplomat from Indonesia's permanent mission at the United Nations, Silvany Austin Pasaribu, slammed Vanuatu for failing to respect the UN charter and its principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.

"So until you have done so, please keep the sermon to yourself," she said, adding that unlike Indonesia, Vanuatu has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

In her view, West Papuas incorporation into Indonesia is final despite this ignorant country (Vanuatu) chooses the contrary.

She goes on to blame Vanuatu for sowing divisions among Papuans in order to discredit Indonesias reputation in the international community, raising human rights issues and supporting separatist movements through its fanciful concern for human rights.

A few days after the speech of the Vanuatu prime minister, Indonesian police forces broke up a peaceful protest by students at Cendrawasih University in Jayapura, capital of Indonesias Papua province, who are opposed to the renewal of the Law on special autonomy in Papua, which expires next year.

Pictured: indigenous Papuans in the Diocese of Agats
Before the debate, this attack on democracy itself was not fully clear to me, not even after a decade researching the earlier white power movement and several years watching its resurgence after the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. This movement declared war on the state, and especially the federal government, in 1983. It then embarked upon a series of violent acts, most notoriously the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995.

But there is something new today: The president and his administration are at war on the democratic process, as we see in his weakening of the Post Office and the credibility of mail-in ballots, in calls for poll watchers that are clear invitations for intimidation, and in statements by Mr. Trump that cast doubt on his willingness to accept the results of the election.

Not only does Stand back and stand by fail to denounce and disavow white supremacist violence, it seems to be a call to arms and preparedness. It suggests that these groups, who are eager to do violence in any case, have the implicit approval of the state.

The day after the debate, Mr. Trump claimed not to know who the Proud Boys were, and told them to stand down. But even the most generous interpretation of his comments does not release Mr. Trump from accountability. The Proud Boys  some of whom were involved in the Charlottesville rally  should be well known to the president. And no matter what he says now, he cant unring the bell.

The groups Mr. Trump declined to disavow will interpret attempts to clarify to be merely strategic denials. He did not, in his initial statement, specify a moment for which the Proud Boys ought to stand by. But if Mr. Trump loses, they will surely move from stand by to engage, prepared to take violent action. If Mr. Trump wins, they will likely believe that they are an unofficial apparatus of state violence.

Because of my research on the white power movements history, I regularly hear from people sounding the alarm. They are advocates who try to deradicalize those attempting to leave white power groups. They are watchdogs that monitor white power internet activism. They are people at tech companies charged with flagging hate speech, and who are exhausted by the sheer magnitude of the task and the hatefulness they encounter.

They are teachers and librarians and parents worried about what to do when they meet young people headed down the road to violence. And they are even people who have worked in the Trump administration, people in his own Department of Homeland Security and F.B.I., who have repeatedly identified white power as the most prominent source of domestic terrorism. Whistle-blowers like Elizabeth Neumann and Brian Murphy at the Department of Homeland Security have been warning of insufficient resources and will to confront this problem at the highest levels of the Trump administration.
More than 30 US Congress members have introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and criticizing Turkey's intervention in this conflict.

The measure was introduced by bipartisan members of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, including Reps. Jackie Speier, Adam Schiff , Frank Pallone, Gus Bilirakis, and 32 other members, The Hill reported.

The resolution condemns Azerbaijan for instigating fighting that broke out on the border with Artsakh.

Also, the congressional lawmakers called out Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev for increasingly aggressive rhetoric and destabilizing actions, and cited reports in The Guardian that Bakus assault on Nagorno-Karabakh may be part of an organized military operation.

The lawmakers resolution echoes calls by the international community for both sides to observe a ceasefire and return to negotiations under the OSCE Minsk Group.

They also condemn Turkeys interference in the fighting.
Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Bega Cheese Limited (ASX:BGA) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Bega Cheese

Crunching the numbers

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Levered FCF (A$, Millions) AU$35.9m AU$57.6m AU$65.0m AU$82.5m AU$91.0m AU$97.4m AU$102.8m AU$107.5m AU$111.7m AU$115.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x4 Analyst x4 Analyst x4 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Est @ 6.99% Est @ 5.57% Est @ 4.58% Est @ 3.88% Est @ 3.4% Present Value (A$, Millions) Discounted @ 7.1% AU$33.5 AU$50.2 AU$53.0 AU$62.8 AU$64.7 AU$64.6 AU$63.7 AU$62.2 AU$60.4 AU$58.3

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = AU$573m

Story continues

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.3%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.1%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2030  (1 + g)  (r  g) = AU$115m (1 + 2.3%)  (7.1% 2.3%) = AU$2.5b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= AU$2.5b ( 1 + 7.1%)10= AU$1.2b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is AU$1.8b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of AU$5.0, the company appears quite good value at a 40% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. 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 Bega Cheese 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 7.1%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

Looking Ahead:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Bega Cheese, we've put together three fundamental items you should look at:

Financial Health: Does BGA have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does BGA's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Australian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
OTTAWA  His white hair is growing back in, although its a lot shorter now. But Jim Carrs voice is strong, and his delight in returning to the House of Commons is palpable.

The last time I saw the Winnipeg South Centre MP and prime ministers special representative for the Prairies was in early March, just before the pandemic shutdown.

We chatted as he left West Block and I told him to stop touching the scuzzy stair handrails.

The coronavirus was already sweeping the globe, elbowing Western alienation, train blockades and economic turmoil off the Liberal governments agenda.

Carr was due to have a stem cell transplant soon. If anyone should be worried about the viral soup that is Parliament Hill is, it was him.

On Wednesday night, almost six months later, we talked again, shortly after he spoke to the House of Commons for the first time in more than a year.

Carr addressed the Commons  virtually- from his home in Manitoba, telling his fellow MPs that circumstances and life had intervened, but he was back, feeling strong and ready to work.

He riffed on the throne speech, the COVID-19 pandemic, the West and democracy. The MPs in the chamber grinned and Conservative House leader Gerard Deltell welcomed his return.

The parliamentary community may be physically distanced, but who doesnt love a comeback story?

In the last weeks of the 2019 federal election campaign, Carr was experiencing flu-like symptoms, saying he felt tired and not particularly well.

On Oct. 21  election day  Carrs doctor phoned him after a routine blood test and told him to get to the emergency room at Winnipegs Health Sciences Centre. Carr waited until the ballots were counted. Hed won his seat, and headed first to a community centre to thank his campaign volunteers, then home to change into jeans before heading to the hospital that night.

The next day he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a kind of blood cancer that affects plasma, and kidney failure. He called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the next day, and then he went public.

Ive been in the maw of the health-care system ever since, he told me.

A former journalist and provincial politician, Carr was first elected as an MP in 2015. A long-time Liberal, he was named Trudeaus natural resources minister and then minister for international trade diversification in the first mandate, and looked set for another role in the new Liberal governments cabinet.

Instead, Carr was tasked to be Trudeaus eyes and ears on the Prairies, not a cabinet position although he remained invited to the cabinet committee on agenda, results and communications, which Trudeau chaired.

Chemotherapy and dialysis were his new normal. Carr was scheduled for an autologous stem-cell transplant in March, a procedure in which a persons own blood-forming stem cells are collected and the returned to the body after the cancer has been treated with aggressive chemotherapy.

Like so many hundreds of thousands of Canadians whose medical treatments and surgeries were shelved by the coronavirus pandemic, Carrs transplant was delayed. When it finally was rescheduled in May, he was hospitalized for four weeks. The pre-transplant chemotherapy was a gentle compared to the blast his body took to kill the myeloma. The chemo takes you to a point where your immune system is completely wiped out, he said. He later contracted C-difficile, a bacterial infection, and was hospitalized again for three days.

Carr has nothing but praise for the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre and CancerCare Manitoba staff that treated him but he doesnt deny it was a difficult period, made easier by many supportive letters and messages, especially from his former cabinet colleague Dominic Leblanc.

Leblanc, Trudeaus intergovernmental affairs minister, went through two bouts of cancer himself. First diagnosed in 2017 with leukemia and treated with IV chemo-immunotherapy, Leblanc was in remission when he was diagnosed in April 2019 with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and underwent a stem-cell transplant.

Dominic was a wonderful friend and a tower of strength for me, said Carr. Our cancers were different, but our transplants were similar.

Leblanc was in touch with him almost every day, said Carr. He said to me, It all comes back, it all comes back, it all comes back.

And sure enough, its all coming back.

Like a child does, Carr is now going through a full regime of revaccinations for everything from mumps and measles to chickenpox.

A classical oboist, he listened to Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and Stravinsky, read deeply, and treasured time with family and friends on his back deck through the past few months. Theres been a baby boom in the Carr family. His second grandchild, Michelle Beth, was born Wednesday.

And the Manitoba MP has been gradually getting back to work. He describes himself as a creature of radio and the days when people used the phone more, so despite the pandemic, he has been making physically distanced connections that feel real, working the phones, talking to Western business and labour leaders, doing a job the prime minister gave him thats bringing him new joy.

This week in Parliament saw a couple of high-profile returns: Conservative Leader Erin OToole and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet took their Commons seats after two weeks of self-isolation following COVID-19 diagnoses for them and their spouses. Still, Carrs return marked a recovery of a different kind.

Theres a humility in recovering from cancer, he said. You have a far broader scope of view on morality, on longevity, on time spent. He feels, he said, blessed in so many ways.

Next week he turns 69, and feels like I have a lot of runway ahead of me.
No one in central Pennsylvania is ever likely to forget the day that a man entered a small Amish school and killed five girls.

It has been 14 years since Charles Carl Roberts IV shattered a small community in an act that reverberated around the globe.

Around 10 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 2, 2006, Roberts entered West Nickel Mines Amish School in Bart Twp., Lancaster County, and barricaded the door.

After ordering the male students to leave and allowing a pregnant woman and three women with babies to leave  he tied the girls feet together.

The women who were released called 911. State police arrived within minutes and tried unsuccessfully to talk to Roberts. Around 10:50 a.m. Roberts called his wife, Marie, and told her he is not coming home and that he left notes at the house for her and their children.

A little after 11 a.m. Roberts told state police he would shoot students if they didnt leave in 10 seconds. A state police negotiator called him on his cell phone but within seconds police heard rapid shots being fired. According to police, many of the girls where shot in the head.

Roberts, 32, killed five girls and injured five others. He then killed himself.

Emergency personnel remove the bodies of the victims at the West Nickel Mines Amish school, Bart Twp., Lancaster County, Oct. 2, 2006. (The Patriot-News)

Robert was armed with a semiautomatic handgun, a shotgun, a rifle, two knives, a stun gun and 600 rounds of ammunition.

At the time, state police Commissioner Col. Jeffrey B. Miller said, They were shot execution-style. It was a horrendous crime scene.

Police had speculated that the shooting was to avenge something that apparently happened to Roberts when he was 12 years old. Miller said Roberts discussed the matter in a phone call to his wife minutes before the shootings and mentioned it in a suicide note he left for her. Roberts also left notes for their three children.

Roberts also claimed he had molested some young family members long ago and was still haunted by the death of his he and his wifes first child, a daughter who died 20 minutes after she was born in 1997.

Police said Roberts had planned the attack.

On the day of the shooting, Miller said, He was an angry man -- angry with life, angry at God, Miller said.

Roberts, a milk-tanker truck driver who lived near the school, dropped his three school-age children off at a bus stop, then drove a borrowed pickup truck to the school, arriving shortly before 10 a.m.

In the back of the truck was lumber, hardware and tools to barricade the doors and weapons and supplies he had assembled for what police said was planned to be a last stand. He was going in there, and he was never coming out, Miller said. He had no intention of coming out alive.

Police said Roberts was armed with a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol, a 12-gauge shotgun and a 30.06 rifle. A stun gun and two knives were strapped to his belt.

The Patriot-News reported, A range bag he carried was filled with 600 rounds of ammunition. Roberts also had synthetic black powder, which is used for reloading bullets, and two cans of smokeless powder. He carried a change of clothes, toilet paper and earplugs in a five-gallon bucket.

One box contained tools including a hammer, a hacksaw, pliers and wire. Wire ties, eye bolts, rolls of clear tape and other hardware were in another box. Eye bolts were screwed into some of the lumber recovered at the scene.

Most of the supplies had been purchased from a store nearby. It appears he was prepared for a lengthy siege, Miller said. Instead, it was over within minutes after police arrived.

The shooting claimed the lives of Naomi Rose Ebersol, 7; Marian Stoltzfus Fisher, 13; Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12; Lena Zook Miller, 8; and Mary Liz Miller, 7.

What followed with the intense grief, shock and horror was forgiveness and steadfast faith.

Media from around the nation swarmed the area. In addition to local media there were reporters from Montreal, the United Kingdom, Russia and Japan. CNN, MSNBC and Fox News followed the story all day. ABC recorded a Good Morning America segment. And, more than 50 trucks with satellites atop their roofs filled the roadsides and nearby parking lots.

Less than a year later, New Hope School opened 200 yards away from West Nickel Mines school, which was demolished.

In the ensuing years, there were two movies and several books written about the tragedy, including those written by Roberts' widow, Marie Monville, and his mother Terri Roberts.

The new school house being built in Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007. The school replaces the demolished West Nickel Mines Amish school where five female students were shot to death on Oct. 2, 2006. (The Patriot-News)

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Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence have tested negative for coronavirus, the vice presidents press secretary said early Friday.

As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-10 every day, said Devin OMalley, the vice presidents spokesperson. This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.

The announcement comes hours after President Donald Trump shared on Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus.

We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately, Trump announced in a tweet just before 1 a.m. Friday. We will get through this TOGETHER!

The president was tested after close aide, Hope Hicks, tested positive for COVID-19. Hicks experienced mild symptoms on the plane ride home after a campaign rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening, the Associated Press reported.

Sean P. Conley, physician to the president, said overnight that the President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

Conley said he and the rest of the White House medical team will maintain a vigilant watch over the Trumps. Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering and I will keep you updated on any future developments.

At 74 years old, Trump is within the higher risk category for the disease. The vice president is 61 years old.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will be tested for coronavirus Friday morning after sharing a debate stage with the president this week.

During the first presidential debate, Biden and Trump stood at socially distanced podiums. They did not shake hands with each other or moderator Chris Wallace before the debate. Neither wore masks on stage.

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On Monday, Ohio-based mining corporation Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced its plans to purchase the US manufacturing operations of Luxembourg-based steel giant ArcelorMittal for $1.4 billion. The deal will position Cleveland-Cliffs as the top producer of flat-rolled steel and iron ore pellet in North America, provide a windfall for both corporations and intensify the restructuring of the global steel industry.

The deal will merge high-volume steel production with Cliffss significant reserves of iron ore feedstock in the northern US under a single company that is expected to employ about 25,000 in total. Cliffs is the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America. It has supplied iron ore to ArcelorMittal USA and other steel manufacturers throughout the world. Through the deal, it will acquire 14 plants that make steel or roll and coat it; three coal-coking plants; and two iron-ore mining operations from ArcelorMittal.

Worker with steel coils (source: ArcelorMittal media)

Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves (net worth estimated $37.7 million) boasted that the corporation was in a position to carry out the large acquisition because steel rebounded after the auto restart in May. In March, autoworkers worldwide shut down the global auto industry after they carried out wildcat action in protest against unsafe working conditions as the COVID-19 pandemic was rapidly spreading. Politicians and businesses worldwide collaborated with the unions in each country where production stopped in order to herd workers back into unsafe plants by the late spring.

ArcelorMittal regained the worlds top steel producer position after having briefly been outpaced by Chinas Baowu Group early this year. Although the sale of its North American operations, concentrated in the Great Lakes region of the US, will further undermine this position, CEO Lakshmi Mittal declared that the sale is a strategic repositioning of our assets, but not a strategic repositioning of our market presence.

Mittal had considered the sale of the corporations US operations since 2019, reasoning that these facilities were not as competitive as US-based corporations, which could use their own iron ore supplies, a necessary component of the manufacture of raw steel, at a much lower cost. Cleveland-Cliffs owns and operates four iron ore mines in Michigan and Minnesota. ArcelorMittal has some mining operations in the US but the bulk of its mines are overseas in Brazil, Bosnia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Mexico and Ukraine, mainly countries where labor is cheaper.

Both corporations are eager to profit from the deal. According to the website MarketScreener, Cleveland-Cliffs stock rose 10 percent to $6.48 on Monday after announcing the planned purchase. About one-third of the $1.4 billion buyout will be paid in cash by Cliffs and the remaining two-thirds will be paid for in Cliffs stock. ArcelorMittal will hold a 16 percent stake in Cliffs as result of the deal and it will hand over $500 million to shareholders in share buybacks.

The details of the sale point toward coming attacks on the living standards of the working class. These will be carried out with the collaboration of the United Steelworkers union (USW), which negotiates labor agreements covering the two corporations combined US hourly workforce of over 15,000 workers.

USW District 7 Director Mike Millsap told the Chicago Tribune Tuesday, We (USW) have bargained with Cleveland-Cliffs. They bought AK Steel a while back. Overall, our relationship has been very good.

Goncalves echoed Millsaps statements. We are creating an exceptional company, based on great people and supported by our existing strong relationship with the United Steelworkers, the United Auto Workers and the Machinists unions, he said in a statement announcing the deal.

In 2018, USW pushed through a concessions contract with Cleveland-Cliffs, which eroded wages and increased the burden of health care costs for workers. Goncalves welcomed the collaboration of the union and boasted at the time that the contract provides Cliffs a competitive cost structure for future success.

In 2019, Cliffs moved to buy AK Steel, the last remaining electrical steel producer (for power transformers and motors) in the US in an initial stock deal worth $1.1 billion. Cliffs then fully acquired its operations in a nearly $3 billion deal in March 2020.

Before the combined deal was finalized this year, Goncalves lobbied the Trump administration to include electrical steel laminated cores in the products subject to the administrations 25 percent tariffs on imported steel. Goncalves sent the appeal directly to US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. Ross was one of the masterminds behind the justification of the Trump administrations bevy of import tariffs as a national security measure, which sparked a trade war when they were implemented in stages beginning in March 2018.

Goncalves threatened the closure of two AK Steel mills where workers produce grain-oriented electrical steel for transformers, one in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the other Zanesville, Ohio. These moves would have put 1,600 workers out of a job.

Goncalves ruthless actions were supported by a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania lawmakers who wrote a letter in late April to Trump urging that he expand the tariffs. In May, Ross announced that the Department of Commerce would begin an investigation into the complaints of Goncalves and the legislators to determine the effects on national security.

The USW, under former president Leo Gerard, endorsed the Trump administrations trade war measures aimed mainly at the Chinese metals industry. The USW also heaped praised on the nomination of Wilbur Ross as Secretary of Commerce, falsely proclaiming to workers that both would protect jobs.

A billionaire, Ross made a fortune as an asset stripper through buying steel companies in or near bankruptcy beginning in 2002. He consolidated struggling companies, including Weirton, Bethlehem and LTV Corp. into the International Steel Group (ISG). Ross increased his initial investments by twelve-fold by robbing workers of their pensions and retiree health care benefits, with the full collusion of the USW, cutting the lives of thousands of retirees short for his personal wealth, and by neglecting environmental and worker health and safety measures.

Ross himself has a history with Lakshmi Mittal (net worth $10.3 billion), CEO of ArcelorMittal. Ross sold ISG to Mittal in 2004 while he was CEO of Mittal Steel, ArcelorMittals predecessor. The acquisition of ISG made Mittal Steel the worlds largest steel producer. In 2006, it expanded further to become ArcelorMittal after merging with giant European steelmaker Arcelor.

The United Steelworkers continues to spew out vile nationalism while it colludes with the steel executives to force workers to accept wage and benefit cuts and worse working conditions. The USW has welcomed the takeover by Cliffs and postured against ArcelorMittal on a nationalist platform. Millsap inferred that Mittals location abroad was the reason why the union could not win concessions for workers, saying, The fact that its a US company will help. Its hard to deal with someone when theyre in London.

Such an inference is a lie. Whether or not a corporation is based in the US or a different country, the ruling class gains its wealth from the exploitation of workers and lowering of wages throughout the world. In one round of concessions contracts after the next, the union leaders have told workers that their sacrifices are necessary to keep the companies competitive, claiming this would defend their jobs. Over the last four decades, this has led to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of steelworkers jobs and the decimation of mill towns in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and other states.

Most recently, the USW did nothing to oppose the planned layoffs of over 1,000 workers at ArcelorMittal and more than 2,000 workers at Pittsburgh-based US Steel, as well as the closure of two of Cleveland-Cliffs mines.

In the 2018 contract talks, the union worked hand-in-hand with corporate management to isolate workers at Cleveland-Cliffs from 31,000 of their brothers and sisters at US Steel and ArcelorMittal, though they worked in the mines which provided raw material to the mills. While keeping workers in the dark throughout negotiations, the USW ignored the unanimous strike vote by ArcelorMittal and US Steel workers and then imposed a concessions contract, which effectively stripped job protections for all workers and guaranteed no benefits to new hires.

Neither have the tariffs benefited anyone but the corporate oligarchs who control the steel corporations. After tariffs were unleashed in early 2018, US-made steel prices rose and provided an increase in revenue briefly until the demand dried up due to high costs and the effects of retaliatory tariffs. Steel prices and output fell, and workers were forced to bear the brunt of the trade war fallout through cuts to safety, layoffs and plant closures throughout the US.

The sale of ArcelorMittal USA to Cleveland-Cliffs is the latest step toward the restructuring of the steel industry worldwide. In the US, over 50,000 steelworkers have lost their jobs since 2000, yet the corporations continue to reap billions in profits and keep productivity levels high. A 2016 report on the US steel industry by the Department of Commerce noted, In 2015, one employee accounted for approximately 1,000 net tons of raw steel production, an increase of 20 percent since 2000.

Cleveland-Cliffs will be under intensified pressure to shift toward electric furnace production, like its competitor US Steel in the raw steel market. The two steelmakers profits are threatened by Nucor, the largest steelmaker in the US, and Steel Dynamics, which use newer electric furnaces that operate more efficiently with fewer workers than older blast furnaces. In 2019, US Steel bought a stake in electric furnace steelmaker Big River Steel for $700 million with the option to buy the rest of the Arkansas-based company by 2023.

The deal also reveals the intensifying nationalist orientation of the US ruling elite in the time of economic crisis sharpened by the pandemic. The US ruling class, represented by both Republicans and Democrats, is seeking to take aim against China and implement austerity measures at home to offset its financial and political crisis.

The ramping up of trade war measures in the metals industry will serve to accelerate the US drive toward military war with China. The USW, like the steel bosses, has welcomed Trumps trade war measures with open arms in spite of the destruction of jobs of thousands of workers, only criticizing him when he does not go far enough. The USW is now supporting Democratic nominee Joe Biden whose program of economic nationalism promises to be just as or even more aggressive than Trumps.

There is no way forward for the working class through the nationalist program of austerity, trade war and military war. Steelworkers must break from the corrupt USW, which seeks to tie their interests to the same corporations that exploit them. To prepare for the coming attacks on their jobs and living standards, steelworkers in the US must form their own organizations, rank-and-file factory committees, to put forward and fight for their own demands.

Workers must reject all forms of nationalism and fight to link their struggles with those of steel and mine workers in China, Europe, Latin America and throughout the world in a fight against capitalism and for transformation of the giant metal and mining corporations into public utilities under the democratic control and collective ownership of the working class around the world.
The parents of a prominent antigay ultranationalist whose death in custody last month was ruled a suicide have alleged that their son was killed or driven to suicide and vowed to file a police complaint in the case.



Thirty-six-year-old Maksim Martsinkevich -- a leader of the neo-Nazi group Format 18 who was known as Tesak (Machete) -- was found dead in a solitary-confinement cell in the west-central Russian city of Chelyabinsk on September 16 and his body transported to Moscow.



His parents were quoted by Kommersant Daily on October 2 as saying the morgue in Moscow refused to allow independent forensics experts to see the body before burial but that it might show traces of violence.



His lawyers rejected an Investigative Committee finding that it was suicide, saying their client had never been suicidal.



Martsinkevich's parents said an independent expert said postmortem photos and videos did not point to suicide.



Martsinkevich's father has said two of his son's toenails were missing and there was a possible indication he had been administered an injection.



Officials hinted he may have been driven to suicide by a confession in connection with an ethnically charged killing in the mid-2000s for which Martsinkevich faced a possible life sentence.



Martsinkevich had since said in prison that he had abandoned his neo-Nazi views.



In addition to his Format 18 activities, Martsinkevich founded a homophobic group called Occupy Pedophilia whose aim was to "cure" homosexuals.



Russian authorities opened an investigation against him after several videos showing Martsinkevich and his followers humiliating and beating gays circulated on the Internet in 2013.



Martsinkevich fled to Cuba but authorities there arrested him for a visa violation in January 2014 and repatriated him to Russia.



In late December 2018, a court in Moscow found Martsikevich guilty of robbery and hooliganism and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.



Before that, Martsinkevich had been convicted three times on extremism charges.



Kremlin critics have said the government used Martsinkevich's group to counter opposition protests.

With reporting by Kommersant
Chris Wallace has cast blame for the disastrous first presidential debate on President Trump, claiming he 'bears the primary responsibility for what happened.'

Wallace, the Fox News anchor who moderated Tuesday's debate, has broken ranks with many of his Republican cohorts in his new criticism of the Commander-in-Chief.

Wallace admitted that he initially thought Trump interrupting Democratic nominee Joe Biden would inspire a 'real debate,' but instead the 94-minute event turned into a contentious clash in Cleveland, Ohio.

'My initial reaction was, "This is great" because so often these debates become parallel news conferences where one candidate answers the question to him, the other candidate answers the question to him,' Wallace told his colleague, Bill Hemmer, in a Thursday Fox News interview.

'So when the president started engaging with Biden, I thought we were gonna have a real debate here.'

Chris Wallace (right), told Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer (left), that President Trump 'bears the primary responsibility for what happened on Tuesday night' in Cleveland, Ohio

Wallace added that it, 'became clear, and clearer over time that this was something different and that the president was determined to try to butt in or throw Joe Biden off...

'I saw another Fox analysis that indicates the president interrupted either Biden's answers or my questions a total of 145 times, which is way more than one a minute. And he bears the primary responsibility for what happened on Tuesday night.'

Tuesday's debate between Trump and Biden quickly spiralled out of control just minutes after the first question was asked, and Wallace was never able bring back order.

The first presidential debate between President Trump (left) and Joe Biden (right) was labeled a 'dumpster fire' after they ended in a chaotic clash

Chris Wallace, a Fox News anchor who acted as moderator, was criticized by Republicans and Democrats alike for his handling of the debate

Trump repeatedly spoke over and interrupted Biden, and on several occasions turned his frustrations on Wallace as millions of American's watched the spectacle that was later branded a 'dumpster fire.'

Wallace told Bill Hemmer that he 'began being more forceful' with Trump after he continually urged him not to cut off his opponent.

'At a certain point, 45 minutes in, I called a halt to the debate for a moment and said "You know, this isn't really serving America and please stop the interruptions", he said in the Fox News interview.

'And the president said, 'Well, why don't you admonish him?" And I said, "Because you're doing a lot more of the interrupting, Mr. President." Biden was doing some, no question about it, but less than half as many times as the president.'

Wallace expressed his largest frustration with the debate debacle was his debate book,' which he claimed took 'hundreds of manhours and womanhours' of research to pull together a 'serious, substantive debate.'

He compared to the let down to a withered pastry.

Pictured: President Donald J. Trump (left)and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden (right) participate with Moderator Chris Wallace (center) in the first 2020 presidential election debate at Samson Pavilion in Cleveland, Ohio

Chris Wallace (pictured): 'And that was frustrating, frustrating for me because I tried hard to prepare for a serious debate, [and] much more frustrating, importantly, for the American people because they didn't get the debate they wanted and that they deserved. And that's a loss for the country'

'I was really hoping for the debate that I think America wanted to see, which was a serious exchange of views,' Wallace told Fox News.

'And you know, I felt that I had gotten all of the ingredients. I had baked this beautiful, delicious cake and frankly, the president put his foot in it.

'And that was frustrating, frustrating for me because I tried hard to prepare for a serious debate, [and] much more frustrating, importantly, for the American people because they didn't get the debate they wanted and that they deserved. And that's a loss for the country.'

Chris talked with @HemmerReports today about possible changes from the Commission on Presidential Debates #FoxNews #Debates2020 pic.twitter.com/5cGCUDC73Q  FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) October 1, 2020

Speculations over which candidate emerged victorious from the debate were overshadowed by the sentiment that it was the American people who had actually lost Tuesday night.

After the debate, Wallace faced scrutiny from both side of the political aisles for the outcome of the event.

Some people offered support to Wallace for being put in a difficult position and being forced to corral the president.

Others lambasted him for allegedly being unfair to Trump. Some of those critiques came from his own Fox News colleagues.

After the debate, Trump (right) blasted Wallace (left) and suggested that he was biased towards Joe Biden during the event

'Trump is debating the moderator and Biden,' Ingraham, host of the Ingraham Angle, tweeted midway through the melee on Tuesday night.

'Why is @JoeBiden allowed to interrupt? @realDonaldTrump is not,' Kilmeade of Fox & Friends asked.

Gutfeld responded to a tweet accusing Wallace of laughing at Trump with Biden, writing: 'That was not good.

Trump himself chimed in on Wednesday morning, asserting that Wallace ganged up with Biden to attack him.

'Chris had a tough night. Two on one was not surprising, but fun,' the president tweeted.

Some conservatives on social media called for Wallace's dismissal from Fox News over the debate, but company executives have expressed support for him.

Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott and president Jay Wallace both said they were 'extremely proud of his professionalism, skill and fortitude in a unique situation.'

Similarly, the Commission on Presidential Debates said it was 'grateful to Chris Wallace for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night's debate.

The CPD announced that it would make formatting changes to ensure that an 'orderly discussion' would occur at the next debate.

On Friday, President Trump (pictured) revealed that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19

The CPD said Wednesday it was 'clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.'

It is looking into giving the moderator the power to cut a candidate's microphone while his opponent is talking, according to a person familiar with the deliberations.

The next presidential debate is scheduled for October 15 in Miami, Florida, but it will likely have to be rescheduled or cancelled - with Trump likely to be in quarantine after confirming on Friday morning that he and Melania tested positive for COVID-19.

They underwent testing after aide Hope Hicks contracted the virus and traveled with the Trump campaign this week.

Vice President Mike Pence has tested negative, and Joe Biden will take a test on Friday morning.
Secret recordings released on Thursday purportedly feature first lady Melania Trump expressing frustration at having to spend time fulfilling traditional first lady responsibilities while receiving criticism over the issue of family separation of illegal immigrants at the border.

In a tape obtained by CNN, which the network says was secretly recorded by the first ladys former friend and senior adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff after she left the White House, Trump complains about having to focus on decorating the White House for Christmas while receiving scorn in the media over her husbands policies.

They say Im complicit. Im the same like him, I support him. I dont say enough I dont do enough where I am, Trump says.

Im working  my a** off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?

She continued, OK, and then I do it and I say that Im working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas and they said, Oh, what about the children that they were separated? Give me a f****** break. Where they were saying anything when Obama did that? I can not go, I was trying get the kid reunited with the mom. I didnt have a chance  needs to go through the process and through the law.

President Trumps policy had been that adults would be separated from children if officials found that the adult is falsely claiming to be the childs parent, or is a threat to the child, or is put into criminal proceedings. The differing policy between the two administrations comes in respect to criminal proceedings: Under the Obama administration, the practice had been to give a free pass to adults who were part of a family unit.

Trump enacted a policy to prosecute all adults to send a message that the U.S. takes seriously its immigration laws and to deter against re-entry. He later halted the zero-tolerance practice with an executive order on June 20, 2018.

Melania Trumps chief of staff Stephanie Grisham criticized Wolkoffs decision to release the recording.

Story continues

Secretly taping the First Lady and willfully breaking an NDA to publish a salacious book is a clear attempt at relevance. The timing of this continues to be suspect  as does this never-ending exercise in self-pity and narcissism, she said in a statement.

Trump goes on, in another recording, to defend the detention centers quality and care standards saying, The kids, they say, Wow I will have my own bed? I will sleep on the bed? I will have a cabinet for my clothes? Its so sad to hear it but they didnt have that in their own countries, they sleep on the floor.

They are taken care of nicely there, she continued. But you know, yeah, they are not with parents, its sad. But when they come here alone or with coyotes or illegally, you know, you need to do something.

Trump also questioned how true some of the immigrants claims of danger in their home countries were.

A lot of like moms and kids they are teached how to do it. They go over and they say like, Oh, we will be killed by a gang member, we will be, you know, its so dangerous,  Trump said, mimicking a dramatic voice. So they are allowed to stay here.

Its not true that they would, you know what I mean, Trump said, adding that theyre not professional but they are teached by other people what to say to come over and to you know let them go to stay here. Because they could easily stay in Mexico but they dont want to stay in Mexico because Mexico doesnt take care of them the same as America does.

Wolkoff, who released a book about her relationship with Trump titled Melania and Me, said in an appearance on CNN on Thursday that she believed the first lady may have felt maternal concern for the children but pushed it aside to support her husbands agenda.

I think that as a mother, those maternal instincts in her were set off and she did care, Wolkoff said. But there is no husband to come to, the leader of the free world, to discuss how shes feeling about that. So regardless of that, she steps in line and she just decides that what she has heard and what shes been told is what the rule of law is in our country.

Wolkoff left the White House as investigations were launched into inaugural activities and a rift formed between the two women. Wolkoff and her events firm was reportedly paid more than $26 million for planning and execution of the inauguration, most of which went to subcontractors. Wolkoffs firm reportedly received $1.6 million, while Wolkoff herself walked away with $500,000 for her work on the inauguration, according to the New York Times.

More from National Review
SAN FRANCISCO - Amazon said Thursday that nearly 20,000 of its U.S. employees had tested positive, or had been presumed positive, for the coronavirus since the pandemic started spreading through the country this year.

The retailer has faced harsh criticism this year as hundreds of workers and critics have said it hasn't done enough to keep employees safe as they work in its warehouses amid a surge in demand to send items to shoppers across the country.

Amazon said in a blog that the number of employees who have had the illness includes its workers at its grocery store chain Whole Foods Market. In total, 19,816 employees have had covid-19 between March 1 and Sept. 19, it said, or about 1.44% of the 1,372,000 front-line workers employed by Amazon during that period.

(Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

The tech giant has had a year of intense ups and downs due to the pandemic. Its sales have soared as people shopped more online, especially while shelter-in-place measures have been in place in many states. But some employees pushed back publicly on its working conditions, and shipping delays caused customers to vent their frustrations online.

Amazon emphasized that is at a lower infection rate than the U.S. population's, citing Johns Hopkins University numbers.

The numbers did not include the company's delivery drivers, who are typically contracted workers, according to Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Cheeseman.

The numbers only show Amazon's infection rate in the United States, and only includes front-line employees, such as warehouse workers and Whole Foods cashiers. The total number of Amazon front-line workers includes people who worked for the company at any point from March 1 to Sept. 19 - including workers who have now left the company. Warehouses have notoriously high turnover rates among workers.

In March, workers in Spain and Italy tested positive for the virus and joined those in the United States and across Europe in signing a petition that called on Amazon to adopt stricter safety guidelines, The Washington Post reported.

More than 1,500 workers signed the petition and one employee called the working conditions "totally insufficient" to keep people safe.

Since then, Amazon has rolled out stricter safety measures and started its own coronavirus-testing lab to screen workers. Amazon said Thursday it now conducts "thousands" of tests each day, and has a goal to get to 50,000 tests daily at 650 sites by November.

Some worker groups think it still hasn't done enough. The group that represents retail and grocery workers called for a Congressional investigation Thursday. Amazon's disclosure "is the most damning evidence we have seen that corporate America has completely failed to protect our country's front line workers in this pandemic," Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, said in a statement.

In the spring, workers criticized Amazon for still shipping "unnecessary" items and requiring employees to work at the same fast speed as normal. Amazon says it has added measures including staggered employee break times, cleanings every 90 minutes and temperature checks and face masks.

Backlash continued in April when the company fired a warehouse worker in Staten Island who had helped organize an employee walkout. It also fired two technical workers who had been publicly critical of the warehouse conditions. An Amazon vice president quit shortly afterward to protest the firings of the two technical workers, as well as two warehouse workers.

Amazon said at the time it fired the tech workers for violating company policies. It said it fired the Staten Island worker, Chris Smalls, for violating a quarantine.

Amazon released the state-by-state breakdown of the cases. In most states, Amazon's infection rate was below the population as a whole. But not Minnesota and West Virginia.

In Minnesota, Amazon employees had a 3.17% infection rate, compared to 1.58% for the state as a whole. In West Virginia, Amazon's number was 1.31%, compared to 0.94% for the state.

It is unclear how many of the workers caught the virus while at work or from a co-worker.

Amazon urged other companies to also disclose their coronavirus infection rates.

"We all have a vested interest in returning to some version of normal and safely helping our communities and the economy," it said in its blog.

Amazon's shipping and safety struggles during the pandemic have resulted in some boosts to its competitors including Target and Walmart. But Amazon's revenue surged 40% to $88.9 billion in its first full quarter affected by the coronavirus fueled economic downturn.

The company has been hiring all year to keep up with increased demand. It announced early in the pandemic that it had hired a total of 175,000 seasonal workers to keep up with increased demand. It later said it would keep 125,000 of those jobs as permanent positions.

Last month, it said it would hire 100,000 full-time and part-time jobs in the U.S. and Canada as the holiday season approaches.

- - -

The Washington Post's Geoffrey Fowler contributed to this report.
Elon Musk's SpaceX is lending a hand to the first responders battling wildfires in Washington by providing them with internet from space.

The firm provided the Washington Emergency Management Division seven 'UFO on a stick' user terminals to receive internet from Starlink satellites in low orbit.

Officials say the satellites have doubled the bandwidth and produced more than 150 percent decrease in latency.

The terminals are currently being used near Malden, which was devastated by wildfires, and another is located near a smaller fire dubbed the Sumner-Grade Wildfire in western Washington.

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Elon Musk's SpaceX is lending a hand to the first responders battling wildfires in Washington by providing them with internet from space. The firm provided the Washington Emergency Management Division seven 'UFO on a stick' user terminals to receive internet from Starlink satellites in low orbit

Musk's firm was able to assist these towns due to the satellites being in the right position.

'Glad SpaceX could help! We are prioritizing emergency responders & locations with no Internet connectivity at all,' the CEO shared in a tweet.

Eric Rosenberry, an Oregon resident, reached out to SpaceX with the hopes of obtaining the same service for Mckenzie Bridge and Rainbow that are also battling wildfires and have been left without internet.

'Starlink reached out and sadly the impacted areas are not under their coverage pattern to provide reliable service,' Rosenberry shared on Twitter.

Musk's firm was able to assist these towns due to the satellites being in the right position

SpaceX launched its first batch of Starlink satellites on May 23, 2019, marking the beginning of its journey to provide the world with internet  specifically rural regions.

Today the firm has a total of 775 devices in low orbit and has noted in the past that it just needs 800 to offer a full service.

SpaceX plans to launch at least 2,200 satellites over the next five years in order to offer a global broadband service covering even the most remote areas of the world.

However, the two towns in Washington received early access due to the devastating fires that have charred miles of internet fiber cables.

The terminals are currently being used near Malden, which was devastated by wildfires, and another is located near a smaller fire dubbed the Sumner-Grade Wildfire in western Washington

The towns are without internet due to fires burning internet cables. Officials say Starlink doubles the bandwidth compared to traditional internet satellites and there is more than 150 percent decreases in latency.

Richard Hall, the emergency telecommunications leader of the Washington State Military Department's IT division, told CNBC: 'I have never set up any tactical satellite equipment that has been as quick to set up, and anywhere near as reliable.'

He also shared that Starlink doubles the bandwidth compared to traditional internet satellites and there is more than 150 percent decreases in latency.

Traditional services can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to establish a connection, but Hall told CNBC that Starlink was working in just 10 minutes.

According to The Verge, the terminals have helped responders identify areas in need of water to put out fires, along with locations that require additional supplies and resources.

In Malden, the service is being used by the public as they rebuilt their town.

SpaceX is currently in the midst of a private beta test of its Starlink internet, with public beta expected to follow after.
I use asparagus a lot from now until just after Christmas, and its a perfect addition to a Chinese dish. If you arent a fan, substitute it with green beans or sliced zucchini. Turn this dish vegetarian by replacing the beef with firm tofu slices and the oyster sauce with hoisin.

Asparagus season is in full swing, so make it a main player with dishes like asparagus salad and asparagus vinaigrette, or just cook it and dip it into hollandaise. Its really important to buy good quality local produce  not the imported variety  and support our farmers.

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1. Mix the potato flour, shao hsing and 1 teaspoon of the soy sauce in a bowl. Add the beef and toss to coat, then marinate for 20 minutes.

2. Combine the remaining soy sauce with the chicken stock, oyster sauce and cornflour mixture in a bowl and set aside.

3. Heat a wok until smoking, then add half the vegetable oil and stir-fry the beef slices for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Remove the beef from the wok and set aside.

4. Heat the remaining oil in the wok and stir-fry the asparagus, onion, chilli, garlic and black pepper until fragrant.
When Sarah Power founded Inland, the biannual shopping event for local fashion and accessory designers, she called the move "a leap of love." Power, who refers to herself a fashion outsider, was working as a teacher and noticed the lack of retail outlets for Canadian designers. "I remember thinking, designers shouldn't be at craft shows. Thats when I was like, 'I need to do this.' I need to create a space for independent designers who are representing this diversity."

Inland was born six years ago as a weekend-long pop-up at 99 Sudbury. I happened upon it while hanging out on nearby Queen Street West, then an aspiring fashion editor. I was immediately struck by the variety of what was on offer  everything from avant-garde jersey dresses to artful jewelry. Each of the 80-some designers stood at their booth, ready to interact with shoppers. It was, by all measures, a success, and would come back each spring and fall, growing its mix of returning designers and new brands.

The venue has since changed (the most recent was inside the airy pavilion of the Queen Richmond Centre) and the event grew into a kind of grassroots trade show, press preview and shopping event in one. For me, it was a chance to scout new brands  I'd walk away with stacks of business cards, lookbooks and new labels to write about. Through it all, the primary goal stayed the same  to bring sales to the designers. "The beauty of it was apparent right from the get-go," says Power. "That energy of having all those designers together in that space, the consumers responded to that. It's a new, elevated experience of interacting with locally created fashion."

With the pandemic putting face-to-face interaction into question, the most recent Inland (which would have normally taken place in May) had to be suspended. But its ethos  to provide a sustainable, local alternative to fast fashion  felt more urgent and relevant than ever. So, in a classic pandemic pivot, Inland just launched online.

The launch is also getting a boost through a partnership with Hudson's Bay. The new e-comm destination is accessible through thebay.com (as well as madeinland.ca) and houses a selection from 44 brands  with nearly 40 per cent BIPOC-owned. And, unlike the physical pop-ups, the site is permanent. The online shop uses a drop-shipping model  the inventory comes directly from each brand.

The designers featured have their own websites and e-commerce, but Inland, and a major retail player like Hudson's Bay, gives them added visibility and a chance to attract a new audience. "Its inspiring to me to see a company as large and old as Hudsons Bay be willing to try new things and bring on these smaller brands," says Power, who left her day job at the start of the pandemic to focus on Inland full time. With calls for greater brand representation like the 15 Percent Pledge (started by Toronto-born Brother Vellies designer Aurora James), this is an important step as the department store brings greater diversity to its racks.

Being online allows Inland to expand its reach beyond Toronto-based brands (and Toronto-based shoppers). Eunice Quan, one of the designers of Vancouver-based line Priory, thinks Inland's alignment with HBC is the way of the future. "Consumers want to know the story behind the brands and the people they are supporting. And Hudson's Bay has a loyal following, and it's a heritage brand. Together, both parties are able to bring to the table what they do best."

Winnipeg-based Anne Mulaire was also keen to take part. "I almost feel like Inland is a local Amazon," says the designer, who employs an in-house Metis artist to create custom prints for her clothing. "With COVID, we've seen a dramatic increase in orders. I keep telling my customers, 'This is what it looks like when you shop your neighbourhood."

The designers I spoke to credit their success to their ability to have direct relationships with their customers. Omi Woods, a sustainable, fair-trade fine jewelry brand founded by Ashley McFarlane and inspired by Africa and the African diaspora, is seeing continued growth since launching two years ago, and it's all contained within its own e-commerce channel. "We really wanted to support the Canadian fashion community and get our pieces out there to people across Canada. It's good to be recognized for your craft," says McFarlane of joining Inland.

Ultimately, the effort amplifies these designers and helps them tell their stories. Power is keen to add more designers and expand into other product categories, but maintaining a thoughtful edit of pieces is important. "The discoveries are endless, but I think the curated aspect is more digestible." The site also features personal videos from designers (nearly half have submitted so far) to further connect with consumers.

"Inland has always been about challenging the mainstream fashion system," says Power. With time, and efforts like this, maybe local, sustainable fashion will become the new mainstream.

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By Express News Service

JAIPUR: Two women -- former office bearers of Congress and BJP -- have been accused of running a sex racket in Rajasthans Sawai Madhopur district.

The racket was busted as a minor girl from Sawai Madhopur spilled the beans after being exploited on many occasions. Following this, the BJP woman leader Sunita Verma has been arrested. Congress leader Poonam Chaudhary is absconding.

According to the police, Sunita Verma, a former president of BJP's Sawai Madhopur district unit, and Poonam Chaudhary, a former president of the women's wing of the Congress Seva Dal in the district, were operating the sex racket by trapping minor girls.

Four others have been arrested in the sex racket. They include two government employees  Shivram Meena, who works in the district collector's office, and Sandeep Sharma, who works in the district industry center, Sunita's colleague Hiralal, and electrician Raju.

In their complaint to the police, the parents of the girl have alleged that their daughter was lured by promises of being given lots of money by the women leaders.

The parents further alleged that when their daughter refused to obey the racketeers, she was threatened that she would be defamed and her life would be ruined. According to the report, the girl was sexually exploited and had to serve many clients due to fear.

According to Sawai Madhopur Deputy SP, OP Solanki, On September 22, an FIR was lodged by the minor girls parents at the women's police station in the city. In the FIR, the girl had alleged that BJP Mahila Morcha district chief Sunita Verma, her aide Heera Lal and Congress leader Poonam Chaudhary were running a sex racket and they forced the girl to be sexually exploited at various places. We have arrested Sunita Verma and four others. At present, the police are investigating the entire case and we will take further action as the probe moves ahead.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 01:01:33|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Africans should take advantage of the further easing of the COVID-19 lockdown to assist in reviving domestic tourism, Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Tourism said on Friday.

By venturing out to local villages, townships and small towns on day excursions or long stays, South Africans can kick-start the tourism economy together, the committee said in a statement emailed to Xinhua.

"We remain hopeful that as we head into planning for the upcoming holiday season, South Africans will start travelling and exploring within South Africa as each of the nine provinces has something unique to offer to both the adventurous and discerning traveller, from beaches to mountains, safaris, theme parks, cultural and heritage tourism, as well as accommodation and restaurants which have been rated amongst the best in the world," Committee Chairperson Supra Mahumapelo said.

He was speaking after South Africa opened its borders and resumed international flights on Thursday after more than six months since lockdown restrictions have been imposed.

On the first day of the resumption of international flights, South Africa welcomed travellers from the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Germany, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe, according to Mahumapelo.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt across all sectors, with tourism being the hardest hit, Mahumapelo said.

According to the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, the tourism sector contributes to 1.5 million jobs and 8.5 percent to the gross domestic product of South Africa.

"However, we have seen the devastating impact of the pandemic as more than 600,000 jobs have been lost and many businesses in the tourism sector and supply chain have had to close," Mahumapelo said.

He appealed to South Africans to make use of the many specials and promotions that are now available.

Also on Friday, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) urged the government to clarify its criteria in identifying high risk countries whose citizens are still barred from entering South Africa for leisure travel.

In a briefing last week, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor said the government "will use its own level of coronavirus risk to determine countries considered high, medium or low risk."

Those countries with "significantly higher levels of infection spread and deaths than South Africa will be rated as high risk," the minister said.

However, DA Shadow Minister of Tourism Manny de Freitas said he was baffled as to how Russia, the United Kingdom and Mexico have been red-listed, yet Spain with more new cases than any of those countries does not appear on the list.

"If total COVID-19 deaths to date were to be used as a criterion, then it makes no sense that Italy is not on the list when better performing countries such as Peru and France are on the red list," De Freitas said.

He said that after having carefully studied the red-listed countries and using the latest official statistics, he cannot see what criteria was used to red-list countries. Enditem
A walker fell to his death in front of horrified onlookers on Snowdon on the same day that the mountain was packed with hikers, rescuers revealed last night.

The tragedy took place on the busy peak in Snowdonia National Park, Wales, on Sunday, according to rescuers, who carried out seven rescues throughout the day.

The fall occurred on Crib Goch, which has been the scene of numerous tragedies, and is the third fatality on Snowdon in as many weeks.

It came on the same day that scores of walkers were seen stood crammed in queues near the top of the highest mountain in Wales.

Crowds of walkers seen gathering near the top of the mountain over the weekend. Llanberis mountain rescue team, Britain's busiest, carried out seven rescues on Sunday alone

A helicopter pictured at Snowdon in Snowdonia National Park, Wales on Sunday. Llanberis mountain rescue team passed on their 'sincere condolences to the family and friends' of the walker

A view to Crib Goch, the narrow ridge from where the walker fell and which has been the scene of numerous tragedies, and the Pyg Track with Llyn Glaslyn and Llyn Llydaw

One walker died after falling a 'significant' distance at the Pyg Track on September 9, and another hiker plunged two days later, on September 11, after collapsing near the Bwlch Main peak.

Llanberis mountain rescue team, Britain's busiest, said: 'One of the incidents we attended on Sunday was after receiving several reports from North Wales Police that a walker had been reported as falling a considerable distance from the Crib Goch ridge.

'With assistance from the Wales Air Ambulance Charity helicopter Helimed 61, four team members were lifted to support the onboard Doctor and medics.

'Unfortunately, the walker was found not to have survived their injuries.

'The Team would like to pass on our sincere condolences to the family and friends at what must be a very difficult time.'

A spokesman for North Wales Police confirmed the force was contacted at around 1.30pm, with an air ambulance and a local mountain rescue team attending.

The crowded scenes were spotted hours after it was revealed that 60 per cent of the Welsh population will be put under lockdown from Monday after three more council areas were added to the Government's list.

Arwyn Roberts, from Llangefni, who climbs the peak once a week said he was 'quite shocked' by the scenes and described how the queue extended for 200 to 300 metres.

Walkers in their climbing gears snaked down the mountain last weekend in an effort to reach the summit of Mount Snowdon which sits in Snowdonia National Park

Hundreds of walkers queued to reach the summit of Mount Snowdon in Snowdonia National Park, Wales, last weekend despite the strict coronavirus rules

He told North Wales Live: 'I managed to find somewhere to park and I had planned to take a quieter route up the mountain  but there were no quieter routes.

'I usually walk up the mountain first thing in the morning and I haven't been there at the weekend for a long time, so I was quite shocked by what I saw.

'Even from below you could see the line of people stretching down the mountain from the summit. The queue was already 200 to 300 metres when I reached the top.'

A spokesperson for Snowdonia National Park said earlier this week: 'This season has been the busiest we've ever seen it on Snowdon and queuing for the summit has become a regular weekend sight.

'It's been a good boost for tourism businesses after huge losses for them in lockdown, and the majority of visitors have been respectful of each other and of the area, but the vast numbers do raise a number of challenges for us in looking after the National Park.

'We're urging hikers to think about how busy the areas they're visiting are likely to be when planning their trip with Covid being on the rise again and to make sure they are adhering their own local as well as national Welsh restrictions and guidance.'

Pay to climb Snowdon? Council wants to charge visitors a 'considerable fee to scale Wales highest peak amid fears of damage from 'over tourism'

A council has debated charging visitors 'a considerable fee' to scale Wales' highest peak amid fears of damage from 'over tourism'.

A motion by councillor Glyn Daniels, who represents the constituency Diffwys a Maenofferen, to charge tourists visiting Snowdonia was debated by Gwynedd council yesterday.

It follows holidaymakers swarming to the beauty spot in Snowdonia National Park, Wales, in July and August this year as lockdown restrictions were eased.

An unusually large number of hill walkers pictured making their way to the summit of Snowdon in Wales in September 2013, as the council considers charging visitors a 'considerable fee'

Long queues of climbers lining up to reach Snowdon's summit were pictured on Bank Holiday weekend last year, with locals blaming the Welsh Government for the overcrowding by claiming 'heavy promotion' brought a surge in tourists.

Mr Daniels' motion reads: 'I propose that Gwynedd Council, in collaboration with Snowdonia National Park, urgently investigates the possibility of charging tourists who visit parts of the Park, particularly on and around Snowdon itself.

'I believe this would be advantageous in more than one way.'

It suggests charging a 'considerable fee' for visiting the summit, adding that it could 'boost the coffers of Gwynedd Council and the Park at a time when we are facing financial uncertainty owing to the side-effects of Covid 19'.

The motion concludes: 'Consequently, there is room to believe that such steps could contribute to reducing the serious problems of excess cars causing traffic jams and hazards on the region's roads.'

However, the national park said that the law would need to be changed in order to enforce the fee.

On a clear day at Snowdon's summit (pictured above), hikers can enjoy expansive views of Britain. It takes around six to eight hours to get to the top and back

A spokesperson told NorthWalesLive: 'Currently, it would not be legal or enforceable to charge a toll on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) due to the Countryside and Right of Way Act which allows access for all to certain areas of the countryside,' said a spokesperson.

'In addition, Welsh national parks do not have local tax raising powers. Our work is funded by Welsh Government  for the three national parks of Wales it costs each Welsh citizen 4 per year.'

First Minister Mark Drakeford added: 'The tourism industry is extremely important to north Wales, and the solution to the problems is dependent on bringing people together around the table to think about how we can give extremely good experiences to people who come to us, that are part of the local economy, and at the same time protect the things that people come to Wales to see and enjoy.'

On a clear day at Snowdon's summit, hikers can enjoy expansive views of Britain. It takes around six to eight hours to get to the top and back.

There are six recommended paths, with the nine-mile Llanberis Path the most popular among those wanting to reach the summit for the first time.

Though the path is the longest route, it provides a gradual climb up to the mountain.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said in a debate Thursday night with Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham that the president's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court  if appointed  should not recuse herself in any potential cases involving the 2020 presidential election.

I don't believe that she should (recuse herself), but that's a decision that she'll make based on the facts," Tillis said of President Donald Trump s choice, Amy Coney Barrett. who awaits the Senate confirmation process. It's a very well-documented recusal process, and I trust Amy Coney Barrett and all the nine justices to act appropriately.

Concerns about the Supreme Court and mail-in voting in this year's presidential election took center stage at Thursday nights debate.

Cunningham declined to say whether he thinks Barrett is qualified to be on the nation's highest court. He said that, if elected, he would reserve judgment until meeting her.

I would meet with her and I would put her through hearings and give her a job interview before I would give her my vote, Cunningham said. The fact of the matter is that stands in stark contrast to what Sen. Tillis has proposed."

The day after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, Tillis told Trump supporters gathred at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, that he'd support any of the justices Trump had on his list of potential candidates.

In 2016, Tillis opposed then-President Barack Obamas nomination of Judge Merrick Garland, arguing that the voice of the American people should be heavily weighted in that decision and their voice will soon be heard on Election Day.

On another issue, Tillis said he believes absentee ballot rule changes pushed by North Carolina Democrats have set the groundwork for lawsuits" in that state.

Tillis, who is voting by mail this year and has praised North Carolina's absentee voting process throughout the election cycle, said he is concerned about recent changes.

Updated guidance unanimously passed last week by the North Carolina State Board of Elections is being challenged in state and federal court.

The two Republican members of the five-member board resigned shortly after receiving substantial pushback from state GOP leaders. The states Republican Party said Democrats misled the members into supporting the easing of certain voting procedures.

At the center of the debate is a six-day extension for counties to receive absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and a process in which voters who filled out their ballots without the necessary witness information could receive an affidavit to correct the problem  rather than having to fill out an entirely new ballot.

It's a dramatic change that I hope can be halted, Tillis said.

Federal Judge William Osteen said Wednesday that the affidavit directive doesnt comply with a ruling he issued in August upholding the need for a witness because it would effectively eliminate the witness requirement mandated under state law. Osteen's criticism of the memo the state elections board issued last week prompted the group to announce on Thursday it would halt plans to resolve ballot issue with voter affidavits.

Cunningham signaled support for the new process because he wants to ensure all eligible votes can be counted.

We want people to participate, and I have confidence that we will end up in a place where folks will and should have confidence in the outcome, Cunningham said.

___

Follow Anderson on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BryanRAnderson.

___

Anderson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:08:09|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Britain's R number, which shows the coronavirus reproduction, has risen to as high as 1.6, the latest official figures showed Friday.

The R number is now between 1.3 and 1.6, up from between 1.2 and 1.5 last week, according to figures released by the British government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

If the reproduction rate is above one, it means the number of cases will increase exponentially.

In England, the R number is highest in London and the North East and Yorkshire, with both regions having figures between 1.2 and 1.6.

The number of new coronavirus cases is also increasing by between 5 percent and 9 percent every day, the latest data revealed.

Meanwhile, a report by the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that there were 8,400 new cases per day in England in the week to Sept. 24, slightly down on the previous week's estimate of 9,600 daily cases.

The latest figures were announced as the British government seeks to tighten restriction measures to tackle a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

Another 6,914 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 460,178, according to official figures released Thursday.

The coronavirus-related deaths rose by 59 to 42,202, according to the latest data.

At least 16 million people are now living under some form of enhanced restriction, according to Sky News.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States, are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

The British government's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance has said that 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. Enditem
In a major development on the alleged gang-rape and murder case of the 19-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi issued the postmortem report of the victim on Thursday (October 1, 2020). However, the post mortem report does not mention rape.

The report mentions that the victim has bruises on her neck and her spine was broken. It further stated that she also had a blood infection and suffered a heart attack. The report says the time of death was 6: 55 am on September 29.

Also Read: Political storm over Hathras gang-rape intensifies; AAP leaders to protest at India Gate, Section 144 imposed

As per the post-mortem report, the victim suffered a fracture of "C6 cervical vertebra" and there was "extravasations of blood along the fracture line" and the underlying spinal cord was "contused with ascending edema".

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The post-mortem report also revealed that marks on the neck of the victim are consistent due to attempted strangulation.

The post-mortem also mentioned that the cause of death will be confirmed by the chemical analysis report of the viscera. It is learnt that the viscera of the victim has been preserved at Safdarjung Hospital. The hospital has also handed over other vital samples to the investigating officer.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Friday attended a prayer meet at the Valmiki temple in Delhi for the 19-year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly gang-raped in Uttar Pradeshs Hathras. The woman succumbed to her injuries and died at a Delhi hospital earlier this week.

The UP police are accused by the family of forcing the cremation of the woman in the dead of the night. District officials contended that they had consent from the womans family, but the manner in which the developments took place raised questions over the conduct of the administration and law enforcement.

Priyanka joined hundreds of people, including senior Congress leaders PL Punia, Sushmita Dev, Anil Choudhary and BV Srinivas, who showed up in solidarity with the woman at the temple in the national capital. The Congress leader told those present that while she was there to express her condolences to the family, she would not rest until justice is done.

We are all here to ensure that that girl gets justice, Priyanka said. We will pressure the government to get her justice.

Her family has got no help from the government. They must feel they are all alone. We are holding the prayer meeting for them. They should know that they are not alone and fight the injustice being done to them. We will put political pressure and every woman in this country must put moral pressure on the government, she added.

Priyanka also highlighted that the family has received no help from the government. They werent even allowed to light the funeral pyre. It is not the culture of our country that the father and the brother dont conduct the last rites. It is not the tradition of our country to cremate any one after sunset, she said.

We have come here to offer our condolences, but more than that we are all here to ensure that the family and our sister gets justice. We will not stop until we get justice, Priyanka asserted.

All India Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev told Hindustan Times that it is the women of this country who will take down Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As the Mahila Congress under the aegis of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, we have to take the lead and protest against this injustice, Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev tells Hindustan Times. It is the women of this country who will bring down Narendra Modi.

Delhi Pradesh Congress chief Choudhary told HT that the party will work relentlessly to ensure the victims family gets justice. Priyanka ji has constantly been highlighting the problems faced by the people of Uttar Pradesh. Her suggestions have fallen on deaf ears. Every day there are at least 10 incidents of rape in that state. Why are Rahul ji and Priyanka ji not being allowed to meet the family? They are silencing democracy and we will not stand for it.

Youth Congress chief BV Srinivas said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UP chief minister Yogi Aditynath must resign. They have not said a word all this time, they must take responsibility and be held accountable, he told HT.

On Thursday, Priyanka Gandhi and her brother Rahul, the Congress says, were briefly arrested as they tried to visit Hathras. The UP police escorted them back to Delhi.

Back in the village, scores of police personnel in and around the area have been deployed to prevent the entry of opposition leaders and the media. It is being seen as an attempt to scuttle the growing anger over the administrations handling of the womans death.
Fatalities in blazes -- be it in residential buildings, commercial structures or in vehicles -- in the national capital were higher in 2019 than in any of the last five years, according to data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

A total of 150 persons died in fire-related incidents last year, up from 145 in 2018, showed NCRB data. The previous three years had reported relatively much fewer deaths at 64, 88 and 114, respectively.

Also Read: Three fire incidents in Delhi, two factories gutted

The death toll rose last year majorly due to two big fires  a factory fire in north Delhis Anaj Mandi that left 43 dead on December 8, and a blaze in central Delhis Hotel Arpit Palace that killed 17 on February 12.

The two massive blazes aside, 2019 had the highest number of fire incidents in Delhi in the last 10 years. In 2019, we attended 943 fire calls of which 100 turned fatal. It is the highest number of calls we attended in the last decade. The previous highest was in 2012 when we attended 776 fire calls, said Atul Garg, director, Delhi Fire Services.

Also Read: Delhi: Fire breaks out in manufacturing unit in Inderlok, no casualty reported

Also, in 2019, as many as 16 persons died in fires in cars or other vehicles. Among the incidents that hit headlines was the one on March 10, when a woman and her two minor children were charred when the car they were driving caught fire in east Delhis Anand Vihar.

The previous highest for vehicle fires in the last five years was in 2015 when 13 commuters died.

We have noticed that most of these blazes occur as vehicles are either not maintained well, or they get poor quality CNG cylinders fitted in their vehicles, Garg said.

The number of deaths in residential buildings (95) and in commercial buildings (22) were also the highest in the last five years. The previous highest deaths in residential buildings were in 2018 when 64 people were killed. For deaths in commercial structures, 2016 was the second worst year when seven persons had died.

Also Read: Delhi fire: An explainer on why govt agencies are blaming each other

The Anaj Mandi and the Hotel Arpit Palace blazes were behind the year 2019 topping in the two indexes. The Anaj Mandi fire was in an illegal factory operating out of a residential building, said Garg.

As it turned out, both blazes were caused by short-circuit. Our probe found short-circuit triggered the Anaj Mandi fire, said a senior officer of Delhi Polices crime branch, which probed the fire.

Garg too said the hotel fire was due to short-circuit in one air-conditioning system.

Unsurprisingly then, the number of deaths due to short-circuits (83) was not only the highest in the last five years, it was also the single biggest cause for fire-related fatalities in 2019.

Also Read: Need strong punishment for lapses to improve fire safety

An electricity board official blamed the short-circuits on overloading by consumers, faulty internal wiring, and absence of protective equipment in old buildings.

While fire-related deaths in commercial buildings were mostly on account of the infamous hotel blaze, several other incidents led to 95 deaths in residential buildings.

Among such incidents last year was a fire in a four-storey residential building in Jamia Nagar that left six persons dead on August 6. Garg said this particular blaze, and other similar ones, pointed to the dangerous trend of installing electricity meters in close proximity to parking lots on the ground floor or the basement.

If a fire breaks out in such meters, vehicles in the parking lot are quickly gutted and the stairs leading down to the parking lot are blocked by either flames or smoke, leading to deaths, Garg said.

The fire department has written to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission to have such meters shifted from parking lots, he said. In September, one of the discoms sent an advisory to its customers, asking telling them to ensure electric metres are not installed in parking or enclosed spaces.

While 2019 topped on many indexes, it was a year that saw fewer deaths (eight) in blazes in legal factories, which Garg said are usually equipped with fire-fighting equipment and safety exits. In 2018, 14 people died in factory fires. The number was 13 in the year before that.

This year has been easier for Delhi when it comes to fire incidents. Until August 31, there were a total of 226 fire calls of which eight were fatal. The number of people killed in those eight incidents wasnt immediately provided. The lockdown and closure of commercial buildings and factories during that period could lead to far fewer deaths this year, compared to past years, Garg said.

SK Dheri, former DFS chief, said as long as building bylaws are bypassed and fire safety norms neglected, deaths will keep happening. The Anaj Mandi deaths were due to illegal use of a residential building, the Hotel Arpit Palace deaths were because of disregard for safety rules. The situation will not improve unless exemplary punishments are handed out and large fines imposed by enforcement agencies, he said.
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Overnight October 1-2 the situation in the Artsakh-Azerbaijani conflict zone has been relatively stable-tense, the Defense Army of Artsakh told Armenpress.

Shootings from artillery and firearms continued in separate directions.

No major change has been recorded in the operative-combat situation.

At the moment the military operations have resumed in all directions of the frontline.

The Artsakh Defense Army units continue repelling all attacks of the Azerbaijani side, causing losses both in its manpower and military equipment.



Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Harmony Public Schools, a charter network with campuses in 23 cities across Texas, including three in San Antonio, has received a $27.8 million grant to cultivate better principals.

The new funding, which will pay for professional development programs for the networks administrative and instructional leaders, comes from the U.S. Department of Education, which has now awarded Harmony more than $90 million in grants since 2012, three of them more than $25 million each.

The latest grant will go toward developing Harmonys Human Capital Management System, created with a 2016 DOE grant, by helping principals and other network leaders succeed and stay in their roles, especially at the charter networks high-needs schools, 50 of which are in Texas, said John Boyd, Harmonys chief communications and marketing officer.

High-needs schools are those designated as federal Title I schools  those with high percentages of students from low-income families, Boyd said.

Great schools require great leadership, Harmony CEO Faith Ay said, according to a Harmony news release. Thats why one of our highest priorities  is to equip our principals and other school leaders with the tools they need to build cultures of achievement, character, and community at their campuses.

The goal is to establish a system that empowers the charters leaders to help make teachers more effective.

On ExpressNews.com: Two new charter school operators approved to open in San Antonio next year

Its going to have a very powerful impact on the organization, and eventually on student achievement, said Emre Altun, Harmonys chief human resources officer.

The DOE funds will be dispersed over the next three years, with the first $7.3 million coming this fiscal year. Harmony was one of 13 school systems nationwide to receive the grant, Boyd said.

This is great news for the entire system  not just the money, but also the timing, Altun said. We just concluded our five-year strategic plan, and this principal goal is the heart of the plan.

The charter network opened its first school in Houston in 2000, and has since grown to include 58 campuses with more than 35,000 total students. Its three schools in San Antonio serve a combined 1,580 students in Bexar County, Boyd said.

Students with greater learning needs were allowed to return to the classroom for the first time this academic year on Sept. 21. Other students will have the option of returning on Oct. 13. The network does not currently have plans to add more campuses in San Antonio, Boyd said.

Required Reading: Get San Antonio education news sent directly to your inbox

Harmony was awarded an $8 million grant from the DOE in 2018 to expand its STEM-based learning model for middle and high schoolers to include students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

In 2016, the DOE provided Harmony with $26.7 million to establish a system for rewarding high-performing teachers, and in 2012, the network received $30 million to improve student achievement and educator effectiveness, close achievement gaps, and prepare every student to succeed in college and their careers, Boyd said.

Andres Picon is a staff writer covering San Antonio education. To read more from Andres, become a subscriber. andy.picon@hearst.com | Twitter: @andpicon
"To have 20 customers, a bar would need to have at least 60 seats outside, or 3,000 square feet of patio space. Out of 93 bars surveyed by the (association), only six qualify to have more than 20 customers. Fifty-nine have a dozen outside seats or fewer."

The association continued to question why private bars are being held to a different standard than restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages and breweries that have been open to alcohol service since May 22.

This is a slap in the face, association president Zack Medford said.

Serving food does not protect you from COVID-19. Ninety percent of the bars in North Carolina cant possibly afford to open under this new guidance. Many have no outdoor seating at all.

"We urge the governor to incorporate the proposed NCBATA Health & Safety Guidance and allow bars to open indoors at 50% capacity  just like our competitors.

Bars are ready to open safely, and we know how to do it," Medford said. "We just need a real chance.

Several local bars said in July and August they had gotten some relief from federal Paycheck Protection Program loans and from unemployment benefits.


Commences Trading on OTCQX

Ballarat, Oct 2, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - White Rock Minerals Ltd ( ASX:WRM ) ( OTCMKTS:WRMCF ) is pleased to announce that its ordinary shares are now trading on the US-based OTCQX Best Market under the ticker symbol of WRMCF. The OTCQX Best Market is the highest market tier of OTC Markets on which 11,000 U.S. and global securities trade. Trading on OTCQX will enhance the visibility and accessibility of the Company to U.S. investors. White Rock's ordinary shares will continue to trade on the ASX under the symbol WRM.This important step in the growth aspirations for the Company follows on from the significant interest shown by North American Investors in White Rock's recent equity raising1 and trading on the ASX since. This step is part of White Rock's strategy to raise awareness of the Company's high-grade silver - zinc - gold - lead VMS and gold IRGS project at Red Mountain in central Alaska, USA, of natural interest to many North American investors.The OTCQX Best Market provides value and convenience to U.S. investors, brokers and institutions seeking to trade WRMCF. The OTCQX Best Market is OTC Markets Group's premier market for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To be eligible, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, demonstrate compliance with U.S. securities laws, be current in their disclosure, and have a professional third-party sponsor introduction.The OTCQX Market aims to provide current and potential North American investors with appropriate accessibility and liquidity to invest in the Company. The OTCQX Market provides White Rock access to one of the largest investment markets in the world at nominal cost, with no additional compliance requirements, compared to traditional major exchanges.Existing ordinary shares of White Rock will be traded on the OTCQX Market and North American investors will be able to find real-time Level 2 quotes and market information on the otcmarkets.com website under the symbol "WRMCF".Three key advantages for North American investors are:1) Trades and settlements are in US Dollars (USD),2) Trading in the North American time zone; and3) The OTCQX share is the same class of Ordinary Share to ASX traded stock ( ASX:WRM ), not a synthetic. The shares are simply registered in two different Registries.Cross-trading will assist the North American investor to participate in the White Rock story, especially as it progresses with its current exploration program at its large IRGS gold anomaly at the Last Chance Prospect in Alaska.About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX:OTCM) operates a financial marketplace for 10,000 United States and global securities through the broker of their choice. Through its OTC Link ATS, the Company directly link a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services for a spectrum of securities. the Company organizes these securities into three marketplaces to inform investors of opportunities and risks: OTCQX, the best marketplace with qualified companies; OTCQB, the venture stage marketplace with the United States reporting Companies; and OTC Pink, the open marketplace with variable Reporting companies. The OTCQX marketplace offers the informed and trading for the United States and global companies. The OTCQB marketplace offers informed trading for securities of smaller or developing companies that are reporting to a United States regulator (SEC, Bank, or Insurance). The OTC Pink marketplace offers trading in a spectrum of equity securities through any broker.

About White Rock Minerals Ltd

White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX:WRM) (OTCMKTS:WRMCF) is a diversified explorer and near-stage producer, headquartered in Ballarat, Victoria. The Company's flagship exploration project is Red Mountain in central Alaska. At Red Mountain, there are already two high grade zinc - silver - gold - lead VMS deposits, with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 9.1 million tonnes @ 609g/t AgEq / 13% ZnEq. The Company is also exploring its recently discovered large intrusion related gold anomaly at Last Chance, also located in the Tintina gold belt of Alaska, home to multi-million gold ounce deposits like Pogo, Fort Knox and the Donlin Project. The Company also has the Mt Carrington project, located near Drake, in Northern NSW, which is a near-production precious metals asset with a resource of 341,000 ounces of gold and 23.2 million ounces of silver on an approved mining lease, and with a Gold First PFS and JORC Reserve.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan today held phone talks with Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Mnatsakanyan reported the targeting of journalists providing coverage of the situation in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and particularly informed his French counterpart about the condition of the French journalists who were under Azerbaijans target.

The Armenian and French foreign ministers touched upon the situation created in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone following Azerbaijans large-scale offensive. In this context, Minister Mnatsakanyan expressed his deep concern over the destabilizing actions of extra-regional forces and particularly expressed concern about the unconditional and unilateral military support that Turkey is overtly providing to Azerbaijan. The ministers also underscored the inadmissibility of the direct involvement of foreign terrorist militants in the conflict.

During the meeting, the parties touched upon the statement by the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group countries, and Mnatsakanyan attached importance to the role of the Co-Chairs and co-chairing countries in the neutralization of threats posed to regional security.
Debate moderator and Fox News anchor Chris Wallace directs the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 29, 2020. (Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

Chris Wallace Says He Doesnt Agree With Cutting Mics at Debate

Fox News Chris Wallace, the moderator of the first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden this week, said he doesnt agree with proposals to give moderators the authority to cut candidates microphones.

In an interview with the New York Times following Tuesday nights debate, Wallace argued that even if the candidates microphones are muted, they could still interrupt each other and disrupt the proceedings.

As a practical matter, even if the presidents microphone had been shut, he still could have continued to interrupt, and it might well have been picked up on Bidens microphone, and it still would have disrupted the proceedings in the hall, he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 29, 2020. (Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

People have to remember, and too many people forget, both of these candidates have the support of tens of millions of Americans, Wallace added.

The Fox News hosts latest remarks came after the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) said it would implement additional structure to future debates.

Tuesdays debate was tense at times as both Trump and Biden interrupted one another, with Wallace unable to get a word in edgewise. At points, Wallace and Trump sparred over the subject of the questions.

Some also criticized Trump for interrupting Wallace before posing his own questions. At one point, the president told the moderator: First of all, I guess Im debating you, not him. But thats okay. Im not surprised.

Wallace told the NY Times that he was sad with how the night turned out.

I guess I didnt realizeand there was no way you could, hindsight being 20/20that this was going to be the presidents strategy, not just for the beginning of the debate but the entire debate, he said.

The CPD said in a statement Wednesday that it is carefully considering the changes it will adopt and will announce the measures shortly, without elaborating.

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate moderated by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace (C) at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 29, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Both the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the president have pushed back against suggestions to change the rules of the next two debates.

Trump, in a Twitter post, asked why would I allow the Debate Commission to change the rules for the second and third Debates when I easily won last time?

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel said the commission shouldnt make any changes to the structure to protect Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee.

Chair of the Republican National Committee Ronna McDaniel stands on stage while addressing the Republican National Convention at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, on Aug. 24, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

I hope the Committee on Presidential Debates does not change the rules to once again protect Joe Biden from answering to the American people, McDaniel said on Fox News on Thursday. She also suggested that she wouldnt support any changes that would have either candidates microphones cut off if they break a rule.

I dont think you should be changing the rules that they have agreed to and I do not think this commission has the right to just arbitrarily change rules without talking to both candidates and getting agreement and input from both sides, McDaniel said.

The second presidential debate between Trump and Biden is scheduled to take place in Miami on Oct. 15, to be moderated by Steve Scully, an executive producer for C-SPAN, according to the CPD, although it is unclear what will happen now after Trump tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday night.

Sean P. Conley, physician to the president, said in a statement, The President and the First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

The White House Team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of the countrys greatest medical professionals and institutions. Rest assured, I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.

A third debate is scheduled in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 22, to be moderated by Kristen Welker, a White House correspondent for NBC News.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- YouMail, a leading provider of consumer security services, and Avira, a leading multinational cybersecurity company, today announced a joint partnership that will provide Avira with access to YouMail's best-in-class spam and scam call identification technologies, which will be used to further improve mobile calling security in Avira's products and services.

The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book highlighted that in 2019, there were 821,682 reports indicating over $493 million dollars lost to ID theft and other scams, all from interactions that started from a phone call. These calls were the largest source of such fraud, making it imperative to keeping fraudulent calls from ever reaching consumers.

YouMail's patented and patent-pending spam identification technology can identify badly behaving numbers through a single call to any of its over 10 million YouMail users. It can also determine the likelihood of a call from any given US phone number being problematic, and can accurately label the caller, such as "IRS Scam" or "Health Insurance Telemarketing." This real-time call scoring and labeling database is accessible through the YouMail API, which is used by the YouMail iPhone and Android apps to reliably identify and block scams and spam, to send questionable calls to voicemail when a phone number is being spoofed or has a mix of legal and illegal call traffic, and to label incoming callers appropriately.

"YouMail's goal is to help protect everyone in America, whether it's through our top-rated robocall blocking apps, or whether it's letting others leverage APIs to access our data on robocallers to build new and useful services," said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail. "We're very excited to be partnering with Avira, given their robust security offerings and leadership position in the security space."

"At Avira, our mission is to protect people in the connected world against the many cybercriminals that are out to take advantage of us through technology," said Travis Witteveen, CEO of Avira. "We're proud to partner with YouMail to offer another layer of protection to our customers in North America through their best-in-class robocall blocking technology."

About YouMail

YouMail, Inc. provides security-first, cloud-based communication services for mobile phones. Our free app-based service uses sophisticated, patented technology to block robocalls and phishing messages, protecting users from spam, identify theft, stalkers, and corporate fraud. Our premium call management services provide virtual receptionist and virtual number services, and they are designed for people who use their mobile phone for business. These services help them unify virtual numbers with their cell number, handle high volumes of mobile calls, and provide personalized answering experiences for their callers. YouMail's communications platform handles over a billion calls per year for over 10 million users, and our users range from everyday consumers to sole proprietors to the CEOs of the largest companies in America. YouMail, Inc. is privately funded and based in Irvine, California.

About Avira

Avira protects people in the connected world  enabling everyone to manage and secure their digital lives. Avira provides a consumer-focused portfolio of security and privacy solutions for Windows and Mac computers, Android and iOS smartphones, home networks, and smart devices (IoT). All Avira features are available as licensed SDKs and APIs. Working together, Avira and its partners protect more than 500 million devices globally. Avira solutions consistently achieve best-in-class results from independent security tests. Avira is a privately held company headquartered near Lake Constance, Germany, with additional offices in the EU, the United States, and Asia. For more information about Avira, visit www.avira.com.

Contact:

Rohan Notaney for YouMail

Lumina Communications

[email protected]

650-814-9651

SOURCE YouMail Inc.

Related Links

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The Girls High School turned in another top performance in the CSEC (2020) examination. (Photo Credit: 104.3FM Facebook Page)

The Preliminary results of the 2020 Caribbean Examinations Council Secondary Education Certificate Examinations (CSEC) as released, have thrown up major adjustments in the previous ranking of schools performances.





According to a release (30/09/2020) from the Ministry of Education, while the Girls High School (GHS) repeated as the top performer with a 97.88% pass rate, the St. Vincent Grammar School (SVGS) was displaced from their second positon.





That school, in fact, was relegated to 4th position with a 93.32% pass rate, with the St. Martins Secondary School (SMSS) occupying second position with 94.48 percent, and the Bequia Seventh-day Adventist School (BSS) taking third position with 94.19%.





This is, according to an education official, the first time that the Bequia Seventh-day Adventist School has occupied a position among the top five performing schools.





And Yohance Gibson, Principal of SMSS, was moved to comment, in a press release made available on Thursday, "We are extremely proud of our boys who performed well amidst the many challenges which confronted them. We are looking forward to great things from them in the coming years!





Overall, there were eleven schools which recorded percentage pass rates in excess of 80%.





In addition to the four already referenced, the others were: St. Josephs Convent Kingstown (86.91%); Thomas Saunders Secondary (85.23%); Mountain View Academy (83.64%); West St. George (83.59%); St. Josephs

Convent Marriaqua (82.68%); North Union Secondary (81.38%) and Georgetown Secondary (81.15%).





Among the other schools not referenced, the Ministry of Education said in its release that the Central Leeward Secondary School (CLSS) and the Buccament Bay Secondary School (BBSS) showed vast improvement in their performance. In 2019, the CLSS recorded a pass rate of 44.77% and the BBSS recorded a pass rate of 44.08%. In 2020, CLSS pass rate increased to 69.48% and the BBSS pass rate rose to 69.50%.





Overall, those schools not achieving an 80% or better passing grade, attained between a high of 78.23 (Emmanuel High School Mespotamia) and a low of 63.33% (Troumaca Secondary).





The statistics show that there were 1552 school candidates sitting 10,914 subject entries, in 31 subject areas, from 26 secondary schools.





Approximately 81.86% of the subject entries were awarded Grades I  III (the corresponding figure in 2019 was 74.33% and 74.67% in 2018), according to the release from the Ministry of Education.That release also stated , "This year, 22.09% of the passes were at Grade I level, 37.62% at Grade II, and 40.30% at Grade III. Last years figures were 15.62% at Grade I, 38.53% at Grade II and 45.85% at Grade III.





Pleasing to education officials here was the overall pass rate for Mathematics, which showed a rise from 33.10% in 2019 to 53.41% in 2020, and English A, which increased from 76.08% in 2019 to 86.73% in 2020.





And as for outstanding individual performances, the top four performers were all students of the Girls High School.





Paige Codogan took top honours, passing 15 subjects with 14 grade ones and 1 grade two (see accompanying story), followed by Zowie Bullock, Denisha Parsons and Jaynika Williams, each sitting 13 subjects and obtaining 13 grade ones.





The 2020 CSEC exam was administered in July, a change occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.





The exam was graded on a Multiple Choice Assessment Paper and the School Based Assessments, the latter being submitted prior to the July sitting.
London: If there is one country that can appreciate the shock of their leader contracting coronavirus it is Britain.

The effects of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's near-death experience with COVID-19 are still written across his face. In April, he was hospitalised for a week and spent three days in intensive care.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was seriously ill in April after contracting COVID-19. Credit:AP

Then, Trump said he had asked "leading companies" to "contact London immediately" to see if they could be of any help.

"We've contacted all of Boris' doctors, and we'll see what is going to take place, but they are ready to go," Trump told a news conference at the time.
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Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 09:41 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48a3b26 1 National travel-corridor,COVID-19,economic-recovery,business-trip,coronavirus,Singapore,Law-and-Human-Rights-Ministry,travel-bubble,Yasonna-Laoly Free

The Law and Human Rights Ministry is revising its temporary ban on foreigners entering Indonesia as the government enters discussion with Singapore to form a travel corridor arrangement between the two countries for essential businesses.

Minister Yasonna Laoly said the ministry was finalizing a revision to a ministerial regulation about temporary prohibition of foreigners entering Indonesia amid the COVID-19 outbreak, which had been effective since April 3.

We will finish the revision soon, so there wont be any issue hindering TCA implementation, Yasonna said in a statement on Thursday.

He requested that authorities prepare sufficient health infrastructure for passenger coronavirus screening in airports and seaports, especially in Jakarta as well as Batam, Riau Islands, which directly borders Singapore.

Read also: Indonesia doubles down on ASEAN travel corridor despite being slapped with bans

The ministrys Immigration Directorate General will prepare an electronic visa service for the essential travelers looking to visit the country. The visa service is expected to be available starting Oct. 15.

Yasonna claimed the arrangement would make way for economic recovery because it would allow easier mobility for businesspeople, investors and state officials.

The discussion for the arrangement is still ongoing, as Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi met with her Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan in August.

Indonesia so far has travel corridor arrangements with the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and China.
Vietnam is currently the Canadas largest trade partner among ASEAN countries, with two-way trade revenue of CAD7.98 billion (US$6.01 billion) in 2019, higher than the value of CAD6.5 billion in 2018.

Vietnam also boasts the largest number of students to Canada among ASEAN countries and the fifth largest number of students to Canada on the global scale.

After one-year implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnams total export revenue to Canada has increased by 29.7%, with a 72% increase in revenue from the export of electronic products in particular.

Meanwhile, the Canadas export revenue to Vietnam has also soared dramatically with a rise of 230.7% for meat products and 61.2% for cereal products.

Kendal Hembroff predicted that a future comprehensive trade agreement between Canada and ASEAN would bring about benefits to all participating parties. The agreement is expected to help Vietnam maximise on opportunities from signed free trade agreements (FTA) while creating conditions for Vietnam to elevate the positive influence of the CPTPP in areas having common interests.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Cao Phong said that amid sharp declines in the global trade due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two-way trade volume between Vietnam and Canada remains the upward trend though at a modest pace of 0.1%.

With the advantage of being an FTA hub in Asia Pacific, Vietnam will be a bridge to bring Canadian goods and services to the ASEAN market of 600 million consumers as well as to other important markets in the region, Phong noted.

The online seminar on economic, trade and education cooperation between the two countries saw the participation of representatives from the Canadian Government and about 80 Canadian enterprises, demonstrating the great attention of the Canadian side to Vietnam in the context that the two sides are investigating the possibility of the establishment of a Canada-ASEAN FTA.
The Congress party has issued an ultimatum to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) as seat-sharing talks in Bihar near the final stage.

Congress Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil reminded the RJD the party is prepared for any eventuality and the latter can contest the polls solo.

After its dismal show in last years Lok Sabha polls, in which it drew a blank, the RJD has decided on not giving enough leverage to allies at its cost. The party also feels the Congress will always be open to a post-poll alliance with Nitish Kumar in case of a hung Assembly. Therefore, the fewer seats the Congress contests on, the lesser leverage it will have after the results, according to RJDs scheme of things.

Former CM Jitan Ram Manjhis Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and RLSP have, so far, left the Grand Alliance, ostensibly due to the RJDs tough stance on the seat-sharing formula.

The RJD has 81 seats in the present Assembly.

Last week, the key dates for elections to elect the members of the 243 seats for the Bihar State Legislative Assembly were announced by the Election Commission of India (EC). The Bihar assembly elections will be held in three phases from October 28 and November 7, chief election commissioner Sunil Arora said.

Voting in the first phase will be held on October 28, the second phase will be on November 3 and the third phase will be on November 7. The counting of votes will take place on November 10. Notably, this will be the first state election to be held in India since the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Chief election commissioner Sunil Arora said that one of the first major steps which were taken was to bring down the maximum number of electors at a polling station from 1,500 to 1,000. As a result of this, the number of polling stations went from 65,337 (in 2015 Assembly elections) to more than one lakh in 2020," he said. The ECI has also made preparations for sanitisers, masks and PPE kits, to ensure the safe conduct of the elections in Bihar.
Theres 20 states that have similar measures, Brnovich said. He also noted that Arizona has exceptions for family and household members and caregivers.

Brnovich also wants the justices to ignore one thing cited by Fletcher in the ruling: comments by then-Sen. Don Shooter, R-Yuma, who attempted to get colleagues to enact a similar law. That was after he won his 2010 election with just 53% of the vote  receiving 83% of the non-minority vote but only 20% of the Hispanic vote.

Fletcher said Shooter was in part motivated by a desire to eliminate what had become an effective Democratic GOTV (Get Out The Vote) strategy. In finally enacting the law in 2016, he said, Republican legislators were motivated by the unfounded and often far-fetched allegations of ballot collection made by former Sen. Shooter.

Brnovich countered, Each legislator is an independent actor. He said there is no proof Arizona lawmakers acted with racial motives.

Fridays decision is a setback for Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat.
Boris Johnson has shirked responsibility throughout much of his adult life. This much we know.

Whether dealing with wife or mistress, girlfriend or lover, friend or foe, it is clear he is the kind of man who has always done exactly as he pleased.

In his churning wake he has left a bitter flotilla of disillusioned and saddened women, beached by regret, their lives diminished rather than enhanced by making his acquaintance.

And now I know how they feel.

Boris Johnson (pictured) has shirked responsibility throughout much of his adult life. This much we know.

For even his most ardent fans must admit that, as Prime Minister, Boris has turned out to be a terrible disappointment.

It's almost as if he expended all his energies in his decades of yearning and hankering to be PM, but once he actually got the gig he didn't know how to cope.

What shall I do, just stand here and look stupid? Job done.

Every time Boris has appeared in public recently, nothing lessens suspicions that the position is beyond him in every way; physically, mentally and emotionally.

Where is the fight, the spark, the inspiring leadership in this time of terrible crisis?

Like Bonnie Tyler I am holding out for a hero on the political front line, but so far no luck Boris-wise.

Giving the latest Covid bulletins this week, the PM was a shadow of his former self; a deflated balloon, a seasick flounderer, a puddle of muddle.

There were moments when he seemed hesitant, with an unsure grasp on the Covid regulations he had signed off himself.

Look deeper and you could see a touch of confusion in his gaze; like looking into the eyes of a captured honey bear tasked with doing a jigsaw.

There was bafflement aplenty. Sometimes I thought I could even detect the flare of real fear. God, I really hope I imagined that.

What on earth has happened to Johnson, a man once held in awe, albeit mostly by his own family? Is he  as some suggest  suffering from Long Covid?

Or is it that the cares of office during a pandemic have dragged him down so far that his natural ebullience and optimism have been replaced by fatalism and a taste for the hard smack of oppression?

A 10,000 fine for failing to self-isolate? Good luck with that, darling.

For even his most ardent fans must admit that, as Prime Minister, Boris has turned out to be a terrible disappointment

Look. I'm not one of those who believe that everything the PM and his Government have done has been a total catastrophe, although it has come close.

Nor am I one of those instant armchair experts who AKB (always knows best) in hindsight.

Mistakes have been made, but the Government has done its best to firefight a shape-shifting pandemic in circumstances where it is often hampered by citizens who won't abide by the new rules.

Beach parties, raves, pub nights, illegal gatherings? We are not doing ourselves any favours.

Of course, there was the lockdown that came too late and the protective suits that didn't fit.

Not to mention the instruction to work from home; no, come into the office; no, go back home again.

The test-and-trace app that we all knew wouldn't work and hey presto, it didn't work! All this has tested our patience mightily.

At Prime Minister's Questions this week, Boris airily dismissed many of these inconsistencies as 'seeming illogicalities.'

Behind these words lurked the tacit implication that all would be well in the long run, once his secret, super-clever Covid master plan was unveiled.

He is clearly hoping we will believe that there is something substantial underpinning the chaos, and let's hope that special something is not just more chaos.

Was it really only just over a year ago that Boris Johnson stood outside 10 Downing Street for the first time, brimming with hope and optimism for our post-Brexit world?

He had replaced Theresa May as Prime Minister, and five months later delivered the Conservatives' biggest election victory in more than 30 years, finally followed by Brexit itself.

What a man.

Many had their doubts about him, over his tenuous grasp of detail plus a shaky commitment to the country, to us and to his party, but for a brief, shining moment he seemed to have it in him to do great things, to do all this and more.

Now I am not so sure. There are moments these days when he seems like a quivering sapling hiding inside the thick bark of the Tory tree; someone who is a touch too meek beneath the teak, a man who seems to be missing in action rather more often than seems entirely comfortable.

Has Covid beaten him, in more ways than one?

Back in May, Boris promised us that he would deal with the pandemic by 'throwing everything at it, heart and soul, night and day'.

Now I can't help but feel that he has just thrown it all away instead.

Battle against racism that slipped Meghan's mind

America calling Europe, Sussexes calling the UK, come in London!

From a cosy sofa in their 11 million mansion, Harry and Meghan have called for an end to 'structural racism' in Britain. Is there no end to their caring?

In an interview with London's Evening Standard newspaper to mark the beginning of Black History Month, Prince Harry insisted that the UK can become a better country if only white people could understand more about life for those 'of a different coloured skin'.

Harry said that even in London, which is 'celebrated as one of the most diverse cities in the world, if you actually get out on to the streets and talk to people, it doesn't feel as diverse as it actually is'.

Yes, well that's as clear as mud. Not that anyone can recall Harry with a clipboard at Piccadilly Circus, quizzing passers-by on their attitudes to race.

Still, he hopefully burbled on in the manner that has now become horribly familiar  using platforms, starting conversations, massive difference, yah, communities together, blah etc. etc.

He said how awful it was to walk into a shop and see nothing but 'white dolls', though this must have happened to him a thousand times when he walked into Boujis night club, his old haunt.

'Structural racism' is clearly the Sussexes' pet peeve this week, although there is nothing on their agenda about structural class inequality, the plank upon which the Prince's entire life is built.

They helped choose the 'trailblazers' for Black History Month, and when asked about their choices, Meghan said: 'An incredible example is Baroness Lawrence.

'Everything she has done in memory of her son [Stephen] is creating legacy across the UK in what it means to really push for the change that is necessary.'

It is no secret this newspaper did exactly that, and campaigned for years to bring Stephen Lawrence's killers to justice.

Although it is unlikely the Sussexes will ever mention that important piece of black history in one of their pious little homilies.

Stanley Johnson goes supermarket shopping without wearing a mask, Jeremy Corbyn dines in a group of nine  will these old fools be fined for their Covid transgressions?

Perhaps they could join the 49 per cent who have been tracked, traced, caught and not paid their fines.

What next, throwing the miscreants into our already overcrowded jails?

Summer's winter of discontent

What's new with my dear friend and Insta-celebrity Summer Monteys-Fullam?

The darling girl has announced that since the end of her two-year romance with Paul Hollywood, the Bake Off star has sent her more than 25 legal letters.

And they say that romance is dead!

What's new with my dear friend and Insta-celebrity Summer Monteys-Fullam? (pictured)

Summer reveals that she has also hired lawyers and is taking her former boyfriend to court for 4,000 over the two horse shelters she had built at his 800,000 Kent farmhouse.

Is this what you would call a stable relationship?

Whatever it is, it surely serves as a warning to all of us that love can start with sweet words and roses, but end up in the gutter before you can say Sue, Grabbit & Runne.

Meanwhile, Summer is deep in her own winter of discontent, having failed to replace Mr Hollywood with a new Mr Right.

'I am still wading my way through disappointments,' she sighs.

Are we doing enough to help the isolated old?

Trace and test, booking seats in pubs via smartphones, cashless payments only, TSB shutting down almost half of its branches while shops push all their trade online?

It shuts out the elderly  many of whom are not technically adept  from so much of modern life. Is enough being done to look out for them?

Amanda's defiant game of peek-a-boob

Amanda Holden is in trouble again over her choice of outfits on Britain's Got Talent.

Amanda Holden (pictured) is in trouble again over her choice of outfits on Britain's Got Talent

The question the industry watchdog is now asking itself is this: are her glamorous gowns really appropriate for a family friendly television show?

Last week 235 viewers complained to Ofcom about Miss Holden's plunging navy dress which suggests to me that the other 9.9 million thought it was just fine.

(The resulting publicity indicates that it would be well worth Amanda's time to pay these party poops for reporting any glimpse of her nipples, real or imagined.)

Anyway, the 49-year-old star has remained defiant over her peek-a-boo outfits.

'There's no way I'd step out in my pyjamas or rock up without a lash,' she told Hello magazine last year  meaning eyelashes and not a twitching leather whip.

Although when it comes to Amanda, one can never be entirely sure.

Still, her job is to bring glamour and a bit of spice to a Saturday night show, and you cannot deny she does it rather well.
Lily Collins has been pictured out for the first time since becoming an engaged woman.

The actress, 31, was spotted out in Hollywood on Friday, without her new fiance Charlie McDowell.

Lily looked fabulous in a delicate, floral print dress and leather bucket bag slung over her shoulder.

Newly engaged! Lily Collins has been pictured out for the first time since becoming an engaged woman

The star wore a black 'Vote' face mask, encouraging individuals to head to the polls this November.

Walking out into the sunshine in mustard yellow flats with a head full of long, loose waves, Lily was a vision of autumnal chic.

She wore an array of gold accessories, however the engagement ring she has been happily showing off these last few days was not visible.

Lily said 'yes' to director Charlie during a romantic trip to Arizona last week, and has been on cloud nine ever since.

Simply stylish: Walking out into the sunshine in mustard yellow flats with a head full of long, loose waves, Lily was a vision of autumnal chic

He put a ring on it! Collins has been happily showing off her new diamond engagement ring ever since becoming engaged last week

Making a virtual appearance on Thursday's episode of the US talk show Live with Kelly and Ryan, she said of the ring: 'It's a rose-cut diamond. Charlie designed it with Irene (Neuwirth).'

'I was very surprised by it, but it's exactly what I would've wanted and he knew me so well, obviously.'

She also revealed she knew Charlie - who is the son of actor Malcolm McDowell - was the one 'the second' they met, but she had no idea when he would propose.

She said yes! Collins accepted a proposal from director Charlie McDowell during a trip to New Mexico

'I can't believe I get to call myself a fiancee now. I was very surprised as to when and where it would happen.

'But it was kind of one of those situations where I knew the second that I met him, that I wanted to be his wife one day.'

Lily shared the big engagement news on her Instagram account last week, posting photos from the moment he proposed alongside several kissing snaps.

'I've been waiting my lifetime for you and I can't wait to spend our life together...' she captioned the post.

It rocks! Collins received her unique, pink-tint diamond ring during a day in the canyon

Lily confirmed her relationship with The One I Love director last August.

Interestingly, Charlie's actor father Malcom McDowell has yet to meet Lily's famous father, Phil Collins.

In an interview with SiriusXM's The Michelle Collins Show, Lily explained distance had made it difficult for the men to see each other.

'Everyone's around the globe. So it's, it's a little difficult,' she said.

However, Lily speculated a prior meet-up could have been possible, with both men having ties to the UK.

'Who knows, like if one day in the past they have, you know, in terms of like they're both English and all that, but yeah, no, not yet.'
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  New coronavirus cases have dropped significantly at Grand Valley State University since the start of its 14-day, stay-at-home order but health officials say not enough to fully ease up on restrictions when the order ends at midnight.

The Ottawa County Department of Public Health announced Thursday, Oct. 1 restrictions on student gatherings in a new two-week Staying Safe order.

The mandate, which will go into effect Friday, Oct. 2 until Friday, Oct. 16, places the following restrictions on student gatherings, which include parties, group gatherings, study sessions or group walking:

Up to four guests may visit student living units and residences, while observing strict preventive measures, including social distancing and wearing face coverings.

Students may not gather in groups greater than four people in all indoor common areas on the Allendale campus, with the exception of classes or university-organized academic activities.

All outdoor, non-university gatherings cannot exceed 10 people and everyone should wear face coverings unless eating or drinking.

Face coverings continue to be required indoors and outdoors. Students who are alone outside may choose not to wear a face covering, but should be prepared to immediately use it when encountering another person.

The mandate will begin after midnight on Thursday, when the current stay-home order expires. The health department issued the emergency Staying in Place order Sept. 16 in response to escalating coronavirus cases tied to the university.

RELATED: Emergency stay-home order issued for Grand Valley State University students

Since the start of the stay-home order, the number of new positive cases have dropped significantly. The universitys 7-day daily average is currently about 10 new cases per day, compared to about 34 new cases per day on Sept. 16.

GVSU saw its peak of 46 new cases per day on Sept. 6, according to university data.

The order was issued specifically for Grand Valley students living in Allendale, which has seen cases surge since students returned for the fall semester.

Allendale Township, which makes up 8.5% of the Ottawa County population, made up 75% of the countys positive cases one week after GVSU classes started on Aug. 27.

Allendale cases showed significant decline after the stay-home order was implemented, now making up 27% of the countys cases, health officials say.

It is gratifying to see that the partnership with the county and the university community is resulting in a dramatic decline in new cases, GVSU President Philomena V. Mantella said in a prepared statement.

Despite the overa;l drop in cases, COVID-19 has continued to spread among Grand Valley students, health officials said Thursday.

Most cases continue to be among (GVSU students living in on-campus and off-campus housing) and appear to be driven by congregate living and congregate gathering without preventive precautions, the news release said.

There are currently 63 active cases  or cases reported in the last 10 days  in off-campus students in Ottawa County, according to the universitys data dashboard.

Grand Valley has 122 currently active cases out of a total of 946 university-related cases reported since Aug. 1.

There are 27 active cases for on-campus students, 30 cases for off-campus students who live outside Ottawa County, one faculty case and one staff case, data shows.

Health officials have also seen improvements in contact tracing efforts among students, according to the news release. When the stay-home order was first issued, the health department said GVSU students were underreporting close contacts or refusing to disclose contacts.

Since then, students have reported more close contacts to health officials, from an average of 1.6 close contacts reported per case during the week of Sept. 12 to a current average of 2.9 contacts per case.

By comparison, Ottawa County residents with COVID-19 report an average of 4.9 contacts per case.

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.

More on MLive:

Coronavirus cases surge in University of Michigan residence halls

Coronavirus outbreaks reported at 46 Michigan K-12 schools and 22 colleges in Sept. 28 report

Saginaw Valley State University suspends athletics after party causes outbreak
Rescuers on Friday abandoned an attempt to shepherd a pod of northern bottlenose whales from a Scottish loch where an international military exercise is set to take place this weekend.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue organisation (BDMLR) said 10 boats formed a barrier to try to herd the deep-diving mammals from Loch Long and neighbouring Gare Loch out to sea.

But the animals changed direction and returned to the area.

The Faslane naval base, which is home to Britain's fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, is situated on Gare Loch, north of the western city of Glasgow,

Thousands of armed forces personnel from the UK, NATO and other international units are due to take part in the Joint Warrior military exercise in the area from October 4-15.

Julia Cable, a spokeswoman for the BDMLR, said: "We tried, but if the whales won't be driven out to sea there is little more that we can do.

"There are currently three whales in the loch. We have a ship that is monitoring their movements but we are not going out today (Friday)."

Joint Warrior involves "anti-submarine exercises conducted by warships, submarines and aircraft" in and around the west coast of Scotland, according to the Ministry of Defence.

But there has been concern the whales, which are sensitive to underwater sound, could be affected by the simulations.

Northern bottlenose whales are normally found off the edge of the continental shelf to the west of the UK and Ireland but it is unusual for them to be seen in coastal waters.

"We are not used to dealing with these whales but something happened out at sea that has affected the whales and drawn them into this intricate loch and island system," said Cable.

"Now they are in a territory they wouldn't normally be in. This is hard on the team and hard on the locals. We all want what is best for the wales."

srg/phz/adp
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Thursday held talks in Algeria on renewing a strategic alliance as the North African state tries to mediate in war-ravaged Libya and Mali while battling extremists at home.

Esper, the first American defence chief to visit Algiers since 2006, held a lengthy meeting with Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who also holds the post of defence minister, and the chief of staff, General Said Chanegriha as well as external security chief Mohamed Bouzit.

The two sides agreed to "consolidate the foundations of peace and security in the region, within the framework of unity and sovereignty of countries", an Algerian official statement read.

The US embassy said Esper "voiced support for expanding the military relationship and highlighted Algeria's steady leadership in regional security".

The two sides discussed "security throughout North Africa and the Sahel and ways to advance our strategic military and diplomatic partnership", it added.

Ahead of the visit, a senior US military official said Washington hoped "to deepen cooperation with Algeria on key regional security issues such as the threat posed by extremist groups".

Esper laid a wreath at the country's independence war memorial overlooking Algiers before talks with the president.

The defence chief, on a North Africa tour, arrived in Algiers after talks in neighbouring Tunisia and later travelled on to Morocco.

Esper became the first US defence minister to visit Algeria -- an ally of Russia, which supplies most of its weapons, and China -- since Donald Rumsfeld almost 15 years ago.

But ties between Washington and Algiers have been strengthened by their common aim to counter Islamist militants.

"Algeria is a committed counter-terrorism partner," General Stephen Townsend, head of US Africa Command, said on a recent visit to Algiers.

"Strengthening this relationship is very important to us," Townsend said. "Degrading violent extremist organisations... and enhancing regional stability is a mutual must."

'Pivotal state'

Algeria is trying to reactivate its role on the regional diplomatic scene, including as a mediator in the conflicts in Mali and Libya.

Jihadist groups in Libya and the wider Sahel region have become an increasing concern since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is the first American defence chief to visit Algiers since 2006. By Brendan Smialowski (POOL/AFP/File)

Conflict in Libya since then has sucked in multiple nations backing opposing forces, including Turkey and Egypt.

Mali, supported by France and UN peacekeepers, is struggling with an eight-year-old Islamist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.

"The Americans want to reposition themselves in the region, which has seen the arrival of new players like Turkey," said Algerian political scientist Mansour Kedidir.

"Algeria has always been considered by the Americans as a 'pivotal state' whose vulnerability can engulf the whole region if it is affected by jihadists."

The US and Algeria have historic ties -- a treaty of friendship was signed in 1795 -- while during Algeria's 1954-1962 war of independence from colonial rulers France, Washington reportedly pressured Paris to negotiate with Algerian nationalists.

"The United States has a strong bilateral security relationship with Algeria," said Michael Shurkin, from the California-based RAND Corporation policy think-tank.

The US relationship is crucial for another reason, Shurkin noted.

"The US role must also be seen in the context of Algeria's reluctance to work with France, which makes the US necessary for France with respect to French hopes for an integrated regional response to jihadism," Shurkin said.

France has 5,100 soldiers deployed across the Sahel as part of its anti-jihadist Operation Barkhane.

Washington is also likely interested in selling weapons to Algeria, which currently receives some 90 percent of its military supplies from Russia.

Just ahead of Esper's visit, army chief Chanegriha met with a top Russian military delegation for discussions on the state of "military cooperation between the two countries", Algeria's defence ministry said.
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban reaffirmed the "firm decision" to support all projects in which collaboration between the Bucharest City Hall and the Government is necessary, according to Agerpres.

The prime minister said that, starting with September 27, even before the new mayor general took over the mandate, there has been "a dialogue, continuous analysis of all projects in which the collaboration between the Bucharest City Hall and the Government is necessary".

"I reaffirm the strong decision to support all the projects of the Bucharest City Hall, I reaffirm our commitment that all projects related to the Government, in which the Government is involved and which are necessary to solve the problems of the Romanian capital city be carried out professionally, seriously and very fast", Ludovic Orban said on Friday after the working visit made to the Ministry of Transport together with the mayor elect of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan.

In this context, the prime minister reiterated the commitment of the Executive to obtain funding for these projects.

He noted that important infrastructure projects, such as the new ring road of Bucharest, are "coming to life".

The head of the Executive stated that an extremely important feasibility study will also be carried out in the railway field.
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made her first appearance in state media since July, an absence that had fuelled speculation her power was clipped after she led a contentious pressure campaign against South Korea.

Kim Yo Jong joined her brother and a handful of other top cadres on a tour to inspect reconstruction work to repair damage caused by massive flooding in recent weeks, the states Korean Central News Agency reported Friday.

Kim Yo Jong saw her profile rise among political analysts as the likely successor to her brother when a prolonged absence in April raised questions about his health. She was last mentioned in state media when she joined her brother on an inspection tour of a chicken farm, which included a glimpse in state media of her picking up a cigarette butt from her brother.

The listing of the accompanying officials in todays report indicates that she has not been demoted, said Rachel Minyoung Lee, an independent political analyst who used to work for the US government in areas related to North Korea.

Kim Yo Jongs status rose in the first part of the year where she was a key player on policies toward the countrys two biggest adversaries, the US and South Korea. A leading South Korean newspaper, the Chosun, reported in recent days that she might even visit President Donald Trump before the presidential election in a show of support.

Kim Yo Jong led a series of threats and provocations against South Korea that culminated with Pyongyang in June blowing up a joint liaison office north of the border built in 2018 as a symbol of reconciliation between the two countries still technically at war. Just as soon as it looked like more was on the way, her brother reversed course in late June and halted plans to step up provocations.

In July, she issued a message saying that North Korea had no intention of holding a meeting with Trump, calling on him to change his policy of applying sanctions against the state. After that, she was conspicuously absent from two key meetings in August of the ruling Workers Party, raising speculation that she had fallen out of favor.

We will never know what happened during her latest two-month absence, but I do not believe she was punished, said Lee, who added it would be unthinkable for a national campaign like the one against South Korea to be launched and executed without the top leaders approval.

Choosing a woman to deliver pointed messages is notable for the Kim family, which has ruled the male-dominated society since the 1940s. Kim Yo Jong has become the highest-ranking female member of the family, and a rare sibling allowed to stay in a prominent position or even get mentioned in state media.

Siblings have often not fared well in North Korea. Kim Jong Un has been accused of ordering the murder of his older half-brother and most serious rival, Kim Jong Nam, in 2017. Former leader Kim Jong Ils brother was found drowned when they were children and his half-brother was effectively exiled for decades.
A leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Sunyani West constituency of the Bono region, Theophilus Asomah Kyeremeh has donated 30 pieces of mobile phones to NPP Communicators of both Sunyani East and Sunyani West Constituencies in the Bono Region in his bid to facilitate party works within the two Constituencies.

Besides, the NPP fire-brand presented assorted food items, which included bags of rice, cooking oil and mackerel, to the party communicators at a short ceremony in Sunyani.

Asomah Kyeremeh is giving you these items to help you in line with your duty as the mouthpiece of the party in these two constituencies. Serve as worthy ambassadors and work towards ensuring that the good works of Nana Addo and your two Parliamentarians, Hon. Baffour Awuah and Hon Ameyaw-Cheremeh are trumpeted far and wide, he stressed.

He further said the NPP government has performed exceedingly well and that the evidence is there to show.

Let the electorate know what NPP has done and what Nana Addo intend to do in his second coming. He added.

Theophilus Asomah Kyeremeh urged the beneficiaries to put the gadgets to good use and in the interest of the New Patriotic Party in the two constituencies.

Mr Asomah Kyeremeh advised the communicators to focus their messages to the electorate on the achievements of the government and refrain from responding and counter attacking opponents.

Asomah Kyeremeh charged the communicators to ensure that Ghanaians are not hoodwinked into voting for a party that is not seeking the welfare of the electorate, adding that the NPP administration has shown it is the party for the people.

Asomah Kyeremeh emphasized the various successes chalked under the current NPP administration in the areas of education, agriculture, health, infrastructural development and the economy, among several other key areas.

According to him, party communicators are critical in selling the message and achievements of the NPP administration stressing that the NPP cannot afford to lose the 2020 polls considering the enormous infrastructural development and introduction of various pro-poor policies which are the toast of the populace.

Asomah Kyeremeh, however, charged party communicators to serve as evangelists of the good works of Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and the two parliamentary candidates for Sunyani West and East.

Asomah Kyeremeh implored the communicators to focus mainly on the government's numerous achievements within its first four years.

He reminded that to constantly keep themselves abreast of the various policies and programmes of the government to facilitate their work as party communicators.

Let's unite for victory

Meanwhile, Mr. Theophilus Asomah Kyeremeh, has called for unity and oneness among Assembly Members in the Sunyani West Municipal Assembly to enable them to achieve their mandate for the benefit of their constituents.

In a press released signed by him and copied to media houses, Mr. Asomah Kyeremeh who is also a member of Sunyani West NPP Campaign Team noted that the prime objective of the Assembly Members ought to be the development of their various Electoral Areas and the Municipality at large and said that would not be achieved without togetherness.

Mr Asomah Kyeremeh, however, called on the Members of the Assembly to work together in oneness and unity without which the Assembly cannot achieve its mandate.

He further urged them to put aside their parochial interest and focus on the development of Sunyani West Municipality.
Victims of Thursdays floods in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region are appealing to the government for assistance.

Heavy rainfall broke the banks of some constructed dams in nearby communities leading to the floods, which submerged hundreds of homes and displaced thousands.

Three communities namely Banawa, Gaagbini, and Dimia are the worst affected areas.

Information gathered by Citi News indicates that the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Municipal Assembly could not find accommodation for all the victims, forcing many to pass the night in the open.

The water entered our community and no single house was spared. All my properties are gone. All I have left are the clothes I have on. I am begging the government to help put up our structures again, one of the affected victims said.

We had to manage sleeping in mosquito nets in the open. We have lost our belongings. It has been very difficult for us these few days, another victim added.

Meanwhile, NADMO wants the distressed residents to evacuate to prevent fatalities.

The North East Regional NADMO Director, John Kwaku Alhassan said: We identified that majority of them for personal reasons are refusing to evacuate the affected areas. We have pleaded with them, but they seem to be adamant. We need them to evacuate the areas, so we can prevent casualties.

West Mamprusi: Heavy rains wreak havoc in communities

The Gbani and Dimia communities in the West Mamprusi District of the North East Region have been cut off from other communities due to flooding.

The flooding situation in these communities is a result of a dam at Guabuliga overflowing its banks after a downpour on Thursday, October 1, 2020.

Houses have been submerged and residents displaced as a result of the situation.

The West Mamprusi Municipal Chief Executive, Lucky Aremeyaw Somo, said they are working with the National Disaster and Management Organisation to help the affected residents.

Torrential rains in the northern part of Ghana coupled with spillage from the Bagre dam in Burkina Faso in August and September 2020 left farmlands submerged and properties destroyed.

---citinewsroom
According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Computer Vision market is accounted for $ 11.04 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $ 23.78 billion by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 8.9% during the forecast period. Increasing need for quality inspection and automation, rising demand for vision-guided robotic systems and high adoption of 3d computer vision systems are the major factors driving the market growth. However, Lack of Flexible Computer Vision Solutions is restraining market growth.

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Components Covered:

 Software

 Hardware

Products Covered:

 PC-Based Computer Vision Systems

 Smart Cameras-Based Computer Vision Systems

Applications Covered:

 Identification

 Measurement

 Positioning & Guidance

 Predictive Maintenance

 Quality Assurance & Inspection

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 Europe

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 Market forecasts for a minimum of 9 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets

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Update, Oct. 2, 11:58 p.m.: And now Bill Stepien, Trumps campaign manager, has tested positive. With a month to go until the election, the president, two of his closest advisers, the chairwoman of his party, and his campaign manager all currently have COVID-19.

Update, Oct. 2, 11:40 p.m.: Longtime Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, who was also at the Amy Coney Barrett event, also has COVID-19.

Update, Oct. 2, 8:55 p.m.: CNNs Jim Acosta quotes a Trump adviser as saying the president is very tired, very fatigued, and having some trouble breathing. (A senior administration official who spoke to Fox News disputes the claim that Trump is having breathing problems.) Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the fifth known individual (and second member of the Senate Judiciary Committee) who attended last Saturdays White House event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett to do so.

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Original post, Oct. 2, 6:42 p.m.: Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19, he has been airlifted to Walter Reed Medical Center, where a spokesperson says he is expected to stay for the next few days. Trump walked out of the White House residence under his own power and boarded the Marine One helicopter at about 6:15 p.m. At 6:31 p.m. a short video statement was posted on his Twitter account in which he says he is going to the hospital and adds, I think Im doing very well, but were going to make sure that things work out.

An administration spokesman said power is not being transferred to Vice President Mike Pence, and a statement released under the name of the White House doctor says the president is in good spirits and has mild symptoms, which, according to the New York Times sources, consist of a low-grade fever, nasal congestion and a cough. On the other hand, hes being transferred to a hospital, has not spoken in public since Thursday except via the 18-second video, and is being given an antibody treatment in what the company that manufactures it calls a case of compassionate use.

Well update this post when more details are available.
Amaravati/New Delhi, Oct 2 : Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan called on the people to take a pledge to rededicate themselves to the principles of truth and non-violence on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on Friday.

"Gandhiji's supreme sacrifice for the nation, his immortal spirit and imperishable teachings will always guide us as a nation and his teachings have always been an inspiration to the world leaders," said Harichandan.

He paid glowing tributes to the Father of the Nation on his 151st birth anniversary, and also to former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, whose birthday also falls on the same day.

The Governor paid floral tributes at the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi.

"Mahatma Gandhi demanded the British people to quit India and gave the call to the people of the country to join the non-cooperation movement. In response to the call given by the Mahatma, thousands of people came on to the streets and revolted against the British rule," he said.

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy also paid his respects to Gandhi on his jayanti.

"Remembering the great leader who liberated and shaped the nation by propounding his ideals of satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence)," said Reddy.

He said Gandhiji may not be with us today but his teachings and noble thoughts have stood the test of time, continuing to guide millions of people.

In New Delhi, the Resident Commissioners of both the Telugu states, Andhra and Telangana, celebrated Gandhi Jayanti in Andhra Bhavan and Telangana Bhavan.

Andhra resident commissioner Bhavana Saxena and Telangana resident commissioner Gaurav Uppal paid floral tributes to Gandhiji.
Micheal Martin said the European Union was already dealing with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

He made the comments at the end of a two-day meeting of the European Council in Brussels today.

The Taoiseach said the continued negative impact of Covid-19 on the economic performance across Europe formed a dominant part of the meeting of EU heads of state.

The last thing we all collectively need now is another hit to the economy occasioned by a no-deal Brexit, he said.

It doesnt make sense and that is the spirit within which people want to approach these negotiations.

Speaking in Brussels, Mr Martin also said it was highly unlikely that a deal would be struck between the EU and the UK in the next fortnight but that there was a mood to engage.

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There is a sense whilst there is a mood to engage, no-one is underestimating the task that lies ahead, the Taoiseach said.

He added: I think its highly unlikely that there will be any deal by October 15th, by the middle of the month.

It is fair to say thats not the timeframe within which now people are looking at the possibility of a deal.

That said, certainly by the end of the month, the beginning of next month, there would have to be some clear pathway to an agreement in order to facilitate all the work that will then be necessary to get a deal over the line.

The Taoiseachs remarks come as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called for trade talks with the UK to intensify as she prepared to discuss the matter with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The two leaders are to speak on Saturday to discuss the next steps following the conclusion of the final scheduled round of formal negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal in Brussels.
Medical drama confronts this facility that has long been one of the worst dumps in Kansas City. Authorities are working to address the crisis in the making as long-term warnings about the deplorable conditions inside the jail STILL haven't been completely addressed.



Read more:


It's the reality of the situation we're in: Data shows the older you are, the more likely you are to be adversely impacted by COVID-19.

President Donald Trump is 74 years old. His doctor said Friday that he's experiencing mild symptoms.

While Democrats and Republicans have wished Trump and First Lady Melania Trump a speedy recovery, the 25th Amendment has become relevant.

Jalila Jefferson-Bullock is a constitutional law professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

She says if the president is "totally incapacitated," there are constitutional options to ensure a continuity of government.

"The 25th Amendment requires total and complete incapacitation," Jefferson-Bullock said, "So if the president can still do something, if he can still perform some of his duties, something he can still give to his aides, if he can still perform his duties, then theres no reason to invoke the 25th Amendment."

The two relevant sections (which you can read the original text below) clarify the process by which the vice president would become president.

Section 3 lays out what happens if the president voluntarily hands over power, which President George W. Bush did twice when he was under anesthesia for procedures. Essentially, the president submits a letter to both houses of Congress, Jefferson-Bullock said.

Section 4 lays out what happens if the president involuntarily gives power away to the vice president. The vice president and the majority of the Cabinet approve a letter to give to Congress, who votes on the changes.

Jefferson-Bullock says we're living in uncertain times, but people should have faith that the U.S. government will continue to function.

"I think that we at the end of the day have a good system, and I think that the American people can take heart, knowing that we do have a good system," Jefferson-Bullock said.

Section 1

In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Section 2

Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Section 3

Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Section 4

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.



Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
Russian journalists working for two state-owned media outlets are among the first to be offered the new Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine outside of the framework of a clinical trial, according to one of the outlets and four employees.

Russia began vaccinating members of the general public seen at high risk of coronavirus infection earlier this month, while separately launching a large-scale trial. So far about 400 people have received the jabs under that scheme, the health ministry said this week.

The government last month published a list of jobs considered high risk, which included health workers, journalists and teachers.

With hundreds of potential COVID-19 vaccines in various stages of development around the world, Russia was the first country to license its vaccine for public use and alongside China has been deploying the shots before full efficacy trials are complete.

Two journalists at the state-run RIA news agency and two at the Russian state television holding company VGTRK, which operates Russia-1 and Russia-24 news channels, told Reuters they had been offered a COVID-19 shot on a voluntary basis.

One of the RIA journalists said his impression was that the majority of his colleagues had declined the offer. One of the VGTRK journalists also said many of his colleagues declined.

The RIA news agency confirmed the inoculation program. We granted employees who constantly work from the office (not remotely), at events, and in the field, the option to receive a Sputnik V vaccination," it said in a statement.

RIA did not say how many employees received the vaccine and VGTRK did not respond to a request for comment. Both companies employ hundreds of people.

At RIA and VGTRK headquarters in Moscow, media workers who spoke to Reuters said they had a basic medical check-up and coronavirus PCR and antibody tests.

In an interview with Reuters, the chief scientist behind the vaccines development said people vaccinated outside of a trial undergo a less rigorous medical examination, though they can submit additional health data via an online platform.

At the time of its registration, the vaccine had been tested officially on fewer than 100 volunteers as part of early-stage clinical trials. Late stage trials began last month, with the first volunteer of a 40,000-strong cohort vaccinated on Sept. 9.
Edgar Flores was murdered after disappearing Wednesday in Tijuana, Mexico

Flores' body was located in the Tijuana neighborhood of Maclovio Rojo on Thursday

Two suspects were arrested Thursday by Tijuana authorities

The Mexican national worked for the Agriculture Department at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana

Flores was assigned a supervisor role with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Two suspects have been arrested after a United States consulate worker was found dead in Mexico on Thursday - a day after he was reported missing.

Authorities have said Edgar Flores was last heard of Wednesday when he was driving a white Chevrolet Silverado registered to the consulate.

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Flores, a married father-of-two, was traveling along stretch of a road that connects the municipalities of Tecate and Tijuana in the town of Maclovio Rojo before he stopped answering phone calls.

Edgar Flores, who worked for the United States Department of Agriculture at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, Mexico, was found dead Thursday in Tijuana, a day after he was reported missing

Authorities said the U.S. Consulate filed a missing person's report Wednesday night after losing contact with Edgar Flores, an employee for the United States Department of Agriculture. A consulate pickup truck driven by Flores was located in Tijuana on Thursday. Authorities also said there were blood stains inside the vehicle

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The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana filed a report with the local police, prompting a search that included agents from the Baja California, National Guard and the military since 9pm local time Wednesday.

The pickup was finally found Thursday parked off the road in an uninhabited area with both of its windows rolled down and blood stains on it.

Flores' corpse, which showed signs of violence, was located in the Tijuana town of Presa Rural near a ranch.

Edgar Flores was a supervisor for the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

At least two individuals, whose identities have not been publicly released, were apprehended Thursday in connection with Flores' death, according Isaias Bertin, Baja California's Secretary of Public Safety.

Flores, a Mexican national, worked for the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

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He graduated in 2010 from the Autonomous University of Guerrero, where he majored in Biology.
Seattle (US):

A US judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trumps ban on travellers and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries after Washington state and Minnesota urged a nationwide hold on the executive order that has launched legal battles across the country.



US District Judge James Robart in Seattle on Friday ruled that the states had standing to challenge Trumps order, which government lawyers disputed, and said they showed their case was likely to succeed.



The state has met its burden in demonstrating immediate and irreparable injury, Robart said.



Trumps order last week sparked protests nationwide and confusion at airports as some travellers were detained. The White House has argued that it will make the country safer. Washington became the first state to sue over the order that temporarily bans travel for people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen and suspends the US refugee program.

Read | Obama finally speaks up on Trumps travel ban on Muslims of seven nations



State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said this week that the travel ban significantly harms residents and effectively mandates discrimination. Minnesota joined the suit two days later.



After the ruling, Ferguson said people from the affected countries can now apply for entry to the US.



Judge Robarts decision, effective immediately ... puts a halt to President Trumps unconstitutional and unlawful executive order, Ferguson said. The law is a powerful thing -- it has the ability to hold everybody accountable to it, and that includes the president of the United States.

Read | UN chief Antonio Guterres calls for lifting Trump's US travel ban



Gillian M Christensen, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the agency doesnt comment on pending litigation.



Federal attorneys had argued that Congress gave the president authority to make decisions on national security and immigrant entry.



The two states won a temporary restraining order while the court considers the lawsuit, which aims to permanently block Trumps order. Court challenges have been filed nationwide from states and advocacy groups.



Up to 60,000 foreigners from the seven majority-Muslim countries had their visas cancelled because of the executive order, the State Department said yesterday.That figure contradicts a statement from a Justice Department lawyer on the same day during a court hearing in Virginia about the ban. The lawyer in that case said about 100,000 visas had been revoked.



The State Department clarified that the higher figure includes diplomatic and other visas that were actually exempted from the travel ban, as well as expired visas.

Read | Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations not anti-Islam: UAE minister

Obama finally speaks up on Trumps travel ban on Muslims of seven nations

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
A probe into how a patient became ill during trials of Astrazeneca's potential Covid-19 jab has been widened in the US.

The Food & Drug Administration will examine data from past trials of similar vaccines developed by the same scientists, sources told Reuters.

It is a blow to Astra's proposed vaccine  jointly developed by scientists at Oxford University and Astra  which is one of the most advanced among global candidates but could now face further delays.

Trials of Astrazeneca's potential Covid-19 vaccine were paused in the US on September 6 after a participant in the British trials developed what was thought to be a rare spinal disorder

Large trials of the vaccine were paused in the US on September 6 after a participant in the British trials developed what was thought to be a rare spinal inflammatory disorder.

The trials were also paused in other countries such as the UK but have since resumed there.

Data requested by the FDA was expected to arrive this week, according to reports, and will take time to be analysed.

The FDA wants to determine whether any side effects experienced by the British patient in Astra's trials emerged in trials of other vaccines designed by Oxford University, Reuters reported.

Astrazeneca said yesterday: 'We are continuing to work with the FDA to facilitate review of the information needed to make a decision regarding resumption of the US trial.'
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, right, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley, meet with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz at the Pentagon in Washington on September 22, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

No Change to Pentagon Alert Levels After Trump Tests Positive for COVID-19

The Department of Defense alert levels didnt change after President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday.

Theres been no change to DoD alert levels. The U.S. military stands ready to defend our country and interests. Theres no change to the readiness or capability of our armed forces. Our national command and control structure is in no way affected by this announcement, said Jonathan Hoffman, assistant to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

A slew of social media users, including an NBC reporter, suggested that E-6B aircraft were placed on alert because of Trumps diagnosis.

With regard to reports about E-6B aircraft on alert status, U.S. STRATCOM has confirmed these E-6B aircraft were part of pre-planned missions. Any timing to the presidents announcement was purely coincidental, Hoffman said.

Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley met with Trump on Sept. 27, when the president held an event with relatives of military members who lost their lives in service.

Esper tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday and Wednesday, and was being tested again on Friday. He is currently overseas and will not be returning early, according to the Pentagon.

Milley tested negative on Friday.

Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, White House aide Hope Hicks, Republican National Chair Ronna McDaniel, and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) tested positive this week.

Numerous others who came into contact with the president, including Vice President Mike Pence, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, tested negative on Friday.

The White House in Washington is seen on Oct. 2, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows walks into the West Wing after speaking to the media about President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington on Oct. 2, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Hoffman said Esper is confident the Trumps will continue to receive the best medical care in the world.

The Trumps are isolating themselves at the White House, per quarantine protocol. Theyre showing mild symptoms, according to chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, aches, and loss of taste or smell. COVID-19 is a disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Former White House physician Ronny Jackson said the president could return to a normal schedule following two negative tests, likely within 10 days. White House pandemic adviser Scott Atlas said theres zero reason to panic over the presidents diagnosis and expects the Trumps to make a complete, full, and rapid recovery.

Most COVID-19 patients recover. The disease primarily affects the elderly and those with underlying health conditions such as kidney disease and hypertension. It kills a small percentage of infected.

Sean Conley, the presidents current doctor, said in a memorandum that both the president and first lady were doing well on Thursday evening.

Conley said he and the White House medical team would maintain a vigilant watch, adding, Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.

Trump was in good spirits on Friday morning, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said.

The President was in good spirits. The first thing he asked me is hows the hearings going? Graham said, referring to the effort to confirm Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, who tested negative for COVID-19 on Friday.
The Industrial Park's first client, CAID Group, Division of Samuel, Son & Co., is a U.S.-based provider of fabrication and precision machining services and will occupy its building in mid-October. The first speculative building will measure 35,000 square feet and be completed in late October.

Rio Sonora is a 210-acre development whose masterplan allows for over 7 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space. For lease and built-to-suit options are available, all of which are supported by the infrastructure necessary to sustain world-class manufacturing.

As with Tetakawi's other Manufacturing Communities, Rio Sonora tenants gain access to a complete range of on-site services including recruitment support and HR administration; facilities maintenance; accounting; and import and export assistance, among many others. Employee busing, medical services, and controlled access security are a few of the benefits offered to encourage recruitment from the local area.

With its focus on supporting manufacturers involved in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, furniture, and medical manufacturing industries, the company expects the Rio Sonora Manufacturing Community to become an epicenter of advanced manufacturing in Northwestern Mexico.

As the largest employer in the state of Sonora, with 17,000 employees, Tetakawi has seen firsthand the demand for manufacturing infrastructure increase in the region.

The company has two other industrial parks in the state: Roca Fuerte in Guaymas and Bella Vista in Empalme.

"Rio Sonora will help further position the state of Sonora and Hermosillo as a destination location for foreign direct investment in Mexico's manufacturing sector," Seldner added.

To learn more about Tetakawi's Rio Sonora Manufacturing Community, visit

https://tetakawi.com/solutions/manufacturing-communities/rio-sonora/

Since 1986, no one has helped more companies investigate, launch, operate, and thrive in Mexico more than Tetakawi. With 24,000 employees in Mexico, 75 clients from around the world, and six locations in Mexico, Tetakawi has grown into Sonora's largest privately-owned company. For more information, visit tetakawi.com.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Tetakawi

Related Links

https://tetakawi.com


In my interviews, the Taliban cited as un-Islamic the absence of gender segregation in the current Afghan public sphere; they see the relatively free Afghan media as encouraging moral corruption, and they object to the banking system designed on international rules and want Islamic banking. They want a greater role for religious leaders in policy and lawmaking and greater promotion of religious education.

Many Afghans fear that the Taliban favor a return to their heavy-handed rule of the late 1990s. It is true that the Taliban are uncomfortable with the liberalizing society  with degrees of freedom of expression, lack of gender segregation and Westernizing influences  that has flourished in some parts of Afghanistan in recent years.

But there are hints emerging from Taliban ranks that they could be influenced by public opinion, perhaps allowing room for compromise. For instance, the Taliban now allow schools for girls in areas under their control where there is strong popular demand. It is a break from their strict rules restricting education for women during their earlier rule.

The Taliban banned technology and communications during their earlier rule. They have since become pretty proficient users of the internet and mobile phone technology, and, in some areas the group controls today, when local elders petitioned for their communitys internet access the Taliban granted it and guarded the telecommunications towers.

The Taliban seem to understand that they need to go further than tolerating girls education. Last month, Hibatullah Akhunkzada, the leader of the Taliban, deputed Mawlawi Abdul Hakim, the movements senior most religious scholar, to lead the Taliban negotiators in Doha. Mr. Hakim has no experience in political negotiations, but the personal involvement of such an authoritative religious figure seems to suggest that the Taliban intend to clarify their positions on the role of Islam in governance after the actual negotiations start, and that they will want to convince Taliban fighters that any agreement signed by the groups leaders will uphold Islamic values.

I have gleaned from conversations with Taliban officials recently that they have certain positions for the negotiations, but they have not nailed down a definitive vision of what they will agree to, leaving the specifics to evolve during talks. The Taliban cite the composition of their delegation for the intra-Afghan talks  it includes a deputy leader, the senior most religious figure and over 60 percent of its most authoritative body, the leadership council  as evidence of their seriousness about reaching a deal with their rivals.

A compromise on the state system will most likely require drafting a new constitution for the country. President Ashraf Ghani has already offered the Taliban the opportunity to amend the current constitution, but only through the existing constitutions amendment procedures, which would give the government control over the process. Afghan opposition political figures and groups have signaled their willingness to consider structural reforms to the current constitutional order while preserving protections for civil and political rights.
By PTI

MUMBAI: 'Vehemently' denying actor Payal Ghosh's allegations of rape against him, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on Friday described them as 'false and reckless' and said he was out of the country during the period she has mentioned in her FIR.

A statement issued by his lawyer a day after he was questioned in the case said Kashyap provided documentary proof to the police to establish the fact that he was in Sri Lanka shooting for a film in August 2013.

Versova police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Kashyap on September 22 after Ghosh alleged that he had raped her in August 2013.

"Mr. Kashyap has denied all wrongdoing in the matter and has provided his statement to the police. The material provided by Mr. Kashyap, in support of his statement, demonstrates that the complaint of Ms. Ghosh is an outright lie," said the statement by his lawyer Priyanka Khimani.

Kashyap, who was questioned by Mumbai Police for eight hours on Thursday, has said he will "vigorously pursue" legal remedies.

"Mr. Kashyap has provided documentary proof of the fact that throughout August, 2013 he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films. Mr. Kashyap has categorically denied that any such alleged incident ever took place and has also denied all allegations levelled against him," Khimani said in the statement.

She said the filmmaker believes the falsity of the complaint has been exposed by the ever-shifting versions of events shared by Ghosh.

Khimani said the filmmaker is "distressed" with the "false and reckless allegations made against him that have caused pain to him, his family and his fans".

"Mr. Kashyap vehemently denies any such incident, as has been alleged, and has sought for severe action against Ms. Ghosh for misusing the criminal justice system and for hijacking the Me Too Movement for her ulterior motives. Mr. Kashyap is confident that justice will prevail," the statement read.

Last month, Ghosh took to Twitter to claim that Kashyap was sexually inappropriate towards her, an allegation the director had dismissed as "baseless".

Police has invoked IPC sections 376 (I) (rape), 354 (assault on woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement) against the Gangs of Wasseypur filmmaker.

Earlier this week, Ghosh and Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale had met Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari to seek action against Kashyap.
The forensic team of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences that analysed the autopsy report of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput who was found dead on June 14 at his Mumbai residence is likely to issue a statement soon. The team has already handed over its findings to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which sought AIIMS assistance in this case.

Here is what we know so far

1. Dr Sudhir Gupta, the head of the forensic team, earlier said the report will not be made public as the case is sub-judice.

2. AIIMS & CBI are in agreement on the Sushant Singh Rajput death case but more deliberations are needed. There is a need to look into some legal aspects for a logical legal conclusion, Sudhir Gupta said.

3. Vikas Singh, lawyer of the Rajput family, complained of the slow pace of CBI investigation. The attention has been diverted to drug probe, the lawyer alleged.

4. The Central Bureau of Investigation is conducting professional investigation related to death of Shri Sushant Singh Rajput in which all aspects are being looked at and no aspect has been ruled out as of date, the CBI said in a statement, countering all allegations of diverting the probe.

5. Reports said the AIIMS team didnt find traces of organic poison in Sushant Singh Rajputs body.

6. That there has been no metion of the timing of Sushant Singh Rajputs death in the autopsy report has been raised by the AIIMS team, reports said.
Spanish aristocrat Fernando Fitz-James Stuart and his glamorous wife Sofia Palazuelo have shared sweep family photos with their new daughter Rosario, announcing she is set to be baptised next week.

The Duke of Huescar, 30, and heir apparent of the dukedom of Alba, was by Sofia's side when she gave birth to their firstborn at Madrid's Hospital Nuestra Senora del Rosario on September 8 - two years after their lavish society wedding.

Rosario Fitz-James Stuart - the first granddaughter of the 19th Duke of Alba and the future 21st Duchess of Alba - will be baptised in Seville on October 11.

In the sweet newborn images, Sofia is seen cradling her daughter in a pink blanket, dressed in a chic cream smock dress with billowing sleeves.

Spanish aristocrat Fernando Fitz-James Stuart and his glamorous wife Sofia Palazuelo have shared sweep family photos with their new daughter Rosario, announcing she is set to be baptised next week

Proud father Fernando stood grinning beside her, looking smart in a crisp white shirt and beige chinos.

The little girl was named in honour of Fernando's grandmother, the late Duchess of Alba, Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva, who was known as Spain's richest woman.

News of her birth came just days after Fernando's brother, Carlos Fitz-James Stuart y Solis, Count of Osorno, 28, announced his engagement to his heiress girlfriend Belen Corsini de Lacalle, after two years of dating.

Fernando and Sofia, who worked in luxury fashion PR before marrying, wed at Fernando's 18th century family estate, Liria Palace in Madrid, in October 2018.

The Duke of Huescar, 30, and heir apparent of the dukedom of Alba, was by Sofia's side when she gave birth to their firstborn at Madrid's Hospital Nuestra Senora del Rosario on September 8 - two years after their lavish society wedding

Fernando and Sofia, who worked in luxury fashion PR before marrying, wed at Fernando's 18th century family estate, Liria Palace in Madrid, in October 2018. Pictured together in June 2019

The couple were joined by no less than 750 wedding guests including the likes of Spain's Emeritus Queen Sofia, and designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada.

Following the ceremony the newly weds hosted an aperitivo and long lunch on the same estate serving beer from the family's own brewery La Casa de Alba.

The couple performed their first dance to a waltz before their guests joined them on the dance floor and partied until the early hours.

It is no surprise that the wedding was a lavish affair with the groom being the grandson of the late Duchess of Alba, who was known as Spain's richest woman

Fernando, Duke of Huescar and heir apparent of the dukedom of Alba, is pictured with bride-to-be Sofia on their stunning wedding day in Madrid in October 2018

Worth an estimated 2.2billion, the Spanish duchess was one of Europe's wealthiest aristocrats when she passed away in November 2014 at her Seville residence, Duenas Palace.

Friends, relatives and well-wishers paid their respects to the duchess, also known as 'Cayetana', after she died following a battle with pneumonia.

Her husband Alfonso Diez, who was 24 years her junior, is thought not to have received any of her fortune, which included an impressive property portfolio, 50,000 pieces of artwork and 18,000 rare books, after he signed a document renouncing any claim to her wealth prior to their marriage in October 2011.

Instead, the Duchess - who is a direct royal descent from King James II of England - left her entire estate to her six children, with them each receiving a palace, as well as thousands of acres of land. Her eight grandchildren are also said to have inherited a substantial chunk of her estate.

The baby was named in honour of Fernando's grandmother, the late Duchess of Alba, Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva, who was known as Spain's richest woman. Pictured, the Duchess and Alfonso Diez walk out of the chapel after their wedding in October 2011. It was the Spanish billionaire's third wedding

A relative of Winston Churchill, the duchess shared toys with England's future Queen Elizabeth while living in England as a girl.

She was 14 times a Spanish grandee, five times a duchess, once a countess-duchess, 18 times a marchioness, 18 times a countess and once a viscountess, according to the entry.

With her cloud of white hair and face moulded by plastic surgery, she was rarely out of the Spanish gossip magazines.

'If they forget you, you are nobody,' she once told one of the Spanish celebrity magazines of which she was a fixture.

The 13th Duchess of Alba was a muse of artist Francisco Goya in the 18th century and is rumoured to be the subject of 'La Maja Desnuda', his famous portrait of a reclining nude which hangs in Madrid's Prado gallery.
Women cane cutters are required to work for 13 to 18 hours a day without any weekly rest day. They work even during illness, menstruation, pregnancy or delivery, which affects their health, the study said

Usha Dhepe migrates every year to Kolhapur from her native Osmanabad district to cut sugarcane. Some years ago, her husband committed suicide and she was left to fend for her family of three children.

In local jargon, a couple which cuts sugarcane and loads it on trucks is called koyta (sickle). A single woman is 'ardha koyta' or half a sickle. She also gets half the payment which is usually in the form of an advance.

This koyta tag in a way symbolises the inhuman conditions of the workers. According to Subhash Kakuste, general secretary of the Maharashtra Rajya Sakhar Kamgar Mahasangh, the usage of the word had invited rebuke from a judge in Gujarat some 15 years ago when an order was passed hiking the wages of cane cutters who had migrated to the state. But the order could not be implemented as the workers were not registered and they could not be traced.

Since its formation in 1960, the Maharashtra Rajya Sakhar Kamgar Mahasangh, has worked without success to get social security for the cane cutters. But except for a wage increase in 1980  the only time the cane cutters went on strike  their conditions have not improved.

Kakuste also informs that many years ago, the Supreme Court had said that cane cutters are workers and entitled to all benefits, but evidently nothing came of that.

Dhepe continues her story: I have to take my children with me, and also take food rations for four to five months."

At her workplace there is no water or light and they sleep in a dark hovel. She wakes up at 4 am every day and slaves till midnight to repay the Rs 10,000 she received as advance from the contractor who hires them.

"If we fall ill and dont report for work, the mukadam (contractor) charges a fine of Rs 500. Something needs to be done for women like us, she said.

Prosperity, power and wealth in Maharashtra is synonymous with sugarcane but the might of sugar barons doesnt ensure a decent existence for thousands of cane cutters whose life has been a drudgery for generations.

A new study, Crushed Hopes: The Plight of Women Cane Cutters in Maharashtra, points to the oppressive and demeaning working and living conditions of women cane cutters. The study was conducted by the Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch (MAKAAM) and involved 1,042 women sugarcane cutters from eight districts of Maharashtra namely Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad, Parbhani and Solapur.

The cane cutters migrate to western Maharashtra in most cases and some of them to other states during October to March each year.

Dhepe and other single women spoke through a webinar on their plight at a discussion on the launch of the report recently. The women workers are disadvantaged more so as they carry the burden of work, running a household as well looking after children. Women work for an average 15 hours a day, says the study.

Suman Ovhal from Beed is a third generation cane cutter. Her mother and grandmother too harvested sugarcane. Like her, they were also married in their early teens. She has four daughters and a son.

"I got my children too married early as we are worried for our daughters' security, she said. A grandmother now, Ovhal still continues to work as a daily wage labourer and migrates all the time for work.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is migrant workers who have carried the cross of unemployment, and the single women among these workers face a life of manifold challenges. The report estimates the number of sugarcane cutters in Maharashtra between 10-15 lakh. However, the actual number could be higher.

Failed MNREGA and an exploitative system

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) could have played an important role in this context, but the schemes implemented under the Act have failed these women.

Only 24 percent of the women surveyed have job cards and just 16 (1.5 percent) of the 1,042 women surveyed reported that they got work during last year in any rural employment scheme.

Suman Waman Chavan from Parbhani said that there was no work in her village. Not having opportunities in their village forces these people to migrate.

In 2016, the workers took out a morcha in Pune to the Sugar Commissionerate, demanding a census of all sugarcane cutters, registration, job cards and minimum wages, according to activist Kishore Dhamale.

He alleges that the workers do not get rations, and often, the ration shop insists that they deposit the cards before they migrate on the pretext of providing for the remaining members of the family.

But in reality, the ration shops claim the rations and sell them, alleged Dhamale.

Some years ago, the Mahasangh suggested that a welfare board on the lines of the Mathadi Board (for mathadi workers or headload carriers) in Pune, be set up for the sugarcane cutters so that they are registered, have workers benefits and social security, but this was never implemented, he informs.

In 2019, there was an attempt to register all the sugarcane cutters, especially women, under the Gopinath Munde Oostod Kamgar Mahamandal, but nothing happened.

Gautam Mogale, a social activist from Hingoli, said workers are charged Rs 100 for a job card, but there is no employment or work anywhere. he informs that many women have filled forms, but even after 50 days, they havent got any work.

He further informs that even when there is work, it is not assigned properly, muster rolls are not kept and there is no payment for three months or more.

An inhuman existence, especially for women

This forced migration comes with several other pitfalls.

According to Manjula Bhanudas Jadhav from Beed, after her husbands death, she worked for half the money. A couple, ie, husband and wife, is usually paid Rs 50,ooo to Rs 60,000 a harvesting season.

They make us work for their advance, even if we are sick. Fifteen days after my delivery, they kept pestering me to return to work, she said.

In the case of Sangita Kamble from Hingoli, her husband fell ill soon after they received their advance and she used the money for his treatment. She went back to work but the contractors abused her as the money was given for both of them.

"My husband died. And since I had to work to repay the advance, I had no option but to take my elder daughter with me. But they didn't pay her any wages as she didnt count for some reason."

The study also said that basic amenities as well as health services were not provided to workers. Cane cutting is a tough job that requires hard labour for 13 to 18 hours a day. They also do not get a weekly rest day and work without a break for three to four months.

Women also hardly take time off during illness, menstruation, pregnancy or delivery, which affects their health.

Manisha Tokle, a social activist from Beed, said that the serious issue of child marriage among these women is not talked about. Sometimes the age of marriage is as low as 11 or 12 or even 13 and 14.

Of all the married women who were part of the survey, 69 percent were married before they turned 18, and among these, 20 percent were married before they were 14 years old, the study found.

These women work through pregnancy carrying 40 kg of cane at a time to load it on trucks. In addition, there are no creches or anyone to care for the children while the women work.

Security for women too is a major issue and 90 percent of the women have no idea where their workplace is located. Sometimes women who have left their husbands are forced to join them in work (in cases where they have taken a joint advance) and risk abuse and violence.

"It is an inhuman existence," Tokle remarked.

Of the 1,042 women surveyed, 26 (2.4 percent) said that they experienced sexual harassment at the workplace.

Chaya Padghan, from Hingoli said it is as if their existence is wiped out by the contractors because they are given an advance  it has frightening consequences.

The debts keep accumulating and generations are repaying it.

Hutatma Pattern shows the way, but to no avail

However, there is one sugar factory in Maharashtra founded in 1981, by freedom fighter Nagnathanna Nayakawadi in Walwe, Sangli district, which bucks the trend. Nayakawadi who was active in the 1942 Quit India movement, faced stiff resistance and had to wait eight years before he could construct the factory.

The Padmabhushan Krantiveer Dr Nagnathanna Nayakawadi Kisar Ahir Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana which has won awards for its highest recovery of sugar, also provides for the workers and the manner of running the factory is known as the Hutatma Pattern".

It has built 400 pucca houses with water and toilets for the cane cutters, and a school as well for the children of the workers. There are facilities for the children to study upto college, according to Balasaheb Krishna Nayakawadi, a social activist and nephew of the freedom fighter.

Nagnathanna wanted to create a new way of doing things and he was aware of the problems of the poor. We have free medical facilities and also a canteen with subsidised food at nominal rates, he said.

Many activists have been demanding that the Hutatma Pattern be implemented in all sugar factories, to no avail.

Govt recommenations yet to be implemented

In 2019, there was an uproar over women sugarcane cutters being forced to undergo hysterectomies at a very young age at the behest of the contractors who employ them to harvest sugarcane. The government set up a committee headed by Dr Neelam Gorhe, Shiv Sena MLA and deputy chairperson of Maharashtra Legislative Council, and the report was accepted by the government in August 2019, but its recommendations are yet to be fully implemented.

Sheela Waghmare from Beed contues to suffer from the after effects of a hysterectomy. Married at 12, she had children when she was 18. Soon after her surgery, some years ago, she had to start work. The study shows that 93 percent of the hysterectomies were performed on women before 40.

Dr Gorhe said that the report had special recommendations for migrant workers and two government resolutions were issued relating to the registration of workers and other supportive measures for the workers. The workers are entitled to free check-ups at primary health centres and sugar factories have to set up sub-committees for the workers needs.

She said that more than 3.5 lakh workers in Beed benefitted from health check-ups.

We also suggested that the families get rations in the home district and to where they migrate. Also, with reference to the threat of violence, I have instructed the police to take complaints of underage girls on priority, she said.

There are comprehensive SOPs issued to the health department in the case of hysterectomies: the civil surgeon has to be kept in the loop and the women must go to designated hospitals for their treatment, she added.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) is actively mobilising sugarcane cutters and holding meetings in various places.

The way sugarcane cutters have been treated since the first sugar factory was established in 1950 at Loni, in Ahmednagar, greatly diminishes the cooperative movement in Maharashtra and the might of the politicians who mobilised it.
No Time To Die Has been Pushed back to 2021

The release of the new 007 movie No Time to Die has been pushed back to 2021 due to the pandemic.

The release of the new 007 movie No Time to Die has been pushed back to 2021 due to the pandemic. On Friday, MGM, Universal, and James Bond franchise producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced that Daniel Craig's final outing as cinema's most famous spy will now be released on April 2 of next year so that it can be seen by "a worldwide theatrical audience."

No Time to Die was first set to debut in November 2019, but was pushed to April 2020 after the movie's original director, Danny Boyle, left the project and was replaced by Cary Fukunaga. In March, it was announced that the film was being delayed again because of the coronavirus and set to debut in the U.K. on Nov. 12 and in North America on Nov. 20.

MGM

In his latest adventure, Bond is lured back into the spy game by his old CIA pal Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), who asks him for help in rescuing a kidnapped scientist (David Dencik, from Top of the Lake). This leads Bond to Cuba and onto the trail of Rami Maleks mysterious and villainous Safin.

The delay of No Time to Die comes as little surprise given the recent postponing of so many other tentpole movies. It is curious, however, that the announcement comes just one day after the video for Billie Eilish's title song was released.

MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, today announced the release of NO TIME TO DIE, the 25th film in the James Bond series, will be delayed until 2 April 2021 in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience. pic.twitter.com/NqHlU24Ho3  James Bond (@007) October 2, 2020

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Supreme Court to Consider Arizonas Ban on Ballot Harvesting After the Election

In a setback for Democrats, the Supreme Court agreed Oct. 2 to hear a challenge by Arizona and state Republicans to Democratic Party efforts to relax electoral integrity measures and throw open the state to ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting.

But oral arguments in the case have not yet been scheduled, and it doesnt appear it will be heard before the presidential election on Nov. 3.

According to the states attorney general, the ruling that struck down the laws in question was stayed, pending an appeal. This means Arizonas current ban on ballot harvesting, a controversial practice denounced by Republicans, will remain in place for the time being.

We are pleased the Supreme Court will hear our case regarding Arizonas restrictions on ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting, Mark Brnovich, the states Republican attorney general, said in a statement.

There is no higher priority for public officials than to maintain the integrity of elections. As we contend with a politically-polarized climate and battle a global pandemic, we must sustain the cornerstone of our government and ensure the will of the electorate is heard.

Arizona is an important battleground state. President Donald Trump, a Republican, won the state with 48.7 percent of the popular vote in 2016, besting Democrat Hillary Clinton, who secured 45.1 percent. In that election, Libertarian Gary Johnson won 4.1 percent in Arizona, and Jill Stein of the Green Party won 1.3 percent.

Arizona holds 11 of the 270 electoral votes needed to elect the president.

The case is actually two cases that the court consolidated. The first is Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (DNC). The second is Arizona Republican Party v. DNC.

Prohibiting unlimited third-party ballot harvesting is a commonsense means of protecting the secret ballot and preventing undue influence, voter fraud, ballot tampering, and voter intimidation, Brnovich wrote in court documents.

The DNC has strategically filed a flurry of lawsuits in battleground states in the hope of changing state voting rules in time for the elections in November.

Arizona, like other states, has adopted rules to promote the order and integrity of its elections.

One provision is an out-of-precinct policy, which doesnt count provisional ballots cast in person on Election Day outside of the voters designated precinct. Another is a ballot-collection law, known as H.B. 2023, that permits only specific persons such as family and household members, caregivers, mail carriers, and election officials to handle another persons completed early ballot.

Most states require voters to vote in their own precincts, and about 20 states limit ballot collection, according to court documents.

A U.S. district court upheld Arizonas provisions, which were challenged under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court but then at the en banc stage reversed, going against the recommendations of the federal government.

The provisions regarding ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting were ruled racially discriminatory and therefore unconstitutional by the appeals court.

Marc Elias, of the high-powered Democratic law firm Perkins Coie, is listed as counsel of record for the DNC in the Supreme Court docket. Elias has a long history of successfully challenging electoral integrity programs in court. His online biography cites three of his cases in which courts struck down voter ID laws in Missouri, Iowa, and North Carolina.

Elias didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

He is also a major figure in the Russiagate conspiracy, which aimed to overturn the result of the previous presidential election. A lawyer who represented the DNC and Hillary Clintons campaign in the 2016 election cycle, Elias hired Fusion GPS in April 2016 to conduct opposition research against then-candidate Trump, The Washington Post previously reported.

That research effort culminated in the salacious, discredited 35-page dossier written by former British spy Christopher Steele that purported to tie Trump to the Russian government.

The Supreme Courts new annual term opens Oct. 5 with oral arguments in two cases.
How Kashmirs separatists are wiping out a generation by facilitating drug trade and abuse

Kashmir separatists sent scores of youth on valid documents to Pak for terror training: NIA

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Oct 02: Investigation by the National Investigation Agency has revealed that several Kashmiri youth were sent to Pakistan by the separatist leaders on valid travel documents to get trained for terrorist activities.

The NIA stated the same while filing a chargesheet against threee persons, Muneeb Hameed Bhat, Junaid Ahmed Mattoo and Umer Rashi in connection with the Kulgam recruitment case.

The case in hand pertains to the subversive activities of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. The terror group was motivating the accused and others to join the organisation and also made arrangements for their travel to Pakistan.

Bengal-Kerala Al-Qaeda module opened madrasa to radicalise Muslim youth

Mattoo motivated accused Bhat to join the outfit and go to Pakistan for terror training.

Rashid Wani on the other hand provided him funds for the visit.

In 2017, accused Muneeb Hameed Bhat visited Pakistan on valid travel documents for terrorist training with the assistance of separatist leaders. He was imparted weapons training and also training for using secret social media chat platforms. After returning from Pakistan, he remained constantly in touch with LeT handlers in Pakistan and active terrorists of the Kulgam area on secret messaging platforms for carrying out subversive and terrorist activities in Kashmir Valley. He was working as a sleeper cell of LeT and further intended to join the militant ranks in banned terrorist organisation LeT.

Investigation has also established that during the year 2016 to 2018, many Kashmiri youth were sent by separatist leaders to Pakistan on Valid Travel Documents for getting terrorist training with active assistance of the commanders of terrorist groups.

These youth got terrorist training in the terrorist camps of Pakistan for period ranging from 5 to 15 days. After returning, they are initially used as sleeper cells by terrorist organisations and subsequently recruited for active militancy.

Accused Junaid Ahmed Mattoo and Umer Rashid Wani were killed in separate encounters in J&K in 2017 and 2018.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 16:22 [IST]
This is the hilarious moment a student was rescued by firefighters after she got stuck inside her tumble dryer.

Rosie Cole, 21, had a few glasses to drink with her housemates when she was dared to get inside the dryer in their shared accommodation.

She'd been enjoying Zinfandel wine and honey tequila when their Tuesday evening took a sudden turn.

The drunken student thought there was 'no chance' she'd fit, but after wriggling her way in she was suddenly stuck inside the dryer.

Emergency services were called to the bizarre and hilarious scene around 11pm as Rose said they 'save cats from trees' so maybe they would 'save students from tumble dryers'.

The commotion lasted roughly 20 minutes in total, and it took three firefighters to successfully rescue the befuddled student.

Rosie Cole, 21, had a few glasses to drink with her housemates when she was dared to get inside the dryer in their shared accommodation

Rosie, from Hull, East Yorkshire, said: 'I was with my other housemates, and one of them dared me to get in it.

'Me thinking there was no chance I'd actually fit, decided to try it and to my surprise it seemed easier than I thought.

'It wasn't until I wiggled both my hips in and got my legs crossed behind me that I realised I couldn't get out.

'I am a bit dramatic so I didn't think it was that bad at first, and my house mates were making me laugh, but when I realised that I couldn't uncross my legs and my hips were stuck I got a bit worried.

'Especially when I tried to free myself the dryer tipped forward and I couldn't get myself out.

'My arms were starting to hurt trying to hold myself up, and it was pretty hot inside the dryer.

'My housemates tried pulling me out, but they couldn't, so we didn't know what else to do other than to call the fire service.

'They save cats from trees so maybe they could save students from tumble dryers.'

Rosie said the house of six people were given a fire safety brief - but she admitted she'd never done her own washing.

She said: 'They were lovely and they just laughed at me. When they were leaving they opened the washing machine and asked if anyone else needed saving.

'They gave us a fire safety brief and asked if we knew what to do if there was a fire.

'I remember learning stop drop and roll but I don't know how relevant that is when you're inside a dryer.

Emergency services were called to the scene around 11pm and it took three firefighters to rescue Rosie from the clothes spinner

'I've never tried it before, and I can definitely say I won't be trying it ever again! It was definitely not one of my finest moments, I will be leaving this one out of the CV.

'I'm not going to lie, I never do my own washing anyway, I've never even used the dryer, but maybe I should start putting my clothes in it when they're not on my body.'

Her housemate Lydia Dunwell, 21, was woken up to the sound of sirens blaring when she sprinted downstairs thinking the house was on fire.

She said she was left 'shocked' and 'speechless' when she found it was just Rose who'd gotten stuck inside the dryer.

The psychology major immediately took to filming the hilarious scenes.

She said: 'I was up for about 20 minutes as I felt a bit ill and wanted to sleep but I woke up to blaring sirens and thought our house was on fire.

'I sprinted downstairs in my pyjamas and then I saw her - she was just stuck in the dryer. I couldn't believe what I was seeing - it was so ridiculous.

Rosie's housemate Lydia said when they rang emergency services and told them someone was stuck in a dryer, the phone operator assumed it was a small child. She said: 'They had to tell her it was a grown 21-year-old woman'

'I was completely speechless and couldn't stop laughing. I tried to be serious when the firefighters came in but I felt like a little kid and couldn't stop laughing.

'It took three firefighters to get her out and they had to unblock the entire street.

'It was just a random Tuesday night, we thought we might as well have a few drinks. Never thought it would lead to her getting stuck in a dryer but here we are.

'It's the funniest thing I've ever seen.'

She said that when her housemates rang emergency services and told them someone was stuck in a dryer, the phone operator assumed it was a small child.

Lydia, from Pontefract, near Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: 'When they rang emergency services and told them someone got stuck in a dryer the person on the phone asked how old they were.

'It was so embarrassing - they had to tell her it was a grown 21-year-old woman. I was just in stitches.

'It all unfolded in about 20 minutes, but it'll be a lifetime of embarrassment I think.

'I will never stop making fun of her. It's been the highlight of the year so far.'
Former Karnataka minister Aravind Limbavali, who headed the fact finding committee of the ruling BJP to probe the riots that broke out about a month ago, handed over its report to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa at the party office here on Thursday.

While handing over the report, Limbavali demanded that the state government should take steps to impose a ban on the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) for its alleged involvement in the D.J. Halli riots, that broke out in different parts of the city.

In the riots, Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivasamurthy's ancestral house and two police stations were torched by an enraged mob over an alleged Facebook post by the MLA's nephew, Naveen Kumar.

According to the report, the riots were pre-planned taking extensive help of social media to instigate the mob.

"On that day, witnessed a Taliban-like situation in D.J. Halli and K.G. Halli where the riots broke out. Efficient officers should be deputed by the police for the area," the report noted.

The report also tried to highlight that the riots were a result of a leadership crisis within the Congress.

Giving a clean chit to the police department, the report added that intelligence failure was not the cause for the riots, but the internal crisis in the Congress was the reason.

--IANS

nbh/arm

(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.)
Government instructions against the teaching of anti-capitalism in schools in England have deservedly earned widespread condemnation.

Department for Education (DfE) guidance issued last week deems anti-capitalism an extreme political stance, equivalent to antisemitism and terrorism.

The original edict to head teachers on setting the relationship, sex and health curriculum, barred teaching any materials that could include, a publicly stated desire to abolish or overthrow democracy, capitalism, or to end free and fair elections; opposition to freedom of speech; the use of racist, including antisemitic, language; the endorsement of illegal activity; and a failure to condemn illegal activities done in support of their cause.

The guidance was angrily denounced on social media. Many noted that it would effectively veto large elements of the English literature curriculumincluding Shakespeare, Dickens and Priestleyand much of the history curriculumfrom the English Civil War, Ireland, the American War of Independence and the Russian Revolution, to South Africa and Israel/Palestine.

As for the claim that the veto is in line with British values, Britain's ruling elite routinely breaches virtually all of its strictures.

The Johnson government has declared its intention to break international law in pursuit of its Brexit bill and is pushing through measures empowering intelligence and military actors to kidnap, torture, and murder with impunity. It routinely deploys racistspecifically anti-immigrant and anti-Muslimlanguage in support of its right-wing agenda. It is one of the few countries in the world to have suspended elections under the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As for free speech, one needs look no further than the politically motivated show trial of WikiLeaks journalist and publisher Julian Assange. The hearing at Londons Old Bailey has been marked by the blatant trampling of any democratic and juridical norms as part of efforts to dragoon Assange into an American high security prison for the rest of his life, as payback for exposing imperialist war crimes.

The DfEs subsequent correction changes nothing. This states that the veto applies to resources, produced by organisations that take extreme political stances on matters. This is the case even if the material itself is not extreme, as the use of it could imply endorsement or support of the organisation.

The guidance builds on the Prevent strategy, first implemented by the Blair Labour government, which targeted Muslims as potential extremists and required schools (later local authorities, prisons and the National Health Service) to report anyone they deemed vulnerable to radicalisation.

This state surveillance policy is to be massively extended under the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill, backed by the Labour Party, now before parliament.

Driving these measures is the discrediting of capitalism by the global pandemic, which is fuelling a resurgence of working class struggle.

COVID-19 is being allowed to rip through the population as the ruling elite force the reopening of workplaces and education facilities to recoup the multi-billion handout to the super-rich and major corporations. The result is that more than 1 million people globally have died, and the health of millions more has been severely compromised through the policy of herd immunity implemented by virtually all governments. In Britain, as elsewhere, health and social care are collapsing, millions face unemployment and destitution, and young people see their education, health and any decent future prospects laid to waste. More than one in six secondary schools are not fully open, and at least 20,000 pupils and 25,000 teachers nationally are currently forced to self-isolate due to COVID outbreaks.

The introduction of new curriculum instructions under conditions where schools are barely functioning underscores the real objective of the DfE pronouncement. It is because education facilities are at the epicentre of the back-to-work drive and, amid the spread of the pandemic, the government is preparing for massive resistance to its criminal measures by proclaiming anti-capitalism as a threat to national security.

This is an international process, led by the US. The DfE guidance came just days after President Donald Trump denounced US public schools as centres of left-wing indoctrination and said he would create a national commission to promote a pro-American curriculum that celebrates the truth about our nations great history.

Trump's fascistic declaration is of a piece with his mobilising of right-wing militias, police, and military units to intimidate, terrorise and murder left-wing and anti-racist protesters.

His efforts are aided by the divisive, anti-working class politics of the Democratic Party and its pseudo-left supporters, who promote their own version of the so-called culture war based on identity politics, specifically the claim that white workers are de facto white supremacists.

UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said that the DfE measures were guided by the need for political impartiality. This claim is made when education has been the focus for the deliberate encouragement of fascistic ideology and movements by the Tory government and the highest echelons of the state. The promotion of eugenicism in the universities was integral to its wholesale adoption by government and media alike, through the policy of herd immunity.

The target of the anti-capitalist measures is the working class. In the UK, as in the US, the bourgeoisie fears that its homicidal rule is threatened by a mass, socialist movement from below.

True to form, all the efforts of the dwindling Labour Party left and its pseudo-left coterie are directed at diverting from this essential class truth. Former Labour shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, described the DfE instruction as another step in the culture war, while Tariq Ali, an inveterate political opportunist, soothed that the measure was futile in the face of the internet.

Meanwhile, arch-Thatcherite and former Tory cabinet minister, Esther McVey, told the Blue Collar Conservatism conference that a left-learning bias needed to be removed from the whole educational system.

Conservative Party co-chairman Amanda Milling was more explicit. Denouncing calls from teachers and other education staff for the closure of schools as hard-left, she called on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the NEU [National Education Union]  to take a stand and put a stop to this action. Getting children back to school is a key priority.

Labour and the teaching unions have been key to reopening schools. In August, Starmer told Prime Minister Johnson that he expected students back at school. No ifs, no buts, no equivocation.

With so many schools now partially or wholly closed, undermining the government's back to work drive, NEU joint General Secretary Dr Mary Bousted is calling for the creation of Nightingale classes. These would be pop-up schools, based on the so-called Nightingale Hospitalsthe exhibition centres and similar large facilities requisitioned in March to provide hospital bed space.

Bousted also called for the drafting in of retired, supply and newly qualified teachers to get class sizes down.

It should be noted that under the cover of the pandemic, the government is significantly expanding the role of the private sector in education. Its National Tutoring Programme is part of a 1 billion catch-up programme which involves an assortment of nominal charitable trusts, such as the Education Endowment Foundation, Sutton Trust, Nesta and Teach First, working in partnership with global consultancies KPMG and Bain & Company, and the international law firm Freshfields.
By Robin Emmott

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greece and Turkey have set up a mechanism to avoid accidental clashes in the Eastern Mediterranean, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, part of efforts to defuse a dispute over energy resources in the region.

Germany is leading a diplomatic push for broader dialogue and EU leaders are meeting in Brussels to discuss how to avoid any escalation over the search for hydrocarbons.

Stoltenberg said the agreement between Turkey and Greece, both members of NATO, included a hotline to avoid accidents in the sea and air.

"I welcome the establishment of a military de-confliction mechanism, achieved through the constructive engagement of Greece and Turkey," he said in a statement.

"This safety mechanism can help to create the space for diplomatic efforts to address the underlying dispute and we stand ready to develop it further."

De-confliction, in military parlance, can mean setting up communications links between rival militaries in the same theatre, as the United States has done with Russia in Syria.

The talks at NATO headquarters were in part prompted by a light collision between Turkish and Greek frigates and increased war games by their navies in the Mediterranean.

The Turkish Defence Ministry said Turkey and Greece reached a mutual understanding on "general principles" as a result of the talks.

It said the next meeting to discuss technical details for coordination in the Eastern Mediterranean will be held on Oct. 5, also at NATO headquarters.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott, Ali Kucukgocmen and Daren Butler; Editing by Marine Strauss, John Stonestreet and Frances Kerry)
A group of journalists gathered at the Agartala Press Club on Friday wearing black ribbons to protest against chief minister Biplab Kumar Debs alleged threat against media coverage of the states drive to contain Covid-19.

The journalists on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti gathered to protest against comments made by chief minister Deb during the foundation-stone laying ceremony of a special economic zone in South Tripura on September 11 said that he will not forgive some newspapers for creating confusion regarding the states handling of the pandemic.

Some newspapers are trying to confuse people....History will not forgive them, people of Tripura will not forgive them and I Biplab Deb will not forgive them. I do whatever I say, history is testimony to that, Deb had said, according to news agency PTI.

Following this incident journalists from Tripura had served three days notice to the chief minister asking him to withdraw his statement. CM Deb said that he did not mean to threaten anyone through his statement.

The journalists said that they will stick to their movement and send representatives seeking intervention from the Prime Minister, Home minister and Press Council of India.

The president of Agartala Press Club Subal Kumar Dey said, We work on behalf of the people. But freedom of expression of the media has been trampled in the past 30 months. The officials are not allowed to speak to the media, journalists are threatened and assaulted in different parts of the state.

Dey said that the movement will continue unless the chief minister withdraws his statement. He further added, We demand that the chief minister withdraws his statement, give justice to assaulted mediapersons or else our movement will continue.

(with inputs from PTI)
A major fire broke out near the fragile flood zone of the Hindon river, adjacent to the Hindon elevated road on Friday. According to residents, the fire lasted for many hours until the fire department doused it -- or at least that is what they thought.

The Uttar Pradesh pollution control board (UPPCB) claims that they informed the fire department, and the city municipal corporation confirmed that they went along with the fire officials to douse it. The fire department, on the other hand, said neither did they receive any information, nor did they go to the spot.

The area is an illegal dumping ground and despite many attempts to control it, it continues unabated. Environmentalists in the area say that many such incidents had been reported from the area in the past few years that have contributed to worsening air quality.

The fire is usually lit by some miscreants in the area, either those who are dumping the waste or scrap collectors or some others. The area is full of flammable material and the fire soon goes out of control, said Akash Vashishtha, a city-based environmentalist. Todays fire started early morning near river Hindon and raged on for hours before it came to our notice. The UPPCB officials were alerted about the incident and thereafter, the fire was doused.

We had informed both the corporation and the fire department. The corporation officials said that by the time their sanitary inspector went to the spot, the fire had already been doused, Utsav Sharma, regional officer of the UP pollution control board.

Our staff went along with the fire department officials and doused the fire, said Mithlesh Kumar Singh, city health officer of the municipal corporation.

I confirmed with the two fire stations at Kotwali and Sahibabad, we did not receive information about the fire near the elevated road. So, none of our fire tenders went to the spot, said Sunil Kumar Singh, chief fire officer.

So who doused the fire?

I am deputing one officer to get the fire incident inquired and also directing Ghaziabad development authority and the municipal corporation to take responsibility of any fire incidents in their respective jurisdiction areas, said Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate.

In 2015, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed that those violating garbage dumping norms be fined 20,000 and also told authorities to take strict action in this regard.

We have time and again raised the issue and despite the directions in our petition the instances of burning of garbage near the river have not stopped. In February, there was yet another massive fire in the area and fire tenders had to be called. The fires are generally ignited by ragpickers and scrap dealers who dump waste and flee, said Vikrant Sharma, a city-based environmentalist and a lawyer. Since the Raj Nagar Extension is an open area, dumping of garbage and fire at dumps are common occurrence. The fires not only damage the flood plains but also give rise to air pollution which is already on higher side in the city.

In September, we had four incidents of fire reported in the city, said UPPCBs Utsav Sharma We will impose Rs 5000 penalty in case of a spot fire and Rs 25000 in case bulk waste is set afire. One more complaint of spot fire was received on Friday and we imposed Rs 5000 penalty.

Ghaziabad is on the list of 15 cities in Uttar Pradesh with high levels of air pollution.

According to the figures of the UPPCB, the city in 2019 recorded 31 days with severe category of air on the air quality index (AQI). It had 67 days with very poor air and 112 days with poor AQI.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe.

In his recent visit to Ghaziabad on September 19 and later in a review meeting, Bhure Lal  the chairperson of the Environment (Pollution and Control) Authority (EPCA) had directed Ghaziabad officials to put curbs on burning of waste in wake of approaching winter season when air pollution increases.
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest data from the monthly U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Situation report confirms a recovery that remains uneven and unpredictable. Mirroring this pattern, the #JobsReport shows a mix of good news in IT sector employment gains and disappointing news in IT occupation job losses, according to analysis by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the global technology industry and workforce.

The tech sector recorded its second consecutive month of employment growth, adding an estimated 12,900 net new workers in both technical and non-technical positions. The IT services and custom software development category led the way in job gains, with positive growth also coming in tech manufacturing and the information services category.

The industry's employment growth was countered by an unexpected loss of 324,000 tech occupation jobs, which span all industry sectors across the economy. As always, caution should be taken with monthly BLS occupation reporting due to the possibility of data volatility.

"The latest jobs report confirms progress on some fronts, but also serves as a reality check," said Tim Herbert, executive vice president for research and market intelligence at CompTIA. "As the crisis continues to ripple through the economy, businesses must balance shorter-term concerns with longer-term strategic tech spending and tech talent needs."

Overall, the U.S. economy added 661,000 jobs in September, a smaller number than in recent months. The national unemployment rate inched lower to 7.9%. For IT occupations, the unemployment rate stands at 3.5%.

The other key measure of hiring activity  employer job postings, also experienced a down month. Nationally, total job postings across the economy fell be more than 260,000, indicating less employer recruiting activity. Job postings for IT occupations were slightly lower on the month, falling by 11,372 postings, but still totaled more than 200,000. The most in demand occupations included software and application developers (65,400 job postings), IT support specialists (19,700) and systems engineers and architects (17,200).

The job posting data also confirms the systematic shift to remote work. Year-to-date job postings for IT occupations that specify remote work or work from home (WFH) increased 58% vs. the same period in 2019.

The impact of emerging tech is also reflected in the job posting data. Postings with an emerging tech occupation or skills component account for 25% of all IT occupation openings so far this year, compared to 22% for the same period last year.

Among specific industries, professional, scientific and technical services (39,014), finance and insurance (19,363), manufacturing (14,851) and information (11,616) had the most IT job postings last month.

Massachusetts, Indiana, Georgia, Iowa and Arkansas had the largest month over month gains in IT job postings among the states. At the metro level Washington D.C., San Antonio, Trenton, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Indianapolis had the highest month-over-month growth, though in all instances the gains were modest.

The CompTIA IT Employment Tracker for October is available at https://www.slideshare.net/comptia/comptia-it-employment-tracker-october-2020.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5.2 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the estimated 75 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world's economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce. www.comptia.org.

Contact:

Steven Ostrowski

CompTIA

+1 (630) 678-8468

[email protected] 

www.comptia.org

SOURCE CompTIA

Related Links

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Police on Friday identified two people shot and killed in North Portland earlier this week as Amber Coughtry and Billy Lewnes, both 41.

Coughtry and Lewnes were shot and killed in a car parked in a turnout on North Force Avenue about 5 a.m. Tuesday near North Victory Boulevard.

On Tuesday, police confirmed the shooting hours after it happened and said homicide detectives had responded to the scene, but officials would not confirm whether anyone was dead. On Wednesday, police confirmed two people were killed.

Police refused to disclose any identifying information about either victim, any details about a suspect or any information about the circumstances of the shooting. Portland police officer Derek Carmon said there is no threat to the community but would not explain why.

Investigators have not released any information about arrests in the case and no one has been booked into jail since the shooting on charges of killing someone.

The announcement Friday comes at a the end of a deadly week in Portland. In addition to Coughtry and Lewnes, an as-yet unidentified person was shot and killed near Northeast 111th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard. Fewer than 12 hours later, two more people were shot in almost the same location. Police did not respond to questions about the conditions of the two victims in that shooting.

Coughtry and Lewnes are the 36th and 37th people to die by homicide in Portland this year.

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
The Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) has come out in support of the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) in its decision to conduct a limited moose harvest in areas where conservation efforts have seen an increase in population.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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The Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) has come out in support of the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) in its decision to conduct a limited moose harvest in areas where conservation efforts have seen an increase in population.

Earlier this week, the MMF announced it would issue 24 tags  slightly more than one-third of the 60 moose current population numbers indicate could be sustainably harvested at Duck Mountain and Porcupine Mountain game hunting areas.

Meanwhile, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation is outraged, according to a public post on its website, and the province said Wednesday it has its own plans to organize a controlled hunt.

"Were not so worried about the count. Were worried they arent following provincial law," said Chris Heald, executive director for the wildlife federation  a conservation organization representing the interests of Manitoba hunters, anglers, trappers and sport shooters.

He said the organizations outrage is due to the MMF going ahead with a harvest without consideration for the fact that the province has the authority to manage wildlife. Heald also said there needs to be a co-management system for all wildlife, including moose. The wildlife organization recognizes Section 35 rights, but there are larger issues at stake.

"We support local Metis, local First Nations and the local licensed hunters getting first opportunity. The communities most affected by the closure should be the first ones to hunt again," Heald said.

But gone are the days when the moose population could feed a whole community. Slow government response to degrading populations and natural forces  climate change, ticks, brain worm (parelaphostrongylus tenuis), wolves, black bears, habitat issues and slow provincial response  have contributed to low moose populations. And, while the populations in the contested hunting areas are stable, they are half of what they used to be, Heald said.

"Ive seen pictures this week  its just disgusting. I talked to a biologist, who picked up a collared moose  Had so many ticks  They just die of starvation. Its just so sad to watch. They never had to deal with that before," he said.

"And the brain worm. As the deer move, into (game hunting area) 26 especially, they carry brain worms. It doesnt affect the deer, but the moose pick it up and its fatal to a moose."

MMF president David Chartrand told The Brandon Sun a former wildlife federation representative is an official with the provinces department of Agriculture and Resource Development, which has created bias. He also maintained that if licensed hunters want rights, they should go to the Supreme Court of Canada, like the Metis did. He said there hasnt been consultation, though Heald said there had been.

"Theres never been a consultation to develop a strategy," Chartrand insisted, adding a letter to "share your ideas" does not equal consultation.

Heald told the Sun the wildlife organization respects everybodys rights, and a co-management arrangement would accomplish the goal of meeting everyones rights.

"The government committed to it. They give us a commitment that they would fund the shared management. They give us that commitment. So its just a matter of getting the process going. Weve had initial talks with a third party. Its just a matter of getting everybody together. But with COVID, it just didnt happen," he said.

"Its solvable. Its just to get everybody to agree to come to the table."

But Chartrand said in response to provincial government efforts to establish a fall 2020 hunt, that the province is misleading the public.

"What theyre not telling the public is that theyre doing it on the premise to appease their voters, appease their supporters. Theyre saying to the First Nations and Metis, We will let you hunt there. You can take 20, you can take 20, but the non-Indigenous can take 20," Chartrand said.

"Thats not how the law works. What the province is really doing is they are trampling on the rights of Indigenous people, on Section 35. Theyre saying, In order for us to let you harvest there, youve got to allow non-Indigenous harvesters have the same rights as you. That cant be."

In its statement on the Internet, the wildlife organization said, "whether we are licensed, Metis or First Nations hunters, we are all in the same boat  we hunt to fill our freezers and support our families."

In conversation with the Sun, Heald said that the available moose can be shared, even if the numbers go 40 for First Nations, 20 for Metis and a few for non-Indigenous licensed hunters.

"The licensed guys arent asking to have the equal opportunity, but theyre saying we need to be co-operative," Heald said.

SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels, in his Thursday news release, stated, "It sets a dangerous precedent when the province thinks they have the authority to pick and choose which First Nations treaty rights they respect and which they ignore when it comes to harvesting."

The SCO wants to co-host a meeting with the MMF to discuss hunting rights and responsibilities. It is calling for an Indigenous hunting, fishing and conservation authority.

It also maintains the province has yet to meaningfully consult with southern Manitoba First Nations about moose.

"First Nation peoples have been involved in the protection and sustainable harvesting of these lands and natural resources for thousands of years," Daniels said.

"Indigenous rights are enshrined in the foundation of this country via Section 35 of the Constitution Act. The province of Manitoba cannot create their own processes for determining the harvesting eligibility of communities whose rights are federally protected. First Nations have already taken this issue to the Supreme Court of Canada on numerous occasions, and we have had our harvesting rights reaffirmed in cases such as R v. Sparrow."

That case determined Indigenous rights have a different nature than non-Indigenous rights.

But Heald stands by what he says  that everyone in Manitoba is subject to Manitoba laws and processes, including facing the consequences of hunting in a closed area.

"We certainly hope that the (Manitoba) Metis Federation will give second thought to this course of action. If they proceed with allocating moose tags to Metis harvesters in these closure areas, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation will stand up for the moose and will advocate the province to prosecute anyone that breaks the conservation closure laws. This applies to licensed and rights-based harvesters alike," the wildlife organization publicly stated.

 mletourneau@brandonsun.com

 Michele LeTourneau covers Indigenous matters for The Brandon Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism.
Press Release

October 2, 2020 Pangilinan: Waive extra Beep card charges, implement P5.58B service contracts for PUVs in Bayanihan 2 SENATOR Francis Pangilinan called out the "thoughtless" implementation of the "no Beep card, no ride policy" in Metro Manila's mass transport system that forced commuters to shell out extra cash to purchase the P80 card and maintain the required P70 balance in the card. "At syempre, iba pa ang load sa P80 na pagbili ng Beep card. Iyong iba sa ating manggagawa arawan ang sweldo at walang ekstrang pera. Ipinangungutang pa ang pamasahe dahil talagang walang-wala, tapos pipilitin pa silang bumili ng Beep card at mag-iwan ng maintaining balance para magamit ang card. Ano ba naman yan?" Pangilinan said. "Beep card nga pero di man lang bumusina. Ang tagal na ng lockdown. Ang tagal nang hirap ang mga taong walang masakyan. Ang tagal nang walang pasada ang mga jeepney drivers. Pwedeng two birds with one stone ang solusyon at nakasaad na sa Bayanihan 2 at may nakalaan nang budget dito," he added. One of Pangilinan's amendments in Bayanihan 2 (Republic Act 11494) was to provide livelihood to displaced workers in the transport sector through service contracting with an allocation of P5.58 billion. The service contracting scheme is a system in which government pays public utility vehicles (PUVs) a fixed fee per day or per kilometer. In return, government receives fare revenues collected from commuters. "It's a win-win solution: PUV operators receive stable income, while commuters receive stable service. Gawin na agad ito," he said. On the Beep card fiasco itself, Pangilinan called on the Department of Transportation to order the free distribution of the cards and to remove the requirement to maintain at least P70 to use the card. "Kaisa ako sa panawagan ng mga manggagawa at pasahero na i-waive na ang purchase, maintenance at convenience fees. Libre dapat yung card. Dapat yung pamasahe o load lang ang bayaran," he said. The first day of the implementation of the policy was met with a barrage of complaints from commuters who were surprised that they have to pay extra for the card, which costs P80. Aside from the one-time card purchase, the new system requires that passengers should always have a maintaining balance of P70 for bus rides. Some workers have been forced to walk because they do not have extra cash on hand. Pangilinan said the wrong-headed Beep card policy piles on the hardships of ordinary Filipinos suffering due to the pandemic and the government's lack of a comprehensive plan to address it, including commuters who cannot go to work due to lack of transportation. "Magpipitong buwan na, wala pa ring malinaw na plano para sugpuin ang COVID. Nasaan ang mga polisiyang tutulong sa mga naapektuhang manggagawa at pasahero? Our economy will not be able to move forward away from the ill effects of the pandemic without them," Pangilinan said. "We need our workers, including our PUV drivers, to get going so we could rise from this crisis. Government must do its share by fixing the transportation system and unburden the people with irrational policies," he added.
Let us go, we said, into the Sea of Cortez, realizing that we become forever a part of it; that our rubber boots slogging through a flat of eelgrass, that the rocks we turn over in a tide pool, make us truly and permanently a factor in the ecology of the region. We shall take something away from it, but we shall leave something too.
Samajwadi Party (SP) workers on Friday faced a lathicharge when they were marching towards the Gandhi statue here to observe a silent satyagraha in protest against the alleged deterioration in law and order, rising crime against women, unemployment and the recent farm and labour laws.

A heavy deployment of police was made around the GPO Park here, where the statue of Mahatma Gandhi is installed and the entire area was sealed off since the morning.

Barricades were put up around the Samajwadi Party office on Vikramaditya Marg to prevent party leaders from moving out.

Heated exchanges were witnessed at several places and over 20 party legislators, including Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary and party state president Naresh Uttam were taken into custody. Party MLC Anurag Bhadauria was hit by lathis, and he showed laceration marks on his back to media persons.

It was to be a silent satyagraha against the suppression and oppression of farmers, youth, common man, and the opposition by the BJP and the state government in Uttar Pradesh. The ruling party has taken away our right to protest peacefully and this is the worst thing that can happen in a democracy," Ram Govind Chaudhary told IANS.

Samajwadi Party state president Naresh Uttam Patel said, The government has conspired to make the farmers mortgage their farms and become labourers in their own fields. In the name of an open market, the big traders and business houses will get the freedom to buy farmers produce at lower rates. The Mandi system is being abolished. The government cannot stop us from protesting on these issues."
BRIDGEPORT  Distraught family members of Nyair Charles Nixon and several community activists are pleading for the FBI to take over the investigation of his death outside the Keystone Club last weekend.

This city is a failure, said Charles Nixon, Nyairs father. If you got kids here, I tell you to get them out of here.

A crowd of nearly 60 people gathered outside the Keystone on Barnum Avenue early Thursday evening to support the family of Nixon. The 21-year-old died Sunday after being apparently shot inside the Keystone and then stumbling out only to be struck by a car that fled. No arrest has been made.

The Rev. Stanley Lord, who heads the Greater Bridgeport NAACP, told the crowd he will confer with his state president about demanding the FBI take over the investigation.

The Keystone, a topless bar before being converted into a social club during the pandemic, is managed by Eneida Martinez, a Bridgeport City Council Member.

On Tuesday Martinez said the Keystone is closed and officially done.

Maria Pereira, the only Council member to attend the rally, and community activists including Wanda Simmons, Tony Barr and Joseph Grits, questioned how a man with a gun was allowed into the Keystone and demanded Martinez resign her post while the investigation is ongoing.

Were calling on the FBI to take over the investigation because a City Council member is involved, Simmons said. We want an independent, fair and transparent investigation.

Pereira asked, Where is Eneida Martinez? Where is (Council President) Aidee Nieves? Where is Joe Ganim? Why are they so silent?

She claimed Nieves and Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim need to come out of hiding and tell Eneida Martinez to resign.

Charles Nixon, the victims father, also said he was unhappy.

No one, I mean no one, that represents Bridgeport came and talked to me, he said. Joe Ganim knows me. I didnt get a phone call. Nothing.

Calls and an email seeking comment from Martinez were not immediately returned Thursday night. Nor was an email to Rowena White, Ganims communications director.

Many in the group expressed frustration with the police investigation so far, claiming social media is filled with what they described as evidence in the case.

Acting Police Chief Rebeca Garcia during a radio broadcast Wednesday said detectives are making progress and asked that people with information contact the police.

Saida Duberry, who is friends with Nicole Tate, Nixons mother, set up a memorial lit by several bottled candles at the site.

Buck Gonzalez, who cut Nixons hair, was also at the gathering Thursday.

I cant believe this, Gonzalez said. Never in my life would I have thought something like this would happen. He was a wonderful kid. Im heartbroken.
Puducherry Chief Minister V



Narayanasamy and his ministerial colleagues observed a fast here on Friday to condemn the police for its 'reckless' behaviour against Congress leaders and Vadra, when they were proceeding to meet a rape victim's family.

Puducherry Congress Chief A V Subramanian presided over the fast, while delegates of youth and students wings of the Congress were among those who participated in the protest called by the party.

Party sources said the fast which commenced at 8 amwould go on till 5 p m.

Narayanasamy had condemned the police action against and Vadras as a clear "exposure of the Jungle Raj and Hitler Raj in UP."



The Congress leaders said the police action against the AICC leader was "reckless, undemocratic and a clear attempt to trample upon the basic democratic rights."Rahul, Priyanka and around 150 of their party workers were briefly detained in Greater Noida on Thursday for alleged violation of prohibitory orders while walking towards Hathras in UP to meet a Dalit rape victim's family.

The 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped at a village in Hathras by four men on September 14.

After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to the Delhi's Safdarjung hospital where she breathed her last on Tuesday.

She was cremated in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

(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 total of 801 people were hospitalized in Ukrainian hospitals over the past day.

Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov has said Ukraine is facing the rapid growth of COVID-19 cases, as well as the rate of hospitalizations.

As of today, 15,797 people infected with coronavirus are being treated in hospitals, he said during an online briefing.

Stepanov stressed the Health Ministry had significantly increased the capacity of the domestic health care system over the past six months, although the response may not be sufficient.

"We are constantly deploying new hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients, increasing testing, the number of beds with the supply of oxygen... But there is a limit to any system. We can place new beds, supply oxygen, etc., but we may not have enough medics to provide medical care and rescue people," he said.

Read alsoUkraine's Health Ministry predicts record spike in COVID-19 hospitalizationsThe minister reiterated 801 people had been hospitalized over the past day, and once again called for anti-epidemiological measures to be observed.

COVID-19 in Ukraine: Latest
With the EU being among the largest importers of Vietnams timber products, a fresh decree on legal assurance has marked an important step towards the full implementation of the Forest Law Enforcement,

Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Vietnam and the EU.

Export prospects rise though forestry decree. Illustration photo

Later this week, a joint technical meeting on the next steps for the implementation of the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA) is to take place at the office of the EU Delegation to Vietnam in Hanoi.

The FLEGT-VPA, which took effect in June 2019, is aimed to help Vietnam improve forest governance, address illegal logging, and promote trade in verified legal timber products from Vietnam to the EU and other markets

Over a week ago, the Vietnamese government enacted Decree No.102/2020/ND-CP on the Timber Legality Assurance System of Vietnam (VNTLAS) which will take effect on October 30. The decree is a part of the countrys FLEGT-VPA, which Vietnam was just the third country in the world to ink in 2018. The FLEGT-VPA ensures that timber exported to the EU from Vietnam does not come from illegal sources.

The VNTLAS decree addresses important elements of the VPA related to the import and export of timber and timber products (TTPs). It also provides the basis for a classification system, albeit one specific to enterprises engaged in processing and exporting timber, and thus lacking some core elements foreseen in the VPA, stated a release from the EU Delegation to Vietnam.

Such a system covering importers and domestic producers 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.

Under the decree, which clearly defines standards of legally-imported TTPs, the owners of such imports must be responsible to the law for the legal origins of the products. They must obey all regulations and requirements about providing sufficient information about the wood origins.

Giorgio Aliberti, Ambassador of the European Union to Vietnam 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.

Curbing illegal logging

According to the European Parliament, the FLEGT-VPA will help turn Vietnam into a more attractive investment spot for European investment. Currently, European consumers and businesses have growing demands for transparent imported wood products.

This will further prompt European investors to come to Vietnam to both implement projects directly and cooperate with local partners in exports, said Vice President of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala during her working visit to Vietnam last year.

The VPA will help improve forest governance, address illegal logging, and promote trade in verified legal timber products from Vietnam to the EU and other markets, Hautala added.

Following six years of negotiations, the FLEGT-VPA was clinched by both Vietnam and the EU in October 2018 in Brussels.

Vietnam imports timber from some 80 countries  in recent years, main suppliers have included Cambodia, Laos, China, the US, and Malaysia. Since the FLEGT-VPA entered into force, all TTPs arriving in the EU from Vietnam have been carrying a FLEGT license issued by Vietnam. Products covered by the FLEGT-VPA include all those required by the EU regulation establishing a FLEGT licensing scheme, which are a minimum requirement for VPAs, such as logs, sawn timber, railway sleepers, plywood, and veneer.

Nguyen Ton Quyen, vice chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association, told VIR that the FLEGT-VPA will enable Vietnam to increase its TTP export turnover from the EU to more than $1 billion a year, from $864.6 million last year.

Spur on TTP exports

Currently the EU market purchases about 12-15 per cent of Vietnams total TTPs annually, with the main buyers being Germany, France, the UK, Spain, and Italy.

All TTPs from Vietnam have transparent origins, and once entering the EU market successfully, Vietnams TPP exports may also be seen in many other markets because the EU standard is on top of the world in terms of strictness, Quyen said.

In a specific case, Taiwanese-backed Tsung Chua Wood Processing Co., Ltd. in the southern province of Dong Nai has been importing timber materials from the EU and some African nations with clear origins.

Due to COVID-19, our exports to the EU have been partly halted. However, we have resumed exports since July and expect that the FLEGT-VPA will help TTP exporters in Vietnam to have more opportunities to boost exports to the EU market, said a company representative.

According to the MARD, Vietnam is one of the worlds leading wood processing and exporting countries with an export turnover of $8 billion in 2017, and more than $9 billion in 2018. The figure hit $7.32 billion in the first eight months of 2020, up 9.6 per cent on-year. VIR

Thanh Dat
A deputy Minister of Education, in charge of Basic & Secondary Education, Yaw Adutwum has said John Mahamas promise to scrap the Teacher Licensure Examination is for political consideration.

His comment comes on the back of a statement by John Mahama, who is leading the NDC into the 2020 presidential election, that he will do away with the licensure exams if elected to power.

John Mahama, who was speaking in a Facebook live session last week, stressed that an improvement in the quality of teaching and examinations at the Colleges of Education was more important than the licensure examination.

Speaking to Citi News, the Deputy Minister said that scrapping the law will not add value to education in the country.

Scrapping this exam is not going to add value to education in this country. So, if for political consideration you just want to tell people what they want to hear, and take away the temptation, as the bible even says it and therefore you may get one or two votes.

He added that comments like Mr. Mahamas are the reason many people complain about politics in education.

The Deputy Minister said that he didn't expect the former president to have all the details on education but he expected him to get advice from people in the field before making such comments, as his words show that he is not receiving accurate advice from the professionals.

If something is good, you can say its good. If it needs to be tweaked you can say it needs tweaking, but don't talk about scrapping it when you know its good. And even if you don't know, then you haven't been advised well by your professionals in various fields, he said.

Dr. Adutwum stated that he could understand why the teachers were happy about Mahamas comments on scrapping the licensure exams but he appealed to them that the exams were in their best interests and will help them.

He said that the good news is that it is not just a one-off thing. If you don't do well, you come back. A lot of people have gone through it. 

---citinewsroom
For Stacey Rudderhams eldest daughter, Ellen, September brought a lot of changes.

There was a new school  Georges P. Vanier in Fall River, N.S. There was a new way of going to school  thanks to the coronavirus. And she would soon have a new smile.

That last development was courtesy of a new set of invisible braces. The caveat was that they required some extra care. So, for the first three weeks of September, Ellen would duck into the girls washroom in Room 120 at her school after lunch and brush her teeth.

That was until her mother questioned her about it this week.

Are you using that water to brush your teeth? asked Stacey Rudderham.

Am I not supposed to? asked her daughter.

No, you shouldnt be using it.

That, said Rudderham, was the first her daughter had heard that levels of lead in the water she was using to brush her teeth had tested at more than twice Health Canadas maximum allowable concentration.

This week, the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development released a long-awaited database of the results of lead testing in schools.

The database reveals the scope of a problem that is being seen across this country and appears prevalent in Nova Scotia.

The test results show that 86 per cent of the provinces public schools had at least one water test that failed to meet the standards for lead levels set by Health Canada.

A 2019 Toronto Star investigation  part of a collaboration with other media, including Global and journalism schools and co-ordinated by Concordia Universitys Institute for Investigative Journalism  revealed that nearly two-thirds of Nova Scotia schools had never had their water supplies tested for lead.

Following that investigation, the Nova Scotia government made a commitment to testing the water in all its schools and posting those results ahead of the school year. In early September, Education Minister Zach Churchill pushed that deadline to late September. The test results were posted on the last day of the month.

While experts say there is no safe level of lead exposure, Health Canada in 2019 lowered the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) of lead to 0.005 mg/L  half of the earlier standard.

The recently released database showed that fully one-third of the water tests performed in Nova Scotia schools failed that standard.

Of the 14,738 tests conducted, lead levels above the MAC were found in 4,941, equivalent to 33.5 per cent.

The province spins it another way.

The results show that 70% of our schools drinking taps passed Health Canadas new guidelines for lead and copper, said a statement from the Department of Education and Early Childhood.

Any drinking water tap that exceeded limits has been replaced or taken out of service, and alternate sources of clean drinking water have been provided. Remediation is underway, our regions and CSAP will (update) their plans quarterly.

Though the Nova Scotia government claimed in that statement to be a leader in supplying clean water to its schools, data shows its testing results falls far short of, for example, Ontario.

In Ontario last year, 11 per cent of water samples from schools and daycares failed to meet Health Canadas guidelines, compared to Nova Scotias 33.5 per cent.

Nova Scotias 86 per cent of schools with at least one water test failing to meet the lead standards compares to 54 per cent in Ontario.

I think its really important not to be an alarmist over this issue, Churchill, the education minister, told reporters this week.

Previously, before the exceedance levels were lowered by Health Canada, we were under their health and safety guidelines, and so Nova Scotians should take comfort in that.

However, one of the takeaways from the 2019 Star investigation was that the majority of schools in the province  60 per cent of them  werent being tested for lead. Until 2019, only schools on well water underwent those tests. So there is no real way to know the lead levels in those schools before this years testing.

Lead exposure has been linked to reduced cognition, increased blood pressure and renal problems in adults. In children  who are particularly susceptible  its been linked with impaired neuro- and cognitive development and lower IQs.

At Georges P. Vanier Junior High School, 27 of 50 water tests exceeded the limits for lead exposure. In the girls washroom in Room 120, the water that Ellen Rudderham had been brushing her teeth with tested at 0.0170, 0.0110 and 0.073 mg/L of lead in the three taps in the room  more than twice the allowable concentration of 0.005 mg/L in two of those taps.

In her school, there were signs warning not to drink the water on water fountains and in some of the washrooms, but not the one Ellen was using.

The saving grace, said Rudderham, is that her daughter had only been using the lead-contaminated water for a few weeks, since she began Grade 8 at Georges P. Vanier. But she worries about other parents, whose children have been at the school longer, who may have been exposed to the lead-contaminated water for a few years.

And thats a problem for Paul Wozney, the president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union. Wozney said the data for schools that had previously had their water tested for lead, should have been included in Wednesdays data dump of information.

Our understanding (was that) the commitment (from the government) was that the database was going to be online, searchable and that parents were going to be able to know year-over-year data, he said.

So, what was the water quality last year? What is it this year? So that you can see whether things are better, the same or improving. And it looks like the data posted yesterday is simply the data for the tests that were just done  theres no ability to compare.

Instead, the data was released as a series of eight downloadable documents. The individual documents are searchable for specific terms, but the format of the data release makes it difficult to build up a coherent picture of the scope of lead contamination of water in schools across the province.

And that, says Wozney, is critical to addressing the problem.

What the data shows definitively is that this is a problem in every geographical region of the province, said Wozney. This is a problem in both older buildings and buildings that are less than four or five years old. So its a systemic problem; the scale and the scope of this issue is significant.

Whats needed, he says, is a solid action plan  perhaps a three- to five-year plan.

But money will be needed.

Theres no way that the existing operational budgets of schools are going to withstand the pressure of major costs  water system renovations to make sure the water is safe.

So governments going to need to step up and actually designate funding above and beyond the existing operational budget.

And I believe that parents need assurances, because there hasnt been transparency on this. Government is going to have to be extra-transparent  theyre going to have to set targets and hit those targets.

Read more about:
MPs are being urged to support crucial amendments ahead of the Agriculture Bill's anticipated return to the House of Commons next week.

The Bill reached its third reading in the House of Lords on Thursday (1 October), where several amendments were adopted.

During the lengthy Lords stages, farming unions secured a lobbying success with the inclusion of an amendment tabled by Lord Curry of Kirkharle.

This will strengthen the role of the Trade and Agriculture Commission to give it an explicit, additional duty to advise parliament on all trade deals and how they impact on food and farming standards.

The amendment would also require the commission to report to parliament on how best government can meet its manifesto pledge not to compromise on the UKs high standards.

Parliament would be required to consider such advice before any post-Brexit trade deal is signed.

Furthermore, the amendment is implicit that it will continue working as long as there are trade negotiations to scrutinise.

A further crucial win was peers' approval for a Lord Grantchester amendment which requires ministers to specify a statement of compliance with the relevant domestic standards and regulations where a product is imported  essentially putting the UKs domestic standards of production onto the face of the Bill.

Before the Bill heads for its final stages in the House of Commons, unions have urged farmers to write to their MPs so they can vote to support the amendments.

NFU Scotland has asked its members to write to their MPs 'with urgency'. President Andrew McCornick said: It is vital that trade deals do not curtail our ability to grow our reputation as a nation of quality food by undercutting domestic production.

The debate around trade agreements and standards of production is one which has mobilised large parts of the NFU Scotland membership.

I will advocate at every turn to ensure that Scottish and UK standards of production are considered in the negotiation of new and other trade agreements. That is what the public wish to see."

NFU President Minette Batters urged MPs 'not to ignore this strength of feeling' when the Bill returns to the Commons.

It is fantastic that the Lords voted for Lord Currys amendment to the Agriculture Bill, which would allow parliament to be provided with independent advice about the impact every trade deal will have on food and farming standards.

"We believe the role of the Trade and Agriculture Commission is crucial to providing proper parliamentary oversight of our future trade policy and it is encouraging to see Peers support this view.

The House of Lords reflected the strength of feeling on this issue in the country at large. They were right to strengthen the Ag Bill to provide better scrutiny of future trade deals."

It comes as more than one million people signed a petition by the NFU for the government to pledge support for British food and farming standards.
It may not be possible to perfectly prepare for a pandemic, but gaps in the response to the novel coronavirus have highlighted a number of changes experts say need to be made:

Pay for preparedness. The two primary federal pandemic readiness programs, the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program and the Hospital Preparedness Program, have shrunk in recent years. The Trust for Americas Health, which monitors public health spending, estimated 56,000 public health positions were lost over the past decade because of underfunding.

The tendency has been underinvestment and to only pay attention when there has been an undeniably horrible event, said John Auerbach, former public health director of Massachusetts and current head of the Trust.

Hire more disease detectives. The pandemic has exposed the need for epidemiologists who monitor, investigate and respond to outbreaks. In its latest survey, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists said that while health departments had increased hiring in recent years, in 2017 the country was still 1,200 short of the recommended number for adequate disease protection.

Expand PPE manufacturing in the United States. With most personal protective equipment made overseas, experts say the global supply chain is easily disrupted by political turmoil and natural disasters. Providing incentives for PPE manufacturers to expand in the United States would help protect against future disruptions.

Increase PPE spending in the private sector. The federal government maintains a network of secret warehouses called the Strategic National Stockpile that stores medical supplies that can be used for regional emergencies. But during a pandemic, the stockpile cant shoulder the load by itself and supply the entire country with PPE. Experts say private health care providers and medical suppliers need to do more to prepare for a surge in demand.

Every link in that medical supply chain has got to be responsible for assuring it has some fallback, said Greg Burel, a former director of the federal stockpile.

State governments must do more to prepare for future pandemics. With federal officials overwhelmed by requests for PPE during COVID-19, Gov. Greg Abbott acknowledged that Texas also was caught off guard by the demand for PPE.

Abbott promised Texas would expand its PPE stockpiles. From March through July, the Texas Division of Emergency Management made initial orders of $1.6 billion for PPE and spent more than half a billion dollars.

Plan for a unified local public health response. Some audits and studies commissioned by Houston and Harris County leaders over the years have recommended merging the two governments health departments. They could better compile, analyze and report data, and more easily track infectious disease cases and their contacts, if some public health functions were combined between the jurisdictions at least during periods when their elected leaders have declared public health disasters.

During a pandemic, federal officials need to lead on PPE purchases. When COVID-19 struck the United States, many private health care providers and state leaders complained they were largely left to fend for themselves to obtain more PPE. Prices skyrocketed as they bid against each other.

The buying frenzy could have been at least partly avoided if federal leaders had taken a larger role in purchasing PPE, according to a report by the Inspector Generals Office at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Create a corps of contact tracers. Essential to containing disease spread, tracers try to find each person with whom an infected patient has had contact to warn that they need to take precautions. In recent months, Texas has had to hire and train thousands of tracers. Instead of mobilizing a new force for every disease, former Department of State Health Services executive Marilyn Felkner suggested the state maintain a sort of pretrained National Guard of contact tracers, ready to quickly deploy when necessary. Help also could come from the local level. Just as Harris County Public Health initially sought volunteers for the task earlier this year, the county could expand its Citizen Corps or Medical Reserve Corps programs to include contact tracers.

Create a new position of Texas pandemic czar. In 2015, following the Ebola epidemic, state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, unsuccessfully introduced a bill that would have placed the head of the Department of State Health Services in charge of the response to a declared infectious disease emergency instead of a patchwork of local jurisdictions. Experts said having a single voice promoting consistent advice and response would be a vast improvement over the confusing and occasionally contradictory communications that have characterized the COVID crisis.
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What's at stake for Southern California in the 2020 Census? Billions of dollars in federal funding for programs like Medi-Cal, for public education, even disaster planning. Political representation in Sacramento and D.C. A census undercount could cut critical resources in L.A. County, home to the largest hard-to-count population in the nation.

Tara Stadel calls herself the "black sheep" of her family. She went through a tough divorce and struggled with alcoholism and, later, drug addiction that led to years of homelessness. After 26 months in a drug court treatment program, and a cumulative year spent in jail, Stadel decided enrolling at Cypress Community College was the next step to improving her life.

While the shift from housewife to homelessness was quick and devastating, perhaps the hardest transition, Stadel said, was re-entry. When Stadel's time in jail ended, she said that she had "only the shirt on her back." Today's high cost of college made education a pipe dream at best. However, Stadel said Pell Grants gave her access to what seemed like an unattainable education and a newfound sense of confidence.

Stadel is just one of many students for whom education became accessible and affordable as a direct result of the Federal Pell Grant Program. The program, which allocates money based on formulas informed by census data, distributed nearly $30 billion in educational funding in fiscal year 2015, according to a U.S. Census Bureau study.

Now sober for four years, she is the vice president of outreach for the From Incarceration to Empowerment Club. Stadel is also spearheading the college's new program, Liberated Intellects for Excellence (LIFE), as a student leader.

"It's like a dream to open up my own addiction recovery program one day. I get insight on how to do it now," Stadel said. All of this, she said, would not have been possible without the Pell Grants that funded her education.

WHAT IS THE FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM?

The Federal Pell Grant Program is the largest source of federal grant aid to low-income students for undergraduate education. Pell Grants are reserved for students who show "exceptional financial need." The amount students are awarded depends on many factors including what their family is expected to contribute, their status as either a full or part-time student, and the actual cost of attending their college or university.

According to the U.S. Education Department, the maximum federal Pell grant for the 2020-21 award year is $6,345. Even the maximum grant amount is unlikely to fully cover the cost of a 4-year university today, but it can help make it more affordable.

This federal program has played a role in the lives of millions of students. College Board reports that of the 21.9 million students enrolled as undergraduates in the 2018-19 school year, 31%, or 6.7 million students, were Pell grant recipients.

HOW DOES THE CENSUS HELP LOW-INCOME STUDENTS AFFORD COLLEGE?

The Department of Education and Congress treat Pell grants as "entitlements," meaning they aren't tied to a specific school or location, similar to the way scholarships are set up; if you qualify for a Pell Grant, you can take it with you to nearly any college or university.

The Department of Education uses census data with formulas that factor in population and poverty rates to determine expected need for Pell Grants. In fiscal year 2015, the Federal Pell Grant Program was the fifth-largest (of 132 programs) census-informed federally-funded program.

Caitlin Hernandez also contributed to this story.
Joe Biden has tested negative for the coronavirus, his primary care doctor confirmed on Friday.

The Democratic presidential nominee and his wife were tested earlier in the day after news of President Donald Trumps infection was announced.

Dr. Kevin OConnor released the negative results in a statement issued by the Biden campaign. Biden was on the debate stage with Trump for more than 90 minutes earlier in the week. Its still unclear if Biden will hold campaign events later in the day.

Biden, in a social media post, thanked his supporters for messages of concern. He added: I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.

Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 2, 2020

EARLIER

Utah Sen. Mike Lee says he has tested positive for the coronavirus after experiencing symptoms consistent with longtime allergies. Lee visited the White House on Saturday for President Donald Trumps announcement that he had nominated Judge Amy Comey Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Lees disclosure comes after Trump said in an early-morning tweet that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the virus. Lee said in his statement that he had tested negative for the virus when he visited the White House for Saturdays event, which featured little social distancing and few masks.

The Utah Republican also met with Barrett on Tuesday in the Capitol. The two sat in chairs that were distanced several feet apart but took a photo before the meeting in which they were closer together. He also spoke to reporters after the meeting, removing his mask in front of the cameras as most lawmakers generally do.

Presidential candidate Joe Biden announced that he tested negative for COVID-19 after President Donald Trump tested positive. (AP Photos)

___

11:55 a.m.

First lady Melania Trump says she is experiencing mild symptoms after she and President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

Thank you for the love you are sending our way. I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good. I am looking forward to a speedy recovery, she tweeted Friday morning.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said President Trump was also experiencing mild symptoms, but continues to work from the White House residence as he quarantines. The Trumps youngest child, Barron, 14, has tested negative for the virus.

___

11:30 a.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he spoke by phone to President Donald Trump whos in good spirits after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Republican leader said in a tweet the two talked business on Friday.

Full steam ahead, McConnell said about the Senate GOPs plans for quick confirmation of Trumps nominee Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

The leader made no reference to ongoing talks on an a broader coronavirus relief package.

___

11:05 a.m.

Chief of staff Mark Meadows says more White House staffers are expected to test positive for the coronavirus. He made brief remarks to update reporters on the health of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump who have contracted COVID-19.

Meadows said the president was experiencing mild symptoms from the coronavirus, but would not describe them and did not provide details about any treatments that Trump or the first lady were being given while quarantined at the White House.

They remain in good spirits, he said.

Despite the startling news, Meadows said it was business as usual at the White House. He started his remarks by commenting on the most recent jobs report. He said Trumps first question to him this morning was, Hows the economy doing? How are the stimulus talks going on Capitol Hill?

Meadows said the core staff members at the White House have been tested.

I fully expect as this virus continues to go on, other people in the White House certainly will have a positive test result, he said.

___

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says shes praying for the president and hopes his testing positive for COVID-19 might be a learning experience about the virus.

Let us all pray for the presidents health, Pelosi said on MSNBC. She added, This is tragic, It is very sad.

The speaker said she was tested out of caution and is awaiting results. But said warned against brazen behavior that allowed something like this to happen

___

9:30 a.m.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is wishing President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump a full and speedy recovery after they contracted the COVID-19 virus.

Harris tweeted Friday that she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, are keeping them and the entire Trump family in our thoughts.

The California senator and running mate to Joe Biden took a routine test Thursday, and tested negative for the coronavirus. She was not in Cleveland on Tuesday night when Trump faced Biden for the first presidential debate of the campaign.

Biden and Harris have repeatedly urged the use of masks and have embraced social distancing to stop spread of the virus.

___

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Friday that he and his wife Jill send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery after they tested positive for the coronavirus.

In a Friday morning tweet, he added, We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

It was not immediately clear whether the former vice president had been tested since appearing at Tuesdays presidential debate with Trump or whether he was taking any additional safety protocols. Trump and Biden did not shake hands during the debate but stood without masks about 10 feet apart for the 90-minute event.

___

8:30 a.m.

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace says members of President Donald Trumps family didnt wear masks while they were watching the first presidential debate inside a hall in Cleveland, Ohio, Tuesday night. Wallace moderated the first presidential debate of the campaign.

Wallace said, People in the hall did notice that while they were all wearing masks, including my wife and four children, that the first family did not wear masks during the debate. ... It is worth noting that different people treated the safety rules inside the hall differently.

Wallace said on Fox & Friends on Friday that Jill Biden, the wife of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, and members of her group all wore masks throughout the debate.

On the Trump side of the hall, Mrs. Trump came in wearing a mask, but took it off once she said sat down, Wallace said.
ZURICH, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Christian Solidarity International, a human rights NGO campaigning for religious freedom and human dignity, today condemned the joint Turkish-Azerbaijani attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, a tiny region in the Caucuses inhabited by 150,000 Christian Armenians. CSI's International President, Dr. John Eibner, labeled the assault "a renewed attempt to destroy one of the world's oldest Christian communities," which "risks setting off a new regional war."

In an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, Eibner thanked Trump for calling for an end to the offensive in a joint communique with the presidents of France and Russia issued on Thursday. Eibner urged the president to go farther, and use the United States' "considerable leverage" with Turkey, Azerbaijan and allied Syrian jihadists to "bring peace, stability and security for all the inhabitants of this turbulent region, regardless of ethnicity or religion."

Azerbaijan launched a major attack on Nagorno Karabakh on Sunday, 27 September. Islamist Turkey, openly pursing its declared policy of "neo-Ottomanism," has provided crucial support for the offensive, including bringing thousands of jihadists from the battlefield in Syria to fight against Christians in Nagorno Karabakh. Thousands of Armenians and Azerbaijanis have been displaced by the fighting, and reports of civilian casualties are on the rise.

Nagorno Karabakh, known to Armenians as "Artsakh," is part of the historic homeland of the Armenian people. The Soviet Union placed the Armenian-majority region within the boundaries of Azerbaijan in the 1920s, when Azerbaijan and Armenian were both under Soviet rule. When the two countries became independent after the Soviet Union's collapse, Azerbaijani forces began a campaign to cleanse Nagorno Karabakh of its Armenian population, leading to war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The war was suspended in 1994 with a fragile ceasefire and with Nagorno-Karabakh as de facto Armenian-ruled republic.

Eibner reminded President Trump that Armenian Christians were the victims of a genocide in Turkey from 1915-1923, that Azerbaijan had tried to cleanse Nagorno Karabakh of Armenians in the 1990s, and that Turkish-backed jihadists had targeted Armenians in Aleppo, Syria, for kidnapping and murder in the recent war, leading most of Aleppo's Armenians  largely descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors  to flee.

"This genocide of Armenians in installments must now come to an end," Eibner said.

Eibner urged Trump to take three steps in concert with Russia and France: 1) to "suspend all lethal and non-lethal military aid to all three elements of the anti-Armenian military coalition"  Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Syrian jihadists; 2) to "provide security guarantees for the existentially threatened people of the region," and 3) to "produce a plan of economic support and development for Nagorno Karabakh," "modelled on the program implemented by your administration in Iraq for Christians and other minority communities victimized by the Islamic State."

CONTACT: Joel Veldkamp, [email protected]

SOURCE Christian Solidarity International (CSI)

Related Links

http://www.csi-int.org


Hyderabad, Oct 2 : All India Congress Committee (AICC) incharge for Telangana Manickam Tagore on Friday exuded confidence that the Congress party will form the government in Telangana in 2023.

He urged the Congress workers to work as a team to ensure the party's victory. "Congress will form the government in Telangana in December 2023," he told a rally at Sangareddy organised by the party to protest against the new farm Bills passed in the Parliament recently.

"The responsibility of Congress workers has gone up. We have 37 months to go for polls and it is the responsibility of all to make sure that a leader from Congress becomes the chief minister," he said.

On his second visit to Telangana in less than a week after being appointed as AICC incharge for the state, Tagore led a huge rally in Sangareddy town along with party's state unit chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy.

He targeted ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and termed it as B team of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "Chandrasekhar Rao can't defeat Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. He is the B team of BJP. Only Rahul Gandhi can defeat them," he said.

Tagore said Thursday's incident in Uttar Pradesh proved that only Rahul Gandhi can defeat Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. He alleged that the police assaulted the Congress leader when he was on his way to call on the family of the girl, who was raped and murdered.

The Congress leader alleged that after the formation of Telangana, only the family of K. Chandrasekhar Rao became rich.

"KCR's family has become the richest family. In next five years he will compete with Mukesh Ambani," he said He alleged that KCR was using the commission he is earning in various projects to buy the voters.

"They think you can be bought over for Rs 1,000 to 2,000. We have self-respect and we have to prove this," he said urging people to back Congress party.

Referring to new farm legislation, he said the Central government decided to handover farmers to Adani and Ambani. He alleged that they will decide the prices of agricultural produce grown by farmers with their hard work in the field.

Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao betrayed farmers.

He said if TRS was sincere in opposing new farm legislation it should pass a resolution in the Assembly that this legislation will not be implemented in the state.

He said the new laws were brought to benefit some corporate entities. Reddy said both the central and state government had made the life of farmers miserable and the suicides by farmers have gone up.
Participants in Taiwan and South Korea have been away from the market for much of the week due to their Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, leaving only Vietnam among major purchasers of Japan scrap, but no new deals were heard closed this week.Offer prices for bulk cargoes of Japan-origin H2 scrap to Vietnam continued their downward movement at the beginning of the week, with some prices dipping to below $295 per tonne cfr South Vietnam, but the drop stopped by the end of the week. Bids were heard as high as $295 per tonne cfr.Fastmarkets weekly price assessment of steel scrap H2, Japan-origin import, cfr Vietnam was $295 per tonne on Friday, narrowing up $2 from $293-295 per tonne a week earlier.On Monday and Tuesday, prices trended downward but by Friday, the market changed and there are now fewer offers in the market, a Vietnamese trader said.Offers to Vietnam should be over $295 per tonne cfr for H2, but lower than $305 - I personally do not want to sell to Vietnam at $290-295 per tonne cfr for H2, a Japanese supplier said.A Japanese trader also told Fastmarkets earlier this week that low scrap supply in the country was weighing on the volumes of material available for export In reality, we cannot buy H2 at 27,500 [$260] per tonne fob from our suppliers, they want a minimum price of 28,000 per tonne fob, a second Japanese trader said, adding that 28,000 per tonne fob would be equal to $297 per tonne cfr Vietnam.A third Japanese trader offered H2 at $304 per tonne cfr South Vietnam and received a bid back at $295 per tonne cfr.On the other hand, buyer demand has been limited by sluggish Vietnamese steel markets.I dont see good demand for steel right now, so no recovery in scrap prices is possible, a Vietnamese mill source said.Another factor that stabilized Vietnam scrap markets was the recent purchase of a United States West Coast-origin bulk scrap cargo by a mill in South Korea at $306 per tonne cfr for HMS 1. The price far exceeded the expectations of the South Korea market, with participants telling Fastmarkets last week that they would expect deep sea HMS 1&2 (80:20) sold to South Korea to be closed at $290-295 per tonne cfr.Offers for deep-sea cargoes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the US West Coast were heard at $310 per tonne cfr Vietnam on Friday, with Vietnamese mills bidding at $305 per tonne cfr.Fastmarkets weekly price assessment for deep-sea bulk cargoes of steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), cfr Vietnam was $305-310 per tonne on Friday, unchanged week on week.With Asian steel scrap markets now seemingly in a holding pattern following price declines over the previous fortnight, thoughts of many market participants centered on the likely behavior of Chinese mills once they return to work after the Mid-Autumn Festival holidays on October 9.In Japan, the market is divided and some people are seeking the market to weaken, but the situation could change again after China enters the market, the Japanese supplier said.The Vietnamese trader said that Chinas activity following its return from the holiday period would be crucial for the future direction of prices.China is a key buyer of Vietnamese steel, and its lack of fresh import business for material such as steel billet has weighed on Vietnam steel prices and Southeast Asia steel billet prices in recent weeks.China purchased more than half of Vietnams bumper 882,019 tonnes of steel exports in June 2020 , according to data from Vietnams customs.(This article was updated to amend an erroneous bid price in the third paragraph.)Fastmarkets flagship global steel event, Steel Success Strategies, is running as an online conference on October 26-28, 2020. Register today to hear directly from Fastmarkets pricing experts and analysts, as well from some of the most important CEOs in global steel.
Allison Blechschmidt, director of counseling services at Moravian College, posed for a portrait on campus in Bethlehem on Monday. Moravian College partnered with a digital mental health service, Mantra Health, to give students access to mental health services. Read more

At Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa., Allison Blechschmidt has noticed a yearly uptick in the number of students seeking psychiatric services, such as diagnoses of mental-health issues and prescriptions for antidepressants and antianxiety medication.

As the director of Moravians counseling center, Blechschmidt has tried a number of solutions to deal with the growing demand, such as having a psychiatrist on campus on certain days of the week or referring students to providers in the community. But neither was particularly efficient  paying for a psychiatrist is expensive, especially for smaller colleges, and the shortage of psychiatrists in the Lehigh Valley meant long waits for students looking for off-campus services.

If I cant find someone in the community that a student can see in the next six weeks, thats a long time for someone to be waiting, Blechschmidt said. All this time, the student cant get out of bed.

This is a common dilemma for colleges in more rural parts of the United States. A 2009 study found that 96% of U.S. counties have an unmet need for mental-health care professionals, and the problem is most prevalent in rural or suburban areas. In Pennsylvania, more than 1.7 million people live in areas with a shortage of mental-health care providers, according to KFF, a health-policy nonprofit. And the problem is expected to worsen: The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the United States may be facing a shortage of up to 15,600 psychiatrists by 2025.

While the coronavirus pandemic has increased the prevalence of telemedicine, making it easier for patients to seek care from psychiatrists, demand for services has increased, as well.

There was definitely a shortage before COVID, said Taliba Foster, a psychiatrist practicing in Ardmore and at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. With COVID, the shortage became more prevalent and visible. It was already bad, and then it got worse. Its affected all age groups.

Whats more, experts believe the shortage of mental-health care providers, which forces people to wait weeks or months for appointments, is likely contributing to the rising rate of suicides in the country.

At the same time, the demand for mental-health services on college campuses has increased across the country over the last decade. A 2018 report by the Collegiate Center for Mental Health found that the use of counseling centers on campuses increased by 30% to 40% on average between 2009 and 2015.

To meet that demand, Lafayette College retains a psychiatrist from the community as an independent contractor to see students about four to five hours a week said Jeffrey Goldstein, the colleges director of health services. Making psychiatric services available to students on the Easton campus is high on the colleges list of priorities, he said.

Its definitely always worth the expense because the students who are coming to see the psychiatrist are high-risk students, he said. So well bear that cost, whatever that cost might be.

Muhlenberg College takes a similar approach, said Timothy Silvestri, director of the Allentown colleges counseling center. On average, students wait for two to three weeks before they see the psychiatrist, which is astronomically better than three to six months in the community, he said.

Its incumbent on us to try to fill that gap of not being able to get access in the community, Silvestri said. When talking about mental health, psychiatry is crossing into specialized care, which you typically wouldnt expect from colleges. But weve had to meet that need.

The counseling center also prioritizes follow-up care after a student has met with the psychiatrist. Silvestri said that after their first appointment, he encourages students to start looking for someone they can see at home over winter or summer break.

Many students could be facing a long wait list once they get back to their hometowns, he said. So we want them to be as proactive as possible.

At Haverford College on the Main Line, students can see a psychiatrist after meeting with a therapist in the colleges counseling and psychological services (CAPS). But CAPS does not usually diagnose students, said Hunter Logan, a 20-year-old junior who sought psychiatric care last year for symptoms of anxiety and depression. Logan said that more than a month passed between first bringing up the possibility of psychiatric care to his therapist and his scheduled appointment. Due to the pandemic, his appointment was canceled and he instead sought care from a psychiatrist in his hometown in Ohio.

When I brought up that I wanted to meet with a psychiatrist at Haverford, my therapist said, Lets wait a few weeks and keep talking, Logan said. The sense I got from them that was that, If its still serious in a few weeks, well go through with you.

Haverford employs a psychiatrist who works for about nine hours a week, said Philip Rosenbaum, the colleges director of CAPS. The college has also employed additional independent contractors when needed to ensure that the wait time does not get too long, he said. Last year, CAPS psychiatrists saw 52 students for a total of 240 sessions.

Moravian has taken a different approach this semester, choosing to partner with Mantra Health, a digital mental-health care provider focused on higher education. Blechschmidt said that Mantra appealed to her because the company was used to partnering with college counseling centers.

Through Mantra, students first take an assessment before they are paired with a psychiatric care provider or a therapist, whom they can message 24/7 or see via video appointments. The cost of the service is fully covered by the college. Blechschmidt said the transition has been seamless, and students are getting appointments within one week of making a request.

We were looking for a solution that students would find more effective, Blechschmidt said. Mantra offers hours in the evening and flexibility. Its efficient.

Foster said that because colleges are mostly focused on preventing COVID-19 right now, there hasnt been as much of a focus as I would like on mental health. Many of the college students shes seeing are struggling with anxiety and depression.

The students are away from home, generally for the first time, and without a lot of resources, Foster said. Their classes are virtual. Theyre stuck in their dorm room. Theres just a lot of loneliness and anxiousness. College health centers are overwhelmed and their medical services are geared toward COVID, not the secondary effects of all of this.
CHICAGO  A former Chicago police sergeant who was captured in Detroit nearly 15 years after he fled while awaiting trial on drug charges was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison on Thursday.

A jury found Eddie C. Hicks, 71, guilty of several charges last year including conspiracy to commit racketeering, drug conspiracy, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, theft of government funds and failure to appear for a judicial proceeding.

Also known as David Rose, Hicks was accused of leading a four-person crew that staged phony drug raids and automobile stops of suspected dealers. Under the guise of police investigations, the crew threatened criminals with arrest, then kept the drugs, cash, or weapons they discovered.

All four were arrested and charged in federal court. Hicks fled Chicago in June 2003 while free on bond and awaiting trial. He remained a fugitive until his arrest in Detroit in September 2017.

In handing down his sentence, U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow told Hicks he dishonored the badge and should stand as an example, according to the Associated Press.

There are other officers out there who also have the opportunity to do what you did, and they need to get the message that the punishment will follow the conduct, Lefkow said, noting he has never taken responsibility for his actions.

Hicks served as a Chicago Police officer from 1970 to 2000. Evidence at trial revealed that from the early 1990s to 2001, Hicks and his robbery crew stole thousands of dollars in cash, multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, hundreds of pounds of marijuana, and several firearms.

The three other crew members were also convicted and previously sentenced to prison terms.

Larry Hargrove, a former Chicago Police sergeant, was sentenced to 13 years. Matthew L. Moran, a former employee of the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, was sentenced to seven years and ten months and Lawrence W. Knitter, a former civilian CPD electrical mechanic, was sentenced to nine years and four months.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA)  The World Bank has expanded its financing of an economic stimulus programme which targets the youth in some 83 urban centres in Ethiopia in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Bank said Friday
Karan Khanna, Managing Director UK & I, IHG Hotels & Resorts commented on the findings; "We've seen that people's appetite to travel and explore hasn't changed, but understandably their confidence in when it's safe to do so has. Cleanliness and flexibility are top of mind for everyone now, and by introducing enhanced cleaning measures and offering more flexibility, consumers have continued to travel this summer, with many opting for a staycation in the UK."

Home is where the heart is  despite some borders opening for European travel over the summer, most people chose to stay close to home with 95% of UK bookings being made for domestic stays, which is higher than previous years. (Based on UK IHG Rewards Club member bookings during June  August 2020 ). More than 85% of guests also chose to travel to their destination by car, and 9% opted for public transport.

The ruralisation of travel - IHG hotel bookings during summer 2020 saw rural locations rise to the top with areas such as Kent, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, East & North Yorkshire entering the list of the Top 10 most visited UK locations, while big cities dropped down the list. According to Karan Khanna , Managing Director UK&I at IHG Hotels & Resorts, "There's been a reawakening in appreciating small-town life, our families, quiet communities, reconnecting with nature and unplugging from technology. There's an argument to be made that when travel resumes to pre-pandemic levels, it will be done with a greater sense of purpose and appreciation for local communities and the environment."

A hotel (almost) never sleeps - The Covid-19 crisis has impacted the everyday lives of billions of people globally, severely damaging economies and posing the biggest challenge the travel industry has ever faced. Despite many people putting their life on hold and some businesses coming to a halt, for open IHG Hotels in the UK the proportion of business and leisure bookings was similar in June  August 2020 compared to previous years, in part due to rooms being booked by housing key workers, essential services and the homeless. Karan Khanna , Managing Director, UK&I commented that "From China and Australia , to the UK and US, we've worked with governments, organisations and hotel owners to help provide accommodation to those who need it most. This includes looking after thousands of healthcare workers, delivery drivers and the homeless across the UK."

Spontaneity is key - With so much uncertainty and regularly changing travel restrictions, hotel booking lead times have shortened compared to previous years. 67% of bookings are happening within 7 days of stay, compared to 46% during the same period last year. IHG Hotels & Resorts introduced flexible booking options such as Book Now, Pay Later to give travellers enhanced peace of mind and the flexibility they need.

Booking window

2020 2019 0-2 days 38% 23% 3 -7 days 31% 23% 8-90 days 36% 50%

Age is more than a number  The number of 65-year olds and above travelling dropped from 16% in 2019 to 11% in 2020 (March to August). Given the nature of the virus and the recommendations for older populations, unsurprisingly, older guests saw the steepest decline in activity during the peak of Covid-19 in April. Since then, while other age groups have witnessed a steady recovery, it's much stronger among younger guests (35 years old and below).

NOTES TO EDITORS

Based on UK IHG Hotel Bookings from June  August 2020, unless otherwise stated.

About IHG

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels, HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, voco, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts , Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, avid hotels, Staybridge Suites, Atwell Suites, and Candlewood Suites.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,900 hotels and approximately 883,000 guest rooms in more than 100 countries, with over 1,900 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. Approximately 400,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: https://www.ihgplc.com/en/news-and-media and follow us on social media at: https://twitter.com/ihgcorporate, www.facebook.com/ihgcorporate and www.linkedin.com/company/intercontinental-hotels-group.

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SOURCE IHG Hotels & Resorts
Orange County will reopen its CARES Act crisis assistance program next week, just days after Disney, the regions largest employer, announced it would be laying off about 7,000 of its employees here.

When the relief program initially launched earlier this year, nearly 30,000 households received $1,000 payments to help cover rent, utility bills, prescriptions and food. And additional aid is needed, officials said, as more Disney layoffs are possible following negotiations between the company and unions representing many of its workers.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the news, delivered to both he and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings in phone calls, was sobering, and a reminder that more federal relief dollars are needed to help residents.

We know its a long climb back out of this, Dyer said. A large number like thatshould re-emphasize to Congress that the American people need help with this. We need some financial assistance just to deal with so many unemployed people[who] cant put meals on the table.

Demings said the county has about $56 million remaining CARES Act dollars and would announce next week when the crisis assistance hotline would reopen, how much money would be allocated to it and who would be eligible to receive payments.

We know the need is great and we intend to continue to answer the call for service in our community, he said. Together we see through to a promising future and we want our citizens to stay safe and stronger together.

Osceola County, already with the states highest unemployment, will also likely feel the additional strain from the layoffs.

The county announced Thursday it would use some of its remaining CARES Act money on an eviction diversion program.

If there is a pending court action, landlords and tenants will receive letters from the county, and both parties must fill out applications to be eligible. If approved, landlords will receive payment directly from the county.

Osceola also is opening a utility assistance program for residents who can prove past due electric, gas or water bills associated with COVID-19.

Story continues

The pandemic has even shaken families who thought they were economically stable when the booming economy abruptly crumbled earlier this year, Dyer said.

Every day theres a food distribution site somewhere in our community and every time I go to one of the food distribution sites, there are hundreds of cars lined up...A lot of the people would never have thought theyd ever be in a food distribution line and here they are, he said.

Seminole mask order continues

With President Donald Trump expected to host a rally at the Orlando Sanford International Airport Friday, Seminole County will continue requiring individuals to wear masks and practice social distancing when in public, even though Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive last Friday that prevents local governments from issuing fines or penalties.

Our mask order is still in effect, Commission Chairman Jay Zembower said at a press conference on Thursday. Weve approached this is in a very, very educational way.When deputies have gone to these places [where people are not wearing masks], theyve simply educated people about doing the right thing.

Zembower said Seminole County will welcome Trump with open arms," but urged those attending the rally to wear masks and practice social distancing.

We trust that attendees will do what they are supposed to do, Zembower said. But in reality, its going to be outside. And what weve seen, is that our community is very respectfulBut its going to happen [people not wearing masks]. But were not here to fine or arrest. Were here to educate.

Zembower said county officials have been told to expect between 15,000 and 20,000 rally attendees.

Public health officials in Orange and Seminole counties said they continue to see positive trends in the virus data, with cases largely tamped down to manageable levels.

In Orange County, about 4.2% of test results were positive Wednesday, following two consecutive days where rates ticked slightly above 5%.

As of Thursday, Seminole had 31 patients in area hospitals being treated for Covid-19, a significant decline since July when the county had around 200 patients.

Thats certainly very encouraging news, said Donna Walsh, Seminoles local state health officer.

Seminole currently has a positivity rate of nearly 2.4%, a marked decline from 4% rate in mid-September.

rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com, shudak@orlandosentinel.com, mcomas@orlandosentinel.com



2020 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

Visit The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) at www.OrlandoSentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A senior aide to Donald Trump tested positive for coronavirus shortly before the US President and First Lady confirmed they had contracted Covid-19.

Hope Hicks, 31, became the President's closest aide to be confirmed to have the virus so far.

Mr Trump and Melania later tested positive for the strain.

Let's take a look at who Ms Hicks is and what he does for the White House.

Hope Hicks, counsellor to US President Donald Trump / AFP via Getty Images

Who is Hope Hicks?

Ms Hicks serves as senior counsellor to the president. She returned to the White House in February this year two years after resigning as communications director. Her resignation came after she admitted to Congress she occasionally told white lies on Mr Trump's behalf, although at the time the two were not directly linked.

She first started working for him in 2014 and stayed by his side throughout his campaign and into the Presidency.

She has travelled with the President multiple times this week.

Ms Hicks flew aboard Air Force One to Tuesday nights first presidential debate against Joe Biden and on Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for a Minnesota rally on Wednesday.

Hope Hicks (centre) cheering at a Republican rally / AP

She tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday.

Taking to Twitter Mr Trump said: "Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible!

The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!

The president later confirmed he and his wife also had the virus.

He said: "Tonight, @Flotus and I tested positive for COVID-19.

"We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"

Which other staff members have tested positive?

Multiple White House staffers have tested positive for the virus, including Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence s press secretary, as well as one of the Presidents personal valets.

Since Covid-19 emerged earlier this year, Mr Trump, the White House and his campaign have played down the threat and refused to abide by basic public health guidelines  including those issued by his own administration  such as wearing masks in public and practising social distancing.

Instead, Mr Trump has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of supporters despite the strain having killed more than 200,000 Americans and infected more than seven million nationwide.

In a statement, White House spokesman Judd Deere said: The president takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.

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White House Operations collaborates with the physician to the president and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting Covid-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the president is travelling, he added.




Cambodia to export beef to China

Cambodia's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) confirmed Cambodia is preparing to export beef to the Chinese market, taking advantage of the US-China trade war and trade tension with Australia.

At a contract farming ceremony involving 58 farming communities and exporters, MAFF Minister Veng Sakhon said that the Cambodian government is diversifying agricultural products and exports, and beef is one of the potential foods to the Chinese market.

"In the near future, we will access more markets, especially for agricultural products that we are able to produce for export," he said. "We are preparing to export beef, which is a new product for us because we see the face-off problem between China and Australia."

Sakhon said that although Laos is one step ahead, this is an opportunity for Cambodia to produce meats for export to China.

"As I know, they have already signed a protocol in order to export beef to China. Chinese experts have already arrived in Laos while Cambodia is preparing to submit to the Chinese side," he said.

Cambodia would take time for procedures including infrastructure and facilities that support meat production for export. Sakhon said: "Cambodia needs also to fulfil conditions requested by China. First, we wrote an official letter to the Chinese side stating that Cambodia is able to export beef to the Chinese market. After our letter of notification, the Chinese side will come to study our efforts and set some conditions for us. When those requirements are met, then we will be able to send the beef."

Sakhon said that, with Cambodia and China expected to sign a free-trade agreement soon, China -- which has the biggest population in the world -- would be a huge market for Cambodia's agricultural products.

"We have to think of the long term. The Chinese market is one of the largest markets for agricultural products and China is importing agricultural products from countries such as Brazil and Argentina as well as from the US from where imports take more time and cost more so China wants to import those from countries in the region that are convenient and cheaper for shipping," he said.

Sakhon added that Cambodia will import cows from Australia for farmers to raise.

Cambodia exports most live cattle to Vietnam and Thailand. In 2017, record shows Cambodia exported 20,000 live cattle to Vietnam every month.

"Much of the country's agriculture sector now uses machinery but the Cambodian government is encouraging farmers to take on cattle farming for commercial reasons to meet local demand and exports," Sakhon said.



In order to ensure good production supply and market prices, MAFF is urging more contract farming between farmers and exporters. There are 760 farming contracts signed and it is expected that the number will reach 1,000 at the end of this year.

Cambodia-Australia Agricultural Value Chain Programme team leader Gray Ellem said that the contract farming is playing important role in boosting competition in the markets and it supports the supply chain that helps quality agricultural production.

- Khmer Times
Ryanair has lost a a High Court case challenging the Irish Government's Covid-19 travel restrictions.

The budget airline had challenged the legality of travel advice published by the Irish Government in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ryanair claimed the travel restrictions imposed were 'unlawful' and amounted to a disproportionate interference in the rights of the airline and its passengers.

Today, Mr Justice Garrett Simons ruled that the Government had 'acted lawfully' in providing travel advice and public health advice in respect of the coronavirus pandemic on a non-statutory basis.

Vocal opposition: Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has warned that the future for airlines looks bleak

Legal challenge: Ryanair had challenged the legality of travel advice published by the Irish Government in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic

He said: 'The Government is entitled, in the exercise of the executive power, to provide such advice to the public.'

Ryanair claimed the restrictions were unconstitutional and sought various orders and declarations, including an order setting aside the restrictions announced in late July.

These included measures stating that people should not travel outside of Ireland, except for essential purposes, and that everyone should holiday at home this year.

Ryanair maintained that what had been published by the Government went 'well beyond mere travel advice' and represented the 'imposition of restrictions on international travel.'

Judge Simons today rejected the airline's argument.

'Ryanairs principal complaint is that, as a matter of domestic constitutional law, the Government, in publishing the impugned travel advice, exceeded its executive powers and trespassed upon the legislative power,' he said.

'These arguments have been rejected.'

Under the current public health guidelines, any person entering the Irish State is advised to restrict their movements for a period of 14 days.

This advice does not apply to travellers entering the Irish State from a small number of countries identified on the so-called 'green list.'

In its ruling, the High Court said the information published on the Governments official websites presented an 'accurate portrayal' of the legal status of the travel advice and public health advice.

'The advice to avoid non-essential travel and to restrict movements on entry to the State is just that: advice,' the ruling said.

'The Government merely requests that persons entering the State from a country not on the "green list" restrict their movements for 14 days. As of August 2020, there had been no legal requirement to do so.'

Ireland has some of the strictest Covid-19 travel advice in Europe, advising against non-essential travel to all but four countries, namely Cyprus, Finland, Latvia and Liechtenstein. Those four countries, however, have also imposed restrictions on incoming passengers from Ireland.

Last month Ryanair blasted Ireland's top officials, claiming the nation's airlines were being 'locked up like North Korea' as a result of the pandemic.

Ryanair told This is Money that holidaymakers who have booked flights and no longer wish to travel due to Government guidance but have not had their flights cancelled may still face a 'change fee' and have to fork out the difference in air fare costs if they want to change their flight dates.

The airline told This is Money: 'For non-cancelled flights, standard T&Cs apply.

'Passengers who do not wish to travel on their booked flight can move it to another date, in which case, a flight change fee and the difference in fare may apply.'

Shares in Ryanair are down over 2 per cent to 11.28 today.

Ryanair's response to High Court decision In a statement, a spokesperson for Ryanair, said: 'We welcome the High Court decision, which confirms there is no legal requirement for the current travel restrictions. 'This means that travel to/from Ireland to 15 countries on the green and amber lists, including Germany, UK, Italy, Greece, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Malta, Cyprus, Finland, Norway, Latvia, Bulgaria, Estonia and Lithuania can take place without restrictions in accordance with the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) traffic light system. 'We call on the Irish Govt. to immediately adopt the EU "traffic light" system and to also implement the recommendations of its own Aviation Task Force report. 'If the Government adopts the EU "traffic light" system with no restrictions for green and amber countries it will avoid the closure of Ryanairs Cork and Shannon bases.'

Grounded: The airline industry has been decimated by global lockdowns during Covid-19

Passenger numbers tumbling

Earlier today, Ryanair admitted that it had seen passenger numbers drop by 64 per cent last month compared to figures at the same point a year ago.

The airline flew 5.1million people to destinations in September, compared with 14.1million in the same month last year.

Ryanair said it operated around 53 per cent of its normal September schedule with a load factor, which is the industry measure of how full the planes are, of 71 per cent.

Deals: Ryanair has been trying to tempt customers weary of lockdown to buy-one-get-one-free deals and seats for 5

In recent weeks, Ryanair announced that it planned to cut a further one in five of its flights scheduled to jet off this month, blaming 'excessive and defective' ongoing and ever-changing travel restrictions.

In a bid to drive up passenger numbers, Ryanair has been trying to tempt customers weary of lockdown to buy-one-get-one-free deals and seats for 5.

But, across the UK and Ireland, officials are imposing ever-shifting travel restrictions and quarantine measures on holidaymakers. Last night, it was announced that holidaymakers arriving in the UK from Poland, Turkey and and three Caribbean islands would have to self-isolate for 14 days from 4am this Saturday.

Rapidly shifting goalposts are off-putting for many holidaymakers, who face an uphill struggle trying to get valid travel insurance and run the risk of losing thousands of pounds if their travel plans are scrapped or changed at the last minute.

Jobs in jeopardy

Last month, Ryanair boss O'Leary claimed that without an extension or replacement for furlough, pilots and cabin crew would be put on unpaid leave 'for the winter.'

He told Sky News: 'We want to keep our pilots and our cabin crew employed and paid, but we're going to have to have huge Government assistance for that.

'Otherwise I'm afraid they're all going to have to go on unpaid leave for the winter.'

He also refused to confirm he wouldn't be sacking more staff.

'Winter bookings, forward bookings, at the moment are terrible... we can't rule out job losses', he added.

Ryanair has previously suggested that it could end up having to cut 3,000 jobs as a result of the pandemic, with many staff already lumped with hefty pay cuts. The airline has also warned it may be forced to close its bases in Cork and Shannon by the end of this month if travel restrictions are not loosened.

The pandemic has triggered a jobs bloodbath within the aviation sector. British Airways owner IAG announced last month that it had already cut over 8,000 jobs across its operations. Up to 5,000 further job cuts at the airline are in the pipeline.

After warning that over 700 pilots could end up losing their jobs earlier this year, easyJet has struck a deal with its union that appears to involves no compulsory job redundancies.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has labelled former President and NDC flagbearer, John Mahama as the new Archbishop of promises.



Mahama has been talking about many things he will do in a bid to woo Ghanaian electorates to vote for him to be President again.



Vice President Bawumia has questioned the credibility of former President Mahama's promises to Ghanaians following "Mahama's broken promises" as President only four years ago.



Speaking in an exclusive interview on Asempa FM's Ekosiisen program, Dr. Bawumia said former President Mahama's promising spree should not be trusted because he is inconsistent.



Mahama has said he was not going to promise again. But today, he keeps promising, and he is the Archbishop of promises. That is why I am saying that the manifesto promises by the NDC is an empty one, Dr. Bawumia said.



"He lacks credibility because he failed as a President and he was voted out."



"He is also inconsistent. He says one thing today, and changes his position tomorrow. He cancelled teachers trainee allowance and said he won't restore it even it would cost him the elections. Later he said he did not cancel."



"He introduced teacher licensure exams and now he is going round telling teachers that he will cancel."



"He introduced the law to ban okada, now he says he will legalise it. He cancelled Arabic instructors allowance and now he says he will pay Arabic instructors."



"He said Free SHS was 419 and that Free SHS would collapse our educational system. Now he says he will expand Free SHS to private schools. How can you expand something you said was 419?"



Dr. Bawumia stressed that the former President has a proven track record of broken promises and non-performance, so his new promises should be treated as empty.



"They have been in power for eight years, but they were unable to pay simple GHS70 million teacher trainee allowances. But now, they are promising US$10 billion Big Push. They dont have the credibility."



"Where is the credibility? Where is the consistency? Mahama is not a new person. That is why I say he has no credibility and that their manifesto is not credible.



"It is a kwatrekwa manifesto. If a naked person promises you cloth, just look at the person."





Source: Office of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia









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SAGINAW, MI  Since he was 19, Clemente P. Pena has been imprisoned for the murder of a Saginaw teenager. Almost three decades later, Pena is nearing death and a push is underway to get him to spend his last days at home beside his mother, free from prison walls.

Pena, now 47, is incarcerated at the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer County. According to a request for emergency clemency, Pena is in the throes of stage four cancer that has spread to his brain. He could die at any time, says his advocate.
The breakneck pace at which China came out of the gate as a manufacturing powerhouse after its entry into the WTO has long since slowed. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

When China joined the World Trade Organization on Dec. 11, 2001, container shipping was already a well-established system, ready to unleash the output of Chinas emerging industrial machine onto world markets.

As Daniel Yergin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, energy expert, and IHS Markit vice chairman writes in his well-received new book The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations, containerized shipping enabled Chinas meteoric rise and that of globalization writ large, but with geopolitical tensions flaring, the industry will be confronting a future less hospitable to global trade and far-flung supply chains.

How Chinas extraordinary economic surge came about is the result of many things. But it would not have happened without a revolution that was born in the US port of Newark, New Jersey, a revolution that would change the map of global trade and prove transformative for the world economy  and for China, Yergin writes.

That revolution, of course, was sparked by the April 25, 1956 departure of Malcom McLeans Ideal X, a surplus World War II tanker bound for Texas with 58 truck trailers (minus the wheels), representing the first sailing of a container ship.

The radical concept, which drove down cargo handling costs and greatly accelerated the speed of vessel loading, gained traction despite fierce resistance from dockworkers. It gradually replaced breakbulk on the worlds major trade lanes and began to find opportunities in emerging markets.

As Yergin notes, McLean, leading United States Lines, launched the first container service to China in 1980, the year when economic reform began under Deng Xiaoping. Today, seven of the worlds top container ports are in China and the country typically accounts for 40 percent of global container volumes. Container ships, Yergin writes, are the vessels that have carried Chinas economy into its current position in the global economy and world trade.

But if container shipping rode the wave of Chinas emergence, set in motion by the global consensus around trade represented by the creation of the WTO in 1995, the industry must now confront a potentially very different geopolitical future taking shape with almost daily developments chronicling a deterioration in US-China relations.

If containerization really underpinned growth of the global economy, one of the themes of the book is the risk to globalization that comes from rising geopolitical tensions, particularly involving China and the US, which in the past few months have really accelerated, Yergin, who was the keynote speaker at the 2019 TPM conference, said in an interview with JOC.com.

There was the famous saying of Deng Xiaoping concerning Hong Kong and China as One Country, Two Systems. There is now the specter of one world, two systems, where there will be a US-led economic bloc and a Chinese-led economic bloc. And the world has a growing concern that they will have to choose between them, Yergin said.

Companies have diversified sourcing

To a great extent, the trends Yergin identifies in The New Map are already well under way and seen clearly in container shipping data. The breakneck pace at which China came out of the gate as a manufacturing powerhouse after its entry into the WTO has long since slowed. Average global container growth rates decelerated to less than 1 percent between 2015 and 2020, versus nearly 9 percent between 2001 and 2005, according to data from IHS Markit, parent company of The Journal of Commerce. Container lines have responded by drastically scaling back ship ordering and rapidly cutting back capacity in response to changes in demand, which has contributed to the bottlenecks seen in recent weeks at major ports such as Felixstowe, Los Angeles, and Long Beach.

As companies have diversified their sourcing, China, although still the dominant source country for consumer goods, has steadily slipped as the origin of US containerized imports as manufacturing migrates to Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, and other countries in South Asia. The percent of Asia-origin containers arriving in the US from North Asia (including China, Japan, and Korea) versus South Asia has dropped from 86 percent to 76 percent since 2005, as trade with South Asian nations has expanded, according to IHS Markit.

But the forces working against the landscape of globalization in which container shipping has thrived are growing stronger. Momentum towards a more collaborative world order that rested on an increasingly connected global economy  is now going in reverse, Yergin writes. The world has become more fractured, with a resurgence of nationalism and populism and distrust, great power competition, and with a rising politics of suspicion and resentment.

Globalization doesnt go away, but it becomes more fragmented, and more contentious, adding to the troubles along the already troubled path to economic growth.

Contact Peter Tirschwell at peter.tirschwell@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @petertirschwell.


Iceye, a Helsinki, Finland-based SAR data provider, closed an $87M Series C funding.

The round was led by return investor True Ventures, with a substantial investment contribution from OTB Ventures, Luxembourg Future Fund (LFF), Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi), Draper Esprit, DNX, Draper Associates, Seraphim Space, Promus Ventures and Space Angels. The funding round is joined by New Space Capital. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has participated both as advisor to Luxembourg Future Fund and as investor through its financing mechanism InnovFin For Equity (IFE). Further, a significant portion of Tesis investment is part of the EFSI investment program set up between Tesi and the European Investment Bank.

The company, which has raised a total of $152M in financing to date, intends to use the funds to accelerate the size of its SAR satellite constellation in the coming years, increasing data availability for all continents through 24/7 customer operations, continuing development of radar imaging capabilities and for establishing spacecraft manufacturing in the US.

Led by Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder, Iceye designs, manufactures and operates SAR satellites in-house to provide commercial radar satellite imaging worldwide for customers to respond to oil spills, hurricanes, deforestation and many more use cases. The company has so far launched 5 satellite missions, starting in January 2018. Iceye is launching 4 additional SAR satellites still this year and is on course to launch an additional 8 in 2021.

FinSMEs

02/10/2020
TANZANIA, Tanzania - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Friday that the world is living in the shadow of nuclear catastrophe, fueled by growing distrust and tensions between the nuclear powers.

The U.N. chief told a high-level meeting to commemorate the recent International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons that progress on ridding the world of nuclear weapons has stalled and is at risk of backsliding. And he said strains between countries that possess nuclear weapons have increased nuclear risks.

As examples, Guterres has expressed deep concern at the escalating disputes between the Trump administration and China. Relations between the U.S. and Russia are at a low point. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are feuding over Kashmir, and India just had a border skirmish with China. And North Korea boasts about its nuclear weapons.

Without naming any countries, Guterres said programs to modernize nuclear arsenals threaten a qualitative nuclear arms race, not to increase the number of weapons but to make them faster, stealthier and more accurate.

Guterres also pointed to the only treaty constraining the size of the worlds largest nuclear arsenals -- the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and Russia -- which is set to expire next year.

It is imperative that the two countries extend it without delay for the maximum five years, he said, waring that without a treaty there is an alarming possibility of a return to unconstrained strategic competition.

The secretary-general said the nuclear non-proliferation treaty or NPT, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, remains the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament and efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

The five-year review of its implementation was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic until next year and Guterres urged its 191 parties to use the extra time to strengthen the treaty, including making tangible progress towards the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Guterres said he also looks forward to the entry into force of the first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons, which was adopted in July 2017 by 122 countries. Once it has 50 ratifications, the treaty will enter force in 90 days, and with Malaysias ratification on Sept. 30 it now has 46.

At Fridays high-level meeting, 103 of the 193 U.N. member nations were scheduled to speak for two minutes each. But many spoke longer so only 79 delivered addresses, and the U.N. said it would post the rest.

Of the major nuclear powers, Russia and China were on the speakers list but didnt get to speak. The United States Britain and France skipped the meeting. So did North Korea and Israel, which is widely reported to have a nuclear arsenal but has never admitted it publicly. India and Pakistan were scheduled to speak, but only India got to deliver remarks.

Many speakers recalled that the meeting took place 75 years after the United States dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed 210,000 people and sped the end of World War II.

Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose country is still part of a 2015 agreement with Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapon, said the meeting provides a unique opportunity to mobilize the world to liberate humanity from the nuclear nightmare.

In brief prerecorded remarks, Zarif accused the United States of developing new nuclear weapons and recklessly lowering the threshold of their deployment. He said the U.S. has also caused immense damage to the NPT by unlawfully withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and the 1987 intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia on missile.

Zarif also lashed out at U.S. support for Israel, the sole possessor of nuclear arsenal in our region. He demanded that the international community compel Israel -- which has aggression in its very DNA -- to promptly accede to the NPT and destroy its nuclear arsenal and submit to the most intrusive inspection regime.

The Iranian minister also called on the General Assembly to declare as a binding norm of international law that a nuclear war cannot be won -- and must never be fought, and to develop a concrete program for time-bound nuclear disarmament.

Just imagine if the billions wasted on instruments of global annihilation were allocated to help fund the fight against COVID-19, Zarif said.

Indias Foreign Minister Harsh Vardhan Shringla reiterated the countrys longstanding commitment to nuclear disarmament through a step-by-step process, and said all states possessing nuclear weapons need to hold a meaningful dialogue to build trust and confidence.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said in spite of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the atomic bombings, the nuclear threat is as present as ever and multilateralism is under severe pressure.

Polarization and a lack of trust are a dangerous mix, one which we cannot afford to ignore, she said.

Linde called on the U.S. and Russia to promptly extend New START and welcomed recent discussions on a broader, follow-on agreement, which could also include China.

Sweden has launched the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament with 15 non-nuclear nations aimed at building political support for a result-oriented disarmament agenda within the NPT framework, she said, urging other countries to join the effort.

Indonesias Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said no significant progress has been made by nuclear weapon states in reducing their arsenals, and their current modernization efforts have resulted in the ever-enlarging trust deficit among countries.

She called for enforcement of the NPT, strengthening disarmament, the early entry into force of the nuclear test ban treaty, and for all nuclear weapon states to become parties to nuclear weapons free zones.

Maintaining nuclear weapons, is clearly, a zero-sum situation, while total abolishment of such weapons, will ensure that humanity prevails, Marsudi said.
President Donald Trump announced late on Thursday that he and First Lady Melania Trump, had tested positive for the coronavirus and would immediately quarantine, leading to speculation as to whether his rival, Joe Biden, may also be at risk.

Mr Trumps diagnosis came shortly after a White House counsellor, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the virus as early as Wednesday evening.

In the run-up to her result, Ms Hicks had accompanied the president to the presidential debate on Tuesday, and a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday.

So, which other political figures have been exposed to the coronavirus?

It depends when Mr Trump and Ms Hicks were first exposed  there are several unknown factors. We dont know how long the president, the first lady and the aide have had the virus for.

Typically, it takes five or six days for symptoms to appear following infection, according to the World Health Organisation, but it can take up to 14.

Ms Hicks reportedly began to feel unwell on Wednesday, while at the Minnesota rally.

The White House has said its medical team is conducting contact tracing.

Here are some of the key names the president was in contact with in the days leading up to his diagnosis.

Joe Biden

The Democratic candidate faced Mr Trump in the first presidential debate on Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio.

Hope Hicks, the White House aide who tested positive before Mr Trump on Thursday, was also present.

Audience members had to wear masks throughout the debate. However, several guests  including, reportedly, members of the president's family and Ms Hicks  did not stick to the rules.

Andrew Weinstein, a White House appointee under President Barack Obama, criticised the Trump administration for putting Mr Biden in harms way.

He tweeted: "Hope Hicks travelled with Donald Trump to the debate. She did not wear a mask that evening.

"The failure of the Trump administration to take the coronavirus seriously put Joe Biden and countless others in harms way."

Due to their age both Mr Biden, 77, and Mr Trump, 74, are considered high-risk for complications from Covid-19.

Mike Pence

Mike Pence, the vice president, attended a White House coronavirus task force briefing with the president on Monday.

Mr Pence did not attend the presidential debate.

CNN medical analyst Dr Jonathan Reiner said on Thursday that it is possible that both the president and the vice president Mike Pence could become ill, and urged the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to self-isolate in case she needs to step in.

The continuity of government requires that we have a clear leader here, he said, adding that its very possible that both Mr Trump and Mr Pence could become sick.

Both the vice president and his wife tested negative on Friday morning.

Mitch McConnell and Amy Coney Barett

Amy Coney Barrett, the conservative judge chosen by Mr Trump to replace Ruth Bader Ginsberg, met with the president in the Oval Office on Saturday, shortly before he announced her nomination.

Mitch McConnell, the senate majority leader, then met with Ms Barrett and Mr Pence, in the Capitol on Tuesday.

Both the judge and the vice president had been in contact with Mr Trump prior to their meeting with Mr McConnell.

Mark Meadows

The presidents chief of staff at the White House, Mark Meadows, has tested negative for the coronavirus, CBS News reported on Friday morning.

Mr Meadows and his aide Ben Williamson, who also tested negative, were aboard Air Force One on Wednesday with Mr Trump and Ms Hicks.

According to reports, Mr Meadows met with Mr McConnell, Ms Barrett and GOP senators in the Capitol this week, as Congress prepares to approve the presidents Supreme Court nomination later this month.

Politicos Andrew Desiderio wrote on Twitter: White House officials, including chief of staff Mark Meadows, were at the Senate all week for Amy Coney Barretts meetings with GOP senators. The Senate left town on Thursday afternoon. I expect well hear more later today (Friday) on testing/quarantine protocol for senators."

Kayleigh McEnany

The White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was aboard Air Force One with Mr Trump and Ms Hicks on Wednesday, as the campaign travelled to Minnesota.

She took to the podium on Thursday to deliver a press conference at the White House, with reporters in attendance, and no mask.

At that time, Ms McEnany would have known about Ms Hicks symptoms, if not her positive Covid-19 test, as she shared a room with members of the media.

MSNBC reporter Jon Lemire told Good Morning Joe on Friday that the press secretary did in fact know about Ms Hicks positive test before holding the press briefing.

Following Mr Trumps announcement on Friday morning, the press secretary wrote on Twitter that the strength of the entire country is with president Donald Trump and first lady, Melania.

America stands united. Our country stands strong. Your president will continue to put the people first!

Mike Pompeo

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said that he and his wife have both tested negative positive for the coronavirus on Friday morning, as he flew from Rome to Dubrovnik with reporters.

Mr Pompeo has not met Mr Trump in person since an event at the White House on 15 September, some two weeks ago, CNN reported.

Whilst the secretary of state has been outside the United States sine that encounter, he suggested on Friday that he may postpone a scheduled visit to Asia as a precaution.

We are praying for the President and first lady that theyll have a speedy recovery," he added in a statement.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner

The presidents oldest daughter and her husband were both in attendance at Tuesday nights televised presidential debate, where Mr Trumps entourage - including Ms Hicks - sat together without masks.

Ms Trump, Mr Kushner, and the presidents aide all travelled together aboard Air Force One to the event in Cleveland, Ohio, where the president debated his Democratic opponent Mr Biden.

On Wednesday, all three were reported to have travelled to Mr Trumps campaign rally in Minnesota, with Mr Kushner and Ms Hicks flying together on Marine One. Photographs showed nobody wearing a mask.

Later that day, Ms Hicks would report feeling unwell, and enter self-isolation.

Stephen Miller

Senior adviser to president Trump, Stephen Miller, was aboard Marine One on Wednesday with son-in-law Mr Kushner and Ms Hicks, who would later test positive with coronavirus.

The controversial White House official was later seen disembarking Air Force One on Wednesday whilst sharing an umbrella with Ms Hicks.

Prior to Tuesdays debate, he was said to have spent time working as a member of Mr Trumps debate preparation time, along with former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and Bill Stepien, Mr Trumps campaign manager.
This is the first picture of the brother of MBE-winning West End star Matt Henry and his friend who were shot dead in a Range Rover on an industrial state.

Will Henry, 31, and father-of-two Brian McIntosh, 29, were both shot in the chest in a 'gangland-style' execution in Brierley Hill, near Dudley in the West Midlands.

His brother Matt, 41, who has appeared in the likes of Saturday Night Fever, Avenue Q and Kinky Boots on stage in London, is said to be 'devastated' by the death.

Yesterday, police arrested a man on suspicion of murder in Carnforth, Lancashire, 130 miles away from the scene. He was taken to the West Midlands for questioning.

Brian McIntosh (left), 29, and Will Henry (right), 31, were both shot in the chest in a 'gangland-style' execution in Brierley Hill, near Dudley in West Midlands

West End star Matt Henry (far left) with his brother Matt Henry (second left, circled), who has been shot dead in a Range Rover on an industrial state

An aerial view of the industrial estate at Brierley Hill in the West Midlands yesterday

Officers launched a murder investigation after the men were discovered just before 3.30pm on Wednesday. It is thought the victims were killed shortly after 1pm.

Mr McIntosh ran a waste management firm in Birmingham called Mak Waste, which is based 11 miles away from Albion Works where the shooting took place.

West End star Matt Henry won the best actor in a musical award for Kinky Boots at the 2016 Olivier Awards at the Royal Opera House

In August 2019, Mak Waste was fined 18,000 and Mr McIntosh was given a ten-month suspended prison sentence for his involvement in a 2,000-tonne rubbish pile in Dudley being abandoned.

He had admitted failing to comply with the conditions of a permit on the site and not actioning compliance requests made by Environment Agency officers.

The gates of Mr McIntosh's large family home were covered in flowers today as friends paid their respects to him.

One friend had tied a pair of Reebok boxing gloves to the iron gates with each glove bearing a message for the deceased. While one referred to sparring with Mr McIntosh, the other read: 'To Will, RIP. Sorry you are gone. My thoughts are with you and your family.'

Another bunch of flowers contained a message reading: 'Brian and Will, my heart is broken hearing the news of your passing. I will miss you both so much. Thank you for everything that you did for me. My heart is numb. RIP.'

Outside Mr McIntosh's large detached home in the Woodgate area of west Birmingham, there were five cars parked up outside. A woman answered the intercom but refused to comment.

The gates of Mr McIntosh's large family home in the Woodgate area of west Birmingham were covered in flowers today as friends paid their respects to him

A friend had tied a pair of boxing gloves to the iron gates of Mr McIntosh's home with each glove bearing a message for the deceased. While one referred to sparring with Mr McIntosh, the other read: 'To Will, RIP. Sorry you are gone. My thoughts are with you and your family'

One bunch of flowers outside Mr McIntosh's home today contained a message reading: 'Brian and Will, my heart is broken hearing the news of your passing. I will miss you both so much. Thank you for everything that you did for me. My heart is numb. RIP'

At Mr Henry's family home, less than half a mile away, a succession of visitors arrived at the semi-detached property with flowers for his heartbroken mother Edris.

'He will be really missed,' said one of those who had come to pay their respects.

At his former modest first floor flat in Weoley Castle, Birmingham, residents were shocked to hear of his murder.

One young man said: 'He moved out a year ago now and I didn't know him on a personal level but from what I saw of him as a neighbour he seemed a lovely bloke. I haven't got a bad word to say about him.

At Mr Henry's family home in Birmingham today, a succession of visitors arrived at the semi-detached property with flowers for his heartbroken mother Edris

Police have launched a murder probe after the shooting in Brierley Hill (pictured yesterday)

'He was down to earth, he'd always say hello, just a really friendly face and a great neighbour to have. I feel totally sad and stunned that he has been shot.'

Another young mother who lived in the council block added: 'That's so horrible. He was just a young man with a big smile on his face, a decent neighbour to have.'

The suspect was detained after a vehicle was stopped in Carnforth at about 11.30am yesterday. He was being taken to a custody facility for questioning.

The car the men were in was parked outside units off Moor Street, and the area has been sealed off while forensic investigations are carried out.

A police van blocking an entrance to Albion Works industrial estate in Brierley Hill yesterday

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it had been called to the scene at 3.30pm on Wednesday, sending an ambulance and paramedics.

A spokesman said: 'On arrival, crews discovered two male patients, both of whom were inside a car. It is believed they had been there for some time.

'Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent nothing could be done to save either of them and they were confirmed dead at the scene.'

Police said a post-mortem examination is scheduled to take place today and the location of the killings remains sealed off while forensic experts examine the scene.

An aerial view of the scene in the West Midlands yesterday following the double shooting

Residents living in the area around the Albion Works industrial estate said they heard nothing untoward on Wednesday afternoon.

The site is fringed by another industrial park, a canal, a disused railway line and a footpath linking Moor Street to a nearby housing estate.

A police van blocked the single entrance to Albion Works yesterday, moving only to allow access to other police vehicles, including a forensics unit.

A man who lives near the site, who declined to be named, said: 'The police were cordoning off the path when I got home from work but my dad was in all day and he heard nothing.

Policw cordoned off the scene (pictured yesterday) while they hunt for evidence

'You can see the back of the industrial estate from the path. There's units and a scrapyard-type thing at the back there.'

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Munro from West Midlands Police's homicide unit said: 'This is a fast-moving investigation, a real team effort involving officers who've worked around the clock since the discovery of the bodies to trace the person we believe is responsible.

'The arrest is a significant development but our inquiries continue and I would appeal to anyone with information about what's happened, or anyone who was in the area at the time and saw or heard anything suspicious, to get in touch.'

The force has appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
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.




Someone in a face mask walks past an image of Donald Trump on TV in Seoul, South Korea (AP)

News of the infection of the worlds most powerful man with the coronavirus drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity that follows much of what Donald Trump does.

The US presidents announcement that he and US first lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19 permeated the global news cycle, sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands weighing in on social media.

Here is a flavour of some of the reaction:

Stock market

US stocks pulled lower on Friday as Wall Streets first reaction was to retrench.

The S&P 500 was down 0.6% in morning trading, and a measure of fear among investors was on the rise, but the moves were not close to as chaotic as earlier this year when markets were first selling off on coronavirus fears.

Stocks were also paring their earlier losses, with the S&P 500 more than halving its 1.7% drop from shortly after trading began.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 116 points, or 0.4%, at 27,700, at 10.07am Eastern time, after earlier being down 433 points. The Nasdaq composite was 0.9% lower.

In Europe, stocks also trimmed their losses as the day progressed. Germanys Dax lost 0.7%, and Frances Cac 40 fell 0.4%, while the FTSE 100 in London dropped 0.3%.

Trading in Asia was thin, with markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed. The Nikkei 225 index shed strong early gains to lose 0.7% after the Tokyo Stock Exchange resumed trading following an all-day outage due to a technical failure.

World leaders

World leaders and officials were quick to weigh in, and there was both sympathy and something approaching schadenfreude.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson wished Mr Trump a speedy recovery.

Our best wishes go to the president and the first lady, but it demonstrates that no one is immune from Covid-19 and catching it. So it shows that no matter the precautions, we are all susceptible to this, he said.

Vladimir Putin extended wishes of a speedy recovery to Mr Trump and his wife, expressing sincere support in this difficult moment, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.

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It said the Russian president sent Mr Trump a telegram saying: I hope that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus.

World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted: My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a full and speedy recovery.

The Trump administration in July formally notified the UN of its withdrawal from the WHO next year. Mr Trump claims the UN health agency needs reform and is heavily influenced by China.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted: Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health.

US-India ties have prospered under Mr Trump, and India is seen as a partner to balance Chinas growing weight in Asia.

Mr Trumps secretary of state Mike Pompeo said: We are praying for the president and the first lady and we hope they have a speedy recovery.

He said he and his wife tested negative after they were examined on their plane 20 minutes before landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on Friday. He said it was the fourth time in two weeks he has been tested, and he is reconsidering upcoming travel to Florida on Saturday and Asia starting Sunday as a precaution.

Meanwhile, Mr Biden tweeted his prayers to Mr and Mrs Trump, adding: Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery.

Italian right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini tweeted: In Italy and in the world, whoever celebrates the illness of a man or of a woman, and who comes to wish the death of a neighbor, confirms what he is: An idiot without soul. A hug to Melania and Donald.

Australian agriculture minister David Littleproud, deputy leader of the conservative Nationals party, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp: Our best wishes go to the president and the first lady, but it demonstrates that no-one is immune from Covid-19 and catching it. So it shows that no matter the precautions, we are all susceptible to this.

A trying time, and it just goes to show that a global pandemic can in fact touch anybody, even the president of the United States.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference, did not mention Mr Trumps reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection, but she said the news reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan.

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Global media

Major media across the globe also played up the announcement, with bulletins appearing on TV screens in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei and Beijing.

Chinas official Xinhua News Agency and state broadcaster CCTV both announced the news, but there was no immediate comment from the government in Beijing on Friday, the second day of an eight-day national holiday.

The positive test result for Mr Trump and his wife was the most searched topic in China  after news about the holiday  on the popular social media app Weibo a few hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

One user darkly joked that Mr Trump had finally tweeted something positive.

The Chinese government has bristled at Mr Trumps attempts to blame China, where the disease emerged, for the pandemic, and called for global cooperation in fighting it, a message that has resonated with the public.

Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the Covid-19.

Iranian state television announced Mr Trump had the virus, with an anchor breaking the news alongside an unflattering image of the US president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses.

US-Iranian ties have suffered since Mr Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

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Social media

Social media platforms in Asia were ablaze with quick reaction.

While the uncertainty seemed palpable on a scroll through various nations social media, many of the comments seemed to revel in the announcement.

Here comes a chance for him to actually try out his idea of injecting disinfectant into himself and fighting back (against allegations that) it was fake news! tweeted Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese internet entrepreneur, referring to an idea Mr Trump floated earlier this year for treatment.

Keio University economics professor Masaru Kaneko tweeted that populist leaders, like Mr Johnson and Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, got infected because they tended not to take the coronavirus seriously. The two other leaders seriously tackled (the virus) after they get infected themselves. Will the United States follow their examples?
DALLAS, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) is pleased to announce its panel of judges for the 2020 AGTA Spectrum Awards. This year's judges are:

Michael Johnson, Eiseman Jewels

Monica Kitt, The Arkenstone, Ltd.

Clare Adams Kittle, Clare Adams Kittle Company

Chris Pampillonia, Pampillonia Designs

Ray Zajicek, Equatorian Imports, Inc.

"Entries have been pouring in," said Douglas Hucker, AGTA CEO, "and it appears that we will have a very robust competition this year. In light of the current pandemic conditions, we are so grateful this amazing panel of judges have volunteered their services. They have an outstanding level of expertise in all areas of our industry, and I am excited to see how they work together." Hucker continued, "Producing the competition in today's environment has not been without challenges. Because of the severe restrictions on travel to New York City, we have had to move the competition judging to Dallas. I am very proud of our team that has managed to make these adjustments and still ensure the significance and integrity of the event, and provide a safe environment to do so."

Meet the 2020 AGTA Spectrum Awards Judges:

Michael Johnson, G.G., C.M., Eiseman Jewels

Michael brings 30 years in the jewelry industry to his position as the director of Eiseman's Estate Division. He holds a Graduate Gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America and is a master jeweler, master stone setter, and master hand engraver. Additionally, he has worked with tax and estate attorneys as an industry expert and advisor. With his wide-ranging experience in the fine jewelry industry, Michael is uniquely qualified to value and purchase fine jewelry for Eiseman's growing estate collection.

Michael credits his experience and industry connections for his ability to acquire high-quality estate pieces. "Having been involved in so many segments of the jewelry industry, I have valuable relationships throughout our industry," he said. "This network provides me the opportunity and ability to bring buyers and sellers together to acquire the finest estate jewelry for Eiseman's clientele."

In addition to the above, Michael's skills also extend to project management, product development, advertising, merchandising, and inventory control.

In tandem with the technical side of his expertise, Michael has had the great privilege of sharing his experience and knowledge as a presenter for over 20 years. He has taught or presented in various settings and diverse audiences, including academia, trade organizations, community groups, businesses, motivational speaking, and charitable organizations. The presentations have been on many different subjects such as history, art, gemology, science, jewelry, appraising, and community service.

Monica Kitt, The Arkenstone, Ltd.

Monica's first foray into the mineral and gem world started shortly after her parents began collecting fine minerals and gem crystals. She lived in Shanghai and used her degrees in Business and Mandarin to work in imports. She started to help and advise large government-run Gem and Mineral events while helping Dr. Rob Lavinsky (The Arkenstone) build the business in China. She gradually became more involved in The Arkenstone's activities in China and migrated back to Dallas with the company full-time in 2013.

She has spent these years gaining mineral and gem knowledge and focuses her time with the company on online sales, branding, and planning various trade shows. She also directs the annual Dallas Mineral Collecting Symposium. This event creates a weekend in Dallas that combines an educational lecture series with engaging social events and benefit auctions, drawing hundreds of world-wide attendees from a wide range of disciplines within the industry, and reaching thousands in this first year of live streaming talks. In recent years, Monica has primarily focused on adapting to industry and global changes, focusing heavily on social media outreach.

Monica has a unique perspective in the gem and jewelry industry, having spent a considerable amount of time around some of the world's finest natural crystals and partnering with world-class gem and jewelry experts. This allows her a deep appreciation for the beautiful metamorphosis involved in transforming crystals into wearable works of art.

Clare Adams Kittle, Clare Adams Kittle Company

Having been fascinated with tiny things since childhood, it seemed second nature that Clare would gravitate to miniature expressions of art. Of course, science played into the scheme as well with her love of gemstones and rocks. Clare Kittle gravitated to marketing and advertising for fine jewelers and gemstone dealers all across the country.

Among the many industry clients that Clare has worked for include American Gem Trade Association, Oscar Heyman, Colormasters, and Neiman Marcus, for whom she designed their enormously popular InCircle program.

Clare's passion for gemstones naturally resulted in her gravitating to Tucson in the early '80s to attend the many gem shows, notably the AGTA GemFair. After completing GIA remote courses in Colored Stone and Diamond Grading, she felt she could buy wisely and was interested in purchasing the gemstones for her designs. When purchasing a significant stone or a strand of something she found unusual, more than likely, she already has a design in mind. As she sees it and holds it... the gemstones speak to her!

Clare works primarily in high karat yellow gold, 22 karat predominately, as it's her favorite, the "feel" and look of it. Why not work with what you love?

Chris Pampillonia, Pampillonia Designs

Chris Pampillonia is a sixth-generation jeweler, following in his family's footsteps since the age of 12, he has been making jewelry. His grandmother would sit and string pearls while watching over her grandchildren, and as he grew up, his parents had a jeweler's bench in their kitchen. Chris was hooked.

Pampillonia Designs was started almost 30 years ago in Richardson, Texas, by Chris' parents. Specializing in manufacturing and design, Pampillonia became one of the leading names in the manufacturing industry. Learning from his father how to build, engineer, design, tinker, and create, Chris' career has flourished with these tools as his building blocks. With Chris at the helm and housing over 50 employees, most of them on the bench, Pampillonia Designs manufactures jewelry for the largest luxury brands in the world today.

Chris is a proud dad of two and an avid outdoorsman.

Ray Zajicek, Equatorian Imports

Mr. Ray Zajicek graduated from college in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from the University of North Texas. He founded Equatorian Imports, Inc. while in college in 1968. The company began the importing and sales of gemstones to the American domestic market and has since expanded its clientele to international markets. He is married to his wife Sheila Zajicek and has two sons, Ryan and Monte.

Ray was a founding organizing member of the American Gem Trade Association in 1980. He was instrumental in creating the first-ever AGTA Spectrum Awards in 1983. He also created, researched, and produced the first Confidential Source Directory for AGTA in 1984.

Ray served as the third President of the association. As newly elected President, AGTA successfully brought in-house, produced, and managed the Tucson Gem Show in 1985. This show is still successfully produced and managed by AGTA to this day. He was the co-author of the Jewelers' Information Manual, which catalogs gemstone enhancement of the various gemstones and is currently used by the jewelry industry regarding gemstone enhancement disclosure, to meet Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

Ray has been a member of the Diamond Dealers Club NY since 1982; he was a founding organizing member of ICA in 1985; and he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by ICA in 2005 and the Leon Ritzler Honorary Member Award AGTA in 2014.

Ray is the winner of more than a dozen AGTA Spectrum and Cutting Edge Awards.

The AGTA Spectrum Awards is the world's premier colored gemstone and cultured pearl jewelry design competition with categories in Bridal Wear, Business Day Wear, Classical, Evening Wear, and Men's Wear. The AGTA Spectrum Awards also features the Platinum Honors sponsored by Platinum Guild International and the WJA Gem DIVA Awards sponsored by the Womens Jewelry Association (WJA). The AGTA Cutting Edge Awards honors loose colored gemstones in everything from Classic Gemstones to one-of-a-kind Carvings, Pairs, and Suites to Objects of Art, and the newest category, North American Mined Gemstones. The competition is open to U.S. and Canadian designers and cutters.

The American Gem Trade Association is a notforprofit Association serving the natural colored gemstone and cultured pearl industry since 1981. The AGTA serves the industry as "The Authority in Color" and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Contact:

Kami Swinney

[email protected]

SOURCE American Gem Trade Association

Related Links

http://www.agta.org


Elgin Street, seen here in 2017, is the site of many bars and restaurants in Ottawa. Several unnamed bars and restaurants had to close temporarily due to guests awaiting COVID-19 tests visiting the establishments. (Getty)

A pair of regular bar patrons who went on a bender in Ottawa while they awaited COVID-19 tests are being blamed for the closure of several establishments. The two mens tests eventually came back positive.

Two bar owners said the actions of the men, who are in their mid-40s, have put a lot of people at risk, not to mention the toll its done on business.

Weve been doing everything were supposed to be doing, and then to have two people come in like this and jeopardize that, its crazy, its maddening, one owner told the Ottawa Citizen. The two proprietor spoke to the outlet on condition of anonymity for fear of the effect it would have on their businesses.

In the past week, five restaurants and pubs close to or on Elgin Street, a popular downtown strip, have closed, as staff members await test results. Some of the establishments have since opened or are slated to reopen soon.

One pub, Waller Street Brewing, was forced to close for 14 days after it confirmed that one staff member tested positive for the virus.

The two men in question revealed their positive tests last Friday. One of the problematic patrons, who is a public servant, said hed been tested on Tuesday after being informed hed been in close proximity to someone who tested positive for the virus. On Thursday he found out he also tested positive, after going on a drinking spree along Elgin Street. The two men are known as patrons who do not observe physical distancing. As a result, hundreds of restaurant employees, from cooks to servers, have to isolate and be tested for the virus.

One of the men in question later admitted his fault in a text message.

I made a mistake and now Im trying to find ways to lessen the repurcussions (sic), he wrote. Im scared and I know I made a terrible mistake that has now jeopardized not just myself but my friends and their livelihoods. I never realized the far-reaching consequences of my actions. Not being symptomatic gave me a false sense of security and allowed me to make terrible decisions.

Story continues

While the bar owners declined to identify the customers in question, they guaranteed that they would never be allowed back in their businesses.

I want people to know the difference between bars being responsible and the individuals coming to those bars being responsible, one said. We took all the steps. Weve turned away a tonne of business because people arent safe enough.

Things arent expected to get much better for bar and restaurant owners in Ontario, at least not in the coming weeks. Ottawa, Toronto and Peel, regions considered to be COVID-19 hotspots, are bracing for the possibility of reverting back to Stage 2. That would mean that services are limited to outdoor dining, such as on patios, curbsides, parking lots and adjacent premises. Customers would also only be allowed to access indoor facilities to get to the patio or outdoor dining areas, food pickup, for payments, to use the washrooms or for health and safety purposes.

Currently, all bars and restaurants in the province have a last call of 11:00 p.m. and must close by midnight, with the exception of takeout and delivery. Staff members also must screen all visitors. All strip clubs in Ontario are closed for business.

Earlier this week, Ontarios Health Minister Christine Elliott said the provincial government wants to avoid moving back to Stage 2 unless we absolutely have to.
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
FRANKENMUTH, MI - One of the most successful family-owned restaurants in Michigan, the Bavarian Inn, is known for its old-timey and delicious chicken dinners. They are also making homemade root beer, to the tune of over one hundred gallons a week.

We here at the Bavarian Inn have always prided ourselves on using more Michigan agricultural products than any other restaurant in the world, said Bill Zehnder, Bavarian Inns president. The house-made root beer is just another way to showcase these local Michigan products.

The Bavarian Inns homemade root beer is our pick for Sweet Treat of the Week, a series highlighting people and products from around Michigan who are using Pioneer Sugar in their creations.

Check out our interview below with Zehnder and his main root beer maker, Phoebe Beyerlein. We discuss how to make this special beverage, and the restaurants commitment to buying local.

About 100 gallons of fresh root beer are made every week at the Bavarian Inn.Courtesy Photo, used with permission.

Like many restaurants across Michigan, the Bavarian Inn is operating at 50% capacity. Its difficult times in the restaurant industry, Zehnder said. Weve been here a long time, and there are other ups and downs in the restaurant industry. Well get through this.

One chicken dinner at a time, or possibly, one root beer.

The Bavarian Inn is still run by the Zehnder family. Bought by William Tiny Zehnder in 1950, he and his wife, Dorothy, decided to expand and embrace the Bavarian theme in 1958.

The restaurant is now one of the largest family-owned restaurants in the country.

They still serve their famous chicken dinners here. Get ready for a feast, starting with homemade bread, salads, noodle soup, and then family-style platters of mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and of course chicken. The chicken at Bavarian features a crispy, crackery coating. All meals come complete with a little dish of ice cream or sherbet at the end.

While chicken dinners reign supreme at Bavarian Inn, with close to a million being sold every year, there are a few other items that are a must-try when you visit. We named the Bavarian as one of our favorite bakeries in Michigan, awarding them and next-door neighbors and familial cousins Zehnders, the Dessert Capital of Michigan prize. There are breakfast treats galore here, pastries, and a pretzel not to miss. Now, another not-to-miss item is the root beer.

For now, the root beer is only available on tap at the restaurant and at their food truck, known as the Cluck Truck, but look for it getting packaged in the future.

Root beer brewer Phoebe Beyerlein walked us through her process of making the root beer. She starts with purified water, and then dissolves Pioneer sugar and local honey in it, using a large industrial steamer to do this. She then adds their root beer base and vanilla, kegs it up, and lets it rest in the fridge to allow the flavors to develop. It then gets slightly carbonated, and its ready to serve, whether straight up, or in a root beer float.

Beyerlein is pretty proud to be brewing up the root beer. She is also a server/bartender at the restaurant, and loves telling guests that she made it. Im really excited that everybody enjoys it, she said.

Its homemade, and its from Frankenmuth, Beyerlein said when asked what sets her root beer apart. Everybody loves Frankenmuth.

Fresh root beer is made every week by Bavarian Inn employees. Shown is Phoebe Beyerlein, head root beer maker.Courtesy Photo, used with permission.

Bavarian Inn Restaurant and Lodge

713 S Main St.

Frankenmuth, MI 48734

(800) 228-2742

Facebook

https://bavarianinn.com/

Want to spend a day in fabulous Frankenmuth, and pay a visit to the Bavarian Inn? Weve got you covered with our Michigans Best Day.

You can learn some baking tips from Bavarian Inn legend herself, Dorothy Zehnder, right here.

More Sweet Treat of the Week stories:

A hard seltzer for breakfast

Cops & Doughnuts

Cream & Sugar Ice Cream Company
The blood began flowing before I arrived in California. I first noticed it on a flight from New York to San Francisco, at the point in my pregnancy when the need to pee was near-constant. In the airplane bathroom, I dragged toilet paper across myself and when I looked down, the paper was brown. I peered into the wad and thought, Huh. It seemed weird but explicablewell within the realm of things that can happen in the course of a healthy pregnancy.

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But this wasnt a healthy pregnancy. The slide from brown when I wipe to deluge of blood followed by the plop of a dead baby took seven days. Which was, incidentally, the exact length of the family road trip down the 101 that my miscarriage derailed.

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In sharp contrast to my typical existence, where I can scarcely drink a latte without documenting it, there are few photographs of the week that followed that flight. I think my memory is sharper for it. Photos are so rich that they can crowd out everything else. The photographs become the thing you remember. In their absence, I recall not just a few things about the rental house a few hours south of San Francisco where my miscarriage began, but everything. The way the overhead fan in the room cut the light. The ripples in the wall-to-wall carpet. The thin layer of dust that clung to pearlescent bath beads in a shell-shaped dish next to the bathtub I never used for fear of watching blood spread through the water.

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The day after my husband, mom, brothers, and I convened in Cambria in the summer of 2017, the bleeding picked up. It was almost imperceptible at first. Then brown blood turned red. I texted my doctor relentlessly, expecting her to diagnose me from 3,000 miles away. I rested ice packs on my aching stomach and then worried that I shouldnt. I paused my plan to tell my family the good news that suddenly felt like it was going bad. I retreated to my room, grateful that my husband, Emmett, and I had the master bedroom so I could pace and panic in peace.

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Before the trip, Id planned my outfits carefully. Sandals that evoked Greece. Blue and white stripes reminiscent of the south of France. Flowing dresses that signaled Stevie Nicks. When I unpacked, I hung those dozen or so items in a walk-in closet bigger than my Brooklyn bedroom. I gave every hanger wide berth, at least six inches on each side. Later, when I couldnt bear to talk, to see anyone, or even to be in my own skin, I lay on the carpeting of that closet and spent hours watching the air conditioning vents gently blow my clothes to and fro. My dresses looked like women whod hanged themselves. I let them sway, dying.

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When the pain didnt abate, I scheduled an ultrasound 40 minutes inland in San Luis Obispo. The earliest they could see me was noon, but Emmett and I left at 9 a.m., telling my family we were going to the beach. We drove slowly, listening to 70s soft rock and letting the wind whip through our rental car. We stopped for breakfast at the Madonna Inn, where I drank orange juice from a pink glass goblet and snuck into the mens bathroom to see its famous urinal. Later, in town, Emmett wretched from the smell of thousands of pieces of gum slowly curing on the walls of Bubblegum Alley while I gulped bottles of water to ensure Id have a full bladder for my ultrasound. But I drank too much and needed to pee desperately.

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And so, in a Rite Aid staff bathroom Id wheedled my way into by citing my pregnancy, I discovered that my trickle of blood had turned into a torrent. I bought heavy duty pads from the employee Id just shared my pregnancy news with, and at that moment I felt like she knew more about me than anyone in the whole world.

In spite of it all, we were still early to our appointment. We circled the suburban office park where the imaging center was located, trying to kill time. I cried and chugged water and felt very, very alive. Id never been more alert or on edge. I could feel my lashes tickle my eyelids every time I blinked. I could see the hair on my arm standing upright. I had the sensation of my heart beating all over my bodypulsating in my ears, my neck, my legs.

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Do you think Im stealing the babys strength? I asked Emmett. Like its dying and Im taking its power?

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He looked at me quizzically as I sat hunched and wild-eyed in the passenger seat. You feel powerful right now?

When we walked through the doors of the imaging center, it felt, instantly and overwhelmingly, like the kind of place where you go to get bad news. The waiting room was beige and bare, apart from stacks of pamphlets curling in their acrylic stands. We waited for ages to be called, alone except for a young couple. They came in after usshe visibly pregnant, him visibly twitchyand took two seats as far away from us as possible. It was a completely logical choiceone I employ every day on subways, on park benches, and in restaurantsbut at that moment it struck me as significant. They can smell the stench of loss coming off of us, I thought.

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But I was wrong. Everything pointed one waythe brusque nurse who eventually summoned us, the ice-cold ultrasound jelly, the drawn blinds, and my own intuition. And yet there, visible on the screen that loomed large overhead, was our baby. Alive. With a heartbeat. The nurses mood transformedshe printed us a sonogram photo sweetly titled My First Picture, with a bean-shaped thing labeled Me. As she sent us on our way, into our future as parents, she said something Id later replay in my head hundreds of times, about the baby implanting low inside me. But it was an aside, said casually between broad smiles.

Back in the car, I felt stranger than I ever had. Just as, when Emmett asked me to marry him, Id reflexively repeated Are you serious? a few dozen times, now I kept saying, I cant believe it. And I scarcely could. The horrible pit of worry, the blood and cramps, the collective wisdom of the internetthey all pointed to a miscarriage. But a heartbeat said otherwise.

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Emmett was elated. I love you, I love you, I love you, he said, kissing my hands. Its all going to be all right. I was overwhelmed. I cried tears of joy and confusion and then lay down in the backseat of our rental car. I was in too much pain to sit upright.

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After hours of ignoring my moms inquiring texts, we made plans to meet her and my brothers at a nearby brewery. Emmett resumed driving, slowly this time, stealing happy glances back at me. I watched him through the rearview mirror as each turn and bump brought my head into uncomfortable contact with the door handle. We stopped at a grocery store, where I walked gingerly through over-lit aisles until I found brownie mix and tortilla chips. I forgot to pick them up from the conveyor belt after paying.

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My memories of the hours that followed come in snatches. Of telling my family about the pregnancy, my clearest memory is how loud the traffic from the adjacent highway was, how we had to move inside the brewery from the patio to hear on another. Of our meal, I remember only the cool metal of my chair, how it seemed to seep into me, dulling my radiating cramps. Of the drive back to Cambria, I mostly recall my moms happy chatter about all the childrens books shed buy and all the time shed spend with us in Brooklyn once the baby arrived. I remember suppressing a strong desire to ask her to shut the fuck up.

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Id been searching How do you know if youve had a miscarriage? for a week, and in that instant, I knew.

Back at our rental, the pain continued to worsen. There was so much blood and it was so bright. I soaked through pads in Rorschach patterns. I cried and worried, now mostly alone. My husbands fears had been assuaged by the ultrasound, and he was now in cheerful vacation mode. While he and my family chased photo-ops along Californias central coast, I stayed in. I put on two pads and waddled around, absorbing the profound strangeness of my palatial, 70s-key-party-esque surroundings. I cast my eyes upon the sunken living room, an annex containing nothing but a sheet music stand, an empty knife block, and bouquets of dried flowers. I sprawled on a puffy leather couch and Googled endlessly, in search of an explanation for my current situation. I found comforting words to mollify myself.

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The next day, we resumed our road trip, driving south toward Los Angeles. By then my pain had calmed and the bleeding had slowed, so when I stopped in Santa Barbara to have my pregnancy hormone levels tested, I was seeking reassurance rather than readying myself for the worst. I hoped that in 48 hours, the clinic would call my doctor who would call me to say that everything was fine. That this baby would somehow come through all of this intact.

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My blood, as usual, was hard to draw, and I apologized to the nurse about it. If youre always this tough a stick, she joked, its going to be a long pregnancy. I wanted to laugh along with her, but I couldnt. Id lost the privilege of even half-believing that the worst thing that could happen to me while pregnant was enduring bad blood draws. The test results would later reveal my pregnancy hormone levels had dropped precipitously. It was already over then; I just didnt know it.

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The next morning, in Venice Beach, I woke up early to go to the bathroom. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I peered down into my pad and saw, as if it was materializing before my eyes, a piece of something odd. It was flat, a few inches long, the texture of the inside of my lip, and blue-gray once I rinsed the blood from it. I took a picture and opened a browser window on my phone. The internet was gut-wrenchingly unanimous.

I shook Emmett to wake him, and he later told me that my expression said everything. We slipped wordlessly out of our apartment and into a beautiful day, all chirping birds and vine-covered trellises and sand clinging to our shoes. I called my doctors office back in New York to schedule an emergency ultrasound in L.A. and waited on hold while Emmett kissed my hand again, this time in a show of stunned support. I cried behind my Ray-Bans while watching skateboarders do tricks in a smooth sunken pool, its glossy concrete reflecting light like a mirage.

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When I hung up the phone, I turned to Emmett: I have to pee.

So we returned to our rental, suddenly just as foreboding as the last one. I pushed past my mom, who stood in the kitchen trying to catch my eye, and beelined for the bathroom. I was sitting on the toilet when the baby fell out of me. It was so obviousa small, balloonlike sac, bright red and kind of perfect-looking. Id been searching How do you know if youve had a miscarriage? for a week, and in that instant, I knew.

As I wrapped my dead baby in toilet paper and set it atop a mound of pad wrappers in the wastebasket next to me, I thought back to the nurses offhand comment. Had my baby always been riding low in my uterus? Or had we simply seen it as it was inching toward the exit, struggling to cling to life as it was drawn down and out?

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An hour later, we had a short, wordless ultrasound, and six hours after that we got a call from my doctor confirming that the pregnancy was, in fact, over. They didnt see anything in there, she said, and something about her tone made me wonder if she doubted the existence of the pregnancy in the first place.

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In the time between the barren sonographers screen and that call, I saw Los Angeles with a different set of eyes. All the sun-bleached strangeness had come to roost in my head. Emmett and I drove through the citys less celebrated corridors, saw sites that matched my mood, and barely talked to each other. In Inglewood, I took the typical photo of Randys Donuts. In Los Feliz, I sucked down a malted milkshake while trying to unsubscribe from the many pregnancy mailing lists Id signed up for. In Griffith Park, we oozed uphill through heavy traffic toward the Tesla coil. And in Watts, we stood at the base of 100-foot-tall towers of rebar wrapped in wire mesh and studded with mosaic tiles. It felt right, somehow, to be experiencing this odd and terrible event in this place.

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All day Id imagined myself hearing the wordsthe baby didnt make iton a bluff overlooking the ocean, on the beach, or in the shadows of Laurel Canyons rocky roadsbut I didnt have the stamina to keep circling the city. So after a few hours we returned to our rental and curled up in bed. Maybe the news would have been less devastating elsewhere, but here, it ricocheted off the walls, smacking me repeatedly with pangs of fresh pain. Emmett held me, and we cried in unison as the sun set. Then my mom replaced Emmett, and she held me too, crying with me until the room grew cold with night.

Later that evening, I asked Emmett to remove our baby from the wastebasket in the bathroom, to take it to the trash cans outside. He did it without protest or question, but later I wondered if it was the right choice. Maybe it would have been kinder to flush it? Perhaps it would somehow have been possible to keep it? That night, I dreamt of my baby being dredged from a sewage pit, eaten from the garbage by a cat, and floating eerily in a Mason jar full of solution. Sometimes I still do.
Early Friday morning, when the world learned that both President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump had been diagnosed with COVID-19, I went to bed with one question on my mind: How would Fox News cover the story the next day?

The network has been a key vector for bad coronavirus information all year. From initially claiming that COVID-19 was basically just the flu, to touting hydroxychloroquine as a remedy without any compelling scientific evidence for the claim, to amplifying the presidents sneering disdain for masks, state and regional shutdowns, and his own administrations health experts, Fox News personalities speaking to the networks vast and elderly audience have surely helped make the pandemic worse than it otherwise might have been. Now that their beloved leader has been hit by the virus, how would they react? By 9 a.m. Friday, after watching Fox & Friends, I had my answer: by pandering to the president, incessantly referencing hydroxychloroquine, and somehow still finding a way to make the story about Joe Biden, the Democrats, and the sickos in the liberal media.

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Trumps diagnosis was the only story that Fox & Friends covered on Friday, but the potential leadership vacuum left by an ill executive was hardly on the anchors minds. After noting that the presidents case of COVID appeared mild, citing a statement from Trumps personal physician, co-host Steve Doocy came around to the real story: It is unclear whether or not Joe Biden even knows this has happened yet, because famously, out on the trail, he has said a number of times, I get up at 8. You got to wonder whether or not his aides woke him up early to tell him the news.

Well, you have a good point, Steve, correspondent Griff Jenkins responded. Its interesting: [Its] now after 6 a.m. on the East Coast and the former vice president has not responded. No statement, no Twitter. Even now, the message was that slugabed Biden is hardly a match for our vigorous president, who gets up with the crows (to spend many, many hours watching morning television each day).

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Next came Fox News medical contributor Marc Siegel, who reassured viewersespecially the programs most important viewerthat the presidents lack of comorbidities, such as diabetes or heart disease, bode well for his recovery, despite his age and his obesity. To be clear, Trump does have moderate heart disease, and Siegels assessment of his health was, to be generous, rosy. Anyway, the Friends wanted to know about possible pharmaceutical remedies. What about the fact that the president had at one point been taking hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic measure? Would that impact anything?

Fox's Dr. Marc Siegel on hydroxychloroquine: "Research has not really backed that up" as a covid treatment but "I don't think it's ever been ruled out. We're in the middle of a pandemic here. Things are going at lightning speed." pic.twitter.com/xZb8Ai93Bg  Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) October 2, 2020

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Even now, Fox News still just cant let go of Trumps favorite discredited miracle cure.

Well, listen, Steve, I think early in the pandemic we all thought that that was a really good treatment, Siegel said. (We did not all think that.) As time has gone on, research has not really backed that up. But its still being used in many places around the world with zinc. And I would have to tell you honestly, I dont think its ever been ruled out. (A recent study showed that the drug did not show any benefit versus placebo in reducing coronavirus infection among healthcare workers, according to Reuters.)

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Later, we heard from Dr. Qanta Ahmed, from NYU Langone Medical Center, who advocated blasting the president with remdesivir while also noting that Trump is constitutionally incredibly strong. He operates more like a 45-year-old than a 74-year-old in terms of his stamina. He has no underlying comorbidities. He will naturally resolve this quickly. Ahmed also suggested the presidents early dabbles with hydroxychloroquine may well have conferred him some protection and that hydroxychloroquine has been unfairly vilified. It is remarkable that even now, after most rational people have decided Trumps early fixation with hydroxychloroquine was bizarre and possibly suspect, Fox News still just cant let go of this discredited miracle cure.

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At the top of the 7 a.m. hour, Doocy recapped the headlines for viewers who were just tuning in and reiterated that we do not know at almost 7 Eastern time whether or not Joe Biden has been told that the president tested positive for COVID. You know, the president and first lady sent out tweets in the 1 a.m. hour, and Joe Biden has famously said out on the campaign trail that he doesnt get up until 8 in the morning. So, its interesting. (It was not!)

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Fox & Friends is the presidents favorite show, in part because the three hosts spend much of each program talking directly to him. The synergy loop between Trump and the shows three hosts has been well documented, and the stories on any given episode of Fox & Friends can set the presidents Twitter agenda for hours thereafter. You cant really say that Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade use their power wisely or responsibly, but they do use it. At one point on Friday, Doocy and Earhardt also lobbied hard for a check-in call from the programs most famous viewer. I wouldnt be surprised, though, if the president did phone in something today or put something else on Twitter, said Earhardt.

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He knows our number, said Doocy.

Exactly, Earhardt said. Because, just to assure the American people. Trump didnt take the baithe hasnt been heard from in daylight hours on Friday, even on Twitterand the program soon turned to another favorite pastime: giving airtime to hacky Trump cheerleaders.

On Fox News, almost all criticism of the president is inevitably interpreted as a sign of moral depravity on the part of his critics. I was disappointedgenuinely disappointedto see the glee with which some people responded to this news, said Fox contributor Mollie Hemingway later. There is a proper way to respond to this news. For people who pray, it is a good time to pray. You should be praying for your world leaders, your leader of your country every day, but this is a good time to do it.

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Such affected incredulity over the mainstream medias purportedly unfair treatment of Trump was a theme throughout the morning. Germ truther Pete Hegseth echoed Hemingway soon thereafter, shaking his head at the gall of those people who have expressed schadenfreude on Twitter. Would you expect anything else at this point? Hegseth asked. The level of hatred for this president that they have has dehumanized him. Cue the wild conspiracies at this point. Cue the rabbit trails. Cue the vitriol. Hegseth also noted that people who attended Trump rallies made their own risk calculation as human beings who can make choices as free individuals to go to a rally to wear a mask or not. There will be conversations about that. I get it. But I like respecting people, and the president has respected people at every turn in this case. (He has not!)

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Chris Wallace, who came on the show in the 8 a.m. hour, had a different stance on the mask matter. Wallace noted that, at Tuesdays debate in Cleveland, the Biden side of the room wore masks while Trumps family did noteven after staffers from the Cleveland Clinic came up and offered the Trumps masks, in case theyd forgotten to bring them. There was no sign during the debate of any problems with the president in terms of his health, but it is worth noting that different people treated the safety rules inside the hall differently, Wallace said, and the Friends let him say it.

Wallace is one of the few hosts in the networks stable who is consistently free to deviate from the networks standard positions on any given issue. Geraldo Rivera also fits into this loose cannon category, and as soon as he came on Fox & Friends Friday morning, he noted that,politically, there will be scorn heaped on the president, as soon as he is out of danger, about his cavalier attitude toward masks. Rivera then essentially decided to speak directly to the president.

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I want the president of the United States to take a break. Take a break, for goodness sake, said Rivera. We want you to get better. We dont want you holding, you know, little pocket campaign rallies. I think the American people would look at that askance. It was good, sound adviceso of course Kilmeade disagreed with it.

Geraldo, youve got it wrong, Kilmeade said, creating a little angel-devil dichotomy jockeying for position in Trumps eardrums. He argued that asymptomatic COVID patientsTrump was assumed to be one Friday morningcould actually get a lot done as long as they stayed away from people during their infection. I think theres no reason to isolate and not do anything if youre OK, Kilmeade said.

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Geraldo lost it: This disease kills old people, Brian. Period. And if you take it in a way that Oh, I can handle this cause Im a tough guy, then shame on you. I want him to be prudent now. Enough about, you know, I have a mask in my pocket. Why wasnt the mask on your face, Mr. President?

It was a question too difficult for the three hosts to answer, which is perhaps why they chose to wash away Riveras words with a visit from congressional motormouth Jim Jordan, the Ohio representative who earlier this week had flown on Air Force One with Trump. Jordan reminded everyone of the real issue here: Joe Bidens ongoing silence on Donald Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis. Look, it doesnt surprise me that he hasnt said anything for 12 hours, Jordan said. He goes days after days where hell close his campaign down first thing in the morning. I think he gets up, has a cup of coffee, and then calls it a day. The president might have COVID-19, but Joe Biden is a lazy bum. Take that, Democrats!

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By the time the Friends were ready to sign off for the day, the narrative theyd been peddling had taken a turn. Doocy noted that, according to the New York Times, the president is said to have minor symptoms, meaning that he was not actually asymptomatic, as had been the programs assumption. Still, Kilmeade hastened to praise the presidents preternaturally robust immune system, noting that Trump hasnt had a cold since entering politics several years ago. Im certain hes had a cold in the last four to five years, said Fox contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier. (In response, Kilmeade blinked.) That being said, Saphier continued, its great news going forward right now. I have every feeling of optimism that he is gonna get through this just fine. Just like every morning, from their mouths to Trumps ears.
The Pakistani establishment is exploiting the death of 11 migrant Hindus from that country in India to further its anti-India propaganda and a staged protest was held in Islamabad recently by people who claimed to belong to the Hindu community, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

Eleven members of a family of Pakistani Hindu migrants were found dead at a farm in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district in August. The family, belonging to the Bhil community, had come to India from Pakistan's Sindh province in 2015 on a long-term visa. They had been living at the Lodta village farm, which they had hired for farming, for the past six months.

Asked about reports of a protest against India near the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said it is the responsibility of the Pakistani authorities to ensure the safety and security of the Indian High Commission and its personnel.

"There was this incident of the death of 11 migrant Pakistani Hindus which was reported to us on August 8. We also received a communication from High commission requesting confirmation of media reports and other details," Srivastava said.

"What we did was we sought facts from concerned authorities and an interim response was shared with the high commission on August 15 including names of 11 persons and other relevant details," he said at an online media briefing.

Srivastava said the ministry also informed that these people were in India since September 2015 as per records and the cause of death was due to consumption of a toxic substance and that detailed investigations were being carried out.

"Unfortunately, what has happened is that this incident has been exploited by the Pakistani establishment to further its own anti-India propaganda. A staged protest was held in Islamabad ostensibly by people who claimed to belong to the Hindu community," he said.

On the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, Srivastva said, "We remain in touch with through diplomatic channels on this matter and as I have said earlier needs to respect the ICJ judgment in letter and spirit which includes provision of all related documents as well as providing unimpeded consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav.

"Asked about the Kerala gold smuggling case, he said India and the UAE have close friendly relations and the Gulf country has been extending all cooperation on the matter. On the MoU signed between the state government and a UAE NGO, he said the ministry was looking at the legal angle.

(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.)
Her year began in Florida, then wound through Louisiana, Arkansas, California, Kentucky and New York.

Name a state thats held a major horse race this year, and Swiss Skydiver has probably run there. No matter what trainer Kenny McPeek has thrown at her, she seems undaunted.

She likes to run, she likes to train and she likes to eat, McPeek said. Usually, racehorses, when theyre feeling some fatigue, will back out of the feed tub. But shes been very consistent. Shes kind of a throwback horse and all year, shes kept taking us to the next race to the next race to the next race. She loves what she does.

Which is why he felt comfortable bringing her to Baltimore, not for the all-filly Black-Eyed Susan Stakes but to challenge the boys in the Preakness.

We could have run in the Black-Eyed Susan, McPeek said. We probably would have been heavily favored, and she probably would have galloped home. But I dont know what that would have added to her resume. Looking at the past performances, she fits against the colts.

Swiss Skydiver is the 55th filly to run in the Preakness and the first since 2014, when Ria Antonia finished last, 31 lengths back of California Chrome. In 2009, Rachel Alexandra went off as the favorite and became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness on her way to American Horse of the Year honors.

She had something to prove, and I felt she proved it emphatically, trainer Steve Asmussen said in the wake of that victory.

Though fillies are often treated as exotic entries to the Triple Crown races, McPeek said he doesnt see Swiss Skydivers Preakness appearance as such a big deal. He noted that in Europe, top female horses routinely run and win against the boys.

They dont even blink about it, he said. Obviously, [fillies] have to show theyre that talented. We just tend, in American racing, not to do it.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who will saddle Kentucky Derby champion Authentic for the Preakness, said hes occasionally tempted to enter his best fillies in the Triple Crown series. He ran one of his greatest female champions, Silverbulletday, in the 1999 Belmont Stakes only to regret his decision when she faded to seventh after leading much of the 1 1/4 u00bd-mile race. He still believes he cost her Horse of the Year honors by throwing her in to the third leg of the Triple Crown.

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I think theres a certain time you can do it, he said. It depends on your horse, if you have a big, strong horse, or something like that.

McPeek acknowledged that he probably would have entered Swiss Skydiver in a Grade 1 race for 3-year-old fillies if one had been available around this time on the calendar.

Though her record in graded stakes is comparable to or better than those of the top male competitors in the Preakness field, Swiss Skydiver is a 6-1 co-third choice in the morning line. She lost to one of the colts shell face, Art Collector, by 3 1/4 u00bd lengths in the July 11 Blue Grass Stakes.

McPeek was not discouraged by what he saw that day, when his filly beat every other male in the field. He felt she was burned out by a fast early pace and had no juice at the finish against a horse with a lot of speed and a lot of talent.

Given a more measured pace, he believes Swiss Skydiver could challenge Art Collector and morning-line favorite Authentic, who likes to sprint to an early lead.

McPeek was also undaunted by Swiss Skydivers runner-up finish to Shedaresthedevil in the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks.

She ran her race. She always does, he said. I was disappointed in the ride. I thought [jockey Tyler Gaffalione] should have stayed inside. If hed stayed inside, she would have won the race.

McPeek began training 35 years ago and broke out with his first Grade 1 winner, Tejano Run, in 1994. Known as a creative thinker (he began studying pedigree at age 11) and a voluble presence at the track, he loves nothing better than winning a big race with an overlooked horse. He took the 2002 Belmont Stakes with 70-1 longshot Sarava, and his best Preakness finish came in 2017, when Senior Investment ran third as a 30-1 shot.

I read a book many years ago called Bag the Elephant, he said. It talks about your approach to life, and the gist was that if youre a lion and you hunt mice every day, you can starve to death. But if you bag one elephant, you eat for a long time.

Hence his fearless approach to entering races such as the Preakness.

McPeek shares his passion for bargain hunting with Swiss Skydivers owner, Peter Callahan, whom he regards as a father figure. He bought the filly on Callahans behalf for a mere $35,000 at the September 2018 yearling sale at Keeneland. Then he talked her up throughout 2019, even as an ankle injury delayed her debut until November. She started slowly in that race but rallied to win by 5 1/4 u00bd lengths, offering a hint of what was to come.

Callahan, a former owner of the National Enquirer among other publications, named her after he glimpsed a photo of his granddaughter parachuting over the Swiss Alps. The future champion was sired by Daredevil, so the moniker fit a theme.

The filly has proved to be just as great an adventurer as the granddaughter. In an era when trainers tend to move and race their elite horses sparingly, Swiss Skydiver shows up everywhere and runs hard, no matter the circumstances. Her eight races this year put the totals of Art Collector and Authentic to shame. Shell be under her sixth different jockey of 2020, Robby Alabarado, in the Preakness.

McPeek and Callahan clearly get a kick out of watching her go. Shes made a difficult year more bearable.

I cant tell you how proud of her I am, McPeek said, adding that if Swiss Skydiver pulls off a Preakness upset followed by a planned entry in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, she would merit serious Horse of the Year consideration. I dont know how many horses have campaigned as much or as far or as wide, but I dont think theres anybody whos even close.

145TH PREAKNESS STAKES

At Pimlico Race Course

Saturday, 5:45 p.m.

TV: Chs. 11, 4 (coverage begins at 4:30 p.m.)

Post; Horse; Jockey; Odds

1; Excession; Sheldon Russell; 30-1

2; Mr. Big News; Gabriel Saez; 12-1

3; Art Collector; Brian Hernandez Jr.; 5-2

4; Swiss Skydiver; Robby Albarado; 6-1

5; Thousand Words; Florent Geroux; 6-1

6; Jesus' Team; Jevian Toledo; 30-1

7; NY Traffic; Horacio Karamanos; 15-1

8; Max Player; Paco Lopez; 15-1

9; Authentic; John Velazquez; 9-5

10; Pneumatic; Joe Bravo; 20-1

11; Liveyourbeastlife; Trevor McCarthy; 30-1



2020 The Baltimore Sun

Visit The Baltimore Sun at www.baltimoresun.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Nurses attend a candlelight vigil for nurse Celia Marcos outside Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles Wednesday. Marcos died from the coronavirus. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The California agency that oversees workplace safety has issued a $57,120 fine to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center after a nurse died from COVID-19, one of the largest employer penalties handed out during the pandemic.

Californias Division of Occupational Safety and Health began investigating the Los Angeles hospital after the death of charge nurse Celia Marcos in April. The Times previously reported that Marcos raced into the room of a COVID-19 patient without proper protective gear. She died 14 days later.

The Cal/OSHA citations, dated Sept. 25, do not reference Marcos by name. But the investigators found unsafe exposures among staff on April 3, the date that Marcos was exposed, according to Times reporting. The OSHA report also refers to a staff member who died April 17, the date of Marcos' death.

The fine "affirms what we've known for a long time," said Adriane Carrier, director of education for SEIU121RN, the hospital's nurses union. "This hospital, like so many, did not do due diligence to protect its workers."

Cited for multiple violations including unsafely reusing masks and gowns, Hollywood Presbyterian is one of several healthcare facilities in California recently fined by Cal/OSHA for not keeping workers safe from COVID-19. Others include Sutter Health's California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, though none has been fined in amounts this great.

Hollywood Presbyterian officials say they will appeal the citation. Officials maintain that any deficiencies identified by Cal/OSHA were not the cause of Marcos' death and that it is still unknown how she contracted COVID-19.

"While we are disappointed in the Cal/OSHA findings, we will continue to work very hard at prioritizing workplace and patient safety," they said in an email to The Times.

Marcos, 61, had worked at Hollywood Presbyterian for 16 years. In April, she covered the night shift overseeing a ward that took coronavirus patients when designated COVID units were full.

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Because her floor wasnt primarily for COVID patients, N95 masks werent regularly given to staff and instead preserved for those exclusively treating COVID patients, staff say.

So when a suspected COVID-19 patient admitted to Marcos' floor began to struggle to breathe on April 3, she raced in with just a surgical mask  and stayed in the room for at least 30 minutes while he was intubated, staff say.

Cal/OSHA's report found that during an intubation procedure on a suspected COVID-19 patient on April 3, one employee wore a surgical mask while the other wore an N95. But because of the high-risk nature of the procedure, both should have been wearing powered air-purifying respirators, battery-operated masks that filter out dangerous particles, investigators wrote. Additionally, at least one staffer also was not given eye protection during the procedure, another violation.

At the very least, all staff assigned to treat COVID-19 patients should have been provided N95s to enter rooms even when high-risk procedures were not being conducted, but they were not, the investigation found. The failure to provide the correct masks resulted in a $16,875 fine.

Hospital staff interviewed by The Times as well as text messages sent by Marcos and reviewed by The Times identified the patient she treated as a man who had COVID-19 and was exhibiting symptoms. Hospital administrators, however, say that the patient Marcos responded to did not have COVID-19, so it remains unclear how she contracted the virus.

The hospital "could not determine that her COVID-19 illness was contracted at work, especially given the ample controls the hospital has in place, including but not limited to universal masking, stringent screening of patients and staff, disinfection, ventilation," they wrote in a statement. "Meanwhile, COVID-19 was and still is widespread in the community."

The Cal/OSHA investigators also cited the hospital for not reporting Marcos' death to OSHA or the local health department and not notifying staff she worked with of their potential exposure.

The investigation also identified a litany of other COVID-19 safety problems, including: improper reuse of N95 masks; not fit-testing the masks for staff to make sure they worked properly; not having enough disinfectant supplies for staff to clean high-touch surfaces; not having a complete plan for how to protect staff from aerosolized transmission of viruses and asking staff to hang their gowns on hooks outside patient rooms to be reused, which increased the possibility of contaminating the gowns with germs.

Jamie Court, head of nonprofit Consumer Watchdog, said that given the long list of violations and their severity, the fines don't go far enough.

"It's shocking," he said. "If you dont provide masks to your employees, you fail to report their deaths to state authorities and dont tell other healthcare workers theyre at risk, those are potentially criminal activities, in my view, when youre dealing with a virus as lethal as coronavirus."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
In view of the pandemic, Panjab University has decided against conducting entrance exams for admission to the five-year integrated law course run by University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS), and the three-year bachelor of legislative law (LLB) course run by the department of laws, this year.

The renewed decision was taken by PU on Saturday. A recommendation to that effect was also made by a special panel of the university on Thursday.

Earlier, the decision to scrap the entrance exams was taken on August 11, but was challenged by two law aspirants, who argued that the premise to not hold the entrance was invalid when PU was conducting such exams for other courses. Class-12 marks as a sole criterion for determining the suitability of a candidate for admission to the course would neither be reasonable nor reliable, they had argued.

The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) had asked PU to reconsider its decision by September 15. However, PU again decided against holding the exam, which has resulted in the second round of litigation.

PU on Tuesday had sought three days from the high court to reconsider the decision again and upload its decision on the website.

No entrance tests this year

According to a compliance report uploaded on the varsitys website on Saturday, the controller of examination said the special committee set up by the vice-chancellor had recommended that entrance examination for BA LLB/ BCom LLB (honors) five-year integrated course and LLB (three-year) will not be conducted for this academic session. The same stands approved by the Panjab University.

PU has already scrapped the entrance tests for all undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil, PhD, honours graduate courses, management entrance test.

Exam not feasible

In view of the prevalent situation, it is not feasible to conduct the entrance examination for admissions to five-year and three-year law courses in the best interest of students and public at large, stated the proceedings of the panel.

The panel also observed that as per UGC directions, if admissions are not completed by the end of October 2020, the university will be left with no option except to declare 2020-21 as zero academic year.
From the Boston Tea Party to Black Lives Matter, Stacker looks at some of the most famous American protests and how they impacted the United States.
Men suspected of being affiliated with the Islamic State group in a prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh in 2019

The US Justice Department said Thursday that it brought home 27 Americans who went to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State group, as Washington again urged other nations to do the same.

A day after filing charges against a Trinidadian-American father and son who enlisted in the Islamic State in 2015, the department said it had brought criminal terrorism support cases against some of those returning Americans.

Washington has said it is setting an example for other countries, notably Britain and France, who have resisted repatriating perhaps hundreds of their nationals from Iraq and Syria.

"This was our moral responsibility to the American people and to the people of the countries to which these terrorists traveled," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers in a statement.

The 27 represent only a portion of the hundreds of Americans and thousands of citizens of other countries who, often with their families, enlisted in the Islamic State as it undertook a bloody campaign to establish its "caliphate" across Syria and Iraq six years ago.

Many remain in camps in Syria under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Demers said that they had repatriated all 27 "against whom we have charges," suggesting there could still be more, as cases are built against them. He did not offer details on the accusations.

- Foreign fighters problem -

After wrestling with whether to abandon US "foreign fighters" for Islamic State in the region or to move them to the US military's Guantanamo prison camp, Washington decided two years ago to try them in federal courts.

Those charged with "material support of a designated terrorist group" include Kazakhstan-born, naturalized US citizen Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, 44, who was called an IS sniper and weapons trainer.

Also charged was Texas-born Omer Kuzu, who as a 17-year-old went to Syria with his brother in 2014 and worked as an IS communications specialist before his capture last year.

Some US allies have balked at bringing home their nationals.

London has refused to try El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, two men from Britain who are tied to murders of US and British journalists and aid workers as part of a notorious Islamic State kidnapping cell dubbed The Beatles.

Instead, Washington is now preparing the transfer them to the United States for trial.

Washington has been pressing hard the repatriation issue, vetoing on August 31 UN resolution pushed by Indonesia on handling foreign fighters because it didn't demand countries act to take back their own.

On Thursday the State Department praised Italy for repatriating one of its citizens to stand trial for supporting Islamic State.

"Repatriating and prosecuting terrorists is the most effective way to keep them from returning to the battlefield," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

- Terror politics -

A line of women to receive aid at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria where families of Islamic State foreign fighters are held

"The United States should get credit for practicing what it preaches in regards to bringing back citizens to face justice," said Seamus Hughes of the George Washington University Program on Extremism.

But he added that the "material support" statute used by US authorities has a "comparatively easier threshold" for charges and convictions that laws in Europe.

Moreover, he said, the number of European foreign fighters is far higher than Americans, and so a much larger challenge.

Some US material support cases have been criticized for overzealousness.

One of the earliest, Samantha Marie Elhassani, was charged in Chicago federal court with material support for a designated terrorist group in 2018.

But she claimed that she and her two children were forced to go to the Syrian warzone in 2015 by her husband.

Her lawyers were able to get a reduced charge, providing financial support for the terror group, because she admitted carrying money to Hong Kong for her husband. But she still faces a possible 10 year prison sentence.

"For the politics of the war on terror, they have to somehow turn them into ISIS members," said Thomas Durkin, a Chicago attorney in the Elhassani case, said of some Justice Department cases.
Mumbai, Oct 2 : Even six months after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the murder case of rationlist Narendra Dabholkar, recovered the weapon suspected to be used in the crime from the Arabian Sea, the federal agency is yet to get the ballistic test report from the forensic team.

According to highly-placed CBI sources, the agency has asked the laboratory to expedite its testing on the weapon that was recovered by foreign divers from Thane creek in Maharashtra's Thane district.

"We have asked the laboratory to submit the details of the ballistic report of the weapon that was recovered from the creek at the earliest," a source said, adding that once the laboratory reports come, it will ease the work of the agency as it will ascertain whether the weapon recovered from the creek was the one used in the crime.

The CBI team had recovered the weapon in March this year, after hiring a foreign sea explorer agency to search for and recover the firearm used in the killing of Dabholkar.

The CBI earlier claimed in a Pune court that one of the accused shooters, Sharad Kalaskar, dismantled the firearm used in the crime and threw it into the creek.

"A weapon has been recovered during the search operation, but whether it is related to the crime or not will only be confirmed after the ballistic report from the forensic laboratory," a CBI official had said in March.

Dabholkar, 67, who was chief of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), was gunned down near his Pune residence while on a morning walk on August 20, 2013.

The CBI has registered a case on June 2, 2014, following the Bombay High Court's May 9, 2014 direction.

Five years after Dabholkar's killing, the agency made the first breakthrough arrest of the alleged shooters - Sachin Andure on August 18, 2018 from Aurangabad and Kalaskar from Palghar on September 3, 2018.

Following their interrogation, the name of Virendrasingh Tawde, arrested earlier in another case, came to light as the conspirator in the Dabholkar murder.

The CBI also arrested advocate Sanjeev Punalekar, who allegedly advised Kalaskar to destroy the firearms used in the crime.

Punalekar, before his arrest, had represented members of the Sanatan Sanstha and other activists in various cases in courts.

The CBI earlier claimed in the Pune court that during the investigation, it came to light that in June 2018, Kalaskar visited Punalekar's chamber in Mumbai where he revealed his role in the killing of Dabholkar, and was told to destroy the firearms used in the killings, including of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru.

The agency also told the court that on July 23, 2018 that Kalaskar dismantled four country-made pistols, by taking out barrels and sliders, and threw them from a bridge into the Thane creek while on way to Nallasopara in Palghar from Pune.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)
Global investment firm TPG will inject Rs 1,837.5 crore in the retail division of Reliance Industries (RIL) for a 0.41 percent stake, marking the seventh investment in recent weeks as global investor interest in the company ascends by the day.

The latest investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore, RIL said in a late night statement (October 3), moments after it announced that Singapore investment company GIC will invest Rs 5,512.5 crore in the company.

TPG is making the investment from its TPG Capital Asia fund.















Reliance Retail has so far raised Rs 32,197.5 crore from a clutch of global investors in exchange for a combined 7.28 percent stake.















This marks the second investment by TPG in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, after a Rs 4,546.8 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, TPG has a proven track record of being a valuable partner to global technology businesses and industry leaders and we look forward to their guidance and support in our journey.

Jim Coulter, Co-CEO, TPG, said, Reliance Industries has utilised technology and scale to position Reliance Retail as an incredibly strong, well-organized, and innovative leader. We are excited to join with them as they seek to create a more inclusive retail industry that allows kiranas and Indian consumers to benefit from the connectivity, efficiency, and accessibility of the Reliance Retail omnichannel platform.

On October 2, Singapore investment company GIC said it will invest Rs 5,512.5 crore in exchange for 1.22 percent stake.

On October 1, Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co said it will invest Rs 6,247.5 crore to secure 1.4 percent in the retail unit of RIL.

This investment  with Silver Lake's co-investors and General Atlantic, the seventh in three weeks  too valued Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore.

Reliance Retail operates India's largest, fastest growing and most profitable retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its nearly 12,000 stores nationwide.

TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with more than $83 billion of assets under management across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth equity, real estate and public equity.

Over TPGs nearly 30-year history, the firm has built an ecosystem made up of hundreds of portfolio companies and a value-added network of professionals, executives, and advisors around the world. By offering institutional support and global resources, TPG enables these companies to reach their full potential and unlock greater possibilities.

Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Retail and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels.
PARIS - News that the worlds most powerful man was infected with the worlds most notorious disease dominated screens large and small, drawing shock, sympathy and some barbs for President Donald Trump.

The outpouring from world leaders and flagging markets Friday left little doubt that Trumps illness will have global implications  even if theyre still unknown. Trumps announcement on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus prompted a multitude of responses on the same platform, as well as others.

The positive test reading adds to investors worries, especially about its effect on the Nov. 3 election between the Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. stock futures and most world markets fell on the news as did the price of oil.

From India to Qatar to Mexico, world leaders were quick to offer official sympathy from the top, many in the form of tweets directly to Trump, while something approaching schadenfreude bubbled up from elsewhere. Trump is the most prominent on a growing list of powerful people who have contracted the virus, including many who were skeptical of the disease. Among his well-wishers were at least two who have recovered from the illness.

Im sure that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in a direct message to Trump released by the Kremlin.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a full and speedy recovery. The Trump administration in July formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from WHO, although the pullout wont take effect until next year. Trump claims the U.N. health agency is in need of reform and is heavily influenced by China. The U.N. secretary-general also sent in best wishes.

Italian right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini tweeted: In Italy and in the world, whoever celebrates the illness of a man or of a woman, and who comes to wish the death of a neighbour, confirms what he is: An idiot without soul. A hug to Melania and Donald.?

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized for a week in April after he contracted COVID-19, wished Trump a speedy recovery.

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who also recently recovered from a serious bout with coronavirus, has sent a message to Trump and the first lady extending his best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I know this illness from direct experience, that can manifest itself also in an insidious way, but which can be overcome with correct and courageous behaviour,? Berlusconi said in a message.

Dr. Bharat Pankhania, who advises Johnsons government on communicable disease control, said he hopes that Trumps positive test sends a message.

We need politicians, especially politicians like President Trump who has a lot of power and influence, to take this seriously and to support their scientists and clinicians in leading the outbreak management, rather than have political influence in trying to deny that this virus is in circulation and drag your feet around control measures because it suited your agenda.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference, did not mention Trumps reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection, but she said the news reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan.

Major media across the globe played up the announcement, with bulletins crawling across TV screens in Paris and Rome, Seoul and Beijing.

To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, Rabobank said in a commentary. Everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this U.S. election campaign.

Chinas official Xinhua News Agency flashed the news, and an anchor on state broadcaster CCTV announced it. Late Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying tweeted that she was saddened to learn President and the First Lady of the US tested positive. Hope they both have a speedy recovery and will be fine.

The positive test result was the most searched topic in China on the widely used social media app Weibo for hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

One user darkly joked that Trump had finally tweeted something positive.

The Chinese government has bristled at Trumps attempts to blame China, where the disease emerged, for the pandemic and called for global co-operation in fighting it. Its a message that has resonated with the public.

Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with whom Trump once exchanged threats of total destruction and crude insults, also wished the president and his wife speedy recovery. He hoped they will surely overcome it, the Korean Central News Agency reported. He sent warm greetings to them.

Multiple Arab news media outlets continuously broadcast footage of Trump and his wife after the virus announcement.

Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel based in Dubai, cut to a long live shot of the White House. Qatari state-owned Al Jazeera channel brought in four commentators to discuss the prevailing state of uncertainty in the United States, questioning whether Trump could effectively steer a reelection campaign and run the country from quarantine. Middle East leaders closely allied to the U.S. sent out their best wishes, including Kuwaits new ruling emir.

Iranian state television announced Trump had the virus, an anchor breaking the news with an unflattering image of the U.S. president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses. Later, an anchor noted that the American president, who treated the coronavirus almost like it was nothing, finally caught it.

U.S.-Iran ties have suffered since Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

Social media platforms were ablaze with questions and quick reactions to all the unknowns.

Would Trump blame the Chinese? Would he thumb his nose at his critics and enemies by breezing through the quarantine without serious symptoms, tweeting away from the White House? Would he become gravely ill, or worse, and, if he did, what would that mean for the U.S. election, one of the most contentious in recent history? What would it mean for U.S. leadership during tumultuous times?

While the uncertainty seemed palpable on a scroll through various social media in an array of languages, many seemed to revel in the announcement.

And the satirical Australian news site, the Betoota Advocate, posted a story with this headline: Trump Family Records More Cases Of Community Transmission Than Entire State Of Queensland.

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Foster Klug reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Ashok Sharma in New Delhi, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, Mari Yamaguchi and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo, and Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.

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Pakistani Prime Minister imran khan

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he would have sacked the army chief had the Kargil war with India been started without informing him.

Nawaz Sharif, who was the prime minister during the Kargil war, has long maintained that he was not aware of what was happening when the conflict broke out in 1999. He says the then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf had attacked Kargil without informing him. "I would have sacked the army chief if Kargil operation was conducted without informing me," Khan said in an interview to private news channel Samaa TV on Thursday.

Khan also said that he would sack the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief if the latter asked him to resign. The comment was made in the context of three-time prime minister Sharif's claim that the ISI chief asked him to step down in 2014 when Khan had unleashed a big protest sit-in the national capital. He said the army was keeping the country united and slammed Sharif for targeting the military establishment.

"Look at Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen; the entire Muslim world is ablaze [so] why are we safe? If it weren't for our army, our country would've been in three pieces Khan said. Sharif recently made two speeches from London, where he has been staying since November 2019 on medical grounds, directly attacking the army for interference in politics and claimed that Khan came to power through its support.

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. Khan also said that it was not the army's job to run the government and failure of a democratically elected government should not be used to impose a martial law.

"If a judge gives a wrong decision it means the judiciary has to evolve. The army has evolved as well. Contemporary civil-military relations are the best in history because they are all working in their spheres," he said. He also claimed that the army was standing by the government in all matters including relations with India, opening of the Kartarpur Corridor and the coronavirus pandemic.
President Donald Trump took office almost four years ago, promising to tear up trade deals and negotiate new treaties better for American business.

Hes one for two.

Reading a column about the presidential candidates policies may seem quaint after Tuesdays debate. I watched looking for insight into policy differences, and boy, that was a waste of time. But Americans should consider the economic consequences of their vote nonetheless.

While the president of the United States has little direct power over the domestic economy, Congress has given the White House enormous authority over foreign policy. The administration negotiates trade deals, which typically require the president to certify they are implemented fairly.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: Trump must keep economy in mind when standing up to China

Trump made his intentions clear in his inauguration speech, declaring that: We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.

The president quickly withdrew the United States from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, a new treaty that could have marginalized China and expanded markets for U.S. goods. He then demanded a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which led to only minor tweaks.

Trumps most significant transformation was moving away from big framework treaties that standardize rules among dozens of nations. Instead, he returned to old-fashioned, narrow deals with individual countries, closing two with Japan and South Korea. They only marginally increased U.S. exports.

The presidents trade failures, though, have been more hurtful to the U.S. economy. White House trade advisor Pete Navarro threw out years of progress on a European Union trade deal, sacrificing that opportunity. Trump then imposed new tariffs on European goods, including Scotch whiskey and French cheese.

Trumps trade war with China has introduced new tariffs that have punished U.S. producers and consumers. To save the stock market, he managed to reach a first-phase trade agreement to boost Chinese imports of U.S. goods. But China is nowhere near meeting its commitments.

Talks with China are on hold until after the election, but so far, China has not given an inch.

Americans, meanwhile, have paid $80 billion in tariffs on foreign goods, according to the conservative Tax Foundation. No matter what Trump claims, foreign countries do not pay tariffs. American businesses pay them when the goods clear U.S. customs. Those costs are then passed to consumers.

The foundation estimates Trumps tariffs have shaved a quarter percentage point off annual economic growth and have led to 180,000 American job losses. The trade deficit in manufactured goods set a record in August at $82.9 billion, according to the Commerce Department.

American farmers have suffered even more from losing their most important foreign markets. Trump has spent $28 billion in taxpayer money compensating them.

Former Vice President Joe Biden also promises new treaties for fairer, cleaner and more efficient trade. Instead of determining what tariff should go on each item, he will join the European Union and Pacific Rim countries in establishing common legal standards to qualify for free trade.

Business people would benefit from consistent rules for shipping, inspections, labor and pollution controls. Workers would know they are competing on a level playing field.

Environmentalists could feel confident that nations selling goods to the United States would have to meet similar standards. Labor unions could insist on fair pay and safe conditions overseas knowing that foreign governments do not want to lose their privileges.

Past U.S. presidents have led the world on these issues for decades, from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to the World Trade Organization. As with any political process, no agreement will ever be perfect, but people around the world, including Americans, have seen an enormous improvement in living standards from global trade.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: Biden economic plan harkens to 1933 for inspiration

In many ways, though, Biden remains a mainstream Democrat loyal to labor unions. He is promising his own version of America First.

I will not enter into any new trade agreements until we have invested in Americans and equipped them to succeed in the global economy. Biden wrote in Foreign Policy magazine. And I will not negotiate new deals without having labor and environmental leaders at the table in a meaningful way and without including strong enforcement provisions to hold our partners to the deals they sign.

By partnering with the world to build a global trade framework that puts people first, Biden can rally other nations to oppose Chinas predatory practices. President Xi Jinping has used Trumps jingoism to rally the world around his authoritarian model at the expense of democracy.

Trump has failed to deliver for American businesses and workers. Bidens plans make better sense.

Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy.

twitter.com/cltomlinson

chris.tomlinson@chron.com
Syracuse, N.Y.  Beginning Friday there will be two lines for schoolchildren seeking coronavirus tests at NBT Bank Stadium, doubling the number of people who can be tested. But the second line will offer a nasal swab test rather than the saliva test currently offered at the stadium, which many parents prefer for their kids.

The second drive-thru line offering nasal swabs will be operated by Cayuga Health, working with nurses from Nascentia Health, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced today. Its open for K-12 students or school staff who have symptoms.

Both the nasal swab line and the saliva test line will be open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Either test should be covered by insurance for anyone who has symptoms, McMahon said.

Preregistration is recommended but not required for the nasal swabs, results from which should be available within a day. Register at register.cayugahealth.com.

Upstate Medical University, which provides the saliva tests, opened an online registration option this week after its phone lines got backlogged. To register for a saliva test, go to https://mychart.upstate.edu/ or call 315-464-2582 and select option 4.

Both test lines should be able to accommodate about 100 people a day, McMahon said.

News tips? Contact reporter Tim Knauss of syracuse.com/The Post-Standard: email | Twitter | | 315-470-3023
A 19-year-old Dalit woman was tortured, assaulted and gang-raped in UP's Hathras, by four 'upper caste' men on September 14. After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital where she breathed her last on Tuesday. The incident shook the entire country to its very core and prompted people to come out in the streets to protest and demand justice for her.
Protests have erupted in several Iranian cities, including the capital, Tehran, and and the northwestern city of Tabriz, in support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Videos posted online appear to show dozens demonstrating in the streets while chanting slogans in Azeri, including "Karabakh is ours. It will remain ours." Ethnic Azeris constitute a large minority of the Iranian population.

RFE/RL could not verify the authenticity of the videos.

Security forces were reported to have dispersed the protesters using tear gas. Clashes were also reported between the protesters and riot police.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that at least 38 people had been detained in the protests.

More than 100 people, including many civilians, have been killed since heavy clashes erupted on September 27 along much of the Line of Contact that separates the ethnic Armenian forces who control Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan's troops.

The clashes are considered the worst bout of violence since a 1994 cease-fire ended a war over the breakaway territory.

On October 1, four representatives of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in four of the country's provinces with a large ethnic Azeri population released a joint statement in support of Azerbaijan.

The statement by Khamenei's representatives in the provinces of West and East Azerbaijan, Ardebil, and Zanjan said that "there is no doubt" that the breakaway region belongs to Azerbaijan.

Iran, which shares a border with both Azerbaijan and Armenia, has called for an immediate end to hostilities between the two countries while urging a dialogue between the two sides.

Tehran has expressed its readiness to mediate the dispute.

Earlier this week, President Hassan Rohani's chief of staff told Azerbaijan that Tehran recognized its territorial integrity.

"The stance of the Islamic republic on Azerbaijan has always been clear and transparent as it has always recognized the neighboring country's territorial integrity and respected it," Mahmud Vaezi told Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev in a phone call on September 30.

Vaezi also denied reports that Tehran was assisting Armenia in the conflict with Azerbaijan as "baseless rumors" aimed at disrupting Tehran-Baku ties.

In a separate call, Rohani told Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian that his country had to work toward ending the conflict.

"It is important for us to stop these conflicts, and we expect the two countries to take a step in this direction with tact and restraint," Rohani said.

"Our region can no longer take instability and new wars," he added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter on September 27 that "Our region needs peace now."

With reporting by IRNA and Reuters
New Delhi, Oct 3 : Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) announced on Saturday that global investment firm TPG will invest Rs 1,837.5 crore into RRVL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore. TPG's investment will translate into a 0.41 per cent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis. This marks the second investment by TPG in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a Rs 4,546 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.

This is the second investment announced in half an hour by Reliance Retail Ventures around midnight, the earlier one being by GIC of Singapore. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said: "I am pleased to welcome TPG as valued investors in Reliance Retail Ventures mission of growing and transforming the Indian Retail ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. TPG has a proven track record of being a valuable partner to global technology businesses and industry leaders and we look forward to their guidance and support in our journey." Jim Coulter, Co-CEO, TPG, said: "Regulatory changes, consumer demographics and technological disruption are creating seismic shifts across the entire retail value chain in India. In the midst of this transformation, Reliance Industries has utilized technology and scale to position Reliance Retail as an incredibly strong, well-organized, and innovative leader. We are excited to join with them as they seek to create a more inclusive retail industry that allows Kiranas and Indian consumers to benefit from the connectivity, efficiency, and accessibility of the Reliance Retail omnichannel platform." Isha Ambani, Director of Reliance Retail, said: "We are delighted to welcome TPG to the Reliance Retail family in our journey of revolutionizing the Indian Retail landscape and improving the economic prospects of millions of merchants and enhancing consumer experience. TPG's rich experience will be invaluable to the Reliance Retail mission." Puneet Bhatia, Co-Managing Partner and Country Head, India of TPG Capital Asia, said: "There is a significant opportunity to transform the Indian retail ecosystem for the better. Through their New Commerce initiative, Reliance Retail continues to lead the industry by creating a retail platform that meets the demands of a new generation of Indian consumers. We are excited to work with Reliance Industries as they reimagine the retail experience across the value chain." TPG is making the investment from its TPG Capital Asia fund. The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
Airbnb will prohibit one-night rentals over Halloween weekend as part of its ongoing effort to crackdown on party houses.

The action, announced Friday, comes nearly a year after a deadly shooting at an Airbnb in Orinda, California. Five people were killed in the shooting, which happened during an unauthorized Halloween party.

San Francisco-based Airbnb said it will ban one-night rentals of entire homes in the U.S. and Canada on October 30 or October 31. Previously booked one-night rentals will be canceled and Airbnb will offer refunds.

The action to cancel one-night rentals, announced Friday, comes nearly a year after a deadly shooting at an Airbnb in Orinda, California

Five people were killed in the shooting, which happened during an unauthorized Halloween party

Airbnb said it will also look more closely at two- and three-night reservations during Halloween. A guest may be denied, for example, if they try to book a whole home close to their own home during that period and they dont have a history of positive reviews on Airbnb.

Airbnb has taken a series of steps to crack down on parties since last years shooting. Last November, it started manually reviewing U.S. and Canadian reservations to weed out suspicious rentals.

The company's efforts have intensified as it prepares for an initial public stock offering, which could come later this year.

In July, the company banned U.S. and Canadian guests under age 25 with fewer than three positive reviews from booking entire homes close to where they live. That policy was later expanded to the United Kingdom, Spain and France. And in August, Airbnb banned parties worldwide and limited occupancy at its rentals to 16 people.

Airbnb has also warned guests and hosts that it could take legal action against violators. In August, for the first time, it started legal proceedings against a guest who held an unauthorized house party in Sacramento, California.

The October 31, 2019, shooting sent some 100 terrified partygoers running for their lives. Five were arrested in connection to the shooting.

The owner of the property - who thought he had rented it to just 12 people - saw the party unfold over the home's security cameras before calling the police

The owner of the property - who thought he had rented it to just 12 people - saw the party unfold over the home's security cameras before calling the police.

Members of rival gangs from San Francisco and Marin City were among those at the party, authorities said last year in November.

Five people were injured, which is one more than previously reported. Three had gunshot wounds but one had severe injuries from jumping more than 30 feet from a balcony to escape gunfire.

Tiyon Farley, 22, of Antioch; Omar Taylor, 24, of Pittsburg; Raymon Hill Jr., 23, of San Francisco and Oakland; Javlin County, 29, of Sausalito and Richmond; and Oshiana Tompkins, 19, of Vallejo and Hercules, died in the shooting.
COLUMBIA, S.C. - U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and his Democratic challenger are set to meet in their first face-to-face matchup, amid record-breaking fundraising and a Supreme Court nomination debate that means Graham will be spending much of the remaining campaign in Washington.

On Saturday, Graham and Jaime Harrison debate in Columbia in their first of three scheduled meetings. Two more debates are slated for later in October, although Washington politics may throw a wrench into that schedule, as Graham - chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee - stumps not only for his own reelection but also shepherds President Donald Trumps high court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, through the Senate.

With Trump promising a quick confirmation, Graham has said hearings will begin Oct. 12, and a vote is expected Oct. 29, just days ahead of the election. Acknowledging it will be tough to stop Barretts confirmation, Democrats have stated a preference for waiting until after the presidential election so the winner can choose the next justice.

At the helm of a process that will include days of televised hearings, Graham will be in the national spotlight in what is sure to be a contentious confirmation process, a position he has said may benefit his own political situation. Referencing his fiery defence of Trumps previous nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, during 2018 confirmation hearings, Graham said in a South Carolina event last month that lightning has struck again with the presidents opportunity to nominate another justice, adding he would be leading the charge to ensure Barretts confirmation.

That is my job, and I believe that I am doing what the people of South Carolina want me to do in this regard, Graham said.

After one committee member, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, said he had tested positive for the coronavirus, Graham said on Friday he had been tested out of an abundance of caution and that his own results had come back negative.

Harrisons campaign told The Associated Press that he had also tested negative on Friday.

Harrison, an associate chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has said he felt Grahams obligations in Washington could work to his own benefit as he stumps in South Carolina, having the state to himself during much of the campaigns remaining weeks.

We will get an opportunity to really have a conversation with the people here in South Carolina, while hes off doing what he likes doing, which is being in the limelight, Harrison said in a recent interview with AP. I relish the opportunity to have the space to myself.

Graham and Harrisons first debate also comes as the campaigns boast raising more than $30 million apiece throughout the race, and two recent surveys show the candidates in a dead heat. Two back-to-back Quinnipiac University polls have marked the candidates with matched support among likely voters. On Thursday, Constitution Party candidate Bill Bledsoe - whose name has not been included in polling - announced he was throwing his support behind Graham, although how much that could boost Graham is unclear, as his name will still be on ballots.

Harrison has been able to use polling to capitalize on bringing in even more cash, saying in mid-September he took in $2 million in the two days following a Quinnipiac survey. Lindsey Must Go, a political action committee that supports Harrison, is among outside groups pumping money into the race, launching a billboard campaign Friday featuring a 2016 quote from Trump calling Graham one of the dumbest human beings Ive ever seen.

Trump carried South Carolina by double digits over Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Republicans control both legislative chambers, all statewide offices and most of the states congressional seats. South Carolina is assumed to be safely in his reelection column, and Trump has not announced plans to stump there for himself  or Graham, who is expressing confidence in his reelection chances.

Here is what I want to say to all the liberals talking about South Carolina: we are going to kick your ass, he said Friday during a campaign event in Myrtle Beach.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at https://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.

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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/
Re: Poll: speculation tax

Good day, I ran across the subject article and wish to remind folks of one of the key most egregious effects of the tax especially upon seniors.

This is how we were caught flat footed in year one of the tax. We had been resident in our so called speculation property for over six months. As we had not rented for a minimum of three months during the first year of the tax, we were liable. We were dismayed to learn that even six months as owners in residence was no exemption. As we now know, three months in rental during year one and six months in rental in subsequent years qualifies. Year one was an outrageous tax grab of course as the tax did not become law (November) until it was too late to decamp/find a last minute tenant. We had to believe that these were unintended consequences of a hastily framed, badly thought out measure and would be corrected. Not so.

The NDP trumpets that the tax will bring in $80M in 2020/21. Really? Hardly! Speculators or investment property holders are always exempt as such activity means, in most cases, the property is rented full time until it is sold. No spec and vacancy tax here. Most oldies like ourselves have either sold their second residence or have rented the property for the required period so no tax revenue here either. The few owners of a second residence that might end up paying the tax are those too senile to figure it out or have enough financial wherewithal to pay up rather than change lifestyle.

What do we have? Clearly, it is an absolute failure in generating funds to solve the low income housing crisis. There are better ways: look at the post war UK approach to the same problem.

For us, we have changed lifestyle and rent the place for six months. Ultimately, we now see it as in the too hard category to be octogenarian landlords and are contemplating selling and leaving (my) home province and returning to Ontario, my wifes home province.

We had thought that once the senior hostile, NDP Finance Minister had departed, we could expect Premier Horgan to do the right thing and sorted out the negative impact of the Spec & Vac tax on seniors. Once again, not so.

Equally as disappointing was that the BC Green Party did nothing in their role of coalition partner with the NDP. OK the Green leader did insist that the tax rate be common to all Canadians as opposed to penalizing Canadian non BC residents before blessing it. However there was no consideration for those seniors about to be turned into involuntary landlords.

Like most part time BC residents, we have a few friends that will be motivated to support the Liberals this time around in the hope the Spec & Vac Tax and all of its very negative, misguided and unproductive impact will disappear.

Hugh Bacon, Calabogie, ON
PHILIPSBURG:--- Julian Lake a well-known government civil servant who was arrested as a suspect in the Seabass investigation will spend another 8 days in pretrial detention. Lake was arrested on Tuesday even though the Seabass investigation began in 2019. Seabass investigation has to do with irregularities in the procurement of ICT projects in recent years. This investigation focuses on the Head of ICT for Country Sint Maarten, M.D. M.D. is suspected of abuse of his position in awarding public ICT tenders and of laundering the illegal proceeds. In the investigation, several persons and legal entities have been identified as suspects. In addition, amounts of money and a plot of land were seized. As part of this investigation, J.L. was arrested this week by the National Detectives. More arrests are not excluded.

The National Detectives have continued this investigation because the actions of the accused undermine the integrity of the public administration and the civil service. Administrative responsibilities and business interests are intertwined. This can be at the expense of the quantity, quality, and price of the products delivered to the government. Moreover, this does not benefit the citizens of St. Maarten and disturbs the level playing field for the business community.

Julian Lake at the time of his arrest was working as a cabinet staff of the Ministry of TEATT, he is also closely linked to the United Saint Maarten Peoples Party (USP) where his ex-wife contested as a candidate. Prior to Lakes arrest his ex-wife was also drilled by the national detectives.
Engrain, a Denver, CO-based provider of interactive mapping technology and data visualization software for the built environment, raised $3.7m in new funding.

The round was led by RET Ventures, an industry-backed venture fund focused on single- and multi-family rent tech, along with participation from existing investors.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its national expansion, further realize product enhancements, accelerate strategic partnerships and grow its sales team.

Founded a decade ago and led by CEO Brent Steiner, Engrain provides mapping software and touchscreen touring, which are found on property websites and in leasing offices of multifamily communities across the country.

The company provides SightMap, which enhances self-guided tours. An interactive property map, SightMap incorporates into any property website, providing a clear context of each units proximity to amenities and parking, while also displaying pricing and other key information.

In the coming months, Engrain plans to grow its Unit Map maps-as-a-service API, which allows developers to add property maps to any software application, providing an intuitive interface that provides context for wayfinding and location-based data analysis. With its open APIs and commitment to collaboration, Engrain will expand on its existing integrations with accounting systems, facilities management tools and IoT-connected systems.

In addition to SightMap and Unit Map, Engrains product suite includes:

SightMap Asset Intelligence, a platform designed for asset management professionals, which overlays financial information, availability and other key metrics on a map of the property. For asset managers across the county, SightMap Asset Intelligence is a valuable tool to help identify location-based trends within their properties.

TouchTour, a high-resolution touchscreen product that showcases floor plans, amenities and other property details.

FinSMEs

02/10/2020
Priscilla Bennett casts her mail-in ballot during a press conference at a satellite election office at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pa. on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. Seven satellite election offices opened on Tuesday throughout Philadelphia, and will remain open through Election Day, November 3. Voters can register to vote at the sites as well as request a mail-in ballot, fill it out, and cast their vote on the same day. Read more

HARRISBURG, Pa.  President Donald Trumps campaign followed through on a threat to sue Philadelphia, filing papers in court Thursday night over city officials preventing campaign representatives from watching people registering to vote or filling out mail ballots in new satellite election offices.

The lawsuit comes amid Trump baselessly claiming he can only lose the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania if Democrats cheat and, as he did in 2016s campaign, suggesting that the Democratic bastion of Philadelphia needs to be watched closely for fraud.

The 14-page lawsuit, filed in Philadelphia, revolves around the question of what rights there are for campaign representatives to watch people in election offices where they can register to vote, apply for mail ballots, fill them out, and turn them in.

Bad things are happening in Philadelphia, the campaigns lawsuit said. While transparency and accountability are hallmarks of election integrity, the actions of Philadelphia election officials to date have undermined election integrity by shrouding the casting of ballots in secrecy.

The campaign is asking to be able to assign representatives to observe inside satellite election offices that Philadelphia began opening Tuesday around the city to help collect what is expected to be an avalanche of mail ballots in the Nov. 3 presidential election.

But there is no right under Pennsylvania law, even for a certified poll watcher, to watch people do things like register to vote or fill out a mail ballot.

Those rights are limited to certified campaign representatives to observe voting at traditional polling places on Election Day, or the opening of absentee and mail ballots in an election office. The Trump campaign has no poll watchers approved to work in Philadelphia at the moment.

Officials with the city commissioners, who run elections, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday night. The campaign originally threatened to sue Tuesday night.

Polls show Democratic nominee Joe Biden holding a consistent, sizable, but not insurmountable lead against Trump in Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia on Tuesday opened the first seven of what is expected to be 17 satellite election offices, part of a new election law enacted last year that greatly expanded access to mail voting.

Trump campaign employees promptly showed up, insisting they be allowed to go in and observe the activity inside. However, city election officials  including a Republican city commissioner  prevented them, although they offered the campaign a tour of the facilities to let them see how they operate.

The president referred to that confrontation in Tuesday nights debate with Biden, saying bad things happen in Philadelphia.

 READ MORE: Bad things happen in Philadelphia, Trump says at debate, renewing false claim about poll watchers

The fight could widen. A number of counties, including the states most heavily populated counties, are opening satellite election offices and putting out drop boxes for voters to drop off mail ballots.

Philadelphia is home to one in five registered Democratic voters in Pennsylvania, and its turnout is closely watched in presidential elections.

In 2016, Trump won Pennsylvania by about 44,000 votes, or less than 1 percentage point. But he lost Philadelphia to Democrat Hillary Clinton by 67 percentage points, or about 475,000 votes, a gap that was slightly smaller than the historic margins produced for Barack Obama.

Trumps campaign and other Republican groups have filed a number of lawsuits over election rules in Pennsylvania, seeking to expand poll watching, prohibit the use of drop boxes, and put other limits on mail ballots.
SANTA FE, N.M.  U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich introduced a bill Thursday aimed at improving air quality in schools.

The Keeping Schools Safe Act would include $1 billion in funding for ventilation and air quality monitoring. It also would mandate the creation of coronavirus-specific technical guidance for heating, ventilation and air condition systems.

School districts across the country are struggling to balance the health risks faced by educators at risk for COVID-19 with parents and childrens needs for in-person learning. The challenges are unprecedented, Heinrich said.

That is why I am introducing this legislation to provide elementary and secondary schools with funding to improve air quality and ventilation  putting them one step closer to safely reopening, the New Mexico Democrat said.

Heinrich does not have any Republic co-sponsors for the bill. It could join a number of COVID-19 relief bills that have stalled in the Senate.

On Thursday, the White House backed a $1.6 billion counter-offer from Republicans on a $3.4 trillion aid package passed by the House in March.

Heinrichs bill focuses narrowly on air quality and supports in-person learning, a priority of President Donald Trump. It also would give final grant-making authority to the U.S. Education Department.

Antiquated ventilation systems have hindered a return to in-person learning across the country, forcing some districts to take children outside. Heinrich has advocated for more outdoor classrooms, but few schools in his state have embraced the idea.

In Albuquerque, New Mexicos largest school district, officials estimate improving ventilation systems would cost millions, and theres no money from the state to do that, Albuquerque television station KOB reported.

Unsafe ventilation was a major factor in the districts decision to remain online-only through the end of the year.

Under the legislation, the Department of Education would establish a grant program for schools in a variety of urban, suburban and rural areas. The bill prioritizes grants for schools that serve significant numbers of low-income students, but can be awarded to any school district.

The bill also mandates that 5% of grants go to schools managed or funded by the federal Bureau of Indian Education. Of those schools, 55 are in New Mexico.

The bill would require the DOE to provide technical guidance on airflow systems in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and industry organizations such as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Thats information districts are looking for as they try replace or retrofit ventilation systems, said Stan Rounds, executive director of the New Mexico Superintendents Association.

Ideal systems would accommodate filters that could trap virus particles while allowing increased airflow. Right now, thats not possible in many school buildings.

The engineering of the units that they have wont fit the required COVID ventilation, Rounds said.

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Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow Attanasio on Twitter.

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This version corrects that the bill prioritizes grants to low-income students but does not make area student income a requirement and that it categorizes grants for 55 New Mexico schools, not three dozen.
Writing advanced malware for a threat actor requires different groups of people with diverse technical expertise to put them all together. But can the code leave enough clues to reveal the person behind it?

To this effect, cybersecurity researchers on Friday detailed a new methodology to identify exploit authors that use their unique characteristics as a fingerprint to track down other exploits developed by them.

By deploying this technique, the researchers were able to link 16 Windows local privilege escalation (LPE) exploits to two zero-day sellers "Volodya" (previously called "BuggiCorp") and "PlayBit" (or "luxor2008").

"Instead of focusing on an entire malware and hunting for new samples of the malware family or actor, we wanted to offer another perspective and decided to concentrate on these few functions that were written by an exploit developer," Check Point Research's Itay Cohen and Eyal Itkin noted.

Fingerprinting an Exploit Writer's Characteristics

The idea, in a nutshell, is to fingerprint an exploit for specific artifacts that can uniquely tie it to a developer. It could be in using hard-coded values, string names, or even how the code is organized and certain functions are implemented.

Check Point said their analysis began in response to a "complicated attack" against one of its customers when they encountered a 64-bit malware executable that exploited CVE-2019-0859 to gain elevated privileges.

Noticing the fact that the exploit and the malware were written by two different sets of people, the researchers used the binary's properties as a unique hunting signature to find at least 11 other exploits developed by the same developer named "Volodya" (or "Volodimir").

"Finding a vulnerability, and reliably exploiting it, will most probably be done by specific teams or individuals who specialize in a particular role. The malware developers for their part don't really care how it works behind the scenes, they just want to integrate this [exploits] module and be done with it," the researchers said.

Interestingly, Volodya  likely of Ukrainian origin  has been previously linked to selling Windows zero-days to cyberespionage groups and crimeware gangs for anywhere between $85,000 to $200,000.

Chief among them was an LPE exploit that leveraged a memory corruption in "NtUserSetWindowLongPtr" (CVE-2016-7255), which has been widely used by ransomware operators like GandCrab, Cerber, and Magniber. It's now believed that Volodya advertised this LPE zero-day on the Exploit.in cybercrime forum in May 2016.

In all, five zero-day and six one-day exploits were identified as developed by Volodya over a period of 2015-2019. Subsequently, the same technique was employed to identify five more LPE exploits from another exploit writer known as PlayBit.

An Extensive Clientele

Stating the exploit samples shared code level similarities to grant SYSTEM privileges to the desired process, the researchers said, "both of our actors were very consistent in their respective exploitation routines, each sticking to their favorite way."

What's more, Volodya also appears to have switched up his tactics during the intervening years, with the developer shifting from selling the exploits as embeddable source code in the malware to an external utility that accepts a specific API.

Besides ransomware groups, Volodya has been found to cater to an extensive clientele, including the Ursnif banking trojan, and APT groups such as Turla, APT28, and Buhtrap.

"The APT customers, Turla, APT28, and Buhtrap, are all commonly attributed to Russia and it is interesting to find that even these advanced groups purchase exploits instead of developing them in-house," Check Point observed in its analysis. "This is another point which further strengthens our hypothesis that the written exploits can be treated as a separate and distinct part of the malware."

With cyberattacks expanding in scope, frequency, and magnitude, using an exploit developer's code signature as a means to track down bad actors could provide valuable insight into the black exploit market.

"When Check Point finds a vulnerability, we demonstrate its severity, report it to the appropriate vendor, and make sure it's patched, so it doesn't pose a threat," Cohen said. "However, for individuals trading these exploits, it's a completely different story. For them, finding the vulnerability is just the beginning. They need to reliably exploit it on as many versions as possible, in order to monetize it to a customer's satisfaction."

"This research provides insight into how that is achieved, and the buyers in this market, which often include nation-state actors. We believe that this research methodology can be used to identify additional exploit writers."
Chris Hemsworth's action film Extraction is Netflix's most-watched original movie of all time.

And on Friday, the actor thanked his fans for their support, after being nominated for two E! People's Choice Awards for his role as mercenary Tyler Rake.

In a video shared to Instagram, the 37-year-old admitted he would be 'unemployed' if it wasn't for his army of supporters around the world.

Gratitude: Chris Hemsworth thanked fans for their support on Friday, after being nominated for two E! People's Choice Awards for his role as mercenary Tyler Rake in Netflix hit Extraction

Chris has been nominated in two categories: Male Movie Star of 2020 and Action Movie Star of 2020.

Extraction also received nominations for Movie of 2020 and Action Movie of 2020.

In his video, Chris not only thanked his fans but also encouraged them to vote.

Nods: Chris, who plays mercenary Tyler Rake in Extraction, is nominated in two categories: Male Movie Star of 2020 and Action Movie Star of 2020. Pictured with actor Rudhraksh Jaiswal

'Myself and Extraction got a number of nominations,' Chris said.

'So thank you so much for the support for this film... I have to say the People's Choice Awards are the most special for me, as they're the vote of the fans, the vote of the people; it's your voice.

'We would all be unemployed without you - so thank you, thank you, thank you!'

The annual awards show will be broadcast live from California on November 15.

Fellow Australian Margot Robbie is also nominated for Female Movie Star of 2020, for her performance in Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.

Success: Extraction is Netflix's most-watched original film of all time

Extraction is Netflix's most-watched original film of all time.

The 2020 mercenary-gone-rogue movie beat out Sandra Bullock's 2018 post-apocalyptic thriller Birdbox on the popular streaming service.

Extraction was viewed by 99 million Netflix accounts within the first month of its release, according to CNet.

Figures: Extraction was viewed by 99 million Netflix accounts within a month of its release

It also beat the critically-acclaimed fantasy series The Witcher, which is based on the popular book series and video game.

However, Netflix's numbers are to be taken with a grain of salt, because a 'view' is counted after only two minutes of play time.

For Extraction, this means the film could be considered watched by Netflix's algorithm even before the viewer heard a single line of spoken dialogue.
SANTA ROSA, Calif.  Nikki and Kevin Conant returned to their home in Northern California wine country Wednesday to find only the charred remains of their home and burned pieces of the wine barrels they used to repurpose into custom-made art and furniture.

It was like a part of me is gone, burned up in the fire. Everything we built here, everything we made here is gone, Nikki Conant said.

The couple, both 52, were preparing to evacuate Sunday when they saw an orange glow in the hills near their Santa Rosa rental home. Within 45 minutes, they could hear the trees crackling and propane tanks exploding as the blaze reached their community. They jumped in their car, and for what seemed like an eternity they were stuck in bumper-to- bumper traffic.

I thought we were going to burn alive. I really did. It was horrible, Nikki Conant said.

Nikki sobbed Wednesday when she spotted her now-burned chicken coop. Her twelve beloved chickens all died in the fire. All the tools for their repurposing business were gone, too.

The Conants are among more than 70,000 people still under evacuation orders in the wine region north of San Francisco where the Glass Fire has incinerated at least 143 homes along with winery installations and other buildings.

Flames were continuing to tear through the regions rolling pastures and tree-dotted hills, toppling renowned wineries and restaurants.

Every time we try to construct some control lines, the fire is outflanking us, so we have to pull back, Cal Fire Chief Mark Brunton said.

Firefighters were also warily watching for violent winds expected to return to the Napa-Sonoma area late Wednesday, with continuing extreme heat and low humidity. Red flag warnings of extreme fire danger were to continue into Friday evening.

Officials said they were requesting more fire crews to join 2,000 firefighters battling the blaze that has charred 80 square miles (207 square kilometers) with almost no containment.

Pacific Gas & Electric also cut power to another 3,100 customers in Napa County at the request of firefighters, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported.

Hot weather and the potential for fire damage could stress power supplies as people switch on their air conditioners. To avoid shortages, the California Independent System Operator, which runs the states power grid, issued a statewide Flex Alert for 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday. It urged customers to avoid using large appliances during that time and to keep the thermostat at 78 degrees or above.

A mid-August heat wave strained the grid to the point where Cal ISO ordered utilities to implement brief rolling blackouts for the first time since 2001.

Numerous studies in recent years have linked bigger wildfires in America to global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas, especially because climate change has made California much drier. A drier California means plants are more flammable.

Some Northern Californians say they are getting fed up with the annual evacuations and fire fears and are thinking of leaving. Despite their latest harrowing experience, the Conants said they plan to stay.

Their landlord already told them the home will be rebuilt and offered them a trailer to stay at on the land while the house is finished, Nikki Conant said.

This is home, she said, referring to the Santa Rosa area. I was born and raised here, my family is here. I dont have the heart to just give up and leave the area.

The massive blazes are also becoming harder to fight. On Wednesday, officials said wind-whipped flames led two firefighters to deploy the emergency fire shelters they carry in case of imminent danger from flames

The firefighters were assigned to the Glass Fire in Napa County on Sunday when gusty off-shore winds fanned the fire, forcing them to deploy the shelters after flames overwhelmed them. The firefighters covered themselves on the ground with the space blanket-looking devices. They were not injured, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

Its the third time fire crews have had to deploy their fire shelters this month _ a last-resort effort to save their lives that was once uncommon. On Sept. 8, 14 firefighters deployed emergency shelters as flames overtook them and destroyed the fire station they were defending in the Los Padres National Forest. Three firefighters were hospitalized and later released. A day later, a crew fighting a deadly blaze in Butte County was overrun by flames when winds shifted; its members escaped with only minor injuries after deploying emergency shelters.

About 150 miles (241 kilometers) to the north of wine country, the Zogg Fire, which also erupted during Sundays high winds and grew quickly, has killed four people, Shasta County Sheriff Eric Magrini said.

A man evacuated with severe burns Sunday died at a hospital of his injuries Tuesday, Magrini said. Three others died Sunday.

The deadly blaze that spread to neighboring Tehama County has burned 86 square miles (222.7 square kilometers) and destroyed 146 buildings, about half of them homes. It was 9% contained.

The Glass and Zogg fires are among nearly 30 wildfires burning in California. Fire-related deaths in California this year total 30.

About the photo: Kevin Conant looks down at hundreds of burnt metal rings left from burned wine barrels at his business Conants Wine Barrel Creations, after the Glass/Shady fire completely engulfed it in Santa Rosa, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. The Conants escaped with their lives, which we are grateful for, but they barely made it out with the clothes on their backs in the wake of the fire. The Glass and Zogg fires are among nearly 30 wildfires burning in California. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Mathew Vizbulis is hoping for some help as he creates his latest work of art this weekend, if the weather co-operates.

The Niagara-based artist, commissioned by the St. Catharines Downtown Association to create a huge mural on a wall at 200 St. Paul St. that has been the repeated target of graffiti vandals, is reproducing an image from a really old photograph depicting the Prince of Wales  a barkentine sailing vessel docked at the Shickluna Shipyard in 1860.

Vizbulis said he designed the mural to be created by as many artists as possible as part of the citys Culture Days celebrations.

Its definitely going to be a historic paint-by-numbers kind of mural for the community, he said.

Downtown Association executive director Tisha Polocko said she worked with the property owner to decide on a subject matter for the mural.

That one I thought fit in perfectly, being that the first and second canal were right behind there, she said. Its a really nice historic tie-in and then doing it for Culture Days when you get people of all ages coming out to help, its a nice all-round project for sure.

Vizbulis said he is planning something far more colourful than might have been found in the area when the photograph was taken.

Were not going to stick to the colours that would naturally be there. Were taking everything we can get to make it really colourful even though it will be a 100 per cent historic image.

While welcoming artists of all ages and calibres to help him create the image, Vizbulis isnt worried about the level of talent among participants.

If they want to paint outside the lines, I guess thats all right, he said, laughing.

Polocko said the association is taking steps to ensure the safety of participants as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, such as social distancing and mask-wearing. She said she is supplying enough paint brushes so no one will need to use a brush that was handled by someone else.

The shipyard scene is one of three murals being added to the area in the next few weeks, continuing an initiative that began last year with the creation of a mural of at the intersection of St. Paul and Court streets.

After the success of the mural created during Culture Days in 2019, Polocko said we decided that we were going to do two this year.

She said a paint-by-numbers mural project is planned for the parking lot at James and Summer streets on Oct. 17 and 18.

Vizbulis is working with another artist on another mural for the Downtown Association to welcome visitors to the area, being created on a downtown building that was recently renovated.

Hes doing an amazing job on that, Polocko said. Hopefully, this coming week well have our new logo on there. Its a huge wall.

Polocko said the walls where the murals are being created have often been the target by graffiti vandals. It is hoped that the murals will deter future vandalism.

Hopefully, by the end of October the three that were working on should all be complete, weather permitting, she said.

It should add a little bit of life to the downtown, while curbing that graffiti issue that we deal with.

Although the forecast calls for a mix of sun and clouds Saturday, theres an 80 per cent chance of rain on Sunday.
The family of a Japanese chef who was a rising star in France said he has killed himself after he was the target of false sexual assault allegations.

Taku Sekine - a protege of French superchef Alain Ducasse - took his own life on Monday after spiralling into depression.

His family said that Sekine, 39, 'got caught in a violent spiral of depression' after he became the target of 'false and malicious gossip' on social media two months ago.

Sekine's tiny Paris restaurant, Dersou, was named the best in France by the Fooding guide in 2016, and his new Asian fusion restaurant, the Cheval d'Or, had garnered equally rave reviews.

Japanese chef Taku Sekine, 39, took his own life on Monday after he became the target of 'false and malicious gossip' on social media two months ago accusing him of sexual assault

'A brutal campaign of destruction was waged against him,' the family said in a statement sent to AFP late Tuesday, adding that it was an attempt to tarnish his standing among his peers who were warned about 'working with him'.

The family said no official complaint had been made against the chef and he was not being investigated by the police.

His partner Sarah Berger - the mother of his two-year-old son - later shared the statement on Instagram.

It also railed against his treatment at the hands of a specialist French gastronomic website - which it did not name.

The Atabula website published a long investigation in August into sexual abuse and harassment in top French kitchens, saying that 'a well-known Japanese chef' who it did not name 'could be accused of rape'.

Sekine was famous for his two restaurants, Dersou and Cheval dOr. Pictured: Paris restaurant, Dersou, which was named the best in France by the Fooding guide in 2016

On Tuesday, hours after Sekine had committed suicide, the website carried the testimony of a woman who claimed that French celebrity chef Guy Martin had attempted to rape her.

Florence Chatelet Sanchez, who supplies some of France's top restaurants with high-end produce, said he pinned her against a wall in a small room in one of his restaurants five years ago and tried to strip her.

The two-star Michelin cook, best known for his Le Grand Vefour restaurant in Paris, later denied the allegations, saying they 'had no basis'.

On Wednesday, Atabula published a justification of its wider inquiry into abuse in the industry, saying that Sekine's name 'had come up several times from different sources' around harassment.

Chef Taku Sekine (left) and Chef Helene Darroze attend the Fooding at L'Aerosol on April 12, 2018 in Paris, France

It said that a 25-year-old Canadian woman had claimed on Instagram in August that he had tried to sexually assault her twice while she slept in January 2019.

'Several parents whose children worked in the restaurant world have thanked us for raising the subject after the suicides of their sons and and their daughter who were not able to speak out about their torment,' wrote reporter Franck Pinay-Rabaroust, who led the investigation.

He insisted the timing of its revelations about Martin hours after Sekine's death was a 'sad coincidence'.

Experts caution that suicides are often the result of multiple factors and complex mental health problems. which can be treated with professional help and advice.
RCMP members often carry out the intrusive, humiliating and dehumanizing act of strip searches on people in custody without proper justification or documentation, a watchdog report says.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP on Thursday singled out the national police forces detachment in Iqaluit for particularly egregious behaviour.

The Commission is particularly concerned with the inadequate supervision of members, lack of articulation on files, and overall lack of knowledge of what constitutes a strip search at the Iqaluit Detachment, the report said. Interviews revealed that bras are routinely removed and searches are video-recorded.

In an email, the Qulliit Nunavut Status of Women Council, which seeks to advance the participation of women in the northern territory through social, legal and economic changes, said it would be following up on the reports findings.

If there are such practices happening in Nunavut, where women believe their human rights are violated, then we call on the Department of Justice, Government of Nunavut, to do an investigation and provide (the council) with a report, said Clara Evalik, the councils vice-president.

The new report is a followup to one the watchdog released in 2017 that found significant shortcomings in the RCMPs personal-search policies, including inadequate training and insufficient tracking of strip-search data.

While the latest report says there have been a number of improvements in strip-search policies nationally  including more explicit requirements for supervisor oversight of such searches  a number of concerns remain.

Michelaine Lahaie, the commissions chairperson, cited a 2001 Supreme Court of Canada decision, R. v Golden, which concluded: Strip searches are inherently humiliating and degrading for detainees regardless of the manner in which they are carried out and for this reason they cannot be carried out simply as a matter of routine policy.

Among her ongoing concerns: The rationale and documentation for strip searches is often lacking.

The report found that the RCMP national operations manuals reference to removal of undergarments remains unclear and the way the force tracks and assesses compliance with personal-search policies is inadequate.

The RCMPs inability to evaluate and report on policy compliance has a chilling effect on public accountability, self-evaluation and independent review, Lahaie said.

When it comes to training, many members of the RCMP are still not sufficiently aware of personal-search policies, the report found, and no mandatory training exists beyond basic instruction to cadets at the RCMP academy.

RCMP members practices at the Iqaluit detachment were particularly troubling, the report went on to say.

The commission reviewed 162 prisoner reports and found that 158 included references to the removal of a prisoners bra or underwear. Yet only three per cent of files documented the search, the report said.

None of the 158 files indicated whether a supervisor had authorized the search.

Some prisoners who had been subjected to strip searches in Iqaluit were described as suicidal or high-risk.

Iqaluit RCMP members commented that some prisoners are extremely problematic and return to cells regularly, the report said.

As such, members developed a protocol for repeat detainees. For instance, with one such person, Iqaluit members informed the Commission that they have a procedure for dealing with her  they turn on the audio and video recording, strip her of her clothing, and put her in a restraint chair for a stipulated time.

In interviews, most members of the Iqaluit detachment, including the officer in charge, did not know the definition of strip search, the report said. According to the RCMP operations manual, it is defined as the removal or rearrangement of some or all of the clothing of a person so as to permit a visual inspection of a persons private areas, namely genitals, buttocks, breasts (in the case of a female), or undergarments.

Iqaluit members, however, told the commission they did not consider the act of stripping a prisoner of their clothing for safety or self-harm reason a strip search, and thus would not document such an event.

Moreover, members at the Iqaluit Detachment revealed that bras are removed as a matter of course and that supervisor approval is not sought in these cases, as the removal of bras is not considered a strip search, the report said.

The rationale for the bra removal, according to members, is to prevent prisoners from using the bra to hang themselves.

RCMP officials in Iqaluit did not respond to the Stars request for comment.

In a written response posted to the watchdogs website, Commissioner Brenda Lucki said she would direct her staff to amend the national operations manual to ensure greater clarity on personal-search policies and improvements in recording and tracking the use of strip searches. She also agreed to enhance training of cadets at the academy.

As for the concerns in Iqaluit, Lucki said enhanced training, using a trauma-informed approach, would be given to members for handling vulnerable people.

Revision of V Division policy with respect to personal searches, cellblock searches, strip searches, and internal searches has commenced, Lucki wrote. In addition, V Division will be providing training in mental health first-aid with an Inuit-specific context to all members new to the division.
Bad federal roads exist in northern Nigeria because state governments have refused to fix them and demand a refund of the costs from the federal government, former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani, has said.

Mr Sani, a former senator, made this comment on his official Facebook page on Monday where he blamed state governors of being lackadaisical towards fixing federal roads.

Many northern states with bad federal roads over the years either refused to rebuild them and ask for refund from the federal government or refused to engage consultants or experts to quantify and cost the roads they rebuild and submit it to the President or Federal Ministry of Works for refund.

Even those who managed to submit claims did a very bad job. So shocking was that many states in the north never even cared to submit a request for refund to the FG.

The ex-lawmaker said states like Kano made claims of N4 billion and Niger State made claims of less than N400 million while states from the South-south and South-east made claims ranging from N40 billion to over N100 billion and they were paid by the federal government.

In fairness to the President, he has asked all states with bad roads to submit claims and the FG has been repaying them.

Some governors go to the Villa with serious proposals and agenda for their states, some go there only to pray and gossip. As the immediate past Chair of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt, I have the statistics of the claims made by all the states, he added.

Mr Sanis remarks come barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari asked the National Assembly to approve N148 billion for Ondo, Bayelsa, Cross River, Osun and Rivers states for refund for federal road projects executed by the states on behalf of the federal government.

Similar approvals totalling about N126 billion were made to Kogi, Bauchi, Delta and Taraba states in 2019.

Bauchi, Kogi and Taraba are states in the north of Nigeria while Delta is an oil-rich southern state.
Brandi Glanville has caused more drama on the latest season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as a guest than she did as a series regular.

And the controversial reality TV personality is keeping busy, amid her campaign to return to the show.

She kept it super casual Thursday in a pink tank top and grey sweatpants, as she left the post office, while running errands in the upscale Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Casual outing: Brandi Glanville kept it super casual Thursday in a pink tank top and grey sweatpants, as she left the post office, while running errands in the upscale Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles

The 47-year-old finished the look with some black Ray-Ban wayfarers, a gold necklace and a pair of brown flip flops.

She took precautions against COVID-19 in a pink surgical mask and a pair of blue disposable protective gloves, carrying a package to her car.

Glanville's sons recently lobbied Andy Cohen, 52, to get their mom back on RHOBH, after the drama that ensued from her alleged affair with Denise Richards, 49, on season 10.

Mason Edward, 17, appeared last Friday on her podcast Unfiltered, asking Cohen during a phone call: 'Now that we are allowed to be on the show, are you gonna give my mom a second chance to change her image?'

Sandals in October: The 47-year-old finished the look with some black Ray-Ban wayfarers, a gold necklace and a pair of brown flip flops

Mama's boys: Glanville's sons recently lobbied Andy Cohen to get their mom back on RHOBH, after the drama that ensued from her alleged affair with Denise Richards on season 10

Second chance: Mason Edward, 17, appeared last Friday on her podcast Unfiltered, asking Cohen during a phone call: 'Now that we are allowed to be on the show, are you gonna give my mom a second chance to change her image?'

Do the right thing: Jake Austin later jumped on the bandwagon, when he addressed Cohen in a video on his mom's Instagram Story, as he was in school when the podcast was being recorded. He said: 'I was wondering if you were going to do the right thing and give my mom her job back like you said you would?'

Up in the air: Although Cohen didn't commit to an answer, he said that she's 'as close to being back' as she's been in a while

The Watch What Happens Live host responded: 'Youre allowed to be on the show now? So you guys are allowed to be on the show, according to your father? Thats a discussion, Mason.'

Glanville shares Mason and Jake Austin, 13, with ex-husband Eddie Cibrian, 47, to whom she was married from 2001 to 2010.

'And you want your mom on the show why?' Cohen asked, to which Mason responded: Because she deserves it.

'I mean, youve kind of milked her for everything this season to make some views and stuff and she hasnt gotten half as much, even close to as much, as the other Housewives. I feel like she should be compensated.'

Although Cohen didn't commit to an answer, he said that she's 'as close to being back' as she's been in a while, adding: 'I don't know the answer to that. You're not on an island, but you're not exactly friends with any of the women.'

Jake later jumped on the bandwagon, when he addressed Cohen in a video on his mom's Instagram Story, as he was in school when the podcast was being recorded.

He said: 'I was wondering if you were going to do the right thing and give my mom her job back like you said you would? Because she was like the main focus of the whole season and like get her money back so we can move out of this place.'

Clearing the air: Some followers called the attempt cheap, accusing Glanville of putting her sons up to it, which she denied on Twitter: 'LBC my boys weren't begging @Andy for my job back they were simply stating their opinions.They believe I was used for ratings &very underpaid' (pictured in October, 2019)

Alleged affair: It comes after Denise Richards exited the popular reality series after only two seasons, amid Glanville's explosive claims of their alleged affair

Sexually aggressive: Glanville detailed their relationship last month exclusively to DailyMailTV: 'I felt she wanted to hit it and quit it. She was very sexually aggressive and once she got what she wanted, she didnt want to know'

Some followers called the attempt cheap, accusing Glanville of putting her sons up to it, which she denied on Twitter.

She wrote: 'LBC my boys weren't begging @Andy for my job back they were simply stating their opinions.They believe I was used for ratings &very underpaid.

'They also think its time to do the fair &right thing in regards to their mom.THEY LOVE ME &have seen my disappointment -THAT IS IT'

It comes after Richards exited the popular reality series after only two seasons, amid Glanville's explosive claims of their alleged affair.

Glanville detailed their relationship last month exclusively to DailyMailTV: 'I felt she wanted to hit it and quit it. She was very sexually aggressive and once she got what she wanted, she didnt want to know.'

Meanwhile Richards told pal and Housewives costar Garcelle Beauvais on The Real of her decision to leave: 'I had a great first season. The second season was challenging.

'I just thought it was the right time for me to go and to just keep focusing on the other projects that I have. I had a great time. I will always be a fan and I will continue to support the show.'

DailyMail.com exclusively broke the news of their alleged affair back in January, as the cast filmed in Rome.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nemours Children's Health System applauds Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Congressman Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas) for their leadership in introducing the Telehealth Improvement for Kids' Essential Services (TIKES) Act of 2020. Nemours has been a vocal advocate for policies, like the TIKES Act, that remove barriers to covering care provided via telehealth for families receiving Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) benefits.

During the COVID-19 public health emergency, telehealth became crucial for countless families abiding by public health recommendations to temporarily avoid in-person medical visits. Government policy waivers were highly effective in unleashing the power and potential of telehealth to provide safe care to children and families. At Nemours, in the early days of the pandemic response, telehealth visits increased 2,400% and expanded coverage allowed the health system to be reimbursed fairly for the services provided.

"Telehealth has facilitated the delivery of high-quality, efficient care to millions of American children. The public health challenge of COVID-19 highlighted its effectiveness and proved that it will be valuable as a permanent part of the U.S. healthcare system," said R. Lawrence Moss, MD, FACS, FAAP, president and CEO of Nemours Children's Health System. "I commend the leadership of Congresswoman Blunt Rochester and Congressman Burgess in responding to issues raised by health systems like Nemours by introducing this important legislation."

"The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed for us to make rapid progress on expanding access to telehealth so children and families across the country, especially those in rural and underserved communities, face fewer barriers to accessing medical care," said Rep. Blunt Rochester. "With the introduction of the TIKES Act, we can continue that progress by bringing better alignment and clarity to Medicaid telehealth policies, as well as provide guidance to state Medicaid programs on the opportunities telehealth services can have for children. I'd like to thank my colleague, Congressman Burgess, for joining me in this critical effort."

"Amidst the pain and suffering that our nation has endured throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a major takeaway has been the advantage of telehealth. There is a convenience factor to not having to take time to physically transport yourself to the doctor's office and have your child sit in a waiting room with other potentially sick patients," said Rep. Burgess. "This bipartisan legislation will improve utilization of telehealth by requiring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide guidance to states on how to make the most of telehealth options in their Medicaid and CHIP programs. Additionally, it directs studies to gather data that can help inform future telehealth policy. I urge my fellow members to support this legislation that will help build upon the telehealth foundation that we have built this year."

SOURCE Nemours Children's Health System
Boston firefighters Friday morning were battling a blaze at a three-floor home in Dorchester, according to officials.

The fire started shortly before 6:15 a.m. at the building at 34 Stanley St. The blaze swept through the rear of the home on the first and second floors, causing a second alarm to be ordered, the Boston Fire Department tweeted.

The blaze has since traveled to the roof of the occupied building, and a third alarm has been issued to get more firefighters to the scene, according to the department.

Extensive overhauling being done, the department tweeted around 6:45 a.m.

The department did not say whether anyone was injured in the fire.

It is unclear if any residents were displaced by the blaze.
Trumps former aide told Anderson Cooper she secretly taped the first lady after she left the White Houses employ.

In 2018, when Melania Trump, the first lady of the United States, wore a jacket that read I really dont care. Do u? across the back, her supporters claimed that it was a reference to the media. New secret recordings released by her former aide and confidante, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, have provided more context and insight to her true feelings.

In the recording, Wolkoff is heard asking Trump about why she wore the jacket.

Im driving liberals crazy, thats for sure, she replied. And they deserve it. You understand? And everybodys like, Oh my god, this is the worst, this is the worst. I mean, come on. They are crazy, okay?

First Lady Melania Trump is shown on stage after the first presidential debate between her husband, President Donald Trump, and Democratic nominee Joe Biden in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Trump goes on to complain about the responsibility of the first lady to prepare the White House for the Christmas holiday.

Im working like my ass off at Christmas stuff that, you know, who gives a f about Christmas stuff and decoration? Trump is heard saying in the clip. But I need to do it, right? Correct?

Read More: President Trump and first lady test positive for COVID-19

She continued: OK, and then I do it. And I say that Im working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas. And they said, Ooh, what about the children that they were separated?  Give me a f***ing break. Were they were saying anything when Obama did that?

Wolkoff played the recordings, which were taped after she left the White House, exclusively on CNNs Anderson Cooper 360 Thursday night as she promoted her new book, Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady.

Read More: Connecticut reporter fired for calling Tim Scott an Uncle Tom

The kids, they say, Wow, I will have my own bed? I will sleep on the bed? I will have a cabinet for my clothes? Its so sad to hear it, but they didnt have that in their own countries; they sleep on the floor, Trump says on the tape.

Story continues

They are taken care of nicely there. But, you know, yeah, they are not with parents, its sad. But when they come here alone or with coyotes or illegally, you know, you need to do something.

Read More: DHS officials instructed to make sympathetic comments about Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse

Wolkoff said that she thought that Trump had maternal sympathy for the children and their families, but regardless of that, she steps in line and she just decides that what she has heard and what shes been told is what the rule of law is in our country.

On the flip side, Melania, the traditions of first lady and president have gone out the window with this couple and I feel that if there were  there is so much that could be done, she contended. But, again, no support. No understanding.

Have you subscribed to theGrios Dear Culture podcast? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Melania Trump speaks on children at border in recorded tape: Give me a fing break appeared first on TheGrio.
Azerbaijan has insisted that Armenia must withdraw troops from the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in order to end days of fighting, after France, Russia and the United States urged a ceasefire. Fighting erupted on Sunday over a long-standing territorial dispute centring around Karabakh.

Nearly 200 people, including civilians, have been killed in the fighting, despite international calls for a ceasefire.

"If Armenia wants to see an end to this escalation of the situation, the ball is in the court of Armenia," Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign affairs aide to the president of Azerbaijan, told reporters during an online press conference.

"Armenia must end its occupation," of Karabakh, he said. "Enough is enough."

The remarks come just one day after a joint appeal by French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and US President Donald Trump, urging both sides to return to the negotiating table.

Armenia on Friday said it "stands ready to engage" with France, Russia, and the US, which co-chair the OSCE "Minsk group" of mediators in the conflict, "to re-establish a ceasefire".

But Armenia went on to emphasise that talks could not begin unless the fighting stops.

Significant regional and international implications

"The wider implications are significant," says Richard Giragosian, director of the Yerevan-based Regional Studies Center.

"Russia and Turkey are on opposite sides of this conflict, and are increasingly destined to collide in a confrontation over competing interests from Moscow and Ankara."

Turkey's involvement worries many. Although the Turkish Ministry of National Defence on its website denies that Turkish airplanes and drones were involved in the conflict, the Russian Novisti news agency cited sources on Monday that said Turkey had transported some 4,000 Syrian mercenaries into the region to help the Azerbaijani army.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had "information that indicated with certainty" that Syrian mercenaries are involved in the conflict. "This is a very serious new fact, which changes the situation," he said during a meeting with European leaders in Brussels on Wednesday.

The implication is scary," says Giragosian. "This, combined with reports that a Turkish f-16 shot down and Armenian Air Force jet raises stakes. It adds a new element of instability and it makes it much harder to climb back down," according to Giragosian.

Military support

The Azeri news outlet XalqQezeti turns the accusations around, acknowledging that Syrian fighters are involved, but insisting "they are Syrian fighters of Armenian origin" who were brought to Armenia "to take part in the fighting against Azerbaijan," the statement said. The agency adds that Russian reports about the 4,000 Syrian fighters fighting for Azerbaijan are "completely false and fake".

For now, France, Russia and the US, in rare harmony, have called for an end to the conflict, but have offered little more than diplomatic support. Turkey appears happy to continue its military involvement.

"Neither the European Union nor individual EU member states like France has that kind of leverage," says Giragosian.

"Russia, however, can play a more decisive role. And it is also a challenge to Russian long-term interests, if Russia fails to persuade Turkey or pressure Azerbaijan to back down," he says.
Melbourne could get its own currency to boost spending in bars and restaurants left battered by coronavirus lockdowns.

The 'Melbourne Dollar' is an ambitious idea coined by Lord Mayor Sally Capp which would potentially deliver $25million into the state's fragile hospitality industry.

Food venues brought about $2.5billion into the economy each year before the pandemic forced swaths of businesses to cut their staff or close their doors entirely.

Each dollar would cost patrons 80 Australian cents and would have to be spent at participating eateries and bars in the city, the Herald Sun reported.

Melbourne could get its own currency to boost spending in bars and restaurants left battered by coronavirus lockdowns (pictured: A person wearing a face mask walks past a closed pub in Melbourne)

Under the scheme, residents could purchase $500 Melbourne dollars for $400 Australian Dollars. Pictured: Women in a park in Melbourne as the COVID-19 pandemic slows

Under the scheme, residents could purchase $500 Melbourne dollars for $400 Australian Dollars.

Ms Capp promised to carry out the program if re-elected in October and said it would give Melbourne venues an advantage over competitors.

'I make no apology for this - our city has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and needs as much help as we can give.'

Melbourne City Council would pour $5million into the scheme to ensure businesses aren't left out of pocket.

'We have had initial discussions with some financial institutions and would go straight to market for a partner or partners to deliver this program.'

Ms Capp said the program 'suits all budgets and supports all venues' willing to participate.

The 'Melbourne Dollar' is an ambitious idea coined by Lord Mayor Sally Capp (pictured)

Councillor Roshena Campbell, who is a former restaurant review and barrister, would be in charge of the scheme.

It comes as the Victorian government and the City of Melbourne joined forces to tip $100million into the lifeless CBD.

About one million people visited the city centre each day before coronavirus.

In August, that number had dropped by 90 per cent.

Restrictions have been loosened on Melbourne eateries amid falling COVID-19 rates.

Venues can now apply for permits to set up dining areas on footpaths, in side streets and laneways, or to operate in pop-up restaurant precincts.

Pictured: An empty row of small shops and restaurants in Melbourne on September 25

Restrictions have been loosened on Melbourne eateries amid falling COVID-19 rates. Pictured: People in Melbourne enjoying the sunshine on September 19

Permits are free and grants of up to $10,000 are available for businesses to convert outdoor areas.

Victoria has reported just seven new coronavirus cases, as the state's horror second wave of infections continues to fall.

Two more deaths were also recorded on Friday bringing Victoria's death toll to 802 and the national figure to 890.
Best of luck to the Kildare branch winners of Network Irelands Businesswomen of the Year awards, who will represent the county on Friday, October 2, at the national awards.

The Kildare winners were chosen at the end of August in some hotly-contested categories  even though this years annual awards gala was replaced by a social-distancing friendly Zoom event.

Network Ireland is the countrys longest established and leading female focused business network. It is the go-to national women in business organisation to promote, support and lead women in business at all levels and to drive their professional and personal development.

Network Ireland will host its flagship event virtually this year from Powerscourt Hotel next Friday. The theme of this year's annual conference is Power Within, and a host of international world-class speakers will ensure women in business have the resilience, motivation, insights and know-how to fulfil their potential and lead and inspire others.

Keynote speakers and panellists at this years conference include emcee Elaine Crowley, broadcaster and journalist; Louise Phelan, CEO of Phelan Energy group and formerly of Paypal; mentalist Keith Barry; Caroline Casey, founder #valuable and The Valuable 500; Pedro Angulo, head of leadership development at AIB and motivational speaker; Adam Harris, founder and CEO of AsIAm (the events charity partner); Samantha Barry, editor in chief of Glamour magazine and psychologist Jim Lyng.

The event will run from 9.30am to 5.30pm with keynote addresses and panel discussions, plus practical skills workshops.

The national winners of the Irish Businesswomen of the Year Awards will be announced during the day.

The Kildare winners who are in contention for national awards are:

Online Business Transformation: Krystle Foley, Fusion Digital.

Transformative Employee: Michelle Campion, Westgrove Hotel.

Business Innovation: Louise Murphy, Cyc-lok Ltd.

Emerging New Business: Andrea Griffin, Glam Doll.

Solo Businesswoman: Jane Manzor, Manzor Marketing.

Power Within Champion: Karyn Flood, Tim Flood Flooring and Furniture.
Bachelor runner-up Bella Varelis has made no secret she is interested in becoming the next Bachelorette.

And it seems the brunette beauty, 25, is positioning herself as a likely candidate for the role after revealing she would NOT star in the upcoming season of Bachelor In Paradise.

She told The Daily Telegraph this week: 'I don't think I would do Bachelor In Paradise, but that's mainly because I don't want to end up heartbroken again.'

Eyes on the prize! Bella Varelis has hinted she WILL be The Bachelorette after stressing she will appear on Bachelor In Paradise

The reality TV star explained that she did not want to risk putting her heart on the line and not be chosen again.

Instead, she said she would say 'yes' to being The Bachelorette, calling it a 'sure way of finding my love story'.

'Seeing two of my friends (Matty Johnson and Laura Byrne) find love on The Bachelor proves to me that this does work and you can meet the person you want to be with for the rest of your life,' she added.

No paradise romance for her! The reality TV star explained that she did not want to risk putting her heart on the line and not be chosen again

She'll be giving out the roses: Instead, Bella said she would say 'yes' to being The Bachelorette, calling it a 'sure way of finding my love story'. Pictured left to right are The Bachelor top four Izzy Sharman-Firth, winner Irena Srbinovska, Bec Cvilikas and Bella

Bella shared a similar sentiment about being cast as The Bachelorette when she spoke to Daily Mail Australia, last week.

The day after the Bachelor grand finale aired, she said: 'Yeah, I mean, what a way to get your happily ever after!'

Bella was unceremoniously dumped by Locky Gilbert during the show's finale last week, in one of the most brutal Bachelor breakups.

Locky burst into tears and gasped for air as he delivered the shocking news to Bella, saying he needed 'more certainty' in a relationship.

Looking for her happily ever after: Bella shared a similar sentiment about being cast as The Bachelorette when she spoke to Daily Mail Australia last week. She said: 'Yeah, I mean, what a way to get your happily ever after!'

Brutal: Bella was unceremoniously dumped by Locky Gilbert during the show's finale last week, in one of the most brutal Bachelor breakups

'I fell in love with you the first day I saw you, and I saw those big brown eyes... And when I told you I love you, I meant every single word,' he said in an emotion-filled speech.

'I know you don't sort of see where your future is at the moment. I think I need just a little bit of certainty. 'I just don't know if I can see us working,' he added.

Upon hearing the news, Bella looked at Locky - who had declared his love for her a day earlier - in utter disbelief.

Furiously, she responded: 'You can't turn this around on me... I'm going,' she said before storming off.
France's health minister Olivier Veran declared on Thursday that if the "worrying" Covid situation in Paris does not improve over the weekend, tougher measures will be announced on Monday.

The capital and its closest suburbs, comprising nearly seven million people, have already breached the maximum alert thresholds, Veran told a press conference.

"We need a few days to confirm the trends, but if they are confirmed, we'll have no choice but to put it on maximum alert, from Monday," he declared, suggesting that could mean "a total closure of bars."

According to the health authorities, the number of cases per 100,000 residents in Paris has risen to 259.6, above the alert threshold of 250.

The minister also explained that in Paris and the surrounding area, three out of every ten patients now in hospital emergency recovery wards are under the age of 65 - again above the critical level of 30 per cent.

Veran said he would consult with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Sunday to decide on any new regulations and that their effectiveness would be reviewed after 2 weeks.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Jean Castex met mayors and key representatives from many of France's major towns and cities and Veran said the government was now particularly concerned about the situation in Lille, Lyon, Grenoble, Toulouse and Saint Etienne.

There is also concern about the Hauts-de-France region, in the north of the country.

Veran signalled that these areas could also be subject to tougher rules next week if the current measures fail to stop the situation deteriorating.

Improvement in Marseille

However, figures from Marseille, Nice and Bordeaux, demonstrated what Veran called "the beginning of a slight improvement" in the rate of infection.

That could lead to a possible relaxing of restrictions in Marseille where the decision last week to order the closure of bars and restaurants sparked considerable anger.

Bar and restaurant owners and staff in the city have since submitted suggestions to the government, in the hope that they might re open with stronger anti-Covid measures in place. Veran said he will examine the proposals and is likely to make an announcement on Sunday.

On testing, the health minister revealed that more than 60 per cent of people who tested positive were asymptomatic. He also announced that from Saturday, those forced to isolate after being in contact with a covid case can obtain a certificate online to show their employers.
Hathras : , Oct 2 (IANS) Tempers ran high in Hathras on Friday after the district administration banned the entry of the media in Boolgarhi village where the Hathras assault victim lived.

A heavy deployment of police was made around the village on Friday and even the movement of locals was restricted. Policemen were seen standing even in the fields to prevent media persons from reaching the house of the victim and meeting her family.

A local official who did not identify himself, said that restrictions were in place due to Section 144 being imposed in the district.

In Lucknow, UP minister and government spokesman Siddhartha Nath Singh said, "Today, the Trinamool people tried to reach the village and their purpose was merely to register their presence in this situation. It is like "Main bhi hoon na." Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were prevented from going to Hathras on Thursday amid high drama on the Yamuna expressway.
WASHINGTON - The House voted overwhelmingly Friday to condemn the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory as the online movement identified as a potential domestic terrorist threat by the FBI has gained traction with some in the Republican Party.

The vote was 371-18 for the resolution sponsored by Reps. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., and Denver Riggleman, R-Va., and came days after Malinowski said he received death threats from QAnon supporters after a false GOP ad accused him of lobbying "to protect sexual predators."

Seventeen Republicans and one independent voted against the resoultion condemning QAnon, a pro-Trump conspiracy theory that has been a central vector of misinformation about the coronavirus, on the same day President Donald Trump said he and his wife had tested positive for the virus. Adherents of QAnon believe Trump is battling a cabal of "deep state" saboteurs who worship Satan and traffic children for sex. In August, Trump gave a major boost to the baseless theory, saying that he appreciated the support of its followers, calling them "people that love our country."

QAnon, which took root on anonymous message boards in 2017, has been identified by the FBI as among the extremist views "very likely" to motivate violence. Its adherents, according to law enforcement, have been arrested in numerous incidents, including two murders, a kidnapping, vandalism of a church and a heavily armed standoff near the Hoover Dam.

Malinowski said he has faced attacks online from QAnon supporters and received threats after the National Republican Congressional Committee ran an ad that falsely said Malinowski tried to block a provision in a 2006 crime bill that would have expanded registration requirements for sex offenders.

Malinowski, a freshman who worked on national security issues in the Clinton and Obama administrations, was the director of Human Rights Watch from 2001 to 2013.

"If you've seen extra vitriol on my social media, here's why: the "Q" persona dropped a statement targeting me, citing the discredited NRCC (GOP SuperPAC) attacks on me & my resolution condemning QAnon. My office has gotten 6 death threats since yesterday," Malinowski tweeted this week.

Speaking on the House floor Friday, Malinowski warned of the threat of QAnon.

"Conspiracy theories, just like this one, have fueled prejudice, terrorism, even genocide and today, social media is fanning the flames," he said.

The resolution "condemns QAnon and rejects the conspiracy theories it promotes," while encouraging the FBI and law enforcement to focus on preventing violence, threats and harassment by extremists motivated by fringe political conspiracy theories. The measure also outlines a vision unlikely to be fulfilled - urging Americans, regardless of their political leanings, to seek information from authoritative sources and debate from a "common factual foundation."

In his remarks, Malinowski alluded to the political gains of QAnon adherents.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has endorsed the baseless theory and made several other racist remarks on video, won a GOP primary runoff in Georgia's heavily Republican 14th Congressional District in August, and has a clear path to becoming QAnon's first devotee in Congress. Last month, her Democratic rival in the GOP-leaning district dropped out of the race, citing personal reasons.

Malinowski condemned other conspiracy theories. He added: "Only one of these threats is considered a terrorist threat by the FBI. Only one is winning elections."

The 17 Republicans who rejected the resolution came from 12 states. They included Reps. Rob Bishop of Utah, Steve King of Iowa, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Daniel Webster of Florida and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.

Michigan Rep. Justin Amash was the independent who voted against the resolution. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., also a Republican, voted present.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's close friend Oprah Winfrey featured the small photography studio which created their distinctive bird nest artwork in her magazine this summer.

The Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 39, have offered royal fans several glimpses into the plush interiors into their dream $14 million Californian mansion during recent appearances and this week revealed a set of three $360 black-and-white prints of birds nests in their home.

The prints are from Californian Barloga Studios, a photography and print studio owned by father-son duo Dennis and Roy Barloga.

The brand shared a snap of the magazine and the feature on their Instagram page yesterday, writing: 'We received a nice shoutout in the July/August 2020 edition of The Oprah Magazine.'

While it is unknown if Oprah gifted the couple the artwork, she has proven herself to be a generous friend to the Duke and Duchess, having previously given their son Archie a set of '100 essential stories' featuring the personalised stickers.

The small photography studio who created Meghan Markle, 39, and Prince Harry's, 36, distinctive bird nest artwork were featured in the couple's friend Oprah Winfrey's magazine this summer

The studio shared a photograph of the cover of Oprah's magazine, as well as the feature in which they were included.

It was part of Creative Director Adam Glassman's home style sheet, which focused on 'coastal inspired' interiors.

Sharing it online, the father-son duo added: 'Our Kozo papers often sit in the shadow of our Nepalese paper but with the right image and space they really shine.'

Oprah has grown close with both Prince Harry and Meghan over the past few years, as well as being friends with Meghan's mother Doria Ragland.

The bird nest prints are part of a collection by Barloga Studios called Nest Studies, and cost $350 each

Reports surfaced earlier this year that Oprah had helped advise Meghan and Prince Harry on leaving their posts as senior members of the Royal Family, but she denied the claim.

It was confirmed in September that Prince Harry had teamed with Oprah on a new Apple TV Plus streaming service series focusing on mental health.

The media mogul also attended the royal wedding in May 2018 as a guest of the couple.

The Barloga brand specialise in 'nature' images, with the Duke and Duchess selecting three of the Nest Studies prints, which cost $360 each, for their living space.

Oprah, 66, is known to be a generous friend to the Duke and Duchess, having previously given their son Archie a set of '100 essential stories' featuring the personalised stickers

The three frames on show in Prince Harry and Meghan's home are likely snaps taken by Roy, who specialises in infrared photographs and is best known for his series of 'trilogies' that span a wide variety of subjects.

According to their website, the duo are currently combining their talents to 'make prints on a variety of 'unphotographic' substrates' including handmade paper, film, wood, and fabric.

The couple have framed their huge nest prints in the brand's frameless leather and steel hangers which are described online as 'offering an easy and inexpensive way to display our prints without the hassle of custom framing'.

The trendy industrial style frames cost $50 a pop.

The prints are from Californian Barloga Studios, a photography and print studio owned by father-son duo Dennis and Roy Barloga (pictured together, left Roy and right, Dennis)

The Duke and Duchess spoke from their sprawling nine-bedroom and 16-bathroom mansion in upscale Santa Barbara which they share with their son Archie.

The mansion is known as 'The Chateau' for $14.65million on June 18, making them neighbors with celebrities Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres, according to DailyMail.com.

Yesterday the couple spoke out to demand an end to 'structural racism' in Britain.

In a wide-ranging interview from their California mansion, Prince Harry revealed his 'awakening' to issues faced by black people after meeting his wife.

Meanwhile, Meghan Markle praised Black Lives Matter protests in America after the death of George Floyd as 'beautiful' - but said this only applied to 'peaceful protest' and admitted many people found them 'inflammatory'.

Meghan and Prince Harry's new home sits on 5.4 acres of land and immaculately clipped hedges border the estate's stone-pillared entry gates (pictured)

Speaking on Zoom to the Evening Standard, Harry also weighed on Diversity's controversial BLM dance routine on Britain's Got Talent and said he was 'surprised' by the negative comments it had received.

In an article for the newspaper, the couple said: 'As long as structural racism exists, there will be generations of young people of colour who do not start their lives with the same equality of opportunity as their white peers. And for as long as that continues, untapped potential will never get to be realised.'

The interview is the latest in a long series of political interventions by the couple, including last week when Harry weighed in on the US election by urging voters to 'reject hate speech'.

The comments - which broke royal protocol - were widely interpreted as a call to vote out Donald Trump, and prompted Buckingham Palace to immediately distance themselves from Harry by noting he was 'not working member of the Royal Family'.
The Washington County Sheriffs Office has released the name of a deputy who shot at an Aloha man late last month.

Deputy B. Winders shot at Breck Carter, 39, through a window after Carter pointed a rifle at Winders, according to the sheriffs office, but Carter was not struck. Winders was on the scene responding to a neighbor dispute involving Carter.

Winders was placed on modified duty after the shooting in line with standard protocol, the sheriffs office said. The Washington County Major Crimes Team is investigating.

Sheriffs officials said deputies were summoned to a pair of homes near Southwest Cascadia Street and Cascadia Court after a neighbor called to say Carter, 39, was on his property. Deputies told Carter the previous day that if he returned to the property hed be trespassing.

Deputies arrived about 10:30 p.m. and tried to talk to Carter, who then ran into his home and pointed a gun at deputies though a window, sheriffs officials said. Deputies backed away and called in a tactical negotiations team and crisis negotiations unit.

About 10 minutes later, Winders saw Carter point a gun at him from inside the home, and the deputy responded by shooting through the window at Carter, the sheriffs office said.

Crisis negotiators ultimately made contact with Carter, who was uninjured, and deputies took him into custody about two hours after the shooting, sheriffs officials said. Carter is charged with harassment, unlawful use of a weapon and menacing.

Aimee Green of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- K. Rambo

krambo@oregonian.com

@k_rambo_
WASHINGTON - Hope Hicks, a close adviser to President Donald Trump who traveled with him several times this week aboard Air Force One, has tested positive for the coronavirus, a senior administration official confirmed Thursday.

Hicks, 31, served as Trump's 2016 campaign spokeswoman from the beginning of his candidacy and then White House communications director before leaving in March 2018 for a job at Fox News. She returned to the White House in February in the role of counselor to the president.

Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity during a live interview Thursday night that he and first lady Melania Trump were tested after they learned about Hicks and were awaiting the results.

"She tested positive and I just went out with a test ... so whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know," Trump said. "So I just went for a test and we'll see what happens. Who knows? ... We spend a lot of time with Hope, so we'll see what happens."

Hicks traveled with the president to Pennsylvania for a rally on Saturday, to Cleveland for the first presidential debate on Tuesday and to Minnesota for another campaign rally on Wednesday.

She was photographed without a mask at the Pennsylvania rally clapping to the Village People's "YMCA" with other Trump aides and in Cleveland on the tarmac deplaning Air Force One.

Trump, who doesn't wear a mask or promote social distancing, is often seen in close proximity with his entourage who also do not follow public health experts' precautions.

"The President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously," said Judd Deere, a White House spokesman. "White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting covid-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling."

Hicks is the most senior White House aide known to have tested positive. Vice President Pence's spokeswoman, Katie Miller, caught the virus in May and Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump campaign finance chair and girlfriend of the president's son Donald Trump Jr., contracted the virus in July.

Trump has faced criticism for his refusal to encourage widespread mask wearing, which top public health officials in his own administration have said would make a significant difference in reducing the spread of the contagious virus that has killed more than 200,000 Americans.

The White House administers daily coronavirus tests of aides, reporters and others who come into contact with the president. But public health experts warn they are not fool-proof and that masks and social distancing are still the best protection against the virus.

At Tuesday's debate, Trump was pressed on his insistence on having massive campaign rallies where no one is required to wear facial coverings or socially distance.

"We've had no negative effect, and we've had, 35-40,000, people at some of these rallies," Trump said.

"He's been totally irresponsible the way in which he has handled the social distancing and people wearing masks, basically encouraged them not to. He's a fool on this," Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden shot back.

"If you could get the crowds, you would have done the same thing," Trump said. "But you can't. Nobody cares."
John Gordon suppressed slave rebellion in Jamaica, which saw nearly 500 killed

A plaque in St Peter's Church, Dorchester praises 18th century plantation owner

A white board has now been placed over the memorial following complaints

A memorial stone commemorating an 18th century slave trader, and hailing his 'bravery' in quelling slave rebellion in Jamaica, has been covered up because of its offensive meaning.

A white board has been placed over the plaque in St Peter's Church in Dorchester, Dorset, which was dedicated to plantation owner John Gordon, who died in 1744.

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The wording on the 5ft memorial praises the Scottish slaver's work in suppressing an uprising of slaves in the Caribbean, in which 500 of them were killed.

It states: 'He was signally instrumental in quelling a dangerous rebellion in that island (Jamaica), in the year of 1760.

'A large body of n*****s whom his bravery had repulsed, finally yielding to their confidence in his humanity.'

A white board has been placed over the plaque in St Peter's Church in Dorchester, Dorset, which was dedicated to plantation owner John Gordon, who died in 1744

JOHN GORDON: THE 18th CENTURY PLANTATION OWNER PRAISED FOR HIS 'BRAVERY' AND 'HUMANITY' John Gordon was born in Sutherland, Scotland, in 1728. He was a lawyer for the Ellis family in the 1750s and, jointly with another attorney, took over administration of the Greencastle and Newry Plantations in Jamaica which produced sugar, rum and molasses. He used that position to establish his own business as a plantation owner, possibly buying or leasing land from John Ellis. In 1760 slaves staged a rebellion over their ill-treatment, leading to one of the most brutal suppressions of its time. Gordon returned to Britain and died in Dorchester in October 1774, aged 46. The plaque in his honour is on the wall opposite the south door entrance to the 15th century church and is quite prominent, with a carved urn on top and the family coat of arms below. The plaque reads: 'He was signally instrumental in quelling a dangerous rebellion in that island (Jamaica), in the year of 1760. 'A large body of n*****s whom his bravery had repulsed, finally yielding to their confidence in his humanity.' Accounts from the time suggest the aftermath was anything but humane. Some rebels were killed on the spot while others were taken prisoner and then executed in gruesome ways.

The plaque sparked complaints from anti-racism campaigners in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.

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Last week the church authorities voted to remove the memorial but that decision must go through an ecclesiastical planning process which will take several months.

In the meantime workmen had put up a temporary cover to censor the controversial text.

The cover is made from foam board that is held in place by friction without having any impact on the ancient walls or monument.

It covers the section about the slave rebellion but leaves exposed the name and details of John Gordon.

A notice explaining why the rest of it is covered has also been displayed. It states that the wording underneath 'commemorates actions and uses language which are totally unacceptable to us today'.

The church's 15 committee members have voted for it to be moved to a museum, but it is legally obliged to put the decision to a public consultation before the memorial can be removed.

The other options considered were for it to be left in place with accompanying material giving its historical context or moved to a less prominent spot in the church.

Church warden Val Potter said: 'After the Parochial Church Council decision to add a temporary cover our practical people suggested a cover made from foam board which we have put in position.

'It is temporary and there is no impact on the walls or monument so we did not need formal permission for it.

'The cover leaves exposed the name and details of John Gordon but not the section about his role in the rebellion.

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'The notice on the cover states why the monument is covered and outlines the decision by the PCC.

'We are very grateful to the Black Lives Matter campaign for raising the urgency of the issue, we've been thinking about what to do about it for some time.

'The only negative comments we get in our visitors box are about this memorial.'

Once the plaque is removed it will be displayed in a museum.

Last week authorities at the church, pictured, voted to remove the memorial but that decision must go through an ecclesiastical planning process which will take several months

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John Gordon was born in Sutherland, Scotland, in 1728.

He was a lawyer for the Ellis family in the 1750s and, jointly with another attorney, took over administration of the Greencastle and Newry Plantations in Jamaica which produced sugar, rum and molasses.

He used that position to establish his own business as a plantation owner, possibly buying or leasing land from John Ellis.

In 1760 slaves staged a rebellion over their ill-treatment, leading to one of the most brutal suppressions of its time.

Some rebels were killed on the spot while others were taken prisoner and then executed in gruesome ways.

Gordon returned to Britain and died in Dorchester in October 1774, aged 46.

The plaque in his honour is on the wall opposite the south door entrance to the 15th century church and is quite prominent, with a carved urn on top and the family coat of arms below.

David Rhodes, of Stand Up To Racism Dorset, said: 'We congratulate the church council for this decision, and especially the efforts of the church warden in steering a course through the church decision-making process.

'We believe that the council has made the right decision. It is good that the church is taking steps to acknowledge our 'shameful past'.

'The Gordon Plaque commends and celebrates the actions of John Gordon in suppressing a rebellion by enslaved people fighting for their freedom in Jamaica in 1760.

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'It is a celebration of white supremacy and racism.'
Real estate, for the most part, refers to the production, purchase, and selling of property. But when most people think of real estate, the first thing that comes to their mind is a real estate agent or property developer. As a student, you can get into the real estate industry as a property manager, quantity surveyor, interior designer, sales marketer, or even an architect. If you are looking for a career in this industry, you must first complete any of the available real estate courses in Kenya.

Real estate courses. Photo: unsplash.com

Source: UGC

Real estate courses in Kenya equips you with the knowledge and skills required to become an expert in the industry. You can enrol for a programme that will educate you on things like contract clauses, obligations as a broker or property manager, and disclosure policies, among others.

However, the essential part is to get the needed certification to practice and represent potential clients. This is necessary whether you choose to do the real estate courses online or from a physical institution.

How much does a real estate agent make in Kenya?

The salary of a real estate agent in Kenya comes from the commission they receive after selling a home or property. In some cases, the fees they get is flat and in others, it is in the form of a percentage.

When an agent earns a commission based on a percentage, the amount can vary from 1.5% to 10%. However, many sellers usually give out 3% of the propertys sale value.

Is real estate marketable in Kenya?

The real estate industry in Kenya has seen a flurry of activities since the early 2000s due to increased interest in the property market. Almost all sectors in real estate are in demand.

People are looking for office spaces in cities, the retail market is growing outside of major cities like Nairobi and Mombasa, and the residential market has been a significant driver of the property market. That only makes real estate marketable to those that want to join the industry.

Real estate courses and Universities and colleges offering them in Kenya

Kenya has many universities and colleges offering real estate courses. Most of these institutions offer certificate, diploma, and degree programmes to get you started and earn a real estate license in Kenya.

1. Real estate

Kenya has many universities and colleges offering real estate courses. Photo: unsplash.com

Source: UGC

The course combines industry knowledge in the property market with business techniques. When you enrol for a bachelors degree in real estate, you will cover many topics, such as investing and financing in real estate, analysing the market, and appraising the market, among others. At the end of the course, you will obtain a license to operate as a real estate agent, broker, or manager.

Although you can get free online real estate courses and obtain certification, most of the institutions that offer the programmes are foreign. However, you can enrol for a Bachelor in Real Estate at the following Kenyan universities.

University of Nairobi

Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology

Kenyatta University

Mount Kenya University

Sensei Institute of Technology

Minimum entry requirements

For a Bachelor Degree in Real Estate, you need the following qualification requirements:

KCSE mean grade of B- (minus).

A C+ (plus) as the minimum grade in cluster subjects of English/Kiswahili, Mathematics, Physics or Physical Science, Geography or Building, Construction, or Drawing, Design or Economics or Commerce or Accounting.

You can also enrol if you have a diploma or equivalent qualification in a relevant discipline with distinction or credit.

Technical University of Kenya real estate course

The Technical University of Kenya has a department of real estate and property management. Under this institution, students can enrol for various programmes including:

Bachelor of Real Estate and Property Studies

Bachelor of Real Estate and Property Studies Module II

Diploma in Technology in Real Estate

Certificate in Estate Agency and Real Property

For the degree courses, the qualifications are KCSE mean grade of C+ (plus) with at least C+ in respective cluster subjects. To enrol for a diploma, you need a KCSE mean grade of C- (minus).

You will also need at least C- in Mathematics, Physics/Physical Science, and English/Geography. The certificate programme only requires you to have a KCSE mean grade of D+ (plus) with at least D+ in Mathematics and English/Geography.

2. Land surveying

For the degree courses, the qualifications are KCSE mean grade of C+ (plus) with at least C+ in respective cluster subjects. Photo: unsplash.com

Source: UGC

Land surveying is one of the many university courses for real estate. The programme provides students with the knowledge of geography, engineering, and architecture and the skills they will need to form land boundaries, develop the land, and determine ownership. Some of the colleges and universities offering the course include:

Technical University of Kenya

Kenya Institute of Survey and Mapping

Kenya Institute of Professional Studies

Karumo Technical Training Institute

Kitale National Polytechnic

Minimum entry requirements

You need the following educational requirements to enrol for a diploma in land surveying.

KCSE mean grade of C- (minus).

A mean grade of C- (minus) in Mathematics and Physics

Note that you can also enrol if you hold a certificate in land surveying.

3. Interior design

Interior design is becoming one of the most popular fields in the building and construction sector, as well as the real estate industry in general. A diploma programme helps students to gain the knowledge and skills in the design of the interior spaces of a building. Some of the institutions that offer the programme include:

University of Nairobi

Nairobi Institute of Technology

Technical University of Kenya

Maseno University

Kenyatta University

Machakos University

Kirinyaga University

Catholic University of East Africa

Minimum entry requirements

You can enrol for a Bachelor of Interior Design degree if you meet the following requirements:

KCSE mean grade of C+ (plus).

A mean score of C+ (plus) in English/Kiswahili and Mathematics.

A mean grade of C- at KCSE and a relevant diploma or certificate qualification from a recognised educational institution in Kenya.

You can also enrol for a diploma course in interior design. The qualifications include a mean grade of C- (minus) at KCSE or a pass in Craft Certificate course in Building Construction, Art and Design, or Architecture.

4. Architecture

Real estate and property management. Photo: unsplash.com

Source: UGC

Architecture courses combine art, science, and technology to impart knowledge to students on the current design trends, planning laws, and regulations. At the end of the programme, an individual will have the skills to design and engineer buildings and other structures. The institutions offering the course include:

University of Nairobi

Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology

Technical University of Kenya

Kenyatta University

Nairobi Institute of Technology

Rift Valley Technical Training Institute

Kirinyaga University College

Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology

Minimum entry requirements

The requirements for a degree in architecture are:

KCSE mean grade of C+ (plus).

A C+ (plus) in Mathematics, Physics, and Geography, CRE, Biology, Chemistry, Art and Design, or Computer Studies.

Universities in Kenya will also allow you to enrol for the course if you have attained a diploma in architecture, construction, or any related fields with a credit pass or equivalent.

5. Real estate and property management

A real estate management course in Kenya trains professionals in the areas of real estate with concentrations in management. The programme covers the fundamentals of real estate and property management, administration, building systems, reporting, accounting, contract management, and more. Some of the institutions that offer the course are:

University of Nairobi

Mount Kenya University

Kenyatta University

Technical University of Kenya

Minimum entry requirements

To enrol for a degree in real estate and property management course, you will need to meet the following educational requirements:

KCSE mean grade of C+ (plus).

A mean score of C (plain) in Mathematics and English or similar grades in an equivalent examination.

A diploma in a relevant field.

You can also enrol for a certificate course in real estate management at the Sensei Institute of Technology, Nakuru.

Note that a certificate in real estate management in Kenya will allow you to study for a diploma in the course. But the institutions senate must approve the certificate.

6. Building construction

f you are looking for a career in this industry, you must first complete any of the available real estate courses in Kenya. Photo: unsplash.com

Source: UGC

The course allows students to study the methods, materials, and techniques used in building construction projects. It covers the entire construction process from concept to project closeout. Also, it includes materials and methods, building and material codes, quantity surveys, and procedures in construction. Some of the institutions that offer the programme in Kenya are:

Railway Training Institute

Sensei Institute of Technology

Kenya Technical Trainers College

Masai Technical Training Institute

Kenya Coast National Polytechnic

Kenya Industrial Training Institute

Eldoret Technical Training Institute

Minimum entry requirements

You can enrol for either a certificate or diploma programme in building construction. As a student, you will need the following requirements to study for a diploma programme:

KCSE mean grade of C- (minus).

A mean score of C- (minus) in Mathematics, Physics, and English.

For a certificate course, you need to have a mean grade of D+ at KCSE to enrol.

Some of the real estate courses available in Kenya are bachelor of real estate and property studies, land surveying, building construction, property management, and architecture, among others. Depending on the course, you will need a minimum mean grade of at least a C+ at KCSE to enrol for a degree programme. Alternatively, a D+ will allow you to study a certificate course and a C- will be enough for a diploma.

Tuko.co.ke has broken down the Law of Succession Act as prescribed in the Kenyan constitution. This law oversees the passing on property rights, obligations, titles, and debts of a deceased to the rightful party.

As of the most talked-about laws in Kenya, it is important for individuals to completely understand what it entails. This breakdown addresses every section of the law to make it easier for Kenyans to know the different types of succession and when they can happen.

READ ALSO: Best courses for C+, C or C minus students in 2021 in Kenya

Tuko.co.ke published an article about the best courses for C+, C- and C. Having a C plain, C minus and sometimes C+ means that you miss out on a spot to undertake an excellent degree course in one of the best higher institutions in Kenya. However, this is not the end of your education road as there are some competitive courses for C+, C or C minus students. The programs are guaranteed to lead to a successful career, and if need be, you can always upgrade to the highest level of education you wish.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
COLLINSVILLE  The Illinois State Board of Education has chosen two teachers at schools in Madison County to recognize as exemplary educators, and Madison County Regional Superintendent of Schools, Rob Werden is congratulating both women on the prestigious honor.

We are so proud of all of our educators here in Madison County, but to have two teachers receive this recognition from the Illinois State Board of Education is extraordinary, Werden said. This is a challenging time in education, but our teachers are working hard to provide excellent opportunities for our students.
BLAIR TOWNSHIP, Pa.  Trump 2020 campaign signs are visible from Sonja Biharys kitchen window, from her backyard and the front, spiked into the lawns she passes on her daily commutes, and spread across billboards on local highways.

Donald Trump received 73% of the vote in 2016 in rural Blair County, where Bihary lives with her husband and four daughters. So when the elementary teacher put up some campaign signs for Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, she expected a little pushback.

We would put a sign out and a few days later, they would be gone, she said Tuesday evening in her living room.

One time, a teenage boy rang her doorbell, told her that he and his friends took the sign, and replaced it. Bihary, 50, said she never went to the police about the thefts or vandalism.

I was going to order a flag so it would be closer to my house, she said.

Biharys husband, an Army veteran who asked not to be named, takes credit for the idea of turning their garage door into a billboard, but shes the one who bought the red and white paint, taped out the letters, and painted Biden/Harris on the approximately 16-by-8-foot panel. They were already planning to get a new door.

She began the project around Labor Day. Many motorists in this west-central Pennsylvania township slow down to look. Some get out of their cars to thank her. Some curse at her.

A woman on the back of a motorcycle gave me the finger, said Bihary. But Id say the positive comments have outweighed the negative.

Pete Palumbo, vice chairman of the McKean County Democratic Committee on the states northern edge, believes the Biden supporters in rural Pennsylvania may be the silent majority.

The picture is painted that were a bunch of redneck hicks up here, Palumbo said. The Biden people are pretty quiet, and the Trump people are a bit louder. We may be rural up here in Gods country, but were not stupid.

Biden may have a garage door in Pennsylvania, but one Trump supporter turned an entire home into a tribute to the president, a tourist attraction known as the Trump House in Youngstown, Westmoreland County. Landlord Leslie Baum Rossi created her shrine to then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign.

On the Pennsylvania Turnpike in central Pennsylvania, a massive Trump 2020 monument at least 20 feet wide was created out of blocks on an earthen berm, greeting thousands of motorists heading east from Pittsburgh.

Last month, a Lebanon County man was charged with stealing Trump campaign signs and vandalizing supporters' homes. Pennsylvania State Police dealt with vandalism to both candidates' signs in Bucks and Northampton counties last month, along with Black Lives Matter signs and others supporting law enforcement.

Palumbo said his committee has put out approximately 15 larger Biden signs, about five feet square, and three of them have been vandalized. Of the 700 lawn signs theyve handed out, approximately 60 to 70 have been stolen.

Bihary said there are more signs for Biden than Hillary Clinton had in 2016, though she believes the support for Trump has gotten obnoxious.

My garage door was my little reply to it all, she said. I mean, big reply.

By Jason Nark, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

More:

After his Trump campaign signs are stolen, man puts an electric fence in his yard

Trump flags stolen and burned, Biden signs stolen and defaced in 2 Pennsylvania counties
Oct. 2 recovery operations on Lake Michigan shoreline Multiple Racine County law enforcement agencies were involved in a Friday morning recovery operation on the Lake Michigan shoreline off August

RACINE  Multiple Racine County law enforcement agencies were involved in a Friday morning recovery operation of a body on Lake Michigan off Augusta Street and Michigan Boulevard.

The area was being treated as a crime scene, with a large section of Lake Michigan shoreline being cordoned off by Racine Police south to Zoo Beach.

In a 3 p.m. Friday interview, Racine County Medical Examiner Michael Payne told The Journal Times that an autopsy on the recovered body will performed in Milwaukee. A preliminary determination on the cause of death is expected by late Monday afternoon.

Payne said receipt of a full autopsy report, including toxicology testing, likely won't be available for about eight weeks.

No identification of the victim was available.

"At this point we're not releasing any identification or anything out of respect for the family," Payne said.

Agencies responding to the scene included the Racine Police Department, Racine Fire Department, Mount Pleasant Police Department, Racine County Sheriffs Office and the Racine County Medical Examiner's Office.

It remains unknown whether the recovery effort is related to the Sept. 22 disappearance of 18-year-old Mount Pleasant resident Casey Shaw. The initial investigation into Shaws disappearance led officers to the area of Augusta Street and Michigan Boulevard in Racine, where the Racine Police Department, the Racine County Sheriffs Office and the United States Coast Guard conducted an extensive search.

The Journal Times will post additional information regarding the ongoing Lake Michigan recovery effort as it becomes available.

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Back to back killing of Dalit women in Uttar Pradesh has added a twist to caste politics in West Bengal with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) seeing an opportunity to reach out to backward class voters who supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in several of the 18 Lok Sabha seats the party won in 2019.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will hit the streets in Kolkata on Saturday to raise the issue and target the BJP. This will be her first rally since the Covid-19 pandemic began in March. TMC leaders will hold protests in every community block in the districts.

The campaign started on Friday afternoon when the TMCs media cell in Bengal crowded the social media with videos of its four MPs grappling with policemen about a kilometre away from the Hathras victims village.

The team was led by TMC Rajya Sabha member Derek OBrien and included Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.

Also read: Yogi Adityanath suspends Hathras SP, wants narco-analysis tests

However, it was the presence of the Joynagar Lok Sabha MP Pratima Mondal and former Bongaon Lok Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur and their heated exchange with the UP police that had a political significance in West Bengal. While Mondal belongs to the scheduled caste community, Thakur is a member of the Matua community, which is part of Bengals Dalit population. Both alleged that they were manhandled.

The team was sent by our leader Mamata Banerjee, said a senior TMC leader who did not want to be named.

Once treated as untouchables, the ancestors of the majority of the Namasudras (Dalits) in the state originally hailed from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and migrated to West Bengal after 1947 to escape religious persecution. There are about 10 million people from the Namasudra community in Bengal. During the 2011 census, Bengals population stood at 91.3 million.

Part of this Dalit population is the Matua community which is headed by its supreme body, All India Matua Mahasangha. The Mahasangha played host to Prime Minister Narendra Modis rally at Thakurnagar in North 24-Parganas district before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Contesting on a BJP ticket, the sects young face, Shantanu Thakur, defeated his aunt, TMCs Mamata Bala Thakur, at the Bongaon seat.

After Partition, the Matuas relocated to West Bengal and became the states second-most influential scheduled caste community with an estimated population of more than three million.

Also read: Allow politicians in Hathras, tweets elder sister Uma Bharti to Yogi

According to estimates by ruling and opposition parties, the Dalit communities can influence poll results in more than 50 of the states 294 assembly seats. Most of these seats are located in districts along the India-Bangladesh border.

Horrors continue, yet the "CHOWKIDARS" are asleep. Now, Bhadohi witnesses a vicious act of violence with another young-dalit girl, ironically on the eve of Non-violence day.



This is @BJP4Indias Uttar Pradesh  where the rule of law ends & the rule of upper-caste savages begins. pic.twitter.com/SS2Mob4eDq  Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) October 2, 2020

Chief ministers nephew and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee took the lead in targeting the BJP even before the TMC team tried to reach Hathras.

Horrors continue, yet the CHOWKIDARS are asleep. Now, Bhadohi witnesses a vicious act of violence with another young-dalit girl, ironically on the eve of Non-violence day. This is @BJP4Indias Uttar Pradesh  where the rule of law ends & the rule of upper-caste savages begins, he tweeted.

What a shame @narendramodi ji that an @AITCofficial Lok Sabha MP & representative of the SC community Pratima Mondal was manhandled by male officers of @Uppolice. HAS IT BECOME A TREND IN UP TO DISRESPECT SC WOMEN @myogiadityanath? #ShameOnYogi #HathrasHorror #DalitLivesMatter, tweeted the TMC.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh refused to give any importance to the TMCs agitation. This is drama. Hundreds of women are raped and murdered in Bengal but no TMC leader cares to visit their homes, Ghosh said at a rally held in support of the farm bills. The BJP leader, however, condemned the Hathras incident, saying the culprits should be punished.

The backward class vote bank is crucial for both the TMC and the BJP in the run-up to the assembly polls, a ruling party leader said on condition of anonymity.

Before the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP, which always had a refugee cell, carried out an extensive campaign on the then proposed citizenship law in Bengal to reach out to Hindus who left Bangladesh as refugees. Realising the importance of this vote bank, the TMC too launched its refugee cell in January this year. The cell now has units in all districts.
A Phoenix company that says its been prevented from erecting two billboards in Castle Hills is suing the city, alleging its sign regulations are unconstitutional.

Kenjoh Outdoor Advertising LLC wants to build the billboards on private property but says it was told by the city that billboards are only permitted on property owned or controlled by the city.

The ordinance also is unconstitutional because it prohibits noncommercial messages, Kenjoh alleges. Such messages would include political advertising.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio meat cutter sues former employer over leg amputations

Ryan Rapelye, Castle Hills city manager, said the city doesnt comment on pending litigation.

What I can tell you is, we have very good ordinances in Castle Hills that are designed to protect the interests of our residents and our business community, Rapelye said in an email.

John Kirirah, a Kenjoh manager, would not comment on the companys lawsuit. It was filed recently in San Antonio federal court.

According to Kirirahs affidavit filed with the lawsuit, Kenjoh in January identified multiple locations within Castle Hills to potentially erect billboards. It leased two locations, in the 1000 and 1900 blocks of Northwest Loop 410.

Assistant City Manager Luis Zamarron gave Kenjoh the green light for two static billboards in February and then again in April, Kirirah said in his affidavit.

Kirirah submitted permit applications and fees for the billboards to the city in May. About a week later, however, the city returned the applications and fees. The city pointed out that only digital billboards are allowed and that static billboards are not addressed in regulations.

Kirirah responded that Kenjoh would erect two digital billboards instead to comply with the regulations. He once again submitted the permit applications and fees, but Zamarron returned them less than a week later in July.

The only reason Mr. Zamarron gave for returning the applications is that the billboards are not on city-controlled land, Kirirah said.

SA Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox

The city codes state the purpose of the rules is to avoid the visual clutter that is potentially harmful to traffic and pedestrian safety, property values, business opportunities and community appearance.

In response, Kenjoh said the city cannot show that digital billboards on city-controlled property are any less harmful or cause less visual clutter than digital billboards on privately-owned property.

File photo

Brian J. Connolly, a Denver land-use and First Amendment lawyer, predicted the city will have a difficult time defending the ordinance. He is not involved in the dispute.

What is the aesthetic difference between a digital billboard on government property versus a digital billboard on private property?, Connolly said. That question is one Im not sure I have the answer to.

Kenjoh also says the ordinance unconstitutionally favors commercial speech over non-commercial speech.

The (U.S.) Supreme Court has made it very clear that governmental agencies may not favor commercial speech over non-commercial speech, Kenjoh says in a court filing.

Connolly agreed, saying the general rule is noncommercial speech must be allowed just as commercial speech.

If the ordinance, whether directly or indirectly, is prohibiting non-commercial speech on those billboards, then I think, again, the citys probably going to have a challenging legal defense on its hands.

Kenjoh adds in its complaint that the regulations and the permitting process are impermissible prior restraints on speech.

Kenjoh wants the court to declare the ordinance unconstitutional.

It also has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt the citys unjustified restraint on the companys First Amendment rights.

A hearing on the motion had not been scheduled as of Thursday afternoon.

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
New Delhi: The NIA on Thursday filed a charge sheet against 33 CPI (Maoist) cadres in the murder case of Chhattisgarh MLA Bhima Mandavi in 2019. The charge sheet was submitted in a special NIA court in Jagdalpur under relevant sections of the IPC.

Of the 33 accused, six have been arrested, 22 are absconding and five have died, the official said.

The case relates to an IED blast followed by indiscriminate firing on April 9, 2019 near Shyamgiri village in Dantewada district in which Mandavi, the then MLA of Dantewada, was killed by the operatives of CPI (Maoist), along with four police personnel of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF).

The arrested persons are Madka Ram Tati, Bhima Ram Tati, Linge Tati, Laxman Jaiswal, Ramesh Kumar Kashyap and Haripal Singh Chauhan, the NIA said in a press release.

Accoring to the NIA statement, the decision to kill Mandavi was taken at Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) level meeting held in December 2018 in West Bastar, Chhattisgarh.

Under the leadership of terrorist Bada Deva, cadres of the CPI (Maoist) were mobilised and an IED on the Nakulnar- Bacheli road was placed near Shyamgiri village where annual fair was being organised.

The statement said the place was pre-decided as the Maoist leaders believed that prominent political leaders, including Mandavi would attend the annual fair on April 9 last year.

The arms and ammunition of the slain security personnel were also looted by the assailants.

The NIA arrested six accused who had provided shelter, food, logistic support, electric wires and steel containers to the Naxalites.

Further investigation in the case was underway.
YA romance readers have a new reason to swoon: Random House Childrens Books has announced the launch of an imprint led by bestselling authors and married couple Nicola and David Yoon. Debuting in 2022, the imprint, called Joy Revolution, will be devoted to publishing teen love stories by and about people of color.

Wendy Loggia, senior executive editor at Delacorte Press, will oversee the imprint. The Yoons will partner with a soon-to-be-hired editor within Delacorte to acquire titles and shape the list, working with the team at RHCB throughout the publishing process.

National Book Award finalist, Printz Honoree, and Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner Nicola Yoon, author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star, said in a statement that the imprint is born of her passion for stories of the heart, as well as her desire to reflect our diverse world. I loved romantic comedies and romance novels when I was younger. Loved the meet-cutes, the breakups, the make-ups, and the final chase scene followed by the big speech declaring one persons love for the other. I had so many favorites: When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, Before Sunrise, Say Anything, Moonstruck, not to mention an unreasonable number of Harlequin romance books. But as much as I loved those titles, they always left me with nagging questions: Where were the girls who looked like me? Didnt Black girls ever fall in love? Joy Revolution is not focused on stories of Black pain or immigrant struggle. Our books wont be issue-oriented or polemical. The Joy Revolution imprint is all about telling stories of big love. The characters in them have big ideas about the world and their place in it. I believe love stories are truly revolutionary. Because love has the power to unmake and remake the world.

William C. Morris Award finalist and Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature Honoree David Yoon, author of Frankly in Love and the forthcoming Super Fake Love Song, added, Nicki and I created Joy Revolution as an antidote for a media landscape where people of color have relentlessly been erased, except for those rare occasions when their pain can teach white people about racism. Joy Revolution is a safe haven for readers like me and Nicki to see themselves as the romantic hero, free to pursue their bliss however they want, unrestrained and unencumbered. After a literal lifetime of waiting for more romantic literary heroes who look like uslargely to no availwere thrilled to help take the lead in making sure those heroes stories are told to a wide and beautifully diverse audience.

Jodi Reamer at Writers House negotiated the deal on behalf of the Yoons with Random House Childrens Books. Both David and Nicola will also continue to write their individual novels: David under the Putnam imprint at Penguin Young Readers, and Nicola at Delacorte Press.
Australian tourists have been asked to pay for their own COVID-19 tests and spend thousand of dollars on hotel quarantine if they want to travel to Singapore from next week.

The south-east Asian island will reopen to most Australians on October 8.

Only Victorians will not be allowed to travel as the state continues to wrestle with its second outbreak of COVID-19.

Lucky holidaymakers allowed to travel will need to do much more than just book a flight.

They will need to book a special travel pass, pay for their own COVID-19 tests prior to travelling and fork out thousands of dollars for two-week hotel quarantine when they return to Australia.

Australian tourists have been asked to pay for their own COVID-19 tests if they want to travel to Singapore from next week (pictured, Apple's Marina Bay Sands store in Singapore)

Though lucky holidaymakers allowed to travel will need to do much more than just book a flight (stock image)

Travellers need to apply for an Air Travel Pass between seven and 30 days prior to their visit to Singapore.

They are then encouraged to pay $306 for a COVID-19 test prior to their arrival.

Otherwise they will be tested at Changi Airport and told to download contact tracing app TraceTogether.

Holidaymakers will then need to self-isolate at a pre-booked hotel while they wait for their results.

They will not be allowed to leave the premises until health authorities notify them they are in the all clear.

On their return home, they will need to pay $3,000 to cover the mandatory two week hotel quarantine costs in Australia.

Singapore has been praised by the international community for its handling of the coronavirus crisis.

The city has recorded 57,000 cases but only 27 deaths.

New Zealand and Brunei residents have been allowed to visit the island since last month as Singapore looks to restart its travel industry.

New Zealand and Brunei residents have been allowed to visit the island since last month as Singapore looks to restart its travel industry (pictured, residents at the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore)

Vietnam residents will also be allowed to travel to Singapore from next week, news.com reported.

'Like Brunei and New Zealand, Vietnam and Australia have also very successfully controlled the spread of the COVID-19 virus,' Singapores transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said.

Mr Ye Kung said he had been in talks with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack about the future of international travel.

'And when conditions are right, I believe they will consider reciprocating the lifting of restrictions to travellers from Singapore,' he added.
Facing criticism in the wake of alleged rape incidents in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said those who even think of harming the women's self-respect will face total destruction.

IMAGE: All India Democratic Women's Association members during a protest rally demanding justice for the Hathras victim, outside the gate of IIT Powai, in Mumbai, on Friday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Stressing that his government is committed to women's safety, Adityanath said such people will get an exemplary punishment.

The warning has come days after a 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped in UP's Hathras by four men.

She died at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday morning.

Similarly, another case of a Dalit woman's death after alleged rape surfaced in the state. The woman died in Balrampur on her way to hospital.

Taking to the Twitter on Friday, Adityanath said, 'Total destruction of those who even think of harming the self-respect of women in UP is inevitable.'

'They will get such a punishment that will set an example for future. The UP government is committed to the safety and development of mothers and daughters,' he said, adding that this is his government's 'resolve and promise'.

The Hathras woman had succumbed to severe injuries she suffered when she was allegedly assaulted by four upper caste men in the fields at her village in Hathras district on September 14.

She was cremated in Hathras in the dead of night with family members saying they were not allowed to bring the body home one last time.

But police claimed they had the family's consent for the cremation.

The hurried funeral triggered outrage with opposition parties and other groups attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party government in UP over the state of law and order. Referring to the two cases, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati demanded that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should be replaced or President's rule imposed in the state.

The Allahabad High Court too sent out summons to top Uttar Pradesh officials over the Hathras incident.

The Congress staged a dramatic protest, leading to the detention of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The two leaders were detained by UP police in Greater Noida, just outside Delhi, when they insisted on marching to Hathras to meet the family of the 19-year-old woman.
A complaint has been filed with the Secretary of States Office against a Democratic Party candidate running for state House District 70, alleging that he doesnt live within the boundaries of the district.

The complaint against candidate Ambrose M. Castellano says that he used a post office box on his declaration of candidacy, in violation of rules set out in the states election handbook. It claims that it is well known in the community that Castellano resides and spends most of his time at a city of Santa Fe address where his significant other and child live.

Castellano listed a post office box in Serafina for both his physical and mailing address. He could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

The complaint, filed by Philip J. Casados of Estancia, indicates Castellano submitted a map to the Secretary of States Office to pinpoint his physical address as allowed by law. But the map is vague and shows no relevant description of other verifiable identifying markers. Longitude and latitude were not provided.

The Republican Party of New Mexico distributed a news release Thursday calling for Castellano to be disqualified from the race.

Any candidates integrity must be of the highest caliber, said Steve Pearce, the partys state chairman. To fail to tell the truth about ones address is a shameful action and an insult to constituents. A candidate must play by the rules.

House District 70 covers the majority of Mora and San Miguel counties and the southeast tip of Santa Fe County. The districts current representative is Tomas E. Salazar of Las Vegas, who has held the seat since 2013. Salazar did not seek reelection this year.

Castellano edged Anita Gonzales of Las Vegas in the June Democratic primary by 52 of the 5,590 votes cast in a three-way race. He is paired against Republican Nathan M. Dial of Estancia in the general election.
China has unveiled its plan to build a heavy-lift carrier rocket that could fly astronauts to the moon.

The new launch vehicle would be able to carry a 25-ton manned spaceship and lunar lander, the Chinese space authorities revealed.

Beijing aims to put a man on the moon by 2030 as part of its ambitious space exploration programme.

China has unveiled its plan to build a heavy-lift carrier rocket that could send astronauts to land on the moon as part of the countrys ambitious lunar exploration. The picture shows a prototype of the Chinese new-generation carrier rocket revealed in November 2018

The country first revealed a prototype of the new-generation carrier rocket in 2018. The file photo shows a Long March-5B carrier rocket at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in China

Chinese officials are also considering building a mobile laboratory on the moon and a space station on Lunar orbit.

The news comes as China Thursday has released the first set of 'selfies' taken by Tianwen-1, the Chinese spacecraft currently travelling towards the Red Planet as part of its first Mars mission.

The country first revealed a prototype of the new-generation carrier rocket in 2018. But no plans of building the launcher had been announced until September 18 when the 2020 China Space Conference was held in Beijing.

Zhou Yanfei, deputy chief engineer of the China manned space programme, said his team had been working on a plan to build a new carrier rocket which would send Chinese astronauts to explore the moon.

The unnamed space vehicle is set to be 87-metre (285-foot) long with a three-stage central core that could carry a 25-ton crewed spaceship and a lunar lander, according to the Chinese official.

The liftoff weight will be about 2,200 tons, nearly triple that of China's current largest rocket, the Long March 5.

China has unveiled its plan to build a heavy-lift carrier rocket that could send astronauts to land on the moon. It launched a Long March 11 carrier rocket in the Yellow Sea on September 15

In May, China launched a new manned spaceship - with no crew on board  with its largest carrier rocket, signalling one step closer towards sending astronauts with its lunar exploration

Considering the scale of the mission, the carrier rocket could be launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in the southern Chinese island Hainan, where China's Mars probe was blasted in July, according to Zhou.

No dates of a test flight have been announced by the Chinese space engineer who added that a number of challenges remained in terms of crewed lunar landings.

Like the US and Russia, China first engaged in space activities during the development of ballistic missiles in the 1950s.

While they did benefit from some assistance from the Soviet Union, China developed its space programme largely on its own.

In recent decades, China's secretive space programme has developed rapidly.

China became the third country to put a man in space with its own rocket in 2003 after the former Soviet Union and the United States. FILE: Pictured, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei waves after emerging from the Shenzhou V capsule in Inner Mongolia on October 16, 2003

The United States is so far the only country that have been able to send humans to the moon. This file photo released by NASA shows astronaut Edwin E. 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. saluting the US flag on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 11 lunar mission on July 20, 1969

Yang Liwei became the first Chinese astronaut in 2003, and last year Chang'e-4 became the first spacecraft from any country to land on the far side of the moon.

In May, China also launched a new manned spaceship - with no crew on board  with its largest carrier rocket, signalling one step closer towards sending astronauts with its lunar exploration.

China has made huge strides in the past decade and has laid the groundwork to assemble a space station by 2022 and gain a permanent foothold in Earth orbit.

The nation has been racing to catch up with Russia and the United States to become a major space power by 2030.

The United States is so far the only country that have been able to send humans to the moon.
The Brew Your Own Big Book of Clone Recipes: Featuring 300 Homebrew Recipes from Your Favorite Breweries

More Info

From the book description, check product page for current description, price and availability:

For more than two decades, homebrewers around the world have turned to Brew Your Own magazine for the best information on making incredible beer at home. Now, for the first time, 300 of BYOs best clone recipes for recreating favorite commercial beers are coming together in one book.

Inside youll find dozens of IPAs, stouts, and lagers, easily searchable by style. The collection includes both classics and newer recipes from top award-winning American craft breweries including Brooklyn Brewery, Deschutes, Firestone Walker, Hill Farmstead, Jolly Pumpkin, Modern Times, Maine Beer Company, Stone Brewing Co., Surly, Three Floyds, Troegs, and many more. Classic clone recipes from across Europe are also included. Whether youre looking to brew an exact replica of one of your favorites or get some inspiration from the greats, this book is your new brewday planner
BOISE, Idaho - Most of the three-quarters of a million people held in U.S. jails have the right to vote. But many of them are unable to, stymied by misinformation, limited access to registration and ballots and confusion from the officials in charge.

The result is widespread voter disenfranchisement, say experts with the Prison Policy Initiative. The advocacy organization released a report detailing voting access for jail inmates with Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a civil rights advocacy group formed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, on Friday.

I think that the clearest situation to this would be to make voting machines available in every jail on election day, PPI lawyer Ginger Jackson-Gleich said Thursday. She co-authored the report with Rev. S. Todd Yeary of Rainbow PUSH.

Put simply, of the approximately 746,000 individuals in jail on any given day, most have the right to vote, Jackson-Gleich and Yeary wrote.

Thats because most people in jail havent been convicted, but instead are awaiting trial on the charges for which they are being held. While those convicted of a felony lose their right to vote in most states for at least the time they are incarcerated, many of the people serving time in jail are serving time for misdemeanours, and most states allow people with misdemeanour convictions to vote.

Very few get to actually exercise that right, the study found. Confusion, logistical barriers and timing issues abound.

One of the biggest barriers to voting in jail is the fact that local election officials often dont know that most people in jail can vote, and its not unusual for such officials to provide incorrect information in response to questions about the issue, the authors wrote

Many states rely on absentee ballots for incarcerated voters. But inmates may need to register before they can get absentee ballots, and many states require specific forms of ID for voter registration. Inmates typically have their belongings  including their drivers licenses or other forms of identification  confiscated when they are put in jail, which means they cant meet the requirements to register.

Jails also often lack internet access, so would-be voters cant register or request absentee ballots online.

Thats the case in Boise, Idaho, where Ada County detainees are shown the inmate handbook if they ask about voting.

The handbook has just two sentences on voting rights: The first says people convicted of felonies in Idaho cant vote unless theyve had their civil rights restored. The second says inmates may be able to obtain an absentee voting ballot by writing to the Ada County Elections office. It doesnt include the deadline for when absentee ballots must be requested, information on what documentation or forms a detainee needs to qualify for an absentee ballot, or any information on how to register.

The jail will provide stationary and stamps to indigent detainees who ask for the materials, but people who planned on in-person voting but were arrested or detained after the absentee ballot request deadline are out of luck.

If someone gets arrested and cant get out, or is convicted of a misdemeanour where a judge sentences them to jail, and they dont file for an absentee ballot quick enough or find themselves in custody on election day, that is totally on them, wrote Ada County Sheriffs Office spokesman Patrick Orr in an email to The Associated Press. The way to avoid that is to not get arrested or get sentenced to jail.

Efforts to increase voting access for incarcerated people arent new. A 1974 U.S. Supreme Court decision upheld the voting rights of some incarcerated people without government interference, though some lower courts have allowed more restrictive absentee voting deadlines for detainees in some states.

Recent efforts have been energized amid a renewed push for racial justice and civil rights. People who are Black or American Indian or Alaska Native are held in jails at higher rates than white, Hispanic or Asian people, according to data form the U.S. Department of Justices Bureau of Justice Statistics. Pre-trial detainees are also more likely to be from lower income households, often remaining in jail because they cant afford bail.

In Massachusetts, the local ACLU, the League of Women Voters and other groups are pressing state officials to remove voting barriers for incarcerated people, calling the status quo unacceptable.

Incarcerated voters are eligible voters whose right to vote means little without true access to the ballot, the groups wrote in a letter to Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin on Wednesday.

A few correctional systems have made progress. In Rhode Island, incarcerated people can register to vote through the department of correction, instead of having to reach election officials. In Washington D.C., voter registration materials are universally available in jails and prisons. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Office, which operates one of the largest jails in the country, works with outside groups to educate inmates on voting and help inmates get absentee ballots and register to vote.

In March, the Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois became one of the first in the nation to operate as a jail polling station. The move was made in response to a law passed a year earlier that requires jails to allow pretrial detainees to vote. Cook County officials worked with public television station and community groups to get inmates information on candidates in addition to creating the in-jail voting system.

Still, the vast majority of detainees in America lack that access, Jackson-Gleich said Thursday.

What success would look like is every person who is in jail either before Election Day or on Election Day has the equal opportunity as any other American to vote, she said.
A new study found that continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment at night can lower daytime resting heart rates in patients with prediabetes who have obstructive sleep apnea, reducing their risk of cardiovascular disease.

The study, published Oct. 1 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, was conducted by Esra Tasali, MD, Director of the Sleep Research Center at the University of Chicago Medicine, and Sushmita Pamidi, MD, a sleep physician-scientist at McGill University in Montreal.

The discovery could potentially help the 1 billion people worldwide with obstructive sleep apnea, in which the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes is over 60 percent. Furthermore, the vast majority of patients with obstructive sleep apnea are undiagnosed.

The study's findings are especially timely, given that people with diabetes or cardiovascular problems are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.

Any way we can improve cardiovascular health is more important than ever these days." Esra Tasali, MD, Director of the Sleep Research Center, University of Chicago Medicine

This randomized controlled trial studied people with prediabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered diabetic. Those who used CPAP treatment for two weeks had a drop in their resting heart rate by four to five beats per minute, compared to those who received placebo. Notably, with optimal CPAP treatment, their heart rates were not only lower at night, but also during the day.

"That's significant," Tasali said, noting that a drop of even one beat per minute in resting heart rate can lower the mortality rate and future risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

"A four- to five-beat-per-minute drop in heart rate that we observed is comparable to what you would get from regular exercise," she added. "Our breakthrough finding is the carryover of the lowered resting heart rate into the daytime and the cardiovascular benefit of that."

Resting heart rate is key to a person's health and well-being. A high resting heart rate signals increased stress to the heart. It is a strong predictor of heart problems and death, the doctors said. Prior research has shown that in middle-aged people, every beat-per-minute increase in resting heart rate is associated with a 3% higher mortality rate.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder that causes people to repeatedly stop breathing at night, decreasing oxygen intake and disrupting their sleep. It is a serious health concern, increasing the risk of cardiovascular conditions such as high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. It makes people sleepy during the day and heightens their "fight or flight" stress hormones, elevating their resting heart rate all day and night.

Doctors use CPAP to treat obstructive sleep apnea. It keeps a person's airway open and oxygen levels steady during the night, thus lowers their heart rate. However, Pamidi isn't encouraging people to go online and buy the machine. Obstructive sleep apnea is a medical diagnosis that must be made by a doctor after a sleep study.

"Our recent findings urge people who have prediabetes, diabetes or sleeping problems to be screened for sleep apnea," Pamidi said.

Today, about 80% of sleep apnea cases are undiagnosed. An estimated 50% to 70% of people with prediabetes or diabetes have sleep apnea.

"The majority of patients don't make a connection as to how their sleep can affect their hearts. With regards to their sleep apnea, patients just think how sleepy they are the next day," Tasali said. "I always explain to my patients that sleep apnea can also be harmful to their cardiovascular health."

This study is the first to examine the impact of optimal CPAP treatment on daytime resting heart rate," said Pamidi. Before joining McGill, she was a clinical fellow and then faculty at UChicago Medicine's Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

In their earlier research, Tasali and Pamidi found that effective treatment of sleep apnea with CPAP improves blood sugar levels in prediabetic patients, reducing their risk of diabetes.
The executive board of the union issued a statement on Thursday afternoon expressing shock and disappointment at the charges. We remain committed to serving the hard-working men and women that we represent, the board said.

Mr. Cahills union has a major presence in many of the large infrastructure projects that have marked the nearly decade-long tenure of Governor Cuomo, including the renovation of La Guardia Airport and the construction of a new $4 billion span to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge, north of New York City, which was later named for Mr. Cuomos father, former governor Mario M. Cuomo.

In 2015, Mr. Cahill presented Mr. Cuomo with his unions inaugural New York Builder Award, for his dedication to such projects. More recently, Mr. Cuomo named Mr. Cahill to an advisory panel devoted to the reopening of the state after the coronavirus crisis.

Prosecutors accused the union officials of taking bribes in exchange for influencing the construction industry in favor of nonunion employers. For instance, bids for plumbing and pipe-fitting projects that could have gone to companies with union employees were instead given to nonunion workers, prosecutors said.

The yearslong investigation involved wiretapped phone calls that were detailed in the indictment.

The indictment said that in October 2018, Mr. Cahill received a $3,000 bribe from a nonunion employer in the plumbing business, to whom he introduced an official in Local 638 who could also be bribed in exchange for protection and assistance.

Best thing you can do, Mr. Cahill told the employer, is get a rabbi.

Two months later, Mr. Cahill and another union official met with the employer again and each accepted a $2,500 bribe, according to the indictment. After the meeting, Mr. Cahill told the union official, Welcome to the real world.

Prosecutors said the union officials abused their power to the detriment of their own members.

During an October 2019 meeting, Mr. Cahill, his language laced with profanity, encouraged the same employer not to sign with a union, according to the indictment. If you become union, youll have 12 guys on your back, he said, using an expletive.
JSC Moldovagaz is planning to pump about 100 million cubic meters of gas into Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities for storage.

CEO of LLC Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) Sergiy Makogon wrote about this on Facebook.

"The first deliveries have already begun. According to Moldovagaz, it is planned to pump about 100 million cubic meters of gas during October-November," Makogon said.

He reminded that the issue of creating a gas reserve for Moldova in Ukraine began to be actively discussed in the summer of 2019, when there was uncertainty with the continuation of transit through Ukraine.

"Such a reserve guarantees the energy security of Moldova and reduces dependence on a single gas supplier," Makogon said.

As Ukrinform reported, in December 2019, LLC Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine, LLC Moldovatransgaz and JSC Moldovagaz signed an interconnection agreement on interaction in accordance with European rules from January 1, 2020.This step allowed transporting gas in line with European rules in both directions between Ukraine and Moldova through the points of Oleksiivka, Hrebenyky, Causeni, Ananyiv, and Lymanske. It fully completed the unblocking of the Trans-Balkan gas corridor and allowed consumers in Moldova to receive gas from the Ukrainian gas transmission system from January 1, 2020.

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A first-time candidate for elective office, Mclean was instrumental in a legal challenge earlier this year to lower the threshold for signatures needed by local candidates to appear on the ballot, arguing that it was more difficult this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kim Johnson, a local urban fiction writer from Highland Park, said shes supporting Mclean after meeting her several weeks ago. Johnson said she was impressed by her vision and commitment to serving the community.

In my opinion, thats what its going to take, Johnson said. People feel that nobody cares. But they do. Tracey is one of those people who cares.

With racial inequality the biggest issue in the city, according to Mclean, she said she understands the passion behind the protests that have roiled the city since the end of May, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Of course, some people jumped in because they want to start a revolution or something like that, but most of the protesters just want change. Theyre tired, she said. I hear them. Im listening. Im willing to help with that change.
Mikes determination, drive and willingness to do whatever it takes to be the best in the field and in service to his clients is remarkable.

AHT Insurance is pleased to name Mike Kelly, Senior Vice President, as a new Shareholder.

AHT pursues a constantly refined strategy to provide our clients unique and unsurpassed value. Through a collaborative approach, AHTs professionals strive to protect what matters most and provide heroic service in the execution of our mission. The unremitting pursuance of greater positions AHT to attract and retain top talent that complements and supports the goals of the organization and nurtures future leaders inside the firm.

As a Shareholder, Kelly will remain focused as a leader in his current role while expanding his focus to develop key business relationships and provide the critical support needed to build and maintain teams of top professionals in the industry.

Mike Kelly is a special insurance professional. Mikes determination, drive and willingness to do whatever it takes to be the best in the field and in service to his clients is remarkable. His addition as a shareholder of the firm is a key professional milestone for Mike, as well as a strategic addition of perpetuation talent for AHT, says David Schaefer, President and CEO of AHT Insurance.

Kelly has spent 13 years developing a deep understanding of risk and insurance and refining his skills to become a leading insurance professional. In his current role as Senior Vice President, Kelly serves as a key consultant and partner to the International Aid and Development Organizations community. Kellys concentration is on protecting global travelers and those deployed around the world to ensure they are adequately protected and organizations meet their legal obligation to duty of care with a special emphasis placed on the intersection of travel policies and procedures, third-party assistance and insurance.

"I am humbled and thankful to deepen my commitment to AHT and my fellow shareholders. This organization has given me so much and I look forward to giving back for the next 30 years," says Mike Kelly, Senior Vice President and Shareholder.

Prior to joining AHT in 2011, Kelly began his insurance career with two other brokers after graduating from James Madison University in 2007. Kelly is actively involved with Humentum, Interaction, The International NGO Safety and Security Association (INSSA) and other related industry associations serving the international development community. He also serves clients in higher education, U.S. government, government contracting, as well as other organizations that are concerned with protecting international travelers and operations.

As the sales lead for AHTs International Aid & Development Organization (IADO) Practice, I could not think of an honor more befitting Mike. He has worked tirelessly to share knowledge with the NGO/IADO community and to support such organizations important work in communities around the world. This professional achievement is in part a recognition of his distinguished work and partnership with the NGO/IADO community, says Caren Huminski, IADO Practice Leader, AHT Insurance.

For more information about AHT Insurance, visit https://www.ahtins.com/.

Media Contact:

AHT Insurance

Jennifer Junda, Director of Marketing and Communications

Email: jjunda@ahtins.com

Phone: 703.554.6284

AHT Insurance is an insurance brokerage and consulting firm offering property and casualty, employee benefits, retirement, personal and international services for a wide range of industries  boasting national recognition for our practices in areas including technology, manufacturing, government contracting and nonprofits. https://www.ahtins.com/
Forty-seven states and D.C. allow grocery stores to sell beer, and 40 and D.C. allow them to sell wine, according to the Maryland Retailers Association. Marylands alcohol distribution is governed by a 1978 law that explicitly denies alcohol licenses to chain and discount stores, poorly defined, and limits licenses to Maryland residents, who can only hold one license. Some stores were grandfathered in the 1978 law, which is why the Giant grocery in White Oak, in Montgomery County, sells beer and wine but other Giant outlets dont. And Maryland gives considerable leeway to counties and cities in regulating alcohol sales, so you will see a few stores with the same or similar names, but you wont see that they have different family members listed on the licenses.
US President Donald Trump has said he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus and are now in quarantine.



The president, aged 74 and therefore in a high-risk group, announced the news in a tweet. "We will get through this together," he wrote.



It comes after one of his closest aides tested positive for coronavirus.



Hope Hicks, the 31-year-old adviser to the president, was the closest aide to Mr Trump to test positive so far.



She travelled with him on Air Force One to a TV debate in Ohio this week.



Mr Trump's physician Sean Conley released a statement, saying the president and the first lady "are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence".



"Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments," the statement said.



Earlier on Thursday, Mr Trump said he and his wife, who is 50, were going into quarantine after Ms Hicks's positive test.



He tweeted: "Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible!



"The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!"



It is not clear how Mr Trump's positive test will affect arrangements for the second presidential debate, which is scheduled for 15 October in Miami, Florida.







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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Heres whats happening Friday in Election 2020, 32 days until Election Day:

HOW TO VOTE: APs state-by-state interactive has details on how to vote in this election.

TODAYS TOP STORIES:

TRUMP CONTRACTS COVID-19: President Donald Trump says he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus. Trumps positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 205,000 people nationwide. The presidents physician said in a memo that Trump and the first lady are both well at this time and plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

SHOCK, SYMPATHY, MOCKERY: News that Trump has the virus drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity that follow much of what the U.S. president does even from 10,000 miles away. The positive test reading for the leader of the worlds largest economy added more uncertainty to investors worries, including how the infection might affect the Nov. 3 election.

ABORTION SILENCE: Trump is now tiptoeing around the issue as he tries to get another justice confirmed to the Supreme Court before Election Day. Trump is trying to deliver for his conservative base on the issue but also avoid making abortion a central focus of the election. His team worries it could turn off voters who support abortion rights and drive on-the-fence or undecided voters especially women to turn out for Joe Biden en masse.

DENYING, DEFENDING AND NUMB: Trumps standing with white, working-class voters has proven resilient through federal investigations, impeachment and countless episodes of chaotic governing. But if those issues were too distant, reports about his tax avoidance might have had the potential to hit closer to home during a time of economic upheaval. Yet, interviews with voters in swing-state Wisconsin show scant evidence of damaging impact from The New York Times reporting this week on Trumps long-secret tax returns.

PHILLY TARGETED: Trumps campaign followed through on a threat to sue Philadelphia, filing papers in court over city officials preventing campaign representatives from watching people registering to vote or filling out mail-in ballots in election offices there. The lawsuit comes amid the president claiming that he can only lose the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania if Democrats cheat.

QUOTABLE: Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER! Trump on Twitter after he and the first lady tested positive for the coronavirus.

ICYMI:

Trump debate comment pushing Black Americans, others to vote

In big states, tiny counties, Trump attacking voting rules

Trump adds to election anxiety by pushing legal boundaries

Trump, Biden appeal to Catholics at virtual charity dinner

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 September 2018, Araujo was placed on administrative leave and reassigned from the bench at the criminal courthouse following a complaint that he referred to a female assistant states attorney as a bitch and suggested he may have had sex with her.
Gershwins Three Preludes were written for piano, and Hoyts arrangement lacked the snap and snarl the first prelude typically produces, at least in this performance by the CSOs principal wind players. But once they delved into the bluesy second prelude, we could bask in William Welters plush oboe tone, plus warm support from Williamsons clarinet, Stefan Ragnar Hoskuldssons flute, Keith Bunckes bassoon and David Coopers horn. There was no swooning about, either, the musicians letting the music speak forthrightly, without faux-jazz effects. And the CSO musicians took the third prelude at quite a clip, capturing the rhythmic surge that drives so much of Gershwins music.
It was a gathering of strangers. But all of them had one common thought, to come together in a place that had for so long been forced to keep its shutters down, forcing the art and music- that reverberated through its walls- to come to a halt. September 21 was supposed to change that.

Amidst the new normal, Kolkata geared up to welcome theatre performances in its open-air grounds after a hiatus of over 5 months.

Despite a thundershower forecast in the evening, artists geared up to put their best foot forward at the open-air theatres at Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre(EZCC). Rangmancha, the ground inside EZCC had been painted in various colours, indicating the social distance the audience members were supposed to maintain from each other. A volunteer allowed people inside only after checking their temperature with a thermal gun. Everyone wore masks.

Speaking to News18, EZCC Director Gouri Basu said, Our seating capacity is 400 guests but we have only allowed 100 for todays event. Even the performers maintained distance when they were on stage. Till now, we have tried to boost the morale of the artists through the online platform. But the stage, lights and a live audience is what a true artist craves. As a cultural centre, we had been yearning to have the performances back," Basu said.

She says she has been approached by several youngsters who wish to put together performances. But the way ahead is not going to be a smooth ride.

Even as Unlock 4 guidelines are being implemented across the country and the Bengal government have allowed for open-air shows while maintaining effective safety protocols, artists are struggling to get back on the stage they have loved to perform on.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown post the Junta Curfew on March 22, theatre and all other forms of live performances were halted to arrest the spread of Coronavirus.

As days turned to weeks and then to months- performers, directors, makeup artists, stage lighting contractors- all stared at dwindling resources. People took up different professions to provide for their families while staring at an economic crunch. Some left the city to go back to their hometowns and took up farming, others took to working for cab companies. In short, whatever helped them to stay afloat.

Tathagata Chaudhuri, a theatre director/actor who is part of a performance group- Sanghram that has performed in India and even abroad, said their team had earlier decided to do a performance on August 15 as part of Independence Day celebrations. But the team was deterred due to the rising cases of Coronavirus.

So when the government gave its nod to organise open-air events, we staged a drama act at the National Mime Institute in Saltlake. Although we had about 40 people attending on the first day and it was mostly through word of mouth, people came in enthusiastically and some even were ready to pay more for the show. This shows how much Kolkata was starved for a dose of theatre," he says.

But Chaudhuri feels that despite the hardships faced by the actors, theres one silver lining. A lot of the performances in and around the city were limited to the usual group of theatre halls like Madhushudhan Mancha, Girish Mancha or the Gyan Mancha till now. But as these enclosed structures are posing a risk to the public, people are innovating and the vast canvas of the theatre can be explored, given that the artists have to now think outside the box."

City artist Gambhira Bhattacharjee, a theatre artist, however, says he doesnt want to rush things trying to get back to the theatre with any compromises. A staunch advocate of theatre in its purest form, Bhattacharjee doesnt want the art form to dilute its sanctity by making it readily available through a video link. How can I let a boka baksho (idiot box) take over such a personal form of creativity? It will turn it into a mechanical feeling!"

Freelance actor Sanjita echoes Bhattacharjees line of thought. We love performing live. During lockdown we did a lot of projects where we remotely shot portions sitting in our homes and compiled them into a short film but those only satiate a fraction of the urge we feel to perform in front of an audience. We have been looking at open spaces to perform, be it someones terrace or an old and airy warehouse which we then transformed into a theatre hall to give it a creative vibe."

Help has been scarce. Some of the acclaimed actors from the theatres have indeed reached out and senior artists like Anirban Bhattacharya and Joyraj Bhattacharya and many others have set up relief funds for the contractual workers associated with the art form.

The problem, as Monalisa Das, a theatre artist involved with acclaimed theatre group Chetana, puts it is that theatre in the state does not have a parent body to fall back upon as television or films do. The lack of a support system has been detrimental to the welfare of the theatre groups because there is absolutely no one who can take our grievances to the government. As such, the artists have only been able to get bare minimum help from those who have extended it."

Famed film and theatre actor Kaushik Sen has also founded a relief group titled Soubhratitya that aims to help those associated with theatre. Bratya Basu also came forward and helped around 400 affected artists and technicians. The Paschim Banga Natya Academy has also reached out to several theatre groups with monetary help.

Meanwhile, Bhattacharjee has started an initiative along with several other local youths to provide bike rides to people who have been finding it difficult to find rides to commute to their workplaces. Its an earning and its paying the bills, he asserts. But I am helping people in times of duress, in whatever small way it is. I know things will get better, it will just take a while," he signs off.
3 1 of 3 San Antonio Police Department Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Google Show More Show Less 3 of 3





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.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wished a quick recovery to US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania after they confirmed that they have contracted COVID-19.

The PM took to Twitter and tweeted, Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health.

PMs response came after President Trump, in a tweet, confirmed that he and First Lady Melania had tested positive for the coronavirus.

"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!? 74-year-old Trump tweeted.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

In a statement, Trump's physician Dr. Sean Conley said he received confirmation of the positive tests on Thursday evening.

Live TV

"The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence," Conley said.

"The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our country's greatest medical professionals and institutions," Conley said.

Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments, the physician added.

Trump's positive report comes just hours after his senior aide Hope Hicks was tested COVID-19 positive.

"Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for COVID-19. Terrible! The first lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!? Trump earlier said in tweet.

Hicks, 31, is the closest aid of the president to have tested positive with coronavirus. She had travelled with the president on Air Force One early this week.

Trump, in an interview to Fox News, on Thursday night said he and the first lady spend a lot of time with her.

In the middle of the election campaign, Trump has been travelling a lot in particular in the battleground States. The development is likely to bring to standstill his hectic campaign for the November 3 presidential election.

In a statement, Judd Deere, the Deputy White House Press Secretary said that the President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.
National Taco Day is Sunday, October 4 (10/4/2020) and free tacos are almost certainly headed to your favorite national taco and Mexican food chains, including Moes Southwest Grill, Taco Bell, Del Taco and more.

Its not clear why Taco Day lands on October 4, but does it even matter? Its free tacos and specials on huge taco packs that were here for, not history. Heres every freebie, offer and discount weve found for Taco Day 2020.

In New York:

Hurricane Grill & Wings: Get a free taco when you buy one taco and two drinks on National Taco Day. Perfect for a couples lunch. Find a location 

Moes Southwest Grill: Moes is offering $5 off its meal kits on Sunday, October 4. Choose from Nacho, Taco or Fajita kits that serve 4-6 people and come complete with special recipes to help make the most out of leftovers. Just make sure youre signed up for Moes rewards before 8:00 p.m. on Sunday. Find a location 

On The Border: Get seasoned ground beef or chicken tinga tacos for $2, or for $4 you can get Southwest chicken or brisket tacos on National Taco Day. Find a location 

Taco Bell: The first 10,000 people who use Taco Bells new Taco Gifter on National Taco Day could win a free taco. Send a Taco gift to a friend, and get one back for free. Plus, Taco Bell is offering a $5 Taco Gift set on Sunday, including two crunchy and two Doritos Locos Tacos. Find a location 

Taco Johns: Get a free Crispy Beef Taco by using the Taco Johns Rewards app in honor of National Taco Day. Find a location 

Not in New York

Chronic Tacos: Get a free taco between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on October 4. Check Chronic Tacos social media channels for your code. Find a location 

Chuys: Add a crispy beef taco to any dine-in entree purchase for just a dollar on National Taco Day. Dont forget $5 shots of top-shelf tequila while youre stopping by. Find a location 

Del Taco: Enjoy Tacoberfest all month at Del Taco. Start with a FREE Del Taco on Sunday, then score a free menu item each weekend with any purchase via the Del Taco app. Find a location 

El Pollo Loco: Get two free Tacos al Carbon if you place a curbside order on October 4. Find a location 

Fuzzys Tacos: Get $1.50 tacos all day on National Taco Day, dine in and takeout. Find a location 

Jack in the Box: Get two free tacos with any app purchase on October 4. Find a location 

Rubios Coastal Grill: Get a free taco when you purchase any drink on Sunday. Find a location 

Taco Cabana: Get $1 on National Taco Day, available in restaurant, curbside, drive-thru, or via mobile order through the MyTC! App. Find a location 

Taco Del Mar: Get a free Taco Del Mar face mask on October 4 when you purchase Dos Tacos, a side and a drink. While supplies last. Find a location 

Tijuana Flats: Tijuana Flats is celebrating National Taco Day from October 2 to October 4. Get two tacos, chips and a drink for just $5.99. Find a location 
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Air Force One to travel to the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Tuesday.
Have you heard of historical overdosing? Thats when you live in a time when too much is happening. "Symptoms include addiction to newspapers, magazines and TV news broadcasts." Add social media to that list and theres 2020 in a nutshell. The coinage hails from 1991, a panic defined by writer Douglas Coupland.

Coupland has a Nostradamus knack for trend-spotting, his insights almost voodoo. Consider the likes of Consensus Terrorism or Option Paralysis, among the many omens in the Canadians debut novel, Generation X  Tales for an Accelerated Culture (St Martins Press, 1991). More a cultural biopsy, the book foreshadows where this world has ended up.

Douglas Coupland Credit:Keith Beaty/Getty

Me-ism, say, highlights the inbuilt lens of self. Instead of relying on churchy-church, me-ism snubs deism for a tailored set of beliefs. Just as Conspicuous Minimalism (a lifestyle tactic aimed at flaunting moral superiority) paved the way for death cleaning, back when Kondo was at kindie.

Ive known about Couplands work forever, a zeitgeist novel thats long been part of the ether. Call it Option Paralysis, but Id drifted towards other authors, different tangents. Yet any book whose title joins the language you have to respect. Or fear. Or read at least. And 29 years later, Ive managed to whittle my bucket list.
NEW YORK: Lily Collins definitely had a perk working on her latest project late last year: She lived in Paris for four months while filming the Netflix series Emily in Paris.

Created by Darren Star (Sex and the City," Younger) and debuting Friday, the new series follows Collins as a woman from Chicago who gets sent to Paris to be in charge of social media for a luxury brand company.

Her character, Emily, has an eye for what will pop online and snapshots of her posts and clever captions often appear on screen. (Emilys puns, by the way, are a fun callback to Carrie Bradshaws writing in Sex and the City.)

Collins says apart from the writers and directors and one other cast member (Ashley Park of Broadways Mean Girls), the crew was French. They even found themselves experiencing the city through her characters eyes.

We had access to so many incredible locations, said Collins. It was so wonderful to experience that with the camera crew and everyone behind the scenes because they were going, I never thought Id have access to this either, so everyone was having these wide-eyed moments together.

Collins sometimes felt oddly in sync with her fish-out-of-water character, like the time she lost hot water in her rented apartment just like Emily.

I kept saying to everybody, Are you guys doing this to me on purpose to make me have empathy for Emily? Because I already do. I need hot water."

The series isnt all croissants, cafes and wine (although there is plenty of that). Emily also has a lot of work to do to be accepted by her French colleagues. They dont appreciate that she isnt fluent in their language, believe she speaks up when she should stay silent, and her enthusiasm is off-putting.

Emily is willing to take in her criticism and try to evolve, and Collin appreciates that.

I feel like thats what were all doing right now. Were educating ourselves and learning and growing and being forced to look at ourselves in the mirror, while also hopefully doing that for other people in a loving way," she said.

Theres a lot of hard conversations, I think, that weve all had to have recently with ourselves, with our friends, with our families, whether about current events, voting and Black Lives Matter. As long as were open to learn and educate ourselves and also lovingly do the same for others, thats how we grow.

The show also has great fashion, which is a hallmark of Darren Star productions. Hes once again enlisted the famed Sex and the City and Younger costume designer Patricia Fields to outfit Collins and her co-stars. A highlight is when Emily wears a sweater decorated with the Eiffel Tower to her first day at work.

What would you do if you knew that you were going to a country where that was like the iconic symbol? reasoned Collins. Emilys like, Im going to wear it. And thats just so what Emily does. Its just so endearing and it makes you laugh."

Added Star: It captures her enthusiasm for wanting to be there and sort of her tone deafness for how it will be perceived.

The irony isnt lost on Collins that the series is premiering at a time when travel is down or impossible because of the pandemic.

Its so strange because I look at the episodes and as Im talking about my experiences in Paris, theres a sadness, right? Because its like, Wow, that was the world before everything that happened in the past five, six months happened. Its a really interesting time for it to come out. But I think its right. I think it was meant to come out now.

Star hopes the series encourages people to explore the world, when its safe to do so.

Americans have a big country and we dont travel as much as everybody else does around the world and I hope this show inspires people to do that.

____

Follow Alicia Rancilio online at http://www.twitter.com/aliciar
The former Managing Director and CEO of Kerala-based Sunil Gurbaxani on Friday said he was asked to quit on September 7 itself failing which he would be voted out at the September 30 annual general meeting (AGM).

"As early as September 7, I was asked to quit on my own or I would be voted out by shareholders at the September 30 AGM. I didn't quit under pressure and hence was voted out," Gurbaxani told IANS.

Gurbaxani was appointed as MD & CEO of the bank for a period of three years from February 27, 2020.

The ordinary resolution moved for Gurbaxani's appointment at the AGM was defeated, with 90.49 per cent of the votes polled against the proposal. Only 9.51 per cent of the votes were polled in favour of his appointment.

"I am going back home with my head held high. It is strange that a bank Board including a Director-Shareholder who had earlier recommended my name to RBI (Reserve Bank of India) for the top position, voting against in the AGM in about seven months time. This despite the fact the bank has performed well," he added.

According to him, the RBI's direction to dismiss an advisor who was earlier the Chief General Manager (CGM) of the bank was not only reason for him to be voted out, but there are governance issues like the appointment of a 69-year old person as a Director and others.

"A sitting Board member voting against a sitting MD is also misgovernance. Only four or five shareholders voted against me while other resolutions were passed at the AGM," Gurbaxani said.

He also dismissed as motivated the campaign that he was for opening more branches in North India.

"We were closing down branches in North India. Further out of 40 loss making branches 15 were turned profitable. With proper technology effective control could be exercised over the branches located away from the headquarters or regional offices. That is how all the new generation private work. The fastest cars have the best brakes," Gurbaxani, who was earlier with Axis Bank, said.

"When there is business potential why not tap that with effective control mechanisms. As an MD & CEO it is also my duty to look at potential business areas. Similarly, should one not look for people with required skill sets in the market if such people are not there inhouse?" he asked.

Gurbaxani claimed in the last six months the performance of some business segments of the bank were better than that of the last six years. The total deposits have grown, the current account, savings account (CASA) grew by two per cent to 31 per cent, the new to bank business was also better and the gold loan business too grew well during the last three months.

Meanwhile the RBI on Thursday approved an interim arrangement for formation of a a Committee of Directors (CoD) to exercise the powers of MD & CEO till such time a new person takes charge.

The CoD consists of G. Subramonia Iyer as Chairman, and G. Rajagopalan Nair and P.K. Vijayakumar as Members.

"As advised by the RBI, the interim arrangement will not continue beyond four months, within which the Bank will complete the process of identification and appointment of a new MD and CEO," said.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

--IANS

vj
The conference this week on Residential Tourism at the Hotel Anantara Villa Padierna discussed the likely effects on second-home owners of the obligation for people trapped in Spain during lockdown to pay taxes to Madrid if they were here for more than six months.

Although some non-resident expats never intended to stay more than 183 days, the limit beyond which the Spanish government generally considers a person to be tax resident, some were caught out and overstayed.

In a formal written reply to a Lebanese couple, considered a guide for other future cases, Hacienda, the Tax ministry, removed any doubt that a tax return would be due.

Its statement read, "In this case, with regard to the stated rule for stays over 183 days within any 12-month period in Spanish territory, the days spent in Spain by the married couple, due to state of alarm, would be counted, in which case if they were to remain more than 183 days in Spanish territory in 2020, they would be considered Spanish income tax payers."

There was discontent from commentators over the decision, as the Spanish public administration had suspended legal time frames for its own activity during lockdown, a move that has not been extended to taxpayers.

At the Costa conference, businessman Ricardo Arranz said the ministry's move was discouraging. "How are they going to make a person pay income tax who has been forced [to be here] as they couldn't return to their country," he asked. "[The government] should be paying for their lockdown, not charging them."

Juan Ramon Rubio, from Deloitte, felt that the decision could have an adverse affect on the residential tourism sector by causing uncertainty. "It's not something that's going to help the market to recover," he explained.
By Express News Service

CHITTOOR: The Chittoor police, in a joint operation with the Madhya Pradesh police, cracked the sensational theft of mobile phones worth Rs 8 crore in a highway dacoity on Puttur-Chennai national highway on the night of August 25.

The operation led to the recovery of 7,522 mobile phones worth Rs 8 crore, and the arrest of three members of the gang on September 29. The accused were identified as Rohith Jalla (22) from Tonkuru taluk, Ankith Jhanja (25) from Dhani Ghati in Hatpipliya taluk and Ram Gade (25) of Ashti taluk in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh.

Three special teams led by Pileru Circle Inspector S Sadiq Ali, in a joint operation with the Madhya Pradesh police, conducted raids on the dens of Kanjarbhat gang at around 2 am on September 29 and arrested three members. The gang tried to sell mobile phones in Bangladesh, said Chittoor Superintendent of Police S Senthil Kumar.

Stating that the special teams camped in Dewas district for a month to track down the gang, the SP appreciated Circle Inspectors K Maddaiah (Nagari Urban) and M Rajasekhar (Nagari Rural) and Sub-Inspectors V Ramakrishnaiah, U Prathap Reddy, Mallikarjuna Reddy and Ramanjaneyulu for cracking the sensational theft case.

It may be mentioned here that on August 25 night, a container with 7,500 mobile phones from Xiaomi mobile manufacturing unit at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, on its way to Mumbai, was hijacked by a gang near Nagari in Chittoor district. After allegedly assaulting its driver, the gang took away part of the consignment, worth about `8 crore. Based on the complaint filed by the driver, the Nagari police registered a case under Cr.No. 411/2020, Sections 363, 341, 342, 323, 395 and 109 of IPC and launched an investigation.

Cases registered against gang in AP, TN

Kanjarbhat gang committed a dacoity in a similar manner under Dagadarthi police station limits in Nellore district. A case was registered against the gang under Cr.No. 15/2019 under Sections 395, 363, 341, 342 and 323 of Indian Penal Code (highway dacoity)



Similarly, a case was registered against the gang under Cr.No.71/19 under Sections 342, 363 and 397 of Indian Penal Code at Pallikonda police station in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu



The gang also made unsuccessful dacoity attempts in two cases vide Cr.No. 8/2019 under Section 302 of IPC at Gangavaram police station in Chittoor district and Cr.No. 143/18 under Section 302 of IPC at Kanganapalli police station in Anantapur district where they killed the drivers but could not loot the property
Mahatma Gandhi is called the Father of the nation for a reason. The man deserves a mention when it comes to the Indian independence and democracy. Not only did he play a role in mobilising Indians to fight for freedom, but he also played a major role in mapping out what the worlds biggest democracy would look like.

Today, 74 years later, the India we are a part of may be a lot of things Gandhi had hoped for, but it is also perhaps a lot of things he didnt see coming. But since were at it, perhaps all of us can take a few minutes out to remind ourselves of some of Gandhis most basic teachings from all those years ago that we can put to work even today, especially today.

1. Gandhis Swaraj

 Twitter/JoeyTart_NC

Gandhis political ideologies were rooted in moral principles. He planted the seeds of swaraj which rested beyond the limits of political independence, in a system of Indian traditions and values, internal strength and the intent to fight (back?) against all odds. Gotta keep that fighting spirit alive even today.



2. Gandhis Democracy

 Twitter/weird_exx

The Mahatmas notion of democracy laid emphasis on mobilising the entire physical, economic and spiritual resources of all the various sections of the people in the society in the service of the common good of all. So perhaps it would be good to look beyond a particular caste, creed and class of people and work towards the good of all.



3. Gandhis Non-Violence

 Twitter/ValaAfshar

Gandhis advocacy of non-violence needs no introduction. Gandhi had always believed that it is only through ahimsa that one can attain enlightenment in life. That is, non-violence in our actions, in our words as well as our thoughts. Cant say any of us are getting any better at this, can we? Neither our thoughts, nor words and definitely not our actions are allied with the old mans expectations today.



4. Gandhis Satyagraha

 Wikipedia

In keeping with his concept of democracy, Gandhi believed in achieving the same opportunities and benefits for the weakest that the strongest in the society enjoyed. This, he felt, could only be achieved through non-violence and thats what many have set out to do now, isnt it?



5. Gandhis Tolerance

 Twitter/joybhattacharj

Gandhi always spoke in favour of one universal religion, but at the same time, he also promoted coexistence of different religions. He believed that there was no need to declare one better than the other, and said that all religions are equal and correct. It would do us well to pay heed to these ancient thoughts today, no?



6. Gandhis Swadesi

 100photos

This has been around for so long, but only seems to have gained prominence lately. Now more than ever perhaps, it makes complete sense to embrace the swadesi which promotes homegrown and homemade articles and stepping away from all things foreign-made. The idea was to protect and promote indigenous industries and in turn, the economy. The pandemic is proof that we need it, now more than ever.


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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Taiping, Malaysia  Fri, October 2, 2020 16:06 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48be370 2 Food Antong-mill,Malaysia,coffee Free

A Malaysian worker pours roasted coffee beans into a pot of bubbling, melted sugar as an ageing machine stirs the ingredients into a sticky black mixture over a crackling wood fire.

The Antong mill, believed to be the oldest such set-up in Malaysia, has been using the same methods to produce its popular coffee for almost nine decades.

"I want to let young people know what coffee factories looked like 50 or 100 years ago," Thian Boon Chung, the boss of the small mill in the Malaysian town of Taiping, told AFP.

"I want them to appreciate the old ways of making coffee."

The mill -- built by Thian's grandfather and two others in 1933 -- is a small wooden building with a zinc roof.

It houses machines for roasting coffee, removing the husk from beans and mixing them up with sugar.

Read also: Coffee in the new normal era: The end of coffee shops?

Many of the contraptions are original, dating from when the factory started operations, although their motors have been replaced.

The mill workers use wood gathered from construction projects and abandoned houses to roast the beans, giving it a distinct, smoky flavor.

Thian said his wood-roasted coffee tasted better than other varieties: "It has 'power' in the taste that cannot simply be explained by words."

After the beans are mixed with sugar, they are dried and crushed into a coarse powder before being packaged and sold to restaurants and other customers.

The mill can produce up to 2,000 kilograms of coffee products a day, with half its beans sourced in Malaysia and the rest imported.

The type of sweet coffee produced at the factory has long been popular in Malaysia, where many like their drinks sugary, and is commonly served at restaurants.
A general view of the round table meeting at an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, on Oct. 1, 2020. (Johanna Geron/Pool via AP)

EU Leaders Overcome Cyprus Veto, Agree to Belarus Sanctions

BRUSSELSEuropean Union leaders agreed early Friday to impose sanctions on dozens of senior officials in Belarus accused of falsifying presidential election results and leading a crackdown on peaceful protesters, after unblocking a veto against the move by one of the EUs smallest member countries.

In an embarrassing standoff, Cyprus had insisted that its EU partners take action against Turkey for its energy exploration work in disputed waters off the Mediterranean island nations coast before it would agree to the Belarus sanctions.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, speaks with from right, Luxembourgs Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Belgiums new Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Italys Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, and European Council President Charles Michel at an EU summit in Brussels, on Oct. 1, 2020. (Olivier Hoslet/Pool via AP)

But after several hours of talks into the night, the leaders agreed on a strong statement of support for Cyprus, as well as for Greece, and a stern warning to Turkey that it could face punitive measures if it continues the undersea drilling work.

We have to decided today to implement the sanctions, European Council President Charles Michel told reporters after chairing the summit in Brussels. Its very important to do what we decided a few weeks ago, and to send a signal that we are credible.

Michel said that a special written procedure would be launched on Friday to impose sanctions on about 40 Belarus officials.

European Council President Charles Michel, right, greets Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ahead of a meeting on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels, on Oct. 1, 2020. (John Thys/Pool via AP)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is not on the current list. But we will follow the developments, Michel said. The leader once dubbed Europes last dictator could be added to the list at a later date, should he refuse to enter into talks with the opposition, EU diplomats have said.

The political row has tarnished the EUs image. It is also unusual in that all 27 EU member countries, including Cyprus, reject the result of the Aug. 9 election that returned Lukashenko to power for a sixth term. They all want a new election and agree that sanctions should be slapped on several officials.

Ahead of the summit, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it is bad that we cannot make it work.

Throughout Thursday evening, the leaders debated what approach to take in the EUs increasingly tense ties with Turkey over its drilling in the Mediterranean Sea, its roles in the conflicts in Libya and Syria, and as a sometimes troublesome source of migrants trying to reach Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, speaks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, on Oct. 1, 2020. (Olivier Hoslet/Pool via AP)

In a summit statement, they agreed that if Turkey continues to react positively in talks with Cyprus and Greece the bloc will launch a positive political EU-Turkey agenda with trade and customs incentives, and they held out the prospect of more money and benefits for continued cooperation on migrant flows.

If not, the leaders warned, the EU will use all the instruments and the options at its disposal, to defend its interests and those of its Member States.

It is now Turkey that has to prove that it wants to go the constructive road with us, and this is the offer tonight. But we are very clear that in the opposite case we have all necessary tools at our disposal, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

French President Emmanuel Macron was staunch in his support for his European partners, saying that solidarity is non-negotiable when it comes to Cyprus, but also to Greece in its long-running dispute with Turkey.

When a European Union member state is attacked, threatened, when its territorial waters are not respected, its the duty of Europeans to show their solidarity, Macron said.

Finlands Prime Minister Sanna Marin arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, on Oct. 1, 2020. (Francisco Seco/AP)

As it turned out, Cyprus was making its stand at a summit that came on the 60th anniversary of its independence.

In a televised address to the nation, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades expressed his sincere gratitude to all European Union member states for their staunch support and solidarity in light of Turkeys provocations.

But Anastasiades said he wanted the EU to take a more tangible and effective stance to bring about an end to gunboat diplomacy and for the crisis to be succeeded by dialogue or recourse to the international court on the basis of international law and the law of the sea.

Making the same point, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, the time has come for Europe to discuss with courage and honesty what kind of relationship it truly wants to have with Turkey. One thing is certain: Turkish provocation, whether this is expressed through unilateral actions or extreme rhetoric, can no longer be tolerated.

In Ankara, meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described his countrys operations in the eastern Mediterranean its most important naval struggle of the past few centuries.

During a speech in parliament, Erdogan said the EU had turned into an ineffective, horizonless, and shallow structure and become a slave to the conceit of Greece and Cyprus. However, he also said that Turkey is committed to resolving disputes through dialogue.

By Lorne Cook
One day after a report by NBC News dug into Amazons lack of transparency around COVID-19 outbreaks in its facilities, the company has released data on how many employees tested or were presumed positive. This kind of information has largely not been released by other major companies in the US, and while its difficult to exactly gauge how Amazons handled the pandemic compare to others, at least we have some idea of where to start. Amazon said its conducting thousands of tests per day, and plans to reach 50,000 tests per day across 650 sites by November.

Amazon said that of 1,372,000 employees who worked there or for Whole Foods between March 1st and September 19th, some 19,816 either tested positive or were presumed positive for COVID-19. According to Amazon, using Johns Hopkins University data for the same time period and accounting for factors like geography and age, it estimates that based on the rate of infection for the general population, it would have expected to see 33,952 positives. It also went further, with a state by state breakdown (PDF) that showed case percentages among employees tracked lower than the general population in most cases.

One state where that did not appear to be the case is Minnesota  a site of earlier protests over working conditions  which revealed 31.7 cases per 1,000 among Amazon employees, which is well above the states reported rate of 15.8, and Amazons expected rate among employees of 19.1. This matches earlier reporting by CNBC and Bloomberg that showed the higher rates of infection and how they didnt line up with Amazons public statements at the time. CNBC also notes that these numbers dont include Amazons network of third-party delivery drivers.
Turkey replaces HDP mayor for Kobane protest involvement Arrested with others, 37 died and 700 injured in 2014 protest

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, OCTOBER 2 - The Turkish interior minister on Friday appointed a trustee to its far-eastern Kars municipality, replacing Kars Co-Mayor Ayhan Bilgen after he and other members of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) were arrested. The arrests were in relation in the 2014 violent protests against the siege by the Islamic State of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane. Protestors had wanted to cross the border to support the fight inside Syria. At least 37 people were killed and 700 injured during the protests. Bilgen, alongside 19 other HDP politicians, had been detained on Sept.



25 as part of a probe into the protests and later announced that he would resign from his post if a trustee was not appointed until his detention period ends. Those arrested have been accused of "financing terrorism, making terror propaganda through media outlets, hiring family members of PKK militants, and the like", according to the HDP website. The HDP is the third largest party in the Ankara parliament and in recent years has been hit hard by hundreds of arrests, including of the former leader and presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas, who has now been in jail for almost four years. Many mayors and MPs have also been removed from their positions. The authorities accuse them of being the political wing of the PKK, a Kurdish terrorist group. The party denies any links and complains of oppression under the current government. (ANSAmed).



(ANSA).




By Craig Murray

October 01, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Tuesday has been another day on which the testimony focused on the extreme inhumane conditions in which Julian Assange would be kept imprisoned in the USA if extradited. The prosecutions continued tactic of extraordinary aggression towards witnesses who are patently well informed played less well, and there were distinct signs that Judge Baraitser was becoming irritated by this approach. The totality of defence witnesses and the sheer extent of mutual corroboration they provided could not simply be dismissed by the prosecution attempting to characterise all of them as uninformed on a particular detail, still less as all acting in bad faith. To portray one witness as weak may appear justified if they can be shaken, but to attack a succession of patently well-qualified witnesses, on no basis but aggression and unreasoning hostility, becomes quickly unconvincing.

The other point which became glaringly anomalous, in fact quite contrary to natural justice, was the US governments continued reliance on affidavits from US Assistant Attorney Gordon Kromberg and Board of Prisons psychiatrist Dr Alison Leukefeld. The cross-examinations by the US government of the last four defence witnesses have all relied on precisely the same passages from Kromberg and Leukefeld, and every single one of the defence witnesses has said Leukefeld and Kromberg are wrong as to fact. Yet under US/UK extradition agreements the US government witnesses may not be called and cross-examined. When the defence witnesses are attacked so strongly in cross-examination on the points of disagreement with Kromberg and Leukefeld, it becomes glaringly wrong that Kromberg and Leukefeld may not be similarly cross-examined by the defence on the same points.

Similarly as to process, the only point of any intellectual purchase which the US governments lawyers have hit upon is the limited direct experience of the witnesses of the H unit of the ADX Supermax prison. This casts in a stark light last weeks objection to the defence introducing further witnesses who have precisely that experience, in response to the affidavits of Kromberg and Leukefeld on these specific points, which were submitted on 20 August and 2 September respectively. The prosecution objected to these witnesses as too late, whereas both were submitted within a month of the testimony to which they were responding. The US government and Baraitser having ruled out witnesses on this very specific new point, their then proceeding to attack the existing defence witnesses on their knowledge of precisely the point on which they refused to hear new evidence, leaves a very bad taste indeed.

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The first witness of the day was Maureen Baird, former warden (governor in UK terms) of three US prisons including 201416 the Metropolitan Correction Centre (MCC) New York, which houses a major concentration of Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) prisoners pre-trial. She had also attended national courses and training programmes on SAMs and met and discussed with fellow warders and others responsible for them elsewhere, including Florence ADX.

Led through her evidence by Edward Fitzgerald QC, Baird confirmed that she anticipated Assange would be subject to SAMs pre-trial, based on the national security argument and on all the documentation submitted by the US Attorney, and post-trial. SAMs meant being confined to a cell 2324 hours a day with no communication at all with other prisoners. In MCC the one hour a day outside your cell was spent simply in a different but identical empty cell known as the recreation cell. She had put in an exercise bike; otherwise it was unequipped. Recreation was always completely alone.

Prisoners were allowed one phone call a month of 30 minutes, or 2 of 15 minutes, to named and vetted family members. These were monitored by the FBI.

Fitzgerald asked about Krombergs assertion that mail was free-flowing. Baird said that all mail was screened. This delayed mail typically by two to three months, if it got through at all.

Baird said that the SAMs regime was centrally determined and was the same in all locations. It was decided by the attorney general. Neither the prison warden nor the Board of Prisons itself had the power to moderate the SAMs regime. Fitzgerald said the US government had claimed yesterday it could be varied, and some people under SAMs could even have a cellmate. Baird replied No, that is not my experience at all.

Fitzgerald quoted Kromberg as stating that a prisoner could appeal to the case manager and unit manager against the conditions of SAMs. Baird replied that those people could do nothing. SAMs was way above their pay grade. Krombergs description was unrealistic, as was his description of judicial review. All internal procedures would have to be exhausted first, which would take many years and go nowhere. She had never seen any case of SAMs being changed. Similarly, when Fitzgerald put to her that SAMs were imposed for only one year at a time and subject to annual review, Baird replied that she had never heard of any case of their not being renewed. They appeared simply to be rolled over by the Attorney Generals office.

Baird said that in addition to herself applying SAMs at the MCC, she went on national training courses on SAMs and met and discussed experiences with those applying SAMs at other locations, including the Florence, Colorado ADX. SAMs had strong and negative consequences on prisoners mental and physical health. These included severe depression, anxiety disorder and weight loss. Baird said she agreed with previous witness Sickler that if convicted Assange could very well face spending the rest of his life imprisoned under SAMs at the Florence ADX. She quoted a former warden of that prison describing it as not built for humanity.

Fitzgerald took Baird to Krombergs description of a multi-phased programme for release from SAMs. Baird said she recognised none of this in practice. SAMs prisoners could not participate in any group programmes or meet other prisoners in any circumstances. What Kromberg was describing was not a programme but a very limited list of potential small extra privileges, such as one extra phone call a month. Phase 3 involved mingling with other prisoners and Baird said she had never seen it and doubted it really applied: I dont know how that happens.

Fitzgerald asked Baird about Dr Leukefelds claim that some prisoners enjoy Florence ADX so much they did not want to leave. Baird said this was a reflection of the extreme anxiety disorders that could affect prisoners. They became scared to leave their highly ordered world.

It was interesting to see how the prosecution would claim that Baird was unqualified. It was very difficult to counter the evidence of a prison warder about the inhumanity of the prison regime. The US government hit on a quite extraordinary attack. They claimed that the prison system was generally pleasant as described by Leukefeld and Kromberg, but that the prisons in which Baird had worked had indeed been bad, but only because Baird was a bad warden.

Here are brief extracts from the US Governments cross-examination of Baird:

Clair Dobbin Are you independent?

Maureen Baird I work for one attorney but also others.

Dobbin You appear on a legal website as a consultant  Allan Ellis of San Francisco.

Baird I do some consultancy, including with Allan but not exclusively.

Dobbin You only work for defendants?

Baird Yes.

Dobbin It says that the firm handles appeals and post-conviction placing.

Baird Yes, I tend to get involved in post-conviction or placing.

Dobbin Do you have any experience in sentencing?

Baird What kind of sentencing?

Dobbin That is what I am asking.

Baird I have testified on prison conditions pre-sentence.

This was a much briefer effort than usual to damage the credentials of the witness. After questions on Bairds exact prison experience, Clair Dobbins moved on to:

Dobbin Do you know the criteria for SAMs?

Baird Yes.

Dobbin Why do you say it is likely Assange will get SAMs? Kromberg only says it is possible.

Baird Kromberg talks about it a very great deal. It is very plainly on the table.

Dobbin It is speculative. It can only be decided by the Attorney General as reasonably necessary to prevent the disclosure of national security information.

Baird They have made plain they believe Assange to hold further such information.

Dobbin You are not in any position to make any judgement.

Baird It is my opinion he would be judged to meet that criterion, based on their past decisions.

Dobbin How can you say the risk exists he would disclose national security information?

Baird He is charged with espionage. They have said he is a continuing risk.

Dobbin I am suggesting that is highly speculative and you cannot know.

Baird I am judging by what the government have said and the fact they have so much emphasised SAMs. They very definitely fail to say in all this that SAMs will not be applied.

After further discussion on Krombergs claims versus Bairds experience, the US government moved on to the question of the SAMs prisoners under Bairds care in the MCC.

Dobbin You say they were in solitary confinement. The officers on the unit did not have human contact with the prisoners?

Baird They did not speak to inmates.

Dobbin Why not?

Baird That is not what prison officers do.

Dobbin Why not? You were in charge?

Baird They just open the small viewing slot in the iron door every half hour and look through. Conversation just did not happen.

Dobbin You could encourage that?

Baird I could lead by example. But ordering conversation is not something a prison warden does. I did not have that authority. There are unions. If I instructed the prison officers to socialise with the prisoners, they would reply it is not in their job description.

Dobbin Oh, come on! You could encourage.

Baird On a normal basis, those officers do not talk to inmates.

Dobbin Did you tell your staff to? Wouldnt the first thing you do be to tell your staff to talk?

Baird No. Thats not how it works.

Dobbin Did you raise your concerns about SAMs with those above you?

Baird No.

Dobbin Did you raise your concerns with judges? (brief discussion of a specific case ensued)

Baird No.

Dobbin Did you raise concerns about the conditions of SAM inmates with judges?

Baird No. They were a very small part of the prison population I was dealing with.

Dobbin So you didnt encourage staff or raise any concerns?

Baird I tried to be fair and compassionate. I talked to the isolation prisoners myself. The fact that other staff did not engage is not uncommon. I do not recall making any complaints or recommendations.

Dobbin So these conditions did not cause you any concerns at the time. It is only now?

Baird It did cause me concerns.

Dobbin What did you do about your concerns at the time?

Baird I did not think I had any influence. It was way above me. SAMs are decided by the Attorney General and heads of the intelligence agencies.

Dobbin You did not even try.

This was an audacious effort to distract from Bairds obviously qualified and first-hand evidence of how dreadful and inhuman the regime is, but ultimately a complaint that Baird did not try to modify the terrible system does not really help the government case. In over two hours of cross-examination, Dobbin again and again tried to discredit Bairds testimony by contrasting it with the evidence of Kromberg and Leukefeld, but this was entirely counter-productive for Dobbin. It served instead to illustrate how very far Krombergs and Leukefelds assurances were from the description of what really happens from an experienced prison warden.

Baird demolished Dobbins insistence on Krombergs description of a functioning three-stage programme for removal of SAMs. When it came to Dr Leukefelds account of SAMs prisoners being allowed to take part in psychiatric group therapy sessions, Baird involuntarily laughed. She suggested that from where Dr Leukefeld sat in the central office, Leukefeld possibly genuinely believed this happened.

The afternoon witness was an attorney, Lindsay Lewis, who represents Abu Hamza, who is held at ADX Florence. The videolink to Lewis had extremely poor sound and from the public gallery I was unable to hear much of her testimony. She said that Hamza, who has both forearms amputated, had been kept in solitary confinement under SAMs in the ADX for almost ten years. His conditions were absolutely inappropriate to his condition. He had no prosthesis sufficient to handle self-care and received no nursing care at all. His bed, toilet and sink were all unadapted and unsuitable to his disability. His other medical conditions including severe diabetes, hypertension and depression were not adequately treated.

Lewis said that the conditions of Hamzas incarceration directly breached undertakings made by the US government to the UK magistrates court and High Court when they made the extradition request. The US had stated his medical needs would be fully assessed, his medical treatment would be adequate, and he was unlikely to be sent to the ADX. None of these had happened.

In cross-examination, Dobbins major point was to deny that the assurances given to the British authorities by the US Government at the time of Hamzas extradition amounted to undertakings. She was also at great pains to emphasise Hamzas convicted terrorist offences, as though these justified the conditions of his incarceration. But the one thing which struck me most was Lewiss description of the incident that was used to justify the continued imposition of SAMs on Hamza.

Hamza is allowed to communicate only with two named family members, one of whom is one of his sons. In a letter, Hamza had asked this son to tell his one-year-old grandchild that he loved him. Hamza was charged with an illegal message to a third party (the grandson). This had resulted in extension of the SAMs regime on Hamza, which still continues. In cross-examination, Dobbin was at pains to suggest this I love you may have been a coded terrorist message.

The day concluded with a foretaste of excitement to come, as Judge Baraitser agreed to grant witness anonymity to the two UC Global whistleblowers who are to give evidence on UC Globals spying on Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy. In making application, Summers gave notice that among the topics to be discussed was the instruction from UC Globals American clients to consider poisoning or kidnapping Assange. The hidden firearm with filed-off serial numbers discovered in the home of UC Globals chief executive David Morales, and his relationship to the Head of Security at the Las Vegas Sands complex, were also briefly mooted.

Craig John Murray is a British former diplomat turned political activist, human rights campaigner, blogger and whistleblower. Between 2002 and 2004, he was the British ambassador to Uzbekistan during which time he exposed the violations of human rights in Uzbekistan by the Karimov administration.



Craig's ability to provide this coverage is entirely dependent on your kind voluntary subscriptions. Subscriptions to keep his blog going are gratefully received .
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Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri on Friday paid tributes to on the 151st birth anniversary of the father of the nation.

Misri garlanded Gandhi's statue at a popular park in Beijing on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

The statue of Gandhi was carved by China's acclaimed sculptor and artist Yuan Xikun and installed at the park in 2005.

Misiri later addressed a meeting at the Indian embassy to mark the day.

(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.)
OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 2, 2020 /CNW/ - The COVID19 pandemic has highlighted gaps in the very systems designed to keep people safe. It has created unprecedented challenges for those experiencing gender-based violence and the organizations that provide supports and services to them.

Women's safety must be the foundation on which all progress is built. That's why, in the recent Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada committed to accelerate investments in shelters and transition housing to ensure anyone facing gender-based violence has a safe place to turn.

Today, the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, announced up to $50M in funding to support organizations providing supports and services to those experiencing gender-based violence.

This funding announced today includes:

Up to $10 million for women's shelters and sexual assault centres to help them continue to provide their critical services safely;

for women's shelters and sexual assault centres to help them continue to provide their critical services safely; Up to $10 million to support organizations providing services related to gender-based violence to Indigenous people off-reserve; and

to support organizations providing services related to gender-based violence to Indigenous people off-reserve; and Up to $30 million for other women's organizations to support the delivery of GBV supports, to help combat the spread of COVID, and to address the increased demand for services.

Today's announcement builds on previous emergency funding provided to women's shelters, sexual assault centres and other organizations providing gender-based violence services to ensure continuity of services at this challenging time. This brings the total emergency funding provided to GBV organizations to $100 million. Through the first $50 million, over 1000 organizations across the country received much-needed funding that helped ensure they could keep their doors open to those in need. Organizations used this funding to enhance cleaning and safety procedures, hire additional staff to manage additional workload, and purchase equipment to help them deliver their services remotely.

While moving swiftly to address immediate needs, the Government, in partnership with provinces and territories, is also moving forward on a National Action Plan on gender-based violence. This work is focused on ensuring that people who experience gender-based violence have access to timely supports no matter where they live while also laying the foundation to eradicating this unacceptable violence altogether. In response to the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the Government is also working with Indigenous partners, and provinces and territories, to develop and launch a National Action Plan to address violence against Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit and LGBTQ people.

The Government has significantly increased funding to grow and strengthen the women's movement. Between 2015 and 2019, federal support to women's and equality-seeking organizations increased five-fold, compared to the previous five years. This fiscal year WAGE will make available over $100 million available to these organizations to ensure they can continue their important work, helping to build a stronger, more inclusive Canada. Six million Canadians benefit from the work of these organizations every year.

Quotes

"COVID-19 is a crisis unlike any other and it has laid bare the cracks in our support systems. This crises has thrown into sharp focus the needs of organizations serving women and children who are fleeing violence. No one should be left without a place to turn at this difficult time and our government have moved swiftly to provide $100 million to these critical front-line organizations, ensuring their doors can remain open and they can continue their lifesaving work."

The Honourable Maryam Monsef, P.C., M.P.

Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development

"No Canadian should have to live in fear. Too many Canadians continue to be victims of sexual violence, domestic violence, online child exploitation, and human trafficking. In recent months, the COVID-19 pandemic has created additional and unprecedented challenges for survivors of sexual and domestic violence and the organizations that serve them. The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring those who are experiencing violence have access to the help they need."

The Honourable Bill Blair, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

"The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified systemic racism and the longstanding inequalities across our society and exacerbated the threats to the safety of Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ people. Our government's support of the organizations that provide safety to those fleeing violence is critical to ensuring Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ people are safe wherever they live."

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, M.D., P.C., M.P.

Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

Quick Facts

Data collected through Statistics Canada in March and April 2020 suggested that 1 in 10 women in Canada were very or extremely concerned about the possibility of violence in the home early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

suggested that 1 in 10 women in were very or extremely concerned about the possibility of violence in the home early in the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 21, 2020 , the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation announced $1 billion to help address urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians by rapidly creating new affordable housing.

, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation announced to help address urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians by rapidly creating new affordable housing. Since 2015 the Government helped 1 million Canadians get access to safe and affordable housing, including the creation or enhancement of nearly 7,000 units that provide safe housing to survivors of domestic violence.

40,000 childcare spaces have been created since 2015 and the 2020 Speech from the Throne committed to a significant, sustained investment to create a universal child care system in Canada .

. In 2020, Canada placed 1st in North America according to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report, having improved 11 places globally since 2015, compared to 153 countries.

Associated Links

Follow the Women and Gender Equality Canada:

SOURCE Women and Gender Equality Canada

For further information: Marie-Pier Baril, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, 613-295-8123; Media Relations, Women and Gender Equality Canada, 1-855-969-9922

Related Links

http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/


Saskatoon New Democratic Party Leader Ryan Meili promised on Oct. 1 to reduce class sizes in schools should the NDP form government.

Meili promised to make $125 million available to address over-crowded classrooms. This funding could fund 1,000 teachers, 750 educational assistants (EAs), and 400 caretakers. This is in addition to the $10 million previously allocated to addressing mental health in schools.

Some of that money would be rolled out in this school year, Meili said.

Of the 61 NDP candidates running in this election, 14 are teachers.

Speaking in Saskatoon, Gillian Strange, NDP candidate for Saskatoon Northwest, said, Im one of the 14 candidates who are teachers in this election. We are here because the Sask Party has failed us, has failed the EAs and has failed our children. We experienced firsthand the damage that education cuts do when class sizes are so large they dont allow us to help every child in our classes learn. This worst in the country school reopening plan has increased stress load for school staffs, for families, and most destructively. for our students.

Strange is running against Saskatchewan Party Education Minister Gord Wyant.

Meili said, We have a choice in this election, a choice between a government that has told us through their record, and through their own words, that their plan going forward is a plan of austerity, of more cuts, versus our plan, which is a plan of investment in the things that matter most. Its a choice between a government that will actually listen to whats on peoples minds, hear their anxiety and take it seriously, or a government that gaslights the population, tries to tell us that everythings just fine, when we know how serious the challenges are in our schools today.

Through these last few weeks, parents across this province have struggled, have wrestled with the choice of whether or not to send their kids back to school. I know its something weve lost sleep about at our house, and so many families have, not to mention the stress that teachers and staff and administrators have been under after Scott Moe brought in the worst back to school plan in the entire country. He had all summer to come up with a plan. He released a completely empty plan in August had to delay the school year by a week, leaving everyone scrambling, and afterwards tried to say that that was just fine, that there were no problems with that approach, as he put all the pressure and all the responsibility down onto divisions, and schools and individual teachers without the support they need to succeed.

Now those teachers and divisions in schools have stepped up remarkably, theyve done an incredible job working so hard to protect our children protect our community, they deserve a government that will step up for them. But this government has done nothing.

Meili said the Saskatchewan Party planned on austerity in the future. Thats the wrong approach. Now is the time to invest. Thats why, as New Democrats, we commit today to an investment of $150 million in Saskatchewan schools. A $125 million of that will be dedicated to allowing divisions, helping divisions to overcome the chronic understaffing. This will allow them to hire hundreds more teachers, hundreds more EAs, hundreds more caretakers so that we can have smaller classes; more supports for those kids who need extra help, and safer schools.

To pay for this, Meili pointed to the NDPs plan announced earlier in the week to implement a one per cent tax on the very wealthiest among us.

Its time for us to put people first. And with this funding, we can support students and teachers. We can decrease class sizes, and we can make a generational investment in the future of this province, he said.

Meili said the province would have to build new schools, as well as work with schools to expand capacity through the use of portable classrooms.

This is where we really differ from the Sask Party. Well build the schools. But well also make sure the staff is in there to take care of the kids.

He added, Before the pandemic, we were talking about specific cap size. I think we need to talk a bit differently. Now, as we understand how important it is, with the pandemic, to reduce class sizes. From a safety point of view, were going to work with divisions to arrive at that number.

In response, Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe said, The tax hike that the NDP proposed yesterday, they spent already this morning. At over a billion dollars in promises prior to that, they are going to have to expand their tax hike to all Saskatchewan people. That is their M.O. (modus operandi).

Moe said it was nothing new that the NDP would talk about class sizes again, noting, They have no plan on how they would actually achieve what they have committed to.

He said the Saskatchewan Party has built 57 new schools because we have additional kids here in the province because people have choosing to make Saskatchewan their home.
FARGO, N.D.  A man who was dressed in a gorilla suit and was armed with a machete has been arrested for threatening neighbors at a Fargo apartment building, according to police.

Officers were called to the apartment building about 12:30 a.m. Friday on a report of possible gunshots.

Officers were able to contain the man to one apartment and evacuated about a-half dozen tenants, according to Sgt. Travis Moser.

Authorities said the man was threatening to blow up the building and everyone inside, KFGO reported. Police determined he had been setting off artillery-shell size fireworks.

Officers negotiated with the man, who they say was heavily intoxicated, for about two hours and eventually convinced him to surrender.

He was taken to the hospital for a mental health evaluation, cleared, and taken to jail on a possible charge of terrorizing.

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A ctress Anya Taylor-Joy has opened up about her alienating move to London as a young child and how she struggled to fit in at school.

The actress who starred in this years adaptation of Jane Austins Emma moved to Buenos Aires in Argentina as an infant and spoke only Spanish before her family relocated to London aged six.

Speaking to THE FALL magazine, Taylor-Joy, 24, said her first few years in England were traumatic. She said not speaking English made her feel like an outsider, and making friends at school was very difficult.

The star, who started off her professional life as a model after she was discovered outside Harrods department store, said: To begin with it was traumatic because I didnt speak a word of English.

"I had just started to read in Spanish and when we got to England I was like, I dont speak this language, I cant read, I cant keep up in school I felt very alienated. It definitely left me with the feeling of being an outsider.

THE FALL

(THE FALL)

Speaking specifically about her time at Queens Gate school in South Kensington, the actor - who is starring in upcoming Netflix drama The Queens Gambit - said: I just didnt fit in at school. I couldnt find that niche that I saw other kids exploring.

The actress has previously spoken about being bullied at the school, and how she fled London for New York in her late teens.

THE FALL

Taylor-Joy, who has starred in Peaky Blinders, also told how her parents struggled to cope with her boundless energy. My parents were always looking for the off button, she said. How do we power her down? I think my family and friends are both really glad that I now have something that makes me tired.

Read the full interview with Anya Taylor-Joy in the Autumn/Winter issue of THE FALL on sale now.

thefallmag.com.
This is the moment police on lockdown patrol fined a shopper 200 after he 'verbally abused' staff who had asked him to wear a face mask.

Police had to intervene after the man, who was browsing a DIY store in Birmingham, refused to comply with the anti-Covid measure.

In the footage, the customer can be heard telling an officer: 'It's a lie - it's not the law to wear a mask. I ain't got one.'

He goes on to say: 'How are you meant to know to wear a mask when you don't watch the news?'

The policeman replied: 'I'm not having it that you don't know. You know.'

The number of Covid-related fines handed out by police forces across the country is set to increase, according to National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) chairman Martin Hewitt.

It comes amid an increase in local lockdown regulations and continuing pressure from the Government for police chiefs to come down hard on lawbreakers.

Police had to intervene after the man, who was browsing a DIY store in Birmingham, refused to wear a face mask and abused staff

The drive to fine Covid rule breakers comes despite new figures showing that, of 18,646 enforcement letters sent out in England and Wales, only 9,428 penalty charges had been paid, while 9,413 had not.

These include some people who are formally contesting their fine, while others who have not paid fall to be considered for prosecution.

How much can you be fined for failing to wear a face mask? Failing to wear a face mask can lead to a fine of 200 (reduced to 100 if paid within 14 days) for the first offence. Repeat offenders receiving fines on public transport or in an indoor setting will have their fines doubled at each offence. There is no reduced fine for fast payment after the first offence. For example, receiving a second fine will amount to 400 and a third fine will be 800, up to a maximum value of 6,400. Advertisement

Other data published by the NPCC on Wednesday also showed that hundreds of travellers suspected of breaking quarantine rules had not been traced.

Meanwhile, it recently emerged that police officers checking on Britons who should be quarantining after returning from abroad will abandon their search if no one answers the door on their second visit.

The footage from Birmingham was released by West Midlands Police as part of their latest crackdown on people dodging anti-Covid rules.

The clip also shows officers visiting a pizza shop serving diners beyond 10pm.

And in another clip, police can also be heard paying a visit to a chicken shop, where walk-in customers were still placing orders after midnight.

West Midlands Police say both food joints were given a verbal warning on this occasion but would not be so lenient in the future.

The government guidelines stipulate premises where face coverings are required should take reasonable steps to promote compliance with the law.

Restaurants cannot serve food to in-house diners after 10pm and can only operate a takeaway or delivery service.

In the footage, the customer could be heard telling an officer: 'I don't watch the news, how are you meant to know to wear a mask?'

The shopper eventually accepts he has to wear a mask and asks the officer if he has a spare one but was still fined 200

Four regions in the West Midlands - Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell and Wolverhampton - are already under stricter Covid restrictions than the rest of the country.

As part of a police crackdown, Blossoms nightclub in Wolverhampton has been issued with a closure notice for breaking Covid rules, while PBs bar in Hockley has had its licence revoked.

It comes just a week after the Castle Bromwich Hall Hotel in Solihull was banned from holding events until January next year after a funeral held last Friday was attended by around 200 people.
Storm Alex is set to sweep in heavy and prolonged rain leading to a risk of localised flooding in gusty winds this weekend.

Met Eireann expects the storm to push in from the Atlantic over France, Spain and Britain before its impact is felt in Ireland on Saturday into Sunday as it swings back to the east over the island.

The forecaster says at times heavy rain will hit the north and east of the country overnight Saturday. Spot flooding is on the cards. Winds will be fresh and gusty.

Sunday will start with Alex bringing heavy and prolonged rain in most parts. Flooding is again possible. The rain will clear from the east. Gusty winds will ease as the rain clears to the west.

Met Eireann issued a Status Yellow weather warning on Friday afternoon for counties in the northwest of Ireland. Heavy at times intense rain with up to 40 mm is expected. Met Eireann has warned that river surface flooding may result. The warning is valid from 7am to 9pm on Sunday.

It advises people to stay tuned to the weekend forecast as Storm Alex hits.

The summary outlook is for wet and blustery over the weekend with unsettled conditions set to continue through the week ahead. More below tweets.

Here is the latest cloud and rainfall forecast from our HARMONIE weather model. It covers the period from now until Sunday afternoon. Some isolated showers around today, but mainly dry. More weather forecast details for the weekend ahead here: https://t.co/9gKN6SVok4 pic.twitter.com/swunwZ9KDr  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) October 2, 2020

Here is the latest Atlantic Charts - 7 Day Forecast. These charts show forecast pressure and precipitation every 6 hours for the next 7 days. Low pressure swirling near Ireland will bring unsettled weather over the coming days.https://t.co/9Giuj4CR5mhttps://t.co/9gKN6SVok4 pic.twitter.com/szvKg1Wu7r  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) October 2, 2020

Met Eireann's weekend forecast issued at 3.49pm on Friday, October 2.

SATURDAY

A bright start for most areas tomorrow and mainly dry. Cloud will increase through the afternoon with scattered showers developing in the west, while rain will pushes in from the east through the evening. Highest temperatures of 9 to 13 degrees in moderate to fresh northerly winds.

Rain in the east will extend westward to affect much of the north and east of the country overnight Saturday. It will be heavy at times with a risk of spot flooding. There will be a mix of dry spells and scattered showers elsewhere. Lowest temperatures of 7 to 9 degrees in moderate to fresh and gusty northwest winds.

Sunday

It will start off wet in most areas with heavy and prolonged rain leading to a risk of localised flooding. Eastern parts will begin to clear during the morning, however the rain will persist in the west. Highest temperatures of 10 to 15 degrees in moderate to fresh, gusty northwest winds, which will ease light northerly as the rain clears.

The rain will gradually ease overnight, becoming more showery in western parts on Sunday night. Remaining mostly cloudy and dry in the east with just the risk of isolated showers. Lowest temperatures of 7 to 9 degrees in mostly light to moderate northwesterly winds.

Monday

A band of showers or longer spells of rain in the southwest will slowly extend northeastwards, with the best of any drier brighter conditions through the day in the northeast. Highest temperatures of 11 to 15 degrees in light to moderate westerly or variable winds.

The band of rain will extend to north and northeastern parts becoming heavy at times overnight. While further showers will follow from the southwest. Lowest temperatures of 6 to 9 degrees in light to moderate westerly or variable breezes.

Tuesday

Further heavy showers will feed in on a moderate to fresh and gusty northwest wind. Highs of 11 to 13 degrees.

Tuesday night will see showers will mainly become confined to western coasts with clear spells developing. Lowest temperatures of 5 to 7 degrees in a moderate to fresh northwesterly wind.

Wednesday

Continuing unsettled with sunny spells and occasional blustery showers feeding in on mostly moderate westerly breezes. Highest temperatures of 9 to 12 degrees.

Further outlook: Remaining unsettled for the remainder of the week with further spells of wet and windy weather
CONROE  As barber Leon Apostolo trimmed a clients hair on a recent morning, an acquaintance suggested that he go outside.

Apostolo had experienced a problem with people going up on the roof and putting out cigarettes on the rubberized surface, ultimately causing water to leak into his shop. When he went outside, he observed a homeless man sleeping on a stairwell landing, but not on his roof.

Hes on a staircase so hes not bothering me, Apostolo said, walking back down the steps after scanning his roof and only spotting a white paper bag left in a corner.

Business owners in this old-timey downtown recently identified homelessness as their top concern in a survey conducted by Conroe officials. Although an annual count showed the homeless population declined this year in affluent Montgomery County, Apostolo said he has encountered people sleeping on his roof and on a bench in front of his business, defecating behind his shop and dumping garbage in his truck bed.

They dont need to be in downtown Conroe, said Apostolo, whos been at the barbershop for 42 years, since he started working there at 17. These are nice businesses down here, and we dont need them.

Views such as Apostolos reflect some of the tensions over homelessness in Conroe, the county seat of Montgomery County, the fast-growing suburb north of Houston. The presence of government agencies and nonprofits that offer services to those in need likely draws unhoused persons to downtown Conroe.

The surveys responses underscore that the issue of homelessness  Saturday was World Homeless Day  is not limited to major cities such as Houston.

Now a local organization is focused on what it believes will be a creative approach to the challenge, recently receiving support from city officials.

Compassion United, a group that assists the homeless, broke ground last week on a new campus where it plans to expand services beyond whats offered at its current multi-purpose facility downtown. City officials last year donated 5 acres to the group, which landed a $1.25 million grant for the project, dubbed Miracle City. The group hopes to move out of downtown and into the first of its new buildings early next year.

Im just really optimistic, said Luke Redus, who founded the organization with his wife Karla. Right now there is a heightened awareness of the homeless situation, and while that could immediately be negative, I think that its also bringing attention to an issue that needs to be given some attention but in a healthy way

The homeless problem isnt that you can see homeless people; the homeless problem is that people are homeless, so how can we help them not be homeless anymore?

Coexisting with unhoused

The survey was the idea of Frank Robinson, the citys new downtown manager. He wanted to assess what local businesses were doing and what issues they cared about.

We are not really any worse than other cities, he said of Conroe, a city of 56,000.

Tommy Feagin, 55, who has an insurance and financial services company downtown, has been around long enough to point out where retail stores and pharmacies once welcomed customers  and the streets that marked the boundaries of where he was allowed to play as a boy.

He said those without a home unsettle some customers, but added, They dont bother me and they dont bother most people.

And yet Feagin acknowledged that he wished the homeless werent such a presence in downtown.

Linda Vernele Ezernack, owner of a bakery on North Main Street, said she and her husband have tried to help several homeless individuals  offering cash and food, striking up conversation. Some customers, though, become uncomfortable when confronted with loud pleas for help or money themselves.

Part of the challenge is we all have big hearts, she said.

Nearby at Mimi's On Main, a man believed to be homeless is suspected of toppling over big antique pots that were placed outside the store. Another woman knocked over other pots and took American flags that are usually posted outside of the shop, said owner Gayle Burke.

Its not like we are overrun, she said, noting that there is a police officer who patrols on bicycle and that downtown remains vibrant. Its a concern that these people need help and what do you do for those people?

Empowering people

It can be hard to get a clear picture of Montgomery Countys homeless population.

A point-in-time count conducted by the Coalition for Homeless Houston found 193 people without a home in 2017 on streets and shelters, 298 in that situation last year and 145 this year, including 59 who lacked shelter of any kind.

The decrease can be attributed in part to smaller shelters that did not report data in time, but the point-in-time count also reflects just that  a point in time, said Catherine B. Villarreal and Ana Rausch of the coalition, which began doing its counts in Montgomery County in 2017. The increase recorded before this year may be attributed to more accurate counts.

Prior to Hurricane Harvey in 2017, there was a significant drop in the number of people experiencing homelessness throughout the region as groups such as the coalition worked to help people, Rausch noted.

Neither Villarreal nor Rausch had read the survey of Conroe businesses, but Villarreal said the coalition seeks to educate people about poverty to understand that someone on the street may not necessarily be homeless.

Even when we hopefully someday get to the day that we have solved homelessness  in Montgomery County and Harris County and Fort Bend County  you will still see people on the streets because its also a symptom of poverty, she said.

A homeless advocate attributed the apparent decline in homelessness in the county to continued efforts to help people struggling through poverty.

We have a tremendous network that is not only able to address the homelessness issue but some of the peripheral issues that cause homelessness, said Gary Audas Jr., treasurer of Montgomery County Homeless Coalition.

Among the services offered in Conroe is Redus Compassion United, which currently has a location, the Conroe House of Prayer, in downtown. The organization doesnt plan to renew its current lease and hopes to be out of downtown by early next year, Redus said.

One of the planned new buildings will expand the groups space from about 2,000 square feet to 12,000 square feet, allowing unhoused persons to shower, do laundry and use computers. Redus said the intention is to keep people occupied on-site  rather than wandering the streets  and increase the likelihood of moving them to transitional housing.

We dont want to enable anyone, he said. Our plan is to completely empower people to turn their life around. That is what we want to do.

City Councilman Jody Czajkoski thinks the idea could potentially be replicated in other parts of the country.

We are basically going to build a community that rehabilitates the homeless, he said. We are trying to do some good.

Collaboration needed

Outside of Apostolos barbership, the man who was lying on the upstairs landing, 28-year-old David Oliva, found shade from the blazing sun.

Oliva explained that he got to Conroe some time in 2011 through foster care. He started living out of his car in 2015, then began living on the streets.

The city helps in some ways, he said, but every homeless individual is different and addressing the entirety of the matter requires collaboration from all.

Some folks are good, he said. Some folks dont care.

alejandro.serrano@chron.com
Ina Garten fans will never (and should never) forget her homemade cocktail of epic proportions presented on IGTV just a few weeks into the quarantine chaos. The video was an instant viral success, and  in her signature comforting, light-hearted tone  captured the exact sentiment those across the internet were feeling. For a few moments, there was a collective sigh of relief in an otherwise dark, uncertain time.

"During a crisis, cocktail hour can be any hour," the Barefoot Contessa says as she shakes up her signature cosmopolitan, complete with Grey Goose, Cointreau, cranberry juice cocktail and fresh squeezed lime.

Garten understood the need for some fun and excitement. Throughout quarantine, she was hiding away in her East Hampton home, recipe-tasting, filming and creating all on her own. There was no crew to assist her: only her iPhone and fantastic food skills. She and her husband, the iconic Jeffrey, took in no guests and were being extra cautious to avoid the virus.

With all of the doom and gloom, Garten decided the time has come to release her 12th cookbook, Modern Comfort Food, which had been in the works for about two years and was almost finished when COVID-19 hit.

In an interview with The Cut, released today, Garten said "I knew that there was going to be an election a month after it came out. And I thought everybody, no matter what side of the aisle you're on, was going to need comfort food. Little did I know that at this point in time, it would be the, you know, nexus of all the race demonstrations and COVID and the election and all the stress that's happening in the world  just extraordinary. Turns out we needed it more than ever."

Other than adding a line about the coronavirus to her introduction, not much of the book changed. The book is filled with recipes for foods like tomato soup and grilled cheese, beef stew and Boston cream pie  exactly the kinds soul nourishing foods the world needs right now.

Ina Garten's Modern Comfort Food will be available to purchase October 6, 2020.
Why AI Is a Fraud Tech Stocks

Who will be crowned the worlds first trillionaire? Mark Cuban says theres one disruptive trend thatll bring a whole new meaning to the word rich.

You likely know Cuban as a star investor on ABCs Shark Tank. The billionaire also owns the Dallas Mavericks. His big call? The world's first trillionaires are going to come from somebody who masters AI.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most hyped up trend on the planet. The core idea of AI is a machine that learns and thinks just like you or me. Most importantly, it learns all by itself, without human intervention.

Nothing grabs folks attention like the thought of self-learning, intelligent machines. Tesla CEO Elon Musk hit the headlines when he said: "Were headed toward a situation where AI is vastly smarter than humans. I think that time frame is less than five years from now.

A friend recently phoned me up and asked for my take on AI. She read about how smart robots will take all the jobs and wanted to push her teenage daughter into the industry. In short, AI is depicted as this futuristic technology that will soon transform every industry under the sun.

The Idea of Intelligent Computers Is Old

Within 20 years machines will be capable of doing anything man can do. Americas top computer scientist said this in 1960.

Listen to Mark Cuban or Elon Musk and youd think were on the cusp of an AI revolution. The reality is weve dreamt of human-like robots for decades.

Ever watch sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey? The 1968 movie is best remembered for the intelligent supercomputer, HAL 9000. HAL could think just like a human, and had the ability to scheme against anyone who threatened its survival.

Even in the 1950s, we imagined bionic men would soon be running factories. Within a decade cyborgs would be doing our housework. But instead of intelligent robots, we got a different breed of machines. We got dishwashers, air conditioners, and microwaves!

AI, As Its Commonly Understood, Doesnt Exist

For 60 years, scientists have tried creating an intelligent robot that can do anything you or I can. This is what most people envision when they hear AI. A human-like machine that can talk, run, think, and drive just like we do.

My friends, this is totally wrong. AI isnt one single human-like machine like you see in the movies. Its really a bunch of intelligent computers that each do ultra-specific tasks.

Right now machines are learning to see for the first time ever. Regular RiskHedge readers know all about computer vision .

For example, medical imaging disruptor Paige is using computer vision to revolutionize the way we diagnose cancer. Paige.AI fed millions of real-life medical images into its computer program and taught it to detect early signs of tumors.

And get this: it recently tested the system by scanning 12,000 medical images for potential tumors. It had never seen these images before, yet achieved near perfect accuracy. In other words, this computer has learned to recognize cancerous tumors better than human doctors.

This example gets filed under AI. But this system has only mastered one specific task. Ask it to drive a truck and it wouldnt know how to start the engine!

I want you to sear this idea into your brain: AI is not one single robot that can do everything. Its really a bunch of machines that perform set jobs with little crossover. In short, some computers will learn to drive. Others will spot tumors. But they cant do both.

Countless New Disruptions Are Being Lumped Together Under the Useless AI Banner

Paige is just one example of machines transforming into superhuman doctors. For example, Stanford researchers recently built a computer that detects Alzheimers disease from scanning MRIs, with 94% accuracy.

Other teams are teaching computers to drive. A couple of months ago, I mentioned that Amazon snapped up top self-driving car startup Zoox for $1.2 billion. Zooxs computer on wheels is so good at driving it can zip through San Franciscos busy streets without a human driver.

Then you have firms developing checkout-free grocery stores, which turns your local Whole Foods into a giant supercomputer. For example, in July, Amazon launched its Dash Cart. The shopping cart uses computer vision algorithms and sensors to identify the items in the cart. So you can simply grab items, throw them in the cart, and walk out.

In short, these are all world-changing technologies that will make many folks rich. But do you see why its useless to throw them into the same AI bucket? They have little in common with each other. As I said, in the 50s, we thought cyborgs would soon be doing all our housework. Instead we got robots that only do narrow jobs, like dishwashers and microwaves. Ditto for the current wave of AI. Only this time, it will be far more disruptive.

Investors Are Chomping at the Bit To Buy AI Stocks

I recently saw a private study that concluded AI is the #1 searched term on Google among investors. Nothing else comes close.

Look up best AI stocks now and youll be disappointed when names like Google, Amazon, IBM, and Facebook pop up. These tech giants only get a sliver of their sales from AI-related business! But this feeds into my key point: AI, as we know it, doesnt exist.

And its distracting you from the real breakthroughs happening right now. You should focus on the new, specific disruptions being invented as I type.

For example, Veritone (VERI) trained its computers to transform audio and video data into valuable insights for companies. Its stock jumped 400% this year. Cognex (CGNX) built assembly-line inspection cameras that learn for each product they see. Its shares have soared 90% since March.

Ever hear of Nuance Communications (NUAN)? It invented a customer service messaging tool that talks to you just like a human. Its stock shot up 200% in the past few months.

I urge you to look past the big, attention-grabbing banner of AI. Instead, focus on the new, unique disruptions hiding underneath. This is where you will find big money-making opportunities right now.

The Great Disruptors: 3 Breakthrough Stocks Set to Double Your Money"

Get my latest report where I reveal my three favorite stocks that will hand you 100% gains as they disrupt whole industries. Get your free copy here.

By Stephen McBride

http://www.riskhedge.com

 2020 Copyright Stephen McBride - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Having said that, from a first glance at Marlborough Wine Estates Group (NZSE:MWE) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Marlborough Wine Estates Group is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.00023 = NZ$6.4k  (NZ$28m - NZ$1.4m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

Therefore, Marlborough Wine Estates Group has an ROCE of 0.02%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Beverage industry average of 9.1%.

Check out our latest analysis for Marlborough Wine Estates Group

roce

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Marlborough Wine Estates Group's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Marlborough Wine Estates Group, check out these free graphs here.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Marlborough Wine Estates Group Tell Us?

In terms of Marlborough Wine Estates Group's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 0.02% from 17% five years ago. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

Story continues

On a related note, Marlborough Wine Estates Group has decreased its current liabilities to 5.1% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

In Conclusion...

Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for Marlborough Wine Estates Group. These growth trends haven't led to growth returns though, since the stock has fallen 23% over the last three years. So we think it'd be worthwhile to look further into this stock given the trends look encouraging.

If you want to continue researching Marlborough Wine Estates Group, you might be interested to know about the 2 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

While Marlborough Wine Estates Group may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list 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.
This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 1471 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why were doing this fundraiser, what weve accomplished in the last year, and our current goal, more original reporting.

Gray parrots separated at zoo after swearing a blue streak AP (JH).

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end National Geographic

Why are pension funds investing in hedge funds? MarketWatch. Because theyre not reading Naked Capitalism. Obviously.

Big Companies Are Starting to Swallow the World Austan Goolsbee, NYT. Stoller comments:

Glad that @Austan_Goolsbee has noticed that market power and corporate monopolization is dangerous, and that the CARES Act radically contributed to the problem. https://t.co/7lCndBjkE8  Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) September 30, 2020

Never let a crisis go to waste

Disneylands push to reopen sets up critical moment in Californias coronavirus fight Los Angeles Times. URL, i.e. authors title: disney-layoffs-pressure-newsom-coronavirus-restrictions

Worried about more shortages, grocery stores are stockpiling goods CNN

Could 80,000 family woodlot owners be the key to saving the Acadian forest? The Narwhale

2020

Trumps Case of COVID-19

#COVID-19

China?

UK/EU

Brexit

New Cold War

Controlling oil, controlling development Mondoweiss

Trump Transition

America Is About to Enter Its Years of Lead Foreign Policy

Former QAnon Followers Explain What Drew Them In  And Got Them Out Rolling Stone. The QAnon moral panic went away, to be replaced by the white supremacy moral panic. (Not to say that these phenomena arent real; just to say that they are not real in the whatever way the moral panic profiteers say that they are.)

Major U.S. diocese becomes largest to file for bankruptcy after 200 sexual abuse lawsuits CNN

Our Famously Free Press

Assange

Imperial Collapse Watch

Class Warfare

Building the Mathematical Library of the Future Quanta

Why is the world going to hell? Netflixs The Social Dilemma tells only half the story Jonathan Cook

Festive Corn Maze Misread By Aliens As Declaration Of Intergalactic War The Onion. Plot twist!

Antidote du jour (via):

Bonus antidote:

Weighing a snow leopard cub pic.twitter.com/LOeK4j9f3m  Animal Life (@animalIife) October 1, 2020

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
A Republican candidate from Alabama for the U.S. House of Representatives visited President Donald Trump just last week, before he tested positive for COVID-19.

Barry Moore, running for U.S. House District 2, visited the White House Sept. 23, meeting Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Photos were shared on Moores social media accounts.

Trump, and First Lady Melania Trump, have both tested positive for COVID-19. Multiple reports say they are exhibiting mild symptoms.

Moore, reached by telephone, said he and his wife were tested before meeting with Trump, both testing negative. He has not been tested since.

It was 9 days ago, he said. We were never allowed to get right up close to him. We did stand side-by-side for some photos, but they were very careful with us. We were always at a distance. We never shook hands.

Barry Moore, a businessman, defeated Dothan businessman Jeff Coleman back in July during the Republican runoff. Moore will face Democratic nominee Phyllis Harvey-Hall, a Montgomery education consultant, in the November election.

The seat was formerly held by U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, who decided not to run for a sixth term. The district extends from the Montgomery area across southeast Alabama.

President Trump and Barry Moore. Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian Posted by Barry Moore Republican for Congress on Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Today, Moore posted this message on Facebook: Our family is praying for President @realDonaldTrump and @MELANIATRUMP. Praying for healing, protection, and recovery. May God surround and comfort you both. #healing #BeatCovid #GodBlessourFirstfamily

Were obviously praying for the President and the First Lady that theyll get through this quickly, Moore said.
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Actor Frank Windsor who starred in Z-Cars, Eastenders and Softly, Softly actor has died at the age of 92 'surrounded by his family', his agent confirmed today.

In a career spanning some 50 years, the much-loved actor worked mostly in television with roles in Casualty, EastEnders, ITV drama Peak Practice and Doctor Who.

But he was perhaps best known for playing Detective Sergeant John Watt in the BBC series Z-Cars, which was set in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in Lancashire.

He played DS Watt in Z-Cars from 1962 to 1965 and later appeared in spin-offs Softly, Softly and Softly, Softly: Taskforce from 1966 to 1976.

The popular show offered an alternative to the police procedurals of the time, with a darker tone and a northern setting, when many were based in southern England.

It ran for more than 800 episodes and featured a cast of stars including Stratford Johns as Detective Inspector Barlow and Brian Blessed as 'Fancy' Smith.

In 1997, Windsor's son David was killed aged just 29, in a road crash alongside a female companion, Denise Rothwell, 32.

In 2000, Windsor appeared in the poignant ITV drama Anchor Me, portraying a man whose family refuses to admit their feelings over the accidental death of his character's son.

Speaking at the time, he said the role had prompted him to confront his own son's death.

Paying tribute to Windsor this afternoon, fellow Doctor Who actor Toby Hadoke tweeted: 'Terrific actor - a fine classical thesp who brought earthy naturalism to TV drama. RIP #frankwindsor'.

English actor Samuel West added: 'Just heard the sad news that Frank Windsor has died at the age of 92.

'We worked together on a great adaptation of Len Deightons BOMBER. He was brilliant in it - as he was in everything, really.'

Windsor's agent said today the actor died at his home in London on Wednesday.

Windsor, pictured sitting inside the car, with the cast of the Z-Cars series (from left to right: Sarah Aimson, James Ellis, Colin Welland, Joseph Brady, Brian Blessed and Donald Gee)

Windsor, pictured right, and Stratford Johns, pictured left, in the Softly Softly crime series

The cast of the television programme Softly Softly. Left to right: David Lloyd Meredith, Peter Clough, Normal Blower, Frank Windsor, Walter Gotell, Malcom Rennie and Nigel Humphrys with Phillippa Howell

British actor Windsor pictured with his wife at the 25th Rudolph Valentino Awards

Frank Windsor and Anne Sharp pictured above in My Late Lamented Friend and Partner, the pilot episode of the1969 series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)

A statement from his agent said: 'It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our much-loved client Frank Windsor at the age of 92.

'Frank passed away peacefully at his home in London on Wednesday September 30 2020.

'Born Frank W Higgins on July 12 1928, his acting career spanned over 50 years, with notable roles in Z-Cars, Softly Softly, Casualty and Peak Practice.

'Frank is survived by his daughter Amanda and his wife Mary, who was by his side until the end.

'As per Frank's wishes and in keeping with Covid restrictions, there will be no funeral or memorial service, just a private cremation with his ashes being laid to rest with his beloved son David.

'Our thoughts are with his family and friends.'

Windsor is survived by his daughter Amanda and his wife Mary, who his agent said were both 'by his side until the end'. His ashes will be laid to rest with his son David

Actor Windsor, left, and comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor in a sketch from the episode 'Scoutrageous' of the BBC television seris 'The Goodies' in November 1977

Windsor in 'The Fifteen Streets' alongside Clare Holman and Billie Whitelaw

Frank Windsor with his 1958 Standard Pennant Motor Car. His agent said today: 'Frank passed away peacefully at his home in London on Wednesday September 30 2020'

Frank Windsor starring as James Selsey in the ITV Crown Court series in 1979

Left, Frank Windsor as Harry Bradley in Love and Marriage in 1986. Right, In Randall and Hopkirk [Deceased] in 1969

Windsor attended Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall, before going on to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based at the London's Royal Albert Hall.

His final film role came in 2000 as Mr Walker in Between Two Women.

Windsor's other appearances include an Age of Kings, A for Andromeda and the London Connection.

He was also considered for the roles of Ratcliffe in Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks: Part one and Dr. Armstrong, Sir Percy Heseltine and the Fatherly Guard in Lifeforce.

Z-Cars offered an alternative to the police procedurals of the time, with a darker tone and a northern setting, when many were based in southern England.

Windsor worked mostly in television across his five-decade career, securing roles in Casualty, EastEnders, ITV drama Peak Practice and Doctor Who.

English actor Samuel West tweeted: 'Just heard the sad news that Frank Windsor has died at the age of 92. 'We worked together on a great adaptation of Len Deightons BOMBER. He was brilliant in it - as he was in everything, really'

Anne Sharp and Frank Windsor in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), episode one 'My Late Lamented Friend and Partner' in 1969

Z Cars: Moira Armstrong (left), Robert Keegan, Frank Windsor (second right) and Brian Blessed (right)

The 1986 drama 'Love and Marriage' with Anne Stallybrass as Jean Bradley, Prue Clarke as Rita Bradley and Frank Windsor as Harry Bradley

Windsor as Peter Wilson and Maggie O'Neill as Dr Alex Redman in 'Peak Practice' in 2001

Annette Crosbie and Frank Windsor in the ITV drama, Anchor Me

He appeared on the show This Is Your Life in December 1975 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews to revisit highlights from his career.

His final film role came in 2000 as Mr Walker in Between Two Women.

He once said: 'In Anchor Me, the mother has kept the cork in the bottle and I recognised that, personally.

Frank Windsor and Michael Elphick in British television crime drama Boon in 1991

Windsor in the landmark of British TV drama 'The Fifteen Streets', an adaptation of Catherine Cookson's novel alongside Clare Holman

Windsor in Revolution, the 1985 British historical drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Robert Dillon, and starring Al Pacino and Donald Sutherland

Windsor was one of the stars of the 1980s TV series, Love and Marriage

Actors Stratford Johns, left, and Windsor, right, holding a skull, promoting their show 'Second Verdict' at BBC Television Centre in London in May 1976

Actors Catherine Shipton and Windsor in a scene from the episode 'Allegiance' of the BBC television series 'Casualty' in 1991

Windsor, pictured left, in the BBC television police series Z-Cars

'When our son died my wife took counselling - I didn't. I'm not that sort of person. I can't unburden myself to a total stranger, it doesn't work for me.

'I think these things do need to be talked about and they need to be shown on television.

'But it was one of the things that made it very, very difficult, wondering whether to do this show in the first place.'
For anyone who regularly smokes who has been thinking about stopping  this month may be your best chance to kick the habit for good.

The arrival of October marks the beginning of Stoptober, an annual campaign that encourages people to stop smoking for 28 consecutive days.

According to a report published by the government in September 2019, the Stoptober initiative helped more than 1.9 million quit smoking over the years.

Approximately 7.2 million people above the age of 18 smoke in the UK, as outlined by figures released by the Office for National Statistics in July 2019.

Meanwhile, around 78,000 people in the UK die every year as a result of smoking-related causes, the NHS states.

Despite knowing the risks, giving up smoking can be a struggle for many smokers.

Heres how you can get involved in Stoptober.

What is Stoptober?

Stoptober is a Public Health England campaign that challenges smokers to give up cigarettes for 28 days during the month of October.

The premise is that after abstaining for this period of time, individuals are five times more likely to quit smoking permanently.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 22 January 2022 Participants prepare to take part in the Crisis icebreaker cold water challenge at Tooting Bec Lido in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 January 2022 Willesborough Windmill, a white smock mill built in 1869 is bathed in the morning sunshine as the moon sets behind in Ashford, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 January 2022 A jet skier jumps the waves off the coast at Blyth in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 19 January 2022 Britains Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, participate in a therapy session with individuals who have experienced the care system, during a visit to the Foundling Museum in London REUTERS UK news in pictures 18 January 2022 Surfers enter the sea as the sun rises over Tynemouth on the North East coast PA UK news in pictures 17 January 2022 Bonhams Danny McIlwraith holds a Nigerian polycrome carved wood mask during a photocall for the sale of the Jim Lennon Collection at Bonhams in Edinburgh PA UK news in pictures 16 January 2022 The moon rises above the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, Hampshire PA UK news in pictures 15 January 2022 Demonstrators outside Downing Street during a Kill The Bill protest against The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London PA UK news in pictures 14 January 2022 Ecologist Emma Smart (left) and retired GP Dr Diana Warner outside HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, following their release from the prison where Emma undertook a 26-day hunger strike during her incarceration. Ms Smart was sentenced in November, along with other members of Insulate Britain, to serve four months for breaking a High Court injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 motorway during the morning rush hour on 8 October last year PA UK news in pictures 13 January 2022 A TV presenter holds a copy of a newspaper outside 10 Downing Streetafter the Prime Minister apologised for attending a gathering of colleagues in the Number Ten garden in May 2020, while the UK was in strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic Getty UK news in pictures 12 January 2022 Fitness guru Derrick Evans after receiving an MBE during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 11 January 2022 A couple walk underneath an umbrella during wet weather on Westminster Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 10 January 2022 A jogger passes the Covid Memorial Wall in London AP UK news in pictures 9 January 2021 The sun rises over horses at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 8 January 2022 Riders compete during the Veterans Men's race at the UK Cyclo-Cross National Championships 2022 in Ardingly, south of London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 7 January 2022 A dog looks out of a car window at the wintry conditions in Killeshin, Co. Laois PA UK news in pictures 6 January 2022 People walk through frost and mist alongside a frozen lake during sunrise in Bushy Park, London REUTERS UK news in pictures 5 January 2022 A skier jumps on the slopes at Allenheads in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 4 January 2022 Freshly-fallen snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 3 January 2022 Dean Morrison, 13, receives his Covid-19 vaccine from student nurse Anthony McLaughlin during a vaccination clinic at the Glasgow Central Mosque PA UK news in pictures 2 January 2022 Konastantinos Tsimikas of Liverpool with Chelseas Mason Mount during the Premier League match at Stamfrod Bridge Liverpool FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 January 2022 New Years Eve Lasers, drones and fireworks illuminate the sky in front of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich shortly after midnight in London EPA UK news in pictures 31 December 2021 Competitors in fancy dress run across the Pennine tops near Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the annual Auld Lang Syne Fell race which attracts hundreds of runners every year PA UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket PA UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queens Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London PA UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London Getty UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham PA UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip PA UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London Reuters UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester PA UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge. Getty UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year PA UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton PA UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election PA UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire PA UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster Getty Images UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, PA UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judges decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange PA UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service PA UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine PA UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow PA UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra Getty UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother PA UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square Reuters

How can you take part?

If you would like to take part in Stoptober, you can visit nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/, where you can sign up for daily email support and find an online community, through which you can connect with others who are also trying to give up smoking.

The webpage also provides details for Englands National Smokefree Helpline, which can be contacted on 0300 123 1044, Monday to Friday from 9am to 8pm and at weekends from 11am to 4pm.

What other support is there for people taking part in Stoptober?

You can also download the free NHS Stoptober app, which can help you track your progress and show you how much money you are saving by refraining from smoking.

The app also provides daily support for those taking part.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 02:05:42|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Dealer discounts on new car prices in Germany decreased for the first time in over ten years in September, said a study published by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) on Friday.

"This is an extremely untypical result, because in September, carmakers usually try to get customers to buy again after the vacation period," commented CAR Director Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer.

Lower discounts in September were a further sign that car manufacturers were sticking to their strategy of selling at higher prices while toning down sales promotion, according to the CAR.

"Sustainable sales or higher prices in the economic crisis are a clear sign that longer-term capacity cuts are being planned," noted Dudenhoeffer.

According to the CAR, the market for car subscription offers in Germany was still in its infancy, but the dynamics were "enormous." Increasing numbers of car manufacturers were expected to enter this new market in the coming months and years.

Lynk & Co, an automobile brand formed as a joint venture between Chinese automaker Geely Auto Group and Volvo Car Group, was the latest carmaker to join the German car subscriptions market on Thursday.

For a monthly fee of 500 euros (586 U.S. dollars), customers would be able to use Lynk's new SUV (sport utility vehicle) from spring 2021 onwards. The subscription will also include membership of the Lynk & Co club, which would allow customers to rent their car to other club members.

"Car subscriptions will change our relationship to cars," Dudenhoeffer explained. "A fixed monthly rate for 12 or 36 months, including all costs except fuel, makes the car more transparent, less risky and the use much more comfortable." Enditem
PROSPECT  Three people have been charged in connection with an attempted vehicle theft that prompted nearby schools to go into lockdown Thursday, state police said.

Connecticut State Police troopers responded to the area of Route 69 and Radio Tower Road shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday to investigate what the agency classified as a crash involving a stolen vehicle.

State police said Friday the trio were involved in an attempted theft of a vehicle while the driver was still inside on Thursday morning.

While law enforcement investigated, Long River Middle School and Prospect Elementary School were briefly put into lockdown mode as a precaution Thursday morning.

Jahseim Cherry, 18, of New Haven; Ciera Leshay Jones-Whitefield, 21, of New Haven; and Nashaly Rodriguez-Roman, 20, of Waterbury, were each charged with second-degree larceny, third-degree robbery and interfering with an officer.

Police said Jones-Whitfied, who was taken into custody shortly after the incident, was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

Cherry and Rodriguez-Roman were taken into custody later Thursday.

All three had their bonds set at $50,000, which none of them were able to post, police said.

Jones-Whitfield and Rodriguez-Roman were transported to the York Correctional Center in Niantic, while Cherry was taken to New Haven Correctional Center.
The route of a proposed new railway from Alaska to Alberta cuts through Acho Dene Koe First Nation territory in the Northwest Territores Dehcho region. The First Nation says its studying the possible economic impact.

At the moment, the only railway in the N.W.T. is a line running from Hay River to the south. The new line, dubbed A2A Rail, is in the early stages of planning.

If built, it is forecast to cost around $22 billion and speed up movement of goods between Asia and North America.

The project has some early approvals in place. This week, for example, U.S. President Donald Trump gave the proposed line a Presidential Border Crossing Permit.

That does not mean any track can yet be laid. Much more permitting is required first, including from the N.W.T.s regulators if the route remains the same.

At the moment, the route takes the railway 2,570 kilometres from Delta Junction, Alaska to Fort McKay, Alberta, where it connects to the rest of the Canadian rail network. Some pre-existing Alaskan tracks will also be used.

The exact route is still to be finalized.

While the projects focus is on the speed with which continents trade commodities, the line is also expected to accept passengers. The projects backers expect to create 28,000 jobs and forecast a combined $60-billion bump to the GDP of the relevant regions by 2040: Alaska, Alberta, Yukon, and the N.W.T.

A2A Rail hopes to be completely operational by 2026.

The Acho Dene Koe First Nation in the Dehcho hamlet of Fort Liard, known as ADKFN, says it has been consulted three times by A2A Rail in the past 18 months as the project develops.

The railway, as planned, would run past Fort Liard. Exactly how close to the community it would be is not clear.

Boyd Clark, the First Nations band manager, said community consultation will play a large role in determining the First Nations response as the project moves forward.

Its very much in its infancy in terms of that part of things, Clark said of the proposal.

The fact that this company acknowledged and reached out to ADKFN early on is positive, in the fact they acknowledge they have to build a relationship with the Indigenous governments.

The president of A2A Rail Canada is JP Gladu, an Anishinaabe man from northern Ontario.

Were tired, communities are tired of being asked at the last second to engage, Gladu told Cabin Radio.

The importance of engaging early and often  is working with communities to inform them of what the opportunities are.

Previously president of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, Gladu believes his companys project offers economic opportunities and jobs for Canadian communities.

He said 49 per cent of the projects equity is available for communities to purchase, as A2A Rail wants to encourage Indigenous ownership of the railway.

Clark said developing a railway in the Fort Liard region would be consistent with a land-use plan being drawn up by the First Nation.

To have a project of this magnitude to be considered, with the potential of economic return, is encouraging. It has to be looked at from that standpoint, he said.

Any economic return on any project has to be weighed against its negative impact environmentally, and there has to be a balance between the two.

Boyd said the First Nation has asked A2A Rail whether the company can collaborate with the Prairie Creek Mine, a zinc, lead, and silver mine being developed just north of Acho Dene Koe territory. Transporting those materials by rail could reduce the number of trucks that must pass through the region.

Gladu said A2A Rail is willing to examine that option once more approvals are in place.

If, ultimately, any First Nation decides it does not want the railway to cross its traditional territory, Gladu said the company can look at alternatives.

If a community is opposed to it, its a tough conversation but we may have to go around, he said.

We want to know what suits their interests from a traditional practice and their knowledge of the land, so we will tweak as we go along.

This doesnt work as well unless governments, industry, and communities are all on the same page working together to get this work done.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many interruptions to business, including the inability to conduct re-certification audits. Even though the UKs national accreditation body UKAS permits an extension during times of pandemic, this has left many organisations in a precarious situation.

Thankfully, lapsing ISO certifications isnt happening on a large scale just yet. This is in part down to the provisions of TPS73, a policy UKAS brought out due to COVID-19, which allows for audit deadline extensions of up to 12 months.

For those whose audits were due back when Coronavirus first hit the UK, this means they have a buffer zone of another six months  and these are likely to be needed. This is because many organisations are choosing to continue with remote work practices, making it currently impossible for certification bodies to go on-premise and undertake necessary audits in the classic fashion.

But even those that have re-opened their workplaces arent out of the woods; there may still be a long wait as certification bodies try to catch up on a backlog of audits caused by the lockdown. Furthermore, the virus hasnt disappeared, and we dont know how it much it could affect us going forward.

How long might the situation last? I dont know. Spanish Flu caused disruption for two years and its second wave was horrific compared to the first. Its unappealing to think in such terms, but things could get worse before they get better, notes Peter Rossi, co-founder and COO of InfoSaaS.
VISALIA, Calif.  A California judge has ruled there is enough evidence to show a man had and was making "weapons of mass destruction."

Joshua Isgrigg, 33, faces a four-count complaint including possession of explosives with intent to cause harm, manufacturing a destructive device without a permit, elder abuse, and credit card fraud.

Thursday, Isgrigg was in court for his preliminary hearing.

In late April, Porterville police started an investigation related to elder abuse and credit card fraud. Detectives took over the case after officers were informed that Isgrigg was possibly buying illegal firearms and making reference to an "apocalypse," Sgt. Ron Moore said.

St. George Regional Airport: Bomb squad removes 'suspicious item' from plane

Joshua Isgrigg

During the investigation, detectives found evidence that Isgrigg referenced mass shootings, such as the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. It's unclear how he made the statements.

On June 3, officers obtained multiple search warrants related to the investigation.

While searching Isgrigg's vehicle and home, detectives didn't find the expected illegal firearms. However, they did uncover that Isgrigg had the materials required to make a "large-scale bomb," according to Moore.

"Some of the items seized were large amounts of ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, citric acid, along with several others," Moore said in a press release. "Possession of these substances are all precursors to the manufacturing of a weapon of mass destruction, similar to those used in the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995."

Pipe bombs: Florida man charged for having more than 2 dozen pipe bombs after one went off

Also uncovered was evidence that Isgrigg used the chemicals "to manufacture explosives."

Porterville police, Tulare County Regional Bomb Squad detectives and FBI agents worked together on the case.

Isgrigg is being held without bail at the South County Detention Facility. He will be back in court on Oct. 15 to set dates for additional hearings and trial.

Follow Sheyanne Romero on Twitter @sheyanne_VTD

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: California man had materials to make 'weapons of mass destruction,' judge rules
Connecticut is paying the postage for all absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications in the state this year. But residents may have seen a meme claiming that absentee ballots require two stamps  which, in Connecticut, is not the case.

Thats an example of the kind of false information about the electoral process that Secretary of the State Denise Merrills office says it is focused on countering this year.

So far, Connecticut has hired an intelligence analyst to monitor the internet and is one of 11 states using new software to empower election officials of all levels to report false claims. It has also created a tool to demystify absentee voting by allowing voters to track their ballots.

Merrill spokesperson Gabe Rosenberg says the office is tasked with identifying information regarding election administration that is not correct, and either correcting it, reporting it, or likely both. The issue is particularly concerning this year, when the processes have changed so dramatically to accommodate people afraid of COVID, Merrill said.

False information comes in two different  if related  forms: misinformation and disinformation, said Shaydanay Urbani, a research reporter at First Draft News, a nonprofit that researches the issue globally. Disinformation is spread by malicious agents who seek to sow confusion and discord, whereas misinformation can be shared by people who are unaware that the information that theyre sharing is wrong or misleading. That could be your aunt, Urbani said.

Paid with federal funds, the states analyst Chris Holden will monitor the internet for both misinformation and disinformation related to Connecticuts elections. This is the first time the Secretary of the State has contracted for this kind of assistance.

Holden has worked for the military and the Department of Defense for 20 years, according to his resume. He has a background in processing open source intelligence data, including dark web and social media data to identify trends and threats, Rosenberg said.

He is being paid $90 an hour and will work for the state until the end of November. Under the contract, his compensation cannot exceed $50,870. The position is being funded with some of the $5.4 million in federal funds the state received this year to bolster election security. Last year, the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee reported that all 50 states were targeted by Russian operatives exploring vulnerabilities in state election security. Connecticut faced unsuccessful attempts to breach a firewall and gain access to a registry of voter information.

The Secretary of the States office is more concerned about viral posts that contain falsehoods as opposed to paid advertising on social media, Rosenberg said. Connecticut is one of 11 states in the nation using Squint, a tool to monitor social media launched by the nonprofit MITRE in February this year.

Squint is the online equivalent of see something, say something, said Emily Frye, director of Cyber Integration at MITRE. The program relies on trained election officials to take screenshots of posts that contain false information about the election process. The system vets participants to make sure that theyre experts in local rules because whats misinformation in one jurisdiction is correct information in another, said Marc Schneider, principal cyber security engineer at MITRE.

The screenshot is sent to MITRE for processing, where, once its established that the post falls within the organizations purview, analysts extract keywords from the picture for further processing to establish patterns and trends. MITRE does not collect information about the person who shared a post with misleading information, Schneider said.

This partnership is key because we dont have a large office, Merrill said We dont have major capability to be technologically scanning every website thats out there.

Squint is also free to use. We dont want the state budget  or budgeting process, especially in this time of year  to affect whether or not states can participate, Schneider said. Connecticuts election officials will be vetted and trained by the end of September, Frye said.

Squint does not collaborate directly with social media platforms, but the reports it generates can speed up the reporting process if local election officials should choose to report content to a social media company to have it taken down, Schneider added. Election officials are tasked with assembling screenshots and urls to make a case to have a post taken down, and Squint can do that for them. When you start thinking about the scale of misinformation, start thinking about how busy election officials really are, that extra two hours or four hours really make a difference, he said.

Rosenberg did not provide precise statistics on the rate of removal of posts that have been flagged to social media companies for containing false information, stating that the number of posts referred for review is too small. Facebook has taken down over 90% of posts flagged by Californias VoteSure program, run out of its Secretary of States office since 2018, ProPublica has reported.

Connecticuts Secretary of the States office has partnerships with social media companies through the National Association of Secretaries of State, a nonpartisan group of secretaries of state across the country. In November last year, NASS started a #TrustedSources campaign to promote information from local election officials on matters related to voting, wrote spokesperson Maria Benson. Facebook, Google and Twitter are listed as three of the campaigns more than 35 partners.

Once a rumor spreads, its very hard to slow it down, Urbani said, adding that efforts to correct false information dont travel as far and wide as the original lie. The main lesson in combating disinformation and misinformation is to get ahead of the lie and to flood the zone with fact, Urbani said.

The Secretary of the States office has recently created a new tool to reassure voters concerned that their absentee ballots will not be counted in time, Merrill said. Voters can see whether the status of their absentee ballot applications and when their ballots are received by their town clerk offices, she said.

Secretary of State offices are also adapting to changing social media policies to communicate with voters, a task that falls to Rosenberg here in Connecticut.

Facebook recently announced that it would not run political ads in the seven days before the election, but the rule affected ads purchased by secretaries of state and local election officials to inform voters of the election process, ProPublica reported. The alternative to ads that Facebook has in place for election officials  called Voting Alerts  were initially more limited, sending updates only to those who followed the secretary of states page, provided that the did not feature the officeholder. Connecticuts Secretary of the State page has a prominent picture of Merrill.

But Voting Alerts now reach residents in the entire state and Facebook has allowed Connecticut to set up a page to make use of the feature to distribute information about voting methods and rules. The new page also entitles the state to ad credits to recruit poll workers. We are going to be able to participate in the Voting Alerts without changing anything related to our Facebook presence, Rosenberg wrote.

Merrill isnt aware of any disinformation promoted by foreign agents that has muddied the waters this election cycle in Connecticut, but when it does arise, were much better prepared than we were in 2016, she said.
51 Acehnese fishermen repatriated from Thailand

October 02,2020 | Source: Antara

As many as 51 Acehnese fishermen who had been detained in Thailand for poaching were repatriated to Indonesia on Thursday after being granted a royal pardon, the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok said in a statement.



The fishermen were pardoned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand on his birthday on July 28, 2020, following which they were transferred from Phang Ngah prison and handed over to Thai immigration in early September to complete repatriation formalities, the embassy said.



The fishermen were sent to Bangkok on September 12, 2020, and they flew to Jakarta from the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, in accordance with the Thai governments policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it added.



After landing in Jakarta, the fishermen returned to their homes in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province.



The fishermen had been caught poaching in Thailands territory by the Royal Thai Navy on two separate occasions. Thirty fishermen and three children on board KM Mahesa Perkasa and KM Voltus fishing vessels were detained by the Thai Navy on January 24, 2020, while 20 fishermen and three children on board KM Tuah Sulthan were caught on March 12, 2020.



They were pronounced guilty of illegally fishing in Thailand waters and sentenced to one to two years in jail. They were incarcerated in the Phang Ngah prison in southern Thailand.



The Indonesian Consulate in Songkhla provided legal advice to the fishermen and sought relief from punishment.

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 2)  Is the term-sharing deal for the Speaker's seat being set aside after the House of Representatives rejected Alan Peter Cayetano's offer to resign?

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said he will clarify with President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday if the deal is already moot following Cayetano's recent maneuver at the plenary.

"The President allegedly said that the agreement has been honored because Speaker Alan did resign from his post, but thats a matter of secondhand information. I didnt hear it actually from the mouth of the President," Roque told CNN Philippines' The Source on Friday.

"I will inquire if he actually said this because I think thats a very important issue to resolve whether or not the President believes that the agreement that he has brokered has been implemented. I will ask this Monday," he added.

On Tuesday, Duterte met Cayetano and contender Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco and their camps in Malacanang to help resolve the battle for the top spot as Cayetano's supposed 15 months in power will end this month. Based on last year's agreement, Velasco  who comes from Duterte's PDP-Laban party  will lead the chamber until the end of the President's term in 2022.

The Speakership has been the hottest issue before the chamber this week, even disrupting plenary debates on the 2021 budget on Wednesday after Cayetano addressed the House and offered to resign. His fellow lawmakers rejected his offer with a vote of 184-1 and nine abstentions.

That night, Cayetano visited Malacanang with his wife Rep. Lani Cayetano, sister Senator Pia Cayetano, and religious leader turned Deputy Speaker Eddie Villanueva to pray over Duterte.

"That meeting was really scheduled two weeks ago... They had a pray over but because Speaker Cayetano was also present, inevitably they had to discuss what happened in the House," the Palace official said, refuting reports that Cayetano gatecrashed the encounter.

Roque added that Duterte wanted to keep his hands off the "internal issue" of the House, as the President respects how solons voted in Cayetano's favor.

Cayetano has admitted that he and Velasco were both insisting to take the Speaker's seat in the next few weeks as they want to be in power in time for their respective birthdays.

Cayetano said that when they made the deal in 2019, it was clear that he had two budgets to pass and he will celebrate his 50th birthday on October 28 as Speaker.

READ: Affront to taxpayers: Solon questions suspension of budget deliberations after Cayetanos resignation speech

The House is working to pass the budget bill on third reading by mid-October. It could be deemed an achievement and can be a political tool wielded by the sitting Speaker to solicit support among colleagues, whose districts will be affected by budget allocations.

Roque said the President also cannot impose on the chamber to adhere to the term-sharing deal, which should see Velasco leading the House by November. However, he clarified that Duterte was not offended by the deviation from the 2019 deal.

RELATED: 'Wala akong magagawa:' Duterte won't interfere if Velasco loses chance to be House Speaker

"The President, I think, has done his responsibility to remind both candidates for the position to honor their words," Roque said.

"In effect, the President cannot coerce, intimidate, force House members into voting one way or another. He can only remind the two leaders of what was agreed upon, but in the end, he recognizes it's not the Presidents call who to elect for Speaker," he added.

Malacanang and Congress are supposed to be independent and co-equal branches of government to ensure checks and balances. In practice, however, lawmakers often act based on alliances to carry out the Executive's legislative priority measures and projects.
Michigan National Guard to Assist With No-Cost Community COVID-19 Testing in Iosco, Ottawa, Presque Isle, and St. Joseph Counties

Michigan National Guard to Assist With No-Cost Community COVID-19 Testing in Iosco, Ottawa, Presque Isle, and St. Joseph Counties

Capt. Andrew Layton, 517-940-0881

The Michigan National Guard will continue its partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and local health departments to offer COVID-19 testing this week in the communities of Holland, Rogers City, Tawas City, and Three Rivers.



Testing locations include:



Holland: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Meijer, 746 E. 16th St., Holland



Rogers City: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Rogers City Marina, 270 N. Lake Street, Rogers City



Tawas City: Thursday, Oct. 1, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Tawas United Methodist Church, 20 M-55, Tawas City



Three Rivers: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Health Department  Three Rivers, 1110 Hills St., Three Rivers



The Michigan National Guard has more than 20 trained testing teams ready to assist with community COVID-19 testing initiatives. These three-member teams include a certified medic to conduct the testing and two members to assist with paperwork, logistics, and non-medical tasks. All team members from the Michigan National Guard have tested negative for COVID-19 and have been following strict medical protocols to ensure health and safety and to protect Michigan communities.



Since March, members of the Michigan National Guard have performed more than 600 community-based missions in 81 of 83 Michigan counties as part of our states response to COVID-19. This includes COVID-19 testing support for more than 290 long term care facilities throughout Michigan, 7 million pounds of food distributed at local food banks, and more than 123,000 COVID-19 tests administered as part of community based testing initiatives, said Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, Adjutant General and Director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Our partners with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and local health departments have been key in this effort to make COVID-19 testing for Michiganders as safe, easy, and accessible as possible.



The MING has been actively engaged in the states response to the COVID-19 pandemic through widespread testing and screening, distribution of personal protective equipment, and assistance at numerous food banks across the state. The community testing initiative is a continuation of those efforts.



Similar testing has been held in more than 50 communities over the past three months.



For photos of COVID-19 testing Sept. 24 in Sturgis, click here: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/378598/michigan-national-guard-offers-no-cost-covid-testing-sturgis



Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.
Friday's protest was initially to be held at India Gate but had to be shifted to Jantar Mantar after the Delhi Police imposed restrictions on crowds at India Gate

Hundreds of people gathered at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Friday to protest against the Uttar Pradesh government and state police's handling of the Hathras gangrape and murder case, and accused the authorities of "not doing enough" to stop violence against women in the state.

The state police faced massive flak after the victim's family alleged that they were held prisoners within their own home as cops snatched away their mobile phones and imposed restriction on their movement so as to prevent them from speaking to the media or the Opposition leaders.

The state police was also under fire for cremating the victim's body in the middle of the night, allegedly without the consent or the participation of her family.

The protesters included Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, senior lawyer Prashant Bhusan, actor Swara Bhasker, CPM leaders Brinda Karat and Sitaram Yechury, and AAP leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi.

Other political leaders like CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani, activist Yogendra Yadav, and Congress' Sushmita Dev were also present at the protest.

Security has been beefed up at the Jantar Mantar, with ground force personnel, senior police officers, and paramilitary personnel being deployed to manage the crowd. The protest site has been barricaded to restrict the movement of agitators, PTI reported.

The Hathras gangrape, and the subsequent handling of the case by state authorities, has caused nationwide outrage after the 19-year-old Dalit girl succumbed to her injuries in Delhi's Safdarjung hospital on Tuesday. She was raped and fatally wounded by four upper caste men in the Hathras district of the state on 14 September.

The victim reportedly suffered multiple fractures, paralysis, and a spinal injury after the assault. Reports also quoted the police as saying that there was a wound in her tongue because she had bitten on it while being strangled.

Friday's protest was initially to be held at India Gate but had to be shifted to Jantar Mantar after the Delhi Police imposed restrictions on crowds at India Gate. At least 500 people attended the protest, despite the police granting permission only for 100, NDTV reported.

Protesters, Opposition demand Yogi Adityanath's resignation

Addressing those gathered at the protest, Kejriwal said, "We have assembled here in grief. I pray to God that our daughter's soul gets peace. I request the Uttar Pradesh government with folded hands, hang the guilty as soon as possible. They should get such a punishment that no one will dare commit a crime like this again."

"The entire country wants that the culprits should be given stringent punishment. Some people feel that attempts are being made to save them. At this time, the victim's family needs all the possible help.

"There should be no politics on this issue. Why should such an incident happen in UP, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mumbai or Delhi? No rape incidents should happen in the country," Kejriwal added.

Yechury, who was also in attendance at the protest which went on till late on Friday evening, was quoted by NDTV as saying that the Yogi Adityanath government "had no right" to stay in power in Uttar Pradesh.

Demanding justice for the victim and her family, he added, "The silence of the central government and the top leadership of the BJP on such a heinous crime and the Uttar Pradesh government's response thereafter speak volumes about the authoritarian and anti-democratic chehra, chaal, charitra, and chintan of the ruling party."

Bhim Army chief Azad said that the protests will continue till Adityanath resigns as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

Addressing the crowd, he said, "I will visit Hathras. Our struggle will continue till the Uttar Pradesh chief minister doesn't resign, and justice is served. I urge SC to take cognizance of the incident."

He was also quoted by The Indian Express as saying, "The police burnt her (victim's) with petrol even though the family did not give permission. She was burnt like garbage. They have no right to do that."

Bhushan claimed that there was a "goonda raj" in the state.

"What is happening in Uttar Pradesh is goonda raj. The police have surrounded the village, are not allowing opposition leaders and mediapersons to enter it. They have taken away the mobile phones of the family members of the victim," he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, who had attempted to visit the victim's family in Hathras on Thursday, attended a prayer meeting at the Valmiki temple in Delhi on Friday.

"We will ensure justice for our sister. We won't sit quietly till she does not get justice," she was quoted by reports as saying, while addressing a crowd of Congress supporters and other protesters.

"The government did not help at all. Her family is feeling helpless. We will put political pressure on the government. She wasn't even given a cremation following Hindu customs," she added.

"Each and every woman of this country should raise her voice against what has happened to the woman in Hathras. It was wrong to do so without the consent of the family. We need to put pressure on the government to ensure justice for the young Dalit woman. Our country does not have a tradition where the father, brother and the family of the victim are not allowed to light the pyre," The Indian Express quoted her as saying.

Atishi referred to the delayed medical treatment for the victim and the "hurried" cremation to allege that the victim was "raped repeatedly" by the state administration

Meanwhile, in the face of scathing criticism from Opposition leaders and activists, Adityanath on Friday said that "those who even think of harming the women's self-respect will face total destruction."

Stating that his government is committed to women's safety, Adityanath said such people will get an exemplary punishment.

Taking to the Twitter on Friday, Adityanath said, "Total destruction of those who even think of harming the self-respect of women in UP is inevitable."

"They will get such a punishment that will set an example for future. The Uttar Pradesh government is committed to the safety and development of mothers and daughters," he said.

With inputs from agencies
An average of nine people died daily in road accidents in the second quarter of the 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.

The bureau made this known in its Wednesday report on Road Transport Data.

In all, 2,080 distinct crashes occurred from April to June.

The report said 855 people died from these road crashes recorded within the period under review, indicating an average of about 9.4 deaths per day.

788 Nigerians that got killed are adults, representing 92 per cent of the figure while the remaining 67 Nigerians are children, representing 8 per cent, the report read.

The report said a total of 5,535 people got injured in the road traffic crashes recorded. This represents an average of 61 persons per day in three months.

Of the total casualties, 4,293 are male while 1,142 were female Nigerians, the NBS said.

5,166 are adults representing 93 per cent while the remaining 369 Nigerians are children, representing 7 per cent.

The NBS further said, major causative factors of road crashes in the period under review are speed violation, wrongful overtaking, use of handsets while driving, dangerous overtaking and other factors.

Speed violation accounted for 47 per cent of the total road crashes reported, the bureau said, adding that wrongful overtaking followed closely as it accounted for 10 per cent of the total road crashes recorded, while dangerous overtaking recorded the least of the total road crashes reported.

According to NBS, a total of 3,334 vehicles were involved in road traffic crashes in those months, with cars reported to be the major type of vehicle involved in road crashes.

Cars accounted for 28 per cent of the vehicles involved in road crashes reported followed by motorcycle and minibus as they both accounted for 24 and 15 per cent respectively.

The data on the category of vehicles involved in road crashes in Q2 reflected that 64 per cent of vehicles are commercial (2,124), 35 per cent are private (1,166) and 1 per cent are government with 44 vehicles involved.

State level

The report stated that Kaduna recorded the highest number of road accidents in the second quarter of the year (with 177 cases, or 9 per ent), followed by Ogun (170), FCT (165), Oyo (138), and Nasarawa (107) States.

Others are Ebonyi (11), Rivers (8), Bayelea (6) and Borno (4) States.

ALSO READ:

The report is based o data supplied by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and validated by the NBS.

Fatality defined

Bisi Kazeem, spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps, earlier in the year told PREMIUM TIMES that the collaborative quarterly traffic data covers all accidents on all federal, state and local roads, reported to them.

He further said the corps collaborates with relevant agencies, including hospitals, to come up with the data.

We do what is known as hospital check-up. If an (accident) happens today, after 30 days, whatever happens to the (victim) if he dies, is still classified as fatality  we still count it, Mr Kazeem said at the time.
Beijing's senior space engineer revealed the plan at the China Space Conference

The rocket would deliver a 25-ton manned spaceship and a lander to the moon

China also plans to build a mobile lab and a space station on Earth's satellite

Comes as China's Mars probe is due to arrive on the Red Planet in next February

China has unveiled its plan to build a heavy-lift carrier rocket that could fly astronauts to the moon.

The new launch vehicle would be able to carry a 25-ton manned spaceship and lunar lander, the Chinese space authorities revealed.

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Beijing aims to put a man on the moon by 2030 as part of its ambitious space exploration programme.

China has unveiled its plan to build a heavy-lift carrier rocket that could send astronauts to land on the moon as part of the countrys ambitious lunar exploration. The picture shows a prototype of the Chinese new-generation carrier rocket revealed in November 2018

The country first revealed a prototype of the new-generation carrier rocket in 2018. The file photo shows a Long March-5B carrier rocket at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in China

Click here to resize this module

Chinese officials are also considering building a mobile laboratory on the moon and a space station on Lunar orbit.

The news comes as China Thursday has released the first set of 'selfies' taken by Tianwen-1, the Chinese spacecraft currently travelling towards the Red Planet as part of its first Mars mission.

The country first revealed a prototype of the new-generation carrier rocket in 2018. But no plans of building the launcher had been announced until September 18 when the 2020 China Space Conference was held in Beijing.

Zhou Yanfei, deputy chief engineer of the China manned space programme, said his team had been working on a plan to build a new carrier rocket which would send Chinese astronauts to explore the moon.

The unnamed space vehicle is set to be 87-metre (285-foot) long with a three-stage central core that could carry a 25-ton crewed spaceship and a lunar lander, according to the Chinese official.

The liftoff weight will be about 2,200 tons, nearly triple that of China's current largest rocket, the Long March 5.

China has unveiled its plan to build a heavy-lift carrier rocket that could send astronauts to land on the moon. It launched a Long March 11 carrier rocket in the Yellow Sea on September 15

In May, China launched a new manned spaceship - with no crew on board  with its largest carrier rocket, signalling one step closer towards sending astronauts with its lunar exploration

Considering the scale of the mission, the carrier rocket could be launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in the southern Chinese island Hainan, where China's Mars probe was blasted in July, according to Zhou.

No dates of a test flight have been announced by the Chinese space engineer who added that a number of challenges remained in terms of crewed lunar landings.

Like the US and Russia, China first engaged in space activities during the development of ballistic missiles in the 1950s.

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While they did benefit from some assistance from the Soviet Union, China developed its space programme largely on its own.

In recent decades, China's secretive space programme has developed rapidly.

China became the third country to put a man in space with its own rocket in 2003 after the former Soviet Union and the United States. FILE: Pictured, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei waves after emerging from the Shenzhou V capsule in Inner Mongolia on October 16, 2003

The United States is so far the only country that have been able to send humans to the moon. This file photo released by NASA shows astronaut Edwin E. 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. saluting the US flag on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 11 lunar mission on July 20, 1969

Yang Liwei became the first Chinese astronaut in 2003, and last year Chang'e-4 became the first spacecraft from any country to land on the far side of the moon.

In May, China also launched a new manned spaceship - with no crew on board  with its largest carrier rocket, signalling one step closer towards sending astronauts with its lunar exploration.

China has made huge strides in the past decade and has laid the groundwork to assemble a space station by 2022 and gain a permanent foothold in Earth orbit.

The nation has been racing to catch up with Russia and the United States to become a major space power by 2030.

The United States is so far the only country that have been able to send humans to the moon.
There has been around a 40% increase in bookings on travel portals ahead of the long weekend starting Friday and brought rare cheer to the industry that has been among the worst-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, people aware of the matter said. Travellers have begun to opt for homestays and travelling to nearby places since the government began easing restrictions imposed on movement to check the pandemic spread, they added. This has reflected in the number of bookings made since September. More bookings were expected as people are slowly moving from essential to leisure travel.

Over the years, long weekends have been the most lucrative for the travel industry. While 2020 has had more long weekends compared to 2019, travel had come to a standstill due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also Read: Indias Covid-19 tally surges past 6.39 million, death toll nears 1 lakh

According to online travel agency yatra.com, there has been a demand for homestays and cottages this weekend beginning with Gandhi Jayanti on Friday. Travellers are preferring holidaying in secluded areas at drivable distances.

In the Unlock [easing of restrictions] phase, more travellers are looking for short-haul destinations having proper safety and sanitisation, said yatra.com co-founder Sabina Chopra. She added ahead of this weekend, they have seen a 32% increase in booking inquiries and growth in demand for accommodation like homestays, 4-star, 5-star hotels, cottages, etc. She added with customer confidence going up, they expect better demand.

Travellers from Delhi were preferring to drive to places like Jaipur, Nainital, Rishikesh, Manesar, Mussoorie and Lansdowne while those from Mumbai were heading to Panchgani, Lonavala, Alibaug, Lavasa and Mahabaleshwar.

Goibibos chief operating officer, Vipul Prakash, said over the past few weeks, they have noticed a significant increase in bookings for weekend getaways. Over the coming long weekend, we expect over 40% higher check-ins in comparison to bookings made for weekend getaways in August. Within this segment, over 70% of the bookings are for drivable destinations or to places within 400 km.

Goibibo bookings suggest Goa, Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital, Manali, Coorg and Rishikesh have been the most popular destinations this weekend.

Cleartrips corporate strategy head, Aditya Agarwal, said since September, bookings are in the range of 20%-30% of last year levels for Rajasthan and Kerala and around 18% for Goa. ...which signal the return in confidence to travel. Agarwal said Cleartrip expects this trend to continue over the last quarter. We saw a substantial increase in traffic volumes on our platform two to seven days prior to the long weekend and therefore this duration contributes to a higher share of bookings. Additionally, we are also seeing an increase in metro to non-metro travel over the long weekend indicating that people have headed back home to spend time with their families.
More than two dozen women vied for Locky Gilbert's heart on The Bachelor this year.

And Sportsbet has revealed its top predictions for which contestants from Locky's season are likely to be cast as next year's Bachelorette.

Interestingly, the top contender for the role is winner Irena Srbinovska.

Place your bets now! Sportsbet has revealed its top predictions for which contestants from Locky's season of The Bachelor are likely to be cast as next year's Bachelorette. Interestingly, the top contender for the role is winner Irena Srbinovska (pictured), who is still dating Locky

Despite the fact she is still dating Locky, Sportsbet has the 31-year-old nurse as a front-runner for the 2021 Bachelorette, with odds of $1.85.

The second pick is Bachelor runner-up Bella Varelis, 25, who has odds of $2.75.

She is followed by one of this season's stand-out stars, Areeba Emmanuel, at $5.50.

Second place... again: Sportsbet's second pick is Bachelor runner-up Bella Varelis (pictured), who has odds of $2.75

Boss Bachelorette: She is followed by one of this season's stand-out stars, Areeba Emmanuel

Professional dancer Nicole Campbell, 26, is sitting at $8 as of Friday, despite having recently debuted her new romance with boyfriend Luke Brotherton.

Stylist Juliette Herrera, 34, and sales manager Zoe-Clare McDonald, 23, are both tied at $12, which suggests they are more likely headed for Bachelor in Paradise instead of The Bachelorette.

Following last week's Bachelor finale, in which she was dumped by Locky after he'd told her he was 'falling in love' with her, Bella revealed she was keen to be the next Bachelorette.

She told Daily Mail Australia outside Channel 10's headquarters in Pyrmont: 'Yeah, I mean, what a way to get your happily ever after!'

Next in line: Professional dancer Nicole Campbell (pictured) is sitting at $8 as of Friday, despite having recently debuted her new romance with boyfriend Luke Brotherton

Roses at the ready: Stylist Juliette Herrera (left) and sales manager Zoe-Clare McDonald (right) are both tied at $12, which suggests they are more likely headed for Bachelor in Paradise instead of The Bachelorette

Locky broke down in tears as he ended things with Bella during the finale, telling her: 'I fell in love with you the first day I saw you, and I saw those big brown eyes.

'Like, they just make me go crazy. And, like, when I told you I love you, like, I meant every single word.'

But his tone changed as he tried to explain why he didn't see a future with her.

'I know you don't, like, sort of see where your future is at the moment. I think I need just a little bit of certainty. I just don't know if I can see us working,' he said, as Bella looked at him in disbelief.

Second shot at love: Following last week's Bachelor finale, in which she was dumped by Locky after he'd told her he was 'falling in love', Bella said she was keen to be the next Bachelorette
CLEVELAND  Kenosha again was in the national spotlight on Tuesday in the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Chris Wallace, the Fox News anchor and registered Democrat moderating Tuesdays presidential debate, asked Trump directly: Are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacists and militia groups, and say to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities as we saw in Kenosha and as weve seen in Portland?

Sure. But almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing, Trump replied, whose exchange with Biden left the Proud Boys extremist group celebrating what some of its members saw as tacit approval.

One known Proud Boys leader, who goes by Enrique Tarrio on the social media platform Parler, posted Thats my president! and Standing by sir, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League.

Wallace pointed out how Trump has repeatedly condemned the actions of antifa  short for anti-facist, a loosely organized leftist movement  regarding nationwide protests that have occasionally turned violent but not so much other groups involved in the violence. During the debate, Trump claimed that if more cities would allow the National Guard in to dispel protesters, there would be no problem.

When Wallace called on Trump to specifically condemn white supremacists, Trump replied Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But Ill tell you what, somebody has got to do something about antifa and the left. Because this is not a right wing  this is a left wing.

Proud Boys is a far-right group known for being involved in violence and racism that had a tiny presence in Kenoshas protests and has shown up at protests in larger numbers in the Pacific Northwest. The male-led group of neo-fascists describes themselves as western chauvinists, and they have been known to incite street violence.

Biden jumped in, saying that Antifa is an idea, not an organization, not a militia. In making this claim, Biden cited Trump-nominated FBI Director Chris Wray, who said earlier this month during a hearing with lawmakers in Washington D.C. that antifa is not a group or an organization. Its a movement or an ideology.

While Wallace tried to get Biden and Trump to stop talking over each other, Trump described Antifa as a dangerous and radical group.

When again asked to condemn white supremacy, Trump said Im willing to do anything. I want to see peace ... What do you want to call them? Give me a name.

Other incidents

Wray told a congressional panel last week that white supremacists and anti-government extremists have been responsible for most of the recent deadly attacks by extremist groups within the U.S.

Biden has said he decided to run for president after Trump said there were very fine people on both sides of a 2017 protest led by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a counterprotester was killed.

What we saw was a dog whistle through a bullhorn, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Bidens running mate, said on MSNBC after the debate. Donald Trump is not pretending to be anything other than what he is: Someone who will not condemn white supremacists.

At another point in the debate, when discussing a Trump administration move to end racial sensitivity training in the federal government, Biden directly called Trump a racist. Biden also accused the president of trying to sow racist hatred and racist division in the country.

After Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old Trump supporter from Illinois who shot three protesters  killing two of them  in Kenosha on Aug. 25 on Sheridan Road, Trump said that it appeared the teenager was acting in self-defense.

That same argument is being pushed by Rittenhouses attorneys, who are pushing the narrative that the teenager is an American hero akin to the patriots who fought against the British in the Revolutionary War.
Senator Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic Party's vice-presidential candidate, has attributed her entire life's success to her mother Shyamala Gopalan, saying she was a fighter for women.

Harris, 55, is the first-ever Black, African-American and Indian-American woman to be the vice-presidential candidate of a major political party.

There are so many stories I could tell about her that have influenced who I am. My mother was a fighter for women her entire life. Her specialty was breast cancer, and, you know, before I was probably aware of it, I was hearing her passion for the importance of women receiving dignity in the health care system, Harris said during a podcast conversation with the former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

Harris' mother Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer biologist came from India to the US at the age of 19 to pursue her dream of curing cancer.

Clinton during the conversation said that she could sense that from Harris talking about you're her and when she think about her being 19 in the 50s, she lived through the big transition in India.

She saw the impact of the non-violent Gandhian movement, and so coming to Berkeley and being attracted to, you know, the Civil Rights Movement would just be a continuation for her, said the former Secretary of State.

Agreed Harris and said: That's exactly right.

She had a huge presence, and she raised us, my sister, Maya, and me. She raised us with, you know, certain principles. And one was that it is your duty. Not you know, not - you're not being charitable or benevolent, Harris said.

It is your duty to concern yourself with the condition of other people and to help them, and so it was never a debatable point. It was literally, you know, because duty is, you know, for those of us who feel strongly about duty, it's not a choice, she added.

During the conversation, Harris fondly remembered her childhood days.

Oh, it was profound. I'll never forget one night she came home Maya and I were what you call latchkey kids, right? We'd come home after school and my mother would come home hours later. But when we came home after school, there were always fresh baked cookies, Harris said amidst laughter.

Harris told Clinton that her mother was the eldest among her siblings.

She grew up at a time where she was expected that her accomplishments would be to get married and have children.

But she wanted to study science and she wanted to cure cancer.

She convinced my grandfather that one of the best schools to learn was UC Berkeley. Without my grandfather knowing, actually, she applied and got accepted... And then informed my grandfather that this had happened, Harris said.

"Later my grandfather told my mother that if this is what you want to do, then I will not stand in your way. And so having never been to the United States, my mother got on a plane at the age of 19 by herself and arrived in Berkeley, California, she said.

And immediately because of how she was raised and who she was, she just became attracted to the Civil Rights Movement that was starting to really evolve in a very passionate way in Berkeley and Oakland, California. And, you know, my mother was all of five feet. I joke that if you ever met her, you would have thought she was, you know, seven feet tall. But I don't actually don't know if she was exactly five feet, Harris said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:26:38|Editor: huaxia

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A villager delivers baskets full of rice stalks in Shangde Village of Minqing County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Oct. 2, 2020. Recently, rice in Minqing County ushered in harvest season. Many migrant workers returned to their hometown during the National Day Holiday to harvest crops. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)
Michael Gove insisted a trade deal with the EU was still possible last night  even as Brussels began legal proceedings against the UK.

Mr Gove said that with mutual goodwill an agreement could be reached ahead of the Prime Ministers deadline of mid-October.

The EU had given Britain until last night to ditch the controversial elements of the Internal Markets Bill  legislation that threatens to override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement.

However, the Bill remained unchanged and MPs voted decisively this week to back it. As a result, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen yesterday issued a letter of formal notice which could eventually lead to a court case against the UK at the European Court of Justice.

Michael Gove insisted a trade deal with the EU was still possible last night  even as Brussels began legal proceedings against the UK

It could see EU judges hand Britain massive fines. But, despite this, Brussels has not walked away from talks over a post-Brexit trade deal. Last night Mr Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told MPs: Progress has been made in a huge number of areas.

There are still one or two sticking points on state aid, the level playing field and fisheries, but I think with goodwill on both sides we will achieve resolution, and I know this government is determined to do so.

But we have clear red lines and its vitally important that we maintain our faith with the electorate and ensure on January 1 we leave the EU single market and customs union and take back control.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen yesterday issued a letter of formal notice which could eventually lead to a court case against the UK over the Internal Markets Bill  legislation that threatens to override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte appeared to play down the importance of the Commissions letter, calling it more administrative than political.

Announcing the legal proceedings, Mrs von der Leyen accused Britain of trying to rewrite parts of the Brexit divorce treaty agreed last year. This draft Bill is a breach of the obligation of good faith in the Withdrawal Agreement, she said.

A Government spokesman said Britain will respond to the letter in due course. EU lawyers have given Britain one month to answer.

Brussels lawsuits can sometimes take years to resolve. They are often settled before they reach the European Court of Justice, which has the power to fine countries.

But, despite this, Brussels has not walked away from talks over a post-Brexit trade deal. Last night Mr Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told MPs: Progress has been made in a huge number of areas'

French Europe minister Clement Beaune, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, accused Britain of calling into question the Brexit divorce treaty. He said the EU will refuse to ratify any deal unless the Bill is scrapped.

It leaves both sides enough wriggle room to defuse the row if an agreement is found. The Government has always said the Bill was merely a safety net if there was a No Deal Brexit.

Commission officials said EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is determined to strike an accord. Diplomats continued to hold trade negotiations yesterday after the announcement was made.

But some EU officials are worried that Britain might row back on any promises made during those talks.
Weinstein departs a Manhattan courthouse during his rape trial in February - AP

Harvey Weinstein has been charged with a further six counts of sexual assault involving two victims from incidents that allegedly happened more than a decade ago, prosecutors in Los Angeles said.

The fallen Hollywood mogul, 68, was convicted of rape in New York in February but is facing charges in California. Prosecutors have added six additional counts of sexual assault, added to the already existing charges which include rape and sexual battery.

The new allegations against Weinstein claim he raped a woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills between September 2004 and 2005, prosecutors said.

He is also accused of raping another woman on two separate occasions in November 2009 and November 2010 at a hotel in Beverly Hills.
Police have launched an investigation into an MP who travelled hundreds of miles across the UK after she tested positive for coronavirus.

Margaret Ferrier has been suspended by the Scottish National Party but has so far ignored calls for her to resign as an MP.

The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West travelled between Glasgow and London twice while suffering from coronavirus symptoms, the second time after she was told she had Covid-19.

Her own party leader Nicola Sturgeon was among those who led calls for her to stand down after the clear breach of the coronavirus rules.

But Ms Ferrier has made no statement since her confession that she made the five-hour train journey twice while carrying the virus.

Senior SNP sources believe she could face the wrath of her constituents in a recall vote if she does not stand down.

Alongside her travels to and from the Commons, social media posts from last Saturday afternoon, when the MP said she had first exhibited symptoms, place her across businesses in her constituency.

Among them were a visit to a Burnside gift shop, a gym and a salon which she said she had popped into to wish the team well.

The MP has since referred herself to the Commons standards commissioner, who can trigger a process known as a "recall vote if she suspends Ms Ferrier from the house for more than 10 days.

Under the recall rules a by-election can be then called if more than a tenth of the voters in Ms Ferriers constituency sign a petition.

As she sought to head off looming public outrage, Ms Ferrier also voluntarily referred herself to police, who have now launched an investigation into reported breaches of coronavirus regulations.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "Following consultation with Police Scotland, officers from the Metropolitan Police, working with British Transport Police, are conducting an investigation into potential offences.

One MP is self-isolating after he came into close contact with Ms Ferrier while she was in Westminster.

Despite her symptoms, the MP spoke in a debate in the chamber during which she praised NHS staff at the front line of fighting the global pandemic.

Jim Shannon, the 65-year-old DUP MP for Strangford, sat near Ms Ferrier on Monday evening at the same dining table in the Commons.

He has since been tested for Covid-19 and received a negative result but is self-isolating at home as a precaution, his party said.

Ms Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland, said she was very angry at the MPs conduct and had made clear to Ms Ferrier my view that she should step down as an MP.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross branded the decision to twice travel by train with coronavirus symptoms "reckless and dangerous".

Ian Murray, shadow Scotland secretary, urged the SNP to "come clean'' over what it knew and when about Ms Ferrier's illness.

As calls grew for the MP to resign, the Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said that different stories had made it more difficult for parliamentary authorities to limit a possible outbreak.
MassGrown Exchange Partners With Big Y

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.  Big Y World Class Markets announced their first connections with new local food producers through their participation in the MassGrown Exchange.

The MassGrown Exchange, launched last month by the Baker-Polito Administration, is a business to business platform that assists farmers, fishers, food buyers and agriculture related businesses to connect, exchange and find products and services across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The Exchange is designed to facilitate business to business connections within the local food system for products and services.

"Our administration developed MassGrown Exchange to serve as an important tool for the Commonwealth's agricultural and seafood industries to expand business opportunities and access new markets, and improve food security for the people of Massachusetts," Governor Charlie Baker said.

He further stated that through this new platform, a variety of businesses will be able to source locally caught and produced food more efficiently.

Big Y is the first supermarket in the state to use this exchange to source more local products for their customers.

"The platform is now live and ready for businesses looking to sell and purchase Massachusetts' products and services," Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Commissioner John Lebeaux said. "It is our hope and intent that this platform will increase business activity and revenue for the agricultural and aquaculture communities."

Big Y was notified of the MassGrown Exchange through their membership with the Massachusetts Food Association which served on the state's task force to develop this important tool.

As part of their ongoing initiative to provide even more local products for their customers throughout the 71 store chain, Big Y has already begun working with the following new local producers from the MassGrown Exchange in order to sell their products in local Big Y markets:

Beverly  New Entry Sustainable Farming Project: organic delicata squash, curly and lacinato kale, cabbage and tomatoes

Newton  Tanuk, Inc./Meal Mantra: all natural Indian Curry sauces, casein and spices

Peabody  Giuseppe Argentieri Mozzarella House: all natural small batch mozzarella

Shelburne Falls  Hager's Farm Market: pure maple syrup

Topsfield  Elizabeth Mulholland Valley View Farm: goat cheese

Wellfleet  Field Point Oyster farm: oysters

Worcester  Alicia's Homemade Sauces and Spice Co. : all natural, gluten free sauces and spices

Worthington  Just a Mere Tree Farm: granola, maple syrup, pancake mix

"We are grateful to all who helped to make the MassGrown Exchange a reality. It is a valuable tool for our buyers to enhance our local product offerings for our customers throughout the year. These new local producers will be joining our family of over 500 local partnerships. Our goal is to use all of our resources to continue to add more and more local products to our markets," Charles L. D'Amour, Big Y president and CEO said."We appreciate everyone's role in this important initiative, including the essential work of the Massachusetts Food Association in shepherding this entire process."

These new local producers will join the other 500 plus local partners and that work daily with Big Y to sell their fruits, vegetables, seafood and other artisanal products in their markets. More than 3000 different local products can be found at a typical Big Y supermarket.

"Though the platform was designed to address COVID-19 disruptions to the local food supply, it will continue to benefit the local food system long after the pandemic has passed," Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito said.
During every presidential election, theres the chance of an October surprise  a moment in the run-up to the November poll when the race is upended.

But 2020 is special. This year, its not just a surprise. Its so much more  a set of unprecedented events that tests the limits of the US Constitution and throws everything up in the air.

Not just the result but the electoral process is questioned from this moment.

And some are even asking whether the poll can go ahead.

Its an October Cataclysm.

First things first. Not since the bullets fired at Ronald Reagan in 1981 by a would-be assassin has a president faced such a direct mortal threat as Donald Trump faces now.

But what if the President is ill? Unable to do the job? This is more of a grey area but could be sorted out. Vice-President Mike Pence would take over and, if necessary, fight the election

He is most likely to survive. But he might not. It is as simple as that.

Thats why one of the first signs that the President had tested positive was the tracking, by amateur plane spotters, of unusual movements by US military aircraft off the Eastern Seaboard.

US Navy Doomsday planes took to the air. These are used to spot incoming missiles and its been suggested they were in action in case Americas enemies chose to take advantage of the situation.

There is a plan when a president is incapacitated, and it appears that the early part of the plan went ahead.

But what now?

The 25th Amendment to the Constitution was passed after the assassination of President Kennedy. The amendment smooths the way for power to be handed to the vice president if the president dies or resigns.

So far so clear.

But what if the President is ill? Unable to do the job? This is more of a grey area but could be sorted out. Vice-President Mike Pence would take over and, if necessary, fight the election.

President George W Bush gave up power for a few hours under the 25th Amendment when he had a couple of minor operations

He would not become president: Donald Trump would still have the right to return to office.

There is precedent for this, in much less dramatic form. President George W Bush gave up power for a few hours under the 25th Amendment when he had a couple of minor operations.

But now it gets murky.

What if Donald Trump did not want to hand over power? What if he was as ill as Boris Johnson became  or worse  but refused to let go of control?

Here we are in uncharted and dangerous territory. The 25th Amendment can be used by a Vice-President and Congress to strip a president of power.

It has only been considered once, when, towards the end of his time in office in the 1980s, President Reagan was described as inattentive, distracted, lazy and inept by some of his staff, who suggested it was time to go.

His chief of staff had lunch with him. Ronnie told some jokes. They decided to do nothing. Would it be as relaxed this time, with this president, and this presidents supporters? Almost certainly not.

And heres a further bizarre twist: if Vice-President Pence were to fall ill over the next month and be unable to carry on, the next in line for the presidency is none other than Nancy Pelosi  the most senior Democrat in the House of Representatives.

She hates Trump and he hates her. Chaos is too small a word for that outcome.

There is also the question of the campaign. Already the President has cancelled some rallies  he is due to be meeting Joe Biden for another debate in two weeks.

The 25th Amendment to the Constitution was passed after the assassination of President Kennedy. The amendment smooths the way for power to be handed to the vice president if the president dies or resigns

There has to be a real question over whether that can go ahead.

So might polling day itself be delayed? Technically it could be  all the Constitution says is that the presidential term ends on January 20.

But a federal law says the electoral college  the body that actually elects the President  has to be selected on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November.

That law could be changed but the Democrats are in charge in the House of Representatives so it seems vanishingly unlikely.

The odds are that the election will take place.

This is where we get to the politics of the Presidents condition. As they fill in their ballots (millions are already voting by post), they are being reminded of presidential failure: a failure to protect the nation capped by a failure to protect himself.

The politics of getting ill do not look good for the President.

Or do they? What if Donald Trump just gets a mild illness and survives the virus? In that case a man who admires strong men could demonstrate what he would suggest were powers of recovery and fortitude that sleepy Joe Biden could never match.

What if there is a sympathy vote, as there was when Boris Johnson first fell ill, and the Presidents ratings actually increase.

As one wag put it yesterday in the New York Times: This is a president who stared into an eclipse, feuded with the pope, walked in front of the Queen. He has a way of dominating his circumstances.

As ever with Trump, he is down, but not out.
Nelnet on Friday said it sold a controlling stake in Allo Communications to a New York-based private equity firm.

The Lincoln-based financial company said in a news release that it sold a 48% stake in Allo to SDC Capital Partners, a firm that specializes in investing in companies that own fiber networks, data centers and related businesses, for $197 million.

That puts Allo's value at about $400 million, which is about eight times what it was valued at in 2015 when Nelnet paid $46.5 million for a 92.5% stake.

The sale will give SDC a controlling stake in the company. After the close of the deal, which is expected by the end of this month, Nelnet will own 45% of Allo, and the company's managers will own 7%, according to a securities filing.

Terry Heimes, Nelnet's chief operating officer, said the investment from SDC will, "accelerate Allo's growth."

"SDC's investment will provide the necessary capital to build out fiber networks primarily in Nebraska and Colorado and help communities and businesses meet the increasing demand for high-speed, reliable broadband with the best and latest technologies," Heimes said in the news release. "SDC's deep sector experience and relationship network make it the ideal long-term partner for Allo. Over the last five years, we have seen firsthand the value Allo's technology and service bring to a community. We look forward to supporting their long-term success alongside SDC."

Allo has greatly expanded its services since Nelnet purchased it, growing from a small rural telecommunications company serving central and western Nebraska to one with a footprint across Nebraska. It built out a fiber network to serve Lincoln with internet and other services, and also expanded to Hastings, Norfolk and two cities in Colorado. As of June 30, the company had more than 53,000 customers.

"Allo has established itself as a leading provider of fiber-to-the-premise services in Nebraska and Colorado, and we are thrilled to support its growth alongside Nelnet," Clinton Karcher, principal at SDC, said in the release.

Nelnet, which has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on capital improvements for Allo, stands to gain more than the $197 million. According to its securities filing, it will redeem $160 million worth of secured notes as part of the sale and may redeem an additional $100 million worth of secured notes.

That is dependent on Allo securing at least $100 million in debt financing, which also could be used to pay for further expansion costs. The news release mentioned possible further expansion across the Midwest.

The purchase of Allo Communications was part of Nelnet's strategy to diversify its business over the past decade or so since a shakeup of the student loan market. The company has invested in Hudl and other startups, as well as real estate and solar power.

Nelnet also could lose at least part of its current student loan-servicing business by the end of 2021.

The company did not specifically say why it chose to sell a large stake in Allo, but spokesman Ben Kiser said it was "a great long-term opportunity for both Nelnet and Allo."

"The partnership with SDC will diversify Allos capital and accelerate growth into new markets when communities are demanding better connectivity."

Photos: New construction in Lincoln

Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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LONDON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis will reopen its borders to international commercial flights and travellers on October 31st. This was announced by Prime Minister Timothy Harris during the monthly press conference held at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). According to officials, this decision comes after careful consideration with the country's Chief Medical Officer. St Kitts and Nevis first closed borders to international visitors on March 25th.

According to Hazel Laws, the Chief Medical Officer, in order to minimise risk, all travellers will fall into one of two categories: those coming from the CARICOM Travel Bubble and those who are international visitors. Those coming from nations inside the bubble will have to provide a negative PCR test while individuals coming from outside the bubble will have a variety of COVID-approved accommodations to choose from. St Kitts and Nevis was also recently designated as a "No Travel Notice" required destination by the Centers for Disease Control due to having only 19 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with zero deaths.

"We have been working diligently to prepare for this reopening to ensure that we are ready to welcome travellers by training and certifying local businesses and individuals in the health and safety protocols they are required to meet and be certified in to be permitted to operate," said St Kitts Tourism Minister Lindsay F. P. Grant in a separate statement.

Tourism is one of the main drivers of economic growth on the islands. However, while the pandemic has triggered global lockdowns, the dual-island has relied on its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme to keep the nation afloat. The Programme enables foreign investors and their families to become citizens of the Federation once making an economic contribution to the Sustainable Growth Fund. The investment route is the fastest and most straightforward route to a second citizenship. Once undergoing the necessary security checks, successful applicants gain access to visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to nearly 160 destinations, alternative business opportunities and the chance to pass citizenship down for generations to come.

The Sustainable Growth Fund is currently offering applicants a limited-time offer with families of up to four who choose to become citizens only needing to invest $150,000 instead of $195,000. The offer will remain valid until January 15th, 2021.

[email protected]

www.csglobalpartners.com

SOURCE CS Global Partners




Haiti - Insecurity : Assassination attempt against the son of Senator Lambert





On the evening of September 30 in Martissant (South of the Capital) unidentified armed individuals riddled with bullets a vehicle in which was the young entrepreneur Bradley Lambert (22 years old), founder of "Brad rent-a-car" and son of Southeast Senator Joseph Lambert.



Bradley Lambert escaped the assassination attempt safe and sound thanks to the armor plating of his vehicle, which received no less than 10 hits from projectiles.



"I confirm that bandits shot at my son's vehicle [...] Criminal violence will never be an option. I have always argued for a fierce fight against the continued insecurity, it is a priority," said Senator Lambert, convinced that this is a targeted attack.



SL/ HaitiLibre


















Celtic face AC Milan in Europa League, Arsenal to play Dundalk Zlatan Ibrahimovic and AC Milan will face Celtic in the Europa League group stage

Celtic will come up against Zlatan Ibrahimovic and AC Milan in a tough Europa League group while Rangers will face another former European Cup winner in Benfica and Friday's draw also placed Arsenal in the same section as the Irish champions Dundalk.

Celtic were in the first pot of seeds for the draw after scraping past Bosnian side Sarajevo away in the play-offs on Thursday, but they could scarcely have asked for a tougher draw than that handed to them in Group H.

As well as Milan, Neil Lennon's side will take on Czech Cup winners Sparta Prague and French club Lille, who qualified automatically for the group stage after finishing fourth in Ligue 1.

Milan, the seven-time European champions, qualified by winning 9-8 on penalties away to Rio Ave in Portugal on Thursday after being rescued by a Hakan Calhanoglu spot-kick right at the end of extra time.

The Scottish champions and Milan last met in the Champions League group stage in 2013/14. They also faced off several times in that competition in the previous decade including in 2006/07, when the Italians narrowly won their last-16 tie en route to winning the trophy.

Rangers' reward for ousting Turkish giants Galatasaray in the play-offs and qualifying for the group stage for the third season running was a spot in Group D with Benfica, Standard Liege of Belgium and Lech Poznan of Poland.

Steven Gerrard's side may fancy their chances of reaching the knockout phase again, after losing to Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 last season.

There were fewer glamour ties for England's representatives but all will be expected to progress.

Arsenal will play three teams who dropped out of the Champions League qualifiers in Rapid Vienna, Norwegian champions Molde, and Dundalk of Ireland.

It is Dundalk's second appearance in the group stage in five seasons and the Arsenal clash in particular will be a glamour tie for them.

They will hope their fans can attend the match, with UEFA announcing on Thursday that they will allow spectators back at a maximum of 30 percent of capacity.

Story continues

However, the loosening of restrictions is subject to national authorities giving the green light.

Leicester City will play Braga, AEK Athens and Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine in Group G, while Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur were placed in Group J alongside Bulgarian champions Ludogorets, LASK of Austria and Belgian Cup winners Antwerp.

Spurs have already travelled to Bulgaria in the competition this season, beating Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2-1 away in the second qualifying round last month.

The first round of group games will be played on October 22. This season's final is scheduled to be played in Gdansk, Poland on May 26.

as/pb
JACKSON COUNTY, MI  Hundreds of thousands of dollars was raised in six months in Jackson County to help residents and nonprofits get through the coronavirus crisis, the United Way of Jackson County announced, as it closes its COVID-19 response fund.

The nonprofit partnered with the Jackson Community Foundation to raise $357,285 for aid in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic.

The response fund was created in March, when Michigan went into a statewide stay-at-home order to curb the spread of COVID-19. Its goal was to get basics  like baby formula, food and cleaning supplies  to people in need, keep area nonprofits up and running and help pay for long-term needs for families financially affected, organizers said.

Related: Jacksons collaboration muscles paying off, says nonprofit CEO creating COVID-19 relief fund

As of Wednesday, Sept. 30, $332,074 was spent on nonprofit operations, needs for residents and shelter for people experiencing homelessness. About 37% of that was given to local nonprofits operating and able to deliver vital services, according to United Way news release.

Grant recipients include Catholic Charities, Child Care Network, Great Start of Jackson County, Jackson County Department of Aging, South Michigan Food Bank and more.

About 15 corporations and businesses and 14 foundations and nonprofit organizations, not including individual donations, contributed to the fund, Director of Community Solutions Bethany Stutzman said in the release.

More than 76,700 personal hygiene items -- like shampoo, toothbrushes and past and tampons and pads -- were distributed in the six months of the fund, the United Way said. More than 69,300 diapers, 51,800 items of cleaning supplies and 10,200 baby formula and other childcare supplies were also distributed from the Boos Recreation Center in Loomis Park.

This initiative was a bright spot for our local nonprofits and families navigating during an unprecedented time, Monica Moser, Jackson Community Foundation president/CEO, said in a statement. "Partnering with the United Way helped us further our reach into the community and ultimately our ability to help.

The approximately remaining $25,200 in the fund will be allocated to food and basic needs, United Way officials said. The fund could be restarted if increases in COVID-19 cases cause another lockdown, Stutzman said.

MORE ON MLIVE:

Game Day Jackson! Player of the Week winner, full schedule for Week 3

Lockdown sparks bakery business, budget cuts proposed for county: Top Jackson headlines Sept. 26-Oct. 1

Multiple coronavirus cases reported in Jackson-area retirement community
Washington: US President Donald Trump is experiencing "mild symptoms" of COVID-19 after revealing that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunges the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election.

The late-night Twitter announcement came after Trump revealed that he and the first lady had gone into quarantine at the White House after one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive for COVID-19.

Donald and Melania Trump and Hope Hicks. Credit:AP

"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19," Trump said on Twitter on Friday (AEST).

"We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"
If you have a vehicle you need to dispose of, what are your options? Maybe repair costs on your car are too high to justify keeping it, or it has been badly damaged in an accident. What is the best, safest and most environmentally responsible way to handle its removal?

Look for a towing and scrap car removal business that provides an all-in-one service. Not only will it offer vehicle towing, but it will also responsibly scrap the car you no longer want. Do your research before you hire someone, and dont be afraid to ask questions.

First, make sure the car recycler you choose is reliable and qualified and has the right tools and equipment. The driver should be professionally trained to ensure your car will be removed safely. Staff should be happy to explain how the whole process works and be dedicated to following every precaution.

For convenience, it helps if the company buys all different types of scrap cars and doesnt have specific requirements or limitations in place. Most scrapyards will buy old, used cars that are broken and damaged, as well as ones that have been in an accident. The best scrap car buyers wont care at all about the condition of the car, the make or the model and will offer cash for junk cars.

If you can find a company that offers same-day vehicle removal, thats a plus, both for convenience and efficiency. It means you wont have to worry about pre-booking or waiting around for service.

Finally, prompt payment is key. You should be paid right away, after your vehicle is removed. Find an auto recycler that pays cash for used cars on the spot or pays using e-transfers, which are immediate. A reputable company will pay honest and fair prices  the full amount that was quoted to you.

One of the biggest benefits of recycling your junk car is that it is environmentally responsible and reduces the amount of waste that ends up in a landfill. According to the Automotive Recyclers of Canada, more than 12 million vehicles are recycled in North America each year.

The auto recyclers will dismantle your vehicle and salvage as many parts as possible. Almost all of the steel and aluminum from the vehicles body will be reused and recycled. Engine oil, a huge pollutant, will be properly disposed of; it won't be dumped in a landfill or left to contaminate water sources.

Towing and Scrap Car Removal is located in Scarborough and scraps cars in Toronto and the rest of the GTA (Brampton, Mississauga, Ajax, Etobicoke, Aurora, Pickering, Markham and Richmond Hill). Theyve been in business for 20 years, are friendly, and pay the highest amount of cash for scrap cars.
Three health workers, including a doctor in charge of the Covid care activties in the Medical college hospital here, have been suspended in connection with the incident relating to infestation of maggots in bedsores of a bedridden positive patient, officials said on Friday. Relatives of the 55-year-old man had filed a complaint with the health minister, KK Shailaja on Sunday alleging maggots were found in the sores of the patient when he was brought home after being discharged last month.

Dr Aruna, who is the coordinator of the Covid activities in the hospital, and two head nurses were suspended following the incident. Protesting against the suspension, doctors and nurses took out marches on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Gazetted Officers Association demanded revocation of the suspension immediately. A departmental inquiry into the incident was on and statements of health workers were being recorded and evidence collected when the three were hastily suspended, the association said.

Since the past seven months health workers in the medical college had been tirelessly working against the COVID-19 pandemic, it added.
F rom an illiterate girl born in a poor part of Rome, with few prospects except drudgery and marriage, Artemisia emerged in her twenties as an intrepid painter who in a 40-year career worked for six international courts, including for King Charles I, in London. Her achievement was astounding.

In her visceral masterpieces, figures loom with striking realism from dark backgrounds, clothed in rich, realistic fabrics, from scarlet velvet to shimmering silks in ochres, blues, and greens, some glittering with gold, offset with crisp white linen or muslin.

She included furniture ranging from an upholstered courtly chair to a cheap rush-bottomed one, to a copper preserving pan (used to bathe baby St John the Baptist); a chipped white china bowl, and  memorably in her magnificent Judith and her Maidservant 1614-15  a rush basket to hold Holofernes decapitated head. These homely items were drawn from life.

Famed for genius and beauty, poems were written about her and a medal of her profile struck, while princes visited her studios, commissioned paintings by and of her, and corresponded with her. Its amazing that a woman achieved this at that time.

Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (La Pittura), about 1638-9 / Royal Collection Trust  Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019

Artemisia is known by her first name to distinguish her from her father, painter Orazio Gentileschi. Born in 1593 in Romes bustling artistic quarter near Piazza del Popoli, her mother died in 1605, leaving 12-year-old Artemisia as sole female alongside Orazio and three young brothers. They lived in streets thronging with craftworkers, taverns, and rented houses in multiple occupation. Like many renters, the Gentileschi family moved many times, perhaps from debt.

Water was drawn from a shared well; cooking done in pots or on spits over a fire, and guttering oil lamps and candles provided light to live and paint by. The darkness we see in Orazio and Artemisias paintings was a fact of life.

As well as helping care for her brothers, Artemisia ground pigments and assisted her father, whose bottega (studio) was in the apartment. Unusually for a girl, around fifteen she began painting too  even though unlike a boy she couldnt roam the streets to study life first hand. But her imagination vaulted over that drawback. We know, because in 1612, Orazio boasted by letter to Grand Duchess Christina of Lorraine that Artemisia had been painting for three years and outstripped everyone.*

No-one dreamed that the uneducated, illiterate Artemisia would eclipse her father. But her self-esteem was unflagging. She even taught herself to write. Years later she wrote to a noble patron, I will show your Illustrious Lordship what a woman can do.

Girls were rarely allowed outside and merely standing at a window was scandalous. The fact that Artemisia did so went against her when, at 17, she was raped at home by her fathers painting crony, Agostino Tassi, a 30-year-old braggart. Since in a courts eyes evidence from a deflowered girl was unreliable, during the eight-month trial she was tortured to verify her evidence. As a final insult, though Tassi was convicted, he was never punished. The harrowing transcripts of Artemisias ordeal will be on public show for the first time.

The day after the verdict Artemisia married Orazios lawyers brother, a painter called Pierantonio Stiattesi. Orazio gave the couple half a dowry, promising the rest later. This caused money problems. The pair moved to Florence and lodged first with Stiattesis father. Here, Artemisia set up her studio.

During seven years in Florence a talented 19-year-old painter became a flamboyant, brilliant one. She painted for Duke Cosimo II de Medici and frequented his court. She also befriended the poet Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger, great-nephew of sculptor Michelangelo. He was building a house  now museum  to glorify his dead uncle.

In 1615 he commissioned her to paint a naked woman, The Allegory of Inclination, for a sumptuous gilded and coffered ceiling in this grand house with fine tiled floors and panelling, set round an open courtyard.



Artemisia was paid three times what the other painters got. Her luxurious life-size nude, a sky-blue drapery later prudishly added, is probably a self-portrait of the ambitious 22-year-old. It was an effective advertisement.

The Allegory of Inclination was commissioned for the grand Casa Buonarotti ceiling / Casa Buonarroti

In Florence, she began a lifelong affair with handsome nobleman Francesco Maringhi. Artemisias husband, a willing cuckold, boasted to Maringhi that princes and potentates visited Artemisias studio. Maringhi organised new lodgings for the couple and helped financially.

In 1620, Artemisia failed to produce some paintings Cosimo II had paid for and fled to Rome, to another apartment arranged by her lover. Cosimo angrily sequestered her household belongings, and his detailed inventory shows how she lived. Painting things of course  but also cauldrons, iron pots and tripods for cooking; wooden stools; tin plates for eating; iron oil lamps and candlesticks for lighting, and bed-warming pans.

The grander rooms enjoyed rich hangings, taffeta-trimmed turquoise and green blankets, gold and green leather hangings, gold and red columns, and walnut chests and stools. There were three bedsteads and 12 mattresses, suggesting they were used piled up, as seen in Artemisias masterpiece, blood-splattered Judith Beheading Holofernes (1613-14). She must have been furious to lose all that.

From Rome, she continued moving and working: to Venice, then Naples, where she would die around 1655  but not before spending two years in London at Charles Is invitation. She painted four paintings for him including self-portrait La Pittura (1638-9). She may have helped her father Orazio, whod moved to London, paint ceiling murals for The Queens House, which now grace Marlborough House.

What an incredible career.

ARTEMISIA is at the National Gallery from 3 October  24 January 2020. Visit nationalgallery.org.uk

House museum Casa Buonarroti: casabuonarroti.it
People exit a boat at Bhashan Char, the island where Bangladesh government officials plan to relocate thousands of Rohingya from refugee camps in and around Coxs Bazar, Oct. 15, 2018.

Updated at 12:15 p.m. ET on 2020-10-02

Rohingya refugees living on Bhashan Char said Bangladesh Navy personnel beat them with rubber sticks and tree branches last month when they protested their detention on the island, according to a Human Rights Watch statement on Thursday, drawing denials from government officials.

About 306 Rohingya who have been on the island since May began a hunger strike on Sept. 21, about two weeks after a group of Rohingya leaders from refugee camps in and around Coxs Bazar traveled to the island to judge its suitability for resettlement, HRW said.

Rohingya living on Bhashan Char confirmed the HRW report of mistreatment.

In a darkly ironic attempt to portray Bhashan Char as a safe location, Bangladesh authorities beat Rohingya refugees, including children, who were protesting their detention and begging to return to their families in Coxs Bazar, Brad Adams, Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

The real way to show Bhashan Char is secure and habitable would be to allow United Nations experts to conduct an independent assessment of the island and to ensure that any relocation there is voluntary.

Bangladesh authorities told BenarNews that they would decide whether to return the Bhashan Char refugees to the mainland after a second group of Rohingya are taken to visit the island to assess living conditions.

Meanwhile, Mostafa Mohammad Sazzad Hossain, spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told BenarNews that U.N. officials had learned about the alleged beatings from media reports.

The Bhashan Char visit should take place as soon as possible so that we can directly speak to the Rohingya refugees, he told BenarNews.

Bangladesh built facilities on Bhashan Char, a low-lying island in the Bay of Bengal, with the aim of relieving pressure on densely packed refugee camps in Coxs Bazar district, which house close to 1 million Rohingya who fled cycles of violence in Myanmar, where they are despised and stateless minority.

We were beaten

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media agency of the armed forces and the ministry of defense, called the HRW report unrealistic, untrue, confusing and a falsehood.

The Bangladesh Navy has been working to ensure a smooth life for the forcefully displaced people of Myanmar in Bhashan Char. Through coordination with other forces, the navy has been ensuring safety of these forcefully displaced people, the ISPR said.

Dipak Jyoti Khisha, additional superintendent of police in Noakhali district which oversees Bhashan Char, said the Rohingya on the island had been treated properly.

None of them were beaten, he told BenarNews.

Two young Rohingya living on Bhashan Char challenged the government officials, saying they were mistreated during their hunger strike.

Beginning Sept. 20, we did not take food for three consecutive days and demanded reintegration with our families in Coxs Bazar, Mahabubur Rahman, 19, told BenarNews. We were beaten when all the men, women and children went out of the building.

He said he had relatives at a refugee camp in Ukhia, a sub-district of Coxs Bazar.

Md Jobair, 20, said he and others living on the island were suffering.

We did not get any assurance even after staging a hunger strike for three days, he told BenarNews.

A.A. Mamun Chowdhury, the director of Bhashan Char development project, said staff on the island worked with the Rohingya.

On Sept. 21 and 22, they did not take food, but none of them got sick. They took food as we motivated them to end their hunger strike, he said.

He said a high-level meeting was held on Sept. 22 to discuss efforts to help the Rohingya return to the mainland, but reached no decision.

Abdur Rahman in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified A.A. Mamun Chowdhury and misreported details of the Sept. 22 meeting regarding returning Rohingya to the mainland.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 16:16:01|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has launched a national campaign to promote a savings culture in the country, its central bank said Friday.

The month-long campaign, under the motto "saving money is easy", aims to promote the financial literacy of citizens, raise awareness of the importance of savings, and cultivate the habit of saving money, the Bank of Mongolia said in a statement.

The annual campaign is an important part of the activities held in Mongolia to mark World Savings Day, which is celebrated every year on Oct. 31 across the world, according to the bank.

Within the framework of the campaign, many activities such as a children's painting competition, Tik Tok video contest, training sessions and meetings will be organized across the country by the central bank in cooperation with other relevant organizations.

Mongolia has been marking World Savings Day across the country since 2017. Enditem
Courtesy Oakland Zoo

A mountain lion cub is on the mend after being rescued from one of California's devastating wildfires.

The three-and-a-half pound animal was found Sunday by a firefighter in Shasta County amid California's Zogg Fire, the Oakland Zoo told CNN.

The cub was taken to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and later transferred to the Oakland Zoo.

Erin Harrison, a spokesperson for the zoo, said it was "a miracle" that the cub survived the fire.

The small brown-and-white animal is currently recovering from burn injuries. His whiskers were singed off and his paws were badly burned in the disaster.

RELATED: 'Baby Yoda' Kitten Rescued After Being Found Covered in Smoke and Ash from Calif. Wildfires

"We are so grateful for the Oakland Zoos expertise, world-class facilities, and willingness to step up  on extremely short notice  to help wildlife in need," said CDFWs senior wildlife veterinarian Dr. Deana Clifford in a press release.

"Partnerships like this are absolutely critical to our states efforts to provide emergency care," she added. "Californias wildfires are erupting on a scale that weve never seen before, and we expect that well have more burn patients than we have the capacity to treat in our own veterinary facility.

Wildlife biologist Pete Figura said the animal was "alert and feisty" during his trip bringing the cub to the zoo.

"That gave me hope that he would be okay," Figura said.

Courtesy Oakland Zoo

Courtesy Oakland Zoo

On Thursday, x-rays were taken to check the cub's lungs for any damage caused by smoke inhalation or if the animal had any broken bones.

Results from the x-rays showed that the cub was fine but had significant damage to the soft tissue of his paws as well as irritation in his eyes, CNN reported.

The cub is currently being treated with pain medication, antibiotics, and fluids. He is also being fed milk through a syringe.

Story continues

The Oakland Zoo is working with the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital to treat the animal's burn wounds.

"Were grateful to be part of this amazing little cubs rescue and rehabilitation. Its an amazing effort between Cal Fire, the Shasta County Sherriffs Department, and of course our partners at the California Department of Fish & Wildlife," Dr. Alex Herman, Director of Oakland Zoos Veterinary Hospital said in a release.

RELATED: Louisiana Veteran Reunited with Beloved Dog Lost During Hurricane Laura

"In the past two years, this marks our thirteenth mountain lion cub rescue for Oakland Zoo in partnership with CDFW," he added. "Were cautiously optimistic that this cub will now survive and thrive, our dedicated team at Oakland Zoo is fully committed to do everything we can for him and for his beautiful species.

According to Harrison, mountain lion cubs typically stay with their mothers for almost two years until they can hunt and survive by themselves.

However, since this cub is orphaned, he will not be released into the wild and will most likely be placed at an accredited zoo, Harrison added.

To help communities facing destructive wildfires in the Western U.S., consider donating to the following organizations:

 The American Red Cross allows donors to direct funds to support people impacted by the fires.

 GlobalGivings Wildfire Relief offers emergency funding to local efforts providing essentials to wildfire victims in need.

 GoFundMes California Wildfire Relief Fund aims to support a range of needs by issuing grants to individuals, organizations and communities that have either been impacted themselves or are dedicated to helping.

 The California Fire Foundation provides emotional and financial assistance to families of fallen firefighters, firefighters and the communities they protect.
TORONTO, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Namaste Technologies Inc. ("Namaste" or the "Company") (TSXV: N) (FRANKFURT: M5BQ) (OTCMKTS: NXTTF), a leading online platform for cannabis products, accessories, and responsible education, today announces the mutual termination of an agreement between CannMart Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, and IGNITE International Brands, Ltd. ("Ignite") to utilize certain Ignite trademarks on cannabis based products. CannMart will continue selling remaining Ignite inventory through provincial control boards and through its medical channel at Cannmart.com through to December 29, 2020 and will no longer act as distributor for Ignite in Canada. Ignite products, to the extent made available by licensed retailers in Saskatchewan, will also continue to be available on Cannmart.com via it's VendorLink platform.

"Our customers and partners are critical to the long-term success of our company, and we are on a mission to connect consumers with the solutions that fit into their lives," said Meni Morim, CEO of the Company. "It is also our belief that brand recognition will be a major driver of growth as the legal industry matures and transitions to consumer packaged goods (CPG). The cannabis landscape is continuously changing, and I'm excited about our future, innovative product portfolio that will continue to delight our consumers. We wish Ignite all the best in its future endeavours."

About Ignite

IGNITE is a global consumer brand, operating in the premium product segment of the market. Founded by Dan Bilzerian, the Company's 'quality-first' approach is fundamental to the brand and its products. Originally operating in the cannabis and hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) wellness space, IGNITE was able to establish its brand awareness. IGNITE product categories now include a full line of CBD oil tinctures, CBD topicals, CBD pet products and CBD vape devices, produced by various partners and sold through select distributors, brick and mortar retailers, and online through the Company's website, ignite.co. The IGNITE THC product line, which was launched subsequent to the CBD product line, incorporates quality, locally sourced, cannabis products.

Since the launching of its THC and CBD products, the Company has expanded into the beverage space, launching a full line of functional performance enhancing drinks. The IGNITE beverage line currently consists of PH-alkaline balanced water, a line of premium performance drinks, named Z-RO as well as a gluten-free, seven-time distilled vodka. IGNITE beverages will be distributed nationally within the United States and available to purchase on the IGNITE beverages website, IgniteBeverages.co.

IGNITE is a socially responsible company and is committed to using its marketing and brand power as a positive catalyst for a healthy lifestyle. The IGNITE management team believes that socially responsible oriented actions have a positive impact on the Company, its employees and its shareholders.

Shares of IGNITE are listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol "BILZ" and quoted in the United States on the OTCQX under the symbol "BILZF".

Further information on IGNITE can be found on the Company's website at ignite.co

About Namaste Technologies Inc.

Headquartered in Toronto, ON, Namaste Technologies is a leading online platform for cannabis products, accessories, and responsible education. The Company's 'everything cannabis store', CannMart.com, provides medical customers with a diverse selection of hand-picked products from a multitude of federally-licensed cultivators, all on one convenient site. The Company also distributes licensed and in-house branded cannabis and cannabis derived products to recreational consumers in Canada through a number of provincial government control boards and retailing bodies and online in Saskatchewan. Namaste's global technology and continuous innovation address local needs in a burgeoning cannabis industry requiring smart solutions.

Information on the Company and its many products can be accessed through the links below:

NamasteTechnologies.com

NamasteMD.com

Cannmart.com

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION  This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not historical in nature contain forward-looking information. Forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "expect", "likely", "should", "would", "plan", "anticipate", "intend", "potential", "proposed", "estimate", "believe" or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" happen, and are not limited to, statements regarding Namaste's expectations regarding its ability to connect consumers to cannabis related solution and its product portfolio delighting consumers. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this press release and is based on assumptions management believed to be reasonable at the time such statements were made, including the Company's expectations herein. While we consider these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to management, there is no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. By their nature, forward-looking information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, including known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this press release. Such factors include, without limitation those risk factors found in the Company's current MD&A and annual information form, both of which have been filed under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release or has in any way approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release.

SOURCE Namaste Technologies Inc.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she feels no sense of joy to see the industrial umpire side with her government by cutting public sector wage growth, as unions warn the decision marks a turning point for industrial relations in the state.

Thursday's ruling by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission to cut public sector wage growth to 0.3 per cent ended nine consecutive years of 2.5 per cent increases, and drew threats of potential industrial action.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she does not feel any joy over the IRC's wages decision. Credit:James Alcock

Ms Berejiklian, who in May moved to freeze wages of the more than 400,000 NSW public sector workers, said the IRC decision would allow her government to keep people employed.

"It's not really an issue of vindication, it doesn't give me pleasure not to be able to pass on wage increases," Ms Berejiklian said.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices extended losses on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus. Benchmark Brent crude slumped as much as 4.3 percent to $39.17 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures were down 4.5 percent at $36.98. In his tweet on Friday early morning, Trump said, 'Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!' He had tweeted Thursday night that he and Melania Trump were starting quarantine after Hope Hicks, one of his closest aides, tested positive for the infection. Trump, aged 74, is in the highest risk category for serious complications from the infection. Rising European Covid-19 cases and uncertainty over further stimulus in the U.S. also raised fears of prolonged economic slump and added to concerns about worsening demand. France's Minister of Health Olivier Veran on Thursday warned that the capital Paris may go on maximum virus alert from Monday to control the spread of the virus. In Germany, Spain and several other countries, authorities are focusing on reining in nightlife to curb a marked rebound in coronavirus infections that started in early July. The White House countered House Democrats' $2.2 trillion package with a $1.5 trillion-plus proposal but there are still major differences to be bridged in key areas. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. has been negotiating over a possible package with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, but those conversations haven't yet yielded a bipartisan agreement. 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.
Having recently unveiled the Lucid Air Dream Edition, production of which will start in Spring of 2021, that car takes center stage at the Beverly Hills Studio, with customers able to review options for the full Lucid Air lineup of luxury, high-performance EVs. This includes the Lucid Air Grand Touring, which starts at $131,500 (after $7,500 USA Federal Tax Credit) and the Lucid Air Touring, which starts at $87,500 (after $7,500 USA Federal Tax Credit). Customers will also be able to speak with Lucid representatives about the Lucid Air, a very well-equipped model available below $80,000, with reservations now being accepted. With the full Lucid Air lineup featuring available power levels up to 1080 hp, a quarter mile time as low as 9.9 seconds, as well as versions offering up to 517 miles of estimated EPA range on a single charge, Lucid Air is setting new standards for electric vehicle performance and efficiency.

With Lucid's unique direct-to-consumer model, the Beverly Hills Studio offers a digitally-oriented luxury experience tailored to each customer's purchase and ownership preferences, whether visiting in-person, making inquiries entirely online, or combining the two. By supporting every phase of the customer journey, from discovery to delivery and the moments in between, the Beverly Hills Studio enables customers to experience the brand and its products in a location that underscores its unique design aesthetic.

In experiencing the Lucid Air and touring a Lucid Studio, visitors will clearly see how the company draws inspiration from the beauty, innovation, and diversity of its home state of California. Interiors for both showcase the colors and material themes that represent specific locations within the Golden State.

"California has always been a leader in making bold decisions, and recent announcements around the phasing out of gas-powered cars has reinforced just how much the state embraces innovation, including EVs as a sustainable mobility alternative," said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Motors. "With this Southern California location as the first of many to come, now more people have the opportunity to engage in an entirely new EV car-buying journey that is as groundbreaking as the performance, efficiency, and design benchmarks set by the Lucid Air itself."

In-Studio Experience

Reflecting the needs of the evolving luxury buyer, the Beverly Hills Studio augments the physical experience of viewing a Lucid Air and options for colors, materials, and finishes with an elevated digital experience that complements the purchase process and extends into ownership. As part of the innovation, Lucid's Virtual Reality Experience combines the physical and virtual worlds with a vehicle interior model that enables customers to explore the Lucid Air inside and out. This is done via a 4K VR configurator that allows them to seamlessly finalize everything from interior finishes and materials to exterior color.

Virtual Experience

Digitally mirroring the luxury one-to-one Studio experience online, Lucid offers those customers who prefer to shop from the comfort of their home the "Lucid Studio Live," a cloud-based configuration solution powered by ZeroLight's Concierge product. From the comfort of their own homes, customers can interact with a car while a sales representative virtually guides them through key features and configuration options.

Future Studios & Service Centers

A part of Lucid's overarching retail strategy, the Beverly Hills Studio is just one of 20 Studios set to open throughout North America by the end of 2021. These locations include Miami, West Palm Beach, New York City, Boston, and the D.C. Metro area, with several additional locations planned in Northern and Southern California.

The Beverly Hills location also represents Lucid's first service center in Southern California, which will provide a physical location for service to area owners along with a mobile service option that will be able to complete simple maintenance requests from the convenience of their home or office.

Aligning with current Los Angeles COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, customers can book an appointment to visit the Los Angeles Studio or start exploring the Lucid Air through the "Design Yours" configurator .

About Lucid Motors

Lucid's mission is to inspire the adoption of sustainable transportation by creating the most captivating electric vehicles, centered around the human experience. The company's first car, the Lucid Air, is a state-of-the-art luxury sedan with a California-inspired design underpinned by race-proven technology. Featuring luxurious interior space in a mid-size exterior footprint, the Air will be capable of an estimated EPA range of over 500 miles and 0-60 mph in under 2.5 seconds. Customer deliveries of the Lucid Air, which will be produced at Lucid's new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, will begin in the spring of 2021.

Media Contact

Andrew Hussey

David Buchko

[email protected]

SOURCE Lucid Motors

Related Links

http://www.lucidmotors.com


U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (R) and his wife Karen Pence join Trump administration officials on stage after President Donald Trump delivered his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination on the South Lawn of the White House August 27, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence have tested negative for the coronavirus, Pence's spokesman said Friday, hours after President Donald Trump announced he and the first lady tested positive.

"Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery," Devin O'Malley, the vice president's press secretary, said in a tweet. "As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day."

The vice president is first in line to the presidency, followed by the speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, and Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

Trump's diagnosis a month before the Nov. 3 election has massive implications for the immediate future of the campaign, government and the economy.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is fourth in the line of succession, said Friday he tested negative. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is fifth in line, also tested negative, according to a tweet from his spokeswoman.

The president's daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner also tested negative, a spokeswoman said.

Pence is scheduled to participate in Wednesday's vice presidential debate with Sen. Kamala Harris, Democrat Joe Biden's running mate. Trump and Biden appeared on stage together, at a distance, on Tuesday night for their first presidential debate.

Trump, in a tweet sent after midnight, announced he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus and that they would begin a "quarantine and recovery process immediately."

Trump's physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a memo shared by White House officials that "The President and First Lady are both well at this time."

"Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruptions while recovering," Conley said.

On Thursday evening, media outlets reported that Hope Hicks, one of Trump's top aides, had tested positive. Hicks had tested positive Thursday morning, after she began showing symptoms Wednesday evening, NBC News reported. She had reportedly quarantined on Air Force One late Wednesday as the president flew back to Washington from a campaign event in Minnesota.
Myanmar & COVID-19 Myanmar Authorities Sue Karaoke Restaurant Bosses After COVID-19 Outbreak

Music Zone KTV / Kyo Tagoo Naing / Facebook

Yangon  The authorities in Yangons Thingangyun Township have opened a case against the owner and manager of a karaoke or KTV restaurant where more than 90 people caught COVID-19, making it the largest single cluster found in the city.

The head of the township health department filed a lawsuit under Article 25 of the Disaster Management Law against Music Zone KTVs owner U Zaw Min and the unnamed manager with the township police on Sept. 29, township administrator U Aung Htike told The Irrawaddy.

Two female staff at the venue tested positive for coronavirus in early September and 92 others tested positive later. All of them have recovered and been discharged from hospital, according to U Aung Htike.

The owner was allowed to operate after promising to reduce the number of tables from 100 to 30 in line with social distancing measures and to follow other COVID-19 guidelines. But when the authorities inspected, they found 119 staff were employed for the 30 tables, said U Maung Maung Oo, a Yangon regional MP representing Thingangyun.

There were rumors that the venue, which employs 75 male and 44 female staff, is owned by a retired government official, but the authorities refused to reveal details about the owner.

The infection cluster at Music Zone KTV accounted for one-third of the COVID-19 cases in Thingangyun Township at the time, which reported 656 cases on Friday morning, the second-highest in Yangon Region after Insein Township.

The Central Committee for COVID-19 Prevention, Control and Treatment announced on Aug. 15 that karaoke venues, bars and clubs must close in coronavirus hotspots. It has opened cases against violators under the Disaster Management Law.

Those found guilty face up to three years in prison.

The government has issued stay-at-home in Yangon, restricting movement between townships.

On Friday morning, Myanmar reported 14,383 COVID-19 cases, up from less than 400 cases in the second week of August. The death toll has increased from six to 321 in that period.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Myanmar Uses New Test Kits to Intensify COVID-19 Containment Strategy

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Snowden has said he would like to return to the United States, but only if he would be allowed to defend himself at trial by asserting his actions were in the public interest. That type of defense does not exist under U.S. law.
Researchers in Israel have suggested the use of regasification of liquefied natural gas to reduce the operating temperature of PV modules in solar parks located at gas terminals. According to them, the feasibility of such a cooling solution could be strengthened by the fact that both the PV systems and the LNG regasification systems are, separately, mature, economical technologies.A group of scientists from Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is proposing to cool down PV modules mounted in solar arrays located at large receiving gas terminals around the world with the cold temperatures ...

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.
President Donald Trump arrives at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md., Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, on Marine One helicopter after he tested positive for COVID-19. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is at second from left. Read more

BETHESDA, Md.  President Donald Trump went through a very concerning period Friday and the next 48 hours will be critical in his care as he battles the coronavirus at a hospital, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Saturday. Meadows' comments contradicted the rosy assessment of Trumps condition offered by his staff and doctors, who took pains not to reveal the president had received supplemental oxygen at the White House before his hospital admission.

Were still not on a clear path yet to a full recovery, said a weary Meadows.

It was a dramatically different picture than the one painted by the White House staff since Trump revealed his diagnosis as well as by his doctors, who updated the public at a press conference at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The briefing by Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley and other doctors raised more questions than it answered as Conley repeatedly refused to say whether the president ever needed supplemental oxygen, despite repeated questioning, and declined to discuss exactly when he fell ill. Conley also revealed that Trump began exhibiting clinical indications of COVID-19 on Thursday afternoon, earlier than previously known.

Thursday no oxygen. None at this moment. And yesterday with the team, while we were all here, he was not on oxygen, Conley said.

Trump tweeted Saturday afternoon, thanking the medical staff at Walter Reed.

But according to a person familiar with Trumps condition, Trump was administered oxygen at the White House on Friday before he was transported to the military hospital. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity,

According to a person familiar with Trumps condition, Trump was administered oxygen at the White House on Friday before he was transported to the military hospital. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity,

Conley said Trumps symptoms, including a cough and nasal congestion, are now resolving and improving, and said the president had been fever-free for 24 hours. But Trump also is taking aspirin, which lowers body temperature and could mask or mitigate that symptom.

Hes in exceptionally good spirits, said another doctor, Sean Dooley.

Trump is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide and killed more than 200,000 people in the U.S.

White House officials, including Meadows, had insisted Friday that Trump had only mild symptoms as they tried to project an image of normalcy.

President Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms and has been working throughout the day, said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. She said Trump had only been sent to Walter Reed as a precaution.

Trumps administration has been less than transparent with the public throughout the pandemic, both about the presidents health and the virus' spread inside the White House. The first word that a close aide to Trump had been infected came from the media, not the White House. And aides have repeatedly declined to share basic health information, including a full accounting of the presidents symptoms, what tests hes undertaken and the results.

 READ MORE: Trump gets experimental drug aimed at curbing severe illness

In a memo released late Friday, Conley did report that Trump had been treated at the hospital with remdesivir, an antiviral medication, after taking another experimental drug at the White House. He added that Trump is doing very well and is not requiring any supplemental oxygen.

Conley declined to say when Trump had last been tested before he was confirmed to have COVID-19 late Thursday. He initially suggested that Trump was 72 hours into the diagnosis, putting the confirmation of the infection to Wednesday. Conley later clarified that Trump was administered an accurate test for the virus on Thursday afternoon, after White House aide Hope Hicks was confirmed to be positive and Trump exhibited unspecified clinical indications of the virus.

The White House said Trump was expected to stay at the hospital for a few days and he would continue to work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to keep up his official duties. In addition to accessibility to tests and equipment, the decision was made, at least in part, with the understanding that moving him to the hospital later, if he took a turn for the worse, could send a worrying signal.

On Saturday, Conley said Trumps blood oxygen level is 96%, which is in the normal range. The two experimental drugs he has received, given through an IV, have shown some promise against COVID-19. On Friday, he was given a single dose of a drug Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. is testing to supply antibodies to help his immune system fight the virus.

Friday night, he began a five-day course of remdesivir, a Gilead Sciences drug currently used for moderately and severely ill patients. The drugs work in different ways -- the antibodies help the immune system rid the body of virus and remdesivir curbs the virus' ability to multiply.

Were maximizing all aspects of his care, attacking the virus in multiple ways, Conley said. I didnt want to hold anything back if there was any possibility it would add value to his care.

Tracing the timeline

As the White House works to piece together the flurry of new infections, attention is focused in particular on last Saturdays White House event introducing Trumps Supreme Court nominee. That day, Trump gathered more than 150 people in the Rose Garden. People mingled, hugged and shook hands  overwhelmingly without masks. There were also several indoor receptions, where Trumps Supreme Court pick, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, her family, senators and others mingling in the close quarters of the White House, photographs show.

Among those who attended who have now tested positive: former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, the president of the University of Notre Dame, and at least two Republican lawmakers  Utah Sen. Mike Lee and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis.

The decision for the president to leave the White House for the hospital capped a day of whipsaw events in Washington Friday. The president, who has spent months playing down the threat of the virus, was forced to cancel all campaign events a month before the election as he fought a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and is hitting others in his orbit as well.

Trump walked out of the White House on Friday evening wearing a mask and gave a thumbs-up to reporters but did not speak before boarding Marine One. Members of the aircrew, Secret Service agents and White House staff wore face coverings to protect themselves from the president onboard the helicopter.

In a video taped before leaving for Walter Reed, Trump said, I think Im doing very well, but were going to make sure that things work out. He remained fully president, all authority intact.

Going welI, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!! he wrote in his first tweet from the hospital Friday night.

Trump first revealed that he had tested positive in a tweet about 1 a.m. Friday  hours after he returned from a Thursday afternoon political fundraiser. He had gone ahead to the event, saying nothing to the crowd though knowing he had been exposed to an aide with the disease that has infected millions in America and killed more than 1 million people worldwide.

First lady Melania Trump also tested positive and has said she has mild symptoms. She is believed to be isolating at the White House.

Also testing positive: Trumps campaign manager, Bill Stepien. Campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said Stepien received a diagnosis Friday and is experiencing mild flu-like symptoms. Stepien, who joined Trump at Tuesdays first presidential debate, plans to quarantine until he recovers. On Saturday, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin became the third Senate Republican to publicly confirm testing positive in the current spate of infections, although Johnson was not at last weeks Rose Garden event.

Trumps diagnosis came during an already turbulent period in Washington and around the world, with the U.S. gripped in a heated presidential election and the pandemic taking a heavy human and economic toll. Trumps immediate campaign events were all canceled, and his next debate with Democrat Joe Biden, scheduled for Oct. 15, is now in question.

 READ MORE: Trumps virus hospitalization rocks final stage of campaign

Trump has been trying all year  and as recently as Wednesday  to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is past, and he has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable. He has mostly refused to abide by basic public health guidelines  including those issued by his own administration  such as wearing face coverings in public and practicing social distancing. Until he tested positive, he continued to hold campaign rallies that drew thousands of often maskless supporters.

I felt no vulnerability whatsoever, he told reporters back in May. With the election coming up in a month, he is urging states and cities to reopen and reduce or eliminate shutdown rules despite continuing virus outbreaks.

The White House tried to maintain an atmosphere of business-as-usual on Friday.

President Trump remains in good spirts, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day, said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered

The presidents physician said in a memo that Trump received a dose of an experimental antibody combination by Regeneron that is in clinical trials. Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley said Trump remains fatigued but in good spirits and that a team of experts was evaluating both the president and first lady in regard to next steps.

Late Friday, Conley issued an update that said Trump is doing very well and is not requiring any supplemental oxygen. But he said that, in consultation with specialists we have elected to initiate remdesivir therapy, an antiviral medication.

He has completed his first dose and is resting comfortably, the doctor wrote.

The first lady, who is 50, has a mild cough and headache, Conley reported, and the remainder of the first family, including the Trumps' son Barron, who lives at the White House, tested negative.

Both Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have tested negative, their campaign said. Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus Friday morning and remains in good health, his spokesman said. Pence was to resume his campaign schedule after his test.

Barrett, who was with Trump and many others on Saturday and has been on a Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, also tested negative, the White House said. It was confirmed that she had a mild case of COVID earlier this year and has now recovered.

Many White House and senior administration officials were undergoing tests,, but the full scale of the outbreak around the president may not be known for some time as it can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test. Officials with the White House Medical Unit were tracing the presidents contacts.

Trumps handling of the pandemic has already been a flashpoint in his race against Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware, citing concern about the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday nights debate.

I dont wear masks like him, Trump said. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

In a tweet Friday morning, Biden said he and his wife send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

World leaders offered the president and first family their best wishes after their diagnosis, and governments used the case as a reminder for their citizens to wear masks and practice social distancing measures.

 READ MORE: Hope Hicks tests positive for the coronavirus

Very early Friday, after returning from the Thursday afternoon New Jersey fundraiser, Trump stunningly tweeted, Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Hours earlier, the White House confirmed that a top aide who had traveled with him during the week had tested positive.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday confirmed that the White House knew Hope Hicks, the aide, had tested positive before Trump attended the fundraiser.

I can tell you in terms of Hope Hicks, we discovered that right as Marine One was taking off yesterday, said Meadows. Several staffers were pulled from the trip, but Trump did not cancel and there was no direct evidence that her illness was connected to his.

Multiple White House staffers have previously tested positive for the virus, including Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert OBrien and one of the presidents personal valets. An RNC official confirmed Friday that Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel learned she had tested positive Wednesday afternoon. She has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday and did not attend the debate.

It is unclear where the Trumps or Hicks caught the virus, but in a Fox interview, Trump seemed to suggest it may have been spread by someone in the military or law enforcement in greetings.

The White House began instituting a daily testing regimen for the presidents senior aides after earlier positive cases close to the president. Anyone in close proximity to the president or vice president is also tested every day, including reporters.

Trump is far from the first world leader to test positive for the virus, which previously infected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was hospitalized last month while fighting what he called a hellish case of COVID-19.
Ailish is extremely worried for her brother after the recent news

Deciding to place a family member in residential care is never an easy decision. From feeling guilty, worried and sometimes relieved- its an emotional roller-coaster.

However, what most families dont expect is for their loved-ones to settle in great to then be told it could all be changing.

Unfortunately, this is now the reality for the families of over 8,000 children, adolescents and adults that attend St John of God Community Services.

Providing intellectual disability and mental health services all over the country, St John of God announced on Thursday that itll be handing over all its services to the Health Services Executive (HSE) over the next 12 months due to a funding crisis.

Due to this news, Ailish Geoghegan is terrified that something could happen to where her brother Eamonn Geoghegan (59) lives and calls home.

I am very worried and Ive been worried for quite some time. We know Eamonn has a very happy life, its his home, she explained to Independent.ie.

Expand Close Eamonn is a full-time resident of St Raphaels service in Kildare / Facebook

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Whatsapp Eamonn is a full-time resident of St Raphaels service in Kildare

Eamonn has an intellectual disability, has few verbal skills and a few years ago started using a wheelchair due to a regress in his mobility.

From Lucan, Co Dublin, Eamonn first attended St Raphael's school in Celbridge, Co Kildare, which is a St John of God service, when he was eight-years-old.

He then became a full-time resident of St Raphaels in 2003, at age 42. Here, Eamonn has made friends which he considers his family, and Ailish is terrified that with the handover to the HSE all of this could change.

My worst-case scenario is that the HSE could come in and say this isnt a viable option (for Eamonn) anymore. Where do we have another place where we can put people like Eamonn and his friends?

Obviously, I would fight that, me and my brother would. But like, were only two people were not going to have much clout.

But, mainly I feel that would break Eamonn's heart because it has been his home and it is his home. These are his friends, well they are like his family. They all look out for one another and theres a real kindness there to one another.

Also we have excellent staff in St Raphaels that they have built up great relationships with.

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Ailish said that some parents of the residents are in their 70s and 80s and are in a great deal of stress by not knowing what is to come, explaining that when you enroll someone into residential care it is expected that they are sorted for life.

They should be able to sit back and relax a little bit and feel that theyve taken care of their child and now they will be looked after. It is awful, she added.

With a current deficit of 37.7million, according to CEO of St John of God services Clare Dempsey, Ailish worries that the tight budget it was running off will become even tighter.

St Raphaels was already running on a shoestring, so is it going to become an even tighter shoestring, she said.

Will there be even less? I know its like all the charities and I know the country is in a bad situation financially but I kind of feel that people like Eamonn and the lads should be a number one priority.

Sinn Fein spokesperson on Mental Health Mark Ward raised the issue in the Dail on Friday and called on the government to formulate a plan for the 8,000 children and adults impacted.

Speaking about the handover, he said: The retention of staff is pivotal for the ongoing operation of the service. Staff needs assurances that their jobs are safe and there will be no reduction in terms and conditions of their employment.

St John of God also provides a community-based adult mental health service in addition to providing child and adolescent mental health services. At a time when mental health services are inundated with demands on their services, it is vital that these are retained and enhanced.

Ailish said she worries there wont be the same friendly atmosphere in St Raphaels when the HSE take over.

Even though the brothers arent there anymore, if I had a problem or issue I would get onto them and they would help, but I cant see that happening with the HSE.

I know we say we cherish all our children equally in this country but I dont think so. Its a case and point now that this is being pushed over and its really worrying.

Families are up the walls. Theyve no idea whats coming. Its quite scary really.

A spokesperson for the HSE told Independent.ie: "The HSE confirms that St John of God Community Services clg. has made known its intention to give 12 months' notice with a view to transferring responsibility for operating services, currently funded by the HSE, in respect of both disability and mental health supports to the state.

"In the first instance, it is of critical importance to reassure service users, families and the public that these vital supports and services will continue to be provided without disruption.

"The HSE values the services provided by SJOGCS clg as a significant funded support provider. Importantly, the HSE will continue to work positively with SJOGCS clg in order to resolve the sustainability challenges that have been raised."
WASHINGTON  Vice President Mike Pence plans to continue campaigning, after his doctor determined Friday that he does not meet federal quarantine guidelines despite some interaction with President Donald Trump this week.

It's not clear how much contact Pence has had with Trump, who announced early Friday that he and his wife had tested positive.

But in a campaign appearance Tuesday night, Pence told supporters he'd seen first-hand Trump's preparedness for that night's debate.

"I can tell you I left the president earlier today in the Oval Office and hes ready," Pence said.

He had also joined the president for Rose Garden events on Monday and Saturday. Sunday, both the president and vice president attended a White House reception for family members of fallen service members.

Despite that, Pence's physician said he didn't meet the quarantine guidelines.

Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, told USA TODAY he would need more details about the extent of Pence's contact with Trump to assess whether he agrees with Pence's physician.

"It's hard to know that unless you have first-hand knowledge," he said.

The key period is the 24 hours before Trump developed symptoms.

Regardless of health guidelines, Pence should cancel campaign trips or transform them to remote events to protect the line of succession, said John Hudak, deputy director of the Brooking Center for Effective Public Management and a senior fellow in Governance Studies.

The vice presidents health right now is just as critically important as the presidents health is, Hudak said Friday. And keeping him wellensuring that he continues to test negative for COVID, is in the national security interests of the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends a 14-day quarantine for those who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19. Close contact includes being within six feet for at least 15 minutes.

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Pence's spokesman declined to comment.

But the Trump campaign announced Friday afternoon that Pence "plans on resuming his scheduled campaign events."

Trump's COVID test: Here's what Trump's diagnosis means for the 2020 election campaign

Shortly after, Pence's office released a statement from his physician saying he does not need to quarantine.

"Under the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Vice President is not considered a close contact with any individuals who have tested positive for COVID, including President Donald J. Trump," Dr. Jesse T. Schonau said in a statement. "Vice President Mike Pence remains in good health and is free to go about his normal activities."

Pence, who is screened daily for the virus, tested negative Friday morning as did his wife.

Pence is scheduled to debate Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Oct. 7 in Utah.

Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign, said their side is open to putting more distance between the candidates.

"This is a seated debate, so its just a matter of moving farther apart at the table," he said in a statement.

Politico reported that the Biden campaign wants the candidates to stand and to be at least 12 feet apart. A Harris spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

The nonpartisan debate commission also has not commented on potential changes.

A spokesman for the University of Utah, which is hosting the debate, deferred to the commission for comment specific to their protocols."

"On behalf of the University of Utah, I can report that we remain ready to host a successful and safe Vice Presidential Debate in partnership with the Commission on Presidential Debates," said spokesman Chris Nelson.

Trump's previously announced campaign events are being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed, according to a statement from campaign manager Bill Stepien.

Trump announced via Twitter very early Friday that he and his wife tested positive and were quarantining.

Hours later, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Trump was "feeling mild symptoms" but was "energetic."

The White House had disclosed Thursday that Hope Hicks, one of the president's longest-serving aides who traveled with Trump to a Minnesota rally this week, tested positive.

Katie Miller, Pences communications director, had COVID-19 in May.

Pence, 61, is head of the administration's coronavirus task force.

Olivia Troye, who departed the White House in August after serving as a coronavirus adviser to the vice president, has condemned Trumps handling of the pandemic  including his dismissal of the importance of wearing masks.

Even in the West Wing, it was sort of you were looked down upon when you would walk by with a mask, Troye, who has endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, said on NPR Wednesday. And I just think that that is incredibly dangerous when that is the No. 1, you know, tool in the tool-kit that we have. It was appalling.

Audrey Pence, Second Lady Karen Pence, US Vice President Mike Pence and Charlotte Pence Bond stand on stage at the end of the third night of the Republican National Convention at Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Maryland, August 26, 2020.

Pence did not attend the presidential debate Tuesday. When Trump was in Minnesota Wednesday, Pence was in Atlanta. He traveled to Iowa Thursday for a campaign rally and to speak to crowd of Christian conservatives at an event hosted by the Family Leader Foundation.

Attendees sat clustered at tables of about 10 in the large conference hall at a Des Moines convention center. Few wore masks.

Pence touted the administration's response to the pandemic, saying the nation has demonstrated "that we can slow the spread."

"We're going to continue to protect the vulnerable, continue to save lives," Pence said. " And we're opening up America again."

More: Vice President Mike Pence vows in Iowa: 'We're going to fill that seat' on Supreme Court

After Trump tested positive, Pence tweeted that he and his wife were sending "our love and prayers to our dear friends."

"We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery," Pence tweeted. "God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania."

Pence had no public events on his schedule Friday. He filled in for Trump on an afternoon call with governors, according to The New York Times.

As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day. This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.  Devin OMalley (@VPPressSec) October 2, 2020

More: Trump, Melania test positive for coronavirus, president vows to begin quarantine 'immediately'

More: President Donald Trump's coronavirus test result could alter his reelection campaign, undercut pandemic messaging

More: President Trump has tested positive for COVID-19. What's the typical course of the illness?

If he gets sick enough, Trump, 74, might need to at some point at least temporarily turn over his authority to Pence.

If Trump decides to temporarily cede power and duties to Pence it will be only the fourth time that step has been taken since the 25th Amendment was ratified in 1967 to create a legal mechanism for designating a head of state when the president is disabled or dead.

It was used briefly when Ronald Reagan underwent surgery in 1985 and similarly when George W. Bush was under anesthesia in 2002 and 2007.

The amendment both set up a process for the president to voluntarily relinquish duties and created a method  which has never been used  for powers to be taken away when others believe the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

If Trump himself decides he must temporarily step aside, he must notify in writing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley who, as the Senate's most senior Republican, is the president pro tempore of the Senate.

Pence would then be in charge until Trump notifies Pelosi and Grassley that he is resuming his duties.

If Trump believes he can still do his job but Pence and a majority of the Cabinet disagree, a transfer of power to Pence would require the backing of two-thirds of both the House and the Senate. Lawmakers could also designate through legislation an alternative group  other than the Cabinet  that the vice president could work with to declare Trump unable to serve.

In an extreme circumstance, if the president were to die from the virus, Pence is first in line to succeed him.

Pelosi, 80, is second. The speaker tested negative for COVID-19 Friday.

Grassley, 87, is third in line. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 56, is fourth.

The 25th Amendment was first used for a temporary disability when Reagan underwent surgery at Bethesda Naval Medical Center to remove a cancerous polyp in his large intestine in 1985. After the anesthesia wore off, his chief of staff and counsel asked if he felt well enough to resume his authority. He said he did and congressional leaders were notified, even though Reagan had said he didn't think his situation was the kind the authors intended when creating the amendment.

Nevertheless, it was used twice again to temporarily transfer authority to the vice president when Bush underwent routine colonoscopies.

During Vice President Dick Cheney's two hours as acting president in 2007, he wrote a letter to his grandchildren as a souvenir for them.

Contributing: John Fritze and Brianne Pfannenstiel

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vice President Mike Pence and his wife test negative for COVID-19
Judd Deere, a spokesman for the White House, did not immediately respond to a question about Judge Barretts views on I.V.F. but pointed to statements she had made about her commitment to the rule of law.

As Judge Barrett said on the day she was nominated, Mr. Deere wrote in an email Friday, A judge must apply the law as written. Judges are not policymakers, and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy views they might hold.

The 2006 newspaper ad, which had hundreds of signatories including Judge Barrett, did not mention in vitro fertilization. It said that the signatories would defend the right to life from fertilization to natural death.

In her letter, Ms. Duckworth wrote that St. Joseph County Right to Life is an organization whose views are considered radical even within the larger anti-choice movement, in part due to its stated belief that a critical step of the in vitro fertilization process that gave me my children is equivalent to manslaughter.

Jackie Appleman, the executive director of the group, which is now called Right to Life Michiana, declined to comment when reached by phone on Friday. On Thursday, The Guardian reported Ms. Appleman as saying that she opposed the discarding of embryos during the in vitro fertilization process and likened it to abortion.
The normalization with Israel, desired by the United States before next November, the date of the presidential election, is not materializing in Sudan. Neither the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Khartoum last August, nor last weeks discussions in Abu Dhabi with U.S. officials have proven fruitful.

The Sudanese authorities say they are under strong Saudi and Emirati pressure to accept normalization with Israel, but Khartoum resists, and opposes its reasons. Sudan did not get the urgently requested $2 billion in aid to save the country from economic collapse. The talks have therefore been put on hold.

The provisional government of Abdallah Hamdok prefers to play for time. Not having been elected, it cannot cope with the popular protest against normalization with Israel. I am not mandated by the people to make such an important decision, the Sudanese Prime Minister told Mike Pompeo as early as August.

The Sudanese government also feels that it is faced with a fait accompli. The desired normalization with Israel was not one of the conditions demanded of Sudan to remove its name from the blacklist. It was added once Khartoum accepted all the American demands, such as political reforms and compensation of several million dollars for the victims of the attacks in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998, as well as that of the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen in 2000.

If the Sudanese Sovereign Council appears divided on the question, and the military within this Council seems to be favorable to Israel, the most important political formations reject this normalization. Sadek al-Mahdi, the leader of the Umma party, has indicated that he rejects this submission and this injustice which has nothing to do with peace.

The countrys highest religious authority has forbidden in a fatwa the standardization with Tel Aviv. Only three small formations are in favour of it, including the minor branch led by Fadel al Mahdi of the Ummah party.
Julio Cortez/AP

WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, the president tweeted early Friday.

Trump's positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week. Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 200,000 people nationwide.

"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!" Trump tweeted.

Trump announced late Thursday that he and first lady Melania Trump were beginning a "quarantine process" after Hicks came down with the virus, though it wasn't clear what that entailed. It can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test.

The diagnosis marks a major blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them even as cases continue to rise with four weeks before Election Day. And it stands as the most serious known public health scare encountered by any sitting American president in recent history.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most people develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday, Trump said he was awaiting results of a COVID-19 test. "Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know," he said, adding that first lady Melania Trump was also awaiting results.

Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland.

Trump had consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened.

"I felt no vulnerability whatsoever," he said told reporters back in May.

He has instead encouraged governors to reopen their states and tried to focus the nation's attention on efforts to revive the economy  not a growing death toll  as he seeks another four-year term.

Some studies suggest COVID-19 patients who are obese may be at higher risk of being seriously sickened by the virus, although it's unclear whether that's because they are more likely to have other health conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. In his 2019 physical, Trump met the technical threshold for obesity.

The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen while avoiding further spikes. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen.

Trump, the vice president and other senior staff have been tested for COVID-19 daily since two people who work at the White House complex tested positive in early May, prompting the White House to step up precautions. Everyone who comes into contact with the president also receives a quick-result test.

Yet since the early days of the pandemic, experts have questioned the health and safety protocols at the White House and asked why more wasn't being done to protect the commander in chief. Trump continued to shake hands with visitors long after public health officials were warning against it and he initially resisted being tested. He has been reluctant to practice his own administration's social distancing guidelines for fear of looking weak, including refusing under almost all circumstances to wear a mask in public.

Trump is not the only major world leader known to have contracted the virus. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care, where he was given oxygen and watched around the clock by medical workers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel self-isolated after a doctor who gave her a vaccination tested positive for the virus, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau worked from home after his wife fell ill.

The White House got its first COVID-19 scare in early March when at least three people who later tested positive came in close proximity to the president at his private Florida club. That included members of the Brazilian president's delegation, including the Brazilian charge d'affaires, who sat at Trump's dinner table.

In mid-March, as the virus continued to spread across the country, the White House began taking the temperature of everyone entering the White House complex, and in April, it began administering rapid COVID-19 tests to all those in close proximity to the president, with staffers being tested about once a week. The frequent tests gave some staff the false impression the complex was safe from the virus, and few, as a result, followed recommended safety protocols, including wearing masks.

But then the bubble broke.

On May 7, the White House announced that a member of the military serving as one of the president's personal valets tested positive for the virus, followed a day later by a positive diagnosis for Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary.

Even then, Trump said he was "not worried" about the virus spreading in the White House. But officials again stepped up safety protocols for the complex, directing everyone entering the West Wing to wear a mask.

"I think it's very well contained, actually," Trump told reporters on May 11.

But by June, concerns at the White House had dissipated once again, with few staffers bothering with masks even as more and more people tested positive for the virus, including campaign staffers preparing for a Tulsa rally and Secret Service agents.

On July 3rd, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is dating Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tested positive in South Dakota before an Independence Day fireworks show at Mount Rushmore. Guilfoyle, a former Fox News personality who works for Trump's campaign, had not flown on Air Force One and had not been in direct contact with the president, though she had had contact with numerous top GOP officials.

In July, Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, tested positive.

While there is currently no evidence that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test also raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness. The Constitution's 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves "unable to discharge the powers and duties" of the presidency. If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted "a written declaration to the contrary."

The vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law, can also declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would "immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President" until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.

___

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
We may not be able to go down into the flood; we may not be trained or fitted for work in a foreign land or in the billows of a great city of our own country. But may we not all at least hold the line for some brave swimmer, and cheer him in his struggle with the waves?
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Linkedin Mardika Parama (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 14:10 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48b51e7 1 Business PUPR,investment,PPP,infrastructure-development,bridge,toll-road Free

The Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Ministry is proposing a set of infrastructure projects worth Rp 21.7 trillion (US$1.46 billion) for private investors through a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme during a market sounding event on Wednesday.

The proposed infrastructure projects include the Gilimanuk-Mengwi toll road project in the tourism hub of Bali, worth Rp 19.35 trillion, and bridge replacement and or duplication across Java Island with a total investment of Rp 2.35 trillion. Most of the bridges are of the Callender-Hamilton truss type.

Through the PPP scheme, the government can offer [investors] various facilities, including viability gap funding, feasibility support and the state infrastructure guarantee [] to expedite Indonesias infrastructure development, PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Gilimanuk-Mengwi toll road stretches 95.5 kilometers in the northern and western part of the island and is constructed to boost tourism in the northern region. The toll road, part of the trans-Java-Bali development, will connect the high traffic route from Gilimanuk Port to the island capital of Denpasar and its surrounding cities, known as the Sarbagita Metropolitan region.

The return on investment for the Gilimanuk-Mengwi toll road, on a 45-year concession, will be determined through a user-based payment scheme. Such scheme means that the return is based on the usage and demand for the service provided. Construction is slated to begin in 2021 and the toll road is to be fully operational by 2024.

The Finance Ministry has previously encouraged infrastructure financing to be sourced from alternative funding schemes, including PPP, as the state and regional budget would be geared toward accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic

The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) has estimated that the country will need $429.7 billion in infrastructure investment, equal to 6.1 percent of its annual GDP, between 2020 and 2024. However, the government might only be able to finance 30 percent of the projects using the state budget.

While the government is still committed to develop infrastructure as one of the priority sectors and has allocated Rp 413.8 trillion for infrastructure development in the recently passed 2021 state budget, that is down from Rp 423.3 trillion in the 2020 state budget.

Read also: Govt, House pass Indonesias 2021 state budget: What you need to know

In addition to the toll road project in Bali, the public works ministry also proposed a PPP investment scheme for the replacement and or duplication of 38 Callender-Hamilton bridges across Java with a combined length of 3,000 meters.

The bridges renewal will adopt an availability payment investment scheme with a concession period of 12 years. Construction on the bridges will begin next year, and they are to be fully operational by 2023.

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Bahlil Lahadalia in a statement congratulated the PUPR Ministry for the market sounding and expressed hope that the projects could help Indonesias economic recovery.

The BKPM congratulates the ministry for moving fast in proposing infrastructure projects despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which will help propel our economic growth and create new jobs, he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne have discussed security cooperation and the coordination of actions before the next stage of talks with Iran on compensation for the downing of flight PS752, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's press service has reported.

"The sides noted the exemplary cooperation between Ukraine and Canada in the field of security. Dmytro Kuleba expressed gratitude for the active participation of Canadian servicemen in Operation Unifier and the important contribution of the Canadian Armed Forces to strengthening the security of our state in cooperation with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Francois-Philippe Champagne said the Canadian government had made the decision to allocate an additional 4.3 million Canadian dollars to support Ukraine's security and defense sector," the report reads.

Kuleba said the formation of a Ukrainian delegation for negotiations on expanding the free trade agreement between Ukraine and Canada was in its final stage.

"The parties paid attention to deepening economic cooperation and continuing the dialogue on visa liberalization. The interlocutors discussed the further implementation of reforms aimed at developing the Ukrainian economy and Ukraine's integration into the EU and NATO," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

According to the report, a particularly important topic of the conversation was the further coordination of actions before the next stage of negotiations with Iran on compensation for the downing of flight PS752.

The foreign ministers also exchanged views on the situation in Belarus.

Champagne expressed his condolences to Kuleba and to the loved ones and friends of those killed in the tragic crash of the An-26 military aircraft in the Kharkiv region.

op
I am acutely aware in this age of civil unrest that police-involved shootings are viewed under a microscope, as they very well should be," Foxx said. "The death of Jemel Roberson is tragically heartbreaking, and while it might feel to some people like justice was not served here, I have both an ethical and legal obligation to make charging decisions based on the law and the evidence.
Friday Night Movie Club Spend an evening with Vulture, every Friday at 7 p.m. ET on Twitter. Making a grand entrance in The Ring Photo: DreamWork Productions

Every week for the foreseeable future, Vulture will be selecting one film to watch as part of our Friday Night Movie Club. This weeks selection  the first in a special, monthlong celebration of horror  comes from film critic Alison Willmore, who will begin her screening of Gore Verbinskis 2002 remake of The Ring on October 2 at 7 p.m. ET. Head to Vultures Twitter to catch her live commentary, and look ahead at next weeks movie here.

The Ring is a haunted-house movie in which the house itself has become almost incidental. The one in the movie is actually a pain in the ass to find, tucked away on an island off the Washington coast, where it sits in the shadow of a lighthouse whose beam bathes the windows in intermittent brightness. When reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) does eventually reach it, following the trail of clues included in the mysterious VHS tape whose curse shes under, shes barely let in the door by its solitary resident  Richard Morgan (Brian Cox), who seems to spend his days doing chores on behalf of horses whove long since died. She has to come back under cover of darkness and sneak in to find evidence of the trauma thats inevitably at the center of these movies.

Theres always trauma, and in The Ring, it involves a little girl with psychic powers, and the adoptive parents who slowly shattered under the strain of dealing with these abilities and locked her away, in more ways than one. The house this family once shared, with its warren of shadowy interiors and sagging porch, is creepy. The barn out back, with a hayloft that was transformed into a juvenile oubliette, is even creepier. But Rachel didnt actually need to travel all the way out there to understand that. The details were all right there on the tape she watched  the ladder leaned against the wall, the lone chair, the horses, the oval mirror on the wall, the man at the window, all making a domestic-nightmare fragment into an evocative collage of Bunuel-esque imagery. The trick of The Ring is that you dont need to go into the haunted house to get menaced. Watch the tape, give it seven days, and the haunting will come to you.

Hideo Nakatas 1998 movie, Ringu, is one of the high points of the Japanese horror wave of the 90s and 00s, and Im one of the philistines who prefers the U.S. version anyway. Gore Verbinskis 2002 film is arguably the only non-terrible entry in the dismal list of Hollywood remakes of J-horror hits, in part because it puts some actual consideration into localizing and translating the original films concept into the context of the gloomy American Northwest. But Verbinskis version, while glossier and more expensive, also trimmed down the number of psychic characters and a whole backstory involving a character who was falsely decried as a fraud. Whats left is a leaner, cleaner movie about a woman who thinks shes playing by the rules of one kind of horror movie  the kind where a ghost wants closure and can be laid to rest  only to find out, too late, that shes part of another narrative entirely.

The Ring is a total failure as a technophobic movie, though I dont think it ever set out to be one in the first place. VHS was already well on its way out when The Ring premiered in theaters. Landlines, the other key aspect of the curses process, werent quite there yet, but the idea of their eventual outdatedness was on the horizon, something that could be seen coming. Theres a scene midway through the film in which Rachel, who lives with her son, Aidan (David Dorfman), in a glassy high-rise, looks at the neighboring tower from her terrace and sees living room after living room of residents with their televisions. But its not a shot that feels intended to be scoldy  parenting is much more the movies central concern, and its big fake-out, than screen time or modern disconnection. Rather, as Rachel looks into all those little dioramas of apartments, with all their devices, what shes looking at are vulnerabilities  at ways in.

Which is the idea that still makes The Ring scary, long after the technology around which it revolves has passed from use. Its the idea that theres actually no distance between that sleek condo tower and the remote island ranch house, or between the suburban home in which the film starts and the rundown mountain cabin where the curse has its origins. Samara (Daveigh Chase), the malevolent ghost, can move between them seamlessly  can come right through the screen, bringing all her rage and all the wrongs that were done to her along with her. In a haunted-house movie, theres always the possibility, however difficult, that you could escape, walk out the door and away from whatever terrible thing is trapped in the key location. In The Ring, bright modern spaces become just as frightening as moody shacks in the woods built on top of murder sights. Theres no getting out of the haunted house when you bring the haunted house with you wherever you go.

The Ring is available to rent on YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, Prime Video, and iTunes.
The first official declared candidate for trustee in the Prince Albert Catholic Division was current board chair Suzanne Stubbs. Stubbs has been on the board in some capacity for the past 11 years and considers herself an advocate for Catholic education in the province. Right now I want to advocate for our division, for our students and for our teachers, Stubbs said.

An accomplishment for Stubbs and the current board is the level of student achievement in the division.

We want to continue the great work. At this point our numbers are beating the provincial numbers, Stubbs said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a test in the division and Stubbs wants to continue with what the division has been able to accomplish.

Another thing that we continue to advocate for and I want to continue advocating for is the funding for our division. We say it is a live document, things are always changing. One day it says one thing but tomorrow can be an opposite to what you were given, Stubbs said.

Each year has offered a challenge since she joined the board. Stubbs previously served as vice chair the four years prior to her selection.

I thought we would have maybe one year, or a couple of years (with challenges), but every year we have had some type of a challenge that we had to overcome and we have done it. So and again with this COVID-19 it is a big challenge. Hopefully with re-election I can continue to support our administration and our teachers to help them get through this, she said.

Stubbs is a graduate at Ecole St. Mary High School and her children did the same and she continues to bleed blue to this day.

Catholic education is important to her and the religious aspect of the education had a profound effect.

We are always putting the faith of God into everything that is done in our division, she said.

Even though I have been graduated for almost 40 years it is like I was there yesterday. And it is the same thing with Catholic education.

Annually, the board approves the Toonies for Tuition fundraiser which Stubbs described as important because other provinces do not fund Catholic education. Many families in Canada need to pay tuition to attend Catholic schools. The CCSTA through the Toonies for Tuition Endowment Fund alleviates the burden on these families who live in provinces where Catholic education has limited or no public funding.

In Saskatchewan, we are very lucky that we have Catholic schools that are funded by our province. We have other divisions in different provinces that dont. So that is where the Toonie for Tuition comes in. So when we raise money for Toonies for Tuition that is helping our students that dont have funding to go to Catholic school in other provinces where you have to pay. In Saskatchewan we do get it funded. When people are paying big dollars in other provinces just goes to show the value that people want in Catholic education, she said.

She hopes to continue to serve on the board of education for another term.

I look forward to continued support and I am just going to be very pleased to serve another term in the Catholic division. It is going to be a challenging for sure in these next four years and I am up for the fight. I am just looking forward to another term and the work that has to be done, Stubbs said.

Stubbs added that they hope to see more people put their name forward as candidates for trustee and would be willing to offer advice to those who decide to run. The nomination deadline is October 7.
HATHRAS: A day after Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were stopped and allegedly manhandled by Uttar Pradesh Police, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien along with some party leaders were also intercepted while on their way to Hathras to meet the gangrape-murder victim's family members.

Visuals from the scene show a scuffle between the police and Trinamool Congress delegation during which Brien was pushed to the ground by UP police personnel. After being stopped, Brien questioned the statement government for stopping the delegation from visiting Hathras and said, "You saw the visuals. We didn't come for politics here. This is a sacred place. We wanted to walk 1 km down."

ALSO READ: Political storm over Hathras gang-rape intensifies; AAP leaders to protest at India Gate, Section 144 imposed

He also asked the Yogi Adtiyanath government why was a senior UP police officer allowed to push TMC MPs to the ground and if any of the MPs were armed?

According to the delegation, the Trinamool MPs were visiting Hathras to express solidarity with the grieving family of the victim and convey their condolences.

"A delegation of the Trinamool MPs that travelled about 200 kms from Delhi has been stopped by UP Police from entering Hathras," a statement by Trinamool Congress said, adding they "were traveling separately to express solidarity with the grieving family and convey their condolences."

Live TV

Among those who were prevented from proceeding towards Hathras included Trinamool MPs Derek O'Brien, Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mondal and ex-MP Mamata Thakur.

"We are peacefully proceeding to Hathras to meet the family and pay our condolences. We are traveling individually and maintaining all protocols. We are not armed. Why were we stopped? What kind of jungle raj is this that elected MPs are prevented from meeting a grieving family? At this moment, we are just 1.5 km from the victim's home in Hathras," the statement said.

ALSO READ: Hathras gang-rape: Forensic report says victim was not raped, she suffered 'fracture'

The incident comes just a day after Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were stopped and physically manhandled by UP police and several other Congress workers were walking towards Hathras to meet the victims family.
ATLANTA - More than $1 million and 30,000 ballots later, Georgia voters will be sending someone to Congress amid hopes that a month in Washington is worth it.

Former Atlanta City Council member Kwanza Hall and former Morehouse College President Robert Franklin are headed to a Dec. 1 runoff after finishing first and second in a Tuesday special election among seven candidates for the seat long held by civil rights legend John Lewis. Lewis died from pancreatic cancer in July.

Hall and Franklin are both Democrats.

The most junior member of the House will arrive on Capitol Hill with very little time to accomplish anything besides being guaranteed that they can be remembered as a congressman. Lewis successor will serve only until the current Congress ends on Jan. 3, and neither Hall nor Franklin is running in the Nov. 3 general election, which will determine who wins a full two-year term.

A tentative House calendar shows no floor votes scheduled after Dec. 10.

We need leadership now, not in December, Hall said.

Franklin said it was bittersweet that Tuesdays election didnt produce a winner.

Both insist they can make a worthwhile contribution in Congress. Hall said he was called not by vanity but by personal obligation as someone who knew Lewis, who held the seat for 34 years.

My campaign represents a new energy built on the sacrifices of those who suffered so much for us, Hall said. Both he and Franklin named voting rights, COVID-19 relief and reducing police violence against African-Americans as their priorities.

I would be able to offer a sense of moral clarity amid the significant crises, perhaps even chaos, during the lame duck period after the presidential election, Franklin said, citing his background as a minister and theologian. He also notes he knew Lewis.

About 31,000 voters cast ballots in Tuesdays contest, just under 5% of all the voters on the rolls in the district, which includes much of the city of Atlanta and adjoining parts of DeKalb and Clayton counties.

Tuesdays election was budgeted to cost $1.05 million to conduct in just Fulton County alone, according to the county registration and elections director. DeKalb County officials said they were too busy to say how much they spent, while Clayton County officials said they couldnt yet estimate a cost.

The December vote will be the fourth trip to the polls this year to determine representation for some voters in Georgias Fifth Congressional District. Lewis won a primary in June before he died from pancreatic cancer in July.

The Nov. 3 election, to settle who takes the seat on a permanent basis, pits Democrat Nikema Williams against Republican Angela Stanton King.

Unlike in the U.S. Senate, where Gov. Brian Kemp was able to appoint Kelly Loeffler to take the place of the retiring Johnny Isakson, the U.S. Constitution says vacancies in the House can only be filled through election. Georgia law requires the governor to set an election quickly.

Some other states might not have elections to fill a similar vacancy. The California congressional seat most recently held by Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican who resigned in January, will be vacant through the end of the term, meaning the district will go without representation for nearly a year.

___

Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.
China's state media on widely reported the news that U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19, in a tone that remained mostly neutral.



State news agency Xinhua issued a full-length news report based mostly on tweets from the first couple, while ruling Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily issued a two-paragraph news brief with a link on its front page.



China said it hoped the Trumps would soon recover after testing positive for the coronavirus, a foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters.



On Twitter, Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin was less restrained, however.



"President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19," Hu tweeted. "The news shows the severity of the US pandemic situation."



"It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection," wrote the editor of the nationalistic tabloid affiliated with the People's Daily.



On China's Weibo social media platform, writing in Chinese, Hu went further.



"[Trump] himself has long refused to wear a mask and was insufficiently protected," Hu wrote. "It may be that, under the U.S. system, politicians don't have much choice, but the negative impact is clear to see."



"The United States should find a way to make everyone safer," he wrote.



'Polarized camps'

Huang Xiaomin, a rights activist based in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, said the news had polarized ordinary Chinese people.



"This news really came as a shock [to many]," Huang told RFA. "It has split a lot of Chinese people into two fairly polarized camps."



"Less privileged ordinary folk are pretty sympathetic, because they don't like to hear about [misfortune] happening to anyone," he said. "They didn't want to see this."



He said most are aware that the news comes as the U.S. enters the final stages of the U.S. presidential election race.



"But there is another group in China who are gloating over [the Trumps'] misfortune," he said. "They are thinking that this bodes well for the future of both China and the U.S."



Social media comments viewed by RFA on appeared to contain a majority of well-wishing messages, with some gloaters.



An entrepreneur from the southern city of Guangzhou who gave only a surname Zeng said many are concerned about the impact on the election, and on the Sino-U.S. trade war.



"I think people may be more concerned about the effect this will have on the outcome of the election," Zeng said. "They are wondering about the impact on Sino-US relations and on trade policy further down the line."



Why are no Chinese leaders infected?

A Xiamen-based commentator who gave only a surname Lin said there are plenty of people in China who admire Trump.



"There are many people in mainland China who like Trump, especially those with democratic ideas," Lin said. "I am sad that this has happened."



"I didn't like him very much at the beginning, but actually he has brought new ways of understanding [China] to the global political arena," he said.



"He pays no attention to high-sounding words, and is more focused on the goals that he wants to achieve," Lin said.



Independent scholar Zhang Tongzu said it was interesting to note that while coronavirus infections had been common among world leaders outside China, none had yet been reported among the Communist Party's political elite.



"Why do you think it is that presidents, prime ministers and some ministers have been infected with COVID-19, but nobody at provincial or ministerial level and above has in China?"



"Does that mean the Chinese are better protected?"



Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
She rose to fame as the trailer-dwelling teen criminal Ruth Langmore on Ozark.

But Julia Garner looked light years away from the role that made her famous when she donned the straight blonde tresses of fraudster socialite Anna Delvey on Wednesday, for her role in the new Netflix series Inventing Anna.

The scene was filmed in West Brighton, a neighborhood in Staten Island.

Ruth-less: Julia Garner looked light years away from the role that made her famous when she donned the straight blonde tresses of fraudster socialite Anna Delvey on Wednesday

Garner looked sharp in a striped top, black pants and black and white heels for the scene in which she exited a home with luggage.

Gone were the star's trademark blonde curls, replaced with a straight blonde wig.

Between takes, cast and crew alike put safety first, covering up with masks and face shields, a concession to the COVID-19 pandemic currently sweeping the United States.

Looking the part: Garner looked sharp in a striped top, black pants and black and white heels for the scene in which she exited a home with luggage

Masked up: Between takes, cast and crew alike put safety first, covering up with masks and face shields, a concession to the COVID-19 pandemic currently sweeping the United States

A new look: Gone were the star's trademark blonde curls, replaced with a straight blonde wig

The show covers the real life of Anna Sorokina, who was born outside Moscow but pretended to be a German heiress while in America.

Last year she was sentenced to four to 12 years behind bars for scamming hotels, banks and a private jet firm out of almost $200,000, as well for attempting to bilk a $25 million loan from a hedge fund.

She ingratiated herself into New York City's beau monde under her fake heiress identity Anna Delvey until she eventually got caught in 2017.

Inspiration: The show covers the real life of Anna Sorokina, who was born outside Moscow but pretended to be a German heiress while in America. Seen here in 2019

Location location: The scene was filmed in West Brighton, a neighborhood in Staten Island

The 'Soho Grifter' was arrested that year and held in Rikers Island, precipitating a trial where the fashionista wowed the press with her glamorous courtroom looks.

After a month at trial she was convicted of three counts of grand larceny, one of attempted grand larceny and four counts of theft of services.

'I'd be lying to you and to everyone else and to myself if I said I was sorry for anything,' she told the New York Times last year after her sentencing.

Shonda Rhimes is creating the Netflix show about the scam, while Lena Dunham is working on one at HBO and Anna herself is writing a memoir.

Competition: Shonda Rhimes is creating the Netflix show about the scam, while Lena Dunham is working on one at HBO and Anna herself is writing a memoir

Happier times: The 'Soho Grifter' was arrested in 2017 and held in Rikers Island, precipitating a trial where the fashionista wowed the press with her glamorous courtroom looks. Seen here in 2014

The cast of the Netflix series includes Veep alumna Anna Chlumsky, Orange Is The New Black actress Laverne Cox and Scandal star Katie Lowes.

Shonda's project is based on a New York magazine article called How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People by Jessica Pressler.

Jessica also wrote the New York magazine piece that became the basis for last year's acclaimed stripper drama Hustlers starring Jennifer Lopez.
Two Bryde's whales have been filmed riding waves with surfers at a popular beach near Byron Bay.

Sydney photographer Daniel Cook, 43, used his drone to film the 12-metre whales from above at Seven Mile Beach near Lennox Head, south of Byron, on Wednesday.

The whales, which weigh 12 to 20 tonnes each, were joined by a pod of dolphins in hunting a large school of bait fish while surfers caught waves above them.

But eventually, the whales decided to catch some waves for themselves, using the momentum to propel them into the school of fish.

A Bryde's whale catches a wave into a school of bait fish, which is the black part of the water. A pod of dolphins and surfers can also be seen swimming nearby on Seven Mile Beach near Lennox Head, south of Byron Bay, on Wednesday

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Mr Cook said filming the whales was a 'one in a million moment' that completely happened by chance.

'It was totally a coincidence. We had a road trip up to Byron last week and decided to drop into Lennox Head on the way back,' he said.

'We were looking at the surfers and saw a pod of dolphins, so my partner thought it would be a good idea to get the drone up and film them.

'While I had the drone up, she called out and said "there's a whale out there!" And the whale just came into the shot.'

In Mr Cook's footage, surfers had to move out of the way for the surfing whales, which lifted their tails and their bodies above the surface of the water.

The two Bryde's whales cut swathes through the school of fish in a feeding frenzy. Dolphins can also be seen swimming in the top left

Despite the close calls, the photographer said everyone kept a safe distance and no one was hurt.

'It was just amazing to see how the surfers came into contact with the whales,' Mr Cook said.

'I don't think anyone actually touched the whales. Everyone was pretty mindful of the dolphins and whales near them.

'I got footage of a surfer trying to catch a wave but one of the whales undercut him so he had to let it go.'

Mr Cook initially thought the marine mammals were Minke Whales but experts have since informed him they are Bryde's whales (pronounced Broo-dus).

A Brydge's whale undercuts a wave from a surfer, forcing the human to give way as it propels toward a school of fish, which is the dark spot in the water

Mr Cook began drone photography four years ago to give him freedom after a back surgery.

'It's pretty special because this just all started out as a hobby for me. My partner bought me a drone after I had back surgery,' he said.

'I couldn't move much, so having a drone was just a means of me getting out of the house and taking some photos.

'Then, to capture something like this is a one in a million moment. You couldn't plan something like this. To get this footage, it's just luck.'

More of Mr Cook's ocean photography is available on his Instagram The Drone DC.

Mr Cook (right) and his partner Emily (left). Emily bought Mr Cook a drone after he had back surgery four years ago to get him out the house. He said it was 'pretty special' to capture amazing whale footage from his humble hobby
To receive Steve Gutterman's Week In Russia each week via e-mail, subscribe by clicking here.

President Vladimir Putin's Kremlin faces a widening array of challenges, from Khabarovsk to the South Caucasus, Belarus, and Berlin. Aleksei Navalny vows to return to Russia, protests in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk continue well into their third month, and a modern-day investigator of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's crimes gets an "atrocious" new sentence. New COVID-19 cases surge above 9,000 a day and visitors to Putin reportedly must be isolated for two weeks before meeting with him.

Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward.

The Latest Challenge

Less than halfway through a term that was supposed to be his last but may not be, Putin is confronted with problems that do not seem existential but could have substantial consequences in the coming years. These challenges have cropped up on Russias fringes, beyond its borders, and at its heart -- the capital, Moscow -- where a surge in coronavirus cases has resulted in new or renewed lockdown measures and an extended school holiday.

The newest challenge, perhaps, stems from one of the oldest conflicts in the region: the bitter dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory in Azerbaijan that has been controlled by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Yerevan since a Russia-brokered cease-fire in 1994 halted a war that killed some 30,000 people and displaced about 1 million more.

Fighting has flared repeatedly since then, and the deadliest hostilities in years erupted in late September, reportedly killing nearly 200 people so far and adding to global security concerns at a time when much attention is trained on the coronavirus pandemic, the imminent U.S. election, and other matters.

For Moscow, which has substantial influence on both of the rival former Soviet republics but holds more clout with Armenia, where it maintains a big military base, the newly assertive role of Turkey -- a supporter of Baku  is a daunting factor in a region that the Kremlin clearly still considers Russias backyard.

Hold On Tight

The South Caucasus is just one region. But pulling the camera back opens up a vista on a vast area in which Russias grip is being loosened on several sides, with China gaining purchase in Central Asia and ties with Kyiv potentially irreparably damaged by Moscows takeover of Crimea and its role in the war in the Donbas, where separatists it backs hold two regional capitals.

Between Ukraine and the Baltic states -- which long since joined NATO and the European Union -- lies Belarus. There, the main event is the showdown between long-ruling authoritarian Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his opponents -- with millions of Belarusian behind them  who say he stole the August 9 presidential election and want him out after 26 years in power.

But a gripping important subtext is Russias struggle to keep Belarus in its orbit -- and potentially strengthen its hold by taking advantage of Lukashenkas diminished standing among his own compatriots and the Western governments he has long played off against the Kremlin to maintain his own power and keep Moscow at bay.

Putin has so far supported Lukashenka. And while he has done so with a wink at times, seemingly hinting that his backing could vanish in an instant if the stars aligned, analysts say he risks alienating the populace of a country in which an overwhelming majority want warm, close ties with Russia -- but dont want a merger or dominance by Moscow.

Another growing challenge for Putin is currently centered to the west of Belarus, in Berlin, where Kremlin opponent Aleksei Navalny is recovering after a severe illness that German officials -- as well as labs in two other countries and some of the Russian scientists who helped develop the series of nerve agents known as Novichok -- say was caused by Novichok.

Navalny has been one of Putins most prominent foes -- his nemesis, in effect -- since late in 2011, when he helped lead a series of large street protests that erupted when Russians hoping for change suffered a double blow: Putin announced he would seek to return to the presidency after a four-year stint as prime minister, and parliamentary elections that were marred by evidence of widespread fraud in favor of the dominant, Kremlin-controlled United Russia party.

Navalnys poisoning dramatically increased the stakes in his struggle against Putin, whose already shaky standing in the West has been hit hard by suspicions that the Russian state was behind it. Navalny raised them further when he put the blame squarely on Putin in an interview published by Der Spiegel on October 1.

I assert that Putin was behind the crime, and I have no other explanation for what happened, Navalny said.

'The Patient'

Putin and his allies responded with a tool they frequently turn to when targeting political opponents real or perceived  the assertion that he is a Western stooge or spy.

Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who now frequently refers to Navalny as the Berlin patient amid a long-standing reluctance by Putin and others in the Kremlin to utter his name, said on October 1 that there isinformation indicating that Western intelligence agencies are working with the patient.

I can even say definitely -- specialists of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency are working with him currently," Peskov added. Navalny rejected the claim and threatened a lawsuit.

In the Der Spiegel interview, Navalny repeated his vow to return to Russia and take up his previous activities -- opposing Putin by means including elections, street protests, and investigations aimed at exposing corruption among the ruling elite.

Not going back would mean that Putin has won and achieved his goal. I would not give Putin the gift of not returning to Russia, he said.

Navalny also seemed to troll Putin, almost, when he lavished Germans with gratitude and praise in the interview -- his first since the poisoning on August 20.

I have never been closely associated with Germany. I don't know anyone here. I didn't know a single politician. And yet it turned out -- you see, my voice is trembling, I have become so emotional -- that German politicians and [Chancellor] Angela Merkel have taken an interest in my fate and saved my life, Navalny said, adding: I know it sounds a bit overblown, but Germany has become a special country for me.

Germany has been a special country for Putin: He lived in East Germany as a KGB officer, sometimes speaks German at meetings, and has pursued close ties with Berlin, counting on Germanys thirst for Russian energy and interest in the Russian market among its companies as counterweights to Western sanctions, criticism of his policies, and concerns about his human rights record.

Merkel has talked tough toward Russia on Navalnys poisoning, which she has called an attempted murder, and visited him at the Charite hospital some time before his release in late September. Following initial efforts by Russian authorities to keep him in the country, he had been flown to Berlin two days after he fell ill on a flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk.

Early in September, Merkel said there were "some very serious questions that only Russia can, and must, answer"-- a reference to the fact that access to Novichok is said to be highly restricted, raising suspicions of Russian state involvement in Navalnys poisoning as well other times it has been used, such as against former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England in 2018.

'Total Survelliance'

A number of analysts have said that if Navalny was targeted by the Russian security services, it would be a major change in tactics because they are believed to have used such poisons in the past only on former members of their ranks who they see as having turned against their country -- not against political opponents.

If someone had told me a month and a half ago that I would be poisoned with Novichok, I would have laughed at them, Navalny told Der Spiegel. After all, we know how Putin fights the opposition. We have 20 years of experience. You can be arrested, beaten up, sprayed with disinfectants, or shot on a bridge like Boris Nemtsov. But chemical warfare agents were considered the domain of the intelligence services.

Asked why he would have been targeted with Novichok if that were the case, Navalny said that the reality has changed. And something in Putin's head has changed.

Putin knows everything about me. I live under total surveillance. He knows that I am neither an oligarch nor a secret agent, that I'm a politician. But there have been changes: The protests against [Lukashenka] in Belarus, the protests in the Khabarovsk region against the Kremlin party. And the fact that our regional offices still exist, he said, referring to his headquarters across Russia.

In other words, according to Navalny, Putin is more concerned by the challenges he faces, or more frightened, than he has been in the past.

'A Strange Imitation'

He cast the political battle to which he hopes to return as an epic standoff that will become increasingly dangerous as the stakes increase.

What remains is the struggle between those who stand for freedom and those who want to drive us back into the past, into a strange Orthodox imitation of the Soviet Union, adorned with capitalism and oligarchs, Navalny told Der Speigel. They will use more sophisticated means against us, and we will do what we can to survive.

The protests in the Far Eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk have persisted since July. For Putin, they may be reminders of the tests he faces at home ahead of parliamentary elections in 2021 and the end of his term in 2024, when he now has the option of seeking reelection.

The coronavirus pandemic is another challenge that just wont go away, it seems. It has hit the economy hard, combining with other factors including the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, the poisoning of Navalny, and the turmoil in Belarus, and like many other countries, Russia has experienced a major resurgence in cases in recent weeks.

On October 2, Russia recorded more than 9,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time in months, including more than 2,700 in Moscow.

The Russian media outlet Proyekt reported that government officials and other visitors to Putin -- who spends most of his time at a presidential residence in the upscale suburbs west of Moscow -- are required to quarantine for two weeks before meeting with him.

Gulag Historian

Meanwhile, this week brought another piece of evidence suggesting that analysts who predicted Putins move to let himself run for two more terms would embolden the security services still more -- and leave vulnerable Russians even more vulnerable to the whims of the state and its agents -- were right.

In a ruling a Human Rights Watch representative called atrocious, a historian who has helped document the Soviet governments crimes against its own citizens had his prison sentence extended by nearly a decade, to 13 years, on child sexual-abuse charges that he denies and that supporters contend have been fabricated to punish him for his work.

Yury Dmitriyev, 64, was acquitted on initial charges in 2018, but a new trial ended in July with a guilty verdict, a prison sentence of 3 1/2 years, and the expectation that he would be out before the end of 2020 due to time served. But on September 29, a higher court ruling on appeal sided with prosecutors and handed him a new sentence of 13 years in a high-security prison.

The circumstances surrounding the case strongly indicate that the charges against Dmitriyev were spurious and politically motivated, Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch, wrote on September 30.
Front, left to right: Gray Miller, Mayor Rob Johnson, John Lawson. Back, left to right, Dr. Joe Jordan, Jennifer Vineyard, Council Member Stacy Berry, Cody Hall, Scott Crawford, Ahmad Qudaiesat The Community of Cypress is delighted to welcome groups like Titanium who are trying to create better care and a difference in people's lives"

Titanium Healthcare, Inc, a leading national provider of high-risk patient programs, conducted an open air house on Saturday at its recently acquired location in Cypress, CA. Formerly known as Ocean Pacific Primary Care, the practice will benefit from Titaniums proven people, processes and technology to create a differentiated level of care. Patients enrolled in the program will receive superior support programs and care coordination services that will help them succeed in their healthcare environment.

"We wanted to introduce the community to Titanium and show them what were all about," said Gray Miller, CEO and founder of Titanium Healthcare. "We strive to make a better Primary Care experience through dedicated support programs, longer appointment times and superior providers. We were delighted to see Mayor Rob Johnson and Council Member Stacy Berry at the event and in support of our efforts."

The community of Cypress is delighted to welcome groups like Titanium who are trying to create better patient care and a difference in peoples lives, notes Cypress mayor Rob Johnson.

Titanium Healthcare is using its proprietary software platforms to support members through tele-health visits, in person and at home care to make sure patients get the highest level of support. Additionally, Titaniums professionals will leverage care management techniques to all its members to provide assistance in navigating their healthcare environment.

The event was also attended by a national celebrity called Albert on Wheels. Albert has nearly 120,000 followers on Instagram and built a following based on his hardships in life. Albert was left in a ditch in Arkansas as a puppy after being paralyzed from the waist down, presumably by being hit by a car. Many people came from the greater Los Angeles area to meet him. Albert can be followed on Instagram at @albertonwheels.

About Titanium Healthcare

Titanium Healthcare Inc is a cutting-edge healthcare organization that delivers savings to hospital systems, health plans IPAs though risk-share relationships, in-depth analytics, care coordination and clinical intervention. We currently service and consult the major healthcare entities throughout California and have achieved less than 3% readmission rates and over 99% patient satisfaction through 8 locations. Our patients can visit us at any one of our Titanium Healthcare clinics. For more information about our innovative model, please visit the Company's website at tihealthcare.com. Instragram: @titaniumhealthcare.

Contact:

investor.relations@tihealthcare.com
Kate Beckinsale has revealed that she secretly suffered the heartbreaking loss of a baby 20 weeks into her pregnancy, in light of Chrissy Teigen's recent tragedy.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, the British actress, 47, spoke out in defence of Chrissy and her husband John Legend's choice to share the news publicly, as she spoke candidly about how she was forced to deal with her own pain privately.

Sharing an inspirational quote, Kate shared: 'Years ago, I lost a baby at 20 weeks. I had managed to keep my pregnancy quiet and I absolutely collapsed inside and no one would have known.'

Heartbreaking: Kate Beckinsale has revealed that she secretly suffered the heartbreaking loss of a baby 20 weeks into her pregnancy, in light of Chrissy Teigen's recent tragedy.

She started her post defending Chrissy, writing: 'Ive noticed people criticizing @chrissyteigen for sharing deeply intimate photos of the loss of her baby.

'As if theres some protocol during soul-scouring calamity that, if not observed, emboldens people who do not know her or her family to say how she should be handling the unimaginable.

'Years ago, I lost a baby at 20 weeks. I had managed to keep my pregnancy quiet and I absolutely collapsed inside and no one would have known.

'There is grief, shame and shock so often that come with an experience like this, plus the heartbreak of your body continuing, after the loss, to act as if it had a child to nurture. Your milk comes in, with no one to feed.

Inspirational: The British actress took to Instagram on Friday to share an inspirational quote

Secret agony: Kate confessed, 'Years ago, I lost a baby at 20 weeks. I had managed to keep my pregnancy quiet and I absolutely collapsed inside and no one would have known'

'It can be the loneliest, most soul destroying period of time, particularly if you are not in the position of having an emotionally connected, supportive partner like Chrissy has.

'I think its an honour to be allowed into another persons grief, especially with a subject like this which so often puts a woman into that hall of mirrors state of life continuing as if the world hasnt, for you ,come to a bloody and terrible halt.

'Sending so much love to the Legend family, but also so much to the women and couples who have kept it quiet and suffered. I know there are so many.

Concluding her post, Kate  who shares 21-year-old daughter Lily with ex-husband Michael Sheen  thanked Chrissy for publicly sharing her experience.

Sad: Chrissy Teigen and her husband John Legend mourned the loss of their child in the hospital, sharing snaps of their fleeting time with their offspring on social media

She penned: 'Thank you @chrissyteigen for making sure it is abundantly clear how devastating this is, and how life changing it can be without support.

'Lets let the grieving decide whats right for them. Send support or keep quiet. This is a really hard time to bear. Blessings and hugs to all x.'

The image shared by Kate, whose divorce from Len Wiseman was finalised in November 2019, was of a noticeboard, which included comforting words surrounding the loss of a child.

It read: 'Some babies are born to be angels and given Heaven instead... They are carried inside the hearts of broken-hearted parents and their families forever...

Family: British star Kate shares 21-year-old daughter Lily with her ex-husband Michael Sheen

'Leaving to fly with wings in paradise, where nothing can hurt them, instead of learning to walk on Earth... We grieve for them and what they might have been, asking why we couldn't be together.'

Meanwhile, Chrissy's mother Vilailuck has shared a heart-wrenching video of herself crying over the loss of her grandson Jack, before giving the baby a tender kiss.

Chrissy, 34, announced on Wednesday she had tragically lost her third child around halfway into her pregnancy, days after she was admitted to the hospital with severe bleeding.

On Thursday, Vilailuck, who also goes by the name of Pepper, shared several photographs of herself cradling the baby inside the hospital.

Devastating: Meanwhile, Chrissy's mother Vilailuck has shared a heart-wrenching video of herself crying over the loss of her grandson Jack, before giving him a kiss

Heart-wrenching: She clasps her hands together and bows her head down in a prayerful gesture

She captioned the devastating Instagram post: 'My heart aches love you so much baby Jack.'

The family have bravely taken the decision to document and share their tragic loss in a bid to help anyone else going through the same thing.

The posts begin with a video of a hospital worker presenting Jack to Vilailuck, who soon begins to cry.

'You can touch him if you want,' the employee informs Vilailuck.

An emotional Vilailuck gently places her hand upon the child, before bending down to give him a kiss.

Painful: The hospital worker presented the child to an emotional Vilailuck

Emotional: Vilailuck began crying not long after seeing the baby

Tragedy: The next two photos show Vilailuck holding the swaddled-up child in her arms - the family have been sharing their experience in a bid to help others

She clasps her hands together and bows her head down in a prayerful gesture.The next two photos show Vilailuck holding the swaddled-up child in her arms.

Chrissy had been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night after enduring a month of bleeding due to having a weak placenta and had been at the hospital since.

She revealed she was on 'serious bed rest' due to the bleeding and 'about halfway through her pregnancy', which is around 20 - 24 weeks. A stillbirth is when a baby is born dead at 24 weeks or later.

Chrissy had previously explained: 'I'm about halfway through pregnancy and the blood has been going on for about a month, maybe a little bit less than a month.

Grieving: Teigen shed tears as she sat on the hospital bed in a bravely honest post which she shared with her fans

What is a blood transfusion? The NHS writes: 'A blood transfusion is when you're given blood from someone else (a donor). It's a very safe procedure that can be lifesaving. 'A blood transfusion may be needed if you have a shortage of red blood cells. 'This may be because your body's not making enough red blood cells or because you have lost blood. 'For example, you may need a blood transfusion if you have 'a condition that affects the way your red blood cells work  such as sickle cell disease or thalassaemia 'a type of cancer or cancer treatment that can affect blood cells  including leukaemia, chemotherapy or stem cell transplants 'severe bleeding  usually from surgery, childbirth or a serious accident 'A blood transfusion can replace blood you have lost, or just replace the liquid or cells found in blood (such as red blood cells, plasma or cells called platelets)' Advertisement

'We're talking about more than your period girls, it's definitely not spotting. A lot of people spot but it's usually fine. Mine was a lot,' she explained.

Teigen had already been on strict bed rest earlier this month but explained she was admitted to the hospital after her bleeding had worsened.

'Everytime I go to the bathroom it would be blood, and honestly just laying there there would be blood.'

In an update on Monday, Chrissy said she and the baby were 'completely fine.'

'Hello from hospital. about to have my second blood transfusion which truly, truly, truly sounds more dramatic than it is. It's an IV, but instead of fluids, the blood of some kind human being out there,' she posted.

'Baby and I are completely fine, just missing the little things like walking...cooking...playing with the other buttbutts.'

Chrissy made the heartbreaking announcement she had lost her child on Wednesday night, where she shared several devastating photos of herself in the aftermath.

'We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we've never felt before,' Chrissy posted on Instagram.

'We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn't enough.'

The couple typically don't name their children until after birth, but Chrissy said they had already started referring to him as Jack.

'We never decide on our babies' names until the last possible moment after they're born, just before we leave the hospital,' she explained.

There for each other: The couple held hands as Teigen laid in the hospital bed

Grieve: Chrissy said, 'Everyday cant be full of sunshine. On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out. But we will hug and love each other harder and get through it'

Disbelief: Shortly after uploading her undeniably sad news to Instagram, Chrissy took to her Twitter page to further express her shock

'But we, for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack. So he will always be Jack to us. Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever.'

'To our Jack - I'm so sorry that the first few moments of your life were met with so many complications, that we couldn't give you the home you needed to survive. We will always love you.

'Thank you to everyone who has been sending us positive energy, thoughts and prayers. We feel all of your love and truly appreciate you.

'We are so grateful for the life we have, for our wonderful babies Luna and Miles, for all the amazing things we've been able to experience.

Heartbreaking: Chrissy shared a lengthy caption detailing their loss on Wednesday

'We love you, Jack': John also took to Twitter to share Chrissy's post, while writing: 'We love you, Jack' alongside five black hearts

Support: After Chrissy announced the news, some of the couple's closest friends, like Kim Kardashian and Gabrielle Union, voiced their condolences in the comment section

Take away the pain: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who just became a dad for the first time with husband of seven-years Justin Mikita, 35, said that he wish he could 'take away [Chrissy's] heartbreak'

'But everyday can't be full of sunshine. On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out. But we will hug and love each other harder and get through it.'

Chrissy and her husband John, who share daughter Luna, four, and son Miles, two, announced in the music video Wild they were expecting their third child together.

The star was met with an outpouring of sympathy and support from fans and celebrities alike, including Kim Kardashian, Gabrielle Union, and Hailey Bieber, following the tragic news.

'We're always here for you and love you guys so much,' wrote mom-of-four Kim.

For help and support with related issues, visit The International Stillbirth Alliance at www.stillbirthalliance.org or stillbirth, premature birth and miscarriage charity Tommy's at www.tommys.org.

Her loves: Chrissy is pictured with her daughter Luna, four, and son Miles, two
Technology developed by BGU and Rice researchers will filter COVID-19 particles from the air

Technology developed by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, in partnership with Rice University, is being commercialized by LIGC Application Ltd. to develop and manufacture products for filtration systems, including those that filter COVID-19 airborne particles.



LIGC is a company at the forefront of laser-induced graphene (LIG) commercialization. Hubei Forbon Technology Co. Ltd. (300387.SZ) in Wuhan, China provided $3 million in funding.



For the past five years, our lab at the BGU Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research [in.bgu.ac.il/en/bidr/ziwr/Pages/default.aspx] has focused on the development of LIG, specifically in antimicrobial filtration and environmental applications, said Dr. Chris Arnusch. We are excited to be commercializing our technology in a number of air-filtration products for COVID-19 and other specialized filtration applications.



LIGC co-founder and CEO Yehuda Borenstein said, In the absence of better filtration technology, the indoor spaces where we used to spend most of our normal life  schools, stores and workplaces  due to COVID-19 present a real risk. This technology will provide cleaner and more breathable air with lower energy and maintenance costs and virtually silent sound levels.



Active air filters made with LIG are designed to damage and destroy organic particles, including bacteria, mold spores and viruses at the micron and submicron levels when passed through a microscopic network of porous graphene.



This cost-effective and scalable approach is produced using commercially available CO2 lasers to create a conductive graphene mesh. The graphene mesh heats, electrocutes and neutralizes organic particles and pathogens with revolutionary efficiency compared to active carbon filters, UV-C and fiber HEPA filters that are used widely in schools, offices, homes, ships and other facilities. Aircraft already are equipped with HEPA filters that remove viruses and bacteria from the circulated cabin air, but at high-energy and maintenance costs.



Since the LIGC filter uses low-voltage electricity to eliminate bacteria and viruses, lower density filtration media can be used, resulting in significantly less energy consumption. In addition, LIGC active filters require lower maintenance than other filters and are safe for the operator during maintenance and replacement.



To understand the technology, imagine the porous graphene is an electric fence that functions as a mosquito zapper at the submicron level, Bornstein said. When an airborne bacteria or virus touches the graphene surface, it is shocked at a low voltage and currents that are safe for use. While 2020 has highlighted the importance of protecting against airborne viruses, the post-pandemic world will likely show us how important it is to do so without increasing energy costs past the point of affordability.




On Wednesday, October 7, at 12.00, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference on the revolutionary discovery of Ukrainian scientists entitled "Believe Your Eyes." Participants include Major General, PhD in Technical Science, professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine Yuriy Danyk; PhD in Medical Sciences, ophthalmologist of the highest category, Head of the department of inflammatory eye pathologies and microsurgical treatment of their consequences of Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine Oleksandra Zborovska; Ukrainian military doctor, Head of the National Military Medical Clinical Center "Main Military Clinical Hospital," PhD in Medical Sciences, Major General of the Medical Service Anatoliy Kazmirchuk; Chairman of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Academician of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor Vitaliy Tsymbaliuk; Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, PhD in Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Oleksiy Soloviov (8/5a Reitarska Street). The press conference will be available on the Youtube channel of the Interfax-Ukraine agency. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot.
Jollof rice is coming to the Stackt Market, albeit just for one day.

Patricia Yeboah and her mother Akua Fosua are behind Mama Akuas, a pop-up specializing in Fosuas home-cooked Ghanaian food. Theyll be appearing at the outdoor Stackt Market at Bathurst and Front Streets on Oct. 3 starting at 2 p.m., with the goal of getting downtown dwellers more acquainted with the food they grew up with.

The idea for the food pop-up, which is a temporary restaurant setup, came in August when Fosua wanted to do something to help her community amidst the Black Lives Matter movement.

Food isnt just about a cultural connection, its about a community connection for people who dont know where their next meal is coming from, said Yeboah, who also works as a creative consultant and community engagement manager as HXOUSE, a creative incubator aimed at promoting young talent in the city. In Ghanaian culture, its very important to share everything. If youre hungry then Im hungry. My mom is always cooking or Im cooking, creating that connection with others and providing a safe space.

Food and social justice have always been linked, but that connection was brought into the spotlight in recent months amid the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing protests against anti-Black racism and police brutality. Racialized neighbourhoods in Toronto have less access to fresh and healthy foods. Migrant workers responsible for feeding Canadians dont get the same rights as others. Racism is one of the things the restaurant industrys new normal needs to address according to people who work in it.

Yeboah and her mother held their first pop-up in August at the Man of Kent bar on Ossington Avenue. Her DJ friends came to supply tunes to get the attention of passersby. It was a success and hundreds of people lined up throughout the day.

Proceeds from the sales from that pop up were split with the Black Legal Action Centre, which provides free legal services to low or no-income Black people in Ontario, as well as the Black Creators Fund, which creates grants for Black artists in the city. Money from the upcoming pop-up will go toward the cost of Fosuas mother in Ghana.

On the menu at Stackt will be kelewele (spicy fried plantain), waakye (rice and beans), bofrot (Ghanaian doughnuts), red red (fried plantain with spicy stewed beans), seasoned yam fries with hot pepper sauce and jollof, one of the most internationally recognized West African dishes of rice cooked in a seasoned tomato stew. Aside from jollof, Yeboah says those who arent familiar with Ghanaian cooking should try her two favourites, the kelewele and waakye.

My mom cooks with so much love and energy, and she wants to make sure the person eating her food has that connection with her, Yeboah said.

Note  Oct. 2, 2020: This article was updated from a previous version because the date of the pop-up was changed after publication from Oct. 4 to Oct. 3 due to the weather forecast.
Mumbai: Film-maker Anurag Kashyap was on Thursday questioned by police in a rape case filed against him by actor Payal Ghosh for more than eight hours, an official said. Kashyap, summoned by the police, reached suburban Versova police station around 10 am alongwith his two associates. His lawyer too reached the police station after some time.

The film-maker left the police station around 6 pm, the police official said. Ghosh underwent a medical examination after she filed the complaint, he said.

Versova police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Kashyap on September 22 after Ghosh alleged that he had raped her in 2013. Kashyap has denied all her allegations.

The police invoked IPC sections 376 (I) (rape), 354 (assault on woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement). On Tuesday, Ghosh and Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale had met Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari to seek action against Kashyap.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that the continuity of government remains in place following President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis.

Pelosi, 80, who is second in line to assume the duties of the presidency, said on MSNBC that "out of an abundance of caution" she was tested for the virus Friday morning, but has yet to receive her results.

She said she had not been contacted by the White House about the subject of succession.

Trump, 74, announced on Twitter after midnight that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19. The president is experiencing "mild symptoms" of the virus, NBC News reported, citing a White House official.

Vice President Mike Pence, who is first in line, tested negative Friday morning, his spokesman said.

When asked on MSNBC if the White House had reached out to her regarding the continuity of government, Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "No, they haven't."

"But that is an ongoing, not with the White House but with the military, quite frankly, in terms of the -- some officials in the government," she said.

"Let us just all pray for the president's health -- thank God the vice president has tested negatively and the second lady, as well," Pelosi added. "So again, that continuity of government is always in place."

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Pelosi's remarks.

Asked about the president's diagnosis, Pelosi offered her sympathies -- but also suggested Trump's attitude toward the virus could be instructive.

"We all received that news with great sadness. I always pray for the president and his family that they're safe," Pelosi said. "This is tragic, it's very sad. But it also is something that, again, going into crowds, unmasked, and all the rest, was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen."

Pelosi appeared to be referring to Trump's decision to resume holding his signature campaign rallies in the run-up to the Nov. 3 presidential election. The events regularly gather packed crowds of Trump supporters, many of whom do not wear masks or other protective equipment.

Pelosi said that while she is sad to hear of the president's diagnosis, she is nonetheless "hopeful that it will be a transition to a saner approach to what this virus is all about."

More than 7.2 million people in the U.S. have been infected by the coronavirus and more than 207,000 people have died, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
Apart from an antagonistic administration, caste remains the root cause of the problem, with untouchability being its ugliest aspect

As much as the crime of rape committed on a young girl in Hathras (UP, India), who tragically lost her battle with life day before yesterday (29th September 2020), is heinous and brutal, the actions of the Uttar Pradesh police (the jurisdictional police in particular) and the District Collector, of burning the dead body of the victim of a barbaric crime, in the dead of the night, against the will and consent of her family, their rude and insensitive attitude, the utter disregard for the emotions and sheer lack of empathy towards the extended family of the victim is horrific. It is unpardonable and has shaken the collective conscious of India.

Their actions have given rise to some major questions, some of which Im listing here below:

As I understand Article 21 of the Indian Constitution which guarantees every person right to life with dignity, and this includes the right to have a decent burial/cremation/last rites as per traditions or will of the deceased. 297, Indian Penal Code (hereinafter IPC) deals with the offence of trespassing on burial places etc., including offering any indignity to human corpse. Which legislation gives the explicit right/power to the State to bury/cremate/burn a dead body of a victim of a heinous crime without the will and consent of her family? Doesnt the hospital have an obligation to hand over the dead body of the victim to her family? Do the hospitals have any right to hand over the dead body of the victim to the State, after sunset, before sunrise, in medico-legal cases? Coming specifically to the Hathras case, what was the grave urgency on the part of the State to burn the dead body of the victim in the middle of the night, against the will of the victims family? Does it not amount to destruction of evidence? Does it not amount to an atrocity under the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (as amended) (hereinafter POA Act) for intentionally insulting a victim who is a member of Scheduled Caste?

Going by the above points, can the concerned police officers and the District Collector be booked for the destruction of evidence, insulting the dead body, multiple other offences under the IPC, PCR Act and POA Act?

The Supreme Court of India in Armugam Servai V. State of Tamil Nadu (2011 6 SCC 405) noted that the caste system is a curse on the nation and the sooner it is destroyed the better. Dealing with offences against Scheduled Castes under the POA Act, the court also touched upon Honour killings and stated we direct the administrative and police officials to take strong measures to prevent such atrocious acts. If any such incidents happen, apart from instituting criminal proceedings against those responsible for such atrocities, the State Government is directed to immediately suspend the District Magistrate/Collector and SSP/SPs of the district as well as other officials concerned and charge sheet them and proceed against them departmentally if they do not (1) prevent the incident if it has not already occurred but they have knowledge of it in advance, or (2) if it has occurred, they do not promptly apprehend the culprits and others involved and institute criminal proceedings against them, as in our opinion they will be deemed to be directly or indirectly accountable in this connection.

The Apex Court also specifically mentioned that the copy of this judgment shall be sent to all Chief Secretaries, Home Secretaries and Director Generals of Police in all States and Union Territories of India with the direction that it should be circulated to all officers up to the level of District Magistrates and S.S.P./S.P. for strict compliance. Copy will also be sent to the Registrar Generals/Registrars of all High Courts who will circulate it to all Hon'ble Judges of the Court.

The Honble Supreme Court is clear when it stated that right to dignity prevails even after death. It further has gone on to state that it is true that life in its expanded horizons today includes all that give meaning to a man's life including his tradition, culture and heritage and protection of that heritage in its full measure would certainly come within the encompass of an expanded concept of Article 21 of the Constitution. (Ram Sharan Autyanuprasi V. Union of India, AIR SC 549). The Court has also observed that the right to dignity and fair treatment under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not only available to a living man but also to his body after his death. (Pt. Parmanand Katara V. UoI, 1995 (3) SCC 248). In another instance the Apex Court has upheld the right of a homeless deceased to have a decent burial as per their religious belief and the corresponding obligation of the State towards such people. (Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan V. UoI, AIR 2002 SC 554).

This being the case, has the UP police, the District Collector and by extension the State, not violated this fundamental right of the victim when they refused to hand over the body to her family and forcibly burn the same?

The District Collector has stated that they have obtained consent from the victims family for conducting her last rites. However the family denies it. It might very well be possible that tomorrow the administration might come up with an excuse of the COVID-19 protocol which prohibits large gathering.

The Honble courts have suo motu taken up cases when dead bodies were not buried with dignity with respect to deaths that have occurred due to COVID-19 (Madras High Court, April 2020). Can one hope to see similar action by the courts in this matter as well? Or will they continue to remain silent?

A few options that may be considered are (i) filing a writ under Article 32 before the Supreme Court or under Article 226 before the High Court; (ii) because we consider rape and murder as crimes against the State, it should be a matter of public concern, hence a Public Interest Litigation before the Apex Court would be an option and (iii) any concerned person/activist approaching the court under the POA Act.

Now there are two important aspects in the Hathras case, first, ensuring justice to the victim in case of rape and murder by conviction of the accused through fast track courts and the second, is fixing liability on the State, especially the jurisdictional police and the District Collector for the grave violation of multiple provisions of law including the fundamental law of the land, the Constitution of India.

Unless and until criminal liability is fixed on the jurisdictional police and the Collector who is the District Magistrate, who is also the Chairman of the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee under the POA Act, Im afraid this kind of cases will keep on repeating.

Ideally in order to instil confidence in the victims family, the State should have suspended the jurisdictional police officer who has refused to file the FIR when the issue was brought to his notice and booked him under Sec. 4, POA Act for negligence of his duties. This was not done. Further after the action of burning the dead body of the victim against the will and without the consent of her family, should have led to the suspension of the District Collector and concerned police officers. But it has not been done.

An equally vital issue that is being overlooked and ignored is the applicability of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 (hereinafter PCR Act; formerly called the Untouchability Offences Act). Sec. 12 is clear about the presumption where offences under the Act are committed against a member of Scheduled Caste, the court shall presume, unless the contrary is proved, that such act was committed on the ground of untouchability. Such offences have been committed in this case like enforcing disability in the observance of any social or religious custom, usage or ceremony of taking part in, or taking out, any religious, social or cultural procession (Sec. 4, PCR Act). The fact that the jurisdictional police and the District administration did not allow the victims family to conduct the last rites of the victim according to their religion and culture, attracts this provision. The PCR Act is still in place and has not been repealed, making those offences cognizable notwithstanding the Code of Criminal Procedure.

On 1st October 2020, the UP ADG stated that as per the forensic reports the victim was not raped! Anyone who is aware of the way law functions would have expected this, the day the victims dead body was burnt. Now there remains no evidence for re-examination. It has been burnt to ashes. These kinds of actions by the authorities make one rethink about using narco-analysis, brain mapping and polygraph tests, regardless of what the courts have stated so far. When the whole system is against a helpless victim, how and where else can one look for answers? Ways and means have to be redesigned to provide justice to the victim under law. This is where the presumption clause like that in the PCR Act comes into play. It should be the obligation of the justice delivery system to explore truth, if need be by using scientific methods and technology.

As to the highly debated question about the caste angle to the rape and murder in this case, one must not forget and overlook the way the POA Act operates. The fact that when there is an atrocity committed on a member of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, this Act applies by default. That is to say, the caste angle is presumed by law, for very good reasons, which need not be elaborated here and can be left for the good conscience of the readers. There are no two ways to look at it!

The above sections are only a few provisions which I have highlighted, which get attracted in addition to the IPC as amended after the Nirbhaya case. Caste however remains to be the root cause, Untouchability being the ugliest form of casteism. As Babasaheb Ambedkar rightfully pointed Caste is a state of mind. It is a disease of the mind. What happened in Hathras with the young girl belonging to Scheduled Castes and her family is a reflection of the castiest mindset prevailing among a large section of the country. It is a classic example of caste supremacy of the so-called upper/dominant castes. It is not to be forgotten that the news of the Hathras rape victim passing away came on the 14th anniversary of the infamous Khairlanji massacre, where a family belonging to Scheduled Castes, mother and daughter were paraded naked, sexually abused and murdered in cold blood, along with her two sons.

The State and the civil society has continued to be apathetic in a large number of such atrocities against Dalits. And in the case at hand, of that of Hathras rape and murder, the authorities have taken it further by unilaterally decided to not hand over the dead body of the victim to her distraught family and burn the same without their consent and against their will. This seemingly unprecedented high handedness of the jurisdictional police and the District administration, can be considered as one of the rarest of the rare cases and hence must be firmly dealt with as per the provisions of the law. This case must be an eye opener for the makers of public policies to assess the role and character of State in dealing with such cases.

The author is a Research Scholar at Lancaster University, UK.
Gautam Buddh Nagar (Uttar Pradesh): A case has been registered against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and over 200 others under section 188, 269 and 270 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Epidemic Act, according to the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police.

Earlier on Thursday, Rahul and Priyanka were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police at Yamuna Expressway here while they were on the way to meet the Hathras gangrape victim's family, who had died while receiving treatment in Delhi's Safdarjung hospital on Tuesday. Gandhis were later released.



Both Congress leaders alleged they were manhandled and roughed up by police personnel while they were marching towards Hathras to meet the victim's family. However, Noida Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Ranvijay Singh said that there was "no lathi charge" on anyone.

The 19-year-old girl had succumbed to injuries in the Safdarjung Hospital where she was brought on Monday from Aligarh Muslim University Medical College.

Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that the forensic report of the Hathras victim, who succumbed to her injuries following an alleged gang rape, shows that the woman "was not raped".

The government has formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case and said the matter will be heard in the fast track court. All four accused in the case have been arrested.

The senior police official said that the postmortem, which was conducted by a team of doctors in Delhi, has established that the death was caused by the trauma of her neck injury.
Syria today resumed international passenger flights out of the Damascus airport some six months after authorities suspended air travel as part of coronavirus restrictions.

Syrian Airlines will fly from Damascus International Airport to regional locations, including Cairo and Beirut, and resume a weekly flight to Khartoum, Sudan, according to Reuters. The national flag carrier will also pick up ad hoc flights to Kuwait.

The first flight departed for Cairo today with 130 passengers, heralding the re-opening of the airport to flights amid health measures that ensure safe transportation, wrote Syrian state news agency SANA.

In recent weeks, a number of regional airlines have expanded their network abroad. The Dubai-based Emirates resumed flights to Muscat, Oman, this week, and Saudi Arabia began allowing international air travel for certain categories of citizens and residents earlier this month.

The Syrian government halted flights March 25, several days after recording its first COVID-19 case.

The Health Ministry has recorded 4,200 cases of the virus and 200 deaths in government-held areas, but given the limited testing, medics and Syria watchers suspect the true number is far higher. In a Sept. 15 study, a team of researchers at Google, the London School of Economics and other academic institutions estimated that only 1.25% of deaths due to the coronavirus were being reported in Damascus.

The researchers said other parts of the country where testing is even more limited, including rebel-held Idlib province and the Kurdish-run northeast, could have experienced similar or worse mortality rates.
The House of Representatives has passed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill, which includes a $120 billion assistance for small and independently-owned restaurants.

It was the first time that either chamber of Congress has passed targeted relief for the country's 500,000 independent restaurants, which account for three-quarters of the restaurants and bars in the U.S. The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the restaurant industry.

The newly approved 2,152-page stimulus bill is a revised, less costly version of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, previously proposed in May.

"This $2.2 trillion Heroes Act provides the absolutely needed resources to protect lives, livelihoods and the life of our democracy over the coming months," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in a statement.

Aside from restaurants, Pelosi noted that it also includes new funding needed to prevent catastrophe for schools, small businesses, performance spaces, and airline workers, among others.

Called the HEROES Act 2.0, the latest version of stimulus bill also includes another round of stimulus checks and extending $600 per week unemployment benefits until January 2021.

The $120 billion relief package under the "Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive" (RESTAURANTS) Act was approved as part of the revised stimulus package.

It would provide restaurants, bars, food trucks, and other food-service venues with grants to cover the difference between their 2019 revenues and their estimated revenues for each quarter of 2020.

These establishments can use the grants to cover operating costs such as payroll and benefits, food, utilities, rent, and more.

The Nation's Restaurant News said that unlike some of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, restaurants or franchises with more than 20 locations would not be eligible to receive this aid.

According to the Independent Restaurant Coalition, the revised version of the HEROES Act is the best plan Congress has enforced to protect the livelihoods of the 11 million people working in independent restaurants across the country.

"Independent restaurants are out of options, and by providing flexible grants based on revenue losses to independent restaurants who need them, Congress can ensure many businesses have a shot at surviving colder weather and getting through the pandemic," the coalition said in a report.

The updated measure will provide additional support for small businesses by improving the PPP and giving additional loans for hard-hit businesses.It also commits "targeted assistance" for the restaurant industry.

The new stimulus bill would also allocate $75 billion for coronavirus testing, contact tracing, and treatment, especially on communities of color.

Congress passed the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill on Thursday evening. It passed on a 214-2017 vote, even as Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continued to push for a last-minute, bipartisan agreement.

Many Republican members of the House have openly opposed the bill as partisan, unrealistic, and too expensive. But not only Republicans rejected it, 18 Democrats had also voted against the bill.

The HEREOS Act 2.0 would still need to pass the Senate in order to become a law.

Senate Republicans previously proposed a stimulus bill, which was dubbed as a "skinny bill." It includes an extra $600 weekly jobless aid. However, it failed to push through since Democrats blocked it in voting.

Check these out:

Senate Reveals $500 Billion Relief Bill, but Will It Include Stimulus Check 2?

Stimulus Letters Bound to 9 Million People Who Have Not Yet Been Paid

"Skinny" Stimulus Bill: Senate Republicans will Vote this Week
PHILADELPHIA  The Eagles ruled out four players, including two wide receivers, and listed two more as doubtful and questionable, for their Week 4 matchup at the 49ers on Sunday night.

Wide receiver DeSean Jackson (hamstring), wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (foot), cornerback Avonte Maddox (ankle) and cornerback Trevor Williams (rib) will not play.

Wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (calf) is doubtful.

Left tackle Jason Peters (foot) is questionable.

The injuries highlight major questions at wide receiver and cornerback for the Eagles.

On Thursday, Greg Ward was the only wide receiver on the active roster who participated in practice. Rookie John Hightower (illness) returned to practice Friday, so he should take on a major role. The Eagles also have an empty roster spot and could activate rookie wide receiver Quez Watkins off injured reserve, while the team protected wide receivers Deontay Burnett and Travis Fulgham on their practice squad this week. Those two could be promoted Saturday.

Arcega-Whiteside was injured pregame last week and played in a limited role.

Read more: 7 Philadelphia Eagles crucial to success at San Francisco 49ers in Week 4

For what its worth, Burnett was made available to media on a Zoom call Friday, and he is the first practice squad player to be available this season. He had three catches for 19 yards after he was promoted for the Week 3 tie with the Bengals.

Earlier this week, the Eagles placed rookie Jalen Reagor (thumb) on injured reserve.

The Eagles dont seem to have quite the same reinforcements at cornerback. Darius Slay, Nickell Robey-Coleman and CreVon LeBlanc are the only healthy cornerbacks on the roster, though safety Jalen Mills is a former cornerback. The Eagles have defensive back Grayland Arnold and cornerback Michael Jacquet on the practice squad.

During a week where the Eagles listed 25% of their roster on the Wednesday injury report, the status report has some good news.

Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (oblique), right tackle Lane Johnson (ankle), guard Jamon Brown (illness), offensive lineman Jack Driscoll (illness), safety Rudy Ford (groin), center Jason Kelce (rest), Hightower & running back Miles Sanders (glute) are listed without a game status after either missing practice or being limited earlier in the week.

Cox missed Fridays practice for personal reasons, while Jeffery was a limited participant in his return from December foot surgery.

Daniel Gallen covers the Philadelphia Eagles for PennLive. He can be reached at dgallen@pennlive.com. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Follow PennLives Philadelphia Eagles coverage on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
WASHINGTON (AP)  After more than a year of circling each other, Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden met on the debate stage Tuesday night in Ohio.

The 74-year-old president and the 77-year-old former vice president are similar in age, and they share a mutual dislike. But they differ starkly in style and substance. All of that was evident from the outset on the Cleveland stage.

Here are key takeaways from the first of three scheduled presidential debates before Election Day on Nov. 3.

TRUMP'S SERIAL INTERRUPTIONS

Trump is no stranger to going on offense, but his aggressive posture on stage left his Democratic opponent fighting to complete a sentence. Trump frequently interrupted Biden mid-sentence, sometimes in intensely personal ways.

"There's nothing smart about you," Trump said of Biden. "47 years you've done nothing."

While Trump played into his reputation as a bully, it may have been effective at breaking up the worst of Biden's attacks  simply by talking over them.

Trump aides believed before the debate that Biden would be unable to withstand the withering offensive on style and substance from Trump, but Biden came with a few retorts of his own, calling Trump a "clown" and mocking Trump's style by asking, "Will you shut up, man?"

Trump's supporters may have been cheered by his frontal assault. Whether undecided voters, who watched the debate to try to learn about the two candidates, were impressed is another matter.

Moderator Chris Wallace was none too amused, delivering a pointed reproach to Trump for his interruptions. "Frankly, you've been doing more interrupting," Wallace said, appealing to Trump to let his opponent speak.

TRUMP CAN'T ESCAPE THE VIRUS

Trump has wanted the election to be about anything but the coronavirus pandemic, but he couldn't outrun reality on the debate stage.

"It is what it is because you are who you are," Biden told the president, referring to Trump's months of downplaying COVID-19 while he said privately he understood how deadly it is.

But Trump didn't take it quietly. He proceeded to blitz Biden with a mix of self-defense and counter-offensives. 200,000 dead? Biden's death toll would have been "millions," Trump said. A rocky economy? Biden would've been worse. Biden wouldn't have manufactured enough masks or ventilators.

The kicker: "There will be a vaccine very soon."

Biden fell back on his bottom line: "A lot of people died, and a lot more are going to unless he gets a lot smarter."

For voters still undecided about who'd better handle the pandemic, the exchange may not have offered anything new.

RACIAL RECKONING

Trump said Biden was the politician who helped put millions of Black Americans in prison with the 1994 crime law. Biden called Trump "the racist" in the Oval Office.

For a nation confronting a summer of racial unrest  and centuries of injustice  the debate was the latest cultural flashpoint.

Biden was quiet as Trump blitzed him as a tool of the "radical left" and a weak figure who opposes "law and order." He pressed Biden repeatedly to name any police union that's endorsed him. He falsely accused Biden of wanting to "defund the police."

Biden didn't capitalize when Trump refused to condemn armed militias and insisted, against the guidance of his own FBI director: "This is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem."

"Proud Boys, stand back and stand by," Trump said when pressed on the far-right group. "But I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left."

The former vice president tried to push back, but not until after Trump had made his arguments, including the misrepresentations.

Biden regained some footing mocking the president's warnings about suburbs, saying, "He wouldn't know a suburb unless he took a wrong turn." And perhaps revealing the thinking about allowing Trump the rhetorical upper hand, Biden said, "All these dog whistles and racism doesn't work anymore."

QUESTION ABOUT COURT, ANSWER ABOUT HEALTH CARE

Trump defended his decision to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court just weeks before Election Day, saying "elections have consequences."

Biden said he was "not opposed to the justice," but said the "American people have a right to have a say in who the Supreme Court nominee is."

But rather than litigate Republicans' 2016 blocking of Merrick Garland to the high court, Biden quickly pivoted to the issues that will potentially come before the court: healthcare and abortion. It's an effort by the Democrat to refocus the all-but-certain confirmation fight for Trump's third justice to the Supreme Court into an assault on Trump and his record.

Biden said Barrett, who would be the sixth justice on the nine-member court to be appointed by a Republican, would endanger the Affordable Care Act and tens of millions of Americans with preexisting conditions, and would imperil legalized abortion. It was a reframing of the political debate to terms far more favorable to the Democrat, and one Trump played into. Trump said of the conservative Barrett, "You don't know her view on Roe vs. Wade" and he defended his efforts to try to chip away at the popular Obama-era health law.

Biden has tried to press Democrats to use the court confirmation fight as a rallying cry against Trump, and the debate discussion largely played out on his turf.

'INVISIBLE' WALLACE STRUGGLES TO CONTAIN TRUMP

Debate moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News tried mightily to hold his ground Tuesday after saying beforehand that it was not his job to fact-check the candidates, especially Trump, in real time.

But Wallace struggled to stop Trump from interrupting and at times seemed to lose control of the debate.

"Mr. President, as the moderator, we are going to talk about COVID in the next segment," Wallace said.

Soon after: "I'm the moderator, and I'd like you to let me ask my question."

Minutes later: "I have to give you roughly equal time. Please let the vice president talk."

And when Wallace noted that Trump hasn't come up with his health care plan in nearly four years, Trump turned the question back on Wallace.

"First of all, I'm debating you and not him. That's okay. I'm not surprised."

Wallace said he wanted to be "invisible."

Well, that was impossible.

FAMILY BUSINESS

As expected, Trump found a way to bring up Hunter Biden, the former vice president's son, and recycle allegations about the younger Biden's international business practices. Biden called Trump's litany "discredited" and fired back, "I mean, his family we can talk about all night."

But Biden sidestepped any of the specifics of Trump's international business dealings and instead turned straight to the camera. "This is not about my family or his family," Biden said as Trump tried to talk over him. "This is about your family."

In a later exchange, Trump interrupted Biden when he was talking about his late son, Beau Biden, who died of cancer in 2015 after having served in Iraq.

"I don't know Beau, I know Hunter," Trump said.

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A digest of recent news from the EBRD

Regional developments

Revising down economic forecasts

The EBRD has wound back forecasts for the emerging economies where it invests with an overall contraction across its economies of 3.9 per cent this year, and a return to growth next year of 3.6 percent, after measures to contain the impact of the coronavirus pandemic lasted for longer than previously anticipated.

Learn more

The latest Regional Economic Prospects report, launched on Thursday, was met with great interest by traditional and social media. Extensive coverage was registered throughout EBRD shareholder countries and also included the survey on the impact of the crisis on selected countries, which is part of the report.

EBRD economists led by Chief Economist Beata Javorcik engaged with the media in interviews about the reports main findings and the outlook for countries and regions, We are particularly concerned about lower income people in countries that are not set to benefit from European firepower, said Ms Javorcik told the news agency Reuters.

The EBRD Chief Economist also pointed out that countries heavily dependent on tourism and diaspora funds are the most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in an interview with Le Monde.

Globally, what we have seen is that exports of services are not recovering as fast as exports of manufactured goods, she said in conversation with the Wall Street Journal. As a consequence some businesses will go bankrupt, she warned.

EBRD Annual Meeting sets sights on resilient post-coronavirus future

The EBRD will hold its Annual Meeting virtually on 7 and 8 October. During the event the Bank shareholders will agree steps to deliver a robust post-Covid future for the 38 emerging economies and elect a new President of the Bank.

Learn more

New projects and signings

Investing in Egypt-focused private equity fund

In Egypt, the EBRD is boosting the resilience of the financial sector and supporting equity financing to SMEs by investing up to US$ 50 million in LCP Fund II.

Learn more

EBRD acquires minority stake in Lithuanias Ignitis Group

The EBRD has acquired a 4 per cent stake in the Lithuanian energy company Ignitis Group, supporting the largest share listing to have occurred in the Baltic states. The EBRD investment of 67.5 million represented 15 per cent of the 450 million initial public offering.

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Work starts to make Moldovan city of Balti greener

Moldovas second largest city, Balti, is beginning its journey towards a greener future by developing its Green City Action Plan, with the renewal of its trolleybus fleet. The development of the action plan is funded by the government of Sweden and part of the EBRDs flagship urban sustainability programme Green Cities.

Learn more

Supporting Uzbek SMEs and female entrepreneurs

The EBRD is strengthening Uzbek local small enterprises and women-led businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic with a US$ 40 million finance package to Ipoteka Bank.

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Helping Turkmen small businesses affected by coronavirus pandemic

In Turkmenistan, the EBRD is providing a senior loan of up to US$1.5 million to the domestic snacks producer lem Gmisi for working capital purposes and to help the company manage increased delivery terms and transportation costs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Supporting green investments in Morocco

In Morocco, the EBRD, EU, GCF and South Korea are supporting green investments by the private sector. Two programmes, cumulatively worth 253 million, will support investments in green technologies and help local businesses and SMEs become more competitive.

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Changing lives

Helping Georgian firms expansion into fire extinguisher production

As a guest, what should you bring to a dinner party? Paata Tchumburidze has a very original suggestion: a bottle of quality Georgian wine and a fire extinguisher, manufactured in Georgia! Together with the EU, the EBRD is helping the Georgian firms expansion into fire extinguisher production.

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Refurbishing a kindergarten in Chisinau

In Moldovas capital Chisinau the EBRD is teaming up with E5P and EIB to refurbish six kindergartens, make them more comfortable and eco-friendly, with support from the EU and Austria.

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Events

Euromoney webinar: CEE: future engines of growth

EBRD Acting President Jurgen Rigterink spoke at a webinar CEE Forward: Future engines of growth - how can Central and Eastern Europe take advantage of a changing global environment? The webinar is available on demand. In his intervention he pointed put investment and growth opportunities in the region.

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Opening submissions for EBRD Literature Prize 2021

The Bank this week announced the launch of the EBRD Literature Prize 2021, in cooperation with the British Council. The prize will reward best works of literary fiction from across EBRDs regions translated into English, awarding to both writers and translators.

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Athens Democracy Forum: The New Abnormal

EBRD Chief Economist Beata Javorcik participated in a panel discussion at the Athens Democracy Forum, speaking about Capitalism in a post-Covid world.

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Conference on Green Financing in Central Europe

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB), in cooperation with the EBRD, is organising an international green financial conference on 12 October 2020. Subjects of discussion will include the green recovery, an assessment of the adverse impacts of climate change and the funding opportunities for renewable energy.

Further information and registration

EBRD in social media

The EBRD published a new video on its support for the agribusiness sector, featuring Natalya Zhukova, EBRD Head of Agribusiness.

Watch here

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the Bank promoted its work to support inclusive and sustainable tourism across its regions.

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Celebrating Diversity Week, the EBRD shared a video featuring some of its staff.

Watch here

Short videos with testimonials from students of the EBRDs online platform, Know How Academy, were promoted across all social media platforms.

Watch here

The EBRD held a webinar, supported by the EU, on how local producers in Jordan can overcome challenges and boost competitiveness, growth, and exports.

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Subscribe to instant email updates on EBRD news about topics such as coronavirus and climate finance.

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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AmeriHome, Inc., ("AmeriHome") today announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") relating to a proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as lead book-running managers for the proposed offering. Barclays, BofA Securities, Citigroup and RBC Capital Markets are also acting as bookrunning managers for the proposed offering. Apollo Global Securities, Houlihan Lokey and Siebert Williams Shank are acting as co-managers for the proposed offering.

The proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the preliminary prospectus, when available, may be obtained from any of the following sources:

Credit Suisse Securities ( USA ) LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 6933 Louis Stephens Drive, Morrisville, North Carolina 27560, telephone: 1-800-221-1037 or by emailing [email protected] ;

) LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 6933 Louis Stephens Drive, 27560, telephone: 1-800-221-1037 or by emailing ; Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, telephone: 1-866-471-2526, facsimile: 212-902-9316 or by emailing [email protected] ;

; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, telephone: 1-866-803-9204, or by emailing at [email protected] ; or

11717, telephone: 1-866-803-9204, or by emailing at ; or Wells Fargo Securities, Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 500 West 33rd Street, New York, New York , 10001, at (800) 326-5897 or email a request to [email protected] .

A registration statement on Form S-1 relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About AmeriHome

AmeriHome is in the business of purchasing residential mortgage loans from correspondent sellers, originating residential mortgage loans directly to consumers, and pooling and selling loans in the secondary market. AmeriHome is an approved seller/servicer for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is also an approved issuer of securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, a lender for the FHA, and a lender/servicer for the VA and USDA. AmeriHome can service and purchase loans in 49 states and DC.

SOURCE AmeriHome, Inc.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  In the Gaza Strip, an increasing number of women and girls have been resorting to social media to share their experience with domestic abuse. Five campaigns have been launched by activists within two months to fight against domestic abuse. Battered women write their stories on social media, and activists then share them and work to protect the womens rights and rid them of the violence they are subject to.

This blunt openness about domestic abuse is alien to the Palestinian society, which considers women's issues as sensitive. Such issues, seen as private, are kept away from the media as they could embarrass the concerned womans family in a society governed by tribalism.

The rates of violence against women recently escalated in the Gaza Strip, with the death of 11 women since the beginning of this year, according to the 2020 Domestic Violence Survey by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The survey found that 29% of women in Palestine face a form of violence during their lifetime. The Gaza governorate registered the highest rate of violence by husbands against married and divorced women, registering a rate of 41%, according to the survey.

Ahmed al-Hijazee, a womens rights activist who is taking part in the current campaigns against domestic violence, told Al-Monitor that the lobbying and support campaigns for battered women are very helpful. Perpetrators of violence against women could face legal prosecution. This is not to mention the scandal and the harm to their reputation, which they fear more than the legal punishment in a conservative society like Gaza.

He said that the campaigns are resorting to all legal measures and procedures and having access to the facts of the case away from hasty accusations. The campaigns are not limited to the appeal posted on social media by the victim. The accused party is contacted, there is coordination with the legal authorities and civil women's institutions, and proof and evidence must be established before posting the story, he said. We have to protect ourselves from legal prosecution. We must refrain from publishing any false or misleading information, as this could wrong the accused party.

Hijazee added that some women have resorted to social media to defame their husbands or families, in light of the great response from the community on women's advocacy campaigns. He noted that these campaigns often end with bad consequences for these women.

In order to be successful, any campaign requires real action on the ground that supports it. A campaign limited to a social media appeal is not enough to lift injustice, he added.

Hijazee, who has been working on abused women campaigns since 2017, said, When the campaign achieves its goals, contact is made with the battered woman to check on her and ensure the continued success of the campaign. This provides the victim with legal protection and helps them obtain their rights.

Lawyer Youssef Salem said women use social media to share their stories as a last resort, after attempting to solve the issue with their husbands amicably, to no avail. The use of social media comes after many attempts to end the dispute, either amicably or by resorting to the police, he told Al-Monitor.

He said, however, that the police do not properly respond to complaints of battered women. Their cases are referred to the personal status department [of the police]. Sometimes these cases get closed by forcing the battered woman to waive her right for the sake of preserving the family reputation and honor, or for considerations related to religion, customs and traditions.

Salem noted, The woman facing abuse would find herself facing a dilemma. She can either choose to keep her silence about what she endured or make her case public on social media.

He added, In several cases the interaction these victims got on social media forced their family to fulfill their demands, whether with the intervention of the attorney general or through tribal reconciliation.

However, Salem noted that the activists' support for women on social media could backfire at these women and destroy their entire family fabric. This is especially true when activists start using slanderous words and resort to defamation without verifying the veracity of the battered womans narrative. Some activists faced threats and prosecution under the cybercrime law. To achieve their objectives, these campaigns should focus on advocacy for rights rather than support for a specific person, he said.

He explained that Palestinian laws in general provide minimum protection to Palestinian women and must be updated and amended, calling for expediting the promulgation of the Family Protection draft bill, endorsed by the Cabinet in 2018.

Salem said the law is not always implemented and police rarely take action in light of the tribal and patriarchal society, and people prefer to solve their family issues amicably or through tribal mediation. This is why, he added, police workers must be trained on how to deal with womens complaints, and take into account the interest of women and their choice of either an amicable or judicial solution.

Zainab Ghunaimi, director of the Center for Women's Legal Research and Consulting, told Al-Monitor that the communitys interaction with abused women on social media is divided into three categories. Some accuse these women of harming their familys reputation, urging them to opt for amicable solutions, and some support them and try to search for solutions. Others get carried away and interact with these cases in an exaggerated manner without any consideration for the harm that this may cause.

She explained that when similar cases are submitted for examination by the Public Prosecution it would be better not to discuss them in public. Victims want their cases examined. They do not seek fame on social media. They want a solution, she said.

Suheir al-Baba, an attorney at the legal department of the Women's Affairs Center in Gaza, argued that posting stories of female victims of domestic violence on social media is useful and could radically change their lives, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of most institutions.

Battered women resort to social media with the aim of arousing public opinion and conveying their voice to decision-makers. The Women's Affairs Center follows up with girls and women after they post their stories and provides them with legal protection and psychological support, she told Al-Monitor.

Baba noted that there is a department at the center that follows up on complaints and cases of domestic violence published on social media. Domestic violence is on the rise, she warned, adding, This is due to the poor economic and social situation in the Gaza Strip and the lack of awareness among men about women and their rights.
Northern Ireland beauty brand BPerfect has been labelled "a disgrace" by some bloggers after thousands attended the opening of its megastore in Belfast on Thursday.

The company stressed it asked all those attending to adhere to the coronavirus guidelines and requested they wear masks which were also handed out. It also said the queue inside the building was "strictly policed" by security and all were asked to sanitise their hands.

Queues for the opening of the new CastleCourt store stretched far down Royal Avenue.

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The Eastenders star Jacqueline Jossa and her husband, television personality Dan Osborne as well as brand representatives, arrived at the event in an open-top bus.

Pictures on social media showed customers, many of whom were not wearing masks, inside the shopping centre and standing close together outside while waiting for the opening.

Expand Close Sparkling company: Actress Jacqueline Jossa with BPerfects Brendan McDowell Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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Founder of the cosmetics brand Brendan McDowell shared photos on his social media account of the opening of the megastore, which came as part of a 250k investment.

Many on social media hit out at the event, including iRadio presenter Louise Clarke.

"How is this acceptable?" she asked on Twitter.

"As if it was ever going to be a icontrolled environment'. Shame on the influencers who attended and promoted the event and massive shame on BPerfect for holding it.

"What's with certain 'influencers' thinking they're above Covid guidelines?"

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Goss Media founder Alexandra Ryan said it was not the time for brand launches in store or in public.

"Now is the time to stick to your zooms and be considerate of other people's safety," she said.

"Any event that will promote mass queuing is dangerous. I can't believe this even needs to be said. We need better behaviour."

Meanwhile, another Twitter user Rachel Murray branded the event "a disgrace".

"This is actually a disgrace the BPerfect event went ahead in Belfast and the photos highlight how packed it was. Total joke."

Newstalk radio presenter Susan Keogh added: "Unless theres a cure for Covid in your BPerfect carnival palette there is just no excuse for that event last night. 424 confirmed cases in Northern Ireland on Wednesday. The company who organised it and all those who attended clearly couldnt give a toss."

A spokesperson for BPerfect Cosmetics said: Before, during and after the opening of our new BPerfect Megastore, we made numerous public pleas to anyone shopping with us on our opening night to ensure they adhered to all social distancing guidelines at all times.

"This included asking everyone to be personally responsible for social distancing in the outdoor queue, wearing a mask when indoors, sanitising their hands and following all instructions from security."

The spokesperson said the queue was "strictly policed" by security once inside the door of CastleCourt shopping centre, ensuring all customers queued at least two metres apart, masks were distributed to anyone not in possession of one and every person was asked to sanitise their hands upon entry to the store.

"We personally employed teams of staff to remind the queue of the rules throughout the evening. We would like to thank everyone who adhered to these rules and for the huge support on our first day of trade," they added.

The megastore opening created 10 jobs and houses a range of beauty brands as well as two new tanning products created in collaboration with Ms Jossa.

A spokesperson for CastleCourt shopping centre said: "We thoroughly examined BPerfects event management plans and were satisfied with the measures outlined and the focused approach taken to address public health guidelines and to promote safety advice at all times.

"In addition, we also submitted a detailed safety plan to support the store opening with enhanced safety measures within the centre, which was approved by Belfast City Council. CastleCourt also liaised with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on its safety plan ahead of Thursday October 1st.

"These additional safety measures included deploying 10 centre security officers stationed at various points on the ground floor to manage queues and to proactively promote social distancing at all times. CastleCourts security team cut off the queue once capacity had been reached and turned away over 200 customers to ensure safety compliance. A team of eight staff were also employed to regularly undertake a rigorous cleaning regime throughout the evening.

"CastleCourt also provided increased customer signage, a barriered queuing system with staggered shop entry to ensure compliance with guidelines, as well as providing free face masks to all queuing members as required. Social distancing and associated safety measures within all of our retail stores remain the responsibility of the retailer."
In good news for all Tesla car fans in India, its chief executive officer Elon Musk has said the US electric carmaker will make a debut in the country in 2022. Musk revealed this while replying to a query on Twitter, saying the company would enter the Indian market "next year for sure".

He was asked by a Tesla fan club, Tesla Club India, whether he could give some idea about the US electric carmaker's plans about entering the Indian market.

"Hey Elon , just thought we'd put this out here. We wait and hang on to hope wrt "hopefully soon" for India Tesla entry. Would love to hear of any progress in this regard," the club, while displaying Telsa merchandise that said "India loves Tesla'' and "India wants Tesla".

The billionaire tycoon affirmed saying "Yea..Next year for sure."

Yeah a Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 2, 2020

This is not the first time Musk has revealed Tesla's plans to enter the Indian market. In 2019 too, replying to a Twitter query, Musk had said that he "would love to be there this year. If not, definitely next!"

Also read: Tesla in India? Elon Musk-led company looks to set up research facility in Bengaluru

Besides, reports say the Musk-helmed Tesla has held exploratory discussions with the Karnataka government for possible investments for a research facility in Bengaluru. Another meeting is expected to be held soon in which the government officials are likely to present a proposal to Tesla.

Reports confirm Tesla has shown initial interest to invest in a research and innovation centre in Karnataka but talks are at initial states.

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
Well-placed sources have told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald that Myer has an estimated 200 containers from overseas suppliers running late with deliveries due to weather conditions and other factors, including industrial action in Sydney ahead of the peak intake period for retailers as they ramp up for Christmas.

With retail industry speculation that Myer will struggle with supplies in the lead up to the Christmas season, things arent looking good for the department store chain.

But after Myer reported a $172 million loss for the year , combined with huge debts and a questionable strategy exacerbated by the global pandemic, Lew felt the need to get active.

When Solomon Lew sent a message to Myer chairman Garry Hounsell in 2017 saying this is round one, we are only getting started, he wouldnt have imagined that in 2020 he would need to re-enter the ring for another round.

For Myer this means a tight turnaround to get the stock unloaded, picked and onto the shelves in the lead up to Christmas. It will be an even tighter deadline to get merchandise ready for November's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale frenzies.

Fewer supplies and fewer items in stock will likely mean a hit to Myer's sales over the critical trading period which will make it harder to service its $340 million in debt repayments, with $30 million due this financial year.

Some suppliers are so concerned about Myer's future they are reining in supplies and requesting it pay up within seven days of delivery. There is talk that some suppliers are losing their appetite to take orders and deliver in four to five months due to the outlook for the beleaguered department store, particularly when suppliers are unable to obtain trade credit insurance and its lenders hold security over the company's assets.

In response to a list of questions Myer said it was ramping up its stocks in preparation for Christmas "and do not envisage major issues with our planned stock for the upcoming Christmas period at this stage.

It said the delays to the 200 containers was inaccurate but was monitoring the issues associated with the Sydney industrial action. "We have had, and will continue to have, a steady flow of stock arriving over the coming weeks to support what is typically the peak intake period for a retailer as we ramp up for Christmas - and we do not envisage any major issues for this upcoming Christmas period at this stage.
(Photo : AirTrunk Japan ) Asia's Biggest Data Center to be Built in Japan Targets to Open in 2021 (Photo : AirTrunk Japan ) Asia's Biggest Data Center to be Built in Japan Targets to Open in 2021

AirTrunk, the Asia Pacific's well-known data center specialist in the world, has announced its new project for the upcoming 2021. The private cloud company has decided to steal the title of the biggest data center market in Asia (excluding China) and build a new 300+ megawatt (MW) hyperscale data center campus in Tokyo, Japan. Here's what it looks like.

Introducing AirTrunk's newest soon-to-be building

AirTrunk TOK1, the next biggest data center in Asia, is set to construct a new 300+ megawatt (MW) hyperscale data center campus in Inzai, Tokyo.

This first ~60 MW phase of the campus is scheduled to be open and built-in 2021 as a way to support anchor customer demand of Japanese residents.

It will be scalable to over 300 MW, allowing public cloud customers to scale rapidly to support their growing capacity requirements in Japan.

AirTrunk's Head of Japan, Nori Matsushita, thanked the company for choosing Japan for the data center's additional space.

"AirTrunk's unique construction methodologies, safety track record and commitment to providing an efficient and sustainable digital ecosystem will be key to our success in Japan. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver this enormous data center in Inzai," he said.

What is AirTrunk?

To those who don't know about AirTrunk, this company is a "best-in-class hyperscale data center specialist creating a platform for cloud, content, and large enterprise customers across the Asia-Pacific region."

Mainly, the company develops and operates data center campuses with industry-leading reliability, technology innovation, and energy efficiency.

Described as unique, AirTrunk-- compared to other data center companies-- allows leeway to customers to build a scalable and sustainable data center solution at the lowest costs possible.



As their next biggest project, Japan serves the highlight of the company for the year 2020. Founder and CEO of AirTrunk, Robin Khuda, mentioned that they chose Japan as this country poised a huge acceleration to the cloud industry.



"Japan is a highly developed market with strong international connectivity, underpinning its position as a technology and data center hub in Asia. The rapid increase of cloud adoption in Japan will be enabled by critical infrastructure, including hyperscale data centers like TOK1."



"TOK1 is part of our ongoing commitment to deliver secure, reliable, scalable, and cost-effective infrastructure for our cloud customers in key Asia-Pacific markets. We're ensuring operational excellence and a consistent experience for our customers across our data center platform," said Mr. Khuda TOK1 is set to have seven buildings standing around more than 13 hectares of land.



Who's excited to see this building?

ALSO READ: Successful Business Alert: Benefits of Switching to Cloud-Based Phone Systems

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Written by Jamie Pancho

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a 30-year old actor at his Mumbai flat in August 2013, during his questioning by Mumbai police, and said that he was busy shooting one of his films in Sri Lanka, while the incident is alleged to have happened in Mumbai.

Kashyap, who was questioned by the Mumbai police officials for close to eight hours on Thursday, provided documentary proof of his claim, according to a statement released by his lawyer Priyanka Khimani on Friday.

Kashyap has provided documentary proof of the fact that throughout August, 2013, he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films. Kashyap has categorically denied that any such alleged incident ever took place and has also denied all allegations levelled against him, the statement said.

The statement further alleged that the allegations of sexual abuse levelled against Kashyap were meant to vilify him in public.

These sudden, belated allegations of an alleged incident of August, 2013, have been widely publicised by the complainant for the purpose of vilifying Kashyap, irrespective of the outcome of the judicial process, Khimani said in the statement.

Kashyap is apprehensive that now that the falsity of her allegations in the FIR has been established, she will alter her version of events in the investigative process as well. Kashyap is distressed with the false and reckless allegations made against him that have caused pain to him, his family and his fans. Kashyap intends to vigorously pursue the legal remedies available to him, added the statement.

Also Read: Sexual assault case: Mumbai Police question Anurag Kashyap for 8 hours

The actor had recently alleged that Kashyap had called her to his place and behaved inappropriately. Her FIR states that Kashyap called her to his flat located at Yari road in Andheri (West) in August 2013 on the pretext of having a discussion about casting her in one of his upcoming films and then ended up sexually assaulting her.

Also Read: Mumbai police summons Anurag Kashyap to record statement in alleged sexual assault case

The actor has filed a case against Kashyap under sections 376 (1) (rape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with an intent to outrage her modesty), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Versova police station on September 22.
Rick Moranis, the star of Ghostbusters and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, has told police in New York he wants them to 'catch the bad guy' who punched him in the head, knocking him to the ground as he walked on the Upper West Side on Thursday.

A group of officers from the NYPD visited the actor at his home on the Upper West Side and then updated reporters on his condition following the unprovoked attack.

'[Moranis] is doing well. He is strong. He is recovering,' said Detective Kaz Daughtry, one of six cops with the NYPD's new Community Affairs Rapid Response who visited the actor at his home on Friday afternoon.

'He just wants us to catch the bad guy and all this to go away,' the officer said.

'He has some injuries to his left side,' said Daughtry, explaining that Moranis has 'some pain on the left side of his leg.'

'At this moment, [Moranis] just wants to stay home, he just wants to recover, and he just wants, you know, peace of mind, and once he gets better, then he is going to go out and do his daily things that he usually does,' Officer Jonadel Dorrejo added.

Rick Moranis, 67, was walking on New York City's Upper West Side on Thursday around 7.30am when he was attacked. Surveillance footage captures a stranger walking past him abruptly punching Moranis in the head, knocking him to the ground (left and right)

The horrifying assault was caught on surveillance camera and shows Moranis, 67, who is 5ft 6in walking southbound on Central Park West near West 70th Street at about 7.30am on Thursday morning.

Suddenly, an unidentified man walking past the star strikes him in the head, knocking Moranis to the ground.

NYPD did not reveal the victim as Moranis in the tweet, but law enforcement later confirmed the identity.

Moranis was visited by officers from the Community Affairs Rapid Response team a newly formed unit which served to check up on city crime victims 'to let them know we are there help them out in any way that we can help them.'

'We help them out as much as we can,' the officer Dorrejo.

It comes as crimes such as murder have risen 40 percent and burglary has risen 38 percent New York City compared to the same period last year as residents moved out amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

NYPD is offering a $2,500 award for any information that leads to the arrest of the suspect (pictured), who fled the scene on foot

After the attack, Moranis visited a local hospital, where he reported pain in his head, back and right hip. However, the extent of his injuries are unknown.

The actor then reported the incident to cops at the 20th Precinct.

The suspect, who was seen wearing a dark 'I [love] NY' sweatshirt, black pants and sneakers, fled the scene on foot and had not yet been apprehended.

On Twitter, the NYPD said it is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for the attacker's apprehension.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Tips, which are confidential, can also be submitted online or via Twitter by sending a message to @NYPDTips.

According to new NYPD statistics, some crimes have been up while others are down compared to last year.

Murder is up 40 percent for the first nine months of 2020 when compared to the first nine months of 2019 with 344 murders compared to 246.

Burglary and grand larceny auto have also risen, by 38 percent and 404 percent, respectively, compared to the same time period in 2019.

However, other crimes such as rape, assault and robbery have fallen by about a 33 percent, 115 percent 149 percent, respectively, from last year, data shows.

Moranis, who was born in Toronto, Canada, secured his big break when he appeared in the 1983 film Strange Brew.

He then appeared in a string of commercially successful films including Ghostbusters in 1984, Spaceballs in 1987, and two films in 1989, Ghostbusters II and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

The actor visited a local hospital with complaints of pain in his head, back and right hip. Pictured: Moranis at opening night for the Broadway play 'In and Of Itself', April 2017

Moranis, who took a 23-year-hiatus from live-action films, recently announced he will be appearing in a sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Pictured: Moranis (right) in 1989's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

The original Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was so successful that Moranis returned for sequel Honey, I Blew Up The Kid in 1992.

He completed the trilogy with straight-to-video sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves in 1997 which was his last on-camera role before his hiatus.

Moranis has largely remained out of the spotlight since, only doing voicework for a few animated projects including the 2003 film Brother Bear and TV series The Animated Adventures Of Bob & Doug McKenzie.

He said he made the decision to step away to focus on being a single father to his children, Rachel and Mitchell, after losing his wife, costume designer Ann Belsky, to breast cancer in February 1991.

He told USA Today: 'As a single parent and I just found that it was too difficult to manage to raise my kids and to do the traveling involved in making movies.

'So I took a little bit of a break. And the little bit of a break turned into a longer break, and then I found that I really didn't miss it.'

Moranis said he took a break from acting to focus on being a single father after his wife died in 1991. Pictured: Moranis in an interview for Disney+

The premise of the sequel Shrunk concerns Moranis's character's now-grown son accidentally shrinking his own children. Pictured: Moranis at an unknown location, May 1994

Celebrities including Ryan Reynolds and Chris Evens tweeted about their anger over the vicious attack and well-wishes to Moranis

In February 2020, The Hollywood Reporter revealed Moranis would be reprising his role as Wayne Szalinski in Shrunk, a new sequel in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids series.

It is the first live-action film the actor is starring in in 23 years.

The premise of the film centers around Szalinski's now grown-up son, portrayed by Frozen star Josh Gad, who repeats the same mistake of shrinking his own children.

In a clip for Disney+ (via Entertainment Weekly), Moranis praised the director of the original film Joe Johnston.

;He had the vision of this in his head. And on that movie, I was really an actor,' he said.

'I think I drove him crazy a couple of times trying to get more comedy into it 'cause I was always looking for how to disrupt and get some more jokes in, and poor Joe just wanted to make his movie.'

Celebrities also tweeted about their anger over the vicious attack and their well-wishes to Moranis.

Ryan Reynolds, who starred with Moranis in a commercial earlier this year, wrote: 'Should have known not to subject Rick to the year 2020. Glad to hear he's okay.'

And Chris Evans tweeted: 'My blood is boiling. Find this man. You don' touch Rick Moranis.'
(Newser)  Just hours before the world learned Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus, former friend and adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff was on CNN making Melania-related headlines of a different kind. Wolkoff, who recently released the book Melania and Me, played secretly taped conversations she had with the first lady in July 2018 in which Melania Trump bemoaned criticism she was getting over migrant children detained at the border while also having to think about the White House Christmas. As CNN reports, the tapes played on Anderson Cooper 360 captured Trump saying this:

."I'm working ... my a-- off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f--- about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?"

"OK, and then I do it and I say that I'm working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas and they said, 'Oh, what about the children that they were separated?' Give me a f------ break. Where they were saying anything when Obama did that? I cannot go, I was trying get the kid reunited with the mom. I didn't have a chance -- needs to go through the process and through the law."

story continues below

"The kids, they say, 'Wow I will have my own bed? I will sleep on the bed? I will have a cabinet for my clothes?' It's so sad to hear it but they didn't have that in their own countries, they sleep on the floor. They are taken care of nicely there."

"A lot of like moms and kids they are teached how to do it. They go over and they say like, 'Oh, we will be killed by a gang member, we will be, you know, it's so dangerous.' So they are allowed to stay here. ... They're not professional but they are teached by other people what to say to come over and to you know let them go to stay here."

The response, via chief of staff Stephanie Grisham, per the New York Times: "Her only intent was to secretly tape the first lady in order to peddle herself and her salacious book. There is no way to know if these recordings have been edited, and its clear the clips were handpicked and presented with no context. The first lady remains focused on her family and serving our country."

The Times read on the tapes' context: "The recordings appear to present Mrs. Trump as irritated that she does not receive the positive news coverage that she believes she deserves, in part because people say she is not speaking out enough about her husbands actions as president."

(Read more Melania Trump stories.)
The international community needs to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on women, strive for genuine gender equality, ensure that women advance at the forefront of the times, and enhance global cooperation in advancing women's development, Xi said at a high-level meeting on the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Experts worldwide said that the proposals raised by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday will consolidate global consensus on promoting gender equality and boosting comprehensive development of the cause of women against the backdrop of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.



The international community needs to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on women, strive for genuine gender equality, ensure that women advance at the forefront of the times, and enhance global cooperation in advancing women's development, Xi said at a high-level meeting on the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Gertrude Mongella, secretary-general of the Fourth World Conference on Women, said that Xi's proposals have demonstrated the Chinese government's long-held position of attaching importance to the development of women's cause.

The women's rights advocate in Tanzania also said that China has always been committed to improving women's rights and interests and effectively lifting the status of women.

It is hoped that all countries can continue to work together, strengthen cooperation, increase investment in the cause of women, and promote the continuous development of global cause of women, she added.

Andrey Karneev, professor and head of the School of Asian Studies of Russia's Higher School of Economics, said that ensuring gender equality is a global trend, adding that China has been working hard to ensure gender equality, and handling issues related to gender equality in a constructive manner so as to guarantee women's rights.

He also said that China's experience is very valuable for other countries.

Hala Mansour, a sociology professor at Ain Shams University in Egypt, said "The international community has a role in helping women in developing countries, trying to support women by raising awareness, supporting training and rehabilitation, establishing joint projects."



She also said that China has great expertise in protecting women's rights, from which Egypt can learn, and the two countries can also cooperate in supporting woman to start small and medium-sized enterprises, and in providing skills training for women.

Juliana Gonzalez Jauregui, a researcher from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences of University of San Andres, Argentina, said that China actively supports UN Women's work, and has made great contributions to promoting gender equality and women's empowerment, which is a practice of China's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Pella Karpathiotaki, a Greek scholar, said that countries around the world still need to do more to ensure that women can enjoy healthy lives, educational opportunities and full social inclusion.

She also said that achieving gender equality and ensuring women's rights and interests are inevitable requirements for achieving a just and sustainable development, adding that China's successful experience in this regard is worth learning from.



Mohna Ansari, former commissioner at Nepal's National Women Commission, said that the situation in Nepal has worsened following the pandemic, which has added more challenges to women's lives.

"Instead, what I believe is, we can convert this pandemic to an opportunity to strengthen women's socio-economic condition by encouraging them to break the boundary in a positive way," she said.


The stampede from offices to working from home has strained IT security teams to their limits. As a result, SMBs find they need to get more bang for fewer bucks to fight off cybersecurity threats.

Network security firm Untangle on Sept. 8 released the results of its third annual SMB IT Security Report. Polling more than 500 SMBs, the report explores major barriers for managing IT security. The results reflect the growing challenges the pandemic caused in forcing massive shifts to remote work.

Nearly half of IT pros have altered their security plans as a result of large-scale breaches reported in the media. The report shows that IT teams, in addition to protecting their organizations from increasing cyberattack risks, must also contend with the unintended consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey revealed that as businesses consider more permanent plans for their employees, 56 percent will continue to have some employees work from home permanently. Another finding shows 38 percent of SMBs allocate US$1,000 or less annually to their IT budget.

SMBs are proactively putting tools in place to combat attacks. They are able to limit their vulnerabilities even though they continue grappling with limited security budgets and resource constraints.

However, dealing with these challenges during a cross-industry WFH shift has created gaping vulnerabilities within their networks. This adds another challenge to already overburdened IT departments.

As the abnormal becomes our new normal, SMBs need to approach remote work by using a combination of cloud-based applications and on-premises solutions to keep employees and systems safe, and ensure business continuity, said Scott Devens, CEO at Untangle.

SMBs should be looking for technologies that incorporate multilayered network security tools and hybrid network infrastructure, such as SD-WAN, to avoid large-scale network vulnerabilities, regardless of budget and resource size, he suggested.

This survey revealed a critical takeaway about the changing cybersecurity climate the pandemic thrust upon SMBs, warned Joseph Carson, chief security scientist and advisory CISO at Thycotic.

The report is clear that SMBs do become victims of cyberattacks and that it is better to invest upfront rather than try to survive in a post cybersecurity incident, he told TechNewsWorld.

Economical Solutions

If SMBs stick to their tight budgeting restrictions for their IT departments, they could find that some of the $1,000 ceilings they put in place can be eaten up for cyber insurance.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Cowbell Cybers recent survey revealed that 65 percent of SMBs will spend more on cyber insurance in the next two years, according to Isabelle Dumont, the companys vice president of market engagement.

Subscribing to a standalone cyber policy is always a great step for SMBs to get financial protection against a wide range of cyber incidents and gain access to expert security resources when an incident actually occurs, she told TechNewsWorld.

A growing number of SMBs continue to do more with less, according to the report. This years 38 percent budget adjustment noted above compares to 29 percent last year and 27 percent in 2018. Further, 78 percent of SMB employees are temporarily working remotely with an anticipated 56 percent suggesting some positions will be permanently remote moving forward.

Nearly half (48 percent) of the surveyed organizations operate in more than two locations, making SD-WAN an ideal infrastructure. SD-WAN allows small businesses who are operating in multiple physical locations and using bandwidth-intensive applications, such as voice over IP tools (VoIP), Zoom, or Salesforce, to take advantage of this technology.

Doing so allows SMBs to increase branch office network security. It also lets them increase Internet efficiency and decrease IT spending.

For nearly one-third (32 percent) of the responding SMBs, budget restrictions are their greatest barrier. That result is the same as last year.

Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) said their biggest challenge is employees who do not follow IT security guidelines. Limited time to research and understand emerging threats was the biggest cybersecurity protection barrier for only 13 percent of SMBs responding to the survey.

Fight More Threats, Spend Less Money

IT departments, even with limited resources, can implement foundational strategies to address network security issues and lay the groundwork for future investments, noted Untangle in citing some of the significant findings. The survey revealed effective strategies SMBs employ with their limited budgets.

For example, SMBs rank firewalls (82 percent), antivirus protection (57 percent), endpoint security (48 percent), archiving management and backup and VPN technologies, (47percent), and Web filtering (40 percent) as their most important features when considering which IT security solutions to purchase.

A majority of SMBs find economical solutions in the cloud. For instance, SMBs have adopted a hybrid on-premises/cloud-based IT infrastructure for business applications. A solid majority (71 percent) have their firewall on-site rather than in the cloud.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Nearly half (45 percent) of SMBs said they have adjusted or reevaluated their IT security roadmap based on recent security breaches and ransomware attacks. Of those SMBs surveyed who experienced a data breach within the last 12 months, 15 percent were able to stop the attack or any unauthorized access before sensitive data was extracted.

Cutting Cybersecurity Corners

This year, Untangle asked SMBs to rank the features they consider important when purchasing or considering an IT security solution, according to Heather Paunet, vice president of product management at Untangle. One of the lower-ranking options was identity access and management.

This is especially important now as employees may either be in the office, working remotely, or a combination of both. Having identity access and management solution, such as Directory Access or Captive Portal, can help IT teams ensure that those who are logging into the network have the correct credentials to do so, she told TechNewsWorld.

This ranking mirrors another finding by Varonis in their 2019 Global Data Risk Report, she noted, where 53 percent of companies have over 1,000 sensitive files open to every employee in the company.

As an SMB, many files should be segmented based on employee department or credentials, so it is even more important to have a verified identity access system in place, she explained.

Dangerous Insight

One of the most startling findings in Untangles SMB security report is that employees actions have become the second-highest ranked barrier to cybersecurity for SMBs. In its 2019 SMB IT Survey, employees behavior ranked as the third-highest barrier, and in 2020 they have become number two.

This is dangerous because many times employees are the frontline to preventing a cyberattack. If employees are not following IT security guidelines, especially with simple things like VPN connectivity, identifying emails that look suspicious, or malicious links that lead employees to a fraudulent website, then that means other protocols are falling to the wayside, added Paunet.

For any SMB looking to create a multi-layered security solution, including employees as a foundational pillar of cybersecurity is necessary, she asserted.

One additional observation Paunet noticed in the SMB security analysis was the pace of new technology adoption has slowed down this year compared to last year. The number of SMBs who are deploying their firewalls in the cloud has decreased from 2019 to 2020,.

With SMBs relying more on cloud-based applications such as Salesforce, Slack, G Suite, and Microsoft 365, it is interesting to see their cloud-based firewall deployments decrease. It is uncertain whether the current focus on pandemic restructuring or business limitations have delayed this technology adoption, but the decrease is noticeable, she cautioned.

The Hidden Cost of Skimping

Cybersecurity skimping starts with an organization having an incomplete picture of the organizations IT footprint, noted Cowbell Cybers Dumont. That can lead to severe security blind spots.

Getting a better understanding of security priorities should not mean needing to hire a security consultant, suggested Mark Kedgley, CTO at New Net Technologies (NNT). Plenty of effective cybersecurity controls should be adopted.

Many of these do not necessarily need to eat into IT budgets, he said.

For example, establishing a hardened build standard will provide protection against the attacks highlighted like phishing and ransomware. Hardened, secure configuration guidance is available for free from NNT and the Center for Internet security.

Vulnerability scanning and patching can also be done on the cheap, he added. Some vendors, including Greenbone Networks, still offer a free vulnerability scanner via the Greenbone Community Edition.

Finally, DDoS protection can be overlaid on any website using Cloudflares Free Plan, Kedgley suggested.

SMBs are mostly leveraging free, built-in security solutions that come included with existing solutions, rather than investing into dedicated security solutions, according to Thycotics Carson.

This means that they are running blind when it comes to threat intelligence with the hope that they will be lucky and avoid becoming a victim of a cyberattack. They use the do just enough approach because resources are limited and there is never enough time to spend on security, he told TechNewsWorld.

Meet Minimum Security Standards

Untangles Paunet recommends that the minimum IT protocols that SMBs should deploy are credential-based VPN connectivity. They also need a next-generation firewall.

With credential-based authentication, SMBs, no matter how small, can connect to the network with a secured link, via VPN, and then consistently remind employees to update their credentials. That leaves them less susceptible to cybercriminals, she explained.

A next-generation firewall, with advanced web filtering and virus protection, can then provide layered security for the incoming and outgoing Internet traffic, noted Paunet.

Cowbell Cybers Dumont suggested multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative accounts and for email is a must.

It is free and takes seconds to set up, especially on cloud services. Many other security resources for SMBs are free, said Dumont.

Besides firewalls, NNTs Kedgley added the need for antivirus, backups, and web filtering. He said that the must-have list should include regular vulnerability scanning and patching, together with configuration hardening. He said also essential are non-negotiable security practices for every size of the organization.

SMBs should invest in strong Identity and Access Management solutions as they not only help reduce the risks from unauthorized access, they also help SMBs scale better when they grow, said Thycotics Carson in rounding out the minimum required security measures for SMBs.
Donald Trump has called journalists and news outlets fake news nearly 2,000 times since the beginning of his presidency, averaging more than one daily broadside against the press over the last four years.

Moments after The New York Times issued the first of its reports chronicling the presidents tax filings, revealing that he paid a mere $750 in federal income taxes the year he ran for president, and again during his first year in office, he immediately dismissed them as made up.

Its fake news, he told reporters at the White House on Sunday. Its totally fake news. Made up. Fake. We went through the same stories. You could have asked me the same questions four years ago. I had to litigate this and talk about it. Totally fake news. No.

Then, he deflected blame, attempting to cast doubts about the legitimacy of the report with his own false claim.

Actually, I paid tax, but  and youll see that as soon as my tax returns  its under audit, he said. Theyve been under audit for a long time.

But his own Internal Revenue Service has clarified that the president does not have to wait for the results of his audit before he releases his tax returns.

His rebuttal follows a familiar pattern to undermine press reports by denying them, deflecting blame and using the same allegations against his perceived enemies.

Since the phrase first appeared on his Twitter feed in December 2016 through the first week of presidential debates, the president has said fake news 1,906 times, according to transcripts and social media posts collected by Factba.se, as well as searches reviewed by The Independent.

A search for the term fake yielded more than 2,500 results, from falsely pushing a conspiracy that former president Barack Obama produced a fraudulent birth certificate to frequently painting his opponents as fakes and phonies while embroiled in his own allegations of fraud spanning decades.

For every attempt to undermine reporting as fake news, the president has created nearly 10 times as many false claims.

By July, the president made 20,055 false or misleading claims since taking office, according to The Washington Posts Fact Checkers Database, which collected an average of 23 lies or misleading statements a day within the last year, amounting to a tsunami of untruths that has overwhelmed political discourse.

On 2 October 2019, the president took credit for creating the term.

I call the fake news now corrupt news because fake news isn't tough enough, he said during an appearance at the Oval Office. And Im the one that came up with the term. Im very proud of it, but I think Im gonna switch it to corrupt news.

Buzzfeed media editor Craig Silverman began using the term in 2014 as part of his research project at Columbia Universitys Tow Center for Digital Journalism.

During a speech on 8 December 2016, then-recently defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton condemned "the epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year."

Her post-election remarks  amid a pizzagate conspiracy now engulfed by the massive and influential QAnon delusion  warned lawmakers that baseless conspiracies spreading online posed a threat to democracy and peoples lives.

"It's now clear that so-called fake news can have real-world consequences," she said. "This isn't about politics or partisanship. Lives are at risk lives of ordinary people just trying to go about their days, to do their jobs, contribute to their communities."

Two days later, the president would use the phrase for the first time.

In a post on Twitter, he said that reports by @CNN that I will be working on The Apprentice during my Presidency, even part time, are ridiculous & untrue  FAKE NEWS!

It was Sean Spicer and Mike Pence from the presidents administration who first invoked the phrase in front of the press.

Days before the presidents inauguration in 2017, then-press secretary Spicer lashed out at Buzzfeed News for publishing an unverified dossier, some of which has been corroborated, prepared by a former British intelligence operative alleging ties between Trumps campaign and Russia.

For all the talk lately about fake news, this political witch hunt by some in the media is based on some of the most flimsy reporting and is frankly shameful and disgraceful, he said.

Moments later, Mike Pence condemned the irresponsible decision of a few news organizations to run with a false and unsubstantiated report, when most news organizations resisted the temptation to propagate this fake news.

Mr Trump repeated the phrase several more times throughout the press conference, adding that BuzzFeed is a failing pile of garbage and attacking CNN for doing out of their way to build it up. CNN published a verified report revealing that a synopsis of the memos had been included in materials president to the president-elect and then-president Barack Obama.

CNNs Jim Acosta repeatedly asked the president-elect to answer any questions about it before Trump fired back at him: Youre fake news.

You know, I've been hearing more and more about a thing called fake news and they're talking about people that go and say all sorts of things, then-president-elect Trump said. But I will tell you, some of the media outlets that I deal with are fake news more so than anybody. I could name them, but I won't bother, but you have a few sitting right in front of us. They're very, very dishonest people, but I think it's just something we're going to have to live with.

That day, Facebook users interacted with stories with the term fake news nearly 3.5 million times.

Two years later, the president would claim that he came up with the phrase, but by then its definition had been rendered useless and its use meaningless, as his attacks had transformed fake news from a catch-all phrase to define a growing, dangerous problem on social media to a weaponised term to undermine the same organisations trying to combat it.

Within his first few years in office, public perception among Republicans towards news outlets dropped by 16 percentage points, according to an April poll from Morning Consult, which found that 40 per cent of Republicans dont find most visible news outlets credible.

In 2016, that figure among Republicans was at 56 per cent.

A 2020 Gallup-Knight survey from November 2019 through February 2020 found that one in five Americans who identify as very conservative and one in 10 Republicans believe the media is trying to ruin the country.

Almost three-fourths of Republicans (71 per cent) have a very or somewhat unfavorable opinion of the news media, compared to 22 per cent of Democrats and 52 per cent of independents.

But roughly 80 per cent of respondents believe news is critical or very important to democracy.

While the president has used the phrase to undermine reporters holding him and power to account, actual fake news has proliferated.

Social media platforms have struggled to combat partisan hoaxes, as well as the rise of conspiracy theories and health disinformation during the coronavirus pandemic, from fraudulent websites to outright dismissals from administration officials, including the president himself.

The Washington Posts Fact Checkers database found that the president contributed nearly 1,000 Covid-19-released false claims to the storm of misinformation.

Within the last year, health misinformation spanning at least five countries generated an estimated 3.8 billion views on Facebook, peaking in April 2020, the deadliest month in the US during the Covid-19 crisis, during which websites that spread misinformation saw roughly 460 million views on Facebook alone, according to data collected by global activism nonprofit organisation Avaaz.

The top 10 websites spreading health misinformation had nearly four times as many views as health content from health officials, including the World Health Organisation and the Centres and Prevention, Avaaz found.

The speed and volume of the news and the spread of misinformation online has risen to an overwhelming concern for nearly three-quarters of Americans, who want stronger protections against false information or hateful expression online, according to the Gallup-Knight survey.

Media analysts are bracing for a deluge of misleading information in the weeks leading up to 2020 election, and social media platforms are under pressure to scrub election-related misinformation, fearing a scenario in which the president prematurely declares victory, among others.

There are going to be so many confusing, competing ideas, and on top of that, there will be people intentionally spreading lies, Kristy Roschke, a journalism professor at Arizona State University and managing director of News/Co Lab, which specialises in media literacy.

If youre not telling me, This is the last day to vote, this is where you can do it, this is how you can do it, and who said that, then Im still as confused as I was before, she said.

Mr Silvermans 2015 study (Lies, Damn Lies and Viral Content) determined that news websites dedicate far more time and resources to propagating questionable and often false claims than they do working to verify and/or debunk viral content and online rumors.

His study, authored before the Trump presidency, established a set of best practices after determining that journalists and media organisations inadvertently promoted misinformation by attempting to chase it  which, in the months that followed, would dominate daily news cycles.

The result is a situation where lies spread much farther than the truth, and news organizations play a powerful role in making this happen, he said.

At his first debate against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on 29 September, the president quickly launched into familiar false claims and repeat lies, from allegations of widespread election fraud to the state of the economy.

Its exhausting, Ms Roschke said of the attempts to collect the presidents remarks. The fact checks fail at that point because the outlandish assertions are just everywhere.  Emphasising the lie makes people remember the lie.

Fact-checking organisations, like the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter Institute, have tirelessly worked to collect and debunk misinformation and distribute facts, including through a database linking stories from more than 70 countries in 40 languages.

News Co/Lab has launched a free media literacy course to help people navigate digital news, part of Facebooks $2 million investment in similar projects ahead of Election Day, to arm readers with their own abilities to dispel the fake news on their feeds.

We have to remember that the engines that make social media work are the same engines that make traditional media work, Ms Roschke said. These outrage memes and things that go viral  those tap into this human element we have. Recognizing that is very important. Thats not going to make you overcome your own confirmation bias. But anytime you can take a slower approach to reacting to something  if you see or hear something that makes you mad, that makes you feel scared, usually its those negative emotions that cause more action  stop for a second and ask, Why am I so mad right now? Why does this scare me so much?
Kaibab National Forest cited ongoing warm weather and below-average rainfall in recent months as it moves fire restrictions to Stage 1.

The action comes as Arizona experiences one of its hottest and driest summers on record, and the National Weather Service said the forest fuels are in danger of burning, and burning hot.

It is certainly uncommon to have fire restrictions in October. However, this year is unlike anything weve seen in decades, said Kaibab National Forest Supervisor Heather Provencio in a press release. If a wildfire were to start today, theres a strong chance of it becoming quite severe, quite quickly. We want to reduce the chances of that happening. Human-caused fires are preventable.

The action means all igniting, building, maintaining or using of a fire, including charcoal and briquettes outside a fire structure provided by the Forest Service within a developed campground are prohibited. Additionally, smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least 3 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of any flammable material is also prohibited.

Visitors may use devices that are solely fueled by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned immediately on and off with no remaining burning material. Fireworks and explosives, including exploding targets, are never allowed on national forests.

The Bill Williams Mountain watershed temporary area closure will also remain in effect to limit the area's susceptibility to uncharacteristically severe wildfire and post-wildfire flooding. It will also provide for public safety while fuels reduction operations with a helicopter are occurring on the steep slopes.

Decisions on when to implement and rescind fire restrictions are based on a combination of factors such as current and predicted weather, fuel moisture, a variety of science-based indices, fire activity levels and available firefighting resources. Fire managers monitor the conditions daily.

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The administration drew similar criticism for its actions in D.C. on June 1, when thousands of largely peaceful protesters were driven from city streets around the White House, clearing the way for the president and military leaders to cross Lafayette Square. Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, later apologized for his presence alongside Trump, saying it created the perception of the military involved in domestic politics. The most senior D.C. National Guard officer on the ground that day, in testimony he provided to Congress as a whistleblower, contradicted the administrations claims that protesters were so violent that the street-clearing offensive was needed.
More in What you need to know: Top California government news from this week (1 of 2)
By Nick Parker

parkerni2@grinnell.edu

Last week, the Grinnell Veterans Memorial Building launched the first stage of its public fundraising campaign. Accompanied by the slogan Create a New Calling, the Veterans Memorial Commission hopes it can reach its nearly $2 million goal in the coming months.

With $550,000 already raised through pledged and received donations, officials think renovations can start once the $1 million mark is passed.

This is the first major development in the project to restore the Veterans Memorial Building since the city approved a tax levy in November 2017. Before that vote, the campaign to rehabilitate the Veterans Memorial Building, which was abandoned in 2010 due to the presence of asbestos, was in limbo. The narrowly approved legislation guaranteed $2 million over the course of the next 20 years, providing an annual allowance of $100,000 to cover maintenance and upkeep costs once the building is restored. With the adoption of the levy, the Commission has been able to forge ahead.

We need to send a message to the community, said Randy Hotchkin, vice-chair of the board and former Air Force master sergeant, That tax levy vote, even though it was won by a small margin, gave us the go ahead to say This is happening. Were not going to look at another plan.

Over the course of the last year, the Veterans Memorial Commission has been slowly putting together a team to make sure their vision for the building is successfully implemented. The midwest-based architecture firm RDG, which oversaw the Central Park renovations three years ago, has been hired to carry out the redesign. Renderings of their plans are available on the Commissions Facebook page.

Additionally, the Commission brought in the fundraising firm AMPERAGE, located in Cedar Falls, to help enhance their outreach and messaging. Theyre behind the Create a New Calling slogan.

According to Hotchkin, the city of Grinnell is more committed to the project than it has been in previous years. On behalf of the Commission, the city has applied to the state of Iowa for a $400,000 Great Places grant, in the hopes of getting even closer to the $2 million goal.

For people who think that the city is not on board with this project, said Hotchkin, or not on board with seeing this through, that should send a clear message that theyre behind it now.

The Commission is currently preparing to receive bids on the renovation contract. However, the process has been complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and recent derecho, the latter of which has caused construction materials to dramatically increase in price. As a result, the commission may have to delay the hiring of a contractor until materials become more affordable.

If all these storms were having, [and] COVID, sets us back a year, that really shouldnt be a shock to anyone, said Hotchkin, Those are some pretty major things, and for us to be pushing forward, with the team assembled  with the plan, and now were close to the execution, [is good].

George Drake, former president of Grinnell College and honorary chair of the fundraising effort, thinks recent success can be put down to the artist residency program that is central to the Commissions plans.

The proposal, put forward by Grinnell resident Tom Lacina, would turn the Veterans Memorial Building into the only artists residency operating primarily for veterans in the country. Along with hosting meeting and event spaces for the community, the plan would allow the building to house veterans for up to six weeks while they lived and worked in Grinnell.

Not only would we memorialize veterans, said Drake, but wed be really serving them in that way. He continued, Once you come forward with a specific use for the building, one thats an attractive and appropriate use, people start getting on board.

Despite years of gridlock and the many complications of 2020, those involved with the campaign are optimistic that the Veterans Memorial Building will be restored sooner, rather than later.

Im really pretty confident well succeed, said Drake, [but] its not going to be easy.

Donations can be made here.
Dates growing on Hannah, a tree germinated from ancient seeds in Israel.

(Israel21C via JNS) - Mazal tov to Hannah and Methuselah on their 111 miracle babies! The proud parents are date palms grown from ancient seeds uncovered in archeological excavations in Israel.

These dates, recently picked at the Arava Institute at Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel, are a type that hasn't been tasted since the times of Jesus and the Maccabees.

"Dr. Elaine Solowey, our director of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture, grew our first ancient date tree, Methuselah, in 2005," explained Miriam May, CEO of Friends of the Arava Institute.

"He came from a 2,000-year-old seed...
(Alliance News) - FTSE 250-listed cruise operator Carnival PLC said Friday its subsidiary Costa Cruises will return Costa Smeralda to cruise operations on Saturday next week, with "new and enhanced health protocols".

With a new one-week itinerary, the ship has five cruises scheduled from October 10 to November 7, which will focus on visiting several cities in Italy.

The first call on the itinerary is Savona, followed by La Spezia, Cagliari, Naples, Messina, and Civitavecchia.

From November 14, Costa Smeralda is scheduled to return to its one-week itinerary in Italy, France and Spain, following a departure from the city of Savona.

Shares in Carnival closed 1.7% lower at 953.00 pence on Friday in London.

By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI  The Nov. 3 election will determine who will become Muskegon Countys newest judge.

Two attorneys, Jason D. Kolkema and Paula Baker Mathes, are vying to replace Muskegon County 60th District Judge Harold F. Closz III, who is not seeking re-election after more than 17 years on the bench. The race is non-partisan.

Mathes and Kolkema were the top vote-getters among four candidates in the August primary.

Court terms are for six years. District court judges oversee civil suits $25,000 and under, adult criminal misdemeanor cases punishable by up to one year in jail, civil infractions and traffic violations, landlord/tenant disputes, small claims and land contract forfeitures. They also handle felony arraignments and preliminary examinations to determine if theres enough evidence for trial in circuit court.

Muskegon County District Judge Maria Ladas Hoopes' seat on the bench also is open, and she is the only registered candidate for that position.

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 are available at Vote411.org, an online voter guide created by the League of Women Voters.

Here is background information the candidates provided about themselves:

--Paula Baker Mathes is an attorney/public defender and has spent 26 years as a practicing lawyer, including as a prosecuting attorney, defense attorney and private practitioner. She is active in community organizations and has a bachelors degree from Tulane University and a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

--Jason D. Kolkema has been a general practice attorney for Kolkema Law PLC the last 6  years and previously was a municipal defense attorney from 1999-2012 and a general practice attorney for David T. Bowen PC from 1996-99. He is a 1989 graduate of Fruitport High School and has a bachelors degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Detroit-Mercy.

The candidates submitted responses to questions posed by the League of Women Voters, which are included in its online voter guide.

All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties.

Follows is a look at how the candidates responded to questions on some key issues. Their responses have not been edited.

What in your education and experience make you the best qualified candidate for this position?

Mathes: After graduating from Tulane University (1990) and Thomas M. Cooley Law School (WMU) with honors (1993), I began my career helping low income victims of domestic violence. Since then Ive held positions as a prosecutor, defense attorney, and private practitioner. Having sat on both sides of the courtroom helping victims or my clients navigate the legal system, I know how important and critical the decisions of the District Court Judge are to all of the individuals involved. I am also a member of community organizations such as Womens Division of the Chamber of Commerce, a PTO President, a former school board member, and an active volunteer. As a result, I am aware of the impact judicial decisions can have on our community.

Kolkema: I am the only candidate with substantial experience in civil litigation, as well as criminal cases. This is important because judges often come up through the ranks of the criminal side of the law as former prosecutors and/or public defenders who lack experience on the civil end. However, a substantial part of the district court docket pertains to civil cases. I am the only candidate who has conducted jury trials in the federal courts and who has argued cases before the Michigan Court of Appeals and Sixth Circuit. I am most likely the only candidate who has tried a landlord-tenant case. In addition, as a former special education hearing officer receiving appointments from the Michigan Department of Education, I am the only candidate with prior judicial experience. Finally, as the only candidate who was born and raised in Muskegon, I am most familiar with the history, culture, common values, and standards of the People.

What are the priority issues facing this court, and how would you address them if elected?

Kolkema: The primary issue affecting the district court relates to the inefficiencies in balancing a crowded court docket with the due process rights of those appearing before the judge. Along with the encouragement of diversion programs, specialty courts and other case resolution methods, I believe that efficiency can be accomplished through the use of technology. At the present time, Muskegon County (unlike Ottawa County and others) still does not have a true electronic filing system. As an attorney, it is frustrating that members of the bar and community do not have a method for viewing prior court documents from their computers. After all, we can pay our taxes online, order anything we want online, and even book vacations online. . . so why can we not simply have a system that allows the attorneys and others the ability to simply see the history of a case online? I will work with others to do everything I can to make sure that Muskegon County is moving into the 21st Century.

Mathes: Handling cases during the COVID19 quarantine has resulted in delayed trials causing a backlog to the courts docket. I would collaborate with all the stakeholders to efficiently remove the backlog. Statistics show that 30% of Michigan jail inmates are there for minor traffic offenses/fines. I would examine the bond system to determine why we are jailing individuals for minor traffic offenses other than drunk driving offenses.

What is your general judicial philosophy?

Mathes: My judicial philosophy is fidelity to the law. The task of the judge is not to make law but to apply law fairly and impartially.

Kolkema: In terms of judicial philosophy, I would say that I follow the law. As a judge I will listen to the facts, determine which law applies, and then I will apply the facts to the law. Judges are not allowed to ignore the law, and I will follow the law. Judges are not allowed to make new lawsthat is for the legislature. Whether the case before me is a criminal or civil matter, all legal decisions made will be based upon precedent, which involves looking to the decisions of prior similar cases and using those decisions as a guide to decide a current case. Moreover, in our adversarial context, judges primarily rely upon the arguments made by the parties appearing before them or their attorneys and should not go out of their way to bring about a certain result. The implementation of any judicial philosophy should be about fairness and having a consistent method of treating people in otherwise different categories the same.

Also on MLive:

Muskegon County state representative faces Nov. 3 challenge from assistant prosecutor

Huizenga faces Democratic pastor in quest to keep 2nd Congressional seat

AG Nessel files felony voter suppression charges against conservative operatives
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The U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis is holding a hearing Friday to question Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on the U.S. response to the pandemic.

It is Azar's first appearance in Congress since February, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the subcommittee chair, said.

The hearing will focus on "the Trump Administration's unprecedented political interference in the work of scientists and public health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration," according to the subcommittee's website.

Last month, HHS announced Michael Caputo, the department's former top spokesman, announced he would take a 60-day medical leave after he accused scientists at the CDC were engaged in "sedition" against President Donald Trump.

And the hearing comes hours after Trump announced he and the first lady both tested positive for the coroanvirus. In a tweet, Azar said on Friday that he tested negative for the virus and would testify in person.

Read CNBC's live updates to see the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.
Trumps positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks had come down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week. Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 205,000 people nationwide.
In todays uncertain economic climate, helping state governments put money back in the hands of their citizens is Find My Funds number one priority.

FindMyFunds.com securely consolidates more than twenty state government unclaimed property databases and allows potential owners of lost or unclaimed property to file claims directly with each participating state.

FindMyFunds.com makes it easier than ever for the public to search millions of records at once for unclaimed property they may not even know they have lost, says Tanya Whitlow of Find My Funds LLC. In todays uncertain economic climate, helping state governments put money back in the hands of their citizens is Find My Funds number one priority.

The unclaimed property search and claim capabilities of Find My Funds will be especially helpful to people who have lived in multiple states. Rather than having to visit multiple state government websites, FindMyFunds.com allows the public to search and claim their property directly from multiple official state unclaimed property databases.

Unclaimed property is safeguarded by state governments and includes assets such as uncashed checks from corporations, financial institutions, banks, insurance companies and municipalities, and inactive stock and brokerage accounts. Billions of dollars in unclaimed assets await return to the rightful owner or heir. Visit FindMyFunds.com to start your search of more than twenty official state government unclaimed property databases.
Texas A&M International University is one of 53 statewide entities receiving a grant as part of $45 million in funds awarded through Texas Health and Human Services Commissions (HHSC) Community Mental Health Grant Program that supports mental health services and projects.

TAMIUs award is $1,164,910 and one of two grants to Texas A&M University System campuses. The other, for $500,000, was awarded to Texas A&M University, College Station. TAMIUs grant is a collaboration between its Student Counseling Services offices, Border Region Behavioral Health Center, and Serving Children and Adults in Need (SCAN).

All grants were competitive and established by House Bill 13, 85th Legislature, which directed HHSC to establish a state-funded grant program to support communities providing and coordinating mental health treatment and services with transition or supportive services for persons experiencing mental illness. Grant awardees are required to match a portion of the states grant award to demonstrate their commitment to addressing local mental health needs.

TAMIU president Dr. Pablo Arenaz praised the collaboration and its potential to powerfully impact TAMIU students.

We were honored to lead this collaborative effort that will help so many. Truly great universities must always provide students with the innovative support and resources they need to be well and to succeed, Arenaz said. This is such an effort, and we are confident that our students lives will be measurably bettered. We commend Dr. Marivic Torregosa, dean of our College of Nursing and Health Sciences, on her commitment to this collaboration,..

Dr. Torregosa said the grants timing and innovation seems destined to address todays challenges.

The aim of the grant is to provide increased access to evidence-based mental health and substance use services to TAMIU students. This grant funding is timely given the stress COVID-19 has brought upon our students and members of the TAMIU community, Torregosa said. Evidence-based interventions on effective coping and substance use prevention delivered virtually are important as we adjust to the new normal way of living. In the age of social distancing and face coverings, our students can access mental health services through the comfort of their home, cellphone or computer from licensed professional counsellors.

In making the award announcement, Sonja Gaines, HHS deputy executive commissioner for Intellectual and Developmental Disability & Behavioral Health Service explained the significance of the competitive grants.

The Community Mental Health Grant Program allows Texas to provide additional and vital mental health support to residents in need, Gaines said. Promoting mental health programs in Texas is a priority for HHSC, and grant programs like these provide opportunities to help people across the state who are in need of support.

Statewide, the grant funds will provide two years of support, funding local mental health and behavioral health authorities, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions and local governmental agencies. Funds support community programs for people with mental illness by expanding outpatient treatment, promoting recovery and improving quality of life. They may also be used to support crisis respite, crisis stabilization and extended observation services.

The 86th Legislature appropriated $45 million in 2019 to continue the Community Mental Health Grant Program in 2020 and 2021. Additional information on grant awards and recipients is available on the HHS website.

For more on the TAMIU program, contact Dr. Torregosa at TAMIUs College of Nursing and Health Sciences at mtorregosa@tamiu.edu, call (956) 326-2450 or visit offices in Dr. F. M. Canseco Hall 301. More information on accessing behavioral health services in Texas is available at mentalhealthtx.org. Texas residents can dial 2-1-1 to learn about programs and services.
What can Africans celebrate to mark the 60th anniversary of the Year of Africa? Not much, writes Haitham Nouri

The United Nations marked 1960 as the Year of Africa when 17 African countries gained independence in the largest wave to get rid of European colonialism since the 15th century.

However, none of the 17 countries were in a celebratory mood to mark 60 years of independence, citing coronavirus as the reason. The pandemic has so far infected 1.5 million and killed 35,000 Africans.

It is more probable political and social frustrations regionwide prevented Africans from celebrating their hard-earned freedom. For more than 50 years, these African countries didnt achieve the changes they aspired for. The majority of the 17 countries wrote tragic stories instead, ranging from civil wars to military coups and famines.

Between 1 January 1960, when Cameroon gained independence from France, and 28 November 1960, that marked Mauritanias liberation, Africans experienced moments of euphoria that reached their peak in August when eight African countries gained independence from France: Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire, Chad, Central Africa, Congo and Gabon.

While 14 African countries were liberated from French rule in 1960, the decade saw a similar number of African countries breaking the chains of British colonialism: Nigeria in October 1960, Sierra Leone and Tanzania in 1961, Uganda in 1962, Kenya in 1963, Malawi and Zambia in 1964, Gambia and Zimbabwe in 1965, Botswana and Lesotho in 1966, Mauritius and Swaziland (which was recently named Eswatini) in 1968, and Seychelles in the following decade (1976).

Spain had a share in the African cake, but it saw the independence of Equatorial Guinea in 1968. The Western or Moroccan Desert was freed in 1976. The region was the subject of dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which declared the Sahrawi Republic, recognised by the majority of African countries, prompting Rabat to withdraw from the Organisation of African Unity in 1983, before joining the African Union a few years ago.

Following the collapse of fascist rule in Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Cape Freddie, Sao Tome and Principe, and Angola gained independence in 1975. France lost its last two colonies in the Comoros in 1975 and Djibouti in 1977. In the 1990s, Namibia gained independence from South Africa, Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1991 and finally South Sudan from Sudan in 2011.

The grand path to independence, diligently strived for since 1951 when Libya was liberated, was harsh, cruel and not without glorious sacrifices.

The multiple phases of Sudans Civil War started before the country seized independence from Britain in January 1956. Khartoum endured the 1958 coup with Ibrahim Abboud, the 1969 coup led by Gaafar Numeiri and the 1989 Islamist coup spearheaded by Omar Al-Bashir, who was overthrown following the December 2018 Revolution.

Throughout the 64 years of Sudans independence, it has witnessed coups for 52 years. The country was torn when the south seized independence in 2011, when war broke out in Darfur in 2003 and during the 1983-84 famine.

Sudan was aspiring to be the food basket for the Arabs and Africans, but it turned into a country striving to remove itself from the US list of countries harbouring terrorism and searching endlessly for an international partner for development.

Nigeria, Africas most populous country and the richest in oil south of the Sahara, had seen several military coups that finally ended in 1999 after it had endured 30 years under military rule. Making the living conditions even worse in Nigeria was the 1967-1970 Biafran war that claimed the lives of at least a million Nigerians.

The country is also engaged in a vicious war against the terrorist Boko Haram organisation that is wreaking havoc in northeast Nigeria as well as parts of Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

Rampant corruption in Nigeria has hindered the country from benefiting from its oil wealth.

Ethiopia, which was not completely occupied, fared no better than other African countries. It was shackled by the civil war with Eritrea since the 1950s, and suffered famine that resulted in the overthrow of emperor Haile Selassie in 1974.

Ethnic and racial tensions are eating up Ethiopia, leading observers to warn Addis Ababa is on the edge of disintegration if the coming general elections are misconducted. The elections were slated for August 2020, but were put off by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for one year.

The Great War of Africa claimed the lives of between three and five million people in Congo. It took place in 1996 and again between 1998 and 2003.

Ten million Congolese lives were lost due to Belgiums plunder during the occupation. The Congolese peoples woes were renewed with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, as they demanded the taking down of the statue of King Leopold II who caused Congolese misery.

Congo didnt benefit from its vast mineral resources nor from its river that can generate hydroelectric power more than any river in the world.

Small countries endured massive civil wars as well, such as the Rwanda massacres against that resulted in the death of 800,000 people from the Tutsi, Twa and moderate Hutu in 100 days, from 7 April to 15 July 1994.

Democracy collapsed in Mali following the toppling of Moussa Traore in the early 1990s due to mass protests. Supported by a large French force, Mali is waging a vicious war against terrorist groups, much like the majority of African Sahel countries, such as Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger  some of the poorest countries in the world.

Somalia never recovered from the horrors of its 1990 civil war that overthrew Siad Barre. The country has disintegrated into the self-proclaimed states of Somaliland and Puntland, as well as Somalia with its capital, Mogadishu.

Oil-rich Libya is divided between two regionally and internationally supported governments and armies in the east and west. The Government of National Accord in the west is backed by the UN while the eastern House of Representatives is the only elected institution in the country.

Libya turned into a failed state, exploited by human traffickers and armed groups, and is suffering terrorism and foreign intervention.

Tunisia has not seen, due to political turmoil between Tunisian political groups, an economic achievement in the past decade following the ouster of Zein Al-Abidine Ben Ali in early 2011.

Algeria lost 200,000 of its population in the 1990s as a result of conflicts between the state and its Islamist opponents after the army cancelled the second stage of legislative elections, in the first round of which the Islamic Revolutionary Front had won the majority of votes.

Decreased oil revenues, coupled with social and political tensions, heighten worries that Algeria will slip into another 10 years of darkness.

To the south, Zimbabwe didnt recover from the decades long rule of Robert Mugabe and the Western sanctions imposed on the country after Mugabe had forced white farmers out of their farms when the US and the UK refused to fulfill their pledge to fund the sale of the farms to the black majority.

The black majority of South Africa are surviving under dire conditions. Despite apparent improvement since the fall of Apartheid in 1994, slow reforms are increasing tensions in the country known for its diverse ethnicities.

While each of these African countries is burdened with domestic problems, tensions between the states of the continent are contributing to their woes. Ethiopias neighbours are complaining about its dams on transboundary rivers, such as the Omo River that empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya. The dam has lowered the level of water in the lake by two metres since 2016, according to official statements in Nairobi.

Somalia has also repeatedly complained about the Shebelle River Dam that decreased water flowing into south Somalia.

That is in addition to deadlocked negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

On the economic front, China, which is the principle infrastructure developer in Africa, has rejected several projects, such as the railway between the Ethiopian capital and Sudan, and the resumption of the railway line in east Africa between Kenya and Uganda.

Africa is the worlds youngest continent, with the majority of its population made up of youth who seek job opportunities they cant find. Africas youth are an angry power feared by democratic and dictatorial governments alike.

Now that the majority of African capitals are each inhabited by millions of people, with no real potential to absorb new generations, and with many of the continents countries lacking a national mega project that wins the support of their people, African youth dont find much to celebrate after 60 years of independence.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 1 October, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus on Friday morning and remains in good health," his spokesman said.

President Donald Trump said early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunges the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election.

Trump, who has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans, said he and Mrs. Trump were quarantining. The White House physician said the president is expected to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.

Multiple White House staffers have previously tested positive for the virus, including Vice President Mike Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert OBrien and one of the presidents personal valets.

While there is currently no indication that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness.

The Constitutions 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which the president can declare himself unable to discharge the powers and duties of the presidency. If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted a written declaration to the contrary.

The vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law can also declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.
Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, by Peter Baker (Doubleday, 816 pp., $35)

The Wizard of Id Johnny Hart and Brant Parkers syndicated comic about a quirky and oppressed medieval kingdom whose peasants declare, The king is a fink!debuted in 1964, at a turning point in American political culture. The end of the New Frontier and the beginning of American escalation in Vietnam, 1964 was the year the sixties became the sixtieswhen the counterculture got going and the first signs appeared of a shift in political decorum that would make it not only acceptable, but cool, to find a soapbox, a Hanoi turret, or a lower Manhattan park, from which to yell, The president is a fink!

Anyone below retirement age will barely remember a time when it wasnt socially acceptable to lambaste the president in this way. From 1964 to about 1998, if you voted for the other guy, then you generally scorned the White House occupant and didnt mind saying so, just as you didnt mind giving credit occasionally when it was due. Sometime between Watergate and Whitewater, however, things changed. We left the era of president as fink and entered the era of president as criminal. Our political culture careens from mortal charge to mortal charge: Clinton lied under oath; Bush stole the election and launched an illegal war; Obama faked his birth certificate and governs by decree. (All three, of course, shredded the Constitution.) Lets not forget the counter charges. Clintons critics were engaged in a vast right-wing conspiracy. Bushs foes were East Coast snobs. Obamas faultfinders are selfish tea baggers or racists. This trend toward slander is reflected in the oft-heard commandment that critics should respect the office of the presidency, even as they run down the current presidents reputation or impugn his integrity. Consider some best-selling titles about recent presidencies: Imposter, Fiasco, Fraud, Catastrophe.

How refreshing it is, then, to have a book about an American president that plays it down the middle. Especially since the conceit of Peter Bakers Days of Fireostensibly a look at the George W. Bush administration through Bushs relationship with his vice president, Dick Cheneylends itself to the type of partisan hysteria that has become so common. You havent heard that Bush was Cheneys puppet? You dont remember the cabal that installed this C-student in the Oval Office so they could plant the flag in Baghdad? You didnt know that Bush napped at Camp David while Cheney conspired with Wolfowitz and the Saudis to plot the future of American empire?

Baker doesnt trade in such nonsense. As a longtime White House correspondent for both the Washington Post and the New York Times, where he currently works, Baker is a card-carrying member of what is sometimes called the elite liberal media. He has observed the last two decades of presidential scandals and outrages at close range. Yet, his Days of Fire, which stretches from the Florida recount in 2000 to the housing collapse in 2008, is a masterpiece of objectivity. Baker reports on the most divisive episodes of these divisive years with the professional care for truth and context that exited the journalistic enterprise about the time The Wizard of Id first arrived in newspapers.

The Bush that emerges from Days of Fire is a decent man, a thoughtful executive with a knack for facilitating debate and an unfailing devotion to the trust placed in him by the American people. He feels the weight of his office, and the many impossible decisions he must make, deeply. His capacity for self-reflection and self-correctionthough never self-pityis on full display. Theres a great pressure not to leadnot to act, Bush tells his demoralized national security team during the internal administration debate over the 2007 troop surge into Iraq. Theres pressure to say, Oh, well, this is too damn hard, too risky, lets not do it. Bakers Bush is a man with a surprisingly well-tuned moral compass, willing to make unpopular choices and suffer the consequent dips in his approval rating. Hes not, as the popular bumper sticker had it, the village idiot from Texas who somehow wound up in the White House. People say Bush needs to see the world as it is, he laments. Well, Ive been here six years now and I see the world as it is, maybe better than most.

Bakers Cheney comes across not as the Darth Vader of caricature, but as a valued foreign policy and defense counselor in the administrations first term and an increasingly peripheral figure in the second. In the summer of 2007, Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert visits Washington, pressing the administration to bomb a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor. Stung by the failure to find WMD in Iraq and told that intelligence officials cant confirm the site is part of a weapons program, Bush wont commit to a strike. Olmert turns instead to Cheney, whom Baker calls a receptive audience. Cheney is gung-ho, making an impassioned case before the president and his advisers. It would rock the North Koreans back on their haunches in terms of thinking they could peddle their nuclear technology and get away with it, he says. Bush remains disinclined, but opens the questions to a vote. Does anyone here agree with the vice president? he asks. According to Baker, not a single hand went up. The Israelis bombed the site anyway, but Cheney was humiliated, and you get the sense that Bush knew he would be.

Days of Fire scatters many other revealing anecdotes. In a briefing with the president during the panicked response to Hurricane Katrina, FEMA director Michael Heckuva Job Brown tells Bush that harried New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin is behaving like a crack head. Early in the battle for the 2008 Democratic nomination, Bush is convinced that Hillary Clinton will triumph over Obama. Wait til her fat ass is sitting at this desk, he tells his aides. Baker reveals that Bush has told friends that he is no fan of the Tea Party.

Though Baker gives Bush more credit than most, his treatment falls well short of hagiography. Bush was great in crises, Baker notes, but he was often responsible for causing them. He devastated Iraq before stabilizing it with the surge. He fumbled the Katrina response before ultimately getting it right (eventually earning praise even from Democrats, such as Al Gores campaign manager, Donna Brazile). He presided over financial collapse before stabilizing the economy with the Troubled Asset Relief Program. In other words, Baker writes, Bush was at his best when he was cleaning up his worst.

The honest reader will see in the Bush/Cheney partnership, as described here, no hint of either the nefarious criminal conspiracy or the cartoonish master-servant dynamic that the administrations fiercest critics continue to imagine. Rather, Bakers book illuminates a political partnership of highly capable people whose abilities, stamina, and courage are tested almost daily during an eight-year arc encompassing stem cells, 9/11, Abu Ghraib, Plamegate, Fallujah, Mission Accomplished, Katrina, the surge, and a nearly catastrophic economic collapse. Being president, according to Baker, requires distinguishing between what [is] real and what [is] not, tracking down where threats began, figuring out the right response, and finding a balance between acknowledging danger and projecting confidence. Days of Fire proves that the Oval Office is no place for a fink. No fink could survive it.

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:41:31|Editor: huaxia

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ROME, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Wearing face masks outdoor to limit the spread of the coronavirus will be compulsory again in the Lazio region surrounding the Italian capital, regardless of possible social distancing, local authorities announced on Friday.

The provision will enter into force on Saturday, according to a decree passed by the regional government.

"The obligation will not apply to children under 6 years of age, to those with underlying health conditions incompatible with the use of a mask, and to those playing sporting activities," regional governor Nicola Zingaretti wrote on Facebook after signing the decree.

"Considering the increase in the contagion curve, we must raise our guard and our prevention efforts," Zingaretti said.

Lazio, which comprises Rome, has been the region recording the highest daily increase in new COVID-19 infections in recent weeks, along with southern Campania (around Naples), according to official statistics.

Authorities in Campania had introduced the same step in late September in a similar effort to slow down the local contagion.

The two regions will thus differ from the rest of Italy, where the national emergency legislation, for now, requires people to wear masks outdoor only "in places where a gathering of people can be expected" and wherever the 1-meter social safety distance cannot be respected.

However, neither Lazio nor Campania had the highest number of COVID-19 cases, considering Italy's overall pandemic picture. That record belongs to Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia Romagna, and Veneto regions.

Zingaretti also announced one million rapid saliva tests were bought to carry out testing among pupils through a pilot project run by public health authorities and due to start next Tuesday.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), face masks should be used as part of a comprehensive strategy of measures to suppress COVID-19 transmission and save lives.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020, wearing masks in public has been widely accepted in Asian countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam to limit the spread of COVID-19. Enditem
Alanis Morissette and the cast of Jagged Little Pill will come together to host a virtual fundraising event to benefit the Biden Victory Fund. The event will take place on Tuesday, October 13, at 8pm ET.

Featuring performances, conversations, and messages from special guests, this event is officially sanctioned and supports the campaign to elect former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris as the next President and Vice President of the United States. Tickets begin at $25.

"I couldn't be happier to express my passion for conscionable leadership in America with our Jagged Little Pill Broadway team," Morissette said in a statement. "Each person within this musical is a force of nature and activism in their own right, and I am thrilled to come together to support TRUE democracy, and political and relational grace, with our whole JLP family."

Get tickets here.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Kathy Barnette will participate in a virtual candidate forum on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 5:30 p.m.

The event is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Lower Merion and Narberth, in conjunction with the NAACP Pottstown and Main Line Branches and the Abington-Cheltenham-Jenkintown Area League of Women Voters.

The forum will be livestreamed on YouTube.

A link will be made available to registrants and the public on the day of the forum. To register for the event and to submit questions, visit forms.gle/ufxFAc2MXEXNHVy66.

The event will be recorded and posted on the Lower Merion Narberth League YouTube page.

The moderator will be Jamie Mogil, Voter Services Chair of the League of Women Voters of Lower Merion and Narberth, who said that the candidate forum  not a debate  is intended to give voters information in a nonpartisan fashion. Voting is already underway and its important voters have to cast an informed vote.

Education  and fair funding for it  plus economic development, jobs and taxes are important issues affecting the residents of our area, said Johnny Corson, president of the Pottstown NAACP. Now that area hospitals have laid off staff, health care is also crucial. Its important for us to know where the candidates stand on these issues.

The candidates are seeking to represent Pennsylvanias 4th District, which encompasses most of Montgomery County and a small portion of eastern Berks County.

Each candidate will be given two minutes for an opening statement and another two minutes for a closing statement. For the rest of the event, expected to last an hour, candidates will be asked questions submitted previously by the public. Dean and Barnette will have 90 seconds to answer each question.

More information can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/806586863471728/
For centuries, humans have dreamed about what life might look like on the moon, from flying chariots to self-burying modules. And even though its been 50 years since the first lunar landing, and entities from SpaceX to Space Force have entered the picture, were still dreaming, it would seem. Today, architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), construction start-up ICON, and design firm SEArch+ have unveiled a project that might provide one more small step for man in this endeavor. The research initiative, called Project Olympus, will investigate and develop a method to 3D-print structures on the moon using what is effectively lunar dust as its primary material.

If successful, Project Olympus (which has received funding through a Small Business Innovation Research grant through the U.S. Air Force, $1.8 million of which is from NASA) could pave the way for a permanent habitat on the moon. The design team hopes its research will advance construction technology terrestrially too, particularly in being able to rapidly deploy inexpensive and well-designed housing. Having to push the technology to these kinds of limits is what's going to accelerate its development for us on Earth, insists ICONs founder, Jason Ballard.

Ballard, a Texas-born entrepreneur who wears a cowboy hat with aplomb, founded ICON in 2017 and has developed a range of proprietary 3D-printing technology, including a mammoth machine called Vulcan II that can jet out a house in under 24 hours (it is currently developing the worlds first 3D-printed community in Mexico). The company has also begun dabbling in how its technology could be applied to space, participating in NASAs 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge in 2018.

Ingelss ears perked up during the 2019 edition of South by Southwest after hearing little rumors about a company doing 3D printing at an architectural scale, he says. BIG has also been looking for ways to build in outer space, namely through a test-case martian colony in the desert outside of Dubai. Upon visiting ICONs Austin facilities and taking a look at Vulcan II, a partnership seemed logical. The two things we're talking aboutaffordable housing and lunar habitatare on the completely opposite ends of the spectrum, but somehow they're part of the same question, the architect says.

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Ballard hired Ingels as well as SEArch+, a New York architecture firm known for its research into extraterrestrial structures, to figure out how they might be able to leverage ICONs technologies to build a lunar settlement, without the need to haul materials back and forth. To bring the concrete and water from the first house we 3D-printed in Austin would be, like, $1.4 billion, Ballard explains. We're never gonna have a moon base that way.

In situ construction, using the materials readily available on the moon, was the way forward. The unique challenge for Project Olympus will be an alchemical one: getting regolitha fine gray powder that consists of minerals such as basalt and feldsparto behave like a printing medium, likely through melting or sintering it to a lava-like consistency. Using the molten material, the architects envisage 3D-printing vaulted structures made from a waffle-like network of rigid exterior ribs. These, in turn, can be filled with regolith, which has the added benefit of absorbing intense solar radiation (up to 100 times more than on Earth, according to Ingels) and mitigating the impact of mini meteorites that pummel the moons surface each year.

BIG has unveiled a master plan for what these building techniques could yield, complete with roads, garages for lunar vehicles, facilities for collecting lunar surface material, and, of course, human habitats complete with an Earth lounge where astronauts can gaze at home, some 200,000 miles away. Some structures, because of factors like gravity and pressure, will have almost Gothic proportions. When you have 16% gravity you can actually jump, you know, 15, 20 feet and actually reach the top shelf, Ingels jokes.

The teams goal? To facilitate lunar construction that is sustainable, achievable, and beautifulwhere science and architecture work in tandem. While you might admire the technological achievements of the International Space Station, none of us look at pictures of the inside and are like, Yes, that's supposed to be our first home in space, says Ballard. We wanted these things to cooperate rather than to compete.

In the months ahead, ICON will work with NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, to test how simulated moon material might behave amid a battery of tests (lasers, microwaves, and heat, to name a few) before investigating how it performs under varying degrees of pressure and temperatures. This, says Ballard, will allow the team to develop conviction about the appropriate approach from an engineering perspective. The architects, in turn, will use this information to tweak their designs.

Project Olympus isnt the only space construction initiative in the works, and BIG and SEArch+ arent the only architecture firms to jump into the space race. Foster + Partners teamed up with the European Space Agency in 2012 to research 3D-printing methods for lunar habitation. This January, SOM also signed an agreement with the organization to explore the potential for a lunar village. But the Project Olympus team is embracing the challenge and eager for what lies aheadno matter the outcome. This is the deep end. This is a double black diamond, Ballard says enthusiastically.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
Actor Akshat Utkarshs family has filed a complaint with the Bihar police to seek a FIR and a probe into the actors death on Sunday night. Mumbai police had indicated that the actor was depressed due to lack of work and had died by suicide.

His family in Bihars Muzaffarpur, however, has rejected this conclusion and alleged that Akshat Utkarsh had been murdered.

Utkarsh was found hanging at his rented accommodation at Andheri West in Mumbai on Sunday night. He had worked in some TV serials and advertisements. He had recently signed a Bhojpuri film Litti-Chokha.

Muzaffarpur city deputy superintendent of police Ram Naresh Paswan confirmed that the actors family had submitted a formal complaint. But the police havent acted on the request. Paswan said they are awaiting directions from senior officials on how to proceed.

It is unusual for the police in one state to try to investigate a crime that primarily relates to another state.

But the Bihar police had departed from this standard practice in August this year when it registered a FIR for abetment to suicide, dishonestly inducing delivery of property and breach of trust in actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death in Mumbai on a complaint from his father KK Singh.

This FIR was the starting point for the investigation by three federal agencies; Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate and the Narcotics Control Bureau.

Akshat Utkarshs family in Muzaffarpur wants the Bihar police to apply the same principles and file the FIR.

In the complaint handed over to the police on Thursday, the family has named three suspects including his flatmate Shikha Rajput and his society secretary Kishore Thakkar, said police on Friday. The family accused the three of hatching a conspiracy to kill Utkarsh.

The Muzaffarpur police are yet to lodge the FIR against the accused, Utkarshs uncle Vikrant Kishore complained. He said if police doesnt take appropriate action, the family will stage a protest outside Muzzafarpurs Town police station.

The family said has contested the Mumbai police finding that

Utkarshs family said Akshat Utkarsh had no reason to face financial troubles since they would wire him money whenever he needed.

His father Vijayant Kishore said his son had called him around 8.30pm on September 27 and said he wanted to tell him something. However, he did not share anything and said he would tell the same on Monday. Senior police inspector Someshwar Kamte of Amboli police station had earlier said Utkarsh lived with his girlfriend who had found his body.

According to his roommates statement, Akshat was behaving as usual on Sunday evening and they as usual chatted about various things and then had dinner together before going to sleep. At around 11.30 pm when she woke up to use the washroom, she found Akshat dead in his room, after which she immediately called the police, an officer from Amboli police station had said earlier.

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New Delhi:

Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai has issued Letters Rogotary to United Kingdom on Friday seeking details of assets owned by Vijay Mallya in the country.

The court has also sought legal assistance in connection with money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate against businessman Vijay Mallya in money laundering case.

Special Judge PR Bhavke said in his order, "Issue Letter Rogotary to a competant authority in United Kingdon to examine facts and circumstances of the case."

The ED had moved the special court recently seeking issuance of LR to secure details about Mallya's assets.

An ED official said, "We want details of the assets possessed by Mallya and hence we prayed to the court to issue LR."



In January this year, the Special CBI court in Mumbai issued non-bailable warrant against Beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya after the investigating agency moved an extradition plea.

On January 25, market regulator Sebi had barred Mallya and six others from the securities market in a case related to alleged funds diversions from United Spirits, a company which the tycoon promoted before selling it to Diageo. He had resigned as director and chairman of USL in March 2016.

Related Stories: Non-bailable warrant issued against Vijay Mallya by Special CBI court in Mumbai



Media is pitch, I am football, NDA vs UPA are teams but no referee: Vijay Mallya
Anti-racism signs are seen around a classroom as students work on assignments during an ethnic studies class at John O'Connell High School in San Francisco. (Josh Edelson / For the Times)

Ethnic studies supporters expressed disappointment after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required high schoolers to take the course, while work mandated by law to develop a model curriculum for it continues apace  as does the controversy around it.

Under the bill vetoed late Wednesday, written by Assembly Member Jose Medina (D-Riverside), all public high school students in California would have had to take at least one semester of ethnic studies in order to graduate, beginning with the class of 2029-2030. A separate bill, written by former Assembly Member Luis Alejo (D-Salinas) and signed into law in 2016, requires the state to create and adopt a model curriculum for ethnic studies courses by March 31, 2021.

In his veto message, Newsom said he values the role of ethnic studies in helping students understand the experiences of marginalized communities and that he supports schools and districts offering such courses. But, he said, there was too much uncertainty about the content of the model curriculum and he wanted to be sure it "achieves balance, fairness and is inclusive of all communities."

Since its founding half a century ago, ethnic studies has been defined as focusing on the experiences, histories and contributions of four racial/ethnic groups that have historically been marginalized and oppressed in the United States: African Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans and Indigenous peoples, and Asian Americans. Coursework emphasizes "auto-ethnography," encourages students to "tell their own stories," and engage in social justice, according to descriptions from curricula and teachers.

Theresa Montano, a professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at Cal State Northridge and a member of the advisory committee that helped develop the first draft of the ethnic studies model curriculum, said Thursday that Newsom's veto message was "painful."

"White people in this society can still with the stroke of a pen say to children of color in this state that your history doesnt matter and that the only way your history will be told is if we get to sanitize it, scrutinize it and approve it before it gets to you. That I think is to me the most painful," she said.

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Medina, the bill's sponsor, said Thursday that his bill's intent to make ethnic studies a standard component of high school education got confused with the debate over how inclusive an ethnic studies curriculum should be.

Under his bill, courses developed off the model curriculum would have met the requirement, but so would other ethnic studies courses.

"Some of the discussion that I saw that took place this time made a lot of reference to where the curriculum was a year ago. And that is certainly very different from where the curriculum is now," he said.

In the summer of 2019, state education officials released a first draft of the model curriculum to intense controversy, particularly from Jewish groups, including the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, whose members objected to their lack of inclusion and a perception that the curriculum and sample lesson plans were anti-Semitic. After a lengthy public comment and revision process, officials issued a new draft in July, which the caucus said "addresses the most critical concerns raised by our community last year."

But when it later became clear that the curriculum would include a sample lesson on Arab Americans, many Jewish and other ethnic groups once again mobilized.

Sarah Levin, executive director of Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, said her group supports "high-quality, rigorous ethnic studies" but wants to see the curriculum include "balance in its portrayal" of Middle Eastern communities and "equitable representation" for other groups, such as Iranian Americans, Kurdish Americans, and Mizrahi Jews. She said also that the curriculum should include a lesson plan on anti-Semitism.

"Lets continue improving this and getting this to the right place where were all content and where we all feel like were meaningfully included," she said.

Daniel Thigpen, a spokesman for the California Dept. of Education, said it had received at least 9,000 letters from the public on the latest curriculum draft.

At the crux of the challenge, Thigpen said, is how to balance that feedback and demands for inclusion with fidelity to the definition of ethnic studies.

"The position of the department right now and how we're navigating that is by listening," he said.

The department is currently synthesizing the public comments, reviewing additional materials and sample lesson plans, and working to produce another revision of the curriculum ahead of the next meeting of the Instructional Quality Commission in November. The commission can then either adopt that version or modify it further before opening it up for another 45-day public comment period and forwarding it to the State Board of Education.

Medina said he plans to reintroduce his bill as soon as he returns to the Legislature in December.

"California is the most diverse state in the United States. We should have it within our ability to teach students differently from what weve done for the last 50 years," he said. "I am very hopeful that we get there next year."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Statement by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People's Republic of China At the High-level Meeting on the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women

2020/10/01

Beijing, 1 October 2020

Mr. President,

Colleagues,

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, we gather to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing. The aim is to promote gender equality and women's development around the world. I am glad to address this event and I wish this high-level meeting a full success.

Women are creators of human civilization and drivers of social progress, and they have made extraordinary achievements across all fields of endeavor. In the ongoing fight against COVID-19, female medical and epidemic control workers, researchers, community workers and volunteers over the world, braving danger and working around the clock, have fought at the front line of the battle. With their dedication and ingenuity, they have written heroic epics of saving people and protecting lives. They truly deserve our admiration.

In China, at the height of the battle against COVID-19, more than 40,000 health workers from across the country rushed to Hubei province, which was the hardest hit by the virus, and two-thirds of them were women. Among them was a nurse from Guangdong province who had not yet reached the age of 20. Answering a reporter's question of whether she was too young to help others, she said, "The moment I put on the protective suit, I am not a kid anymore." Those words moved the whole nation. In fact, many women medical workers in China, like this girl, and in their tens of thousands, have taken on the virus bravely by putting themselves in harm's way. Their courage and hard work have shown the very best of the medical profession. Their devotion and sacrifice have kept the nation intact through difficult times.

Mr. President,

Over the past 25 years, the powerful message of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing has unleashed many positive changes. The social status of women is significantly higher. Increasingly women are playing an important role of "supporting half of the sky". Indeed, gender equality and women's empowerment are now important goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

On the other hand, the spread of COVID-19 worldwide has taken a heavy toll on economy, employment and people's life, and has brought greater challenges to women. As Secretary-General Guterres said, the gains made in gender equality over the past decades are at risk of being rolled back. In both containing COVID-19 and promoting post-COVID economic and social recovery, it is particularly important that we address the special needs of women and deliver on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. To this end, China calls for taking the following steps:

First, we need to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on women. We need to pay special attention to the health, social and psychological needs and working environment of frontline women medical workers. We also need to place the protection of women's and girls' rights and interests high on the agenda of both public health and economic reopening. In particular, we need to create more job opportunities for women and crack down on violations of women's rights and interests. We need to improve social services, with priority given to special groups such as pregnant and postnatal women, and children. Special care may be given to women in difficulty such as those in poverty, old age or with disabilities. Efforts must be made to enhance benefit for women, address their concerns, and deliver results for their well-being.

Second, we need to strive for genuine gender equality. While posing unprecedented challenges, COVID-19 also presents an opportunity for us to draw lessons from it and reshape the future. Global development needs to be placed on a course that is more equal, inclusive and sustainable, and women's development is an important criterion to gauge its progress. Protection of women's rights and interests must become the commitment at the national level. As we pursue post-COVID recovery, we may create new opportunities for women to participate in decision-making and be more involved in national, economic, cultural and social governance. We need to eliminate prejudice, discrimination and violence against women and make gender equality a social norm and moral imperative observed by all.

Third, we need to ensure that women advance at the forefront of our times. In the 21st century, the aspiration for a better life will be meaningless without all-round progress in women's development; this aspiration can only be achieved when women contribute even greater vision and strength to this cause. In pursuing development, we need to protect women's rights and interests and improve their lives, and ensure that women's development goes hand in hand with economic and social development. We need to remove barriers and create an enabling environment in which women are motivated, their creativity is unleashed to the full, and they truly feel satisfied, happy and secure. We need to fully leverage the role of the government and mobilize all stakeholders to support women and help them live their lives to the full.

Fourth, we need to enhance global cooperation in advancing women's development. Without a peaceful and stable global environment and sustainable development, and without leveraging the UN's key coordinating role, the cause of women's development cannot move forward. We support the UN in making women's development a priority. Our Organization should do more, both to eliminate violence, discrimination, poverty and other old problems and to address new challenges such as bridging the gender digital divide, so as to make women-related targets early harvest results of its 2030 Agenda. We also need to support greater representation of women in the UN system. UN Women should expand its toolkit for promoting gender equality and improve the global roadmap for women's development.

Colleagues,

Equality between men and women is a basic state policy in China. We have put in place a legal system comprising over 100 laws and regulations for fully protecting women's rights and interests. As a matter of fact, China is recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the ten fast-track countries in women's and children's health. In China, the gender gap in compulsory education has been largely closed. Women account for over 40 percent of the country's workforce, and more than half of China's Internet start-up businesses are set up by women.

Five years ago, I proposed a Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment. Now, the host of proposals I put forward at the meeting for advancing global cooperation in this endeavor have all been implemented. And China is prepared to do even more to support the global cause of women's development. In the coming five years, China will donate another 10 million dollars to UN Women. China will continue to fund the UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education to support this global effort. China also proposes the convening in 2025 of another Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.

Mr. President,

We still have a long way to go and need to work real hard to build a world in which women are free from discrimination as well as a society of inclusive development. Let us work together and redouble efforts to promote gender equality and advance the global cause of women's development.

Thank you.
Capt. Henifin, a native of Madison, S.D., spent 29 years in the Navy before retiring in 1983. In the 1960s, he participated in research, recovery and investigative operations along the ocean floor on the bathyscaph Trieste II. He later was officer in charge of the Deep Submergence Group and commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. After his military retirement, he spent seven years in information systems for the government contractor Science Applications International Corp. In 1999, he moved to Delaware from Alexandria, Va.
Retail giant Amazon announced Thursday findings from an investigation into the spread of COVID-19 among employees to reveal nearly 20,000 employees have tested positive or are presumed positive for the virus since March.

The study looked at the period from March 1 to September 19, 2020 and included any employee that worked at the facilities in that time. Amazon says it employs roughly 1.37 million employees at its facilities which includes Whole Foods Markets across the U.S. The study does not include third-part delivery drivers that deliver Amazon packages for the company.

Of those employees, 19,816 have tested positive or are presumed positive. However, the company says those totals are lower than expectations.

By comparing their data against data collected by Johns Hopkins University on the general population exposure rate, Amazon says its positive testing rate is far less than expected. Using the Johns Hopkins data, the company estimates it should have had 33,952 cases. For instance, in Michigan the company expected to see a case rate of 16.3 per 1,000 people, however Amazon is reporting 9.6 cases per 1,000 people in Michigan.

The company clarified that it was conservative in this analysis because of how the data was collected. In particular, the company says it cast a wide net by including both confirmed and presumptive cases in the study. The company also admits that actual COVID-19 rates in the general population are greater than the official counts because not everyone is being tested or screened for the virus. However, all Amazon employees are regularly screened for symptoms and are increasingly being tested at work.

As the company continues to monitor the virus it says it has continued to ramp up testing efforts and believes by November it will be able to administer 50,000 tests a day across 650 sites. Amazon says it has distributed more than 100 million masks to employees, continued to implement temperature checks at sites, increased cleaning and improved procedures.

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7th military commander India-China talks next week

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Oct 02: India and China will hold the 7th round of military commander level talks next week. Incidentally these rounds of talks would the last for Lt Gen Harinder Singh.

Lt. General P G K Menon will take over the Fire and Fury Corps on October 14. The Fire and Fury Corps is responsible for the operations in Ladakh. Lt. Gen Menon is currently posted as the Additional Director of the Complaint Advisor Board at the Army Headquarters.

Earlier this week, both India and China have emphasised on the need to strengthen communication, especially between the ground commanders.

At the speed of 0.7 mach, Nirbhay subsonic cruise missiles to defend LAC

Both sides reviewed the current situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India China border areas. The two sides also had detained and frank discussions on the developments.

Sources, tell OneIndia that the talks were useful. Both sides also agreed to hold the 7th round of military commander level talks. This would help in working towards early disengagement of troops along of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The military commander level talks are likely to take place next week and the modalities are being worked out, the source cited above also said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that currently, China and India are holding the 19th meeting of the WMCC on border affairs. The main topics (being) discussed are how to implement the five-point consensus reached in Moscow (on September 10) by the two foreign ministers to resolve outstanding issues on the ground and to ease the situation along the border.

The Indian delegation was led by Naveen Srivastava, who heads the East Asia division at the Ministry of External Affairs. The Chinese side was led by Hong Liang, Director-General of the Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

India on Tuesday rejected China's position that it abides by its 1959 stand on the perception of the Line of Actual Control(LAC), and asked the neighbouring country to refrain from advancing an "untenable unilateral" interpretation of the de-facto border.

The stand by China spelt out by its foreign ministry insisting that it takes the 1959 line on perception of the LAC amid a nearly five-month-long border standoff in eastern Ladakh triggered a strong reaction from India.

India-China standoff: Why the secure communication system will be a boost for the Indian Army

"India has never accepted the so-called unilaterally defined 1959 Line of Actual Control (LAC). This position has been consistent and well known, including to the Chinese side," MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said in response to a question by the media on the issue.

The spokesperson's comments came after a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Hindustan Times that China abides by the LAC as proposed by then Premier Zhou Enlai to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in a letter dated November 7, 1959.
Travellers from New Zealand will be able to fly to Sydney and Darwin without quarantine from 16 October under the first stage of the trans-Tasman travel bubble.

Anyone arriving will have to declare they have not been in a hotspot - defined as place with three Covid-19 daily cases over three days - in the two weeks before their flight.

The agreement will free up 325 Sydney hotel quarantine places for Australians to return from overseas.

Travellers from New Zealander will be able to fly in to Sydney and Darwin without quarantine from 16 October under the first stage of the trans-Tasman travel bubble. Pictured: Queenstown, New Zealand

What is a hotspot? As has been announced already, the Australian Government is defining a hotspot using a three-day rolling average of three locally acquired cases per day. There are currently no COVID-19 hotspots in New Zealand. The last locally acquired case with an unidentified epidemiological source occurred on 21 August 2020. The government is working closely with New Zealand authorities to ensure we are notified promptly of any outbreaks there. Any state or territory that imposes travel restrictions consistent with the Australian Government-defined hotspot, as advised by the acting Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, will be able to participate in the Safe Travel Zone. Advertisement

South Australia is likely to be the next state to sign up to the agreement, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said on Friday.

Mr McCormack said he wanted two-way travel but said no date has been set for when Australians can go to New Zealand.

New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday: 'In our view, we are not ready to have quarantine-free travel with Australia.'

The agreement between the federal government and the NSW and NT governments means Pacific islanders will be able to fly into Australia for work after spending 14 days in New Zealand.

'They can avail themselves of this opportunity, they can come and pick fruit, shear our sheep, fall in love,' Mr McCormack said.

The deputy prime minister said this was the first step in Australia's plan to re-open to the world after the Covid-19 pandemic.

'We may well extend this. We want to open up Australia to the world. This is the first part of it,' he said.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Scott Morrison flagged that flights could next be allowed from Japan, South Korea and Pacific islands such as Fiji.

Mr Morrison said opening up some international travel will be great for tourism businesses.

'New Zealanders being able to travel to Australia - that's good for Australian tourism,' he told 5AA radio.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said: 'The fish are biting and the beers are cold'.

Queensland has refused to sign up to the deal. Mr McCormack said if the Sunshine State agreed then 250 hotel quarantine spots would be freed up for Australians to return home.

This is because people taking these spots from New Zealand would no longer need to quarantine.

New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern (pictured) said on Thursday: 'In our view, we are not ready to have quarantine-free travel with Australia'

The prime minister explained states insisting on quarantine for domestic travel would not be included in the bubble.

'We can't have New Zealand tourists coming and taking up those quarantine places in those states,' he said.

Ms Ardern on Thursday wanted Kiwis not to travel to Australia for a holiday.

'I encourage New Zealanders to think about spending their dollars here locally,' she said.

'Even if Australia opens up borders for New Zealanders to go in without quarantine, that doesn't mean that they won't have to go into quarantine on return. At this stage they will.'

Ms Ardern and Mr Morrison have been discussing the return of regular travel across the Tasman for months, though New Zealand's COVID-19 elimination strategy means Ms Ardern is less inclined to open up.

'They have a very different strategy to us, and so they're making that decision and that is their prerogative but for now we of course have to keep New Zealanders safe.'
Omjasvin M D By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: How to turn a public place which is an eye-sore into greenery? Chennai Corporations dense Miyawaki forest in Kotturpuram can be a great example.

In an age when concrete buildings are taking over all parts of the city, a visit to the Canal Bank Road along Kotturpuram would surprise you with trees standing next to each other.

The city corporation has planted about 40 varieties of trees including naval maram (Java plum), thekku maram (Teak), and iluppai (Mahua) in the Miyawaki style, among other trees.

Apart from just giving a pleasant scenery for commuters, the dense forest now has also home to various birds.

Eight months ago, the 23,000 square feet land outside the Kotturpuram railway station in Chennai was an eye-sore filled with construction debris and household waste. Many commuters and residents in the past have complained of how the place was stinking of garbage.

Following repeated complaints, the civic body cleared all the encroachments and planted 2020 trees in the Miyawaki style, a Japanese method of planting trees that is known to take less space and have faster growth.

Fast-forwarding to October 2, the place has now turned into a dense forest with tall trees, with much rejoice to all the residents.

While the one at Kotturpuram is the first Miyawaki forest planted by the civic body, another one has been planted at Valasaravakkam.

What is the Miyawaki method?

In the 1980s, Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki introduced this method of reforestation to restore indigenous ecosystems. In this method, the top-soil of a selected region is recovered to a depth of 20 cm to 30 cm by mixing soil and organic compost.

According to a 2010 journal on the effectiveness of the Miyawaki method, positive afforestation results were observed in many parts of the world in just two years, whereas it normally takes a decade for trees to achieve complete growth. The journal says this is a reliable way to create "native forest by native trees".

It takes four days to set up a tree in the Miyawaki method. The pits are dug and left to dry for one day. After that, various ingredients for manure like sugarcane bagasse, vermicompost, dry leaves, cocopeat, and other manure are mixed with sand and dumped in the dry pit for three days before planting the sapling.

Alby John Varghenese, Regional Deputy Commissioner (South), Chennai Corporation, said that the idea was to plant native species that could grow in a self-sufficient way.

The whole land area used to be an eye-sore with various debris and garbage. The Miyawaki method has shown good results and the civic body is set to plant trees in the same method in three more locations in the city," he said.
The ASEAN webinar took place yesterday (October 1)

The two-day event saw the participation of management agencies, as well as mobile service providers and ITC firms from 10 regional countries. It also received representatives from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the EU.

The webinar is the first forum between telecommunications management agencies and mobile service providers in ASEAN, aiming to create a dialogue and discussion on a possible cut in mobile roaming fee in the region.

10 ASEAN countries discussed cutting regional mobile roaming fee to enhance regional connectivity

Speaking at the event, Trieu Minh Long, head of the International Cooperation Department under the MIC, said that the conference was to implement the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, with a vision towards 2025, which encourages ASEAN members to reduce mobile roaming fee in ASEAN to enhance connectivity and create comprehensive ASEAN connectivity.

The event focused discussions on international mobile roaming fee, general rates in ASEAN, specific rates in ASEAN, as well as discussing policies to promote healthy competition among mobile service providers, and protecting customers from unreasonable fee hikes.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 02:10:00|Editor: huaxia

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OTTAWA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- COVID-19 cases continued to spike on Friday in Canada with the two populous provinces Ontario and Quebec reported the largest single-day increase respectively.

The Ontario government confirmed 732 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the provincial total to 52,980. The previous single-day high was reported on Monday when 700 cases were confirmed.

Ontario Premier Dough Ford announced a provincewide mask policy and new restrictions targeting "hotspot areas."

Masks will now be mandatory throughout the province in all indoor public areas, on transit, and in workplaces where physical distancing isn't possible. The measure will be effective at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Ford also announced restrictions targeting "hotspot areas" - Toronto, Ottawa, and Peel Region.

He said bars and restaurants will be limited to a capacity of 100 people and no more than six people will be allowed at each table.

Banquet halls will be limited to a capacity of 50 people and no more than six people per table while gyms will also have new restrictions on capacity, including limiting classes to 10.

Meanwhile, Ford advised Ontarians to limit close contact with anyone outside of their household and said all assessment centers will move to an appointment-only policy.

According to the COVID-19 modelling released by the Ontario government on Wednesday, the number of new cases in Ontario is now doubling every 10 to 12 days. Ontario could record 1,000 new cases per day by mid-October.

The Quebec government also announced on Friday that 1,052 more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours for a total of 76,273, the largest single-day increase since May 3.

Police set up checkpoints on Friday to limit travel between regions in hopes of curbing the spread in the province.

As of Friday afternoon, there have been 162,320 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 9,402 deaths, according to CTV. Enditem
US President Donald Trump testing positive for coronavirus has just one lesson for everyone - wear a mask.

On Friday, Trump took to Twitter to announce that he and wife Melania had tested positive for coronavirus and that they were now in quarantine. This comes after one of Trumps closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive for coronavirus. Hicks was traveling with Trump on Air Force One just this Tuesday to fly to Cleveland for the first presidential debate with Democrat Joe Biden.

Hicks was not wearing a mask while heading to Ohio for the debate. Heres a tweet by an NBC reporter showing Hicks boarding Air Force One, without a face covering in sight.

Close Trump aide Hope Hicks traveled aboard Air Force One Tuesday. Here she is deplaning in Cleveland, without a mask. pic.twitter.com/pyegkSxChI Monica Alba (@albamonica) October 2, 2020

Not just Hicks, Trump himself has had a rather strained relationship with masks. In the initial phases of the pandemic, when coronavirus cases in the United States were on a steep upward curve, Trump was repeatedly spotted without any mask on. In fact, he has been known to make fun of those who do wear masks - almost as if it was a sign of weakness.

In May 2020, Trump mocked a White House correspondent for wearing a mask to a press briefing. Yes, that really happened.

During the press conference, Trump was taking questions from reporters when a Reuters correspondent, Jeff Mason, asked him about former Vice President Joe Bidens decision to wear a mask publicly in an event a few days ago. To Masons questions, Trump asked mockingly asked him to remove his mask as the he couldnt hear the questions. Mason retorted that he would rather have it on. At this point, Trump accused Mason of being politically correct", referring to Biden wearing a mask.

In fact, the first time Trump was spotted in mask in public was in July, when the pandemic was already at its peak and had infected more than 3.2 million people in the United States. He wore a mask while visiting a military hospital in suburban Washington.

No one knows what exactly Trumps problem with face masks is. In the same month, he had said that he refused to wear a mask, despite CDC warnings, because it would send the wrong message" and would make him look ridiculous and weak.

In fact, at the US Presidential Debate, Trump mocked Biden for wearing a mask. Maybe Trump needed a reminder that were in the middle of a global pandemic, the same pandemic that has now affected his family too.

Why Trump thinks that is something we fail to understand, since the CDC (Centre of Disease Control) has on multiple occasions recommended a mask in places where social distancing is difficult. Like debates. Or inside the Air Force One.

Both the World Health Organisation and the CDC have repeatedly warned people around the world about the dangers of stepping out without a mask. There is no vaccine for coronavirus yet. There is also no magical medicine which can cure Covid-19 or keep you safe from the virus. The only thing that can actually protect you from getting infected is washing your hands regularly, sanitising your hands and wearing a mask. Its pretty simple, really.
He recently returned from a tropical vacation to celebrate his one year wedding anniversary to Keleigh Sperry.

And it appeared that Miles Teller caught a bit of bad luck with his stalled blue Ford Bronco on Thursday in Los Angeles.

The 33-year-old actor calmly surveyed the situation in casual wear and walked around the asphalt wearing socks as a tow truck took the vehicle away.

Out and about: Miles Teller caught a bit of bad luck with his stalled blue Ford Bronco on Thursday in Los Angeles

Miles made sure to keep himself and others protected from the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic by wearing a blue disposable face mask.

He rolled up the sleeves to a blue long-sleeve shirt and sported a pair of loose black Quicksilver shorts.

The Top Gun: Maverick star carried a blue hat in his hand and opted for just a pair of white socks on his feet.

No problem: The 33-year-old actor calmly surveyed the situation in casual wear and walked around the asphalt wearing socks

Bliss: The pair, who were married last year in Hawaii, shared a few scenes from their luxurious over-the-water bungalow holiday at the Four Seasons

Miles was likely still on island mode after returning from a romantic trip to Bora Bora with his wife.

The pair, who were married last year in Hawaii, shared a few scenes from their luxurious over-the-water bungalow holiday at the Four Seasons.

Keleigh looked positively stunning in a blue satin gown while the couple set out to sea for the ultimate sunset view.

Just the two of us! Miles and Keleigh set sail on a boat in Bora Bora

Flower power: Keleigh looked positively stunning in a blue satin gown while the couple set out to sea for the ultimate sunset view

Teller was feeling the island vibes in one photo of two mai tai's overlooking crystal blue ocean water on the beach .

'Happy 1yr anniversary to my all-time love @keleighsperry,' he wrote. 'You and me til the end, baby.'

The couple first met in 2013 at a Grammys after-party and got engaged four years later while on a South African safari.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The global chemical weapons watchdog said Friday that two investigations into alleged attacks in Syria in 2016 and 2018 couldnt establish that chemicals were used as weapons in either case.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons issued two reports by its Fact-Finding Mission into attacks in Saraqib in the Idlib region on Aug. 1, 2016, and in Aleppo on Nov. 24, 2018.

The report on the Saraqib attack said that open source reports suggested around 30 people, mainly women and children experienced breathing difficulties. The reports also indicated the presence of a substance with an odor similar to that of chlorine, the OPCW report said.

Opposition groups blamed the attack on Syrian government forces, an allegation Syria rejected, the OPCW report said.

The Fact-Finding Mission wasnt able to visit the site of the alleged incident or the hospital where injured victims were treated. It had to rely on data including interviews, hospital records and videos and photographs.

Its investigations and analysis did not allow the FFM to establish whether or not chemicals were used as a weapon, according to the report issued Friday.

The alleged chlorine attack in Aleppo was blamed on rebel forces.

Social media reported that armed opposition groups dismissed accusations that they had used poisonous gases to attack areas controlled by the government in the city of Aleppo, the OPCW report said.

Despite visiting hospitals to collect medical records and analyzing samples, the Aleppo investigation also didnt establish whether chemicals were used as a weapon, the report said.

In the past, a joint U.N.-OPCW investigative mechanism accused Syria of using chlorine and the nerve agent sarin during the civil war, while the Islamic State group was accused of using mustard gas twice in 2015 and 2016.

In April this year, an OPCW investigation blamed the Syrian air force for a series of chemical attacks using sarin and chlorine in late March 2017 on the central town of Latamneh.

The Syrian government has consistently rejected repeated allegations that it launched chemical weapons attacks.
With the possibility of an imminent fall election taken off the table on Friday afternoon after the Liberal government and New Democrats reached a deal on paid sick leave following last Wednesdays Throne Speech, Federal lawmakers will focus on economic recovery and the health of Canadians.

This, according to Newmarket-Aurora MP Tony Van Bynen who was one of the few Members of Parliament selected to witness the September 23 Throne Speech live in Ottawa.

The Throne Speech, an address prepared by the government of the day and relayed by the Sovereigns representative in Canada, outlines the legislative program for the year ahead.

Among the highlights were new measures to combat climate change, to address income inequality, and address systemic racism; increased funding for the national housing strategy, a commitment to increasing high-speed internet across the country, and a number of measures to build back better after the COVID-19 storm clouds pass.

First and foremost, we need to get on top of this pandemic because without a medical solution, without a medical victory, bringing the economy back is going to continue to be a challenge, said Mr. Van Bynen. My years as a banker and my years as mayor [of Newmarket] taught me the prudence of fiscal restraint and I think that is important [but] what we need to do firstly is to make sure we get the economy back on its feet. Without those kinds of investments, we will be railing into a very serious recession and I dont think we can afford that. I think the investments were making now will avoid substantially greater investments if we dont do that.

I think this has to be a long-term perspective and we need to, over time, take a look at our taxation system. For example, there are a lot of digital giants that are not being taxed currently and we need to look at some of those areas where the extremely wealthy situation pays their fair share of taxes. Staying focused on trying to deal with tax avoidance will be some of the things that need to be given further consideration.

From the constituency perspective, one of the things Mr. Van Bynen said he advocated for were a green recovery, a Green New Deal, which he said is an absolute necessity, along with myriad issues surrounding healthcare.

I am looking at the way we care for our senior citizens, he said. National standards for long-term care I think is an absolute necessity. Building back with a green environmentbut also I think we need to be compassionate and supportive and understand that Canada has a lot of dynamics to it. What has made Canada what it is today is we have been inclusive and I want to make sure that we advance the agenda with respect to anti-racism  both anti-Black racism and anti-Indigenous racism. I am happy to see that we have made some very significant commitments to creating opportunities for the Black community. Thats the stuff Canada is made of; its the Canada I believe in and it is the Canada that brought my parents and my family here. I think we have an obligation to carry that through.

The obligation is to build unity across the nation and I think that is what this has done. This pandemic has reminded us that notwithstanding the different provincial legislations we have, we need to come together as a country because that is the only way were going to get on top of this pandemic.

To that end, Mr. Van Bynen hailed the extension of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) through to next summer.

I think there have been a lot of businesses that have been relying on the wage subsidy to make it viable and to continue to keep as many people on the payroll, he said. Specifically, there has been some investments within Aurora in terms of manufacturing PPEs. There has been an investment in Newmarket in terms of making face masks from pulp, which I think is a very interesting and innovative approach and totally recyclable  and it supports an industry. The directions we will be going into I think will create opportunities. I am really excited about the direction were heading into. The things that this pandemic has created opportunities for is things like advancing technology.

I think the real key is to make sure were significantly investing into research and making sure that were exploring all options to advance the availability of a vaccine as soon as possible. To be candid, I think this is just the beginning of a number of situations well be faced with over the next few decades. We need to make sure were investing in the solutions for the long-term.

Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill MP Leona Alleslev was unavailable to comment on the Throne Speech by press time.
The hundred's of mask-clad passengers evacuated from Heathrow airport's Terminal 2 after a 'potentially suspicious item' was discovered have been allowed back inside.

Crowds of people - including airline staff - were seen fleeing from the busy London terminal today after police descended on the scene shortly after 12pm.

But it was quickly discovered that the item 'does not pose a safety risk' and operations at the airport are 'now back to normal'.

The hundred's of mask-clad passengers (pictured) evacuated from Heathrow airport's Terminal 2 after a 'potentially suspicious item' was discovered have been allowed back inside

Crowds of people - including airline staff - were seen fleeing from the busy London terminal today after police were called shortly after 12pm

But it was quickly discovered that the item 'does not pose a safety risk' and operations at the airport (pictured during evacuation) are 'now back to normal'

Passengers and staff members were stuck outside in the rain for before they were given the all clear this afternoon.

Police vehicles were seen outside and sniffer dogs were said to be searching the scene, according to some passenger reports.

Terrified travellers took to social media to share pictures and videos of the rush to leave the terminal.

Hkun Htoi shared shocking footage of distressed passengers shouting and screaming as they rushed to safety.

He captioned the clip: 'Everyone evacuated from the Heathrow Terminal 2 buildings, I don't know what's going on.'

Passengers were seen evacuating Heathrow Terminal 2 after a 'potentially suspicious item' was discovered

Passengers and staff members were stuck outside in the rain for before they were given the all clear this afternoon

A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said: 'Earlier today, our teams responded alongside Police to reports of a potentially suspicious item at Terminal 2.

'The item has been investigated and does not pose a safety risk. We thank those passengers whose journeys were temporarily disrupted for their patience, and can confirm that our operations are now back to normal.'

A Met Police spokesperson said: 'Police were called to Terminal 2, Heathrow, at 12.11hrs on Friday, 2 October to reports of a suspicious item.'
Its a crisp fall morning, and cyclists are whizzing through Strathcona, a Vancouver neighbourhood of brightly-painted heritage houses and quaint corner stores.

On busy Prior Street, around 100 residents have gathered to call on all three levels of government for action on housing. The protesters are gathered at the entrance to Strathcona Park, the site of whats estimated to be Canadas biggest homeless tent city.

Few tent city residents are standing with the protesters at this rally, but the people carrying signs that read homes now and chanting homeless lives matter say theyre trying to use their privilege as housed residents to call for change.

As residents of Strathcona, we understand that moving the camp somewhere else isnt the solution, said Matthew Allan, a homeowner in Strathcona who attended the rally with his three-year-old son.

We need a housing strategy, we need some city, provincial and federal solutions.

Peter Portoundo, who has lived in the Strathcona Park tent city for a month, said the encampment isnt safe. In August, he was stabbed in the arm by a man who doesnt live at the tent city and had been chased away many times.

Thereve been endless little campfires in the tents, thereve been endless fights, pepper spray every day on people, Portoundo said. There are too many gangs, and its too close for all the problem street people to be calm and have a normal life.

B.C.s extreme housing unaffordability drove much of the political discontent that saw the BC Liberals lose power after a 16-year reign during the last election in 2017, to be replaced by an NDP minority government supported by three Green MLAs. (One of those MLAs, Andrew Weaver, left the Greens to sit as an Independent.)

As the province continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the housing crisis hasnt gone away. If anything, its back with a vengeance: restrictions put in place to prevent COVID-19 from spreading also spurred an uptick in homelessness. Tent cities have popped up not only in Vancouver and Victoria, but in many smaller cities throughout the province.

This is what the three parties are saying on the issue of housing and homelessness.

BC NDP: I cant just wiggle my nose like Samantha on Bewitched and make it appear

Selina Robinson has been minister for municipal affairs and housing since the NDP formed government. Over the past three years, it has been focused on rolling out a 30-point plan that includes building 114,000 units of housing over the next 10 years.

The government has announced hundreds of new units of housing across the province, including modular buildings that can be built quickly and inexpensively. But the BC NDP has also been criticized for the slow pace of construction of those promised homes.

When COVID-19 hit, the provincial government scrambled to deal with large tent cities that have been in place for years in Victoria and Vancouver, and quickly purchased or leased hotels and motels to provide emergency temporary housing.

Hundreds of people were housed, but the problem didnt go away: large tent cities are still in place in parks in Vancouver and Victoria. Both the tent cities and the hastily secured housing have been points of contention for housed residents, who have complained about open drug use and aggressive behaviour.

Robinson said she knows from past experience dealing with encampments in Nanaimo, Maple Ridge and Surrey that it always is a rocky beginning when people make the difficult transition from street homelessness to housing. She added that municipalities also have a role to play in enforcing bylaws.

Weve seen that, and what were seeing again is absolutely a rocky beginning, said Robinson, who hopes to win back her seat in Coquitlam-Maillardville. But it is the best way forward. Weve seen how things settled down in Maple Ridge, weve seen how things settled down in Nanaimo.

If the New Democrats form government, Robinson said theyll continue to buy or lease hotels and motels through BC Housing and find more sites to build new supportive housing units, pointing to a promise made at the beginning of September to build 450 new units of housing in Vancouver.

A new navigation centre program is also in the works for Vancouver and Victoria, Robinson said. The centres will offer a combination of shelter spaces and services to connect people to permanent housing.

Shes also interested in an idea proposed by the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, which has suggested governments provide financing to the non-profit housing sector to buy older rental apartment buildings in order to keep rents affordable.

Jill Atkey, CEO of the association, warned that for each new affordable housing unit being built, three existing affordable apartments are lost as investors continue to snap up rental buildings, frequently converting them to condos or building new, higher-priced rentals. Atkey suggested a funding commitment of $500 million from government would help to purchase between 5,000 and 11,000 housing units.

But, Robinson admitted, she and municipal partners have not been successful when it comes to getting the federal government to come on board for recent projects.

Robinson said she and Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart had both sought federal funding for the 450 units announced in September. He and I both attempted and pleaded and cajoled and begged, and we didnt get a response, Robinson said.

While Melanie Mark, the BC NDP candidate defending her seat in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, recently floated the idea of a sanctioned tent city, Robinson said thats not something she supports.

Over the past few years, the provinces approach has been to work with municipalities and service providers to assess what tent city residents need and move them into temporary and then permanent housing, Robinson said.

Our intent is to get people housed because that is the solution, Robinson said. Unfortunately, I cant just wiggle my nose like Samantha on Bewitched and make it appear. Thats not how it works.

BC Liberals: We do not have enough supply of housing of all types coming on stream

During their decade and a half at the helm of the B.C. government, the BC Liberals focused on rent supplements to help low-income people pay rent in the private market. New housing was focused on shelter spots and supportive housing for people who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

In 2016, government rolled out a new plan to spend $855 million to build 4,900 units of new housing, although the plan was criticized for being largely financed by a major sell-off of government-owned housing.

The BC Liberals are now campaigning hard on the message that the NDP have not responded to community safety concerns caused by homeless camps.

Leader Andrew Wilkinson promised today to look at restricting camping in city parks, enforcing the ban on unsafe roadside panhandling, and exploring alternative approaches to mental health and substance calls.

Todd Stone is the BC Liberal candidate for Kamloops-South Thompson, and the BC Liberal critic for housing. He criticized the BC NDP for not moving quickly enough to build new housing, and for not including enough mental health and addiction supports in the housing the NDP has quickly brought online to deal with growing homelessness.

Were going to have a whole series of measures that will be detailed in our platform, that will be focused on significantly increasing the speed at which we can bring housing supply into the market, Stone said. All types of housing, and especially for homeless and vulnerable populations.

Stone said the provincial government could be doing more to identify land already owned by the province where housing could be built. Stone also said the government has spent too much money on the hotels its bought in high-priced urban areas, pegging the cost at an average of $343,000 per housing unit. He said the BC Liberals would stretch every dollar to get as many housing units as possible.

Stone also had high praise for modular housing, a method of construction using prefabricated components that makes building much quicker and cheaper. And he likes the BC Non-Profit Housing Associations idea of government helping to finance the purchase of market-rental buildings when they come up for sale.

But he said not enough has been done to offer supports to people with mental health and addiction issues, and thats caused problems in communities.

Every single service provider says they are not able to access the resources that people need to support the people that that are coming into these repurposed hotels or these modular housing units, Stone said.

So that is fundamental, moving forward, that much larger investments for supports needs to be available.

Stone said circumstances are different today than when the BC Liberals previously held power and critics took aim at them for cutting social services and being reluctant to rein in rampant speculation in the housing market.

The BC Liberals are campaigning on a pledge to get rid of a real estate speculation tax brought in by the BC NDP, but Stone said the Liberals would instead introduce a capital gains tax on condo pre-sale flipping.

The Liberals will be releasing their full housing plan in the coming days, Stone said.

The reality today is, we do not have enough supply of housing of all types coming on stream, Stone said. Weve got to build a lot more supportive housing.

Greens: Were looking at potentially two or three months of lost time

Sonia Furstenau, the leader of the Green party, said she remembers the cuts to social services brought in by the BC Liberals when they were elected in 2001, cuts that targeted programs that prevented people from falling into homelessness and poverty.

Were now reaping the effects of that, Furstenau said.

During the three years of NDP government supported by the Greens, Furstenau said the parties had made headway by focusing on both sides of the housing problem, both the commodification issue as well as the availability of affordable housing.

But, Furstenau said, shes deeply disappointed by the BC NDPs decision to call an election as winter approaches and COVID-19 cases continue to climb. Its not the right time to pause efforts to reduce homelessness, she said.

Were not going to have a government for several weeks after the election on Oct. 24, because of the mail-in ballots, Furstenau said. Were looking at potentially two or three months of lost time and opportunity to move on this.

Furstenau said in her riding of Cowichan Valley, the response to COVID-19 spurred the purchase of a hotel and a camping site where people are allowed to set up their tents.

That tenting area included security and access to health care and mental health supports, Furstenau said. She said the sanctioned tenting site had been successful in Cowichan but warned it cant be seen as an end point. We want to see this as a step towards housing.

Like Robinson and Stone, Furstenau wants to see government explore the idea of helping to buy older rental housing buildings for not-for-profit housing organizations, co-op housing organizations, to purchase those and to keep them as affordable housing for people in communities where its needed.

Read more about:
CM lays the foundation stone for Tribal Medical College in Paderu, Tribal Engineer College at Kurupam Village, and 7 super-speciality hospitals. Keeping up to the promises made to the Tribal welfare, the AP government today is all set to distribute Recognition of Forest Rights pattas to provide ownership rights to 1.53 lakh beneficiaries on the 3 lakh acres of forest lands. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the distribution of pattas through video conference, marking the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Under the ROFR pattas, each beneficiary would get at least 2 acres of land.

During Padayatra, the CM met the distressed tribals and understood their plight, and today, as promised, the lands have been distributed through digitized surveys without any land disputes. Tribals kept waiting all these years, fighting for their rights. For the last ten years (2009 to 2019), the previous governments did not take any steps to answer their grievances. Today, We fulfill the promise and made sure that these tribals get their lands and also receive farmer assurances. The Government would also provide financial assistance to the tribals to cultivate the crops. CM said.

The Government will also distribute pattas to the DKT lands other than the forest lands cultivated by the tribals. She said that as many as 19,919 tribal families would be given pattas for 31,155 acres of DKT land. Deputy Chief Minister for Tribal Welfare, P Pushpa Sreevani, stated that the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is all set to break the record set by his father and former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. While YSR gave RoFR pattas for 1.30 lakh acres of land to 56,000 tribals in the past, this Government, under the leadership of CM Jagan, will distribute pattas for nearly 3 lakh acres to 1.53 lakh beneficiaries.

Also Read: Next year for sure: Tesla CEO Elon Musk hints at India debut in 2021

The Dy CM also added that around Rs 2,136 crore was deposited in the bank accounts 18.40 lakh tribals towards 15 welfare schemes. This includes Rythu Bharosa, pension, Vahana Mitra, Ammavodi, Vidya Deevena in the past one year. The Government is taking every initiative to improve the living standards of tribals and setting up educational institutions and health facilities for them. She said.

Apart from ROFR pattas distribution, The chief minister laid the foundation stone for the Tribal Engineering College at Kurupam, Medical College at Paderu, and seven super-speciality hospitals under ITDA. Aiming to provide better education facilities in the tribal areas, we have taken various measures in setting up a medical college which will be built at Paderu at the cost of Rs. 500 Cr. We are also starting work to set up a tribal engineering college in Kurupam Village. Apart from these educational institutions, the Government has decided to begin works on 7 multi-speciality hospitals at Seethampeta, Parvathipuram, Doranala, Buttaigudem, and Rampachodavaram CM Saidabad.

Also Read: Hathras horror: Bhim Army chief to protest at India Gate
Flooding near the Cape Fear River during Hurricane Florence in 2018. Credit: U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. Mary Junell

A North Carolina State University research team's search for Campylobacter in the floodwaters from Hurricane Florence instead uncovered an abundance of a related emerging pathogen: Arcobacter. The study raises questions about the prevalence of these understudied bacteria and demonstrates the ways in which floodwaters can amplify or spread pathogens over a geographical area.

Campylobacter is a well-known group of foodborne bacteria, spread primarily through contact with contaminated fecal matter. In humans it causes symptoms commonly associated with "food poisoning," such as diarrhea, fever and cramps. However, Campylobacter infections also constitute one of the leading precursors of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a serious complication that can cause permanent disability and paralysis. Food animalsparticularly poultry and hogsare known reservoirs of Campylobacter bacteria.

By comparison, Arcobacterwhich can look and behave similarly to Campylobacteris an emerging, primarily waterborne, pathogen. Its prevalence in the environment is unknown and its role in human disease has only been confirmed in the past two decades.

In 2018, Hurricane Florence caused major flooding in eastern North Carolina, where much of the state's food animal production takes place. A team of NC State researchers including Sophia Kathariou, corresponding author of a paper describing the work, set out to determine whether the floodwaters contained Campylobacter that might have originated in poultry or hog farms. Kathariou is a professor of food science and microbiology at NC State.

"Very little is known about the impact of hurricanes on microbial communities," Kathariou says. "Although flooding could increase the exposure of surface waters to microbes, the large volumes of water associated with flooding may also dilute microbial agents, counteracting the effects. We had previously done surveys of turkey and hog farms in eastern North Carolina, and we knew that they were heavily colonized by Campylobacter," Kathariou says. "So we saw this as a good test case."

As soon as it was possible to safely access the floodwaters, the team took 96 samples of floodwater from the Neuse, Cape Fear, Lumbee and Waccamaw watersheds in North Carolina. Ryan E. Emanuel, paper co-author and professor of forestry and environmental research at NC State, coordinated the sample collection.

The researchers used growth media designed to culture Campylobacter, but of the 96 samples taken, only one yielded Campylobacter. However, more than 75% of the samples yielded genetically diverse strains of Arcobacter, which were all found to be the emerging pathogen Arcobacter butzleri.

The researchers hope to conduct further research to determine a baseline prevalence of Campylobacter and Arcobacter in the watersheds and their association with human illnesses before, during and after flood events.

"It is definitely a surprising result," Kathariou says. "We had not even looked for Arcobacter in farms. It could be more prevalent than we think."

The work appears in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Explore further Significantly more Danes infected with campylobacter in 2019

More information: Jeffrey A. Niedermeyer et al. Search for Campylobacter spp. Reveals High Prevalence and Pronounced Genetic Diversity of Arcobacter butzleri in Floodwater Samples Associated with Hurricane Florence in North Carolina, USA, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2020). Jeffrey A. Niedermeyer et al. Search for Campylobacter spp. Reveals High Prevalence and Pronounced Genetic Diversity of Arcobacter butzleri in Floodwater Samples Associated with Hurricane Florence in North Carolina, USA,(2020). DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01118-20
Irked over non-payment of salaries, doctors and staff members of North Delhi Municipal Corporation's Hindu Rao hospital have warned the authorities that they would hold an indefinite protest if their three-months' dues are not released immediately.

The doctors and staff members of the hospitals have not been paid since June, for almost 109 days. The residents are currently on a 'Pen Down Strike' from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for one week to display their ordeal. The North MCD employs at least 1,000 senior doctors, 500 resident doctors, and 1,500 nursing officers.

In a letter to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation Commissioner, the Resident Doctors Association said, "We have continuously demanded for timely disbursement of salaries, but no action has been taken since the past 6 months. Presently, the salaries have not been paid for the past 3 months."

It added, "We strongly urge you for releasing 3 months' pay and giving us an immediate permanent solution. We apologise to announce if following issues are not rectified, we would be forced to hold an indefinite protest considering strictly 'No pay, No work'."

The association rued that despite the High Court's order and repetitive issues in the past, the salaries of North MCD doctors and staff are long overdue for three months and its ongoing four months. The letter penned by RDA president Abhimanyu Sardana further stated that it is a basic violation of human rights, norms by the Medical Council of India, along with the contempt of court.

"It has become a trend in NDMC hospitals time and again that the salaries are not regularized, and healthcare workers are deeply suffering in the pandemic times," the doctors' body said, adding that the healthcare workers are providing their valuable services while risking their lives during the greatest humanitarian crisis.

In every compensatory way the salary should be of high priority and this issue must be addressed with sincere authority and pragmatism, the RDA further said, requesting the civic body to provide a prompt and efficient solution.

Besides Hindu Rao hospital, doctors and nurses of other hospitals like Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases, Kasturba Hospital, Girdhari Lal Maternity Hospital and Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis have also been protesting over non-payment of dues.

Meanwhile, barring emergency, the Resident Doctors Association of Delhi government's Maharishi Valmiki hospital have withdrawn all essential and non-essential services in the hospital from Tuesday morning.

It came after the hospital did not lodge FIR against a patient and her attendant for allegedly assaulting an on-duty doctor.
Abigail Banerji

In September every year, the 192 Member States of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly come together from around the world to take part in a series of diplomatic discussions and multilateral meetings. This years 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), that started on 22nd September and went on till 2nd October, was similar in some ways but vastly different in others. For one, most of the meetings were done virtually and the statements made by members were pre-recorded. Another key difference was a separate summit dedicated solely to the protection of our nature and wildlife. This meeting marked the end of the UN Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the beginning of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

The theme of the conference was "Urgent Action on Biodiversity for Sustainable Development" and was supposed to act as a precursor to the 15th Conference of Parties (COP 15) or the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2021 that was to take place this year in Kunming, China. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been postponed to next year.

This summit had was supposed to lay the groundwork and to develop a framework where nature is put on a path to recovery by 2030 in order to meet the SDGs.

Loudest Voices at the Summit and What They Said

Volkan Bozkr

This year, the President of the UNGA is Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir. He kicked off the summit with an opening statement that really hit the nail right on the head.

While being soft-spoken, his words showed the extent of work that needs to be done before anyone can rest.

"Our existence on this planet depends entirely on our ability to protect the natural world around us...in the last 50 years, vertebrates  the category that includes everything from frogs to parrots to elephants  have declined by 68 percent." Bozkir said.

"If we continue down this path, we not only lose the beautiful riches of the world around us but jeopardize food security, water supplies, livelihoods, and our ability to fight diseases and face extreme events," he added.

Bozkir spoke about the importance of nature for our social and economic life but also for our health. He asked the world leaders to use this summit as a precursor for the COP15 that will take place in Kunming, China next year.

He said, "COP15 in Kunming must-do for biodiversity what COP21 in Paris did for climate change."

Antonio Guterres

At the beginning of his statement, the Secretary-General of the UN Antonio Guterres made a plucky remark: "Humanity is waging war on nature. We need to rebuild our relationship with it."

Guterres said human beings are part of the fragile web of life. But with deforestation, climate change and converting the wilderness to produce food destroying earth, we are living with newer and deadlier diseases like HIV-AIDS, Ebola, and now COVID-19.

He lambasted world leaders for not keeping to their previous undertakings, saying, "Despite repeated commitments, our efforts have not been sufficient to meet any of the global biodiversity targets set for 2020."

The UN Secretary-General has set out three priorities for conserving biodiversity. They are:

Nature-based solutions must be embedded in COVID-19 recovery and wider development plans.

Economic systems and financial markets must account for and invest in nature.

Secure ambitious policies and targets that protect biodiversity and leave no one behind.

Prince Charles

Charles, the Prince of Wales made an ardent plea to the world's political leaders and told them that we need to 'protect, restore and invest in nature' because it is essential to humanity's survival. We will see 'far greater returns' if we take 'the necessary, bold steps now.'

The heir-apparent said that he is working with a 'coalition of the willing' that will put nature, people and planet at the heart of the economy. They are all interconnected and everyone should be making sustainable choices to ensure that we have a future. To that end, he also encouraged leaders and policymakers to listen and learn from indigenous people. He believes that they have the wisdom and a sixth sense about nature that others might've discarded in the modern world.

He ends his statement on a dire note by saying Ladies and gentlemen, we are, I am afraid, at the last hour."

Archana Soreng

An environmental activist and a member of the Khadia tribe, Archana Soreng is also one of the seven members of the Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change established by Guterres as part of the UN Youth Strategy. She was also one of the only youth speaking at the Biodiversity summit, representing India and the indigenous peoples. She spoke about how important it is that indigenous practices are nurtured. She also said that communities living in an area should be included in the decisionmaking process for conservation in their areas and their rights to the forests and lands are respected.

Soreng said, "Doubling protected areas to cover 30 percent of the globe, as some want to see in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, will lead to immense human right violations. It could constitute the biggest land grab of world history reducing millions of people to landless poverty  all in the name of conservation."

"Removing us from our land in order to protect nature is deeply colonial and environmentally damaging. We should be leaders of conservation  not victims of it," she added.

China

A couple of day before the summit, President Xi Jinping shocked the world with an announcement that China will be carbon neutral by 2060. However, he appeared relatively tamer on the world stage in his pre-recorded messages. He showed his support towards the UN's work and urged other countries to stay on the mark with the Paris Accord. He also used his time to talk about the upcoming Convention on Biological Diversity 15, to be hosted by China this year, now pushed to 2021 owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

He also tooted China's horn towards the end of his speech, saying, "China is happy to share with all parties its experience of advancing biodiversity governance and ecological progress."

While China has taken steps in conversation and protection, it is also one of the highest emitters of the world and has shown no signs of actually slowing down its carbon emissions. In fact, after Chinas virus-induced lowdown in February, CO2 emissions have bounced back to pre-crisis level, according to a report by Carbon Brief.

Brazil

The President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro, during his pre-recorded speech, came off strong and argued in favour of natural destruction for economic and developmental purposes from the get-go. He started by saying that the use of the "extremely vast resources" of Brazil is the priority of the country.

Bolsonaro's statement focused on ensuring the world knew that his government focuses on both the economy and preservation of nature. In the case of Brazil, this just happens to be the last partially-untouched rainforest in the world in the Amazons.

"We must reach a consensus and properly combine sustainability and development; environmental preservation and economic innovation," Bolsonaro said. We must preserve our biomes and also overcome social challenges like unemployment and poverty while guaranteeing food security to our people."

Bolsonaro also declared that countries have the right to use their natural resources.

Thats precisely what we intend to do with the huge wealth of resources in the Brazilian territory, he said.

Pakistan

Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, addressing the council, said that his country was home to a diverse range of environmental features, and pledged to protect the countrys flora and fauna.

With Pakistan country among the top ten most vulnerable to climate change impacts, they have engaged local communities in planting a total of ten billion trees, Khan said. This will provide employment opportunities while also protecting the environment.

Prime Minister Khan also iterated that Pakistan has expanded the number of national parks in the country, from 30 to 39.

Absentees

A notable absentee during the summit was US President Donald Trump, who is in the process of exiting from the Paris Agreement. Trump is simultaneously not getting along too well with the UNs health counterpart, the World Health Organisation (from which Trump has also withdrawn support). The US did not bother with sending a representative to the UN event.

As per a Greenpeace report, Trumps absence at the UNGA Summit was evident of his utter disregard for biodiversity, from gutting protections under the Endangered Species Act to undermining the integrity of the National Environmental Protection Act."

The US is the only one of the five permanent member states that did not make an appearance at the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Another major player absent at the summit was Australia. The Guardian reported that an Australian government spokesperson said the country would not agree to environmental targets unless we can tell the Australian people what they will cost to achieve and how we will achieve it.

Before the start of the summit, over 60 heads of state and governments signed the Leaders Pledge for Nature and promised to slash air pollution, eliminate ocean plastic and transition to more sustainable food systems by 2030. Countries like Germany, France, Britain and Mexico promised to develop an "ambitious" plan ahead of next year's COP15 Biodiversity Conference. But major countries including China, Brazil, Australia, Russia and India have not signed so far.
The port city of Hai Phong in Vietnam has approved a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project for power generation, expected to be developed by U.S. supermajor ExxonMobil and to cost US$5.09 billion.

The peoples committee of the city of Hai Phong approved the project which is expected start electricity generation in 2026 or 2027, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a statement from the Vietnamese city.

The power plant is expected to have an initial capacity of 2.25 gigawatts (GW) when it becomes operational. Capacity will be doubled to 4.5 GW by 2029-2030, the city of Hai Phong said.

In June this year, Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told Irtiza Sayyed, President of ExxonMobil LNG Market Development, that Vietnam welcomes the U.S. supermajors plans to invest in the Southeast Asian country.

Exxon is exploring the possibility of investing in new projects to develop LNG-to-power plants in Vietnam, the local government said at the time. The plans included a 4-GW LNG-to-power plant in Hai Phong, which could start generating power between 2025 and 2030, and a 3-GW gas-fired power complex in the Mekong Delta province of Long An.

While LNG-to-power projects led by Exxon in Vietnam could become reality only in the latter half of this decade, the U.S. oil giant is doubling down in the more immediate future on its operations in Guyanaone of its key focus areas.

Earlier this week, Exxon made the final investment decision on the Payara offshore oilfield in Guyana. Payara is expected to yield up to 220,000 bpd of crude oil when commercial production begins in 2024.

This would be the third offshore development project of the supermajor in Guyana, which rose to fame thanks to a string of discoveries in the Stabroek block made by Exxon and its partner Hess Corp. So far, the discovered recoverable resources in the block have been estimated at more than 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Open Streets Saturday is back this week

Downtown Hendersonville continues the LoveHendo-Shop Local promotion with open-air activity on Main Street the first Saturday.

Main Street will be closed to vehicles all day Saturday of each month from Second Avenue to Sixth Avenue. The cross streets will remain open for vehicles to access businesses and the abundant downtown parking available a short walk from Main Street. The spaces on Main immediately in front of the Historic Henderson County Courthouse are reserved for handicap parking. Public restrooms are located at the Visitors Center on the south end and at 125 5th Avenue on the northern end.



Many downtown businesses have expanded outdoor activities, including:



 The Hendersonville Family YMCA will host free yoga on the 400 block at 8:30 am

 Sit Step Sing free senior fitness on the 400 block at 10:30am

 Team ECCO Shark Lab will host afternoon activities from 12-2pm on the 500 block, including photos with a mermaid, hoola hoop lessons, bubbles, discover tables, etc.

 The Sun, Earth, Universe exhibition, designed by the National Informal STEM Education Network in cooperation with NASA hosted by Team ECCO. Hours for the exhibit will be 1-4 pm Saturday at a cost of $3 per person, with children under age 5 admitted free of charge. Team ECCO is located at 429 N. Main St., in space provided by the Shelley family.

 Business sidewalk sales, including Mast General Store with sales being rounded up to benefit United Way of Henderson County

 NeverBlue Food Truck and Black Bear Coffees new coffee camper serving tasty bites in addition to the many downtown eateries

 Book Signing with The Cheerful Word near the intersection of Main and 5th Avenue

 Join the Cheers! Trail and enjoy local breweries and wineries in Henderson County by picking up a passport at the Hendersonville Visitors Center



Live music performances are:

 Myron Hyman on the 200 Block (near Shine!) at 1pm

 Fiddlin Ryn & Friends on the 400 Block (near the Mineral & Lapidary Museum) at 2pm

 Billy Litz on the 200 Block (near Shine!) at 3:30pm



Also, the Hendersonville Farmers Market is open 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday with hot spiced chai, hot apple cider, three options for prepared food, baked goods and fall produce.



In the spirit of #SafeHendo, all businesses and customers are encouraged to follow the 3 Ws  Wear a face covering, Wash your hands and Wait 6 feet apart.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.s chief executive Thursday assailed San Antonio investor Sardar Biglari and his track record running troubled Steak n Shake in response to the latest proxy fight he has launched against the Tennessee company.

Sandra B. Cochran urged Cracker Barrel shareholders to disregard Biglaris nominee for the restaurant and retail chains board of directors. It marks the fifth proxy context waged by Biglari against Cracker Barrel in 10 years. He lost the previous four.

As an initial observation, we do not believe Mr. Biglaris views are credible given his long-term track record of lagging performance and problematic governance practices at his own company, Cochran said.

On ExpressNews.com: Has San Antonios Sardar Biglari lost his touch?

Biglari is chairman and CEO of Biglari Holdings Inc., parent company of restaurant chain Steak n Shake and mens magazine Maxim. Steak n Shake closed restaurants during the pandemic, causing sales to plunge by half in the quarter ended June 30.

Biglari used a proxy contest to take control of Steak n Shake without paying a customary control premium to its shareholders, renamed the company after himself and proceeded to oversee the destruction of tremendous shareholder value, Cochran said in her letter.

Biglari Holdings 10-year total shareholder return prior to the pandemic was a negative 61 percent. By comparison, she said, Cracker Barrel registered a 520 percent return over the same period.

As further evidence of destroyed value, the market value of Biglari Holdings is worth significantly less than the combined net asset value of the businesses it holds, Cochran said.

Staff file photo

A call placed to Biglari was not immediately returned. A Biglari hedge fund owns more than 2 million Cracker Barrel shares, or about 8.7 percent of the stock. Those shares are worth about $234 million.

Steak n Shakes deterioration serves as a cautionary tale of poor capital allocation, underinvestment, lack of strategic vision, and lost brand identity, Cochran continued. The restaurant chain once held a storied place in American restaurant history, she added.

SA Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox

Biglari nominated Raymond Rick P. Barbrick to serve as a Cracker Barrel director. He is co-CEO of New Jersey-based Briad Group, which owns 111 Wendys restaurants and some Marriott- and Hilton-branded hotels in the Northeast.

Biglari has criticized Cracker Barrel management for store expansions and money-losing side ventures, including its $133 million write-off of its investment in Punch Bowl Social, a restaurant chain that combined food and drinks with arcade games. The write-off came amid the pandemic and just nine months after Cracker Barrel made the investment.

Education Images /Education Images /Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Cochran said Cracker Barrel hired a third-party recruiting firm to help it assess Barbrick. The firm spoke with persons who have worked with him and interviewed him at length.

After completing their review, the firm reported that they did not believe Mr. Barbrick to be sufficiently experienced or differentiated to add value to our board when compared with our existing directors or other potentially available candidates, Cochran said.

The election of directors is scheduled to take place at Cracker Barrels annual meeting Nov. 19.

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
Bella Thorne has been keeping busy with her controversial OnlyFans account, where she recently dropped her new single.

But the former Disney Channel star is also enjoying the fruits of her labor, as she takes in some retail therapy.

She beat the 100-degree SoCal heat Thursday in a white Chanel crop top, printed with lips, and high-waisted Daisy Dukes, as she enjoyed some retail therapy at The Kingdom boutique in Calabasas.

Showing some skin: Bella Thorne beat the 100-degree SoCal heat Thursday in a white Chanel crop top, printed with lips, and high-waisted Daisy Dukes, as she enjoyed some retail therapy at The Kingdom boutique in Calabasas

The 22-year-old showed some leg in the cutoff denim short shorts, while showing some brand loyalty in a pair of chunky black Chanel sandals.

She finished the look with a black 'vote' face mask, some diamond-encrusted gold Chanel bling and a red leather Chanel crossbody handbag.

Bella also took to her Instagram Story, showing off her next OnlyFans look, posing in sheer black lingerie and matching thigh-high leather boots.

She dropped the music video for her single Stupid F***ing B**** earlier this week on the site, in which she rocks a white bikini and pearls, while emerging from a pool.

Daisy Dukes: The 22-year-old showed some leg in the cutoff denim short shorts, while showing some brand loyalty in a pair of chunky black Chanel sandals

Chanel chic: She finished the look with a black 'vote' face mask, some diamond-encrusted gold Chanel bling and a red leather Chanel crossbody handbag

The Assassination Nation actress teased the release on Instagram, writing: 'STUPID F***ING B**** just about to drop this on my ONLY fans !!! Link in bio BE THE FIRST TO HEAR AND SEE'

She launched her OnlyFans back in August, charging $20 a month, $51 for a three-month subscription or $102 for six months.

Bella was reportedly the first content creator on the platform to earn $1million in their first 24 hours, after briefly crashing the site.

She told the Los Angeles Times that she made $2million in the first week, and she's 'putting the earnings into her production company and toward charity.'

Although the site is mostly for adult entertainers to monetize their work, Thorne tweeted: 'Also nooooo Im not doing nudity!!!'

Kinky boots: Bella also took to her Instagram Story, showing off her next OnlyFans look, posing in sheer black lingerie and matching thigh-high leather boots

Video vixen: She dropped the music video for her single Stupid F***ing B**** earlier this week on the site, in which she rocks a white bikini and pearls, while emerging from a pool

Breaking the internet: She launched her controversial OnlyFans last month, becoming the first content creator on the platform to earn $1million in their first 24 hours, after briefly crashing the site

But she quickly stirred up controversy, when she charged $200 for nude photos, which weren't actually nude, prompting many users to complain and request refunds.

The site subsequently implemented some unwelcome changes, like capping payments at $50 for pay-per-view posts, as well as a hold that would require some international users to wait 30 days for their payout.

Many sex workers who rely on the platform for their livelihood blamed Bella for making their jobs more difficult.

She later apologized on Twitter, writing: 'I wanted to bring attention to the site, the more people on the site the more likely of a chance to normalize the stigmas, And in trying to do this I hurt you.

'I have risked my career a few times to remove the stigma behind sex work, porn, and the natural hatred people spew behind anything sex related.'

A little controversy: But she quickly stirred up controversy, when she charged $200 for nude photos, which weren't actually nude, prompting many users to complain and request refunds (pictured in February, 2020)

Unwelcome changes: The site subsequently implemented some unwelcome changes, like capping payments at $50 for pay-per-view posts, as well as a hold that would require some international users to wait 30 days for their payout

Public apology: Many sex workers who rely on the platform for their livelihood blamed Bella for making their jobs more difficult, encouraging her to post an apology

She added: 'I am a mainstream face and when you have a voice, a platform, you try to use you in helping others and advocate for something bigger than yourself. Again in this process I hurt you and for that Im truly sorry.'

A spokesperson for OnlyFans clarified to BBC: 'Spending limits are in place to protect all OnlyFans users and to allow them to use the platform safely.

'The newly introduced limits on tips and paid posts is a change that has been in the pipeline for a while, and has not been implemented in response to any one creator or fan.'

Bella told Paper of her reasons for joining the site: 'OnlyFans is the first platform where I can fully control my image; without censorship, without judgement, and without being bullied online for being me.'

She also retweeted a journalist who claimed she joined as research for an upcoming project with director Sean Baker.

Directorial debut: Bella previously won the Vision Award at last October's second annual Pornhub Awards, following her adult film directorial debut (pictured in October, 2019)

Pornstar: She released Her & Him (featuring ex Mod Sun, 33, on the soundtrack) as part of the adult streaming site's Visionaries series

The Florida Project director subsequently posted a statement, revealing that the film would be in the 'far future' and nothing was concrete.

He wrote: 'I advised her team to consult with sex workers and address the way she went about this so as NOT to hurt the sex work industry. This has been the extent of my involvement.'

Bella previously won the Vision Award at last October's second annual Pornhub Awards, following her adult film directorial debut.

She released Her & Him (featuring ex Mod Sun, 33, on the soundtrack) as part of the adult streaming site's Visionaries series.

It came after the Famous In Love actress released her own nudes in June of 2019, after she was threatened by a hacker.

Bella posted the screenshots and a note to Twitter: 'F*** u and the power u think you have over me. I'm gonna write about this in my next book. Here's the photos he's been threatening me with, in other words here's my boobies.'
BANGKOK: Thailands self-exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says he was hospitalized for about two weeks after diagnosing himself as having the coronavirus. News of his illness began circulating several hours after it was revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania tested positive for the disease.

Thaksin, a 71-year-old billionaire whose main residence is in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, discovered he was infected in late August when he tested himself with a high-tech gadget made by a company in which he is an investor, an unofficial spokesman in Bangkok for the Shinawatra family said Friday.

He had mild symptoms sneezing and low fever but checked his health because he was preparing to travel, said the spokesman, Wim Rungwattanachinda.

Wim said Thaksin tested positive again when he went to a hospital in Dubai, where he stayed for about a week for treatment before transferring to a different hospital in Abu Dhabi, another city in the UAE, where he stayed for another week.

Thaksin said his sisters, Yingluck and Yaowapa, were quarantined after he was found to be infected, but tested negative for the disease. He said he suspected he caught the coronavirus when he forgot to wash his hands when going to a food court, though he generally wore a face mask when out in public.

Thaksin founded a political party after becoming a billionaire in the telecommunications sector, and became prime minister after winning a 2001 election. He was reelected in 2005, but the army ousted him in a coup in 2006, after which he faced several charges related to abuse of power and corruption. Thaksin claimed the cases against him were political persecution, and fled Thailand while on bail after a conviction on one of the charges for which he was handed three years imprisonment.

His many supporters continued to battle on his behalf at the polls and in the streets, while he was regarded as pulling the strings from a distance. There has been speculation this month that he will make a fresh bid at an open political comeback, though likely through family members.

Thaksins Thai passport was canceled by the government, but he has at least one from another country that he was legally granted in exchange for making investments. His investment in a UK-based company that claims on its website to have rolled out a rapid, lab-free COVID-19 test, is just one of his several business interests.

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
PRODECO International Limited, a company in which former Nigerias vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has an interest, was flagged for suspicious transactions totalling $2.3 million in 2011, suspicious activities report filed with the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), have shown.

FinCEN files, a new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, BuzzFeed and 108 media partners across the world, including PREMIUM TIMES, are a large volume of leaked confidential financial reports relating to the transaction activities of world leaders, terrorists, drug dealers and money launderers.

The files include a large number of suspicious activity reports (SARs), filed by banks and other financial institutions to the US Government as required by the Bank Secrecy Act., with the total amount in suspicious transactions reported being $2 trillion ($2,099584,477,415.49).

In the data reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES, it is reported that Prodeco made a total of five wire-transfer transactions, totalling $2,317,793.68 between November 26, 2010, and January 18, 2011. Atiku had in September 2017 disclosed his ownership of Prodeco.

The company, affiliated with Intels Nigeria Limited, Nigerias largest logistics company co-founded by Atiku and Italian Gabrielle Volpi, operates within the oil and gas industry and is headquartered in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

The flagged funds were wired by Prodeco from an account at Standard Chartered Bank, United Kingdom. They were flagged by the Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (DBTCA) based in New York, United States.

The beneficiary banks involved in the transactions were a Lagos branch of Bank PHB Plc, now known as Keystone Bank Limited; Deutsche bank AG, a German multinational investment bank; Ecobank Nigeria Plc; and Skye Bank Plc, now known as Polaris Bank.

The recipients of the funds were identified as Coltyn Enterprises Nigeria Ltd, Drake and Sean Limited, Mbonny Technical Services Limited, Melchers Trading Gmbh, and Unicorn Integrated Marine.

Further analysis of the activities identified an unusual variation in transaction amounts ranging from $11,345.51 to $1,300,000, the filing said.

On 11/26/2010, Prodeco International Limited sent one (1) payment in the amount of $1,300,000 to Unicorn Integrated Marine Engineering Ltd. On 12/15/2010, Prodeco International Limited sent one (1) payment in the amount of $769,372.53 to Drake and Sean Limited. On 12/14/2010, Prodeco International Limited sent one (1) payment in the amount of $112,557.75 to Mbonny Technical Services Limited, the SAR said.

Purposeless

The SAR said the purpose of the transactions could not be ascertained because they contained sketchy or incoherent details.

The address provided for some of the companies did not match the transaction details. Hence, DBTCA was unable to determine whether the listed entities are involved in the transactions, according to the SAR.

For instance, it said that the address for Unicorn Integrated Marine Engineering Ltd was not listed in the transaction details.

No information was found for Unicorn Integrated Marine Engineering Ltd. Also, the address for Drake and Sean Limited was not listed in the transaction details. The address for Mbonny Technical Services Limited was not listed in the transaction details.

According to the SAR, when DBTCA asked one of the banks, Oceanic Bank International, Nigeria, for information regarding the business purpose of one of the transactions in the amount of $1,300,000 involving its customer Unicorn and PRODECO, it claimed it was for Sublease of rights and interests for future rent over 20 hectares of land at Onne Oil & Gas Free Zone. PREMIUM TIMES is unable to determine if Unicorn has such a property in Onne.

While PREMIUM TIMES can confirm that all the beneficiary firms are registered in Nigeria, only Mbonny Technical Services has an online presence explaining the services they provide to their clients.

According to its website, Mbonny Technical Services provides logistics services. It wrote on its website that it provided staff bus transportation and haulage of materials to PRODECO from 2004 to date. Atikus firm may have paid for those services through the transfer.

Meanwhile, all efforts made by this newspaper to reach the firm to ask if it is aware of the 2011 transactions did not yield results. No one responded to telephone calls put across to the firm via its official telephone numbers for three days.

For the other three companies; Cotlyn Enterprise, Unicorn Integrated Marine Engineering Limited and Drake and Sean Ltd; this paper could not ascertain the type of services they provide.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted one of those listed as Unicorns director, Ibrahim Abdullahi Maimaje, on Sunday, he confirmed being a director of the firm and told our reporter to call back on Monday.

But when the reporter called back on Monday, he retracted his earlier comment, denying any affiliation with the engineering company. I was sleeping when you called on Sunday. That is why, he responded when confronted with details of the previous conversation.

Cotlyn Enterprise, and Drake and Drake and Sean Limited were registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2001 and 2009 respectively. The two are owned by members of two families.

The directors of Drake and Sean limited are Didi Ndiomu and Sean Ndiomu, who this newspaper suspects are family members.

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Didi Ndiomu is the Chairman of Nigerian Machine Tools Limited, a company that manufactures and distributes engineering machines and spare parts. The company is headquartered in Lagos, with its factory being in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

When the company was contacted via a telephone number listed on its website, the respondent, who is based in Osun State, promised to reach out to the officer in charge of the factory after the reason for calling was disclosed.

He, however, said the official could not confirm or deny if Mr Ndiomu is a director at Drake and Sean. He also refused to disclose the direct contact details for Mr Ndiomu.

On the other hand, Cotlyn Enterprise listed Collins Ola Ehimiaghe and Tina Ehimiaghe as directors. In its official response sent to PREMIUM TIMES (weeks after this publication), the management of Cotlyn Enterprises said it was contracted for the transportation of cement from production factories located in Port Harcourt to Prodeco construction sites at the Federal Ocean Terminal (FOT), Onne.

FOT Onne exists in an Oil & Gas Free Trade Zone hence the primary reason the services offered by Coltyn Enterprises were paid for in dollars to the companys account at Bank PHB now known as Keystone Bank PLC.



The haulage company added that it was equally contracted to transport cement to various other project sites for companies in the Construction Industry such as RCC, Gilmor Constructions & Engineering and Eternit Limited Sapele.

Overall Coltyn moved an average of 20,000 tonnes of cement each year.

Atiku did no Wrong  Spokesperson

When contacted, a spokesperson for the former Atiku, Paul Ibe, said PRODECO, as a going concern, is engaged in legitimate businesses.

The alleged transfer was a legitimate transaction, he said.

He said in response to our reporters inquiry that it was a mere coincidence that the transfers took place in the build-up to the 2011 presidential election.

A decade after the so-called transaction and purported flagging, has there been any case of illegality established? None so far, Mr Ibe said.

He strongly denied insinuations that the funds were wired for election purposes.

PREMIUM TIMES had previously reported how Atiku was placed under international banking surveillance by the US authorities due to past corruption and money laundering investigations in Nigeria and the US.

EDITORS NOTE: This post was updated on November 29, 2020, to reflect the comment of Coltyn Enterprise which was sent to us several weeks after our initial publication.
These two aircraft were part of Air India's commercial fleet for a few months in 2018 before they were sent back to Boeing for retrofitting them for VVIP travel

Air India One, one ofthe two highly customised wide-bodied Boeing 777-300 ERs, which will be used to fly President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, arrived in Delhi from the US on Thursday.

#WATCH: VVIP aircraft Air India One that will be used for President, Vice President & PM arrives at Delhi International Airport from US. It is equipped with advance communication system which allows availing audio & video communication function at mid-air without being hacked. pic.twitter.com/4MtXHi8F9O  ANI (@ANI) October 1, 2020

"Air India One is equipped with an advanced and secured communication system that allows availing audio and video communication functions mid-air without any worries of hacking or being taped," sources familiar with the details told ANI.

The two aircraft were initially scheduled to land in India early 2020 but it was delayed due to "operational issues".

The Boeing B777 planes will have state-of-the-art missile defence systems called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS), which is capable of countering missile threats.

SPS includes large aircraft infrared countermeasures, counter-measures dispensing system and integrated defensive electronic warfare suite . These protection systems can jam enemy radar frequencies and divert heat-seeking missiles by disturbing their guidance systems.

Both of them will be on par with the US President's Air Force One in terms of security measures.

During the travel of the VVIPs, the two B777 aircraft will be operated by pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and not of Air India, a government official said.

Air India had sent the two long-haul Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to a Boeing facility in Dallas to be modified for VVIP travel. Officials said the total cost of purchase and retrofitting the two planes has been estimated to be around Rs 8,400 crore.

These two aircraft were part of Air India's commercial fleet for a few months in 2018 before they were sent back to Boeing for retrofitting them for VVIP travel.

Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), which is a subsidiary of the Indian national carrier, will be maintaining the two new planes.

Currently, the president, vice president and prime minister, fly on Air India's B747 planes, which have the call sign Air India One.

With inputs from agencies
Paramount Chief of Dormaa Traditional Council, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu II

02.10.2020 LISTEN

The Paramount Chief of Dormaa Traditional Council, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu II, has supported the call for the leaders of the two major parties to hold a national debate, as Ghana prepares for the December 7 general elections.

The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Mr John Dramani Mahama challenged President Akufo-Addo to an infrastructure debate on Thursday, 20 August 2020.

Mr Mahama told the chiefs and people of Kwamekrom in the Biakoye constituency during his Oti Region tour that he is ready to settle the infrastructure debate once and for all, adding that President Akufo-Addo is at liberty to select the moderators and the institution that he wants to organise the debate, and he will show up any day, at any time and anywhere.

Even though there has not been an official response from the incumbent President, the NPP says it is not in their campaign plans to debate the former President.

The Dormaa Paramount Chief, however, supports the call for a national debate.

Addressing a gathering when the former president paid a courtesy call on him at his palace in Dormaa Ahenkro on Thursday, 2 October 2020, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu II said: "I strongly support this debate between the two presidential candidates to enable Ghanaians to know the party with the better track record and decide who to vote for".

Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu II expressed the hope that the two parties would come to an amicable solution to participate in the national debate.

In the area of infrastructure development, the Dormaa Paramount Chief extolled the achievements of Mr Mahama during his tenure.

According to Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu II, he is always ready to praise any government that is working to develop his area and urged other leaders who would get the opportunity to govern the country to work hard to beat the record that has been set by Mr Mahama, for Ghana to develop.

---classfm
Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Josephs Healthcare are working through a massive backlog of 5,248 surgeries.

St. Josephs estimates it will take up to eight months to clear.

But a second wave of COVID-19 is bearing down and hospitals are getting overcrowded again.

While St. Josephs estimates the pandemic has added four months to its surgical wait lists, Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) has seen the opposite.

Our wait times have actually decreased somewhat, even though weve done less surgery, said chief of surgery Dr. Stephen Kelly. People just arent entering the system at the moment. Theyre not getting their screening test done and theyre not getting to see their family doctors as they were previously. Were waiting for those patients. We need to be prepared for that.

The amount of postponed cancer screening alone is staggering. Nearly 155,000 Ontario women missed getting a mammogram from March 15 to May 31. The mere 4,065 seen by the Ontario Breast Screening Program represent a 97 per cent decrease from the same period in 2019.

During that time, Pap tests plummeted 88 per cent which equals 192,810 women putting off screening for cervical cancer. Only 26,269 tests were done through the Ontario Cervical Screening Program.

ColonCancerCheck saw a 73 per cent drop in fecal tests, meaning more than 103,000 were delayed during the first wave, when merely 38,000 tests got done.

We understand this is a very difficult time and particularly distressing for people waiting to receive the cancer screening they need, Ontario Health said in statement. We will be able to catch up on routine screening over time, but it will depend on how long COVID-19 impacts the health-care system.

A gradual restart of screening started May 27 and by July about 45 per cent of the usual number of mammograms and Pap tests were completed compared to 2019. Fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) have had a slower start at only 17 per cent.

As patients are going for more screening, well start to see more diagnosis, said Dr. Anthony Adili, chief of surgery at St. Josephs. Im anticipating an uptick in demand. If that is the case, well have to, again, adjust how we prioritize our patients and do less of the truly elective and more of the time sensitive. It will be a fine balancing act as we go.

Further postponements could be devastating for those who have already waited through the pandemic primarily for joint replacement and cataract surgeries. HHS did 3,700 fewer surgeries and procedures from April to August compared to the same time last year. For St. Josephs its 1,548.

Even though they are elective they have a huge impact on patients quality of life, said Adili. They impact on their ability to participate in the workforce and generate an income, and their ability to enjoy life and recreational activities.

The Conservative government is determined not to shut down elective care again earmarking $741 million to reduce surgery backlogs.

We will be initiating a centralized wait list and a program to optimize the use of operating rooms and improve the use of existing resources, Health Minister Christine Elliott said Sept 25. Adili and Kelly didnt have details yet of how this would work.

Our big issue is just having enough staff, said Adili. I could run ORs Saturday and Sunday but I wouldnt have nurses or anesthesiologists to staff those rooms because they are working Monday to Friday. There is only so much overtime you can ask people to safely do and still be confident the care you are providing is safe.

Long-standing problems with overcrowding are also creeping back again. Nearly one in four acute care beds at the Charlton campus of St. Joes are taken up by a patient ready to be discharged. At HHS, 12 per cent of beds are blocked by those waiting for other types of care such as long-term care and home care.

That is a significant percentage of our beds occupied by people who dont need to be in an acute care bed ... which affects our ability to triage people through the emergency department and drastically affects our ability to do surgeries, said Adili.

It also pushes up occupancy at a time when the hospitals need to keep 10 per cent of beds free for COVID-19 patients. HHS had an occupancy rate of 101 per cent on Sept. 16, meaning it had more adult patients than funded medical and surgical beds. St. Josephs was also close to full at 95 per cent. Both hospital networks say they can free up beds within 24 to 48 hours.

Ontario Health CEO Matt Anderson warned Sept 30 it will take far fewer patients to overwhelm hospitals in the second wave. The system would become strained with 150 to 350 COVID patients in the intensive care unit compared to 2,000 to 3,000 in the first wave.

We are trying this time around  to keep the rest of the health-care system up and functional as possible, said Anderson.
New Delhi: After showing a gradual decline in the last week of September, the number of COVID-19 patients under home quarantine in Delhi has risen in October, according to official data. The number of COVID-19 patients under home isolation was 19,213 on September 21 and 18,464 the next day. The figure fell further to 17,834 on September 23, when the number of containment zones stood at 1,987.

The cases under home isolation, however, showed a rising trend on September 24 (17,995) and September 25 (18,096). From September 26-30, the cases of home isolation fell gradually for five consecutive days until October 1, when the count rose to 15,899 and containment zones stood at 2,616.

The number of home isolation cases and the containment zones during September 26-28 in that order were: 17,600 (2231); 17,291 (2380); 16679 (2465); 16049 (2505); and 15657 (2570), according to official data. The national capital recorded 40 COVID-19 fatalities on Thursday, taking the death toll to 5,401, while 3,037 fresh cases pushed the tally to over 2.82 lakh, authorities said.

On September 29, the city reported 48 deaths, the highest number of fatalities in a day since July 16, when the figure stood at 58. On September 26, Delhi recorded 46 COVID-19 deaths, 42 the next day and 37 on September 28. On September 30, the death count stood at 41.

On the fall recorded in home isolation cases, experts had earlier said that the decline could have been due to patients getting better and completing their home isolation period or some patients at home being transferred to COVID-19 care centres. The Delhi government had been laying a lot of emphasis on home isolation, especially for asymptomatic patients as part of its COVID-19 management strategy in the past several months.

On the fresh rise recorded in home quarantined cases, experts feel that many people not observing social distancing norms or wearing masks in public may have contracted infection asymptomatically. As testing capacity has also been boosted, these cases could be throwing up many asymptomatic ones, who as per protocol are told to self-isolate at home. So that could be one reason for the rise in its count," a senior doctor of a Delhi government hospital said.

The Delhi government has significantly ramped up COVID-19 testing in the past few days. The number of tests conducted and corresponding fresh cases reported, ranged from 24,198 (2,312) on September 1 to 61,973 (4,071) on September 19.

Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine at Apollo Hospitals here, Dr Suranjit Chatterjee said, We are at crossroads right now in this COVID crisis". While we know many things about this virus and its behaviour, it is still springing up a surprise. How is it going to behave further and affect humans, we need to still fathom that, as in what kind of cases will come up more, symptomatic or asymptomatic, we dont know yet.

We have to just combat it and people need to shake off the complacency that everything is normal just because the economy has been reopened. Asymptomatic cases could be roaming next to them," he said. The COVID-19 cases have shown a surge since last month with September 16 recording 4,473 cases, the highest single-day spike here till date.

The daily cases in Delhi had breached the 4000-mark for the first time on September 9, when the death count was 20, and the cumulative fatality 4,638. On the same day, the total number of cases in the city had crossed the 2-lakh mark. The home isolation cases on July 1 stood at 16,703 with 437 containment zones marked in the city. On July 31, the home isolation cases count had come down to 5,763, while the containment zones had risen to 692, according to official data.

On August 3, the number of COVID-19 patients under home isolation and containment zones, both came down to 5,577 and 496, respectively. On August 25, there were 5,949 home isolation cases and 654 containment zones or localised areas from where infections were reported.

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Detectives have in their custody three suspects alleged to have abducted a director of a technology company while impersonating officials of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

Among the suspects is Godwins Otieno Agutu, an anti-graft crusader who recently featured in the highly publicized Covid-19 millionaires expose.

The Network Action Against Corruption Director was arrested Wednesday alongside Alex Mutua and Ken Gichovi. They are accused of soliciting a Sh2 million in bribe from the director of Hi-Tech Enterprise pretending they could stop an alleged tax evasion case.

Using two Prados Reg. Nos. GKB 070B & KCY 280Q, Godwins Otieno Agutu, Alex Mutua Mutuku and Ken Gichovi Kimathi alongside three others who are still at large stormed the victims offices within Nairobi on 26th September 2020, after which they took his laptop and left. The suspects appeared again on 29th September 2020 demanding the Sh2 Million bribe, and when the victim could not raise the amount, they forced him into the GKB vehicle and drove off to Lutheran House along Nyerere road, the DCI stated.

The suspects forced the victim to obtain funds from his family members who managed to raise Sh500,000. The suspects escorted the victim to his house at Westlands in Nairobi and took the cash.

Detectives say they nabbed the three at Lutheran House, further establishing that the registration number GKB 070B belonged to a Land Rover Discovery attached to the Judiciary.

Suspects still at large are Houdouvia Njoroge, Harrison Ochar and Brian Kimemia.

The suspects were arraigned on Wednesday, with a Nairobi court granting detectives a day to complete investigations.
Alexander Lukashenko is not on the sanctions list.

The European Union has officially imposed sanctions on 40 representatives of Alexander Lukashenko's regime who are involved in suppressing peaceful protests in Belarus and rigging presidential election results.

This is announced in a statement on the European Council's website.

Read alsoUK, Canada slap sanctions on Lukashenko, his son

"The Council today imposed restrictive measures against 40 individuals identified as responsible for repression and intimidation against peaceful demonstrators, opposition members and journalists in the wake of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, as well as for misconduct of the electoral process," the statement said on October 2.

At the same time, Alexander Lukashenko is not on the list of persons subject to the sanctions, which was published in the EU Official Journal.

Sanctions against Lukashenko's regime
Ghislaine Maxwell once revealed that her father introduced her to Jeffrey Epstein to 'take care of her emotionally'.

The pedophile's alleged chief recruiter confessed to one of his staffers that the late newspaper baron Robert Maxwell set her up with Epstein. Robert apparently believed that Epstein could provide her with the support she needed.

Maxwell insisted that Epstein was not there to help financially and was 'very clear on that point', the staffer said.

According to Broken: Seeking Justice, an investigative podcast about the Epstein case, Maxwell met Epstein in 1988 and not after her father died in 1991, which is what was previously suggested.

If that is true then it changes the dynamic about the couple and suggests that Maxwell did not befriend Epstein while in mourning for Robert, who fell off his yacht in the Canary Islands in mysterious circumstances.

Ghislaine Maxwell once revealed that her father introduced her to Jeffrey Epstein to 'take care of her emotionally', a new podcast claims. Ghislaine is pictured holding a photo of her late father Robert Maxwell

According to Broken: Seeking Justice, an investigative podcast about the Epstein case, Maxwell met Epstein in 1988 and not after her father died in 1991, as previously suggested.Days after Robert's death, Maxwell was photographed at the Plaza Hotel in New York at a memorial event for her father. She sits wearing a blue silk jacket smiling at Epstein who is in a white bow tie with a big grin on his face

If that is true then it changes the dynamic about the couple and suggests that Maxwell did not befriend Epstein while in mourning for Robert (pictured), who fell off his yacht in the Canary Islands in mysterious circumstances

In fact, 19 days after Robert's death, Maxwell was photographed at the Plaza Hotel in New York at a memorial event for her father.

She sits wearing a blue silk jacket smiling at Epstein who is in a white bow tie with a big grin on his face - hardly the look of two people meeting for the first time.

The latest episode of the podcast delves into when Maxwell and Epstein met and began a relationship that would last for some years in the 1990s.

The latest episode of the podcast delves into when Maxwell and Epstein met and began a relationship that would last for some years in the 1990s

According to federal prosecutors, during this time Maxwell groomed girls as young as 14, charges she denies and will stand trial next July.

'Seeking Justice' quotes numerous people who knew Maxwell and Epstein who say that they met before Robert's death.

One friend says that they understood the pair met in London through Robert but she wasn't interested in him immediately.

The former Epstein staffer, who is not named, says they were told a similar story by Maxwell herself.

The staffer recalled an 'unsettling' visit to Maxwell's Manhattan apartment in the early 1990s when she pulled out eight photo albums of her father's funeral in Israel.

Afterwards the staffer was 'ready to jump off a bridge' but then Maxwell said something that surprised them.

According to journalist Emily Saul: 'Out of the blue Ghislaine said her dad actually connected her with Epstein.

'The idea was Epstein was someone who could take care of her emotionally, not financially. Ghislaine was very clear on that last point'.

Others have had different theories about Maxwell and Epstein's relationship.

Prince Andrew's cousin Christina Oxenberg has told DailyMail.com that she got to know the couple in 1993 and thought that Maxwell wanted to marry Epstein but he wasn't interested.

Epstein's former housekeeper in Palm Beach, Juan Alessi, has claimed that Maxwell once told him: 'I hate him (Epstein) but I can't leave'.

In the podcast Epstein victim Maria Farmer, who claims that Epstein and Maxwell sexually assaulted her, said that she saw the recruiting operation herself when she worked for them in the mid 1990s.

Epstein's former housekeeper in Palm Beach, Juan Alessi (left), has claimed that Maxwell once told him: 'I hate him (Epstein) but I can't leave'. Prince Andrew's cousin Christina Oxenberg (right) has told DailyMail.com that she got to know the couple in 1993 and thought that Maxwell wanted to marry Epstein but he wasn't interested

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, another Epstein victim who claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew, says that because Maxwell 'looks like a nice Mary Poppins figure you had to trust her'

This was long before they had allegedly set up the pyramid of recruiters that would allegedly funnel dozens of women to Epstein - and it was just Ghislaine doing it.

Farmer says that at 3pm on the dot every day Ghislaine would 'materialize, on edge' and was always dressed immaculately.

From Epstein's mansion on Manhattan's Upper East side they could hear the school bells ringing for the end of the day and Maxwell would 'get all hysterical and say: 'I need to get nubiles!'.

Farmer said they would drive around the neighborhood and 'hunted children'.

She said: 'Ghislaine would say I gotta get a model, got to get a Victoria's Secret model. I was dumb enough to believe it. I believed it until I didn't.

'Who would think this woman would be a British witch? She was so nice.

'I'd seen her go drive up half Central Park, tell the driver stop the car, she would jump out. She would give a phone number, write it down, give it to the kids. Everybody always loved her because she seemed so trustworthy.

'It was pretty wild the way she would run out and get people.

'I did recognize some of the girls (we met) in the park, the next day when she came in to audition for modeling. She was really excited'.

Farmer said that after seeing Epstein 'a couple of them were crying - I don't remember seeing anyone return, ever'.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, another Epstein victim who claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew, says that because Maxwell 'looks like a nice Mary Poppins figure you had to trust her'.

Maxwell was so proud of her prowess as a recruiter that on a trip to Paris she chastised Giuffre for failing at it.

'Ghislaine only cares about one thing and that's Ghislaine,' Virginia Giuffre Roberts said

In the podcast Epstein victim Maria Farmer, who claims that Epstein and Maxwell sexually assaulted her, said that she saw the recruiting operation herself when she worked for them in the mid 1990s

Giuffre said: 'She said: ''I just can't believe how bad you are at it. Pick any girl in the square''.'

'A pretty orange haired girl walked past. (She said) 'I'm going to go up to her, you watch, we're going to have her over tonight'. Sure enough that girl was at the hotel that night

'Ghislaine was so proud of herself because she proved to me I was really s***** at procuring girls and she was amazing at it.

'There was no sorrow or even: ''You're doing something wrong you shouldn't do it''. There was nothing like that, it was just a game to her'.

Maxwell stayed in Epstein's orbit until after he was investigated by Palm Beach police in 2005 and later agreed to a sweetheart plea deal under which he served just 15 months in prison.

Giuffre said that Maxwell 'caught wind there was trouble', adding that 'Ghislaine only cares about one thing and that's Ghislaine'.

Prince Andrew has strongly and repeatedly denied having sex with Giuffre.
The personal physician to President Donald Trump has provided update on the American leaders coronavirus test as well as his current health status.

In a memorandum for White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, on Friday, Physician Sean Conley said he had permission to release information on the development.

I release the following information with permission of President Doanld J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, Mr Conley said.

This evening I received confirmation that both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our countrys greatest medical professionals and institutions.

Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.

Mr Trump had earlier on Friday announced that he and his wife tested positive for the virus that has now killed over 208,000 Americans eight months after he first claimed that COVID-19 was a new hoax by members of the Democratic party.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!, he announced on his Twitter page.

Since February, the president has stoked controversy in his changing stances on the virus, from outright denials to the downplaying of the impact and contagiousness of the disease that has now been contracted by over seven million Americans.

Alongside the Republican party, the president has consistently contradicted medical experts on the handling of the virus.

Against regulations of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the president has continued to hold mass rallies, with optional mask-wearing and zero-adherence to social distancing requirements.

Just this week during the presidential debates, President Trump defended his decision to keep holding rallies in spite of the risk to his supporters.

In his responses to questions about mask wearing, the president implied that himself and his team had gotten tested just this Tuesday before the event.

When compared to Democratic candidate Joe Bidens decision to hold smaller campaign events, respecting social distancing rules, President Trump said that holding events in the open air was safe.

He also mocked the former vice-president for his constant use of face masks.

I wear a mask when needed. I dont wear a mask like him [Joe Biden]. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen, the president said.

Masks make a big difference. His own head of CDC said it if everyone wore masks and social distanced between now and January, wed probably save up to a hundred thousand lives, Mr Biden responded.

President Trump claimed that Mr Biden was holding smaller rallies because: nobody would show up. No one shows up to his events.

The president further claimed that he was holding large rallies because of demand.

People want to hear what I have to say. Ive done a great job as a president. And I have 25, 35 thousand people show up at airportsSo far, we have had no problem whatsoever. Its outside, thats the big difference. We have tremendous crowds at 24 hours notice. And Joe does the circuit and has three people sometimes.

The president said in response to concerns that he was putting people at risk in these large rallies.

There are no indications of whether the president has any of the typical symptoms of the disease.

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Earlier on Thursday, a senior member of his staff, Hope Hicks, tested positive to the virus, sending panic through the presidents team.

It is not clear if any other member of his staff or family have tested positive for the virus.
WASHINGTON  Both Texas senators attended hearings this week that U.S. Sen. Mike Lee  who tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday  also attended.

Those included a high-profile hearing on Wednesday in which GOP senators  including U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz  grilled James Comey, the former FBI director. The committee also met on Thursday to discuss judicial nominees.

Its unclear from recordings of the hearings to what extent Cornyn or Cruz were in the room at the same time as Lee, as senators often come and go from hearings. In the hearings, Lee, who announced Friday he tested positive for the virus, spoke without a mask, as did Cornyn, Cruz and several other senators. Lee sat near Cruz in the hearing.

A WAKE UP CALL: What Texas lawmakers are saying about Trump's COVID diagnosis

A spokesman for Cornyn said: Sen. Cornyn followed CDC guidelines during the hearing this week. Cruzs office did not respond to a request for comment. Its unclear whether either planned to get tested or quarantine.

In both meetings, senators sat at a distance around a series of tables decked with bottles of hand sanitizer.

Cruz is friends with Lee, who endorsed the Texas Republican when he ran for president in 2016. Cruz wrote in a book on the Supreme Court published this month that he had pushed President Donald Trump to add Lee to a list of potential Supreme Court nominees in 2016.

Cruz quarantined in March after learning he interacted very briefly with a man who later tested positive at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland in late February. He then extended that quarantine after learning that Santiago Abascal, the leader of the Vox Party in Spain tested positive. Cruz said he met with Abascal for about 20 minutes in his Senate office.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Senate Democrats are pushing to delay Judiciary Committee hearings on President Donald Trumps Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, which are scheduled to begin later this month.

The unfortunate news about the infection of our colleague Senator Mike Lee makes even more clear that health and safety must guide the schedule for all Senate activities, including hearings," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a joint statement.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsay Graham has vowed to move forward as planned.

This story contains material from the Washington Post.

ben.wermund@chron.com
Vega said it hurt to watch his brother on the ground as officers searched for a weapon, and questioned why the officers didnt make more of an effort to help his brother. Maria Vega, the mother of the 26-year-old, cried and said watching the videos was painful. She previously called for the release of any video of the incident, saying she did not believe the police version of events and that officials refused to answer questions.
Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday trained guns on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death, saying people have been waiting for results of the agencys inquiry into the case.

Did #SushantSinghRajput die by suicide or was he murdered? Mumbai Police was investigating very well when suddenly case was handed over to CBI. They should tell us the result at the earliest, he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The central agency took over the investigation from the Mumbai Police in late August on the directions of the Supreme Court after a brief period of a war of words between the Maharashtra and Bihar governments over the actors death in June.

Also Watch | Amid politics over Sushants death, actors father meets Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

The Central Bureau of Investigation is conducting a professional investigation related to the death of Shri Sushant Singh Rajput in which all aspects are being looked at and no aspect has been ruled out as of date, CBI spokesperson RK Gaur had said earlier this week. Gaurs remark came days after Rajputs family expressed displeasure over the pace of the probe into the 34-year-olds death.

The Mumbai Police were earlier probing the death. It had lodged an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and had said that the actor died by suicide. However, Rajputs family was not satisfied with their investigation following which the actors father KK Rajput filed a complaint against Rhea Chakraborty and her family members accusing them of driving his son to suicide.

A Bihar team then arrived in Mumbai to investigate the case which led to a war of words between the two state governments.

CBI has till now questioned several people including Chakroborty, her brother Showik, Rajputs cook Neeraj Singh, his roommate Siddharth Pitani and his former manager Samuel Miranda. The agency also made several visits to the late actors apartment in Mumbais Bandra where he was found dead on June 14.

It also sought assistance from All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) in the case following which a five-member forensic team was constituted to look into the autopsy files related to Rajputs death.

The CBI is probing the actors death while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) are investigating the money laundering and drug-related angles in the case respectively. Rhea Chakraborty, her brother and several others have been arrested by NCB in connection with its probe into the case.
Bihar Assembly elections 2020: Top sources in the Congress party suggest that the seat-sharing for 'Mahagathbandhan' has been finalised and is likely to be announced in Bihar tomorrow.

Bihar Assembly poll nomination has already begun but the two major political alliances  the NDA and Mahagathbandhan  till now, have not announced any official candidate. However, sources told ANI that the seat-sharing for Mahagathbandhan has been finalised and is likely to be announced in Bihar tomorrow. Top sources of the Congress party from Bihar told ANI, Seat-sharing arrangements have been agreed to and are likely to be announced tomorrow in Patna.

On the condition of anonymity, the senior leader from the Grand Alliance that the Rashtriya Janta Dal is likely to contest around 145 seats and accommodate Vikassheel Inssan Party also. While the Congress party is likely to contest 70 seats and Left parties including CPI, CPI(M), and CPI (ML) will get around 30 seats.

While bargaining is on regarding who will contest from Balmiki Nagar Lok Sabha by-election in Bihar because both RJD and Congress want to contest on this seat. Senior NDA leaders have also held a meeting in Patna on Thursday regarding the finalisation of seats for the Assembly polls and are likely to announce the seat-sharing formula before October 4 in Delhi.

Also read: Hathras politics: Case registered against Rahul, Priyanka and others in Gautam Buddh Nagar

Also read: Foreign NGOs must adhere to Indian laws with respect to foreign funding: MEA on Amnesty International

The first phase of the nomination has already begun in Bihar for 71 seats and the Election Commission of India is busy in the preparation of state election monitoring all poll-related matters with officials. There are a total of 243 Assembly seats in Bihar.

Also read: Gandhi Jayanti 2020: PM Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat
AKRON, Ohio, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To help kick start a successful school year, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is donating school supplies to nearly 11,400 Akron Public School students in kindergarten through sixth grades. Backpacks pre-packed with school supply items will be available to all students who attend the district's 41 elementary schools during a drive-through event at North and Kenmore-Garfield High schools on Sunday, October 4, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Assembled by FirstEnergy volunteers, the cinch-style backpacks contain items approved by the school district to help students successfully continue their school year from home. The supplies, several of which were purchased from diverse suppliers to support minority-owned businesses, include notebook paper, folders, glue, pencils, sharpener, hand sanitizer and a dry erase board, marker and eraser.

FirstEnergy's donation fills a gap created when the coronavirus health emergency caused the cancellation of the area's annual "Stuff the Bus" program presented by the United Way of Summit and Medina. Working with Akron Public Schools, FirstEnergy employees gathered and packaged the items and arranged for a safe, limited-contact distribution.

"I'm proud of our FirstEnergy employees who identified a need to support our youth during a time that has brought unprecedented challenges to many families in our area," said Lorna Wisham, vice president, Corporate Affairs and Community Involvement. "We hope this makes things just a bit easier for Akron families as their children continue the school year."

More than 5,000 cars are expected to pass through the pick-up points at North and Kenmore-Garfield High Schools on Sunday, and the METRO bus service will provide free travel to and from the event between the hours of noon and 5 p.m. for those families without vehicles. In addition, Akron Public Schools have arranged to provide backpacks to students who are without permanent homes.

"From our corporate partners and volunteers to the local businesses and public transit system supporting this event, it's heartwarming to see the community come together to ensure our students receive the tools they need for a quality learning experience," said David James, superintendent of Akron Public Schools. "This school year may not look like the typical year yet, but we're committed to making the virtual learning environment as educational and rewarding as any other."

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its ten electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com . Follow FirstEnergy and its utilities on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp , @ToledoEdison, @IlluminatingCo, @OhioEdison , @MonPowerWV , @JCP_L , @Penn_Power , @Penelec , @Met_Ed , @PotomacEdison , @W_Penn_Power .

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.

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Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on October 2 (Vietnam time) sent an important message to the High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (Photo: MOFA)



Following is the full text of the message.

Seventy-five years ago, the United Nations came into being, with the aim of saving future generations from the scourge of war and promoting development and social progress. At the Fourth World Conference on Women fifty years later, the ideals of equality and respect for human dignity once again came to the fore in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, one of the most comprehensive documents on gender equality and womens empowerment. Efforts to realize the objectives of this blueprint have strengthened legislative frameworks to empower women and create equal opportunities for women to take up decision-making positions. Importantly, these efforts have facilitated more cohesive national, regional and global implementation mechanisms. This is gradually guiding the world closer to the ideal of an equitable, progressive society where gender barriers cease to exist.

Today, gender equality and the empowerment of women are top priorities at international and regional parliamentary fora. The 13th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliaments held by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on August 17 and the recent 41st ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in Hanoi highlighted the role and contributions of women in all aspects and in response to emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Promotion of gender equality and women's rights is a consistent policy of Vietnam. This is enshrined in our Constitution and guaranteed in practice. President Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese hero of national liberation and UNESCO-recognized great man of culture, once stressed: Failure to emancipate women means failure to emancipate half of humankind. Vietnamese women have been a vital force and made immense contributions throughout our history, be it in the cultivation of the Vietnamese cultural identity, or in the development of the Vietnamese society.

The National Assembly of Vietnam has adopted wide-ranging legal documents to advance womens empowerment and encourage their participation across economic, political and social domains. It also supervises the enforcement of legislation and implementation of Government policies in these matters.

This year, in its capacity as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, the ASEAN Chair and the President of the 41st ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Vietnam has championed initiatives on women and girls at these critical institutions. We will continue working with all partners towards a truly equal society and a world of sustainable peace and development.

Thank you very much./.
US President Donald Trump posted a video Saturday from the hospital where he is battling Covid-19, saying he was improving and would be "back soon" -- but acknowledged that the crucial coming days would be "the real test."

"I came here, wasn't feeling so well. I feel much better now," Trump, 74, said from his business suite at the Walter Reed military medical center near Washington.

"We're working hard to get me all the way back... I think I'll be back soon and I look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started."

Appearing relaxed in an open-collar shirt and blue suit jacket, Trump acknowledged there was uncertainty about the course of the disease, which can hit recovering patients hard with no warning.

"I'm starting to feel good. You don't know over the next period of a few days, I guess that's the real test, so we'll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days."

Trump's wife also tested positive but he said her symptoms were not as bad as his own.

"Melania is really handling it very nicely. As you've probably read, she's slightly younger than me, just a little tiny bit," he joked about the 50-year-old first lady.

Late Saturday, White House doctor Sean Conley said Trump was "not yet out of the woods," but that the medical team is "cautiously optimistic."

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Trump's condition had them worried on Friday, but that he had since improved.

"Yesterday morning, we were real concerned... he had a fever and his blood oxygen level had dropped rapidly," Meadows told Fox News late Saturday.

Meadows said there was never a risk Trump would have to hand over power to Vice President Mike Pence, after a day of conflicting reports and confusion over the leader's actual fitness.

"He's made unbelievable improvements from yesterday morning, when I know a number of us, the doctor and I, were very concerned," Meadows said.

Story continues

His comments echoed remarks by Conley, who said Trump had "made substantial progress since diagnosis, and remained "fever-free and off supplemental oxygen."

Trump had completed a second dose of therapeutic drug remdesivir and had spent "most of the afternoon conducting business," Conley added.

Conley was evasive when asked earlier whether the president had received supplementary oxygen at any point since falling ill, only confirming that he hadn't received any at the hospital or on Thursday -- the day of his positive test.

Several US media outlets said Trump was on oxygen at the White House on Friday before being admitted to Walter Reed.

- 'White House cluster -

Conley added to the confusion by suggesting that Trump had been diagnosed on Wednesday -- not on Thursday, per the official account -- but he later said he had misspoken.

Soon after Trump arrived at the hospital, Conley said in a memo the president was starting a course of remdesivir and had received an eight-gram dose of an experimental antibody cocktail.

Neither Trump's doctors nor the White House explained why the president was taking unproven drugs if his progress was satisfactory.

Trump's optimism over his recovery prospects has been tempered by news that more people close to the president have tested positive for the coronavirus.

They included campaign advisor Chris Christie, who was among several aides that helped Trump prepar

e for the first presidential debate who have since announced positive tests.

Christie and a number of senators and Trump aides are also among a growing list from the president's orbit to have tested positive after attending an event in the White House Rose Garden last weekend.

The so-called "White House cluster" includes the president's wife Melania, close confidante Hope Hicks, former White House top aide Kellyanne Conway, campaign manager Bill Stepien and Republican senators Thom Tillis and Mike Lee.

Another close aide, Nicholas Luna, one of the "body men" who accompanies the president round the clock, had also tested positive, CNN reported.

Heightening the sense of crisis at the heart of power in America, a third Republican senator, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, announced on Saturday that he had tested positive.

- 'False sense of comfort' -

Public health experts have expressed alarm at the outbreak linked to the September 26 celebration of conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court.

"They relied too much on diagnostic testing. We know that these tests have a very high false negative rate," said Ali Nouri, president of the Federation of American Scientists.

"By simply relying on these diagnostics to determine who gets to come in and out of the White House, and by not requiring other protections, like social distancing and masks, they created a false sense of comfort for the White House."

Democrats have called for Barrett's Senate confirmation hearings to be postponed after several Republican senators tested positive, but judiciary committee chair Senator Lindsey Graham said they would go ahead.

Trump -- who is well behind his 77-year-old Democratic election rival Joe Biden in the polls -- has been forced to freeze or rework much of his campaign ahead of a potentially messy vote on November 3.

The former vice president, who stood on a stage with Trump for 90 minutes during their ill-tempered first debate Tuesday, announced that he and his wife Jill tested negative Friday.

Biden reminded voters during the debate that he has pushed consistently for a serious approach to the coronavirus, which has killed more than 208,000 Americans, unlike his opponent who has mocked the Democrat for his rigorous use of masks.

bur-acb/bfm/mtp/tom
Memphis rapper Big 30 was arrested during a drug interdiction stop in Alabama.

Brookside police officers about 4 a.m. Thursday stopped a Ford Expedition rental car traveling westbound on Interstate 22 near Cherry Avenue, said Chief Mike Jones. The driver was identified as Leaton Foster of Decatur, Ga. and the passenger was identified as Rodney Big 30 White of Memphis.

Jones said the pair was traveling from Atlanta to Memphis. Police recovered $17,000 in cash, a loaded Glock handgun, marijuana individually packaged for sale and controlled substance Promethazine and Codeine. Both were arrested on drug charges.

The chief said White, who he described as a known gang member has state and federal charges pending in Tennessee and is being held pending federal extradition. In Alabama, he has now been charged with first-degree possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Federal law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorneys Office are assisting Brookside police with the ongoing investigation.
HURON COUNTY  The Huron County courts have received a grant that will allow for getting through cases faster during the coronavirus pandemic.

The courts were awarded $20,725.76 through the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding, a program run by the Michigan State Police to help trial courts prepare and respond to the pandemic.

Of the money given, about $11,000 will go toward installing glass barriers for the court offices, personal protection equipment, a hand sanitizer dispenser, a wireless microphone, and a Wi-Fi hotspot device. The rest will go towards getting software that records audio from zoom meetings and additional zoom licenses.

David Herrington, the district court judge for Huron County, said the main reason the county applied for this funding was due a backlog of cases, which include over 50 jury trials. The courts have also been doing cases remotely over zoom since the pandemic started.

Related Story: Huron County courts gear up for full operations

The courts are using the Bad Axe Knights of Columbus hall as a juror selection site, which given the number of people who would come in and out of the hall during that time requires a lot of PPE.

Its expensive to disinfect, Herrington said. Thats why we applied, to have the jury trial participants be safe.

Herrington also noted that the funding could also go toward covering the cost of renting the Knights of Columbus Hall, which is $250 per day.

Herrington said that the courts will start going through one jury trial per week starting on Oct. 13. When jury trials are scheduled, the jurors will be spread out across the courtroom in compliance with Huron County Health Department and Centers for Disease Control guidelines. And when the jury goes into deliberation, everyone else will leave the courtroom.

This system will allow the county to process trials without delay and is expected to last until May.

There are civil trials mixed in, but criminal trials take precedent, Herrington said.

The $4.5 million appropriated for the grant came from the CARES Act and are available for all state trial courts. The MSP is the grant funding unit by way of the state supreme court.

Eligible grant categories include:

 Personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies.

 Temperature scanners and other devices to screen personnel and court visitors.

 Technology software and hardware for staff to work remotely and to support remote court hearings.

 Reimbursement for additional costs of tether programs to reduce the number of jail inmates.

 Pretrial and community supervision expenses.

 Staff overtime to cover for personnel out due to coronavirus-related illness or quarantine.

 Medical and travel costs for COVID testing/treatment of staff and/or inmates.

 Contractual personnel to assist with activities that have been delayed.

 Dissemination of COVID-19 related information to the public.

 Physical barriers and other crowd control measures to reduce the virus transmission.

 Office supplies and equipment related to COVID-19 functions.

The grant works through reimbursement, where once the county purchases the equipment, it submits that information to the state, who will then reimburse the county for the equipment.

The Huron County courts have until Nov. 30 to have the grant contract signed and returned to the state police. County chairman Sami Khoury must be the one to sign it.
When people are desperate, a security guard or even a police officer nearby isnt going to stop them.

This is a rough time. Everybody is so angry and stressed, said Elizabeth Clarke, who operates the YW womens shelter on Frederick Street in downtown Kitchener.

Her office is right across the street from the Waterloo Regional Police station.

That doesnt stop it at all. Weve had our windows smashed at least twice. Weve had someone using meth in our foyer.

Clarke is also a Waterloo Region councillor who heads the regions community services committee. Shes watching with interest as Cambridge hires private security guards to patrol downtown Galt.

The city was acting on a request from downtown businesses, who hope the guards will help customers feel better about venturing into the core.

We realize this isnt going to solve all the problems, said Brian Kennedy, executive director of the Downtown Cambridge Business Improvement Area.

Those problems have been discussed openly: Thefts, break-ins, fighting, drug paraphernalia littering the area, breaking windows, urinating and defecating in public.

More material help for the unsheltered, vulnerable people in the area, many of them struggling with addictions, would go a long way to resolving many of these behaviour problems.

When the pandemic shut almost everything down in March, it meant that almost everywhere where you could warm up, eat, take a shower or use the toilet, was closed.

Some community workers told me the absence of public washrooms is why human feces are found downtown. And one person saw people bathing in the Grand River  in March  as they tried to get clean.

Charities that used to serve communal meals were instead giving out sandwich suppers to go, because people couldnt safely eat together. The services are fractured. Some days, there are no meals.

The only place you could drop in and get warm was at the Region of Waterloo building at 150 Main Street, where a drop-in centre was created by several social agencies. Its open three days a week, for three hours in the afternoon. But theres only room for eight people at one time. Thats not enough.

It is no surprise at all that after weeks and months of this, some people, suffering with fragile mental health to begin with, started to feel unseen, alienated and desperate.

In Kitchener, by contrast, authorities reopened the spacious former Grand River Transit terminal on Charles Street for unsheltered people to warm up and use the facilities.

Now that winter is coming, the Region of Waterloo last week announced additional temporary shelters with physical distancing that are accessible most or all of the day.

One will be in Kitchener at the St. Marks church building near Grand River Hospital. One will be in Waterloo, in a student housing building, offering facilities 24 hours a day.

No mention was made of any facility being added in Cambridge. It was announced only that plans are being made to add shelter beds in the coming months, if needed.

If needed? When there are 115 unsheltered people that local social agencies have counted, sleeping in tents and doorways?

Finally there is the issue that Kitchener has a consumption and treatment services site and Cambridge does not.

This is Cambridges own doing, of course. Council has blocked the possibility of a site opening in the core. It will reconsider after Mondays council byelection for Ward 7.

Some people fear a site in downtown Galt could embolden people with addictions because it provides a medically supervised place to take drugs. They worry a site like this could draw more addicted people to the area.

We now know, from our experience with the site in Kitchener, that this wont happen.

Clarke says the number of users fell there, after the pandemic sent homeless people from shelters in the core to other facilities in the suburbs. People wont travel far to use a consumption site.

Also, calls to police have not increased since the Kitchener site began operating a year ago.

More security guards wont stop the problems in downtown Cambridge. But more services will. More community centres; more places to eat; more washrooms and showers. And yes, more places to safely take drugs. Because all these things say: We care.
Find all of the most important pandemic education news on Educating N.J., a special resource guide created for parents, students and educators.

At least 10 teachers and seven students in Lakewood public schools have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the school year, but the district has no plans to have kids start learning remotely from home, the superintendent said Friday.

Lakewood is one of the largest public school districts in the state offering full-time, in-class learning five days a week for all of its students. It has kept its eight schools open as the COVID-19 positivity rate has risen in Ocean County in recent days.

Despite the high number of cases in the schools and a concerning uptick in cases in Ocean County, things are going very well," Laura Winters, Lakewoods superintendent of schools, said at a roundtable discussion hosted by Gov. Phil Murphy in Bayville.

The district has no plans to switch to remote learning or a hybrid plan that would reduce the number of students in classrooms each day, she said.

So far, so good. And we plan on doing five day, in person, Winters said. However, if the numbers change, and were always following the numbers ... we have to look at that.

When asked if the state might tell Lakewood public schools to switch to remote learning, Murphy did not rule the idea out.

All local options are on the table, the governor said.

Lakewood public school officials had not publicly announced the total number of COVID-19 cases in the district until the event Friday afternoon. At least one first-grader tested positive earlier this month at the Spruce Street School, district officials said. At least two Lakewood School District employees, including one who had no contact with students, also tested positive earlier in the month though the cases appeared to be unrelated.

It is unclear which schools had the other cases, when the teachers and students tested positive or whether the numbers in Lakewood are higher than other public school districts. Although the state has announced 11 outbreaks in schools statewide, it has not announced the total number of cases per school district.

State guidelines say a school could be shut down with as few as two positive COVID-19 cases that appear to be related to people catching the virus from each other on school grounds. But schools can remain open if cases are determined to be unrelated by health officials or if they involve students or teachers contracting the virus outside of school.

Lakewood, which has not announced any school shutdowns, has about 6,000 students and 500 teachers. However, not all returned for the new school year due to coronavirus health concerns.

Teachers in Lakewood have called for the district to switch to a hybrid learning plan after complaints about overcrowded classrooms and lax efforts to enforce social distancing measures.

A recent spike in coronavirus cases in Lakewood has helped increase New Jerseys positivity rate, state officials said.

On Friday, the positivity rate in Ocean County was just under 16% with 190 new cases reported Friday. Of the new cases, 124 came from Lakewood, which had a nearly 28% positivity rate, according to the states Department of Health. Nearby Lacey, Stafford and Jackson also saw increases in cases.

Officials have not said how many COVID-19 cases have been reported in Lakewoods more than 100 private schools, where the majority of the townships Orthodox Jewish students go to school.

Local officials said nearly all of the private religious schools filed paperwork with the state saying they will follow social distancing guidelines and mask requirements. At least two all-girls private schools in Lakewood recently shut down temporarily due to coronavirus concerns.

The township, with its rapidly expanding Orthodox Jewish community, is the fastest-growing municipality in New Jersey.

It also has one of the most unusual school districts in New Jersey. Its nearly 6,000 public school students are about 86% Hispanic and mostly low-income, according to state statistics. Another 30,000 or more students, mostly from the Orthodox community, attend dozens of Jewish private schools in the township.

State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said there has not been a specific event that has led to case increases in the area. But she said gatherings related to the recent Jewish holidays may have contributed to the spread of the virus.

Another Jewish holiday, Sukkot, runs through next Friday.

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

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com.
By Karen D'Souza

EdSource

Stomping through puddles, scrambling over fallen logs and digging in the dirt with sticks may not sound like traditional educational activities, but they are core parts of the curriculum in "forest schools."

Learning amid the leaves is the hallmark of a forest school, an immersive outdoor education model devoted to the exploration of nature. Forest schools, which have their roots in Scandinavian educational tradition, generally focus on preschool age children. Instead of sitting quietly at their desks, these students build forts in the forest, pick berries fresh from the bush and have story time at the shore.

Can these outdoor schools offer lessons to other preschools and K-12 public schools at a time when being indoors is so risky?

Champions of the movement suggest outdoor education may be a common-sense solution to the myriad difficulties of remote learning, from getting students up to speed on shifting technology to keeping young children engaged without constant human interaction. Forest schools also encourage physical activity and build resilience through social connections with peers in a natural setting, teachers say. These may well be crucial coping mechanisms during a turbulent time for many families.

"More and more people are turning to the outdoors as a way to cope with the challenges of Covid," said Angela Hanscom, a pediatric occupational therapist who recommends outdoor experiences to combat issues of attention and focus in children. "It's much safer to be outdoors because the rates of transmission are far lower outside. On top of that, children just aren't built to sit still for most of the day. It's basic neural science. They need to move."

Finding Berkeley Forest School was a lifesaver for Traci Moren, whose sons Archer, 5, and Izzy, 10, chafe at sitting still for hours. They delight in having a classroom where you can dig up snake skins, bury treasure maps and climb trees.

"Forest school has been a game changer," said the Berkeley mother of two, whose sons are also doing distance learning through Berkeley's Washington Elementary School. "It's pretty great. We are very lucky. I honestly don't think our family would survive all this and still like each other without forest school. In the days before, I had to schedule our day around getting outside or else we'd have meltdowns and screaming matches. It was so exhausting. Now they get their energy out, are calmed being out in nature and the learning comes while they're out moving around. They are celebrated for their energy and creativity, not asked to sit down and be quiet. They're happier when they come home."

Even before the pandemic, there has been a rise in the number of forest schools, which encourage children to explore the outside in rain or shine. A 2017 national survey of nature-based early childhood educators reported more than 250 nature preschools and forest kindergartens operating across the country, serving an estimated 10,000 children a year. Most forest schools aren't licensed in California because they do not have a permanent indoor venue. Washington became the first state to license outdoor preschools last year. There are an estimated 50 such schools in California, according to the California Association of Forest Schools.

Now, during the Covid-19 crisis, a time when minimizing the spread of the virus is vital, there's been a surge in interest in outdoor learning and turning Mother Nature into a living classroom. Forest schools are having their moment in the sun.

"Because of Covid, a lot of people are looking at outdoor learning for the first time," said Liana Chavarin, founder of the Berkeley Forest School, which operates out of scenic Csar Chvez Park with its windswept views of the bay. "There's much more demand than before."

Forest school teachers say that children can blossom in wide open spaces even during a pandemic. They note that outdoor learning was also prioritized during previous plagues, such as the tuberculosis outbreaks of the early 20th century. Across the country in 1907, classes were often held on rooftops and ferries and other open-air classrooms to avoid transmission.

The coronavirus spreads mainly from person-to-person contact between people within about 6 feet of each other, according to the California Department of Public Health. Masks are used at times when the children cluster, but being outside means space is plentiful and social distancing is doable. Children are encouraged to interact with each other, teachers say, which helps them stay engaged.

"Children need the joy of connecting with their peers, which is just not possible inside right now," said Chavarin. "Part of it is that being outside can help you relax. That helps build resilience and confidence. Children feel the land is their own. It belongs to them."

Outdoor learning is a rich sensory experience, educators say, that can stimulate the brain as well as the body. These teachers view the natural world as part of the lesson plan.

"Nature is your co-teacher. You may have a plan but then a cluster of ladybugs starts flying through the air and suddenly that's your new curriculum," said Joanna Ferraro, founder of Oakland's Early Ecology preschool, which operates out of various East Bay parks. "That's what makes outdoor education special. We go with what the kids are interested in, and we can do deep dives. We can stop and watch a spider for as long as we want."

Science has long suggested that children's mental health and academic performance can be improved by increasing exposure to natural environments and decreasing time staring at screens. A recent University of Adelaide, South Australia report, which distilled the results of 186 studies, found that most researchers conclude that time spent in nature contributes to both psychological stability and academic achievement.

Time spent gazing at electronic devices, meanwhile, is associated with poor outcomes, including increased mental illness, lessened cognitive functioning and decreased academic achievement.

Some fear the impact of remote learning - children glued to their iPads and laptops for many hours - on child health and wellness.

"Remote learning can often lead to kids being on Zoom all day and then playing Roblox all night," Chavarin said of the online game popular among children. "It's a very sedentary lifestyle."

Pediatricians warn that, now more than ever, children need to be physically active to stay healthy.

"With the incredible increase in screen time all school-aged children are now experiencing, it is more important than ever to encourage non-screen time experiences," said Casey Gray, a pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente Fresno. "Time spent outdoors and in nature is extremely important for the developing brain. This allows active exploration and interaction with the real environment. It promotes good social skills, allows for free, uninhibited play and gives children experiences that simply cannot be replicated on the screen."

Beyond the role of exercise in child development, some experts are asking, does nature help inspire kids to learn?

"Definitely," said Stanford University professor Deborah Stipek, whose research focuses on early education. "Many lessons can make use of what children encounter in their natural surroundings."

Anything children stumble upon in nature can become a springboard to learning, Chavarin said. A dead bird can spark a discussion about the circle of life. The fog kissing one's face can turn into a lesson on the water cycle. A muddy stream can become the source of a clay-based art project.

"We harvest the creek for mud to make ceramics," Chavarin said. "Then we learn how to fire the clay. The learning is in the process and the children feel very powerful because they have made something on their own."

Empowering students is the core of this educational philosophy, in which activities are child-led. Getting to pick a lot of the topics helps children focus, they say, as does the fresh air.

"Being outside gets you in a calm but alert state which is ideal for your brain," said Hanscom, founder of Timbernook, an outdoor therapeutic play program which operates nationally. "It helps you organize your thoughts, which is what so many kids struggle with."

Make no mistake, proper gear is crucial to outdoor learning. On rainy days, children come decked out in rain boots and slickers. Teachers bring along tarps and blankets and occasionally move children to covered areas because of high winds or heavy rain.

Of course, there are times when going outside is not an option. During the recent wildfires, many outdoor schools in California had to cancel class because of the smoke-choked air.

Still, proponents of open-air education believe that it can be a lifeline for children who struggle with remote learning because of technical difficulties or because they crave live human interaction.

"The outdoors may be the antidote to remote learning," said Hanscom, who has been advising schools on the benefits of outdoor education, "which can be such a struggle for so many families."

"You just don't want to put your child through that every day," said Chavarin, who has expanded her program to try to meet growing demand."The parental guilt is so heavy for all of us right now."

Early childhood experts agree that remote learning can be troublesome for young children and their parents alike.

"Distance learning is more problematic for young children than older children, and it has its limitations," Stipek said. "My main concern is that it will increase the achievement gap - more affluent families have access to technology and more additional resources (tutors and nannies who can help children with their school work) than low-income families."

For Moren, watching her son try to hunt and peck his way through typed writing assignments last spring was painful.

"It's so horrible to make a 9-year-old type. It's ridiculous and I'd just end up doing it for him," she said. "Remote learning makes you stress over the details while forest school is about the big picture of 'Are my kids thriving?' My goal is to keep a calm home.''

Many outdoor educators also believe that spending time in nature may help alleviate the strain and trauma of the last six months.

"There is a lot of repair work that needs to be done," Ferraro said. "Children have been under so much stress, not knowing what is going to happen, and it's gone on for a long time. For many families, it's been pure stress. It's heartbreaking."

Nature should be part of the teacher's toolkit just like tech is, some say. In our current pandemic reality, teaching children how to cope with stress may be as fundamental a skill as learning the alphabet. Outdoor education teaches children to find solace in the majesty of nature, they say.

"Nature is soothing," Ferraro said. "Children learn from nature that they can feel safe in the world. They can feel the air on their face and see the leaves fall. They feel grounded. That experience of connectedness is what we all need right now."

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.
Fintech platform will expand payment options across Latin America with cash collection to be rolled out as first service

LONDON and MEXICO CITY, Sept. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rapyd, a global Fintech as a Service company, today announced a deal with Bnext, Spain's first mobile neo-bank for cash collection with plans to expand services across Latin America. The partnership will allow Bnext customers to make cash deposits to their accounts in 30,000 locations in the country and will expand to interbank deposits later via Rapyd's global payments network.

Rapyd's platform will allow cash collection using their payments infrastructure, where it maintains full visibility of where the money came from. The cash deposits can be easily made at all Rapyd Point of Sale systems throughout Mexico.

"Rapyd is well-suited to support Bnext as they continue to expand their operations and active users in Mexico and Latin America given the multi-country reach of our network. One differentiator of our partnership program is speed to market, we're proud that our first service option with Bnext was deployed in less than a month," said Sarel Tal, VP EMEA for Rapyd. "This is a powerful partnership in one of the most promising markets for banking services in Latin America, and we are thrilled with the opportunity to improve payment experiences for Bnext's customers in Mexico."

Rapyd's global payment network gives growing cross-border businesses that need to deploy a variety of payment methods the ability to quickly and easily offer unique local payment methods that consumers transact with every day. Leveraging the Rapyd platform allows Bnext to rapidly expand across different geographies without having to integrate complex solutions, a costly and resource-intensive effort that typically requires the integration of several different payment systems and vendor technologies as they continue their expansion across multiple countries.

"Mexico is the first country in our international expansion strategy, and we needed to partner with a company that offered the payment service locally and had a global presence and support for expansion to additional countries," said Cristian Huertas, Country Manager Mexico for Bnext. "Thanks to our partnership with Rapyd, Bnext will be able to offer our customers a better and more reliable experience through a single API, a single contract, and a single reconciliation."

About Bnext

Founded by Guillermo Vicandi and Juan Antonio Rullan in 2017. Bnext is the first mobile neobank in Spain, where, with a single account, you can contract the financial and insurance products that best suit the needs of each person. Currently, it has more than 350,000 active users in Spain. It has recently closed the largest round of series A financing in Spain in the Fintech sector, exceeding 22 million euros.

About Rapyd

Rapyd is the fastest way to power local payments anywhere in the world, enabling companies across the globe to access markets quicker than ever before. By utilizing Rapyd's unparalleled payments network and fintech as a service platform, businesses and consumers can engage in local and cross-border transactions in any market. The Rapyd platform is unifying fragmented payment systems worldwide by bringing together 900-plus payment methods in over 100 countries. Rapyd's investors include Stripe, General Catalyst, Oak FT, Tiger Global, Durable Capital, Target Global, and TaL Capital. To learn more about the company that is accelerating the fintech as a service revolution, visit www.rapyd.net, read our blog, or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Trump tests positive for COVID-19, quarantines

WORLD: President Donald Trump has tested positive for COVID-19, upending the already tense US election, but was described by his doctor today (Oct 2) as feeling well and able to perform his duties while quarantining.

CoronavirusCOVID-19

By AFP

Friday 2 October 2020, 02:27PM

US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP.

Trump, 74, first announced on Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, had tested positive for the virus.

We will get through this TOGETHER! he wrote.

The extraordinary setback for Trump had immediate political consequences just 31 days before election day, forcing him to cancel campaign trips and adding new volatility to a contest already steeped in tension.

Trumps challenger, Democrat Joe Biden, is well ahead in the polls and has made criticism of the Republicans handling of the coronavirus - and frequent downplaying of the pandemics seriousness - a key issue.

Trump, in response, has been betting on an evermore aggressive schedule of campaign rallies around the country. The events, which he says prove his true political strength, bring together thousands of people, often without masks and sometimes in contravention of local rules.

That strategy is now in doubt, with the White House immediately canceling a planned campaign rally in the crucial swing state of Florida later today.

It looked certain that Trump would have to cancel a trip scheduled for this weekend in Wisconsin, another battleground. He had also been expected to travel frequently next week, including longer distances to western states.

A second televised debate with Biden is scheduled for October 15.

Technically obese and in his 70s, Trump is in a higher-risk category for coronavirus patients.

Trumps official physician, Sean Conley, said in a statement that the president and his wife are both well at this time.

They plan to remain home at the White House during their convalescence, he said. However, I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.

Close aide gets virus

The shock news came right after one of Trumps closest advisors, Hope Hicks, was reported to have come down with the virus yesterday.

Hicks, 31, traveled with Trump to Cleveland for his first debate with Biden on Tuesday. She was with him again for a campaign rally in Minnesota on Wednesday.

With Hicks sharing Trumps Air Force One plane and the even more cramped confines of the Marine One helicopter, speculation immediately erupted that Trump and possibly many others in his close entourage were exposed.

Despite Hicks diagnosis, Trump took another Air Force One trip yesterday to meet with donors in New Jersey.

It was only late yesterday that Trump confirmed media reports about Hicks while giving an interview to Fox News. He announced that he had been tested but did not say whether he had received the results.

You know I spend a lot of time with Hope, and so does the first lady, Trump said.

Hicks is the most senior White House aide announced to have contracted COVID-19.

In May, the spokeswoman of Vice President Mike Pence and wife of Trumps speech writer, Katie Miller, came down with the virus. National Security Adviser Robert OBrien contracted the virus and went into quarantine in July.

Few wearing masks

Trump says the United States has put behind the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans, and he rarely wears a mask, noting that he receives frequent testing.

However, his own health experts have often given less rosy assessments of the state of the pandemic in the worlds richest country.

And Trump has been sharply criticized for the large rallies where few supporters wear masks. He himself has given mixed signals to the public on the need for wearing masks at all.

By contrast, Biden has run a low key campaign with social distancing at most events, no large gatherings, and conspicuous use of his mask wherever he goes.

At their first debate on Tuesday, the candidates were tested and spent the angry, often chaotic 90 minutes standing close to each other. Trumps family and supporters in the audience did not wear masks.

White House spokesman Judd Deere earlier said the president takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.

Deere said the White House takes care to follow procedures for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the president is traveling.
Stephen Barnesof the well-known, recently dissolved personal injury firm Cellino & Barneshas reportedly died in a plane accident in New Yorks Genesee County.

The Buffalo News reports that a source at Steve Barnes law firm and another attorney said Barnes was piloting a small airplane on Friday when it crashedand that Barnes owned the plane.

A third source told the outlet that a female relative was also on Board with Barnes, and she passed away as well. However, law enforcement sources havent confirmed the passengers identities or if anyone died.

During a press conference on Friday, Genesee County Sheriff William Sheron said the plane was pretty much disintegrated. He added, Theres not much left at all.

The accident was first reported at 11:45 a.m. ET on Friday. The plane crashed in a wooded area about a mile off the road.

According to The Buffalo News, a plane registered to the same address as the Cellino & Barnes firm departed from Manchester, New Hampshire at 10:18 a.m. ET. The flight-tracking website FlightAware shows that the plane flew from Manchester to Genesee County, and that the flight ended far from its Buffalo Niagara International Airport destination. The plan was a Socata TBM 700 aircraft, a type of plane that is typically used for business.

Barnes was a founding partner of Cellino & Barnes, which broke up in June after a nasty, 3-year legal battle, with plans to divide the firm into two separate enterprises. Barnes and his former partner, Ross M. Cellino Jr. had worked together for almost 30 years and were alleged multimillionaires, according to court papers. Cellino & Barnes were known for their jingle Dont wait! Call 8! and their toll-free phone number (800) 888-8888.

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Trader Art Cashin on the sell-off and what Trump's coronavirus diagnosis means for markets

Published Fri, Oct 2 2020 12:08 PM EDT Updated Fri, Oct 2 2020 12:59 PM EDT
Could enzymes hold the key for the future of antibiotic development?

"Theoretically, yes. But we have a long way to go," said Pablo Sobrado, an associate professor from the Department of Biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

After recently receiving a $528,000 grant from the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation (NSF), Sobrado and researchers from the University of Missouri are gearing up to uncover the inner workings of flavoenzymes, an up-and-coming enzyme family that has already shown some promise for the improvement of human health.

"Many of the enzymes that we are studying in this particular grant were recently identified and very little is known about their structure and mechanisms of action. Some of these flavoenzymes synthesize products that have antimicrobial or anticancer properties," said Sobrado, an affiliated member of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute and the Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery. "In theory, one could use these enzymes to create an antibiotic or to modify them to make more effective antibiotics."

Chemical reactions are constantly occurring behind the scenes to break down and make new molecules within our cells, a process that is essential for conducting biological processes in living organisms. To help keep organisms at peak performance, molecules called enzymes jump in and speed up, or catalyze, the rate at which these chemical reactions occur.

Flavins are a family of molecular compounds that can be obtained from the consumption of riboflavin, or vitamin B2. Flavins are extremely versatile and are often found in a multitude of biological processes across the tree of life, such as photosynthesis in plants and aerobic respiration in animals and humans.

Some enzymes have taken on flavins to enhance their biological activities. These aptly named flavoenzymes are involved in the production of molecules in fungi and other microorganisms, where they are used as a defense mechanism against invading microbes. But before their potential for human antibiotic applications can be explored, researchers need to learn more about the basic chemistry that lies behind these complex molecules.

"We are determining how flavin actually works in catalysis. We have been able to determine that the flavin moves using a 'flapping' motion during the process of performing the chemistry. This motion has not been previously identified and may have implications in how a large family of flavin-dependent enzymes function," said Sobrado.

Using stopped-flow kinetics, X-ray crystallography, kinetic isotope effects, and inhibition studies, the lab will characterize six new enzymes to understand how the enzymes catalyze a vast number of reactions at the atomic level.

"The grant really focuses on the basic science. I always like to say that the research we do in our lab is going to be new chapters in the textbooks - presenting new chemistry and new processes," said Sobrado.

For this project, Virginia Tech will be collaborating with the University of Missouri, in the laboratory of John Tanner, a professor of biochemistry and the co-principal investigator on the grant.

With both institutions boasting unique expertise in the field of biochemistry, Virginia Tech students will go to Tanner's lab in Missouri to learn more about protein structure; later, students from Missouri will travel to Blacksburg to attain new knowledge about biochemical and biophysical techniques.

The lab will also be working with the Post-Baccalaureate Research and Education Program and the Initiative to Maximize Student Diversity programs at Virginia Tech and the University of Missouri. Sobrado says that this will serve as a foundation that will give the students access to top-of-the-line equipment, as well as the opportunity to decide if they want to work in industry or move on to a Ph.D.

###
On Sunday, the New York Times published a bombshell report that President Donald Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in his first year in office. While this and other details from the presidents taxes were stunning, so too was the source that brought them to light: the New York Times. This is not only because the president has sought to shield his tax returns from the public eye since he first declared his candidacy in 2015, but also because Congress has been seeking these and other financial records for nearly two years. As of this publication, however, none of that subpoenaed financial information has been turned over to Congress.

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Why did the New York Times get Trumps tax returns before Congress did? The answer is that the federal courts have enabled Trumps efforts to delay the litigation concerning the Houses subpoenas until at least after the 2020 election, despite the time-sensitive nature of these cases. The success of Trumps efforts to delay these casesand the judiciarys acquiescenceoffers important lessons to future congresses that wish to engage in legitimate investigations of a president.

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When Democrats took control of the House in 2019, they began a host of investigations concerning Trumps various financial entanglements and failures to disclose his financial holdings and conflicts. For instance, following allegations that Trump may have omitted certain information on federal financial disclosures, and more generally that he may have certain conflicts of interest, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed various documents from Trumps accounting firm, Mazars, related to the presidents and his businesses finances. Similarly, following public reports of connections among Trump, his financial institutions, and Russian money laundering schemes, the House Financial Services Committee subpoenaed various financial records from two banksDeutsche Bank and Capital Oneto learn more about those connections. The Intelligence Committee subpoenaed similar documents from Deutsche Bank to further the committees investigation into foreign interference in our elections, specifically whether any Russian or other foreign actor has financial leverage over and could exploit the president or his family.

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Later that spring, the Ways and Means Committee began an investigation into the way that the Internal Revenue Service audits and enforces the federal tax laws against the president. The committee invoked a federal law that requires the secretary of the Treasury to furnish any tax return to the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee upon request. When Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused to provide the presidents tax returns, the committee subpoenaed them and filed suit to enforce that subpoena.

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As I have previously argued, all these subpoenas are incredibly time-sensitive. The House is not a continuing body, and the current House exists only until Jan. 3, 2021, at which point its ongoing investigations end, its subpoenas expire, and a new House is sworn in. Furthermore, it takes time to investigate issues like financial disclosures or foreign interference in elections, to craft legislation on those topics, and to pass that legislation through committees and the full House (let alone the Senate). Thus, if the House is to have any hope of actually using the information it obtains from any subpoena to craft legislation, it must get that information relatively early in a congressional term.

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Yet now, a year and a half after these investigations started, and even though the House has never been told that it is not entitled to this information, the House still does not have access to any of this financial information. One point bears repeating: no court has said that the House is wrong on the law. Rather, the problem is one of speed. The judiciary has failed to sufficiently expedite these time-sensitive cases in the face of total obstruction by the president. The courts failure to appreciate the consequences of delay and ensure that the cases are resolved quickly has given life to the maxim that justice delayed is justice denied.

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Take first Trump v. Mazars, the case concerning the subpoenas of the presidents financial records (but not his tax returns themselves) from the Oversight, Finance, and Intelligence committees. Those cases were filed in April 2019, worked their way through the lower courts, and, in December 2019, were consolidated and taken up by the Supreme Court. Yet the court failed to expedite them. It took the court until July 2020, seven months after it initially granted the cases, to issue a decision. Notably, the court can move quickly when it wants to. For instance, back in 1974, the Watergate special prosecutor issued a subpoena for President Richard Nixons tape recordings of Oval Office conversations in April 1974. The Supreme Court heard oral argument on July 8, 1974, and issued its decision rejecting Nixons arguments on July 24, 1974, less than three months after the subpoena was filed. In comparison, the court took over 14 months to issue a decision in Mazars after the subpoenas were first issued.

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That delay is compounded by the fact that the court also failed to issue an opinion that clearly decided one way or the other whether the House was entitled to the records it subpoenaed. Rather, the court held that while Congress has broad powers to conduct inquiries to obtain the information it needs to legislative effectively, subpoenas for information pertaining to the president should be subject to a balancing test that takes account of the separation of powers principles at stake, including both the significant legislative interests of Congress and the unique position of the President. But rather than decide whether the Houses subpoenas actually meet that new standard, the court remanded to the lower courts to decide that issue.

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Unsurprisingly, the proceedings on remand have involved even more delays. For instance, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has requested supplemental briefing regarding what the court should do with the Oversight Committees subpoena, and there is still no decision; rather, a D.C. Circuit panel will hear oral argument on Oct. 20, 2020. So too with the 2nd Circuit, which has requested the parties submit briefs explaining to the court how it should comply with the Supreme Courts decision regarding the Finance and Intelligence subpoenas. The 2nd Circuit still has not issued a decision.

Believe it or not, the Ways and Means Committees lawsuit for Trumps actual tax returns is even further behind than these other cases. As Ive previously explained, that committee filed suit last July after Trumps Treasury secretary refused to turn over his tax returns to the committee, despite a federal law stating that the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information (emphasis mine) that the committee requests. But the district court judge, Trevor McFadden, still hasnt issued a decision in the case 14 months later. Instead, the judge has put the case on hold pending a decision from the D.C. Circuit in another subpoena case concerning the Houses subpoena for former White House counsel Don McGahns testimony. And the McGahn case is itself mired in delay, bouncing between a panel of the D.C. Circuit and the en banc (full) court on issues of jurisdiction with no resolution of the merits of that case in sight.

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In short, Congress has not received the financial documents, including the presidents tax returns, it subpoenaed over a year ago because of unending delays in the federal courts. And importantly, these delays were not inevitable. They are the result of total obstruction by the Trump administration, and the judiciary abiding Trumps efforts to slow-walk these cases in an effort to avoid having to comply with these subpoenas before the election.

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The lesson from these delays is that future congresses should be far more vigilant to the risk that their subpoenas might get tied up in the courtsand act accordingly. That might mean that future committees move more quickly to file cases to enforce subpoenas when it appears that an administration will refuse to comply, issuing subpoenas in the opening days of a congressional term and filing suit shortly thereafter. In addition, Congress could pass legislation that would expedite cases concerning congressional subpoenas. For instance, a recently proposed bill would send congressional subpoena cases to a three-judge panel to decide them in the first instance, and any appeal would go directly to the Supreme Court for a prompt decision. Such legislation would lessen the chance that a future administration could hold a congressional subpoena hostage by dragging out litigation in the courts.

Without taking concerted steps like these, however, there is a real danger that Congress could forever be prevented from playing its constitutional oversight role if a recalcitrant administration seeks to delay resolution of subpoena litigation in courts. Thats why the courts unwillingness to expedite these cases is a travesty for those who wish not only to hold this administration to account, but to ensure Congress maintains robust investigatory powers in the long run.
Lloyd Eddie Lasker Jr., pastor of House of Refuge and Deliverance Ministries outside Little Rock, faces a slew of charges.

A pastor from Mayflower, Arkansas was arrested and charged last week with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a gun by a convicted felon.

Lloyd Eddie Lasker Jr., pastor of House of Refuge and Deliverance Ministries, was taken into custody after allegedly performing an exorcism of a toddler. Under arrest, he reportedly admitted to using meth at church with parishioners.

Lloyd Eddie Lasker Jr. of House of Refuge and Deliverance was charged with possession of a controlled substance,

drug paraphernalia and a gun. (Faulkner County Sheriffs Office)

The Kansas City Star is reporting that Lasker was arrested after a child abuse investigation. Police Detective Brittani Little is said to have found an emaciated 21-month-old child with multiple bruises from head to toe, the boys mother and Lasker at the church. Littles affidavit notes that the toddler is now in the ICU with a brain bleed and extreme malnourishment.

Lasker allegedly admitted in his interview with Little, she claims, to trying to exorcise the demon in (the child) but he would not explain how he did this. Her affidavit says Lasker told her he has used meth in the church several times with the mother of the boy and other HORAD Ministries members.

Read More: Schooling during a pandemic: Are the parents and kids doing alright?

The pastor appeared before a judge on Sept. 23, where he was granted a $7,500 cash bond. His next court date is Oct. 13.

Mayflower, the rural town where House of Refuge and Deliverance Ministries is located, sits about 30 minutes north of Little Rock and has a population of less than 2,000.

Read More: Trumps clownery coming back to bite him is a cautionary tale for virus naysayers

At the time of Laskers arrest, four grams of meth in a small baggie and a pipe were found inside the door panel of his truck. More meth and another device for smoking were found on the passenger side.

The man allegedly denied knowing the items were in his car, but admitted to past methamphetamine use.

Story continues

Read More: Mom files $16 million lawsuit against Tamron Hall over vaccine segment

The government website drugabuse.gov noted that methamphetamine is a stimulant and even in small doses can cause a variety of cardiovascular problems, including rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat and increased blood pressure.

The drug releases high levels of dopamine into the body, and continued use can result in brain damage, seizures and even death.

Have you subscribed to theGrios Dear Culture podcast? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Arkansas pastor allegedly performed exorcism on toddler, did meth with parishioners appeared first on TheGrio.
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A Los Angeles City Council committee met Friday to consider next steps for a major rethinking of how 911 calls are handled. The proposal: A crisis response program that sends social workers or health professionals to some 911 calls, instead of armed LAPD officers.

The plan was first introduced early in the summer, when the council was scrambling to respond to a groundswell of protests over police killings and systemic racism in law enforcement.

Councilmembers have submitted a number of motions, including a $150 million cut to the LAPD's $1.8 billion operating budget. There were also several proposals designed to limit the involvement of police in traffic enforcement or non-violent situations that call for supportive services, rather than armed law enforcement. The idea, proponents say, is to connect people to effective help rather than get them involved in a costly and punitive criminal justice system.

"I'm as giddy as a school boy. I cannot wait to begin," said Committee Chair Herb Wesson at the start of the meeting. "Because I truly believe... that we're going to send a message throughout this country."

The Ad Hoc Committee on Police Reform recommended issuing a request for proposals from nonprofit organizations to operate a pilot program. The goal would be to determine how 911 operators could dispatch "contract service providers and specialists for non-violent calls" in situations including "mental health, substance abuse, suicide threats, behavioral distress, as well as providing conflict resolution and welfare checks."

The recommendations will now go to the full city council for a vote.

NEXT STEPS FOR THERAPEUTIC VAN PILOT PROGRAM

Also Friday, the committee asked for more information on a proposed "Therapeutic Van Pilot Program." That program would partner the Los Angeles Fire Department, LAPD, the Department of Mental Health and a nonprofit group to station mobile teams of mental health specialists at fire stations.

Callers during the public comment period were universally supportive of reducing police presence in mental health, homelessness or substance abuse calls, but expressed skepticism about the city's follow-through.

"Alternatives to police will only succeed if properly funded and available in every neighborhood," said Pastor Byron Smith with Community Coalition. He added during public comment he's concerned about a "slow-walked" piloting process. "When police are called to a mental health crisis, they are operating outside of their scope of practice."

Wesson pushed back: "The actions that we take today are not just reports. These are action items," he said. "This is a time for us to say politics be damned."

Councilmembers heard a city analyst report, which noted Los Angeles police already have special units for responding to mental health or domestic violence calls that pair armed officers with service providers from other agencies.

But the report looked at programs and proposals in other cities that remove law enforcement from that equation, including Oakland, Portland, San Francisco, and Stockholm, Sweden -- many of them based on mobile crisis response teams established in 1989 in Eugene, Oregon. Those units respond to 17% of calls for service in the city and operate 24/7.

"It's effective. It makes the city more safe," said Robin Petering, a social worker and organizer with the community group Ktown for All. She called in to share her experience as a homeless outreach worker for the Eugene program. "We had a better ability to meet the needs of our unhoused neighbors...it would save us a ton of money as well."

Groups including Black Lives Matter - LA have long been advocating for the city and county to "reimagine" public safety by shifting public resources away from police towards programs like conflict mediation, homeless services and mental healthcare.
CALGARY - Shareholders in Calgary-based Painted Pony Energy Ltd. have approved its sale to much larger Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. for 69 cents per share.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadian Natural Resources logo is shown at the company's annual meeting in Calgary on May 4, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY - Shareholders in Calgary-based Painted Pony Energy Ltd. have approved its sale to much larger Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. for 69 cents per share.

The company says more than 86 per cent of its shares were voted in favour of the friendly takeover deal announced in August through which Canadian Natural will pay $111 million in cash and assume $350 million in debt.

The buyer, best known for its heavy oil and oilsands production, has said the purchase will allow it to grow its position in the liquids-rich Montney natural gas region of northeastern B.C.

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Canadian Natural is one of the largest natural gas producers in Canada. It considers gas output a hedge against costs in its oilsands operations, which consume large amounts of the fuel.

Painted Pony has said three years of weak gas prices and more recent declines in prices for the petroleum liquids produced with the gas led to liquidity problems and forced it to commence a confidential process to enhance shareholder value, resulting in the Canadian Natural offer

Painted Pony produced about 279 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and 4,400 barrels per day of petroleum liquids in the second quarter, compared with Canadian Natural's output of 1.46 billion cubic feet per day of gas and 922,000 bpd of crude oil and liquids in the second quarter.

The transaction is expected to close next week following court approval.

This report by the Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:PONY, TSX:CNQ)
Ask Dr. Land: Why is there such a firestorm over Amy Coney Barrett?

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Question: Why does Amy Coney Barrett so significantly symbolize political and cultural change?

It now appears clear that the Democrats in the Senate and their fellow-travelers in the mainstream media are prepared to burn the house down, or in this case, the Senate, in order to block the confirmation of Appeals Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett (ACB) as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Why would they create such a firestorm (several leading Democratic Senators refusing to even meet with ACB). There are several reasons far more substantive than the political smokescreen of this being an election year and we should wait until after the election and let whoever wins on Nov. 3 select the nominee to replace Justice Ginsburg.

First, and foremost, ACBs elevation to the court would give conservatives a clear working majority of justices on the Supreme Court for the first time since before the ascendency of the Earl Warren court in the 1950s nearly 70 years ago.

For decades tens of millions of Americans have been frustrated by the Supreme Courts expansionist tendencies and its inflamed impulse to legislate from the bench and attempt to impose upon the people what the American people have been not willing to pass into law through their elected representatives.

The Liberal Establishment (if you dont think there is one, you are part of it) ever since the Warren Court has exhibited the nasty habit of doing an end run around the nations elected representatives (at the federal level the Senate, the House, the President; and at the state level, governors, legislatures) and pushing through a liberal agenda that does not represent the will of the people.

Two examples of this raw, extra-constitutional judicial power will suffice as examples. A significant majority of the American people had through state constitutional amendments and other democratic methods, made it clear that they supported the traditional heterosexual, monogamous definition of marriage between a man and a woman. Yet in June 2015, the Supreme Court chose to overrule the peoples expressed wishes in their Obergefell v Hodges (2015) decision to legalize same-sex marriage in all fifty states.

Chief Justice John Roberts, in his dissenting opinion to the 5-4 majority opinion, was unusually forthright and blunt in expressing his vehement disagreement with the Courts action. Some examples from his trenchant dissent are as follows:

Stealing this issue from the people will for many cast a cloud over same-sex marriage. . . .

The majoritys decision is an act of will, not legal judgment. The right it announces has no basis in the Constitution or in this courts precedent.

And the Chief Justice wasnt finished. He warned the Court in June 2015. He continues,

The Courts accumulation of power does not occur in a vacuum. It comes at the expense of the people. And the people know it.

He then informs the Courts majority that there will be consequences. He then cites Justice Ginsberg criticizing the Roe v Wade decision, quoting her: Heavy-handed judicial intervention was difficult to justify and appears to have provoked, not resolved conflict. (Ginsberg, Some Thoughts on Autonomy and Equality in Relation to Roe v. Wade [1985]).

Roe v. Wade was the second example of this exercise in raw, extra-constitutional power. Justice Ginsberg was right that Roe v. Wade made abortion a much more contentious and divisive issue than it would have been had the Court left the issue in the political realm. If that had been done, you would have had relatively pro-life states and relatively pro-choice states with laws that reflected that consensus. In attempting to take the issue away from the people, they just raised the degree of frustration to the boiling point among the voting public.

On January 22, 1973, Walter Cronkite, in commenting on the infamous Roe v. Wade decision that abolished all the restrictions on abortion in all fifty states, stated the following in mellifluous tone: Today, the Supreme Court settled the contentious issue of abortion. Obviously, Mr. Cronkite was wrong.

Chief Justice Roberts warning that there would be consequences to the Obergefell decision as there was to Roe, proved prophetic. The very next year Donald Trump pulled off the biggest upset in American presidential history, and 26% of his voters said their number one reason for voting for him was his promise to nominate only strict, constructionist, original intent jurists to the federal courts  a promise he has faithfully kept.

President Trump has completely shifted the make-up of the federal courts after three generations of radical, activist, liberal bias.

And now, if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the Supreme Court as President Trumps third Supreme Court appointment, he will have given the Supreme Court a clean, working strict constructionist majority.

The liberal establishment knows that they will have then lost the main leverage in enacting their agenda in spite of the misgivings and opposition of the American people.

However, there is another, deeper reason ACB is arousing such hysterical opposition on the left. She is a living, breathing, articulate, attractive, mature woman who is also the mother of seven children (two of which are adopted) and by all reports very happily married to a very supportive husband who, to her mild chagrin, is considered by her children to be a better cook than she is.

As Rachel Campos-Duffy observed, Barretts life challenges the feminist notion that fertility and children are a drain on a womans ambition. In her case, children and family gave her professional ambition purpose and perspective (Rachel Campos-Duffy, Fox News, September 29, 2020).

ACB challenges the choices many older feminists made in the name of freedom and ambition, and she has presented many younger women with a different, more positive model to follow as they move forward with their life choices  a very different feminist role model than Hillary Clinton.

My guess is that this does not make the Hillaryistas very happy  quite the opposite, at least subconsciously.
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If your loved one falls, are you sure why? he said to the board. Is it simply a fall or a stroke or a seizure? Are you panicked? Grief-stricken? Can you communicate accurately in that moment? Is this person large, which will require more people to assist moving them? Why would you want less people coming to help you in your time of need?
Proposition 20 on the Nov. 3 ballot would increase punishment for theft crimes and make some prisoners ineligible for early parole consideration, repealing more-lenient measures approved by the voters. From a broader perspective, the initiative can be seen as a referendum on Californias shifting crime-and-punishment policies of the last four decades.

Starting in the early 1980s, state voters and lawmakers passed a series of victims bills of rights, justice reform acts, and laws named after crime victims that mandated and increased prison terms for various offenses and gave California some of the nations lengthiest sentences and most crowded prisons.

In the past decade, with prodding from courts in lawsuits over prison health care, the voters have changed course.

Proposition 36 in 2012 modified the 1994 three strikes law by barring prosecutors from seeking life sentences for defendants for a third felony conviction that was neither serious nor violent. Prop. 47 in 2014 reduced drug possession and low-level theft crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Prop. 57 in 2016 allowed inmates convicted of a crime that the law classifies as nonviolent to apply for parole after completing their sentence for that crime, without serving additional years or decades for prior convictions or gang membership.

Prop. 20, backed by police organizations and some prosecutors and businesses, would repeal part of Prop. 47 by allowing felony charges for low-level thefts that are repeated or are committed with someone else. It would roll back Prop. 57 by reclassifying domestic violence and some assault crimes as violent offenses, making their participants ineligible for early parole consideration, and would toughen standards for granting parole.

Coddling the criminal in California has been a big failure, said Yes-on-20 spokesman Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego city councilman and chairman of Reform California, a business-backed organization. We need to retake the streets, restore law and order.

Opponents of Prop. 20, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Democratic Party and labor unions, call it a prison spending scam that will cost tens of millions of dollars without increasing public safety. Both sides agree that its a test of Californians views on criminal justice.

Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press 2018

After setbacks in recent years, police and other backers of the measure are trying to get the pendulum to swing back the other direction, said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor in Los Angeles and former federal prosecutor who opposes Prop. 20.

Another former prosecutor and current critic of Prop. 20, Stanford Law Professor David Sklansky, said this summers widespread protests against police killings, and the election of progressive prosecutors such as San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, reflect an apparent shift in public attitudes.

There is a broad, bipartisan recognition that over the past several decades American criminal justice became too harsh and too costly, Sklansky said.

Still, voters dont often reject proposals to keep criminals behind bars. And Prop. 20 zeroes in on a group of prisoners whose crimes, at least from their titles, are hard to categorize as nonviolent.

Among the crimes whose perpetrators are now eligible for parole consideration after completion of their basic sentence under Prop. 57, are rape of an unconscious person; human trafficking of a child; domestic violence; elder abuse; and assault by a caregiver on a child.

Prop. 57 merely allows them to appear before the parole board, which, after examining an inmates record and evidence of rehabilitation, still decides against release in a majority of cases. But backers of Prop. 20, which would require the inmates to serve their full sentences without parole eligibility, say even the possibility of early release is dangerous to the public.

The ballot measure simply requires violent offenders and sexual predators to complete their full sentences, Michele Hanisee, president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys in Los Angeles, said in ballot arguments.

Foes call the arguments fear-mongering.

Californians are demanding change to the criminal justice system and have overwhelmingly voted to reduce wasteful prison spending, says the No-on-20 campaign.

Prop. 20 is aimed directly at our communities of color, Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, said Thursday at a news conference by opponents of the measure. Latinas and Latinos want to see our tax dollars go to more family counselors, mental health, things that prevent people from going to prison, she said.

The measure would also reduce the scope of Prop. 47, which classified thefts as misdemeanors, punishable by months in county jail instead of years in state prison, if the amount stolen was less than $950, up from the previous limit of $450. It applies to such crimes as forgery, check fraud and shoplifting.

Prop. 20 would allow felony prosecution for any theft of more than $250 if the thief had two previous theft convictions or worked with others in two thefts within 180 days.

Supporters said the reduced penalties have led to a rise in shoplifting and other property crimes. Opponents say in their ballot arguments that statewide reports show no such increases and that more teenagers and Black, Latino and low-income people could be locked up for years for low-level, nonviolent crimes.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
Jack Whitehall has shared a heartbreaking tribute to Archie Lyndhurst, 19, after he was found dead at his family home in west London following a short illness.

Taking to social media on Thursday night, Jack said he was 'utterly devastated' and that 'kind' Archie had looked after his parents - Michael, 80, and Hilary - during lockdown when they were unable to leave the house.

Sharing two throwback pictures of himself with Archie, the comedian, 32, revealed that the late actor had played a young version of him in his 2011 series Little Crackers.

Heartbreaking: Jack Whitehall has shared a heartbreaking tribute to Archie Lyndhurst, 19, after he was found dead at his family home in West London following a short illness

Jack added that Archie had reprised the role for his arena tour and special, also playing a young Alfie Wickers in Bad Education.

Calling the late teenager 'passionate' and 'talented', the comedian said he was 'loved by everyone on set'.

Jack penned: 'I write this with an extremely heavy heart. Archie Lyndhurst came In to my life nearly ten years ago, playing the young me in a short film I'd written. He was brilliant, so talented and funny. An utter joy to work with.

'So much so that it proved to be the start of a wonderful partnership, we did a skit at the London Palladium, he played me again in a sketch for my arena tour and special.

'Utterly devastated': Taking to social media on Thursday night, Jack said he was 'utterly devastated' and that 'kind' Archie had looked after his parents - Michael, 80, and Hilary - during lockdown when they were unable to leave the house

'Talented': Sharing two throwback pictures of himself with Archie, the comedian, 32, revealed that the late actor had played a young version of him in his 2011 series Little Crackers

'And when we needed to find an actor to play the young Alfie Wickers in Bad Education it was the easiest piece of casting we ever had to do.

'Every time I worked with Archie he was the same - passionate, generous and pitch perfect, he was loved by everyone on set.

'I have no doubt he would have had a long and illustrious career and would have continued lighting up the lives of all those who encountered him.'

Jack added that 'kind' and 'wonderful' Archie had looked after his parents during the coronavirus lockdown, bringing them shopping and groceries.

Family: Jack pictured with his father Michael, 80, who he has a Netflix series with called Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father, in 2019

'The enthusiastic and talented boy I met all those years ago had grown into an equally charming young man, during lockdown he would take shopping and groceries to my parents house for them when they couldn't leave the house, it's testament to what a wonderful and kind person he was,' he continued.

Jack Whitehall's tribute to Archie Lyndhurst in full 'I write this with an extremely heavy heart. Archie Lyndhurst came In to my life nearly ten years ago, playing the young me in a short film I'd written. He was brilliant, so talented and funny. An utter joy to work with. So much so that it proved to be the start of a wonderful partnership, we did a skit at the London Palladium, he played me again in a sketch for my arena tour and special, and when we needed to find an actor to play the young Alfie Wickers in Bad Education it was the easiest piece of casting we ever had to do. Every time I worked with Archie he was the same - passionate, generous and pitch perfect, he was loved by everyone on set. I have no doubt he would have had a long and illustrious career and would have continued lighting up the lives of all those who encountered him. The enthusiastic and talented boy I met all those years ago had grown into an equally charming young man, during lockdown he would take shopping and groceries to my parents house for them when they couldn't leave the house, it's testament to what a wonderful and kind person he was. The world has been robbed of a truly special soul. He will never be forgotten, I feel utterly devastated that he is gone but I also feel so blessed to have met him. Goodbye Archie.' Advertisement

Jack ended his tribute by saying he was 'utterly devastated', he added: 'The world has been robbed of a truly special soul. He will never be forgotten, I feel utterly devastated that he is gone but I also feel so blessed to have met him. Goodbye Archie.'

On Thursday, Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst said he was 'utterly grief-stricken' after his son Archie, 19, was found dead at the family home in West London after a short illness.

The teenager, who had been acting since the age of 11, starred in the hit CBBC show So Awkward as Ollie Coulton and was dating co-star Nethra Tilakumara.

In a statement given on Thursday, Mr Lyndhurst said: 'Lucy and I are utterly grief stricken and respectfully request privacy'.

Archie, from Fulham, also appeared as a young Jack Whitehall in TV's Bad Education in 2014 and voiced a character in the video game Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward.

Archie, who also once played a young Michael Gambon, had been with Tilakumara for a year in April and they posted photographs on holidays in Amsterdam and Paris.

His father Nicholas famously played Rodney Trotter alongside Sir David Jason as his brother 'Del Boy' in the long-running BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses.

A BBC spokesman confirmed on Thursday that Archie had 'very sadly died after a short illness' and Scotland Yard said his death was 'unexplained but not suspicious'.

Series six of So Awkward, a sitcom about a group of schoolchildren, is currently airing on CBBC with a new episode scheduled to be broadcast at 5pm today.

Lyndhurst, 59, and his wife Lucy Lyndhurst celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary a month ago and also have a house in Chichester, West Sussex.

Mrs Lyndhurst, who declined to comment at the family home in Fulham on Thursday, replied to an Instagram post about Archie's death by Game of Thrones star Samuel Small, writing: 'He will love you and watch over you forever.'

Only Fools and Horses star John Challis, who played Aubrey 'Boycie' Boyce in the show, tweeted: 'The saddest news of all today. The death of Archie Lyndhurst, just starting out on his chosen career in acting. My heart aches for Nick and Lucy. They could not have loved him more.'

Statement: On Thursday, Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst said he was 'utterly grief-stricken' after his son Archie, 19, was found dead at the family home in West London after a short illness (pictured with wife Lucy and son Archie in 2017)

Sue Holderness, who played Boycie's wife Marlene in the sitcom, said: 'It is too sad to hear that Archie Lyndhurst has died. My heart goes out to his mum and dad and to all who knew him.'

A BBC spokesman said: 'We're so sorry to have to tell you that Archie Lyndhurst, who so brilliantly played Ollie in So Awkward on CBBC, has very sadly died after a short illness.

'Archie will be hugely missed by all who worked with him, and by all the fans who laughed along with Ollie in the show.'

Police officers and paramedics were called to his family home in Fulham on September 22 following reports of a 'concern for welfare'.

Girlfriend: Archie and his girlfriend Nethra Tilakumara, wearing Batman and Robin costumes - just like his father did playing Rodney alongside Sir David Jason as Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses

Archie, who had a brief role in Casualty in 2018, was declared dead at the scene in an 'unexplained but not suspicious' death which is not being investigated by police, who have passed a file to the coroner.

Archie, who had a clothing label called Fated to Pretend inspired by his skating hobby, said in an interview in March with TresA magazine: 'I knew I wanted to be an actor when I was eight.

'At the time, I didn't know my dad was an actor, and he kept trying to say to me that I shouldn't start acting. I then found out that he was an actor and said that if he can do it, I can do it as well.

Acting: Archie followed in the acting footsteps of his father Nicholas (together)

'That didn't change anything though as he still wouldn't let me do it. He eventually asked me why I wanted to be an actor, and I said it's because I wanted to make people laugh.

Archie Lyndhurst's nine-year acting CV So Awkward (TV series) - 2015-2020 - Ollie Coulton

(TV series) - 2015-2020 - Ollie Coulton Casualty (TV series) 2018 - Elliot Morford

(TV series) 2018 - Elliot Morford Our Ex-Wife (Tv series) - 2016 - Max

(Tv series) - 2016 - Max Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (video game) - 2015 - Honoroit (voice)

(video game) - 2015 - Honoroit (voice) The Secret World: Issue 10 - Nightmares in the Dream Palace (video game) - 2014 - Jung (voice)

(video game) - 2014 - Jung (voice) Jack Whitehall Gets Around: Intro (short) - 2014 - Young Jack Whitehall

(short) - 2014 - Young Jack Whitehall Bad Education (TV series) - 2014 - Young Alfie

(TV series) - 2014 - Young Alfie Tonight at the London Palladium (TV series) - 2014 - Little Jack Whitehall

(TV series) - 2014 - Little Jack Whitehall Harry & Paul's Story of the 2s (TV movie) - 2014 - Young Michael Gambon

(TV movie) - 2014 - Young Michael Gambon Little Crackers (TV series) - 2011 - Young Jack Whitehall Advertisement

'He then sent me to drama school, I got my first agent, I started getting work, and now I'm here. I'm incredibly grateful for everything I've been given.'

Speaking about Jack Whitehall, Archie added: 'Jack's funny. He saw my audition tape when I was 11 and him and his mum emailed me a picture of Jack when he was eleven and we looked so similar.

'I knew that if I didn't get this job, I didn't know what was going on. I ended up getting it and me and Jack got on really well, and we still do. Since then, he just keeps asking me to do things - I don't know why.'

In an interview with August 2015, Lyndhurst said: 'I became a different person overnight when I had my son  terrified.

Following Archie's first TV appearance in December 2011 in Jack Whitehall's show Little Cracker, Whitehall tweeted that Archie was a 'star of the future'.

A spokesman for the Only Fools and Horses Appreciation Society said: 'We would like to express our heartfelt sadness and warm wishes to the family of Nicholas and Lucy Lyndhurst on the tragic news on the loss of their beloved son Archie.'

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Police were called at approximately 9.41am on Tuesday, September 22 to a report of a concern for welfare.

'Officers and London Ambulance Service attended. At the scene a man was found unresponsive. He was declared dead at the scene.

'His next of kin are aware. At this stage the death is treated as unexplained but not suspicious. A post-mortem will take place in due course.'

Career: Nicholas Lyndhurst (centre) starred in the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses alongside Buster Merryfield as Uncle Albert (left) and Sir David Jason as Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter (right)
Uber Technologies said on Friday New York-based private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Group would invest $500 million in its logistics arm, Uber Freight, valuing the unit at $3.3 billion on a post-money basis.

The ride-hailing firm said it would maintain majority ownership of Uber Freight, and use the funds to scale its logistics platform and increase product innovation.

Unlike Uber's ride-hailing app or its food-delivery service, Uber Freight operates as a middle man in the fragmented long-haul trucking business, connecting truckers with shippers.

Michael Weiss and Jill Raker, managing partners of Greenbriar, will join Uber Freight's board, the companies said in a statement.
LifeWay sues former president Thom Rainer for breach of contract; lawsuit divides board

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Trustees of the Southern Baptist Conventions publishing arm, LifeWay Christian Resources, are expected to gather in an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss a lawsuit against the organizations former president, Thom Rainer, for allegedly breaching his severance agreement.

The lawsuit filed Monday in Williamson County, Tennessee, and cited by the Baptist Press, points to an agreement between Rainer and LifeWay upon his 2019 retirement that prevented him from doing business with LifeWay competitors until Oct. 31, 2021. Among competitors listed in the agreement is Tyndale House Publishers, which announced in August that it had reached a multi-book, multi-year agreement with Rainer.

A news release said the partnership would produce books that cover topics vital to a churchs life and health within the coming decades. Each core book is expected to have an accompanying video curriculum, participants guides, and other ancillary books to empower church leaders and inspire church members.

Tyndale is ecstatic about our long-term partnership with Thom Rainer and Church Answers. Thom is a gifted leader, teacher, and communicator whose personal mission aligns perfectly with Tyndales. He is so successful and respected among tens of thousands of churches not only because he is a thoughtful and talented writer, but also because he knows perhaps better than anyone the needs and pulse of the church  its leaders and congregants. Working together we have no doubt we will create tools to serve the Church in unique and powerful ways so that we can all participate more fully in the growth of Gods Kingdom for His glory, Ron Beers, Tyndales senior vice president and publisher, said at the time.

Rainer explained to BP that in October 2019, he received a written and amicable release from publishing with LifeWay Christian Resources and spoke with the organizations attorney and had assumed all was well until he received notice of the lawsuit on Monday.

Before learning of the lawsuit, I heard from a LifeWay representative about this concern only one time on September 8, 2020, Rainer said in a statement to BP. LifeWays counsel sent me an email asking for an explanation of my relationship with another publisher. I gave a quick and substantive response that same day. Even more, I requested to meet with the board officers in my response. I assumed all was well until the lawsuit was filed yesterday.

LifeWay argues in the lawsuit that termination of the Publishing Agreement did not release Rainer from the noncompete section of his transition agreement which keeps him as a paid LifeWay employee through Oct. 31, 2020, as chief advisory officer.

Rainers actions, said the lawsuit, will cause LifeWay to suffer immediate and irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law. It further asks the court to force Rainer to end his relationship with Tyndale and award unspecified damages to LifeWay.

The emergency meeting set for Wednesday will seek to put an end to the dispute.

Jimmy Scroggins, who is on the LifeWay board, said he was disappointed by the lawsuit, calling it "embarrassing" and "damaging to the kingdom."

I am confident there were, and are, better options for resolving any contractual disputes we have with Dr. Rainer, he added, noting that the matter should have been discussed with the full board.

Other SBC pastors like Tim Rogers, have expressed their disagreement with the lawsuit publicly as well.

This is sad. My God please move on the hearts of the leaders of the @SBCExecComm to take the reins of common sense and scriptural authority. This is what happens when the sufficiency of scripture is forfeited at the altar of $$$$$s, he wrote on Twitter.
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Mercedes-Benz has just launched its latest sport utility vehicle (SUV) in Indonesia  the new Mercedes-Benz GLA and GLB  digitally through its YouTube channel.

The virtual launch was organized from Sept. 25 to 27, allowing customers to browse the new cars through a digital gallery. The event also marked the brands 50th operational anniversary in Indonesia.

By introducing its new SUVs to cater to customers demands and expectations, Mercedes-Benz seeks to remain relevant among Indonesian customers and to be at the top of the luxury automotive segment.

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An Australian man, accused of assaulting a pregnant woman in an Islamophobic attack, has been sentenced to a jail for three years.

The man, identified as 44-year-old Stipe Lozina had punched and stamped Rana Elasmar, 32, in Sydney last November, the BBC reported. Elasmar, mother of four was 38 weeks pregnant when she faced the attack at a cafe where she was with her friends. Lozina had approached their table, asking for money. But when Elasmar refused, he launched into a vicious" assault fuelled by religious prejudice, a trial heard.

Prosecutors were quoted in the reports that Lozina yelled you Muslims wrecked my mum" and punched her to the ground. He hit her at least 14 times and even stamped on the back of pregnant Elasmars head before other customers pulled him away.

The incident had triggered backlash then. Sentencing judge Christopher Craigie had previously termed Lozina as an obviously unwell man" who launched a wicked and deplorable" attack.

Earlier in September, Elasmar had told the court that she felt targeted owing to her religious identity and feared for her babys life and her own. She said that she could have been killed in the attack if others present there had not intervened. I made a conscious decision to turn my abdomen away from his punches. I wanted to protect my baby," she told the court.

Elasmar was fortunate enough to escape with minor injuries and gave birth to a boy three weeks after the attack. However, she told the court that the trauma lingered.

Meanwhile, Lozina represented himself in the court and was reported to be giving many incoherent rants.
CHICO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 2, 2020 / AmeraMex International, Inc. (OTCQB:AMMX), a provider of heavy equipment for logistics companies, infrastructure construction and forestry conservation, announced that it has received equipment orders totaling $215,900.

The orders are for yard trucks and a Kalmar forklift. The equipment will be ship this quarter.

About AmeraMex International

AmeraMex International sells, leases, and rents new and refurbished heavy equipment to companies within multiple industries including construction, forestry conservation, logistics, mining, and lumber. AmeraMex, with a US and international customer base, has over 30 years of experience in heavy equipment sales and service. Follow AmeraMex on Twitter @ammx_intl and visit the AmeraMex website, www.AMMX.net or www.hamreequipment.com for additional corporate information, online heavy equipment inventory/ pricing and videos.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "potential," "continue" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are encouraged to review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

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"We love to design timeless beachwear that will keep you fashionable from sunrise to sunset, said Rene Lopez The Riviera Collection does just that! We cant wait for our customers to enjoy the colorful look and feel of our most elegant line to date.

The Riviera Collection blends elegance and sophistication, influenced by ocean views and luxurious destinations.

Palmera Beachwear, makers of luxury destination fashions, launches The Riviera Collection, a line inspired by ocean views and tropical adventures. Featuring bespoke tropical prints, fast-dry fabrication, PVF50 protection and raw weave string cords, the collection has gone from the runway to the resort and is in keeping with the companys elegant brand charm.

The collection features cover ups, wrap skirts, beach pants, slip dresses and totes in a variety of tropical foliage prints and comfortable fabrics. Bask in the sunshine, then transition into nighttime all in the same attire.

"We love to design timeless beachwear that will keep you fashionable from sunrise to sunset, said Rene Lopez The Riviera Collection does just that! We cant wait for our customers to enjoy the colorful look and feel of our most elegant line to date. We strive to keep you outfitted for all your chic travel needs near and far.

Additionally, the company offers The Resort and Poolside Collections, giving consumers more variety and price points to choose from for beach attire when lounging poolside, swimming or taking a stroll throughout a resort.

Palmera Beachwear can be found online via the companys website and Google Shopping, as well as in retail outlets, such as Macys. Visit https://www.palmerabeachwear.com and take a break from your daily routine.

About Palmera Beachwear:

With more than 50 years of combined experience in apparel design, development, manufacturing, merchandising and retail, Palmera Beachwear is a dream come true for two siblings growing up in the sunny beaches of Acapulco, Mexico. Blasting sunsets, Mexican folklore and the colorful tropical coastline are the inspiration for their collections. Their mission is to bring to life leisure beachwear designs that capture the very essence of a breezy day at the beach.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  In light of the ongoing proliferation of unauthorized weapons in Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip, human rights centers and institutions sounded the alarm following the escalation of violence and distruption of civil peace.

Meanwhile, the Hamas movement that rules Gaza seems unable to control the spread of weapons among civilians.

In late September, firearms and white weapons were used in several family feuds that erupted in various governorates in the Gaza Strip. These resulted in casualties among citizens, especially among women and children. Most recently, on Sept. 27, during a family quarrel in the city of Nuseirat, in central Gaza, five people were stabbed with knives.

In a statement issued Sept. 26, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights listed several family fights where firearms were used, most notably a quarrel that occurred between two families in Shajaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, on the evening of Sept. 25. As a result, four persons sustained injuries, one of whom is in serious condition, the statement read.

Another armed dispute flared up between members of the Barbakh and Shurrab families in Khan Yunis, in the south of Gaza, on the evening of Sept. 22. Three civilians, including two children, were injured. While trying to disperse the quarrel, five policemen were also injured, while one of them remains in critical condition, Palestinian police spokesman Ayman al-Batnaiji said in a Sept. 23 statement.

He explained that the police imposed law and order at the site of the incident, arrested the perpetrators and the shooters, and confiscated the weapons used.

On Sept. 20, a family feud broke out at the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip. Firearms were used in the feud and resulted in the injury of a 29-year-old woman due to a live bullet in her thigh.

In its Sept. 26 statement, Al-Mezan Center said, Multiple similar incidents involving the use of firearms and white arms were recorded in the last few days, leaving a number of people wounded and resulting in damage to private properties.

The center called on the relevant authorities to uphold the rule of law and prevent parties to a dispute from taking the law into their own hands. The authorities must launch a prompt, comprehensive and credible investigation into the tragic events and hold perpetrators to account through a sound legal process.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in a Sept. 26 statement expressed its concern about the increasing societal violence and the use of weapons in family and personal quarrels, which threatens civil and societal peace. It urged the competent authorities to prosecute perpetrators and bring them to trial, and to take more stringent measures to confront the increasing use of weapons outside the rule of law.

In statements to Al-Monitor, Gaza's Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad al-Bozm warned against the proliferation of weapons in Palestinian society. This is a result of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the youths affiliation with the Palestinian resistance factions fighting Israel. But these are unjustified reasons.

He expressed his concerns over the use of arms in family quarrels. The ministry deals firmly with the use of weapons and shooting during family feuds. Shooters and weapons users are arrested, and their firearms are confiscated.

Bozm noted that his ministry imposed security stability in all areas where family quarrels erupted. It is working with the help of tribal mediators and dignitaries to contain these quarrels and prevent their spread, to achieve civil peace and maintain security and order.

In addition to the spread of the resistances weapons in Palestinian society, other weapons reached the Gaza Strip through border tunnels dug between Egypt and Gaza, which the Egyptian army destroyed in 2014. Some of these tunnels were used by the families that owned them to import and smuggle unlicensed weapons from Egypt to the besieged enclave and sell them to citizens for personal protection purposes.

Whats more, social media is being used as a marketplace to promote the sale of unlicensed weapons. Weapons are sold on Facebook accounts, without any supervision by the official authorities in the Gaza Strip. Gaza Arms Market Facebook page, for example, has more than 1,100 followers. It posts brochures with weapons and ammunition for sale, such as pistols, machine guns and even grenades.

The Palestinian Firearms and Ammunition Law No. 2 of 1998 prohibits the possession, acquisition and carrying of firearms or parts thereof or bullets without a license from the Ministry of Interior. It imposes prison sentences of three months to three years, with penalties ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 Jordanian dinars ($7,000 to $9,800).

However, Salah Abdel-Ati, director of the International Commission to Support the Palestinian Rights, told Al-Monitor, This law is not applied in the Gaza Strip. Even in cases where the shooters are arrested, they are released when the family dispute is resolved through tribal mediation.

He added, The resistance weapon widespread in Palestinian society comes from the need to confront any possible Israeli military aggression against Gaza. These weapons should not be used at all in any of the internal conflicts. This shakes the pillars of civil peace. Factions must control these weapons and prevent their indiscriminate use.

Abdel-Ati said this requires the security services to fulfill their duties to curb the proliferation of weapons among citizens, and to enforce the Palestinian law and its penalties.
South Africa: Your guide for travel to SA amid COVID-19

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test certificate not older than 72 hours and travel insurance are just some of the requirements for travellers to South Africa upon arrival on the countrys shores.

On Friday, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula provided details on the requirements for travellers following the reopening of borders to international travellers with effect from 01 October 2020.

Guided by the communique published by the World Health Organisation, South Africa is gradually reopening its international borders for business, leisure and other travel with exception of high risk countries.

Travellers intending to visit the country will be expected to produce a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test that is not older than 72 hours from the time of departure from the country of origin to South Africa, said the Minister.

In addition to the PCR test, international travellers are required to have a mandatory travel insurance to cover their COVID-19 test and quarantine costs.

Passengers who are unable to produce a PCR test will be subjected to a compulsory quarantine at a designated government facility, at their own cost.

Three airports will be opened and operational for international air travel. These airports are OR Tambo International, Cape Town International and King Shaka International.

While in transit, passengers will be required to wear facemasks at all times except in the case of an emergency or when instructed by the cabin crew to take them off. Children under the age of two years are exempt from wearing facemasks during the flight.

This is because a mask can restrict breathing for small children as their airways are smaller than older children and adults, said the Minister.

Passengers are also required to observe social distancing, ensure hand washing and sanitise regularly.

Passengers that are unable to wear a face mask due to an underlying health condition must submit a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner to their airline upon departure.

If a passenger is asymptomatic, the necessary protocols of the Health department will be followed.

The virus is still with us and any careless actions from our side will determine if we remain on alert level 1 for longer or not, we are exercising extra caution as we open international travel, said the Minister.

Exemptions for business travellers from high risk countries

International travel from countries listed as having a high COVID-19 infection and transmission rate is prohibited except for business travel, which may be allowed with the approval of the Cabinet member responsible for Home Affairs.

Travellers from South Africa to other countries

With regard to travellers from South Africa to other countries, passengers must provide their airlines with a PCR test certificate or a valid negative COVID-19 test.

Airlines are responsible for ensuring that passengers comply with the COVID-19 regulations of the country of destination.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-10-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Australia, the United States, Japan and India will agree to jointly counter disinformation campaigns by authoritarian states and look to secure supplies of critical minerals and technology, in a bid to reduce their reliance on Chinese technology.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has warned that the Indo-Pacific region is under "unprecedented pressure" as she prepares for a trip to Tokyo next week where she will meet with her counterparts from the US, Japan and India as part of the "Quad" alliance.

Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne will travel to Tokyo next week. Credit:AP

China has acted angrily to the meeting of the Quad - a growing security and diplomatic alliance between the four countries. Beijing has previously slammed the grouping as an attempt at "containment of China".

Senator Payne will also meet Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for the first time, after his predecessor Shinzo Abe stepped down last month for health reasons.
Cemetery workers dig graves at a municipal cemetery in Tijuana on April 27, 2020. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

The official death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 1 million this week as casualties continued to mount from a pandemic that has ravaged lives and economies, mocked notions of stability and evoked a seemingly bygone era of plagues.

The pathogens continent-hopping trajectory saw it bounding from its origins in China through Asia to Europe, across the oceans to the Americas and beyond.

Air travel and other aspects of global connectedness, esteemed markers of modernity, became viral vectors  just as amplified trade and urbanization once spread outbreaks of smallpox, malaria, cholera and other afflictions.

The pandemic has brought great cities to a standstill, shuttered schools and factories, grounded air transport and unleashed ongoing social and political tumult. It triggered restrictions on where people could go and when, while ushering in mandates to wear face coverings and abjure close contact with fellow humans.

Many victims perished alone, secluded in hospital wards and sealed-off rooms, their loved ones barred from this final moment. Time-honored rites of mourning yielded to hasty, socially distanced farewells. Morgues and cemeteries were overwhelmed.

The United States, with more than 207,000 deaths as of Thursday , topped the list of fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University, followed by Brazil (143,952), India (97,497), Mexico (77,746) and the United Kingdom (42,233).

Scientists across the globe are hastening to devise a vaccine at a crucial juncture: Public health authorities worry that the onset of winter flu season in the Northern Hemisphere could trigger new surges in infections.

Andreia Silva de Sousa, left, is embraced by her husband during the burial of their 1-year-old daughter, Vitoria, in Rio de Janeiro on May 8, 2020. According to Sousa, her daughter was infected with the coronavirus when she was hospitalized for a gastrointestinal problem. (Leo Correa / Associated Press)

Relatives of a coronavirus victim mourn at the gate of a cemetery in Babol, Iran. (Ebrahim Noroozi / Associated Press)

Workers carry the coffin of Wilson Gil, who family members say died of COVID-19, at a cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on Aug. 26, 2020. (Martin Mejia / Associated Press)

Relatives attend the burial of a COVID-19 victim at a special section of Pondok Ranggon Cemetery in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 24, 2020. The section was opened to accommodate the surge in deaths during the coronavirus outbreak. (Dita Alangkara / Associated Press)

Workers in protective clothing bury three victims of COVID-19 at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Associated Press)

Brother Ronald Marin, a lay worker from Venezuela, visits relatives and neighbors of of Julia Ascencio in Lima, Peru, on July 21, 2020, after leading a memorial service for her. Ascencio died a month earlier. (Rodrigo Abd / Associated Press)

Felipe Juarez, a victim of COVID-19, is memorialized at Continental Funeral Home in East Los Angeles on Aug. 4, 2020. It was Continental's first outdoor service in compliance of state and city coronavirus mandates. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Juan Lopez prepares to remove the body of Amalia Tinoco, 81, from her home in Pharr, Texas, after she died of COVID-19. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

An undertaker worker pushes the coffin of a COVID-19 victim into a mortuary van at a morgue on April 2, 2020, in Innsbruck, Austria. (Jan Hetfleisch/ Getty Images)

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The new owner of decommissioned warship INS Viraat has sought Rs 100 crore from a Mumbai-based firm which is making last ditch efforts to save the warship from being dismantled and to convert it into a museum.

INS Viraat, the aircraft carrier which was inducted into the Indian Navy in 1987 and decommissioned in 2017, was purchased by Shree Ram Group for a sum of Rs 38.54 crore at an auction in July this year.

The warship, which is the symbol of Indias rich maritime heritage, reached the ship-breaking yard at Alang on Gujarat coast last week.

Since the ship was bought as scrap in an auction, aspiring buyers would also need to procure a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Defence to buy the ship now, Shree Ram Group Chairman Mukesh Patel told PTI on Thursday.

I bought this warship just out of my love for my country. Now, a Mumbai-based company wants to convert this ship it into a museum. Since they are also doing it out of patriotism, I agreed to sell the ship to them, he said.

But, they need to first procure NOC from the defence ministry, without which I cant re-sell the ship, he said.

Patel also said he first demanded Rs 125 crore and then agreed to sell it for Rs 100 crore considering that the companys cause is noble.

Patel also said it is a limited period offer and he would wait only till next week.

I am told the interested firm is trying hard to get the NOC. But, I cant wait forever. I will wait for another week. After that, I will start the dismantling process, he added.

V K Sharma, the managing director of Envitech Marine Consultants Pvt Ltd, has shown interest in buying the warship.

He had earlier expressed confidence of getting an NOC from the Centre so that INS Viraat can be converted into a museum.

Sharma had claimed he received support from the Goa government in this patriotic endeavour.

We are trying our best to get the NOC and we are confident of getting it soon. I had personally met Mukeshbhai and we both agreed on a price of the ship, Sharma said.

Viraat, the worlds longest serving warship that was decommissioned by the Indian Navy three years ago, arrived at Alang in Gujarat from Mumbai last week for dismantling.

It is the second aircraft carrier slated to be broken down in India. In 2014, INS Vikrant was dismantled in Mumbai.

The 70-year-old aircraft carrier, in its earlier avatar, had won the Falklands War against Argentina in 1982 for the Royal British Navy.

It weighs about 27,800 tonnes and served the British Navy as HMS Hermes from November 1959 to April 1984 and after refurbishment, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1987.
New Delhi, Oct 3 : Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) announced on Friday that Singapore's GIC will invest Rs 5,512.5 crore into RRVL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

This investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore. GIC's investment will translate into a 1.22 per cent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said: "It gives me great pleasure to welcome GIC to the Reliance Retail family. I am delighted that GIC, with its track record of close to four decades of successful long-term value investing across the world, is partnering with Reliance Retail in its mission to transform the Indian retail landscape. GIC's global network and track record of long-term partnerships will be invaluable to the transformation story of Indian Retail. This investment is a strong endorsement of our strategy and India's potential." Lim Chow Kiat, Chief Executive Officer, GIC, said: "GIC is pleased to partner with Reliance through this new investment, which will enable the company to position Reliance Retail for the strong secular growth in India's retail market. We believe Reliance Retail will continue to use its extensive supply chain and store networks, as well as strong logistics and data infrastructure, to add value to its customers and shareholders." GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves. A disciplined long-term value investor, GIC is uniquely positioned for investments across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and infrastructure. GIC has investments in over 40 countries and has been investing in emerging markets for more than two decades.

Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates India's fastest growing and most profitable retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000 stores nationwide. Reliance Retail's vision is to galvanize the Indian retail sector through an inclusive strategy serving millions of customers by empowering millions of farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and working closely with global and domestic companies as a preferred partner, to deliver immense benefits to Indian society, while protecting and generating employment for millions of Indians.
(Photo : Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 09: In this photo illustration, a thumbprint is projected onto a man on August 09, 2017 in London, England. With so many areas of modern life requiring identity verification, online security remains a constant concern, especially following the recent spate of global hacks. (Photo : Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 10: In this photo illustration, a man is seen using a mobile phone in the light of a projection of a thumbprint on August 09, 2017 in London, England. With so many areas of modern life requiring identity verification, online security remains a constant concern, especially following the recent spate of global hacks.



Security researchers developed a new technique to track hackers through their "fingerprints." They were able to link Windows local privilege escalation (LPE) exploits two different authors.

Also Read: Triple-Threat Outages: Is 911 Emergency Interruption Connected to Microsoft and UHS' Service Interference?

They believed that the Windows exploit sellers sold their creations previously to advanced Russian threat (APT) groups and other clients. According to the cybersecurity firm Check Point's blog post, the new strategy was developed off the back of a customer response incident, which a small 64-bit executable was found during the cyber attack.

Also Read: FCC's New Rules: Consumers No Longer Need to Pay for Caller ID Authentication to Avoid Robocalls As The New Implementation Prevents Surprise Charges

The team analyzed the file and found unique bug strings that are directed to an attempt to utilize a vulnerability on one of the target machines. A leftover PDB path (...\cve-2019-0859\x64\Release\CmdTest.pdb0) was discovered in the file, which indicated that the use of a real-world exploit tool.

The security researchers decided to use the new technique to "fingerprint" recognizable, unique identifiers, which are considered as the work of specific exploit developers. Check Point secured another 32-bit file, which revealed the compiled works of the same individual.

The security researchers also analyzed the cybercriminals' elevation techniques.

Check Point researchers also studied unique artifacts in internal file names, binary code, PBD paths, and hardcoded values, such as crypto constants. They also analyzed the garbage values, string usage, data tables, syscall wrappers, and code snippets.

The team also analyzed the hacker's preferred elevation and leaking techniques, whether or not heal spraying was used. They also investigated the general process of the exploits.



On the other hand, the two small binaries turned into a flow of new samples, which are all based on the newly-established Check Point hunting rules. The security experts then observed the new samples and analyzed the techniques used, allowing them to identify two exploit sellers.

For more news updates about hackers and other cyber attackers, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Also Read: [BREAKING] Facebook, Google, Twitter CEOs Get Subpoenaed by US Senate Over Section 230

This article is owned by TechTimes,

Written by: Giuliano de Leon.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By Online Desk

India's Covid tally has reached 63,94,069 with a spike of 81,484 new cases & 1,095 deaths reported in last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry on Friday.

The total cases include 9,42,217 active cases, 53,52,078 cured/discharged/migrated & 99,773 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare's latest update.

The latest survey on prevalence of antibodies to COVID-19 among people in Delhi has shown a fall compared to the last exercise, with experts saying possible reasons could be immunity lasting for lesser time in people and "change in virulence" of the virus.

Virulence refers to the severity or harmfulness of a disease.
President Uhuru Kenyatta kicked off his official visit to France on Wednesday evening at Elysee Palace where he was received by his French host Emmanuel Macron. Elysee Palace is the French Presidents official residence.

Upon his arrival at the Palace shortly after 9 pm local time, President Kenyatta inspected a guard of honour mounted by the French military at the start of an elaborate State reception ceremony.

The two Heads of State then witnessed the signing of three bilateral agreements before leading their delegations at a State Banquet hosted in honour of the visiting Kenyan leader. Later, the two leaders retreated for private talks.

Among the agreements reached is a public private partnership (PPP) for the construction of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit highway signed between KeNHA and Vinci Concessions. The highway is one of the largest PPP projects in Eastern Africa.

Others were agreements for the development of the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) commuter railway line and the 400KV Menengai-Rongai electricity transmission line.

The Kenyan Head of State arrived in Paris on Tuesday evening. The plane carrying the President and his entourage touched down at Orly Airport, located 13 kilometers south of Paris, at 8 pm local time.

In an interview with PSCU ahead of President Kenyattas arrival in Paris, Kenyas ambassador to France Professor Judi Wakhungu said the Head of States visit is a continuation of the historical bilateral ties that have existed between Kenya and France for over half a century.

The envoy said the Presidents visit will particularly help to strengthen people-to-people and commercial ties between the two nations noting that over 100 French companies operate in Kenya.

The largest component of our relationship is actually education. We have had Kenyan students in France for many years, we have also had French researchers in Kenya for very many years, Prof Wakhungu said.

When it comes to investment and the private sector, we have over 100 French companies operating in Kenya, she added.

Prof Wakhungu said President Kenyattas visit follows President Macrons historic visit to Nairobi in March last year, the first such visit by a serving French Head of State.

The Kenyan ambassador also spoke about the benefits of some of the infrastructure projects that Kenya and France are jointly pursuing.

She said the Nairobi CBD to JKIA commuter rail link whose construction agreement was signed Wednesday at Elysee Palace will help enhance movement of travellers between the city centre and Kenyas foremost international airport.

Our aspiration is to see that this commuter railway line eases traffic in Nairobi but also eases the movement of people within Nairobi. We hope that along the route and the surrounding areas, other businesses will be able to grow, Prof Wakhungu said.

On the PPP agreement for the construction of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit six-lane dual carriageway, the ambassador said the mega project will help decongest the existing highway and enhance efficiency of cargo transport to Western Kenya and onwards into the export markets of East and Central Africa.

We hope that extending this highway which is going to be about 200km, again, it will ease traffic on that particular very, very important route. I need not remind Kenyans that this is a major highway that connects Mombasa, Nairobi and all the way to Uganda, Rwanda and other parts of Central Africa, Prof Wakhungu said.

President Kenyatta on Thursday delivered the key note address at the BPI France Inno Generation 2020 business forum, the European countrys largest international innovation and entrepreneurship extravaganza which brings together hundreds of French companies to explore investment opportunities abroad.

The Kenyan President spoke about investment opportunities in Africa at the forum during which wooed French companies to invest in Kenya.

President Kenyatta will today preside over the Kenya-France business forum organized by the French Business Confederation (Movement Des Entreprises De France (MEDEF)).

The meeting will bring together investors from the Kenya and France to discuss investment opportunities in Kenya as well as explore avenues for increasing Kenyan exports into the lucrative French market.

President Kenyatta is accompanied on his France visit by Cabinet Secretaries Raychelle Omamo (Foreign Affairs), Ukur Yatani (Treasury), James Macharia (Infrastructure) and Betty Maina (Trade).
Former Vice President Joe Biden plowed ahead with his Friday campaign schedule, albeit behind schedule, after he tested negative for COVID-19 just hours after President Trump announced that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus.

The news of the first couple's diagnosis once again roiled a presidential campaign cycle already disrupted in the past year by the pandemic, a prolonged presidential impeachment battle, natural disasters and delayed results in the early caucus state of Iowa.

Through most of Friday morning, Biden aides remained radio silent. Would Biden continue on with his campaign schedule? Will the campaign pull down advertising? Should he even be campaigning with the president and first lady in isolation at the White House? Nobody would answer.

But one senior Biden campaign aide finally cracked by mid-morning, describing the president's health scare as "the definition of uncharted waters."

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden prepares to board a plane to Grand Rapids, Michigan, at New Castle County Airport October 2, 2020 in New Castle, Delaware. / Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

"This has literally never happened," the senior aide added by text. "I think it's too early to tell what impact it has, but certainly going to be a lot of convos today about potential impact, what changes we make if any, etc."

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Biden is scheduled to speak on Friday, advance teams were seen preparing for the event, originally scheduled to begin at 12:15 p.m. Only after Biden tested negative for the coronavirus did the campaign assemble the traveling press corps in Wilmington, Delaware, and alert them that the day's schedule would continue on a delayed timetable.

Also Friday, Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon emailed staffers nationwide, reassuring them that "in consultation with health experts have continued to take every precaution to protect Vice President Biden, Sen. Harris, their spouses and our staff. The health and safety of the entire team has been, and will remain, our number one priority."

O'Malley Dillon  who like all Biden campaign staffers continues to work remotely during the pandemic, and in her case out of her home in Bethesda, Maryland  instructed her colleagues to "refrain from posting about the situation on social media unless otherwise directed by your manager. We will share additional information and guidance with you as we have it."

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She added a P.S.: "We will continue to do hard things."

That's been O'Malley Dillon's battle cry: "We can do hard things." Campaigning against an ill president, with just 32 days before Election Day and as millions of Americans start casting ballots  a record number of them using absentee ballots because of pandemic health concerns  is most certainly a hard thing.

The Biden campaign is in the process of pulling down negative ads attacking the president for a yet-to-be determined time, a decision that came Friday afternoon in consultation with the former vice president and top advisers. It may take a little time to pull all of the ads down, however.

As for the Trump campaign, it is running several negative attack ads against Biden, but they focus more on raising concerns about "the radical left." An ad from the Trump Make America Great Again Committee has been deactivated as of today that asked viewers to "Please take the Official Trump Coronavirus Approval Poll NOW to tell us what you think." Similar versions had been taken down before today.

Meanwhile, the pro-Biden Super PAC Priorities USA has been airing several ads against the president and his coronavirus response since the summer in battleground states. Communications Director Josh Schwerin told CBS News that going forward, "We're taking stock of the situation and hoping for a swift recovery for the President and First Lady. We have no plans to pull back on our ongoing efforts to hold the President accountable for his failures on the pandemic."

Erickson reported from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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The NHS remains Brits' preferred employer. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images

COVID-19 has dramatically shifted UK workers priorities, with more and more seeking ethical jobs, research suggests.

Businesses with a strong social purpose have become more desirable employers over the last year, according to Universums annual Most Attractive Employers report, which studies the employers workers prefer, their career expectations and how these have changed since the COVID-19 outbreak.

The NHS kept hold of its title as the top British preferred employer  perhaps unsurprising during the coronavirus pandemic.

The British Council  the UKs international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities  broke into the top 20 preferred companies for the first time in 2020, jumping 16 places to sit at 14th.

The Environment Agency also increased by 16 places to be named 30th, while Oxfam saw one of the biggest advances  rising by 22 places.

Meanwhile, Facebook (FB) has fallen out of the top 20 for the first time in five years, dropping 24 places to 37th. In years prior to 2019, it had consistently been in the top 10.

The study also found a significant drop in earning confidence among women since the onset of COVID-19, and the opposite for men  with the gap between salary expectations widening during the pandemic.

READ MORE: Coronavirus  Millions of Brits resort to working in cars

In 2020, men expect to earn a quarter more than women  up from 12% more in 2018.

Interestingly, mens salary expectations have increased since the outbreak of coronavirus  up from 40,500 ($52.400) in 2019, to 41,600 in 2020. Meanwhile, womens expectations have dropped from 31,400 to 31,000, the research found.

The pandemic has also resulted in differences between what the genders consider desirable in an employer, the study suggests.

While men revealed they are drawn to challenging work and increased recognition, women said they prioritise social responsibility, and prefer leaders who will support their development, training and continued education opportunities.

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Steve Ward, Universums UK director, said: Male and female professionals have had a remarkably different response during the pandemic. While men hope to remain challenged, recognised and be rewarded more, women are erring towards attributes that provide greater support and security.

Our research also highlights that employees hold high expectations for businesses to have evolved during the COVID-19 recovery phrase in embracing technology, innovation and flexible work.

READ MORE: Londoners looking for work outside UK capital rockets by 31%

The survey also found a potential future increase in emigration from the UK, following the coronavirus. A third of UK workers said they would consider leaving the country and moving abroad once the pandemic is over.

When asked if COVID-19 would make them adapt their career plans, more than a third (35%) of UK workers said yes.

Other reasons cited include changing employers, or switching the industry they want to work in.

This falls in line with the increasing number of different employers Brits consider before finally making their final choice.

In 2019, the average UK workers considered about 21 employers. However, in less than a year this number has increased to 26 considerations.

This should underline how important it is now more than ever for businesses to be distinct and stand out from their competitors when theyre trying to attract, hire and retain critical talent, said Dennis Billgren, Universum employer branding advisor.

With an unstable job market and the projection of record layoffs to come this autumn, now is not the time for employers to sit back but rather see this as an opportunity for them to fill their talent gaps.

Watch: How to create the perfect CV


An example of contactless touchpoints is using facial recognition to sign in and out of the office space at co-working space Paperwork (Photo: Paperspace Asia)

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - For companies coping with the challenges of working from home (WFH), the recent announcement by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong is good news. More employees can return to the office from Sept 28, on the condition that they are only back for half of their total working hours and only half of the employees are in the office at any one time.

Despite rife speculation about offices becoming obsolete, research reveals that the office is still necessary, but will evolve as a result of the benefits and limitations of WFH.

According to a survey by workplace strategy and interior design firm Paperspace Asia, 85% out of nearly 500 employees say that they are able to concentrate well at home. Across the region, 98% also state that maintaining flexible working arrangements is a top priority for them even as they return to the office. The survey was conducted in Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and India.

On the other hand, survey respondents also reflect that one downside to WFH is the lack of face-to-face interaction. For some employees with young families living in small spaces, a pure WFH arrangement is also a struggle as they do not have dedicated workspaces.



Going to the office facilitates face-to-face interaction, which is often lacking when WFH (Photo: Paperspace Asia)

Additionally, managers feel that the lack of human connection when WFH may affect younger staff who need daily mentorship, says Narita Cheah, co-founder of Paperspace Asia. Senior leaders have also reflected in the survey that they miss incidental conversations [at the office] and the creativity that comes out of them, she adds.

As a result of prevailing WFH policies and government regulations, hybrid working will be the norm in the medium to long term. This means that the office will not be obsolete, but may evolve to become smaller, more flexible, and outcome-driven.

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A place to do, not to be

Business owners will come to recognise that workplaces need to enable outcomes, not work modes, says Toby Rakison, managing director (Asia) at Unispace, a commercial interior design and consultancy firm that counts Coca-Cola Amatil, Carlson Wagonlit Travel and Deliveroo as their clients.

Moving forward, people will not think about the office as a desk to work at, but a place to socialise and connect. For companies, that means the space can be more efficient by not having as many desks in it, Rakison says.



Unispace proposes a propeller framework for designing workplaces of the future, where employees do not simply sit at desks, but engage in building a community, solving problems, and innovating (Photo: Unispace)

Future workplaces must enable activities such as problem-solving as a team, building a community, and encouraging innovation, which are more challenging when WFH. This means that there will be more open plans, but with privacy booths for employees to focus or take calls, says Rakison. Additionally, the office must have video conferencing technology set up in all the rooms and spaces so that people can talk to coworkers who are not present in the office, he adds.

Activity-based workplaces have been around for a long time, but there was always a big question of whether employers can trust employees to work at home. Now, it has been proven that they can, says Rakison.

Different companies will need a customised strategy with traditional companies requiring more advisory, Rakison says. For instance, a legal firm that is administration-heavy and has a hierarchical corporate structure will need help on incorporating technology to take documentation online, as well as a redesign of office space to make it conducive for innovating and solving problems.

There should also be areas dedicated to building a community in the office. A lot of learning happens symbiotically, over coffee chats in the pantry, for instance. With video calls, its very purposeful and might not be as spontaneous, says Rakison.



Rakison: Moving forward, people will not think about the office as just a desk to work at, but a place to socialise and connect (Photo: Unispace)

Unispace projects that 40% of workers will work from home up to three days a week in 2021. With fewer desks and more collaborative spaces, Rakison believes that offices will become 20% to 30% smaller.

The next question, then, is how companies can work with the same headcount in a smaller space. To do that, commercial interior designers encourage companies to consult their workers.

Both employees and employers have their own ideas on how to redesign offices. Therefore, workplace surveys are useful for employers to get a pulse of the people, in terms of demographic, age, and working styles, says Cheah. This will go a long way to providing an environment that is suitable for employees, whether it is in an office, at home, or in an in-between space like a co-working facility.

Paperspace Asia also operates co-working spaces in Singapore, Bangkok and Manila under the brand PaperWork.

Measures must put people first

Beyond temperature screening and sanitisation stations, PaperSpaces Cheah recommends more open atriums and outdoor workstations.



Cheah: The implementation of new distancing and sanitisation measures should make employees feel at ease and welcome at the workplace (Photo: Paperspace Asia)

The new measures must offer peace of mind to employees returning to the workplace. If the same number of team members are going to share a smaller office space, there should be restrictions on where each team is able to access. When teams exit and enter, the spaces should be fully sanitised, like in a fitness gym. Cheah also recommends the use of contactless technologies, such as using facial recognition rather than fingerprint digital locks.

Aside from that, the implementation should make employees feel at ease and welcome at the workplace. The messaging put up for new measures should outline the rules clearly but inject humour, in line with the corporate culture. Pointing to how cafes have placed mannequins or soft toys where people are not supposed to sit, Cheah says, That creates a point of conversation rather than frustration.

Cheah also recommends instituting a tag system for employees to signal their comfort levels when it comes to personal safety and hygiene. For instance, red can mean not open to physical interaction while yellow can mean open to one-to-one discussions and green can mean open to group meetings.



Restrictions on where each team is able to access and higher levels of sanitisation can offer peace of mind to employees (Photo: Paperspace Asia)

Secondarily, she believes it also pays off to think about whether staff are well-equipped when they are at home and offer benefits such as ergonomic furniture to help their staff work better, even at home.

Compared to the cost of sanitisation and space required for social distancing, the bigger expense for companies when employees return to the workplace could be the cost of frustration, which can result due to a lack of organisation, says Cheah.

In the long run, its more important to ensure the well-being of workers and maintain an engaged and motivated workforce. Companies must quickly figure out and decide how to make use of space, when to welcome staff back, and who would do the organisation, says Cheah. She advises her clients to experiment and do test pilots when implementing hybrid work arrangements to monitor how effective they are, and tweak them along the way.

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MONTREAL, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Quebec Precious Metals Corporation ("QPM" or the "Company") (TSX.V: QPM,OTCQB: CJCFF, FSE: YXEP), based in Montreal, focused on finding the next gold mine in the highly-prospective James Bay region, Quebec, today announced that Normand Champigny, Chief Executive Officer will present live at VirtualInvestorConferences.com on October 6th.

DATE: Tuesday, October 6th

TIME: 1:30 pm ET

LINK: https://bit.ly/32Nlckl

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event. It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com.

Recent Company Highlights

Completed 12,500 m drilling program in 2020 at 100% owned Sakami flagship project

drilling program in 2020 at 100% owned Sakami flagship project Discovered highly promising La Pointe Expansion, 2km from main deposit

Recent surface discovery on Elmer Est project

About Quebec Precious Metals Corporation

QPM is a gold explorer with a large land position in the highly-prospective Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory, Quebec, near Newmont Corporation's Eleonore gold mine. QPM's flagship project is the Sakami project with significant grades and well-defined drill-ready targets. QPM's goal is to rapidly explore this project to advance it to the mineral resource estimate stage.

About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly-traded companies to meet and present directly with investors. A real-time solution for investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences is part of OTC Market Group's suite of investor relations services specifically designed for more efficient Investor Access. Replicating the look and feel of on-site investor conferences, Virtual Investor Conferences combine leading-edge conferencing and investor communications capabilities with a comprehensive global investor audience network.

SOURCE VirtualInvestorConferences.com

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STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New innovations have come out this year from America's #1 sensitive skin detergent brand, 'all free clear pure and 'all free clear clean&care, perfect for families gearing up for the fall season and continuing to adjust to back-to-school routines.

'all free clear pure is a bio-based detergent which contains 99% USDA certified biobased content. 'all free clear pure uses a multi-enzyme formula to clean your clothes. It's biodegradable and is 100% free of perfumes and dyes, while still being gentle on skin  which is a great choice for people suffering from skin sensitivities who still need a powerful product tough on stains  after raking leaves all day or after an afternoon full of arts and crafts and school science projects from home.

The multi-enzyme formula in 'all free clear pure is good at targeting and tackling enzymatic stains like grass, ice cream and BBQ sauce. Plus, as always, it's phosphate free. This product is essential for consumers looking for a gentle detergent that is that is 99% bio based and provides a plant based clean.

"We have seen consumers continuing to want to be environmentally conscious in their daily routines, but concerns on cleaning efficacy and often the high-price per wash load have prevented many from bringing this desire to their washloads," said Chris McClement, Vice President, Laundry Marketing & Cross Brand Strategy at Henkel. New 'all free clear pure overcomes these obstacles by delivering the trusted cleaning performance of 'all with a 99% bio-based detergent which has earned the U.S. EPA's Safer Choice label."

'all free clear clean & care smooths fibers to promote fiber elasticity in clothes. Made with Vitamin E and Keratin, this fabric-smoothing formulation is a great fit for busy parents who are looking to keep their attire looking good for all the video meeting calls we're attending these days!

Designed to help protect colors in clothes, 'all free clear clean & care is also free of dyes and perfumes, allowing for more comfort  since dyes and perfumes can irritate skin!

"We are also seeing that consumers today are seeking the added benefit of fabric conditioning from their wash loads," McClement added. "New 'all free clear Clean & Care, with Keratin and Vitamin E, promotes fabric elasticity to help clothes keep their shape."

Consumers looking for gentle-on-skin detergent can get 'all free clear pure, available in sizes 36oz, 75oz, 88oz & 141oz, at Amazon, Target, Kroger, Publix, Albertsons, Walgreens, Food Lion, Hannaford and Giant & Giant Foods.

And for families looking for a reliable detergent to promote fiber elasticity, they can find 'all free clear clean&care, available in sizes 36oz & 88oz, at Walmart, Kroger and Hannaford.

For more information, visit all-laundry.com.

About Henkel

Henkel operates globally with a well-balanced and diversified portfolio. The company holds leading positions with its three business units in both industrial and consumer businesses thanks to strong brands, innovations and technologies. Henkel Adhesive Technologies is the global leader in the adhesives market  across all industry segments worldwide. In its Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care businesses, Henkel holds leading positions in many markets and categories around the world. Founded in 1876, Henkel looks back on more than 140 years of success. In 2019, Henkel reported sales of more than 20 billion euros and adjusted operating profit of more than 3.2 billion euros. Henkel employs more than 52,000 people globally  a passionate and highly diverse team, united by a strong company culture, a common purpose to create sustainable value, and shared values. As a recognized leader in sustainability, Henkel holds top positions in many international indices and rankings. Henkel's preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX. For more information, please visit www.henkel.com .

CONTACT: Sara Koerner, 312-935-1223, [email protected]





SOURCE Henkel

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Never one to shy away from making an entrance, Lizzie Cundy was at it again on Thursday as she arrived for a night out at Annabel's in London.

The WAG, 52, turned heads as she pulled up in her chariot for the evening - a tuk tuk.

Dressed to the nines, the glam media personality slipped into a dark pink cocktail dress for her night out - sure to make an early enough appearance to meet the current UK 10PM curlew.

Grand arrival: Never one to shy away from making an entrance, Lizzie Cundy was at it again on Thursday as she arrived for a night out at Annabel's in London

The sassy number featured a busty front and puffed shoulders and a metallic finish.

She finished the look off with killer heels with a mesh detailing and laces at the front.

Lizzie's perilously high hem showed off her bronzed leggy pins.

She wore her chestnut tresses loose around her bronzed features, accentuated with a smokey sweep to her eyes and a pink slick to her pout.

In she goes: Dressed to the nines, the glam media personality slipped into a dark pink cocktail dress for her night out

Chariots of fire! The WAG, 52, turned heads as she pulled up in her chariot for the evening - a tuk tuk

Rules are rules: Lizzie was sure to make an early enough appearance to meet the current UK 10PM curlew

Chic: The sassy number featured a busty front and puffed shoulders and a metallic finish

Strutting it fine: She finished the look off with killer heels with a mesh detailing and laces at the front

Last month, Lizzie stepped out for dinner with Lady Kitty Spencer's wealthy Italian ex Niccolo Barattieri di San Pietro.

The businessman has previously been linked to model Elizabeth Hurley after they were spotted having a date together in Mayfair back in 2018.

His white Maserati was also said to be spotted regularly outside her Chelsea home at the time.

Night on the tiles: Lizzie's perilously high hem showed off her bronzed leggy pins

Glam: She wore her chestnut tresses loose around her bronzed features, accentuated with a smokey sweep to her eyes and a pink slick to her pout

Switching it up: She jumped in a cab at the end of the night to head home

The property developer previously dated Princess Diana's niece Lady Kitty, however they called time on their romance in 2017.

The TV star will no doubt invite Niccolo to the lavish bash she is planning after she was forced to cancel her 52nd birthday during lockdown in May.

In true Lizzie style, she has promised a huge party once life returns to normal with the proceeds from the bash going to the National Health Service.
Just hours after telling attendees at the Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundations annual dinner that an end to the pandemic was in sight, Donald Trumps name was added to the long list of those whove been afflicted by it.

Like so many of the consequential announcements he has made during his presidency, Trump broke the news that he  along with his wife Melania  had tested positive for Covid-19 with a post to his Twitter account shortly before 1am on Friday. An official announcement came roughly 10 minutes later, under the signature of Commander Sean Conley, the Navy Medical Corps officer who serves as physician to the president.

According to Trumpworld sources, political strategists, and other Washington insiders, the presidents disclosure of his positive Covid-19 test may well have had another purpose: announcing the de facto end of his hopes of re-election.

The more public-facing members of Trumps White House staff have largely attempted to give the impression of business as usual. Addressing reporters outside the West Wing on Friday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows characterised the presidents symptoms as mild and his mood as being in good spirits as he spent the day in quarantine, working out of the White House residence, even as he cautioned that other White House staffers would almost certainly test positive for the virus.

Indeed, when Meadows first began speaking to reporters outside the White House (sans mask), the first thing he mentioned was not Covid-related, but instead the recently released unemployment numbers from last month.

Other White House officials, including National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow and Trumps top trade adviser Peter Navarro, continued the administrations attempt to focus attention on the economy with appearances before the press both in person and on the phone. During an attempt to hold a conference call with reporters about the presidents buy American policies, Navarro angrily ended the question-and-answer session when a reporter appeared to begin asking a question about the testing program for White House staffers.

But some of those in Trumps orbit whose jobs do not include carrying his message to the press were more circumspect about what testing positive for Covid-19 means for the presidents immediate future.

Hes f**ked, were f**ked, said one White House aide who is not authorised to speak publicly. No matter what we do, the next two weeks or more will be about him not being able to protect himself or us from Covid.

When informed of the Biden campaigns announcement that the former VP and his wife, Dr Jill Biden, had both tested negative, the aide replied: Double f**ked.

Michael Starr Hopkins, a Democratic strategist, also opined that Trumps positive diagnosis spells the end of his campaigns attempt to get Americans to focus on anything other than the pandemic.

Any hope he had of being able to change the conversation to things like protesters or the economy are all shot. And getting infected with Covid after standing on a stage at a presidential debate, mocking Joe Biden for wearing a mask, and then going to Bedminster knowing that he was potentially infected is  I think that that's just gonna be the end of it for voters, he said.

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who has become a vocal Trump critic since his stint on Trumps staff ended, said the president contracting the virus is almost Mother Natures way of sending a signal that theres something severely wrong with our society and what is going on right now.

Hes lied about the science, hes lied about the marks, and its a result of his leadership that theres hundreds of thousands of people who have died as a result  and hopefully this will be symbolism for people when they go to the voting booth, he continued, adding that Trumps dismissal of basic public health measures has been almost criminally negligent because it set up a culture of unscientific dishonesty inside the White House. That could be especially damaging to the president, considering poll upon poll which shows Americans trust Biden far more when it comes to handling the coronavirus pandemic.

But Howard Dean, the physician and former Vermont governor who chaired the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009, said its possible that Trumps campaign could see a boost from sympathy afforded to him as a victim of the pandemic.

We have our very strong political differences, but it's hard not to be sympathetic with a victim of Covid, said Dean, who discounted the possibility that Trump contracting the coronavirus would have any effect on his core base of supporters. He did, however, agree that a presidential Covid diagnosis will preclude any further attempts by Trumps campaign or the White House to move the pandemic off the front page.

Dean added that the full impact of Trumps illness on the race wont be known until we find out more about the course the disease takes with the president because the medical lens really informs the political lens, but opined that the president will no longer be able to act as if the virus will simply go away.

We just cant possibly predict whats going to happen here, he said. But the happy talk is over.
There were no Wisconsin absentee ballots amoung several trays of mail found discarded in a ditch in Wisconsin, an incident that Donald Trump previously touted as evidence of the pitfalls of mail-in voting.

Last week, three trays of mail were found in a ditch in Greenville, Wisconsin. The Outagamie County Sheriff's Office reported at the time that there were several absentee ballots amoung the discarded mail.

A statement issued by the Wisconsin Elections Commission now casts doubt on that initial report.

Meagan Wolfe, the director of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said that no Wisconsin ballots were found in the scrapped mail.

Ms Wolfe was speaking specifically about Wisconsin ballots in her statement. She said she did not know if ballots from other states were found.

The US Postal Service is investigating the incident.

Mr Trump capitalised on the story when it first broke. During Tuesday's presidential debate, Mr Trump claimed that ballots were being dumped in creeks.

"There's fraud. They found them in creeks. They found some, just happened to have the name Trump just the other day in a wastepaper basket," Mr Trump said.

When a reporter pushed White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on where the creek was located, she admitted that Mr Trump was referring to the Wisconsin ditch story.

Mr Trump's "wastepaper basket" reference was in relation to a federal enquiry into nine discarded mail-in military ballots that were found in a county elections office in northeast Pennsylvania. Seven of the recovered ballots were votes for Mr Trump.

However, the FBI said it found no evidence that the incident was a "coordinated" voter fraud campaign.

Mr Trump has railed against mail-in voting for months.

He has claimed - without evidence - that an election in which substantial numbers of Americans vote-by-mail will lead to massive voter fraud and has stated his intentions to question the results of the election as a result.
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Elaphe is pushing the envelope of how we view automotive design. The auto industry has seen multiple groundbreaking developments over recent decades, and Elaphe's in-wheel powertrain system aims to enable an even more monumental switch with the world's first commercially scalable in-wheel motor system.

The in-wheel powertrain platform includes motors, power electronics and intelligent multiple-motor propulsion control. Elaphe's achievements include the world's highest-performance in-wheel-powered applications to date. Elaphe's patented and scalable in-wheel-powertrain technology enables innovative manufacturers to break from traditional restraints of vehicle design and build bold new products.

Elaphe's approach is a fully modular platform, combining the in-wheel powertrain with state-of-the-art software capable of optimizing each in-wheel motor in real-time. It can be easily integrated into a wide range of vehicles, cutting down on manufacturing costs and removing the constraints of centralized powertrains while increasing vehicle functionality and safety features.

"The partnership with EIT InnoEnergy strengthens Elaphe's position both in the EU and globally. The provided investment and support will significantly accelerate commercial activities with vehicle manufacturers. This will help us further optimize our best-in-class technology platform in accordance with customer requirements for production vehicles," said Gorazd Lampic, CEO of Elaphe. "Being part of InnoEnergy's ecosystem gives us a competitive edge from a technological as well as a business perspective and opens up exciting growth opportunities."

With over 20 different in-wheel motors developed and tested in more than 50 electric and hybrid vehicles, Elaphe is the most experienced in-wheel motor propulsion solution provider on the market. Their technology uniquely offers automakers the flexibility to integrate motors with their preferred standard parts (brakes, rims, bearings, suspensions, etc.). The patented electromagnetic core design enables specific torque up to 100 Nm/kg, 200 kW of power per wheel, and superior packaging benefits.

"We believe Elaphe is uniquely positioned to play a leading role in the future of the automotive and transport sectors  a future that is electric and sustainable. Not only is the timing right, and their in-wheel powertrain technology the most advanced in the market  the approach they have taken, developing a highly adaptable platform, will allow them to deliver instantaneous benefit to automakers and thus have a far-reaching impact on the mobility sector for decades to come," said EIT InnoEnergy's Jennifer Dungs, Thematic Field Leader Energy for Transport and Mobility.

About EIT InnoEnergy

EIT InnoEnergy is the innovation engine for sustainable energy across Europe. InnoEnergy supports and invests in innovation at every stage of the journey  from classroom to end-customer. With our network of partners, we build connections across Europe, bringing together inventors and industry, graduates and employers, researchers and entrepreneurs, businesses, and markets.

InnoEnergy was established in 2010 and is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

Media Contact:

Luka Ambrozic

[email protected]

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Scalable technology for specific ranges of torque and power to fit most vehicle configurations.

The in-wheel powertrain platform includes motors, power electronics and intelligent multiple-motor propulsion control. Elaphe's achievements include the world's highest-performance in-wheel-powered applications to date. Elaphe's patented and scalable in-wheel-powertrain technology enables innovative manufacturers to break from traditional restraints of vehicle design and build bold new products.

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SOURCE Elaphe Propulsion Technologies
US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to announce that he and FLOTUS Melania had tested positive for coronavirus and that they were now in quarantine.

This comes after one of Trumps closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive for coronavirus. Hicks was traveling with Trump on Air Force One just this Tuesday to fly to Cleveland for the first presidential debate with Democrat Joe Biden. Hicks was not wearing a mask while heading to Ohio for the debate.

Trump said, The virus, it virtually affects nobody," in September. And a few days later, here we are. The shock development disrupts his scheduled public appearances in the crucial final weeks of the election campaign. While Trump and his wife are now in quarantine, the question arises, what about Joe Biden?

Let us explain.

Hope Hicks travelled with Trump and clan, on Air Force One, to Ohio to attend the debate. She did not wear a mask. That was Tuesday night. Now reportedly, the White House knew by Wednesday that Hicks had tested positive for coronavirus. According to a report by New York Times, Trump and the rest of the administration knew about the test reports shortly after Hicks got tested. The government has also been accused of keeping the news under wraps longer than they were supposed to. According to guidelines, all close contacts of a coronavirus positive patient must be informed immediately.

At the Presidential debate, Trumps family members did come wearing masks. But eventually took them off during the course of the debate. And when doctors at Cleveland Clinic asked them to put it on, they reportedly refused.

Joe Biden, as mentioned earlier, was present at the debate, along with members of his campaign and wife, Jill Biden. However, reports suggest that Jill and others on Bidens side of the debate wore masks all through. Biden, of course, did not since he was taking part in the debate. If Hicks and Trump had been carrying the virus on Tuesday, that may put Joe Biden at risk too.

Following reports of Donald Trump testing positive for coronavirus, Google Trends results show that people have been looking up if Joe Biden is getting tested too. Take a look:

Photo: Google Trends

There have been no reports of Joe Biden getting tested for coronavirus at the time of publishing this.

Andrew Weinstein, who is a White House appointee and supporter of Biden, criticised the government and condemned the Trump administration for putting the Democrat in harms way.

Hope Hicks traveled with Donald Trump to the debate. She did not wear a mask that evening. The failure of the Trump administration to take the coronavirus seriously put Joe Biden and countless others in harms way. Andrew Weinstein (@Weinsteinlaw) October 2, 2020

He also tweeted that Biden canceled all his upcoming appointments at the first sign of the virus. Joe Biden canceled all of his in-person fundraisers at the first sign of the virus. Donald Trump traveled to a fundraiser after he knew he had been exposed. Tells you all you need to know," he tweeted.

Joe Biden canceled all of his in-person fundraisers at the first sign of the virus. Donald Trump traveled to a fundraiser after he knew he had been exposed. Tells you all you need to know. Andrew Weinstein (@Weinsteinlaw) October 2, 2020

Both Biden, 77, and Trump, 74, are considered at risk due to coronavirus because of their age. In September, Biden had confirmed that he had gotten tested for coronavirus and that he was planning to get it done regularly, especially keeping in mind his schedule during the election campaign.
Europe

Strike campaign by German public sector workers

Last week, German public sector workers began a series of short strikes in a campaign to win a 4.8 percent pay rise. Those taking part include hospital, childcare and drainage workers. A further round of talks between employers and the Verdi union are scheduled for October 23 and 24.

Strike of bus drivers in Norway ends

A bus drivers in Norway ended at noon on Thursday after being called off by the four transport unions. On September 21, 3,800 bus drivers in the Oslo and Viken areas walked out. They were joined on September 26 by an additional 4,500 drivers covering most of the country.

The drivers were protesting split shift arrangements and safety provision, as well as demanding a wage increase. According to the lifeinnorway news website the employers offered a one krone ($0.11) an hour increase on the original pay offer for this year, and 2.5 kroner ($.27) next year.

Former Irish Debenhams staff occupy closed store

Six former staff at the Waterford branch of Debenhams in southeast Ireland occupied the closed store and asked for their picket line to be honoured. The Mandate union members called on liquidator KPMG not to employ non-union staff to work as packers to box up and remove goods from the store. They are seeking enhanced redundancy terms.

The UK-based retail chain Debenhams employed around 1,000 staff throughout its 11 stores in Ireland. The former employees are protesting against the redundancy terms, set at the statutory minimum of two weeks pay per year of service with a 600 a week cap. This amounts to around 1011 million for the entire workforce. They are seeking an additional 1011 million. They have rejected an additional 1 million offer put forward by the liquidator KPMG.

On top of closures and 4,000 job losses announced earlier in the year, the company announced a further 2,500 job losses last month in the UK with the closure of department stores and distribution centres. There have been protests every Saturday by USDAW members and supporters outside the Manchester store.

High street stores began shedding jobs before the pandemic due to competition from online retailers. They have been particularly hard hit since lockdown. The unions have limited action to protests, calls for no compulsory redundancies or better redundancy terms and pleas for talks with the company.

Irish health staff to be balloted for industrial action

Irish health workers at state-funded voluntary bodies will be balloted for possible industrial action. The Section 39 workers are seeking restoration of their pay and conditions in line with staff working directly for the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE).

Following the 2008 financial crisis, cuts were imposed on health workers pay and conditions. Those working for the HSE directly subsequently had some of their pay restored.

The Forsa and SIPTU trade unions have not decided which sectors will be involved, though it is likely action will be based in the Cork area. The Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) represents a Cork constituency.

Strike vote by postal workers in, Peterborough, eastern England

UK postal workers at Peterborough sorting office voted by a near 90 percent majority to strike. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) members are calling for the reinstatement of a colleague sacked in July.

March of theatre staff in UK capital

UK performers and theatre staff held a march through London on Wednesday. ending in Parliament Square.

The march, led by six actors dressed as pantomime dames, was organised to highlight the plight of performing workers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was organised by the BECTU and Equity unions and the Excluded UK campaign group, who are calling for financial help for those currently not entitled to state aid.

The pantomime theme was to emphasise the importance of pantomimes to the finances of theatre, especially regional ones. Normal theatre productions are not allowed to take place because of COVID-19 restrictions. Equity general secretary-elect, Paul Fleming told ITV Television News that 40 percent of Equity union members have not received any financial support under COVID-19 measures. He said the industry was at the point of collapse, adding, Theres only one pantomime villain performing this year and thats [Chancellor of the Exchequer] Rishi Sunak.

British Gas workers strike vote

British Gas workers have voted overwhelmingly for action against redundancies.

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 announced it would be prepared to use a section 188 notice if negotiations failsacking and reinstating employees on different terms and conditions.

The GMB union, which has 10,000 members at British Gas, organised a consultative ballot. The result, announced August 19, was a 95 percent vote for industrial action on a two-thirds turnout of employees at British Gas and PH Jones, a heating installation subsidiary of British Gas.

The GMB notice of the ballot result 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.

Other British Gas workers are represented by the Unison and Unite. In a press release dated September 21, Unison announced its intention to ballot its members over the fire and rehire plans. The press release also stated British Gas had served notice to end union recognition.

UK delivery drivers threaten strike action

Around 1,000 UK drivers working for delivery firm Yodel voted by 84 percent to reject a 1.6 percent pay offer this year, followed by a 1.5 percent rise from next July.

No industrial action has been announced by the GMB union, who have appealed to Yodel to come back with a better offer to avoid action in the build up to Christmas. Yodel along with other delivery companies has seen a massive increase in business due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions.

Scottish lecturers prepare to defend conditions

Lecturers at Forth Valley College in Falkirk, Scotland voted in a consultative ballot by more than 90 percent to reject plans by the college to downgrade their role from lecturers to trainers/assessors. The IES-FELA union members would lose thousands of pounds in salary in the regrading.

University staff in Scottish capital to be balloted for industrial action

Scottish academic staff at Edinburgh Heriot-Watt university will be balloted for industrial action. The University and College Union (UCU) members are opposed to plans by the university to make 130 staff redundant. The job cuts would mean increased workloads and less student contact time. The ballot closes October 20.

Africa

Textile workers in South Africa set for national strike

Workers in the South African carpet and textile industry have voted by 91 percent in favour of strike action over pay.

The South African Clothing and Textile Workers Unions 100,000 members have voted for industrial action to demand a living wage. The employers association want a wage freeze, a reduction in night shift allowances and the cancellation of bonuses.

Power station workers in South Africa strike for better pay and conditions

Hundreds of contract workers with Eskom, South Africas state-owned electricity utility, went on strike Tuesday to protest non-payment of wages and poor working conditions.

The workers want permanent employment. The company generates around 95 percent of South Africas electricity.

South African ICT distribution workers defy legal threats in ongoing strike

South African production, transport, sales and packing workers at Johannesburg ICT firm Mustek are continuing their strike to demand a 20 percent wage increase, a housing subsidy, a provident fund and a 50 percent contribution towards health insurance.

The Communication Workers Union members had a meeting with the companys CEO on September 22 but were not satisfied with the outcome and will continue to fight despite further threats of legal action from the firm.

Cape Town bus drivers threaten to strike over pay reduction

Bus workers at Golden Arrow Bus Services, the main bus service provider in Cape Town, South Africa, will picket outside depots over pay changes.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa members intend to take further strike action if the company goes ahead with plans to halve overtime pay.

South African Airways maintenance workers protest non-payment of wages

Employees at South Africa Airways Technical picketed Monday outside the airlines headquarters in Johannesburg after the company paid them 25 percent towards their salary instead of an agreed 50 percent.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa members have been paid 50 percent of their wages from the governments Temporary Employee Relief Scheme during the COVID-19 crisis and employers are supposed to pay the rest.

Nigerian unions sabotage struggle against government-imposed price hikes

In a monumental betrayal of millions of workers, the Nigerian trade unions sabotaged the strike and nationwide rally planned for September 28 to protest petrol and electricity price hikes.

The umbrella Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) agreed to call off the strike and rally at a late-night meeting with the federal government at the Presidential Villa in the capital Abuja.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, announced the sell-out, referring to a communique signed by the NLC, TUC and government ministers.

The unions agreed to the integration of their organisations into management structures responsible for privatising the oil, gas and electricity services. The national leadership of the oil unions, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association, will join the Steering Committee responsible for privatisation.

The government told the unions their help was needed to rescue Nigerian capitalism, saying rescinding price cuts would be opposed by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other lenders to whom they are indebted.

Kenyan Embu County doctors strike called off by union

The doctors strike in Embu County, Kenya, begun September 19, was called off on September 28. The doctors were protesting delays with payment of salaries and non-payment of their COVID-19 hazard allowances. The strike brought services to a standstill the services at Embu County Referral Hospital and other health facilities.

Kenya National Union of Nurses chair, Joseph Ngwasi claimed union members were glad the government had agreed to address grievances but gave no further details.

Kenya has had 38,529 COVID-19 cases and 711 deaths.

Public health workers stoppage in Liberia

Health workers in Liberia are continuing their strike despite government threats to replace them with strike-breakers. The strike began on September 16.

The National Health Workers Union of Liberia members are demanding hazard allowances, benefits for health worker victims of COVID-19, personal protective equipment (PPE), medication at all public health facilities and salary increases.

Health workers describe conditions at work as appalling due to lack of basic medical equipment, including drugs. One worker said, We don't even have gloves or drugs... Patients will buy drip and all other medicines... Our pay cannot even... pay two children['s] school fees. When we come to work, there is no tool to work with. The government's reneging on pay increases is an act of modern day slavery.

The health unions petitioned the United States government, the European Union and the United Nations.

Liberia, which has a population 4.819 million, has confirmed 1,343 coronavirus cases and 82 deaths.

Gambian bank workers hold sit-down strike

Staff at the Guaranty Trust Bank, Gambia held a two-day sit-down strike September 28 and 29 to protest the managers' refusal to address their complaints. These include the loss of appraisal bonuses, promotions, 15 percent performance-based payments and the lack of medical insurance, of particular concern due to COVID-19.

Gambia has 3,579 reported cases of COVID-19 and 112 deaths.
If you want to make God laugh, Woody Allen once famously said, paraphrasing a Yiddish proverb, tell him about your plans.

Thats not an issue for President Donald Trump, at least not on health care.

Hes been promising a health care plan since he started running for president, often with superlative adjectives attached, and yet never produced one. His lack of a proposal was a stumbling block in Tuesdays debate and plays into a broader, long-standing Republican vulnerability on health care.

Polling tends to show that, far and away, the three most important issues to voters are the economy, COVID-19, and health care. Trump leads on the economy and trails on the other two. To the extent that issues play a role in a Trump defeat in November, health care will have had some hand in it. He has done little to inoculate himself and, in fact, has further exposed himself.

His administration backs a lawsuit that seeks to strike down Obamacare, including its popular protections for people with preexisting conditions. This allows Democrats to say  and they say it all the time  that he wants to destroy Obamacare.

Never mind that the suit is very unlikely to succeed. The background is that in a previous case, the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate in Obamacare as a tax. Then, Congress zeroed out the tax. The current case argues that the individual mandate therefore can no longer be upheld as a tax and further  this is the real stretch  that if this now toothless mandate is thrown out, the rest of the law has to go as well. Theres no reason to believe that the conservative justices would undertake this legal adventure.

This makes the politics a worst-of-both-worlds scenario for the White House. By backing the suit, it opens itself up to the attack before the election that it will eliminate protections for preexisting conditions, without having any realistic chance of winning when the court takes up the case after the election.

Story continues

It would help at least to have a plan, and thats Trumps instinct. But his supposedly imminent health care plan has become as meaningful as the various versions of infrastructure week.

Coming up with a health care plan is not like, say, promising to create 10 million jobs, a pledge that would depend on circumstances not fully under any presidents control. Drafting one, at bottom, requires only a consensus among some wonks, a word-processing program, and a printer.

No one would have bet at the outset that the administration would have in hand two historic Middle East agreements  namely, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalizing relations with Israel  before having one health care plan. But here we are.

Its not as though there arent options (and it should be noted that the administration has adopted worthy, piecemeal changes to the health-care system). A plan from The Heritage Foundation is tailor-made to be picked up by the administration. In fact, its been promoted in an op-ed titled,  A Health Plan for President Trump .

But the administration has remained divided, with one faction reflecting vintage Tea Party thinking that no Obamacare replacement is necessary. In addition, health-care policy inevitably involves trade-offs that are all politically perilous.

So the path of least resistance is to commit to nothing. The administration has instead offered up an executive order pledging to cover people with preexisting conditions. The president has touted this as a historic act, even though its only a more official version of Trumps prior promises.

The president is more populist, both in manner and substance, than his Republican predecessors. But health care is an area where his populism is insufficiently realized. Seeking to repeal Obamacare without bothering to tell people how its going to be improved on is what youd expect from a stereotypical Republican.

God might scoff, but itd be better to have a plan.

More from National Review
Saul Loeb/Getty

President Donald Trump was said to be resting comfortably late Friday after being taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to be treated for COVID-19. White House physician Sean Conley said the president was doing very well after beginning Remdesivir therapy.

The physician noted that Trump is not requiring supplemental oxygen.

The president also offered a brief statement on Twitter hours after getting settled into the hospital. Going well, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!! he wrote.

His hospitalization on Friday prompted alarm among many still reeling from his diagnosis a day earlier. Conley reported the president feeling fatigued and said he had been given a single dose of an experimental drug to treat his condition.

Soon after, Marine One landed on the South Lawn just before 5:30 p.m. and Trump left the White House about an hour later to board the flight to Bethesda. He walked to the helicopter wearing a suit and a face mask.

In a brief video posted to his official Twitter account after his departure, Trump said he was heading to the hospital to make sure that things work out. I think Im doing very well, he said, adding that the first lady was also doing very well.

He is expected to undergo tests and observation, The New York Times and Fox News reported. He is expected to stay in the hospital for a few days.

Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.

The president shocked the world when he tweeted at 12:54 a.m. Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had both contracted the virus, throwing his re-election campaign into chaos 32 days before the election, and presenting the most serious health threat to a sitting president in decades.

Story continues

Trump received a single eight gram dose of Regenerons polyclonal antibody cocktail as a precautionary measure, Conley said in a Friday afternoon memo. Hes also been taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine (an antihistamine and antacid), melatonin and daily aspirin.

President Trump departed the White House and took a helicopter to Walter Reed Medical Center, where he will be monitored https://t.co/NvdQHET04o pic.twitter.com/c6hx7HKmIb  Reuters (@Reuters) October 2, 2020

Regenerons antibody cocktail doesnt have FDA approval but has emergency approval and near the end of its Phase 3 trials. It has been found to reduce the viral load and improve symptoms in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Trump was fatigued but in good spirits, while first lady Melania had a mild cough and a headache, Conley said.

The memo didnt mention hydroxychloroquine, the controversial anti-malarial drug Trump has repeatedly touted as a coronavirus treatment. He reportedly took the drug for two weeks in May as a preventative measure.

In an earlier memo, Conley had said he expected the president would continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.

However, Trump missed the only engagement on his public schedule Fridaya noon phone call with state leaders on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniorsand hadnt tweeted anything all Friday until his video statement was posted just before 7 p.m.

Trump and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows walk off Marine One while arriving at Walter Reed Medical Center. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/Getty

According to NBC, Trump will stay at his own suite on the south side of the the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Inside, the president will have access to his own ICU and secure conference room. The White House chief of staff will also have an office space at the medical center, and Trumps doctor will get his own sleeping quarters.

Speaking to reporters on Friday morning without a face mask on, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the president was experiencing mild symptoms and remained in good spirits and is very energetic. He didnt provide any detail on any treatment the pair were receiving.

Hes in the residence now and, in true fashion, hes probably critiquing the way Im answering these questions, Meadows said, before later admitting: This news was shockingif this disease can reach the White House, it can reach anyone, anywhere, in any house.

Moments later, the first lady tweeted that she was also experiencing mild symptoms but overall feeling good. Thank you for the love you are sending our way, she added.

Trump Allies: China Infected Trump With COVID-19

The bombshell news came hours after the president confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of his closest aides, had tested positive for COVID-19. Hicks traveled with Trump multiple times in the past weekshe flew with the commander-in-chief to campaign rallies in Minnesota and Pennsylvania, as well as to Tuesdays presidential debate in Ohio.

Meadows said they learnt of Hicks positive test on Thursday night, right as Marine One was taking off for a fundraiser at Trumps New Jersey golf club. Despite that, Trump went ahead with the event, mingling with guests and even posing for photos with supporters.

On Friday, The New York Times also revealed that RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tested positive on Wednesday and met with the president a week ago. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who visited the White House a few days ago, also announced Friday hed tested positive.

The Trump campaign canned all scheduled events involving Trump and his family, including one scheduled for Friday in Florida, raising the prospect that the diagnosis will derail the campaign just 32 days out from Election Day. Both Trump, 74, and his opponent Joe Biden, 77, are considered to be in the high-risk category for the virus.

Biden and his wife, Jill, tested negative on Friday morning, the former vice president said. He came into contact with Trump on Tuesday night for a presidential debate but the pair remained distant and didnt shake hands. The Trump campaign and the White House reportedly made no effort to contact the Biden camp about possible exposureforcing the Democratic nominee to learn of the presidents diagnosis from the news.

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family, Biden tweeted. His running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), also wished the Trumps a full and speedy recovery. She tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday.

In contrast, the presidents niece, Mary Trump, who released a scathing book about her uncle and his siblings this year, said she had no sympathy for him.

I reserve my sympathy, empathy, and despair for those who are sick and for those who have died because they were misled, lied to, or ignored.



Wear a fucking mask.#VOTE  Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) October 2, 2020

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, tested negative for COVID-19 on Friday morning, according to the veeps press secretary.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also returned a negative test, as did Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, according to the White House. Trumps 14-year-old son, Barron, has also tested negative but is taking all necessary precautions.

Meadows said Friday that the presidents core group had been tested. Meadows, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino, and others had tested negative.

But, he added, I fully expect that, as this virus continues to go on, other people in the White House will certainly have a positive test result.

A negative test result may not necessarily mean anyone is out of the woods. According to the CDC, anyone who has been exposed to an individual with COVID-19 should quarantine for two weeks, as it may take several days for symptoms of the the deadly virus to appear.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Before announcing his test result, the president had phoned into Sean Hannitys Fox News show on Thursday night and said that, in light of Hicks diagnosis, he and the first lady would begin quarantining as they awaited their results. Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I dont know, he told Hannity. Well see what happens. Who knows. I spend a lot of time with Hope. So does the first lady.

Trump also appeared to suggest that Hicks may have contracted the virus from members of law enforcement or the military, telling Hannity: When soldiers and law enforcement comes up to her, you know, she wants to treat them great. Not say, Stay away, I cant get near you.... They want to hug you and they want to kiss you because we really have done a good job for them. You get close and things happen.

Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Right up until Thursday night, Trump was still publicly mocking the use of face masks as a protective measure against COVID-19 despite the consensus of public-health officials, including his own advisers, that they effectively slow the virus. He called out Biden for wearing a mask as recently as this week at the first presidential debate.

The virus has killed more than 200,000 Americans and infected over 7 million. Even after hearing his aide Hope Hicks had contracted the virus on Thursday night, he told an event, the end of the pandemic is in sight.

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Vital plans to stop Parliament falling apart are a shambles, MPs warn today, while running repairs cost taxpayers 100m a year.

Work has yet to begin  almost three years after MPs voted to move out to enable it  with key decisions yet to be taken and a business case still two years away, they warn.

Meanwhile, the historic Palace of Westminster is afflicted by failing mechanical and electrical systems, falling masonry and the constant risk of a catastrophic fire.

Parliament is literally falling apart, said Meg Hillier, chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee. It poses a very real risk to health and safety in its current state.

Ms Hiller pointed to nearly 20 years of discussion, adding: What we dont need is for the authorities to keep reopening and reviewing what few decisions have been taken.

We arent even promised a business case for the latest proposals until 2022  thats another 100m of maintenance away.

We need rapid learning from comparable projects, clear vision, leadership and direction, now.

The criticism comes after Boris Johnson appeared to try to torpedo the January 2018 decision for MPs to move to a temporary home in Whitehall, from about 2025, for at least five years.

The prime minister wrote to the body overseeing the renovation plan, calling for it to look at the full range of options  including a move to York.

The body made clear it would be inappropriate to re-examine the plans to move up Whitehall, to behind Richmond House, which was a decision for Parliament.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 20 January 2022 A jet skier jumps the waves off the coast at Blyth in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 19 January 2022 Britains Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, participate in a therapy session with individuals who have experienced the care system, during a visit to the Foundling Museum in London REUTERS UK news in pictures 18 January 2022 Surfers enter the sea as the sun rises over Tynemouth on the North East coast PA UK news in pictures 17 January 2022 Bonhams Danny McIlwraith holds a Nigerian polycrome carved wood mask during a photocall for the sale of the Jim Lennon Collection at Bonhams in Edinburgh PA UK news in pictures 16 January 2022 The moon rises above the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, Hampshire PA UK news in pictures 15 January 2022 Demonstrators outside Downing Street during a Kill The Bill protest against The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London PA UK news in pictures 14 January 2022 Ecologist Emma Smart (left) and retired GP Dr Diana Warner outside HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, following their release from the prison where Emma undertook a 26-day hunger strike during her incarceration. Ms Smart was sentenced in November, along with other members of Insulate Britain, to serve four months for breaking a High Court injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 motorway during the morning rush hour on 8 October last year PA UK news in pictures 13 January 2022 A TV presenter holds a copy of a newspaper outside 10 Downing Streetafter the Prime Minister apologised for attending a gathering of colleagues in the Number Ten garden in May 2020, while the UK was in strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic Getty UK news in pictures 12 January 2022 Fitness guru Derrick Evans after receiving an MBE during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 11 January 2022 A couple walk underneath an umbrella during wet weather on Westminster Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 10 January 2022 A jogger passes the Covid Memorial Wall in London AP UK news in pictures 9 January 2021 The sun rises over horses at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 8 January 2022 Riders compete during the Veterans Men's race at the UK Cyclo-Cross National Championships 2022 in Ardingly, south of London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 7 January 2022 A dog looks out of a car window at the wintry conditions in Killeshin, Co. Laois PA UK news in pictures 6 January 2022 People walk through frost and mist alongside a frozen lake during sunrise in Bushy Park, London REUTERS UK news in pictures 5 January 2022 A skier jumps on the slopes at Allenheads in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 4 January 2022 Freshly-fallen snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 3 January 2022 Dean Morrison, 13, receives his Covid-19 vaccine from student nurse Anthony McLaughlin during a vaccination clinic at the Glasgow Central Mosque PA UK news in pictures 2 January 2022 Konastantinos Tsimikas of Liverpool with Chelseas Mason Mount during the Premier League match at Stamfrod Bridge Liverpool FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 January 2022 New Years Eve Lasers, drones and fireworks illuminate the sky in front of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich shortly after midnight in London EPA UK news in pictures 31 December 2021 Competitors in fancy dress run across the Pennine tops near Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the annual Auld Lang Syne Fell race which attracts hundreds of runners every year PA UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket PA UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queens Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London PA UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London Getty UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham PA UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip PA UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London Reuters UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester PA UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge. Getty UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year PA UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton PA UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election PA UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire PA UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster Getty Images UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, PA UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judges decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange PA UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service PA UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine PA UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow PA UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra Getty UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother PA UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square Reuters UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 2 December 2021 Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum Getty

However, many Conservative MPs oppose moving out  fearing it will be much longer than five years before they return, if ever  and progress has been delayed by the pandemic.

The restoration programme is anticipated to cost up to 6bn, although the bill would be far higher if work had to be carried out, more slowly, with MPs still at Westminster.

Now the PAC has urged the independent sponsor body to stop dragging its heels, demanding an update within two months on the key milestones ahead before work can begin.

Every week of delay increases the risk to life and the integrity of the building and costs 2m, the committee points out.

The report also highlights examples where poor understanding of project requirements at the outset can lead to escalating costs, pointing to the restoration of Big Ben, or Elizabeth Tower.

The 80m bill is more than double the initial 29m estimate, partly as a result of parliamentary estate teams lack of understanding of the work required at the outline business case.
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he and his wife have tested negative for the coronavirus after they were examined on their airplane 20 minutes prior to landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on Friday.

He said it was the fourth time in two weeks he has been tested. President Donald Trump announced on Twitter early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. Pompeo says the last time he was with Trump was on September 15, at the White House, for the signing of normalization agreements among Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The top US diplomat says he is reconsidering upcoming travel to Florida on Saturday and Asia starting Sunday as a precaution. He says, "We are praying for the president and the First Lady and we hope they have a speedy recovery."
By AFP

SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon on Thursday said that slightly more than 19,800 of its employees have tested positive for Covid-19 since the start of March.

Data on the e-commerce giant's 1.37 million frontline workers, including those at its Whole Foods Market grocery stores in the United States, showed a lower infection rate than expected, Amazon said.

The release of the figure comes as some workers in logistics centers have criticized the company's safeguards to protect them from the pandemic as well as its reluctance to share information about colleagues who get infected.

Amazon has ramped up testing to 50,000 a day across 650 sites, according to the Seattle-based company.

"Since the beginning of this crisis, we've worked hard to keep our employees informed, notifying them of every new case in their building," Amazon said in a blog post sharing Covid-19 infection rates among its frontline workers.

If the rate of infection among Amazon and Whole Foods workers were the same as the general US population, the number of cases would have topped 33,000, according to the company.
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Kimberly Guilfoyle was secretly forced out of her role at Fox News over a '$4million' sexual harassment settlement with her female assistant, who claimed the host had exposed herself to her and showed her nude photos of men, according to a new report.

The 51-year-old Trump adviser abruptly left her role as the host of The Five in July 2018, several years before her contract expired, after 12 years at the network.

At the time, not much was said on her sudden departure except Guilfoyle maintained she chose to leave on her own terms to begin a new job at America First, a Trump super PAC.

The New Yorker on Thursday reported Guilfoyle was quietly pushed out after network executives received complaints accusing the host of sexually in appropriate behavior.

Trump adviser Kimberly Guilfoyle (pictured far left in 2017) abruptly left Fox News' The Five in 2018 after 12 years at the network

The 51-year-old, who has been dating Donald Trump Jr since 2018, is now running finances for the Trump Victory Committee

Guilfoyle (pictured right with former co-host Ainsley Earhardt) left Fox in 2018, several years before her contract expired, but had maintained her departure was voluntary

According to the report, Guilfoyle's female assistant had submitted a 42-page draft claiming her boss had frequently exhibited 'degrading' and 'abusive' behavior and at one point offered to buy her silence when she realized her job could be in jeopardy.

The woman, who was not named, had been hired as an assistant to Guilfoyle and former Fox News host Eric Bolling as a recent college graduate in 2015.

The complaint was kept out of court and ultimately resulted in Fox reaching a settlement 'upward of $4million' with the assistant after Guilfoyle's departure, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Guilfoyle, a former prosecutor who is dating the president's son, Donald Trump Jr, has since taken up a role with Trump administration, and was recently appointed to finance chair for the Trump Victory Committee.

She denied the allegations in a statement to the magazine.

'In my 30-year career working for the SF District Attorney's Office, the LA District Attorney's Office, in media and in politics, I have never engaged in any workplace misconduct of any kind. During my career, I have served as a mentor to countless women, with many of whom I remain exceptionally close to this day,' she said.

Kimberly Guilfoyle waves after speaking at a campaign event for President Trump at Xtreme Manufacturing on September 13 in Henderson, Nevada

The former Fox News host was trolled in August following her appearance at the RNC where she delivered a cheerleading speech that concluded with her shout of 'the best is yet to come' to an empty theater

Guilfoyle declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com.

According to the bombshell complaint, Guilfoyle had constantly spoken openly with her assistant about her sex life and would share photos of genitals of the men of with whom she was sleeping.

She also reportedly made the woman share hotel rooms with her while traveling and in New York, would require her to sleepover her apartment, which she described made her feel uncomfortable.

There, Guilfoyle would often undress herself in front of her employee and even asked her to 'critique her naked body', the report claims.

Those allegations were corroborated by a witness who told the magazine, Guilfoyle was 'provocative in a way that made you want to get away from this person.'

Another source confirmed claims that the former news presenter had shared photos of naked men, and one former Fox staff member told the magazine she had allegedly shown pornographic videos in the office.

The complaint further alleged that Guilfoyle, who was once married to California Governor Gavin Newsom, encouraged her assistant to sleep with rich and powerful men.

A former Fox colleague, who was not named, said her behavior had fostered an environment 'that was detrimental to young women.'

'It was worse than grossit put other women at Fox in such a terrible position,' the source said.

Guilfoyle, a former prosecutor, was married for four years to California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom before their divorce in 2006

Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle walk across the tarmac to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base on Tuesday

Sources also repeated claims that Guilfoyle would speak graphically on sexual matters, which 'upset hair-and-makeup artists' at the studio who later filed a complaint against her.

The report states Guilfoyle's assistant had been working at Fox News at the time the network was being investigated for sexual misconduct amid allegations against former chairman Roger Ailes.

Guilfoyle had allegedly grown nervous that she would also be investigated over her behavior if her assistant spoke out against her to Paul, Weiss attorneys, who were conducting the probe.

The complaint alleges Guilfoyle had asked her what she would say if she was quizzed about sexual misconduct at the workplace and offered her hush money in exchange for her 'loyalty'.

She allegedly offered her payments as high as a million dollars, which would include money from Bolling, who had also been facing sexual misconduct allegations.

The woman was also offered trips to Rome on a private jet, a cut of Guilfoyle's pay from public speaking events and on-air roles, according to the report.

The assistant ultimately turned down the offer and went on to accuse both Guilfoyle and Bolling of sexual misconduct.

The New Yorker reports it spoke to multiple sources familiar with the complaint, as well as Guilfoyle's assistant herself, who declined to comment.

Meanwhile, sources close to Guilfoyle told the magazine the allegations were 'false' and 'inconsistent' with the Trump adviser's behavior.

'She always puts others ahead of herself and is unfailingly generous and ethical,' Trump Victory finance committee chief of staff Sergio Gor said.

Rumors about Guilfoyle's alleged termination from Fox first began to swirl after Huff Post reported three sources claimed she did not leave the cable news network 'voluntarily,' and that her team was busy working out the details of her separation package.

Sources close to both Guilfoyle and her boyfriend Donald Trump Jr denied those claims at the time, saying it was her choice to exit Fox News and begin a new job at America First.

Fox News had announced in a blunt and concise statement that Guilfoyle was no longer working for the network.

'Fox News has parted ways with Kimberly Guilfoyle,' the spokesperson said.

She did not appear on The Five the day her departure was announced and was not given the chance to say goodbye after 12 years with the network. She was replaced by Katie Pavlich.
None of the manufacturers of the tested samples have displayed the ingredients and chemicals used for making the diapers (AFP representational pic)

The presence of toxic phthalates in disposable baby nappies in the Indian markets has raised concerns since it has health implications as well as environmental concerns.

A new study titled, Whats in the Diaper: Presence of Phthalates in Baby Diapers conducted by Toxics Link, a Delhi-based advocacy organisation Toxics Link has found Phthalates- endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)- in diapers and exposure to them to cause serious health impairments including diabetes, hypertension, obesity and reproductive disorders.

Alka Dubey, Programme Coordinator at Toxics Link, told DC that they studied 20 diaper samples were randomly collected from cities across the country and they were analysed in an NABL-accredited laboratory in New Delhi.

The analysis found high levels of phthalates ranging from 2.36ppm to 302.25ppm. The DEHP is the most toxic phthalate and is restricted or banned in several children products but was found between 2.36ppm to 264.94 ppm in the tested samples, she said.

Dubey also said that they would bring the findings to notice of the concerned department in the government to bring up proper guidelines to manufacture diapers. None of the manufacturers of the tested samples have displayed the ingredients and chemicals used for making the diapers. Manufacturers need to look into the issue and refrain from adding phthalates in diapers considering their health implications as well as environmental concerns. We have been focusing on the Chemical ingredients in baby products for the last two decades. That is why we pick up the matter for the study. In a similar study we conducted in feeding bottles in 2014 had found presence of toxic BPA. Following which, the government had come up with guidelines in manufacturing feeding bottles, she said.

Piyush Mohapatra, Senior Programme Coordinator at Toxics Link stressed that it was the first-of-its-kind study in India. Globally efforts have been made to phase out phthalates from various products and most importantly from childrens products. India has also set the standards for five common phthalates (DEHP, DBP, BBP, DIDP, DNOP and DINP) in various childrens products. However, there is no such regulation in place for baby diapers in our country. Some countries though have put restrictions on use of phthalates in baby diapers, he said.

Generally phthalates are non-covalently bound to polymers used in diapers; they are easily released from the diapers. As a diaper is in direct contact with the external genitals of infants and toddlers for several months to years, there is a possibility that phthalates can enter the bodies of babies through dermal absorption and can cause adverse health impacts on the children. There are scientific studies that confirmed the dermal absorption of phthalates from the diapers. These chemicals can leach out in the municipal waste stream and can pose serious challenges into the environment as well, says the study
Armenia on Friday expressed its readiness to work with international mediators to reach a ceasefire with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, where fierce fighting entered a sixth day.

The Caucasus neighbours have been locked in a simmering conflict for decades over the region and new fighting that erupted on Sunday has been the heaviest in decades.

In a joint appeal on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron urged the two sides to return to negotiations aimed at resolving the longstanding dispute.

Armenia stands ready to engage with France, Russia, and the United states -- which co-chair the OSCE group of mediators to the conflict -- to re-establish a ceasefire regime, the foreign ministry in Yerevan said.

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have previously rejected the possibility of new talks.

Nearly 200 people have been confirmed killed since Sunday, including more than 30 civilians, and there are fears of the fighting expanding into an all-out, multi-front war that could suck in regional powers Turkey and Russia.

Armenia and Karabakh declared martial law and military mobilisation Sunday, while Azerbaijan imposed military rule and a curfew in large cities.

Talks to resolve the conflict have largely stalled since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that President Donald Trumps positive COVID-19 case underscores that the coronavirus is the biggest threat to the confirmation of the current Supreme Court nominee.

Democrats procedurally cant do anything to stop a confirmation vote on the Senate floor before the Nov. 3 presidential election, McConnell told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

But with a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, and two Republicans already saying they opposed a confirmation vote for Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett so close to the election, McConnell has a thin margin for a vote.

Our biggest enemy obviously is the coronavirus, keeping everybody healthy and well and in place to do our job, McConnell said of the confirmation vote.

Barrett has tested negative for COVID-19, a White House spokesman said Friday morning, adding that the Supreme Court nominee is tested daily.

McConnell suggested the Senate Judiciary Committees hearings, set to begin Oct. 12, could be done remotely, and said that some members have done their interviews and previous hearings remotely.

This sort of underscores, I think, the need to do that, and every precaution needs to be taken because we dont anticipate any Democratic support at all, either in committee or in the full Senate, and therefore everybody needs to be in an all hands on deck mindset, McConnell said.

McConnell said his plan is for the nomination to come out of the committee on Oct. 22, and we will be voting on the nominee very soon. I havent picked an exact point to bring the nomination up but its front and center for the American people.

-CQ-Roll Call
SKOKIE, IL  Niles West High School band director Justin Johnson is a 2020 Regional Teacher of the Year and one of 10 finalists to become 2021 Illinois Teacher of the Year, the Illinois State Board of Education announced this week.

The State Board of Education has sponsored the Teacher of the Year program since 1970, and all public and private elementary and high school teachers with at least five years of experience are eligible.

Outstanding educations are nominated during the spring by someone with firsthand knowledge of their qualities. Then a committee composed of administrators, teachers, past winners and other educational professionals picks one finalist from seven regions of the state  North Suburbs, South Suburbs, Northwest, West Central, East Central, Southwest and Southeast  and three co-regional teachers of the year from Cook County, including Johnson.



"This is a really big deal, and we all know that Justin Johnson is so deserving of this award," Niles West Principal Karen Ritter said in an email.



"Johnson is everything the Teacher of the Year Award represents. He is a kind, caring role model who always has the students best interest in mind," she said. "During remote learning, performance-based courses like his band classes are some of the most challenging courses to teach via Zoom, but he has researched the best models and methods to provide an enjoyable and rigorous experience for his students."

Johnson joined Niles West from Central High School in Memphis, Tennessee, more than eight years ago. He conducts the concert band, symphonic band and symphonic wind ensemble, overseeing and directing the pep band, marching band and jazz band, as well as conducting the orchestra during the spring musical, according to the Niles West band program website.

"When I visited Mr. Johnsons classroom last year, I felt that I could spend the whole day there," the principal added. "He is an intense instructor who is so in tune with his students and their needs, and brings them all together in an ensemble setting. I would have loved to have had a teacher like Justin Johnson."

Story continues

Justin Johnson, back right, and the Niles West Jazz band after a January 2020 performance with the Jazz Educators Network international conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Provided by Justin Johnson)

In 2016, Johnson was a finalist for the prestigious Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. And earlier this year, Niles West students voted Johnson as the winner of the school's 2020 Teacher of the Year award, according to the school newspaper.

"This school year has been the most difficult year of my teaching career, and that was before the abrupt transition to e-learning," he told the paper. "This year has been a very challenging year for me but has also been one of the most rewarding of my career.

The 2021 Illinois Teacher of the Year is set to be selected by Carmen Ayala, the state superintendent of education, from one of the 10 finalists.

That educator will represent Illinois in the National Teacher of the Year program, which is organized by the Council of Chief State School Officers. The winner is due to be announced Oct. 21.



"Receiving a Teacher of the Year award has taken on new meaning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our educators have surmounted radical shifts in how they teach and connect with students," Ayala said, announcing the finalists. "Illinois Teachers of the Year helped to lead their communities through crisis. They shine as beacons of hope and stability in the lives of Illinois students and families. They went to extraordinary lengths to care for the mental, physical, as well as academic, well-being of their students. I thank and congratulate each educator for their incredible service."



In a message to band members this summer, Johnson said Niles West band class would be different in the 2020-21 school year. But the coronavirus does not make music education any less necessary.

"More than ever, even if remote, music is a necessary class for our students," Johnson said. "When we engage with music we engage with our emotions, practice being vulnerable, and build self awareness. Its the only discipline where students get to study themselves and then be strong enough to put who they are on display through performance."

Johnson, who said he spent the summer finishing his master's degree in music education, asked parents to do what they can to allow their student to find a place to play uninterrupted  and not to share their opinions about their musical development.

"Further, the music community provides a safe place for our students. It is a place where they can take risks and grow," he said. "Additionally, studies show over and over again that music helps us through hard times. Just the act of playing is proven to lower your heart rate and release hormones that make us happy."

This article originally appeared on the Skokie Patch
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REDMOND  An unaddressed development site in east Redmond, in Union Hill near Costco, has sold for a little under $9.2 million, according to King County records.

The sellers were Taylor Union Hill LLC and Magnussen-Cadman LLC; the latter had owned the 4 acres of vacant land for decades.





. . .
ITASCA, Ill., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FG New America Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: FGNA.U) (the "Company") today announced that it closed its initial public offering of 22,500,000 units. The offering was priced at $10.00 per unit, resulting in gross proceeds of $225,000,000.

The units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and commenced trading under the ticker symbol "FGNA.U" on September 30, 2020. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Only whole warrants will be exercisable. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the shares of Class A common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on the NYSE under the symbols "FGNA" and "FGNA WS," respectively.

FG New America Acquisition Corp. is a blank-check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The Company intends to concentrate its efforts on identifying businesses in the insurance and financial services industry, with particular emphasis on businesses that are providing or changing technology for traditional financial services ("FinTech"), insurance ("InsureTech"), or other sectors where disruptive and/or adaptive technology or other factors are driving changes in a new era in the American business landscape.

Of the proceeds received from the consummation of the initial public offering and a simultaneous private placement of warrants and units, $230,625,000 (or $10.25 per unit sold in the public offering) was placed in trust. An audited balance sheet of the Company as of October 2, 2020 reflecting receipt of the proceeds upon consummation of the initial public offering and the private placement will be included as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

Piper Sandler & Co. and ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc., acted as joint book-running managers of the offering.

The offering was made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the prospectus relating to this offering may be obtained from Piper Sandler, 1251 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10020, by telephone at (866) 805-4128, by email at [email protected] and ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc., 17 State Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10004, by telephone at (877) 436-3673, by email at [email protected].

A registration statement relating to these securities was declared effective by SEC on September 29, 2020. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Forward Looking-Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements," including with respect to the initial public offering and search for an initial business combination. No assurance can be given that the proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's registration statement and prospectus for the initial public offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

SOURCE FG New America Acquisition Corp.

Related Links

https://fgnewamerica.com


(Alliance News) - Saga PLC on Friday said its open offer received acceptances representing 44% of available shares with remaining open offer shares then placed, including with incoming chair and cornerstone investor Roger De Haan.

Shares in Saga were down 1.5% at 12.55 pence in London in morning trading.

Saga specialises in travel and insurance and services for people over 50 years old and announced a firm placing, placing, and open offer to raise approximately GBP150 million on September 10. The placing and open offer raised around GBP74.8 million, in addition to GP75.5 million of firm placing proceeds.

The company's open offer closed for acceptances on Wednesday with valid acceptances received for 271.9 million open offer shares, representing 44% of the 623.3 million shares available.

The remaining shares were placed with conditional placees, first with De Haan and then subsequently to other conditional placees in line with preferential clawback agreements.

De Haan, the cornerstone investor in the capital raise, is subscribing for 348.6 million new shares in the firm placing, plus 204.3 million placing and open offer shares. From admission, he will hold a 26% stake in Saga's enlarged share capital.

He is Saga's former chief executive officer and the son of the founder of the business. De Haan is returning to Saga as chair in order to lead a turnaround.

The firm swung to a GP55.5 million pretax loss in the first half of its financial year - the six months to July 31 - from a GBP52.6 million profit a year before. Saga's turnaround strategy aims to achieve a lower cost base and reduced debt, as well as a data, digital, and brand transformation. The GBP150 million will be used to help Saga deliver this new strategy.

The placing and open offer are conditional on shareholder approval as well as other conditions, with admission no later than October 5.

By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
LONDON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- At the second residence allocation ceremony in September, the Commonwealth of Dominica's Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, spoke about elevating the island by providing housing. Funded by the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme, the Housing Revolution initiative aims to make all new infrastructure in withstand hurricanes.

After 2015's Tropical Storm Erika, the Government of Dominica took immediate action to recover from the disastrous event and responded promptly to the greatest need of the country  the rebuilding of homes. When a natural disaster in 2017 once more destroyed majority of the houses in Dominica, the Housing Revolution emerged as the Government's prime response to the catastrophic events experienced by the Dominicans. For Prime Minister Skerrit, the priority became safeguarding citizens by making the nation the first in the world to be climate-resilient.

"When we see the landscape of Dominica and compare it to 15 or 20 years ago, we can see the vast number of homes that have been constructed because of the facilitation of this Dominican Labour Party," said the Prime Minister at the Jimmit ceremony where he appointed 30 families with keys to their new homes. "We are to bring everybody to the level playing field. Those who are up, keep them going up, those who are down, bring them up," he added.

The CBI Programme in Dominica was launched in 1993. It is one of the oldest Programmes in the world and has since been a significant player in improving the lives of Dominican citizens. From socio-economic affairs like education and healthcare to making the island a Caribbean tourism must-see, the Programme has helped numerous sectors in the country.

Following a foreign investor's rigorous vetting, they can earn Dominica's prestigious citizenship with a minimum contribution of US$100,000 to the Economic Diversification Fund or through an investment of at least US$200,000 in pre-approved real estate. The economic citizens are afforded access to an array of immigration benefits, including freedom of travel  with visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to approximately 140 countries, and the prospect of securing a safe future for themselves and generations to come.

Last month, the island's CBI Programme was voted best in the world by the Financial Times' Professional Wealth Magazine for its due diligence, affordability, efficiency and commitment to integrity.

[email protected], www.csglobalpartners.com

SOURCE CS Global Partners
BOISE - On Wednesday, September 30, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced Idahos participation in a $39.5 million multi-state settlement with health insurance provider Anthem, Inc. The 43-state settlement stems from Anthems 2014 data breach that exposed the personal information of 78.8 million Americans. The settlement requires Anthem to implement data security and good governance provisions that will better protect consumers personal information.

In February 2015, Anthem disclosed that cyber attackers had infiltrated its systems beginning in February 2014, using malware installed through a phishing email. The attackers accessed Anthems data warehouse and harvested consumers names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, healthcare identification numbers, home addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and employment information. In Idaho, more than 100,000 residents were affected by the breach.

Under the settlement, Anthem has agreed to a series of provisions to strengthen its security practices going forward. Anthem will also pay the Office of the Attorney General $175,618 for attorneys fees and investigative costs.

The protection of Idahoans personal information is of paramount importance to my office, Wasden said. This settlement illustrates my commitment to holding companies accountable for security breaches that result in the loss of consumers private data.

The new settlement follows a previous class action settlement in 2017 that established a $115 million fund to pay for additional credit monitoring, cash payments and reimbursement for out-of-pocket losses for affected consumers. The deadlines for consumers to submit claims under that settlement have since passed.
BERKELEY, Calif., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Arize AI , today announced it has joined the NVIDIA Inception program, which is designed to nurture startups revolutionizing industries with advancements in AI and data sciences.

Arize helps teams move AI confidently from research to the real world with software that enables monitoring, drift analysis, troubleshooting tools and explainability. The Arize AI ML Observability and Monitoring platform is designed to troubleshoot, monitor and explain AI deployed in the real world. The platform allows Data Scientists and Machine Learning engineers to deliver models with the confidence assured that the AI will work when deployed.

Arize AI was founded by leaders from Uber, Google, Facebook and Adobe, in the Machine Learning Infrastructure and analytics space to bring better visibility and performance management over AI. Arize AI launched the first ML Observability platform to help make machine learning models work as they move from research to production. The Arize AI platform is production-grade infrastructure used by developers to monitor, explain, and troubleshoot their deployed AI systems.

Jason Lopatecki, CEO of Arize AI and entrepreneur was quoted as saying, "The Arize AI Team is proud to join the NVIDIA Ecosystem to advance Machine Learning Monitoring and Analytics innovation in a meaningful way."

Contact:

Jason Lopatecki

[email protected]

SOURCE Arize AI

Related Links

http://www.arize.com


Fire burns in the port in Beirut, Lebanon - AP/ Hussein Malla

Lebanon has asked Interpol to issue arrest warrants for two Russians who brought two thousand tonnes of explosive materials into Beirut port, resulting in the huge explosion in August that killed nearly 200 people.

The request to detain the captain and owner of the ship that brought the materials was made by Lebanons public prosecution agency, though it did not name either of the men.

Boris Prokoshev was captain of the Rhosus ship when it arrived in Beirut in 2013, and he had identified Igor Grechushkin, a Russian businessman in Cyprus, as the owner.

A security source and a judicial source told Reuters news agency that they were the two people for whom Lebanon asked for arrest warrants.

Lebanese victims of the tragedy and their relatives are still seeking answers to why the enormous stockpile was allowed to remain in the port for a number of years before it went up in flames and triggered an enormous explosion.

The blast ripped through the Lebanese capital as it turned buildings to rubble and injured thousands of people.

There have also been accusations of negligence against Lebanese authorities. Nearly 20 people have been detained in Lebanon after the blast including port and customs officials.

Russia's national Interpol bureau declined to comment.

Mr Grechushkin, 43, was questioned in Cyprus in August but has not yet responded to reports that his arrest has been sought by Lebanon.

Christos Andreou, a spokesman for Cyprus police, said they had not received such a request, referring to Interpol.

Mr Prokoshev, who is in Russia, said he had not heard anything about it and that he has not been contacted by investigators before.

He has told Reuters that 2,750 tonnes of the chemicals ended up in Beirut after the ship's owner told him to divert to Beirut to pick up extra cargo in 2013.

He has also said Lebanese authorities paid little attention to the ammonium nitrate, which had been stacked in the hull in large sacks.

The Rhosus had loaded ammonium nitrate in Georgia, shipping records show, before making the unscheduled stop in Lebanon.

But it never left, becoming tangled in a legal dispute over unpaid port fees and ship defects.
A federal judge has ordered that the 2020 Census continue until Oct. 31, blocking for now the government's efforts to complete the survey in time to deliver apportionment data to the president by the end of the year.

The ruling late Thursday night by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh of the Northern District of California follows a tense week in which the government appeared to try to circumvent a preliminary injunction against ending the count early.

After a surprise announcement Monday that the bureau was moving the end date by just five days, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, plaintiffs in the case asked Koh to provide clarification of her earlier order and other sanctions.

Rejecting the government's argument that the request was "an attempt to radically modify the preliminary injunction," Koh's new ruling clarified that the end date for collection must revert to Oct. 31, as the bureau had originally planned.

It also ordered that on Friday, the government must send text messages to all Census Bureau employees notifying them of the Oct. 31 end date, and that Director Steven Dillingham must file a declaration by Monday that "unequivocally confirms Defendants' ongoing compliance with the Injunction Order and details the steps Defendants have taken to prevent future violations of the Injunction Order."

The suit, brought by the National Urban League and a group of counties, cities and others, said a truncated schedule would irreparably harm communities that might be undercounted.

On Friday, Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which is arguing the case, said, "Once again, the court has stopped the administration in its tracks." Noting that some states with significant minority populations still face an undercount, she added, "Much work remains to be done to achieve an accurate census count that satisfies constitutional standards."

The Justice and Commerce departments did not respond to requests for comment.

The government had appealed Koh's Sep. 24 injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which denied the appeal Tuesday.

Nevertheless, Koh found that after her injunction, the government continued to tell employees to wind down operations by Sept. 30, and the Census Bureau's website, "which is updated daily," continued for four days after her injunction to say that data collection would end that day.

The ruling said the court had received "a slew of emails from enumerators across the country that include supervisor texts with erroneous information and that express concern about the ending of field operations without adequate counts."

Koh's ruling found that the government's switch to a Monday deadline had "the same legal defects" as the revised "Replan" that it abruptly announced in early August, which shaved one month off the count.

Canceling a hearing planned for Friday afternoon, Koh set a case management conference for Tuesday.

Earlier this year, the bureau had said it was extending the count until Oct. 31 because the coronavirus pandemic had made its original schedule unfeasible. In April, it asked Congress to extend the statutory deadline for delivering the data for reapportionment - allocating congressional seats to the states - to the president, from Dec. 31 to April 30. The House approved the change but the Senate never acted on it.

Then, in a July 21 memo, President Donald Trump said he wanted to exclude undocumented immigrants from reapportionment, and on Aug. 3, the bureau announced its Replan. Both the memo and the Replan have been challenged in multiple lawsuits. After a court in New York blocked the memo last month, the government appealed to the Supreme Court.

In her ruling Thursday, Koh cited internal emails from late July in which a senior Census Bureau official said it was "ludicrous to think we can complete 100% of the nation's data collection earlier than 10/31 and any thinking person who would believe we can deliver apportionment by 12/31 has either a mental deficiency or a political motivation."

The administration has added an unprecedented four political appointees to the bureau since June, raising concerns that it is trying to inject partisan politics into the nonpartisan agency.

Census data is used to determine a decade's worth of federal funding, congressional apportionment and state redistricting. Analyses have shown that an inaccurate count could harm both Republican and Democratic states.

But a data set delivered to the president, regardless of its accuracy, is necessary if the administration wants to try to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count while Trump is in office.

In a related case in U.S. District Court in Maryland, a three-judge panel issued a letter Thursday, apparently filed before Koh's ruling, noting that the government had "argued vigorously that if the data collection period extended past Sept. 30, the Bureau could not possibly deliver the apportionment counts by the statutory deadline, December 31, 2020."

The judges ordered the government to submit a letter by 5 p.m. Friday explaining the effects of Koh's injunction and stating whether and how the bureau planned to meet the Dec. 31 deadline.
Hathras gangrape protests: UP cops push TMCs Derek OBrien to ground, manhandle women MPs

India

oi-Deepika S

Lucknow, Oct 02: The TMC on Friday alleged that its leaders were stopped by the Uttar Pradesh Police from meeting the family members of the Hathras gangrape victim.

A 29-second clip tweeted by ANI showed a woman leader of the party being physically turned away by a person in plains clothes as O' Brien comes into the frame. He is seen being pulled away by the person and falling to the ground as a number of police personnel surround him. He is then seen helped get up as other leaders are also pushed away.

"He was pushed to the ground. Maybe he is injured too. He was attacked. How can they do it?" Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, another TMC leader who was a part of the delegation, was quoted by ANI as asking.

In a statement, the party said that the delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs was stopped by police around 1.5 kilometres from the victim's home.

"A delegation of Trinamool MPs have been stopped by UP Police from entering Hathras. The delegation had travelled about 200kms from Delhi. The Trinamool MPs were on their way to the village in Hathras, travelling separately, to express solidarity with the grieving family and convey their condolences," the statement said.

Nirbhayas lawyer not allowed to meet Hathras victims family

The delegation included Derek O'Brien, Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mondal and Mamata Thakur (former MP).

One of the MPs who was stopped said, "We are peacefully proceeding to Hathras to meet the family and pay our condolences. We are travelling individually and maintaining all protocols. We are not armed. Why are we stopped? What kind of jungle raj is this that elected MPs are prevented from meeting a grieving family."

"At this moment, we are just 1.5 kms from the victims home in Hathras, explaining to police officials that we will walk the 1.5kms to the victims house in Hathras," the statement said quoting the MP.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

The 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped at a village in Hathras by four men on September 14. After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to the Delhi''s Safdarjung hospital where she breathed her last on Tuesday.

She was cremated in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.
Written by ACM



*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- Among the Manifold, Surprizing, Last-Minute "Metamorphosis" of the forthcoming EU Brussels' Summit's Agenda, for October 1 and 2, (See: ..., etc), Finally, EU Council President Michel's Idea to give a Part of its Initial "Turkish Problem" Focus, to Wider Topical Foreign Policy Issues, and, Afterwards, to Even Add anOther, considerable, Part on EU's Economy Advances, (going from the "Common Market" to "Industry" and "Digital Transformation"), by Arguying that "a Strong Europe in the World, Needs also to have a Resilient Economy", after all, wasN't so Bad at all, and had, indeed, some Basic Logic.

Already, the Recent Developments on Foreign Policy Issues, Revealed that, in Fact, ... Turkey's Trouble-Making was, in Real Practice, Spreading almost Everywhere around Europe !

F.ex., it, Notoriously, almost "Freezed" any Sanctions on Belarus', Post-Electoral Internal UnRest, at least for the Time Being, When someone Suddenly Insisted to practicaly Block even the Slightest Sanctions on Akara's persisting Provocations, Bullying and illegal Drilling Ships, ('"Barbaros" and "Yavuz"), escorted by Turkish Gun-Boats, inside EU Member Cyprus' EEZ, (i.e. there where the Huge Potential of European Natural Resources at South-Eastern Mediterranean has Already Started to be Confirmed, as in Greece's Aegean and/or Mediterranean EEZ, it stil Remains to be Clearly done), thereby Breaking a so-called EU Foreign Affairs' "Berlin Agreement", Earlier on September, to Advance "Together", in "Parallel", on Both Belarus and Turkey, (as Also, inter alia, France, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Slovakia, and Malta, etc. Supported), in Consequence Pushing Cyprus and Greece to Ask to Synchronize those 2 Parallel Processes, in order to Avoid "Double Standards".

+ Moreover, in Addition, Turkey clearly Emerged, these Days, as Trouble-Maker Also at an absolutely Different, Topical Foreign Polic Issue, that of the Deadly and Dangerously Escalating Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, via Ankara's Warmongering Rhetorics, Lethal Weapons' providing to Azeris, Dangerous Islamist Extremist Armed Gangs' Imports to Caucasus from Syria, Libya or Iraq, even alleged Direct Involvement of Turkish Military Officers in Nagorno-Karabackh Clashes, (f.ex. a Turkisg F16 WarPlane bringing Down an Armenian Suhkoi, and Killing its Pilot, as Erevan just Denounced, etc)...

>>> But, Feeling (rightfuly or wrogly, more or less) a Lack of a Strong-enough Europe at its Neighborhood,

in Substance, is Not so Far Away from a quite Equivalent Feeling, of a Lack of an Ambitious-enough yet Europe in Strategic High-Tech Modern Technologies, particularly on Digitalisation, where a Big, Innovative and Popular "FlagShip" EU Project, apparently, is still Absent,

as "Eurofora" has Recently, already Asked an EU Commission's vice-President, at a Press Conference in EU Parliament in Strasbourg, (See : ..., etc), and/or Wondered on the occasion of EU Brussels' Summit Last July 2020, when a Landmark Economic ReVival Post-Virus Fund was Created, (See: ..., etc), as well as Today, when we Questioned a Senior EU Council's Officer, speaking "Off the Record", on Condition of Anonymity, about the Agenda for the 2nd Day of the forthcoming EU ExtraOrdinary Summit, October 2, dedicated to such Strategic Economy Issues (Comp. Supra) :

- "On Digital + Industry : Isn't there Any Ambitious EU Project at the Horizon ?", "Eurofora" asked, in Substance.

- "F.ex. on SmartPhone Technology, Europe was Historicaly a Pioneer, with Nokia, and, Recently, China offered Even to Pay EU Compagnies if they Helped Beijing (via its Flagship Enterprise "Huawei") by Creating a New "Operating System", Independent from USA Google's "Android", (because of a current US - China Different)", we observed, in concreto.

=> Shall we (EU) Seize, at last, some Rare Opportunities, like this ?", "Eurofora" wondered, in substance.

----------------------------------

- Replying in Wider terms, +"... The Notion of <<Digital Sovereignity>> is Key for the EU, and this is Related also to Networks' Security and SmartPhones", confirmed that EU Coucil's Senior Officer, on this occasion.

=> That's why, f.ex., "in the Conclusions that We (EU Summit) are going to Adopt, ...we Task the (EU) Commission to come with a Strategy, Next Year (2021), on Digital", he HighLighted.

- As "You know, we (EU) have a Key Objective on 2050 for Climate". => "It's Time that we do Also", something alike, 'for Digital" too, "and that's what we are Asking the (EU) Commission" to do, (Obviously speaking for something of Strategic Importance, But, Still, ...Far Away).

+ Moreover, "Also (EU) Member States are Working on Alliances". F.ex., "We (Europe) have a <<Baterry Alliance>>, etc. In Fact, "there are Many Initiatives we Should Talk More about", he suggested.

++ "And", in General, "if we wanted to have this Special (EU Summit's 2nd Day) it's Also in order to Tackle these Topics. Because We (EUC) Believe that they are Really <<Key>>, as You said", EU Council's Senior Official concluded, in his Reply to "Eurofora"s above-mentioned Question.

----------------------------------------------------------

>>> All that is Naturaly Good. But, is it, really, Enough and Timely ?

- To Judge from at least some Key Heads of State/Government's Stance, particularly for the Day After Tomorrow, (i.e. October 2), scheduled for Economy Issues, things are Not Easy : F.ex. French President Macron has assumed some Obligations Elsewhere, already at the Morning, and, therefore, canNot be Present at this EU Summit in Brussels ! Chancelor Merkel might, exceptionaly, Represent France... Similar move between Sweden and Finland : Helsinki might Represent Stockholm, (Partly UPATED), and so on....

During the Exceptionaly Long EU Summit of July 2020 on EU's Economic ReVival, "Eurofora", for the reasons that we explained then, Imagined, inter alia, also a Possible New and Concret Digital Tech EU Project, nicknamed, then, "European Green Phone" (See : ..., etc). You can Bet that, Nowadays, If it was, f.ex, about Chosing the Best Digital Tech. Cooperation Big Projects accross the EU, Everybody would be, here, Busy to Seek and/or Promote Ideas, Partnerships, New Technological Possibilities, Seek the Appropriate Funding, Discuss Potential, Explore New Horizons, etc...

Also Back on October 2013, when Angie Merkel was at her Apogee, having just Won September's Elections with a Landmark 40% approaching Political Autonomy, after Passionate Speaches to Boost Strong Families for European Natality and a Strong Europe, as f.ex. near Historic Chancelor Helmut Kohl's (Father of PanEuropean ReUnification) Home at Ludwigshafen, (etc), she was Exceptionaly Radiant at the subsequent EU Brussels' Summit, where Recent Revelations by American Whistle-Blower Eduard Snowden about Mass Spying on People Worldwide, (Even on Merkel's own 2 SmartPhones !), had just Launched a Strong, Active and Creative Wider Movement in Europe to Urgently Seek Digital Sovereignity, Examining All existing or Emerging Technological Possibilities, Projects, Ideas, throughout all its Member States, with an incredibly Energetic Creative Fever Rising, then, all accross Europe...

=> Having seen the Danger, and Felt the Potential, Europeans, then, did Not Feel at all ... "Horizonless and Shallow" (sic !) as Turkish President Erdogan has Notoriously just Slandered the EU to be, according to Ankara's views...

- All the Contrary !
The Congress has prepared a draft model law that will be legislated by party-ruled states in order to annul the central farm laws. Sources said on Friday that the model law has been drafted and will soon be sent to Congress-ruled states to replicate it in their state assemblies.

The move comes days after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi asked states under partys rule to enact legislations to bypass Centres three farm-related laws that have triggered protests by farmers. The move also comes ahead of the tractor rallies to be taken out by the Congress in Punjab and Haryana from October 4, in which party leader Rahul Gandhi will participate. The rallies are part of Congress agitations against the farm legislations.

The Congress is strongly opposing the three legislations and it has launched countrywide protests in each district and Vidhan Sabha on Gandhi Jayanti. The Congress president had advised the Congress-ruled states to pass laws in their respective states under Article 254(2) of the Constitution which allows the state legislatures to pass a law to negate anti-agriculture central laws" that encroach" upon the states jurisdiction under the Constitution.

The Congress claims that rules under Article 245(2) allow a state legislature to enforce laws repugnant to the parliament law", a provision used by the BJP earlier against the central land acquisition act. The sources said that while Congress-ruled states are set to pass the law, some of the non-NDA ruled states are also likely to pass it, as they are opposed to the central farm legislations.

Parliament had passed The Farmers 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 during the Monsoon Session and the president granted his assent for them. The laws seek to liberalise the agriculture sector and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country they want at a better price.

The model law brought by the Congress will be called the Protection of Farmers Interest and Farm Produce (Special Provisions) Bill that has been cleared by party MP and legal expert Abhishek Singhvi. The model law shall declare null, void and inoperative" anything that is inconsistent in the three central legislations with the state law. It will also include a provision to ensure that no farmer shall be paid below the minimum support price for the price of the produce.

The draft model bill seeks to ensure safeguards for farmers including the minimum support price regime and the framework under the APMC Act to protect their interests.
The federal government earmarked $10 billion through the Canada Infrastructure Bank on Thursday, partly targeting rural communities and agriculture.

The three-year plan dedicates $2.5 billion to renewable energy, including northern and Indigenous communities,$2 billion for broadband access,$2 billion to invest in large-scale building retrofits,$1.5 billion for agriculture and irrigation projects, and$1.5 billion for the adoption of zero-emission buses and infrastructure.

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau said the $1.5 billion for farming aims to irrigate 700,000 acres of land concentrated in the prairies.She said the massive Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project Saskatchewans government announced in July was on our radar. Bibeau said discussions are ongoing and the infrastructure bank is looking at the project seriously.The province announced the $4 billion Lake Diefenbaker project in July. Its goal is to use the lakes waters to irrigate up to 500,000 acres.

The federal government was looking at irrigation projects on the prairies and aimed to make a significant announcement before the end of the year, Bibeau said, noting that climate change may lead to more droughts in the region, requiring improved infrastructure.

I think its good news for the people of Saskatchewan, Bibeau said.

Todd Lewis, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, said he hopes the irrigation funding will bolster projects like the Lake Diefenbaker expansion.

Broadband is also a key concern for Lewis, who noted poor connections mean rural university students cant stay on their home farms to attend remote classes this year.

If we dont have (broadband and cellular service) were going to fall behind, he said.

Bibeau was unable to say how many of the 750,000 slated broadband connections for homes and businesses referenced in a federal government new release will be in Saskatchewan. At a Thursday news conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the broadband money will be on top of a universal broadband fund announced in June.

Municipalities of Saskatchewan president Gordon Barnhart said broadband access remains a huge issue for small communities that have been forced to conduct more meetings online; some cant fully participate.

Barnhart said he welcomes new money, but questioned how it will be implemented. He noted broadband delivery methods range from fibre optic cables to satellites. The former would be difficult to implement in the north, he said.

How much of thats coming to Saskatchewan? We can talk broadband, but how is that going to be delivered?

Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities president Ray Orb also noted the potential for the irrigation funding to include the Lake Diefenbaker project.

Funding for poor rural connectivity is also welcome for small communities and farmers, he said, adding (the) universal broadband fund is the thing were still waiting for.If we dont have (broadband and cellular service) were going to fall behind.
Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701)

Today

Mostly clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 16F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Mostly clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 16F. Winds light and variable.
KITCHENER  Police are investigating after a 10-year-old cat was found dead under suspicious circumstances.

The beige and grey Siamese cat was named was Leo. The mainly indoor cat was found with a broken jaw and neck near a school in the area of Westmount Road East and Laurentian Drive on Tuesday. The injuries were described to police as obvious blunt force trauma to the head.

Denise Schick, Leos owner, said she was heartbroken when he was discovered. He had escaped from her yard on Sunday for the first time, finding his way over their six-foot fence.

He followed me everywhere. He was my everything, she said. The injuries he suffered made his death that much harder to bare.

I just dont get how someone could do that to a poor animal, she said, adding she hoped he didnt suffer when he died.

A Go Fund Me page has been set up, requesting financial help to go toward Leos cremation and to have paw prints taken.

Waterloo Regional Police are looking to speak to anyone with information about this investigation. People with information can call 519-570-9777 to reach investigators, and anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Despite cooler temperatures, dining out on the street continues this weekend in parts of Armory Square.

It will happen on Walton Street and in parklets, which are carved out dining spots along the curb in front of three businesses near but not on Walton. Those on-street dining options supplement the patios and courtyards that many restaurants use to expand their seating capacity.

The city is closing both the 100 and 200 blocks of Walton Street to traffic and parking and opening the curbsides to outdoor seating Friday and Saturday. The 100 block will also be closed to traffic and open to dining on Sunday.

That will continue through the end of October, said Jen Tifft, the citys deputy director for Neighborhood and Business Development.

This is the second week the city has curtailed the dining-on-the-street option in the 200 block for Sunday only. The office of Mayor Ben Walsh first announced that change ahead of last weekend.

That decision came after city officials determined that just one restaurant in the 200 block, Margaritas Mexican Cantina, is regularly open on Sunday, but several other non-restaurant retailers and businesses are too, Tifft said. Theres also an issue of access to parking for apartments in the 200 block, she said.

We just want to make sure were being fair and equitable for everyone, she said.

Last month, James Horan, who owns the Vagabond Clothing retail shop in the 200 block, complained that the street closing and loss of parking spaces was hurting his business. He recommended that the city open Walton at least on Sundays.

Restaurants that have been taking advantage of the curbside table service are The Limerick Pub, The Blue Tusk and The Hops Spot in the 100 block of Walton between South Clinton and South Franklin, and Pita Dream, Margaritas Mexican Cantina, Kasai Ramen and Sakana-Ya, all in the 200 block between South Franklin and Onondaga Creek.

All the cross streets remain open to traffic.

The goal is to help restaurants expand their seating while dealing with coronavirus restrictions that limit customers to no more than 50% of normal capacity.

The city first closed Walton to traffic and opened its curbsides to outdoor seating in mid-July. It has now officially extended it through October, matching the citys long-standing sidewalk seating program which typically lasts through Oct. 31.

Meanwhile, there are now three restaurants that have installed parklets, which are temporary mobile platforms adorned with barriers, greenery, lights etc. that can also accommodate outdoor tables.

They are in front of Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub and Pastabilities restaurant in the 300 block of South Franklin Street, and in front of Funk 'n Waffles in the 300 block of South Clinton Street. A fourth is under construction for installation in front of Three Lives, a new bar/restaurant that recently opened in the 300 block of South Clinton Street.

Michael John Heagerty, who coordinates the parklet program and consults with the city on the Walton Street closing, said several restaurants have also been working on plans to add heaters and in some cases tents to their outdoor seating options as the weather turns colder.

Kyle Mastropietro, owner of Kasai Ramen in the 200 block of Walton, said he has been brainstorming with city officials about the use of tents and heaters to extend the outdoor seating season.

Wed definitely like to find what works best to keep the outdoor option going as long as we can, Mastropietro said.

The city is also working on ideas for extending outdoor winter dining, Tifft said.

Related: Put the U Back in Syrac_se invites people back downtown to dine, shop, and have fun

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.
Tragedy in the early stages of Joe Biden's career has influenced the way he conducts himself. (Getty)

For every politician, events of their past influence their political career and the person they are.

But for Joe Biden, the story is particularly poignant.

The 77-year-old was just embarking on his journey in politics when his life was changed irreparably by the death of his wife and daughter.

That moment in 1972 would not only change the presidential hopefuls personal life, but would influence the way he conducts himself on the public stage.

Who was Joe Bidens first wife?

Biden met Neilia Hunter in 1963 on the beach in Nassau during spring break, when she was a sophomore at Syracuse University and he was a junior at the University of Delaware.

Following his degree, Biden moved to Syracuse to attend law school and the couple married in 1966 while he was still studying there.

After his graduation, they moved to Wilmington in Delaware where he practised law and won a seat on New Castle County Council in 1970.

Biden' first wife Neilia and their daughter Naomi are buried alongside his oldest son Beau Biden, who died of cancer in 2015, at a cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware. (Getty)

The couple went on to have three children - sons Beau and Hunter and daughter Naomi, who was nicknamed Amy.

In 1972, Biden ran for a Delaware seat in the US senate, with his wife playing a key role in his campaign.

They succeeded and, in November that year Biden, then 30, won the seat from Republican incumbent J Caleb Boggs.

How did Joe Bidens wife Neilia and daughter Naomi die?

Just weeks after he was elected, while Biden was in Washington DC interviewing people to work in his new office, he received a phone call that would change his life forever.

While out Christmas shopping, Biden received a phone call telling him Neilia and Naomi - who was just 13 months old - had been killed in a car accident. Hunter and Beau, who were four and three years old, were in critical condition.

Speaking about the tragedy in a speech at Yale in 2015, Biden described the moment he took that call.

Six weeks after my election, my whole world was altered forever, he said. While I was in Washington hiring staff, I got a phone call. My wife and three children were Christmas shopping, a tractor trailer broadsided them and killed my wife and killed my daughter. And they werent sure that my sons would live.

Story continues

During a campaign speech in 2008, Biden also spoke openly about seeing his children in hospital after the crash.

How did the death of his wife and daughter affect Joe Bidens career?

The death of Neilia and Naomi would prove to shape the direction of Bidens political career.

His senate swearing-in took place at his sons bedside in hospital and he went on to commute daily from Washington to Delaware to spend time with his sons, gaining the nickname Amtrak Joe.

During his Yale speech, he said: I began to commute thinking I was only going to stay a little while  four hours a day, every day  from Washington to Wilmington, which Ive done for over 37 years.

I did it because I wanted to be able to kiss them goodnight and kiss them in the morning the next day But looking back on it, the truth be told, the real reason I went home every night was that I needed my children more than they needed me.

Biden described his focus on his sons as his redemption. Beau went on to die of a brain tumour in 2015 in another tragedy to hit the family.

Biden married current wife Jill in 1977. (Getty)

In his 2017 book Promise Me, Dad, Biden wrote that the pain ... seemed unbearable in the beginning, and it took me a long time to heal, but I did survive the punishing ordeal. I made it through, with a lot of support, and reconstructed my life and my family.

The Democrat, who went on to marry current wife Jill in 1977, has described how his own experiences have helped him connect with voters who have been through similar tragedy.

In an interview with MSNBC, he said: "You'd be amazed at the number of people who come up to me. I mean hundreds of people over time. They'll throw their arms around me, men and women, and say, 'I just lost my son, I just lost my father, I just lost my wife.' And all they want to know is that you're going to make it.
EV

Hey Elon , just thought we'd put this out here. We wait and hang on to hope wrt "hopefully soon" for India Tesla entry. Would love to hear of any progress in this regard. pic.twitter.com/8FNvyqFhIX  Tesla Club India (@TeslaClubIN) October 2, 2020

Next year for sure  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 2, 2020

Ever since he assumed office six years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet have been focusing on the electrification of the Indian subcontinent through various bills and promises. Understanding theroadmap in this part of the world is difficult, though, but everything boils down to the average new-vehicle price.The figure youre looking for is 7.7 lakh, translating to $10,500 at current exchange rates. Tesla has promised a $25,000 electric vehicle in 2023 at the earliest, but thats still too much for most prospective customers in India. Otherwise said, the American automaker may want to adapt its vehicles to this market by lowering the upfront price.Wishful thinking, I hear you say, and youre most likely correct. Tesla lives and dies by its stockholders, and low-cost vehicles arent as profitable as the Model 3 or Model S. The Musk Man did hint at a new factory in Asia  outside of China  yet the big kahuna didnt mention if he was referring to battery or vehicle production.There is no denying that India makes a lot of sense for a manufacturing plant thanks to cheap labor, but Japan and South Korea seem like better options given their experience in the automotive business and their ties to Western markets. As it is, this confirmation of Tesla coming to India is nothing more than a vague promise.Reports in the local media further suggest the opening of a research and innovation center in Karnataka. The state capital  Bengaluru  is a hotspot for big players in the industry such as Bosch, Daimler, and Mahindras electric business venture.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- Beyond Juice has opened two stores in Ann Arbor and is planning for a third by 2021.

The juicery and eatery on Aug. 9 opened an 1,800-square-foot location at 3500 Washtenaw Ave. across from the Arborland plaza and on Aug. 30 a takeout-only space at 1300 South University Ave. near the University of Michigan campus.

Beyond Juice set to open first of 3 Ann Arbor locations

Part of what drove us to Ann Arbor is because it is a health-conscious market, Franchisee Jason Waterman said, adding the franchise dipped into the Detroit market within the last two years before expanding to Ann Arbor.

The third location, which will have patio seating, is expected to open at 3300 Ann Arbor-Saline Road in January 2021.

The eatery offers various smoothies, juices, wellness shots, wraps and salads. Anyone who downloads the mobile application will receive a free smoothie, Waterman said.
Judges on the four-member panel of the Appellate Divisions First Judicial Department seemed to sympathize with arguments from Manaforts attorney Todd Blanche, who said that their decision should be easy based on established law. Blanche said the court should reject the Manhattan district attorneys bid to see the indictment sent back to the New York Supreme Court so Manafort can face a trial.
An Auburn High School student has tested positive for coronavirus this week, according to a letter from the districts superintendent.

The student was last in school on Sept. 24 without symptoms. The student got symptoms on Sept. 26, a Saturday. Following a test on Sept. 29, results came back positive Sept. 30, according to the letter from Superintendent Casey Handfield.

The student does not ride the bus, Handfield wrote.

This case follows the possible exposure of 20 students last month. In that incident, a bus monitor had tested positive. Students were in the presence of the bus monitor during their morning and afternoon bus rides between Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, officials previously said.

Currently, the high school student is doing well with little discomfort, Handfield wrote.

Any teachers and classmates of the student are not considered close contacts because they were not within 6 feet of the student, the superintendent wrote. However, those teachers and classmates are receiving phone calls out of an abundance of caution.

Since last Thursday, the building has been deep cleaned twice, according to the letter.

As I stated last week, I sincerely appreciate that this information is concerning for many of you, Handfield wrote. Unfortunately, it is our reality for the foreseeable future. I strongly urge you, again, to make sure that you and your loved ones are taking appropriate precautions in and out of school with respect to mask wearing, hand washing, social distancing, and being careful in large crowds. I would also respectfully ask that you do not engage in speculation about who the student is or offer comment to the news media should they appear. The student and family have a right to privacy.

Related Content:
B Anbuselvan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Persons engaged in essential services nominated by the State government will be allowed to travel in 'workmen specials' services in Chennai suburban routes from October 5, Southern Railway on Friday announced.

Currently, only the railway and other Central government employees are allowed to travel in the suburban trains.

However, members of the public will not be allowed to use the services.

The essential services staff includes workers and supervisors engaged on a contract basis in government, local civic bodies, and various other agencies. Employees deployed on Covid-19 duty, who reside in Chengalpattu, Arakkonam, and Tiruvallur, will be nominated for transportation by trains, said an official from the State government.

For the past five months, a large number of health department employees and cops are travelling by their own vehicles. A section of workers is being transported by MTC buses.

"During rainy reasons, workers face a lot of hardship in reaching their destination, followed by which the State government requested the railways to allow the transportation of employees in suburban trains," added the senior official.

Presently, 30 workmen special services are being operated in suburban routes, of which 14 services in ChennaiArakkonam, 4 in ChengalpattuSulurpetta, 2 in ChengalpattuGummidipundi, 2 in Chennai MMCGummidipundi, 4 in ChengalpattuChennai Beach, and 4 in ArakkonamJolarpettai routes.

The State government nominated a nodal officer for authorizing essential services staff who are to be allowed to travel in workmen special trains run in Chennai Suburban Sections. The specific travel permission shall have details such as name, designation, department /office, etc. This travel permission in original will be accepted by the railways only when presented along with the photo ID card of the person issued by his/her office, said railways in a statement.

Passengers will be subjected to two levels of scrutinisation. First by personnel of Railway Police or Railway Protection Force at the entry of railway station and the second at the entrance to the platforms by the railway ticket checking staff.

Tickets will be issued only to essential services staff. Both single journey and season tickets will be issued at the booking counters available at all sub-urban stations. To prevent overcrowding of passengers at stations and on trains, appropriate restrictions will be imposed as deemed necessary, added the statement.

A senior railway official said, The travellers will be strictly monitored. As of now, there is no data on how many essential services staff would be nominated by the State government. Depending on the patronage and necessity, services will be reviewed."
Patrick Smith/Getty

The Kentucky Attorney Generals Office on Friday released roughly 20 hours of audio from proceedings by a grand jury that ultimately decided not to charge the three officers involved in Breonna Taylors fatal shooting with her death.

Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron was ordered by a judge to take the extraordinarily unusual step of releasing the grand jury recording, a process that is typically kept secret, after an unidentified juror filed a motion requesting the release of all information in Taylors casestating certain questions were left unanswered.

The grand jury is meant to be a secretive body. Its apparent that the public interest, in this case, isnt going to allow that to happen, Cameron said.

The grand jury made the stunning decision last week to indict just one officer, Brett Hankison, for recklessly firing shots that endangered people in other apartments. Mattingly and Cosgrovethe latter the cop who fired the shot that killed Taylorwerent charged. Cameron has said they were justified to protect themselves.

Do we really want the truth, or do we want a truth that fits our narrative? Cameron said last week amid outrage over the grand jury decision.

Sole Witness Who Heard Cops Announce Themselves in Breonna Taylor Raid Changed His Story

However, in the days since, questions have emerged about the narrative that was presented to the grand jury. Cameron revealed last week that the only charge recommended to the grand jury was wanton endangerment, despite previously stating that hed talked to jurors about every homicide offense, and also presented all of the information that was available.

Cameron had also said a witness confirmed the three officers account that they announced their presence before entering Taylors home. However, according to documents and audio obtained by Vice News on Saturday, that sole witness initially told investigators he didnt hear police announce themselves. Two months later, he changed his story.

Story continues

Taylors boyfriend, Kenny Walker, and 11 other residents who lived in the 26-year-olds Louisville apartment building, all said they didnt hear the cops announce themselves. Walker said he thought he was being burglarized and fired a warning shot that triggered the tragic chain of events.

A Kentucky State ballistics report obtained by Vice and several other outlets also showed an inconsistency in Camerons assertion that Walker shot Mattingly in the thighwhich prompted the officers to return fire with up to 20 shots. Cameron said investigators had ruled out friendly fire as the source of the shot, but the KSP report said that due to limited markings of comparative value, the 9mm bullet that hit Mattingly was neither identified nor eliminated as having been fired by Walkers gun.

During a news conference on Tuesday, the lawyer for the grand juror stressed that truth and transparency are essential for a case that has become one of the most talked about in the country.

Lonita Baker, an attorney for Taylor's family, applauded the brave juror and said the public deserves better than the word games Daniel Cameron is playing to avoid telling the full truth.

Reading between the lines, it is obvious that Daniel Cameron lied to Tamika Palmer, the citizens of Kentucky, and the world when he said the grand jury agreed that Officers Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified to kill Breonna.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markles decision to leave their senior royal roles could playing a part in impacting how people living in Commonwealth countries feel about the monarchy.

Earlier this year, the Barbadian prime minister announced the removal of the Queen as the head of state.

It came after more than 20 years of discussion on the island state as to whether they should break away.

On 15 September, the country finally made the move, with prime minister Mia Mottley stating the country would aim to make the move ahead of its 55th anniversary of independence, in November 2021.

This is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving.

She said it would be a sign of leaving our colonial past behind.

Buckingham Palace has said the issue is one for the government and people of Barbados.

Barbados is one of 15 Commonwealth realms, countries which used to be part of the empire, and still retain the Queen as their head of state. Changing the head of state does not impact the nation's membership of the Commonwealth now, which is an organisation of 54 countries, which work together on global issues.

Harry and Meghan leaving their roles

Melissa Murray, an expert in constitutional law at New York University (NYU), said developments in Britain in recent years - including Harry and Meghan stepping down as senior royals - could have influenced how those living in Commonwealth countries such as Barbados view their own ties to Britain and its monarchy.

She pointed in particular to the departure of two popular members of the Royal Family - Harry and Meghan - who were seen as heralding a new diverse era.

Well, well, well. Barbados will become a republic. Wonder if the other CARICOM countriesJamaica?will follow suit. Doesnt bode well for the post-QE2 commonwealth. https://t.co/0lNRdKGavp  Melissa Murray (@ProfMMurray) September 15, 2020

Read more: Will Barbados removing the Queen as head of state trigger other countries to do the same?

Story continues

Professor Murray said: To the extent that those in the Caribbean are interested in and follow the British Royal Family, many cheered the marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, a biracial American, as a step toward a more inclusive, diverse and modern monarchy.

The couples decision to step back from their roles as senior royals amidst sharp - and in many cases, unwarranted - criticism of Ms Markle has, in some quarters, fuelled the sense that the UK is not hospitable to people of colour.

It has also removed two members of the family who were very popular in the broader Commonwealth, and whose work as senior royals included strengthening ties between the UK and the Commonwealth.

Historian and royal biographer Robert Lacey made a similar observation about the impact of the Palaces failure to hold onto Meghan.

Speaking to the Daily Mail he said: For a monarchy that represents a mixed-race nation and a mixed-race commonwealth [having Meghan] was important. Is it any wonder Barbados and Jamaica are now saying, We are signing off. We can do without the Queen, thank you very much.

Windrush and British politics

She also cited recent political moments, particularly the Windrush scandal, as further reason why people in Caribbean nations might perceive Britain as being unwelcoming to people of colour.

The Windrush scandal of 2018 saw hundreds of people, who had moved to the UK as part of a drive to fill a post-war job shortage, classed as illegal immigrants.

Those affected were left with the job of proving they had the right to stay in the country, even though many came to the UK as children on their parents passport, or had not been given the kinds of documents they needed by the Home Office.

Professor Murray said: You also cannot discount the impact of Brexit, Windrush and other developments in the UK in sparking an interest in republicanism elsewhere in the Commonwealth, particularly in the Caribbean.

On the heels of Brexit, trade amongst Commonwealth nations was heralded as a salve that would mitigate Brexits impact on the UKs trade relationship with Europe. But the interest in strong trade ties between the UK and the Commonwealth coincided with the Windrush scandal and the sense that the UK was no longer hospitable to immigrants, including long-standing immigrants from the Caribbean.

The notion that the Commonwealth could be a saviour for Britains trade prospects, but that its residents are unwelcome in the UK, is a jarring disjunction that does not sit well with citizens of Caribbean nations.

A group of protesters march across Westminster Bridge to mark the first official Windrush Day with a demonstration demanding justice for members of the Windrush Generation in June 2019. (Barcroft Media)

Read more: 9 things the Queen has said about the Commonwealth she gave 'heart and soul' to

Black power and Black Lives Matter

The New York Times drew comparisons between 2020 and the last era in which multiple Caribbean nations removed the Queen as head of state. Through the 1970s, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Dominica all made the same move - buoyed by the Black power movement.

Professor Richard Drayton, of Kings College London, who spent his childhood in Barbados, told the NYTimes: As in the 1970s in the Caribbean, theres a new anger among younger people, not just about the predicament of people who happen to be Black in the United States, but about the experience of people who are Black in their own societies.

Professor Murray told Yahoo UK: Obviously, correlation is not causation, but it is hard to read Ms Mottleys statement without considering the influence of BLM [Black Lives Matter].

As she said, the move toward a republic is animated by a desire for Barbados to shed the vestiges of colonialism and select a head of state who is Bajan.

This interest in self-determination and self-government is not necessarily front and centre of BLM activity in the United States, but it has been central to discussions of BLM in those nations that have had a more pronounced history of British imperialism and colonialism.

Professor Murray also noted the decision by Harry and Meghan, here in March 2020, to step back. (Reuters)

Read more: Is Prince Harry right to take a pop at the Queen's Commonwealth?

Prince Harry and Meghan remain president and vice president respectively of the Queens Commonwealth Trust (QCT), despite stepping back from their senior royal roles.

They found themselves under fire earlier this year when Harry, 36, addressed the history of the commonwealth in relation to racial justice, and said: When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past, and guess what, everybody benefits.

A few weeks later, Harry sounded more positive however, praising his grandmother, the Queen, during a conversation with people involved with the QCT. He said: I think everything my grandmother wanted to achieve when she took this huge responsibility on, shes managed

No one could have predicted how the world was going to change in such a short space of time, especially with the digital space, but hearing you guys, and knowing the broad spectrum that QCT engulfs, youre the definition of the 21st century Commonwealth, and what it means to be part of it.

You are there, standing for equality, for mutual respect, and for fairness.

Queen Elizabeth II, here at the Commonwealth Day Service in March 2020 is a passionate supporter of the commonwealth. (WireImage)

Prime Minister Mottley told ABC Australia: It's not a divisive decision, it's not a decision that is reflective of any break with the monarchy, or any disrespect, in fact it's quite the opposite.

We have an excellent relationship with the United Kingdom, with the royal family, and we believe that the time has come to boost the confidence of our people.

In a very real sense a lot of the changes have been made over the course of the last 54 years, so this is the most natural progression.

Professor Philip Murphy, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London, told the Daily Telegraph in July that the Commonwealth does not have any dirty secret.

He said: The fact remains that what its members essentially have in common is the national experience of being part of the British Empire. One problem of the Commonwealth is that its constituency of active supporters has been ageing, and discussions have become terribly platitudinous.

By contrast, issues around reparations, race, the Windrush Saga, are things that really grasp the imagination of young people. Although it might be uncomfortable for Britain, it might re-energise the Commonwealth and I think Harry and Meghan are right about that.

The QCT, which has a disclaimer on its website that it does not represent the views of the monarchy, shared support for the Black Lives Matter movement in June.

The organisation tweeted: Young people are vital voices in the fight against injustice and racism around the world. As a global community of young leaders we stand together in pursuit of fairness and a better way forward. Silence is not an option.

We all have the power to effect positive change. It is time to speak up and speak out. Time to have uncomfortable conversations with ourselves and with others. Time to educate ourselves and unlearn. Time to come together and build a better future as one.

Young people are vital voices in the fight against injustice and racism around the world. As a global community of young leaders we stand together in pursuit of fairness and a better way forward.



Silence is not an option.#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/PyFlfGvbhN  The Queen's Commonwealth Trust (@queenscomtrust) June 1, 2020

What next for the Commonwealth?

Professor Murray also raised the question of what Barbados decision could mean for the future of the Commonwealth itself.

The Commonwealth is a network of 54 nations which work together on shared goals and ideals. While most members were formerly part of the British Empire, not all are, and most nations have their own head of state who is not the Queen.

But, the Queen is the head of the Commonwealth, as was her father before her, and her son, Prince Charles, will be the next head, following a vote of member countries, on the Queens suggestion.

Professor Murray said: The Queens robust advocacy to ensure that Prince Charles succeeded her as Head of the Commonwealth was noted at CHOGM in 2018. While having the monarch, or in this case, future monarch, serve as head of the Commonwealth was a priority for the Queen, it was not required nor was it a foregone conclusion that the other Commonwealth nations would be on board.

Going forward, if more and more commonwealth realms become republicsand do so in an effort to sever ties to colonialism and Empirethe idea of the monarch as the Head of the Commonwealth looks increasingly anachronistic.

Indeed, if the number of commonwealth realms dwindle further, it will be hard to justify the entire structure of a Commonwealth organised around the British monarch.

While other nations have not directly followed suit in the hours after the announcement, Australia and Jamaica are just two of the remaining realms to watch, having previously voiced support for becoming republics.

Both nations have recent polling citing support at republicanism at more than 50%.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors prepares for its weekly meeting in Santa Ana, Calif. on Aug. 25, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Health Equity Metric To Factor in Loosening COVID Restrictions for OC

Orange County officials said a health equity metric will be considered by the state of California to determine whether the county will elevate to the next, less-restrictive level on the states monitoring list for COVID-19.

The metric will be used as one of the criteria for a county to move up to the next color-coded tier in the states monitoring system. California released the first set of measurable requirements for the health equity metric on Sept. 30.

Dr. Margaret Bredehoft, deputy director of Orange Countys public health services, said the information provided on Sept. 30 shows that the metric is based on the California Healthy Places Index (HPI) and the countys census tracts.

The HPI was developed by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California and Virginia Commonwealth Universitys Center on Society and Health. The index measures an areas non-health characteristicssuch as housing, education, economic stability, and other social factorsaccording to the organizations website.

Other data that can also be layered into the index include health outcomes, race/ethnicity, and climate change information.

In order to advance to the next less restrictive tier, depending on its size, a county will need to meet an equity metric and/or demonstrate targeted investments to eliminate disparities and levels of transmission, Bredehoft said at an Oct. 1 press conference.

Officials said they were confident some of the actions Orange County has already taken targeting health equity in the last few months will help the county achieve the requirements. One such program was the Latino Health Equity Initiative, launched in June.

However, officials wont know for sure where the county stands until the state releases the baseline data for each county on Oct. 6. In the meantime, the county will be developing a plan based on the information available.

Orange Countys updated COVID-19 numbers include seven new deaths and 158 diagnosed cases reported on Oct. 1, increasing total fatalities to 1,268 with a cumulative case count of 53,751.

Recent deaths are overwhelmingly related to the surge in cases a couple of months ago, Dr. Matthew Zahn, medical director of the countys communicable disease control division, said at the press conference.

Our hospital and ICU numbers [since then] have really gone down, which is really important.

As of Oct. 1, the county has 158 reported hospitalizations, down from more than 700 in mid-July.

Orange Countys weekly COVID-19 data was updated by the state on Sept. 29, showing a testing positivity rate of 3.1 percent and a case rate of 4.4 per 100,00 people. In the previous week, the case rate was only 3.6 per 100,000.

In order to move from the red to the orange tier, the county must have a positivity rate between 2 percent and 4 percent, and a case rate of 1 to 3.9 per 100,000, for two weeks.

Zahn said he continues to see few COVID-19 cases in Orange County schools, which is definitely a good thing.

Each recorded case gives a school the opportunity to work with the county to fix any issues and improve their pandemic preparedness plans, he said.

Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel said the county is performing better than all the neighboring counties in cases per 100,000 people.

Further, Orange County is in the best position of all urban counties in the state, she said.

Steel also criticized the state for dragging its feet on developing a plan to reopen theme parks, even as Disney parks have already reopened in Florida, Japan, France, and China.

Yesterday was a sad day for Orange County, as Disney had to lay off 28,000 of their employees. Many of these employees are Orange County residents, and Im worried about them being able to make ends meet, she said.

I am disappointed at the lack of progress that California has made in this and other areas. This all could have been avoided, and I hope the state will have answers and give us scientific data for why they have delayed for so long.

Supervisors Lisa Bartlett and Andrew Do also announced their intent to propose creating an Orange County Office of Suicide Prevention at the next board meeting.

Orange County has been battling an upward trend in suicides for years, Do said. COVID-19 has only exacerbated the root causes of suicides like mental illness and substance abuse.

Added Bartlett, Now, more than ever, people who are having a hard time coping and may be contemplating suicide need that additional support to get them through this difficult time.

The supervisors said the office would be the first of its kind.
After failing to make his presence felt in the last assembly elections in Telangana in December 2018, former Osmania University (OU) professor and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) president M Kodandaram is planning to try his luck in the ensuing elections to state legislative council under graduates quota.

The elections to the two MLC seats under graduates constituencies  one comprising Nalgonda, Warangal and Khammam districts and another encompassing Rangareddy, Mahbubnagar and Hyderabad districts - are scheduled to be held in February and March.

The process for the conduct of elections for the two seats began on Thursday with the enrolment of graduate voters. Though there is still four months time for the elections, all the political parties including the Congress, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Bharatiya Janata Party have already commenced the exercise for the selection of candidates, inviting applications from the aspirants.

Also read: Ready to fight even with God - KCR on river water dispute with Andhra

Kodandaram, once a protege of Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, has announced his intentions to contest the MLC elections from Nalgonda-Warangal-Khammam graduates constituency. For the last few weeks, he has been extensively touring these districts to mobilise support for his candidature.

There is a need to have a strong opposition voice in the legislative council that can represent the peoples voice. At present, there is hardly any representation of the opposition in the council. That is why there have been requests from all sections of people that I should contest the elections to represent the voice of the oppressed, Kodandaram told Hindustan Times.

Kodandaram was a powerful leader with a huge mass appeal before 2014 when he spearheaded the movement for separate Telangana state as the chairman of Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) comprising all political parties, workers, employees and students.

However, he refused to join hands with the TRS in post-Telangana scenario but wanted to continue the TJAC as a watch-dog of the people. This resulted in differences between KCR and Kodandaram and the latter turned a bitter critic of the TRS government.

Before 2018 elections, he floated a separate political party Telangana Jana Samithi as an alternative voice of the people of Telangana. There was an anti-establishment atmosphere in 2018 too but we could not succeed in capitalising on it for various reasons, Kodandaram said.

The TJS leader is hoping to get support from other opposition parties, particularly the Congress with which his party had joined hands to form grand alliance along with the Telugu Desam Party and the CPI. However, the Congress party is planning to go alone and has received applications from aspirants for the two MLC seats.

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Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Sanctions taken by the Economic Community of West African States against Mali will soon to be lifted, the Community's Permanent Representative in the country has announced, noting the progress made by the junta in the establishment of the Transition, designation of a president and the appointment of a prime minister, PANA learned from an official source
Residents of a village in Assam killed two people, including a school teacher, in a suspected case of witch-hunting. The deceased included a 50-year-old widow who the villagers claimed was a witch" and responsible for another womans death in the area. The other victim, a 28-year-old man who was protested and criticised the mob for their superstitious belief, was also beheaded along with the widow.

The incident occurred in Langhin Rahimapur under Dokmoka Police Station where a few angry villagers attacked Ramawati Halua in her house with sharp weapons and when Bijoy Gaur, a school teacher, tried to intervene, both were brutally murdered. According to sources, the villagers then beheaded the bodies and offered prayers to ward off evil, and later dragged their bodies across a river and cremated them on a distant hill side.

The villagers also tried to kill the teenage daughter of Ramawati but the girl escaped and reached the Dokmoka Police Station on Thursday morning and gave her statement. A police team rushed to the spot and recovered the murder weapons and remnants of the victims bodies.

So far, the police have arrested nine people and a search is on to nab others. One of the accused admitted to his crime and surrendered to the police. The village where is crime occurred is mostly inhabited by the Adivasi community where people either work as daily wage labourers or as small-time farmers.

All accused belong to the same community and the incident was reported from elsewhere. The people are economically to backward and are loaded with superstitious beliefs. We will now prepare a charge sheet and if the court convicts them then only we can say that we reached a logical conclusion," said Karbi Anglong, SP, Debojit Deuri.

According to sources, a woman from the village had died a few days ago after falling sick and was taken to Guwahati for treatment. During her post death ritual, another woman started showing abnormal signs", claiming Ramawati Halua was the witch behind the death and would bring bad fortune to the village.

I dont know what happened to me, I dont remember if I took her (Ramwati) name. The deceased girls soul somehow got hold of me and I dont know what I said under her possession," the woman who branded Ramawati as a witch claimed during interrogation by the police.

In a similar incident under the same police station two year ago, two youths from Guwahati were brutally killed by an angry mob. On June 8, 2018, the two men namely, Abhijeet Nath and Nilotpal Das, went for a short vacation to Dokmoka to enjoy the scenic view of a waterfall. However, they were suspected to be child abductors, leading to a mob brutally thrashing the two who eventually succumbed to their injuries. The video of the incident went viral over the internet drawing outrage from both national and international communities. Their families are still waiting for justice to the served.

The Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act, 2015 has been in force in the state since 2018. According to the law, witch-hunting has been recognised as a non-bailable and non-compoundable offence, with the provisions of life imprisonment.

According to the data presented by the Assam government in the state Legislative Assembly last year, at least 161 deaths have been reported in cases of witch-hunting in the state in the last 18 years.
Calls and emails to a helpline about children trapped in violent homes have risen by a monthly average of 49 per cent since lockdown was introduced, new figures show.

From the start of April until the end of August, the NSPCC helpline recorded more than 4,500 concerns from members of the public, with 818 in August alone.

The monthly average for the period was 903 reports, up from an average of 607 for the period January to March 23, when national restrictions were introduced.

In May, the NSPCC recorded its highest number of contacts about children living with domestic abuse, at 1,017.

The charity is calling for the Government to introduce a legal requirement and funding for local authorities to provide recovery services for children who live with domestic abuse.

It also wants agencies to sign up to deliver its community-based recovery service - Domestic Abuse Recovering Together (Dart) - which works with mothers and children that have suffered abuse.

From the start of April until the end of August, the NSPCC helpline recorded more than 4,500 concerns from members of the public, with 818 in August alone (file photo)

Emily Hilton, senior policy and public affairs officer at the NSPCC, said the Government had already taken an 'important step' by amending the Domestic Abuse Bill to recognise that children affected by domestic abuse are victims in their own right.

'They should underpin this by creating a statutory duty on local agencies to provide specialist community-based services for children impacted by domestic abuse,' she added.

'This must be backed up by funding for local agencies. The pandemic has shone a spotlight on children who are living with the daily nightmare of domestic abuse.

'Now more than ever it is crucial the Government grasps the landmark opportunity offered by the Domestic Abuse Bill to ensure children get the protection and support they need.'

Barnardo's chief executive Javed Khan said: 'Sadly we know that domestic abuse has soared during Covid-19, and this evidence from the NSPCC underlines that too many children are trapped in unsafe homes.

'Without the right support at the right time, these children are at risk of becoming trapped in a life-long cycle of abuse.

'The Domestic Abuse Bill introduces a new duty on local authorities to provide support for victims, including children, in refuges but this will not help the majority of victims who remain in the family home, especially in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

'So it's vital that Parliament extends this duty to cover all children - no matter where they live.'

The monthly average for the period was 903 reports, up from an average of 607 for the period January to March 23, when national restrictions were introduced

The NSPCC said it has supported more than 2,000 women and children across the UK with its Dart services over the last decade.

It said growing demand for services like Dart to help families deal with the effects of abuse during lockdown means more agencies are now needed to help deliver it.

One mother and one of her sons were referred to Dart after continued domestic abuse by her husband culminated in an attack that left her with a broken nose and cuts to her wrists.

She said: 'I didn't see myself as a domestic abuse victim, but I agreed to attend the two-hour sessions, once a week for 10 weeks.

'In week one I didn't have much to say, but when we got to week five the Dart group looked at the controlling and isolating side of domestic abuse, and it hit me that my life had been terrible for years and I was a victim on domestic abuse.

'I realised that there had been a breakdown of communication between my son and I.

'Dart really has helped me and my son a lot. The NSPCC saved me and saved my relationship with my son.'

Gene Feder, professor of primary care at the University of Bristol, said: 'Support for children exposed to domestic abuse must be an integral part of local authority and NHS-commissioned services.

'The Government's recent amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill - recognising exposed children as victims in their own right - is a step in the right direction, which needs to be followed by appropriate funding.'
And if we dont, the restaurant gets fined a ton of money, Ms. Berryman said. And that affects your tips as the server, if youre constantly trying to be like, Please dont stand here. Please put your masks on when you go to the bathroom. I became so numb to it that its become normalized in my mind. But its not normal.

Ms. Berryman quit that job on Friday. The decision was made possible by another job opportunity, but she said her fears about indoor dining were a major factor.

She was not the only one who used the word numb to describe the effect of juggling personal risk, public health and customer happiness. Some servers spoke of feeling powerless to control the levels of danger and stress their jobs now entail.

Barbara Law, a barista who works at coffee shops in Manhattan and Brooklyn, was told before one of them reopened earlier this year that no more than four customers would be allowed inside at one time, the staff would get daily temperature checks and the six-feet rule would be observed. None of that turned out to be the case, they said; the baristas are jammed into a tight space and the crowd indoors sometimes swells to twice the official limit.

In mid-July, when we started hearing about lawsuits from some restaurant owners to allow 25 percent capacity, thats when I stopped thinking about my own health and safety, Mx. Law said. Because those definitely seemed to be out of my control.

Some establishments are more careful than others. One employee of a restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who asked that his name and the restaurants be withheld because he isnt authorized to speak for it, told me that he had been apprehensive this summer when he returned there to wait tables, but he has been reassured by its numerous safety protocols. In particular, he says, he appreciates that the restaurant asks customers to put on masks any time an employee is at the table.

Its relieved a lot of anxiety, he said. I think when they put the masks on, they realize that dining in general right now is a privilege.
Such stories did not just end there. Many continued to spin tales of immediate righteous retribution. In the same letter, Bigelow wrote that two of these villains were hanged on the spot by outraged citizens, while another was shot dead. There are grisly contemporary illustrations of this rough justice. In one of them, the supposed incendiary is hanging upside-down from a lamppost as two men carry out an impromptu execution. One wields a rifle butt, the other a hatchet. There was even a story afoot of Catholic priests shooting seven men as they tried to torch a church.
The Duchess of Cambridges uncle has criticised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for interfering in British politics from the other side of the Atlantic.

Gary Goldsmith, who is the brother of Kates mother Carole Middleton, branded Harry and Meghan muppets craving attention.

And he pleaded with them to shut the F up and let Britons get on with saving lives and the economy.

In a post on LinkedIn, he wrote: With so much stuff going on in the world still these two muppets are craving attention!

Speaking in a Zoom interview with the Evening Standard from their new 11million home in Santa Barbara, California, the couple said they were 'doing well' after leaving the UK

Kate's uncle Gary, currently self-isolating after holidaying in Ibiza, spoke out after the speech

Gary Goldsmith, who is the brother of Kates mother Carole Middleton, pleaded with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to shut the F up and let Britons get on with saving lives

Please shut the F up and bring up your child. Stop talking and being so demanding!!

Harry, you have lost our love and respect. Meghan you are a wrongn. Now hush please we are kinda busy saving lives and the economy.

Gary, 55, who is currently self-isolating after holidaying in Ibiza, spoke out after the Duchess lost her latest High Court battle with the Mail on Sunday.

She is suing Associated Newspapers over the publication of a private and confidential letter sent to her father Thomas Markle.

She wanted to prevent the newspaper group from arguing that she had co-operated with the authors of the recently-published book Finding Freedom.

The final straw was when Goldsmith read an article on Mail online in which Harry and Meghan demanded an end to structural racism in Britain.

Speaking from their $14 million mansion in Santa Barbara, California, to mark Black History Month, they discussed the Black Lives Matter movement.

While Meghan praised the protests across the US as a beautiful thing, Harry admitted his white privilege.

'I wasn't aware of so many of the issues and so many of the problems within the UK and also globally as well, he said. I thought I did but I didn't.

'You know, when you go in to a shop with your children and you only see white dolls, do you even think: 'That's weird, there is not a black doll there?'.

'And I use that as just one example of where we as white people don't always have the awareness of what it must be like for someone else of a different coloured skin, of a black skin, to be in the same situation as we are where the world that we know has been created by white people for white people.'

However Goldsmith, who lives in London with his wife Julie-Ann, believes that the couple should stop preaching to Britain.

I totally stand by everything I wrote, said Gary, who attended his niece Kate Middletons marriage to Prince William.

I used to have a lot of respect for Harry and his army career but this new Harry is someone I dont recognise.

I find it totally frustrating when we are trying to save lives and look after UK PLC, to be lectured daily on any topic they deem to be important.

They have abdicated the UK for the US and obviously dont give a damn about the Royal family.

Weve all had enough of them lecturing us. You cant sell your soul to Netflix for a reported 150 million and then dictate to Mother England.

Kensington Palace declined to comment.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has reiterated that Africas biggest asset is the potential held by its youthful population and not its natural resources.

I tell people all the time, we look at the African continent sometimes from a perspective of its natural wealth. The gold, the diamonds, the oil, the gas but what we tend not to see is what is the true African potential.

And the true African potential is our young men and women, and their capacity to participate with you to build a greater and better world for all of us, President Kenyatta said.

The President spoke Thursday when he delivered the key note speech at the 6th BPIfrance Inno Generation business forum at Accor Arena in Paris, France. He was the chief guest at the conference which is the largest annual congregation of French entrepreneurs and innovators.

In a riveting off-the-cuff address, President Kenyatta spoke about investment opportunies available to French entrepreneurs on the African continent.

While highlighting challenges limiting African investment potential, the President noted that despite being seen as a current challenge, the continents bulging youthful population was indeed an opportunity.

He said it was lack of opportunities on the continent that was turning Africas young people into a problem for Europe and the rest of the world through desperate attempts at finding livelihoods such as illegal migration.

We know we have huge problems with regard to migration that make people have this feeling or this understanding that all that Africa can contribute is migrants.

But you must ask yourself, why do these young men and women risk their lives to cross thousands of miles of land, risk their lives to cross the Mediterranean. It is in search of opportunity, President Kenyatta said.

On Kenyas and Africas relationship with France, President Kenyatta told a packed Accor Arena that his administration enjoys working with President Macron, the Government and French people.

It has been a great pleasure working with Emmanuel (President Macron) over the last few years. I believe he is a man who understands that the future of France on the African continent does not necessarily reside in its history but in the potential that Africa has for mutual prosperity, the President said.

On Covid-19, President Kenyatta said life must continue despite the global health and economic difficulties posed by the pandemic.

Despite this pandemic (Covid-19) that has created a very difficult situation for all of us globally, we have come to an understanding that even as we protect ourselves, even as we protect our health, we have also to understand that the world hasnt stopped, he said.

On investment opportunities in Kenya and Africa, President Kenyatta singled out technology, infrastructure and manufacturing as the top three sectors with the highest potential for French investors.

On infrastructure, the President said the African continent has a huge deficit of connectively projects especially in the railway and roads sectors.

He said Wednesdays signing of a public private partnership agreement worth 1.3 billion Euros for the construction of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit Highway in Kenya, was a testament of the huge potential available for French private sector to participate in Africas infrastructure development.

Speaking when he introduced President Kenyatta to the audience, French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated the Kenyan leader for his progressive leadership credentials.

You run a wonderful country. I was the first French President to visit it. And you run it marvelously. You have to deal with Covid-19, with a lot of issues but you decided to come to France, for this event, President Macron thanked his Kenyan guest.

The French President said his reason for inviting President Kenyatta to grace Frances biggest gathering of entrepreneurs and innovators was to provide a platform for Kenya and French business people to explore available investment opportunities in each others countries for the mutual benefit of the citizens of the two republics.

I wanted Mr President to come and see French entrepreneurs, SMEsand to have an open discussion because I do believe it is extremely important both for France and Kenya to have a better knowledge of each other, President Macron said.

And to see all the opportunities you can find in this country and how French companies can bring something to your country, provide our solutions, our innovations, our entrepreneurship and be part of your success, he added.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries Raychelle Omamo (Foreign Affairs), James Macharia (Infrastructure), Ukur Yatani (National Treasury) and Betty Maina (Trade) is in France on an official visit.

The Kenyan President was received by his host President Emmanuel Macron at Elysee Palace in central Paris Wednesday evening at the start of his official visit. President Kenyatta is scheduled to preside over a Kenya-France business forum today.
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The 43-year-old low-rise Bellevue Vista apartments, at 1051 108th Ave. N.E. in downtown Bellevue, sold for $12.8 million, according to King County records. The buyer was Alco 1051 108th Ave NE LLC, associated with Rosen family, which runs Alaskan Copper & Brass Co. and also invests in real estate. Alco isn't known as a developer.





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Uttar Pradesh minister Ajit Singh Pal on Friday described the alleged gang-rape of a 19-year-old Hathras woman and her subsequent death a fortnight later as a small issue, asserting that the Dalit teen was not raped at all.

Doctors have already made it clear that the Hathras woman was not raped, Pal, the UP minister of state for Electronics and Information Technology said in a statement which is set to further aggravate the controversy.

The minister also described the incident as a small issue, asserting that the law is taking its course in the case.

Get all the live updates of Hathras gang rape case here

We can do nothing if the Opposition is attacking (the government). They have no issue and are raking up such small issues intermittently. They are just raising issues and doing nothing in the public interest, the minister told reporters when asked about the Oppositions attack against the government over the issue.

On being countered by media persons if the Hathras gang-rape case was a small issue according to him, he hastened to add, I am saying the matter is being investigated. Doctors have said nothing of this kind happened. Whatever is found in the investigation would be made public.

UPs Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar too had on Thursday said that the forensic examination on the woman did not indicate rape. "The report of the FSL has also come. It says clearly that samples did not contain sperm. It makes clear that there was no rape or gang-rape," Kumar had said on Thursday in Lucknow.

But legal experts debunked the theory, telling PTI that the presence of sperm on the victims body cannot be an essential ingredient to prove the crime. In a replication of the December 2012 Nirbhaya case horrors, the Dalit teen was allegedly sexually assaulted by four men on September 14 in a Hathras village and admitted to the AMU's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh in a critical condition.

She was on September 28 referred to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital in an extremely critical condition with spinal injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue and died a day later on early hours, triggering widespread outrage, protests and calls for justice.

The Hathras police, however, took her body to her native district and allegedly cremated her overnight without her parents consent.
Government - We Must Protect our Elderly from COVID-19

Gibraltar today has the highest number of resident active cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic reached us in March (62).

This could become very serious if the situation continues to deteriorate. Therefore, the Government reminds the public that we must not let down our guard in the face of the continuing fight against this deadly disease.

In order to protect the elderly and the vulnerable it is important that everyone continues to follow the rules. This includes the use of face-masks, washing your hands regularly, avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth, maintaining a social distance and avoiding large groups.

The situation in the United Kingdom has deteriorated significantly once students have gone back to university. There are now thousands of young people in lockdown and restrictions have been imposed in different parts of the country. A prime factor in spreading the disease has been student gatherings and parties.

'In this context, it is important that everyone understands that gatherings of more than 20 persons remain illegal. This means that such gatherings should not take place, even in private households. There have been reports that such parties have been organised, or continue to be planned in Gibraltar. The object of this restriction is to protect our parents and grandparents from COVID-19. There is a very real risk that anyone who contracts COVID- 19, even if young, can then pass it on to adults some of whom may be over 70 or have underlying health conditions.'

The situation in neighbouring Spain has deteriorated significantly. The increased incidence of COVID-19 has meant that additional restrictions are now in place at a local and at a regional level in different parts of the country. It is essential that any Gibraltar resident who intends to travel to Spain takes additional precautions and familiarises themselves with the rules during their route and at their destination. In Spain a considerable number of cases have been traced to family gatherings and a distinct trend developed during and after the summer of younger persons becoming infected passing it on to their elders.

The Government says it cannot stress enough how important it is to avoid contact across the generations between younger and older people. There are many ways of keeping in touch including telephone, video-calls and social media. In the event that a face to face contact is absolutely essential, then it is better outdoors and maintaining social distance.

'Our students are now at school and in contact with each other. The spread of the virus between them is to an extent unavoidable. However, the contact between schoolchildren and those who are over 70 or who have underlying health conditions can be easily avoided and for the sake of our elders it must.'

The Government says it understands that this is very difficult, but equally everyone must understand that there is no excuse for not protecting our elders.

'We cannot lose sight of the fact that over one million people across the globe have died after contracting COVID-19. This includes people of all ages and all health conditions. Indeed, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself was particularly badly affected by the disease, even though he is in his fifties and known to cycle and jog. However, it is clear that those persons who are over 70 and who have a pre-existing medical condition are most at risk and it is our sacred duty to do everything we can to protect them.'
ANN ARBOR, MI  A group of parents are asking Ann Arbor Public Schools to open an external investigation into alleged equity issues and the educational climate at Pioneer High School.

The group, Ann Arbor School Parents Intent on Racial Equity, said its committed to advancing racial equity within the district, according to parent Rita Simpson-Vlach, who spoke on behalf of the group during the Wednesday, Sept. 30, Ann Arbor School Board meeting.
On Friday, a senior US State Department official had dismissed the claims of the Chinese regime on Indias territory of Arunachal Pradesh. The development comes as a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing border standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

On being asked by a reporter about the diplomatic position of the United States with respect to the current Chinese aggression, the senior State Department official stated that they are closely monitoring the escalated situation at the border. While conceding that the discussion of the position of the actual border is sensitive, he added, Our position on some parts of the border for sure is explicitly clear. For nearly six decades the United States has recognized Arunachal Pradesh is Indian territory.

US calls out China on its attempt to advance territorial claims

The senior State Department official also pointed out the unilateral attempts made by China to undermine Indias territorial integrity. He further emphasised, We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions, by military or civilian incursions across the border or across the established line of actual control. And the disputed boundaries, all we can say is that we encourage India and China to use their existing bilateral channels to discuss those and not resort to military force.

India has been a victim of Chinese hostility, concedes US State Department

Furthermore, the official stated that achieving peace in the Indo-Pacific region was the common objective of both India and the United States. Well, the United States maintains a  has a vision and a commitment to a peaceful, open Indo-Pacific region and Id say that stands in marked contrast to the activities of the Peoples Republic of China, he reiterated.

While acknowledging Indias victimisation at the hands of aggressor China, the US State Department remarked, You just have to open your internet browser to see all of the various areas where China has engaged in aggressive, hostile, or bullying behaviour against its neighbours or against its own citizens. Unfortunately, India has also been one of the victims of that. 

USA State Department takes a stand on Galwan Valley clash

Earlier, the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) of the US State Department in its statement mentioned the recent stand-off at Galwan and called it the result of the expansionist policy of China. In the statement, USA said, We see it in the East China Sea and around Taiwan, where Beijing has expanded its maritime provocations and threatening sorties. We see it in the Himalayas, where Beijing recently took aggressive action on its frontiers with India.

It further added, We see it along the Mekong River, where Beijing has used its massive cascade of dams to hold back water from downstream neighbours in Southeast Asia, contributing to the worst drought in the Mekongs recorded history. I urge everyone to read the recent report from the Stimson Center, New Evidence: How China Turned Off the Tap on the Mekong River.

Clashes between India and China at the LAC

Clashes between the two countries have occurred along the Line of Actual Control raising fears of serious conflict breaking out between the two countries. Only recently, the Indian Army had made major breakthroughs and occupied six new heights along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. This was after India had acted proactively to occupy heights in regions on the Southern Bank of the Pangong Tso lake and strengthened their positions. Talks between the two countries have been ongoing but without any major headway.

Source : OpIndia
The National Identification Authority (NIA) says it has registered 15,549,242 persons for the National Identification Card (Ghana Card).

For this figure, 14,689,672 cards have been printed and 13,848,697 cards issued the registered Ghanaians who are supposed to be 15 years and older.

The most registrants were from the Ashanti Region with 3,016,319.

The least was from the Ahafo Region where 270,172 persons were registered.

Nationwide, 905,523 persons who registered identified as unemployed whist the top five professions were the farmers, retail traders, entrepreneurs, tailors, teachers and beauticians.

These details were contained in a presentation by the NIA Executive Secretary, Prof Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah.

It has been an over three-year process for the NIA which began with the first phase of the revamped registration which took place on September 15, 2017, where the authority conducted a liveness test of the Ghana Card.

The second phase of the roll-out entailed the registration of, and card issuance to, eligible Ghanaians.

It commenced on June 4, 2018, and run until April 28, 2019, covering workers at the Jubilee House, Parliament House, the Judicial Service, the security sector and several key influencers in society, before being extended to some public and private institutions as well as to three communities; Adentan, La Nkwantanang and Ga East municipalities.

The mass registration exercise then started on April 29, 2019, beginning in the Greater Accra Region.

Thereafter, the NIA conducted the mass registration exercise in all the 16 regions of the country except in the Eastern Region where the exercise was truncated in March 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions by government and the subsequent resumption of work by NIA, a Card Issuance Blitz was started on June 10, 2020, at 5,635 registration centres across the country and ended on June 27, 2020.

A mop-up exercise also started on June 18, 2020, in the Upper West and Upper East Regions and continued throughout the country until September 11. Data integration

For the practical use of the card, the NIA has negotiated an agreement with ECOWAS to ensure that the Ghana Card complies with the requirements for the ECOWAS ID Card at no extra cost to Ghana.

This ensured that the Ghana Card and the ECOWAS Card was integrated into one card, thereby saving Ghana millions of cedis.

The NIA has also signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Ghana Revenue Authority, National Health Insurance Authority, Social Security and National Insurance Trust, Electoral Commission, and the Driver Vehicle and Licencing Authority and is currently at various stages of discussions regarding data harmonization and integration with the following organisations.

These data exchange protocols will result in these agencies no longer producing sector-specific ID cards and saving Ghana hundreds of millions of cedis over the 15-year life cycle of the NIS project.

The NIA has also indicated that it will be registering children aged below 15 years as well as Ghanaians living abroad. Find below various breakdowns from the registration

REGION ESTIMATED POPULATION (15+YEARS) TOTAL ENROLLED (15+YEARS) % ENROLLED (80% TARGET) 1. ASHANTI 3,514,036 3,016,319 85.82% 2. GREATER ACCRA 2,881,155 2,970,391 103.02% 3. EASTERN 1,968,588 1,670,262 84.85% 4. CENTRAL 1,584,569 1,566,890 98.88% 5. WESTERN 1,375,722 1,175,058 85.41% 6. NORTHERN 1,070,826 801,132 74.81% 7. VOLTA 968,273 781,346 80.69% 8. BONO 725,931 553,392 75.67% 9. BONO EAST 704,123 498,243 70.02% 10. UPPER EAST 772,720 492,614 63.75% 11. WESTERN NORTH 589,573 489,035 82.95% 12. OTI 613,965 395,776 64.46% 13. UPPER WEST 515,148 319,515 62.02% 14. SAVANNAH 373,702 272,260 72.85% 15. NORTH EAST 413,687 271,826 65.71% 16. AHAFO 381,106 270,172 70.53% 17. WRONG CENTRE 4,534 TOTAL 18,453,124 15,549,242 84.19%

TOP 10 OCCUPATIONS

1. Farmers 3,183,545 2. Students 2,707,952 3. Retail Market Traders 1,642,706 4. Unemployed 905,523 5. Business Man/Woman 617,833 6. Tailors, Dressmakers, Sewers, Upholsters and related workers 525,876 7. Teachers 523,907 8. Hairdressers, Barbers, Beauticians and Related Workers 424,688 9. Car, Taxi, and Van Drivers 351,102 10. Retired 328,940
Press Release

October 2, 2020 Dela Rosa seeks an inquiry on Facebook censorship Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa wants an inquiry on the recent censorship action of Facebook, as the latter took down profiles and advocacy pages supporting the Philippine government and its efforts against terrorism. On Wednesday, Dela Rosa filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 531 directing the appropriate Senate Committee to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the censorship action taken by Facebook with the end in view of ensuring the protection and non-curtailment of the constitutional right of freedom of speech and of expression in the country. The said resolution was primarily referred to the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Dela Rosa mentioned in his resolution, "57 accounts, 31 pages and 20 Instagram profiles were taken down, which included content supportive of President Rodrigo Duterte; criticism of Rappler online news website; issues relevant to the overseas Filipino Workers; military activities against terrorism; anti-terrorism law; criticism of communism, youth activist and opposition; posts against the Communist Party of the Philippines and its military wing the New People's Army, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. Dela Rosa specified the removal of "Hands Off Our Children," an advocacy page being run by a group of parents who are allegedly fighting to protect their children against violent extremism. According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the advocacy page provides awareness on the vulnerability of children in the hands of communist-terrorist organizations such as the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA), a listed terrorist organization not only in the Philippines, but also in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In August of 2019, Dela Rosa, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, conducted hearings on the missing minors who were allegedly recruited by leftist groups to be their members and armed fighters. "The censorship campaign against child recruitment of the communist terrorist group could hamper the efforts to prevent the spread of violent extremism in the country," Dela Rosa said. During his televised speech on Monday night, September 28, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte cautioned Facebook on the said censorship move, stating that the social media giant is being allowed by the government to operate in the country with the hopes that it will help push for the government's advocacies. Instead, pro-government groups have been taken down while pages which criticize the administration are allowed to stay on the social media platform. Dela Rosa emphasized that the Philippines is Facebook's second largest market in Asia, with 76 million users as of July 2020, and projected to reach 88 million by 2025. "There is an urgent need for the Senate to investigate the censorship done by Facebook considering that it affects not only the peace and order, and security of our country but likewise greatly affects every Filipino's freedom of expression as guaranteed by no less than the Philippine Constitution", Dela Rosa said.
President Donald Trump stands on stage with first lady Melania Trump after the first presidential debate with Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19 and would immediately quarantine and begin the "recovery process."

"We will get through this," Trump tweeted.

Trump's positive test follows news that Hope Hicks, a top adviser and trusted aide, had tested positive for the new coronavirus.

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Hicks travels regularly with the president on Air Force One and, along with other senior aides, accompanied him to Ohio for the presidential debate on Tuesday and to Minnesota for a campaign event on Wednesday.

Trump's announcement comes little more than a month before election day and as Trump has escalated his campaign in an effort to catch Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who leads in national and key state polls.

Expand Close Hope Hicks has tested positive to coronavirus (Andrew Milligan/PA) / Facebook

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Trump has come under sharp criticism for his response to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 people in the United States alone.

Trump, who is tested regularly for the virus that causes Covid-19, has kept up a rigorous travel schedule across the country in recent weeks, holding rallies with thousands of people in the run-up to the November 3 election, despite warnings from public health professionals against having events with large crowds.

In recent months, Trump has regularly appeared in public and in private without a mask, and has mocked Biden for wearing one and for curbing his campaign events.

The first lady, who often accompanies Trump on his campaign events, appeared with him at the recently concluded presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, where she was seen wearing a mask while seated in the audience. Later, at the end of the debate, she walked up to greet her husband without wearing her mask.

Hicks is one of Trump's closest staff members and has been spotted on multiple occasions without a mask.

Trump told Fox News's Sean Hannity during a live interview Thursday night that he and the first lady were tested after they learned about Hicks and were awaiting the results.

"She tested positive and I just went out with a test . . . so whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know," Trump said. "So I just went for a test and we'll see what happens. Who knows? . . . We spend a lot of time with Hope, so we'll see what happens."

Trump later tweeted that he and the first lady "In the meantime . . . will begin our quarantine process."

Trump suggested Hicks could have contracted it from members of the military or law enforcement.

"It is very, very hard when you are with people from the military, or from law enforcement, and they come over to you, and they want to hug you, and they want to kiss you because we really have done a good job for them," the president said.

"You get close, and things happen. I was surprised to hear with Hope, but she is a very warm person with them. She knows there's a risk, but she is young."

Hicks traveled with the president to Pennsylvania for a rally Saturday, to Cleveland for the first presidential debate Tuesday and to Minnesota for another campaign rally Wednesday.

After Hicks' diagnosis, White House spokesman said the president was taking the matter "seriously."

"The President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously," said Judd Deere, a White House spokesman.

"White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling."

Hicks is the most senior White House aide known to have tested positive. Vice President Mike Pence's spokeswoman, Katie Miller, caught the virus in May and Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump campaign finance chair and girlfriend of the president's son Donald Trump Jr., contracted the virus in July.

The White House administers daily coronavirus tests to aides, reporters and others who come into contact with the president. But public health experts warn they are not foolproof.

At Tuesday's presidential debate in Cleveland, Trump was pressed on his insistence on having huge campaign rallies where no one is required to wear facial coverings or to socially distance.

"We've had no negative effect, and we've had, 35 to 40,000 people at some of these rallies," Trump said.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden shot back: "He's been totally irresponsible the way in which he has handled the social distancing and people wearing masks, basically encouraged them not to," Biden said. "He's a fool on this."

"If you could get the crowds, you would have done the same thing," Trump said. "But you can't. Nobody cares."

Trump's positive test caps a months-long response to the virus, the seriousness of which he has consistently underplayed. Earlier on Thursday night the president predicted that the end of the pandemic was in sight.
(JNS)  Conventional wisdom took one on the chin last week when the Trump administration did what the establishment said couldnt be done. No chin took a harder hit than former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerrys, when one clever social media user unearthed and isolated 44 seconds of him assuring the world that no Middle East peace deal will be possible without the Palestinians. There will be no separate peace between Israel and the Arab world. I want to make that very clear to all of you, he stated.

The clip was from Dec. 4, 2016, when Kerry made some of his final remarks as...
After new concerns surfaced on Friday about former Vice President Joe Biden's possible exposure to COVID-19 following President Donald Trump's and first lady Melania Trump's positive diagnosis, Biden has tested negative for COVID-19, his campaign said.

"Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 today and COVID-19 was not detected. I am reporting this out in my capacity as both Vice President Biden and Dr. Bidens primary care physician," Dr. Kevin O'Connor said in a statement.

Biden then tweeted, Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands."

Earlier, the Democratic nominee tweeted well wishes to the president and first lady about eight hours after Trump announced the news about his test by tweet just before 1 a.m. Friday.

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 2, 2020

PHOTO: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden boards a plane as he departs on campaign travel to Michigan from New Castle Airport in New Castle, Del., Oct. 2, 2020. (Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters)

He continued with a campaign visit to Michigan. When asked by ABC News why Biden was continuing to travel following his negative COVID-19 test while still within the possible incubation period for the virus, a Biden official gave the following statement:

Vice President Biden tested negative and was not in close contact with President Trump. He also wore a mask at all times, except for when he was on stage. And we implement social distancing, mask wearing, and other best practices in all of our campaigning."

Later, speaking in Grand Rapids, Biden said he had gotten two COVID tests Friday and both were negative.

"I would like to start by acknowledging which I'm sure all of you do as well, sending my prayers for the health and the safety of the first lady and President -- President of the United States after they tested positive for COVID-19. My wife Jill and I pray that they will make a quick and full recovery," he said. "This is not a matter of politics. Its a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously. It is not going away automatically. We have to do our part to be responsible."

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The president's diagnosis comes two days after Trump and Biden spent over 90 minutes facing off on the debate stage in a chaotic and continuous presidential face-off.

Precautions were taken to try to mitigate the dangers of COVID-19 during the debate -- the candidates did not shake hands while entering the stage, and spoke from two socially-distanced lecterns. However, Biden, Trump and Moderator, journalist Chris Wallace, did not wear masks during their time on stage.

MORE: Trump COVID updates: President, first lady test positive for coronavirus

During the debate Tuesday, the president mocked Biden for his frequent use of face coverings.

PHOTO: Chris Wallace of Fox News tries to moderate as President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate former Vice President Joe Biden both speak during the first presidential debate, Sept. 29, 2020, in Cleveland. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

"I don't wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from it, and he shows up with the biggest mask I've seen," Trump said of Biden.

Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, are tested weekly for COVID-19, according to the campaign, but the 77-year-old would be considered high risk if he gets the virus given his age, increasing concerns about the risk of infection.

The Biden campaign has drawn a sharp contrast the White House on their strategy surrounding COVID-19, shifting their campaign strategy as the virus ground the country to a halt.

MORE: World leaders react after President Trump and first lady test positive for coronavirus

When COVID-19 hit a critical mass in the country in mid-March, the Biden campaign said that it would follow the guidance of public health officials, and moved to a mostly virtual campaign, not holding any in-person campaign events with Biden until June 1.

In recent weeks, Biden's has undertaken a more aggressive campaign schedule, with travel to key battleground states including Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden stops to speak to members of the media as he walks out of the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del., Oct. 1, 2020, after pre-taping his speech for the Al Smith dinner. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

The day following the debate, Biden took part in seven campaign stops during his 'Build Back Better,' train tour across Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

MORE: Biden calls Trump's debate performance a 'national embarrassment' as he kicks off train tour

Biden was slated to travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan, later Friday, though the Biden campaign has not weighed in on how the news of Trump's diagnosis will impact Biden's travel.

With just over one month until Election Day, the Biden campaign was also set to resume in-person canvassing this weekend, dispatching several hundred volunteers in Nevada, Michigan, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania -- four key battleground states in the presidential election.

"We're now expanding on our strategy in a targeted way that puts the safety of communities first and foremost and helps us mobilize voters who are harder to reach by phone now that we're in the final stretch and now that Americans are fully dialed-in and ready to make their voices heard," Jen O'Malley Dillon, Biden's campaign manager, said of the new effort.

Biden tests negative for COVID-19 after Trump tests positive originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The UAEs iconic skyscraper Burj Khalifa on Friday lit up with a colourful LED show in the honour of Mahatma Gandhis journey, celebrating his 151st birth anniversary.

Be the change that you wish to see in the world- Immortal words spoken by #MahatmaGandhi, the father of the entire nation of India. #BurjKhalifa lights up with an LED show to honour his journey and to celebrate his 151st birthday, the official Twitter handle of Burj Khalifa said in a tweet.

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world"- Immortal words spoken by #MahatmaGandhi, the father of the entire nation of India. #BurjKhalifa lights up with an LED show to honour his journey and to celebrate his 151st birthday. pic.twitter.com/AAgcDztrb8  Burj Khalifa (@BurjKhalifa) October 2, 2020

Earlier, the Indian Consulate in Dubai presented its finale event from The Address Downtown, from the backdrop of iconic Burj Khalifa on the occasion of culmination of the celebrations of 150th years of Gandhis birth.

The Indian mission said in a tweet that the programme started with Gandhijis popular bhajan Vaishnava Jana.

Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 is also marked as the International Day of Non-Violence on account of the non-violent strategy adopted by Gandhi to help India secure independence from the British colonial rule in 1947.

The consulate officials are also holding a cleanliness drive in the premises of the mission. With the support from the Indian community, 151 trees will be planted on different sites to mark the occasion.

On the 149th birthday of Gandhi in 2018, a special LED show on Burj Khalifa marked the commencement of the two-year line up of programmes of 150 years of Gandhian ideologies in the UAE.

The special LED show was jointly organised by the Indian Embassy, Abu Dhabi, Indian Consulate in Dubai and Emaar Properties. Images of Gandhi and the Indian flag were beamed on the worlds largest LED-illuminated facade on the same day in 2019. PTI RUP CPS
The Atiwa East District is part of the seventeen districts in the Eastern Region that contribute to Rice farming in the country. In 2019, the district contributed about 1100 tonnes the rice that was produced in the country. Currently, the district has over 300 rice farmers under the Special Rice Initiative Programme who are expected to produce 1900 tonnes of rice by the close of the year.

The Department of Agriculture held a Rice day as part of the government's Special Rice Initiative Programme. In attendance to the program was the District Chief Executive of Atiwa East District; Hon. Lawyer Kwabena Panin Nkansah, Regional Director of Agric; Mr. Henry Kobina Crenstil, Executives from Modernizing Agric in Ghana(MAG),

The President of Ghana Rice Inter-professional Body; Nana Adjei Ayeh, Regional Secretary of GRIB; Madam Birikorang Stephania Mr Ebo Graham; Project manager at Hopeline Institute, the chief of Akyem Sekyere traditional area, Municipal and District Directors of Agriculture, Assembly members and Farmers.

The District Chief Executive of Atiwa East, Hon. Lawyer Kwabena Panin Nkansah welcomed participants to the celebrations.

He applauded the efforts of the government for the Special Rice Initiative. He said that the District is very interested in rice production.

He explained that the District Assembly has supported farmers with Rice nets and facilitated the start of a satellite market in Sekyere along the main Accra-Kumasi road. He promised that the Assembly was committed to seeing the commencement of the Satellite market.

The Regional Director for Agriculture, Mr Crenstil said that market linkages and creation of satellite markets is being added to extension services. He explained that the agenda is set to promote at least one commodity from the production state to the finished packaged product.

He said that this will add value and improve on the quality of commodities. He added that Atiwa East District has the potential for establishing a large market for rice and the step to brand and package it contributes to the vision of improving on the quality of rice grown in the country. He encouraged the Department and farmers to do their best in contributing to the Ministrys goal for becoming a Rice Sufficient country by 2024.

Mr. Ebo Graham, who doubles as the project manager at Hopeline Institute and a project manager under the AGRA rice project said that Rice production was gradually spreading out in Eastern Region.

He explained that AGRA, Hopeline Institute, John Agyekum Kuffour Foundation, Volta city, and Inter Valley is dedicated supporting the Planting for Food and Jobs Program (PFJ) by oragnising value chain actors, assisting farmers with improved rice seeds, policy direction, farmer mobilisation and training and investment in Rice production of rice in Ghana.

He said that all that support is to strengthen farmers in the government's agenda to cut the importation of rice.

The president of the Ghana Rice Inter-professional Body(GRIB) explained the need to be part of the association. He mentioned that the government will only sponsor farmers with inputs for rice production through GRIB. He explained that power tillers are available to be given to members to be paid for a period of two years. He encouraged farmers to join GRIB because it promises to unite and forward concerns of farmers to the government.

Executives of the Atiwa East District Ghana Rice Inter-professional Body were inaugurated. The executives were commissioned to support the production of rice in the district in their mandate as executives.

The Rice Day Celebration also saw the launch of the Atiwa Rice. Madam Birikorang Stephania commended the initiative to package the rice. She advised that the Department should take the steps to get the approval of the standards authority, She explained that, that would expand the market and meet international standards.

Mr Ebo Graham said that the standards under the Ghana rice project standards have been outlined by GRIB, Hopeline Institute, JAK foundation and the Ghana Standards Board for the Rice Mills and Rice paddy standards. He promised that the initial cost for standardization for Atiwa Rice will be sponsored by GRIB for being a member of the body.

There was a taste test of various foods prepared from the Atiwa Rice. Participants of the celebration were served with a number of dishes.

The Atiwa East District Director of Agric, Mr. Samuel Ofosu thanked sponsors of the Rice Day Celebration. He said that, the Atiwa East Department of Agriculture was opened to investors and private partnership for production of rice.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand`s ruling party leader Jacinda Ardern said she tried cannabis "a long time ago" when asked during a heated live debate on Wednesday ahead of the Oct 17 general election.

Ardern, 40, is widely seen winning a second term in office on the back of her success in containing COVID-19 but her rival, conservative National Party leader Judith Collins, has been clawing back support.

New Zealanders are also voting on two other issues - on legalising recreational cannabis and euthanasia - topics that have split opinions in the country.

In the second election debate on Wednesday, when asked by the moderator if she has ever used cannabis, Ardern said: "Yes I did, a long time ago."

But she said she will only reveal which way she voted on the cannabis referendum after the election.

"I made a clear decision that I want the public of New Zealand to decide this and I want this not to be about politics," she said.

Collins, however, said she has never used cannabis and would vote against it.

In the wide-ranging debate, both leaders were also asked if U.S. President Donald Trump was a dangerous influence on the world.

Collins said Trump had done well recently on the peace deal between Israel and some Gulf nations.

"Actually that`s better than war. He hasn`t been ready to rush into war," said Collins.

Ardern shot back saying: "It is a worry when the best thing you can say is we haven`t had war?"

Ardern last month slammed Trump`s comments that New Zealand was experiencing a surge in COVID-19 as "patently wrong".

"The idea that we would be compared to the outbreak in the U.S. by President Trump, I totally reject that and I stand by my response," said Ardern, whose brand of liberal, inclusive and compassionate leadership has led to some people labelling her "the anti-Trump".

New Zealand has had 25 coronavirus related deaths, among the lowest in the world, while fatalities in the United States have crossed 200,000.

The comments came just hours after Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden battled fiercely in a chaotic and bad-tempered first debate marked by personal insults and Trump`s repeated interruptions.
What impact can witnessing redundancies have on remaining employees - and how can employers help support people through these hard times? Photo: Getty

Knowing your employer is about to announce layoffs is one of the worst feelings you can have in your career. While you hope youll be able to keep your position, its likely youre worried about your colleagues too - and its even worse if you are close to them.

Businesses across the UK are continuing to struggle as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. The number of redundancies in the UK has risen at the fastest pace since the financial crisis, despite more than half of furloughed workers returning to their jobs after the lifting of lockdown.

Earlier this month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that 156,000 people were made redundant in the three months to July. This is an increase of 48,000 from the three months to the end of May - and the sharpest quarterly rise since 2009.

And with further local lockdowns and restrictions within restaurants and pubs amid a second wave of the virus, its likely many firms will continue to struggle for some time. But what impact can witnessing redundancies have on remaining employees - and how can employers help support people through these hard times?

We may not always see the world of work like this, but every employee is a human being. And in the current times we face, companies are making decisions around redundancy on a regular basis, says Lee Chambers, an environmental psychologist and wellbeing consultant.

Initially, many employees feel relief and gratitude that theyre still employed. But for many people, this can quickly fade into guilt and grief.

You see people who you have working relationships with, those talented and kind faces gone, Chambers says. Uncertainty sets in, what else negative might happen. Maybe it's my turn next; maybe the company is struggling. Who is going to pick up the work from those who have been shown the door?

READ MORE: How to be more resilient at work when everything else is stressful

And these worries and fears are even more amplified with many people working remotely at the moment. There is no symbolic clearing of desks, no support offered in the kitchen.

Story continues

Now you're sat at home, wondering if you will be the next one to have your Zoom credentials removed, knowing it's a challenging job market, Chambers says. Just that lack of presence and communication can leave you feeling very exposed and vulnerable yourself while feeling guilty about your relative security and compassion for those that have been made redundant.

There are several steps employers can take to make people feel more secure and supported during this challenging period. Firstly, communication is key.

For many of us, our colleagues are connected to us. We can potentially spend 40 hours a week in their company, and it can feel like losing a part of ourselves when they are made redundant, Chambers says. This needs to be handled with both awareness of the situation, reassurance that you understand, and creating a space for people still employed to process and absorb the changes.

Watch: How to resign without burning bridges

Its crucial for employees to be kept in the loop with any changes or updates. Keeping people in the dark will only spread anxiety and encourage rumours to spread.

Communication is also vital to help employees understand why the action was taken, and what that will mean for their role moving forward, he adds. Don't leave employees phoning around each other to find out everyone's fate. When the decision is made to let people go, prepare the organisations structure and communicate that so your employees know how their role may change.

Management needs to be on the same page, so ensure everyone is informed in an honest way. Making empty promises of security wont help, as its clear there are problems if redundancies are being made.

Its also important to make that extra effort to get employees connected with others across the organisation, Chambers adds.

With many people remote working, they don't have to walk to the next site or the other side of the building. Create projects that forge new teams together, and create ways for them to have space to explore together without work-based outcomes, he says.

Finally, in such challenging times, appreciation is the boost that employees need. Make this intentional and personal, write them a note, a letter or a small gift. Refer to things they have achieved, have put effort into and have made a difference in. Consider their personal situation, and write it from the heart.
Area animal shelters showered with funds in memory of Betty White

The online fundraiser challenged fans of actress Betty White to donate to a local animal rescue or shelter in honor of her Jan. 17 birthday.
A group of Peterborough protesters gathered outside MP Maryam Monsefs Bethune Street office Friday to demand that the Canadian government not purchase 88 new fighter jets for an initial cost of $19 billion.

Similar protests were held outside MPs offices across the country.

In letters delivered to MPs, the protestors demanded funds be directed instead to green jobs and a just recovery from COVID, states a press release issued by the group.

Concerns about the purchase, which began last year when the federal government started the process to buy a fleet of new fighter jets, with bids including Boeings Super Hornet, SAABs Gripen, and Lockheed Martins F-35.

Critics point to the use of Canadian fighter jets in acts of aggression, including bombings in Libya and Iraq, many of which saw civilians killed. Other concerns include the environmental impact of fighter jets.

The National Day of Action was organized by the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, World Beyond War and Peace Brigades International-Canada and was supported by the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom, Labour Against the Arms Trade, Pax Christi Toronto, Ottawa Raging Grannies, Regina Peace Council, Canadian Peace Congress, Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, Victoria Peace Coalition, Just Peace Advocates, Winnipeg Peace Alliance and the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute.

Open letter to MP Maryam Monsef

We demand no new fighter jets!

Dear Minister Monsef,

I am writing with a simple request: that you oppose the governments intended purchase of 88 new fighter jets. Over twenty-five actions are taking place across the country today, with hundreds of residents of Canada saying loudly: #NoNewFighterJets.

With an initial cost of $19 billion and a lifetime cost of several times that, this project is demonstrably counter to the priorities put forward in the throne speech of providing a full COVID response, healthcare, childcare, and financial support. Further, these weapons will inevitably target nations in the Middle East and North Africa---killing Black and brown people is the opposite of taking anti-racist action. Instead of purchasing new weapons, we implore you to support a green new deal and a just recovery.

Boeings Super Hornet, SAABs Gripen, and Lockheed Martins F-35 are in the competition, which is the second most expensive government procurement program in history. Bids were submitted in July this year and the results are expected in 2022. The F-35 is the favourite to win, and also happens to cost $59,000 an hour to run - more than a nurses annual salary. The lifetime operating cost of just one of these jets is $471 million.

The COVID-19 pandemic is surging once more. The government acknowledges that we need a broad and well-funded response. Fund COVID prevention, not fighter jets. The Canadian healthcare systems have lagged for decades. We need universal pharmacare, dental care, and mental healthcare. Fund healthcare, not warfare. Children and parents across the country all deserve support. Fund childcare, not weapons. The government acknowledged a desperate need for more government funding. The fiscal load is great. Why spend a cent on war when billions must be spent on life?

If Canada has any hope of meeting the climate goals of the throne speech, we cannot use these horribly polluting weapons. The deployment of 88 fighter jets would lock Canada in to emitting more carbon than is allowed by the Paris agreements - only the fiction of excluding military emissions from our carbon accounting can reconcile a goal of net zero emissions by 2050 with the plan to operate 88 jets which emit more in a single flight than a car does in a year into 2070.

You have done incredible work in your role as Minister for Women and Gender Equality to address gender-based violence in Canada and internationally. We know the costs of war are disproportionately borne by women. Western interventions framed as libratory are no exception - the international womens human rights organization MADRE has stated, the best-armed and most powerful perpetrators of gender-based violence in Iraq are those militias that have been trained, funded, and armed by the United States. We need to reduce Canada's complicity in violent military interventions, work to eliminate Canadas participation in the global military-industrial complex, and redirect funding to efforts such as yours to address the root causes of violence and support humanitys most vulnerable.

Above all, these are weapons. They are designed to kill people. They can be armed with nuclear and chemical weapons. We have used fighter jets before to kill Black and brown people in Libya and Syria. We have used them to kill civilians. There is already too much death.

I am asking you to commit to the priorities of the throne speech and beyond. Join us in saying #NoNewFighterJets and help us to implement a green new deal and a just recovery.

I appreciate the time you have taken to listen to my concerns. I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Simon Daley (and co-signers)
After the third attempt, four restaurants were approved for beer sales by the City Beer Board on Thursday.

Two locations of Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom and two Logans Roadhouse restaurants were acquired by Specialty Restaurant Group II, LLC from Craftworks Holdings in a bankruptcy sale. A new beer license was needed at the businesses because of the ownership change. A new beer license requires new building, fire and health inspections.

During these inspections, deficiencies were found at some of the locations preventing the board to issue new beer permits at the Oct. 17 meeting.

The beer board set up a special meeting so these restaurants could be approved before their target date to sell beer on Oct. 1. At the special meeting, Tayo Atanda, the attorney representing the businesses, told the board that the drivers license of one of the business owners had expired so that his proof of citizenship and background checks were not done. The board again declined to issue beer licenses until this information could be verified.

At the Thursday beer board meeting, the third time Mr. Atanda had appeared on their behalf, he told the board that the ID requirement had been satisfied by finding an alternative form of ID to replace the expired drivers license, which resulted in the approval all of the restaurants for beer permits.

Mr. Atanda, also representing the Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores at 2346 Shallowford Village Road and 50 Birmingham Highway, received approval for a new beer license for both of the locations after issues with building codes have been corrected and the restaurants were approved by the building inspector. The traditionally family style restaurants will now be selling both beer and wine in the Tennessee locations.

The beer permit application of four other businesses on the agenda were mired in mistakes or misunderstandings in filling out their applications, information sent to the regulatory board too late to process it, and technical difficulties in communications for both the applicants and the city of Chattanooga. Bertha Lawrence, of the regulatory bureau who provides administrative support for the Chattanooga Beer Board, said that beginning Oct. 15 all applications will be done electronically as opposed to the way it is done now on paper. If there is anything incomplete, the process will not allow the applicant to go forward in filling it out. This may clear up some of the confusion such as what was experienced today, she said.

Renovations are being made in the three locations that sell beer within The Chattanoogan hotel, 1201 Broad St. And, the rooftop pool area has now been converted to a bar. Manager John Tampa applied for a license to sell beer at this fourth location in the building. The addition means a change to the existing license that already includes a bar, restaurant and banquet facility. The change to the license triggered the need to reinspect all locations in the building that are covered by the license. The general contractor that did the construction requested an inspection, but only of the new space. Assistant City Attorney Melinda Foster said her opinion is that all outlets selling beer must go through the inspections required by the beer board. When issued, the new license will include four locations within the hotel.

Despite Mr. Tampas belief he was applying for a separate beer license, all four locations were on the application. Ms. Lawrence stated that we cant determine what is supposed to be on the application, only what is on it. Another problem identified with issuing a beer license came from Lou Gibbs with the city treasurers office, who told the board that there is no record of the hotel having a business license. After a contentious discussion, the board denied a permit until the requirements have all been met.

Easy Bistro & Bar, 801 Chestnut St., needs a new beer license because of an ownership change. On the application, Erik and Amanda Niel were listed as the owners. Two additional owners had been mistakenly omitted from the paperwork. Those names were sent to the beer board on the morning of the meeting which did not allow enough time to verify their information regarding background checks and citizenship. Despite the fact that the restaurant has been in business for 15 years and needs the new license because of a move and the ownership change, the approval was denied until all information has gone through the proper channels. The restaurant is currently open and has a TABC license so alcohol can be served, just not beer.

Bar Watson, 6925 Shallowford Road., was also applying for a new license because of new ownership. David Gardner, who purchased the business that previously was The Palms at Hamilton, was given information by an attorney that differed from Attorney Fosters opinion. Mr. Watson was under the belief that a special exemptions permit from the city would be extended to the new business. This permit allowed the old business to operate past midnight. This application was passed to the next meeting of the beer board on Oct. 15 at which time missing information should be available concerning the special exemptions permit. There is also no record of a valid business permit at this time.

Jay Chaudhari, who will be the store manager of Kanku, 1265 E. 3rd. St., joined the meeting to represent his cousin, Kanta Chaudhari, the owner. Attorney Foster said that the speaker for an applicant must be listed as an owner or lawyer representing the applicant. After multiple failed attempts to join the Zoom meeting, the owner gave permission to Ms. Foster to allow her cousin to speak on her behalf. He told the board there will be new training of all employees and there will be a new point of sales system to determine if customers are the legal age for buying beer. The carry-out beer permit was approved.
BRISTOL, Tenn.  Bristol Tennessee City Schools recently became part of a growing movement of school systems across the state calling for the suspension of standardized tests in Tennessee this year, and Sullivan County may soon join the effort.

It may be an uphill climb, though. The change would require a federal waiver and changes to state law by the state legislature.

At its Sept. 21 meeting, the Bristol Tennessee Board of Education approved a resolution calling for the Tennessee General Assembly to put a moratorium on end-of-year examinations and formative assessments throughout the year as well as a moratorium on the ways schools systems, teachers and students are held accountable by state standardized tests.

The resolution states that there are disparities in learning methods, available resources and internet access across the state that make a moratorium of some sort necessary. It also states that a moratorium would allow school systems to focus on regaining academic, social and emotional skills lost by students while schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This resolution brought BTCS in line with multiple schools systems across the state, including some of the largest that have also called for a moratorium due to challenges created amid the pandemic. BTCS has asked Bristol Tennessee City Council and the Sullivan County Commission to approve similar resolutions.

Bristol Tennessee City Council is set to vote on a resolution at its next meeting Oct. 6, and it seems poised to pass it. At the Sept. 22 City Council work session, Mayor Mahlon Luttrell and council members Lea Powers, Margaret Feierabend and Chad Keen spoke in favor of the resolution. Vice Mayor Vince Turner said he has no issues with the resolution.

You would think the legislators are probably thinking this way themselves, Luttrell said. Or at least you would hope they would be with everything thats been going on  all the distractions and interruptions  and hopefully they will be very sympathetic towards this.

The Sullivan County Commissions education committee discussed a similar resolution Thursday night and the commission will likely vote at its Oct. 15 meeting. County Mayor Richard Venable told the Bristol Herald Courier on Sept. 23 he had not seen the resolution yet, but he thought under the current circumstances it would be appropriate to look into the issue. He added he would be interested in hearing what a moratorium would accomplish for students and educators.

Its possible Sullivan County Schools could also join the calls for a moratorium. Director of Schools David Cox said it will be discussed at the county Board of Educations Oct. 8 meeting. He said its important to assess students to find out what they need, but those assessments can be made at the local level.

If youre asking me personally, I dont think its fair to students given the circumstances, Cox said.

He added that teachers should not be held accountable for how students perform if testing occurs this year. This is a shared concern for many school systems, including BTCS. Student performance on standardized tests affects teachers yearly evaluations and how the Tennessee Department of Education ranks schools. Students may also be held back a grade for poor performance.

However, this accountability can be waived. In spring 2018, issues with TNReady assessments, including a cyberattack, resulted in the Tennessee General Assembly passing a bill that ensured test scores wouldnt be held against students, teachers or school systems. Theres also precedent for a complete moratorium on standardized testing. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill in mid-March that dropped end-of-course TNReady testing for the 2019-20 school year.

For the 2020-21 school year, calls for a moratorium on testing started before the school year even started. Some of the earliest occurred in late June and July, when the superintendents of the school systems in Shelby and Williamson counties each sent letters to Gov. Bill Lee requesting a moratorium.

The mayors of Shelby County, Germantown, Collierville and Arlington also sent a joint letter to Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn. County and city school boards also calling for a moratorium include: Metro Nashville; Rutherford County; Murfreesboro; Cumberland County; Roane County; Franklin County and Greeneville, among others.

However, its still unclear whether a moratorium will happen. In an emailed statement, Victoria Robinson, director of media for TDE, said the state would need both a federal waiver and the legislature must make changes to existing law to waive any requirements related to standardized assessments.

As indicated in a letter sent to state agencies from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Department of Education does not intend on extending a waiver to waive state assessments this school year, Robinson said.

Additionally, Gov. Lee has made it clear that he believes standardized testing is necessary to see where students are excelling or struggling. So far, he has denied requests for a moratorium. However, in Tennessee the General Assembly has ultimate authority over testing and evaluation mandates. Though it isnt clear where the bulk of state senators and representatives stand on a moratorium, two local state legislators have different opinions on the issue.

Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, said he opposes cancelling standardized testing for a second year in a row, because its vital to get data that shows where students, teachers and schools are at.

We are going to see anomalies because different schools are using different protocols, Lundberg said Its important to know whats working and whats not. We need data.

Lundberg pointed to preliminary data recently released by the governors office. The projections were developed in partnership with national researchers using historical, Tennessee-specific data. This preliminary data projects an estimated 50% decrease in proficiency rates in third-grade reading and an estimated 65% decrease in proficiency in math for Tennessee students.

Testing is more important now than at any other time, Lundberg said.

However, he said he is willing to consider how tests are weighted in terms of district rankings and scorings statewide. He added that the point of standardized testing is not to punish to teachers or students, but to show where resources are needed.

Meanwhile state Rep. John Crawford, R-Kingsport, said school directors, teachers and other educators in Sullivan County have convinced him that there shouldnt be standardized testing this year.

He said data already shows kids are behind and teachers time would be better spent helping kids catch up rather than preparing them for tests.

Weve had several different areas that the kids have already fell a couple months behind in, and if they end up testing on top of that, you know, thats going to take another three weeks, and the teachers are gonna have to take time to teach for the test and to get the kids ready, Crawford said. I just think thats just gonna push our children further behind.

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Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 02.10.2020 amid the Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh:

FIGHTERS FALL

Artur Sargsyan, Deputy Commander of the Artsakh Defense Army has shared an update from the Nagorno-Karabakh clashes.

According to him, the number of weapons, military equipment, and personnel used were unprecedented, especially in the northern and southern directions.

"Sadly, 54 [more] fighters of the Defense Army sacrificed their lives in the struggle for the defense of the homeland. The number of wounded is being determined; we have quite a lot of wounded," Sargsyan noted.

ADVERSARY LOSSES

At Fridays briefing, Artur Sargsyan, Deputy Commander of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army, presented the losses of the Azerbaijani side on Thursday.

"The losses of the adversary were 39 armored vehicles, four Su-25 planes, three MI-24 helicopters, seventeen UAVs, the loss of [military] personnel is about 830. Also, an artillery division was destroyed," Sargsyan said.

REPORTERS HOSPITALIZED

The two correspondents of Le Monde, who were wounded in the enemy bombing in Martuni were recently transferred to Erebouni Medical Center in Yerevan. Shushan Hunanyan, the spokesperson of this hospital, told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

"They are in normal condition," she added.

As reported earlier, two Le Monde reporterswho are French citizenswere wounded in the Azerbaijani bombing of Martuni town of Artsakh Thursday. The condition of one of them was assessed as severe, and he was operated on.

CONGRESSMEN CALL

Over 30 US Congress members have introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh and criticizing Turkey's intervention in this conflict.

The measure was introduced by bipartisan members of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, including Reps. Jackie Speier, Adam Schiff, Frank Pallone, Gus Bilirakis, and 32 other members, The Hill reported.

ISRAEL REGRETS DECISION

Israels foreign ministry said it regretted Armenias decision to withdraw its ambassador, Reuters reported.

Israel attaches importance to our relations with Armenia and sees the Armenian Embassy in Israel as an important tool for promoting those relations for the benefit of both peoples, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Asked for details on Israeli weapons sales to Azerbaijan, an Israeli defense ministry spokeswoman declined comment.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading conflict and armaments think-tank, Israel provided Azerbaijan with some $825 million in weapons between 2006 and 2019.
WATERBURY  STEM faculty and staff at Naugatuck Valley Community College hosted a week-long orientation event for the Colleges new NViSION STEM Scholars. The first day of the week-long orientation was an on-campus meeting. Activities for the rest of the orientation week were conducted virtually.

The NViSION program at NVCC is an NSF-funded scholars/scholarship program to support promising STEM students graduate from NVCC and either transfer to a 4-year college in a STEM program or directly enter the STEM workforce. The purpose of the program is to provide programming, academic and social supports, and professional experiences to help students build increased motivation towards a STEM career, empower students to self-identify as a STEM professional, and to ensure STEM student self-efficacy, all while providing significant financial support in terms of scholarships to increase their likelihood of success.

Students accepted into the program receive access to multiple supports including $1,000-$5,000 per year for the first 2 years of their program; free virtual student orientation, free tutoring, all-expense paid university tours and STEM field trips; STEM workshops, advising, and counseling; and opportunities for undergraduate research, internships, and/or job shadowing

NVCC welcomed 19 scholars this year, 13 new scholars and 6 of whom are returning from last semester. Five of the students are from W.F. Kaynor Technical High School, including Gabriel DeMelo, Brian Fredricksen, Omkar Newland, Aryanna Smith, and Joenlis Vale-Moran.

Students from other area regional high schools include Jhennifer Curipoma, Nonnewaug HS; Willy Andrade, Naugatuck HS; Jessica Perez, Waterbury Career Academy; Dennis Patino, Danbury HS; Samantha Reichardt, Seymour HS; Samantha Gaughan, Pomperang HS; Christean Crespo, Crosby HS; and Devin DuBois.

According to Professor Rebecca Binney, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Co-Director of the program, Our first cohort started in the summer of 2019 and completed a 5-week summer bridge program whose main goals were to transition students to college while forming a strong cohort mentality and support system for the students. This cohort had a wonderful 1st year and are on track to graduate or transfer to a four-year college in the very near future. This project is funded for at least 5 years, and currently we are in our second year. This year due to the pandemic the College could not run the standard 5-week summer bridge program. Instead we ran a week-long summer orientation to begin building the cohort mentality with our scholars. The orientation provides essential information and training needed for students to transition most effectively and quickly to college and NVCC.

HVRHS names commended student

FALLS VILLAGE  Ian Strever, principal of Housatonic Valley Regional High School, recently announced that student Charlotte P. Clulow has been named a Commended Student in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program. A letter of commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to this scholastically talented senior.

About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2021 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2021 competition by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success. These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success, Strever said.

OKeefe earns degree from Wilkes University

Kelley O'keefe of Woodbury, CT (06798) Awarded Degree at Wilkes University

WILKES-BARRE, PA  Kelley O'keefe of Woodbury, CT, received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in Nursing from Wilkes University. The degree was one of 270 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees awarded at a virtual degree conferral ceremony held by Wilkes on Sept. 12. The virtual degree conferral, livestreamed from campus, included remarks from Wilkes University President Greg Cant and interim Provost Terese Wignot.

Hagymasi is eesmarts finalist

TORRINGTON - Torrington-area student Molly Hagymasi was recently honored as a finalist in the 15th annual eesmartsStudent Contest.

Presented by Energize Connecticut sponsors, Eversource and United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas and Connecticut Natural Gas, subsidiaries of AVANGRID, Inc., the eesmarts Student Contest invites Connecticut students in grades K-12 to create projects about energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainability.

In the Grade 7 category, participants could submit a persuasive poem or cartoon strip. Hagymasi won first place for her persuasive poem entitled Pandemic Has Improved Our Environment. Lets Keep Making Things Better. At their peak, CO2 emissions in individual countries have decreased by 20 percent on average, says nature.com, according to Hagymasi.

The Energize Connecticut sponsors updated the contest this year to allow students to submit their projects through an online platform, and a congratulatory video presentation was created to announce the winning participants. More than 300 students from 76 schools in 49 Connecticut towns submitted their work for consideration. Thirty-five entries were selected as this years winners and each finalist received a certificate and Amazon gift card. To view the video, visit EnergizeCT.com/eesmarts-student-contest-winners-2020. For more information on the student contest and the eesmarts program, visit EnergizeCT.com/eesmarts-home

Forman School welcomes students back to campus

LITCHFIELD  The Forman School held its first day of classes for the new school year Sept. 7. Students returned to campus in small groups over the last two weeks in an orderly process designed to minimize the possible transmission of the COVID-19 virus. All students were tested upon arrival at campus before being allowed to move into their dorms.

We have also completed our first round of re-testing with no positive results, said Head of School Adam Man, in a statement. We are in the second round right now.

Like all schools in the country, Forman closed its campus in March and moved to remote learning to finish last year. Since then, the School has been working diligently toward this week.

We have had to reimagine everything. There is no facet of the School that we have not had to re-work, said Man. And of course, there was no blueprint because no one has had to do this before.

Man and his staff started making reopening plans back in April. Ive never seen a group of people work so hard over a summer. And it paid off, Man said. Registration and orientation both went well. The changes were implemented with two basic goals; to prevent the transmission of the virus and to contain it if someone is found to be infectious.

In order to maintain social distancing, every large space on campus has been repurposed to become a classroom, from the Risley Gymnasium to the Jake Cloobeck 16 Theater. New desks and tables have been moved to these new spaces and the School now has over 150 new desks so every regular classroom can accommodate six feet of social distancing comfortably.

There are hand sanitizer dispensers in every classroom and at the entrance of every building. Central air systems have been upgraded and there are HEPA air purification systems all over campus. Forman purchased outdoor furniture to encourage safer, outside gatherings. Tents have been set up to provide an Outdoor Student Center and Bistro. The School has also upgraded its cleaning procedures and has taken a dorm offline to be an isolation center if anyone should contract the virus.

Jaime Feinman, Formans Director of Admission, reported that Formans enrollment has remained steady with some new students coming on board over the year as families evaluate remote learning this fall. Our students are very energized right now, Feinman said. Even though our first assembly was held outside on the Green, with everyone wearing masks and socially distanced, it was a great moment. The Forman family is back together again.
Six men have each been fined 100 for toppling the Edward Colston statue in Bristol during a Black Lives Matter protest.

The group all accepted a 'conditional caution', which means they receive a criminal record but avoid prosecution in the courts and any further punishment.

They now have six months to follow the conditions of their caution, including answering a questionnaire from a local history commission.

Six men have been fined 100 for toppling the Edward Colston statue in Bristol during a Black Lives Matter protest

The six will also have to complete two hours of 'environmental improvement works' organised by Bristol City Council, such as scrubbing graffiti.

Police launched an investigation after the statue of the controversial slave trader was pulled down and dumped in the city's harbour on April 7.

Officers ended their formal investigation of criminal damage in the middle of September, and confirmed then that they had identified nine of the 18 people they initially identified as being criminally responsible for the toppling of the statue.

Police identified three separate acts of criminal damage, and confirmed that different people were involved in each - the toppling of the statue initially, the rolling of it along Colston Avenue and down St Augustine's Reach, and the dumping of the statue in the Floating Harbour.

When the police launched their criminal investigation into the toppling of the statue, they confirmed it followed a formal complaint submitted by Bristol City Council that confirmed the statue had been damaged and that they had not authorised that damage.

Of the 18 people wanted, police said they had already identified three. The subsequent police appeal, which included the issuing of video stills and CCTV images, led to the further identification of only another six, which meant that when the police announced in mid-September it had closed its investigation, it had only managed to identify half of the 18.

Then, the police said five had been offered a conditional caution, and the files of another four had been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service, for them to take a decision on whether they should be prosecuted.

They said those five offered the caution were men aged 18, 20, 29, 33 and 47, but they were not identified publicly.

Now, police said they had identified another of the 18, bringing the total to ten. That person had also been offered a conditional caution, and had accepted, meaning as of October 1, six had now received those cautions, and four are awaiting the CPS decision.

The fine of 100 will be collected and sent to Nilaari, a Bristol-based charity supporting BAME communities.

After Colston's statue was torn down in Bristol, protesters across the UK challenged a number of long-standing monuments which celebrated people with links to slavery or colonialism.

That month, governors at Oriel College in Oxford voted to remove the statue of imperialist and mining magnate Cecil Rhodes.

A statue to Winston Churchill was defaced with the words 'was a racist' and 'f*** your agenda' written underneath the memorial to the war time PM in Westminster Square, London.

Slave trader Robert Milligan's was covered with a shroud and the message 'Black Lives Matter' was placed on it in West India Docks amid calls for it to be taken down. It was later removed by Tower Hamlets Council.

Police launched an investigation after the statue of the controversial slave trader was pulled down and dumped in the city's harbour on April 7

Less than a year after it was erected, 'Nazi' was scrawled underneath a statue of Nancy Astor, the first woman to take a seat in Parliament, in Plymouth.

A monument to 19th-century politician Henry Vassall-Fox, the third Baron Holland, was left splattered with red paint in Holland Park. A cardboard sign reading 'I owned 401 slaves' was perched in the bronze statue's arms, with the number painted on the plinth alongside red handprints.

A Grade II-listed monument to Admiral Lord Nelson, Britain's foremost naval hero, which stands in the grounds of Norwich Cathedral, was sprayed with a black 'V' in the middle of a circle - an anarchist symbol.

Red paint spattered another stature of Lord Nelson at Deptford Town Hall in South London.

In Kent, a former councillor wrote 'Dickens Racist' outside a museum dedicated to the beloved 19th century author. Letters sent by the Oliver Twist author showed he wished to 'exterminate' Indian citizens after a failed uprising.

A statue of Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell in Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, had the words 'Cromwell is a cockroach,' 'f*** racist' and the Black Lives Matter acronym 'BLM' scrawled across it last month. Thousands of people were massacred during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

BLM was also scrawled across the Worcester Civil War memorial in Royal Park.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 15:37:56|Editor: huaxia

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WELLINGTON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand has released additional measures aiming to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading into the country through the air border, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said on Friday.

"As part of our precautionary approach and strategy of constant review, we're tightening the requirements around international aircrew," Hipkins said in a statement.

The COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border, Isolation and Quarantine and Required Testing) Amendment Order 2020 comes into effect from Oct. 4.

"The amended order includes significant changes to isolation requirements for international air crew entering New Zealand and introduces new mandated requirements for New Zealand-based crew," he said.

"The air border is a complex ecosystem and we've made sure to take sufficient time to work with a range of stakeholders to get this strong and workable safety regime in place," the minister said.

Under the new rules, overseas-based air crew who are laying over in New Zealand will be required to stay in a government managed isolation facility for as long as they are in the country, to ensure they avoid contact with New Zealanders.

All overseas-based air crew will be required to wear appropriate personal protective equipment while staying in New Zealand airports and whenever travelling between the airport and their hotel, according to the new rules. Enditem
NEW YORK CITY  Eleven ZIP codes across Brooklyn and Queens now have coronavirus positive rates above 3 percent, health officials said.

Those "areas of concern" account for about 30 percent of all COVID-19 cases in New York City, according to health department release.

The clusters center in four areas  southern Brooklyn, Williamsburg, central Queens and Far Rockaway  where cases are outpacing the citywide average by 3.4 times over the past 14 days, officials said. Together, their positive rate is 6.43 percent over the past seven days.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show on Friday, noted the city's rate without those 11 ZIP codes stands at 1.08 percent. The city's overall positive rate is 1.52 percent.

"These 11 neighborhoods we need to throw in everything we got, de Blasio said.

A health department map shows four major coronavirus clusters across New York City. (NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)

The Edgemere/Far Rockaway cluster is 4.17 times the citywide rate. The 11691 ZIP code stands at 4.80 positive rate, according to data.

The southern Brooklyn cluster is 1.52 times the citywide rate, data shows. It covers the following ZIP codes, which cover several neighborhoods including Borough Park, with these positive rates:



11235  3.40 percent

11223  7.16 percent

11230  5.89 percent

11219  7.09 percent

11204  6.69 percent

11229  3.99 percent

11210  4.91 percent

The central Queens cluster stands at 1.66 times the citywide coronavirus positive rate, according to data. It covers the ZIP codes of 11374, 11415 and 11367, which have respective positive rates of 3.18, 4.17 and 3.60 percent each.

Another cluster in Williamsburg has a coronavirus positivity rate 3.11 times the citywide average, according to data. It covers the 11205, 11211 and 11249 ZIP codes.

The health department also issued a Commissioner's Order that gives city agencies the power to close businesses in those neighborhoods for repeat non-compliance with coronavirus safety measures, according to a release.

This article originally appeared on the New York City Patch
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 02:04:15|Editor: huaxia

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MACAO, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Thanks to the care and guidance provided by the central government, Macao had been able to contain COVID-19 from spreading locally, Chief Executive of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Ho Iat Seng said Thursday.

In his speech delivered at a reception to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ho underlined the country's solid support for Macao, in particular when facing the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The reception, hosted by the Macao SAR government and attended by 1,100 guests, was held at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex.

Ho said Macao is now a safe place for tourists and its economy is expected to recover gradually, thanks to the resumption of permit issuance under the facilitated individual travel scheme for the mainland residents wishing to visit Macao as tourists.

Ho also stressed Macao's firm adherence to the policies of "one country, two systems," "the people of Macao governing Macao," and a high degree of autonomy, and continued pursuit of Macao's strategic position as a world center of tourism and leisure, and as a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Earlier Thursday morning, Ho Iat Seng and about 550 guests attended a flag-raising ceremony held at Golden Lotus Square.

Other celebrations to mark the National Day included a fireworks show themed Full Moon National Day Fireworks Celebration, and an ethnic dance drama Awakening Lion. Enditem
A brand new set of graduates from Cleveland State Community Colleges MIG Welding program Friday marks the sixth year of a special partnership with The Refuge, a charitable non-profit group which helps find opportunities and education for many in need.

After 40 hours of welding training, which includes instruction in industry math, safety, classroom training, practical hands-on education, and certification testing, these graduates are headed for a new career. However, as proud as these organizations are of this 2020 graduating class, there is a new venture on the horizon that will broaden their coverage when it comes to caring about career and community.

The community development corporation, City Fields, is now joining The Refuge. City Fields is at the middle of a revitalization effort for the Blythe Oldfield community of Cleveland. By developing and cultivating housing and opportunities for the residents, City Fields is helping make more promising futures for people in need, a reality. The Refuge provides assistance with job searching, education in life and job skills, literacy, and identification of available community resources to those who find themselves in difficult economic or social situations.

This new enterprise with The Refuge, which is known for successfully working with unemployed or under-employed people in need of a career and a living wage, is truly a huge win for everyone. The Refuge joining forces with City Fields will help us have an even greater impact, said Dustin Tommey, executive director of City Fields. We want to see twice as many classes. We want to offer more advanced options. And, ultimately, build a pipeline for people to go from unemployment to a life of sustainability.

The annual training that Cleveland State Community College provides to enrollees from The Refuge is something that also involves partnerships that are invested in growing our community. The Department of Human Resources, the Career Center, UT Family Extension, Norfolk Southern, as well as friends and family of the graduates truly come together each year to support and help grow the next generation of our workforce and our neighbors. The Welding training that the college has provided for the past six years provides nationally-recognized training and industry certifications, and ultimately careers, to each graduate.

Cleveland State is excited about the merger between The Refuge and City Fields, said Dr. Patty Weaver, Cleveland State Community College vice president of Workforce and Economic Development. Economic stability, eliminating barriers, and transforming communities into thriving neighborhoods are part of each organization's mission. These combined efforts to educate and empower more individuals in our community will allow for the expansion of more programming. Cleveland State has already developed a strong partnership with The Refuge in helping address issues that are fundamental to economic stability and social progress in our community.

For more information on Cleveland State Community College, call 472-7141 or visit the college at ClevelandStateCC.edu. Students are currently enrolled online and on-campus through the CSCC main campus in Cleveland, as well as CSCCs Athens Center in Athens, Tn. and Monroe County Center in Vonore, Tn.
After the woman reported her loss, Detective Patrick Altiere, 45, a 16-year veteran of the Washington County (Oregon) Sheriff's Office, stepped in to investigate. He tells AARP that he spends much of his time investigating romance scams and, in the case at hand, there is little hope the woman will recover her money. We're not catching these people and they are not going to jail, he says. The fraudster in the case used an alias, is probably overseas and the photos he sent her were not his  they were stolen from the internet.



More than $100 million lost to romance scams

The Oregon woman is not alone. In 2018, people lost $143 million to romance scams, the Federal Trade Commission says.

That WWF is haunted by hustlers is not surprising. Zynga, the San Francisco-based company that created it, did not respond to requests for comment for this story but offers online tips on how to block other users and report abuse.

Altiere says romance frauds have much in common. The people who are targeted are afflicted with loneliness, he says. Some have infrequent contact with relatives or live in care facilities. Victims really want to believe these people are living exciting lives  working on oil rigs, traveling through Africa. Such tall tales are a ruse to avoid meeting in person. An ironclad rule to avoid being fleeced: Never send money to a virtual love interest whom you haven't met in person.

"Loneliness is insipid and does crazy things to people, the detective says, and makes them do things they wouldn't normally do."

Victims can be in denial, too. In another case he's probing, a woman in her 60s sent Bitcoin, a virtual currency difficult to trace, to a man she met on WWF. Her family contacted the detective and together they staged an intervention that finally convinced her that it's a scam, he says, but the family still doesn't know how much money she's lost.

His mother met a stranger

At the University of Southern California (USC), digital strategist Brad Berens grew interested in WWF scams when his mother, whom he calls nobody's fool, mentioned an odd experience while playing. She met Owen, who described himself as a single father toiling on an off-shore oil rig near Istanbul.
Pollution levels in the Permian Basin and the Four Corners area are some of the worst in the United States.

People who live near oil and gas development suffer a higher rate of health problems than people who do not.

Recent research revealed that the Permian Basin is the nations highest methane-emitting oil and gas basin, with emissions estimated to be three times higher than reported by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Thats why Santa Fe-based CAVU, Climate Advocates Voces Unidas, wanted to address the issue with a short film called Unearthed 2020: From Boom to Bust. It can be watched at unearthednm.org.

The film features voices from the Permian Basin and experts on public health, state budgetary processes and outdoor recreation who demonstrate how the states largest economic driver affects quality of life for New Mexicans.

(The film) was quick and responsive to what is going on, says Liliana Castillo, CAVU deputy director. With the pandemic, there was another bust in the industry, and we asked, how is it impacting people? What are the things we need to change? The main challenge was talking about the issues and how the issues impact the state as a whole.

The small group of filmmakers had to also navigate through the pandemic.

We ended up having to focus on the Permian Basin because the Navajo Nation was still locked down, Castillo says. COVID as a whole was the biggest challenge. We also wanted to have people be heard and seen, so we followed all safety precautions.

Castillo says the New Mexico Environment Departments ozone monitor in the Permian Basin was out of commission for nearly a month this summer.

Before 2019, the Oil Conservation Division only issued three fines over 11 years on oil and gas operators.

Due to chronic underfunding, there are only seven inspectors to monitor more than 7,700 sources of air pollution across the state.

The state agencies in charge of protecting public health and regulating the oil and gas industry  the Environment Department and the Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources  were cut by 25% to 30% under the administration of former Gov. Susana Martinez. Over the same time, oil and gas production in New Mexico increased by 248%.

We better understand the impacts on people and how to protect their health if we listen to their stories. Stories are compelling, and they connect us together in a world that has become too divisive, Castillo says. Our 2020 update to Unearthed gives voice  (and) shows what happens when we put profit over the health and safety of our citizens and ignore the long-term effects this industry has on our planet.

Online

To view CAVUs latest film, Unearthed 2020: From Boom to Bust, visit unearthednm.org.

SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email film@ABQjournal.com. Follow me on Twitter @agomezART.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nana Kwasi says the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been wicked to the people of Ashanti Region in terms of development.



According to him, President Nana Akufo-Addo came to embarrass himself in the Ashanti Region when he paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II as the President could not mention one major project he has done in 4 years for the Ashanti Region.



Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Nana Kwasi alluded to the fact that former President John Dramani Mahama could mention at least 10 projects in the Ashanti Region when he visited Manhyia to introduce his Running Mate to the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.



He claimed that the Asantehene acknowledged the performance of former President John Dramani Mahama as he urged the NDC Flagbearer to tell the people what he has done for them when he was in power.



He indicated that the people of the Ashanti Region will make some changes in this years elections as the results from the region will favor the NDC Presidential Candidate, former President John Dramani Mahama.



His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo has embarrassed himself in the Ashanti Region and such has never happened before. When H.E Nana Akufo-Addo came to the Ashanti Region, he could not mention one project he has done for the people of Ashanti Region and the only thing he did at Manhyia was to introduce his aspirants to the people of Ashanti and Otumfuo and this is very embarrassing, he asserted.



Commenting on the projects that President Nana Akufo-Addo commissioned when he visited the Ashanti Region, the NDC Ashanti Regional Chairman said that one of the projects was done by a private company and the other was a continuation of 85 percent Tepa Hospital project done by former President John Dramani Mahama.



We should ask ourselves if the Zoomlion project in the Ashanti Region was funded by the government, and the answer is no. The Tepa hospital that he visited, who constructed it? It was constructed by his H.E John Dramani Mahamas project. Before we left office, the Tepa Hospital was 85 percent complete and so H.E Nana Akufo-Addo added only 15 percent to the project in 4 years, he argued.



He, however, charged the people of Ashanti to be truthful to admit that former President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC have not been wicked to them in terms of development as there are remarkable projects like the Kejetia, Tafo, Asawase, and Atonsu markets to show.



Watch video below





Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









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

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Preventive measures are spontaneously adopted by a large section of the population, but pockets of resistance do exist. Credit: @DR

The psychosocial profile of people who resist adopting suitable protective behaviors against the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus provides valuable information about preventing epidemics. We need to know about these psychological and social profiles so we can understand how protective actions against contagious diseases are adopted, and then define the correct preventive approaches. At the very start of the coronavirus crisisbefore restrictive measures were takena team of health behavior specialists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) managed to collect a large amount of data about the adoption of protective measures.

Through a study published in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, the Geneva psychologists analyzed how people in Britain followed the precautions recommended in their country. The study focuses on how the behavior of others influences individual decision-making, known as the social dilemma. It notes that beliefs about COVID-19, such as thinking that the disease is dangerous or feelings of vulnerability, have little impact on whether or not an individual takes up protective measures. The people least likely to adopt these measures are those who believe that the precautions taken by others mean that they do not need to take their own. These psychosocial profiles (among others identified in the study) point to possible solutions for creating prevention messages that are more effective.

A better understanding of human behavior when it comes to making a positive contribution to a community can be used to develop more appropriate prevention measures and messaging. This is a form of behavior analysis that is very useful for ecological issues and blood donation. Lisa Moussaoui is first author of the study as well as being a lecturer and research fellow in the health psychology research group in UNIGE's Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE). She explains the approach thus: "We are trying to understand how people make decisions and act so that preventive interventions can be made." This is why, when the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health announced it would be introducing a semi-lockdown on March 13, 2020, the researcher and her colleagues decided to bring their expertise to bear regarding the COVID-19 health crisis.

Using the United Kingdom as a model

The Geneva psychologists turned to the United Kingdom, whichunlike Switzerlandhad not yet entered lockdown: this meant the researchers could analyze behaviors before the official measures came into force, enabling them to concentrate on the initial decisive phases. A representative sample of 1,006 UK citizens served as the basis for the study, which included a series of questions relating to monitoring the adoption of the preventive measures recommended by the British health authorities. "We measured variables such as perceived vulnerability to COVID-19, the perceived severity of the disease and a number of other beliefs," says Nana Ofosu, a doctoral student at UNIGE and co-author of the study.

Few socio-demographic differences

The psychologists observed that preventive measures were spontaneously adopted by a large section of the population. "It's a known phenomenon. Informing people about the presence of a danger is enough to bring about a massive and rapid change in behavior. We've seen the same thing in other tragic situations, such as the AIDS pandemic. But, in spite of everything, pockets of resistance do exist," explains Olivier Desrichard, FPSE professor and co-author of the study.

Level of education, family environment, age and the number of cases declared in the region do not influence behavior. "It's an outcome that contradicts rumors claiming that certain categories of the population, such as young people, followed instructions less than others," adds Moussaoui.

How other people behave: a source of social dilemma

"If no one else is doing it, why should I be the only one making the effort?" The more the study participants agreed with this question, the less they adopted preventive measures. Another factor negatively influences their adoption: the 'drop-in-the-bucket' phenomenonthe feeling that your own contribution is pointless compared to the size of the danger. Finally, the study emphasizes the fact that the more social contacts the participants had, such as professional relationships, the more they felt vulnerable, even though this did not inspire them to adopt the correct actions.

Preventive approach that needs refining

The study confirms the fact that social dilemmas influence behavior. This psychosocial approach offers an interesting counterpoint to the way information is communicated about COVID-19, one that focuses on the dangerous nature of the virus and the importance of observing instructions.

"It's important to know the real determinants of behavior before embarking on a preventive action so as not to miss the intended goal. Most of the people interviewed were already convinced about the importance of respecting the recommendations. It follows," concludes Moussaoui," that this kind of message is not really useful to influence their behavior."

Explore further Women follow pandemic rules more strictly than men

More information: Lisa S. Moussaoui et al, Social Psychological Correlates of Protective Behaviours in the COVID19 Outbreak: Evidence and Recommendations from a Nationally Representative Sample, Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being (2020). Lisa S. Moussaoui et al, Social Psychological Correlates of Protective Behaviours in the COVID19 Outbreak: Evidence and Recommendations from a Nationally Representative Sample,(2020). DOI: 10.1111/aphw.12235
York Region police have laid additional charges against a doctor after 11 more people came forward with allegations of sexual assault at a medical clinic in King township.

The investigation started in August after two women, ages 49 and 28, came forward to report allegations of sexual assault, police said. The alleged assaults took place at the Schomberg Medical Centre at 17250 Highway 27 between 2008 and 2017, police said.

Police announced the arrest last month and released the doctors photo, asking anyone with more information to step forward.

Since then, 11 more people went to police with allegations. Each victim described similar experiences of sexual assault during medical appointments, police said.

One of the additional victims was 17 years old at the time she was sexually assaulted, police said.

Dr. Wameed Ateyah, 49, of Richmond Hill, originally faced seven counts of sexual assault. He now faces 19 counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation.

Investigators believe that the doctor practised in other clinics in southern Ontario as well.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7071 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.

RS Rhythm Sachdeva is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: rsachdeva@thestar.ca
President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a message to US President Donald Trump and his wife, wishing them quick and full recovery after they announced they tested positive for covid-19.

Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to Buhari on media said he is joining Americans and other well wishers to pray for their healing.

The President notes, with sympathy, that the incident of Covid-19 in the White House manifests the challenge posed by the pandemic across the world, and difficulty in containing the spread, Shehu said.

While wishing the American First Family speedy turnaround in their current health status, President Buhari urges more compliance among Nigerians to protocols, and adherence to advice of medical doctors, particularly epidemiologists, the statement added.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Technicians used HoloLens 2 devices to assemble the crew module seats, similar to these seats in a mockup of the Orion spacecraft, for the first Orion mission to carry astronauts into space. Credit: NASA

When workers for Lockheed Martin began assembling the crew seats for a spacecraft designed to return astronauts to the moon and pave the way for human exploration to Mars, they had no need for paper instructions or tablet screens to work from.

Everything they needed to see, including animations of how pieces fit together, engineering drawings and torque values for tightening bolts, was visible in HoloLens 2 devices that they wore.

The mixed-reality headsets left their hands free to manipulate hardware. Voice commands guided them through every step, with holographic instructions overlaid on the relevant parts of the four seats that will be installed inside the crew module of the Orion spacecraft, which Lockheed Martin is building to support NASA's Artemis program to carry humans to the moon and beyond.

"They didn't have to refer back to a computer screen or paper drawings during that entire activity," said Shelley Peterson, Lockheed Martin principal investigator for augmented and mixed reality. "Out on the shop floor, they can put on the HoloLens 2 device, power it up, and it has all the content that they need to figure out how to do that task overlaid right there on the structure."

Building a spacecraft requires millions of tasks, each with no room for error, from attaching electrical cables in the correct pathways to lubricating joints and precisely locating thousands of tiny devices that measure how the craft performs under stress.

Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor building Orion, has employed HoloLens 2 on a variety of assembly tasks for the spacecraft that will be used in NASA's Artemis II mission, the first to carry a crew of astronauts aboard Orion.

For some jobs that require lots of precise measuring by handsuch as marking locations for hundreds of fasteners on Orion's spacecraft adapter jettison fairingstechnicians using holographic instructions have finished those repetitive tasks 90% faster. The mixed reality headsets have also all but eliminated assembly mistakes, Peterson said. Lockheed Martin has experienced no errors or rework requests on tasks in which workers were assisted by HoloLens headsets, which the company first deployed at the end of 2017, she said.

"The fact that we haven't had any errors across all of these activities is phenomenal," said Peterson, who oversees the company's mixed-reality initiatives.

"Usually, when we're considering new technologies, we're asking if there's improved quality, if it's faster or if it's less expensive, and most people say you can only get two out of the three because there are always tradeoffs. What we're finding with the HoloLens 2 is that we can hit all three, which is pretty unique," Peterson said.

At its Ignite conference on Sept. 22, Microsoft announced it is expanding the global availability of HoloLens 2, which is now available for purchase in Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Lockheed Martin technicians at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility use HoloLens 2 to assemble Orions crew seats for the Artemis II mission. This image, captured with a HoloLens 2 headset, shows the holographic instructions overlaid on the crew seats. Credit: Lockheed Martin

"We are super-inspired to see what people are doing in the wild with HoloLens, and we are very excited that we have enough supply worldwide to bring it to this next set of regions," said Microsoft Technical Fellow Alex Kipman.

The company also announced the private preview of a new mixed-reality service called Azure Object Anchors. It allows HoloLens devices to recognize an object in the real world and map relevant instructions or visuals onto it without requiring any expert knowledge or barcodes to line those things up.

If an automaker wants to help a car owner do a simple repair job at their house using mixed reality, for instance, it's more helpful for the owner to put on a headset and see an arrow pointing right to the oil pan gasket that needs to be removed, rather than asking a novice car mechanic to locate the gasket among all the other engine parts and then start following instructions, Kipman said.

"It's a very hard computer vision problem, but the ability to recognize an object in the real world and then graft and map holograms onto it adds a tremendous amount of value," he said.

Since HoloLens 2 began shipping to customers last November, Microsoft has continued to see demand for the device and Azure mixed reality services, Kipman said, especially in a time when remote collaboration is essential to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

Shelley Peterson, Lockheed Martin principal investigator for augmented and mixed reality. Credit: Rachel Woolf Photography

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, for instance, allows people in two different physical locations to collaborate and solve problems in a shared mixed reality environment. If a frontline worker assembling a spacecraft, airplane or truck finds an obstruction where the next piece of hardware needs be installed, an engineer in another room or city can see through the worker's HoloLens 2 exactly what the problem is and offer advice on how to adjust.

Health care providers treating COVID-19 patients at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in England are using HoloLens 2, Remote Assist and Microsoft Teams to minimize potential exposure to the virus. One doctor wearing a mixed reality headset can treat the patient in person, while the device sends a secure live video feed to a computer screen in a neighboring room. That allows other members of the healthcare team to see everything that doctor sees while remaining at a safe distance.

Mercedes-Benz U.S. is using HoloLens 2 headsets to help service technicians at its dealerships more quickly and efficiently repair vehicles. Using Remote Assist, they can troubleshoot a problem in real time by easily tapping into the company's vast network of remote specialists with deep expertise across various car lines.

"In some industries, we've seen companies become willing to take the leap much faster," Kipman said. "In a socially distanced time where travel can be risky, it's much easier to just teleport there and see things through the eyes of the operators. Before that sounded kind of cool, like something out of a science fiction novel, but now it's really a necessity."

Lockheed Martin officials said the ability to collaborate remotely using HoloLens 2 has helped employees maintain social distance during the pandemic. It helps workers avoid passing paper or tablets back and forth, and it also allows people to problem solve without having to get on a plane or look over someone's shoulder.

Eric Nolan, a technician working at the Kennedy Space Center, wears a HoloLens2 as he works on the heat shield for the crew module for NASAs Artemis II mission. Credit: NASA

"Travel is really difficult right now, and if we can avoid just one troubleshooting trip, that HoloLens is worth it," said Colin Sipe, an Orion and Human Landing Systems senior manager for Lockheed Martin.

The company also began seeing significant time and cost savings when technicians no longer had to break from their tasks to look at manuals or type on a computer screen, which may require crawling through tight spaces or taking off clean room gear. For a critical job like assembling the heat shield that keeps astronauts safe as they re-enter Earth's atmosphere, written instructions are so complex that they can add up to 30 pounds' worth of paperwork, Sipe said.

"Typically, it turns out that about half of their time is spent reviewing drawings, reviewing steps and entering data into the computer, and only about half of their time is spent turning wrenches and putting parts together," he said. "With HoloLens, we've been able to reduce the amount of time that they spend dealing with or processing that data overhead by about 90%."

For instance, as part of critical verification processes, technicians often have to put down their tools and walk back to a computer workstation and type in information about the step they've just completed. With the HoloLens 2, they can use a simple voice command to have the headset take a picture or record a videowhich can be used for validation, quality assurance or training purposeswithout having to break their flow.

The people who build the spacecraft also enjoy using the HoloLens 2, which allows them to focus on the work they really like to do, Sipe said. Some have even delayed retirements to spend more time working on Orion.

"They don't particularly like digging through technical documents to find out what kind of primer to put on this particular part. They like to build stuff and work with their hands, and with the HoloLens 2 they're able to spend almost all day doing just that," he said. "They really feel like they're working on a spacecraft of the future."
A new local Halloween event is receiving fistfuls of sweet support.

Chippewa Falls Main Street and a number of local businesses are hosting a drive-thru Trick-or-Treating event from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds in place of the traditional event held annually in downtown Chippewa Falls. The event is being held to shield people from COVID-19 concerns.

Dozens of businesses have already lined up to support the event through a variety of means Chippewa Falls Main Street executive director, Teri Ouimette said.

The support has been incredible, Ouimette said. We usually have trick-or-treating downtown, and businesses donate to that, but this time around weve even had individuals and businesses outside of the downtown area donate which is really great. Were looking forward to a really great Halloween event.

A handful of the businesses who have contributed to the event so far have been the Chippewa Candy Shop, Lake Wissota Family Chiropractic, Coldwell Banker, The Fill Inn Station, The Medicine Shoppe, Family Fare, Chippewa Falls City Hall, Burger King, the Chippewa Falls Police Department, the Northern Wisconsin State Fair, Spring Street Sports, Northwestern Bank and many more.

During the event, vehicles featuring children in costume will enter the fairgrounds near Parkview Elementary School, receive a bag of candy also featuring important coronavirus information and coupons from a volunteer (also in costume) and exit the grounds near the cemetery.

Organizers are anticipating preparing nearly 3,000 bags for the event.

Candy wont be the only thing being given out during the event, as businesses and individuals have been donating a plethora of items.

Some have donated candy, some donated money and some donated toys, Ouimette said. The event is all just about candy. There will be some other little surprises in the bags too. Were going to start bagging things in a few weeks, and weve already got stacks of candy ready to go. People keep dropping it off, so were ready to go.

Ouimette said the decision to modify the event and allow it to continue was essential for the mental health of area children and their families this Halloween season.

We dont want kids to miss Halloween, Ouimette said. The circumstances, being what they are, we are choosing to do the next best thing. We think it will work out and people will be ready for it.

For important updates and information, you can visit the Chippewa Falls Main Street Facebook page.

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Donald Trump joins Boris Johnson in the list of world leaders to have tested positive for coronavirus. (Photo by Steve Parsons-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Boris Johnson has wished Donald Trump a speedy recovery after the president tested positive for coronavirus.

Trump, and first lady Melania, are self-isolating after testing positive in the early hours of Friday, following a positive test from one of his closest aides.

White House aide Hope Hicks returned a positive test on Thursday.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

He joins Boris Johnson on the list of world leaders who have been infected with the coronavirus.

Boris Johnson, who fell gravely ill after catching COVID-19 in March, wished the couple to a speedy recovery.

My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 2, 2020

Speaking on Sky News, housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: All of us want to send our best wishes to President Trump, the first lady and the Trump family and wish them a speedy recovery.

We know what its like to have, in our case a prime minister who tested positive for COVID, and setting aside politics we all want to see him and his wife get better soon.

Jenrick added that the United States has a clear succession protocol should it be needed.

Watch: President Trump and first lady test positive for coronavirus

In the US theyve got a very clear protocol havent they, with the vice president, should that be necessary, Jenrick added.

Other British MPs have also sent messages of support to Trump, including former Chancellor Sajid Javid, who urged people to put politics aside.

I wish Donald and Melania Trump a speedy recovery from this awful virus. Our politics is not relevant.  Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) October 2, 2020

Get well soon and God Speed to @realDonaldTrump and First Lady @FLOTUS who have Coronavirus.  https://t.co/ueFBrQYvsM  Andrea Jenkyns MP (@andreajenkyns) October 2, 2020

Trump is thought to be at higher risk of hospital admission from COVID-19 due to his age, gender and weight.

Story continues

The 74-year-old falls into the high risk group because he is male  with men around twice as likely to die from coronavirus as women.

However, his biggest risk factor is his age, with experts concluding that age is by far the strongest predictor of an infected persons risk of dying.

President Donald Trump holds up his face mask during the first presidential debate. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says people aged 65 to 74 have a five times higher risk of hospital admission with coronavirus compared with those aged 18 to 29.

Read more: Number of coronavirus patients in hospital in UK has doubled in two weeks

For people aged 75 to 84, the risk of needing hospital admission jumps to eight times higher, with a 220 times higher risk of death.

Trumps doctor, Sean Conley, told reporters in June that he is healthy. Conley also reported that Trump weighed 17st 6lb (110.7kg).

First lady Melania Trump has also been infected with COVID-19. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

While waiting for the results of his test, Trump said he had found it difficult to socially distance while meeting members of the armed forces.

He told Fox News: Its very hard when youre with soldiers, when youre with airmen, when youre with the marines, and with the police officers, Im with them so much.

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Watch: Trump is in a high risk category of COVID-19 patients
(Hassan Ammar / Associated Press)

Its been two years since Jamal Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi Arabian journalist who lived in Virginia, walked into the kingdoms consulate in the Turkish commercial capital of Istanbul, never to be seen again.

The grisly details of Khashoggis Oct. 2, 2018, killing and dismemberment at the hands of Saudi agents emerged over a period of many months, though his body was never recovered. Since then, Saudi Arabias de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has worked tirelessly to try to rehabilitate an international image tarnished by a killing in which the CIA and the United Nations, among many others, believed him probably culpable.

To a considerable extent, the ambitious crown prince, known as MBS, has succeeded in living down the opprobrium, or at least in ignoring it and moving ahead with business as usual. Next month, Mohammed is scheduled to host a virtual summit of the Group of 20 in Riyadh, in what would be his most high-profile turn on the world stage since the killing of Khashoggi, an opinion writer for the Washington Post.

The 35-year-old crown princes campaign of self-rehabilitation received a major boost from President Trump, who brushed aside intelligence reports and ignored U.S. lawmakers calls to hold Saudi Arabia accountable not only for Khashoggis death, but also for the humanitarian disaster resulting from the Saudi-led war in Yemen and the harsh repression of domestic dissent.

A newly released book by journalist Bob Woodward had Trump gleefully recounting how his personal backing helped shield the crown prince from repercussions related to the Khashoggi killing, including congressional attempts to cut armed sales to the kingdom. I saved his ass, Trump told Woodward.

Nevertheless, critics say political repression in the conservative oil-rich kingdom has deepened during the last two years. Activists for causes including womens rights routinely face abuse and torture behind bars, human rights groups say, while exiled Saudi citizens who criticize the monarchy from afar face the threat of being snatched up and forcibly returned to the kingdom.

Story continues

Here is more background on the case and its continuing fallout:

WAS ANYONE EVER HELD ACCOUNTABLE?

Last month, Saudi Arabias public prosecutor announced the sentencing of eight men in connection with Khashoggis death, calling it a final ruling in the case. The defendants were not named by Saudi authorities, but all were believed to be lower-level operatives, part of a hit squad that arrived in Turkey just before the killing. They were given prison terms of between seven and 20 years.

Agnes Callamard, who led a U.N. investigation that concluded the crown prince almost certainly ordered the killing, called the closed trial a parody of justice. Her report, published in June 2019, concluded that it was inconceivable that such an operation would have been carried out without the knowledge of the crown prince.

These verdicts carry no legal or moral legitimacy, Callamard, an expert on extrajudicial executions, wrote on Twitter at the time of the Saudi announcement. They came at the end of a process which was neither fair, nor just, or transparent.

In a September 2019 interview with CBS News, Mohammed denied ordering the killing, but said he accepted full responsibility as the countrys de facto leader, which his critics regarded as an infuriating dodge.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED THAT DAY?

Saudi authorities staged a lengthy and elaborate cover-up, insisting for weeks that Khashoggi, who had come to the consulate for paperwork needed to remarry, left after meeting with officials there. Saudi officials eventually acknowledged a struggle had taken place in which they said he was accidentally killed.

But audio captured by Turkish intelligence told a different story: the arrival of a Saudi hit team, accompanied by forensic specialists, who lay in wait for Khashoggi, talking about matters including his size and weight and how that would affect disposal of his corpse, and referring to him at one point as a sacrificial animal. The audio, as cited by the U.N. report, captured the sound of his apparent suffocation  and, gruesomely, the hum of a bone saw dismembering the body.

GAME OF THRONES

Even before the killing of Khashoggi, the crown prince had moved methodically to consolidate his position in the kingdoms sprawling royal family as the power behind the throne. The formal ruler is his father, King Salman, a frail octogenarian, but as the countrys day-to-day leader, Mohammed has sidelined one rival after another, a process that continues to this day.

In 2017, Mohammed ordered the rounding up of scores of royal kin, together with some of the countrys top business leaders, confining them in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh. Some of them were believed tortured within its luxurious confines; others were released but placed under house arrest. Saudi officials described it as an anti-corruption drive, but critics called it a shakedown: The detainees signed over about $100 billion in assets.

This spring saw another campaign targeting senior princes, and more recently, the crown prince ordered the detention of Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a well-respected former counter-terrorism chief who worked closely with U.S. officials in past administrations, having earlier been shoved from the line of succession by his cousin.

That this man today is under arrest and under charge for corruption is extremely dangerous, Bruce Riedel, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who is a former CIA analyst and presidential advisor, wrote on the group's website. I fear for his health. I fear for his life.

WORSENING RIGHTS ABUSES

The crown prince was once considered a reformist. On a U.S. tour months before Khashoggis killing, he was feted for moving to usher in social changes such as allowing women to drive. But that same year saw the start of a concerted crackdown against rights activists, including more than two dozen campaigners for womens rights arrested since 2018.

Many are accused of terrorism-related crimes for their activism, denied contact with family or legal representation. Rights groups and relatives have made credible accusations of torture, including sexual abuse. One prominent womens activist, Loujain Hathloul, was offered release if she made a public denial that she had been tortured in custody.

Its a very dire situation, Hala Aldosari, a womens rights activist and scholar, told an online forum Thursday sponsored by the Project on Middle East Democracy, a Washington nonprofit group. The government acts with impunity; this is the situation we are in.

HOW WERE SAUDI-U.S. RELATIONS AFFECTED?

After Trump took office in 2017, the crown prince struck up a swift friendship with the presidents son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Saudi Arabia was Trumps first foreign visit, a lavish affair featuring sword dances and vows of friendship.

It heralded a U.S. administration under which Saudi Arabia has encountered almost no pushback over rights abuses, the crushing of internal dissent or the procuring of U.S. arms used in the war in Yemen. Most activists hold out little hope of change in Washingtons policy toward the kingdom if Trump is reelected in November, with the crown prince the prime beneficiary of that largesse.

Deeply entrenched problems with the U.S.-Saudi relationship did not begin with Khashoggis death, but the killing threw them into sharp relief, said Annelle Sheline, a research fellow at the Quincy Institute, a Washington think tank. She urged what she called a long-overdue reset, including pressure to end the war in Yemen and a blockade of neighboring Qatar orchestrated by the crown prince.

Riedel, who last month testified before Congress on the U.S.-Saudi relationship, described a fundamentally different and new relationship with Saudi Arabia due in large measure to the crown princes reckless leadership.

Saudi Arabia today is more a danger to the United States than it is an ally, he said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Barack Obama was the first person of colour to win the US presidency in 2008, much to the jubilation of the whole world. But his successor, subject of more loathing than admiration, refused earlier this week to denounce White supremacist groups in the billingsgate that passed for the first presidential debate.

This refusal came in the wake of events in Minneapolis, Rochester, Atlanta, Kenosha, among other American cities, involving the use of disproportionate police force against black people resulting in death or grievous injury, all through the spring and summer of 2020. Were we ...
WASSERBILLIG, LuxembourgGlobal lube manufacturer pjur will be hosting its first-ever "Digital Days" in less than two weeks. The goal of the program is to "stay in touch with industry partners, and to gather feedback from the market and (potential) customers," which has been a vital part of pjurs global strategy.

"Only preregistered customers gain access to free expert content, can ask their questions and have the chance to win great prizes," explained Alexander Giebel, CEO and Founder of pjur, noting the importance to register in advance.

Not only that, but the company has come up with eleven reasons why one should register:

pjur speaks your language

All video and live contents will be available in up to seven languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Russian and Chinese.

Customer success stories

From customers for customers: We have asked some of our long-standing customers to share their secrets about selling pjur successfully. Hear real stories from partners in the industry.

Consumer Insights

After 25 successful years on the market, pjur has asked consumers about their relationship with pjur. More than 2.000 consumers worldwide shared their thoughts, that are summarized in the pjur&you report, which will be revealed for the first time during the pjur Digital Days.

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pjur Expert Talks

We have asked experts to share their best advice. The program includes trending topics such as online sales, pjur Brand Space, successful sales tips, the importance of brand management as well as the important topic of "medical devices".

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Though there won't be a pjur bar this year, virtual live chats with pjur experts, where attendees can ask specific questions, will be available.

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Gain insights into the headquarters of the pjur group. We're putting the spotlight on the people behind our success, giving attendees the chance to experience day-to-day working life at our global company.

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Almost five months ago, pjur started the more SAFETY campaign, dedicated to encourage people to consistently wear masks and help prevent the further spread of the virus. Over 4,000 masks were manufactured specifically for pjur customers and distributed in more than twenty countries. The contest winners will be chosen during Digital Days.

Networking & Socializing

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Happy Birthday, pjur

After 25 years in business, attendees can access the virtual pjur eroFame booth, regardless of travel, place and time difference.

International Congratulations

In 2020, pjur celebrates its 25th anniversary. Partners, customers and friends from all over the world have sent their best wishes digitally.

Registration is necessary to take part in the event. To do so, click here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday will inaugurate Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit at 6.30 p.m. The VAIBHAV summit is a global virtual summit of overseas and resident Indian Researchers and Academicians and is being organized from October 2 to October 31.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit on Friday at 6:30 pm. The VAIBHAV summit is a global virtual summit of overseas and resident Indian Researchers and Academicians and is being organized from October 2 to October 31, according to a Press Information Bureau release.

Prime Minister Modi wrote on Twitter that he was looking forward to todays Vaibhav summit, which brings together scientists as well as researchers from the Indian diaspora. He added, Do join at 6:30 pm on October 2.

The aim of the summit is to bring Indian origin luminaries in academic institutes and research and development (R&D) organizations across the world and resident counterparts on a single platform to debate upon collaboration mechanisms to strengthen academic and a Science and Technology (S&T) base in India for global development.

Also read: Quad foreign ministers to meet in Tokyo on October 6

Also read: Vande Bharat Mission Phase 7: 820 international flights scheduled

The inauguration will be followed by online deliberation sessions. The initiative involves multiple levels of interactions among overseas experts and Indian counterparts over a month-long series of webinars, video-conferences, etc. More than 3,000 overseas Indian origin academicians and scientists from 55 countries and more than 10,000 resident academicians and scientists are taking part in the summit, the release stated.

About 200 academic institutes and S&T departments, led by Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India, are organizing the summit running through October.

Over 1,500 panelists from 40 countries, 200 leading Indian R&D and academic institutions will virtually deliberate in 18 different areas and 80 topics in more than 200 deliberation sessions. The concluding session will be held on October 31, on the occasion of Sardar Patel Jayanti.

Also read: Pakistan High Court fixes hearing for Kulbhushan Jadhav case on October 6
The NHS is already rationing remdesivir, a key drug for treating coronavirus patients, because it is in short supply after the US bought up global stocks in the summer.

Doctors have been told not to give the drugs to the most seriously ill patients and to save it for those who have the 'greatest capacity to benefit'.

The instruction comes early on in the UK's second wave as the number of people being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 is only 10 per cent as high as it was during the peak, and after officials said they were stockpiling the drug.

NHS hospitals around the country were yesterday issued an alert titled 'supply disruption' which warned of an 'increased demand against available supply', which told doctors to be more selective about to whom they give the drug.

The Department of Health denies there is a shortage of the drug, claiming there 'remain plenty of supplies', but said it was being used up faster and more stocks couldn't be delivered until the end of October. It is not clear how much of the medicine the UK has bought.

The American drug, which costs around 2,400 per course ($3,120), was found in trials to reduce Covid-19 patients' recovery times from 15 to 11 days. Doctors are yet to find evidence that it can reduce mortality rates.

The US, where remdesivir manufacturer Gilead is based, was criticised in June for buying up the entire global supply of the drug meaning no new orders could be placed for the three months following. As well as this, Gilead donated 1.5million doses of it for clinical trials around the world, further depleting supplies.

Britain is not alone in feeling the impact of the stocking issue, however, and hospitals in the US and India are struggling to get hold of the drug, too.

American antiviral drug remdesivir has been rationed in NHS hospitals, after shortages were also reported in the US. It can reduce Covid-19 patients' recovery times. (Stock)

The decision comes as the rate of daily hospitalisations in the UK almost doubles within a week

Hospitals were advised to ration use of the drug in an emergency alert and were told the restrictions were likely to remain in place until at least the end of this month.

WHAT IS REMDESIVIR AND DOES IT WORK AGAINST CORONAVIRUS? Remdesivir, an anti-viral drug first made to try and treat Ebola, has been used experimentally on COVID-19 patients since the outbreak's early days. The FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the drug on May 1, in response to the preliminary results of a notable study that was released at the end of April. According to Hackensack Meridian Health, initially only severely ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients were eligible to be treated with remdesivir, otherwise known as Veklury. On August 28, the FDA extended its authorization to all hospitalized adult and pediatric patients with suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, irrespective of their severity of disease. 'The FDA continues to make safe and potentially helpful treatments for COVID-19 available as quickly as possible in order to help patients. The data to support todays action are encouraging. The data show that this treatment has the potential to help even more hospitalized patients who are suffering from the effects of this devastating virus,' said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. 'We are working with drug developers to conduct randomized clinical trials to further study the safety and effectiveness of a number of potential therapies for COVID-19.' However in August, a report from the drug's California-based maker, Gilead Sciences Inc found that the effects of the medication may only be seen in those with severe infections. There are claims of miraculous recovery, improved survival odds and shorter illness, but other studies have found it makes no difference to patients in hospital with Covid-19. Remdesivir produced encouraging results earlier this year when it showed promise for both preventing and treating MERS - another coronavirus - in macaque monkeys. The drug appears to help stop the replication of viruses like coronavirus and Ebola alike. It's not entirely clear how the drug accomplishes this feat, but it seems to stop the genetic material of the virus, RNA, from being able to copy itself. That, in turn, stops the virus from being able to proliferate further inside the patient's body. Advertisement

The alert ordered staff to deny remdesivir to the most seriously ill patients, including those on ventilators, demanding it should only be given to people with the 'greatest capacity for benefit'.

It said: 'Due to increased demand against available supply, clinicians are now asked to apply the full eligibility criteria ... last published on 3rd September 2020...

'Clinicians are also asked to adhere to a standard treatment course of 5 days.'

It says that for people to be eligible for remdesivir they should be in hospital with Covid-19 and pneumonia but not using a ventilator.

When the drug was first given emergency clearance for use with coronavirus patients, the NHS said it could be used for adults and people aged 12 years and over.

Health officials also said it should be given for up to 10 days to help stave off the worst symptoms of coronavirus.

But an advisory note says that in times of 'limited supply' patients will only receive the drug if they have 'the greatest capacity for benefit'.

Guidance explains it will only be available to 'patients in the early stages of respiratory failure' should there be a shortage.

A Department of Health spokesperson said the UK was expecting more deliveries of remdesivir at the end of this month, implying that if current stocks run out they can't be replaced for a month.

The Department said: 'We are aware of a rise in the use of remdesivir in line with an increase in Covid-19 hospital cases.

'While there remain plenty of remdesivir supplies, we have asked the NHS to temporarily prioritise patients to ensure those most likely to benefit can access it.

'Patients are also receiving other approved treatments, for example dexamethasone or hydrocortisone, which have been proven to save lives and are in good supply.

'The UK is leading the way on research to find and fast-track more potential treatments, including through the landmark RECOVERY trial which brought lifesaving treatment dexamethasone to NHS patients.'

The alert comes after it emerged in June that the US had bought up three months' worth of Gilead's entire supply of remdesivir.

Scientists hit out at the nation's decision to hoard all of the drug for its own medics and said other countries were left wanting.

US BOUGHT ALMOST ENTIRE GLOBAL SUPPLY OF REMDESIVIR IN JUNE Boris Johnson was forced in July allay fears of an anti-coronavirus drugs shortage today after Donald Trump bought up almost the entire global supply of remdesivir. The US president was accused of 'undermining' the global coronavirus fight by splashing the cash on one of only two drugs approved to treat Covid-19 at the time. UK business minister Nadhim Zahawi was among those who criticised his decision to make the rest of the world compete for the medication, originally designed to treat Ebola but proven to speed up recovery time for coronavirus patients. But Downing Street and the Department of Health later played down the significance of the move, insisting that the UK has enough of a stockpile to treat everyone who needs it. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said on July 1: 'The UK currently has a sufficient stock of Remdesivir.' And the Department of Health said it had secured supplies in advance and had enough to treat every NHS patient who needs it. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) had earlier revealed it had secured more than 500,000 treatment courses of remdesivir for American hospitals. It represents the entire global supply for July and 90 per cent of stocks for August and September, leading to fears of an autumn shortage. Discussing the deal  which US health chiefs boasted was 'amazing'  Mr Zahawi told Sky News: 'It's much better to work together than to work to undermine each other, so we'll continue in that spirit.' Advertisement

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) revealed it had secured more than 500,00 treatment courses of remdesivir for American hospitals, whiich was the global supply for July, and 90 per cent of all stocks for August and September.

The US president faced accusations of 'undermining' the global coronavirus fight by splashing the cash on one of only two drugs known to treat Covid-19 that are available on the NHS.

Dr Andrew Hill, from Liverpool University, told The Guardian at the time: 'They've got access to most of the drug supply so there's nothing for Europe.'

The Government's Business minister Nadhim Zahawi was among those who criticised the decision of Britain's closest ally, telling them it was 'much better to work together'.

Now, hospitals in the US have also warned of a shortage of the urgently-needed drug at the beginning of last month.

A report by the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found 38 hospitals have experienced critical shortages since July.

They also noted there was patchy and inconsistent supply of the drug from its manufacturer Gilead.

Hospitals in Ohio received more courses of the drug than those in Georgia, even though the latter was battling with three times more coronavirus patients.

Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at a hospital in Boston, said at a press conference last month: 'We do not have enough remdesivir nationally.

'Currently it's the only antiviral against Covid-19. It can shorten the time to recovery and stave off ICU-level disease. I'm very worried about the fall and winter surge.'

The chief of disease at the University of Texas, Tom Patterson, has also warned that they only had enough remdesivir to treat a third of patients at the height of the pandemic.

Indian hospitals are suffering too because of manufacturing failures.

There are companies in India other than Gilead that have licences to produce their own versions of the drug but they have been struggling to increase production, the Economic Times reports.

The Maharashtra region of India, which is the worst affected by Covid-19, has struggled to get supplies of remdesivir into its hospitals.

One hospital chief in the area said: 'We are finding it difficult to get the drug when we are looking to reorder.

'Earlier we would get the supply within a gap of five days, now it is taking 10 days.'

The Trump administration has faced mounting criticism for failing to address the shortage by licensing other companies to make the drug after Gilead acknowledged in June 'there is no assurance that we will be able to meet global supply needs for remdesivir'.

Hospitalisation rates in the UK have risen almost three-fold since the beginning of last month, although hospitals still reportedly have plenty of capacity.

There were 132 people admitted to hospital on September 1, which had risen to 323 by September 27, the latest date for which data is available.

The number of patients on ventilators with Covid-19 also currently stands at 332, a tenth of the 3,228 who were using them at the height of the pandemic on April 11.

Hospital admissions have leapt 58 per cent, according to the seven-day rolling average, with 13 per cent of all those in hospital being on ventilators.

Calculations reveal this number is up 79 per cent week on week at present, amid mounting concerns it could rise still higher due to a spike in cases.

The drug is manufactured by Gilead, which has been unable to make enough to meet demand

Drug is manufactured by Gilead, which has warned it will not be able to keep up with global demand. (Stock image of their head office in California)

Remdesivir had originally been developed to treat Ebola, but trials later revealed it could also assist coronavirus patients.

Doctors in Wuhan revealed in February, writing in the prestigious medical journal Nature, that the drug is 'highly effective' in the control of infections.

In March a US woman made a full recovery after being critically ill with Covid-19 when she received the drug.

Within a day doctors recorded a drop in the quantity of virus in her body as her condition began to improved. They first administered the drug to her 36 hours after she was admitted to hospital.
As per government sources, the Government of India has been asked to pay only Rs 40 crore to Vodafone, which is 60 per cent of the tribunal's administrative cost. The rest 40 per cent of the cost would be borne by Vodafone.

After UK telecom major Vodafone Group won an international arbitration against India, the central government has been asked to pay only Rs 40 crores to the telecom giant, government sources said on Friday. Sources said that there is a wrong impression that the government will have to return Rs 20,000 crores because of the award in the arbitration case invoked by Vodafone International Holding BV.

The Government of India has been asked to pay only 4.3 million pounds or Rs 40 crore which is 60 per cent of the tribunals administrative cost while the rest 40 per cent of the cost would be borne by Vodafone, sources said.

They added that the Government of India may have to refund the tax collected, which is about Rs 45 crores, only if it does not go for appeal against the award. Therefore, the total outgo would be around Rs 85 crores only.

Also Read: Bharat Bandh 2020 live news updates: Farmers protest against new farm bills

Also Read: Vodafone wins Rs 20,000 crore tax arbitration case against Indian govt

Reacting on the news, the Ministry of Finance said that the Government will be studying the award and all its aspects carefully in consultation with its counsels. After consultations, the government will consider all options and take a decision on the further course of action, read the statement from the Finance Ministry.

Also Read: Bihar readies for polls amid pandemic; EC announces dates and safety measures
Joe Biden had a chance in this weeks presidential debate to define himself to American voters. He didnt succeed.

In part, thats because the Democratic contender allowed his Republican rival, Donald Trump, to draw him into a game of insult and counter insult.

When Trump said something gratuitously obnoxious about Biden, such as attacking his IQ, it seemed par for the course. Americans know that this is the way their president behaves.

But when Biden called Trump a clown and the worst president in U.S. history and then told him to shut up, man you could almost hear the TV audience gasp in disbelief.

This is not the way the avuncular Biden usually speaks. He may have wanted to portray himself as strong and decisive. But in this debate, he sounded testy and querulous.

If nothing else, he proved that no one can out-Trump Donald Trump.

Trump, meanwhile, created chaos and then revelled in it.

He levelled nasty personal attacks against Bidens son Hunter. He refused to renounce supporters who are white supremacists.

He accused Democrats of sparking urban violence in order to discredit his administration. He interrupted Biden constantly.

In short, he was classically Trump. And Biden seemed unable to deal with him.

For the Democratic challenger, this is an unfortunate failing. Biden is leading nationally in the polls. But a path to victory that would allow him to navigate the shoals of Americas complicated electoral college system is far from guaranteed.

To win, Biden must be more than the Anti-Trump. He must also be able to show voters that he is vigorous leader with a comprehensive plan.

He does have a wide-ranging plan that would deal with climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and Americas burgeoning health care needs.

By comparison, Trumps plan, such as it is, is jerry-rigged and internally contradictory.

But is Biden vigorous enough to suit the voters?

Americans tend to prefer strong leaders who cut a swath in the world. Conversely, they punish those who are seen to be weak. Former president Jimmy Carter, for instance, never recovered from a report that he had once been spooked by a rabbit.

Trump understands this and tries to use it against Biden. He calls him Sleepy Joe and mocks him for wearing an anti-COVID mask.

The 74-year-old Trump even suggests that, at 77, Biden is too old for the job.

Indeed, there is a laid-back quality to Biden that makes him stand in sharp relief to the frenetic Trump. In some ways, Biden is reminiscent of Ronald Reagan, the happy Cold Warrior, who couldnt always separate fact from fiction.

Reagan himself wasnt particularly vigorous. In fact, for part of his time in office he suffered from dementia. But he oversaw an administration that was active.

If Biden can portray himself as a latter-day Reagan, he will win.

So far, he has not been able to do that. Tuesdays debate was Bidens first opportunity in this campaign to show a new, presidential side of himself to American voters. He didnt succeed.

Instead, we saw the same old Joe. A decent guy, albeit a bit garrulous. A person of unusual mannerisms, such as his tendency to grin broadly for no obvious reason. A man with a plan.

Whats not clear is whether this is enough to make him president.

A CNN poll calculated that 60 per cent of those who watched the debate thought Biden had won. That sounds impressive until we remember that 60 per cent of viewers thought Hillary Clinton had won the first debate of her losing 2016 campaign against Trump.

Thomas Walkom is a Toronto-based freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Reach him via email: is a Toronto-based freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Reach him via email: walkomtom@gmail.com

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FOR IMMEDAITE RELEASE

October 2, 2020

Contact: Press@Michigan.gov

Governor Whitmer Signs Proclamation Marking Hispanic Heritage Month

LANSING, Mich. -- Last Week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a proclamation declaring September 15  October 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month. There are over 60 million Hispanic Americans in the United States, and the cultural, economic, and artistic contributions of Hispanic communities continue to enrich Michigans society.

During this month I want to encourage everyone to appreciate and recognize the countless achievements and contributions Hispanic Americans have made to this great state, Governor Whitmer said. Michigans robust Hispanic population has developed businesses, cultivated communities, and imparted rich traditions across Michigan. Hispanic Americans have acted as entrepreneurs, educators, trailblazers, activists, artists and so much more. It is an honor to celebrate Hispanic Heritage this month.

Michigan includes a large concentration of residents of Spanish and Latin American decent who contribute to the economy and culture that makes Michigan a great place to live. During this month, the Hispanic American community will celebrate through a series of special events celebrating the rich tradition and many contributions made to the state of Michigan.

To view the proclamation, click the link below:

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From the Mayor of Canadas largest city boycotting a flag-raising event and a provincial legislature cancelling a scheduled ceremony to multiple protests, there was much to mar Chinas National Day celebrations in the country.

While the Chinese flag was hoisted near City Hall in Toronto, the event was marked by the citys Mayor John Tory absence. The outlet Toronto Sun quoted his spokesperson as saying that this was due to a number of issues between Canada and China which are of great concern to him.

Meanwhile, the Ontario Legislative Assembly was to host a ceremony with Chinas Consul General in Toronto but cancelled the event after an outcry.

The provinces Premiere Doug Ford said this was not the appropriate time to be raising this flag while its education minister Stephen Lecce elaborated in a tweet, Our legislature is a symbol of our cherished freedoms and our enduring democracy. It is for that reason that we must consistently, principally, and unapologetically stand up for those fundamental Canadian values.

Several groups protesting recent actions by Beijing against Uighurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Mongolians, also gathered in Toronto and Vancouver outside the Chinese consulates in these cities.

They were part of a Global Day of Action against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)s crackdowns against freedom, democracy, and human rights that intensified across China. We have witnessed a gross increase on the assault on communities living under its rule, the organisers said.

In Toronto, nearly 300 protestors collected outside the Chinese consulate. Among them was Youdon Tsamotshang, board chair of Students for a Free Tibet Canada. She said this year was specifically different from protests held earlier, because a lot of eyes are on the Chinese government.

Covid-19 is a big reason why, human rights atrocities are another. There is even more interest because of that.

The coalition that collected included Uighurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese and natives of southern Mongolia. An Indian flag was also waved during the protest as a sign of solidarity, as India confronts China over Ladakh.

Six main issues were raised at the protest: That Occupied Tibet is one of the least free places in the world, millions of Uighurs are detained in mass internment camps in occupied East Turkestan, loss of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, erasure of Southern Mongolian culture and language, intimidation and geopolitical bullying of Taiwan and detention and disappearance of countless Chinese lawyers, feminists and activists.

These events also marked how relations between Canada and China have plummeted since the detention of a senior executive of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in Vancouver in 2018.

Since then the Canadian government has accused China of indulging in hostage diplomacy. China has arrested two Canadians, including a former diplomat, who remain in Chinese jails for over 660 days. Placards featuring the two detainees were also in display at the protests.

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Market prices are influenced by thousands of financial and economic factors, including country dynamics, government policies, central bank interventions and the environment, to only name a few. While quantitative models are widely used in investment management today, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in portfolio management is still in its early stages and looks very promising.

For more than three years, Laplace Insights has been collaborating closely with Professor Shengrui Wang of the Department of Computer Science at the University's Faculty of Science. An expert in advanced AI research, Professor Wang and his team develop new, high performance AI algorithms that are specifically optimized to predict financial market movements using data from thousands of different data sources. Professor Guy Bellemare of the Department of Finance at the University's Business School, an expert in finance and investment management, also contributes to the project by selecting the most relevant data streams used to train the new algorithms and evaluate their performance.

"Our research efforts focus on developing algorithms specifically designed to adapt to new and uncertain market situations. Our algorithms help predict structural breaks corresponding to major changes in the markets, and identify the factors associated with these breaks. This is particularly relevant in today's markets given the major economic upheavals caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, because it provides vital information that helps investment managers make better quality and more informed investment decisions", says Professor Wang.

"By partnering with the Universite de Sherbrooke, we are able to offer an investment intelligence service that is truly at the cutting-edge of AI research. Our goal is to provide our clients, financial advisors and portfolio managers, with the most relevant information and exceptionally high quality predictions on financial market behaviour based on the recommendations of our machine learning algorithms," says Jean-Marc Patenaude, President of Laplace Insights. The results of this research partnership are already creating a lot of interest in the financial sector. "Our customers and partners in Canada and the United States are pleased with the project outcomes so far, since we can provide them with highly relevant information that helps to better assess the opportunities, risks and uncertainties in financial markets. Our services are particularly appreciated now due do the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic," adds Mr. Patenaude.

Unparalleled Multidisciplinary Training

Since 2017, 18 students in computer science, mathematics, finance and computer engineering, from both the undergraduate and graduate levels, have contributed to the project as part of the university's cooperative internship programs or as members of the research staff.

Collaborating with multidisciplinary stakeholders in a leading-edge field is an unparalleled training experience for the students. "This comes close to the real-life professional work environment where operating within multidisciplinary teams is a must-have to innovate. The students also had the opportunity to make a tangible and significant contribution to an emerging business in the field of financial technology, located right here in the Eastern Townships," says professor Bellemare.

Project partners

This project came to fruition thanks to several partners. The Business Partnership Group of the Universite de Sherbrooke worked closely with Laplace Insights and contributed to establishing the partnership with professors Shengrui Wang and Guy Bellemare, in order to build a strong research team. The project also received support from financial partners. In the last three years, Laplace Insights, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Prompt and Mitacs have contributed more than $500,000.

About the Universite de Sherbrooke

The Universite de Sherbrooke is at the centre of one of three major research clusters in Quebec. Recognized for its innovation, the UdeS is a key partner with higher levels of government and regional governments to favour social, cultural and economic development. It stands out through the strong growth of its research activities in the last few years, its successes in technology transfer as well as its entrepreneurial and open innovation initiatives in collaboration with the industrial and social sectors.

About Laplace Insights

Laplace Insights brings actionable investment intelligence to financial advisors and institutions through adaptive strategies that manage market risks without compromising long-term gains. Developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts in finance, systems engineering and artificial intelligence, our transparent strategies use cutting-edge machine learning algorithms and are extensively stress-tested to deliver compelling performance in thousands of extreme market scenarios. Learn about our mission to make advanced machine learning accessible to every professional investor at laplaceinsights.com.

SOURCE Universite de Sherbrooke

For further information: Isabelle Huard, Media Relations Officer, Communications Department, Universite de Sherbrooke, 819 821-8000, ext. 63395 | [email protected]; Romain Rembry, Corporate Communications, Laplace Insights, 819 987-3202 ext. 8002, [email protected]

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A n orphaned mountain lion cub rescued from California's devastating Zogg Fire is recovering from burn injuries it suffered during the blaze.

The cub, which is believed to be only three or four weeks old, was found by a firefighter in Shasta County on Sunday, the Oakland Zoo said. His whiskers were singed off and his paws badly burned.

The animal was then taken to the Oakland facility after being transferred to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is reportedly inundated with creatures displaced by the state's unprecedented fires.

"It's a miracle that he's alive," CNN quoted Erin Harrison of the Oakland Zoo as saying.

The cub is believed to be only three or four weeks old

The Zoo's staff have since taken X-rays of the cub to check for any broken bones and assess whether his lungs were damaged from smoke inhalation, both of which returned clear.

The Oakland facility will now work with the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital to treat the cub's burn wounds.

He is currently being given pain medication, antibiotics and fluids, and vets say they are "cautiously optimistic" he'll make a full recovery.

In the wild, mountain lion cubs typically remain with their mothers for about two years as they learn how to hunt and survive alone.

However, because the rescued cub is orphaned, he will not be released back into the wild and will instead most likely be placed at an accredited zoo, Harrison said.
HARLEM, NY  With indoor dining allowed to resume this week in restaurants around New York City, some Harlem eateries are embracing the experiment more enthusiastically than others.

Neighborhood fixtures like Melba's and Amy Ruth's have promoted their big returns, inviting customers to dine in at 25 percent capacity.

Others have been more wary, citing risks posed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as well as the financial reality that the city's capacity limits make it difficult to sustain a restaurant.

Vinateria, a European-inspired restaurant on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, has chosen not to reopen indoor seating for now, owner Yvette Leeper-Bueno told Patch, instead maintaining its outdoor patio setup.

"For dining rooms to be at 25% capacity, it barely makes a dent in the bottom line of our business, but seeing that it could potentially be a health risk, it's a lot to weigh," she wrote in an email.



At Clay, a farm-to-table restaurant on Manhattan Avenue, the question of whether to reopen for indoor dining was "terrifying," according to bar director Andrea Needell Matteliano.



Clay has garnered a reputation in the neighborhood for being 11 on a safety scale of one to 10, Needell Matteliano said. Diners are asked to read a full page of safety instructions when they sit down to eat on Clays outdoor patio, and are required to wear face masks whenever staff are at the table, going a step beyond the citys rules.

Out of concern for the restaurant's staff, Clay's owners have installed two different types of air filtration systems and will keep the windows wide open for as long as weather allows, Needell Matteliano said.

"A good bit of my staff doesnt have a choice to do something else," she said. "Its our duty as employers to be appreciative of that and go above and beyond to ensure their safety."

Ultimately, Clay's owners decided their strict protocols would mitigate the potential risks, and resumed indoor dining Thursday evening. After all, there werent many other options.

Story continues

My choice is to be open or lose my restaurant, Needell Matteliano said.

Lido, an Italian restaurant on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, also reopened for indoor service this week, installing dividers between tables and improving ventilation by opening its street-facing doors.



Still, if it weren't for outdoor dining, recently expanded to become a year-round program, Lido would be doomed, according to owner Susannah Koteen.

"You cant run a business on 25 percent," she said.

Related coverage: Indoor Dining Is Back, But Some NYC Restaurateurs Are Holding Off



This article originally appeared on the Harlem Patch
HOUSTON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In a total victory for Arkema Inc. and company executives, a Harris County judge has thrown out all remaining criminal charges relating to an incident that occurred at the Arkema plant in Crosby during flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey.

The decision to find the company and its executives not guilty came following a hearing before Judge Belinda Hill at NRG Arena in Houston on Thursday.

"The Harris County District Attorney tried to criminalize a natural disaster for political purposes. Today, justice is finally done," said attorney Rusty Hardin of Rusty Hardin & Associates, who along with firm partner Jennifer Brevorka represented Arkema in the case. "The state's incompetence in handling this criminal case put Arkema and three of its executives through three years of excruciating stress. In my career, I have never seen such rampant prosecutorial misconduct and ignorance in handling a criminal case."

"It was incredibly irresponsible and inappropriate for the D.A. to have retained outside special prosecutors who had never tried a criminal case nor served as prosecutors. I salute and deeply believe in the profession of prosecution. But it should never be placed in the hands of lawyers who have never been a prosecutor trained in the duty to seek justice rather than a conviction at all costs. The fate of the criminally accused and the fate of the fair administration of justice call for prosecutors who recognize their ethical and moral duties," he said.

Arkema and its corporate executives were charged following the 2017 hurricane, which dumped more than 50 inches of rain on Houston and the surrounding area. More than six feet of water flooded Arkema's Crosby plant and cut off power to the refrigerated warehouses where the organic peroxides were stored. Arkema's heroic ride out crew transferred the product to refrigerated trailers, but even that was unsuccessful. After they were forced to abandon the site, taken by boat over 6-foot fences, the fire department and law enforcement praised Arkema for cooperating and doing everything they could to warn and protect the public as they waited for the product to ignite. It was a day and a half after those warnings that a fire did break out.

The company, CEO Richard Rowe, Crosby Facility Manager Leslie Comardelle, and former company Vice President Michael Keough all saw their charges dropped, either by a mid-trial request of the prosecutors or by a directed verdict from the judge. The charges the prosecutors themselves asked be dismissed were the ridiculous and unprecedented charges accusing the company and Mr. Keough, who was in Pennsylvania during Hurricane Harvey, of reckless "assault by words."

"As a measure of how the jury reacted to the evidence, at the conclusion of the trial, jurors gave the individual defendants an ovation of applause. Jurors told our team that they would have quickly found all the defendants not guilty if they had been able to vote," Mr. Hardin said.

"We applaud the courage of Judge Belinda Hill in issuing the directed verdicts in three of the five charges," he said. "Judge Hill ruled that the state had presented no evidence of guilt under their indictment, and that as a matter of law, a verdict of not guilty was necessary."

In addition to Mr. Hardin and Ms. Brevorka, Arkema and the various defendants were represented by Dan Cogdell and Cordt Akers of Cogdell Law Firm; Tim Johnson and Nick Dickerson of Locke Lord; Paul Nugent and Heather Peterson of Nugent & Peterson; Letitia Quinones of Quinones & Associates; and Derek Hollingsworth of Drumheller Hollingsworth & Monthy. The in-house team of Bill Hamel, Lisa Brody and Eric Tilles also represented Arkema.

Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP has built a solid reputation for taking on the causes of its clients and obtaining favorable results in commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense, personal injury, appellate, and general civil and criminal litigation. For more information, please visit http://www.rustyhardin.com/ .

Media Contact:

Mary Flood

800-559-4534

[email protected]

SOURCE Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 18:49:22|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- With the regular measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic still in place, peace and joy have once again become the keywords of the first National Day holiday since the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong.

The long-awaited National Day holiday coincided with the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. A peaceful and light-hearted moment with families became more precious for Hong Kong residents who suffered from the social unrest and COVID-19 epidemic over the past year.

"Compared with last year, the social atmosphere this year is much better, and the epidemic situation has eased. The restaurant even provides discounts. Our family can eat happily again," said a local resident surnamed Ting, who booked a Cantonese restaurant days before the holiday.

On the first day of October, many schools and universities in Hong Kong held flag-raising ceremonies to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) also held a solemn flag-raising ceremony on campus. During last year's social unrest, rioters occupied the university and confronted the police with bricks, petrol bombs, bows and arrows, turning the campus into a "battlefield." Police seized nearly 4,000 petrol bombs among various other weapons.

With the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong in late June, peace has returned to the campus, shops have resumed normal business hours, and residents no longer have to worry about being attacked by rioters when going out.

Just on Thursday, a group of protesters threatened public safety in Causeway Bay by suspectedly participating in unauthorized assemblies and possessing assault weapons. But the Hong Kong police strictly enforced the law to ensure that the vast majority of the public could enjoy a peaceful holiday.

The National Day also marked the first public holiday after the third wave of the COVID-19 epidemic was brought under control in Hong Kong. With the support of the central government, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government launched a universal community testing program from Sept. 1 to 14.

Over 6,000 local medics volunteered to work alongside the supporting teams from the mainland. Thanks to their efforts, daily new infections have returned to single digits.

The government has thus relaxed social distancing measures, giving a break to hard-hit industries such as retail, catering, tourism and freight transport.

During the holiday, restaurants, wet markets, shopping malls and amusement parks were packed with people and joy again. Hong Kong's economy is getting back on track.

In the meantime, Hong Kong's patriotic groups set up more than 1,000 street stands throughout Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories to distribute moon cakes, lanterns, epidemic prevention supplies to the public.

A shopping festival, organized by the Hong Kong Commerce and Industry Associations, kicked off on Thursday.

This year's shopping festival offers a wealth of discounts to the general public, which is expected to contribute to Hong Kong's economic recovery and add luster to the image of Hong Kong as a shopping paradise, said Alan Lee, initiator of the event. Enditem
- Sir David Adjaye, a Ghanaian-British architect has received UKs highest honour for architecture

- This becomes the first time in 173 years since the award was instituted that a Black person received it

- One of Adjaye's works is the Lost House in Londons Kings Cross neighbourhood, which has no exterior windows

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A Ghanaian-British architect, who is identified by the name Sir David Adjaye, has been announced as the recipient of the 2021 royal gold medal, the UKs highest honour for architecture.

In a Twitter post sighted by YEN.com.gh on the official handle of PropertyCohort, it is indicated that this becomes the first time in the 173-year history of the medal that it was won by a Black individual.

Sir David Adjaye has made the entire country of Ghana, the continent of Africa and the Black race proud with his singular achievement.

See post below:

According to architecturaldigest.com, one of Adjaye's works is the Lost House in Londons Kings Cross neighbourhood, which has no exterior windows.

It only has a series of light wells that flood the home with sunlight that bounces off the black resin floors.

The judges reportedly praised Adiaye as:

a singular and timely talent and a strong reminder of the insightful and integrative role of the architect."

The guardian.com mentions that the Ghanaian architect is currently building one of the strangest high-rise towers Manhattan has ever seen, in the form of a dark, glowering stack of rugged concrete arches piled high towards the clouds.

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
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying on US Secretary of State Pompeo's Erroneous Remarks about China

2020/10/02

Q: On October 1, while the High-level Meeting on the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women was being held at the UNGA, US Secretary of State Pompeo released a press statement alleging that as part of China's campaign against Uyghurs, "women are reportedly subjected to forced abortion, forced sterilization", and that China continues the "crackdown on the freedoms of expression and association". Do you have a comment?

A: This is another lie fabricated by Pompeo.

The Chinese government attaches high importance to protecting women's rights and faithfully implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. There has been a notable improvement in women's political status, education level, and health conditions. Women's rights including freedoms of expression and association are safeguarded in accordance with law.

The so-called "forced sterilization" on Uyghurs is completely unfounded. The Chinese government protects the rights and interests of all ethnic minorities in equal measure, with preferential population policies toward minorities groups including Uyghurs. From 2010 to 2018, the Uyghur population in Xinjiang grew from 10.1715 million to 12.7184 million, an increase of 2.5469 million or 25.04%, higher than the region's overall growth of 13.99% and much higher than the 2% of the ethnic Han population. These facts and data fully expose Pompeo's lie.

In direct contrast, the US has yet to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Women in the US still face systemic, prevalent and institutional discrimination and threat. In the US, women are 21 times more likely to die by firearm homicide than women in other high-income countries; up to 70% of women have experienced physical and or sexual violence from an intimate partner; and nearly a quarter of undergraduate women said they have been the victim of sexual assault or misconduct since entering college. Has Pompeo already forgotten the "Me Too" movement initiated by women in the US three years ago? With regard to genocide, due to the US government's massive expulsion, assimilation and killing policies, the population of native Americans nosedived from five million to 250,000. That is the very definition of genocide. On racism, has Pompeo already forgotten about "Black Lives Matter"?

Facts are facts. The international community will not be fooled by the lies of Pompeo.
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A four-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress, led by the partys Rajya Sabha MP, Derek O Brien, was prohibited from meeting the family of the gang-rape victim in Boolgarhi village of Hathras on Friday morning.

O Brien was allegedly manhandled by the police and not allowed to cross the barricading. Subsequently, TMC leaders sat on a dharna to protest the treatment meted out to the elected representative.

Meanwhile, the police blocked all passages to the village and were not allowing the media to meet the victims family.

Why were we not allowed inside the village to meet the family members of the victim? We just came to express condolences. The BJP has no respect for democracy and women are unsafe under their rule, complained O Brien.

The partys delegation comprised Kakali Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mandal, both TMC MPs, and Mamata Bala Thakur, former MP. They were wearing masks and carrying posters bearing messages of atrocities against women.

Also read: UP cops barricade Hathras village to stop media, Oppn from meeting family

The leaders alleged that they were stopped around 1.5 kilometres before the house of the victim.

We wanted to meet the family members of the deceased and extend condolences as directed by our party leader Mamta Banerjee. But we are not allowed to meet the family, Pratima Mandal who condemned the UP police for not even allowing a respectful cremation for the victim.

Dalits in Uttar Pradesh are subjected to atrocities and voters will give a reply against the UP governments dictatorship in the next election, she said.

There were reports that TMC leaders were staging a protest and planning to lodge a complaint at the police station against the treatment meted out to them.
Protesters in treehouses blocking HS2 construction in woodland which inspired Roald Dahls much-loved childrens books have clashed with authorities attempting to evict them.

Security teams and police have begun efforts to remove about 40 activists, including 15 sitting in makeshift treehouses 60 feet above the ground, from Jones Hill Wood in Buckinghamshire.

Thames Valley Police said officers had made three arrests over the protest so far.

Demonstrators have been fighting against the construction of the high-speed rail route through the wood, which is believed to have inspired Roald Dahls Fantastic Mr Fox, for seven months.

Steve Masters, a 50-year-old Green Party councillor for West Berkshire Council, told the PA news agency on Thursday that he had slept in the wood every night for the past three months.

He warned that projects like HS2 would not protect future generations from the effects of climate change.

[HS2] is an engineering project that's not needed, it's not going to be carbon neutral for 120 plus years, Mr Masters said.

It's just going to save 20 minutes in a world where, post-Covid, people are working from home and remote working is the new normal.

We should be investing that kind of money in the existing transport structures in major metropolitan centres.

The councillor added that he had been arrested before at two other HS2 construction sites and was prepared for a long stay.

I won't be walking out of this wood, they will have to force and carry me out. I'm even prepared to go to prison, he said.

The Woodland Trust, the UKs largest woodland conservation charity, has called for the government to hold the HS2 project to account over its destruction of ancient woods and trees.

We are in the midst of a nature and climate crisis, the charity said.

Yet at least 20 areas of ancient woodland are set to be destroyed, in full or in part, over the coming months as HS2 prepares the ground for construction works.

It added that displaced woodland animals would be forced to move to other areas and compete with each other for food and shelter.

Wildlife TV presenter Chris Packham has also backed calls for the woodlands to be protected from HS2.

A spokesperson for the construction project described the protests as a straight-forward issue of trespass and said the process of removing protesters could take several days.

These protests are a danger to the safety of the protestors, our staff and the general public, and put unnecessary strain on the emergency services, HS2 said in a statement.

The land at Jones' Hill Wood is legally owned by HS2 and we need safe access to begin archaeology and ecology work.

It added: All leading wildlife organisations agree that climate change is the biggest future threat to wildlife and habitats in the UK.

By providing a cleaner, greener way to travel, HS2 will help cut the number of cars and lorries on our roads, cut demand for domestic flights, and help the country's fight against climate change.

The project also said it had planted more than 70,000 new trees to create woodlands for future generations and wildlife.

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said HS2 Ltd had evicted a number of people for trespassing on the land but noted that the issue was a civil matter and was not being enforced by police.

Our role is to ensure public safety, and facilitate a peaceful protest while at the same time ensuring HS2 Ltd's legal rights to carry out their work, the spokesperson said.

Additional reporting by PA
Judge to rule on Assange's U.S. extradition in January: A British judge said she would give her decision early next year on whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to the United States to face charges including espionage. U.S. officials accuse Assange, 49, of conspiring to hack government computers and of violating a secrecy law with WikiLeaks's release of confidential U.S. communications in 2010-2011. Judge Vanessa Baraitser said at the conclusion of his extradition hearing that she would deliver her verdict on Jan. 4. In 2012, Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London, fearing U.S. extradition. He was evicted in April 2019 and has been in a prison since.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 16:11:30|Editor: huaxia

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Indian President Ram Nath Kovind pays floral tribute to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi, India, Oct. 2, 2020. The 151st birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, India's "Father of the Nation," was celebrated on Friday. (Photo by Partha Sarkar/Xinhua)

NEW DELHI, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The 151st birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, India's "Father of the Nation," was celebrated on Friday.

Gandhi played a key role in gaining India's independence from the British rule in 1947 by peaceful means and spreading the message of non-violence, and he was given the title "Father of the Nation."

Gandhi was born on Oct. 2, 1869 in India's Gujarat, and was shot dead on Jan. 30, 1948 in New Delhi, five months after India gained independence.

On the occasion of his birth anniversary, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there was much to learn from Gandhi's way of life and thoughts.

"We bow to beloved Bapu (Father) on Gandhi Jayanti. There is much to learn from his life and noble thoughts. May Bapu's ideals keep guiding us in creating a prosperous and compassionate India," tweeted Modi.

In his message, Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong said Gandhi's vision will continue to inspire all even today. "Pay my respects to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary. His vision and wisdom will continue to inspire all of us today," tweeted the Chinese envoy. Enditem
In a tragic incident, a young doctor from Kerala has died by suicide, reportedly after facing allegations of negligence following the death of a patient in his clinic.

Dr Anoop Krishnan, an Orthopedic Surgeon who used to run Anoop Ortho Care Hospital in Kollam was found hanging inside his house on Thursday. He had also cut his vein before hanging himself. The young medic had also inscribed the word 'sorry' with his blood inside the bathroom before he took the extreme step.

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The 35-year-old was reportedly under stress for days after a 7-year-old girl who he had operated in his clinic died due to some complications.

The girl who also had a heart condition was admitted to Anoop Ortho Care Hospital for a surgery to fix a bent on her leg.

Due to the girl's heart condition, many others had reportedly declined to perform the surgical procedure.

Surgery took place on September 23

On September 23, the girl underwent the surgery at the Anoop Ortho Care Hospital but died during the procedure after suffering a heart attack.

Following the death of the patient, her relatives had filed a complaint against Dr. Anoop for negligence, alleging that an error in giving anesthesia caused the death.

There were also protests outside the hospital by the relatives of the girl and an alleged smear campaign online against Dr. Anoop and his family.

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This, according to people who knew him had affected the young doctor who had made a reputation as one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the city.

Police said they are yet to ascertain whether the suicide was directly linked to the patient's death.

He is survived by his wife Dr. Archana and son Adithya Krishna.

If you know anyone battling with depression or other mental health issues, please reach out to someone who can help. AASRA Foundation: 022 2754 6669 Samaritans Mumbai: +91 84229 84528 / +91 84229 84529 / +91 84229 84530 Sanjivini Society for Mental Health: +911124311918


The DMK on Friday held Peoples Sabha" meetings across Tamil Nadu in place of the customary"Gram Sabha", cancelled by the state government due to COVID-19 situation, and resolutions were adopted against three farm legislations of the Centre at the gatherings. Cases were registered against party chief M K Stalin and others for holding the meetings despite the government barring such events and for violating curbs imposed in view of the coronavirus pandemic, police said.

The state government on Thursday night announced the cancellation of the meetings of the gram sabha, the grass root level democratic institution in each village panchayat, citing the pandemic situation. The meetings are held at least fourtimes in a year on January 26, May 1, August 15 and October 2.

Though the DMK chose to describe the meetings as Makkal Sabai Koottam" (Meet of Peoples Sabha), the banners with"government emblem", that formed the backdrop of such meetings, in several places announced the gathering as that of"Gram Sabha." Presiding over a meeting at a village under the Poonamalle Panchayat Union in nearby Tiruvallur district,Stalin said: Resolutions condemning the Centres three farm legislations and seeking its withdrawal are passed. We are holding this meeting to safeguard agriculture, which is the backbone of villages." A senior Tiruvallur district police officer told .
TRENTON  Another member of Mayor Reed Guscioras cabinet was booted out of the door.

Council voted 5-2 to fire John Morelli for cause Thursday night over several alleged failures as city law director, including allegedly disseminating executive session information from the Sept. 3 closed-door session.

Jerell Blakeley and Joe Harrison voted against termination.

The executive session has drawn an investigation from prosecutors into alleged violations of the state Sunshine Law and wire-tapping claims.

Council president Kathy McBride walked on the resolution, which passed by supermajority, relieving Morelli of his duties effective immediately.

The resolution read into the record claimed Morelli also failed to work with council in a positive or productive manner, and failed to obtain a waiver from the state to hire special counsel for the governing body.

Gusciora called councils firing of his law director another illegal move. In a statement late Thursday, he added the decision was hateful, unwarranted, and [an] excessive use of power.

Congratulations, they just gave him a whistleblower lawsuit, the mayor told The Trentonian late Thursday. [Their allegations] are absolutely without foundation. He did not disseminate any information, and its completely baseless.

The mayor didnt plan to appoint a successor and expected Morelli to show up for work Friday.

I dont recognize it as a valid removal. They can do whatever they want. All they want to do is waste taxpayer dollars, he said. This is truly a do-nothing council except for a couple members.

Legislators went into executive session earlier in the night to also discuss taking potential disciplinary action against one of Morellis trusted deputies, assistant city attorney Julie Murray.

There was no action taken against her after the session.

Blakeley voted against going behind closed doors and boycotted the session accusing colleagues of unjustly being out for blood against someone with unimpeachable integrity.

He called the executive session a sham, a show trial, that is being conducted to pay back the law department.

The gang of five want their pound of flesh, he said. This is a new low day. You have so many lows, its going to be subterranean.

The council adjourned to executive session at 5:48 p.m. and returned about two hours later with the firing announcement.

The agenda said council was entering executive session to discuss Rice notices that Gusciora confirmed were issued to Morelli and Murray.

The agenda cited several alleged breaches: attorney-client privilege; disclosure of confidential firefighter applicant information; alleged violations of attorney ethics, which assistant attorney Peter Cohen pointed out is up to state ethics officials not council to enforce; and an alleged breach of confidentiality of a previous executive session from the Sept. 3 meeting when council illegally met behind closed doors with Elite Spiders President John Liu.

Liu pitched legislators on buying the historic Wire Works building for $200,000 but has since rescinded his interest after The Trentonian exposed his troubled past of lingering debts and tax issues.

Whoever leaked [the audio] should be a hero for stopping councils folly in trying to sell a historic building, which was completely illegal, Gusciora told The Trentonian.

The firefighter candidate breach had to do with a memo that was attached to councils agenda packet. West Ward councilwoman Robin Vaughn said she distributed the packet to constituents and later learned from a resident that the memo was included in the packet.

Morelli has explained the firefighter breach was an accidental oversight by a law department employee. Most of the information in the memo is publicly available.

It sounded as if Murray and Morelli were being represented during the Rice hearing by attorneys, based on discussion during the public portion of the meeting. The Trentonian was unable to independently confirm whether that was the case.

Morelli, a former municipal judge and attorney with nearly 40 years of experience, opted to have the hearing in closed session.

It was unclear whether he planned to take legal action to contest his firing as he did not respond to a text message and phone call seeking comment.

Morelli was admitted to the New Jersey bar in December 1981 after graduating from Rutgers University School of Law.

Council approved Morelli as law director in October 2018, though his relationship with some council members grew strained months into his tenure.

In April 2019, he filed a hostile work complaint against Vaughn over a series of alleged ad hominem attacks against himself and other members of the mayoral administration.

Distrusting of Morellis legal advice, council sought its own attorney, Edward Kologi. The administration agreed to the arrangement, hoping to ease tensions between the sides.

Tempers flared last month when Gusciora abruptly fired Kologi over an alleged breach of his contract. Kologi seemed primed to fight the termination of his $84,000 council-approved deal but backed down.

Gusciora cited Kologis failure to stop council from discussing Lius illegal sales pitch in executive session.

Kologi faulted Morelli for not stepping up saying that was his responsibility as city attorney.

The Open Public Meetings Act permits government bodies to discuss contract negotiations behind closed doors among themselves but not with the parties.

The Trentonian and Gusciora wrote to AG Gurbir Grewal asking him to investigate the violations.

The Mercer County Prosecutors Office is conducting a wide-ranging probe into the alleged OPMA violations, along with allegations of wire tapping related to the partial leak of Sept. 3 executive audio and claims of bid-rigging over the FCC Consulting Services IT contract.

Gusciora worried before the vote about losing another valuable member of his administrative team.

Morelli joins former fire director Derrick Sawyer and ex-water director Dr. Shing-Fu Hsueh left as the latest cabinet member shown the door. Health director Shakira Abdul-Alis last day is Friday.

The mayor said, because of an Memorandum of Understanding, the Department of Community Affairs must evaluate the dismissal.

Hes a damn good attorney, Gusciora said of Morelli. He has served the city of Trenton with distinction. He has saved us millions of dollars in payout and solid negotiations and solid legal advice.  Their recommendation is going right in the garbage. I would hope that DCA would fairly look at this and see it for the nonsense that it is.
The decision by the vast majority of the Irish people to join the European Communities (EC) in 1973 had a profound impact on our development as a nation. We looked outwards, rather than inwards, recognising, as then Taoiseach Sean Lemass had said during the accession negotiations: "Ireland belongs to Europe by history, tradition and sentiment, and no less than by geography". Europe has played a substantial role in Ireland's transformation from a protectionist nation to an international hub.

When preparing for today, I looked back at the White Paper, laid before the House of the Oireachtas in 1970, outlining the implications of joining the then EC for Ireland. Along with the desire to participate in the movement towards European unity, the rationale included the belief that membership would be more beneficial to economic development than remaining outside the Community. There was a recognition that the small domestic Irish economy alone would not enable our country to grow to achieve its principle economic objectives of: "full employment, the cessation of involuntary emigration and a standard of living comparable with that of other Western European countries".

The European Union itself is very different to the one we joined over forty years ago. From the implementation of the four freedoms governing the movement of goods, people, services and capital to the creation of the common currency. And just as Ireland has benefitted from progress, as a country we have also worked hard to contribute to that progress through our engagement.
A 'miracle' eye cream has been named the best in Australia by beauty experts for its ability to 'blur' bags and fine lines

A 'miracle' eye cream has been named the best in Australia by beauty experts for its ability to 'blur' bags and fight visible signs of fatigue in a matter of minutes.

Taking out the title of Best Eye Cream at the Mecca Australia Beauty Election for 2020, the GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream by Origins is dubbed an 'instant shot of espresso for your eyes' and said to soften dark circles and puffiness.

And with more than 300 five-star reviews online, it's easy to see why the $53 cream has been so well received.

'I am amazed at the difference': This customer took of her eye before applying the cream (left) and four hours later (right)

Powered by an energising duo of caffeine and panax ginseng, the hydrating cream works as both a long-term treatment for tired eyes and an instant pick-me-up throughout the day - especially for those working behind a screen.

It's also made without nasties including parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulphate, propylene glycol, mineral oil, DEA, petrolatum, paraffin, polyethylene beads and formaldehyde.

'I bought this about two to three weeks ago and it has been the best eye cream I have used to help with puffiness and dark circles. Instantly can feel the difference. Highly recommend,' one shopper wrote, dubbing it a 'game changer'.

What are the other cosmetics and skincare winners in the Mecca Beauty Election for 2020? Moisturiser: TATCHA Dewy Skin Cream Serum: DRUNK ELEPHANT T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum Cleanser: KATE SOMERVILLE ExfoliKate Cleanser Acne: MARIO BADESCU Drying Lotion Foundation: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation Mascara: TOO FACED Better Than Sex Lipstick: MAC COSMETICS Velvet Teddy Brow: HOURGLASS Arch Brow Pencil Advertisement

'So in love... I don't have to wear any concealer because of this little gem! Immediately brightens and hydrates,' makeup expert Amanda (pictured) said

'It makes me feel alive,' another wrote. 'It's perfect for mums looking to disguise a bad nights sleep.'

'I love this! It has an orange kind of scent. It also has a pink sort of tint to it, so it gives a quick little cosmetic fix that instantly brightens your under eyes while moisturising for long term effects.'

Origins was founded in 1990 in the US with the vision of being a brand that 'valued and respected the well-being of your skin and our planet'.

How much of each skincare product should you use? Cleanser - chocolate button Exfoliant - contact lens Masque - bottle cap Serum - marble Moistusiser/sun cream - chocolate button Elixir - marble Eye - pea Moisturiser - contact lens Oil - contact lens Advertisement

The company has put together an international team of scientists and botanists who spend at least two years developing the formula of each product

'We sought out the most powerful ingredients from nature, identified safe alternatives and used breakthrough science to unleash and deliver transformative results.

'It was a revolutionary approach to beauty and is more relevant today than ever as we strive to make decisions that help limit our impact on the environment.'

The company has put together an international team of scientists and botanists who spend at least two years developing the formula for each product.

'We never lower our standards (and neither should you). We conduct significant evaluation and testing to ensure the safety and exceptional performance of every product,' they promise.
My personal view is that ultimately, for the largest aggregation events, were probably going to need some sort of public-private partnership, whether its a Pool Re or a Pandemic Re of some sort, of a Cyber Pandemic Re, AXIS Capital president and CEO Albert Benchimol told Millaire. I dont know that there is enough capital in the industry to be able to fully support the amount of economic damage. COVID-19 was a really good glimpse into how much exposure you have. Imagine if we shut down all our IT systems for a month. How much economic value would we as a society have lost?

Benchimol told Millaire that the industry should think of cyber accumulation as COVID on steroids.

Because COVID is a natural occurrence, he said. A virus doesnt aim for one country or another.

Munich Re has an estimated 10% share of an approximately US$7 billion cyber insurance market. The companys chief underwriter, Stefan Golling, told Millaire that there was a role for alternative capital to support the market.

There are risks involved in cyber that are maybe so systemic that the capacity of the market could come to its limits, Golling said. Maybe we see the first signals that the alternative capital is showing some interest in cyber products, and Im sure in a couple of years there will be more. We certainly also have to talk about public-private partnerships to simply overall increase the capital base provided to the cyber product.

Sean Ringsted, chief risk officer and chief digital officer for Chubb, agreed that public-private partnerships would be necessary eventually.

The insurance industry can and will do more because our clients demand that, Ringsted told Millaire. But at some point, I think you are entering a time and space where there needs to be discussions around public-private partnerships to be able to address some of the really, really significant tail risk that could potentially arise in some of the scenarios.
WASHINGTON  President Trumps positive test for the coronavirus isnt just putting the White House on edge  it has implications for all of Washington, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The San Francisco Democrat, who is 80 and has been in contact with administration officials, tested negative for the virus Friday. She said she would redouble her prayers for Trump and his family, but also said the situation highlights the importance of addressing the pandemic with further legislation from Congress.

Maybe now the people who see the president of the United States with all the protection that he has and the first lady still having this exposure, it might be, as you say, a learning experience. But more than learning, it has to be something that is acted upon, Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC.

Going into crowds unmasked and all the rest was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen, she said. Sad that it did, but nonetheless hopeful that it will be a transition to a saner approach to what this virus is all about.

Amid the pandemic and now a bitter Supreme Court nomination fight, the sleepiness that typically comes over the Capitol just before an election has been absent. Pelosi has been negotiating with administration officials and her Senate counterpart, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., over government funding and coronavirus relief money. Vice President Mike Pence has been accompanying Trumps court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, to numerous Republican senators offices for meetings.

On Friday, both Pence and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Pelosis primary negotiating partner, tested negative for the coronavirus, their representatives tweeted. Both are tested daily, the tweets said. Barrett also tested negative.

It was unclear whether any of them would quarantine. Even if someone tests negative, it does not necessarily mean they are free of the virus. It typically takes five to seven days after exposure to have enough virus in the body to generate a positive test result.

The news of Trumps positive test threatened to scramble an already hectic fall on the Hill. On Thursday night, Pelosis House Democrats passed a $2 trillion-plus relief bill for the pandemic, down from a $3 trillion version they passed in May that went nowhere in the Republican-run Senate.

This stimulus package seemed unlikely to get through the Senate, either  Republicans want a far smaller bill. Talks between Pelosi and the White House that had stalled in August recently restarted, but there were no signs a deal was at hand.

In a letter to Democratic lawmakers Friday, Pelosi said there was still significant disagreement in key areas, including funding for schools and state and local governments, unemployment insurance, tax relief for families with children, and funding for testing and tracing efforts.

Pelosi, however, said in her MSNBC interview that Trumps positive test changes the dynamic of politics over the coronavirus.

Maybe this will be the moment where people will say, OK, mask, distance, sanitation, tracing, treatment, she said.

McConnell sounded slightly optimistic during a news conference in Kentucky on Friday. He said that although he wasnt predicting a bill would be ready quickly, the talks have speeded up in the last couple of days. I think were closer to getting an outcome.

There was another sign of movement, this one from Pelosi: She said the House would vote on aid to the struggling airline industry, a reversal from her previous opposition to any stand-alone relief that was not part of a package deal.

On McConnells side of the Capitol, there were many questions about the immediate future of Barretts nomination.

McConnell tweeted Friday that he had spoken with Trump and that Republicans would be full steam ahead on the confirmation process. Democrats were already furious with the GOP rush to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs seat before the election, noting that voters are already casting ballots in several states and arguing that whoever wins in November should pick the nominee.

Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings are set to begin Oct. 12. However, on Friday, committee member Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said he had tested positive  one day after a panel hearing in which he spoke without a mask. Later, a second committee Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, said he too had tested positive. I have no symptoms and I feel well, he said.

The committee has several members who are old enough to be especially vulnerable to the virus, including 87-year-old California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the panels ranking Democrat. Her office said Friday that she would be tested and confirmed she had been in the hearing room when Lee spoke.

Also on the committee is California Sen. Kamala Harris, 55, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. She tested negative Friday, an aide said, and was not present Thursday.

Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings would likely be held in public  the Senate has no provision for remote votes, unlike the House, which began allowing proxy voting over GOP opposition after the pandemic began. Some senators, however, have participated in hearings virtually.

In a statement, Feinstein and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York called on Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to delay the Barrett hearings.

Its critical that Chairman Graham put the health of senators, the nominee and staff first  and ensure a full and fair hearing that is not rushed, not truncated, and not virtual, they said. Otherwise this already illegitimate process will become a dangerous one.

After Lee revealed his positive test but before Tillis revealed his, Graham said he planned to start the hearings Oct. 12 as planned.

The senators positive test results and the presence on the Hill of people who have been around Trump raised questions about lawmakers safety.

After Texas GOP Rep. Louis Gohmert, who refused to wear a mask, tested positive for the virus and then visited staff in his office before quarantining, Pelosi required masks in all House office space.

Schumer called Friday for all lawmakers to be tested. Pelosi and McConnell have resisted the suggestion, even when the White House offered to provide supplies for rapid testing, saying lawmakers should not have access to what the American people do not.

Pelosis No. 2, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters that he and Pelosi had spoken about the possibility of testing and would consult with physicians about whether to go ahead.

Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan
Richard Marsden became the CEO of Synairgen plc (LON:SNG) in 2009, and we think it's a good time to look at the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also evaluate the appropriateness of CEO compensation when taking into account the earnings and shareholder returns of the company.

View our latest analysis for Synairgen

Comparing Synairgen plc's CEO Compensation With the industry

According to our data, Synairgen plc has a market capitalization of UK238m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK289k over the year to December 2019. Notably, that's an increase of 41% over the year before. In particular, the salary of UK190.0k, makes up a huge portion of the total compensation being paid to the CEO.

On examining similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations between UK155m and UK620m, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was UK328k. This suggests that Synairgen remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. What's more, Richard Marsden holds UK494k worth of shares in the company in their own name.

Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary UK190k UK186k 66% Other UK99k UK19k 34% Total Compensation UK289k UK205k 100%

On an industry level, around 70% of total compensation represents salary and 30% is other remuneration. Our data reveals that Synairgen allocates salary more or less in line with the wider market. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.

A Look at Synairgen plc's Growth Numbers

Synairgen plc has reduced its earnings per share by 65% a year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is down 98%.

The decline in EPS is a bit concerning. And the fact that revenue is down year on year arguably paints an ugly picture. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

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Has Synairgen plc Been A Good Investment?

We think that the total shareholder return of 1,307%, over three years, would leave most Synairgen plc shareholders smiling. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

To Conclude...

As previously discussed, Richard is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. This isn't great when you look at it against the backdrop of EPS growth, which has been negative for the past three years. On the other hand, shareholder returns are showing positive trends over the same time frame. We wouldn't say CEO compensation is too high, but shrinking EPS is undoubtedly an issue that will have to be addressed.

CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. In our study, we found 4 warning signs for Synairgen you should be aware of, and 2 of them are concerning.

Important note: Synairgen is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
A County Derry man is among the nominees for this year's Pride of Britain award, after helping to raise a staggering 72,600 for frontline NHS staff.

Willy Darragh, from Magherafelt, harnessed the generosity of the angling community through a series of raffles and auctions to provide support to health care services throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

As well as raising money, Willy helped source Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for care homes, who he says were left behind a little as resources were channeled to the front line.

The Gracehill and Galgorm Angling Club member modestly tries to deflect attention from himself, preferring to praise the angling community's spirit.

"I was just the person behind the keyboard, but there was more than me involved in it," he told Derry Now.

"It puts the angling community out there and lets people see what they do, so they get the recognition for that. I've been involved in fishing all my life, I started when I was about seven."

Willy in his element on the water.

The idea began following a conversation with Sam Glenn, a Belfast butcher and keen fisherman, who had asked Willy to organise and run a few raffles for fishing flies.

The fundraising effort soon took on a life of its own.

"He'd asked if I could run a few wee auctions or raffles," said Willy.

"So I said, 'no bother, that'll only take a few days'. Sixteen weeks later, here I am, still at it. It's been a nice journey.

"I've really enjoyed doing it. The satisfaction has been amazing. To see the generosity and compassion people have shown; it blew me away."

Willy's work was so far-reaching that he has a connection with a fellow nominee for the award, Belfast sign-maker Sam McClean.

"Our name and logo is 'Anglers against Covid'," he said.

"That's something I came up with and it sort of stuck. Sam raised over 100,000 by printing stickers, and he printed our logo. We're both up for nomination for this now!"

The winners of the Pride of Britain Awards will be announced this evening. You can read more about the work done by Anglers against Covid in Tuesday's County Derry Post.
Allsup Employment Services has helped thousands of former workers with disabilities through the Ticket to Work program and is trying to bring even more individuals back to the workforce despite the COVID-19 pandemic

Diane Winiarski is director of Allsup Employment Services, a Social Security Administration-authorized Employment Network, helping individuals with disabilities to return to work through the SSA Ticket to Work program.

Diane Winiarski is director of Allsup Employment Services, a Social Security Administration-authorized Employment Network, helping individuals with disabilities to return to work through the SSA Ticket to Work program.

Belleville, Illinois, Oct. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- October is Disability Employment Awareness Month, during which time Allsup Employment Services, a Social Security Administration-authorized Employment Network (EN) and subsidiary of Allsup, the nations premier disability representation company, is highlighting the successes and resources available for people with disabilities in the workplace.

We are proud to have helped thousands of individuals who are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits to use Ticket to Work in their return back to work, said Diane Winiarski, Director at Allsup Employment Services. These individuals have persevered through medical treatment or recovery and are a beacon of hope for thousands of people who experience severe disability each year who eventually would like to return to the workforce.

As an EN, Allsup Employment Services has helped thousands return to former employers or find new job opportunities in growing industries through Ticket to Work (TTW), a free program available to all SSDI recipients. SSDI is a federal insurance program through FICA payroll taxes. All workers and employers pay for this insurance, which supplies eligible applicants with the financial backstop they need if they experience a severe mental or physical disability that prevents them from working for at least one year, or if they develop a terminal condition.

Allsup Employment Services has helped former workers in states such as Texas, Florida, and Ohio. Some of the most common occupations include roles in transportation, delivery, and customer service. Using the TTW program, Allsup has helped people like:

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Collette Duffy, from New Germany, Minnesota, who battled colorectal cancer. Allsup helped her navigate the SSDI process and receive her benefits quickly. After recovering over a 14-month period, she used the TTW program to reconnect with her former employer, Buffalo Wild Wings, and secure an accounting manager position.

Jim Davis from Great Falls, Montana, who suffered from a severe infection and inflammation after undergoing surgery, and had to stop working. His medical impairment plus the financial burden of not having income caused him immense stress. He worked with Allsup to receive his SSDI benefits quickly and later find a job at Benefis Health System, returning to his former occupation as a certified surgical technologist.

James Wright from San Bernardino, California, who was forced to stop working due to his osteoarthritis. He qualified for SSDI and used Allsup to apply for benefits. Once he was physically able to work again, James partnered with Allsup to transition back to his former employer, UPS, as an aircraft mechanic, where he currently works on a flexible schedule.

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the unemployment rate for people with disabilities, pushing the rate up to 13.2%, over a third higher than the current national unemployment rate, Winiarski said. Despite this, Allsup is here to empower the disability community, and weve successfully helped thousands find work and will continue to do so, even during this unprecedented time.

Learn more about returning to work with SSDI or Allsup Employment Services by calling 866-540-5105 or visit: https://www.allsupemploymentservices.com/.

Watch this video to learn more about Allsup.

ABOUT ALLSUP

Allsup and its subsidiaries provide nationwide Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, return to work, and healthcare benefits services for individuals, their employers and insurance carriers. Allsup professionals deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Founded in 1984, the company is based in Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis. Learn more at truehelp.com and @Allsup or download a free PDF of Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance: Getting It Right The First Time.

Attachment

CONTACT: Rebecca Ray Allsup (618) 236-5065 r.ray@allsup.com Ria Duffy Pinkston 703-946-0327 ria.duffy@pinkston.com




HK Businessman to Sue China in UK Court for Violating Sino-British Joint Declaration

Elmer Yuen, an entrepreneur and political commentator from Hong Kong, said he will sue the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) in the UKs supreme court, for violating the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

[The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)] said it was a historical document, and tore up the Sino-British Joint Declaration by passing the national security law, Yuen told The Epoch Times at an anti-CCP rally in front of the Chinese embassy in London.

If you break a contract, that contract should be  declared null and void, Yuen told NTD.

He said sovereignty over Hong Kongas a result of the Chinese communist regimes violation of the Declarationshould be returned to the UK.

The British Government Is Still Asleep

While praising the UKs independent judicial system, Yuen was critical of the British governments naivete about the CCP.

The British government is still asleep, he said, It still thinks the CCP is [running] a country. No! It is a criminal organization. The whole of China [is run by] a criminal organization.

Yuen said working with the CCP is like dealing with the mafia.

How could you think that the CCP will abide by the contract? he said. Thats impossible!

About Beijing imposing the National Security Law on Hong Kong, he said its a joke, the biggest joke, that the UK still believes in One Country, Two Systems, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and the Basic Law,' Yuen said.

Donald Trump understands that the situation now is not one country, two systems but rather one country, one system, which means that Hong Kong and Shanghai are the same.

Yuen has repeatedly spoken of how China is not functioning as a country.

The nation is a facade; the government is a facade. Every government official, even including the prime minister, has a party member behind him, which is Xi Jinping, pulling the strings, he said during an webinar on July 20.

Speaking in the same webinar, Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas made the same observation.

The relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese state is unlike anything we see in democratic countries. State functionaries are puppets. It is the party which pulls the strings, said Matas.

British Capital Held Hostage

When asked why he thought the British government hasnt been tougher on the Chinese regime, Yuen said the UK government is afraid of losing its economic interests.

High-speed rail, nuclear power plant, and [they were] also talking about a chip factory  all economic interests. Everyone thinks its lucrative [doing business with China].

Yuen, who has been doing business in China since the 1980s, said it isnt really lucrative.

A sham! Who made money? Not one country benefited from doing business with China, he said. You may think Germany made money. Germany is now stuck there and cant get itself out.

Yuen said it is because of businesses that the UK government feels its hands are tied.

So now it dares not sanction [the CCP] because they have to think about its own interests. Jardine Matheson and Swire Group are both British companies, HSBC and Cathay Pacific, etc. What to do then? Now they are held hostage by the CCP.

HSBC and Cathay Pacific have recently been under fire for kneeling under CCP pressure.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticized HSBC, for siding with Beijing in its suppressing the freedom of Hong Kong citizens, maintaining the bank accounts of people who had been sanctioned for denying the freedom of Hong Kongers, and reportedly denying Hong Kong-based executives of the pro-democracy publisher Next Media access to their personal bank accounts and credit cards.

The obstruction of access to HSBC accounts was just one example of Chinas bullying of Americas friends in the United Kingdom, Pompeo said.

Cathay Pacific Airways, another British company, has been denounced by protesters for bowing to Beijing pressure by dismissing crew for participating in or supporting demonstrations against the communist regimes encroachment.

Chinese company Ping An Insurance last week rose its stake in HSBC, injecting more Chinese capital into the British lender.

When asked if the British government can still protect the British companies in Hong Kong, Yuen was not optimistic.

Of course not, he said. What can you do when you are in bed with the mafia?

Yuen has spent the last three months lobbying U.S. politicians to designate the CCP as a criminal organization, using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a 1970 federal law in the United States that specifically targets organized crime, to bring charges against bosses and key players in each of the families.

He said hes not going to lobby parliamentarians in the UK, because he doesnt think he can manage to wake them up.

But he doesnt think it will take long for the UK to change its attitude.

When all the British companies in Hong Kong are held hostage and when the mainland starts buying HSBC, [the UK] will start to wake up. Seems like it is about to wake upit wont take long.

The rally Yuen attended is one of several anti-CCP rallies held in the UK on Oct. 1, a day the CCP calls National Day of the PRC, and what many dissidents call the memorial day.

Thats [the CCPs] doomsday, Yuen said.

Stacey Tong of The Epoch Times Hong Kong edition, Jane Werrell of NTD, and Epoch Times reporters Mary Clark, Jeremy Sandberg, and Bonnie Evans contributed to this report.
MUSKEGON, MI  A four-unit affordable housing project is nearing completion, and a ribbon-cutting took place outside the midtown property on Thursday, Oct. 1  10 months after construction began.

The Phoenix' apartment building, located at 380 Houston Ave. in Muskegons Nelson neighborhood, is a modular home, geared at offering affordable housing to working people in the citys booming core, said Sarah Rinsema-Sybenga, the CEO of Community enCompass, the nonprofit overseeing the project.

Theres a ton of investment happening with new, market-rate housing in the core city neighborhoods and downtown, said Rinsema-Sybenga. As kind of a complement to that, we want to make sure that there is affordable housing as well.

The building is aimed at people earning 30, 50 and 80 percent of the area median income, and one tenant has already been selected for one of the four 800-square-foot units.

That person received a key in a celebration and ribbon-cutting Thursday, although the building is not yet officially move-in ready. The organization is awaiting their occupancy permit, Rinsema-Sybenga said.

Its imminent, its the next couple of days, she said of a timeline to completion.

RELATED: Affordable apartments arrive near downtown Muskegon

The midtown neighborhood has seen significant investment in the Third Street commercial corridor and construction of market-rate homes in recent years.

That inspired the nonprofit to replace an apartment building that once stood on the lot from which the Phoenix building has now risen.

That building, also owned and administered by Community enCompass, burned down a decade ago, and it seemed that it would be financially impossible to replace, Rinsema-Sybenga said.

But watching so much development - and demolition - in the neighborhood sparked the desire to make this project happen, she said.

All told, construction, including purchasing the modular elements and follow-up work to get it ready, connected to utilities, and wheelchair accessible - cost about $450,000. Rinsema-Sybenga said that includes $100,000 from the nonprofits own reserves.

A $100,000 grant from the city - drawn from its HOME funds, a federal program - and a $250,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank rounded out the funding.

Tenants can apply through Lighthouse Property Management. Two units are for families earning at or below 80% of area median income (AMI), which, according to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), is $48,880 for a family of four.

One is for families earning at or below 50% of AMI, which is $30,550 for a family of four, and the last unit is for families earning below 30% of AMI, which is $18,330.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines affordable housing as housing that costs one-third of a persons income.

The organization will work with tenants to assess what 33% of their income is, and tie their rent to that, Rinsema-Sybenga said.

Three of the units are two-bedrooms, and the fourth is a one-bedroom that is fully ADA-compliant and accessible to those with disabilities.

Affordable housing is desperately needed in Muskegon, Rinsema-Sybenga said, and the organization has already received some applications for the units, but is still waiting to fill three of them.

Construction began on the building with a drop of its four modular elements on Monday, Dec. 23, 2019. The development will be the first modular multifamily home in Muskegon, Kimi George, a special projects coordinator and rehab specialist at Community enCompass, told MLive at the time.

Local contractor Rudy Briggs, owner of LRS Enterprises construction in Muskegon Township, oversaw construction and implementation of the modular units, which were built and delivered from out-of-state.

The organization originally expected the building to be ready by spring, but progress was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Rinsema-Sybenga said.

George previously told MLive that it took about a year and a half between the projects ideation and the drop of the modular elements, and that modular housing is not necessarily cheaper, but are quicker to construct.

In spite of timing not going quite as planned, Rinsema-Sybenga said her organization is planning on using this modular method to build more units of affordable housing around the city.

They anticipate dropping in five modular houses, available as affordable purchases to families making between 80 and 120% of area median income, by the end of 2021.

She declined to name which addresses those homes are slated for, but said they would be built on a mix of city-owned and land bank land.

Community enCompass currently operates about 30 units of affordable housing across the Nelson and McLaughlin neighborhoods.

We do affordable housing for a couple of reasons - one, to provide essential housing, but also to create neighbors, Rinsema-Sybenga said.

Read more on MLive:

Cash infusion will return Muskegon Farmers Market operations to normal

Muskegon adds Apple Avenue site to marijuana business area

Angell school redevelopment, 100 more homes proposed in Muskegon
President Trumps recent executive order banning certain types of racial diversity and inclusion training has put many in the government contracting world in a bind, unsure of what to say or do.

Many companies today tout their diversity and inclusion policies and practices. Many of these pre-date the rise of social justice movements in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25. But since that time, many companies taken on a greater importance and higher profile as weve reported.

The executive order issued Sept. 22 seems to be a reaction by the Trump administration to those movements because they are often critical of the president and his policies.

For contractors, there seems to be a reluctance to speak directly to the executive order. Statements Ive received from companies focus on how they pride in their diversity and will continue to foster a culture of where diversity and inclusion are valued.

But with one notable exception, no one is outright saying that the executive order is a bad idea.

Two of the primary GovCon industry groups we follow have largely been silent -- the Professional Services Council and the National Defense Industry Association.

The IT Industry Council by comparison issued a strong statement condemning the executive order as a step backwards. Thats the one exception I mentioned. ITI's membership base is primarily commercial tech companies, of which some have significant government footprints but certainly not all.

I'm told both PSC and NDIA are working on a response, but I cant see it being as forceful as the ITI statement.

After all, how much can industry or even individual companies push back against the hand that feeds them? Though I can see an argument coming that the executive order creates a regulatory burden for industry as well as meddling too much into the internal practices of a private sector company.

In a letter to members WT obtained, PSC laid out several issues raised in the executive order that potentially impact contractors. Those include requirements that industry continue to comply with Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

In other words, you have to comply with the Civil Rights Act but apparently there is some invisible line youre not supposed to cross.

A second point raised in PSC's letter is how the Labor Department has 30 days from the Sept. 22 executive order to publish a Federal Register notice requiring contractors to provide information on diversity training and workshops they provide, along with copies of the training. That means the requirement will go out on or around Oct. 22.

Many companies offer services such as LinkedIn and Udemy to their employees for all kinds of training. I guess they will have to inventory all of that.

The Labor Department also will be creating a hotline for those who want to lodge complaints about the training with the government. I have some thoughts on the toll-free number they can use, but will keep those to myself for now.

The Office of Management and Budget also is supposed to collect and review all contract spending on diversity and inclusion training that federal employees received during fiscal 2020. Much of that training is provided by contractors of course, which raises the specter of cancelled contracts or contracts that arent extended.

The provisions specific to contract clauses will take effect 60 days after the executive order was issued. So apparently an interim rule is supposed to be issued outlining compliance in November, after the election by a few weeks.

PSC said in its letter that it doesnt expect any agencies to do anything until after the interim rule is issued and they have more guidance from OMB and the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council, as well as the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the Labor Department.

But with the interim rule coming out after the election, theres another question -- what if Trump loses and Joe Biden wins?

Obviously, there are a lot of unknowns with this executive order. That likely explains the reticence of many in industry to speak publicly on it one way or another.

If Biden wins, executive orders dont evaporate overnight so it is likely to stay in effect until Jan. 20. A President Biden would likely start his term with a raft of executive orders to countermand many of the actions President Trump has taken.

Im not sure where all of this leaves everyone. I tend to agree with ITI in that this executive order is one step backwards. Coming so close to the election, it reads like what many political commentators have called it: red meat for Trumps base. He has tweeted about it and talked about it at the recent presidential debate.

Of course, I have to admit to my own bias if you cant tell by now. Weve tried to take the issue of social justice and systemic racism seriously here at Washington Technology. Weve had panel discussions, written articles and commentaries and published podcasts.

I dont know the answers but I believe systemic racism is real. It might make many of us uncomfortable, but that doesnt mean we shouldnt try to address the problem. We have a long way to go.

This executive order talks about the value of diversity and inclusion but it is really just paying lip service to those ideals. What it is actually doing is sowing confusion and fear that undermines those goals.

If the order stands, I can only hope that the contracting community can find a way to negate its impact so they can continue on the path toward a more inclusive and diverse workplace and society.
NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Argand Partners, LP ("Argand"), the New York- and San Francisco Bay Area-based private equity firm, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Cherry GmbH ("Cherry"). Argand acquires market-leading specialty manufacturing and business services companies with sustainable competitive advantages and strong growth potential.

Cherry is the world's leading global designer and manufacturer of high precision keyboard switch technology for PC gaming and professional use computing peripheral products. The company designs and manufactures premium key switches for mechanical keyboards, branded gaming peripherals, computer input devices (including mice and headsets), and products for security, point of sale and e-Health applications. Headquartered in Germany, Cherry operates across a global footprint of state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and corporate offices in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Cherry has a reputation for "Made-in-Germany" quality, performance and reliability and enjoys significant brand equity with customers.

Argand's investment in Cherry is supported by long-term growth in the global PC gaming market and the on-going digitalization of healthcare. Cherry has experienced a boost from 'stay-at-home' social policies and 'work from home' corporate trends that are accelerating the adoption of PC gaming and home-based office computer peripherals.

In addition, Cherry is the leading provider of secure telematics infrastructure for the German healthcare market. Germany is the world's second largest healthcare market and is at the forefront of the e-Health transformation. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the process of digitalizing the country's healthcare infrastructure. Argand plans to support Cherry's efforts to expand its e-Health offering across Europe and North America.

Founded in the U.S. in 1953, Cherry pioneered the mechanical keyboard switch. The company's CHERRY MX switches are considered the industry gold standard in keyboard switch technology. Cherry's products are engineered to maximize performance, ergonomics, durability and precision. The Cherry brand is used by a diverse customer base worldwide, including gaming professionals and enthusiasts, and corporates and governments in the defense, healthcare, finance and retail sectors. Cherry retains the Blue Angel ecolabel for environmentally friendly product design.

Tariq Osman, Partner and Co-Founder at Argand, commented, "Cherry is a great fit for our firm and investment strategy. The company has a clear leadership position and significant brand equity, and is an innovator in its industry. We look forward to partnering with Cherry's management team to pursue an accelerated global growth strategy, including strengthening Cherry's U.S. presence, capitalizing on the e-Health business opportunity, and prioritizing highly strategic M&A on a global basis."

Rolf Unterberger, Cherry's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We have found a partner that is as excited by Cherry's pioneering product innovation, customer loyalty, and growth potential as we are. We have been impressed by the energy, creativity and strategic vision that Argand has already brought to the partnership, and we look forward to working together to maximize our strong momentum in gaming and e-Health."

The acquisition is supported by a loan facility provided by Hayfin Capital Management. Hengeler Mueller acted as lead legal counsel to Argand, supported by Winston & Strawn LLP for the USA, Jun He LLP for China, and Gide Loyrette Nouel AARPI for France.

About Argand Partners

Argand Partners is a New York and San Francisco Bay Area-based middle-market private equity firm that targets market-leading industrial companies with under-resourced and unrealized global growth potential. Argand companies have strong market share, sustainable competitive advantages, defensive characteristics, and significant growth potential supported by secular demand trends. The firm focuses on specialty manufacturing and business services companies with a strong U.S. nexus (headquarters, primary growth market, or majority of revenue) and often significant global operations or expansion opportunities.

Argand is a growth-oriented control investor that seeks complex, often contrarian, situations in order to buy well. The team employs a hands-on approach to partnering with management to create value across the investment lifecycle and help portfolio companies achieve their full potential as world-class, industry-leading companies.

Further information on Argand can be found on the website:

www.argandequity.com

About Cherry

Cherry GmbH, headquartered in Auerbach in der Oberpfalz, Germany, is the world's leading manufacturer of premium mechanical switches for the PC gaming keyboard market. Cherry is also a leading global manufacturer of computer input devices with a focus on the Gaming, Office, Industry, Security and Healthcare markets. Cherry employs approximately 400 people in production plants and corporate branches in Germany, France, UK, China and the USA. Founded in 1953, the Cherry brand is synonymous with "German-quality" products that are designed and developed specifically for the needs of its customers.

Further information on Cherry can be found on the websites:

www.cherrymx.de/en

www.cherry-world.com

For more information about Argand or the Cherry transaction, contact:

Tariq Osman

Partner & Co-Founder

Argand Partners

(212) 588-6470

[email protected]

SOURCE Argand Partners

Related Links

https://argandequity.com/


A frozen wind whips in off the wild Atlantic and cuts through the historic granite streets of Aberdeen, and one thirty-five-year-old resident of the town decides that this would be the perfect time to pop a light jacket on and head down to her local tattoo parlour. There she asks a man with a beard the size of Loch Lomond for a new bit of skin decoration to make her infinite selfies more interesting or something.

So far, so hipster. Except this particular tattoo is about to propel the woman in question into the Guinness book of records. It's only her fifty-second effort, so it's not because she has the greatest number of tattoos (that dubious honour goes to a chap from New Zealand called Lucky Diamond Rich - well, of course he is - who is officially recognised as having his whole body tattooed, including - stop reading here if you're having breakfast - the inside of his eyelids).

No, our Aberdonian friend is about to adorn her relatively young flesh with a twenty-eighth portrayal of her favourite musician, Eminem. Poor, poor thing - Eminem, I mean. Just imagine knowing that somebody somewhere on the face of the planet has got your ugly mug indelibly etched into her skin. Twenty-eight times. It's bad enough if your ex-girlfriend still keeps your photo in her purse years after you last saw each other, so what psychological damage this must being doing to the ageing white rapper is anyone's guess.

I've never understood the concept of tattoos. Well, for a sailor in Thailand in 1963, I suppose I can see the attraction, but not for a barmaid from Barnsley in the twenty-first century. Some faux wisdom - 'the mountain is lowest when it's at its highest' or something - written in Sanskrit on your left thigh doesn't strike me as money well spent, particularly when there's a pub next door. Mind you, I was ginger when I was younger and everyone knows that tattoos on ginger freckly people look sad and sinister at the same time. So, perhaps I'm biased.

Maybe when I'm older and sense that it won't be long before I snuff it, I'll get a tattoo just to see what all the fuss is about and if I like it, I might get twenty-nine of one my favourite musicians just to be able to get in the Guinness book of records. Probably Paul Simon or Bruce Springsteen, then - Van Morrison's hat wouldn't fit.
All Jason Yu wants to do is serve ice cream.

But his sweet dream has turned awfully sour  thanks to a San Francisco city government thats wrapped in red tape and often makes even the simplest idea for a small business shockingly complicated.

Sixteen months after signing a lease on a shop at 20th and Valencia streets  and more than $150,000 in the hole because of rent, a lawyer, an architect and other costs  Yu has nothing to show for it. The walls he wants to paint bright pink are still a dull gray and white. The windows are still boarded up. The space is still empty.

Yus entrepreneurial dreams are melting like soft serve on a hot day.

Were just trying to make ice cream, you know? said Yu, 29, a San Francisco native who grew up in Chinatown and is trying to raise two children in this city thats not particularly friendly to kids or middle-class families or small business owners.

Its so simple! he said incredulously. And my plans are nowhere near approved.

Many of us are wondering whether San Franciscos commercial corridors  already struggling with a host of major issues including numerous vacant storefronts before the COVID-19 pandemic  can survive. Proposition H on the Nov. 3 ballot would go a long way to helping small businesses open in a timely fashion, but more on that later.

Yus dream-turned-nightmare began in late 2018 when he decided to open Matcha n More, a shop serving green-tea-flavored soft serve ice cream along with other treats and nonalcoholic drinks. He landed on a long-vacant storefront at 3591 20th St.

He signed the lease for $7,300 a month in June 2019, figuring hed be open in a few months. He hired an architect to draw up plans for upgraded electrical and plumbing systems, a front counter and some kitchen equipment. No structural changes were planned, and the outside of the building wouldnt be touched.

Yu submitted his plans to the Department of Building Inspection in mid-November 2019. But the first step was getting the OK from the Planning Department to operate the ice cream shop  even though a restaurant had already operated there and his shop fit the corridors zoning rules.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

The Planning Department, like always, required him to notify neighbors of the plan and allowed any one of them within 150 feet to object. Neighbors learned about the project in late February and had until mid-April to complain. And someone did complain, triggering a hearing at the Planning Commission, which can take 12 weeks to schedule. Thats many months of rent flushed away because one neighbor doesnt like whats allowed by the city.

San Francisco stands out among American cities for many reasons, and this ridiculous system is sadly one of them.

In Yus case, the complaining neighbor was a competing ice cream shop. It doesnt take a genius to see why that shop might gripe, but nevertheless Yu had to hire a lawyer and wait until the hearing on June 11 to do any more work on his shop.

The hearing quickly became the subject of gobsmacked banter on social media. People live-tweeted the ridiculous waste of time with 64 people  64!  calling to weigh in on the great ice cream shop face-off. Both sides riled up their friends to phone in.

The final caller, No. 64, said, I support the new business. The whole process is dumb as s. And that person may have been the smartest of them all.

After an hour and 15 minutes, the commission secretary said he really wanted some ice cream. The commission voted 7-0  Matcha n More had the right to open. There was, in fact, no extraordinary or exceptional circumstances in the case, the Planning Commission said.

Yeah, no kidding. Its an ice cream shop.

But the Dilbert cartoon come to life had only just begun.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle 2020

Yu finally got his permit from the Planning Department, but only then could the real work to open his shop begin. Well, in theory. Hes now stuck in the hell that has become San Franciscos Department of Building Inspection.

That department has never been easy to navigate, but now its nearly impossible. It had long intended to move its system of paper permits and in-person meetings online and figured the COVID-19 pandemic was reason to rush the changeover.

But as Interim Director Patrick ORiordan explained in a Sept. 3 letter apologizing to his departments customers, The new process didnt work as intended and increased the workload exponentially on our remote and reduced staff. We now have a significant backlog as a result.

That backlog totals 3,000 requests for permits.

The department shut down the online system until it can be fixed and went back to mostly reviewing permit requests on paper.

But Mark Hogan, an architect not affiliated with Yus project, said that when he tried to book an appointment last week to get permits for a residential remodel, the earliest available time slot was the second week of February.

Weve worked with small business owners on renovations where theyve had to pay land use attorneys tens of thousands of dollars just to get permits to open a small business, Hogan said. Our office is actively going after work in other municipalities. ... Its becoming impossible to do work here.

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.

Yu can relate. His file was assigned to a plan reviewer at the Department of Building Inspection in late June, and it took about two months for any response  compared with the usual response time of two weeks. The reviewer gave Yus architect 30 comments on the plans in late August, and about half of them have been dealt with, according to Daniel Lowrey, deputy director for permit services.

But even once those are resolved, the plans will still need approval from a mechanical plan checker at the Department of Building Inspection, the Fire Department, Public Works and the Department of Public Health.

Yu has asked for a rent break from his landlord, but no dice. He fears hell be in the hole by $200,000 or more by the time he can finally open. If that day ever comes.

For an ice cream shop! he said.

Thankfully, Prop. H on the November ballot is meant to sweep away some of the hurdles Yu and other small business owners face.

It would make it easier for a wider variety of businesses to open on commercial corridors, expand their ability to operate outside, eliminate the requirement to notify neighbors if their business fits with whats allowed and require the city to complete its entire review within 30 days. The latter would be largely accomplished by having departments conduct their work simultaneously rather than one by one.

Mayor London Breed, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association and several small business commissioners support the proposition. The only paid opponent is gadfly David Pilpel, who recently lost his appeals to several emergency transit measures. He argued the changes should have been made through the legislative process. The Board of Supervisors could have taken action long ago, but never has  and thats why the mayor placed it on the ballot.

Sharky Laguana, president of the citys Small Business Commission, said Yus story is such a horror show, but that its sadly not uncommon in San Francisco. He said the current byzantine process is so complicated and eats up so much money, only those who are wealthy and connected can usually weather it.

You need to have a quarter million dollars on hand to open a fing ice cream store? Laguana asked, clearly angry. San Francisco with all its magic and glory should be the easiest place to open a business in America, and right now its among the hardest. In the aftermath of a pandemic, thats going to be destructive to the city as a whole to maintain that attitude.

As for Yu, he said he wishes hed never tried to open his ice cream shop in the first place. Maybe in Daly City instead, he said. Or Pleasanton. Or anywhere else really.

Asked what ice cream flavor would most likely be inspired by City Hall, Yu laughed and said, Oh, my God. It would be very salty!

One might even call it hard to swallow.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf Instagram: @heatherknightsf
The news that U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19 is a reminder of two stark truths that weve known since the first days that the novel coronavirus reached the United States: that the virus respects no boundaries, and that older people are at higher risk of getting infected.

About 10 months into the pandemic, the science shows that the elderly not only remain more vulnerable to infections but are also more likely to develop severe illness. About 80% of deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19 have occurred in those 65 or older, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At this point, Trump, 74, does not appear to share many of the risk factors that make older people more susceptible to infection and severe disease. The highest percentage of deaths among older patients with COVID-19, for example, occur among those with other medical conditions and in shared living facilities, such as nursing homes.

The Presidents physical from last summer, however, revealed he had a body mass index that would categorize him as obese  though just barely. Thats one of the CDCs risk factors for developing severe COVID-19. Still, health experts have learned that its hard to predict how individual people will respond to infection.

Its not a black and white picture at all, says Lesley Russell, adjunct associate professor at Menzies Center for Health Policy at the University of Sydney and former health policy advisor to the Obama Administration. We know this is a very strange disease and all sorts of things happen.

Read more: What If Trumps Condition Worsens?  Mike Pence Steps Into the Spotlight  Physician Briefing Raises More Questions Than Answers  Trumps Unique COVID-19 Treatment  White Houses Silence Worries Diplomats  U.S. Adversaries Exploiting Trumps Illness  How Trumps Diagnosis Could Change the Campaign  Aides Wonder If More Could Have Been Done to Protect Trump  What to Know About Regeneron  Where Trump Has Been Since Monday 

Story continues

While advanced age may increase the risk of severe disease, doctors have also learned more in recent months about how to reduce that risk. Increased testing capacity, which Trump has been criticized for suppressing in the early days of the pandemic, is helping to detect cases earlier, which allows doctors to better monitor patients when symptoms worsen. (The President and First Lady were tested when one of his staff members, Hope Hicks, who traveled with Trump to the presidential debate this week, tested positive.) While there are no formally approved antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19, there are experimental medications such as remdesivir, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized on an emergency use basis to treat the disease. The agency has also authorized steroid and other anti-inflammatory medications to help suppress some of the inflammation that is linked to severe disease and can impair peoples ability to breathe on their own.

All of these efforts are contributing to lowering death rates among those who are infected, says Dr. Li Yang Hsu, co-director of global health at the National University of Singapores Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Hospitals in most countries around the world are no longer overwhelmed the way they were in Wuhan or northern Italy, for instance, he says. Especially in high income countries with good health care systems, supportive care can help to prevent deaths.

For now, Trump and the First Lady have begun to self-isolate and can only wait and see if they develop symptoms. The Presidents doctor, Sean Conley, said Trump and the First Lady are both well at this time. Studies have not shown that starting antiviral or other therapies early in the disease can prevent progression of the disease, but knowledge about treating early infection is still evolving, including when and how to use drugs like remdesivir. At the point that [Trump] is now in the disease process, there is no treatment, says Russell. Politically, too, the country now enters wait-and-see mode; as the President and First Ladys result adds further chaos to an already turbulent election season.

 With reporting by Laignee Barron/Hong Kong
I love books but harbor keen animosity for a particular book that recently made its way to my Second Reading Book Shop. Its a German-language copy of Hitlers Mein Kampf (My Struggle) that was published in Nazi Germany.

Hitler wrote Mein Kampf while serving time in Landsberg Prison for his role in the failed 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, when the Nazis attempted to seize power in Munich. The book was originally published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926. Hitler gave the book the working title of Four and a Half Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice, but was persuaded to change it to the much easier-to-remember My Struggle. Sales were slow until Hitler seized power in Germany in 1933. Mein Kampf then became the Bible of that nation.

The copy I acquired bears a 1941 printing date, which means it was published during World War II. It bears three inscriptions: one printed and the other two handwritten. The printed inscription, which is in German, translates as: To the newlywed couple with best wishes for a happy and blessed marriage, presented by the city administration of Duren. In other words, this copy of Hitlers hate-filled screed was given by the government of the German city of Duren to a local couple as a wedding gift. This inscription includes a handwritten date  July 31, 1942  and the signature of Durens Burgermeister. The newlywed couples names are not recorded anywhere in the book.

This gift was no fluke. According to Heather Whipps How Mein Kampf Changed the World, every couple that married in Nazi Germany received a copy of Hitlers book.

The handwritten inscriptions in this copy, however, provide a refreshing counterbalance to the realization that this disgusting book was a wedding present. Both inscriptions are in English and presumably written by members of the Allied forces.

The first inscription reads: Germany February 45. To: John H. Carter Sonny.  The insciption is unsigned. Keep in mind that, while Nazi Germany was in its death throes on that date, the war was still in progress.

The second inscription is signed by this Sonny himself, joyfully dated: 7 May 45 and followed by these words: Complete Surrender of Germany. What little remained of Nazi Germany indeed surrendered on that day. Gen. Alfred Jodl, who served as Chief-of-Staff of Germanys High Command, signed a document at Reims, France, that unconditionally surrendered all German forces to the Allies. Tried and convicted of war crimes at Nuremberg, Jodl was executed just a year later.

Sonnys note reads: With sincere regards to your many wonderful letters, and respect to you and family, you have really been wonderful to me. I only hope and pray that my future casts no ill reflections upon your person and character as I have tried not in the past. Accept me as I am, what I have tried to be or pray to be in the future. Sincerely I say I love you and all, with like respect as my own family, and always will regardless. Sincerely Always, Sonny 

Sonny probably mailed off this book while he was still in Europe. We can only hope that he experienced a joyful reunion with this unnamed person at some point in the future.

Its interesting to speculate about the fate of the couple who received this book as a wedding present. The groom probably served in Germanys armed forces. On Nov. 16, 1944  two years and four months after this couples wedding  Duren was completely destroyed by Allied bombing. Of its 22,000 residents, 3,000 were killed.

Somehow, this copy of Mein Kampf survived the war. We have no way of knowing whether that long-ago newlywed couple survived as well.

John J. Dunphy is an author, the Godfrey 15th Precinct Democratic Committeeperson and recording secretary for the Godfrey Democrats.
New Delhi: Apurva Chandra is the new labour secretary of the union government, and his first big role will be to implement the three labour codes passed by the parliament, and play a key role in universalizing social security.

A 1988 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Maharashtra cadre, Chandra replaces Heeralal Samariya as the new labour secretary, following laters retirement.

An alumnus of IIT Delhi, Chandra is a structural engineer by education before entering the civil services. Besides his role in Maharashtra as a senior bureaucrat, he has worked in central ministries like Defence, human resource development, and Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Before joining as the new labour secretary, Chandra was serving as Special Director General, Defence Acquisition, in the Ministry of Defence. At the labour ministry, his biggest task would be to implement the labour codes by framing rules and taking all stakeholders along while implementing the labour reforms.

Chandra has spent over seven years in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in the union government and was instrumental in designing polices related to fuel supply chain ecosystem. Besides, he has played key roles associated with natural gas transportation infrastructure, setting up of city gas distribution companies, LNG import terminals, and allocation of gas to industries. He has also served in the board of several firms including GAIL India.

In Maharashtra, Chandras stint as Principal Secretary (Industries) helped bringing in the Electronic Policy, Retail policy, Single Window Policy to attract new investments, the labour ministry said Friday. Chandra was also closely working with the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial corridor (DMIC) initiative.

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More than 600 medical abortions have been carried out in Northern Ireland since new laws came into force earlier this year. (Lynne Cameron/PA)

More than 600 medical abortions have been carried out in Northern Ireland since new laws came into force earlier this year.

In total, 664 terminations have taken place since March 31, according to official figures.

Our abortion laws were reformed after a landmark vote in Westminster last year during the suspension of the Stormont Assembly.

The new regulations allow for terminations in any circumstance up to 12 weeks.

Read More

Up to 24 weeks, terminations are allowed where the risk of mental or physical injury to the expectant mother is greater than the risk of terminating the pregnancy.

The law also allows abortions in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, or when there is a risk of death or serious permanent injury to the mother if a termination is not carried out.

The reform of legislation has been controversial, with Stormont MLAs voting in June to reject the recent changes, following a DUP motion.

Read More

However, this vote held no legal weighting - it merely showed a lack of support amongst the Assembly for the new legislation.

Pro-life group Precious Life reacted angrily to the latest figures, provided by the Department of Health.

Director Bernadette Smyth hit out at politicians, saying it our abortion laws did not square with pledges to protect and save the most vulnerable in society during the coronavirus pandemic.

Read More

She added: "At a time when necessary and life-saving care such as cancer treatments, and screenings for breast cancer are being postponed to preserve hospital equipment, beds and staff, it is all the more outrageous that abortion has been making a priority for women In Northern Ireland."

Meanwhile, pro-choice campaigners such as Emma Campbell, the co-convenor for the Belfast branch of Alliance for Choice, tentatively welcomed the figures, but said more needed to be done to support women.

"It's absolutely brilliant that these women have had access to abortions on these islands," she said.

"But, every other jurisdiction in the UK and Ireland now all provide full tele-medicine services for people needing abortions.

"Northern Ireland is the only place in the island which is refusing to do.

"People are being made to travel to clinics in the height of a pandemic which is completely unnecessary and puts these patients and staff at further risk of contracting Covid-19.

"Not one of these 664 people should have had to go into a clinic during the height of a pandemic."

Emma, and other pro-choice campaigners, are also concerned that abortion services are not still accessible enough in Northern Ireland.

"The Department of Health have refused to carry out their legal duties of commissioning services and providing public health information," she said.

"There is no way for you to find out how to get a legal abortion on any of the Department of Health or Health Trust websites," she added, saying that GPs and health staff have not been adequately trained.

"The whole legislation is being treated as a waste of paper."

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "The Department of Health has publicly stated that it has received legal advice that, under the Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No 2) Regulations 2020 the department is not required to commission the relevant services, however registered medical professionals in Northern Ireland may now terminate pregnancies lawfully.

"The regulations require such terminations to be carried out on Health and Social Care premises. This advice was communicated to Trusts in April.

"Decisions remain to be taken on the commissioning of abortion services in NI's health service. Commissioning is a significant process that will require a public consultation.

"It will clearly be matter for the Executive and Assembly as well as the department."
I condemn the Proud Boys, Trump said. I dont know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that.

Two days after his controversial statements during the first 2020 presidential debate, President Donald Trump reversed course and condemned white supremacists.

Ive said it many times, Trump said during a call-in segment with Sean Hannity. Let me be clear again: I condemn the KKK. I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys. I dont know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that.

President Donald Trump walks to Marine One on the south lawn of the White House Thursday en route to Bedminster, New Jersey for a roundtable event with supporters and a fundraiser. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

But [Biden] should condemn also Antifa, Trump continued. Antifas a horrible group of people. They kill people, they  what they do to people, and theyre causing insurrection, theyre causing riots.

FBI Director Chris Wray told lawmakers last month that Antifa is an ideology, not an organization, a point that Democratic nominee Joe Biden reiterated during Tuesdays debate. During their exchange, Trump maintained that Wray was wrong.

Read More: President Trump and first lady test positive for COVID-19

In the same testimony before Congress in September, Wray said that racially motivated violent extremism, mostly from white supremacists, has made up a majority of domestic terrorism threats.

During Tuesday nights debate, Trump was asked to denounce white supremacy and asked for a specific group name. Biden offered, Proud Boys. The president replied that the group should stand back and stand by, a statement that sent shockwaves through the nation.

Read More: VP Mike Pence tests negative, remains in good health after Trump tests positive for COVID-19

His words were embraced by the far-right group, which quickly co-opted the sentiment. However, Republicans sought to distance themselves from the comments.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, tweeted that he agrees with President Trump needing to make it clear Proud Boys is a racist organization antithetical to American ideals.

Story continues

Read More: Melania Trump speaks on children at border in recorded tape: Give me a fing break

Sen. Tim Scott, the countrys lone Black Republican senator, said that he believed the president misspoke and that he should correct his statement. If he doesnt correct it, he added, I guess he didnt misspeak.

Trump did not say on Hannity that he misspoke. In disavowing white supremacy, he claimed that even if he said it a hundred times, it wouldnt be enough for the fake news media.

Have you subscribed to theGrios Dear Culture podcast? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Trump reverses stance on white supremacists following backlash appeared first on TheGrio.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a handful of bills related to workers compensation, including bills dealing with COVID-19 and reporting the virus in the workplace.

The Legislature recessed for the year on Aug. 31, and the governor had until Sept. 30 to sign or veto any bill passed by the Legislature.

The following is a summary of the bills compiled by the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau that are related to workers comp signed by the governor:

Senate Bill No. 1159

This bill went into effect immediately as an urgency statute and will remain in effect until Jan. 1, 2023. Subject to requirements, the bill has created a disputable presumption that an employees COVID-19 infection arose out of and in the course of employment if the employee is tested or diagnosed as COVID-19 positive within 14 days of working at their place of employment (not including their residence) and at their employers direction.

The bill has generally codified the governors Executive Order N-62-20 for the timeframe between March 19 and July 5. For on and after July 6, the bill has specific provisions relative to the disputable presumption for first responders and healthcare providers who provide direct care to patients, and employees who contract COVID-19 as the result of an outbreak at their place of employment.

Assembly Bill No. 685

This bill modifies occupational safety standards to require employers to provide notice and report information related to COVID-19 workplace exposure. The bill also expands the Cal/OSHA authority to enforce COVID-19 related notice requirements and impose civil penalties for an employers failure to comply. The changes will be in effect from Jan. 1, 2021 until Jan. 1, 2023.

Assembly Bill No. 2257

This bill was signed by the Governor on September 4, 2020 and went into effect immediately as an urgency statute. With respect to wages, workers compensation and other benefits, there is a presumption that an entitys workers are employees unless the worker meets the ABC Test. In order to qualify as an independent contractor, the ABC Test requires that:

1) The worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for performance of the work and in fact; 2) The worker performs work outside the usual course of the hiring entitys business; 3) The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.

Several professions and business relationships are exempt from the application of the ABC Test and are instead governed by the multifactor test set forth in S.G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) (Borello Test). This bill has clarified the application of the ABC Test to certain professions, modified existing exemptions and included additional exemptions.

Related:

Topics California Workers' Compensation
While a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was among hundreds who signed an anti-abortion letter that accompanied a January 2006 newspaper ad calling for "an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade."

The two-page advertisement was placed in the South Bend Tribune by the Indiana anti-abortion group St. Joseph County Right to Life. On one page, Barrett and her husband Jesse's names appear under the message, "We, the following citizens ... oppose abortion on demand and defend the right to life from fertilization to natural death."

On the next page, the anti-abortion group attacked the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that it said, "legalized abortion for any reason" and allowed late-term abortions, which it referred to as "the brutal partial-birth abortion procedure."

Barrett, who met with senators at the Capitol on Thursday, declined to respond to questions about the ad. The existence of the ad was first revealed by The Guardian.

Experts say its not surprising that she opposes abortion, given her religious beliefs and conservative tutelage. She's viewed as an acolyte to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she clerked.

But the appearance of Barrett's name next to a call to overturn Roe v. Wade is likely to increase scrutiny of her nomination. The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to begin confirmation hearings Oct. 12.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the committee, said the ad, Barrett's comments on precedent and her record on the bench "raise serious concerns about whether she would uphold the law."

The Republican-led committee did not comment on the ad, pointing instead to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham's comments after meeting with Barrett on Tuesday.

"I think the American people are going to see over the coming days someone who is very capable of understanding the difference between personal beliefs  whatever they may have, we all have personal beliefs  and that of being a judge," Graham said.

Story continues

Appointment would create 6-3 conservative majority

If the 48-year-old is confirmed, conservatives would lock in a 6-3 majority, probably for years to come.

During Tuesday night's presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden said abortion rights are on the ballot. Jumping in, President Donald Trump said: "You don't know her (Barrett's) view on Roe v. Wade."

President Donald Trump announces Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his U.S. Supreme Court nominee on Sept. 18 in Washington.

Experts predict a more conservative Supreme Court would not immediately overturn Roe v. Wade because the cases before them would be more narrowly targeted and justices wouldn't want to shift so quickly from precedent.

Instead, abortion-rights groups believe Barretts appointment would allow justices to effectively secure the same end by upholding state abortion restrictions.

At an event held just before the 2016 presidential election, Barrett said she expects a conservative court could address abortion regulations, but not the right to abortion itself.

"I don't think that abortion or the right to abortion would change. I think some of the restrictions would change," Barrett said at an event sponsored by Jacksonville University's Public Policy Institute. "I think the question is how much freedom the court is willing to let states have in regulating abortion."

She referred to a June 2016 ruling in which the court voted 5-3, without Scalia, to strike down restrictions on Texas doctors and clinics that provide abortions.

"The court has held in some circumstances the states can render partial-birth abortions illegal  very late-term abortions," Barrett said during the Jacksonville University event. "I think that's the kind of thing that could change. ... Whether people can get very late-term abortions, how many restrictions could be put on clinics, I think that would change."

That's what abortion rights advocates fear.

The court will kill Roe v. Wade slowly by 1,000 cuts, said Lawrence Gostin, a law professor at Georgetown University who specializes in public health. Any state law that puts restrictions on abortion, other than a complete ban, has a good chance of being upheld by the Supreme Court.

A conservative shift will have disproportionate impacts on women who are poor, lack access to health care, or live in rural communities. Women who are more financially secure may be more able to commute to another state with fewer restrictions, Gostin said.

Theres a lot the court can do to make it virtually impossible for poor women in red states to get an abortion, he said.

Most recently, the court struck down a Louisiana law that required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The justices agreed to hear the case after a federal appeals court had upheld the law  despite a Supreme Court ruling in 2016 striking down a similar Texas law as an undue burden on women seeking abortions.

This time, anti-abortion forces expected a different result. Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who voted to strike down the Texas law, had retired. His successor was Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who had praised Chief Justice William Rehnquist's dissent in Roe v. Wade. As a federal appeals court judge, Kavanaugh had dissented from a decision in 2017 allowing an undocumented teenager in government custody to get an abortion.

But in the end, Chief Justice John Roberts switched sides and voted with liberals to strike down the Louisiana law. Kavanaugh would have let it stand.

Ruling invalidated Texas restrictions: Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions

Steve Aden, chief legal officer for Americans United for Life, called Roe v. Wade example A for rampant judicial activism. His organization was among the first anti-abortion groups to support Barrett.

That compass needle in this instance points to a judge like Amy Barrett, Aden said.

Barrett has said court is unlikely to outlaw abortion

Similar anti-abortion ads were placed in the South Bend Tribune at least 11 times from 1992 through 2019. Some spanned multiple pages and included anti-abortion images and language. Of those 11 ads, Barrett and her husband's names appeared only in 2006, according to an online search of the paper's archives.

A former member of the University of Notre Dames Faculty for Life, Barrett signed a 2015 letter to Catholic bishops that affirmed the teachings of the Church as truth. Among those teachings: 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.

In a 2013 speech at Notre Dame on the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Barrett said the ruling "essentially permitted abortion on demand." But she declared it "very unlikely" the Supreme Court ever would overturn its core protection of abortion rights, according to coverage of her remarks in university publications.

"The fundamental element, that the woman has a right to choose abortion, will probably stand," Barrett was quoted as saying in the student newspaper The Observer. "The controversy right now is about funding. It's a question of abortions will be publicly or privately funded."

Beyond abortion, liberals are most concerned about Barrett's impact on health care, specifically the Affordable Care Act. The law will come before the court again in November, with Texas leading a group of states seeking to strike it down. If confirmed by the Senate before Election Day, Barrett could be on the bench to hear that case a week later.

About 25 former classmates and law students roundly praised Barrett's legal mind and dismissed questions about whether her personal beliefs will affect her jurisprudence.

"Her personal beliefs will have no bearing, Raymond Tittmann, a California attorney who attended Notre Dame Law School with Barrett, said in an email.

But it's not unanimous.

"Judge Barrett is unfit for the U.S. Supreme Court  not because of her faith beliefs, which I share, but because of her mantle of being a so-called Constitutional originalist," Kathleen Ley Bruinsma, who also attended law school with Barrett, told USA TODAY in an email.

"This will be disastrous for women," Bruinsma said. "Those of us who attended law school with Judge Barrett know from her comments in class and her leadership of Notre Dames law students against abortion chapter that, if given the chance, she would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade."

Contributing: Richard Wolf, Christal Hayes

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amy Barrett signed anti-abortion letter alongside anti-Roe v. Wade ad
During September, the state of Yucatan took a giant step in its reopening of tourist activities, operations in congress and convention centers, and increased capacity in hotels and restaurants



(TRAVPR.COM) MEXICO - October 2nd, 2020 - The state of Yucatan entered the second phase of its tourism reactivation plan in September, successfully reopening cenotes and archeological sites, including Chichen Itza; most tourist activities and tours; and haciendas, hotels and restaurants, along with limited operation of its congress and conventions centers  all under strict compliance with new sanitary measures and regulations. All businesses must be certified with the Certificate of Good Sanitary Practices developed by the Ministry of Tourism of the state of Yucatan and undergo an on-site review of their facilities by the Yucatan Health Secretariat (SSY). The certification program was approved by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and its Safe Travels stamp effort.

To date, more than 1,200 companies and tourist sites in the state of Yucatan have registered to obtain the certification, with 400 already completing the process  after which they also obtain the WTTC Safe Travel stamp. Its recommended prospective visitors visit website Yucatan.travel/certificado-bupsy, where they can find in detail the activities and certified operators with whom they can plan their visit to Yucatan.

On Sept. 7, Mexicos National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) started to open archeological sites found across the state, including iconic Chichen Itza and Uxmal, at limited capacities. Yucatans meetings and conventions sector will start its reactivation, gradually and also with limited capacity, starting Oct. 12.

As part of the reactivation campaign, the Ministry of Tourism, which is headed by Michelle Fridman Hirsch, maintained active communication with heads of different local, national and international tourism entities to keep the destination top of mind as tourism beginning to reopen. A promotional campaign was launched, with destination presentations to wholesalers and retail travel agencies. In addition, a public relations campaign was maintained to continue the destinations position within the domestic Mexican market, while a U.S. and Canadian campaign aimed at communicating the steps of the reopening process, as well as the latest news from Yucatan, is planned.

One of the most important activities the Ministry took part in this year was the first-ever digital edition of Mexicos annual Tianguis Turistico travel trade confab. During the event, the state of Yucatan gave two keynote conferences, presented a new brand and website, and presented both its tourism offerings in its different geographic regions and its reactivation campaigns. The Yucatecan delegation, made up of 90 representatives, made 3,027 business appointments and an estimated 150 additional appointments after the Tianguis Turistico Digital. Three Yucatecan companies were winners of the "Recognition for the Diversification of the Mexican Tourism Product 2020" award granted by Mexicos Ministry of Tourism.

The Ministry of Tourism of Yucatan has also remained in permanent contact with airlines, supporting their promotional strategies in order to contribute to the recovery of destinations and flight frequencies. To the date, 108 of the 213 flights that operated last February, prior to the Covid-19 crisis, have been recovered, representing just over 50% of frequencies on domestic flights, and the recovery trend is expected to continue with more frequencies soon to be added in October. One of particular importance is the daily flight from Miami International Airport with American Airlines, which will once again connect the U.S. and Canada with Merida.

Merida International Airport is operating more than 100 weekly flights with different airlines that have placed their trust in the state, thanks to its work to remain a safe destination, and have decided to increase and re-incorporate routes and frequencies to Yucatan.

Interjet recently unveiled the new Merida-Tuxtla Gutierrez-Merida route with a weekly frequency. Volaris has increased its weekly flight frequency Mexico City-Merida from 14 to 16 flights. From Guadalajara-Merida, Volaris will increase from three to four while maintaining its frequencies with Monterrey (two flights) and Tijuana (two flights). Aeromexico raised the number of weekly flights from 33 to 40 from Mexico City to Merida, while VivaAerobus will increase its weekly frequencies from seven to 12 on its Mexico-Merida route and will increase one flight on its Monterrey Merida route, preserving its weekly flight frequencies Guadalajara-Merida (three flights), Veracruz-Merida (two flights) and Tuxtla-Merida (two flights).

For more information, visit https://www.enroutecommunications.com/state-of-yucatan-continues-tourism-reopening-with-high-standards-of-bio-security/

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A man who had been living in Mechanicsburg was the target of a search by multiple agencies on Thursday, as a part of an investigation into the sexual assault of a minor and the production of child pornography.

Investigators went to a home in the 700 block of Robert Street at 8:30 a.m., along with members of the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Department of Homeland Security and the Monongalia County Sheriffs Office out of West Virginia.

Ryan Banks, 36, was taken into custody and charged with being a fugitive from justice, according to Mechanicsburg police.

The warrant for Banks stemmed from an investigation out of West Virginia, which includes offenses like the use of minors in filming sexually explicit conduct, distribution of exhibition of sexually explicit material involving minors, strangulation, soliciting a minor through a computer and sexual assault of a person younger than 16, police said.

All charges were filed by Monongalia County Sheriffs Office, police said. Evidence was seized from the Mechancisburg home and is a part of the ongoing investigation.

Banks arraigned and put in Cumberland County jail on $250,000 bail.

Read more on PennLive:
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says he is certain Russian President Vladimir Putin was responsible for his poisoning in August, as he doesn't see "any other explanation."

In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel published Thursday, Navalny said he came to this conclusion after German military lab tests showed he was poisoned by the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok; labs in France and Sweden later confirmed these findings. He fell ill on Aug. 20 during a flight from Siberia to Moscow, and after being hospitalized in Russia, was transferred to a hospital in Berlin, where he spent some time in a medically induced coma.

Navalny said only the heads of Russia's intelligence services could order the use of Novichok, and those leaders "cannot make a decision like that without being instructed by Putin. They report to him. I assert that Putin was behind the crime ... I'm not saying this out of self-flattery, but based on the facts. The most important fact is Novichok."

Navalny suggested that he was poisoned because Putin is worried about demonstrations in the Khabarovsk region of Russia and the anti-government protests in Belarus, following a contested election. "The system is fighting for its survival and we've just felt the consequences," he said. The Kremlin denies Putin had anything to do with the poisoning, and his spokesman accused Navalny of working for the CIA.

Late last month, Navalny was released from the hospital, and he remains in Germany. His spokesman said Navalny's apartment in Moscow has been seized and his bank accounts frozen, but Navalny told Der Spiegel he will return to Russia. Otherwise, it would mean "that Putin has won and achieved his goal. ... I'm not afraid. I would not give Putin the gift of not returning to Russia."

More stories from theweek.com

Trump aides reportedly think he'll 'face a harsh judgment from voters' after COVID-19 diagnosis

Notre Dame president who attended Barrett event with Trump, Mike Lee, tests positive for COVID-19

Trump postpones all future campaign events


ALBANY  Another county resident died from the coronavirus and the county is experiencing an increase in cases likely tied to the resumption of school, Albany County officials said Friday.

The victim, a man in his 70s with underlying health issues, is the county's 135th known death from COVID-19. He was the 346th confirmed victim in the eight-county Capital Region.

At a morning briefing with reporters, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said the percentage of new cases tied to outbreaks at the University at Albany are dropping but county officials warned they were seeing a slight increase in cases potentially tied to cases that have emerged since local school districts opened their doors in September..

On Sept. 17, 84 percent of the county's new daily diagnoses were tied to the college. The following week, it dropped to 61 percent and it stood at just over 13 percent on Thursday, he said.

The surge in local coronavirus cases in August and early September was tied to social gathering among college students, a factor in the state's decision to implement caseload limits that could ultimately lead to an end to in-person classes at the university. SUNY Oneonta took that step after a large outbreak at the very beginning of the fall semester.

"The students had to learn, right?," McCoy said of the UAlbany situation. "Students came, got a little freedom and some of them didnt do the right thing so that number went up. Now, I think theyre getting it."

Still, County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said the county is starting to see "a little bit" of an uptick in cases. There were 28 new cases of the virus overnight, bringing the county's five-day average of new daily cases to 14.8. That number was 8.4 at the start of September.

The uptick is likely tied to the resumption of school. At least 15 school districts in the eight-county area have announced positive cases since in-person learning began again this fall. Seven of them have suspended in-person learning to allow for tracing, testing and cleaning.

Additionally, on Tuesday, the county warned that it had seen a 12.5 percent increase in positive cases among 10- to 19-year-olds over the past week, compared to a 5.1 percent increase in 20- to 29-year-olds  who fueled much of the county's cases over the summer.

"There was a concern that there would be a second surge of COVID in the fall," Whalen said. "I don't know whether what were seeing is constituting a surge but it is constituting a caution. So its important for people to know that COVID is still out there, there is still transmission in Albany County and people are still at risk."

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

Earlier: An Albany elementary's pre-k moves online after COVID-19 diagnosis

Third student tests positive for COVID-19 in East Greenbush

Hadley-Luzerne schools go all-virtual after sixth COVID-19 case

Queensbury closes two schools amid coronavirus cases

A number of test sites throughout the region offer testing for children, McCoy said. The state Department of Health has an online tool that lets you enter your address or ZIP code to find a test site near you.

County officials also reminded people to get their flu shot, which can help prevent flu or reduce the severity and duration of symptoms. Reducing the rate of flu in the region is important in the event there is another surge of COVID-19 cases and hospital beds are needed, Whalen said.
Chandigarh: A day after Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said Congress leader Rahul Gandhis tractor rally wont be allowed to enter the state, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh on Friday hit back, asking if a jungle raj" is prevailing there. Reacting sharply to the home ministers remarks, Amarinder Singh said it is a futile move to stifle the voice of an angry nation. He warned that such dictatorial steps would only strengthen the resolve of the Congress to fight for the rights of farmers.

Is there a jungle raj in Haryana that you can stop anyone, least of all a duly elected leader of a national political party, from entering the state or from raising his voice against the injustice being meted out to farmers, the chief minister asked the Haryana government in a statement. Coming on the heels of the assault and cases registered by the UP Police against Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and seen in the context of the earlier lathicharge by the Haryana Police against agitating farmers, it is clear that BJP governments were bent on suppressing the voice of the opposition in total violation of the democratic rights enshrined in the Constitution, he said.

The Punjab CM said the Congress will not be cowed down by such autocratic and undemocratic actions of the BJP-led governments, either at the Centre or in the states. If they think they can break the will of the Congress leadership or quell all opposition with such high-handedness, they are living in a fools paradise, the Punjab CM said.

History stands testimony to the fact that the voice of the people only gets stronger if it is sought to be crushed by force, he warned. Vij had on Thursday had said Rahul Gandhis proposed tractor rally wont be allowed to enter Haryana.

They will not be allowed to disturb Haryanas atmosphere. Earlier, two Congress-sponsored rallies were stopped from entering the state. Likewise, we will stop his rally and wont allow him enter Haryana," Vij had told reporters. Rahul Gandhi will hold tractor rallies in Punjab and Haryana from October 4-6 to protest against the contentious farm laws.

Rahul will start his Kisan Mazdoor Yatra on October 4 from Punjabs Moga. On October 6, this yatra will enter Haryana from the Pehowa border," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said in Kaithal on Friday. He said if the BJP-JJP government tried to stop him from entering Haryana, Congress workers will court arrest.

Meanwhile, Amarinder Singh flayed the obnoxious manner in which the BJP had been trying to browbeat the opposition and muffle its voice, first in Parliament over the farm bills and then on Thursday in UP where the Gandhis were forcibly stopped from meeting the distressed family of the victim of the shocking Hathras incident. Vijs statement showed that these acts were not arbitrary but a part of a grand design by the BJP to destroy all Opposition, the CM said.

But the BJP will not succeed. The people of India will not let them get away with this. They will once again be reduced to the two-odd seats in Parliament from where they had started their political journey, Amarinder Singh warned.

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
Advertisement

A macabre 5,000-year-old mass grave containing the remains of five beheaded people has been found in Russia.

Archaeologists suspect the ancient Odinov culture in Siberia were head cultists.

The burial at Ust-Tartas 2 site in Novosibirsk region contains three decapitated adults and two teenagers, said Professor Vyacheslav Molodin.

Their heads are believed to have been severed after death  and then kept for worship.

The burial site in Novosibirsk region contained three adults and two teenagers in a stacked fashion

'Odinov people definitely had a head or skull cult,' said the archaeologist.

'It is a characteristic feature of this culture that they had graves with cut off heads.

'They were perhaps put into a sanctuary, or buried separately in a different way.'

In another grave on the same site, an astonishing figurine has been found on the shoulder of an ancient woman who was laid to rest with her head on a man's abdomen.

The mass burial of people from were of the ancient Odinov culture in Vengerovsky district of Novosibirsk, a city in Siberia, southern Russia

This was a tiered grave that had two more people buried beneath a loving couple facing each other

The skeletons of the ancient presumed lovers were cocooned together under a birch bark blanket for five millennia, but in this case their heads were not severed.

The man lay on his back, she on her front, facing him in a timeless embrace.

Perched on the female's shoulder was a palm-sized clay figurine with a tattooed face.

Bronze Age statuette with a tattooed face was found on the shoulder of the buried ancient woman. It features a deep recess down its centre

Dr Molodin called the Bronze Age figurine discovery the 'most astonishing find' of the summer archaeological season this year

The red circle indicates the palm-sized statue that accompanied the ancient woman to the grave, with its head removed from its body

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE ODINOV CULTURE? They take their name from the Odino settlement in the basin of the Ishim river, in Western Siberia. The Odinov people lived during the Bronze Age, likely between the 18th to 16th centuries BC and were hunters. They inhabited an island surrounded by a foreststeppe environment. Odinov settlements were built on terraces alongside rivers and creeks. It is believe that the Odinov culture was derived from Eneolithic forest- steppe cultures in the Ishim area of what is modern-day Russia. Advertisement

It has a mask made of bone  horse vertebrae  decorated with what appears to be an image of a bear's muzzle, say scientists.

Inside the grave it had been placed on its front and had its head broken off.

It was then turned upside down so that it 'looked up' towards its owner in a bizarre ritual  something 'yet unseen' by Novosibirsk archaeologists.

One side of the the middle of the statuette also has a long narrow hole, which had a bronze plate and also some organic substance inside it.

Chemical tests are needed to establish more about what was placed inside that opening.

Dr Molodin said the discovery was unique.

'We've never come across anything like this, despite our extensive knowledge of the Odinov culture's burial rites,' he said to the Siberian Times.

'The woman must have been an unusual person to have such a figurine "escorting" her to the afterlife.'

Dr Molodin, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), called the Bronze Age figurine discovery the 'most astonishing find' of the summer archaeological season.

While the Odinov cattle-breeding people were Mongoloids, the face of the figurine 'has obviously Caucasian features' with 'big eyes and a snub nose', he said.

This was a tiered grave that had two more people buried beneath the loving couple that were facing each other.

It's possible the palm-sized figurine was hoped to escort the 'unusual' woman to the afterlife. It had its head broken off so it looked up at its owner in a bizarre ritual

Two more people were buried underneath the man and the woman in the tiered grave, the Siberian Times reports. (Pictured, fragments from the site)
Job Title: Warehouse Officer

Organization: International

Rescue Committee

Duty Station:

Uganda

Reports to: Supply Chain Manager

About US:

The International

Rescue Committee helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by

conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. It

was created by Albert Einstein more than 80 years and has been working in

Uganda since 1998. It has particularly working in the conflict zones where tens

of thousands of people have been kills and over 1.6 million displaced.

Following a peace agreement in 2006, Ugandans are returning home and looking to

rebuild their lives. The IRC is there to protect women and children from

violence and exploitation by fostering a safe environment and encouraging education,

and is supporting farmers and small businesses, and helping communities promote

peace and long-term development.

Job Summary: IRC has two pharmaceutical and one

no-pharmaceutical warehouse to support program operations in Yumbe. The

Warehouse Officer is a vital part of the supply chain process and team. He/She

oversees the efficient receipt, storage, and dispatch of a wide range of goods

including food, clothing, healthcare products, manufactured Goods, household

items to support projects and programs. The Officer supervises warehouse staff,

processes, and systems to ensure high level of productivity and accountability.

The Warehouse Officer must ensure total compliance to policies and procedures

of IRC and various Donors.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Warehouse security.



Ensure

that all doors are doubly locked, windows have security steel grills,

attractive and valuable items are well secured, security Guards and lights are

always operational, control access into the warehouse.

Safety and First

Aid



Report

all warehouse incidences, ensure materials are properly handled, First Aid kits

are fully stocked, monitor functionality, and serve schedule of fire

extinguishers, ensure staff use personal protective equipment in the warehouse.

Organization and storage



Ensure

items are raised off the ground, safely stack materials in warehouse, proper

access to materials, easy location of materials when needed for picking and

stock taking, shelve and organize materials according to IRC standards and best

practices.

Storage Conditions



Store

heavy or liquid items on bottom Shelves and light items on top Shelves, heat

sensitive items must be stored away from windows, cold chain items sored in

refrigerators or freezers to maintain required temperature, monitor

temperatures and expirations for medical items, store valuable items securely

and away from entrances, maintain very clean warehouse environment both inside

and outside.

FiFo/FeFo



Comply

with policy of First in First Out (FIFO) and First Expiry First Out (FEFO) and

minimize the level of expiries in the medical warehouse.

Documentation and

Record keeping



Maintain

an updated and complete warehouse records, Quantities received, stored and

dispatched must match with records, Bin cards and stock cards are fully

completed and updated, materials are in good condition and correctly stored,

maintain a good record of item deliveries and issues.

Inventory reporting



Prepare

accurate and timely weekly and monthly reports, maintain an updated Pharma

Inventory Tool (PIT), Purchased inventory and Commodities in Kind (CIK)

reports. With help of Supervisor, take lead in organizing 20% bimonthly and end

of year complete stock counts and prepare the corresponding reports.

Data

management/Filing



Maintain

clear record of warehouse register, warehouse inspection reports, spot checks

reports, discrepancy reports, disposal documentation/reports, delivery reports,

waybills, store releases, stock cards, etc.

Training and

compliance



Ensure

total compliance to warehouse policies and standard operating procedures

(SOPs), Understand the SOPs and train staff in warehouse systems, comply with

IRC and Donor policies in management of warehouse inventory.

Discrepancy control



Ensure

that correct items are always counted, and right entries made, check documents

for mathematical errors, store all items in the warehouse, address and report

all cases of discrepancies

Other assignments



Work

closely with Supervisor, supply chain team to complete any other assignments

given.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:



The applicant

for the International Rescue Committee Warehouse Officer job must hold a Bachelors

degree in procurement and supply chain, procurement and logistics, transport

and logistics or an equivalent.



At least

five years experience in supply chain, logistics with three years experience

in warehouse management systems.



Experience

in medical warehouse systems is an added advantage.



Membership

of professional bodies such as CILT, CIPS, UPPA is an advantage.



Very

good leadership and team skills.



Be able

to work in a humanitarian environment, hardworking, and very flexible.



Good

communication and supply chain training skills.



Very

good field experience with any INGO having massive operations in Uganda



Can work

under pressure with minimum supervision.



Result-oriented.

How to Apply:

All suitably

qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to apply online at the link

below.

Click

Here

For more of the

latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline






AUSTIN, TX  The celebrated Mediterranean restaurant Aba opened its doors on Thursday, marking the company's first expansion from its Chicago base.

The opening also marks the first restaurant opening for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE) in Texas. Hebrew for father, the restaurant pays homage to Chef Partner CJ Jacobsons culinary roots in California with a lighter style of cooking that draws inspiration for its cuisine from Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece, officials described in an advisory.

The Aba Austin kitchen will be helmed by Austin-based Executive Chef Nick Erven. Austin diners now will be able to try the restaurant's full menu  including signature dishes such as Crispy Short Rib Hummus, Muhammara, Tamarind Braised Short Rib, Shawarma Spiced Skirt Steak and Orange Blossom Creme Brulee Pie. The beverage delights at Aba Austin are crafted by Lead Mixologist Liz Pearce and will showcase cocktails with Mediterranean-inspired spirits and Middle Eastern ingredients. Favorites include the Frozen Pina Express, Aloe, Its Me and Green Harissa Bloody Mary. The wine list, curated by Sommelier Alex Augustine, features rare finds along with traditional old and new world selections.

Previous coverage: Acclaimed Mediterranean Restaurant Aba Coming To Austin

The indoor dining room at Aba has seating for up to 86 guests, officials said, while the multi-level outdoor patio and terrace accommodates up to 130 and lives under a canopy of a 100+-year-old native Heritage Oak adorned with glass and metal lanterns from Morocco and the Middle East.

Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, health and safety are a top priority for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, and Aba is following local guidelines and implementing new standards which you can also find on the website.

Both dine-in and carry-out options are available daily. Reservations are open now at abarestaurants.com/austin/. Aba is open for dinner Monday through Friday and brunch and dinner Saturday and Sunday at the following times listed below.

Story continues

WHEN: Opening Thursday, October 1, beginning at 4 p.m.

Hours of operation:

Dinner

Monday  Friday: 4 p.m.  11 p.m.

Saturday: 3 p.m.  11 p.m.

Sunday: 3 p.m.  9 p.m.

Brunch

Saturday & Sunday: 10 a.m.  3 p.m.

Bar & Patio

Monday  Thursday: 4 p.m.  11 p.m.

Friday: 4 p.m.  midnight

Saturday: 10 a.m.  midnight

Sunday: 10 a.m.  9 p.m.

WHERE: Aba

1011 S Congress Ave.

Building 2, Suite 180

Austin, TX 78704

For more information or to make a reservation, visit the Aba Restaurant website. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises is also still currently hiring for a few positions at Aba Austin. To apply, click here. Be sure to follow along on Abas Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

About Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. (LEYE)



Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. (LEYE) is an independent, family-owned restaurant group based in Chicago that owns, manages and licenses more than 130 establishments in Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland, Nevada, California, Virginia and Washington D.C. We were founded in June 1971 by Richard Melman and Jerry A. Orzoff with the opening of R.J. Grunts and today, thanks to the creativity of our partners, we proudly service guests at more than 60 concepts ranging from fast casual restaurants like M Burger to fine dining, Michelin-starred establishment, Everest.

This article originally appeared on the Austin Patch
Google introduced new AI tool called Hold for Me in the United States for the owners of Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a on Thursday, October 1. The new AI tool would take over as an automatic secretary when put on hold with a call centre.

The feature would enable the user to leave the phone on hold and carry on with other activities while the AI secretary would wait on the call and send out a notification to the user once connected to a person on the other side. In the meantime, Googles assistant will ask the call centre to hold and hopefully prevent them from disconnecting the call.

Read - Google Pixel 5: Get To Know Latest Device Specifications And Availability

Say goodbye to hold music.  With Hold for Me, a new feature coming to Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a (5G) in the U.S. as a preview, Google Assistant can wait on the line for you, while you spend your time doing anything else  https://t.co/n5tG8Fb83w pic.twitter.com/LBvfa4nrce  Google (@Google) October 1, 2020

Googles Andrew Goodman and Joseph Cherukara have said that every business hold loop has simple but different algorithms. Thus, it cannot be accurately detected when the customer support representative comes on call. Elaborating that Hold for Me is powered by Googles Duplex technology, the officials said that the AI assistant will not only recognise the hold music but also the difference between a recorded message and a representative online.

Read - Google Unveils Latest Pixel Phone, Rolls Out New TV Service

Limitations with Hold for Me

However, despite the benefits, there are some limitations to the initial rollout of the feature. It is only available on the Pixel 5 phones which reportedly has a production run of 800,000 units and Google has not yet declared any future plans with the service being introduced for other devices. Moreover, it is only available in the United States toll-free numbers.

The Hold for Me feature is derived by sometimes controversial Googles Duplex technology that the company has used to offer more and more telephone-based automation to be user-friendly. From scheduling appointments to make reservations at a restaurant, the technology was launched two years ago with the AI assistant making the phone call.

Read - Google's Dachshund Bobblehead Doodle Goes Viral; Twitter User Says He Can't Stop Watching

Read - Google And Paytm News: Paytm's Cashback Feature Back On App For IPL 2020


According to the law, witch-hunting is viewed as a cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offence.

Guwahati: In yet another incident of witch hunting, a woman was lynched by her neighbours and villagers on suspicion of practicing witchcraft in central Assams Karbi Anglong district. In addition, a man who confronted the villagers over their belief was also lynched.

Police said that they have already arrested nine persons but six other accused involved in the incident on Wednesday night are still at large.

Asserting that efforts are on to nab six others too, police said that incident took place in Rohimapur area under the Dokmoka police station of Karbi Anglong district. Villagers said that on Wednesday, at a post-death ritual for a deceased in the village, another woman -- a 50-year-old widow Ramawati Halua -- started to behave in an abnormal way to which the villagers alleged that she was practicing witchcraft.

Pointing out that most of the villagers also held the woman responsible for recent deaths and spread of diseases, police said that a mob started beating her and attacked her with sharp weapons. When a 28-year-old educated young man of the village, Bijoy Gaur, accused them of being superstitious, he was attacked too. The angry mob lynched both of them to death, offered rituals to the local deity and tried to cremate the bodies in a nearby hill.

Karbi Anglongs Superintendent of Police Debojit Deori said that they came to know about the incident on Thursday morning as it happened on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. We went to the spot and collected mortal remains of the victims. We have also seized the sharp weapons used for the crime and have arrested nine people so far, he said. It was under the Dokmoka police station jurisdiction that two young men were beaten to death by an angry mob in 2018 after it suspected them of being child-lifters.

It is significant that there have been many attempts to check incident of witch hunting, a social evil that has plagued parts of the state for decades. In 2001, Assam police had introduced Project Prahari, a community project by the police against killing of women after branding them as witches.

According to official records, till December 2019, a total of 107 persons have been killed in witch-hunting incidents in the state since 2011. The Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act, which implements stringent punishment and fine for branding and killing people after branding them as witches, is in effect in the state since 2018.

According to the law, witch-hunting is viewed as a cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offence. It was passed by Assam Assembly in 2015 with provisions of jail term up to life imprisonment.




Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Nak-yon, left, listens to supportive remarks from Park Hong-bae, then-head of the Korean Financial Industry Union (KFIU), at the National Assembly, April 2. Korea Times file
Mas familias contaran con agua saludable en sus hogares. Desde #Arequipa, el presidente @MartinVizcarraC y el ministro de @viviendaperu participan en el inicio de la ampliacion y mejoramiento del sistema de agua potable y alcantarillado de Corire.

En vivo: https://t.co/gaoNGlfTd5
CHOCHO SAINA

Whenever we teach something - whether formally in a school setting or workplace, or informally at home in the kitchen or garden - we learn wha Read more
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Artsakh has issued a statement over the involvement by Azerbaijan and Turkey of foreign fighters and mercenaries in the aggression against Artsakh, the MFA told Armenpress.

The statement reads:

Reports on the involvement by Azerbaijan of foreign fighters and mercenaries affiliated with various terrorist and extremist organizations in the aggression against the Republic of Artsakh are receiving documentary evidence. According to numerous reports, including from various independent sources, Turkey has recruited several thousand foreign fighters and mercenaries in Middle East countries and through its territory has been transferring them to Azerbaijan for direct participation in hostilities against the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia. Some of them have already taken part in the battles against the Artsakh Defence Army and suffered losses.

The methods used by Azerbaijan and Turkey that are inherent to rogue countries, pose a serious security threat not only to the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia, but also to all countries of the region and the international order as a whole. We recall that during the war of 1991-1994, Azerbaijan also resorted to the help of foreign fighters and mercenaries. However, this did not help Azerbaijan to avoid a military defeat. Involvement of foreign fighters and mercenaries in the conflict zone was the main factor that contributed to the transformation of Azerbaijan in the mid and late 1990s into a transit country for smuggling of drugs to Russia and Europe, as well as a transit point for terrorists, where the organization and financing of their terrorist activities was carried out. In order to avoid a repetition of such a scenario, the international community must take decisive steps right now.

In this regard, it should be noted that the use, recruitment, financing, protection and training of foreign fighters and mercenaries is prohibited by numerous international legal norms, which are binding, including for Azerbaijan and Turkey. Moreover, realizing the importance of collective fight against the activities of foreign fighters and mercenaries, the international community obliges states to prevent and suppress such practices.

Neglecting the elementary rules of international co-existence, deliberately and systematically violating their own commitments, pursuing a criminal line in their foreign policy, Azerbaijan and Turkey not only openly oppose themselves to the world community, but also directly threaten its security.

We emphasize that in the current situation, when the calls of the international community for peace are not only rejected, but also subjected to harsh criticism from the political leadership of both Turkey and Azerbaijan, the shortest path to restoring peace and stability in the region is the international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh.
Syracuse, NY -- The fate of roughly 700 lawsuits and other civil cases in Central New York is up in the air after the court system abruptly announced that two local judges will be let go in January 2021.

Veteran state Supreme Court Justices Anthony Paris, in Onondaga County, and Norman Seiter Jr., in Oswego County, wont be returning to the bench as planned next year, local Chief Administrative Judge James P. Murphy confirmed to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.

Paris and Seiter each have full dockets of civil cases, handling roughly 300 to 350 each, Murphy said.

Its very unprecedented, Murphy said of the cuts. Were losing two pillars of our judicial district. I think it came as a great shock to them. Thats not something we would normally do, absent the pandemic.

The judges are being let go as part of a plan to slash 46 judicial spots statewide. Thatll save the state $55 million over two years, Murphy said.

Each judge makes roughly $200,000 a year. Even so, their departures wont fill the court systems $300 million deficit after the states cuts due to the budget crisis that began with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Though both judges were elected, the court system had the power to cut them because they are under senior status, meaning they are older than the mandatory retirement age of 70. To stay on as judge after that point requires a special court waiver, reissued every two years.

The court system decided to let go nearly all of the judges statewide that had been allowed to stay past age 70. Pariss 14-year term wasnt due to end until 2027; Seiters term doesnt end for another decade.

Both judges were working as extra help in the district; once they reached 70, their original seats on the bench had been filled by newcomers.

Still, by their nature, they were some of the most experienced judges on the bench and were both working full-time, Murphy said. Paris has been a judge since 2000; Seiter since 2004.

The judicial cuts come amid a hard hiring freeze across the system and the suspension of all non-essential spending, Murphy said. The hope is that other court staff wont have to be cut, Murphy said.

The vast majority of annual court expenses are salaries; judges obviously make more than other employees.

Its very sad news for our district, as well as everybody in the state, the chief judge added. It just underscores the seriousness of the budget right now.

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
PANAMA CITY - A commission in Panama charged with identifying the remains of some victims of the 1989 U.S. invasion of the country said Friday it is in danger of running out of funding.

The effort that began with exhumations in January has lifted the hopes of Panamanians who had relatives die or disappear and have lived with unanswered questions about their fate for 30 years.

Jose Luis Sosa, the executive secretary of the December 20 commission, said the group is X-raying and extracting DNA samples from about 33 remains. But Sosa said the work could be interrupted when funds run out in November. About 514 Panamanian soldiers and civilians were killed in the invasion, as well as 23 U.S. troops. Human rights groups believe the number of Panamanian dead could be higher.

There is no sense in having the commission open if it is not able to perform its functions, and that is the situation we face, said Sosa. Plans for further exhumations could also be put on hold.

Authorities gave the approval for exhumation of the bodies after a truth commission in 2016 documented about 20 disappearances due to the U.S. military action to topple strongman Manuel Noriega.

The daughter of a lieutenant in Noriegas military said the family still has no answers about a coffin that they contend was mistakenly identified as containing his remains.

I am in tears, because I cant believe this is happening, said Brenda Bethancourt, 60, daughter of Braulio Bethancort. Every time we get near the end, something comes up..

DNA testing is expected to take months.
Former Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan has said the documentary 'Unquiet Graves' - broadcast recently on RTE - was based on dubious testimony of a convicted murder and asked what due diligence the broadcaster made before it was aired.

Mr Flanagan said he did not believe the documentary was objective, fair minded and balanced and questioned if RTE bosses were aware of how it was funded.

He has written to RTE director of programming outlining his concerns over the decision to show the documentary, which alleges how the so-called loyalist Glenanne Gang murdered 120 civilians in Armagh and how the British Government colluded with it.

The documentary features evidence from John Weir, a self-confessed member of the terror group.

The film was made by Sean Murray, son of former IRA prisoner Sean 'Spike' Murray, who is still an influential republican in Belfast.

The film was broadcast on RTE last month, attracting an average 213,000 viewers.

Mr Flanagan said the documentary was too reliant on the testimony of Weir.

Essentially this is a programme, quite a shocking programme actually, outlining some of the most horrific acts of the Troubles in the 1970s that were perpetrated in what was known as the murder triangle, Mr Flanagan told Newstalk.

But it seemed to me that the essence of the programme was based on the testimony, an affidavit, of a guy called John Weir who himself was a convicted murderer, a criminal, who had motives that to my mind were somewhat dubious.

That is the basis of the programme and I am concerned that it should have been based just on the testimony of one character who has been outside this jurisdiction for quite some time but whose evidence to my mind is fundamentally questionable.

He added: I am concerned that RTE showed the programme without what I felt was due diligence and I want that question answered in so far as what background checks were undertaken by RTE in the form of due diligence?

My third concern is the matter of the cost. I am not an expert in film production but I did make some enquiries and these enquiries resulted in my being told that this film could have cost up to 400,000 to produce and make and I am wondering what due diligence RTE did in order to follow the money.

Mr Flanagan said he was awaiting a response from RTE and he is yet to make a complaint through the Broadcasting Authority.

The producers of the film have said it was privately funded and that no political party made any contribution.

Mr Flanagan said: I was a solicitor before I entered politics. If somebody came into my office with a bag of money and said I, want to buy a house, the issue would not so much be the purchase of the house, the issue would be the money and where the money came from.

I do believe that RTE, being the national broadcaster that are and with their obligations from a public service point of view, had a duty.

Several members of the Glennnane Gang were serving members of the RUC and security services at the time.

The documentary includes shocking claims by Weir, a former RUC officer, who said the British military initiated plans for a massacre at a Catholic Primary School in Co Armagh in the 1970s.

Weir claimed the plot was intended as a retaliation for the Kingsmill massacre of 1976 in which 10 Protestant workmen were shot dead by the IRA.

Mr Weir said the plot came from military intelligence to make the Troubles spiral out of control but that it was ultimately a step too far for the UVFs Belfast leadership.

An RTE spokesperson said the documentary was subject to editorial review within RTE prior to broadcast, including by its Editorial Standards Board.

"The programme draws on a number of sources, including an interview with John Weir. Mr. Weir's evidence has previously been assessed by An Garda Siochana and Mr Justice Barron, among others. Their assessment of his evidence is included in Mr Justice Barron's report to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Womens Right in December 2003.

"RTE has no oversight of production budgets on acquired programmes, as our engagement with producers and/or distributors begins when the programme has already been completed. RTE acquires these productions on the basis of an editorial judgement and their suitability for transmission."

Filmmaker Sean Murray told the Belfast Telegraph he will be seeking a meeting with Mr Flanagan after his comments.

He said: "Mr. Flanagan appears not to have viewed the film (although he features in it himself during an attendance at a Dublin/Monaghan bombings commemoration).

"If he had done, he would have seen testimony from, amongst others, former London Metropolitan Detective Steve Morris of the Historical Enquiries Team.

"Strangely, Mr Flanagan did not mention the Dublin/Monaghan bombings although they resulted in the greatest single loss of life, 34, in any one-day during the conflict in the jurisdiction in which he is a public representative.

"We are bemused that he claims the 'chief narrator' is a 'self-acknowledged' member of the IRA. The narrator of 'Unquiet Graves' is the Oscar-nominated actor Stephen Rea who has never faced any charges whatsoever linked to the conflict.

"Mr Flanagan claims that the evidence given in the film by former RUC Sergeant John Weir is 'seriously questionable'. This contradicts the Garda view as expressed to the Barron Inquiry into the Dublin/Monaghan bombings which has twice been endorsed by Oireachtas joint committees.

"At no point in the film does anyone claim that all RUC officers were involved in collusion. On the contrary, it credits Det. Sgt. Gerry McCann of the RUC who was amongst the first to suspect collusion.

"The film has the support of the Glenanne families. Mr. Flanagan appears to challenges the right of victims to tell their own story in whatever way they find appropriate. He has no right to censor or restrict how victims recount their own experiences."
The Trump administration proposed Thursday to further slash the country's refugee program, a move that would bring the refugee population to an all-time low.



The announcement to reduce how many refugees will be admitted into the United States during the new fiscal year, which started Thursday, was posted near midnight Wednesday by the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.



In the notice, officials said the administration would allow 15,000 refugees to enter the United States during fiscal year 2020-2021, an almost 17 per cent reduction from last year's 18,000 refugee cap, and an 82 per cent cut since Trump took office. Before the president's proposal becomes official, it needs to be approved by Congress.



The Miami Herald obtained the 31-page proposal, which has yet to be made public.

"Given the dire situation of nearly 80 million displaced people around the world, the mission of American diplomacy is more important than ever," the State Department said in its announcement. "The President's proposal ... reflects the administration's continuing commitment to prioritize the safety and well-being of Americans, especially in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic."



It continued: "The President's proposal ... reaffirms America's enduring commitment to assist the world's most vulnerable people while fulfilling our first duty to protect and serve the American people."



Trump's last-minute proposal before the October 1 deadline to submit the new refugee cap has parallels to last year's announcement, which was also made shortly before the fiscal year began on October 1 after weeks of silence on the subject by the administration. Trump announced then that he would slash the Refugee Resettlement program cap from 30,000 to 18,000, making it the third consecutive year that the administration trimmed the program.



During President Barack Obama's final year in office, the cap was at 85,000.



The current cap of 15,000 is a historic low for the program, which was launched in 1980.



The president's office said that further cuts to the refugee program will help alleviate the "massive" 1.1 million asylum-request backlog that has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that the government must prioritize "those who are already in the country seeking humanitarian protection."



Citing the health crisis, the Trump administration temporarily suspended refugee admissions into the US from March 18 until July 29.



Despite last fiscal year's low target of 18,000, the administration attained only about 65 per cent of allotted admissions - resettling only 11,814 refugees this fiscal year, according to the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a resettlement agency that has helped hundreds of thousands of refugees with aid since 1939.



The record-low admissions figures have also disproportionately impacted certain groups. Admissions of Muslim refugees have declined to just 2,503, down from approximately 38,900 in 2016 and approximately 4,900 in 2019, federal data shows.



Additionally, last fiscal year the Trump administration set aside 4,000 slots for Iraqi allies who assisted US interests in their home country. However, it fell drastically short, resettling only 123 individuals in this category, or just 3 per cent of the admissions goal.



"At a time of unprecedented global need, today's decision to further cut the refugee admissions ceiling is a complete abdication of our humanitarian and moral duty," said Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, who leads the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.



During fiscal year 2019-20, Texas, Washington, New York and California resettled roughly a quarter of all refugees, taking in nearly 8,100 refugees, according to the Pew Research Center.



Since 2002, California has resettled the most refugees (about 108,600), followed by Texas (88,300), New York (58,500) and Florida (48,700).



In the proposal, the Trump administration says that "by focusing on ending the conflicts that drive displacement in the first place, and by providing overseas humanitarian assistance to protect and assist displaced people, we can prevent the destabilizing effects of such displacement on affected countries and their neighbors."



"The United States seeks to enable the safe and voluntary return of refugees to their home countries - the solution that most refugees prefer," the report says. "Therefore, we pursue diplomatic solutions to crises around the world, such as our support for the legitimate government of Venezuela in the face of the illegitimate Maduro regime's tyranny."



This year's proposed refugee resettlement program has specific allocations for people who have suffered or fear persecution on the basis of religion; for Iraqis whose assistance to the US has put them in danger; for refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras; and for refugees from Hong Kong, Cuba, and Venezuela.



In the report, Venezuelan refugees - along with refugees from Australia, Nauru, Hong Kong and Cuba - are given a shared allotment of 5,000 admissions. Refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras were given a shared allotment of 1,000 admissions.



Displaced Iraqis, including refugees from, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Lebanon, were given a 4,000 shared allotment, while 5,000 spots are earmarked for "refugees who have been persecuted or have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of religion."

Source: Graphic.com.gh









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Get well messages for U.S. President Donald Trump poured in from foreign capitals on Friday after he and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus, but some had little sympathy for a leader whose response to the pandemic has been widely criticised.

Trump, who might be voted out of office on Nov. 3, denies accusations that he downplayed the severity of the outbreak as the world's most powerful nation also became the worst hit, accounting for around 20% of a global death toll that crossed a million this week.

Most diplomatic responses to news that Trump, 74, and his wife Melania had tested positive for COVID-19 observed the niceties, while governments everywhere assessed how it might impact the outcome of next month's U.S. election.

"COVID-19 is a battle we all continue to fight. Everyday. No matter where we live," European Council President Charles Michel said in a tweet, wishing America's First Couple a speedy recovery.

But disappointed by Washington's leadership during the global health crisis, some messages were laced with stinging barbs.

"This demonstrates that the virus spares no one, including those who have shown scepticism. I wish him a swift recovery," said Gabriel Attal, spokesman for the French government.

If one of the United States most important NATO allies sounded somewhat terse, there was no hiding the bitter satisfaction evident in China's state-controlled media following news that their country's chief antagonist had joined the COVID sick list.

"President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19," tweeted Hu Xijin, editor in chief of China's Global Times newspaper.

"The news shows the severity of the USs pandemic situation. It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection."

Barely two weeks ago, Trump had told the U.N. General Assembly that China, where the virus first emerged late last year, should be held accountable for unleashing "this plague on the world".

But it was just two days ago, during the acrimonious presidential debate that Democratic rival Joe Biden excoriated Trump for his handling of the crisis at home.

Having assured Americans in January that threat looming threat of the disease spreading out of China was "totally under control, and told them in February, that the virus would disappear one day "like a miracle", Trump tested their credulity in April by suggesting the possibility that disinfectant could be injected to clean out the virus.

The China Daily, the country's official English language newspaper, piled on:

"Since it emerged earlier this year, Trump, the White House and his campaign have played down the threat and refused to abide by basic public health guidelines  including those issued by his own administration  such as wearing masks in public and practicing social distancing. Instead, Trump has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of supporters. The virus has killed more than 200,000 Americans and infected more than 7 million nationwide."

Warmth and concern for Trump was more plentiful in Israel and Taiwan, two governments that treasure their friendship with the United States.

"Like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted, referring to his wife.

"The government & people of Taiwan stand with the U.S. at this testing time," Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

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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More than 1,400 students at four CapitaLand Hope Schools received gifts and bursary during the Mid-Autumn Festival

This is the fifth year CapitaLand has held the CapitaLand Volunteer Day at schools where the company has supported the construction and renovation in Vietnam.

More than 40 staff volunteers took part in the activities involving handing out schoolbags to students at CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten (Hung Yen province), CapitaLand Tan Tay Hope Kindergarten (Long An province), CapitaLand Quang Yen Primary Hope School (Phu Tho province), and CapitaLand Thanh Phuoc Primary Hope School (Long An province) from September 28 to October 1.

Students also received mooncakes and lanterns funded by CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF) to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In addition, 173 fifth-graders were granted bursaries to help them prepare for their next level of studies after completing the final year at primary school.

Students also received mooncakes and lanterns to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival at schools.

According to Le Thi Dieu Linh, a fifth grader at CapitaLand Quang Yen Primary Hope School, this bursary will push her to try even harder in her studies.

I promise to do my best to study well and bring joy not only to my family but also my school, said Linh.

Ho Hai Yen, principal of CapitaLand Quang Yen Primary Hope School said: On behalf of the school, the teachers, and students, we would like to express our sincere thanks to the organisations that have supported us in meeting the educational needs of the students.

Ronald Tay, CEO of CapitaLand Vietnam said: We are pleased to organise CapitaLand Volunteer Day each year to provide underprivileged children and teachers living in rural communities with a better environment to learn and teach. This is in line with our credo of Building People. Building Communities. where we believe that a better opportunity will help boost the childrens desire to learn and their confidence to reach their full potential. Our aim is for CapitaLand Vietnam to not just be a commercial success but also a socially responsible organisation.

Representatives of CapitaLand delivered the bursary to the family of a fifth-grader at CapitaLand Thanh Phuoc Primary Hope School on September 28

CapitaLand has built and renovated four CapitaLand Hope Schools in Vietnam, as well as granted bursary, offered teaching and learning tools to teachers and students over the past years. In addition, the company organises regular visits, bringing local and international CapitaLand employees to schools for doing volunteer work and interacting with students.

Earlier this year, CapitaLand, together with CHF, donated SARS-CoV-2 test kits capable of performing 40,000 tests, valued at $1 million to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and Vietnam Ministry of Health to support the community in its efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The programme was followed by the CSR efforts in collaboration with the Vietnam Red Cross Society to donate COVID-19 care kits to more than 1,400 students at four CapitaLand Hope Schools in Vietnam. Each care kit contained antimicrobial fabric masks, liquid hand soap, hand sanitiser, and a packet of milk. The Vietnam Red Cross Society also taught the students personal hygiene tips to protect their own health.
Around 30 Gujarat Congress workers along with state party chief Amit Chavda were detained here on Friday for holding a protest without permission over various issues, including the new farm laws, police said.

The protest, led by Chavda, was held outside the district collectorate against the BJP governments at the Centre and the state.

Apart from opposing the newly-enacted farm laws, the protesters also sought complete fee waiver for all school and college students in the state in view of the pandemic.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Vijay Patel said, "We detained around 30 Congress workers and Chavda for holding the protest without permission. They did not even maintain social distancing during the protest. They will be released later."

Before his detention, Chavda accused the Gujarat government of suppressing people's voice.

"Since schools and colleges are shut, we want the government to waive 100 per cent fees of all the students. We are also protesting peacefully against the anti-farmer laws enacted by the Parliament," he told reporters.

"But the BJP government is acting like the erstwhile British rulers by not allowing us to raise issues concerning farmers and middle class people," he added.

The state government has recently asked the private schools to take a 25 per cent cut in the annual fees.

The Congress, however, wants 100 per cent waiver in school fees this year.
This is our pivot point, the webpage states. The point where we take our angst, fear, anger and disbelief and we funnel it into action. The only way we change anything is by organizing and building this into something sustainable and powerful that forces the change we want. This is our pivot point from noise  to action  to change.
Ricardo Brazziell, Photojournalist / Ricardo B. Brazziell

A day after Governor Greg Abbott's order to designate only one mail-in ballot location per county for voters, voting rights groups made an urgent bid to block his order, asking a federal judge in Austin to overturn Abbott's declaration.

Abbott's unprecedented move drew backlash from the voting rights advocates across Texas, including the Texas and National Leagues of United Latin American Citizens, the League of Women Voters of Texas, according to The Texas Tribune's Emma Platoff.
Faced with negative attacks, candidates feel compelled to use a tit-for-tat strategy, which can spiral out of control. In one study, for example, when we showed people competing 30-second political television ads, their response when one candidate was in attack mode and the other stayed positive was to favor the aggressive candidate. (The sample included attacks both on policy  on issues including crime and unemployment  and personal competence.) Candidates sense this intuitively, so when they are attacked, they go on the attack themselves. The need to avoid appearing weak is very real. That helps explain why Biden, who tried at first to remain aloof from Trumps salvos, ended up calling him a clown. That primal psychological response of partisans to a perceived in-group threat makes it almost inevitable that the next presidential debate will pick up where the first one left off.
New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday (October 2) visited the Atal Tunnel, Rohtang along with Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur and reviewed the preparations for the inaugural function on October 3.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh at 10 am on Saturday. The tunnel, which is the longest highway tunnel in the world, will reduces the road distance by 46 kms between Manali and Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hrs, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

Prior to leaving Manali, the Defence Minister took to social media and said, "Leaving for Manali on a two-day visit to Himachal Pradesh. I shall visit the @DRDO_Indias Snow & Avalanche Study establishment, interact with troops and review the preparations at the Atal Tunnel, Rohtang today. PM Shri @narendramodi will inaugurate the Atal Tunnel tomorrow."

Rajnath Singh was received by Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur in Manali. Besides reviewing the preparations at Atal Tunnel, Rohtang today, the Defence Minister also visit DRDO's Snow and Avalanche Study establishment during his two-day visit.

Live TV

The 9.02 Km long Atal Tunnel is the longest highway tunnel in the World, connecting Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year.

Earlier the valley was cut off for about 6 months each year owing to heavy snowfall, but the Tunnel, built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL), will reduce the road distance by 46 Kms between Manali and Leh and the time by about five to six hours.

The South Portal (SP) of the Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 Km from Manali at an altitude of 3,060 meters, while the North Portal (NP) of the tunnel is located near the village Teling, Sissu, in Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3,071 meters.

The tunnel is a horseshoe-shaped, single tube double lane tunnel with a roadway of 8 meters, has an overhead clearance of 5.525 meters. It is 10.5-metre wide and has a 3.6 x 2.25 meters fireproof emergency egress tunnel built into the main tunnel itself.

Atal Tunnel has been designed for a traffic density of 3,000 cars per day and 1,500 trucks per day with a max speed of 80 km per hour. Among other features, it has a state-of-the-art electromechanical system including semi transverse ventilation system, SCADA controlled firefighting, illumination, and monitoring system.

Some of the key safety features of the Atal tunnel are:

- Entry barriers at both portals, telephone connections at every 150 meters for emergency communication

- Fire hydrant mechanisms at every 60 meters, auto incident detection system with CCTV cameras at every 250 meters

- Air quality monitoring at every 1 km, evacuation lighting or exit signs at every 25 meters

- Broadcasting system throughout the tunnel, fire-rated Dampers at every 50 meters and also has cameras at every 60 meters.

Notably, the decision to construct this tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken on June 3, 2000, when late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. The foundation stone for the Access Road to the South Portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) worked relentlessly to overcome major geological, terrain and weather challenges that included the most difficult stretch of the 587-metre Seri Nalah Fault Zone.
She may be one of the world's youngest self-made billionaires, but it seems that Kylie Jenner needs to brush up on her knowledge of world flags.

Posting to Twitter on Thursday, the 23-year-old announced the launch date of several international websites for her skincare brand, Kylie Skin.

'Hi guys, my team is working hard on my sites for the UK, Germany, France and Australia and we have a new launch date of October 7!' she wrote in the post.

Big news: Kylie Jenner (pictured) announced the launch date of several international websites for her skincare brand Kylie Skin on Thursday

Oops: Underneath the post, she shared the international links alongside a flag for each corresponding country, however she posted the wrong flag by the Aussie link. Indeed, Kylie had mistakenly posted the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands flag

Underneath the post, she shared the international links alongside a flag for each corresponding country, however she posted the wrong flag by the Aussie link.

Former radio host Keegan Bakker was quick to call out the businesswoman on Twitter for not knowing what the Australian flag looked like.

'Not the Australian flag but good try darl x,' he wrote on twitter.

Caught out: Former radio host, Keegan Bakker was quick to call out the businesswoman on Twitter for not knowing what the Australian flag looked like

Indeed, Kylie had mistakenly posted the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands flag.

Like the Australian flag, it features the Union Jack on a navy background, however in place of the Southern Cross and Federation star it has a small crest.

The British Overseas Territory is located in the Southern Atlantic ocean and comprises of an inhospitable chain of islands.

Disbelief: Many followers were shocked by Kylie's mistake with one stating: 'This can't be real'. Pictured: Kylie on a trip to Australia

Mistake: The 23-year-old posted the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands flag (right) instead of the Australian flag (left)

Many followers were shocked by Kylie's mistake, with one stating: 'This can't be real'.

Meanwhile, another wrote: 'So so close. But nope.'

A third suggested that multiple people would have checked the tweet before it went live, with one commenting: 'And since its promo Im sure her manager went over this?'
This coming Tuesday the contentious koala policy, aimed at preserving more habitat on private land for the beleaguered species, is due to land before state cabinet, and some are speculating Barilaro might seek to return for that meeting. A source close to the Deputy Premier insists he will not, and senior Liberals are fervently hoping that remains the case. By late this week there was growing confidence that a deal would be reached ahead of Tuesdays meeting, and senior government members were relishing the relative calm that had descended on the corridors of power in Barilaro's absence. By Friday, the peace pipe was well and truly out as Berejiklian, Toole, the Nationals' Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall and Planning Minister Rob Stokes jointly announced a compromise had been struck. "Difficult issues can be resolved when good people come together", Berejiklian declared. Toole can be negotiated with and reasoned with, observed a well-placed insider. He is suddenly the adult in the room. Election signs reflecting some disatisfaction with the Nationals Party near Coonamble, NSW. Credit:Janie Barrett If and when Barilaro returns, most senior Liberals are realistic enough to know that in the absence of an (unlikely) Nationals party room spill, theyre locked in harness with him until such time as he retires, or until the next election. Regardless, the power dynamics are forever changed, Berejiklians allies say. The tiptoeing around those volatile aspects of his personality wont be pandered to any more, warns one. It will be a waste of time if he tries the same fireworks again.

One senior Coalition source worries that it's a case of either Barilaro goes and the government survives, or Barilaro stays and he kills us from within. Others take a less black-and-white view, yet still talk of the ongoing risk of chronic instability. The short-lived koala revolt was no bolt from the blue. According to her inner circle, the Premier has been subject to bullying behaviour, including menacing texts, from the Nationals leader for months, all while she was managing bushfires, the pandemic and unemployment across the state. The more generous of her colleagues acknowledge Barilaro has had a tough year, with the drought and bushfire response and the death of his much-loved father in July. In August he spoke to the Telegraph about battling his demons and reaching out to a psychiatrist. Yet he also said then that he was in the best place I have ever been for a long time, when it comes to my emotional and mental health. Acting NSW Nationals leader Paul Toole. Credit:Rhett Wyman Within his own ranks he has staunch defenders, not least senior Nationals ministers Melinda Pavey and his closest friend in Parliament, Bronnie Taylor.

Taylor, the Nationals' deputy leader in the upper house and Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women, acknowledges the tactic of threatening to tear the Coalition apart has been messy and extreme. But it's also been effective, she says. And she has no regrets. People used to criticise us for being the lapdogs to the Liberals, but no one will accuse us of that now, Taylor says. Theres a real pride in the country, and for a while there we werent seen to be fighting for them; it looked like we were always kowtowing to the Liberals, and too city-centric. NSW National Party's Bronnie Taylor. Credit:Kate Geraghty She says the party would not have lost the seat of Orange to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers in a 2016 byelection if it had been more vocal about the proposed greyhound ban and the forced council amalgamations. The Shooters tapped into the feeling that we were too city-focused, and we learnt a very big lesson from Orange, and that is: we should have spoken up more. We have been through tough times but we will come out of this stronger and it will never be the end of the Nats because country people are so different to city people.

Water and Housing Minister Melinda Pavey, the longest serving sitting Nationals MP in the country, who worked as a political aide to former deputy premiers Wal Murray and Ian Armstrong, also believes the party has to stay strong for its core values and beliefs. She was one of three ministers  including Taylor and Marshall  who stood with Barilaro outside NSW Parliament when he fired his warning shot across the Premiers bow. We have to stand up for property rights, the rights of farmers, for small businesses ... these are our people, Pavey says, stressing: I also want to acknowledge that we should be working towards doubling the koala population. But she says her party cannot risk losing its identity. [Former leader and deputy premier] Troy Grant was a faithful labrador to [former premier] Mike Baird and in the process destroyed himself, Baird and the government, Pavey says. We needed a reset and that happened once Gladys was installed. Adrian Piccoli, a former deputy leader of the Nationals and party member for 30 years, also argues for the Nationals need to differentiate themselves.

The Nats have always added value to the Liberals because they have taken away the extreme elements of the Liberal Party; they are the conscience of the Liberals, he says. Electricity privatisation is a good example. Had it not been for the Nats, the privatisation of poles and wires would not have been limited and Essential Energy would have been sold. But Piccoli acknowledges that tension has to be maintained without snapping that tension. Former Nationals MP Adrian Piccoli believes the party is the 'conscience of the Liberals' in the NSW Coalition. Credit:Nick Moir Barilaro has also had support from the Nationals organisation, receiving a standing ovation when he addressed the annual meeting of the party's governing body, known as the central council, on September 18. Yet privately some Nationals say they have never seen the party in worse shape. Before the pandemic hit, this year had been intended as one of celebration, marking the 100th anniversary of the Nationals at a federal level, and the 101st year of the NSW party. But despite significant spending on the regions in the state budget, the Nationals are now at just 12 MPs in the lower house, down from a high of 19 MPs in 2013, when they represented more than 90 per cent of the state by geographical area in the Legislative Assembly. Today that figure is less than 30 per cent. After the loss of Orange in 2016, there were two more lower house Nationals losses to the Shooters at the 2019 state election, in Barwon (far west NSW) and Murray, and one to Labor.

A further seat loss came two weeks ago when the Nationals MP for Port Macquarie, Leslie Williams, defected to the Liberals, saying the Deputy Premiers actions in holding the government to ransom had been unnecessary, unhelpful, and frankly politically reckless and unreasonable. NSW Nationals MP Leslie Williams has quit the party over the koala planning policy. Williams tells the Herald shes had hundreds and hundreds of emails of support since making the switch. She adds: a number of Nationals members have indicated to me they will be resigning from the party because of the behaviour of the party room in threatening the Premier. She says she remains genuinely concerned about the partys future, and I only hope my actions in resigning will trigger some reflection about that future. Some hard heads inside the Nationals fear those with short memories have underestimated the real significance of Williams departure. For years, officials have sought to deny the Liberals a strategic foothold on the north coast, where the Nationals held a cluster of seats. Now Williams has given the Liberals that beachhead. It is doubtful, informed insiders say, that the Nationals will ever win it back. One of the most senior NSW Nationals members says a major problem plaguing the parliamentary party is that very few MPs have experienced life in opposition (only Pavey, upper house MP Trevor Khan and Tweed MP Geoff Provest were elected before the Coalitions 2011 landslide win). I dont think the state MPs necessarily appreciate the discipline that is needed to stay in government, the member says.

Loading For regional and rural communities, the drought had an unbearable toll, but being in government, the Nats have been able to deliver so much: infrastructure, road upgrades, dams, pipelines, new hospitals  but it never seems enough. The member, who has served in critical roles in the party, says too many ministers surround themselves with ministerial staff who are disconnected and havent experienced real life. Another Coalition member says Barilaro and his allies have let Trumpian tactics overtake the party, and unleashed populist right forces in place of older establishment players. There are some Nationals not happy with the tactics, but they are trapped by Stockholm syndrome and an internal culture under Barilaro of absolute fealty, this source says. Meanwhile, the Shooters, Farmers and Fishers are looking with glee at the train wreck of recent weeks. SFF leader Robert Borsak says the Nationals have left behind the real bushies and the little people in the regions. My ambition is to wipe out the Nationals. They have sold-out to the big end of town a long time ago.

Coal-seam gas and water policy are two issues where the Shooters are wedging the Nationals with some success. Former prime minister John Howard says the two Coalition partners have to remember what the bedrock of their electoral successes has been. It was the NSW Nationals who were his staunchest allies against the then Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersens push to run for Canberra in 1987. People should look beyond any personality differences that exist at the present time; they should understand that if you look at the history of relations between the two parties, a strong coalition has contributed mightily to us being in government for such long periods, federally and at a state level. Former Australian prime minister John Howard is a strong supporter of the coalition partnership. People will forget that at their peril in either party. A senior Liberal says: The problem the government faces is not the Coalition, not the Liberal Party and the National party, the problem is John Barilaro, and if that problem could be resolved, the government would go back to being the same sort of good, purposeful government it has been since 2011.
In a rousing protest just moments ago, attorney Stacy Shaw and Kansas City Urban League President Gwen Grant denounced police and rebuked Mayor Quinton Lucas. The impassioned criticism emerged in the aftermath of video showing a pregnant woman arrested as a police officer put his knee on the young lady's back as he detained her amid a chaotic scene. Now there's a call to action.

To wit . . .



STACY SHAW DEMANDS MORE PROTEST AND DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST KCPD!!!



What we notice in the aftermath of this protest is that local media attempt to play down the raw anger and emotion involved in this story.

For those who doubt the intensity of the presser, check the livestream along with news coverage beyond the cleaned up version.



As Ms. Shaw shouted her words, there was an intensifying outcry from the crowd. It's clear an alleged police assault against a pregnant woman has stirred a great deal of anger from the community.

Also, and this is important . . .

Both Ms. Grant & Ms. Shaw noted the silence from Mayor Quinton Lucas on this issue.

A few more statements that deserve attention . . .

Stacy Shaw: "What's it going to take for the people of Kansas City to demand change? Not just showing up at the polls but standing up in the streets."

STACY SHAW: "THIS CITY HAS NOT SHOWN IT DESERVES PEACE AND IT WILL NOT GET PEACE UNTIL CHIEF RICK SMITH IS TERMINATED!!!"



Stacy Shaw: "We're asking everyone under the sound of our voices to show up tonight at 6 o'clock at police headquarters so we can demand justice for unborn black babies."



Meanwhile, Ms. Grant was a bit more subdued in her remarks but still insistent. She commented, "We do not see a way forward to build a substantive and productive relationship with police with Chief Rick Smith at the helm."



Here's the situation according to the KCPD and their notes shared with the media . . .

"During a Thursday press conference, Kansas City police spokesman Capt. Dave Jackson said a security officer for a business at 35th Street and Prospect Avenue called police on a group of 15-20 people fighting around 11 p.m. Wednesday.

"Officers tried to arrest one man who was refusing to leave, Jackson said, when the group of people stopped them. The man then tried to run away, tripped, and police tried to arrest the man when two others interfered, Jackson said. Police pulled that man and the pregnant woman off of the first man.

"The pregnant woman, Jackson said, resisted arrest."

"An officer first tried to arrest her while standing, before taking her to the ground. Jackson said the officer did not apply pressure from his knee to the womans back, but kept his weight on his foot. She was then handcuffed and moved to a seated position.

"The first man was arrested and booked. Jackson said the woman was arrested for hindering and interfering and that she was evaluated and released from a hospital.

We would take great care in order to avoid injury or exacerbating the situation, Jackson said Thursday. We understand the emotions of dealing with anybody from children or pregnant people or disabled people. We understand.

Developing . . .
A clever, crazy-gory second feature from writer-director Brandon Cronenberg, "Possessor" points to a young filmmaker indebted to the work of his famous father: "Scanners," "Dead Ringers" and "A History of Violence" maestro David Cronenberg. The film, however, goes its own way with some usefully berserk imagery. It's the work of someone who knows the value of both pure cinema and copious viscera.

"Possessor" is in select theaters starting Friday and then begins streaming on various platforms Nov. 6. But in any venue, outside or indoors, you may find yourself wincing while perma-raising your eyebrows 30 seconds into the picture.

An unwitting assassin (Gabrielle Graham) inserts a long, thick needle into her own cranium in close-up. This connects her remotely but very intimately to the woman inhabiting her mind and controlling her actions: Vos (Andrea Riseborough), overseen by Girder (Jennifer Jason Leigh). It's as if "Avatar" made a hard right turn and ran headlong into "The Parallax View."

Vos may be Girder's "star performer," as she calls her, but she's a star at risk. There would be no movie here without the psychological and physical damage endured by the assassination bureau's ringer. Vos's life is a sad, depleted affair, with an ex-husband (Rossif Sutherland) and a young son (Gage Graham-Arbuthnot) living with reach but rightly wary of Vos's air of desolation.

Meantime, there's a lucrative new job to be done. This one involves taking over the brain of Tate (Christopher Abbott), the future son-in-law of a sniveling data-harvesting mogul (Sean Bean). Girder's client wants the mogul dead; at the close of each assignment Vos, working remotely in headgear that appears to come from the designer of the gynecological equipment featured in "Dead Ringers," gives the order -- "Pull me out" -- and then commits suicide.

But what if the assassin loses her nerve and can't do it? "Possessor" answers that question. The result isn't easy viewing in the "ooh! exciting!" realm of more conventional mind-control thrillers. But the best of Cronenberg's nightmare is pure, imaginative immersion. As Vos experiences flashbacks to stabbings (the movie's full of 'em) she has committed by way of Tate's mind, and body, editor Matthew Hannam attacks the screen with deft, eye-blink-quick images of her memories. The movie takes its violence seriously, mostly, and by making it seem and feel like too much for Vos to bear, there's a moral chill to the story.

The designers and director Cronenberg conspire to make various shades of crimson a motif, from Vos's dried-blood-toned overcoat, to a blaring bright red set of luggage. The actors find the right wavelength of tension throughout, with Abbott's body-snatched Tate gradually taking over the grim, methodical action. The final third of this grim, accomplished film felt sluggish to me; just when he might've profitably gone crazier with the scenario, and the storytelling rhythm, Cronenberg putters and lets the audience get out ahead of the developments.

It's nonetheless worth seeing. Note: This is "Possessor Uncut," the even-rougher edition. At the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, one reviewer described the film's world premiere as "the most brutal and unforgiving cinematic experience in recent memory." That seems excessive; then again, many will find the film excessive. Personally I found the close-ups of people vaping harder to handle, but I'm funny that way.

Mike Hartman can be reached at 556-2255 or at mhartman@azdailysun.com. Follow him on Twitter @AZDS_Hartman.

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CHICAGO - News Friday that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 sparked an explosion of rumours, misinformation and conspiracy theories that in a matter of hours littered the social media feeds of many Americans.

Tweets shared thousands of times claimed Democrats might have somehow intentionally infected the president with the coronavirus during the debates. Others speculated in Facebook posts that maybe the president was faking his illness. And the news also ignited constant conjecture among QAnon followers, who peddle a baseless belief that Trump is a warrior against a secret network of government officials and celebrities that they falsely claim is running a child trafficking ring.

In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis was swept into an online vortex of coronavirus misinformation and the falsehoods swirling around this polarizing election. Trump himself has driven much of that confusion and distrust on the campaign trail, from his presidential podium and his Twitter account, where hes made wrong claims about widespread voter fraud or hawked unproven cures for the coronavirus, such as hydroxychloroquine.

This is both a political crisis weeks before the election and also a health crisis; its a perfect storm, said Alexandra Cirone, an assistant professor at Cornell University who studies the effect of misinformation on government.

Facebook said Friday that it immediately began monitoring misinformation around the presidents diagnosis and had started applying fact checks to some false posts.

Twitter, meanwhile, was monitoring an uptick in copypasta campaigns about Trumps illness. Copypasta campaigns are attempts by numerous Twitter accounts to parrot the same phrase over and over to inundate users with messaging, and they are sometimes signals of co-ordinated activity. The social media company said it was working to limit views on those tweets.

But nearly 30,000 Twitter users had retweeted a variety of conspiracy theories about the news by Friday morning, according to an analysis by VineSight, a tech company that tracks online misinformation.

Roughly 10,000 of those retweets touted the drug hydroxychloroquine, an unproven treatment for COVID-19, as a treatment for the president. Another 13,000 retweets were related to a QAnon conspiracy theory that the president is going into quarantine while mass arrests of high-profile politicians like Trumps former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton are carried out, according to the companys analysis.

Most of the conversation was coming from unverified accounts on Twitter, said Gideon Blocq, the CEO of VineSight.

A lot of them seem very happy about whats going to happen because they think Hillary Clinton is going to be arrested, Blocq said of the QAnon accounts.

Misinformation was not only promoted in the fringe spheres of the internet but by everyday social media users as well, said Shane Creevy, head of editorial at Kinzen, an Ireland-based company that works to monitor misinformation online.

The conspiracy part of the internet is like outside the mainstream, but even among regular users we are seeing quite a lot of crazy thinking pushed out there from people who should know better, Creevy said.

Other social media users were suggesting that Trumps diagnosis is a hoax aimed at generating sympathy among voters or even getting out of the next presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

That speculation shows up in Facebook comments on news stories about Trump.

It is a lie, one Facebook user wrote on a TV news networks post about Trump, calling it a Strategy to not debate Biden anymore.

Similar posts making the groundless claim were shared hundreds or thousands of times online.

Is Trump faking COVID to avoid narcissistic injury of losing the election? one Twitter user asked in a post retweeted more than 4,000 times Friday morning.

Clint Watts, a disinformation expert with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, published a report in July describing one or both of the candidates contracting COVID-19 as a scenario for prompting an onslaught of disinformation in the campaign.

The biggest reason why this is a disaster is because there are no trusted information sources remaining that have not been undermined by the president, he said.

The news is also ripe for foreign and domestic internet instigators to exploit in a disinformation campaign, and opens the door for people to unwittingly spread misinformation, said Cirone, the Cornell professor.

She predicted that internet users will share video clips of politicians coughing or appearing ill to prematurely claim that they have tested positive for the virus.

In fact, social media users have already employed a similar strategy when they shared video clips of Biden coughing during an event in Pennsylvania on Wednesday to suggest he was sick. The video resurfaced again  getting more than 160,000 views on Twitter by Friday morning  with social media users suggesting that Biden either infected Trump or had caught the virus from Trump during the debate. Biden and his wife tested negative Friday for the virus.

Individual citizens shouldnt amplify any speculation, Cirone said. Nefarious actors are banking on the (likelihood) that citizens will be very concerned about this and accidentally spread fake news.

In perhaps a sign of whats to come, state-backed Russian television channel RT tweeted a story suggesting that Bidens prolonged coughing from the debate raised concerns for the former vice-president after Trumps test. In the last presidential election, Russia launched an online misinformation campaign with bogus social media accounts that aimed to sway U.S. voters opinions in the race, and there are signs that the Kremlin is at it again.

Watts said Russian-backed accounts are mostly only trolling the president and the White House so far, but they are just getting started  especially given that the president has only begun his quarantine.

They are going to position all sorts of conspiracies or amplify American conspiracies, Watts said.

___

Dupuy reported from New York. Associated Press technology reporter Barbara Ortutay in Oakland, California, contributed to this report.
French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian has warned the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan over the risk of internationalization of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

According to the respective statement, Le Drian had several telephone conversations with his counterparts in Yerevan and Baku. "During these talks, the need to end hostilities without delay and preconditions was reiterated," the French foreign ministry said. "I have warned my interlocutors over the risk of internationalization of the conflict," the French diplomat said during the talks.

The OSCE Minsk Group intends to achieve a cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and the resumption of talks without preconditions as soon as possible, the French FM said in a statement.

In the spirit of the statement made by the Presidents of the United States, France and Russia on October 1, I underscored France's determination, as Co-Chair of the [OSCE] Minsk Group, to play its part impartially in achieving a ceasefire and resumption of talks without preconditions under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Le Drian added.

Also, the French FM thanked his interlocutors for their contribution to the evacuation of two journalists from Le Monde who were wounded in Nagorno-Karabakh Thursday.
How polarized is the United States? Think of family members, friends, and associates with whom you are unable to discuss political subjects. Do you avoid listening to viewpoints you oppose? Are you afraid of offending others? Do you use sources of news and commentary for accurate information, or to comfortably reinforce what you already think? What will your reaction be if the Presidential candidate you oppose wins?

Many think that disdain for the other side is reaching alarming levels. The November 2018 Midterm Update from More in Commons Hidden Tribes project (https://hiddentribes.us/) found 86% of Americans worrying that political divisiveness will lead to increasing violence. We are not headed for another civil war. However, extreme polarization is destructive of personal relationships, essential political discourse, and a cohesive social fabric. Fortunately, many organizations and individuals are focused on healing our divisions as we approach an election which will push one large segment of our populace into angry despair, and the other into gleeful gloating.

We are supporting the work of Braver Angels, a 501(c)(3) volunteer organization formed to help bridge the divides that are driving the country into factions that dont understand each other and dont talk to each other. We give our time to Braver Angels because it promotes the exchange of ideas by teaching people how to depolarize, how to listen, and how to speak to each other. Among its activities are workshops, discussions, and debates (using its own inclusive and no-winner, no-loser format). Most of these events are still online, owing to COVID-19. Check them out under What We Do, at https://braverangels.org.

Braver Angels is launching an initiative called With Malice Toward None, designed to bring Americans together through the election with a commitment to mutual respect and cooperation. We can rise above the temptation to denigrate, and can deal with our emotions in supportive communities. We can find common ground with each other where possible, and (within reason) work to understand and respect those who hold opinions that differ from ours. Braver Angels will provide religious communities, colleges, and civic groups with free meeting templates, facilitator training, and other resources for online or in-person gatherings before and/or after the election. To register for more information on With Malice Toward None, visit https://braverangels.org/what-we-do/with-malice-toward-none/. Do it now it will feel good to begin contributing to the healing that we desperately need!

Braver Angels was inspired by the words of Abraham Lincoln, who not only called on us as Americans to summon the better angels of our nature to overcome the passions that strain, but must not break, our bonds of affection  but called on us to find the courage needed to pursue a more perfect union, with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right.

Kris Korfata and Thomas H. Brantley are the Wyoming co-coordinators for Braver Angels. They work closely with Janet Sedgley, the volunteer coordinator for Montana.

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The Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien metro train leaves Kasado port on September 30 and is expected to dock in Ho Chi Minh City on October 8, according to the Management Board of Urban Railways of Ho Chi Minh City (MAUR).

It will be transported to Long Binh depot in District 9 on October 10.

This is the train with the largest wagon width compared to other metro trains in Vietnam, with nearly 3m.

The train's body is made of aluminum ALLOY, with 2 types: initially it will be a 3-carriage train, then there will be the 6-carriage train.

The 3-carriage train can accommodate 147 seated passengers, and 783 standing passengers, totaling 930 people. The average standing area is 8 people per m2. The length of the 3-carriage train is 61.5m.

The height of the wagon (from the top of the rail to the air-conditioning system) is 4.08m; the height (from the top of the rail to the hood) is 3,655m. The maximum load is 16 tons. The design maximum speed is 110km per hour for the overhead section and 80km per hour for the tunnel.

The interior of the train is designed with a simple structure, suitable for daily use and easy to clean and maintain.

In terms of the exterior, the train shows a dynamic and modern image of the metro line 1. The first part of the train is rounded down to the bottom, striking with a 3D shape, creating a sharp view of the harmony and dynamism of the train.

According to the Management Board of Urban Railways of Ho Chi Minh City, the preparation for receiving the first metro train of Ho Chi Minh City at Long Binh depot has basically been completed.

Items such as the control center, maintenance workshop, stop location ... are being completed for the trial run of the first two metro trains.

The metro line 1 will have 17 trains operating, all made in Japan.

The maximum speed of these trains is 110 km per hour (overhead section) and 80 km per hour (underground section).

The overhead section from Binh Thai to Long Binh depot has had rails installed to serve the trial run.

Metro line 1 is nearly 20km long, from Ben Thanh in District 1 to Long Binh depot in District 9. The project has a total investment of more than VND43,700 billion. The route has 14 stations, including 3 underground and 11 elevated stations. Currently, nearly 76% of the workload has been completed. The city aims to reach 85% of the workload by the end of 2020 and put the line into operation by the end of 2021.

Tuan Kiet
It should have been dismissed and never gone to trial. But it did and it was a colossal waste of taxpayers' money, Taylor said. Were thrilled that finally the case is off of Jackies back, 38 years later. And one must remember that this is one of the most outrageous of the Jon Burge torture cases.
Ontario is putting more restrictions on gyms, bars, restaurants and banquet halls in COVID-19 hot zones and making masks mandatory across the province after Ontario set another daily record with 732 people infected.

And starting Sunday, assessment centres will no longer accept walk-ins for testing as they move to an appointment-only system Tuesday to ease the strain on labs swamped with a backlog of more than 90,000 nasal swabs to process, jeopardizing efforts to trace contacts of positive cases in time to stop chains of transmission.

These changes are absolutely necessary, Premier Doug Ford told a news conference Friday. This is serious.

Based on advice from medical experts, he advised Ontarians to pause their social circles of 10 people and have close contact only with members of their own household to help stop the rapid spread of the highly contagious virus overwhelming current lab capacity of about 40,000 tests per day.

Listen to Ed Tubb and Joanna Chiu discuss the second wave

In the hot zones of Toronto, Peel and Ottawa, tables in restaurants, bars, nightclubs and banquet halls will be limited to a maximum of six people. Banquet halls can have no more than 50 patrons and the others a maximum of 100 as long as physical distancing can be maintained  although Torontos limit has already been lowered to 75. Contact information must be recorded for each customer.

Gyms and fitness clubs in the three municipalities will be limited to a maximum of 10 people in group exercise classes with physical distancing. Toronto had 323 new cases, Peel 111 and Ottawa 141, a record for the nations capital.

Across the province, masks or face coverings become mandatory Saturday in all indoor public settings including businesses and workplaces, a move University of Toronto infection control epidemiologist Colin Furness said is long overdue.

Were not managing the pandemic, were reacting, he added, calling the limits on restaurants, bars and banquet halls ridiculous because indoor dining and drinking should be prohibited.

The government is telegraphing something awful, that you can go out with a bunch of your buddies. Except for some reason youve not supposed to do that in your living room, said Furness.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said the government hopes the new suite of measures  in addition to shorter hours for bars and restaurants and smaller gathering limits of 10 indoors and 25 outdoors announced previously  will prevent the need for future lockdowns.

With organizations like the Ontario Hospital Association and Toronto Public Health calling for tougher restrictions to subdue COVID-19, Ford said we do have to keep the economy going and maintained the changes strike a very fair balance. Local medical officers can go further if they desire, the premier added.

Furness said Fords argument on the economy is flawed because his measures wont do enough to slow the rapidly increasing spread of the virus, putting the ability to keep children in classrooms in peril.

The way you keep the economy going is to keep kids in schools so parents can work.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath accused Fords Progressive Conservative government of lurching from crisis to crisis and said the pause in social circles is contradictory when kids are in large classes at school and six people can sit at the same table in a restaurant or banquet hall.

He never had a plan to stop the second wave from getting out of control and so it has, she charged.

Officials said moving to appointments only for tests is intended to help assessment centres prioritize who gets tests and allow the province to better manage the flow to labs for processing. The change follows a warning from Ottawa Public Health that our health-care system is in crisis. Labs are working beyond capacity.

Right now were having a challenge, Ford acknowledged.

Ford asked Ontarians for patience with assessment centres in the next few days and said appointments will prevent people from standing outside in long lines with colder weather approaching.

But it will be difficult for racialized and marginalized members of the community at higher risk of exposure to COVID-19 to book appointments because many do not have internet access, and immigrants whose first language is not English may feel discouraged to book tests, said Ananya Banerjee, an assistant professor at U of Ts Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Its going to exacerbate COVID inequities and this new appointment by online will serve well for privileged, white and high-income families working from home, she told the Stars Nicholas Keung.

At the University Health Network, officials said they have had an appointment system in place for 10 days and make exceptions for anyone without easy internet access.

The 723 new cases Friday marked the second record this week.

The number of contacts for every infected Ontario resident has grown substantially since the first wave, complicating contact tracing and management efforts, said Ontarios associate medical officer of health, Dr. Barbara Yaffe.

Where there were about five contacts per case during the spring lockdown, that has grown in some instances to 25 or 40 people as people let their guard down, she added.

The previous highs for daily new cases were 700 infections on Monday and 640 in late April, when Ontario was at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic. On Monday, officials said the number was higher than it might otherwise have been because the backlog meant results of some tests had been delayed.

Elliot said 58 per cent of the new cases were in people under 40, which has been steadily declining from about two-thirds. The decline is an indication the virus is spreading more widely to older age groups more likely to require medical care for the highly contagious and potentially deadly virus.

The Ministry of Health reported two new deaths Friday and adjusted the overall fatality count to add 74 people it has now been determined perished from COVID-19 in the spring and summer, most of them in hard-hit, long-term-care homes.

There was a sharp rise of 81 new cases among residents in nursing homes reported Friday even as the number of outbreaks at long-term-care homes fell by four to 44.

Hospitalizations increased by five to 167 with 38 of those patients requiring intensive care, an increase of two and the highest since July 4. Four more ICU patients required ventilators to breathe, raising that number to 17. The level of Ontarians requiring hospital care for the virus has more than doubled in the last two weeks.

Another 37 cases of COVID-19 were found among students, teachers and staff in schools, with another 11 schools now reporting cases for a total of 318 schools and three schools closed, unchanged from the previous day.
The Maharashtra Congress on Friday held state-wide demonstrations at tehsil and district headquarters, observing Save Farmer-Worker Day on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, to oppose the farm and labour laws that were recently passed in Parliament.

The party, while announcing protests over the next few weeks, reiterated the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will enact its own farm and labour laws to negate central laws.

Maharashtra Congress chief and revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat led the agitation at Lasalgaon in Nashik. The farm laws passed by the Narendra Modi government will crush the framework of the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) which has been constructed with a lot of efforts in the interest of farmers, he said.

Public works department minister and former chief minister Ashok Chavan led the bullock cart march in Nanded. The MVA government has formed a sub-committee to decide how to safeguard the interest of farmers. The Modi government is like East India Company in the pre-Independence era. A few industrialists are looting this country with the help of the government in Centre, he said.

City Congress president Eknath Gaikwad led the protest in Mumbai, MP Rajiv Satav in Hingoli, women and child development minister Yashomati Thakur and animal husbandry and dairy development minister Sunil Kedar in Wardha, and minister of state for home Satej Patil in Kolhapur, among others. The party has resolved to collect 1 crore signatures till October 31.

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Got a few minutes to read this story? Then you have a few minutes to lock down your personal information online and keep it from falling into the wrong hands in the future.

There's no such thing as privacy anymore, said Adam Miller, president of Bellaire-based Aegis Insurance and Financial Services. I don't care how private you think you are. Just accept it.

But there are a few steps you can take to reduce the number of eyes (both human and virtual) looking at your contact information.

Can you remove your email address from online databases?

The answer, unfortunately, is probably not. How many apps, online stores and websites have your email address? You know, when they ask for contact info to send coupons and package tracking details?

That information has been out there for ages; even if you dont think youve posted your email on Facebook or another social network, youve probably submitted it to online businesses that in turn sell your data.

But there are a few things you can do to keep future businesses from getting your personal contact information. When a store or app asks for an email address to give you a discount, create a brand new email address. Miller recommends directing businesses to an email inbox used just to receive spam in case they sell that data.

What is this? I'm Gwendolyn Wu, and I'm writing "Houston How To," a series on how to navigate the city and its complexities. Humans have an innate drive to improve themselves, and we're always striving to live better, smarter and more efficiently by throwing countless dollars and hours at our problems. The Houston Chronicle wants to simplify that for you. As a reporter, I usually ask the questions, but I can't be the only one wondering how something works. What are things you need to know how to do, Houston? You can find me on Twitter at @gwendolynawu or by email at gwendolyn.wu@chron.com. See More Collapse

MORE HOW TO: Your questions answered on voting, drivers licenses, COVID life

I don't want my email address out there because you could then do reverse searches for your information, Miller said. That means that when someone types your spam email address on a search engine, they have a harder time linking that to you and your other contact info.

It works. When I Google my spam email address, an inbox created 10 years ago to sign up for Flash game websites that became a safe haven for shoe store and H-E-B coupons, I find no link to my name.

You can also try random email address generators like 10minutemail.com when you need a spam email. Some sign-in features allow you to create alias email addresses that obfuscate your real email address with a made-up one, and redirects the emails to your actual inbox.

Can I remove my information from public records?

Under the Texas Public Information Act, government agencies are not forced to make public records available online. You can obscure some data, such as removing your name from property records and voter registration records available online.

Homeowners can fill out a form to remove their names from the online records of the Harris County Appraisal District.

This does not mean that your name is completely written off the record, though, said Jack Barnett, a HCAD spokesperson.

If someone does file a public information request for an account, they would see the owners name even though the name had been removed from the website, Barnett said.

Removing your name from the online listing could create problems if you need to prove residency when enrolling kids in school, Miller said. Keep paper utility bills in case you need to validate that you live at that address.

There is another option to remove names from property records. If youre a member of law enforcement, state legislator or a victim of domestic assault/harassment/stalking, you can fill out a form to request confidentiality on your home address.

Texas also allows residents to remove their personal information on online voter registration records. The Harris County Clerks office offers a form that must be mailed or faxed. You will still be registered to vote, but anyone looking to confirm your voter registration status on harrisvotes.com, the countys elections hub, will instead have to call the clerks office or visit in person to confirm your Election Day polling place. And like the Harris County Appraisal District, that information will still be available if someone files a public information request for your voter registration record.

Could I ask Google to take down pages that include personal information?

If I type my name into a Google search, dozens of results pop up linking me to my current and former workplaces and to where I went to school. By the nature of my work, Im extremely online and have a reason to keep parts of my contact information out there for readers and sources to see. But not everyone needs to have that readily available by web search.

Google allows people to request the removal of their personal information from search results. The things that can be removed: bank account numbers, hand-written signatures, sexually explicit photos and Social Security numbers, among others.

STEPS FOR PREVENTION: How do you recover from identity theft?

But the search engine will not delete content containing dates of birth, addresses or phone numbers, and taking that information off a search listing doesnt make it disappear from the internet. You could reach out to the owners of the webpage to take it down, but that usually requires a fee, Miller said.

I'm sure some people would pay that fee to get their number removed, he said.

Where else might I have posted my phone number, address or email address?

Have you checked your social media accounts, particularly Facebook? Your email and often, your phone number, are linked to Facebook and may be publicly viewable on your timeline.

On the desktop version of Facebook, go to your profile and click the eye icon at the top, under the cover photo. There, you can view your profile as the public sees it. Check the About page to see whether any personal contact information is on there. (This is how one of my best friends discovered that his entire street address was public on Facebook. Yes, street number and all.)

On mobile, go to your profile and tap edit public details. Scroll down to edit your about info, and you can see all of the information youve uploaded to your profile, and who can see it. Tap the edit buttons as you scroll to adjust what information is public.

If you live with kids or older family members who are social media super users, check their profiles to make sure they havent put any contact information up for grabs there as well.

Like Miller said, though, that if that data is already online, its pretty hard to get it removed. But some of the steps outlined here might be a start in reducing how easy it is to find your contact information online.

gwendolyn.wu@chron.com

twitter.com/gwendolynawu
Laos is interested in Russian investments in its economy, in particular, in hydroelectricity, tourism, and information and communication technology, Lao Ambassador to Russia Shiviengphet Phetvorasack told Sputnik in an interview

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd October, 2020) Laos is interested in Russian investments in its economy, in particular, in hydroelectricity, tourism, and information and communication technology, Lao Ambassador to Russia Shiviengphet Phetvorasack told Sputnik in an interview.

"Laos would like to attract Russian investments in hydroelectricity, tourism, information and communication technology, mining, minerals and agriculture," Phetvorasack said.

The diplomat noted that Laos and Russia had developed investment cooperation, with the Sekong power station project being one of the examples of such a collaboration.

"In my opinion, both sides are interested in expanding cooperation in energy," the diplomat added, noting, however, that no new hydroelectricity projects had been discussed yet.

In 2016, Russia's Inter RAO Engineering and Laos' A-RKSYENS and Electricite du Laos - Generation Public company signed a memorandum on the construction of the 330MWT Sekong-5 hydropower plant that will reportedly cost $800 million. The construction was expected to last for five years. According to the contract, the plant will be equipped with Russian technology, including turbines.
We have towe should all be praying that there is a vaccine, that there are therapeutics that work, and when there is a vaccine, its not good enough just to have it, people actually have to take it.

She continued: When you see people like Cal Cunninghambasically saying, Im not going to take it, this is deeply, deeply destructive.

Joe Biden was more careful with his comments about this subject on the campaign trail, but during the debate, he echoed Cunningham and Harris's comments.

Do you believe for a moment what hes telling you in light of all the lies hes told you about the whole issue relating to COVID?" he asked when talking about the possibility of a vaccine promised by President Trump.

What if President Trump wins re-election? Will these individuals saying what they are saying not take a vaccine for another four years and three months just until a new president is in office?

If there is a vaccine and there is good science behind it, no one should be challenging it for political issues and that is what Timmons-Goodson said.
Susan Voisin passed peacefully, surrounded by her loving family after her battle with Covid 19 on September 30, 2020. She was born in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and relocated to Omaha, Nebraska in 1974. Susan met the love of her life, Michael Voisin, in junior high school, and were happily married for 55 years. Susan worked for Borsheims up until her retirement which gave her the opportunity to spread her joyous personality to customers and co-workers alike. She was a devoted friend and shared her passions with the people she cared for most. Susan continuously provided undeniable love and support to her family, a staple of her long and successful life.
IMImobile announces it has been included in the UK government G-Cloud initiative

LONDON, 1st October 2020 ? Global cloud communications software and solutions provider IMImobile PLC, today announced that it has been named as a supplier on the Crown Commercial Service?s (CCS) G-Cloud 12 framework.

CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2019/20, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits worth over ?1bn, supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.

The CCS digital marketplace provides UK public sector organizations with a fast and compliant way to procure cloud-based technology that avoids lengthy tender processes. As public sector organizations face unprecedented challenges, the ability to quickly roll out technology solutions at scale is critical.

Jay Patel, Chief Executive at IMImobile, commented, ?We are pleased to have been approved by the G-Cloud framework which enables public sector organizations to easily find and purchase our core platform and applications. Given the current circumstances, digital transformation initiatives within the public sector are more important than ever and the ability to procure innovative solutions quickly, with the confidence that suppliers have met stringent government security standards, is absolutely crucial.?

From 28th September, organizations can now access IMImobile?s full suite of products from the G-Cloud 12 framework. IMImobile already works with many public sector organizations across the UK including NHS trusts, local councils and housing associations.

IMImobile?s products listed on the Digital Marketplace can be accessed via this link: https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/g-cloud/search?q=imimobile&lot=cloud-software
Press Release

1105 Media, Inc. Will Close on Election Day to Allow Employees to Vote and Volunteer

Election Day has been designated as an official company holiday

IRVINE, CA, October 01, 2020 -- 1105 Media, Inc. today announced the decision to mark November 3rd an official company holiday to allow its employees the time to vote and volunteer as a poll worker on Election Day.

All 1105 Media, Inc. offices will be closed and employees will also be provided with a $50 credit in the hopes of offsetting some of the expense of gas, masks, sanitizer and other needed items to safely vote and volunteer. Employees that choose to vote by mail or vote early are encouraged to use Election Day to give back to their local communities.

We started exploring this idea in the beginning of June when the country had reached a time of unprecedented turmoil, said Rajeev Kapur, chief executive officer of 1105 Media, Inc. Its important to impact all levels of government  local, state, and federal  and I felt it important to do what we could to remove any barriers to our employees participating in this human right to vote and effect change.

In addition to designating Election Day as a company holiday, 1105 Media, Inc. has also partnered with Employees Vote and Civic Alliance to challenge other companies to do the same. Kapur hopes that by taking these actions, other business leaders will be motivated to encourage civic engagement among their employees and consumers. Additionally, there is a link to vote.org on all of 1105 Media, Inc.s corporate and brand websites to make it easier for everyone to find poll locations, volunteer opportunities, to receive important reminders and more.

About 1105 Media, Inc.

1105 Media, Inc. is a leading provider of B2B media services in the ABM, Big Data, education technology, enterprise computing, government technology and infrastructure markets. 1105 Media's offerings span print and online magazines, journals, and newsletters; seminars, conferences and trade shows; training courseware; marketing and Web-based services. https://1105media.com

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Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, CH distilled Malort from expiring kegs of Revolution Brewings Anti-Hero IPA to salvage beer that went out of date due to bars and restaurants closing. It also introduced Jeppsons Bourbon and made Malort hand sanitizer to have fun with the brand while donating a much-needed product to health care workers. (It later became available for sale to the general public; theres still some available at tasting room, 564 W. Randolph St., and some independent liquor stores.)
Vietnam wants code of conduct (COC) negotiations for parties in the East Sea between Southeast Asian nations and China to resume soon, after months of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a spokesperson has said.

Spokesperson for the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang at Thursday's press briefing in Hanoi.

Speaking at a press briefing in Hanoi on Thursday, spokesperson for the foreign ministry Le Thi Thu Hang was responding to reports of Philippines foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. stating that the country is pushing as hard as it can for the substantial progress on the second reading of the negotiating draft and getting started on the COC before the country hands over the ASEAN-China country co-ordinator role to Myanmar next year.

The resumption of talks is a priority for ASEAN countries and China and Vietnam share this priority, Hang said, adding that Vietnam hopes that the member countries will arrive at a conclusion of an effective and comprehensive COC that is consistent with international law and especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

ASEAN countries and China finished their first reading of the draft code in the sea last year, while three readings are planned, with 2021 supposed to be the year when the code is fully fleshed out and hoped to resolve conflicts in the resource-rich waterway.

Also at the briefing, Hang remarks that China's reported live-fire drills in the East Sea "jeopardise" peace and security in the region.

The spokesperson said China's activities near the Hoang Sa archipelago are contrary to the spirit of the existing Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), complicate the situation and are not conducive to COC talks.

Vietnam has sufficient historical evidence and legal basis to assert its sovereignty over the two island chains  Hoang Sa and Truong Sa  which are in conformity with international law, Hang said.

Vietnam claims Hoang Sa as its own but the archipelago has been under Chinese control since its violent seizure in the early 70s.

Vietnam demanded that China end its excursion, respect Vietnams sovereignty over the two islands, and refrain from committing similar acts in the future, she said.

Also during the briefing, the Vietnamese spokesperson was asked on Vietnams stance towards three note verbales addressed to the UN by the UK, France, and Germany refuting Chinas expansive claims in the East Sea on September 16.

The three European powers, all signatories to the UNCLOS 1982, denounced Beijings so-called historic rights over much of the waters as not in line with international law and especially the 1982 convention.

The notes also stressed the importance of unhampered exercise of the freedom of the high seas, in particular the freedom of navigation and overflight, and of the right of innocent passage enshrined in UNCLOS, including in the East Sea.

Vietnams stance on the East Sea has been consistently conveyed on many occasions, Hang said, adding that all countries sharing the common aspiration to promote peace, stability, co-operation and development in the sea should respect the legal order at sea, and fully observe with good faith and sense of responsibility UNCLOS 1982.

Vietnam welcomes countries stance on the South China Sea in line with international law, and shares the perspective that UNCLOS 1982 should be the framework to govern all matters at sea and ocean, the spokesperson said.

In this spirit, together with ASEAN countries, Vietnam hopes that all countries, including ASEAN partners, would make meaningful contributions to the maintenance of peace, stability and cooperation in the East Sea and settle conflicts via dialogues and other peaceful measures in line with international law, to serve the mutual interests and aspirations of countries in the region and in the international community, she noted.

Vietnam has always been a proactive and responsible contributor to this process, Hang said.

Also on Thursday, asked on the rising hostility in the Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, foreign ministry spokesperson Hang said Vietnam is deeply concerned about the conflict.

We welcome mediation efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group and call on all involved parties to refrain and put an end to escalation of conflicts, in the benefits of the two countries people, and to resolve conflicts via peaceful measures based on international law, contributing to the regional and global peace and stability, Hang said. VNS
Gandhi Jayanti: Govt launches 100-day campaign under Jal Jeevan Mission in schools

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, Oct 02: The Ministry of Jal Shakti on Friday launched a 100-day campaign to ensure potable water supply in all schools and anganwadi centers across the country. Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat requested the states and Union territories to make it a 'Jan Andolan' (people's movement).

Gandhi Jayanti 2020: How netas remembered Bapu | Oneindia News

He said he has written to chief ministers and lieutenant governors, requesting them to lead the campaign in their respective regions. Speaking during the launch of the event, the minister said the initiative will be a fitting tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary on Friday.

7th military commander India-China talks next week

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while launching the logo of 'Jal Jeevan Mission' (JJM) on September 29, called for ensuring drinking water supply in all schools and anganwadi centres in the country.

"In this backdrop, we are launching a 100-day campaign to ensure the same. We are asking all the state governments to ensure piped drinking water in all schools and anganwadi centres in next 100 days," Shekhawat said.

'Will go to India Gate at 5 pm, PM must answer on Hathras': Bhim Army Chief

The 'Jal Jeevan Mission - Har Ghar Jal' aims to provide tap water supply to households with special focus on women and children by 2024. Ensuring safe water to children is a priority under JJM as they are most susceptible to water-borne diseases like typhoid, dysentery, diarrhoea and cholera.

Repeated infections due to consumption of unsafe water in their formative years may have debilitating effects on children, resulting in stunting, the minister said.

The situation is much more complex in areas where water sources are found to be contaminated with arsenic, fluoride and other heavy metals, and prolonged consumption of water having these contaminants may lead to degenerating diseases like arsenicosis, fluorosis among others, resulting in serious health problems, he said.

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Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 15:53 [IST]
The Nile is experiencing its highest flooding season in 108 years this year thanks to heavy rainfall on the Ethiopian Highlands, the source of the Atbara, Blue Nile, and Sobat rivers which contribute about 85 per cent of the water of the Nile. The White Nile, which starts in the Great Lakes region of Africa, has a constant flow throughout the year and accounts for only about 15 per cent of Nile water.



This is the third of seven fat years in the Niles theoretical 20-year cycle. During these years, the rivers flow from its three Ethiopian tributaries can increase by 50 to 100 per cent. In the seven lean years that follow them, the flow diminishes by roughly the same amount. In the remaining six years, the water remains at an average level during the flooding season that lasts from June to November.



A UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) study estimated in 2014 that the Ethiopian Plateau receives some 1,000 billion m3 of rainfall a year, of which about 72 billion m3 flow into the Nile. The remainder flows into the six other rivers that emanate from the Ethiopian Highlands. Heavy flooding seasons can be devastating for Sudanese people living near the Nile, as the rush of water can submerge homes and fields, sweep away livestock, and cause deaths by drowning. The flooding can also place heavy strain on Sudanese dams at Roseires, Sennar, Merowe, and Khashm Al-Girba and on the Aswan High Dam in Egypt.



To avert any potential damage to the structure of the High Dam in the event of overfilling, Egypts Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has begun to release excess water into the Toshka spillway in the Aswan desert. It has also started diverting quantities of the excess water into irrigation canals in Upper Egypt so that farmers there can use the freshwater to decontaminate the soil from the build-up of the salts and pollutants that have accumulated in it during the 50 years since the High Dam put a stop to the natural flooding season.



As this years flooding exceeds the needs of Egypts agricultural, domestic, and industrial sectors, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has decided to use the excess water to rejuvenate the Nile itself by allowing a certain amount of it to sweep accumulated pollutants northwards and out into the Mediterranean. Particular attention has been given to the Rosetta branch of the Nile, which suffers higher levels of pollution than the Damietta branch because it receives most of the agricultural and waste-water runoff from Upper Egypt.



The Rosetta branch of the Nile has become notorious for fish die-offs during the summer months, when concentrations of pollutants increase as a result of higher temperatures, a phenomenon that has been particularly hard on fish-farmers.



The flow of the Nile in Egypt is assisted by a gradient from 200 metres above sea level in Aswan to zero at the Mediterranean. In addition to this, there is also a slight gradient from east to west in the Delta in the direction of the Rosetta branch and the Beheira governorate, the largest of Egypts governorates which stretches from the edge of Giza to Rosetta at the mouth of the Nile on the Mediterranean. As a result of these two gradients, some areas in Beheira and some of the islands in that branch of the Nile will be adversely affected by the cleansing process, despite ministry of irrigation engineers regulating the discharge of water from the High Dam. An estimated 1,200 acres of land in Beheira will be submerged, as opposed to only nine acres on the Damietta branch of the Nile.



As the flovoding season the year is expected to continue until the end of October for the first time in a century, water-resource officials are also thinking about using the excess water to cleanse agricultural land in the Delta from salinisation due to sea-water intrusion and shallow waterlogging (up to less than a metre high) and cumulative salt and pollutant residues generated by the reuse of agricultural drainage water for irrigation.



Large expanses of Egyptian soil have been deprived of the natural cleansing processes of the Nile floods since the High Dam went into operation 50 years ago. Around 46 per cent of the agricultural land in the northern Delta, 37 per cent of the land in the central Delta, and 24 per cent of the land in the southern Delta suffer from heavy soil salinity, meaning that high salinity affects over a third of the agricultural land in the Delta.



This years higher-than-average floods make it possible to wash away the excess salts, not to mention the accumulated residues from chemical fertilisers and pesticides. This is precisely what the ministry of water resources and irrigation is doing this year in order to breathe new life into Egyptian soil that had benefited from the fertile silt that the Nile brought into the Delta for thousands of years until the Aswan High Dam was built.



*The writer is professor of soil and water sciences at the Faculty of Agriculture at Cairo University.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 1 October, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The president of the Junta de Andalucia, Juanma Moreno, has said that his government is prepared to provide rapid Covid-19 tests at Malaga Airport in a bid to refloat the tourism industry.

Faced with the summer's plummeting international tourism figures, especially affected by the quarantine period brought in by the United Kingdom, Moreno has said that he will propose that the central government open safe travel corridors with the UK, with airport testing in place.

"The Junta de Andalucia is prepared to take on the technicalities of all the tests that need to be done on arrival or departure from the Costa del Sol at Malaga Airport, even though it's not our responsibility; and in addition we're prepared to provide all the health professionals necessary to guarantee exhaustive controls," said Moreno on Thursday night in an interview with SUR's editor-in-chief Manuel Castillo on 101TV.

The president explained that there would not be a problem of a shortage of health workers and that the creation of safe travel corridors is possible now, when it wasn't in the summer. This, he said, is because of the new rapid test kits that the Junta has acquired, which are as reliable as a PCR lab test, give a result in 20 minutes.

So a British tourist would arrive at the airport and have a coffee while waiting for the test result, before carrying on with their holiday, he said.

Moreno added that his government was also prepared to test tourists before they returned to their home country.

"I'm convinced that if we make an effort between us - Aena, the State and the Junta de Andalucia - we can start to efficiently establish safety in airports."

He added that these new rapid tests, which are 99% reliable, would be a "revolution".

The regional authority has already bought two million tests of this type, and these are currently being used in the mass screening sessions taking place in areas most affected by Covid.

He also said that the same control system could be applied to shows and cultural events, which would mean larger audiences would be permitted.

This test could breathe life back into the cultural sector, he said, although for this proposal he called for private firms to help foot the bill.
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context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f04872de190)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f04871d2718)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f04872de190)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f04871d2718)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f0487315310)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f04871d2718)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f04871d2718)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f0486dadf98)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f048729c940)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f048729c940)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump's positive test for COVID-19 Friday morning raised major uncertainty about whether the second presidential debate, a town hall format set for Miami on Oct. 15, would move forward as planned.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention advises anyone who tests positive for the virus to avoid contact with others for 10 days after symptoms first appeared and until fever symptoms have been gone for at least 24 hours.

Trump, who aides say has exhibited "mild symptoms," announced his positive test in the early morning Friday, Oct. 2, which seemingly gives the president enough time to follow safety protocols before the next debate is scheduled if he quickly recovers.

Representatives of the Commission on Presidential Debates did not respond to requests to comment about the future of the debates.

The CDC also recommends any individual exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus stay at home for 14 days. Democratic nominee Joe Biden shared the debate stage with Trump for 90 minutes, but the two avoided the customary handshakes beforehand because of coronavirus safety measures.

Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, tested negative for COVID-19, the couple's doctor, Kevin O'Connor, announced in a statement Friday. Biden went ahead with a campaign event at Grand Rapids, Michigan on Friday afternoon, wearing a mask throughout as he gave his usual campaign pitch about the economy and adding jobs.

Speaking to a local television station in western Michigan, Biden said he would be open to additional safety rules.

"I understand the debate commission is debating  no pun intended  rule changes, Biden said. "My view is whatever they decide is fine by me."

More: 'We continue to pray': Joe Biden offers thoughts, prayers to President Trump for speedy recovery after coronavirus test

(From top) Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Tiffany Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are seen ahead of the first presidential debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 29, 2020.

Fox News reporter Chris Wallace, who moderated the first presidential debate in Cleveland, said in an interview Friday on his network that the Trump family members who watched the debate in-person did not wear masks as they were instructed.

Story continues

Wallace said the rules called for everybody except for Trump, Biden and the moderator to wear face masks. He said a safety personnel member from the Cleveland Clinic came up to the family when they were seated and offered them masks in case they didn't have them "and they were waved away."

"And people in the hall noticed that they weren't wearing masks and everybody else in the hall was wearing a mask," Wallace said. "When the debate ended, Mrs. Trump came over, walked past me, she was not wearing a mask. Mrs. Biden walked past me to her husband and she was wearing a mask. So there was a difference in the way the two families and their camps treated the health safety regulations inside the hall."

Wallace, 72, said he plans to get tested for COVID-19 and that this wife and four children who were also in attendance likely would as well.

Unlike past presidential debates, which attract crowds of around 900 people, the audience Tuesday was limited to around 70 people who are required to wear masks and were tested for COVID-19 beforehand, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The debate between Vice President Mike Pence and vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris remains set for Oct. 7 in Salt Lake City. Pence and Harris both tested negative for the virus. The Trump campaign said they are open to safety changes for the vice presidential debate.

We are open to more space between the candidates, which we will be happy to discuss," Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign's communications director, said. "This is a seated debate, so its just a matter of moving farther apart at the table.

Chris Nelson, communications director for the University of Utah, host of the vice presidential debate, said the university remains "ready to host a successful and safe vice presidential debate." He deferred questions about additional health and safety protocols to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The third and final presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 22 in Nashville, Tenn.

Photos from Tuesday's debate show Trump's children Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump and Donald Trump Jr. in the audience not wearing masks. They are near Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez, who is seen wearing a mask. Perez tested negative for COVID-19.

One of Biden's granddaughters, Naomi Biden, remarked on Twitter about the lack of masks from the Trump family as the debate began.

"Why is the Trump family allowed to not wear masks in the debate hall while everyone else follows the rules?" she tweeted.

Why is the Trump family allowed to not wear masks in the debate hall while everyone else follows the rules?  Naomi Biden (@NaomiBiden) September 30, 2020

Trump has argued for weeks that the nation had "turned the corner" on COVID-19 and has held several campaign rallies where hundreds of spectators close together without many wearing masks. Trump has occasionally worn masks in public and refrained from wearing masks publicly at all for months.

During Tuesday's debate, Trump made fun of Biden for wearing face masks too often. Biden wears a mask before speaking at campaign events.

"I think masks are okay. You have to understand, if you look. I mean, I have a mask right here," Trump said, pulling a mask out of his suit pocket. "I put a mask on when I think I need it. Tonight, as an example, everybodys had a test and youve had social distancing and all of the things that you have to, but I wear masks."

Directed toward Biden, Trump said: "I dont wear a mask like him. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from him and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen."

The presidential debates are already under more scrutiny than at any time in U.S. history following a chaotic first debate in which both candidates routinely interrupted each other  the bulk of those interruptions coming from Trump  and Wallace struggled to maintain control.

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced this week changes would be implemented for the next debates including "additional tools to maintain order."

First lady Melania Trump, left, Ivanka Trump, center, and Eric Trump, right, sit next to each other at the first presidential debate at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump COVID-19: Future of presidential debates uncertain after positive test
LONDON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Greensill, the leading provider of working capital finance for businesses and employees globally, has further strengthened its Board, with the appointment of Patricia Russo as a Senior Advisor, effective 1st October, 2020.

Patricia 'Pat' F. Russo is Chair of the Board for Hewlett Packard Enterprise and also serves on the Boards of GM, Merck, and private equity firm KKR. She has served previously on the Boards of Alcoa and Arconic, including a period as interim Chair of the latter. She served as Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent from 2006 to 2008 where she oversaw the cross-border integration to create a global telecoms equipment giant. Pat was Chairman of Lucent from 2003 to 2006, and CEO from 2002 to 2006. Prior to re-joining Lucent in 2002, Pat was President and Chief Operating Officer of Kodak. She has spent her career in technology businesses, also including IBM and AT&T.

Maurice Thompson, Chairman of the Board of Greensill, said: "We are delighted to welcome Pat to Greensill. Pat brings a wealth of experience, working at the highest levels in leading global technology companies. She joins Greensill at an exciting time in our growth trajectory as we continue to accelerate the movement of capital into the real economy, where it is needed most."

Pat Russo said: "I look forward to working with Greensill in an advisory capacity. As a leading global fintech with significant potential, I plan to bring my experience working in global technology businesses as well as my governance experience to bear in working with Greensill's Board and Management Team."

About Greensill

Founded in 2011, Greensill is headquartered in London with offices in New York, Frankfurt, Chicago, Miami, Singapore, Bogota, Shenzhen, Abu Dhabi, Johannesburg, Sydney, Warrington and Bundaberg. Greensill provides innovative working capital financing solutions to customers across Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, and Asia - injecting more than $143 billion of financing in 2019 to more than 10 million customers and suppliers across more than 175 countries.

Greensill's Board of Directors

More details on Greensill's Board members can be found here.
THE upcoming Budget is being planned with the worst-case Brexit scenario in mind.

Ministers have still promised, however, no change to personal taxation in 2021 despite the battering the economy has taken at the hands of Covid.

Read More

We are not going to be making changes in personal taxes on Tuesday week, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe declared, while admitting that the package for next year is not only framed against assumed continuance of the virus emergency, but also predicated on a no-deal Brexit.

He spoke, instead, of the medium term, saying: There are going to be taxation changes that will result from all of this.

One of those taxation changes will relate to PRSI, given the depletion of the social insurance fund from sick pay.

Michael McGrath, Public Expenditure Minister, said he hoped a no-deal Brexit would not pass, saying that there was hopefully some grounds for optimism on that front.

He added, however: If there is a no-deal Brexit, we will have to be in a position to respond to that. And if you consider the impact on the agri-food sector alone, where we have 5.5bn worth of exports to the UK last year, if you had a situation where WTO tariffs were imposed, you can imagine the scale is pretty dramatic.

So, we are going to prepare to respond. The intention will be to have a reserve there that we can use, if Government so decides.

It will be open to us in the Budget to decide whether to fund certain initiatives in the next number of months so that we can be prepared for all eventualities.

But there isnt any fund that the Government could provide that could fully insulate us from the effects of a no-trade-deal Brexit. I think we should be very open and upfront with the people about that.

But we will be as prepared as we can be.

Expand Close Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins / Facebook

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The Government would also be making the very best case it can in relation to the 5bn European fund to offset the effects of Brexit, he said, while preparations at Dublin port and airport, together with Rosslare Europort, are complete or nearly so.

Both men admitted that much depends on the future evolution of the virus. Mr Donohoe said he was aiming for a higher level of confidence about both the health of citizens and therefore of the economy, leading to jobs being sustained and created.

He said the State had stepped in to fill the space of private consumption through pandemic unemployment payments and wage subsidies, with extraordinary and unprecedented levels of household savings because of the prevailing uncertainty.

Figures published by the Central Statistics Office, and highlighted by the Department of Finance, showed a jump of 35pc in saving provision from disposable income by Irish families in just a single quarter.

The newly published third-quarter Exchequer figures show revenues down 10pc, or 1.4bn, on the same period last year.

This reflected reduced personal consumer spending, often because shops, restaurants and pubs were shut. VAT receipts over the last three months are down nearly 19pc, or over 900m, for instance, although there is some hope that an element of collection has been deferred to the future.

Income taxes were down 7.1pc, or 373m, but overall receipts continued to exceed expectations. Year on year, it is down just 2pc, and has held up much better than we thought.

Although down sharply since the start of the year, excise duties have recovered well and were up nearly 9pc  a performance attributed, in part, to travel restrictions across the summer months, meaning people opted to spend money in Ireland during a greater number of staycations.

Corporation tax was the stellar category, with receipts up 90m in the quarter and 1.6bn in the year to date, helping to offset a huge increase in spending  9.6bn higher than the same period in 2019, and broadly equivalent to the entire Exchequer deficit.

The rise in spending reflects the response to the pandemic, particularly in the areas of health and social protection.

Mr Donohoe said: Although receipts are better than previously expected, much of the over-performance relates to corporation taxes  a revenue stream we cannot rely on over the medium-term.

The figures show that the Government has directed an unprecedented amount of resources at fighting the pandemic. We have invested in our health service, protected incomes and supported business throughout this crisis. Budget 2021 will continue to direct resources at those who need it most.

Mr McGrath stated that the outlay on social protection was now projected to be more than 30bn this year.

As we look towards Budget 2021, our priorities are to ensure that our key public services continue to deliver the services needed by our citizens while also putting in place the resources to support workers and businesses to recover.
The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. John Dramani Mahama, has expressed concern about the culture of impunity that has been on the rise since the assumption of office of President Akufo-Addo.



He said even before becoming President, Nana Akufo-Addo engaged in tendencies that deliberately raised the political temperature.



Addressing the Chiefs and people of Nkrankwanta as part of his three-day tour of the Bono Region, Mr. Mahama noted that the culture of impunity being glorified by the Akufo-Addo administration has resulted in creating fear and panic among the people.



He recounted some of the violent acts of impunity of the pro-Akufo-Addo government vigilante groups as the attack on a national security officer in Kumasi as well as the subsequent vandalism perpetrated on a court of law in Kumasi and setting suspects free.



He also recalled the violence and intimidation unleashed by pro-government vigilante groups on NDC supporters during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.



But, in all these, those who were discovered to have committed the offences are still walking free, with the government failing to act, especially on the report of the Emile Short Commission that investigated the violence at the Ayawaso West Wuogon, Mr. Mahama said.



He also condemned the attack on some NDC supporters at Nkrankwanta during the nationwide voter registration exercise by the Electoral Commission, which has left one of the victims paralyzed.



Mr. Mahama said the NPP on the watch of President Akufo-Addo has proven that they cannot unite Ghanaians and it is, therefore, imperative that they are voted out in the December 7, 2020 general elections.



He also promised to streamline and transform recruitment into Police Service and do away with the current situation where people are secretly recruited into the Service.



For his part, the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, also condemned the culture of impunity, adding the next NDC government will implement programs and policies geared towards modern policing methods.

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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Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Siddharth Nath Singh on Friday said Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek OBrien is an amazing character of dramatics, adding that he has finally found a place in Hathras to exhibit his skills.

Singhs remarks came after a TMC panel led by OBrien, as well as the MP himself, was roughed up by the police while trying to enter the village of the 19-year-old Hathras gang-rape victim who died on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after being sexually assaulted and tortured by four men from her village.

The entire issue is being politicised and people are simply touring Hathras. Mr Derek is one of my good friends. He is an amazing character of dramatics and has finally found a place in Hathras to exhibit his skills, Singh told news agency ANI.

The entire issue is being politicised & people are simply touring Hathras. Mr Derek is one of my good friends. He is an amazing character of dramatics & has finally found a place in Hathras to exhibit his skills: SN Singh, UP Minister, on TMC members pushed by police in Hathras pic.twitter.com/oNh1i1tm3a  ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2020

Earlier, in a clip that has gone viral on social media, the police can be seen pushing OBrien to the ground.

#WATCH: TMC delegation being roughed up by Uttar Pradesh Police at #Hathras border. The delegation, including Derek O'Brien, was on the way to meet the family of the victim of Hathras incident. pic.twitter.com/94QcSMiB2k  ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2020

The TMC delegation, which was stopped from entering the village, also had the partys women Lok Sabha MPs, Kakoli Ghosh-Dastidar and Pratima Mondal, as well as former lawmaker Mamata Thakur.

The female lawmakers have further accused male constables of touching them, a charge which the Hathras district administration has refuted.

The allegations are totally false. Women constables requested them to go back as no one is allowed to enter the village. When they tied to enter forcibly, women constables stopped them, Hathras Sadar SDM Prem Prakash Meena said.

This latest controversy comes barely 24 hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, too, was caught on camera being manhandled by the police while trying to march from Greater Noida to Hathras to meet the victims kin.
NEW HAVEN  Police have identified the man killed on Exchange Street Wednesday night as Divonne J. Coward, 27, of New Haven.

Capt. Anthony Duff said police were called to a report of gunfire on Exchange Street between Ferry and East Pearl streets at approximately 11:25 p.m. Wednesday.

Officers canvassed the area and found an adult male gunshot victim on the front porch of an Exchange Street residence. New Haven Fire and American Medical Response arrived to treat the victim, Duff said. Medical responders pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.

At the departments biweekly Compstat meeting, Assistant Chief Karl Jacobson said police believe the man did not live at the Exchange St. house, as residents there did not know him.

Sgt. Michael Fumiatti, the district manager for Fair Haven, said he and representatives of Yale Child Study would canvass the area in the coming days, seeking to help any children dealing with the trauma of the incident.

Jacobson also noted that graduates from the departments clergy academy would visit the neighborhood in the coming days to speak with residents.

The homicide was the 17th of the year in the city. There had been eight homicides at this point last year, according to the Police Department.

Anyone with information is asked to call New Haven police at (203) 946-6304. Callers can remain anonymous.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
The rescue group was granted full custody and ownership of the puppies, which will be quarantined at PAWS Chicago Medical Center for the next few weeks in compliance with CDC requirements and under the supervision of the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the state veterinarian, said Mary Scheffke, the director of the rescue group.
President Akufo-Addo is asking ex-President John Dramani Mahama to render an unqualified apology to Ghanaians for kicking against the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy during the formative years of the social intervention programme.

According to him, Mr. Mahama and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) constantly objected to the Free SHS policy; therefore, he is not morally fit to campaign with the policy for votes in the upcoming December 7 general election.

Without mincing words, President Akufo-Addo stated that Mr. Mahama had realized Ghanaians had embraced the Free SHS programme and that is why he has started 'pretending' he can manage the free SHS better.

No Credibility

Speaking in an interview on Kumasi-based 'Hello FM' on Wednesday evening, the President, who is seeking re-election, stated emphatically that ex-President Mahama, who wants to return to power after being trounced in 2016 as incumbent, is not credible enough to be given the chance to manage the Free SHS policy.

Former President Mahama should openly apologize to Ghanaians that he and the NDC were totally and shamefully wrong when they consistently kicked against the Free SHS programme immediately I came out with the idea of introducing the positive policy in the country.

Now, after realizing that the free SHS is making a huge and positive impact on the lives of the citizenry, he and the NDC have made a sharp U-turn by saying that they could abolish the Double Track system in one year and also improve the Free SHS policy in general.

This is a false statement coming from someone, who hates the Free SHS policy with passion, but he is only peddling falsehood to enable him to accrue undeserved votes during the December 7 polls from an educational policy that he and his NDC abhor so much, he said.

U-Turn

According to him, Ghanaians are aware that the NDC, led by Mr. Mahama, does not like the Free SHS programme from day one so if he has now changed his mind to support the policy, then he should publicly state that now he is fully on board the free SHS boat.

The President said the NDC presidential candidate would be permitted to talk about improving the Free SHS policy only after he (Mahama) had publicly apologized for initially kicking against the policy, adding that the recent statement on the Free SHS shows Mr. Mahama is 'desperate' for power.

These same NDC people kicked strongly against the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) when the policy was being introduced in 2003; in fact, the entire NDC Members of Parliament (MP) walked out from the House when the NHIS bill was being passed.

Years later, after the NDC had realized that the NHIS had been embraced by Ghanaians, they then promised to make the NHIS a one-time premium payment policy but, as noted of the NDC, they failed woefully to make the NHIS a one-time payment programme even with eight years in power, he said.

Interestingly, after all the big promises and sweet words, the NDC rather left power when the NHIS programme had collapsed and had been replaced with the Cash and Carry system due to huge debts to providers. The NDC even did not talk about the one-time premium when they were in office.

The NDC is adopting this same diabolical strategy again over the highly successful Free SHS policy. They kicked against it and nowadays they are promising to have the knowledge to make it better; this is a blatant lie so the electorate should reject them, the President added.

More 'Lies'

Still on what he termed as 'NDC lies to win power', President Akufo-Addo said under the NDC administration, they could not employ people into the public service for four years yet today, they are promising to provide millions of jobs for Ghanaians when they win political power again.

President Akufo-Addo said certainly the NDC members are hungry for political power after being shown the exit in 2016 for failing to perform; therefore, they (NDC) have resorted to lies to woo the voters, stressing that the NDC and ex-President Mahama are not credible to manage the state.

---Daily Guide
Detechtion Technologies, the market leading asset optimization provider in Upstream Oil and Gas, is announcing the launch of an Enalysis Directive 60 Module that will be made available with the next release of Enalysis, Version 5.1. The new release offers the capability to manage section 8.6.2 of Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) Directive 060 Regulations (https://www.aer.ca/regulating-development/rules-and-directives/directives/directive-060) which outline handling of vent gas for compressor seals.

To comply with section 8.6.2 of Directive 60, Oil & Gas operators in Alberta can store vent test results and track seal replacements for reciprocating and centrifugal compressors, and report those results to AERs Onestop software. Downtime records captured in Enalysis will be used in conjunction with vent gas rates to accurately report vented volumes and extend testing intervals. By leveraging the downtime hours tracked in Enalysis, the vent tests required to be done at 9000 hour intervals could be extended by months depending on the assets runtime. Enalysis customers will be able to take advantage of these new features to comply with these regulations, which took effect July 7, 2020.

We recognize the significant impact the new regulations have on Canadian Oil and Gas Producers in terms of cost and complexity, said Eric Neason, SVP of Products & Services of Detechtion. With the launch of the Enalysis Directive 60 Module, we are excited to provide our customers the ability to determine the most cost-effective compliance strategy and the tools to manage ongoing compliance.

About Detechtion Technologies

Detechtion Technologies is the market leading asset optimization provider in Upstream Oil & Gas saving our customers millions of dollars per year in expenses by enabling them to operate more efficiently, as well as operating more safely and environmentally. Detechtion leads the digital transformation and optimization of natural gas compression, oilfield chemicals, and other production operations with Asset Performance Management (APM), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Mobile solutions. Since 1999, thousands of users have depended on Detechtion Technologies to optimize over 10,000 assets worldwide.

Detechtion, Enalysis, Enbase, and Fieldlink are registered or unregistered trademarks of Detechtion Technologies in the U.S. and other countries.
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 02.10.2020 amid the Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh:

MICROBUS UNDER ATTACK

https://news.am/eng/news/605650.html

https://news.am/eng/news/605658.html

A microbus transporting Russian and Armenian reporters and American volunteers was shelled in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), RIA Novosti reports, citing its correspondent.

Among the passengers on the bus were reporters for Vremya Pokazhet, First Channel and RIA Novosti and four journalists of Armenian television channels, a cameraman, as well as a US volunteer who is based in Yerevan.

In the meantime, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to shed all possible light on the origin of the bombardment that injured four journalists covering the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh yesterday, and to ensure that the injured can be evacuated safely.

The four journalists were among a group of reporters that was shelled in the town of Martuni on the fifth day of the violent clashes that have broken out between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

ERDOGAN REITARATES SUPPORT

https://news.am/eng/news/605647.html

In his speech at the opening of a hospital in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Turkey's support for Azerbaijans aggression.

According to TRT, Erdogan said Azerbaijan has launched a big operation to defend its alleged lands and take Karabakh and is successfully moving forward.

We, as Turkey, support Azerbaijan with all of our resources and wholeheartedly and will continue to support Azerbaijan until the end, Erdogan said.

PUTIN, PASHINYAN TALK

https://news.am/eng/news/605661.html

President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan today held phone talks during which they discussed the current situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, the press service of the Kremlin reports.

Vladimir Putin reiterated the need for resumption of the political and diplomatic efforts for immediate cessation of the military clashes and the settlement of the conflict.

The two parties expressed serious concern over the information according to which militants of unlawful armed groups from the Middle East have participated in the hostilities.

KARABAKH OMBUDSMAN

https://news.am/eng/news/605676.html

Human Rights Defender of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Artak Beglaryan tweeted that Azerbaijan just struck Stepanakert three times with heavy rockets, adding that it seems residential buildings were destroyed and that there are many casualties.

UKRAINE ON SUPPORT

https://news.am/eng/news/605678.html

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine wont provide military aid to any of the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Earlier, deputy of the Supreme Rada, member of the Servant of the People presidential faction Lyudmila Marchenko told a TV station that Kyiv was allegedly ready to support Azerbaijan on different platforms.

During the briefing, Zelenskyy also said Kyiv is calling on the conflicting sides, that is, Armenia and Azerbaijan, to engage in dialogue for de-escalation of the conflict.

He also clarified that very serious, strong relations have developed between Kyiv and Baku over the past two years and that Ukraine supports Azerbaijans sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Actor Ileana DCruz has shared a self-appreciation post on Instagram, listing all the body image issues she has had, and how she learned to not care. Ileana wrote that she has always been worried about the way she looked.

Sharing a black-and-white image of herself in a two-piece swimsuit, the actor wrote in her caption, Ive always worried about how I looked. Ive worried my hips are too wide, my thighs too wobbly, my waist not narrow enough, my tummy not flat enough, my boobs not big enough, my butt too big, my arms too jiggly, nose not straight enough, lips not full enough..... Ive worried that Im not tall enough, not pretty enough, not funny enough, not smart enough, not perfect enough.

She continued, Not realising I was never meant to be perfect. I was meant to be beautifully flawed. Different. Quirky. Unique. Every scar, every bump, every flaw just made me, me. My own kind of beautiful. The actor concluded, Thats why Ive stopped. Stopped trying to conform to the worlds ideals of whats meant to be beautiful. Ive stopped trying so hard to fit in. Why should I?? When I was born to stand out.

Ileanas post received love from her fans, who liked it close to 700000 times. You have always been amazing. You are one of those pretty ladies watching whom in pokri I had a girl crush on! one person wrote in the comments section. Beautiful inside out, wrote another.

Also read: Ileana DCruz says it is okay to not feel amazing all the time: Give yourself time to heal

In 2017, Ileana revealed that she had contemplated suicide because of her Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). Speaking at the 21st World Congress of Mental Health in New Delhi, she revealed how talking to a therapist about her BDD and low self-esteem helped her fight the mental and emotional distress. Imperfections are a part of life and one should learn to love who you are. You are a human being and are allowed to be imperfect, and you are allowed to be flawed. There is a lot of beauty in your imperfections, in your uniqueness, she said.

Ileana was last seen in the 2019 comedy film Pagalpanti. She will now be seen opposite Abhishek Bachchan in The Big Bull. The film will release on Disney+ Hotstar.

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The complete absence of ceasefire violations in Donbas must be complemented by withdrawal of heavy weapons, Russian armed formations, military equipment and mercenaries from the occupied parts of Ukraine.

The current ceasefire in Donbas, unprecedented in its duration and comprehensiveness since the very beginning of Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict, should serve as a solid basis for further progress. The number of ceasefire violations should drop to zero and be complemented by withdrawal of heavy weapons, Russian armed formations, military equipment and mercenaries from the occupied parts of Ukraine, as well as reinstatement of full control of the state border by the government of Ukraine, Ambassador Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, said at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting on 1 October 2020.

Tsymbaliuk stressed that those efforts required political will by the Russian side, similar to what it had demonstrated by instructing its armed personnel to adhere to ceasefire along the contact line in Donbas since 27 July.

However, the diplomat underscored that as of now, we do not witness such readiness of the Russian side. By contrast, the Russian armed formations continue to restrict access of the SMM ground patrols to the occupied territories, claiming the additional ceasefire measures and demanding so called joint inspections to check the reports and conclusions of the OSCE.

Commenting on the situation on the political track of peaceful settlement within the Minsk process, Tsymbaliuk noted that there is still long path ahead before preparations for holding local elections in occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions could start.

Much work should also be done in the TCG Political working group, but it has been blocked as well, despite best efforts of Ambassador Morel and repeated calls by the Ukrainian delegation to resume paragraph-by-paragraph discussions on the documents on its agenda, Ukraines Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna said.

Blocking any progress on other tracks of the Minsk agreements, such as disengagement of troops and hardware, opening of new entry-exit checkpoints and mutual release of detainees, is equally counterproductive. On these tracks too, Russia also uses other excuses to finalize arrangements, or hinder or otherwise delay implementation of already reached agreements. We urge the Russian side to drop its practice of blackmailing and return to constructive consultations within the TCG, Tsymbaliuk emphasized.

On September 30, a regular meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) was held via video conference with the participation of Ukrainian and Russian delegations and moderated by the OSCE. Head of the Ukrainian delegation Leonid Kravchuk called on Russias representative Boris Gryzlov "not to block the negotiation process and to focus on the issues which the Ukrainian citizens are interested in."

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EDMONTONKisha Daniels has lived in Alberta her whole life and says after 40 years, racism is something shes accustomed to as a Black woman.

But theres one phrase that consistently cuts deeper than anything else.

The most hurtful comments to me are the ones that say, Go back to my country, Daniels says from her home just outside Red Deer, a city of about 100,000 in central Alberta.

As a Black woman (descended) from the history of North American slavery, we are not allotted a country. Were not American. Were not African. We were brought here against our will. So we are Canadian  Were just not allowed to have those spaces.

Daniels had been scheduled to speak at a recent anti-racism event in Red Deer before it was interrupted by members of a hate group who tried to shut it down. This happened after two other events Daniels was involved in in September were also crashed by the same group.

In a CityNews TV video that went viral, one of the members of the far-right group punched one of the anti-racism demonstrators in the face, spurring widespread coverage, condemnation from Albertas premier, justice minister and the mayor of Red Deer, as well as triggering an RCMP investigation.

Confrontations between anti-racism activists and individuals connected to groups with extreme ideologies have been flaring up in Alberta for years, occasionally leading to violent clashes. On Tuesday night, residents of a north Edmonton neighbourhood confronted a group of far-right demonstrators in a grocery store parking lot. Edmontons mayor condemned the incident, and Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu referred to the gathering as a small group of sad losers.

While all Canadians have a right to free expression, I absolutely condemn any demonstration of bigotry and racism, Madu said in a tweet Wednesday.

Daniels, who says her family was among the first thousand Black Americans to come to Alberta, has heard the phrase Go back to your country more than once. Most recently, she was grocery shopping in Red Deer with her son when a man began aggressively telling them to move away from him.

It didnt take long for him to start making racist and sexual remarks, including calling her the N-word and telling her to Go back to her country, she recalls. She says a family who appeared to be Asian Canadian was watching as they considered intervening.

I told them please dont say anything. This man is a racist. He will attack you. You have a young child. Please just leave the aisle. So they nodded and left the aisle.

But Daniels is not one to sit back and accept the status quo. She reported the man and had him removed from the store.

She says she has always been an activist for mental health and womens rights, but recently shifted her focus to racism after watching the video of George Floyd being killed by a police officer in Minneapolis. She recalls her son asking if she had heard about it and pleading with him not to watch it. He said, mom, we need to do something.

Its one of the main reasons she co-founded the advocacy group Black and Indigenous Alliance Alberta.

Albertas diversity has increased at a faster pace than the rest of Canada; in 2016, 23.5 per cent of Albertans identified as visible minorities, compared to 18.4 per cent in 2011, an increase of 5.1 per cent. Nationwide, the number of Canadians who identified as visible minorities increased by 3.2 per cent in the same time period.

The province has also seen a steady rise in hate crimes in recent years. Police-reported hate crimes increased from 139 incidents in 2016 to 192 in 2017, a rise of 38 per cent. In 2018, a total of 207 incidents were reported. Numbers for 2019 are not yet available. Of Canada four largest provinces, all but Alberta reported a decrease in police-reported hate crimes in 2018. With 4.4 million people as of 2020, Alberta is Canadas fourth most populous province.

Other racialized Albertans spoke with the Star about their experience as a person of colour in the Prairies.

Dieulita Datus is a Black resident of Lacombe, near Red Deer, who moved to Canada from the Bahamas in 2007. She says she constantly feels her Canadian identity is being questioned, from being frequently asked where shes from, or people asking if they can call her a short form of her name because they say its too hard to pronounce.

Shes had instances of people touching her Afro while standing in line at the grocery store.

Whats it like being a woman of colour in the Prairies? Every day I feel as if I have to wear that badge that Im a woman of colour, that Im an outsider, that I dont necessary belong here, Datus says.

Red Deer straddles Albertas main population centres of Edmonton and Calgary and is a large city by Alberta standards. But its located in a part of the province that is fairly homogenous and Datus says its still easy to feel out of place as a person of colour there.

Datus and her friend Sadia Khan formed an advocacy group called Ubuntu to shine light on what racialized Canadians face in a province that is still less diverse than some of its counterparts.

Its a different kind of environment, lets say, in Alberta, says Khan, who recently successfully worked with Red Deers administration to have stickers promoting a white nationalist website removed from her city.

As a result of her activism, Daniels says she and her family have received death threats. Its a glimpse of the burden she faces for engaging in anti-racism activism.

So why does she continue to do it?

Because I have four young children, she says forcefully, before clarifying that some of them are young adults.

I have lived this for 40 years and I dont want them to live it for another 40 years. I dont want them to have to be 40 years old thinking, why cant they get acceptance? Why cant people just allow them to have space? Im tired of it.

Daniels and her group had been holding peaceful marches and rallies in Ponoka, a town of about 7,000 near Red Deer, for six weeks before far-right agitators started crashing their events. In all three cases, she says police attended, stood by and watched.

It was just the same scenario as its been consistently from RCMP that there was just no involvement. They said that these people could interact with us and that they were free to be there, Daniels says.

In advance of an anti-racism event in Red Deer on Sept. 20, Daniels was informed far-right individuals were planning to try to shut it down. Before it even started, Daniels says a group arrived in about 12 to 15 vehicles and began heckling them, blaring their horns and causing a commotion. Several were wearing Soldiers of Odin vests, an extremist Finland-based group with chapters in Canada, and which the Canadian Anti-Hate Network classifies as a hate group.

At a time of racial reckoning and increased scrutiny on police conduct, Daniels is perplexed by how officers can stand by while hate groups attack their anti-racism events.

Ive read plenty in the media how the RCMP want to work with racialized people. Ive read how they want to support racialized people. Ive read how they agree that theres systemic racism in their detachments, Daniels says. As a result, I want them to do their job.

Supt. Gerald Grobmeier, the detachment commander of the Red Deer RCMP, told the Star police are in a challenging position when it comes to these events. With the exception of some extremist groups recently identified as terrorist entities by Public Safety Canada, even groups that espouse hate like Soldiers of Odin have the right to assemble in public and express their views.

It might be reprehensible what people are saying  but its not illegal, Grobmeier says.

Over the years, authorities have shifted how they police protests and rallies, he says, from a presence that signalled they were in control to a more observer-based approach driven by intelligence.

But that still doesnt give them the right to arrest or detain people for spewing racist or rude remarks.

Were not just going over there and someone starts yelling and were going to start bringing out batons, he says. People have rights and its very important for all police officers to fully understand their rights but also fully understand the laws that are in place to help us enforce if it gets to that level.

During the most recent Red Deer event, he says police were not present when the fight broke out because it happened before the event was scheduled to start.

We didnt show up late. We were still early, just not as early as the people that showed up.

Grobmeier acknowledges systemic racism is a problem within the RCMP but doesnt believe its an issue particular to his detachment. He says they would be reviewing how the Sept. 20 event unfolded and if it could have been handled better.

Well do a thorough review and identify if there were gaps or not and make sure to fill those gaps for next time, he says.

Prior to the most recent event, Daniels had been informed of a video circulating where a man shows a video clip of another man running towards a peaceful protester, tackling them to the ground and slapping them in the face.

If you come into my rural communities, Im gonna be this big guy in the white shirt  thats patriots kicking Antifa out of their towns, he says in the video, referencing the anti-fascist movement and also encouraging others to join his protest.

The man in the video is Patrick King. He told the Star he attended both the Ponoka and Red Deer events and says he went there to have a dialogue before it unintentionally escalated.

He says he was shoved but never retaliated and that members of the anti-racism group were also violent. He sent the Star a video of a woman taking a phone from a man wearing a yellow vest and throwing it at him.

In an interview, King sends mixed messages about his support for violence; he says he opposes it and claims he tried to prevent others from engaging in violence at the events.

But he also defends his remarks in the clip he shared as well as the mans actions, characterizing the slaps to the face as little love taps and how a parent would discipline their child.

Was what I said inappropriate? Maybe to a liberal-minded person who wants to think everything can be solved with talk or whatever. But when the talk stops, and the violence continues  its basically showing that communities can stand up, King says. Youre seeing people who have already used their voices.

King has a long history of involvement with far-right movements in Alberta. Last year, he was a fixture at yellow-vest rallies, a movement whose leaders claimed was about supporting the oil and gas industry, but then veered into anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic territory. He attended the United We Roll convoy to Ottawa, an extension of the yellow-vest movement, and was also previously a supporter of Wexit, an Alberta separatist movement whose founder peddled in conspiracy theories.

Speaking with the Star, King rants about socialism, communism, cancel culture and Antifa and says he and his group were simply taking back their communities from hired thugs.

King insists hes not racist, but videos that appear to show him making anti-Semitic and racist remarks about Chinese people have circulated online. In a November 2019 video, he expressed belief in a conspiracy theory that says global elites are spearheading a replacement of people of European ancestry through a concerted effort of mass immigration into the Western world. He told the Star in an earlier interview his comments about white population replacement were taken out of context and defended his other remarks as a joke.

John McCoy is an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta and director of the Organization to Prevent Violence, which studies extremism. Last year, his organization published a report that showed Alberta was home to a disproportionate number of extremist groups, especially so-called patriot groups.

These groups, such as Soldiers of Odin, differ in how they spread their message, but are united by a strong distrust of government, opposition to illegal or mass migration and a fierce hate for globalism  the idea the elites are pulling the strings in a vast hegemony to assert control over people. The patriot groups are also rife with Islamophobic and anti-Semitic beliefs.

McCoy says Antifa has become a popular target among the far right due to its association with violence and because its an amorphous movement whose members are hard to identify.

Anyone who turns out to an anti-racism protest, or gets behind some kind of left-wing issue  is being quickly labelled as an Antifa (supporter) or Marxist, McCoy says.

Its no coincidence the far-right groups overlap with anti-vaxxers and anti-lockdown proponents due to their inherent distrust of government. Now the pandemic has provided them more ammunition for their arsenal.

We sort of have the perfect storm right now, where you have very significant public health regulations being put in place that curtail freedoms, youve got social discord, youve got race-based arrests in the United States that you havent seen since the 60s, McCoy says.

This is all coming together in a context in which information and disinformation is more accessible than ever.

The patriot groups do much of their recruiting online, which is important in the context of the pandemic, McCoy says, adding the online groups have seen a huge increase in recruitment during the pandemic.

The backlash against anti-racism events is not fuelled by mistrust of government, however, but a more existential fear of mass immigration and of Canadas European majority being replaced.

We would be naive to think individuals who show up to yellow-vest protests are not just increasingly uncomfortable with what amounts to a changing face in Canada, McCoy says.

But police have few mechanisms in place to deal with extreme behaviour before it escalates into violence, he adds. Hate-crime charges are notoriously difficult to lay.

Calling someone a racist remark is not illegal, but any crime can be deemed hate-motivated if there is evidence of such.

Its been remarkable how difficult its been for the Canadian legal system to take a clear stance against this sort of behaviour, McCoy says. So its no surprise that theres a great deal of frustration at the community level.

He believes Canadas hate-crime laws need to be changed so authorities can more proactively deal with people who espouse extreme views before they turn into acts of violence.

They absolutely do need to be looked at, McCoy says. If theres a situation in which people can promote violence and the kind of hateful speech thats directly encouraging violence against others, that is a challenge to basic civil order in this country.

Daniels says the recent events have further highlighted why anti-racism activism is so important. She says while it can be hard to be a Black woman in Alberta, there are many more good people than bad.

As for the patriot groups? She has a few choice words for anyone who might tell her to go back to her own country.

Patriots of what country, may I ask? Because its definitely not Canada.

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Although the coronavirus pandemic has forced St. Patrick Hospital to postpone construction of a massive new $126-million, six-story outpatient building near downtown Missoula, the nonprofit hospital has still recently completed a large new expansion.

On Oct. 5, St. Patrick Hospital will welcome the first patients into its brand new 10,000-square-foot, 10-bed Clinical Decision Unit.

Carol Bensen, the chief nursing officer at St. Patrick Hospital, said the new addition is an observation unit that will increase capacity and allow for smoother, more efficient functions. Basically, it provides an alternative to discharge or hospital inpatient admission.

"The intent of the observation unit is to be able to have patients who come in through the Emergency Department and get triaged and start their treatment, and they're not really ready to go home, but we aren't sure if they need to be admitted to inpatient status," she explained.

So, they come to the new unit for a period of hours for additional treatment and diagnostics.

"And then from that point, we decide do they need inpatient admission or can they go home," she said. "And so the average length of stay over here is about anywhere from 16 to 23 hours. And it's called observation medicine and observation nursing, which has been around for a long time, about 30-35 years nationally. It's not a new concept to us, we just never had a unit to cohort these patients."

Right now, if the hospital admits a patient in observation, they go to an inpatient bed.

"So they think they're in inpatient, when in reality they're not, they're still considered an outpatient," she said. "The other advantage of being down here is the rapid delivery of care that happens in an Emergency Department happens over here. Maybe not quite as fast as an ED but not at the pace it happens in inpatient. That's how we get people out a little bit quicker."

Someone who has an asthma attack might come through the Emergency Department, get treated, but still not feel like they could go home safely.

"So we may bring them over here, keep them for a couple hours, give them repetitive breathing treatment in addition to doing some serial x-rays, and then from here if they need additional medical treatment they'd be admitted or we'll send them home and they'll continue treatment at home."

She said the hospital has recruited nurses from other departments in the hospital to staff the new unit.

"So they can all learn the best from each other and learn to provide the model of care that we want to provide here," she said. "And then the physician who'll take it over won't be an emergency physician, they'll hand off care to a hospitalist. And then we'll have a dedicated hospitalist each shift to really help us manage these patients."

Bensen said the hospital was designed with intention to provide a lot of natural light and a calming atmosphere for patients.

The new unit also frees up 10 inpatient beds at the hospital for other patients. The other advantage is it opens up what she called "through-put" in the Emergency Department, meaning patients will stay fewer hours in that crucial department and increase capacity there.

"That's what excites me about doing this, because it's so important for us to be open for people to be able to come and receive treatment here," she said. "And you know, we receive patients from all over the service area that come for care here at St. Pat's, and this gives us the opportunity to be able to do that."

St. Pats declined to disclose the value of the new unit, but Bensen said it would not be possible without generous philanthropic donations to the Providence Montana Health Foundation.

JoAnn Hoven, the communications manager for Providence Montana, said the private rooms are equipped with telemetry bedside monitoring and the unit will be open and staffed 24 hours a day, seven days week by trained observation nurses, hospitalists and social workers.

The new unit is attached to the main hospital campus on West Broadway, located just to the east of the existing Emergency Department.

In September of 2019, St. Pats broke ground on a new $126-million, six-story outpatient building at 600 W. Broadway, just across the street from the existing hospital campus.

St. Pat's new building rendering An architectural rendering of the new $120-million, six-story St. Patrick Hospital outpatient building that includes three levels of undergrou

However, construction has been on hold due to the pandemic, according to marketing, communications and external affairs manager Stacy Rogge.

"All Providence large-scale, capital projects were placed on temporary pause once COVID hit in March 2020," Rogge wrote in an email to the Missoulian. "Plans for 600 West Broadway construction are momentarily delayed with the intent of resuming construction once we've weathered the COVID storm. We have, however, completed a number of smaller capital projects by partnering with our Providence Montana Health Foundation  (the) Adolescent Psych Unit, cardiovascular lab and the soon-to-be-open Clinical Decision Unit."

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A social-belonging intervention improves STEM outcomes for students who speak English as a second language. Credit: Indiana University

A study conducted at 19 universities by IU researchers and their colleagues in the U.S. and Canada, found that a brief social belonging exercise, administered online before students arrive on campus, boosts the performance and persistence of students in STEM disciplinesscience, technology, engineering and mathwho speak English as a second language.

Published this week in the journal Science Advances, the study demonstrates that the exercise increases ESL students' perception that a sense of belonging on campus will grow over time. It also increases the number of STEM credits ESL students successfully completed, as well as their STEM GPAs.

As Jennifer LaCosse, an IU post-doctoral researcher and lead author on the study, explained, ESL students are greatly underrepresented in U.S. colleges, particularly within STEM fields, and their absence is a disadvantage both to the students themselves and the economy more broadly. Having a college degree, particularly in STEM fields, gives ESL students the opportunity to have higher paying jobs and more successful careers overall. It also creates a diverse and multilingual workforce that is needed to meet the needs of an increasingly globalized economy.

Results of the study suggest that one way to increase the representation and academic success of ESL students in STEM is to target their sense of belonging. "Students often ask themselves, 'Do I belong here?' and we know that this concern can undermine academic performance and persistence," said LaCosse.

Students who speak English as a second language often report concerns about not fitting in with native English-speaking students and a lack of social connections. In addition, many are required to pass language proficiency tests or enroll in special ESL courses during their first few years of college.

"These policies can metaphorically and literally separate ESL students from non-ESL students during the pivotal transition to college when feelings of belonging are critical," said LaCosse. "Finding ways of buttressing ESL students' feelings of belonging may be essential to their academic successwhich is what we wanted to examine in our research."

The study utilized data collected at 19 universities from more than 12,000 STEM students by the College Transition Collaborative, a partnership co-founded by IU social psychologist and study co-author Mary Murphy. Students in the study who were randomly assigned to receive the social belonging treatment, read short stories attributed to juniors and seniors describing the challenges they faced in their transition to college. The students in the stories initially questioned the degree to which they belonged in college; and yet, with time they ultimately developed a greater sense of belonging. Study participants followed the readings with a writing exercise about their own experiences.

Results of the study revealed that both ESL and non-ESL students who received the social belonging exercise anticipated greater growth in their sense of belonging than students who received the control treatment. However, these psychological gains in belonging only bolstered the academic persistence and performance of ESL students. Specifically, STEM-interested ESL students who received the social-belonging exercise (vs. the control group, which did not) completed more of the STEM courses that they began in their first term in collegeand this effect persisted through the first year. ESL students who completed the social belonging exercise also earned higher STEM GPAs in Term 1 than did their ESL peers who did not.

"People do not often think about ESL students as a disadvantaged group in the same way they do about other disadvantaged students, such as Black or women students," observed LaCosse. "The results of this study, however, provide rigorous empirical evidence that ESL students have similar psychological experiences to these other disadvantaged students."

As co-author Mary Murphy, IU professor of psychological and brain sciences noted, "Because of the large sample size across so many universities this is one of the first studies to quantitatively examine and mitigate this important psychological barrier for ESL students in STEM fields as they begin college."

"The findings are really exciting," said LaCosse, "because ESL students' psychological experiences in higher education have received far less attention than they deserve. Our research suggests that we need to rethink the policies and practices that are in place that create and maintain the underrepresentation of ESL students in higher education."

More information: J. LaCosse el al., "A social-belonging intervention improves STEM outcomes for students who speak English as a second language," Science Advances (2020). Journal information: Science Advances J. LaCosse el al., "A social-belonging intervention improves STEM outcomes for students who speak English as a second language,"(2020). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup  .1126/sciadv.abb6543
New spectrum licence set to spur UK innovation

UK organisations can now secure simple, flexible access to over 18 GHz of high frequency spectrum for new wireless technology, thanks to changes made today by Ofcom.

We have today confirmed we will open up access to 18.2 GHz of spectrum in the 100-200 GHz frequency range  known as Extremely High Frequency (EHF) spectrum.

These bands are presently used by Earth Exploration-Satellite Services (EESS) to collect important weather and climate data. We are opening up the bands with technical conditions which will protect these satellite services while enabling new terrestrial users to develop and use innovative technologies.

Making more spectrum above 100 GHz available will create new opportunities to develop wireless services across a range of industries in the future. These frequencies are well-suited for high-speed wireless services over short distances that need large data capacity to work, as well as sensing and positioning applications.

Potential new services that could make use of this spectrum include:

Health screening applications  helping to detect conditions such as skin cancer earlier;

Very high speed, high capacity data links over short distances  supporting use of 3D imaging, holograms and future Internet of Things (IoT) applications;

High precision product assembly and quality assurance  for example to check for defects in manufactured pharmaceuticals.

People and organisations can apply from today on the Ofcom website for a new licence granting access to one of the 116-122 GHz, 174.8-182 GHz and 185-190 GHz bands.

Ofcom has also set out its intention to open up further bands above 100 GHz in future, to support new services.

This is part of our ongoing work to support wireless innovation, by making sure people and organisations can easily access the spectrum they need
Officials said the project aiming to enhance network coverage along the LOC and LAC will be rolled out by State-owned company, ITI, within three years

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared an ambitious project under which a highly secure communication network will be set up for the Indian Army in strategically key forward locations, including along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), at a cost of Rs 7,796 crore, officials said on Thursday.

The project will be rolled out by government-owned company, ITI, within three years, they said, adding that the contract for its implementation was signed with the telecom entity on Thursday.

The officials said the project will provide better "survivability, responsiveness and high bandwidth" in any operational scenario and enhance the communication coverage of the network in areas closer to forward areas, including along the LAC.

The project will also help provide secure network coverage in areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border with Pakistan, they said.

"In order to meet the long pending demand of the Indian Army, the Cabinet Committee on Security has approved the proposal for establishment of Army Static Switched Communication Network (ASCON) Phase IV Network," the defence ministry said.

It said the project will augment the communication network of the Indian Army in the sensitive forward operational areas which in turn will provide a major boost to the operational preparedness especially keeping in view the current situation at the LAC.

India and China are locked in a five-month-long border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained their ties. Both sides have held a series of diplomatic and military talks to resolve the row. However, no breakthrough has been achieved to end the standoff.

"The project is also a big opportunity for the public sector to showcase its capability and provide an impetus to the Indian economy and will be a step in the direction of achieving the goal of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India)," the ministry said.

With approximately 80 percent indigenous content, the project will provide a boost to the Indian industry, it said.

The ministry said the project will lead to upgradation of the existing 'Asynchronous Transfer Mode Technology' to Internet Protocol (IP)/ Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology.

"Optical Fibre Cable (OFC), Microwave Radio and Satellite will be used as communication media," it said.

The ministry said the project would generate employment opportunities especially to the people in remote border areas and boost rural economy.

"The project involves execution of civil works, laying of OFC, tower construction, etc. And with utilisation of local resources, hiring of manpower, it would generate employment opportunities especially to the people in remote border areas, support and boost rural economy, assist in upliftment of the local economies, provide skill development during the prolonged period of execution and maintenance of the network," the ministry said.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. President of France Emmanuel Macron has announced that more than 300 Syrian Islamist militants have been transferred through Turkeys Gaziantep into the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone and are involved from the Azerbaijani side in the military operations.

International news media reported that France has confirmed that this is a proven fact and that Russia also possesses this information.

Macron added that France is closely working with the other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group  Russia and the US  and that they are jointly preparing peaceful initiatives for the NK situation.

I can announce that more than 300 Syrian Islamist militants, who had earlier left the Aleppo region, have been transferred to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone through the Turkish Gaziantep. This is a confirmed fact, these people are identified, all of them are affiliated with the Islamic State terrorist organization. I have discussed this issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who confirmed that Russia also possesses this information, Macron told reporters.

The French President said these actions by NATO-member Turkey are unacceptable. He said Turkey has crossed the red line.

Azerbaijani armed forces launched a massive military attack on Artsakh on September 27. Since then, 11 civilians have been killed and more than 60 were wounded amid Azeri bombardments of towns and cities of Artsakh. Amid the ongoing Turkish-backed attack on Artsakh, the Azeri forces also began attacking Armenia, killing a civilian and bombing a passenger bus in the town of Vardenis.

A Turkish F-16 shot down an Armenian Armed Forces SU-25 jet in Armenian airspace on September 29.

Then, on October 1, the Azeri forces shelled the Shatvan village of Armenia, and attacked the Mets Masrik village with a combat drone, killing one civilian and wounding two others. Several Azeri recon drones breached the Armenian airspace and were shot down near Yerevan late on October 1.

The Artsakh military reported earlier that 103 of its servicemen have been killed in action since the attack began. More than 120 troops are wounded.

On October 1 the authorities said that Azeri forces lost nearly 1300 servicemen since the beginning of the attack. The Azeri military also suffered huge losses of equipment  95 UAVs, 12 gunships, 181 tanks and armored equipment, 5 warplanes, 2 Smerch and 3 TOS1A heavy artillery systems.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Credit: Brian Kostiuk on Unsplash

To operate safely and reliably in outdoor environments, electronic devices should be resistant to a wide variety of external factors, including radiation. In fact, high-energy radiation can damage several components of field-effect transistors (FETs) commonly used to make electronics, including their semiconducting channel, gate oxide and the insulating materials surrounding it (e.g., isolation or substrate oxides).

For several years, research teams worldwide have thus been trying to devise strategies that could make transistors more resistant to radiation. So far, however, this has proved to be highly challenging, and only a few of the techniques proposed in the past have achieved promising results.

Researchers at Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Tech University have recently fabricated a radiation-hardened and repairable integrated circuit (IC) based on carbon nanotube transistors with ion gel gates. This IC, first presented in a paper pre-published in Nature Electronics, could be used to build new electronic devices that are more resistant to high-energy radiation.

"Our work aimed to realize a kind of radiation-immune IC," Zhiyong Zhang, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told TechXplore. "In addition to general-purpose chips, the requirements on radiation-hardened electrical devices and integrated circuits are growing fast due to the rapid developments in the space exploration and nuclear energy industries."

Most previously proposed strategies to make electronics more resistant to radiation are designed to harden only single components of an electronic part. As a result, using them to create transistors and ICs that are fully resistant to ultra-high radiation can be difficult.

In their paper, Zhang and his colleagues introduced a new strategy that enables the realization of transistors and ICs that are wholly immune to radiation-related damage. The approach they devised essentially entails the redesign of all the vulnerable parts of FETs and the use of new materials that are more resistant to radiation. In addition, the researchers introduced a method to recover FETs via a heat treatment process known as annealing, which they carried out at moderate temperatures.

Credit: Zhu et al.

"The fabricated ICs based on this type of FET present high radiation tolerance of up to 15 Mrad, which is much higher than that of Si transistors (1 Mrad)," Zhang said. "The combination of high radiation tolerance and thermal recoverability paves the way for the development of a new technology of radiation-damage-immune ICs."

The radiation-hardened IC has a semiconducting carbon nanotube transistor (CNT) as a channel, an ion gel as its gate and a substrate made of polyimide. CNTs are intrinsically radiation-resistant semiconductors due to their strong C-C bonds, nanoscale cross sections and their low atomic number. Therefore, in their study, the researchers primarily focused on trying to make their IC's gate insulator and substrate more resistant to radiation.

"When designing our radiation-immune IC, we drew inspiration from the liquid metal robot T-1000 in the classic science fiction movie 'Terminator 2,'" Zhang said. "We used a quasi-liquid gate insulatorion gel and a 'transparent' substrate. Ion gel gates promote the formation of EDLs at the surface of the CNT channel, which provides a much higher gate efficiency and allows the gate to be recovered after suffering radiation damage. Meanwhile, by replacing the Si/SiO 2 substrate of a conventional FET with a thin polyimide substrate, we eliminated effects resulting from high-energy particles being scattered and reflected in a heavy and thick substrate."

In addition to developing an IC with a high tolerance to radiation, significantly higher than that of traditional silicon-based transistors, Zhang and his colleagues introduced a method that could be used to recover FETs damaged by radiation. More specifically, they found that radiation-damaged FETs could be repaired by annealing them at a moderate temperature of 100 C for 10 min.

In the future, the method for fabricating high energy radiation-resistant transistors and ICs devised by this team of researchers could enable the development of durable and more robust electronics that can operate in unusual and potentially problematic environments. For instance, the IC they developed could be used to create electronics that can be sent into space or devices for the nuclear energy industry.

"The transistors and ICs demonstrated in this work are just prototypes," Zhang added. "We will now try to improve the performance and integration density of the IC by scaling the CNT FETs and optimizing the structure and process. In fact, this kind of radiation-hardened IC only has practical value if its performance and density reach certain thresholds."

Explore further Study introduces new nanoscale vacuum channel transistors

More information: Radiation-hardened and repairable integrated circuits based on carbon nanotube transistors with ion gel gates. Nature Electronics (2020). Journal information: Nature Electronics Radiation-hardened and repairable integrated circuits based on carbon nanotube transistors with ion gel gates.(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-020-0465-1

 2020 Science X Network
New Delhi: The family member of Hathras incident victim on Friday (October 2) complained that they are being stopped from speaking to media. Notably, the administration has imposed section 144 of CrPC in this village of Hathras.

On Friday morning, a minor from the victim`s family was sent by the family members to reach out to the media anyhow and ask to connect with them. The minor revealed that they were asked to switch-off their mobiles have and some mobiles are being taken from them.

"They have taken the phone. My family have sent me here to call the media for speaking. I ducked down and came via the field. They are not letting us come out neither are they allowing the media to come in. They are threatening us as well," said the minor family member.

As he was speaking to the media, soon a police officer came and he fled from the spot. When the media asked the police officer why they are being stopped from interacting with the family, they remained silent. After which a verbal spat broke out between security and the media.

The victim's family member crossed farmland to reach media waiting outside the entrance of the village following Section 144.

Amid huge public outcry over the horrific Hathras gang-rape incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today broke his silence and said the culprits behind such heinous crimes will face the strictest possible action.

Live TV

Condemning the rape cases that have come to light in the past week in Hathras, Balrampur, Bulandshahr and Azamgarh, CM Yogi took to Twitter and said the culprits will face consequences that will set an example for others and will be remembered by people.

He tweeted in Hindi, The ones who even think of harming the respect and dignity of the mothers and sisters of UP will be destroyed. They will face consequences of the kind that will set an example to others. The government is committed to the safety and progress of your sisters and mothers. This is our commitment, this is our promise.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today said that gross injustice was done to the alleged Hathras gangrape victim and is being done to her family.

She said, "I want to say that every woman and man in this country needs to raise their voice against the injustice done to the girl (Hathras victim) and whatever has been happening to her family in the last three-four days," while addressing a prayer meet for the victim of Hathras incident at Maharishi Valmiki Temple in the national capital.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also offered prayers at Maharishi Valmiki Temple at Mandir Marg in the national capital on Friday.

Priyanka Gandhi further said, "The government did not help. Her family is feeling alienated. I came here when I heard the Valmiki community had organised a prayer meeting for her. I came here to show solidarity with her family. I want to urge all to please raise their voice and put pressure on the government. Justice should be done to our sister."

She alleged that the victim`s brother and her father could not light the pyre, adding "It is not our tradition. It is big injustice. Justice should be done to them. No funeral is performed after sunset. We cannot remain silent. We came here to show solidarity."

On Thursday, Hathras District Magistrate PK Laxkar denied "negative rumours" about the rift between him and the family of the gangrape victim. Laxkar told ANI, "I met with six family members of the victim yesterday and we spoke for about an hour and a half. I met with them again today to see their point of discontent."

"I deny the negative rumours which are rife about my interactions with them," the district magistrate said.

Hathras victim died in Delhi`s Safdarjung hospital. The post-mortem report reads that the victim suffered a fracture of "C6 cervical vertebra" and there was "extravasations of blood along the fracture line" and the underlying spinal cord was "contused with ascending oedema". The postmortem report, however, denies rape charges.
The COVID-19 pandemics resurgence in Turkey is intensifying, due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogans back-to-work campaign, supported by the bourgeois opposition parties and the union bureaucracy. Officially, around 1,500 new infections are recorded daily, and the total number of COVID-19 patients has reached 315,000. The daily death toll is between 65 and 70, and total deaths have passed 8,100.

On Wednesday, however, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca confirmed widespread suspicions that the Turkish government has deliberately lied to the public in order to downplay the severity of the pandemic and force workers back to work.

People walk in the main Kizilay Square, in Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a COVID-19 case is A person with laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 infection, irrespective of clinical signs and symptoms. However, Koca said: Not all cases are patients, because there are those who show no symptoms at all even though their tests come back positive. These amount to the vast majority, admitting that from the beginning of the pandemic, We have given this as the daily number of patients.

When Koca said last month that The number of people who have no symptoms and who are only vectors does not matter, as long as they do not infect someone else, the WSWS explained that he all but admitted that herd immunity is his governments strategy against the pandemic.

After the health minister has acknowledged that his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has lied about and downplayed the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, endangering public health, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) issued a statement denouncing the government.

We have been saying this for six months. You havent run the process transparently, the TTB declared, adding: You have concealed the truth. You havent prevented the spread of the disease. In response to this scandal, thousands of people used the hashtag What is the number of cases? in protest on social media.

Kocas admission comes after CHP (Republican Peoples Party) deputy Murat Emir published a document on September 29 allegedly coming from the health ministrys internal records. It showed the number of positive cases on September 10 were 29,377, compared to the 1,512 new patients announced by Koca on the same day.

Moreover, Mustafa Adguzel, another CHP deputy, had announced in early September that only in five large cities, including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana and Antalya, which are governed by the CHP, total death toll from the pandemic was 8,850 according to the official municipality data compared to nearly 6,800 deaths announced by the health ministry in that time.

These revelations expose not only the governments lies, but also the complicity of the bourgeois opposition parties like the CHP. As the AKP government lied about the pandemic, the municipalities also refused to publicize their own statistics on deaths from COVID-19. In fact, the CHP supported the back-to-work and back-to-school campaigns, pursuing virtually identical policies in its local administrations as the AKP did at the national level.

The reopening of schools has already caused disastrous results, and three teachers in Kayseri have lost their lives due to coronavirus. Confirmed cases among workers in this CHP-led Ankara municipality have reached 981 last week, though it was only 235 just one month ago. Anger and opposition are escalating among health care workers, as more than 100 have lost their lives fighting the pandemic without serious measures taken by the government.

Ultimately, the government found no way except lies and manipulation to contain growing anger and opposition among workers at the official response to the pandemic and the growing social crisis.

Real unemployment and job losses after the pandemic have reached 14.2 million in June. Workers purchasing power is constantly falling as the Turkish lira continues to depreciate against the US dollar. Over the year, Turkeys minimum wage of 2,300 liras has fallen from $385 to $300. Since the pandemic began, hundreds of thousands of workers have been forced to take unpaid leave on only 1,170 liras. This forced unpaid leave process was extended until July 2021 with the votes of the bourgeois opposition CHP.

In response to the widespread popular outrage that emerged over his governments lies, Health Minister Koca tweeted yesterday, using capital letters, like US President Donald Trump, Lets remember that, as it combats the epidemic, our state is protecting NATIONAL INTERESTS AS MUCH AS PUBLIC HEALTH, because the epidemic affects all areas of life.

This statement has made clear that the national interests mean the interests of the ruling class and its war policies across the region at the expense of the vast majority of society. Events are demonstrating that the ruling elites only concern during the pandemic has been to transfer trillions from working people to the banks and companies, and to suppress growing opposition to the herd immunity policy.

These policies are not peculiar to Turkey or the Erdogan government. They have an international and bipartisan character amid the resurgence of the class struggle all over the world. Governments all over the world have lied about the danger COVID-19 poses, trying to manipulate figures to contain growing anger within the working class amid the raging pandemic.

Last month, it was revealed that US President Trump consciously sought to downplay the danger posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ignoring warnings from US intelligence and Chinese officials on the seriousness of the pandemic, he pressed ahead, leading to more than 200,000 deaths in the United States alone. Trump said, I always wanted to play it down ... I still like playing it down, because I dont want to create a panic.

His response only reflected major concerns of the ruling classes not only in the US but internationally. As the WSWS explained, What panic was Trump speaking about? He was primarily concerned with containing a stock market selloff before the bailout of Wall Street had been prepared. Furthermore, with workers in factories increasingly uneasy about the spread of the disease, he was afraid of mass working class walkouts, such as those that ultimately led to the closure of the US auto plants in March.

While the most prominent example of this malign neglect policy of the ruling classes all over the world is the Trump administration in the United States, the European governments have also lied about and manipulated the real situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the fact that the German Interior Ministry reported in March that inaction would lead to over a million deaths just in Germany, president of the German parliament, Wolfgang Schauble, said in April, The truth is, we all hoped among ourselves that it wouldnt get so bad, in response to a question on why his government had not acted more rapidly against the pandemic.

This international capitalist conspiracy against the working class has vindicated the warnings made by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) from the beginning. Only the mobilization of the working class can halt the herd immunity policy imposed by the ruling classes internationally, impose lock-downs to achieve social distancing and prevent a massive loss of life.
New Delhi [India], October 2 (ANI): Bihar Assembly poll nomination has already begun but the two major political alliances -- the NDA and Mahagathbandhan -- till now, have not announced any official candidate. However, sources told ANI that the seat-sharing for 'Mahagathbandhan' has been finalised and is likely to be announced in Bihar tomorrow.

Top sources of the party from Bihar told ANI, "Seat-sharing arrangements have been agreed to and are likely to be announced tomorrow in Patna."

On the condition of anonymity, the senior leader from the "Grand Alliance" that the Rashtriya Janta Dal is likely to contest around 145 seats and accommodate Vikassheel Inssan Party also. While the party is likely to contest 70 seats and Left parties including CPI, CPI(M), and CPI (ML) will get around 30 seats. While bargaining is on regarding who will contest from Balmiki Nagar Lok Sabha by-election in Bihar because both RJD and want to contest on this seat.

Senior NDA leaders have also held a meeting in Patna on Thursday regarding the finalisation of seats for the Assembly polls and are likely to announce the seat-sharing formula before October 4 in Delhi.

The first phase of the nomination has already begun in Bihar for 71 seats and the Election Commission of India is busy in the preparation of state election monitoring all poll-related matters with officials.

There are a total of 243 Assembly seats in Bihar.

(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.)
Nearly half of Brits think it was a mistake to let students go back to university. (Getty)

Nearly half of Brits think it was a mistake to reopen pubs and allow students back to university, a new poll has found.

The YouGov poll asked Britons for their views on a list of ten government decisions relating to coronavirus, including lockdown measures, the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, and allowing non-essential shops to open.

Respondents were asked whether, in hindsight, they thought the government was right or wrong to put certain rules in place, or whether they didnt know.

The YouGov poll revealed Brits' opinions on the government's decisions around coronavirus rules. (YouGov)

The poll, carried out on September 29 and 30, found that 46% of Brits thought it was a mistake to reopen pubs, while 45% said it was wrong to allow students back to university.

However, 41% said allowing pubs to reopen was a good decision, with 40% saying students heading back was a good move.

The results come amid ongoing concerns about students returning to university after several have put students into self-isolation due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Brits were asked whether it was a good move to allow pubs to reopen. (PA)

The poll suggested that of the list of ten measures, those are the only two that Brits tended to think the government was wrong to lift.

When it came to encouraging workers to return to offices, 41% thought it was the wrong thing to do but 47% said it was the right move.

Similarly, 51% thought it was right to launch the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, outnumbering those who disagreed, while 61% approved of bringing the initial lockdown to an end, 65% said it was right to allow schools to reopen, and 70% thought it was right to allow non-essential shops to resume business.

WATCH: People in England face 10,000 fines for not self-isolating

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HOUSTON - Authorities deployed hundreds of law enforcement personnel, including six sniper teams and Border Patrol agents, during George Floyds June burial in suburban Houston, due in part to online rumours of possible protests and riots, according to documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.

Authorities prepared for the possibility of violent protesting and vandalism at the Pearland police department and municipal court building, which were near the cemetery, according to the documents first exposed by VICE News.

Floyds entombment in a mausoleum took place without any major incidents. Hundreds of mourners, including families with children, peacefully lined the street leading to the cemetery, setting up tents and chairs and waiting for hours in stifling 93-degree heat and humidity on June 9 for the arrival of his casket. The most dangerous thing during the burial ended up being the weather; eight people were hospitalized for heat-related illnesses.

Pearland Police Chief Johnny Spires defended the large law enforcement presence.

Our job was to do all we could to ensure Mr. Floyd was entombed in peace and his family, the attendees, and our residents were safe. We had a responsibility to protect people and property that day, Spires said in a letter posted Friday on Facebook.

The ACLU of Texas and a Houston-area activist were critical of how the burial was patrolled, calling it an unjustified and massive militarized police response.

Just a comprehensive and deeply problematic example of a disproportionate policing response that deployed the potential for the violent use of force to an event where George Floyds family and the community were mourning the tragic loss of life at the hands of police officers, said Shaw Drake, policy counsel of the ACLU of Texas Border Rights Center.

Ashton Woods, the lead organizer with Black Lives Matter Houston, said the police response could have put mourners in danger.

No one was looking to take away attention from the funeral of George Floyd, Woods said. I feel like we never get room and space to breathe and grieve.

Drake said the publics fear of looting has been weaponized against brown and Black communities.

Pearland police said they were aware their response could feed into the public perception of racial stereotypes, and that the agency had their officers wear normal uniforms. Additional personnel would not be visible unless the situation required a response.

Floyd, a Black man who grew up in Houston, died in May after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee to Floyds neck, pinning him to the ground.

Before his burial in Pearland, area residents raised concerns with police about possible protests and violence due to posts they had seen on social media, according to a report prepared by the city after the burial.

Spires said his agency was told to expect protests and counter-protests from potentially armed groups.

We realize that social media is a place of wild and dangerous words, but we cannot assume thats where they will remain, Spires said.

Drake said he believes the police response was built in part on vague, unsubstantiated online rumours.

Nearly 500 personnel were assembled to monitor the burial, including 100 National Guard troops and 66 agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protections Border Patrol Tactical Unit, known as BORTAC, according to a PowerPoint presentation. Multiple agencies also flew drones and surveillance aircraft.

Spires said his police department, with less than 170 officers, did not have the resources to patrol the burial alone so it asked other agencies for help.

Drake said the ACLU was deeply troubled that BORTAC agents were part of the law enforcement response. BORTAC agents have been criticized for how they have detained and arrested protesters in Portland, Oregon.

A representative of Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C., declined to comment on the work of BORTAC agents in Pearland.

CBP said its special operations teams are routinely deployed to help law enforcement nationwide.

It simply wasnt necessary, Jason M. Williams, an assistant professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey, said of the large police presence. It goes to show the extent to which even after death, Black bodies cannot rest in peace.

___

Associated Press writer Ben Fox in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
New Delhi: Indias outbound shipments turned positive for the first time in seven months, with merchandise exports registering 5.3% growth in September, driven mostly by pick up in external demand for goods in sectors such as engineering, petroleum, pharmaceuticals and readymade garments.

Mint was first to report on 25 September, quoting provisional figures, that exports have turned positive in the first three weeks of September growing by 8.3%.

Preliminary data released by the commerce ministry ahead of schedule showed exports grew 5.3% to $27.4 billion while imports contracted 19.6% to $30.3 billion, leaving behind a trade deficit of $2.9 billion. Thus, in the first of the financial year (April-September), exports have declined 21.4% to $125.1 billion while imports contracted 40.1% to $148.7 billion, creating a trade deficit of $23.6 billion. Non-oil non-gold exports rose 11.1%, while non-oil non-gold imports dipped 13.3% in September.

Aditi Nayar, principal economist at ICRA, said the growth in merchandise exports in September is heartening after the faltering trend seen in the previous month. Regardless, the sharp gap in non-oil non gold merchandise imports remains a cause for concern regarding the strength of domestic demand," she added.

Among major countries, exports to China (20.8%) and the US (15.5%) grew at the fastest pace in September while Indias imports from most major economies contracted in September, including China (10.1%).

Indias merchandise trade has been weakening even before the pandemic hit the economy and external demand. In 13 of the last 15 months, starting June 2019, Indias exports have been in negative territory. However, since March of this year, both exports and imports started declining in high double digits, even temporarily leading to a trade surplus in June for the first time in 18 years.

Data compiled by the World Trade Organization (WTO) showed global merchandise trade declined by 21% in the June quarter. In comparison, the decline in merchandise trade values during the financial crisis was deeper with a 33% drop recorded in the second quarter of 2009," it said. In April, WTO had projected global merchandise trade to drop by 13% to 32% in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Indias economy contracted 23.9% in the June quarter, hit by the double whammy of a demand contraction and supply shock because of a countrywide lockdown considered to be the strictest in the world.

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Two conservative operatives were charged Thursday in connection with false robocalls that aimed to dissuade Black residents in Detroit and other Democratic-leaning U.S. cities from voting by mail, Michigans attorney general announced.

Jacob Wohl, 22, and Jack Burkman, 54, each face four felony counts in Detroit, including conspiring to intimidate voters in violation of election law and using a computer to commit crimes, Attorney General Dana Nessel said.

The calls falsely warned residents in majority-Black Detroit and cities in at least four other states that if they vote by mail in the Nov. 3 election they could be subjected to arrest, debt collection and forced vaccination, Nessel said.

The men, who have a history of staging hoaxes and spreading lies about prominent Democrats and government officials, are not in custody, and no date for their arraignments has been set.

Nessel said her office would work with local law enforcement to secure their appearances, saying they could face arrest and extradition or could voluntarily travel to Michigan to face the charges.

The charges carry the potential for years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. The computer charges carry up to seven years apiece, while election law violations could bring up to five.

Nessels office warned the public about the calls and launched an investigation in August after thousands of Detroit residents received them.

Wohl and Burkman both denied involvement at the time. Burkman didnt reply to a Thursday voicemail seeking comment and Wohl didnt reply to an email.

Nessel said the investigation found that Burkman and Wohl created and funded the robocalls to deter voters of colour from participating in the November election.

Were all well aware of the frustrations caused by the millions of nuisance robocalls flooding our cellphones and landlines each day, but this particular message poses grave consequences for our democracy and the principles upon which it was built, Nessel said. Michigan voters are entitled to a full, free and fair election in November, and my office will not hesitate to pursue those who jeopardize that.

The pair was behind 85,000 calls nationwide, including nearly 12,000 in Detroits 313 area code, Nessel said. Similar calls also blanketed urban pockets of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and New York, she said. She encouraged anyone who received such a call to file a complaint with her office.

Wohl and Burkman have a history of supporting President Donald Trump and attacking his opponents.

Trump narrowly won the key battleground state of Michigan in 2016 in part due to a drop in turnout for Hillary Clinton in heavily Democratic Detroit. In Michigan, voters can cast an absentee ballot for any reason.

The robocalls sought to discourage voting by mail, which voters are expected to do in record numbers this election cycle to avoid crowded polling places during the coronavirus pandemic.

Republicans are limiting mail-in voting in several states and Trump has warned, without evidence, that it will lead to fraud. The president also encouraged his supporters during Tuesdays debate to go into the polls and watch very carefully on Election Day.

A woman on the robocalls said she was part of Project 1559, a group founded by Wohl and Burkman. The calls falsely claimed that voting by mail would result in personal information going into databases that will be used by police to resolve old warrants, credit card companies to collect debts and federal officials to track mandatory vaccines.

Dont be finessed into giving your private information to the man, the caller said. Beware of vote by mail.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, like Nessel a Democrat, in August called the robocalls an unconscionable, indefensible, blatant attempt to lie to citizens about their right to vote.

She praised Nessel for the swift investigation, saying the charges show the state will use every tool at our disposal to dispel false rhetoric and protect voting rights.

Wohl lives in Los Angeles, and investigators served search warrants in California as part of the inquiry last week, Nessel said.

Wohl and Burkman have made a name for themselves by orchestrating political dirty tricks and hoaxes, including spreading false claims of sexual misconduct by Robert Mueller and former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.

The pair came under scrutiny in Michigan last year, when a college student said they recruited him to pretend he was raped by Buttigieg, then published the smear without the students permission.

Last month, the Washington Post said it was duped into falsely reporting that FBI agents had conducted a raid at Burkmans home in Arlington, Virginia, when it was actually a staged event featuring actors.

In August, Wohl told The Associated Press that they suspected leftist pranksters were behind the robocalls because the caller ID was Burkmans cellphone number. Burkman called the situation a joke, saying nobody would use their own number for a robocall and threatening to sue Benson for defamation.

___

Associated Press writer David Eggert contributed to this story from Lansing, Michigan.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that Nessel said nearly 12,000 residents in the 313 area code, not ZIP code, received the calls in Detroit.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 15:37:04|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has announced that it will open its borders to travellers from New Zealand within weeks.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack announced on Friday that quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia's New South Wales and the Northern Territory (NT) would resume from Oct. 16 in a major boost for the tourism industry.

"This will allow New Zealanders and other residents in New Zealand who have not been in an area designated as a COVID-19 hotspot in New Zealand in the preceding 14 days to travel quarantine-free to Australia," he told reporters.

"This is the first stage in what we hope to see as a Trans-Tasman bubble between the two countries, not just that State and that Territory.

"The Department of Health has undertaken a public health risk assessment of COVID-19 in New Zealand, which indicated that New Zealand posed a low risk of COVID-19 transmission to Australia."

However, he said that there was no timeline for when Australians would be able to enter New Zealand.

"We want to make sure that there is two-way travel, and that would be something that I will leave to those negotiations between the two prime ministers," McCormack said.

More states and territories will be added to the scheme when they agree to the government's definition of a COVID-19 hotspot, with South Australia "very close to agreeing to these terms."

"South Australia stands ready to participate as well. I've spoken to (Premier of South Australia) Steven Marshall in the last half hour, they will certainly probably be the next cab off the rank," McCormack said.

He said that the implementation of quarantine-free travel to Australia from New Zealand would free up 325 places in the hotel quarantine system per week, allowing for the return of more Australians who are stranded overseas. Enditem
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

After a gap over the summer, Albuquerque once again has a direct flight to and from New York City.

On Thursday, JetBlue once again relaunched flights between the Albuquerque International Sunport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens. The twice-weekly flight operates on Thursdays and Saturdays, departing New York at 9:40 a.m. on Thursday and 9:49 a.m. on Sunday. The return leg departs the Sunport at 1:20 p.m. on Thursday and 1:31 p.m. on Sunday.

Were excited to see it come back, said Jonathan Small, marketing manager for the Sunport.

Small said the route is the latest to come back after being eliminated earlier in the year, a sign that the impact on air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated shutdowns is slowly starting to wane.

The pandemic has hammered the airline industry, due to imposed travel restrictions and fear of contracting the virus. Nationwide, passenger volume for U.S. airlines was down 68% year-over-year as of Sept. 20, according to the industry organization Airlines for America.

Small said flights to and from the Sunport were no exception. At its nadir in April, Small said the number of people boarding flights out of Albuquerque was down 95.7% year-over-year.

The demand just completely diminished in March, April, May, he said.

As a result, airlines began pulling routes to and from the Sunport and other airports. Small said JetBlue had operated direct service between the Sunport and JFK Airport since April 2013, but the decline in demand in 2020 prompted the airline to stop service after May 5.

Small said the airline began operating a route that flew from Albuquerque to Boston through Denver International Airport on May 12. However, that too had been eliminated by mid-June, after the airline applied for an exemption that would allow it to suspend service to Albuquerque despite receiving federal coronavirus relief funds, according to earlier Journal reports.

While passenger totals remain well below where they stood in 2019, they have slowly crept up after a dismal spring. While numbers are still low, the year-over-year decline in passengers flying out of the Sunport has shrunk every month since May. Because of that, Small said airlines are beginning to revisit routes that were canceled earlier in the year.

Additionally, Small said the flight to New York has historically performed relatively well for JetBlue, and the states comparatively low number of new COVID-19 cases makes it a more appealing destination for travelers.

New York is now a low-risk state, and their COVID numbers have gotten so much better, he said

In addition to flights to JFK, Small said in an email that routes to Las Vegas, Baltimore, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities offered by various airlines have returned after being eliminated earlier in the year.

Small added that the Sunport is hopeful that direct flights to Kansas City, Missouri; San Diego and San Jose, California may return as demand returns to pre-pandemic levels.

Theres been quite a few changes, and we are starting to see demand increase, he said.
The claim: Former Sen. Harry Reid orchestrated the 'nuclear option' to lower the vote threshold for Supreme Court confirmations to 51

As Democrats lament the possible confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, some Republicans tried to tell them that they have no one to blame but themselves.

Alongside a photo of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a user took to Facebook to "remind" Americans what Reid did in 2013.

"You see prior to 2013 it took 60 votes in the Senate to confirm a Supreme Court nominee, now it takes a simple majority of 51. Know why? Because Harry Reid and his fellow Democratic senators voted to change the rule to 51, it was called the 'nuclear option' and they pushed that button," the post read.

The post also noted that at the time, then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,  now the majority leader  spoke out against the change.

"So all you Democrats, if it wasn't for your party changing the rule in 2013 you would now have the votes to stop Trump from replacing Ginsburg," the post continued. "If you want to blame somebody for screwing you out of the chance to stop Trump from filling this seat, you can put the blame right where it belongs, your own party and the people you elected to run it."

The user behind the post did not respond to a request from USA TODAY for comment.

Fact check: Post online satirizes Judge Amy Coney Barrett in 'yearbook' photo with fake quote

In 2013, Reid and Democrats lowered vote threshold on most nominees, but not for Supreme Court picks

In 2013, Democrats held a majority in the Senate while President Barack Obama occupied the White House.

For four decades, a 60-vote supermajority had been required to advance all federal judicial nominees and executive-office appointments, per The Washington Post.

Story continues

Then, Senate Republicans attempted to filibuster multiple Obama nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, his pick for Defense secretary, and his choices to lead the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In response, Reid orchestrated a move to lower the Senate vote threshold to 51 to confirm most presidential appointments  but not nominees to the Supreme Court.

Those nominees, and legislation, could still be filibustered.

The Democrat-controlled Senate voted 52-48 in favor of the change, which was dubbed the "nuclear option."

At the time, McConnell condemned the move.

Its a sad day in the history of the Senate, he told reporters, calling it a power grab" by Democrats.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Aug. 4, 2020, in Washington, D.C.

In 2017, McConnell and Republicans lowered the threshold for nominees to the Supreme Court, too

By 2017, roles had reversed  Republicans held the majority in the Senate, and President Donald Trump sat in the Oval Office.

After Senate Democrats, now in the minority, filibustered the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch  Trump's first nominee to the Supreme Court  McConnell engineered his own "nuclear option."

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 52-48 to reduce the vote threshold for confirming nominees to the Supreme Court from 60 to 51, per The New York Times.

(The need for a 60-vote supermajority still exists for legislation.)

Again, both sides played the blame game.

This is the latest escalation in the lefts never-ending judicial war, the most audacious yet, McConnell said, of Democratic efforts to filibuster the Gorsuch high court nomination.

Schumer, meanwhile, said that when "history weighs what happened," the responsibility will rest on McConnell and Republicans.

They have had other choices, he said. They have chosen this one.

Fact check: No evidence Schumer called Judge Amy Coney Barrett 'wildly out of mainstream'

Our rating: False

We rate this claim FALSE, based on research. Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was not responsible for lowering the vote threshold to confirm Supreme Court nominees to 51. Rather, he orchestrated that change for judicial nominees and presidential appointments, excluding the Supreme Court. When control of the Senate changed parties, it was Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who extended the rule change to apply to nominees to the Supreme Court in 2017.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: GOP ended Senate filibuster on Supreme Court nominees
An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced Paul Ankomah, a 26-year-old trader to 10 years imprisonment for defiling a 14-year-old girl at Achimota in Accra.

The court presided over by Mrs. Christiana Cann, found Ankomah guilty of the charge of defilement at the end of the trial.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Agnes Boafo narrated that the complainant, the victim's mother, was unemployed and resided at Achimota Abofo.

DSP Boafo said on January 19, 2020, at about 1530 hours, the victim went to a public place of convenience and was returning home when she realized that she had misplaced their door keys.

The prosecution said the victim then started looking for the said keys and in the process; came into contact with Ankomah, a trader, residing at Achimota College.

DSP Boafo said Ankomah took advantage of the victim by luring her to a spot near a drinking spot at Achimota Lorry Terminal and had sex with her.

After the act, prosecution said Ankomah left the victim to her fate.

On January 20, 2020, at about 0330 hours, Kofi Anarfo, a witness in the case saw the victim roaming at the Achimota lorry terminal and asked the victim what she was doing at that odd hour.

Prosecution said the victim narrated her ordeal to the witness and touched by the victim's plight, Anarfo rented a hotel room for her to sleep.

The prosecution said the next day, the victim went home and informed her mother who also lodged a complaint at Tesano Domestic Violence and Victim's Support Unit.

According to the prosecutor, on January 25, this year, Ankomah was arrested.
President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Duluth, Minn. (AP Photo/Jack Rendulich)

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, he said Friday. The positive test comes a month until the election and after the president has spent the year largely downplaying the threat of the virus.

Trump's positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks had come down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week. Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 205,000 people nationwide.

"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!" Trump tweeted.

In a memorandum, the president's physician said that the president and first lady "are both well at this time" and "plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence."

"Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering," he added.

Trump had announced earlier in an interview with Fox News that he and the first lady were awaiting their results.

President Donald Trump stands on stage with first lady Melania Trump after the first presidential debate with Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, the president tweeted early Friday. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The diagnosis marks a major blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them even as cases continue to rise just weeks before the Nov. 3 election. And it stands as the most serious known public health scare encountered by any sitting American president in recent history.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most people develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday, Trump said he was awaiting results of a COVID-19 test. "Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know," he said, adding that first lady Melania Trump was also awaiting results.

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks walks from Marine One to accompany President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One as he departs Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Hope, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have all tested positive for the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland.

Trump had consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened.

"I felt no vulnerability whatsoever," he said told reporters back in May.

He has instead encouraged governors to reopen their states and tried to focus the nation's attention on efforts to revive the economynot a growing death tollas he seeks another four-year term.

The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen while avoiding further spikes. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen.

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, left, with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, walk from Marine One to accompany President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One as he departs Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Senior staff have been tested for COVID-19 daily since two people who work at the White House complex tested positive in early May, prompting the White House to step up precautions. Everyone who comes into contact with the president also receives a quick-result test.

Yet since the early days of the pandemic, experts have questioned the health and safety protocols at the White House and asked why more wasn't being done to protect the commander in chief. Trump continued to shake hands with visitors long after public health officials were warning against it and he initially resisted being tested. He has been reluctant to practice his own administration's social distancing guidelines for fear of looking weak, including refusing under almost all circumstances to wear a mask in public.

Trump is not the only major world leader known to have contracted the virus. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care, where he was given oxygen and watched around the clock by medical workers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel self-isolated after a doctor who gave her a vaccination tested positive for the virus, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau worked from home after his wife fell ill.

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, left, with White House special assistant to the president Nick Luna, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, and White House social media director Dan Scavino walk from Marine One to accompany President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One as he departs Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The White House got its first COVID-19 scare in early March when at least three people who later tested positive came in close proximity to the president at his private Florida club. That included members of the Brazilian president's delegation, including the Brazilian charge d'affaires, who sat at Trump's dinner table.

In mid-March, as the virus continued to spread across the country, the White House began taking the temperature of everyone entering the White House complex, and in April, it began administering rapid COVID-19 tests to all those in close proximity to the president, with staffers being tested about once a week. The frequent tests gave some staff the false impression the complex was safe from the virus, and few, as a result, followed recommended safety protocols, including wearing masks.

But then the bubble broke.

In this Sept. 12, 2020, file photo, Counselor to the President Hope Hicks arrives with President Donald Trump at Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nev. Hicks has tested positive for the coronavirus. Hicks, who serves as counselor to the president and traveled with him to a Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020 rally, tested positive Oct. 1, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private health information.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

On May 7, the White House announced that a member of the military serving as one of the president's personal valets tested positive for the virus, followed a day later by a positive diagnosis for Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary.

Even then, Trump said he was "not worried" about the virus spreading in the White House. But officials again stepped up safety protocols for the complex, directing everyone entering the West Wing to wear a mask.

"I think it's very well contained, actually," Trump told reporters on May 11.

But by June, concerns at the White House had dissipated once again, with few staffers bothering with masks even as more and more people tested positive for the virus, including campaign staffers preparing for a Tulsa rally and Secret Service agents.

On July 3rd, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is dating Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tested positive in South Dakota before an Independence Day fireworks show at Mount Rushmore. Guilfoyle, a former Fox News personality who works for Trump's campaign, had not flown on Air Force One and had not been in direct contact with the president, though she had had contact with numerous top GOP officials.

From left, White House director of social media Dan Scavino, Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, special assistant to the President and White House trip director William Russell, and director of the White House personnel John McEntee listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Middletown, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, left, with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, walk from Marine One to accompany President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One as he departs Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

From left, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino, Assistant to the President and Director of Oval Office Operations Nicholas Luna, Senior Adviser to the President of the United States Jared Kushner, Senior Adviser to the President Stephen Miller, and counselor to President Hope Hicks walk to board Marine One with President Donald Trump at the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Washington, for the short trip to Andrews Air Force Base en route to Minnesota. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

In July, Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, tested positive.

While there is currently no evidence that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test also raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness. The Constitution's 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves "unable to discharge the powers and duties" of the presidency. If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted "a written declaration to the contrary."

The vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law, can also declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would "immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President" until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
RYANAIR has lost its High Court challenge against travel measures introduced by the government in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The airline had claimed they amounted to a legal restriction on travel in and out of the country.

The State disputed those claims, arguing the measures are merely advisory and not binding in nature.

Mr Justice Garrett Simons ruled on Friday that the government had not exceeded its executive powers and trespassed upon the legislative power in relation to the measures.

Ryanair's action was against An Taoiseach Ireland and the Attorney General, seeking various orders and declarations, including one setting aside the measures announced in late July.

This included the advice not to travel outside of Ireland save for essential purposes.

Ryanair also challenged the requirement for those returning to the state from countries not on the designated green list to restrict their movements and self-isolate for 14 days.

The company claimed the restrictions were unconstitutional and breached various Health Acts, the European Convention of Human Rights and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. It said the government's travel measures were outrageous, confusing and a detriment to both the public and its business.

The state had argued Ryanair had no legal basis to bring its challenge against the measures, that the courts could not intervene with this advice and that the airline's proceedings were moot or pointless.

Aer Lingus was a notice party to the proceedings and supported Ryanair's action.

In his judgment today, Mr Justice Simons said the government acted lawfully in providing travel advice and public health advice during the coronavirus pandemic on a non-statutory basis. The government was entitled, in the exercise of the executive power, to provide such advice to the public, he said.

Its entitlement had not been ousted by the enactment of legislation, such as the Health Acts 1947 and 1970.

As of August 2020, the information published on the government's websites provided an "accurate portrayal" of the legal status of the travel advice and public health advice, the judgment continued.

"The advice to avoid non-essential travel and to restrict movements on entry to the state is just that: advice," Mr Justice Simons said. "The government merely requests that persons entering the State from a country not on the "green list" restrict their movements for 14 days. As of August 2020, there had been no legal requirement to do so."

Where a failure to observe the advice might result in financial disadvantage for some, for example those on jobseeker's benefit, there was a "specific legal basis for same under the social welfare legislation, which has not been challenged," he said.

The government's websites "do not portray the travel advice or health advice as having a legal status which it does not actually enjoy."

Mr Justice Simons said the publication of the travel and public health advice was consistent with EU law and in particular did not breach the right to freedom of movement under the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.

Ryanair had "sensibly" conceded that EU member states were entitled to derogate from EU law rights on public health grounds.

"Ryanair's principal complaint is that, as a matter of domestic and constitutional law, the government in publishing the impugned travel advice exceeded its executive powers and trespassed upon the legislative power," Mr Justice Simons said.

These arguments were rejected. He emphasised that Ryanair had disavowed any attempt to challenge the "underlying merits" of the travel advice, and "this judgment has nothing to say in respect of the wisdom or otherwise of the travel advice."

"In particular, it has nothing to say on the methodology or criteria by which the 'green list' of countries had been prepared," the judge concluded.

He also found that the existence of a statutory requirement to complete a passenger locator form "does not have the legal effect of translating the travel advice into mandatory form."

Because it applied irrespective of whether a passenger had arrived from "green list" countries, it could not be characterised as intended to enforce compliance with the "green list."

Among Ryanair's other points was an argument that the travel advice was "imprecise" but the judge concluded it was clear.

The evidence did not demonstrate there had been "any interference with Ryanair's freedom to conduct its business in accordance with EU law and national laws and practices," Mr Justice Simons said.

He acknowledged that the proceedings raised "important issues as to the separation of powers" and that the terms of the travel advice were a matter of "ongoing controversy, even in their revised form."

The judge found that as Ryanair had raised arguable legal issues he was formally granted leave to bring the application, but dismissed "the substantive application in its entirety."

He proposed a costs order against Ryanair subject to submissions.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden tested negative for the coronavirus Friday morning, hours before he is scheduled to campaign in Michigan.

Bidens primary care physician, Dr. Kevin OConnor, announced the results shortly after noon Friday, and the former vice president followed up with a statement posted to Twitter. Bidens campaign announced a slight change in his schedule, canceling a voter mobilization event that was planned in Grand Rapids this afternoon.

Biden still plans to travel to Michigan. He is scheduled to deliver a speech on rebuilding the economy at 4:30 p.m. in Grand Rapids.

Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 2, 2020

Biden, 77, was tested as a precaution after President Donald Trump, 74, tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday night. The two candidates appeared on stage for the first presidential debate two days earlier, though they remained distanced and did not shake hands.

On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence and his wife tested negative for COVID-19.

Biden started the day in Deleware, according to a pool report. His first event in Michigan was scheduled for 1:20 p.m., though he will likely be late.

Trumps diagnosis came one day after he held a campaign rally in Minnesota. The president said hes now in quarantine, which could last up to two weeks or longer, based on the advice of public health officials.

READ MORE ON MLIVE:

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Government official hails alliance with India and wants U.S. to withdraw unconditionally from Syria, The Syria Times reports

The Indian Embassy in Damascus held a reception marking the 150th birth anniversary of Mahamta Ghandi.

In a statement during the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faysal al-Mikdad said that Syria is proud of its distinguished relations with India, the friendly country that supported Syria from the beginning in its war on terrorism. He stressed that Syria also backs India in its war against all forms of violence and supports its efforts to solve the existing problems through peaceful means.

In reply to a question by local newspaper al-Watan, Deputy Minister al-Mikdad said that the reinforcements sent by the United States to serve its aggressive policies against Syria are not surprising and those who carry out these provocations know that their presence in Syria will not continue, and the support they provide for their cheap tools will come to an end.

He also said that Syria will be a unified country and will confront these schemes that aim to serve the goals of Israel and its terrorist tools in the region.

We are sure that it is better for the Americans to withdraw from Syria unconditionally and we call on all the tools of Washington, Turkey and others to join the national efforts being exerted to enhance Syrias steadfastness and strength and solve the problems that we all face, al-Mikdad pointed out.

On Turkeys behaviour in Syria, al-Mikdad said that Turkey has promised to open the M4 highway a long time ago. We know that the Turkish regime under Recep Tayyip Erdogan is lying as it will not fulfill any of the commitments it has made to Russia. So, they must withdraw, just as the United States must withdraw from the Syrian territories.

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.
Hundreds of Kisan Congress workers on Friday protested outside BJP President JP Nadda's residence here over the alleged misbehaviour of Uttar Pradesh Police with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra en route to Hathras to meet a gang-rape victim's family.

The protesters led by its Vice President Surender Solanki rallied outside Nadda's residence and raised slogans against the central and Uttar Pradesh governments.

Speaking to the media, Solanki said: "The way the Uttar Pradesh government came down to dictatorship on Thursday just to prevent Rahulji from meeting the bereaved family exposes the state government."

He alleged that Rahul Gandhi was "roughed up" by Uttar Pradesh Police in a bid to deny him a chance to meet the Hathras family.

He also condemned the detention of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and scores of other party workers, before they were sent back to Delhi.

"Taking them into custody, lathi-charging the Congress workers and even mistreating women activists shows that the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh wants to eliminate the opposition," Solanki said.

The Kisan Congress leader also accused the state government of "suppressing the truth" in the Hathras gang-rape case as the victim's family was not allowed to meet anyone. He pointed out that a video cluipping of the Hathras District Magistrate putting pressure on the family had gone viral on the social media on Thursday.
The US presidential contests are never smooth-sailing affairs. But this years presidential race has been far more unpredictable and tumultuous even by the American standards.

From the bombshell New York Times report [1] in May last year detailing Democratic presidential contender Joe Bidens son Hunters murky dealings in Ukraine to the impeachment proceedings against President Trump lasting from September through February, and now the president and the first lady have tested positive for COVID-19 weeks before the election slated for November 3, making the presidential race all but over for the Republicans.

Clearly, the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump were nothing more than a show trial. The Democrats initiated the impeachment inquiry against Trump in September 2019 as a diversionary tactic to cover up the sleazy dealings of Hunter Biden with Burisma Holdings of Ukraine, and consequent discrediting of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Although the Democrats had the requisite majority in the House of Representatives to impeach Donald Trump, the Senate was controlled by the Republicans. Besides, convicting a president of impeachment requires two-third majority in the Senate that the Democrats never had. Then what was the purpose of initiating the proceedings if not to distract public attention away from the media trial of Hunter Biden, which was bringing damning press coverage not only to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden but to the Democratic Party as a whole?

Such electoral stunts are expected in the run-up to the US presidential elections. On September 22, a Canadian woman was charged in the US federal court for allegedly posting a letter with deadly ricin poison to President Trump. The suspect may also have sent ricin to five addresses in Texas, including a jail and a sheriff's office, according to the court documents.

Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 53, is a computer programmer who is originally from France, but became a Canadian citizen in 2015, according to Canadian media. Sources told BBC [2] she retained dual French-Canadian citizenship. She was living in the Canadian province of Quebec.

In March 2019, she was arrested in Texas for unlawfully carrying a weapon and using a fake driver's license, according to jail records. She was deported to Canada after officials found she had overstayed her visa and committed a crime while in the US, according to the New York Times.

The letter she allegedly sent last week was discovered before it reached the White House. In it, she called on Trump to drop out of the US presidential race. The envelope contained ricin, a poison found naturally in castor beans, but can kill within days if processed to weapons grade.

"I found a new name for you: 'The Ugly Tyrant Clown'," she wrote in the letter to Trump, according to FBI charging documents filed ahead of her first court appearance in New York on September 22.

"I hope you like it. You ruin USA and lead them to disaster. I have US cousins, then I don't want the next four years with you as president. Give up and remove your application for this election."

The letter, which the FBI says had her fingerprints on it, referred to the poisoned note as "a special gift," adding: "If it doesn't work, I'll find better recipe for another poison, or I might use my gun when I'll be able to come."

Senior US Customs and Border Protection official Mark Morgan said that Ms. Ferrier had told border officers "she was wanted by the FBI for mailing envelopes with ricin to the White House and other locations" when she approached the checkpoint at the US-Canada border. Officers found a gun, a knife and ammunition in her car at the time of her arrest.

Sending suspected packages containing poison or explosives has become a common occurrence in the run-up to the US elections. Her case closely resembles the parcel bombs sent to the residences of George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, several other leading Democratic Congressmen and The New York Times New York office by Cesar Sayoc in October, 2018, on the eve of the midterm elections in November.

Although the suspect turned out to be a mentally ill Trump supporter, he was likely instigated by shady hands in the American deep state, which is wary of the anti-establishment rhetoric and non-interventionist tendencies of the so-called alt-right administration.

The prank of sending explosive packages to Democratic Congressmen lasted from October 22, 2018, to November 1, days before the elections, clearly impacted the outcome of the midterm elections on November 6, as the Democrats got the sympathy vote following the news of suspicious packages sent to prominent Democrats made headlines.

Even though the Republicans retained their 51-seat majority in the Senate, the Democrats controlled the House of Representatives following midterms by gaining 39 additional seats and brought impeachment charges against Donald Trump, though he was acquitted by the Republican majority in the Senate in February.

That the accused had a history of mental illness [3], childhood sexual abuse, substance abuse, including anabolic steroids, cognitive difficulties, including dyslexia, and was apprehended by police several times for grand theft auto and shoplifting doesnt come as a surprise because its always easy to manipulate and trap such gullible patsies into perpetrating heinous crimes.

In fact, the case of Cesar Sayoc can be compared to another iconic patsy in the American political history, Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of John F. Kennedy, who was picked up as a scapegoat because he had visited Russia and Cuba before the hit-job in order to put the blame for the high-profile political assassination on the communists.

Not surprisingly, he was silenced by Jack Ruby before he could open his mouth and prove innocence in the courts of law. The cold-blooded murder of the only other non-interventionist president in American history besides Trump was obviously perpetrated by a professional sniper on the payroll of the deep state.

It was not a coincidence that Kennedy was killed in November 1963, and months later, the Gulf of Tonkin resolution authorized Lyndon B. Johnson to directly engage in the Vietnam conflict in August 1964 on the basis of a false flag naval engagement.

Its obvious that the American deep state was the only beneficiary of the assassination of Kennedy. Most likely, the deep state turned against Kennedy after the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis and Kennedys pacifist rhetoric and conciliatory approach toward Washingtons arch-rival, the former Soviet Union, in the backdrop of the Cold War.

Similarly, JFKs brother Robert was a leading Democratic candidate for presidency when he was shot by a Palestinian Christian Sirhan Sirhan in 1968. Being a pacifist himself, Bobby Kennedy opposed the US involvement in the Vietnam War and wrote a book on the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 in which he credited his brother JFK for showing restraint and amicably resolving the crisis.

As the former attorney general of JFK, Bobby probably had good leads on the masterminds of the JFK assassination, and wanted to avenge his brothers shocking murder by exposing the assassins after being elected president. This was the only reason he, too, was silenced by the deep state.

Though serving a life sentence at a California penitentiary, Bobby Kennedys murderer Sirhan, now 76 years old, is a suspicious and deranged character, who frequently backtracked on his testimonies and confession during and after the trial, had no recollection of the murder and subsequent events, and his defense team had pleaded for a retrial several times but the request was summarily denied.

Shortly before the murder of Bobby Kennedy, Sirhan joined the occult organization Ancient Mystical Order of the Rose Cross, commonly known as the Rosicrucians in 1966. In fact, Sirhans esoteric faith closely resembles a medieval cult Hashishin, from which the English word assassin has been derived.

The Order of the Assassins was a Nizari Isma'ili sect which lived in the mountains of Persia and Syria between 1090 A.D. and 1275. During that time, they founded a clandestine organization that orchestrated the assassinations of leading figures in the Middle East that were considered enemies of their state.

The Nizari Isma'ili State was ruled by Hassan as-Sabbah from 1090 A.D. until his death in 1124. The Western world was introduced to the assassins by the works of Marco Polo who understood the name as deriving from the eponymous narcotic hashish, which indeed was used to put the assassins under a spell for political assassinations.

The more recent examples of such murderous cults are the Mujahideen-e-Khalq, a cultist political organization founded by the Rajavis of Iran that relocated first to Iraq and then to Albania, or the Fidayeen or suicide bombers of Islamic jihadist organizations who are promised paradise in return for mounting terrorist attacks against political adversaries.

Citations:

[1] Joe Biden faces conflict of interest questions:

[2] Pascale Ferrier: White House ricin package suspect in court:

[3] The curious case of Cesar Sayoc:

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Linkedin Promit Mukherjee and Tumelo Modiba (Reuters) Johannesburg, South Africa  Fri, October 2, 2020 15:30 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48bb594 2 News South-Africa,coronavirus,COVID-19,pandemic,international-flights,tourism Free

Traffic through South Africa's main airport was minimal on Thursday despite international flights resuming after a six-month ban, with last-minute government curbs leaving many would-be tourists unable to enter the country.

The government said on Wednesday it would not allow visitors from countries with currently higher coronavirus infection and death rates than South Africa.

That announcement, coming 12 days after President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country would re-open its borders, effectively cut out most of the tourist traffic that underpins its struggling economy.

The government also said it would revise the list of banned countries every two weeks, adding to uncertainty for the travel industry.

"The plan is riddled with muddled thinking," said David Frost, chief executive of Southern African Tourism Services Association (SATSA), which represents agents organizing inbound travel.

"There is no way you can plan inbound tourism if a list is getting revised every fortnight."

O. R. Tambo International airport in Johannesburg was virtually deserted on Thursday, with just a handful of staff at ticketing counters and barely any travelers.

Read also: With borders closed, South Africa pins hopes on cash-strapped local tourists

South Africa depends heavily on tourism, which prior to the pandemic contributed up to 3 percent of GDP and employed over 4 percent of the workforce, with travelers from Britain, the United States, Germany, France and the Netherlands among the biggest spenders.

Of those five countries, all but Germany are on the government's banned list.

South Africa is among the world's top ten in terms of total coronavirus cases, at above 670,000, and has registered around 16,600 fatalities, but infection rates there have been falling since July.

Frost believes Europe, where a second COVID-19 wave now seems to be accelerating, could have been exempted from the ban. "We are in a ludicrous situation and dealing with a moving target," he said.

Andrew Stark, managing director of Middle East and Africa for Flight Centre Travel Group, an outbound travel agency, said the government's actions - as well as financial stress - had also deterred South African tourists from travelling abroad.

He predicted the outbound travel market would not return to its 2019 level of around 60 billion rand ($3.6 billion) until 2023.
COLUMBIA  After a year and a half of campaigning against each other from a distance, Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison will meet face-to-face Saturday night for the first time.

The first debate of South Carolina's hotly contested U.S. Senate race will be held at Columbia's Allen University at 8 p.m. in the historic Chappelle Auditorium. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there will be no live audience.

The hour-long showdown will be broadcast live on several stations across South Carolina and Georgia: WIS in Columbia, WCSC Live 5 in Charleston, WMBF in Myrtle Beach, WYFF in Greenville, WTOC in Savannah and WRDW in Augusta. It will also be livestreamed at wistv.com.

This is the first of three debates in the race this month before the Nov. 3 election.

The candidates are next scheduled to meet Oct. 12 in Spartanburg and again in Columbia on Oct. 21 for the final debate hosted by SCETV and The Post and Courier. Those dates are subject to potential changes if any conflicts arise with Graham's work schedule in the Senate.

Here are a few things the candidates must do to have a successful night:

Target the few undecided voters

The most recent Quinnipiac poll found 95 percent of likely South Carolina voters have already made up their minds about who they will be voting for in the Senate race, meaning Graham and Harrison have a relatively small number of persuadable voters left to reach.

Some of those voters may be moderates who are concerned about either candidate being too extreme on one side or the other, so the candidates will want to reassure them about their ability to work across the aisle.

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Graham is also hoping to consolidate support from the Republican base. Polls have shown that not all S.C. GOP voters who support President Donald Trump are necessarily prepared to vote for Graham, so he will want to flex his conservative bona fides to bring them home.

Nationalize vs. localize

Like many South Carolina Democratic candidates before him, Harrison has assiduously avoided emphasizing his party, wary of alienating potential crossover voters. He has instead focused on broadly popular positions on less partisan local issues and tried to make the race a referendum on Graham.

Graham will be looking to take the opposite tack, linking Harrison to other national Democratic figures while highlighting his own ties to Trump with the hope that the president will lift him to victory in a historically red state where Trump remains popular with the GOP base.

Health care vs. judges

The candidates have each made clear over the past few weeks and months what they see as their top issues and they will be looking to drive that home on debate night.

Harrison wants to make the race about health care, highlighting Graham's efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Graham will be looking to draw more attention to his role confirming conservative judges, especially Trump's most recent Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett.
There are still plenty of underground gambling spots in the GTA, but extreme high rollers will have trouble finding a replacement for a recently busted Markham casino where they were served expensive wine and forbidden delicacies like brazed shark fins by waiters in tuxedos while placing their wagers, police say.

This was a high-end operation for high-end clientele, Det. Sgt. Ahmad Salhia of the York Regional Police organized crime bureau said Thursday, after police announced they had shuttered a Markham mansion that had been converted into an illegal luxury casino.

A lot of the guys were saying, This was out of a James Bond movie, Salhia said about the July 27 raid on the operation on Decourcy Court near Warden Avenue and Major MacKenzie Drive.

At Thursdays press conference, Supt. Mike Slack of York Regional Police said illegal gambling spots had prospered after the province shut down legal casinos over COVID-19 fears.

It opened up an opportunity for these more extravagant locations, Slack said on Wednesday.

Theres still a lot more for us [to do], Slack added. Theres an extremely large number of them.

While most local illegal gambling spots have five to 10 patrons at a time, the Markham mansion could handle hundreds of invitation-only, monied bettors, Slack said.

The mansion was surrounded by a high, electronically-controlled metal fence and patrolled by armed guards with large German shepherd dogs.

There were also hidden compartments in some of the walls of the 53-room, cut-stone mansion, York polices Salhia said.

The 92 tactical officers from the York Region, OPP and Durham forces had to rush the gated property quickly so that evidence wouldnt be destroyed, Salhia added.

We try to get them in the act of gambling with money in hand, Salhia said. Swift entry is imperative.

The element of surprise was very important.

Surveillance from a helicopter high overhead allowed police to plan their entry carefully.

The helicopter was essential, Salhia said.

It helped that two of the guards were playfighting when they were supposed to be watching for police or attackers from rival gambling organizations or street gangs.

Eleven guns were seized in the mansion, police said. No humans or guard dogs were injured in the operation, police said.

Salhia said York police have raided almost a half dozen smaller gambling spots since the Decourcy Court raid in July.

Illegal gambling spots are run by a variety of crime groups, including old school mobsters and bikers, Slack said.

Mob-run places in cafes often feature poker machines, while the Markham luxury casino catered to clients interested in baccarat, mahjong and slot machines.

Some gambling operations run out of hotels on invitation-only policies.

Now that some legal casinos are reopening, Slack said he thinks some illegal gamblers will take their business to the legal spots.

However, high-security illegal casinos like the one in Markham allow organized criminals to make contacts in a comfortable environment, Slack said.

Theyve also created an environment for making connections, Slack said.

The Markham mansions invitation-only entry policy made it extremely tough for undercover officers to get into the gated facility, Slack said.

What theyre trying to prevent absolutely is undercover officers, Slack said.

There was $1 million found in a safe at the mansion, where gamblers could risk $20,000 on the spin of a wheel.

You can imagine whats going to the house from that, Slack said.

He said that police have been in contact with the Canada Revenue Agency, who will do their own separate probe.

A spokesperson for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which regulates legal gambling casinos, declined to comment on whether the limited reopening of some establishments in the province might hurt criminal operations.

While we often support law enforcement agencies, we are not able to offer any comment on the implications and how that impacts legal casinos, spokesperson Raymond Kahnert said in an email.

With respect to the pandemic-the AGCO has been proactively working with casino operators for some weeks to prepare for reopening so that, when the time is right, casinos can get back to business in a safe and responsible way, Kahnert said.

In June, biker Rob Barletta, a former North Toronto Hells Angel from London, Ont., was charged in an illegal gambling bust.

Barletta, who has served as president of the London and Niagara Region charters of the outlaw biker club, was also arrested with 30 others at a Platinum Super Bowl party at a Markham banquet hall in February 2013, attended by more than 2,000 gamblers. The party featured door prizes such as jet skis and big-screen TVs.

York Region mobsters worked with Hells Angels in a gambling operation called Platinum SportsBook, which was busted in 2013 and used a website based on servers in Costa Rica.

Peter Edwards is a Toronto-based reporter primarily covering crime for the Star. Reach him by email at pedwards@thestar.ca
In the context of COVID-19, Education New Zealand (ENZ) will adopt a new approach for Vietnamese students to discover and experience New Zealandseducation through the virtual New Zealand Education Showcase, to be held on October 18.

The virtual New Zealand Education Showcase is the New Zealand governments efforts to bring a comprehensive experience of its world-class education to Vietnamese parents and students.

As New Zealands largest education event in Vietnam this year; jointly organised by ENZ, the New Zealand Embassy and New Zealand Consulate, the virtual New Zealand Education Showcase will not only provide updated New Zealand education information but also introduce real-time New Zealand classroom experiences, taught by New Zealand teachers.

With the online format, visitors can access information about study options ranging from joint degrees, foundation programmes, online programmes for international qualifications, to valuable scholarships for studying in New Zealand. Nearly 50 education institutions from New Zealand will participate to counsel parents and students while sudents will also have the opportunity to explore Maori culture as well as the differences between New Zealands cities and regions at the Showcase.

The simulated classrooms, with diverse topics such as Science and History subjects (for high school students), and Motion Capture production (for students who are planning for undergraduate and graduate degrees) will help visitors understand the interactive and innovative approach to learning in a New Zealand classroom.

The New Zealand Education Showcase also provides an opportunity for students to meet New Zealands alumni and current students, to listen to their experiences of studying and developing a career in New Zealand. These discussions will provide a better understanding on how a New Zealand education prepares students to succeed in both their personal and professional lives.

A specialised workshop on Pilot Training will also be part of the Showcase, with Vietnamese alumni sharing their training experiences in New Zealand as well as their career developments.

The New Zealand Ambassador to Viet Nam, Wendy Matthews said: Education is a very important pillar in the overall growing Viet Nam-New Zealand relationship. This year we renewed the New Zealand-Viet Nam Strategic Engagement Plan on Education to continue to deepen institution-to-institution links, expand knowledge sharing on education curriculum and teaching techniques and further cooperation in areas such as distance learning. This showcase is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about New Zealand and New Zealands world class education.

Mai Lan
Mumbai, Oct 2 : Actress Bhumi Pednekar, who has taken up the cause of climate conservation to raise awareness among fellow Indians, says she wants to use her voice to bring about positive change.

"I always had this fear," she claimed, recalling how concerned she always was about the environment, even as a child. "It started from my childhood. 'What would happen to this world when the water dries up?' That was the first question in my head. So, I started reading up on climate change," she recalled.

"I have always been conscious, and I tried to have a sustainable style of living, especially since I became an adult. But then I realised I wasn't really doing enough and that's when I started Climate Warrior," she declared.

Bhumi's online and offline initiative Climate Warrior is an initiative to mobilise citizens of India to contribute towards protecting the environment. The initiative has turned a year old.

She wants to use her fame to educate people about climate change.

"I have become an actor. I have the power to reach out to so many people and I have always tried doing that through my cinema. I have to use my voice, my social media platforms to bring about positive change in the world and educate people about climate change," she said.

Bhumi feels every individual must participate in raising community awareness about environment protection.

"When we speak about love for our family, when we speak about love for our nation, do we actually mean all this because we should be doing more to protect our families and our nation and our future generations. These were all the looming questions in my head and that's when I realised I should start Climate Warrior," she said.
Binge watching Alle Folgen & Clips online sehen Konnen Ben und Erin die Immobilien so restaurieren, dass sich die neuen Besitzer sofort in ihre neuen Hauser verlieben? Alle Folgen ansehen
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, the president tweeted early Friday.

Trumps positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week. Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 200,000 people nationwide.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER! Trump tweeted.

Trump announced late Thursday that he and first lady Melania Trump were beginning a quarantine process after Hicks came down with the virus, though it wasnt clear what that entailed. It can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test.

The news throws into disarray the presidents planned trip to Wisconsin. He had intended to lead rallies in Green Bay and Janesville after canceling a visit to La Crosse.

The diagnosis marks a major blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them even as cases continue to rise with less than four months before Election Day. And it stands as the most serious known public health scare encountered by any sitting American president in recent history.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most people develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.

Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday nights first presidential debate in Cleveland.

Trump had consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened.

I felt no vulnerability whatsoever, he said told reporters back in May.

He has instead encouraged governors to reopen their states and tried to focus the nations attention on efforts to revive the economy  not a growing death toll  as he seeks another four-year term.

Some studies suggest COVID-19 patients who are obese may be at higher risk of being seriously sickened by the virus, although its unclear whether thats because they are more likely to have other health conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. In his 2019 physical, Trump met the technical threshold for obesity.

The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen while avoiding further spikes. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen.

Trump, the vice president and other senior staff have been tested for COVID-19 daily since two people who work at the White House complex tested positive in early May, prompting the White House to step up precautions. Everyone who comes into contact with the president also receives a quick-result test.

Meanwhile, Trumps planned visit to Wisconsin was poised at a time when the state is seeing a surge in cases.

Another record

Wisconsin set another record Thursday for daily COVID-19 cases  logging 2,887 cases, according to the Department of Health Services. DHS reported 21 more coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, down from a record 27 deaths on Wednesday but higher than any other day since May. As of Thursday, 1,348 Wisconsinites have died from the disease.

Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Gov. Tony Evers said it makes no sense for the president to be holding campaign events in areas with such high rates of transmission. Evers has encouraged masks at both Democratic and Republican rallies.

I know his rallies are held outside, or partially outside in some cases, Evers said. If he does come, please insist that people wear a mask and dont allow them into your rally without a mask.

Asked again whether he may try to take further statewide action to limit the diseases spread in light of the large jump in cases, Evers reiterated that the decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court earlier this year to strike down his stay-at-home order has severely limited his options. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, successfully sued to eliminate the safer at home order in May.

As a result of that decision by the Supreme Court, we lost most if not all of our ability to mitigate against this virus so we are spending our time making sure that our partners in communities, whether its business partners or other partners, all get the word out that we need to have compliance, Evers said.

He added he doesnt expect any legislative action on the matter from the GOP-led Assembly or Senate.

I dont anticipate the Republicans rushing in to provide some assistance. It just hasnt happened yet, Evers said. God bless them, theyre doing what they think is right. I think theyre wrong.

Vos spokeswoman Kit Beyer said the speaker has been in regular communications with health officials and local leaders on COVID-19 response efforts.

Of course, Speaker Vos is concerned with the rise in COVID cases and deaths, Beyer said. Speaker Vos hasnt heard directly from the governor beyond wanting people to wear a mask. The speaker agrees with the governor and the White House that everyone should follow CDC guidelines and he continues to encourage mask wearing.

Fitzgerald did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Both Fitzgerald and Vos have pushed back on Evers statewide mask mandate, with both GOP leaders claiming the order exceeded the governors authority. Last week, conservative group Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty asked the Polk County Circuit Court to halt enforcement of both the public health emergency declaration Evers made on July 30 and extended on Sept. 22, as well as the statewide mask mandate.

The GOP-led Legislature has met only once, in April, to take up COVID-19-related legislation.

Crisis stage nears

DHS Secretary Andrea Palm noted that 45 of the states 72 counties met the threshold to be considered very high activity for COVID-19, meaning a rate of 350 or more positive cases per 100,000 people. All told, 41 counties show a growing trajectory of cases  including Rock County, where Janesville is the county seat and activity is high.

This is what were facing in Wisconsin, Palm said on a call with reporters Thursday. It is stretching out hospital capacity and it is overwhelming our public health infrastructure. We must take action.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association said 669 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, the first decrease in days but still much higher than a prior peak in April.

Were in contingency mode right now using staff from other areas to provide intensive care, said Ann Zenk, a senior vice president at the association. In the next two to three weeks, if we dont see further slowing down, we could be at the crisis stage requiring overflow capacity, she said.

Most of the strain is at hospitals in northern Wisconsin, especially the Fox Valley and the northeast, where some elective procedures have been canceled and some patients have been transferred to facilities with more open beds, she said. But hospitals in the southern part of the state are also seeing surges.

In Dane County, which on Thursday exceeded 10,000 COVID-19 cases, 37 patients were hospitalized as of Wednesday, up from 17 on Sept. 18.

Overall, about 82% of the states hospital beds and 81% of intensive care beds are in use, high levels going into flu season.

In an effort to address the strain on hospital capacities and mitigate staff shortages, Evers and Palm on Thursday announced a new emergency order that allows health care providers licensed in other states to practice in Wisconsin.

Palm also said she and the governor encourage local officials across the state to implement policies to help reduce the spread of the disease.

We need local leaders to commit to taking action, Palm said.

State Journal reporters Mitchell Schmidt, David Wahlberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New Delhi, Oct 2 : A day after Uttar Pradesh ADGP Prashant Kumar claimed that the forensic report did not mention rape of the Hathras victim, the Congress on Friday asked the IPS officer to go back to a law school and update himself on the amendments made in relevant law in 2013.

Former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said: "The ADGP of UP would be well-advised to go back to a law school and update himself on the amendment made in 2013 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (rape)." "He should also read the 1994 Supreme Court judgment in 'State of UP vs Babul Nath' on what was rape even before the amendment. Absence of traces of semen is of no relevance at all.

"The UP Police seems to be a law unto itself. The ADGP has donned the role of a court and is articulating absurd propositions of law that are contrary to the law declared by the Supreme Court," added Chidambaram, a Supreme Court lawyer.

The Additional Director General of Police ((Law and Order) had said in a statement: "The forensic report clearly stated that no semen was found (on the body). We think some people took advantage of the situation, tried to disturb communal harmony, and create a caste conflict. We are examining this and will arrest those who try to vitiate the atmosphere." The police officer cited the forensic report and claimed that the 19-year-old died due to trauma on Tuesday.

The Congress is up in arms against the Uttar Pradesh government on the treatment meted out to the victim, whose body was allegedly 'forcibly' cremated around 3 am on Wednesday by Hathras police in the absence of her family members.

The Allahabad High Court has since taken cognisance of the issue.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted: "A strong and encouraging order from the Lucknow bench of Allahabad HC. The entire nation is demanding justice for the Hathras rape victim. The HC order shines a ray of hope amidst the dark, inhuman and unjust treatment meted out to her family by the UP government." The Congress leaders, who were trying to reach Hathras to meet the victim's family on Thursday, were not allowed to proceed. Both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were booked along with over 150 party workers under the Epidemic Diseases Act and other laws.
US President Donald Trump's positive Covid-19 test compounded uncertainty on trading floors, where investors were already in a pessimistic mood owing to Congress's failure to pass a new stimulus bill

News that US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania had tested positive for the coronavirus rocked global markets Friday, stoking uncertainty in the world's biggest economy just one month before Americans go to the polls.

Confirmation of the positive test overnight first hit Asian bourses, setting up Europe for a weak start, which was confirmed when Wall Street followed suit and opened about one percent lower.

Investors then trimmed their losses, with the Dow ending the day lower just 0.5 percent, taking the view that, at this stage, there was no reason to panic -- although that could change given the huge potential implications of a president falling ill weeks ahead of the November 3 election.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the initial "knee-jerk sell-off makes sense" given no one knows how the president's diagnosis will affect the vote or a pending contested Supreme Court nomination.

The fact that the market stabilized after the initial fall shows investors were not "catastrophizing" the possible outcomes, O'Hare said.

Upbeat comments from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding ongoing talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on a long-delayed stimulus package for the battered US economy also lifted traders' hopes.

However US jobs data came in weaker than expected, adding to doubts about the economy's recovery, while oil prices struggled amid concerns about too much supply and too little demand.

- 'Political uncertainty' -

"The increase in political uncertainty connected with Trump's diagnosis is... weighing on stocks and stock futures," Rabobank analyst Jane Foley told AFP.

"There are sufficient unknowns at this stage to fan speculation that the election could be quite different from the one that was expected just 24 hours ago."

The extraordinary setback for Trump, 74, has immediate political consequences just 31 days before Election Day, forcing him to cancel campaign trips and adding new volatility to an already turbulent contest.

Story continues

The White House doctor said Trump, who was reported to be suffering "mild symptoms," would continue his presidential "duties without disruption."

After markets closed Friday, the White House said Trump would spend the coming days at a military hospital just outside Washington.

Trump took a test Thursday after close aide Hope Hicks tested positive, with both he and his wife then going into quarantine at the White House.

"We are seeing some risk aversion on the back of the Trump news, although as yet the moves we're seeing are quite modest," Oanda analyst Craig Erlam told AFP.

"Should Trump's health deteriorate, I expect we would see more significant moves, but there's no sign of that at this moment."

- Key figures around 2100 GMT -

New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 0.5 percent at 27,682.81 (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,348.42 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 2.2 percent at 11,075.02 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 5,902.12 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.3 percent at 12,689.04 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 4,824.88 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 3,190.93 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 23,029.90 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: Closed for holiday

Shanghai - Composite: Closed for holiday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1716 from $1.1748 at 2100 GMT

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 105.35 yen from 105.53 yen

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2935 from $1.2891

Euro/pound: DOWN at 90.54 pence from 91.14 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.4 percent at $37.00 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 4.5 percent at $39.11

bur-cs/acb
A 24-year-old Dublin woman pleaded guilty to allowing herself to be a passenger in a stolen car when she appeared at Carrick-on-Shannon District Court last week.

Ashling McDonagh, 4 Cartron Terrace, Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 pleaded guilty to the offence on January 31, 2020 at Mayo, Ballinamore.

The court heard that at 11.15pm on January 30 last she was the passenger in a car observed by Gardai at Tesco, Rockquarter Townland, Ballinamore. The vehicle, which had been reported stolen, left the area very quickly.

The Gardai came upon the vehicle at 12.35am on January 31 after it had crashed at Mayo, Ballinamore.

She has a previous conviction from the Criminal Courts of Justice Dublin of theft and possession of a knife in February of this year, and for the possession of a knife in 2017.

Martin Burke, solicitor, said the woman lives with her mother and assisted the Gardai in every way. He said she has made some mistakes in her past and had effectively run away with the man who was driving the car. He said there was substance abuse involved at the time.

Judge Kevin Kilrane said the defendant has racked up a lot of nasty convictions in Dublin and was a willing participant in being a passenger in a stolen vehicle. He said this vehicle travelled all over the country and crashed out the Carrick-on-Shannon road in the townland of Mayo, Ballinamore.

He convicted and fined the defendant 200 for the offence. He said anyone who allowed themselves to be a passenger in a stolen vehicle faced further sanction and he imposed a three year disqualification from driving.
Residents in Oldham have faced five weeks of rigid coronavirus restrictions already (REUTERS/Molly Darlington)

An MP has written to Matt Hancock asking that the town have coronavirus lockdown rules relaxed in line with neighbouring areas.

Oldham MP Jim McMahon said on Twitter: I wrote to Hancock to ask that the restrictions in Oldham be changed so that Oldhamers can meet people outside with appropriate measures in place. Weve been banned from meeting other households outside for five weeks. We cannot become a forgotten borough.

The Labour MPs Tweet came after a letter was sent to the health secretary pointing out that Oldham had fewer COVID-19 cases than surrounding areas, but faced harsher lockdown restriction.

Oldham MP Jim Mc Mahon has written to Matt Hancock asking him to relax lockdown rules in line with surrounding areas (Jim McMahon/Twitter)

The number of mourners allowed at a funeral is 20, compared with 30 elsewhere, and residents are not allowed to meet with friends or family in local parks.

McMahon continued: The pandemic has already had a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of too many of my constituents, allowing them to meet with their friends and family outdoors and with common sense precautions... will be better for our mental and physical health.

Oldham MP Jim McMahon's letter to the health minister asking him to relax lockdown rules in line with surrounding areas (Jim McMahon/Twitter)

McMahon said: "Im not arguing that Oldham should be released from all of the extra restrictions, its clear from infection rates that we do have a problem, but we also have to be realistic and recognise that these measures need to be clear and make sense to people otherwise they just wont trust us.

He added: The pandemic has been hard for all of us, not being able to see our friends and family for months and then having to keep up with changing restrictions.

McMahon posted a graphic on Twitter showing that Oldham had lower rates than neighbouring towns (Jim McMahon/Twitter)

"Since the social lockdown was introduced in Oldham five weeks ago our infection rate has trebled so my constituents are rightly asking that whether they are having any impact.

So allowing people to meet outside, with social distancing and other appropriate common sense measures in place, will be good for our mental and physical health.

McMahons letter asks Hancock to rationalise the rules around guests at funerals so that 30 people can attend in Oldham as they can elsewhere, and also that people in Oldham be allowed to meet their friends and family outside with social distancing in place.

Story continues

Oldham MP Jim McMahon (Jim McMahon/Twitter)

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told Yahoo News UK: We work closely with local leaders and public health teams to inform decisions on local interventions, taking into account a range of factors.

PHE, the JBC and NHS Test and Trace are constantly monitoring the levels of infection across the country.

We discuss measures with local Directors of Public Health and local authorities, constantly reviewing the evidence and we will take swift targeted action where necessary.

Coronavirus: what happened today

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The University of Cambridge said it would aim to "divest from all direct and indirect investments in fossil fuels" by the year 2030.

In a statement outlining its plans, the British university said Thursday the 3.5 billion ($4.53 billion) Cambridge University Endowment Fund (CUEF) also intended to "ramp up investments in renewable energy as it divests from fossil fuels."

The move is set to be staggered. Among other things, the CUEF will: "withdraw investments with conventional energy-focused public equity managers" by December of this year; develop "significant investments in renewable energy" by the year 2025; and "divest from all meaningful exposure in fossil fuels by 2030."



In addition, the fund will look to reach "net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its entire investment portfolio by 2038."



Tilly Franklin, the university's chief investment officer, described climate change, ecological destruction and biodiversity loss as presenting "an urgent existential threat, with severe risks to humankind and all other life on Earth."



"The Investment Office has responded to those threats by pursuing a strategy that aims to support and encourage the global transition to a carbon-neutral economy," she added.



In another step which could have significant implications in the years ahead, Cambridge explained that, going forward, "all research funding and other donations" would be scrutinized to make sure donors could "demonstrate compatibility with the University's objectives on cutting greenhouse gas emissions before any funding is accepted."



Tracing its roots all the way back to 1209, the University of Cambridge is one of the world's most prestigious schools. With this week's news, it's become the latest high profile institution to announce its intention to divest from fossil fuels.

In April, the University of Oxford, which enjoys a friendly rivalry with Cambridge, announced plans "to divest formally from the fossil fuel industry." The university said it had also instructed its endowment office to "engage with fund managers to request evidence of net zero carbon business plans across their portfolios."



In March, Forsta AP-fonden (AP1), a major Swedish pension fund with billions of assets under management, said it would "no longer invest in fossil fuels."



The Stockholm-based fund explained that the move toward a low-carbon economy less reliant on fossil fuels represented "a substantial uncertainty for companies involved in coal, oil and natural gas activities."

Elsewhere, the University of Edinburgh laid out plans to divest from fossil fuels back in 2018 while in 2017, a coalition of 40 Catholic institutions announced a decision to pull their money from  or block future investment in  fossil fuels.

At the time, the Global Catholic Climate Movement called it the "largest joint announcement of divestment by Catholic organizations to date."
Rescue efforts are ongoing at Gaagbini, Dimia, Banawa and Tikaya communities in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region to save lives and avert disaster.



Those communities have been partly submerged in flood waters following the collapse of the Gagbuluga Dam early hours of Thursday.



This is as result of days of torrential rainfall coupled with excess flood waters following the opening of the Bagre Dam since August 10.



Some of the residents have been rescued to safer grounds, while plans are underway to evacuate them to Walewale, the Municipal capital for shelter.



However, it is difficult to access houses and farmlands in the affected communities because of the water levels, which runs up to waist level of some of the people.



Officers from the National Disaster Management Organisation and the Ghana Police Service are leading the rescue efforts in the communities.



Mr John Kweku Alhassan, North East Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation, who briefed the Ghana News Agency about the situation, said the exact number of affected persons and farmlands could not be ascertained now and said it was difficult to access the areas.

Source: GNA









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Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said he understood the desire to be out and about, but he was angry about the actions of rule-breakers on the beach last night. Loading "It is a bit of an insult to everyone who has done it tough for months and months and months across the state for some people to be putting all our gains at risk," he said. "It is due to the fantastic sacrifices of everyone that we are at the point at which we are at. It is disappointing to see people breaking the rules." Police call on closing beaches

The Premier says it is up to police if Victorian beaches need to be closed as a result of large groups ignoring social distancing rules at St Kilda on Friday. Daniel Andrews said police have a steely determination to make sure people are following the rules, but would not say whether he believed police should have broken up the gathering earlier. Vision from Seven News showed many people without masks packed close together on St Kilda Beach last night, before grabbing and kissing a television reporter. "There is a substantial additional police presence out there making sure that these coronavirus rules are enforced," Mr Andrews said. He said Victoria Police was "well aware" of the challenges caused by gatherings on beaches, and he would leave any determinations about whether beaches need to be closed up to them.

"It was very disappointing, and I'm sure the cause of much anger across the community about what happened there last night," he said. "It was not just there, however, there were reports of similar activity and other beaches and in other places. But let's not detract from the fact that the vast majority of Victorians are doing quite an amazing job." Mr Andrews also would not say whether there would be concentrated testing launched in the suburbs of St Kilda and Elwood, but he encouraged anyone with symptoms to get a COVID-19 test. Police warned earlier in the weekend they would be stepping up their surveillance as Melburnians look to beat the heat over the weekend. A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said officers would not hesitate to fine those who "deliberately breach (COVID-19) restrictions and place lives at risk".

"A number of fines were issued to people who breached directions at St Kilda beach on Friday and Victoria Police will be conducting increased patrols of popular public spaces this weekend," she said. "As the weather starts to warm up, we know this is a time when many people would normally like to be out and about but it is important that if you choose to leave your home you continue to adhere to the directions of the Chief Health Officer." Cases falling The state has recorded eight new cases of coronavirus and three deaths. In metropolitan Melbourne the 14-day rolling average has dropped to 12, while the regional 14-day rolling average is just 0.1. With only two active cases in regional Victoria, Chief Health Officer says that regional Victoria has to wait for Melbourne to get its cases down before it can take more steps.

Professor Sutton said they need to make sure "regional Victoria is moving in a certain synchrony" with metropolitan Melbourne before they could open up further from October 19. "Regional Victoria always had to wait for Melbourne  we had to control it and everything that has been achieved has been achieved because of the control in metro Melbourne and everything that regional Victoria has done right," he said. "The answer to (when regional Victoria can take more steps) is how well is metro Melbourne doing over the next few weeks. But we are on track. "I do think that we are where I expected us to be and we are tracking where the modelling suggests we should be."

"Dont risk everything. What we can hold back now means a truly normal summer. Please - Hold. The. Line, Professor Sutton tweeted after footage aired of a large gathering of people surrounding a television reporter, grabbing and kissing the mans face in breach of COVID-19 restrictions. Victoria recorded seven new cases on Friday, six of which remain under investigation. The seventh is linked to an outbreak at Sunshine Hospital. Two people - a man and a woman in their 80s - were added to Victoria's death toll. Both deaths were connected to outbreaks in aged care. There are now 11 cases linked to the Butcher Club in Chadstone, with all staff forced in quarantine. A Frankston cleaner who failed to self-isolate when her family members contracted coronavirus sparked the COVID-19 outbreak at a butcher shop.
New Delhi: India has a major role to play in the fight against the Communist Party of China (CCP). As a responsible and democratic country, India should unite with Asian countries like Taiwan and Japan to fight against the CCP. It has already been too late and the world is paying the price. In a first of its kind, human rights defenders, scholars, and persecuted communities of China came together to launch the Global Campaign for Democratic China on China Day.

The campaign was launched during a webinar titled "Global Campaign for Democratic China: Uniting Against Chinese Communist Party's Repressive Regime.

The CCP virus has taken life, love, and even enjoyment from the world. It has made people angry, aggressive, and distrusting of others. However, we already know that the human lifestyle won't be able to go back to normal. This was just another outbreak of the CCP virus. The real virus was the birth of the CCP a century ago. The virus of CCP became more dangerous after becoming rich over the last 27 years. Said Sheng Xue, Vice President of Canadian Coalition Against Communism.

Sheng Xue said due to my family background, I have closely observed the tyranny and persecution by the CCP in China. When I rose against the oppression, I became the enemy of this state. Those people who dissented are already in jails. I was crazy. I had to run away from China to Canada to save myself. There is a lust for money in the CCP. Many people thought that they could make a lot of money under the Chinese regime, but ended up losing their lives. Xi Jinping is a very arrogant, cruel, and stupid leader. He has offended people more and more. So due to this.

Special Appointee for Human Right at The Tibet Bureau Thinlay Chukki said, Today China is celebrating the 71st establishment of its foundation. The establishment of a country generally brings about joy to people. However, Chinas establishment has led to the persecution of 1.2 million Tibetan and the destruction of 6,000 monasteries. They are working towards the total sinicization of Tibetans.

Director of the Department of Chinese Affairs at World Uighur Congress Ilshat Hassan Kokbore highlighted that around one million to three million Uighurs have been kept under the concentration camps.

It is a holocaust in itself. After the holocaust by the Nazis, the UN promised that it shall never happen again. However, this is happening again. They also started a war in the free world. Korean War and the Vietnamese War are great examples. They also started expansions within the border as well as outside. India has never been China's neighbour. Since China occupied Tibet and Xinjiang, it became a neighbour of India. China has also launched some proxy wars in Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. This is an evil empire. Its evilness and bloodiness are not only limited to the Chinese border - it has stretched its war to the world."

Sharing his views on the difference between the terminologies used to denote Mongolian land captured by China, Director of Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Centre, Enghebatu Togochog, said that Inner Mongolia is the alternate word for denoting Southern Mongolia, used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

He said, "It has a vast territory, covering more than 2 million sq kms. The Mongolian population is 6 million in Southern Mongolia. Till date, at least 100 thousand Mongolians have been killed or tortured. When China began persecuting Mongolians after annexing Southern Mongolia, around half a million Mongolians were killed. The total population of Mongolians inhabiting the area was one and a half million. China has wiped out millions of nomadic populations in the border areas.

Gaddi Nishan of Ajmer Sharif Haji Syed Salman Chishty argued that China has indeed indulged in a series of human rights breaches and a series of acts and defiance on international borders and disrespect to the international community. The subversive and oppressive policies towards its own citizens who are looking for a balanced life to live is something to be concerned about. The Uighurs and their plight are known around the world. We don't need to re-emphasise the plight that they are going through. China has always disregarded and disrespected the concerns and implications of aggressions. Whereas, India is a land of peace. This peace is not only for the Indians - but for the world. Which is why we have been known as Vishwagurus - teachers of the world, for centuries. Whereas China has not been able to stand up to world peace.

Former Union Minister and MLA from Arunachal Pradesh Ninong Ering; began by applauding the initiative of Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), and said that such an association highlights that the world has now realised that coming together of all the democracies is indeed needed to tackle China.

National Co-Convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch Ashwani Mahajan argued that There is a lot of aggression going against China. Though we are 2.5% of Chinese imports, we should also not forget that we are 11.5% of the surplus of Chinese trade. The US accounts for around 83.5% of the trade surplus. Out of 430 billion, 95% of trade surplus comes from both the countries. Once these two countries join hands, the Chinese could be repelled back.

Coordinator of Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China Luke de Pulford expressed his concerns on the growing influence of China in the United Nations and said, the CCP has strategically rolled out an effort to undertake initiatives of the UN leading to the dependency of the UN agencies on the CCP and coming under it. Currently, at least 15 UN organisations and bodies are being headed by the Chinese nationals. These are huge and important institutions. This is obstructing these agencies to speak up against China.

The webinar was hosted by a New Delhi based think tank Law and Society Alliance.
On the eve of next Tuesdays crisis federal government budget, Australian Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese delivered another pro-business vision speech this week, this time reiterating the financial elites calls for fiscal discipline.

Albanese supposedly laid out what a Labor government would do in the budget to resolve the worst mass unemployment since the 1930s Great Depression, triggered by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of the economic collapse, the October 6 budget is expected to reveal a record deficit of more than $200 billion for 202021a far cry from the governments pre-COVID boast that it would produce a surplus.

The bulk of this deficit, which is five times greater than during the 200809 global financial meltdown, has come from bailing out big business with wage subsidies, tax concessions, central bank-financed cheap loans and other support packages worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Anthony Albanese (Credit: @AlboMP, Twitter).

After providing the Liberal-National Coalition government with constructive support for these bailouts and every other measure during the pandemic, the Labor Party is now trying to differentiate itself from the government, sensing the growth of social distress and discontent.

Albaneses main pitch is for big business to again rely on a trade union-supported Labor government in a period of economic and political turmoil, as it did under prime ministers Hawke and Keating in the 1980s and 1990s, and prime ministers Rudd and Gillard during the post-2008 crisis.

While feigning sympathy for the million jobless workers and the 400,000 more expected to be unemployed by Christmas, Albanese said the Coalition government should only spend money on projects that would boost productivity and economic growth.

With the country in a deep and painful recession we cant avoid the need to borrow money to get by until the economy recovers but we should be disciplined about it.

In other words, while more government stimulus spending was necessary, not least to head off a social explosion amid widespread impoverishment, it had to be tightly targeted to satisfy the requirements of corporate profit.

Albanese criticised Prime Minister Scott Morrisons government from the standpoint of the financial aristocracy, accusing it of running up too much government debt, both before and during the pandemic.

The Coalition will have to explain how it can argue that the $1 trillion debt is manageable, but the one quarter of that, which they inherited, was not, he said.

The Labor leaders other main theme was to back the ruling-class drive for a full and rapid return to work. Despite the pandemic resurging worldwide, precisely due to the employers and their governments herding workers back into workplaces to generate profits, he declared: Weve got to get this nation back to work. And fast.

Albaneses speech echoed the demands of the corporate boardrooms. They have voiced concerns that Morrisons government is not moving quickly enough to unleash austerity measures to impose the burden of the economic crash and huge budget deficits on working-class households.

Albaneses message was almost word for word with the Australian Financial Reviews September 30 editorial. It said the governments budget will spend and invest to create desperately needed new jobs and reboot national growth. But it cannot restore real long-term confidence unless it also charts a course back to fiscal discipline for a newly indebted government.

In trying to marry the corporate complaints with a phony appeal to workers, Albanese criticised the government for cutting JobKeeper wage subsidies and JobSeeker dole payments too swiftly, while complaining that JobKeeper had allegedly led to some casuals being paid too much.

The Labor leader outlined three vague proposals for government spendingon social housing, transport infrastructure and train carriage building. They were all couched in terms of trying to urgently spur corporate investment, while appearing to focus on job creation.

For me, there are three immediate priorities next Tuesday, Albanese said. Jobs. Jobs. And jobs We must generate the economic activity that will create new jobs quickly while also boosting our productivity.

One of the fastest ways to get money into the economy and tradies back on the tools would be to invest in social housing.

Not the slightest detail was providednot even ballpark spending pledges. Nor did Albanese offer any explanation for the failure of the last Labor governments similar promises of boosting social and affordable housing, which mostly handed a profit bonanza to private developers and construction companies.

Nationalist rhetoric was another feature of the speech. Albanese repeatedly urged the government to support Australian-based jobs. These, he claimed, would create good, secure jobs while strengthening our sovereign industrial and research capabilities.

Such language serves as a pretext to pour billions more dollars into the pockets of Australian corporationsnone of which have any record of, or interest in, good, secure jobs. At the same time, it feeds into the increasing whipping up of a pre-war atmosphere, primarily against China, in line with Labors unconditional backing for the US military alliance.

Albanese concluded with an appeal for even closer collaboration with the trade unions. What this nation desperately needs is co-operation between business and unions to end the drift to casualisation, he said.

Labor would never allow industrial relations reform to be used as a Trojan horse to hurt working families by cutting wages and making it easier to sack people.

Yet the unions have been closeted in confidential talks with the Morrison government and employer groups for four months, seeking means to deliver such industrial relations reform.

Albanese said: Under my leadership, Labor has spent the past 18 months working on a vision for our nations future. He said his Vision Statements had projected an Australia where aspiration is encouraged, but no-one was left behind.

This is sheer hypocrisy. Labors union-backed program of satisfying the appetites of the ruling class, pioneered by Hawke and Keating, has helped generate yawning social inequality. The billionaires are acquiring vast wealth, leaving behind millions of workers and their families.

In his previous vision speeches, Albanese vowed that Labor would be first and foremost in the business of creating wealth, including by restructuring the industrial relations system to enhance the gig economy of casual and contract workers.

Noticeably, Albaneses latest speech said not a word about the foreshadowed main plank of Tuesdays budgetthe bringing forward of income tax cuts that will overwhelmingly benefit the rich.

Todays Australian Financial Review featured Albanese as one of the 10 most powerful people in Australia in 2020. He was listed after state Labor premiers Daniel Andrews and Mark McGowanboth key members of Morrisons bipartisan national cabinet.

One of the panelists who drafted the power list, business consultant David Gazard, commented: He can, with a nod, give the green light to a whole raft of legislation that could otherwise be controversial.

Another panelist, Julie Bishop, a former Coalition foreign minister, said: I think Anthony Albaneses role is more important than ever. There must be an effective opposition even at a time when we need national unity. Labor wasnt smashed at the last election. The government won, but not in a landslide.

These comments underscore the fragility of the political establishment. At the last federal election, in May 2019, many workers, based on decades of bitter experiences, from Hawke to Gillard and Rudd, did not believe Labors fairness populism, which promised to impose some wealth-based taxes in order to provide limited additional funds for deteriorating public schools, hospitals and social services.

Labors vote plunged to a century low of 33.1 percent, dropping most sharply in working-class areas, leaving it with virtually no safe seats. But the Coalition also lost votes. It barely retained office, assisted by votes for One Nation and other far-right formations that primarily represented a misguided and frustrated protest directed against the entire political elite.

Labors response to its debacle was to install Albanese, a leader of its Left faction, to lurch sharply further to the right. Albanese soon pledged Labors backing for wealth creation and a renewal of the Hawke/Keating reforms that spearheaded the decades-long assault on jobs and working conditions, and redistribution of wealth to the super-rich.
SULLIVAN'S ISLAND  Town Council voted to accept a settlement Friday paving the way for far more cutting in the town's maritime forest.

The settlement ends a long-running lawsuit and was approved by council members Chauncey Clark, Tim Reese, Kaye Smith and Greg Hammond.

Mayor Patrick O'Neil and council members Bachman Smith and Sarah Church voted against it.

O'Neil tried to make two motions before the vote  one to push the decision to a November meeting, and another to include council members' names and votes on the final document.

Both failed on the same margins as the settlement passed.

Derk Van Raalte, an attorney for the town, said at the beginning of the meeting that continuing the case raises the risk of the town losing control over cutting the forest and could leave Sullivan's Island open to paying penalties.

"Throughout 10 years of litigation the town has consistently argued that a judge or jury is not the appropriate decision-maker" for what to do with the land, Van Raalte said. "Today's meeting offers the town the chance to decide its own fate."

The now-approved agreement allows for:

Clearcutting all vegetation within 4 feet of a town-owned beach path.

Cutting all vegetation in a 100-foot strip next to homes called a transition zone, except mature palmettos, live oaks and magnolias.

Limbing mature trees and removing many smaller trees across much of the rest of the forest, particularly cedars, pines and hackberry trees.

The town will only have to pay for the cutting in the transition zone. Private landowners will fund cutting in other parts of the forest.

The maritime forest provided a divisive battle for years, pitting those who say it blocks sea breezes and harbors snakes, coyotes and mosquitos against those who say it should mostly be left alone. The lawsuit, filed by four owners of property next to the forest, was originally filed in 2010.

The forest sprouted on slowly accreting land on the island's oceanfront side, a side effect of jetties that stop ocean sand from drifting away from the island. It's the opposite of most barrier islands in South Carolina, which are eroding at various rates.

More than 50 people signed up to speak at the virtual meeting, though several were not on the Zoom gathering when it was their time to speak. Those in favor of the settlement argued it didn't go as far in the cutting plan as some wanted, and said they were eager for an end to the 10-year legal battle.

Resident Luke Lewis said he didn't agree with all the elements of the settlement but that it needed to pass to provide the forest management promised when the land was put under a conservation easement years ago.

"Were not going to mow down the forest," Lewis said. "Were going to give people what we assured them they would have when we made the deal 30 years ago."

But more speakers were opposed to the deal, arguing it would mostly benefit the minority of residents who live next to the forest. They said cutting the forest would weaken its ability to slow storm surge and rising seas.

Some asked for a referendum on the issue and said the decision had been rushed; the settlement terms were put online for the first time on Tuesday evening.

Sarah Diaz, an independent researcher who is studying migratory birds in the forest, said that cutting smaller native plants would remove habitat for the insects those birds eat. Some species stop on the island in the midst of journeys that stretch thousands of miles.

"This is going to be horrible if this passes, and it's not going to be reversible," she said.

Bachman Smith held up a copy of Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" as he began his comments on why he would vote against the proposal and thought leaving the land to nature was a better idea.

But he said that moving forward, the town will have to put the polarizing issue behind it.

"Regardless of today's vote, we still have the work of the town to conduct," he said.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- China is committed to the sound and stable growth of China-U.S. ties, though the bilateral relationship is experiencing severe difficulties, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said on Thursday.

"We have been firmly opposed, all along, to a new 'Cold War' or decoupling, and we are committed to the sound and stable growth of China-U.S. relations," said Cui in his remarks at the virtual reception and concert celebrating the Chinese National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, both of which fell on Thursday.

"Indeed, the China-U.S. relationship is experiencing severe difficulties rarely seen in the past 41 years of diplomatic ties. Some people attempt to write off the hard-won achievements in China-U.S. relations, stoke up decoupling and incite ideological confrontation and a new 'Cold War'," he said. "This has seriously undermined the fundamental interests of the Chinese and American people."

"We believe that a sound and stable China-U.S. relationship is in the interests of both countries, and it is needed for achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and building a community with a shared future for mankind," said Cui.

"China's policy towards the United States is highly stable and consistent. We are willing to develop our relations with the U.S. with goodwill and sincerity, and the two countries should lose no time in taking bilateral relations onto the right track of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation," he said.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed out, China "is committed to peaceful, open, cooperative and common development. We will never seek hegemony, expansion, or sphere of influence. We have no intention to fight either a Cold War or a hot war with any country. We will continue to narrow differences and resolve disputes with others through dialogue and negotiation," he said.
Both men have drawn attention for their efforts to smear opponents of President Trump.

This effort specifically targeted minority voters in an attempt to deter them from voting in the November election, Ms. Nessel said in a statement. Were all well aware of the frustrations caused by the millions of nuisance robocalls flooding our cellphones and landlines each day, but this particular message poses grave consequences for our democracy and the principles upon which it was built. Michigan voters are entitled to a full, free and fair election in November and my office will not hesitate to pursue those who jeopardize that.

Mr. Burkman, 54, of Arlington, Va., and Mr. Wohl, 22, of Los Angeles, were each charged with intimidating voters, conspiracy to intimidate voters, using a computer to intimidate voters and conspiracy to use a computer to intimidate voters, according to a criminal complaint.

Mr. Burkman, who is well known for peddling right-wing conspiracy theories and who has tried to smear public figures that included the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III with fabricated sexual misconduct allegations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Efforts to reach Mr. Wohl, who has contributed to The Gateway Pundit, a right-wing news site, were unsuccessful. Mr. Wohls Twitter account was suspended. Mr. Wohl was charged last month with a felony in California related to the sale of a security, according to court documents.

It was not immediately clear if Mr. Burkman, a lawyer, and Mr. Wohl would face charges in other states to which they had made robocalls. Those included New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois, the authorities said.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian poured cold water on Queensland's announcement that the NSW border will open by November, saying it was no better than the existing policy.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Friday announced the states southern border would reopen on November 1, provided NSW went 28 days with zero community transmission.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she is growing frustrated with the Queensland government. Credit:Steven Siewert

NSW recorded its seventh straight day of zero community transmission on Friday.

NSW Health issued a public health alert on Friday afternoon after a passenger who had been on board a flight from Melbourne to Sydney tested positive to coronavirus while in hotel quarantine.
- Jubilee Party management committee recommended the removal of Deputy President William Ruto as its deputy leader

- The ruling outfit accused the DP of plotting to grab power and take over its leadership without the due process

- Lawyer Miguna Miguna said Uhuru's brigade will most likely execute Ruto's ouster in the same manner the president's father kicked out Oginga Odinga

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Exiled lawyer Miguna Miguna has said President Uhuru Kenyatta is using Jubilee Party secretary-general Raphael Tuju to frustrate his Deputy William Ruto.

He opined that the current political intrigues were akin to events that led to a bitter fall out between first president Jomo Kenyatta and his vice Oginga Odinga in 1966.

William Ruto donning "hustler" cap. Jubilee Party recommended his removal as deputy leader. Photo: William Samoei Ruto.

Source: Facebook

Oginga Odinga removal

Described as the doyen of Kenyan opposition politics, Odinga was kicked out of Kenyatta senior's government when their ideological difference became untenable.

A group of KANU loyal MPs led by the then secretary-general Tom Mboya convened the Limuru Conference in which Oginga's position was removed and replaced by regional vice presidents.

According to Miguna, history is about to repeat itself in the coming months, suggesting Uhuru will most likely attempt to tame Ruto and go separate ways before 2022.

Jubilee Party secretary general Raphael Tuju speaking in a past press briefing. He accused Ruto of power grab. Photo: Jubilee Party.

Source: UGC

"1966-54 tragic years ago is repeating itself. A secretary-general of a party in power and a Luo, Raphael Tuju, is trying to do for Uhuru Kenyatta what Tom Mboya did for Kamau Ngengi (Jomo), Uhuru's father. Ruto is being chased away like a wild animal the way Oginga Odinga was," he observed.

Miguna was reacting to the latest wrangles in the Jubilee house that saw the National Management Committee recommend Ruto's removal as the deputy party leader.

Attempted party coup

Tuju accused the DP of an attempted "coup" at the party headquarters adding the ruling outfit reached such a point that Ruto's commitment had become questionable.

"We never wished to get to this point. We serve one president at a time. The party headquarters is not going to be allowed to be theatre of confrontations . DP (Ruto) as self declared 2022 presidential candidate will not be allowed to use party office as centre of operalisation of 2022 campaign," he said.

The visibly infuriated secretary-general shot from every corner during a press briefing on Friday, October 2, and when he wad done, he declared Ruto unwanted at the Jubilee offices.

"It is no longer tenable for the DP to use the party platform to advance his divisive so-called hustler politics that are counter to the party and the President's platform of uniting the country and fighting corruption," he added.

However, Miguna advised Ruto not to shrink back but instead storm the premises in the company of his supporters to see whether or not Uhuru will deploy police officers.

"Is Uhuru Kenyatta planning to station the GSU at the gates of Jubilee headquarters to stop Ruto and his supporters from entering the building they own? If I were Ruto and his supporters, I would overrun Jubilee headquarters like an earthquake," he stated.

Ruto's impromptu visits

On Thursday, October 1, Ruto held a meeting with his allies at the centre where no media house was granted access.

Notable leaders present were Kandara MP Alice Wahome, Gatundu South lawmaker Moses Kuria, Kimilili's Didmus Barasa and senators Susan Kihika and Millicent Omanga among others.

This was the second time Ruto made an impromptu visit to the party office months after his close associates claimed he had been denied access owing to his poor working relationship with the Jubilee Party leadership.

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This is me coming to you with a heavy heart. My friends left after I got cancer - Esther Nyambura/TUKO TV.

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While the houses documented history begins in 1803, the nearby smokehouse dates to 1750, its age given away by the wedged construction of the logs that lock them into place without the use of nails. That style was used for just a decade  quite sturdy if things stay square but otherwise prone to collapse.

Waller served as a justice of the peace between 1818 and 1825 and as a delegate to the Virginia House of Delegates for two terms. In 1845, he was appointed county sheriff and was responsible for collecting taxes.

Waller established his home with his first wife, Elizabeth Mutter, and the couple had three daughters. He remarried in 1824 to Sarah Armistead Garland and the couple had nine children.

Waller died in 1849 and was buried on the farm, leaving the house and about 45 slaves to his wife, Sarah, who died about six years later.

It was the Waller family who gave the simple farmhouse its name and its first two additions.

When youre on the crest of the hill, which would be the first view of this estate coming from the old road, the first time you look at it, the trees frame the house from the hillside like a wreath, Bill said.
Despite the Portland areas national reputation for having a strong public transit system, voters here have just once agreed to pay for any part of the 60-mile light rail network.

And that was 30 years ago.
Some men are alphas, like President Trump, and some men are betas, like Al Gore and the sneering, puffing Biden. And then there are men who aren't even strong enough to be betas. They are, instead, weak, mewling creatures who lack either presence or power, and who then cry about it afterward. Chris Wallace and John Roberts, both employees at Fox News, have exhibited behavior that's so craven and humiliated themselves so badly in the eyes of Fox News's core audience that they should be retired immediately.

It all started with Chris Wallace's stint as a debate moderator for the first presidential debate. Right out of the gate, he failed to stop Biden from interrupting Donald Trump:

I rewatched the start of the debate. The 1st Q went to Trump who gave an uninterrupted 2-min response. Then Biden gave an uninterrupted 2-min response. Then it went back to Trump, whose answer was interrupted 3 times by Biden. If you didn't like it, blame Biden for starting it.  Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 30, 2020

Trump immediately realized that Wallace was either weak or biased and proceeded to ignore him. In both estimations, Trump was correct. For the next 90 minutes, Wallace proved himself to be both ineffectual, for he bleated like a lost lamb when he couldn't regain control of events, and partisan. That partisanship was almost criminal when Wallace failed to force Biden to respond substantively to the question about whether Biden intends to pack the Supreme Court. Trump, a true alpha predator, rode roughshod over the inconsequential Wallace.

After the debate, Wallace didn't have the decency to say, "I should have done better." Instead, typically for a leftist, he blamed someone else. In his case, he blamed Trump:

Right out of the gate, Hemmer asked Wallace about those criticisms. Wallace's answer was to blame Trump for how the evening went, stating that "at first I thought the President was going to engage in a debate with Biden and let Biden answer so they could go back and forth, [but] that was a misapprehension."

Wallace also rewrote history, saying both that Biden did answer the question about court-packing (he did not) and that it was Trump who started interrupting (he did not).

Another shameful moment on Wallace's part was his asking Trump to disavow any support for white supremacists. In fact, Trump has repeatedly done so, including in an interview with Wallace four years ago:

2016: Trump denounced white supremacy to Chris Wallace



2020: Chris Wallace tries the same HOAX, this time talking over Trump



See it for yourself. It was a setup by Racist Hoaxer Chris Wallace! pic.twitter.com/BbxsJs2BTI  Ali Alexander  (@ali) September 30, 2020

Here is a compilation of @realDonaldTrump condemning white supremacy at least 17 times. pic.twitter.com/nttX9vvVtw  James Klug (@realJamesKlug) October 1, 2020

Trump immediately answered "sure" to the question about disavowing white supremacy, but he also pointed out that Biden ought to be asked to disavow Antifa. Wallace refused to ask Biden that question, relieving Biden of the burden of offending his hard-left base. Fox News's John Roberts apparently didn't watch the debate, or didn't understand it, or hasn't paid attention to the last few years of Trump's repeated statements disavowing white supremacy. That's why, during Wednesday's press conference with Kayleigh McEnany, Roberts stupidly asked her whether Trump condemns white supremacy:

Kayleigh McEnany: "[Trump] has condemned white supremacy more than any President in modern history." pic.twitter.com/JPY2AYp8t0  The Hill (@thehill) October 1, 2020

Kayleigh, if I could start off, Id like to ask you for a definitive and declarative statement, without ambiguity or deflection. As the person who speaks for the president, does the president denounce white supremacism, and groups that espouse it in all their forms?

Kayleigh, if I could start off, I'd like to ask you for a definitive and declarative statement, without ambiguity or deflection. As the person who speaks for the president, does the president denounce white supremacism, and groups that espouse it in all their forms?

McEnany graciously gave him a straight answer:

This has been answered yesterday by the president himself. The day before by the president himself on the debate stage. The president was asked this, he said "sure" three times. Yesterday, he was point-blank asked, "Do you denounce white supremacy?" and he said, "I've always denounced any form of that."

McEnany then offered other examples of Trump explicitly denouncing white supremacy, only to have Roberts repeat the question as if Trump had never disavowed the ideology. Irked, McEnany saved her real riposte against Roberts for after the debate, when she put out a tweet:

.@johnrobertsFox I would refer you to your wifes reporting from 21 hours ago... accurate reporting I cited in the White House Press Briefing. https://t.co/dV3Hzp1UaI  Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) October 1, 2020

At this point, if Roberts was a secure alpha man, he would have said, "D'oh," and gotten on with his life  and maybe apologized to McEnany. Roberts, though, proved himself to be a true soy boy by having a full-blown, very public meltdown:

Fox News's John Roberts regarding his question to Press Secretary McEnany on the president condemning white supremacy:



"And for all of you on Twitter who are hammering me for asking that question, I don't care...Stop deflecting. Stop blaming the media. I'm tired of it." pic.twitter.com/j6BDrcrj0D  Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 1, 2020

Wallace and Roberts have proven themselves unworthy of holding the positions that they do. People tune in to hear the news and intelligent commentary. They don't want to see weak, narcissistic men make blatant, partisan errors and then, instead of either owning up to their partisanship or apologizing, throwing blame around. These are losers. Fox News, therefore, should lose them.

Image: John Roberts has a meltdown. Twitter screen grab.
As if the president didnt have enough to worry about Friday, it looks like his economic recovery is sick, too.

Job growth slowed drastically in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, as employers added just 661,000 workers to their payrolls, less than half the number they hired the month before. After its rapid early stages, in which shuttered businesses first began to reopen and millions of Americans got back to the grind, the countrys big rebound is pretty clearly losing momentum.

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Someone absolutely hellbent on finding optimistic news in this jobs report might point to the unemployment rate, which did fall from 8.4 to 7.9 percent. But that number really obscures just how much economic wreckage remains thanks to the coronavirus. The government only counts people as unemployed if they are both out of a job and searching for work. But at this point, many Americans have been sidelined entirely from the job market. On top of the 12.6 million officially unemployed, for instance, 4.5 million people not in the labor force said they hadnt looked for work because of the pandemic.

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Broader measures of joblessness are also showing signs of trouble. The overall share of Americans with a job was nearly flat in September. And in a particularly ominous sign, the employment rate actually fell by 0.3 percent among adults between the ages of 25 and 54, considered the prime working years for most people.

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Despite the Pollyannaish predictions of a V-shaped rebound from the White House, economists have widely expected the recovery to give up steam as time wore on. The country added jobs quickly in the late spring and early summer, because it was relatively easy: Many Americans went back to jobs where they could telecommute or where there was little health risk at their workplace. A large number of states also aggressively nudged businesses to reopen, even if it increased the odds of spreading the virus, which meant a lot of restaurants opened up their dining rooms after shuttering entirely. But now, theres less low-hanging fruit to be picked, especially since high-unemployment states like New York and California are still being cautious about their reopening plans. In service industries like restaurants and bars, rehiring is at a relative crawl. The economy went from 0 to 40 quickly enough, but now its stalling.

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Part of the problem is that, judging by unemployment claims, businesses are still laying off hundreds of thousands of workers every week, even as others rehire. Some of that may be due to the fact that small businesses have burned through the aid that Congress passed in the spring; the Paycheck Protection Program was only designed to last for about two months, after all, and we are way, way past that point. But large companies in industries that have been decimated by the pandemicparticularly in tourismare now also letting workers go, which could bode poorly for the next few months. At the very end of September, Disney announced that it would let 28,000 staffers go from its parks, while airlines could be on the verge of 50,000 cuts.

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Slashing jobless benefits probably hasnt helped matters either. The weekly $600 federal unemployment benefits that kept many families financially stable through the first several months of the crisis expired at the end of July. And while consumer spending didnt immediately tank, as some feared, its recovery did slow a bitgrowing 1 percent in August, compared with 1.5 percent in July.

The one upside to all this? Now that recovery is clearly running low on juice, the White House and Senate Republicans might feel more pressure to strike a deal with Democrats for more aid, and get people the help they need to make the next few months bearable. Maybe, just maybe, bad news could turn out to be good news.
The Bombardier Transportation Thailand team joined together to mark the monorail milestone

Members of the Bombardier Transportation Thailand team who managed the safe transportation of our BOMBARDIER INNOVIA 300 monorail vehicles and entry for visitors during the event, also joined in the celebration.

Members of the Bombardier Transportation Thailand team who managed the safe transportation of our BOMBARDIER INNOVIA 300 monorail vehicles and entry for visitors during the event, also joined in the celebration.

INNOVIA monorail 300 vehicles for Bangkok

The first BOMBARDIER INNOVIA monorail 300 vehicles for Bangkoks new MRT Pink and Yellow Lines were welcomed at Laem Chabang Port near Bangkok, with the support of the Laem Chabang (LCB) Port C0.

The first BOMBARDIER INNOVIA monorail 300 vehicles for Bangkoks new MRT Pink and Yellow Lines were welcomed at Laem Chabang Port near Bangkok, with the support of the Laem Chabang (LCB) Port C0.

Arrival of Thailands first monorails

Thailands first monorails, the BOMBARDIER INNOVIA monorail 300, were unveiled at a ceremony led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha (centre) and attended by VIPs including H.E. Dr Sarah Taylor, Ambassador of Canada to Thailand (third from left), Mr. Pakapong Sirikantaramas, Mass Rapid Transit Authority Governor (far left), Mr. Keeree Kanjanapas, CEO of Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited (second from left) and Mr. Claudio Tiraferri, Managing Director Bombardier Thailand (fourth from left).

Thailands first monorails, the BOMBARDIER INNOVIA monorail 300, were unveiled at a ceremony led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha (centre) and attended by VIPs including H.E. Dr Sarah Taylor, Ambassador of Canada to Thailand (third from left), Mr. Pakapong Sirikantaramas, Mass Rapid Transit Authority Governor (far left), Mr. Keeree Kanjanapas, CEO of Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited (second from left) and Mr. Claudio Tiraferri, Managing Director Bombardier Thailand (fourth from left).

Interior of INNOVIA monorail 300 vehicle for Thailand

Thailands Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha viewing the interiors of the first BOMBARDIER INNOVIA monorail 300 vehicles for Thailand, with Mr. Claudio Tiraferri, Managing Director Bombardier Transportation Thailand.

Thailands Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha viewing the interiors of the first BOMBARDIER INNOVIA monorail 300 vehicles for Thailand, with Mr. Claudio Tiraferri, Managing Director Bombardier Transportation Thailand.

The INNOVIA m onorail 300 system will be th e first monorail in Thailand

The new rail lines will improve urban mobility and foster economic development

BERLIN, Oct. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



Note to editors: To view the photos associated with this press release, please visit the following links:

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Global rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation has celebrated the delivery of the first state-of-the-art BOMBARDIER INNOVIA monorail 300 vehicles for Thailand. The monorails will run on Bangkoks new Metropolitan Rapid Transit (MRT) Pink and Yellow Lines, which will provide 64-kilometres of new rail-based urban transportation links across the city.



The milestone was marked at a special event on October 1, 2020, attended by Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha, as well as other senior government officials. H.E. Dr. Sarah Taylor, Ambassador of Canada to Thailand was also in attendance, along with representatives from Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), Northern Bangkok Monorail Co. Ltd. (NBM) and Eastern Bangkok Monorail Co. Ltd. (EBM).



The on-time delivery of our first INNOVIA monorail 300 vehicles for Thailand marks an exciting milestone in the history of Thailands rail transportation and reflects our strong collaboration between our customers, our PBTS joint venture and our highly-skilled, 600-strong local team, said Claudio Tiraferri, Managing Director for Bombardier Transportation in Thailand. Thailand is an important market for Bombardier where, over the last 23 years, we have grown from signalling supplier to the market leader in rail systems and we look forward to seeing the new rail lines become a reality.

Bombardiers scope on the 34.2 km Khae Rai-MinBuri (Pink) and 30.4 km Lat Phrao-Samrong (Yellow) Lines comprises 72 four-car INNOVIA monorail 300 trains, wayside systems and the automated BOMBARDIER CITYFLO 650 rail control and system integration. The monorails will be able to run at speeds of up to 80 km/h and with a maximum system capacity of over 28,000 passengers per-hour, per-direction. The system is being delivered from Bombardiers Bangkok Engineering Centre with vehicles manufactured by the CRRC Puzhen Bombardier Transportation Systems Limited (PBTS) joint venture, based on Bombardiers original design from Canada.

As the leading rail technology company in Thailand, Bombardier employs more than 600 employees to deliver multiple projects in country and across Asia Pacific. Its Bangkok hub hosts a global centre of excellence in digital mass transit solutions and rail systems integration working for projects worldwide. In addition to its iconic monorails, Bombardier is delivering its BOMBARDIER INNOVIA APM 300 automated people mover system for Thailands first driverless mass transit system, the Gold Line. It is also the signalling supplier for the Bangkok Skytrain and MRT Purple Line and a section of the State Railway of Thailands Northern Line upgrade.

About Bombardier Transportation

Bombardier Transportation is a global mobility solution provider leading the way with the rail industrys broadest portfolio. It covers the full spectrum of solutions, ranging from trains to sub-systems and signalling to complete turnkey transport systems, e-mobility technology and data-driven maintenance services. Combining technology and performance with empathy, Bombardier Transportation continuously breaks new ground in sustainable mobility by providing integrated solutions that create substantial benefits for operators, passengers and the environment. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Bombardier Transportation employs around 36,000 people and its products and services operate in over 60 countries.

About Bombardier

With nearly 60,000 employees across two business segments, Bombardier is a global leader in the transportation industry, creating innovative and game-changing planes and trains. Our products and services provide world-class transportation experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety.

Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in over 25 countries across the segments of Aviation and Transportation. Bombardier shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, Bombardier posted revenues of $15.8 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier .

Notes to editors

For news, related material and photos, visit our newsroom at www.rail.bombardier.com/en/newsroom.html. Please subscribe to our RSS Feed to receive press releases or follow Bombardier Transportation on Twitter @BombardierRail.

Bombardier, INNOVIA and CITYFLO are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

For Information

Media relations, Thailand

Karen Alldridge Global media relations

press@rail.bombardier.com +66 84 700 2268 karen.alldridge@rail.bombardier.com



You can also contact one of our worldwide contacts for specific press inquiries.




Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday said that farmers will win in their protest against three farm legislations, which were recently passed in Parliament and got the Presidents assent, signalling the partys intent to prolong the fight against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government over the issue.

Congress agitation against three black (farm) laws will continue. I want to emphasize that this movement of farmers and Congress will be successful and the farmers will win, Sonia Gandhi said in her message on Gandhi Jayanti.

The opposition parties and various farmers groups have alleged that the farm bills will weaken the MSP regime and only benefit big agribusinesses.

...today the farmers and farm laborers of the country are agitating on the streets against the three anti-black laws. The Modi government is crying tears of blood to the donor farmer who grows grains for the country by sweating his blood, Sonia said.

The Congress president said that her party has always made every law with public consent and before the enactment of the law, the interests of the people have been kept at the top.

Her statement comes a day ahead of party leader Rahul Gandhis scheduled protest against the farm bills in Punjab.

In his tweets on Friday, Rahul said, I will not fear anyone in the world I will not bow down to anyones injustice, I will win the untruth with the truth and I can bear all the sufferings while opposing the untruth.
A 19-year-old Dalit woman was gang-raped and tortured by upper caste men in Uttar Pradeshs Hathras on September 14 while she was out with her mother to collect fodder.

She died a fortnight later in New Delhis Safdarjung Hospital.

Family members of the victim claimed that her body was cremated by UP Police in their absence at 2.30am on Wednesday. Dalit community leaders and women rights activists protested against the police action, calling it a new low.

Also Watch | Hathras case: Kejriwal, Bhim Army chief join Delhi protesters demanding justice

Here is a timeline of events:

- Soon after the victims death on September 29, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad led a protest at Gate Number 5 of Safdarjung Hospital. The government should not test our patience. We wont rest until the culprits are hanged, he said.

- The midnight cremation of the victims body was slammed by Opposition parties, which claimed that the Yogi Adityanath government did so to suppress protests.

- Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Womens Association, said that the girl and her family were being denied dignity even in death and mourning. When the family found her and she was taken to the police station, the police said she is trying to trap people and then she was hospitalised and not kept in ICU for six days and then on her death the police blamed the victims family and they are denying this Dalit family and victim dignity even in death and mourning, she said.

- Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi attempted to visit the family of the victim in Hathras on Thursday, but their convoy was stopped in view of Section 144 in the area. After Rahul Gandhi said I will walk to Hathras alone, he along with his sister Priyanka was detained by the UP Police.

- The Gandhis were taken away in a police jeep and kept in a guest house for sometime before being released and escorted back to Delhi by the UP police. Meanwhile, the Congress claimed that the leaders were arrested by the police and attacked UP CM Adityanath for the move.

- A first information report (FIR) was filed against the Gandhis under the pandemic law by the UP Police for their march towards Hathras.

- The Bharatiya Janata Party, on the other hand, dubbed the proposed visit of Gandhi siblings to Hathras as political tourism.

- On Friday, both Chandrashekhar Azad and Aam Aadmi Party called for a protest at Jantar Mantar. Hundreds of people, including Azad, AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D Raja, participated in the protest.

- The entire country wants that the culprits should be given stringent punishment. Some people feel that attempts are being made to save them. At this time, the victims family needs all the possible help, said Kejriwal.

- At Jantar Mantar, Azad said that he will visit Hathras and urged the Supreme Court to take cognizance of the incident.

- In another development, UP CM Adityanath ordered the suspension of Hathras superintendent of police Vikrant Vir and two other police officials for their handling of the case. Narco-analysis polygraph tests would also be conducted on everyone involved in the case.
The coronavirus has been circling the 2020 election for the better part of a year, and now it has struck at its core, with President Donald Trumps overnight announcement that hes tested positive for COVID-19. The bombshell brings up a series of questions, both practical and political, about how the final month of this campaign will shake out.

The biggest questions stem from the extraordinary uncertainty around Trumps condition. In a matter of mere hours, the President of the United States has gone from healthy, to homebound with mild symptoms, to hospitalized. As of Friday afternoon, Trump was headed to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment.

Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said

On a practical level, Trumps diagnosis throws both the Presidents own schedule and key events in the coming weeks up in the air. The Trump campaign announced early Friday that all previously scheduled events involving the President or the First Family would be postponed or moved online. It is not yet clear whether the next Presidential debate, scheduled for October 15, will happen.

Vice President Mike Pence, who has tested negative for the virus, is slated to debate the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Kamala Harris, on Wednesday, Oct. 7 in Salt Lake City. No one can be certain whether that event will take place as planned, either, since Pence is first in the line of succession to the presidency and works in a building thats the site of an emerging outbreak. However, Pence is so far pledging to press ahead with his public schedule. The Trump campaign said that Pence has tested negative for COVID-19 and plans on resuming his scheduled campaign events. (Harris also tweeted Friday that she had tested negative.) Pence reportedly took over for President Trump on a call with governors on Friday.

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Politically, the consequences of Trumps diagnosis are equally unclear. Its possible the effect on the election will be minimal. Despite the extraordinary events buffeting the racewhich include the death of a Supreme Court justice, revelations about the Presidents taxes and a chaotic debate at which Trump cast doubt on the elections legitimacythe polls have been extraordinarily stable, with Biden maintaining a steady lead in national and state polls. Major news has regularly come and gone without changing the fundamentals of the contest.

But the Presidents diagnosis with a deadly virus and subsequent hospitalization now puts the pandemicand his reckless handling of itsquarely in the spotlight in the closing phase of the campaign. This race has been wildly stable, but this does really add to the sense things are getting out of control, says GOP lobbyist Liam Donovan. Even when the polls were ugly, he felt invincible to a lot of people. Now theyre starting to come to grips with the fact that theres no more time to turn things around. Reality is cracking the force field.

Read more: What If Trumps Condition Worsens?  Mike Pence Steps Into the Spotlight  Physician Briefing Raises More Questions Than Answers  Trumps Unique COVID-19 Treatment  White Houses Silence Worries Diplomats  U.S. Adversaries Exploiting Trumps Illness  Aides Wonder If More Could Have Been Done to Protect Trump  What to Know About Regeneron  Where Trump Has Been Since Monday  At 74, President Trump Is at Higher Risk of COVID-19 Complications 

Theres a chance that the nation could rally around its ailing President. When U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was hospitalized with Covid-19 in April, his personal approval ratings climbed. But that was early in the pandemic, in the middle of a broadly popular nationwide lockdown. Johnsons approval fell again as the pandemic dragged on.

Depending on how its handled on both sides, you could have a real win one for the Gipper moment, says Joe Brettell, a media consultant who has worked in the past for Republicans. The outcome depends partly on the severity of Trumps illness, Brettell says. If hes able to overcome this in a relatively short amount of time, then it only bolsters the image: COVID may have taken down 200,000 Americans but it wasnt strong enough to take down Donald J. Trump.

Yet Democratic observers say the re-emergence of the virus as the focal point of the campaign can only hurt Trump. I think there would be more opportunity to rally around the flag if it was a flag that he had honored, but the fact that he disregarded the crisis is fundamentally a problem for him, says Democratic strategist David Axelrod, a top adviser to former President Barack Obama. And his illness is emblematic of that disregard.

Trumps behavior during the pandemic has been notably cavalier. He has knowingly played down the severity of the virus, repeatedly undercut public health guidelines, floated the idea of injecting bleach as a remedy, demanded that governors lift lockdown orders, held indoor rallies against experts recommendations and turned mask wearing into a cultural wedge. I dont wear a mask like him, Trump said to Biden during the debate on Tuesday night. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from him and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

The Presidents diagnosis also poses potential political challenges for Biden. The former vice president has practiced social distancing throughout the pandemic, even as Republicans mocked him as Biden in the Basement for forgoing an in-person schedule in favor of virtual campaign events. After months of asymmetric campaigning, in which the President was holding major rallies and Biden was holed up at home, the tables have suddenly turned: Now Trump is the one confined, while Biden has emerged for the last leg of the campaign, holding events in Pennsylvania earlier this week and Michigan today. After Biden announced he had tested negative on Friday morning, the campaign continued with its scheduled trip, though it condensed the visit by cancelling one of his stops.

A less disciplined candidate might risk crowing over his opponents illness, as Trump did when Hillary Clinton came down with pneumonia in October, 2016, mocking her stumbling to her car. Biden simply tweeted well-wishes to the President and First Lady Friday morning, before starting his speech in Michigan on Friday by offering thoughts and prayers for the First Family.

This is not a matter of politics, he said. It is a bracing reminder to everybody that we have to take this virus seriously. For the rest of his speech, he focused on his Build Back Better economic recovery plan, leaving his mask on the whole time. Biden is also taking down all his negative ads, according to the New York Times Jonathan Martin.

Republicans may attack Biden for campaigning while Trump cant, an argument that holds little traction after months in which Trump held massive rallies while Biden respected public health guidelines by holding virtual or distanced events. And Biden has given no indication that he plans to curtail his travel, especially since the campaign has long established Covid-19 protocols that include socially distanced speeches and enforced mask-wearing. If anything, the Biden campaign is ramping up its surrogate travel as the election approaches. Harris is heading to Nevada on Friday, Dr. Jill Biden is heading to Minnesota on Saturday, Bernie Sanders is holding a socially distanced voter rally in New Hampshire this weekend, and Biden and Harris are both planning to go to Arizona next week.

For the President to contract the virus is the perfect metaphor for his failure to lead on this issue, ays Democratic strategist Lis Smith. For months and months and months hes been saying this is a cold, dont worry about it, and now you see him pulled from the public eye because of it. It allows Biden to prosecute the case.

With reporting by Molly Ball/Washington
Albany, N.Y.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo wished President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump a full and speedy recovery after they both test positive for the coronavirus.

Trump said earlier today that he and the first lady both tested positive for the virus. They were tested after one of his top aides, Hope Hicks, became infected.

Cuomo also noted in a tweet Friday morning how easily the virus can spread and reminded people to wear a mask.

My thoughts are with President Trump and the First Lady and I wish them a full and speedy recovery.



This virus is vicious and spreads easily.



Wear a mask. Lets all look out for each other.  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) October 2, 2020

Cuomo has been a major advocate for mask wearing since first issuing an order requiring it in New York in April.

Trump has worn a mask in public only occasionally and has generally appeared without them on the campaign trail in recent weeks. He mocked Joe Biden for his frequent mask wearing during the presidential debate earlier this week.

Cuomo and Trump have clashed repeatedly throughout the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

Early in the crisis, Cuomo sometimes praised Trump when the federal government responded with help for New York. In particular, Cuomo said he was grateful for federal help setting up temporary hospitals in New York City and the presence of the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort.

But the two have traded insults and criticisms far more often than compliments. Cuomo has bashed the overall federal response to the crisis for months and Trump has ripped Cuomos leadership, especially when it comes to New Yorks record on nursing homes.

Trump and the first lady are both back at the White House. Trump is experiencing mild symptoms of the virus, according to The Associated Press.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

President Trump and first lady test positive for Covid-19

New smartphone app tells New Yorkers if theyve been exposed to coronavirus

5 things one Syracuse charter school learned from bringing students back to class

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
President Trump has said numerous times that the Democrats are coming for your guns -- either they will scrap the Second Amendment or gut it of any content. Though some have claimed this is an exaggeration, dismissing it as mere pandering to his electoral base, this election cycle may be different.

One of the most significant signs of this is the Democrat Party platform and Joe Biden admitted in the first debate that he has given his stamp of approval on the 2020 platform.

Democrats and Republicans approach the Second Amendment from very different vantage points in their platforms. Republicans talk about the right to own firearms as a right that stands on its own and the discussion regarding the issue in their party platforms begins from that foundation. For example, in the 1980 Republican platform: We believe the right of citizens to keep and bear arms must be preserved. (emphasis added) In the 2000 Republican platform: We defend the constitutional right to keep and bear arms, and we affirm the individual responsibility to safely use and store firearms. And again in 2012: We uphold the right of individuals to keep and bear arms, a right which antedated the Constitution and was solemnly confirmed by the Second Amendment. We acknowledge, support, and defend the law-abiding citizen's God-given right of self-defense.

For the Democrats, the context is different. The discussion usually centers around gun violence and its effect on the American people. Within this discussion and the need to restrict access to guns in general and to ban specific types of guns, the Democrats mention that guns used for hunting or sporting purposes should be exempt from restrictions. For example, in the 1976 Democrat platform: Handguns simplify and intensify violent crime. Ways must be found to curtail the availability of these weapons The Democratic Party, however, affirms the right of sportsmen to possess guns for purely hunting and target-shooting purposes. The 1992 platform: It is time to shut down the weapons bazaars in our cities We do not support efforts to restrict weapons used for legitimate hunting and sporting purposes. And in the 2000 platform: A shocking level of gun violence on our streets and in our schools has shown America the need to keep guns away from those who shouldn't have them -- in ways that respect the rights of hunters, sportsmen, and legitimate gun owners.

It was only in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 platforms that the Democrats actually acknowledged a Second Amendment right and mentioned it by name. However, immediately after mentioning the Second Amendment right, they began discussing many ways they would restrict that right.

As shown in my book Broken Values, the reality is that the Democrats have always been looking to ban something. Since guns have become an issue and first appeared in the 1968 platform, the Democratic Party has always had a firearm or accessory on the chopping block. In 1972, 1976, and 1980 it was Saturday night specials. In 1984, it was snub-nosed handguns. In 1988 and again in 1996, it was a ban on cop-killer bullets that have no purpose other than the killing and maiming of law enforcement officers. And in 1992, the idea of banning assault weapons began and continues to be an issue since the assault weapons ban expired in 2004. The 2016 Democratic Party platform even wanted to ban certain firearms from law enforcement officers.

The 2020 Democrat platform breaks new ground on gun issues in the following areas, among others. First, there is no reference to gun rights at all. The previous, backhanded reference to protecting gun rights of hunters and sportsmen is completely absent. Even the watered-down version of the 2016 platform We can respect the rights of responsible gun owners has been expunged.

Second, gun violence is now called an outright public health crisis and the Democrats pledge to ensure adequate funding to research the topic of guns and their effects on society as a public health issue. This is a very clever way of framing the issue. Undoubtedly, the result of any such research would highlight the risk firearms pose to society, which would provide the Democrats with the scientific backing to gut the Second Amendment, based on the proof that this is a public health issue.

Third, the public health crisis, claimed by the Democrats in the 2020 platform, will be addressed by evidence-based programs, which is another way of obscuring unpopular policy ideas so as not to completely alienate constituencies from the party. Even though the average reader likely sees evidence-based programs as a great idea -- who doesnt want policy to be backed up by evidence -- this is simply a method to choose the evidence you wish to base policies on.

In the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, Barack Obama didnt build his electoral strategy on robust gun control policies, as some Democratic candidates did in 2020. Speculation was that he feared he would lose rural states like Ohio, Iowa, and Colorado. Fast forward to 2020 and the Democrats apparently believe that there are enough new voters and people disgusted by guns to take a radical stance on the issue and not alienate voters. Joe Biden may also assume that people who are against his views on guns either wouldnt vote for him in any event, or even if they disagree about this issue, would still prefer him over Trump in many other areas.

This was clearly evident during a public rally when after receiving a fiery endorsement from Beto ORourke, Joe Biden turned to him and said: Youre going to take care of the gun problem with me. Youre going to be the one who leads this effort. Im counting on you the country needs you. This was the same Beto ORourke who famously said hell, yes, we are coming for your AR-15, and it confirms that the platforms new ideas on guns control are indeed part of Joe Bidens agenda.

Gideon Israel is the author of the new book Broken Values: How The Democratic Party Platform Betrays Its Followers And America

Image: Pxhere
Who gives a fuck about Christmas stuff and decorations, but I need to do it, Melania Trump told her friend in a recorded phone conversation released by CNN Thursday night. And then I do it, and I say that Im working on Christmas planning for the Christmas, and they said, Oh, what about the children, that they were separated? Give me a fucking break.

In the tape, recorded in July 2018 by Melanias former aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who recently published a tell-all about her friendship with the first lady, Melania claimed that she was trying to get the kid reunited with the mom but didnt have a chance because it needs to go through the process and through the law.

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She then complained that she wasnt getting credit from the press for allegedly trying to stop the Trump administrations systematized child abuse. They would not do the story, she said. You would not believe it. They would not do the story because  they are against us because they are liberal media.

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The language was very familiar. The public is just used to hearing it come from a different, more active mouth. Since Donalds 2016 presidential campaign heated up, fixing Melanias place in the spotlight, there has been a persistent liberal fantasy that not even his own spouse can really accept the things he saysthat she is an unwilling participant in the presidents cruel, wannabe-authoritarian hijinks. Some people who attended the Womens March carried FREE MELANIA signs. Some pored over the Inauguration Day video that showed Melanias smile at Donald melting into a frown as soon as he looked away. We (I did it too!) chuckled at video clips that showed her rebuffing Donalds touches, as if she were as disgusted by the president as any of his many detractors.

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So in case there remained any doubt about whether Melania Trump is supportive of her husbands racist views, buys into all the Donald-elevating falsehoods promoted by the presidents employees and Fox News, and shares with him a governing philosophy that revolves around taunting his political opponents, let these recordings make it absolutely clear: She is, and she does.

Her own private musings were every bit as vicious and self-centered as his public performances. According to CNN, the recording also features Melania suggesting that asylum-seekers are lying about the dangers they face in their countries of origin. And another tape has her claiming that migrant children are amazed by the excellent treatment they receive in ICE jails, where they are taken care of nicely. The kids, they say, Wow I will have my own bed? I will sleep on the bed? I will have a cabinet for my clothes?  Melania said on the tape. She also told Winston Wolkoff that said she wore her I really dont care, do u? jacket on a plane to visit a child detention center purely to troll the libs. Im driving liberals crazy, thats for sure, she said, per the CNN report. And they deserve it, you understand? And everybodys like, Oh, my God. This is the worst. This is the worst. After, I mean, come on. They are crazy, OK?

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The image of Melania as a furtive, muzzled critic of the presidents worst deeds persisted for years after his inauguration. When she wore a white pantsuit (the color of the suffragists!) to the 2018 State of the Union address, weeks after revelations about Donalds affair with Stormy Daniels became public, some wondered whether she was signaling her support for the #MeToo movement, Hillary Clinton, or the female legislators whod worn white to Donalds first address to Congress. Saturday Night Live has been a devoted perpetrator of the myth that Melania hated being married to her husband and wanted out. SNL videos have depicted Cecily Strong as Melania telling Trump, Fix your bald spot, Ive had enough, and wanting to switch places with a maid so the maid could lay under Donald while Melania would be free to roam outdoors. In one skit, she insinuated that shes a scared woman whos trapped inside a mansion. Another showed Melania wishing to help save her just-born replacement from her miserable fate: I must find this girl and vanish her to the woodsnot for my sake, but for hers. Without many public appearances from the first lady to mock, Melanias supposed private rebellion became a major part of her satirizers shtick.

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Most of these musings about Melanias inner struggle were half tongue-in-cheek. But the idea that Donald has someone critical in his ear has done real work to humanize and soften the image of his administration. News outlets have given Melania credit for disavowing her husbands child separation policy. But, as I wrote in 2018right around the time the newly released recording was madeMelanias public stance on family separation was never any different from Donalds. Melania said she hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform. Both sides, eh? Likewise, Donald blamed his human rights abuses on these horrible laws the Democrats were supposedly propping up. ThenWhite House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Donald doesnt like family separation, but were not the ones responsible for creating this problem. Neither Donald nor Melania out-and-out said they liked abusing children, but also, neither would admit that it was the Trump administrations policy that was doing the abusing.

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In the Trump era, all over political media, there has been a repeated rush to assume that womenespecially women of colorare the smart, compassionate ones in the room who are so over the mess their male counterparts are making. The presidential approval rating gender gap has been so wide, and the resistance to Donald Trump so thoroughly gendered, that liberals readily project their own horror at the presidents misdeeds on all the women in his orbit. Time and again, that assumption has been proved wrong.

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Melanias phone conversation vindicates Occams razor: Shes not staying with Trump because she feels trapped. Shes not uninterested in politics or hostile to Trumps views. Their marriage is not a simple exchange of money for beauty. Theyre together because they have a lot in common: a perpetual persecution complex, for one thing, and an extraordinary narcissism. As Melania spoke to Winston Wolkoff, children were sobbing for their parents, alone in detention cells, and the thing that nearly brought her to tears in an exasperated phone conversation was the negative press she was getting. Melania peppered her rant with Donalds talking points, blaming Barack Obama for enacting an identical policy (he didnt), railing on journalists, and casting immigrants as conniving liars who love their cages.

Perhaps her customary reticence owes not to her distaste for her husband, but to a smart PR strategy. The perception that Melaniashe of the warm, sympathetic RNC speechwas secretly against the whole deal was a fiction that made Donald Trump seem more reasonable, and possibly convincible. If she could forgive him, America could, too.
Tom Holland's third standalone "Spider-Man" film is set to hit cinemas some time in the near future. Interestingly, it will feature some familiar faces aside from the main crew.

Right after the world started a new month, Marvel also made the hearts of fans beat faster with an update regarding the new "Spider-Man" movie.

As confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, the latest "Spider-Man" installment will feature a villain than was previously featured in the film before Holland became the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

"Spider-Man 3" Cast

Apart from Holland, most of the supporting cast from the previous installments will return to the new flick.

Zendaya, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei and Jacob Batalon will form part of the "Spider-Man 3" cast when the cameras roll again in Atlanta in the next coming months.

However, the biggest "Spider-Man 3" update yet is about Jamie Foxx's return.

To recall, the 52-year-old actor landed the role of Electro in the Andrew Garfield-led film, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." With that said, fans can finally expect the establishment of a direct connection between the movies.

Per the news outlet, Foxx is already in final talks to return as the electrifying supervillain. The previous Garfield film underperformed and failed to impress critics, earning only $708.9 million globally.

It is worth noting that Holland's films has enjoyed massive success, including his debut in "Captain America: Civil War." As a result, the next installment is expected to do better -- as always -- with Holland as the lead.

Meanwhile, Jon Watts, the brain behind "Homecoming" and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" will occupy the director's chair of the third installment.

"Spider-Man 3" Update

Initially, Sony Pictures set "Spider-Man 3" for a December 17, 2021 release as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4.

However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, movies under MCU Phase 4 have been delayed.

On September 23, Marvel's official website published an update regarding the release of its movies for Phase 4.

According to the update, Walt Disney Company -- the main distributor of the films -- decided to push back the release schedule of "Black Widow" to May 2021.

"Black Widow" is set to be the first movie to mark the beginning of MCU Phase 4. Due to the delay, Marvel has also been forced to reschedule its next two films -- "Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings" (July 2021) and "Eternals" (November 2021).

The said new dates were initially reserved for other Marvel movies like "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," "Thor: Love and Thunder," and "Spider-Man 3."

With that said, fans can expect the new Holland-led film to arrive in 2022 or 2023.

Meanwhile, unlike any other Marvel film, it is sure that "Spider-Man 3" will not be available on Disney Plus.

In an interview with The Verge, Disney Plus Head of Content and Marketing Ricky Strauss revealed that MCU Spider-Man films would not be available on the newly established streaming site. Instead of the live actions, Spider-Man animated shows will still be on the site.

Strauss is not closing the door that the "Spider-Man" live-action films will be on the Disney Plus in the future. But for now, fans just have to wait and see.

READ MORE: 'Avengers 5': Bombshell Secrets, Cast & Release Date!
A British man who went looking for his dad was shocked to discover he has 25 half-brothers and sisters in the US.

Oli Benjamin, whose story is being told in a new BBC documentary, was born in 1999 after his mothers decided they wanted to have a child via IVF and embryo transfer.

His mum Jody and her female partner conceived him with an American donor, who remained anonymous, at a clinic in San Francisco, and when Oli turned 18 he began his search for his biological father.

The Londoner, who works in the events industry, eventually found his dad Daley Dunham, but after flying to California to meet his new-found relatives he decided he was not interested in having a relationship with his father because they were just too different.

Oli, who was diagnosed with Aspergers as a child and grew up feeling like an outsider, was hoping to establish relationships with Daley, 48, and his half-siblings, but things didnt go as hoped.

Speaking before the debut of the 25 Siblings and Me documentary, he said that he had no interest in having a relationship with Daley, and his half-siblings are more like cousins to him.

He said: Genetics are the door to relationships, but theyre not relationships.

He wanted his first meeting with Daley to be like a scene from a film, but when they met his biological dad was a bit like, Hi, No 20-whatever.

Oli added: Hed been through it quite a number of times. Its funny because Daley and I are really not that alike at all. Were very different people.

In the documentary, Oli and his half-siblings tell their story. Some reveal they had no idea they were conceived via a sperm donor.

Finding Daley and his half-siblings has brought him peace.

He added: Its much better for someone to be made aware of their donor and who their biological family are and choose not to have relationships with them, than to not know and to never meet them and never be able to make that decision for themselves.

Oli has noticed that he and his half-siblings look similar in certain ways, but he feels he is quite different to them.

In a separate interview, he said it was scary meeting his relatives and the group reunion was difficult because it was such a large gathering.

He added: I never saw Daley as a father figure, always like a cousin or an uncle. We arent anything alike personality-wise. But I did get his good teeth.

The trip has shown me that your family are those who stick by you, who you grow up with, who care about you, as opposed to biological status.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, the president tweeted early Friday.

Trumps positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week. Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 200,000 people nationwide.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER! Trump tweeted.

Trump announced late Thursday that he and first lady Melania Trump were beginning a quarantine process after Hicks came down with the virus, though it wasnt clear what that entailed. It can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test.

The news throws into disarray the presidents planned trip to Wisconsin. He had intended to lead rallies in Green Bay and Janesville after canceling a visit to La Crosse.

The diagnosis marks a major blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them even as cases continue to rise with less than four months before Election Day. And it stands as the most serious known public health scare encountered by any sitting American president in recent history.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most people develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.

Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday nights first presidential debate in Cleveland.

Trump had consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened.

I felt no vulnerability whatsoever, he said told reporters back in May.

He has instead encouraged governors to reopen their states and tried to focus the nations attention on efforts to revive the economy  not a growing death toll  as he seeks another four-year term.

Some studies suggest COVID-19 patients who are obese may be at higher risk of being seriously sickened by the virus, although its unclear whether thats because they are more likely to have other health conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. In his 2019 physical, Trump met the technical threshold for obesity.

The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen while avoiding further spikes. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen.

Trump, the vice president and other senior staff have been tested for COVID-19 daily since two people who work at the White House complex tested positive in early May, prompting the White House to step up precautions. Everyone who comes into contact with the president also receives a quick-result test.

Meanwhile, Trumps planned visit to Wisconsin was poised at a time when the state is seeing a surge in cases.

Another record

Wisconsin set another record Thursday for daily COVID-19 cases  logging 2,887 cases, according to the Department of Health Services. DHS reported 21 more coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, down from a record 27 deaths on Wednesday but higher than any other day since May. As of Thursday, 1,348 Wisconsinites have died from the disease.

Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Gov. Tony Evers said it makes no sense for the president to be holding campaign events in areas with such high rates of transmission. Evers has encouraged masks at both Democratic and Republican rallies.

I know his rallies are held outside, or partially outside in some cases, Evers said. If he does come, please insist that people wear a mask and dont allow them into your rally without a mask.

Asked again whether he may try to take further statewide action to limit the diseases spread in light of the large jump in cases, Evers reiterated that the decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court earlier this year to strike down his stay-at-home order has severely limited his options. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, successfully sued to eliminate the safer at home order in May.

As a result of that decision by the Supreme Court, we lost most if not all of our ability to mitigate against this virus so we are spending our time making sure that our partners in communities, whether its business partners or other partners, all get the word out that we need to have compliance, Evers said.

He added he doesnt expect any legislative action on the matter from the GOP-led Assembly or Senate.

I dont anticipate the Republicans rushing in to provide some assistance. It just hasnt happened yet, Evers said. God bless them, theyre doing what they think is right. I think theyre wrong.

Vos spokeswoman Kit Beyer said the speaker has been in regular communications with health officials and local leaders on COVID-19 response efforts.

Of course, Speaker Vos is concerned with the rise in COVID cases and deaths, Beyer said. Speaker Vos hasnt heard directly from the governor beyond wanting people to wear a mask. The speaker agrees with the governor and the White House that everyone should follow CDC guidelines and he continues to encourage mask wearing.

Fitzgerald did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Both Fitzgerald and Vos have pushed back on Evers statewide mask mandate, with both GOP leaders claiming the order exceeded the governors authority. Last week, conservative group Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty asked the Polk County Circuit Court to halt enforcement of both the public health emergency declaration Evers made on July 30 and extended on Sept. 22, as well as the statewide mask mandate.

The GOP-led Legislature has met only once, in April, to take up COVID-19-related legislation.

Crisis stage nears

DHS Secretary Andrea Palm noted that 45 of the states 72 counties met the threshold to be considered very high activity for COVID-19, meaning a rate of 350 or more positive cases per 100,000 people. All told, 41 counties show a growing trajectory of cases  including Rock County, where Janesville is the county seat and activity is high.

This is what were facing in Wisconsin, Palm said on a call with reporters Thursday. It is stretching out hospital capacity and it is overwhelming our public health infrastructure. We must take action.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association said 669 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, the first decrease in days but still much higher than a prior peak in April.

Were in contingency mode right now using staff from other areas to provide intensive care, said Ann Zenk, a senior vice president at the association. In the next two to three weeks, if we dont see further slowing down, we could be at the crisis stage requiring overflow capacity, she said.

Most of the strain is at hospitals in northern Wisconsin, especially the Fox Valley and the northeast, where some elective procedures have been canceled and some patients have been transferred to facilities with more open beds, she said. But hospitals in the southern part of the state are also seeing surges.

In Dane County, which on Thursday exceeded 10,000 COVID-19 cases, 37 patients were hospitalized as of Wednesday, up from 17 on Sept. 18.

Overall, about 82% of the states hospital beds and 81% of intensive care beds are in use, high levels going into flu season.

In an effort to address the strain on hospital capacities and mitigate staff shortages, Evers and Palm on Thursday announced a new emergency order that allows health care providers licensed in other states to practice in Wisconsin.

Palm also said she and the governor encourage local officials across the state to implement policies to help reduce the spread of the disease.

We need local leaders to commit to taking action, Palm said.

State Journal reporters Mitchell Schmidt, David Wahlberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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A mayor in New York state who shook up her citys police department after the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man who allegedly suffered from mental health problems,was hit Friday with campaign finance charges that could drive her out of office.

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren was indicted by a grand jury on charges of scheming to defraud and violating election law by illegally coordinating activities and expenditures, Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said.

Both charges stem from Warrens 2017 re-election campaign. She has denied any wrongdoing.

Warren, who did not release a statement after her indictment and whose office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has an Oct. 5 court date and also faces the possibility of prison time and the loss of her law license if convicted.

Image: Daniel Prude (Provided by family attorney Elliot Shields)

The mayor had tried to defuse the citys anger after Prude's relatives released police video of his arrest in March. The footage showed officers covering the naked and shackled mans head with a spit hood and forcing him down on the asphalt, where he went limp.

Prude, who was 41, died a few days later, two months before George Floyds death beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer ignited nationwide street protests that continue to this day.

After an internal review of the arrest and its aftermath, Warren apologized to Prude's family, relieved the city's police chief of his duties and suspended the city attorney and her own communications director for 30 days without pay.

"This initial look has shown that we have a pervasive problem in the Rochester Police Department," Warren said at the time. "One that views everything through the eyes of the badge, not the citizens we serve. It shows that Mr. Prude's death was not taken as seriously as it should have been by those who reviewed the case throughout city government and at every level."

A Rochester police officer puts a hood over the head of Daniel Prude, on March 23, 2020, in Rochester, N.Y. (Rochester Police via Roth and Roth LLP / via AP)

Warren said she was asking the U.S. attorney's office to investigate whether Prude's civil rights were violated. And she suspended  with pay  seven officers who were involved in Prude's arrest.

The mayor also moved the citys crisis intervention team and its budget out of the police department and into the Department of Youth and Recreation Services.

"We had a human being in a need of help, in need of compassion. In that moment, we had an opportunity to protect him, to keep him warm, to bring him to safety, to begin the process of healing him and lifting him up," Warren said. "We have to own the fact that in the moment we did not do that."
Star. Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Five Gucci backpacks worth. Thats approximately how much money Jeffree Star is being accused of offering to sources who had gone on the record with allegations of physical and sexual violence. A new report by Insider details allegations of sexual assault and abuse (in addition to the racism) against Star, from his days as a popular MySpace electropop artist. It also details the alleged lengths to which Jeffree Star may be willing go to cover up his past. Ahead of publishing, Insider was made aware of text messages showing two of the articles sources discussing what appears to be a $10,000 offer from Star to take back their allegations of sexual assault and abusive behavior; one accuser and two witnesses eventually recanted. In several letters to Insider, Stars attorney denied the allegations of violence.

Several sources told Insider that Star had been violent and abusive on multiple occasions, including while on the Vans Warped Tour concert series in the late 2000s. Several allege that Star engaged in inappropriate touching and that they saw Star use a stun gun to hurt and intimidate people. One man, Gage Arthur, alleges that Star sexual assaulted him when he was homeless as a 19-year-old in 2009. According to Arthur, on November 11, 2009, Star attacked him with the Taser in a parking lot after he wouldnt hold his hand during a movie. (Arthur identifies as straight.) Arthur claims that, later that night, Star drugged him with Ambien and performed non-consensual oral sex on him. Jeffree had pulled out a Taser and, to be blunt, said, Youre going to let me suck your d  or Im going to Tase you, Kris Whalen, Arthurs former roommate, who claims to have knowledge of the situation, told Insider. He told me, he didnt go into details, but said that out of fear, he let it happen. According to Insider, several people and internet posts corroborate Arthurs story. In fact, two of Stars own tweets verified that they went to the movies together that day. Insider claims Star deleted one of the tweets in September 2020 after they requested comment. Stars attorney told Insider the YouTuber has never tasered or drugged anyone for sex.

Three weeks after Insider asked Star for comment on Arthurs allegations, Arthur texted Insider saying Stars lawyers called him. Five hours later, Arthur recanted his story. The next day, they say they received an email from Stars lawyer making clear he was aware of Arthurs decision. According to screenshots obtained by Insider, Arthur had also approached Chris Avery Bennet, a trans woman who says she was bullied by Star on MySpace in 2009, to offer $10,000 on behalf of Star in exchange for a retraction of her statements. Jeffree Star has agreed to pay you $10,000 if you choose to do the same, he wrote, according to a screenshot. Arthur had not been made aware of Bennets involvement with Insider, but Star had been asked to comment on her claims. Bennet says she refused the deal. Two other sources subsequently changed their stories. Stars attorney declined to comment on whether Star offered payment to sources. So  how many Gucci backpacks would it take for you?

Update October 2: A spokesperson for Star issued the following statement to Vulture.

While Insider may believe that generating click-bait is more important than honest reporting, facts still matter. This so-called expose is nothing but a defamatory collection of long-discredited allegations, misleading hearsay from more than a decade ago and outright lies. Tellingly, all of the key individuals involved have refused to substantiate Insiders bogus claims, while many, including Jeffrees representatives, presented the reporter with a mountain of evidence proving that these allegations are false. She, regrettably and unethically, chose to ignore that evidence because it did not fit with her predetermined narrative. Insiders article is textbook defamation, rife with malice and demonstrating a reckless disregard for the truth, and, as a result, Jeffree is considering all of his legal options.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday condemned the treatment meted out by Uttar Pradesh police to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi when he was on his way to meet Hathras victim's family, and termed it as "gang-rape of democracy".

Talking to reporters, Raut said that Gandhi was a leader of a prominent political party and nobody would support the way he was "manhandled" by the police.

"We may have differences with the Congress party. He (Rahul Gandhi) can be stopped from going to Hathras citing imposition of section 144, but the way police behaved with him holding his collar. The way he was pushed and then thrown on the ground was highly condemnable," he said.

#WATCH Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut says, "Rahul Gandhi is a national political leader. We may have differences with Congress but nobody can support Police's behaviour with him...His collar was caught & he was pushed to the ground, in a way it's gangrape of country's democracy." pic.twitter.com/qhcC8qLiqi  ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2020

"This is gangrape of democracy and the incident should be probed. Is this the way opposition leaders should be treated so that nobody asks questions? You can ridicule him politically as is always being done. But the way police manhandled him is an act nobody will support," he said.

Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several Congress workers were briefly detained in Greater Noida on Thursday for alleged violation of prohibitory orders while walking towards Hathras to meet the family of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died on Tuesday, a fortnight after she was allegedly gang-raped near her village in western UP.

Rahul Gandhi also fell down in the scuffle after police tried to stop him and his supporters from proceeding on the Yamuna Expressway.

Raut also questioned the silence of those who targeted the Maharashtra government "as if heavens had fallen" when the illegal construction of an actress was demolished.

He was referring to Kangana Ranaut, whose bungalow in suburban Bandra was partially pulled down by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently following her war of words with the ruling Shiv Sena over her remarks on Mumbai.

ALSO READ | Yogi Adityanath govt suppressing voice of opposition: Sachin Pilot on detaining Rahul Gandhi

When asked about reports that the Hathras victim was not raped as claimed by the UP police, Raut asked if the victim had lied in her dying declaration.

The Sena MP also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should break his silence over the Hathras incident. He also criticized the curbs on media reportage of the incident.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena workers held a protest outside the Churchgate railway station in south Mumbai demanding justice for Hathras victim. They waved black flags and held placards.
New Delhi, Oct 2 : Satya Pal Jain, senior advocate and a member of the national executive committee of the BJP, has said that the Liberhan Commission report, which had indicted BJP's top leadership in the Babri Masjid demolition case, was unfounded and based on misrepresentation of facts.

Jain had represented the accused BJP leaders before the Liberhan Commission.

"The Congress government had rightly dumped it and the report met the fate which it deserved," Jain, who also happens to be the Additional Solicitor General of India in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, told IANS in an exclusive interview following the special CBI court's verdict in the case.

On September 30, a special CBI court in Lucknow acquitted all the 32 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, including BJP veterans L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and several others, on account of inconclusive evidence and the event not being pre-planned.

A 500-year-old dispute, the Babri Masjid was built on the site of what Hindus believe to be the birth place of Lord Ram. On December 6, 1992, the mosque was demolished by a large group of activists, at a time when the country was run by the Congress headed by Prime Minister P.V.R. Narasimha Rao.

Incidentally, Satya Pal Jain was also present with other BJP and RSS leaders in Ayodhya on the day of the demolition.

The Liberhan Commission, led by retired high court judge M.S. Liberhan, was commissioned by the Central government in December 1992 to investigate the demolition of the disputed structure and the subsequent riots in Ayodhya.

Though the Commission was supposed to submit its report within three months, it received extensions 48 times.

Finally, after a delay of 17 years, the one-man commission submitted the report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in June 2009. The report, tabled in the Parliament in November 2009, indicted 68 people, mostly top leaders of the BJP, as having pre-planned the demolition of the mosque.

"First, the entire top leadership of the BJP and the RSS appeared before the Commission. No one evaded questioning," Jain argued.

The senior advocate had represented Advani, Uma Bharti and others before the Commission.

Second, throughout the period of 17 years of investigation by the Commission, non-BJP parties (Congress, United Front and Congress-led UPA) were in power for 11 years. After the Liberhan report was tabled in 2009, the Congress was in power for another five years.

"But they could not come up with any evidence to establish their charges against the top leaders of the BJP during the trial," Jain said.

It was the responsibility of the governments of Narasimha Rao, Deve Gowda, I.K. Gujral and Manmohan Singh to collect proof against the leaders, the Additional Solicitor General said, adding that they failed miserably to produce any cogent evidence.

Even after the Liberhan Commission report was released, the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government could not collect any evidence till 2014. "Clearly, it was not worth their time," Jain said.

Third, at the time of the demolition by young activists, Jain recalled, all the top leaders of the BJP were sitting on the dais, over 1000 meters away from the Babri Masjid domes. "In 28 years, nobody could produce a single photograph of any of the leaders demolishing the structures," he said.

Fourth, all the leaders on the dais had made several appeals to the violent mobs to climb down and follow the law. "The Liberhan report was unfounded and based on misrepresentation of facts," Jain said.

Former Chandigarh MP and senior advocate Jain has been reappointed as the Solicitor General of India in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by the Centre for another term till June 30, 2023.
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By Express News Service

As the LDF took up the affadavit provided by Unitac MD Santhosh Eapen that he had given an iPhone to the Ramesh Chennithala, the Opposition Leader rubbished the allegation while talking to reporters here on Friday.

Chennithala also warned of moving legally against those coming up with baseless allegations.

He added that his mobile phone was bought with his own money and said that he has never bought an iPhone from anyone.

He informed that he had attended the UAE Day's programme and also had taken part in the lucky draw competition. "But none has given me an iPhone. I have never even met Santhosh Eapen. Maybe he must have taken my name and gifted the mobile to someone else. I don't know whether there is any conspiracy behind the allegations of Santhosh Eapen.

In the affidavit provided by Santhosh Eapen before the High Court he had informed that as per the advice of Swapna Suresh, the key accused in the gold smuggling case, he had bought five iPhones.

One among them was gifted to Chennithala where its bill was produced before the High Court by Santhosh Eapen.

In the affidavit, Santhosh Eapen informed that the five iPhones were bought to gift it to guests who attend the UAE national day celebrations held on December 2 last year. Chennithala was the chief guest of the programme. The phones were purchased from a shopping centre at Kochi on November 29 last year.
A lot of people want to leave New York, and many of them are making a beeline for the Lowcountry.

The Charleston Regional Development Alliance on Friday released its annual population update for the three-county area, with news that an average of 38 people are being added to the mix every day.

That includes eight births and 30 people moving in from elsewhere, the group said.

The No. 1 place from which new residents are coming? The New York-Newark, N.J., metropolitan area.

The flight from big-city life is in line with a recent poll that shows 44 percent of New Yorkers making at least a six-figure salary want to move, largely due to crime and high taxes. More than a third of those polled by the Siena College Research Institute said they plan to leave the Big Apple within two years.

A growing number of upscale homebuyers want to land in smaller markets, including Charleston, says Mansion Global, a luxury real estate listing site.

In July and August, 265 real estate deals closed for $1 million and up in Charleston, Mansion Global reports. That compares to 116 such transactions during the same period a year ago.

Ruthie Ravenel, with Daniel Ravenel Sotheby's International Realty in Charleston, said the trend of urbanites looking to the Lowcountry has been going on for years, but has accelerated with the coronavirus. People want to replace the grime, subways and congestion with front porches, pools and big backyards, she said.

"Many of the people I've had in my car tell me, 'We've been meaning to do this for years and, finally, we just decided to pull the trigger,'" Ravenel said, adding the area's barrier islands and downtown properties are attracting buyers despite a tight inventory of homes.

Charleston is big enough to give transplants a taste of city life without all the hassles, she said. And since telecommuters can work anywhere, many are gravitating to the coast, especially as the coronavirus has pushed them out of traditional offices.

"There will be an exit from major metros most affected by the virus when the dust settles," Ravenel said. "Charleston has been and remains a target secondary market with broad appeal to city dwellers across the country."

Census Bureau figures show the three-county Charleston region's population hit 802,000 in 2019  a 1.8 percent increase over the previous year. The average daily number of new residents is up from 34  8 births, 24 relocations  a year ago.

While most of this year's top 10 originating locations for new residents are in the Carolinas, the list  in addition to New York  also included major cities like Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Chicago.

"Our community has been attracting talent from all over the world due to our diverse and growing economy over the past decade," said Jacki Renegar, the development alliance's director of research and business intelligence.

Renegar also pointed to the Charleston area's quality of life and outdoor activities, such as the beach, as reasons people from out of the area want to relocate to the Lowcountry.
An Italian model-actress met with Los Angeles police detectives for more than two hours Thursday morning, providing a detailed account of new allegations that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her at a hotel in 2013.

She is the sixth woman to accuse Weinstein of rape or forcible sex acts. Los Angeles police Capt. Billy Hayes confirmed that the department has launched an investigation into the matter.

It is the first case related to Weinstein to be reported in Southern California. New York police already have two active sex crime probes and Londons Metropolitan Police is investigating allegations made by three women.

The new allegation could be legally troubling for Weinstein because it falls within the 10-year statute of limitations for the crime that existed at the time of the alleged incident, legal experts say.

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It could open the door to a prosecution if the evidence exists, said defense attorney Dmitry Gorin, a former L.A. County sex crimes prosecutor. Until now, most of the allegations against Weinstein that could lead to criminal charges concerned incidents that are more than a decade old.

Weinstein has unequivocally denied allegations of non-consensual sex, according to his representative, Sallie Hofmeister. On the latest allegation, she said: I cant respond to some anonymous complaint.

The 38-year-old woman, who has asked not to be named because she is fearful of retaliation and concerned about protecting her childrens privacy, first contacted police on Tuesday, through her attorney, David Ring of the law firm Taylor Ring. Two detectives from the Los Angeles Police Departments Robbery-Homicide Divisions rape special section took her statement on Thursday.

She told the Los Angeles Times that the incident occurred at Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel after she attended the 8th annual Los Angeles, Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest in February 2013. She had previously met Weinstein once, briefly, in Rome after being introduced by an acquaintance. At that time, he invited her up to his hotel room, but she said she declined. She said they spoke briefly at the film festival, but he didnt appear to recall meeting her before.

Later, he showed up without warning after midnight in the lobby of her hotel, which she said surprised her because she didnt tell him where she was staying. He asked to come up to her room. She said she told him no and offered to meet him downstairs, but soon, he was knocking on her door.

He ... bullied his way into my hotel room, saying, Im not going to [have sex with] you, I just want to talk, the woman told The Times. Once inside, he asked me questions about myself, but soon became very aggressive and demanding and kept asking to see me naked.

She said Weinstein repeatedly bragged about his power and influence and told her not to fight him. She tried to show him pictures of her children and her mother, who was undergoing chemotherapy at the time, as she cried and begged him to go away, she said.

He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to do something I did not want to do, she said. He then dragged me to the bathroom and forcibly raped me.

When he left, she said he told her she was very beautiful, and that she could work in Hollywood.

He acted like nothing happened, the woman said. I barely knew this man. It was the most demeaning thing ever done to me by far. It sickens me still.  He made me feel like an object, like nothing, with all his power.

After the incident, he invited her to parties at his house. She did not attend.

Throughout the interview with The Times on Thursday, she was calm and collected  though her voice quivered when she spoke of her three children. It is because of them, she said, that she decided to report Weinstein to the police.

At the time, she said she was too afraid, but did tell a priest, a friend and a nanny what had happened.

I feel responsible that I didnt talk for years, I feel responsible that I didnt react that night and I didnt call the police, I feel responsible that I wasnt brave enough, she said. All these years Ive been thinking why I didnt call the police immediately. I regret that I opened the [hotel] door.

About a week before the Weinstein story broke, her high-school-aged daughter told her about how she had been experiencing mistreatment from a boy for seven months. To comfort her, she told her about the incident with Weinstein and urged her to report what was going on.

If I need to do that, why dont you stand up for yourself? her daughter said, she recounted. And she said her son told her: You just need to be strong, Mom.

Her attorney, Ring, one of L.A.s top sex-abuse attorneys, said the woman is fully cooperating with the LAPD.

The model-actress, who was 34 at the time, is well-known in Italy, where she appeared on the cover of Italian Vogue and as an actress in Italian films.

The woman was living in Italy with her three children at the time of the alleged attack, but has since moved to Southern California.

FULL COVERAGE: The Harvey Weinstein scandal The allegations could also bolster a New York police investigation into a report that Weinstein forced an aspiring actress in 2004 to perform oral sex on him, as the L.A. case involves similar acts. Lucia Evans told the New Yorker that Weinstein assaulted her during a meeting at his Miramax office.

Since a New York Times article first revealed allegations of sexual misconduct against Weinstein earlier this month, more than 40 women  actresses, studio workers and models  have accused Weinstein of inappropriate behavior, ranging from harassment to rape. Actresses Asia Argento, Rose McGowan, Lysette Anthony and Evans have all publicly stated that they were raped or forced to perform a sex act by Weinstein. An unnamed woman also told the New Yorker that he allegedly raped her. Eight women have received civil settlements over the years from Weinstein or his companies related to his conduct, the New York Times reported.

In other developments Thursday, a group of Weinstein Co. staffers responded to sexual harassment and assault allegations against their companys disgraced co-founder, saying they did not know he was a serial sexual predator.

We all knew that we were working for a man with an infamous temper. We did not know we were working for a serial sexual predator, about 30 staffers said in a letter sent to the New Yorker. We knew that our boss could be manipulative. We did not know that he used his power to systematically assault and silence women.

The memo also blasted nondisclosure agreements in their contracts that some have blamed for helping to keep allegations under wraps for years.

Times staff writer Ryan Faughnder contributed to this report.

richard.winton@latimes.com

victoria.kim@latimes.com

ALSO:

It was Bob and Harvey Weinstein against the world. Then they turned on each other

The end of Harvey Weinstein and an industry that secretly loves its bullies

Kate Winslet didnt thank Harvey Weinstein when she won the Oscar. Heres why

Harvey Weinstein went from power player to pariah in less than a week. Heres how it happened

UPDATES:

4:05 p.m.: This article was updated with details about a letter signed by Weinstein Co. staffers saying that they did not know they were working for a serial sexual predator.

3:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details from the actress about the alleged assault in Los Angeles.

2:10 p.m.: This article was updated to add a comment from Harvey Weinstein representative Sallie Hofmeister.

This article was originally published at 1:40 p.m.
ENDORSEMENT: Vote 'yes' on 2A to keep our city safe
CEDAR RAPIDS  Democrats concerns that confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court could spell the end of the Affordable Care Act may be misplaced, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Grassley, a member of the Judiciary Committee that is scheduled to begin hearings on Barretts conformation Oct. 12, said Wednesday he has doubts the ACA, also known as Obamacare, will be struck down by the court, at least not in its entirety.

The Iowa Republican met with Barrett on Tuesday and came away convinced that she agrees with his position that judges should interpret the law and constitution based on written word and legislative history.

It is not their job to make law from the bench, Grassley told reporters. Thats my responsibility because you cant vote lifetime appointed judges out of office.

He pushed back on Democratic suggestions that Republicans are rushing to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by confirming Barrett, possibly ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Democrats, who hope to control the White House and Senate after the election, have warned that Barrett will be an anti-ACA justice who could cast the deciding vote to strike down the ACA.

I dont happen to believe the Affordable Care Act is going to be turned down, Grassley said. Of course, this is all speculation, but based on severability, most strict constructionists would try to save as much of the law, of a law, including the ACA as they can. So I doubt if its going to be struck down, whether shes on the court or not.

Severability refers to a doctrine the Supreme Court has often employed to strike down a part of a law, but leave the rest of the statute. In the words of Chief Justice John Roberts, it is the application of a scalpel rather than a bulldozer.

Later, in a floor speech, Grassley called out Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden for refusing to rule out packing the Supreme Court if he defeats President Donald Trump and Democrats control the Senate.

I understand there are differences of opinion on the direction of the court, Grassley said. But threatening to expand the court and pack it with favorable justices because the other side won fair and square and simply followed the Constitution?

I thought wed settled this under FDR, Grassley said about Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt, whose plan to add sympathetic justices to the court was rejected by his own party.

Rather than engage in a naked power grab ... (because) they couldnt get the results they wanted at the ballot box, Grassley said Biden and senators should remain focused on the political independence of the judiciary and leave the politicking to this branch of government.

Although he hasnt always agreed with the courts decisions and has helped pass laws to correct misinterpretations of congressional intent, I still think that after 240 years Im not going to argue with success.

Theyve been good referees for our system, Grassley said.
A U.S. advisory panel made recommendations Friday for who should be first in line to get COVID-19 vaccine, including a plea for special efforts by states and cities to get the shots to low-income minority groups.

As expected, the panel recommended health care workers and first responders get first priority when vaccine supplies are limited. The shots should be provided free to all, the panel said. And throughout the vaccine campaign, efforts also should focus on disadvantaged areas to remedy racial health disparities.

Inequity has been a hallmark of this pandemic, both locally and globally, said the report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, noting an awakening to the power of racism, poverty, and bias in amplifying the health and economic pain and hardship imposed by this pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreak has hit Black, Hispanic and Native Americans disproportionately in hospitalizations and deaths. Reasons are complex, but the disparities are thought to stem from minorities working in jobs on the front lines, having medical conditions associated with severe disease, higher rates of poverty and poor access to health care.

The reports authors saw their work as one way to address these wrongs, they wrote.

Everybody knows from the news how deadly this has been for minorities," panel co-chair William Foege of Emory Rollins School of Public Health said Friday. We said its racism that is the root cause of this problem.

Federal health officials will have the final say on distributing the 300 million vaccine doses the government is buying under the Trump administrations Operation Warp Speed. In practice, state and local health departments ultimately will have control over where they set up vaccination clinics.

The National Academies document lays out successive waves of vaccine distribution as manufacturing ramps up:

-When supplies are scarce, the first doses should go to high-risk health care workers in hospitals, nursing homes and those providing home care. First responders also would be in this group.

-Next, older residents of nursing homes and other crowded facilities and people of all ages with health conditions that put them at significant danger. The report said it remains unclear which health conditions should be included. It lists cancer, chronic kidney disease and obesity among possibilities.

In following waves, teachers, child care workers, workers in essential industries specific job categories might vary by state, and people living in homeless shelters, group homes, prisons and other facilities.

Once supplies increase, healthy children, young adults and everyone else.

Several vaccine candidates are in the final stages of human testing, but none has yet been approved. Initial supplies are expected to be limited. Many health experts predict a vaccine wont be widely available to all Americans until mid-to-late next year.

The report suggests the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could hold back 10% of the vaccine supply for hot spots identified through a tool called the Social Vulnerability Index, which is based on Census data that incorporates race, poverty, crowded housing and other factors.

State and local health officials could use the same tool. The index was developed by CDC to help identify communities that may need support in emergencies such as hurricanes.

But using race, even as part of a data-driven approach, invites court challenges and controversy, some experts warned.

The countrys already divided, said Gary Puckrein of the National Minority Quality Forum, a nonprofit advocacy group. Are we going to prioritize African Americans and Hispanics over whites to give them the vaccine because they have a higher risk?"

That may be appropriate, Puckrein said, but its going to take a lot of advocacy, a lot of explaining. Its not going to leap off the paper and happen.

Using race to prioritize vaccines could end up in the Supreme Court, said Larry Gostin, a professor at Georgetown University who has advised Republican and Democratic administrations on public health issues.

With a strong conservative majority, the Court might well strike down any racial preference, Gostin said in an email. Structural racism in the United States has resulted in far higher rates of disease and death among people of color. We must find lawful ways to protect disadvantaged people against COVID-19.

Local health departments may not really need a tool like the index, said Dr. Jeff Duchin, public health officer for Seattle and King County.

Most local and state health departments know where their vulnerable communities live and where their black, Hispanic and indigenous populations live, Duchin said. Its not going to be surprising to anyone where we will want to target and make vaccine available.

In Chicago, Blacks make up 43% of the nearly 3,000 COVID-19 deaths, and about 29% of the citys population. The city used its own data to conduct mobile testing in communities hardest hit by COVID-19.

What worked for testing could work for vaccines. Chicago is exploring whether neighborhood parks, food pantries and community colleges could be vaccination sites, although storage at super-low temperatures required by some of the vaccine candidates might require more centralized distribution, said Dr. Candice Robinson, medical director of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

The National Academies priorities will be considered by the CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices as it drafts its own recommendations. At the panels Sept. 22 meeting, CDC staff presented side-by-side maps, showing how closely the Social Vulnerability Index mirrors COVID-19 cases and deaths.

State and local public health departments will have flexibility in how they implement the recommendations, said committee chairman Dr. Jose Romero, Arkansas health secretary. Minorities are overrepresented in health care and other essential industries, so prioritizing those groups in theory should increase access for Blacks and Hispanics.

Whats most pressing now, he said, is the need to start explaining the independent checks in place to make sure vaccines are safe. Sharing vaccine safety data when its available will boost confidence among groups hesitant to get the shots, he said.

Among the Latino population in my state, Im hearing terms like experimentation. People say, We dont want to receive this until its shown safe in other populations," Romero said. You can have the best vaccine in the world, but if people dont have confidence in that vaccine, it will do no good. It will sit on the shelf.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
The opposing groupings in Bihar are both scrambling to finalise their seat-sharing arrangements for the coming assembly elections, with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress close to finalising theirs, and the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United), and Lok Janshakti Party finalising at least part of theirs, people familiar with the matter said.

The opposition alliances latest proposal is that the Congress will contest 70 seats, the Left parties, 29, and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) of Mukesh Sahani, 11. The RJD will field its candidates in the 133 remaining constituencies. A formal seat-sharing announcement will be made in the next few days after the six constituents of the Mahagathbandhan, or Grand Alliance, identify their respective seats, a Congress leader said on condition of anonymity, without ruling out some last-minute adjustments in the final agreement.

Also Read: LJPs new generation aims to expand footprints in Bihar using old tactic

On the other side, according to a BJP leader familiar with the matter who asked not to be named, the BJP and the JD(U), which have so far put up a joint front, are bargaining hard for a few seats. Of the 243 seats, the BJP and the JD(U) have more or less resolved the division of as many as 123, as the parties have broadly agreed to retain the winning seats or strongholds. However, the parties are driving a hard bargain over the remaining 120, said a functionary.

The LJP is also continuing to play hardball, insisting on being given between 27-36 seats, this person added.

The JD(U) wants to contest the most seats. There is also some disagreement between the JD(U) and BJP on some seats where the incumbent quit the RJD to join the JD(U). The BJP wants some of these seats, while the JD(U) will have to accommodate its new members from these constituencies, added this person.

Also Read: Bihar assembly election: 5 districts in focus in high-level security meeting

The BJPs parliamentary board and the election committee is expected to meet on Sunday to finalise candidates.

The three Left parties  Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninst)  have been accommodated in the Grand Alliance following the assessment that the decision to keep them out in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections hurt the grouping in many constituencies by dividing the anti-NDA vote.

There was also an assessment in the opposition alliance, especially by the RJD, that Upendra Kushwahas Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) of former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi added no value because their votes were non-transferable. Both eventually exited the Grand Alliance.

Also Read: Once vibrant students politics takes backseat in Bihars caste driven campuses

The Congress leader cited in the first instance said the seat sharing will by and large be a smooth affair and added that differences between the party and the RJD were sorted out after Congress president Sonia Gandhi conveyed that her party would not settle on less than 70 seats. A second Congress leader said Gandhi also took strong exception to remarks made against the RJD leadership by some members of her party and asked them to desist from such statements at a time when all like-minded parties have decided to join hands against the NDA government in Bihar.
The presidential debate on September 29, 2020, ended with President Trump reiterating the false claim that mail-in ballots were subject to mass election fraud and citing this concern in order to justify his refusal to commit to accepting the results of the election should he be defeated. That assertion capped a six-month-long disinformation campaign, waged by the president as well as his party, against the expansion of mail-in voting during the covid-19 pandemic. That campaign has succeeded: polls conducted by Pew, Monmouth, and Morning Consult in August and September show that about half of Republican voters consider fraud a major problem with voting by mail, and more than half point to Democrats as the most likely perpetrators of election interference. Democrats, by contrast, overwhelmingly believe that mail-in voting is reasonably secure and should be used to increase access to the ballot during the pandemic. The consensus of both academic and independent journalistic investigations is that voter fraud is extremely rare and, where observed, occurs on a small scale unlikely to affect the outcome of a presidential election.

The gap between partisans regarding the susceptibility of mail-in voting to fraud is likely to affect voter participation in the election as well as perceptions of the legitimacy of the outcome. Voter participation may be depressed if Democrats are deterred from voting by mail because they fear that postal delays or allegations of fraud will nullify their vote; Republicans may shun mail-in ballots if they fear their votes will be stolen. Both may avoid voting at the polls if the pandemic surges in their precincts, although this is more likely to deter Democrats, who show a higher level of concern about infection. So long as the president declares that only a rigged election would explain his loss, the legitimacy of the results will be in question.

To understand how voting came to be so politicized this election cycle, my team at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard analyzed fifty-five thousand online media stories, five million tweets, and seventy-five thousand posts on public Facebook pages that referred to mail-in voting and the risk of fraud, all posted between March 1 and August 31 of this year. Contrary to most contemporary analyses of disinformation efforts in the American political-media ecosystem, our findings suggest that the disinformation campaign that has shaped the views of tens of millions of American voters did not originate in social media or via a Russian attack. Instead, it was led by Donald Trump and the Republican Party and amplified by some of the biggest media outlets in the country; social media played only a secondary, supportive role.

Donald Trump laid out his strategy around voting in a March 30 interview on Fox and Friends and again one week later in a tweet. In the interview, Trump bragged that he had forced Democrats to relinquish voting-related provisions, stating that their efforts to make voting easier and more ubiquitous during the pandemic would attract so many voters that youd never get a Republican elected in this country again. One week later, Trump raised the matter again in a tweet:

Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it. Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesnt work out well for Republicans. @foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2020

During the ensuing six months, the president and the Republican Partyabetted by major media outletsexecuted on their strategy to discredit the voting process for millions of Americans.

Trump is the central node in the disinformation campaign

Figure 1 (below) shows a network map of media outlets that published the fifty-five thousand stories about the mail-in voter fraud frame and how they linked to one another. The map shows the by now well-known asymmetrical polarization of the American political-media ecosystem, with a distinct right-wing media sector and a rest of media that includes everyone from centrist services such as Reuters and the AP to left-oriented outlets such as MSNBC and Daily Kos.

The most prominent feature of the map is the central role that Trumps Twitter handle plays in the media ecosystem, placing it on par with the most influential media sitesand, indeed, marking it as the most influential information source with a right-wing audience orientation. Trumps Twitter handle is also the only right-wing-oriented site located firmly at the center of the map, indicating that it is influential for centrist and center-left as well as for right-wing media.

The centrality of Fox News to the right-wing media ecosystem also emerges clearly. More surprising, perhaps, is that center right outlets like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, which in most of our analyses are closer to the center, have been pulled deeper into the right-wing ecosystem, away from the rest. In the debates over mail-in voting and fraud, reporting in the Post and editorials in the Journal have boosted the legitimacy of the campaign, and are therefore highly linked to by right-wing sites. No left-oriented site plays a major role, with the exception of the Brennan Center for Justicea nonprofit fighting voter suppression and the publisher of a widely linked literature review of studies of voter fraud in the United States.

The nodes are sized according to how many other sites link to their stories, which we take as a measure of influence among media producers. For this analysis, we created a synthetic source, Trump Twitter, which aggregates all links into tweets by @realDonaldTrump, the presidents Twitter handle. Node proximity is determined by the frequency of links: they are close to each other when either one of them links often to the others stories, and farther apart if neither links to the other often. The more central a node is in the map as a whole, the more influential it is for media across the ecosystem. Nodes take their color from the political orientation of their Twitter audiences, which we divide into quintiles: right (red), center-right (orange), center (green), center-left (light blue), and left (dark blue). Fox, which is both large and separate from the central cluster, is large because it is influential, and not central because its influence occupies a relatively insular subnetwork: the right-wing media ecosystem.

Political and media elites play a primary role in disinformation; social media plays a secondary role

Figure 2 (below) shows the intensity of coverage of the mail-in voting fraud agenda across the fifty-five thousand stories, five million tweets, and seventy-five thousand Facebook posts we studied over the six-month period. Peaks in attention to the mail-in voter fraud frame on social media and in mass-media stories are clearly related. We studied every peak in attention from March 1 to August 31, looking at the Facebook posts with the greatest engagement, the tweets with the most retweets, and the earliest and most linked online stories across the political spectrum to analyze what statements, actions, or publications triggered each peak. In each case, the spike in attention was occasioned by a statement or action by a political figure or elite media outlet; the most common by far were statements Donald Trump made in one of his three main channels: Twitter, press briefings, and television interviews.

Many of these peaks aligned with, or were directly supported by, statements from Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee; Trumps communications staff, both at the White House and in his campaign; and, in one major spike, the presidents reassertion of the voter-fraud falsehoods at the Republican National Convention. Only one major peak was triggered by reporting in the Washington Post and the New York Times, about how changes to the Postal Service were causing delays in mail delivery; still, even that peak followed just three days after Trumps August 13 phone interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business, in which the president said he was refusing to reach agreement with House Democrats over coronavirus relief funding. (If we dont make a deal, he remarked during that interview, that means they dont get the money. That means they cant have universal mail-in voting. They just cant have it.) Several less prominent peaks in attentionfollowing specific AP reports and instances involving news of a voter-fraud prosecution or guilty pleagenerated coverage that received substantial attention on right-wing media and from right-wing politicians and media personalities.

What this means is that the usual suspects in public debates about disinformation are not the central actors in voting disinformation. We found no examples where clickbait factories, fake pages (Russian or otherwise), or Facebooks algorithms could explain any peak in engagement that was not better explained as having been set in motion and heavily promoted by political figures and elite right-wing media personalities, and disseminated to millions by major media outlets. On Twitter, if bots or trolls played any role, it was dwarfed by tweets from the president, his staff, and other institutional and media allies.

Our data cannot exclude the possibility that targeted ads or narrowcast campaigns on Facebook, aimed to suppress carefully selected audiences, will affect voting in specific groups. Nor does it deny that radicals can use Facebook to organize for violence. These remain valid concerns about abuses of social media platforms. But our data strongly questions whether Facebook or Twitter has any meaningful role as an instigator of the broad suspicion with which Republicans regard mail-in voting, a notion that runs counter to the current criticisms of the social media platforms as the core purveyors of disinformation and the origin of mistrust in facts and institutions.

In this disinformation campaign, social media plays a decidedly secondary and supporting role. The disinformation campaign itself is elite-driven and transmitted primarily through mass media, including outlets on the center-left and in the mainstream.

News editors in mainstream media, particularly at the Associated Press and other sources of syndicated news, are a critical bulwark

There is a profound disconnect between the broad public concern with social media disinformation, the persistent scientific evidence that exposure to online fake news is concentrated in a tiny minority of users, and survey evidence that repeatedly shows that less than 20 percent of US respondents say they rely on social media as a major source of political news. Network and local TV, by contrast, are the primary source of political news for about 30 percent of the population, and news websites or apps accounted for another 25 percent, according to the most recent Pew survey. When arranged according to the degree to which they report believing mail-in voter fraud is a major problem, adults who get their news from ABC, CBS, and NBC occupy an intermediate position between Fox News viewers, on one end, and readers of the New York Times, viewers of MSNBC, or NPR listeners, on the other. Local TV news viewers, in turn, form the least politically knowledgeable group of Americans, edging out the much younger respondents who mostly rely on social media. When we analyzed the stories about mail-in voter fraud, we observed that peaks in media coverage usually consisted of large numbers of syndicated stories reported by the online sites of local papers and television stations.

When we consider the listenership, viewership, and readership of these outlets, Figure 3 (below) offers insight into the central role syndicationparticularly by the AP (which appears in both the blue and green clusters)plays in shaping Americans perspectives. For news sites, the analysis looks directly at what these outlets publish. For local TV stations, the online news items offer only a rough image of what airs on TV; still, it is not unreasonable to assume that news items published online offer some insight into what the station will choose to air.

Figure 3 is a map of only those sites that republish stories that have duplicates in other publications. Each node represents a single media outlet. The nodes are sized according to the number of syndicated stories they publish. The links between the nodes reflect the number of times any two nodes syndicate the same story. Two nodes that often publish the same syndicated storiesfor instance, local newspapers that syndicate the same AP storieswill be closer to each other, and farther away from a different pair of nodes that publish different syndicated stories: for instance, two NPR affiliates that often publish the same transcripts from Morning Edition, but not AP stories.

The color of the nodes reflects their membership in a network community identified by running Louvain community detection, the most widely used approach for identifying clusters of related sites in a network. The blue community at the center consists primarily of Associated Press syndication by local newspapers, some local television sites, and national sites. The yellow community reflects primarily local media that are part of Gannetts USA Today Network, replicating USA Today stories but also reflecting some AP syndication. The green community consists mostly of local television stations, syndicating a combination of AP materials, CNN reports, and shared stories in group-owned stations such as Nexstar or Hearst Communications. NPR is visible in orange at the bottom left. The gray cluster nearby comprises Wicked Local publications. Given survey responses that suggest significant audiences (particularly those with low political knowledge) depend on local television, and the relatively high trust that survey respondents place in local media, the role of the producers of syndicated news and the editors of local outlets that use them becomes clear.

Based on the survey evidence and the prominence of the number of stories they publish at peak moments of attention to mail-in voter fraud, no group of journalists and editors has a more important role to play in the month leading up to the 2020 election, and in the weeks and months thereafter, than those who work for syndicated news outlets. Given the insularity of the right-wing media ecosystem, it is extremely unlikely that viewers of Fox News or talk radio listeners will change their view that mail-in voting is an invitation for fraud. The equally confident responses of the readers of the New York Times or the Washington Post, NPR listeners, and MSNBC viewers suggest that they, too, will not suddenly begin to believe that Democrats are stealing the election by committing voter fraud with mail-in ballots.

But 30 percent or more of the US adult population is less committed politically, and less uniformly committed to one or the other proposition, regarding fraud and mail-in ballots. These people watch the TV networks, CNN, and local TV, and they trust their local media. That local media, in turn, depends on syndicated news. And it is these journalists and editors who appear to have been the most susceptible to Trumps tactics of harnessing professional journalism to his disinformation campaign. Early in the campaign we saw more of the balanced approach that repeated the presidents framing of the problem as a partisan conflict. By August, more of the stories, including syndicated ones, underscored the falsity of the presidents assertions in either the headline or the lede, and even briefly reminded readers of Trumps specific electoral strategy that leads him to make these false claims.

In the coming months, it will be critical for editors of these national and local mediatrusted by the least politically pre-committed and, in some cases, least politically attentive citizensnot to fall for the strategy that the president has used so skillfully in the past six months. They should not capitulate to the inevitable charges of partisanship that will befall any journalist or editor who calls a disinformation campaign by its name. They should not add confusion and uncertainty for their readers, viewers, and listeners by emphasizing false equivalents or diverting attention to exotic but (according to our research) peripheral actors like Facebook clickbait artists or Russian trolls.

This article is based on a report by Yochai Benkler, Casey Tilton, Bruce Etling, Hal Roberts, Justin Clark, Rob Faris, Jonas Kaiser, and Carolyn Schmitt, Mail-in Voter Fraud: Anatomy of a Disinformation Campaign, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University. October 2, 2020. Funding was provided by Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the Ford Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations.

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Yochai Benkler is a professor at Harvard Law School and codirector of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard (BKC). This piece was cowritten with Robert Faris, research director at BKC; Hal Roberts, a fellow at BKC and technical lead of Media Cloud; and Ethan Zuckerman, director of the MIT Center for Civic Media.
The battle for G4S heated up yesterday as its two biggest shareholders spurned a 3billion hostile takeover bid from a Canadian rival  but stressed they are open to a deal at a 'fair price'.

Fund manager Schroders said it agreed with the security giant's board that the 190p a share offer from Garda World 'significantly undervalues' the scandal-prone company.

The same offer was unanimously rejected by the G4S board just over a fortnight ago. But Schroders, with a 10.49 per cent stake, offered hope to Garda World by making it clear it is willing to engage in talks and is open to a takeover if it increases its bid.

Too low: Fund manager Schroders said it agreed with G4S's board that the 190p a share offer from Garda World 'significantly undervalues' the scandal-prone company

G4S has appealed to shareholders to 'take absolutely no action in relation to the unattractive and opportunistic offer'.

But Sue Noffke, Schroders' head of UK equities, said: 'As the largest shareholder in G4S, Schroders agrees with the G4S board that the 190p bid from Garda World significantly undervalues the company and its prospects.

'However, we are prepared to engage and are open to a deal at a fair price for that more fully reflects peer multiples, synergies and other strategic benefits for an acquirer.'

The other top ten investors include Chicago-based investment firm Harris Associates, which has a 10.04 per cent sake, and Mondrian Investment Partners with a 5.07 per cent stake.

David Herro, of Harris Associates, said Garda World's bid 'does not come close to closing the gap between their offer and our measurement of intrinsic value for G4S'. But he added: 'We would be open to a higher bid'.

Garda World is contacting shareholders directly in an attempt to win them over. It needs to secure a 90 per cent vote among investors to seal the deal.

Yesterday, the Canadian firm launched another attack on G4S in an attempt to persuade shareholders to accept the offer on the table.

The Montreal-based firm's boss Stephan Cretier claimed he would 'educate' shareholders on how best to manage G4S.

And he dismissed protests from the company's management that it is back on track following a series of scandals, that date back to the 2012 London Olympics when the army had to be drafted in after it failed to provide enough security guards.

When the hostile takeover bid was announced on Wednesday shares jumped above 2 for the first time since February.

They edged up again yesterday, rising 0.8 per cent, and are up almost 40 per cent since news of the 3billion takeover bid emerged just over two weeks ago.

G4S declined to comment.
Lily Watson is in her first year of a masters degree in clinical neuropsychology at La Trobe University, and full of ambition for what she will do with her qualification at the end of next year. "Id love to get out into the field and work in the justice area," she said. "There are a lot of people with brain injuries who are involved in the criminal system and Id like to support them to re-engage with the community and manage their functioning." But Ms Watson could be among the last neuropsychology graduates at La Trobe. The university has suspended enrolments for next year, in a "difficult decision" it said was driven by economic necessity. "While we recognise this is a degree highly valued by the neuropsychology community and those who benefit from the services provided by graduates, the program has been making a significant financial loss as it is very expensive to run," a university spokesperson said. "In the current environment, this is not sustainable."

The university will consider reintroducing the degree in 2022 if it can find a way to minimise financial losses. Ms Watson has launched an online petition against cutting the program that has gathered more than 2000 signatures. Dana Wong, a senior lecturer in clinical neuropsychology at La Trobe, said cutting the program was not a strategic move, even when universities are being forced to make tough decisions because of a lack of funding or government support. "Training a skilled and specialised psychology workforce is more important than ever, especially in a COVID 19-affected world where mental health and brain function are both at high risk," Dr Wong said.

Sam Gibbard, president of the RMIT division of the National Tertiary Education Union, said the university's college of business and law was considering discontinuing courses but had not yet said which would be cut. "They're talking about cutting courses at the moment and also in their proposals they're trying to reduce the number of senior academics on staff," he said. An RMIT spokesperson said that this year some of the university's programs had not run because of low student demand, while new ones had been introduced. Monash University has confirmed its proposal to discontinue 103 units of study. Other universities The Age approached said they had not yet culled degrees or units of study.

With international students not expected to return in large numbers next year, the federal government committed $326 million this week to fund an extra 12,000 domestic places. Its Job Ready Graduates Bill, at risk of being blocked in the Senate after Tasmanian senator Jackie Lambie rejected it, is also an attempt to add 100,000 places over a decade, while raising fees for some courses and reducing them for others. Loading Higher education expert Mark Warburton said the government's proposed funding changes would cut per student revenue by 6 per cent, but the bigger issue for universities was the decline in international students because of COVID-19. "It wasnt too bad first semester, it got a bit worse this semester and it looks like it's going to be substantially worse next year ... which is why, effectively, I think it's irresponsible for the government to be doing this [funding change] at this point of time."

Mr Warburton said Victorian universities had been harder hit by the decline in international student numbers than those in other states. Higher education expert Andrew Norton said the good news was that the University of Melbourne had revised down its estimated losses. But he said the Indian student market was a concern for Victorian universities. "The Indian students rely on the labour market in Australia to support themselves and in Victoria that's still diabolically bad due to the lockdown," he said. Mr Norton, a professor in the practice of higher education at ANU, described the government's university funding plans as "next year's problems".
Statement by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People's Republic of China At the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity

2020/10/01

Beijing, 30 September 2020

Mr. President,

Colleagues,

At the special moment as the United Nations marks the 75th anniversary of its founding and countries around the world strive to emerge from COVID-19 and promote high-quality economic recovery, the UN has convened this Summit on Biodiversity. It gives us an opportunity to discuss major issues of biodiversity protection and sustainable development and therefore has both practical and far-reaching significance.

The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) will be hosted by China next year in the city of Kunming. COP15 offers an opportunity for the parties to adopt new strategies for global biodiversity governance.

At present, there exists an acceleration of the global extinction of species. The loss of biodiversity and the degradation of the ecosystem pose a major risk to human survival and development. COVID-19 reminds us of the interdependence between man and Nature. It falls to all of us to act together and urgently to advance protection and development in parallel, so that we can turn Earth into a beautiful homeland for all creatures to live in harmony. To that end, I would like to make the following proposals:

First, we need to adhere to ecological civilization and increase the drive for building a beautiful world. Biodiversity affects the well-being of humanity and provides the very basis for the human race to survive and thrive. The industrial civilization, while creating vast material wealth, has caused ecological crises as manifested in biodiversity loss and environmental damage. A sound ecosystem is essential for the prosperity of civilization. We need to take up our lofty responsibility for the entire human civilization, and we need to respect Nature, follow its laws and protect it. We need to find a way for man and Nature to live in harmony, balance and coordinate economic development and ecological protection, and work together to build a prosperous, clean and beautiful world.

Second, we need to uphold multilateralism and build synergy for global governance on the environment. Since the founding of the UN, the international community has made active efforts toward global environmental governance. International instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement form the legal foundation for environmental governance in their respective fields. They represent important accomplishments of multilateral cooperation and enjoy broad support and participation from the international community. Faced with the risks and challenges to the environment worldwide, countries share a common stake as passengers in the same boat and form a community with a shared future. Unilateralism finds no support; cooperation is the right way forward. We must firmly safeguard the UN-centered international system and uphold the sanctity and authority of international rules so as to enhance global governance on the environment.

Third, we need to continue with green development and increase the potential for high-quality economic recovery after COVID-19. Globally, the coronavirus has wreaked havoc on every aspect of economic and social development. We need to have our eyes on the long run, have determination and stay the course for green, inclusive and sustainable development. The UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development points the way forward, and recognizes biodiversity as an important basis, a goal and the means for achieving sustainable development. Recognizing that "our solutions are in Nature", we could strive to find development opportunities while preserving Nature, and achieve win-win in both ecological conservation and high-quality development.

Fourth, we need to heighten our sense of responsibility and strengthen the power of action to tackle challenges to the environment. Being at varying stages of development, developed and developing countries have different historical responsibilities and practical capabilities for addressing environmental issues. We need to uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits, and accommodate developing countries' concerns over funding, technology and capacity building. We need to earnestly fulfill our commitments, focus on our targets, and effectively reverse biodiversity loss so as to protect the planet we call home.

Mr. President,

"Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth", which is the theme of next year's Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, embodies humanity's hope for a better future. As the host country of COP15, China is happy to share with all parties its experience of advancing biodiversity governance and ecological progress.

- China has pursued development under the vision of building an ecological civilization. From the traditional Chinese wisdom that the laws of Nature govern all things and that man must seek harmony with Nature, to the new development philosophy emphasizing innovative, coordinated, green and open development for all, China has always prioritized ecological progress and embedded it in every dimension and phase of its economic and social development. The goal is to seek a kind of modernization that promotes harmonious coexistence of man and Nature.

- China has rolled out strong policies and actions. China adopts a holistic approach to conserving the mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands, and makes coordinated efforts to advance biodiversity governance. We have stepped up national legislation for preserving biodiversity, and are drawing red lines for protecting the ecosystems. We have effected a national parks system, carried out major biodiversity conservation projects, and increased social participation and public awareness. For the last 10 years, China has topped the world in forest resource increase, with more than 70 million hectares of land afforested. We have made long-term, large-scale efforts to combat sandification and desertification, and we have effectively protected and restored the wetlands. We now have one of the world's largest banks of genetic resources reserve. Ninety percent of terrestrial ecosystem types and 85 percent of key wild animal populations are under effective protection.

- China has taken an active part in global environmental governance. China takes seriously its obligations under environment-related treaties, including on climate change and biodiversity. We have hit, ahead of schedule, the targets set for 2020 for tackling climate change and establishing protected areas. As the largest developing country, China is prepared to take on international responsibilities commensurate with its level of development, and contribute its part to global environmental governance. Guided by the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China will continue to make extraordinary efforts to scale up its nationally determined contributions. China will adopt even more forceful policies and measures and strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, thus making greater efforts and contributions toward meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Mr. President,

As the saying goes, "Little by little, grains of soil pile up to make a mountain and drops of water converge to form a river." To enhance biodiversity conservation and global environmental governance require sustained efforts by all parties. I want to welcome you to Kunming, the beautiful "Spring City", next year, to discuss and draw up plans together for protecting global biodiversity, and I look forward to the adoption of a comprehensive, balanced, ambitious and implementable framework of action. Now, let us proceed from this Summit and work in concert to build a beautiful world of harmony among all beings on the planet.
Former Dodgers outfielder Lou Johnson, left, attends a game at Dodger Stadium with Sandy Koufax in March 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Lou Johnson, the Dodgers outfielder who hit a home run in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series and overcame a drug addiction before spending nearly four decades in the teams community relations department, died Thursday night, the club announced Friday. He was 86.

Nicknamed Sweet Lou because of his infectious smile and outgoing personality, Johnson played eight big league seasons for five teams from 1960 to 1969, including three years with the Dodgers (1965-67) and his final season with the Angels in 1969. He had a career .258 batting average with 48 homers and 232 RBIs in 677 games.

Promoted from triple-A Spokane when Tommy Davis broke his ankle early in the 1965 season, Johnson hit .259 with 12 homers, 24 doubles, 58 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He had the only Dodgers hit and scored the only run in Sandy Koufaxs perfect game Sept. 9, 1965, against the Chicago Cubs.

Later that season, Johnson hit a solo homer off Jim Kaat in the fourth inning of a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins in the decisive seventh game of the World Series, making a winner of Koufax, who threw a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts.

Johnson, born on Sept. 22, 1934, in Lexington, Ky., had his best season in 1966, hitting .272 with 17 homers and 73 RBIs in 152 games for the Dodgers.

In a 2001 interview with The Times, Johnson said he gave his World Series ring to a Seattle drug dealer in 1971 as collateral for a cocaine transaction. When he returned two hours later with the money, the dealer and the ring were gone.

I was at my lowest ebb, Johnson said in 2001. It was the only thing I had of value, and now I had given that away.

Nine years later, the troubled Johnson returned to the Dodgers and asked for help. Don Newcombe, the former Dodgers pitcher who was the teams director of community affairs, sent Johnson to a substance-abuse center. Then-Dodgers owner Peter OMalley paid for treatment.

Johnson cleaned up and began working for the Dodgers community relations department as a drug-and-alcohol counselor.

Story continues

Former Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, left, and former Dodgers outfielder Lou Johnson pose for a photo on opening day at Dodger Stadium on March 28, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Some 30 years after he lost his World Series ring, Mark Langill, the Dodgers historian and publications editor, was alerted by a former employee that the ring was being auctioned on the internet.

Langill tracked down the auctioneers two days before the scheduled sale. Then-team president Bob Graziano paid $3,457 for the ring and returned it to Johnson, bringing him to tears.

I dont have my uniform, dont have my glove, dont have my bat, dont have anything of value, Johnson said. It felt like a little bit of me had been reborn.

Johnson lived in Los Angeles and is survived by his wife, Sarah, and children Lauren, Carlton and Quinton. Funeral services are pending.

Lou Johnson was such a positive inspiration at Dodger Stadium with our employees, fans and throughout the community, Dodgers President Stan Kasten said in a statement. Dodgers fans will always remember his important [World Series] home run, when he was clapping his hands running around the bases.

Sorry to hear the news about "Sweet" Lou Johnson, a hero of game 7 of the @dodgers '65 WS along with series MVP Sandy Koufax. Here's my post-game interview with Johnson at 3:35. RIP Lou Johnson. @mlb https://t.co/eTZksWPzIu  Vin Scully (@TheVinScully) October 2, 2020

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Trump condemns KKK, white supremacists, Proud Boys

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Days after being criticized for not clearly denouncing white supremacists in the controversial far-right Proud Boys group, President Donald Trump condemned them on Thursday.

"I've said it many times, and let me be clear again: I condemn the KKK. I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys. I dont know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing. But I condemn that," Trump said on Sean Hannity's Fox News show.

If I say it a hundred times it wont be enough because its fake news, he said, noting that he has condemned white supremacists in the past for years.

FLASHBACK:@realDonaldTrump condemns the KKK, neo-Nazis, anti-Semitism, and white supremacy throughout his first term. pic.twitter.com/kUOP8qGK5A  Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 1, 2020

Trump has denounced the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and white supremacists on several previous occasions, including in 2017, after a self-identified white supremacist drove his car into counter-protesters, killing one and injuring others, at a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Since Tuesday, Trump has been under fire for failing to clearly denounce white supremacists during his first presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Moderator and "Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace asked the president if he was "willing tonight to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities as we saw in Kenosha and we've seen in Portland?"

President Trump replied "sure" he was "willing to do that," but noted that "almost everything I see is from the left-wing."

Biden then mentioned the Proud Boys, which led to perhaps the most discussed line from Trump during the debate.

"The Proud Boys," Trump said. "Stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about Antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem."

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler called the presidents response to the question on white supremacy his lowest moment during the debate and said it was a failed opportunity.

The lowest moment for the incumbent president, Donald Trump, was when he did not give a clear answer when it came to the threat from the political right, from white supremacists and others in the United States. When called to condemn them, the President didn't exactly not answer the question, but he did answer the question in such a way that it was not very specific or comprehensive. I would score that as a failed opportunity, Mohler noted on his podcast, The Briefing.

SBC President J.D. Greear said on Twitter Wednesday afternoon that white supremacy is as a scheme of the devil and everyone should be ready to condemn it when asked to do so.

When asked to condemn white supremacy, every single one of us should be ready to do so. Racism is, sadly, not extinct, and we know from our Southern Baptist history the effects of the horrific sins of racism and hatred, Greear said.

We denounce and repudiate white supremacy and every form of racial and ethnic hatred as a scheme of the devil intended to bring suffering and division to our society. We re-affirm what Southern Baptists said to this in 2017, he adding, noting that his statement was endorsed by several senior officers in the worlds largest Baptist denomination.

Enrique Tarrio, the Afro-Cuban international chairman of the Proud Boys group of men who say they love America but hate political correctness, also publicly denounced racism and white supremacy after detractors began conflating them with white supremacists in the wake of the first presidential debate.

OK, so Im going to say it to you. Im going to give you the skinny. Im going to give it to you straight. I denounce white supremacy. I denounce anti-Semitism. I denounce racism. I denounce fascism. I denounce communism and any other -ism that is prejudice towards people because of their race, religion, culture, tone of skin, Tarrio said in an interview with WSVN Wednesday.
In a possible cause for further conflict escalation, Armenia said one of its warplanes was shot down by a Turkish fighter jet, a claim Azerbaijan denied

Yerevan: Leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia brushed off the suggestion of peace talks Tuesday, accusing each other of obstructing negotiations over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, with dozens killed and injured in three days of heavy fighting.

In the latest incident, Armenia said one of its warplanes was shot down by a fighter jet from Azerbaijans ally Turkey, killing the pilot, in what would be a major escalation of the violence. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan denied it.

The international community is calling for talks to end the decades-old conflict between the two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus Mountains region following a flareup of violence this week. It centers on Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since 1994 at the end of a separatist war.

The UN Security Council called on Armenia and Azerbaijan Tuesday evening to immediately halt the fighting and urgently resume talks without preconditions. The UNs most powerful body strongly condemned the use of force and backed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier call to stop the fighting, deescalate tensions, and resume talks without delay."

Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev told Russian state TV channel Rossia 1 that Baku is committed to negotiating a resolution but that Armenia is obstructing the process.

The Armenian prime minister publicly declares that Karabakh is (part of) Armenia, period. In this case, what kind of negotiating process can we talk about? Aliev said. He added that according to principles brokered by the Minsk group, which was set up in 1992 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to resolve the conflict, territories around the former Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region should be transferred to Azerbaijan.

Aliev noted that if Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says that Karabakh is Armenia and that we should negotiate with the so-called puppet regime of Nagorno-Karabakh, (he is) trying to break the format of negotiations that has existed for 20 years.

Pashinyan, in turn, told the broadcaster that it is very hard to talk about negotiations, when specific military operations are underway. He said there is no military solution to the conflict and called for a compromise.

But first, Azerbaijan must immediately end (its) aggression towards Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia," Pashinyan said. We all perceive this as an existential threat to our nation, we basically perceive it as a war that was declared to the Armenian people, and our people are now simply forced to use the right for self-defense.

Since Sunday, the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry reported 84 servicemen were killed. Aliyev said 11 civilians were killed on its side, although he didnt detail the countrys military casualties.

Both countries accused each other of firing into their territory outside of the Nagorno-Karabakh area on Tuesday.

The separatist region of about 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles), or about the size of the US state of Delaware, is 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border. Soldiers backed by Armenia also occupy some Azerbaijani territory outside the region.

Armenia also alleged that Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan, was involved. Turkey, according to our information, looks for an excuse for a broader involvement in this conflict, Pashinyan said.

The Armenian military said an SU-25 from its air force was shot down in Armenian airspace by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet that took off from Azerbaijan, and the pilot was killed.

The allegation of downing the jet was absolutely untrue, said Fahrettin Altun, communications director for Turkey's president. Azerbaijani officials called it another fantasy of the Armenian military propaganda machine.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Armenia to withdraw immediately from the separatist region, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey is by Azerbaijans side on the field and at the (negotiating) table.

Armenian officials said that Turkey, a NATO member, is supplying Azerbaijan with fighters from Syria and weapons, including F-16 fighter jets. Both Azerbaijan and Turkey deny it.

Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Armenian forces shelled the Dashkesan region in Azerbaijan. Armenian officials said Azerbaijani forces opened fire on a military unit in the Armenian town of Vardenis, setting a bus on fire and killing one civilian.

Armenia's Foreign Ministry denied shelling the region and said the reports were laying the groundwork for Azerbaijan expanding the geography of hostilities, including the aggression against the Republic of Armenia."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed for an immediate ceasefire and a return to the negotiating table" in phone calls with the leaders of both countries, her office said. She told them the OSCE offers an appropriate forum for talks and that the two countries neighbors should contribute to the peaceful solution, said her spokesman, Steffen Seibert.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Greece that both sides must stop the violence" and work "to return to substantive negotiations as quickly as possible.

Russia, which along with France and the United States co-chairs the Minsk group, urged every country to help facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

We call on all countries, especially our partners such as Turkey, to do everything to convince the opposing parties to cease fire and return to peacefully resolving the conflict by politico-diplomatic means, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Putin spoke to Pashinyan on Tuesday for the second time in three days, urging de-escalation and, like the other leaders, an immediate ceasefire.
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump are not alone.

The couple has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the White House announced early Friday, joining a small but growing group of world leaders who have been diagnosed with covid-19.

Here are some of the world leaders and their spouses who have contracted the virus so far.

- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Like Trump, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially downplayed the virus' severity. But his tone changed after the then 55-year-old spent several days in intensive care in April following his diagnosis with the virus. His infection could have "gone either way," Johnson said.

- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has been a high-profile detractor of the virus, which he called just like "a little flu." He tested positive for the virus in July, and reportedly recovered well after several weeks of a mild infection. Bolsonaro repeatedly flouted health recommendations before contracting the coronavirus - and even afterward, an analysis by The Washington Post found.

Brazil currently ranks third in the world for the highest number of coronavirus infections and second for covid-19 fatalities, trailing on the United States.

- Canadian first lady Sophie Trudeau. In mid-March, Sophie Trudeau returned from a trip to London with flu-like symptoms. She soon tested positive for the virus. Her husband, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, then entered into a 14-day self-quarantine, during which he continued to work from his residence. Two weeks later, Canada's first lady announced she had recovered.

"To everyone who is suffering right now, I send you all my love," she said at the time, the Associated Press reported.

- Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. In April, Belarus' embattled President Alexander Lukashenko said he had covid-19 and "had lived through this virus." Lukashenko, currently battling protests against his decades of authoritarian rule, has dismissed the virus as a "psychosis" and downplayed the extent of its spread in Belarus.

- Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez battled the coronavirus in June and was briefly hospitalized. At the time, Hernandez voiced support for an unproven and experimental treatment. He has since joined global calls for a covid-19 vaccine to be equitably distributed, the Associated Press reported.

- Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei. Sixty-four-year-old Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei has multiple sclerosis and walks with a cane. As of mid-September, he has also had covid-19.

"My symptoms are very mild," he said during a national address on Sept. 18, the AP reported. "Up to now, I have body aches, it hurt more yesterday than today, like a bad cold," he continued. "I don't have a fever, I have a bit of a cough."

- Dominican President Luis Abinader. Three weeks before a presidential vote in the Dominican Republic in July, the leading candidate Luis Abinader and his wife announced they had tested positive for the virus. Abinader went into isolation, recovered, and won the election.

- Bolivian interim President Jeanine Anez. Bolivia's interim President Jeanine Anez is a candidate in this month's presidential race following a bout with covid-19 in July.

- Prince Albert II of Monaco. In March, the head of the tiny Mediterranean city-state of Monaco, Prince Albert II, was the first world leader reported to have contracted covid-19.
A federal judge has blocked the enforcement of the H-1B visa ban issued by President in June this year, saying the president exceeded his constitutional authority.

The order was issued on Thursday by District Judge Jeffrey White of Northern District of California.

The lawsuit against the Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security was filed by companies represented by National Association of Manufacturers, US Chamber of Commerce, National Retail Federation and TechNet.

The ruling places an immediate hold on a series of visa restrictions that prevent manufacturers from filling crucial, hard-to-fill jobs to support economic recovery, growth and innovation when most needed, the National Association of manufacturers said.

In June, Trump had issued an executive order that had put temporary bar on issuing of new H-1B and other foreign visas including H-2B, J and L visas, till the end of the year.

The president had argued that the United States needs to save and protect jobs for its domestic work force at a time when millions of them lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.

A number of IT companies and other US firms, and those representing them had voiced their opposition to the temporary ban.

Manufacturers went to court to challenge the administration's ban on certain visas because the restrictions both undermined the industry at a critical time and conflicted with the law, said NAM senior vice president and general counsel Linda Kelly.

We are competing with the rest of the world to find and develop top talent to support innovation in our industry. Today's decision is a temporary win for manufacturers committed to building that innovation in the United States, he said.

In his order the federal judge said the president exceeded his authority in this matter.

Congress's delegation of authority in the immigration contextdoes not afford the president unbridled authority to set domestic policy regarding employment of nonimmigrant foreigners. Such a finding would render the president's Article II powers all but superfluous, Judge White wrote in his 25 pager order.

The judge noted that the text of Article I and more than two centuries of legislative practice and judicial precedent make clear, the Constitution vests Congress, not the President, with the power to set immigration policy.

If the fact that immigrants come from other countries inherently made their admission foreign relations subject to the President's Article II power, then all of this law would be superfluous, the judge said.

Indeed, there must be some measure of constraint on the presidential authority in the domestic sphere in order not to render the executive an entirely monarchical power in the immigration context, an area within clear legislative prerogative.

Such unrestricted authority would be contrary to Congress' explicit delegation of powers in foreign affairs and national security, White said.

The ruling by Judge White is in difference with a order passed by District Judge Amit Mehta of the District of Columbia in August who ruled that he does not has the power to enjoin the ban while the litigation is under way.

The wisdom of the president's decision to address those changed circumstances by restricting the entry of certain classes of aliens is a policy decision the judiciary is not well equipped to evaluate, he had said.
NORRISTOWN  Additions to two existing contracts totaling more than $16 million for work related to the Montgomery County Justice Center project in the county seat were authorized Thursday morning during a Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting.

The agreements between the countys Assets and Infrastructure department and two separate firms covered architectural, engineering and construction management services, according to the contracts.

Project partners brought proposals before the Norristown Municipal Council during an Aug. 18 work session outlining plans for the design. The project is slated to be completed in 2026.

Besides demolishing several existing parking garages, the Wells Fargo Bank and the courthouses 1967 addition, county officials proposed building a 288,365-square-foot justice center, an underground parking garage complete with 75 spaces with ingress/egress along Main Street as well as constructing landscaping areas, retaining walls, memorial areas, and lighting, according to documents from the August work sessions. Renovations were also suggested for the current courthouse and annex and Hancock Square.

At Thursdays Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP of Washington, D.C., received an additional $10,007,673 for architectural and engineering services for the design of a new justice center and expansion of Hancock Square, the contract states.

During a March 2017 commissioners meeting, the company was initially awarded a $16,103,223 contract following a recommendation from the countys assets and infrastructure department, according to the agreement.

After going through construction documents and construction administration contract phases, officials cited several reasons for the funding request including the increased size of the justice center project as compared to the 2016 estimate and including additional structural engineering, security consulting, and program study services, the contract stated.

The updated agreement with the Washington, D.C. firm would not exceed $26,110,896.

As for the second contract, Montgomery Countys Deputy Chief Operating Officer Barbara OMalley said that Skanska USA Building, Blue Bell, required $6,040,746 for construction management services.

OMalley cited that the funds were needed due to increased size of the justice center project as compared to the original estimate and including additional cost estimation, third party review, and surveying services.

The initial contract amounted to $5,184,796 for construction management services, but an additional $798,008 was later requested because of  required commissioning services during design and construction and for fabrication services related to the temporary courtroom design.

The contract with the firm now stands at $12,023,560, according to the contract.

While these amendments and revisions to the existing contracts may be considered a large sum, OMalley said during Thursdays meeting that it was something county officials were prepared for.

[The] county has anticipated and budgeted for this amendment since 2017 when the project footprint was finalized, so no budget increase is required as a result of this change, OMalley said of both proposals.

The contract awards were approved in a 2-1 vote, with Commissioner Joe Gale dissenting. Gale has expressed opposition to the project in its entirety for the past few years, citing a hefty price tag for renovations to several spaces including One Montgomery Plaza on Swede Street.

I think itd be very easy for one to argue that One Montgomery Plaza probably could have been torn down and rebuilt for less than all this expense, Gale said. So this is mishandled, far too costly and Im going to continue to identify what I consider to be extreme wasteful spending related to the county campus construction project.
Trump announces refugee cuts just hours after latest racist attack on Ilhan Omar (Getty Images)

Donald Trump announced he was cutting refugee admission a new record-low just hours after his latest racist attack on Ilhan Omar.

The move by the White House will see the number of refugees allowed in 2021 to 15,000, which is 3,000 less than the 2020 figure.

The announcement came after Trump decried refugees in a campaign stop in Deluth, Minnesota, in which he falsely claimed his rival Joe Biden wants to flood the country with immigrants.

Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp, and he said that, overwhelming public resources, overcrowding schools and inundating hospitals, said the president.

You know that. Its already there. Its a disgrace what theyve done to your state.

Mr Biden says he wants to increase the limit to 125,000 refugees a year.

Mr Trump also vilified Minnesota representative Ms Omar, who came to the US in 1995 at the age of 12 from Somalia and who has been a citizen for 20 years.

The president questioned the standing of Miss Omar, who has been a vocal critic of his, as an American as he falsely accused her campaign of ballot harvesting.

Harvesting is terrible, but its the least of things that she has done, Mr. Trump said.

Then she tells us how to run our country, can you believe it? How the hell did Minnesota elect her? What the hell is wrong with you people, right? What the hell happened?

Minnesota has not been won by a Republican since 1972 and polls show Mr Biden has a strong lead over Mr Trump in the state.

Hillary Clinton won the state by less than 2 per cent in 2016.

Read more

Coronavirus: Ilhan Omar warns Americans not to take Donald Trump at his word on a vaccine before the election

Trump crowd shouts lock her up as president launches fresh attack on Ilhan Omar

This refugee is going to have a good time voting you out: Ilhan Omar responds to Trumps dog whistle rant at Minnesota rally

You run our country like an eight-year-old: Ilhan Omar condemns Trump after racist attack at rally
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Along a shoreline that stretches farther than the combined length of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, waters driven by climate change have risen as much as 6 feet in less than a decade, washing away houses, destroying roads and threatening critical infrastructure such as water treatment plants in towns large and small.

The ongoing disaster striking the coastal communities of the Great Lakes hasn't captured national attention like hurricanes and wildfires in other parts of the country. But from Duluth to Chicago to Cleveland to Buffalo, leaders are reeling from untold billions in damage - and the prospect that climate change will make things worse in the years to come.

In the eight Great Lakes states, officials at every level along 4,500 miles of coastline are scrambling to save what they can from the rising water, competing for scarce state and federal dollars and rubber-stamping permits to build private seawalls at an unprecedented pace.

Scientists say the only long-term solution, as climate change causes erosion and higher highs - and lower lows - in lake levels, is to retreat from the shoreline. But few in the region are willing to have that conversation.

"People are always looking for a technical fix so they don't have to change the way they're behaving," said Paul Roebber, an atmospheric science researcher at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.

There are no easy answers. Communities don't have the money to buy out properties that are threatened by the lakes - especially as they try to save their own infrastructure - and there's little appetite to use public money to help private landowners. But without a government-backed plan to retreat from the eroding coast, property owners have a legal right to defend their homes and continue armoring the shoreline.

"The best solution is to start planning ahead and basically put shoreline property owners on notice," said Dick Norton, a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Michigan. "'You have built in a place that's naturally giving into the lake. There will come a time that you need to pick up your structure and move it back.' It's easy to talk about in theory, but it's really hard to do in practice."

Up And Down

Water levels in the Great Lakes have always fluctuated, rising and falling in years-long patterns. But those complex natural cycles are changing. Over the past five years, the region has seen massive amounts of rainfall. Even before that surge, the basin had a 10% increase in precipitation since 1900.

But warming temperatures - and dwindling ice cover during the winter - can also speed up and prolong evaporation cycles. In other words, climate change is turning up the dials on the factors that both increase and decrease water levels, making the shoreline much more volatile as tens of trillions of gallons come and go.

When the Great Lakes reached record lows in 2013, many thought the depleted lakeshore would be the new normal. Now, with houses teetering and roads flooded, they're waiting for the day the water recedes again.

"We're starting to recognize that if we can go from record low to record high in six or seven years, we have to adjust our thinking," said Deanna Apps, a scientist with the Detroit District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Hanging On

While climate experts are working to understand the long-term implications of the increasingly volatile Great Lakes, most coastal communities are just trying to make it through the year.

The water treatment plant in Ludington, Michigan, once 100 feet from the shoreline, is now just 8 feet from the breaking waves of Lake Michigan. If the plant is swamped, the city would lose its water supply. The city also needs to repair an intersection that's flooded so frequently it's been closed for a year, and there are several private properties that are threatened.

"It would be a third of our total budget for the year just to deal with the issues we know of right now," said city manager Mitch Foster. "That's not realistic. We're assuming the worst, that these (water) cycles are going to be short, aggressive and extreme, but at the same time these immediate issues are so massive that trying to figure out the ancillary impacts is a tough chore."

Two hours south of Ludington, South Haven is looking at a $20 million price tag to save its wastewater and water filtration plants, a crucial drawbridge, a river walkway and the city marina. With an annual budget of $48 million, it's unclear how the city will find money to make the repairs.

"There's no great plan," said Kate Hosier, city manager. "The plan is to see what we can fix at the moment and deal with it if the money's there."

Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is looking at costs of more than $30 million to replace water intake and sewer lines near Lake Michigan. Lake County, Ohio, needs $20 million to $30 million in erosion control work on public and private land along Lake Erie. Duluth, Minnesota, has seen $26 million in damage as storms on Lake Superior have struck the city's signature 8-mile lake walk and water treatment plant.

"It's hard for me to provide all of the essential city services and also be moving the needle on a really expensive undertaking like climate change," said Duluth Mayor Emily Larson, a Democrat. "So many communities are stuck band-aiding and doing their best, because no one has set the table to talk about it honestly."

In fact, no one even has a ballpark figure for the ongoing high-water damage throughout the Great Lakes. Across state and city jurisdictions, leaders are grappling with their own problems as best they can. But no one has yet convened all parties to get a comprehensive view of the scale of the damage - let alone the number of roads, water plants, houses and parks that could be in danger in decades to come. A federal study that was supposed to provide that assessment has been stalled for several years because of a lack of funding.

"This is where the layers of government are letting us down," said Dan Gilmartin, executive director of the Michigan Municipal League, a nonprofit association of local communities and their leaders. "We need a larger scale focus on this that typically has come from the feds and often through the states."

Gilmartin's group surveyed three dozen communities in Michigan and found $70 million in needed repairs. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a coalition of 131 mayors in the region, has pulled together its own estimate of costs to local governments in the U.S. and Canada. The group says its members are spending more than $450 million on short-term fixes, with another $865 million needed for future planning and mitigation.

Those figures don't include costs on state, federal and private land, which make up most of the lakeshore. Fewer estimates exist for the damage across those lands, but most agree that it's well into the billions of dollars.

National Park Service sites along the lakes have seen campgrounds, docks and parking lots submerged. State roads and parks have suffered extensive damage. And thousands of homeowners on beaches and bluffs are watching the water come closer and closer to their back porch.

In a study published in 2000, long before the volatile lake levels of recent years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency found that 16,000 structures along the Great Lakes would be susceptible to erosion by 2060.

"There does not seem to be a coherent conversation about this," said Foster, the Ludington city manager. "It's too much of a patchwork approach."

Not Enough Money

Water levels on the Great Lakes have begun falling ever so slightly, as they typically do during the fall, although erosion is likely to continue as winter storms pound the lakeshore. As leaders and residents hang on by their fingernails, no one has a clear idea of the scale of the damage, let alone where the money will come from to fix it. Cities say they're trying to cobble together state and federal funding where they can, but not nearly enough is available.

"It is exhausting to take what is a known need and try to patch it together with every single funding opportunity," said Larson, the Duluth mayor. "So much human capital is being spent on a patchwork approach to something that is imminently dangerous. We need something that is more consistent."

The COVID-19 pandemic has slashed city and state revenue, making the necessary investments even less likely.

"Some communities are going to be pulling back on investing in projects that were on the books because they have to fund their operating expenses," said Mike Vandersteen, the Republican mayor of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and chair of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

Several leaders complained that the Federal Emergency Management Agency hands out huge sums of money to help communities rebuild from disasters but does not provide the same funding to prevent imminent destruction from happening.

"We need the relief to come before the treatment plant is overwhelmed and leaks into the water or the road floods and cuts off emergency access," said John LaMacchia, assistant director of state and federal affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.

Ronda Wuycheck, coastal program manager at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, said the state has not been able to access FEMA funding for high-water damage, unlike the states hit by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. She said the federal government should make money for flood-damage work available through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a $300 million annual fund that has traditionally focused on cleaning up pollutants and curtailing invasive species.

Armoring The Shore

While cities say they're not getting the help they need, some states have at least taken steps to help homeowners. In Michigan, where 80% of the shoreline is privately owned, state and federal regulators have seen a surge in shoreline protection permits from residents who want to build seawalls.

Through the third quarter of 2020, nearly 1,800 applications had been submitted. That's quadruple the amount for the same period of 2019, when the lakes were already hitting record levels. The permits must be approved by both the state and feds, who have worked to cut the turnaround time from 60 days to 10.

"We're just barely keeping our head above water," said Don Reinke, who heads compliance and enforcement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Detroit District.

Ohio has a similar percentage of private shoreline along Lake Erie. Amid a dramatic increase in calls for help, the state has cut its permitting process for shoreline protection from three to five months to about a week.

But experts say the rush to armor the shoreline is exactly the wrong approach. Seawalls perpendicular to the shoreline trap sand and compound the erosion problem elsewhere. Those parallel to the shore can multiply the force of the waves, causing the same problem. In other words, efforts to stop erosion simply redirect erosion elsewhere, creating a need for even more armor.

"The more protection you put in, the less sand is available to the system," said Scudder Mackey, chief of Ohio's Office of Coastal Management. "You're cutting off the sediment supply that creates and maintains the beaches. We're in a vicious cycle."

Regulators know these structures are making the problem worse, but they have little choice but to rubber-stamp an application when a home is threatened.

"Because a landowner has the general right to protect property from erosion, applications get favorable consideration," Reinke said. "Our regulations pretty much instruct us not to tell people, 'Sorry, you have to pick up and move your house.'"

Breaking The Cycle

Experts say the biggest disaster in the long run may be the human "fixes" being installed today, rather than the high water itself.

"Putting in structures like seawalls and revetments (retaining walls) is not a permanent solution, because the lakes will keep pounding on them and taking them out," said Norton, the University of Michigan professor. "You're buying in for a lot of ongoing cost, and there's no engineered solution that works without destroying the beach."

Shoreline protection structures can cost $1,000 to $4,000 per foot, and their lifespan is typically 25-30 years - assuming conditions don't change. Leaders acknowledge they're on an unsustainable course, but as they work to save properties in the near term, no level of government has taken responsibility to blaze the path out of the armoring cycle.

Norton noted that many lakefront properties are owned by wealthy and politically connected residents, who are important to a city's property tax base. That makes it difficult for small, cash-strapped towns to make unpopular decisions on whether such development is sustainable. He added that there's little appetite to work on solutions when lake levels go down and the threat is less imminent.

Only a few cities in the basin have limited development along the shoreline. One of them, St. Joseph, Michigan, has blocked new construction within 200 feet of Lake Michigan along part of its shoreline. The ordinance passed during a low-water period in 2012, after one home was built on the edge of the lake. Neighbors complained that a proposed seawall to protect the home would cause erosion on their properties, and many were relieved to see the city put a stop to such unsustainable development. Still, some raised objections that the change infringed on the rights of property owners to build on their own land.

In some parts of Michigan, the state says there's irrefutable data that the lakeshore is moving inland. And while it's providing guidance to communities about the unsustainable course they're on, the state maintains it's the responsibility of each city to set its own development rules.

"We are looking at a potential of higher highs than we've known in the past," Wuycheck said. "We are trying to tell communities they need to take these scenarios into account when they make (development) decisions. (But) local government is where we believe wise management should happen."

Local governments say they're looking at changing their guidelines, but given their limited expertise and resources, they need states to play a bigger role.

"Zoning can be strengthened, but zoning is frequently challenged by developers," said Hosier, the South Haven city manager. "If there was a more solidified message from (the state), that would help."

There's even less political will to address existing properties in the path of the advancing shoreline. Duluth's Park Point neighborhood is among those threatened by the high waters, but Larson said residents are not yet ready to discuss retreating from the area - nor does the city have the money to buy out 3,000 homes. But the alternatives aren't much better.

"What's hard about climate change is the anticipation of what comes next," Larson said. "There is no amount of system we can put in place that feels like it will eventually be enough. I cannot bully Mother Nature into behaving."

Many other Great Lakes leaders offered similar thoughts, saying a buyout plan would be political suicide, as well as a futile effort without the money to back it up. Still, experts say the least costly long-term solution - for both the landscape and local budgets - is to retreat and allow a "living shoreline" that fluctuates with the lakes.

"What's the plan for a resilient shoreline, not one that can resist the damage but one that lives with the lakes?" said Joel Brammeier, president and CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, a Chicago-based nonprofit that works to protect the lakes. "That's the elusive goal that not a lot of people are talking about, because it leads to uncomfortable places. The alternative is walling up the sides of the lake. That's not workable and it's not healthy for the Great Lakes."

2020 Stateline.org

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
GUURU offers a clever combination of AI & humans in one solution, which covers all customer service requirements: fast availability, 24/7 reachability, scalability and high-quality answers

GUURU applied for the Customer/Employee Happiness category with its BRACK.CH case study. BRACK.CH, one of Switzerlands largest online merchants, recognized the potential of peer-to-peer customer advising early on, and has successfully used the GUURU solution since 2018. GUURU offers a clever combination of AI & humans in one solution, which covers all customer service requirements: fast availability, 24/7 reachability, scalability and high-quality answers, explained Sascha Kappeler, Customer Service Head at BRACK.CH. This is because the cloud-based solution makes it possible to involve customers to share their expertise with other customers seeking support through live chat.

These are not just any people who share their knowledge, according to Benno Marbach, COO and GUURU co-founder. Only a companys most experienced and most competent customers have the opportunity to become qualified as Guurus and then advise other customers. Once a customer has passed the test procedure, he or she then becomes a Guuru  as the certified consultants are called. They then are approved to use the app and from that point on can take on support requests. The Guurus are remunerated for each of their successful answers to customer questions.

We searched for a long time for a solution that enabled us to provided 24/7 support, without having to make our employees work in shifts. The well-being of our team members is very important to us, and we want to provide them with good working conditions, said Sascha Kappeler.

It is fantastic that support requests are now being taken care of by our most loyal community outside the official business hours. The Guurus convey great credibility, because they are customers themselves, and therefore also users. Their loyalty to the BRACK.CH brand is strengthened in the process.

Many Guurus are proud to be able to advise other customers as BRACK.CH customers. These facts, along with the connected automation solution, convinced the high-carat jury, 69 members in total, who contributed their industry knowledge and category-specific skills to assess participants in the 17 different categories.

Evaluated in an initial phase was a written entry based on four questions pertaining to the initiative: the content, why it was submitted, handling and results. The written entry comprised 50% of the evaluation. A video presentation was then evaluated in a second phase, which in turn comprised 40% of the evaluation score. The remaining 10% related to an overall score. Due to the Covid-19 health crisis, the event was conducted virtually and not in Budapest as originally planned.

We are proud of this award! stated Tonio Meier, CEO and GUURU co-founder. We are convinced that our solution is pioneering for the future of customer service. Human-based support is viewed as very important, particularly now. We combine it with AI (artificial intelligence) to provide the end customer with an excellent customer experience. The human interchange remains nonetheless important. That is why we facilitate the involvement of a companys own community through modern digital channels.
Pupils have been left shivering at schools across Britain with windows and doors being left open to keep classrooms ventilated as a coronavirus safety precaution.

Parents at one school in Norfolk said their children were left 'almost blue' and 'shivering', while teachers elsewhere are having to wear scarves and coats all day.

Some schools have urged pupils to 'learn to love being a bit chilly and fresh' and ensure they are wearing 'coats, gloves and base layers' to stay warm.

It comes as temperatures have dropped over the past ten days with highs of just 55F (13C) today  and school chiefs fear the situation could worsen towards winter.

One mother said her son was 'so cold he couldn't talk' after teachers at Wymondham High Academy (file picture) in Norfolk said he could not wear his coat

The Government has told schools they should try to maximise air flow in classrooms by keeping windows and doors open to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading.

In Norfolk, mother Charlotte Brannan Milito said her son was 'so cold he couldn't talk' after teachers at Wymondham High Academy said he could not wear his coat.

A-Levels 'will be DELAYED next summer by three weeks after No 10 insisted that they must not be cancelled completely' Education Secretary Gavin Williamson Ministers are preparing to delay next year's A-Level exams by three weeks to compensate for pupils' disrupted education, it was claimed last night. Gavin Williamson is expected to soon announce a revised exams timetable to give teenagers more time to catch up on missed learning. The Education Secretary is adamant exams will go ahead after a bruising summer under siege from furious students, parents and teachers over the use of a controversial algorithm to calculate marks, which led to widespread downgrading. His demands are being relayed by the department's director of operations David Brown, who the Telegraph reports has held a series of private meetings in which he disclosed plans to push back exams until mid-July. The Department for Education last night said 'a possible short delay to the exam timetable' is a live discussion after being proposed by the regulator Ofqual. Ofqual boss Dame Glenys Stacey reportedly backs the Government's extension to the exam timetable and is busy mapping out a strategy to ensure that papers are graded before the start of the university term in 2021. Downing Street is understood to have decreed exams to go ahead next year after refusing to bow to critics urging them to be scrapped. Advertisement

She told BBC Radio Norfolk: 'My children asked if they could put their coats on and they were told that they couldn't. The teacher said putting on a coat would be a distraction to the rest of the class.

'I was shocked - my youngest said he was so cold he couldn't even talk because his teeth were chattering.

'I understand why the windows were open and I completely support and commend the school on how well they have put all the guidance into place and how everything is running - I don't have any qualms with that at all.

'It's just that I really do feel if a child is uncomfortable and they feel cold, I don't think putting on a coat is going to cause distraction.'

But Wymondham High headteacher Jonathan Rockey said: 'The weather last week turned from summer to winter in a matter of a few days.

'Teaching staff were given discretion as to whether or not pupils required a coat depending on the temperature of the classroom.

'It's not necessary for pupils to wear coats at the moment as our rooms are well heated but, as part of our risk assessment, our systems are reviewed fortnightly.'

Teachers are complaining of 'miserable' temperatures, numb fingers, and having to wear scarves and coats all day.

Other teachers have been ordering clothing and telling pupils to buy 'good thermals' ahead of the weather getting colder, reported the Times Educational Supplement.

The publication also told of a a physics teacher from Southampton who claimed that gloves, scarves and hats would now become 'essential' in classrooms.

Highlighting the issue was Stuart Lock, chief executive of Advantage Schools in Bedford, who tweeted last week: 'School was cold today - and much worse for pupils and teachers.

'Are people whacking their heating up and keeping windows open or what? Going to be hard in proper winter.'

Teacher Paige Richardson, who lives in Brighton, replied: 'I was so cold, by period three I struggled to use the keyboard to do the register because my hands were so cold. I teach in the south of England. It's September.'

An anonymous primary school headteacher in Surrey added: 'Decided to close all outside doors during lesson times, open all internal doors and windows for ventilation.

'If the children and staff are freezing then I doubt the lesson will be as productive as it should be.'

Highlighting the issue was Stuart Lock, chief executive of Advantage Schools in Bedford, who tweeted last week: 'School was cold today - and much worse for pupils and teachers'

But Adele Jackson, from Shropshire, said: 'Confused... So keep the windows open to help spread Covid... ?! Doesn't it actually love the cold?!?

'Are windows open really going to stop the spread?! Not likely and the discomfort and colds it will cause I'm sure outweigh the benefits!'

Meanwhile Caroline Derbyshire, headteacher of Saffron Walden County High School in Essex, said: 'We are all going to have to continue to keep children outside or in highly ventilated rooms when the weather breaks.

'This will involve reminding students and staff to bring coats, gloves and base layers. Learning to love being a bit chilly and fresh will keep us all safer.'

Government guidance on the return of schools says: 'Once the school is in operation, it is important to ensure good ventilation and maximise this wherever possible, for example, by opening windows and propping open doors, as long as they are not fire doors, where safe to do so, bearing in mind safeguarding in particular.

'Arrangements for ventilation will vary in each setting based on individual circumstances.'
Photo: The Canadian Press People walk by the offices of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Rockville Centre, N.Y. The diocese filed for bankruptcy on Thursday because of financial pressure from lawsuits over past sexual abuse by clergy members. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

A Roman Catholic diocese in New York City's suburbs Thursday became the largest in the U.S. to declare bankruptcy, seeking relief from a torrent of lawsuits filed after the state suspended the statute of limitations for suing over sexual abuse by priests.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre, which encompasses much of Long Island and 1.4 million Catholics, said in filing for Chapter 11 protection that it will ask a bankruptcy court to put all cases on hold so that they they can be settled together  a process it says is more equitable but that victims say limits their ability to get at the truth.

The financial burden of the litigation has been severe and only compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bishop John Barres said in a video and letter on the diocese's website. Our goal is to make sure that all clergy sexual abuse survivors and not just a few who were first to file lawsuits are afforded just and equitable compensation.

More than 200 lawsuits have been brought against the diocese since the 2019 passage of a New York law that gives victims the right to sue over decades-old sexual abuse by clergy members, teachers and other adults. Previously, the statute of limitations in the most serious such cases ran out when the victim turned 23.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre fought the law in court, arguing it was unconstitutional. When a state appeals court last month refused to halt such lawsuits, the diocese said it had no choice but to file for bankruptcy.

In its filing, the diocese listed up to $500 million in estimated liabilities from lawsuits.

What became clear was that the diocese was not going to be able to carry out its spiritual, charitable and educational missions if it were to continue to shoulder the increasingly heavy burden of litigation expenses associated with these cases, Barres said in announcing the bankruptcy.

Jeff Anderson, a lawyer for 73 people suing the Rockville Centre Diocese over alleged abuse, slammed the bankruptcy filing as strategic, cowardly and wholly self-serving."

John Schratwieser, who alleges a diocese priest abused him about 40 years ago, said the filing seemed like an easy way for the church to get out of claiming full responsibility for what happened.

"This is legalese and this is corporate protection," Schratwieser said. This has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Janet Klinger, the head of Long Island chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, was skeptical of the diocese's need for bankruptcy protection. She said other dioceses have cried poverty while squirreling away assets to keep them out of creditors' hands, such as Milwaukee, which was able to shield $50 million in a cemetery fund.

Based on history, it is clear that church officials use bankruptcy court not because of indigence, but out of fear, said Klinger, who said she is also a victim of abuse in the Rockville Centre Diocese.

The New York law gives people until next August to sue over long-ago allegations. Three other dioceses in the state filed for bankruptcy within the last 13 months: Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.

Last year, dioceses in Guam and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, filed for bankruptcy, and in May, it was the Archdiocese of New Orleans. In all, about two dozen dioceses or archdioceses in the U.S.  including Portland, Oregon; San Diego; and St. Paul-Minneapolis  have sought such protection in the face of lawsuits over sexual abuse since the early 2000s.

The Rockville Centre Diocese started a compensation program in 2017 for victims of sexual abuse, and so far it has paid more than $62 million to about 350 people, officials said.

Across the U.S., Catholic dioceses have paid out about $4 billion since the 1980s because of sexual abuse. Recently enacted lookback laws in more than a dozen states, including New York, could result in thousands of new cases against the church and at least $4 billion in additional payouts, the Associated Press has estimated.

Barres said most of Rockville Centre's operations will continue despite the bankruptcy filing. He said that employees and vendors will be paid and that parishes and schools are separate legal entities not covered in the bankruptcy filing. In other places, bankrupt dioceses have shed jobs and sold off properties to cut costs and fund settlements.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they consent to being identified publicly, as Schratwieser and Klinger have done.
Perhaps as youre reading this, the sky is blue and clear. Ash is no longer drifting down, the memory of the orange, end-of-days sky that hung over the Bay Area is fading, and the glorious October weather has arrived. Perhaps you can almost forget the hellscape of August and September, the weeks of heat and smoke and purple air quality. Or maybe, right now, another fire has broken out and weve all been herded back indoors. As I write this, its impossible to know.

My husband and I moved from New York City to San Francisco in 2008, during the financial crash that ushered in the Great Recession. It was an anxious and unnerving time, but we embraced the West Coast, with its months-long heirloom tomato season and hiking trails and sense of adventure. In 2010, we drove an Airstream trailer from Los Angeles to Big Sur. Basically, peak California.

The fire season of 2016 is the first one I remember clearly  the scramble to get masks, the drone of air filters running 24/7 in our home, the compulsive checking of the air quality index. We drove with our young kids to Tahoe for three days, where the crisp, pristine air was like something out of Middle Earth. I gulped it in so eagerly my lungs hurt. When we got back to San Francisco, the haze had cleared. OK, we thought. We can do this.

Four fire seasons later, Bay Area residents relentless adaptability  buying filters, masks and generators, hunkering down for days on end, searching for clean air to drive to (except for this summer when there was none in any direction)  is starting to feel less like California can-do resilience and more like magical thinking.

For the first time, many Californians are asking themselves: How do you truly know when its time to leave? When do positivity and adaptability tip over into delusion?

Gallo Images / Orbital Horizon / Getty Images

The California dream was always built on a dash of delusion  the idea that we could pull riches from the ground, the conviction that we could irrigate the desert. That tension is built into what it means to live here, perched precariously on fault lines, figuring out the line between risk-taking and folly.

The internet is ablaze with versions of the California is over story, noting the high cost of living, the housing crisis, the heat waves and fires. But those stories often dont get at the heart of what so many folks are grappling with now: that its hard to really think about leaving when there are still powerful reasons to stay.

As soon as we get a scrap of green air, I think, nah, were good, says Lisa Trottier, a senior copywriter at a tech company who lives in Berkeley with her husband and their two teenagers. When the smoke was at its worst, I was on a text chain with friends talking about moving to Duluth, Minn. Then, after two hours of sun and clean air, everyone is like, f Duluth.

But as she considers places to move, she also finds herself instantly discounting them for their own issues: rising seas, Lyme disease, bad food, long winters. Ive become a Bay Area hothouse flower, Trottier says. Despite flirting more seriously with leaving than she ever has, she thinks it will take another few years before she actually uproots her family.

For others, the risk of fires, the health impacts of yearly smoke and the days stuck inside with the windows closed have made the cost of living in the Bay Area hard to justify. I told my husband, Were moving, says Megan, who lives in Marin and asked that only her first name be used since her husband hasnt yet told his employer that they are relocating. At first he fought me, but 24 hours later he was on my side.

The tipping point for her husband  who grew up in Marin and wanted to raise his kids there  was driving back from Home Depot and not being able to see Mount Tamalpais through the smoke. For Megan, there was also the fear that a fire from the north would force an evacuation of Marin with only two ways out, across the Golden Gate or San Rafael-Richmond bridges. If I thought our government or the world was doing something about climate change, Id probably think, OK, lets see what happens, she says. But no one is doing anything.

The couple are relocating to Bozeman, Mont., with their two young children, hoping that fires there will not be as bad and that the lower cost of living will mean if they have to pick up and move again, it will be easier next time.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

Others, though, find compelling reasons to stay. Mariko Grady started Aedan Fermented Foods seven years ago, selling traditional Japanese fermented items like koji and miso. During the pandemic shes seen an uptick in customers at her stall at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Before, half of all the customers were tourists, she says. Now its mostly locals and more crowded at my booth.

Grady is part of La Cocina, a nonprofit kitchen incubator focused on women of color and those from immigrant communities. At a time when anxiety and stress are high, she feels good about running a business that provides healthy food. She has not heard of any fellow La Cocina entrepreneurs leaving the city this year, but some of her favorite vendors at the market had their farms destroyed in the fires near Santa Cruz. I wish there was some way to stop the fires, she says. For the first time since joining the farmers market in 2013, she had to skip it in September due to poor air quality.

Parents are also getting hammered. A child care provider in San Francisco, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity to protect her clients privacy, has seen firsthand the toll the pandemic and wildfires have taken on families. With parents, theres confusion, frustration, a turbulence of emotion, she says.

Some of her clients have already moved out of the city, and she worries about whether she will be able to keep her business open as more families choose to leave. People who are financially independent will adapt, she says. They can make the choice to leave or stay. I worry about the families who dont have those choices.

Even for those privileged enough to have options, approaching the decision logically is hard right now, says Laura Capinas, a clinical social worker in Sonoma who works with children and adults who have experienced trauma. Were in a global pandemic on top of year after year after year of fires, she says. Theres been no chance to recover.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

After months of hypervigilance, our brains havent had the time to settle and reset, so we may react more emotionally or irrationally. Deciphering between whats a rational decision versus whats an irrationally fear-based decision becomes very challenging, Capinas says. Especially since, right now, a fear-based decision may actually be the rational choice.

In her private practice, shes observed that among families who have lived here for generations, theres no real talk of leaving. They have deep roots that would be harder to sever, no family elsewhere pulling them away. People without that generational tie seem more open to relocating.

After last years fires, I told my husband, I think Im done, says Capinas. Im a PTSD specialist, thats what I do, and here we were evacuating again, the embers 400 meters from our home, the sheriffs sirens coming to our home at 4 a.m. She describes the surreal experience of fielding calls from schools and community organizations about families in crisis while she was packing her own bags to flee. This week again her phone has been ringing off the hook.

Whats so hard is this is my husbands dream. We came out West, we have our house and a small vineyard, we did every piece of landscaping ourself. Letting go of all that for him feels like a defeat. But then its also the question, every year, are we even going to be insured? What is this doing to our health?

It comes down to a personal calculation, fresh in the minds of so many Bay Area residents: How many of these cycles can each of us endure?

And yet, if right now the sky is clear and the weather is mild, if youre hiking through the Marin Headlands or skimboarding on China Beach or taking in the view from the top of Dolores Park, its easy to fall for the California dream all over again.

And wait to face the same impossible question and calculations again next year.

Anna Nordberg is a Bay Area writer. Email: culture@sfchronicle.com
Some of the worst offenders, in terms of killing off other forms of life, are plants: Kudzu, an Asian vine intentionally spread to combat erosion through the American South by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, strangles trees and blocks out the sunlight that lower-lying plants need to thrive; garlic mustard, from Europe, has roots that leach a toxic chemical, making the soil uninhabitable by its rivals. Japanese knotweed, which in its home country is held in check by local grasses and insects, elsewhere burrows deep and wide  one plants rhizomes were reported to extend 32,000 square feet  and is almost unmatched in the botanical world in its sheer capacity for destruction, strong enough to break through asphalt, concrete and the floors and walls of houses. Knotweed must be dug out by the roots and smothered, for if you leave as much as a half-inch fragment behind, the battle is lost. In Britain, its classified as controlled waste, to be disposed of only by licensed specialists, and those who fail to contain knotweed infestations on their property may be charged under the 2014 Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act. (Its hollow stems are tart and crunchy, akin to rhubarb and common in Japanese cuisine.)

To combat the specter of a monocultural future, universities and ecologically minded organizations from Oregon to Georgia now host annual invasive-species-themed cook-offs, fund-raisers and feral-hog roasts, where diners might sample salads laced with weeds and smash a pinata shaped like the iridescent Japanese beetle, which arrived on our shores a century ago in a shipment of iris bulbs and has chomped its way across the lawns of America ever since. At least one state, Maryland, has started putting the blue catfish, indigenous to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico and now gobbling up blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay, on menus at state institutions, including schools, hospitals and prisons.

The theory goes that the more people eat invasive species, the more incentive there is to hunt and harvest them  a classic free-market approach, except that the point is to boost demand until there is no supply. Should diners in fact grow fond of these novelties, the plan could backfire, recasting the species as a valued commodity. (In 1902, the French colonial government in Hanoi, Vietnam, hellbent on slaughtering the citys rats, offered a bounty for each rodent tail delivered as proof of execution; cunning entrepreneurs simply chopped off the tails and released the rats, leaving them free to breed and produce more rats, hence more tails and more bounties.)

The challenge is to convince consumers that something labeled bad is also good: pernicious but delicious. Another rodent, the nutria, is a particularly tough sell. A 14-pound creature with long orange teeth, it lurks in swamps. It was brought to Louisiana from Argentina in the 1930s to be bred for its plush pelt, which once adorned the shoulders of Greta Garbo and Elizabeth Taylor. Since the late 1980s, when the fur industry started to shrink under pressure from animal-rights activists, the giant rats  long gone feral in the Louisiana wetlands  have multiplied, gnawing at plant roots in the marshes and leaving a wake of razed vegetation equal to 10 times the amount of each mouthful they take. Robert A. Thomas, a biologist and director of the Center for Environmental Communication at Loyola University New Orleans, was among the first to offer a culinary solution to the problem. In 1993, he recruited the chef Paul Prudhomme to transform the erstwhile pest into gumbo and etouffee for what would become, for a few years, an annual Nutriafest. (The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries later joined the fight, posting online recipes for nutria chili and jambalaya.)
The recordings appear to present Mrs. Trump as irritated that she does not receive the positive news coverage that she believes she deserves, in part because people say she is not speaking out enough about her husbands actions as president.

They say Im complicit. Im the same like him. I support him. I dont say enough. I dont do enough, she tells Ms. Winston Wolkoff in a conversation that sounds as if she is confiding in a close friend.

The conversation took place only weeks after Mrs. Trump  who was born in Slovenia and became a United States citizen in 2006  made headlines when she traveled to an immigrant shelter for children in Texas along the Mexican border and wore a jacket that read, in white capital letters, I really dont care. Do U?

At the time, the president and the first ladys spokeswoman said that the message on the jacket was aimed at reporters, not at the children she was visiting.

Asked by Ms. Winston Wolkoff why she wore the jacket, Mrs. Trump said she did it to annoy her husbands critics.

Im driving liberals crazy, thats for sure, she said. And that, you know, thats  and they deserve it, you understand. And everybodys like, Oh, my God. This is the worst. This is the worst. After, I mean, come on. They are crazy, OK?

In the recordings, she complains that the news media was not willing to write a positive article about her visit and her efforts to help reunite children with their parents. She says they do not understand the limits of what she can do because reuniting them needs to go through the process and through the law.
Alberta launched an online gambling website Thursday in an effort to move bettors away from unregulated sites and boost government revenue.

PlayAlberta.ca will offer virtual slots and table games along with other features in the coming months. It is expected to generate about $150 million in revenue over the first five years, said Niaz Nejad, chief operating officer of Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, a provincial agency.

The development of the site started before the pandemic, but the launch comes weeks after the oil-rich province sharply reduced its revenue forecast. The Alberta government said revenue for the fiscal year that ends in March 2021 would be $38.4 billion, 23 per cent lower than projected in a February budget, partly because of a crash in energy royalties due to low oil prices.

In August, the government cut its fiscal year forecast for gaming and lottery net income by 65 per cent due to the temporary shutdown of casinos in the coronavirus pandemic. The new forecast is $496 million, far below the $1.3 billion generated the year prior.

Though casinos were permitted to open in June, with table games reopening in September, physical distancing requirements reduce the number of people permitted to gamble at a time.

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An investigation has begun after fly-tippers dumped two tonnes of cooked and uncooked rotting meat in the Dorset countryside.

Several white bulk bags containing meat have been found on land in the villages of East Stoke and Bere Regis, near Wareham.

Dorset Council said the bags were so heavy that lifting equipment was needed to remove them.

The meat had begun to rot and presented a serious health hazard.

Officers from Dorset Councils Waste Enforcement team are now looking for those responsible.

Given the amount of meat dumped, they suspect the waste to have come from a commercial source or someone who paid to dispose of the waste on their behalf.

Members of the public reported the dumped waste to the council, which dispatched Enforcement Officers to investigate as well as a clean-up crew.

Evidence found at the scene of one fly-tip in East Stoke was examined and linked the meat to several abattoirs based in Bedford, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Council enforcement officers said slaughterhouse workers and butchers had been helping them with their inquiries.

They said added that it was 'unusual' for waste of this kind to be illegally dumped in Dorset.

However, the pandemic may have been a factor as many businesses have struggled to sell and use up existing stock, especially those in the event catering sector.

Councillor Jill Haynes said: "Investigating and clearing up something as disgusting as rotting meat is something our employees simply shouldnt have to do.

"Fly-tipping is a criminal offence, punishable of fines of up to 50,000  or 12-months imprisonment if convicted in a Magistrates Court.

"The offence can attract an unlimited fine and up to 5 years imprisonment if convicted in a Crown Court."

It follows a series of high profile fly-tipping incidents which recently affected farmers and landowners across the UK.

In August, a Lanarkshire farmer had no choice but to pay 2,000 to clean up two tonnes of raw meat waste which was dumped on his land.

Meanwhile, a Merseyside farmer took revenge on a fly-tipper who dumped hundreds of tyres on his farm. A viral clip shows the tyres being tipped back onto the pavement outside the culprit's house.

Farmers and landowners across the UK are urged to report any fly-tipping incidents to their local council.
Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the coronavirus Friday, following President Donald Trump's announcement that he and first lady Melania Trump had become infected with the virus.

Pence's press secretary Devin O'Malley said that Pence underwent a routine Covid test Friday morning and he and his wife Karen Pence had both tested negative. It is unclear whether or not Pence will quarantine, as is recommended by health experts due to the incubation period of the virus.

Pence has said very little publicly outside of a tweet wishing the first couple a "full and swift recovery."

Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.  Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) October 2, 2020

The last known public contact between Pence and Trump appeared to be an outdoor Rose Garden event on Monday. But at a campaign event in Lititz, Pennsylvania on Tuesday ahead of the presidential debate, Pence told an indoor crowd of supporters that he had spoken with the president in the Oval Office earlier that day.

"It's gonna be a great night. I can tell you, I left the president earlier today in the Oval Office and he's ready," Pence said Tuesday to a large crowd of mostly maskless supporters.

Pence is scheduled to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah on Wednesday for the only vice presidential debate of the election cycle against Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. It is unclear whether the debate can continue as planned.

Vice President Mike Pence (Charlie Neibergall / AP)

Although the president has not disclosed experiencing any symptoms, Pence would be tapped if Trump was unable to perform the duties of the presidency.

Story continues

The 25th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution allows for the president to temporarily hand control of the country over to the vice president if he becomes incapacitated or is unable to fulfill his duties.

President George W. Bush most recently invoked the 25th Amendment in 2007, handing over the presidency temporarily to Vice President Dick Cheney prior to going under anesthesia for a colonoscopy.

In May, Pences press secretary Katie Miller tested positive for the coronavirus but the vice president was not infected. Pence was criticized at the time for not quarantining.
COVID-19: Active cases remain below 10 lakh mark for 10th consecutive day

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Oct 02: For the tenth successive day, active cases of coronavirus infection in India were below 10 lakh while the country's steady trend of posting high levels of daily recoveries continued, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Covid-19: India records 81,484 Covid cases in 24 hours, death toll at 99,773|Oneindia News

With 85,376 people having recuperated from COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours, India's total recoveries surged to 52,73,201 on Thursday pushing the recovery rate to 83.53 per cent, according to the data updated at 8 am.

"The rise in total recovered cases has been steep. The last 10 lakh recoveries were added in just 12 days," the ministry underlined.

COVID-19: Cinemas, swimming pools may not open soon in Delhi as govt decides to maintain status quo

It said that 77 per cent of the total recovered cases were in 10 states and UTs -- Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Telangana.

Maharashtra has contributed the highest number to the total recovered cases followed by Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

There are 9,40,705 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 14.90 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

The ministry said 76 per cent of the active cases are in 10 states and UTs ---Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana.

India reported 9.4 lakh active cases earlier on September 11.

"India has sustained its trend of maintaining the active cases of COVID-19 below the 10 lakh mark. For the 10th successive day, the active cases are less than 1 million (10 lakhs), " the ministry said.

A total of 86,821 new confirmed cases have been reported in a span od 24 hours in the country. Seventy-six per cent of the new cases are concentrated in ten states. Maharashtra contributed more than 18,000 to the new cases. Karnataka and Kerala, both contributed more than 8,000, the ministry said.

COVID-19: September accounted for 41.53 per cent of total cases in India

Also, 82 per cent of the 1,181 new deaths registered in a span of 24 hours are reported from 10 states and UTs with 40 per cent of them being from Maharashtra with 481 deaths followed by Karnataka with 87 deaths.

India's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 63,12,584 with 86,821 infections being reported in a day, while the death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 98,678 with the virus claiming 1,181 lives in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

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Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 9:11 [IST]
The Association of State Dam Safety Officials pulled no punches in its review issued this week of Michigan's Dam Safety Program.

The ASDSO's review, presented to the Michigan Dam Safety Task Force in a Zoom meeting on Thursday, concludes that Michigan's program is understaffed and is allocated insufficient time, resources and funding.

The 267-page report  which can be found at https://bit.ly/2HSfl5q  also said, among other findings, that the state's investments in dam safety have been lacking for decades.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered the program review as well as a forensic investigation of the failure of the Edenville and Sanford dams in May after days of heavy rain. The resulting flooding displaced nearly 11,000 people and damaged about 2,500 structures.

The ASDSO report acknowledges the decades of underinvestment in infrastructure in Michigan, which includes many dams that, if they failed, would put downstream residents lives in jeopardy, said Liesl Clark, director of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, which administers the Dam Safety Program, in a news release.

We, along with the Task Force members, will take a close look at the many thoughtful recommendations in the report and welcome working collaboratively with the Legislature and other stakeholders to strengthen Michigans Dam Safety Program while also holding owners accountable for safely operating their dams," Clark continued.

The ASDSO was founded in 1984 for the stated purpose of "fostering a unified dam safety community across the United States."

The ASDSO's peer review team that reviewed the Michigan program consisted of retired Illinois dam safety manager Robert H. Dalton, dam safety consultants William B. Bingham and Dennis R. Dickey, and Kenneth E. Smith, Indiana DNR Assistant Director, Divison of Water.

This four-person team spent an estimated total of 900 hours reviewing Michigan's Dam Safety Program.

The peer review team evaluated EGLEs program relative to ASDSOs governing regulations and how a program matches up with ASDSOs Model Dam Safety Program. The success of any dam safety program, the team said in its report, depends upon adequate program funding; the quality of physical inspections, dedication, and commitment of the regulatory agencies; and especially the due diligence of the dam owner or operator.

The peer review team concluded that while the Dam Safety Program staff are dedicated, well-educated, experienced engineers that are doing the best they can, the program should ideally have 11 staff, including three senior dam safety engineers and three junior dam safety engineers to oversee approximately 1,060 state-regulated dams.

Michigans program currently has two dam safety engineers and one supervisor, with a third dam safety engineer to be hired soon. In the Fiscal Year 2021 state budget signed by Gov. Whitmer on Wednesday, there is funding for hiring two more dam safety engineers, which would bring the total to five.

The report noted that Michigan for years has not had rigorous enforcement of dam safety violations, which the team called commonly accepted practice in Michigan. It also recommended adding into statute a requirement that owners of aging high hazard dams perform periodic detailed evaluations of their facilities.

The ASDSO report also outlined recommendations changes that would have to be made by the Legislature. It said the Dam Safety Program lacks the authority to require owners to obtain a permit to operate and maintain dams in a safe condition, nor to annually report on maintenance, operation and engineering investigations.

Also, Michigan has no requirements for owners to maintain key records, periodic exercising of emergency action plans or for owners of high hazard dams to provide proof of financial responsibility or security for the continued safe operation and maintenance of their dam.

The peer review team also called for a collaborative effort between EGLE, ASDSO and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to simplify the transfer of key information when the state takes over regulation of a former hydroelectric dam.

FERC had revoked the hydropower license for Edenville Dam in September 2018 after concerns about repairs that were not made by the dams owner, Boyce Hydro Power LLC. The state had to file Freedom of Information Act requests with FERC to obtain key documents and reports about the dam.

The report suggested Michigan follow the examples set by other states including Pennsylvania and New Jersey in offering a revolving loan program to provide grants and low interest loans to public owners of high hazard dams that need rehabilitation.

Without investment in dam safety over many decades, the need for maintenance has increased as dams have aged, the report said. National experience has demonstrated that a state organized and funded program for grants and low interest loans is critical to achieving real progress in rehabilitating publicly owned dams, the report said.

The report cited The American Society of Civil Engineers 2018 Report Card for Michigans Infrastructure and the 21st Century Infrastructure Commission Report, which both cited underinvestment in dam maintenance. The report card gave Michigan a grade of C- and said Michigan must make more progress to address dams in need of repair or removal. Expanded funding is needed to provide additional staffing for the (EGLE) Dam Safety Unit, and for resources for dam owners to address dam repair or dam removal projects.

The Infrastructure Commission Report estimated that Michigan needed $227 million in state funding over 20 years to support maintenance and removal of dams.

The Task Force reports it will evaluate the report card in the same manner as the ASDSO report and other pertinent data and resources to develop recommendations for EGLE.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:46:54|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Residents of Kazakhstan's Zhanatas region are glad to see a 100-megawatt wind power plant enter operation, meeting the electricity demands of about one million local households.

The project by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was expected to improve electricity shortages in southern Kazakhstan. Compared to coal-fired power plants of the same capacity, it would save 109,500 tons of standard coal and reduce 289,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually.

"Lending to projects in green energy is highly important for the development and diversification of the country's energy system and benefits the Kazakh economy," said Vyacheslav Dodonov, chief researcher at the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, in an interview with Xinhua.

The AIIB was formally established in 2015 and has become a promising player in the development and modernization of the global economy.

The AIIB is tasked with promoting the implementation of big infrastructure projects as one of the world's largest financial institutions. It has an incredibly broad representation of over 100 shareholder countries and authorized capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars, said Dodonov.

GLOBAL HEALTHCARE CRISIS

Apart from infrastructure construction, the AIIB plays a significant role in anti-crisis actions, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In Indonesia, the bank has approved two projects totaling one billion U.S. dollars to provide financial support for the mitigation of COVID-19 and spur economic recovery.

Jin Liqun, president of the AIIB, said at the Global Asset Management Forum on Saturday that the AIIB has adjusted its investment strategy to initiate a COVID-19 special fund of 13 billion U.S. dollars.

The pandemic has once again deepened our confidence that international cooperation is the key to meet global challenges, Jin said.

DEVELOPING MULTILATERAL FINANCING

For many of its members, the AIIB is not only an investment institution but also a multilateral financial platform to power socioeconomic transformation.

Gustavo Girado, a professor at Argentina's National University of Lanus, said the AIIB makes it more convenient to cooperate with China under the Belt and Road Initiative and empowers developing countries, which historically faced difficulty accessing financing in traditional international credit markets.

Egypt-based economic expert Abu Bakr al-Deeb said the AIIB is "an ideal partner since it does not impose any political conditions to finance projects, unlike most of the world's leading lending banks and funds."

Similarly, many experts have noted that the AIIB can help reduce development gaps between different countries by assisting the poor and the weak. Enditem
In the future, high society will live in a leisure centre. Thats the vision presented by the opening minutes of Brave New World (Sky One), NBCs megawatt adaptation of Aldous Huxleys 1932 novel. Dressed in white and off-white clothing, Lenina Crowne (Jessica Brown Findlay) and her colleagues stroll through airy concrete buildings decorated with the occasional pot plant. This is New London, and fittingly it is vaguely reminiscent of the CGI propaganda about how the Olympic Park would look once all the athletes had left. Its a world of totalitarian uniformity and casual sex (New London, not the Olympics), where strong emotions are suppressed by a ubiquitous drug, Soma, individuality and monogamy are outlawed, and citizens are watched over by a nearly all-seeing AI. Even the plentiful orgies look boring, so dinner parties must be a hoot.

Luckily, it isnt long before a corpse comes crashing into this serenity, when a worker grunt is found with his brains dashed on one of the spotless floors. Psychologist Bernard Marx (Harry Lloyd) finds the body, which jogs his well-honed emotional equilibrium. He befriends the free-spirited Lenina and they plan a trip to America, which has been turned into a kind of enormous theme park where fancy types from New London can see how the old world lives.

There we meet John (Alden Ehrenreich), who is a prop technician in one of these shows and lives with his mother (Demi Moore). He is everything they arent: soulful, impulsive and loyal to the concept of monogamous love. A group of rebels in the park are planning an insurgency against New London, and haul the reluctant John into their scheme. A clash of cultures, you say? Not until the second episode.

Brave New World isnt terrible. Brown Findlay and Lloyd are likeable leads, and we root for them even though they are explicitly lacking in emotion. Ehrenreichs parent-friendly bad-boy shtick, sharpened as Han Solo, has another good workout. Once I got over the sense I was watching a high-concept Center Parcs advert, I appreciated New Londons clean, brutalist aesthetic. Perhaps thanks to its early source material, this world is mercifully light on gadgetry, especially screens, with information instead relayed to the characters through special contact lenses.

The themes of surveillance and liberty are obviously resonant, so its a shame the script relishes in characters saying things like privacy is a vice the social body simply cant afford. Its hardly Huxleys fault, but Westworld has explored the sci-fi theme-park metaphor so thoroughly that the park material cant help but feel imitative.

Brave New World was influential because it fizzed with ideas, many of them shocking, which is perhaps why the novel has always been more admired than loved. Theres no doubting its influence, however, and it must have been highly coveted by TV studios. The problem is that between Brave New World the book and this 2020 vision of it lies an ocean of Brave New World-influenced books, films and television. For all its group sex and pill-popping, this adaptation doesnt take many risks. Its a cautious old world, and Aldous Huxley would surely have been disappointed.
U.S. President Donald Trump approaches reporters as he departs on campaign travel to Minnesota from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, September 30, 2020.

Shares of companies tied closely to the economy reopening declined on Friday as President Donald Trump's positive Covid-19 diagnosis raised concerns about a second wave.

Shares of United Airlines fell more than 3.5% on Friday. Shares of American Airlines and Delta Airlines lost 3.2% and 2.9%, respectively. Southwest Airlines dropped nearly 3% and Alaska Air Group fell 3.1%.

Cruise operators also weakened Friday morning with Carnival and Norwegian losing 4% each and Royal Caribbean dropping more than 3.5%.

Early on Friday, Trump told Americans that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus, sending stock futures lower. In a tweet shortly before 1 a.m. ET, Trump said: "We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"

Trump's diagnosis could impact the White House's stance on the virus and dent hope the economy reopens quickly.

Airline and cruise line stocks hinge on the reopening of the economy. The industries have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, that forced a nationwide shutdown of the economy and kept millions of Americans in their homes. The major airlines' stocks are still 50% and 60% from their 52-week highs, while the cruise lines are 50% and 70% off their highs.

Airlines have also been hoping for a second stimulus package, which has been caught in gridlock in Washington. The airline industry is on the verge of laying of thousands of employees if it does not get fiscal support.

Plus, cruise lines were under pressure when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday extended its ban on passenger cruising from U.S. ports through Oct. 31.

Retailers also fell on Friday. Gap shares fell 3.5%.

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CAIRO - Egyptian authorities have arrested hundreds of people in their effort to clamp down on a spate of small but exceptionally rare protests across the country, a global watchdog and human rights lawyers said Friday.

Riot police forcibly dispersed the limited demonstrations over economic grievances that erupted across several impoverished, rural villages over the past few weeks, firing tear gas and birdshot, according to a new report from London-based rights group Amnesty International.

The group said it verified videos showing officers with rifles out in force, in two cases beating unarmed protests with batons and firing birdshot at those running away. Two men were killed in the crackdown, the group said, one hit with birdshot by security forces south of Cairo and another during a police raid in the southern city of Luxor.

Hundreds have landed in jail, according to estimates from multiple lawyers, and remain in custody pending investigations into murky terrorism-related charges, a common tool used by state prosecutors to silence critics and quash dissent. From interviews with eyewitnesses, activists, family members and lawyers, Amnesty said it had confirmed that 496 people remain in detention.

In an unusual show of defiance, small groups of Egyptians dared to join street demonstrations on the anniversary of short-lived protests against the authoritarian rule of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi that flared last year.

The fact that these protesters took to the streets while knowing the very high risk to their lives and safety they were taking shows how desperate they were to demand their economic and social rights, said Philip Luther, Amnestys regional research and advocacy director.

Last September, Egyptians violated a long-standing protest ban to rally in Cairo and several other cities, heeding calls from former military contractor Mohamed Ali, a self-exiled dissident. In a series of widely watched videos, Ali accused el-Sissis government of wasting money on lavish projects while ordinary Egyptians struggled under harsh austerity measures. To stamp out the demonstrations, the government arrested thousands and planted security forces at intersections.

This year, the turnout was much smaller, confined to poor neighbourhoods in villages rather than major streets in the capital. Still, the government response was swift and decisive.

Khaled Ali, a well-known Egyptian human rights lawyer, told The Associated Press that he documented 800 arrests following protests in the suburb of Giza, the northern city of Alexandria, and towns in southern Egypt, including Luxor and Aswan. He said police used electric shocks when interrogating one of his clients who was picked up in the northeastern city of Suez.

A lawyer at the Egyptian Front for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said he represents 50 defendants across five different provinces caught in the most recent crackdown, but knows of a total of 1,200 people detained last month from records shared among lawyers. He said officers denied 14 of his clients at a prison in Giza adequate food and water, and routinely beat them during interrogations. In 90% of the cases, he said, those arrested had not participated in street protests but were pulled from their homes after rallies died down.

This is why we call the arrests arbitrary, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The authorities are under pressure. They cant let demonstrations happen without arrests.

One resident of Aswan confirmed to the AP that his brother, a village leader, disappeared after protests broke out in the city on Sept. 20. Four days later, he resurfaced at the local prosecution office and was ordered detained for 15 days on charges of misusing social media and joining illegal demonstrations . He spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason.

In 2013, el-Sissi led the military backed ouster of the countrys first democratically elected but divisive Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, amid mass protests against his brief rule. In the years since, the government has ratcheted up its crackdown, targeting not only Islamist political opponents but also secular pro-democracy activists, journalists and online critics.

A government media officer did not respond to requests for comment about the allegations. The Interior Ministry has not publicly acknowledged making arrests in response to demonstrations. But Egypts state prosecution office said in a statement earlier this week that it had released 68 children who had been arrested for participating in the recent riots.

The lawyer at Egyptian Front for Human Rights said 100 children had been picked up at protests in the southern city of Aswan. While the 68 released were under the age of 14, dozens of teenagers remain detained, he added.

The protests last month were largely ignited by worsening economic conditions, as the government accelerates demolitions of illegal housing units in Egypts vast informal settlements. One third of the population lived in poverty before the coronavirus pandemic, but life for ordinary Egyptians has gotten far harder in recent months, as the countrys tourism-dependent economy grapples with the fallout of virus-induced lockdowns.

State-owned media insists the situation is under control. On Friday, pro-government TV channels broadcast footage of throngs of Egyptians waving flags and raising portraits of el-Sissi in celebration of Armed Forces Day, the holiday to commemorate the 1973 war with Israel.

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John Tedesco /San Antonio Express-News

The Texas Department of Transportation will shut down a portion of Loop 410 and the Texas 151 frontage road on the West Side this weekend for continued construction of flyover ramps and the installation of steel beams.

Beginning at 8 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, all main lanes of Loop 410 from Marbach Road to Military Drive and the Texas 151 eastbound frontage road from Ingram Road to the Loop 410 interchange will both be closed.
ST. LOUIS  Missouri on Friday reported its highest-ever rate of COVID-19 tests coming back positive, driven largely by continuing outbreaks in rural areas.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported a seven-day average positivity rate of 14.5% Friday. The rate is reported on a three-day delay so the data represented tests from Sept. 23 through Tuesday.

The national seven-day positivity rate was at 4.7% Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The World Health Organization sets a positivity benchmark of 5% for loosening restrictions in a community. A high rate may also indicate that only the sickest people are getting tested, making it difficult to measure the spread of the virus in the state.

Missouris rising rate is largely driven by counties outside of the large metro areas of Kansas City and St. Louis. New Madrid County, which has a population of about 17,000 in the Missouri Bootheel, recorded the states highest positivity rate at 49.5% Friday, according to state health department figures. Another Bootheel county, Pemiscot, reported a positive rate of 41%.

The St. Louis regions latest seven-day positivity rates are significantly lower with both St. Louis and St. Louis County at 4.8%. Rates in suburban St. Charles and Jefferson counties, which have looser COVID-19 restrictions, had seven-day averages of about 11% and 13% respectively through last week, according to the local health departments.

Dr. Alex Garza, head of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, said Friday that rural areas outside of St. Louis are also making up a disproportionate number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in the region, unlike early in the pandemic.

Jefferson and Franklin counties make up the highest rate of patients within the metro area, and task force hospitals also took in 51 patients from outside of the metro area last week, according to the task force.

We know that rural health care facilities dont have as much flexibility to take care of large numbers of COVID patients, so once they reach a critical mass they need to send patients to the more urban areas to have them taken care of, Garza said. So its very concerning that were seeing all these cases and hospitalizations in those rural areas.

Because of the rural rise, hospitalizations for the disease have plateaued around 35 to 40 new admissions per day for several weeks in the region despite decreases in cases in St. Louis and St. Louis County, according to data from the task force.

The task force data lags by two days, and includes patient numbers from BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St. Lukes Hospital facilities in the metro area.

Statewide, Missouri broke its record for COVID-19 hospitalizations on Friday for the 11th consecutive day.

The state reported a seven-day average of 1,158 patients in the state with confirmed or presumed COVID-19. Thats up from 1,068 patients reported a week earlier, and 948 hospitalized in the state on Sept. 1.

Statewide hospitalization data is not available for July 13 through July 24, and not every hospital reports every day.

Missouri reported 1,485 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, reaching a total of 129,397 since the beginning of the pandemic. The state death toll rose to 2,144, a daily increase of 16.

Illinois deaths rise

Illinois reported 2,206 new known cases and 47 deaths connected to the virus Friday, the states highest daily death toll since June. Illinois seven-day positivity rate was at 3.6% Friday.

Illinois health officials also added 28 counties to its weekly list of areas at warning level Friday, including St. Clair County and Monroe County in the Metro East.

Overall, the spread of the virus in the Metro East has improved since state health officials reimposed restrictions on the region in August, including the closure of indoor dining at restaurants.

The region, which includes St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Clinton, Bond, Randolph and Washington counties, reported a 7.5% positivity rate on Friday, down from the rate around 10% that prompted the latest restrictions in late August.

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The number of new COVID-19 cases in public schools across the province has jumped by 37 from the previous day, to a total of 412 in the last two weeks.

In its latest data released Friday morning, the province reported 30 more students were infected for a total of 237 in the last two weeks; since school began there have been overall total of 263.

The data shows there are two more staff members for a total of 61 in the last two weeks  and an overall total of 84.

The latest report also shows five more individuals who werent identified for a total of 114 in that category  and an overall total of 137.

There are 318 schools with a reported case, which the province notes is 6.59 per cent of the 4,828 public schools in Ontario.

Three schools are currently closed, according to the Ministry of Health figures  Mason Road Junior Public School in Toronto, Holy Cross Catholic School in Kemptville and Monsignor Paul Baxter in Ottawa.

Epidemiologists have told the Star that the numbers in the schools arent a surprise, and that the cases will be proportionate to the amount of COVID that is in the community. Ontario set a new daily record for overall cases with 732 reported Friday.

There is a lag between the daily provincial data at 10:30 a.m. and news reports about infections in schools. The provincial data is current as of 2 p.m. the previous work day, and doesnt indicate where the place of transmission occurred.

The Toronto District School Board updates its information on current COVID-19 cases throughout the day on its website. As of 10:30 a.m. Friday, there were 78 TDSB schools with at least one active case  65 students and 29 staff.

Martingrove C.I. is the TDSB school with the most students infected at five but it remains open.

In a letter to parents Thursday, the board said: It would appear that the five cases are linked to an event that took place in the community on Saturday, September 19th.

To date, there is no evidence to support the transmission of the virus is connected to the school. However, as a precaution, the students are currently self-isolating and (Toronto Public Health) has reached out to those who may be impacted and has placed two cohorts in self-isolation.
EDWARDSVILLE  Visiting Angels of Edwardsville can help with your scarecrow ideas this year.

The group is assembling a Small Business Scarecrow Contest and Scarecrow Hunt this year. For the contest, participants are asked to create a scarecrow to display in front of their business in Edwardsville or in Glen Carbon. Bright colors and unique material usage are encouraged and since these are outdoor scarecrows, sturdy materials should be used.

We are asking that all small businesses who choose to participate donate $20 for the entry fee, said Tara Emerson, director at Visiting Angels. There will be first, second and third place prizes. The community will vote for their favorite scarecrow on Instagram - www.instagram.com/scarecrowsnapshot by hitting the Like button.

Scarecrows must have straw, must include a pumpkin and must be larger than three feet (36 inches) tall. The entry fee can be paid via Venmo, PayPal, cash or check. First place is $100, second place is $50 and third place is $25. All scarecrow photos must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Oct. 12.

Entry photos should ideally contain the business owners, but they can also be just an image of the scarecrow display. Businesses are encouraged to market their autumnal creations on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/ScarecrowSnapshot . Voters can only vote once per photo.

The purpose of this contest is to get the community out and about and support small business and it also gives the children something fun to do around town because we are also holding a Scarecrow Hunt for 13 years and younger, Emerson said.

For the hunt, all scarecrow entries will be posted on the Scarecrow Snapshot Instagram. To complete the hunt, go out and about in the community to find each scarecrow while adhering to COVID-19 safety guidelines. Once you find a scarecrow, stop and take a selfie or a photo the post it to your social media. Make sure to tag the business with the photo.

After you finish visiting all 15 scarecrows, and you have your photo proof, stop by Visiting Angels at 2 Ginger Creek Parkway, Suite B in Glen Carbon for your goodie bag. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. One goodie bag will be distributed per child.

The deadline for signing up is Oct. 12 and the voting and hunt will take place between Oct. 15 and Oct. 29. For questions about the scarecrow contest or hunt, contact Emerson at 618-741-8425.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 03:32:29|Editor: huaxia

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U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (C) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Oct. 1, 2020. Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday continued talks on the next COVID-19 relief package, but there are still major differences to be bridged in key areas. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday continued talks on the next COVID-19 relief package, but there are still major differences to be bridged in key areas.

"Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Mnuchin spoke by phone today at 1 p.m. The two discussed further clarifications on amounts and language but distance on key areas remain," Drew Hammill, spokesman and deputy chief of staff for the House speaker, said on Twitter, adding "their conversation will continue this afternoon."

At a press conference earlier Thursday morning, Pelosi said the two sides are still far apart on the total amount of relief package and how it would be apportioned.

"We not only have a dollars debate, we have a values debate," Pelosi said, noting significant differences remain in areas involving child tax credit and aid to state and local governments.

House Democrats on Monday unveiled a scaled-back 2.2-trillion-U.S.-dollar COVID-19 relief package, attempting to pressure the White House and Republicans to reach a deal before the presidential election in November.

However, some Senate Republicans have signaled that they're not willing to support any package that costs over 1.5 trillion dollars to salvage the economy reeling from the pandemic. Earlier this month, Senate Republicans failed to advance a slimmed-down proposal, which contained roughly 650 billion dollars in total spending.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Thursday confirmed that the administration had offered Pelosi an approximately 1.6 trillion dollars package, up from the 1.5 trillion dollars previously suggested.

"It is a good proposal, but it's one that she is not interested in," McEnany said at a press briefing. "I would say Nancy Pelosi is not being serious. If she becomes serious, then we can have a discussion here."

"This isn't half a loaf. What they're offering is the heel of the loaf," Pelosi said Thursday on Bloomberg TV of the White House proposal. "It's no use going into a negotiation just saying you'll take the path of least resistance."

Economists, as well as Federal Reserve officials, have argued more fiscal relief is needed to sustain the economic recovery, warning of dire consequences if further fiscal support is not provided in time.
New funding is kicking in for unemployed Michigan workers nearing the end of their benefit period.

Michigans extended benefit program has been triggered, allowing people to get an extra 20 weeks of state unemployment benefits. The maximum amount a worker can receive per week in state unemployment is $362.

The extra 20 weeks brings the total to 59 weeks. Michigan typically only allows people to be on unemployment for 20 weeks, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer added six weeks of benefits when the COVID-19 pandemic began. The federal government tacked on an additional 13 weeks of pay through the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program.

The 20 weeks of extended benefits kick in after the other 39 weeks are used. If someone lost their job the week COVID-19 hit Michigan in March, this now allows them to receive unemployment pay until late April 2021.

The Extended Benefit program will provide a much-needed safety net for Michiganders who have exhausted their current benefits and are still dealing with the long-term effects of unemployment due to COVID-19, said Unemployment Insurance Agency Director Steve Gray in a news release.

Most of the extra funding for the 20 weeks comes from the federal government, per the release.

After the weeks are exhausted, workers arent eligible for unemployment pay again until theyre employed for a certain amount of time.

This extra 20-week program is part of state law, which kicks in when Michigans unemployment rate has been above 8% for three months in a row. The weekly benefit amount is the same. People dont need to file a new application, but must continue filing the bi-weekly certification.

Since March 15, the UIA has paid $23.9 billion in benefits to 2.2 million claimants.

The state is still in the process of paying out the extra $300 per week to eligible unemployed residents for the weeks from July 27 through Sept. 4. As of last week, nearly 800,000 Michigan residents had received at least some of those dollars. The UIA couldnt be reached Thursday for an update.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued executive orders requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces. See an explanation of what that means here.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/.

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Erin Cook, a new kindergarten teacher at Kolling, was also one of the teachers that helped with the application process. Cook said though shes new to the school, she wanted to help in any way she could, so she assisted with the writing and editing of the application, among other things.
In his recent message addressing Iranians Reza Pahlavi, the increasingly popular crown prince of Iran, drew a clear line between the Islamic Republic and Iran and asked the nation, on which side do you stand? He continued, In order to save Iran, what are you willing to do?

These simple questions keep repeating in my head as I see 40 years of tyranny, corruption and oppression flash again before my eyes. A violent revolution born on the basis of exclusion, omission and elimination of all political groups, and discrimination towards all religious and ethnic minorities was set to change the cultural values of one of the most ancient and peaceful nations in the world.

The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and the establishment of the totalitarian regime that followed, was the beginning of a nightmare that has held a death grip on the Middle East to this day. Islam as a faith was turned into a radicalized political force in the hands of extremists who now controlled vast resources and assets of a very rich country. Guided by half-baked Islamo-Marxist theories, the new Islamic Don Quixotes saw progress as their archenemy and set out to destroy anything and everything that stood in the way of their apocalyptic campaign.

Today, as a result, 80 million Iranians are held hostage by an occupying regime. 600,000 Syrians have been slaughtered. The people of Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan have been besieged by non-stop killing. Millions have been forced to seek refuge in tenements across the region and across Europe. Terror groups inspired by the Islamic Republics effective blend of violence and ideology hold the region and the world for ransom.

For too long, political leaders in the West have looked for quick bandages to solve the problem. They have sought to appease the regime. They have sought to empower moderates who, to Iranians, are part of the same Cosa Nostra as the IRGC leaders who slaughter people in our streets. They have sought to turn the regime into a normal government. They have failed. Western political leaders must, as Iranians have, decide that this regime cannot be dealt with. There must be an alternative. It is here where the New Covenant focuses.

In his speech, Mr. Pahlavi makes a clear distinction between the Islamic Republic and Iran. The undemocratic nature of the regime in which people have zero influence in decision making has made it clear that this regime does not represent Iranians, and because of their religious, non-Iranian ambitions the mullahs do not even represent the name of Iran. The New Covenant suggests to Iranians, but also to the West, that the only alternative is the democratic rule of the Iranian people.

Since the announcement of this New Covenant, which dominated Iranian media and social media in the days before and after its release, Iranians seem to have turned a page. Opposition groups are coalescing, individual Iranians are thinking of ways to take on their civic responsibility. The nation seems to have accepted this New Covenant, and together they are working on ways to put it into action.

In contrast to the violent, exclusionary revolution of 1979 which focused on the elimination of opponents and discrimination against all who did not fit a strict profile of purity the New Covenant is leading Iran in the direction of inclusion, peace, tolerance. These values are the ones that give it the greatest chance to lead to sustainable, positive change.

The question many Iranians- who know where they stand in the duality between Iran and the Islamic Republic- however ask, is where does the West stand? Where do all the politicians who represent the free world stand in this struggle for freedom? How do they not see that a stable, democratic and secular Iran can become a beacon of hope and a role model for other nations in the region and become a progressive, cooperative member of the international community? The question many Iranians ask is how much atrocity, violence and tyranny can the West witness before they take a stand and choose the side of the people?

Iranians, in spite of what Western-based apologists for the regime and politicians who flirt with the Islamic Republic say, are demanding support for their movement. They do not want war, but they do not want the West to take the side of tyranny when they are fighting for liberty.

In a country with a long history of one-man rule, Iranians are rallying around this New Covenant which says that the country can only be saved when each Iranian plays a role. To save their country, to fight for justice, they are willing to step up. They know where they stand. But they are asking the West: where do you stand? On the side of the Islamic Republic or the side of Iran?

The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Radio Farda
The Department is Education is reviewing the latest set of proposals for a badly needed expansion of capacity in a secondary school in Offaly.

Fianna Fail Senator Fiona OLoughlin said in a statement that she has been updated by the Minister for Education Norma Foley on the progress of plans for Colaiste Iosagain in Portarlington which caters for hundreds of pupils from Offaly and Laois.

She said the Taoiseach Micheal Martin knows the shortcomings with the school first had having visited with Sen O'Loughlin last year.

A number of options and plans have already been through the Department of Education. At present, the school is heavily reliant on prefabs to accommodate more than 1,000 students. The latest proposal involved the building of a new extension or the preferred choice of complete new schools.

Minister Foley has given me an update on the project which is currently at end-stage of Stage 1 of architectural planning; entailing preliminary site surveys, location suitability and initial sketch scheme," said Sen O'Loughlin.

The Stage 1 report has just been received by the Education Department. Upon review, the Department will then be in contact with the school and its design team with regard to the further progression of the project. I`m really pleased that the process is moving forward.

I remain committed to working with school management, staff and parents to progress through the next stage of detailed design, costings, planning and preparation of tender documentation, she said.

Sen O'Loughlin said the Taoiseach knows what is needed.

An Taoiseach Micheal Martin saw the building for himself when I brought him to visit the area in February last year and we are both aware that the preferred option is to go for a new build on a different location on the same site, with capacity for 1300 students. This will be future-proofed for the provision of more second level students as the population of Portarlington continues to grow," she said.

The former Kildare South TD said Portarlington should get a new school soon.

The Colaiste Iosagain school community has waited for too long for a bigger, better equipped school building and I look forward to works starting in the not too distant future, concluded Senator OLoughlin.

It is more than six years since the first proposals were submitted for Colaiste Iosagain.
Yesterday starting from 5:30 p.m. more than 1,000 people who were primarily of Armenian descent, taking advantage of the fact that the European Council was holding a summit, gathered at Schuman Square to make a call for peace in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and to demand that the leaders of Belgium and other European countries act urgently to reestablish peace in the region.

Since the Azerbaijani armed forces attack on Nagorno-Karabakh with the support of Turkish forces on September 27, the battles between Armenians and the Turks and Azerbaijanis havent stopped. Armenians and manifesting good will are mobilizing around the world and calling on the international community to act for peace.

During the rally held in Brussels, the speakers called on ending the battles, viewed Azerbaijan as an aggressor in the conflict and underscored the fact that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are far from being separatists and are indigenous people of the region.

Among the speakers were Father Zatik from the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church in Brussels, as well as Chairman of the Committee of Armenians of Belgium Nicola Tavitian, who welcomed the statement that President of France Emmanuel Macron made before the summit of the European Council, affirming the information according to which Turkey has sent Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan launched the conflict with Turkeys support.

News and photos by Armine Hareyan
Walt Disney Co. Executive Chairman Bob Iger, left and Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Getty Images)

Walt Disney Co. Executive Chairman Bob Iger has resigned from Gov. Gavin Newsom's COVID-19 economic task force, an abrupt public confirmation of the growing tensions stemming from California's reluctance to allow theme parks to reopen.

Iger's departure from the governor's high-profile task force, a group organized in April to inject an element of business acumen and gravitas into the state's pandemic recovery efforts, happened earlier this week, a Disney spokesperson told The Times after the resignation was reported by the Sacramento Bee.

We very much appreciate Mr. Igers service on the task force and respect his decision to resign, Ann O'Leary, the governor's chief of staff, said in an emailed statement.

The Disney spokesperson did not provide any information as to when Iger  who announced in the spring that he would forgo his salary while the company's operations were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic  ended his role as an unpaid adviser to Newsom.

Disney announced on Tuesday that it will lay off 28,000 employees across its parks, experiences and products division, which includes Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim. The company's footprint in Southern California is sizable, with a variety of local businesses that depend on theme park visitors now in dire financial straits.

State employment data show the theme park industry includes more than five dozen employers across California, with 10 different companies employing 1,000 or more people. No company dominates the list more than Disney, whose properties in Florida have opened while its iconic home state operations have remained shuttered.

Newsom's advisers have said a new set of state public health guidelines for theme and amusement park openings would be released by the end of the week. But the leader of the trade group representing those businesses said Thursday that a draft of the proposal shared by the state falls far short of what the industry needs.

Story continues

"While we are aligned on many of the protocols and health and safety requirements, there are many others that need to be modified if they are to lead to a responsible and reasonable amusement park reopening plan," Erin Guerrero, executive director of the California Attractions and Parks Assn., said in a written statement. "We ask the governor not to finalize guidance for amusement parks before engaging the industry in a more earnest manner, listening to park operators expertise, and collaborating with the industry on a plan that will allow for amusement parks to reopen responsibly while still keeping the health and safety of park employees and guests a top priority."

While guidelines have been in place for weeks for other sectors of the economy, no such information has been provided for theme and amusement parks. While dozens of other industries have been provided a blueprint crafted by public health officials, the state's COVID-19 website simply says "Closed" in the listing for the parks.

During a tour of fire damage in Sonoma County on Thursday, Newsom sharply disputed that he was feeling any pressure to allow Disneyland and other amusement parks in the state to begin the process of resuming operations.

"The answer is, unequivocally, no," Newsom said. "We are not putting the health and safety of people visiting the state or recreating in the state at the parks at risk."

Times staff writers Hugo Martin and Phil Willon contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
According to a study, humans and Neanderthals cross breed a long time ago with remnants of their genetics left in genes. But scientists suggest that it might increase a predisposition to getting severe COVID-19 symptoms.

A hypothesis was formulated based on a study which is the first amongst studies investigating the coronavirus, suggesting that it helped humans develop immunity to certain conditions existent in the epoch it occurred. But, on the flip side, the ancient gene will likely endanger modern homo-sapiens afflicted with COVID, reported Meaww.

According to those involved in the research, they found a strand in extant human DNA closely linked to ancient Neanderthals. It is alleged that the strand will triple the chances of an infected respiratory system using a ventilator to support breathing.

Professor Svante Paabo, who led the study said the observations of how the human-Neanderthal mix has impacted many millennials. The intertwined genes of an extinct branch of hominid have such an impact on the coronavirus.

Sources identify the DNA strand in question seen in chromosome 3, part of the 23 pairs that are present in homo-sapiens cells. Traced in the Chromosome 3 strand is 1,000 to 1,100 genes that give the commands to the formation of proteins in the cellular body.

The segment in question is found on the particular part, which is one of the 23 pairs found in human cells.

Also read: Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak Continues, China Government Under Fire

Specific commands are given by the chromosomes with several 1,000 up to 1,100 genes that create proteins. These linked genes variants has a larger risk of developing severe Covid-19. They are present in half of the people in South Asia and sixteen-percent of people in Europe today, the researchers wrote in their study.

The study enrolled over 3,000 participants, who were treated and untreated at the hospital as Covid-19 patients. Most findings pointed to several gene types on the 3rd chromosome 3 which might cause severe infection. A match to the DNA of a 50,000-year-old Neanderthal skeleton in Croatia was discovered.

Hugo Zeberg of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm mentioned that the gene type derived from interaction with Neanderthals about 60,000 years ago. He repeated the same diagnosis that anyone with this nascent gene will be endangered by a coronavirus.

Tests were done where the gene is most predominant in existing populations today. In South Asians, it is prevalent and more are at risk. Europeans have one in six individuals with it but are not present in Africans and East Asians.

Overall, the study mentions a variation that causes reactions in humans. These severe reactions are serious and often fatal. Despite the numbers given by the authors, this is yet to be verified in finality.

The presence of Neanderthal genes has no explanation of how it impacts getting severe COVID-19 symptoms. Both Zeberg and Professor Paabo have no idea about the link yet. Most of the studies about COVID-19 needs a better explanation or should be given a good explanation.

Related article: Chinese Journalist Missing After Revealing Information on Real Wuhan Coronavirus Situation

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Bishop denounces single-issue voting; says it 'corrupted Christian political witness'

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A Roman Catholic Church bishop has denounced the practice of single-issue voting, especially on the issue of abortion, arguing that it has corrupted Christian political witness.

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, penned a column published Wednesday by the Jesuit publication America Magazine regarding the upcoming presidential election.

In his column, the bishop argued that in pursuit of single-issue strategies to end abortion, many Christians scandalously turned a blind eye to real breakdowns in solidarity and dehumanizing policies, including crackdowns on worker rights and voting rights, the slashing of social support for the poor and sick, racism and the exploitation of immigrants and the environment.

All of this has backfired and contributed to the issues intractability, widened the polarization in our society, harmed the credibility of the commitment of Christians to the common good and compromised the integrity of our Gospel witness, wrote Seitz.

We must repudiate any compromise of the moral integrity of the churchs witness through partisan alignment with single-issue political strategies disconnected from an integral ethic of human life.

Seitz spoke with concern about the deepening dogmatism of the Democratic Party on abortion, which included promoting abortion without any sensible restrictions.

Trump has voiced his support for unborn life and taken steps toward defending life, like the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy. Likewise, he has taken positive steps to protect religious liberties, continued Seitz.

But the president has also tainted the pro-life cause with the individualism and cult of wealth, greed and celebrity that very quickly erode solidarity and cheapen life.

The bishop noted that many Christians feel politically homeless this election, concluding that the church is not engaged in shoring up the political agendas of either party.

The followers of Jesus are washed in the waters of baptism that bring forth a new community of radical inclusivity that transcends narrow self-concern, elitist social division and arbitrary political boundaries, he said.

Several prominent Christian leaders have spoken out against voting for former Vice President Joe Biden, specifically highlighting his pro-choice stance. Tony Perkins, the head of Family Research Council, argued that Biden's Catholic faith doesn't "square" with his "radical position" on abortion as he pushed back against the idea that Biden was the more acceptable presidential candidate for Christians in 2020 than President Donald Trump.

Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas has also contended that evangelicals who vote for Biden "have sold their soul to the devil and accepted the Democrats barbaric position on abortion."

Cardinal Raymond Burke, a prominent Catholic Church leader, stated in August that he believes Biden should be denied communion over his abortion views.

In an interview with Thomas McKenna of Catholic Action for Faith and Family on Aug. 31, Burke argued that Bidens pro-choice views meant he was not in good standing with the Church and should thus be barred from receiving communion.

This is not a political statement, I dont intend to get involved in recommending any candidate for office, but simply to state that a Catholic may not support abortion in any shape or form because it is one of the most grievous sins against human life, said Burke.

I would tell him not to approach Holy Communion out of charity toward him, because that would be a sacrilege, and a danger to the salvation of his own soul  also he should not approach to receive Holy Communion because he gives scandal to everyone.

Because if someone says well, Im a devout Catholic and at the same time is promoting abortion, it gives the impression to others that its acceptable for a Catholic to be in favor of abortion and of course its absolutely not acceptable.
There are just some people who want to see their ballot go into the machine, she said. Were just making people aware of all of their options. We want people to feel comfortable putting ballots in the mail, but you can be sure if you drop it off in the drop box.

William Velchoff of Georgetown, Texas, was among the Democrats who said they planned to vote in person.

I think Trump and the Republicans in general are trying to screw up mail-in voting, said Mr. Velchoff, a retired manufacturing engineer who worked in the oil industry. Theyve given every indication that theyre going to do what they can to throw out mail-in votes.

The debate over how much to shift away from mail voting comes as Philadelphia Democrats are planning to resume in-person campaigning this weekend, though still safely and socially distanced, after months of digital outreach and phone banking to stay safe during the pandemic. On Thursday, the Biden campaign said it would begin door-to-door canvassing in battleground states.

For some Democratic officials, the push on mail voting is a way to increase their success in the margins, where close states are likely to be decided. Ben Bright, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Washington County, Pa., said he encouraged low-propensity voters  those who dont regularly cast a ballot  to vote by mail. But for super-voters, or those who participate in every election, he advised voting in person. That way they will avoid any mistakes that can cause an absentee ballot to be rejected.

Our thought has always been that if we get 1,000 Democrats to vote by mail that wouldnt have voted otherwise, and we lose 10 percent due to mistakes, we still gained 900 votes, Mr. Bright said. But if 1,000 super-voters decide to vote by mail, and 10 percent of their votes are lost due to mistakes, then weve lost 100 votes we otherwise should have had.

The worries about honest mistakes are part of the reasoning behind the shift in Philadelphia. Officials there recently warned that a decision from the State Supreme Court instructing officials to discard so-called naked ballots  those that arrive without a secrecy envelope  could risk up to 40,000 votes in the city. Thats a significant amount in a Democratic city where Mr. Biden needs to run up the margins to have a chance at winning back Pennsylvania.
Citing a forensic science laboratory report, ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said the cause of her death is an injury on the neck and trauma resulting due to it.

New Delhi : A senior Uttar Pradesh police officer said on Thursday said the forensic report has revealed that the 19-year-old Hathras woman who succumbed to her injuries at a Delhi hospital was not raped.

"The report of the FSL has also come. It says clearly that samples did not have sperm. It makes clear that there was not rape or gang rape," Kumar said.

"Even the woman in her statement to police did not mention about rape but talked about 'marpeet' (beating) only, he said.

"For disturbing social harmony and create caste violence, some persons wrongly presented facts," the UP police officer said.

"Police took immediate action in the case and now we will identify those who tried to disturb social harmony and create caste violence," the ADG added, stressing that people "distorted facts" in the media.
RABAT, Morocco - The United States and Morocco on Friday signed an accord that aims to strengthen military co-operation and the North African kingdoms military readiness over the next decade.

U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper signed the 10-year agreement during a two-day visit to Morocco, his last stop on a tour of three North African nations, which began this week in Tunisia, where a military accord also was signed.

He also visited Algeria, the first U.S. defence secretary to meet with leaders there since 2006. He held a meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the army chief, Gen. Said Chengriha. No deals were known to be signed there, but the U.S. defence secretary reportedly discussed expanding security co-operation and security issues in the Sahel region just south of Algeria. The U.S. counts Algeria as a major ally in the fight against terrorism.

Morocco is a major non-NATO ally of the United States.

Esper met with Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita upon his arrival Friday. Full details of his plans werent immediately disclosed.

The military agreement serves as a road map for defenceco-operation and aims to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries and support shared security goals, according to a statement issued by the Moroccan Foreign Ministry.

The agreement centres on consolidating common security objectives, especially improving the degree of military readiness, a statement from the General Command of the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces said.

Esper also met with the deputy minister under the prime minister, charged with national defence, Abdeltif Loudiyi.

The two officials expressed their satisfaction with the durability, distinction, continuity and dynamism of the bilateral co-operation, the statement from the General Command said.

Esper also met with the Inspector General of the Morocco Royal Armed Forces, Gen. Abdelfettah Louarak.

The military deal is expected to further bolster co-operation between the two countries. Washington is Moroccos largest supplier of arms. Morocco hosts the annual U.S. military exercise called African Lion  cancelled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
OTTAWA - Interim Green Leader Jo-Ann Roberts says she is hoping for a clear winner Saturday when the party's new leader is elected, to put to rest concerns the race was not legitimate.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Green party Interim Leader Jo-Ann Roberts looks on as Green party Parliamentary leader Elizabeth May speaks to reporters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on November 15, 2019. Roberts says she is hoping for a "clear-cut" winner Saturday when the party's new leader is elected, to put to rest any lingering concerns the race was not legitimate. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - Interim Green Leader Jo-Ann Roberts says she is hoping for a clear winner Saturday when the party's new leader is elected, to put to rest concerns the race was not legitimate.

The eight-month contest to succeed Elizabeth May will culminate this weekend at an event in Ottawa, where one of eight candidates will take the party's top job.

But events in the last two weeks have clouded the race: Montreal immigration lawyer Meryam Haddad was temporarily expelled, and former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray discovered the party hadn't forwarded all the donations meant for his campaign.

Roberts said she is concerned by some of the things that happened but doesn't think it will mean whoever wins won't have a legitimate victory.

She said the party handled those problems as well as it could, even if she is disappointed any of it happened.

"I'm the first one to admit that," she said. "I don't think it's changed the legitimacy. I think when people hear the results, it will be great we've chosen a new leader. I hope it is a clear-cut choice in the end."

A bigger problem facing the party may be unity, with not all candidates promising to throw their full support to anyone who wins.

Murray, also a former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister who is seeking to return to politics to push for bolder action on climate change, said he may not seek a seat if Montreal class-action lawyer Dimitri Lascaris wins.

""I would stay involved in the party but I'm not sure I'd be ready to be a candidate under that circumstance," he said.

May, whose battles with Lascaris have been quite public in recent years, said "I doubt it" when asked if she would support the winner no matter who it is.

She said it won't matter, though, because the leader doesn't have that much control over the party's direction, and is not going to be "my boss." May will, for now, remain the parliamentary leader, as none of the candidates has a seat in the House of Commons.

Lascaris has said the party became too mainstream and centrist under May. Four years ago May fired him as the party's justice critic for his support of the movement for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel, which many say is an anti-Semitic effort to destroy Israel.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Lascaris of "vile, anti-Semitic smears" when Lascaris accused two Liberal Jewish MPs of being loyal to "apartheid Israel" in 2018.

It's a label Lascaris rejects, saying his criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians is legitimate.

He is considered one of the front-runners in the contest, along with Annamie Paul. The two have led the fundraising and donor numbers for the last several months.

Lascaris said he thinks he and May can make it work if he wins.

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"My goal would be to start fresh with Elizabeth, to have a productive relationship with Elizabeth," he said.

Paul, a Black Jewish mother of two who once worked in the prosecutor's office at the International Criminal Court, wants to bring diversity to the party, something she said is sorely lacking in the Greens. She said she has been the target of a lot of hate throughout the campaign, particularly anti-Semitic comments on social media.

While May didn't officially endorse Paul, she did help her fundraise a bit, a move others criticized since May was asked to remain neutral.

Roberts said bringing the various factions in the party into the same tent won't be an easy job, but she thinks at least at first, the new leader will be given a chance by all.

"Then, because we're Greens, if it isn't working, we'll hear about it," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.
The first play Theresa Ikoko wrote wasnt necessarily meant to be a play  not yet, anyway.

At that point it was simply a story she had written for herself after years of collecting characters and scenes in her head, all of them rooted in the communities she knew as a Nigerian-British woman. When she read parts of it over the phone to a friend several years ago, he was taken by the way she had captured the experience of being black and British.

After I finished, he said to me, Theresa, theres no difference between this and Shakespeare as far as Im concerned, Ikoko says with a laugh while sitting on a park bench in east London.

It has since been a remarkable rise for the playwright turned screenwriter, who until last year was working as a case manager at a youth violence organisation, pretending to compose long emails and writing scenes instead.

Ikoko eventually submitted her writing to the Talawa Theatre Company, Britains renowned black-led theatre group, which jumped at the chance to produce it as a play. The work, Normal, ran as a stage reading in 2014, and a year later she wrote Girls, a play about three girls abducted by a terrorist group. That earned her the Alfred Fagon Award for Best New Play of 2015 and the George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright in 2016.

On Friday 18 September, her first movie, Rocks, which she wrote with Claire Wilson, opened. It centres on the joy and resilience of young women of colour  a group rarely given mainstream attention in British film  and positions Ikoko as a major new voice.

This year she joins a wave of young black writers, producers and directors carving out space in an industry that has been prone to either exclude them or crush them with expectations demanding that their work cover only issues of race.

Its like my movie has to dismantle racism, Ikoko says. And it has to offer reparations. It also has to dethrone the monarchy and restore the stolen artifacts back to Benin. But its 90 minutes on a low budget!

Yet for Ikoko, theres so much more that comes with being black apart from dealing with racism. And that has meant creating work that also focuses on black joy.

Ikoko (left) at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival last year (Getty) (Getty)

Growing up, she never knew any writers, or that writing was something people were paid to do. The youngest of nine, she was raised by a single mother who came to Britain from Nigeria a few years before Ikoko was born. Her family moved around several council estates all in Hackney.

Her mother worked multiple jobs, and Ikoko says there were times when they saw each other only in passing, Ikoko leaving for school and her mother returning from a night shift. She always checked that I brushed my teeth and my tongue, Ikoko says.

Despite having little money growing up, Ikoko says she had never felt poor. Saving money on the water bill was disguised as an opportunity to take a bucket bath  a scrub followed by rinsing off with a bowl of water, common in her mothers native Nigeria. She shared a twin bed with her older sister, but the crowded sleeping arrangement meant gossiping long past bedtime.

It didnt feel like Woe is us, even though we lived on an estate, she says. It was always loud. It was always fun.

She developed an early love of reading and storytelling, thanks in part to the work of black authors like Malorie Blackman, Sister Souljah and Eric Jerome Dickey. But she pursued a more practical path, studying psychology at Royal Holloway university and later earning a masters degree in criminology and criminal justice from Oxford.

Of course we need to dismantle systemic racism and structural oppression, but I want my work to remind black people to laugh, to frolic

It was through criminal justice work that she started to see firsthand the expectations placed on people from communities like her own. There was a survey that included the demographics of prisoners along with some predictive factors, she says. I saw that all of their predictive factors were mine  single-parent household, low income, from a high-crime area  and I didnt agree with that.

In a programme she worked on that organised drama workshops in London prisons, she started to see the power of storytelling  and whose stories got to be told. I was falling in love with giving people the power to be whatever they wanted to be, she says.

In 2014, she took a job with Islington Integrated Gangs, a London organisation that focuses on gang violence in youth communities, and wrote on the side  at nights, on weekends, at work. It wasnt until last year, when she couldnt get the time off work to attend the Rocks premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, that she decided she could no longer do both. She quit her job last September.

Nina Steiger, the head of play development at Londons National Theatre, describes Ikokos work as banter and brutality, a nod to the lighthearted gossip that slips seamlessly between moments of bleakness.

You will probably laugh and cry with equal measure, Ikoko says.

I was falling in love with giving people the power to be whatever they wanted to be (Getty)

But getting her writing career off the ground hasnt been without its challenges. She says she once pitched a show to a British television executive about a group of Somali sisters, only for him to ask where in Britain there were Somali viewers. Is it not good enough that its just a good story? she says.

And although her work often centres on the black British experience, Ikoko tries to avoid focusing solely on racism or positioning blackness as a foil to whiteness. This idea that blackness only exists in racism and oppression just doesnt sit well with me, she says.

The black experience is also about joy, she notes, pointing to recent viral photos on Twitter of a young black mans discovery of frolicking, complete with serene photos of him clicking his heels in an empty field. Of course we need to dismantle systemic racism and structural oppression, but I want my work to remind black people to laugh, to frolic, she says.

Ikoko is currently at work on her third play, for the National Theatre, and is developing a movie for the BBC. Shes also intent on creating opportunities for first-time actors, writers, producers, designers  anyone trying to break into the movie and television industry  through an organisation, Bridge, that she helped set up during the production of Rocks.

More than anything, though, shes determined to lift the undue burden on writers of colour  herself included.

Is it magic? Does it change the world? Does it speak to the black experience? Does it speak to the black experience for non-black people? Is it also not white gaze? she says of the thoughts that run through her head when she sits down to write.

Hopefully, she says, Ill be part of the people who are going to do all of that sticky unpacking work.

 The New York Times
By Online Desk

"Those who harm women's harm will be given such punishment that will set an example for future," Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said on Friday.

Taking to Twitter, Yogi said, "Only the idea of destroying the honor and self-respect of mothers and sisters in Uttar Pradesh is sure to destroy the people. They will receive such punishment which will set an example in future. Your UP Govt is committed to the safety and development of every mother and sister. This is our resolve and promise."

After Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were arrested on their way to Hathras, a Trinamool delegation was also manhandled by the UP Police on the following day. The delegation was on its way to meet the family members of the deceased Dalit woman.

On September 14, the Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped by four upper caste men. After being initially treated at Aligarh Medical College and Hospital, she was brought to Delhis Safdarjung Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries on September 29. The incident sparked national outrage after Hathras police hastily cremated her body without her family's consent.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Gov. Mike DeWine said he and First Lady Fran DeWine received coronavirus tests Friday afternoon and are awaiting results, after news that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

DeWine wasnt at the Tuesday presidential debate in Cleveland, as Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was.

However, DeWine said he and his wife recently went on Air Force One after it had landed in Ohio. They walked to the presidents cabin. He and Fran wore masks, he said.

And the president did not, as I recall, he said.

The COVID-19 diagnoses of President Donald Trump and First can be a reminder for Ohioans to take precaution against the illness spread, DeWine said.

I think this is a powerful reminder to us that we have to do the basic things," he said Friday afternoon. "We have to wear a mask. We have to social distance. We have to be careful. We have to avoid big crowds.

The president and his family were in Cleveland for the first presidential debate on Tuesday night, at the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion on the health education campus of Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University.

Its unknown where exactly the president and first lady contracted COVID-19.

If the president of the United States can have it, that means anyone can have it, DeWine said.

Husted was in the debate all on Tuesday in Cleveland the entire day, he said.

Everybody who got in had to have their temperature taken, Husted said. Everybody who got in had to wear a mask. I saw almost everybody had a mask on inside the venue. I wasnt in a position to see everyone. But everyone that was in my sightline had a mask on, outside the participants in the debate hall.

He said he was diligent about protecting himself. He was taking a test out of an abundance of caution.

But the issue of coronavirus spread became amplified when pictures emerged showing the presidents family not wearing masks during the debate, especially now that members of the family are ill.

Its unclear why the clinic didnt enforce mask-wearing among the presidents family.

Ohio legislature

The Ohio House and Senate do not have mandatory mask requirements.

DeWine said theyre separate branches of government so he cant enforce one.

They make their own decisions but I think what this reminds us is that anybody that you come in contact with may have the COVID, he said. Anybody. And there is no one who is immune from it. Anybody can have it and because of the fact that so many people who know have had it who didnt have symptoms or had very light symptoms. you have to literally treat everyone you come in contact with as if they have it."

DeWine said he urges all Ohio citizens to wear masks and take other protections.

Antigen tests

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Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to address the public about President Donald Trumps coronavirus positivity: Watch live

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251pp, Rs2848; UCL Press

How do we navigate the complex terrain of artistic freedom, religious faith and identity politics when hurt sentiments are part of the picture? Should mythological and religious figures be treated in the same way as literary characters? Do artists have a responsibility to not offend? Why do people get offended in the first place? What makes believers ready to kill in order to protect their faith? These provocative questions lie at the heart of a new book called Outrage: The Rise of Religious Offence in Contemporary South Asia, published by UCL Press.

Edited by Paul Rollier, Kathinka Frystad and Arild Engelsen Ruud, it consists of nine chapters and case studies from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. What is most refreshing about this volume is that it does not reduce religious offence controversies to merely a battle between the right and the left, or between tradition and modernity, or between faith and freedom of expression. It considers all these factors but veers away from simplistic conclusions. It is curious to uncover how struggles for power in the present moment are shaped by the legacy of colonialism, which is shared by all the four countries mentioned earlier.

The authors who have contributed chapters to this publication -- Asad Ali Ahmed, Kathinka Frystad, Iselin Frydenlund, Ute Husken, Paul Rollier, Arild Engelsen Ruud, Jurgen Schaflechner and Moumita Sen -- bring together expertise from a variety of interrelated disciplines such social anthropology, religious studies, postcolonial studies, gender studies, visual studies and South Asian studies. While this would offer tremendous intellectual stimulation for academics, it can alienate readers who do not have the training or patience to wade through dense scholarly material. The exhaustive introduction is a helpful entry point.

Apart from enquiring into how laws enacted by the British continue to guide contemporary debates around minority rights, blasphemy and maintenance of public order, this book focuses on the online circulation of potentially offensive material. Though journalism often becomes the punching bag, the profusion of social media has increased the number of content creators and publishers, and the volume of unverified material that travels across the globe in a fraction of seconds. The chapters discuss how this very democratization of the public sphere has also created conditions for undemocratic forces to flourish -- Muslims being lynched by Hindus in India, atheists being hacked to death by Muslims in Bangladesh, Christians and Ahmadis being killed by Sunnis in Pakistan.

How are concepts such as heresy, sacrilege, blasphemy and desecration linked to each other? Do they mean the same in Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic religious contexts? When do states deploy non-state actors, particularly religious leaders, to carry out their hidden mandate to foment conflict between different communities? What are secular courts supposed to do when people with hurt religious sentiments mobilize in millions, and the collective emotional tsunami unleashed as a result threatens to cause large scale violence? This book does a fine job of opening up such questions for reflection and further research.

Outrage: The Rise of Religious Offence in Contemporary South Asia tries to unravel each case in all its complexity and reminds us that religious offence controversies constitute highly marketable news and the complex media ecology is a significant reason for their prominent place in South Asias public life. What might be a minor offence in legal terms, or not an offence at all, is narrativized and consumed in ways that add new layers of meaning. Few people today might remember that author Khushwant Singh, known for his iconoclastic views, had advised Penguin India not to publish Salman Rushdies novel Satanic Verses in India since it was so hurtful and tasteless that it could inspire massive riots.

This book also succeeds in breaking stereotypes that float around in popular culture but go unquestioned. The sufis of South Asia, for instance, are often upheld as the moderate face of Islam and a counterpoint to the Wahabbis of the Middle East who represent the extremist face of Islam. We learn that, in Pakistan, the greatest push for anti-blasphemy protests has come from Barelvi Sufis who regularly advocate for the beheading of blasphemers. In Myanmar, violence against ethnic minorities has been led by Buddhist monks who are militant nationalists though their faith requires them to care about the welfare of all sentient beings.

In a region like South Asia that is marked by enormous cultural diversity, allegations of blasphemy are a tool in the hands of the elite to seek publicity, capture power, silence the marginalized even further and carry out extra-judicial killings. This book encourages us to remain vigilant when we scroll through WhatsApp messages presenting the Kaaba as an ancient Shiva temple or the worship of Mahishasur among indigenous groups in Eastern India as an affront to the brahmins of Kolkata. This online propaganda might seem innocuous at face value but it puts many lives at risk. It does not take too long for a matchstick to start a fire.

Chintan Girish Modi is a writer, educator and researcher. He is @chintan_connect on Twitter.
(UPDATE: 16-year-old suspect wanted in fatal Flint shooting turns himself in)

FLINT, MI -- Police are trying to track down the whereabouts of a 16-year-old male in connection with a double shooting in Flint that left one person dead.

Officers with the Flint Police Department were dispatched around 2:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28 to the 1000 block of Barrie Avenue near Fenton Road for a report of a shooting incident.

Flint Police Chief Terence Green previously said thats where officers discovered a man and woman who had been shot.

1 dead, 1 injured after daytime shooting in Flint

Collin Goodman, 18, had been fatally shot.

A female victim whod also been shot was transported to a local hospital with critical injuries, but she is expected to be OK, police said.

An investigation by the Flint Police Department has led to two suspects in the case.

One of the suspects has been taken into custody, with charges pending review by the Genesee County Prosecutors Office.

The 16-year-old faces murder, assault with intent to murder, felony firearms, and carrying a concealed weapon charges. He remains at large.

Anyone with information about the fatal shooting or the suspects whereabouts may contact Flint Police Detective Sgt. Robert Frost at 810-237-6947 or to remain anonymous contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245), on the P3Tips mobile app, or online at crimestoppersofflint.com.

Videos, photos, and audio can be submitted via the Crime Stoppers app or website.

Read more:

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No adults in house when 11-year-old was shot at Flint home, police chief says

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The global marketplace makes it possible for easy transactions between public and private entities worldwide, but validating the security of those transactions isnt always so easy.With supply chains that span multiple continents, often involving dozens of companies and products, regulation of cyber controls for public-sector IT contractors isnt a straightforward task. Pair this with the fact that cybercriminals and foreign intelligence agencies have increasingly honed their capacities to infiltrate and compromise organizations, and you have a unique security landscape that governments have yet to satisfyingly address.At the federal level, the U.S. has worked hard to establish certification standards like the governmentwide Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), which was created to assess and authorize cloud service providers working with federal agencies. At the same time, organizations like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have been deployed to continually assess risk and promote secure practices throughout the federal bureaucracy.State and local governments, however, lag behind. While they are increasingly taking cues from federal agencies on supply chain risk awareness, the resources to act on that awareness are slim. Indeed, for smaller public agencies whose IT departments frequently find themselves deficient in funding and manpower, the idea of comprehensive supply chain audits is about as realistic as municipally funded moon landings.Certifying and evaluating suppliers is a huge undertaking and one that most states are not equipped to do, said Dugan Petty, former Oregon CIO. Not even the largest states have the capability to certify a supply chain or determine if hardware or software have malware built in, he said.This problem has been complicated somewhat by broader shifts in the public sectors IT procurement process, said Steve Nichols, chief technology officer with the Georgia Technology Authority. As the CIO-as-broker model has come to replace the old owner/operator model, public agencies that previously procured and integrated all hardware or software themselves now frequently rely on the CIO to broker deals with system integrators. Integrators bring in whole suites of software from varied sources  increasing efficiency, but also the opportunity for intrusion.The software they [an integrator] bring or transfer might have a number of other third-party software packages already integrated into it (like a database or a Web server or an app server). Further, they might bring system or management software and hardware as part of that solution. All of those things are made and supported by other companies, said Nichols.Meredith Ward, director of research with NASCIO, said that data from her organizations biannual cybersecurity survey shows there is some  though probably not enough  confidence in the security of governments business partners.From this years study, we know that two-thirds of state CISOs are somewhat confident that state information assets are protected from cyberthreats originating from business partners/vendors. However, one-quarter arent confident at all, said Ward. Some state CISOs have also cited that a lack of a third-party risk management program is a barrier their state faces to address cybersecurity challenges.Also adding to the problem is the rise in cloud procurement. While a useful resource for public agencies, cloud services often involve a number of different vendors in the same chain. Such vendors frequently have immense amounts of access to sensitive government data, making oversight of just how those vendors operate crucial.A SaaS solution might be built on top of a PaaS solution supported by another vendor and hosted in yet another vendors IaaS data center, said Nichols, explaining that with all of these layered services and companies, the potential for proper oversight is difficult. Most worrying is the prospect of foreign intelligence agencies infiltrating supply chains to implant malware to conduct espionage and steal data.Threats of this sort have been highly publicized in recent years. Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, has been in the headlines as an ongoing supply chain threat, but the problem hardly starts and stops with one company or nation-state. At the same time, NIST worries that industrial spies/cybercriminals are constantly on the hunt for opportunities to penetrate supply chains to gather information or exploit government data for financial gain. NIST also worries about the potential for organized crime groups to steal valuable government data, or terrorists to infiltrate systems to disable key services or wreak physical destruction through operational technology.These threats, said Petty, can be especially vexing for state agencies because no single authority exists that can take this on for the states. It has a complexity like other security issues because we have 50 different approaches all with individual state laws.Most of the solutions that do exist are some sort of auditing process, but these can be limited in scope and time consuming. In recent years, governments have frequently turned to certain certifications, such as a Statement on Standards of Attestation Engagement (SSAE-18 audit process), or even a FedRAMP certification  though these can be prohibitively expensive for vendors and can take up to a year to complete. More and more states are monitoring third-party access to their systems and data, said NASCIOs Ward, requiring some form of independent attestation such as a SSAE-18 or a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and the like. To the degree that this is affordable, governments should do it.At the same time, said Ward, there are a number of more basic precautions that NASCIO recommends agencies take to protect themselves, including: perform background verification checks on select high-risk, third-party employees; monitor and control third-party access to state systems and data; perform random spot checks of third parties sites; [and] engage an independent third party to assess the third parties capabilities.Nichols, meanwhile, has come up with a unique solution to supply chain risk management after GTA had a run-in with a potentially compromised vendor.This came up a couple of years ago with a vendor who got flagged by the federal government, said Nichols. We had some of that vendors product in use in our environment and went through a small project to find where we were using it and replace it and take them off the state contract. We realized that it would be a lot easier to deal with procurement and contractual issues if we had a standard on the books, he said.To make sure such an incident was less likely to happen in the future, Nichols researched and drafted a policy for GTA that would allow them to disqualify a supplier or product using a supply chain framework, basing it on NIST SP 800-161, which outlines supply chain risk management practices for federal agencies. It is one of the few examples of a state government imposing some sort of internal regulation to help secure the overall supply chain.Nichols policy, which became effective in April, may be a step in the right direction  and a good model for state agencies that want to cut down on supply chain risk. Georgias policy asks agencies to integrate supply chain risk management into their overall risk management frameworks, while also giving agency officials an enforcement mechanism with the authority to reject certain suppliers if they have been deemed a security threat.This gives us an additional tool for dealing with problematic suppliers during a procurement or if we need to remove them from a contract, said Nichols.
Dismissing reports that there is a lack of consensus at the highest level regarding Covid-19 fiscal stimulus measures, a finance ministry official said the recent trends of economic recovery, including the increase in GST collection, PMI index, Exports etc., prove that there has never been any lack of consensus.

The Government has been aware of the ramifications of Covid-19 pandemic and that is the reason why the Ministry of Finance has been proactively and continuously taking measures to provide support to those who need it the most in a holistic manner and those measures are yielding results, an official said.

While reading the report card of the Governments comprehensive measures against the challenges of Covid-19, one must acknowledge the swiftness with which the Government formulated and implemented two major Stimulus Packages - Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) on March 26, 2020 and Aatmnirbhar Bharat Package (ANBP) on May 12, 2020 - a special economic and comprehensive package of Rs. 20 lakh crore - equivalent to 10 per cent of Indias GDP , the official added.

The phased relaxation of the lockdown, which is still going on, along with several packages announced from time to time has resulted in much higher level of economic and business activities in the months of July, August and September, the ministry has said. This is evident in growth of high frequency indicators like PMI Manufacturing, index of eight core industries, GST collections E-way bills, Kharif sowing, power consumption, railway freight, cargo traffic and passenger vehicle sales, the ministry said.
Six California police officers, among them a lieutenant, were disciplined but got to keep their jobs after exchanging salacious messages with a teenage prostitute at the heart of a sex scandal that engulfed multiple law enforcement agencies in the Bay Area.

The young woman, the daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher known by her assumed name Celeste Guap, alleged that she had had sex with dozens of police officers from seven departments, including Richmond, Oakland, Livermore, Contra Costa County and Alameda County.

She said some of her sexual encounters with officers happened while she was underage. Several officers were terminated as a result of an investigation, and several were charged criminally.

Oakland police Lt Felix Tan (left) was reprimanded but not fired for sexting with underage prostitute Celeste Guap (right) and asking her for nude photos

Sgt. Detective Erik Oliver (left), Detective Dan Campos (center) and Officer Joe Deorian (right) were all reprimanded for exchanging sexually explicit messages with Guap

As records released by the City of Richmond on Wednesday indicate, of the 11 officers who were implicated in the sex scandal, three were kicked off the force, six were given letters of reprimand and two quit before being subjected to punishment, reported KQED and The Mercury News.

One of the terminated officers later appealed the decision and won his job back.

The most high-ranking official of the six who were spared termination was Lt Felix Tan, a 20-year veteran who served as chief of staff to then-Chief Allwyn Brown.

Richmond, California, Police Chief Allwyn Brown resigned last year after being criticized over his handling of a sex scandal involving Guap

Tan was slapped with a written reprimand for sexting with Guap and asking the teenager for nude photos of herself.

In one text message exchange released by the City of Richmond, Tan wrote to Guap: 'wher's [sic] my pic? I want a pic of those big a** t**s too.'

During an internal affairs investigation into his conduct, Tan said: 'Of course I made some comments because Im a guy.'

He also admitted to asking Guap for additional photos of herself, according to the disciplinary records.

The City of Richmond released the documents to local news organizations as part of a settlement related to a lawsuit over the police transparency law.

In a 2016 interview, Guap named six Richmond cops who played a role in the sex scandal: Lt. Andre Hill, Sgt. Jerred Tong, Sgt. Terrance Jackson, Lt. Tan, Mike Rood and Armando Moreno.

The newly released records identified three additional officers: Sgt. Detective Erik Oliver, Detective Dan Campos and Officer Joe Deorian.

Hill, who headed the department's Youth Services Division, was fired for having oral sex with Guap at her home and sexting with her.

The scandal began after the suicide of Brendan O'Brien (left) who killed himself in 2015 after Guap contacted police to expose him. The pair had slept together when she was 17

'I thought I was just a special guy,' he told internal affairs investigators. 'I just thought that she maybe liked cops, maybe was a cop groupie, and wanted to just interact with me sexually.'

Tong was also fired for having oral sex with Guap, and then lying about knowing that she was a prostitute.

The city moved to fire Jackson for having sexual relations with Guap while on duty and in uniform, but on appeal he was allowed to keep his job with lower pay. He has since retired.

Rood, who was the head of the Regulatory Unit overseeing medical marijuana dispensaries, was demoted for exchanging sexually explicit messages with Guap after she reached out to him on social media.

'I have never had anyone just message me and say I wanna f*k you in a hotel,' he told investigators. 'So yeah, I made a poor judgment, I should not have met with her, but I did because I wanted to make sure she understood that I was not interested.'

Guap alleged that she had had sex with dozens of police officers from seven departments. She successfully sued the city of Oakland and was awarded nearly $1million in May 2017

Like Rood, Moreno also lost a rank after allegedly having sex with Guap off duty and sharing information with her about a sexual assault involving a friend of hers.

Deorian was reprimanded for using his personal cellphone to 'sext' with Guap after she solicited him on Facebook and sent him nude selfies.

Oliver was disciplined for what has been described by the department as his 'inappropriate and unbecoming' decision to swap 'sexts' with Guap, ask her for nude photos and visit her home.

Campos was handed a letter of reprimand after investigators found that he discussed a sexual fantasy of his with the teen using his work phone, and told her about a prostitution sting, according to the documents.

The scandal first came to light in September 2015 when an Oakland police officer committed suicide and left a note implicating several of his fellow officers.

The allegations against the officers prompted the firing of several from different law enforcement agencies across the Bay Area.

Guap successfully sued the city of Oakland and was awarded nearly $1million in May 2017.

Later that year, she sued Richmond, claiming that officers on the city's police force traded police protection for sex while she was underage.

Guap was an 'exclusively department retained sex worker' for the officers, 'available to them for sexual favors and pleasure in exchange for paid monies, protection, or other forms of consideration,' according to the complaint.

Richmond Police Chief Bisa French said on Thursday that the officers' conduct described in the newly released disciplinary records was 'completely unacceptable.'

French took over the department in July. His predecessor, Allwyn Brown, resigned last year after a vote of no-confidence from staff.
Amazon.com Inc said more than 19,000 of its U.S. frontline workers contracted the coronavirus this year, or 1.44% of the total, a disclosure sought by labor advocates who have criticized the COVID-19 response of the world's largest online retailer.

Some staff, elected officials and unions in recent months have said Amazon put employees' health at risk by keeping warehouses open during the pandemic. Amazon said its rate of infection was 42% lower than expected when considering the virus' spread in the general population.

Amazon in a blog post encouraged other businesses to report comparable figures. It said it will expand virus testing to 50,000 U.S. employees per day by November through internally built capacity.

The disclosure by Amazon offers a rare look at the disease's impact on a big U.S. employer. Amazon has kept facilities open to meet a surge in demand from shoppers stuck at home, adding temperature checks, social distancing software and other safety procedures.

Athena, a labor and activist coalition, called on officials to investigate Amazon and for more regular reporting by the company in light of the news. "Amazon allowed COVID-19 to spread like wildfire," coalition director Dania Rajendra said in a statement.

Amazon said that out of its 1,372,000 frontline employees at Amazon and its Whole Foods Market subsidiary, 19,816 tested positive or were presumed to have COVID-19 between March 1 and Sept. 19. The figure includes seasonal staff and those who may have been infected outside work, it said.

By contrast, 33,952 would have contracted the virus had Amazon's rate equaled that of the general populace, when accounting for employees' age and geography, it said.

Minnesota had the highest rate with nearly 32 infections per 1,000 workers, versus nearly 16 for the public. Amazon has butted heads with a labor group there; it did not have comment on the specific rate.

"This information would be more powerful if there were similar data from other major employers to compare it to," Amazon said in the blog post, adding that it hopes the numbers "will prove useful as states make decisions about reopening public facilities and employers consider whether and how to bring people back to work." (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
New Jersey lawmakers wished President Donald Trump a speedy recovery from the coronavirus while using his illness to urge Americans to keep protecting themselves against COVID-19.

If the most powerful man on Earth can get this germ, any one of us can, said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th Dist. Wear a damn mask. Treat this illness more seriously than this government has treated it up to this moment.

Pascrell described the announcement that Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus as one of the most astonishing moments in American history.

This virus continues to threaten our communities and it is so important that everyone wear a mask and take all of the appropriate precautions, said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist. "No one is immune, this is neither a game nor a hoax, and we all have to work together to protect all of our communities.

This is a crisis that can impact anyone, and everyone should take it seriously and take steps to stay safe and healthy, said Rep. Andy Kim, D-3rd Dist., a member of the select House subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis.

The coronavirus is a serious health threat that has infected more than seven million Americans and caused more than 200,000 deaths," said Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist. "If there are people who didnt take it seriously before, I hope they take it seriously now. I would tell everyone to please wear a mask in public and social distance. Protect yourself and be safe.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., who has used his perch as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to push for more federal funding for testing and treatment, said he hoped Trumps diagnosis serves as a wakeup call for everyone who refuses to listen to public health experts and scientists.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, President Trump has repeatedly denied the severity of this public health crisis, refused to follow recommended public health guidelines, and failed to show the leadership we need to crush the coronavirus and save lives, said Pallone, D-6th Dist.

Heres what other members of the delegation had to say:

My family and I are wishing the President and the First Lady a speedy recovery.



Please keep taking the right precautions  wearing masks, staying socially distanced, and washing your hands.



Stay safe everyone!  Rep Josh Gottheimer (@RepJoshG) October 2, 2020

Wishing the President and First Lady a speedy recovery.



COVID can impact anyone, we must all do our part to stay healthy and stop the spread, were all in this together.  Donald Norcross (@DonaldNorcross) October 2, 2020

Im wishing the President and the First Lady a speedy recovery. Please everyone remember to follow CDC guidelines to keep yourself, your family, and your community safe.  Mikie Sherrill (@MikieSherrill) October 2, 2020

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

During Tuesdays debate with Joe Biden, Trump said he used masks when necessary but mocked the former vice president for wearing one so often.

I dont wear masks like him, Trump said. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

Masks make a big difference, Biden responded. His own head of the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] said if we just wore masks between now  if everybody wore masks and social distancing between now and January, wed probably save up to 100,000 lives.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Wednesday that bars, amusement parks and movie theaters can partially reopen starting on Friday under a new Phase 3 order.

The updated executive order that will remain in effect through Oct. 23 also allows fans to attend outdoor sporting events. Venues with more than 10,000 seats can operate at 7% capacity, while those with 10,000 or fewer people can open to 100 people or operate at 30% capacity, whichever is less.

But the increased reopening comes with restrictions on businesses as the states coronavirus case numbers have held steady but at higher-than-desired levels.

Mandy Cohen, the states top public health official, warned that the states progress in dealing with COVID-19 is fragile. Cooper acknowledged the concerns and pleaded with North Carolinians to comply with the states mask mandate and other safety measures.

The key indicators we watch in North Carolina remain mostly stable, but I have to tell you that we see warning signs that the disease could spike again here and across the country, Cooper said. The virus continues to spread, so we must take the next steps methodically and responsibly.

Cooper, who has adopted a self-described dimmer switch approach to reopening, has long kept many businesses closed in an effort to reduce coronavirus transmission and pave the way for K-12 public school students to resume in-person classes.

The governor earlier this month announced individual districts can choose to move to daily in-person classes for elementary school students starting on Monday. But in Wednesdays news conference, Cooper did not provide a timetable for when the same opportunity would be afforded to students between the sixth and 12th grades.

Dont have a timeline on it, but just know that it remains a priority for us, Cooper said.

North Carolinas transition to Phase 3 begins at 5 p.m. Friday with restrictions on certain businesses. Bars, which have not been allowed to reopen in the state since the start of the pandemic, will only be allowed to resume operations outdoors at either 30% capacity or 100 patrons, whichever is less.

Bars without a stated fire capacity, though, can only have seven guests for every 1000 square feet (93 square meters) of the locations total square footage.

We recognize that outdoor capacity is not always a thing that someone is zoned for, so, yes, we sort of have a proxy for what does about 30% of a space look like, Cohen said. Thats how we came up with the 7-per-1,000-foot guidance that you see in the executive order today.

Cooper said the 11 p.m. curfew on alcohol sales for in-person consumption will remain in place.

When the executive order goes into effect on Friday, movie theaters will be able to allow patrons into theaters at 30% capacity or 100 guests per screen, whichever is less.

Outdoor amusement parks can operate at 30% capacity but must adhere to the states mass gathering limits, which will remain at 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors.

___

Anderson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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

Topics New Markets North Carolina
A police officer waits to inspect documents at a checkpoint during a partial lockdown, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Madrid, Spain, on Oct. 2, 2020. (Javier Barbancho/Reuters)

Thanks for the Chaos: Madrid Returns to Lockdown

MADRIDSome 4.8 million Madrid residents will be barred from leaving the area from Friday evening, making it the first European capital back into lockdown due to surging coronavirus cases.

Restaurants and bars in the Spanish capital and nine satellite towns will shut early and slash capacity by half in what has again become Europes worst infection hotspot.

The new restrictions, to start at 10 pm (2000 GMT), are not as strict as the previous lockdown from March, when people were barred from leaving their homes. However, authorities advised residents not to move around unless absolutely necessary.

A police officer inspects documents at a checkpoint during a partial lockdown, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Madrid, Spain, on Oct. 2, 2020. (Javier Barbancho/Reuters)

Madrilenos were exasperated at political wrangling between the central and regional governments, and anxious about whether the measures would work.

We have been eight months with masks and without nightclubs and parties, and there is still contagion. Then what kind of impact will these restrictions make?, said Sonny van den Holstein, owner of Sanissimo restaurant.

People are confused, they hesitate to go out  they are in fear, he said, as a customer called to cancel a reservation.

The conservative-led Madrid area authority reluctantly complied with the order from the Socialist-led central government to ban travel except for school, work, health or shopping.

Famous for its late-night carousing and usually lively tourist flow, Madrids bars and restaurants must close at 11 p.m. instead of a previous 1 a.m curfew, while restaurants, gyms and shops are having capacity cut by half.

Gatherings of more than six people remain banned indoors and outdoors, but parks and playgrounds can this time stay open.

A police officer gestures with a traffic control wand at a checkpoint during a partial lockdown, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Madrid, Spain, on Oct. 2, 2020. (Javier Barbancho/Reuters)

Legal Challenge

The measures widen a confinement already in place in poorer parts of the city with high infection rates.

People who do not comply will face fines.

Other busy European cities have tightened measures in recent days, including limiting numbers in restaurants and making face masks compulsory in more places.

But none have gone as far as Madrid. The new lockdown will last at least 14 days and could be extended if needed.

Conservative regional head Isabel Diaz Ayuso has launched a legal challenge, fearing economic damage and accusing central government of exceeding its mandate by ordering the measures.

With Madrids international airport Barajas staying open, Diaz Ayuso tweeted her anger at the prime minister: From tomorrow one will be able to get to Madrid from Berlin but not from Parla. Thanks for the chaos, Pedro Sanchez.

People wearing protective face masks stand outside a restaurant at Usera neighbourhood, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Madrid, Spain, on Sept. 19, 2020. (Javier Barbancho/Reuters)

Parla is a periphery town south of Madrid.

In its appeal, the region argues that the measures do not adequately fight the pandemic and would cost 750 million euros ($879 million) per week to the local economy.

But Sanchez said the only goal was saving lives and protecting health. All decisions are made based on scientists citeria, he said at a summit in Brussels.

With 850 cases per 100,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, the Madrid area has Europes worst rate.

Spain recorded a total of 789,932 coronavirus cases as of Friday, a rise of 11,325 since Thursday. There have been 32,086 fatalities. Daily deaths are now around their highest levels since early May but far below the late March record of nearly 900.

By Belen Carreno and Clara-Laeila Laudette
The Irish campaign to support former US Vice President Joe Bidens bid to win the US Presidential election took formally launched on Friday in Joe Bidens ancestral hometown of Carlingford, Co. Louth.

The event took place at Fitzpatricks Bar & Restaurant, one of the locations Vice President Joe Biden visited in 2016.

The Irish For Biden campaign is encouraging Irish people to contact their friends and relatives in the US to get out and vote for Joe Biden when he takes on current President Donald Trump in the election on Tuesday, November 3rd.

The event was formally launched by Cathaoirleach of Dundalk Municipal District Council, Cllr. Emma Coffey. Also in attendance was Senators John McGahon and Erin McGreehan along with several members of the Finnegan family, who are relatives of Joe Biden through his mother, Jean Finnegan.

The event was also attended by several of the Carlingford residents who met Vice President Biden during his visit in 2016.

Commenting on the event, Councillor Emma Coffey said; The Presidential election is a great opportunity to promote one of our own, Joe Biden. The occasion is to celebrate his Irishness and help foster relations again between our two great countries.

The tagline in our campaign to mobilise Irish America is Call a Cousin, Phone a Friend, Ring a Relative.

Get in touch with them and tell them its about time we had another Irish American in the Oval Office.

Paul Allen, lead organiser of the event, said; Our firm was privileged to work with Louth County Council back in 2016 in arranging the visit of the Vice President.

Our role is to stimulate interest, capture the imagination and seek to secure the return of another Irish American to the White House.

The campaign was launched in Carlingford due to Joe Bidens strong links with the area.

His mothers family name is Finnegan, who hailed from the Carlingford area and emigrated to the US in the 1850s.

All eight of Joes great great-grandparents on his mothers side were born in Ireland in the early 1800s.

Two of his great-grandparents on his fathers side were also born in Ireland.

In total, 10 of Joes 16 great great-grandparents were born in Ireland.
People in Inistioge, The Rower and parts of Thomastown are still buying bottled water despite a multi-million euro upgrade to their water supply, because the new supply contains high levels of lime.

Local councillors have agreed to write to Irish Water urging them to address the issue and make contact with households to offer solutions.

Undrinkable

At Wednesdays meeting of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr Michael Doyle, who lives in the area, said he was on his third kettle since the start of the year, and levels of lime in the water were such that, while it might be safe, it is absolutely undrinkable.

The Fine Gael councillor says he is getting up to 10 phone calls a week about the matter.

The issue has arisen after a multi-million euro investment by Irish Water in a new supply to the area, after the previous supply was found to have elevated levels of Trihalomethanes.

Cllr Doyle says the new hard water supply means households have been left to to foot the bill to replace or to buy bottled water.

His notice of motion, to write to Irish Water asking them to address the issue and write to customers outlining the options a household has in dealing with lime in the water, was seconded by Cllr Deirdre Cullen, who said people should not be expected to still be buying bottled water after the investment.

They were having to buy bottles of water before, and then there was a multi-million euro investment. Now, they are still having to buy bottles of water, she said.

The item was agreed by members.
The foreign minister has also urged representatives of Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in Ukraine not to succumb to provocation.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has urged Ukrainian officials to make balanced comments on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia that would be in line with Ukraine's official position instead of provoking confrontation and enmity.

"In short, control your own emotions and don't play with those of other people," he wrote on Facebook.

"Regarding the statements by a Ukrainian lawmaker on the provision of military, humanitarian or any other assistance to foreign states, I'd like to note the following: every MP may express their position or opinion on any issue, but the decision to provide assistance to foreign nations is within the competence of the government and president of Ukraine," Kuleba said.

Read alsoUkraine consistently supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity  FM KulebaThe minister has also recalled that Ukraine is home to a large Armenian and Azerbaijani diaspora.

"It is extremely important to ensure peace and interethnic harmony for all ethnic communities living in Ukraine. I urge representatives of the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities not to succumb to provocation and to comply with Ukraine's legislation," he added.

Earlier personal statements of officials on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

MP with the Servant of the People Party, Liudmyla Marchenko, told Ukraine 24 TV Channel that Ukraine would allegedly move to provide military aid to Azerbaijan if requested.

Later, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, an ethnic Armenian, said Ukraine would provide no military assistance to any of the parties to the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict.

"However, the whole country should scramble to provide medical assistance, perhaps some pills for certain fantasizing lawmakers," Avakov wrote in a snapping tweet on Friday, apparently hinting at the MP's mentioned statement.

Escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh: Recent developments

On the morning of Sunday, September 27,fighting resumed between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Both countries blamed each other for shelling as a result of which they suffered casualties.

Armenia and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic declared martial law and general mobilization.

Azerbaijan, in turn, introduced martial law on September 28. Partial mobilization was announced in that country.

Azerbaijan said that during a successful offensive they took control of several villages of Nagorno-Karabakh, but Armenia denies the information.

Both sides claim that they inflicted huge losses on the enemy, numbering hundreds of killed soldiers and dozens of destroyed units of military equipment.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says Ukraine consistently supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The UN Security Council has called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately stop fighting.

Nagorno-Karabakh war: History

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region began in 1988, when the predominantly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.

In 1991-1994, the bloodshed conflict continued in the region, which ended with the signing of a ceasefire protocol. Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed itself an independent "republic." Azerbaijan did not recognize this, considering the territory to have been occupied by Armenia.
He recently confirmed his romance with Byron Bay local, Vanessa Valladares.

And on Sunday, the loved-up pair were spotted enjoying a bite to eat with pals at Sydney's luxury waterfront seafood restaurant, Catalina, in Rose Bay.

Zac, 32 - who has reportedly moved to Bondi Beach after a short stint in Byron Bay - appeared in high spirits and he laughed and joked with a mystery male while his stunning girlfriend sat beside him.

So loved-up! Zac Efron (centre) and his new girlfriend Vanessa Valladares (right) were spotted dining out at popular seafood joint Catalina

Despite the spring sunshine, the High School Musical star sported a cosy black beanie hat and a long-sleeved black shirt for the occasion.

His other half, 25, sported a light denim jacket and wore her hair in a gentle wave.

The Hollywood actor spent months quietly living in Byron Bay, on the far north NSW coast, before it was reported on Friday that he'd relocated to tourist hotspot Bondi Beach.

Former Bachelor winner Laura Byrne claimed on the Life Uncut podcast that she had seen 'Zac f**king Efron' and his entourage at a venue on Bondi Road.

Bringing the heat! Despite the spring sunshine, the High School Musical star sported a cosy black beanie hat and a long-sleeved black shirt

Laura said: 'I walked past and I saw this guy in the window and I thought, "Ah, he's good looking," and I looked at his face and I was like, "Holy s**t, that's Zac Efron."'

'It was 100 per cent Zac Efron. He's in Bondi - all you single ladies, get down here!'

Zac reportedly met Vanessa in July, when she was working at the Byron Bay General Store cafe and the Light Years restaurant.

'They were introduced by her boss,' a source told the Who. 'Lucky girl!'

Romance: Zac's girlfriend Vanessa Valladares (pictured) was a waitress at the Byron Bay General Store cafe

The new couple's romance seems to be going from strength to strength after they recently returned from a romantic ski trip to Australia's Thredbo village.

While Zac is living in Australia for the time being, he's expected to return to America in the coming months to film the Disney+ remake of Three Men and a Baby.

Because of border restrictions between Australia and the U.S., the only way for him and Vanessa to travel back and forth together would be to get married - and they are reportedly considering this as an option.

'I really think Zac's at the point where he'd marry Vanessa tomorrow if she said yes,' an insider told New Idea magazine.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia -- A Russian journalist, Irina Slavina, has died after setting herself on fire in the city of Nizhny Novgorod following a police raid on her apartment in an apparent search for evidence linking her to an opposition group.

Before staging the self-immolation act in front of the city police headquarters on October 2, Slavina posted a statement on Facebook, saying "Blame the Russian Federation for my death."

The local branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry confirmed to RFE/RL that a woman had died after setting herself on fire next to police headquarters in Nizhny Novgorod, but refused to identify the victim.



The independent Koza Press news website, where Slavina was an editor, identified Slavina as the woman involved in the incident.

A day earlier, Slavina said on Facebook that police had searched her apartment and confiscated a computer, notebooks, mobile phones, and memory sticks.

She wrote that they were looking for evidence linking her with the opposition Open Russia group.



Last month police detained Andrei Pivovarov, the executive director of Open Russia, on charges of organizing or holding a public event without giving notice.

Russian authorities consider Open Russia a so-called undesirable organization and have repeatedly targeted the group and its leadership.



Slavina also was fined several times for her articles and for participating in unsanctioned pickets.
Several human rights activists and members of non-governmental organizations today held a demonstration for claims near the UN Office in Armenia and submitted a requisition to the UN Office under the title Stop Azerbaijani-Turkish Aggression in Artsakh.

Yazidi human rights activist Sashik Sultanyan stated that he and other human rights activists are receiving information according to which the rights of national minorities are being violated in Azerbaijan once again. There is no doubt that terrorist groups are participating in the conflict. If we take a look at the map showing the movement of terrorists, we see that these terrorists are the same terrorists who perpetrated genocide against 600,000 people in the Yazidi-populated Shangal in Sinjar, killed 20,000, raped women and are still keeping Yazidis as slaves, he said, adding that stopping Aliyev and Erdogan is not just an issue concerning Armenians and Artsakh.

This needs to become a message for the international community and human rights activists. If we dont stop them, we will not only jeopardize security, but also the idea of no terrorism against human rights, he said.
By PTI

JAIPUR: Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Friday condemned the behavior of Uttar Pradesh police and the administration towards party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, saying the Yogi Adityanath government was trying to "suppress the voice of opposition".

The two leaders were detained by UP police in Greater Noida on Thursday when they insisted on marching to Hathras to meet the family of a Dalit gang-rape victim, whose death followed by a hurried cremation triggered nationwide outrage.

ALSO READ | Hathras gang-rape: HC summoning top officials ray of hope for family says Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

"Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the entire administration have left no stone unturned to suppress the voice of the opposition. The treatment given to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi yesterday was indecent. It is condemnable. Rights of humanity, constitution and law were torn apart," Pilot told reporters on Friday.

"There is an outrage in the entire country today that the Uttar Pradesh government is trying to save the perpetrators of this disgusting crime," he said.

The 19-year-old woman succumbed to the severe injuries she suffered when she was allegedly assaulted by four upper-caste men- later arrested -- in the fields at her village in Hathras district on September 14.

She was cremated in Hathras in the dead of the night with family members saying they were not allowed to bring the body home one last time.

ALSO READ | On way to meet Hathras rape victims family, TMC delegation, including MP Derek OBrien stopped

But police claimed they had the family's consent for the cremation. Pilot alleged that evidence in the case was being destroyed.

"Those who commit heinous acts like rape, in any corner of the country, should get the death penalty. But for the first time, the police, administration and the government deliberately tried to erase the evidence and the district collector tried to threaten the family of the victim," the Congress leader claimed.
" 'Let us go,' we said, 'into the Sea of Cortez, realizing that we become forever a part of it; that our rubber boots slogging through a flat of eelgrass, that the rocks we turn over in a tide pool, make us truly and permanently a factor in the ecology of the region. We shall take something away from it, but we shall leave something too.' "

- "The Log From the Sea of Cortez"

In the spring of 1940, author John Steinbeck found himself in circumstances both unfamiliar and uncomfortable. The wild success of his new novel, "The Grapes of Wrath," had left him flush with cash but struggling with celebrity's cost.

His solution was to charter a vessel, the Western Flyer, and a small crew to explore the Sea of Cortez and catalogue its marine life over six weeks. At first blush, it seems an odd choice. But his friendship with marine biologist Ed Ricketts, the model for a succession of characters in Steinbeck's later fiction, gave birth to this voyage of discovery between Mexico's elongated Baja California Peninsula and its mainland.

We sought our own shorter Sea of Cortez escape last December, before a worldwide pandemic shuttered most cruise lines.

We wanted a week absent the clamor and fuss of texts and emails and replete with nature walks, snorkeling with sea life and beach exploration. We found it aboard the Safari Endeavour, a small-ship vessel (capacity: 84) operated by UnCruise Adventures.

Our family has sailed on more than a dozen big-ship cruises over the years. They're fun, and they can be frenetic. (Yoga at 9. Bingo at 10. Wine tasting at 1 . . .) Sailing on a smaller vessel is more expensive, but the payoffs include vastly more personal attention, a variety of activities and access to places the big ships simply don't go.

During these days of covid-19, the smaller lines hold another advantage: Vessels that carry fewer than 250 passengers are not subject to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's no-sail order (and are thus exempt from an industry-wide voluntary suspension of U.S. cruise operations scheduled through Oct. 31).

UnCruise plans to return to the Sea of Cortez this winter with essentially the same itinerary we experienced, but with broad countermeasures to safeguard the health of passengers and crew.

Eight decades ago, Steinbeck's voyage bolstered his ecological beliefs and shaped his writings. While collecting marine life, he filed away details and netted stories, such as one from La Paz that he polished into his novella "The Pearl." He professed to be too busy gathering specimens to keep a journal, yet published a detailed account of the expedition, first jointly with Ricketts then solely under his name, as "The Log From the Sea of Cortez."

We set sail on a Saturday night from La Paz, its waterfront lined with palm trees festively lit for Christmas, unsure what stories and photographs would accompany us home. Nor what brief impressions we might leave in the sand.

- - -

"The nature of the animal might parallel certain traits in ourselves - the outrageous boastfulness of porpoises, their love of play, their joy in speed. . . . Suddenly they seem to grow tired of playing; the bodies hump up, the incredible tails beat, and instantly they are gone."

- "The Log From the Sea of Cortez"

After a period of introductions, life aboard Safari Endeavour settled into a rhythm: early-morning breakfast; a morning excursion such as snorkeling or a nature hike (passengers pick their preferences); lunch back aboard the vessel; an afternoon beach exploration or kayaking; a couple of hours onboard to relax and maybe have a drink; dinner; and a short presentation by one of the staff (often on wildlife or ecology).

We learned that this narrow sea, also known as the Gulf of California, is so rich in marine life that parts of it have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Jacques Cousteau once famously labeled it the "aquarium of the world." Yet pollution, climate change and especially overfishing - Steinbeck woefully described Japanese shrimp dredging there as a "true crime against nature" - have taken a toll, including the near-extinction of the vaquita porpoise.

Like humpback whales, the Safari Endeavour followed the Pacific Coast down from Alaska to winter in warmer waters. The vessel's week-long inhabitants soon visited among ourselves and discovered, not surprisingly, a common interest in seeing how much the harsh desert and underwater world would reveal to us.

The wait was short: After our first breakfast, a half-dozen dolphins raced along the bow, effortlessly keeping pace toward our first stop, at Isla Danzante.

We moored off the island, a patchwork of cactus and green bushes interspersed with rust-red rock outcroppings. Across the channel, the Sierra de la Giganta mountains of Baja California stood as forbidding silhouettes, seemingly fortified by turrets and towers of reds and greens.

After we had a lunch of Cuban sandwiches and yucca fries, guide Mareth Griffith led us on a steep, rocky hike past burly cardon cactuses and delicate, deep-blue morning glory flowers. Later we snorkeled along the shoreline, spotting pencil urchins, neon-blue wrasse, Cortez angelfish and pushy hogfish chasing their neighbors.

Around a corner, bright sunlight struggled to penetrate water thick with plankton. A long silver curtain of sardines shimmered by, opening to let us pass.

- - -

"And in our contacts with Mexican people we had been faced with a change in expediencies. . . . We suppose there must have been some kind of profit involved, but not the kind we are used to. . . . Perhaps these people are expedient in the unnamables. Maybe they bargain in feelings, in pleasures, even in simple contacts."

- "The Log From the Sea of Cortez"

The following day found Safari Endeavour anchored in the Bahia Agua Verde, a bay aptly named for its green water. We paddled kayaks along the shoreline, led by guide Dan Niebler. He majored in marine biology with an emphasis on invertebrates, but he proved to be a fount of knowledge not just on spineless sea creatures but also on the violent volcanic action and shifting tectonic plates that created the land masses around us.

Sally Lightfoot crabs, whose nimble exploits Steinbeck described in his log, clambered on the rocks. Pelicans dove, magnificent frigate birds glided overhead, and a great blue heron took flight from the water.

At the beach, one of the local families had set up a small stand with bracelets and necklaces for sale, mostly $5 and $10. We chatted with them in Spanish, promising to buy a shell or shark's-tooth bracelet or two after an afternoon guided burro ride.

"What you buy helps a lot of families," Martin Rodriguez told me as he bagged our selections.

Later, the patriarch of the family that brings the burros in from miles away sat on a truck tailgate and visited with us, tentatively first in English and then smoothly in Spanish as we made our understanding clear. Painfully thin, Julio Romero wore a wistful look under his cowboy hat. He spoke of a recent neck injury that had cost him the partial use of his right arm.

Such was our surprise that evening as we sat on the ship's top deck, sipping tropical drinks, when Romero walked in, guitar in hand. He took a chair, strummed his guitar and sang plaintive songs in Spanish in a high, nasal voice.

They were sad songs about lost loves, tearful goodbyes and hopeful reunions. As the darkness closed in around us, he sang of the need for a good horse and a good woman.

- - -

"'Then what do you search for?' And this is an embarrassing question. We search for something that will seem like truth to us; we search for understanding; we search for that principle which keys us deeply into the pattern of all life."

- "The Log From the Sea of Cortez"

As the days passed, we learned to respect the potential threats underwater and on land. On one challenging 3.5-mile hike, as we examined a chain cholla cactus and discussed its penchant for sticking to clothing, one of the hikers spotted a deadly nightshade plant with its tempting, poisonous berries.

While snorkeling, we were warned to steer clear of the pretty but pointed crown-of-thorns starfish, and more than once we spotted a venomous scorpionfish lurking along the bottom.

Even on the most memorable snorkeling outing, to a sea lion colony at Los Islotes, guides cautioned us to be watchful for aggressive adult males. We were, but our worries gave way to peals of laughter when the sea lion pups closed in, snuggling and nibbling and cavorting like undersea acrobats.

One afternoon we waded into tide pools, lifting small rocks to spot eels and tube worms and sponges and brightly colored nudibranchs.

On Isla Espiritu Santo, we dodged jellyfish on a morning snorkel and spent the afternoon walking the long, curving beach, eyes on the ground. The island's Bonanza Beach is littered with shells, some still vibrantly orange and purple, but most of them bleached white and worn smooth like Roman coins.

The bleached coral bits create odd shapes, some like letters of the alphabet. Look long enough, as we did, and you can spell your children's names in the sand - a memorial waiting for the next wave or wanderer to whisk them away.

- - -

"They considered that we might get very rich. Thank heaven they do not know that when at last we came back to San Diego the customs fixed a value on our thousands of pickled animals of five dollars. We hope these Indians never find it out; we would go down steeply in their estimations."

- "The Log From the Sea of Cortez"

In Los Cabos International Airport, I detected a small lump in a back pocket: a stowaway, from our hunt for shells and coral on Isla Espiritu Santo. Its conical shape ends in a sharp point, and the internet has since informed me it is called a common American auger.

I stuck it back in its hiding place and forgot about it until our plane neared home and the time arrived to complete a customs declaration.

We didn't have much to interest an inspector. A handful of shell necklaces. The auger in my back pocket. Worried that I would miss something, I conducted a mental inventory of a week's exploration: a plaintive song in the dark, curious sea lions slicing through the water, a hidden world under a muddy rock.

Steinbeck called the Sea of Cortez "fierce and hostile and sullen" and said trying to remember it "is like trying to re-create a dream."

With a smile and a nod to the Western Flyer's crew and collection from 1940, I penned in the estimated material value of my hoard on the customs form: five dollars.

Yet I treasure the memories, picking through them and holding them up to the light, like time-polished shells upon a sandy beach.

- - -

If you go

What to do

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This is a small-ship, casual adventure for active individuals, couples and families. Expect small, spare cabins and no onboard WiFi; exceptional, friendly customer service; daily outings with knowledgeable, patient guides; and heavenly food, artistically presented. Provided gear includes kayaks, wet suits, snorkeling equipment and stand-up paddleboards. All activities, meals and drinks included (except premium alcoholic choices). New covid-19 protocols include a required negative testing certificate from passengers before embarkation, daily temperature checks for passengers and crew, sanitation rounds conducted four times daily, elimination of buffets and use of masks when in direct contact with others. Trips January to April 2021 and January 2022 to March 2022. Seven nights. From $4,495 per person.

Information

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(Newser)  After a long legal battle, Belgian artist Delphine Boel is now Delphine of Saxen-Coburg-Gotha, princess of Belgium. The Brussels Court of Appeal has ruled that the 52-year-old is entitled to be recognized as a princess and to use the surname of her father, former king Albert II, the Guardian reports. The king, who abdicated in 2013, long denied paternity but agreed to submit a saliva test after a court ordered a daily fine of more than $5,000 for every day he refused to do so. It proved he was her father, Boel's mother, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, had said she had an 18-year affair with Albert prior to his becoming king, reports the BBC.

story continues below

Boel's lawyer said she was "delighted" with the court's decision, the BBC reports. "A judicial victory will never replace a father's love, but it does offer a sense of justice," Marc Uyttendaele told reporters. "Many more children who have gone through similar ordeals may be able to find the strength to face them." Under the ruling, Boel will receive an inheritance after Albert's death along with his three other children: King Philippe, Prince Laurent, and Princess Astrid. Boel's daughter and son will now be recognized as a princess and a prince, and Albert has been ordered to pay $4 million to cover her legal fees. (Read more Belgium stories.)
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Kazakh blogger Marghulan Boranbaev, widely known for his nationalist and anti-Russian views, has been arrested less than a week after another Kazakh blogger, known for his pro-Russian posts, was placed in a detention center.

Boranbaev's lawyer, Anuar Baidar, told RFE/RL on October 2 that his client was placed in a detention center in the Central Asian state's largest city, Almaty, the day before.

According to Baidar, the charges against Boranbaev are groundless, while some of Boranbaev's supporters say that his arrest is a political move by the Kazakh authorities to balance the pro-Russian blogger's arrest in order not to irritate Moscow.

"The case against him was launched last year but due to a lack of evidence it was suspended then. On October 1, we learned all of a sudden that the case had been relaunched and Boranbaev was immediately arrested," Baidar said, adding that his client may face up to seven years in prison if found guilty.

Boranbaev's arrest comes after another Kazakh blogger, Ermek Taishybekov, known for his open pro-Russian views, was arrested on September 26 and charged with inciting ethnic hatred.

Taishybekov's lawyer, Ghalym Nurpeisov, told RFE/RL last week that his client's arrest was linked to his interview with a Russian state media outlet in May in which he said that the policies of Kazakh authorities were "Russophobic."

Taishybekov was convicted on similar charges in 2015 and sentenced to five years in prison. He was granted an early release in 2017.

Moscow's seizure of Crimea in 2014 and support for separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine have raised concerns among Russia's neighbors, including Kazakhstan, that the Kremlin may have designs on parts of their territory -- particularly those which, like Crimea, are home to many ethnic Russians.

Kazakhstan's northern regions have large ethnic Russian minorities.

After Russia illegally annexed Crimea, several Kazakh citizens were sentenced to prison terms or received suspended sentences for taking part in military operations in eastern Ukraine or publicly calling for Kazakhstan to join Russia.
Retired Lt. Col. Egbert Field, Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), said his Authority has already put in a claim for the money LIAT owes it. (Photo Credit: Guyana Chronicle)

In the face of some regional governments indicating that they are considering a request to write off monies owing to them by LIAT, state-related agencies in Guyana seem not to be of similar mind.





According to Demerara Waves news, LIAT owes some GYD$80 million (EXC$1 = Guy$73.4) to various aviation service providers in Guyana.





Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Retired Lt. Col. Egbert Field said LIAT owes his regulatory agency US$996,466.32, almost GYD$21 million, for landing and navigational charges.





In an exact opposite action to some regional governments, Mr. Field says GCAA has put in a claim to the court-appointed LIAT administrator, Mr. Cleveland Seaforth for the bankrupt airline to pay the monies owed.





Meanwhile, spokesman for Ogle Airport Inc. Kit Nascimento disclosed that LIAT also owes Ogle Airport Inc. just under GYD$60.5 million dating back to December 2019.





He says the bulk of the debt is for unpaid Passenger Facilitation Fees collected by LIAT. The remainder is for Landing & Parking Fees, Security Fees and Office Rental. There are also Handling Fees owed to Trans Guyana Airways, as LIATs Handling Agent.





He said the claims are in the hands of the LIAT Administrator.





Spokeswoman for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Shunza Samuels said LIAT does not owe that airport.

LIAT does not owe any travel agencies in Guyana as that carrier no longer had a general sales agent in Guyana after fire had destroyed Frandec Travels office at Main and Quamina Streets, Georgetown, more than 15 years ago.




CALGARY - Lawyers for a mentally ill man who fatally stabbed five young people at a house party are appealing a decision to deny him some privileges.

A provincial mental health review board said last month that Matthew de Grood is making progress as a patient at Alberta Hospital Edmonton, but will not be allowed to go into a group home in the next year.

The board also rejected recommendations to allow de Grood travel of up to one week within Alberta and unsupervised passes in Edmonton.

Lawyer Allan Fay said the Alberta Review Board unreasonably clawed back privileges that had previously been granted and misinterpreted evidence presented at last months hearing into his clients treatment for schizophrenia.

My client has a mental illness. Hell always have a mental illness, but its clear that when he is properly treated and taking his medications that he poses no danger, Fay said Friday.

De Grood was found not criminally responsible for the killings in April 2014 of Zackariah Rathwell, Jordan Segura, Kaitlin Perras, Josh Hunter and Lawrence Hong in Calgary. It was ruled that he was suffering delusions at the time and did not understand his actions were wrong.

A trial heard that the university student arrived at the party, which was being held to mark the end of the school year. believing the devil was talking to him and a war was about to begin, signalling the end of the world.

In my opinion the review board seemed to fixate on the fact that he might stop taking his medication  even though theres been absolutely nothing to suggest that he would do that  and that he would rapidly become mentally ill again, said Fay.

Fay said de Grood, who is now 29, has been a model patient and done nothing but show improvement since his 2016 trial.

It disturbs me that anyone feels perhaps that he would, if released in the community, immediately go out and do something horrible, he said.

I think those sorts of feelings or beliefs display a complete ignorance of mental health, science and the criminal law.

Board chair Gerald Waranik wrote in last months decision that de Grood still poses a significant threat to the safety of the public.

The reports indicate that even if Mr. de Grood does take his medication as prescribed, he may suffer mild to moderate relapses because schizophrenia is a naturally relapsing illness, he wrote.

The reports also indicate that once Mr. de Grood develops a sufficient intensity of psychotic symptoms, it is harder to predict at what stage of the relapse he would likely commit violence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.

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Trotsky wrote long ago that a hallmark of petty-bourgeois renegades from Marxism is their disrespect for the traditions of their organization. True to form, Banda goes so far as to mock the memory of the countless Trotskyist martyrs who perished during World War II while waging an underground struggle against fascism.

Bandas political cynicism toward all questions of principle is expressed in the paradoxical charge that the European Trotskyists abstained from participating in the Resistance and played little or no part in the struggle to project a revolutionary defeatist line.

Banda has apparently forgotten that the program of revolutionary defeatism in those Western European countries occupied by the Nazis could be upheld by the Trotskyists only through a fierce struggle against the policies of the official Resistance movements, led by Stalinists and their bourgeois allies, which were rooted in popular front class collaboration and support for US and British imperialism. Moreover, as we will explain later, the Fourth International had to wage a bitter struggle against revisionist elements who endorsed popular frontism in the Resistance movements on the grounds that supraclass national liberation, not the anticapitalist struggle for workers power and socialism, was the only historically feasible basis for the fight against Nazism.

After the war, those who shouted loudest about the Fourth Internationals supposed abstention from the Resistance movements were the most right-wing elements within the world movement. Led by Felix Morrow and Albert Goldman, they were, along with the Shachtmanites, in the process of capitulating to imperialist democracy and becoming transformed into anticommunists.

It is a political absurdity to denounce the Trotskyists for playing little or no part in the struggle to project a revolutionary defeatist line, because outside the Fourth International, there was no other tendency in the workers movement that opposed the imperialist war! The Trotskyists were hounded and persecuted by a popular front of fascists, democratic imperialists and Stalinists precisely because they upheld the banner of revolutionary defeatism and proletarian internationalism.

World War II tested the cadre that Trotsky had assembled and trained during the previous decade. In a life and death struggle whose personal consequences were often tragic, the Trotskyists proved again that they could swim against the stream. In Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia, the cadres of the Fourth International defended the program of world socialist revolution.

Let us briefly review the record of revolutionary struggle which the renegade Banda dismisses with such contemptible scorn.

The French Trotskyists Marc Bourhis and Pierre Gueguen were executed by the Nazis on October 22, 1941. Their comrade Jules Joffre was shot in 1942. In October 1943, the secretary of the French section, Marcel Hic, was arrested by the Gestapo, deported to Buchenwald and then to Dora, where he was murdered. Dozens of other French Trotskyists were arrested and also perished in the Nazi death camps. Despite the repression, the Trotskyist PCI published, starting in August 1940, seventy-three clandestine issues of its newspaper, La Verite, whose circulation was 15,000 copies.

After the European Secretariat of the Fourth International was organized in 1943, the French comrades assumed responsibility for the publication of a theoretical organ, Quatrieme International. The Trotskyists also published a German-language newspaper, Arbeiter und Soldat (Worker and Soldier), which was circulated among German working-class soldiers. This heroic demonstration of revolutionary internationalism cost the lives of several German and French comrades, including a number of soldiers won to Marxism.

The editor of Arbeiter und Soldat, Paul Widelin, was arrested by the Gestapo in Paris in the spring of 1944. He was quickly brought before a firing squad and shot in the Bois de Vincennes. But he was not killed. Picked up by a passerby and taken to a hospital, Widelin was able to get a message to the Trotskyist underground, which made arrangements to rescue him. Before he could be saved, Widelin was betrayed by a member of the hospital staff. The Gestapo seized him and this time made sure Widelin was dead.

In Holland, nine members of the RSAP, a party which had been associated with Trotskyism, were executed on April 12, 1942, following a public trial by the Nazis. Among those executed was Henk Sneevliet, who sang the Internationale as he faced the firing squad.

In Belgium, the leader of the Trotskyist movement, Leon Lesoil, was arrested in 1941 and murdered. Among his comrades executed by Nazi firing squads were Renery, Van Belle and Lemmens. The brilliant young Trotskyist, A. Leon, the author of the valuable study, The Jewish Question, was arrested in 1944 and deported to Auschwitz, where he was murdered. Despite this savage repression, the Belgian comrades produced a French-language newspaper, Lenins Voice, which had a circulation of 10,000, and a Flemish-language newspaper, The Class Struggle, which had a circulation of 7,000.

In Greece, Pantelis Pouliopoulis, leader of the Trotskyist Archeo-Marxists, was executed along with seventeen of his comrades in June 1943. When brought to his place of execution, Pouliopoulis spoke to the soldiers of the firing squad in their own language and produced a mutiny. When the soldiers declared that they would not carry out their bloody assignment, the Nazi officers had to intervene and personally carry out the executions.

The Italian Trotskyist Blasco was murdered by the Stalinists. A contemporary report of an eyewitness, published by The Militant on September 30, 1944, described the work of the Trotskyists in Italy:

The Trotskyists of Italy are mainly workers, veterans of Mussolinis prisons, tried and tested in the harsh underground struggle against fascism. I talked with one Trotskyist worker from Rome, a hardened revolutionary fighter. It was from him I learned that there is a large Trotskyist group in Rome and also in Milan. This worker had first met Trotskyists inside Mussolinis prisons, where he had been confined for eight years. The prisons were veritable universities for revolutionary education. They had formed a Trotskyist group inside prison. From Milanese revolutionists in the same prison, my informant had learned that there were hundreds of Trotskyists in the industrial Milan area.

In 1944, with France still occupied by the Nazis, the European sections of the Fourth International organized a six-day conference, managing to evade the grasp of the Gestapo. It issued a communique which correctly summarized the historic significance of the conference:

That, in a Europe blood-stained by more than four years of total war, crushed under the most hideous yoke of the imperialisms, whose prisons and concentration camps are gorged with the victims of the most savage and most systematic repression, our organization has been able to hold its European assembly, to work out and define its political line of struggle, of itself constitutes the most eloquent manifestation of its vitality, its internationalist spirit, and the revolutionary ardor by which it is animated.[ 1 ]

At this extraordinary gathering, the Trotskyists debated their attitude toward the popular Resistance movements. While opposing the chauvinism fanned by the Stalinists and Anglo-American imperialism, the delegates recognized the necessity of penetrating the masses being drawn into the struggle against the Nazis. It was above all vital to fight for the perspective of socialist revolution against all efforts, abetted by the Stalinists, to replace the Nazis with reconstructed bourgeois states in the occupied countries. In a document entitled, The Liquidation of the Second Imperialist War and the Revolutionary Upsurge, the conference declared:

Though the proletariat must refuse the alliance with its own bourgeoisie, it cannot be indifferent to the mass struggle against the oppression of German imperialism. The proletariat supports this struggle in order to help and speed up its transformation into a general fight against capitalism. This attitude implies the most energetic struggle against attempts by the agents of the national bourgeoisie to get hold of the masses and make use of them for rebuilding the capitalist army and state. Everything must be put to work, on the contrary, to develop the embryos of workers power (militias, committees, etc), while the most energetic fight must be carried on against all forms of nationalism.[ 2 ]

The document specifically stressed the importance of attempting to make inroads into the popular Resistance movements. It stated that the Fourth International must  take into consideration this will to struggle on the part of the masses, and to try, despite the many dangers resulting from the national forms which this struggle takes on, to guide it toward class goals. [ 3 ]

Toward this end, the document called on the Trotskyist cadre  to make this propaganda penetrate into the ranks of the partisans, with a view to regrouping the latent revolutionary forces existing therein on a political and organizational class basis. [ 4 ]

Trotskyists who worked within the large Resistance movements faced not only the danger of arrest by the Gestapo. They also had to evade detection by the Stalinists, who had no qualms about collaborating with the Nazis against the Fourth International, just as the Communist Party in the United States collaborated with the FBI against the Socialist Workers Party.

Banda has chosen to forget about the struggle waged by the Trotskyists on the European continent. As for the work of the Fourth International in Britain during the war, he seems to recall nothing at all, except a political error by Healy in relation to the Independent Labour Party. Regardless of whether this specific allegation is truethat Healy momentarily considered joining this centrist organizationit has no bearing whatsoever on the conduct of the Fourth International during World War II.

What Banda fails to mention is that following the long-delayed fusion of the Workers International League and the Revolutionary Socialist Leaguea process in which Healy, after correcting his earlier mistake, played a major rolethe newly-formed Revolutionary Communist Party came under almost immediate attack from the war-time coalition government led by Winston Churchill.

At the fusion conference in March 1944, the sixty-nine delegates adopted a resolution on Proletarian Military Policy which declared:

The second World War into which capitalism has plunged mankind in the course of a generation, and which has been raging for more than four years, is the inevitable outcome of the crisis of capitalist methods of production, long predicted by the revolutionary Marxists, and is a sign of the impasse out of which Capitalism cannot lead the mass of humanity.  It is the duty of revolutionary socialists to patiently explain the imperialistic policy of the ruling class and to expose its false and lying slogans of the War against Fascism and the War for Democracy.[ 5 ]

The growing radicalization of the British working class and the active involvement of the RCP in a wave of strikes was answered by Churchill with the arrests of four leaders of the Trotskyist party in early April 1944: Jock Haston, general secretary of the RCP, Roy Tearse, Heaton Lee, and Ann Keen. They were accused of furthering, aiding and abetting strikes in the Tyneside declared illegal under the 1927 Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act. The RCP leaders were the first representatives of the British working class to be tried and convicted under this infamous law, which was passed in the aftermath of the defeated 1926 General Strike.

Lee and Tearse were sentenced to twelve months in prison. Haston was sentenced to six months. The prison terms would have been much longer had it not been for the storm of protest within the workers movement.

Wherever it had cadre, the Fourth International fought for its revolutionary program. In Egypt, the puppet government of King Farouk banned the Trotskyist newspaper Al-Majalla Al-Jadida. In Palestine, the Trotskyists published newspapers in Hebrew, Arabic and English, vehemently opposing the formation of a Zionist state while fighting for the unity of Arab-Jewish workers in the struggle against British imperialism.

In Uruguay, the government, citing the prosecution of the Trotskyists in Britain, demanded action against the militants of the Fourth International working in Montevideo. In a hysterical speech given on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies, the Minister of the Interior waved the newspaper published by the Revolutionary Workers League, Contra la Corriente (Against the Stream), and shouted, These people are now amongst us. They say that this is actually an imperialist war; that the working-class must not believe in the vote; they malign parliamentarism; they say that the victories of justice must be supplanted by the social tragedy of direct revolutionary action.[ 6 ]

In reply to the allegation that the Trotskyists opposed the war, the Revolutionary Workers League pled guilty, declaring in an open letter:

We characterize this war as an imperialist waras the Minister of the Interior statesbecause all the countries that participate in it except the Soviet Union, do so for imperialist interests. This war will be really and truly for democracy only when the peoples take into their own hands the conduct of the war. Does this policy favor a Hitler victory? We defy anyone to show us one single act of ours that has favored the development of Nazisms. No one desires the defeat of Hitler as we do and since 1930 Trotskyism has been the only force that warned of the Nazi danger, while the British and Yankee capitalists supported the economic development of Nazism.[ 7 ]

This open letter was widely circulated and discussed throughout the workers movement in Uruguay.

No account of the work of the Fourth International during World War II should be taken seriously if it fails to mention the heroic and inspiring activities of the Trotskyists of Ceylon and India, whose unceasing struggle against British imperialism provided a classic demonstration of revolutionary defeatism in practice.

The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) was formed by a group of fifty workers and students in December 1935, while Ceylon was still a British colony. Within a short period of time, the LSSP won the allegiance of nearly seven million workers and peasants. It organized the unions of railroad workers, general laborers and plantation workers. The LSSP also conducted work among the poorest sections of the peasantry. Combining electoral activity with its mass work, the LSSP won the election of N.M. Perera and D.P.R. Gunawardena to the Ceylon State Council in its first election campaign. In 1942 the LSSP declared for affiliation to the Fourth International.

Upon the outbreak of the war between German, British and French imperialism in September 1939, Perera and Gunawardena were arrested in violation of their parliamentary immunity. Two other leaders of the LSSP, Colvin De Silva and Edmond Sammarakkody, were arrested at the same time. The partys printing presses were seized and its publications confiscated. A terror campaign was initiated against the party by the armed Rifle Corps of the Ceylon Planters Association. This criminal persecution of the LSSP by British imperialism preceded the official illegalization of the party by British Governor-General Sir Andrew Caldecott on March 13, 1942.

In the midst of this brutal repression, the LSSP, the Revolutionary Socialist League of Bengal, and the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of the United Provinces and Bihar held a conference in March 1941. It outlined a Trotskyist program for India which was submitted for discussion. This was followed by the election in November 1941 of a Provisional Committee, which functioned as the leadership of the whole movement. The program based on extensive discussion of the draft was adopted in May 1942 and an all-India party formally launched.

In April 1942, in the midst of the preparations for the launching of the all-India party and coinciding with a great upsurge of mass struggle against British imperialism, Perera and Gunawardena staged a daring escape from the concentration camp in which they were being held, with the help of a jailer whom they had won to Trotskyism. The jailer had smuggled in elegant clothing for the prisoners and obtained the required duplicate keys, and at the appropriate time, Perera and Gunawardena, along with Sammarakkody and De Silva, dressed themselves as visiting dignitaries and made a ceremonious and graceful departure from the prison. To add insult to injury, in a gesture calculated to complete the humiliation of the British imperialists, the escapees threw the jail keys back over the wall once they were outside the prison.

The British authorities, stunned by the escape of their most feared opponents, placed a price on their heads and scoured the country to find them. Finally, on July 15, 1943, as a result of the treachery of a Stalinist agent named Kulkarni, who had infiltrated the Trotskyist movement in Bombay, Perera and Gunawardena were arrested. As in the United States, Latin America and Europe, the Indian Stalinists collaborated directly with imperialist authorities in the persecution and suppression of the Trotskyist movement.

The Ceylonese leaders were incarcerated in Indian prisons for five months before being returned to Ceylon for trial. On February 8, 1944, before an imperialist court in the city of Kandy, Perera and Gunawardena issued a statement defending the policies and program of Trotskyism:

Why were we kept in detention? I challenge the right of Sir Andrew Caldecott, agent of the Bank of England and tool of the capitalist class in Britain, to issue a warrant for my arrest and detention. What right has the ruling class of Britain to rule over this island except superior force? Britain has as much right to rule over the people as the Nazis to rule over the people of Denmark and Norway, or the Japanese imperialists to rule over Formosa and Java. NO MORE. The British ruling class came to this island as pirates and have remained here as plunderers. The British Empire was built up by perjury by day and forgery by night. Ever since my return to this island in 1932, my colleagues worked with ceaseless endeavor to disseminate the idea of scientific socialism among the petty bourgeois intelligentsia and the advanced sections of the working class. The spontaneous labor movement which displayed tremendous vigor and militancy in the twenties had spent its force in the stagnant waters of trade union politics by the early thirties. After three years of work in the propagation of Marxism, we had developed a sufficiently large nucleus, imbued with the ideas of scientific socialism, that we were in a position to launch the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, in December 1935. The history of the party is known to the people of this country. Suffice it to say that it put itself at the forefront of every struggle against imperialism and the capitalist class in this country ever since the party was founded. The leadership of the LSSP from its very inception refused to come under the leadership of the Stalinist Communist International and remained ever loyal to the principles Lenin and Trotsky stood for in their day. In March 1940 the party, under the influence of the teachings of Trotsky, expelled the Stalinists who were trying to smuggle into the party Stalinist contraband. In 1942 the LSSP became a section of the Fourth International, founded by Trotsky and the comrades of the International Left Opposition. When the Second Imperialist World War broke out in September, 1939, the party characterized the war as an imperialist war and took a revolutionary defeatist line. My colleagues and I continued to intensify the class struggle and the fight against British imperialism. War is the continuation of politics by other means, i.e. by more forcible means. The character of the war is determined by the class that conducts the war. The war was and remains an imperialist war for markets, for sources of raw materials, for colonies. The democratic powers and the Axis powers are fighting to determine which group shall dominate the world. Democracy and Fascism are but two sides of the same coin. Over-ripe and decadent capitalism develops into Fascism when the working class fails to overthrow capitalism and set up its own form of governmentthe dictatorship of the proletariat. The Party refused to change its characterization of the war on the entry of the Soviet Union into the war. It was quick, however, in defining the war as an imperialist war on the part of every country involved in it except the Soviet Union and China. The Soviet Union is a workers state, though deformed. Thus the Soviet Union is fighting a progressive war in defense of the gains of the October Revolution. The Party supports the Soviet Union in this war and is doing everything in its power to enable the working class to render every independent assistance to the Soviet Union in this war. It stands for military victory against the counter-revolutionary forces of Hitlers Europe. We support the war of the Chinese workers and peasants for national liberation from the yoke of Japanese Imperialism. But the party works for the defeat of British imperialism in this war by the forces of the colonial masses and the working class of Britain. The war has set in motion social and political forces that the ruling classes of the warring imperialist powers never bargained for. Fascism is already tottering in Europe, thanks to the hammer blows of the Red Army. But Fascism is taking shape in Great Britain and America. The fate of the Empire of the Mikado is sealed. The paper houses of the Mikado will go up in flames. But the working class in Japan is likely to settle accounts with the landlords and the capitalists of the Rising Sunnot the armed forces of America and the British Empire. Before this war is over civil war will spread over Europe and Asia. The Soviet Union will play a dominant part in the shaping of the world in the coming years. Revolutions are on the order of the day. There is no room to believe that the European working class has not benefited from its experiences since the October Revolution in 1917. In the wake of the fall of Fascism working class revolutions will break out in Europe. The fall of Japanese imperialism will give rise to colonial revolution. Lenin characterized this epoch as the epoch of wars and revolutions. I escaped from prison in April, 1942, for the purpose of helping the tiny group of Fourth Internationalists in India to build a party of the working class that can take advantage of the crises in Indian society that are breaking out in rapid succession. My colleagues and I timed our escape to be in India at one of the most important crises in her history. We are glad that we were able to play an infinitesimally small part, no doubt, in the movement that took place in India from August 1942. We were arrested on the 15th of July, 1943. After spending five long months in the jails of British Imperialism in India, we are back in the dungeons of British imperialism in Ceylon. Time is with us. IMPERIALISM IS DOOMED, THE FUTURE IS WITH THE WORKING CLASS. The working class of Ceylon under the leadership of the Sama Samaja Party will play its part in the coming years.[ 8 ]

There is good reason to believe that this statement by Gunawardena and Perera contributed to the political education of two young brothers from KandyMichael and Anthony Van Der Poortenand inspired them to break with their bourgeois upbringing and to dedicate themselves as Trotskyists to the struggle for socialist revolution. And yet this glorious chapter in the development of the Fourth International during World War II is not even mentioned by Banda, the name used by Michael Van Der Poorten during his four decades inside the Trotskyist movement. In attempting to destroy the Fourth International, he is forced to kill that which was best within himself.

The subsequent capitulation of the LSSP after 1953 can no more detract from its great achievements in the early years of its existence than the degeneration of Banda can nullify the significance of the contributions he once made. Rather, when compared to the promise of the early years, the historical magnitude of the betrayal is shown in all its enormity.
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee will lead a protest march against the Hathras "gang-rape" and murder case in Kolkata on Saturday, TMC sources said.

The rally will start at 4 pm and participants will walk from the Birla Planetarium to the Mahatma Gandhi's statue in central Kolkata, they said.

Banerjee had said on Thursday that as Goddess Sita had to go through 'Agni Pariksha', the Dalit woman who died after being allegedly raped by four men at Hathras in BJP-ruled

Uttar Pradesh was put on a funeral pyre in the dead of night.

Non-BJP parties in West Bengal on Friday took out protest rallies in several parts of the state against the alleged gang rape of a Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district, and demanded immediate resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his failure to tackle crimes against women in the northern state. The women's wing of the Trinamool Congress took out a candle march from Esplanade to Gandhi statue at Mayo Road in central Kolkata.

The protestors were led by senior TMC leaders and Ministers Sashi Panja and Chandrima Bhattacharya. "What has happened at Hathras is a shame for all of us. What is more deplorable is the way, the Uttar Pradesh administration is trying to protect the culprits and intimidate the family members of the victim," Panja said.

The Congress too took to the streets to raise its voice against the incident and demanded the immediate resignation of the UP chief minister. Around 100 Congress workers, led by state youth Congress leaders, conducted a protest march near Hind cinema in central Kolkata.

In Malda and Murshidabad, two strongholds of the Congress, party supporters took out rallies and shouted slogans against the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. "Yogi Adityanath has completely failed as a chief minister. He should resign immediately. Instead of taking steps to improve law and order, he is using the police to stop opposition leaders from visiting the family members," Leader of the opposition in West Bengal assembly and senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan said.

Similar rallies were taken out in other parts of the state. The CPI(M) youth and students' wing DYFI and SFI-took out protest marches in the state seeking exemplary punishment for the culprits.

While the SFI took out a rally in College Street area, the DYFI took out a procession in Shyambazar area of the city. Carrying posters and placards, the SFI and DYFI cadres shouted slogans against the BJP government at the Centre and accused it of "unleashing terror" against the Dalit community across the country.

The 19-year-old was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on September 14. She was referred to the Safdarjung hospital in Delhi on Monday with spinal cord injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue. She died around 3 am on Tuesday.

Her subsequent cremation in the dead of night at Hathras, allegedly under police pressure, has led to an outrage over the law and order situation in UP.

.
Oregon secretary of state candidates Sen. Shemia Fagan and Sen. Kim Thatcher sought to lay out a clear choice for voters in a debate sponsored by the City Club of Portland Thursday night, agreeing on some policies while cordially disagreeing on many others.

Fagan, a Democrat from the Portland area, said she would support same-day voter registration while Thatcher, a Republican from the Salem area, said the idea makes her uncomfortable because it could be manipulated in small rural communities. Both referred to Oregons experience with the Rajneeshees gaining control of some local governments, which played a role in voters limiting last-minute registration in the 1980s.
A prisoner accused of launching a terror attack inside jail has told a court he translated Isis propaganda videos to practice his French.

Brusthom Ziamani claimed it was a coincidence he was carrying the last speech of a suicide bomber in his pocket while attacking a prison officer at HMP Whitemoor.

The 25-year-old Muslim convert admitted giving the transcript to his co-defendant, Baz Hockton, and said it was from one of 64 videos from an illicit SD card.

Mr Ziamani said he put the paper in his pocket after it was returned and had forgotten about it when the pair attacked a prison officer while shouting Allahu akbar and wearing fake suicide vests.

It was a speech from a French Isis jihadi that I translated into English, he told the Old Bailey on Friday.

At the same time I was taking notes I improved my French with it as well.

Asked by prosecutor Annabel Darlow QC why he would write out the last words of Isis suicide bombers, Mr Ziamani replied: Im not saying I was agreeing with it, I was just translating it.

He was speaking eloquent French as well, its very rare that I hear French stuff in this country on TV.

The court heard that the defendant spoke French as his first language as a child, because his parents had moved to Britain from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ms Darlow told Mr Ziamani: Its rubbish, the idea that you wrote out the last words of a suicide bomber to practice your French translation skills and had it in your pocket while carrying out an attack wearing a suicide belt by chance.

But Mr Ziamani denied the prosecutors allegations and maintained he had loads of translations in his cell.

The court heard the SD card Mr Ziamani said he had used was not found in his cell. He told jurors he had flushed it down a toilet because it was contraband.

Brusthom Ziamani is accused of attempting to murder a prison officer alongside fellow inmate Baz Hockton (Metropolitan Police)

The former gangster, who was jailed in 2015 for plotting to behead a British soldier, has denied the HMP Whitemoor attack was terrorism.

He and Mr Hockton also both deny attempting to murder prison officer Neil Trundle using homemade weapons.

While being cross-examined on Friday, Mr Ziamani claimed he had made two metal weapons previously after being attacked in prison and always carried them in his pockets.

He said he was holding a third weapon during the attack to strengthen his fist while punching his victim, because he had sprained his wrist.

Ms Darlow accused him of making the weapons specifically for the attack on 9 January and questioned how, if he carried them all the time, they had not been picked up by frequent body searches or metal detectors.

Mr Ziamani claims he mounted the attack to force prison authorities to move him out of HMP Whitemoor, because he was unhappy with his treatment there.

He said Mr Hockton helped him because they were friends, and had met outside jail in 2013 through gang associations in London.

Prison officers restraining two inmates after an alleged terror attack at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire on 9 January 2020 (Metropolitan Police )

Mr Ziamani claimed the fake suicide vests they both wore were Mr Hocktons idea, and that they wanted to get the officers scared, keep them away from us that day and to try and freak them out.

He admitted shouting Allahu akbar during and after the attack, but said it was a declaration of faith rather than an ideological statement.

The defendant also admitted giving Mr Hockton, who converted to Islam in prison, extremist material but insisted it was because he was studying Islam.

I didnt tell him what to do with it - he asked for material and I gave him loads, Mr Ziamani added.

He told jurors that he believed in jihad in the meaning of struggle, but not with taking up arms and just killing anyone

Mr Ziamani denied that his aim was to become a martyr during the attack at HMP Whitemoor, or that he intended to murder the prison officer or do him really serious harm.

The court heard Mr Trundle, a prison officer for 14 years, was known to be kind and helpful and had no negative dealings with either defendant in the past.

Jurors were told the defendants attacked him from behind after trying to push him into a storage cupboard, raining down blows until they were physically restrained by other officers.

Jurors were shown photos of Mr Trundles injuries, including lacerations to his head, face, arms, back, chest and shoulder.

Both men deny charges of attempted murder but Mr Hockton had admitted an alternative charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Mr Ziamani admits charges of assault against another prison officer and a nurse.

The trial continues.
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to present his strategy to fight separatism, in Les Mureaux, outside Paris, on Oct. 2, 2020. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP)

Frances Macron Details Plan Targeting Islamist Separatism

PARISPresident Emmanuel Macron, trying to rid France of what authorities call a parallel society of radical Muslims thriving outside the values of the nation, laid out a series of measures on Friday in a proposed law that would disrupt the education, finances, and other means of indoctrination of the vulnerable.

Macron has coined the term separatism to describe the underworld that thrives in some neighborhoods around France where Muslims with a radical vision of their religion take control of the local population to inculcate their beliefs.

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to present his strategy to fight separatism, in Les Mureaux, outside Paris, on Oct. 2, 2020. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP)

Macron stressed in a speech that stigmatizing French Muslims would be falling into a trap laid by radicals. He blamed France itself for organizing the ghettoization of a population that could easily fall prey to the preaching of those whose goal is to substitute their laws for those of the nation, and reiterated that secularism is the cement of France.

He spoke in Les Mureaux, a working-class town west of Paris, after meeting with the mayor, Francois Garay, who is largely credited with building projects that help bring the Muslim population into the mainstream. He said that 70 people from the region of Les Yvelines, where the town is located, traveled to Syria and Iraq.

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, wearing a protective face mask speaks to youngsters standing in line outside the la Maison des habitants (MDH) in Les Mureaux, northwest of Paris, on Oct. 2, 2020. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP)

Fridays speech comes while a trial is underway in Paris over the deadly January 2015 attacks on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket by French-born Islamic extremists. Last week, a man from Pakistan stabbed two people near Charlie Hebdos former offices in anger over its publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Macron noted both cases.

Macron laid out a five-point plan aimed at upending the world that lets those who promote a radical brand of Islam thrive, notably via associations or home schools that steep members and students in radical ideology.

The proposed bill, which would go to parliament early next year, would require all children from the age of 3 to attend French schools, and allow distance learning only for medical reasons. Associations, which receive state funding, would be made accountable for their spending, their sometimes invisible leaders and be forced to reimburse misused funds.

French President Emmanuel Macron wears a protective face mask as he arrives at the la Maison des habitants (MDH) in Les Mureaux, northwest of Paris, on Oct. 2, 2020. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP)

Macron called Frances schools the heart of secularism (where) children become citizens.

Authorities contend that the vector for inculcating Muslims with an extremist ideology was once the mosque but, today, the main vector is schools.

The measure also includes putting a gradual end to the long-standing practice of importing imams from elsewhere, notably Turkey, Algeria, and Morocco, particularly during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and train imams only in France. A Muslim organization that serves as an official conduit to French leaders is to take part in the project.

The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris cautioned against mixing all Muslims in France with the separatism question.

For those who let it be believed that Islam is Islamism, and the reverse, there is indeed a distinction between the Muslim religion and the Islamist ideology, Chems-Eddine Hafiz wrote in a commentary in the newspaper Le Monde.

However, the rector threw his support behind the initiativeon condition its not used as a communications gadget.

With up to 5 million Muslims, France has the largest such population in Western Europe and Islam is the No. 2 religion.

Authorities say there are all kinds of separatisms, but Macron said the others are marginal while radical Islam is a danger to France because it sometimes translates into a counter-society.

For Macron, a perverse version of the religion has penetrated French society, including public services, from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to the transport system. He said some bus drivers have been known to bar women with short skirts from getting aboard.

He conceded the fight he proposes would be long because what took decades to build wont be put down in a day.

By Elaine Ganley
Governor Jagdeep



Dhankhar on Friday hit out at the government, claiming that power corridors in the state are "getting infested" with extra-constitutional authorities, and the administration, too, was bowing down to them.

Dhankhar, who has been unsparing in his criticism of the TMC dispensation, also said that "attacking the Raj Bhavan was akin to insulting the Constitution of the country".

"Power corridors in the state are getting infested with extra-constitutional authorities. The whole administration is bowing down to those who have no constitutional authority.

"Officials working as political workers during polls will never be allowed," the governor said, after paying floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, on the occasion of his birth anniversary, at a memorial in Barrackpore.

Taking to Twitter, he requested Chief Minister to take a pledge with him to promote peace and shun violence.

"Homage to beloved Bapu on Gandhi Jayanti. His noble thoughts of non violence inspire humanity. May Bapus ideals keep guiding us in creating a prosperous and democratic environ @MamataOfficial. Let's pledge to shun violence and promote peace," Dhankhar wrote.

He called upon the police and the administration to function as "public servants rather than political workers".

"Hard earned freedom and democracy can flourish when all abjure violence and promote free and fair elections @MamataOfficial as it is life line of democracy," he added.

Assembly Elections are likely to be held in in April-May next year.

Reacting to the governor's message, state minister Bratya Basu said Dhankhar was acting like a spokesperson of a particular political party.

"He is turning the post of Rajyapal to that of Nairajyapal (from governor to one who presides over anarchy)," Basu said.

In the past, too, TMC leaders had alleged that the "governor was behaving like an agent of the BJP".

Earlier this week, Dhankhar, in response to a letter by Banerjee, accused her government of turning West Bengal into a police state, and said he would be forced to "look into" Article 154 of the Constitution, as the office of the governor has been ignored for long.

Article 154 of the Constitution mandates that the executive power of the state shall be vested in the Governor and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him.

Banerjee, on her part, had urged Dhankhar to "act within the mandate of the Constitution", and said his aspersions consist of uncorroborated judgments and insinuations against her 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.)
Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties?

No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer.

Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties.
Lucknow:

BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Congress and Samajwadi Party while addressing a rally in Uttar Pradeshs Fatehabad ahead of the assembly elections in the state. He said that the ruling-Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh has committed political suicide by entering into an alliance with Congress.

Here is what all he said:

#Samajwadi Party has committed a political suicide by joining hands with Congress

#Samajwadi Party has gone into depression

#You (SP) has compromised with a party (Congress) which itself is in limbo

#I would like to tell this to SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav that ache din are not visible in the state because your government is in power

ALSO READ | Uttar Pradesh polls: PM Modi rakes up surgical strikes to woo voters in Western UP

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Korian announces a capital increase of 400 M with preferential subscription rights to finance the acquisition of Inicea

Creation of a dedicated "Mental Health" business unit within Korian France, adding Inicea's 19 establishments to Korian's 11 psychiatry and addictology clinics, together representing 17% of the private psychiatric care capacity in France: Korian becomes the third largest player in the sector

Capital increase of 400 M with preferential subscription rights to finance the acquisition and to accelerate the Group's development, with the support of the two main shareholders who hold c. 32% of the share capital and are represented on the Board of Directors

Strong activity in Q3 2020 with revenue expected to grow by 5 to 6% compared to Q3 2019

2020 revenue expected to grow by at least 5% compared to the previous year, with a stable EBITDA margin relative to H1

Confirmation of revenue target (now greater than 4.5 Bn) and EBITDA margin objective (>15.5%) of the "In Caring Hands" plan, with a time horizon of 2022 instead of 2021

Regulatory News:

Not for distribution directly or indirectly in the United States, Australia or Japan.

Korian (Paris:KORI), the European leader in care and support services for the elderly and dependent, has entered into exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of Inicea, the third largest private psychiatry player in France, with Antin Infrastructure Partners, an independent private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments, for a total consideration of c. 360 M of which c. 140 M is real estate.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by Korian's Board of Directors. It remains subject to customary conditions precedent1. Closing is expected during Q4 2020.

Sophie Boissard, Chief Executive Officer of Korian, said: "With the addition of Inicea to Korian, we are bolstering our mental health activities and creating a dedicated business unit to better respond to public health needs of the regions in which we operate. This is first and foremost the coming together of two teams that share the same values and the same high standards of social and environmental responsibility for our patients, residents, employees, their families and all our stakeholders around a common medical goal: the development of local ambulatory services."

Pierre Forest, Chief Executive Officer of Inicea, commented: "Inicea has grown over the past years with the support of Antin Infrastructure Partners to become a renowned mental health operator in France, in particular by developing the original concept of independent day hospitals, which creates a solution of greater local proximity. We are delighted to be joining Korian, who we know through its activities in psychiatric care. We are convinced that with the help and expertise of Korian's teams, in particular in digital expertise and innovative technologies, we will start a new stage of our development by putting into action an ambitious project in response to the growing demand for psychiatric care."

Angelika Schochlin, Senior Partner at Antin Infrastructure Partners, declared: "We are proud to have supported Inicea in its development over the course of the last four years, allowing it to increase its number of establishments from 10 to 19 with the construction of 6 day hospitals and the acquisition of 3 clinics. Inicea has developed the quality of its patient care through an ambitious investment program within its real estate portfolio, specifically by means of renovation and extension projects. We are confident that joining Korian will allow the Group to further accelerate its development in the private psychiatry market."

Inicea: a leading player in psychiatric care

Inicea, with the support of Antin Infrastructure Partners and under the leadership of Pierre Forest and his team, has become the third largest operator in French psychiatry with a network of 19 clinics, of which 7 are independent day hospitals, and with a total of 1,220 beds, or 10% of the sector's capacity. Today it is recognised for its high quality care for people suffering from mood disorders, schizophrenia, depression or addictions. Beyond full hospitalisation, Inicea has been developing since 2013 a network of 7 independent day hospitals and plans to open a further 7 by 2023. Inicea is also at the forefront of therapeutic solutions, implementing virtual reality and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (RTMS) therapies. It also makes use of telemedicine solutions for patient monitoring.

Inicea benefits from an outstanding reputation for its operational excellence and the quality of its services, 100% of its clinics being graded "A" or "B" by HAS.

Inicea owns the real estate of over half of its establishments and mostly operates in the Ile de France region, in the North of the Rhone Alpes region and in Nouvelle Aquitaine.

Inicea expects revenues to exceed 100 M in 2020, representing a 6% increase compared to 2019.

Korian creates a new dedicated mental health business unit within its French operations, which will represent 17% of the total private psychiatry market in France

Combining the 11 psychiatry and addictology clinics that it already held with Inicea's 19 establishments, Korian will establish a new dedicated mental health business unit, accounting for over 150 M in revenue in 2020. This activity should see sustained development thanks to the planned opening of 5 day hospitals in the vicinity of Korian clinics, based on the successful model Inicea has developed. Conversely the expertise Korian has in terms of telemedicine and digital management of care pathways, with MoveInMed, will allow to develop these forms of care within Inicea's clinics. In total, the new business unit is aiming for 200 M in revenue by 2025, equivalent to an average annual growth rate of at least 6%.

The creation of this new business unit will also bring specialised expertise in gerontopsychiatry and depression to other care and medical establishments of Korian's network.

Considering the organic growth opportunities and the cost synergies arising from the integration of these two networks, the new business unit will improve the Group's margin as early as 2021.

Overall, this acquisition allows the Group to develop its capacities in mental health, where the latest estimates show unmet demand of at least 15,000 beds and spaces, equivalent to 15% of the existing capacity in France.

400 M capital increase with preferential subscription rights to fund the acquisition of Inicea and to accelerate the development of the Group, supported by the shareholders

The acquisition of Inicea forms part of the Buy and Build growth strategy established by the Group 3 years ago and will be financed through a capital increase with preferential subscription rights totalling 400 M, which will cover the financing of this acquisition and the acceleration of the development of the Group. It will be launched subject to market conditions and before the end of 2020.

Korian's capital increase will allow it to finance the cost of Inicea's acquisition as well as to refinance its debt, for a total of c. 360 M. With the remainder, it will be able to finance the Group's future growth in line with its development strategy.

Korian's two largest shareholders, represented on the Board of Directors, hold c. 32% of the share capital and have confirmed that they support both the acquisition and the capital increase and intend to participate in the capital increase pro rata their shareholding. This reflects their confidence in the Group's strategy and in its mid-to long-term growth potential. The format of the rights issue will also allow all other existing shareholders to participate in the financing and accompany the future growth of the Group.

Covid-19 situation update

As part of the Covid-19 vigilance plan (Vigi-Covid) Korian has defined a common standard for all its facilities (nursing homes and specialised clinics) incorporating all the best practices in terms of hygiene, traceability and preventative measures implemented during the first wave of the pandemic.

An audit campaign (hygiene diagnostics) covering all of the Group's European facilities was entrusted to Bureau Veritas on 1st July 2020 with the aim of ensuring the correct application of these standards and of supporting the workforce in its implementation. These audits have already been completed at 90% of the Group's 949 facilities; 80% of these establishments demonstrated exemplary standards.

The Group has also implemented a systematic testing policy, according to local laws and regulation. Since June, close to 150,000 tests have been carried out across the network.

On the 24th September, 222 cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed out of the 70,000 residents in Korian's care homes, 9 in 10 of those being asymptomatic.

In spite of the fact that 94% of the establishments in the European network currently have no residents testing positive for Covid-19, the Group remains extremely vigilant regarding the development of the health situation. It would like to pay tribute to its teams, its residents, its patients and their families for the responsibility and solidarity that they demonstrate.

Update on Korian's near-term activity and mid-term guidance

The third quarter of 2020 has shown higher levels of activity compared to the second due to the uptick in health and medical activities following the easing of lockdown measures imposed by local authorities. Korian therefore expects that revenue for the three months ended 30 September 2020 will range from 945 M to 965 M, equivalent to growth of around 5 to 6% compared to the third quarter of 2019, including the contribution of acquisitions in the last twelve months and a limited organic growth.

In spite of the significant uncertainty linked to the pandemic, the Group expects growth in excess of 5% in 2020.

From a profitability standpoint, the Group expects a slight improvement during the second half of FY 2020, resulting in a full year EBITDA margin greater than 13.2% excluding IFRS 16 and Covid-19 related one-off impacts (or 12.1% including Covid-19 one off costs), equivalent to c. 23.0% including the effect of IFRS 16 (22.1% including Covid-19 one off costs).

In the medium term, the various projects the Group has undertaken regarding medicalising and diversifying the services it offers to meet the growing needs of elderly and vulnerable people allow it to target total revenue of 4.5 Bn by 2022. The EBITDA margin objective is 15.5% excluding the impact of IFRS 16 in 2022 (c. 24% including IFRS 16 with around 80 M of leases) whilst maintaining the financial leverage ratio below 3.5x.

An online meeting for Korian's investors will take place on 8th October, 2020, replacing the capital markets day previously scheduled for 10th November, 2020.

Next event

Korian has brought forward the publication of its 2020 Q3 results to 19th October, 2020.

Disclaimers

This press release includes "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding Korian's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Korian, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding Korian's present and future business strategies and the environment in which Korian will operate in the future. Additional factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of ordinary shares in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

The distribution of this document may, in certain jurisdictions, be restricted by local legislations. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such potential local restrictions.

A French prospectus comprising (i) the Company's universal registration document, which will be filed with the AMF, (ii) a securities note (including the summary) relating to the admission to trading of the Company's new shares on Euronext Paris and (iii) the summary of the French prospectus will be submitted to the approval by the AMF and will be published on the AMF's website (www.amf-france.org). As from such filing with the AMF, copies of the prospectus will be available free of charge at the Company's registered office located at 21-25 rue Balzac, 75008 Paris, France.

This press release is not an advertisement or a prospectus within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 14, 2017 (the "Prospectus Regulation").

With respect to the member states of the European Economic Area other than France, no action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of the securities referred to herein requiring a publication of a prospectus in any relevant member state. As a result, the securities may not and will not be offered in any relevant member state except in accordance with the exemptions set forth in Article 1 (4) of the Prospectus Regulation or under any other circumstances which do not require the publication by the Company of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation and/or to applicable regulations of that relevant member state.

The distribution of this press release has not been made, and has not been approved, by an "authorised person" within the meaning of Article 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. As a consequence, this press release is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that (i) are "investment professionals" falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the "Order"), (ii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.") of the Order, or (iii) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Article 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to Relevant Persons and 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 press release does not constitute or form part of any offer of securities for sale or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or to subscribe securities in the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or pursuant to an exemption from such registration. Korian does not intend to register all or any portion of the Securities in the United States under the Securities Act or to conduct a public offering of the Securities in the United States.

This announcement is not, and under no circumstances is it to be construed as, a prospectus, offering memorandum, advertisement or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities referred to herein in Canada.

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1 In particular obtaining the necessary regulatory and antitrust approvals

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001006233/en/

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 18:26:34|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Friday wished U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife a "full and speedy" recovery after Trump's announcement that they tested positive for COVID-19.

In a facebook post, Sisi also wished the couple "to overcome that period swiftly to resume the U.S. efforts to combat the virus at the international level."

Trump said early Friday morning that he and his wife Melania have tested positive for COVID-19 after a close aide had contracted the virus. Enditem
President Donald Trump has floated the unconstitutional idea of delaying the Nov. 3 election. His administration may have violated a judge's order on the 2020 census and could be held in contempt. Another court ruled that he illegally sidestepped Congress to find billions for his border wall.

In ways large and small, in multiple corners of the government, the president has demonstrated a willingness to push the boundaries of federal law, if not outright flout them. And in the heat of a presidential campaign, that track record only adds to anxiety about whether Trump will abide by the results of the election.

When the president talks about being the law-and-order candidate, its clear that when he says the word law he means the laws he personally cares about enforcing, said Liz Hempowicz, public policy director at the private Project On Government Oversight. Thats not how a law-and-order system works. You cant pick and chose. Its just a complete breakdown of our democratic systems happening in front of our eyes.

Trump has already suggested the election will be rigged, and he has pointedly declined to promise a peaceful transfer of power if he loses. He jokes about staying in office beyond two terms, prompting supporters in Atlanta last week to chant 12 more years!

But it's no joke to critics who see a callous attitude toward the laws he claims to uphold. They point to a series of instances in which Trump or officials in his administration have violated the spirit of the law, ignored it or made end runs around statutes to implement his policies.

We are used to presidents bowing to a court determination, bowing to a finding by an inspector general ... but if the president refuses to do that, what is the mechanism to hold him and his administration accountable? asked Trevor Potter, president of the private Campaign Legal Center.

Trump's defenders say such concerns are overblown.

David Rivkin Jr., a constitutional lawyer who served in the White House counsels office and the Justice Department in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, sees no cause for alarm when it comes to Trump abiding by the election results.

There is every reason to believe that he would use only lawful means to contest the electoral outcome, if a situation arises where the outcome is contestable, he said by email.

Trump has already telegraphed that hes expecting the election to be determined in the courts. He quickly nominated Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a move that many Republicans hope will help deliver a quick and decisive end to potential election litigation.

But Trump has also raised a multitude of doubts and objections about whether the election will be fair, and tossed out his own suggestions that could well contribute to confusion.

He urged people in North Carolina to vote twice, which is a felony. The president said later he was only suggesting that voters check to make sure their mail-in votes had been counted by trying to vote again in-person. But some states do not even tally mail-in ballots until the polls close on Election Day.

Trump also recently suggested that his supporters go to polling places in Philadelphia, which has a heavily minority population, but if they interfere with voting, that could violate state law. If supporters tried to intimidate or keep a person from voting, they could be found in violation of the Civil Rights Act or the Ku Klux Klan Act, Potter said.

In a move that dovetails with the Trump administrations claim that irregular voting will skew the election, a U.S. attorney in Pennsylvania last week sent out a press release about an investigation into nine ballots  some for Trump  that were found in a trash can. That raised eyebrows because Justice Department officials typically do not reveal details about ongoing criminal investigations, especially ones linked to the election or a particular political party.

Beyond election law, government watchdog groups have been tracking a raft of other examples where they allege that Trump is flouting laws.

There's ongoing drama over whether the Commerce Department violated a federal judges order when it chose Oct. 5, 2020, as the date to end the census. Last week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, suspended the deadline.

But Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross decided to end the count on Oct. 5 anyway. A hearing is scheduled for Friday to consider whether Ross' move was a violation of the judge's order and whether commerce officials should be held in contempt. August Flentje, an attorney for the Trump administration, said the suggestion that the federal government should be held in contempt was unfair.

Multiple legal skirmishes have unfolded over people Trump has ousted from government and those he's brought on under questionable circumstances.

Last spring, Trump used his authority to force out five inspectors general from various federal agencies who were tasked with sniffing out government mismanagement, waste and fraud. The president has the authority to fire inspector generals for failure to perform their duties, but he does not have broad authority to fire someone for the wrong reason.

The removals were described as retaliation for doing things that displeased Trump. For example, the intelligence community inspector general who was fired had given Congress the whistleblower complaint that led to Trumps impeachment. It claimed the president had asked Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Democrat Joe Biden, and Biden's son, Hunter, in exchange for military assistance.

Two top officials at the Department of Homeland Security, a sprawling agency with 230,000 people, were found to have been wrongly appointed to their positions and ineligible to serve, according to the Government Accountability Office, the independent investigative arm of Congress. One has since been nominated to fill the post of secretary permanently.

On Thursday, a judge ruled that a national commission on law enforcement, created earlier this year by Trump and Attorney General William Barr, violated federal law because its members lacked diversity and did not provide public access to meetings.

The Office of Special Counsel has cited the presidents top advisers multiple times for violating the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activity by federal employees. Special counsel Henry Kerner, a Trump appointee, recommended that Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway be fired after repeated violations, but the White House ignored that.

Concern also persists that the president is improperly benefiting personally when foreign governments spend money, rent rooms and schedule events at Trump's historic hotel in Washington.

If he is taking money from foreign governments without congressional consent, he is violating the Constitution, said Potter, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.
PEOPLE carrying knives while drinking and taking drugs are an "affliction in Irish society" that results in far too many deaths, a Central Criminal Court judge has said.

Ms Justice Tara Burns made her comments as she sentenced a Limerick man who was convicted, last month, of murdering another man during a cocaine-fuelled row in a quiet Limerick pub.

Sentencing Mark Crawford the murder of Patrick Pa OConnor she said she had no hesitation in passing the mandatory life sentence for what she described as an act of madness fuelled by drink and drugs.

She said that something has to be done about people carrying knives, adding: "A mixture of alcohol, cocaine and knives results in far too many deaths in this country."

Crawford, 43, who has an address at Quarry Road, Thomondgate was convicted last month by a unanimous jury verdict of the murder of Mr OConnor at Fitzgeralds Bar at Sexton Street North on July 7 or 8, 2018.

Crawford stabbed Mr OConnor six times with two wounds to the heart and neck causing his death. It emerged during the trial that the men had met for the first time the previous day and had been taking cocaine together on July 7.

Tensions rose between the two men out of an argument over the drugs and Crawford claimed he was acting in self-defence, a claim that was rejected by the jury.

CCTV from minutes before the fatal stabbing showed the deceased dancing and laughing and joking with others in the bar where he was a popular regular.

Ms Justice Burns said the footage, showing Mr O'Connor "acting as always, full of banter and chat," must have been the most difficult thing for the OConnor family to watch.

She described Fitzgeralds as a quiet local pub where everybody seemed to know everybody and said the stabbing was a shocking thing for the regulars to have witnessed.

In a victim impact statement, Mr OConnors sister Deborah OConnor told the court that it is 818 days since her family last saw Patricks face, the last time we spoke, the last time we laughed together.

She described her brother as the kind of person everyone wanted to be friends with. He knew everyone and everyone who knew him loved him, she said.

He got his jokes, kindness and love of banter from his mum and dad, she said, who are heartbroken at having buried their only son.

She added: It was his welcoming, trusting and kindhearted nature that led to his murder, by a man he met less than 48 hours earlier. They were not friends.

Speaking outside the court Deborah told reporters the last two years have been very difficult for her family. "Little did we know on the morning of Saturday, 7 July 2018 it would be the last time we saw Patrick alive, the last time he would walk out the front door to never return. During the trial to learn of the horrific way Patrick died has been an incredibly distressing and difficult time for the family. To watch him on CCTV footage in the moments before he was murdered, acting his usual fun-loving self, has left us heartbroken," she said.

Ms O'Connor added that while they will not get Patrick back the sentence gives some comfort. She described her brother as a really good person who loved life and was full of banter. Every day he came home from work he had a story to tell and was "always up for the craic".

She said her brother met Crawford less than 48 hours earlier and they weren't friends. Her brother, she said, would talk to anyone who came to have a chat with him.

Crawfords barrister Patrick McGrath SC read a letter to the court in which his client said he is sorry for what he has put the OConnor family through and that he "never meant to kill him".

He added: I regret it every single day. I know they wake up every day knowing Patrick is not here and I am so sorry for what I have done.

Garda Declan O'Donovan told the court that Crawford has a number of previous convictions mostly in the District Court.

However, he has one conviction for assault causing harm and is awaiting sentence at the Circuit Criminal Court in relation to a Section 15A drugs offence.

That relates to the seizure of heroin worth 24,500.
Jailed Iranian lawyer and human rights advocate, Nasrin Sotoudeh, has been named one of the winners of an international award known as the Alternative Nobel Prize.

Sotoudeh is the first Iranian activist to win the award presented by the Right Livelihood Foundation (RLF).

Established in 1980, the annual Right Livelihood Foundation Award honors efforts that the prize founder, philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull, felt were missing the Nobel prizes' list.

A statement issued by the Right Livelihood Foundation (RLF) on Thursday said the 2020 winners have one thing in common: "Their struggle for equality, democracy, justice, and freedom."

The head of the Swedish Right Livelihood Foundation, Ole von Uexkull, says the award "highlights the increasing threats to democracy globally. It is high time that all of us supporting democracy around the world stand up and support each other."

RLF also cited the 58-year-old human rights activist, Ales Bialiatski, and the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Center Viasna, which he presides, "for their resolute struggle for the realization of democracy and human rights in Belarus."

U.S. civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson won the award as well "for his inspiring endeavor to reform the U.S. criminal justice system and advance racial reconciliation in the face of historical trauma."

The fourth winner was the environmental activist Lottie Cunningham Wren of Nicaragua, "for her ceaseless dedication to the protection of indigenous lands and communities from exploitation and plunder."

Ole von Uexkull, the foundation's executive director and nephew of the founder, praised the winners on Thursday, adding, "Defying unjust legal systems and dictatorial political regimes, they successfully strengthen human rights, empower civil societies and denounce institutional abuses."

The four winners of the Alternative Nobel Prize, selected by an international jury, each receive a cash prize of one million Swedish kronor (approximately $110,000).

The Right Life Award has been given to civil society, human rights, or environmental activists for nearly four decades.

Jakob von Uexkull, a philanthropist, sold his stamp collection worth $1 million, which provided the award's initial funding.

Before establishing the award in 1980, von Uexkull had tried to persuade the Nobel Foundation to develop new prizes to be awarded together with the Nobel Prizes. He suggested new prize categories to be created: one in ecology and one in development.

When the Nobel Foundation decided not to associate the Nobel Prize with any additional awards, von Uexkull decided to establish his own awards independent of the Nobel Foundation.

From 19802019, the foundation presented awards to 178 laureates from seventy countries, with the purpose of bestowing prizes and publicizing recipients' local solutions to global problems.

The winners are selected from among a large number of nominees by a twelve-member panel.

Sotoudeh is currently behind bars in Tehran's infamous prison, Evin.

On March 11, 2019, Judge Mohammad Moqiseh told the Islamic Republic News Agency that Sotoudeh was sentenced to five years for endangering the country's security through assembly and two years for insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

A day later, Sotoudeh's husband, Reza Khandan, said that only the longest sentence of the current trial verdicts would be served, which is ten years' imprisonment for "encouraging corruption and debauchery and providing the means."

That is, Khandan noted, out of a total 33 years for seven charges bundled together, and was in addition to five years for another case, bringing the total to 38 years, plus 148 lashes.
A third Walmart employee at the Route 9 store in Queensbury has tested positive for coronavirus, officials said Thursday.

This worker was at the store from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 26, Sept. 27 and Sept. 28.

The worker, like the previous two, had limited interaction with the public, according to Warren County Health Services.

It was described as a low-risk community exposure, but people who were in the store when the worker was there are asked to monitor themselves for signs of the virus. That includes fever, cough, headache and loss of sense of taste or smell.

Anyone who develops symptoms should call their medical provider or public health. Warren County Health Services can be reached at 518-761-6580.

The other two workers with COVID-19 were at the store from Sept. 17 to Sept. 25.

Warren County Health Services Director Ginelle Jones said Walmart management is working closely with Health Services staff to identify those who should be quarantined.

Also Thursday, New York state rolled out a new phone app that will alert people if they were near someone who later tested positive for coronavirus.

Versions of the app have been used widely in other countries and are now being rolled out in many states. New Yorks is called COVID Alert NY.

It does not keep track of peoples names or where they have been. But when two people stand within 6 feet of each other for at least 10 minutes and both of their phones have the app, the phones trade random codes. If one person later tests positive, Public Health officials instruct the person to type a code into the app. The app then uses the random codes to contact other phones and alert them about the positive case.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged residents to download the app, but noted that it is voluntary.

Also on Thursday, Essex County Department of Health announced two more deaths at Essex Center nursing home, where an outbreak is still ongoing. A total of 16 residents of the nursing home have died in the outbreak, and three are still hospitalized.

Thursdays statistics:

Warren County reported two people tested positive: a student at Queensbury High School and a student at Hadley-Luzerne High School, for a total of 353 confirmed cases in the county since March. There are currently 19 people ill, and none are hospitalized.

Washington County reported two new cases: a student at the Hudson Falls Kindergarten Center, and an employee at the Fort Hudson nursing home, for a total of 290 confirmed cases in the county since March. There was one recovery, for a total of 262 recoveries. There are 15 people currently ill, and one is hospitalized.

Saratoga County reported seven more people tested positive, for a total of 1,077 cases since March. Three people recovered, for a total of 995 recoveries. There are 65 people currently ill and four are hospitalized, a decrease from five Wednesday.

In the northern Saratoga County towns, three more South Glens Falls residents tested positive. Still ill: four Moreau residents, one Northumberland resident, two town of Saratoga residents, four South Glens Falls residents (for a total of seven) and three Wilton residents. Recovered: three Moreau residents.

Essex County reported two deaths, both Essex Center residents, and one new case, not at Essex Center. There are three people hospitalized, all of whom are nursing home residents.

Saratoga Hospital reported two coronavirus patients and Glens Falls Hospital reported zero.

The Capital Region reported a total of 34 new cases Wednesday, the most recent day for which data was available. That was a positive test rate of 0.5%. The only county in the region over 1% was Greene County, with three new cases and a positive test rate of 1.2%. The goal is to keep the positive test rate at 1% or lower to keep the virus under control.

Statewide, 1,382 tested positive Wednesday, the most recent day for which data was available. That was a 1.27% positive test rate.

Hospitalizations and deaths are up from last week and the state is continuing last weeks trend of getting more than 1,000 new cases a day.

There were 612 people hospitalized with coronavirus Wednesday, and 11 people died.

You can reach Kathleen Moore at 742-3247 or kmoore@poststar.com. Follow her on Twitter @ByKathleenMoore or at her blog on www.poststar.com.

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Donald and Melania Trump Test Positive for Coronavirus: 'We Will Get Through This TOGETHER!'

PLUS: Melania Trump Speaks Out After Being Diagnosed with COVID-19: 'Please Be Sure You Are Staying Safe'

In the months leading up to the announcement that he and his wife tested positive for the novel coronavirus, President Donald Trump was steadfast in his claim that the pandemic would soon be over, openly waffling on the importance of wearing a mask and continuing  even in recent weeks  to host large-scale (sometimes indoor) campaign events despite public health guidelines otherwise.

The news that the president had contracted the infectious disease was even more striking considering the tone he has taken on the coronavirus disease COVID-19.

About two days before the public announcement of his diagnosis, Trump said in the first presidential debate with Joe Biden that he approves of wearing masks, while also making fun of Democrat Joe Biden for wearing one.

I dont wear masks like him, Trump, 74, said.

Every time you see him, hes got a mask," the president went on to say, mockingly. "He could be speaking 200 feet away from it, he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

Drew Angerer/Getty President Donald Trump departs the White House for New Jersey on Thursday

RELATED: Trump Says He Won't Wear a Face Mask in Public Despite Federal Health Officials' Recommendation

Those remarks were the latest in a long string of vacillations Trump has had regarding face coverings. In April, he said he wouldn't be wearing a mask even as he announced new federal guidelines recommending them.

By July, he had changed his stance, saying, Im all for masks ... If I were in a tight situation with people, I would absolutely [wear one].

By August, he had waffled yet again, calling masks "patriotic" but hedging the statement with: "Maybe theyre great, and maybe theyre just good. Maybe theyre not so good.

Story continues

Speaking to Congress in mid September, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voice staunch support for masks.

"We have clear scientific evidence they work," Robert Redfield said then. "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, because the immunogenicity may be 70 percent  and if I don't get an immune response, the vaccine's not going to protect me. This face mask will."

Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty President Donald Trump

Trump has also been inconsistent in his public and private messaging regarding the severity of the virus, including misleading the public about the true health threat.

In January, he publicly said that the virus was "totally under control. Its one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. Its going to be just fine.

Privately, though, he was taking a more somber tone. In early February, Trump told reporter Bob Woodward that coronavirus was "deadly stuff" and would likely prove to be a "tricky situation." Tapes of that conversation were publicly released in September.

In late February, in a meeting at the White House, the president said of the virus: Its going to disappear. One day  its like a miracle  it will disappear.

And in March, when asked if he was concerned that the virus would make its way to the White House, Trump said he was "not concerned at all."

Later in March, however, as much of the country began to shut down to slow the virus, the president became sharply  briefly  more serious and compared himself to a wartime commander-in-chief and the illness to an invader.

In the six months since, he has gone back and forth. In June, he told Fox News' Sean Hannity that "even without" a vaccine and treatments, which he insisted then were almost ready for use, "it's fading away, it's going to fade away."

Less than two weeks ago, Trump said the virus "affects virtually nobody" despite more than 200,000 dead in the U.S.

RELATED: Biden Says Trump Has 'Been a Fool' on Masks as President Mocks Him for Wearing 'Biggest Mask I've Ever Seen'

In a Friday interview with Fox & Friends, the moderator of the first Trump-Biden debate  news anchor Chris Wallace  said the announcement of Trump's diagnosis would surely "raise questions again about how seriously the president has taken the coronavirus."

White House physician Sean Conley said in a memo sent to reporters early Friday that both Trump and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 but said he expected the president "to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering."

It was unclear where the president and first lady got sick, though senior White House adviser Hope Hicks also tested positive and had recently traveled with them.

The White House chief of staff told reporters on Friday that the president was showing "mild symptoms" but was still at work. He declined to detail the treatment plan.

The news that Trump has tested positive is likely to have significant implications for his presidential campaign in the final weeks leading up to the Nov. 3 election.
Here at Daily Distortions, we try to debunk false and misleading information that has gone viral. We also want to give you a sense of how popular that misinformation is, in the overall context of what is being discussed on social media. Each Friday, we will feature a list of the 10 most-engaged stories of the week in the United States, as ranked by NewsWhip, a firm that compiles social media performance data. (NewsWhip tracks the number of reactions, shares and comments each story receives on Facebook, along with shares on Pinterest and by a group of influential users on Twitter.)

In the past week, two major political stories  about President Trumps taxes, and the first presidential debate on Tuesday  dominated social media feeds. But there was plenty of other news making the rounds online, including stories about Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court nominee, and the economic toll of the coronavirus.

Here is an annotated list of the 10 most-engaged news stories of the past seven days. (Note: this weeks list captures data from Friday, Sept. 25 at 9 a.m. Eastern time until Friday, Oct. 2 at 9 a.m. Eastern time. It captures only the first several hours of data on articles about President Trump testing positive for Covid-19, which was revealed early Friday morning.)

1. The New York Times: Trumps Taxes Show Chronic Losses and Years of Income Tax Avoidance (5,730,782 interactions)

The Timess big scoop about Mr. Trumps taxes led the pack this week, with more than five million interactions, making it the papers most-engaged article of the year.
Trump Condemns White Supremacists, Proud Boys

President Donald Trump on Thursday condemned white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and the Proud Boys.

I have to say, Ive said it many times, and let me be clear again: I condemn the KKK. I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys. I dont know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that, Trump said during a phone interview broadcast on Fox News Hannity.

The KKK is a known white supremacist group but the Proud Boys are not.

The Proud Boys have mixed race members and their leader, Enrique Tarrio, is Afro-Cuban.

Trump faced pressure from some reporters and lawmakers to condemn the Proud Boys after he told them to stand back and stand by during Tuesday nights debate.

Tarrio on Thursday night changed his username on Parler, a social media platform, to Enrique Tarrio is disavowed.

We will ALWAYS do what we believe is right And we will NEVER apologize for it, he wrote in one post.

It brings me great joy and pride that under the tweets of @TeamTrump that shows him condemning @TheProudBoys I see nothing but supporters asking the President to take his statement back. Its an amazing feeling to have so much support. We do it for all of US. God bless the USA. Thank you all. We love you. Keep fighting, he added in another.

The Proud Boys official account shared a screenshot of what the group describes as its core values, which include pro-gun rights, pro-free speech, anti-racism, and anti-drug war.

People pray during a Proud Boys rally in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 26, 2020. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

Trump told Sean Hannity that hes repeatedly condemned white supremacy and watched White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany get badgered earlier Thursday by Fox News reporter John Roberts, who refused to acknowledge how Trump condemned white supremacists the day prior despite his wife sharing Trumps comments on Twitter.

Yesterday I made a statement that was, according to most was a perfect statement. But I said it so many times even beyond that. And no matter what you say itll never, theyll just keep going, going, going, Trump said.

If I say it a hundred times it wont be enough, because its fake news, he added later.

Roberts wrote on Twitter that Trump unequivocally condemned the KKK, all white supremacists, and the Proud Boys during the new interview.

Trump said he believes reporters who press him on white supremacy but dont question Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on white supremacy or the far-left Antifa network are hypocrites.

Biden helped get the 1994 crime bill passed, Trump noted.

The bill upped punishments for committing crimes, including a three strikes automatic lifetime prison sentence for repeat offenders.

Hillary Clinton, first lady at the time the bill was being debated and then passed into law, called some people superpredators, a reference some believed was to black people but Clinton said was to drug cartels.

What hasnt been condemned is [the] crime bill, where he talks about superpredators, Trump said. That was the worst thing that ever happened to the black community.

Trump also pointed out that Biden has referred to the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), a high-level Klansman, as a friend.

What he did was terrible, and he has to do it, but its a different standard. Its total hypocrisy, its a disgrace. But I think the people are wise to it, Trump said.

The Biden campaign didnt return a request for comment.
Police are investigating after two men from Cordoba, aged 23 and 27, were allegedly kidnapped and tortured and asked for 12,000 euros in order to be released. That is the story that the men told police officers who found them bleeding from the head and with cuts on their arms and legs in the Ciudad Jardin area of Malaga city early on Saturday morning.

The men told the officers that they had come to Malaga to buy hashish pollen. They agreed to meet the other party at a specific location in the city, then were asked to follow them to a house located elsewhere. When they arrived they were allegedly kidnapped and brought into the house at gunpoint. There were several other people inside who tied them up and started torturing them. One apparently hit one of the young men on the head with a revolver and accidentally fired a shot without injuring anyone. They were also attacked by an aggressive dog, according to their version of events. The alleged victims reported that they threatened to kill them if they didn't pay 12,000 euros.

In the end, the two men were able to flee the building, taking advantage of the fact that the door was open because of the movement of people in the house.

Three people fitting descriptions provided were arrested: a 27-year-old man crouched under a car with 6,965 euros hidden under his clothes; a 37-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman. The investigation is still ongoing.
MECHANICSBURG, Pa., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Select Medical Holdings Corporation ("Select Medical") (NYSE: SEM), will release the financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2020 on Thursday, October 29, 2020 after the market closes.

Select Medical will host a conference call regarding its third quarter results, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on each of its reporting segments, on Friday, October 30, 2020, at 9:00am ET. The domestic dial in number for the call is 1-866-440-2669. The international dial in number is 1-409-220-9844. The conference ID for the call is 6297066. The conference call will be webcast simultaneously and can be accessed at Select Medical Holdings Corporation's website www.selectmedicalholdings.com.

For those unable to participate in the conference call, a replay will be available until 11:00am ET, November 6, 2020. The replay number is 1-855-859-2056 (domestic) or 1-404-537-3406 (international). The conference ID for the replay will be 6297066. The replay can also be accessed at Select Medical Holdings Corporation's website, www.selectmedicalholdings.com.

Select Medical is one of the largest operators of critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States based on the number of facilities. Select Medical's reportable segments include the critical illness recovery hospital segment, rehabilitation hospital segment, the outpatient rehabilitation segment, and the Concentra segment. As of June 30, 2020, Select Medical operated 101 critical illness recovery hospitals in 28 states, 29 rehabilitation hospitals in 12 states, and 1,757 outpatient rehabilitation clinics in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Select Medical's joint venture subsidiary Concentra operated 522 occupational health centers in 41 states. Concentra also provides contract services at employer worksites. At June 30, 2020, Select Medical had operations in 47 states and the District of Columbia. Information about Select Medical is available at www.selectmedical.com.

Investor inquiries:

Joel T. Veit

Senior Vice President and Treasurer

717-972-1100

[email protected]

SOURCE Select Medical Holdings Corporation

Related Links

http://www.selectmedical.com


A key witness in the case of alleged gang-rape of a 22-year-old Dalit woman from Balrampur district, who later succumbed to her injuries, has shown up.

He is a local doctor, who was first called to treat the victim by the two accused at a room behind a grocery store run by one of the accused in a nearby market.

The doctor told reporters on Friday that one of the accused visited his clinic to take him to his house to treat the victim, introducing her as a family member at around 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

The doctor said he became suspicious when he saw the victim lying alone on a sofa.

I returned immediately, saying that I will treat her only in the presence of her family members and started asking for her fathers name and contact number. The youths then told me that they would bring the victim to the clinic with her father for the treatment, but they did not do so. Later, I came to know that she had died," he said.

The victims mother had earlier alleged that some youths had abducted her while she was returning home from the college and taken her to a room where she was raped and brutalised.

The incident occurred on Tuesday when the woman had gone to take admission in a college near her village but did not return home till late in the evening, said Superintendent of Police (SP) of Balrampur, Dev Ranjan Verma.

The woman later returned on a rickshaw with a glucose drip inserted in her hand while the family members were searching for her.

Verma said the family members stated that the womans condition was not good, so they rushed her to a nearby hospital and later to the Balrampur district hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.

The womans family alleged that the womans hands and legs were fractured but the police officials stated that no such injuries were confirmed in the post-mortem examination.

The two accused were arrested after an FIR was registered following a complaint filed by the victims brother. The accused were booked under sections 376-D and 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for gang-rape and murder respectively.

District Magistrate Krishna Karunesh and Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma assured the family members that the case will be sent to a fast track court and the strictest action will be taken against the accused.
Seven schools in Nepal's Nuwakot and Gorkha Districts newly reconstructed schools with Indian aid are ready for handover. The schools were built under the Post Earthquake Reconstruction of Education Sector Projects and reconstructed after they were destroyed by an earthquake in 2015.

Four schools in Nuwakot and three in Gorkha District are ready for handover

"Construction at four schools in Nuwakot and three schools in Gorkha districts have been completed and ready for handing over to the service of people. The inauguration dates will be announced shortly. One school in Nuwakot has already been handed over and in service since February 2020," an online platform tracking the reconstruction work stated.

The Aiselubhume Secondary School in Nuwakot bordering China has been handed over in February earlier this year before the nation went into lockdown following rising COVID-19 cases.

India has committed to construct as many as 70 schools in eight districts and is extending a helping hand in reconstruction and improving the education status of the country.

On Tuesday, India had released NPR 1.54 billion to Nepal towards post-earthquake reconstruction assistance.

With the latest round of handover, India has reimbursed about USD 72 million from grants to the Nepal Government for reconstruction work in the housing sector.

India also has committed to rebuild 50,000 houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, 92 per cent of the houses have been completed.
Market forces rained on the parade of Whitbread PLC (LON:WTB) shareholders today, when the analysts downgraded their forecasts for this year. Revenue estimates were cut sharply as analysts signalled a weaker outlook - perhaps a sign that investors should temper their expectations as well. The stock price has risen 4.9% to UK21.53 over the past week. It will be interesting to see if this downgrade motivates investors to start selling their holdings.

Following the downgrade, the consensus from 20 analysts covering Whitbread is for revenues of UK941m in 2021, implying a concerning 55% decline in sales compared to the last 12 months. Prior to the latest estimates, the analysts were forecasting revenues of UK1.0b in 2021. The forecasts seem less optimistic overall, with the modest decline in revenue estimates in the latest consensus update.

View our latest analysis for Whitbread

We'd point out that there was no major changes to their price target of UK24.99, suggesting the latest estimates were not enough to shift their view on the value of the business. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Whitbread at UK36.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at UK15.00. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. One more thing stood out to us about these estimates, and it's the idea that Whitbread'sdecline is expected to accelerate, with revenues forecast to fall 55% next year, topping off a historical decline of 8.3% a year over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for companies in the wider industry, which suggest that revenues (in aggregate) are expected to grow 7.9% next year. So while a broad number of companies are forecast to grow, unfortunately Whitbread is expected to see its sales affected worse than other companies in the industry.

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The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their revenue estimates for this year. They also expect company revenue to perform worse than the wider market. Given the stark change in sentiment, we'd understand if investors became more cautious on Whitbread after today.

So things certainly aren't looking great, and you should also know that we've spotted some potential warning signs with Whitbread, including major dilution from new stock issuance in the past year. For more information, you can click here to discover this and the 1 other flag we've identified.

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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.
UP: Elections not won on exit polls basis, results will be surprising: Kamal Nath

Hathras case: Protesting Samajwadi Party workers lathi-charged by UP Police in Lucknow

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

Lucknow, Oct 02: Samajwadi Party workers were on Friday lathi charged by the police in Hazratganj area here while they were taking out a protest march against the Hathras gangrape and farm laws.

The march which started from the party office was supposed to end at the Gandhi statue in the city where the MLAs and senior party leaders were scheduled to begin a 'maun vrat' (vow of silence).

Fact Check: Did Yogi watch Hathras victims cremation live?

However, the protesters were stopped at Hazratganj crossing, where police had put up barricades. As the SP workers insisted on being allowed to move ahead, a heated argument ensued between the two sides following which police personnel resorted to lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

"Today, by arresting party MLAs and senior leaders, going to sit on 'Maun Vrat" and dharna for 'Hathras ki beti', government suppressed the voice of truth in a violent way on the birth anniversaries of Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. This is condemnable," the party's national president Akhliesh Yadav said.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

Hathras case: AAP, other party leaders to stage protest at India Gate today

We demand an FIR against the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of Hathras, he said. "Stopping of peaceful foot march of SP MLAs and leaders on the directives of the chief minister is murder of democracy," the party said.

However, the state police said that the action was taken to maintain the state's law and order. "We have detained SP workers including some MLAs. They have been taken away from the spot (Hazratganj)," a senior police officer said.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 14:44 [IST]
The decision to end duty-free shopping on goods such as perfume, clothing and electronics will lead to 138,000 job losses and cost the economy 3.5billion, according to a report.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is ending VAT refunds for international visitors to shops, and restricting tax savings on goods bought by outbound holidaymakers and business travellers to alcohol and tobacco from January 1.

But business has reacted angrily, saying the tax is being levied just as the pandemic ravages the High Street and the travel sector.

The boss of Bicester Village in Oxfordshire (pictured) wrote to Rishi Sunak and MPs telling them the changes will make Britain 'the least competitive shopping destination in Europe'

Bosses claim the UK will be the only country in the developed world not to offer tax-free shopping to travellers.

The boss of Bicester Village shopping centre in Oxfordshire has written to Sunak and MPs telling them the changes will make Britain 'the least competitive shopping destination in Europe'.

This follows an outcry from Boots, Dixons, Heathrow, Marks & Spencer and 600 West End businesses last month.

Campaigners point to economic analysis by CEBR, which put the cost to the Treasury at 3.5billion as tourists ditch the UK and shop in Europe instead. The Treasury claims ending the tax incentive will save 1billion.

City centres such as Edinburgh, Manchester and Liverpool, which receive billions in tourist revenue every year, are already reeling from a collapse in air travel and the Government's work from home advice.

James Lambert, deputy chairman of Bicester Village owner Value Retail, said: 'The Treasury risks squandering a post-Brexit competitive advantage for the UK over the rest of Europe.

'We will be handing our competitors a free gift, encouraging them to spend their money in other European countries.'

Businesses are considering taking court action, in the form of a Judicial Review.

Heathrow Airport said the decision could cost tens of thousands of jobs in an already-crippled aviation industry.

Sales of luxury products including perfumes, clothing and electronics can account for as much as 75 per cent of total sales in airports.

A poll of 3,000 tourists by Global Blue, a tax refund company, suggested as many as three in five high-spending visitors from the Middle East, China and the Far East will no longer visit the UK as a result of the changes.

The Treasury said the decision was taken 'following concerns that the tax-concession is not always passed on to consumers in airports', while the in-shop VAT refund scheme was 'costly'.
By Daniel Gordon

With Congress attention focused on the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings, it may come as a surprise that the airline industry is still pressing hard for another financial bailout. Congress and U.S. taxpayers would be well advised to avoid such a folly. The COVID-19 Pandemic has caused considerable disruption throughout the global economy. Many industries have been shaken to their core. Bankruptcies have felled once-corporate titans across all sectors of the economy. Layoffs have ensued and unemployment has skyrocketed. Yet for reasons not fully explained, the U.S. airline industry believes that it is uniquely deserving of yet another massive financial assistance package, once again with no strings attached.

The audacity of the U.S. airline industry knows no limit. While it has surely suffered as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, much of the responsibility for the airline industrys current financial distress stems from poor management and negligent corporate governance. Between 2015-2019 alone, U.S. airlines earned closed to $80 billion in profits.[1] In 2019, alone, U.S. airlines generated $196.2 billion in total operating revenue, of which $5.8 billion came from baggage fees and an additional $2.8 billion came from reservation change fees.[2] What happened to the $80 billion in profits that the airlines generated in just 4 years? Most of it was spent on stock buybacks. In fact, over a 10 year period, six major U.S. airlines spent over 96% of their free cash flow on stock buybacks.[3] Stock buybacks, as a financial engineering practice, are not inherently bad. However, when management and boards of directors prioritize stock buybacks over emergency planning, the problem becomes one of poor governance. Between 2013 and 2019, Delta Airlines spent nearly $11.5 billion in stock buybacks. Ironically, Deltas total cost for employee salaries and benefits in 2019 was approximately $11.5 billion. Delta is not alone. American Airlines spent nearly $12.5 billion in stock buybacks during the same period. And, similar to Delta, American Airlines cost for employee wages and benefits was close to $12.5 billion.[4]

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The airlines claim that a second bailout is needed in order to continue to pay their employees and that absent such a bailout, massive layoffs will ensure. In seeking to hold a gun to Congress head, the airline industry reveals its arrogance and loss of proper perspective. Many public companies in the U.S. accumulate cash on their balance sheets. These funds are used for acquisitions, investments and protection against the unexpected. For those companies that do not wish to self-insure against unexpected events, they buy insurance. The airlines would have the American taxpayer believe that the COVID-19 Pandemic was unforeseeable. However, this is quite misleading. Airlines in other major countries had previously confronted disruption from SARS, Swine Flu, MERS and other disruptive outbreaks. While it is true that the precise timing of the COVID-19 Pandemic could not have been reasonably predicted, it is not unreasonable to think that a major public health crisis could impact massive parts of the U.S. economy. In fact, global insurance companies have been selling parametric insurance policies for years  policies that would have covered against pandemic-related losses. A parametric insurance policy insures against low-frequency, high severity losses (eg. Earthquakes, natural disasters, etc). In December 2018, Aon marketed a parametric insurance policy to the hospitality sector that would cover against losses arising from massive disruptions to the travel sector (eg. Grounding of airplanes, etc)[5]. Did any of the U.S. airlines now seeking a bailout pursue the purchase of such insurance? I suspect that we all know the answer to the question without even asking.

Bailouts introduce the problem of moral hazard to corporate boardrooms. And once the board is infected with moral hazard, it is hard to find a cure. Moral hazard leads executives and board members to abrogate their fiduciary duties because they believe that no matter how bad the outcome might be, someone else will cover the losses. This should not be an acceptable business practice and should not be behavior that the government rewards. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, financial institutions received hundreds of billions of dollars in government aid. This aid was given in exchange for preferred equity interests, corporate governance restrictions and other regulatory changes to how the financial institutions would operate going forward. This resulted in the financial assistance being less of an aid package and more of an investment  an investment from which the U.S. Treasury handsomely profited. Similarly, the federal government in 2008 provided $80 billion in emergency loans to General Motors and Chrysler. All but $9 billion was repaid as the automakers reorganized in bankruptcy and emerged stronger and slimmer as a result.

If Congress deems a supplemental financial package for the airline industry to be appropriate, it is imperative that any funding package impose significant restrictions on recipients together with changes in operational practices. Any financial aid package to airlines should take the form of preferred equity  similar to the practice used with financial institutions in 2008. Restrictions should be placed on executive compensation and stock buybacks so that government funds are used to maintain employment levels and not reward executives or shareholders. The boards of directors of these firms should also be reconstituted to ensure proper corporate governance. This includes representation by government oversight nominees as well as board participation by representatives of the airlines workforces. I would even argue that each airline board be required to include a Customer Ombudsmen to guard against the obnoxious business practices that these companies have embraced in recent years. Finally, when the preferred equity is redeemed in the future, the airlines should not be given free rein to return to their past nefarious practices. Instead, the U.S. Department of Transportation should establish Emergency Preparedness Standards for all U.S. airlines. Such standard would require airlines to maintain adequate cash reserves  or third party insurance  to guard against future business operation disruptions. Any airline failing to demonstrate compliance with such standards should be precluded from any form of stock buy-back, dividend, or change in executive compensation.

Congress is right to be concerned about the potential for layoffs as a result of continued weakness in the U.S. transportation and tourism sectors. However, the right way to address those concerns is to provide sufficient long-term funding for unemployment compensation. In fact, Congress could provide enhanced unemployment benefits for employees from certain disproportionately impacted industries as a way to guide such impacted employees through these difficult times. The cost of such unemployment insurance would be significantly less than the amounts sought by the airlines in this most recent bailout request. Congress need not be too worried about threats of airline bankruptcies. The top three U.S. airlines have been through bankruptcy before and have emerged stronger as a result. There is plenty of capital in the marketplace that would finance airline bankruptcy reorganizations  though likely at tougher terms that those outlined above.

Crafting a multi-billion bailout package for the airlines as an indirect mechanism for maintaining employment levels sends the wrong message to airline executives, their board of directors and other industries that might seek similar bailouts in the future. These companies have operated for years with an arrogant level of infallibility and simply cannot be permitted to continue. Airline shareholders enjoyed the benefit of years of large profits and stock buybacks. They now must absorb the loss associated with their investment in companies that exercised poor management sense and inferior corporate governance. To permit any other outcome distorts the traditional role of the shareholder and places shareholder interests ahead of not only airline employees but also the U.S. taxpayer. Such an outcome simply wont fly.

[1] http://www.transtats.bts.gov/Fields.asp?Table_ID=295

[2] http://www.transtats.bts.gov/Fields.asp?Table_ID=295

[3] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-16/u-s-airlines-spent-96-of-free-cash-flow-on-buybacks-chart

[4] https://www.businessinsider.com/airline-stock-buybacks-versus-employee-compensation-2020-4

[5] https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2020/04/03/563224.htm
Martin was arrested at the the Markham Public Library after family members looked into the bags he brought to Illinois and found a severed head and other body parts, Markham city spokesperson Michael Taylor said last month. A deputy coroner in Louisville identified the dismembered woman as Ladawndra Ellington, 31.
The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and ADQ have signed a cooperation agreement to support the Abu Dhabi Local Content (ADLC) Program.

ADDEDs local content, which was launched earlier this year, aims to contribute towards increasing job opportunities for Emiratis, supporting the growth and diversification of Abu Dhabis gross domestic product (GDP), enhancing supply chains locally, and helping companies obtain In-Country Value (ICV) certificates.

As part of the Ghadan 21 government accelerator programme, the ADLC Program seeks to unlock growth opportunities for the private sector to take part in Abu Dhabi Government investments through increased productivity and value-add on locally-produced goods and services.

As per the deal, the parties will collaborate to establish common strategic objectives and a framework designed to identify mutual opportunities to support local products.

The agreement was signed by Rashed Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, ADDEDs Undersecretary, and Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi, the ADQ Chief Investment Officer in the presence of ADDED Chairman Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa and ADQ Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi.

Al Shorafa highlighted the importance of the partnership between ADDED, the owner of the Abu Dhabi Local Content Program initiative, and ADQ, one of the largest holding companies in the region focused on developing vital sectors of strategic importance to the UAE in general and Abu Dhabi in particular.

He reiterated that ADDED continued to fulfill its key role in driving sustainable economic development in the emirate by organising activities for the business sector, as well as issuing various types of commercial licences to enable investors and businessmen to conduct business activities in the emirate.

Lauding the cooperation agreement with ADDED, Alsuwaidi said ADQ was keen to work with the department on the Abu Dhabi Local Content Program, as part of its efforts to promote the growth of diversified GDP as well as enhance private companies contribution to the emirates local economy.

ADQ, he stated, was also delivering initiatives to help nurture Abu Dhabis startup ecosystem and SMEs.

Al Balooshi said during the second quarter, the ADDEDs ADLC Program had resulted in 23 government and semi-government entities acquiring ADLC certificates in their purchases, reaching a total of 1,438 certificates with a combined value of AED25 billion.

There were 78 tenders representing the number of government purchases awarded with an ADLC certificate by the end of Q2 2020, with a total value of AED 1.7 billion, he stated.

Furthermore, government and semi-government entities are planning to open calls for more than 900 tenders which will require ICV certificates, with an estimated value of more than AED 19 billion, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
A former Catholic school chaplain who was placed on leave in January following allegations of misconduct now faces criminal child endangerment charges, after he allegedly allowed students to consume marijuana products in his office, tried to entice them to go off campus with him, and encouraged one student to masturbate to relieve stress, the acting Union County Prosecutor announced.

Salvatore DiStefano, 61, who had been chaplain at Oratory Preparatory School in Summit, was arrested Thursday, and charged with engaging in a pattern of behavior that threatened the welfare of six students, the acting prosecutor, Lyndsay V. Ruotolo, said in the announcement Thursday.

DiStefano, a Catholic priest known to students as Father Sal, is charged with five counts of second-degree use of a juvenile to commit a crime and six counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Ruotolo said.

DiStefano, who prosecutors said had been living at Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church in New Providence, had served as a New York City police officer and probation officer before becoming a priest. Prosecutors said DiStefano preyed on members of an official club he had led at Oratory Prep known as the Knights of Malta.

DiStefano made repeated attempts to speak with the students about sex, prosecutors said, and to entice a particular student, to accompany him away from the school alone and took steps to conceal that activity, for instance, telling the student to leave his cell phone at school so that his true location would be hidden from his parents when he met with him off-campus.

DiStefanos lawyer, Vincent J. Sanzone Jr., said his client is innocent of the charges.

Sanzone emphasized that the charges against his client do not include sex crimes and that, even if convicted, DiStefano would not be subject to community registration and notification requirements under the states sexual predator statute.

Hes not charged with a sexual crime. This is non-sexual, this is non-Megans Law, Sanzone said in a phone interview. Its about students bullying each other, and it got out of control.

Sanzone was a referring to prosecutors' assertions that DiStefano enlisted Knights of Malta members to harass a former club member so severely that he would quit school.

When DiStefano learned that the former club member was hosting a party, he allegedly instructed current club members to plan a party for the same night so that no one would show up, ordering them to make a list of alcohol they wanted so he could buy it for them, Thursdays announcement stated.

The announcement said DiStefano allowed students to consume edible items infused with marijuana in his office, and that he allegedly purchased tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cartridges, which students would smoke in DiStefanos office while he was present, and provided students money so they could purchase such items for themselves.

A first appearance and detention hearing will be scheduled in Superior Court in Elizabeth, according to the announcement, which said the Archdiocese of Newark and Oratory Preparatory School had cooperated with investigation.

The case was investigated by Clergy Abuse Task Force assembled by state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, and by the prosecutors offices Special Victims Unit.

In a statement, Routolo said, The conduct unearthed by our investigative team represents an egregious and total betrayal of trust by a person who was supposed to be helping young men, not hurting them.

Ruotolo urged anyone with information about DiStefanos activities to call Lt. Timothy Durkin at 973-698-9529.

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Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappas younger son and state BJP Vice President B Y Vijayendra on Friday said he has tested positive for COVID-19. During a routine check-up, I tested positive for Covid-19. I am doing fine, asymptomatic, and have isolated myself.

Request everyone who has come in contact with me recently to take precautions and stay safe," Vijayendra tweeted. Vijayendra couple of times in the past had gone into home quarantine when his father and BJP MP from Chamarajanagara V Srinivas Prasad were infected, as he had come in contact with them.

Chief Minister Yediyurappa was infected by COVID in August and he was hospitalised for a few days before here covered.
President Trump walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House before he was airlifted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump was rushed to the hospital for treatment for COVID-19 on Friday evening, less than 24 hours after he tested positive for the coronavirus, and the White House said he would remain at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for at least a few days as concerns mounted that he could face a severe risk from the deadly disease.

The president's surprise diagnosis, and worsening condition, sent shock waves across a country already reeling from the pandemic and bracing for a tumultuous presidential election next month that could hinge on Trump's handling of a public health crisis that has killed more than 208,000 Americans this year.

As senior aides, lawmakers and the Pentagon sought to reassure a nervous public, Trump and the first lady, who also tested positive, spent the day isolated in the White House residence. At sunset, the president walked on his own to the Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House and was flown to the hospital in suburban Maryland.

Wearing a navy suit, blue tie and a black mask, the president flashed a thumbs-up but didn't stop to speak to reporters. After he arrived at the hospital at 6:29 p.m., Trump tweeted a video message thanking people for their support.

"I think I'm doing very well, but we're going to make sure that things work out," he said.

In a letter released earlier Friday by the White House, Trump's physician, Dr. Sean P. Conley, said the president "remains fatigued but in good spirits." White House officials said the president was suffering "mild symptoms" but offered few details.

Kayleigh McEnany, the press secretary, sought to downplay the danger, suggesting Trump was simply shifting his workplace. "Out of abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days," she said in a statement.

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First Lady Melania Trump was not hospitalized, given her symptoms. Conley said she had a mild cough and a headache.

McEnany said the president has not transferred his authority to Vice President Mike Pence. His office said Pence tested negative for the coronavirus Friday, alleviating immediate concerns about the presidential line of succession should Trump become incapacitated and unable to perform official duties.

Trump first announced that he and the first lady had tested positive in a tweet shortly before 1 a.m. Friday. After that, his normal activities ground to a halt.

He didn't tweet or take part in a planned conference call with governors to discuss the pandemic. His campaign also canceled several announced rallies and events this week featuring the president or members of his family, although some events may be held virtually as the campaign moves into its final month.

Trump is now taking remdesivir, a therapeutic treatment that has shown promise in speeding up recovery time from COVID-19, his doctor said Friday evening.

Conley said Trump does not require any supplemental oxygen and is doing very well after arriving at Walter Reed.

The physician said he recommended the president move to the hospital for further monitoring. Conley said he worked in consultation with specialists from Walter Reed and Johns Hopkins University.

The doctor had previously said that Trump had been given an experimental antibody cocktail from pharmaceutical company Regeneron as well as zinc, vitamin D, famotidine and a daily aspirin as part of his treatment regimen.

Medical experts were alarmed that the president was given a drug still in the testing phase, and said it suggested his condition may be more serious than officials have disclosed.

"You wouldn't do that with somebody who is just having an uncomplicated case," said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security.

Adalja also said it wasn't surprising that Trump was hospitalized since he is 74 and overweight, two high risk factors for COVID-19, and reports that he is battling a fever.

"It's not just a mild case if he's getting hospitalized," he said. "It's likely to have more careful monitoring and more therapy and bloodwork and having nurses and doctors around."

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee who pounded Trump's handling of the pandemic when they met Tuesday on the debate stage in Cleveland, tested negative for the virus Friday, according to his doctor.

Jill Biden, his wife, also tested negative. Both said they were praying for the president and his family.

It wasn't clear if two more scheduled presidential debates would come off as planned, events that could give Trump an opportunity to rebound from his widely panned performance in Tuesdays free-for-all.

Pence is scheduled to participate in a debate Wednesday in Utah with Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. The event may carry greater importance for voters given the concerns about Trump's health.

Trump's activities in the past week may pose a challenge for contact tracing.

In addition to the debate, he hosted two rallies, participated in a dozen events and interacted with numerous supporters and donors, many of whom did not wear masks. Health officials in Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New Jersey urged people who attended his events to get tested if they felt ill.

Republicans struggled to keep their legislative plans on track, including a controversial Supreme Court nomination, while Pentagon officials tried to allay concerns about the nation's military readiness.

Mark Meadows, President Trump's chief of staff, returns to the White House after speaking with reporters. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

At the White House, some staffers suddenly wore face masks after months of eschewing the practice to placate the president, and senior aides sought to calm public anxieties after Trump's pre-dawn tweet Friday.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Trump showed "mild symptoms" of COVID-19 but was in "good spirits" and energetic. "His first question to me this morning was, 'How is the economy doing?'"

The first lady posted a brief thank-you message to well-wishers on social media.

"I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good," she tweeted. "I am looking forward to a speedy recovery."

Although no one else in the president's inner circle had tested positive, Meadows made clear that he expects the outbreak to spread because the virus is often most contagious before symptoms appear.

"I fully expect that as this virus continues to go on other people in the White House will certainly have a positive test result," he told reporters.

His prediction proved accurate later that evening, when Kellyanne Conway, a top presidential advisor, tweeted that she had tested positive.

"My symptoms are mild (light cough) and Im feeling fine," she said. "I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians."

Trump's campaign manager, Bill Stepien, also tested positive for the coronavirus, the campaign confirmed late Friday night  roughly 24 hours after the president's announcement that he had contracted the virus.

He had been intimately involved in preparations for Tuesdays debate, meeting with Trump at the White House on Monday and traveling with him on Air Force One to and from Cleveland on Tuesday.

Stepien, the former White House political director who took over the campaign in July, will work from home for the time being.

It's unclear where the White House outbreak began, but one of Trump's closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive on Thursday. She flew with him recently on Air Force One and Marine One, the president's helicopter.

Meadows sought to explain Trump's decision to travel Thursday afternoon to a fundraiser at his golf club in New Jersey after officials knew about Hicks' test results. He claimed staffers didn't learn about them until Trump was lifting off the South Lawn in the afternoon, although another aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Hicks' test had occurred hours earlier.

Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chairwoman, announced that she had also tested positive for COVID-19. She often travels with the president and was last with him on Sept. 25 when he traveled to Virginia.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of a half-dozen advisors closely involved with helping the president prepare for his debate Tuesday with Biden, told ABC News Friday that "no one was wearing masks in the room when we were prepping the president."

Biden, the Democratic nominee, said he would pray for the president and first lady.

"Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family, Biden tweeted.

The Bidens' primary care physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, said they both underwent PCR testing Friday "and COVID-19 was not detected."

"Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern," Biden tweeted later. "I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands."

Trump had mocked Biden during their debate for limiting his public appearances and frequently wearing masks, as public health experts recommend.

"I don't wear masks like him," Trump said. "Every time you see him, he's got a mask."

On Capitol Hill, Republicans insisted that the presidential health crisis would have little impact on the effort to hold confirmation hearings before the election for conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tweeted that he and Trump spoke by phone Friday and "talked business  especially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett. Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve."

Hours earlier, McConnell sounded more circumspect in a radio interview, calling the virus "the biggest enemy" to a swift confirmation process. Confirmation hearings are scheduled to start Oct. 12, but McConnell said it may be conducted, at least in part, remotely.

But Democrats seized on the fact that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a member of the Judiciary Committee, also tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, days after he met in his office with Barrett, who was diagnosed with the virus earlier this year but recovered.

Later Friday, another Republican member of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Thom Tillis, said that he also had tested positive and would self-isolate for 10 days. Tillis is locked in a tight reelection race in North Carolina.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) tested positive Friday afternoon after exposure to another individual with a positive test shortly after he returned to Washington on Sept. 29, according to a statement from his staff. Johnson was previously in quarantine for two weeks after exposure to someone with a positive test on Sept. 14. He tested negative twice during that quarantine period.

The senator felt healthy and was not experiencing symptoms, according to a statement from his staff, and planned to remain isolated until given the all-clear by his doctor.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called for delaying the confirmation hearings.

We cant move forward on Amy Coney Barrett or anything else until we know whether there was some super-spreader event at the White House or at that debate, which has resulted in perhaps more Senate staff and members than Mike Lee contracting this disease, he said on MSNBC.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who is third in the line of succession to the presidency, said she received the news of Trump's positive diagnosis "with great sadness." She said she was tested "out of an abundance of caution" and her results were negative.

"Maybe now that people who see the President of the United States with all the protection that he has and the first lady still having this exposure, it might be, as you say, a learning experience," she said on MSNBC. "But more than learning, it has to be something that is acted upon."

Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who last met with Trump on Sunday and is traveling overseas, was awaiting coronavirus test results Friday. Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tested negative, according to Jonathan Hoffman, a Pentagon spokesman.

He said the appearance of two E-6B Mercury aircraft, which can serve as airborne command posts in emergencies, on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts just before Trump's announcement shortly after midnight were on "preplanned missions" and the timing was "purely coincidental."

"Theres been no change to [Defense Department] alert levels," Hoffman said. "The U.S. military stands ready to defend our country and interests. Theres no change to the readiness or capability of our armed forces. Our national command and control structure is in no way affected by this announcement."

Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said Trump's diagnosis will create a challenge for tracing his contacts because of the virus' incubation period, which can last days before it's detected.

"Anyone near Ms. Hicks from Monday on, President from Tuesday on should quarantine," he tweeted. "I'd go back, test everyone near President from at least Saturday on to see if we can identify source."

Times staff writers Jen Haberkorn and David S. Cloud in Washington, Michael Finnegan in Los Angeles and Mark Z. Barabak in San Francisco contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein has been charged with six more counts of forcible sexual assault in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles District Attorney said on Friday.

The charges involve two victims and stem from incidents that occurred more than a decade ago in an unnamed Beverly Hills hotel, District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement.

'I am thankful to the first women who reported these crimes and whose courage have given strength to others to come forward,' Lacey said in a statement.

'The willingness of these latest victims to testify against a powerful man gives us the additional evidence we need to build a compelling criminal case,' Lacey added.

Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein (seen in 2018) has been charged with six more counts of forcible sexual assault in Los Angeles

In January, Weinstein was charged in Los Angeles with with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in 2013.

The new charges announced on Friday include three felony counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation.

Weinstein now faces charges involving five victims for crimes that span from 2004 to 2013 in the Los Angeles area, Lacey said.

The new charges include an incident between September 2004 and September 2005 where Weinstein allegedly raped a woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills.

He is also accused of raping another woman on two separate occasions in November 2009 and November 2010 at a hotel in Beverly Hills.

In New York, a jury convicted Weinstein on February 24 of two out of five criminal charges: one count of criminal sexual assault in the first degree and one count of rape in the third degree.

Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey (seen last month) announced the six new counts against Weinstein in a statement on Friday

He was sentenced to 23 years in prison, which he is serving at Wende Correctional Facility in upstate New York.

While behind bars at Wende, 68-year-old Weinstein tested positive for COVID-19 in March. He was placed in isolation and reportedly recovered without showing significant symptoms.

Sex crime allegations against Weinstein first emerged in October 2017, when the New Yorker and the New York Times reported that more than a dozen women claimed that he had sexually assaulted, harassed or raped them.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles are seeking the temporary custody of Weinstein from New York. An extradition hearing is set for December 11 in Buffalo.

If convicted of the new charges in Los Angeles, Weinstein would face up to 140 additional years in prison.
Syracuse, NY -- A Fayetteville man will spend more than 16 years in federal prison after admitting to secretly recording two minors having sex 23 separate times, while also amassing a large child porn collection that included young children.

Alan Longmore, 68, was originally charged in connection with his porn collection in October 2018. But the investigation also revealed that hed personally taken 52 videos himself of the minors having sex, federal prosecutors wrote in court papers.

This takes him out of the realm of a typical collector of child pornography who merely trades or otherwise amasses his collection, Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Brown noted. In this case, the defendant produced a substantial collection of (child pornography) by secretly recording the victims while they were engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

As far as the internet porn collection, Longmore collected the illegal files using BitTorrent, a file-sharing program, court papers state.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Randi Bianco noted that Longmore did not encourage the two minors to have sex; he simply recorded it.

As far as the porn, Longmore said that he clicked on ads for pornography that ended up containing illegal images, Bianco continued in court paperwork. Longmore did not look at every file, she said, but nevertheless took responsibility for staying on sites that he knew contained illegal porn.

Bianco also noted a dramatic downturn in Longmores life fortunes: hed been an executive at the Bank of New York making $130,000 a year before the 2007 financial crisis. By the time of his arrest, he was stocking shelves at Home Depot and Tops Friendly Markets. Hed also been married three times in relationships that included infidelity -- perhaps by all three wives, the public defender said.

Bianco had sought 15 years in prison for Longmore; prosecutors had sought 17 1/2 years.

U.S. District Judge David Hurd sentenced him to 195 months, or 16 years and 3 months, in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 2)  The Philippines is now part of the top 20 nations with the most number of COVID- 19 infections. But for the Department of Health and local medical researchers, this does not necessarily mean the country is lacking in its coronavirus pandemic response.

The Philippines on Thursday night reached a grim turning point in its COVID-19 fight. It surpassed Pakistan, which held the 20th spot for weeks. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the country has a total of 314,079 COVID-19 infections while Pakistan has 313,431. The Philippines is also inching closer to surpassing the numbers of Italy, the country that was once the epicenter of the virus in Europe.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire and the OCTA Research Team on Friday acknowledged the country's unfortunate inclusion in the list. Vergeire said the high number of cases is still due to the continuing community transmission and expanded testing efforts.

Despite the bleak news, OCTA Research fellow and University of the Philippines Professor Ranjit Rye said the Philippines is among those in the list with decreasing number of newly-recorded cases. He said that for their team, the trend of cases is more important than the cumulative number of infections because it reflects if ongoing measures are effective.

"Kapag tiningnan mo yung Top 20, kakaunti lang ang bansa na yung trend ay pababa, isa na ang Pilipinas doon... Ang trend sa Pilipinas pababa na almost a month," he said in an interview with CNN Philippines on Friday.

[Translation: When you look at the countries in the Top 20, only a few have a downtrend in cases. In the Philippines, the trend has been going down for almost a month.]

He noted that the reproduction number  or the indicator of how fast the virus is spreading  continues to go down every week based on their studies. He said this could mean a slower increase in cases. From averaging 4,000 new cases daily last week, Rye said the weekly average is now down to over 2,000 infections daily. He also noted the "dramatic" decrease in the cases in Metro Manila, which is the epicenter of the coronavirus in the country.

The professor said the challenge now is how to sustain the improvements. He urged the government to further improve its testing, tracing, and treatment efforts. He also said local governments can play a bigger role in monitoring their communities.

"Makikita natin 'yung kolektibo nating ginagawa merong nararating at yung downward trend, nandoon na po," Rye said. "Kailangan lang ho mag sikap pa tayo, maging mas maingat at mas maagap. Mabababa pa po ito."

[Translation: We can see that the collective efforts are working. We are already on the downward trend. We need to work harder. We can bring it down further.]

Vergeire also said the healthcare system in the country can better manage the COVID-19 cases now.

"We might be in the Top 20 among all of the countries in the world in the number of cases, but when we look at our health systems capacity, it has improved tremendously. Nakita natin noon na talagang hirap na hirap tayo just to accommodate patients [Before, we struggled to accommodate patients]," she said in a separate media forum.

Rye stressed the need for additional healthcare workers, not just focusing on increasing hospital, bed, and critical care capacity.

"'Yung mga ospital natin ngayon 50, 60 percent capacity. Yesterday below 70 pero puno pa rin siya. Hirap pa rin 'yung mga healthcare workers natin, hirap pa rin yung ating mga ospital at the moment. So kailangan tayo magtulungan," he said.

[Translation: Hospitals are still at 50 to 60 percent capacity. Yesterday it was under 70, but it's still full. Healthcare workers and hospitals are still struggling. We need to work together.]

Rye warned of a surge in cases around Christmas if the public gets complacent with the current downward trend.

"Kahit na pababa pong trend na ito, it's not reversible na po kung magpapabaya tayo, tataas po tayo Christmas," he said.

[Translation: Even if the trend is going down, once we let down our guard, we'll see a surge in Christmas.]
The head of the World Health Organization, a body which U.S. President Donald Trump has savaged for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, on Friday sent his best wishes to Trump and his wife Melania after they tested positive for coronavirus.

"My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a full and speedy recovery," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyeusus said in a Tweet.

The United States, formerly top donor of the Geneva-based body, has said it plans to withdraw and cut off funding, saying the WHO was too close to China.
KYODO NEWS - Oct 2, 2020 - 18:46 | All, Japan

A man received a suspended prison term Friday over road rage incidents last year, including an attack on a driver captured by a dashboard camera that shocked people in Japan.

The Mito District Court in Ibaraki Prefecture sentenced Fumio Miyazaki, a 44-year-old company executive, to two and a half years in prison, suspended for four years, in one of the recent high-profile road rage cases in the country.

According to the ruling, Miyazaki forced a car to pull over on the Joban Expressway in Moriya, northeast of Tokyo, on Aug. 10, 2019, by frequently approaching the car while driving side by side and slowing down abruptly in front of it. He then punched the male driver in his 20s in the face.

Miyazaki drove similarly against two other drivers on the Tomei Expressway in Shizuoka and Aichi prefectures on July 23 last year, according to the ruling.

Those acts "can cause a serious accident and are extremely dangerous," Presiding Judge Takeyuki Yuki said in handing down the ruling. "He felt his driving was disturbed and wanted to retaliate. Such a motivation is selfish."

In the Ibaraki case, Miyazaki's action was mostly recorded by a dashboard camera in the victim's car and repeatedly aired on television and shared online. Police put him on a nationwide wanted list after the incident.

Following a number of serious road rage incidents in Japan, the government has revised the road traffic law to newly define "obstructive driving" and impose harsher penalties on drivers who engage in such acts as blocking the path of another vehicle to stop it.

But as Miyazaki was indicted before the legal revision took effect, prosecutors charged him not only with bodily injury but also coercion, in a rare decision for a road rage case.

His defense counsel criticized the move, saying the prosecutors tried to impose the harshest penalty available on Miyazaki, who admitted to the charges. His counsel sought a suspended term.

The prosecutors sought a prison term of three years and eight months, saying he should be penalized strictly from the standpoint of preventing other drivers from engaging in dangerous driving.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a tweet that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19. The president said they will begin quarantine and recovery process immediately." The president was tested after Hope Hicks, one of his closest aides, also tested positive. Hicks traveled with Trump aboard Air Force One to and from the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday.

Donald Trump tweeted, "Tonight,@FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Trumps positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week. Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 200,000 people nationwide.

In a memo released early Friday morning, Trumps physician said that the president and first lady plan to remain at the White House during their convalescence" and that the medical unit would maintain a vigilant watch."Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments," White House physician Scott Conley said.

The diagnosis marks a major blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them even as cases continue to rise with four weeks before Election Day. And it stands as the most serious known public health scare encountered by any sitting American president in recent history.

Trump had consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened.

I felt no vulnerability whatsoever," he said told reporters back in May.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would begin self-quarantine while waiting for coronavirus test results after Hope Hicks, one of his closest aides, tested positive for Covid-19. Hicks traveled with Trump aboard Air Force One to and from the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday.

Donald Trump also joins other world leaders who tested positive for the virus, including Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez. All of them survived, though Johnson became seriously ill.

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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in the Senate subway area of the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 4, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Trump in Good Spirits, Asks About Barrett Hearing: Graham, McConnell

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said President Donald Trump is in good spirits and First Lady Melania Trump is doing good.

The top Republican and close Trump allies said he called the first couple this morning.

I talked to President Trump this morning  First thing I asked him about was the First Lady. Shes doing good, he said during an event in Myrtle Beach with the South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police. The President was in good spirits. The first thing he asked me is hows the hearings going?

Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was referring the nomination hearing of Trumps U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) nominee Amy Coney Barrett which was scheduled on Oct. 12.

He told the president that the hearing is on track: Were going to start October the 12th.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also affirmed that Trump is in good spirits.

Just finished a great phone call with @POTUS. Hes in good spirits and we talked businessespecially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett. Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve, he wrote in a Twitter post.

He continues to be not only in good spirits but very energetic, said White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to reporters Friday morning. We talked a number of times this morning. I got the five or six things that he had tasked me to do, like I do every single morning. He is certainly wanting to make sure we stay engaged.

Trumps physician, Dr. Sean Conley, announced in a memorandum early Friday that both the president and first lady have tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as novel coronavirus, which spread from Wuhan, China, and causes the disease COVID-19.

Both Trumps are well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence, Conley said.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk from the Marine One helicopter back to the White House after traveling to Fort McHenry in Baltimore for Memorial Day holiday commemorations from Washington, U.S., May 25, 2020. (Erin Scott/Reuters)

The Trumps were tested after White House aide Hope Hicks tested positive for the CCP virus.

Many people around Trump were tested after the Trumps, including their youngest son, Barron, Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and White House advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. All of them tested negative.

Barrett, the judge nominated to be the SCOTUS justice to fill the vacancy left by late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, also tested negative.

The CCP virus originated from Wuhan city in China and infected over 34 million people, claiming the lives of more than 1 million outside China, according to government data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

The Chinese regime has claimed that there are only 90,567 infections and 4,739 deaths inside China, which remains a highly doubtful figure due to the rapid spread of the virus outside of China.

Its widely reported that the Chinese regime covered up the outbreak and refused to share information with other countries.

In America, more than 7.2 million people have reportedly been infected and over 207,000 have reportedly died with the disease. It has become a highly political issue leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
The ongoing duel between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is beginning to repeat itself. Netanyahu gave his latest Hezbollah-related performance in his annual address to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 29, videotaped several days earlier in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu presented his viewers with what he described as a storage depot of Hezbollah missiles in the heart of Beiruts Janah neighborhood, saying it was located next to a gas company warehouse and a service station. Netanyahus meticulously prepared PowerPoint was convincing. It included skillfully presented photos purported to be the entrance to the missile site next to the entrance of the gas warehouse, as well as a personal appeal to the residents of Lebanon explaining how Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons were endangering their well-being.

Netanyahu masterfully leveraged the horrific explosion at the Beirut port the previous month as only he knows how. The point was to pit Hezbollah and the residents of Lebanon against each other, to deepen the gap between supporters and opponents of the Shiite organization and to warn residents of the beleaguered state and its capital city that Nasrallah continues to drag them into an abyss. Israeli intelligence is closely monitoring the deterioration in Lebanon and the populations growing despair. Few in Jerusalem are shedding a tear over the predicament of Israels northern neighbor. All Israel is doing is helping the Lebanese arrive at the correct conclusion, as it sees it: Nasrallah is to blame for all their countrys troubles.

Nasrallah did not disappoint in responding to Netanyahu just minutes later, calling the prime minister a liar, denying outright all his claims and saying that Hezbollah would not store missiles near gas canisters. We know where to store missiles, he added. He then invited media representatives to tour the warehouse to which Netanyahu had pointed. The tour of the site was conducted an hour later, but did not resolve the dispute or clarify the situation. Netanyahu and Nasrallah found themselves facing off with their fingers on the trigger and harsh domestic crises roiling around them.

By the way, a similar standoff occurred exactly two years ago, with the only difference being that Netanyahu delivered his September 2018 speech to the General Assembly in person. The speech was similar, as was the information he presented of a missile depot near Beiruts international airport, and Nasrallah was also quick to respond. This week, the information that Netanyahu presented was slightly more precise, including close-ups of the entrance door to the purported site.

Hezbollahs standing in Lebanon in those days was also somewhat different, with its problems less pronounced and the Beirut port intact. These days, Nasrallah is fighting for his organizations legitimacy in Lebanon, with the explosion that literally and figuratively rocked the state setting off a social media storm that has not abated and a significant number of Lebanese losing their fear of Hezbollahs mythical power. Netanyahu is also in far more dire straits than he was two years ago. His trial on charges of corruption has begun, the economy is tanking under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the disease is raging and Israelis are blaming Netanyahu for the embarrassing fact that their startup nation is leading the world in terms of new COVID-19 deaths per capita.

Nonetheless, despite the vague sense of deja vu generated by this weeks scuffle, it should not be taken lightly. Two years ago, following Netanyahus General Assembly address, an article on this site speculated that Israel might be weighing a preemptive strike on Hezbollahs missile infrastructure in Lebanon. Netanyahu hinted at such an option at the time, as he did once again this week.

On the one hand, Israel has never landed a preemptive strike against any of its enemies conventional arms buildup. However, Israel argues that Hezbollah has an significant arsenal of missiles and is trying to adapt some of them for precision strikes. Acquisition of accurate strike capabilities against Israeli infrastructure, military airfields and other strategic targets would be a dramatic game changer that Israel cannot afford.

What is more, Israel has avoided making a preemptive strike so far, fearing the destruction Hezbollah could wreak in retaliation on the Israeli heartland. These days, the health and economic crisis are wreaking havoc on the heartland without Nasrallah. With unemployment surging and most of the economy under lockdown, Israel is on a warlike footing in any case. In other words, at this precise point in time Israel has nothing to lose from a preemptive strike. Such a surprise attack would enable it to destroy a significant part of Hezbollahs weapons and missile systems, a result Israel would be unable to achieve if it lost the element of surprise once a war broke out.

This analysis notwithstanding, there does not appear to be any need at this stage to prepare the shelters or flee. Netanyahu is under heavy personal siege and dragging Israel into all-out war would be tantamount to political suicide under these circumstances. Israel would also have a hard time mobilizing international cooperation or support for a move that could set the entire Middle East on fire. In addition, the prospects that a preemptive strike on Nasrallah would completely destroy Hezbollahs rocket and missiles capability are nil. Unlike past destruction of two Arab nuclear reactors (in Iraq and Syria), a synchronized raid on hundreds of missile and rocket sites is a complex endeavor with uncertain prospects of success.

Taken together, all these considerations preclude a realistic option of a preemptive strike. Neither Nasrallah nor Netanyahu are up to anything but a clash of words, given their circumstances. Having said all of the above, the usual caveat is in order: We are in the Middle East. Anything, at any place, at any time, is possible.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - We woke up to the shocking news Friday that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus. The news comes a few days after Trump, his family, staff and supporters were in Cleveland Tuesday for the first presidential debate.

Were talking about the ramifications on This Week in the CLE.

Listen online here.

Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour podcast, with editors Jane Kahoun and Kris Wernowsky, answering all sorts of questions from the news.

Youve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom account, in which he shares once or twice a day what were thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up for free by sending a text to 216-868-4802.

And youve been offering all sorts of great perspective in our coronavirus alert account, which has 13,000-plus subscribers. You can sign up for free by texting 216-279-7784.

Here are the questions were answering today:

President Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus following his visit to Cleveland this week for the presidential debate? What are the ramifications? We dont know whether Trump was infected in Cleveland. At least three Ohio politicians -- U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, are getting precautionary coronavirus tests. Jordan was on Air Force One with Trump for the trip from Washington to Cleveland.

What percentage of the states schools are heading back to the classroom during the pandemic, and how many students so far are sick? About 57% of Ohios school districts are planning five-day returns to school buildings, according to an updated map from the Ohio Department of Education. Ohios public, private and community schools reported 440 new coronavirus cases in K-12 schools this week

What is Ohio Governor Mike DeWine saying and doing about the legislatures failure to repeal the bribery-inspired bill that will force us all to give $1.3 to the owner of the states two nuclear plants? DeWine said Thursday he wants Energy Harbor and FirstEnergy Corp. to open their books to the public about whether two nuclear power plants actually need a $1.3 billion ratepayer bailout.

Everyone seems to love the downtown Heinens, so when is it reopening after the damage was repaired following the May 30th riot downtown? The store is set to reopen next week.

Cuyahoga County started the pandemic as the statewide leader in coronavirus cases, but our fortunes have changed. Whats the good news were hearing here, and roughly how many people have had this thing statewide? While new coronavirus case numbers have increased across the state in recent days, they have remained steady, even declining some, in Cuyahoga County.

Do Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Senator Rob Portman denounce white supremacy, even if their fellow Republican, Donald Trump, wont? Portman has called on Trump to unequivocally condemn white supremacy, saying there is no place in our society for hate groups of any kind. DeWine denounced political extremists, including racist hate groups, while not directly criticizing Trump.

Want more of This Week in the CLE? You can find all our past episodes here.

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TORONTO, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Metro Supply Chain Group ("Metro") announced today that it has been awarded a contract with the Government of Canada to store and distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to provinces and territories. Metro will begin its work with the Public Health Agency of Canada effective immediately.

Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Anita Anand was one of several participants in the Canadian government's COVID-19 response press conference held on September 29th. She outlined her department's proactive PPE procurement, including an increase in numbers of deliveries that have stretched existing warehouses to capacity. "That is why I am pleased to announce," Anand said "that on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada has issued a new contract to Metro Logistics Inc. of Montreal to help with warehousing and distribution of PPE to provinces and territories. This increased capacity for the Public Health Agency of Canada to warehouse and distribute PPE is paramount as orders continue to arrive."

"We're proud to have the levels of infrastructure and technology that support the distribution of sensitive and time-critical products throughout Canada," said Metro CEO, Chiko Nanji, in response to the government's announcement. "The effective distribution of PPE is vital to our Country's efforts to respond to the current health crisis."

About Metro Supply Chain Group

The Metro Supply Chain Group of Companies is a Canadian-owned leading provider of third-party logistics (3PL) services across North America and Europe with more than 6000 associates in the team. It supplies customized services to all industries with a significant presence in the consumer packaged goods, retail, automotive, fashion and e-commerce sectors. The Group manages over 12 million sq. ft. of strategically located warehousing and co-pack centers and has transportation solutions that include managed transport services, dedicated fleet management and global time critical logistics response. For more information, visit metroscg.com.

SOURCE Metro Supply Chain Group

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www.metroscg.com


Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 23:58:35|Editor: huaxia

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PARIS, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a plan on Friday to tackle what he called "separatism of radical Islamism" in the country through better regulation as well as educational and social actions that would be formalized in a bill in December.

"There is in this radical Islamism (...) a claimed and displayed will, a methodical organization to deny the laws of the Republic and to create a parallel order," said Macron in a speech delivered at Les Mureaux, a town about 40 kilometers to the west of Paris, with a historically large immigrant population.

Stressing the plan "is not against all Muslims" but to prevent radicalization and safeguard secularism, Macron said that France "must face the unacceptable and radical forms with great determination."

A draft law to strengthen the country's 1905 law on secularism, which officially separated church and state, will be presented on Dec. 9, he added.

New measures include addressing the school environment to avoid having children "indoctrinated" in unregistered schools.

"Education at school will be made compulsory for everyone from 3 years old and from the start of the 2021 school year, except in cases of health imperatives (...) The personnel, the educational content of the lessons, the origin of the funding: everything will be scrutinized," Macron specified.

Against pressure from groups or communities forcing municipal elected officials to separate men and women for access to swimming pools or cafeterias, the proposed law will give prefects (representatives of central government at the regional level) more power.

"Once the law is voted, the prefect may suspend the municipal acts corresponding to these situations," said Macron.

The obligation of neutrality, which means no wearing of religious symbols at work, will be extended from public servants to employees of public service subcontractor companies, he said.

Associations suspected of radical influence will be dissolved. "We can dissolve associations when it is established that they carry messages against our laws and our principles," said Macron.

"Islam in France must be freed from foreign influence," he said, adding that his government "is going to train our imams in France."

France is home to one of Europe's largest Muslim communities. In recent years, cases of French youths enrolling to fight in conflicts in the Middle East, as well as a series of local terror attacks since 2015, have made counter-radicalization a political priority. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 10:09:26|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy in Britain on Thursday strongly condemned the despicable acts of separatist Hong Kong rioters who burnt the national flag and assaulted the embassy building.

In a statement on its website, the Chinese embassy said a dozen "Hong Kong independence" rioters set fire to the national flag of China on Thursday afternoon, in "blatant, flagrant and abominable" acts of vandalizing and insult in front of the embassy.

The rioters also assaulted the main gate of the embassy building and put up separatist slogans on the gate.

The rioters' actions amounted to grave desecration of the dignity of China and the nation, and violation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the National Flag and the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, challenge to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China and threat to the security and safety of the premises and staff of the Chinese embassy, said the statement.

The Chinese embassy expressed strong indignation and condemnation against such despicable acts. "These acts fully reveal the ugly nature of 'Hong Kong independence' elements as violent perpetrators and their true agenda of disrupting China and destabilizing Hong Kong," said the statement.

"The action of these rioters is against the will of the Chinese nation and will never succeed," it said.

The Chinese embassy said it has lodged solemn representation with the British police and the Foreign Office, urging the British side to make swift investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice at an early date.

The embassy also urged the British side to take concrete measures to fulfill its responsibilities and obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as the receiving state, safeguard the inviolability of diplomatic and consular missions, and ensure the security, safety and dignity of the premises and staff of the Chinese embassy and consulates-general in the country. Enditem
Charles Goldberg President, Hebrew Order of David, Lodge Carmel said, "Alan Rubenstein was a founding member and past president of HOD Lodge Carmel in Atlanta as well as a mentor to me and many of our members. He led our lodge in numerous meaningful community service projects over the years. He was a gifted leader, and everyone enjoyed his humor and guidance. Our lodge is proud to have been a substantial contributor in donating a van to JF&CS in honor of Alan and his family."

The IDDS team had a wheelchair-accessible, custom van on its "wish list," for more than a year, as the program needs have grown. In addition, one of the vans needed substantial repairs.

"Our HOD van will allow us to explore the community with our clients and ensure that they are attaining their own goals for community inclusion. Whether in volunteerism or an educational workshop, or some fun recreational activity; the HOD van will get us there safely and reliably," said Melissa DaSilva, director of IDDS.

The Hebrew Order of David and JF&CS have a long history of mutual support. This is the fourth van the HOD has donated to JF&CS over the last 20 years; however, the previous vans were used for JETS transportation services for older adults. Additionally, HOD hosts an annual Rosh Hashanah appeal for JF&CS clients. The appeal raises money to provide holiday meals for Jewish clients who cannot afford to celebrate the holiday.

"We have had a longstanding relationship with the Hebrew Order of David, primarily because of the relationship that Alan Rubenstein forged with both of our organizations," said Terri Bonoff, CEO of JF&CS. "We are humbled by HOD's generosity to purchase a van in memory of their brother, former International Grand President, Alan Rubenstein."

About JF&CS

Established in 1891, Jewish Family & Career Services (JF&CS) offers programs and resources to help the Atlanta community. Guided by Jewish values, JF&CS serves thousands of individuals annually regardless of age, race, religion, national origin or ability to pay. We offer counseling and therapy for individuals, families and groups, older adult services, careers and support services, intellectual and developmental disabilities services, as well as free dental services at the Ben Massell Dental Clinic. For more information, please call 770.677.9300 or visit JFCSatl.org.

SOURCE Jewish Family & Career Services Atlanta

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(CNN)  The once-secret daughter of former Belgian King Albert II has won a legal battle over her rights to a royal title and will now be officially known as Princess of Belgium.

The Brussels Court of Appeal ruled the king's biological daughter Delphine Boel is entitled to the the same rights and royal titles as her father's other three children.

The 52-year-old sculptor Boel launched a lawsuit in 2013 to have the former king, who is now 86 years old, recognized as her father. She claimed the king had an affair with her mother, Sibylle de Selys Longchamps, resulting in her birth in 1968.

The king contested the claims for seven years and even failed to submit to a DNA paternity test when ordered to do so by the Brussels Court of Appleal in October 2018. Last May, the court ruled that the former king would face a daily fine of 5,000 ($5,600) until he took the test  which he finally agreed to.

In January, he acknowledged he was indeed Boel's biological father.

Boel will now change her last name to that of her father "Saxe Cobourg." Her children will also become Princess and Prince of Belgium.

"She is delighted with this court decision which puts an end to a long procedure which is particularly painful for her and her family," Boel's lawyer Yves-Henri Leleu said in a statement to CNN. "A legal victory will never replace the love of a father but offers a sense of justice," he added.

Albert II married Paola Ruffo di Calabria, later Queen Paola of Belgium, in 1959 and became king in 1993. In 2013, at the age of 79, Albert II abdicated the throne in favor of his son Philippe, citing concerns over his age and health.

Rumors about a child born from an extramarital affair began floating around just a few years after his ascension to the throne, fueled by allegations published in a 1999 biography about Queen Paola.

The scandal, and Boel's name as the alleged child, were splashed across front pages of newspapers. She began speaking openly about the case to media in the following years, despite the king's repeated denials of paternity.

This story was first published on CNN.com "The secret daughter of former Belgian king wins the right to call herself a princess"
AUGUSTA, Ga., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul at Gordon Highway permanently closed its doors on Sept. 30.

Though U-Haul operations ceased at 1802 Gordon Hwy., the Company announced that it plans to maintain ownership and lease the property to a new tenant. The facility has been serving do-it-yourself movers in Augusta since 1977.

Customers of the location can find U-Haul products less than a mile away at the new U-Haul Moving & Storage at Gordon Hwy. This is the site of a former Kmart store that was acquired in 2019. U-Haul is offering truck and trailer sharing, indoor self-storage, U-Box portable storage containers, moving supplies, boxes, towing equipment, hitch accessories, bike racks and more.

Acquisition of the new store was driven by U-Haul Corporate Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul supports infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. The adaptive reuse of existing buildings reduces the amount of energy and resources required for new-building materials and helps cities reduce their unwanted inventory of unused buildings.

Local U-Haul Companies are always exploring opportunities for growth as they pursue means to better serve the needs of customers, but sometimes find it necessary to close or relocate stores. Reasons for closures can include: long-term strategic plans; physical plant limitations, including insufficient square footage; shifts in demographics; trends in migration; expansion of the U-Haul neighborhood dealer network; and proximity to other new or existing U-Haul stores.

As a result of the old store closing, four U-Haul Team Members were let go.

As an essential service provider, U-Haul has remained open throughout the COVID-19 outbreak while offering contactless programs and enhanced cleaning protocols, including added steps for sanitizing equipment between customer transactions. U-Haul products are used daily by First Responders; delivery companies bringing needed supplies to people's homes; small businesses trying to remain afloat; college students; and countless other dependent groups, in addition to the household mover.

Please visit uhaul.com/announcement for more information on how U-Haul is keeping its Team Members and customers safe.

About U-HAUL

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 176,000 trucks, 127,000 trailers and 41,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 774,000 rentable storage units and 66.7 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S.

Contact:

Andrea Batchelor

Jeff Lockridge

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 602-263-6981

Website: uhaul.com

SOURCE U-Haul

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The latest figures released this morning from Homelet have revealed that, for landlords at least, rents are begining to move in the right direction with the third successive monthly rise.

According to the data, the average rent in the UK now stands at 987, up by 0.2% on last month and up 4% from June where it stood at 951. When London is excluded, the average rent in the UK is now 828 - up by 3.9% on last year.

Ten of the twelve regions monitored by HomeLet showed an increase in rental values between September 2019 and September 2020, with the South West seeing an increase of 6.6%.

However, rents in London are down YOY, showing a 2.8% fall between September 2019 and September 2020, the fourth decrease in annual variance in subsequent months. Northern Ireland also shows a yearly decrease, with a 2.4% fall between September 2019 and September 2020.

Seven of the twelve regions monitored showed an increase in rental values between August 2020 and September 2020, with the North East seeing the biggest increase of 2.2%. In September 2020, the average rental value in London of 1,646 was 99% higher than the rest of the UK, excluding London (828).

Martin Totty, chief executive at HomeLet, comments:

Whilst its undoubtedly the case many landlords are being supportive of their tenants and agreeing on temporary reductions or deferrals, it will be encouraging for them to see rents agreed on new tenancies, in almost all parts of the country, are continuing to hold up and generally edge forward.

This is likely because tenant demand remains strong whilst supply may be a little more constrained if some landlords are selling into a stronger sales market, even if that could be a short term phenomenon. It also doesn`t help tenants much if, for them, the prospect of securing first-time mortgage finance remains as elusive as ever.

So, those landlords committed to the sector for the long term and having shown their willingness to confront the multiple headwinds of taxation change; new regulatory requirements; and, in certain circumstances, longer notice periods to gain possession of their properties, may still be rewarded for their flexibility and their perseverance with reasonable returns on their investment risk.
Whether you like ghoulish tales steeped in history, or exciting ghost hunts complete with spirit-sensing gadgetry, ghost tours across the country are waiting to welcome you and your pet with their spooky arms. Here are our picks for the most entertaining pet-friendly ghost tours in the United States. If weve overlooked a great one, let us know!

Old Bisbee Ghost Tours

Once a booming mining town, Bisbee, Arizona is now rich with ghostly lore, attracting two- and four-legged visitors alike. On these tours, you and your furkid can sniff out the spirits of residents past, including Nat the Miner, who gave up the ghost to pay a debt; The Lady in White, who rescued three children from the clutches of death; and a cat whose spirit has lingered in town long after its nine lives expired. If youre looking for a family-friendly, educational experience, the Bisbee Historic Ghost Walk will take you on a spirited stroll through the Main Street district, where youll learn about Bisbees unique history.

Huntsville Ghost Walk

Explore the haunted heart of Huntsville on this eerie, yet fascinating series of tours. See the Fraternity House for Ghosts, visit a haunted courthouse, and listen for the ghosts of children playing on Walker Street on the Old Town Historic Tour. Visit the Backwards House, the haunt of LeRoy Pope, and Antebellum mansions in all their former glory on the Twickenham Historic District Tour. Or, take the Haunted Downtown Tour, and see where the spirits of long-gone Native Americans and Civil War soldiers are thought to dwell. Walking tours run every Friday and Saturday throughout September and October, and dogs are welcome.

Blue Orb Tours

Blue Orb was named one of the worlds top 13 ghost tours, and for good reason. Its pup-friendly trips through Savannahs supernatural side are as fascinating as they are spooky. Brave the undead terrors of the adults-only Zombie Tour, or visit Savannahs most iconic haunted sites on the family-friendly Savannah Shadows Tour.

Its important to note that dogs are prohibited on Blue Orbs motorized Bonaventure Cemetery Tours.

Saint Simons Original Ghost Walk Tour

This one-mile tour welcomes family and furkids alike on a lantern-lit journey to the waterfront and old town. Youll hear spooky stories of the spirits that linger on St. Simons Island, as youre guided along the water and through the moonlit streets.

Its important to note that dogs are not allowed on the Dinner and Ghost Tour.

Haunted Haight Walking Tour

Step back into the Victorian era on this two-hour exploration of San Franciscos famous Haight-Ashbury district. The founder of The San Francisco Ghost Society will take you and your pooch through more than 150 favorite architectural haunts that showcase the beautiful and spirited past.

Louisville Ghost Tours

Rich in history and rife with spooky spirits, Louisville is a great place to have a spine-tingling ghost adventure with your furry sidekick. Louisville Ghost Tours takes you on a 90-minute half-mile stroll through some of the citys most famous haunted hot spots. Visit The Brown Hotel, where the buildings long-dead original owner is still said to reside; the Seelbach Hilton, where the Lady in Blue, who met an untimely end in an elevator shaft, still roams the halls; and the 1920s-era Louisville Palace Theatre, where the ghost of Fred, a kindly man who once saved the life of a construction worker, still wanders.

Providence Ghost Tour

The Renaissance Citys storied past comes to life on this ghostly tour. Guides in period garb take visitors through some of the towns most iconic historical sites, expertly weaving folklore, history, and even a bit of poetry for an experience that educates, fascinates, and tingles the spine. Providence Ghost Tour is dog-friendly through and through; the tours proprietors have donated profits to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, a portion of which went to Big Fluffy Dog Rescue, which took in four-legged evacuees during the hurricane crisis.

Nashville Ghost Tours

Music and ghostly mayhem make up this one-of-a-kind tour of downtown Nashville! Lantern-bearing guides take visitors on a search for spirits through iconic Nashville historic sites, including Ryman Auditorium, Printers Alley, and the Tennessee State Capitol.

A Ghostly Encounter

The oldest established city in the nation, Saint Augustines long and sordid past makes it a perfect place to find lingering spirits with tales to tell. A Ghostly Encounter takes two- and four-legged visitors on a trek through centuries of history and lore, as well as some the citys most active ghost sites, including two spooky cemeteries.

Red Cloak Haunted History Tours

Follow the Lady in the Red Cloak and her lantern through the mists of time. Experience the food, folklore, and ghostly legends of some of Maines most beautiful and historic sites on a 90-minute tour of Bar Harbor, Wiscasset, Boothbay Harbor, Camden, Bath, Damariscotta, Rockland or Hallowell. Tours run from May through the end of October, and dogs are welcome.

Old Charleston Ghost Tours

A bastion of both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, Charleston is rife with charm, history . . . and ghostly lore. At nightfall, you and your pooch can take a 90-minute spooky stroll through some of the towns most iconic sites in search of wayward spirits - including Poogan, a ghost dog who still roams Charlestons streets.

Spooks and Legends Haunted Tour

Of course Williamsburg has one of the countrys most epic ghost tours. After all, some of the famed towns original inhabitants never left. The Spooks and Legends Haunted Tour takes people and their pooches on an apparition-seeking adventure, where their guide, dressed in Colonial attire, regales them with true stories of paranormal experiences that have happened in and around Williamsburg.

Looking for something extra-spooky? Sign up for the Dead of Night Ghost Tour, in which a long-dead spirit acts as your guide. Looking for something a little less spine-tingling? Embark on the Witches & Pirates Tour, or get a different kind of historical thrill on the Colonial Conspiracy Tour.

Sisters Grimm Ghost Tours

The spirits defending the Alamo are alive and well, and waiting to meet you and your pup. The Sisters Grimm Ghost Tours take human and furry visitors to San Antonios three oldest sections, in search of ghostly encounters. The tours are as pet friendly as it gets! Obi, The Sisters Grimms Border Collie, was once a part of every tour, but has since retired from ghost hunting, leaving your pup to take up the charge.

About TripsWithPets

TripsWithPets has been helping pet parents find pet friendly accommodations since 2003. TripsWithPets provides online reservations at over 30,000 pet friendly hotels & accommodations across the U.S. and Canada. You'll find thousands of pet-friendly destinations like Richmond, VA, Salt Lake City, UT and Birmingham, AL. When planning a trip, pet parents go to TripsWithPets.com for all they need to book the perfect hotel for their pet -- including detailed, up-to-date information on hotel pet policies and pet amenities.

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The 42th Moscow International Film Festival has excluded a movie about the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh due to safety concerns after fighting broke out between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in the separatist region.



The festival's program director Kirill Razlogov said on October 1 that the film, Gates To Heaven, was excluded from the festival's program at the last minute since it is about journalists covering a four-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2016.



Razlogov said that Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Russia had asked the festival's administration to exclude the film from the program earlier, but his request had been rejected.



However, after fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh broke out on September 27 and then worsened, it was decided to take the film out of the program, Razlogov added.



The two sides have reported the death of nearly 200 people, including many civilians, in heavy clashes involving the use of armed drones, tanks, helicopters, and multiple-rocket systems along much of the Line of Contact that separates the ethnic-Armenian forces who control Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan's troops.



The clashes, considered the worst eruption of violence since a 1994 cease-fire ended a war over the breakaway territory, has threatened to draw in Russia, a member of a security alliance with Armenia, and NATO member Turkey.



Azerbaijan and Armenia have been in conflict since 1988, when mostly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its secession from Azerbaijan.



In the course of the 1992-1994 armed conflict, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.



Negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the conflict conducted by the OSCE Minsk Group, which is chaired by the United States, France, and Russia, have failed to bring a solution.



The annual Moscow International Film Festival was supposed to be held in April, but due to coronavirus pandemic it was moved to October 1-8.

Based on reporting by Ekho Moskvy, TASS, and Interfax
If a visitor from Mars observed press coverage of President Donald Trump Middle East peace negotiations, he would have heard an amazing tale about Donald Trumps incompetence and futility of his efforts.

The most experienced negotiator, John Kerry, declared in 2016 "There will be no separate peace between Israel and the Arab world. No. No, no, and no."

In April 2016 Harvard Business Review wrote, The Donald Trump approach to negotiation would be not only ineffective but also disastrous.

In October 2019 The Atlantic posted an article Trumps Middle East Policy Is a Fraud.

Infamous for its foresight, especially when it comes to Donald Trump, the Washington Post in September 2019 posted an article Worst. Negotiator. Ever. These are just a few examples of an unending barrage of criticism and ridicule by the experts who, with all their sophistication on international affairs, have be proven so demonstrably wrong.

So while Donald Trump is having the last laugh on the verge of closing the greatest peace deal ever, the skeptics are greeting the Israel-UAE-Bahrain peace agreement with outraged disbelief. Unable to comprehend how the worst negotiator ever succeeded in three years where his predecessors failed after half of the century, they called it largely symbolic.

YouTube screen grab

And it is symbolic indeed, symbolic of Trumps powerful analytical skills and extraordinary geopolitical intuition.

Trump put American diplomacy on unfamiliar terrain by rejecting accepted diplomatic postulates. The American school of international relations interprets the international order as an expression of goodwill and willingness to compromise. American negotiators believe in reciprocal concessions rather than a unilateral advantage. Despite the colossal failures of Yalta, Korea, and Vietnam, they have never deviated from this dogma.

Trumps doctrine is diplomacy through strength. He mercilessly exploits his opponents vulnerabilities and leverages Americas economic dominance, energy independence, and military strength to intimidate the interlocutors into accepting his terms or suffer the consequences.

Trump rejected the universal wisdom that peace in the region cannot be fostered without addressing the Palestinian issue first. He understood a priori what his precursors should have understood a long time ago -- that peace was never relevant to Palestinians calculations.

Indeed, the Palestinians have succeeded in turning deadlock into a weapon. The mantra of American diplomats was that every deadlock needs to be broken by a new proposal, the responsibility for which they assumed. That only incentivized the Palestinians to keep raising the ante seeking to siphon more benefits out of the US and Israel.

Given the Palestinians intransigence, the negotiators saw the only way to move the process forward to apply pressure on Israel. So every peace agreement that involved new Israeli concessions was loudly celebrated. Some, such as the Oslo Accords, were called historic and the participants, Rabin, Peres, and Arafat, shared the Nobel Peace Prize dangerously confusing intent with results.

American and Israeli negotiators operated from flawed preconceptions, had the wrong strategy, and many believed that after fifty anguishing years, peace in the Middle East was beyond human ingenuity.

Trump thought otherwise. He adroitly took advantage of doctrinal differences between Irans Shia and the rest of the Middle East Sunni countries. Since the death of Muhammad in 632, those two main branches of Islam, Shiite and Sunnis, have been bitter geopolitical rivals. Ironically, Obamas infamous Iran nuclear deal trapped Sunni Arabs between their convictions and their survival. Facing an existential threat from nuclear Iran, they were forced to seek collective security. Since Israel faced the same threat, the common danger could make Arabs and Israelis natural allies.

Furthermore, by the withdrawal from the Iranian deal, Trump assured Sunni Arabs that he is on their side. And a quick eradication of the Caliphate showed that President Trump rejects President Obamas moralistic rhetoric and could be a reliable partner. Most importantly, America stopped acting as the impartial moral arbiter and threw its weight behind Israel to persuade the Arabs of the futility of continuing hostilities. Trumps message to the Arab world: join forces with Israel and you get peace, security, and prosperity.

Whether intimidation or persuasion or a simple logic or all of the above, it has worked.

In an article published September 13, 2020, Khalid bin Hamad Al-Malik, editor of the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, admitted the obvious:

"The Arabs have no option but to normalize [relations] and establish full diplomatic ties with Israel. They tried war and were defeated; they tried hostility towards Israel and gained nothing; they tried to reconcile [with Israel] on their own terms and failed. Finally they tried peace as a way to achieve what they have failed to achieve through war.

Trump will enter history as the one who has produced political and philosophical evolution in Arab world and constructed a new geopolitical paradigm in the Middle East. The Arab countries have been reduced from the Middle East principal decision makers to a party having maximum influence over decisions essentially made in Washington.

Alexander G. Markovsky is a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, a conservative think hosted at Kings College, New York City, which examines national security, energy, risk-analysis and other public policy issues, He is the author of "Anatomy of a Bolshevik" and "Liberal Bolshevism: America Did Not Defeat Communism, She Adopted It. He is the owner and CEO of Litwin Management Services, LLC. He can be reached at info@litwinms.com
London-based insurtech Zego has partnered with two of the UKs biggest networks of independent brokers that sit within Bravo Group.

Zego will benefit from access to a community of over 700 brokers, more than 60% of the UK independent broking community, thanks to its new partnership with Broker Network and Compass Networks, the company said.

The insurtech said it can now easily onboard specific broker partners from across the two networks, providing access to new and innovative fleet products to offer to their customers.

Zegos flexible approach to fleet insurance means that a fleet owner will only pay a premium that reflects the number of miles the vehicle actually covers,with those that are inactive only required to pay a base subscription rate. This usage-based model allows businesses to better align insurance costs with their workload and cashflow, while paying for a policy that better reflects their risk.

Founded in 2016, Zego provides a wide range of flexible B2B insurance products for fleet businesses and new mobility services, such as private hire, courier and micromobility businesses. Last year, the company became the first UK insurtech to gain its own insurance license, enabling it to build and sell its own policies.

We believe there are thousands of fleet companies out there which can benefit from our flexible, usage-based insurance products, and by working with Bravo Group and its brokers, we will be able to reach these, said Gianluca Uberti, director of Enterprise from London-based Zego.

Usage based insurance policies have been in existence for some time. Client needs are constantly evolving and the demand for flexible insurance for business motor customers has increased significantly with the current climate as these customers adapt to the new normal,' commented Jaime Swindle, managing director of Networks and Products at Bravo Group.

At Bravo Group we want our networks insurer relationships to allow our brokers to provide their clients with products that are reflective of todays world, and the partnership with Zego offers a number of innovative solutions to meet these demands, Swindle added. We are already seeing members respond well to this new offering and I am excited to see this continue to thrive.

Source: Zego

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ATHENS, Ga., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FormFree today announced Chief Technology Officer Brian Francis has been named a 2020 HW Vanguard award winner, an honor given to 50 top executives leading the housing and mortgage finance industries. HW Vanguard honorees are chosen by HousingWire's editorial board based on their accomplishments in the last 12 months for their companies and the industry sector they represent.

As CTO of FormFree, Francis oversees the design and development of the firm's groundbreaking automated asset, employment and income verification products. He recently spearheaded the development of AccountCheck Plus, which builds on FormFree's original AccountChek automated asset verification system by bundling borrower asset, employment and income verifications into one easy report. The system gives lenders the detailed analysis they need to assess a borrower's ability to pay within minutes.

"Brian has continued to refine and expand FormFree's offerings over the last decade, always with an eye on improving the experience for our lender clients and their borrowers," said FormFree Founder and CEO Brent Chandler. "His focus on creating technologies that bring noticeable, measurable efficiencies to the mortgage space has helped our clients reduce time to close by up to 20 days."

Since joining the company 10 years ago, Francis has led FormFree to achieve a number of industry "firsts," including being Fannie Mae's first designated asset verification vendor; the first provider to introduce a single report combining income, asset and employment verification data; and the first to use artificial intelligence to generate digital Verification of Asset and Deposit reports in less than five minutes.

In the last year alone, he has helped FormFree introduce paystub collection and verification to AccountChek Plus; file a patent for proprietary employer data extraction and verification technology; and develop technology so lenders can intelligently pre-fill parts of the Universal Residential Loan Application. Due to Francis' leadership in increasing technology integrations and reseller partnerships, FormFree services are now available for more than 90% of mortgage transactions nationwide.

"One of the highest achievements in the housing industry, the Vanguard award honors the top executives - and they certainly earned it," said HousingWire Magazine Editor Kelsey Ramirez. "In the program's most competitive year yet, 50 winners rose to the top, boasting their outstanding achievements in innovation and leadership. With these leaders at the helm, the future of housing is bright."

The full list of 2020 HW Vanguard Award honorees can be viewed in the October/November edition of HW Magazine.

About FormFree

FormFree is a market-leading fintech company whose revolutionary products AccountChek and Passport are changing the credit decisioning landscape and encouraging lenders nationwide to incorporate a more holistic view of each borrower's financial DNA. To date, thousands of U.S. lenders and brokers have ordered millions of FormFree's patented verification reports representing over a trillion dollars in loan verifications. FormFree delights borrowers and lenders with a paperless experience, reduces origination timelines by up to 20 days and offers automated analysis and standardized delivery to lenders and investors using a secure ReIssueKey. A HousingWire TECH100 company for four consecutive years, FormFree is based in Athens, Georgia.

For more information, visit https://www.formfree.com/ or follow FormFree on LinkedIn.

About HousingWire:

HousingWire is the most influential source of news and information for the U.S. mortgage and housing markets. Built on a foundation of independent and original journalism, HousingWire reaches over 40,000 newsletter subscribers daily and over 4 million unique visitors each year. Our audience of mortgage, real estate, financial services and fintech professionals rely on us to Move Markets Forward. Visit https://www.housingwire.com/ or https://www.solutions.housingwire.com to learn more.

Twitter: @RealFormFree #digitalmortgage @HousingWire #HWVanguards

*PHOTO link for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/20-1002s2p-Brian-Francis-300dpi.jpg

This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE FormFree

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The Mumbai Polices crime branch arrested two drug peddlers including an assistant make-up artist on Thursday and seized 105 gram mephedrone (MD) worth 3.15 lakh from them.

The Mumbai Police has started crackdown on drug peddlers from the past one week and all the units of crime branch arrested a total of 15 accused so far.

The arrested accused are Niketan alias Golu Jadhav, 30, and Parvez alias Laddu Hanif Halai, 30. Jadhav, who works as assistant make-up artist in several Bollywood production houses, wanted to earn easy money and hence got involved in the drug peddling racket, said a police officer. He has been involved in several offences of assault, house break-in, robbery and attempt to murder and there are several cases registered against him in police stations in the western suburbs. Halai has two cases of assault filed against him.

Following a tip-off, crime branch unit 11 officers laid a trap in Rajendra Nagar area in Borivli (East) and nabbed both the accused. The accused were produced before a court and have been remanded in police custody.
A man was sentenced to three months in prison at last week's sitting of Tullamore District Court.

The court heard that an August 4, 2020, Aivaras Stasytis, (32), the flat above Hoey and Denning, High Street, Tullamore, drove without insurance or driving licence at Charleville Road, Tullamore. He was stopped by Garda Kieran Fitzpatrick.

Mr Stasytis had 23 previous convictions, four for no insurance, and had previously been given a six month suspended sentence and disqualified from driving.

His solicitor, Donal Farrelly, said his client was a 30-year-old Lithuanian with one child and his partner was expecting another. Mr Farrelly said the defendant was the sole earner and supports his wife.

His friend usually drives him to work but was sick on the morning of the offence and he had foolishly driven, said Mr Farrelly.

Judge Catherine Staines noted that this was his fourth time to drive without insurance

She asked why he couldn't have cycled to work.

Garda Fitzpatrick then said it had been 5pm in the evening when he was caught and there was a small child in the car.

Solicitor Donal Farrelly said the defendant had picked up his wife after work. Judge Staines commented that she was now getting a different story.

In addition to the prison sentence, she imposed a six-year disqualification. Mr Stasytis has appealed the decision.
By 1951, the year of the Third Congress, a powerful liquidationist tendency had entrenched itself within the Fourth International. What had originally begun as a discussion on the class nature of Yugoslavia and the Eastern European buffer states had become transformed, under the pressure of alien class forces, into a political platform for sweeping opportunist revisions of the basic Trotskyist program and its historical perspective.

The theories advanced by Pablo of generations of deformed workers states and war-revolution articulated the pessimism and demoralization of broad layers of the Fourth International beneath the impact of unfavorable objective conditions. The political conceptions which were to become known as Pabloism emerged as an adaptation to the restabilization of capitalism, on the one hand, and to the apparent strengthening of the Stalinist bureaucracy, on the other.

Refracted through the political prism of the Cold War, the objective situation appeared to be dominated by the global conflict between the imperialist forces, spearheaded by the United States, and the Soviet Union and those labor and national revolutionary movements dominated by Stalinism. The real underlying conflict between the world bourgeoisie and the international proletariatof which the Cold War was only a partial and distorted manifestationreceded from the political consciousness of those within the Fourth International who were reacting impressionistically to world events.

The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 provided a degree of political credibility to the conception that the United States was preparing for all-out war against the Soviet Union. Still occupied with a discussion that centered on the process through which the social character of the buffer states had been transformed under Stalinist auspices, Pablo seized upon the possibility of war, converted it into an imminent inevitability, and made it the starting point and centerpiece of a new and bizarre perspective for the realization of socialism.

Adopted at the ninth plenum of the IEC of the Fourth International in 1951, the theory of war-revolution argued that the eruption of war between the United States and the Soviet Union would assume the form of a global civil war, in which the Soviet bureaucracy would be compelled to serve as the midwife of social revolutions.

In the schema worked out by Pablo, the international proletariat ceased to play any independent role. Instead, all political initiative in the shaping of world events was attributed to world imperialism and the Soviet bureaucracy. This was spelled out in the document, suggestively entitled Where Are We Going? The theoretical essence of his perspective was spelled out as follows: For our movement objective social reality consists essentially of the capitalist regime and the Stalinist world. Furthermore, whether we like it or not, these two elements by and large constitute objective social reality, for the overwhelming majority of the forces opposing capitalism are right now to be found under the leadership or influence of the Soviet bureaucracy.[ 1 ]

This extraordinary passage deserves to be memorized by every Trotskyist, for it is a classic example of the theoretical and political consequences of impressionism. Accepting uncritically the surface appearance of political events, Pablos reality corresponded to the world as it looked to the bewildered petty-bourgeois journalist: in one corner, the United States and its allies; in the other corner, the Soviet Union and the movements dominated by the Kremlin bureaucracy.

Starting with his impressions of these two goliaths, he forgot all about the working class; and as he divided the world into two camps, Pablo conveniently ignored the class conflict raging within each of the two camps. This omission rendered impossible any serious analysis of the two protagonists upon whom Pablo focused all his attention. Moreover, by writing the working class out of existence as a history-making force, Pablo inevitably reduced to zero the independent political function of the Fourth International. The only role it could play, based on the two-camp theory of Pablo, was that of adviser to the Stalinist bureaucracy.

The theory of socialism through war was a corollary of the subordination of the class struggle to the conflict between the Stalinist world and the capitalist regime. It was necessary to introduce some cataclysmic event, outside of the class struggle as it had been traditionally defined by Marxists, as the means through which revolutionary forces would be mobilized and galvanized. Thus, the impulse for world revolution was seen as originating in the decision of US imperialism to wage counterrevolutionary war against the Soviet Union:

Such a war would take on, from the very beginning, the character of an international civil war, especially in Europe and in Asia. These continents would rapidly pass over under the control of the Soviet bureaucracy, of the Communist Parties, or of the revolutionary masses. War under these conditions, with the existing relationship of forces on the international arena, would essentially be Revolution. Thus the advance of anti-capitalist revolution in the world at one and the same time postpones and brings nearer the danger of general war. Conversely, war this time means the Revolution. These two conceptions of Revolution and of War, far from being in opposition or being differentiated as two significantly different stages of development, are approaching each other more closely and becoming so interlinked as to be almost indistinguishable under certain circumstances and at certain times. In their stead, it is the conception of Revolution-War, of War-Revolution which is emerging and upon which the perspectives and orientation of revolutionary Marxists in our epoch should rest. Such language will perhaps shock the lovers of pacifist dreams and declamation, or those who already bemoan the apocalyptic end of the world which they foresee following upon an atomic war or a worldwide expansion of Stalinism. But these sensitive souls can find no place among the militants and least of all the revolutionary Marxist cadres of this most terrible epoch where the sharpness of the class struggle is carried to the extreme. It is objective reality which thrusts this dialectic of Revolution-War to the forefront, which implacably destroys pacifist dreams, and which permits no respite in the gigantic simultaneous deployment of the forces of Revolution and of War and in their struggle to the death.[ 2 ]

Behind all the bloodcurdling rhetoric lay a perspective of utter prostration and hopelessness. Not unlike the terrified German Stalinists of the early 1930s who disguised their pessimism and expectations of defeat at the hands of the Nazis with the slogan After Hitler, us, Pablo proceeded from his unstated assumption that the working class was unable to defeat imperialism and prevent the outbreak of a nuclear war. In this way he arrived at the perspective, After the nuclear obliteration of mankind, socialism!

The most fantastic rationalizations for this theory were offered by Ernest Mandel, who, despite his earlier misgivings, had settled into the role of chief legal advocate and apologist for Pablo. He set out to convince the skeptical that nuclear war would not be all too terrible in the long run:

It is not excluded that the widespread devastation produced by an extended Third World War will provoke vast collapses in the machinery of production in great parts of the world which would thus facilitate initial bureaucratic deformations of new victorious revolutions. These deformations would not however be comparable to the monstrous bureaucratization of the USSR, a product of twenty-five years of special historical development. The experience of the Yugoslav and Chinese revolutionsdespite all their weaknessesfully confirms the prediction of Marx that each victorious proletarian revolution would surmount in large part the weaknesses and setbacks of the preceding revolutions. Our conviction in the victory of the American revolution, giving the socialist world a prodigious productive capacity even after a devastating war, allows us to envisage with confidence perspectives of proletarian democracy after the Third World War.[ 3 ]

If a modern-day Jonathan Swift had set out to satirize revisionism with a tract entitled A Modest Proposal for World War III and the Realization of Socialism, he could not have done a more effective job than that performed by Mandel. The simple questions which neither Mandel nor Pablo ever considered were: Why should the Fourth International reconcile itself to the inevitability of war? Why should it accept a nuclear holocaust as the price of historical progress? Why could it not rally the working class against imperialism and Stalinism prior to war and overthrow capitalism before a large portion of the planet was destroyed?

To understand why these simple questions were not asked, let alone answered, it is necessary to examine more closely the peculiar distortion of the Marxist method at the hands of Pablo, Mandel and their followers. As they adapted themselves to imperialism and its Stalinist agents, and ceased to believe in the ability of the Trotskyists to win the leadership of the working class, Pablo and his allies adopted an objectivist method which was perfectly suited to a political perspective that surrendered all historical initiative to forces outside the working class and to political tendencies other than the Fourth International.

The standpoint of objectivism is contemplation rather than revolutionary practical activity, of observation rather than struggle; it justifies what is happening rather than explains what must be done. This method provided the theoretical underpinnings for a perspective in which Trotskyism was no longer seen as the doctrine guiding the practical activity of a party determined to conquer power and change the course of history, but rather as a general interpretation of a historical process in which socialism would ultimately be realized under the leadership of nonproletarian forces hostile to the Fourth International. Insofar as Trotskyism was to be credited with any direct role in the course of events, it was merely as a sort of subliminal mental process unconsciously guiding the activities of Stalinists, neo-Stalinists, semi-Stalinists and, of course, petty-bourgeois nationalists of one type or another.

Pabloism, in this sense, went way beyond a set of incorrect assessments, false prognoses and programmatic revisions. It attacked the whole foundation of scientific socialism and repudiated the central lessons abstracted by Marxists from the development of the class struggle over an entire century. The greatest conquest of Marxist theory in the twentieth centurythe Leninist conception of the partywas undermined, as Pablo called into question the necessity of the conscious element in the struggle of the proletariat and the historic realization of the proletarian dictatorship. For Pablo and his followers, there was no need to theoretically educate the working class and make it conscious of its historical tasks. It was not necessary to wage a struggle for Marxism against the domination of bourgeois ideology over the spontaneous movement of the working class.

Thus, Marxism ceased to be an active political and theoretical weapon through which the vanguard of the working class established its authority among the masses and trained and organized them for the socialist revolution. Rather, it was merely confirmed by an abstraction called the historical process, working in quasi-automatic fashion through whatever political tendencies were at hand, regardless of the class forces upon which they were objectively based and no matter how notorious their past or reactionary their program. This outlook, which had nothing to do with genuine Marxism and legitimized the most grotesque opportunism, was epitomized in an article written by George Clarke to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Trotskys assassination:

The most heartening and gratifying aspect of the rich and varied postwar experience has been the positive verification of Trotskyism in the test of the Yugoslav revolution. Here is to be found brilliant confirmation of Trotskys famous contribution to Marxism, the concept and strategy of the Permanent Revolution. It is not decisive for Marxists that this process is not yet openly recognized by the Yugoslav leaders. The consciousness of men, formed by environment, molded by training, hampered by prejudice and ego, influenced by obscure psychological reflexesas the history of thought so often revealslags notoriously behind events. What is decisive is the actual process itself.[ 4 ]

The point of this article was to prove that the program of Trotskyism was being realized, miraculously, by those who were its bitterest enemies: Ten years after his death a leader of a formerly Stalinist party holding state power repeats Trotskys analysis of the Soviet bureaucracy almost word for word! And this, we are supremely confident, is only a first installment of a great historical vindication.[ 5 ]

The only conclusion that could be drawn from this article was that Trotskyism, through the sheer force of objective historical necessity, was being realized through its most implacable opponentStalinism. Even if Clarke intended to eulogize Trotsky, his objectivist approach turned into a political justification for the policies of Tito, calling to mind Lenins warning about the consequences of objectivism, which he denounced as a divergence from materialism: When demonstrating the necessity for a given series of facts, the objectivist always runs the risk of becoming an apologist for these facts: the materialist discloses the class contradictions and in so doing defines his standpoint.[ 6 ]

The above-quoted lines were directed against the school of legal Marxism which, while correctly establishing the capitalist nature of Russian economic development in the 1890s, habitually referred to insurmountable historical tendencies as if they operated outside of and independently of the class struggle. For objectivists, classes exist merely as programmed, unconscious executors of economic forces. Thus, the legal Marxists acknowledged and established the necessity of capitalist development in Russia, but would not recognize nor countenance the historical and political legitimacy of the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie.

In his critique of this objectivism, Lenin stressed a point of immense methodological significance: Materialism includes partisanship, so to speak, and enjoins the direct and open adoption of the standpoint of a definite social group in any assessment of events.[ 7 ]

This lack of revolutionary proletarian partisanship marked the writings of Pablo and Mandel. All their pompous predictions, which they handed down in the style of oracles, always excluded the intervention and counteraction of the working class as a conscious subject in the historical process.

The adaptation to Stalinism was a central feature of the new Pabloite outlook, but it would be a mistake to see this as its essential characteristic. Pabloism, was (and is) liquidationism all down the line: that is, the repudiation of the hegemony of the proletariat in the socialist revolution and the genuinely independent existence of the Fourth International as the conscious articulation of the historical role of the working class. The theory of war-revolution provided the initial setting for the elaboration of the central liquidationist thesis: that all Trotskyist parties must be dissolved into whatever political tendencies dominate the labor or mass popular movement in the countries in which the sections of the Fourth International worked.

Having lost confidence in the revolutionary capacity of the working class and in the ability of Trotskyism to defeat the powerful social democratic and Stalinist bureaucracies within the international workers movement, or to overcome the influence of the bourgeois nationalists in the backward countries, Pablo subordinated all questions of program, perspective and principle to an unrestrained tactical opportunism.

The practical activity of the Trotskyist movement was no longer to be centrally directed toward educating the proletariat, making it conscious of its historic tasks, and establishing its unconditional programmatic and organizational independence from all other class forces. Nor was this activity to be based upon a scientific analysis of social relations of production and class forces, grounded in a historically-based confidence in the unique revolutionary role of the proletariat. Instead, work was to be reduced to the small change of tactical expediency, in which principled positions established over decades of struggle were to be surrendered in the vain hope of influencing the leaders of the existing Stalinist, social democratic and bourgeois nationalist organizations, and pushing them to the left.

Thus, the building of the party was conceived of in a manner that was totally alien to the traditions of Marxism. For Lenin and Trotsky, no matter how severe the isolation, the political line of the party had to be based on the objective class interests of the proletariat, and had to uphold and defend its political independence. They were supremely confident that the historical trajectory of a principled class line would inevitably intersect with the living movement of the working class under conditions of great revolutionary upheavals.

Moreover, this intersection was prepared over a long period through the development of the cadre assembled on the basis of the Marxist program. When Lenin and Trotsky spoke of the logic of events, it was usually to assert the inevitable exposure and political collapse of the various petty-bourgeois charlatans who, despite their popularity and temporary domination of the mass movement at one or another stage of its development, could not satisfy the historical aims of that movement.

Far from standing aloof from the mass movement, Bolshevism always oriented its intervention at overcoming the gap between the tasks posed by the death agony of capitalism and the immaturity of the political consciousness dominating the proletariat and its allies.

For Pablo and the school of opportunism which he founded, tactical ingenuity replaced scientific historical materialist analysis as the foundation of the political life of the Fourth International. Trotskyism was seen increasingly as an ossified dogma that had no relevance to the proletariat and the mass movement in the various countries in which sections existed. The independent existence of the Fourth International, as a distinct political tendency fighting to oust the Stalinist, social democratic and other petty-bourgeois misleaders of the working class, was looked upon as a burdensome obstacle which had to be ended.

The liquidationist essence of the new doctrine was expressed most openly in the section of the report delivered by Pablo to the Third World Congress, which met in August-September 1951, entitled The Road to the Masses:

All our analyses should be directed toward integrating ourselves better and more deeply into the real movement of the masses. The most striking feature of our movement today, which differentiates it fundamentally from what it was before and even during the war, is the profound understanding by the great majority of our International of this necessity, and the practical, concrete application of this understanding. For the first time in the history of our movement, particularly since the Second World Congress, the maturity of our cadres is evidenced by the stubborn, systematic exploration of the road which the real movement of the masses has taken in each country and the forms and organizations which express it the best, and by our concrete, and practical steps on this road. This was not, is not as yet and will not be for some time to come an easy task, both insofar as its comprehension and its realization are concerned. To understand the real movement of the masses means first of all to be able to correctly analyze the political situation in each country, its peculiarities, its dynamism, and to define the most appropriate tactics for reaching the masses. What we have understood for the first time in the history of our movement and of the workers movement in generalfor the first time in as thoroughgoing a manner and on so large a scaleis that we must be capable of finding our place in the mass movement as it is, wherever it expresses itself, and to aid it to rise through its own experience to higher levels.[ 8 ]

Pablo spelled out the practical meaning of his proposal for integrating ourselves better and more deeply into the real movement of the masses. He continued:

But let us look back at the immense distance our movement has traveled toward maturity in the last years. There is not now one single Trotskyist organization, which either as a whole or in part does not seriously, profoundly, concretely understand the necessity of subordinating all organizational considerations, of formal independence or otherwise, to real integration into the mass movement wherever it expresses itself in each country, or to integration in an important current of this movement which can be influenced. There is not one single Trotskyist organization which has not found or is not seeking to find a real milieu for work.[ 9 ] (Emphasis added.)

Marxists have long recognized the need to intervene in the mass organizations of the working class. However, such interventions, even when they required formal entry into a hostile organization, are carried out always from the standpoint of creating the best conditions for the building of the revolutionary party, which at all times preserves its independent political program and identity.

Lenin branded all attempts to subordinate the revolutionary party to these existing organizations as opportunism and liquidationism. There was no question but that Trotskyists, as all previous generations of Marxists, must work within the mass movement. But Pablo was clearly rejecting the necessity for an irreconcilable struggle against the false leaderships of the working class and was abandoning the perspective of building, in opposition to all the agencies of imperialism within the workers movement, the independent revolutionary party. Instead, Pablo advocated that Trotskyists conceal their real programs, adapt themselves to the program and perspectives of the leaderships that dominated the mass organizations, and function merely as a muted pressure group operating within the precincts of Stalinism, social democracy and bourgeois nationalism.

I will go even further. What distinguishes us still more from the past, what makes for the quality of our movement today and constitutes the surest gauge of our future victories, is our growing capacity to understand, to appreciate the mass movement as it existsoften confused, often under treacherous, opportunist, centrist, bureaucratic and even bourgeois and petty-bourgeois leadershipsand our endeavors to find our place in this movement with the aim of raising it from its present to higher levels. This is the case, for example, in Latin America where the anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist mass movement often assumes confused forms, under a petty-bourgeois leadership as with the APRA in Peru, with the MNR in Bolivia; or even under a bourgeois leadership as with Vargas in Brazil and Peron in Argentina. To reject these movements out of hand, to label them as reactionary, fascist or of no concern to us would be proof of the old type of Trotskyist immaturity and of a dogmatic, abstract, intellectualistic judgment of the mass movement. Even in this most backward area, from the viewpoint of the comprehension of our movement up to the present, we are about to overcome this stage, and I am certain that our Congress will know how to view and appreciate this progress in the course of its labors. Elsewhere, as in South Africa, Egypt, the North African colonies, in the Near East, we understand that the eventual formation of a revolutionary party now takes the road of unconditional support of the national, anti-imperialist mass movement and of integration into this movement.[ 10 ] (Emphasis added.)

The implications of this liquidationist program was expressed most clearly in the Third Congress resolution on the tasks of the Fourth International in Latin America, which called for participation and activity, free from all sectarianism, in all mass movements and all organizations which express, even in an indirect and confused fashion, the aspirations of the masses which may, for example, take the channel of the Peronist trade unions or the Bolivian MNR movement, or the APRA in Peru, the laborite movement of Vargas, or Democratic Action in Venezuela.[ 11 ]

In relation to Bolivia and Peru, the Third Congress specifically sanctioned the formation of popular front alliances with sections of the national bourgeoisie:

In BOLIVIA, our past inadequacy in distinguishing ourselves from the political tendencies in the country which exploit the mass movement, sometimes the lack of clarity in our objectives and in our tactics, the loose organizational structure as well as the absence of patient, systematic work in working class circles has caused a certain decline of our influence and an organizational crisis. However, possibilities exist that our section, basing itself on powerful revolutionary traditions, can develop as the genuine revolutionary leadership of the masses in this country. Our reorganized and reoriented forces will have to remedy all the above faults without however slipping into sectarianism or isolating themselves from the masses and their movements which are often ideologically confused and led by the petty bourgeois (MNR). Our section should concentrate its work especially in working class circles and organizations, particularly that of the miners. On the other hand it will attempt to influence the left wing of the MNR which is based precisely on these circles. They will propose a tactic of anti-imperialist united front to the MNR on precise occasions and on a concrete program, which revives in essence and still further concretizes the demands contained in the Pulacayo program of 1946. These united front proposals to the MNR will have a progressive effect when advanced at propitious moments for the effective mobilization of the masses and are aimed precisely at achieving such a mobilization. On the other hand, in the event of the mobilization of the masses under the preponderant impulsion or influence of the MNR, our section should support the movement with all its strength, should not abstain but on the contrary intervene energetically in it with the aim of pushing it as far as possible up to the seizure of power by the MNR on the basis of a progressive program of anti-imperialist united front. On the contrary, if in the course of these mass mobilizations our section proves to be in a position to share influence over the revolutionary masses with the MNR, it will advance the slogan of a Workers and Peasants Government of the two parties on the basis, however, of the same program, a government based on committees of workers, peasants and revolutionary elements of the urban petty bourgeoisie.[ 12 ] (Emphasis added.)

This proposal demonstrated clearly that Pabloite liquidationism led directly, beneath the guise of integrating into the mass movement, to class collaboration and the betrayal of the working class. The orientation proposed by Pablo had nothing whatsoever to do with the tactics pursued by the Bolsheviks in 1917 on the basis of the theory of permanent revolution. It sanctioned the adaptation of Lora to the bourgeois nationalism of Paz Estenssoro, which led directly to the defeat of the Bolivian working class in 1952.

Pablo advocated the same policy for the Peruvian section, which was instructed to

study its tactics toward the APRA within the framework of very similar considerations to those related to our tactics toward the MNR in Bolivia with the aim of influencing its most radical and anti-imperialist wing, and it should be ready to impel the mass movement as far as possible against the Odria dictatorship, a movement which will very probably move in the channel of this party (APRA) on the first occasion. It should extend and consolidate its points of support in the essential working class circles of the country, particularly among the mining proletariat.[ 13 ]

The idea that the Trotskyists should challenge the bourgeois nationalists of the MNR or the APRA for the leadership of the working class and oppressed peasantry, that it should strive to expose before the masses the inability of these organizations to complete the democratic revolution and wage a consistent struggle against imperialism, and that it should unmask the political insincerity of these organizations democratic pretensions, was anathema to the political outlook being championed by Pablo. That, according to the new revisionist precepts, would have been to indulge in sectarianism.

The Third Congress of 1951 revealed that a full-blown revisionist tendency had developed within the leadership of the Fourth International, and this meant that the very existence of the world party founded by Leon Trotsky was now threatened with destruction. Referring to the Third Congress, the renegade Banda, who never uses the term liquidationism in his analysis of Pabloism, asserts: There is little doubt in my mind that if Trotsky had been present at this improbable gathering of empirics and pragmatists he would have publicly dissociated from them with the declaration if this is Trotskyism I am no Trotskyist.

Leon Trotsky would have done no such thing, precisely because he was a Marxist and not a petty-bourgeois hysteric like M. Banda. Banda, when confronted with a life-and-death crisis within the organization of which he was general secretary, completely lost his head, abandoned all his political responsibilities, turned to the bourgeois press for support, and fled the country.

Had Trotsky been alive in 1951, he would have proceeded to organize within the Fourth International a protracted struggle against the revisionists, subjected their views to the most penetrating analysis, and politically rearmed all those who defended Marxist principles. But such methods are beyond the comprehension of Banda, who long ago ceased to understand the meaning of principled revolutionary politics.
Bernie Sanders is returning to in-person campaigning for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March, heading to Macomb County Monday to promote Joe Biden and sooth any lingering tensions between the Democratic Partys progressive and centrist wings.

Spokesman Mike Casca says the Vermont senator held a socially distanced, outdoor rally Saturday in Lebanon, New Hampshire which will be capped to keep crowds from growing too large. On Monday, Sanders will host a drive-in rally in Macomb County, which was instrumental in clinching the White House for President Donald Trump.

Operators of the largest likely venues for a drive-in event in Macomb County were unable to confirm the gathering Friday afternoon and Sanders staffers could not be reached. In the past, Sanders has held both indoor and outdoor rallies on the south campus of Macomb Community College in Warren.

Sanders ended his presidential primary campaign in April and endorsed Biden just days later, as both candidates worked to promote party unity that largely eluded Hillary Clinton in 2016. Some of Sanders top advisers and supporters later formed joint task forces with their counterparts from Bidens camp to hammer out agreements on major policy issues that were reflected in the Democratic Party platform. Also, high ranking Sanders campaign leaders have formed two Super PACs to promote Biden  despite Sanders personally opposing outside money in politics.

Sanders hitting the road again comes as Trump has increasingly sought to paint Biden as beholden to progressive activists and the radical left. Biden, who won the primary largely as a moderate, says he wants to build a broad coalition of support from all Democrats and as many Republicans as possible  but has noted that he doesnt support some of Sanders most progressive ideas.

That includes not embracing fully government-funded health care under a Medicare for All plan, nor a sweeping package of climate change-fighting measures known as the Green New Deal. Biden has said he beat the socialist referring to Sanders. And, amid sharp criticism from Trump about embracing some of Sanders policies during the first presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, the former vice president noted, Right now, Im the Democratic Party.

Sanders reiterated on ABCs The View this week that Biden doesnt share his support for Medicare for All.

He does not agree with me, though I wish he did, Sanders said.

Even before his scheduled trips, Sanders spent months staging virtual town halls and other events around the country on Bidens behalf. Since the Democratic convention in August, hes held more than a dozen online rallies, targeting voters in Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado, Texas, Vermont, Pennsylvania and Michigan, as well as virtual events focused on Latino and rural voters.

All told, Casca said, those events attracted 5 million views of clips and livestreams.

Sanders also endorsed 76 candidates for elected office around the country this cycle and saw three-fourths of those win. Sanders argues that Trump poses an existential threat to American democracy, warning that the president may use election results that could be delayed by high volumes of mail-in ballots cast amid the pandemic to declare victory illegitimately.
My calendar says it is only October 2 today, but weve had enough news this week for an entire month, and we got our October surprise on the first day of the month, which means we still have time for plenty more.

It was slightly earlier four years ago that the Access Hollywood tape came out, at which time everyone said: ITS OVER! TRUMP MUST DROP OUT! PENCE MUST TAKE HIS PLACE! And we know how that turned out. I actually think Trump taking a couple weeks out of the spotlight may help his campaign, given that his personality is one of the biggest drags on his appeal with many voters. I wouldnt be at all surprised to see his poll numbers improve by next week.

By the way, while most of the supposedly reputable polls look miserable right now, Investors Business Daily has a poll out today, taken since the debate Tuesday, showing it to be less than a three-point race. Dont be so quick to dismiss this as a pro-Trump poll, since previous iterations had been more in line with the mainstream polls:

Joe Bidens lead over President Donald Trump has narrowed to 2.6 points among likely voters, a new IBD/TIPP 2020 election poll finds. Trumps rise comes despite registered voters seeing Biden as the winner of Tuesdays debate and coming across as more likable by double-digit margins. . . The race has tightened somewhat since early September, when an IBD/TIPP poll of registered voters showed Biden with an eight-point edge, 49%-41%. An IBD/TIPP poll of likely voters released on Sept. 21 showed Biden with a 5.6-point lead, 49.5%-43.9%.

And this part is very telling:

Despite Bidens polling edge, just 36% of voters expect him to win, while 45% think Trump will prevail. Meanwhile, 46% think most of their neighbors will vote for Trump, while 36% think their neighbors will mostly back Biden.

When people say I think my neighbor is voting for Trump, is usually means that the respondent is voting for Trump. Clever pollsters have been asking this question for a while now, and the pollsters who weighted for this in 2016 were closer to getting the outcome correct. I can still give at least five reasons why I think Trump will pull it out on election day, but Ill hold these off for another item next week perhaps.

Meanwhile, the second debate scheduled for October 15 might not come off, or be delayed by several days. My suggestion is that the second debate be combined into the third one, but make it a two-hour cage-match debate with no moderator.
Mumbai firm all set to sell Indian Navy's former aircraft carrier INS Viraat for Rs 100 crore

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

Ahmedabad, Oct 02: The new owner of decommissioned warship INS Viraat has sought Rs 100 crore from a Mumbai-based firm which is making last ditch efforts to save the warship from being dismantled and to convert it into a museum.

INS Viraat, the aircraft carrier which was inducted into the Indian Navy in 1987 and decommissioned in 2017, was purchased by Shree Ram Group for a sum of Rs 38.54 crore at an auction in July this year.

Hathras case: Demand to impose Presidents rule in UP

According to reports,the warship reached the ship-breaking yard at Alang on Gujarat coast last week.

As the ship was bought as scrap in an auction, the buyers would also need to procure a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Defence to buy the ship now, Shree Ram Group Chairman Mukesh Patel told reporters.

"I bought this warship just out of my love for my country. Now, a Mumbai-based company wants to convert this ship it into a museum. Since they are also doing it out of patriotism, I agreed to sell the ship to them," he said.

Hathras case: HC issues summons to top UP officials

"But, they need to first procure NOC from the defence ministry, without which I can't re-sell the ship," he said.

Patel also said he first demanded Rs 125 crore and then agreed to sell it for Rs 100 crore considering that the company's cause is noble.

Patel also said it is a limited period offer and he would wait only till next week.

"I am told the interested firm is trying hard to get the NOC. But, I can't wait forever. I will wait for another week. After that, I will start the dismantling process," he added.

Viraat is the world's longest serving warship that was decommissioned by the Indian Navy three years ago, arrived at Alang in Gujarat from Mumbai last week for dismantling.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

It is the second aircraft carrier slated to be broken down in India. In 2014, INS Vikrant was dismantled in Mumbai.

The 70-year-old aircraft carrier, in its earlier avatar, had won the Falklands War against Argentina in 1982 for the Royal British Navy.

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Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 9:11 [IST]
CNRP supporters and family members protest outside of the Supreme Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 1, 2020.

Cambodia has rejected a UN Human Rights Council report accusing the government of sending police to monitor human rights gatherings  intimidating local participants and NGOs  but rights groups said harassment was in fact the norm in the Southeast Asian nation.

Cambodia was cited in a report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the Geneva-based Council Wednesday on instances where governments punished their citizens for cooperating with the UN human rights mechanisms and representatives.

In Cambodia, we continue to receive reports of acts of intimidation against civil society and human rights organizations, which impede their capacity to monitor and report  including to this Council, said the country-specific section of the global report.

The Office of the UN Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) found that local rights groups were afraid to associate and with UN rights monitors for fear of reprisals, according to the report, based on events in 2019. Rhona Smith, UN special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, was quoted as saying training sessions and gatherings her office hosted were shadowed by security agents.

Responding to a link to the report posted on social media by OHCHR in Phnom Penh, Cambodias mission to the UN in Geneva expressed great disappointment at a post it said had presented an unbalanced view that lacked context.

The assertion that those cooperating with the UN human rights mechanism are intimidated or retaliated is an exaggeration. There is no shortage of instances that representatives of Cambodian CSOs [civil society organizations] physically attend meetings of (the) treaty body in Geneva, the government statement said.

It said that many other Cambodians had submitted lists of issues for consideration to the council and were free to carry out their activities in line with the law without any harassment or reprisal.

The full UN report contained Phnom Penhs response to the OHCHRs assertions, calling them one-sided and made without transparency. Cambodia told the UN that security forces were present at its activities in Cambodia merely to keep the peace, not to intimidate.

But Am Sam Ath of local rights group LICADHO told RFAs Khmer Service that the Cambodian missions statement was yet another attempt by Phnom Penh to hide facts  three years into a major crackdown on the political opposition, civil society and independent media.

This is nothing new The government needs to restore democracy and especially human rights, he said.

The EU and UN and UN Special Rapporteur have always expressed concerns about the basic foundation of human rights, freedom of assembly and expression. If the government has failed to honor human rights obligations, they should fix the problem. That would be more helpful, added Am Sam Ath.

Civil rights in Cambodia, ruled by strongman Hun Sen since 1985, began a downward spiral three years ago when opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party President Kem Sokha was arrested on unsupported treason charges in September 2017, and the Supreme Court dissolved and banned the CNRP in November 2017.

The ban, along with a wider crackdown on NGOs and the independent media, paved the way for Hun Sens Cambodia Peoples Party to win all 125 seats in parliament in the countrys July 2018 general election, making Cambodia effectively a one-party state.

Government denials of widely observed and recorded events and documented facts are hard to maintain in an era of technology and social media, said Meas Nee, a social analyst.

It is normal for the government to deny the truth, he told RFA

Hiding it is hard because of social media. You cant continue to pressure inside and deny outside. You need to seek solutions to ease criticisms from international community, added Meas Nee.

The crackdown on CNRP supporters and activists has continued unabated.

On Thursday authorities in Phnom Penh deployed 40 security officers block the family members of about 20 detained CNRP activists from staging a protest in front of the Supreme Court in the capital to demand their release, some of the family members told RFA. Two family members were injured in a scuffle.

This morning I was threatened. If I were to suddenly disappear, the authorities must be held responsible. They wanted to break my feet, Sat Pha, one of the family members told RFAs Khmer Service.

She said that the guards deliberately targeted female members of the protest group including herself, and that they smashed her into the ground.

It was very brutal this morning. They told us that all the detainees are traitors, but I told them that they are not, she said.

The group of mostly female protesters have been regularly gathering in front of the courthouse every Friday, but this week they met a day earlier to align with the courts schedule. The court heard bail requests from the activists and will deliver a decision next week.

Among the detained is Kak Komphear, who according to The Phnom Penh Post had been on the run since his Oct. 2019 incitement conviction until authorities arrested him on May 31.

His lawyer Lor Chhunthy told RFA that the court proceeded with the hearing without his client present and is scheduled to announce their verdict Monday.

RFA could not reach Phnom Penh Municipality Governor Khoung Sreng for comment Thursday.

Ny Sokha of local rights group ADHOC, who monitored the attempted protest, said the authorities violated the peoples constitutional rights to peaceful protest.

The authorities should have followed democratic way of allowing people to express themselves and have right to gather, he said.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Queensland will open its borders to all of New South Wales from November 1 - as long as the state continues to record zero 'unlinked' cases of community transmission.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Friday she would consider relaxing the harsh restrictions that have crippled Queensland's tourism industry.

But NSW must go 28 days without community transmission of COVID-19 before residents can holiday in the Sunshine State.

A reopening on November 1 would be occurring one day after the October 31 state election, in which Labor is hoping to win a third, straight term.

'We've made it very clear our borders have kept us safe. We are looking very closely at NSW,' Ms Palaszczuk said.

'If they do not have any community transmission for 28 days, we said very clearly that at the end of the month we review the plans.

'That would mean there may be a possibility of opening up to NSW if there is no community transmission.'

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Friday she would move to relax her border restrictions next month as long as New South Wales continues to record zero 'unlinked' cases of community transmission

As of Friday, NSW had not recorded community transmission of coronavirus for the seventh day in a row.

Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young explained the 28-day count would restart if NSW reported a COVID-19 infection 'unlinked' to previous outbreaks.

'It's when they've had a case that they aren't able to immediately linked to one of their known cases. So it's unlinked cases,' she said.

The Queensland premier also announced dancing will be allowed at weddings, with up to 40 people on the dance floor. The limit will be lifted entirely on December 1.

Up to 40 people will be allowed to gather in homes and in public places from November 1. This will increase to 50-people gatherings from December 1.

From the beginning of December, outdoor events will be allowed to have 1,500 attendees.

Residents from NSW will still need valid border declaration passes to enter the state but they will not be required to quarantine for two weeks on arrival. Pictured: Police stop vehicles as they enter Queensland on October 1

From 4pm on Friday, Queenslanders will be able to grab a drink or meal at a venue without having to be seated.

'I hope this gives Queenslanders confidence to get out there and enjoy this state,' Ms Palaszczuk said.

'We've been able to do things more in Queensland because we have taken those proactive steps we've kept Queenslanders safe, and that means now that Queenslanders can enjoy Queensland, even more.'

Queensland recorded two new cases of COVID-19 on Friday but they were ship crew and not exposed to the community, with just six active cases overall.
By PTI

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary and wondered whether freedom and democracy achieved by him and other freedom fighters will be given away so easily by the countrymen.

She said Gandhiji's philosophy has become more relevant now than ever before.

"Homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary. Icons like Gandhiji, Netaji, Tagore, Maulana Azad, Ambedkar & others tirelessly fought for freedom & democracy. Are we going to give it away so easily? Bapu's philosophy has become more relevant now than ever before," she tweeted.

Homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary. Icons like Gandhiji, Netaji, Tagore, Maulana Azad, Ambedkar & others tirelessly fought for freedom & democracy. Are we going to give it away so easily? Bapus philosophy has become more relevant now than ever before (1/2)  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) October 2, 2020

The chief minister announced that a university dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi will be set up in Purba Medinipur district.

"In remembrance of Gandhiji's philosophy of Ahimsa, today we also celebrate the International Day of Non-Violence. To this regard, #GoWB is setting up a university dedicated to Gandhiji in Purba Medinipur district. Let us spread Bapu's message amongst the younger generations," she said in another tweet.

Mahatma Gandhi was born on this day in 1869 in Gujarat's Porbandar.
OMG you can clearly see that Gaten has gotten older.



18 now!! They grow up so much!



I hope everyone stays safe and no one catches anything!





Edited at 2020-10-02 10:32 pm (UTC)

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i didn't love season 3, but i didn't hate it like some people did, and i'm still really looking forward to this.

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still hate natalia's hair though lmao

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I loved season 3 lol



Im wary of the direction of season 4 though, I actually the finale of season 3 would have been a nice series finale

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if they didn't have the final final scene, it would've been a decent ending for sure. i didn't love the russian plotline so i'm a bit iffy as to where the show can go, but i guess we'll see.

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same! I liked it because it was light-hearted and silly compared to the darkness of season 2.

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I liked it a lot

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I love season 3. Season 2 is my least favorite 

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same. although i did HATE what they did to hopper's character. but i still have fun w the show.

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The show gets pretty same ish. I wish the plot was more risk taking.

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The Russian plot was completely and utterly stupid and a cliche, I loved Robin and Steve so if they have enough screen time I'll watch for them



Hopper was insufferable last season

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Yeahhh they're clearly lying

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I think I might have watched the first episode of season 3 and gave up. I think I might be over this show tbh

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I couldn't get into season three either. It feels like the show just got into its own hype

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I didnt watch season 3 but I swear 3 was supposed to be it... but... why...

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I was generally okay with season three in concept, but I cannot stand how far they dumbed down Steve. They also need to stop introducing new characters because they clearly can't juggle the ones they have.



I'm still gonna watch it tho.

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"but I cannot stand how far they dumbed down Steve"



I don't mind it to a degree but you're not wrong. It reminded me of Eric from Boy Meets World. He went to normal teenager to the full-blown loveable idiot/goofball comic relief character.

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ST writers listen to the fans a bit too much for my taste. I hope they don't do the "mom Steve" stuff again this season.

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I don't think we'll have to worry about new characters this season. A LOT of shows have been writing out new characters that they were gonna introduce in the new seasons because most sets are trying to reduce the amount of ppl on set.

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She looks so frumpy



Did she piss off the costume designer?

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Nancys hair and her skirt + vest is very Jeanie Bueller, like throw on some high waist Calvin Klein jeans and it would be fine. But that skirt is so awful that even ppl today wouldnt wear it ironically. Like its just hideous

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Im not an epic fan but I hate they went the obvious route with Hopper. Just commit to it and move on.



I wonder if they will continue to waste Will. The actor did a fantastic job in S2 and then they absolutely wasted him in S3.

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Yep I live in city where its filmed and people are taking pictures because the sets are made up for the show again!

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I was in palmetto a week ago and was sure they were filming bc they had a set by the piggly wiggly (Bradley's big buy) but it wasn't. Still dunno what it was . If I catch wind they're back there filming I'm grabbing my sis and heading there asap lol. I love living close to all the stranger things sets. They're so fucking cool my 80s nostalgic self lives for it!

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Please give Steve a sweet boyfriend.

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I better not see one fucking bowl cut this season.

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i hope they keep the kids together this season

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LANCASTER, Pa., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PA Options for Wellness Inc., a Pennsylvania-based medical cannabis research company, announced today the opening of its first dispensary, VYTAL Options, at 39 East Chestnut Street in Lancaster. The Pennsylvania Department of Health deemed the location operational and ready to open in August 2020.

PA Options for Wellness was founded in 2014 with a research and education-centered goal of becoming the leader in Pennsylvania's emerging medical cannabis industry. It is one of the first recipients of a Clinical Registrant permit and, in collaboration with Penn State College of Medicine, is focusing on improving patient outcomes, quality of life and developing novel treatment methods, all in an effort to identify the cannabis strains most effective for particular medical conditions through clinical research.

"We are thrilled to open a greatly needed dispensary for patients throughout the Commonwealth," said Thomas A. Trite, CEO and founder of PA Options for Wellness. "We look forward to serving patients through our Medical Model focused on outcomes."

VYTAL Options will be available to qualified and approved patients who possess a valid medical marijuana identification card. The dispensary will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Patients may contact VYTAL Options at # 717-327-4740 to book an appointment and walk-ins are also welcome. All new patients and caregivers of new patients must first fill out an intake form and call to schedule a consultation with a VYTAL Options pharmacist. Every dispensary will have pharmacists available on-site to answer any questions.

Additionally, eligible patients will be able to order products through the VYTAL Options website. For more information, please visit www.vytaloptions.com.

The Department of Health also approved Phase I of the PA Options for Wellness grow/process facility located in Penn Township, Perry County, Duncannon, PA, which will be expanded to 65,000 square feet. The grow/process facility passed the Department of Health's operational inspection and is now eligible to begin growing and processing.

About PA Options for Wellness

PA Options for Wellness was founded by Thomas A. Trite, PD, FASCP, in 2014 with the goal of creating a premier medical cannabis service model and to be the leader in the emerging medical cannabis industry and cannabis research.

Headquartered in Harrisburg, PA Options for Wellness' mission is to become the preferred provider of medical cannabis to qualified, approved patients through high-quality products, and dignified, professional service. We are focused on research, patient outcomes and quality of life.

PA Options for Wellness is proud to have been awarded one of the first Pennsylvania Clinical Registrant licenses in June 2019 in collaboration with Penn State College of Medicine. We are now building a grow/process facility with lab space as well as six dispensaries across Pennsylvania.

Related Images

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SOURCE PA Options for Wellness
Lebanon has asked Interpol to issue arrest warrants for the Russian captain and owner of the vessel that brought a shipment of ammonium nitrate behind a massive explosion at Beirut port in August.



Lebanon's state news agency NNA said October 1 that public prosecutors have asked Interpol to issue warrants against the two Russians as part of a widening probe into what caused the explosion, which killed nearly 200 people, wounded thousands, and devastated downtown Beirut.



Authorities have blamed the August 4 explosion on nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate -- a material used in fertilizer but also explosives -- that was stored in poor conditions at Beirut's port for years.



Many questions remain about why and how the cargo was abandoned in Beirut amid allegations of negligence against Lebanese authorities. Nearly 20 people have been detained in Lebanon after the blast, including port and customs officials.



The Rhosus, a Moldovan-flagged cargo ship sailing from Georgia to an explosives factory in Mozambique, is widely understood to have brought the fertilizer to Beirut in 2013 during an unscheduled detour.



NNA did not give the names of the two men sought by the Interpol warrant, but Russian national Boris Prokoshev was the captain who sailed the vessel to Beirut in 2013. Prokoshev is believed to be in Russia.



Igor Grechushkin, a Russian businessman residing in Cyprus, is believed to have been the owner. Grechushkin was questioned by police at the request of Interpol's Lebanon office in August.



The Rhosus never ended up leaving Beirut due to a legal dispute over port fees and ship defects.



In October 2014, the ammonium nitrate was moved to a warehouse at Beirut's port that holds impounded materials. It remained there until the explosion.



The ship sank near the port in February 2018.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump will spend a few days at a military hospital after contracting COVID-19, the White House said Friday.

Trump was to depart the White House by helicopter late Friday for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a White House official said. The official said the visit was precautionary and that Trump would work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

Earlier Friday the White House said Trump remains fatigued and had been injected with an experimental antibody cocktail for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

The White House said Friday that President Donald Trump remains fatigued after contracting COVID-19 and has been injected with an experimental antibody cocktail for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

Just a month before the presidential election, the revelation came in a Trump tweet about 1 a.m. after he had returned from an afternoon political fundraiser. He had gone ahead, saying nothing to the crowd though knowing he had been exposed to an aide with the disease that has infected millions in America and killed more than a million people worldwide.

First lady Melania Trump also tested positive, the president said, and several others in the White House have, too, prompting concern that the White House or even Trump himself might have spread the virus further.

Trump has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the virus, rarely wearing a protective mask and urging states and cities to reopen and reduce or eliminate shutdown rules.

The presidents physician said in a memo late Friday that Trump received a dose of an experimental antibody cocktail by Regeneron that is in clinical trials. Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley said Trump remains fatigued but in good spirits and that a team of experts was evaluating both the president and first lady in regard to next steps.

The first lady, who is 50, has a mild cough and headache, Conley reported, and the remainder of the first family, including the Trumps' son Barron, who lives at the White House, tested negative.

Both Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have tested negative, their campaign said. Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus Friday morning and remains in good health, his spokesman said.

Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was with him and many others on Saturday and has been on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, also tested negative, the White House said.

Trumps diagnosis was sure to have a destabilizing effect in Washington and around the world, raising questions about how far the virus has spread through the highest levels of the U.S. government. Hours before Trump announced he had contracted the virus, the White House said a top aide who had traveled with him during the week had tested positive.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately, Trump tweeted just before 1 a.m. We will get through this TOGETHER!
Young wrote, A less generous theory is that the disease actually damaged his brain in some way  and there is some evidence that cognitive decline can lower your appetite for risk. Whether the damage was psychological or physiological, the implication is clear: hes no longer fit to be prime minister and should step down as soon as hes got Brexit done.
EDITORS NOTE: Venue Plus continues In Case You Didnt Know, a weekly feature with fun tidbits about New Mexicans and their projects.

Imagine performing 20 to 25 times a month at local venues.

Then it screeches to a halt.

What would one do with all the downtime?

New Mexico native Shane Wallin didnt waste any of the time.

He began to work on a new album in June  alone.

Im by myself, and Im playing all the instruments, he says. All because I couldnt meet up and collaborate with others.

One thing is for sure: The new material is sounding different. He says its a departure from his 2019 album, The Flood.

Its very modern-sounding, he says. Its completely me. I didnt write any of the songs with an acoustic guitar, he says. On previous albums, thats how it all started. Now Im programming drumbeats and writing form that. I think the cadence of my singing is different because of it.

Being at home in his studio, Wallen has also found a new energy in his writing process.

I normally would be heading to shows all over the state and spent nearly eight hours driving to gigs, he says. I got into music because I wanted to be a writer. Im getting more of a chance to grow those skills.

The coming album isnt yet titled, and the musician plans on releasing singles before releasing the album.

Wallin is back to performing a few times a week at outdoor venues.

Here are five facts he shared about himself:

1 I started working on a home studio years ago, though my last two albums, I didnt record in it. This is the first time Ive gotten back to recording in my own studio.

2 Right now, Ive been listening to lots of music, because Im working on my own music. I listen to the music that I want to learn from. I listen to a lot more modern music like Ed Sheeran and Khalid. Sometimes when Im working on music and its a long day, I dont listen to music.

3 Ive put out five full-length albums that Ive written.

4 I play a Takamine acoustic guitar. I love its sound and tone. If youve heard my recording, I play with a looper, and I create the sounds of a band.

5 I play between 250 to 300 dates while Im also recording. Its been 10 years of playing a heavy show schedule.
The Fort Worth Police Department has fired a veteran officer for posting a 'racially insensitive meme' on Facebook.

In a statement released Thursday, police officials revealed that Officer Roger Ballard was given a 'indefinite suspension' for violating the department's general orders.

A spokesman described the punishment as 'equivalent to termination'.

According to The Forth Worth Star-Telegram, Ballard last month shared the shocking meme which showed a photo of a black man laying in a casket. The accompanying text read: 'The face you make when you don't understand "Stop resisting"'.

The meme was allegedly posted on a Facebook account which Ballard shared with his wife. That account has since been deleted.

The Fort Worth Police Department has fired a veteran office Roger Ballard for posting a 'racially insensitive meme' on Facebook. According to the Forth Worth Star-Telegram, Ballard shared the shocking meme on a joint Facebook page he shared with his wife (puctured). It has since been deleted

The Forth Worth Police Department conducted an Internal Affairs investigation over Ballard's conduct. He is an 18 year veteran of the force

The Police Department was notified about the post on September 20, before Internal Affairs began an investigation.

The spokesperson stated the the division concluded that 'Ballard was responsible for posting the racially insensitive meme containing a photo which led to numerous complaints and public outrage.'

In light of those findings, city Police Chief Ed Kraus moved ahead with the 'indefinite suspension'.

Ballard worked as a patrol officer on the day shift and had been with the department since 2002, said Officer Buddy Calzada.

Caldaza declined to tell the tell the Associated Press whether Ballard is appealing his firing.

A full statememnt released by the Forth Worth Police Department regarding Ballard's 'indefinite suspension'

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said she supported the decision to terminate Ballard.

'We must continue the hard work of building trust in our community. As I said previously, actions like these that unravel this hard work are extremely disheartening and we must see that individuals are held accountable for their actions,' she told CBS 2.

Ballard is not the first officer to be terminated for racially insensitive social media posts in recent months.

Back in June, Georgia Officer Robert 'Skipper' Dunn was fired from his part-time position with the Rossville Police Department.

Dunn took to Facebook to share a post showing mugshots of five black people involved in the 2016 robbery and murder of a grandmother, underneath which he wrote: 'I think a hanging is in order'.

In a statement the local department said: 'After a detailed internal review of the issue, we have decided that Officer Robert 'Skipper' Dunn will no longer be performing duties with the Rossville Police Department.

'It is important that everyone understand Officer Dunn certainly enjoys the First Amendment Right to post his opinions. However, when those posts or opinions detract from his ability to effectively serve the community it is in the best interest of the community that he no longer be assigned those duties'.
The HSE is looking into employing laid-off Shannon Airport staff as Covid contact tracers.

Airport management has met with the HSE to explore the possibility of employing staff, who have been temporarily let go or in part-time work, in contact tracing.

It comes as Ryanair has threatened to close its Cork and Shannon bases from October 26 for the winter season if the Government does not implement the EU traffic light system to allow for a return of international air travel.

The low-cost airline called on the Government to fully adopt the new EU travel list policy from October 13, which would allow for unrestricted air travel to and from those regions of Europe which are classified by the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) as green or amber.

The Government has already said it broadly supports the EU Commission proposal on the so-called traffic light system for international travel.

Senator Timmy Dooley said the unexpected fallout from Covid-19 has been "devastating" to the airport and the wider region.

He said a short-term solution is now required to address the significant fallout of the pandemic for employees of Shannon Airport.

Read More Ryanair shares dip on back of High Court challenge loss

"Many of them are temporarily laid-off or are back at work part-time. They are finding it impossible to meet their financial commitments, notwithstanding the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, and are struggling to survive.

"Contact tracing work would be a small relief to some but we must think imaginatively as to how we can provide more assistance."

Raising the issue in the Seanad, Mr Dooley said airport workers had a standard of living built up around expected income and they are now under pressure with mortgage repayments, education fees, car loans, and all the other normal expenditure.

"I am not saying that they work in a protected sector, but the workers would never have experienced anything like this before. There are people who have always known that they work in a precarious environment, but this is not the case with the employees of Shannon Airport. It has been a bolt out of the blue for those working for the airlines and in the airport," the Fianna Fail senator said.

"We must look at how we can assist these workers immediately, in recognition of the fact that aviation activity is not going to resume soon."

Mr Dooley added that even before the pandemic Shannon Airport was already on the "backfoot" as the vast bulk of aviation went through Dublin.

"We must ensure during the ramp-up period that airlines do not go for the easy touch and operate all of the services out of the main airport of Dublin because such a move would kill regional development and give us no chance in the west, mid-west or south to recover in that regard."
A CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter owned and operated by Coulson Aviation, Inc., drops water on Los Alamitos Army Airfield, Sept. 30, 2020, for a flight demonstration during a press conference at Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California. The helicopter, hailed as the worlds largest helitanker due to its ability to drop 3,000 gallons of water or retardant in a single pass, is staging on the base for 24/7 wildfire response in Southern California through the end of the year. The helicopter comes to Southern California through a partnership with Orange County Fire Authority with funding from Southern California Edison. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Crystal Housman)

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Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!" US President Donald Trump tweeted Friday informing that he and his wife and the First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19 and have been quarantined after a top aide tested positive for coronavirus.

The news, for obvious reasons, came as a shocker to everyone, as wishes started pouring in on social for the Trumps to get well soon.

While others in the US frantically cross-checked if the news of Trump testing positive for the deadly infection was legit and not fake news.

In fact, Did Trump test positive for Covid" was the top google query almost minutes after Trump posted his tweet on October 2.

However, there was something more that people looked for- The Simpsons and its prediction" for Trump. The Simpsons" was amongst the top related topics when one typed in Trump" on google search in the US.

Credits: Google

The American Sitcom The Simpsons" that has a habit of popping up every once in a while for its eerie predictions" for the real world, started trending on Twitter and that photo of animated Trump lying in a coffin once again started floating around on Twitter soon after the news broke.

Trump got corona?  The Simpsons dont miss pic.twitter.com/mVOx9FytJl YaLocalWhiteBoy (@NoHoesGeorge) October 2, 2020

REMEMBER WHEN THE SIMPSONS PREDICTED TRUMPS D3ATH?? pic.twitter.com/hiunENRHMr  (@AFTAEGLOW) October 2, 2020

This isnt the first time he Trump-Simpsons photo has gone viral online. A couple of months ago, the Internet was convinced that The Simpsons had predicted that Donald Trump would die on August 27.

Of course, that did not happen nor was the photo legit.

Also Read: Did The Simpsons Predict Donald Trumps Death in August? Heres the Truth Behind Coffin Photo

A journalist with NY Times, Taylor Lorenz, took to Twitter to explain what happened. In June this year, a woman created a TikTok video in an attempt to satirise conspiracy theories and said that something important was about to happen on August 27. Her video, strangely, made no comment about Donald Trump, let alone his death.

The video quickly went viral and somehow ended up being associated with the morphed photo of Trump in a coffin.
Dignitas  To live with dignity  To die with dignity, the assisted suicide charity, has warned that very sick Irish people are trying and failing to end their own lives at home with dire consequences.

The high-profile charity has come out in favour of a Death with Dignity bill, which is being considered by Irish politicians.

The Dail this week considered a new bill which would decriminalise assisted suicide for people suffering with terminal illnesses in specific cases.

The legislation, which was introduced by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, has been supported by Vicky Phelan.

Read More

It is not known how many people choose assisted suicide in Ireland each year. This year, one suspected case was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

According to Dignitas, nine Irish people have travelled to Switzerland to end their lives with the help of the charity between 1998 and 2019. Dignitas said it currently has 56 Irish members, though that may include supporters who do not intend to end their own lives with assisted suicide.

In a statement on Friday, Dignitas said that the freedom to decide on the time and manner of ones own end in life is a human right, and suffering Irish people should be allowed the choice of ending their suffering and life in a legal, safe and self-determined manner at home. A rising number of states have legalised assisted dying, and their experiences prove the fearmongers wrong.

Dignitas said that while medicine had helped improve life expectancy, some people did not consider hospice or palliative care to be the right choice for them. It said that the uncomfortable truth was that people in Ireland may be trying and failing to end their lives at home.

Hundreds of Irish people take the drastic measure of a do-it-yourself-suicide, and we must always remember that, as well as the number of deaths by suicide, a much higher number of people attempt suicide but fail: research results show that there are up to 50 times more failed attempts than deaths by suicide, often with dire consequences and more suffering for the individual, their loved ones, and others such as rescue teams, it said.

The group said that those who can travel to Switzerland do so in the shadow of the fear of being detained, labelled incompetent, and having their loved ones criminalised.

Dignitas said the law that has worked well in Switzerland for 35 years can also work well in Ireland.

Are the Irish and their wishes and hopes at the end of life really so very different to Swiss people or Canadians and others who do have the choice of an assisted death? Surely a modern democratic society like Ireland should stop denying people the choice of an assisted death?

During a debate on the bill on Thursday night, the Dail heard a statement from Vicky Phelan, which was read out by Labour leader Alan Kelly.

"I do not want to die. I am not choosing between living and dying. My cancer is incurable. The option of living will no longer be available to me in the not too distant future, the statement said.

"I just want to be allowed to have the choice to control the circumstances of my death much as I have made decisions about my own life. Do not kick this issue down the road for another 12 months. Please.
It's been three years since a gunman opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest festival in as Vegas, killing 61 people and injuring almost 900 more.

And on Thursday, country music star Jason Aldean, who was on stage at the time the shooting started, marked the anniversary with an Instagram post in which he remembered those whose lives were changed forever, including his own.

'Hard to believe it's been 3 years since Route 91,' the 43-year-old wrote next to a photo of a makeshift memorial at the festival site from 2017.

Never forget: Country music star Jason Aldean, 43, marked the third anniversary of the Route 91 Harvest festival mass shooting in Las Vegas on Thursday with a touching Instagram post

Terrible night: 'October 1st will always be a day for us that is extremely hard to relive,' explained the country music star, pictured on stage in 2017 just before the shooting started

Aldean went on: 'That night was probably the worst night of our lives and not a day goes by that we don't think about the people who lost their lives and the families who have forever been affected by it.'

He added: 'October 1st will always be a day for us that is extremely hard to relive,' he added. 'To everyone in the Route 91 family, we love u guys and we couldn't have gotten through it without you. #CountryStrong #Route91family #VegasStrong.'

The Rearview Mirror hitmaker's wife Brittany, who was pregnant at the time, was with him at Route 91.

And in her own Instagram post on Thursday, she described what happened that fateful October 1 night as 'a nightmare'.

Remembering: The Rearview Mirror hitmaker's wife Brittany was with him at Route 91 and described what happened as 'a nightmare' in her own tribute on Thursday

Traumatic time: Brittany, 33, wrote: 'My husband was prepping like any other day to entertain thousands of fans.... little did we know our lives would change forever'

Changed forever: The couple, who married in 2015 and have two children together, said that 'not a day goes by that we dont think about the people who lost their lives and the families who have forever been affected by it'

She recalled: 'I was 8 months pregnant (had Memphis 2 months to the day from the shooting) and my husband was prepping like any other day to entertain thousands of fans. I used to live in Vegas so I had a bunch of friends at the show... little did we know our lives would change forever.'

Brittany, 33, shared: 'The sound, the chaos, the overwhelming sadness and heartache... it's something that never leaves you. They call us the 'Route 91 Family' in my opinion because we are forever bonded. An experience that thankfully only certain people know.'

'Our hearts still break for the families who lost a loved one. We are thinking of each and every one of you today, and everyday... And to the men and women who ran towards the bullets to protect all of us... WE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL.'

Moments from tragedy: Aldean was on stage performing his song When She Says Baby to the crowd of 22,000 people when the first shots rang out

Traumatized: Brittany shared: 'The sound, the chaos, the overwhelming sadness and heartache... it's something that never leaves you'

Victims: By the time the shooting stopped, 58 people were dead. The shooter Stephen Paddock was found deceased in a hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Two of those shot that night would subsequently succumb to their injuries, one in 2019 and one in 2020

Aldean was on stage performing his song When She Says Baby to the crowd of 22,000 people when the first shots rang out.

By the time the shooting stopped, 58 people were dead.

The shooter Stephen Paddock was found deceased in a hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Two of those shot that night would subsequently succumb to their injuries, one in 2019 and one in 2020.

It remains the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in the history of the United States.
Right now, I want to drink a $2 Hamms while hammering the flippers on Molotovs Star Wars pinball machine.

I want to listen to absolutely terrible karaoke at Bow Bow Cocktail Lounge while laughing about it with Mama Candy.

I want to just straight up stare at Kilowatts wall of neighborhood dogs, to throw dice with the Big Dog at Black Horse London Pub, to eat way too much free popcorn at White Horse Tavern.

And Im super scared I wont ever get a chance to.

The pandemic is now almost 7 months old. Weve reached the point that landlords are now seemingly the only hope for countless San Francisco institutions.

Which should scare you and the neighborhood drinking institutions you hold dear, because San Francisco needs dive bars. Yeah, theyre dirty, and theres always some large, indistinguishable stain on the carpet, and you have to get buzzed into a gate in the back to get to the bathroom in the basement where the urinal has been curiously ripped off the wall. Sure, some of the guys at the bar have been here since the sun came up, there are bullet holes in the wall (hi, Shotwells), and theres a questionably old wheel of free cheese on the bartop. But these are our dirty, urinal-less, cheese wheel-wielding bars. Theyre part of our city, full of character and characters that make the city great. The kind of place you want to be and the kind of people you want to be around after coming out of all of this (*motions arms to world*).

Theyre our great equalizer. Theyre the reason natives and tech workers and Muni drivers and line cooks and street sweepers and writers and comics and guys who just built a Dungeons & Dragons website can co-exist. Doesnt matter who you are or how much you make, everyone can just leave that all at the door, order a boilermaker, and enjoy the same San Francisco living room.

When I found out Nob Hills 23-year-old The Summer Place was closing for good in July, I straight up wanted to scream. It felt like the first in what could be a Rube Goldberg machine of domino-toppling closures for San Franciscos beloved neighborhood dives.

So I started calling the people who own them. And after hours of conversations, I realized maybe I dont have as much to be scared about as I first thought.

Blair Heagerty / SFGATE

Clooneys Pub

Clooneys is an old-man bar if there ever was an old-man bar. Enough that SFist put it on its list of San Franciscos 11 Best  Old Man Bars.

If youre looking for late-night wisdom from locals, youll find it in spades at Clooneys U-shaped bar, along with San Franciscos most fun, one-roll-only dice game.

Theyre kind of gathering rooms, like in Ireland, where people that dont have family, it is their family, owner Dan Lyons says. And a lot of families have been going to these places for generations and generations.

To wipe them out would be crazy.

The 48-year-old Lyons grew up in Burlingame. His great-grandfather owned a bar in SF in the 1940s (called Clooneys too, of course), his dad Philip Lyons was a bar owner in The City in the 1980s, and Lyons purchased Clooneys in 1995, and has opened for 6 a.m. coffee and/or coffee every day since.

Until, of course, March.

After weathering the loss of one of the bars biggest days of the year (St. Patricks Day), Clooneys opened for outdoor dining a couple months after the shutdown began, thanks to an existing restaurant license.

Without that, wed be struggling to get by, he says. We did take a disaster relief loan, and that allowed us to keep everyone for the first couple months, but then we had to go through layoffs. Were a business that used to be open 18-20 hours a day, now were currently open six hours a day, so were nowhere close where we want to be. Unless you have a good landlord helping you out, youre kinda just stuck in the water.

Were very fortunate, we had a landlord who has worked with us, and I cant thank them enough. Were going to survive. If we werent a small business with a landlord willing to help us, wed definitely be in trouble.

Lyons, whos also a real estate agent and owns Bonne Sante deli in Burlingame (where his two teenage sons have been helping while Lyons runs things in SF), says a liquor license was worth about $225,000 pre-pandemic (the resale of which a lot of bar owners bank on for their retirement). And now?

Half that, because there are so many available from places that have gone under. Its really sad.

I ask Lyons why hes still doing it  why not cut his losses, why not get out before things get worse?

I have a deep love for that business and for the city of San Francisco itself, and I owe it to them to stay open, he says. I cant say enough about people whove been with us a long time, we survive because its more like a family, and every one of those families I care about, and every person who comes in here, they come in because of who they know. It runs so deep. Well find a way to survive.

Lyons retells the story of the day the sky turned orange in San Francisco to help illustrate his point.

A bunch of places closed and we stayed open, he says. People wanted to meet and talk about what was going on, and we ended up being a pretty good day.

He laughs. This is crazy, I know, but we all get to share it together.

Blair Heagerty / SFGATE

Docs Clock

Docs Clocks glorious neon sign is the Golden Gate Bridge of dive bar facades.

And the bar itself is very much a story of survival, saved after a two-year landlord-led saga almost stole it from the San Francisco bar scene.

It took a full year for its vintage sign to rejoin it in 2018 at its new location, but its back to serving as a Bat Signal for the Missions nightlife.

The future is bleak, owner Carey Suckow says minutes after finishing up homeschooling her two kids for the day. Everyone I know has taken out so many loans ... its surviving for us and then getting back on our feet. Right now, its just survival though.

Just half of Suckows staff of 10 is back at work, and all of them have limited shifts with their hours of operations only stretching from 5-9 p.m. most days.

Suckow has gotten particularly creative at Docs, partnering with two different restaurants so they can serve drinks outside, plus selling everything from to-go cocktails to drinking pants which look exactly like what youd imagine they look like.

I wear them every night, Suckow says. You gotta do what you gotta do. Were just trying to hang in there. The landlord here is at least nice, I owe him money and if I had to pay rent now I would be gone.

In the past two months, Suckow says Docs has brought in enough to cover just under one months rent, but thats before expenses.

Primarily, its our local regulars keeping us open, she says. We werent even lucky enough to have a parking spot out front, weird things like that that you never wouldve thought about for business are hurting us  who knew youd need a parking spot out front for COVID?

But its not only Docs pocketbook thats hurting. Its also the pocketbooks of all of the organizations the bar has raised money for through the years  tens of thousands of dollars for everything from neighbors who lost their homes in a fire to the koalas during the Australia fires.

Were a gathering place, she says. When times are tough, people come here; when the election comes, people need to be together. The thought of closing the doors and walking away is horrible, you gotta keep a little hope.

You either go for it or walk away.

Suckow is, not surprisingly, going for it.

Like Lyons, she feels the same obligation to the city, and to the neighborhood.

Were always that comfort zone. You come back to the neighborhood you left, and theres this comfort of coming to the city and saying, oh, here we are, now Im home, I get it.'"

Blair Heagerty / SFGATE

Kozy Kar

Ah, Kozy Kar.

A night out at the raunchy '70s-themed bar is a shocking San Francisco resident rite of passage.

Graphic porn spliced with vintage ads plays on TVs behind the bar, while patrons drink cheap beers in water beds and water-less jacuzzis. There is definitively not another bar like it in the city.

Kozy Kar has been shuttered since San Francisco first sheltered in place in March. Owner Sam Young  who opened the bar in 2009  has laid in wait since, watching as his entire staff was laid off, his rent came due, and his bar lay dormant.

Unlike both Lyons and Suckow, Young is an ardent believer in herd immunity and masks being unnecessary, plus also contends the coronavirus is just the flu, even while it has taken the lives of 207,000 Americans (as much as 16 times more deadly than the flu) and overwhelming evidence from doctors, scientists, academics, and public health officials.

His reasoning, while not scientifically backed, is very on brand with his '70s-themed bar.

Life is not meant to be lived behind a piece of plastic, he says. Theyd never shut down for any virus in 1976. Im extremely disappointed in San Francisco, not allowing people to make their own decisions.

Young, whos now 50, was born and raised in San Francisco. He grew up in the Richmond District and has owned more than a half dozen bars through the years.

He expressed frustrations with city leadership, the governor, the Mission (it seems completely different than 10 years ago), the changing economics of the city, a potential ensuing real estate land grab (he thinks big portions of the city could end up being owned by just a few rich people), and COVID-19.

And while he has continued to pay his rent during the shutdown all the way through October, hes used basically all of his rainy day fund.

So what happens to Kozy Kar after October when rent comes due? Does Young move on from myriad frustrations and hang up his bar owner hat?

Not a chance.

I will never let the bar go under, he says. I would never let it go. I would never let it happen, Id rather die than let it go. Its a moral obligation, God. The place is fking awesome. Is this a terrible time? Yeah, it sucks. But you cant just throw in the towel, and no one is going to buy it if you want to sell it. Nobody wants liquor licenses right now.

I put life into this place, I cant let it go, its the fking Kozy Kar. Jesus Christ people hate it, they hate I exist there  but what would San Francisco be without some place to complain about? Youve gotta have some villain in the situation. I want to go out on my own terms, like Rocky. I dont want to be forced out because of some ridiculous COVID-19, its bullst.

Clooney's Pub is located at 1401 Valencia St. Doc's Clock is located at 2417 Mission St. Kozy Kar is located at 1548 Polk St.
As northern California wildfires continue to scorch the area, the death toll has climbed to four on Wednesday.

Firefighters continue to fight the wildfires in that area, as well as wreaking havoc in wine county near San Francisco.

Diminishing winds in northern California helped firefighters make some initial progress on Tuesday against both blazes. The wildfires in the area have burned over 100,000 acres combined since it started on Sunday about 200 miles apart.

Fire crews battling the Zogg Fire in Shasta County and a separate wildfire dubbed as the Glass Fire in Napa and Sonoma counties have scrambled to reinforce their control lines on Wednesday. They also tamp down hotspots while the weather remained in their favor.

But a red-flag warning for increasing wildfire risks was reinstated on Wednesday evening for areas just north of San Francisco Bay, including the world-class wine-growing regions of Napa and Sonoma counties.

Thursday's wind event caused the fire to explode. Strike teams were on the scene trying to put the flames out before they spread into the iconic valley. Once the smoke thinned a bit, helicopters were able to make water drops on the fire.

Reporting an update on the Glass Fire, Bill See, a California Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) commander, said now is the time for the firefighters to buckle down. The Glass Fire stood at just two percent containment on Wednesday.

See noted that they will be diligently trying to secure the back door on this fire. Officials were also on guard for a return of high winds in Shasta County.

Shasta County is closer to the Oregon border, where the Zogg Fire was listed at 26 percent containment as of Thursday evening, according to Cal Fire.

Cal Fire officials said the Zogg Fire has killed at least four people and destroyed nearly 150 structures with some 15,000 structures listed as threatened. Around 2,200 residents were under evacuation orders. The blaze has decimated 55,000 acres in Shasta and Tehama counties as of Thursday.

The Shasta County Sheriff's Office identified two of the victims as 79-year-old Karin King and 52-year-old Kenneth Vossen, both residents of the town of Igo, as per a CBS San Francisco Bay Area report.

The names of the other two victims have not been released. The Shasta County Sheriff said one of the four civilian victims was badly burned and died on Tuesday night.

The four deaths brought to 30 the number of people that died since mid-August in what now ranks as the worst California wildfire season on record in terms of acreage burned.

Napa Valley firefighters focused much of their efforts on the popular resort of Calistoga. It is a town with 5,300 residents and known for its hot springs, mud baths, and wine tasting rooms. The people in that town was ordered to be fully evacuated on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Glass Fire has already decimated 80 homes and 32 other structures, including the mansion-like Chateau Boswell winery and a farmhouse that contains storage, bottling, and fermentation facilities at the Castello di Amorosa winery.

Some 80,000 people have been placed under evacuation orders in Napa and Sonoma counties.

The causes of the Zogg Fire and the Glass Fire are still under investigation. Reports said both were triggered by overgrown thickets of tinder-dry grass scrub in each area.

Wine quality was also reported to be affected by the wildfire smokes. The full impact on the region's wine business is yet to be seen.

However, industry officials noted that some vintners would likely reduce the production of certain wines because of the smoke exposure to grapes.

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Press Release

October 2, 2020 Cost of free Beep Card is just a blip in gov't spending radar Beep cards for buses should be given for free to commuters. It is the right thing to do and both private issuer and the government can easily afford it. They have cash to fund this cashless payment system. 1 million Beep Cards at the reported non-discounted price of P80 each will only cost government P80 million. But this is an overindulgent estimate. If pegged to a daily bus ridership of 500,000, the cost will be P40 million. If limited to present EDSA bus riders, it will only be a fraction of the two figures cited above. Even if we use P40 million, it is still just one-fifth of one percent of the P20.71 billion that a generous DOTR voluntarily cut from its 2019 and 2020 budgets and turned over to the government's anti-COVID fight. It is one of the handful of agencies which waived at least one-fourth of its budget so it can be rechanneled to the war against the pandemic. Kaya baka naman pwedeng ibalik ang katiting ng kanilang ibinigay para matustusan ang Beep cards na gagamitin ng mga commuters. Nagsauli ang DOTR ng P100, ang gastos sa Beep kung gagawing libre ito ay katumbas lang ng 20 centavos sa naiambag nito, o baka limang sentimo nga lang. Government is readying billions of pesos to help distressed corporations owned by the rich. The cost of a subsidized Beep card for the poor is just a small blip on the spending radar. This, however, is just Plan B. The best option is for the corporation that issues it to give it for free, or make it free until the end of the year or of the pandemic. It is the best CSR of a corporation which has in its genes the tradition of solidarity and compassion which are again on full display during these perilous times.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. An Azerbaijani armed forces soldier who was killed in action amid the attack on Artsakh had an Israeli-made Tadiran radio set, the Artsakh Deputy Commander of the Defense Army Artur Sargsyan said at a news conference.

Decryption of the device revealed that the groups fighting in the mentioned directions are commanded mostly in Arabic language, he said.

Amid numerous reports of Turkey sending Syrian jihadists and mercenaries to Azerbaijan to fight against Artsakh, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on October 1 that France has confirmed intelligence that more than 300 ISIS-affiliated militants were recruited and transferred through Turkey to the NK conflict zone.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
After running unopposed in the 2016 November general election, Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson is facing Democrat Maher Husseini this November in his bid for re-election.

Henderson won the Republican bid for sheriff to replace the retiring Tommy Gage in the 2016 March primary after he defeated Montgomery Police Chief Jim Napolitano, earning 44,181 votes (56.74 percent) to Napolitanos 33,691 (43.26 percent).

However, the long-time lawman is confident in the outcome of the upcoming election and plans to continue his strategic plan he started when he took office in 2017.

While Hendersons first term got off on a bumpy start with the mass exodus of his top brass within a month for unrelated reasons including allegations of misconduct, Henderson pumped the brakes, found his stride.

We came in with a plan and part of that plan was changing the agency and anytime you address change that upsets the apple cart some, he said, adding the department is working in sync to achieve its core values of professional, accountable, compassionate and trusted. The sheriffs office employees see our vision and the strategic plan and where we want to go in the future.

Henderson has worked with MCSO for his entire law enforcement career, starting in 1994 as a patrol deputy in South Montgomery County. Hes held various leadership roles with MCSO and has been with almost every department within the office.

Looking forward, Henderson said the defund the police movement across the nation isnt the view of Montgomery County. He added the departments strategic plan was developed after the incident in Ferguson, Missouri when the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer prompted protests and riots in August 2014.

I campaigned on having the communitys trust so we never got into a Ferguson situation, he said adding the department is prepared for any civil unrest and has a homeland security division. I feel very confident about that.

Community policing efforts and community outreach have also helped in the department relationship with the community, Henderson said.

Husseini attended the University of Illinois-Chicago and Texas Southern University and holds a doctorate in administration of justice, a masters in business administration in business finance.

He said the sheriffs office should continue its preparations for potential mass shootings along with making improvements to the jail and increasing community engagement.

Remodeling the current prisons and installing new A/C units, create new educational and training programs for the inmates, reduce the number of low violent inmates, create a better environment for the female inmates in general and those who are expecting to have babies in specific. Also introduce specific programs for mental health citizens who get in trouble with the law.

Husseini said programs are needed to help families of inmates.

We need to create programs to help the inmate families on their well-being through introducing new initiatives, we need to create better working environment for the officers and increase their pay so we can attract the best qualified with the emphasis of melting pot strategies. We need to strengthen the ties between officers and the community, he said. At the end, we must invest more on officers training in relation to cultural awareness and social engagement and sensitivity.

Early voting begins Oct. 13. Election Day is Nov. 3.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
Inside Hook

Over the next few weeks, well be looking at the various and sundry ways in which the coronavirus will impact American commuters, from predictions for the future of mass transit to the products that will be huge beneficiaries of a new landscape in mobility. This is The Future of Commuting.



If youve never seen Quadrophenia, just think of it as a British version of The Outsiders. Instead of the greasers versus the socs, the cinematic adaptation of the Whos rock opera pits the Mods against the rockers. And instead of the rival gangs driving Mustangs and Thunderbirds, the rockers zip around on cafe racers while the Mods lay claim a vehicle that, to most Americans, isnt known for being a tough guy ride: the motor scooter, specifically Vespas and Lambrettas.



Eric Dregni, a professor at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, isnt like most Americans. He lived as an exchange student in Italy not long after Quadrophenia came out, fell in love with their scooter culture, then brought a penchant for the vehicle back with him to the States.



There used to be a store, Vesparado, down on University Avenue, Dregni tells InsideHook. Of course I could never afford a Vespa back then, but then eventually I got a Lambretta of my own and fixed it up and went from there.



Now, Dregni teaches Italian, as well as English and Journalism, and has written a couple books about the history of motor scooters, including The Life Vespa and The Scooter Bible. Which made him the perfect person to go to with a question that cropped up as we look to the future of transportation during and after the pandemic: Why did Vespa never take off in the U.S.?



As a good chunk of the American workforce looks to go back to the office safely, and others who havent had the luxury of working from home, are trying to figure out a better way to commute, the motor scooter (as well as the less powerful versions classified as mopeds) seems like a great option. Theyre more affordable and park-able than a car, theyre more practical than a bicycle, and theyre less daunting than a motorcycle (though youll still likely need to get your motorcycle license). And of course, they seat one or two, so theres no need to worry about commuting with people who wear their mask under their nose.



Can motor scooters, which have flourished in countries like Italy, Vietnam and China, ever find a foothold in the States, especially now, when we need them the most? Or did we miss our chance? For that answer, its important to remember how it all started.

Vespas Strong American Beginnings
A man who was sacked from his job after pooing in front of his coworkers insists he had no other option because he had explosive diarrhoea.

Anthony Lear was a production technician for seven years at BHP Western Australian Iron Ore before he lost his job in April this year after defecating on the worksite.

He explained that his bowel movements on March 9 and March 27 were due to 'explosive diarrhoea'.

Mr Lear also claimed he wouldn't have made it in time as the closest toilet was eight minutes away.

Anthony Lear (pictured) was a production technician for seven years at BHP Western Australian Iron Ore before he lost his job in April this year after defecating on the worksite

Mr Lear was sacked after defecating at the Yandi mine (pictured stock) and not going to the toilet

Mr Lear was sacked for his actions and claimed he was unfairly dismissed before taking his case to the Fair Work Commission.

He told the commission the first time he pooed on the job on March 9, he was in immense pain and needed to 'take a dump', news.com.au reported.

He positioned himself over an active drill hole where he proceeded to defecate while on the job.

His colleague Joel Garner witnessed the dramatic event unfold and questioned Mr Lear why he was covering up the hole.

'I took a sh*t down the hole,' he reportedly replied.

On the second occasion on March 27, Mr Lear once again needed to rush to the toilet but knew he would not make it.

Another colleague, Jack Hughes was close by and heard him say, 'I'm about to sh*t myself, turn around, turn around'.

Mr Lear was sacked from his job after seven years and claimed he was unfairly dismissed. The Fair Work Commission disagreed and found his sacking was reasonable

Mr Hughes told the commission that he soon noticed a nasty smell and spotted Mr Lear squatting over a blast collar.

He reportedly said, 'I couldn't hold it', to which Mr Hughes exclaimed that the toilets were not that far.

The hearing was told that toilets are supposed to be spaced at least five to six minutes away.

Mr Lear, however, argued that time was all dependant on the traffic.

The commission found that Mr Lear was not unfairly dismissed and that his behaviour was to blame for his sacking.

'This conduct occurred, said the respondent, against a backdrop of unsatisfactory workplace behaviour  which when considered with the incidents, led the respondent to dismiss Mr Lear,' the report read.
A grassy knoll surrounds the pentagonal plaza with beautifully etched monuments to each of the service branches. The centerpiece is a large flagpole hosting Old Glory. Bridgeland-style benches throughout provide a respite for the weary and a place for them to reflect on the sacrifice of forefathers who gave their lives to ensure the United States remains the home of the brave and the land of the free.

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The Veterans Memorial at Bridgeland remains a mirage on a large, empty virgin piece of land somewhere in the community and the clock is ticking for many veterans who long to see its completion. Time is not their friend.

The vision for the large-scale monument in the burgeoning outlier community of Bridgeland actually began as a dispute.

A veteran who served in the Army Special Forces was told he couldnt have a free-standing flag flying in his backyard, said Kay Burkhalter, publicity outreach coordinator for The Bridgeland Community Supports Veterans organization.

Burkhalter said the homeowners association said it was a violation of their rules. HOA rules only allow the flag to fly from the front of the house.

In response, a small group of veterans and volunteers organized and six years ago became a full-fledged charity with a 501(c)3 charter and called it The Bridgeland Community Supports Veterans, Inc.

We really saw that there was a need to instill in a community that was just forming, basic values of patriotism and education of what our great country has done to keep us free, Burkhalter said.

The group began organizing patriotic events around Memorial Day and Veterans Day and pledged to educate residents and the youth of the community with their plans.

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Six years later, they have grown immensely and have tremendous support from the community.

They host an annual Fun Run that raises money for their most important, overriding goal which is to build a permanent memorial in Bridgeland that commemorates seven major wars the U.S. was encumbered in and individual monuments that explain those wars.

Burkhalter said education is primary.

Without their sacrifice or if either country (we fought against) would have prevailed, we could be speaking Japanese or German today, she said. We want our youth to know that peace isnt always as easy as they might think it is.

Outside of the programs that include the reading of the names of the war dead, and the playing of the somber Taps, the organization also reaches out to veterans in a myriad of other programs.

The organization has spent upwards of $5,000 this year thus far for veterans who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic with money earmarked for more if necessary.

Theres a commemorative battle certificate that has been given by Obama and now Trump (for those) that served in the Vietnam war, she said.

They locate the Vietnam vets in the community and give them the certificate and pin.

We tell them its 40 years too late, but we do recognize what a difference you make, Burkhalter said.

It becomes very emotional for the veteran.

Youll see tears well up in their eyes. These guys are the ones who are aging and dying now, she explained.

She has one friend who is 103 and a World War II vet and they are few and far between.

Theres an urgency in the group to work out a deal with the Howard Hughes Corporation for a piece of land in the community to get underway with the construction of the memorial.

Last year we raised about $42,000 at our Fun Run event in October, she said. The money is used to go toward several projects, but their primary goal is to build a lasting monument to veterans who have the served the country.

Thus far, the organization has raised close to $200,000. Their hope is that the land would be donated by the Howard Hughes Corporation.

We were told they were looking for land for us, but thats been about five years, she said.

If we had the land, we could proceed with our recruiting builders and volunteers to donate a good bit of the project, she said, and get busy with construction.

She said there has to be some space left across SH 99 where theres plenty of virgin land.

Theyve (Howard Hughes Corp.) been very supportive of us in donations and in-kind gifts, she said.

Heath Melton, executive vice president, MPC for Howard Hughes lives in Bridgeland himself and attends some of those meetings for the organization.

We support our veterans 100 percent and have some plans, he said.

Melton, who is a veteran himself, said one possibility was when they build their next regional park in the next phase.

We havent really decided the spot just yet. We want it to be visible and attract people to the area, he said. He referenced the memorial that was done in The Woodlands near the town center park area that has become an attraction and gathering area for locals.

Melton said he didnt have a timeline on when it would occur and that they have no formal agreement with the group, but support them and their efforts.

Whether its with them or another group, we will do something meaningful to demonstrate our support for veterans, he said.

This years fundraising event had to be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

We didnt want to try and do a virtual Fun Run or really ask for money this year because so many are hurting financially. Well continue with our next event on Veterans Day with a different approach, she said.

She said they are planning a GoFundMe site where donations could be submitted anytime year-round.

To view a virtual walk-through of the planned memorial, go to YouTube.com and search Bridgeland Veteran Memorial. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/TheBridgelandCommunitySupportsVeteransinc.

dtaylor@hcnonline.com
FCC President Elizabeth Burmaster shares, For students who are interested in transferring after their time at FCC, this a great opportunity to learn about many different colleges and universities and plan for their academic future.

Frederick Community College students are invited to participate in the first-ever statewide Virtual Transfer Fair, happening on numerous dates in October.

While we are unable to hold our annual Fall Transfer Fair on our main campus this year, we are glad our students can participate in this statewide virtual event, said FCC President Elizabeth Burmaster. For students who are interested in transferring after their time at FCC, this a great opportunity to learn about many different colleges and universities and plan for their academic future.

During the Virtual Transfer Fair, students can hear from representatives from more than 125 colleges and universities, explore college majors and degree programs, and learn about transfer pathways.

Students can participate during the following dates and times:



October 13-15, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

October 20-22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

October 27-29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Students will be able to gather information about the following:

Major and degree program offerings

Steps for a successful transfer

Application materials needed

Entry requirements into competitive admission programs

Contact information

College life

Each college and university representative will speak during a specific time. To see the schedule for FCC students, click here.

This event is free and open to Maryland community college students. It is sponsored by the Maryland Community College Transfer & Articulation Affinity Group.

For more information about the Virtual Transfer Fair, click here.
Certainty and clarity are badly needed less than 100 days from the end of the Brexit transition, according to South Belfast's MP after it emerged the European Commission has begun legal action over the UK's Internal Market Bill.

And the DUP's Sir Jeffrey Donaldson yesterday agreed with Claire Hanna that it is vital businesses and consumers receive some clarity with time rapidly running out.

But the two did not agree on where to place the blame for this latest development, with Sir Jeffrey claiming the EU continues to use Northern Ireland as "a bargaining chip" and Ms Hanna describing the commission's move as a consequence of the UK "casually legislating to break the law".

"The commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the UK Government," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced in Brussels yesterday. "This draft Bill is by its very nature a breach of the obligation of good faith laid down in the Withdrawal Agreement."

Ms von der Leyen, who held a bilateral meeting with Taoiseach Micheal Martin yesterday, added that the Internal Market Bill was a "full contradiction" of previous UK commitments over how a hard border in Ireland should be avoided, the so-called Northern Ireland protocol.

The Taoiseach travelled to Belgium to attend a special meeting of the European Council yesterday.

Mr Martin said the UK was "under no illusions" about the strength of opposition to its unilateral actions but he was "hopeful" the talks could get to a more "intense phase over the next week or so".

Expand Close Meeting: Irelands Prime Minister Micheal Martin arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels / Facebook

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Whatsapp Meeting: Irelands Prime Minister Micheal Martin arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels

Mr Martin said: "We support the commission in its actions. It gave the United Kingdom a month to respond in relation to withdrawing the Internal Market Bill and the unilateral action it took in relation to the Northern Ireland protocol.

A UK Government spokesperson said the Bill was a necessary "safety net" to protect trade between different parts of the UK. The Government has until the end of November to respond.

Among the measures proposed are no checks on moving goods to and from Northern Ireland to Britain and giving UK ministers the power to "disapply" rules on the movement if there is no deal.

Ms Hanna said: "I think we are in a serious situation. We operate, we all exist, in trade in particular, in a rules-based order.

"And casually legislating to break the law was always going to have consequences, and bodies like the EU have a duty to stand up against this type of tough guy politics.

"It is possible that the UK wanted to provoke this so that they can say the EU are meddling... at some point the UK will have to move out of that... campaign mood and into a solution mode."

She called for good faith, seriousness and clarity so consumers and businesses can prepare for the end of the transition in less than 100 days, a point Sir Jeffrey agreed on.

But the Lagan Valley MP, who believes that the move by the commission is premature, arguing there is no breach of goodwill as the protocol is not in force, said that the EU throughout the talks "has used Northern Ireland as a bargaining chip to secure favourable trade terms".

He added: "The Prime Minister was right to protect the integrity of the UK's internal market.

"The Internal Market Bill in and of itself does not breach international law. It only gives a minister powers to make future regulations which would disapply or modify the direct effect of the Withdrawal Agreement.

"This has not happened to date. Importantly, it will not happen at all unless the EU continues to stymie efforts towards a final deal that respects the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK."

Sinn Fein MP Chris Hazzard said the commission move was "welcome" because the "EU is clear and unequivocal that the British Government's Internal Market Bill is in breach of international law".

"The EU needs to protect Ireland from this attack on the peace process from the British Government," the South Down MP said.

"This latest intervention from the EU comes on the back of leading political figures in the US reiterating that Congress will not back a trade deal with Britain if the Good Friday Agreement is undermined."

The action by the commission was the "inevitable consequence of the UK's refusal to remove its outrageous and extraordinary threat of breach the terms of the existing Withdrawal Agreement and international law", said North Down MP Dr Stephen Farry.

"The people and businesses of Northern Ireland need positive outcomes from Joint Committee discussions and future relationship negotiations. However, the UK needs to show good faith to achieve the necessary waivers and other flexibilities," the Alliance Party representative said.
CNBC's Jim Cramer on Friday downplayed the stock market decline on President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus, suggesting investors may want to consider buying on pullbacks.

"I'm not saying this is much to do about nothing," Cramer said on "Squawk Box." "I am saying that people should have a buy list ready."

Stock futures were sharply lower Friday morning as Wall Street digested the news that Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, tested positive for the coronavirus. The president wrote in a tweet early Friday morning, "We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"

Equities dropped in early trading but pared some of those losses in the afternoon on hopes for a stimulus agreement.

After Cramer spoke, stocks went on to pare some of their early losses in afternoon trading on hopes for a stimulus agreement.

The Trumps' positive tests came hours after White House advisor Hope Hicks also tested positive for the coronavirus. Hicks had traveled on Air Force One with the Trumps to Cleveland for Tuesday night's first presidential debate.

Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence have tested negative for the virus, the White House announced Friday morning.

Cramer wished the Trumps a fast recovery and stressed the environment was not "business as usual." But he added, "I do believe there will be many stocks that will initially go down, like a Tesla  by the way, we had deliveries that were better than expected  and then they can rally."

"I think that can be like a Ford Motor, where I believe the numbers are going to come in better, and I would be looking to buy something like that," the "Mad Money" host also said.

Cramer said he hopes the president's coronavirus infection convinces more Americans to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus, which could have benefits for the U.S. economy.

Cramer noted Trump has largely eschewed mask-wearing during the pandemic and earlier this week chided his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, for how frequently he wears a mask.

Biden on Friday morning wished the Trumps well.

"Masks are the only hope we really have, particularly indoors," Cramer said. "Maybe the notion that you're somehow 'not tough' [if you] wear a mask goes away."

"If you try to reopen the economy aggressively without masks, without more discipline on social distancing, well it's going to fail," Cramer added. "I think that's really the ultimate takeaway of what happened with the president being infected with Covid."

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New York, Oct 2 : Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course -- yoga and meditation-- was found to benefit patients with chronic pain and depression, leading to significant improvement in participant perceptions of pain, mood and functional capacity.

According to the study, published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, most of the participants (89 per cent) reported the programme helped them find ways to better cope with their pain while 11 per cent remained neutral.

Chronic pain is a common and serious medical condition affecting an estimated 100 million people in the US, which correlates with annual costs of approximately $635 billion.

The small-scale study was conducted in a semi-rural population in Oregon, US, where issues of affordability, addiction and access to care are common.

Participants received intensive instruction in mindfulness meditation and mindful hatha yoga during an eight-week period.

"Many people have lost hope because, in most cases, chronic pain will never fully resolve," said study author Cynthia Marske from the Community Health Clinics of Benton and Linn County in the US.

"However, mindful yoga and meditation can help improve the structure and function of the body, which supports the process of healing," Marske added.

The study found mindful meditation and yoga led to significant improvements in patients' perceptions of pain, depression and disability. Following the course, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) scores, a standard measure of depression, dropped by 3.7 points on a 27-point scale.

According to the researchers, some patients experience a similar drop from the use of an antidepressant."Chronic pain often goes hand-in-hand with depression," Marske said.

"Mindfulness-based meditation and yoga can help restore both a patient's mental and physical health and can be effective alone or in combination with other treatments such as therapy and medication," Marske added.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett listens during her nomination to the Supreme Court, in Washington on Sept. 26, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett Tests Negative for COVID-19

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has tested negative for COVID-19, the White House announced Friday.

Barrett, a federal judge, hasnt been with President Donald Trump since Sundays announcement ceremony, White House spokesman Judd Deere told news outlets.

She is following CDC guidance and best practices, including social distancing, wearing face coverings, and frequently washes hands, he said.

Trump, who tested positive for COVID-19 late Thursday, came into close contact with Barrett at the White House.

Trump was within six feet of Barrett and her husband and seven children. None were wearing masks, though everyone who is poised to come into contact with the president are tested for COVID-19.

Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, White House aide Hope Hicks, and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and White House advisor Ivanka Trump are among those who tested negative Friday. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden also tested negative.

President Donald Trump makes a point as Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden listens during the first presidential debate at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 29, 2020. (Morry Gash/Pool/AP Photo)

Barretts nomination will continue to move forward, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told news outlets on Friday.

We dont anticipate any kind of unanticipated event that could throw us off schedule, he said.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-Ky.) said the nomination is on track and hearings will start as planned on Oct. 12.

I talked to President Trump this morning.  First thing I asked him about was the First Lady. Shes doing good. The President was in good spirits. The first thing he asked me is hows the hearings going? I said were on track. Were going to start October the 12th, Graham said at an event in South Carolina.

Editors note: Story was updated with negative test results and other information.
OBrien fired back, accusing Foxx of not wanting to defend what is essentially a failed states attorneys office (run by) a states attorney who thinks shes a social worker. You have not prosecuted crime, he said. You have not made us safer. Crime from the city is spilling into the suburbs and the suburbs are fed up with it. And you dont have the confidence of the police department in the city or the suburbs, and you dont have the confidence of your own assistants.
New Zealanders will be able to travel to NSW and the Northern Territory without needing to quarantine in a one-way travel bubble from October 16.

But Australians wishing to holiday or visit family in New Zealand will have to wait, with a decision to open up and allow quarantine-free travel from Australia unlikely before the October 17 national election.

Kiwi travellers will need to have been in an area of New Zealand with low numbers of COVID-19 cases for at least 14 days before they will be allowed into Australia.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack says New Zealanders will be allowed to fly to NSW and the NT from October 16 without quarantining. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack thanked NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner for opening up to Kiwi tourists.
The resolution condemns QAnon and rejects the conspiracy theories it promotes, while encouraging the FBI and law enforcement to focus on preventing violence, threats and harassment by extremists motivated by fringe political conspiracy theories. The measure also outlines a vision unlikely to be fulfilled  urging Americans, regardless of their political leanings, to seek information from authoritative sources and debate from a common factual foundation.
Democrats Tina Tarr and George Hughes protested the president's handling of the pandemic, standing outside an Eric Trump rally in Saco, Maine. (Janet Hook / Los Angeles Times)

In the hours after President Trump rocked American politics and the course of the presidential campaign by announcing he had tested positive for the coronavirus, many liberals across the U.S. grappled with the same question: Do you believe a serial liar?

On Friday, before it was announced Trump's condition had worsened and would be heading to a military hospital for observation, liberal social media posts and group chats were rife with conspiratorial speculation. Could such an announcement, one month before the election, be a ploy by a president who is himself a conspiracy theorist who has downplayed COVID-19's seriousness, and who polls show trailing Democratic nominee Joe Biden?

"Heres how wrecked Trumps credibility is at this point: Ive got a cellphone full of texts from people who arent sure whether to believe Trump actually has covid," MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid tweeted Friday morning. "'He lies so much,' one friend just texted. 'Is he just doing this to get out of the debates?' others are texting."

Jon Ehrens, a producer for WHYY radio in Philadelphia, estimated on Friday morning that "90% of listener emails/comments are very insistent that the diagnosis is a lie," tweeting that listeners' conspiracy theories also included "finding an excuse for why he will lose the election" or "to prove that the coronavirus is no big deal."

On ABC's "The View," host Sunny Hostin questioned guest Jonathan Karl, a longtime political reporter, about why Trump's prognosis should be believed, given Trump's past obfuscations about his health.

"I personally would prefer," Hostin said, "to hear information from doctors, not necessarily his physician ... but maybe physicians at Walter Reed, or Dr. [Anthony] Fauci," the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"The sad truth is that we really can't trust at face value what comes out of the White House on this," Karl responded, saying that reporters "have to ask the questions" and will try to verify the information they get. "But there's been so much misinformation that has gone out about the virus, about the pandemic, about things like voter suppression  it's really hard to know what to believe."

Story continues

There are few subjects that have been as rich with conspiratorial thinking, disinformation and propaganda as the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, a 26-minute video called "Plandemic" spread rapidly across social-media platforms alleging that wealthy people were intentionally spreading the virus to increase vaccination rates and that wearing a mask can worsen symptoms. (No.)

Other discredited conspiracy theories have included that the virus was a bioweapon engineered by China to kill Uigher Muslims or by the U.S. to destroy China's economy.

Right-wing conspiracy theorists associated with QAnon, which believes there is a global liberal cabal of human traffickers  and which has been compared to a cult  have also disbelieved the Trump diagnosis and view it as a cryptic and complex maneuver in the president's greater fight against the inscrutable evildoers. (If that sounds weird, it's also nothing particularly new.)

While Trump's presidency, paired with a historic pandemic, has been a singular experience in America's democratic experiment, health problems and lapses in transparency have been a common staple of time in the White House. At least 14 of the 19 presidents to serve in the 20th century had significant illnesses while serving in office, according to academic research, and several of them hid their maladies from the public.

In one of the most notable episodes, during the devastating flu pandemic of 1918-19, President Woodrow Wilson contracted the virus and became "violently sick" during World War I peace negotiations in France. He survived that illness but was struck much more seriously by a stroke six months later that left him diminished for the remainder of his presidency. Wilson's condition was kept a secret, and his wife, Edith, helped run the White House until the end of Wilson's term in 1921.

On Friday, listeners to radio stations catering to Black audiences expressed profound distrust on air and in posts on the radio stations social media pages.

Who knows if this is true, a listener of Dallas KKDA-FM wrote on its Facebook page. It could be a political stunt.

A caller on the WURD FM/AM morning show in Philadelphia told host Solomon Jones, "I don't believe that that man has the coronavirus."

"That's just another trick to take our minds off of what is really up their sleeve," he said.

Jones told listeners that he could understand why so many callers said they dont know whether or not to believe that Trump is infected with the virus. Their skepticism, however unfounded, was of Trumps own making, he said.

I get it, Jones said on air, raising his voice. Hes lied so much, tens of thousands of lies  documented. He was lying in the debate! Hes like the devil. You cant believe anything he says.

For the record:

5:52 PM, Oct. 02, 2020: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the WURD radio host as Malcolm Kenyatta. The host quoted is Solomon Jones.



This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
BAGHDAD (AP)  In the span of 30 seconds, Ali Jasb, a young rights lawyer, vanished into the night in southern Iraq.

On an evening a year ago, a woman emerged from a dimly lit street in the city of Amara and greeted Jasb. Almost immediately a black SUV pulled up, two men forced him in, and the vehicle sped away. The woman climbed into a waiting pickup truck and left.

The fateful moment, captured by a surveillance camera at 6:22 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2019, was the last sighting of the 21-year-old Jasb.

Since that day, Jasbs father has been on a search for justice that has run repeatedly against one major obstacle: the increasing helplessness of Iraqs government in the face of powerful, Iranian-backed Shiite militias. Judicial investigations, seen by The Associated Press, show a clear connection between Jasbs abduction and the most powerful militia group in his home city.

Still, his father, Jasb Aboud is determined to bring the head of that militia to court.

I am afraid, he told the AP. But I lost what was most valuable to me, so Ive got nothing else to lose.

Jasb was abducted a week into historic protests that had erupted on Oct. 1 and saw tens of thousands of youth rallying against corruption and the ruling class. Hope for change inspired many, including Jasb, to speak out against the influence of militias.

He is among 53 protesters still missing since the movement began on Oct. 1, according to the semi-official Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights.

When the nationwide protests erupted, Jasb participated and used his legal expertise to form a committee to help those detained. He also openly criticized militias.

In his home city of Amara, capital of Missan province, that meant Ansar Allah Al-Awfia, one of the more extreme pro-Iranian militias, led by a local commander, Haidar al-Gharawi. It was incorporated under the state-sponsored umbrella group, the Popular Mobilization Forces, created to fight the Islamic State group in 2014.

Story continues

Over the years, it came to control important offices in the provincial government and many businesses in Missan, while being notorious for illicit dealings along the border with Iran.

There was no response to repeated emails by the AP to the PMF seeking comment for this story, and calls and messages to al-Awfia were not answered.

Curtailing the power of militias was a key promise of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi when he took office in May, following months of political deadlock when former premier Adel Abdul-Mahdi resigned under pressure from protests.

But he was soon faced with the limits of his administration. Abdul-Mahdi had allowed militias power to grow so much that now, we almost dont have a state, said a high-level official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Frequent rocket attacks targeted al-Kadhimis seat of power in Baghdad, straining relations with the U.S. A raid on the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, suspected of firing the rockets, backfired when most of those detained were set free  lack of evidence, the court said.

Activists continue to be targeted. The July shooting death of a high-profile commentator and critic of Iran, Hisham al-Hashimi, stunned Baghdad. Two leading activists in Basra were assassinated.

In the case of Jasbs disappearance, investigators in Missan quickly came across evidence of a link to al-Gharawi, the al-Awfia militia commander, according to court documents seen by the AP.

Hours before his abduction, Jasb received a phone call from a woman seeking legal help who asked to meet him later that evening, his father said. It was when he went to meet her that he was snatched.

Key to the case was the mobile number that had called Jasb.

Investigators found it belonged to an illegally acquired SIM not registered with the authorities. There is a thriving black market for such unregistered SIMs, which cannot be traced to a user.

Police identified other numbers that had called the unknown SIM. Among them was a man named Sadam Hamed. He told investigators that he knew nothing about the unknown number, but said his wife, Fatima Saeed, sometimes used his phone to call a relative. That relative is married to al-Awfias commander, al-Gharawi, according to his testimony.

The judge summoned Saeed for questioning but she never showed up. Both she and Hamed had fled.

There the investigation ground to a halt. For nine long months, Jasbs father waited for developments. Nothing happened. So Aboud went to Baghdad and met a new lawyer, Wala al-Ameri.

They decided to attempt a bold gambit: To seek an arrest warrant against al-Gharawi from a court in the capital, which would hopefully be far from the militias sway in Missan.

The accused is a militia that has power in Missan, so it could be that it has influence over witnesses, even the law, al-Ameri said.

But again they hit a dead end.

The Baghdad judge deemed there was insufficient evidence for a warrant against al-Gharawi. He dismissed Hameds testimony and said only a statement from someone who had seen the kidnapping could advance the case.

Now its a case against the unknown, Aboud said.

In September, Prime Minister al-Kadhimi visited Missan and gave Jasbs father an audience. During their 15-minute meeting, Aboud laid out the court documents, explained the details of the case and named the militia he believes took his son.

Al-Kadhimi put his hand to his chest and promised he would deliver him to me, Aboud said.

The premier might be Abouds last hope. There are witnesses to his sons abduction, but none dare speak out.

One man told the AP he was near a shop that night and saw everything. He belongs to a powerful local tribe but spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear.

He recounted seeing the woman emerge and the men push Jasb into the vehicle. He also saw police arrive afterward and search Jasbs car. The AP confirmed that the shop he named had a view of the site.

But would he testify?

It would be my funeral the next day.

___

Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Abdulrahman Zeyad contributed.
New Delhi: Nepal is taking steps that are ruining its relations with India at the behest of China, which is raising tensions between the two countries. On the occasion of the 151 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, India has gifted 41 ambulances and 6 school buses to the Government of Nepal and various NGOs working in 30 districts. According to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, India has given about 823 ambulances as a gift to Nepal till date.

Earlier, India had gifted 30 ambulances and six buses to Nepal on the occasion of the 71 Republic Day. These will be used by several hospitals in Nepal, non-profit charitable organizations, and educational institutions. Ambulances and buses have been gifted to assert India's commitment to Nepal towards socio-economic development.

The Indian Embassy said in a statement that it demonstrates India's commitment to partnering with Nepal towards socio-economic development of the Government of India as well as Nepal. To provide the health services to thousands of Nepalese people and to cater to the educational needs of thousands of students, the Government of India has so far gifted 823 ambulances and more than 160 buses to various hospitals, non-profit charitable organizations and educational institutions in 77 districts in Nepal.

An integrated plan will be implemented to create new jobs: Kerala CM

If there is nothing to hide, why Rahul Gandhi was prevented from meeting the victim's family: CM Gehlot

Congress will sink if they try to drown Tejashwi Yadav's boat: RJD
En espanol | Pete Hastert has diabetes and good reason to worry about his eyesight. My grandma went blind from diabetes complications, he says. Yet Hastert hadn't had an eye exam in over 30 years. The 71-year-old retiree from Tupelo, Mississippi, didn't have vision insurance, and with money tight, he avoided going to the eye doctor. Then he heard that EyeCare America offers comprehensive exams by volunteer ophthalmologists at no cost through its Seniors Program. Hastert got an appointment, and his eyes were healthy. I finally have peace of mind, he says.

An annual dilated-eye exam is important  it tests your ability to see, screens for age-related eye problems and even helps to detect chronic diseases, like diabetes. Nearly 2 percent of people 40 and older have glaucoma. For adults over 50, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe vision loss.

Good vision insurance, though, isn't a given. Expense is one of the key reasons why people do not get their eyes checked, says Julian Roberts, executive director of the National Association of Vision Care Plans. But options do exist, even for those on the tightest of budgets.

The two types of coverage

Think about vision care as providing two services. One takes care of your day-to-day vision  it's mostly about glasses and contact lenses. The other treats eye disease and injury.

Medical insurance



Your regular health insurance will cover the cost of diagnosis and treatment for any eye injury or disease that requires a doctor's help  no different from a broken bone or a heart condition  though with the usual copays and deductibles.

What medical insurance doesn't cover is the cost of eyeglasses, contacts or other costs related to everyday eyesight support. But there's a gray area. While a simple refractive exam (to figure out your glasses prescription) is not typically covered, if your ophthalmologist diagnoses you with a medical problem like glaucoma or cataracts, the entire visit may be billed under medical insurance, says Josh Ehr-lich, M.D., an assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. (Check with your doctor about individual office policies.)

That creates a bit of a hitch, since eye exams aren't covered unless you are diagnosed with a disease. But the best way to be diagnosed is to have an exam.

Vision insurance

This pays for services like routine eyesight exams plus a large percentage of your costs for glasses and contacts. Upgrades such as anti-glare coating on glasses and transition lenses aren't necessarily going to be covered, so read the fine print to see if any part of the cost will be picked up.

Many people get a deal on vision insurance through their employers: You pay a couple of dollars per month as an add-on to your current health benefits and your employer pays the rest, explains Danielle Kunkle Roberts, cofounder of the insurance agency Boomer Benefits.
Antwanette Wyche with her sons, Masiah Frazier, 5, holding his pet snake (Milena), and Farrakhan Simons, 11, with pit bulls Bella, right, and Bubby, at their temporary residence last week at the Airport Waterfront Inn in Essington. Red Paw Emergency Relief helped reunite the family with their pets after a fire destroyed their home. Read more

Well, that was close. Too close.

On the same day that a beloved animal disaster rescue program was set to shut down, the Philadelphia Fire Department finally stepped in and announced it will integrate the services provided by Red Paw Emergency Relief into its daily operations.

Phew!

I still dont get what took so long to make that no-brainer of a decision. As I said in my column last week, its a program that demonstratively works  saving thousands of animals since it was founded by Jen Leary, a Philly firefighter, in 2011. The nonprofit could have easily been folded into existing emergency services long before Red Paw was forced to cut back its hours and announced in August it could no longer function as a standalone program, mostly because of staffing issues.

So the foot-dragging was, well, curious. Same with the one-sentence response from Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel, delivered in an email by a department spokesperson when I asked to talk to him about the future of the program.

I mean, I hear Im downright delightful when you get to know me, Commish.

But lets not dwell, because despite some clown talking smack about bad things happening in Philly, a very good thing happened this week.

In the face of a global pandemic, unprecedented economic and budget constraints, hurricanes, historical flooding, it would have been so easy to say, No, were gonna cut this, we just cant do it, Red Paw chief operating officer Lori Albright said at a news conference at Fire Department headquarters Thursday. But because all our partners saw the value in this, were doing something that no other city is doing.

So, heres how its going to work: Over the next month, Red Paw will be training about 24 members of the Fire Departments Community Action Teams, or CATs, on best practices to assist city residents with pets during a fire.

Red Paw had planned to end its services this month, but until everything is up and running, it will continue its work during the day, and on an on-call basis at night.

I am pleased that Red Paw will continue to be one of our critical partners in serving all of our residents, businesses, and visitors 24/7, 365 [days a year], said Thiel.

Hes not the only one. News that the service would continue in Philly was celebrated by many who have experienced firsthand how vital it is.

Yes, thank God. OMG, Im so happy, Antwanette Wyche said when I texted her with the good news.

Wyches family home in North Philly was destroyed in a fire last month. She and her family were safe, but for a while some of her animals, which include three dogs, a kitten, two turtles, and a snake, were unaccounted for.

Firefighters were able to rescue two of the dogs and the turtles, but another dog ran off, and she feared that her kitten and snake were lost.

Hours later, someone from Red Paw was helping her find her missing pets, including a 3-year-old pit bull, Bubby, who had been picked up and brought to a shelter. Red Paw also gave them pet supplies and paid for the animal deposit at the hotel  services Red Paw hopes to continue to offer through its existing foundation, which also raises funds for critical care.

After last weeks column, a lot of readers reached out to ask how they could help. Now I have an answer. To donate, go to Red Paws website or its Facebook page.

Red Paws founder, Leary, wasnt at the news conference because she was working. But when I reached her later, she was understandably relieved.

Im hopeful that everything that was said today will come to fruition, plus some, she said. I really hope that once they see that this can work, and that what were doing is meaningful to people, that there will be even more buy-in, and that our model can go on to other cities. Thats always been the goal. Im very hopeful at this moment that those things will happen.

Same here. But maybe next time, Philly, we dont wait until the last possible moment to recognize a good thing.
Rick Moranis, the actor known for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Ghostbusters, was punched in the head Thursday morning while he was walking on Central Park West in New York City. The NYPD has posted a video capturing the event, also noting there is currently a reward up to $2,500 for useful information aiding the arrest of the unidentified assailant.

Security camera footage shows the assailant stepping forward and punching Moranis with a closed fist. He then continues forward as Moranis falls to the ground, passing by the camera in a black I (heart) NY hoodie.

WANTEDfor ASSAULT October 1, 2020 at 7:24 AM, on Central Park West in the vicinity of West 70 St Manhattan. @NYPD20PCT.Reward up to $2500Seen him? Know who he is?Call 1-800-577-TIPS orDM us!Calls are CONFIDENTIAL! @YourCityYourCall @NYPDDetectives @nypdchiefofpatrol pic.twitter.com/s06yNPBUBk  NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) October 2, 2020

CBS Local reports that the attack occurred close to the actors home on the Upper West Side. Moranis then checked into a hospital with head, back, and hip pain. Sources say hes now fully recovered, and grateful for all the well wishes and support.

Moranis became notable for his roles throughout the eighties and nineties as the hapless-yet-lovable nerd with a golden heart. Although Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Ghostbusters are arguably his most recognizable works, Moranis also appeared in other iconic classics such as Little Shop of Horrors and Parenthood. The actor has virtually been absent from the movie industry for the past few decades. This came from the need to take care of his children after his wifes passing in 1994.

The Liam Neeson speech from Taken, but for whoever punched Rick Moranis  Alex Blagg (@alexblagg) October 2, 2020

The Internet has bonded together over the news of his assault, expressing outrage at the random attack. My blood is boiling. Find this man, tweeted Captain America himself, Chris Evans. You dont touch Rick Moranis.

If you have any further information or tips on the assault, please call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS or DM them at @NYPDDetectives. All calls and messages are confidential.
President Donald Trump's sudden trip to the Walter Reed medical facility raised immediate constitutional questions  as the president prepared for an extended hospital stay just weeks before the election.

It was set to be the first extended hospital stay for a sitting U.S. president since the shooting of Ronald Reagan in 1981. It was not merely a quick trip to see a doctor  which the president is able to do at a special White House medical unit of highly-trained physicians.

'Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days,' said White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

There had been no transfer of power to Vice President Mike Pence, the type of transfer that has only rarely occurred in the past, as President George W. Bush did to Vice President Dick Cheney in 2002 during a medical procedure.

Vice President Mike Pence is first in the line of succession. But the president 'is in charge,' said the White House

A pilot of Marine One wears a face mask as President Donald Trump prepares to leave the White House to go to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after he tested positive for COVID-19, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Washington. The president was set to stay at the hospital for 'the next few days,' the White House said

'The president is in charge,' said White House communications director Alyssa Farrah, a former Pence spokeswoman, NBC News reported.

Pence was working out of his official residence at the Naval Observatory, according to an administration official, who said he 'remains in good health.'

The vice president also has an office in the Old Executive Office Building on the White House grounds  but the security of the campus was coming under question as a handful of officials who were at Saturday's event where Trump announced his Supreme Court nomination tested positive for the coronavirus.

The key factor will be Trump's condition, and whether he has to be sedated for any reason for medical treatment or is otherwise unable to fulfill his duties.

Aides in their public comments Friday described the president as 'barking out' orders and maintaining a steady hand on the ship of state  although it was not until his Marine One departure that the nation was set to get a glimpse of him.

Nor was Pence visible. He conducted only a conference call where he stood in for Trump. His office did not immediately reveal his whereabouts.

President George W. Bush boards Marine One as he departs the White House June 28, 2002 in Washington, D.C. Bush ransferred power to Vice President Dick Cheney when Bush underwent a colonoscopy

Presidential Physician Dr. Richard Tubb briefs the press on the colonoscopy exam President George W. Bush underwent 29 JUNE 2002 at the Camp David Presidential retreat from the Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. There was no White House briefing Friday after Donald Trump said he had tested positive for the coronavirus

Trump's positive test for the coronavirus set off cascading effects through the chain of government  and raises a raft of constitutional issues should he endure a difficult illness or lose his battle with the disease.

The Constitution and laws enacted by Congress provide for a line of succession, as well as provisions for how to proceed if the president becomes incapacitated. A web of party and state election laws make provisions for how to proceed if a candidate must be replaced on the ballot.

The Election Day itself is fixed by law, and can be moved only by an act of Congress.

But there are ambiguities in all areas  from national party rules to state election law and even the line of succession  providing multiple avenues for chaos just 32 days before the Nov. 3 election.

Who is in charge of the country now?

President Trump continues to be in charge, both in title and effect. The White House reports that he has mild symptoms, and there were media reports that he was lethargic on the way back from events Wednesday and Thursday.

The White House physician says Trump and First Lady Melania Trump 'are both well at this time.'

The president cancelled a scheduled rally and has a single event on his schedule. He hasn't tweeted since announcing early this morning he tested positive for COVID-19.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters he spoke to the president and that Trump immediately pegged him with inquiries about the country. 'His first question to me this morning was: How is the economy doing? How are the stimulus talks going on Capitol Hill?' he said.

In reality, the massive U.S. government keeps plodding along even when the president is overseas or tending to his campaign or other matters. The major issue Meadows mentioned  a coronavirus relief package  has already been negotiated mostly by Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. All that would be needed from the president is a sign-off and his signature.

Should Trump's condition deteriorate, there are provisions in place for handing off temporary authority to the vice president. Trump is 74 and medically obese, placing him at higher risk than many Americans.

In the worst-case scenario, who comes after Mike Pence?

The line of succession is set by law - although there are ambiguities. Pence's role as successor is enshrined in the Constitution. The vice president tested negative for the coronavirus, his office revealed Friday.

If Pence, 60, were to become incapacitated or be unable to serve, next in line for the presidency would be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, 80, a Democrat, in terms set out by the Presidential Succession Act.

Next in line is the Senate president pro tempore, the senior-most majority party member, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, 87.

Next in line would be Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, followed by other secretaries.

Should Pelosi be elevated, Republicans could mount a challenge to the succession law. Some scholars question its constitutionality, and there are questions about whether she would have to resign her seat to step in.

There are also provisions in the 25th Amendment for the cabinet to step in if the president is 'unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.' This came up during the Russia probe, as it was revealed former acting attorney general Rod Rosenstein made a comment about it at a meeting while Trump raged about the probe. Rosenstein said he was joking.

Under a scenario where President Trump was living and sought to dispute the move, it would force a vote in Congress, with a two-thirds vote required in each house for his removal.





Can Republicans replace Donald Trump on the ballot?

The Republican National Committee has the ability to elevate the vice presidential candidate as the nominee or another Republican should Trump withdraw or die in office.

As it turns out, RNC chair Ronna McDaniel tested positive for the virus Wednesday, it was reported on Friday.

For any change, all 168 members of the RNC would have to meet to vote on Trump's replacement.

All members of states and territories would vote and met as the did in Charlotte. During a flap this summer when Trump sought to move the convention, party officials concluded that the RNC had to meet and couldn't do its vote virtually.

Replacing Trump on the ballot would be an extreme challenge  in part because people have already begun voting in many states.

Even if Trump were to die in office before election day, his name might still be on the ballot.

Even so, the Electoral College system could provide a solution. People who vote for Trump are in fact casting votes for a slate of electors.

The Electoral College meets in Congress on December 14.

'Basically, there is a possibility that even if Donald Trump's name is still on the ballot and he were to have withdrawn, that those electors could still end up voting for the Republican ticket, whatever that is, in December, John Fortier, the former executive director of the Continuity of Government Commission, told NPR.

People wait in line to cast their ballots in-person for the November 3rd elections at the early voting Chicago Board of Elections' Loop Super Site in Chicago, Illinois, on October 1, 2020

Among the most challenging scenarios is what will happen if the vice president and the cabinet wanted the president to go, but he was still living and not wanting to relinquish his office.

'Congress might have to decide whether to keep the president on, or to keep the vice president,' said Fortier. 'So it could go further down the line, but, you know, that would be the more extreme version.'

'Could the president's name be removed from the ballot? I think it would be very difficult,' he said.

Can the election be postponed in any form?

This is an idea that Trump himself floated as the coronavirus hit  only to be immediately shot down by Republican congressional leaders.

The Nov. 3 Election Day is set by law, not by the Constitution, and it technically could be changed. But this would require legislative action by the Democratic House and the Republican Senate, with the president's signature.

That power to set the election is derived from Article II of the Constitution.

It is possible states could still act to modify their election rules. Many have already done so amid the coronavirus, but those changes have already drawn legal challenges. The Republican Party and its allies have been fighting a variety of changes to expand mail voting, to do away with secondary envelopes, to loosen postmark rules and mail delivery times, to send mail ballots to all registered voters, and other steps.

Any last-ditch changes just weeks before Election Day would be certain to draw challenges from interested parties.

The Constitution sets the end of the presidential term at January 20.

States have the authority to set the procedures of their elections, and many opted to delay their primaries. But the national Election Day itself is fixed.

How we got here

The president confirmed on Friday that he and First Lady Melania tested positive for coronavirus after traveling with counselor Hope Hicks, who fell ill on Wednesday.

'Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!' he tweeted.

Trump is 74 years old, which puts him at higher risk of serious complications from virus.

With the presidential election less than 32 days away, the positive result means the government may have to consider contingency plans in line with the Constitution should Trump become too ill to go through with the race.

The 25th Amendment states that the vice president can replace the commander-in-chief temporarily in the event that Trump is incapacitated.

If the VP is also unable to assume control, the powers are then delegated to the Speaker of the House, in this case, Nancy Pelosi.

THURSDAY: Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 1, 2020, following campaign events in New Jersey hours before revealing he has COVID-19

The president tweeted to confirm the news shortly before 1am EST Friday

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump began 'their quarantine process' Thursday evening after Hope Hicks tested positive for COVID-19

Line of succession: Under the 25th Amendment, Vice President Mike Pence is next to assume executive control if the president cannot finish his term. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is second in line, if neither the president nor VP can take over

RNC RULES FOR FILLING VACANCIES FOR PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS The RNC's rules state it is authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention. The RNC may also reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies. In voting under this rule, the RNC members representing any state 9 of 43 shall be entitled to cast the same number of votes as said state was entitled to cast at the national convention. In the event that the members of the Republican National Committee from any state shall not be in agreement in the casting of votes, the votes of such state shall be divided equally, including fractional votes, among the members of the RNC present or voting by proxy. No candidate shall be chosen to fill any such vacancy except upon receiving a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the election. Advertisement

However, the looming election further complicates the matter, as the Democratic and Republican national committees could also pick a replacement to run on their party's ticket if the nominee were to withdraw.

The committee could choose to nominate the vice presidential candidate, or another member of their party.

The selection process would depend on the parties' respective bylaws.

Under this scenario, all 168 members of the RNC would have to meet to vote on Trump's replacement.

The rules require all members - three from each state and three from six territories - to cast the same number of votes they were entitled to cast at the national convention.

If members of a given state fail to unanimously agree on the casting of votes, they would then divide it equally and cast a third of those votes.

That scenario, although hypothetical, would be the first of its kind since no presidential candidate of either party has ever died or withdrawn before an election.

A statement from the White House doctor said both the president and first lady are 'well at this time' but did not say if either have symptoms.

If Trump becomes seriously ill, there are constitutional procedures that would allow Vice President Pence to assume power temporarily.

The Constitution's 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves 'unable to discharge the powers and duties' of the presidency.

If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted 'a written declaration to the contrary.'

This has happened occasionally, with Ronald Reagan briefly putting George H.W. Bush in charge during surgery in 1985, before George W. Bush temporarily transferred powers to Dick Cheney during colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007.

These were all brief, scheduled transfers of power and came nowhere near a re-election campaign.

There is also a second, never-used option: the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet can declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would become Acting President until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.

There has also been speculation about a delayed election, but this is highly unlikely because voting is already underway.

While the Constitution does not specify an election date, moving the poll would require an act of Congress including support from the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

And regardless of the election date, Trump's term ends on January 20.

First lady Melania tweeted: 'As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.'

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health.

WHAT DOES THE 25TH AMENDMENT SAY? CAN TRUMP'S CABINET REALLY TOPPLE HIM? The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution deals with presidential authority in the event of death or removal from office, and was ratified in 1967, in the wake of John F Kennedy's assassination. What does the 25th Amendment say? It is in four sections, all dealing with the president leaving office during his or her elected term. The first section states that the vice president takes over the Oval Office if the president dies or resigns  or is removed  something which the original Constitution did not clearly state. Presidents of course can be removed by impeachment, a feature of the constitution from the start. They can also be removed through the 25th Amendment - of which more below. Section II states that if the vice president dies, or resigns  or is fired  both the House and Senate have to confirm a new vice president. Until 1967, presidents could change vice presidents mid-term on their own if they got the vice president to agree to resign - not something that actually happened, but which was possible in principle. Section III makes clear that a president can temporarily delegate his powers to the vice president, and later reclaim them when he - or she - is capable of serving. This is most often invoked if a president is under the influence of surgical anesthetic for a short period of time. Section IV is the amendment's most controversial part: it describes how the president can be removed from office if he is incapacitated and does not leave on his own. The vice president and 'a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide' must write to both the president pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, saying that 'the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.' The term principal officers of the executive departments would normally mean the cabinet secretaries. So at least eight of the president's 15 most senior Cabinet members together with the vice president must agree that a president should be removed before any plan can move forward. Notifying the House Speaker and the Senate president pro tempore is the act that immediately elevates the vice president to an 'acting president' role. The deposed president can contest the claim, giving the leaders of the bloodless coup four days to re-assert their claims to the House and Senate. Congress then has two days to convene  unless it is already in session  and another 21 days to vote on whether the president is incapable of serving. A two-thirds majority in both houses is required to make that determination. As soon as there is a vote with a two-thirds majority, the president loses his powers and is removed, and the vice president stops acting and is sworn in as president. But if 21 days of debate and votes ends without a two-thirds majority, the president gets back his powers. What could happen to trigger the 25th Amendment? Vice President Mike Pence and eight of the 15 'principal' Cabinet members would have to agree to notify Congress that President Donald Trump was incapable of running the country. That group is made up of the Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Interior Secretary, Agriculture Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Labor Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretary, Transportation Secretary, Energy Secretary , Education Secretary, Veterans Affairs Secretary and Homeland Security Secretary. Their formal notification would go to the House Speaker and, in the senate, to the 'president pro tempore', the Senate's most senior member. As soon as the letter is sent, Pence would become 'acting president.' Alternatively, Congress could set up its own mechanism to decide if he is fit for office - maybe a commission, or a joint committee. Pence would still have to agree with its conclusion and then write formally to the Speaker and president pro tempore. Or another possibility is that the pool of 'principal officers' is considered to be bigger than the 15 and a majority of that group call Trump incapable. What if Trump does not agree? If Trump claims he is capable of holding office, he would write to the House Speaker and the president pro tempore of the Senate within four days, setting up three weeks of intense debate in both houses of Congress. Trump would be removed from office if both two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate agreed with Pence and his cabal. If either of both chambers fell short of that mark, Trump would retain his powers and likely embark on a wholesale housecleaning, firing Pence and replacing disloyal Cabinet members. Are there any loopholes? The 25th Amendment allows Congress to appoint its own panel to evaluate the president instead of relying on the Cabinet  the men and women who work most closely with Trump  to decide on a course of action. It specifies that some 'other body as Congress may by law provide' could play that role, but Pence would still need to agree with any finding that the president is incapable of discharging his duties. That commission could hypothetically include anyone from presidential historians to psychiatrists, entrusted to assess the president's fitness for office. Another loophole is that it does not spell out that the Cabinet is needed to agree, but says that the 'principal officers' of the departments are needed. That term is undefined in the constitution. In some departments legislation appears to name not just the secretary but deputies and even undersecretaries as 'principal officers', so many more people could be called in to the assessment of Trump's fitness. But Trump's cabinet has a swathe of 'acting' cabinet officer - and it is unclear if they could therefore take part in removing him. Could Trump fire Pence if he rebelled? No. The vice president can resign or be impeached and removed - but he does not serve at the pleasure of the president. Is there any precedent for this? No. Only Section III, the voluntary surrender of presidential powers, has ever been used - and only very briefly. In December 1978, President Jimmy Carter thought about invoking Section III when he was contemplating a surgical procedure to remove hemorrhoids. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush both voluntarily relinquished their powers while undergoing procedures under anesthetic. Section IV has also never been invoked, although there have been claims that Ronald Reagan's chief of staff Donald Regan told his successor, Howard Baker, in 1987 that he should be prepared to invoke it because Reagan was inattentive and inept. The PBS documentary 'American Experience' recounts how Baker and his team watched Reagan closely for signs of incapacity during their first meeting and decided he was in perfect command of himself. Advertisement

The White House had earlier distributed a schedule for Friday that showed he planned to go forward with a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and a political rally in Sanford, Florida. That has since been canceled.

Fears that the president may have contracted the virus were raised after it was revealed Hicks had traveled on both Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One in the past week.

Along with the trip to Wednesday night's rally, Hicks had been aboard Air Force One to fly to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland.

She was spotted by DailyMail.com getting off Air Force One in the city without her mask.

Hicks also traveled with the president to a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday where she was seen maskless and clapping to the Village People's YMCA.

Confirming the news of Hicks' positive test earlier in the evening Trump had told Fox News: 'Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know.

'I just went for a test and we'll see what happens.'

He later tweeted to confirm he and Melania were in quarantine, writing: 'Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!'

Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota Wednesday evening, according to an administration official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to disclose private information.

She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, that person said.
(Natural News) The heated tension between Pakistan and India has been boiling up to a simmer in recent years. Numerous cross-border shelling incidents and ceasefire violations have occurred between the two nuclear-armed states, prompting concerns of a nuclear war. A recent study published in the journal Science Advances imagined what would happen in the event such a war broke out and the picture is bleak.

A week of nuclear barrage could cause 50 up to 125 million casualties and trigger widespread famine on top of the ensuing damage to property. Whats more, the war could plunge the entire planet into a nuclear winter  a hypothetical period of extreme cold that could emerge after a large-scale nuclear war.

An India-Pakistan war could double the normal death rate in the world, said Brian Toon, a professor at the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder. This is a war that would have no precedent in human experience.

Indo-Pakistani nuclear war will be catastrophic

The two South Asian nations have declared war on four separate occasions since the 1947 Partition of India that made Pakistan a sovereign country: 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999. With the exception of the 1971 war, these skirmishes were mainly driven by territorial disputes over the Kashmir region, which was located north of India.

Both sides agreed to a ceasefire in 2003 but that hasnt stopped the two from regularly exchanging fire across the contested border. Several armed conflicts have occurred, often involving terrorist groups that India claims are in collusion with the Pakistani government.

Each nation has about 150 nuclear warheads at their disposal, and that number is expected to rise to over 200 by 2025. Theyre rapidly building up their arsenals, said Toon. They have huge populations, so lots of people are threatened by these arsenals, and then theres the unresolved conflict over Kashmir.

Toon and his colleagues wanted to find out how devastating an Indo-Pakistani war could get, especially when nuclear weapons were in the conversation. They drew on a wide range of data, including state-of-the-art computer simulations of Earths atmosphere and accounts of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in 1945.

According to the researchers, the effects of war would come in several stages. During the first week, India and Pakistan could successfully launch about 250 nuclear warheads at each others cities. Its unclear how powerful these weapons could be as neither nation conducted nuclear tests in decades. But the team estimated that each nuclear missile could kill up to 700,000 people.

Many of the casualties would not be caused by the blasts themselves, but rather from the ensuing fires. Toon pointed to the mile-wide field of rubble caused by fire after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

The fires, however, would just be the beginning of such a conflicts effects on the rest of the world.

Effects of war will be widespread with nuclear winter

The team forecasts that nuclear winter would happen in the event an Indo-Pakistani war went nuclear, unleashing up to 80 billion pounds of dark, dense smoke into Earths atmosphere. The smoke could potentially block sunlight from reaching the surface, effectively bringing global temperatures down by an average of 3.5 to 9 degrees. This mini ice age could last for several years; its effects, however, would be felt immediately as food shortages become rife worldwide.

Sharp reductions in agricultural yields and aquatic catch would be the norm as plant productivity in both land and oceans drop dramatically, according to co-author Nicole Lovenduski, Toons colleague at the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

Toon, who came of age during the height of the Cold War when schoolchildren practiced ducking-and-covering under their desks, believes that the threat of nuclear weapons persists well after the Cold War has ended. This is a threat thats exemplified by the current hostilities between India and Pakistan. (Related: Threat of global nuclear war now even higher than during the Cold War.)

He acknowledges that the scope of an Indo-Pakistani war as illustrated by their findings may be tough to swallow. Still, he hopes that the study reaches the concerned individuals: Hopefully, Pakistan and India will take note of this paper.

Nuclear.news has more scenarios of modern nuclear war.

Sources include:

ScienceDaily.com

CFR.org
ALBANY  After making a blistering critique of Prestige Limousine and the state agencies that it says failed to adequately protect the public from the limo company's "egregious disregard for safety," the National Transportation Safety Board says it believes that stretch limousines can safely operate on the roads, despite the 2018 Schoharie limo crash in which 20 people died.

Prestige Limousine, owned by the Hussain family of Wilton that also owned a run-down motel that the state shut down a year ago, supplied the 2001 stretch limousine involved in the Schoharie crash, one of the worst highway transportation disasters in the U.S. in more than a decade.

On Tuesday, the five members of the NTSB met virtually to make edits to the agency's final report on the Oct. 6, 2018 Schoharie crash. And while Prestige Limousine shouldered most of the blame for the diaster, both the state Department of Transportation and the state Department of Motor Vehicles were also said to have contributed to the crash by allowing Prestige to fall through regulatory cracks.

Despite having failed two roadside inspections conducted by the state DOT that found defective brakes and one by the State Police that found that the driver was not properly licensed, the Excursion was never impounded or had its plates taken away.

After a nearly five-hour meeting Tuesday, NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt answered several pointed questions from the Times Union  including whether or not be believed that the NTSB report and its list of recommendations for regulatory agencies and trade groups would result in the end of the use of stretch limousines by the public.

"I think that stretch limousines can be operated safely," Sumwalt told the Times Union. "Unfortunately in this case, we saw a very, very tragic case. Prestige Limousine took every opportunity to circumvent the regulatory process."

And while the NTSB's report may embolden attorneys for the victims' families, some of whom have sued the state DOT and DMV in the state Court of Claims, Sunwalt says that is not what the NTSB's actions were intended to do. He said the DOT and DMV were named in the "probable cause" section of the report as a way to make regulatory changes, not to help civil lawsuits or even criminal cases.

"We don't use the report to place blame," Sunwalt said. "We're not here to point fingers. We're not here to help the lawyers bolster their cases."

In fact, Albany attorney Brian Premo, who is representing the family of victim Michael Ukaj, said he doesn't really see a civil case against the state. He has filed a lawsuit not only against the Hussain family but also Mavis Discount Tires, which he, like other attorneys, claims did insufficient work on the Excursion's brakes.

"Our focus is on Mavis," Premo said.

Mavis has denied any wrongdoing and was not listed in the NTSB's probable cause section.

lrulison@timesunion.com
Education, gender bias and access to capital as key inhibitors to proportionate female representation within the oil and gas industry; a recent McKinsey study places female industry participation at just 15%.

Image: Africa Oil & Power

Education

Mentorship

Access to capital

According to the report, in Africa and the Middle East, women make up just 9% of senior management positions in the energy sector, with gender diversity decreasing with seniority. Women make up less than 8% of technical jobs in the oil and gas sector, and just 9% of management positions in the utility sector.One of the primary inhibitors to active female participation within the industry was identified as access to education, specifically in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (Stem).Boston Consulting Group published a study on gender parity in the oil and gas industry that found that 54% of post secondary scholars are female, yet only 27% are in the Stem subjects. Why is this? One of the reasons put forth by the study is that traditional ideas about the oil and gas industry are quite macho-centric," said Oluseun Solanke, principal reservoir engineer, Oando Energy Resources, at the Women in Energy webinar hosted by by Africa Oil & Power and the African Energy Chamber.In some cases, limited and unequal access to education has come as a relic of former government regimes that denied indigenous populations the opportunity to take ownership over natural resources and related employment.There is a social-political motivation behind it. For example, Namibias political history pre-independence was extremely difficult  the existing regime not only focused on racial segregation, but also the types of employment that were available to Namibians who were black. The apartheid government saw the education system as a major vehicle for the propagation of its beliefs, which created the first barrier for Namibians to participate in the economys priority sectors. The legacy of apartheid persisted for a very long time. Going forward, it starts with our people taking ownership of their natural resources," Selma Usiku, head exploration, Der Mond Oil & Gas.Another solution to the discrepancy in education comes in the form of female and minority representation, coupled with active mentorship, for youth and students.Similar to issues with race, when people see people who are like them doing things, it can change their sense of their own capabilities. One of Oandos initiatives is to open mentorship programme to schools, where we talk to young girls and offer one-on-one mentorship. We have to let them know that Stem is open to them, added Solanke, noting that 47% of Oandos workforce is female.Mentorship, on-the-ground job training and early career exposure were all identified as key success factors to women harnessing employment opportunities within the industry.It was very interesting to me, early on in my career, to see all the functional departments supporting the operations of oil and gas  finance, human resources and so on, I had the opportunity to have strong mentors in each company that I went to. If you have the education, you need to practice it. If you have just the education, you wont be able to see whats on the ground because theory and practice are different," said Khadijah A Ba, executive chairman, Der Mond Oil & Gas.For girls and women without access to mentorship or connections within the industry, the panel highlighted the importance of looking to other industries to help navigate gender and social bias.The mentorship that you get doesnt necessarily have to be within the industry. Look for someone who has maintained integrity in their work, focused on their personal development and overcome challenges. You can take those principles with you," said Usiku.The panel also addressed limited access to capital in driving the growth of female-driven, small and medium-sized enterprises both in and outside of the oil and gas industry. According to a survey conducted by AOP during the webinar, 85% of participants said that women do not have equal access to funding for small and mid-sized enterprises.The problem is that women are primarily in markets in which there is not a key influence  retail, informal businesses and the like. There are a lot of factors to this, including access to capital for women, especially in Africa. But if we can open up this market to them, the impact will be huge. Women are half of the population in Africa  you dont want to leave them behind because thats a fair amount of contribution to the economy. We must take into account social empowerment." said Mirelle Toulekima, managing director, MT Energy Resources.
WASHINGTON - Most Americans are concerned at least somewhat by the potential for foreign interference in Novembers election, and a majority believes that Russia sought in 2016 to influence the outcome of that race, according to a new poll that underscores the anxiety and political divisions heading into the final weeks of the presidential contest.

The poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that about three-quarters of Americans are at least somewhat concerned about interference, whether in the form of tampering with voting systems and election results, stealing data from candidates or parties or influencing the candidates themselves or the way voters think about them. Still, no more than half are extremely or very concerned about each of those possibilities.

The poll was taken as intelligence officials warn of ongoing efforts by foreign adversaries to interfere in American politics, including a concerted Russian effort to denigrate Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers last month that Russia was continuing to use social media to try to influence the election, though he said officials had not seen targeting of voting system infrastructure. Officials also say they dont have intelligence that foreign countries are targeting the vote-by-mail process.

The extent of concerns about 2020 election interference breaks largely along partisan lines, with 68% of Biden supporters saying they are extremely or very concerned about foreign countries influencing how Americans perceive the candidates, according to the poll. Among supporters of President Donald Trump, 30% are extremely or very concerned, with 29% saying they are somewhat concerned.

Foreign interference, or influence, could theoretically take many shapes. Besides meddling with voting systems  which officials say would be hard to do in such a way as to materially affect results  or shaping voters perception of the candidates, there are also potential concerns about stealing information from a candidate or party or influencing candidates themselves.

Dawn Jackson, 61, who is retired and lives in Gilbert, Arizona, and plans to vote for Trump, said she is not exceedingly concerned.

My opinion is countries have interfered in elections for a long, long time, and I am positive the United States has done their share of trying to interfere in other countries elections, Jackson said. So what goes around comes around.

But Nancy Camfield, 68, of Frankfort, Illinois, who supports Biden, said she is among those concerned about foreign influence through social media, especially because intelligence officials have been sounding the alarms.

When former FBI directors and intelligence agency employees say that they know thats going on, and Trump denies it, well, Id rather believe the experts, Camfield said.

Austin Wright, an assistant professor at the University of Chicagos Harris School, said it was striking that Americans are not more concerned by the threat of foreign interference given the range of dangers. He suggested that may have to do with domestic concerns currently occupying public attention, and with the fact that some American leaders  including Trump  are themselves working to undermine confidence in the election.

We dont have to worry about foreign countries doing that anymore. We have plenty of actors who are more than happy to completely undermine our democratic institutions with the short-term goal of four more years of the Trump administration, Wright said.

The concerns are heightened by Russian interference in 2016, when intelligence operatives stole Democratic emails that were then published online in the weeks before the election and when Russians used social media to push out content aimed at sowing discord in America.

A majority of Americans, or 69%, believe Russia tried to influence the results of the 2016 election. About 9 in 10 Biden supporters feel that way, compared with roughly half of Trump backers.

Michael Asmar, 53, a software engineer from Vernon, Connecticut, who supports Trump, said he didnt doubt that foreign countries were trying to interfere in the election. But he said he thought they were doing so on their own terms without any solicitation from Trump.

With the fully connected world we have now with Facebook and all that, I think its very easy for anybody to really sway opinions, Asmar said. I think that certainly Russia, China  anybody, really  looking to meddle in an election could do that.

The August intelligence assessment that outlined ongoing Russian interference also noted that China regards Trump as unpredictable, prefers that he lose to Biden and has been working to shape the U.S. policy environment.

Trump has seized on that finding as he and several other senior administration officials have tried to make the case that Beijing is the more assertive adversary. Trump has repeatedly maintained that China is working to defeat him, though Microsoft noted in a blog post last month that among those targeted by Chinese state-backed hackers are people associated with the Biden campaign.

Overall, 46% of Americans disapprove of Trumps relationship with Russia, compared to 26% who approve. An additional 27% say they neither approve nor disapprove.

A slim majority of Trump supporters, 55%, approve of how Trump is dealing with Russia, with just 7% disapproving. Among Biden backers, 84% say they disapprove.

Trump has said he has been tougher than anyone on Russia, but Democrats have criticized him for what they see as his failure to publicly call out Russian President Vladimir Putin for election interference or to even embrace the intelligence communitys findings that Russia meddled in 2016.

Trump supporters are somewhat more likely to support strengthening ties with Russia over weakening them, 54% to 42%, while three-quarters of Biden supporters endorse weaker ties with Russia.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,053 adults was conducted Sept. 11-14 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

___

Online:

AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/.
Remember Caravan? Remember Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahi? Sadak -- in fact every other film where a girl on the run meets with a rough-tough saviour...Khaali Peeli is an amalgamation of all those films and more. It also borrows heavily from the lost and found trope of the 70s much used by the likes of Nasir Hussain and Salim-Javed. Youre talking to a girl and all of a sudden, she remembers you as her childhood sweetheart because of a certain phrase or dialogue -- yup, its that kind of a movie. Its no exaggeration to say that the film teems with absurd characters and situations. Swanand Kirkire plays an underworld don who sponsors the education of a ten-year-old girl because he wants to marry her when she grows up and hence she isnt pushed into flesh trade despite the fact that she was kidnapped and brought to his brothel for that very thing. Jaideep Ahlawat kills his own sister because she failed in her duties. The heros father has a change of heart upon being caught during an act of robbery. The hero, whose motto is to look out for number one, has an epiphany and goes on a rescue mission. Basically, its a 70s potboiler masquerading as a modern film.Cab driver Vijay Chauhan (Ishaan Khatter) who is called Blackie because he used to sell cinema tickets in black was smitten by Pooja (Ananya Panday) when they were kids. They decided to run away together but had to part ways because of the circumstances. Now, as twenty-somethings, their paths cross once more. Shes on the run as she doesnt want to marry a middle-aged don. He helps her because he has eyes on her bag which contains lots of money and jewellery. Hunting them are the dons right-hand man (Jaideep Ahlawat) and two dumb cops, Zakir Hussain and Satish Kaushik. Blackie just wants the money and can go to any lengths to get it but has a change of heart when he learns that the runaway girl is his childhood sweetheart. He then vows to rescue her at any cost and many chase sequences and fight scenes later, manages to do that comfortably enough.Music has always been one of the pillars of the over-the-top actioners of yore but here it kind of disappoints. The songs look forced into the narrative. Though we must add Ishaan is an impressive dancer. Director Maqbool Khan has utilised a non-linear narrative but the constant back-and-forth gets jarring after a while. Theres only so much variation you can show in car chases and action scenes. So things soon start getting repetitiveBoth Ishaan and Ananya try hard to get the street lingo right. But both are a bit too polished to look like hardened kids from the mean streets of Mumbai. Theyre enjoying themselves in this total masala thriller and dont take themselves too seriously in such a kind of a set-up. And manage to convey that the audience too shouldnt take the film seriously and just enjoy the timepass fare. Ishaan and Ananya have an easy camaraderie on screen and look good as a pair. Their banter, especially towards the beginning, is witty and frothy. Basically, its the fresh pairing of Ishaan and Ananya which saves the film from spiralling out of control. Jaideep Ahlawat, Zakir Hussain, Satish Kaushik and Anup Soni are all fine actors but are sort of wasted here.

Pallabi Dey Purkayastha, October 2, 2020, 7:30 PM IST

critic's rating: 3.0/5

STORY: On a fateful night, local cabbie Blackie (Ishaan Khattar) stumbles upon this pretty  also mouthy and hot-headed  girl Pooja (Ananya Panday). There are goons involved and apparently theres this history between them, and Pooja, the runaway, seems to be carrying a ton of cash and jewellery. Why does this Aafat (by Blackies own admission) fall into his lap after all these years and whats the mayhem all about?Khaali Peeli is one eventful ride towards redemption, reconnection and, of course, romance!



REVIEW: Back in the day, in their native village of Shivpur, when Vijay Chauhan aka Blackie was at the ripe age of 10, his Babuji (Anup Soni) was notorious for being an absolute phattu. But, by pure luck, his son is born with a mean streak and is also an ardent hustler in the making. So, perhaps to prove a point to the villagers and themselves, the father-son duo embarks on a journey of crime that is doomed from the start, again, thanks to Chauhan seniors namby-pamby ways. Cut to 10 years later, Vijay  now earning the moniker Blackie because of his swindling schemes  is on the run and has settled in Mumbai as a local kaali peeli (hence the name, get it?) driver. But in the current day, the city is fuming with anger as the taxi association calls for a strike for an indefinite period of time until the government meets their demands. Not Blackie though. He refuses to adhere to the directives and looks at it as a window of opportunity to mint money and extract as much as he can from the needy talk about being morally bankrupt! In comes the salwar-clad ticking time bomb Pooja, whos clearly on the run from some dangerous people and has a bag full of money and jewels. Her safety, he is not worried about but the hefty moolah, he definitely is. The story of Khaali Peeli navigates many a dark alley of Kamathipura (Mumbais red-light district) and finds itself back to its place of origin  Uttar Pradesh. What transpires over a period of two days  with a distinct overlap of past and future  is what this dramedy encapsulates.

Flicking the back of his collar while lighting a borrowed cigarette in a Rajinikathesque fashion, Blackie makes an open declaration about his persona to the camera.He doesnt compromise on two aspects of his vagabond-ish life  tashan and emosan. The opening shot is evidence enough to predict that the rest of the tour is an out-and-out Bollywood masala flick. And director Maqbool Khan delivers on various accounts. There are creepy hooligans with creepier names (sample this: Yusuf Chikna!), theres the eternal sacrifice constituting the central theme of the narrative, there is an inspector called Tawde and bullets flying all around the hero, who, well, escapes unhurt! And speaking of the pace of the film, the first 30-40 minutes are absolutely packed with quirky dialogues and has an amount of visual excitement thats appreciable.



However, the stumbling block in Khaali Peeli seems to be with Sima Agarwal and Yashs screenplay: the integration of the flashbacks with the current timeline kind of takes away from the momentum of the plot; few hits and a lot of misses. In an attempt to connect the dots and explain the situation that the characters are in, the writers often turn to inculcating emotional setbacks and tried-and-tested tropes that feel a tad bit dragged. Also, the chemistry between Ishaan and Ananya is not one of the most sizzling or believable that we have seen in films in the recent past (there is an awkward kiss, too). Truth be told, the child artists playing their younger selves have a better rapport than these two.



By looking at his dominance in every frame, one can tell that Ishaan has worked really hard not only on getting into the skin of his character but also rendering the nuances right  the perfect rolling of Rs while speaking the colloquial slang, the cocky walk of Mumbais roadside Romeos and basically just being air-light in action and dance sequences. In peppy numbers Duniya Sharma Jaayegi and Tehas Nehas, Ishaan displays the skills of a trained dancer and also reminds us of a younger Shahid. Even in those Patiala suits and that enormous nose pin pierced on the wrong side, Ananya looks every bit the glam gal that she is. But it is almost impossible to imagine her character Pooja leading a dark and disturbing life in the lanes of the unforgiving Kamathipura. The fact that she is putting an effort is evident, but in this role, she lacks the conviction of a girl with a hard life. Heightening the H in hilarious are veteran actors Zakir Hussain as inspector Tawde and Satish Kaushik as dumbo-in-denial inspector Bhim. These two humourists add the right dash of spice to the chase that gets us all restless at times. Likewise, delivering solid performances on the grey side of the line are Jaideep Ahlawat as Yusuf Chikna and, to everyones surprise, lyricist Swanand Kirkire as the hung-up aashique Choksi Seth. Ahlawat gets you with his deathly glares and occasional swaying of the hair. And Kirkire is what he is portrayed to be  a lustful, potbellied rich businessman.



Sure, Vishal-Shekhar music gets you grooving but the three songs that are planted in the movie are just there for the heck of it. Lyricists Rakesh Kumaar and Raj Shekhar have interesting and edgy words to offer in the three tracks that they anchor but, like we said, the songs are a bit out of place.



In a nutshell, Khaali Peeli has slow-mos and a background score that is faster than the heartbeat of an average young adult and on top of everything, a hot pair leading the show! But it derails every once in a while and you wonder  quite empathetically  why! Then again, if you are missing your regular dose of the larger-than-life heroes on celluloid, Khaali Peeli is the turn you take  samajla na?


Harvey Weinstein faces six additional criminal charges in Los Angeles tied to three rapes he allegedly committed in Beverly Hills. (REUTERS)

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been charged with six additional criminal charges tied to three rapes he allegedly committed in Beverly Hills.

In the latest round of accusations, Weinstein, 68, has been accused of raping a woman at a hotel sometime between September 2004 and September 2005. He was then accused of raping a second woman on two occasions in November 2009 and again in November 2010.

Weinstein has already been sentenced to 23 years in state prison after being convicted of rape and sexual assault.

If he is convicted on all the charges being brought against him by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office - 11 counts in total - he could face up to 140 years to life in prison, according to Vanity Fair.

Weinstein is charged with forcible oral copulation and forcible rape for the incident that occurred between September 2004 and 2005.

He is charged with two charges of forcible rape and two charges of forcible oral copulation for the two rapes he is accused of having committed in 2009 and 2010.

More than 100 women have accused Mr Weinstein of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct since 2017.

Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey praised the women who came forward with their allegations.

I am thankful to the first women who reported these crimes and whose courage have given strength to others to come forward, she said. The willingness of these latest victims to testify against a powerful man gives us the additional evidence we need to build a compelling criminal case.

Weinstein was initially slated to be extradited to California to face his charges, but due to the coronavirus pandemic the plans were postponed. His extradition hearing will now be held on 11 December in Buffalo, New York.

The shamed media mogul was convicted on 24 February on two out of five criminal charges brought against him: one count of criminal sexual assault in the first degree and one count of rape in the third degree.

Story continues

Weinstein tested positive for coronavirus in March while serving out his sentence at the Wende Correctional Facility in upstate New York.

Though Weinstein's predatory actions and extreme retribution toward those who spurned him was an open secret among Hollywood industry players, the story did not gain national traction until 2017, when stories by the New York Times and The New Yorker detailed the numerous allegations against him.

Those stories only came to light after several women who had been wronged by Weinstein came forward and discussed their experiences on-the-record with reporters.

Read more

Harvey Weinstein stripped of honorary CBE, six months after conviction for rape and sexual assault

Harvey Weinstein: Oscar winner Mira Sorvino thought career was over after speaking to Ronan Farrow
The head of the World Health Organization, a body which U.S. President Donald Trump has savaged for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, on Friday sent his best wishes to Trump and his wife Melania after they tested positive for coronavirus.

My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a full and speedy recovery, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyeusus said in a Tweet.

The United States, formerly top donor of the Geneva-based body, has said it plans to withdraw and cut off funding, saying the WHO was too close to China.
The Head of State recalled that he had heard about the intervention when he connected to the news this morning, as did the entire population.

In Peru, the Public Ministry is independent from the Executive Branch.

As the top official argued, any person should be deprived from the most precious right which is freedom only when there is a guilty verdict. He went on to add that only in exceptional cases preliminary detention should be imposed, for instance, when there is a high risk of flight or a serious crime that could continue being committed.

"In the case of this investigation, we do not find any proportionality for the decision that has been made, but we still respect it. We are sure that once the Judicial Branch and the Public Ministry complete the investigation, they will determine that there is no reason for sanctions," he added.

The statesman recalled that the substance of this investigation is the hiring of a public servant supported by a procedure established in the State's hiring administration system, thus meaning one of the 40,000 who are under the same modality.

After mentioning that objectivity and transparency are expected so that the best decision is made, the Peruvian leader stressed that on his part he provided all the information required by the Public Ministry's prosecutors who had arrived at the Government Palace on two occasions.

"We respect the decisions, but we do not necessarily agree with them on this and other cases," Mr. Vizcarra insisted as he considered that it would be appropriate for those citizens to be investigated while being free.

However, he noted, the decisions made by the Public Ministry prove its full impartiality.

"This proves that there is no link between the Public Ministry and the Executive Branch, as some had said. These types of decisions show the total impartiality of the Public Ministry," he underlined.

"What we ask is that the justice system act with objectivity and impartiality, and make the most appropriate decisions to find the truth," he concluded.

Presidente @MartinVizcarraC: Sobre las detenciones realizadas hoy, afirmo que respetamos la independencia de poderes. Sin embargo, discrepamos, ya que solo se debe privar de la libertad a una persona cuando ya tiene una sentencia, sea un delito grave o exista peligro de fuga. pic.twitter.com/dPiRsSbVKU
Mumbai, Oct 2 : As India celebrates the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Friday, sitar player Niladri Kumar has launched his version of the devotional song Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram to pay homage to the Father of the Nation.

"Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" is an excerpt from the hymn "Sri Nama Ramayanam", originally composed by Lakshmanacharya. A modified version of the composition was made popular by Gandhi.

"'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' is a tune that is very close to me. All these years it has only been a feature in my live concerts but today is the first time ever, I am actually releasing it as a track for audiences to listen and connect with," said Niladri.

"When I came to know that 90 years ago, during the Dandi March this was the tune that inspired and lifted people's spirits, it brought about that togetherness amongst all Indians. I just felt that today as a tribute, especially during these unusual and trying times, music is that element that has the power to bring about that hope for all. And as this is Indian instrumental swadeshi music, it goes beyond the barriers of language. I usually play this live on the Zitar, but for this I have played both the Sitar and the Zitar," he added.

For the music video of the track, Niladri has collaborated with Rangoli artist Minar Patil, who used salt and rangoli to create a real-life depiction of the Dandi March.

"Minar's work is amazing. Once you see it you cannot imagine that he did this with Rangoli. In our Indian culture, rangoli is usually created on a special occasion and October 2 being one, he came on board for the video and has used salt and rangoli to create this work of wonder," said Niladri.
Amazon and other online retailers have started blocking the sale of Proud Boy merchandise using Donald Trumps stand back and stand by quote alongside the far-right group's insignia, a number of reports have said.

Shirts bearing the words "stand back" and "stand by" and the group's logo reportedly started appearing hours after the president used the phrase during the presidential debate on Tuesday when asked if he was willing to denounce violence committed by white nationalist groups.

The Proud Boys should "stand back and stand by," Mr Trump said, spurring some members of the group to seemingly interpret the remarks as an endorsement.

Amazon is now preventing sales of the items on its website, a spokesperson told The Independent.

"All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action including potential removal of their account. These products have been removed," an Amazon spokesperson said.

According to CBS News, t-shirts, buttons and stickers with the Proud Boys logo and the phrase were also available on eBay on Wednesday night but had been removed as of Thursday afternoon.

EBay did not immediately return a request from comment when contacted by The Independent.

The move comes just days after British clothing firm Fred Perry retired its black and yellow polo shirt, which had become an unofficial uniform for the group.

Mr Trump shifted course on Wednesday, saying he did not know who the Proud Boys were and repeating his call for them to stand down.

Ive always denounced any form. Any form of any of that you, have to denounce, he said. But Joe Biden needs to say something about Antifa.  Now, Antifa is a real problem.  Biden refuses to talk about it.

The group, identified by the Southern Poverty Law Centre as a hate group, has embraced white nationalism and espoused fascist views, including anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric, often turning to violence.
So what if it's possibly a Navy recruitment ad?

R | 2h 1min | Action, Biography, Drama | 10 January 2014 (USA)

Lone Survivor is Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrells (Mark Wahlberg) harrowing, brink-of-death, true survival ordeal that re-creates the Afghanistan-based, doomed Operation Red Wings based on Luttrells book of the same name.

Why do U.S. Navy SEALs figure so prominently in our national consciousness? There are numerous reasons, but one word sums up our fascination succinctly: forbearance. A SEALs ability to endure pain and suffering is legendary. Theyre chosen because the nature of SEALs is such that theyd literally rather die than quit anything. Its an adamantine (also adamantium), diamond-like willpower.

(LR) Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, and Mark Wahlberg in Lone Survivor. (Gregory E. Peters/Universal Pictures)

Its a quality thats inherently linked to integrity, truthfulness, and accountability. SEALs (along with Army, Marine, and Air Force special ops communities) therefore have more of these qualities than the average man. But its that heroic, diamond-hard will that fascinates.

And that is why, since roughly 1990 when Navy SEALS (starring Charlie Sheen) debuted, theyve become our favorite superheroes. We want to put them under a microscope and see if we can figure out how to get a little of that heroism to rub off on ourselves.

Operation Red Wings

Basically, four SEALs attempt to take out a head-lopping Taliban leader and get surprised by goatherds in the Hindu Kush mountain range. Heeding (with much agonized deliberation) the rules of engagement, they decide to let the goatherds go.

U.S. Navy SEALs (LR: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch), in Lone Survivor. (Gregory E. Peters/Universal Pictures)

Their mission now compromised, they decide to abort, try for higher ground to get comms (communication) and an Apache chopper extraction. But they reach a false peak (meaning they didnt realize there was even higher ground the enemy can climb to and thus gain the tactical advantage). Axe Axelson (Ben Foster) says, This is a bad spot, and we anticipate a Butch Cassidy-type massacre. The films title says it all, after all.

The goatherds, naturally, have fled down the mountain and immediately alert the Taliban. Soon its a four-against-a-hundred, SEALs-Taliban firefight, which takes an entire hour of the movie.

U.S. Navy SEALs (Emile Hirsch, front C) in a firefight with the Taliban, in Lone Survivor. (Gregory E. Peters/Universal Pictures)

During this time, more SEALs pile into helicopters for the rescue, one of which is destroyed by an enemy rocket-propelled grenade.

The third act is Luttrell being taken in by an Afghan villager and safeguarded according to the principle of Nanawatai (asylum), the second of the 10 tenets that make up the 2,000-year-old Afghan tradition called Pashtunwali. The Afghan tribesmen are prepared to defend this enemy guest to the death against their fellow Afghans, the Taliban.

But the Taliban, initially shooed away (with AK-47s) from attempting to behead Luttrell, are soon coming back for more.

Real SEALs

Not as exclusively as, but similar to, the all-active-duty-SEAL cast of Act of Valor, Lone Survivor uses real SEAL instructors and sneaks Marcus Luttrell himself in there, and gives him a line to say.

Mark Wahlberg did SEAL-like training to prepare. Lone Survivor is as authentic as Hollywood SEAL-ness gets. And this is probably as embedded in a special operations firefight as any of us civilians will ever get.

Director Peter Berg does a tremendous job of creating a you are there feeling, with ricocheting, sound-barrier-breaking rounds, rock-splintering RPG explosions, and SEAL-assisted scripting of real firefight lingo: Left is not good! Right is good! Okay, right is not good!

The most mind-boggling is the all-or-nothing retreat technique of flinging oneself willy-nilly off 40-foot cliffs, and body slamming and cartwheeling downhill to escape enemy fire. Teeth shatter, bones break. SEAL response? That sucked.

Taylor Kitsch (L) and Mark Wahlberg in Lone Survivor. (Gregory E. Peters/Universal Pictures)

Navy Recruitment Ad?

Its easy to imagine that director Berg and Universal Pictures are in cahoots with the U.S. Navy. Regardless of the fact that this is a true story (and that the impetus for bringing it to the big screen probably came from Marcus Luttrell alone), this sure looks like a big ol Navy recruitment ad. Peter Berg and Universal also made Battleship not long ago, the star of which (Taylor Kitsch) is also in Lone Survivor. Battleship was an unabashed Big Navy chest-beating horn-tooter.

Act of Valor could easily be viewed as glowing Navy propaganda, and Lone Survivor equally so. Put Captain Phillips in with this crowd too, since it features SEALs prominently.

While it might be an opportunistic you scratch my back and Ill scratch yours union of art and the military, definitely count on Hollywood to mine all these new book-writing SEAL authors for storytelling gold until the vein runs out. As mentioned, we cant get enough of SEALs. Its supply and demand. Are Navy recruitment ad-movies a bad thing? Theyve certainly all been entertainingeven the cartoonish Battleship. Itd just be interesting to know how much Navy funding was involved, if at all.

Mark Wahlberg (in white), as Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell being rescued in Lone Survivor. (Greg Peters/Universal Pictures)

SEAL Lessons

The ironic thing with Lone Survivor is that it illustrates the futile aspects of war. Out of 20 top-flight operativesone survives. Humans kill; no end in sight. Can war be stopped? Religion alone obviously cant get it done. Paradoxically, it would take warrior qualities, as applied to religion.

That is, the SEAL-like quality of never-quit willpower. As applied to, say, turning the other cheek. Compassion backed by mental toughness. Outer warrior becoming inner warrior, warrior-soldiers becoming warrior-monks; swords to plowshares. But thats for seekers on the path of enlightenment.

The reality is Richard Greniers famous quote: People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. And the forbearance, immense pain-tolerance, and ability to suffer, as demonstrated by SEAL warriors, can be something to learn from.

Navy SEALs operating in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (LR) Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson, Senior Chief Information Systems Technician Daniel R. Healy, Quartermaster 2nd Class James Suh, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell, Machinists Mate 2nd Class Eric S. Patton, and Lt. Michael P. Murphy pose in Afghanistan. With the exception of Luttrell, the author of Lone Survivor, all were killed June 28, 2005, by enemy forces while supporting Operation Red Wing. (Handout)

Lone Survivor

Director: Peter Berg

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Eric Bana, Ali Suliman, Alexander Ludwig, Yousuf Azami, Sammy Sheik

Rated: R

Running Time: 2 hours, 1 minute

Release Date: Jan. 10, 2014

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Mark Jackson is the senior film critic for The Epoch Times. Mark has 20 years experience as a professional New York actor, a classical theater training, a BA in philosophy, and recently narrated the Epoch Times audiobook, How the Specter of Communism is Ruling Our World: https://www.thespecterofcommunism.com/en/audiobook/

Rotten Tomatoes author page: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/mark-jackson/movies
YEREVAN/BAKU (Reuters) - Armenia's defence ministry on Friday said Nagorno-Karabakh air defence systems had shot down an Azeri warplane and two drones, an online government platform reported, but Azerbaijan's defence ministry denied the report.

Fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces continued for a sixth day in the heaviest clashes since the 1990s around the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, with both sides claiming to have inflicted significant damage on the other.

(Reporting by Nvard Hovhannisyan and Nailia Bagirova, Editing by Kevin Liffey)
London: Stella Moris has made a passionate plea at the conclusion of the four-week extradition hearing for her fiance Julian Assange.

Moris, 37, became emotional as she fronted cameras outside the Old Bailey in London on Thursday and pleaded for the freedom of the WikiLeaks founder.

Stella Moris, partner of Julian Assange, gives a statement outside the Old Bailey in London on Thursday. Credit:AP

"Julian is a publisher. Julian is also a son, a friend, my fiance and a father. Our children need their father," she said.

"Julian needs his freedom and our democracy needs a free press."
GODFREY  A early morning fire on Friday has left the Imos Pizza on Godfrey Road burnt to a crisp.

Alton Fire Chief Jesse Jemison said the department received the call for the fire at 3:18 a.m Friday at the pizza restaurant in the Piasa Center at 2704 Godfrey Road. Shortly after, a box alarm was called in with Godfrey and East Alton firefighters responding for assistance.

Jemison said that the fire was contained in the Imos building, with the blaze concentrated in the preparation area of the restaurant. The restaurant was considered a total loss, he said, with neighboring businesses receiving minor smoke damage.

No injuries were reported. The fire is being investigated by the Illinois State Fire Marshal as an undetermined electrical fire, according to Jemison.
As if a global pandemic and warnings of a brain-eating parasite in a nearby communitys public water system werent enough cause for Fort Bend County officials to have concerns, a recent legal challenge to the states early voting dates recently created even more turmoil and uncertainty for election officials.

On Thursday, Oct. 1, just moments after Fort Bend County officials held a new conference to announce a new mega-voting site at Sugar Lands Smart Financial Centre where voters could hand-deliver mail-in ballots and were caught off-guard when just moments later Gov. Greg Abbott announced new restrictions limiting counties to one location where voters can drop-off mail-in ballots.

The new order also limits poll watchers, trained volunteers designated by candidates and political parties, to one location to observe as voters deliver mail-in ballots.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Democratic super PAC to target Houston-area GOP lawmakers in $2 million ad blitz

The order went into effect Friday, Oct. 2, was put in place as an amendment to the July 27 order by Abbott that added six days of early voting and set aside a state law that restricts hand delivering mail-in ballots to Election Day only, measures meant to limit overcrowding and limits the potential spread of COVID-19. Abbott said the new restrictions were needed to protect election integrity.

As we work to preserve Texans ability to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic, we must take extra care to strengthen ballot security protocols throughout the state. These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting, Abbott said in a statement.

Fort Bend County Judge KP George officials responded to the new order via social media.

A few minutes after Fort Bend County announced its opening of satellite elections offices for voters to drop off completed mail-in ballots, Gov. Abbott banned these sites. Apparent attempts to suppress the vote like this one prove that American democracy is on the ballot this November, George said in a Facebook post. I encourage everyone to make a plan vote in the upcoming election. Out nations future depends on it.

When contacted for a response, Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton said Abbotts order was unnecessary and would only make the process more inconvenient.

The governor's order limiting the number of drop-off sites for mail in ballots was unwarranted. The process for dropping off a ballot is the same regardless of the number of locations, Middleton said by email Friday, Oct. 2. State law provides that a voter who delivers a marked ballot in person must present an acceptable form of identification. So, the voting clerk will have to verify identification for each person attempting to deliver a marked ballot in person. The only discernible impact the governor's order will have is that it will make the process less convenient for voters who are attempting to deliver a marked ballot in person.

If the governor's concern was election fraud, in person delivery should have been deemed a more secure method of delivery for mail-in ballots due to the identification requirement. The right to vote should be protected while taking precautions to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. Precautions should include spacious voting centers, a longer voting period, and multiple drop-off sites for persons that don't trust the mail system, Middleton said.

Starting Friday, Fort Bend County voters who want to hand-deliver mail-in ballots must go to the Fort Bend County Election Office located at 4520 Reading Road in Rosenberg during regular business hours. Voters will be asked to provide photo identification, officials said. According to Fort Bend County Election John Oldham, approximately 477,000 voters are registered to vote in the upcoming November election.

I expect that to swell to the low 480s for the election, Oldham said by email.

This years the turnout is expected to be significantly higher as typically Oldham said prior to the election the number of people registered to voter would be somewhere between 15,000 and 17,000. In the past, the number of registered voters has never surpassed 18,000, Oldham said. This year, Oldham said he estimates election office workers will process as many as 40,000 requests for mail-in ballots.

Texas law reads that voters can deliver their ballots to the office of the Early Voting Clerk on Election Day. The governor had previously waived the limitation on Election Day delivery. His order was not specific as to when that delivery could occur, but we interpreted it to be any time after the voter received his/her ballot, Oldham said.

The governors order didnt specify where ballots could be dropped off, specifically, and many larger Counties where there is no Election Administrator interpreted the code to include any facilities where the County Clerk had a branch office.

Personally, I think that was a valid interpretation. In our case, I only have one office. However, our County Attorneys Office drafted an opinion that would allow us to receive ballots at any county office in which we would station employees to collect ballots, Oldham said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Harris County the largest in U.S. still voting on machines that lack paper trail

Based on that, four additional voting sites were planned, including the mega-voting site where Thursday press conference was held, which Oldham said created some new concerns for his operations team after Abbotts new order was announced soon after.

I had mixed emotions about remote collection because there is always an inherent danger that something could happen during the transport of those ballots to our office each night, he said. On the other hand, I dont believe our building is capable of handling large numbers of voters returning their ballots while simultaneous conducting Early Voting as well as receiving voters requesting a limited ballot.

Of far greater concern to me are reports originating last night that the Governor was considering eliminating that first additional week of early voting. At this late stage, I think that would be catastrophic, Oldham said referring to news of another potential last minute change potentially triggered by a Texas Supreme Court petition filed recently filed by State Sen. Charles Perry of Lubbock, a Republican, and other state Republican leaders who are asking that t Abbotts order extending early voting by an additional six days be struck down. Perry and other state lawmakers and Republican leaders contend the order violates state law and the Texas Constitution.

Government power cannot be exercised in conflict with the constitution, even in a pandemic, group members argue in a petition.

Perry said his objection to the order is how Abbott set up extended voting as opposed to the extension itself.

I believe the convenience of early voting is an important part of the free and uniform elections held in our country, Perry said in a statement. Early voting has served the public well through wars, economic downturns, natural disasters and more. I support the current law that allows up to two additional weeks of voting. Early voting laws were passed by the legislature, so I believe any changes to the law should be made by the legislature, Perry said. That is how our constitution is set up and this is what the lawsuit is addressing.

Abbott has received criticism from some Republicans in recent weeks over COVID-19-related orders restricting businesses and requiring people to wear face coverings in public. But, the Supreme Court petition marks a new level of opposition as the petitions supporters includes three state senators, seven current and former Texas House members, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Allen West, chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, Houston conservative activist Steve Hotze, Harris County Republican Party Chairman Keith Nielsen, and the Republican National Committeeman from Texas, Robin Armstrong.

So far, Fort Bend County Republican leaders have not voiced support for the petition. On Thursday, Fort Bend County Republican Chairperson Linda Howell voiced her support for Governor Abbotts order on social media.

Good for the governor controlling any and every opportunity for ballot mishandling, Howell commented on Judge Georges Facebook post related to the order. I am sure people have heard of the mess happening in Houston with all the ballots.

The Texas Supreme Court currently has no deadline to make a ruling on the petition, but with early voting dates approaching quickly, judges are expected to act quickly.

To vote by mail, voters must first apply for a ballot and applications are due at least 11 business days before election day. The deadline to apply is Oct. 23.

Early voting is currently scheduled to Oct. 13 to Oct. 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

knix@hcnonline.com
Which? says that the current rules do not work for consumers and risk further damaging trust in the travel sector. Photo: Getty

Consumer group Which? has urged the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to introduce a new aviation ombudsman scheme to improve the broken passenger complaints system, as part of its upcoming recovery plan.

The review of the broken complaints system comes as consumer trust in the aviation industry continues to dwindle as a result of the COVID-19 pandemics impact on the sector.

Responding to CAAs consultation on potential changes to its current Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) policy, Which? said that the current measures are not working for consumers in the already troubled travel industry.

Currently, CAA oversees the two private companies, which operate the ADR process that arbitrates between customers seeking compensation and airlines. But Which? said that passengers are repeatedly let down by the convoluted dispute resolution process.

It said some had to endure over a year-long battle to receive compensation they were due, despite promises that cases would be resolved within 90 days. While others have had to rely on claims management firms, to challenge the airlines after the ADR system failed them.

One woman, the consumer group spoke to was forced to hand over nearly half of the compensation she was entitled to as payment to her solicitors.

Watch: Which? - Travel companies breaking law over refunds

READ MORE: Refund woes lead to calls for regulator to be given power to fine airlines

Which? fears that the CAAs proposed changes to the dispute schemes that would include a new process for complex and novel cases, may give airlines undue influence over how future cases are handled. It said that the plan will do little to address the weaknesses of the existing system.

Which? is worried that ADRs process, which involves unreasonably long waits for passengers as they go through a long and convoluted dispute process, to put many people off complaining at all.

The consumer group warned that the proposals also appear to prioritise airlines perspectives over consumers, and risked the already weak consumer protections being further diluted.

Story continues

In 2018, CAA was unable to penalise Ryanair (RYA.L) due to limited enforcement powers. It argues that the current system makes it easy for airlines to shirk their responsibilities to promptly refund or compensate consumers  even allowing them to quit dispute resolution schemes without penalty  leaving thousands of passengers out of pocket.

Editor of Which? Travel, Rory Boland, said: Throughout the coronavirus crisis, passengers have seen their consumer rights ripped up by some airlines that have consistently flouted the law  but they have found there is nowhere to turn for support.

Boland said that the situation has only served to highlight that the current complaints system is broken, and tinkering around the edges will not be enough to reform it and make it work for passengers.

The government must ensure that passengers needs are front and centre in its aviation recovery plan, starting with the introduction of a mandatory, single ombudsman scheme for airlines, as a first step to restoring trust in the sector, he added.

READ MORE: Stocks fall as Trump tests positive for COVID-19

CAA communications director, Richard Stephenson, said: The Civil Aviation Authority was a leading force in the creation of the alternative dispute resolution scheme in the UK which has enabled thousands of consumers to receive compensation from airlines.

We have received Which?s response to our consultation and we will review its proposals for how improvements can be made to the existing arrangements for the benefit of consumers.

The effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to be felt by the aviation industry, with British Airways (BA) owner IAG (IAG.L) announcing 87,000 more jobs could be lost if the government keeps travel quarantines in place till Christmas. The restrictions could cause a 4.6bn ($6bn) hit to the UK economy, airline leaders have warned.

Earlier this month, easyJet (EZJ.L) warned it would fly fewer than expected passengers in the coming months as a direct result of the UKs latest quarantine measures in Greece. Announcing it would not give investors any guidance on its financial performance for the rest of this year and next, blaming the lack of visibility and the continued level of uncertainty.
Audio 'super production' of Bible uses 100s of voice actors to bring Scriptures alive

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A Polish actor and director is working on an audio super-production of the Bible, using professional actors, music, and background sounds to allow listeners to fully immerse themselves in the Scriptures.

Krzysztof Czeczot, one of Polands best-known actors, is employing hundreds of voice actors  from A-listers to ordinary people  to help bring the Bible to life, along with original symphonic music and background sounds recorded in Israel, Aleteia reports.

While previous Bible-based audio dramas use stereo sound, The Audio Bible instead uses binaural recording, a spectacular 3D sound space that you can capture with an ordinary set of headphones, notes the product website.

"It is not only an audio play  its an epic experience for your soul  a journey that everyone should take," it says.

Czeczot, who has won awards for his radio work, told Aleteia he wants the Audio Bible to feel like a cinematic audio experience. He described the project as a beautiful tool for everyday reflection and practice for millions of Americans and English-speaking users around the world.

When you close your eyes, you should be in the middle of the story, because the word has power, but also, the word has a space, he said, adding that his team recorded in Israel to capture the sounds of the spirit of the place.

We were in Jerusalem, we were in the desert, we were on the Dead Sea, we were in Jericho, he said, recording sounds of crowds, people in the market, animals, etc.

The project will cost an estimated $1.5 million, and is halfway through in terms of fundraising, said co-producer Marek Zmyslowski. He told Aleteia that creators are pretty confident about starting to record next year.

In his home country, Czeczots Polish Audio Bible, which took three years to complete, has sold 145,000 copies, while its YouTube channel has had 5.4 million views. Now, hes hoping to reach millions more with the English edition.

For the English edition, women will do half of the New Testament readings, and the creators will employ readers from each of the 50 states to ensure listeners hear voices from every region.

The Holy Book belongs to everyone, notes the project website. Thus, The Audio Bible was created for all and by many: the Archbishop and the Chief Rabbi, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, agnostics, people of countless professions and social groups, old and young, men and women  they all took part in the recordings, hand in hand.

Czeczot explained that the Audio Bible isnt just for the faithful, but for those who are closer and further from the Church, believers and non-believers, people of other cultures and religions, with different world views, a cultural and social project.

He stressed that he doesnt view The Audio Bible as a godly project.

This is a radio play, powerful, with a huge cast, he said. This is too multifaceted a project to reduce it to religious values alone, although they are obviously important.

Over the last few years, modern technology has allowed the Scriptures to reach millions in new and innovative ways.

In September, the completeBible became available in American Sign Language for the first time ever.

Now, the entire Bible is available to the worlds 70 million people who are deaf for free online, through social media, and on a smartphone app. The translation was led by people who themselves are deaf and trained in the biblical languages.

Also this year, the first-ever multiseason show about Jesus, "The Chosen, premiered. At the top of 2019, The Chosen became the No. 1 crowdfunded media project in history.

Additionally, Deaf Missions and the Jesus Film Project are seeking to raise millions to create a motion picture about the life of Jesus Christ featuring actors signing in ASL.
The alleged at Hathras heat up the political scene in West Bengal on Thursday with Chief Minister equating the late-night cremation of the victim with Sita's 'Agni Parikasha' (in the Ramayana) and Congress staging state-wide protests.

The Bengal BJP accused Banerjee of "double standards" and slammed her for remaining silent when similar incidents took place in the state.

Addressing a government programme in the Jalpaiguri district, the TMC supremo questioned the role of police in BJP-ruled the Uttar Pradesh in handling the case that has led to outrage across the country.

"Once Goddess Sita had to go through 'Agni Pariksha' (test by fire). Now in UP, the Dalit woman was raped and her body was put on a funeral pyre," Banerjee said.

"If a crime takes place action has to be taken within 72 hours like we have done. What kind of an administration is this under which the body of the woman was cremated in the dead of the night when no proceedings were initiated (against the accused)," she added.

Banerjee alleged that the mother of the woman was also threatened by perpetrators of the crime that she too would be cremated on the same pyre along with her daughter.

Earlier in the day, she tweeted "Have no words to condemn the barbaric & shameful incident at Hathras involving a young Dalit girl. My deepest condolences to the family."



"More shameful is the forceful cremation without the family's presence or consent, exposing those who use slogans & lofty promises for votes," she said on Twitter slamming the BJP.

In an oblique reference to the former BJP president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah having lunch at the house of Dalit families in Bengal in 2018, Banerjee said "So many atrocities are taking place against Dalits. During elections, some leaders go to their (Dalits) houses with food brought from outside and pretend to have lunch or dinner there.

"After the polls are over, they perpetrate acts of cruelty on them," she said.

Trinamool Youth Congress president and MP Abhishek Banerjee took to Twitter to express himself about the cremation of the victim.

"She couldn't live with dignity & BJP UP Govt ensured she didn't die with dignity either. Absolutely monstrous to not allow the mother to see her child for one last time," he said.

"This is the shameful reality of @BJP4India harping on sweet talks of women empowerment & Beti Bachao Beti Padhao." Abhishek, who is Mamata Banerjee's nephew, said.

Reacting to the criticisms, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh asked Banerjee and other TMC leaders to "stop shedding crocodile tears".

"Under the TMC regime, crimes against women have gone up in the state. They should first set their own house in order and then lecture others. Why were they silent when similar incidents take place in Bengal?" he asked.

The West Bengal Congress took out rallies across the state in protest against the incident.

In Kolkata, Congress workers blocked an arterial road at Central Avenue- M G Road crossing on Thursday on being stopped from marching to the state BJP headquarters, leading to a scuffle with the police, officials said.

Effigies of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were burnt by Congress activists in various parts of the state.

The 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on September 14. She was referred to the Safdarjung hospital in Delhi on Monday with spinal cord injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue. She died around 3 am on Tuesday.

Her subsequent cremation in the dead of night at Hathras allegedly under police pressure on Tuesday has created outrage over the law and order situation in UP and safety of women.

(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 ITRC and NCSA will hold a Twitter chat on October 8 using the hashtag #BeCyberSmart. "The online safety and privacy of all stakeholders is important," said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. "Its why we are committed to helping people at home and work develop good cyber hygiene habits, and be cyber smart.

The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a nationally recognized non-profit organization established to support victims of identity crime, has joined the growing global effort to promote awareness of online safety and privacy as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM) during October. CSAM is a collaborative effort among organizations and individuals to promote this years CSAM theme of Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart. The month aims to empower individuals and organizations to own their role in protecting their part of cyberspace.

Cybersecurity is a critical issue that impacts consumers, businesses and institutions every day, said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. The online safety and privacy of all stakeholders is important. Its why we are committed to helping people at home and work develop good cyber hygiene habits, and be cyber smart.

The ITRC will take part in the following activities for CSAM:

Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart Twitter Chat

To kick off CSAM, NCSA and the ITRC are hosting a Twitter chat on Thursday, October 8 at 11:00 a.m. PST to discuss cyber hygiene best practices, resources and much more. Use #BeCyberSmart in your tweet to join the conversation.

NCSA and ITRC Co-Authored Blog

NCSA and the ITRC are publishing a co-authored blog on the impact of data breaches and cyberattacks on small-to-medium-size businesses and their employees. The blog will be released on October 15.

Cybersecurity for Retirement Professionals Conference

The ITRC is participating in a panel hosted by the Cybercrime Support Network to discuss cybersecurity for retirement professionals. The event will take place on October 28 at 8:30 a.m. PST.

Notified  Q3 Data Breach Resources for Businesses & Consumers/Quarterly Trend Report

The ITRC is releasing its data breach information for the third quarter of 2020. We are also promoting new data breach tracking tool, notifiedTM. Notified is free to consumers and has as many as 90 data points for organizations that need comprehensive breach information for business planning or due diligence.

ITRC Podcast Series

Check out ITRCs newest podcasts, The Fraudian Slip (monthly), which takes an in-depth look at topics like child identity theft, application fraud and more, as well as the Weekly Breach Breakdown (weekly), covering the latest data compromises from the previous week and other news in cybersecurity.

ViViAN - The Virtual Victim Assistance Network Launch

The ITRC will launch a beta version of ViViAN, the organizations artificial intelligence chatbot, to provide initial assistance and after-hours victim support.

New Help Resources for Victims

The ITRC is releasing new Help Center resources for victims of identity crime. The resources will help victims in their resolution process.

Now in its 17th year, CSAM continues to build momentum and impact with the ultimate goal of providing everyone with the information they need to stay safer and more secure online. The ITRC is proud to support this far-reaching online safety awareness and education initiative, which is co-led by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Cybersecurity is important to the success of all businesses and organizations. NCSA is proud to have such a strong and active community helping to encourage proactive behavior and prioritize cybersecurity in their organizations, said Kelvin Coleman, Executive Director, NCSA.

For more information about CSAM 2020 and how to participate in a wide variety of activities, visit staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/. You can also follow and use the official hashtag #BeCyberSmart on social media throughout the month.

About the Identity Theft Resource Center

Founded in 1999, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) is a nationally recognized non-profit organization established to support victims of identity crime in resolving their cases, and to broaden public education and awareness in the understanding of identity theft, data breaches, cybersecurity, scams/fraud, and privacy issues. Through public and private support, the ITRC provides no-cost victim assistance and consumer education through its call center, website, social media channels, live-chat feature and ID Theft Help app. For more information, visit: https://www.idtheftcenter.org.

About Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is designed to engage and educate public- and private-sector partners through events and initiatives with the goal of raising awareness about cybersecurity to increase the resiliency of the nation in the event of a cyber incident. Since the Presidential proclamation establishing Cybersecurity Awareness Month in 2004, the initiative has been formally recognized by Congress, federal, state and local governments and leaders from industry and academia. This united effort is necessary to maintain a cyberspace that is safer and more resilient and remains a source of tremendous opportunity and growth for years to come. For more information, visit staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/.

About NCSA

NCSA is the Nations leading non-profit, public-private partnership promoting cybersecurity and privacy education and awareness. NCSA works with a broad array of stakeholders in government, industry and civil society. NCSAs primary partners are the Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and NCSAs Board of Directors, which includes representatives from ADP; AIG; American Express; Bank of America; Cofense; Comcast Corporation; Eli Lilly and Company; ESET North America; Facebook; Intel Corporation; Lenovo; LogMeIn; Marriott International; Mastercard; MediaPro; Microsoft Corporation; Mimecast; KnowBe4; NortonLifeLock; Proofpoint; Raytheon; Trend Micro, Inc.; Uber: U.S. Bank; Visa and Wells Fargo. NCSAs core efforts include Cybersecurity

MEDIA CONTACT

Identity Theft Resource Center

Alex Achten

Earned & Owned Media Specialist

888.400.5530 Ext. 3611

media@idtheftcenter.org
Ojo Amos Olatunde has been confirmed as the substantive clerk of the National Assembly by the National Assembly Service Commission.

Mr Olatunde, until his confirmation, was the acting clerk, having been appointed by the commission in July.

He and a few others were appointed after the commission issued a query to the former clerk, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, over his failure to proceed on retirement.

The commission thereafter directed that those who had attained the age of 60 or 35 years in service should proceed on compulsory retirement.

Mr Sani-Omolori had argued that the eighth assembly had approved his tenure extension through the amendment of the law.

In a statement on Friday, the NASC, Ahmed Amshi, said Mr Olatunde was confirmed at a meeting held on Wednesday.

The National Assembly Service Commission at its 506th Meeting held on Wednesday 30th September, 2020, approved the confirmation of appointments of top management staff of the national assembly service with effect from 30th September, 2020, Mr Amshi said.

The commission had on 17th and 20th July 2020, appointed Mr. Ojo and the other management staff to their different positions on acting capacity, part of the statement read.

The commission also confirmed Bala Yabani as the deputy clerk of the National Assembly; Ibrahim El-Ladan as Senate clerk; and Francis Akubueze as clerk of the House of Representatives.

Other staff confirmed are Yusuf Danbatta as secretary to the commission, Orunwase Osaze as secretary of human development, Ademola Adebanjo as secretary, legal services, and Ramatu Ahmed as secretary human resources and staff development.
The European Council has added two individuals and four entities to the list of those individuals and entities subject to restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, according to a press release of the Council of the EU.

These measures were adopted in the light of the role played by these people and entities in the construction of the bridge and railway tracks linking Russia to the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula via the Kerch Strait, and further isolating Crimea from Ukraine, the document says.

The list of persons and entities that were included in the EU sanctions list in connection with their participation in the construction of the Kerch Bridge was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on October 1, 2020.

The sanctions, which now apply to a total of 177 individuals and 48 entities, include a travel ban and an asset freeze.

Individual restrictive measures were first applied on March 17, 2014 in response to the unprovoked actions deliberately undermining and destabilising the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

The European Union does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and of the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, and continues to condemn the Russian violation of international law. Moreover, the EU remains unwavering in its support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.

ish
Highlights Apple is expected to launch four new iPhones in India.

The 64GB variant of the iPhone 12 mini could cost $649, the 128GB could be priced around $699.

Apple is yet to officially announce the launch date of the iPhone 12 series.

Apple is expected to launch four new iPhones in India. The company is expected to release the smartphone in the second week of October and some details about its India pricing have also surfaced online. A tipster has confirmed that the global price of the iPhone 12 mini would start at $649 while the top of the line variant would cost around $1,399.

The tipster has speculated the pricing of the four upcoming iPhones which could be called the Apple iPhone 12 mini, Apple iPhone 12, Apple iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The 64GB variant of the iPhone 12 mini could cost $649, the 128GB could be priced around $699 and the 256 GB variant could go up to $799. This price leaks also drops major cues about how the iPhones would be priced in India.

The iPhone 12 mini could be priced around Rs 60,000 in India. Considering the iPhone 11 sells at $649 in the US and back in India, it is available for around Rs 64000. So the price of the iPhone 12 mini would be the same in India if we look at how the iPhone 11 has been priced.

iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro expected specifications

Earlier, the benchmarking website Antutu reported that the iPhone 12 Pro Max could come with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The iPhone 12 Pro could also come with the same RAM and storage option. However, the RAM could be slightly less in the lower variants of the iPhone 12.

In the Apple Time flies event, the company launched an iPad Air with an A14 Bionic chipset, which also suggests that the iPhone 12 will also be powered by the same chipset. This would make the iPhone 12 serious more performance-rich than the iPhone 11. It will offer better per core for single as well as multi-threaded applications, and will also consume less energy per core while doing so. This would not only enhance the performance of the iPhone 12 but also make the camera and Siri better. Apple iPhone is expected to arrive in three different screen sizes including the 5.4-inch, 6.7-inch, and 6.1 inches and 5G connectivity.

In terms of the camera, the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 are expected to come with a dual-camera setup on the rear whereas the Pro models could flaunt a triple-camera setup, similar to the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.

Apple is yet to officially announce the launch date of the iPhone 12 series.
Doctors have expressed concerns that small, poorly ventilated designated smoking areas can accelerate the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) disease.

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) came into effect across India on October 2, 2008. It prohibits smoking in public places but allows it in designated smoking rooms in restaurants, hotels, and airports.

Covid-19 is mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets either inhaled by another person standing in close proximity or through the droplets that remain on surfaces and enter the other persons system when they touch the surface and then their eyes, nose, or mouth. Masks can help in preventing the emission as well as inhalation of these respiratory droplets thereby reducing the risk of contracting the disease.

Although airborne transmission through aerosolised or very small droplets has not been established clearly, the World Health Organisation says this might happen in crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces.

Also Read: Covid-19 vaccine: Fever, body aches common symptoms. All you need to know

In most countries, smoking is banned in public places except the smoking zones as in India. However, we do not see too many of the smoking zones here, and the ones that are there in some hotels and restaurants are like small glass boxes with little to no ventilation. This, of course, increases the risk of Covid-19 transmission. When people go to smoke, they take off their masks. They touch their lips with their fingers, and they are likely to talk. Also, in an enclosed space like that the virus may remain airborne for a long period while smokers come and go adding to the risk of transmission, said Dr Vikas Maurya, director of the department of pulmonology and sleep disorders at Fortis hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

He suggested having open designated zones for smoking instead.

The prevalence of tobacco use has decreased by six percentage points from 34.6%, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 1 conducted in 2009-10, to 28.6% as per GATS 2 conducted in 2016-17. In the 12 years of the COTPA law, over Rs 37.3 crore have been collected as fines from over 2.6 million people for violating it, according to government data.

Also Read: Covid-19 vaccine rollout unlikely before fall 2021, experts say

The implementation of the no-smoking [in public] rules show the governments commitment towards tobacco control. However, COTPA presently allows smoking in certain public places in designated smoking areas. We should abolish all designated smoking areas to ensure a 100% smoke-free environment as most of these areas are rarely compliant with COTPA requirements and put our public at a great health risk from exposure to second-hand smoke, said Dr Harit Chaturvedi, chairman, Max Institute of Cancer Care.

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ISTANBUL, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The regional stability of the entire Caucasus region is threatened by Armenia's expansionist policy, according to the Center for Eurasian Strategic Studies, a think tank based in Turkey. Border clashes in the past five days have erupted after Armenia attempted to usurp new territory around Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, yet Armenia has occupied this region and adjoining parts of Azerbaijan since 1994, in violation of four United Nations resolutions calling on Armenia to withdraw its forces.

17 Azerbaijani civilians have been killed by Armenian shelling this week, with 51 injured.

Reports indicate that Armenia is transporting rebel Kurdish fighters from Syria and Iraq to Nagorno-Karabakh to bolster its occupation. Armenia is also recruiting mercenaries and private armed companies from Russia, Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries.

Azerbaijan has responded decisively to Armenian aggression. Yet, in a further step that could destabilize the region, Armenia has threatened to use its Russian Iskander ballistic missiles to hit Azerbaijan's infrastructure. That would be a dangerous escalation by Armenia of the current clashes, and Azerbaijan would then be compelled to respond with overwhelming force.

"Azerbaijan understands the concerns of the world community, but the West should also understand Azerbaijan's position. We are fighting on our own territory, not on someone else's," said Hikmet Hajiyev, Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of Azerbaijan's Presidential Administration.

Reports indicate that domestic politics may be behind Armenia's military aggression. Pro-Russian forces in Armenia may be trying to oust Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who came to power after the revolution in 2018. Russian military transport planes have been seen carrying weapons and ammunition to Armenia for the past week.

In contrast, Azerbaijan has been a consistent and reliable ally of the West for decades. Strategically located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Azerbaijan has continued implementing reforms and growing its economy. Azerbaijani society is also well-known for its religious tolerance, a Muslim-majority country that is also home to Christians, Jews and many other confessions.

The West must respond to the current crisis by reigning in the expansionist policy of Armenia's security forces. The alternative  a wider regional conflict that could draw in Turkey and Russia  is not in any one's interest, especially on the eastern edge of Europe.

Source: Center for Eurasian Strategic Studies (Avrasya Stratejik Arastrmalar Merkezi), Turkey

SOURCE Center for Eurasian Strategic Studies (Avrasya Stratejik Arastirmalar Merkezi)
Seema Kushwaha, lawyer of the 2012 Delhi rape victim, known as Nirbhaya, will now fight the case of the Hathras victim.

Seema tried to meet the victim's family on Thursday, but was prevented from meeting them by the police.

"I will not leave Hathras without meeting the family. They have requested me to stand as their legal counsel but the administration is not allowing me to meet them," she told reporters.

She said that she was in touch with the victim's brother.

Kushwaha was the family lawyer of the 23-year-old paramedical student who was gang-raped on a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people, including a juvenile in Delhi.

The woman died at a Singapore hospital later.

All four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case -- Akshay Singh Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Mukesh Singh -- were hanged to death in March, this year.

The 19-year-old Hathras girl had succumbed to assault injuries in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday, where she was brought on Monday from the Aligarh Muslim University Medical College.

The government has formed a three-member SIT to probe the case and said the matter will be heard in the fast track court. All four accused in the case have been arrested.

Additional Director General (law and order) Prashant Kumar has said that the post-mortem, which was conducted by a team of doctors in Delhi, has established that the death was caused by the trauma of her neck injury and there was no confirmation of rape.
Lakhs of people, YSR Congress party leaders, cadre and official functionaries in Andhra Pradesh on Friday evening clapped their hands to applaud the services being rendered by village secretaries in carrying out the benefits of government schemes to the doorsteps of the beneficiaries.

The programme was taken up at 7 pm following a call given by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to mark the completion of one year of the concept of Village Secretariats launched on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti last year.

The programme drew inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modis call on March 22 wherein he urged the citizens to clap their hands for five minutes to extend solidarity with the frontline warriors fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

CM Jagan took part in the clapping programme at his Tadepalli residence in Amaravati. Minister for municipal administration Botsa Satyanarayana, chief secretary Neelam Sawhney, director-general of Police Gautam Sawang, MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy and other senior officials also joined Jagan in clapping for five minutes.

Also read: India encourages indigenous vaccine production, says PM Modi

All YSRC MPs, MLAs, party leaders and government officials from village level to the state level, besides common people, came out of their respective offices and residences to take part in the clapping programme.

In his message to the people in the afternoon, Jagan called upon the people to display their symbolic appreciation to the village secretaries and volunteers by clapping their hands on the occasion of completion of one year of the village secretariat concept.

State panchayat raj minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy said the symbolic gesture of clapping would give a big boost to the village secretariat employees and village volunteers who have been rendering selfless services to the people.

He said the concept was launched to bring the administration to the doorsteps of the common man. As many as 543 services were being provided through these village secretariats as part of providing corruption-free administration in the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Central cabinet secretary also lauded the village secretariat concept, the minister claimed.

Around 1.26 lakh village secretaries have been appointed to administer these 11,158 village secretariats and 3,786 ward secretariats (as they are called in urban areas), besides, the government also appointed over 2.8 lakh village and ward volunteers to take the services to the doorsteps of the beneficiaries.

While each village secretary is paid a monthly salary of Rs 15,000, each village volunteer appointed on an outsourcing basis is given a monthly remuneration of Rs 5,000. In all, each village/ward secretariat comprises 10-12 employees working under various wings of the government including panchayat raj and rural development, revenue, medical and health, animal husbandry, power, agriculture and social welfare in rural areas and municipal services in urban areas.

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Santa Claus has arrived in Toronto by plane, pulled by horses and at least once pulled by reindeer, but in 2020, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, hell be arriving remotely by television.

In a major departure from a tradition that has entertained families for generations, the parade will not wind through Toronto streets cheered on by thousands of children and their parents struggling to keep warm  a quintessentially Canadian experience that kicks off the holiday season in the city.

Instead the event will be staged in a new, closed parade route and broadcast later in a two-hour national television special, organizers officially announced early Friday morning.

Its been a tradition for so long, and making it move away from what many Torontonians and Canadians have come to expect of the parade is difficult, said Clay Charters, president and CEO of the parade.

On the other side, it was a decision that was certainly made with the interest of public health in mind.

Charters would not disclose the new location, but said it will provide a safe environment for everyone working on the parade and will preclude the general public from wandering across it.

The parade has not been cancelled since it launched in Toronto in 1905, Charters said.

It was held in 1918 and 1919, as the world fought a flu pandemic that would claim an estimated 20 million to 50 million lives. COVID-19 has killed more than one million people worldwide since it was first detected at the end of 2019.

Toronto announced on Sept. 23 that it would be extending its ban on major outdoor events until Dec. 31, part of its effort to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Santa Claus parade organizers have been saying since early September the parade will not look the same this year, but this this is the first time details of those changes have been shared.

The televised parade will include 20 floats, which viewers will be able to see close-up for the first time. Organizers are promising special musical guests, celebrity appearances, bands playing traditional Christmas songs, and the parades iconic celebrity clowns. The show is scheduled to air Saturday, Dec. 5th at 7 p.m. ET on CTV and CTV2.

The parade typically takes place in November.

Holiday celebrations will look much different this year, but we are committed to delivering a very special edition of the parade to viewers in prime time, said Mike Cosentino, president, content and programming.

Correction - Oct. 2, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said the parade would be broadcast live.

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CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - Boeing said it has been selected to develop next-generation satellite system for U.S. Space Force. The first phase of the Space Force's Evolved Strategic SATCOM or ESS program includes prototype payload, and architecture development. The initial ESS development contract is valued at $298 million. In a statement, the aerospace and defense giant said has received one of three development contracts to build a satellite payload prototype and develop a new secure, resilient satellite communications architecture for the ESS program. The company expects the contracts for the full ESS system to be awarded in 2025. Boeing noted that ESS will be a military satellite communications or MILSATCOM system, a critical component of the U.S. Space Force's strategy. Troy Dawson, vice president of Boeing Government Satellite Systems, said, 'We have worked closely with the Space Force to define a program responsive to our nation's needs. By leveraging our expertise in digital engineering and technologies with synergies across both our government and commercial systems, we're uniquely positioned to deliver solutions needed to address the ever-evolving threats.' Boeing recently announced its partnership with General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems or GA-EMS and Aerojet Rocketdyne to build the Next Generation Interceptor or NGI for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. In July, the company received about $1.2 billion contract from the U.S. Air Force to build the first lot of eight F-15EX advanced fighter jets. 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.
(Photo : NASA, ESA, and A. Riess (STScI/JHU) and the SH0ES team; acknowledgment: M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble)) Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the quick, fading celebrity status of a supernova, the self-detonation of a star. The supernova, called SN 2018gv, appears in the lower left portion of the frame as a blazing star located on the outer edge of spiral galaxy NGC 2525, located 70 million light-years away.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently released a photo time-lapse of a star 70 million light-years away that went into a supernova, using the Hubble Space Telescope, capturing its conclusion and blazing farewell. The Hubble Space Telescope's documentation of the dying star recorded the star's bright and final moments, giving justice to its life cycle.

NASA's Hubble Telescope went 70 million light-years away to monitor, see, and capture the dying star, NGC-2525's ultimate demise before plunging into the endless void in space. The phenomenon brought by the star is stronger than the Solar System's Sun and its energy over billions of years.

According to NASA's press release, the Hubble Telescope watched the star's explosion, from being seen from the Earth, zooming into 70 million light-years away, and receiving a massive 'wink' before fading out. The scientists monitored the star for a year, since 2018, down to its eventual explosion in 2019.

NASA recently released a video compilation of the time-lapse capturing the supernova with Hubble. Supernova is the star's end of cycle process which explodes into massive particles bring potent elements to the celestial heavens. These elements are now essential to giving birth to stars, planets, and universes forming itself from the 'ashes' of the fallen ball of gas.

NGC-2525 is a star just outside the galaxy's outskirts, hiding out among the various star systems and planets that surround it. The stellar blast is like a 'movie' scene that shows the majestic lights and sparkles brought by the supernova. However, NASA's latest release is the real deal and intricately shows the step-by-step happenings of a star's supernova.

ALSO READ: Elon Musk Notes Wind and Solar Energy is Cheaper than Sending a Big Fusion Reactor in the Sky

NASA'S Hubble Telescope: Intergalactic Paparazzi



According to NASA's very own press release, The Hubble Telescope can be compared to an 'intergalactic paparazzi' who documented every bit of the star's discovery and eventual explosion in 2019. The supernova is a justifying moment in a star's life that gives it a new purpose, instead of decaying itself in the vast oblivion.

NGC-2525 was famously discovered by an amateur astronomer, Koichi Itagaki, a Japanese entrepreneur who has fascination over the heavenly bodies in the cosmic space. Back in mid-January 2018, Itagaki saw the star's glittering appearance that is different from those surrounding it.

Initially, it was referred to as the SN 2018gv, where NASA's Hubble began observing it in February 2018. The star appears to be a blazing object in its early discovery, outshining those surrounding and within proximity. During its supernova, NGC-2525 outshined almost all the brightest stars in the galaxy before fading to extinction.

NGC-2525: White Dwarf Star Who Bid Farewell

The 'intergalactic paparazzi' Hubble, witnessed the glamorous exit of the dying star, NGC-2525, who is considered to be a White Dwarf. The star's supernova sequence originated from its 'burnt-out' characteristics that indicate its end.

White Dwarf stars reach a critical mass once it is burned out. This state will lead the star's core to become hot enough and ignite a nuclear fusion within and turning the star into a massive atomic bomb. The process is a thermonuclear one, which leads to tearing the star apart.

ALSO READ: How to See Orionids Meteor Shower 2020 This October? NASA Suggests The Best Way to Enjoy the Spectacular Show!









This article is owned by Tech Times





Written by Isaiah Alonzo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Would we even know about Trumps diagnosis if it werent for that? Maybe not. What about those he has come in contact with in recent days? Would they know they were endangered? The indications arent good. Yamiche Alcindor, the PBS White House correspondent, reported Friday that there was no contact from the Trump campaign or the White House to alert the Biden campaign of possible exposure. The campaign learned of the situation from news reports.
The moon and Mars (top left), Saturn (top right) and Jupiter (bottom left). Picture by Emily McCullough through a telescope.

The first of two full moons this October took place last night, appearing in the sky alongside an unusually large Mars.

The 2020 Harvest Moon reached its peak at 10.05pm on Thursday, 1 October, but will continue to appear full through to Saturday morning.

It gets its name for being the closest full moon to the autumn equinox, which was traditionally around harvest time in the northern hemisphere.

Expand Close Last night's Harvest Moon at Gleno Waterfall. Picture by Liam Hughes / Facebook

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The next full moon will appear on Halloween night and is called a Blue Moon because it is the second to occur in a single calendar month.

Both full moons will be among the smallest of the year, as they will occur when the moon is at its furthest point from Earth in its 27.5 day orbit of Earth - known as the apogee point.

On Thursday it was around 406,000km away from Earth, making it nearly 50,000km further away than when it is a supermoon.

A phenomenon known as the moon illusion, however, means that it will appear bigger and brighter than usual as it rises and sets over the horizon. This is because the human brain is tricked into comparing the moon to objects on the horizon, like trees and buildings.



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This weeks full moon will also be in the vicinity of Mars, which is set to come to opposition for the first time in nearly two years. This is the point at which the Earth passes between the Sun and Mars, which Nasa describes as a full Mars.

The exact date of opposition is 13 October, with the red planet not set to appear as big or as bright until 2035.



Expand Close Harvest Moon this morning at Whitehouse/Hazelbank. By Liam Hughes / Facebook

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Nasa explains: Thursday, October 1, will be when the planet Mercury reaches its greatest angular separation from the sun as seen from Earth for this apparition, appearing half-lit through a large enough telescope.

Weather depending, this week also provides a great opportunity to view other planets and celestial objects with a modest telescope setup, according to the space agency.

Evenings should continue to be a great time for viewing the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, especially with a backyard telescope, Nasa said.



Expand Close The moon and Mars (top left), Saturn (top right) and Jupiter (bottom left). Picture by Emily McCullough through a telescope. / Facebook

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With clear skies you should be able to see Jupiters four bright moons - Ganymede, Calisto, Europa, and Io - shifting positions noticeably in the course of an evening. For Saturn, you should be able to see the brightly illuminated rings as well as the motions of Saturns largest moon, Titan."

Several free apps are available to track the moon, planets and star constellations, such as Sky View and Star Chart.
Q. Who is your best friend?



A. I have made all of my Shelter people my BFFs. They work hard to keep us clean, fed and watered. If we are sick they take us to our veterinarian and make sure we get our medicine on time. They give us toys to play with and sometimes they play with the toys too! That's fun. They spend time with us and tell us that they love us and to not worry - that we will find a home soon. Shelter people are special and we love them.

Q. If you could visit any place in the world where would that be?

A. Let me turn that question around for you and tell you where I would not want to visit. I think that Washington, DC might be a tricky place to navigate right now - for obvious reasons. We Shelter felines are apolitical but we hear things. We would rather wait until the dust settles - then I think our nation's capital would be an awesome place to visit. I think there might even be a cat cafe there!

Q. How would you describe yourself?

A. A good description of me would be rather premature because I am still a baby and developing. However, I can tell you what I am like at this very moment. I am cute and little. I am learning about keeping my room clean and orderly - that has been a challenge at times. I love people and get really excited when visitors come into my condo area. I always know when someone is coming because the "out" cats start dancing and jumping around. I would like to say that as I mature my extraordinary intelligence will become apparent. That's it in a nutshell. Why don't you adopt me so that you can see what the final product is??

Q. If you could have a job, what would that be?

A. You know, I don't know why those other guys get their knickers all twisted about this question. I think it's a perfectly reasonable thing to ask. Right off the top of my whiskers I can think of a lot of jobs. One thing I would like to try my paws at would be a PR cat for this SPCA. I think it would be a fun and rewarding job. I'll have to talk to the powers that be to see what kind of treats they might offer for a salary. I wouldn't come cheap!

Q. Do you have an interesting fact to share today?

A. I do! I believe that we felines are misunderstood in many ways so let me help you out here. Did you know that when a cat hisses, he or she does so out of fear and not anger or aggression? Hissing is a defense mechanism for us and when we become accustomed to the new person or situation the hissing behavior eventually goes away. So, when you see one of us hiss, please don't think we are being ugly - we are just scared.

Q: Do you have any advice for our Citizen readers?

A. I do. In case you missed it, last Monday, September 28, was World Rabies Day. It is a day on which everyone is asked to learn more about the dreaded disease and to ensure that their pets (dogs, cats, ferrets) are all rabies vaccinated and that their immunizations are kept up to date. My Shelter people are working on scheduling a date for the next free rabies clinic. Check back here for that announcement - and please keep the public and your pets safe. Rabies vaccinate!! Thank you and love, licks and purrs. Keno and friends.
The other day I had a phone conversation with a close woman friend. I was upset about a local news story, and I swore, more than once. My friend was upset about the same thing and was sympathetic. As women friends do, she listened patiently as I worked through my feelings.

According to the New York Times, what I in fact had was a profane rant.

Thats the Times headline on the secretly recorded phone call between Melania Trump and her friend: In Profane Rant, Melania Trump Takes Aim at Migrant Children and Critics. The media seem to think the phone call makes the first lady come off badly. Normal people hear that call and have two thoughts: (1) Melania is a normal person who has feelings, including anger, and opinions. (2) What kind of woman records a phone call and dishes it to the media to embarrass and hurt her friend?

The Times writes that the first lady mocked the plight of migrant children who were separated from their parents at the border in 2018. Again, no normal person who listens to the recording can come to that conclusion: And they said, Oh what about the children, that they were separated? Give me a f***ing break. Where they were saying anything when Obama did that?I was trying to get the kid reunited with the mom. I didnt have a chance. Needs to go through the process and through the law.

She is exasperated about media distortions of her efforts to do something to help and their refusal to cover her, and the issue, fairly. Thats the break she wants them to give her.

In her rant, Melania even takes what seems to me a feminist angle when she complains about spending her time on the White House Christmas decorations. She has no interest in that task, but because shes a woman, shes expected to fulfill her role. Arent we supposed to like it when strong women reject traditional gender roles?

At one point Melania says, about the liberal media, They are crazy, OK?

Yes. Yes, they are.

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PARIS (AP)  Add U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem and the man he beat at the French Open on Friday, No. 28 seed Casper Ruud, to the growing chorus of players who think electronic line-calling should come to clay-court tennis.

Its not a new idea. And there are questions about the accuracy of that sort of system on clay, where the red dust shifts, making it harder for the machine to be as right as it can be on hard courts.

Still, just in the past couple of days at Roland Garros, top-10 seeds Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov have raised the issue, as did 2018 semifinalist Marco Checcinato, who grumbled about it during the third set of his third-round loss Friday.

Today in my match there was a mistake -- in my favor actually, two-time French Open runner-up Thiem said after beating Ruud 6-4, 6-3, 6-1. Casper showed me the mark on his phone after the match.

Thiem played at a tournament in Brazil where a system fine-tuned for use on clay, specifically, was tested.

There were not any issues, he said. So I hope that next year, we will have it in every clay-court tournament.

After Ruud disputed a couple of calls with the chair umpire, some buddies back home in Norway who were watching the match took a picture of one of the ball marks on the TV sceen and sent it to his phone.

It was, he insisted, quite clearly out.

HALEP TURNS IT AROUND

A year ago, Simona Haleps French Open title defense ended in Court Philippe Chatrier with a lopsided loss to American teenager Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinals. They met again Friday -- same tournament, same stadium, similar scoreline -- but this time it was Halep who dominated, winning 6-0, 6-1 in less than an hour.

I was playing really bad, said Anisimova, a fair assessment given that she made 32 unforced errors, 25 more than the No. 1-seeded Halep. Its been one of the worst matches I have played in a while. I was just making mistakes all over the place.

The key, believe or not, might very well have been the second game.

Story continues

Very important, Halep called it.

She double-faulted twice, helping the 25th-seeded Anisimova accumulate five break points.

But Anisimova couldnt convert any of those chances and never held another break point.

Now comes another rematch for Halep, against another 19-year-old: Her fourth-round opponent is Iga Swiatek.

In 2019, Halep won their fourth-round match in Paris 6-1, 6-0.

I know for sure that my game is better, Swiatek said, so hopefully this match is going to be longer than 40 minutes.

BREAKING THE TIE

Thirty minutes; 36 points.

Lorenzo Sonego and 27th-seeded American Taylor Fritz engaged in quite a tiebreaker Friday, the longest ever played in a men's singles match at the French Open and tied for the second-longest at any Grand Slam tournament.

Each man held more than a half-dozen sets points. It finally ended when Sonego took the last two points with drop shots and ended the match, winning 7-6 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (17) to get to the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

Im going to be up all night, Fritz said, thinking about what I could have done different.

The only longer Grand Slam tiebreaker came at the Australian Open in 2007, when Andy Roddick and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played one that lasted 38 points.

___

AP Tennis Writer Fendrich reported from Washington; AP Sports Writer Leicester reported from Paris. AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire in Paris contributed to this report

___

More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
STOCKHOLM, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ASSA ABLOY has acquired Olimpia Hardware, a leading glass hardware and accessories brand in Latin America and the Caribbean.

"I am very pleased to welcome Olimpia into the ASSA ABLOY Group. This constitutes an important next step in our strategy to grow market leadership in emerging markets," says Nico Delvaux, President and CEO of ASSA ABLOY.

"The addition of Olimpia complements our business in Latin America, further supporting the growing trend of openings utilizing glass and aluminum products," says Lucas Boselli, Executive Vice President of ASSA ABLOY and Head of the Americas Division.

Olimpia was established in 1999 and serves Latin America and the Caribbean. ASSA ABLOY will continue to sell Olimpia branded products across the region.

Sales for 2019 amounted to about 13 MUSD (approx. 125 MSEK) with a good EBIT margin. The acquisition will be accretive to EPS from start.

For more information, please contact:

Nico Delvaux, President and CEO, tel.A no:A +46-8-506-485-82

Erik Pieder, CFO and Executive Vice President, tel. no: +46-8-506-485-72A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

BjArn Tibell, Head of Investor Relations, tel.A no:A +46-70-275-67-68

About ASSA ABLOY

The ASSA ABLOY Group is the global leader in access solutions. The Group operates worldwide with 49,000 employees and sales of SEK 94 billion. The Group has leading positions in areas such as efficient door openings, trusted identities and entrance automation. ASSA ABLOY's innovations enable safe, secure and convenient access to physical and digital places. Every day, we help billions of people experience a more open world.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/assa-abloy/r/assa-abloy-acquires-olimpia-hardware,c3209368

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/7333/3209368/1314065.pdf Press release (PDF)

A
Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday that 50 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) teams will be deployed starting on October 15 in the National Capital Region (NCR) to curb air pollution this winter.

CPCB will also coordinate with north-western states daily to monitor emissions, Javadekar said following a review meeting with the environment ministers of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

The 50 teams will be on the ground monitoring polluting activities in Delhi-NCR. They will inform relevant government agencies immediately so that quick action can be taken {when air quality dips. In fact, we deployed the teams in a dry run between September 15 and 20, and did find several pollution sources such as dumping of waste, construction rubble and dust, unpaved roads, said Prashant Gargava, member-secretary of CPCB.

The review took place as the capital and neighbouring towns in the NCR brace for the winter, when a thick smoky haze envelops the region mainly as a result of post-harvest stubble burning in northern Indian states such as Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, disrupting air and train traffic. Ensuring farmers dont set crop stubble on fire may be more difficult this year because small farmers hurt by the Covid-19-led economic slowdown may not have the means to hire machines and tractors to clear their farmlands of stubble, experts have said.

Till September 29, 520 crop fires have been reported in Punjab and 175 in Haryana till Thursday, according to CPCB.

Rice and wheat that are the staples grown in the region are dependent on nitrogenous fertiliser that leads to soil degradation, an expert said. The key issue is linked to the cropping patterns. Unless the rice-wheat cropping system is broken, the ecological crisis of high groundwater use, high fertilizer use or stubble burning will not stop, said G V Ramanjaneyulu, executive director of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Hyderabad. The gap between rice and wheat seasons is short, labour wages are high, which leads to stubble burning. Given the short gap, burning is usually the quickest and cheapest way of ridding the fields of stubble.

According to the index maintained by CPCB, air quality in NCR was satisfactory for just eight days, a level at which atmospheric pollution poses little or no risk, in September. On the remaining 22 days of the month, it was moderate. Comparatively, August saw four good air days; air quality was satisfactory over the rest of the month.

At Thursdays meeting, the environment ministers decided to focus on so-called hot spots of air pollution. For example, Delhi will focus on controlling pollution sources in 13 hot spots, including Mayapuri, Bawana, Narela, Dwarka, Rohini, RK Puram and Jahangirpuri. Similarly, Haryana will focus on Panipat, Sonepat, Jhajjar and other areas; Uttar Pradesh will concentrate its anti-pollution effort on Bulandshahr, Meerut, Noida and Greater Noida; and Rajasthan will focus on Bhiwadi.

Trials have begun on a stubble decomposer developed by the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) in all stubble-burning states, Javadekar said. We may see results of the trials in a year or so. The Centre has already disbursed 1,700 crore in the past three years for subsidising straw management machinery to Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. That has also resulted in reduction of area under stubble burning, he claimed.

Punjab officials informed the Centre that the state was trying to raise awareness in the districts where stubble-burning is common on the link between Covid-19 and air pollution.

The Punjab government is communicating the link to farmers and locals, Javadekar said.
Illinoisans have two simple choices. We can vote yes for a tax cut for the middle class and new funding for education, health care and jobs. Or we can listen to the wealthy special interests, who only want to protect their own sweet deal while passing the pain along to the rest of us.
BAGHDAD - In the span of 30 seconds, Ali Jasb, a young rights lawyer, vanished into the night in southern Iraq.

On an evening a year ago, a woman emerged from a dimly lit street in the city of Amara, her face hidden in a black abaya, and greeted Jasb. Almost immediately a black SUV pulled up, two men forced him in and sped away. The woman climbed into a waiting pickup truck and left.

That last sighting of the 21-year-old Jasb was captured by a surveillance camera at 6:22 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2019. Nothing has been heard from him or his captors.

Ever since, Jasbs father has been on a search for justice that has run repeatedly against one major obstacle: the increasing helplessness of Iraqs government in the face of powerful, Iranian-backed Shiite militias.

Jasb was abducted a week into historic protests which erupted across Iraq and saw tens of thousands of youth rallying against corruption and the ruling class. Like many others, hopes for change inspired by the movement emboldened Jasb to speak out against militias in his hometown.

Now Jasb is among 53 protesters who remain missing since the movement began on Oct. 1, according to the semi-official Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights.

The protests have largely been silenced by a combination of the coronavirus and a violent crackdown by security forces and militias that, according to the commission, killed more than 500 people.

Within that crackdown, militias are widely believed to have waged a campaign of terror, abducting dozens of prominent activists and assassinating more than 60.

In Jasbs case, judicial investigations seen by The Associated Press show a connection between his abduction and the most powerful militia in his home city, Amara.

His father, Jasb Aboud, is determined to bring its commander to trial.

I am afraid, he told the AP. But I lost what was most valuable to me, so Ive got nothing else to lose.

I CANT BE SILENT

Jasb exemplified the generation of hopeful activists who fueled the protest movement.

He threw himself into using the law to help people in Amara, a small city flanked by marshes on the Tigris River that is the capital of Missan province.

He married young and soon had a daughter, now 2. He often represented women trying to divorce abusive husbands. He was angered by the states failures, noting how his family still dug wells for water and relied on expensive generators for electricity.

When the protests erupted, Jasb participated and formed a legal committee to help those detained.

And he openly criticized the power of militias.

In Missan province, that meant Ansar Allah al-Awfia, one of the more extreme pro-Iranian militias. It was incorporated under the state-sponsored umbrella group, the Popular Mobilization Forces, created to fight the Islamic State group in 2014.

Over the years, it came to control important government offices and many businesses in Missan. Its loyalists won two of the provinces 10 parliament seats. Notorious for illicit dealings, it milked major revenue from border trade from Iran.

There was no response to repeated emails by the AP to the PMF seeking comment for this story, and calls and messages to al-Awfia were not answered.

When Jasb started getting threats, his father pleaded with him to stop criticizing the militia online.

I cant be silent, Jasb replied.

His peers believe his last case may have sealed his fate. He was helping the wife of a militiaman get a divorce, said his friend Akeel Auki, who heads the Missan lawyers union.

Any lawyer pursuing a case against a militia member will be surrounded by threats, Auki said. Ive received a lot of them.

On Oct. 7, Jasbs second child, a son, was born. The next day, he got a call: A woman seeking legal help asked to meet that evening on a street a few minutes drive away.

The surveillance camera later revealed what happened next.

CRISIS INHERITED

The protest movement scored an early victory, forcing out Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi. His successor, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, branded himself as a champion of the protesters.

He promised to hold early elections, investigate violence against activists and curtail armed groups.

But he was soon faced with the limits of his own administration. Abdul-Mahdi had allowed militias power to grow so much that now, we almost dont have a state, said a high-level official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Frequent rocket attacks targeted al-Kadhimis seat of power in Baghdad, straining relations with the U.S. A raid on the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, suspected of firing the rockets, backfired when most of those detained were set free  lack of evidence, the court said.

Militias blocked attempts to increase customs revenues, which would have cut funds they skim from cross-border trade, and militia corruption wrecked a program to boost agricultural exports, multiple officials said.

A fact-finding committee produced an official number killed during the protests but didnt name the killers.

The government had already inherited an economic crisis and an overwhelmed health system  if we name the killers, we will drown, a senior adviser to al-Kadhimi said on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

Activists continue to be targeted.

The July shooting death of a high-profile commentator and critic of Iran, Hisham al-Hashimi, sent shockwaves across Baghdad. Two leading activists in Basra were assassinated.

If the government cant deliver justice to someone like al-Hashimi, then who is Ali Jasb to them? said Hasab Wahab of the al-Amel Association rights group.

THE CRIMINAL CASE

On July 14, Jasbs father Aboud met with a new lawyer in Baghdad. The investigation by a Missan judge into his sons abduction had been stalled for nine long months.

They believed they knew why: Evidence had revealed a link to the commander of the al-Awfia militia, Haidar al-Gharawi.

The accused is a militia that has power in Missan, so it could be that it has influence over witnesses, even the law, said the lawyer, Wala al-Ameri.

Aboud and al-Ameri considered a bold gambit: Move the case to a hopefully more independent Baghdad court and request an arrest warrant against al-Gharawi.

The two men sat and reviewed the facts of the case.

According to the surveillance footage, Jasbs kidnappers drove a Chevrolet Tahoe and Toyota pickup, which had dark-tinted windows  banned under Iraqi law  and no license plates. Little was done to track down the vehicles.

Key to the case was the mobile number that had called Jasb.

Investigators found it belonged to an illegally acquired SIM not registered with the authorities. There is a thriving black market for unregistered SIMs, which cannot be traced to a user.

On a recent visit to a Baghdad commercial centre, one dealer said the SIMs were smuggled from the northern city of Irbil. He offered one for 75,000 Iraqi dinars, about $63, then added: But after  youve never met me.

Police tracked down other numbers that had called the unknown SIM. Among them was a man named Saddam Hamed.

Hamed told investigators he had had no idea about the unknown number. But he said his wife, Fatima Saeed, sometimes used his phone to call a relative. That relative is married to al-Gharawi, according to his testimony.

The judge summoned Saeed for questioning but she never showed up. Both she and Hamed had fled.

Here, Aboud asked his lawyer: Do you think we have enough evidence?

Silence. The gazes of both men fell on half-drunk teacups. They decided to try.

OTHERS TAKEN

Testimony from others kidnapped by suspected militias provide clues into what Jasb may have endured.

One young activist in the southern city of Karbala, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Kadhim, told AP that in December he and four friends were rounded up by gunmen near Baghdads Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests. They were taken blindfolded to an unknown location.

For four days, they were beaten and interrogated. The captors accused them of an arson attack on the Iranian Consulate in Karbala and of taking money from the Americans, according to Kadhims account, corroborated by two other activists too fearful to speak on record.

Ill find what youre hiding under your skin, the interrogator said. Kadhim said his legs were electrocuted. His body felt like it was being ripped open.

Online threats prompted many leading activists to flee to Turkey, according to two rights watchers and two activists currently in Istanbul.

One who left for Turkey in February said he had received messages from an unknown number.

One read: We know where you live.

FATHER FORLORN

In September, al-Kadhimi visited Missan and gave Jasbs father an audience.

During the 15-minute meeting held in the compound of a Chinese oil giant, Aboud laid out the court documents. He named the militia he believed took his son.

Al-Kadhimi was shocked, Aboud said. He put his hand to his chest and promised he would deliver him to me.

The prime minister may be the bereaved fathers last hope after he hit another dead end.

The Baghdad judge deemed there was insufficient evidence for an arrest warrant against al-Gharawi. He dismissed Hameds testimony, saying only testimony from someone who saw the kidnapping could advance the case.

Now its a case against the unknown, Aboud said.

There are witnesses. None dare speak out.

One man told the AP he saw everything from a nearby shop. He spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear.

He recounted seeing the woman emerge and the men push Jasb into the vehicle. He saw police afterward search Jasbs car. The AP confirmed the shop had a view on the site.

But would he testify?

It would be my funeral the next day.

___

Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Abdulrahman Zeyad contributed.
UP govt 'conspiring' to prove Hathras woman a 'liar': Congress

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

Chandigarh, Oct 2: A day after a senior UP Police officer claimed that the Hathras Dalit woman was not raped, Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the state BJP government of "conspiring" to prove her a "liar".

He alleged that the UP authorities tried to hush up things and forcibly cremated the victim in the dead of night against Hindu rituals.

"This in itself was a painful incident," he said, adding that the Yogi Adityanath government should "hang its head in shame".

"Adityanath's DIG, Law and Order, now says no rape took place. If you had a daughter Adityanathji, you would understand the pain. If any untoward incident takes place with a daughter or a son, how much pain one faces," the Congress leader said.

Hathras rape case: Priyanka Gandhi joins prayer meet for victim at Valmiki Temple

Yogi Adityanath warns: Rapists will be destroyed | Oneindia News

The former Haryana Minister said the victim in her dying declaration had confirmed gang rape. "After she died you are conspiring to prove her a liar. God will never forgive you, Adityanath, for such acts. You must resign and go to the people of Uttar Pradesh, who will tell you what is the reality of the BJP government, Surjewala said in Kaithal during a protest against the Centre's farm laws.

Citing forensic examination, Uttar Pradesh Police Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar had said the forensic examination on the woman who died at Delhis Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday did not indicate rape.

But legal experts debunked the theory, telling PTI that the presence of sperm on the victims body cannot be an essential ingredient to prove the crime. Earlier officials had said the rape charge was added to the FIR after the victim told police that she was sexually assaulted.
NEW HAVEN  A city woman was sentenced to two years probation Thursday after leaking portions of a confidential police interview with another individual on Facebook, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for Connecticut.

Diavion Hutchings, 19, previously pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice, officials said in a release.

Hutchings allegedly viewed and recorded portions of a New Haven Police Department interview with another party, conducted as part of a criminal investigation, at a lawyers office in April 2019, then shared parts of the interview on Facebook Live, communicating threats of harm in the process, officials said in a release. The other party was sharing information regarding Hutchings her significant other, according to the release.

Defense Attorney W. Theodore Koch, in his sentencing memorandum, argued that Hutchings should not receive any time in prison.

He noted that this was her first conviction; that she had demonstrated grit and a great capacity to love over the course of her life, including dealing with the loss of her father and maternal grandmother, who raised her; and pointed to her youth, noting that her behavior was impulsive.

(Hutchings) is not violent, nor does she sell or use drugs, and these are the main vices of her setting. The credibility of the words she uttered which support a finding of guilt was predicated on her friendly connections to the toughs of her environment. Her braggadocio was less machismo and more masquerade, but fueled with a numbness to truly realizing how others  such as the kid on the video, or the U.S. Attorneys office  might perceive it, Koch said. A lot of the offense conduct is intertwined with a mischief-laden survival instinct. Now the mischief part has burned her. She realizes its potential tragic conclusions, and cares not to follow that path again.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Del Pilar Gonzalez argued that Hutchings should receive a 10- to 16-month sentence, in accordance with federal guidelines, for the crime.

She noted that Hutchings had chosen not to cooperate with law enforcement, expressing a fear of being labeled a snitch, which could lead others to harm her. The individual in the leaked video, she said, had faced that same fear; Hutchings then put them at risk.

Ms. Hutchings makes much of her young age, arguing that her conduct was the result of impulsivity, careless risk-taking, and a vulnerability to negative influences from her family and peers, said Gonzalez. It is hard to imagine how Person #1 would ever be able to return to (their) community after being exposed, threatened, and humiliated by Ms. Hutchings. (She) claims that she could not assist law enforcement in this case because, had she done so, she would be putting herself in danger of serious physical harm or death. The irony in that statement is palpable. Her conduct did exactly that  placed Person #1 in serious physical harm, and made (them) a target to others who shared a similar disdain for those who cooperate with law enforcement. Such conduct is worthy of serious punishment.

Gonzalez suggested that the prison sentence might also deter others from threatening those that cooperate with law enforcement, noting that oftentimes  perhaps most of the time crimes such as shootings, robberies and homicides are only solved by law enforcement with the help of community residents.

Without that help and spirit of cooperation, she said, the safety of city residents is threatened.

Cooperation of community members and, indeed, criminal defendants, is an integral part of the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes. But maybe most importantly, this cooperation is what keeps communities like New Haven safe, said Gonzalez. It is not just law enforcement that relies on cooperative efforts with the community  it is the parents that want their children to be able to play safely on the streets, it is the business owners that are trying to make a living, and it is all of the citizens of our cities that rely on each other for their safety and security.

Judge Janet C. Hall sentenced Hutchings to two years probation Thursday, according to the release.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
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Remembering the legacy of Lal Bahadur Shastri

India

oi-Dr. Sandeep Shastri

Lal Bahadur Shastri, India's second Prime Minister shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi. He considered himself lucky to have been born on the same date as the Mahatma, though thirty five years later. It was exactly a year ago that my book on Lal Bahadur Shastri - Politics and Beyond (published by Rupa and Co) was released. This morning, as I was reading through the materials I had collected for writing this book, I realized that so little has been written about this gentle and genial Prime Minister who was Prime Minister of India for a mere nineteen months.

He was preceded by Jawaharlal Nehru who led the country for seventeen years after independence and was followed by Indira Gandhi who held office for sixteen years in two phases.

During the nineteen months that Shastri was Prime Minister, the nation faced one challenge after another and he bravely and patiently dealt with each of them. He emerged as the consensus leader within the Congress to succeed Nehru as he had no enemies either within the party or outside in the wider political spectrum. His main contender was Morarji Desai who had to grudgingly withdraw from the race when he saw the consensus building up in favour of Shastri. Many thought he was a compromise candidate. Yet when he assumed office, he quietly asserted his authority and more often than not had his way.

He suffered a heart attack within weeks of becoming Prime Minister but was back to work after a short break, maintaining a punishing pace. When counseled to take care of his health he reminded his advisers that he had taken on a responsibility and his health was a secondary factor.

Shastri was a leader who rose from the grassroots on the basis of his hard work, sincerity and honesty. His politics began at the local government level in Allahabad. A year before independence, he was appointed the Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister of the United Provinces Govind Ballabh Pant. After the dawn of independence he became the Minister for Police and Transport in Pant's cabinet.

As the 1952 General Elections approached, Nehru wanted him at the Centre to be a key General Secretary of the Congress party to oversee the election preparation. He played a key role in the choice of the candidates of the Congress party for the election and in the crucial victory of the party. Soon after the Lok Sabha elections of 1952, he joined the Nehru Cabinet as Minister for Railways and Transport. Four years into office, Shastri resigned accepting moral responsibility when a tragic rail accident occurred at Ariyalur (in what is now called Tamil Nadu). This resignation set the gold standard in terms of probity and ethics.

While some referred to his resignation as a clever political ploy (The Times, London) as the 1957 General Elections were approaching and Nehru needed Shastri in the party organisation to prepare for this election. On his resignation he was given responsibilities of the chief organiser of the party campaign for the elections. With the return of the Congress to power in the 1957 elections, Shastri was back in the Nehru Cabinet as Minister for Transport and Communications. He was later shifted to Commerce and Industry then took over the Home Ministry on the death of Govind Ballabh Pant. The Home portfolio was often considered the number 2 position in the government.

As part of the Kamaraj plan, Shastri along with a few other senior ministers resigned from the government in September 1963, to work for the party organization. Within five months, in January 1064 he was back in the Cabinet as Minister Without Portfolio on account of Nehru's ill health. He was the only leader who resigned under the Kamaraj plan brought back to the Ministry.

This clearly indicates that while Shastri never sought political office, he was himself never too far away from positions during ,

On Nehru's death when he took over as Prime Minister he has served at all levels: local government leaders, Minister in the State Cabinet and Minister in the Union Cabinet besides being General Secretary of the Party.

As Prime Minister he is remembered for the way he handled the food crisis, ensured food self sufficiency over time and paved the way for the Green Revolution. The biggest test he faced was responding to the Pakistani adventurism in Kashmir in 1965. His is credited with the first surgical strike as he gave the go ahead to the Indian army to move into Pakistani territory to neutralize their capacities to strike at Indian targets. His famous slogan Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan symbolized his contribution to both Indian agriculture and the country's defence.

A review of Shastri's leadership style is indicative of his key strengths. There are five strands of his leadership with stand out and make him unique and worthy of emulation. He was a people's person in every sense of the term. The trust, tact and transparency with which he dealt with people were a key strength. Secondly, his politics was one of consultation, consensus and cooperation.

This consultation is evident in the way he signed the Tashkent agreement. The cabinet meetings he presided over as Prime Minister saw consensus decision making. Within the party he ensured the cooperation of diverse groups within the party. Shastri placed a premium on practicing equality both in his personal life and in his professional dealings. His sense of fairness was something patently visible. He was a leader who demonstrated both passion and compassion. This led to a situation where he had no enemies in politics. Finally, he was a true apostle of peace. This is vindicated in the justification he gave for signing the Tashkent agreement.

Shastri believed that he would be doing a great disservice to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi if he did not create an opportunity for peace in the region. When he passed away on the night of signing the Tashkent agreement, he was denied that opportunity to take that dream forward. The image of the then Pakistani President General Ayub Khan being one of the pall bearers that carried Shastri's body to the waiting aircraft demonstrates the love and respect he was shown by the leader of a country which had been at war with India a few months earlier.

On October 2 we pay homage to two Apostles of Peace. Mahatma Gandhi for having led the freedom movement with non violence and Lal Bahadur Shastri who crafted a path of leadership in post Independent India that was rooted in consensus, cooperation and consultation.

(Dr Shastri is a student of Politics who is the author of Lal Bahadur Shastri: Politics and Beyond1 published by Rupa and Co in October 2019)

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Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 16:00 [IST]
Louisiana State Police Trooper Kaleb Reeves, 25, rear-ended a family's car on Thursday, killing two sisters, aged 11 and 18, and injuring their father

The trooper son of Louisiana State Police superintendent rear-ended a family's car, killing an 11-year-old girl and her 18-year-old sister and injuring their father and a third passenger.

Trooper Kaleb Reeves, 25, was driving a marked state police SUV to another crash Thursday evening when he hit a Kia Forte, killing An-Janne Lindsey, 11, and Kajenne Lindsey, 18, both of Monroe, according to a state police news release on Friday.

Reeves is the son of Col. Kevin Reeves, the superintendent of state police. The Legislature approved an exception to a state nepotism law to let him remain on the force after his father was promoted to interim superintendent in 2017.

The 2020 Kia driven by Kenneth Lindsey, 42, of Monroe, spun out and smashed into a large metal signal pole after Reeves' marked 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe hit it shortly before 7pm on US Highway 165 in Richwood, the statement said.

Lindsey and his female front-seat passenger were taken to a hospital to be treated for moderate injuries.

Reeves was responding to another crash when he slammed into a dark-colored Kia Forte on US Highway 165 near Monroe, causing it to spin and hit a pole

Trooper Reeves (left) is the son of Col. Kevin Reeves (center), the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police

His two daughters riding in the backseat also were taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Police are investigating whether Kajenne and An-Janne were wearing their seat belts.

Trooper Reeves was buckled in at the time of the crash and was not injured.

'The crash is being investigated by a crash reconstructionist/supervisor with LSP and remains ongoing at this time,' Friday's statement said.

Impairment is not suspected to be a factor in the crash, according to the state police. Reeves submitted to a breath alcohol test showing no impairment.

A toxicology sample was obtained from Lindsey and submitted for analysis.

According to a Facebook post mourning the death of the two Lindsey sisters, Kajenne was a senior at Carroll High School and An-Janne was a sixth-grader at Sallie Humble Elementary School.
Donald Trump says that he and his wife Melania have tested positive for Covid-19, and will begin to quarantine immediately.

The President and first lady received tests after close aide Hope Hicks started to show symptoms. Ms Hicks tested positive earlier on Thursday night.

In a post on Twitter, Mr Trump wrote: Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

The move immediately threw into chaos the race for the presidency, barely 30 days away.

The president - and likely most of his inner circle - will be required to quarantine for 15 days. The second debate with Democrat Joe Biden is due to take place on 15 October.

At 74 years old, Mr Trump falls into a greater risk category for Covid-19 than his 50-year-old wife Melania. Mr Biden, 77, would also be considered at risk because of his age.

 Ted Cruz and Chris Cuomo clash over Covid-19 record of CNN anchor's brother NY governor Andrew Cuomo

While Mr Trumps doctor said in a statement that both Trumps were well at this time, the positive diagnosis represents the most serious known public health scare to a sitting president in recent American history.

It could also seriously impact the November election. Over the years, many US presidential races have been jolted by shocking news, close to election day, that have threatened to upend the race.

Yet few October surprises will have had the kind of reverberations expected from Mr Trumps testing positive, having for months played down the threat of the virus, even as the death toll in the US passed 200,000, and the total number of infected Americans hit 7.2 million.

In the early hours of Friday, as news of his positive test broke on the US east coast, the death toll stood at 207,789, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

The First Lady also issued her own statement on Twitter, saying: As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19.

She added: We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.

Mr Trump had announced late on Thursday that he and the First Lady were beginning a quarantine process after White House counselor Ms Hicks came down with the virus, though it wasn't clear what that initially entailed.

The diagnosis marked a major blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them even as cases continue to rise with less than four weeks to go before election day.

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday, Mr Trump had said he was awaiting results of a Covid-19 test. Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know, he said, adding that first lady Melania Trump was also awaiting results.

Ms Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland. She was seen by reporters both with and without a face mask.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
Some tech CEOs just want to make great products and boost profits while ignoring politics, but 2020 isn't letting them.

Driving the news: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told employees in a memo Sunday that their company would henceforth take no political stands that are "unrelated to their core mission" and bar political conversation from its office.

"We wont: Debate causes or political candidates internally; expect the company to represent our personal beliefs externally; ... Take on activism outside of our core mission at work," he wrote in a public memo to employees of his San Francisco-based startup, which makes cryptocurrency software and employs more than a thousand people.

Background: The stresses of a bitter partisan election, a politicized pandemic, and climate-driven natural disasters have left many workplaces on edge. But the driving force behind Armstrong's decree at Coinbase was an employee walkout in June by workers who wanted him to take a more activist public stand in support of Black Lives Matter, as Axios' Kia Kokalitcheva reports.

Armstrong wrote that advocacy "for any particular causes or candidates internally that are unrelated to our mission" would be "a distraction from our mission"  which is "creating an open financial system for the world" and "using cryptocurrency to bring economic freedom to people all over the world."

But for some of his employees, and workers in similar positions at other companies, the social-justice concerns are not about "causes" or "candidates" but matters of basic human rights that affect their lives every day.

Coinbase has invited employees who disagree with its policy to walk out the door  with generous severance packages.

Between the lines: Silicon Valley led the business world in understanding that many younger workers want to feel their jobs are making the world a better place, and tech

firms crafted corporate missions that aim to inspire them.

Now, some of those workers are holding their firms accountable to those ideals  just as some leaders are backing off from them.

If you think such missions were cons to begin with rhetorical fig-leaves over exploitative practices  then this flight from politics will simply confirm that cynicism.

But for employees who took their companies at their word and embraced idealistic missions, it's a rude awakening.

The big picture: The conflict goes far beyond Coinbase. Both Facebook and Google have taken steps in recent months to rein in once-freewheeling discussions of politics on company servers.

Every major tech firm today is facing questions from employees over a wide range of politically charged issues, including:

workforce and executive diversity failures;

ethical problems with their products;

questions about military contracts and work for authoritarian governments;

and, most prominently, the role of tech-built social networks in promoting misinformation and hate speech in the U.S. and around the world.

What's next: Big tech companies face a new political minefield as they weigh how to deal with a Trump administration executive order to scale back existing trainings around unconscious bias and systemic racism and sexism.

Why it matters: Armstrong's memo sparked a heated debate among tech investors and leaders and has shone a bright light on Coinbase's experiment. If the firm can prosper and attract top engineering talent while eschewing politics, other companies might find its path attractive.

Our thought bubble: Avoiding politics requires someone to define what's political, and at Coinbase, that person will be Armstrong. He will decide what is "core to the mission" and what isn't. He has a tough job ahead.

Whatever Armstrong's personal views are and however nuanced the company's position is, his "no politics" stance can't help being viewed as an implicit rejection of a progressive corporate agenda  and is already being cheered on the right and jeered on the left.

The bottom line: in 2020, even if you figure out how not to take sides, the sides are going to take you.
Conakry, Guinea (PANA) - Guinean President Alpha Conde on Thursday hailed the "collective effort" made in recent months in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the first case of which was detected on March 12 in the country
The Bay County Health Department and the National Guard will be holding a free COVID-19 testing site on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All students and area residents are invited to visit Delta Colleges main campus, 1961 Delta Road in Bay County, if a test is needed. Tents and staffing will be in the south campus parking lots and visitors will not need to leave their car to access the test.

For the latest and most accurate information regarding the COVID-19, visit Bay County Health Department website at https://www.baycounty-mi.gov/Health/COVID19/
Dr. Buchanan The partnership with Smile Brands has been extremely positive at my Gateway Dental location. I look forward to experiencing similar cost savings and administrative support benefits for Reflections Dental.

Smile Brands Inc., one of the nations leading dental support organizations (DSO) providing business support services to more than 440 affiliated offices across 18 states, is pleased to announce the addition of its newest partner Reflections Dental of Seattle, Washington.

Since 2005, Dr. G. Glenn Buchanan and his team have been providing high-quality, full-service care to West Seattle residents, including; general preventative and restorative dentistry, periodontics, endodontics, and cosmetic dentistry. The team is focused on providing an unparalleled patient experience which is reflected in the feedback they continually receive online.

Dr. Buchanan has been practicing in the Seattle area since 1992 at Reflections Dental and with his partner Dr. John Kim at his other practice, Gateway Dental. In early 2019, Gateway Dental opted to affiliate with Smile Brands and based on the success of that partnership, Dr. Buchanan is expanding his Smile Brands relationship with the Reflections Dental location.

The partnership with Smile Brands has been extremely positive at my Gateway Dental location, explains Dr. Buchanan. I look forward to experiencing similar cost savings and administrative support benefits for Reflections Dental.

Smile Brands will provide full-service administrative support to the team, including; purchasing, payroll, accounting, IT, billing, facilities management, and marketing. The existing staff will remain in place and the offices will continue to operate under the Reflections Dental brand name.

Smile Brands co-founder and CEO, Steve Bilt is happy to welcome the Reflections Dental team to Smile Brands. We have enjoyed partnering with Dr. Buchanan in 2019 and are eager to expand the relationship to his West Seattle location, says Bilt. We look forward to helping Reflections Dental improve purchasing power and streamline administration in 2020.

About Smile Brands Inc.

Based in Irvine California, Smile Brands Inc. is one of the largest providers of support services to dental groups in the United States. The organizations award-winning culture has made it the only dental support organization on Glassdoors Best Places to Work for the past three years. Smile Brands affiliated dentists benefit from industry-leading business support services, so they can spend more time caring for patients and less time on the administrative, marketing, and financial aspects of operating a dental practice. The organization supports over 440 affiliated practices and 60 brands across 18 states, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Smile Brands is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit http://www.smilebrands.com.
The Trump administration is spruiking plans to prosecute the Ku Klux Klan as "domestic terrorists" and to make lynching a federal hate crime, as it moves to clean up the Presidents latest comments on white supremacy.

As Donald Trump continues to come under fire for failing to condemn far-right group the Proud Boys during this week's heated presidential debate with Democratic rival Joe Biden, the White House spent another day trying to walk back Trump's remarks and bolster his credentials among black voters.

Members of the Ku Klux Klan on the march in Georgia in April. Credit:AP

At a briefing on Friday morning (AEST), press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the President "has done quite a bit to combat" the threat of violent right-wing extremism, pointing to an election policy to prosecute the KKK as domestic terrorists if they break the law and make lynching a national hate crime.

Campaign documents show the same plan will also attempt to prosecute the anti-fascist group Antifa in the same way, although it does not explain how this could be done under American terrorism laws or in view of the fact that Antifa, which is often promoted by Trump supporters as a catch-all for left wing protesters, is more of a loose movement than an organisation.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 14:56:16|Editor: huaxia

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MALE, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Maldives has risen to 10,354, local media reported here Friday.

According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), 63 new cases of COVID-19, including 31 locals and 32 foreigners, were detected in the Maldives on Thursday.

The Health Emergency Operation Center (HEOC) was quoted by state media as saying that there is no community spread in Addu City, where a total of 67 cases of COVID-19 have been detected.

HEOC Spokesperson Fathimath Nazla Rafeeq said that 53 workers brought from India to build a police academy in the city tested positive for COVID-19 during a 14-day quarantine.

Rafeeq said that none of the Indian workers maintained contact with locals and therefore there is no danger of community spread in the city.

The Maldives currently has 1,126 active cases of COVID-19 spread across 24 inhabited islands and 21 resorts. Of these, 79 patients have been hospitalized for treatment.

A total of 9,187 patients have fully recovered from the virus so far, while 34 have died. Enditem
After Donald Trump tweeted early this morning that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for coronavirus, stocks fell overnight.

Dow futures were down 335 points as of 3 a.m. Eastern time, a few hours after Trump revealed the news. The unsettling developments come during a critical moment for the country. Election day is now 31 days away, the overall economic picture is grim and fears are increasing about a national uptick in cases as the pandemic rages on.

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Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Earlier Thursday, it was revealed that top Trump aide Hope Hicks had tested positive for coronavirus. According to CNN, some officials were aware of Hicks diagnosis before Trump participated in an indoor campaign event in New Jersey on Thursday. The president traveled with Hicks both on Tuesday, when Trump debated Democratic nominee Joe Biden in Cleveland, and again on Wednesday, when Trump and Hicks went to a Minnesota rally.

As the situation unfolds, today also marks the release of the monthly jobs report, which is another key indicator for the market.

Yesterday, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims for the seven days ended Sept. 26 fell by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 837,000. Economists had forecast 850,000 applications.

Story continues

The data also showed that continuing claims, which paint a broader picture of unemployment in the country and lags jobless numbers by one week, amounted to 11.8 million, compared with the prior weeks 12.7 million and forecasts of 12.2 million.

Last night, the House of Representatives passed a new $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill, but its not expected to pass in the Senate.

The legislation would provide a second round of $1,200 checks for individuals and $500 per dependent. It also seeks to restore the $600 weekly federal unemployment benefits, which expired at the end of July, and continue those payments through the end of January.  With contributions from Samantha McDonald
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:56:26|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- One in eight people in England have now received a coronavirus test at least once since the launch of NHS (National Health Service) Test and Trace in late May, according to the latest figures from Britain's Department of Health and Social Care on Friday.

The NHS Test and Trace, launched on May 28, has now reached more than half a million people, including those testing positive and their contacts, in a bid to slow the transmission of coronavirus in England, the department said in a statement.

By far, close to 500 testing sites are operational across Britain, and people with coronavirus symptoms are now travelling shorter distances to get tested, it said.

The median time taken to receive a result from taking a test in person is now 25 to 29 hours, with 70.6 percent of results received the day after they were taken, this is compared to 52.9 percent in the previous week, according to the figures.

The British government has said that it is working hard to reach a target of 500,000 tests a day by the end of October.

In addition to the growing Lighthouse Lab network, the introduction of partnership agreements with the public, private and academic sectors will see capacity grow by tens of thousands of tests in the coming months.

Birmingham University has been announced Friday as one of the first of those lab partnerships to come online, with more partnerships to follow.

"We are continuing to work tirelessly to increase capacity and make tests as accessible as possible. Our new lab partnership with Birmingham University is another example of how the public, private and academic sectors are working together to meet our target of 500,000 test capacity a day," said Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection Baroness Dido Harding.

Aside from testing, countries such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States, are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines. Enditem
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It is a solemn act carried out each year by local cadets and members of the Aurora branch of the Royal Canadian Legion: candles are placed on the graves of war veterans interred in Aurora Cemetery.

They are the soldiers, nurses and service personnel who were lucky enough to return home after serving Sovereign and Country, but, upon their return, endured untold challenges as they re-adjusted to civilian life, challenges that were often endured silently with little complaint.

The COVID-19 pandemic might have forced a re-think of the annual ceremony, including the silencing of bagpipes and the cancellation of the traditional drumhead service that usually follows the candlelight vigil, but the local Legion doubled down on their efforts to pay tribute to these war heroes last Sunday afternoon as they marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Joined by veterans Carl Bedal, 95, and Eleanor Thomson, residents and dignitaries alike donned their masks and turned out for the occasion, which paid tribute to the human spirit.

Terror and fear once stalked the earth and we remember those who continue to serve and stand on the vanguard of freedom, said former military chaplain Philip Ralph, who now works with Wounded Warriors Canada. We are thankful for the freedom that has been given to us and we remember its cost. Today, we light each candle and may they draw awareness to the responsibility that goes with such memories. The ancient words come back to our ears: We will not sleep if you fail to grab that torch and hold it high. Today, we remember the sacrifice, we remember our freedom, and we remember the privilege it is to stand here and remember their sacrifices.

Following the lighting of candles by Mr. Bedal, who read the Naval & Merchant Marine Prayer, and Ms. Thomson, who read the Army & Korean War Prayer, dignitaries paid tribute to the sacrifices made so many years ago.

Today, we pause to reflect and to remember all those who bravely served Canada and made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedoms and democracy as we mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, the Liberation of the Netherlands, Victory Over Japan, Victory in Europe, and the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, said Newmarket-Aurora MP Tony Van Bynen.

This most unusual year forces us to express our gratitude differently; we do so with no less appreciation for the enormity of what was accomplished by those who served in uniform and those who supported the war effort on the home front. No matter the circumstances we face, it always remains our solemn duty to honour their service to Canada and to remember their sacrifices.

These sentiments were shared by Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill MPP Michael Parsa, who paid tribute to the place in history held by each veteran interred in the hallowed ground.

Although were not able to have the usual marching one would find at memorials like this, our hearts remain full of gratitude for the members of our community who sacrificed so much for the greater good, said Mr. Parsa. They journeyed far from home and away from their loved ones to protect all of us.

Their courage in combat is what secured our victory but their fight certainly didnt end there when they returned home. Veterans struggle every day with mental health issues, an invisible scar of war and it is our duty tobe grateful to those who throughout the years placed their lives and their wellbeing at risk so that we wouldnt have to.

Following words offered by Dawn Gallagher Murphy on behalf of Newmarket-Aurora MPP Christine Elliott, Mayor Tom Mrakas paid tribute to those brave soldiers who served in the war to help protect our community and our country.

We recognize the history behind their long journey home to Aurora and the importance of their presence in this cemetery, he said. We honour the soldiers who are buried here and we thank them for their dedication, perseverance and sacrifice. We also thank their families and express our sincere gratitude to them. September also marks the anniversary of the 75thcommemoration of the end of World War Two, a significant day of freedom in our history. These special occasions are a reminder for all of the extreme sacrifice from our soldiers and veterans. Their legacy of freedom, victory and new beginnings will live on forever.
She's regularly seen putting on glamorous displays as she exits her Heart FM radio hosting gig in an array of achingly stylish ensembles.

But the routine became something of a more clumsy routine for Ashley Roberts on Friday morning, when she was caught in a torrential downpour while exiting central London's Global Radio building.

The Pussycat Dolls star, 39, struggled to keep her small black umbrella aloft as the inclement weather swept across the capital, bringing with it huge gusts of wind.

Whatever the weather: Ashley Roberts was seen struggling with the rain as she exited hosting her Heart FM radio show in London on Friday morning

Looking shocked as she battled with the elements, the American beauty still ensured she wasn't short on glamour as she emerged from her early morning gig.

The star donned a rust-hued two-piece leisure suit, which included a long-sleeved top and a pair of matching high-waisted jogging bottoms.

Adding to her ensemble with Rhyton Gucci leather sneakers  which retail at 705  the star complemented her look with a champagne Yves Saint Laurent handbag.

Struggle: The Pussycat Dolls star, 39, struggled to hold her small black umbrella aloft as the inclement weather swept across the capital, bringing with it huge gusts of wind

Glamorous: Looking shocked as she battled with the elements, the American beauty still ensured she wasn't short on glamour as she emerged from her early morning gig

Wearing her golden locks in a voluminous blowout, Arizona native Ashley highlighted her natural beauty with a warm palette of makeup.

Ashley turned 39 last month, and was spoilt with cakes, champagne and cards from her extended family at Heart Radio.

The media personality recently revealed she is open to the idea of adopting a child in the future.

Speaking in an interview with Fabulous magazine in July, she said: 'I'm definitely open to the idea of adoption.

Casually cool: The star donned a rust-hued two-piece leisure suit, which included a long-sleeved top and a pair of matching high-waisted jogging bottoms

Escape: She hurriedly made her way to a waiting chauffeur-driven car as she escaped the rain

'You just never know what the future is going to bring and the most important thing is to be happy and, whether my body naturally has kids or not, we'll see what life brings. I'm definitely open to that.'

The blonde also reflected on dating following her split from Italian Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice, 30.

They called time on their year-long romance in January after meeting during Ashley's stint on the BBC One dance competition in late 2018.

The TV star said: 'I'm good on my own, though. I'm pretty independent. It's nice to have that connection with someone, but at the moment lockdown is still [effectively] here, so "me" is where it is.'

Rain pain: TV personality Charlotte Hawkins was also seen having a rough time of it in the rain
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Police violencethe subject of numerous protests globallyis taking a toll on people's mental health.

A newly published analysis of police violence and mental healthconducted by researchers at three universities, including the University of Michiganfound that law enforcement encounters lead to increased stress among civilians.

In addition, the actions could impede a person's ability to cope or recover from such experiences, as well as broadly impact a community or population, the findings showed. The study also aimed to create a framework for studying the factors involving violence and mental health.

The constant media coverage and real-time dissemination of footage on social media of unarmed African Americans harmed or killed by the police has left many Americans struggling to make sense of the violence, the researchers say. The long perceived culture of inequitable treatment also affects Latinos, Native Americans, and sexual and gender minority communities, they say.

Lisa Fedina, U-M assistant professor of social work, says police violencewhich includes physical, sexual, psychological or neglectful actshas been associated with greater odds for distress and suicide attempts among adults and young people across racial/ethnic groups.

Fedina and colleagues identified eight factors involving police violence, which has increasingly been recognized as a public health concern in the United States.

Some of the factors included:

Power inequities in state-sanctioned violence. Unlike people who may inflict violence against others, police organizations have been empowered to apply force to maintain social and political order. In many instances, the violence upholds white supremacy, which contributes to the lack of police accountability by members of the racially dominant society.

Police culture deters internal accountability. The culture upholds a "code of silence" surrounding police officers' abusive behaviors toward civilians, which allows for the perpetuation of police abuse of power and can prevent police officers, particularly those from lower ranks, from reporting such abuses to their superior. This authority over civilians may lead to exacerbated mental health consequences.

Perceived racial and class bias. White respondents are at some risk of exposure to police violence, but the racial disparities are significantly higher among Affrican Americans, Latinos and other marginalized groups.

Use of/access to weapons. Police officers have a great deal of legal latitude in determining when to use force, and even fatal force. The perceived threat of police victimization in civilians' interactions with police may lead to unique mental health implications for communities most affected by police violence.

The factors described in the analysis establish why police violenceand its mental health consequencesare a matter of public health requiring policy solutions aimed at addressing these root causes, the researchers say.

The research appeared in the American Journal of Public Health.

Explore further Publicizing police killings of unarmed Black people causes emotional trauma

More information: Jordan DeVylder et al. Impact of Police Violence on Mental Health: A Theoretical Framework, American Journal of Public Health (2020). Journal information: American Journal of Public Health Jordan DeVylder et al. Impact of Police Violence on Mental Health: A Theoretical Framework,(2020). DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305874
Hyderabad, Oct 2 : Hyderabad has a special connection with the memory of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi as this historic city was one of the few places where his ashes were immersed.

The ashes were immersed at the confluence of Musi and Esi rivers, which have now dried up. Tucked away in Langer Houz in the western part of the city, Bapu Ghat, however, comes alive every year only on the birth and death anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi.

The visit by the Governor and Chief Minister to pay homage brings the memorial into focus but the rest of the year it remains mostly deserted.

The plans of the Telangana government to develop Bapu Ghat on the lines of Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad have remained on paper for the last six years.

Earlier, there were efforts to ensure some activity at the place, which boasts of a memorial building, Gandhi's statue in a meditation position, a prayer hall, an interactive museum called Peace Truth Ahimsa museum and a 76-feet long collage wall featuring more than 400 pictures of Gandhi.

Also on display at Bapu Ghat is a Harley Davidson motorbike. Named Ahimsa Harley, it has signatures of 900 students from 26 countries as a symbol to announce that Gandhi has arrived in 21st century.

It was in 2012 that Mahatma Gandhi Digital Museums (MGDS) set up a digital museum at Bapu Ghat in an effort to convey Gandhi's message through the language of technology.

However, the place continues to remain out of bounds for visitors. Employees say it is opened only for school students who are brought with prior permission from authorities.

Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Arun Gandhi, during his visit to the memorial last year, was all praise for use of modern technology to depict the life of the Mahatma. He described the collection of photographs as nice but said they were meaningless as they were neither arranged in chronological order nor tell the story.

"For me these photographs are important because I can identify the occasions that they portray. Those who come with no knowledge can't identify people except Bapu. I would call it a waste. It's beautifully done but there is no theme. No message is going out from this," he had told IANS.

According to him, the photographs do not tell the story of life, the story of those times and the history of the Independence movement. "It looks as if they had a wall and they covered it with photographs. The effort is praiseworthy but it could have achieved much more," he said.

Mahatma Gandhi had visited Hyderabad on a couple of occasions. Historians recalled that he visited Vivek Vardhini College in Hyderabad on April 7, 1929 to attend a meeting on the rights of Harijans.

He had collected donations from well-wishers for the freedom struggle and during his speech praised the communal harmony under the rule of Nizam in the then princely State of Hyderabad.

It was in 1942 that Gandhi was arrested by the British from Lakshmi Ramalingam Mudaliar Government High School in Bolarum. However, the auditorium from where he was taken into custody was demolished as it was in a dilapidated condition.
Editors Note: An earlier version of this article misstated the gender of two of the suspects in the case, Alejandra Arguello-Uribe and Karime Gallon Moreno. They are women

Two women and a man were arrested this week over accusations that they used two brothels in Massachusetts as a front for human trafficking, authorities said.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced criminal charges for the three suspects Friday in connection with the two sex trafficking operations they are accused of running in Framingham.

Alejandra Arguello-Uribe and Karime Gallon Moreno, both of whom are from Framingham, were arrested on Wednesday by Massachusetts State Police, Healeys office said in a statement.

The two women were charged with one count each of sex trafficking, keeping a house of ill fame and maintaining a house of prostitution, the statement said.

Samuel Artunduaga Herrera, who is from Queens, New York, was also arrested in New York on Wednesday for his alleged involvement in the operation, the statement said.

The New York man is expected to be extradited to Massachusetts to be arraigned at a later date on charges of deriving support from prostitution, sex trafficking, keeping a house of ill fame and maintaining a house of prostitution

Healeys office claimed Herrera, Arguello-Uribe and Moreno ran a profitable and organized criminal enterprise through two residential brothels on Henry and Melrose streets in Framingham, where they offered sexual activity between victims and buyers in exchange for a fee.

Artunduaga is accused of running the Henry Street trafficking operation in the spring of 2020 before fleeing to New York. The attorney generals office said he also helped run the Melrose Street brothel with Arguello-Uribe and Moreno.

The two Framingham women were arraigned Wednesday in Framingham District Court, where they both pleaded not guilty, according to Healey.

Cash bail was set at $25,000 for Arguello-Uribe and $10,000 for Moreno, with the conditions that they surrender their passports and remain in Massachusetts under house arrest, authorities said. A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for Oct. 30.

The attorney generals office is working with victim service organizations to ensure the alleged victims of the trafficking operations have the help and services they need, according to officials.

The offices Human Trafficking Division has charged more than 60 individuals in connection with human trafficking since the states anti-trafficking laws went into effect in 2012, Healey noted.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  A top economics professor warned state legislators Friday that the coronavirus pandemic will produce lasting changes to New Mexicos economy and that oil revenue isnt likely to save the day.

In an online presentation to the Legislative Finance Committee, professor emeritus Jim Peach of New Mexico State University said the pandemics disruption of the economy is shifting business activity to large corporations  a worrisome sign for a state that isnt home to the headquarters of major corporations.

Demand for oil  a critical source of state revenue  may not bounce back as commuters opt to work from home more often and big companies cut back on air travel.

Its going to take a long time for us to get out of this mess, said Peach, who retired in 2018 but is regularly called on to testify before legislators. Theres no way to do it instantly.

His presentation comes as lawmakers face uncertainty over how much revenue will be available to support government spending. They are set to craft a new state budget in a 60-day session beginning Jan. 19.

At least some good news surfaced this week. Economists for the legislative and executive branches of government said revenue came in stronger than expected in the first half of 2020, pushing state reserve levels to about $2 billion, or 29% of spending on July 1, the beginning of this fiscal year.

But Peach urged legislators not to count on beating expectations again. The federal stimulus package  including expanded unemployment benefits and checks to taxpayers  was a key factor in this years economic activity, he said.

New Mexicos economy is being propped up by massive injections of federal funds, Peach said. The state has relied heavily on federal expenditures since the 1940s, but weve never seen anything like this.

What to do about it is less clear. Peach suggested substantial investments in education, workforce training and recreational amenities would strengthen New Mexico for the future.

Were going to have to raise taxes, he said. I hate to say that.

The state hasnt increased its 17 cents per gallon tax on gasoline since 1993, Peach said, and property taxes are low compared to other states. Income taxes could also be raised, he said, and a tax could be enacted on plastic bottles.

Lawmakers reacted with skepticism.

Sen. George Munoz, a Gallup Democrat and vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said employers will simply leave the state if they face higher taxes.

We have done a horrible job in New Mexico with economic recovery and helping business, he said.

Rep. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences, said the state needs less taxation, not more. She suggested cutting taxes on Social Security benefits to better compete with other states for retirees.

Coronavirus surge

The Legislative Finance Committee met Friday as New Mexico endures a surge in new coronavirus cases and patients who require hospitalization.

State health officials reported 341 new coronavirus cases Friday as infections reached their highest daily total since late July.

The states seven-day rolling average of cases now stands at 216  or roughly 2.5 times as high as the average just 20 days ago, according to a Journal analysis.

New Mexico also reported five more deaths, growing the total to 887 fatalities since March. The new victims ranged in age from their 60s to their 90s, and all had an underlying condition of some kind, a risk factor for the disease.

Common underlying conditions include heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

The increase was fueled, in part, by 99 new infections in Bernalillo County, the states most populous area. Dona Ana County in southern New Mexico was next with 45 cases, followed by Chaves County in the southeastern part of the state at 32 cases.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham this week urged New Mexicans to recommit to wearing masks, limiting trips outside the house and avoiding gatherings of more than 10 people.

It is absolutely critical that New Mexicans take immediate action to slow the spread of COVID-19 across the state  lives and livelihoods depend on it, she said in a Tweet on Friday.

A public health order in effect through Oct. 16 limits the operating capacity of most businesses and requires masks in public settings. Lujan Grisham didnt say this week whether she anticipates making any changes to the restrictions.

Economic analysis

Peach, for his part, didnt directly object to the business restrictions and public health measures enacted by the Lujan Grisham administration to limit disease transmission.

But he said the state should be analyzing the economic consequences of its reopening and closure decisions and making the analysis public.

I see little evidence of economic analysis in the decision-making, Peach said.

On the other hand, he said, the state has an excellent record at suppressing the virus compared to other states and that stopping the virus is the best path to reopening.

Rep. Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, said local businesses, especially in rural areas, need help and deserve to have their survival taken into account as New Mexico weighs when and how to relax restrictions.

I have grown men that I run into in Walmart or my little local grocery store, she said, and theyre begging me to do something.

The state budget this year authorizes about $7.2 billion in spending through next summer. For the year after that, state economists project $6.8 billion to $7.6 billion in revenue.

How much more federal aid will be available is unclear.

The states congressional delegation jointly announced Friday that New Mexico was awarded a $1.5 million federal grant to help develop a statewide economic recovery plan.

The funding will help New Mexico chart an economic path forward, Democratic Sen. Tom Udall said, and I am continuing to work hard every day in Washington to extend assistance to state and local governments across the country that are providing essential services during the pandemic.
At the end of the trailer of Aaron Sorkins upcoming Netflix period drama, The Trial of the Chicago 7, activist Abbie Hoffman (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) hesitates before answering a question in court.

He says to the lawyer examining him, Give me a moment would you, friend? Ive never been on trial for my thoughts before. This scenario, where you are on trial for your thoughts, plays out daily on social media, except that you cant ask trolls for a moment. The hate is vicious, furious and relentless.

Which is why I admire artists who speak their minds, among them Taapsee Pannu. Taapsee is very much a mainstream Bollywood actress. In the last five years, she has deftly carved out a niche in Hindi cinema. Starting with Pink in 2016, she has become a propeller for films with limited budgets, driven by strong messaging  think Naam Shabana (2017), Mulk (2018), Saand ki Aankh (2019) and, most recently, Thappad.

She has endorsement contracts and millions of followers on social media platforms. But like Ayushmann Khurrana, her brand is unique.

Taapsee is an actor on the rise. In the current cultural climate, it would be more prudent for her to express as few opinions as possible. But shes never been that kind of woman.

She and I first met in 2018. I set up an interview after watching Mulk, which I consider to be one of the finest films of that year. When the conversation turned to nepotism, she said that it had taken five years for me to interview her while other actors (with more familiar last names) got interviewed even before their first films had been released. She was right  just the previous month, I had chatted with Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor ahead of the release of Dhadak.

Taapsee was gracious but forthright in showing me my blind spots. She said that she could be honest because she didnt have baggage or the burden of living up to expectations. Her words were: I am purely because of who I am.

Which is what enables her to take a stand. Taapsee has called out double standards and hypocrisy and got into prolonged and public spats with trolls on Twitter. She has been critical of the unstinting harassment of Rhea Chakraborty. She spoke in support of Anurag Kashyap (who directed her in Manmarziyaan) when he was accused of sexual harassment, adding that she would be the first to snap ties if he was ever proven guilty.

Taapsee has lent her name and voice to striking animated videos made by filmmaker Kireet Khurana to highlight the suffering of migrants during the pandemic and to make an eloquent plea for the importance of free speech in a democracy. The online response to the last is the predictable accusation of traitor, terrorist, charsi, Khalistani agent.

Social media right now feels like a bloodthirsty virtual edition of the Hunger Games. The biggest stars are choosing to stay quiet. Lie low is the advice being doled out by managers, minders and publicists. But Taapsees Twitter bio reads: All in all REAL with flesh, blood and SPINE :)

I think a spine makes lying low difficult.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anupama Chopra Anupama Chopra is the editor and founder of Film Companion. ...view detail
Reopening

2 October 2020

Detroit Foundation Hotel, is reopening its doors Sunday, October 4 after temporary closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The award-winning hotel located in the former Detroit Fire Department Headquarters has been credited with spurring Downtown Detroit's revitalization and will welcome back visitors and locals with enhanced sanitation and safety protocols. The hotel's flagship restaurant, Apparatus Room is also reopening with their beloved menu by Executive Chef Thomas Lents, encompassing new additions that celebrate the fabrics of New American cooking and Midwest classics and paying homage to some of the country's most iconic culinary masters.

Extensive sanitation protocols have been implemented to ensure the health, safety, and comfort of all guests and staff. Temperature checks will be provided upon entering the hotel for both guests and employees, while contactless check-in will be an amenity to guests. Masks will be required in all public spaces and social distancing will be enforced per state guidelines. All rooms will remain vacant for 48 hours after being thoroughly cleaned with a state-of-the-art electrostatic sprayer. Guests can view the property's full updates as it pertains to COVID-19 at https://www.aparium.com/covid19.

The heart of the hotel is Apparatus Room, helmed by Chef Lents. Having received multiple Michelin stars in some of the world's best kitchens, Chef Lents' enhanced menu continues to showcase culinary excellence and has become a staple of the Detroit Community.

Some of the menu highlights include homages like the Golden Carnaroli Risotto, paying tribute to acclaimed French-American Chef Jean Joho's risotto dish at the Everest Restaurant in Chicago but with local summer squash, roast tomatoes, burrata, and calabrian chili and Farm Chicken "Judy Rodgers" Style, a take on the legendary dish from Zuni Cafe served on a mustard green bread salad with currants, pine nuts with a garlic confit. Modern takes on Midwestern classics include The Maurice, inspired by a Detroit classic made famous by Hudson's Department Store.

The beverage menu takes classic cocktails and incorporates innovative twists from Detroit history to local lore and personal inspiration. The Luminous 75, an ode to French 75 with Tito's vodka, St. Germain, Aperol, Lilet Blanc, sparkling wine, lemon and orange bitters references Thomas Edison who grew up in Michigan and whose Edison light bulbs hang over the bar.

The property constantly collaborates with the local community as they recently partnered with two local distilleries to offer guests complimentary hand sanitizer from Two James Distillery, the first licensed distillery in Detroit since Prohibition, and Detroit City Distillery, founded by eight friends with local roots. Travelers can also book a "Future You Will Thank You" $50 dining voucher to be used at the hotel's Apparatus Room or any other restaurant across the Aparium Hotel Group portfolio, which consists of eight award-winning boutique hotels across the U.S (Pontchartrain Hotel, New Orleans, LA; Hotel Haya, Tampa, FL: Crossroads Hotel, Kansas City, MO; MC Hotel, Montclair, NJ; Hewing Hotel, Minneapolis, MN; Hu Hotel, Memphis, TN; Cyrus Hotel, Topeka, KS).

The Apparatus Room is now open Thursdays - Saturday from 5 - 10pm and Sunday 5 - 9pm. Reservations can be made here, and the new menu can be viewed here.
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Its always viewed as kind of the canary in the coal mine for the office sector when you begin to see companies putting space back on the market, Morassutti said. Thats never a good sign. Its usually a precursor to lower rental rates.

Still, Morassutti said that the amount of vacant space available compared to total inventory remained low.

By any historical measure, the average vacancy rates in our major markets are still quite good, Morassutti said. Theres no reason to panic. But the momentum has clearly shifted.

Rates for Class A office space also remained strong, which will ensure some level of market stability as these assets typically command the most valuable transactions, CBRE said.

On an annual basis, rents in Toronto ticked from $34.77/sq. ft. to $35.9/sq. ft. in the third quarter, while Vancouver saw its rent prices go up from $44.49/sq. ft. to $44.74/sq. ft.
A significant overhaul of COVID screening guidelines in Ontario schools, which will allow kids who recover quickly from a runny nose, headache or upset stomach to return to class without a test, has stunned several infectious disease experts in Toronto, despite a similar move in B.C.

These experts say the province has not provided the evidence to justify loosening guidelines as cases surge.

Dr. Janine McCready, an infectious diseases physician at Michael Garron Hospital, who has been reaching out to families of students who test positive at her hospital since schools reopened, said the decision is not in line with what she is seeing on the ground.

In the past few weeks, McCready said she has seen several cases of COVID in students with no known contact to another COVID case, whose only symptom is a runny nose that resolves quite quickly. The new screening tool, she said, wouldnt have caught the cases.

It worries me that were making this step now, and were making it easier for potential cases of COVID to get into schools, she said. Maybe theres data that I dont have available, but certainly, from the cases Ive (seen), this makes me nervous.

Ontarios decision to revise the COVID screening guidelines in schools and child-care centres follows the easing of return-to-school protocols in British Columbia, where nasal congestion was recently removed as a symptom forcing kids to stay away from school. The policy will no doubt be greeted with relief by many parents who have lost days of work  and much of their sanity  trying to get their sniffly kid tested.

In a press release Thursday, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the revision to the guidelines reflects the best available medical advice. Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontarios associate medical officer of health, said the new screening tool is the result of consultations with health officials in B.C, who recently revised the screening protocol, as well as pediatric infectious disease specialists.

But Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at University of Toronto, who said she was consulted by the Ontario government, does not support the recent revision, calling it bad policy.

She said runny noses are a pretty typical presentation of COVID among kids and that the government appears to be more concerned about having kids in schools than keeping schools open long-term.

The move comes amid long lines at COVID assessment centres in Ontario and even longer turnaround times for results in Ontario, where the testing backlog surpassed 82,000 on Thursday.

Yaffe told the Star in an interview that here, as in B.C., we were aware that a lot of kids were being sent home with a runny nose, and parents were going to the assessment centres, waiting in line, getting everyone tested and then waiting at home for the results  and it was just a runny nose.

But Dr. Andrew Morris, an infectious diseases specialist at U of T, warned against applying the B.C. context to Ontario, because the policy change has only been in effect there for a few weeks and caseloads are higher here.

To use that rationale to say that its safe to do, thats jumping to a very large conclusion, said Morris, who is also calling on Ontario to provide more data to support the move. It might be the right thing to do, but what is the scientific basis for this decision?

When B.C.s medical officer of health, Dr. Bonnie Henry, discussed changes to the school screening checklist late last month, there were 2,000 active cases in the province. On Thursday, Henry said there have been no outbreaks in B.C. schools since they reopened in September. The provinces average daily cases are now sloping downwards, with 1,284 cases currently active.

Weve done over 35,000 tests in people under the age of 19 and very few of them are positive," she said in an online press conference. And a runny nose by itself  which, (as) anybody who has children knows, is a very common symptom during the winter months  is not associated with COVID by itself very frequently.

In Ontario, Yaffe said, we were asked why even include a runny nose  a runny nose is so common, she said. There are so many reasons for a runny nose that are not COVID-19 such as allergies, coming inside from the cold outdoors or other viral infections.

But Ontario chose to keep it on its list of less serious symptoms  along with nausea/diarrhea and headache or fatigue  because about 17 per cent of COVID cases present with a runny nose, she said.

The province did not provide the Star with data on the number COVID tests that have been performed on children with runny noses or the positivity rate of these tests.

In a statement, a health ministry spokesperson said: As this outbreak evolves, the province will continue to review the scientific evidence to understand the most appropriate guidance for the health system and the people of Ontario and make updates as needed.

Yaffe said any child with just one of the less serious symptoms who also had COVID would experience worsening symptoms within 24 hours. What we are trying to do is balance, Yaffe added. Obviously we want to minimize the transmission of COVID-19, but we also want to ensure that kids can go to school or child care if its safe.

Yaffe said no test or doctors note should be required when they have one of the less serious symptoms, she said. However, students whose condition worsens, or those who have the more significant symptoms of a fever, cough, shortness of breath or loss of smell or taste, do need to isolate and seek medical help, she also said.

Families in B.C. were initially told to keep their children home if they showed any symptoms, but B.C. changed its guidelines mid-September, saying a runny nose, sore throat or headache shouldnt stop kids from attending class.

Yaffe said Ontario has spoken to numerous pediatric experts here and in B.C., and made its changes to help balance public safety while recognizing childrens need to be at school.

Liz Stuart, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, said we are reviewing the revised screening protocols, and continue to encourage everyone to be cautious and diligent in following public health advice.

However, she added, if we really want students to continue enjoying the benefits of the in-class experience, the bottom line is that the government must finally step up and implement all reasonable precautions to make our schools as safe as possible. This is becoming increasingly urgent as we see cases of COVID-19 surging in our communities.

MPP Marit Stiles, the NDPs education critic, said the changes are causing confusion.

Parents who spent hours and hours in line this week with their little ones waiting for a test have a right to be frustrated at the horrible lack of clarity on when kids need a test, and when they should return to school or daycare, Stiles said.

With files from Jennifer Yang
New Delhi: Trade unions on Friday gave a call for a nationwide strike on November 26 to protest against the government policies. The decision to go on strike was taken during an online or virtual National Convention of Workers on October 2, 2020, as per a declaration adopted by ten central unions and their associates.

"The Convention calls upon all the working people, whether unionised or not, affiliated or independent, whether from organised sector or unorganised sector, to intensify the united struggle against the anti-people, anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national policies of the government and make the call for a countrywide general strike on 26th November 2020 a total success," it said. The National Convention Of Workers organised online jointly by the Central Trade Unions and independent Federations/Associations for the first time amid the pandemic.

While all indicators pointed to economy drastically slowing down due to lack of demand, the government continued to steer its policies in the name of "ease of doing business", aggravating widespread impoverishment and deepening the crisis further, the unions alleged. The convention called upon the working class to organise joint state/ district/ industry/sectoral level conventions, physically wherever possible, online otherwise, before the end of October 2020; to conduct an extensive campaign on the adverse impact of the labour codes on the workers down to the grassroots level up to mid-November and for the one-day countrywide general strike on November 26, 2020.

"Let it be known that this One Day Strike is in preparation for more intense, more tenacious and longer struggles that lie ahead," it added. The unions which were part of this convention are INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU,LPF, UTUC and independent federations and associations.

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Arkansas pastor exorcized 1-year-old child, took meth with churchgoers: police

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An Arkansas evangelical church pastor was arrested last week and has admitted to using meth with congregants and "exorcizing" a toddler, according to police.

Lloyd Eddie Lasker Jr., 49, the pastor of House of Refuge and Deliverance Ministries in Mayflower, was arrested at a gas station on Sept. 22.

According to court records, Lasker has been charged with possession of a controlled substance  a Class C felony  possession of drug paraphernalia  a Class D felony  as well as possession of a gun by a convicted felon.

The News & Observer reports that the Conway Police Department submitted an affidavit in Faulkner County Circuit Court that states detective Brittani Little was called to the church on Sept. 18 to do a welfare check.

What she discovered inside the church was an emaciated 1-year-old child with multiple bruises from head to toe as well as the pastor and the childs mother.

The church is located on a rural stretch of highway in a town located about a half-hour north of Little Rock.

In an affidavit, Little said the child was sent to the hospital and is now in intensive care with a brain bleed and extreme malnourishment.

A second affidavit explains that Little, along with fellow officer Andrew Burningham, went looking for Lasker four days later to ask him questions related to the child abuse case.

The officers saw his white pick-up truck at an Exxon gas station off the highway in Mayflower, a town about 11 miles from Conway.

According to the court document, officers discovered the pastor in the passenger seat of the truck with another man, Timothy Bynum, standing near the drivers side.

According to the court document, the truck is registered to the church.

During a vehicle search, officers found 4 grams of meth and a pipe. Bynum was charged with possession of meth and a pipe found on the drivers side of the vehicle.

According to police, Lasker denied any knowledge of the items being in the truck. However, the pastor did admit to using methamphetamine in the past, including several times in the church.

Lasker also reportedly admitted to police that he has used meth in the church several times with the childs mother and other church members, the newspaper notes.

Police Searched Laskers home and found a shotgun and ammunition. Lasker admitted to being a felon, which makes it illegal for him to possess firearms, according to an affidavit filed by Burningham.

A search was also conducted at the church, where Little found one baggy with white crystal residue that she suspected to be meth.

When interviewed by detective Little about the child abuse case involving the abused 1-year-old child found at his church, Lasker admitted that he had tried to exorcise the demon in [the child] but he would not explain how he did this.

Lasker made his first appearance before a judge during a bond hearing on Sept. 23 and was given a $7,500 bond, according to a pretrial order.

A plea and arraignment hearing has been set for Oct. 13.

According to court records, Lasker had previously been found guilty of possession of a controlled substance and public intoxication stemming from an incident on May 12, 2018.

He was sentenced to supervised probation, a $1,000 fine and a six-month suspension on his drivers license.

The Christian Post reached out to House of Refuge and Deliverance Ministries for comment on Laskers arrest and charges. No one could be reached for comment.

On Facebook, the ministry describes itself as an evangelical church that is one of the fastest-growing churches in the area! The church's website is no longer active and its Facebook page was last updated on October 2019.

Mayflower is a growing community of over 2,000 residents.
Advocate Aurora Health and Beaumont Health have ended discussions on a proposed merger that could have created a $17 billion health system in the Upper Midwest.

In June, Advocate Aurora and Beaumont, Michigans largest health system, signed a non-binding letter of intent to continue discussing a possible merger. They had been in talks about combining in late 2019 but paused those conversations to focus on the coronavirus pandemic.

But the proposal raised concern among Beaumont hospital staff and some Michigan politicians. Crains reported in August that an internal medical staff survey from Beaumont showed employees were highly critical of management and the proposed merger.

Michigan lawmakers also questioned the deal. On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, D-Michigan, State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, and State Rep. Jim Ellison released a joint statement applauding the end of the talks, saying evidence suggests that the proposed merger of these health systems might have led to higher health care costs and, potentially, worse patient outcomes.

In a Friday news conference, John Fox, Beaumonts president and CEO, said the decision to end merger talks with Advocate Aurora was mutual, and said the pandemic delayed the dozen or so meetings that typically take place with hospital physicians.

Im not saying the pandemic is the cause, but it really got in the way. And the other issues are what they are. Legitimate concerns, but addressing the concerns and processing that with all the requirements we have under the pandemic is very difficult, Fox said.

Advocate Aurora said part of the reason why the deal fell through was because of internal issues" at Beaumont.

While our discussions initially progressed well, over the last couple of months Beaumont has had internal issues that have surfaced and thus they are focusing on their local operations. We are disappointed, but understand their need to turn their attention inward, the company said in an emailed statement.

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Beaumont is Michigans largest health system, with eight hospitals and 38,000 employees. Advocate Aurora, with more than 70,000 employees, has 10 hospitals in Illinois and 16 in Wisconsin. Fox said previously the combined systems would have about $17 billion in revenue.

abjimenez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @abdel1019



2020 the Chicago Tribune

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In this post we take a quick look at hottie Kylie doing her best to boost voter turnout which inspires us to share community news, pop culture and top headlines.



Gail Shifts Gears

Gail Worth parts ways with Harley-Davidson to create Gail's Powersports - Kansas City Business Journal After 21 years, Gail Worth is parting ways with the Harley-Davidson franchise and crafting her new Grandview-based brand: Gail's Powersports. The decision was driven by Harley-Davidson's plans to "drastically" reduce the number of motorcycles it produces annually, Worth told the Kansas City Business Journal. Her business, Gail's Harley-Davidson, is a 50,000-square-foot dealership with about 50 employees.

Fall Indoors Or Alone

5 virtual or live ideas for exploring Downtown KC Bird is the Word - First Friday at 18th & Vine - Crossroads galleries ready for First Friday - Dishing out hot Downtown dining opportunities - KC yacht rock to blow th...

Highway Fire Postscript

Semi fire shuts down I-435 at Route 210 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A fully-involved semi-truck fire shut down Interstate 435 southbound at 210 Highway Friday morning. Kansas City, Missouri, fire crews are on the scene of the incident that happened around 6:30 a.m. According to KCFD, several patients were transported with critical injuries, though it's not clear how many at this time.

Kylie Saves Democracy

Kylie Jenner Bikini Pic Has Insane Impact on Voter Registration Kylie Jenner is flexing her political influence in a very impressive way ... turning your standard IG thirst trap into nearly 50,000 potential new registered voters! TMZ's learned Kylie's smoke show bikini pics -- posted Monday -- are drawing huge traffic for Vote.org .

Veep Survives

Biden tests negative for COVID-19, reminds folks to 'wear a mask' after being mocked by Trump for mask at debate Former Vice President Joe Biden has tested negative for coronavirus, according to his personal doctor, as the Democratic nominee sought to continue campaigning during the month before the Nov. 3 election. Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the primary care physician, said Biden and his wife Jill were each tested and "COVID-19 was not detected."

Prez Trump Recovering

White House says Trump experiencing 'mild symptoms' after positive coronavirus test, 'in good spirits' White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Friday that President Trump is experiencing "mild symptoms" of COVID-19 after the president and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the novel coronavirus. "As all of you know the president and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19, " Meadows told reporters at the White House Friday.

Election Sickened?!?!

Trump's diagnosis could change everything - but GOP still scheming to suppress vote Leave it to Donald Trump to test positive for COVID-19 just two days after a disastrous debate performance. It's tempting to think this is yet another of his reality show stunts, but it's hard to believe that he could get away with faking something like this considering that the Trump White House leaks like a sieve.

Speaker Shares Terrifying Campaign 2020 Scenario

Pelosi warns Trump 'ain't no light at the end of the tunnel' should election be decided in House House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spelled out a dire prediction for President Trump should the election come down to the House to be decided. "We have all sorts of opportunities to take down that one vote," Pelosi said during a news conference Thursday morning.

Wall Street Only Loves Money

A Democratic sweep may not be so bad for stocks if it leads to a bigger stimulus, some traders say The trading community is actively debating the effect of more fiscal stimulus on the economy and on the markets, but they sometimes seem to be talking about two different types of stimulus. There is the one that would come from the negotiations currently underway between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Kansas City Seeks Fright Despite Gunfire Fear

Haunted houses have devious designs to out-spook a murder virus The spookiest time of the year is about to get a bit more spine-tingling for Kansas City, thanks to the growing presence of COVID-19. In a city with nearly 35,000 total COVID cases reported since March, Halloween is going to be unrecognizable from any previous iteration.

NOBODY SEYZ LATINX!!!

Hispanic, Latino community begins to embrace gender-neutral identifier KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Nearly 20 years ago, the Hispanic community added a general neutral term to its lexicon, and in recent years, younger generations have embraced the change. Latinx is a gender-neutral alternative to Latino or Latina. Spanish words that end in "o" are generally male, while Spanish words ending in "a" are generally female.

Kansas City Custom Booze Earns Success Amid Lockdown

Notable happenings of 2020 in KC's craft beer scene It's been a big year for drinking in Kansas City-and not just because we've needed a constant stream of alcohol to get us through the drudgery and blinding anxiety of existing during this era. No, we've been drinking for better, less cynical reasons.

And this is the OPEN THREAD for right now . . .


Mahatma Gandhi's 151th birth anniversary is a timely reminder to strive to uphold his values, Antonio Guterres said on Friday as diplomats from around the world underscored the importance of Gandhi's principles of justice and equality for all on the occasion of the Day of Non-Violence.

UN Secretary-General Guterres, in his video message, said: In marking the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, this Day highlights the remarkable power of non-violence and peaceful protests.

It is also a timely reminder to strive to uphold values that Gandhi lived by - the promotion of dignity, equal protection for all and communities living together in peace.

India's Permanent Mission to the UN hosted the virtual celebration of the Day of Non-Violence and the culmination of the celebrations of Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.

The special commemoration included a video that showed reactions from the UN diplomats in the Security Council on Gandhi's assassination. It also showed footage of world leaders, including former US president Barack Obama, citing Gandhi's principles and ideologies during their addresses to the UN General Assembly over the years.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said: When we look at Gandhi primarily as the apostle of peace and non-violence, I feel that we will be missing the point. That's because we are not discussing non-violence in a vacuum.

Tirumurti said Gandhi's ultimate goal was truth and he realised that only the pursuit of truth could result in true non-violence.

Just as for him, non-violence itself became the pursuit of truth, he said, adding that Gandhi did not see political freedom as the only freedom worth fighting for but involved himself with as much fervor and conviction in liberating human beings from all forms of bondage and injustice.

Tirumurti stressed that for Gandhi, non-violence was not merely the absence of violence but non-violence was a weapon to fight injustice, both within and without.

Guterres said that on this year's observance of International Day of Non-violence, nations have a special duty - stop the fighting to focus on our common enemy COVID-19. There is only one winner of conflict during a pandemic - the virus itself.

During the special virtual commemoration, a host of UN Permanent Representatives spoke about Gandhi's legacy and his principles of equality and justice.

US envoy to the UN Ambassador Kelly Craft said Gandhi's life and teachings are as relevant today as they were during the struggle for India's independence and his message of non-violence has long resonated with the American people.

Gandhi, we can really use your presence today. Thankfully, your inspiration and guidance still resonates around the world. Gandhi's message of love, unity, compassion and tolerance is needed now more than ever in a world undergoing profound political, social and economic challenges.

This is especially true in 2020 as we fight an unprecedented pandemic and witness autocratic governments in Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and in the Middle East torture and murder of dissidents and violent crackdown on peaceful protest, she said.

All of us are suffering the devastating effects of COVID-19. Gandhi's message of compassion and sacrifice to improve the lives of our neighbours ring more true than ever, she said.

Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the UN Rabab Fatima said it is a happy coincidence that this year her country is celebrating the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Gandhiji's love for the good of the common people and his ideals of non-violence also influenced Bangabandhu and his life-long struggle to establish justice and freedom for his people, she said.

Japan's UN envoy Ishikane Kimihiro said that Gandhiji's philosophy of Sarvodaya' - welfare of all and Antyodaya' - leaving no one behind now takes the form of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Today the challenges we face are greater than ever, in diversity and in scale, due to the COVID-19 crisis, he said, adding that human security is at stake due to the pandemic and the international community should join hands in keeping Sarvodaya' and Antyodaya' in mind.

Sri Lanka's envoy to the UN Kshenuka Senewiratne said Gandhi's timeless thinking, principles and philosophy of non-violence have left an indelible mark across the globe, thereby shaping the manner in which we seek to resolve conflicts, overcome hatred and promote justice.

Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that throughout his life, Gandhi remained committed to his belief in non-violence even under brutal oppressive regime and in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.

The Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN Thilmeeza Hussain said: What is the meaning of Satyagraha in these times when the multilateral prospect is tested by pandemic, conflict and climate change. What would Gandhiji say about the world so inclined to disintegration precisely at the moment when unity is needed.

She added that this is precisely the time that nations need to foster trust and collaboration between countries and recommit ourselves to multilateralism.

The UN envoys of Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Bhutan, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Oman, South Africa, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also spoke at the special commemoration.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
I am so paranoid, said another, that not only am I voting early, in person, but I dont want to vote too early in case something happens to Joe Biden and I need to have my vote available for someone else. Isnt that nuts? But I cant help it. I feel like the one thing I can control about this whole mess is my vote. And I want it to count.
When playwright Edward Albee objected to his drama Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? being performed by an all-male cast, his injunction prevented the catastrophe now on view in Netflixs The Boys in the Band. Its a film version of a stage play in which nine men gather for a birthday party that collapses into funny-bitter clashes showing off their insecurities. As a Millennial version of the 1968 play that Mart Crowley already slyly derived from Albee, this film doubles down  four-fold  on the too-obvious idea of gay men bitching among themselves. Albee knew that would grossly politicize the exploration of human illusions in his theatrical landmark.

Ironically, Netflixs The Boys in the Band is conceived to be a landmark like the Supreme Courts Obergefell v. Hodges decision, using Crowleys Albee knock-off to make superfluous, overly knowing political commentary on Millennial gay consciousness. The cast, headed by Jim Parsons as the party host Michael, Zachery Quinto as birthday honoree Harold, and Robin de Jesus as their most effeminate friend Emory, go about promoting the film by acknowledging their own experience as gay men (ethnically diverse, too). Their idea of art as psychotherapy (I feel seen, says Parsons) adds little to the films dramatic meaning but, instead, works as cultural intimidation. Netflix inflates Crowleys subculture curio, insisting that it be given the same dominant culture reverence as Albees masterpiece.

This modernized Boys in the Band is yet another example of Netflixs political program. It emphasizes the spectacle of a stigmatized group acting out its oppression to sustain the progressive social engineering practiced by Netflix and other competing streaming services. But its also cultural engineering from a now-privileged group of industry professionals, starting with producer Ryan Murphy, who adds this adaption to his unsavory brand: TVs Glee, American Horror Story, Feud: Bette and Joan, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, and the miniseries Hollywood.

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Murphy has altered mainstream medias mindscape about gay sensibility; what used to be known as camp is now suspiciously politically correct. His finger-wagging, often horrifying methods are also humorless. Murphy and Broadway director Joe Mantello reboot the 1970 film version of The Boys in the Band that William Friedkin directed by making the characters slightly less pathetic  essentially the 50-year difference between actors body language and physical image.

Friedkins film was not homophobic; in his typically unsubtle way, he worked against homophobia by opening up the play, providing the context of a pre-Stonewall, closeted society. (His 1980 Cruising was similarly unsubtle.) Friedkins time-capsule authenticity included stagey performances. The ones in the Netflix version are less forced: Parsons pixie specialty is not so broad as Kenneth Nelsons was, but Quinto is trapped re-creating the impossible bitch-queen truth-teller, which isnt a character but simply Leonard Freys show-stealing legend. The difference, again, illustrates how Albee wrote poetry while Mart Crowley manufactured shock theater  no wonder Ryan Murphy thinks The Boys in the Band is a classic.

The character revelations offered by Murphy and Mantello are no longer shocking, but the gay male showing-off that their actor-activists consider courageous has limited effect. Think of how Robert Altmans adaptation of Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean gave more than context; he brought out the plays subtext, which made its story rich, resonant, and not just gay. The Boys in the Band now exhibits the typical Millennial segregation of race, sex, and class experience.

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Computer thumb drives used to program Philadelphia voting machines were stolen from a city warehouse along with the laptop of an employee from the machines manufacturer.

The items were stolen from a warehouse in the citys East Falls section, city election commission spokesman Nick Custodio said in a brief emailed statement, adding: We are confident that this incident will not in any way compromise the integrity of the election. The Philadelphia Inquirer, which first reported the theft in the majority Democratic city, said they were stolen this week.

The laptop did not hold any sensitive election-related data and was not used for election programming, said spokeswoman Katina Granger, of Election Systems & Software of Omaha, Nebraska, the manufacturer. She said ES&S immediately cut it off from the vendors network upon learning of the theft.

Granger said she was not able to address specifics about the stolen USB drives, including how many were taken and what was on them. Custodio did not answer emailed questions, including whether any of the 3,750 ExpressVote XL touchscreen ballot-marking devices used by the city might have been affected.

Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground which Trump won by 44,000 votes in 2016, with Hillary Clinton winning Philadelphia by a 67% margin, or 475,000 votes.

Election security expert Eddie Perez of the nonpartisan OSET Institute said Philadelphia voters confidence in the integrity of the election demands on transparency from officials that is so far lacking: This is supposed to be a secured facility," he said, "and apparently neither the county nor the election vendor adequately protected these sensitive assets. Why not?

Granger of ES&S said the companies USB devices use multiple levels of encryption and are married to single voting machines during programming. But Perez said that its so far unclear how far along Philadelphia was in programming for the Nov. 3 election  and thus how much of a threat the theft might pose.

It is very, very common that a USB stick has a wealth of information that is related not only to the configuration of the election and its ballot  and the behavior of the voting device  but also internal system data used to validate the election," said Perez. In principle, someone possessing the information on one of these USBs could disrupt the opening and closing of the devices in polling places. They could disrupt how ballots are displayed on the screen and they could potentially disrupt counting votes on those ballots.

An insider bent on tampering with the election would only need to alter a subset of ballot-marking devices to compromise voting, Perez said.

In an emailed statement, Mayor Jim Kenney said police were investigating and enhanced security would be added at the warehouse. This matter should not deter Philadelphians from voting, nor from having confidence in the security of this election.

In a further incident, a WHYY public radio reporter walked right into the warehouse's voting machine storage area unimpeded on Thursday morning. City spokesman Mike Dunn confirmed the incident and said the mayor would shortly be adding 24/7 security at the site.

These changes will be put into place expeditiously, he said.

The system potentially impacted by the incident is not the same as mail-in voting, which President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to discredit with unfounded claims. On Tuesday, Philadelphia began accepting mail-in, or absentee ballots, at satellite elections offices that arent considered official polling locations.

FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. declined to comment on whether it was assisting in the investigation.

Although the nations 8,800 voting jurisdictions are managed by state and local governments, they have been designated critical national infrastructure and multiple federal agencies have stepped up security assistance since the 2016 Russian election interference.

___

Bajak reported from Boston
The owners of a a Jersey City bodega have been charged with having their business set ablaze more than a year ago to collect the insurance money, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.

Amado Gonzalez-Abreu, 38, and Francisca Duran-Tejada, 47, both of Jersey City were arrested by the Hudson County Prosecutors Office Regional Arson Task Force Sept. 30 at the Jersey City Fire Department Headquarters on Marin Boulevard, officials said.

Their business, La Tribu Minimart, at 343 Princeton Avenue suffered damage in a June 9, 2019 fire. Firefighters responded to 9 Linden Avenue at 6:18 a.m. that day and noticed smoke coming from the store, which is on the first floor of a three-story, wood-frame residential building with four units.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire at the scene and fire damage was confined to the grocery store.

Gonzalez-Abreu and Duran-Tejada are charged with first-degree employing a juvenile for the commission of a crime; and they were also charged as accomplices in committing aggravated arson/to collect insurance for the destruction or damage to property, a second-degree offense.

The prosecutors office said no one else has been arrested so far. Citing the ongoing investigation, officials also declined to provide any other details, including who set the fire.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the Regional Arson Task Force at (201) 915-1345 or leave an anonymous tip on the Hudson County Prosecutors Office official website at http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. All information will be kept confidential.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 21:30:35|Editor: huaxia

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HAIKOU, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- South China's Hainan Province on Thursday brought into effect a trailblazing medical insurance policy that will cover foreign medicines yet to be approved domestically.

The special insurance, launched by the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, marks another milestone in Hainan's medical innovation after the pilot zone greenlighted the sale of foreign medicines that are unavailable in the rest of the Chinese mainland.

The government-backed insurance covers 70 anti-cancer drugs for 35 common types of cancer. Among these, 49 medicines are yet to be approved for sale in the Chinese mainland market.

The annual premium for Hainan residents is 29 yuan (about 4.3 U.S. dollars), while the insurance covers up to 1 million yuan in drug costs. Residents from other parts of the Chinese mainland are eligible to purchase the insurance with an annual premium ranging roughly from 40 yuan to 1,300 yuan, the administration said.

According to the administration, nearly 600,000 Hainan residents have purchased the insurance by late September.

The new insurance policy has been hailed for reducing the financial burdens of cancer patients while speeding up the process for overseas pharmaceutical enterprises to enter the Chinese market.

Huang Song, an official with the pilot zone administration, said usually Chinese patients have to wait for five to ten years before a new foreign medicine gets approval for sale in the Chinese mainland market, mainly due to clinical trials as required. The new insurance and other preferential policies now allow patients to bypass the waiting process and buy the latest foreign drugs in Hainan.

According to Huang, international pharmaceutical companies are cooperating with the pilot zone to gain faster access to the Chinese market.

AbbVie Pharmaceutical Trading (Shanghai) Co., LTD., whose AML (acute myeloid leukemia) medication is covered by the insurance, said it is greatly encouraged by the new initiative and will work to bring more treatment methods to Chinese patients by actively responding to the policies.

Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group, in its response to Xinhua, confirmed the company currently has seven oncology drugs listed in Hainan's special drug insurance catalog, including two new targeted drugs that have been on the market for a year or two.

Liu Zhefeng, deputy director-general of the pilot zone administration, said the insurance is closely related to the construction of the Hainan free trade port.

"We are actively cooperating with overseas pharmaceutical companies to achieve a win-win situation," he said.

The Chinese government on June 1 released a master plan for the Hainan free trade port, aiming to build the island province into a globally influential high-level free trade port by the middle of the century. The plan also encourages the province to explore innovation in the medical insurance sector. Enditem
By PTI

UNITED NATION: Mahatma Gandhi's 151th birth anniversary is a timely reminder to strive to uphold his values, UN chief Antonio Guterres said on Friday as diplomats from around the world underscored the importance of Gandhi's principles of justice and equality for all on the occasion of the International Day of Non-Violence.

UN Secretary-General Guterres, in his video message, said: "In marking the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, this International Day highlights the remarkable power of non-violence and peaceful protests.

"It is also a timely reminder to strive to uphold values that Gandhi lived by - the promotion of dignity, equal protection for all and communities living together in peace".

India's Permanent Mission to the UN hosted the virtual celebration of the International Day of Non-Violence and the culmination of the celebrations of Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.

The special commemoration included a video that showed reactions from the UN diplomats in the Security Council on Gandhi's assassination.

It also showed footage of world leaders, including former US president Barack Obama, citing Gandhi's principles and ideologies during their addresses to the UN General Assembly over the years.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said: "When we look at Gandhi primarily as the apostle of peace and non-violence, I feel that we will be missing the point. That's because we are not discussing non-violence in a vacuum."

Tirumurti said Gandhi's ultimate goal was truth and he realised that only the pursuit of truth could result in true non-violence.

"Just as for him, non-violence itself became the pursuit of truth," he said, adding that Gandhi did not see political freedom as the only freedom worth fighting for "but involved himself with as much fervor and conviction in liberating human beings from all forms of bondage and injustice."

Tirumurti stressed that for Gandhi, non-violence was not merely the absence of violence but non-violence was a weapon to fight injustice, both within and without.

Guterres said that on this year's observance of International Day of Non-violence, nations have a special duty - "stop the fighting to focus on our common enemy COVID-19. There is only one winner of conflict during a pandemic - the virus itself."

During the special virtual commemoration, a host of UN Permanent Representatives spoke about Gandhi's legacy and his principles of equality and justice.

US envoy to the UN Ambassador Kelly Craft said Gandhi's life and teachings are as relevant today as they were during the struggle for India's independence and his message of non-violence has long resonated with the American people.

"Gandhi, we can really use your presence today. Thankfully, your inspiration and guidance still resonates around the world. Gandhi's message of love, unity, compassion and tolerance is needed now more than ever" in a world undergoing profound political, social and economic challenges.

"This is especially true in 2020 as we fight an unprecedented pandemic and witness autocratic governments in Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and in the Middle East torture and murder of dissidents and violent crackdown on peaceful protest," she said.

"All of us are suffering the devastating effects of COVID-19. Gandhi's message of compassion and sacrifice to improve the lives of our neighbours ring more true than ever," she said.

Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the UN Rabab Fatima said it is a "happy coincidence" that this year her country is celebrating the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

"Gandhiji's love for the good of the common people and his ideals of non-violence also influenced Bangabandhu and his life-long struggle to establish justice and freedom for his people," she said.

Japan's UN envoy Ishikane Kimihiro said that Gandhiji's philosophy of 'Sarvodaya' - welfare of all and 'Antyodaya' - leaving no one behind now takes the form of the Sustainable Development Goals.

"Today the challenges we face are greater than ever, in diversity and in scale, due to the COVID-19 crisis," he said, adding that human security is at stake due to the pandemic and the international community should join hands in keeping 'Sarvodaya' and 'Antyodaya' in mind.

Sri Lanka's envoy to the UN Kshenuka Senewiratne said Gandhi's "timeless thinking, principles and philosophy of non-violence have left an indelible mark across the globe, thereby shaping the manner in which we seek to resolve conflicts, overcome hatred and promote justice."

Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that throughout his life, Gandhi remained "committed to his belief in non-violence even under brutal oppressive regime and in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges."

The Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN Thilmeeza Hussain said: "What is the meaning of Satyagraha in these times when the multilateral prospect is tested by pandemic, conflict and climate change.

"What would Gandhiji say about the world so inclined to disintegration precisely at the moment when unity is needed."

She added that this is precisely the time that nations need to foster trust and collaboration between countries and "recommit ourselves to multilateralism."

The UN envoys of Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Bhutan, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Oman, South Africa, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also spoke at the special commemoration.
One of the strangest recurrences through film discourse is the idea that Sofia Coppola has a defining aesthetic  essentially perfume ad chic, full of wispy white women reclining in fields, sunlight bouncing off camera lenses and confessional narration straight out of a teenage diary. But anyone who has watched her career ebb and flow over the last 20 years will testify to her incredible range as a storyteller.

This week she returns with her seventh feature film, On the Rocks. It marks a reunion between her and Bill Murray, who she directed in the brilliant Lost in Translation, and is yet another string to her creative bow. A melancholy comedy about fathers and daughters and middle-age, its about as far away from the shimmering fatalism of The Virgin Suicides as, well The Beguiled, the gothic psychological thriller she directed three years ago.

To mark On the Rocks release in cinemas (it will arrive on Apple TV+ on 23 October), weve ranked her seven feature films so far, along with her Murray-filled festive short.

8. A Very Murray Christmas (2015)

This could easily not be here  its an hour-long Netflix special deliberately formless and throwaway in its goals  but its still technically a Sofia Coppola movie, so here we are. Reuniting 12 years after Lost in Translation, Coppola and Bill Murray conjured this sweet little thing: an occasionally surreal, enjoyably silly Christmas event in which Murray is snowed in ahead of the taping of a TV special, and duets with stars including Miley Cyrus, Jenny Lewis and George Clooney to pass the time. Whatever its minor ambitions, A Very Murray Christmas is intensely likeable as these things go.

7. Somewhere (2010)

If someone was to make a parody of a Sofia Coppola film, it might come out a bit like Somewhere. Starring Stephen Dorff as a jaded movie star killing time at LAs Chateau Marmont hotel, its a film that matches the temperature of its main character. Somewhere is full of static malaise and shots of bright, starry nothingness, its lethargy at times deafening. But because its a Coppola film, there are lovely moments of warmth here and there  an ice-skating routine set to Gwen Stefanis Cool is especially blissful.

6. On the Rocks (2020)

On the Rocks is Coppolas least formally interesting film so far, but its still undeniably pleasurable. It takes the tone of almost a downbeat Woody Allen movie, with Rashida Jones recruiting her father (Bill Murray) for help when she believes her husband may be cheating on her. But the film is also about hitting an early-forties wall, staring into space and feeling incredibly dejected by life. It also brings to mind how often Coppolas films match their star. If Somewhere seemed directly inspired by Dorffs five oclock shadow raspiness, and Lost in Translation was a tribute to Murrays off-kilter singularity, this is Jones as muse  deadpan, beguiling, and grinning awkwardly through the pain.

5. The Bling Ring (2013)

Somewhere and The Bling Ring go hand-in-hand in more ways than one. Coppolas second in a pair of films about the beasts and weirdos of Hollywood, The Bling Ring bears the same detachment as Somewhere, but is also louder, funnier and altogether meaner. Inspired by a real-life gang of LA teenagers who robbed the homes of tabloid stars like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, the film is awash in tacky splendour  fashion labels, selfies and Emma Watson licking her lips while Azealia Bankss 212 blares through nightclub speakers. But then there are moments when the artificial noise suddenly stops, and Coppola lingers in horrified awe at a flat city dominated by large glass houses full of pink furniture and bad art.

Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning in 'Somewhere' (American Zoetrope/Kobal/Shutterstock)

4. Lost in Translation (2003)

Anyone whos ever felt a pang of loneliness will find a home in Lost in Translation, Coppolas acclaimed mood piece and quasi-love story. As a pair of equally adrift souls stuck in Japan, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson are perfect opposites who unexpectedly heal one another. Their wonderfully warm and thankfully platonic dynamic remains the films key attraction. Murray, in particular, is at his career-best, but its easy to overlook is how brilliant Coppola is at staging and locations  theres the comforting uncanniness of a hotel bar, a space both familiar and alien, as well as the freedoms somewhere like night-time Tokyo can provide.

3. The Beguiled (2017)

The Beguiled calls to mind both the bodice-ripping eroticism of Mills and Boon and the soapy indulgence of an episode of Desperate Housewives. It is spectacular. A gothic thriller set during the American Civil War, it concerns the fragile inhabitants of an all-girls school who take in an injured Confederate soldier. Curiosity rapidly turns to lust, then obsession, and then finally revenge. It is also howlingly funny, full of bitchy asides, carnal jealousies and a plot that essentially revolves around a gaggle of sexually frustrated women all desperate to shag Colin Farrell. Theres a moment in which he tears open Kirsten Dunsts gown in a fit of mutual passion, her pearls bouncing across the floor, and it is the most thrilling thing imaginable.

2. The Virgin Suicides (1999)

One of cinemas all-time greatest debuts, The Virgin Suicides has the hazy ennui of a daydream and the nagging unease of a hangover. Adapting for the screen Jeffrey Eugenides celebrated novel, Coppola saw something in its quietly surreal quality, and how densely it explored gender, adolescence and sexuality. Kirsten Dunst is the most restless of five heartbreakingly suppressed sisters kept under the thumb of their controlling parents (Kathleen Turner and James Woods). They are watched and talked about by the neighbourhood boys, and find solace in sex, rock music and death. Twenty years after its release, there is still something arrestingly intimate about this film. Not just because of its themes, but because it feels like a gaping wound at times, tackling subjects and feelings were often too scared to properly interrogate. Theres a reason an entire generation worships it.

1. Marie Antoinette (2006)

When Kirsten Dunst remarked in 2019 that a strange number of her most beloved films were loathed by critics upon release, Marie Antoinette was quickly earmarked as the one most galling in its early disrespect. The film was booed at Cannes, two years after Coppola became the third ever woman to receive a Best Director Oscar nomination, but its dismissive early reactions felt like a personal backlash disconnected from the movie itself. In the years since, though, the film has undergone a remarkable reappraisal. Its arguable that its actually Coppolas masterpiece.

Marie Antoinette looks, sounds and practically smells like nothing else. Dunst is breathtaking, a petulant, heartbreaking grotesque at the centre of royal extravagance. At her most daring, Coppola takes the template of a historical biopic and smashes it with a pink baseball bat, splattering the film in fondant colours, deliberate anachronisms and music by The Strokes, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Adam and the Ants. Its aesthetically delicious, but also thematically complex. More than even The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette is Coppolas grandest statement on the pains of girlhood  how often society undermines and belittles young women, while simultaneously expecting the world of them.
East Carolina University associate professor Stefan Clemens has developed a new treatment for Restless Legs Syndrome that can provide relief for a longer period of care for patients. He received a patent for his new treatment in August. | Photos: Cliff Hollis

Clemens, along with associate professor Kori Brewer, examine a mouses spinal column in their lab at the Brody School of Medicine. Clemens work with mouse models was essential in helping him develop his Restless Legs Syndrome treatment.

This post appears here courtesy of ECU News Services . The author of this post is Matt Smith An East Carolina University faculty member's latest patent may change the way Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is treated, leading to more effective care over a longer period of time for patients. Stefan Clemens , an associate professor in the Brody School of Medicine's Department of Physiology , was awarded U.S. Patent 10,751,327 on Aug. 25 for his novel treatment method for the treatment of RLS.Restless Legs Syndrome is a nervous system disorder that affects between 5% and 8% of the population in the United States. Those suffering from RLS experience an uncontrollable urge to move their legs caused by an unpleasant sensation. While the exact cause of RLS is still unknown, the syndrome is typically treated with dopaminergic drugs  medications that replace or prevent the loss of dopamine  that have a high initial effect but over time lose their effectiveness.Clemens said.Classic RLS treatments act on a dopamine receptor known as D3 that has a suppressive effect in the nervous system. However, Clemens' lab has shown in animal models that over time this medication leads to an increase of a different, excitatory receptor subtype, D1. This increase of the D1 receptor might be the cause of augmentation.Clemens' patent proposes a new treatment method that targets the increased D1 receptor levels in RLS patients suffering from augmentation, leading to reduced activation of D1 receptors while providing traditional therapy relief from RLS.Clemens said.Clemens was awarded a grant from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to run a small pilot study with a collaborator from the University of Houston using this new treatment method.This work has gained the attention of a company that has interest in establishing a partnership where ECU's patent rights may be used in combination with its existing drug formulation to bring relief to RLS patients suffering from augmentation.Clemens added that the idea to apply for a patent came from ECU's Office of Licensing and Commercialization he said.Marti Van Scott, director of licensing and commercialization, said that finding commercialization opportunities for faculty research is an important bridge that brings science into the communities the university serves.Van Scott said.While Clemens' lab continues to work on its RLS treatment, Clemens said he's also continuing to work on other medical treatments, including care for opioid pain tolerance.
Harrisburg, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/02/2020 -- The Packaging Resins Market Research Report 2020 to 2026 presents an in-depth assessment of the Station Packaging Resins It provides the industry overview with market growth analysis with a historical & futuristic perspective considering the following parameters; cost, revenue, demands, and supply data (as applicable). The bottom-up approach was used to estimate the global market size of Station Packaging Resins based on end-use applications in the various regions, in terms of USD million. The report covers the historic growth of the market, the impact of the COVID-19, and also forecasts its recovery post-COVID-19. The report also presents forecasts for Packaging Resins investments from 2020 to 2026.



Top Companies in the Global Packaging Resins Market

Sinopec Corporation, Exxonmobil Chemical, LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB), SABIC, PetroChina Company Limited (NYSE: PTR), Borealis, Braskem, DowDupont, Indorama Ventures, M&G Chemicals, among others.



The global Packaging Resins Market to grow with a CAGR of +5.5% over the forecast period of 2021-2026.



Market Overview:

The growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions and innovation of modern packaging technologies are likely to provide ample opportunities for the growth of the packaging resins market over the forecast period. The food and beverage segment is expected to dominate the packaging resins market over the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific region dominated the packaging resins market, and it is also expected to be the fastest-growing regional market over the forecast period, owing to the increasing consumption from countries, such as China, India, and Japan.



Get a Free Sample PDF Copy of the Latest Research on Packaging Resins Market 2020 Before the purchase

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Market Insights:

The food and beverage segment stands to be the dominating segment among applications, where packaging requirement is widely driven by a growing need to increase the shelf life of products, thus, protecting food products for longer periods. The packaging is one of the key aspects considered by the firms engaged in the food and beverage industry, to ensure compatibility of packaging material with food, the durability of food, the safety of human health, and attractiveness of the packaging. The increase in the aging population, growing demand for convenient packaging, growth of the e-commerce business, the growing online food delivery market, and the packaging of products in different sizes and quantities are some of the market conditions that have been boosting the demand for flexible packaging globally.



The Asia-Pacific region represents the largest market, and it is also expected to be the fastest-growing market over the forecast period, owing to the increasing consumption from countries, such as China, India, and Japan. Factors, such as the rising disposable income, increasing consumer expenditure, and growing population, have been driving the demand for FMCG goods, which in turn, have been driving the packaging requirements in Asia-Pacific. Furthermore, the growth in the production of beauty and personal care products in countries, like Japan, India, China, and ASEAN Countries, has been further driving the packaging demand in the region. China stands to be the second-largest market for beauty products in the world, after the United States. Considering the growth prospects for the cosmetics industry in China, international cosmetic brands entered the market, which led to intense competition in the domestic cosmetic industry.



The Packaging Resins market can be divided based on product types and its sub-type, major applications and Third Party usage area, and important regions.



This report segments the global Packaging Resins Market based on Types are

Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

Polypropylene (PP)

High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)

Polystyrene (PS) & Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)



Based on Application, the Global Packaging Resins Market is Segmented into

Food & Beverage

Consumer Goods

Healthcare

Industrial



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Regions Are covered By Packaging Resins Market Report 2020 To 2026.

North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India.

North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico).

Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia, and Italy).

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia).



Significant Features that are under Offering and Key Highlights of the Reports:

-Detailed overview of Packaging Resins Market

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-In-depth market segmentation by Type, Application, etc.

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Recent industry trends and developments

-Competitive landscape of the Packaging Resins Market

-Strategies of key players and product offerings

-Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth.



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A private hospital in Indore was served a notice in a case of alleged medical negligence leading to the death of a woman patient two months ago. The notice was served by the chief medical and health officer (CMHO) based on an inquiry committees report, which found the hospital had deputed an unqualified doctor in the ICU on the night, when the victim died, according to the notice.

Prima facie, as per the inquiry committee report, the private Vedant hospital appointed a homeopath and on July 24, he was serving in the ICU, where the 55-year-old Jageshwari Hardiya died during treatment, said Dr Praveen Jadiya, CMHO.

The family members of Jageshwari lodged a complaint with the CMHO and also put up posters in various parts of the city complaining against the hospital. The CMHO issued notice to the hospital on Wednesday.

The womans son, Trilok Hardiya, had lodged the complaint that his mother was admitted to the hospital due to a minor illness. Her condition deteriorated in the night and she died as an unqualified doctor attended to her. The hospital is supposed to submit its reply to the notice within 3 days, said Dr Jadiya.

Also Read: MP saw more Covid cases in September than first 5 months of outbreak combined

The inquiry committee report signed by civil surgeon, Indore, Dr Santosh Verma, district health officer Dr Santosh Sisodia and surgical expert Dr MS Mandloi said, Vedant hospital director admitted that there was no qualified doctor in the ICU, as required, on the day of the incident and a BHMS (Bachelor of homeopathic medicine and surgery) doctor was on duty. The BHMS doctor treated the woman when her condition deteriorated and she had cardiac arrest.

Vedant hospital director Dr Ashish Agrawal said, There was no negligence on the part of the hospital and the doctor concerned. We have received a notice and will reply to it to present our side.
SOFIA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Iotova said here on Thursday evening that her country has learned from China's experience in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and is grateful for the help from China.

Iotova made the remarks during the online celebration of the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria.

The global pandemic has challenged relations between peoples, countries and continents, Iotova said.

"We rely heavily on the experience of China," Iotova said.

"We are infinitely grateful for the help you have given to the whole of Europe, including to our country Bulgaria," she said.

"If we want to find one key word for 2020, it will certainly be the epidemic of the new coronavirus," Chinese Ambassador to Bulgaria Dong Xiaojun said.

Under the leadership of the party and the government, the Chinese people have united and fought the epidemic and effectively contained it, Dong said.

In the second quarter of this year, China's GDP grew by 3.2 percent on an annual basis, making it the world's first major economy to resume positive growth, he added.
Float trips are an annual rite of a Missouri summer. But the best time to enjoy the scenery and the wildlife from a canoe or a kayak may be the fall when it is cooler, colorful foliage is emerging, there are fewer insects and, best of all, the crowds are gone.
Sun-starved Victorians have flocked to Melbourne's beaches, many without masks, amid fears warm weather this weekend could see the undoing of the state's progress against the coronavirus.

Victoria's chief health officer Brett Sutton took to Twitter to issue a heartfelt plea on Friday after disturbing footage emerged of hordes of young people partying on Melbourne's beaches, ignoring social distancing and gathering in large groups.

'Don't risk everything,' he wrote on Twitter.

The moment a young man grabbed a 7news reporter and kissed his head as lockdown relief craziness broke out at St Kilda Beach. A woman kissed the camera lens, leaving a lip-shaped blur. Authorities fear the lack of face masks and social distancing, could bring the virus back

'What we can hold back now means a truly normal summer. Please - Hold. The. Line.'

After two months of tough lockdown, many Melbourne residents rushed to get out and party in the sun as temperatures climbed above 25 degrees on Friday.

They packed Williamstown, St Kilda and Port Melbourne beaches for their two hours of exercise time.

Professor Sutton retweeted footage from 7news Melbourne along with his warning.

Reporter Paul Dowsley broadcast disturbing footage from St Kilda Beach of hundreds of young people cavorting without masks, shouting for joy and not respecting social distancing rules.

Then, the craziness broke out as unmasked revellers swarmed him as he did his live cross.

Pictured: social distancing circles have been painted on the grass and people in this photo appear to be keeping to their circles. Groups of five are permitted, from only two households

St Kilda beach on Friday. The warm weather brought people out in their droves

One woman squealing in delight, ran up and kissed the camera, planting lip gloss on the lens.

A young man without a mask ran up and grabbed the reporters shoulder, kissed the side of his neck twice, then patted the top of his head and kissed the back of it, too.

Authorities fear the coronavirus will once again break out unless people stick to the social distancing rules under Step Two of the roadmap out of coronavirus lockdown.

Victoria has so far been on track and ahead of schedule in beating the coronavirus as the strict lockdowns worked to control the spread.

People thronged to St Kilda beach at sunset on Friday

Melbourne residents couldn't contain their joy on Friday at the slight easing of restrictions and the warm weather. They have been on tough Stage Four lockdown since August 2

The state recorded just seven new infections on Friday as the state's mystery case numbers continue to fall rapidly.

There were just 14 cases from a mystery source on Friday, and the 14-day rolling average of new cases fell to 12.8 for metropolitan Melbourne.

For restrictions to ease to Step Three, Melbourne's 14-day average must fall below five, with less than five mystery cases for a fortnight.

Under current Step Two rules, people are only able to gather in maximum groups of five, from two households.

People were not distancing or sticking to groups of five, and police were not seen giving many $5000 fines - prompting the authorities to fear the virus may return if people don't comply

Hordes of people pictured on Friday on Melbourne's beaches, many without masks

They need to be keeping to the 1.5m social distancing rule, and wearing the compulsory facemasks.

Premier Daniel Andrews increased fines for those who flout the restrictions on gatherings from $1652 to $4957 as the Stage Two easings came into effect on Monday.

However, this did nothing to deter the hordes of young people seen frolicking on the beaches on Friday evening.

At St Kilda there were no signs of police on Friday as hundreds of people broke the rules.

Authorities fear worse will come this weekend with Melbournians unable to resist the warm weather ahead this weekend.

The sunshine and easing of restrictions brought Melbournians out from their homes

People came out in their hundreds to watch the sunset

The weather forecast for Melbourne is a balmy 28 degrees on Saturday and 27 degrees on Sunday.

A police spokeswoman told The Age newspaper that 'a number of' fines had been issued to people who breached directions at St Kilda Beach.

She said police would increase patrols over the weekend.

'As the weather starts to warm up, we know this is a time when many people would normally like to be out and about but it is important that if you choose to leave your home you continue to adhere to the directions of the Chief Health Officer,' the police spokeswoman said.
President Donald Trump talks with Reuters White House correspondent Steve Holland as they walk down the West Wing colonnade with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows before an interview with Reuters about China, COVID-19 pandemic and other subjects in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on April 29, 2020. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Meadows: Trump Is Showing Mild Symptoms of COVID-19

First Lady Melania Trump has 'mild symptoms but overall feeling good'

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday confirmed President Donald Trump is experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms after the president and first ladys diagnosis.

Hes in the residence now and, in true fashion, hes probably critiquing the way Im answering these questions, Meadows told reporters.

White House officials discovered that after Marine One was taking off on Thursday, they learned adviser Hope Hicks tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, said Meadows.

Meanwhile, First Lady Melania Trump confirmed later that she is having mild symptoms but overall feeling good.

Trump and the first lady remain in good spirits, Meadows said, adding that the president does have mild symptoms. He didnt elaborate on what symptoms he has.

He continues to not only be in good spirits  but very energetic, the chief of staff said, adding that business appears to be continuing as usual at the White House.

Doctors will continue to monitor both President Trumps health and the health of Melania Trump, Meadows added. Members of the White House will be continued to be tested on a daily basis.

President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One, alongside Attorney General William Barr, right, Ronny Jackson, second from right, Republican nominee for Texass 13th Congressional District, and Tommy Tuberville, Republican nominee for the United States Senate from Alabama, upon arrival in Dallas, Texas, on June 11, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

His first question to me this morning is hows the economy doing. Hows the stimulus talks on  Capitol Hill, Meadows recalled. Im optimistic hell have a  speedy recovery, he added.

I fully expect other White House officials will test positive in days ahead, Meadows also cautioned.

The development came after midnight, by a Twitter post. The president wrote: Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Following news of Trumps diagnosis, global financial markets declined.

White House physician Sean Conley confirmed on Oct. 1 that the president and first lady tested positive, adding that they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence. He added that he and the White House team will maintain a vigilant watch over the pair.

Melania Trump wrote that she and her husband were feeling good but have canceled public events.

President Trump had a campaign rally planned for Florida on Friday and two planned for Wisconsin on Saturday.

Vice President Pence and his wife, Karen, who are tested on a daily basis, tested negative for the virus Friday, a spokesman told media outlets.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife also tested negative on Friday.
Officials in said Friday the country is ready to discuss a cease-fire in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces has continued for six straight days, killing dozens and leaving scores wounded.

This week's fighting is the biggest escalation in years in the decades-long dispute over the region, which lies within but is controlled by local ethnic Armenian forces backed by It prompted calls for a cease-fire from all around the globe.

On Thursday, leaders of Russia, France and the United States co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group, which was set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1992 to resolve the conflict issued a joint statement statement calling for immediate cessation of hostilities and resuming substantive negotiations ... under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

Armenia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that the country stands ready to engage with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to reestablish a cease-fire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements.

remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the statement read.

The deadly clashes in the region resumed Friday, with Armenian military officials reporting carrying out strikes on Nagorno-Karabakh's capital Stepanakert, and Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry accusing Armenian forces of shelling the Agdam region.

The region's officials said more than 150 servicemen on their side have been killed so far. Azerbaijani authorities haven't provided details on its military casualties, but said 19 civilians have been killed and 55 more have been wounded.

Several journalists were wounded in shelling of the Matruni town on Thursday. Two of them were French citizens working with Le Monde newspaper.

Reporter Allan Kaval and photographer Rafael Yaghobzadeh were taken to the Stepanakert hospital and operated on there, and were being evacuated Friday morning to Yerevan. The two will be then taken to Paris, Le Monde reported.

In an article published Friday, Le Monde said they had traveled to Martuni on Thursday morning to state for themselves the extent of the damage from this week's fighting. They were with several French, Armenian and other journalists when the town was attacked.

The report quotes regional human rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan as saying four civilians were killed and 11 other people wounded in the shelling.

Armenia and have been locked for decades in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, where a separatist war was fought in the early 1990s, ending in 1994 three years after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The 4,400-square-kilometer (1,700-square-mile) enclave in the Caucasus Mountains, roughly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, lies 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border.

Azerbaijan's president said Armenia's withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh was the sole condition to end the fighting.

Armenian officials claim Turkey is involved in the conflict, allegedly sending fighters from Syria to the region and deploying Turkish F-16 fighter jets to assist Azerbaijani forces.

Turkey has publicly supported Azerbaijan in the conflict and said it would provide assistance if requested, but denied sending in foreign mercenaries or weapons.

(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.)
T he UK's coronavirus R number, the rate at which it spreads, could be as high as 1.6 as experts warned the epidemic is still "growing exponentially" across the country.

New figures released on Friday by the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) show the estimate for R for the whole of the UK has risen to between 1.3 and 1.6 compared with last week when it was between 1.2 and 1.5.

Sage has cautioned that while there are some early indications that suggest the growth of the epidemic might be slowing, it is too early to draw firm conclusions amid emerging signs of a second wave of infections.

The Government's scientific advisers said it is still highly likely that the epidemic is growing exponentially across the country and more data is needed to accurately assess recent changes in coronavirus transmission.

Over the next few weeks, it will be important that we understand this in the UK and do not become complacent, they added.

R represents the average number of people each Covid-19 positive person goes on to infect. When the figure is above 1, an outbreak can grow exponentially.

Coronavirus: Areas in England with most new cases per 100,000 people

The estimates for R and the growth rate are provided by the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M), a sub-group of Sage.

The growth rate, which estimates how quickly the number of infections is changing day by day, is between plus 5 per cent and plus 9 per cent for the UK as a whole.

The most likely value is towards the middle of that range, according to the experts.

Scientists behind the data warned that as coronavirus case numbers rise, it will also be accompanied with a parallel increase in the number of deaths.

This is likely to continue for the next few weeks as mortality reflects the recent sharp increase seen in cases, they added.

The Sage scientists also said R and growth rates are not the only important measures of the epidemic and should be considered alongside other metrics.

These include the number of new Covid-19 cases identified during a specified time period (incidence), and the proportion of the population with the disease at a given point in time (prevalence), they added.

They also said the figures published on Friday more accurately represent the average situation over the past few weeks rather than the present situation.

All you need to know from the Government's coronavirus briefing

Friday's developments came after Boris Johnson warned earlier this week that the UK was at a critical moment in the battle with coronavirus.

The Prime Minister used a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday to urge people to follow rules aimed at curbing the spread of the virus and demonstrate forbearance, common sense and a willingness to make sacrifices for the safety of others.

He warned that if the evidence required it we will not hesitate to take further measures that would be more costly than the ones we have put into effect now.

But if we put in the work together now, then we give ourselves the best possible chance of avoiding that outcome and avoiding further measures, he said.

Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty meanwhile said the number of people in hospital was rising, particularly in hotspots, although the figures remained at a much lower level than the beginning of April.

We are pointing out that the direction of travel for both hospitals and intensive care is going in the wrong direction, particularly in these areas that have seen rapid increases in cases, he said.

In a stark warning, Prof Whitty added: We have got a long winter ahead of us.


LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Today's Daily Dose brings you news about the first rolling review of a COVID-19 vaccine in the EU, reverse merger of privately held Chinook Therapeutics with Aduro, Enlivex Therapeutics' positive top-line results of an investigator-initiated clinical trial of Allocetra in COVID-19 patients in severe/critical condition, FDA lifting the clinical hold on Solid Biosciences' IGNITE DMD trial, and Vaccibody's deal with Roche to develop neoantigen cancer vaccines.



Read on.



1. EU begins First Rolling Review of COVID-19 vaccine



The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has started the 'rolling review' of AZD1222, the COVID-19 vaccine candidate, being developed by AstraZeneca plc (AZN) in collaboration with the University of Oxford.



This marks the first 'rolling review' of a COVID-19 vaccine, and the data being reviewed by the committee comes from laboratory studies (non-clinical data). The CHMP decided to start the rolling review of the AZD1222 vaccine based on preliminary results from non-clinical and early clinical studies which suggest that the vaccine triggers the production of antibodies and T cells (cells of the immune system, the body's natural defense) that target the virus.



AZD1222 advanced into phase III testing in the U.S. in late August. The vaccine candidate is being tested in phase II/III trials in the U.K. and Brazil and in phase I/II trial in South Africa.



Early this month, AstraZeneca paused all the AZD1222 vaccine trials following a single event of an unexplained illness, which is believed to be transverse myelitis that occurred in the UK phase III trial. While the trials of the vaccine candidate in the UK and other countries have resumed, the trial continues to remain on hold in the U.S. as regulators have asked the company to furnish further data over its safety.



Gilead Sciences' antiviral Veklury (remdesivir), which secured conditional marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency in July for the treatment of COVID-19 in adults and adolescents from 12 years of age with pneumonia who require supplemental oxygen, was also assessed under the rolling review process.



AZN closed Thursday's trading at $54.30, down 0.91%.



2. Chinook Going Public via 'Reverse Merger' with Aduro



Privately held Chinook Therapeutics is going public via a reverse merger with publicly traded immunotherapy company Aduro Biotech Inc. (ADRO).



Aduro Biotech has announced a one-for-five reverse stock split which will come into effect with the open of the market on Friday, October 2, 2020. The closing of the merger is anticipated to take place on or around October 5, 2020. Following the closing of the merger, the combined company will be renamed Chinook Therapeutics and will trade under the ticker symbol 'KDNY.'



The combined company will advance a pipeline of clinical-stage programs in kidney diseases, led by Atrasentan and BION-1301 in IgA Nephropathy.



ADRO closed Thursday's trading at $2.860, up 17.70%.



3. Enlivex's Allocetra Proves efficacy in COVID-19 Trial



Shares of Enlivex Therapeutics Ltd. (ENLV) jumped over 40% on Thursday, following positive top-line results of an investigator-initiated clinical trial of Allocetra in COVID-19 patients in severe/critical condition.



Allocetra is an immunotherapy that is being developed to rebalance life-threatening hyperactivity of the immune system, using the immune system's own natural regulation mechanisms.



The clinical trial involved five COVID-19 patients, of which three were in severe condition and two in critical condition.



All five patients had a complete recovery from their respective severe/critical condition and were released from the hospital after an average of 5.5 days (severe) and 8.5 days (critical), following administration of Allocetra at which time they were all COVID-19 PCR negative, the company noted.



Allocetra was found to be well tolerated, with no reported severe adverse events.



ENLV closed Thursday's trading at $8.79, up 47.98%.



4. Solid Biosciences to Restart Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Trial in Q1



The FDA has lifted the clinical hold placed on Solid Biosciences Inc.'s (SLDB) phase I/II study of SGT-001 for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, dubbed IGNITE DMD.



SGT-001 is an investigational novel adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector-mediated gene transfer therapy designed to address the underlying genetic cause of Duchenne.



Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, or DMD in short, is a rare genetic disorder characterized by muscle wasting and is caused by the absence of dystrophin, a protein necessary for muscle function. DMD usually affects boys, and its prevalence is roughly 1 in 3,500 boys worldwide.



The IGNITE DMD trial was placed on hold last November, following a serious adverse event experienced by one of the study subjects.



With the company satisfactorily addressing all clinical hold questions - by providing manufacturing information, updated safety and efficacy data for all patients dosed, and providing direction on total viral load to be administered per patient - the FDA has given the go-ahead to restart the trial.



Solid Biosciences is planning to resume dosing in the IGNITE DMD trial in the first quarter of 2021.



SLDB closed Thursday's trading at $3.4, up 70.44%.



5. Vaccibody in Deal with Roche to develop neoantigen Cancer Vaccines



Oslo, Norway-based Vaccibody AS has entered into an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Roche's (RHHBY.OB) Genentech for the development and commercialization of DNA-based individualized neoantigen vaccines for the treatment of cancers.



Through this partnership, Genentech and Vaccibody will progress Vaccibody's investigational product, VB10.NEO, into clinical trials in the U.S. and in Europe. Vaccibody will be responsible for the development of VB10.NEO through the end of phase Ib while Genentech will be responsible for development and commercialization thereafter.



The partnership entitles Vaccibody to receive initial upfront and near-term payments of $200 million and potential milestone payments of up to $515 million, in addition to tiered royalties.



A phase I/IIa trial of VB10.NEO in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors is currently underway.



RHHBY.OB closed Thursday's trading at $42.79, down 0.05%.



6. Perceptive Takes 5.8% Stake in Protara



Shares of Protara Therapeutics Inc. (TARA) were up over 4% in extended trading Thursday, following news of Perceptive Advisors Llc taking a 5.8 percent ownership in the company.



Protara Therapeutics' lead product candidate is TARA-002 for the treatment of Lymphatic Malformations. The company plans to request a meeting with the FDA Division of Vaccines and Related Products Applications by year-end to discuss the regulatory path for TARA-002 in Lymphatic Malformations.



TARA-002 is based on the broad immunopotentiator OK-432, which is approved in Japan and Taiwan for the treatment of Lymphatic Malformations and multiple oncologic indications.



TARA closed Thursday's trading at $16.97, up 0.83%.



7. Stocks That Moved On No News



Anixa Biosciences Inc. (ANIX) closed Thursday's trading at $2.97, up 22.22%.



CTI BioPharma Corp. (CTIC) closed Thursday's trading at $2.47, up 15.12%.



Iterum Therapeutics plc (ITRM) closed Thursday's trading at $1.20, up 14.29%.



Pliant Therapeutics Inc. (PLRX) closed Thursday's trading at $19.89, down 12.19%.



Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. (NRIX) closed Thursday's trading at $30.94, down 11.37%.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Security has been beefed up at the here where hundreds of civil society activists, students, Aam Aadmi Party and Left leaders gathered to protest against the Hathras gang-rape-and-murder case



Besides ground force, senior police officers and paramilitary personnel have been deployed manage the crowd. The protest site has been barricaded by the police to restrict the movement of protesters, an official said.

Senior lawyer Prashant Bhusan, actor Swara Bhasker, CPI(M) leaders Brinda Karat and Sitaram Yechury, and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj are among those who gathered at the Jantar Mantar, demanding the justice for the Hathras victim.

The body of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday a fortnight after she was allegedly gang-raped, was cremated in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging that the police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

Local police officers, however, had said the cremation was carried out "as per the wishes of the family".
Mithun Chakraborty was worried for his family as the the 'only earning member' during the pandemic
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill tested negative for coronavirus on Friday, but that doesnt mean they are both totally in the clear.

Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative, Biden said on Twitter. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.

Biden and President Trump, who tested positive for the virus, shared the stage for the first presidential debate on Tuesday.

Vice President Mike Pence, as well as Bidens running mate Kamala Harris, also tested negative.

A negative test does not necessarily mean a person does not have the coronavirus. It typically takes five to seven days after exposure to have enough virus in the body to generate a positive test result.

If someone takes the test before that window and tests negative, it could just mean they do not yet have enough virus in their body to be detected by the test, and could test positive a few days later. Most people begin having symptoms around five days after exposure, though for some it can take up to 14 days.

For that reason, Biden and others Trump came into contact with around the time he was infected should be monitored or retested for the next 14 days to make sure they truly are negative, infectious disease experts said.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

These are high-level administration officials who were exposed and we need to ensure all of these people are tested. And you cant just test them now. They need to be watched for 14 days, said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a Stanford infectious disease expert. Vice President Biden tested negative but we dont know if he wont turn positive in another day. He was pretty close, without a mask, and there were a lot of droplets from the raised voices.

It is unclear when exactly Trump began experiencing symptoms. Some news reports say he appeared lethargic during a fundraiser on Thursday.

People with the coronavirus are infectious three to four days before they start showing symptoms, and become more infectious once symptoms begin. That means Tuesdays debate could be within Trumps window of infectiousness.

The debate setting checks some of the boxes for the type of higher-risk environment people are advised to avoid during the pandemic: indoors, where there was prolonged talking without masks. However, because Trump and Biden were more than six feet apart, Biden does not meet the definition of a close contact who should self-quarantine, which is defined as more than 15 minutes and within six feet, said UCSFs Dr. George Rutherford.

Because Trump was not yet symptomatic at that time, it is less likely he infected Biden because people are less infectious when they dont yet have symptoms, said Dr. Lee Riley, a professor of infectious diseases at UC Berkeley School of Public Health.

I highly doubt (Biden) got infected from that episode, even though the president was shouting loudly and spitting out a lot of spit, Riley said. They were maintaining distance, more than six feet apart, and werent really talking directly to each other. So I seriously doubt that the vice president got infected. But you never know with this virus. So he needs to be tested every other day or so during the campaign to make sure he doesnt show up getting infected.

On Friday, Biden flew to Michigan to continue campaigning, and gave a speech outdoors in Grand Rapids. He wore a mask. His campaign canceled a second previously scheduled event.

Riley said its okay for Biden to keep campaigning because even if he is incubating the virus and later tests positive, as long as he continues wearing a mask and social distancing in the interim, the likelihood he would transmit to others is low.

Chronicle staff writer Erin Allday contributed to this report.

Roland Li and Catherine Ho are a San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com cho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf @Cat_Ho
An Extinction Rebellion protest outside Perth's Chevron offices saw grandparents superglue themselves to the windows of the gas giant's headquarters.

Grandparents from Extinction Rebellion's WA chapter have superglued themselves to Chevron's headquarters in Perth. Credit:Kate Hedley

Organisers said the group  XRWA Grandparents  was protesting the companys role in the "climate and ecological emergency".

XRWA Grandparents spokesperson, Les Harrison, 74, a retired psychologist and former principal clinical consultant at the Ministry of Justice, said: "Chevron must wind down its activities now. There is no time, nor need, for a gas-led transition to renewables. The technology and resources needed for a green recovery are already available."
Melania Trump's former best friend, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, shared some explosive recordings about the First Lady.

Wolkoff secretly recorded conversations with the former model in the summer of 2018 after leaving her role as an adviser.

CNN aired the recordings on Thursday night that showed Melania expressing her frustration over media perception on major issues such as her husband's child separation policy.

Christmas decorations than meaningful work?

The recordings included Melania expressing her disappointment at having decorating duties at the White House for Christmas. At the same time, people criticized her for not doing any meaningful work during her husband's Presidential term.

"I'm working my a**off with the Christmas stuff that, you know, who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff and decorations, but I need to do it, right?" Melania Trump told Wolkoff.

She continued, "And then I do it, and I say I'm working on Christmas and planning for Christmas," Trump continued."

"And they say, 'What about the children that are separated?' Give me a f****** break."

One part of the audio, the former model insisted that she help the kids at the border be reunited with their parents, but had to do the process and follow the law.

"I was trying to get the kid reunited with the mom. I didn't have a chance. It needs to go through the process and the law."

It's unclear which child and mother Melania was referring to.

Kids are happy to be in detention camps

In the same conversation with Wolkoff, Melania Trump believed that the kids held in detention camps are happy to be in American custody.

She is heard saying, "All these kids that I met they were, they're here in the shelters because they were brought by it through Coyotes, the people who were trafficking - that's why they put them in jail."

Melania references the kids who were shocked that they have their beds and could sleep on a bed.

Though the First Lady said it was sad that their not with their kids, they should be fortunate that the children are well taken care of in detention centers.

Wolkoff told CNN that she thinks Melania Trump would've had a maternal concern for the kids, but would likely ignore all of it to fit in with the ideals of Donald Trump's administration.

"So regardless of that, she steps in line, and she just decides that what she has heard and what she's been told is what the rule of law is in our country."





In the tapes, Mrs. Trump talks about:



- Family separations

- Christmas

- "Liberal media"

- The "I really don't care" jacket Here's all of the Melania Trump audio played on @andersoncooper tonight. The audio was taped by her former friend and advisor @SWWCreative In the tapes, Mrs. Trump talks about:- Family separations- Christmas- "Liberal media"- The "I really don't care" jacket pic.twitter.com/N2Y8QtqD8n  Yashar Ali (@yashar) October 2, 2020

The infamous jacket

In one part of the interview, Wolkoff told Cooper that the infamous "I really don't care, do u?" jacket was a publicity stunt.

The mom-of-one wore the jacket as she visited a migrant child detention center to ensure that people knew she was going to the border.

The former BFF revealed that the statement's motive was to celebrate they had "something over" than the Obamas, who didn't visit any migrant camps during their time.

Wolkoff said, "They do things, not for the purpose that good deeds are done for."

"Good deeds are done for the intent of doing good, not for the attention you get for doing good deeds," she added.

READ MORE: Hoax Virus What?! Celebrities Doubt Donald Trump's COVID-19 Scare
Ryanair had challenged the legality of travel advice published by the Irish Government in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic (Niall Carson/PA)

The High Court has ruled against Ryanairs legal action challenging the States Covid-19 travel restrictions.

The airline had challenged the legality of travel advice published by the Irish Government in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In its action, Ryanair claimed the travel restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the virus were unlawful and amounted to a disproportionate interference in the rights of the airline and its passengers.

The State disputed those claims.

The Government is entitled, in the exercise of the executive power, to provide such advice to the public Mr Justice Garrett Simons, High Court

On Friday, Mr Justice Garrett Simons ruled that the Government had acted lawfully in providing travel advice and public health advice in respect of the coronavirus pandemic on a non-statutory basis.

The Government is entitled, in the exercise of the executive power, to provide such advice to the public, the judgment read.

Ryanair claimed the restrictions were unconstitutional and it sought various orders and declarations, including an order setting aside the measures announced in late July.

These included that people should not travel outside the island of Ireland, except for essential purposes, and that everyone should holiday at home in 2020.

Ryanair maintained that what had been published by the Government went well beyond mere travel advice and represented the imposition of restrictions on international travel.

Judge Simons rejected the argument.

Ryanairs principal complaint is that, as a matter of domestic constitutional law, the Government, in publishing the impugned travel advice, exceeded its executive powers and trespassed upon the legislative power, he said.

These arguments have been rejected.

The advice to avoid non-essential travel and to restrict movements on entry to the State is just that: advice Mr Justice Garrett Simons, High Court

Under the current public health guidelines, any person entering the Irish State is advised to restrict their movements for a period of 14 days.

This advice does not apply to travellers entering the Irish State from a small number of countries identified on the so-called green list.

In its ruling, the High Court said the information published on the Governments official websites presented an accurate portrayal of the legal status of the travel advice and public health advice.

The advice to avoid non-essential travel and to restrict movements on entry to the State is just that: advice, the ruling read.

The Government merely requests that persons entering the State from a country not on the green list restrict their movements for 14 days. As of August 2020, there had been no legal requirement to do so.
Though Henderson testified and video showed he kept up with Gompert after the man passed Hendersons vehicle on Broadway prior to the crash, it was not clear at what speeds Henderson had been traveling. Henderson testified he had slowed before coming to the intersection, 22nd and Broadway, where the crash occurred because he had seen a pickup stopped at the intersection. Walgren had also testified to seeing the truck stopped as he attempted to cross the street at the intersection.

Prior to the close of trial on Wednesday, Hendersons attorney, Sterling Huff, told the judge that he renewed a motion for a directed verdict as the state rested its case after showing a video from a Scottsbluff business near the scene of the crash. In asking for a directed verdict, Huff was asking the judge to determine that the prosecution hadnt presented sufficient evidence for its case to continue to jury deliberations.

At that time, Miller did not rule on the motion and discussed normal procedures for presenting closing arguments to the jury on Thursday.
A court in Kigali on Friday denied a request for bail by Paul Rusesabagina, the polarising hero of the movie "Hotel Rwanda," ordering that he remain in custody to stand trial for serious charges including terrorism.

Rusesabagina, whose actions during Rwanda's 1994 genocide inspired the 2004 Oscar-nominated film starring Don Cheadle, had been living in exile for years where he became a high-profile government critic.

But in August he suddenly appeared in Kigali under arrest in murky circumstances, with his family alleging he was kidnapped abroad and taken to Rwanda.

He must answer 13 charges including terrorism, financing and founding militant groups, murder, arson and conspiracy to involve children in armed groups.

The 66-year-old had already been denied bail in a lower court but he appealed the decision, citing poor health.

However Judge Adolphe Udahemuka said Rusesabagina was receiving fine medical care in Rwanda, and deemed he was a flight risk as he holds Belgian citizenship.

"The court therefore finds the reasons provided by the suspect in seeking to be tried while not in custody not convincing. The court dismisses his appeal, and rules that the suspect remains in custody pending trial," Udahemuka said.

Rusesabagina's lawyer, Emeline Nyembo, said they would begin preparing his legal defence.

"Unfortunately we can't appeal against this ruling. We will continue pushing for his release but now we prepare for the substantive phase of the trial," she told reporters after the ruling.

Rusesabagina is credited with sheltering hundreds of Rwandans inside a hotel he managed during the 1994 genocide, in which 800,000 mostly Tutsis but also moderate Hutus were slaughtered.

But in the years after Hollywood made him an international celebrity, a more complex image emerged of the staunch government critic, whose tirades against the regime of long-serving Rwandan ruler Paul Kagame made him an enemy of the state.

He admitted in court to helping form the National Liberation Front (FLN), an armed movement he previously said sought to liberate Rwanda from Kagame.

The president has been in power since 1994 and is accused by critics of crushing opponents and ruling through fear.

Rusesabagina's family, who say he would never have returned to Rwanda by his own free will, claim his lawyers were not of his choosing, and have accused his legal team of acting for the state.

"My dad is surrounded by people who want him to fall," his son Tresor Rusesabagina said Thursday.

It remains unclear how Rusesabagina -- a moderate Hutu who left Rwanda in 1996, wary that space for political opposition was shrinking -- wound up in handcuffs in Kigali and paraded before cameras.

In an interview with The New York Times, Rusesabagina, speaking with Rwandan officials in the room, said he boarded a private jet in Dubai which he thought was taking him to Burundi, but landed in Kigali instead.
Campus News

Pioneering engineer Eli Ruckenstein dies at 95

Eli Ruckenstein was one of the most influential chemical engineers of his era, as well as one of UBs most renowned faculty members. Photo: Frank Miller

UBNOW STAFF

Without question, he distinguished himself as one of the most eminent faculty members in the history of our institution, and one of the most eminent scientists the world has ever known. 

Eli Ruckenstein, a UB faculty member for nearly 50 years who was awarded the U.S. National Medal of Science for his groundbreaking research in chemical engineering and other fields, passed away Sept. 30. He was 95.

Lauded for his prolific and imaginative research, Ruckenstein, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus, was one of the most influential chemical engineers of his era, as well as one of UBs most renowned faculty members.

Dr. Ruckenstein was a world-renowned scientist whose achievements revolutionized chemical engineering and had a profound impact on a wide range of other fields  from applied mathematics and computing to cancer research, said President Satish K. Tripathi. He was held in the highest regard here at UB, and globally, for his limitless intellectual energy, innovation and creativity, as well as his astonishing breadth of scientific knowledge. Without question, he distinguished himself as one of the most eminent faculty members in the history of our institution, and one of the most eminent scientists the world has ever known.

Kemper Lewis, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, said Ruckenstein represented the very best of UB and epitomized the universitys mission of academic excellence and making a positive impact on the world.

Put simply, Eli Ruckenstein exemplified what it means to be an engineer. He was inquisitive, thought-provoking and tireless in his pursuit of knowledge, always with the goal of pushing scientific discovery into new and boundless directions, Lewis said. His legacy and impact are globally renowned, and he will be dearly missed.

Born in 1925 in Botosani, a small agricultural town in northern Romania, Ruckenstein started school at age 7, but at 14 was expelled due to anti-Semitic laws.

The Jewish community responded by organizing a private high school where he excelled. In his last two years there, although he was compelled to perform forced labor six days a week, 12 hours a day, he managed to study independently, developing a love of mathematics and a penchant for self-teaching, which continued throughout his life.

His outstanding test scores earned him a spot in the chemical engineering program at the prestigious Polytechnic Institute in Bucharest, where he matriculated in 1944. There, he continued self-teaching, relying more on his own intellectual curiosity and the library than on formal classes. This approach, combined with an extraordinary memory, fostered a diverse and encyclopedic knowledge of the literature in chemical engineering and related fields, which became legendary among students and colleagues.

In 1948, he married Velina Rothstein, a chemist. Ruckenstein called his marriage the best thing I have ever done. The couple was married for more than seven decades.

After completing his doctoral degree in 1949 with distinction, he was hired as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Polytechnic Institute, a remarkable achievement given that he was not a member of the Communist Party. However, earning a PhD at the time required being subjected to indoctrination and passing an exam on Marxism-Leninism. As a result, he defended his PhD thesis in 1966, after that requirement was lifted and he had already authored more than 100 scientific papers.

He won numerous important scientific awards in Romania, including the Prize of the Ministry of Education for research on turbulent heat and mass transfer (1958); the Prize of the Ministry of Education for education (1961); the Gheorghe Spacu Prize for Research in the Surface Phenomena Field awarded by the Romanian Academy (1964); and The Prize of the Ministry of Education for research in distillation (1964). In 1993, he was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa by the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest.

Before 1958, Romanian scientists could not publish in most Western journals. After this restriction was lifted, and the broader scientific community became aware of Ruckensteins seminal contributions, he was invited to spend six weeks at University College and Imperial College in London. He was later invited to visit Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Ruckenstein then took a position as a tenured full professor at the University of Delaware, where he stayed until 1973, greatly expanding his research interests as he gained access to a wealth of scientific literature and resources that had been unavailable to him in Bucharest. It was also, however, a period of great personal challenge, as Ruckenstein and his wife were forced to leave their two teenage children behind in Romania. Only after two years, and extraordinary efforts, were the children able to join them in the U.S.

Today, his son, Andrei, is a theoretical physicist and chair of the Department of Physics at Boston University. His daughter, Lelia, a former book editor and literary critic, is now a legal research associate.

In 1973, Ruckenstein was recruited to UB as Faculty Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences. In 1981, he was named SUNY Distinguished Professor, and he remained an extraordinarily productive member of the faculty for the rest of his life, authoring more than 900 additional journal publications, continuing long past his formal retirement in 2011. He authored roughly 50 papers after his 90th birthday, including a dozen in 2019 and several more this year.

For more than 45 years, Ruckenstein played a major role in the growth and development of what is now the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at UB. He brought national attention to the department, mentored dozens of students, researchers and young faculty members, and provided advice to generations of department chairs.

He also became legendary for his questions and comments at department seminars. For nearly any topic a seminar speaker might be addressing, Ruckenstein might say something like: In the 1970s, we considered that problem and . Often, he would provide a profound insight, sometimes opening a whole new research direction for the speaker.

During his five decades in the U.S., Ruckenstein received countless honors for his groundbreaking contributions across many fields of research, most notably the National Medal of Science, which he received in a White House ceremony in 1999. Ruckenstein was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1990 and received the Founders Award from the Academy in 2004, an honor bestowed on a single engineer each year across all disciplines.

In 2012, Ruckenstein was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. From the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, he won the Alpha Chi Sigma Award for his work in transport phenomena, the Walker Award for his work in catalysis, and the Founders Award for his overall contributions to science. From the American Chemical Society, he received the Kendall Award for his research in colloids and interfaces, the Langmuir Lecture Award for his contributions to macromolecules, the Schoellkopf Medal for his work in supported metal catalysts, and the Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.

He was given the Humboldt Award by Germany for his work in surfactants and the Creativity Award by the National Science Foundation for his work in biomolecules.

Ruckenstein was honored with numerous invited appointments and visiting professorships around the world. A fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, he was named by the institute as one of 50 Chemical Engineers of the Foundation Age of chemical engineering.

UB has recognized Ruckensteins contributions with the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, UBs highest honor, as well as the Deans Award for Engineering Achievement and the Walter P. Cooke Award. Since 2009, the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering has hosted an annual Ruckenstein Lecture.

From 2009 to 2019, Ruckenstein worked with former students and colleagues to publish eight volumes in which he organized his most important contributions in different areas over the decades. Their titles highlight the scope and breadth of his diverse scientific contributions in areas ranging from thermodynamics of solutions to nanodispersion to concentrated emulsion polymerization and many others.

Ruckenstein was also known among colleagues and friends for being an extraordinarily driven yet compassionate human being. While intensely focused on his research and dedicated to the success of his students and colleagues, he was deeply concerned with broader issues, including world history and philosophy.

He is survived by his wife, Velina, his son Andrei and daughter Lelia, their respective spouses, Shelagh Leahy and James OMalley, and two grandchildren, Olivia and Leo Ruckenstein.
Is it poetic justice that Donald Trump is now cloistered inside the White House residence recovering from the coronavirus as he ends what historians may remember as the most damaging week of his presidency?

Of course, it is. The announcement early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive was shocking, but it was not surprising.

For months, Trump has been reckless, even criminally negligent, about the threat of the pandemic, and U.S. public health experts have estimated this lack of leadership has led to tens of thousands of avoidable American deaths.

So, yes, actions do have consequences  even for the Trumps.

But it is ironic this latest blow to his election campaign came only two days after one of his most dismal public performances as president.

Watching this weeks horrific U.S. presidential debate was for most of us like being plunged into a vat of hot tar with no route of escape. When will this torture end? we asked ourselves.

But for most Americans, it was much worse.

Widely regarded now as the worst presidential debate in living memory  with its constant shouting, insults and incoherence  it has turned into a national humiliation, exposing to the world the vulnerabilities of Americas democracy, the staggering decline of U.S. stature internationally and the inevitable consequences of having elected someone who behaves like a 21st century mob boss to the White House in 2016.

But imagine what it was like for Donald Trump himself, coming so close to election day.

Trump knows by now that he will lose Novembers election, probably by a wide margin. With the death toll from the pandemic at more than 200,000 Americans and an economy that has collapsed, voters are clearly turning against him, including in the key battleground states.

And Trump, however delusional that he often appears to be, must know that.

You could actually see it in his behaviour in Tuesdays debate  where he made virtually no effort to expand his electoral support.

It seemed clear that he felt it was time to play his final and most dangerous card.

Trump no longer appears to see Democratic challenger Joe Biden as his primary rival. To him, Biden is mere roadkill along the way to a more crucial target.

As four years of Trumps presidency have revealed, he sees Americas multicultural democracy  and all the institutions that support it  as his enemy.

In the debate, this meant his assault was not so much on Biden but, more importantly, on the integrity of the U.S. election itself, and the very notion of a free and fair vote.

In other words, no less than American democracy is in Trumps crosshairs.

In the event he loses the election outright on Nov. 3, which is likely at this point, Trump and the Republican party are trying to delegitimize the results through false claims of voter fraud, overt acts of voter suppression and the incitement of intimidating political violence.

As a final guarantee with a flurry of election-related lawsuits about to be filed, they will count on the courts  now stuffed with many Trump-appointed judges  to rule in their favour as the Republican-dominated U.S. Supreme Court did on behalf of George Bush in the 2000 presidential election.

In Tuesdays debate, Trump created outrage by refusing to condemn white supremacists and their role in stirring up recent political violence in U.S. cities. These groups have threatened to involve themselves in the monitoring of voting activities on election day.

Asked specifically about an extremist far-right group called Proud Boys, Trump appeared to endorse them: Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But Ill tell you what, somebodys got to do something about antifa and the left.

Trumps comments triggered enthusiasm from far-right groups in the U.S., which his own Homeland Security Department has described as the most persistent and lethal threat in the homeland through 2021.

Immediately after the debate, Andrew Anglin, founder of the neo-Nazi website, the Daily Stormer, wrote: I got shivers  I still have shivers. He is telling the people to stand by. As in: Get ready for war.

In a presidency that has been chaotic and unpredictable since the day he took office, Trumps mood now appears grimmer. There is a look of desperation in Trumps latest moves as if, like a cornered animal, he senses his options for survival are narrowing.

If so, he is right. If Trump is no longer president as of next January, he wont be protected from criminal prosecution anymore, and he knows that the possibility of jail is quite real.

There is another reason for Trumps desperation to stay in office. In a bombshell exclusive this week, The New York Times revealed for the first time details of his income tax returns over the past two decades.

It showed that he paid no taxes in 10 of the previous 15 years, paid only $750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017 and  contrary to his claims as a successful billionaire  he lost more money in his business deals over the past 20 years than perhaps any American in history.

But The Times story also reported that Trump owes more than $400 million in personal debt that is coming due within the next four years  all within a second term as president if Trump is ever re-elected.

As some intelligence analysts have noted, this means that Trump is highly vulnerable to blackmail.

There was no indication in the income tax returns who, or which countries, hold Trumps debt, although there was speculation of Russian involvement.

As Eric Trump, one of the presidents sons, was reported as saying in 2014 when asked about the funding of Trumps business empire:

We dont rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.

Why should that not surprise us?

This column is edited from an Oct. 1 version to reflect breaking news.

Tony Burman, formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: , formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyBurman

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Celebrating Pride: Reading Recommendations and Research Resources

In commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall riots, June has long been the month for the celebration of LGBTQ+ pride. Join the University Libraries in the celebration of LGBTQ+ identities by checking out queer literature. Many of these titles are available in the University Libraries leisure reading collection, but be sure to check out curbside pickup at your local public library as well!

Books

Mariko Tamakis coming-of-age graphic novel explores the complexities of love and romance in all its painful glory. Protagonist Freddy struggles to find self-worth in an on-again off-again relationship with the titular Laura Dean, whose aloofness often leaves Freddy in the dark on her relationship status. What I appreciate most about this title are Tamakis normalization of queer identities, and her depiction of queer characters with strong support systems. Themes of self-worth and heartbreak are relatable enough to make this graphic novel an engaging read for folks of all backgrounds and identities.

Ocean Vuongs epistolary novel is full of exquisite prose and heart-wrenching moments. Written in the form of letters from a son to a mother who will never read them, the book features as its protagonist Little Dog, who details life as a gay Vietnamese American working on a tobacco farm. Little Dogs relationship with his mother is fraught with abuse and hardship, but Vuong imbues it with a level of love and compassion that is almost primal. Readers follow Little Dogs explorations of sex, drugs, love and family in this stunning debut novel.

To go into too much detail on The Prince and the Dressmaker would be to ruin the surprises it has in store. A sparkling fairy tale, a story of love between two friends, and an examination of gender expression, Jen Wangs graphic novel tells the story of two young adults learning to become their authentic selves in a world that doesnt always understand them. With gorgeous art, a sharp sense of humor and, most of all, a sense of heart, this book is bound to leave its readers spellbound.

Speak No Evil

Uzodinma Iwealas Speak No Evil is an unflinching look at intersectionality and what it means to grow up in a culture that values some lives more than others. Speak No Evil follows only two characters: Niru, a gay Nigerian American student, and his straight, white best friend, Meredith. As they near the end of their high school careers, Niru and Meredith come to terms with how their experiences have been shaped by their identities and recognize the undeserving consequences that can come from simply living in a certain body. Iweala paints a portrait of a powerful friendship tested by issues of race, homophobia and privilege that has only become more relevant since its publication.

In the Dream House

Carmen Maria Machado follows up her bizarre and frenetic collection of short stories (Her Body and Other Parties) with one of the most imaginative memoirs ever published. In the Dream House examines an abusive lesbian relationship from the perspective of storytelling tropes. Each chapter begins with the title of the trope in relation to the Dream House, what Machado titles life with an abusive partner. With chapters like Dream House as Noir and Dream House as Pop Single, Machado relays the factual horror of her experience in creative ways that are darkly humorous, unflinchingly reflective and intellectually challenging. Machados use of the second person in the novel smartly places the reader under the spotlight. Machado begins her memoir with an examination of the dearth of literature on abusive lesbian relationships. Machado fills that gap by sharing her own experience. It is a raw experience, but one readers will appreciate.

This is How it Always Is

Laurie Frankels This is How it Always Is tells a story of family and the pain that comes from protecting the ones we love. When two parents learn that their sixth child, Poppy, is transgender, they quickly learn to navigate a world they had no knowledge of. Soon, dressing Poppy, calling her by her name, and sending her to school all raise challenging questions. In their efforts to smooth the transition for Poppy, her parents work to counter any negative experiences that may come her way, only to learn that sometimes you cant protect your child from everything. Drawing inspiration for this work of fiction from her own experience as the parent of a trans child, Frankel deftly handles issues regarding trans rights, gender identity and raising a trans child. This is How it Always Is radiates love, compassion and inspiration.

Online research resources

If youre feeling inspired to do a deeper dive into LGBTQ+ issues after picking up some of these great reads, check out these online research resources that explore the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States and across the globe.

Equality Archive is a website that offers brief, accessible, peer-reviewed, fact-based, archival entries on different issues, written by over 25 feminists who are professors, artists and authors. It addresses a range of feminist topics including intersectionality, the undocumented queer movement and the concept of compulsory heterosexuality. Of particular interest for Pride Month is an entry on transgender women at Stonewall  notably Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, two key figures in that historical moment.

This database presents primary sources that explore important aspects of LGBTQ+ life in the second half of the 20th century and beyond with material drawn from hundreds of institutions and organizations, including major international activist organizations and local, grassroots groups.

In this full-text database, you can search a broad range of LGBTQ+ journals, magazines, newspapers, books and reference works.

This online encyclopedia covers LGBTQ topics across the globe. Offering an interdisciplinary approach to LGBTQ+ history, this resource includes many points of entry: film, literature, human rights, politics, landmark legislation, activism, the arts, language, sports and historical events.

 Zachary Lewis is an assistant professor and student success librarian in the University Libraries.
From Supreme Court asking domestic to make full refund of air tickets, extension of ban on international travel, to cancellation of flights over permission issue - there is so much happening in the world of aviation.

Business Standard's Arindam Majumder talks about all the recent announcements related to and what it means for Indian passengers

Tune in to know more




National Australia Bank chief executive Ross McEwan has called for an increase in skilled migrant movement between Australia and New Zealand, as the two governments agree to open limited travel across the Tasman.

A deal was finalised between the two governments on Friday to allow one-way tourist travel between New Zealand and New South Wales and the Northern Territory. However, Mr McEwan said this should go further and called on both countries' prime ministers to be "courageous" in allowing workers to start moving across the Tasman.

"You can imagine when unemployment goes up, everyone wants to pull the borders down and stop people coming in," Mr McEwan said, speaking at the Trans-Tasman Business Circle summit on Friday before the announcement was made. "We have got to resist that massive temptation to listen to that."

NAB chief Ross McEwan has strengthened calls to open the borders, domestically and with New Zealand. Credit:Eddie Jim

"These economies grow on the back of skilled migration and capital coming into new countries like Australia and New Zealand. We've got to have more of it."
HARTFORD  A Bridgeport man, convicted of sexually abusing a 5-year-old child, was granted a new trial Friday.

The state Appellate Court overturned the conviction against Freddie Trinidad, ruling that the trial court improperly allowed the jury to see portions of a video-recorded interview the child had made with a social worker.

We are pleased with the appellate courts decision to reverse Mr. Trinidads convictions, said Trinidads public defender, Jared Millbrandt. I am grateful for the hard work of Attorney Jim Streeto and Virginia Paino at the Public Defenders Legal Services Unit as well as Attorney Jennifer Smith for her terrific work on the amicus brief. We look forward to a new trial in this case.

In January 2018, the 54-year-old Trinidad was convicted of two counts of risk of injury to a child by sexual contact and sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by 20 years of probation.

Trinidad, a friend of the victims family, was accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting the girl while he was babysitting her in October 2015.

Police said at one point Trinidad told the girl he would marry her if she kept his secret. The girl eventually told her mother, who called police.

Prior to the trial, state prosecutors requested the trial judge court review a video recording of the forensic interview of the child, indicating that it intended to show portions of it during the trial under the medical diagnosis and treatment exception to the hearsay rule. Millbrandt objected on the grounds that the exception did not apply because medical treatment of the child had concluded and that the purpose of the interview was investigative rather than medical.

The judge then agreed to let the jury see the video.

We recognize the difficulties the state faces in prosecuting cases involving allegations of sexual assaults of young children when there is no physical evidence but conclude that the childs allegations of sexual abuse by the defendant as revealed in the forensic interview were not admissible under the medical treatment exception to the hearsay rule and played a substantial role in the jurys decision to find the defendant guilty of the charge of risk of injury to a child, the Appellate Court ruled.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan visited French reporters working for Le Monde who were wounded from the Azerbaijani shelling on the town of Martuni.

Yesterday late in the evening together with foreign minister Masis Mayilyan I visited the reporters of Le Monde who were wounded from the shelling of the Azerbaijani armed forces on the town of Martuni. Thanks to the quick and skillful work of our doctors, their life is no longer under danger, the President said on Facebook, releasing a video.

Several journalists have been targeted by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the building of the Martuni municipality. Two reporters of the French Le Monde newspaper were wounded. A civilian accompanying the French journalists has been killed. Three more civilians have been killed from the Azerbaijani shelling. Three other reporters, two from Armenia and one from Russia, were also wounded. The vehicle of AFP reporters was also targeted.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Friday said it has resumed its phase 2/3 clinical trial of Covid-19 vaccine AZD1222 in Japan after talks with the Japanese Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Agency.

The FTSE 100-listed pharmaceutical firm said a standard review process triggered a voluntary pause to vaccination across all global trials on September 6 so that an independent committee could review safety data.

Trials were paused in September after a UK volunteer developed an unexplained illness. Astra had already restarted its trials in the UK, as well as in Brazil, South Africa and India.

However, trials in the US have yet to resume, and Astra is still working with the US Food & Drug Administration "to facilitate review of the information needed to make a decision regarding resumption of the US trial", it said Friday.

Shares in Astra were down 0.2% at 8,466.00 pence in London in morning trading.

By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Facebook has removed 216 Trump ads that claimed "despite the health risks [of] COVID-19 Joe Biden will increase refugees" from Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

"We rejected these ads because we don't allow claims that people's physical safety, health, or survival is threatened by people on the basis of their national origin or immigration status," a Facebook spokesperson told CBS News via email.

The Facebook ad library for the Donald J. Trump Facebook page shows Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. paid $10,000 to $15,000 for the 15-second video messages that started to run on September 30. The ad library, which lists ads purchased by the Trump campaign, shows 216 ads used the "creative and text" before they were taken down by Facebook that same day "because it goes against Facebook Advertising Policies."

The ads received 300,000 to 350,000 impressions before they were removed, according to the ad library.

A similar 30-second version of the ad, however, was not removed, a Facebook spokesperson pointed out to CBS News. Facebook didn't say why the 15-second version was taken down but not the longer one, only noting that the ads were different.

Courtney Parella, the deputy national press secretary for Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., echoed the sentiment in the ads in a statement sent to CBS News on Thursday and stood behind them. She also said: "When it comes to leading our nation through this crisis and delivering the Great American Comeback, Americans can rely on President Trump."

The United States has reported more cases of the coronavirus than any other country in the world, with over 7.2 million total cases and 207,000 deaths, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

Mr. Trump has in the past blamed the coronavirus on other countries  often calling it the "China virus," which many have deemed a racial slur. The 30-second ad that remains on Facebook does not mention China by name, but does include the Chinese flag over a "COVID-19" graphic.

Story continues

Facebook's advertising policies state that ads "must not contain content that asserts or implies personal attributes," including "direct or indirect assertions or implications about a person's race, ethnic origin, religion, beliefs, age, sexual orientation or practices, gender identity, disability, medical condition (including physical or mental health), financial status, membership in a trade union, criminal record, or name."

The company's decision to remove the Trump campaign ads come amid a broader focus on content related to the presidential election.

In September, Facebook said it will block campaigns from advertising in the week before the November 3 vote and that it is seeking to remove posts with "clear misinformation" about the coronavirus pandemic and voting. It also said it will reject any political ads that claim victory in the presidential election before the results are declared  a reversal for the company which has long said it won't fact-check political ads made by presidential candidates and other international leaders.

Trump attempts to clean up "stand by" comment, earlier refusal to denounce white supremacists

House to vote on new COVID-19 relief package as Pelosi negotiates with White House

Donald Trump Jr. explains President Trump's debate stance by saying he's "a fighter"
The 2020 Saskatchewan general election will be held on or before October 26, 2020 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. Michael Boda, the provinces chief electoral officer, recommended to Premier Scott Moe on Friday September 4th, that at present, from a public health and electoral operational perspective, there is no reason Saskatchewan should not continue to prepare for a general election on its legislatively-scheduled date of October 26. This date is set by Saskatchewans fixed election date law. When the law was first introduced in April of 2011, the election date was set for the first Monday in November every four years and mandated a minimum of 27 days for campaigning. The lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan retains the authority to call an election earlier due to a vote of no confidence or on the advice of the premier of Saskatchewan. In April 2017, Boda issued a report recommending that the province delay its scheduled provincial election from November 2020 to April 2021 so that it did not overlap with municipal elections also scheduled for the fall of 2020. At that time he argued, Quite simply  it is not administratively tenable that the election periods for any of the three jurisdictional levels overlap. However, since the wording of section 8.1(3) of the Legislative Assembly Act only allows that the provincial election be postponed if it would otherwise overlap with a federal general election, the Legislature would need to further amend the act in order to delay the provincial election. He recommended that the schedule for the provincial general election be altered because municipalities do not have ability to alter their elections. The Moe government did not follow Bodas recommendation precisely. On October 31, 2018 the Moe government announced that it would table legislation adjusting not only the schedule for the provincial general election but also that of the municipal and schoolboard elections. Provincial general elections would now be held on the fourth Monday of October, starting on 26 October 2020, while municipal and school board elections going forward would be held two weeks later on the second Wednesday in November, unless that date happens to fall on Remembrance Day. This year that date is November 9th.

The process of calling an election is a standard one with a protocol which by law, cannot be altered without an amendment to the Saskatchewan Elections Act. The Lieutenant Governor issues an Order-in-Council (a type of legislation used to issue directives pertaining to managing the operations of government, which is issued in the name of the sovereign). On the advice of the Premier this Order-in-Council is to dissolve the Legislature pursuant to royal prerogative and section 6 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. A second Order-in-Council is then issued to instruct the Chief Electoral Officer to issue writs of election in all ridings. Third and finally, the Lieutenant Governor on the Premiers advice issues one last Order-in-Council in relation to the election one month after the general election to summon the first session of the next sitting of the Legislature. Premier Moe must advise Lieutenant Governor Merasty to dissolve the Legislature no later than September 30 to allow for the mandated 27 day election campaign. While an official election campaign has not been called, both the Sask Party and the NDP have already started taking swipes at each other from their respective corners.

COVID-19 has forced changes in the way parties will be tackling the campaign. John Tzupa, Provincial Secretary and CEO of the Saskatchewan NDP has said the party is using different methods of communication for different demographics. With fewer people having actual landline telephones, fewer numbers are listed in telephone directories. Social media may be a good way of reaching younger voters, but its not as effective for reaching someone in a seniors home. Another change that will need adjusting to is how the armies of volunteers will work and maintain the safety protocols. For many, the fun of a campaign is traditionally the camaraderie and behind the scenes teamwork, but that will need to look different. Youre not necessarily going to be able to have those high energy events where there are a whole bunch of people in a room. So, we need to try and find other ways to harness energy and connect with our people.

It is not just the campaigning during a pandemic that will look different, but the voting process itself. Chief Electoral Officer Michael Boda anticipates voting by mail is going to be much bigger than it has been in the past. During these uncertain times, we want to make sure the public knows about this additional option for voting, particularly those who feel there is a health risk, he said in a media release. Boda said Elections Saskatchewan has hired additional staff to manage expected surge in mail-in ballots. In the 2016 election, 4,420 votes were sent by mail, equivalent to about one per cent of all ballots cast. Students studying abroad and snowbirds who leave the country for the winter have traditionally been the most likely to use the option in previous elections. In 2016, there were only about 4,000 mail-in ballots. As of Wednesday September 23rd, his office had already received more than 15,000 applications for mail-in ballots. The deadline to request a package is October 15th, 11 days before Election Day. Any eligible voter can apply at the Elections Saskatchewan website or they can also request a form in the mail by calling 1-877-958-8683.

It will take about 17,000 election workers to make it all possible. Elections Saskatchewan has started a recruitment campaign to attract people who have never worked an election before to replace those dropping off his list of regulars. Just as some voters are immunocompromised, so to are some regular election workers. Others are retirees who are in higher risk groups and just dont feel comfortable being part of the process this time around. If they can not find the estimated 17000 workers, the election can still take place, it will just mean some last-minute adjustments. Boda is hopeful though, that with the uptick in requests for mail-in ballots and five days of advance polls, voters will be confident in the safety of their health when they go to cast their vote. When voters enter a polling place there will be hand sanitizer, and single-use pencils for every ballot. Theyll see clear plastic dividers separating them from election workers, who will all be wearing masks, and masks will be strongly recommended for voters, though not required. Hes also looking to secure 2,000 polling spaces, almost double what Elections Saskatchewan had in the last election which will allow his staff to put fewer polls into each space. A school gymnasium might have held four or five in 2016. Now, that same gym will house just two or three. Elections Saskatchewan is also rolling out strategies to make sure elderly voters are not discluded. Mail-in voting will work for some. But the biggest challenge might be how to bring the vote to personal care homes, which have been under visitor restrictions since March. We will never be going to bedside, he said. Someone will be engaged by the institution to be the go between.

When it comes to election night itself, usually the 4,000 or so mail-in ballots only make a difference at the margins, in only the most razor-thin contests and their really hasnt been a rush to get that information in. They get counted two weeks after election day. But insiders are speculating there could be 40,000, or even more, mail-in ballots this time and that could leave a lot more results hanging. To address the anticipated surge, Bodas staff will now begin counting mail-in ballots two days after election day and they will carry on the work until its done. While there is no way of knowing if postponing the election would have landed it in a better place pandemic-wise, I think it is fair to say that once the campaign is officially started there will be a deluge of campaign ads pointing fingers at the other guy and promises of better days ahead. It is the constitutional right of the electorate to have a say in who sits in office regardless of which side of the floor they sit on. With so many different ways of casting ones vote there is no explanation nor logic behind not voting. Have a say.
As a result of the shelling of Azerbaijani villages, a number of civilians were killed and many more injured. Extensive damage has been inflicted on houses and civilian infrastructure. So far, 19 civilians have been wounded and hospitalized. Regretfully, just in one shelling of a house in Naftalan region of Azerbaijan five members of the same family, including children, were killed by Armenian forces.

The latest provocation by Armenia follows the 12-14 July attacks against Azerbaijan across the international border in the Tovuz region, when Azerbaijan lost over a dozen of military servicemen, including one major-general, and a 76-year-old civilian.

Speaking at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev warned the international community that Armenia has been prepares for war. The ongoing large-scale deliveries of weapons from Russia have intensified over the last several months indicating at a clear preparation for war. Similarly, bellicose statements of Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan and Defense Minister Tonoyan, who clearly rejected current peace process and called for occupation of more territories, have dealt a significant blow to the negotiations cochaired by France, Russia and the United States. Against the background of Armenia's constant reckless military provocations, President Aliyev's warning at the United Nations turned out to be accurate with Armenia attacking Azerbaijani civilians shortly afterwards.

It is critically important to understand that all the fighting is taking place within the internationally recognized sovereign territories of Azerbaijan illegally occupied by Armenia's armed forces in violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. As stated by President Aliyev, unlike Armenia, which launched cross-border attacks in July, Azerbaijan has no military objectives on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Azerbaijan has always supported substantive and result-oriented negotiations to ensure prosperous future for both Azerbaijan and Armenia.

We urge the international community to make clear to Armenia that its illegal occupation of Azerbaijan's territories is neither sustainable, nor acceptable.

We hope that a just, lasting peace prevails in our region.

Official statements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan could be accessed at https://mfa.gov.az/en/news/6876/view and https://mfa.gov.az/en/news/6882/view

SOURCE Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States

Related Links

http://www.azembassy.us


Madrid has become the first European capital to head back into lockdown following new coronavirus restrictions imposed by the Spanish government

Some 4.8 million residents in the Spanish capital were barred from leaving the area after the city suffered one of the highest infection rates of any region in Europe, with 850 cases per 100,000 people according to the World Health Organization.

The new rules, which will started at10pm on Friday, saw the city's borders closed to non-essential travel, with parks and playgrounds shut, gatherings limited to six people and bars and restaurants ordered to close at 11pm.

The measures ordered by the Spanish health ministry come after Spain recorded a total of 789,932 coronavirus cases as of Friday- a rise of 11,325 since Thursday.

Residents in the Spanish capital of Madrid will be barred from leaving the area under the new coronavirus restrictions imposed by the Government. Pictured: A traveller walks through Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas international airport.

Health workers from the Madrid Emergency Service (SUMMA) carry out antigen tests for residents in Vallecas, Madrid

Police in Madrid stand at check points through the city as the capital enters another lockdown

Sonny van den Holstein, owner of Sanissimo restaurant, said: ''Madrilenos'' were exasperated at political wrangling between the central and regional governments, and anxious about whether the measures would work.

'We have been eight months with masks and without nightclubs and parties, and there is still contagion. Then what kind of impact will these restrictions make?'

'People are confused, they hesitate to go out ... they are in fear,' he added, as a customer called to cancel a reservation.

The conservative-led Madrid area authority reluctantly complied with the order from the Socialist-led central government to ban travel except for school, work, health or shopping.

Famous for its late-night carousing and usually lively tourist flow, Madrid's bars and restaurants must close at 11pm instead of a previous 1am curfew, while restaurants, gyms and shops are having capacity cut by half.

Gatherings of more than six people remain banned indoors and outdoors, but parks and playgrounds can this time stay open.

The measures widen a confinement already in place in poorer parts of the city with high infection rates.

Other busy European cities have tightened measures in recent days, including limiting numbers in restaurants and making face masks compulsory in more places but none have gone as far as Madrid.

The new lockdown will last at least 14 days and could be extended if needed.

Madrid regional police units conduct checks on vehicles as the city sees a surge in coronavirus cases

A police officer gestures towards the traffic as the capital heads back into lockdown

A man looks at the arrivals screen at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas international airport as the city prepares to go into a local lockdown

However Conservative regional head Isabel Diaz Ayuso has launched a legal challenge, fearing economic damage and accusing central government of exceeding its mandate by ordering the measures.

With Madrid's international airport Barajas staying open, Diaz Ayuso tweeted her anger at the prime minister: 'From tomorrow one will be able to get to Madrid from Berlin but not from Parla. Thanks for the chaos, Pedro Sanchez.'

In its appeal, Parla, a periphery town south of Madrid, argues that the measures do not adequately fight the pandemic and would cost 750 million euros ($879 million) per week to the local economy.

But Mr Sanchez said the only goal was saving lives and protecting health. 'All decisions are made based on scientists' citeria,' he said at a summit in Brussels.

A team of health workers prepare to take swabs from people in Vallecas, Madrid, as the capital records a rising number of coronavirus cases

Under the new restrictions, the city's borders closed to non-essential travel and gatherings will be limited to six people. Pictured: People queue for an antigen test in Vallecas, Madrid

With 850 cases per 100,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, the Madrid area has Europe's worst rate.

Spain recorded a total of 789,932 coronavirus cases as of Friday, a rise of 11,325 since Thursday. There have been 32,086 fatalities.

Daily deaths are now around their highest levels since early May but far below the late March record of nearly 900.

Last month Spain's National Health Minister Salvador Illa said that the government was recommending tougher measures, including a partial lockdown, for the whole of Madrid and its residents.

He also said that the threshold of contagion incidence to decide which suburban town to confine should be lowered to 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which is roughly twice the national average.

Saying that 'shortcuts were not valid,' Mr Illa told reporters: 'I don't want to hide that very tough, complicated weeks are ahead of us, but we are going to succeed if we do what we need to do.'

However the leader of Madrid Isabel Diaz Ayuso rejected calls for a new lockdown in the Spanish capital and said 'the solution is not a total confinement' and demanded more help from the Spanish government.
Itching to get a look at Anne Hathaways Grand High Witch?

October has your answer. The witching season delivers the trailer for The Witches, a reimagining of the classic Roald Dahl book set to air on HBO Max later this month.

Hathaway, 37, who grew up in Millburn, takes on the role made famous by Anjelica Huston in the first The Witches film in 1990 (see trailer below to compare).

Hathaways fellow Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) directed the new film, which will premiere on HBO Max in the United States Oct. 22 and debut in theaters internationally Oct. 28.

Hathaway was chosen to be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame this month, but since she cannot attend the ceremony because of a film commitment, she will be inducted at a future ceremony, organizers said.

Kenya Barris (black-ish") and Zemeckis wrote the Witches screenplay based on Dahls 1983 book. Alfonso Cuaron (Roma) and Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) serve as producers alongside Zemeckis.

The film follows a boy, played by Jahzir Kadeem Bruno (Atlanta), who discovers a secret coven of witches. His grandmother, played by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, has to help him to stop the witches from turning all children into mice.

Real witches dress in ordinary clothes, and look very much like ordinary women," Dahl wrote in the book. "They live in ordinary houses, and they work in ordinary jobs. That is why they are so hard to catch.

Starring alongside Hathaway, Bruno and Spencer are Stanley Tucci, Chris Rock (who lives in Alpine)  who can be heard as the narrator for the boy in the trailer  and Kristin Chenoweth.

The 1990 Witches film, directed by Nicolas Roeg, took place in the present day in a seaside resort in England and featured puppets and animatronic mice from Jim Hensons Creature Shop. In fact, it was last film Henson worked on before his death in 1990.

In Zemeckis' film, the grandmother takes her grandson to a seaside resort, but the story is set in 1967 in rural Demopolis, a town in Alabama.

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Tell us your coronavirus story. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Send a tip here.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden tested negative for the coronavirus Friday on the heels of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump testing positive.

Biden stood across the debate stage from Trump Tuesday night, but the two candidates never shook hands.

The Biden campaign sent out a statement from the candidate's doctor confirming both Biden and his wife Jill were tested for COVID-19 and the virus 'was not detected.'

'I am reporting this out in my capacity as both Vice President Biden and Dr. Bidens primary care physician,' Dr. Kevin OConnor said.

Biden also sent out a tweet announcing he and Jill tested negative.

'Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands,' Biden wrote.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden sent well wishes to President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump after the overnight news that the couple had tested positive for the coronavirus

Joe Biden tweeted Friday afternoon that he and Jill had tested negative for the coronavirus. 'I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands'

The Biden campaign sent out a memo from Joe and Jill Biden's primary care physician that said COVID-19 was 'not detected'

The former vice president wrote that he and his wife Jill were thinking of the president and first lady and wished them a 'swift recovery.' 'We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family'

Joe Biden (right) will be tested for the virus Friday morning after spending Tuesday night on the debate stage across from President Donald Trump (left)

Earlier Friday, Biden sent well wishes to the first family.

'Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family,' he wrote.

Biden is expected to travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan Friday.

Biden's campaign has been meticulous about having the candidate and people around him wear masks and social distance.

But the Democratic presidential nominee was on stage for 90 minutes without a mask with President Trump on Tuesday night. The two men were socially distanced but it's unclear if they had any interactions backstage.

The campaign was testing everyone who attended Tuesday's debate after the president's diagnosis, Politico reported Friday.

Trump adviser Hope Hicks tested positive on Wednesday but she traveled on Air Force One with the president to Cleveland for the debate and sees him on a daily basis. It's uncertain when she would have been infected.

The Biden campaign already asked one reporter - who was scheduled to travel with them but informed officials they had traveled with Trump to Minnesota on Wednesday - not to go.

All the attendees at the Cleveland debate were tested beforehand, while the former vice president's wife Jill Biden kept her mask on throughout, unlike some members of the Trump family. Melania Trump also wore a mask throughout, but removed her mask when she came onstage at the end of the face-off.

Biden, 77, is in the same high risk category as Trump due to age.

His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, tested negative for the coronavirus Thursday, according to Reuters.

She also sent out a tweet Friday wishing the president and his family well.

'Doug and I join Joe Biden and Dr. Biden in wishing President Trump and the First Lady a full and speedy recovery. Were keeping them and the entire Trump family in our thoughts,' Harris wrote.

During the debate, Trump mocked Biden for his mask wearing.

Joe Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, also tweeted well wishes to the president and first lady Friday morning

'I don't wear masks like him. I dont think Ive ever seen him without a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from someone and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen,' he said.

The president also said of his packed gatherings, 'So far we've had no problem whatsoever.'

'If you could get the crowds, you'd do the same thing,' Trump told Biden.

Hicks, 31, is said to have first felt unwell returning from a rally in Minnesota on the president's plane Wednesday evening.

She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, according to a report.

Trump cancelled his Friday plans to hold a rally in Florida in the wake of his diagnosis.

Biden was seen in public Thursday when he recorded his speech for the Al Smith dinner.

He wore a mask.

The former vice president has been critical of the Trump administration's response to the pandemic.
President Donald Trump says voting by mail is ripe for fraud. But South Carolina lawmakers  Democrats and Republicans  eased the requirements this year, allowing all registered voters to participate by mail because of COVID-19.

Following are some of the misconceptions about the process and the security safeguards S.C. election officials say are in place to thwart potential abuse.

There are penalties for criminal acts, including fines and jail time.

Absentee ballots are being mailed this week and should begin to arrive in home mailboxes in the coming days.

Do election offices blindly mail out ballots or absentee request forms?

Contrary to alarms raised by the president and critics in other states, it's not done in South Carolina.

Every year beginning Jan. 1, voters must re-request an absentee ballot application form for that year's upcoming races.

No unsolicited ballots ever are sent.

Can outside groups, political parties or other people legally help someone register or apply for an absentee ballot?

Yes.

This is a tactic utilized by interest groups to motivate "friendly" voters.

Political parties and candidate campaigns are known to feature websites and home-mailings that essentially provide voters with a path to request the application.

Anyone can help a voter request an absentee application, either in writing, by email or by phone. It's considered legal because it's the individual voter who ultimately is making the request.

Under state law, there are very few restrictions on helping people register to vote other than you cant pay someone to register or offer anything of value for doing so.

Providing a stamp or a ride to a polling site is not ordinarily considered a crime.

Who can vote by mail this year?

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were limits on who could vote absentee by mail to include only the sick, people over 65, those on vacation or with job duties and the like.

Now it's open to all.

As many as 1 million of the state's 3.4 million registered voters are expected to vote absentee this year.

How do I get an application to receive a ballot?

This is key: You have to apply. A ballot is not automatically generated and sent to you.

When you make the request, your registration information is verified before a blank ballot is sent your way.

The easiest step to begin the process is to visit SCVotes.gov and download the application form indicating you wish to receive a ballot. You will need a printer; nothing is done directly online unless you are a state resident or military member stationed overseas for whom a special internet voting portal is available.

Once your ballot request is filled out, you can hand deliver, fax or mail the form back to your county election office. An unmarked ballot will be mailed to you once your status is verified.

What happens when I receive my ballot?

You can fill out your picks in pen. But you may want to wait before signing, sealing and mailing it.

After a series of rulings and appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked Thursday to decide whether the signature of a witness is required on South Carolina mailed ballots.

The state Republican Party and S.C. Election Commission want to keep the stipulation in place for accountability purposes. Democrats want is relaxed because it would force people together during the coronavirus.

Completed ballots must be received by your local county election office through the mail by 5 p.m. Nov. 2, and in person at a county elections office as late as 7 p.m. Nov. 3, Election Day.

You can't turn in your absentee ballot at your polling place, the logic being that if you can make it to the polling place on Election Day, you're not absent.

Does South Carolina allow for drop boxes?

State law prohibits "unattended" drop boxes. But "manned" drop boxes for turning completed early ballots are being set up by various counties around the state for use during advertised business hours.

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You can hand-deliver your ballot to an election official at your county headquarters or one of their temporary satellite absentee voting locations.

What about fakery or forging someone's identity?

In addition to the layers of protection of providing your age, address, picture ID, Social Security number and other personal information presented when originally registering to vote, officials stress that any deliberate falsehood could be prosecuted.

Someone convicted of "false swearing" in applying to register to vote can be found guilty of a misdemeanor and "must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than three years, or both," according to state law.

Someone who commits a fraud in any aspect of voting can be found guilty of a misdemeanor and face a fine of up to $500 and a year in prison.

Can you move/register in another state but still try to vote absentee in S.C.?

It is against multiple laws to try to vote in two states.

States share voter rolls to head off this from happening through the jointly accessible Electronic Registration Information Center.

What if someone tries to vote at the polls on Election Day even after requesting or mailing in an absentee ballot?

Election officials look out for this.

If you are sent an absentee ballot, it is identified as being distributed and your name and precinct data information is included in the check-in laptop that poll workers use at your polling site indicating you have chosen to vote absentee.

If you lose your mailed absentee ballot, you may still be able to cast a provisional ballot that is set aside and counted if the lost ballot does not appear by the time the election is certified.

Will my ballot be counted after Nov. 3?

Most absentee ballots will be counted on Election Day.

Due to expected heavy volume, however, it is possible some counties won't be able to process all of them that night.

Can the dead vote?

There are safeguards against someone using the identity of a deceased person.

The S.C. Election Commission receives monthly data from the state health department's Bureau of Vital Statistics of people who have died in South Carolina. This list is processed and compared, and voters on the list are made inactive.

The state also gets monthly death data from the Social Security Administration that is used to make deceased voters inactive.

Another safeguard: Every two years, the state sends confirmation cards to any voter who hasnt voted in four years, which officials hope is acknowledged by survivors. Family members can also report the loss of loved one.

What if someone dies before Election Day?

Technically, their early, absentee ballot shouldn't count.

If a county election office became aware, they would be required to challenge the ballot. However, it would be unlikely for a county election official to know about a voter who died shortly before Election Day mostly due to the delay in reporting of deaths.

Tracking you ballot

Charleston County voters can follow their ballot through the process by visiting: track.chsvotes.org

Important election information

Friday is the last day to register to vote in-person at your local election office.

Sunday is the last day to register to vote online at http://scvotes.gov.

Monday is final date that mail-in registration must be postmarked.

Sources: S.C. Election Commission, the Attorney General's Office and local election authorities
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
WASHINGTON  The first lady, Melania Trump, delivered a profanity-laced rant about Christmas decorations at the White House and mocked the plight of migrant children who were separated from their parents at the border in 2018 during a conversation secretly taped by a former aide and close confidante.

Im working like a  my ass off at Christmas stuff, Trump laments to the former aide, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who has just published a tell-all book, in a recording that was first broadcast on CNN on Thursday night. Trump continued, You know, who gives a fuck about Christmas stuff and decoration?

Later in the conversation, which occurred in July 2018, the first lady complained about the criticism leveled at President Donald Trump and his administration that summer for separating families in a crackdown on immigration.

I say that Im working on Christmas planning for the Christmas, and they said, Oh, what about the children? That they were separated. She used another obscenity to express her exasperation, asking Winston Wolkoff, Where they were saying anything when Obama did that?

The audio recording puts the first ladys frustrations on full display only weeks before Donald Trump faces voters in his bid for a second term.

In a statement, Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys chief of staff, accused Winston Wolkoff of seeking to profit by releasing the recordings even as she tries to increase sales of her book, Melania and Me.

Her only intent was to secretly tape the first lady in order to peddle herself and her salacious book, Grisham said. There is no way to know if these recordings have been edited, and its clear the clips were hand-picked and presented with no context. The first lady remains focused on her family and serving our country.

As first lady, Trump has been somewhat reclusive, holding few formal dinners or parties at the White House and keeping a mostly low profile. Critics have mocked her Be Best program, intended to encourage children to model good behavior, saying that the president hardly abides by that credo.

Winston Wolkoffs book was published this year after a falling-out between the two women. Winston Wolkoff left the White House in early 2018 after it was revealed that her firm had received $26 million to help plan the presidents inauguration.

The recordings appear to present Trump as irritated that she does not receive the positive news coverage that she believes she deserves, in part because people say she is not speaking out enough about her husbands actions as president.

They say Im complicit. Im the same like him. I support him. I dont say enough. I dont do enough, she tells Winston Wolkoff in a conversation that sounds as if she is confiding in a close friend.

The conversation took place only weeks after Trump made headlines when she traveled to an immigrant shelter for children in Texas along the Mexican border and wore a jacket that read, in white capital letters, I really dont care. Do U?

At the time, the president and the first ladys spokeswoman said that the message on the jacket was aimed at reporters, not at the children she was visiting.

Asked by Winston Wolkoff why she wore the jacket, Trump said she did it to annoy her husbands critics.

Im driving liberals crazy, thats for sure, she said. And that, you know, thats  and they deserve it. And everybodys like, Oh, my God. this is the worst. This is the worst. After, I mean, come on. They are crazy, OK?

In the recordings, she complains that the news media was not willing to write a positive article about her visit and her efforts to help reunite children with their parents. She says they do not understand the limits of what she can do because reuniting them needs to go through the process and through the law.

Of the news media, she says: They will not do the story. We put it out. They would not do the story. You would not believe it. They would not do the story because they are not  they would not do the story because they are against us because they are liberal media. Yeah, if I go to Fox, they will do the story. I dont want to go to Fox.

The recordings also suggest that the presidents view of immigration  and in particular his support for the idea of separating children at the border to deter illegal crossings  influenced the way she saw the issue as well.

In one part of the conversation, according to CNN, Melania Trump questioned whether the mothers and children who claimed to have been subject to violence in their home countries were really lying to Border Patrol officials.

A lot of, like, moms and kids they are teached how to do it, Trump said. They go over and they say like, Oh, we will be killed by a gang member, we will be, you know, its so dangerous. So they are allowed to stay here.

She said the families, most of whom come from Central America, could have chosen to stay in Mexico.

They are teached by other people what to say to come over and to, you know, let them go to stay here, she said. Because they could easily stay in Mexico, but they dont want to stay in Mexico because Mexico doesnt take care of them the same as America does.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
A mega exhibition opens at Londons British Museum this autumn (September 24, 2020 to January 24, 2021) and its built around the Indian philosophy of Tantra, which grew in popularity between the 5th and 6th centuries CE.

Tantra affirms all aspects of the material world as a manifestation of divine feminine power, says Imma Ramos, curator of the medieval and south Asian collections of the museum and also curator of the exhibition. It teaches that enlightenment can be achieved by actively engaging with spiritual obstacles such as desire, aversion and fear in order to ultimately transcend them.

And so, some of the deities of Tantra took inspiration from gods of mainstream Hinduism, such as Bhairava -- a Bhairava sculpture from Tamil Nadu is actually part of the exhibition; this helped the philosophy appeal to people living on the fringes of Hindu society. Over time, with the emergence of Buddhism, it expanded to include elements from that religion as well.

Some of the exhibits in Tantra: Enlightenment to Revolution can be viewed online at britishmuseum.org. Wknd went on a tour and has curated these 10 objects (painting, prints and sculptures) of interest from among the more than the 100 on display.

Housewives with Steak-Knives, collage

Artist Sutapa Biswas, 1985

The British artist overlays elements of the goddess with images of a contemporary Indian woman. This is not the ma of popular culture, but Ma Kali. White men who are unfamiliar with the imagery are threatened by it, the artist told The Guardian.

Untitled, acrylic on canvas

Artist Biren De, 1974

De is referred to as a Tantric painter and always denied he was one, so this is an interesting addition. His paintings from the 70s do depict concentric shapes of mandalas framing luminous central deities. For De, Tantra was expansion of consciousness. By making us acknowledge the fragmented state of our existence, our limitations, his art encourages us to transcend these barriers, curator Ramos says.

Ramprasad Sen with the goddess Kali, print

Artist P Chakraborty, 20th century, Bengal

This print shows the goddess Kali as a revolutionary force shadowing Sen, an 18th-century Kali devotee/poet. Its considered to be an early example of the country represented as the Motherland, and took on special significance amid the freedom struggle.

Bhairava sculpture, granite

11th century, Tamil Nadu

Bhairava is considered a reincarnation of Shiva (revered in Tantra philosophy for his delight in defying conventions and boundaries). Bhairava is believed to have emerged from Shivas nail which was used to chop off one of Brahmas heads in order to cut the latter down to size. A scrap from a nail, growing so powerful is symbolic of the philosophy of Tantra.

Karaikkal Ammaiyar, bronze sculpture

Late 13th century

Karaikkal Ammaiyar was a 6th-century Tamil saint who abandoned her role of obedient wife and danced her way to the gods. It was this challenge to established hierarchies that appealed to the marginalised.

Human Be-in, poster

1967, USA

This poster designed by Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelley (photograph by Casey Sonnabend) advertises the Human Be-In festival, held in San Francisco, which heralded the Summer of Love. Yoga and meditation were promoted as transformative practices that could inspire minds to challenge the status quo. The poster includes a portrait of a yogi taken in Nepal. Yogis captured the popular imagination in the West as countercultural role models, the curator writes in the exhibition blog.

Saraha and the Other Mahasiddhas, thangka

18th century, Tibet

Saraha was one of the great Tantric masters, or mahasiddhas. Saraha wielding an arrow is symbolic of deep focus; the female arrow-smith is the mandatory tip of the hat to Shakti, the feminine power that underlines the philosophy.

Raktayamari and Vajravetali figures, bronze with turquoise, gold and pigment

16th to 17th century, Tibet

Tantra is a compound of two words, tan, the body, and tor, meaning yours, says Anuradha Ghosh, Tantric scholar and professor at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. This divine couple is intertwined, about to celebrate their bodies. The deeper Tantric thought of internalising both ones masculine and feminine qualities or selves is also reflected. The Tantra philosophy of inclusivity would find echo, too, in todays fight for the freedom to choose, and the freedom to love, led by the LGBTQI community.

Hatha yoga manuscript

Early 19th century

This page depicts the yogic body with a focus on the Kundalini, imagined as a serpent (representing power), coiled at the base of the spine. Tantric yoga is routed through the arousal of cosmic energy, Kundalini Shakti, says Madhu Khanna, chairperson of Tantra Foundation, New Delhi.

Aghoris, photographs

Dolf Hartsuiker, 1990s

The Aghoris, followers of Bhairava were taken by the Indophile Dutch traveller Dolf Hartsuiker. Aghoris typically worked in burial grounds; extracted metal during post-death rituals. Their practices tended to place them on the margins of society; their everyday life was one of busting taboos.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Paramita Ghosh Paramita Ghosh has been working as a journalist for over 20 years and writes socio-political and culture features. She works in the Weekend section as a senior assistant editor and has reported from Vienna, Jaffna and Singapore. ...view detail
President Donald Trump walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Oct. 1, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Trump Says Hes Overturning Ridiculous Order to Remove Brotherhood From Navy SEALs Ethos

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will overturn the ridiculous order of removing the words brotherhood and man from the U.S. Navy SEAL ethos.

It comes after the recent change was made to the Navy SEAL ethos to reflect the fact that women can now serve in the elite force.

I will be overturning this ridiculous order immediately! Trump said in a tweet responding to the news.

The Navy SEALs and the Navy Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) recently changed their ethos and creed statements to reflect a gender-neutral presentation of the elite Navy groups, doing away with gendered terms like brotherhood and changing them to citizen and warrior.

The current version of the SEAL ethos can be seen on the Naval Special Warfare Commands official website, and reflects the gender-neutral changes. An older version is also available and shows the ethos statement without the new gender-neutral phrasing.

One change to the SEAL ethos was to alter a sentence in the first paragraph which initially read, A common man with uncommon desire to succeed, to Common citizens with uncommon desire to succeed. Another that read, I am that man, now reads, I am that warrior.

In the fourth paragraph of the ethos, the sentence, The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men has changed to The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from others, and brave men has been amended to read brave SEALs.

President Donald Trump listens as Frank Larkin (L), a retired Navy Seal, speaks during a signing ceremony for an executive order at the White House on the National Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End Veteran Suicide in Washington, on March 5, 2019. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The new version of the SWCC creed has also been published on the Naval Special Warfare Command website.

In the SWCC creed, the term brotherhood was changed to a group of maritime warriors. Additionally, the sentence, I challenge my brothers to perform, as I expect them to challenge me is changed to, I challenge them to perform, as I expect them to challenge me.

Naval Special Warfare spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Stroup confirmed the changes to the ethos and creed statements in an emailed statement to American Military News.

Naval Special Warfare continues to deliberately develop a culture of tactical and ethical excellence that reflects the nation we represent, and that draws upon the talents of the all-volunteer force who meet the standards of qualification as a SEAL or SWCC, Stroup said.

The Naval Special Warfare spokesman added that the changes had been made to the ethos and creed statements in order to comply with changes in law opening the potential for women to join the elite military units.

The previous versions of the SEAL Ethos and SWCC Creed were written prior to the law allowing women to serve as operators in Naval Special Warfare. The changes do not in any way reflect lowering standards of entry, rather they ensure that all those who meet the requirements to train to become a SEAL or SWCC are represented in the ethos or creed they live out. This improves the posture of the NSW force by ensuring we draw from the greatest pool of talent available.

In 2015, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that beginning in January 2016, all military occupations and positions will be open to women, without exception.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter greets airmen at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., on Sept. 26, 2016, after giving a speech on nuclear weapons. (Robert Burns/AP Photo)

This meant that for the first time in U.S. military history, women were able to contribute to the Defense Department mission with no barriers at all in their way, provided they qualified and met specific standards.

However, Stroup said that to date, no women completed the SEAL or SWCC qualification training pipelines.
On January 14, 1961, Hansen delivered a report to the SWP Political Committee in support of his Draft Theses. If nothing else, his report, and the remarks in support of it by other members of the Political Committee, exposed the depths to which the SWPs theoretical level had fallen. Despite the resolution of the Eighteenth Convention, the Cuba policy of the SWP meant the restoration, in a somewhat different form, of the right-wing orientation that had prevailed during the original regroupment campaign. Hansens explanation of the reasons why the SWP had to immediately declare whether or not it believed Cuba to be a workers state made very clear that the party leadership was reacting to the pressures being exerted by middle-class and radical public opinion:

There are figures like Sartre, very important intellectual figures that have a position. Is he right or is he wrong? And C. Wright Mills. I am sure all of you have read Listen, Yankee. At least all those in this room have read Listen, Yankee. All right, is he wrong, or is he right? A big, important figure in the academic world in the United States has made an estimate of the Cuban revolution. We are now faced with a political need to answer where we stand on this. Huberman and Sweezy have taken a stand on it. Do we agree or disagree? The Communist Party has a stand on the character of the revolution. Where do we standdo we agree or do we disagree with them? In other words, we feel a political pressure now to reach a definite decision as to the main characteristics of this revolution. It finally boils down to this question: Should we intervene in the dispute thats going on among all these currents, all these figures, or should we abstain from this dispute and wait still longer before we take a position? If we do, we suffer political damage. Political necessity forces us to turn to the theoretical side of the revolution.[ 1 ]

Without the slightest embarrassment, Hansen was admitting that the SWPs overriding preoccupation with the Cuban eventswhich were to serve as the justification for its split from the ICFIwas principally motivated by practical considerations stemming from the desire to strengthen its ties with the American radical (and not so radical) middle-class intelligentsia, described by Hansen as big, important people!

The vulgar character of Hansens thinking was exemplified in the manner he set about convincing the SWP Political Committee of the proletarian character of the Cuban state. His exposition reads almost like a satire on the pragmatic method, which constructs generalizations out of facts drawn from casual observation:

Now the conclusions that we have reached are not speculations, theyre not projections, are not based on any political confidence in what the regime down there is going to do. Our characterizations simply reflect the facts. The fact that the capitalists have been expropriated in Cuba. The fact that a planned economy has been started there. The fact that a qualitatively different kind of state exists there. No matter what you call these things, they are the facts that everyone has to start with. Thats the situation.[ 2 ]

These facts, as presented by Hansen, were devoid of critical analysis. As the International Committee was later to explain, Hansens treatment of facts as some sort of independent arbiter of truth was that of an unabashed pragmatist. He did not bother to examine the nature of the analytical concepts which he employed, consciously and unconsciously, in the very process of abstracting his facts. To say that capitalists have been expropriated did not in itself explain the class nature of the expropriations. The reference to the starting of a planned economy was no less abstract, inasmuch as it did not analyze the basis and perspective of Castros planning. And history has since demonstrated that in the absence of systematic industrialization, and without the liberation of Cuba from the domination of a monoculture economy based on sugar cane, scientific planning has been impossible.

But the most abstract of all Hansens claims was his reference to a qualitatively different kind of state. Different from what? Hansen did not say. His statement was simply to be taken at face value. Of course, the majority of the SWP Political Committee had some idea of what Hansen was referring to. The pictorial image of armed guerrillas probably flashed through their minds as they listened to Hansen. That was, no doubt, very different from the appearance of the New York Police Department. But armed guerrillas and popular militias do not, by themselves, determine the class nature of the state power and prove the existence of a nonbourgeois type state. The emergence of such bodies in the course of popular democratic revolutions is by no means uncommon. What made the state which arose from the Bolshevik revolution qualitatively different was not armed militias, but the Soviet form through which the proletariat exercised its power.

Thus, the facts which Hansen declared to be the starting point of his analysis were based on unstated conceptual premises (of a petty-bourgeois, non-Marxist character), unwarranted assumptions and undigested impressions.

Hansens presentation went from bad to worse. Arguing like a cynical lawyer trying to work out a deala mode of exposition that was Hansens specialtyhe reviewed the facts upon which all reasonable men and women in the SWP leadership could agree:

I dont want to repeat whats in the theses you have before you because I expect everybody will have read and studied them. But what I would like to place before you are some considerations, some of which I am sure you will agree with, others which you may or may not agree with, and some considerations that I present as personal opinions. So first of all, let me indicate where I think you will all agree on the question of Cuba before I come to the speculative side, if it is speculative. It is very important in beginning a discussion to understand what we agree on. It makes the discussion a lot easier. This is true whatever the nuances may be in all the various positions that are taken. The first fact I think we can all agree on is this: That the revolution began under a petty-bourgeois leadership, whose program was largely bourgeois democratic. Thats one of the things I think everyone will agree with, one reason being that the leadership itself recognizes that. The Castro leadership says that. Now there are two special things about this leadership. One is that it was extremely radical. It believed in armed revolution. They practiced it, they advocated it. And let me add that its completely legal in Cuba. I dont say its legal here, but in Cuba its legal to advocate the armed overthrow of the government. This leadership had one more characteristic that I think everyone will agree with. Its first appeals were directed to the population at largeworkers, peasants, everybodyin the expectation that there would be a spontaneous uprising in response, some actions that would dramatize the appeals. Then after they found that this did not work, they set about organizing an armed force consisting largely of the peasantry and of agricultural workers. I think those are facts that are so clear that no one would deny them. Certainly in our movement everyone will agree with them. I think we also have agreement among all of us that this is an extremely profound revolution, one that has gone to far-reaching economic and social measures. Everybody will agree on that, even though they wont agree on what to call them. I think everyone will agree that the revolution began with the support of the peasantry and of the agricultural workers, that it had the sympathy or quickly won the sympathy of the urban workers and finally their active support. Thats the present stage of the revolution, and I think everybody else who has been there and studied there will agree on that point. Finally, I think everybody will agree that the Cuban revolution has displayed strong democratic and socialist tendencies. Its much more democratic than anything weve seen in a long time. Thats where we have agreement so far as the main facts are concerned. I think we will also have agreement on what our main tasks are in respect to the Cuban revolution, and thats of key importance for our party. Also for the discussion we want to have, an agreement on that score is of key importance. The first main task is to defend this revolution against imperialism. Thats our main preoccupation as a party in relationship to the Cuban revolution. I think we have agreement that we should defend all institutions that have been created in Cuba, like the planned economy, the expropriation of the bourgeoisiethat we defend these revolutionary institutions against the counterrevolution. Thats a big area of agreement. I think we all agree that we should do our utmost to rally the American labor movement to the Cuban revolution and rally the students and intellectuals, whoever we can get together to defend that revolution. And I think we agree on certain tasks inside Cuba no matter how we name these various things that occurred there. First, that we follow a policy aimed at expanding and developing the proletarian democracy. Thats our Number One. Second, that we follow a policy aimed at building a revolutionary socialist party. In other words, that we follow a policy of deepening, extending the socialist consciousness which has already begun in Cuba. And that we follow a policy aimed at extending the Cuban revolution throughout Latin America. We all agree on that no matter what we call these different things. And thus we have a very wide area of agreement. I want to stress that again and againthe wide area of agreement that we have. I do that because in a discussion, theres a natural tendency to emphasize differences, emphasize even nuances that appear much larger than they really are. The fact is that our areas of agreement are so wide, so solid that we can afford to take things fairly easy on the other side.[ 3 ]

As we noted before, Hansens assertions were heavily freighted with unstated theoretical premises in which were concealed his own petty-bourgeois outlook. For example, he cited as a big area of agreement the defense of all institutions that have been created in Cuba, without analyzing the class relations within Cuba upon which these institutions rested. Without first establishing that these institutions represented the proletariat in power, Hansen provided them with open-ended support. At the same time, the defense of these institutions was simply equated with the defense of Cuba against American imperialism, as if a critical attitude toward the Castro regime was incompatible with the defense of the Cuban revolution against the United States. Hansens statement that the defense of the Cuban revolution was our main preoccupation as a party in relation to the Cuban revolution was a claim that Trotskyists would not even make in relation to the USSR. The defense of any revolution, even that which places the proletariat in power, is a tactic of the Marxist party, subordinated to its strategy of world socialist revolution. Moreover, Hansens assertion did not settle a whole host of associated political questions: Upon what perspective and program did the SWP undertake to organize the defense of the Cuban revolution? Upon what class forces did the SWP intend to base that defense?

It should, of course, be stressed that the unconditional defense of the Cuban revolution against the threat of US intervention did not require the definition of Cuba as a workers state. For Trotskyists, the anti-imperialist and democratic national character of the Cuban peoples struggle, under the leadership of Castro, was sufficient to require tireless activity in defense of the Cuban revolution. But from the unconditional defense of Cuba it did not at all follow that Marxists were compelled to proclaim the existence of a workers state on the island. Hansen sought continuously to blur the distinction between these two separate questions.

As for Hansens claim that the SWP was devoted to the building of a revolutionary socialist party in Cuba, this goal was already being trimmed to suit the needs of adapting to Castroism. Echoing the Pabloites, Hansen advanced the position that Trotskyism was nothing more than a tendency which would play a role in the creation of a future world party. The Fourth International, he suggested, could not claim to be the world party of socialist revolution:

Now let me say right now that such a party has never been built yet. Marx didnt build one. Lenin didnt build one. They started the core of it. Their aim was absolutely clearwhere they were headed. But they never conceived this party as simply a narrow, national party. They conceived it as an international one, one that is capable of the greatest task that has faced humanity, taking us from capitalism to socialism. When we say that capitalism is rotten-ripe for revolution, we also say that the conditions on an international scale are rotten-ripe for the construction of such a party, a tremendous international party that has all the knowledge and capacity, both political and theoretical, for accomplishing these great tasks. How are we going to build such a party? Will it be built in advance of the revolution? It would be very good if it could beat least thats what the Cubans themselves say nowit would be good to have such a party in advance. The fact is that such a party has got to be built in the very process of revolution as revolutions occur with varying degrees of success. Thats the fact that faces us. In some countries I think we will be able to build national sections of the party before the revolution occurs, and in some countries, like ours, I think that is an absolute condition for success. In other countries the revolution forges forward faster than the party. Thats an evident fact of politics now.[ 4 ]

Hansen specialized in twisting historical truth in order to create ludicrous premises that he could then knock down like straw men. Neither Marx nor Lenin were builders of narrow, national parties. Their political energies were centered precisely on the construction of international working-class parties. To claim, as Hansen did, that they did not build such parties is to deny the historical fact of the First, Second and Third Internationals.

The purpose of Hansens twist was to argue a case for an entirely different type of international party than that built by Lenin and Trotsky. For Marxists, an international party is based on a common world program. The cadre of an international party are recruited and trained on the basis of this program, which is the expression of the objective interests of the world proletariat. The building of this programmatically unified world party is the fundamental and urgent task that confronts Marxists in all countries, regardless of the political conjuncture that exists in any one country. To the extent that this task is postponed in any country until the eruption of revolutionary struggles, the development of the revolution along a conscious proletarian course directed toward the conquest of state power is seriously endangered.

Hansen was really talking about the creation of a multi-class, politically heterogeneous world organization, in which Trotskyists would adapt themselves to non-Marxist and nonproletarian forces: a farcical parody of Stalins workers and peasants international. The claim that it is necessary to build revolutionary parties in some countries prior to the outbreak of revolution as an absolute condition for their success, but perhaps not necessary in other countries, is to break completely with Marxism. Hansen was repeating virtually word for word the arguments of Pablo, who had justified capitulation to Stalinism and bourgeois nationalism on the ground that there was not time to build an independent Trotskyist organization. The logical outcome of this perspective, conjunctural liquidationism, had to be, and was, the abandonment of the struggle to build Trotskyist parties anywhere in the world, especially in the United States!

The fact that Hansens position was overwhelmingly supported in the leadership of the SWP showed the extent to which the party had retreated from the positions it had defended in the struggle against Pabloism a decade earlier. The older generation of party leaders had given up on the American working class and saw no prospects for the SWP. The mood of capitulation which now gripped the old Cannonites was clearly expressed in the arguments of Morris Stein in the National Committee discussion that followed Hansens report:

Now as we discuss the facts, I think that fact Number One in the Cuban revolutionif you want to know how was all this possiblefact Number One is the existing world reality. Without it you could have had no Cuban revolution. The facts of the life and death struggle between two social systems, that dominates the whole of life throughout the world. Could you for a moment envisage a Cuban revolution prior to, say, the 1917 Russian Revolution?  So theres a new world reality that we are dealing with today. And that world reality is the 1917 Revolution plus the war and what resulted from it. Namely, the revolutions in Yugoslavia, in China, in the Eastern European countries; the growth in power of the Soviet Unionits no longer an isolated workers state fighting for its life; its a powerful state, the second greatest power in the world. And by the force of circumstancenot the least of which is the Chinese revolutionthe Soviet Union is compelled today, instead of playing a counterrevolutionary roleits compelled, out of self-defense of interest, say what you may, to place itself on the side of revolution. This is the new element in the world situation today without which you cannot begin to understand what went on.[ 5 ]

Just ten years earlier, Stein had played a prominent role in the fight against Pablo, subjecting his liquidationist views to a merciless critique. He had specifically denounced Pablos attempt to endow Stalinism with a revolutionary role in the international class struggle. Stein had rejected the idea that the basic historic tasks of the Fourth International could be resolved simply through the growth of objective factors favorable to revolution. Replying to Pablos talk of engulfing revolutionary waves, Stein had warned that there isnt a single capitalist country in which we can truthfully say that the crisis of proletarian leadership has been fully resolved and went on to point out:

The inflated optimism about the revolutionary wave which is spreading from country to country and continent to continent, is thus a cover for deep pessimism about the capabilities of the working class and the revolutionary vanguard. The sum total of this line can only be liquidationism. Why bother building a party when everything is becoming resolvedor will be resolved eventuallyby a mounting revolutionary wave. Why be interested in trade union activity or have patience with backward workers when everything is ablaze with revolution. Why study Marxist classics when they do not apply to the new epoch?[ 6 ]

By 1961, Stein had forgotten all that he had once believed. He now argued with a shameless disdain for Marxist theory:

Now to become sidetracked to a discussion which places primary weight on the question of the leadership in Cuba, on the question of its petty-bourgeois nature and its origin, its empiricism, youre battering down open doors here, because we all accept that. But I think we should add a little more than that, namely, that youre dealing with a group of young people, very young, as far as leaders in the world today go, and I dont mean only young compared to Adenauer. Men in their early thirties.  Theyre all in their early thirties. Point Number Two: They are very brave men, selfless men, fighters. Theyve proved themselves in that respect. They are sincere. They started out with a sincere desire to rid their country of Batistaism and American imperialism. Thats a big undertaking. In the given conjuncture of world circumstances, and being empiricists, they adapt themselves. And theres very little room for adaptation. Either you are on the side of American imperialism or you accept the aid of the Soviet Union and the Soviet-bloc countries.[ 7 ]

Stein no longer believed that the alternative was a conscious strategy based on the perspective of world socialist revolution. The Fourth International, as far as Stein was concerned, had no independent program to offer the masses of Cuba. The underlying loss of confidence in the viability of Trotskyism and its long-term perspectives was revealed by Stein when he blurted out, So what you have is a most peculiar phenomenon for us. We spend the best part of our lives polemicizing against people who talked like revolutionists and acted like reformists. We have spent our life on it. I think we should welcome a change.[ 8 ]

This speech was Steins swan song. Though still in his fifties, Stein was politically exhausted after thirty years in the revolutionary movement. His capitulation to Castroism was both a political and psychological preparation for a demoralized retirement. Abandoning all practical activity, Stein and his wife, Sylvia Bleeker, drifted into the shadows, never formally quitting the party but severing all active connections with its daily work. Steins own prediction was fulfilled: what need was there for old Trotskyists when young men like Castro were enjoying success without all the theoretical baggage of the Fourth International?

The adulation of Castroism was a political expression of the SWPs rejection of a revolutionary perspective for the American working class. That is why the SWPs position on Cuba went hand in hand with its complete liquidation into the middle-class protest politics in the United States. A key to understanding the collapse of the SWP as a revolutionary party is to be found in an analysis made by Cannon himself of the decay of the American Communist Party.

He had written in 1954:

The degeneration of the Communist Party began when it abandoned the perspective of revolution in this country, and converted itself into a pressure group and cheering squad for the Stalinist bureaucracy in Russiawhich it mistakenly took to be the custodian of a revolution in another country.  What happened to the Communist Party would happen without fail to any other party, including our own, if it should abandon its struggle for a social revolution in this country, as the realistic perspective of our epoch, and degrade itself to the role of sympathizer of revolutions in other countries. I firmly believe that American revolutionists should indeed sympathize with revolutions in other lands, and try to help them in every way they can. But the best way to do that is to build a party with a confident perspective of a revolution in this country. Without that perspective, a Communist or Socialist party belies its name. It ceases to be a help and becomes a hindrance to the revolutionary workers cause in its own country. And its sympathy for other revolutions isnt worth much either.[ 9 ]

In 193940, during the battle inside the SWP over the class nature of the Soviet state, Trotsky taunted the Burnham-Shachtman minority to explicitly state what strategic and programmatic conclusions were to be drawn from their proposed finding that the Soviet Union was no longer to be considered a workers state. In this way, he made clear that the struggle was not simply a dispute over terminology. The minoritys rejection of the Fourth Internationals designation of the USSR as a workers state was inextricably connected to profound differences with Trotskyism on all fundamental questions.

Similarly, the question of Cuba was not merely a difference over terminology. Hansen sought to evade the formulation of a principled explanation of the implications, both for Marxist theory and the program of the Fourth International, of the definition of Cuba as a workers state. He refused to state precisely what conclusions the Trotskyist movement ought to draw from the alleged formation of a workers state under the petty-bourgeois non-Marxist leadership of Castro. Hansen attempted to cover the liquidationist essence of the SWPs position with fatuous claims that Castros victory has given fresh confirmation to the correctness of the theory of permanent revolutiona position which has since been repudiated by his Carleton College proteges in the present-day leadership of the SWP, who now admit quite openly that the American partys line on Castro was, in fact, a repudiation of the theory of permanent revolution.

The struggle taken up by the International Committee, at the initiative of its British section, the Socialist Labour League, against the SWPs decision to reunify with the Pabloite International Secretariat on the basis of a common platform of capitulation to Castroism represented a crucial milestone in the development of the Fourth International. In opposing the SWPs betrayal of its past stand against Pabloism, the SLL assumed responsibility for the defense of the whole political and theoretical heritage of Trotskyism and through this fight reforged the foundation for the building of the Fourth International.
Airbus wants to fly emission-free by 2035, Mercedes-Benz has showcased a fuel-cell truck, the German government has laid the foundation for a global hydrogen economy - today's plans to make tomorrow's world greener. And time is running out: Germany is aiming to become the number one when it comes to hydrogen technologies, as Peter Altmaier, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy announced this summer. Science and research are working at full speed. The primary component of the energy revolution is so-called "green hydrogen", which is produced using green electricity. Just a lot of hot air? On the contrary. "The global requirements for energy and transport must be met without producing substances which are detrimental to the climate. Otherwise, it will be impossible to meet the agreed climate targets," says Professor Matthias Bauer, a chemistry professor at Paderborn University. He is working on a project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to research how hydrogen can be manufactured by means of sunlight.

Widespread use is required

With the national hydrogen strategy, the German government has defined the framework for the element's future production, use and reuse. The declared aim is, among other things, gradual conversion to the use of green hydrogen in the fields of transport, industry and heating. In the medium and long term, fuel cell technology in the transport sector, in particular, needs to become more widespread, according to Bauer. "Decarbonisation - that is to say, a clear reduction in carbonic sources of energy - is crucial to achieving a fundamental structural change in public transport, private cars and transport logistics."

Paderborn wants to play a prominent role in both research and development of this technology in the future. "Our university offers not only expertise in fundamental scientific research, but also application-oriented transport researchers, and experts in software and AI," says Bauer.

Green closed loop system

As a fuel source for electric cars, hydrogen is an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional fuels such as petrol or diesel. The scientist explains, "At the moment, my team and I are researching how hydrogen can be produced as efficiently as possible and, above all, in a resource-friendly manner using sunlight. Together with oxygen, hydrogen can be converted to energy relatively simply and directly. The waste product is water, out of which hydrogen can be extracted using catalytic convertors and electricity. It is therefore a closed loop system."

Currently, the national consumption of hydrogen, according to the German government, is approximately 55 terawatt-hours. However, the majority is "blue hydrogen" and comes from fossil-based raw materials. According to Bauer, "It is imperative that this changes. Only green hydrogen is truly sustainable".

Germany needs to stay on the ball

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has recently put forward the idea of a feasibility study for a German-Australian supply chain. This is intended to promote the development of a global green hydrogen economy. Bauer explains, "This will not only lead to new sales markets for German companies. It would also be of great importance for our science sector. Germany can position itself on a global stage as a country producing outstanding, cutting-edge research and as the technological market leader. Alongside the transport sector, green hydrogen is of particular interest to the manufacturing sector, for the production of chemicals or plastics and in connection with power-to-heat, i.e. heating. However, many of these technologies require further research so that they can be improved and developed to meet industry standards." At the same time, Professor Bauer points out, "The efforts of the federal government, and the fact that several countries now have a hydrogen strategy, shows once more that the energy revolution has become a dominant topic in politics, the economy and science. For this reason, we as scientists view this as a challenge to bring these ideas and plans, which are of fundamental importance for society as a whole, to fruition - and to achieve this swiftly, so that Germany really can play a pioneering role."

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Researchers advance COVID-19 antibody knowledge with paper in journal

Memphis, Tenn. (September 30, 2020) - Researchers at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center working with colleagues at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have found that some antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are more protective than others, when it comes to reinfection.

This information, discovered from the joint study and published online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation's JCI Insight, has implications for the overall understanding of the virus and whether infection actually does trigger immunity, according to Michael Whitt, PhD, associate dean of the Office of Medical Education in the UTHSC College of Medicine, chair of the Department of Medical Education, and a professor and former chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry. Dr. Whitt is one of the principal investigators on the antibody study, which is ongoing at UTHSC.

Dr. Whitt and his laboratory team, which includes three fourth-year medical students and two Master of Medical Laboratory Science students, used an assay or test procedure developed in his lab roughly 25 years ago to study the infection mechanism of Ebolavirus. They applied that assay to study infection of and immunity generated against SARS-CoV-2. Dr. Whitt was contacted by researchers at MD Anderson to use his assay to test for the presence of neutralizing antibodies in samples from 134 hospitalized COVID patients and 464 healthy individuals obtained between June 2017 and June 2020.

"We ended up running samples for them (MD Anderson), and those data are presented in the paper," Dr. Whitt said. "Companies have developed assays to show whether people have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, but these assays only provide a yes or no answer. So why is our work important? We can determine the amount of neutralizing antibody present in the blood, and neutralizing antibodies are the ones that can prevent the individual from becoming infected. If you have an antibody to an internal component of the virus, then that means you have been infected, but those antibodies won't prevent infection.

"Neutralizing antibodies are directed to the spike (S) protein, which is responsible for the binding of the virus to receptors on a host cell and for entry of the virus into the cell," Dr. Whitt explained. "However, not all antibodies to the S protein have neutralizing activity, so it is only a subset of antibodies to the S protein that can prevent infection. One of the questions we wanted to address is, do all people who have had the disease, COVID-19, generate neutralizing antibodies? That answer is clearly, no. The other question is, for those who do produce neutralizing antibodies, how much do they make?"

Further research will help answer questions about immunity. This is vital to plans for reopening the community.

"What we don't know is how much neutralizing antibody is needed to prevent infection or reinfection," Dr. Whitt said. "Just because you have detectable antibodies doesn't mean that you're protected from infection."

As a medical educator, Dr. Whitt said he is proud that the research in his lab has included students. "I think that speaks to the academic and training opportunities here at UTHSC," he said.

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Along with Dr. Whitt, researchers in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry at UTHSC are working on ways to test the general population in Memphis for the SARS-CoV-2 antibody. Professor Maria Gomes-Solecki, DVM, and her team have developed and are vetting a prototype ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), a blood test that could be used to mass-test antibodies in the community that would signal individual exposure.

Colleen Jonsson, PhD, professor and the Van Vleet Chair of Excellence in Virology and director of the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory at UTHSC, is leading the efforts with live SARS-CoV-2 to identify neutralizing antibodies and therapeutics to treat COVID-19. Dr. Jonsson is the lead investigator on a protocol to perform testing of the general population in Memphis for the SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. As Tennessee's only public, statewide, academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health through education, research, clinical care, and public service, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region. The main campus in Memphis includes six colleges: Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. UTHSC also educates and trains medicine, pharmacy, and/or health professions students, as well as medical residents and fellows, at major sites in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville. For more information, visit http://www. uthsc. edu . Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/uthsc, on Twitter: twitter.com/uthsc and on Instagram: instagram.com/uthsc.

This story has been published on: 2020-10-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), speaks on the Senate floor, at the Capitol in Washington, on Dec. 19, 2019. (Senate TV via AP)

Senate Leader: Democrats Using Scare Tactics Against Barrett Nomination

Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called out the Democrats claim that if confirmed, Judge Amy Coney Barrett would strike down healthcare for those with pre-existing conditions, as a part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trumps nominee for the Supreme Court, saying she will strike down the ACA. Several Senate Democrats have said they will not meet with judge Barrett, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Maize Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), listing one of the main reasons as her position on the ACA.

Schumer took to Twitter Sept. 29 to share his reason for not meeting with Trumps Supreme Court nominee.

I am not going to meet with Judge Barrett. Why would I meet with a nominee of such an illegitimate process and one who is determined to get rid of the Affordable Care Act? Wrote Schumer on Sept. 29.

McConnell criticized Democrats for dismissing judge Barretts legal qualifications.

The Democratic leader says, quote: Its not her qualifications.  Certainly, every senator may define advise, and consent how they wish, but I think its telling to see Senate Democrats openly affirming that judge Barretts actual and judicial qualifications do not matter to them, said McConnell from the Senate floor Wednesday, Sept. 30.

McConnell said that Democrats see the court as an unelected super-legislature and that judges are there to dictate policy outcomes, rather than following the facts and text, wherever they lead.

Barrett said at her recent nomination ceremony that If confirmed, I would discharge the judicial oath, which requires me to administer justice without respect to persons, do equal right to the poor and rich, and faithfully and impartially discharge my duties under the United States Constitution.

McConnell criticized Democrats for using scare tactics on the public.

Thats why weve gotten the same scare tactics for almost half a centuryJohn Paul Stevens was going to end womens rights. David Souter was going to send vulnerable people into the Dark Ages. John Roberts was going to declare war on health insurance, said McConnell.

And now our Democratic colleagues want Americans to believe that judge Barrett is on a one-woman crusade to hurt Americans with pre-existing conditions, added McConnell.

Schumer wrote on Twitter, Make no mistake: A vote by any Senator for Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act and eliminate protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions.

Schumers office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) claimed that Barretts nomination threatens the destruction of life-saving protections for 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions together with every other benefit and protection of the Affordable Care Act.

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) also criticized Barrett as the nominee that will allow the Supreme Court to strike down the ACA.

Republican senators are working extra hard to take away pre-existing condition coverage. As they rush forward with an anti-ACA nominee, they also voted today to make sure the ACA lawsuit continues. Insurance company executives must be thrilled, Senator Jeff Merkley wrote Thursday.

The Oklahoman reported that Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), said it would be a humanitarian catastrophe to repeal the act in the middle of a pandemic. And so, guess why it is so important that we confirm a justice before election day, Murphy said. Because they need the votes to invalidate the Affordable Care Act shortly after the election occurs.

McConnell called the Democrats comments, Totally predictable and totally dishonest.

These baseless attacks over healthcare are supposedly founded on a technical argument and a four-year-old scholarly article. Then-Professor Barrett analyzed the Supreme Courts ruling on one pieceone pieceof Obamacare: the unfair, unpopular individual mandate penalty, McConnell said.

He noted that this one piece of the ACA was zeroed out by Republicans in Congress three years ago. The Constitutional arguments over whether that terrible idea was a penalty or a tax are now moot.

Working Americans are no longer penalized by that Democrat policy; Americans with pre-existing conditions are still protected, he added.
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dynegy today announced a $35,000 donation to Pennsylvania food banks, still working through soaring demand and resetting logistics amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Dynegy is deeply committed to supporting the communities we serve, and right now, that means linking arms with organizations on the ground, working to end hunger," said Brad Watson, Dynegy's senior director of community affairs. "Our company understands that Pennsylvania food banks are doing what  just months ago  many would have said was impossible. Staff members and volunteers are stepping up to meet record demand head-on and handling first-time clients with grace and sensitivity."

The $35,000 donation is directly supporting food banks in meeting their most pressing needs.

$25,000 is going to Philabundance in Philadelphia

is going to Philabundance in $5,000 is going to Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania

is going to Second Harvest Food Bank of and $5,000 is going to food pantries supported by the Montgomery Foundation

"No person should have to choose between feeding their family and paying bills," explained Philabundance CEO Loree D. Jones. "If COVID has taught the charitable food network anything, it is that partnerships and collaboration are key in the fight against hunger. Thanks to Dynegy's $25,000 donation, families across Greater Philadelphia won't have to make those tough decisions during these unprecedented times."

Dynegy's donation to food banks across Pennsylvania is part of a $225,000 commitment to food banks nationwide from Dynegy's parent company, Vistra. Serving nearly 5 million residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers with electricity and natural gas, Vistra is the largest competitive residential electricity provider in the country and is also the largest competitive power generator in the U.S.

About Dynegy

For over 30 years, Dynegy has helped millions of Americans throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest power their homes and businesses. Dynegy delivers simple, price-protected electricity plans for residential, municipal aggregation, commercial and industrial customers alike. Dynegy is committed to the communities it serves and gives back through local partnerships. Visit dynegy.com for more. Dynegy is a subsidiary of Vistra (NYSE: VST).

Media

Jenny Lyon

214-875-8004

[email protected]

SOURCE Dynegy
Mahindra and Mahindra's Sector (FES), a part of the USD 19.4 billion Mahindra Group, on Friday said it has rolled out Krish-e centres in Maharashtra under its new 'Farming as a Service' business.

Krish-e is a business vertical which will provide technology driven services which are progressive, affordable and accessible to and aims to increase farmer income through digitally enabled services across the complete crop cycle, Mahindra said in a statement.

The company opened its first Krish-e centres in Aurangabad and Baramati, and later at six other locations across Maharashtra in Jalna, Wardha, Nanded, Pune, Daund and Solapur.

Krish-e centres will soon roll out across other states in a phased manner, it said.

These centres have an omni channel approach where the farmer can avail personalised services through the Krish-e suite of digital apps and also reach out to Krish-e Sahayaks through its call centre.

"Although investments and technological innovations in agriculture have improved output levels in India, productivity and farm incomes have great scope for further improvement.

"We want to do our part by making a difference in the way farming is done. With an increase in farmers' incomes as the core focus, our vision is to provide technology at competitive costs to Indian and thereby enable them to rise," M&M Sector (FES) President Hemant Sikka said.

Through Krish-e, the company has already impacted over 1 lakh with solutions tailored to demonstrate impact on cultivation costs, crop health and productivity, M&M FES Strategy and FaaS Senior Vice President Ramesh Ramachandran said.

"Krish-e currently has approximately 1,000 demo plots, where we work alongside farmers to showcase visible impact through a combination of agronomy inputs and advanced mechanisation solutions," he 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.)
A man died after being shot near San Franciscos Union Square on Thursday, police said.

The victim, identified only by police as being a 21 years old man, was shot on the 100 block of Geary Street at around 5 p.m. Thursday, San Francisco police said.

Police released few details but said they responded to a report of a shooting at 5:03 p.m. Police said they determined an altercation took place and one man was shot. The man was taken to a local hospital for treatment for life-threatening injuries, police said.

Officers detained a second male subject, whose name has not been released. Police did not say whether they arrested that individual on suspicion of any charges related to the shooting.

This is an active and ongoing investigation in its early stages, police said in a statement. No further details are available and no updates are expected overnight.

The Police Departments homicide unit has taken over the investigation, police 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.

Anyone with information about this incident should call the San Francisco police tip line at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.

Callers can remain anonymous.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez
The appeal is obvious: For a few dollars or less, users can cover a bill that comes due in the middle of a pay cycle or get cash for an unexpected expense, like a wildfire or hurricane evacuation. By tapping their earned but unpaid income early, they can avoid overdraft fees, late charges or worse  more predatory lenders. And come payday, the advance is repaid from their bank account or directly from their paycheck.

But these services, which millions have downloaded, come with question marks. Some customers have sued, regulators across the country are looking into their practices, and consumer advocates fear that the apps are glossy packaging for the kind of lending that can leave users stuck in an expensive cycle of debt.

Its possible its helping them cover their bills and avoid overdraft and higher cost loans, said Alex Horowitz, a senior officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts consumer finance project. Its also possible its leaving them without enough money on payday so they turn to them again.

The apps generally come in two flavors. Some, like Earnin and Dave, are open to the public and can require access to your transaction history or work time sheets. Earnin may even use your phones GPS to check work attendance. Others, like PayActiv, DailyPay and Rain, are offered through employers as a workplace benefit.

Their popularity has grown rapidly. Last year, workers tapped their paychecks through workplace providers an estimated 37 million times, gaining access to more than $6 billion, or nearly double the amount in 2018, according to Aite Group, a research company. And DailyPay said the number of users who tapped money for coronavirus-related reasons had increased 400 percent during the early months of the pandemic.
ANN ARBOR, MI  A University of Michigan student said she was drugged and raped while attending a fraternity party in August 2019, according to a lawsuit filed in Washtenaw County Circuit Court.

The suit, filed Sept. 28 on behalf of a Jane Doe, states the woman, who was 18-years-old at the time, was starting freshman orientation at UM when she and some of her friends attended a party at the Psi Upsilon fraternity.

Prior to entering the chapter building, they were not asked to provide identification or proof of age, the lawsuit states, adding that Doe became so visibly intoxicated at the party that she could not have given consent for sexual intercourse.

That orientation week was known as Freshman F--- Week, and Psi Upsilon fraternity brothers would keep a scorecard of how many women they would have sexual intercourse with, according to the lawsuit.

One of Does friends told a fraternity brother at the party that Doe was not that kind of girl," the suit states. But, after talking for a while, a fraternity member coaxed Doe to an upstairs room where no one else was present, and when Doe asked to leave, the man told her she could not, according to the suit.

The man gave her a cup of water, which Doe thought tasted funny, and she started to feel the effects of alcoholic drinks she had earlier in the night, according to the suit. The woman believes she was drugged, became helpless and was raped by the man, the suit states.

The assailant, who lives in California, is not being named as no criminal charges have been filed against him.

Doe has suffered severe and permanent physical and emotional damages as a result of the mans negligence, gross negligence and intentional misconduct, according to the lawsuit. The suit is seeking monetary damages from both the fraternitys local chapter and national office, as well as the fraternity member who is now a UM alumni.

The Washtenaw County Prosecutors Office declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Does attorney, Ven Johnson, called the incident a cut-and-dry case of assault, battery and rape.

(The defendant) knowingly coerced my client to a private room, where he had a spiked drink waiting for her and then attacked her," said Johnson, president of Ven Johnson Law. Intentionally taking advantage of, and raping women who are so intoxicated they are incapable of giving consent is a disgusting and reprehensible practice. These defendants must be held accountable for their despicable behavior.

The fraternity was notified of the lawsuit Sept. 29 and the UM chapter is being cooperative in the matter, Thomas Fox, executive director of Psi Upsilons national office, said in a statement.

Psi Upsilon fraternity takes all reports of risk management violations, especially those with regard to sexual assault, very seriously, Fox said. We are currently investigating the incident and gathering further information as we received no notice of allegations prior to this complaint being filed.

READ MORE:

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Coronavirus cases surge in University of Michigan residence halls

Coronavirus forces University of Michigan to cancel winter study abroad programs
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) New Delhi, India  Fri, October 2, 2020 14:57 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48b8d19 2 World Narendra-Modi,Donald-Trump,Melania-Trump,COVID-19 Free

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Donald Trump a quick recovery on Friday after the US president revealed he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

"Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health," Modi said on Twitter.

Trump, 74, first announced on Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, had tested positive for the virus.

"We will get through this TOGETHER!" Trump wrote.

The Indian and US leaders appear to enjoy warm relations, with Modi hosting Trump at a huge US-style rally in his home state of Gujarat in February.

In September 2019 Trump and the Indian premier attended a similar event in Houston, Texas dubbed "Howdy Modi" in front of a huge crowd of Indian Americans.

Trump first announced on Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, had tested positive for the virus.

"We will get through this TOGETHER!" he wrote.

The extraordinary setback for Trump had immediate political consequences just 31 days before election day, forcing him to cancel campaign trips and adding new volatility to a contest already steeped in tension.

Trump's challenger, Democrat Joe Biden, is well ahead in the polls and has made criticism of the Republican's handling of the coronavirus -- and frequent downplaying of the pandemic's seriousness -- a key issue.

Trump, in response, has been betting on an evermore aggressive schedule of campaign rallies around the country. The events, which he says prove his true political strength, bring together thousands of people, often without masks and sometimes in contravention of local rules.

That strategy is now in doubt, with the White House immediately canceling a planned campaign rally in the crucial swing state of Florida later Friday.

It looked certain that Trump would have to cancel a trip scheduled for this weekend in Wisconsin, another battleground. He had also been expected to travel frequently next week, including longer distances to western states.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday suspended Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir and four other policemen over the gangrape-murder case of the Dalit woman, a senior official said.

IMAGE: Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) members during a protest rally demanding justice for the Hathras victim, outside the gate of IIT Powai, in Mumbai, on Friday. Photograph: PTI Photo

The official said the action has been taken on the basis of a preliminary inquiry report of the Special Investigation Team.

Besides Vikrant Vir, the other suspended policemen are Circle Officer Ramshabd, Inspector Dinesh Kumar Verma, Sub-Inspector Jagveer Singh and Head Constable Mahesh Pal, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said.

Shamli SP Vineet Jaiswal has been transferred to Hathras, he said.

Another senior official said the SIT constituted by the chief minister to probe into the case of alleged murder and gangrape submitted its first report on Friday.

The official said besides the suspended policemen, all those connected with the case will have to undergo narco and polygraph tests.

The chief minister had constituted the SIT on Wednesday.

Led by Home Secretary Bhagwan Swarup, it has DIG Chandraprakash and Agra PAC Commandant Poonam as its members.

The SIT was asked to submit its report in seven days.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
Belgian artist Delphine Boel (L) on April 26, 2018 and former King Albert II of Belgium (R) n July 3, 2013 - AFP

A royal lovechild who endured a two decades long battle to be recognised by the former King of Belgium will finally be awarded the title of princess.

Delphine Boels lawyers said that the aristocrat and artist would take King Albert IIs name and be known as Delphine Saxe-Cobourg and Princess of Belgium after the Brussels appeal court endorsed the results of a DNA test on Thursday.

Ms Boel had been reported to be Albert's illegitimate daughter since 1997. She will now be addressed as her Royal Highness, and her two children Josephine and Oscar will also have the title princess and prince.

The court affirms that King Albert II is her father," lawyer Marc Uyttendaele said, which was confirmed by a judicial source, her other requests that she be treated on the same footing as her brothers and sister were also granted."

He added, A judicial victory will never replace a father's love, but it does offer a sense of justice, which is further strengthened by the fact that many more children who have gone through similar ordeals may be able to find the strength to face them."

Albert can still appeal the decision, which was expected on October 29 but handed down early.

The sculptor will be entitled to a share of the former monarchs estate when he dies but will not get an endowment from the Belgian state as Alberts other children do. Albert must pay court costs of  8,520.

Ms Boel, 52, first asked the then-monarch to recognise her 20 years ago. After Albert, 86, abdicated, Ms Boel began what would be a seven year court battle with her biological father.

He was eventually ordered to take a DNA test. Albert only agreed to the test after the court threatened to fine him 4,370 for every day he refused and after a string of failed appeals. His lawyers also opposed Ms Boel being granted her new royal title.

Albert abdicated in 2013 in favour of his son Philippe, 60, citing health reasons. He has a daughter Astrid, 58 and another son Laurent, 56.

Story continues

Ms Boel was raised by Jacques Boel, a successful industrialist and her mother, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, an aristocrat

Mrs de Selys Longchamps is reported to have had an 18-year affair with Albert before he took the throne.

Ms Boel's parentage became the subject of fevered speculation in Belgium after the 1999 publication of a biography of Queen Paola, Alberts Italian wife.

Albert chose to stay with Paola rather than abdicate to be with Mrs de Selys Longchamps, it is claimed.
LOS ANGELESA new coalition led by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed court papers Wednesday, in another attempt to block the federal Department of Justice from scuttling Californias net neutrality legislation. The federal government has been trying to stop the state-level law ever since it was passed in late 2018.

California passed the law, considered the countrys net neutrality legislation, just months after the Federal Communications Commission repealed the regulations that were put in place by the Barack Obama administration in 2015. But several technology advocacy groups, led by the Mozilla Foundation  makers of the open-source Firefox web browser  filed a suit in federal court to reverse the FCCs repeal.

Net neutrality is crucial to the online adult industry, because it prohibits internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic from any specific content provider, meaning that all online data must be handled equally, without discrimination or censorship.

After Mozilla filed its 2018 lawsuit, state attorney general Xavier Becerra agreed to put the law on hold, until the Mozilla lawsuit could be resolved. About a year later, however, a federal appeals court in Washington D.C. upheld the FCCs net neutrality repeal. Mozilla subsequently declined to take the case to the next level  the U.S. Supreme Court.

The D.C. appeals court, however, ruled that states may proceed with their own net neutrality rules  disagreeing with the FCCs contention that the 2018 repeal preempted any state legislation. But the courts ruling did not stop the Justice Department from going to court, attempting to block the California law anyway.

The law, SB 822, ensures that that all Californians have full access to all Internet content and services  at lower prices, the EFF said in a statement announcing its new court filing on Wednesday. Without legal protections, low-income Californians who rely on mobile devices for internet access and cant pay for more expensive content are at a real disadvantage. Their ISPs could inhibit full access to the Internet, which is critical for distance learning, maintaining small businesses, and staying connected.

The EFF said that SB 822 guarantees that large ISPs do not take advantage of their stranglehold on Californians Internet access to slow or otherwise manipulate Internet traffic.

About two weeks ago, as AVN reported, Becerra also filed court documents defending the state net neutrality law.

In the 62-page brief, the California AG called the federal governments view that it could stand in the way of any state legislation regarding online communication remarkable on many levels.

Photo By Kalhh / Pixabay
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PM Modi wishes 'friend Donald Trump, wife Melania speedy recovery from Covid-19

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Oct 02: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wished US President Donald Trump a speedy recovery from COVID-19.

Donald Trump and US first lady Melania Trump test positive for Covid-19 | Oneindia News

Both Donald and Melania Trump have tested positive hours after the US President's close aide Hope Hicks was tested positive with the deadly infection.

Taking to twitter PM Modi posted "Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health."

Confirming his test report, Donald Trump took to his official Twitter handle saying, "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"

Trump, Melania test positive for coronavirus, will quarantine

In an official statement, a White House doctor confirmed that both the US President and the First lady are well and they have been quarantined within their home in the White House.

The doctor further confirmed that Donald Trump will carry out duties without disruption during his quarantine period.
An inexpensive "poundable" sangiovese from Italy leads this week's recommendations. We also have two challenging white wines from Spain's Basque region to test your tolerance for acidity and your felicity with consonants. Finally, a new brand debuts from a partnership involving the James Beard Foundation with some affordable and delicious wines from the West Coast.

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GREAT VALUE

Salus Rosso Sangiovese NV

2 stars (Excellent)

Terre di Chieti, Italy, $9

If you've ever wondered what wine to open with frozen pizza - and believe me, I have - ideally it should be cheap, tasty and (why not?) Italian. This non-vintage sangiovese fits the bill. If you're inclined to white wine, there's a pinot grigio, too, but the rosso is better. You're welcome. Alcohol by volume: 12 percent.

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Zudugarai Txakoli Malda Getariako Txakolina 2018

2.5 stars (Excellent/Exceptional)

Spain, $21

Txakoli (pronounced "chah-kuh-lee") hails from the Basque region of northern Spain. Made from the hondarribi zuri grape, these wines tend to be uncomfortably acidic, a surprise uppercut to the palate that can send you reeling. But they're delicious and fascinating as long as you aren't expecting a simple sip. Don't drink them too cold - refrigerator temperature only emphasizes the acidity - and pair them with food, which softens the acidity and brings out fruit flavors of citrus and kiwi. What type of food? Anything vibrant or spicy. These wines can take it. The Txakoli Malda benefits from being a 2018 - the time in bottle softens the wine just a bit and gives it an appealing roundness on the palate. ABV: 11 percent.

- - -

Alleme Txakolina Getariako Txakolina 2019

2.5 stars (Excellent/Exceptional)

Spain, $22

This invigorating wine, a year younger than the Zudugarai, is a tad racier, more on the citrusy side of the flavor spectrum. It would take a few years in the bottle to tame this one. ABV: 14.1 percent.

- - -

Dough Pinot Noir 2019

2.5 stars (Excellent/Exceptional)

Oregon, $22

Dough is a new line of wines from the James Beard Foundation and Distinguished Vineyards & Wine Partners, a group that includes Argyle Winery in Oregon, MacRostie, Markham and Textbook in California, and Wither Hills in New Zealand. The wines are made by MacRostie winemaker Heidi Bridenhagen and aimed at restaurant by-the-glass programs. This Oregon pinot noir is my favorite of their lineup: It displays the dark cherry and leafy forest-floor character of Oregon pinot, with a lingering sassafras note that rings long and true. A plus for by-the-glass or at home - the wine stands fine and even improves over several days, simply sealed under its screw cap. ABV: 12.8 percent.

- - -

Dough Sauvignon Blanc 2019

2 stars (Excellent)

North Coast, Calif., $19

Guava, quince and Asian pear flavors dominate this lovely sauvignon blanc in the California style. This wine will pair well with salads or vegetable-dominated dishes. The Dough line also includes a chardonnay and a cabernet sauvignon. ABV: 14.5 percent.

- - -

3 stars exceptional, 2 stars excellent, 1 star very good

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Availability information is based on distributor records. Prices are approximate. Check Winesearcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor.

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McIntyre blogs at dmwineline.com.
This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 1468 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why were doing this fundraiser, what weve accomplished in the last year, and our current goal, more original reporting.

Yves here. New York City not all that long ago showed year-to-year declines in rental prices (as opposed to soft price cuts via landlord concessions) due to an apartment building boom putting a lot of new units on the market. But the Covid-19 rent reductions are another matter entirely.

Even though the outlook for New York City is particularly grim due to the loss of revenues from commuters and tourists, the idea that the work at home new normal will survive Covid-19 is overstated. A recent Wall Street Journal compilation of interview finding with major company CEOs found that overwhelmingly they viewed remote working a negative for their business. They saw the loss of informal interaction as a major cost, and most also believed productivity was lower. So expect to see an eventual return to offices. But will those offices be in the same major urban centers?

By Wolf Richter, editor at Wolf Street. Originally published at Wolf Street

The combination of work-from-anywhere, ridiculously expensive rents, and coronavirus-fears associated with being on crowded elevators in apartment towers, is doing a job on the rental market in San Francisco. And not just in San Francisco, but also in New York, Seattle, Boston, San Jose, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Denver, and other expensive big-city rental markets. But its hitting San Francisco, the most expensive rental market, the hardest.

In some other markets, rents are skyrocketing. So here we go with our roller-coaster ride through the cities.

San Francisco rents in free-fall but still ridiculously crazy expensive.

The median asking rent for one-bedroom apartments in San Francisco plunged by 6.9% in September from August, after having plunged by 5.0% in August from July, to $2,830. This brings the five-month decline since April to 19%, and the 12-month decline to 20%, according to data from Zumpers Rent Report. From the peak in June 2019  which had eked past by a hair the prior high of October 2015  the median asking rent for 1-BR apartments has plunged 24%!

For 2-BR apartments in San Francisco, the median asking rent plunged by 6.6% in September from August, after having plunged by 3.3% in August from July, to $3,800, bringing the five-month decline since April to 16% and the 12-month decline to 20%. And 24% from the peak in October 2015.

To convert this plunge from percentages into fiat, so to speak, the median asking rent for a 2-BR apartment has plunged by $950 from September a year ago, and by $1,200 from the peak in October 2015. This is no longer a rounding error.

These median asking rents do not include concessions, such as one month free or two months free or free parking for a year and the like. These concessions have the effect of drastically lowering the rent further. Two-months free lowers the rent over the 14-month period by 16%. Concessions, instead of rent cuts, allow landlords to show the monthly rents, as theyre spelled out in the lease, without the concessions, to their now very nervous banks.

Despite this huge drop in rents, in terms of cities, San Francisco remains the most ridiculously crazy-expensive rental market in the US. But in terms of zip codes, there are a handful of zip codes in Manhattan and in Los Angeles that are more expensive than the most expensive zip code in San Francisco.

Free upgrades is what the people who have decided to stay in San Francisco are now looking for. This is the strategy of shopping around among the soaring vacancies for an apartment with the same rent or even lower rent, but of much higher quality and in a better location. It creates churn. Landlords that lost a tenant to a free upgrade now have to price their vacant unit competitively, meaning undercutting other offers. This churn and the high vacancies explain the rapid reaction of the market to the current situation. The City of Boom and Bust always. And now is the bust.

After New York City re-opened, rents plunged.

Similar to San Francisco, New York City is losing part of its work-from-anywhere crowd that would rather work from a nicer bigger cheaper place further away, or even from a house theyd just bought in the suburbs, leading to surging vacancies, aggressive pricing, and lots of concessions.

The median asking rent for 1-BR apartments dropped 3.7% in September from August, to $2,830, after having dropped 4.9% in August from July, and is down 12.5% year-over-year.

For 2-BR apartments, the median asking rent dropped 1.6% in the month, after having plunged 5.0% in the prior month, and is down 11.3% year-over-year. In New York, peak-asking-rent occurred in March 2016, and asking rents have since plunged 23% for 1-BR apartments and 25% for 2-BR apartments.

Landlords are aggressively offering concessions in New York City, and tenants are aggressively shopping for free upgrades. Things are moving and churning.

The 17 most expensive rental markets.

The table below shows the 17 most expensive major rental markets by median asking rents, based on Zumpers data. The more expensive, the bigger the drops. The table shows September rent and the year-over-year percentage. In the shaded area, it shows peak rent and change from peak. Interestingly, Chicago and Honolulu, whose rental markets have gotten crushed over the past few years, appear to have hit bottom:

Whats median asking rent?

Median means half of the asking rents are higher, and half are lower. Asking rent is the advertised rent, a measure of the current market, like a price tag in a store. Asking rent does not measure what tenants are currently paying in rent, such as under rent control. Asking rents do not include concessions.

Zumper collects this data from the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) and other listings in the 100 largest markets, but only for apartment buildings, including new construction. They do not include single-family houses and condos-for-rent.

The 10 cities with the lowest 1-BR rents of the Top 100:

You can work from anywhere and want to save on rent? OK, this list is for you. The cheapest city to rent in among the largest 100 rental markets is Akron, OH. Wichita and Tulsa are second and third cheapest; in all three cities, rents declined. But the list also includes some cities with large rent increases:

1-BR rent Y/Y % 1 Akron, OH $560 -5.1% 2 Wichita, KS $620 -3.1% 3 Tulsa, OK $650 -4.4% 4 Lubbock, TX $650 3.2% 5 Shreveport, LA $650 6.6% 6 El Paso, TX $680 6.3% 7 Tucson, AZ $730 9.0% 8 Albuquerque, NM $740 5.7% 9 Lexington, KY $750 1.4% 10 Tallahassee, FL $760 -8.4%

The 35 Cities with year-over-year declines in 1-BR rents.

Of the 100 cities, 35 had year-over-year declines in median asking rents for 1-BR apartments. San Francisco leads with a 20% plunge, followed by college town Syracuse, NY, with a 14.4% drop. In addition to the outrageously expensive rental markets discussed above, the list also contains six cities in Texas, and cities across the US, but with moderate declines, such as Tulsa and Wichita, that have not participated in the craziness of other rental markets:

1-BR rent Y/Y % 1 San Francisco, CA $2,830 -20.3% 2 Syracuse, NY $770 -14.4% 3 Oakland, CA $2,130 -14.1% 4 Washington, DC $1,990 -13.5% 5 Seattle, WA $1,650 -12.7% 6 New York, NY $2,600 -12.5% 7 Denver, CO $1,400 -11.4% 8 Los Angeles, CA $2,020 -11.0% 9 San Jose, CA $2,230 -9.3% 10 Salt Lake City, UT $1,000 -9.1% 11 Boston, MA $2,300 -8.4% 12 Tallahassee, FL $760 -8.4% 13 Irving, TX $1,050 -7.9% 14 Fort Worth, TX $1,060 -7.8% 15 Pittsburgh, PA $1,080 -6.9% 16 Corpus Christi, TX $830 -6.7% 17 Plano, TX $1,130 -5.8% 18 Madison, WI $1,130 -5.8% 19 Knoxville, TN $820 -5.7% 20 Orlando, FL $1,220 -5.4% 21 Anaheim, CA $1,630 -5.2% 22 Akron, OH $560 -5.1% 23 Louisville, KY $850 -4.5% 24 Tulsa, OK $650 -4.4% 25 Laredo, TX $800 -3.6% 26 Wichita, KS $620 -3.1% 27 Honolulu, HI $1,600 -3.0% 28 Buffalo, NY $1,060 -2.8% 29 Portland, OR $1,400 -2.1% 30 Nashville, TN $1,270 -1.6% 31 Jacksonville, FL $920 -1.1% 32 Arlington, TX $890 -1.1% 33 Aurora, CO $1,070 -0.9% 34 Minneapolis, MN $1,300 -0.8% 35 Providence, RI $1,540 -0.6%

The 34 Cities with 5%-plus year-over-year increases in 1-BR rents.

Rents in September increased on a year-over-year basis in 62 of the 100 rental markets, compared to 35 cities with rent declines. In 34 of those cities, rents increased by over 5%. And in 16 of those cities, rents increased on a year-over-year basis in the double-digits. And in 10 of these cities, rents soared by 15% or more (I threw 14.9%-ers into that basket). The most expensive cities with a double-digit rent increase  Newark ($1,420) and Baltimore ($1,340)  are less than half as expensive as much-reduced-but-still-ridiculously-expensive San Francisco.

1-BR rent Y/Y % 1 Norfolk, VA $1,020 15.9% 2 Indianapolis, IN $880 15.8% 3 Cleveland, OH $1,030 15.7% 4 St Petersburg, FL $1,270 15.5% 5 Baltimore, MD $1,340 15.5% 6 Chattanooga, TN $990 15.1% 7 Detroit, MI $770 14.9% 8 Des Moines, IA $850 14.9% 9 Lincoln, NE $850 14.9% 10 Fresno, CA $1,080 14.9% 11 Columbus, OH $890 14.1% 12 Cincinnati, OH $970 12.8% 13 St Louis, MO $980 12.6% 14 Newark, NJ $1,420 11.8% 15 Reno, NV $1,090 11.2% 16 Bakersfield, CA $810 11.0% 17 Tucson, AZ $730 9.0% 18 Spokane, WA $870 8.7% 19 Rochester, NY $1,000 8.7% 20 Sacramento, CA $1,410 8.5% 21 Las Vegas, NV $1,040 8.3% 22 Chesapeake, VA $1,180 8.3% 23 Boise, ID $1,050 7.1% 24 Mesa, AZ $960 6.7% 25 Shreveport, LA $650 6.6% 26 New Orleans, LA $1,450 6.6% 27 El Paso, TX $680 6.3% 28 Omaha, NE $850 6.3% 29 Albuquerque, NM $740 5.7% 30 Durham, NC $1,110 5.7% 31 Henderson, NV $1,190 5.3% 32 Tampa, FL $1,190 5.3% 33 Baton Rouge, LA $840 5.0% 34 Fort Lauderdale, FL $1,680 5.0%

For five months, we have seen this move now, and it has been sustained so far, of renters getting out of the most expensive cities, and fewer students are moving back to college towns, and the oil patch is struggling with a double-whammy. Some renters head to cheaper rental markets, others bought a home outside the city center somewhere, and others moved back with mom and dad, leaving behind a vacuum. And landlords who want to fill their vacancies respond quickly to market conditions, by dropping their asking rents.

But the corollary is that this move and likely other factors have sent rents surging in numerous other markets.

The Largest 100 rental markets.

The table below shows the top 100 cities, 1-BR and 2-BR median asking rents in September, and year-over-year changes, in order of 1-BR rents, from most expensive to least expensive. You can search the list via the search function in your browser (if your smartphone clips this 6-column table on the right, hold your device in landscape position):
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Fecal transplants could one day be used as a therapy to restore cognitive function in the elderlyaccording to new research from the University of East Anglia, the University of Florence and the Quadram Institute.

A new study published today shows how fecal transplants from older to younger mice altered their gut microbiome, which in turn impacted their spatial learning and memory.

The research team hope that reversing the procedure could one day see fecal transplantation used to combat cognitive decline among the elderly.

Dr. David Vauzour, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "Aging is an inevitable process that starts immediately after birth and ultimately leads to physical health problems as well as a decline in psychological well-being and cognitive function.

"Research has shown that the aging process may be linked with age-related changes in our gut microbiota. Recently, the existence of two-way communication between the gut and the brainknown as the 'gut-brain axis'  has emerged as an important player in shaping aspects of behavior and cognitive function. We wanted to see whether transferring gut microbes from older to younger mice could affect parts of the central nervous system associated with aging."

The research team performed fecal transplants from older adult mice to younger adult mice and then assessed the young adults for markers such as anxiety, exploratory behavior and memory.

After the transplantation, the team found significant differences in the young mice's microbial profiles.

While the young adults showed no significant changes in markers of anxiety, explorative behavior or locomotor activity, they did show impaired spatial learning and memory as measured in a maze test.

These changes were paralleled by alterations in the expression of proteins associated with synaptic plasticity and neuro transmission, and changes to cells in the hippocampus part of their brainsresponsible for learning and memory.

Dr. Vauzour said: "Our research shows that a fecal transplantation from an old donor to a young recipient causes an age-associated shift in the composition of gut microbiota. The procedure had an impact on the expression of proteins involved in key functions of the hippocampusan important part of the brain that has a vital role in a variety of functions including memory, learning but also in spatial navigation and emotional behavior and mood. In short, the young mice began to behave like older mice, in terms of their cognitive function."

Prof Claudio Nicoletti, from the University of Florence, Italy, said: "While it remains to be seen whether transplantation from very young donors can restore cognitive function in aged recipients, the findings demonstrate that age-related shifts in the gut microbiome can alter components of the central nervous system." This work highlights the importance of the gut-brain axis in aging and provides a strong rationale to devise therapies aiming to restore a young-like microbiota to improve cognitive functions and quality of life in the elderly, he added.

"Manipulating the microbiome is increasingly being seen as a way of improving or maintaining human health, and these results are an exciting indication of its potential for helping us age healthily," said Prof Arjan Narbad from the Quadram Institute.

"We have established an FMT service on the Norwich Research Park to treat serious gut infections and now want to explore in humans its effectiveness in combating a number of age-related conditions, including cognitive decline."

The research was led by a team at UEA and the University of Florence, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Milan, the Earlham Institute, University of Siena, the Quadram Institute, and Nottingham Trent University.

It was funded by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio, the University of Florence and the Medical Research Council.

"Fecal microbiota transplant from aged donor mice affects spatial learning and memory via modulating hippocampal synaptic plasticity- and neurotransmission-related proteins in young recipients" is published in the journal Microbiome.

Explore further Study finds gut microbiome plays important role in sleep regulation

More information: Alfonsina D'Amato et al. Fecal microbiota transplant from aged donor mice affects spatial learning and memory via modulating hippocampal synaptic plasticity- and neurotransmission-related proteins in young recipients, Microbiome (2020). Alfonsina D'Amato et al. Fecal microbiota transplant from aged donor mice affects spatial learning and memory via modulating hippocampal synaptic plasticity- and neurotransmission-related proteins in young recipients,(2020). DOI: 10.1186/s40168-020-00914-w
LONDON  As news of President Donald Trump's shock diagnosis with Covid-19 spread Friday, the experience of United Kingdom Prime Minster Boris Johnson, who tested positive six months ago, could offer a clue to what might come next.

Johnson, 55, announced on March 27, at the height of the pandemic in the U.K., that he was suffering "mild" symptoms and would self-isolate while continuing to work. He was thought to be the first world leader confirmed to have contracted Covid-19.

He kept in contact with ministers through what he called the "wizardry of modern technology," and 10 Downing Street, his official residence and personal office, maintained that he was in control.

Image: Boris Johnson (Jessica Taylor / AFP - Getty Images)

Then, on April 6, Johnson was rushed to a London hospital on the advice of his doctor before being placed in an intensive care unit. He spent a week in the hospital and received oxygen treatment but was not put on a ventilator. Queen Elizabeth II was kept informed of his status, Buckingham Palace said.

Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, who deputized in Johnson's absence, said at a news conference the next day that Johnson was still in control of the government  but he admitted that he hadn't spoken to him since before his hospitalization.

Later the same day, responding to speculation that the government could become paralyzed without its leader, senior minister Michael Gove said important steps could be taken in the prime minister's absence.

"The Cabinet is the supreme decision-making body," he said.

While the wheels of government continued to turn as normal, it remains unclear whether Raab or the Cabinet had the authority, for example, to use the U.K.'s nuclear deterrent or fire government ministers.

On his release, and as he began a period of recuperation at his house in the English countryside, Johnson won praise for a heartfelt message in which he thanked the National Health Service for "saving my life." Referring to how serious his condition was, Johnson said, "It could have gone either way."

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Johnson's illness didn't, as some had predicted, lead to a rise in support for the government. As polling company YouGov pointed out Friday, a surge in support happened four days before he became ill.

It wasn't until April 27 that Johnson finally returned to work. Johnson has dismissed media speculation that the illness has given him long-term symptoms, saying Tuesday that he was "fit as a butcher's dog."

The U.K. has the highest number of Covid-related deaths in Europe with more than 42,000, also making it the fifth worst affected country in the world, with a substantially smaller population than the countries ahead in the list: Mexico, India, Brazil and the U.S.

Johnson's illness was a wake-up call for Britons, many of whom were skeptical about the severity and threat of the virus.

And it brought into sharp relief the criticism that the U.K. was far too slow to react to the pandemic. Johnson was personally attacked for a cavalier attitude to the virus: He boasted at a news conference March 3 that he had been shaking hands with people at a hospital overloaded with coronavirus patients.

It later emerged that the government's own scientific advisers had by that point privately called for a public warning against hand-shaking. The prime minister's spokesperson said he didn't see the advice.

A conservative libertarian who has railed against government interference and the "nanny state" in newspaper columns and speeches, Johnson was reluctant to order a national lockdown.

Jeremy Hunt, a senior lawmaker from Johnson's own Conservative Party and a former longstanding health secretary, told the BBC on March 13, in reference to strict lockdowns in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, it was "surprising and concerning that we're not doing any of it at all."

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and alerts on Trump's Covid diagnosis

At the same time, Rory Stewart, a former Conservative lawmaker who led the U.K.'s response to the Ebola outbreak in Africa in 2019, said that Johnson's approach was "defeatist."

"They say there is no point in spending a huge amount of money trying to suppress this, instead they are trying to manage the increase. We are taking far too much risk. I think that is a dangerous thing to do. I don't think if we allow this to spread it can be managed in that way."

As pubs, restaurants and shops all announced closures, Johnson still stopped short of national action until a lockdown was confirmed on March 23.

"Clearly, because of the way that the virus spreads, if wed have locked down even a week earlier we are talking about thousands, possibly tens of thousands of lives that might have been saved," said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University, London.

"Generally speaking," they let the uncertainty go on too long and they should have locked down earlier.
Rashida Jones and Bill Murray in "On the Rocks"

Rashida Jones and Bill Murray in "On the Rocks" Apple TV+ / A24

In Sofia Coppola's charming "On the Rocks," Felix (Bill Murray) invokes the old refrain, "Women. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em," while talking with his daughter, Laura (Rashida Jones). She calls him out for his wandering eye. But the refrain really should be, "Men. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em," because Laura is the one having the relationship crisis.

Laura's difficulty starts when husband Dean (Marlon Wayans), who travels frequently for business, comes home and kisses her while she is asleep. He stops abruptly when she speaks. Is the sound of her voice that grating? Is Dean out of it and thinks he's kissing someone else? Panic sets in. Laura refuses to believe her husband is having an affair. She is unwilling to ask Dean because, "It's probably nothing." But she also thinks Dean sees her as, "a buzzkill who wants to schedule things." And maybe she does not really want to know the truth.

However, the idea plagues Laura enough that she reluctantly mentions it to Felix, the other man she can't live without. Felix is a retired art dealer who has too much time and too much money on his hands. Felix also loves this daughter so much that he wants to follow Dean to get to the root of the problem. He even sets up a hot watch (surveillance via credit card use) to track Dean's purchases (without asking his daughter first).

For Laura, this situation is a predicament. For Felix, it's an opportunity for misadventure.

"On the Rocks" gets mileage out of this simple "Is Dean cheating or not?" plot  which was also the basis for the hilarious comedy, "The Daytrippers," back in 1996  because its leads are so fabulous. Murray gives an effortless and effervescent performance as a wily, rascally troublemaker who gleefully delights in antics that he knows his daughter won't approve of  like giving Laura's two kids egg creams before dinner. When she reprimands him, he wisecracks, "Who'd want them after?"

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Jones plays straight man to the clownish, deadpan Felix well, giving withering looks that express her bemusement, embarrassment, wonder and frustration all at once, as when Felix tries to charm his way out of a ticket, or sings "Mexicali Rose" to a group of adoring women. Laura can't resist her father either, and her irritation at him flirting with a waitress, or any female for that matter, is as much her disdain for his sexist behavior as it is for her having to share Felix with anyone else.

There is a backstory to the particular dynamics of their relationship but when "On the Rocks" has Laura call Felix on that, he answers his daughter thoughtfully, truthfully, and respectfully. It's a beautiful moment that explains, but does not excuse, his bad behavior. It is as poignant and as tender as a scene where Felix gives his daughter a birthday gift she cherishes or tells her, "I remember the first moment I recognized you as a person. I saw who you were."

The father/daughter bond is why the film is so enchanting. Watching Felix and Laura eat caviar in a convertible sportscar while on a stakeout is sweet, especially when the moment segues into a comic chase scene.

Coppola is all about showing the privilege Laura and Felix have, from their expensive lunches at 21 and Felix mocking Soho House and waxing nostalgic for the Knickerbocker Club. It is pointless to fault the film for inviting viewers into the fancy restaurants and luxurious homes that should be featured in lifestyle magazines. This is Coppola's milieu. Even when the characters take a trip to a resort in Mexico it is best to just go with the fairy tale vibe.

Coppola is not being shallow though; there is a real heart to these characters. The emotions are what ground the film. Despite the madcap adventures, the film has a melancholy streak. (Chet Baker isn't on the soundtrack by accident). Laura is worried about her marriage and she does not want to face the prospect of a life without Dean. When she sheds a tear that splashes into her martini  a gorgeous image, actually  it illustrates just how affected she is by the possibility of making a discovery that could change everything.

There may be viewers who won't care, but Jones makes Laura sympathetic in her rut. Yes, she endures the incessant ramblings of Vanessa (Jenny Slate) who talks (and talks and talks) as they drop off and pick their kids up from school. And yes, she suffers the nitpicking of her mother when she attends a family lunch. Laura is put-upon. She has all the domestic responsibilities while Dean is out breadwinning, and she is "creatively stifled" regarding what to write for her book that is under contract. (A feeble metaphor for her marital limbo).

But Coppola understands the dynamics between men and women, fathers and daughters, and husbands and wives, which is why "On the Rocks" resonates.

"On the Rocks" opens in select theatres on Friday, Oct. 2 and will stream on Apple TV+ beginning Oct. 23.

https://youtu.be/w4p0vjj_C8s

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According to a new report by the charity Save the Children, the coronavirus pandemic has put around 500,000 more girls at risk of being forced into child marriage this year. This increase reverses the 25 years of progress that saw child marriage rates decline.

Increase in child marriages

Before the coronavirus pandemic that forced the world to put everything on hold, 12 million girls married each year. Now according to the report by Save the Children, up to 2.5 million more girls could be at risk of child marriage from 2020 to 2025.

In this year alone, up to 117 million children are estimated to fall into poverty, many of them will face pressure to work and to help provide for their families.

Inger Ashing, the CEO of Save the Children International, said in a press release that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more families being pushed into poverty, forcing many girls to work to support their families, to go without food, and to become the main caregivers for sick family members.

Also Read: Pakistan Thinks the JF-17 Will Be a Threat to the Rafale Fighter

Some of the girls were forced to drop out of school due to the pressure of their family and personal lives. Girls have far less of a chance than boys of ever returning to school once the pandemic settles.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to school closures and the "experience during the Ebola outbreak suggests many girls will never return to school" due to the increasing pressure to work for their families, care for their family members, risk of child marriage, bans on pregnant girls attending school and lost contact with education.

In 2020, around 191, 200 girls in South Asia will be disproportionately affected by the risk of increased child marriage. It is followed by West and Central Africa, where 90,000 girls are at risk of child marriage.

Latin America and the Caribbean sees 73,400 child marriages and Europe and Central Asia sees 37, 200 child marriages, according to UNICEF.

The report notes that girls that are affected by humanitarian crises, such as floods, wars and earthquakes, face the greatest risk of child marriage.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, data showed child marriage was increasing among refugee populations. In Lebanon for example, child marriage among Syrian refugee girls rose by 7% between 2017 and 2018.

Ashing said that every year, around 12 million girls are married, 2 million are married before their 15th birthday.

Half a million girls are now at risk of this gender-based violence in 2020 alone, and these only are the ones that are known to the public.

Effects of child marriages

According to Girls Not Brides, married girls face isolation and limited freedom and they often feel disempowered.

The girls are deprived of their fundamental rights to health, education and safety as they are treated like a property by their husbands, especially in Middle Eastern countries.

Child brides are neither physically nor emotionally ready to become wives and mothers. They face more risks of experiencing dangerous complications in pregnancy and childbirth, contracting HIV or AIDS, and suffering domestic violence.

With little access to education and economic opportunities, they and their families are more likely to live in poverty.

Child marriages undervalue the contribution and participation of girls and women limit their own possibilities for stability, growth and transformation.

Related Article: Indigenous Woman Records Slurs By Hospital Staff Before Her Death

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One of the NSW Nationals' longest serving state MPs has warned that the parliamentary wing of the party has lost its way and is failing to convince voters of its direction and purpose.

Speaking publicly for the first time about the internal turmoil in the Nationals, upper house MP Trevor Khan, one of only three Nationals elected before the Coalition's 2011 landslide win, said: "The nature of the party is under threat".

NSW National MP Trevor Khan says the parliamentary party is under threat. Credit:Wolter Peeters

"I feel there is no end game, no clear plan or any direction communicated," Mr Khan told the Herald.

Mr Khan's comments came as the Liberals and Nationals reached a truce on Friday over the highly contentious koala planning policy, which was the catalyst for a Coalition spat which threatened the Berejiklian government.
Liz Walker had a good quality of life before catching the coronavirus, which triggered complications even after the infection was cleared. (Supplied: COVERSCAN)

An NHS worker has revealed the ordeal of living with long COVID.

It is increasingly coming to light that not everyone who overcomes the coronavirus returns to a clean bill of health, with some enduring complications after clearing the infection from their body.

Some experts have argued long COVID should be considered a condition in its own right, with patients enduring everything from fatigue and hearing loss to palpitations and even signs of organ damage.

Liz Walker, 57, from Wiltshire, spent 16 days in hospital after catching the coronavirus from a patient at work.

Read more: How to swab a baby, toddler or child for coronavirus at home

Now home, the NHS activity coordinator claims she is not the same person, with long COVID leaving her breathless, aching and enduring intense heart palpitations.

Scans and tests have revealed issues with her blood, inflammation and heart and liver damage.

The mother-of-four is due to have a heart scan in November to uncover the extent of the damage.

Walker is an NHS activity coordinator. Her extreme fatigue makes her feel 'done in' walking between wards. She is pictured while recovering from the coronavirus in hospital. (Supplied: COVERSCAN)

Walker, who had chronic fatigue syndrome before she caught the coronavirus, thought she was having a flare-up when she developed a sore throat, terrible cough, and aches and pains on 4 April.

She began feeling better over the next few days, until walking upstairs one morning left her physically unable to breathe.

After collapsing on the bed, Walker was rushed to hospital, where she tested positive for the coronavirus.

Read more: One in 10 critically ill COVID patients has a cardiac arrest

With her oxygen levels right down to the floor, she even had the do not resuscitate conversation with her doctor.

I wrote goodbye letters to my sons and husband just in case, Walker told Yahoo UK. I couldnt see anyone or have any visitors.

Watch: What is long COVID?

Walker pulled through, however, life is far from normal.

Ive never stopped experiencing the symptoms of COVID, she said.

I tried to get a grip and go back to normal life, but I kept getting breathless and my joints constantly ached.

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The heart palpitations are really intense. When they start you really begin to panic but Im used to it now as it happens so often.

A formerly active person, Walker enjoyed crafts, kite flying and photography.

I went on holiday recently with my family but instead of walking and taking pictures of the scenery, I couldnt face it, I was constantly looking out for the next bench, she said.

Im not the same person I was pre-COVID.

The scariest thing is not knowing whether its going to get better. Im constantly worried its going to get worse.

Read more: UK coronavirus cases exceeding April's 'peak'  why are deaths low?

With long COVID a new phenomenon, Walkers doctors have been unable to predict what her future may look like. They are also stumped on how best to treat her condition.

I got an inhaler, but it didnt help, she said.

Walker was off work for three months and is slowly going back to her part time hours.

Just walking between wards leaves me feeling absolutely done in, she said.

When asked if the ordeal has affected her mental health, Walker said: If I dwelled on everything, I would be more worried, more anxious, probably more depressed.

Im going to go day by day until I find out what happens in November. Its a coping mechanism by avoidance.

Walker has enrolled onto the clinical trial COVERSCAN, which aims to map how COVID-19 impacts the health of multiple organs.

The scan and tests revealed I have issues with my blood, I have raised inflammation indicators of the liver and a dilated left ventricle, she said.

I was surprised to see my breathlessness was a result of damage to my heart and not my lungs.

I know now my heart and liver have been damaged by the disease but I dont yet know what the implications are or how long Ill be feeling like this.

The huge wakeup call has encouraged Walker to be more health conscious, with her cutting back on salt to limit any further damage to her heart. She also feels better having switched to decaf coffee.

With the UK firmly in its second coronavirus wave, officials are implementing local lockdowns and other restrictions to help stem the spread.

When asked about people flouting the rules, Walker said: Its not about just surviving the bout of COVID, its the damage it does to your body afterwards.

I find it quite amusing that people who [might] spend a lot of money looking after their health are neglecting their long term health because they see COVID as just flu. It screws with your heart.

Watch: UK coronavirus cases high but deaths low - why?
Trading resumed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday after it was halted by a technical glitch for all of Thursday. The session ended without any disruptions.

Trading kicked off at the usual time of 9 AM, bringing some relief to market participants.

TSE officials said Thursday's glitch was triggered by a hardware failure in the system. Switching to a backup device also failed, making it impossible for market information to be distributed.

The TSE replaced the equipment that caused the failure and confirmed that there was no problem with the trading system.

The outage had a wide-ranging impact. Local exchanges in Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo use the same system as Tokyo to execute trades. They also reopened on Friday after a hiatus the previous day.

The benchmark Nikkei Average finished 0.67 percent lower compared to Wednesday's close.

The index tumbled after US President Donald Trump tweeted he and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19.

Some investors were in a wait-and-see mood as they were still worried about the system's stability.

Firms related to Thursday's technical glitch lost some ground. Japan Exchange Group, which operates the TSE, shed nearly two percent. Fujitsu, which developed the trading system, tumbled by 2.75 percent.

The Financial Services Agency instructed the Japan Exchange Group and the TSE to report what measures they'll take to prevent a recurrence.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:32:51|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper met on Friday with Moroccan military officials over military cooperation and regional issues in Rabat, said a statement by the General Staff of Moroccan Armed Forces.

The statement said that various aspects of bilateral cooperation in the area of national defense were discussed, adding that the officials of both countries "expressed their satisfaction with the strength, excellence, sustainability and dynamism of bilateral cooperation."

This cooperation includes the organization of joint exercises, the exchange of information visits and the participation in various training sessions, the statement said, adding that the deepening of these relations should materialize through the consolidation of technical cooperation. Enditem
Have you used an emoji today while texting someone or posting something? Most will nod their heads in agreement as people, all across the world, use emojis every single day. Be it to say what theyre feeling or show what theyre up to, people use them in various situations. These ideograms and smileys have become an integral part of the virtual communication - so much so that there is also an animated movie made on these icons. In fact, a blog published by World Economic Forum reported that emojis are used nearly 5 billion times every day on Facebook and in Facebook Messenger alone. Let that sink in!

via GIPHY

Taking to Twitter, they shared an image showing how the numbers of different types of emojis in existence have increased from 1995 and what it will be in 2021. The tweet is complete with a link of the blog that further explains the history of emoji in details.

The report explains that in 1995 the number of emojis in existence were just 76. In 2020, that number has grown to 3,136. Next year, in 2021, the number is set to increase to 3,353.

Some emojis, expectedly, are used more than others. Do you know the type of the icons used also vary according to the social media platforms? For instance, crying with laughter is the most used emoji on Twitter and Facebook. For Instagram, however, it is the heart emoji.

via GIPHY

Another interesting fact is that the icons which appear on peoples phones are not arbitrary. Unicode Consortium, a US non-profit, oversees the character inventory of the emojis. In other words, this body decides what is going to become an emoji and what is not. They also set standards so that the emojis appear uniformly across different platform, though the style may vary from one provider to another.

Unicode Consortiums website also has a detailed list of all the emojis in existence. You can check the list here.

As for the tweet the World Economic Forum shared, read it here:

The history of the 5 billion emojis used every single day https://t.co/gUmziICzzV #emoji #SocialMedia pic.twitter.com/5APXOdxAQ7  World Economic Forum (@wef) October 2, 2020

People expressed their surprise about how heavily the emojis are being used on a daily basis.

Thank you for the post. I had no idea that 5 billion emojis are used daily. I havent used them that much in the past and Im constantly challenged to figure out what some of them mean. Ha ha, wrote a Twitter user. Modern day cave symbols, joked another.
Donald Trumps envoy to Northern Ireland has warned that Boris Johnsons controversial threat to break the law over Brexit could present a challenge to the peace process under the Good Friday Agreement.

The prime ministers threat to use his Internal Market Bill overrule elements of the Brexit withdrawal agreement provoked a furious reaction from Democrats in Washington, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and influential Irish-American congressman Richard Neal warning it could scupper chances of a UK-US trade deal.

But former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaneys comments today are the strongest signal yet of concern from the Republican Trump administration of the potential for the bill to destabilise peace on the island of Ireland.

Mr Mulvaney said that, despite differences in tone which last week saw Secretary of State Mike Pompeo say simply that the US trusts Britain on the issue, the Republican and Democrat sides were sending the same message about the need to preserve peace.

Speaking to the Policy Exchange thinktank in London during a visit to both sides of the Irish Sea, Mr Mulvaney said that Mr Neals warning that the border issue would play a role in determining any UK/US trade deal was a true statement.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 16 January 2022 The moon rises above the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, Hampshire PA UK news in pictures 15 January 2022 Demonstrators outside Downing Street during a Kill The Bill protest against The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London. PA UK news in pictures 14 January 2022 Ecologist Emma Smart (left) and retired GP Dr Diana Warner outside HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, following their release from the prison where Emma undertook a 26-day hunger strike during her incarceration. Ms Smart was sentenced in November, along with other members of Insulate Britain, to serve four months for breaking a High Court injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 motorway during the morning rush hour on 8 October last year PA UK news in pictures 13 January 2022 A TV presenter holds a copy of a newspaper outside 10 Downing Streetafter the Prime Minister apologised for attending a gathering of colleagues in the Number Ten garden in May 2020, while the UK was in strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic Getty UK news in pictures 12 January 2022 Fitness guru Derrick Evans after receiving an MBE during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 11 January 2022 A couple walk underneath an umbrella during wet weather on Westminster Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 10 January 2022 A jogger passes the Covid Memorial Wall in London AP UK news in pictures 9 January 2021 The sun rises over horses at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 8 January 2022 Riders compete during the Veterans Men's race at the UK Cyclo-Cross National Championships 2022 in Ardingly, south of London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 7 January 2022 A dog looks out of a car window at the wintry conditions in Killeshin, Co. Laois PA UK news in pictures 6 January 2022 People walk through frost and mist alongside a frozen lake during sunrise in Bushy Park, London REUTERS UK news in pictures 5 January 2022 A skier jumps on the slopes at Allenheads in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 4 January 2022 Freshly-fallen snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 3 January 2022 Dean Morrison, 13, receives his Covid-19 vaccine from student nurse Anthony McLaughlin during a vaccination clinic at the Glasgow Central Mosque PA UK news in pictures 2 January 2022 Konastantinos Tsimikas of Liverpool with Chelseas Mason Mount during the Premier League match at Stamfrod Bridge Liverpool FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 January 2022 New Years Eve Lasers, drones and fireworks illuminate the sky in front of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich shortly after midnight in London EPA UK news in pictures 31 December 2021 Competitors in fancy dress run across the Pennine tops near Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the annual Auld Lang Syne Fell race which attracts hundreds of runners every year PA UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket PA UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queens Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London PA UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London Getty UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham PA UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip PA UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London Reuters UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester PA UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge. Getty UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year PA UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton PA UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election PA UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire PA UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster Getty Images UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, PA UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judges decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange PA UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service PA UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine PA UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow PA UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra Getty UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother PA UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square Reuters UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 2 December 2021 Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum Getty UK news in pictures 1 December 2021 Meerkats at London Zoo with an advent calendar PA UK news in pictures 30 November 2021 Workers put the finishing touches to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree ahead of the lighting ceremony later in the week PA UK news in pictures 29 November 2021 Home Secretary Priti Patel is greeted by a police dog at a special memorial service for Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana Getty UK news in pictures 28 November 2021 Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City battles for possession with Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United during a match at the Etihad during snow Manchester City/Getty

Thats a true statement and that's not at all inconsistent with what you saw Secretary of State Pompeo say when Dominic Raab came to visit last week, he said.

The administration believes just as much in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement as does Richie Neal It is central.

The two positions  are not inconsistent, we are just on different places on the continuum.

What we're saying is, we've read the Internal Market Bill, we can see how maybe under certain circumstances it might in the future create a challenge to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement.

But we're not there yet, so we are encouraging everybody to wait and see how things shake out and we're here in the meantime, to let everybody know of our interest in that particular topic.

I think what you saw Richie say is if there's a threat to the GFA then it will impact the US/UK free trade agreement. Again, different tones, different points in the time continuum. Probably, at the end of the day, the same message.

Mr Mulvaney indicated concern that the border in the Irish Sea created by Mr Johnsons withdrawal agreement could threaten peace.

Everybody believes that if there's a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, we pretty much know what that leads to, he said.

We're not as clear, historically, on what happens if you draw a type of border in the Irish Sea, which is one of the ways that folks have described the protocol. It's not as tangible, perhaps, we're not sure what happens with that.

He left open the question of whether the Northern Ireland protocol in itself violates the Good Friday Agreement because it fails to protect the integrity of the United Kingdom, as some Unionists argue.

I think that point is well made and I certainly think a reading of the document bears that discussion out, he said.

Mr Trumps envoy stressed that the White Houses concern about Brexit is not the detail of any deal struck between London and Brussels, but the potential for it to impact on peace in Ireland.

Whatever deals that y'all want to cut with Europeans, that's fine, that's great, he said. We stand back on the side - certainly very curious to see how it works out, hope it works out, confident that it will work out and that there will be some sort of agreement by the end of the year.

But it's really through the prism of the Good Friday Agreement that we watch that because that's where we are so heavily invested  that's the one that we really have so much blood sweat and tears in.
Films will be delivered to your home for this years Wexford Documentary Film Festival

'If you can't come to the festival, the festival will come to you.'

That's the motto for this year's Wexford Documentary Film Festival (WDFF), an event which, like so many, has had to adapt to the times we live in.

But whereas many of its contemporaries have gone virtual for 2020, the organisers of the WDFF wanted to do something a little different.

Having worked all summer in the hope of staging the festival the team had to cancel this month's screenings, but Augustine O'Donoghue says the team always had a backup plan in the offing.

'It was a bitter disappointment (not to host it), after all the hard work that had been done,' Augustine says. 'We knew all along there was the possibility that the festival may not happen, so we had a Plan B.

'We figured if people couldn't come to the festival this year, well then we'd bring the festival to them.'

And so the 'Festival at Home' was created; a concept which will enable people to order a film from the festival programme and have it delivered directly to their home for free by the festival team.

'A lot of festivals have gone online this year, but it didn't feel like the right solution for our festival,' explained Andi McGarry from the festival team.

'An important part of this festival is about the community coming together. We didn't want to lose that personal touch and connection with our audience.

'We are also aware that broadband connection can be an issue for many people in rural areas, something the festival team had encountered during their many Zoom calls throughout the lockdown.'

The 'Festival at Home' programme contains some amazing home-grown films, including a selection from Wexford.

Anna McDonagh, a student from Gorey School of Art will be showing her first ever film called Camphill - a community without walls a documentary about Camphill Duffcarrraig in Ballymoney.

Al Butler, from Enniscorthy has a film Twenty yards from a crow, which is a fascinating film that looks at the world of crows with much of the footage for the film shot around Wexford county.

'We are really happy that the festival can support Wexford filmmakers and get their work shown to the public during what is a very challenging time for the cultural industry in Ireland, says Andi.

'Filmmakers really appreciate and value having the opportunity to show their work to the public.'

Films in the programme cross a wide variety of genre from documentary, animation to experimental artist film. Some of the short films featured in the programme were made entirely during lockdown which is credit to the spirit and ingenuity of the filmmakers.

The 'Festival at Home' program will be available to audiences living in Wexford County, and films will be delivered free of charge to their doorstep by our team.

Keogh's crisps have kindly donated some free tasty gourmet popcorn treats which will be delivered with the film.

The festival at home event has four different film boxes some include options for films on DVD or on a USB key. Booking of films open on Monday, September 21 and the team expect to start delivery of films to people's homes in the following weeks. The festival is limiting the film boxes to one per household. Details of the films can be found on the festival website www.wexforddocumentaryfilmfestival.ie
Turkey sends ISIS commander, Syrian rebels to aid Azerbaijan in Armenia conflict: reports

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Reports say that hundreds of Syrian Islamic rebel fighters, including a high-ranking Islamic State commander, have been sent to help prop up Muslim-majority Azerbaijan in its recently re-sparked border conflict over a region populated predominantly by Armenian Christians.

High-ranking Syrian rebel sources who spoke with The Daily Beast claimed that as many 1,000 Syrian rebel fighters were sent to Azerbaijan, which lies north of Iran, from Turkey on Sept. 22 and Sept. 24.

A similar claim was also reported by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which cited sources as saying that a batch of fighters was sent to the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region from the Syrian city of Afrin, where Turkey had engaged in a military campaign along with aligned militant groups against Kurdish forces.

The decades-long clash over Nagorno-Karabakh reignited on Sunday. The region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has a majority-Armenian population that voted to break away from Azerbaijan and has been controlled by ethnic Armenians, which caused a war between the two former Soviet Union republics and a ceasefire in 1994.

More recently, clashes began again at the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact, which separates ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijan forces. The recent clashes are said to be the most severe since 2016. Casualties have been reported by both sides and the United Nations has called for the de-escalation of tensions.

Despite this, the sources suggest that Turkey, a predominantly Muslim European nation strongly allied with Azerbaijan, has sent mercenaries to the region.

Armenias ambassador to Russia, Vardan Toganyan, said that militia have been deployed by Turkey from Syria to Azerbaijan, adding that the troops have been trained in camps.

Asia News, an official press agency of the Roman Catholic Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, cited Syrian armed opposition sources to report that Turkey has sent 4,000 Syrian Isis mercenaries from Afrin to fight against the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh. One leader was quoted as saying that as many as 1,000 more fighters could be on their way.

Sources told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that Syrian rebels were taken to Azerbaijan to guard the states border in return for salaries that range between $1,500 and $2,000.

500 Hamza Brigade (affiliated with the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army) fighters were flown last Tuesday from southern Turkey to the Azeri airbase at Sumqayit (30 kilometers north of the Azeri capital of Baku), a source within the rebel group told The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity.

Two days later, on Thursday, another 500 fighters from the Sultan Murad brigades rebel faction (another Turkish-backed outfit) were similarly flown out to Azerbaijan.

Hamza commander Sayf Balud, an ethnic Turkmen, previously served as a commander within the Islamic State radical jihadist group that conquered large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and killed and enslaved thousands beginning in 2013.

The Daily Beast reports that Balud was featured in an Islamic State propaganda video shot in the town of Tal Abyad after the group captured the town from the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units. After the Islamic States military defeat, he appeared in propaganda videos in 2018 as the commander of the Hamza brigades when Turkey sent backed rebel groups into Afrin to capture control of the city.

Sources who spoke with The Daily Beast noted that the Syrian rebel units that have been sent to Azerbaijan are almost all being led by ethnic Syrian Turkmen like Balud.

Reports of Syrian rebel involvement was denied by an aide to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, Khikmet Gadzhiev.

Rumors of militants from Syria allegedly being redeployed to Azerbaijan is another provocation by the Armenian side and complete nonsense, Gadzhiev said.

However, two fighters from a Turkish-based rebel group in northern Syria told Reuters that they were deployed to Azerbaijan in coordination with Ankara, with one saying that he was told nearly 1,000 Syrians were set to deploy.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Monday that Armenia has also brought in mercenaries and terrorists from abroad. Reuters notes that Akar attended joint military drills in Azerbaijan in August.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had previously blasted Armenia in a U.N. General Assembly speech for occupying Azerbaijan territory, on Thursday criticized international governments like France, the U.S. and Russia for calling for a ceasefire.

Occupiers need to leave the land theyre occupying first, Erdogan said. Permanent peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh region will only be possible if Armenia leaves the Azerbaijani lands it has been occupying.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Armenian protesters gathered outside of the Azerbaijan consulate in Los Angeles to protest Azerbaijans actions in Nagorno-Karabakh. The rally was held by the Armenian Youth Federation.

On Friday, the Armenian National Committee of America is leading a protest in Washington, D.C. Among groups supporting the protest is the international advocacy group In Defense of Christians.

The protest will call on the U.S. government to condemn Azerbaijan, cut off military aid to Azerbaijan and enforce sanctions on Turkey.

The AYF is leading a protest at the Turkish Embassy against Ankara and Baku's attacks on Armenia and Artsakh, [d]emanding that Turkey stop pouring fuel on this fire, a Facebook post explains.
ANN ARBOR, MI  Manyongo Selemani said he fled Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the early 1990s after a massacre at his university.

He escaped to Kenya as a refugee, and later Canada, eventually ending up in the United States.

Hes now a U.S. citizen who has lived and worked in the Ann Arbor area for many years, but hes troubled by the ongoing violence, including rapes and mass killings, that have plagued his home country in central Africa, where he still has family.

My own aunt was buried alive and my own sister was shot. She was pregnant, he said of the pain hes endured. My wife lost her family members. My village was devastated.

Selemani and several other members of the Congolese community in Ann Arbor demonstrated outside city hall Thursday, Oct. 1, calling for peace and justice in Congo.

They gathered to mark the 10-year anniversary of a 550-page United Nations report documenting 617 serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law from 1993 to 2003 by both state and non-state actors in Congo.

Many of the attacks involved massive violence against non-combatant civilian populations consisting primarily of women and children, with near-total impunity, the report found, describing rapes and mutilations carried out by both armed Congolese and foreign military forces.

In fact, people of this country were victims of a genocide, Selemani said.

The violence is ongoing and millions of people have been senselessly killed and abused, demonstrators said Thursday, calling on the UN to create a special international criminal court for Congo to prosecute those responsible.

We are from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and some of us now are citizens of the U.S. We have lost close members of our families, relatives and friends back home, Selemani said, adding we want the genocide, mass killings, rapes of Congolese and the illegal exploitation of natural resources of the country by the multinational companies to end.

Other demonstrations were happening elsewhere in the world on Thursday in an effort to raise international awareness. In the eastern Congolese city of Bukavu, thousands marched to demand justice and action from Congos government and the international community, The Associated Press reported.

Congolese Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Denis Mukwege told the AP an international criminal tribunal is urgently needed to prosecute mass atrocities, including widespread sexual violence, that continue to go unpunished in his country.

Crimes against humanity, war crimes and even crimes of genocide are committed with impunity in Congo, Mukwege told the AP in an interview from the Panzi Hospital he founded in Bukavu to treat survivors of sexual violence.

Mukwege visited Ann Arbor and was awarded the University of Michigans prestigious Wallenberg Medal a decade ago. His son, Alain Mukwege, is a research associate at the UM School of Nursing and was among Thursdays crowd of Congolese demonstrators outside Ann Arbors city hall.

Since 1994, after the genocide in Rwanda, we started having also a lot of mass killings happening in Congo, he said, adding its unfortunate many people in the international community arent aware that its still happening.

People are dying in Congo up to this day, he said. This July, 200 people were slaughtered in a village. Women, children all slaughtered in a village just because of the continuous infighting. And people of Congo definitely deserve peace, because theres so much blood that has been shed.

Tens of thousands of people in eastern Congo have died in massacres this year alone, he said, adding some of the violence is because of rebel groups fighting for control of mineral resources, including gold and other resources used in making products such as batteries and computers.

So, what started as a war of invasion now is an economic war that is leading to many people dying, Alain Mukwege said, adding many women are still being violently raped.

Once women are raped like that, the fabric of the family is broken and children are susceptible to be forced to be used in forced labor and men usually are killed, he said, adding some also flee their villages.

Alain Mukwege said he grew up in Congo and left in 2011 to come to the U.S. and earn a masters degree in clinical research from the Mayo Clinic. It was around then that his father survived an assassination attempt back in Congo.

Abweyohali Selemani, a 17-year-old Pioneer High School senior in Ann Arbor and daughter of Manyongo Selemani, carried signs decrying the violence in Congo as she paced along Huron Street outside city hall Thursday.

This is little, but this is what we can do, so were going to do it, she said of the demonstration.

She said she was born and raised here but has visited family in Congo several times over the years.

Its always as if youre looking behind your back just to make sure youre safe, she said. You feel like a fear in your heart that, like, I have to be careful, theres something that might happen to me.

It hurts to see the Congolese people, including her relatives, suffering, she said.

It really hurts the environment and the way that they are taking away their resources, she added. On top of that, they are being buried alive, they are being killed, and nothing is being done. Theres no coverage. Nobody knows this is going on.

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Ever anxious to look on the bright side, today I draw your attention to one of the few cheery aspects of lockdown and the Rule of Six.

True, the edicts flowing from Whitehall and local authorities may be crippling the economy, throwing millions out of work, seizing up the health service, condemning the elderly to loneliness and wrecking the life chances of our young.

But for one thing at least, some of us can be grateful: ever since March, the rules have killed off the social nightmare of the middle-class dinner party. They have absolved us of all responsibility to reciprocate past hospitality and given us the perfect excuse to reject any invitations that may come our way.

Indeed, the great mystery to me is why anyone should actively wish to attend these grisly gatherings. But I'll come to Jeremy Corbyn and his mates later.

Ever anxious to look on the bright side, today I draw your attention to one of the few cheery aspects of lockdown and the Rule of Six (Stock image)

Oh, how I used to dread that phone call from friends or neighbours: 'We're having a few people round for a meal on Saturday  nothing fancy  and we'd love you both to come. There's one couple in particular we're longing for you to meet. We know you'll get on like a house on fire.'

Well, if I've learnt anything from experience, the guests we're supposed to adore will take an instant dislike to us, and vice versa. They'll say sneery things about my job, lay into poor Mrs U over her work for an anti-abortionist group or spend half the evening moaning about Brexit (a cause close to my heart almost from the day we joined what was then billed as the Common Market).

Swanky

Either that, or they'll boast disgustingly about their swanky holidays in the Maldives or the dazzling successes of their children. ('Two of yours are still looking for work, are they? Poor you!')

By the end of the evening, when the wine has done its work on my tongue, I'll be fighting back with barbed remarks of my own, or belittling the achievements of the couple's young. ('Your boy works for Goldman Sachs, does he? Oh, how embarrassing for you.')

Meanwhile, my wife will be looking daggers at me, muttering 'do shut up, Tom' and glancing surreptitiously at her watch, yearning for the hands to creep round to a respectable hour for leaving. On one occasion, I even heard myself praising the awful Donald Trump, just to annoy a fellow guest who had riled me.

Indeed, the only pleasure to be derived from these occasions comes afterwards, when Mrs U and I are back at home, treating ourselves to a nightcap, mocking our fellow guests and laughing over the sheer ghastliness of the evening.

But while it's grim enough attending a dinner party as a guest, throwing one ourselves is even worse  which is why we do it only once in a blue moon, when the list of people we owe stretches halfway round the block.

Weeks beforehand, Mrs U will start agonising about who to invite and what to give them to eat.

Now, I hasten to say that when it comes to producing the good plain grub I love, Mrs U is an excellent cook. But one of the infuriating rules of the middle-class dinner party, at least as she interprets them, is that tried-and-tested recipes, honed to perfection, just won't do.

No, if we're having people round, she insists on giving them something special, which almost always means something she has never cooked before. Something, in short, that's bound to go wrong.

As DP-Day draws ever closer, the tension cranks up even more. What will she wear? Should it be something formal, in which case the guests are sure to turn up in sweaters and jeans? Or should she dress down  thereby all but guaranteeing the guests will be wearing suits, ties and full-length skirts?

And what about the seating plan? What if the Smythsons and the Fox-Barclays can't stand each other? Dare she seat Josephine next to Richard, or will it be too obvious that she's hoping to arrange a romance?

Then, at the very last moment, a guest will ring up to cancel, sparking a vain hunt for someone to make up the numbers. Chances are, the stand-in will turn out to be a vegetarian or allergic to at least one ingredient in every dish on the menu.

Awkward

Finally, the doorbell rings, the first victims arrive and the curtain rises on a nerve-jangling ritual of awkward formality, forced jollity, one-upmanship and either inebriated ill-temper or disapproving sobriety ('No, thank you, I'm driving').

Almost invariably, at least one of the guests will arrive late, meaning the food will be overcooked, while the pre-dinner small-talk among those already assembled becomes more and more sticky.

'Really, how long have you lived there? How many have you got? Boys or girls? Oh, and what are they up to? Yes, sorry, you've just told me that.' Meanwhile, in the kitchen the soup has overboiled, the main course has burned to a cinder and the dog is throwing up something that looks suspiciously like the mousse au chocolat et Cointreau, intended for afters.

When the last guest eventually leaves  and while most are happy to escape as soon as they judge it decent, you can be sure at least one will outstay his welcome into the small hours  an exhausted Mrs U and I will look at each other and say in unison: 'Never again!'

So it is that I bless Boris Johnson for sparing us this hell for the foreseeable future. Yet some, it seems, are gluttons for punishment. Which brings me to Mr Corbyn, his hosts and fellow guests who risk fines of 200 each  a grand total of 1,800  having been caught on camera committing the new-fangled crime of sitting down to a meal with more than six people.

As the former Labour leader admitted in his apology, there were nine at that party, including himself, his wife Laura Alvarez and various others, said to include 'Left-wing activists, film-makers and artists'.

Glowering

To put my cards on the table, I'm inclined to agree with those who believe the present rules are far too draconian and question the Government's right to impose them by decree.

I have no time at all, however, for those hypocrites  whether government advisers, epidemiologists or former Labour leaders  who tell the rest of us to abide by the rules but think themselves too grand to obey them.

But I won't dwell on that here.

All I will ask is, who but a madman would fail to seize the excuse to refuse an invitation to any dinner party  let alone a gathering of arty Lefties  attended by that barrel of laughs, the vegetarian teetotaller and ranting bore Mr Corbyn?

It looks to me like the dinner party from Hell.

You have only to glance at the photograph to see everyone present is having a miserable time. Only the woman sitting on Jezza's right is even attempting a smile. As for the former leader himself, he is positively glowering at the camera, over what looks like a half-eaten courgette, with the expression he usually reserves for hostile interviewers.

Could it be that he realised the picture was bound to find its way into the Press and so land him in hot water?

Well, he deserves it. Indeed, I have far more sympathy for his dotty brother Piers, who has been fined a swingeing 10,000 for organising a protest against the lockdown. At least nobody can accuse him of preaching one thing while practising another.

As for me, I'm just happy to have the excuse for a long break from the agony of the middle-class dinner party.

Is it too much to hope that, even after life returns to something like normality, our oft-repeated prayer will be answered: 'Please God, never again!'
On the 151st Gandhi Jayanti, President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday urged the country to rededicate itself to the welfare and progress of the nation and follow the path of truth and non-violence. He also urged citizens to contribute to realising Mahatma Gandhis dream of building a clean, capable, strong and prosperous India.

On this auspicious occasion of #GandhiJayanti, let us resolve to rededicate ourselves to the welfare and progress of the nation, to follow the mantra of truth and non-violence, and to build a clean, capable, strong and prosperous India, and to make Gandhijis dreams come true, Kovind tweeted.

The President paid his tribute to Gandhi, saying his message of truth, non-violence and love paves the way for the worlds welfare. On behalf of a grateful nation, I pay homage to Bapu on #GandhiJayanti. His message of truth, non-violence and love paves the way for the welfare of the world by bringing about harmony and equality in the society. He remains a source of inspiration for all the humanity, the President said in another tweet.

Also Read| Gandhi: The chronicler

In his article in HT, Kovind said Gandhi is the best example of realising the maximum human potential.

He (Mahatma Gandhi) himself never claimed to be a great soul  indeed, he went out of his way to tell the world about his vulnerabilities. Yet, he is the best example of realising the maximum human potential. If anything, his achievements seem superhuman to us, the President wrote.
The Mid-Atlantic region has some 10 million acres of agricultural and mining land that is rich in natural resources but currently underutilized. The area also produces some 8 million dry tons of forest residues from logging operations. Together, these resources provide a foundation for an emerging biomass industry to gain traction in the region.

To help accelerate that industry, the Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Biomass for Value-Added Products Consortium (MASBio) is bringing researchers from five universities in the region together with government agencies and industry leaders to develop a new and sustainable economy of renewable agricultural crop and forest biomass products and materials.

This project will investigate land reclamation, biomass crop production, forest residue utilization, supply chain logistics, and bioproduct development to advance the renewable biomass and bioproducts industries.

Funded by a $10 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the project includes industry partners as well as researchers from Virginia Tech, West Virginia University, West Virginia State University, Penn State, the State University of New York, the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Chad Bolding, professor of forest operations and engineering in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment and a co-principal investigator of the project, will focus on the utilization of forest residues -- secondary materials such as branches and treetops left behind after traditional forest products are transported to mills.

"My primary focus is developing cost-effective drying and processing approaches for these residues," said Bolding, a faculty member in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. "These are low-value materials, so the margins to make them economically feasible are extremely thin."

One of the challenges of utilizing residue materials for energy is that they are "green" wood, meaning that water comprises approximately half the material's weight. Bolding will research the practice of allowing the residues to dry on site for a period of months to reduce the transportation weight, which would allow vehicles to collect residues from more remote locations while maintaining a profit.

"Hauling water increases transportation costs and reduces efficiency, making it harder to profit from these materials," explained Bolding, who is also working on a collaborative grant to optimize residue collection logistics. "But the tradeoff is that when you reduce the moisture, it makes the wood harder to process for energy production. The processing machines used on site such as chippers are designed to process flexible green wood, so when you introduce wood that is more brittle, it requires more effort from the machines and more fuel to power them. It is also difficult to load trucks to maximum payload when hauling dry material. Trailer volumes are often reached prior to achieving the maximum gross vehicle weight."

Another practice that Bolding will examine is processing the green materials on site and then leaving the chipped product to dry before collecting it for transport.

"We're working to find the right balance between reducing moisture content and minimizing processing challenges and associated hauling cost," he noted. "We will test the finished materials by analyzing their energy and ash contents along with chip size distribution. These variables all affect product quality and value."

To better assess the environmental impacts of forest residue collection and processing, Bolding will study the soil and water impacts of these varying methodologies and develop guidelines for best management practices for biomass recovery on underutilized and reclaimed land.

"There is a concern that when you remove these materials from a site, you're reducing the quality of the land and its future productivity," he explained. "While our research has shown that there is little difference in site conditions between these processes and more conventional approaches, we'd like to dispel those concerns with additional research data while providing guidelines for biomass harvesting contractors."

Bolding is also involved with the education and outreach components of the project. Virginia Tech, in conjunction with the other participating universities, will foster an undergraduate scholars program that will rotate a summer internship program among the universities, with students researching biomass and bioproduct development at host institutions. The scholars program will specifically encourage participation of minority and first-generation students.

"In year four, Virginia Tech is scheduled to host a cohort of five to 10 undergraduates, with representatives from each of the schools," he said. "They'll have an immersive experience each summer, conducting research and working with industry partners to learn about sustainable biomass utilization."

The grant will also fund outreach efforts for secondary educators, including educational toolkits and a curriculum promoting green science for fourth through sixth grade students.

The five-year grant is one of nine provided by a $90 million dollar investment from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which seeks to improve the sustainability of the nation's food supply and ensure better utilization of agricultural landscapes.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 07:27:50|Editor: huaxia

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (on the screens) addresses a high-level meeting on the 25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women at the United Nations headquarters in New York, on Oct. 1, 2020. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)
Lawyers of the Executive Secretary to President Akufo-Addo, Nana Bediatuo Asante have refuted allegations levelled against their clients by some Ga chiefs over the latters attempt to claim a parcel of land close to the Sandbox Beach Resort.

A statement issued by Minkah-Premo & Co on 1 October 2020, stated that the allegations are absolutely false.

They also debunked claims that Mr Bediatuo owns the Sandbox Beach Resort or is in anyway connected to the property.

We state emphatically that our client does not own nor has any interest in Sandbox Beach Resort. We further state that our client has neither acquired nor claimed title to any parcel of land adjacent to it, the statement read.

The Legal firm also noted that assertion that their client used the nations machinery, or took advantage of his influence in the Akufo-Addo-led government to lead armed thugs to the said site, to seize the parcel of land is is wholly untrue and utterly despicable.

As an accomplished lawyer of high repute, with vast experience in land acquisition by lawful means, our client is acutely familiar with the complex legal processes of acquiring land, and therefore, does not need to resort to illegal means of any kind in order to acquire land should he wish to, the statement added.

The legal firm therefore demanded that the delegation of Ga chiefs who made the spurious, unfounded, libelous allegations render an unqualified apology within the next 48 hours, adding that, refusal to heed the demand could attract a defamation suit.

We have advised our client on the various legal options available to him, including initiating an action in defamation in the event that the above demand is not heeded.

It is our fervent hope that the originators of these reprehensible untruths will do the needful in order that finality can be brought to this matter, the statement added.

The chiefs and people of La, specifically the Abafum Djaase, revealed at a news conference on Thursday, 1 October 2020 that Nana Asante Bediatuo has illegally claimed ownership of a parcel of land close to Sandbox Beach Resort.

The group also said that Mr Bediatuo owns the Sandbox Beach Resort adding that, he intends to use his influence in the country to acquire the said piece of land illegally.

The leader of the Abafum delegation, Mr Jeffrey Tetteh, said: Just yesterday, 29th September 2020, at about 7 pm, one Nana Asante Bediatuo, who happens to be the Executive Secretary to the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and also an Akyem, once again, descended on La lands with impunity in the company of his wife or girlfriend, Sarah Femi Adetola, and some weapon-bearing thugs and destroyed a concrete wall that has just been constructed by the Abafum people of La on their land.

Bediatuo, who acquired the Sandbox Beach Resort from one Lee Ocran, son of Ghanas former Education Minister and diplomat, Ambassador Lee Ocran of blessed memory, in a transaction not recognised and formalised by the Abafum people and for that matter the La state, blatantly said last night that he, Bediatuo, was going to use state machinery under this NPP government to annex a parcel of land adjacent the Sandbox Beach Resort, he added.

Mr Tetteh further cautioned Mr Bediatuo to stay off the said property or they will advise themselves.

---with files from classfmonline
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he is going ahead with a planned trip to Asia to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to its allies there, despite the news that President Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Pompeo will depart Sunday for Japan, Mongolia, and South Korea. Pompeo spoke to reporters in Croatia, before returning to Washington Friday, telling them that he and his wife Susan had just tested negative for COVID1-9 and that he had last seen President Trump on Sept. 15. He said they are praying for a speedy recovery for the president and the first lady.

State Department Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Assistant Secretary David Stilwell briefed reporters by phone Friday on Pompeos upcoming trip.

Stilwell said Pompeos first stop will be Tokyo and that the timing is great because Japans new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has just taken the helm. Stilwell said the U.S. sees the meeting as a reaffirmation of an ever-strengthening partnership.

The U.S.-Japan relationship, as we said before, is the cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity for the Indo-Pacific," Stilwell added.

Stilwell, the top American diplomat for East Asia, said Pompeo will attend a ministerial meeting in Tokyo of the Quad grouping of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India. China has denounced the Quad as an attempt to contain its development. The visit comes at a low point of U.S.-China relations, and Pompeo has been a forceful and outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party and what he views as Beijings aggressive foreign policy.

Pompeos second stop will be Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Stilwell said it will be his first trip to Mongolia. He believes it is Secretary Pompeos first trip there as well; he said the U.S.supports Mongolias efforts to strengthen its democratic institutions and human rights, including freedom of religion. He added:Mongolias democracy is a model for the region.

Stilwell said U.S.-Mongolia trade and investment ties are strong and growing stronger.

Pompeos final stop is set to be Seoul, South Korea, as hopes are diminished of a breakthrough with North Korea over its nuclear program. Stilwell said the Republic of Korea is a key U.S. partner, with the relationship firmly grounded in shared values. The trip comes just one month before the November third U.S. presidential election. Pompeos travel schedule has picked up in recent weeks after slowing down due to the coronavirus.
Washington DC: US officials informed on Thursday (October 1, 2020) that they are in talks with Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders urging them to cease hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh region.

In an interview to an American TV news channel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US had spoken to the leaders of the two countries and urged them to ceasefire.

"We`re urging a ceasefire. We want them both to back up. We`ve spoken to the leadership in each of the two countries, asking them to do just that," Pompeo was quoted as saying to Fox News by ANI.

Pompeo further urged third parties who were involved to remove themselves from the conflict. Even as Armenia has alleged that Turkey is involved in the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Meanwihle, India on Thursday voiced its concern terming the development as "disturbing" and called for restraint as the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan rages on for fifth day.

The Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Shrivastava said, "India is concerned over the situation which threatens regional peace and security. We reiterate the need for the sides to cease the hostilities immediately, keep restraint and take all possible steps to maintain peace at the border. India believes any lasting resolution to the conflict can only be achieved peacefully through diplomatic negotiation."

The clashes broke out between Christian-majority Armenia and Muslim-majority Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has ethnic Armenians as a majority.

Atleast dozens have been reportedly killed and hundreds wounded in fighting since Sunday that has spread well beyond the enclave`s boundaries, threatening to spill over into all-out war between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 00:11:23|Editor: huaxia

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Water runs out from a well dug by the Chinese international drilling firm ZPEC in a desert west of Upper Egypt's Minya Province, on Sept. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

by Mahmoud Fouly

MINYA, Egypt, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- A giant drilling rig can be seen from a distance in the heart of the desert west of Upper Egypt's Minya Province, surrounded by heavy equipment as well as energetic engineers and workers in red overalls, white helmets and face masks.

It is one of the three rigs belonging to the Chinese international drilling firm ZPEC, which has so far drilled 120 out of the 300 water wells for Canal Sugar, a 1-billion-U.S.-dollar joint venture between Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, to reclaim land for one of the largest farms in the Middle East and establish the largest beet sugar factory in the world.

Li Wei, general manager of ZPEC branch in Egypt, said most of the branch's team members are Egyptian engineers and workers who work with the support of a few Chinese technicians to turn the Egyptian desert into green lands by bringing underground water to the surface.

"We have brought our equipment, technology and expertise to Egypt since we came here in 2016. We provide training for our Egyptian team and work opportunities for locals. We share our experiences and cultures in an atmosphere of cooperation," Li told Xinhua.

"These are all parts of cooperation between China and Egypt under the umbrella of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative for common development," the Chinese manager said.

On the rig floor, ZPEC engineers and workers were busy drilling until they reach the limestone zone where water is located.

Alaa al-Gammal, one of ZPEC's Egyptian drilling engineers, said it takes them from nine to 15 days to complete the drilling of a well, depending on the challenges they may face.

"I have been working with ZPEC for three years now. It's very beneficial for my career because ZPEC is very professional. I learned a lot in ZPEC and its new technology in this field," the young man noted.

ZPEC uses three 40-meter-tall drilling rigs, each with a 650-horsepower engine, and other heavy equipment including rig carriers, cranes, power generators, trucks and vehicles for the Canal Sugar project.

"We have five rigs for this project ... The fourth will be back to work within days and the fifth may join them later," Amir Mohamed, one of ZPEC's operation managers, told Xinhua near the rig.

ZPEC had challenges when it first started the project because the area was untouched. While the dilling of the first well took nearly two months, ZPEC team now completes a well drilling within 10 to 15 days.

A few kilometers away from the rig, also in the desert, a group of engineers from ZPEC and their client Canal Sugar had smiles on their faces when seeing water gush into a sand pool during a pump test of a newly-drilled well.

"We're currently conducting a pump test, where we test the well production zone, the amount of water produced, the flow rate and the drawdown to determine the well efficiency," said Abu Musallam Mohamed Gouda, another operation manager at ZPEC.

The flow rate of the wells in the would-be huge farm generally varies between 250 and 1,000 cubic meters per hour, while the pumps used for the wells vary between 185 and 500 horsepower, depending on the flow rate.

The owners of the Canal Sugar project also expressed satisfaction with the performance of ZPEC which helped them reclaim a large portion of the project's 76,000-hectare land, on which about 21,000 hectares of sugar beets are expected to be planted in the next six months.

"We've had a longstanding relationship with ZPEC and they have been involved with us more as a partnership over the past two and a half years. Our relationship with ZPEC is quite strong and continues to develop daily," Aaron Baldwin, Canal Sugar's agriculture project director, told Xinhua. Enditem
As the coronavirus spread across the Amazon in March, the evangelical organization New Tribes Mission of Brazil was preparing for a mission to the Javari Valley  a remote region near the border with Peru that is home to one of the worlds largest concentration of Indigenous peoples.

With a newly acquired helicopter, the group reportedly planned to contact and convert the Korubo tribe that lives in the valley in voluntary isolation. The operation risked spreading the coronavirus and other dangerous infections to people highly vulnerable to diseases transmitted by outsiders.

The missionaries organized flights into the Javari Valley until late March. In April, a Brazilian judge banned them and other missionary groups from entering the area. (In response to criticism, the group denied that it planned to contact isolated tribes, and has said that it does not work with isolated peoples.)

There is an evangelical conquista happening across Latin America and, in the struggle for religious hegemony, Amazonia is a sought-after prize. According to one survey, evangelicals now outnumber Catholics in the region. Evangelical missionaries are also entering politics, where they are trying to shape policy to make it easier to reach the last tribes.
MIDDLETOWN  A 37-year-old Spring Street man is accused of stabbing a woman multiple times in front of three children following a jealous fit of rage, according to authorities.

Jamie N. ORyan was arrested Thursday after an incident at an undisclosed location where he allegedly stabbed a woman eight times, inflicting injuries including two puncture wounds in the back, police said.

The victim told officers ORyan called 911 after she pleaded with him, and dispatch recordings allegedly indicate he admitted doing so, according to the police report.

The victims wounds were consistent with her report of being stabbed from behind while she was looking through clothing in her closet, officials said.

ORyan did not deny stabbing the victim, but claimed that she attacked him with the knife and she must have been stabbed in the struggle, police said.

He reportedly had a puncture wound on his left arm, which, the report said, was consistent with the victims claim that ORyan had his arm around her neck at one point during the struggle, accidentally injuring himself.

Three young children were home at the time, police said.

ORyan is charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, three counts risk of injury to a child, first-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment. He was to appear in Superior Court at Middletown Friday and was being held in lieu of $750,000 bail.
Albany, N.Y.  Local governments in New York that dont do enough to enforce state rules meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus could face fines of up to $10,000 a day, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomos office.

I dont need them to do a public education campaign, Cuomo said today during a conference call with reporters. "You cant find a New Yorker who doesnt know theyre supposed to wear a mask.

They have to enforce the law, Cuomo said of local governments. Thats what the state law says.

Cuomo has been complaining for weeks that some governments arent doing enough enforcement. He has stepped up his criticism this week as the state confronts clusters of the virus in areas of Rockland and Orange counties, New York City and Long Island.

The state Health Department is sending letters on the possible fines to local governments dealing with clusters. Theyll be required to report on their enforcement activities to the state.

The virus hotspots have seen positive test rates much higher than the rest of New York.

We are tracking the hotspots is the bottom line here, Cuomo said. The hotspots are a significant problem.

Despite problems in some areas of the state, the numbers in much of Upstate New York remain encouraging. Central New Yorks positive test rate on Thursday was 0.7%.

The rate was below 1% in the Mohawk Valley, Capital Region and North Country as well.

The statewide positive test rate for the virus was 1.3% on Thursday. In the hotspots, the average rate was 6.4%.

A total of 648 people in the state were hospitalized due to the virus yesterday, up 36.

Since the start of September, hospitalizations are up over 45%. But they remain far below their peak of more than 18,000 over multiple days in April.

A total of 146 people were in intensive care units with the virus on Thursday, up five, and 65 people were intubated.

Seven more people in New York died due to the virus yesterday, which brings the statewide death toll to 25,497.

The state conducted 119,493 tests for the virus on Thursday and confirmed 1,598 new cases. New York now has 461,629 confirmed cases.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

President Trump and first lady test positive for Covid-19

New smartphone app tells New Yorkers if theyve been exposed to coronavirus

5 things one Syracuse charter school learned from bringing students back to class

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
A huge hidden cache of Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson's production puppets, props and scripts have emerged for sale for 150,000.

They had belonged to the late John Bell, a driver and handyman at Bray Studios in Berkshire where the special effects for Anderson's shows were filmed.

He was given hundreds of mementos by a senior director at Anderson's production company as they had no storage facilities for them.

This Captain Ochre puppet head used on screen in the classic 1967 series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons is estimated to sell for 8,000

The archive was uncovered following Mr Bell's death last year and is now going under the hammer with auctioneers Ewbank's, of Woking, Surrey.

The sale is expected to generate worldwide interest as it was feared many of these treasured items had ended up in a skip.

One of the marquee lots is an 8,000 Captain Ochre puppet head which was used on screen in the 1967 series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, the sequel to Thunderbirds.

This 30ins by 40ins British Quad film poster for Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) is worth 500

Also being sold is a 30ins by 40ins British Quad film poster for Thunderbirds Are Go (1966), worth 500 and hand-drawn concept artwork for T-Force, a 1983 planned Thunderbirds remake which never happened, which is being tipped to go for 600.

In it, Lady Penelope can be seen with Parker in front of the FAB 1 six wheeled car.

There are also several puppets up for grabs which were used in Anderson's 1980s science fiction series Terrahawks, including a 6,000 Battlehawk and an Officer Cathy Costello puppet worth 2,500.

This hand-drawn concept artwork for T-Force, a 1983 planned Thunderbirds remake which never happened, is being tipped to go for 600

These puppets were uncovered following Mr Bell's death last year and is now going under the hammer with auctioneers Ewbank's, of Woking, Surrey

Anderson's personal script for an episode of Terrahawks, which is marked with his initials 'GA', contains his handwritten notes and corrections.

Thunderbirds expert David Sisson said: 'For fans it has always been the saddest aspect of the Anderson programmes that Gerry never kept anything.

'As an independent film maker, Anderson would spend money on renting space for productions, so every day he rented it cost him money.

The pictured Gerry Anderson's personal script, marked for Terrahawks Episode 2 'GOLD', complete with handwritten notes and corrections in his handwriting could fetch 150

There are several puppets up for grabs which were used in Anderson's 1980s science fiction series Terrahawks,

'Because he worked with puppets and did the voices later, he didn't need a sound stage, so he rented warehouses.

'But the ceaseless weekly production of new puppets, models, and sets meant that this available space filled up rapidly and disposing of items that could not be reused, or repurposed, became a constant problem.

'Gerry was always ready to move on to the next project and so needed the sets cleared, so he used to give everything away or have it thrown out.

'The one thing he did keep for many years was a Parker puppet from the original Thunderbirds series.'

Mr Bell lived in Windsor, Berks. The archive, thought to number hundreds of items, was acquired from his widow by a collector who is now offloading it.

The miniature Terrahawk which was used in the production of the Terrahawks show was part of the archive found uncovered following Mr Bell's death last year

Ewbank's specialist Alastair McCrea said: 'The fan clubs have been running for 40 years or more in places like Britain and Japan.

'This is the biggest news to break for some time and the buzz around the auction is already growing.

'Having cleared the studios on the instructions of Gerry Anderson and the supervising art Director Bob Bell, Julian Bell carefully stored this huge cache of material for more than 30 years.

'Bearing in mind that much of the Anderson production material was destroyed or ended up in skips to make way for the next project, this is close to being a miraculous survival.

Here is a fibreglass production model of MEV used in the production of Terrahawks. The MEV can be seen in shots on the lunar surface when it faces the Space Cyclops.

These three Zelda's Cubes used in the production of Terrahawks, each approximately 20 x 20cm, could fetch 1,200

'It's been the talk of legend among fans across the decades, but no one really knew what happened and whether anything was rescued.

'This auction finally solves the mystery.'

Thunderbirds, which was created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, ran from 1964 and 1966 with 32 episodes.

It has spawned numerous film remakes and over 3,000 different pieces of merchandise.

Anderson died aged 83 in 2012. The sale takes place on November 30.
George Floyds sister has broken her silence to call on Americans to vote divisive Donald Trump out of office.

LaTonya Floyd told the Daily Mirror today that George, killed by a white policeman, said Trump ruled the White Supremacist House.

And appealing for Joe Biden to become President, she said: I refuse to allow my brothers life to have been taken in vain.

In the four months since George was killed at the knee of a white police officer, his big sister has maintained a dignified silence.

But today, little more than a month from the US elections, LaTonya Floyd feels compelled to speak out to warn: If Trump is voted in for another four years, we are all going to hell.

She will never come to terms with the way 46-year-old George died, his face pressed to the road on the corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, pleading in vain for his life, repeatedly telling police officer Derek Chauvin: I cant breathe.

His dying words became a mantra of the Black Lives Matter movement.

LaTonya, 52, recalled how her brother had said Donald Trump, the 45th US President, was governing from the White Supremacist House.

And during his first presidential debate with Democrat rival Joe Biden on Tuesday, Trumps failure to denounce the far-right Proud Boys led to revulsion around the globe, but a surge in recruits for the hate group.

LaTonya said: The first presidential debate shows he is not, nor ever has been, a good president.

He actively emboldens the far right, people like the Proud Boys, who he told to stand by on Tuesday night.

His words have consequences. People will act on them and further violence will follow. Leaders are defined by their characters, by their conviction, by their will to do what is right. The only character Trump cares for is himself.

In the four years of his presidency, he has taken America back over 40 years. The country is more divided now than in the times of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. All on his watch.

He speaks about how no president has done more for African Americans. We all know this is a lie. Even before entering the White House, he ran on a campaign of division. Trumps America is not united, it is divided. He has hurt more than he has healed and is happy to continue to do so.

The world was horrified when video of Georges death on May 25 emerged. The officer had knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds until George passed out and later died.

No one was closer to George than LaTonya.

You need only take a short walk around the Bricks neighbourhood in Houston, Texas, where they grew up, to find locals such as Travis Mugz Cain, who recall how inseparable George and LaTonya were.

He said: Before they lived in each others shadows, they lived in one anothers pockets as kids.

George, known to family by middle name, Perry, had four half-siblings, but only his two older sisters, LaTonya and Zsa Zsa, 53, share both the same parents, George and Larcenia.

Until now, she has been too upset to speak, but LaTonya fears progress made by Black Lives Matter will be undone if Trump wins on November 3.

Pleading for her brothers death not to be in vain, she said: Perry had Trumps number, hed speak to me of how divisive he was. In his mind, Trump didnt live in the White House, but had made it the White Supremacist House.

She blames Trumps behaviour since Georges killing for the needless violence, neither she nor her family condone.

LaTonya said: In the days after Perrys death, I watched as Minneapolis burned. How it was destroyed. How the troubles then spread across the states. I was as mad as hell over my brothers death.

As a family, we were consumed with so many emotions  grief, anger, pain, heartache, it was a never-ending roller-coaster nightmare.

We are still not off it yet.

But while we appreciate the passion felt by so many millions of people, the destruction and violence that we saw and continue to see is not the way forward. We are better than that.

As a family, we are not about that  above all, Perry would not be, too. It is not the way to bring about change.

Our votes are stronger than any brick that is thrown, that is how we will bring about the change this country needs.

After Georges death, Trump called the Floyd family, but LaTonya said it was nothing more than a token gesture.

She said: Why did he never condemn my brothers death? Why did he never join the people he was elected to keep safe on the streets in the aftermath?

Not once has he joined those who are hurting. Obama would have. George Bush would have. There isnt a president alive who would not, except Trump.

The man even uses our military against us. His mantra is law and order, yet it is he who has wreaked havoc.

LaTonya implored all Americans to get out and vote Trump out of office. She said: Joe Biden is the only candidate to bring stability back to this country and stop the rest of the world from looking upon us with confusion and disdain.

Biden is a man of substance, of values. Someone who genuinely cares for all Americans, Democrat or Republican.

Trumps handling of Covid and his politicisation of pandemic deaths speaks volumes for how incompetent he is.

She hopes Georges death will bring change through Black Lives Matter. She said: The movement is bigger than anything we have seen before. Perrys death is going to change the world.

I speak for all my family when I say how much we appreciate the people in the UK who have supported us.

To all those who have taken to the streets, that have protested in peace in Perrys name, we are so moved by you, we are so thankful to you.

Together we can bring about change. To think that out of something terrible, something good can come is a comfort.

I, like so many of us, refuse to allow my brothers life to have been taken in vain. We are all 100% behind Black Lives Matter. I have a life, and it matters.

Change is coming, but only if on November 3 we make the right choice.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Samajwadi Partys Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party s Mayawati and Trinamool Congresss Mamata Banerjee lashed out at Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday as anger and protests grew across the state and beyond over the gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman from Hathras.

Condemnation also came in from the chief ministers of Kerala and Punjab, while protests were held by cadres of SP, in addition to those by Congress workers, across multiple cities in UP. In Aligarh, SP workers lodged a protest when they were stopped from moving towards Boolgarhi village in Hathras on Thursday. The SP workers were stopped on way to the village. They blocked the Agra-Aligarh road for an hour and were arrested by police which cleared the roadblock.

Congress leader Upendra Singh, along with others, moved from Agra towards Boolgarhi village in Hathras but were stopped at the border.

The Valmiki (Dalit) community remained on strike in protest against the Hathras incident.

In the Hathras incident, the manner in which the BJP government delayed medical treatment to save some of its people and also postponed filing the FIR, has angered the families across the country...Instead of protecting the government through its spokespersons and through WhatsApp messages, it should get the matter investigated through the Supreme Court sitting judge, Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.

The woman, who was gang-raped on September 14, died in Delhis Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday where she was brought on Monday from Aligarh Muslim University Medical College. A senior Uttar Pradesh police officer on Thursday said the forensic report has revealed that the woman was not raped.

Meanwhile, yet another Dalit woman died in Balrampur district after two men raped her.

BSP chief Mayawati on said, In the wake of the law and order situation in the state and the flood of crimes against women, the central government should replace Yogi Adityanath with some kaabil (capable) person and if this is not possible, presidents rule should be imposed in the state.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and said, If a crime takes place, action has to be taken within 72 hours, as we have done.
KEY FACTS 2:45 p.m.: Canada expands travel exemptions at U.S. border

1:31 p.m.: De Villa urging residents to stay home unless its important

10:29 a.m. Ontario set a record for new daily COVID-19 cases

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Friday. This file is no longer updating. Click here to read the latest coverage. Web links to longer stories if available.

12:28 p.m.: India crossed 100,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, putting the countrys toll at nearly 10% of the global fatalities and behind only the United States and Brazil.

The Health Ministry reported another 1,069 fatalities in the past 24 hours, driving the death toll to 100,842. It also raised the countrys confirmed caseload to more than 6.4 million with 79,476 new infections.

The grim milestone comes at the heels of a growing crisis for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist government that has been criticized over the handling of the virus and doing very little to alleviate the contracting economy that has left millions jobless.

The overall fatalities are most certainly an undercount, experts say, as deaths may have been attributed to other causes, especially in the early days when testing was abysmally low for a country with a population of 1.4 billion.

10:39 p.m.: President Donald Trumps former adviser Kellyanne Conway said late Friday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus, days after attending a White House event with several others who have since come down with COVID-19.

Conway tweeted Friday that she has a light cough and is feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians, she added.

Conway attended the Rose Garden announcement Saturday where President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Among the attendees, Republican Sens. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, the president of the University of Notre Dame, as well as Trump himself tested positive Friday for the coronavirus.

8:30 p.m.: The CN Tower announced it will be suspending its operations for the second time since early March in an effort to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Its shut down will take effect as of Oct. 3.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and we look forward to welcoming guests back to the Tower as soon as public health authorities and Canada Lands Company determine that it is safe to do so, the statement wrote.

The landmark building opened back up on July 15 to the public, following safety and health guidelines.

(Updated) 7 p.m.: President Donald Trump will spend a few days at a military hospital after contracting COVID-19, the White House said Friday, as the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government. Trump remains fatigued, his doctor said.

Trump was to depart the White House by helicopter late Friday for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The White House said the visit was precautionary and that he would work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

Earlier Friday the White House said Trump had been injected with an experimental antibody cocktail by the White House physician.

Read the full story here.

6:50 p.m.: Thousands of students in the Toronto District School Board opted to move from in-person to virtual school this week as the number of COVID-19 cases in schools continues to rise.

The TDSBs first deadline to switch from online to in-person classes and vice versa on Wednesday saw about 7,500 students move from in-person to virtual school, while 3,000 students opted to switch from virtual to in-person classes, according to spokesman Ryan Bird.

The changes take effect Oct. 13.

Read the full story from Noor Javed here.

4:45 p.m.: Fewer than half of Canadians say theyd get a vaccine as soon as one became widely available, suggests a poll released by Angus Reid on Friday.

The conversation has been dialed up by factors swirling during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are those worried about the safety of what would be a brand-new vaccine, as well as those who fear politics might push one into use before its been shown to be safe.

Much of the reluctance seems to be spurred on by worries about side effects, which almost three quarters of respondents said were a concern.

Worries that U.S. President Donald Trump  who has now himself tested positive for COVID-19  is putting pressure on pharmaceutical companies have also made their way across the border.

Read the full story from Alex Boyd here, the latest in the Stars Road to a Vaccine series

4:39 p.m.: North American stock markets partially recovered from deep early losses caused by uncertainty after U.S. President Donald Trump said he tested positive for the coronavirus.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up down 14.71 points to 16,199.25.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 134.09 points at 27,682.81. The S&P 500 index was down 32.38 points at 3,348.42, while the Nasdaq composite was down 251.49 points at 11,075.02.

The Canadian dollar traded for 75.13 cents (U.S.) compared with 75.23 cents (U.S.) on Thursday.

4:34 p.m.: Residents of Quebecs two biggest cities could soon face more restrictions, Premier Francois Legault said Friday, as his government attempts to control a second wave of COVID-19.

Health officials reported 1,052 new COVID-19 cases Friday, the first time since early May that the province reported more than 1,000 infections over a 24-hour period.

The rise in new cases, which brings the total number of confirmed infections in the province to 76,273, came one day after the government placed the greater Montreal area, Quebec City and a region south of the provincial capital under a partial lockdown for at least 28 days.

Authorities consider those three regions to be in red alert, which is the highest pandemic alert level. For the second day in a row, Legault described the situation in the province as critical.

More restrictions could be imposed as soon as Monday, when the province plans to announce new rules for sporting activities and gyms.

4:32 p.m.: U.S. President Donald Trump is in good spirits after his COVID-19 diagnosis Friday and has been treated with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals drugs, the White House physician said.

As a precautionary measure he received a single 8 gram dose of Regenerons polyclonal antibody cocktail, the physician, Sean Conley, said in a statement released by White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

3:35 p.m.: Cleveland officials say theyre aware of 11 positive coronavirus cases related to the setup and planning for Tuesdays U.S. presidential debate.

The city said in a statementits working with state and federal officials and is involved with interviewing those who tested positive.

Earlier Friday, President Donald Trump announced that he and the first lady had tested positive for COVID-19. Both travelled to Cleveland on Tuesday for the first presidential debate of the campaign. Its unclear where they contracted the virus.

3:22 p.m.: Dr. Eileen de Villa, saying she wants to avoid a lockdown and seeks a made-in-Toronto solution to the risks facing the city, says for restaurants and bars, shes requesting the suspension of indoor activities for four weeks, which is two incubation periods.

For large venues like banquet halls, she proposes they submit plans to public health about seating and contact tracing.

3:15 p.m.: (updated) Dr. Eileen de Villa says she supports the provinces moves today but more must be done to protect Toronto from COVIDs resurgence.

Toronto Mayor John Tory says he offers full support for the recommendations of de Villa, the citys medical officer of health, to the province. We need to slam the brakes on COVID-19, Tory told a news conference, to avoid worse consequences in the future.

De Villa has written a letter to the province, asking for quick and decisive action. Her public health recommendations include a ban on indoor dining; asking individuals to only leave their homes for essential trips including work, education, exercise and fitness, health-care appointments and buying food; discontinuing all indoor group classes in gyms and indoor sports team activities, and tighter management of large venues.

Tory says discussions with the province about the letter are ongoing.

2:45 p.m.: The Canadian government is expanding its travel exemptions to allow further family reunification and let more foreign students into Canada, while stepping up quarantine and tracing efforts to prevent COVID-19 transmissions through the border.

Since March, Canada has imposed tight travel restrictions against foreign nationals unless their visits are considered essential. Limited exceptions have been granted to immediate families of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, selected international students, essential workers and temporary foreign workers.

The Stars Nicholas Keung has the full story.

2:04 p.m.: Manitoba is reporting another COVID-19 death, bringing the total to 21.

Health officials say the death is of a man in his 70s connected to the Parkview Place care home in Winnipeg.

The province is also reporting 43 new cases, 29 of which are in Winnipeg.

2 p.m.: The federal government is adding $600 million to a fund to help small- and medium-sized businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic, Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly said Friday.

The announcement brings total support through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund to more than $1.5 billion.

The government says the fund has already helped more than 12,000 businesses struggling because of the pandemic, which has hit everything from main street boutiques to hotels and restaurants.

The relief and recovery fund, administered through federal regional development agencies, is intended to help enterprises that might not be eligible for other pandemic-related assistance.

Of the new money, almost $456 million will go to small- and medium-sized operations facing financial pressure to help them keep employees and cover costs.

Another $144 million will provide rural businesses and communities with access to capital and technical support, and will be delivered by community futures development corporations across the country.

1:45 p.m. Ontario advising that all people allow close contact only with people living in their own household and maintain two metres physical distancing from everyone else. People who live alone can socialize with another household.

1:31 p.m. Struggling to control surging numbers of COVID-19 infections in Toronto, the citys top doctor is imploring the province to restore some of the lockdown measures that were in place this spring, including a ban on indoor dining in restaurants, and asking residents to remain at home for all but essential activities.

Jurisdictions that have failed to act early, have faced months of rising cases, according to a press release issued Friday afternoon by the city, citing Dr. Eileen de Villa, medical officer of health.

De Villa has written a letter to the province, asking for quick and decisive action to avoid further risks to the public. Her public health recommendations include a ban on indoor dining; asking individuals to only leave their homes for essential trips including work, education, exercise and fitness, health care appointments and buying food; discontinuing all indoor group classes in gyms and indoor sports team activities, and tighter management of large venues.

De Villa would like to require large venues to submit plans to Toronto Public Health, demonstrating how they will ensure physical distancing and collection of contact information.

Dr. de Villa has concerns about exposures and outbreaks in large venues, some of which can have a capacity of more than 100, according to the press release.

The Stars Francine Kopun has the story.

1:11 p.m. (updated) Ontario is making COVID-19 testing available by appointment only, making masks mandatory in public indoor spaces across the province, and tightening restrictions on businesses in virus hot spots.

The latest measures come as the government has faced growing criticism over crippling lines at assessment centres, delays in getting tests results and a surge in cases.

The province reported a record 732 cases today and a ballooning backlog of 90,513 tests.

For weeks, the majority of new cases have been reported in Toronto, neighbouring Peel Region and Ottawa.

Premier Doug Ford says that starting Saturday, restaurants, bars, gyms and banquet halls in those areas will face tighter restrictions to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

He says no more than 100 customers will be allowed in restaurants and no more than six people will be permitted at a table.

The government met earlier Friday to consider imposing a colour-coded virus alert system but Ford says it opted against it, choosing to impose targeted restrictions in certain areas only.

1:11 p.m.: Nunavuts chief public health officer says there is another presumptive case of COVID-19 at the Hope Bay gold mine in western Nunavut, bringing the total to eight possible cases.

Dr. Michael Patterson says five more swabs were flown from the mine to Rankin Inlet for testing last night, and one appears to be positive.

Another eight swabs from the mine are to be sent out on Saturday.

No Nunavut residents work at the mine.

Patterson says it appears the cases originated in the territory, but he is still deciding if they will count as Nunavuts first cases.

The presumptive cases still have to be confirmed in a southern lab.

12:40 p.m. The Ontario government is holding a meeting to discuss imposing a colour-coded virus alert system that could see tighter restrictions on businesses in COVID-19 hot spots.

Premier Doug Ford is expected to make an announcement at 1 p.m.

A source close to the government says the system would classify regions as lower-risk green areas through to problematic red zones.

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, says no final decision has been made.

In red areas, restaurants, bars, gyms and banquet halls would face tighter restrictions to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

The plan could see regions like Toronto, Ottawa and Peel Region, which have seen a surge in cases, placed in the red category.

Ontario reported a record 732 new cases of COVID-19 today, along with a ballooning backlog of 90,513 tests.

The majority of new cases are being reported in the Greater Toronto Region and Ottawa, with more than half of new infections in people under the age of 40, the government said.

12:22 p.m.: (updated) Joe Biden is moving forward with plans to travel to Michigan on Friday after he and his wife, Jill, tested negative for the coronavirus.

The Democratic presidential nominee had planned on travelling to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to talk about the economy on Friday morning. His trip was delayed by several hours as he awaited the test results.

He was tested for the virus after attending Tuesdays debate with President Donald Trump. The president said early Friday that he and his wife, Melania Trump, tested positive for coronavirus.

Biden spent much of the spring and early summer close to his Wilmington, Delaware, home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But hes stepped up his travel in the final stretch of the campaign, while still taking heed of public health guidelines.

He regularly wears a mask in public, something that Trump taunted Biden for during this weeks debate. And he mostly appears in front of small, socially distanced crowds.

11:43 a.m. Airbnb says it is not accepting any one-night rentals of entire homes on Friday, Oct. 30 or Sat. Oct. 31, in an attempt to discourage gatherings during the pandemic.

Guests with existing single-night reservations for those dates will be treated to a refund and the hosts of those rentals will be reimbursed by the company.

As Halloween approaches, Airbnb says it will spook would-be partiers by expanding its existing restrictions on last-minute bookings by guests who dont have positive reviews on the site and guests booking for Oct. 28 through Nov. 1 will be reminded no parties are allowed. Its neighbourhood support line will be on call throughout the weekend.

11:13 a.m. The number of new COVID-19 cases in public schools across the province has jumped by 37 from the previous day, to a total of 412 in the last two weeks.

In its latest data released Friday morning, the province reported 30 more students were infected for a total of 237 in the last two weeks; since school began there have been overall total of 263.

The data shows there are two more staff members for a total of 61 in the last two weeks  and an overall total of 84.

The latest report also shows five more individuals who werent identified for a total of 114 in that category  and an overall total of 137.

There are 318 schools with a reported case, which the province notes is 6.59 per cent of the 4,828 public schools in Ontario.

Read the story from the Stars Patrick Ho

10:43 a.m. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says shes praying for the president and hopes his testing positive for COVID-19 might be a learning experience about the virus.

Let us all pray for the presidents health, Pelosi said on MSNBC. She added, This is tragic, It is very sad.

The speaker said she was tested out of caution and is awaiting results. But said warned against brazen behaviour that allowed something like this to happen

10:29 a.m. (updated) Ontario set a record for new daily COVID-19 cases for the second time this week with 732 as labs continue processing a huge backlog of tests.

The previous highs were 700 new infections on Monday and 640 in late April, when Ontario was at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic. On Monday, officials said the number was higher than it might otherwise have been because the backlog meant results of some tests had been delayed.

Locally, there are 323 new cases in Toronto, 141 in Ottawa and 111 in Peel, Health Minister Christine Elliott said on Twitter after her department released the latest statistics.

She noted 58 per cent of the new cases were in people under 40, which has been steadily declining from about two-thirds in an indication the virus is spreading more widely to older age groups more likely to require medical care for the highly contagious and potentially deadly virus.

Read the full story from the Stars Rob Ferguson

9:49 a.m. A significant overhaul of COVID screening guidelines in Ontario schools, which will allow kids who recover quickly from a runny nose, headache or upset stomach to return to class without a test, has stunned several infectious disease experts in Toronto, despite a similar move in B.C.

These experts say the province has not provided the evidence to justify loosening guidelines as cases surge.

Dr. Janine McCready, an infectious diseases physician at Michael Garron Hospital, who has been reaching out to families of students who test positive at her hospital since schools reopened, said the decision is not in line with what she is seeing on the ground.

In the past few weeks, McCready said she has seen several cases of COVID in students with no known contact to another COVID case, whose only symptom is a runny nose that resolves quite quickly. The new screening tool, she said, wouldnt have caught the cases.

Read the full story

9:47 a.m. Scientists advising Boris Johnsons government said it is still highly likely that the coronavirus epidemic is growing exponentially across the U.K., even as some recent studies indicate the rate may be slowing.

Official data on Friday put the so-called R number, or the rate at which the virus multiplies, at between 1.3 and 1.6 across the country, up on last weeks estimate of 1.2 to 1.5. That contrasts with a major study from Imperial College London published Thursday suggesting the rate may have fallen to 1.1, from 1.7 in late August and early September.

More data are needed to accurately assess any recent changes in transmission and it is still highly likely that the epidemic is growing exponentially across the country, the Government Office for Science said in an emailed statement. Over the next few weeks, it will be important that we understand this in the U.K. and do not become complacent.

9:42 a.m. On CBC Radios Metro Morning Toronto Mayor John Tory was asked to comment on Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis.

Im not a fan but I dont wish anyone ill will with their health so I hope that he recovers. But it sends a very important message because heres a guy who went around and said he didnt need to wear a mask and he was kind of a tough guy and you wouldnt get this if you were tough, somehow. I think it just proves, and hopefully to people in Toronto even though hes not our president, that anybody can get this. It means that everybody has to be on their guard as weve been saying to people.

Politically, Tory said, I cant imagine that its a good thing because youre not able to be out putting your message out and taking on your opponent debating. After the debate the other night I think thats a relief probably to people. But again, I hope this man and his wife dont have any bad health effects, that they recover from it.

9:39 a.m. Health Canada says its begun its first review of a possible vaccine for COVID-19.

The agency says its evaluating the vaccine candidate being worked on by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

The possible vaccine is undergoing whats called a rolling review, in which Health Canada accepts data and results from the companys trials as it comes in, rather than waiting for everything to be complete.

Health Canada cautions that starting a rolling review is just one step on the road to approval.

The federal government has put in an advance order for 20 million doses of this vaccine candidate, if it proves safe and effective.

9:07 a.m. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Friday that he and his wife Jill send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery after they tested positive for the coronavirus.

In a Friday morning tweet, he added, We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

It was not immediately clear whether the former vice-president had been tested since appearing at Tuesdays presidential debate with Trump or whether he was taking any additional safety protocols. Trump and Biden did not shake hands during the debate but stood without masks about 10 feet apart for the 90-minute event.

8:56 a.m. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is offering his familys best wishes to U.S. President Donald Trump and the first lady.

Trudeau says he and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, hope the president and Melania Trump recover fully from COVID-19.

Trump announced early this morning that both he and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Gregoire Trudeau tested positive for COVID-19 in March after returning from a trip to England.

She recovered within weeks, and the prime minister never contracted the virus.

8:54 a.m. Vice-President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence tested negative for COVID-19 Friday morning, hours after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Spokesman Devin OMalley says Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.

Pence is tested every day for the virus, OMalley confirmed.

8:38 a.m. Bernie Sanders is returning to in-person campaigning for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March, heading to the battleground states of New Hampshire and Michigan to promote Joe Biden and sooth any lingering tensions between the Democratic Partys progressive and centrist wings.

Spokesman Mike Casca says the Vermont senator will hold a socially distanced, outdoor rally Saturday in Lebanon, New Hampshire which will be capped to keep crowds from growing too large. On Monday, Sanders will host a drive-in rally in Macomb County, Michigan  a Detroit suburb that voted Republican in 2016 and was instrumental in clinching the White House for President Donald Trump.

Sanders ended his presidential primary campaign in April and endorsed Biden just days later, as both candidates worked to promote party unity that largely eluded Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Some of Sanders top advisers and supporters later formed joint task forces with their counterparts from Bidens camp to hammer out agreements on major policy issues that were reflected in the Democratic Party platform. Also, high ranking Sanders campaign leaders have formed two Super PACs to promote Biden  despite Sanders personally opposing outside money in politics.

8:35 a.m. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, he said Friday. The positive test comes a month until the election and after the president has spent the year largely downplaying the threat of the virus.

Trumps positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks had come down with the virus after travelling with the president several times this week. Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health. Trump is 74- years-old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from the virus.

Read the around the world reaction from the Stars Irelyne Lavery

8:10 a.m. The Athens Marathon has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The marathon had been scheduled for Nov. 8. It follows the legendary route purportedly run by the ancient Greek messenger Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens to announce victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.

The classic marathon route has grown in popularity since the 1970s and the event now includes 10-kilometre and 5-kilometre races.

The Greek track federation says it had considered holding only the marathon with fewer participants and compulsory COVID-19 tests for all runners but its proposal to Greek health authorities had not been answered.

The federation says participants will be contacted and offered a refund or to transfer their participation to 2021. It says it will organize a virtual race in November that will be open to all.

5:59 a.m.: In Nunavut, Dr. Michael Patterson is a household name.

As the territorys chief public health officer, he leads the team responsible for keeping COVID-19 out of Nunavuts 25 communities.

So far, with the exception of a few cases at its mines brought in from southern workers, Nunavut has remained COVID-19 free.

Patterson, who has been in the job since December 2018, says thats partially thanks to the fact that the only way into Nunavut from the rest of the country is by plane.

Were naturally isolated anyway. Weve taken advantage of that, he says.

But some of it is luck.

5:56 a.m.: A critical snapshot of the job market and the economy to be released Friday is expected to show a further slowdown in hiring as the nations viral caseload creeps higher and as government financial aid has faded.

When the Labor Department issues its September jobs report, economists predict it will show a gain of 850,000, according to a survey by data provider FactSet. That would mark a third straight monthly slowdown, after Junes 4.8 million job gain, Julys 1.7 million and Augusts 1.4 million.

If the forecast for September proves accurate, it would mean that the economy has regained only slightly more than half the 22 million jobs that vanished when the pandemic flattened the economy in early spring. Should job gains continue to remain below 1 million a month, it would take until late 2021 or 2022 to recoup them all.

5:55 a.m.: Plenty of people want to know whether they ever had COVID-19, and public officials need to know. But existing antibody tests that look for markers of the disease caused by the coronavirus have not met the challenge, with accuracy, cost and convenience problems.

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University and elsewhere, however, are working on the next generation of these tests that can be done at home.

We wanted to develop something you could use on your kids, said Netz Arroyo, a Hopkins assistant professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences who joined with a biomedical engineer and a biophysicist to repurpose a common medical device to look for the virus.

It would be easy and you may not even have to poke their finger every time, he said. Now you have to go to a lab and have a blood draw.

Antibody tests are different from the diagnostic tests widely used to confirm COVID-19 cases, which involve a nose swab being sent to a lab for analysis.

The Hopkins group designed its antibody test using a glucose monitor, a tool already used by millions of diabetics at home to keep tabs on their sugar levels using a finger prick of blood.

The test can use a drop of blood, saliva or maybe other bodily fluid on a paper test strip that is inserted into a container and then into the monitor. If there are antibodies present, it sets off a series of chemical reactions. The monitor still reads glucose, created by the chemical reaction caused by the presence of antibodies, and the level is proportional to the level of antibodies.

5:53 a.m.: Vice-President Mike Pence says he and his wife, Karen, are sending their love and prayers to President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump after the Trumps announced early Friday that they had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Pence says on Twitter, We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery.

5:52 a.m.: Indonesias Parliament is on the verge of approving a sweeping coronavirus stimulus package that opponents charge would undermine worker protections and permit widespread destruction of the countrys rainforests.

The legislation is backed by Indonesias president, Joko Widodo, and is seen as a way to attract investment and stimulate the creation of new jobs by reducing regulations on businesses. Its supporters hope to win passage before Parliament ends its session next Friday, even as opposition to the measure grows.

A confederation of labour unions is calling for a three-day national strike starting Tuesday over provisions in the bill that would reduce job security, wages and mandatory days off. Union leaders say the strike has the backing of 5 million workers from dozens of industries.

5:50 a.m.: U.S. stock futures and Asian shares fell Friday after President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The future contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials lost 1.9 per cent. Oil prices also slipped.

Trading in Asia was thin, with markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed. The Nikkei 225 index shed strong early gains, losing 0.8 per cent to 22,999.75 after the Tokyo Stock Exchange resumed trading following an all day outage due to a technical failure.

5:49 a.m.: U.S. Senators from Maine and New Hampshire want the federal government to re-evaluate the restrictions on travel between the U.S. and Canada during the coronavirus pandemic.

The senators said the restrictions put an immense strain on the communities that straddle the border along the worlds longest international boundary. They also said the risk of significant cross-border transmission of coronavirus appears to be low at this time in many border areas.

The bipartisan group includes Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine as well as Democratic Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.

Friday 5:48 a.m.: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, the president tweeted early Friday.

Trumps positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after travelling with the president several times this week. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has now killed more than 200,000 people nationwide.

Trump announced late Thursday that he and first lady Melania Trump were beginning a quarantine process after Hicks came down with the virus, though it wasnt clear what that entailed. It can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test.

The diagnosis marks a major blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them even as cases continue to rise with less than four weeks before Election Day. And it stands as the most serious known public health scare encountered by any sitting American president in recent history.

Read more: Statement from Trumps doctor on presidents virus diagnosis

Thursday 2:41 p.m.: Ontario is changing its COVID-19 symptom screening guidance for the provinces schools and child-care centres.

The province is now asking parents to keep their children home from school for 24 hours if they have either a runny nose or headache.

If a child has both of those symptoms they are asked to consult a health-care provider or have a COVID-19 test before returning to school or child care.

Previously, the government had asked that children with either single symptom stay home until they received a negative COVID-19 test or other medical diagnosis.

Ontario is also removing abdominal pain or conjunctivitis from its screening list.

Earlier this month, British Columbia removed 10 symptoms from their school screening sheet including runny nose. Read Thursdays rolling file

Correction  Oct. 2  this file has been updated to indicate that the U.S. election is in four weeks.
Joe Biden has said Donald Trumps positive test for Covid-19 was a bracing reminder" of the need to take seriously an illness that has killed hundreds of Americans.

In an impassioned, fired-up campaign speech, delivered just hours after the president revealed he and the First Lady had tested positive and barely an hour before he was taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Centre, Mr Biden said he and his family were sending their best wishes to them.

Yet, despite his insistence that the issue was not about politics, he suggested very clearly that Mr Trump was at least partly responsible for what had befallen him.

Id like to start by acknowledging, which I'm sure you do as well, what has happened and sending my prayers for the health and safety of the First Lady and the president of the United States. I pray that they'll make a quick and full recovery, he said.

This is not a matter of politics. It's a bracing reminder to all of us, that we have to take this virus seriously. It's not going away automatically. We have to do our part.

 Emotional Moments at Biden's DNC Speech

He said that included following the science, listening to experts, washing hands and social distancing. It means wearing a mask and encouraging others to do so, he said.

While Mr Biden did not attack Mr Trump directly, deciding to reach for the high ground, his words on Friday afternoon in Michigan did amount to a clear and stern admonishment of the presidents policies, and response to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed at least 207,000 Americans infected more than 7.2m.

Whereas the former vice president has repeatedly stressed the need to wear masks and to observe social distancing, to the extent that he was confined to streaming campaign speeches from his Delaware home, Mr Trump has held rallies across the country, played down the risk of the virus and almost never worn a mask.

Even at their presidential debate on Tuesday night, a loud, ugly event in which Mr Trump repeated talked over Mr Biden, he mocked his habit of wearing a mask.

I don't wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he's got a mask, he said. He could be speaking 200 feet away from it, he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen.

With no small irony, it was feared Mr Biden too may have been exposed to the virus as a result of his encounter with Mr Trump, whose family members and top aides arrived at the event in Ohio wearing masks but quickly took them off inside, despite being advised to keep them on by medical staff at the venue.

By contrast, Mr Bidens wife Jill, wore one throughout. At Grand Rapids on Friday, Mr Biden sounded stern at times, perhaps an indication of the risk he and his family had been placed in.

He told reporters he had been cleared to travel to Michigan after he and his wife twice tested negative for the virus.

Be patriotic, Mr Biden said, urging everyone to wear a mask. Its not about being a tough guy. It's about doing your part.

Later on Friday, it emerged Mr Trump was being transferred to Walter Reed Medical Hospital in Washington DC for tests.

President Trump remains in good spirts, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day, said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days. President Trump appreciates the outpouring of support for both he and the first lady.
A Fort Erie advocate will be featured in an upcoming documentary on the impacts of cyberbullying.

In conjunction with the eighth anniversary of Amanda Todds suicide and in support of Mental Health Awareness Month, TELUS Originals will release a documentary Saturday titled Dark Cloud, highlighting the impact of cyberbullying on youth.

Amanda, who was from British Columbia, took her own life at age 15 in 2012 after enduring cyberbullying.

The film follows well-known anti-bullying advocate Carol Todd, Amandas mother, as she connects with other parents, victims of bullying, academics and experts. She also meets top anti-bullying advocates across the country, such as Fort Eries Justin Preston.

Together, Preston and Todd campaign for greater awareness and education about cyberbullying.

The film illustrates the prevalence of online bullying among young people in Canada.

Its backed by data from Statistics Canada and GLAAD, including that 60 per cent of Canadian youth reported seeing cyberbullying or online abusive behaviour within a four-week period, 41 per cent of young internet users who experienced cyberbullying reported an emotional, psychological or mental-health condition, and 49 per cent of LGBTQ students have experienced cyberbullying.

In the documentary, Preston talks about the impact cyberbullying had on his own mental health as a student and how the experience brought him to start the global Rise Against Bullying campaign in 2012.

Now 27, Preston is also a national ambassador for an organization he once used  Kids Help Phone, which provides 24/7 free confidential professional counselling to youth across Canada.

Working closely with Todd, Preston offers a youth perspective to the modern realities of cyberbullying, uncovering the consequences, causes and strategies for prevention.

Theres a difference between me and Amanda, Preston says in Dark Cloud.

Im still here, and shes not.

In an interview, Preston said people behind the documentary contacted him after learning about his story and advocacy efforts.

He said crews flew to Niagara from Vancouver to film segments with him, and he ended up also flying to Vancouver to film with Todd.

Ive experienced dealing with cyberbullying and being on the internet and also dealing with it in the community, said Preston. When you go to school and you are having a horrible day from other people, and youre just feeling low and you go home and you open up your cellphone and your laptop  that stuff kind of follows you.

RELATED STORIES Niagara Region Everyone can make a difference

Preston said he knows what its like to feel so alone in this world, even though I clearly did have my parents and I had love around me.

But from dealing with so much of an impact from not feeling appreciated from others for being different, it kind of made me realize that I needed to start using my voice to start speaking up for the voiceless and bringing more positivity in this world.

The documentary is produced in partnership with Spotlight Productions.

Dark Cloud will be available for free on Telus Optik TV and the Telus YouTube channel.
After more than 12 years of litigation, Cambridge University Press et al v. Patton et al, known as the Georgia State University e-reserves case, has finally come to a conclusion. And while the plaintiff publishers once again were deemed by the court to have lost the closely-watched copyright suit, the plaintiff publisher's financial backersthe Association of American publishers and the Copyright Clearance Centerdodged a major financial bullet as the court declined GSUs bid to be awarded attorneys' fees.

In a 14-page final order in the case, filed on September 29, Judge Orinda Evans declared GSU to be the prevailing party after finding the plaintiff publishers succeeded in establishing copyright infringement in just 10 of 99 claims brought to trial. But in light of recent rulingsmost notably the Supreme Courts 2016 ruling in another publishing-related case, Kirtsaeng v. WileyEvans opted not to order the plaintiffs to pay GSU's attorney fees, reversing an earlier decision.

The Court does believe and again finds that Plaintiffs' failure to narrow their infringement claims prior to trial unnecessarily increased the work of Defendants counsel, Evans wrote. But, upon reconsideration Evans said it was unclear whether that failure was significant enough to merit a fee award.

That decision represents a huge, multi-million dollar silver lining for the publishers as the case finally concludes. In 2012, Evans had ordered the plaintiff publishers to pay nearly $3 million in legal fees and costs to GSU. That order was vacated by the 11th Circuit in 2018, however, after the Supreme Court in Kirtsaeng issued new guidance on fee awards in copyright cases which held that the reasonableness of a losing partys case should carry substantial weight in determining whether or not to grant fees.

Evans did order the plaintiff publishers to pay GSU's costs, however, excluding their attorney fees. In their most recent filing, cited by Evans in her order, GSU had sought to recover $85,746.39 in costs (separate from the $3,094,196.48 they had sought in attorneys fees).

In terms of injunctive relief, Evans declined to issue a sweeping injunction proposed by the publishers, which, among its provisions, would have given the plaintiff publishers the ability to periodically "audit" how instructors were using course materials at GSU.

While the court finds the number of proven infringements (10) is sufficient to warrant injunctive relief, the regimented program of oversight called for by the Plaintiffs' proposal is not warranted, Evans concluded. Instead, the judge ordered GSU administrators to simply maintain copyright policies which are not inconsistent with the rulings of United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in this case, and to inform all GSU professors in writing of the rulings.

 After more than a decade of contentious litigation, the case has failed to deliver any kind of easily understood, broadly applicable formula for determining where the fair use line should be drawn. 

The final order in the case ends what had become an unexpectedly long and contentious legal odyssey. The suit was first filed on April 15, 2008 by three named plaintiffs (Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Sage, with costs underwritten by the AAP and the CCC), alleging that GSU administrators were systematically encouraging faculty to offer students unlicensed, infringing digitized course readings, known as e-reserves, as a no-cost alternative to traditionally licensed coursepacks.

In response, GSU modified its e-reserve policies, and mounted a vigorous defense. After two previous verdicts against the publishers and two reversals and remands on appeal, Evans delivered her third and final ruling in the case on March 2, 2020.

When it was first filed, AAP called the litigation a test case" designed to "inform the application of fair use in the academic setting. But after more than a decade of litigation, observers tell PW the case failed to deliver any useful guidance for educators seeking to determine where the fair use line should be drawn. Further, advances in technology and new business products and models have largely mooted the fears that prompted the suit back in 2008.

The world has moved on in a lot of ways, Brandon Butler, director of information policy at the University of Virginia Library, told PW in 2019, ahead of Evans' third and final decision in the case. Were now looking to university presses as partners in an open access world, which of course includes access by students. I think more and more libraries are also looking at e-book licenses that allow unlimited simultaneous users as an attractive way to support affordable education for our studentsa model that would facilitate assigning a chapter here and there. We are also supporting open educational resources that in some cases can replace expensive textbooks and, perhaps, render e-reserves less important."
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The economy will lose 7 billion and a quarter of all pubs will have to close for good because of the coronavirus restriction, it has been claimed.

A study estimated that 11,750 pubs will be forced to shut permanently, putting 290,000 jobs at risk.

The prediction will pile more pressure on the government with Boris Johnson facing a fresh rebellion from backbenchers over the 10pm curfew on bars and restaurants.

The government has been accused of running a 'nanny state' with Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley, saying that the curfew was doing untold damage to businesses and prompting 'jobs to be lost, all just to see people congregating on the streets again'.

The MP asked health secretary Matt Hancock in the Commons: 'When will the Secretary of State act like a Conservative and stop this arbitrary nanny state socialist approach, which is serving no purpose at all apart from to further collapse the economy and erode our freedoms?'

Now the survey, carried out by Oxford Economics, has found that 78 per cent of pubs are operating at under three quarter capacity, leading to calls from the industry for more support from the government.

A study estimated that 11,750 bars will be forced to shut permanently, putting 290,000 jobs at risk

The government has been accused of running a 'nanny state' with Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley, saying that the curfew was doing untold damage to businesses

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association told the Times: 'It's important to remember that outside of the current circumstances our sector is a thriving one and when this epidemic ends it will be key to driving the economic bounce back we will need. For that to happen though the government must invest in it now to ensure it's still here to play that role.'

The shocking report says that hospitality sector employment could fall by a third as beer sales slump by 15 per cent - leading to a 7 billion cost for the economy.

However, the figures could be even worse, with the calculations carried out before the impact of the 10pm curfew could properly be factored in.

Ms McClarkin has now written to ministers urging for an extension of the VAT cut and business rates holiday for hospitality, due to expire in March, as well as a cut in beer duty.

The report will lead to more pressure on the government, with a backbench rebellion festering.

Responding to Mr Davies' furious words yesterday, Matt Hancock said 'hundreds of thousands of deaths that would follow is not price to pay' for his colleague's preferred option of 'just letting it rip'.

He added: 'I do believe in individual responsibility and the promotion of freedom - subject to not harming others.'

The shocking report says that hospitality sector employment could fall by a third as beer sales slump by 15 per cent - leading to a 7 billion cost for the economy

During the same debate Sir Desmond Swayne slammed the curfew as being 'rather unfair given [New Forest's] very low infection rate and restauranteurs and landlords have invested a great deal in Covid-secure measures and reduced capacity'.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also called for the Government to consider whether the 10pm curfew should remain in place.

Sir Keir said: 'We are supporting the package the Government has put in. But I think [Greater Manchester Mayor]Andy Burnham in particular has questioned whether the 10pm curfew is working as intended.

'He has pointed, understandably, to lots of people coming out of venues at the same time.

'I suggest it might be a good idea for the Government to reflect on what Andy Burnham is saying and ask themselves the question whether that should stay in place.'




Address by Foreign Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena at the High-Level Meeting on the 25th Anniversary of the 4th World Conference on Women on 01 October 2020

Address by Hon Dinesh Gunawardena,

Foreign Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

at the High-Level Meeting on the 25th Anniversary of

the 4th World Conference on Women

01 October 2020





Theme: Accelerating the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls

Opening remarks:

Mr. President,

Mr. Secretary-General,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and gentlemen,

 I am honored to represent Sri Lanka at this High-Level Meeting to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the 4th World Conference on women.

 Undoubtedly, the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, which was adopted during the 4th World Conference on Women in 1995 is a landmark global agenda for the empowerment of women. This comprehensive policy document remains relevant today as it was 25 years ago, as a source of guidance and inspiration for the advancement of women and the achievement of gender equality, globally.

 While recognizing that vital steps have been taken by the global community towards achieving gender equality and empowering women, we also acknowledge that challenges and obstacles continue to remain, impeding the socio-economic and political development of women.

 Across every sphere, from health to economy, negative impacts of COVID-19 have affected women and girls worldwide. It is therefore essential to keep gender equality and women in the forefront amidst global efforts to recover from this pandemic.

Mr. President,

 Historically, Sri Lanka has demonstrated its commitment and political will to promote, gender equality and the empowerment of women, being cognizant of their invaluable contribution to the social and economic development of the country.

 It is very encouraging to note that the women in Sri Lanka, comprising more than half of our population, have achieved social development indicators such as literacy rates, social inclusion and life expectancy, which are on par with the developed countries.

 I am very proud to acknowledge the achievements of women in my country, who play a significant role in every sphere. Sri Lankan women were granted voting rights (universal franchise) in 1931. Sri Lanka produced the first female Prime Minister in the world in 1960.Sri Lankan women have continued to hold several high-ranking positions in the country as Members of Parliament and local Government, Secretaries to Ministries, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, and the Judiciary. Women represent half of the working population in the country and excel in higher education. Their contribution to the national economy is very significant. Women represent 34.5% of the labour force while 39% of expatriate work force consists of women.

Mr. President,

 The Government, headed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has received an overwhelming mandate by the Sri Lankan people, is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among which the fifth Goal is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

 In our Governments National Policy Framework (Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour), 10 key policy areas have been identified to achieve a fourfold outcome of a productive citizenry, a contented family, a disciplined and just society and a prosperous nation. In this framework, priority has been given to gender-based equality, empowerment of women and minimization of gender-based violence.

 In line with the above policy framework, the Government will facilitate and ensure the contribution of Sri Lankan women to the betterment of our society as an equal player, in an environment where women will make their own decisions and will be free to reach their aspirations and will not be subject to any violence or discrimination.

 In this context, Sri Lanka fully supports the theme of this meeting, i.e. Accelerating the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

 In conclusion, Sri Lanka reaffirms its commitment the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, which should be our shared commitment towards a inclusive and sustainable development.

 I wish to conclude by quoting the theme of this years International Womens Day in Sri Lanka, which is, Womans Courage- Nations Strength.

Thank you.

The video link to the statement : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg50XWn1WOg



Read more www.mfa.gov.lk
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Primarily, Farleys new position will be strengthened with a few key helping hands  John Lawler has already been appointed as the new CFO, and the strategy will also include new names for the CIO (Chief Information Officer) and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) positions as soon as possible.They are needed to form a strong leadership team as the new CEO has a tremendous task at hand  Ford clearly needs to succeed in turning around its ailing automotive operations, and aims for adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of 8% of revenue - though without providing a specific time schedule.He will also investigate the needed course of action to seriously improve quality, lower overall costs, as well as hasten the restructuring of the companys underperforming operations Most importantly, under his leaderships, customers might see even more interesting apparitions from the Blue Oval in the commercial vehicle sector, newly introduced vehicles that are more affordable than today (both on a global and North American level), as well as an expanded range of electric vehicles.The latter is touted to include uniquely Ford fully electric vehicles that will be offered at scale on a worldwide level. The model lines slotted forpropulsion are quite interesting - Transit, F-Series , Mustang, more SUVs, and models from the Lincoln brand.New operational changes include the re-focus of decision-making and accountability around product and customer groups for just three business divisions: The Americas and International Markets; Europe; and China. Also, as is the case with every other automaker, Ford is looking to innovate and lead in the fields of autonomous vehicles, connectivity, industrial platforms, technology, and software.
After nearly two decades in public office in North Wexford, Michael D'Arcy announced yesterday he has tendered his resignation from Seanad Eireann to take up a new role as chief executive of the Irish Association of Investment Managers (IAIM).

Having followed in his father's footsteps by entering local politics in 2003, D'Arcy's announcement yesterday that he is leaving the political arena has sent shock waves through Gorey and County Wexford.

'Following a period of reflection over the summer, I have decided to take a step back from politics and public life. I have tendered my resignation from Seanad Eireann to An Tanaiste Leo Varadkar TD, leader of Fine Gael,' he said yesterday.

'I have had the privilege of representing the people of Wexford since 2003 and I sincerely thank them for giving me the opportunity to work with and for them. I have made my fullest contribution to public life and now wish to start a new career which I can confirm will be with the Irish Association of Investment Managers.

'I will continue to be a proud supporter of Fine Gael and our party leader. I have no doubt that they will provide strong leadership and I wish my party colleagues success in the challenging times ahead'.

IAIM is the representative body for the investment management industry in Ireland, and the lobbyist organisation is actively involved in policy development and have built up valuable long-term relationships with regulators, policy makers and other stakeholders.

Members of IAIM are mainly business firms that are principally engaged in the business of investment management and have a substantial link to Ireland.

Before losing his Dail seat after February's general election, Michael D'Arcy was a junior Minister in the Department of Finance and held that role until the new government made up of Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party formed in June.

Under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015, Mr D'Arcy is forbidden to engage in any lobbying for 12 months after leaving office, and IAIM yesterday confirmed that Mr D'Arcy would not be engaging in lobbying in order to comply.

Having been lobbied by IAIM directly as a TD in 2017, speaking to this newspaper, Mr D'Arcy said that he was aware of the legislation but that it did not represent a conflict of interest.

'I'll be adhering to the legislation. This is something that doesn't happen very often in Ireland, but it happens under every other jurisdiction that people move either from the private sector into politics or from politics into the private sector.

'The opportunity was there for me to enter an area I'm interested in and when opportunity knocks, it doesn't knock twice or three times, so that's why I'm taking it.

'The IAIM and I had been talking for a bit of time and it solidified over the summer and I made my decision in the last couple of weeks,' he said.

Mr D'Arcy said that he has had some time to reflect over the last few months.

'I've been a politician for almost 20 years, since 2003 when I went onto the Council first. That's the best part of 20 years being in politics and for a lot of people that's a large amount of their working life.

'I'm 50 now and I had to ask myself do I want to be doing the hard graft of politics, and Irish politics is hard graft, for the next 10 or 15 years? I don't want to grow old in politics and I'm old enough now to do something else in the private sector but in another few years I could be too old.

'I've loved every minute of working for the people of Wexford and Gorey but this is a change of direction for me, and that's just the way progress goes. Of course I'll support the campaigns of the Market House and the third secondary school as a private individual, these are good ideas and it's for others who are in politics now to deliver these. I brought them to a certain point, they are not quite over the line but they are a long way there and I would hope that they'd be brought to fruition to benefit Gorey as a whole. Anything that I've done is always to benefit my town and my county,' he said.

After yesterday's news became public, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar told the Irish Examiner that the former TD and Senator would be greatly missed but that he will always be welcome should be decide to run for election again with Fine Gael.

Mr D'arcy said that it wasn't likely.

'After what happened this calendar year, with a worldwide pandemic, who knows but I do expect that I won't be putting my name before the people of county Wexford again.

'I want to thank everybody who has put in a huge effort for me over the years. I'm always scratching my head and I'm humbled by that level of support for me from people, whether they are public representatives or members of Fine Gael or people who support me who aren't members of Fine Gael. I'm most grateful to each and every one of them.

'Absolutely I am confident in the future of the party without me. The pandemic crisis will throw up challenges that we haven't even considered just yet but Fine Gael since this started and to date, even going back to last January during the general election campaign, has handled it well and has done a good job in really difficult circumstances. I'm satisfied that they will continue to do a good job putting the people of Ireland first'.

Mr D'arcy was elected to the Seanad for the second time this year, and represented on the agricultural panel, and the process of selecting a candidate to contest the by-election has begun.

Fellow Gorey Senator Malcolm Byrne, elected for the first time this year, was one of the first to wish Mr D'Arcy well.

'I would like to thank Michael for his public service and I wish him well in his new role. Though we were political rivals, he and his family worked for our area and wish him the best in the next chapter in his life,' he said.

Meanwhile, local Fine Gael councillors Anthony Donohoe, Oliver Walsh and Diarmuid Devereux all expressed their disappointment but wished their former party colleague well.

'It came as a shock but I want to wish Michael, his wife and his family all the best in his role. I don't see any issue with the idea of him moving from the public to the private sector. He found himself in a disappointing position after the 2020 election,' said Cllr Donohoe.

Councillor Walsh said he believes Mr D'Arcy will also have a huge interest in politics.

'He's well capable for the new job and I wish him the best. I'm surprised that he's leaving politics but I'd like to wish both Michael and his family the best. He has done an awful lot for county Wexford and he will be a huge loss. The family have been involved for a long number of years and it's sad to see the name gone, but maybe some of the rest of the family might take up an interest.

'It's sad that people are starting to knit pick about the role he's taking up. It was a huge decision that he had to make and I'm sure he didn't take it lightly and people should just wish him the best,' he said.

Councillor Devereux said that Mr D'Arcy's skill set will be perfect for his new role.

'I'm disappointed because he has made a massive contribution since he was first elected but I fully understand his position given the outcome of the general election.

'He's taking up a very senior position in a significant job but he's more than capable so I wish himself and his family well. The experience he has gained as a junior Minister of state will stand hugely to him I've no doubt. More and more people are moving and are very mobile in politics and the private sector, I don't see any conflict,' he said.
GARY  A seven-year-old Chicago boy was killed Thursday on the Indiana Toll Road when he was ejected from the backseat of a car that was struck by a semitrailer traveling at a high rate of speed, according to Indiana State Police.

Prior to the crash, police said numerous vehicles headed eastbound on Interstate 90 were stopped partially in the right lane of the three-lane bridge near mile marker 12 where people were out of their vehicles attempting to capture a stray dog who had run onto the Toll Road.

Anthony M. Swanson, 38, of Chicago, was driving a 2017 Chevrolet Volt in the center lane around 10:39 a.m. when he slowed down near the commotion, only to be rear-ended by a 2018 Freightliner truck driven by Javier A. Ayala, 51, of Cleveland, Ohio, police said.

Police said the impact caused "catastrophic damage" to the Volt, including ejecting Thatcher Swanson, 7, from the rear passenger seat, killing him.

Volt driver Anthony Swanson and a female passenger suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries, police said. They were transported to Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary for treatment.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) meets with Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 29, 2020. (Susan Walsh/Pool via Reuters)

McConnell, GOP Say Trump Diagnosis Will Not Delay Supreme Court Confirmation

President Donald Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis is not expected to delay the Senate confirmation process of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told news outlets on Friday that there is no change to the Supreme Court schedule, while Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-Ky.) said the nomination is on track and will start on Oct. 12.

I talked to President Trump this morning.  First thing I asked him about was the First Lady. Shes doing good. The President was in good spirits. The first thing he asked me is hows the hearings going? I said were on track. Were going to start October the 12th, Graham told reporters.

He noted that were going to work hard to get this wonderful conservative young lady talented beyond belief, Amy Barrett, on the Supreme Court, saying that Trump told him he has no symptoms and is very focused on getting Barrett to the Supreme Court.

McConnell, meanwhile, told the Hugh Hewitt show that he does not expect Trumps diagnosis will delay Senate business.

This is a woman whos led an extraordinary life. Shes got seven childrentwo of them adoptedone with special needs, McConnell told Hewitt, referring to Barrett. Shes led an incredibly outstanding life with a wonderful family. We dont anticipate any kind of unanticipated event that could throw us off schedule.

Barrett has been in contact with GOP senators and the White House. She was tested Friday for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus, and her results came back negative, officials said.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stand during the Pledge of Allegiance at a 19th-anniversary observance of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., on Sept. 11, 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

McConnell suggested in the interview that remote Senate hearings will be conducted for the Judiciary Committee later this month, noting that Trumps diagnosis underscores the need for social distancing to curb the spread of the virus.

This sort of underscores, I think, the need to do that, McConnell said. And I think every precaution needs to be taken because we dont anticipate any Democratic support at all, either in committee or in the full Senate and therefore everybody needs to be in an all-hands-on-deck mindset.

After the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs death last month, Republicans have been pushing to confirm a justice to replace her. Democrats have argued that the winner of the election on Nov. 3 should be the one who nominates a judge to the Supreme Court.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both confirmed their diagnoses late on Thursday night, saying they will quarantine for two weeks.
Victoria will be singled out for federal budget help to prevent a $14 billion economic blow as the states lockdown hurts the national economy and increases the case to fast-track major construction projects to create jobs.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the budget would show the state restrictions had wiped two percentage points from the national economy in the September quarter and could do more damage without federal assistance.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says Victoria's economic struggles will knock $14 billion off the national economy. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Mr Frydenberg told The Age he wanted Premier Daniel Andrews to offer swift support for the new infrastructure projects to be revealed in the budget on Tuesday night.

"The expectation is that the Victorian hit to national GDP in the September quarter is about two percentage points, so its up to around $14 billion," the Treasurer said.
Imagine if we could put every area of America on an even playing field when it comes to high-speed internet.

In the months after World War I, Dwight Eisenhowerwho had been stuck stateside during the conflictaccepted a relatively modest assignment: He was tasked with overseeing the first transcontinental military convoy and reporting to his superiors the state of Americas roads, bridges, and byways. The trip, consisting of 79 Army vehicles and 297 personnel, crossed 3,200 miles. The experience was an eye-opener for the young officer.

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The White House, Congress, our nations governors, philanthropists, and others in the private sector should take the lead in addressing this digital divide in a coordinated way.

The convoy was repeatedly slowed by roads in terrible condition. Many were unpaved. Bridges were old and often too low for trucks. Eisenhower could see clearly how road quality directly affected the mobility of a moving armyor any vehicle. The lessons never left him, and his fascination with highways, logistics, and national defense led him, as president four decades later, to champion and launch the interstate highway system.

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Todays internet is as criticalif not more soto our nations economy and security as roads and highways were in Eisenhowers time. And our internet infrastructure is similarly ragged and uneven. Even now, its choked by slow speeds or no access at all in significant portions of the country. While a great number of Americans are relying on high-speed broadband to conduct meetings, see their doctors, study with their teachers, and stream the latest shows, roughly 21 million Americans in 2019 had no fixed broadband service and therefore are stuck on the backroads with no on-ramp to the highway nearby. For many of them, its a simple fact of geography: They live in rural areas where broadband providers say its too expensive to serve. Or, alternatively and commonly, they cant afford it.

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This is unacceptable for a prosperous and productive nationand it doesnt need to be the case. In the coming months, the White House, Congress, our nations governors, philanthropists, and others in the private sector should take the lead in addressing this digital divide in a coordinated way. What America needs is a digital infrastructure plan suited to our economy, akin to Eisenhowers 1956 Interstate Highway Act: a sweeping plan to create and support technology-neutral broadband access such as mobile and fixed wireless, cable, fiber, and satellite, with a special focus on rural and underserved communities.

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How much of an investment do we need? A Democratic proposal earlier this year committed $100 billion to an investment in digital infrastructure but was part of a COVID-related bill that did not make it into law. We need a bipartisan-supported law dedicated to digital infrastructure. I would argue that $100 billion is a good one-time investment to start.

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Now, I admit that when I hear government spending called an investment, I get skeptical. Most government spending, even those dollars termed an investment, is money put out the door on an annual basis. There is no expected clear-cut return, which is what an investment has to do. In this case, spending on digital infrastructure promises a real return, as it would ensure that Americas technological leadership produces widely shared gains and a larger overall taxable economic base.

Consider what the Interstate Highway Act, which cost $258 billion in todays dollars, did to finally link our national economy closer together, allowing companies to quickly ship goods to one another and workers to travel farther away from home for their jobs.

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The money Congress committed in 1956 amounted to 5 percent of the nations economic output at the timeand yielded massive economic benefits for decades. That was an investment. A similar investment in digital infrastructure, at even $100 billion, would represent a mere fraction of our $20 trillion economy. But the impact could be just as big as the interstate highway system was to America in the 1950s. How can we claim to be a nation of opportunity for all if we effectively lock our rural and low-income communities out of the digital economy?

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It may seem self-evident that the internet is a crucial part of school, health care, and work. But its worth stepping back to go through the myriad roles it plays, and how disconnection can disenfranchise.

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Lets start with schools. COVID-19 has forced schools to drop their opposition to online and self-paced digital learning. Done right, we see now that virtual classrooms can be an effective approach to teaching our kids whether in the pandemic or as an enhancement to classroom education.

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But it has to work for everyone. Right now, roughly 9 million K12 students and 400,000 public school teachers lack reliable internet access required for learning. We are creating a system of digital haves and have-nots in the classroom. Students whose parents have broadband and the time to give are experiencing an education that is more experiential and creative than they might get in a standard classroom-based day. But students without those features are swimming alone, and against the tide.

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In the first months of the pandemic, many schools effectively shut down learning for the school year in March. But even now, with a full summer to plan ahead, public school systems are struggling with virtual teaching. Parents are frustrated, and children arent growing intellectually or emotionally. The results will be felt for years with low-income and rural students suffering the most.

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The fact is: School administrators still view virtual schooling as subpar. But virtual and distance learning works when it is designed effectively for learners at varying levels. For older students who prefer self-paced lessons, virtual learning can produce significant gains. Moreover, it allows teachers to augment lessons with online resources that would otherwise be difficult to integrate. And it is especially good at providing directed support for students who are struggling in certain subjects, like math.

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All of this opportunity depends on high-speed internet connections. A relatively slow broadband connectionsay, DSLmight not sustain the video connectivity necessary for a teacher and student to talk and see one another over a Zoom call. If youve ever had a video call with someone on a mobile phone, you know the difference. In a virtual classroom, learning isnt just dependent on intelligence and teaching skill. It also depends on the internet connectionideally, at home, not in the parking lot of a McDonalds or Taco Bell.

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The challenge is the same in other areas of digital opportunity. Consider health care access: Telehealth is forecasted to grow sevenfold. Americans are getting care and second opinions and guidance from doctors over the internet, especially because COVID-19 has restricted their access to their doctors offices. Some of the most important leaps in health care involve wearableswireless technology that monitors key health indicators.

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Some of the most transformative tools in virtual health technology will in particular help those least able to access them due to the digital divide. Wireless monitoring of heart health, blood sugar levels, and other vital health indicators can transform the care of chronic conditions often found among low-income Americans such as diabetes and heart disease. Yet community health centersoften the places where low-income Americans get their careare poorly prepared for this trend. More than half of centers did not have any telehealth usage as of 2018. And in an age when rural and small hospitals are increasingly at risk of closure, telehealth may need to meet rising demand for basic clinical evaluations and patient monitoring.

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This is a massive opportunity to improve the health care of low-income Americans. Diabetes, which requires ongoing management and clinical care, is rising, but especially among low-income and rural populations. Telemedicine can markedly improve health outcomes for diabetes patients, controlling glycemic index levels, reducing blood pressure, controlling cholesterol, and improving quality of life measurements. Similar results were found among patients struggling with hypertension; not only did patients using telemedicine monitor their blood pressure more often, but their blood pressure declined meaningfully. What other areas of medicine and patient outcomes would improve if we were able to make the promise of telehealth possible for everyone? Imagine the improved quality of life, longer life spans, caring for loved ones at home rather than more costly institutional settings, reduced spending on end-of-life care, and benefits to society from healthier and more energetic citizens? These are the kinds of gains we can all expectand we all deserve.

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But with low-speed internet, such tools of clinical care are effectively closed off. As with education, health care institutions have adjusted rapidly to the realities of the pandemic. Resistance to online consultations has dropped; patients are increasingly comfortable being evaluated by doctors over a screen. But again, if people dont have high-speed internet, they cant take advantage of those options.

The irony of the situation is that for years, policymakers have struggled to improve health care access. Today, with broadband, we finally have a tool to improve health care access. We just have to activate it for everyone.

And then theres the working world. Today, working often means starting the day by accessing high-speed internet. Job interviews are being done in online chats, as are skills training and mentoring sessions. This is all goodif you have high-speed internet. If you dont, you are locked out of the kinds of fast-growing, knowledge-based work that is increasingly at the heart of our digital economy.

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It goes without saying that the digital divides geographic reality has meant that Americas technology-driven economy is also geographically limited. While coastal and urban areas have prospered before COVID-19 from an intensity of college-educated young adults, high-speed connections, and highly innovative startups, rural America has been left behind. This bifurcation has concentrated talent and wealth into a tighter band of Americas landscape. This is unhealthy for America, and it is bad for both cities and rural areas. The urban job-creating hot spots are expensive and overcrowded; housing costs are often beyond reach. Meanwhile, rural areas are starving for talent and growing companies. The professionals who would love to make a future in towns where they were raised or who prefer a simpler way of life simply cant give up what they have in the cities to do what they want.

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Imagine if we could put every area of America on an even playing field when it comes to high-speed internet. It would be a future where you dont have to choose between a high-potential, creative job and living in a part of the country where you can still see the stars at night. Young families would be able to live in rural areas and stay there, rather than chase opportunities in the cities. Those who have to take care of aging parents would be able to have that option while still maintaining good, well-paying jobs in small towns. People from low-income households in urban areas wouldnt have to go to local coffee shops to connect to a video job interview; they could pursue their economic dreams and professional ambitions the way everyone else doesin a quiet place, where they can think and where they can be heard. And they wouldnt be priced out of their own neighborhoods, either.

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Evening out access to high-speed internet would provide immediate benefits to some, but everyone would rise up as we gain access to the full spectrum of talents in our population. People who currently have limited job opportunities would earn more; people who cant afford to buy a home would be able to own one; people whose skills and interests drive them from the places they want to live would be able to stay and make their contributions felt in their hometowns. Making this possible isnt a giveaway or a welfare program. Its in keeping with the vision of our founders and, most importantly, the wishes of our people.

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Ive often said that America is still a developing nation in many ways. We are younger than most industrialized countries. We have a long way to go to tap into the potential of many of our citizens due to underperforming schools. We have large immigrant communities that aspire to a better life. And our rural communities and tribal lands remain a vast and untapped resource of creative and hardworking people. There are major pockets of America that have proved their economic value and potential, but have been left largely fallow for decades. We have room to run! But right now, our lives move at the speed of our internet connection.

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Whats more, by investing in digital infrastructure, we can expect exponentially faster speeds. We are eagerly looking forward to new forms of digital transmission, namely 5G mobile technology, which promises exponentially more of a leap from our current broadband experience as 4G was to its predecessors. 5G technology has the potential to stimulate economic growth globallyand in the U.S., it could mean an additional $786 billion in annual economic output by 2035. We should make sure all Americans participate in that fresh prosperity.

So how to make this happen? A dedicated act of Congress, focused on expanding access to our digital economy, would have three core elements: investment, public-private partnerships, and jobs.

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First, the federal government will have to put fundslike the Democrats proposed $100 billionto work to support broadband access for rural and underserved communities. A joint federal-state initiative could create a grant program that would fund privately constructed broadband service in communities where 90 percent or more of the population lacks high-speed internet, building on the Federal Communications Commissions Universal Service programs. States could focus on linking schools, libraries, hospitals, and other public institutions to high-speed internet, while the federal government could set up a competitive bidding process through the Rural Utilities Service for communitywide networks. Foundations, philanthropies, and corporate charitable arms could leverage such public investments with targeted programs to improve training on technology usage, make accessible more laptops, tablets, and other devices, and most importantly, drive systematic changes in the way technology and virtual learning is deployed in our school systems. We should aim to increase both access and affordability so that when networks are fully built out, everyone can use them.

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Second would be public-private partnerships to promote long-term investment by private-sector companies in network upgrades in rural and underserved communities. Right now, a high-speed internet is available where it makes the most economic sensewhere the density of the population makes it likely to find the most customers. But thats a market failure we can correct. Federal loan guarantees and lines of credit could reduce risk to companies, giving a kick to some projects that are stuck in neutral. In addition, Congress must commit to continuing the work of the Trump administrations efforts to provide additional spectrum and regulatory reform in the construction and siting of broadband infrastructure.

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Finally, a good Digital Infrastructure Act would create strong incentives for telecommunications companies to support workforce training, especially in rural and underserved communities, to make sure we have the workers with the necessary skills to build and maintain our national digital highways. This work is sorely overlooked but is essential to meet the demand we expect to see in coming years. For too long, the promise of our digital economy has been realized only in investment gains and consumer ease. These are good, but we should also make sure people are ready to do the work to build new networks and keep our digital economy stable, secure, and running.

The past few months have been an education for us all in the importance of a strong digital network. Like the young Eisenhower, weve seen how critical infrastructure is to our lives. It is vital that we make sure that all Americans, regardless of their income or ZIP code, can ride on that information superhighway.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
The eyesore ruins of the old yarn mill at Lupton City may finally be torn down and smoothed over.

The city is asking the City Council to approve a contract with Complete Demolition Services LLC of Carrollton, Ga. for $1,465,400.

The project includes leveling remaining buildings at the site.

It also involves closing an asbestos landfill on the property.

Material is to be brought to the site for capping it, including from the Moccasin Bend Treatment Plant and from a borrow site on Amnicola Highway.

The old mill was sold in 2012 to a private company that began demolition, but abruptly stopped.

The city took over the 11.8-acre site in 2017 and later began demolition. However, in January the city said it had "encountered consistent and extraordinary unforeseen challenges to cleaning and clearing this property."

In dealing with asbestos removal and other issues, the city said it had spent about $400,000 of an earlier appropriation of $1.7 million.
In consultation with the Health Service Executive, Irish Water and Longford County Council can confirm that a Boil Water Notice has been put in place with immediate effect for all customers on the Lanesboro Public Water Supply.

The Boil Water Notice affects approximately 4,800 people. The area impacted by this Boil Water Notice is the town of Lanesboro and its environs which includes the area from the western outskirts of Longford Town as far as the eastern outskirts of Newtowncashel village, note this area also includes the villages of Killashee and Derraghan. The precise extent of the area impacted is shown on the map attached.

The Boil Water Notice has been put in place as a precaution following a mechanical failure at the water treatment plant that impacted the disinfection process.

Irish Waters drinking water compliance and operational experts are working with colleagues in Longford County Council to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

In the meantime, all customers of this supply are advised to boil water before use until further notice.

Irish Water acknowledges the impact and inconvenience caused by the imposition of a Boil Water Notice to homes and businesses. We wish to thank the community for their patience and cooperation while we work to resolve this issue. Irish Waters priority is the provision of safe, clean drinking water and safeguarding that water supply for the future is a vital focus.

Irish Water is contacting registered vulnerable customers who are affected by this Boil Water Notice to advise them.

Should customers have any queries regarding this Boil Water Notice they should contact Irish Water directly on our customer care helpline, open 24/7, on 1850 278 278. Updates will be available on the Water Supply Updates section of the Irish Water website and via Twitter @IWCare.

Further information on using water during a Boil Water Notice can be found on our website at www.water.ie/water-supply/ water-quality/boil-water- notice.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is not being sanctioned personally by the EU but members of his regime are. - AFP

EU leaders finally agreed to hit Belarus with sanctions in the early hours of Friday morning before warning Turkey it faced the same punishment if it continued oil and gas drilling in disputed areas of the Mediterranean.

Cyprus had vetoed agreement on the sanctions, which do not hit President Alexander Lukashenko personally, until it was satisfied the EU's condemnation of Turkey was strong enough.

The heads of state and government needed six hours of summit talks in Brussels to break an embarrassing deadlock that delayed EU sanctions for election-rigging in Belarus for a month.

In their summit conclusions, the 27 leaders warned Ankara it could face "immediate" sanctions if it persists with gas exploration in Cypriot waters.

The EU has imposed asset freezes and travel bans on about 40 members of Mr Lukashenko's regime for rigging the August 9 election and cracking down on protests afterwards.

EU sanctions need the unanimous support of all 27 member states. The veto by one of the blocs smallest countries dented the credibility of the blocs foreign policy and delayed a promise to support pro-democracy protesters in Minsk.

Britain and Canada have already imposed sanctions on Belarus, including on Mr Lukashenko himself.

Emmanuel Macron said that Mr Lukashenko could still be targeted in the future. The decision not to hit him now was designed to encourage the authoritarian leader to engage in mediation, the French president said.

Mr Macron has already met with exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who recently urged the EU to impose sanctions in a speech at the European Parliament in Brussels. Angela Merkel will meet her in Berlin on Tuesday.

The government in Belarus vowed to respond to hostile actions." It said it will impose visa bans on a number of EU officials and threatened to break off diplomatic ties with EU countries.

Story continues

The foreign ministry said that it was recalling Belarus's ambassadors in Poland and Lithuania for consultations and advised Poland and Lithuania to recall their ambassadors in Minsk as well. Poland and Lithuania, which in recent weeks hosted several prominent Belarusian opposition figures, were ordered to cut their embassy staff.

Any attempts by foreign nations to force certain individuals or projects of governments in exile on Belarusian people are bound to fail, the Belarus Foreign Ministry said.

The European Union is taking action against those who stand in the way of democracy," the German Chancellor said after the fraught discussions in Brussels, I think that is an important signal."

Germany had pushed back against a tougher stand on Turkey, fearing it would disrupt efforts to cool tensions with EU member Greece and conscious of its status as a strategic partner.

Turkey is a Nato member and a candidate member to join the EU, although that process has long been stalled. Its agreement with the EU to host Syrian migrants on Turkish soil played a vital role in stemming the 2015 migration crisis.

The compromise struck at the summit that satisfied Cyprus was an agreement to review Turkey's behaviour in December and impose sanctions then if its "provocations" have not stopped.

Leaders offered Ankara the prospect of closer ties and better trade if it commits to "pursuing dialogue in good faith and abstaining from unilateral actions".

"The EU issues a clear threat of sanctions against Turkey should it continue to violate international law," Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said.

Previous EU warnings, and sanctions on individuals involved in the drilling, have done little to deter Ankara and the final statement falls some way short of the immediate action Nicosia had pushed for.

Before the summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck a defiant note, telling his parliament that the EU had made itself a "hostage" of the "spoiled Greeks and the Greek Cypriot administration". He vowed to maintain his "determined approach".

Allegations of meddling by Ankara in the conflict in Nagorny Karabakh, where nearly 130 people have been killed in a flare-up between Armenia and Azerbaijan, further complicated the talks.

Mr Macron demanded Turkey explain what he said was the arrival of Syrian jihadist fighters in Azerbaijan.

"A red line has been crossed, which is unacceptable," he said, "I urge all Nato partners to face up to the behaviour of a Nato member."

The summit conclusions called for an immediate ceasefire in the region.

EU leaders also condemned the assassination attempt on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a military chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group.
A federal grand jury indicted an 18-year-old Worcester man for making Molotov cocktails and carrying them with him in the aftermath of peaceful protest in Worcester over the death of George Floyd.

Vincent Eovacious was indicted with civil disorder in addition to possessing a Molotov cocktail, federal prosecutors said on Thursday.

Eovacious was one of 19 people arrested the night of the June 1 protest. Around 10 p.m. that evening, police saw Eovacious pacing on the rooftop of a building at 848 Main Street and yelled at the crowd below to kill the police," prosecutors said.

Police then saw Eovacious take a bottle out of a satchel. The bottle appeared to contain liquid and police saw Eovacious try to stick a rag into the bottle while holding a silver object believed to be a lighter, the indictment reports. A few minutes later, police saw Eovacious walking near May and Main streets with the satchel, officials said.

Officers stopped Eovacious and searched the satchel, discovering three clear glass bottles with a slightly yellow liquid that smelled of gasoline, five white rags, one green lighter and one silver lighter, prosecutors said. Eovacious said the liquid was gasoline, that he was with the anarchist group and was waiting for an opportunity, they added.

Earlier in the evening, thousands marched around downtown Worcester in a peaceful protest over Floyds death, which occurred the week prior in Minneapolis. Floyd, who is black, was pinned down by former police officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyds neck for nearly nine minutes.

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DUBLIN, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "High & Extra High Voltage Cable Manufacturers (Global) - Industry Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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Instead of asking why Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have not visited Baran in Rajasthan, where two girls were allegedly raped, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders should go to the district themselves to know the ground reality, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Friday.

The two Congress leaders were on Thursday arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police after they were stopped from marching towards Hathras to meet the family members of a Dalit woman who was allegedly raped by four men on September 14.

Gehlot said the role of opposition leaders is pivotal in a healthy democracy and by preventing Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi from going to Hathras, the Uttar Pradesh government has proved that it wants to hide things.

"Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi trust our words and reports. Why don't senior BJP leaders like Amit Shah or Dharmendra Pradhan visit Baran or anywhere in the state to know what actually is the ground reality," Gehlot told PTI.

"We are open for this (visit). They should visit the place (Baran) and know the reality. We will not only allow them but if required, police protection will also be provided," he added.

According to police, two minor sisters went missing from their home in Baran district on September 19.

They were later found in Kota on September 22.

The girls were handed over to their families after recording their statements, police said, adding that the medical examination of the girls did not confirm rape.

Gehlot said incidents can happen anywhere but what matters is action and Hathras is an example of inaction.

"What happened in Hathras was very shameful. The victim's mother kept crying and wanted to see her daughter for the last time, but the police did not allow and the body was cremated in the night hours," he told reporters on the sidelines of a Gandhi Jayanti event at the secretariat.

The chief minister said despite the coronavirus pandemic, 20 people are allowed to attend cremations but in Hathras, the gangrape victim's last rites were conducted in the dead of the night.

"When a soldier is martyred at the border, the body is brought in a plane or helicopter and given to family members. We give this much respect and this is in the culture of the country. What happened in Hathras was shameful," he said.

Gehlot further said that the state government did not prevent a BJP delegation from visiting Dungarpur district, where violence erupted last week, because the role of opposition is imperative in a healthy democracy.

"When there is nothing to hide, why one should be stopped. BJP leaders visited Dungarpur and we allowed them to go and see what actually happened. This is a normal thing in a democracy," he said.
Heart surgeons have carried out a UK-first operation using 'camera glasses' which allow specialists to watch on remotely from anywhere in the world and offer support.

The glasses were used during the fitting of a pacemaker to heart failure patient John Constable, 65, at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge.

Images of the operation were sent to the technicians behind the highly sophisticated implant, allowing them to give instant technical advice from their laptops.

Heart surgeons have carried out a UK-first operation using 'camera glasses' (pictured) which allow specialists to watch on remotely from anywhere in the world and offer support

Surgeons say remote assistance is becoming increasingly important given the restrictions on numbers allowed in operating theatres due to coronavirus measures.

Alaina Yardley, lead cardiac physiologist at Royal Papworth, said: 'The medical technology we use to treat heart failure and arrhythmias is increasingly sophisticated, using complex algorithms that need specialist programming to match the patient's symptoms.

'Traditionally we would wait for a technical expert to attend procedures, but Covid-19 has forced us to find new ways and reduce the number of people in catheter labs.'

The Surgery Assistance glasses were used during the implant of a device which monitors a patient's heartbeat using Bluetooth-like technology and corrects it using small electrical impulses.

Previously used to help with the manufacturing of precision parts such as in the aviation industry, the spectacles have been adapted for safe use in hospitals.

They are equipped with multiple cameras, a torch and earpiece, and share live video, audio and photos.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Patrick Heck, who wore the glasses during the operation, said: 'We see this as just the start and there could be many other opportunities for use of the smart glasses, from dialling-in other doctors around the world to support on complex cases to training the next generation.'

The hospital's chief operating officer Eilish Midlane said: 'This is a fantastic innovation.

'In the context of a global pandemic, it could not have come at a better time.'

Surgeons say remote assistance is becoming increasingly important given the restrictions on numbers allowed in operating theatres due to coronavirus measures

Mr Constable, from Lincolnshire, is doing well after Wednesday's operation.

He said afterwards: 'I've been very well looked after and very impressed with the professionalism across the hospital.

'I've felt completely safe and would encourage anyone else needing to come to hospital to not delay their treatment.'

Dutch firm Rods&Cones, which developed the glasses, said it was 'thrilled' the procedure, part of a partnership with implant makers Medtronic, had been a success.

Co-founder Bruno Dheedene said: 'Perhaps most importantly we're delighted we can help healthcare professionals continue their work despite the current Covid-19 restrictions, so that more lives can be saved.'
The love child of former Belgian King Albert II has won a court battle to grant her the same rights and titles as her fathers children by his marriage.

Under the ruling, artist Delphine Boel, 52, will be granted the title of Princess of Belgium.

King Albert admitted he was her father in January this year, having fought her paternity claim for more than a decade.

Her mother, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, claims she had an 18-year affair with Albert before he was king.

Rumours first emerged that he had fathered a child with another woman after it was disclosed in an unauthorised biography about Alberts wife, Queen Paola, published in 1999.

Ms Boel first alleged on the record that King Albert was her biological father during a 2005 interview, but it was not until he abdicated in 2013  when he lost his immunity to prosecution  that she opened court proceedings.

Her lawyer told reporters that she was delighted with the courts decision.

A judicial victory will never replace a fathers love, but it does offer a sense of justice, said Marc Uyttendaele. Many more children who have gone through similar ordeals may be able to find the strength to face them.

Ms Boel and her two children can now hold the surname of her father, Saxe-Cobourg.

As a result of the ruling, after King Alberts death she will be entitled to receive an inheritance, along with his three other children  Prince Laurent, Princess Astrid and Philippe, the current king.

Despite her new title, Ms Boel will not receive any royal endowment. But Albert must pay nearly 3.4m (3.1m) to cover her legal fees, according to local outlet De Standaard.

Her mother Baroness Longchamps says the affair with Albert, who was then Prince of Liege, lasted from 1966 to 1984, and he was around during Ms Boels childhood.

Following his older brothers death in 1993 at 62, Albert unexpectedly came to the throne. He held the position until July 2013, when he announced his abdication  citing ill health  and was replaced by his son, Philippe.

The 86-year-old had resisted court orders to undergo DNA testing until he was facing fines of 5,000 per day for refusing to do so. In January, he announced he accepted Ms Boel as his fourth child after he learnt the results of the DNA tests.

Belgium has a constitutional monarchy in which the king plays a largely ceremonial role.

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A member of the House of Representatives, Simon Karu, has revealed that each member of the House earns N9.3 million monthly.

The lawmaker, who represents Kaltungo/Shongom federal constituency of Gombe State, stated this on Thursday in Abuja at an event to mark Nigerias 60th anniversary.

The event was tagged FixingNigeria at 60- Sustainable and efficient democracy: Issues on accountability and transparency in governance.

The lawmaker, however, said most of the funds were spent on constituents high demands.

Mr Karu, who was among the guest speakers, said the sum included monthly salaries and the offices running cost.

The official salary of a member, House of Representatives which I also receive monthly is N800,0000. I told you I was going to say it, why dont you wait for me to say it? The office running cost of a member of the House of Representatives is N8.5 million, he said.

Those of you who know, know that I said exactly what it is. The problem is what the constituents demand and when you dont meet (up), they begin to call you names.

Just before I walked to the stage, I received three emails from my constituents demanding for money and demanding for jobs, when you dont, it becomes an issue.

When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES to confirm his statement, Mr Karu affirmed he stated so at the event.

He said the office running cost is being managed by the management of the National Assembly.

He said the funds are released after an evidence of expenditure is provided to the National Assembly management.

Rebuttal

In a dramatic twist, another member of the House at the event, Nicholas Ossai debunked Mr Karus revelation, urging the audience to disregard same.

I have never received such salary since I came to the National Assembly and I have been in the National Assembly before him, Mr Ossai said.

Expensive parliament

The pay package of public office holders, particularly the salaries and allowances of the National Assembly members, has been an issue of concern among Nigerians.

The minimum wage in the Nigerian public sector is pegged at N30, 000.

Bit since 2010, the over N150 billion annual allocations to the National Assembly in the budget, which includes the salaries and allowances as well as other perks, have remained a closely guarded secret, and their details have always been hidden from the public.

PREMIUM TIMES had on August 18 published a report indicating that the 360 members of the House of Representatives gulp N6.58 billion from the nations treasury in annual salaries and allowances, while the 109 senators cost the nation N2.14 billion in similar emoluments.

Cumulatively, the country pays out a hefty N8.72 billion every year in salaries and allowances to lawmakers in the two chambers of the National Assembly.

However, the amount the senators and members of the House of Representatives remit as tax appears insignificant as their income tax is calculated as a function of their basic salaries alone.

Yet the allowances, which are non-taxed are about 870 per cent (Senators) and 820 per cent (Reps) of their basic salaries.

Revelations

A former Senator, Shehu Sani, had during the 8th Assembly revealed that himself and his colleagues received N13.5 million running cost allowance monthly, aside their salary.

In an interview with TheNews, the senator said that the running cost does not include a N700,000 monthly consolidated salary and allowances which they also receive and other perks.

He said there is no specification on what the funds were meant for. Each lawmaker is mandated to provide receipts to back up their expenses, the vocal lawmaker said.

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The products of the Chinese company have technical flaws that put the UK Internet network at risk. The British government has banned the use of Chinas 5G. Germany, France and Italy are moving in the same direction. The number of countries distancing themselves from the Chinese company under US pressure is growing.

London (AsiaNews)  Huawei products used in British telephone and Internet networks have numerous technical flaws, this according to a recent report by the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre Oversight Board, a UK government agency that monitors the Chinese telecom giant on behalf of UK intelligence.

British intelligence has already forced Huawei Technologies to fix flaws in its products that could have put national security at risk. However, the repairs revealed other technical issues that the Chinese company was unable to solve.

The assessment concerns Huawei technology already in use in the United Kingdom, especially the one that supports the 4G internet network.

For the Chinese company it is another blow after coming in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which accuses it of spying on behalf of China.

For some time, Washington has put pressure on many countries that had considered buying the Chinese 5G system.

In July, after the United States imposed sanctions on states and companies doing business with Huawei, the British government decided to exclude the Chinese giant from developing the UKs high-speed network.

At first, London had opted for an intermediate line, allowing the Chinese to supply some products for its future 5G system.

Europe is ostensibly joining the United States. At the end of August, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Huawei will not be excluded a priori from the tenders for the 5G network, but his country will favour European operators  Ericsson and Nokia  for security reasons.

According to press reports, Germany is set to do the same, with restrictions on the use of Chinese technology.

Italy has not banned Huawei's internet systems either, but the Italian government has special powers to block 5G supplies from non-European companies.

In July, Italys telecom Tim excluded Huawei from a tender for the construction of its broadband infrastructure in Italy and Brazil.

Elsewhere in the world, Japan, Taiwan and Australia have banned Huawei from their 5G systems.

New Zealand is moving in the same direction, as is Canada, which plans to develop the ultra-fast broadband network with the help of European companies.

Singapore's main phone companies will also not buy Huawei's 5G technology, choosing Nokia and Ericsson instead.
'I wanted to honour those voices in our community who are constantly taking a beating, literally and figuratively.' Janelle Monae "Living in Atlanta is very different to being in other parts of Georgia, but I remember when Donald Trump was elected it was the most fearful I've ever felt in my life," said Monae. "Already there were white supremacist groups going around with their swastikas and flags, showing up to little black girls' birthday parties." The film's explicit violence has divided critics and audiences. Credit:Roadshow In a striking scene in the film touching on the lingering romanticisation of America's antebellum south, Monae's Eden briefly pauses to glower at a towering statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee. It's another moment that resonates prophetically in the wake of June's #BlackLivesMatter marches, even in Australia, where police formed a protective circle around a statue of Captain Cook in Sydney's Hyde Park, lest frustrations be levelled at a monument to a nation's colonial shame. "I mean, you even have the current administration celebrating [Confederate general] Robert E. Lee!" Monae exclaimed. "There are people in this world who believe, right now, that the antebellum south would be a beautiful place to be. There are certain people in this current administration who want to 'make America great again', and that means living in a time that outright suppressed black people.

"That's not something I'm going to allow to happen on my watch," she added. "Whenever I can make art, or music, or stories that send a clear message against that, I will." Perhaps unsurprisingly the film has proved divisive, particularly over an opening third that's harrowing in the brutality displayed as Monae's Eden is raped, beaten and branded. In a viral article for pop culture website Vulture titled 'I Am Tired of Films Like Antebellum', writer Angelica Jade Bastien criticised the film's dehumanising violence. Monae plays a dual role, as slave Eden and glamorous sociologist Veronica Henley. Credit:Roadshow "I am tired of pop-cultural artifacts that render Black people as merely Black bodies onto which the sins of this ragged country are violently mapped," she wrote. "I am tired of suffering being the primary lens through which we understand Black identity. I am tired of being so hungry for Black joy and Black representation that scraps feel like a meal." Other critics have labelled the film "opportunistic" in its heady exploration of entrenched racism at such a vital moment, and argued it doesn't earn its eyebrow-raising, Shyamalan-esque twist ending. And while Hollywood trade paper Variety positively hailed the film as "an explosive mortar", online publication Polygon marked it as "easily 2020's worst movie so far". Despite, or perhaps because of, such polarised opinion and word-of-mouth controversy, the film was the top-streamed movie in the US upon its release earlier this month.

The film's first-time writer/directors, Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, a pair who originally made their name in the advertising world, say such critiques misrepresent the film's violence. "I think the conversation from some would have you believe we've created a snuff film. That's grossly inaccurate," says Bush. "The movie elicits a visceral response and I think some are having difficulty accurately articulating why that is, but we are not nearly as brutal as Django Unchained or 12 Years a Slave. "It's a head-scratcher as to why they find us more violent than the nightly news. One has to wonder what world they reside in. What we will not do is serve as co-conspirators in the further erasure of our own history. Our government already does that enough, and Hollywood with their beautiful, effective propaganda in Gone with the Wind and the like." Writer-directors Christopher Renz and Gerard Bush. Credit:Roadshow Bush says the movie's violence also potentially serves as critique on the way prestige Hollywood films have long been celebrated for their harsh portrayals of the black experience, and that the pair's audacity to "redefine [the] genre as something more substantial, potent, has bruised some egos".

"Our role as artists is to tell the truth of the thing, not to provide a soothing elixir," he says. "We are here to disturb your peace with the unvarnished truth, to wake you up before we all sleepwalk off a cliff. The brutality of Antebellum is only a fraction of the reality or nightly news on CNN." 'Our role as artists is to tell the truth of the thing, not to provide a soothing elixir.' Co-writer/director Gerard Bush Monae, similarly, has suggested the film's severity was necessary. "How do you tell the truth without showing the truth?" she told The Philadelphia Inquirer. As an artist whose personal politics have long directed her work ("I'm pretty open about where I stand on issues... My work honours being black and queer and living in America and making art," Monae explained), she anticipates such sharp responses. Loading "I have a platform and I get a chance to say things. There are consequences to the things that I say and I can't think I'm not going to be criticised, but I do have a platform," said Monae. "Not many people who stand up for things they believe in, like protecting women and protecting the marginalised, get the opportunity to have their voices as amplified as I do.
Celebrity 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
President Donald Trumps White House doctor has issued a statement saying the president will continue carrying out his duties without disruption after contracting the coronavirus.

Dr. Sean Conley, the physician to the president, says the president and first lady Melania Trump are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

Trump has canceled plans to attend a fundraiser and to fly to Florida for a rally on Friday, but he did keep on his schedule a previously planned midday telephone call on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors.
The HSE has joined with Kilkenny County Council and the Gardai to re-iterate basic messages on preventing the spread of Covid-19.

Speaking as one, in an appeal this weekend, they say that case numbers are clearly rising across the country and that everyone in Co. Kilkenny needs to remain vigilant, to ensure that all of our hard work to date isnt eroded.

According to the HSE, the Gardai and the Local Authority, positive action and changes to behaviour remain essential to ensuring that hospital and community healthcare services locally are enabled to deal with demands and that we can live our lives safely alongside the threat of the virus and that Co. Kilkenny stays at Level 2 of the public restrictions in place in Ireland.

The Chair of the South East Regional Steering Group for Major Emergency Management (comprising the three principal response agencies: An Garda Siochana, the HSE and the Local Authorities) and Chief Officer of HSE/South East Community Healthcare Kate Killeen White, joined by Specialist in Public Health Medicine and Director of the HSEs South East Public Health Dept. Dr. Carmel Mullaney, are reminding the public to:

 Wash your hands well and often,

 Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing,

 Limit contact with others and maintain physical distancing,

 Wear a face mask or covering where appropriate.

When such actions are taken, the HSE say, doing so not only prevents the transmission of the virus but also protects older and vulnerable people and healthcare workers.

The General Manager of St. Lukes General Hospital Carlow/Kilkenny Anne Slattery says that community transmission represents the greatest threat to patients and staff in hospitals and residential care facilities. Anne advises that people  when making plans to meet friends/family and socialise this week  take a minute to consider healthcare workers who have been at the frontline since the beginning of the pandemic and their patients and who remain very vulnerable to this highly infectious virus, in hospitals, in nursing homes and other care settings.

The Chair of Kilkenny County Council Cllr. Andrew McGuinness and the Chief Executive Colette Byrne are also urging people to continue their good efforts and not to allow everyones hard work to date in 2020 to be undermined. They are re-iterating that individual actions do matter. Everyone in County Kilkenny need to live by the advice being given, that way our schools can be kept open and the progress made on the roadmap to recovery be maintained. We all need to play our part.

The Garda Chief Superintendent in Carlow/Kilkenny Padraig Dunne points to what has been evident to date in 2020: the country moving from a short-term emergency response approach to a medium-term one, to manage risk and repair the damage that COVID-19 has inflicted on society. Superintendent Dunne concludes the joint message by reminding everyone that we are at a critical point in tackling the spread of COVID-19 and people in Kilkenny must take personal responsibility to avoid situations that are a risk to themselves, their family and their friends.

For more see www2.hse.ie/ coronavirus/
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Linkedin Veeramalla Anjaiah (The Jakarta Post) -  Fri, October 2 2020

Suhartini (not her real name), a single mother of three children, is facing a tough time in her life because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She sells snacks and soft drinks to tourists at the famous Prambanan temple in Central Java. The numbers of both domestic and foreign tourists visiting Prambanan have come down drastically since late March as a result of COVID-19.

My main income comes from selling drinks and snacks. Now I am out of business and I do not know what to do. I sold my gold ornaments to survive so far, Suhartini, 38, from Jetis village, Klaten regency, Central Java, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

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Mumbai: Streamer ZEE5 is expanding its spy thriller franchise London Confidential with new movie Lahore Confidential, starring Richa Chadha and Arunoday Singh in the lead. To be directed by filmmaker Kunal Kohli, Lahore Confidential is being described as a contemporary, elegant and thrilling love story of two spies that will put them in a tug of war with each other. The narrative revolves around a humble, divorced Indian woman and amidst her mundane-routine life and her love for Urdu literature, she finds herself on an intelligence duty in Pakistan.

The film has a strong sense of patriotism and thrill entangled with old school romance, the streamer said in a statement. Lahore Confidential brings the genre of spy and romantic thriller in a way that will keep the viewers hooked to the plot. My favourite part of the film is the old school romance banter mixed with its espionage. I cant wait for the audience to witness this great story filled with romance, action, poetry, and a lot more thrill, Chadha said. Singh, who previously worked in ZEE5s Chargesheet, said he isglad to be teaming up with the streamer again.

Poetry has always been close to my heart, which makes the film even more special for me. Its is going to be a never seen before romantic spy thriller. The narrative will challenge the viewers as well. I am super excited to kick start this project with ZEE5, he added. The movie will also feature popular television actor Karishma Tanna in a pivotal role.

My character has lot of layers to it which will be interesting for the viewers. They can expect a surprise or two. I hope people enjoy the film, it will be out soon on ZEE5, she said. For Kohli, the movie is a challenging project as he has to tackle a variety of themes with it.

The film has lots of elements to it, ranging from old school romance, action, Urdu poetry to edge of the seat thrill, and to bring all these elements together makes it a challenging project. After Fanaa, this is going to be my second love story with a thriller backdrop I am looking forward to commence shooting, he added. Produced by Jar Pictures, Lahore Confidential will premiere on ZEE5. The franchise, created by S Hussain Zaidi, started with London Confidential: The Chinese Conspiracy, featuring Mouni Roy and Purab Kohli in the lead.
Killing of Chhattisgarh MLA in 2019 was part of naxalites Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Oct 02: The National Investigation has charged six persons in connection with the killing of Bhima Mandavi, an MLA from Chhattisgarh.

The NIA filed a chargesheet against Madka Ram Tati, Bhima Ram Tati, Linge Tati, Laxman Jaiswal, Ramesh Kumar Kashyap and Haripal Singh Chauhan.

The case on hand relates to an IED blast, followed by indiscriminate firing on April 9 2019 near the Shyamgiri Village, Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh. In the incident, the then sitting MLA of Dantewada, Mandavi was killed by the operatives of the CPI (Maoist). Four security personnel too were martyred in the attack, following which the naxals looted their arms.

Cops up ante as big movement of naxals seen from Chhattisgarh to Telangana

With no clues available initially, break-through was achieved in the case after examining several witnesses, surrendered naxal cadres and rigorous technical analysis. During the course of investigation, NIA arrested six accused persons.

Investigation established that the decision to kill Bhima Mandavi was taken at Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) level meeting held in December 2018 in West Bastar, Chhattisgarh.

Later, another meeting at Darbha Division Committee level, was held in the end of February, 2019, in the Gonderas Forest area of South Bastar, Dantewada, which was chaired by Giri Reddy DKSZC member and In-charge of Darbha Division.

During the meeting, as part of Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC), it was decided to kill Bhima Mandavi, along with other political leaders, police personnel and disrupt the election process. Bada Deva, Secretary of Darbha Division Committee, was made overall In-charge to carry out the objectives of TCOC.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

Naxals kill naxals in Chhattisgarh

Under the leadership of terrorist Bada Deva, cadres of CPI (Maoist) were mobilised and an IED on the Nakulnar- Bacheli road was placed near Shyamgiri village where annual fair was being organised. The place was pre-decided because the Maoist leaders believed that prominent political leaders, including Bhima Mandavi would attend the annual fair scheduled on April 9 2019.

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Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 10:27 [IST]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (IRCC) has issued the following statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict:

As the recent escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict worsens, civilians are bearing the brunt of the surge in violence, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday.

Civilian deaths and injuries, including of children, have been reported on both sides of the line of contact, and in Armenia.



"Since the escalation started, the ICRC has provided emergency medical supplies to hospitals and body bags to the forensic bureau in Nagorno-Karabakh. We are currently trying to assess health-related and other humanitarian needs, including the situation of those who have left their homes. Our ability to move in the field is limited because of the intensity of fighting and the volatility of the situation," said Bertrand Lamon, ICRC's head of mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.



"We are already seeing the terrible impact this escalation is having on civilians. The ICRC is ready to assist where needed, when conditions allow it, including supporting the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society's local branches as they work in the community," said Gerardo Moloeznik, the head of ICRC's sub-delegation in, Barda, Azerbaijan.



The ICRC has received reports of people trying to move themselves and their families to safety. Many other families, including babies and young children, are spending days and nights sheltering in the unheated basements of their buildings, in an effort to escape the violence.



There are also reports of hundreds of homes and civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals destroyed by heavy artillery. Where buildings have been damaged, people are exposed to the dangers of unexploded ordnances.



This new upheaval comes at the onset of winter, with children just weeks into their school term and when people are already trying to protect themselves and their families from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.



"People have been in touch with the ICRC who are terrified for themselves and their families and at a loss as to where to go or what to do to stay safe. They are caught in the crossfire and deeply fearful for their safety and future. We are committed to helping all those who are feeling the impact of this escalation in violence. We call on the sides to protect civilians and the key infrastructure and services they need to survive, and abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law," said Martin Schuepp, ICRC's Eurasia regional director in Geneva.



The ICRC is extremely worried that the current turmoil and displacement may lead to a surge of COVID-19 cases due to people taking refuge in shelters for hours or being accommodated in communal buildings or places with inadequate sanitation.



Additionally, this escalation will take a toll on the mental health of the population, who have already lived with the impact of this conflict for almost 30 years and are now anxious about their health and future due to the COVID-19 pandemic.



The ICRC has been present in the region since 1992 carrying out humanitarian work in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Through the delegations in Baku and Yerevan and the mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, the ICRC supports communities living along the line of contact and international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.



The ICRC also works to clarify the fate of missing persons and help their families, visits detainees and acts as a neutral intermediary to facilitate transfer and repatriation of released persons or the return of the bodies of deceased soldiers.



We collaborate closely with the Armenian Red Cross and the Azerbaijani Red Crescent, coordinating activities aimed at assisting people affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict across the region.
EAST CHICAGO  The City Council has filed a motion in Lake Superior Court in the latest round of a battle over public meeting sites.

The motion, called a writ of mandamus, was filed against Mayor Anthony Copeland and the executive staff, forcing compliance with a council ordinance declaring its right to designate council meeting locations.

The council has requested a Nov. 10 trial date to consider the writ.

The council and city administration are in an ongoing disagreement over where the council can hold its meetings.

City Council President Robert Garcia, D-5th, said he wants to meetings at the Heritage Hall Community Center instead of at City Hall while the coronavirus pandemic persists.

Garcia has said the center's larger space would allow for greater social distancing among council members and the public.

City attorney Carla Morgan has previously told the council Heritage Hall would not be made available for meetings and mentioned the extra work it would cause city staff to make the hall available, including set up, sanitization and protection of they center's gym floor from damage.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands  The deputy head of an association of Kosovo war veterans who was arrested last week on suspicion of offenses including intimidating witnesses said Tuesday he did not recognize the jurisdiction of the internationally funded court that ordered his detention.
The conflict between two couples laying claim over a newborn male child, due to an alleged goof-up by a nurse in the district hospital of Bhopal, will be resolved through a DNA test based on the recommendation of an inquiry committee, as per the hospital administration.

According to the hospital known as Government Jai Prakash district hospital, a woman delivered a male child at 10.35 am on Thursday through a caesarean section (C-section), while another woman was to undergo a C-section (on another table in the same operation theatre) and who later gave birth to a female child at 10.53 am.

While families of both the women were waiting outside the operation theatre, a contractual nurse at the hospital came out of the operation theatre and handed over the child to the family of the woman who was yet to undergo the C-section.

The nurse realised her mistake soon after returning to the operation theatre and rushed back outside to tell the family that it was not their child, leading to a ruckus by the family holding the infant.

Also Read: 2 arrested for rape and murder of 2-year-old in MP

A three-member inquiry committee was constituted on objections raised by the relatives. The committee arrived at the conclusion that the woman who gave birth to the female child (at 11.53 am), operated upon by Dr Shraddha Agrawal, was immediately told about the gender of the baby. The woman too confirmed this before her family and also a police officer. But given the objections raised by her family, a DNA test has been recommended by the committee. The nurse Surekha Wilson has been shifted to another ward, said an official communication by the hospital.

Also Read: MP Congress claims credit for fall in rape cases in 2019, BJP has different theory

A doctor at the hospital said, Since both the women are to remain in the hospital for about a week for post-surgery care, the DNA test will be conducted on both the babies during the period and the issue will be resolved scientifically, most probably before they are discharged from the hospital. However, both the women have their babies with them and are breastfeeding them.

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Washington officials have found evidence of more 'murder hornets' in the state.

Formally known as Asian giant hornets, three new insects were spotted by local residents near the town of Blaine in northeastern Whatcom County.

Officials were able to capture one of the hornets, which was seen attacking a paper wasp nest - this is the first to be caught alive.

The number of hornets found, nearly doubling the previous number discovered in Washington, would indicate a nest has been established in the area, according to he Department if Agriculture.

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Washington officials have found evidence of more 'murder hornets' in the state. Formally known as Asian giant hornets, three new insects were spotted by local residents near the town of Blaine in northeastern Whatcom County

Residents are raising concern over the increase of murder hornet sightings, as these insects kill honey bees crucial for pollinating raspberry and blueberry crops.

Evidence of six of the hornets were found over the last week near the town of Blaine in northeastern Whatcom County, the Washington state Department of Agriculture told reporters - the three are the most recent discoveries.

Sven-Erik Spichiger, a department entomologist, said: 'We believe we are dealing with a nest.'

'We hope to locate the nest in a couple of weeks and eradicate it.'

The Asian giant hornet, the worlds largest at 2 inches (5 centimeters), can decimate entire hives of honeybees and deliver painful stings to humans. Farmers in the northwestern U.S. depend on those honey bees to pollinate many crops.

The invasive insect found in China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam was first documented in Washington late last year and officials have said its not known how it arrived. There have been reports from Asia of the hornets stinging people so often they have died.

Despite their name, the hornets kill at most a few dozen people a year in Asia, and experts say it is probably far less.

Hornets, wasps and bees typically found in the United States kill an average of 62 people a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.

The real threat from the hornets is their devastating attacks on honeybee hives, and the time of year when they attack those hives is nearing, Spichiger said.

He called it the 'slaughter phase.'

A state scientist managed to trap one live Asian giant hornet near Blaine in recent days and officials tried to glue a radio tag to it so they could follow the hornet back to its nest, Spichiger said.

But the glue did not dry fast enough, the radio tag fell off and the hornet ultimately could not fly, Spichiger said.

Officials were able to capture one of the hornets, which was seen attacking a paper wasp nest - this is the first to be caught alive

Scientists hope to capture another live hornet and try again, he said.

People living in the Blaine area have been reporting sightings of the hornets to agricultural officials.

There is also evidence that the giant hornets are also attacking native wasps and hornets, Spichiger said.

Fifteen of the hornets have been found since they were first seen in Washington in 2019, the agriculture department said.

Last month, scientists released a study that warns murder hornets could spread 'rapidly' across America if action is not taken to contain them.

'This could be, if it were to become established, one of the most damaging invasive species that we could almost imagine,' said Washington State University entomologist David Crowder.
John Nichol, 56, (pictured) shared the items of personal significance in the office of his home in Hertfordshire

1 OUT OF THE WRECKAGE

I joined the RAF in 1981, qualified as a navigator, and took part in Operation Desert Storm in the first Gulf War.

In January 1991 my Tornado was shot down by an Iraqi missile and my pilot [John Peters] and I were held hostage for seven weeks.

This pitot tube [mounted on the wooden panel], which measures a planes airspeed, is from my actual Tornado, and was retrieved from the wreckage by British forces at the end of the war.

2 FLYING HIGH

I met a number of WWII Air Force veterans during my RAF days and knew that if we didnt get their wartime experiences down on paper they would be gone forever, hence my latest book about the Lancaster bomber [below], which tells their stories.

RAF Bomber Command took the fight to Nazi Germany from the start to the end of the war in a battle for our survival.

The cost was shockingly high: more than 55,000 of the 125,000 aircrew were killed. I have yet to go up in a Lancaster because there are only two still flying  one in the UK, and one in Canada. Maybe one day

3 BEST FRIEND

My golden retriever, Ted, was part of a Guide Dog For The Blind litter and is the most fabulous dog. Hes loyal, handsome and helps keep me, my wife Suzannah and our 14-year-old daughter Sophie company.

John cherishes his Bremont MB1 watch (pictured) and explained how they are awarded to airmen who have used a Martin-Baker ejection seat in an emergency

We go for long walks in the countryside, which is my way to relax. Hes not one for tricks, though  giving me a high five in return for a piece of toast is about as good as it gets!

4 A TIMELY HONOUR

Im proud of my Bremont MB1 watch  you can identify it by its red aluminium barrelon the back. Its awarded to airmen and women who have used a Martin-Baker ejection seat in an emergency.

The seats have saved the lives of over 7,500, and the back of each watch is engraved with a number.

I also met Jo Lancaster, the late WWII pilot turned test pilot who in 1949 was the first to eject in a Martin-Baker and was given the first Bremont watch.

5 LESSONS FOR LATER LIFE

Growing up just outside Newcastle, I was a keen Scout, and this was taken on a camping trip to Northumberland. Im wearing the tartan waistcoat.

I was a Cub and then a Scout until I joined the RAF at 17. Scouting is all about independence, teamwork, self-discipline and survival  and the last two qualities held me in good stead when I was taken captive.

6 MAJOR GRATITUDE

In 2016, Sir John Major spoke at a 25th reunion dinner of British and US air crew and special forces taken hostage in the first Gulf War, at the RAF Club in London, and he signed his memoirs for me.

The former PM expressed his gratitude for all that wed done, and spoke movingly of the responsibility he felt sending into battle men and women the same age as his son, some of whom he knew would never return.

As told to York Membery. Lancaster: The Forging Of A Very British Legend by John Nichol (Simon & Schuster, 20) is out now. Twitter: @JohnNicholRAF
It has been nearly two years since the tragic limousine crash in Schoharie County that killed 20 people. This week, the National Transportation Safety Board finally released its long-awaited report on the crash, laying the blame for the crash on the limousine operator and the state, and placing blame for the delay in the report's release on the Schoharie County district attorney and the state police.

Reporter Larry Rulison has been following the story since that fateful October day in 2018 and studied the reports findings in depth. On this week's episode of The Eagle, he talks about what he gleaned from the report.
A United Airlines plane takes off above American Airlines planes on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on October 1, 2020.

Airline stocks rallied Friday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed additional aid for the battered sector but an attempt by a key Democrat to get legislation approved in the chamber failed later in the day.

Pelosi had asked airlines to delay more than 33,000 furloughs that have already started this week after the terms of a $25 billion federal payroll support package passed in March expired. That aid, meant to help airlines cope with a plunge in bookings because of the coronavirus pandemic, prohibited job cuts until Oct. 1.

Pelosi said the additional aid could be part of a stand-alone bill just for airline support or broader coronavirus legislation.

"As relief for airline workers is being advanced, the airline industry must delay these devastating job cuts," Pelosi said in a statement.

But Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, was unable to get through a vote by unanimous consent for legislation to provide more aid for airline payrolls.

Other options include another stand-alone bill that was introduced by two Senate Republicans last month and a potential broad coronavirus package that has been fraught with disagreements between House Democrats and the Trump administration.

Airlines have pleaded with lawmakers and the White House in recent weeks for $25 billion more to preserve jobs through March 2021 after a significant rebound in travel failed to materialize over the summer. The proposal for more federal airline support won bipartisan backing, but has been called into question after talks for a national coronavirus relief package that could include that faltered this week, prompting airlines to begin their furloughs.

Airline stocks gained on Pelosi's comments. Shares of American Airlines, which Thursday started furloughing 19,000 workers, more than any U.S. airline, gained 3.3% to close at $13. United Airlines shares added 2.4% to end at $36.01. The Chicago-based carrier announced more than 13,000 furloughs this week.

The two airlines make up the vast majority of the planned furloughs and told employees this week that they would reverse course if Congress approves the additional $25 billion in payroll support.

"As we said earlier this week, we are eager to reverse the furlough process once Congress has passed legislation to extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program, but they need to act quickly," United said in a statement Friday. "We're hopeful that the widely expressed, bipartisan support for saving airline jobs will lead to a legislative breakthrough soon."



The tally of more than 33,000 furloughs starting this week doesn't reflect the extent of the job loss hitting the airline industry. Tens of thousands of other employees accepted buyouts and temporary leaves of absence that airline executives urged as they scrambled to cut costs.

Southwest Airlines doesn't expect to have to furlough workers this year for that reason but CEO Gary Kelly warned employees Thursday that without additional aid, job and pay cuts are possible in the future. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said the carrier doesn't expect to furlough workers, with the exception of pilots, though it's negotiating a cost-cutting plan with the pilots' union.

More than 17,000 of Delta's workforce opted to leave the company permanently, about a fifth of its pre-pandemic staff.
Ahead of the court proceeding against Angelina Jolie for the custody of five of her six children, Brad Pitt assembled his witness list. These are the supposedly containing the name of one of his ex-wife's former co-stars.

Brad Pitt wants Jillian Armenante, Angelina Jolie's co-star in the 1999 film "Kid, Disrupted" to testify in the forthcoming custody lawsuit, according to a story in Us Weekly. The witness list was submitted in court by his lawyers on September 21.

Jillian Armenante additionally worked with Jolie in the films Maleficent and A Mighty Heart. The 52-year-old is well known for her performance in Judging Amy. She has also starred in The Mayor, Desperate Housewives, Vice, Hawthorne, and Fresh Off the Boat.

Links are reported to have fallen down in recent weeks between Brad and Angelina. A source told US Weekly that conflict was 'escalating' between them ahead of the hearing.

Why did they separate?

The article also notes that the "Ad Astra" star is already willing to testify and get Jolie. Brad Pitt's former partner applied for divorce in 2016 after two years of marriage and 12 years of living married, cross-examined by his lawyers. A psychiatrist, defense experts, and several counselors are listed in the witness list lodged by the 56-year-old.

In April last year, the former pair who fell in love on the sets of their 2004 film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" was legally announced as single. Still, the case's financial and custody issues are yet to be taken care of in court. The custody hearing is set to occur from October 5 to October 23 over their five minor children - Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12.

Pitt and Jolie share Maddox who turned 19 this year in August and has free will to be with any parent. It is, however, acknowledged that Jolie-Pitt's eldest child has no good relationship with his dad.

After visiting their twins in June 2020, Brad was spotted leaving his ex-wife's LA home on his motorbike again.

It is now said that the Troy star is 'at war' with Angelina about how much time he will spend with Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and Knox and Vivienne, 12-year-old sisters.

Angelina gave an interview with Harper's Bazaar last December. She explained how she wished to move somewhere in the United States, but she can't because of Brad.

The actress discussed her intentions with the publication, stating she "would love to move overseas and would do so as soon as my kids are 18."

Angelina stated that because of her ex-husband, her travel plans were still on hold.

Ongoing court proceedings

The custody hearing arrives weeks after Jolie threatened to withdraw from the court, the private judge supervising their divorce proceedings. Brad refused to reveal his professional arrangement with one of his lawyers. However, Judge John W. Ouderkirk dismissed the 45-year-old 's assertion, who also presided over the duo's wedding in 2014.

Ouderkirk insisted that "he would have to consider taking more cases and there might be more new cases from time to time when the case of Jolie / Pitt is already ongoing."
As Nigeria prepared for independence from British colonial rule, the hopes were high of the birth of a great nation, one which was touted as the giant of Africa and even a potential superpower on the world stage.

Tam Fiofori, a Nigerian documentary photographer who was 18 at independence in 1960, recalled what the pulse of the nation was like at the time.

There was a general feeling of great national expectations in the air leading up to independence, the septuagenarian said. Everybody, particularly young people, envisaged a great united Nigeria that would hold its own compared to newly independent countries like India, Ghana and most importantly would emerge as the leading Black nation in the world with potential to become a first world country soon.

After independence, things moved very fast for Nigeria. Just five years after independence on October 1, 1960, a bloody coup ushered in the military into government. A counter-coup was followed by a civil war that left millions dead and two failed attempts to restore civil dispensations before Nigeria finally returned to democratic rule in 1999.

Between independence and now, 14 men have run Nigeria under 16 administrations, eight of them with military backgrounds. Two of these men, Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, both led as soldiers and elected civilian presidents.

In this analysis, PREMIUM TIMES chronicles how these men took and left power.

First Republic

Nigeria remained a British territory with Queen Elizabeth II as the titular head of state represented by a Nigerian governor-general in the person of Nnamdi Azikiwe. But Tafawa Balewa as the prime minister held executive power as the head of the federal cabinet.

That changed in 1963 after Nigeria became a republic, and the governor-general became a non-executive president. At independence, there were three regions  western, eastern, northern regions, but the midwest region was later created out of the western region in a bid to stave off ethnic conflict.

Mr Balewa, who was born in December 1912 in present-day Bauchi State, was reelected as prime minister in 1964 and Mr Azikiwe retained his position as the ceremonial president.

Usually referred to as Zik, Mr Azikiwe was born in Zungeru, Northern Nigeria in 1905 and died in May 1996, aged 91.

But Mr Balewa was murdered during Nigerias first military coup on January 15, 1966. After the shock of his murder, riots broke out in what has been recorded in history as a pogrom against the Igbo people across Northern Nigeria. This was because the January coup was carried out by mainly Igbo speaking junior officers and spared Igbo political and military leaders while many from the other regions were killed.

The coup marked the end of the First Republic and introduced Nigerian soldiers to the intoxicating wine of political power.

Second Republic

Mr Balewa, and his political leader and premier of the northern region, Ahmadu Bello, were among the leaders assassinated in the putsch tagged Operation Damisa (Operation Tiger) and led by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, an army major, Max Siollun, wrote in his riveting political thriller, Nigerias Soldiers of Fortune: The Abacha and Obasanjo Years.

The coup failed and General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, the general officer commanding (GOC) the Nigerian Army, became the head of state on January 17, 1966, aged 42, a position he held for 194 days before northern army officers killed him and sacked his government in a countercoup.

The officers behind the counter-coup of July 29, 1966, included Captain Theophilus Danjuma, Lieutenant Muhammadu Buhari, Lieutenant Ibrahim Babangida and Lieutenant Sani Abacha and were led by Major Murtala Mohammed. Four of those five would later rule Nigeria.

Their intent, Mr Siollun wrote, was the secession of northern Nigerian but they later dropped the idea and handed power to Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon, who was seen as a safe choice due to ethnic tension in the country at the time.

The tension worsened and an attempt by Ghanaian leaders to broker peace through the Aburi Accord in January 1967 failed after Mr Gowon reneged on the accord and the Eastern Region, then led by Lieutenant Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu refused to accept Mr Gowons leadership and insisted on breaking away to form the Republic of Biafra.

The differences soon boiled over and in May 1967, Mr Ojukwu declared Eastern Nigeria as the sovereign republic of Biafra.

To thwart the secession, the federal military government promulgated a decree dividing the four regions into 12 states in an attempt to break the power of the regions. But then, the battle line was drawn and the civil war started on July 6.

Over two years of fighting between the Nigerian and Biafran troops resulted in heavy casualties, mostly civilians and children. The war ended after the Biafran troops surrendered on January 15, 1970, with Mr Ojukwu fleeing to Cote dIvoire.

Mr Ojukwu returned to Nigeria in 1982 and became a politician until he died in 2011, aged 78.

After the war, Mr Gowon moved to repair the ruins of the war with proceeds from the oil boom of the 70s, but allegations of widespread corruption were rife, bringing discontent within the army. He was ousted on July 29, 1975, while attending an OAU (now AU) summit in Kampala, Uganda.

The putschist appointed Brigadier Murtala Muhammad as the new head of state and Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo as his deputy.

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Mr Siollun described Mr Muhammed as having a charisma that occasionally verged on overbearing. He said the former war commander was involved in war crimes, one of which was the summary execution of Biafran prisoners of war.

Mr Muhammed began moves, in 1976, to build a new Federal Capital Territory for which the Justice Akinola Aguda-led panel proposed Abuja. He also created seven new states of Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Imo, Niger, Ogun, and Ondo.

On February 13, 1976, he was killed at the age of 37 in an abortive coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Buka Dimka. Mr Dimka was publicly executed three months after.

Mr Muhammed was succeeded by his deputy, Olusegun Obasanjo, who conducted a transition to civil rule programme and handed over power to elected President Shehu Shagari on October 1, 1979.

Mr Shagari became Nigerias first democratically elected president after his National Party of Nigeria won the 1979 presidential election. Alex Ekwueme was his deputy.

Encyclopedia Britannica noted that the economic crisis of the early 80s shook the Shagaris administration as it shopped for bailouts from the International Monetary Funds. Mr Shagari cut his budget and expelled over two million foreigners, mostly Ghanaians, in a measure that would be known as Ghana Must Go.

Mr Shagari was reelected in 1983 in a controversial poll. Three months into his new term, he was toppled in a bloodless coup on December 31, 1983, that brought Major General Muhammad Buhari to power.

Mr Shagari died in 2018 aged 93.

Third Republic

Mr Buhari alongside his deputy Tunde Idiagbon justified the coup by citing widespread corruption and the countrys flailing economy. They introduced a war against indiscipline and adopted conservative economic policies. Many allegedly corrupt politicians were sentenced to long years in jail by tribunals presided over by soldiers.

In August 1985, Mr Buhari was overthrown in a coup led by his army chief, General Ibrahim Babangida, and detained till 1988.

Mr Babangidas administration was believed to be one of the most corrupt in Nigerian history and was further infamous for assassinating renowned journalist, Dele Giwa, then the editor of Newswatch. He was said to have been involved in every coup in Nigeria until he left power in 1993, surpassed only in the thirst for coup by his ally, Sani Abacha. Following a failed coup attempt against his regime, he moved the capital city from Lagos to Abuja on December 12, 1991.

Mr Babangida is most infamous for the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election won by Moshood Abiola. Mr Babangida cited national security as the reason for his action. He stepped aside in August 1993 after establishing an Interim National Government led by Ernest Shonekan. But the political crisis that he contrived lingered, and this paved the way for Mr Babangidas friend, General Sani Abacha, to seize power on November 17, 1993.

1993 was a year of farce  even by Nigerian standards. It featured a presidential election that cost 15% of GDP, only to be retroactively declared void; the military displacement of a civilian government; and three different governments in three months, Mr Siollun wrote in his book.

Perhaps the militarys greatest contribution to Nigerias democracy was to rule long and badly enough to thoroughly ruin its reputation and disabuse the public from considering it as an alternative government to civilians, he added.

Mr Babangida is now 77 and he resides in his hilltop residence in Minna. Ernest Shonekan, the man he appointed to head the ING but who was kicked out three months later by Mr Abacha, is now 84.

Mr Abachas turn in power was marked by brutality and kleptomania. Critics were jailed and many were killed, including Ogoni activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa. For declaring himself as president, Mr Abiola was kept in jail by Mr Abachauntil he died on June 8, 1998. Mr Abachas regime, however, made some progress on the economic front.

He died of heart attack, aged 54 while in office.

The next day, General Abdulsalami Abubakar was sworn in.

Fourth Republic

Mr Abubakar transferred power to Olusegun Obasanjo on May 29, 1999, after the latter won the years presidential election.

Mr Abubakar, 78, is the current chairman of the National Peace Committee.

Mr Obasanjo, who defeated Olu Falae in the election, served two-terms of four years each. His administration made moves to restore Nigerias battered foreign image and embarked on a massive privatisation scheme among other reforms. He has since retired to his Ota hometown where he occasionally critiques successive governments.

A move to alter the constitution and grant Mr Obasanjo a third term in office was quashed at the Senate. Having failed, the controversial election of 2007 ushered in Umaru YarAdua who was handpicked by Mr Obasanjo.

Upon assuming office, Mr YarAdua declared his asset, the first Nigerian president to do so. He introduced electoral reforms, granted amnesty to Niger Delta militants but could not realise his seven-point agenda due to ill health.

After months of medical treatment abroad, he died in Nigeria on May 5, 2010, aged 58. Three months before his death, using the doctrine of necessity, the Senate had transferred power to his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, as acting president.

Mr Jonathan completed that tenure, and he won the 2011 election. His tenure faced lots of security challenges, particularly the Boko Haram insurgency. This culminated into his defeat in the 2015 election to Muhammadu Buhari, the first time an incumbent would be so defeated. He also conceded defeat, a feat rarely seen in Africa. Mr Jonathan has since been on peacekeeping missions across Africa.

Mr Buhari won reelection in 2019, defeating Atiku Abubakar, making him and Mr Obasanjo Nigerias only presidents to serve as military heads of state and elected presidents.
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey has firmly put its weight behind oil-rich Azerbaijan as a decades-old territorial dispute flared anew into an armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region situated within Azerbaijan controlled by Armenia-backed ethnic separatists.

Turkey, a NATO member with regional and global aspirations, has vowed to support longtime ally Azerbaijan on the battlefield or the negotiating table, if needed. However, the Turkish government has denied Armenian claims that it is sending Syrian fighters and F-16 combat jets to assist Azerbaijani forces in the conflict that broke out Sunday.

Heres a look at what lies behind Turkeys support for Azerbaijan, its involvement in the conflict and its implications.

WHY IS TURKEY SUPPORTING AZJERBAIJAN?

Turkey and Azerbaijan are bound by strong ethnic, cultural and historic ties and refer to their relationship as being one between two states, one nation. Turkey was the first country to recognize Azerbaijans independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the two have forged robust economic ties. Turkey is the main conduit for Azerbaijans oil and gas exports, and the ex-Soviet republic has become a major investor in Turkey.

On the other hand, Turkey has no diplomatic relations with Armenia and sealed its border with the nation in 1993 to show solidarity with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. Relations between Armenia and Turkey already were tenuous due to the the mass killings and deporations of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago, Scholars consider those events to be the first genocide of the 20th century, which Turkey denies.

In 2009, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stepped back from reconciliation efforts with Armenia that had angered Azerbaijan. Erdogan made the establishment of formal ties with Armenia conditional on its withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh.

HOW IS TURKEY INVOLVED IN THE CONFLICT?

Turkeys military has been training Azerbaijani officers for decades. In August, their armed forces conducted large-scale military exercises in Azerbaijan. Turkey is also Azerbaijans third-largest supplier of military equipment after Russia and Israel. It is known to have sold drones and rocket launchers, according to Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara director of the German Marshall Fund. Turkey may have sent military drone operators to help Azerbaijan in the current fighting, he said.

Turkey has repeatedly said that it would come to Azerbaijans aid, if asked, but there is no evidence so far that Turkey is actively involved in the conflict. Ankara has asserted that Azerbaijan has the capacity to fight without Turkish support.

The Turkish government has denied sending Syrian mercenaries to help Azerbaijan in the battle even though the Britain-based opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that as many as 850 Syrian fighters have arrived in Azerbaijan.

Turkey has also dismissed as propaganda claims by Armenia that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down an Armenian SU-25 jet.

Turkeys military involvement in the conflict for now is more rhetoric than substance, Unluhisarcikli said.

WHAT IS RUSSIAS POSITION?

Although Russia and Armenia do not share a border, Armenia is a close Russian ally of Russia in the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian seas, including hosting a large Russian military base. The base, with a garrison of about 3,000 soldiers, is in Gyumri, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) west of Nagorno-Karabakh and less than 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from the Turkish border.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has characterized the base as a key bulwark against a possible Turkish invasion.

Armenia and Russia are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a military alliance of some former Soviet republics, not including Azerbaijan, raising the possibility that Armenia could call for military help from the alliance. Pashinian this week said he does not see an immediate need for calling on Russian forces to take action.

WHATS AT STAKE FOR TURKEY?

Experts see Turkeys hardline rhetoric against Armenia as part of Turkeys aspirations for global and regional leadership and Ankaras increasing efforts to resolve disputes through gunboat diplomacy.

The country has flexed its military muscle in Syria in a bid to prevent Kurdish militants from entrenching in a border region, in Libya where it has sided with the Tripoli-based government to safeguard a maritime delimitation agreement, and in the eastern Mediterranean where it sent a search vessel, accompanied by warships, to explore for energy in disputed waters with Greece.

Wherever there is a problem, Turkeys tendency has been to militarize the problem, the Marshall Funds Unluhisarcikli said.

With the conflict threatening to draw Russia in, experts think Azerbaijan will act with caution and limit any Turkish intervention.

The support that Azerbaijan would request (from Turkey) would fall beneath the threshold that would anger Russia, Unluhisarcikli said.

___

Associated Press writer James Heintz in Moscow contributed.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Candidates for Staten Islands lone congressional seat raised concerns this week about a botched mail-in voting operation for ballots sent to Brooklyn.

The New York City Board of Elections (BOE) said a contracted companys processing error may have led to the distribution of as many as 100,000 ballot packages that contained name and address errors. A BOE spokeswoman said the ballots were distributed throughout Brooklyn.

Rep. Max Rose and Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis both issued statements first reported by The City about the topic, and how it might affect the Brooklyn portion of the congressional district ahead of the Nov. 3 Election Day.

My sole focus right now is on making sure my constituents' votes are not discounted because of incompetence by the BOE or its vendors, the incumbent Rose (D-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) said.

Its important we communicate facts, not rumors, and speak with one voice. Now more than ever, its critical that everyone makes a plan to vote  be it in-person early or on election day, or by mailing it in or dropping it off at a poll site, he continued.

Malliotakis (R-East Shore/South Brooklyn) pointed out that, thankfully, there had not yet been any issues on Staten Island, and said there were some voters in the Brooklyn part of the district affected.

She brought up older voters and those with preexisting conditions with safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Malliotakis said the BOE needs to deploy more staff to help address voters worried about the problem.

This is the latest example of errors that have plagued the BOE in recent years and perhaps the most serious when you consider the number of voters planning to vote absentee due to COVID-19, she said. Sadly, this episode confirms what many have said; the best way to ensure that your vote is counted, is to vote in person.

BOE officials have blamed the error on a vendor contracted for ballot processing, and on Tuesday, BOE Executive Director Ryan said the company had agreed to pay the cost of redistributed ballots to the voters who were possibly affected. Ryan added that the problem had been isolated to Brooklyn in the initial print run.

In addition to public notices on social media and other means of communication, the BOE will be reaching out directly to each of the possibly affected voters to explain what happened and what steps each voter needs to take.

It is essential that confidence be established in this process and that we make certain that all of the voters who potentially have a problem have a full and fair opportunity to remedy that problem, he said.

The president of Phoenix Graphics, the company responsible for the error, issued a statement saying less than 1% of the ballots to be sent to Brooklyn and Nassau county were affected, and that future mailings would not be affected.

Phoenix Graphics is in the process of reprinting and mailing all materials to correct the project and will be covering all expenses related to production and postage, Sal DeBiase said.

Statement from Phoenix Graphics re absentee ballot issue: pic.twitter.com/vjibOwcFtF  Phoenix Graphics (@PG_Rochester) September 30, 2020

Expanded mail-in voting due to the coronavirus has become a nationwide issue with President Donald Trump repeatedly calling the practice into question ahead of the election. There have been isolated incidents of ballot errors, but little evidence of widespread fraud.

A database kept by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, with instances dating back to 1982 has found only 1,298 cases of proven instances of voter fraud.

The organization points out that it does not consider the database to be an exhaustive or comprehensive list, but intends it to demonstrate the vulnerabilities in the election system and the many ways in which fraud is committed.

In an apparent effort to avoid any perception of impropriety, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo attempted to have the BOE, which he has no control over, resend only the corrected absentee ballot return envelope instead of the entire ballot package, according to a report in the New York Post.
When Tara Jackson started planning her wedding 18 months ago, she imagined a big celebration with 120 friends and family. But then the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to large gatherings.

Next week, Tara and partner Zach will get married in front of three other people on the public grounds of a winery on the Mornington Peninsula. With family members stuck interstate, the two legal witnesses will be good friends.

Rima Khachou and Lindsay Rattray are sick of putting off their wedding . Despite COVID they will be married in November. Credit:Jason South

Some people might be upset at such a big compromise, but she is taking it in her stride.

"It's forced us to think about why we're getting married, you don't need to spend 200 bucks a head to invite the partner of someone who you don't like," she said.
A police officer with the Accra Regional Criminal Investigations Department, Lance Corporal Bright Akosa, and two others have been nabbed by the Anti Robbery Unit of the police in connection with a robbery and murder.

According to the Director-General of the CID, COP Ken Yeboah, the police officer used his service weapon to allegedly kill a taxi driver, 46-year-old Samuel Tawiah, during the robbery.

The three have been prosecuted, charged and remanded into police custody after arrests were made on September 14.

The policeman and his accomplice were offering a Nissan Versa taxi for sale in Cape Coast when they were arrested, COP Ken Yeboah said to the press on Friday morning.

The police officer had gone to Pokuase to hire the taxi to Adjei Kotoku under the guise of going to visit his building site.

Unknown to the taxi driver, one of the suspects, Ebenezer Tetteh, was hiding in a nearby bush.

When the Lance Corporal got to the spot, he directed the taxi driver to stop the vehicle, and then he shot him twice as the driver was sitting behind the steering wheel.

Ebenezer then emerged from his hideout, pulled the deceased taxi driver and the policeman shot him again to ensure he had died. They left him in the bush, the CID boss continued.

The suspects then moved to the Central Region to sell the taxi for GHS8,000 to the third suspect.

---citinewsroom
Fairfax said that while grand juries do vote to indict in most cases before them, he takes more of a nuanced view on their reputations as simply obeying prosecutors. Fairfax said he believes that their tendency to vote to indict may stem from prosecutors being the ones picking the cases, so they know which will be the strongest and can adjust their presentations to bring in more evidence if jurors seem unconvinced.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Photos Getty

News that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump had contracted the coronavirus may have sent shockwaves through the nations capital as it awoke Friday morning. But for those who worked for the president, the surprise was that it had taken this long to get to this point.

The White House may house some of the most important figures in government. But for months, the testing protocols to screen potentially infectious individuals have been more lax than the presidents aides present to the public.

Olivia Troye, a former senior adviser for the White House coronavirus task force, said in an interview Friday morning that the majority of people who work in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which houses most offices for White House staffers, werent getting tested daily when they went into the West Wing for meetings.

I knew this because you have to be on the list to get tested and I know from talking to them, Troye recalled. It was going to be a time constraint and a resource constraint These were more junior staffers who werent seeing the president, but from what we know about how this virus spreads, that wasnt keeping people safe.

Conspiracy-Theory Twitter Is Going Nuts Over Trumps COVID Diagnosis

As of Friday morning, it remained unclear just how Trump and the first lady contracted COVID-19. Their diagnosis came on the heels of news that the presidents top aide Hope Hicks had tested positive and self-isolated on the ride on Air Force One on Wednesday night. But there was no evidence or confirmation that Hicks had passed the disease to her boss, or vice versa.

Nevertheless, the news called into question exactly what type of protocols the Trump administration had put in place to ensure that the deadly virus would not enter the White House compound or spread once in there. (While the EEOB is a separate building from the White House, aides frequently walk between the two.)

Two individuals familiar with the matter said that after National Security Adviser Robert OBrien tested positive for the virus July 27, the White House implemented a new testing policy that said all officials and staffers in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building agree to random coronavirus testing. It marked the first time the White House made it mandatory for employees to get tested, despite several individuals testing positive before that date. But, as outlined in a memo The Daily Beast previously obtained, there were still holes in the plan: Not every official was tested every day.

Story continues

They basically picked names out of a hat, one official said.

Under the testing regimen, the failure to report to testing would be considered a refusal to test, while an individual could defer testing based on a compelling need. Exceptions included those who had teleworked for more than 30 days or planned to in the following two weeks, employees on approved leave or on official travel, or people who were not in the immediate vicinity of the building during testing hours.

There were, officials said, other problems with the testing protocols. For starters, staffers in the EEOB said they have been concerned about the accuracy of the tests administeredswab tests with near immediate results. And one other EEOB official said that while not everyone in the building has been required to work from the office, some individuals who experienced symptoms over the last several months were able to stay at work before securing a time to be tested.

At the White House, those entering the compound had reportedly been required to take Abbott point-of-care swab tests. But scientists said those have mixed results and its unclear what tests are being administered now. Over time, the universe of those subjected to testing has been decreased to those who work closely with the president. The White House does not mandate the wearing of face masks either.

All those in close proximity to the president are tested beforehand, said White House spokesperson Judd Deere. Per CDC guidelines, face coverings are recommended.

In the wake of the Trumps positive tests, on Friday morning, Melania Trumps chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, told The Daily Beast that all East Wing staff continues to telework.

Trump Allies: China Infected Trump With COVID-19

Troye, a longtime Republican who also worked as a counterterrorism adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, decried the culture of the Trump White House, instilled from the top down, of frequently disregarding public-safety and pandemic-era guidelines while at work.

We should be protecting the president and the White House. We shouldnt be sitting on top of each other in the Situation Room in meetings, like we were for so long, she said. It was a frustrating thing to watch and happen because there are still people on the White House staff who I know very well who dont take it seriously. You walk into the West Wing, there are signs saying you should be wearing masks, but hardly anybody followed the protocol. And even when you did wear a mask, it felt awkward.

Im actually surprised that it took this long, she added.

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This is the dramatic moment kidnappers snatch a baby from its mother's arms as she walks along a crowded street in Guatemala.

The kidnapping took place in Zacapa, around 70 miles from the capital Guatemala City, on September 30.

Shocking CCTV footage shows the baby snatchers speed up to the mother and wrench the young baby boy from her during a violent struggle.

The mother is seen walking up the street holding her baby in Zacapa, Guatemala on Wednesday seconds before the kidnappers attack. The two men can be seen crossing the street towards her on a motorbike

The men appear to be laying in wait for her in a side-street on a motorbike which they use as a getaway vehicle.

The passenger jumps off and snatches the baby while his accomplice gets ready to speed off.

The mother puts up a defensive fight, attempting to grab her baby back, but the man hits her and knocks her to the ground in the 25-second struggle.

A stray dog can be seen running up to the kidnappers and appears to try to intervene but none of the other by-standers who witnessed the abduction tried to stop it.

CCTV footage captures the vicious struggle between the woman and the baby snatchers who wrench the baby boy from her arms and knock her to the ground

A stray dog can be seen running over to the scene as the mother gets up from the ground and the two men speed off on a motorbike with the baby

The neighbourhood where it had occurred has been named as Tamarindal.

Yesterday police confirmed they had recovered the young boy and reunited him with his parents.

The baby is said to have been found abandoned at a disused railway station shortly after the kidnapping.

The reason the men snatched the child before abandoning it has not been revealed.

No arrests have yet been made.

Guatemalan police confirmed they had found the young boy (pictured in policeman's arms) in a disused railway station shortly after the kidnapping and he was reunited with his parents in a tearful reunion

Footage made available by Guatemala's national police force, PCN, showed the baby's tearful parents cuddling the youngster after an emotional reunion following a hospital check-up.

PCN spokesman Jorge Aguilar told local press they were still hunting the pair behind the baby snatch.

He said street cameras in the area had played an instrumental part in enabling officers to find and save the youngster.

Police delivered clothes, nappies and food to the child's family, described as a 'low-income family' once they were back at home.
WASHINGTONHealth and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, responding to Democrats concerns that President Donald Trump might try to rush out a COVID-19 vaccine before it is ready, told a House panel Friday that science would govern whether his department approves a vaccine.

In Azars first testimony on Capitol Hill since February, he told the Houses Coronavirus Crisis Subcommittee that career officials at the Food and Drug Administration, led by Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Peter Marks, would decide if a vaccine was safe and effective.

Still, Azar said that other officials, such as himself, bring years of experience to the table that can be useful in the debate over approving a vaccine.

The hearing came hours after President Donald Trump announced early Friday he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, following the diagnosis of close aide Hope Hicks. Azar said his own test had come back negative.

Azar declined to answer questions about whether he had advised Trump not to hold political rallies during the pandemic or whether Trump had directed him to slow down testing for the virus, saying he would not discuss private conversations.

Before the hearing, Democrats and Republicans on the subcommittee released dueling reports evaluating the Trump administrations response to the pandemic. The Democrats report outlines 47 cases of political interference with government scientists.

These incidents have degraded every major facet of the Administrations public health response, including efforts to provide Americans access to testing and personal protective equipment, develop treatments and vaccines, and provide scientifically sound advice to the public on masks, social distancing, and other steps to stay safe, the report says.

In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman James E. Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, called Trumps response to the virus a failure of historic proportion.

The Republican report argues that Trump offered an effective, national response, rebutting Democrats concerns that Trump left too much to the states to handle on their own.

Just because you dont want to read a plan doesnt mean there isnt a plan, said Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the top Republican on the subcommittee.

Republicans on the panel reiterated their view that Congress should investigate Chinas role in the spread of the virus.

Azar also told the panel that he did not support emailed statements by former aide Paul Alexander seeking changes in the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, which are relied upon for their non-partisan scientific information. Azar noted that Alexander no longer works for HHS. Alexander was a former senior adviser to Michael Caputo, the assistant secretary of public affairs who recently took medical leave.

There is a way to have discussion and debate that is proper, respectful, appropriate, Azar said. I do not know of any circumstance where anybody other than Dr. Redfield or Dr. Birx would have authority over determining the final publication of those reports, Azar said, referencing CDC Director Robert Redfield and Deborah Birx, the White Houses coronavirus response co-ordinator.

Azar also disagreed with a call by some administration officials to allow the virus to spread in the hope of attaining immunity among the population. Federal officials have estimated that about 70% of the public would have to be immune either through infection or vaccination to achieve so-called herd immunity. CDC estimates that roughly 10% of the U.S. population has had COVID-19.

Herd immunity is not the strategy of the U.S. government with regard to coronavirus, Azar said, adding that the United States may see slowing of transmission in hard-hit areas. Our mission is to reduce fatalities, protect the vulnerable, keep coronavirus cases down to the lowest level possibility.

Azar told the committee that he had ordered a strategic review of an approximately $300 million public relations campaign directed by Caputo meant to promote the administrations response. The funding was shifted from the CDC.

I also have taken steps to ensure that any products coming out of this campaign will be reviewed and approved by career public health officials, including from the CDC. he said.

The Surgeon General has cut ads to urge people to take appropriate health steps to limit their possible exposure to the virus. The next phase of the program would encourage people to get a flu vaccination and a third part would focus on urging people to get a vaccine for the virus that causes COVID-19 if one becomes available.

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Education Trends

Envisioning the Future of Higher Ed in a Post-pandemic World

In a recent ASU+GSV session, five college presidents gave their views of whats next for higher education.

What does the future of higher education look like? A panel of five university and college presidents offered their crystal-ball visions in a recent session during the recent ASU+GSV Summit, which took place online this week. Moderator Michelle Marks, chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver, asked panelists  each representing a unique higher education model  to look forward five years and beyond.

More Embedded Tech as a Given

For Eloy Oakley, chancellor of California Community Colleges, the largest system of public education in the country with 116 colleges and more than 2 million students, teaching and learning will certainly have more embedded technology. "Prior to the pandemic, we had been in a long and sometimes contentious conversation about how we leverage technology more. How do we help our faculty, reach more students, be more effective, gather more data about our students? And of course, there was a lot going on about whether or not we could ever do that," he said. "Well, here we are. We've advanced five years in a matter of five months in the use of technology. And that's something that we have to hold on to."

Oakley's hope is to use the current shift to online learning as a "steppingstone" to reach more adult learners. "States like California have had such a huge unemployment and underemployment of our adult worker population, and many of those jobs are not coming back. How do we leverage this opportunity to move students along, to help more individuals get back into the economy, and to ensure that our state remains prosperous?" That's a mission, he added, "that we've always been about. The question now is [can we] approach that mission very differently and be able to reach more students?"

More People, Lower Cost

Broader outreach and faster impact will also be at the heart of private liberal arts education too, suggested Carol Quillen, president of Davidson College, a 2,000-student, largely residential college outside of Charlotte, NC. "Those of us who are these traditional residential institutions have finally kind of caught up to looking at the challenge that we face as a sector, which is how do we educate more people at a lower cost more quickly and with a clear sense of the value of what we're doing?" she noted. "In five years, all of us will have a clearer sense of the role that we play in that broader project and that institutions like Davidson and many others will serve a broader range of learners in very different ways, as we continue to differentiate the sector and strive to ensure equity for all learners."

Continuous Skilling Beyond Degrees

"Continuous skilling" will play a big role in the college of the future, predicted Peter Cohen, president of the University of Phoenix, with 87,000 students, "largely working adults, largely moms with dependents already in their career and looking to get ahead." While the university is known for its online programs, it also operates 30 campuses around the country serving 5,000 students, all of whom were moved to online classes during the pandemic. "More than 85 percent of students come to the university in order to get a better job or get a better career," he said. "When you think about what the real responsibility of the university is, it's to help those people progress in their career. And we know that as we move forward with the changes in technology and the changes in jobs, those careers are going to change over time. The idea that you go to school once when you're young and you have the skills you need for life  long gone."
LONDON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- There's no doubt that travel is just plain different now, and Skyscanner has been keeping travellers up-to-date with the latest information to ensure they can make the most informed decision about when and where they can book a trip. Skyscanner's US traveller expert Mark Crossey answers common questions about what the airport experience looks like right now so you know what to expect when you take your next trip.

Before planning your next flight, Skyscanner strongly recommends reading the coronavirus travel advice from your local authorities and governments  such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of State  as well as the guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO), a reliable and trusted source of global news and information.

Wherever you're going, you'll find the latest detailed advice from Skyscanner on their coronavirus advice pages.

How can I prepare and pack for my flight?

"Before you start packing, consider whether you want to take just a carry-on or check a bag. It's recommended to travel light to help reduce the number of people who handle your luggage as well as your time in public spaces (i.e. waiting at baggage claim). Some airlines don't allow carry-on luggage, so make sure to double check the airline baggage terms."

"Our deep dive of the 12 most important things to pack tells you what to consider bringing as an add-on to your usual travel checklist . The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is warning passengers to strictly adhere to its packing specifications. Otherwise, you may be required to exit the security line to remove prohibited items, and then wait to re-enter for a second screening. This helps TSA reduce the number of times its officers need to touch passengers' belongings.

"Leading up to your departure, you should check airport websites for details regarding process changes or COVID-19 requirements. This includes your departure, connecting and arrival airports."

What's the best way to check in for my flight?

"Airports and airlines alike are working to make the travel experience as contactless as possible. In some cases, face-to-face contact at check-in desks is very limited, so you should plan to digitize the experience on your end as much as possible. That means checking-in online, installing the airline's app, and then downloading the e-pass to your smartphone. If you're unable to save a digital version, then you should print your boarding pass at home."

When should I arrive at the airport?

"To get to the airport, it's best to drive yourself or have someone you've been isolating with drop you off, if possible. While hourly and daily parking is still open, some airports have reduced or closed long-term parking facilities, so be sure to check the details for your departure airport.

"Airports are less crowded and have also adjusted to the "new normal" that we've all become accustomed to. You'll find signs encouraging social distancing, placards mandating mask-wearing, and plenty of hand sanitizing stations throughout the terminals.

"While TSA are reporting decreased traveller volume, this doesn't automatically mean shorter wait times as their staffing has been affected too. That in itself may add time to your pre-flight experience.

"In general, you should arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before a domestic flight and at least 3 hours prior to departure for an international flight. These guidelines vary by airport. Larger, busier airports may suggest arriving even earlier."

What is it like to go through an airport now?

"Measures vary by airport when it comes to enforcing safety and hygienic measures. In general, travelers are required to wear a mask and asked to maintain physical distancing of at least 6 feet from others. These protocols begin from the time you enter the airport and continue at the check-in desk, as you go through security, wait at the gate and board the plane.

"How will you know if these are mandates? Airports are promoting mask-wearing and social distancing measures in a variety of ways, such as on placards, digital displays, floor markings, and notices on chairs saying that they are closed off for seating.

"Some airports installed hand sanitizer dispensers for public use. It's recommended to bring your own bottle, too. TSA amended its list of prohibited items so travelers can bring personal hand sanitizer in their carry-on bag."

What should I expect at airport security?

"As a result of airport staffing reductions, fewer baggage screeners and body scanners are in operation. These changes sometimes equate to longer wait times at airport security. Though, depending on when you travel and which airport you use, the overall reduced volume of passengers may make your journey through the security line quicker than expected.

"Temperature checks aren't being widely conducted at security checkpoints in US airports during coronavirus. Travelers are asked to maintain social distancing in the security line, indicated by placards, digital signs, and stickers on the floor. TSA officers may ask passengers to scan their own boarding pass at the security desk to avoid contact. Some baggage screening areas have dividers along the conveyor belt to help encourage separation between travelers."

What is it like once I am through security? What is boarding like?

"We did a deep dive on what to expect on the plane and in the airport during coronavirus. The main takeaways are that many airport shops, restaurants, and facilities are temporarily closed or have reduced hours of operation. Others have limited offerings, such as takeaway food instead of sit-down dining. Travelers should consider bringing their own water bottle and snacks to hold them over during their journey.

"As for boarding the airplane, you can expect to maintain social distancing while you're in the boarding queue, as well as on the jetway. Airline staff may ask you to scan your own boarding pass to reduce contact. Depending on your final destination, you may be required to show a recent negative COVID test to even board the airplane. Check your destination's requirements as well as the airline's website to ensure you bring the proper paperwork.

"For those who want to travel with a pet, some airlines have implemented temporary restrictions. In general, passengers can bring their pet into the cabin. However, some pet cargo programs have been temporarily suspended since they cannot be conducted safely during the pandemic. Check with your specific airline to see what its current policies are.

"Once you arrive at your destination, it's possible that you may undergo a thermal scan or temperature screening. These are not widely in use in the United States, though some international airports abroad have employed the technology. Depending on your destination, you may need to show a recent negative COVID test to avoid a 14-day quarantine. This is destination-specific, so be sure to check the details of the local city, state, or country government website at least a week before you depart. Some require test results that are no older than 48 or 72 hours."

Notes to editors

Full article available here: https://www.skyscanner.com/tips-and-inspiration/airport-experience-arrival-to-departure

The world is slowly reopening to travelers. Read Skyscanner's latest coronavirus updates:

Coronavirus travel advice : From state-by-state travel restrictions to airline policies

: From state-by-state travel restrictions to airline policies Food and drink on flights : Everything you need to know

: Everything you need to know Wellness travel : why it's the post-coronavirus stress-buster you need

About Skyscanner

Founded in 2003, Skyscanner is a leading travel company dedicated to putting travelers first by making booking trips as simple as possible. Skyscanner helps millions of people in 52 countries and over 30 languages find the best travel options for flights, hotels and car hire every month. Skyscanner is available on desktop, mobile web and its highly rated app has 110 million downloads. Working with 1200 travel partners, Skyscanner's mission is to lead the global transformation to modern and sustainable travel.

For more information, visit: https://www.skyscanner.com/about-us

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A study conducted at 19 universities by IU researchers and their colleagues in the U.S. and Canada, found that a brief social belonging exercise, administered online before students arrive on campus, boosts the performance and persistence of students in STEM disciplines - science, technology, engineering and math - who speak English as a second language.

Published this week in the journal Science Advances, the study demonstrates that the exercise increases ESL students' perception that a sense of belonging on campus will grow over time. It also increases the number of STEM credits ESL students successfully completed, as well as their STEM GPAs.

As Jennifer LaCosse, an IU post-doctoral researcher and lead author on the study, explained, ESL students are greatly underrepresented in U.S. colleges, particularly within STEM fields, and their absence is a disadvantage both to the students themselves and the economy more broadly. Having a college degree, particularly in STEM fields, gives ESL students the opportunity to have higher paying jobs and more successful careers overall. It also creates a diverse and multilingual workforce that is needed to meet the needs of an increasingly globalized economy.

Results of the study suggest that one way to increase the representation and academic success of ESL students in STEM is to target their sense of belonging. "Students often ask themselves, 'Do I belong here?' and we know that this concern can undermine academic performance and persistence," said LaCosse.

Students who speak English as a second language often report concerns about not fitting in with native English-speaking students and a lack of social connections. In addition, many are required to pass language proficiency tests or enroll in special ESL courses during their first few years of college.

"These policies can metaphorically and literally separate ESL students from non-ESL students during the pivotal transition to college when feelings of belonging are critical," said LaCosse. "Finding ways of buttressing ESL students' feelings of belonging may be essential to their academic success--which is what we wanted to examine in our research."

The study utilized data collected at 19 universities from more than 12,000 STEM students by the College Transition Collaborative, a partnership co-founded by IU social psychologist and study co-author Mary Murphy. Students in the study who were randomly assigned to receive the social belonging treatment, read short stories attributed to juniors and seniors describing the challenges they faced in their transition to college. The students in the stories initially questioned the degree to which they belonged in college; and yet, with time they ultimately developed a greater sense of belonging. Study participants followed the readings with a writing exercise about their own experiences.

Results of the study revealed that both ESL and non-ESL students who received the social belonging exercise anticipated greater growth in their sense of belonging than students who received the control treatment. However, these psychological gains in belonging only bolstered the academic persistence and performance of ESL students. Specifically, STEM-interested ESL students who received the social-belonging exercise (vs. the control group, which did not) completed more of the STEM courses that they began in their first term in college--and this effect persisted through the first year. ESL students who completed the social belonging exercise also earned higher STEM GPAs in Term 1 than did their ESL peers who did not.

"People do not often think about ESL students as a disadvantaged group in the same way they do about other disadvantaged students, such as Black or women students," observed LaCosse. "The results of this study, however, provide rigorous empirical evidence that ESL students have similar psychological experiences to these other disadvantaged students."

As co-author Mary Murphy, IU professor of psychological and brain sciences noted, "Because of the large sample size across so many universities this is one of the first studies to quantitatively examine and mitigate this important psychological barrier for ESL students in STEM fields as they begin college."

"The findings are really exciting," said LaCosse, "because ESL students' psychological experiences in higher education have received far less attention than they deserve. Our research suggests that we need to rethink the policies and practices that are in place that create and maintain the underrepresentation of ESL students in higher education."

###

In addition to LaCosse and Murphy, other researchers on the team were Elizabeth Canning, assistant professor of psychology at Washington State University and former IU postdoctoral researcher in Murphy's lab; Nicholas Bowman, professor of education at the University of Iowa; and Christine Logel, associate professor of social development studies at Waterloo University.

Funding for the study was provided by the Raikes Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, and partner schools.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 06:16:22|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Jan. 26, 2018 shows interior of the final assembly building in Boeing South Carolina in North Charleston, South Carolina of the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Washington state governor said that Boeing's decision "falls hardest on the more than 1,000 Washington workers who build the 787, and many more who face uncertainty", threatening to review the partnership and the company's favorable tax treatment.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Jay Inslee, governor of the U.S. state of Washington, on Thursday said that Boeing's decision to move all 787 Dreamliner production to South Carolina is an insult to the aerospace workers of the state.

"Washington state remains the best place in the world to build airplanes. Boeing's success as a company is a credit to the workers and taxpayers of Washington state. Today's announcement is an insult to the hardworking aerospace employees who build 787s," Inslee said in a statement after the company announcing the decision on consolidating 787 Dreamliner production in a single location.

Boeing said on Thursday it will consolidate production of 787 jets at its facility in North Charleston, South Carolina, starting in mid-2021, according to the company's best estimate.

Boeing began assembling 787-8 and 787-9 airplanes at its Everett site in Washington state in 2007, and brought the North Charleston facility in South Carolina on line as a second final assembly line in 2010.

Photo taken on Jan. 26, 2018 shows a Dreamliner plane for delivery parking at the tarmac outside the final assembly building in Boeing South Carolina in North Charleston, South Carolina of the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

According to Inslee, he had asked Boeing's leadership what the company needed to keep 787 production in Washington state, but the company demanded nothing.

"I understand the serious market forces Boeing faces today. What I don't understand is why the company can't commit to restoring production here when the market for this plane improves," Inslee complained.

"This news falls hardest on the more than 1,000 Washington workers who build the 787, and many more who face uncertainty as a result of this decision," he noted.

Inslee reaffirmed in the statement that the aerospace industry will remain a major employer in the state with about 70,000 workers. The state is committed to maintaining support for those companies and workers.

Photo taken on Jan. 26, 2018 shows interior of the afterbody production building in Boeing South Carolina in North Charleston, South Carolina of the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

But Boeing's decision to take the 787 to South Carolina necessitates a review of their partnership and the company's favorable tax treatment, Inslee said, adding that "there remains a competitive business environment for aerospace manufacturing in our state."

The company in late July reported second-quarter revenue of 11.8 billion U.S. dollars, GAAP loss per share of 4.20 dollars, primarily reflecting the impacts of COVID-19 and the 737 MAX grounding. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted air travel and reduced near-term demand, resulting in lower production and delivery rate assumptions.

In Commercial Airplanes Programs, Boeing has delivered a total of 20 aircraft in the second quarter of 2020. The delivery included two 777Fs to China Southern Airlines in May. The backlog included over 4,500 airplanes valued at 326 billion U.S. dollars.

To align to the sharp reduction in commercial market demand in light of COVID-19, the company is taking several actions including further adjusting commercial airplane production rates and reducing employment levels. 
In Prince Georges County, there are five seats on the ballot, but District 1 incumbent David Murray and District 5 incumbent Raaheela Ahmed are unopposed. Bryan M. Swann, who was appointed to the District 4 seat by County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) to fill the unexpired term of Patricia Eubanks, is our choice. Mr. Swann, deputy director at the U.S. Treasury Department, brings needed financial expertise to the board, and as both the product of public schools and a parent of two children in the public schools, he understands the needs and priorities of the system. In District 7, we endorse Kenneth Harris II, an engineer who has been working at NASA Goddard Flight Center since he was 16. He has smart ideas to strengthen science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, education and create a classroom-to-internship pipeline. District 8 incumbent Edward Burroughs III is an official we have criticized in the past, but we are impressed with his determination to tackle the problem of persistently failing schools. He is the far better choice over his unqualified challenger.
Born in Tripoli, Libya in 1963, and fluent in the Turkish language, Richard Moore CMG, has been appointed the new Chief of MI6, this following the departure of Sir B Alex Younger. The vastly experienced and travelled 30-year career diplomat and intelligence man, who studied at Oxford University and Harvard, had previously held director roles in MI6 after joining the Service in 1987. Much of his work was conducted at MI6s overseas stations. He departed the Service in 2010, seeking a more balanced occupation in the Foreign Office.

Richard Moore, on credentials day at Ataturks ( Turkey) mausoleum with his wife, Maggie

Moore, 57, was one of several candidates (male and female) in running for the position, the favourite being Tom Hurd, a senior Home Office official and former Director-General of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism. In May 2020, Hurd was chosen to head the Joint Biosecurity Centre by Eton friend Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Two years ago there was much discussion the post would be assumed by a female for the very first time. The name of one candidate was constantly spoken about in the corridors of MI6 - a firm favourite for Chief, Eye Spy was told. She reportedly headed a network of MI6 officers and agents and was honoured by HM The Queen for her work. For obvious security reasons her name cannot be published. Two other females were also referenced by inside sources. The vastly experienced political players Dame Karen Pierce and Madeleine Alessandri. In February 2020, Alessandri was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office, and Pierce as UK Ambassador to the United States, thus ruling both women out of contention for MI6 Chief.

THE TRAVELLING MAN

Moore served as Deputy National Security Advisor in the Cabinet Office, and British Ambassador to Turkey from 2014 to 2017. He also served (diplomatic/intelligence) and operated in Vietnam, Malaysia and Pakistan. At the time of his appointment to lead MI6, he held the post of Director General for Political Affairs at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). FCO are the political overseers and financiers of MI6. One interesting fact relating to Moore was revealed freely by himself when he was appointed ambassador to Turkey. In Ankara, he told a news editor that he was the grandson of Jack Buckley, an IRA member based in Cork, Ireland, who joined the group at the onset of the uprising against the British. My grandfather fought against the British Government in the separatist Republican Army between 1916 and 1922, Moore said. He received a medal from the Irish President. Now I am the ambassador of the British Government.

After announcing Moores appointment, and noting his previous role in MI6, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: I am delighted to appoint Richard as the next Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service. He returns to SIS with tremendous experience and will oversee the work of a group of men and women whose tireless efforts are rarely seen in public, but which are critical for the security and prosperity of the UK. Downing Street Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill also added his congratulations: Richards experience in the intelligence field will prove vital in pursuing national interests overseas and protecting the UK from emerging foreign threats. Im confident Richard will be an excellent Chief, who will embody the values of the Service and act as a fine role model to SIS staff. Departing Chief, Sir Alex Younger, whose extended tenure made him the longest serving Chief for half a century, welcomed Moores appointment and return to MI6, describing him as a highly accomplished intelligence officer. John Sawers, who served as C for five years between 2009 and 2014, said: Mr Moore has the perfect blend of experience... running intelligence operations. He knows how intelligence is produced and how best to protect national security. Sawers called Moore calm, engaging, thoughtful and courageous. Mr Moore, who is married with two children said: I am honoured to be asked to return to lead my Service. SIS plays a vital role with MI5 and GCHQ in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas. I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave and dedicated team at SIS.





As for Sir Alex, who edged the Service a little more out of the shadows, Dominic Raab praised him for his astute leadership after guiding MI6 through a time of increased and more diverse threats.

HUMOUROUS AND SERIOUS

As Ambassador to Turkey, Moore played a key role in advocating Britain take a tough stance against those who plotted to bring down Turkeys President Recept Tayyip Erdogan in the 2016 coup deetat. Also whilst serving in Turkey, a newspaper accused a British agent of a bomb explosion initially attributed to ISIS. Alongside the story was a picture of Daniel Craig playing Bond. Asked by a Twitter user if he was going to respond, Moore tweeted: No I dont think so. Someone tell them James Bond is fiction... And in a reflection of changing times in the intelligence world, Mr Moores Twitter account at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, did not appear to impact on the decision to appoint him. Indeed, he liked a posting made by a Twitter user who wrote: The names Moore... Richard Moore. This, a reference of course to Roger Moore who played fictional MI6 officer James Bond in the 007 franchise. All this is suggestive that the new Chief has a sense of humour, but its doubtful he will continue to use the media platform in future months.

CHANGING TIMES

The corridors of Whitehalls diplomatic and security offices and British Intelligence are inextricably linked. This was part evidenced by the diplomatic backgrounds of a number of leading contenders to the post of Chief of Service. Mr Moores appointment comes at a time of much change at the highest echelons of British Intelligence. Ken McCallum recently took up his post as MI5 Director-General, and GCHQs fledgling, but powerful National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will soon have a new leader in the person of Lindy Cameron. She is an international development official skilled in post-conflict reconstruction.

Courtesy: Eye Spy




Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 01:08:25|Editor: huaxia

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-- Chinese citizens started their eight-day golden holiday on Thursday for the National Day and traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. The long holiday is a season of tourism and consumption boom that is set to inject momentum into China's recovering economy.

-- Amid regular epidemic control, hundreds of millions of Chinese will be traveling for family reunions or leisure staycations after some trying months due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

-- During the holiday, the total number of domestic tourists nationwide is expected to reach 550 million. Booming travel demand has driven the speedy recovery of the country's tourism and consumption sectors.

by Xinhua writers Li Laifang, Chen Aiping, Xu Xiaoqing, Li Hua

SHANGHAI/XI'AN, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese citizens started their eight-day golden holiday on Thursday for the National Day and traditional Mid-Autumn Festival.

The long holiday is a season of tourism and consumption boom that is set to inject momentum into China's recovering economy.

Amid regular epidemic control, hundreds of millions of Chinese will be traveling for family reunions or leisure staycations after some trying months due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Xu Jie, a 35-year-old photographer with the Shanghai-based Spring Tour travel agency, celebrated the National Day with 15 local tourists. They took a city walk, strolling along the Bund, an iconic scenic spot of the metropolis. He guided the visitors to catch sight of the magnificent sunrise on the Huangpu River.

"More and more people are developing a fondness for city walks, which can help them better understand the place. Especially since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, most people choose not to travel abroad to avoid risks of infection," said Xu.

Tourists visit a shop at Shanghai Disney Resort in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Spring Tour has launched such city-stroll services in Shanghai to help people develop a deeper understanding of the city's history and culture.

"Photowalks led by Xu sold out quickly after they were launched. City strolls involving coffee tasting or watching performances are also quite popular," said Ke Yiming, marketing manager of Spring Tour.

To speed up the recovery of domestic tourism amid regular COVID-19 control, China further eased restrictions by raising the limit on daily reception numbers at scenic spots, theaters and performance venues to 75 percent of their maximum capacity, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in mid-September.

During the holiday, the total number of domestic tourists nationwide is expected to reach 550 million. Booming travel demand has driven the speedy recovery of the country's tourism and consumption sectors.

Tourists visit the West Lake scenic area in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 1, 2020. (Photo by Jiang Han/Xinhua)

In the third quarter, the number of tourists at the A-level tourist attractions nationwide reached about 70 percent of that during the same period last year, while the numbers at some local tourist attractions were close to the figures seen over the same period last year.

"Thanks to the new measures to boost business resumption, China will embrace a stronger recovery of tourism and consumption," said He Jianmin, a professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

On Thursday, a scenic moat area along the city wall in northwest China's Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, opened to the public for free after renovations.

Luo Qiang, a tourist from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, arrived in Xi'an with his family members on Thursday morning after a 10-hour self-driving trip. They braved the drizzle to visit the city wall as the first stop of their planned six-day tour of the city.

Customers shop along the renovated East Nanjing Road Walkway in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

During the first hour and a half after opening, the number of tourists exceeded 1,000, said Cao Ling, spokeswoman for the Xi'an city wall scenic area. Strict disinfection measures were taken in all public areas each day, and the reception volume was kept below 75 percent of the maximum capacity, she said.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, on the first day of the holiday, more than 150 major tourist attractions in the city received 950,000 tourists, up 110 percent year on year. Shanghai's 90 museums held 46 temporary exhibitions and received 80,400 visitors, up 98.8 percent year on year.

The holiday features traditional customs as the Mid-Autumn Festival coincides with the National Day holiday. The traditional festival is marked by family reunions, with people eating mooncakes and enjoying lanterns and views of the full moon.

Customers buy mooncakes ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival at a supermarket in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Sept. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Famous bakeries and restaurants in Shanghai have developed new flavors for mooncakes, such as cheese mooncakes, and milk-and-tea mooncakes, to attract customers.

"The sales volume of our mooncakes so far this year has surpassed that of the same period last year," said Jiang Yong, assistant to the general manager of Godly, a Shanghai-based food company with nearly 100 years in the business.

Shanghai has planned more than 140 cultural and tourism activities for the holiday, including a lantern festival, according to local officials.

(Reporting by Li Laifang, Chen Aiping, Xu Xiaoqing, Li Hua; Video reporters: Sun Qing, Chen Jie; Video editor: Liu Xiaorui)








Local councillors have approved a 200,000 loan facility to help the Watershed leisure facility in Kilkenny replace a vital filter system for its swimming pool.

Its emerged the current system, which was due to be replaced after ten years, is now 12 years old and on its last legs. At a meeting last week, the councils head of finance Martin Prendiville told councillors that a grant of 1.4 million is in the works, but match funding of 800,000 is required.

With present uncertainty over the councils financial position due to the impact of Covid, it cannot commit to this: At the minute, we do not have that, Mr Prendiville said.

Watershed management spoke to the Department to see if the grant can be delivered in phases, but the Department has said it must be all the one.

Among other things, the grant was to be used to replace the filter system. Mr Prendiville said the council had been asked if it could provide a loan facility of 200,000 so that it can order and acquire the new filter system in the meantime. The consequences of not doing so, he said, would be significant.

If this system breaks down, the pool has to be closed, he said.

The pool accounts for more than half of the Watersheds revenue, and to close it would be a devastating blow to its finances as well as users. As with other leisure centres around Ireland, the pool was closed for several months during the initial Covid lockdown.

The filter will take several weeks to order and arrive from the US, and then install.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. There are injured in Artsakhs capital Stepanakert as a result of the recent strikes by Azerbaijan, while information about victims are being clarified, ARMENPRESS reports State Minister of Artsakh Grigori Martirosyan said.

A while ago Stepanakert was bombed, there are injured among the civilians, information on victims is being clarified right now. Civilian objects, residential buildings have been damaged. Various civilian objects, infrastructures, residential houses have been targeted during the recent days bombing, Martirosyan said.

Correspondent of ARMENPRESS reports from Stepanakert that according to still unconfirmed information the Azerbaijani armed forces struck a building in front of the Stepanakert military hospital, damaging also the building of the hospital.

Earlier today Azerbaijani forces fired Smerch rocket into Stepanakert, injuring dozens civilians.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
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In recent months, the relationship between law enforcement and some of the communities it serves has sharply deteriorated.

Just ask L.A. Sheriff's Capt. Duane Allen, Jr. For 32 years, he's worked for the Sheriff's Department in various assignments around the county.

Today, Allen commands the South L.A. Station, which has been the scene of angry protests over the fatal shooting of Dijon Kizzee by two deputies supervised by Allen. The demonstrations were only the latest in a series of protests over police conduct in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

Allen has seen people angry about policing before, but never like the last few months.

Sheriff's Capt. Duane Allen, Jr. (Courtesy L.A. Sheriff's Dept.)

"People are chanting that they want to know where my kids go to school and where my parents go to church," he told us. "I've never seen this before ... it's hostile."

Demonstrators, watchdog groups and civil rights organizations say law enforcement's reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests also exacerbated the mistrust. Separate lawsuits against the LAPD and the Sheriff's Department claim widespread instances of excessive force and other misconduct.

The lawsuit against the Sheriff's Department claims deputies hit demonstrators with batons, rubber bullets and tear gas, often without warning, and failed to issue a dispersal order prior to using force or arresting people.

The complaint also says deputies deprived detainees of basic human rights, refusing them access to food or water and holding them for long periods of time in small, poorly ventilated spaces while not wearing masks.

'HE OBVIOUSLY HATES POLICEMEN AND HE WANTS THEM DEAD'

Adding to the tension: the ambush attack on two deputies sitting in their car in Compton last month. The deputies were critically injured. Deonte Lee Murray, 36, has been charged with attempted murder.

Officials don't yet have information about a possible motive for the ambush, "other than the fact that he obviously hates policemen and he wants them dead," Sheriff's Capt. Kent Wegener said Wednesday.

The ambush wasn't the only recent attack against law enforcement. Twenty-nine-year-old Jose Cerpa Guzman is facing an attempted murder charge after he attacked an LAPD officer at the Harbor Station in San Pedro last Saturday, taking the officer's gun, pistol whipping him and pointing the weapon at the officer's chest.

On Tuesday, LAPD Chief Michael Moore reported 282 alleged felony assaults on officers so far this year -- up 156% from the same period last year. He said most occurred during protests, which also drew accusations of widespread police brutality -- and lawsuits against the LAPD and the Sheriff's Department.

'WE WERE UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THINGS...WERE GETTING BETTER'

Michael Fisher condemns attacks on law enforcement officers. He also feels betrayed by law enforcement.

Fisher is the pastor at Greater Zion Church in Compton. His congregation has worked hard to build a relationship with the Sheriff's Department -- even bringing food to the night shift.

Pastor Michael Fisher (Courtesy of Tyre Mills)

"We were under the impression that things were in fact getting better," he said, "until the videos started coming all the time."

It's not just video from around the country that worries Fisher. It's deputy shootings like that of Andres Guardado, who was shot five times in the back not too far from Fisher's church (the lawyer for the deputy who shot Guardado said he opened fire when Guardado, while lying face down on the ground, reached for a gun he had dropped), and reports of a deputy gang dominating the Compton station and using excessive force.

"It's as if the masks have come off, that this entire time, we were working with racists," Fisher said.

The pastor is quick to say he doesn't believe all sheriff's deputies are racist. After all, two of his nieces work for the department.

'VERY INTENSE' CONVERSATIONS

Across law enforcement agencies, cops are feeling the heat.

LAPD Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides oversees the agency's Community Safety Partnership, which places officers in specific neighborhoods -- mostly South L.A. housing projects -- for five years. The nationally recognized program has officers focus on solving problems rather than making arrests, said Tingirides.

They talk regularly to residents -- more than the average officer chasing the next radio call. Lately, the conversations have been about George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the Black Lives Matter movement and concerns about heavy-handed policing.

"Some of those conversations are very intense right now," Tingirides said. "Can they feel the tension in some areas and some communities? Absolutely."

LAPD Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides (Courtesy LAPD)

Past surveys have found people in poorer, Black, and Latino communities tend to be less happy with the policing they receive than people in whiter, wealthier neighborhoods.

A 2019 Pew Research Center survey found 84% of Black adults said they're treated less fairly by police than whites.

But dissatisfaction with law enforcement has grown, according to a recent Gallup poll that found just 48% of Americans have confidence in the police -- the lowest number since Gallup started asking the question nearly three decades ago.

The Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University is currently polling L.A. residents about their attitudes toward police, Director Fernando Guerra told us. (Guerra is an Honorary Life Trustee of our parent company, Southern California Public Radio.)

THIS IS NOT A NEW PROBLEM

The breakdown in trust occurred long before this year, said Patricia Guerra (no relation), director of organizing at the Community Coalition. For years, she's worried whenever her brothers come see her.

"When they visit me here in South Central L.A., I prefer to be the driver instead of them because in our neighborhoods, Black and brown men are specifically targeted," she said.

A 2019 Los Angeles Times investigation found LAPD officers with one elite unit stopped Blacks at a rate more than five times their share of the city's population. Chief Moore later said he would reduce the number of random car stops by the unit to address the problem.

"This is a systemic issue that needs to be addressed. It's beyond, like, the individual police officer," Patricia Guerra said. That's why many activists call for defunding the police -- or at least shifting large amounts of money from law enforcement to social and other services to help homeless and mentally ill people (who are often arrested for quality of life crimes or behavior considered anti-social).

Patricia Guerra (Courtesy of Community Coalition)

Guerra called out the Sheriff's Department in particular, because of Sheriff Alex Villanueva's refusal to cooperate with the Civilian Oversight Commission.

"When we have a sheriff that is not being held accountable," she said, "it's really hard to believe and trust what's being put out from the department."

Villanueva said recently that those who don't trust his department represent "a very narrow segment of the community." The "average person on the street" appreciates law enforcement, he added.

AT NIGHT, 'THIS OTHER REGIME' COMES OUT

Measuring support for law enforcement can be complicated.

When asked whether they want the police to spend more time, the same amount of time, or less time than they currently do in their neighborhoods, 61% of Black Americans want the police presence to remain the same, according to the Gallup poll. That's not far from the 67% of all adult Americans who gave the same answer.

But what matters is where police are and how they behave there, said Fisher of Greater Zion Church.

"By day, we're having cops who are trying to get to know the community and then by night -- and I am speaking figuratively -- you have this other regime that take their power and abuse it," he said.

The problem lies less with deputies and more with people's perceptions, according to Sheriff's Capt. Allen.

"People right now are very quick to make judgments on things. Nobody has any patience anymore," he said. "Everybody feels like they know exactly what happened right now -- and your judgements are based on preconceived notions."

For example, some protesters don't distinguish between when police shoot somebody who is armed and somebody who is unarmed.

For many, judgments are based on the explosion in videos of law enforcement interactions with people. George Floyd may be the most compelling example, but there are hundreds of others.

Allen hopes turning the cameras around will help build trust. The Sheriff's Department begins outfitting deputies with body worn cameras this month.

"It will give a very big boost to transparency in the community," he said.

The LAPD has had body-worn cameras for five years. Deputy Chief Tingirides says it will take more than outward-facing video to win hearts and minds.

"I think the biggest challenge right now is law enforcement understanding the history and the culture," she said, "and why people are feeling the way that they feel."

Without that understanding, cops may never gain the trust they need to make the transition recommended by President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing: from warriors to guardians.
Wendy Liberatore/Times Union

BALLSTON SPA - A Saratoga Springs woman who caused the death of 49-year-old John E. Stevens in a crash last year received one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in state prison.

On Friday in Saratoga County Court, Kelly A. Leonardi, 47, was sentenced after she pleaded guilty in March to vehicular manslaughter and assault after she allowed her car to drift in the opposite lane, killing Stevens, her passenger.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 19:16:11|Editor: huaxia

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COLOMBO, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Seventy people have died of and over 6,000 others were infected with rat fever in Sri Lanka so far this year, local media reported on Friday, quoting the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry.

According to the official statistics, 6,096 patients have been infected with rat fever till September, and the highest number of patients are reported from Ratnapura in south-central Sri Lanka.

According to the Epidemiology Unit, an increase in the number of patients was reported in January, February, and May.

In Ratnapura, over 1,300 patients were reported while in Kalutara, on the outskirts of Colombo, over 200 patients were reported. The southern town of Galle also reported over 200 patients.

In 2019, a total of 6,021 rat fever patients were reported across the country and the most vulnerable were farmers, drain workers, canal cleaners, and persons who swam and played in contaminated water.

According to medical officers, the symptoms for rat fever include fever, chills, conjunctival suffusion, muscle tenderness, headache, and a decrease in passing urine.

Those suffering from these symptoms should seek medical treatment immediately, the Epidemiology Unit said. Enditem
But Pastis most unusual aesthetic collaboration has been with his cook, Soufiane Lezaar, 37. The two met five years ago in Tangier, and while Pasti was impressed by the chefs skills in the kitchen, especially his fluency in European standards such as bouillabaisse and paella, he also encouraged his new employee to pursue his interest in sculpting with galvanized stainless-steel wire. Since then, Lezaars graceful tabletop trees, which appear whipsawed by the North African wind, have been sold at Londons Tristan Hoare gallery.

HOWEVER, ITS THE pairs obsession with collecting that truly binds them. While other homeowners might prefer their live-in cook keep an antiseptic apartment, Pasti celebrates Lezaars magpie urge to acquire, a compulsion facilitated by Tangiers famous flea markets. Virtually every crevice and curve of his 500-square-foot, three-room quarters at the rear of the 4,300-square-foot Tangerine-style house that Pasti shares with his partner, the 63-year-old French fashion designer Stephan Janson, is crammed with vintage finds. Layered with both story and history, the Mediterranean-style flat makes the main home  a whales vertebrae sit atop a 17th-century northern German wardrobe, above which hangs the border of a 17th-century Isfahan rug  feel airy by comparison. But Pastis belief is that Lezaars environment is less a cabinet de curiosite than a living Cornell box, the dioramas redolent with found objects by the 20th-century American artist Joseph Cornell. Its like entering someones inner world  their mind, Pasti says.
Photo: The Canadian Press B.C. Environment and Climate Change Strategy Minister George Heyman

The first debate to be announced during British Columbia's election campaign won't be among the leaders, but it will focus on a major issue in the campaign.

New Democrat candidate George Heyman, the B.C. Liberal's Peter Milobar and Green party candidate Adam Olsen will debate climate change and the economy in an online forum on Thursday.

Heyman served as minister of environment and climate change strategy in the NDP cabinet, Olsen acted as interim leader of the Green party before Sonia Furstenau's election, and Milobar was the Liberal party's labour critic.

The online debate is presented by the Pembina Institute, a non-profit organization advocating for clean energy, and Catalyst Business Alliance, a group of Canadian companies that support a cleaner economy.

A panel of B.C. business leaders will put questions to the three politicians and the audience will also have a chance to weigh in.
NJ Cannabis Insider produces premium, exclusive weekly content and monthly events geared toward those interested in the marijuana and hemp industries. Here are the headlines in Issue 134, published on Oct. 1. To subscribe, visit njcannabisinsider.biz

Decriminalization bill will not go to vote before Election Day

There wont be a vote before the Nov. 3 election on a bill that would decriminalize marijuana, a key state senator tells NJ Cannabis Insider.

But Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, said he would act immediately on the matter once voters decided whether to legalize the sale of marijuana to adults 21 and older.

We reported last month that Sen. Ronald Rice, D-Essex, demanded Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Scutari, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, to schedule Rices bill for a hearing.

When there was no response, Rice, who leads the Legislative Black Caucus, demanded Sweeney replace Scutari as chair. Sweeney took no action.

Rice vehemently opposes marijuana legalization. Scutari said he wont act on the decriminalization bill because he is concerned it may undermine the success of the ballot question to legalize marijuana. (By Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Read the full story by subscribing to NJ Cannabis Insider.

A new women-led organization launches with some familiar faces.

A new women-led cannabis nonprofit group popped up this week, with a few familiar faces in the leadership. Cannabis Advisory Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, launched this week with Jackie Cornell, 1906s chief of health and policy innovations, and Jackie Ferraro, the former head of communications for New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association, at the helm.

In a press release sent to NJ Cannabis Insider on Tuesday, the group said CAG arose out of conversations between Cornell and Ferraro about the need for improved education and communication about cannabis regulation between government agencies and the private sector.

Over the last several months, we have seen incredible growth and potential for cannabis expansion around the country, Cornell said. The Cannabis Advisory Group was born out of conversations that this is not merely an industry  it is a movement. Im excited to collaborate with a growing team of thought leaders to craft gold standards that engage and inspire expanding states. (By Justin Zaremba | NJ Cannabis Insider)

Read the full story by subscribing to NJ Cannabis Insider.

With Election Day a month away, we size up pro- and against campaigns for the Public Question.

Some of the states progressive organizations have publicly announced their support for the ballot question seeking to legalize marijuana in New Jersey by joining a growing coalition.

While quieter, the opposition remains.

Many people previously involved with Responsible Approaches to Marijuana Policy (RAMP), the former New Jersey chapter of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), have joined a new campaign, Dont Let NJ Go to Pot. Gregg Edwards, the executive director, said the organization formed in July with the intention of defeating the ballot question.

Im surprised at the number of people who I have spoken to who have said theyre in favor of legalization, but opposed to doing it this way, he said, noting how the question would amend the constitution, but does not set limits on THC content in products, or give much overview at all as to how the state would regulate cannabis. (By Amanda Hoover | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

This story first appeared in NJ Cannabis Insider. Read the full story.

Dems urge Senate GOP to pass SAFE act as part of COVID relief

A provision to allow banks to provide financial services to legal cannabis businesses remains in the latest version of the Heroes Act, the coronavirus stimulus package championed by House Democrats.

The banking bill, known as the SAFE Banking Act, passed the House in September 2019 but Senate Republicans have refused to consider it. To get around the Senate roadblock, House Democrats have sought to use the stimulus bill as a vehicle to passage.

While the latest stimulus legislation pared down federal spending by a third to $2.2 trillion from the original $3.4 trillion in the House-passed coronavirus bill in May, the marijuana provision remained.

The continued inclusion of the SAFE Banking Act in the updated Heroes Act is important for the cannabis industry and its workers, said Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., the chief sponsor of the banking bill.

The CannaInfluencers: The people shaping the N.J. cannabis industry (Special series)

In the weeks leading up to Election Day and the vote on the adult-use ballot referendum, youll meet current and former regulators, entrepreneurs, advocates, lobbyists, lawyers and more. This week meet: Jeff Brown, head of the Department of Healths Medicinal Marijuana Program, ACLU-NJ executive director Amol Sinha and Paul Josephson of Duane Morris.

Read the profiles today by subscribing to NJ Cannabis Insider

NJ Cannabis Insider is a weekly subscriber-based trade journal produced by NJ Advance Media, which provides content to NJ.com and The Star-Ledger. Learn about NJ Cannabis Insider and its monthly live events and forums here.

For more information, you may reach us via email here.
It was a wild boy's night out for Machine Gun Kelly, Mod Sun and pals at Saddle Ranch in West Hollywood, California on Thursday.

After an evening of frivolity, a very drunk MGK, whose real name is Colson Baker, decided to create a ruckus for the waiting paparazzi and managed to crack the windshield of Mod's Mercedes G Wagon.

It didn't end there, later in the night the 30-year-old proceeded to risk the safety of himself and others when he decided to completely kick out the entire windshield while Mod was driving.

What a mess: After an evening of partying, Machine Gun Kelly destroyed the windshield of rapper Mod Sun's Mercedes G Wagon on Thursday night in West Hollywood

The whole mess began as the group was seen leaving Saddle Ranch after a long night of partying.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions the popular hot spot is currently an outdoor establishment and Machine Gun Kelly was spotted having a blast with his friends.

At one point he was even seen cracking up with laughter while enjoying a cocktail in a gigantic metal martini glass topped with a fluffy tuft of pink cotton candy.

But, things got out-of-control though when Mod Sun began to drive the group out of the parking lot in his expensive G Wagon with Machine Gun Kelly in the passenger seat.

Party time:It was a wild boy's night out for Machine Gun Kelly, Mod Sun and pals at Saddle Ranch in West Hollywood

Having fun: Machine Gun Kelly, whose real name is Colson Baker, was spotted having a blast with his friends

Fun and games: MGK was playing it up for the paparazzi all night and waving at the cameras

Music was blaring in the car and MGK was slamming his hands wildly on the dash and head banging to the beat of the song.

As they were pulling out slowly, the inebriated rapper stopped to greet fans and sign autographs.

It should be noted that there was no social distancing and no one in the car was wearing a mask.

Bottoms up: At one point he was even seen cracking up with laughter while enjoying a cocktail in a gigantic metal martini glass topped with a fluffy tuft of pink cotton candy

Over indulged: Later in an Instagram Live, the rapper admitted to being very 'f**ked up'

While the car was moving, Colson pulled himself out of the window to sit on the car door and kept banging his hands on the vehicle which caused a huge crack in the windshield.

For his part, Mod Sun, was smiling and laughing along during the whole ordeal. And, MGK clearly did the damage accidentally.

He continued to hang out of the window as the car pulled onto a busy Los Angeles street and then slipped back inside.

Going south:Things got out-of-control, though, when Mod Sun began to drive the group out of the parking lot in his expensive G Wagon with Machine Gun Kelly in the passenger seat

Calm before the storm: At Saddle Ranch, the 30-year-old seemed calm and collected but when he got in the car to leave he began acting hyper and uncontrollable

The drama didn't end there, however, and the rapper later went on Instagram Live to come clean to his fans about the destruction.

He also implored his followers to hold him accountable for his actions the next day - in case he forgot what happened.

During the Instagram Live the cracked windshield had completely disappeared and Baker admitted he'd kicked the glass out completely.

The whole ordeal seemed to be simply drunken antics and it was clear that the beau of Megan Fox wasn't being malicious or violent.

What a mess: As they were pulling out of the parking lot the inebriated rapper slid out of the window to greet fans and sign autographs and started banging on the car

Yikes: Colson managed to create a huge crack in the windshield but for his part, Mod Sun, was smiling and laughing along during the whole ordeal

Oh no: The drama didn't end there and the rapper later went on Instagram Live to come clean to his fans about the destruction and asked to be held accountable for his actions the next day - in case he forgot what happened

'I want you guys to hold me to this because I'm f**ked up,' he said into the camera. 'Mod, I owe you a front car window dude. My bad. Yo, that's my bad dude.'

'Craziest thing he's done ever, people,' Mod said from the driver's seat while laughing.

'I f**ked up,' Machine Gun Kelly admitted. Slurring and 'I'm really sorry' before trailing off and ending the video.

The cost of the repairs will likely not be cheap considering the cost of the fancy Mercedes SUV's starts at over $130K.

'I want you guys to hold me to this because I'm f**ked up,' he said into the camera. 'Mod, I owe you a front car window dude. My bad. Yo, that's my bad dude.'

Making matters worse: During the Instagram Live the cracked windshield had completely disappeared and Baker admitted he'd kicked the glass out completely during the ride home

On Friday, Kelly shared a video of himself from the night before dangerously kicking out the windshield of the car while the vehicle was moving.

Not caring about the safety of those in the car or other drivers, the father-of-one repeatedly smashed the window with his feet as the Mercedes slowed to a red light.

When the entire piece of glass had broken free he hopped on the seat and used his hands to toss the shattered windshield on the street while singing to a song and bouncing around without a seat belt.

He captioned the post: 'f**k i owe you a new windshield bro my bad!!!'

Watch out: On Friday, Kelly shared a video of himself from the night before dangerously kicking out the windshield of the car while the vehicle was moving

Reckless: Not caring about the safety of those in the car or other drivers, the father-of-one repeatedly smashed the window with his feet as the Mercedes slowed to a red light

Destruction: When the entire piece of glass had broken free he hopped on the seat and used his hands to toss the shattered windshield on the street

He captioned the post: 'f**k i owe you a new windshield bro my bad!!!'

His out-of-control night was quite a switch from earlier in the week when he was spotted out on a romantic date with his actress girlfriend.

Fox and Kelly seemed totally enamored with each other as they dined under the stars in Los Angeles and then wrapped their arms around each other on the way out.

Megan and Kelly went public with their new relationship in May after meeting on the set of the movie Midnight In The Switchgrass.

Shortly before their romance began, Megan split from her husband of 10-years, Brian Austin Green, 47.
(Photo : Photo by Greg Williams/Eon Productions via Getty Images) In this undated handout photo from Eon Productions, actor Daniel Craig poses as James Bond. Craig was unveiled as legendary British secret agent James Bond 007 in the 21st Bond film Casino Royale, at HMS President, St Katharine's Way on October 14, 2005 in London, England. (Photo : Photo by Chris Livingston/ Getty Images) A Secret Service agent mans his post before U.S. President George W. Bush's speech June 21, 2002 at the Marks Street Senior Recreation Complex in Orlando, Florida. Bush traveled to central Florida to promote senior fitness as a part of his new fitness campaign.

The new head of the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) M16 has announced a possible job offer inside the agency through the official Twitter account. He said that he will try to persuade his Twitter followers to apply for vacant positions in the department. Is he looking for the next '007' James Bond?

Is M16 looking for James Bond?

If you are a fan of the fictional popular, secret agent James Bond, here's a job offer that may take you closest to the fictional character.

As written in movies and books, the U.K.'s secret service agency called M16 was the inspiration behind Sir Ian Flemming's James Bond character wherein he works as the M16 head pose as a charismatic skillful secret agent.

In real-life, the newly-appointed M16 head is the former British Ambassador to Turkey, Richard Moore. On Thursday, Oct. 1, his official first day on the job turned into a trending content over his emoji-full tweet on his personal account.

Daily Mail UK reported that Moore was the first M16 official who posted something on their personal social media pages.

According to his tweets, Moore was 'proud' for his first day as the head of M16 on his verified Twitter account. What makes his tweets more interesting was when he mentioned looking for someone to be part of M16 among his followers.

Proud day today. First, as 'C.' Feel immensely privileged to lead such talented and committed public servants who work tirelessly to secure our interests and values abroad and keep us safe at home. There are limits to what I can say on Twitter.



1/2 Proud day today. First as C. Feel immensely privileged to lead such talented and committed public servants who work tirelessly to secure our interests and values abroad and keep us safe at home. There are limits to what I can say on Twitter #OurSuccessesMustRemainSecret 1/2  Richard Moore (@ChiefMI6) October 1, 2020

Unfortunately, the special job offer for James Bond fans is not meant for secret agents. Though Moore did not clarify the vacancy, he said that "Bond or Smiley need not apply" on his tweets, indicating no special agents hiring for today.

I plan to keep tweeting, but obviously can neither confirm nor deny how often. Ill also try to persuade some of you to come and work for #MI6. #Bond or #Smiley need not apply. Theyre (splendid) fiction but actually were #secretlyjustlikeyou 2/2  Richard Moore (@ChiefMI6) October 1, 2020

Is the job offer real?

The Guardian explains Moore's tweets are meant to soften the image of M16 to people. The application itself may also be real since the ex-M16 head Alex Younger mentioned in 2017 that the agency was looking for potential recruits all over the country.

"Simply, we have to attract the best of modern Britain. Every community from every part of Britain should feel they have what it takes, no matter what their background or status. We have to stop people selecting themselves out," said Younger.

Want to try-out as the next James Bond?

ALSO READ: James Bond to Unveil New Nokia Phone

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Jamie Pancho

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Elon Musks space exploration corporation SpaceX released never-before-seen video clips from its first manned spaceflight mission. The video was released on Tuesday, September 29 on its official YouTube channel. It features astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken in the Demo-2 mission, which was the first manned flight by of the companys Crew Dragon Spaceship. Read on to know more.

Read | NASA Targets Halloween For Next Manned SpaceX Mission To Deconflict Soyuz Arrival

SpaceX releases never-before-seen footages from Demo-2 mission

The Demo-2 mission was a live telecast on both SpaceX and NASA's channels. It was an incredibly smooth mission. At the end of the video, astronaut Hurley says, We hope it brings a little bit of brightness to a pretty tough 2020. The SpaceX footage sees astronaut Behnken and Hurley deriving to the launch site at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The NASA astronauts give a thumbs up to the onlookers before boarding the Crew Dragon capsule. This is followed by, Mission control saying, Fourthreetwoonceignition, liftoff.In the next second that SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignites and launches itself against Earths gravity.

Read | US Beauty Brand To Send Its Latest Product To Space With NASA For Commercial Shoot

In the SpaceX video, viewers can see that once the capsule enters space, astronaut Behnken does a backflip and in the next moment stuffed sequinned dinosaur floats around the capsule. As the toy starts to float, observers know that the crew Dragon capsule has finally entered space. Towards the end, the video shows Crew Dragon docking with the Space Station.

The astronauts finally met up with other members of Expedition 63. The stunning montage ends with, them returning to Earth in a small white capsule which shrieks through our planets atmosphere. Finally, its parachute is deployed and in a gentle splashdown, it lands in the Gulf of Mexico.

Read | NASA Invites Amritsar Teen To US After She Bagged First Position In ISO 2020

SpaceX Crew Dragon to liftoff on October 30, once again

Source: SpaceX (Twitter)

After the successful launch of SpaceX Crew Dragon and safe return of the onboard NASA astronauts, Elon Musk's space corporation is now targeting October 31 for the launch of SpaceX Crew-1 mission. The mission is manned with astronauts who will be floating off to the International Space Station. NASA and SpaceX have updated that target launch date and time. The liftoff is scheduled for 2.40 am EDT on October 31, which falls on Halloween.

Read | US Election 2020: NASA Astronaut To Cast Ballot From Space Station In Nov Polls

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft will be launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be carrying astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker from NASA and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It will the first time when an international crew will be flying aboard a NASA-certified, commercially-owned and operated American rocket and spacecraft from American soil.

Image Source: SpaceX (Instagram)
Jamie Foxx might jolt his way back to the silver screen as Electro. Foxx electrified as the supervillain in Sony Pictures' The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014. Though, this time hes in talks to reprise the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universes upcoming Spider-Man 3 project, opposite Tom Holland as the titular character.

While Marvel sold the rights to Spider-Man and related Spidey characters to Sony in 1985, the web-slinging superhero joined the MCU, part of a deal between Disney and Sony Pictures making his debut in Captain America: Civil War in 2016. The following year Spider-Man: Homecoming hit theaters, and thus far, Holland as Spidey has appeared in the MCU five times since 2016.

So while Foxx originally played Sonys version of Electro, he wouldnt be the first actor to reprise his Sony-produced role in the MCU. J.K. Simmons played J. Jonah Jameson in the original Sony-produced Spider-Man trilogy from 2002-2007. Simmons reprised the character in a cameo at the end of Disney/Marvels Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019, which events took place post-"Avengers: Endgame."

While Spidey and friends, and nemeses have joined the MCU, that hasnt stopped Sony Pictures from making Spidey-related movies. So far, Venom" and the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" have been released by Sony (both in 2018). Morbius was pushed to 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Venom: Let There Be Carnage is also expected to drop in 2021, as of now.

With Michael Keaton also appearing in Sonys upcoming Morbius after co-starring as Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming, fans are starting to suspect (or expect) a multiverse.

Make this happen and i will die in peace. https://t.co/WZR2V0MFMd pic.twitter.com/1dBq8Ouk2t  Bilal (@Bilallazhar) October 1, 2020

Okay, so a Marvel multiverse has been rumored for a moment now. Far From Home even hinted at this with Jake Gyllenhaal co-starring as Mysterio. X-Men and the mutant race are expected to join the MCU by Phase Five, Elizabeth Olsen is starring as the Scarlet Witch in the upcoming Disney Plus series WandaVision and co-starring in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Some theories suspect Scarlett Witch, a mutant in Marvel Comics, and/or Endgame have something to do with cracking open the multiverse.

If it happens, we all will just have to wait and see which Marvel character(s) or events will be the cause. 
In a world of constant crime and fear of war, Gandhi shows that there are several ways to express the desire and determination for peace

Martin Luther King Jr once said: If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought, acted, and inspired by the vision of humanity evolving toward a world of peace and harmony.

Mahatma Gandhis life followed a path of profound dedication and achievement in correcting the plight of the common man that catapulted him onto the world stage, surrounded by both enmity and adulation. He attracted attention to the problem by sacrificing his own physical self.

He had faith in religion and always used the art of his words to make an impact and be acknowledged by people. Gandhi, in his own unique way, depicted how messages could be communicated without the use of physical violence and lives could be remembered.

Gandhis reading of religious books started with Bhagavad Gita, which became an unfailing source of strength and solace for him and there is an interesting story related to how he was introduced to the book, said Prof. Madhav Deshpande of the University of Michigan, USA, in a recently organised lecture series on Mahatma Gandhis thought and philosophy by Aligarh Muslim University.

Prof. Deshpande said that Gandhi found the core of non-violence in Gita and other religious books. Even his community prayers had recitation of verses of religious books of various faiths. Gandhi unflinchingly adhered to these philosophies and inspired generations across the world.

His thoughts and ideas were not only central to the Indian freedom movement but became the bedrock of civil rights movements waged against oppressive regimes in various nations.

Gandhis movement of peace is recognised worldwide.

It can be argued that treaties of peace arise only after war and that non-violent methods are useless. Through a hunger strike, a famous speech, and establishing of an international coordination, he, however, left an extraordinary mark on society.

In a world of constant crime and fear of war, Gandhi shows that there are several ways to express the desire and determination for peace.

Gandhis ideas influence both, those who admire him and those who do not. Yet his opponents, too, depend on fasts, marches and satyagraha.

Prof Faisal Devji, an eminent historian of the University of Oxford, while delivering the lecture on Thought and Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi at AMU, commemorating his 150th birth anniversary, said that through a meaningful silence, Gandhi could touch the forms of speech, thought, feeling and awareness that were often drowned out through other forms of speech.

He added, Gandhi became uncompromising in keeping his weekly day of silence. The entire world became aware that it was on Monday. The peace gained from the silence-day used to comfort him a lot and he used to finish the weeks pending work on that day.

Gandhi was critical of the legal profession, especially in a colonial society, because he saw it as legitimising and easing the way for brute force. Lawyers, he thought, made their clients depend upon an illegitimate state by making it a neutral third party, its very foreignness allowing it to decide disputes among Indians, said Prof. Devji.

AMU vice-chancellor Prof. Tariq Mansoor said, Mahatma Gandhi never wanted to become the head of the state and as a devout Hindu, he wanted people of all religions to live in harmony and this makes him one of the greatest leaders to have ever lived. Gandhi spoke less and acted more, said Prof. Mansoor, further quoting Prophet Muhammad and some distinguished philosophers on the importance of good speech and maintaining silence. The non-cooperation movement saw the combined efforts of Hindus and Muslims.

Prof. Mansoor added that people around the world associate India with Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi left a mark on society by changing minds rather than instilling fear.

His non-violent approach to peace, though not instantaneous, is effective in bringing the world closer to a cooperative and friendly society. Barack Obama, former President of the United States, once said: It was Gandhis understanding of Indias stories and traditions and his attention to the marginalised voices in Africa that helped him gather a movement that drove out the worlds most successful empire.

Gandhi is widely recognised as one of the 20th centurys greatest leaders whose civil disobedience movement impacted millions of people worldwide. He has been credited by many world leaders as being a source of their inspiration.

He espoused human rights, worked for Hindu-Muslim unity, and launched a campaign to eliminate untouchability.

He was harassed and imprisoned, but his struggle gained momentum and helped India gain Independence. Surely, the ideology of Gandhi will influence and inspire minds for generations to come.


Washington, Oct 2 : US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that he and his wife have tested negative for Covid-19, shortly after it was revealed that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have contracted the virus.

"I'm feeling fantastic. We are praying for the President and First Lady that they'll have a speedy recovery," CNN quoted Pompeo as saying to reporters.

The Secretary further said that he had not interacted with the President since the signing of an agreement between the US, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates at the White House on September 15.

"I spoke with the Vice President's office this morning as well. We're taking this obviously very seriously. And we'll do everything we can to keep everyone safe, including you all," he was quoted as further saying.

This is the fourth time that the Secretary of State had been tested in the last two and a half weeks, said the CNN report.

Meanwhile, the State Department is still evaluating whether Pompeo will continue his planned trip to Florida on Saturday and Asia the next day, but his schedule in Croatia remains as planned.

In an announcement late Thursday night, the President said that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The Delhi Police on Friday busted one of the largest syndicates of vehicle thieves and snatchers in the national capital and arrested 14 men, who regularly rented out stolen two-wheelers to snatchers in Delhi.

Police said they have recovered at least 116 stolen two-wheelers from these men. The arrested also include the alleged kingpin who is believed to be involved in 89 cases of vehicle thefts. Police said snatchers preferred using stolen vehicles as these couldnt be traced to them

Also Read: Rise in snatching cases alarming, no leniency for perpetrators: High court

Police said the racket was busted during a special operation code-named Eagle Eye, which was executed by joint teams from Raj Park and Mangolpuri police stations in outer Delhi.

Deputy commissioner of police (outer) A Koan said police had noticed that in recent cases of snatching, the vehicles used by suspects were mostly stolen.

Using stolen motorcycles is one way for snatchers to evade the police as they are registered in the owners name. An in-depth probe revealed a nexus between auto lifters, middlemen and snatchers. The auto lifters would provide stolen bikes to middlemen who would rent them out to snatchers for Rs 2,000 a day or a share in the snatched item(s), Koan said.

The DCP said the racket was active for the past two or three years at least and some snatchers were directly in touch with auto lifters in order to avoid paying the middlemen.

In case a snatcher could not afford to pay upfront the Rs 2,000, he was still given the bike, but on condition that half the snatched valuables will be handed over to the auto lifters at the end of the day. If they stole cash, then around 30%-40% of the loot was given to the auto lifters in lieu of bike rent, Koan said.

Also, the rent price varied, depending upon the make and type of motorcycle that the snatcher wanted to use. He said from questioning arrested snatchers, police got to know that they would always leave these motorbikes near public parks or in isolated parking lots to avoid being tracked.

Koan said, All 14 men accepted that they operated a racket of auto lifters and snatchers. They said the stolen motorcycles were being provided to snatchers on rent.
Northrop Grumman was prepared to launch their next Cygnus vehicle, the S.S. Kalpana Chawla but an automatic abort at T-2 minutes 40 seconds due to an issue with a piece of Ground Support Equipment stopped the launch.

The launch of Northrop Grummans Antares rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS) was scrubbed by about 9:40 p.m. due to an unknown problem with a component of ground support equipment. The commercial cargo spacecraft, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus, was set to blast off on Thursday night carrying the name of deceased NASA astronaut Kalpana K.C. Chawla, the first Indian-born woman to enter space, for her key contributions to human spaceflight.Tonights launch attempt for @NorthropGrummans Antares rocket to send the #Cygnus resupply craft to the @Space_Station was scrubbed about 2 minutes and 40 seconds before liftoff due to an unknown problem with a component of ground support equipment, NASA tweeted.

We have scrubbed tonights #Antares launch attempt after receiving off-nominal data from ground support equipment. Stay tuned for the time of the next launch attempt, Northern Grumman.This marked the second delay in total for Northrop Grummans latest commercial resupply mission. The night launch was already pushed back from its original launch window of Tuesday evening due to weather conditions.NASA has yet to detail specific reasons for the abort, after needing to delay at the original 11-minute mark due to a boat in the range.

On the NG-14 mission, the S.S. Kalpana Chawla was supposed to deliver approximately 3,630 kilograms of cargo to the station.

Research flying aboard the Cygnus includes the test of a biologic drug that could be used for the treatment of leukaemia, a plant growth study that will cultivate radishes as a model for future crops in space, a compact toilet for astronauts to use on deep-space exploration missions and a 360-degree virtual reality camera that will be used to film during a spacewalk for an immersive cinematic production.Northrop Grumman, an American global aerospace and defence technology company said that this mission is named after Chawla in memory of the mission specialist who died with her six crewmates aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 2003 Northrop Grumman stated that it is proud to celebrate the life of Kalpana Chawla and her dream of flying through the air and in space.It is the companys tradition to name each Cygnus after an individual who has played a pivotal role in human spaceflight, said Northrop Grumman.

Tonight's launch from @NASA_Wallops has been scrubbed. Stand by for updates. pic.twitter.com/CmSYuve8c4  NASA (@NASA) October 2, 2020

ALSO READ: Quad foreign ministers to meet in Tokyo on October 6

While Chawla made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the space program, her legacy lives on. She has not only inspired her colleagues but also many back in India, to follow in her footsteps. Her final research conducted onboard Columbia helped understand astronaut health and safety during spaceflight.Born in Haryana, India, Chawla moved to the United States to earn her masters and doctorate degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1984 and University of Colorado in 1988, respectively. She then began her career at NASA, conducting research in fluid dynamics at the Ames Research Center in California.After becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, Chawla applied for and became a NASA astronaut as a member of The Flying Escargot, NASAs 15th class of trainees.

In 1997, she launched on STS-87, a 15-day shuttle mission that was dedicated to the science flying as part of the fourth United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4).Chawlas second spaceflight, STS-107, came to a tragic end on February 1, 2003, following 16 days of conducting science onboard the space shuttle Columbia.A small piece of foam that struck the orbiters left wing during launch created a hole that went undetected during the mission. Upon Columbias return to Earth, hot plasma entered the wing, tearing it apart, and the resulting loss of control led to the vehicle disintegrating and the death of the crew.

ALSO READ: Foreign NGOs must adhere to Indian laws with respect to foreign funding: MEA on Amnesty International
Dolph Lundgren and fiancee Emma Krokdal proved they're still in the honeymoon phase as they enjoyed a sunny lunch date this week.

The 62-year-old Swedish star put on an affectionate display with his young wife-to-be as they left The Sunset restaurant in Malibu.

For the casual outing the 24-year-old personal trainer wore a colorful tie-dye top and black shorts which she teamed with slides.

Lunch date: Dolph Lundgren put on an affectionate display with fiancee Emma Krokdal on Thursday

She reached up to kiss The Expendables star as they made their way to the valet stand.

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Dolph was all smiles as he put on a stylish display in a blue polo shirt and white shorts.

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The Swedish actor's engagement was revealed in June after he proposed in Stockholm.

Dolph shared a picture of the couple on Instagram, with Emma showing off her engagement ring, and wrote: 'Something very special happened here in Sweden. D [heart emoji] E.'

His close pal Sylvester Stallone was one of the first to congratulate him, writing: 'Congratulations my good friend. You're the best. Sly.'

Sunny spot: The 62-year-old actor and his 24-year-old fiancee were spotted at Sunset restaurant in Malibu

Dolph - who was previously married to Anette Qviberg from 1994 to 2011 - reportedly started romancing Emma last year and they went public at the Cana Dorada Film & Music Festival in the Dominican Republic in January.

Dolph previously revealed how he used to have group sex with Grace Jones and 'four or five' other women - but complained it left him too tired for work.

The Creed II actor dated the Pull Up to the Bumper hitmaker in the 1980s and though he admitted their life in the bedroom was eventful, he insisted it wasn't always a 'good thing'.

Happy couple: The Swedish actor's engagement was revealed in June after he proposed to Emma in Stockholm

He said: 'That happened on occasions, with or without Grace. Sometimes she would bring a girlfriend home and then I'd have to get up for work the next day and that kind of thing.

'I'd say at the most it was four or five girls, perhaps. It's great in theory but when you have to get up and fight Sylvester Stallone in the morning it's not such a good thing.'

Dolph met Grace when he was hired as her bodyguard but once he found fame after playing notorious villain Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, their relationship quickly deteriorated.

Bride-to-be: Emma is a personal trainer from Norway and is the same age as Dolph's eldest daughter Ida

He said: 'I literally walked in the theatre [for the movie premiere] as her boyfriend with people trying to shoo me out of the way to take pictures of her and, 90 minutes later, when I walked out, people were trying to take pictures of me, instead.

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'It was one of those things that happens once in a while in Hollywood, somebody totally unknown becomes famous overnight.

'Other women showed up, she got jealous and she couldn't handle it. People wanted me to go to openings. It was a lot of strain and, within six months, the relationship was over.'
New Delhi, Oct 2 : The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police after tracking the Instagram account of a woman arrested her from Surat in Gujarat where she had fled after duping at least 200 people of Rs 2 crores by luring them to invest in fictitious schemes in Delhi.

According to police a man named Parveen Kumar Singh along with his woman friend was operating a society named Jai Maa Laxmi Co-Operative Thrift & Credit Society Ltd. and running a shop called Arpit Cloth Store in Mandawali in Fajalpur, Delhi. Both cheated around 200 people from Mandawali on the pretext of investing in different schemes to earn high profits. They induced people to invest in schemes like Interest Earning Scheme, Loan Scheme, Flat Booking Scheme and Lucky Draw Scheme.

During the investigation it came to light that neither "Jai Maa Laxmi Co-Operative Thrift and Credit Society" was registered with the RBI as a NBFC nor any person called Parveen Kumar Singh and his woman friend were registered with the RBI. They were not authorised to collect money from the public directly in any scheme.

Both the accused were absconding since the registration of the case. Efforts were made to trace them by the police. The accused persons were also declared proclaimed offenders by a court.

"In order to locate and nab the accused persons a detailed analysis of their social media platform was carried out by the investigating team. Finally the woman accused was traced to Surat, Gujarat, through Instagram and arrested. Efforts are on to trace the other accused as well" said OP Mishra, Joint CP, EOW.
Girls Basketball: Rapid City Stevens opens weekend with win over Watertown

Fourth-rated Class AA Rapid City Stevens turned fast starts in each of the first three quarters into a 50-29 non-conference girls basketball win over Watertown.
Hardware giant Bunnings will set up its new headquarters in Growthpoint Properties' Botanicca 3 development in Melbourne's inner suburbs after signing a 10-year lease.

Bunnings will consolidate its Victorian and national store support teams, currently scattered across six different Melbourne office locations, into one new A-Grade office building at Growthpoint's 570 Swan Street Botanicca 3 development in Richmond.

Growthpoint has finished construction of Botanicca 3 in Melbourne. Credit:

"We are pleased to have agreed a long lease with Bunnings at Botanicca 3, particularly during these uncertain times, highlighting our ability to achieve leasing success in a challenging environment," Growthpoint's managing director Timothy Collyer said.

Bunnings will take about two thirds of the space available in the building, about 13,886 square metres, after signing a lease agreement starting on Monday.
What was once a 25-year sentence is now 68 months with credit for time served since a Corvallis man's initial arrest on accusations of sexual abuse in December 2014. That was roughly 68 months ago.
Spooky season is the best reason to cross visiting a haunted site off of your bucket list.

San Antonio is known to be one of the most haunted cities in Texas thanks in part to a bloody battle at the Alamo, untimely deaths and more. There are many haunted spots with plenty of stories to send shivers down your spine.

From hotels that go bump in the night to children pushing cars off of train tracks, San Antonio is no stranger to some sad, creepy and downright scary ghost encounters. With Halloween approaching, now is the perfect time to catch some of these spirits and have your own ghost story to tell next time you are sitting around the campfire.

MySA has rounded up just a sample of some of San Antonio's most haunted places and there is just one question: Are you brave enough to go looking for spirits?

Scroll below for some of the haunted places around San Antonio.
Brooklyn-based writer, activist and bar-owner Natalka Burian is the author of the new novel Daughters of the Wild. Co-owner of Cobble Hill cocktail bar Elsa and sister joint Ramona in Greenpoint, Burian has watched the hospitality industry and her role within it transform before her eyes since March. In the following essay, Burian explores the struggles and anxieties of working in hospitality amid a pandemic, as well as the continued and perhaps amplified need for the sense of community and connection neighborhood bars and restaurants have always fostered. But first, Burian spoke with InsideHook about her new book and how shes keeping hope and creativity alive in strange times.

InsideHook: As a writer, activist and bar owner, youre clearly a woman of many passions and pursuits. Do you view these various hats as separate paths and projects, or does your work in seemingly diverse fields overlap and influence your efforts and output in each?

Natalka Burian: I think they all overlap, sometimes in unexpected ways. Hospitality at its most successful relies upon a strong community and great storytelling. In my day job I get to create an immersive space, a place that people feel belongs to them  so much so that it can serve as a backdrop to their most important life events. The responsibility of small business ownership provides constant granular opportunities to make our community and our world better; we can bring attention to meaningful work by simply making a note on our menus or sharing the profits from a drink. Im so grateful to feel like I have a little bit of power to facilitate positive change in periods of despair and disappointment. The same kind of community building and storytelling is at the heart of everything we do at the Freya Project, too.

Pre-pandemic, how did you balance these various time commitments, and how have those demands shifted in the time of COVID-19?

I like to be busy and engaged, and I thrive in collaborative environments. It is a unique privilege to work with my friends and family (my husband is my business partner!) so it never really seems like Im clocking in or out. Writing has always provided a beautiful, solitary inverse to my other work. Having that contrast is grounding and balancing. Now, there is a great deal more downtime, and the joy Ive experienced working with people I love has been turned on its head as weve had to lay off so many amazing and creative members of our teams. That has been incredibly painful and difficult.

How has the pandemic influenced your writing and creativity?

Ive had a pretty hard time writing lately, to be honest. Ive been reading and thinking a lot, so mostly gathering right now. Theres a project Im actively thinking about, so trying to read and think in that direction.

When you first began working on Daughters of the Wild, I imagine the world looked a lot different than it does now. Has the pandemic shifted your hopes and expectations for this book and the role you imagine it filling in readers lives in any way?

Wow, YES. I think the themes in the book are still resonant, particularly anger amid hopelessness, and the struggle for bodily autonomy. I hope people escape into this world, but also find something more fortifying  the reminder that sometimes we are capable of things we cant possibly fathom.

Are there any ways in which youve been able to maintain or replicate the sense of community and energy you fostered in your bars amid the pandemic? Do you think the spirit of bars can survive even when bars themselves are not?

This is such a good question and one that Ive been thinking about endlessly. I believe some of that spirit has been captured in the social media engagement of our community. Our to-go program has been steady, and it has been a real source of joy to see people post about where and how theyve included Elsa and Ramona in their more muted, COVID-era celebrations and socializing.

Have there been any surprising silver linings for you during this time? Any optimistic predictions for the future of bars and the communities they attract and foster post-COVID?

Im trying not to set myself up for disappointment, but I am optimistic that, on the other side of this, people will not take human connection for granted. Will we be making up for this lost, lonely year in the way we celebrate? I sure hope so, and I will absolutely be there to help.

Sylvie Rosokoff

A Few Notes on Pandemic Hospitality, by Natalka Burian



In a time filled with all kinds of loss, it feels a little frivolous to fixate on the running list of NYC bars and restaurants that have permanently closed due to COVID-19. I feel the loss of some of these like the loss of a friend  Odessa in the East Village, for example, was one of my first NYC loves, a gritty, cozy place that always kind of felt like home. For others that have closed, I can only wince in sympathy and brace myself for the inevitable waves of anxiety to follow: Will my businesses be able to withstand another month like this? Another three? A year? It is unfathomable to me that we will endure for longer.

When I started my career in hospitality, a time like this never crossed my mind. It always seemed safe, a sure thing. Even in times of stress and tragedy, people will always need a place to commune outside of their homes. I remember, so clearly after September 11th, colleagues and customers repeating an adage about lipstick and beer. No matter how bad things got, they said, people would always splurge on lipstick and beer. Even when this all began, I was hopeful that our businesses could provide some measure of comfort and stability to our communities in a time of chaos. I couldnt have been more wrong.

Hospitality has always fascinated me. Even as a child, I remember the way the predictable, bright lights of a McDonalds could shift my familys entire mood. I remember that feeling of hunger and irritation shivering through our car, and then the resulting pleasure of having a need reliably met. The comfort and gratitude I felt in these spaces was almost religious.

As a young person living in New York, working in bars and restaurants was inevitable. I loved the guests, the people I worked with, the people I met, the ephemeral thing we all created together day after day. Ive always thrilled to that rush of contributing to whatever makes it a perfect night for everyone in the room. Its no surprise that I extrapolated that thrill into a real career  my husband and brother-in-law and I co-own two bars in Brooklyn, Elsa and Ramona. Well, we used to, because like many other non-essential small business owners, we are not able to do what we once did. We are not essential, none of us  not me, not my husband, not the dozens of talented and creative people that we employed.

In the early days of the pandemic, as the city bled outside my window, all I could do was the dishes. I felt the helplessness in that contrast so keenly: the contrast between the useful people outside saving lives, and the useless people like me, inside, not. The revelation was painful, and still is painful. My job is to create spaces for people to gather, and we cant gather anymore. Worse, maybe all that gathering I enabled before we closed our doors spread the virus further. I wonder, in my darkest moments, how many lives I might have inadvertently ended.

These dark periods are often followed by flurries of virtuous planning  Im going to go to nursing school, donate plasma, deliver groceries to neighbors, write out chalk messages to the heroes on the sidewalk with my kids. I want to do anything useful, anything good, anything other than wash the dishes.

The funny thing is, though, the longer our isolation continues, the more essential my job begins to seem. The longer we are all apart, the more we crave one another. And Zoom just doesnt cut it. My grandmother did not speak much English, but she latched on to a few phrases that she really liked, and she would mix them into her own language  a patois of Czech and Ukrainian. These were phrases that expressed something none of the other languages she understood could. One of these phrases was go between the people. The English words would bubble up, unexpectedly, every once in a while: Its good for your mother to leave the house. She needs to get out, to go between the people.

I keep thinking of that, of what it means for us to go between the people. I love the  likely unintended  sensuality implied, and the nimble, fluid ease of the sentiment. Just pop out and go between the people. I imagine wandering through a bustling, filled room, expanding and contracting with parties that come and go like a pair of lungs. I fantasize about winding through the voices, the scents, the physical heat of strangers; I imagine it like taking a special kind of breath. All of us, even the most introverted, need to go between the people or else something special inside of us begins to ossify.

I think about this and try to feel optimistic. We need this  human beings need to go between the people. I read articles about similar periods in history, trying to find answers; I read about the way the roaring twenties followed the Spanish Influenza outbreak, and I am momentarily reassured. Surely when we open our doors again, our guests will pour in, relieved, eased, comforted to be back.

But what if they wont? How do you open the doors again when people are still afraid of each other? Can we keep them safe? Can we keep ourselves safe? How do you convince people to come inside? Can one do this without feeling like the witch from Hansel and Gretel? I wonder, in this new world, what will it look like to take care of people? What will a welcome look like in one month, six months, 20 months?

I watch how my industry has braced for the break in this epic pause, and it all seems so depressing and antithetical to what hospitality is all about. Spaces will be mostly empty, people will not touch. Our faces will all be obscured by masks, so there will be no smiling, no commiserating, all voices and laughter will be diminished. What kind of comfort can be found under these circumstances? Ive been thinking about this a lot. How can I help? Can I help remake a space where you can go between the people and still feel easy, feel calmed, feel better?

The shifting foundations of regulations and laws that govern our small businesses doesnt help. I hope that the State Liquor Authority will continue to allow to-go service long as this goes on because that is the only way we can bring something familiar back to our communities, guarantee everyones safety, and generate some crucially needed income. I am endlessly frustrated, and stay awake at night thinking about what we should do next. I pray for more economic relief, our PPP loan long gone.

The only solution I see is that there are no good solutions. I know there are much bigger problems, that there are people working around the clock in labs on vaccines and treatments and real answers. There are still those exhausted, selfless people saving lives in hospitals, in ambulances, and at bedsides. But we will need to be here when the city looms back into life because everyone needs to go between the people. Because comfort is important. Because remembering you are part of an enormous, joyous organism is as important as remembering you are part of a potentially deadly network of vectors. Being together, even just a little, can strengthen our empathy and help us stay focused on our paths forward.

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The post What Its Like to Own Two of Brooklyns Best Bars During a Pandemic appeared first on InsideHook.
How far off is S4 Capital plc (LON:SFOR) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for S4 Capital

The method

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Levered FCF (, Millions) UK48.2m UK71.9m UK125.0m UK146.0m UK161.1m UK173.3m UK183.2m UK191.1m UK197.6m UK203.1m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 10.33% Est @ 7.59% Est @ 5.68% Est @ 4.34% Est @ 3.41% Est @ 2.75% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 7.0% UK45.1 UK62.7 UK102 UK111 UK115 UK115 UK114 UK111 UK107 UK103

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK985m

Story continues

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (1.2%) 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 7.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2030  (1 + g)  (r  g) = UK203m (1 + 1.2%)  (7.0% 1.2%) = UK3.5b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK3.5b ( 1 + 7.0%)10= UK1.8b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is UK2.8b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of UK3.8, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 29% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. 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 S4 Capital 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 7.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.841. 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:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. 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. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For S4 Capital, there are three fundamental factors you should explore:

Risks: As an example, we've found 2 warning signs for S4 Capital that you need to consider before investing here. Future Earnings: How does SFOR's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every British 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.
Midwife Marley Hall has been helping pregnant women over social media. (SWNS)

A midwife has said she has been inundated with private messages from pregnant women unable to get in-person support during the coronavirus pandemic.

Restrictions due to COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of some face-to-face maternity appointments, which has led to Marley Hall, 39, receiving social media requests from women who have questions about their pregnancies.

The NHS and private midwife said that one request came from a 12-year-old girl who thought she was pregnant and was unable to get support.

She estimates that she receives around 300 messages each week - a tenfold increase - since lockdown began.

Read more: Health visitors raise concerns about vulnerable patients during pandemic

Hall spends a significant amount of time replying to the queries, with women confiding in her that they simply dont know where to turn for advice.

Shes calling for the government to reinstate full maternity services for pregnant women.

I was and still am getting a ridiculous number of DMs every day from mums due to give birth in the pandemic, she explains.

People were asking me what to do, saying they'd rung the hospitals but nobody would answer the phone and they could only have virtual appointments with midwives.

I'm getting hundreds of messages a week as there's so many pregnant women out there who need support right now that are turning to Instagram for help and advice.

With the country in lockdown, I've had mums replying to thank me for my help and saying I'd given them more advice than their own midwives.

I feel really bad for these women. Something needs to change.

Watch: Everything you need to know about your period

During lockdown, Halls Instagram account has risen in followers from 20,000 to 65,000, with women asking questions about everything from reduced movements to blood loss during pregnancy.

A lot of the women have raised concerns about being unable to see their midwives in early pregnancy, while others have worries about giving birth alone, inductions and c-sections.

Story continues

I was answering people's questions in the beginning but it got to the point where it was taking over my day, said Hall.

I was sitting on my phone all day long trying to help people, but I've got five kids of my own and [am] on maternity leave so as much as I wanted to help, I couldn't keep up with it.

I was in bed at 1am answering questions and my other half said you can't keep doing this so I put up a video on my highlights to say I can't respond to all these messages.

I try and do as much as I can if people ask questions in the comments section relating to something I've posted but apart from that, I can't give one-to-one advice any more.

I feel so bad for these mums. I do want to help but at the same time, I can't save the world and I can't do everything for everybody, as much as I'd love to.

Watch: These are the five happiest places in the UK
A 'selfish' Hyundai driver has divided motorists after parking incredibly close to another car.

The other driver shared pictures of the parked Hyundai almost touching her car in Marrickville, in Sydney's inner west, to social media.

She unleashed on the Hyundai driver about the close park while Facebook commenters said the driver was 'asking for trouble', Yahoo News reported.

A woman has shared images of a 'selfish' Hyundai driver parked so close the two cars were practically touching (pictured above) in Marrickville, in Sydney's inner west

'I'm not precious about my car,' the woman wrote in the Facebook post.

'But can I suggest that if you can't fit your car into a spot without literally leaving it touching another car perhaps find a minute to find somewhere else to park?'

One image showed how the bumpers of the two cars appeared to almost touch.

Another picture showed the Hyundai's tow bar touching the grille at the front of the woman's car.

The woman called for the Hyundai driver to get in touch with her, while Facebook users criticised the 'selfish' park.

'Ouch. Someone's asking for trouble parking like that,' one user wrote.

Other commenters questioned whether it would be worthwhile for the woman to speak with the Hyundai driver.

'I'd be a bit apprehensive to have a quick word in this situation to be honest.

The Hyundai's tow bar appeared to be touching the grill on the woman's car (pictured) and commenters urged her to take the matter to the police

'I don't know what you'd achieve,' one commenter explained.

Another commenter said she would 'wait all day' to speak with the Hyundai driver.

Other users suggested the woman should leave the driver alone and take the matter to the police.

The woman later added she was able to drive her car out of the parking spot because the man who was parked behind her had moved.

She said no marks had been left on her car.

The NSW Road and Maritime Services state cars must be 'at least one metre from any other parked vehicle' when parallel parking.
Agra :

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday held their second road show in Agra, reflecting the new found bonhomie between the two parties in the poll-bound state.

Large crowds and party workers of both the parties cheered the two leaders who targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in their speeches from their special Rath.

The three-hour long exercise covered 12 kilometres from Dayalbagh to the Bijlighar crossing.

The first joint road show was held in Lucknow on January 29.

Rahul said Akhilesh has done good work in the state and We will now oust the BJP and the RSS from UP.

The road show touched the minority areas as it inched its way along the life line of the city, the MG Road, bringing traffic to a halt.

There would be a three-cornered fight between BJP, BSP and SP-Congress alliance in UP.

Out of the 403 assembly seats, SP would be contesting 298 and Congress the rest 105.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:17:11|Editor: huaxia

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BANGKOK, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit on Friday told the press at the Government House that Thailand is likely to see higher shipments of rubber, as data had indicated an increase of 3.19 percent this year.

"It is a combination of many factors that propelled the demand for Thai rubber," said Jurin, "global demand for rubber gloves and auto tyres keeps rising significantly because of the global economic recovery after lockdown measures to curb the virus are being relaxed, as well as the Thai government's proactive approach to promote rubber exports."

The minister said he spoke with the International Trade Promotion Department, Rubber Authority of Thailand and rubber cooperatives, and all indicated to him that Thailand's rubber products are expected to fetch 359 billion baht (11.37 million U.S. dollars) this year, 3.19 percent higher than 2019.

According to data released by the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAT), prices of rubber sheet, block, and latex have all risen from the same period of last year.

In the first eight months, shipments of rubber products rose 2.32 percent year-on-year to 235 billion baht, while natural rubber exports decreased by 28.7 percent to 65.7 billion baht.

RAT also said that Thailand is the world's largest producer of natural rubber, making 4.8 million tons last year, with exports accounting for almost 4 million tons.

Thailand ranks fourth for exports of rubber products and processed rubber, trailing behind China, Germany and the United States. Enditem
Campus News

Internationally acclaimed climate change scholar joins UB

By CHARLOTTE HSU

Sophie Nowicki, an internationally recognized expert on global climate change, ice sheet modeling and sea level rise, has joined the UB faculty.

Nowicki is Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Geology, College of Arts and Sciences, and in the RENEW Institute, an interdisciplinary institute dedicated to research and education on globally pressing problems in energy, environment and water.

Nowickis work focuses on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, their connections to the Earths climate system and their impact on sea level.

Prior to joining UB, Nowicki served as a research scientist and deputy chief for the Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory (Code 615) at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, where her research included co-leading the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project (ISMIP6). This collaborative effort recently brought together more than 60 ice, ocean and atmosphere scientists from three dozen international institutions to generate new estimates  released in 2020  of the impact that Earths melting ice sheets could have on global sea levels by 2100.

We are delighted that Sophie Nowicki, an internationally recognized expert with an exemplary record of research and service, has joined the UB RENEW Institute and the Department of Geology, Robin Schulze, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Amit Goyal, RENEW Institute director, said in a joint statement. She will boost UBs position as a premier public research university. Her international intellectual leadership in climate change modeling will help bring together transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary faculty across UB and further development of large grant proposals in this area.

Nowickis work is aligned with the Climate Change and Socioeconomic Impacts focus area of the RENEW Institute. In the Department of Geology, she joins a climate change research group comprised of leading ice scientists who are engaged in international collaborations devoted to understanding the past, present and future of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets  and ultimately, sea level rise  through paleoclimate field work, aerial and satellite monitoring of ice sheets, and state-of-the-art computational modeling.

Nowickis extensive expertise and partnerships will enhance these efforts. She has been instrumental in organizing and leading large science projects, garnering $7.5 million in research funds since 2010.

While at NASA Goddard, she was a science team member for Operation IceBridge and co-lead for SeaRISE (Sea-level Response to Ice Sheet Evolution), an international effort that investigated the sensitivity of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to external environmental forcings. She led many projects, such as efforts to couple ice sheet models to the two Goddard climate models (i.e., GEOS-5 and ModelE), and an effort that investigated the feedbacks, processes and impacts of contemporary changes in the Arctic using satellite observations, ice sheet and climate models.

Additionally, Nowicki has served as a member of the NASA Sea Level Change Team; a member of the SEARCH Land Ice Action Team; an executive committee member for the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise phase 2; a member of the Community Earth System Model Scientific Steering Committee; division head for ice sheets for the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences; and a member of the World Climate Research Programme Sea Level Change and Coastal Impacts Grand Challenge. She was invited to be a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes sixth Assessment Reports chapter on ocean, cryosphere and sea level change.

Nowickis favorite projects are community efforts such as SeaRISE and ISMIP6. She has received numerous awards, including recognition as the NASA Cryospheric Sciences Most Valuable Player, and awards for outstanding publications and scientific achievements. She says she is most proud of receiving the Goddard Honor Award for Mentoring, which recognized not only her work with postdoctoral researchers and early-career scientists, but also the amazing work that they did.

Nowicki holds a PhD in theoretical glaciology from University College London, and an MSc in remote sensing and image processing, and a bachelors degree in geophysics from the University of Edinburgh.
Welcome to Good Weekend Talks, a weekly chance for our audience to luxuriate in a long-form story from the magazine, read by an actor and followed by a discussion with the writer, an editor and an expert.

In this episode, actor Nic English brings to life Brook Turner's October 2020 cover story, 'To be or not to be", examining how artists are providing hope and solace for Australians during the pandemic, and the challenges they face to remain solvent.

Brook is then joined in conversation by The Sydney Morning Herald arts writer Linda Morris, and Good Weekend editor Katrina Strickland, to discuss the federal government's $250 million arts stimulus package and the enduring struggle to see the arts as central to Australias identity.

For the full feature story, see Saturday's Good Weekend, or visit The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.
Nanocomplexes could be used to treat ovarian tumors like these by delivering combinations of siRNAs that target genes with synthetic lethal relationships. Credit: Erik C. Dreaden, Yi Wen Kong, Michael Yaffe, and Paula T. Hammond

Cancer therapies that target specific molecular defects arising from mutations in tumor cells are currently the focus of much anticancer drug development. However, due to the absence of good targets and to the genetic variation in tumors, platinum-based chemotherapies are still the mainstay in the treatment of many cancers, including those that have a mutated version of the tumor suppressor gene p53. P53 is mutated in a majority of cancers, which enables tumor cells to develop resistance to platinum-based chemotherapies. But these defects can still be exploited to selectively target tumor cells by targeting a second gene to take down the tumor cell, leveraging a phenomenon known as synthetic lethality.

Focused on understanding and targeting cell signaling in cancer, the laboratory of Michael Yaffe, the David H. Koch Professor Science and director of the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, seeks to identify pathways that are synthetic lethal with each other, and to develop therapeutic strategies that capitalize on that relationship. His group has already identified MK2 as a key signaling pathway in cancer and a partner to p53 in a synthetic lethal combination.

Now, working with a team of fellow researchers at MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Yaffe's lab added a new target, the gene XPA, to the combination. Appearing in Nature Communications, the work demonstrates the potential of "augmented synthetic lethality," where depletion of a third gene product enhances a combination of targets already known to show synthetic lethality. Their work not only demonstrates the effectiveness of teaming up cancer targets, but also of the collaborative teamwork for which the Koch Institute is known.

P53 serves two functions: first, to give cells time to repair DNA damage by pausing cell division, and second, to induce cell death if DNA damage is too severe. Platinum-based chemotherapies work by inducing enough DNA damage to initiate the cell's self-destruct mechanism. In their previous work, the Yaffe lab found that when cancer cells lose p53, they can re-wire their signaling circuitry to recruit MK2 as a backup pathway. However, MK2 only restores the ability to orchestrate DNA damage repair, but not to initiate cell death.

The Yaffe group reasoned that targeting MK2, which is only recruited when p53 function is absent, would be a unique way to create a synthetic lethality that specifically kills p53-defective tumors, by blocking their ability to coordinate DNA repair after chemotherapy. Indeed, the Yaffe Lab was able to show in pre-clinical models of non-small cell lung cancer tumors with mutations in p53, that silencing MK2 in combination with chemotherapy treatment caused the tumors to shrink significantly.

Although promising, MK2 has proven difficult to drug. Attempts to create target-specific, clinically viable small-molecule MK2 inhibitors have so far been unsuccessful. Researchers led by co-lead author Yi Wen Kong, then a postdoc in the Yaffe lab, have been exploring the use of RNA interference (siRNA) to stop expression of the MK2 gene, but siRNA's tendency to degrade rapidly in the body presents new challenges.

Enter the potential of nanomaterials, and a team of nanotechnology experts in the laboratory of Paula Hammond, the David H. Koch Professor of Engineering, head of the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering, and the Yaffe group's upstairs neighbor. There, Kong found a willing collaborator in then-postdoc Erik Dreaden, whose team had developed a delivery vehicle known as a nanoplex to protect siRNA until it gets to a cancer cell. In studies of non-small cell lung cancer models where mice were given the MK2-targeting nanocomplexes and standard chemotherapy, the combination clearly enhanced tumor cell response to chemotherapy. However, the overall increase in survival was significant, but relatively modest.

Meanwhile, Kong had identified XPA, a key protein involved in another DNA repair pathway called NER, as a potential addition to the MK2-p53 synthetic lethal combination. As with MK2, efforts to target XPA using traditional small-molecule drugs have not yet proven successful, and RNA interference emerged as the team's tool of choice. The flexible and highly controllable nature of the Hammond group's nanomaterials assembly technologies allowed Dreaden to incorporate siRNAs against both XPA and MK2 into the nanocomplexes.

Kong and Dreaden tested these dual-targeted nanocomplexes against established tumors in an immunocompetent, aggressive lung cancer model developed in collaboration between the laboratories of professor of biology Michael Hemann and Koch Institute Director Tyler Jacks. They let the tumors grow even larger before treatment than they had in their previous study, thus raising the bar for therapeutic intervention.

Tumors in mice treated with the dual-targeted nanocomplexes and chemotherapy were reduced by up to 20-fold over chemotherapy alone, and similarly improved over single-target nanocomplexes and chemotherapy. Mice treated with this regimen survived three times longer than with chemotherapy alone, and much longer than mice receiving nanocomplexes targeting MK2 or XPA alone.

Overall, these data demonstrate that identification and therapeutic targeting of augmented synthetic lethal relationshipsin this case between p53, MK2 and XPAcan produce a safe and highly effective cancer therapy by re-wiring multiple DNA damage response pathways, the systemic inhibition of which may otherwise be toxic.

The nanocomplexes are modular and can be adapted to carry other siRNA combinations or for use against other cancers in which this augmented synthetic lethality combination is relevant. Beyond application in lung cancer, the researchersincluding Kong, who is now a research scientist at the Koch Institute, and Dreaden, who is now an assistant professor at Georgia Tech and Emory School of Medicineare working to test this strategy for use against ovarian and other cancers.

Explore further Biologists ID new cancer weakness

More information: Yi Wen Kong et al. Enhancing chemotherapy response through augmented synthetic lethality by co-targeting nucleotide excision repair and cell-cycle checkpoints, Nature Communications (2020). Journal information: Nature Communications Yi Wen Kong et al. Enhancing chemotherapy response through augmented synthetic lethality by co-targeting nucleotide excision repair and cell-cycle checkpoints,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17958-z
T welve members of a "sophisticated criminal network" who stole 200 rare books during a spree of high value burglaries were facing years behind bars today.

The men, who are all Romanian nationals, targeted commercial premises such as warehouses and freight depots across the UK.

One of the burglaries involved the theft of 200 rare books of international cultural significance, including works by Sir Isaac Newton and the eighteenth-century Spanish painter Francisco Goya.

In other burglaries they stole high valued items, such as smartphones, laptops and tablet computers.

L-R: Vasille Paragina and Marian Albu were also jailed for their involvement in the burglaries / Metropolitan Police

A police investigation established that the gang were responsible for the theft of an estimated 4.5 million worth of goods, which were transported out of the UK

Scotland Yard said the burglaries were well planned as the defendants avoided activating buildings' security systems by using ropes and ladders to gain entry into the buildings.

The men, who were sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday and Friday, carried out their thefts from December 2016 to April 2019.

Valuable books were stolen from a large customs clearance agent and international freight forwarding company warehouse / Metropolitan Police

They were responsible for 12 offences across the UK at various locations including Peterborough, Hertfordshire, Sheffield, Feltham and Enfield.

The gang would fly members into the UK to commit specific offences, then fly them out of the country shortly afterwards, with the stolen property being taken out of the country by other members using different transport methods.

The Metropolitan Police described the thefts as a "fluid operation".

CCTV screengrab of the men carrying out one of the thefts / Metropolitan Police

Over the course of two-and-a-half years, the gang would change their personnel. Some defendants would be involved in the execution of some of the burglaries and some would be involved in the planning, which involved arranging transportation for the men and property after it had been stolen.

Detective Inspector Andy Durham, who led the investigation, said: These sentences bring a successful conclusion to a complicated three year investigation, which identified and convicted a previously unknown Romanian Organised Crime Gang [OCG].

The rare books were found buried underground at a property in Romania / Metropolitan Police

For over two years, this gang commuted from Romania into the UK, targeting warehouses across the country, causing huge financial losses and even forcing some to close as a result.

"They gave no consideration to the victims they targeted, and I am proud the Met investigation team, working with the Romanian National Police and the Italian Carabinieri, have brought their offending to an end.

Officers from the Mets Specialist Crime South launched an investigation into the OCG in February 2017.

They worked with officers from the Romanian National Police and Italian Carabinieri, supported by Europol and Eurojust, on the international operation to bring the offenders to justice and recover the stolen property.

The ogranised crime group broke into a warehouse in 2017 / Metropolitan Police

This culminated in coordinated arrests and searches of 45 addresses across the UK, Romania and Italy in June last year.

The books were recovered on September 16 following the search of a house by Romanian officers, who discovered them buried underground.

After "several months of meticulous work and surveillance", members of the gang were identified and arrested between June 2019 and January 2020.

According to the Met, the OCG is linked to a number of prominent Romanian crime families who form part of the Clamparu crime group in the Iasi region in Eastern Romania.

The group has a history of complex and large-scale high value thefts, yet have mainly avoided prosecution by offending outside Romania.

The burglars gained entry into one property by cutting a large whole in the rear metal corrugated wall of a neighbouring business / Metropolitan Police

All 12 men were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit burglary, between December 1, 2016 and April 15, 2019 and one count of conspiracy to conceal covert, disguise, transfer and remove criminal property in the same time period.

Vasille Ionel Pragina, 28, pleaded guilty on June 26 and was sentenced to three years and eight months imprisonment. Marian Mamaliga, 34, who pleaded guilty on July 8 was jailed for four years.

Liviu Leahu, 39, pleaded guilty on June 24 and was sentenced to three years and eight months imprisonment. Daniel David, 37, who pleaded guilty on February 17 was sentenced to three years and seven months imprisonment.

Damage caused to properties burgled by the OGC / Metropolitan Police

Paul Popeanu, 35, from Hemel Hempstead pleaded guilty on February 17 was jailed for three years and three months.

Gavril Popinciuc, 45, pleaded guilty on June 24 and was sentenced for five years and eight months. Cristian Ungureanu, 41, but extradited from Italy pleaded guilty on July 8 and was jailed for five years and one month.

Narcis Popescu, 34, pleaded guilty on February 17 was sentenced to a total of four years and two months.

Traian-Daniel Mihulca, 32, pleaded guilty on June 24 and was sentenced to four years imprisonment. Marian Albu, 41, from Harrow pleaded guilty on June 24 and was jailed for four years. Victor Opariuc, 29, pleaded guilty on February 17 was sentenced to three years and seven months imprisonment.

Ilie Ungureanu, 33, but extradited from Germany pleaded guilty on June 24 and was sentenced to three years and eight months imprisonment.
A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes

By Eric Jay Dolin

Liveright. 392 pp. $29.95

- - -

This year's hurricane season has hit with intensity. The first Atlantic hurricane, Hanna, brought massive flooding and property damage to Texas in July, while Hurricane Isaias whipped ferociously through the eastern United States in August, causing more than $4 billion in damage. Later that month, Hurricane Laura swept into Louisiana as a deadly Category 4 storm, leaving a trail of destruction.

While calamitous, the storms are, sadly, routine. "Hurricanes have been churning up ocean waters and slamming into land for all of recorded history," historian Eric Jay Dolin writes in "A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes." They have killed about 30,000 people since the late 19th century in the United States and since 1980 "have accounted for roughly 50 percent of the cost of all [U.S.] natural disasters that exceeded $1 billion in damage," according to Dolin. Hurricanes, he concludes, are "an integral, inevitable, and painful part of the American experience." The storms force us "to confront thorny questions of how we can learn to survive and adapt to the continued barrage."

The violent weather systems wreaked havoc on early explorers. When Christopher Columbus reached the New World in 1492, "he, like all Europeans," Dolin writes, "knew nothing about hurricanes." His ships faced difficult weather in the Caribbean on subsequent trips - either fierce storms or hurricanes. On another voyage, he encountered a hurricane that "struck with awesome fury," Dolin reports. "Mountainous waves battered the ships, whipping winds shredded their sails, masts splintered, and twenty-four of the ships sank."

The colonists, the author writes, developed a "mortal fear of hurricanes" and "fervently prayed that they would stay away."But prayer couldn't control the onslaught. The Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 crushed Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay colonies, "leveling hundreds of thousands of trees, turning numerous houses into kindling, driving ships from their anchors, and killing many people, including eight Indians on the edge of Narragansett Bay." In contrast, the Treasure Fleet Hurricane of 1715 "is notable less for the direct damage it caused than for its impact on the course of piracy in America." The storm sent a fleet of ships carrying gold, silver and jewelry to the bottom of the sea. Dolin writes that the thought of all those valuables "carpeting the ocean floor fed thousands of fantasies and led to a rush of mariners sailing to the Florida coast to recover some of the booty."

Dolin provides a fascinating and heart-wrenching account of one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history: the hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 8, 1900. Galveston meteorologist Isaac Cline sent out updates "every two hours on the worsening conditions." Worried about his pregnant wife, Cora, and three daughters, he "struggled 2 miles through waist-deep water to get to his home." His house succumbed to the raging waters, and with the help of his brother Joseph, Cline saved his young daughters. But Cora and their unborn baby perished.

About three miles from downtown Galveston, 93 children lived at St. Mary's Orphanage with 10 nuns, including Sister M. Camillus Tracy, the mother superior. When the water began rising, Sister Camillus herded everyone into the chapel, where the sisters "took a clothesline from outside, cut it into short sections, and tied groups of six or eight of the younger children together by their wrists." Sister Camillus sang hymns to keep everyone calm. Then "the boys' dormitory collapsed in a heap, swallowed by the angry waters," Dolin writes. The orphanage was leveled; only three children survived. A man later walking along a beach discovered seven children and a nun buried in the sand. Having connected everyone with a rope, the well-meaning nuns had created a device that "only served to drag them all down with the wreckage to their death."

Almost four decades later, the Great Hurricane of 1938 smashed into Long Island and parts of New England, destroying vast amounts of private property, including the summer home of actress Katharine Hepburn in the Fenwick area of Old Saybrook, Conn. As the wind whipped and the water rose, Hepburn and several others at her house fled to higher ground. "Looking back," she recalled, "we saw the house slowly turn around, sail off to the northeast and start down the brook which fed the swamp-lagoon. It just sailed away - easy as pie."

Four massive hurricanes and one tropical storm struck in 1954 and 1955 on the East Coast. Hurricane Hazel, "the most devastating hurricane of the 1954 season,"made landfall with winds of about 135 mph and ripped through North Carolina, Virginia, D.C., Pennsylvania and New York and into Canada. It caused $281 million in damage and killed 94 people in the United States. In Canada, "the toll was $100 million, and eighty-one dead."

Dolin also takes readers through more recent examples such as Hurricanes Irma and Katrina, noting that "the suffering and misery in New Orleans and the surrounding parishes [were] almost unimaginable." As many readers will undoubtedly recall, "the response of local, state, and federal governments to [Katrina] and its immediate aftermath was . . . severely lacking," Dolin writes. The loss of jobs and homes due to the storm caused residents to watch "their livelihoods literally blown away or drowned into oblivion."

The outlook is far from promising. Dolin observes that "a growing number of studies have found strong evidence linking global warming to increased precipitation during storms, including hurricanes." Warmer oceans, "which provide more heat energy to fuel hurricanes," will make the winds more powerful and, in turn, future hurricanes more destructive. Following the science, Dolin soberly concludes: "Hurricanes of the future will most likely be worse than those of the past."

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Taube, a columnist for Troy Media and Loonie Politics, was a speechwriter for former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper.
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 02.10.2020 amid the Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh:

STEPANAKERT STRUCK

https://news.am/eng/news/605589.html

https://news.am/eng/news/605592.html

They Azerbaijan army struck Artsakh capital Stepanakert, said Artsrun Hovhannisyan, a representative of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia on Friday.

Earlier, he reported that Artsakh town of Hadrut had been hit by a Smerch-type rocket by the adversary.

According to him, there are many damages to the civil infrastructure, and wounded in Stepanakert.

"The rescue service has suffered," he added.

ADVERSARY LOSSES

https://news.am/eng/news/605634.html

Adversarys five [war]planes and three [combat] helicopters were shot down by precise strikes of the Artsakh Defense Army at around 4pm. Artsrun Hovhannisyan, a representative of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, on Friday wrote about this on his Facebook page.

EMPLOYEES WOUNDED

https://news.am/eng/news/605629.html

The Armenian Unified Information Center reports that 10 representatives of the Rescue Service of Artsakh were wounded after Stepanakert was shelled by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces today, yet their lives arent in danger.

The Center also reports that the building of the Rescue Service in Stepanakert has been partially destroyed, glass windows have been shattered, walls have been crushed, and parked cars have been damaged.

MERKEL ON CONFLICT

https://news.am/eng/news/605636.html

The European Council is in favor of establishing a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, it is impossible to reach a solution to the conflict by military means, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, RIA Novosti reported.

"Of course, we are in favor of establishing a ceasefire here. This is the only way to discuss the settlement of this difficult conflict peacefully, but definitely by non-military means," Merkel told a news conference following the EU leaders' summit in Brussels.

According to her, the European leaders discussed the newly flared-up fighting in the Karabakh conflict zone, and they aim for a ceasefire as soon as possible. It is important that a ceasefire be established as quickly as possible, Merkel told journalists, Reuters reported.

ERDOGAN ON JERUSALEM

https://news.am/eng/news/605624.html

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made another sensational statement.

According to Anadolu, in his speech in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Erdogan declared that 'Jerusalem is our city'.

There are still Ottoman traces in Jerusalem, meaning Jerusalem is our city, a city from us, Erdogan said.
Actor Craig McLachlan has been allowed to give evidence remotely rather than travel to Melbourne when allegations he indecently assaulted four women return to court next month.

The Gold Logie winner, famous for his roles in Neighbours, Home and Away and The Doctor Blake Mysteries, has pleaded not guilty to 13 charges  comprising six counts of indecent assault and seven of common law assault  over allegations made by women who starred alongside him during the Melbourne run of a stage show in 2014 .

Actor Craig McLachlan arrives at court in November last year. Credit:Joe Armao

The charges include an allegation he touched one woman on the genital area during a live performance, when he was concealed from the audience and she wasn't and that he kissed women without their consent. Magistrate Belinda Wallington has previously struck out other charges.

Mr McLachlan's lawyers argue the acts either didn't happen or if they did, didn't constitute criminal acts. The contested hearing has been told that as the star of the show, Mr McLachlan had a licence to improvise.
Erdogan weighs in on distorted world order

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan views the world with both grievance and a sense of opportunity.

In a major speech Oct. 1, he assailed the failures of the post-World War II international system, declaring, There is no chance left for this distorted order, in which the entire globe is encumbered by a handful of greedy people, to continue to exist the way it currently does.

Erdogan has some concessionary lines that "the existing [international] organizations may be able to meet those needs if they are restructured in an equitable way," but the tone overall is a mix of affront, ambition and Turkish exceptionalism.

For example, Erdogan railed against those who ignored our country in the region for years  and confronted us with maps and demands that would imprison us into our coasts  first tried the language of threat and blackmail after the steps we took." He described Turkey as a country that cannot use the same methods as the states that have no roots no traditions, and no morals, and which derive their power from colonialism and greed."

Erdogans approach speaks to Turkeys Islamic and Ottoman past, including in his newly assertive role on the Palestinian issue, as Fehim Tastekin and Adnan Abu Amer report.

We had to leave [Jerusalem] in tears during the First World War, Erdogan said this week. It is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance. So Jerusalem is our city, a city from us.

Despite Erdogans professed willingness to keep the dialogue channels open until the end in its international relations, it appears that it is more often the thrill of the fight, and the military dimension to policy, as Metin Gurcan writes, rather than the tedium of the negotiating table, which carries the day, especially in Syria, Iraq, Libya and, most recently, Nagorno-Karabakh.

In Syria until the last terrorist is destroyed

In Syria, Erdogan faces a quagmire mostly of his own making, and he shows no inclination to pull back. He got Turkey involved early, backing elements committed to deposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during protests nearly a decade ago. That movement led to chaos that was exploited by al-Qaeda-linked groups and armed gangs to expand their footholds in the country.

Turkeys troops and proxies still occupy parts of northeastern Syria, near the Turkish border, and will stay there, according to Erdogan, until the last terrorist is destroyed. Terrorist, by his lights, means not only the Islamic State, or Daesh, as he refers to it, but Syrian Kurdish forces that have been aligned with the United States, and which Turkey views as linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is designated a terrorist group by Ankara and Washington.

The campaign against the PKK includes attacks on the group inside Iraq as well, which will continue until we have completely eradicated these abysses of unrest, which the Northern Iraq Regional Administration is also uncomfortable with, he said.

Shelly Kittleson reports here from Iraq on the Turkish military pressure on the PKK in Iraqs Kurdistan Region.

And then theres Libya, where Turkey has shifted jihadis it backed during the fight in Syria to Libya to fight on behalf of the Government of National Accord, which, like Erdogan, would consider itself to be in the Muslim Brotherhood, or Brotherhood fellow traveler camp.

Erdogans Nagorno-Karabakh intervention no accident

All of this brings us to Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian-controlled enclave in Azerbaijan, which has been a mostly frozen conflict since 1994 until the outbreak in hostilities last week.

Amberin Zaman writes that Azerbaijans military action, which set off the recent escalation, was not sparked by accident but was preplanned by Azerbaijan and its regional ally Turkey.

Nagorno-Karabakh strikes a nationalist chord for Turks, who share an ethnic heritage with Azeris.

Zaman explains that Turkey's all-in support for Azerbaijan, including providing arms and training, can allow Erdogan to claim credit for winning back Azerbaijani territory, however little, [which] would be an enormous boost to his droopy poll numbers in the midst of a looming economic crisis."

Erdogan has rejected an appeal by the United States, France and Russia for an immediate cease-fire, as Zaman reports here.

I warn those who support this rogue state [Nagorno-Karabakh] that they will be held to account before the common conscience of humanity, the Turkish president said.

Former US Vice President and Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden tweeted that the Trump administration must also demand others  like Turkey  stay out of this conflict, as we report here.

Metin Gurcan breaks down the military balance between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the pivotal role that Russia could play with both parties.

"From a political standpoint," Gurcan writes, "it seems fair to assume that neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan can use air power and ballistic missiles without Russian consent. Apparently, Moscow has not given the nod  at least for now  to the deployment of warplanes and ballistic missiles, a step that marks the threshold of a conventional war."

Despite denials by Ankara and Baku, there are reports of Syrian jihadis joining the fray, sent there by Turkey. Such an intervention by Turkey risks escalation with Russia, writes Fehim Tastekin.

"Turkeys involvement in the conflict could be considered an attempt to shore up domestic support, Tastekin writes. "But if Moscow comes to believe that Ankara has ulterior motives such as expanding its Turko-Islamist influence to the south Caucasus as part of Erdogans neo-Ottoman ambitions, it won't stand idle."

Meanwhile, as Turkish-Israeli relations go from bad to worse, both Ankara and Jerusalem are backing Azerbaijan in the conflict. Armenia recalled its ambassador to Israel because of Israels selling arms to Azerbaijan, as we report here.
New Delhi: Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad addresses a gathering during a protest against the Hathras gang rape case, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Oct 2, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses during a protest by various student unions at Jantar Mantar against the Hathras gang rape case, in New Delhi on Oct 2, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi: Actress Swara Bhaskar during a protest organised by various student organisations against the Hathras gang rape case, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Oct 2, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 2 : The Delhi police registered a case against the protesters at Jantar Mantar who gathered on Friday evening demanding harsh punishment for the accused in Hathras gang rape case.

The police said that the gathering was in violation of NGT O A No. 63/2016, Supreme Court order vide No. WP (C) 1153/2017 and Delhi Police Standing Order No. 10/18.

"As the protesters have violated Order u/s 144 Cr.P.C. in force and other laws regarding Covid-19, a case FIR No. 135/2020 u/s 188 IPC, 3 Epidemic Act & 51(b) Disaster Management Act, has been registered against them at Parliament Street police station," said DCP New Delhi, Eish Singhal.

The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also joined the citizen's protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Friday. Others who joined the protest include Bollywood actress Swara Bhaskar and Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad.

The National capital on Friday relived the memories of the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case as various protest groups gathered at Jantar Mantar and came together to protest the horrific incident that occurred in Hathras recently.

Earlier in the day, eight members of Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Congress were booked under section 188 of IPC, 3 Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and 51(b) Disaster Management Act, 2005 after they tried to march towards BJP president JP Nadda's House from Vigyan Bhawan here.
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Linkedin Colin Packham (Reuters) Sydney, Australia  Fri, October 2, 2020 16:31 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48c074d 2 News Australia,New-Zealand,travel,coronavirus,COVID-19,#covid19taskforce Free

New Zealanders will soon be able to travel to Australia without having to self-quarantine as COVID-19 infections slow and Canberra seeks to revive its ailing economy, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said on Friday.

New Zealand citizens and residents would be allowed to travel to Australia's most populous state of New South Wales and its remote Northern Territory (NT) from Oct. 16, without having to undergo the two-week quarantine required of Australians returning from other nations, McCormack said.

Australia closed its borders in March to all non-citizens to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has claimed 890 lives in the country and brought much of the economy to a standstill.

"I have just gotten off the phone with (NT) Chief Minister (Michael) Gunner who says the fish are biting and the beers are cold, and he wants to see as many of his New Zealand cousins and friends as possible," McCormack told reporters in Canberra.

New Zealand has effectively eradicated COVID-19, reducing the threat of additional infections in Australia from New Zealand visitors. Only 14 cases have been reported in NSW in the past two weeks - all of them people in hotel quarantine - while the Northern Territory has had no new cases since early August.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said those who traveled to Australia would have to quarantine on their return. She also said New Zealand would not open its borders to Australians for now.

Read also: New Zealanders may be able to travel to some Australian states before Christmas: Ardern

The travel route will provide a badly needed boost to Australia's economy, which shrank 7 percent in the three months ended June, the most since records began in 1959.

New Zealand tourists spent A$2.6 billion ($1.86 billion) in Australia during 2019, according to government estimates.

The NSW capital Sydney is Australia's biggest tourist drawcard, while the Northern Territory boasts Outback attractions like Uluru.

McCormack said Canberra was also considering allowing residents of other countries that have no COVID-19 outbreaks to also enter Australia, although he declined to say which countries were under consideration.

Australia's second-most populous state Victoria accounts for 90 percent of national COVID-19 deaths and remains in partial lockdown.

Victorian officials said seven people had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from 15 on Thursday and near the four-month low of five cases reported on September 28.
Uttarakhand minister for forest and environment Harak Singh Rawat, who tested Covid-19 positive on September 22, was admitted to a hospital on Thursday night after complaining of breathing problems, said officials on Friday.

Rawat had tested positive a day before the one-day state assembly session was held on September 23. He was in home-isolation since then as he didnt display any major symptoms till Thursday night.

The minister, however, is in a stable condition now, as per the doctors treating him. He is showing improvement in the tests done on Friday morning. The doctors stated that the infection in his blood has reduced, said Narendra Semwal, Rawats public relation officer.

Semwal said Rawat was being continuously monitored and he may be discharged from the hospital in the next 2-3 days if he continues to show improvement in the tests.

Also Read: Uttarakhand schools colleges can open after October 15, no restrictions for tourists

Meanwhile, state chief secretary Om Prakash is in self-isolation after his principal personal secretary tested positive for Covid-19, said an official from his office, on the condition of anonymity.

Since then his office in the state secretariat has been closed for proper sanitation and he has gone into self-isolation. He had sent his samples for the Covid-19 test, the results for which are awaited, said the official.

Also Read: Car falls in Uttarakhands Koteshwar dam; one body recovered, search on for other 3

Earlier, another Uttarakhand minister Dhan Singh Rawat had also tested positive for the virus on September 22. He, too, is undergoing treatment. Before that, state tourism minister Satpal Maharaj became the first in the state cabinet to be infected with the virus.

He recovered from the infection after getting treated at AIIMS Rishikesh.

Till Thursday, Uttarakhand had reported a total of 49,248 Covid-19 cases, of which, 39,836 people have recovered while 8,544 active cases remain under treatment. 625 Covid-19 patients have died so far in the state.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:20:49|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran announced on Friday 3,552 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections in the country to 464,596, official news agency IRNA reported.

Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said at her daily briefing that 1,443 people had to be hospitalized in the past 24 hours over the novel coronavirus.

As of Friday, the pandemic has taken 26,567 lives in Iran, after an overnight registration of 187 new deaths, according to Sadat Lari's figures.

So far, 385,264 COVID-19 patients have recovered or been discharged from hospitals, while 4,137 people remain in critical condition in intensive care units, she added.

The spokeswoman went on to say that 4,067,861 laboratory tests for the virus have been carried out in Iran by now.

Currently, the risk of infection is high in 26 out of 31 Iranian provinces, while 4 other provinces are on alert over the spread of the disease.

Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19.

Iran and China have offered mutual help in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

In mid-February, at the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak in China, Iran lit up the Tehran Azadi (Liberty) Tower to show its solidarity with China, and donated 3 million masks to China.

In return, China delivered several shipments of medical supplies to Iran. On Feb. 29, a five-member Chinese medical team visited Iran for a month-long mission to help Iran fight the pandemic. Enditem
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia has issued the following statement:

"On October 2, the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan continued the criminal targeting of the civilian settlements of the Republic of Artsakh. This time Stepanakert, the capital of the Republic of Artsakh, and the city of Hadrut were attacked, resulting in casualties among the civilian population.

Having failed to achieve any success in the battlefield, the armed forces of Azerbaijan, reinforced by foreign terrorist fighters, resorted to the perpetration of mass atrocities against the civilian population of Artsakh.

The attacks are mostly carried out with coordination of the Turkish military specialists and with the military equipment and armaments provided by Turkey to Azerbaijan within the framework of their military-political cooperation.

At the same time, in an attempt to justify these and other gross violations of international humanitarian law committed during the hostilities instigated against Artsakh, Azerbaijan is spreading fake news that the Armenian side is targeting its civilian settlements.

The Republic of Armenia strongly condemns this crime of the Azerbaijani-Turkish alliance and reiterates its determination together with the authorities of Artsakh to neutralize any existential threat to the people of Artsakh by all means."
We are excited to have Dr. Styn become a member of the ECVA team because of his strong reputation as a highly successful optometrist in the Western New York community. His addition bolsters the clinical strength of our already phenomenal team, while helping ECVA to fulfill our strategic plans.

Eye Care & Vision Associates, LLP (ECVA) is pleased to announce the hiring of Dr. David Styn, O.D. A licensed optometrist, Styn will be responsible for providing primary eye care for patients, including eye health exams and vision correction.

This key hire provides ECVA with a tremendous opportunity to better serve the Western New York community. The demand for eye care services has been strong, and the addition of Dr. Styn enables ECVA to increase the delivery of eye care services and reduce patient wait time. As an optometrist, Dr. Styn will free ECVA's Orchard Park and Williamsville ophthalmologists to focus more on acute care patients as needed.

Born and raised in Western New York, Styn received his undergraduate degree in biology from Canisius College and earned his O.D. from Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He brings more than 20 years of experience to his new role, and has both received his therapeutic certification and been published in Review of Optometry. "I'm thrilled to join ECVA's team and excited to do what I love most: improve patients' vision," said Styn. "This organization is much more than an eye care practice. They're a team of medical, surgical and optical professionals who are dedicated to delivering the highest quality eye care, resulting in the best quality outcomes. I'm looking forward to pursuing my passion, working hand-in-hand with Western New York's top eye care experts to help people see and live better."

"We are excited to have Dr. Styn become a member of the ECVA team because of his strong reputation as a highly successful optometrist in the Western New York community," said ECVA CEO Bradley Hall. "His addition bolsters the clinical strength of our already phenomenal team, while helping ECVA to fulfill our strategic plans of expanding both our footprint in the Western New York community, as well as the availability of primary care optometric services within our practice.

"With more than 20 years of successful experience as an optometrist, Dr. Styn has earned a strong reputation in the area for providing exceptional customer service and high quality care for his patients," continued Hall. "We welcome Dr. Styns overall enthusiasm and passion for providing extraordinary optometric care."

Offering patient eye care through state-of-the-art technology, experienced, board-certified ophthalmologists, surgeons and optometrists, and a dedicated and caring staff, Eye Care & Vision Associates is a recognized leader in cataract and lasik surgery, eye exams, diabetic eye care, glaucoma management and medical retina treatment. For more information about their services or to schedule an appointment, visit:



About Eye Care & Vision Associates, LLP

ECVA is a leading medical practice of ophthalmologists, surgeons and optometrists specializing in the vision and eye care needs of patients in Buffalo and the surrounding Western New York area. They have four convenient office locations in Williamsville, Orchard Park, the Elmwood Village and Niagara Falls.

Offering patient eye care through state-of-the-art technology, experienced, board-certified ophthalmologists, surgeons and optometrists, and a dedicated and caring staff, Eye Care & Vision Associates is a recognized leader in cataract and lasik surgery, eye exams, diabetic eye care, glaucoma management and medical retina treatment.

The mission of the physicians and staff of Eye Care & Vision Associates is to deliver the highest quality eye care resulting in the best quality outcomes. For more information about their services or to schedule an appointment, visit http://www.ecvaeyecare.com.
JERSEYVILLE  A judge on Thursday sentenced Roger Carroll, the convicted killer of Bonnie Woodward of Alton, to 65 years after Carroll blamed the judge for his conviction.

Im not going to stand up here and apologize, said Carroll, 54, of Jerseyville, when given his chance to speak on his own behalf. I dont have anything to apologize for. I havent done anything wrong.

I didnt get a fair trial, he told Circuit Judge Eric Pistorius. You made sure I didnt get a fair trial.

Carroll also blamed his attorneys for advising him not to testify. I think it was the wrong decision, he said. He said he plans to appeal.

Carroll could get up to life in prison. A Jersey County jury in March found him guilty of the 2010 first-degree murder of Woodward.

Its disappointing that he failed to use this opportunity to show remorse instead of compassion for the family, said Madison County First Assistant States Attorney Crystal Uhe.

Carroll was charged April 12, 2018, with the June 25, 2010, first-degree murder of Woodward. He was an early suspect in the 2010 investigation, but the case lay dormant until April 2018 after his alleged assault of his wife, Monica, and subsequent testimony by his son, Nathan.

Uhe said the murder indirectly involved a dispute between the victim and her step daughter, Heather Woodward, whom prosecutors have said Carroll used to lure Woodward to his Jerseyville property where he killed her.

Heather Woodward was 17 in the days leading up to the killing and planned to leave home when she turned 18. Authorities said Roger Carroll used the teen as bait for Bonnie Woodward. She went missing for several days but showed up at the East Alton Library.

Heather Woodward was in southern Illinois with the Carroll family during the time she was missing. During that time, Carroll was apparently planning the murder and changing the license plates on his car.

It was a premeditated plan to lure her to his property where he shot and buried her like an animal in cold blood, Uhe said during the trial.

Carrolls attorney Scott Snider said that even the minimum 45-year sentence for the crime amounted to a life sentence for Carroll.

Everybody suffered, Uhe said, including Woodwards family who suffered through eight years of her being missing only to discover that she was murdered.

Uhe said Carroll tried to kill himself in 2018 when he received divorce papers because he knew then that his wife would be able to testify against him.

The judge noted that Carroll went to great lengths to plan the crime and, but for some fingerprints on Woodwards truck and Nathan Carrolls testimony, the case might still be open.

This was a meticulously planned, senseless death, Pistorius said. A teenage girl said her mother was mean to her.

He said that, even if that were true, there were many avenues short of murder the girl and the defendant could have taken.

Prosecutors alleged  and witnesses testified  that Carroll killed Woodward, 48, of East Alton, outside the Alton nursing homewhere she worked and burned her remains on a huge pile of brush before pushing them into a creek outside his rural Jersey County home. The family wasnt even given the opportunity to bury her, the judge said.

The penalty for murder is a sentence of between 20 and 60 years in prison, but the law provides for an enhancement of between 25 years and life if a firearm is used.

During the trial, Appellate Prosecutor Jennifer Mudge said that in the days before June 25, 2010, Roger Carroll stalked Woodward, figuring out her schedule and likely whereabouts. Before the killing, he and his wife had taken in Heather Woodward. The Carrolls and Heather Woodward knew each other through church.

She (Bonnie Woodward) has to go away and not come back, Roger Carroll allegedly told his son, Nathan, who helped carry out the crime. Eight years later, after being promised immunity, his son testified about the victims death.

Its been a long journey, Uhe said Thursday. I am thankful to Alton Police Department and state police for their pursuit of this case and glad to be part of the team of Jersey County States Attorney Ben Goetten and Special Prosecutor Jennifer Mudge.
OneTrust is providing same-day support to help organisations comply with the CNIL's latest recommendations regarding cookies management

PARIS, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OneTrust today launched the CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program, providing organisations with the support they need to get their cookie banners compliant before the CNIL updated enforcement action begins in April 2021. These fast track resources will help organisations get same-day support and guidance to implement a cookie compliance solution according to CNIL guidelines.

Fast track your CNIL cookie consent compliance today with OneTrust

Sign up for a webinar for more information on how to fast track your compliance

Today, October 1, the CNIL published its latest recommendations on the use of cookies and associated tracking technologies. These recommendations are the finalised version of those released early this year. While the CNIL now continues its enforcement of the previous cookie recommendations, starting April 2021, it will begin enforcing against non-compliant organisations under its new, revised guidance.

The CNIL highlighted the following principles and recommendations:

Continued browsing with the cookie banner can no longer be considered as a valid form of user's consent and consent validity requires a clear positive action

"Reject All" button is recommended to be on the cookie banner's first layer

Each cookie purpose must be highlighted prominently on the first layer of the cookie banner

Users should always have easy access to manage their cookie preferences and withdraw their consent at any time, and companies could implement this through a static cookie icon as a best practice

Users should have access to an up-to-date and structured list of third parties

Organisations that drop the cookie are also responsible for collecting a valid proof of consent - even towards third parties

Some trackers can be exempt from consent, including authentication cookies, audience measurement cookies, or cookies used to limit the access to free content on a website

OneTrust CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program

With OneTrust's CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program, organisations can fast track their compliance with the CNIL's recommendations regarding cookies management. With the end of March deadline before enforcement action quickly approaching, OneTrust's program will allow organisations to create, customise, and publish they cookie banners to ensure that cookies and trackers are not placed until valid consent has been acquired. With the first domain free, OneTrust's CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program provides all the tools you need to get started.

With OneTrust's CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program, customers will get access to:

First domain for free

Step-by-step implementation guides and a range of resources detailing CNIL best practices

Pre-configured cookie banner and preference centre templates

OneTrust Autoblocking TM and third-party tag management systems integrations

and third-party tag management systems integrations 24/7 support with both implementation and ongoing maintenance to keep your compliance on the fast track

OneTrust solutions also support the new CNIL requirements for mobile app compliance.

Fast track your CNIL cookie consent compliance today with OneTrust

Sign up for a webinar for more information on how to fast track your compliance

"In April 2021 the CNIL will being enforcing these latest guidelines on the use of cookies and tracking technologies. As part of our commitment to the French market we want to support our customers in getting compliant with the CNIL's latest recommendations regarding cookies management," said Kabir Barday, OneTrust CEO and Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP). "OneTrust have launched the CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program to get organisations the support and tools they need to achieve compliance quickly."

Fast track your CNIL cookie consent compliance today with OneTrust. For information sign up for a webinar, or to request a demo, visit OneTrust.com or OneTrust.fr.

OneTrust, and OneTrust CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program are registered trademarks or trademarks of OneTrust LLC or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions.

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OneTrust is the #1 fastest growing and most widely used technology platform to help organisations be more trusted, and operationalise privacy, security, data governance, and compliance programs. More than 6,000 customers, including half of the Fortune 500, use OneTrust to build integrated programs that comply with the CCPA, GDPR, LGPD, PDPA, ISO27001, and hundreds of the world's privacy, security, and compliance frameworks.

The OneTrust platform is powered by the OneTrust Athena AI and robotic automation engine, and our offerings include:

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Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Friday he has tested negative for Covid-19, three days after his debate with Donald Trump, who has contracted the illness.

The 77-year-old former vice president opted to maintain a scheduled trip to Michigan, a key battleground state in his campaign to unseat the Republican incumbent.

Biden is currently leading Trump in opinion polls ahead of the November 3 election.

"I'm happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for Covid," Biden said. "I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands."

Minutes before, his doctor Kevin O'Connor issued a statement via Biden's campaign about the negative result.

"Vice President Joe Biden and Dr Jill Biden underwent PCR testing for Covid-19 today and Covid-19 was not detected," O'Connor said.

Trump's positive diagnosis -- announced in the early hours of Friday after one of his senior aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive -- has jolted the race for the White House with a month to go.

In Michigan, a Midwestern state Trump won in 2016 when he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton, Biden was to visit Grand Rapids, the state's second-largest city, to talk about his economic revitalization plans.

Earlier, he wished his 74-year-old adversary and his wife Melania a swift recovery from Covid-19.

"Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery," Biden tweeted.

"We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family."

Biden's running mate Kamala Harris put out a similar tweet, saying she and her husband Doug are "keeping them and the entire Trump family in our thoughts."

Vice President Mike Pence has tested negative, his spokesman said Friday.

Biden and Trump met on the debate stage in Ohio on Tuesday.

Everyone in attendance had tested negative before the debate. Trump's family arrived in masks, but later removed them, moderator Chris Wallace said.

It can take several days for a person infected with Covid-19 to test positive.

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Pelosi: Trump COVID-19 Diagnosis Changes Dynamic of Stimulus Negotiations

House speaker adds she is 'praying' for Trump's health

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said President Donald Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis could change the negotiations around stimulus talks.

This kind of changes the dynamic because here [Republicans] see the reality of what we have been saying all along. This is a vicious virus, the California Democrat said in a news interview on Friday.

It came after the House passed Democrats $2.2 trillion proposal on Thursday night, while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has offered a $1.6 trillion package.

That proposal included $500 billion in aid for states and cities, $1,200 stimulus payments, and $600 weekly unemployment benefits.

Stimulus talks between Pelosi and the White House broke down in August, with both sides refusing to make concessions on certain issues. Since then, the two parties have accused one another of stalling talks for political reasons.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that the Democrats bill cost is too high, meaning that it will not see the light of day in the Senate. Earlier this week, GOP lawmakers said the bill contains too many unneeded provisions.

This bill recycles the same socialist wish list that was offered in the Heroes Act, which House Republicans overwhelmingly rejected, House GOP Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) wrote in a memo.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 29, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Pelosi said in the interview that she asked Americans to pray for the presidents health after Trumps diagnosis, adding that she has not been contacted by the White House about the possibility of succession.

But that is an ongoing, not with the White House but with the military, quite frankly, in terms of thesome officials in the government, she said. Let us just all pray for the presidents healththank God the vice president has tested negatively and the second lady, as well, Pelosi added. So again, that continuity of government is always in place.

First lady Melania Trump also tested positive, the president said, and several others in the White House have, too, prompting concern that the White House or even Trump himself might have spread the virus further. The Trumps son, Barron, who lives at the White House, tested negative.

The revelation came in a Trump social media post about 1 a.m. after he had returned from an afternoon political fundraiser without telling the crowd he had been exposed to an aide with the disease.

Both Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), have tested negative, their campaign said. Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus Friday morning and remains in good health, his spokesman said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Japan's most powerful business lobby will actively urge companies to put women in more than 40% of management posts by 2030 as part of its growth strategy due out soon.

The decision by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, marks a reversal for an organization that previously left member businesses to set their own targets for hiring female managers.

Women constitute less than 12% of managers in Japan, government statistics show -- far less than in Europe, the U.S. and even many emerging economies. By setting a benchmark, Keidanren will communicate a sense of urgency over diversity in staffing.

The lobby will strongly encourage companies to radically overhaul employment practices so that pregnancies and child care do not hurt women's career prospects.

Keidanren will also urge the government to push for women to fill more than 40% of management jobs. The government had set a 30% target for 2020 that has since been pushed back.

The lobby looks to apply pressure on the government by setting a higher bar.

Japan ranked a record-low 121st out of 153 countries in the World Economic Forum's gender gap report published in 2019.
President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus with only 32 days left until the election.

The president, 74, announced early Friday morning that he and the first lady were confirmed positive for COVID-19. The diagnosis, which came three days after the first debate with Democrat Joe Biden, could have wide-ranging effects on two campaigns that were beginning to ramp up in the elections final weeks.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Its perhaps the ultimate October surprise, one that traps Trump in the White House and may take Biden off the trail just as he and his campaign were going public again, said John Sellek, a veteran GOP strategist and founder of Harbor Strategic Public Affairs.

Biden, 77, was scheduled to hold campaign events in Grand Rapids on Friday, his first stop in a West Michigan battleground county. The campaign hasnt announced whether this will change in light of the presidents diagnosis.

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 2, 2020

The former vice president is reportedly receiving a COVID-19 test Friday morning. Biden remained socially distant from Trump during Tuesdays debate and the pair did not shake hands.

On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence and his wife tested negative for COVID-19.

The impact of Trumps diagnosis on the 2020 election has yet to be fully understood.

I think the answer to that is we dont know, said David Dulio, director of Oakland Universitys Center for Civic Engagement. Theres just so much uncertainty around this at this point, and its probably going to take a few days to see how this has shaken up the race, if at all. We can throw out more questions than answers at this point.

A few questions that come to mind for Dulio: Can Trump participate in the next debate on Oct. 15? Does the debate format change? Will the Biden campaign change its attacks on Trump? How does this disrupt the presidents ability to campaign?

The president delivered an optimistic picture of the virus throughout the summer, suggesting the pandemic was nearing its end. This diagnosis could change his supporters perception of the situation, Dulio said.

It shows that nobody is immune," Dulio said. Anybody can get this thing. Nobody is not at risk. Hes not the first world leader to get it and hes probably not the last.

Trumps diagnosis came one day after he held a campaign rally in Minnesota. The president said hes now in quarantine, which could last up to two weeks or longer, based on the advice of public health officials.

Both campaigns had a full schedule of events that could be interrupted by quarantine precautions.

The political implications are as unpredictable as the health implications, God forbid, for both candidates, Sellek said.

Biden was scheduled to visit Grand Rapids Friday after embarking on a train trip through Ohio and Pennsylvania earlier this week. His campaign also announced it would resume canvassing voters in-person in battleground states, including Michigan.

Fridays visit would be Bidens second appearance in Michigan, a state Trump won by only 10,704 votes in 2016. Bidens visit to Kent County targets a former Republican stronghold where Democrats have seen success in recent elections.

Trump had rallies in Arizona planned for Monday, Oct. 5 and Tuesday, Oct. 6. Arizona is another electoral battleground where Biden holds a slim polling lead four years after Trump won the state.

Meanwhile, theres just over four weeks left until the Nov. 3 election. Each day is critical as both campaigns make a final push to drum up votes across the country.

(Trump) is going to be in the White House for darn near half of that, Dulio said. Thats the biggest change in terms of campaign style and how hes going to interact with his supporters. To some extent, hes going to have to adopt the Biden campaign strategy.

Bidens campaign events are markedly restrained compared to the well-attended rallies Trumps campaign organized throughout the pandemic. Bidens events in Michigan havent been open to the public and strictly enforce social distancing and mask-wearing.

Trumps diagnosis could be viewed as ironic, Dulio said, after the president mocked Bidens limited events and adherence to wearing a mask in the first presidential debate. Trump said his rallies had no negative effect.

Hes been totally irresponsible the way in which he has handled the social distancing and people wearing masks, basically encouraged them not to, Biden said. Hes a fool on this.

Dulio said Biden will have to walk a fine line between criticizing Trumps COVID response and appearing too aggressive.

I wonder if attacking someone who has coronavirus goes well with the public, Dulio said. There may be some sympathy for the president that wasnt there before.

READ MORE ON MLIVE:

Republican chair Ronna McDaniel reportedly tests positive for coronavirus

Joe Bidens Grand Rapids visit targets former Republican stronghold

Michigan Senator Gary Peters says no to expanding Supreme Court

Trump administration officials swarm Michigan ahead of 2020 election
In April, ESA sought proposals on how space assets can help understand and characterise the paralysing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The joint first prize in this contest has been awarded to a proposal on how Copernicus Sentinel-2 images can reveal coronavirus-related effects on traffic activity  an idea that will be included in the recently created ESA-European Commission 'Rapid Action on Coronavirus and Earth Observation dashboard. This image shows the mapping of reflectance patterns of long moving vehicles (such as trucks), as proposed by joint contest winner Henrik Fisser (Julius-Maximilians-University Wurzburg, Germany). Credit: ESA, with modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data processed by EuroDataCube

Earlier this year, ESA launched a contest asking the general public to submit ideas on how Earth observation data can help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, one of the two winning ideas is being officially released to the public via the "Rapid Action on COVID-19 with Earth Observation" dashboarda joint initiative from ESA and the European Commission. This citizen-contributed indicator involves an innovative solution for detecting and quantifying the number of trucks using imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

In April, ESA launched a call for proposals as part of a special edition of the Custom Script Contest, an initiative run in coordination with the European Commission and managed by Euro Data Cube. Building on the power of public engagement, the contest aimed to explore how the resources provided by Euro Data Cube can be used in conjunction with high-quality Copernicus satellite data to monitor coronavirus and its impacts.

The weekly winners of the contest were invited by ESA to upscale their ideas to cover representative areas of the EU that could provide policy-relevant insights. From these upscaled submissions, two overall winners were selected and are now being integrated into the "Rapid Action on COVID-19 with Earth Observation" dashboard.

This platform, developed in beta version in just two months, showcases how Earth Observation satellite data can contribute to measuring some of the impacts of coronavirus lockdown on the economy, agriculture, and the environment, and can help monitor post-lockdown recovery (considering parameters such as air and water quality, economic activity such as industrial production, shipping, traffic on air or land, and agricultural productivity).

Today, ESA is releasing the first community-contributed indicator to the publicone of the winners of the COVID-19 Custom Script Contest. The solution, titled "Truck DetectionSensing Trade from Space" was developed by Henrik Fisser (Julius-Maximilians-University Wurzburg, Germany) and uses imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission to detect and quantify the number of moving trucks along roads across the EU.

In April, ESA sought proposals on how space assets can help understand and characterise the paralysing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The joint first prize in this contest has been awarded to a proposal on how Copernicus Sentinel-2 images can reveal coronavirus-related effects on traffic activity  an idea that will be included in the recently created ESA-European Commission 'Rapid Action on Coronavirus and Earth Observation' dashboard. This image shows the mapping of reflectance patterns of long moving vehicles (such as trucks), as proposed by joint contest winner Henrik Fisser (Julius-Maximilians-University Wurzburg, Germany). The traffic maps show Romania (upper left, data from 2 April 2020), Poland (upper right, data from 7 April 2020), Italy (Rome, bottom left, data from 3 April 2020), and Spain (Madrid, bottom right, data from 10 June 2020). Credit: ESA, with modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data processed by EuroDataCube

The results show that truck traffic in the EU has decreased by an average of 11% (15% on motorways, and 7% on other roads) compared to median truck counts for the years 20172019, and by a significant 42% on the French and Belgian parts of the European route "E 40." To achieve these results, Henrik processed and analyzed vast amounts of Copernicus Sentinel-2 data in the Euro Data Cube platform, covering the entire EU from 20172020 at a resolution of 10 meters per pixel.

"Hendrik's solution is very elegant and innovative, as trucks are not usually visible in Sentinel-2 imagery," says Patrick Griffiths, EO Data Engineer coordinating the upscaling effort. "At the same time, the detection principle is simple and scalable. As the logistics sector was heavily impacted by the pandemic, Henrik's results are potentially highly relevant for policy and related impact assessment."

In his innovative proposal, Henrik developed a detection method using the reflectance patterns of long moving vehicles such as trucks. While individual trucks are too small to show up as objects in the images, their motion leaves behind a telltale "rainbow reflectance track" that marks their presence. This enables vehicle mapping to reveal how truck traffican indicator of the activity of economic operators across the worldhas been affected by COVID-19. Hendrik validated his approach, amongst others, with ground-based motorway traffic count data from Germany.

"This indicator complements other economic indicators such as throughput of ships and airplanes in ports and airports, by providing a view of the logistics on land," adds Anca Anghelea, EO Open Data Scientist and product lead for the dashboard. "It also comes with new features and interactions that are being added to the dashboard, such as on-demand indicator computation based on user-defined areas of interest."

Explore further RACE dashboard now available

More information: The truck traffic indicator is now available on the The truck traffic indicator is now available on the Rapid Action on COVID-19 with Earth Observation dashboard.
[October 02, 2020] Micron Medical Appoints Seasoned Healthcare Executive Mark Landy as Chief Executive Officer BOCA RATON, Fla., Oct. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micron Medical (Micron or the Company), a privately-held medical device company engaged in the development, manufacture and pre-commercialization of innovative wireless, minimally invasive, electroceutical solutions for urological conditions, today announced the appointment of Dr. Mark Landy as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Dr. Landy, who is also joining the Companys board of directors, has over 20 years of global leadership experience and healthcare industry expertise.

We are thrilled to have Mark join the Micron team, said Laura Perryman, Founder and COO of Micron Medical. His long and successful track record of leading medical device companies and proven expertise make him the ideal choice to lead Micron. As we evolve from a development-stage medical device company to a commercial organization, Marks leadership will be critical to guiding and executing on our corporate growth initiatives. Prior to joining Micron Medical, Dr. Landy served in increasingly senior positions at MiMedx, which develops and markets regenerative and therapeutic biologics utilizing human placental tissue allografts, including most recently as Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer. In this role, he led multiple functions, including market access, R&D, regulatory affairs, quality and regulatory assurance, international, marketing, and business development. He was instrumental in leading the companys 5-year strategic planning process, organization realignment, capital raise and paving the way for resolution with regulatory authorities. Previously, Dr. Landy served as President & Chief Executive Officer of MIV Therapeutics, a leading developer of next-generation coatings and advanced drug delivery systems for cardiovascular stents and other implantable medical devices. In this role, he led the companys transition from a research organization to a globally recognized commercial entity. Dr. Land also brings significant healthcare-related Wall Street experience, having held multiple senior level positions as a research analyst at leading investment banks, including the former Leerink Swann, Northland Capital Markets, and on the buy-side at top-tier institutions, including Merlin Biomed, and Investor AB. He received his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and his bachelors degree from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. I am excited to assume the role of CEO as Micron enters a critical period in its corporate development, said Dr. Landy. We will be laser focused on preparing for our U.S. commercial launch of PROTECT PNS to meaningfully improve the lives of patients suffering from an overactive bladder, as well as the lives of their families and the physicians who treat them. I also look forward to helping further strengthen the Companys corporate governance structure and operating policies. Micron recently commenced a limited U.S. commercial launch of MOVENTIS PNS focused on pelvic pain disorders. Protect PNS is currently in clinical development and recruiting patients for a multi-center, prospective, randomized, controlled, non-inferiority, clinical trial of tibial nerve versus sacral nerve stimulation in the treatment of urinary urgency and incontinence resulting from refractory OAB. Protect PNS, pending receipt of FDA classification, is expected to become commercially available in the U.S. in 2021. About Micron Medical

Micron Medical is a privately held medical device company engaged in the development, manufacture, and pre-commercialization of wirelessly powered, microtechnology neurostimulators, providing patients with convenient, safe, minimally invasive, and highly cost-effective urological solutions that are easily incorporated into their daily lives. Microns goal is to evolve its patented, cutting-edge platform for neuromodulation to standard of care, increasing the accessibility for patients worldwide while lowering the economic impact of urology care management. www.micronmed.com Contacts

Gil Bao

Micron Medical Corporation

info@micronmed.com

888.691.0585 Jeremy Feffer

LifeSci Advisors

jeremy@lifesciadvisors.com

212.915.2568 Statements made in this press release that look forward in time or that express beliefs, expectations or hopes regarding future occurrences or anticipated outcomes are forward-looking statements. A number of risks and uncertainties such as risks associated with product development and commercialization efforts, expected timing or results of any clinical trials, ultimate clinical outcome and perceived or actual advantages of the Companys products, market and physician acceptance of the products, intellectual property protection, and competitive offerings could cause actual events to adversely differ from the expectations indicated in these forward looking statements.

[ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com\LTE's Homepage ]
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd October, 2020) Laos highly values Russia's efforts to develop the COVID-19 vaccine and is discussing possible cooperation in this area, Lao Ambassador to Russia Shiviengphet Phetvorasack told Sputnik in an interview.

"Our country highly appreciates Russia's great achievement in the development of this vaccine. Currently, the Lao Ministry of Health and the Russian Embassy in Laos are discussing cooperation in this area. I hope that Lao companies and entrepreneurs are ready to purchase Russian COVID-19 vaccine," Phetvorasack said.

The ambassador noted that as the epidemic situation was worsening, "countries around the world needed Russia's help and support.

"

"Laos is also ready to discuss this issue [vaccine supply] with relevant Russian authorities. We hope that Russia will continue to develop vaccines and speed up this process to assist on our planet," the ambassador said.

Russia registered its pioneer coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V, in August. It is currently undergoing the third stage of clinical trials. Another vaccine, EpiVacCorona, is expected to be registered by October 15.
The Trumps test positive

President Trump and his wife, Melania, have tested positive for the coronavirus, he announced in a tweet shortly before 1 a.m. Eastern today. Afterward, she added that they were feeling good. The White House did not say whether they were experiencing symptoms.

The diagnosis is the latest piece of stunning news in a year that has been full of them. It creates uncertainty about the presidents health and his ability to campaign 32 days before Election Day, when voting has already begun in some states.

It is unclear how the couple contracted the virus. One possibility is that they did so from Hope Hicks, a close Trump adviser who traveled on Air Force One with him on Wednesday and began feeling sick that day. She tested positive Thursday.

Joe Bidens campaign has made no announcement about his condition. Biden appeared on an indoor stage with Trump for 90 minutes, at Tuesdays debate. They stood more than six feet apart and, because of the pandemic, did not shake hands before or after the debate.
Equality campaigner Trevor Phillips said Prince Harry used 'empty jargon' that 'he doesnt appear to understand' when being interviewed about race alongside Meghan Markle yesterday.

Mr Phillips - the former head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission - said the Duke of Sussex's use of the term 'structural racism' made him sound 'like a 1980s polytechnic lecturer'.

He also said Meghan's claim that she 'didn't realise that there was a Black History Month in Britain' was a mistake, because it was first celebrated in 1987, and showed 'how little she learnt about Britain' during her time in the country.

Equality campaigner Trevor Phillips (left) said Prince Harry (right) used 'empty jargon' that 'he doesnt appear to understand' when being interviewed about race alongside Meghan yesterday

In the interview from the couple's 11million California mansion with the Evening Standard, Prince Harry revealed his 'awakening' to the discrimination faced by black people after meeting his wife.

In a separate article for the newspaper, the couple said: 'As long as structural racism exists, there will be generations of young people of colour who do not start their lives with the same equality of opportunity as their white peers.

'And for as long as that continues, untapped potential will never get to be realised.'

Mr Phillips said although he 'always wanted them to succeed', he was left feeling 'sorry for Harry' after he used the term 'structural racism' - a term he 'doesnt appear to understand'.

In the interview, Harry also said that even though London 'celebrated as one of the most diverse cities in the world, if you actually get out on to the streets and talk to people, it doesn't feel as diverse as it actually is'.

Writing in The Times, Mr Phillips said: 'I feel sorry for Harry when he uses terms like structural racism that he doesnt appear to understand and which make him sound like a 1980s polytechnic lecturer.

Mr Phillips also said Meghan's claim that she 'didn't realise that there was a Black History Month in Britain' was a mistake, as it was first celebrated in 1987, and showed 'how little she learnt about Britain' during her time there

At a glance: Harry and Meghan on racism, Black Lives Matter and Diversity's controversial dance routine Harry - On racism: 'Because I wasn't aware of so many of the issues and so many of the problems within the UK and also globally as well. I thought I did but I didn't.' 'You know, when you go in to a shop with your children and you only see white dolls, do you even think: 'That's weird, there is not a black doll there?' And I use that as just one example of where we as white people don't always have the awareness of what it must be like for someone else of a different coloured skin, of a black skin, to be in the same situation as we are where the world that we know has been created by white people for white people.' 'It is not about pointing the finger, it is not about blame. I will be the first person to say, again, this is about learning. And about how we can make it better. I think it is a really exciting time in British culture and British history, and in world culture. This is a real moment that we should be grasping and actually celebrating. Because no one else has managed to do this before us.' On Diversity's BLM dance routine: 'We spoke to Ashley Banjo a few weeks ago, straight after the Britain's Got Talent situation. And that in itself, I am sure even me talking about it will be controversial, but the reality of it is he and his team of guys put on the most amazing display. 'We had such a good chat with Ashley. He was really strong, he felt great about it, but at the same time he was concerned because of the reaction. It was a real surprise that there was what? 1,100 complaints after the show and then three days of hype it became 20 or 25,000. I am very glad Ofcom made the decision that they did but that in itself kind of proves how much this conversation needs to continue.' On London: Harry said that even in London 'celebrated as one of the most diverse cities in the world, if you actually get out on to the streets and talk to people, it doesn't feel as diverse as it actually is. 'Therefore, now is the best time for us to be able to use our platform and you use your platform as well so we can actually start a conversation and introduce people to the black community that are making a massive difference within their own communities and across the UK as a whole as well.' On being away from the UK: 'Everything has been through video, everything has been in a room, somewhere. Actually it doesn't matter where in the world we have been, we have stayed in touch with and supported the organisations as much as humanly possible.' Meghan On BLM protests: '... when there is just peaceful protest and when there is the intention of just wanting community and just wanting the recognition of equality, then that is a beautiful thing. While it has been challenging for a lot of people certainly having to make this reckoning of historical significance that has got people to the place that they are, that is uncomfortable for people. We recognise that. It is uncomfortable for us.' On life in America: 'We are doing well. [Archie] is so good. We are very lucky with our little one. He is just so busy, he is all over the place. He keeps us on our toes. We are just so lucky. 'Everyone has been accustomed to what it means to be distanced. The impact of that, whether it is across the Pond or across town, you are still for the most part through a computer screen. We have all had to adapt to how we can have the most impact as possible within the constraints of what has happening with Covid-19. Like all of you, we are doing the best that we can and hoping that our passion and our commitment is still felt as it certainly hasn't wavered.' On nominating her BHM NextGen Trailblazers: 'An incredible example is Baroness Lawrence. Everything she has done in memory of her son [Stephen] is creating legacy across the UK in what it means to really push for the change that is necessary.' Their joint plea to tackle structural racism: 'For as long as structural racism exists, there will be generations of young people of colour who do not start their lives with the same equality of opportunity as their white peers. And for as long as that continues, untapped potential will never get to be realised.' Advertisement

'Its the sort of empty jargon youd expect him to be fed by the fashionable types behind this appeal.

'He puzzlingly reminded us that while London was celebrated as one of the most diverse cities in the world when you get out on the street and you actually talk to people it doesnt feel as diverse as it actually is.

'Seriously? Two out of every five Londoners are non-white. Diversity isnt so easy to miss in the capital.'

In the interview, Meghan also said she 'didn't realise that there was a Black History Month in Britain'.

Mr Phillips said this was a 'a mistake' as the first Black History Month was launched in 1987.

He wrote: 'For at least two decades it has been officially celebrated by British governments of every stripe, and marked by members of the royal family.

'Meghan simply reminded us how little she learnt about Britain and, in particular, that she was unaware of the one moment in the year when Black Britain is acknowledged by Establishment Britain.'

To coincide with the interview the couple revealed their list of nominations for Black History Month's Next Generation Trailblazers, who were selected for challenging prejudice and contributing to British society.

In his piece, Mr Phillips said that while the list highlights 'admirable artists, actors, athletes and activists', it fails to mention 'doctors, scientists, lawyers, business leaders or teachers'.

He wrote: 'There is nothing wrong with the trailblazers he and Meghan have chosen.

'Several are admirable artists, actors, athletes and activists. But Black History Month was inaugurated to show that we black folk are wealth creators, inventors and professionals.

'This list has no doctors, scientists, lawyers, business leaders or teachers. The Harry and Meghan Show has fallen straight into the oldest trap in the book: showing black folk as interesting but not important, prominent but not powerful.

'Sadly this may say less about black Britain and more about a couple who could have changed the world but have settled for pleading, Let me entertain you.'

The couple's interview comes at a key moment for race issues around the world after the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd by a US policeman sparked a wave of protest.

During the unrest this summer there were scenes of violence, arson and looting, and a number of businesses were targeted.

Asked for her views on the BLM protests, Meghan admitted they had been 'inflammatory for a lot of people'.

She continued: 'But when there is just peaceful protest and when there is the intention of just wanting community and just wanting the recognition of equality, then that is a beautiful thing.

'While it has been challenging for a lot of people certainly having to make this reckoning of historical significance that has got people to the place that they are, that is uncomfortable for people. We recognise that. It is uncomfortable for us.

'And I think when everyone just starts to own that, we push through that and focus on how do we make it different moving forward? And if we just focus on the uplift and the positivity of that, while still acknowledging the past, that's where we reshape things, and that shouldn't be inflammatory at all. That should be really exciting actually.'

Meghan said that BLM in the US was a 'different movement' from the one that existed in the UK.

Harry, 36, who at one point was joined on camera by the couple's Beagle, Guy, said he had become more aware of the issue of racism after marrying Meghan, 39.

He said: 'Because I wasn't aware of so many of the issues and so many of the problems within the UK and also globally as well. I thought I did but I didn't.'

'You know, when you go in to a shop with your children and you only see white dolls, do you even think: 'That's weird, there is not a black doll there?'

'And I use that as just one example of where we as white people don't always have the awareness of what it must be like for someone else of a different coloured skin, of a black skin, to be in the same situation as we are where the world that we know has been created by white people for white people.'

'It is not about pointing the finger, it is not about blame. I will be the first person to say, again, this is about learning.

'And about how we can make it better. I think it is a really exciting time in British culture and British history, and in world culture. This is a real moment that we should be grasping and actually celebrating. Because no one else has managed to do this before us.'

The Prince weighed in on the issue of the Diversity dance troupe's BLM inspired dance on Britain's Got Talent, which sparked 24,500 complaints to Ofcom.

'We spoke to Ashley Banjo a few weeks ago, straight after the Britain's Got Talent situation,' Harry said.

'And that in itself, I am sure even me talking about it will be controversial, but the reality of it is he and his team of guys put on the most amazing display.

'We had such a good chat with Ashley. He was really strong, he felt great about it, but at the same time he was concerned because of the reaction. It was a real surprise that there was what? 1,100 complaints after the show and then three days of hype it became 20 or 25,000. I am very glad Ofcom made the decision that they did but that in itself kind of proves how much this conversation needs to continue.'

Meanwhile, Harry spoke of how he had become more aware of issues of racial discrimination in society and questioned how far Britain had progressed.

The prince said they although London was celebrated as one of world's most diverse cities, 'If you actually get out on to the streets and talk to people, it doesn't feel as diverse as it actually is.

'Therefore, now is the best time for us to be able to use our platform and you use your platform as well so we can actually start a conversation and introduce people to the black community that are making a massive difference within their own communities and across the UK as a whole as well.'

The couple recently moved into a 11million mansion in Santa Barbara after breaking with the Royal Family and leaving the UK.

Meghan said the couple were 'doing well' and enjoying life with their baby, Archie.

She said: 'We are very lucky with our little one. He is just so busy, he is all over the place.

The couple were interviewed by Evening Standard editor Emily Sheffield, and reporters Abbianca Makoni and Lizzie Edmonds

'He keeps us on our toes. We are just so lucky.

'Everyone has been accustomed to what it means to be distanced. The impact of that, whether it is across the Pond or across town, you are still for the most part through a computer screen.

'We have all had to adapt to how we can have the most impact as possible within the constraints of what has happening with Covid-19.

'Like all of you, we are doing the best that we can and hoping that our passion and our commitment is still felt as it certainly hasn't wavered.'

Harry said he was coping with being away from Britain by using Zoom to stay in touch with people at home.

'Everything has been through video, everything has been in a room, somewhere,' he said.

'Actually it doesn't matter where in the world we have been, we have stayed in touch with and supported the organisations as much as humanly possible.'
Queensland is set to mostly live up to its Sunshine State nickname for the long weekend, with light showers and intermittent cloud cover the only minor concerns.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Kimba Wong said the state's south-east was in for a "pretty nice" long weekend, with temperatures close to average for this time of year and mostly sunny conditions.

The long weekend is set to be a glorious end to the school holidays in Queensland. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Brisbane was expecting tops of 27 degrees throughout and minimums of 16 or 17, while Ipswich was in for a maximum of 29 degrees across the three days and overnight lows of 12 or 13 degrees.

The Sunshine Coast was set to hit 25 degrees with minimums of 15 or 16, while the Gold Coast was going for tops of 24 or 25 degrees with minimums of 15 or 16 degrees.
The moon is the new destination of the United States, the Soviet Union, China, and the United Arab Emirates. America had sent the first man to the moon in the 1960s and subsequently diverted its attention to concentrate on Mars, where it has two robots operating 24x7. China has landed its robot on the far side of the moon, an area no one has yet thought of exploring. Donald Trump wants NASA to revisit the moon and send a woman there by 2024.

On its part, the Los Angeles Times reveals the United Arab Emirates has plans for an unmanned mission to the moon, also in 2024.

A top Emirati official says its success would mean the United Arab Emirates could become only the fourth country to achieve that milestone. It has been active in the field of space research in recent years. An Emirati space probe is already heading to Mars. United Arab Emirates launched it a couple of months earlier.

Moreover, in preparation for the probable moon landing, it had sent one of its astronauts to the International Space Station. The purpose was to get trained, gain experience, and be acquainted with the intricacies of working in space. These might set the foundation for the future. In 2017, there was news that the United Arab Emirates UAE wanted to develop an astronaut corps.

Los Angeles Times quotes the ruler of UAE who conveyed via Twitter - "It will be an Emirati-made lunar rover that will land on the surface of the moon in 2024 in areas that have not been explored previously by human missions." He is Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as the vice president and prime minister.

He maintained silence on issues like areas that the United Arab Emirates would explore on the moon or the methodology of launching the rover into space.

The UAE is working to a plan

The United Arab Emirates launched its mission to Mars from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The name of its orbiter is "Amal" or "Hope." Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was involved in launching the probe to the red planet and said a decision on the moon rover's launch is yet to be taken.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

Los Angeles Times describes the 22-pound moon rover. There would be a range of cameras and photographic equipment installed in it to study the surface. The rover would also check out the moon's mobility and the interaction of different surfaces with lunar particles. The United Arab Emirates is a late starter and is determined to make its presence felt.

It is obviously upbeat about its space-related activities. The United States, the Soviet Union, and China have proved their worth. Each country has an agenda of its own, which revolves around the availability of natural resources on the alien surface. It will provide an impetus to robotics, artificial intelligence, and Renewable Energy. These are important when planning for activities in remote regions.

A foothold on the moon is what the UAE wants

The success of Moon mission 2024 would make the United Arab Emirates the fourth country to have accomplished the feat. Others like India and Israel tried but failed, and the United Arab Emirates is hopeful. Los Angeles Times adds that the Mars probe "Amal" would reach the red planet in February 2021.

That is the year the United Arab Emirates celebrates 50 years of its existence. By September, its Mars rover would become active. It would transmit data on the Martian atmosphere for sharing with others, and the United Arab Emirates hopes to colonize the planet by 2117, says Los Angeles Times.

Engineers of the UAE would build the Moon rover

According to Al Jazeera, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai emirate, announced that the Moon rover's name would be Rashid after his late father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. The ruler of Dubai emirate also said participating in the moon exploration is "part of the United Arab Emirates' space strategy." It would help build new knowledge capabilities and advance the country's "scientific, technical, and research environment." He also said the lunar rover's construction would be on the state's land and by its engineers.
Travel giant Tui has confirmed it is considering a large capital raise to shore up its balance sheet, though it said it would be 'significantly lower' than the 910million to 1.35billion suggested in media reports.

It would be the third large financing package for the firm after it received 1.1billion in state aid from the German government in August and a 1.6billion bridging loan in April.

The company has seen its revenues plummet this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic causing a massive downturn in the tourism and travel industry.

Tui Group has seen its revenues plummet this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic causing a massive downturn in the tourism and travel industry

Travel bans, quarantine restrictions and the growing popularity of staycations caused its summer bookings to fall by 83 per cent, and it has cut 8,000 jobs to help save hundreds of millions in costs.

Tui said the capital raise is 'among many measures' it is contemplating and that it had not made a final decision on the timing or the size of the package.

In a statement, the airline owner wrote: 'In view of the still very volatile market environment resulting from the Covid-19 crisis, it continues evaluating various measures to achieve an optimal balance sheet structure and maturity profile.'

The new announcement comes as the firm revealed it had cancelled all trips to Turkey for today and tomorrow following the UK government's addition of the country to its quarantine red list.

Tui has cancelled all trips to Turkey for today and tomorrow following the UK government's addition of the country to its quarantine red list

Turkey's official coronavirus rate is 23 per 1,000, which is slightly above the UK government's threshold of 20 per 1,000. However, a document leaked by an opposition MP in the Turkish parliament suggests the correct figure could be twenty times higher.

The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential journeys to Turkey and informed travellers who are returning to the UK from the country after 4am tomorrow that they must self-isolate for two weeks after they arrive back.

Poland was also put on the list, meaning that people living in England can now only travel to seven European countries without restrictions: Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Greek mainland, Liechtenstein, San Marino and Gibraltar.

Tui stressed that customers impacted by the decision will receive a refund, while those still on holiday in the country 'can continue to enjoy their holidays as planned.'

Yesterday, its chief executive Fritz Joussen stated that the company was considering selling some of its 400 hotels or its UK-based Marella cruise line in order to shore up its balance sheet, according to the Financial Times.

The tour operator also said that it would retire one of its Marella vessels, leaving it with four ships and resulting in the cancellation of multiple cruises next year.

Last week, it made further cuts to winter capacity due to changing restrictions. It said that holiday prices slipped by 19 per cent, while it has also seen winter sales drop 59 per cent against the same period last year.

Shares in Tui Group were down 2 per cent to 285.4p by the end of trading.
Goldman Sachs trading booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, on Thursday, January 6, 2011. Ramin Talaie/Corbis/Getty Images

Goldman Sachs won the bid for General Motors' credit-card business for roughly $2.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The Wall Street giant beat out Barclays, acquiring more than one million GM cardholders and the $8.5 billion they spend annually, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This is Goldman Sachs' second co-branded card, following the Apple Card, as it looks to expand its consumer-lending business.

The bank recently shuffled its organizational structure to create a new standalone consumer division that includes its Marcus lending unit.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Goldman Sachs is picking up General Motors' credit-card business for a price tag of roughly $2.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, as it doubles down on its push into consumer lending.

Goldman beat out UK-based Barclays for the deal, which gives it more than one million GM cardholders and the approximately $8.5 billion they spend annually, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Goldman and GM did not respond to requests for comment.

The paper initially reported in August that Goldman was looking to acquire GM's card business away from Capital One, which currently issues GM's three cards  the BuyPower Card, a business card, and a card for GM employees and suppliers  and has a year left on its contract.

According to Thursday's report, Goldman and Capital One have reached an agreement on the general terms of the deal, such as top-line price, and plan to finalize the details in the next few weeks.

Landing GM's card business would be Goldman's second co-branded consumer credit card and another significant step into the consumer-lending business, following its underwriting of the Apple Card, which launched in 2019.

On Wednesday, Business Insider's Dakin Campbell reported that Goldman has shuffled its divisions to create a new standalone consumer division that includes its Marcus lending unit. Strategy chief Stephanie Cohen and Tucker York, the head of its private-wealth business, will co-lead the new unit, which will be named the Consumer and Wealth Management Division. The changes will go into effect on January 1.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Toronto construction company has been fined $150,000 after pleading guilty to a safety violation that led to the death of a worker at a Hamilton apartment building in 2018.

Welldone Inc., a restoration company, pleaded guilty Oct. 1 in Hamilton provincial offences court to a violation of a section of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to to ensure a worker was protected from falling.

The accident occurred Oct. 15, 2018 at 57 Forest Ave., a 13-storey apartment building near St. Josephs hospital.

According to information from Ontarios labour ministry, the company was restoring balconies at the building.

At the time of the accident, two workers were on the roof taking measurements for a beam to support the suspended stage along the side of the building. One of the workers carrying the measuring tape fell from the roof and was killed. At the time, Hamilton police described him as a 22-year-old Toronto man.

According to the labour ministry, the worker was not protected by a guardrail or travel restraint system as required by law.

Welldone Inc. must also pay a $37,500 victim fine surcharge.
Momentum by JUSDA claimed the top $12,000 prize in the virtual GS1 US Hackathon, titled Flexible and Resilient: Future-Proofing the Supply Chain, held August 31 -September 20, with judging taking place from September 21-29. This winning solution provides real-time visualizations and actionable insights into supply and demand signals across supply chains, allowing for rapid response during a crisis. The panel of judges selected the solution for its real-world applicability and its seamless integration of GS1 Standards.

Additionally, CrossDock, a freight rework service provider, claimed the $9,000 second-place prize, and GTwIN, a solution leveraging GS1 Standards for digital twins, won the $5,000 third-place prize. During the competition, 168 hackers developed 17 solutions to solve highly relevant supply chain challenges recently exposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The panel of judges also awarded the following contestants $1,000 prizes:



Greatest Impact: Farmer-Aggregator

Best Implementation: RE-CHANNEL: Reverse Flow for Profit

Best Technical Execution: AWACs

Random Drawing Winner: Wheres My Beef

GS1 US Hackathon developers leveraged technologies including blockchain, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to help future-proof the supply chain, making them more agile and adaptable during times of disruption. Each entrant addressed one or more of four areas: food, consumer packaged goods (CPG), healthcare or they created their own unique solution that addresses the theme of the event. The judges evaluated each solution for market impact, seamless implementation, advanced technology utilization and incorporation of GS1 Standards. Submissions included solutions for demand forecasting, digital twins, product lifecycle tracking and commodity redistribution.

We asked the developer community to challenge the traditional way supply chains function, which had been largely focused on efficiency instead of flexibility until the COVID-19 pandemic, said Melanie Nuce, senior vice president, corporate development, GS1 US. We were impressed with the way the teams embraced this challenge with ingenuity to develop solutions that could potentially help companies better respond to emerging consumer demands.

For more information about the GS1 US Hackathon, please visit https://gs1us-futureproofhack.bemyapp.com/.

About GS1 US: GS1 US, a member of GS1 global, is a not-for-profit information standards organization that facilitates industry collaboration to help improve supply chain visibility and efficiency through the use of GS1 Standards, the most widely used supply chain standards system in the world. Nearly 300,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US for trading partner collaboration that optimizes their supply chains, drives cost performance and revenue growth, while also enabling regulatory compliance. They achieve these benefits through solutions based on GS1 global unique numbering and identification systems, barcodes, Electronic Product Code (EPC)-based RFID, data synchronization and electronic information exchange. GS1 US also manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC). For more information, please visit https://www.gs1us.org.
KINGMAN, Ariz.  Three Mohave County residents have been arrested in the killings of two people found dead in a residence in the northwestern Arizona rural community of Chloride, authorities said.

The county Sheriffs Office identified those arrested Wednesday night as Dustyn Wade Walsh, 19; Johnny Ford Parsons, 20, and Tyler Susanne Reed, 19, all of Golden Valley.

The victims were previously identified as Bryan Dean Drake, 57, and Robin Rae Hammontree, 61, both of Chloride.

Sheriffs officials didnt disclose the relationship between Drake and Hammontree or say how they were killed.

However, a statement announcing the arrests said detectives learned that Walsh, Parsons and Reed went to the victims residence to confront Drake about unspecified allegations from several years prior.

The confrontation became physical, resulting in the death of Drake and Hammontree. Walsh, Parsons, and Reed also ransacked the residence and stole several items within the residence, as well as the victims vehicle, which was later located abandoned. All three subjects admitted their involvement in this incident, the statement said.

Todays News Herald, a newspaper in Lake Havasu City, reported Thursday that Drake was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of sexual abuse, molestation of a child and sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 15.

The victim alleged instances of sexual abuse by Drake between 2009 and 2015, according to the newspaper, which said Drake was tried last year and acquitted in County Justice Court.

Sheriffs deputies were called out to the Chloride residence by a neighbor about 8 p.m. Monday and found the two bodies inside.

Walsh, Parsons and Reed were all booked into jail on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder, and Parsons and Reed also were booked on suspicion of burglary and hindering prosecution, according to authorities.

Online court records didnt indicate whether they have attorneys who could comment on their behalf.

Chloride is an old mining town 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Kingman.
The Ukrainian president stresses COVID-19 is a huge challenge.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has wished U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump a speedy recovery from COVID-19.

"#Covid19 is a huge challenge for the entire world. @RealDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS [Melania Trump] stay strong! Wishing you fast and full recovery!" Zelensky tweeted on October 2.

Read alsoDonald Trump, First Lady test positive for COVID-19

Trump's disease amid debates with Biden: What is known
Sen. Bernie Sanders is heading to New Hampshire on Saturday and Michigan on Monday to campaign for Joe Biden, his team confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: This is the first time Sanders will campaign in person since the coronavirus pandemic started, and sources tell Axios to expect more Democratic surrogates and former 2020 presidential candidates to hit the campaign trail for Biden in the coming weeks.

It also comes soon after President Trump and first lady Melania Trump both tested positive for COVID-19, effectively halting Trump's campaign for the time being while he quarantines.

Driving the news: Sanders will host outdoor rallies in both battleground states, ensuring attendees are socially distanced and following CDC guidelines.

Democrats narrowly won New Hampshire in 2016 and came within striking distance of winning Michigan, and these are two states that Biden's team has heavily targeted as of late.

Sanders endorsed Biden after he dropped out of the presidential race. Biden's campaign invited the senator to help lead Democrats' Unity Task Force.

The big picture: Trump and Republicans continue in their effort to paint Biden as a "radical" Democrat who shares Sanders' policy wish-list including Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.

While Biden has publicly distanced himself from that narrative, progressive Democrats continue to rally and organize for him  tabling their internal criticism for now in the hopes they can defeat Trump.

Go deeper: Progressives bide their time for a Biden victory
The question of what to do about Islam has been a regular topic discussion in the French press and on talk shows. But calls to reform an entire religion have repeatedly elicited accusations of xenophobia and Islamophobia. And related policy proposals have eluded, and even embarrassed, virtually every president who has tried. Even an attempt by a left-wing president, Socialist Francois Hollande, to strip convicted terrorists of their French nationality failed in the French parliament.
Even scrawled on a wooden fence or abandoned building's wall, a swastika freezes the heart.

For most Americans, it's an instinctive reminder of hatred and a historic horror. But centuries before the Nazis hijacked it, the swastika was an ancient symbol of good luck, prosperity and creativity for Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and a sacred symbol for Navajos and Mayans--who used it in a healing ceremony before white Europeans arrived in North America or Mexico.

Hindus adorned temples and wedding invitations with what had been for centuries, for them, a symbol of joy and good luck.

Then, Adolf Hitler bragged in Mein Kampf about appropriating when he designed the Nazi flag. The swastika became forever linked to that evil. And New York lawmakers have proposed legislation that "requires instruction regarding symbols of hate, including the swastika and the noose, to be incorporated into the curricula for grades 6 through 12." The bill passed the Senate in July.

Many Hindus mourn this appropriation of a symbol their faith embraced as joyous and welcoming for hundreds of years, only to see it kidnapped by fascists. They would like New York students to understand the meaning the symbol held for their religion. Members of the Capital Region's Hindu community met in August with Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, ranking minority member of the Assembly's education committee. The bill was referred to the education committee for consideration. The e-Bulletin of the Hindu Cultural Center of Albany's Hindu Temple recently provided an update on what happened:

"A very well developed presentation talking about the great significance of the swastika and its continuous legacy of association to Sanatana Dharma (Hindus) was made to Assemblywoman Walsh. The great danger of the bill to our community, particularly to the children of our community was pointed out. The team asked Ms. Walsh to advocate for bipartisan changes to the language of the bill to disassociate the Hindu swastika from the Nazi hakenkreuz. Ms. Walsh declared her opposition to the bill in its current form. She made several pertinent comments, supported the Hindu position on this bill and promised that she would engage with the education committee chairman on the bill. She revealed that at this current time the bill is not being taken up by the committee. She appreciated both our engagement, as well as the feedback from our community very much."

"We cannot get complacent and assume this issue will not come back. Indeed, the incidents of hate that prompted it regrettably can be expected again in future." The goal was to "foster mutual respect and tolerance" for all faiths.

Similar legislation has been proposed in several states. The Coalition of Hindus of North America urged people to contact their legislators to ask for the same sort of expansion that the New Yorkers suggested. The CoHNA website first applauded the legislation's intent of cultivating tolerance and inclusiveness then detailed its passion for the issue this way:

"Educating students about hatred, racism and bigotry is essential. This is even more urgent, given the recent increase in hate crimes against the Jewish and African American communities within the State of New York. Incidents of the (neo-)Nazi emblem being graffitied outside Jewish homes and synagogues, often accompanied by horrific acts of violence, by anti-Semitic and white power groups have become an alarming recurrence. As a Nazi emblem, the swastika in the West is inscribed with the transgenerational trauma of the eleven million Jews and others killed by Nazi persecution, and its use today is meant to have a chilling, intimidating effect on Jewish Americans when used in these ways. It is important to recognize it as such."

"Yet, as we see the interwovenness of religious bigotries, the important work of fighting anti-Semitism and racism must not inadvertently stoke resentment against other religious minorities," the CoHNA statement continued.

The organization urged supporters to sign a petition on Change.org asking legislators considering such bills to "recognize swastika as spiritual, not just hateful, to foster mutual respect and tolerance." The petition has 8,725 of 10,000 goal.

The Coalition of Hindus of North America also expressed a desire to strengthen interfaith bonds with the Jewish community nationwide.

Nominate your favorite people and places now Its the 25th anniversary of our Best of the Capital Region readers survey. Nominate your favorite people, places and businesses between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4.

Empire State college professor Himanee Gupta-Carlson, a veteran journalist who co-anchors the Asian American Herald, a Clifton Park-based online news show, recently interviewed Hindu American Foundation managing director Samir Kalra about the swastika as an element of Hindu heritage. Kalra said in his parents' home, the family altar includes a coconut embellished with a swastika as a symbol of good fortune.

Gupta-Carlson, who was born in 1962 in America, reflected on her childhood when she would color decorative swastikas from patterns her mom gave to her. But it seemed to have fallen into disuse, she added. She suggested other ways to express good will and peace in the Hindu tradition, like the greeting, "Namaste."

She asked Kalra, "Why fight to retain this?"

Kalra acknowledged her point but said, "For a lot of Hindus, it's deeply embedded in our everyday practices."

He said Hindus had met with organizations such as the Jewish Defense League that understood the symbol's significance for Hindus. He views the current discussion as a chance to "educate, raise awareness...and have dialogues with our Jewish friends."
A dozen men have been jailed over a Mission Impossible-style heist during which thieves abseiled through a roof to avoid motion sensors in order to steal irreplaceable books by Isaac Newton and Galileo.

Their sentencing concludes an international law enforcement operation by officers in the UK, Romania and Italy spanning three years, which led to a series of police raids on 45 properties across Europe in June 2019.

In a game of cat-and-mouse lasting several months and involving meticulous work and surveillance, supported by EU crime agency Europol, the last of the 12 culprits was arrested in January.

The men belonged to a sophisticated Romanian organised crime group responsible for a dozen high value and well planned burglaries across the UK between December 2016 and April 2019, Scotland Yard said.

The most notable heist took place at a customs clearing centre, Frontier Forwarding in Feltham, which saw them steal works of immense cultural significance due to be shipped to the US for a specialist book auction.

First editions of significant works by Sir Isaac Newton, the Italian astronomer Galileo, and Spanish painter Francisco Goya were among some 200 books - with an estimated worth of 2m - stolen from the warehouse during the five-hour operation, which saw thieves cut holes in the warehouse roof and abseil in, landing on ledges to avoid detection by sensors.

The texts were stolen in 16 holdalls also taken from the warehouse and initially hidden at a house in Balham, south London. Two members of the group commuted by Eurotunnel in a van to collect them days later. They were found buried under a house in rural Romania last month.

Eleven other raids, including several using the same method of abseiling through the roof, were carried out by the group, with Scotland Yard placing the value of goods stolen in these burglaries at a further 2m.

In another raid on a warehouse in Reading in March 2017, about 500 MacBook computers, 520 iPhones, 240 Samsung tablets and 400 iPads were stolen, with the value of the goods estimated at 340,000.

The gang sought to avoid prosecution by flying members into the UK to commit specific offences, and flying them out of the country shortly afterwards. The stolen property was taken out of the country by other members using different transport methods.

Over the course of the 29-month operation, the personnel would change. Some members would be involved in the execution of some of the burglaries and other would be involved in the planning, which involved arranging transportation for the men and property after it had been stolen.

They each played their part and took risks with their eyes open due to the financial reward, Judge Jonathan Davies said during their sentencing on Thursday.

Each of the burglaries was a carefully planned operation carried out with Mission Impossible skill, Londons Kingston Crown Court heard.

Judge Davies rejected their pleas for more lenient sentences, saying the risk of prison had to have occurred to you.

The gang were linked to a number of prominent Romanian crime families who form part of the Clamparu crime group. This group is based in Iasi in eastern Romania and has a history of complex and large-scale high value thefts, yet have mainly avoided prosecution by offending outside Romania, the Met said.

Stolen books discovered hidden under a house in rural Romania in September (PA)

All 12 men pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit burglary and one count of conspiracy to conceal, covert, disguise, transfer and remove criminal property.

The lengthiest sentence of five years and nine months was handed to Gavril Popinciuc, 45, who had an overseeing and controlling role in the gang.

Cristian Ungureanu, 41, a father of two sons, who was present at the scene of burglaries and held a leading role within the crime network, was sentenced to five years and one month.

His younger brother, Ilie Ungureanu, 37, who oversaw the transportation of the books out of the United Kingdom, was jailed for three years and nine months.

Victor Opariuc, 29, one of the men who abseiled into the warehouse and brought crucial skills to the operation, was sentenced to three years and seven months.

These sentences bring a successful conclusion to a complicated three year investigation, which identified and convicted a previously unknown Romanian organised crime gang," said Detective Inspector Andy Durham, who led the investigation.

For over two years, this gang commuted from Romania into the UK, targeting warehouses across the country, causing huge financial losses and even forcing some to close as a result.

They gave no consideration to the victims they targeted, and I am proud the Met investigation team, working with the Romanian National Police and the Italian Carabinieri, have brought their offending to an end.

Additional reporting by PA
Congress leader on Friday accused the UP government of taking to brutality to hide the truth of the Hathras incident and alleged that the family members of the victim were being beaten up, a behaviour which no Indian can support.

He took to Twitter to allege that neither any political party nor the media was allowed to meet the victims family in Hathras and they were also not allowed to come out.

He shared a video of a small child in the victim's village telling the media that the woman's family members were being beaten up and threatened by the authorities, besides not being allowed to meet anyone.

The child who claimed to be a relative of the victim alleged that the telephones of all family members had been taken away by police and their entire house and the neighbourhood was put under lockdown, with no one being allowed to enter or leave.

"The UP government has taken to brutality cover up the truth. Neither us, nor the media is being allowed to meet the victim's family. Neither are they allowed to come out. On top of this, the family members of the victim are being beaten up and brutalised. No one in India will support such a behaviour," he said in a tweet in Hindi while sharing the video.

This comes a day after the former Congress president and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained by the police and sent back to Delhi, after they tried to reach Hathras to meet the family of the victim.

Priyanka Gandhi also took a swipe the Uttar Pardesh government over the manner in which it was dealing with the public.

Greeting people on former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's birth anniversary, she cited a quote by him that said, "Those who rule should see how people react to the administration. Ultimately the public is the leader."



The 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped at a village in Hathras by four men on September 14. After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to the Delhi's Safdarjung hospital where she breathed her last on Tuesday.

She was cremated in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

(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.)
Russia is asked to inform the UN Security Council.

The Permanent Representatives of France, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, and Estonia to the UN have called in a letter on Russia to urgently disclose the circumstances of the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a poisonous substance from the Novichok group.

The letter whose copy is available to Russia's news agency Interfax is addressed to Permanent Representative of Niger to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of September Abdou Abarry and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Read alsoNavalny team says Novichok traces found on water bottle in hotel room  media

"As such, we consider that the use of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group in the abhorrent poisoning of Mr Alexei Navalny constitutes a threat to international peace and security," they said in the letter.

"We call on the Russian Federation to disclose, urgently, fully and in a transparent manner, the circumstances of this attack and to inform the Security Council in this regard."

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, October 1, which was dedicated to the beginning of Russia's presidency of the Security Council, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia advised Germany and other countries "cooperate with the Russian authorities" instead of "drafting letters in a hurry before the end of Niger's presidency of the Security Council."

Navalny poisoning: Background
HOLYOKE  Holyoke Community College will continue to operate primarily remotely for the Spring 2021 semester, according to an internal memo sent this week.

The College made a public announcement Friday.

Holyoke Community College president Christina Royal said administrators expect that no more than 10% of the colleges course offerings will be offered in person.

In every case, plans for offering face-to-face courses will be reviewed by the colleges Return to Campus Task Force to ensure that health and safety protocols are in place, she said.

Holyoke Community Colleges spring semester begins Jan. 25 with the second spring semester beginning Feb 16 and the third session March 29.

Royal said she made the announcement now because registration begins Monday, Nov. 2, for HCCs two-week January term and the spring 2021 semester. Registration and course materials must be prepared in advance of that date, so students have time to make informed decisions about their classes.

In May, Holyoke Community College announced that its fall 2020 classes would be offered mostly by remote learning. That semester began Sept. 8.

Holyoke Community College is the states oldest community college, serving more than 11,500 students annually in credit and noncredit programs and courses.

Elsewhere, Greenfield Community College also announced that it will be primarily a remote-learning institution in the spring.

Springfield Technical Community College is mostly online in the fall and has not made an announcement on Spring 2021.

Royal is also set to appear at noon Friday, Oct. 2 on a livestream broadcast with state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow. To watch and participate in the livestream event, go to twitter.com/ericlesser or facebook.com/EricLesserMA.

Springfield Technical Community College said continues to closely follow the public health pandemic, and will announce sometime this month its Spring Semester 2021 plans.

Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester also said it plans to announce a decision in October.

Berkshire Community College spokeswoman Christina Wynn 70% to 80% of that colleges course offerings are online for the fall, exceptions being lab courses for health science majors. No decision has been made yet for the spring. But she would expect remote learning to continue.
Asked to create a mural for an outdoor art installation in downtown Niagara Falls, local artist Elaine Wallis turned to the history books  and her imagination.

She happened to come across a 1935 stamp featuring Niagara Falls and was intrigued by the image.

I wanted to do something that connected Queen Street and downtown Niagara Falls with the tourism and hustle of the falls themselves, the artist said.

Then I realized that every postcard, every letter, every package that leaves Niagara Falls has to travel down Queen Street to the post office.

Working on a tight deadline of about 30 days, she created a large mural featuring a replica of the stamp for Celebrate Our Downtowns alley and laneway project.

The colourful mural, located on a building at the corner of Queen Street and St. Lawrence Avenue, recently won top honours in the historic image category of the Canadian Sign Associations 2020 design competition.

Ive done murals for well over 20 years and Ive never entered art into this type of competition before, said Wallis, who operates Signature Sign & Image with her husband, Jeff, and son Mark.

I love the way it turned out.

After deciding to create the mural based on the stamp, she did a little research and discovered a 20-cent stamp in 1935 would not be for a letter or postcard, rather it would be used to send a package.

She decided to create fictional letters, like those people might have written around that time to accompany the packages, to use on the mural.

I tried to imagine what packages would be sent to or from Niagara Falls in 1935, she said.

It would have been in the middle of the Great Depression and people didnt have a lot of money, so I wrote a letter about a child receiving a Shirley Temple doll from a fairly wealthy aunt in Toronto who couldnt be there for Christmas that year.

Another letter involves a film canister left at a drug store by a George Stathakis, a daredevil who went over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel in 1930.

He suffocated inside the barrel, though his pet turtle, Sonny, survived unscathed.

In the letter to famed riverman Red Hill Sr., a pharmacist writes he hopes the canister may be of value so he can recoup your payment for risking your life to try to save him and so many others.

Its a very pedestrian mural and people will walk past it, but I wanted it to also draw you in to read the stories, Wallis said.

The mural is located across the street from Heart Niagara, which is a member of Celebrate Our Downtown.

We know that art, events and culture will lift spirits, give people a sense of community and showcase artists, said Karen Stearne, executive director of Heart Niagara.

Outdoor art installations give us a reason to walk more, which improves health.

Stearne said Walliss mural successfully incorporates art, history and storytelling.

The goal of the alley and laneway project is to improve the esthetic of underused areas by transforming them into outdoor art galleries and interactive spaces.

The project was carried out through a grant from the Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund, which supports initiatives that engage the community with cultural and heritage-related ideas and activities.

The Sign Association of Canada represents and promotes the interests of stakeholders involved in the sign industry.
Miss Bessie Smith Scholarship Pageant 2020 made history by having the first virtual pageant and the same young contestant, Anijah Norman winning the title of both Miss Bessie Smith 2020 and the Spirit of Bessie 2020.

Ms. Norman, who competed with four other young women from Hamilton County will hold the covenant title until February 2022. The original event was canceled in February due to snow, then canceled again in March due to The Covid 19 pandemic.

Ms.

Norman said, It felt great being crowned Miss Bessie Smith 2020. I was in my senior year of high school and wanted try something new when I signed up. I never competed in pageants before and I won. Im so excited to see what the rest of the year has in store for me.

The third annual Miss Bessie Smith Pageant was held on Saturday, Sept. 19. This years theme was Bessies Roots, in honor of The Empress of Blues rich African history and celebrate her surviving family members who still maintain strong ties to the Scenic City.

Due to socially distance guidelines, the event was held in The BSCCs performance hall with only the parents of the contestants and judges in attendance. We wanted to proceed with the restrictions in place so that we could provide the much-needed scholarships for the contestants, said Paula Wilkes, president of the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.

We definitely found ourselves in a unique situation with the pandemic, but we stuck together, worked our way through it as a team, said Christy Rashed, pageant director. "Doing the pageant virtually, I think it went well and the young ladies were excited! This is the third year with even more scholarship money. Im glad I had the opportunity to work with them."

Pageant officials thanked sponsors BlueCross Blue Shield of Tennessee Community Trust, Allstate Insurance Dorothy Grisham, Erlanger Health System, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Dillards Department Store for their support.

The pageant committee was Ms. Christy Rashed, pageant organizer/director, Ms. Varion Walton, publicity, Mrs. Gwyn Crutcher, souvenir booklet designer and Mrs. Tara Mathis, finance. Thank you, President Paula Wilkes and staff for their support in making this pageant a success, said Ms. Rashed.

Miss Bessie Smith 2020; Miss Spirit of Bessie 2020; Talent and Evening Wear Winner received a $1,000.00 scholarship.

Contestant #2

Anijah Norman is the daughter of Mrs. LaToya Oliver and Mr. Paul Norman and one sister. She graduated from Chattanooga School for The Arts and Sciences and presently attending Chattanooga State Community College. Anijah was a member of the Paideia Society, Chic Fila Leadership Academy, National Society for High School Scholars, Urban League Achievers and Brainerd High School Marching Band and her favorite subject is English. She is a member of Mt Horeb Prophetic Fellowship Church. Anijah will be attending the University of Memphis and presently attending Chattanooga State Community College due to COVID19. Her goal is to receive her Bachelor of Science Degree.

Her motto is Mistakes arent setbacks but stepping stones guiding you through life.

1st Runner-Up Miss Bessie Smith 2020 and On-Stage Question Winner received a $750.00 scholarship.

Contestant #3

Moniest Cardell is the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. William (Valecia) Cardell and granddaughter of Mrs. Veronica Jones and Mr. James Sanderfer and two siblings. She attends Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts where she is a senior. Moniest is a member of the National Honor Society, IMPACT, National Achievers Society and her favorite subject is Pre-Calculus. She is a member of Hawkinsville Baptist Church. Her future goal is to attend Howard University or Spelman College and major in psychology and become a Clinical Psychologist.

Her motto: I am a strong independent black woman and I can overcome any obstacle in my way.

2nd Runner-Up and Causal Wear Winner received a $500.00 scholarship.

Contestant #6

Rickell Crutcher is the daughter of Mr. Lawanza Crutcher, Ms. Nickia Carter and Step Mother Ms. Daphne Stargin. She attends Hixson High School where she is a senior. She is a member of the Basketball team, Volleyball Team, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, HOSA and Sports Human Performance and her favorite subject is English. She is a member of St. Mary CME Church where she is the President of Christian Youth Fellowship. Her future goal is to attend University of Tennessee (UTK) in Knoxville or University of Georgia to become a Physical Therapist or Athletic Trainer. Her motto: Dont take life too serious, because its already too short.

Ms. Norman is gearing up to serve as an ambassador for the Bessie and the City of Chattanooga all over the Tennessee Valley. Contact Mrs. Christy Rashed, Pageant Director for more information on for booking Miss Bessie Smith. Email address: rashed4@bellsouth.net or 423 421-9507.
On Saturday, the northwest region of the state, which includes Rockford, DeKalb and Galena, will be placed back under tighter restrictions after its seven-day average of positive cases reached 8% or higher for three consecutive days. The Metro East region outside St. Louis has been under the same stricter rules since Aug. 18.
INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ryan Consulting Group, Inc. today announced that the company has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The contract will support the Client Experience Center, an information technology service provider under USDA's Office of Chief Information Officer. The OCIO CEC is an integrated Government and Contracted program team whose mission is to deliver streamlined, flexible, and robust Enterprise IT solutions, policies and procedures that maximizes the performance, value, and results of the entire USDA.

Awarded under the NITAAC CIO-SP3 contract, Ryan Consulting will be migrating the CEC's current On-Premise based Microsoft Project Web App (PWA) instance to the Microsoft Project Online 2019 Government Cloud environment. This work will include technology enhancements and/or process improvement features to provide a one-stop shop for all Project data regardless if an enterprise, major, or investment-related with Management Reporting and Dashboards. The goal is to encourage transparency across the organization and a single view of the CEC Program Management Portfolio.

"Ryan is proud to provide the USDA CEC with a best value, industry-leading IT solution to migrate their PWA processes to a cloud environment," said R. Keith Harding, President of Ryan Consulting Group. "This contract further strengthens our continued support and partnership with USDA."

This award is Ryan Consulting Group's second contract from the USDA in recent years. For more than three years, Ryan Consulting Group has supported USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) by performing Patch and Vulnerability Management Services.

About Ryan Consulting Group

For nearly 20 years, Ryan Consulting Group has provided IT solutions to Federal, Local Government, and commercial clients. Ryan's Core Services align with Agile Software Development, Cybersecurity services, Independent Verification & Validation Programs, Cloud Computing & Virtualization, and Service Desk & Incident Management. Ryan is an SBA award-winning small business recognized for analyzing, designing, developing, and implementing established and emerging technologies and securing network systems and applications.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 1, 2020

Contact: Kristen Schulze Muszynski

207-626-8400



Secretary Dunlap accepts generous election-focused PPE donation from Maine companies



AUGUSTA  Two Maine companies have donated more than $44,000 of personal protective equipment for election workers to stay safe while administering the Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 General Election.

L.L. Bean, the outdoor retailer based in Freeport, donated 8,000 face coverings for this election, while Flowfold, the Gorham-based manufacturer of wallets, bags and everyday gear, provided 8,000 face shields.

We are incredibly grateful to have these two upstanding Maine companies recognize the importance of supporting our election workers with protective equipment this year, said Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. We are very appreciative of this donation, which will help limit the spread of the pandemic while people exercise their right to vote.

L.L. Bean and Flowfold delivered the donated materials to the Maine Department of the Secretary of State on Monday, Sept. 14, and the items are being delivered to all municipalities in advance of Election Day.

In April of 2020, L.L. Bean announced it was making face masks for healthcare workers across the state using the companys dog bed liners  as the material was not only readily available for quick access, but it is also breathable, liquid resistant, durable, and washable.

Similar to our mask making efforts for frontline workers earlier this year, we want to use our resources and talent to the best of our ability to help our communities across the state, said Marie McCarthy, L.L. Bean Chief Operations and People Officer.

In March of 2020, Flowfold also found itself in a unique position to provide critical protective equipment and quickly retooled its manufacturing operations to produce protective face shields.

We pivoted to making PPE to help members of our community, be it medical professionals, teachers, business owners, or individuals, said Devin McNeill, CEO and co-founder of Flowfold. With the challenges posed by COVID we're proud to join with L.L.Bean and the State of Maine to ensure poll volunteers have access to the PPE they need.

MEDIA RESOURCES:

B-Roll of mask production at L.L. Bean facility: https://vimeo.com/user15692962/review/422844621/fb7a6f199a

Still images of Flowfold face shield production:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7kte4am2ig1n4q8/2009-01-08%2020.37.02.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yzekljat279z5ei/2009-01-08%2020.39.39.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8giuavy0q8pqesm/flowfold%20face%20shields%20march%2024%202020%201%20copy%204.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gjsg9rrx561ggae/Full%20Team%20photo%202%20copy.jpg?dl=0

Still images of 09/14/20 donation drop-off at the Department of the Secretary of State: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1P44SLDqXY-Dex6iGvkzqajpRsfBb5rXD?usp=sharing








Alphabet Inc.s Google will start paying select media outlets to display curated content on its news app in a concession to the industry which has accused the search engine and other tech giants of unfairly using content for years.

The company has set aside more than $1 billion (R16.5 billion) to cover the programs first three years, and will extend the program beyond that, Google said in a statement on Thursday. The search giant will pay publishers to provide blurbs for its news app and to give readers free access to certain paywalled articles, Google said.

The Google News Showcase product, which launches Thursday in Brazil and Germany, will display branded story panels curated by partner publishers, allowing them to highlight their content using timelines, bullets and related news articles. Panels will also link directly to the news publishers website, Google said.

Google and Facebook Inc. have faced heat from news executives and regulators around the world whove urged the platforms to pay for the rights to host news articles. Publishers argue that their journalism is whats drawing users to those platforms, while the two tech giants are capturing most of the online ad dollars. Thursdays launch builds on a licensing program Google announced in June to pay publishers for high-quality content.

Google News Showcase lets publishers curate stories on the news that matters, develop deeper relationships with readers and provides a new revenue stream for essential reporting, Brad Bender, a Google vice president, said on a call with journalists.

More than 200 publications in Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the U.K. and Australia have signed up to the News Showcase program, with more markets to come, Google said in the statement.

Bender said the funding wouldnt be able to cover all news organizations also because not all publishers produce the volume and type of content necessary for this product. Google is deciding who to partner with on a market-by-market basis, with a focus on newspapers or sources with established audiences, as well as significant local and regional news outlets, he said.

Licensing fees will be structured as a flat fee over a period of time and will be negotiated depending on the amount of content the publisher provides, Google said.

With News Showcase and the new integration of editorial content of media like Der Spiegel, Google shows that they are serious about supporting quality journalism in Germany, Stefan Ottlitz, head of product development at Der Spiegel, said in an email.

But not all publishers are convinced of Googles new program. By launching a product, they can dictate terms and conditions, undermine legislation designed to create conditions for a fair negotiation, while claiming they are helping to fund news production, said Angela Mills Wade, Executive Director of the European Publishers Council, referring to an EU copyright directive that allows news outlets to seek payment from internet sites that display their articles.

Google said News Showcase will first launch on its Android app and later on iOS, Discover and search services. News Showcase content wont get preferential ranking or display in the app or search results.
Algeria is readying for a constitutional referendum that the establishment says will usher in a "New Republic" and boost freedoms, but the opposition dismisses as window-dressing by a repressive regime.

With a month to go before the November 1 vote, many ordinary Algerians -- struggling during a deep economic crisis that has seen unemployment soar -- appear unaware of the technical details of the government's proposals.

And opposition leaders say President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's flagship initiative fails to provide meaningful political change in the North African nation.

"It is yet another coup against popular sovereignty," said Djamal Bahloul, of the Front of Socialist Forces (FFS), Algeria's oldest opposition party.

"The authorities continue to concoct constitutions through technical commissions or experts -- while ignoring the people."

An unprecedented protest movement, known as "Hirak", mobilised from February 2019 and in April that year people massed in their hundreds of thousands to force veteran ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign after two decades in power.

Tebboune won a presidential election in December, but the protest movement boycotted a vote it derided as a sham and even the official turnout was less than 40 percent.

Tebboune served as prime minister under Bouteflika and is seen by protesters as emblematic of an old regime that they want to dismantle.

Peaceful demonstrations continued, until the need to social distance brought a curtain down on street mobilisations earlier this year.

'Radical change'

In a bid to shore up his mandate, Tebboune pledged to revise the constitution -- which Bouteflika modified for his needs -- and allow people to approve or reject proposals in a referendum.

In January, the president appointed a commission of constitutional experts, who held consultations with political parties and civil society leaders.

Abdelmadjid Tebboune, once a prime minister under Bouteflika, won a presidential election that saw a turnout of less than 40 percent, according to official data. By RYAD KRAMDI (AFP/File)

The commission submitted its proposals in March, and the draft changes were adopted without debate by parliament in early September.

The government claims it offers "radical change in the mode of governance" by better separating powers and boosting transparency.

Critics point out that parliament remains dominated by two allied parties who held power under the old regime.

They are the National Liberation Front (FLN), Bouteflika's party, and the Democratic National Rally (RND).

FLN secretary general Abou El Fadhl Baadji touts the constitutional changes as a "qualitative leap" that gives birth to a "New Republic where justice, law and the equitable distribution of the country's wealth reign".

Tayeb Zitouni, the RND's secretary general, is similarly enthusiastic.

Opposition fragmented

But many opposition supporters see the referendum as a cynical way for the government to appear to bring change while maintaining its power.

"This constitutional revision is only there to safeguard the system," said Ramdane Taazibt, a leader of the leftist Workers' Party, lamenting a continued "concentration of powers in the hands of the president."

Athmane Mazzouz, spokesman for the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) party, said the reforms would change little for ordinary people.

Bouteflika, who suffered a stroke in 2013, ruled for two decades and early last year threw his hat into the ring for a fifth term. By Eric FEFERBERG (AFP/File)

"Each head of state who comes to power tries to carve out his own constitution to give himself more power," Mazzouz said.

"We call on Algerians not to go and vote," he added.

But the opposition are themselves fragmented.

Other factions include the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), an Islamist party close to the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Pact for the Democratic Alternative (PAD), a party close to the Hirak movement.

Some parties have proposed a direct vote to elect a constituent assembly.

The MSP, the opposition party with the largest number of seats in parliament -- 34 out of 462 -- has called on its members to take part in the referendum, but vote to reject the proposals.

The party condemns "secular" elements of the reform, including a provision that would shield mosques from "political or ideological influence", fearing this could undermine the influence of religion.

It also objects to proposals to ensure women are protected "against all forms of violence in all places and in all circumstances", on the basis that this would "threaten the private family sphere".

The reforms are set to be put to a referendum on November 1, the anniversary of the start of Algeria's 1954-1962 war of independence from France.
Syracuse, N.Y.  A man has been charged with killing a 29-year-old Syracuse woman last month in a shooting outside a liquor store.

Anthony Sutton Jr., 22, of Syracuse, was charged Tuesday with murdering Shadetta Franklin, Syracuse police announced Friday in a news release.

The homicide happened near the Hub Liquor Store at Burt Street and Oakwood Avenue.

Police rushed to the 100 block of Oakwood Avenue at 7:12 p.m. Sept. 17 after a caller reported a shooting. When officers arrived, they found Franklin  who had been shot in the head  in the road.

Franklin was rushed by American Medical Response to Upstate University Hospital in critical condition. She died two days later.

Shadetta Franklin, 29, of Syracuse, was fatally shot on Sept. 17, 2020, near Burt Street and Oakwood Avenue in Syracuse. Provided by familyProvided by family

Franklin is survived by a host of loved ones, including her 12-year-old son and 10-year-old stepdaughter.

After the deadly shooting, detectives canvassed the neighborhood, interviewed numerous people, collected evidence and executed search warrants, police said. Police said the investigation led detectives to a suspect: Sutton.

Sutton was arrested Tuesday in the 4000 block of South Salina Street. He was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for Franklins death. He was also arrested on an unrelated warrant for fourth-degree criminal mischief, police said.

Sutton is being held in the Onondaga County Justice Center without bail, custody records show.

Five years ago, Sutton and his family lost a loved one to gun violence.

Azhawn Harvey, Suttons 20-year-old stepbrother, was fatally shot in 2015 during a Fourth of July during a cookout at Thornden Park.

Sutton, then 17, was waiting to be sentenced for robbery when his stepbrother was shot. He asked a judge to delay sentencing to give him a chance to say goodbye to to Harvey before he was taken off life support. His request was denied.

There have been 25 homicides this year in Syracuse. Franklin was the 23rd person killed.

Staff writer Samantha House covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach her at shouse@syracuse.com.
Just how serious can COVID-19 be for someone of President Trump's age and condition?

Everyone reacts differently to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, from no symptoms at all to life-threatening illness.

"What we've learned for sure is that the spectrum of illness from COVID-19 is tremendous," said Dr. David Banach, an infectious diseases physician at UConn Health and hospital epidemiologist at the UConn John Dempsey Hospital.

While the vast majority of people who contract the virus recover, President Trump has several risk factors that put him on the more worrisome end of the spectrum, and others that counterbalance the risk.

His age, weight and gender all add to his vulnerability.

Trump turned 74 in June, putting him at five-times higher risk of hospitalization and 90-times higher risk of death than someone in their 20s, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just a year older, and he'd be at eight-times higher risk of hospitalization and 220-times higher risk of death.

The President's weight-to-height ratio bumps him just over the boundaries of what's considered obese, putting him at three-times higher risk of a serious infection compared to someone at a healthier weight, according to the CDC.

Being male also puts Trump at higher risk. Just over 54% of Americans who have died of COVID-19 have been male, while 46% have been female; in Trump's age group, 61% of the deaths have been among men.

The First Lady, who also tested positive for COVID-19, has none of these added risks, and so is likely to have a mild case of the disease.

The President also has a number of strengths to counteract his risks.

First, he's healthy and very active.

He keeps a busy schedule for someone of his age, and his health does not appear to interfere with the activities of his daily life. Risk of serious COVID-19 illness is known to increase as medical conditions mount, with the highest risk among those who have three or more comorbidities, such as asthma, obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, severe obesity, coronary artery disease, history of stroke, and a lung condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD.

Story continues

Trump also has access to the best possible medical care, potentially including some therapies that could reduce his risk of having a bad case of COVID-19.

Although no therapies have yet been approved, there are several under development that can be given after exposure to the virus and are likely to be safe and limit symptoms. It's not clear whether Trump has received or will receive any of these.

Monoclonal antibodies, for instance, are proteins that help the immune system fight off a specific invader, and can be used to prevent, protect or treat many diseases. Several companies have been developing monoclonal antibodies against COVID-19, and although none has yet been approved for sale, there are clinical trials in which Trump could potentially participate.

Dave O'Connor, a pathologist at the University of Wisconsin, said if he were the President and had ready access to cutting edge therapies, he'd either be signing up for a monoclonal antibody clinical trial or be asking for an injection of Remdesivir, an anti-viral authorized for use in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

If such preventive therapies are offered to the President, O'Connor said he'd hope they'd also soon be available to the general public.

"What does the best care look like?" he asked, and "how closely is the care available to everyone else approximating that?"

But Dr. Mark Rupp, chief of the division of infectious diseases at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, said if Trump were his patient, he would simply watch over him carefully for the next week.

"The most important thing is clearly having careful observation and really good supportive care," Rupp said. "Until we have further data, I would be reluctant to embark on any therapy."

Rupp said with most people, the first week after symptoms appear is key. During that time, patients either turn the corner and begin to improve, or they deteriorate and potentially need medical care.

"I think we've got a critical period of about a week to watch closely and try to make sure the president turns the corner in the right direction," he said.

Contact Karen Weintraub at kweintraub@usatoday.com and Elizabeth Weise at eweise@usatoday.com

Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump at risk for serious COVID-19 infection but also has advantages
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Snow likely. Low 17F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches..

Tonight

Snow likely. Low 17F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches.
Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence tested negative for COVID-19 Friday morning, hours after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Spokesman Devin OMalley says Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.

Pence is tested every day for the virus, OMalley confirmed.

From earlier:

President Donald Trump said early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunges the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election.

Trump, who has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans, said he and Mrs. Trump were quarantining. The White House physician said the president is expected to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.

Still, Trumps diagnosis was sure to have a destabilizing effect in Washington and around the world, raising questions about how far the virus had spread through the highest levels of the U.S. government. Hours before Trump announced he had contracted the virus, the White House said a top aide who had traveled with him during the week had tested positive.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately, Trump tweeted just before 1 a.m. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus on Friday morning and remains in good health, his spokesman said.

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and did not appear visibly ill. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide.

The presidents physician said in a memo that Trump and the first lady, who is 50, are both well at this time and plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

The diagnosis marks a devastating blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them. In the best of cases, if he develops no symptoms, which can include fever, cough and breathing trouble, it will likely force him off the campaign trail just weeks before the election and puts his participation in the second presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami, into doubt.

Trumps handling of the pandemic has already been a major flashpoint in his race against Democrat Joe Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware because of the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday nights debate.

I dont wear masks like him, Trump said of Biden. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

There was no immediate comment from the Biden campaign on whether the former vice president had been tested since appearing at the debate with Trump or whether he was taking any additional safety protocols. Trump and Biden did not shake hands during the debate, but stood without masks about 10 feet apart for the 90-minute event.

World leaders offered the president and first family their best wishes after their diagnosis, as governments used their case as a reminder for their citizens to wear masks and practice social distancing measures.

On Friday, Trump had been scheduled to receive an intelligence briefing, attend a fundraiser and hold another campaign rally in Sanford, Florida. But just after 1 a.m., the White House released a revised schedule with only one event: a phone call on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors.

Trumps announcement came hours after he confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of his most trusted and longest-serving aides, had been diagnosed with the virus Thursday. Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private information. She was isolated from other passengers aboard the plane, the person said.

Hicks had been with Trump and other senior staff aboard Marine One and Air Force One en route to that rally and had accompanied the president to Tuesdays presidential debate in Cleveland, along with members of the Trump family. The Trump contingent removed their masks during the debate, in violation of the venue rules.

Multiple White House staffers have previously tested positive for the virus, including Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert OBrien and one of the presidents personal valets.

But Trump has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened. Since the coronavirus emerged earlier this year, Trump has refused to abide by basic public health guidelines  including those issued by his own administration  such as wearing face coverings in public and practicing social distancing. Instead, he has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of often mask-less supporters.

I felt no vulnerability whatsoever, he told reporters back in May.

The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen the economy without driving virus transmission. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen. U.S. stock futures fell on the news of Trumps diagnosis.

Questions remain about why it took so long for Trump to be tested and why he and his aides continued to come to work and travel after Hicks fell ill. Trump traveled to New Jersey on Thursday for a fundraiser, potentially exposing attendees to the virus. Trumps social media director Dan Scavino and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who were originally set to join him on the trip, were replaced at the last minute by other aides.

McEnany briefed the press Thursday morning while Hicks was presumed to have the virus, but offered no public word on the case close to the president.

It is unclear where the Trumps and Hicks may have caught the virus, but in his Fox interview, Trump seemed to suggest it may have been spread by someone in the military or law enforcement.

Its very, very hard when you are with people from the military or from law enforcement, and they come over to you, and they want to hug you, and they want to kiss you, he said, because we really have done a good job for them. And you get close. And things happen.

Several members of Trumps Cabinet were undergoing testing for COVID-19 Friday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the fourth in line to the presidency, tested negative shortly before he landed in Croatia. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also tested negative, while Attorney General William Barr was to undergo a test Friday morning.

The White House began instituting a daily testing regimen for the presidents senior aides after earlier positive cases close to the president. Anyone in close proximity to the president or vice president is also tested every day, including reporters.

Yet since the early days of the pandemic, experts have questioned the health and safety protocols at the White House and asked why more wasnt being done to protect the commander in chief. Trump continued to shake hands with visitors long after public health officials were warning against it, and he initially resisted being tested.

Trump is far from the first world leader to test positive for the virus, which previously infected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was hospitalized last month while fighting what he called a hellish case of COVID-19.

While there is currently no indication that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness.

The Constitutions 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which the president can declare himself unable to discharge the powers and duties of the presidency. If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted a written declaration to the contrary.

The vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law can also declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.
US Official Anticipates NATO and EU Embracing 5G Clean Network

On Sept. 30, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Keith Krach, delivered remarks regarding 5G Clean Network at the request of moderator Justin Higgins, director of the Brussels Media Hub, on LiveAtState, an online press briefing.

Krach began his remarks with a current and urgent threat from China. He criticized the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for exploiting the institutions of the free world. Chinese authorities have tried every means to take advantage of democratic countries by resorting to market restrictions, forced technology transfers, and intellectual property theft.

Throughout his speech, the 5G Clean Network was Krachs primary highlight. He clarified the real intention of the United States in promoting the Clean Network: to join hands with likeminded nations to tackle long-term threats to data privacy, security, human rights, and trusted collaboration. He further annotated that such a Network is rooted in internationally accepted digital trust standards.

He noted that people must acknowledge the intersection between 5G providers and national security equities, and that only by building safe networks today, can governments ensure the integrity of their systems and prevent costly countermeasures down the road.

Krach reminded his listeners that Chinas 5G is an arm of the CCP surveillance state and a tool for human rights abuse.

U.S. Under Secretary of State Keith Krach talks with South Koreas Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea on Nov. 6, 2019. (Heo Ran/Pool Photo via AP)

History has taught us there is power and strength in unity and solidarity and together we can control our 5G destiny and ensure we lead our people down the clean path for a safe and a secure future, Krach said.

Krach pointed out the environmental crises that China has brought about to this planet. He blamed China as the worlds largest annual greenhouse gas emitter; the largest mercury emitter, which poses a major health threat; the largest illegal wildlife consumer; the largest illegal timber consumer; one of the largest emitters of marine plastics; and one of the worst perpetrators in terms of illegal unreported and unregulated fishing.

During the Q&A session, Krach shared his viewpoints on major topics. Raphael Balenieri from Les Echos, a French financial newspaper, asked if he planned to put SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation) on the Department of Commerces Entity List, and how he responded to the argument that U.S. sanctions on Huawei are counterproductive because they are forcing China to boost its own technology and software. Krach said that SMIC is absolutely a state-backed company, and is involved with civilian-military fusion, and that it is these semiconductors that power that surveillance state which extends that great firewall, which is a tremendous threat to democracies around the world.

Jenny Che from Intelligence Online asked how receptive Germany has been toward U.S. warnings about Huawei during his recent talks. Krach said very receptive, and theyre coming out with an IT security act. He also said the United States wanted Germany to learn from their experiences and those of other countries, and that the final decision is a German one and the United States will respect that.

Then almost immediately, Krach praised Germany as a great leader in quality, reliability, data privacy, and security. He also said, We would of course love Germany to join the Clean Network and the Clean Network would be incomplete without them.

Airplanes of German carrier Lufthansa are parked at the Berlin Schoenefeld airport, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Schoenefeld, Germany, on May 26, 2020. Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

When asked which EU countries are closest to signing a joint declaration with the United States on 5G security, Krach replied that right now, of the 30 NATO countries, 20 are already on the Clean Network. Then he particularly stressed that they dont want to end up with a fractured NATO or two NATOs. To illustrate his point, he presented an intriguing pearl necklace theory: Youre weak in one place, it can expose the others.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
The headmaster of St Joseph's College in Hunters Hill has announced his sudden resignation to the school community after less than three years as head of the high-fee private boys school.

In a letter to parents on Friday afternoon, headmaster Dr Chris Hayes said he would be leaving his position "effective immediately" and would not return after the school holidays.

Former headmaster Ross Tarlinton has been called back in following Dr Hayes' immediate resignation. Credit:

St Joseph's has called in its former headmaster Ross Tarlinton to oversee its operations for the rest of the year.

Dr Hayes became the second lay headmaster of the Roman Catholic boys' school when he began the top job at the start of 2018 following the departure of Mr Tarlinton, who took up a role within Marist Schools Australia, with which St Joseph's is affiliated.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Thursday marked the start of a new water year for New Mexico, but water managers are unsure if the coming months will bring any relief for the parched state.

All of New Mexico is in some level of drought, according to a map released Thursday by the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Nearly three-fourths of the state is experiencing severe drought. Areas of southeast and southwest New Mexico are in extreme or exceptional drought.

State climatologist Dave DuBois said the worsening drought is taking a toll on farmers and ranchers and soil moisture levels statewide.

On the ground, in the field, things are not looking good, DuBois said during a Wednesday meeting of the state drought task force. Several people say this is similar to the 2011 drought in terms of impact. We got a really dry monsoon this year as well as last year, in addition to a really, really hot and dry spring and summer.

The state engineers office has implemented water shortage sharing agreements this year on the Jemez, Gallinas, Animas and Chama rivers.

The voluntary agreements go into effect when stream flow dips below a certain level, said John Romero, director of the water resource allocation program and the water rights division.

These plans are designed to get everyone some amount of water during irrigation season, Romero said.

Meteorologists expect a La Nina weather pattern to develop this winter. In the past, that has translated into dry conditions in the southern United States, said Royce Fontenot, hydrologist for the National Weather Service.

Looking into November, December, January, thats above-normal conditions expected on temperatures, and holding those below normal precipitation chances into winter, Fontenot said.

A below-average snowpack in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico could affect water levels next spring and summer in the San Juan and Rio Grande basins. Those are two major water sources for farmers and municipalities.

Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal.
DALLAS, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Lighting Association (ALA) recognizes the newest ALA Lighting Hall of Fame inductee, Sy Gerber of GM Lighting. The honor became official during the ALA Virtual Symposium in September. Members of the association celebrated Gerber virtually by viewing a special video tribute to the lighting veteran.

GM Lighting's Sy Gerber is the 2020 ALA Lighting Hall of Fame Inductee

An iconic fixture in the industry, Gerber embodies the characteristics required of all ALA Lighting Hall of Fame members as a significant contributor to the association and entire lighting industry. One of Gerber's most noteworthy achievements is the development of critical safety standards for recessed lighting that were a result of his work with the federal government.

The driving force behind Gerber's success is his unwavering value system. He recently reflected on what personal characteristics are most important to him. "I wouldn't trade my honesty and integrity for anything in the world," he said.

Those values were shaped and developed during his formative years. Following the death of his mother, Gerber was raised by his aunts and uncles who impressed upon him the importance of a strong work ethic.

As an adult, Gerber recognized that the role of a boss was more that of a team leader. "I worked with my people," says Gerber. "Nobody felt like I was the boss. Everybody felt like part of the company, and people loved coming to work."

Gerber's lighting industry journey began at Efengee Electric Supply where he worked in sales. From there, Gerber took his family to California and worked with Air King Fans. Air King bought a recessed lighting company that piqued Gerber's interest, which started his love affair with the lighting industry. Subsequent moves included co-creating Capri Lighting and growing it into a driving force in the recessed halogen lighting industry, and co-founding GM Lighting in 2005.

Gerber's kindness and dedication to his craft provide a template worthy of emulation in the quest to provide the best that the lighting industry has to offer. Gerber's legacy and industry impact will be recognized and remembered for years to come.

The 2020 ALA Lighting Hall of Fame video tribute to Gerber is available at ALAHallofFame.com.

The American Lighting Association is a trade association representing the residential lighting industry, serving members and their customers, and working to protect and advance the industry, while promoting the sale and proper application of quality lighting products.

CONTACT: Amy Wommack, [email protected]

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Sy Gerber

GM Lighting's Sy Gerber is the 2020 ALA Lighting Hall of Fame Inductee

SOURCE American Lighting Association

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 17:54:00|Editor: huaxia

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BAGHDAD, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least three Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Friday in airstrikes in a rugged area in the northeast of Iraq's capital Baghdad, a security source said.

Iraqi warplanes conducted the airstrikes in the morning on six IS hideouts in abandoned villages in the rugged area between the provinces of Salahudin and Diyala, Alaa al-Saadi from Salahudin provincial police told Xinhua.

The airstrikes destroyed the hideouts and killed at least three militants, al-Saadi said, citing initial reports.

Despite repeated military operations against IS remnants, the extremist militants are still hiding in deserts and rugged areas as well as in Himreen mountain range which extends in the provinces of Diyala, Salahudin, and Kirkuk.

The security situation in Iraq has been improved since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.

However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem
During the lockdown, my CXO friends are faced with two common organisational dilemmas. The former is about the challenges in growing demand for their products and the latter relates to the lack of energy and creativity among employees in the Work From Home environment. Incidentally, the solution to both lies in Gandhian thinking. And this is not about Gandhian philosophy but about Gandhis prowess with Strategic Thinking.

If one finds generating consumer demand as a challenge in todays crisis, one needs to imagine the travails in selling a product like swaraj to Indians who were struggling in crisis for do waqt ki roti ?

In such testing times, the demand for swaraj was generated through strategic thinking  Choice of Salt as an icon. Historical documents would show salt was chosen as an icon for revolution since salt was used by every Indian  independent of his caste, religion or financial status. Therefore, by projecting the salt law as a symbol of injustice, Gandhi was able to take British Strategy of Divide and Rule head on by communicating United against Misrule.

Converting need to want

However, at the sub-liminal level, by creating a pan-Indian platform for injustice, Gandhi was able to drive the demand for swaraj that was hidden and inherent deep in the heart of masses to become more vocal, more perceptible and more evident. Thus, a need was converted into a want. And this quintessentially is a strategic marketing activity. So Gandhis success lied in firstly identification of the right demand driver and secondly and equally importantly in choosing the right communication message. He was able to link miseries of people across caste/religion/occupation to a common factor  the unfair British law.

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

Quite often, marketeers see demand purely as a function of money in hands of people. Such analysis views demand only from the narrow lens of an economist. Marketeers need to think beyond the tangibles drivers of demand. Intangibles, at times, can be the true game changer  and more so in the times of crisis. Who can forget the Lipstick Effect ? When during 1930-1933, owing to the Great Depression, the US industrial output shrank to half, the sale of lipstick actually grew. The marketers of lipstick were able to position an expensive product like lipstick as a source of joy and confidence. Would consumers, in crisis, ever reduce consumption of items that bring them joy and confidence ?

At the more fundamental level, consumers - during times of crisis - tend to give extra weightage to factors like risk aversion, fear psychosis etc. And therefore, during such times, they tend to be more irrational in decision making than they normally are. This not only provides a justification for phenomenon like Lipstick Effect but also provides marketeers the opportunity to beat the economists.

Learnings on self-reliance

The second problem of CXO relates to generating creative energies among employees in the WFH environment. Gandhis another iconic choice  Charkha comes out as an interesting case here.

Charkha represented self-reliance, which meant taking the British Govt head on against its biggest financial strengthBritish Textile Mills. While again this has been the more historically discussed reason but strategically thinking, Charkha was essentially a vehicle to take the freedom movement straight to every home. Those, who could not protest on streets, were now able to Protest From Home.

And the reason that Spinning Charkha - the first avatar of Work From Home - worked so well was because through the act of spinning Charkha every India was able to see himself as a contributor towards a larger cause. So for the masses, every time they would spin the charkha their engagement levels in the freedom movement would rise multi-fold. And one does not need an HR expert to tell the importance of engagement levels on the organisations performance.

Edwards Lifesciences, a maker of devices for treating structural heart disease, would regularly arrange interaction between its patients and its employees. Through this interaction, employees were able to sense and visualise their contribution towards a larger cause. The high engagement levels of employees resulted in continued superior financial results

CXOs of today need to find tools, techniques and vehicles to link employees effort in Work From Home to the larger cause of the organisation. And thus generate creative energies that are true drivers of any organisation

Gandhi has largely been a topic of philosophical and moral studies but its time for academicians to analyse Gandhi as a strategic thinker. After all, Gandhi was fighting a war and can war be ever won without strategic thinking ?

Deepesh Salgia is Director, Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 16:05:05|Editor: huaxia

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HANOI, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Police of northern Vietnam's Lao Cai Province have arrested a drug trafficker, seizing 250,000 pills of synthetic drug, local media reported on Friday.

This is the largest amount of lab-made drug ever confiscated in the province, daily newspaper Thanh Nien (Young People) quoted local authorities as reporting.

The smuggler, a 22-year-old man, was caught red-handed transporting the drug in a pickup truck in Muong Khuong District on Thursday morning. He confessed that he was hired to transport the drug for a wage of 100 million Vietnamese dong (around 4,350 U.S. dollars).

The detainee was an important part of a transnational drug trafficking ring as he had cooperated with foreigners to bring the drug into Vietnam, the authorities said.

As stipulated in Vietnamese laws, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces the death penalty. Enditem
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in SunOpta Inc. (TSE:SOY).

What Is Insider Buying?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.

View our latest analysis for SunOpta

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At SunOpta

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chief Financial Officer Scott Huckins for CA$251k worth of shares, at about CA$3.36 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (CA$10.34), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

While SunOpta insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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Does SunOpta Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. SunOpta insiders own about CA$38m worth of shares. That equates to 4.3% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About SunOpta Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don't see anything to make us think SunOpta insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing SunOpta. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with SunOpta and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Of course SunOpta may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
MANDEL NGAN / Contributor / Getty Images

Melania Trump hit back at critics of her 2018 trip to visit children separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border, according to audio shared with CNN by her former adviser.

"Give me a f---ing break," Trump said, adding that she was trying to get a family reunited and the US takes better care of the children than their own countries, according to CNN.

Trump was criticized after the visit for wearing a jacket many viewed as insensitive, given the "zero-tolerance" policy pushed by her husband's administration that has left thousands of families separated.

CNN reported she also complained about "crazy" liberals and some of her duties as first lady, saying: "Who gives a f--- about Christmas stuff and decorations?"

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In an expletive-laden rant, Melania Trump railed against critics of her visit to the US-Mexico border, complained about some of her duties as first lady, and called liberals "crazy," according to audio shared with CNN on Thursday by her former friend and adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff.

"I'm working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas, and they said: 'Oh, what about the children, that they were separated.' Give me a f---ing break," Trump said, according to the audio released by Wolkoff.

Trump also said in the recordings that she was trying to get a child reunited with his mom and the US was taking better care of the children than the countries they left. She also dismissed the crises, such as gang violence, that refugees from Central America have said they're fleeing.

Wolkoff's "only intent was to secretly tape the First Lady in order to peddle herself and her salacious book. There is no way to know if these recordings have been edited and it's clear the clips were hand-picked and presented with no context," Stephanie Grisham, Trump's spokesperson, said in a statement to Business Insider.

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In June 2018, the first lady made a surprise trip to Texas to visit migrant children detained while crossing the border amid a firestorm over the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" family-separation policy. While boarding the plane, she was photographed wearing a jacket that read: "I really don't care. Do U?"

"The jacket was a means to an end," Wolkoff told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "It was a publicity stunt, and it was to garner the attention of the press to make sure that everyone was aware that Melania was going to the border."

Despite the criticism from many who felt the wardrobe choice was insensitive to the thousands of families separated under the policy, Trump hit back, saying part of her goal was "driving liberals crazy" and that "they deserve it ... they're crazy."

"Where they were saying anything when Obama did that?" she said, echoing a false claim previously made by President Donald Trump that his predecessor had a similar family-separation policy. (Obama did face a surge of migrants at the border and faced criticism.)

Melania Trump also complained about some of her duties as first lady, including helping plan the Christmas decorations and being viewed as complicit in her husband's agenda.

"They say I'm complicit, I'm the same like him, I support him, I don't say enough, I don't do enough," she said. "I'm working like  my ass off, with Christmas stuff that, you know, who gives a f--- about Christmas stuff and decorations, but I need to do it right?"

Read the original article on Business Insider
It may surprise you, but President Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci have a few things in common: theyre both in their 70s, both hail from the outer boroughs of New York City, and their blunt personalities have both played a major role in their careers.

It was Faucis public role on Trumps Coronavirus Task Force that placed him squarely in front of the worst pandemic the United States has seen in generations. For some, Fauci became a pop icon and a force for truth and science in the face of disinformation. For others, he is unreliable; a political schemer seeking to undermine Trump and spread fear about COVID-19.

Journalist Michael Specter examines Faucis career and the challenges of facing COVID-19 with Trumps White House in his new audiobook Fauci, the first biography to be published on the doctor. Specter writes that he first met Fauci in 1986. Even then, Fauci was a mainstay in both the political and medical communities. He has since served with every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan.

Michael Specter's audiobook 'Fauci,' which is available via Audible on Monday, Oct 5. (Pushkin Industries)

MORE: Fauci at odds with Trump: Downplaying virus threat 'not a good thing,' no 'normal' until at least mid-2021

Fauci is now 79 years old and has run the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for 36 years. Aside from this years pandemic, he also led the efforts against the HIV/AIDS epidemic; the SARS, bird and swine flu outbreaks; and the Zika and Ebola virus outbreaks.

It has been entirely another beast to bridge the worlds of medical research and politics, as Fauci has done now through six presidential administrations. The doctor gave some insight into how exactly he does it when Specter interviewed him in 2016 at the 50-year reunion celebration at his alma mater, Weill Cornell Medical School.

MORE: Dr. Anthony Fauci undergoes surgery for vocal cord polyp

What Ive learned to do over the years is to go to my favorite book of philosophy, The Godfather, and say, Its nothing personal, its strictly business, Fauci said. Thats just how I look at it. You just have a job to do. Even when somebodys acting ridiculous, you cant chide them for it, youve got to deal with them, because if you dont deal with them then youre out of the picture.

Story continues

Fauci has certainly taken that philosphy seriously while serving under Trump -- unafraid to speak up and counter falsehoods while making sure hes in the room where important decisions are made.

PHOTO: National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks with the coronavirus task force in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic during a briefing at the White House, March 17, 2020. (The Washington Post via Getty Images, FILE)

MORE: Fauci: Some messages from Trump's COVID-19 task force dont match reports from 'the trenches'

The book also examines the doctors extensive career. He faced vitriol during the HIV/AIDS crisis but eventually won over his critics and was able to treat the epidemic with the seriousness it deserved. It also covers how his decades of work has prepared him for a pandemic of this scale.

"Fauci" is available via Audible on Monday, Oct 5. Listen to an excerpt from Fauci below:

Audible 

New Fauci audio biography shows how he navigates politics: 'It's nothing personal' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Karan Johar, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, revealed that the film fraternity has special plans to celebrate 75 years of independence. He said that the industry will make inspiring content about valour, values and the culture of India.

In a tweet addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karan wrote, Honourable PM @narendramodi ji...we are humbled & honoured to curate stories of our great nation whilst we celebrate 75 years of Indias independence #RajkumarHirani @aanandlrai @ektarkapoor #SajidNadiadwala @itsrohitshetty #DineshVijan #ChangeWithin #IndianFilmFraternity #PMOIndia.

In the accompanying tweet, he shared the details, Celebrating 75 years of Independence by joining hands with Change Within, an initiative by film fraternity, to make inspiring content about valour, values and the culture of India. It is our stories that make us who we are, and every corner of our country has an empowering tale to tell Last year we made a special film on the 150th birth year of Mahatma Gandhi, directed by Rajkumar Hirani. Followed by various meaningful initiatives, we have come together to celebrate the spirit of the freedom movement.

Calling PM Modi their inspiration and guide, Karan wrote, As we embark on this journey, it witnesses a fresh beginning of the grand era of storytelling to cherish the soul of the idea called India. Drawing inspiration from our Honorable Prime Minister from whom we also seek sustained guidance, we the members of the film fraternity are privileged to announce our plan to celebrate the 75th year of Independence.

Also read | Serious Men movie review: Furious and fabulous, Nawazuddin Siddiquis new Netflix film is one of the finest of 2020

Apart from the initiative in collaboration with Change Within, Karan has another project in the pipeline. He will be authoring a picture book for children titled The Big Thoughts of Little Luv, which is inspired by his experience of being a father to twins Yash and Roohi. Sharing the news, he had written on Twitter, Wanted to share something exciting! My first picture book for kids ! #thebigthoughtsoflittleLUV ! Coming soon! Thank you @mrsfunnybones for introducing me to the wonderful @Chikisarkar @juggernautbook.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
A letter from Sen. John Cornyn

Regarding Letters, (A20, Sept. 23): Following the revered Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs passing, some have tried to compare this vacancy to 2016. But the facts are different. Then President Obama was in the last year of his last term, and the Senate was controlled by the opposite party. No Senate had confirmed a Supreme Court Justice under those circumstances since 1888.

This year, the White House and Senate are led by the same party and the President is seeking re-election. More than two dozen Justices have been nominated and confirmed under similar circumstances.

Not only did Americans elect a Republican majority in 2014 and 2016, but Americans expanded that majority in 2018 because Republicans pledged to support Pres. Trumps judicial appointments.

The Senate will uphold its constitutional duty and vote on a Supreme Court nominee this year. We will not rush the process; we will thoroughly vet the nominee and only then vote as the Constitution requires.

Sen. John Cornyn, Austin

An evangelical argument

Regarding Evangelicals case against re-electing Trump, (A23, Sept. 30): I cant tell you how happy I was to read Robert Goens spot-on piece in Gray Matters today. During this whole ordeal of having Donald Trump in the highest office in the land, I have been dismayed to see very few Christians, especially evangelicals, speak out about the multitude of reasons Trump should not be embraced by anyone who truly seeks to follow Jesus. I can count such articles I have read on one hand, and I think Mr. Goens was the best in terms of giving biblical reasons that this Faustian deal that so many in the evangelical church have made is totally wrong. Thanks for publishing it, and thanks to Mr. Goen for crafting a well thought-out argument so needed right now. I dont see how any Christian could dispute or ignore it.

Stephanie Contreras, Houston

As a devout Christian all of my life, I take great offense at Robert Goens assertion that because I support President Trump I do not know Christ. He claims to have read the Bible cover to cover twice, but even so this does not give him the right to judge me, or anyone else.

Carol J. Rhodes, Texas City

Thanks to Robert Goen for laying out the contrasts between Donald Trump and Christianity. His piece goes a long way in explaining why a sizable portion of the younger generation has come to reject Christianity. They see a large majority of evangelical Christians worshiping the false god of Trump. And they conclude, if thats what Christianity is about, I want nothing to do with it.

Walter D. Kamphoefner, Bryan
A black woman desperately called a white police officer Master as she was hogtied and left upside down in a patrol car for 21 minutes, shocking new video shows. (iStock)

A black woman desperately called a white police officer Master as she was left upside down in a patrol car for 21 minutes, shocking new video shows.

Shataeah Kelly was caught on video telling the officer she could not breathe and begging for help after she slipped off the backseat headfirst onto the floor.

The body cam footage was released during a hearing in Aurora, Colorado, where officer Levi Huffine is appealing his February 20202 firing over the incident.

It shows Kelly, 28, shouting and crying while the officer allegedly ignored her as she struggled.

I never knew how bad a heart could feel until I watched that video, and I was like, How could you treat another person like that?' Kelly told Fox News 31.

Animals dont even deserve to be treated like that, and what you did was you treated me less than the dirt on the ground.

She was arrested before the August 2019 incident for fighting with another woman in a park.

Ms Kelly says she supports Aurora police chief Vanessa Wilsons decision to fire the officer.

Chief, if you hear me, youre doing the right thing, she said.

I really appreciate you hearing my story. You understand where my heart was. You understand that wrong is wrong and right is right.

Read more

Trump says Biden is controlled by people in dark shadows and compares police violence to golf

Police departments seeing modest cuts, but not 'defunding'

Hundreds of US police departments considerably more white than their communities, data shows

Wisconsin shooting: Seven people shot at Milwaukee funeral home, police say
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia on Friday issued a statement, where it referred to the joint call made by the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countriesUS, Russia, and France. The statement reads as follows:

We welcome the fact that the Minsk Group Co-Chairs at the level of their leaders reacted to the use of force in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone by way of strong condemnation.

Armenia has been consistently rejecting and condemning the threat or use of force by Azerbaijan and the direct involvement of Turkey in the hostilities against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

The aggressive joint actions of Azerbaijan and Turkey and the use of foreign terrorist fighters have been undermining regional security and peace, significantly raising the risks of a full-fledged war. This aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh must immediately cease.

Armenia remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. While this aggression against Nagorno Karabakh will continue to receive our strong and resolute response, we stand ready to engage with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries to re-establish a ceasefire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements.
The Garda believe a fire at a former convent in Co Cork may have been started intentionally.

They are appealing for witnesses to come forward following the results of a technical examination of the scene at the former Sisters of Mercy convent in Skibbereen.

Gardai were called to the fire at the property on the Cork Road shortly after 4pm on Tuesday.

It was damaged significantly by the blaze and a number of homes in the area were evacuated by emergency services.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

Gardai are aware that a large crowd of people recorded mobile phone footage of the blaze and have asked those people to come forward.

They are also appealing for any motorists who were in the Cork Road area of Skibbereen between 3.15-4.45pm, particularly those with dash cam footage, to contact Clonakilty Garda Station on 023 882 1570 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
Eleven Guatemalan women who claim they were gang-raped during an eviction allegedly orchestrated by a Canadian mining company can update an important legal document with facts from dozens of corporate documents  including ones detailing the companys close relationships with the Guatemalan police and army, a judge ruled Wednesday.

These documents came to light in a high-profile lawsuit that the 11 Indigenous Maya Qeqchi women are waging against the Toronto-based mining company Hudbay Minerals Inc.

The women are suing Hudbay because they allege that on Jan. 17, 2007, Guatemalan police officers, soldiers, and security for a Guatemalan mining company, CGN, gang-raped them during an eviction of their village. At the time, CGN was a subsidiary of the Vancouver-based mining company Skye Resources. The 11 women allege that Skye was negligent in how it arranged the eviction, and that its negligence endangered them in part because it did not take reasonable steps to prevent violence, including on the part of the Guatemalan police and military. In 2008, Hudbay amalgamated with Skye, acquiring any legal liability resulting from the role Skye allegedly played in the gang-rapes.

In court documents, Hudbay has both denied that Skye acted negligently and that CGN security or other private security were at the eviction on Jan. 17, 2007. The judges decision on Wednesday doesnt change our view of the facts of the case, Hudbay wrote in an email to the Star. As this matter is in litigation, we will not be commenting further at this time.

CGN did not respond to a request for comment.

In 2018, the 11 women filed dozens of corporate documents in court in an affidavit to further substantiate their claim that Skye acted negligently when seeking two sets of evictions in January 2007. (Hudbays lawyers have not yet formally replied to the affidavit).

These documents shed light on Skye and CGNs relationships with the police and army. Numerous emails and spreadsheets show that Skye and CGN funnelled close to $140,000 (U.S.) to the Guatemalan police and army by sending the money to three well-connected middlemen in cash or direct transfers to personal bank accounts, their affidavit states. Some money went to logistical supplies like the gasoline and meals of the police and army, while one document records that there are rumours of $157,895 being paid to the armed forces for their work in the land evictions, as The Intercept reported.

The women used other documents to flesh out how the close co-operation between the companies and the Guatemalan police in particular played out: one memorandum shows that a CGN middleman and a police chief flew in a helicopter over the 11 womens village the day before the alleged gang-rapes to conduct reconnaissance. In another email sent shortly before an eviction on Jan. 8, 2007, a community-relations consultant wrote that CGNs general manager is heavily involved in last minute preparations with the police.

The documents also contain information about the companies relationship with the army. In one email, CGNs site manager states that the army helped us, going over their duties during a meeting he had with a commander of a powerful corps of military police that related to Skye and CGNs land disputes with Maya Qeqchi peasants. Photos entered into court also show the police, military, and private security gather(ing) together at CGNs facilities before setting out to conduct the evictions, states the womens affidavit.

The 11 women argue that the companies paid and worked with the police and army even though the public security forces were notoriously corrupt and violated human rights. The military had systematically used rape as a weapon against Indigenous women during the countrys 36-year genocidal civil war, a Guatemalan truth commission found in a 1999 report.

In one email, a senior Skye employee cautions against involving the security forces in the companies land disputes: Once they are involved, their behaviour will be largely outside of our control, except for how we may be able to influence things at the highest levels, i.e. the President or Ministers with direct authority.

Murray Klippenstein, lead lawyer for the women, said that the detailed, formerly confidential corporate documents will help us show that the mining company should have known that, given the brutal history of the Guatemalan police and military, violence and even gang-rapes would be likely in the attack on the Mayan village.

The women filed these documents in court because they wanted to amend their statement of claim with information from them. However, Hudbay challenged the womens effort to do so, arguing that this would amount to the women expanding their argument at the last minute to have Hudbay answer for the alleged conduct of the Guatemalan army and police, states a document Hudbay entered into court.

On Jan. 21, 2020, the Ontario Superior Court case management Master M.P. McGraw, whose role is similar to a judges, ruled that the 11 women could amend their statement of claim. Hudbay appealed the ruling.

On Wednesday, during a hearing over Zoom about the appeal, Hudbays lawyer Robert Harrison argued that the case management master had erred in his ruling. After Harrison finished his arguments, Ontario Superior Court Justice Fred Myers made the uncommon decision to not call on the 11 womens lawyers to make their own arguments. Instead, he simply ruled in their favour, finding that M.P. McGraws original ruling was correct.

The 11 women can now amend their statement of claim with information from the documents.

Susana Mijares Pena, a Toronto-based lawyer who has written about the Hudbay lawsuit, said this ruling marks an important turning point in a case that could reshape the legal paradigm within which Canadian companies operate.

The womens two lawyers will now have much more evidence to support their argument that Hudbay was liable for negligence, since the documents show that Skye personnel were fully aware of what was happening in Guatemala, Mijares said.

More broadly, Mijares thinks that this case and two others against Hudbay being litigated by the same lawyers will make other Canadian corporations more responsible when acting overseas, and in developing nations in particular, by notifying them that Canadian legal principles could be applied to their overseas conduct.

Now, the Canadian standards that we apply to our corporations will have to apply wherever we go regardless of the political system of how those countries work, she said.
Candidates running for office in Winona said during a League of Women Voters forum Monday that the city does not have the responsibility to watch children who lack supervision.

In recent memory, candidates noted, the city has never taken on the task of watching children without immediate parental or guardian supervision.

This discussion was prompted by a parent living at Maplewood Townhomes who said she was concerned about the safety of the children living at the complex, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and wondered if the city council would be willing to hire someone to watch the children.

Third Ward contender Will Gibson suggested that the public parks  which have been seen greater use since the start of the pandemic  recreation centers or other facilities could host more supervised activities.

Aside from that suggestion, however, Gibson said its outside the citys scope to place one person at a residential complex to watch area children.

I dont think the city should be supervising the youth, Gibson said. I think that falls to the community at large and outside of government.

First Ward contender Christopher G. Meier, who is competing for the seat where Maplewood Townhomes resides, agreed with Gibson and pointed out additional options that already exist in the area.

Theres a lot of need out there for help. There really is, Meier said. I dont know if we should go to the point of putting something out there and creating a learning environment or a learning center or assist these people with their youth. I think theres already a learning center out there, and theres opportunities for these kids to get into that. I think the city could look at that and develop the learning center thats already there.

Steve Young, who is also running for the First Ward seat, noted the importance of having a strong, vibrant community, which he said is exemplified by the concern for area children.

Like his peers at the forum, Young said it is outside the citys authority to place a type of guardian in the area for the children who dont have constant parental supervision, but, like Meier, he suggested putting a greater emphasis on existing programs that have the tools necessary to supervise children.

Mayoral candidate Scott Sherman, who said he has been to Maplewood and spoken to the residents who live there, pointed out that the existing community center is closed during the summer, resulting in many parents facing the difficult choice of either not working or leaving their children without supervision.

Sherman said a solution is as simple as having a discussion on what can be done to improve the area for kids.

What we can do as a city is have a roundtable discussion to help find solutions with the county to help find something for these kids to do  create programming (or) events, Sherman said.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 15:13 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48b9452 4 Politics Moeldoko,KAMI,Gatot-Nurmantyo,democracy,democracy-in-Indonesia,Indonesia,politics,movement,civil-liberties Free

Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko has warned the Save Indonesia Action Coalition (KAMI) not to disrupt the nations political stability, alleging its members of having certain interests" in forming the group.

"Don't even try to disrupt political stability. [...] Everything comes with a risk," Moeldoko said in a statement on Thursday as reported by kompas.com, implying that any actions by the group that disrupted national stability would have consequences.

KAMI was founded when 150 prominent public figures came together on Aug. 18, 2020, the day after Independence Day. According to KAMI cofounder and former Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsudin, the group aimed to prevent any deviations from Indonesias founding principles.

The groups founders include prominent government critics such as Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, a daughter of Indonesias first president Soekarno, former coordinating maritime affairs minister Rizal Ramli, former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret.) Gatot Nurmantyo and Islam Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Sobri Lubis.

They claim that the country has strayed from the republics founding principles and that the House of Representatives and political parties had failed to uphold the will of the people.

Read also: 150 prominent national figures form coalition to save Indonesia

Moeldoko said that the government did not prohibit the establishment of civil society groups or movements and that it remained open to criticism and advice from KAMI. He stressed, however, that the country had to strike a balance between democracy and national stability.

"[KAMI] is still in check. We don't need to overreact to its ideas, as they are part of our democracy. However, I need to remind them if they [interfere] with the countrys stability," said Moeldoko, who is a former TNI commander.

On Monday, local police dispersed an event organized by KAMI in Surabaya, East Java, following a public protest that reportedly called the organization dangerous.

Sawahan Police chief A.K.P. Wisnu Setyawan Kuncoro said that the group had not secured the appropriate permits to hold the event at Gedung Juang 45.

The organizers should have taken into account the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wisnu said as quoted by kompas.com.

Gatot Nurmantyo, who is on the KAMI executive committee and was scheduled to deliver a speech at the event, suspected that the public protest was orchestrated by someone, though he did not elaborate on his statement. (nal)
The Directorate-General for Security and Safety of the European Parliament (DG SAFE) are assisting MEP Luke Ming Flanagan with a police investigation into the unauthorised use of his Twitter account which took place from a location in Belgium.

MEP Flanagan outlined that a parliamentary assistant of his, along with an appointed investigator from DG SAFE.met with the Belgian Police on Wednesday morning.

The Roscommon native said, "I have now established that my Twitter account had been logged into on a third party app called Tweetcaster. This app allowed an individual to tweet from my account using an old password.

"This app was used twice to access my Twitter account from Belgium on September 28. The same day that an unauthorised tweet was posted and then deleted from my account.

"At the time the tweet was posted and then deleted I was in Ireland and have been since March of this year due to Covid 19 restrictions.

"The police have been provided with the Belgian IP address associated with the use of my account on the Tweetcaster app on that day.

"They are now working with me to establish the exact location and identity of the individual who has carried out this malicious act of vandalism on my good name."
Even more directly and immediately than in the case of Zimbabwe, the Resolution of the Fourth Congress provided the theoretical justification for the WRPs betrayals of the workers and peasants in the Middle East.

Bandas document described the struggle of the Palestinian people against Zionism as the highest point of the world revolutiona Pabloite definition which distorted the objective relations which exist between the component parts of the international class struggle. Moreover, the definition of one particular sphere as the highest point carried the political implication that all are other struggles were subordinate to it. This formulation arose as the justification for the reorientation of the international work of the WRP around a whole series of opportunist alliances with the Arab bourgeoisie.

This theoretical construction was then supplemented by the assertion that The strategy of Anglo-US imperialism in this area is dictated solely by its desire to protect the oil fields from expropriation by a radical regime. (Fourth Congress Resolution, p. 15, emphasis added)

The political conclusions that followed implicitly from this absurd evaluation were 1) that the practical work of the WRP must be concentrated on the defense of these radical bourgeois regimes, coordinating its work with the foreign ministries of various Arab states; and 2) that the working class, playing only a secondary role in the anti-imperialist struggle, must necessarily subordinate its independent interests to the defense of the existing regimes, previously defined as the main enemy of Anglo-US imperialism.

This subordination of the working class was then justified through a political appraisal of Middle Eastern history that acknowledged the existence of only the external enemy of the Arab massesZionismwhile ignoring the internal social contradictions through which the interests of imperialism are mediated. Thus, Banda wrote: No better instrument existed for imperialism than Zionist immigration. (Ibid.) This declaration evaded all the questions which are central for a Marxist analysis of the tasks of the proletariat in the Middle East. Aside from the fact that Zionist immigration was a direct product of the betrayals of Stalinism and Social Democracy that produced the victory of fascism in the 1930s and the outbreak of the second imperialist world war, the incapacity of Arab rulers to defend the national rights of the Palestinian people and devise a strategy to defeat Zionism raises the question of the crisis of revolutionary leadershipinternationally and within the Middle East itself. Having rejected this fundamental class axisthe starting point for the elaboration of a revolutionary program and plan of actionthe Fourth Congress document degenerated into a petty-bourgeois journalistic glorification of the foreign policy of the Arab bourgeoisie.

Rather than cultivating within the minds of the advanced Arab workers a critical attitude toward the policies of the bourgeois states in the Middle Eastexplaining the organic inability of even the most radical regimes to pursue a consistent anti-imperialist line, warning against their naive illusions in such imperialist instruments as the United Nations, and exposing every act of bourgeois perfidy toward the working class and oppressed masses in every Arab countrythe document placed the main emphasis on their supposed diplomatic achievements, raising these carefully-orchestrated political burlesques to the level of genuine victories of the workers and peasants. The outcome of this petty-bourgeois method was the actual betrayal of the anti-imperialist struggle, especially that of the Palestinian masses.

Thus, Thanks to the intervention of the Iraqi Baath regime which had consistently opposed the recognition of Israel in any form and supported the Palestinian Revolution in the dark days of the Lebanese civil war, the Camp David plot was foiled. What pathetic short-sightedness!

That was not all. Inspired by Middle Eastern statecraft, Banda proclaimed At the Baghdad Summit in November 1978, the radical regimes of Iraq, Syria, Libya, Algeria and South Yeman and the PLO secured the support of the conservative states of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Emirates to reject the Camp David agreement and reaffirm the right of the PLO to be the sole representative of the Palestinian people. The pledge of financial and political support to the Palestine Revolution from the oil-producing states was a severe blow to the reactionary dreams of Sadat. (Ibid. p. 16)

One has only to look back over the sanguinary history of the last eight yearsin which the PLO and the Palestinian people have experienced countless acts of betrayal and treachery at the hands of their Arab brothersto recognize the worthlessness of this evaluation. During this period, Healy and Banda were in constant contact with the PLO, and their analysis was an objective link in the chain of events which led to the disarming and isolation of the Palestinian movement. Since 1978 each and every one of the states referred to in Bandas panegyric has stabbed the PLO in the back and worked for the physical annihilation of its leaders and cadres.

In fact, the WRP functioned as part of the vicious conspiracy against the PLO. Healys main political objective in the Middle East was not to secure the national rights of the Palestinian people but to cultivate materially rewarding relationships for the WRP with the oil-rich Arab states. When forced between the two, Healy invariably protected his ties with the Arab regimes. A political cover for this duplicitous maneuvering was provided by Banda, who wrote in the Fourth Congress resolution: The Baghdad summit also ended the bloody factional struggles in the PLO and laid the basis for a co-ordination of Iraqi-Syrian foreign and defense policy as well as possible reunification of the Baath parties. (Ibid.)

The WRP leaderships real contempt for the PLO was exposed in this passage. Their acceptance of Iraqi hegemony in the internal affairs of the PLO was a violation of the very concept of self-determination. Bandas winged reference to the ending of bloody factional struggles in the PLO meant that the WRP supported the suppression of democratic rights of political tendencies existing among the Palestinian masses. It was politically obvious that the Baathists suppressed precisely those tendencies that conflicted with the Iraqi leaders relations with imperialism and the Soviet bureaucracy.

As for the speculation about the relations between the Iraqi and Syrian branches of the Baath monstrosity, why did the prospect of unity among these bourgeois politicians arouse the enthusiasm of the WRP leaders? Since when are Trotskyists cheer-leaders for such political maneuvers? This speculation exposed the petty-bourgeois credulity of Healy and Banda in the historical viability of bourgeois nationalism. Within a matter of months, all talk of unity was drowned by a new wave of bloody internecine warfare among the competing national branches of Baathism.

As for its relations with the PLO, the political deceit of the WRP leadership was compounded by theoretical dishonesty. Behind the cover of unconditional support of the PLO against imperialisma principle repeatedly betrayed by Healythe WRP belittled the decisive role of the proletariat of the Middle East. Healy, Banda and Slaughter dishonestly assigned to the PLO a role which it will not and cannot play: The strength of the working class and peasantry is directly reflected in the growth of the PLO and its emergence as the leader of the struggle for the emancipation of the whole Arab nation.(Ibid., emphasis added)

This statement was the most complete repudiation of the Theory of Permanent Revolution, which holds that in the epoch of imperialism only the proletariat, armed with a Marxist program and on the basis of the class struggle, can carry out the democratic task of national unification and liberation from imperialism. Moreover, the genuine unification of the Arab peoples is historically bound up with the liquidation of the existing state frontiers which block economic progress and perpetuate both the ancient feudal and tribal divisions as well as those fomented by imperialism.

Far from projecting itself programmatically as the unifier of the entire Arab nation, from the Maghreb to the Gulf, the PLO has traditionally described itself as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and has explicitly recognized the existence of diverse social tendencies within its own ranks.

In all these anti-Marxist formulations, there was not to be found within this document any suggestion of the historic role of the working class in the Middle East. Needless to say, the problem of the unity of Arab and Jewish workersa matter of strategic importance which the Fourth International emphasized in the 1940s while opposing the creation of Israelwas not even mentioned.

In another display of journalistic effluvia, Banda claimed that the PLO has overcome all the obstacles in its path, united the Palestinian people, and won recognition as their sole legitimate representative. (Ibid.)

This was the worst form of treachery, in which craven flattery, posturing as scientific analysis, told lies to the Palestinian people. It is hardly necessary to refute the claim that the PLO has overcome all the obstacles in its path... Only fools would take such a statement seriously. From a theoretical standpoint, the assertions which follow deserve more careful consideration. It is not only impossible, for the reasons given above, for the PLO to unite the Arab nation. It cannot, in a Marxist sense, truly unite the Palestinian people, any more than the Awami League could unite the masses of Bangla Desh or, for that matter, the Patriotic Front could unite the Zimbabwean masses. Unless the specific class forces present within the national movement are defined, the reference to the Palestinian nation is a political abstraction which once again serves to bury the decisive role of the working class. As for the definition of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, this formulation is acceptable in a public defense of the PLO against the intrigues of imperialism, Zionism and the Arab bourgeoisie. But it can only sow illusions and create confusion when it is presented as a political definition in a programmatic document of the Trotskyist movement. The only conclusion that can flow from such a definition is that the WRP opposed the building of the ICFI among the rapidly growing Palestinian working class. In other words, Trotskyism has no role to play in the emancipation of the Palestinian masses.

Once again it was Banda who provided the theoretical justification for this liquidationist capitulation to the Palestinian bourgeoisie. The Fourth Congress Resolution reads:

The hallmark of the PLO has been the armed struggle in the form of a protracted guerilla war, the stress on the mobilization of the masses as opposed to individual terror and the determination to carry the fight on to all fronts. This struggle is epitomized in their rallying cry Revolution until victory. (Ibid., pp. 16-17)

The same armed struggle theory that was employed to cover up the class nature of the Patriotic Front in Zimbabwe was used in providing a political characterization of the PLO. This false theory was to have even more tragic consequences in the Middle East than it had in Zimbabwe. The armed struggle and an abstract mobilization of the masses was counterposed to the organization of a proletarian party to establish the independence of the working class from the bourgeois Arab regimes. The subsequent development of the class struggle in the Middle East, especially in the aftermath of the Zionist invasion of Lebanon in June 1982, demonstrated the fallacy of the PLOs armed struggle conceptions.

Within Lebanon itself the PLO was unable at any time to put forward a program for the unification of the Palestinian and Lebanese masses. The organization of military parades in Beirut served only to antagonize Lebanese nationalism and proved counter-productive. For all their heroism, the military units of the PLO could not stop the Zionist advance. Ultimately, the Zionist forces met their match in the movement of aroused workers and peasants in Lebanonwhich demonstrated that the principal weakness of the PLO, inherent in its very structure, was its inability to formulate a program that could have, in advance of 1982, mobilized this great power in defense of the Palestinian right to self-determination. For a Marxist, the perspectives of the class struggle is epitomized in a program, not a rallying-cry.

The Resolution then sought to provide a theoretical explanation for the adulation of Gaddafis regime in Libya. In a crucial passage which referred to the growing pressure of imperialism in the Middle East and its efforts to enlist the support of Egypt and the Sudan, the Resolution asserted that these imperialist-prompted overtures can only serve to exacerbate tensions within the national movement and push the most radical elements in the Arab national movement to recognize that the historical weapon of national liberation can only be the class struggle. ( Trotsky) (Ibid., p. 17)

In this passage reality was turned inside out, converting the class struggle, which is an objective product of the development of capitalism in the Middle East, into a policy subjectively adopted by the national bourgeoisie under the pressure of imperialism. With this theoretical formulation, Banda provided an apology for the Bonapartist role characteristic of bourgeois regimes in under-developed countries, which balance precariously between imperialism and the native working class. Such regimes, whose rulers harangue the masses from their balconies, habitually seek to adapt the class struggle to the practical needs of their deals with imperialism.

For the immediate purposes of the WRP, this subtle formula provided a cover for political double bookkeeping in the Middle East; that is, it allowed the WRP to claim that Col. Gaddafi combined within his person both the radical national movement and the proletarian class struggle, and that the Libyan Jamahiriya was evolving into a socialist state.

The Resolution claimed that the political bloc between the Workers Revolutionary Party and the General Peoples Congress of the Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was proven correct by Sadats betrayal of the PLO, and that the bloc was formed within the framework of strictly-defined practical tasks and with the retention of complete independence of our own organization... (Ibid.)

But this claim was belied by the nature of the bloc, which was based on tasks of an essentially propaganda characterwarning the Arab peoples and the European working class about the altered tactics of imperialism and the counterrevolutionary content of Sadats and King Khaleds foreign policy. (Ibid.) However, as Trotsky insisted, It is precisely in the sphere of propaganda that a bloc is out of the question. Propaganda must rest upon clear-cut principles and on a definite program. March separately, strike together. A bloc is solely for practical mass actions. Deals arranged from above which lack a basis in principle will bring nothing but confusion. (Germany 1931-1932, New Park, p. 136)

Confusion...and money! Healy and A. Mitchell might protest that their bloc with Libya entailed such practical tasks as organizing pickets outside the Egyptian and US Embassies in London. But, for Trotskyists, was it necessary to form a united front in order to carry out an elementary act of anti-imperialist solidarity? Would a rank-and-file worker first demand a united front with the union bureaucracy before agreeing to carry out his duties on a picket line? The fact of the matter is that the WRPs bloc with Libya was established in the area of political analysisthat is, it committed the WRP to saying only those things which the Libyan Jamahiriya wanted to hear or wanted to have said.
Slamming China for its population control policies, US Education Secretary said that China was responsible for the murder of millions of baby girls. Speaking at the virtual UN General Assembly meeting on October 1 Betsy DeVos also highlighted that United Nations had indeed supported the murderous plan of the Chinese Communist Party. The special meeting was held on the anniversary of the 1995 womens conference in Beijing and saw participation from global leaders including Angela Merkel and Xi Jinping.

In a video statement addressed to the UN, DeVos called out Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and China for their mistreatment of women. Lambasting China, DeVos asserted that since 1995, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been responsible for the murder of million baby girls through its brutal population control measures" on an industrial scale. Accusing the United Nations, she added that unfortunately the UN agencies had supported them. "We call on the UN to stop ignoring and enabling these atrocities, she added

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a recent pushback against gender equality and womens rights and urged people to fight back against the same. He said that now was the time to pushback against the push back. Women's full human rights and freedoms are fundamental to peace and prosperity on a healthy planet, he added.

Read: China: Vlogger Dies After Being Set On Fire By Ex-husband During Live Stream

Read: US State Dept Report Accuses China Of Threatening Global Economy With Environmental Abuse

Countries pledge to advance women's rights

More than 170 countries promised during a virtual UN summit held on October 1 to step up their efforts to advance women's rights. The meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, marked the 25th anniversary of the seminal 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing. During the meet, the United States came down heavily on China for its claims of leadership on the women issue. President Xi Jinping in his pre-recorded video said in the coming five years, China will donate another $10 million to UN Women and proposed another world meeting on gender equality for 2025.

Read: 'Pakistan Conspiring With China To Make Gilgit Baltistan 5th Province': Activists At UNHRC

Read: UN Summit Decries Slow Progress On Women's Rights; US Calls China 'worst Violator'
The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, less than 50 days before the 2020 presidential election, set off a battle over how quickly her seat could get filled, with Republicans anxious to lock in a judge that represents their values. And President Donald Trumps boast during the first presidential debate that he has filled more judicial seats than anyone was a good reminder that Trumps influence on the courts goes well beyond the Supreme Court. But the politicization of the judiciary goes well beyond Trump and extends to the entire federal court system, and includes Pennsylvanias state courts.

Earlier this month, a 41-year-old Trump-appointed judge ruled that Gov. Tom Wolfs COVID-19 stay-at-home order and business closures were unconstitutional. On Thursday, a federal appeals court temporarily restored the restrictions. Also this month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that naked ballots (ballots that dont come in a secrecy envelope) can be thrown away by elected officials during the count. With these kind of decisions, federal and state courts shape the laws that govern everyday life  but also raise the stakes when the neutrality of the judiciary is questioned.

As a battleground state, Pennsylvania is already at the heart of legal disputes over voting and, potentially, efforts to discredit election results through the courts. But not all cases will necessarily go to the Supreme Court.

According to Mary Levy, professor at the Temple University Beasley School of Law, federal appeals courts are highly influential. While the Supreme Court has the discretion to accept or reject cases, federal appeals courts are required to hear cases brought in front of them, and as such, most issues are settled at the appeals court level.

One in five judges in the Pennsylvania federal district courts and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals was appointed by Trump  15 district and four appeals appointees. No Democratic president  at least going back to John F. Kennedy  has appointed so many judges in Pennsylvania their first term.

Further underscoring how politics intersect the judiciary, the judges in Pennsylvanias state court system are elected. A Republican proposal to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to create judicial districts for appellate court elections, which, unlike trial courts, are held statewide, has narrowly passed the state Senate this summer and could be on the ballot as early as the May 2021 primary election. The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center calls the proposal judicial gerrymandering.

The primary sponsor of the bill, State Rep. Russ Diamond (R., Lebanon), argues that the amendment would increase the geographic diversity on the court.

Currently, five of the seven state Supreme Court justices are Democrats. The balance on the court has changed over time. But by allowing the General Assembly to draw judicial districts, the Republican-controlled legislature could ensure a hold of the judiciary  which among other things will likely need to sign off on new General Assembly and congressional district maps after the 2020 Census counts are finalized.

The upcoming election is about much more than the presidency and legislative seats. It raises questions about the politicization of the entire judiciary  state and federal  as a tool for lawmakers instead of a check on them.
A heartbroken son has taken his own life after his sister died and his mother was killed in a freak sawmill accident within the space of five years.

Clevelyn Quin was found dead at a Masterton home, on New Zealand's North Island, in February.

He had been struggling with the deaths of his sister Angel and mother Anita McRae and took his own life months before his first child was born.

His brother Dane, 18, is the only surviving child of the family, the New Zealand Herald reported.

His grandmother, Paddy Norman, admitted Dane had 'lost everybody'.

Angel was only 15 years old when she died in 2015 and Anita was 36 when she was killed in a horrific sawmill accident in November 2018.

A heartbroken son (pictured, Clevelyn Quin) has taken his own life after his sister died and his mother was killed in a freak sawmill accident within the space of five years

He had been struggling with the deaths of his sister Angel McRae (right) and mother Anita (left) and took his own life months before his first child was born

Clevelyn Quin (pictured, with sister Angel) was found dead at a Masterton home, on New Zealand's North Island, in February

Anita had been working at Kiwi Lumber, in Waingara, for a year before she lost her life.

She was trying to clear a fault on a piece of machinery that was used to grade and sort timber.

The machine restarted and pulled Anita through its sprockets.

The mother-of-three later died from her chest injuries.

Workplace health and safety regulator WorkSafe launched an investigation into the accident.

The regulator found there was insufficient guarding placed around the machinery and the death could have been avoided.

It also concluded the current safety procedures at the company provided the minimum form of protection for its employees.

The matter was taken to court and Kiwi Lumber was fined $350,000 and ordered to pay $263,762 to McRae's family.

Kiwi Lumber managing director Adam Gresham apologised for the hurt caused to the family.

Anita (pictured) had been working at Kiwi Lumber, in Waingara, for a year before she lost her life

Ms Norman said she continued to struggle living with the heartbreaking reality of losing two grandchildren and her daughter Anita (right, with daughter Angel)

'This was a tragic accident that meant our colleague lost her life.

'Everyone who goes to work should come home safely at the end of each day.

'What happened was also deeply distressing for many of our team, especially those who were working on the day of the accident.'

Grandmother Paddy Norman, 62, said the money from the court would be given to the family's only surviving child and two grandchildren.

The Masterton family home will also be sold.

Ms Norman said she continued to struggle living with the heartbreaking reality of losing two grandchildren and her daughter Anita.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing mental health issues contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
By PTI

KHUNTI: A 32-year-old man was arrested on Friday in Jharkhand's Khunti district for allegedly raping his 12-year-old niece, a senior police officer here said.

The accused, a resident of Gullu village in Murhu police station area of the district, had apparently taken the girl to an under-construction building and raped her, Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Shekhar said.

According to the complaint filed by the girl's mother, she was playing with her brother outside their uncle's house, when the accused approached them and took them to the building.

An FIR was lodged in the case, following which the 32 -year-old was arrested and sent to jail.

The girl has been sent to a local hospital for medical examination, the SP said.
The Army has issued new guidelines for soldiers to boost their optimal performance, recommending nap breaks in an effort to curb fatigue, which can corrode mission performance.

The FM 7-22 Holistic Health and Fitness manual, described as a 'full revision and expansion on physical readiness training doctrine' for the army, urges leaders to stress the importance of adequate sleep which 'sustains brain and physical health.'

'Cognitive ability and readiness vary as direct function of the amount of sleep obtained,' the manual reads. 'The more sleep soldiers get, the greater their mental acuity, with faster response times, fewer errors, and fewer lapses in attention.

The Army has embraced soldiers taking nap breaks in a bid to get adequate sleep, as sleep 'sustains brain and physical health'

Also improved are judgment, problem-solving, situational awareness, mood, resilience, and general well-beingto name but a few key soldier attributes.'

To boost the amount of sleep soldiers can get, the manual highly recommends that leaders embrace allowing soldiers opportunity to nap.

'When regular nighttime sleep is not possible due to mission requirements, soldiers can use short, infrequent naps to restore wakefulness and promote performance,' the manual reads.

'When regular nighttime sleep is not possible due to mission requirements, Soldiers can use short, infrequent naps to restore wakefulness and promote performance,' the manual reads

Army released the FM 7-22 Holistic Health and Fitness manual to enable soldiers with training readiness beyond just pushing their physical limits

'When routinely available sleep time is difficult to predict, Soldiers might take the longest nap possible as frequently as time is available. During periods of restricted sleep (6 hours of sleep or less per night), napping combined with appropriate doses of caffeine may help to sustain cognitive performance and alertness.'

The manual does instruct leaders to make sure soldiers have 'safe and secure' locations to sleep in as well.

'Ensure that soldiers do not attempt to nap in front of, behind, or underneath trucks, tracked vehicles, or other vehicles,' the manual states. 'Soldiers need to avoid and protect against pests (for example, use mosquito nets when appropriate). Before sleeping, Solders check that snakes, spiders, ants, and other creatures are not in the sleeping area, sleeping bag, or shoes.'

In addition to napping, the army also recommends caffeine pill regimens and plans for soldiers to follow to best effectively control their energy level.

The manual details how soldiers are given individualized training and testing in a an effort to 'build physical lethality and mental toughness to win quickly and return home healthy,'

'It represents a cultural shift from the industrial scale approaches of the past where massed formations received the same training in a one-size-fits-all approach often with no equipment or expertise required to lead the training,' the manual reads.

'It also represents a shift from expecting individual Soldiers who often train remote from their units to independently develop and implement a performance training program. The H2F System addresses those individual Soldiers' needs, too.'

The military has become increasingly aware of the effect chronic sleep deprivation has on missions and its ability to cripple decision-making, ultimately leading to disaster, the New York Times reports.

It comes after the Navy overhauled sleep schedules at sea after an investigation determined that fatigued played a part in two warships colliding.

Commanders failed to prioritize sleep during army deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Times. Soldiers were subjected to changing schedules, long duty shifts and overnight missions that led to chronic fatigues.

Soon, soldiers became dependent on energy drinks that left them frazzled. Research conducted by the army found that soldiers who downed energy drinks often had higher levels of mental health problems.

'The Army has always had an internal dynamic that real men don't need sleep and can just push on, and it's incredibly stupid,' said Lt. Gen. David Barno. 'Combat is a thinking man's business and your brain doesn't function without sleep.'

General Barno, who was commander of combined forces in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005, said he worked hard to 'protect eight hours of sleep a night' while deployed.

He added that he was more clear headed and able to accomplish his missions when he had adequate sleep. Barno felt that putting the practice to doctrine would put the old belief that sleep is a luxury to rest.
Faridabad (Haryana) [India], October 2 (ANI): Haryana Police on Thursday arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly raping eight-year-old in Saran area here.

The police said that the incident took place when the girl was in her room at around 1 am on Thursday with her five-year-old sister.



The girl's mother lodged the complaint after her younger daughter woke her up and informed that the elder sister had been crying. She saw a man escaping from the girl's room, police said.

After the police got to know about the case, Dharna Yadav, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Crime against Women, immediately constituted a team which nabbed the accused within half an hour, who happened to be one of the neighbours. He hails from Bihar's Buxar and is married.

The girl was referred to Delhi's Safdarganj Hospital and her condition is reported to be stable. (ANI)


PHOENIX  A body was found Thursday in a north Phoenix desert area and it could be that of a woman who has been missing for almost a month, police said.

They said the body believed to be 59-year-old Julie Concialdi was located about 3 p.m. Thursday and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner will try to positively identify it and determine the cause of death.

Police arrested 57-year-old Joseph Concialdi on Sept. 15 on suspicion of first-degree murder days after he reported his wife of 30 years missing.

They said forensic evidence led them to believe Julie Concialdi was a homicide victim.

Court documents described evidence of a sanitized crime scene at the couples Phoenix home house with blood that matched the womans DNA.

Police said Julie Concialdis truck was found burned and abandoned on Sept. 4.

Two days later, police said Joseph Concialdi called to report his wife missing.

Police said he told them he last saw his wife on Sept. 4 when they had an argument over a vacation and he left to go camping near Payson.

Julie Concialdis family said she uncharacteristically stopped returning calls and messages on Sept. 2 and failed to show up for appointments and work.
Resident Mary Anne Zeh said the parking has been worse than usual this spring and summer, but felt it could have been the result of three neighbors who she said had contractors over performing work on their homes. Zeh also felt the restrictions may hurt residents who have cleaning and lawn care services who need to park nearby.
Political and business leaders in the north-west have called on residents to comply with new restrictions announced at Stormont on Thursday.

They also accepted, however, that the rules could hit the local economy hard.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said that following the regulations could save the lives of friends, family and neighbours.

"Everyone has made immense personal sacrifices to keep themselves and their families safe," the Foyle MP added.

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"People have lost mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters to this virus and have given up the chance to say a proper goodbye in many cases.

"People in the north-west have been very good at following the public health advice, even when it appeared confusing.

"But if we're honest, the cautious attitude we all took at the start has slipped.

"People aren't always wearing face masks in shops, unnecessary journeys have become routine again and compliance is not as good as it should be.

"The hard truth is that unless people change their behaviour immediately, we're going to lose more friends, neighbours and family members.

"These restrictions will be challenging.

"People in our communities are naturally sociable, entrepreneurial and active.

"But they (the rules) are absolutely necessary to relieve pressure on our health service and protect each other.

"Derry and Strabane has shown that it can step up when needed.

"It is now needed again and I know that people will do all that they can."

Colin Neill, chief executive of Hospitality Ulster said: "This will come as a shock but no surprise to the hospitality sector in the north-west, which has experienced the worst impact of this for over six months now.

"Public health and control of the coronavirus is the number one priority.

"But it will, without doubt, be a devastating blow to our sector at this critical time."

The Federation of Small Business described the restrictions as disappointing.

It also called on the Government to bring forward a support package for firms.

News of the tightening of restrictions in the Derry and Strabane council area came as it was learned that the city's Halloween festival was to be scaled back because of the health crisis, with the fireworks display scrapped entirely.

The annual event brings more than 100,000 people into the city every year and generates business worth more than 3m for local firms.

Foyle MLA Sinead McLaughlin said the cancellation of the fireworks was a major blow to the city and its economy.

"It's a very important festival, an important economic festival for the city and for all of its businesses," the SDLP woman told this newspaper.

"But at this moment in time, it is the right decision that the council has made.

"Every single hotel bed in the city is normally occupied over the Halloween period.

"It has a significant impact upon our hospitality and tourism sector, in particular, and also within retail.

"It is a blow, but it's a blow that has been made with safety in mind."

Derry and Strabane Mayor Brian Tierney said that while it was disappointing to have to scale back the festival, the council's decision was "a responsible and proportionate response to the current health situation".
The bust of Yuri Gagarin, who in 1961 became the first person to travel into outer space, was unveiled at the agency in New Cairo

As part of the preparations for the resumption of the activities of the Egypt-Russia Cultural Year 2020, which will extend into 2021 due to the coronavirus shutdowns, the bust of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, was unveiled at the Egyptian Space Agency in New Cairo on Tuesday.

Mohamed El-Qoussi, CEO of the Egyptian Space Agency, Georgiy Borisenko, Russia's ambassador to Egypt and its representative to the Arab League, and Alexey Tevanyan, director of the Russian Cultural Centers in Egypt, unveiled the bust of Gagarin at the ceremony.

The bust of the cosmonaut was created by sculptor Alexey Leonov and dedicated to Egypt by the Russian government on the initiative of the Russian Cultural Centre in Cairo and the International Russian Charitable Fund, which operates under the slogan Dialogue of Cultures - One World.

The ceremony, which was attended by a number of Russian scientists and diplomats and the Egyptian and Russian media, included a presentation of a documentary film in Arabic about Gagarins visit to Egypt, where he received the Order of the Nile from President Gamal Abdel-Nasser. Part of the ceremony was also a photo exhibition on the achievements of Russian space exploration, and a presentation on the activities of the Egyptian Space Agency by the agency's Deputy CEO Mohamed El-Iraqi.

During the ceremony, El-Qoussi emphasised the strength of Egyptian-Russian relations, citing the Aswan High Dam and some of the facilities that were completed during the 1960s, in addition to the support of Russia in the October War, and the recent co-projects such as the Dabaa Nuclear Plant.

For his part, Borisenko expressed his hope that the statue of Gagarin in Egypt would become another symbol of friendship between the Russian and Egyptian peoples, and expressed his thanks to the Egyptian people who hold good memories of the astronaut and the era of close partnership between the two countries. "Russia and Egypt today are still developing close cooperation between them, and making new accomplishments through joint cooperation," he said.

Tevanyan conveyed a greeting from Ruslan Bayramov, head of the Russian International Charitable Fund, who referred to the symbolic meaning of the inauguration of the statue during the year celebrating Egyptian-Russian humanitarian cooperation.

Gagarin, born in 1934, was a Soviet Union pilot who became the first man in space in 1961, orbiting the earth on board the Vostok 1 capsule.

He died in 1968 while piloting a jet that crashed. His body was cremated and his ashes interred in the walls of the Kremlin.

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(TNS)  More lapses in security and record-keeping surfaced Thursday at the warehouse where Philadelphias voting machines are stored, prompting city officials to pledge  for the second time in less than a week  that they would beef up security amid an investigation into the theft of a laptop and USB drives from the facility.A lack of surveillance footage from inside the warehouse has stymied investigators seeking to track down the thief . No cameras had been installed there despite an earlier request from employees to do so, according to sources familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss it publicly.And while the city had vowed Wednesday to enhance security at the site, a reporter with WHYYs Billy Penn entered the warehouse unhindered the next morning and spent several minutes walking among rows of voting machines before employees noticed and asked him to leave. He later posted a video to Twitter.Meanwhile, the sources said, an ongoing inspection of those machines, launched after the theft to ensure that none had been compromised, has turned up more than 20 so far with serial numbers on their seals that do not match records kept by elections officials. They blamed the discrepancy on a logging error and do not believe it is evidence of tampering.With those missteps mounting, city officials hastened to assure the public that they have every confidence that the integrity of the election had not been compromised by those developments  even as President Donald Trumps campaign seized on them to sow doubt A spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney, responding to the video posted by the Billy Penn reporter, said Thursday that an around-the-clock police presence had now been stationed outside the warehouse and strict log-in procedures for those entering or exiting the building had been put in place. The mayor had pledged a day earlier to make all police resources available to find who stole the missing technology.So far, police have discovered no evidence to suggest the thefts were related to the election, said sources briefed on the status of their probe. Aside from the missing laptop and USB drives, some smaller personal items were taken and stray objects appeared to have been moved around and left behind by the intruder, they said.The employee whose laptop was stolen, an onsite technician for the company that supplies the voting machines, noted its theft on Monday and reported it to his superiors, the sources said. But it was not until two days later  once elections employees noticed the USB drives were also missing  that the matter was reported to police.Nick Custodio  a deputy to Lisa Deeley, chair of the city commissioners, who oversee elections  declined to explain that apparent delay Thursday, citing the ongoing probe.Still, a Trump campaign staffer tweeted a news story about the thefts and video of Thursdays incursion into the warehouse by the reporter.Unbelievable! the staffer, Mike Roman, wrote . No security for voting machines How can we trust the results now?Roman  a Republican operative known for his role promoting a video of the New Black Panther Party standing outside a Philadelphia polling location during the 2008 election  falsely claimed on Twitter earlier in the week that Trump poll watchers had been turned away from city polling locations.By Thursday afternoon, even some Democrats began to show signs of worry that the continued developments could needlessly hinder voter confidence.Gov. Tom Wolf said state officials were monitoring the situation and noted during a news conference in Harrisburg that he was obviously concerned, while, in Philadelphia, Bob Brady, chairman of the Democratic City Committee, balked when he learned the warehouse remained at least partially unsecured Thursday.Thats ridiculous, he said. They have got to fix that.  I hope theyre up to the task. Id hate to see something happen to ruin this election because of ineptness on our part.He added he did not believe that would happen.Meanwhile, police pressed forward quietly in their efforts to identify who stole the missing laptop and USB drives.Sources briefed on the status of the investigation said a gym next door to warehouse reported having asked a suspicious man to leave the business Sunday, hours before the laptop is believed to have been taken.The gym shares an access point with the voting machine storage facility in the privately owned complex in which both are housed. There were no signs of forced entry into the building and police believe the intruder may have entered through windows in the gym that were left open on the day of the theft, those sources said.The laptop and memory sticks remain missing, but elections officials remain confident that neither could be used to interfere with voting Nov. 3.In a statement Wednesday, Custodio said the laptop had been disabled remotely as soon as the theft was discovered. A spokesperson for the manufacturer of the voting machines said the USB drives are encrypted to prevent tampering and specifically matched with individual voting machines.In an abundance of caution, Custodio said Thursday, elections staff have wiped, reprogrammed and retested all machines whose seals were found with mismatched serial numbers when compared with the warehouses records to ensure that they will be secure come Election Day.Chris Deluzio, an elections integrity expert and policy director of the University of Pittsburghs Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security, said that with those precautions in place he doubted the machines could be interfered with on Nov. 3. All Pennsylvania voting machines have paper ballot backups to the electronic tabulation.Whatever new threat factor is introduced because someone got their hands on the thumb drives or the laptop, I think the existence of individual paper ballots is still a strong bulwark against technical errors or hacks that might affect the machines, Deluzio said.His bigger fear is how the theft will be publicly construed by partisans, political campaigns or foreign actors seeking to build mistrust in the system.Theres going to be lots of bad information out there, Deluzio said. Theres going to be lots of stuff  to make [people] feel like their votes dont count, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth."
President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that he would not accept any changes intended to enforce the rules and limit interruptions at the remaining two presidential debates hours, shortly before his campaign attacked the Commission on Presidential Debates.

"Why would I allow the Debate Commission to change the rules for the second and third Debates when I easily won last time?" Trump tweeted Thursday afternoon while traveling to a fundraiser in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Why would I allow the Debate Commission to change the rules for the second and third Debates when I easily won last time?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2020

His veiled threat to reject any changes and possibly not participate in the remaining debates comes on the heels of the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announcing Wednesday it would make changes to the formats of his next two debates with Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

The CPD said Tuesday's "debate made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues."

"The CPD will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly," it said in a statement.

MORE: Commission on Presidential Debates promises more 'structure' at remaining debates

Possible changes include allowing the moderator to mute the microphone of one candidate when the other is speaking, but the commission was adamant Wednesday afternoon, according to sources, that any new structure would not come as a result of negotiations with the campaigns.

At Thursday's White House press briefing, asked if the president will commit to participating in the next debate if the commission moves forward with its new effort to enforce the rules, McEnany suggested the commission actions would hurt the president and benefit Biden.

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PHOTO: White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks during a news conference at the White House, Oct. 1, 2020. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

"With regard to the commission rule changes, the president made clear his view on that yesterday, that he thinks the only way there is a fair debate is a change in the moderator and a change in the Democrat nominee," McEnany said. "He wants to debate. He plans on being at the debate, but he wants the rules to be fair, wants a fair exchange, and doesn't want rules that cover for a certain candidate's inability to perform well."

On a call with reporters later Thursday, the Trump campaign questioned the commission's impartiality, deeming it "anti-Trump."

Trump 2020 Campaign manager Bill Stepien, Senior Adviser Jason Miller, Communications Director Tim Murtaugh and Deputy Campaign Manager for Presidential Operations Max Miller rattled off board members of the commission they called "permanent swamp monsters" while ignoring multiple Republicans on the board such as former President George W. Bush.

"We do not want any changes to what has already been laid out and what's been agreed to for the second and third debates. Period. Point blank," Miller said on the call.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump walks to Marine One prior to departing from the South Lawn of the White House, Oct. 1, 2020, as he travels to campaign events in New Jersey. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Asked if Trump is committed to attending the debates, with or without changes, Miller said the president "fully plans" on being there.

"President Trump fully plans on participating in and winning both the second and third debates," he said. "So, we feel very confident, but there should not be any changes to what has been agreed to and set out."

MORE: Trump didn't accomplish his goals in 1st presidential debate: ANALYSIS

The Biden campaign, meanwhile, has slammed the Trump campaign's approach to the debate process as "erratic and chaotic" and reiterated that it will participate in the remaining two debates under CPD rules.

"Our position is clear: we will participate under the CPD's rules. The only real question left is whether the President will start following the rules in the next two debates," Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said Thursday.

Biden briefly spoke to reporters on Thursday afternoon outside the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, confirmed he would participate.

PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden stops to speak to members of the media as he walks out of the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del., Oct. 1, 2020, after pre-taping his speech for the Al Smith dinner. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

"Yes, I'll participate in the debate," said the former vice president.

MORE: Trump falsely claims 'poll watchers' blocked from observing early voting sites in Philadelphia

When asked if he is opening to certain rule changes such as muting candidate microphones, he said he does as long as both candidates "have an opportunity to respond to the question of the people in audience," referring specifically to the next debate which is will be in a town hall format in Miami, Florida.

Sources told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl there's a real chance that there won't be another presidential debate if the Trump campaign can't come to an agreement with the CPD.

The next presidential debates are scheduled for Oct. 15 and Oct. 22.

ABC News' John Verhovek contributed to this report.

Trump, campaign push back hard against any debate rules changes originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday said he has tested negative for Covid-19, three days after his debate with Donald Trump, who has contracted the illness. The 77-year-old former vice president opted to maintain a scheduled trip to Michigan, a key battleground state in his campaign to unseat the Republican incumbent.

Biden is currently leading Trump in opinion polls ahead of the November 3 election.

Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for Covid," Biden said. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands."

Minutes before, his doctor Kevin OConnor issued a statement via Bidens campaign about the negative result. Vice President Joe Biden and Dr Jill Biden underwent PCR testing for Covid-19 today and Covid-19 was not detected," he said.

Trumps positive diagnosis  announced in the early hours of Friday after one of his senior aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive  has jolted the race for the White House with a month to go.

In Michigan, a Midwestern state Trump won in 2016 when he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton, Biden was to visit Grand Rapids, the states second-largest city, to talk about his economic revitalization plans. Earlier, he wished his 74-year-old adversary and his wife Melania a swift recovery from Covid-19.

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery," Biden tweeted. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family."

Bidens running mate Kamala Harris put out a similar tweet, saying she and her husband Doug are keeping them and the entire Trump family in our thoughts."

Vice President Mike Pence has tested negative, his spokesman said Friday.

Biden and Trump met on the debate stage in Ohio on Tuesday.

Everyone in attendance had tested negative before the debate. Trumps family arrived in masks, but later removed them, moderator Chris Wallace said. It can take several days for a person infected with Covid-19 to test positive.
Condition: Kieran Creaven was ordered by the court not to use any social media, in particular Facebook and Skype. Photo: Mark Condren

Former RTE producer Kieran Creaven has appeared in court charged with 17 child abuse offences in Ireland and outside the State.

The 58-year-old was arrested at his home at Adelaide Street, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, yesterday morning. He was charged at 8.15am with 17 offences.

His charges are: two counts of sexual assault of a child outside the State in 2014; three counts of sexual exploitation of a child outside the State in 2014; three counts of sexually exploiting a child in Ireland in 2017; five counts of possessing child pornography in 2017; four counts of using IT and communication technology for the purpose of facilitating child sexual exploitation, inside and outside of the State in 2017.

He appeared at Dublin District Court before Judge Bryan Smyth. Following a contested bail hearing, Judge Smyth granted bail with several conditions. They included a ban on Mr Creaven using social media and a requirement for a 10,000 independent surety to be approved - due to the seriousness of the charges.

However, he was unable to take up bail and has been held in custody until the conditions are met.

Detective-Garda Johanna Doyle told Judge Bryan Smyth the accused's reply to the charges was: "No response until I've spoken to my solicitor."

Det-Gda Doyle, who is attached to the Online Child Exploitation Unit, objected to bail due to the seriousness of the case and fears he would leave the jurisdiction.

She said some of the charges carried a possible sentence of life imprisonment.

She alleged a search was carried out at Mr Creaven's home in November 2017 that resulted in a discovery of pictures and videos of children. A large number of electronic devices were seized, she said. Forensic examinations were carried out, she told the court.

It was alleged there were a number of extremely graphic videos and he had been sexually exploiting children via Skype. It was alleged he was making payments and sending phone credit to girls and had two Facebook accounts to sexually exploit children.

There was evidence he travelled regularly for work to various jurisdictions including the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, Det-Gda Doyle said.

She feared he could travel outside the jurisdiction beyond the reach of An Garda Siochana.

She agreed with defence solicitor Luke Staines that his client had attended his legal representative's offices and knew the charges were coming. He had been willing to meet gardai to be charged by appointment.

Det-Gda Doyle said, however, an operational decision was made yesterday morning to arrest him.

Mr Staines put it to her that his client had no reason to leave and he had been entitled to go to other countries.

Judge Smyth said there was no real evidence Mr Creaven was a flight risk or would interfere with witnesses, which left the objection about the seriousness of the charges. He set bail in Mr Creaven's own bond of 500 and a 10,000 independent surety has to be approved by the district court. Once bail is taken up, he must sign on daily at Dun Laoghaire garda station between 9am and 9pm.

He agreed to impose a condition sought by Det Gda Doyle that Mr Creaven "not use any social media platform, in particular Facebook and Skype".

He was remanded in custody with consent to bail to appear at Cloverhill District Court on October 8 next for a book of evidence to be served on him.

Judge Smyth noted the Director of Public Prosecutions had given a direction for trial on indictment, meaning his case will be later sent forward to the Circuit Court.
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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2 2020

It has been over two years since the government set a moratorium on new palm oil development, but environmentalists say the move has failed to bring about much-needed change in the governance of the lucrative export commodity.

A coalition of civil society groups said recently that the plantation ban had not resulted in significant improvements in the sustainability of the palm oil business or its impact on the environment.

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HURON-PERTH  During the Public Health media conference on Sept. 28, Dr. Miriam Klassen, Huron-Perth medical officer of health, said the high numbers of new cases across the province is not encouraging news and added there may be additional directions from the province announced.

Two new positive cases were reported, bringing the total number of cases in the region to 129.

The two new cases are unrelated to each other and unrelated to previously confirmed cases in Huron-Perth, said Klassen. Both have been out of counties.

These are the only two active cases in the area and both are self-isolating at home and contact tracing is ongoing.

There are currently no local outbreaks in long-term care homes, schools or child care centres.

Demand for tests is still high, so Klassen reminded residents of new provincial rules about who is prioritized for testing.

People with COVID-19 symptoms can and should get tested. Asymptomatic household members of a sick person do not need to go for tests unless they have been advised by a health care provider.

Other groups of people who are prioritized for testing are close contacts of a positive case, people who have travelled and those eligible for testing as part of a targeted testing initiative directed by the Ministry of Health such as long-term care home staff.

Someone who is not in any of these categories may need to wait to access testing.

Klassen reminded employers clearance swabs are not recommended for general workplaces or employees who are asymptomatic parents whose children are being swabbed.

At this time, household members of a person such as a child who is going for testing or who is sick do not need to self-isolate, she said. They can continue to go to work unless otherwise advised by their healthcare provider.

Screening tools for COVID-19 symptoms are available on Ontario.ca or hpph.ca/schools.

If your screening result shows you are recommended to be tested follow up with your health care provider, she said.

Klassen said Public Health is grateful to parents who are performing screening and keeping kids home if they are ill, even though it may be inconvenient.

These are all very important actions so schools can stay open, she said. We are also grateful to our many primary care partners who are accessing and providing direction to families and employers who are being supportive to employees who need to take time off. Please remember we all have a role to play in keeping numbers low in our area.
The floods that hit Sudan in July killed hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of homes. It came as a warning for the Egyptian government to take seriously the potential danger of floods.

On Sept. 15, Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly tasked the government with developing an emergency plan to cope with the floods and the rise in water levels in the Greater Upper Nile region in Sudan, and to prepare maps of the most vulnerable areas across all governorates.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Irrigation Muhammad al-Sibai said in a statement Sept. 23, The Nile flooding has indeed reached Egypt on Aug. 1 and is expected to continue until next October and possibly November.

Sibai said that 13 governorates through which the Nile passes have been warned, stressing that some crops have been dumped in the alluvium areas, as a result of the floods.

The Nile alluvium areas are muddy lands and buildings that were built on the banks of the Nile, and they are under threat of drowning as a result of the exceptional high water level.

On Sept. 24, the Ministry of Irrigation announced on its Facebook page, The initial indicators show that the flooding is still likely to be high and that the water flow in August and September is likely to be far stronger than that of last year, but it is still too early to make a final judgment on the type and size of the flood this year before September and October.

Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Aty called for continued work on the removal of all infringements on the waterways, namely the Nile course and the Damietta and Rosetta branches that limit the networks ability to absorb the excess water in cases of emergency or floods.

He noted, The supreme committee tasked with following up on the river flow is holding an ongoing session to take the necessary measures to deal with the floods this year.

The head of the Flood Prediction Center at the Ministry of Irrigation, Iman Sayed, said Sept. 21 that maps were prepared for the areas that will witness a rise in the water level in the Nile River.

She noted, Owners of fish farms and farmers in these areas have been warned, and warnings and dangers will continue until the end of October.

Despite the governments preparations to avoid the risk of floods, the Nile flood affected several villages in the Beheira governorate, as the water level rose greatly and flooded tens of acres. The Beheira governorate issued a warning to residents of cities located on the banks of the Nile River to quickly evacuate in anticipation of the floods.

Currently, Egypt is preparing for the flood season, especially with winter approaching. The Red Sea governorate announced the establishment of five dams and a lake in Safaga to protect residents against floods.

The Red Sea governorate witnessed violent floods in 2016 that killed dozens of people.

Also, some cities in the south Sinai governorate witnessed floods over the past days, such as Saint Catherine that was hit by torrents twice between Sept. 2 and Sept. 7, as heavy rains fell on Mount Catherine and Jabal Abbas.

Works to mitigate the flood risks are currently in their second phase. The south Sinai governorate announced the establishment of a project to protect and benefit from flood water, expected to be completed by 2022, with a total value of 1.6 billion Egyptian pounds ($101 million). From 2014 to 2019, 23 dams were built, including 11 in Nuweiba city; 229 lakes, including 218 in Saint Catherine; three reservoirs in Saint Catherine; three barrages, including one in Nuweiba and two in Taba; and five canals in Taba. Governor of south Sinai Khaled Fouda announced that the total value of the current preventive works reached 927.5 million pounds ($58.8 million).

Sibai told Al-Monitor, The flood season started Aug. 1 and will continue for three months. Buildings and crops on the alluvium lands are at risk the most.

He said, The government has taken all precautionary measures to deal with the floods to preserve lives and property and take advantage of the abundance of water resulting from the flood. There are 13 governorates adjacent to the Nile River that may be affected by high water levels, and there was coordination with those governorates to follow up on the situation there.

Sibai added, "The flood of the Nile bodes well for Egypt given that there is a plan to benefit from it. The Egyptian government and the Ministry of Irrigation are following with great interest the governorates preparations to protect citizens.

Adviser to the former irrigation minister Diaa al-Din al-Qousi told Al-Monitor, The government is trying to take advantage of the high water levels resulting from the rain while protecting citizens and warning them in advance.

Qousi ruled out a replica of the Sudan floods scenario in Egypt, saying, There is no risk of floods due to the presence of the High Dam, which stores water in the river bed in the event of additional quantities of water.

The head of the General Authority of the High Dam affiliated with the Ministry of Irrigation, Hussein Jalal, said in a press statement Sept. 22, The High Dam is able to deal with the flood, and the authority announced the highest state of emergency in accordance with the directives of the minister of irrigation who inspected the preparations and the system with which we deal with the flood, deemed as the fiercest.

On Sept. 19, Abdel-Aty inspected the systems of the High Dam, El-Qantara Lakes and Toshka Lakes Canal in order to determine their readiness for the floods.

Qousi added, There are several governorates, including the Red Sea governorate, that frequently witness floods, so the government is continuously keen on building dams in these governorates.

He concluded, The torrents that hit some governorates such as south Sinai and the Red Sea will benefit citizens  if protected from the ensuing dangers. Many dams and lakes could be built. Those governorates will benefit from an abundance of fresh water at a time when they suffer from a shortage in this regard and heavily depend on groundwater.
A European vehicle safety authority gave "very good" marks to Audi, BMW and Mercedes for their driver assistance systems, and gave Tesla's system, known as Autopilot, a "moderate" grade in a new report out Thursday.

The ratings from the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP)  a counterpart to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The ratings can influence consumer car-buying decisions and insurance premiums for different make and model vehicles.

In general, vehicle safety ratings from the likes of NHTSA and Euro NCAP show how well a car is designed to protect the driver, passengers and pedestrians in a crash.

Since automakers now integrate high-tech software, cameras and sensors into their cars to enable advanced driver assistance features, safety testing organizations have begun to study how effectively these systems can help drivers avoid accidents in the first place.

Euro NCAP, along with its safety research and testing partners Thatcham Research, found that the Audi Q8, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes GLE's driver assistance systems were "very good," the Ford Kuga, known as the Ford Escape in the U.S., had a "good" system, and that the Tesla Model 3 Autopilot, as well as systems in the VW Passat and Volvo V60 among others were only "moderate."

While driver assistance systems may vary, they typically at least enable cars to automatically steer and brake to avoid collisions, accelerate and stay within their lanes on highways.

Tesla Autopilot in a Model 3 ranked sixth of the ten systems and cars Euro NCAP tested. It will surprise fans of Elon Musk's electric vehicle business. After all, Tesla pioneered over-the-air software updates that let the company deliver improvements to, or add new driver assistance features, to its vehicles without requiring a dealership visit or service appointment.

Thatcham's Director of Insurance Research, Matthew Avery, told CNBC Tesla should be praised for its ability to roll out safety improvements to its entire Autopilot fleet over Wi-Fi. He noted other major car companies now plan to deliver software updates via wireless internet, too.

Avery also said, in extensive testing, Tesla Autopilot demonstrated excellent automatic emergency braking, and collision avoidance when it came to avoiding pedestrians and other cars alike.

Thatcham Research tested the latest version of Tesla Autopilot available in a Model 3 that it leased anonymously. It conducted the tests in fair weather conditions on a track in England.

Tesla scored in the middle of the pack in the Euro NCAP ratings, because they found that it over-sells Autopilot capabilities, doesn't have a sophisticated driver monitoring system and because Autopilot disengages completely when a driver turns the wheel strongly.

"Tesla's system name Autopilot is inappropriate as it suggests full automation," Euro NCAP wrote in a statement. "The promotional material suggests automation where the handbook correctly indicates the limitations of the system capabilities, which could lead to confusion."

Thatcham's Matthew Avery also explained to CNBC that, when a driver moves the steering wheel on a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot activated, the car initially resists their steering. When driver input is stronger, the car disconnects Autopilot entirely.

"You have to really twist and yank the wheel, and that turns the system off," Avery said. "Tesla will say they do that to make it clear to the driver when the system is turned off and they are no longer being supported. But this is wrong it encourages the driver to think the car is capable of driving without them. It dis-incentivizes them from making appropriate course corrections."

Tesla Autopilot only relies on steering wheel input to detect if a driver is paying attention. The car's internal camera isn't used to make sure the driver is watching the road.

Euro NCAP wants to see improvements to driver monitoring and driver engagement in Tesla Autopilot. The organization isn't alone in praising some aspects of the system while criticizing others.

Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment.

Last year, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board found that a combination of driver error and flawed Autopilot design led to a crash involving a Tesla Model S and a parked fire truck in 2018. In February 2020, the NTSB called out Tesla for inadequate driver engagement monitoring, which it found had contributed to a fatal Model X crash that killed Apple engineer Walter Huang near Mountain View, California in 2018.

And in July this year, a Munich court ruled that Tesla misled consumers on the abilities of its automated driving systems, then barred Tesla Germany from including the phrases "full potential for autonomous driving" and "autopilot inclusive" in its advertising materials at this time.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The NSW government inquiry into casino giant Crown Resorts started unexpectedly last Friday, as counsel assisting Adam Bell opened the days proceedings with an excerpt. "Mike Johnston has been with me a long time," he quoted James Packer saying in a recent biography. "Hes a good friend and has also shown complete loyalty to me and my family." The question of James Packer's influence has long hung over Crown. James Packer (centre), with (clockwise from top left) Ken Barton, Guy Jalland, Michael Johnston, and John Alexander. As Johnston - a trusted lieutenant in the Packer family business empire for almost 20 years and a Crown director for 13 - settled in behind his desk to give three days of evidence via video link, the impassive senior counsel was keen to test that assertion. "Would you agree that for a long time youve shown complete loyalty to Mr Packer?" Bell asked. The response from Johnston was simple and immediate: "Yes". The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authoritys (ILGA's) unprecedented probity inquiry into the $6 billion casino group has over 36 days of hearings laid bare how Crown went into business with alleged members of Asian crime syndicates, its failure to stop money laundering at its casinos, and how its thirst for profit led to 19 employees being arrested and jailed in China four years ago. Revelations about these failures by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 minutes last year is what sparked the inquiry. But last Fridays opening gambit by Bell went to the heart of a different question that has long hung over Crown, one the company has assiduously avoided until now: just who calls the shots at Australias largest casino owner?

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And where does the loyalty of Crowns senior executives and heavyweight board of directors lie - with the publicly listed company or its largest shareholder, James Packer? The stakes could not be higher for Crown, as it prepares to open the doors to its new casino at Barangaroo, on the banks of Sydney Harbour, in the middle of December. Former NSW Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin, SC - who made her name as a counsel assisting the landmark Wood police corruption royal commission - will recommend to the NSW government whether Crown is clean enough to keep the licence for its $2.2 billion gambling mecca. Crown plans to open its casino in mid-December. Credit:Wolter Peeters, The evidence provided so far has left her less than impressed. Transparency at "debacle levels", a "terrifying" confusion over who was responsible for anti-money laundering compliance, and risks being taken because of "the pressure to chase profit" are just some of the ways Commissioner Bergin has already described what went on at Crown. Insider bombshell Packer - whose fortune was estimated to be $4.9 billion last year - currently owns 36 per cent of the shares in Crown and was always going to leave his mark on the company. He served as chairman from 2007 until 2015, when he left the board. He rejoined as a director in August 2017 before leaving seven months later amid a battle with mental illness; and is scheduled to give evidence to the inquiry on Tuesday. Crown chief executive Ken Barton's evidence to the inquiry did nothing to dispel the notion that while Packer no longer holds a formal position at Crown, fulfilling his needs remains a high priority for the board. The former finance boss, who was elevated to CEO in January to replace executive chairman John Alexander, revealed to the inquiry that he sent Packer almost daily updates on the group's financial performance.

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But when a shareholder asked at Crown's annual general meeting in October last year whether Packer was "selectively briefed" or received any "special treatment", Barton answered by describing a services agreement between Crown and Packer's private company Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH), which Packer is not party to. Barton, who has styled himself as a reformer ready to improve governance at Crown, denied he had deliberately misled his shareholders but told the inquiry "in hindsight, I could have easily answered the question". This flow of confidential information to Packer led to the bombshell suggestion this week of insider trading, after it heard how in May last year Packer demanded Barton send him updated profit forecasts for Crown out to 2022. Unbeknownst to Barton, Johnston and Guy Jalland - another CPH executive who is also a Crown director - were in the process of selling a 19.9 per cent stake in Crown, almost half Packer's holding, to Hong Kong's Melco Resorts for $1.7 billion. Loading They sent financial forecasts to Melco based on Mr Barton's numbers along with other confidential company information. Johnston told the inquiry he understood that in Australia's insider trading laws, "inside information" meant material that was not generally available and could affect a company's share price. But he insisted the briefing sent to Melco before they finalised the deal on May 30 was "significantly below the threshold" of being price-sensitive, because the profit forecasts were broadly in line with market consensus forecasts.

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In fact, Johnston said, CPH sent the confidential information to Melco to avoid the perception it had engaged in insider trading by selling the shares while armed with information Melco did not have, to Melco's disadvantage. "It really was out of an abundance of caution," Johnston said. On Friday the inquiry was read an email Packer sent to Crowns then executive chairman John Alexander in November 2018, eight months after Packer had left the board, questioning why he was "on a world trip looking at restaurants". Emails showed how Packer berated Crown Resorts' former executive chairman, John Alexander, for "on a world trip looking at restaurants". Credit: "This seems excessive to me," Packer said, "Do we need an overall cost cutting plan to immediately implement including travel bans for our executives?" In the same email exchange, Alexander told Packer he needed the board to back him with his own cost cutting measures, to which Packer responded: "Im over being captain good guy to everyone, go hard my good friend you have my blessing". Alexander agreed that Packer was providing some "indirect" instruction to him in the emails, but denied Packer was using a "controlling shareholder protocol" that permitted him communicate with key executives to control management from outside the company. "Theres an interchange like this but it was not happening on anything like a regular basis," Alexander said.

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High roller high jinks Testimony provided to the inquiry shows Packer relied heavily on his CPH team to guide and in some cases manage Crown when he was chairman, and that influence has continued after his departure. Rowen Craigie, Crown's CEO from 2007 to 2017, told the inquiry that CPH executives Johnston and former Labor powerbroker Mark Arbib - Packer's media and government relations advisor - attended regular "CEO meetings" that Packer had established as chairman, in which Craigie would brief him ahead of board meetings. "I think Mr Packer welcomed their input and wanted them exposed to the Crown management team and the CEO reports, so they would be in a better position to advise him," Craigie said. Loading As chairman in 2013, Packer embedded Johnston into the then-struggling VIP internal high-roller team, holding regular meetings with the unit's senior executives, along with other CPH executives Brad Kady and Steve Bennett. Barry Felstead, Crown's executive of Australian Resorts who remains responsible for the VIP business, told the inquiry that this "CPH VIP Working Group" was created to "brainstorm and work out ways to run the business" and consider "any potential opportunities we may have to grow the business".

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LANSING, MI - Conservative commentator Steven Crowder gathered a crowd at the Michigan State Capitol steps Friday to demand more nursing home death data from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Crowder, a Fox News contributor and host of Louder with Crowder on YouTube, spoke to more than 1,000 protesters for about 20 minutes at noon Oct. 2, claiming the Whitmer administration is understating the number of nursing home deaths due to COVID-19.

The crowd was a mix of members of the Young Americans for Freedom - a conservative advocacy group - as well as MAGA hat-wearing Trump supporters, gun rights activists and a handful of Proud Boys. Some members of the crowd also gathered in front of the governors residence Friday morning.

As Crowder, a Michigan native, argued that Whitmer isnt releasing the full number of nursing home deaths, the crowd booed her and chanted to Release the Death Toll.

Michigans tracking, and its the only state (in the Midwest) to do this, doesnt include assisted-living facilities, adult foster care facilities or homes for the aged, he said. So let me be clear, all of these other states, their total (nursing home) deaths are 34% (of the states total) when you include assisted-living facilities, adult foster care facilities or homes for the aged. In Michigan, its 34% coming from about 440 nursing homes...there are about 4,400 actively-licensed homes (including the other categories)."

Crowder is echoing an argument made by State Sen. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton during a Sep. 16 hearing of the Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nesbitt asked Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon if the definition of nursing homes is different from state to state, implying that the numbers could be skewed to make Michigan appear to be performing better

Does the definition include assisted living facilities, memory care units, retirement homes, Nesbitt asked.

Its nursing homes, Gordon said. As regulated entities, there are 442 of them that dont include assisted living facilities.

Related: Nursing home debate gets heated with Michigan health director testifying at COVID-19 oversight hearing

Allegations that the state forced nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients are unfounded, Gordon said on Sep. 16. Republican lawmakers and Crowder point to Gov. Gretchen Whitmers Executive Order 2020-50, which required nursing homes to create dedicated hubs for coronavirus patients to prepare for a lack of hospital bed capacity.

Since MDHHS didnt recommend the action, that provision in the order was not operable, Gordon said. After receiving the order, he said, the department addressed concerns from nursing homes about a lack of PPE to create dedicated hubs, which stalled the implementation of the order.

Our Medicaid program sent an email to the professional associations instructing them to postpone movement of COVID-19-affected residents, except as required for medical reasons. The nursing homes correctly understood that they were not being forced to separate patients and create dedicated units, he said. And since they were not being forced to create dedicated units, they also were not being forced to accept transfers.

The guidance did lead to long-term care facilities creating isolated COVID-19 containment wings, such as a Hillsdale County facility that at one point accounted for more than half of the countys cases and deaths.

Crowder pointed to Executive Order 2020-179 as an acknowledgement by Whitmer that her plan failed Michigans seniors. Among the orders provisions is that patients that have tested positive for COVID-19 are sent to care and recovery centers that are exclusively dedicated to isolating patients.

Scientists, the people we all apparently deny, told us we have to protect for seniors. She said you dont need to, you guys are fine, he said. Now shes instituting a new order only after weve been behind the scenes sending (data) requests repeatedly, (which) weve been denied or not responded to.

Crowder also criticized Whitmers veto of Senate Bill 956, which implemented the protocol for facilities that specialize in COVID-19 treatment by creating at least one facility in each of Michigans eight regions. While he called the bill bipartisan, it was only sponsored by Sen. Pete Lucido, R-Shelby Township, and approved by a 24-13 split in the Michigan Senate.

Task Force Chair Dr. Betty Chu on Sep. 9 recommended Whitmers administration continue to explore COVID-19-specific facilities, but warned that there might not be enough time to build the facilities and implement safety protocols.

Related: Mistakes made in good faith: GOP legislators question future nursing home recommendations

An independent analysis conducted by the Center for Health and Research Transformation did not recommend this approach.

We dont think a COVID-only facility will answer the problem that is trying to be addressed, and we know now that patients indeed can be maintained safely with the right safety protocols, said Marianne Udow-Phillips, CHRTs founding executive director. We dont think a separate facility is appropriate. In fact, we think its probably counterproductive. Its very expensive, very inflexible, and certainly not needed.

With the state expecting a lower surge in the fall, there may not even be a need for patients to go to facilities other than hospitals due to projected lower capacity, Chu said.

Prior to the speech, Crowder led a prayer for the recovery of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, who both tested positive for COVID-19 early Friday morning. He also led a prayer aimed at Whitmer to guide the state out of the pandemic, even if we dont agree with her.

He and a press release prior to the event reminded attendees that the MI Safe Start guidelines are in effect, which promotes mask-wearing and social distancing. After his presentation, the crowd dispersed to grab #ReleaseTheDeathToll signs from a U-Haul to the side of the Capitol building.

Read more from MLive:

Nursing home deaths in Michigan part of Department of Justice data request

Whitmer vetoes GOP-backed bill to house nursing home coronavirus patients in separate facilities

Michigans nursing home strategy during pandemic perfectly appropriate, report says

States handling of COVID in nursing homes worthy of critique, but GOP lawmakers miss mark, experts say
With all our love to all the haters, says Anurag Kashyap as he resumes film shoot with Pannu

Actress's allegations are outright lies, was shooting in Sri Lanka then: Anurag Kashyap

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Oct 02: Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's lawyer on Friday termed the rape allegations against her client as an "outright lie" and said that he was in Sri Lanka for a film shoot and was not present in India in August 2013 when the alleged incident took place.

"In an FIR registered with the Versova Police Station, the actress has alleged that in August 2013, my client, Anurag Kashyap, called her to his house and sexually harassed her. My client presented himself for questioning before the investigating authority on October 1, 2020," read a statement from Anurag Kashyap's Lawyer, Priyanka Khimani.

"Anurag Kashyap has denied all wrongdoing in the matter and has provided his statement to the police. The material provided by Kashyap, in support of his statement, demonstrates that the complaint of the actress is an outright lie. Kashyap has provided documentary proof of the fact that throughout August, 2013 he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films. Kashyap has categorically denied that any such alleged incident ever took place and has also denied all allegations levelled against him," it said.

The statement further read, "These sudden, belated allegations of an alleged incident of August, 2013 have been widely publicised by the Complainant for the purpose of vilifying Anurag Kashyap, irrespective of the outcome of the judicial process. Anurag Kashyap is confident that the falsity of the complaint has been exposed, not only by the evidence presented by Kashyap, but also the ever-shifting version of events put forth by the complainant in the media. Anurag Kashyap is apprehensive that now that the falsity of her allegations in the FIR have been established, she will alter her version of events in the investigative process as well."

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

Director Anurag Kashyap summoned by Mumbai Police in alleged sexual assault case

On Thursday, Kashyap reached Versova police station in Andheri West shortly after 10 am and left a few minutes past 8 pm. An official at Versova police station said the filmmaker has denied the allegations against him.

"Our investigation is still in the preliminary stage. We summoned Kashyap to seek answers to the allegations made against him. We are continuing to gather evidence," the official said.

The actor, who filed a complaint against Kashyap last month, had threatened to go on a hunger strike unless the police arrested Kashyap soon.
Police has recovered Rs 74 lakh from the car of a RJD leader in Patna, following which Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi alleged that the cash was meant for"buying election ticket". The cash was seized from the car of RJD leader from Sasaram, Sanjay Singh, under Gandhi Maidan police station area of the state capital late Wednesday night during checking of vehicles, police said.

The driver of the vehicle admitted it belonged to Singh. Singh,however, was not present in the car at the time of recovery of the cash.

A police team from Patna went to Sasaram, headquarters of Rohtas district, in search of Singh, who is in hotel business. Rohtas Superintendent of Police Satyabir Singh confirmed arrival of a police team from Patna for verification of address of the car owner.

Sources said that Singh and his family members were not found at home. Sushil Modi alleged that the cash was meant to buy ticket in election.

Lalu Prasads party like in the past is again indulging in sale of tickets in the polls. Recovery of Rs 74 lakh from the car of a RJD leader indicates this," Modi tweeted. Taking a swipe at the RJD-helmed Grand Alliance, he alleged that Prasads party wants to corner maximum number of seats in the opposition camp for monetary purposes.

Modi had in the past alleged sale of election tickets and ministerial portfolios in Rashtriya Janata Dal pointing to"gifting" of land and properties by the RJD leaders to Prasads family members.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. MP representing Five Star Movement, member of OSCE PA Niccolo Invidia issued a statement over the resumption of military operations in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), saying

The recent-days news of large-scale military operations between Armenia and Azerbaijan that claim numerous lives are alarming. Witnessing the resumption of the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh is a sensitive moment. Now more than ever its necessary to make an international call for ceasefire and resumption of dialogue, ARMENPRESS reports Niccolo Invidia said.

In case of confirmation, the media reports that the group of 4.000 mercenaries comprised of different jihadist groups and veterans of the Islamic State sent to fight against Armenians are extremely concerning. The involvement of foreign mercenaries and violence against civilian population are inadmissible, Niccolo Invidia said, calling on all the sides to immediately establish ceasefire.

Russia, France and the USA have confirmed the presence of mercenaries in the conflict zone of Nagorno Karabakh.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
Armed gardai were called to NUI Galway's campus today after reports of someone in possession of a gun.

Worried students posted videos to Twitter, saying the gardai parked in Goldcrest student accommodation and were heading towards Corrib Village student accommodation, which is directly across from Goldcrest.

In a statement, the garda press office said: "Gardai responded to a report of a possible firearm at a property in Upper Newcastle, Galway this afternoon, Friday October 2.

"The Armed Support Unit attended the scene and conducted a thorough search of the premises. The search proved negative."

A spokesperson from the NUIG Accommodation Office later said the reports were a false alarm.

"Gardai were called to our residences earlier today to deal with an incident which turned out to be a false alarm if any resident has any concerns, they should contact reception," the statement said.

In a further statement from the university this afternon, NUIG confirmed the inspection of the campus by the Gardai and said assistance would be provided to people affected by the incident.

NUI Galway can confirm that An Garda Siochana visited the campus today on foot of an allegation that an individual may be in possession of a firearm at the Corrib Village student residences.

The Gardai have subsequently confirmed, that following a full investigation, the allegation is untrue, that the campus is safe, and there is no danger to students, staff or members of the public.

The University would like to acknowledge the staff involved of who followed the relevant procedures in dealing with this, and will be providing assistance to any members of the campus community who have been impacted by the incident, the statement said.
Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) is preparing for a November restart of blast furnace (BF) No2 at its Presidente Vargas mill in the city of Volta Redonda in southeast Brazil, sources said this week.

CSN is not a part of our association, but the information we have is that it will restart the No2 BF in November, Marco Polo de Mello Lopes, executive president of the Brazilian steelmakers association Instituto Aco Brasil, said on Thursday October 1.



That No2 blast furnace was one of 13 furnaces halted in the country after demand plummeted due to restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19. Furnaces began to be idled in April, but CSN announced the halting of No2 on May 29.



Most steelmakers have now restarted their furnaces, but two of the largest - the No2 furnace at Presidente Vargas and Usiminas No2 blast furnace at Ipatinga in the state of Minas Gerais - have yet to be restarted.



CSN did not respond to Fastmarkets' request for comment, but its chief financial officer, Marcelo Ribeiro, said on July 29 that the company would get the No2 blast furnace ready for a restart before the end of November.



There are indeed talks of that BF coming back online, but it remains idle at the moment, a mill source told Fastmarkets.



And a trader said the restarts would help meet current needs in Brazil.



It makes sense to bring back halted capacity now because [the current level of] supplies is not meeting the growing needs of the customers, the Brazil-based trader source said.



A second trader source added: There is a hole in the market, and [those two blast furnaces] can help to fill it.



CSN's No2 furnace has the capacity to produce 1.5 million tonnes per year of crude steel, of a total output of 5.6 million tpy at Presidente Vargas, according to a company filing with the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).



Supply tightness and a global uptrend have been supporting higher domestic steel prices in Brazil, and a new round of 10-13% price increases was announced for October.



Fastmarkets assessed the price of steel hot-rolled coil, domestic, monthly, exw Brazil at 3,150-3,200 Reais ($592-602) per tonne on September 11, up from 2,800-2,885 Reais per tonne on August 14.



In reaching a 2020 high in September, the HRC price was up by 36%, at the midpoint of the range, from 2,245-2,425 Reais per tonne on January 3.
Armenia recalled its ambassador to Israel today, issuing a rare diplomatic rebuke over Israels arm sales to rival Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijans military deployed Israeli-made drones against Armenian forces during the heavy fighting that erupted in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, an Azerbaijani official told a local Israeli outlet this week.

The two former Soviet republics are locked in their worst round of violence in years. More than 100 have died this week in the contested territory, which is officially part of Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenians backed by Yerevan.

"For us, Israel's supply of ultra-modern weapons to Azerbaijan is unacceptable, especially now, in the conditions of Azerbaijan's aggression with the support of Turkey, said Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan.

After Armenia recalled its ambassador, Israels Foreign Ministry released a statement saying, Israel attaches importance to our relations with Armenia, and because of this sees the Armenian Embassy in Israel as an important tool for promoting the benefit of both peoples.

Israel has not taken a side, but does consider Azerbaijan to be a strategic ally. According to the Times of Israel, it is believed that Israel supplies 60% of the Azerbaijani militarys weaponry.

In an interview published Wednesday with the Israeli news site Walla, Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the president of Azerbaijan, said his countrymen very much appreciate the cooperation with Israel, especially the defense cooperation.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have rebuffed international calls for a cease-fire. In a joint statement today, the leaders of the United States, France and Russia urged the two sides to commit to resuming substantive talks over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Star Wars actor John Boyega is back with The Force. The police force.

And Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen is delighted to have caught him at just the right moment.

'He was ready to get back into acting, and not just reacting,' he said, referring to the South-East London-born actor's time spent in a galaxy far, far away, playing Finn, the storm-trooper-turned Rebel hero

Star line-up: John Boyega, Amarah-Jae St Aubyn and Michael Ward

Michael Ward and Amarah-Jae St Aubyn pictured above

Boyega stars in McQueen's film Red, White And Blue as Leroy Logan who, in the early 1980s, was the poster boy for people of colour joining the Metropolitan Police.

Logan went from working as a police scientist to beat bobby; finally retiring at the rank of Superintendent in 2013, after a 30-year career.

Boyega burrows into the part of Logan, trying to hold back the bile building up from the institutional racism he faced from some colleagues. 'You want a star who's dangerous,' McQueen said, 'and John's dangerous.'

Boyega revealed during the summer that he'd felt marginalised while working on the Star Wars trilogy. McQueen told me many black actors are 'frightened to express themselves, for fear of not being hired'.

Letitia Wright

But the director believes it was Boyega's anger that helped power his performance in Red, White And Blue  one of five films that form his Small Axe collection, produced by BBC Films.

McQueen has felt frustration, too. He began thinking about the project, based on 'stories that would have been swept under the carpet', 11 years ago. They will finally be seen on BBC1 and Amazon Prime Video from mid-November.

'They're feature films that happen to be on television,' he told me when we met at the Dean Street Townhouse in Soho. Indeed, two are to be shown at the British Film Institute's London Film Festival.

Mangrove, one of the year's best films, opens at the London Film Festival on Wednesday. It charts the police harassment of Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes), and the targeting of his Caribbean restaurant, Mangrove, in Notting Hill, in the late Sixties.

The intimidation led, eventually, to a landmark case at the Old Bailey, in which nine activists faced trumped-up charges of inciting a riot at a protest against the police's behaviour. 'It was a black-owned business, and the authorities didn't like it,' McQueen said.

The director believes it was Boyega's anger that helped power his performance in Red, White And Blue  one of five films that form his Small Axe collection, produced by BBC Films

McQueen cast a sublime line-up of actors to portray the defendants, including Letitia Wright, star of the blockbuster Black Panther film, as an actual Black Panther leader (Altheia Jones-Lecointe)

McQueen cast a sublime line-up of actors to portray the defendants, including Letitia Wright, star of the blockbuster Black Panther film, as an actual Black Panther leader (Altheia Jones-Lecointe); and Malachi Kirby as Darcus Howe, a veteran campaigner for equal justice. I'm sad that Howe, who died in 2017, isn't around to see Kirby's scorching portrait of him.

So far I've seen three of the Small Axe pictures; the third being Lovers Rock (another LFF title), which McQueen explained 'was my Aunt Molly's story'. She would creep out of the house and sneak off to blues parties, where she and her friends would dance the night away.

'In the morning, she'd climb back in through the window . . . and then go to church.'

The film stars Amarah-Jae St Aubyn and Micheal Ward, and there's a great scene of them smooching to Janet Kay's reggae hit Silly Games.

All the films feature carefully chosen tracks, encompassing the history of reggae and soul and edited to fit McQueen's excellent narratives.

Clare Dunne, a terrific actress, gives a tremendous central performance in director Phyllida Lloyd's moving new film Herself . . . which Dunne also wrote. She plays Sandra, a mother of two whose husband beats her. In one devastating scene, we see how one of the daughters is utterly traumatised after witnessing her daddy assault her mother.

However, in Lloyd's sure hands the film shows us that Sandra has an inner strength, and a fierce determination to protect her children. There are moments of genuine tenderness, such as when Sandra is comforting her girls in a hotel room they're forced to shelter in, and when she finds a benefactor in the shape of the local doctor (played by Harriet Walter).

A friend of her late mother's, the doctor not only employs her; but in a moment of glorious generosity, helps her fund a self-build home.

The film doesn't suggest that every battered woman is going to find a fairy godmother. But it does offer hope.

 Herself will screen at the BFI London Film Festival from Wednesday, before going on general release in cinemas from October 16.

Watch out for...

Radha Blank, whose screen debut as writer, star and director, The Forty-Year-Old Version, launches on Netflix today. It's a semi-fictionalised account of Blank's struggles as a playwright in New York City; and her engrossing movie, shot in black and white, almost as a hymn to the location of her rejection, is often funny at her own expense.

I can see why she has said that Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend is one of her favourite movies.

Radha Blank, whose screen debut as writer, star and director, The Forty-Year-Old Version, launches on Netflix today

It's a semi-fictionalised account of Blank's struggles as a playwright in New York City

Her engrossing movie, shot in black and white, almost as a hymn to the location of her rejection, is often funny at her own expense

Blank creates a hip-hop persona  called RadhaMUSprime  not so much to improve her career, but more for meditation. I know a little about that whole downtown-uptown theatre scene in NYC, and Blank superbly captures all of its petty absurdities. She lacerates the condescending theatre chiefs (all male) who mock her, then block her progress.

Blank developed the picture's structure over several years, before workshopping it at the Sundance Institute, and it really is a stunning achievement for a first-timer.

I did catch one of her plays nine years ago at the National Black Theatre in Harlem. It was called Seed, and I gotta say that Ms Blank makes a much better movie.
FLINT, MI -- Two more City Council members have been targeted for recall and the Genesee County Election Commission has scheduled an Oct. 13 hearing to decide whether the efforts can move forward.

Proposed recall language against Ward 3 Councilman Santino Guerra was filed by Richard Jones of East Dewey Street while Audrey F. Young of Kirkwood Lane filed proposed language against Ward 2 Councilman Maurice Davis.

Both Guerra and Davis have been targeted with recalls previously and each survived without a vote of residents after those attempts fizzled out.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach Jones or Young for comment on their filings Friday, Oct. 2, but the language filed against Guerra says he should lose his position on council because he voted against overriding the veto of a council resolution to do all things necessary to immediately release funding being withheld by the city to pay WT Stevens for its work on water service line replacements.

Youngs language against Davis is identical to a recall petition filed against him less than a year ago by another Flint resident. It says Davis should be removed from office because he voted against issuing a subpoena to Aonie Gilcreast, a former top adviser to former Mayor Karen Weaver.

Davis said Friday, Oct. 2, that hes planning to contest the recall language at the Elections Commission meeting, calling the drive a waste of taxpayers' dollars.

If the recall language is approved, Davis vowed to make sure every signature is verified and not supplemented by signatures to allow the recall to move forward with signatures that may have been collected against him last year.

Guerra did not immediately comment on his attempted recall but he faced a similar effort last May.

In that recall, he was accused of having voted to extend a Republic Services' waste removal contract.

Davis and Guerra are not the first council members to have been hit recently with proposed recalls.

Earlier this week, the Elections Commission denied petition language filed against Ward 8 Councilman Allan Griggs, saying it was unclear. That was the second time Griggs was targeted for recall in just over one years time.

In Michigan, election commissions are charged with deciding whether each reason stated in proposed petition language is factual and clear.

Election commission denies recall language filed against Flint Councilman Allan Griggs

Resident files paperwork to recall Flint Councilman Maurice Davis

Petition to recall Flint councilman filed with clerks office
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In medical school, I was charged with caring for Ms. R, a 47-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and rheumatoid arthritis. She had been flagged as a high priority patient through the student-run free clinic (SRFC) and assigned to me for long-term follow-up. This signified seeing her during monthly check-ups, scheduling her appointments with specialists, and checking in with her to ensure her needs were being met.

Although I had a sense of my responsibilities when I stepped into this role, I was wholly unprepared to tackle the socioeconomic barriers that Ms. R. faced daily. During our weekly calls, I would listen as she described her inability to afford basic necessities like groceries or medications. Tapping into existing resources in the community, I would direct her to food pantries and clinic-affiliated social workers that could assist with payment relief. However, in April 2020, when Ms. R. approached me, asking for face masks to protect herself and her family from COVID-19, I was at a loss. She described how masks were fully out of stock or being sold at inflated prices in her neighborhood. Moreover, as an at-risk individual, she feared for her life.

Touted by some as a great equalizer, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront long-standing disparities in access to health for Black, Latinx, immigrant, and low-income communities. While we are all in this fight together, some are bearing the burden more than others. Studies have shown that Blacks in the United States are especially affected, with them being represented twice as often among COVID-19 deaths as they are in the population (13 percent of the population vs. 27 percent of COVID-19 deaths). In New York City (NYC), primarily Black and Latinx neighborhoods are being ravaged, while whiter and wealthier areas are seeing fewer cases and deaths. Furthermore, there has been a mass exodus from whiter and wealthier neighborhoods, while New Yorks Blacks, Latinxs, immigrants, and those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds have been unable to escape financial, mental, and literal suffocation by the virus.

Ms. R. is an undocumented, Spanish-speaking, single mother living in East Harlem, one of the poorest and most diverse zip codes in the United States. It is also among the hardest-hit areas in Manhattan and NYC, experiencing about 1-in-40 cases per capita and between 1-in-300 and 1-in-400 deaths per capita. Ms. R. works twelve-hour shifts in a delicatessen, making a little over $10,000 a year. She frequently complains of unsafe working conditions under the watchful eye of a boss who rarely allows her to take breaks. Although living with her children and elderly mother in a public housing development in East Harlem, Ms. R.s mind frequently returns to Ecuador as she sends a portion of her wages to pay for her sisters mental health care.

At the beginning of the outbreak, the United States was in dire need of personal protective equipment as hospital and warehouse stores had been depleted nationwide. In April, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended the use of [cloth] masks by all individuals, especially at-risk populations, with the aim of partially blocking droplets expelled when speaking, coughing, and sneezing. While it was prudent that all individuals followed these guidelines, the lack of resources and government funding left many communities neglected and vulnerable to exposure. This included the undomiciled and those in low socioeconomic brackets, making up about 14 percent and 43.1 percent of the NYC population, respectively.

As stories like Ms. R.s became more commonplace, a team of medical students at Mount Sinai came together to found Mask Transit, an organization that provides cloth masks and educational material to at-risk communities. We sourced masks through outreach to NYC hospitals, local seamstresses, and small businesses. Our educational material, drafted by students and reviewed by physicians, distilled recommendations from the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) on using and cleaning masks and other measures to avoid contracting COVID-19. They were written in a fifth or sixth-grade reading level and translated into multiple languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, and French, to meet the needs of the diverse populations residing in NYC.

A pilot program was first established through Mount Sinais SRFC in April 2020, where mask kits were distributed to patient households through mailing and no-contact drop-offs. Integral to expansion thereafter were partnerships with the East Harlem Community Health Committee and East Harlem Community Organizations Active in Disaster, committees entrenched in the community that offered accurate need assessments. We met with organizational leaders to quantify needs, identify the most common languages spoken by the populations served, and discuss distribution strategies. This led to partnerships with over 30 community organizations and the distribution of 45,000 masks across East Harlem and NYC. By employing a community-based model, we have since expanded to nine other states, established connections with 11 other SRFCs, and provided an additional 45,000 mask kits.

There are many lessons to be learned from the steps and missteps taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. While the government at all levels  federal, state, and local  has struggled to formulate proactive and scalable responses, ordinary citizens and community-based organizations have banded together to showcase the American ingenuity and propensity to do good. Mask Transit, conceived and led by the future leaders of health care, is one of many community organizations that has risen to the occasion to help address the gaps exposed by the pandemic. We have leveraged pre-existing community organizations and medical schools  mask-sewing outfits, food pantries, shelters, student-run free clinics, and activist groups  to act as both a bridge and a contributor. We recommend that for situations requiring swift and judicious action, formalized institutions such as governments, hospitals, manufacturers, and distributors similarly leverage the power of community-based organizations to deliver sustainable results.

Aishwarya Raja is a medical student. Inginia Genao is an internal medicine physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Civil society activists, students, women and members of various political outfits gathered at the Jantar Mantar here on Friday to demand justice for the Hathras gangrape and murder victim.

The protest was initially supposed to be held at the India Gate but was later shifted to the Jantar Mantar owing to the prohibitory orders in place in the Rajpath area.

"What is happening in Uttar Pradesh is goondaraj. The police have surrounded the village, are not allowing opposition leaders and media persons to enter it. They have taken away the mobile phones of the family members of the victim," activist and lawyer Prashant Bhushan said.

Delhi: CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D Raja take part in a protest against #Hathras incident, at Jantar Mantar



Sitaram Yechury says, "The UP government has no right to stay in power. Our demand is that justice should be served." pic.twitter.com/sgZTpg0p61  ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2020

He also condemned the way the victim was cremated "against the wishes of her family".

The body of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital, a fortnight after she was gang-raped, was cremated in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging that the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

Local police officers, however, had said the cremation was carried out "as per the wishes of the family".
SPRINGFIELD  The news of longtime mayoral aide Darryl Moss firing over social media posts incited Black and Latino community leaders who argue the termination was unfair and tone-deaf in a city already divided over race relations.

Mayor Domenic Sarno earlier this week announced Moss, his director of constituent services, was under investigation for social media posts Sarno felt were inflammatory.

Moss, an outspoken community activist in the Black Lives Matter movement and other civil rights issues, posted a remark on Facebook that included the phrase, grab the rifles. It was in response to a news story on President Donald Trumps defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, a conservative supporter who shot and killed two activists and injured another during a Black Lives Matter protest in Wisconsin.

This is equal to a declaration of war... but this is America! Sundown Sunrise a-- Country, Moss wrote, referencing an HBO series called Lovecraft County set in the 1950s, which portrayed the perils of being Black in America during that era, when all-white Sundown Towns barred people of color at night.

I think its unfortunate that he was terminated, said Bishop Talbert Swan, president of Springfield chapter of the NAACP. I question whether or not what he posted actually violated their social media policy. I also question why the immediate discipline would be termination. Usually theres a progressive step process to discipline.

While Moss has not responded to requests for comment, he responded Wednesday by holding a press conference on the steps of City Hall, featuring other activists who said Moss was being targeted. He was fired Thursday morning, Sarnos office confirmed.

Any violation of our social media policy is taken very seriously and as I have stated on many occasions, there is zero tolerance with regards to any violation of this policy, Sarno said in a statement. The case involving my Constituent Services Director Darryl Moss has been treated in the same fair and consistent manner as with other similar social media violations. In turn and after proper legal review, I have dismissed Mr. Moss effective immediately.

During a morning press conference at City Hall about the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarno refused further comment.

Moss took to Facebook again, posting his termination letter along with the comment: Fired!!! Now the fun begins!!!

During his Wednesday press conference, Moss briefly alluded to running for future elected office, but did not specify which seat he may pursue.

Like many cities across the country, Springfield has been beset by racial tensions since May, when George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed during an arrest by Minneapolis police. Other unrelated, police-involved shootings of unarmed Black men followed across the country, each ratcheting up the national agitation.

Swan alleges the police department launched informal investigations into social media posts by Black staffers including Moss and City Clerk Tasheena Davis.

Davis was embroiled in a controversy in late June when she blurted, Awww, bitch, shut the f--- up, during a Zoom meeting while Police Commissioner Cheryl C. Clapprood was speaking. Davis acknowledged she had failed to mute herself and apologized, but said she was talking to her cousin, not Clapprood. Davis was not disciplined over the blunder.

In a letter to Swan about the purported investigations, dated Wednesday, Sarno said: Once again, you are misinformed. In no way would I condone or am aware of any police investigation pertaining to my longtime staff member, Constituent Services Director Darryl Moss or City Clerk Attorney Tasheena Davis.

You should recognize, Bishop Swan, that I hired and appointed Mr. Moss to this position and I also recommended the appointment of Attorney Davis as our City Clerk, Sarno continued.

Clapprood also called the allegations unfounded.

Absolutely not. I am confused as to why the police department is getting lumped in to this. I thought I always had a good relationship with Darryl, and the only social media investigations we have conducted was of our own employees through our internal affairs unit, she said.

Two former police officers have been fired over the last two years for social media posts: Officer Conrad Lariviere in 2018, after he mocked the intentional killing of a protester; and Detective Florissa Fuentes in June, after she shared an Instagram post of her niece at a protest in Atlanta holding a sign that read Shoot the f--- back.

Lariviere, a white officer, unsuccessfully challenged his termination to the state Civil Service Commission and Fuentes, a Latina, recently sued the city over her firing.

Swan said he was not entirely convinced Black employees are not under particular scrutiny, but at any rate the mayors swift firing of Moss seemed oblivious given the current climate.

Take into context what Darryls responding to  Black people being traumatized in America by white supremacists. Refusing to take that into context is totally irresponsible, Swan said.

City Council President Justin Hurst, a frequent critic of Sarno and the police department, said he believed even firing Lariviere set a dangerous precedent.

The mayors application of the Facebook policy is far too rigid and inevitably was going to result in good people who have a lot to offer this city being let go, Hurst said.

These solitary Facebook faux pas that are costing people their careers probably should serve as teaching moments and opportunities to foster constructive dialogue that ultimately brings unity to this city, he added. Mayor Sarno is part of the problem, there is no doubt about it. Hes had multiple opportunities to get things like things right and hes failed to do so.

Sarno and top legal and personnel staff have argued it is important to remain consistent on the social media policy  established after Lariviere was fired.

But Swan and others say the policy isnt necessarily consistent, citing a recent instance of Springfield firefighter Thomas Morrow being afforded the option to retire after running afoul of the policy. He took it. City Hall insiders say he was instructed to retire or he would be fired over racially insensitive social media posts.

It was unclear whether Moss was offered the same opportunity. City officials declined to comment.

Residents and other elected officials also weighed in on Moss' firing on Thursday. One was Nick Carelock, a Springfield resident and the son of two retired police officers.

To say that Im disgusted with the way Mayor Sarno has handled this situation is a understatement. Darryl Moss has known me since I was a kid taking karate. ... This man has always shown people the utmost respect no matter of race, color, or creed, said Carelock, adding that Moss was immediately supportive when Carelocks father died this past Christmas Eve and when Carelocks son was struck by a school bus earlier this year as he was walking to Kennedy Middle School.

A onetime mayoral aide for a previous administration, state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield, called on Sarno and the City Council to reconsider, review and repeal the social media policy.

The firing of mayoral aide Darryl Moss for a so-called violation of the Social Media Policy was ill-advised. The Social Media Policy implemented by Mayor Domenic Sarno has once again caused community division and potentially ended careers for hard working, good citizens, and public servants of Springfield, Gonzalez said.
In the trend of strong globalisation with the recently signed CPTPP and EVFTA, meeting international standards by enterprises, especially in the banking sector is essential.

These international standards help to affirm banks' position, development potential and brand reputation, therefore creating trust for customers.

SeABank  one of the pioneering domestic banks to meet international standards in recent years.  Photo courtesy of SeABank

Adhering to international standards

The Basel Convention is an international standard in banking operations and is being applied by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to ensure operational safety through the application of high standards in risk management, thereby helping make banking activities safer.

Commercial banks will have favourable conditions when expanding their operations to foreign markets and this is also a positive factor for international rating agencies to upgrade their credit ratings, creating conditions for banks to access capital at a reasonable cost from international markets.

In order to concretise this standard, the central bank has issued Circular 41/2016/TT-NHNN regulating capital adequacy ratios for the entire banking industry and by January 1, 2021, all domestic banks must complete three pillars of Basel II.

Along with Basel II, domestic banks also actively participated in the credit rating of international agencies such as Moody's, Fitch, S&P, in which Moody's is the most familiar name in the market. Having a high credit rating by reputable agencies is a necessary criterion for seeing a bank's capacity, financial health and development prospects.

There is also the race for technology investment amongst banks which are investing heavily in the core banking software system  to connect operation systems of a bank. This is the most important platform connecting all operations, processing transactions in the whole system, developing banking products and services, especially digital banking services such as internet banking, mobile app, OMNI, ensuring safety and security, as well as improving the customer service experience. Core software trusted by Vietnamese banks include T24  Temenos, SIBS, TCBS, Sylbol System, Sunshine.

In addition to equipping synchronous technology infrastructure, it is also very important to meet the banks' information safety and security. One of the most common is ISO/IEC 27001  an international standard related to the Information Security Management System, allowing banks to assess risks and perform audits to preserve confidentiality, integrity and availability of assets and information systems.

For the banks' card system, it is required to comply with PCI DSS security standards to help ensure the security of payment card data when processed and stored at banks and electronic payment enterprises. PCI DSS helps to set standards for card information security and is applied globally. In addition, the EMV standard security chip technology is also used by banks to ensure safety and confidentiality for domestic and international cardholders.

In the field of service quality management, most Vietnamese commercial banks have implemented the quality management system according to ISO 9001:2008 standards at different levels through the establishment of a specialised quality management department, maintaining periodic or irregular assessments as well as continuously updating the quality management system to ensure the highest quality and bring best experiences to customers at the banks.

Approaching new business opportunities

Thus, it can be seen that many Vietnamese banks have actively upgraded and equipped technology in accordance with international practices to fill the gap" with foreign banks. The most outstanding example is the Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank)  one of the pioneering domestic banks in meeting international standards in recent years.

First of all, SeABank is one of six Vietnamese banks that completed all three pillars of Basel II before the deadline of January 1, 2021. This bank has also received a B1 rating by Moody's in 2019 and 2020 consecutively  equivalent to the assessment of stable development prospects. In addition, in terms of technology, SeABank meets the PCI-DSS security standard from 2016 and ISO/IEC 27001: 2013 from 2014. SeABank is also one of the pioneering banks in Viet Nam to use the world-leading EMV chip-based security technology for ATM cards since 2012.

Not only that, SeABank is one of the few banks that has been applying T24 Temenos banking core management software with a multi-million dollar investment since 2006, simultaneously upgrading core banking and is the first bank in Vietnam upgraded to the latest R18 version in the world by the end of 2019.

The early application of core banking as well as the construction of a data centre according to TIE III international standards and synchronous technology infrastructure helped SeABank ensure stable and smooth operations to serve the needs of nearly 1.3 million customers, and at the same time constantly diversify products and services, develop digital banking services and being ranked in the top 5 leading banks in Vietnam in information technology (IT) application according to the 2011 ICT Index.

Ms. Le Thu Thuy, SeABank General Director, said: Constantly improving to meet international standards is one of SeABank's priorities with the goal of always ensuring compliance with the highest standards. These standards have helped SeABank manage and run its business proactively, transparently, safely and sustainably."

"The results of continuous growth, customer satisfaction, especially the technology foundation are the best evidence for this strategy. This is also an important basis for SeABank to assert its position, potentiality and reputation with customers, partners, especially foreign investors as well as credit rating agencies."

Not stopping there, according to the General Director, the bank is gradually approaching more comprehensive international practices, including Basel II IRB, Basel III, IFRS 9 financial reporting standards and initially achieved certain results, paving the way for the next stage of development.

Catching up with business opportunities, sustainable development is the goal that any business entering the market is aiming for. In order to accomplish that, especially in the current trend of international economic integration, the constant innovation and access to new standards is a prerequisite factor. Therefore, the preparation of each business in general and banks in particular is really necessary and urgent. This is an important element to help capture development opportunities and increase competitiveness when integrating internationally./.VNS

BIS membership marks new stride in VN State Banks integration process The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) was recently invited to become a member of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
President Donald Trump's diagnosis of coronavirus roiled Washington Friday, throwing even more chaos into an already frenetic election year with a month to go until the election.

The president is experiencing mild symptoms, and is working from the White House residence on Friday, according to several people familiar with the matter. He has been in touch with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows by phone, and there are discussions about whether he might speak to the American people, the person said. He still plans to host a phone call later today on Covid-19 support to vulnerable senior citizens.

News of Trump's infection touched every corner of the capital, raising questions about whether his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing could be disrupted, whether the White House and Democrats can cut a deal on stimulus and even whether a second presidential debate will still take place on Oct 15.

At the same time, officials inside the White House and Congress who came in contact with Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their contacts faced the question of whether they too need to be tested for the virus that has killed more than 200,000 Americans.

Vice President Mike Pence and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tested negative on Friday, their spokesmen said. Pence was working from his residence, people familiar with the situation said. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, and Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, also tested negative on Friday.

News of Trump's infection saw stock futures tumble during Asian trading Friday, and the S&P 500 Index slumped at the New York open. Equities pared the losses after the president's symptoms were reported as mild and several officials tested negative. The S&P 500 was down 0.6% as of 10:12 a.m., after dropping as much as 1.7% earlier.

Trump was tested and received the diagnosis after one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, came down with covid-19, while she was traveling with the president. Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Convention, also tested positive on Wednesday. She was last with Trump last Friday.

Normal virus protocols could keep Trump off the campaign trail at least 10 days and possibly longer at a critical moment when he was trying to gain ground on Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who polls show is holding steady with about a 7 percentage-point lead nationally.

Biden was to be tested Friday and had not yet decided whether to proceed with his schedule, which included two stops in Michigan. The former vice president -- who shared a stage Tuesday with Trump at the debate in Cleveland, where few if any in Trump's entourage wore masks -- tweeted well wishes to the president, saying he "will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family."

Trump's diagnosis follows months of criticism over his handling of the pandemic -- an issue that has driven his approval ratings down nationwide, including in key battleground states. He has repeatedly downplayed the virus, pushed for the economy to reopen quickly and refused to wear a mask to protect himself and others from transmission. Trump's aides have followed suit -- often appearing in public and in the White House without facial coverings. On Friday, though, some of those aides, including press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, were seen wearing masks in the West Wing.

Senior White House aides on Thursday had discussed scenarios for how to handle both governing and campaigning if Trump tested positive after Hicks's diagnosis, according to people familiar with the situation. Other White House aides learned the news of Trump's illness when they awoke Friday morning.

Only a very small circle of people knew that Hicks had tested positive, and senior staff had hoped to keep that information private, two of the people said. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany held a briefing with White House reporters on Thursday, but people familiar said she didn't know of Hicks's positive test at the time.

Some of Trump's closest aides said they sensed on Wednesday that Trump was feeling poorly but they chalked it up to fatigue from an intense campaign schedule. The president seemed exhausted, one person familiar with the situation said.

If Trump were to become incapacitated, the 25th Amendment, which allows for the vice president to take over, would apply. But for now, the president is able to rest and work in the White House residence, people familiar with the matter said.

"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!," the president said on Twitter, hours after Bloomberg News reported that Hicks was ill.

Among the canceled events on Trump's schedule was a rally in Florida on Friday.

In a memo released early Friday morning, Trump's physician said that the president and first lady plan to remain at the White House "during their convalescence" and that the medical unit would "maintain a vigilant watch."

"Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments," White House physician Sean Conley said.

Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, said contact tracing for Trump and First Lady Melania Trump was being carried out and "the appropriate notifications and recommendations will be made." Contact tracing for Hicks, he added, was already complete.

Barrett, who was with the president Saturday at a White House ceremony for her nomination, tested negative, a person said. A spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary Committee said her confirmation hearing remained on schedule.

Several other members of Trump's circle tested positive for the virus earlier this year -- including National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien.

His aides had worried that Trump's lack of sleep during the final stretch of the presidential campaign could leave him especially vulnerable to infection. The president did not return to the White House until after midnight following his Tuesday and Wednesday trips. His age also puts him at greater risk for serious illness from the virus.

The development, while a source of concern for Americans, will make it harder for the president to continue trying to shift attention away from the virus and focus on his prized campaign issues, like accusing Democrats of promoting a ruinous socialist agenda and allowing U.S. cities to be overrun by violent protesters.

Trump has sought to diminish the significance of the virus amid surveys showing a majority of Americans disapprove of his handling of the pandemic, which he has said would simply "disappear." Trump has pushed for states to reopen their economies even as caseloads have surged.

The president, who initially downplayed the importance of wearing masks and later endorsed their use, has seldom worn a face covering in public and also hasn't followed recommendations about staying six feet away from others. The White House has said those precautions aren't needed for Trump because people allowed in close proximity are tested for the virus.

"A lot of people don't want to wear masks. There are a lot of people think that masks are not good," Trump said in a Sept. 15 town hall event with ABC News.

The president also has repeatedly hosted events where audience members didn't wear masks or maintain distance from one another.

He held his first indoor campaign rally in months on Sept. 13 at a manufacturing plant in Las Vegas, flouting a Nevada order banning indoor gatherings of 50 or more people or more.

"I'm on stage, and it's very far away," Trump said in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, defending his decision to speak to thousands of supporters, few of whom wore masks or practiced social distancing. He spoke at a similar indoor gathering in Arizona the next day.

Trump also joins other world leaders who have tested positive for the virus, including Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez. All of them survived, though Johnson became seriously ill.

"My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady," Johnson tweeted on Friday. "Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus.

- - -

Bloomberg's Tyler Pager, Lynn Thomasson and Stuart Biggs contributed to this report.
New details have emerged on the police killing of Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman in Louisville, Ky., after audio from 15 hours of grand jury proceedings surrounding the case was released on Friday.

Why it matters: While grand jury proceedings are secret and their recordings rarely disclosed, a Kentucky judge ordered the state's Attorney General Daniel Cameron to publicly shared the tapes following nationwide protests in response to the case.

What the recordings say:

Despite obtaining a "no knock" warrant, police rapped on Taylor's apartment door and announced themselves several times in the early hours of March 13, according a recorded interview of officer Shawn Hoover on the day Taylor was killed. That tape was played for the grand jury. Another officer said they knocked for at least two minutes before barging into the apartment, per AP.

Yes, but : In a separate interview played for the grand jury, Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he didn't hear police announce themselves. Had they done so, it changes the whole situation because theres nothing for us to be scared of," Walker said, according to AP.

: In a separate interview played for the grand jury, Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he didn't hear police announce themselves. Had they done so, it changes the whole situation because theres nothing for us to be scared of," Walker said, according to AP. Detective Tony James told the attorney general's office on Sept. 11 that he was issued a body camera for the raid on Taylor's home, but it failed to activate. I did it in the car, but it did not, I did not know that it did not activate," James said in the interview, which was later played for the grand jury, per the Courier Journal. "But it was rigged up and ready to go.

Police also said they were fired upon when they entered Taylor's home, per the Courier Journal. I didnt hear anything, I just looked, he yelled, he screamed, detective Michael Nobles said of Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, according to a recording from three days after the incident  played for the grand jury.

Mattingly "just looked up and said, 'Ive been shot.' ... He went down, and I could see blood immediately, just, coming out of his leg. And then I think he took a couple more shots. He was aiming at something in the door. And he took a couple more shots inside," Nobles said, per the Courier Journal.

According to AP, then-officer Brett Hankison, who was later fired and charged in the case, said in a recorded police interview played for the grand jury that as soon as the door was broken down, there was complete darkness, followed by "immediate illumination from fire."

"What I saw at the time was a figure in a shooting stance and it looked as if he was holding, he or she was holding, an AR-15 or a long gun, a rifle, Hankison said. Walker had a handgun, which he fired once.

In a 9-11 call made by Walker about five minutes after police barged into the apartment, he said: Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend. That call had been previously reported by the Courier Journal.

Timeline: Taylor was shot and killed by police on March 13 when the LMPD officers conducting a narcotics investigation barged into the 26-year-old's home in plain-clothes after obtaining the so-called "no-knock" warrant.

Police exchanged fire with Walker, who said he mistook law enforcement for intruders.

Protests over Taylor's death erupted in Louisville in May following the police killing of George Floyd.

On Sept. 23, the grand jury indicted Hankison on three counts of wanton endangerment for "blindly" shooting into neighbor's apartments. Cameron said the two other officers who fired their weapons  Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove  were "justified" in their actions because Walker fired his weapon first.

What they're saying: Cameron said in a statement Friday he was "confident that once the public listens to the recordings, they will see that our team presented a thorough case to the Jefferson County Grand Jury.

Our presentation followed the facts and the evidence, and the Grand Jury was given a complete picture of the events surrounding Ms. Taylors death on March 13th. While it is unusual for a court to require the release of the recordings from Grand Jury proceedings, we complied with the order, rather than challenging it, so that the full truth can be heard," the state attorney general said.

Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for Taylor's family, tweeted his team would review "all footage and provide updates when available."

Worth noting: Juror deliberations and prosecutor recommendations and statements were not recorded, according to Cameron's office.

His office also noted that redacted material not publicly released totalled approximately three minutes and 50 seconds from the entire proceedings.

Go deeper: "Not enough": Protesters react to no murder charges in Breonna Taylor case
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he would have sacked the army chief had the Kargil war with India been started without informing him.

Nawaz Sharif, who was the prime minister during the Kargil war, has long maintained that he was not aware of what was happening when the conflict broke out in 1999. He says the then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf had attacked Kargil without informing him. I would have sacked the army chief if Kargil operation was conducted without informing me, Khan said in an interview to private news channel Samaa TV on Thursday.

Also read: Imran Khan faces pushback over Gilgit-Baltistan move. China ties his hands | Analysis

Khan also said that he would sack the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief if the latter asked him to resign. The comment was made in the context of three-time prime minister Sharifs claim that the ISI chief asked him to step down in 2014 when Khan had unleashed a big protest sit-in the national capital.

He said the army was keeping the country united and slammed Sharif for targeting the military establishment.

Look at Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen; the entire Muslim world is ablaze [so] why are we safe? If it werent for our army, our country wouldve been in three pieces Khan said.

Sharif recently made two speeches from London, where he has been staying since November 2019 on medical grounds, directly attacking the army for interference in politics and claimed that Khan came to power through its support.

Also read: People, not governments, fight wars: PM Modi on Kargil War

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.

Khan also said that it was not the armys job to run the government and failure of a democratically elected government should not be used to impose a martial law.

If a judge gives a wrong decision it means the judiciary has to evolve. The army has evolved as well. Contemporary civil-military relations are the best in history because they are all working in their spheres, he said.

He also claimed that the army was standing by the government in all matters including relations with India, opening of the Kartarpur Corridor and the coronavirus pandemic.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Air Defense units of the Artsakh Armed Forces shot down an Azerbaijani warplane and an unmanned aerial vehicle at 07:55 October 2 in the north-eastern direction of Artsakh, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan said.

She said the combat operations are ongoing along the entire border of Artsakh.

Enemy attempts to breach our defense lines in several sections have failed, she said.

Azerbaijani armed forces launched a massive military attack on Artsakh on September 27. Since then, 11 civilians have been killed and more than 60 were wounded amid Azeri bombardments of towns and cities of Artsakh. Amid the ongoing Turkish-backed attack on Artsakh, the Azeri forces also began attacking Armenia, killing a civilian and bombing a passenger bus in the town of Vardenis.

A Turkish F-16 shot down an Armenian Armed Forces SU-25 jet in Armenian airspace on September 29.

Then, on October 1, the Azeri forces shelled the Shatvan village of Armenia, and attacked the Mets Masrik village with a combat drone, killing one civilian and wounding two others. Several Azeri recon drones breached the Armenian airspace and were shot down near Yerevan late on October 1.

The Artsakh military reported earlier that 103 of its servicemen have been killed in action since the attack began. More than 120 troops are wounded.

On October 1 the authorities said that Azeri forces lost nearly 1300 servicemen since the beginning of the attack. The Azeri military also suffered huge losses of equipment  95 UAVs, 12 gunships, 181 tanks and armored equipment, 5 warplanes, 2 Smerch and 3 TOS1A heavy artillery systems.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
A federal judge has blocked the enforcement of the H-1B visa ban issued by President Donald Trump in June this year, saying the president exceeded his constitutional authority. The order was issued on Thursday by District Judge Jeffrey White of Northern District of California.

The lawsuit against the Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security was filed by companies represented by National Association of Manufacturers, US Chamber of Commerce, National Retail Federation and TechNet.

The ruling places an immediate hold on a series of visa restrictions that prevent manufacturers from filling crucial, hard-to-fill jobs to support economic recovery, growth and innovation when most needed, the National Association of manufacturers said. In June, Trump had issued an executive order that had put temporary bar on issuing of new H-1B and other foreign visas including H-2B, J and L visas, till the end of the year.

The president had argued that the United States needs to save and protect jobs for its domestic work force at a time when millions of them lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic. A number of IT companies and other US firms, and those representing them had voiced their opposition to the temporary ban.

Manufacturers went to court to challenge the administration's ban on certain visas because the restrictions both undermined the industry at a critical time and conflicted with the law, said NAM senior vice president and general counsel Linda Kelly. We are competing with the rest of the world to find and develop top talent to support innovation in our industry. Today's decision is a temporary win for manufacturers committed to building that innovation in the United States, he said.

In his order the federal judge said the president exceeded his authority in this matter. Congress's delegation of authority in the immigration contextdoes not afford the president unbridled authority to set domestic policy regarding employment of nonimmigrant foreigners. Such a finding would render the president's Article II powers all but superfluous, Judge White wrote in his 25 pager order.

The judge noted that the text of Article I and more than two centuries of legislative practice and judicial precedent make clear, the Constitution vests Congress, not the President, with the power to set immigration policy. If the fact that immigrants come from other countries inherently made their admission foreign relations subject to the President's Article II power, then all of this law would be superfluous, the judge said.

Indeed, there must be some measure of constraint on the presidential authority in the domestic sphere in order not to render the executive an entirely monarchical power in the immigration context, an area within clear legislative prerogative. Such unrestricted authority would be contrary to Congress' explicit delegation of powers in foreign affairs and national security, White said.

The ruling by Judge White is in difference with a order passed by District Judge Amit Mehta of the District of Columbia in August who ruled that he does not has the power to enjoin the ban while the litigation is under way. The wisdom of the president's decision to address those changed circumstances by restricting the entry of certain classes of aliens is a policy decision the judiciary is not well equipped to evaluate, he had said.

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Additionally, Verstraete will retain board positions in Euler Hermes SA, Euler Hermes North America, Solunion, and Euler Hermes Reinsurance AG.

It has been a real privilege to serve my teams and our clients as the CEO of Euler Hermes, he stated. I am proud to have witnessed the high potential of our teams unleashed, which resulted in expanding our market leadership and raising the bar of unparalleled customer service.

Yet, the strength of this company can only be as strong as the ties between our partners. Therefore, I want to thank our clients and partners for their unwavering trust in us throughout these years.

Kopff, meanwhile, is no stranger to Euler Hermes, where she worked from 2001 until her move to Allianz France in early 2018. She was Euler Hermess group CFO from 2014.

Commenting on her return, Kopff said: I am honored to accept this position as Euler Hermes Group CEO. I thank Wilfried Verstraete for his trust. The current crisis is far from over but with his ongoing support, I am prepared to lead the company and accompany our clients and partners through these difficult times.

It is a great mission for leaders today to instill confidence in tomorrow. On more personal grounds, I am also looking forward to reconnecting with my former colleagues at Euler Hermes.

At the same time, the incoming boss expressed gratitude for her prolific and eventful stint at Allianz France.

Clarisse proved her talent and competence throughout her 16 years at Euler Hermes, added Verstraete, where she was instrumental in creating a truly integrated group reinforced by its strong financial performance.

I am confident that with her visionary leadership, backed by her experience at Allianz France, Clarisse will take Euler Hermes to the next level and continue setting the standard for customer experience in trade finance.
Canada has made the top 10 list of countries for the number of jobs in hydropower, but didnt rank in three other key renewable energy technologies, according to new international figures.

Although Canada has only two per cent of the global workforce, it had one of the 10 largest slices of the worlds jobs in hydropower in 2019, says the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Canada didnt make IRENAs other top-10 employment lists, for solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, liquid biofuels or wind power, released Sept. 30. Figures from the agency show the whole sector represents 61,130 jobs across Canada, or 0.5 per cent of the worlds 11.5 million jobs in renewables.

The numbers show Canada needs to move faster to minimize the climate crisis, including by joining trade blocs that put tariffs on high-carbon goods, argued the Victoria-based BC Sustainable Energy Association after reviewing IRENAs report. The Canadian Renewable Energy Association also said it showed the country has untapped job creation potential.

But other clean tech advocates say theres more to the story. When tallying clean energy jobs, its worth a broader look, Clean Energy Canada argued, pointing to the recent Ford-Unifor deal that includes a $1.8-billion commitment to produce electric vehicles in Oakville, Ont.

Natural Resources Minister Seamus ORegans office also pointed out the renewables employment figures from IRENA are proportional to global population. While Canadas share of the global clean energy job market is in line with our population size, we produce almost 2.7 per cent of the worlds total primary renewable energy supply. As only 0.5 per cent of the global population, we punch above our weight, said ORegans press secretary, Ian Cameron.

Canada joined IRENA in January 2019 and the country has been described by the association as an important market for renewables over the long term.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new $10-billion Growth Plan to be run by the Canada Infrastructure Bank that would include $2.5 billion for clean power to support renewable generation and storage and to transmit clean electricity between provinces, territories, and regions, including to northern and Indigenous communities. The infrastructure banks plan is expected to create 60,000 jobs, the government said.

A powerful renewables sector is not just about job creation. It is also imperative if we are to meet global climate objectives, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Renewable energy sources have to make up at least a 63 per cent share of the global electricity market by mid-century to battle the more extreme effects of climate change, it said.

The IRENA report shows that people all over of the world are building the renewable energy revolution now, said Tom Hackney, policy adviser for the BC Sustainable Energy Association.

Many people in Canada are doing so, too. But we need to move faster to minimize climate change. For example, at the level of trade policy, a great idea would be to develop low-carbon trading blocs that put tariffs on goods with high embodied carbon emissions.

Canadian Renewable Energy Association president and CEO Robert Hornung said the IRENA jobs review highlights significant job creation potential in Canada. As governments explore how to stimulate economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Hornung, its important to capitalize on Canadas untapped renewable energy resources.

In Canada, 82 per cent of the electricity grid is already non-emitting, noted Sarah Petrevan, policy director for Clean Energy Canada.

With the federal government committing to a 90 per cent non-emitting grid by 2030, said Petrevan, more wind and solar deployment can be expected, especially in the Prairies where renewables are needed to help with Canadas coal-fired power plant phase out.

One example of renewables in the Prairies is the Travers Solar project, which is expected to be constructed in Alberta through 2021, and is being touted as Canadas largest solar farm.

But renewables are only one part of the broader clean energy sector, said Petrevan. Clean Energy Canada has calculated clean tech supports around 300,000 jobs, and those are projected to grow to half a million by 2030.

Were talking about a transition of our energy system in every sense  not just in the power we produce. So while the IRENA figures provide global context, they reflect only a portion of both our current reality and the opportunity for Canada, she said.

The organizations research has shown that manufacturing of electric vehicles would be one of the fastest-growing job creators over the next decade. Putting a punctuation mark on that is a recent $1.8-billion deal with Ford Motor Company of Canada to produce five models of electric vehicles in Oakville, Ont.

With 4.3 million renewable energy jobs in 2019, or 38 per cent of all renewables jobs, China remains the clear leader in renewable energy employment worldwide, the IRENA report states. China has the worlds largest population and the second-largest GDP.

The country is also by far the worlds largest emitter of carbon pollution, at 28 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and has significant fossil fuel interests. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a green revolution last month, and pledged to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

China holds the largest proportion of jobs in hydropower, with 29 per cent of all jobs, followed by India at 19 per cent, Brazil at 11 per cent and Pakistan at five per cent, said IRENA.

Canada, with 32,359 jobs in the industry, and Turkey and Colombia hold two per cent each of the worlds hydropower jobs, while Myanmar and Russia hold three per cent each and Vietnam has four per cent.

China also dominates the global solar PV workforce, with 59 per cent of all jobs, followed by Japan, the United States, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brazil, Germany and the Philippines. There are 4,261 jobs in solar PV in Canada, IRENA calculated, out of a global workforce of 3.8 million jobs.

In wind power, China again leads, with 44 per cent of all jobs. Germany, the United States and India come after, with the United Kingdom, Denmark, Mexico, Spain, the Philippines and Brazil following suit. Canada has 6,527 jobs in wind power out of 1.17 million worldwide.

As for liquid biofuels, Brazil leads that industry, with 34 per cent of all jobs. Indonesia, the United States, Colombia, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Poland, Romania and the Philippines fill out the top 10. There are 17,691 jobs in Canada in liquid biofuels.

Carl Meyer / Local Journalism Initiative / Canadas National Observer

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With a crowdfunding initiative, a group of Dutch activists has raised enough money to send a passenger aircraft to the Greek island of Lebos to rescue 200 migrants from the Moria migrant camp. The move comes as a devastating fire at Greece's largest migrant camp last month left its occupants scrambling for shelter. The success of the initiative is dependent on the Dutch authorities giving them permission to land a plane full of migrants in the Netherlands.

Read: Moria Migrants: Germany Plans To Take In 1,500 Migrants From Greece After Fire

'Lets Bring Them Here'

As per reports, Lets Bring Them Here group member Rikko Voorberg said, We are trying to increase the pressure while realising that it would be a bizarre miracle if it happens. While speaking to the AP on Thursday, October 1, Rikko added that it was unlikely that the Dutch authorities would allow them to bring migrants to the Netherlands.

According to reports, the group's crowdfunding campaign was quickly able to raise enough funds to hire a plane with 200 seats. The plane is due to take off for Lebos on Monday, September 5. As per the organisers, the initiative itself does not have a lot of hope of succeeding, the idea was to raise awareness about the migrants that are stuck in Lebos and other migrant camps across Europe with limited prospects for relocation.

Read: Migrants Set Out From Honduras Amid Pandemic

The group on their official website published an open letter stating that the success of their initiative depended on gaining official permission to airlift migrants off the island. The letter also stated, We have to try, even if it fails. As per reports, 139 asylum-seekers were taken off the Greek island on Wednesday, September 30 on an officially sanctioned flight to Germany. The flight was part of a larger effort to move the Moria migrants from the overcrowded island to other European countries.

On September 13, thousands of asylum seekers at Lebos island were left without shelter after a devastating fire ravaged the Moria camp. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis raised suspicion that some of the camp residents could responsible for setting the fire in an effort to blackmail the Greek government into moving them out of the island. However, after facing severe criticism, authorities moved to action to provide temporary shelters for the thousands of migrants.

(With AP inputs, Image Credit: AP)

Read: Amnesty: Migrants Face 'vicious Cycle Of Cruelty' In Libya

Read: Germans Protest In Solidarity With Lesbos Migrants
Scientists have developed a new type of COVID-19 test that combines multiple kinds of data using a low-cost sensor to analyse small volumes of saliva or blood in less than 10 minutes, an advance that may enable at-home diagnosis of the novel coronavirus infection. The researchers, including those from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the US, had previously developed wireless sensors made of graphene  a sheet-like form of carbon  that can monitor conditions like gout by detecting extremely low levels of specific compounds in the blood, saliva, or sweat.

In these sensors, described in the journal Matter, a plastic sheet etched with a laser generates a 3D graphene structure with tiny pores that are sensitive enough to detect compounds that are only present in very small amounts with high accuracy. According to the study, the graphene structures are coupled with antibodies  immune system molecules that are sensitive to specific proteins like those on the surface of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

The new version of the sensor, named SARS-CoV-2 RapidPlex, contains antibodies and proteins that allow it to detect the presence of the novel coronavirus itself, antibodies created by the body to fight the pathogen, and chemical markers of inflammation which indicate the severity of the COVID-19 infection. "This is the only telemedicine platform I've seen that can give information about the infection in three types of data with a single sensor," said study co-author Wei Gao from Caltech.

"In as little as a few minutes, we can simultaneously check these levels, so we get a full picture about the infection, including early infection, immunity, and severity," Gao said. While established COVID-testing technologies usually take hours or even days to produce results, and also require expensive, complicated equipment, the researchers said the new system is simple and compact.

The scientists said they have so far tested the device only in the lab with a small number of blood and saliva samples obtained for medical research purposes from individuals who have tested positive or negative for COVID-19. Though preliminary results indicate that the sensor is highly accurate, the researchers believe a larger-scale test with real-world patients rather than laboratory samples must be performed to definitively determine its accuracy.

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

They plan to test how long the sensors last with regular use, and to begin testing them with hospitalised COVID-19 patients, and estimate the suitability of the tests for in-home use. "Our ultimate aim really is home use. In the following year, we plan to mail them to high-risk individuals for at-home testing. And in the future, this platform could be modified for other types of infectious disease testing at home," Gao said.
One of three men charged with violating federal interstate commerce law during an alleged robbery at a Mandan car wash has entered into a plea agreement, court documents show.

Justyce Houle, 23, of Bismarck, pleaded guilty to robbery under a federal law covering crimes that affect even illegal activity. He and two Mandan men -- Michael Baker, 29, and Vegas Morin, 21 -- originally were charged in state court in Morton County in May for plotting to lure a man to the Turbo Car Wash in Mandan, where they allegedly pulled him from his car, beat and kicked him, and stole his wallet and $300.

The three later were indicted by a federal grand jury on weapons charges and for interference with commerce by threats or violence, also known as a Hobbs Act robbery. The law prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion that affects interstate or foreign commerce in any way or degree, according the U.S. Department of Justice website.

The Hobbs Act has been interpreted in the U.S. Judiciary's 8th Circuit as covering crimes that affect even illegal activity, such as when a drug dealer robs another drug dealer, according to Drew Wrigley, U.S. attorney for the District of North Dakota.

Houle faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years on probation. A federal firearms charge was dismissed under the terms of the agreement. Court documents do not list a sentencing date.

Morin and Baker are scheduled for trial Nov. 17, court documents show.

A fourth person arrested in connection with the alleged incident, Summer LeBeau, of Fort Yates, on Aug. 4 pleaded guilty in state court to a drug conspiracy felony. She was sentenced to five years in prison with all but 90 days suspended and given credit for 90 days served. She also was placed on supervised probation for two years. A conspiracy charge against her was dismissed.

Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com

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During the 2019 legislative session, we co-sponsored the joint resolution proposing a restructuring of the Public Regulation Commission (PRC), the powerful body responsible for regulating utilities, transportation, telecommunication and other industries in the state. The measure passed both chambers with sweeping, bipartisan support and now comes before voters as a constitutional amendment in the upcoming election. We strongly urge all New Mexicans to vote in favor of this measure.

Currently the PRC is led by five elected members. Under the proposal, the commission would be comprised of three appointed members. New candidates would be vetted and submitted to the governor by a nominating committee, then appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. No more than two commissioners could be members of the same party, and they would serve six-year staggered terms with a two-term limit.

So, why the change, why now, and why is this good for New Mexico? The scope of the PRC is complex and wide-ranging. They have the power to set utility rates and will shoulder much of the responsibility of guiding the state through its transition to a renewable energy portfolio. To do their jobs well, commissioners must have a rare combination of skills: technological expertise, legal acumen and a keen knowledge of regulatory matters.

The current structure of the PRC is not delivering for New Mexicans. Special interests and big money, rather than professional qualifications, too often determine who serves on the commission. This is not a position conducive to on-the-job training. In the words of current commission Chairman Steve Fischmann and current Commissioner Cynthia Hall, who both support the amendment, Commissioners should be experts at the outset, not rookies.

A lack of professional qualifications isnt the only issue keeping the PRC from functioning as it should. For years the PRC has been plagued by infighting and nonstop controversy, difficulties in managing the agency ethically and efficiently, and flat-out criminal behavior, leading to charges and convictions. New Mexicans deserve better.

In crafting the constitutional amendment reimagining the PRC, a bipartisan working group in the state Senate consulted with a broad range of interest groups who appear before the commission. This vital input underscored the call for change, reflected by the final votes on each floor. It passed 59-8 in the House and 36-5 in the Senate. If passed by the voters, New Mexico would join a majority of states that currently have commissions with similar models. The structure has been tested and proven to work well across the country.

Experience and expertise matter. The decisions made by the PRC affect every New Mexican, every day. We strongly encourage you to vote yes in support of changing the Public Regulation Commission from an elected five-member commission to an appointed three-member commission and bringing much-needed reform to this important regulatory authority.
The Pocket Museum, which is designated Mississippis Tiniest Museum, holds the distinction of being the rare  perhaps only  museum in the country conceived and created in reaction to the pandemic-caused shutdowns. When the citys historic Saenger Theater was shuttered in March, an adjacent alley was already in the process of getting a makeover to create a more hangout-friendly space. So when Rick Taylor, executive director of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission, which operates the theater and other attractions in this city of 50,000, noticed a boarded-up hole in a back storeroom looking out to the alley, he saw a window of opportunity. The boards were replaced with glass, and a local chef built a cabinet. The window now allows passersby to gaze in on four 3-by-12-inch shelves that house monthly exhibits, each chosen from public submissions. (The more bizarre, the better, Taylor says.) It debuted in August with a collection of tiny Swiss Army knives, and September visitors were treated to a menagerie of mini rubber-duckies. Taylor says exhibits are planned through September 2021.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) released a statement on October 2, expressing alarm over increasing civilian casualties, ARMENPRESS was informed from the official website of the OSCE.

The Co-Chairs strongly condemn the continued violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone as well as against targets in the territory of Armenia and Azerbaijan away from the Line of Contact, and express our alarm at reports of increasing civilian casualties. Targeting or threatening civilians is never acceptable under any circumstances. The Co-Chairs call on the sides to observe fully their international obligations to protect civilian populations.

The Co-Chairs also stress that participation in the escalating violence by external parties undermines efforts to achieve lasting peace in the region.

Recalling the October 1 statement of the Presidents of the three Co-Chair countries, the Co-Chairs once again call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the resumption of substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions.

The Co-Chairs also call urgently for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to enable the repatriation of remains of fallen servicemen in coordination with the OSCE and ICRC, reads the statement.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
The majority of workers in Victoria's revamped hotel quarantine program who became infected with coronavirus were cleaners for contractor Spotless, the Chief Health Officer says.

At least one was linked with an aged care facility, despite concerns raised about the risks associated with casualised workforces after the state's second COVID-19 wave was unleashed by private security contractors in two quarantine hotels.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said genomic sequencing and contract tracing revealed none of the hotel quarantine workers had been infected through their involvement in the rejigged program.

Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said no workers in the hotels program had contracted the virus in the past four weeks and insisted the scheme now had "strong and accountable leadership".
Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday unveiled a plan he said will make health care more affordable, hold health care corporations accountable for prices, and address systemic racism in health care that shortens the life spans of minorities.

However, Wolf said his reform proposal, which includes parts that need approval from state lawmakers, includes no controls or caps on prices charged by health care providers or health insurers.

Rather, it involves establishing reasonable benchmarks and goals for costs. If those goals arent reached, the state will discuss the reasons with entities such as health care systems, and help find ways to overcome them, according to Wolf and assorted state officials who discussed the plan on Friday.

Wolf said the plan has three components:

 An Interagency Health Reform Council to search for efficiencies and use data to lower costs. Wolf on Friday signed an executive order to create the council.

 Creation of five Regional Health Councils across the state that will address regional needs and come up with local plans to address barriers to quality health care, including barriers related to race.

 A Health Value Commission responsible for keeping all payers and providers accountable for health care cost growth and promoting long-term affordability and sustainability in health care.

The effort will involve refining health care so it focuses on the whole person, and shifting the health care payment system toward paying health care providers for helping people stay healthy, as opposed to paying them only after a person is sick, officials said.

Wolf said the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the need for such an effort. But serious cracks in the states health care system were showing before the pandemic, with 36% of residents saying they have had trouble paying for health care, which is higher than the national average, according to Wolf.

Dr. Doug Jacobs, an internal medicine physician and chief innovation officer for the state department of human services, said the reforms are needed to prevent things such as diabetics repeatedly going to the emergency room because they cant afford both insulin, people who cant afford both food and their HIV medication, and people whose cancer progresses because they fear the cost of a CT scan.

Jacobs further noted that in certain Philadelphia neighborhoods the average life expectancy is 64 years, while its 87 years in neighborhoods a few miles away. He said the reform effort will find and overcome factors responsible for that.

Peter Leonard, the CEO of Little Amps Coffee Roasters, also spoke at the announcement, saying one of his biggest worries involves providing employees with the health care they deserve.

He said all small business owners wrestle with the problem. To the legislators and those involved in enacting and implementing this proposal, we are counting on you to take this seriously, Leonard said.

Officials said the effort wont go so far as to try to regulate prices charged by health care providers, which the state does with health insurance premiums for individuals and small groups.

Its transparency. Its setting targets and then its looking, if the targets arent met, how we can work with the [health care] systems so they can improve to ultimately meet those targets its not a mandate, and its not a regulatory approval, said Jessica Altman, the state insurance commissioner.

State officials said they expect 1.5 million people in Pennsylvania to become uninsured as a result of the pandemic. They further said COVID-19 has added to the health disparities faced by racial minorities.

The Interagency Health Reform Council is expected to develop recommendations by Dec. 30.
By PTI

KOLKATA: Amid the widespread outrage over the Hathras gang rape and murder incident in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP's Mahila Morcha unit in West Bengal launched a safety drive for women on Friday, under which they would be trained in self-defence tactics.

The initiative christened 'Uma' was inaugurated by the saffron partys state unit president, Dilip Ghosh, at a North Kolkata workshop, where 56 women and girls were taught effective self-defence techniques on the first day.

"This training would instil a sense of confidence in women when they are faced with any form of physical threat. We will provide a free training session once a week to all women who wish to join. This session has nothing to do with politics and anybody irrespective of her affiliation can join," BJP Mahila Morcha state president Agnimitra Paul said over phone.

The women's wing of the saffron party would be hosting workshops every week in all 23 districts of the state, where at least 50 women would get to learn combat skills, Paul, who is currently undergoing treatment for COVID-19, said.

Last month, the Mahila Morcha unit had launched a toll-free helpline number, under another initiative -- "Ar Noy Mohilader Asuraksha" (no compromise on women's safety) - urging women to register their complaints by sending an SMS or a WhatsApp message.
As the branch approaches the roundabout at the intersection of Runnymede and Hawthorne roads, it goes underground through a pipe under Northwest Boulevard and dumps the waters of Runnymede Branch out on the southeast side of the intersection, where the branch eventually joins Peters Creek.

Huff said there's no telling how long the metal water pipe has been down there, but obviously, it's been too long.

"The pipe has aged and it became separated and the bottom rusted out under the school system parking lot," Huff said. "As the water infiltrated in and out of that hole, it hydrated the surrounding soil and it got sucked into the pipe."

Then, with the supporting soil eaten away, it was only a matter of time before the asphalt above collapsed into the hole, Huff said.

It will be the second incident in recent years where Northwest Boulevard has been closed because of a decaying pipe.

In 2018, the city closed Northwest Boulevard between University Parkway and Chatham Road, in order to replace a pipe that carried water from the south side to the north side of the street.
President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Duluth International Airport in Minnesota on Wednesday. (Associated Press)

To the editor: Alfonso Gonzales Toribio likens President Trump's supporters to the "historic blocs" of fascist movements in the past. In reality, the members of Trump's bloc in 2016 included working-class voters who were tired of career politicians, Republicans and independents who found Hillary Clinton to be an intolerable candidate, and voters who supported President Obama but switched to Trump because they were still looking for hope and change.

Toribio asserts that Trump voters represent the foundation of fascism, with Trump as their strongman leader. Strongman leaders have dissidents arrested and put in jail or killed. No amount of Trump claiming "fake news" has led to the crushing of his vocal critics.

Just as Obama was not a socialist, no matter how many exasperated heartland conservatives blared it on talk radio, Trump is not a fascist, no matter how many liberal theorists weave their own current personal political preferences into the fabric of history and claim it as instructive.

The likelihood of Trump hanging onto power if he loses the election is far less than that of progressives filling the streets in anger if he wins.

Joe Blackman, Sierra Madre

..

To the editor: Toribio's summary of the appeal of fascist dictators throughout history was very interesting but left out the most important information: What can be done to prevent this situation or deal with it once it has happened?

Could we have foreseen the rise of Trump and prevented it? Most did not think Trump would win, and we don't know how to deal with him now. He continues to ignore the laws and procedures that allow our democracy to flourish.

Trump and his allies seem to be 10 steps ahead of us while we scratch our heads and agonize over his continuing appeal. We can't seem to beat him or even meet him at his own game.

What have we learned so we can prevent Trump's ilk from ruling again?

Kathleen Cressy, Ventura

..

Story continues

To the editor: As much as I appreciate his quoting imprisoned Italian political theorist Antonio Gramsci's notes from 1926, I think Toribio misses an important point about the Trump base.

It is a truism, in political philosophy, that when the right wing makes political gains, it is because the left has somehow abandoned its constituency.

While Toribio recognizes the danger of right-wing identity politics, he has not recognized that it is left-wing identity politics that have abandoned whole segments of the working class and left them to identify with the ruling class.

Not until the left abandons identity politics will it be able to reclaim the support of the unified working class, its true constituency.

Charles Berezin, Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Press Release

October 2, 2020 Villanueva: DOLE should expand targeted assistance for battered MSMEs sector, a key employment generator Aside from providing access to capital, the country's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector should also receive further technical assistance to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Senator Joel Villanueva. At the budget deliberations of the labor department on Thursday afternoon, Villanueva asked the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to extend more technical assistance to the MSME sector, which generates a lot of employment for Filipino workers. The lawmaker pointed out that the target trainees of the National Wage and Productivity Commission (NWPC) for 2021 was just 9,000 MSMEs, considering that there are 935,000 registered MSMEs with the Department of Trade and Industry. "Napakalaki po ng sektor ng MSME at nakakapaglikha ito ng trabaho at oportunidad para sa ating mga kababayan. Ayon sa Philippine Statistics Authority, 99% o 935,000 mula sa 945,000 na kabuuang rehistradong negosyo dito po sa atin ay kabilang sa MSME sector," Villanueva said in a statement. "Maliban po sa pautang sa mga MSMEs, dapat po palawakin pa ng DOLE ang technical training assistance para sa kanila upang makapag-adjust sila sa new normal at mapabilis ang kanilang pag-ahon mula sa pandemya," said the lawmaker, who chairs the Senate labor committee. Villanueva inquired on the target beneficiaries of NWPC's technical assistance and training for 2021, which the agency set at 9,000 MSMEs, 25 percent lower than its 2020 target of 12,000 trainees, "to find out the limitations being faced by the agency." Responding to the lawmaker's question, NWPC executive director Maria Criselda Sy explained that their limited manpower was a major factor in training more MSMEs to improve their technical know-how, aside from the hindrances posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Villanueva responded that the NWPC's targets remained to be low, considering the scale of the sector and the jobs it is able to generate, citing trade department data that about every 7 of 10 workers in the country work at MSMEs. "It remains na 'yong 9,000 na target ay napakababa po, kung titingnan natin ang kabuuan ng sektor ng ating MSMEs. Lalo na po ngayong panahon ng pandemya, kinakailangan ng mga negosyong ito ng suporta ng pamahalaan upang maipagpatuloy ang kanilang operasyon hanggang sa humupa ang pandemya," Villanueva urged. Aside from supporting MSMEs, Villanueva sought DOLE to expand its employment facilitation efforts and sustainable livelihood programs to ensure its 2021 budget is more responsive to the employment crisis experienced in the country. "With unemployment figures still in double digits, our usual reliefs are insufficient already. Our path towards employment recovery relies on strategic employment facilitation, sustainable livelihood, and reliable government support to MSME, who we all know is one of the hardest hit sectors in this pandemic," he said. "We need to provide all the assistance we can give to MSME, which employs over 90 percent of our workers."
Leading Greek IT, telecoms and pay-TV services provider Forthnet has posted its results for the first half of 2020, showing a fall in revenue.

Despite a decrease in revenues by 6.2% compared with H1 2019, Forthnet maintained EBITDA at 18 million. The fall in revenue, says Forthnet, was due to the negative macroeconomic environment created by the Covid pandemic.

Total pay-TV subscribers for the period numbered 456,453, 0.6% fewer than in the same period last year. Forthnets broadband subscriber numbers increased by 0.2% to 549,708 and the total number of subscriptions fell by 2.9% to 873,080.

Commenting on the results Forthnet CEO Panos Papadopoulos said that despite the challenges, the company had implemented "extensive" cost reduction measures and coped successfully with the pandemic by ensuring the uninterrupted provision of services to subscribers.

During this challenging period, Forthnet's top management preserved the company's strategic value for the benefit of all stakeholders and took initiatives for promoting it in the international investment community," he noted. "his way, Forthnet contributed decisively to the successful completion of the creditor banks' process for finding a strategic investor."



The results come just afterthe leading South East Europe telecoms and media operator in United Group took control of the company. "United Groups entry to the company is an event of strategic importance not only for Forthnet, but for the whole Greek telecom and pay-TV market, Papadopoulos added.
Vice Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang has challenged critiques and the New Patriotic Party to produce a supposed tape claiming that the flagbearer of the NDC John Dramani Mahama will cancel the Free Senior High Policy (FSHS) when voted into power.

Addressing people of the Gomoa West Constituency in the Central Region, as part of her tour in the region, she said the claim by the NPP is palpable false.

"The media has records of all events, and as we speak, all our conversations are being recorded, and indeed, if the media has that audio, it should be brought out. Anybody who believes in that claim should produce the tape by the flagbearer saying he will cancel the FSHS policy."

According to Prof, the quality of Free SHS policy has not been met to enable the quality education expected in the Ghanaian educational system.

She stated that the NDC rather intends to ensure quality in the educational system, and this will be done by eliminating the double track system.

"The NDC has good intentions of ensuring quality in the FSHS policy, so it commenced the construction of community day school blocks across the country but today all has been halted and abandoned."

She pointed out that the current government claims to be committed to FSHS but has not constructed a single school block.

Prof. Jane stressed that Ghana eliminated the shift system way back because it realized that the shift system in the educational system was derailing its quality, "so today if at the senior high level its been replicated then we can't be assured of the quality."

She continued, "It is just the name that has been changed from shift to double track (gold and green), but indeed it is a shift system. Students will have to go and come before others can go, is the same thing as the shift system that was eliminated years back.

"The NDC has done it before and will do it again, the next NDC government will continue with the FSHS policy but eliminate the double track system by completing the community day schools abandoned in the bushes and render quality free senior high school education to our children," she stated.
People are so fucking mean about this child. Disgusting.

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idt anyone I fuck with denies that climate change is real and caused by treating teh environment terribly/pollution, etc..



If you answered yes, have y'all talked about it? are they maga ?

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Hi, not American but I know people who think it's not a big deal or that us, regular citizens of the world, cannot truly make a change by going, for example, plastic-free.



I've become the annoying friend who always calls out the use of plastic or excessive consumerism. I've toned it down a bit because I used to be angry, but I still try to make them realize any "little actions" can have a huge impact if millions of people do them.

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TBH for Spitting Image puppets she looks really cute, most of their puppets are horrifying

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Look what they did to Michael Gove (deserved lmao)

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Accurate! He looks like the kids TV character Pob.

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Nnnnnnn the testicle cheeks, dick nose, and anus mouth... Absolute perfection.

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This is fucked up, she is a child.

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Greta doesn't deserve this shit. No child deserves this shit. No autistic person deserves this shit.

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The hell? She's a kid. Leave her alone.

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i cant believe i watched that whole trailer, those puppets fucking horrifyyyyyyy me



they also have a billie eilish one, if we're talking about them lampooning teens

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those puppets fucking horrifyyyyyyy me</a>



The show originally aired when I was a child and I used to find the puppets TERRIFYING; I feel like the originals looked even worse than the new ones, but that may just be the perspective I had.

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Dudes, she's 17. Leave her alone.

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This is a literal child! Stop it

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This literally goes against everything that Spitting Image is supposed to stand for. This was the show that unabashedly attacked Thatcher, Tony Blair, the apartheid in South Africa and had Sting sing an entire segment called 'Every Bomb You Make'. It was never perfect but its entire premise was based on punching up yet in this hellish timeline it has resorted to this? Attacking a teenage girl with Autism. Shame

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I love elevated European humor.

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I think you mean "humour," which is an entirely different term compared to "humor". :)

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You just dont understand British humour!

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You dont need a fork to eat this plate of spaghetti. Just a spoon will do. And thats because its not actually spaghetti. Its Spaghettieisvanilla ice cream noodles topped with strawberry sauce and white chocolate shavings. Dario Fontanella, the inventor of spaghetti ice cream, invites us into his dessert shop in Mannheim, Germany to sample this ice cold treat. Did we mention its served on a bed of whipped cream?
Someone repainted a thin blue line down Main Street in Flemington early Tuesday morning several months after it was ordered removed by the mayor.

Between 3:46 a.m. and 4:01 a.m., a blue line was painted on Main Street from Chorister Place to Capner Street, Flemington Chief of Police Jerry Rotella confirmed on Wednesday. The line was painted over by the Department of Public Works later Wednesday at approximately 9 or 10 a.m., he added.

This is the second time this has happened in the borough in recent months, as a 15- to 20-foot long blue line was painted in front of the police station shortly after Flemington Mayor Betsy Driver directed the Department of Public Works to cover the existing blue line on Main Street in June.
PHOENIX  Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to lead President Donald Trump in Arizona with support reaching the critical 50% level with less than a week before ballots are sent out, a new poll finds.

The same statewide poll found Democrat Mark Kelly with a commanding lead over Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., suggesting Democrats in the state could sweep the top two races for the first time since 1944.

The Suffolk University/USA TODAY Network poll of 500 likely voters in the battleground state showed Biden with a 4-percentage-point lead over Trump, 50% to 46%.

Kelly led McSally by 9 percentage points, 49% to 40%.

Biden's lead is similar to 10 polls by others in Arizona taken completely in September. Biden led in eight of those polls, Trump led in one and there was one tie, according to Real Clear Politics.

Kelly has led in all eight of the polls taken in September, usually by high single-digit margins, the website reports.

The Suffolk poll, conducted between Saturday and Wednesday, has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points. Suffolk has an "A" rating from the website FiveThirtyEight.

Follow Arizona politics? Our reporters stay on top of it all. Subscribe now to azcentral.com.

David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, said Cindy McCain's endorsement of Biden happened just as the poll began and could be significant.

"Her endorsement really is important demographically in ways that a lot of people aren't picking up," he said, noting that her backing likely has the most impact on whites and moderates.

And Biden reached the 50% mark late in the race and with only 2% of respondents undecided, he said.

"That's an important threshold to hit," Paleologos said.

This combination of pictures created on Sept. 29, 2020, shows President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden squaring off during the first presidential debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

Apart from the candidate preferences, the poll reflected other worrisome signs for the president's chances in the state as voting in Arizona is set to begin.

Most Arizonans  56%  say the country is on the wrong track, and 53% say they have an unfavorable view of Trump, while the same share say they generally like Biden.

Story continues

More than half, 51%, rated Trump's handling of the pandemic as "poor."

The same share said they would prefer that Trump not fill the Supreme Court vacancy before his term expires, though the issue doesn't seem to have significant effect on voter opinion. About 43% said he should fill the seat opened by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

About 16% said Trump's effort to quickly fill the seat made them more likely to vote for him and 17% said it made them less likely to do so. The majority  65%  said it made no difference.

The poll of live callers was mostly completed before the first presidential debate, an event widely seen as a bad night for Trump's prospects.

Next week, Trump had been scheduled to return to Arizona, traveling to Tucson and Flagstaff on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. However, Trump announced Friday morning via Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 and "we will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately."

On Thursday, Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, are scheduled to travel to Arizona.

The poll found that 18% of respondents said the biggest issue facing the winner of the election is managing job growth and the economy. Another 15% said it was handling the coronavirus pandemic.

But the biggest concern, from 19 percent, was bringing the country together.

Trump is behind with Arizona voters despite an economic record that would usually suggest higher approval ratings.

Nearly 80% of respondents described Arizona's economic conditions between fair and excellent. Less than one in five said conditions are poor. Asked whether they are better off than they were four years ago, 45% said they were and 23% at least said they weren't worse off.

That's where those polled say Trump's personal style enters the equation.

Tucson retiree Grady Bowman, 76, is an independent who is supporting Biden and Kelly. He views Trump as selfish and hostile to immigrants, positions he cannot look past.

"I don't like the way he cuts the taxes to help himself," Bowman said. "I am not anti-immigration. I'm married to a lady from Mexico and have a foster daughter from Oman who's a Muslim."

Republican Lloyd Knox, 53, of Gilbert, sees Trump as bringing the right approach to institutions that have stagnated far too long.

"I believe the United States should be run like a business, not politics as usual," Knox said. "He's gotten quite a bit done in his short time there. And had he had a Congress that actually wanted to work with him, how much more would we have gotten done?"

Marlene Kenner, an 86-year-old Republican retiree in Sun City, also sees Trump as delivering on his promises, especially on immigration, which remains her top issue. She is dismayed by glowing support for Biden from others.

"He's trying to look and act like a sweet granddaddy. It's totally wrong. It's so lopsided," she said. "People think he's so wonderful. He's really not that wonderful person he says he is. He didn't do anything for years."

Democratic Senate nominee Mark Kelly sits for a portrait on Aug. 5, 2020, at The Van Buren in Phoenix.

Mesa resident and health care worker Stephanie Waddell, 26, is a Democrat who, as a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the primaries, prefers more liberal candidates. While she isn't thrilled with either Biden or Kelly, she will gladly take them over the GOP slate.

"I consider myself a bit more progressive than either of their stances," Waddell said in an interview with The Arizona Republic after the poll. "But I think a lot is on the line this election, including like our voting rights. As a female, a lot of rights, like my right to birth control and my right to make choices about my own body, are a little bit on the line."

Bowman's support for Kelly is mostly because of his opposition to McSally.

"My son was an A-10 pilot, just like she was. He actually served under her in the squadron here at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base," Bowman said. "I got to know a little about her from listening to the pilots who worked under her. She seemed to them to be a person who was concerned basically about her own welfare."

Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) attends the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing for Barbara M. Barrett to become secretary of the Air Force on Sept. 12, 2019, in Washington, D.C.

Kenner defended McSally.

"I'm proud of her background. I think she's blossomed into a good legislator," she said.

The poll included nearly even mixes of people who identified as Democratic, Republican or independent voters. Republicans held a 2-percentage-point registration advantage as of the state's August primary, and the GOP has continued to out-register Democrats in recent weeks.

Of those polled, about 22% identified themselves as liberal or very liberal. About 37% considered themselves to be conservative or very conservative.

Those polled voted for Trump in 2016 by 1 percentage point. Trump won with Arizona's overall voters by 3.5 percentage points.

Reach the reporter Ronald J. Hansen at ronald.hansen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4493. Follow him on Twitter @ronaldjhansen.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

Subscribe to our free political podcast, The Gaggle.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Joe Biden's lead over Donald Trump holding in battleground Arizona
Shiv Sena leader on



Friday condemned the treatment meted out by Uttar Pradesh police to Congress leader when he was on his way to meet Hathras victim's family, and termed it as "gang-rape of democracy".

Talking to reporters, Raut said that Gandhi was a leader of a prominent political party and nobody would support the way he was "manhandled" by the police.

"We may have differences with the Congress party. He (Rahul Gandhi) can be stopped from going to Hathras citing imposition of section 144, but the way police behaved with him holding his collar...the way he was pushed and then thrown on the ground was highly condemnable," he said.

"This is gangrape of democracy and the incident should be probed. Is this the way opposition leaders should be treated so that nobody asks questions? You can ridicule him politically as is always being done. But the way police manhandled him is an act nobody will support," he said.

Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several Congress workers were briefly detained in Greater Noida on Thursday for alleged violation of prohibitory orders while walking towards Hathras to meet the family of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died on Tuesday, a fortnight after she was allegedly gang-raped near her village in western UP.

also fell down in the scuffle after police tried to stop him and his supporters from proceeding on the Yamuna Expressway.

Raut also questioned the silence of those who targeted the Maharashtra government "as if heavens had fallen" when the illegal construction of an actress was demolished.

He was referring to Kangana Ranaut, whose bungalow in suburban Bandra was partially pulled down by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently following her war of words with the ruling Shiv Sena over her remarks on Mumbai.

When asked about reports that the Hathras victim was not raped as claimed by the UP police, Raut asked if the victim had lied in her dying declaration.

The Sena MP also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should break his silence over the Hathras incident. He also criticised the curbs on media reportage of the incident.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena workers held a protest outside the Churchgate railway station in south Mumbai demanding justice for Hathras victim. They waved black flags and held placards.

(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.)
Investment banking giant JPMorgan Chase wants to help turn airline and hotel loyalty points into an asset class akin to stocks or corn futures.

The bank is working with Affinity Capital Exchange (ACE) to let companies turn rewards programs into a standardised, exchangeable currency to be traded by fund managers and used as collateral to raise capital, according to a statement on Thursday. Through the partnership, massive loyalty programs can be converted into pieces, or "reserve points," sold to investors like hedge funds or banks on the ACE marketplace, and later traded on the same venue.

"We're essentially creating an asset class," Andreas Pierroutsakos, a managing director at JPMorgan, said in an interview. Traditionally, companies sell points directly to banks. "But there are many other investors that want access," he said. "This is opening the door for that."

United Airlines sold $US6.8 billion of bonds and loans backed by its MileagePlus program in June.

Frequent-flyer programs generate billions in revenue for the largest airlines through agreements in which carriers sell their points to banks which award them to credit-card customers.
With Vikram Doraiswami taking over as the high commissioner to Bangladesh on Monday, it is quite evident that the road to high-profile ambassadorial assignments in the neighbourhood goes through the Prime Ministers Office (PMO).

Last week, Rudrendra Tandon went to Kabul to take over as the Indian ambassador to strife-torn Afghanistan. Both Doraiswami and Tandon have served in the PMO as private secretary to the Prime Minister and PMOs director.

While the ministry of external affairs (MEA) will never publicly admit it but the key diplomatic assignments in the neighbourhood are given to foreign service officers with inter-ministerial experience which goes beyond diplomacy. Indian envoys to neighbourhood countries are now rigorously selected and given to those who have big picture experience.

The Indian ambassador to Nepal is Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who was joint secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and so was the Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Bagley. The last Indian high commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Besaria had served in the PMO and the current ambassador to Myanmar Saurabh Kumar has served in National Security Council Secretariat, an adjunct of PMO vis National Security Advisor. The only exception to this rule is the Indian ambassador to Bhutan, Ruchira Khamboj, as Indian envoy to Beijing Vikram Misri has significant PMO experience.

While the neighbourhood is a top priority for the Modi government, the envoy selection by South Block for the Indian sub-continent has taken a different meaning after Beijing has started posting non-diplomats as ambassadors in South Asia, particularly those having direct links with PLA intelligence or United Front Works Department (UFWD) directly under President Xi Jinping. The current Chinese ambassadors to Islamabad and Dhaka belong to UFWD, while the envoy to Nepal has intelligence background.

Although the ambassadorial assignments are at present the domain of senior-most Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers, a number of Indias key allies post non-diplomat specialists as their envoys to Delhi. At least eight of Indias close allies have posted non-diplomats with expertise in electoral politics, trade and economics as ambassadors to Delhi. They are Kenneth Juster (USA); Ron Malka (Israel); Barry O Farrell (Australia); Nadir Patel (Canada); Nilamber Acharya (Nepal); Austin Fernando (Sri Lanka); Saud bin Mohammed Alsati (Saudi Arabia) and Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Banna (UAE). All these envoys have rich experience and present a wholesome view of the country they represent. If Juster is an expert in trade and commerce, Malka has headed Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and O Farrell has served as the Prime Minister of New South Wales.

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MDHHS releases Climate and Health Adaptation Planning Guide for Michigan Communities

Guide intended to help develop, integrate climate and health concepts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Octobe 2, 2020

Contact: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112

LANSING, Mich.  Today, as part of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers MI Healthy Climate Plan, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) released the Climate and Health Adaptation Planning Guide for Michigan Communities.

Developed by MDHHS Michigan Climate and Health Program (MICHAP) with the Michigan State University (MSU) School of Planning, Design and Construction and MSU Extension, the guide was created to be accessible and flexible for the unique situations of communities across the state.

Combatting the effects of climate in Michigan is a team effort. MDHHS has made this effort easier by developing this guide for Michiganders across the state, said Governor Whitmer. The health and safety of our families is directly related to the health of our climate. This guide will help us implement the MI Healthy Climate Plan I announced last week and improve our overall public health.

While climate change is recognized as one of the greatest threats to public health, few models of climate and health planning currently exist, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. This guide uses a health in all policies approach to help communities in Michigan develop a climate and health adaptation plan or to integrate climate and health concepts into existing planning and decision making.

Michigan is getting measurably warmer and wetter due to climate change. Those changing conditions result in more extreme weather including heat, heavy rain and winter storm events. Major climate-related health impacts in Michigan include heat-related illness, waterborne diseases, mental stress, respiratory illnesses, vector-borne diseases and physical injury from extreme weather events.

As communities are unique in their makeup, systems and needs, planning for climate and health adaptation can be complex. The guide focuses on core principles upon which each community can build.

Those include:

Centering on health and equity.

Engaging diverse partners reflective of the community, especially vulnerable and marginalized populations, along with technical stakeholders and decision makers.

Incorporating locally relevant climate and health data in decision making.

Establishing a shared vision for what successful climate adaptation means to the community.

The process was piloted in Marquette, Mich., starting in 2017. Marquette was chosen as the pilot site due to the communitys demonstrated capacity for climate planning with existing assessments of the environment and infrastructure completed, and access to local expertise. The project brought together stakeholders from across 1,873 square miles representing nearly 30 local units of government, agencies and organizations to address climate and health adaptation.

The pilot resulted in more than 100 potential recommendations and metrics for enacting adaptive planning and environment changes, and prioritization of the recommendations for short- and long-term planning.

Using Marquette County as the pilot for this guide, gave us an opportunity to bring together stakeholders including, local government agencies and non-profit organizations, the resources of MSU Extension and expertise from the MSU School of Planning, Design and Construction. Local leaders are passionate about improving the quality of life and addressing the climate and health challenges for future generations, said Wayne Beyea, senior outreach specialist, MSU School of Planning Design and Construction. We know that other Michigan communities are just as passionate, and look forward to expanding the capacity through our work with the Department of Health and Human Services.

Over the next year, MICHAP will continue to work with MSU to develop a plan for testing the guidebook in other communities across Michigan. MICHAP will work with partners to promote the guide and, as MICHAP capacity allows, provide technical assistance to communities wishing to implement climate and health adaptation plans or best practices.

MICHAP will also work with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Office of Climate and Energy to integrate the guidebooks lessons into the Catalyst Communities program which seeks to provide education, training, planning and technical resources to local public officials as they prepare for climate impacts on emergency response and public health.

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if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...
Hello and welcome to Five Weeknight Dishes, recipes for busy people who still want something good to eat. We have reached a milestone: There are now more than 1 million subscribers to this newsletter, 1 million of us who are on this shared journey to cook our way through this crazy time.

I appreciate you, particularly those of you have written to me. I read every note. (I hear you when you say you want more vegetarian recipes; were working on it.) I especially want to thank Krysten Chambrot, my editor.

Lets harness the power of 1 million home cooks. I want to funnel your ideas and expertise about cooking to the group more frequently. What are you having for dinner lately? How have you been managing? Is cooking right now a salve or a slog, or both? (Maybe its always been both salve and slog.) Send me thoughts, and I can share some of them back out: dearemily@nytimes.com.
WASHINGTON  In his mid-70s and apparently overweight, President Trump faces a COVID-19 mortality risk of between 9 and 10 percent, Dr. Kavita Patel told Yahoo News in an interview on Friday.

Trumps diagnosis was announced in the early-morning hours on Friday. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Trump is 74 years old and weighs 244 pounds. Both his advanced age and his above-normal weight put him at greater risk of serious COVID-19 illness that could require hospitalization. That possibility is very real, said Patel, a physician and medical contributor to Yahoo News.

President Trump speaks to reporters on his way to Marine One on Wednesday. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

I really hope the president recovers, she said. I hope that none of this comes to fruition.

It is not yet clear just what Trumps diagnosis means for the people who have attended his rallies, Tuesdays presidential debate, a fundraiser in New Jersey or events in the White House.

Patel, who is also a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, believes Trump has potentially exposed at least dozens of people, if not hundreds of people, that he has been in contact with.

She described the presidents campaign rallies  where there are people indoors, traveling from outside places and also not wearing masks  as potential superspreader events.

As many as 4 out of 5 coronavirus infections come from superspreader events.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
New Delhi: A trust representing many private schools has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Delhi government to release all outstanding dues to them on account of imparting education to students from the economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups. Under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, also known as RTE, the Directorate of Education of Delhi government ensures free education to students of economically weaker sections (EWS) and disadvantaged groups (DG) even in unaided private schools by reimbursing them the expenses.

Delhi-based Private Land Public Schools Trust filed the petition through lawyer A P Singh in the top court on Thursday on the issue and it is likely to be taken up in coming few days. Issue a writ of mandamusagainst the respondent 2 and 3 (DoE and Delhi government respectively) to release all the payments outstanding towards imparting of education to EWS/DG category students, by the private land unaided schools and in future, pay the same quarterly at the beginning of each quarter, so as to enable the school to manage its precarious finances in a more viable manner" Singh said the trust represents over 150 private schools of the national capital which are facing difficult times due to delay in payments by the DoE to them for providing education to EWS and DG category students. The trust, in the petition filed through its General Secretary Chandrakant Singh, has also sought a direction to the Delhi government to release the funds as per the rates proposed and approved on July 2, 2018 and w.e.f 2017-18 instead of 201819". The plea said funds disbursed by central government to the Delhi administration for implementation of RTE Act should reach its rightful recipients which are private unaided schools like the petitioner. It also sought deposit of fees in advance to make good the financial deficit of such schools and would help them in payment of salaries to staff members amid this global pandemic COVID-19.

Fixing the liability of the officers delaying payment of EWS reimbursement to private unaided schools along with calculation of interest on such delayed payments, and for making future payments to member schools of petitioner association in timely manner in order to effectuate timely payment to be given to staff members of such schools," the plea said. Twelve months fees of EWS category students should by paid to all such schools irrespective of the month of admission of such students, it said. The DoE and the Delhi government have a solemn duty" under section 12 of the RTE Act, 2009, to reimburse to private unaided school which are providing free and compulsory elementary education, it said. It has been alleged that there has delay in reimbursement of fees and other expenses to such schools by the Delhi government.

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
On October 1, US lawmakers moved a resolution in the US House of Representatives to posthumously honour the life and legacy of Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary. As many as six bipartisan lawmakers pushed the resolution for the lasting impact of Gandhis values of truth, non-violence and peace towards the welfare of the world. Resolution to recognise Gandhis political struggles and pioneering of non-violent protests was introduced in the US House by Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, according to a PTI report. The resolution was supported by Congressional India Caucus co-chairs, Brad Sherman and George Holding.

As we celebrate the anniversary of his birth on October 2, I am proud to honour Mahatma Gandhis incredible life and enduring legacy through this bipartisan resolution, PTI quoted Krishnamoorthi. Gandhi never wavered in his fight for freedom, dignity and equality for all. The example he set continues to inspire thousands of people young and old across the world today, he added.

Further, Krishnamoorthi admired Gandhi's principle of non-violent protest that spawned civil rights movements around the worldwide. He said that the father of India continues to inspire several such non-violent movements to the present day. "I am proud to play my part in honouring his legacy through this resolution and to encourage the people of the United States to observe the International Day of Nonviolence in his memory," Krishnamoorthi said, in a PTI report.

His life is his message #MahatmaGandhi



On #MahatmaGandhi s birth anniversary we join millions in India and around the world, in celebrating his message which continues to be our guiding light. pic.twitter.com/EREjrtQwfg  Anurag Srivastava (@MEAIndia) October 2, 2020

The resolution acknowledged Gandhis principles of harmony, morality and simplicity, as well as hailed his contribution and lifes devotion towards protecting religious freedom and encouraging respect without discrimination. Gandhi's views and the intrinsic element of his ideas of nonviolent resistance and dialogue as a remedy to political and social injustices has left an ever-lasting impact on not only India but the world, the resolution stated, commemorating Gandhis principles. Congress wished to honour Gandhis legacy of an apostle of peace in the US house for the liberation of millions of Indians, and inspiring activists of peace and liberation worldwide.

Congressman @RepBera pays tribute to #MahatmaGandhi on #GandhiJayanti with a special message and says: "He [Mahatma Gandhi] is an inspiration to all of us and certainly was a inspiration to my former colleague Congressman @repjohnlewis."#Gandhi150 #GandhiJayanti2020 @ICCR_Delhi pic.twitter.com/iK7IAXU0o7  India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) October 2, 2020

Read: Gandhi Jayanti: Bhutan Foreign Min Pays Tribute To Bapu, Says He 'touched Limitless Souls'

Read: Gandhi Jayanti: PM Modi Pays Tribute To Mahatma Gandhi, Says 'We Bow To Bapu'

Today, as we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, we must also honour his extraordinary life and enduring legacy of non-violence and equality, Congressman Brad Sherman acknowledged in an online post.

Important 'now more than ever'

Co-sponsors to the House resolution included US House representatives Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal and Ro Khanna. Co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, Congressman George Holding said that it was important now more than ever, that we remember and celebrate Mahatma Gandhis non-violent legacy  something that continues to inspire people around the world.

Meanwhile, as many as 15 US Congressmen commemorated the 151st birth anniversary of Gandhi via videos online that hailed Gandhis causes of equality and social justice. Congressman Eliot Engel, Chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that as the world celebrated 151st anniversary of Gandhi''s birth, we are reminded of the importance of Gandhi''s belief in the use of nonviolence. Let us all live by those principles of nonviolence, of togetherness, of common humanity, Congressman Ami Bera said in a separate video.

Read: Gandhi Jayanti: US House Of Representative Pays Tribute To 'Bapu' With Special Message

Read: Gandhi Jayanti: PM Modi, Prez Kovind & Others Pay Homage To Bapu On His 151st Anniversary
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Linkedin Michael Holden (Reuters) London, United Kingdom  Fri, October 2, 2020 19:07 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48ca5fc 2 People Meghan-Markle,Prince-Harry,Britain,Racism,structural-racism Free

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have called for an end to "structural racism", saying it holds back young people of color, in their latest foray into politically sensitive issues usually avoided by the British royal family.

In an interview for The Evening Standard newspaper, Harry said Britain could be a better place if white people understood more about those "of a different colored skin"

"For as long as structural racism exists, there will be generations of young people of color who do not start their lives with the same equality of opportunity as their white peers," the couple wrote in an article for the paper.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made several comments on race issues since stepping down from their roles as working members of the royal family at the end of March and moving to California.

Harry, 36, told the Standard he had been awakened to the issues facing Black and other ethnic minorities since meeting Meghan, whose father is white and mother is African American.

"I wasnt aware of so many of the issues and so many of the problems within the UK and also globally as well. I thought I did but I didnt," he said.

"It is not about pointing the finger, it is not about blame. I will be the first person to say, again, this is about learning," Harry told the paper.

"And about how we can make it better. I think it is a really exciting time in British culture and British history, and in world culture," added Harry, who is Queen Elizabeth's grandson and sixth-in-line to the throne.

Read also: Duchess of Sussex Meghan says her public remarks are 'not controversial'

"A beautiful thing"

The interview, carried out by video from their new home, coincides with the start of Black History Month in Britain which celebrates the contribution of Black people to the nation.

However, the Sussexes have faced accusations in the British media that they are not respecting the tradition that the royal family does not comment on political matters.

Last week, they encouraged Americans to vote in the November presidential election, with Harry saying it was "vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity".

Critics said his comments could be understood as a call to vote against US President Donald Trump. Buckingham Palace said the remarks represented Harry's personal views.

The paper said Harry had accepted in the interview that their views "may seem controversial".

In June, Meghan, 39, said she was sorry that children had to grow up in a world where racism still existed and that events in the United States after the death of George Floyd were "devastating".

Asked about the ongoing Black Lives Matters protests, Meghan told the paper they had been inflammatory for a lot of people, but added: "When there is just peaceful protest and when there is the intention of just wanting community and just wanting the recognition of equality, then that is a beautiful thing".
MEXICO CITY/GENEVA: The Mexican, Egyptian and Moldovan candidates to lead the World Trade Organization are out of the race, four sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Thursday.

The WTO is due to announce on Friday which five of the eight candidates will go on to a second round of voting among members to choose the next director general of the global trade body.

A Mexican source with knowledge of the situation said candidates from Britain, South Korea, Kenya, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia would continue to square off.

However, one U.S. source with knowledge of the situation said the Saudi candidate had also been ousted in an unexpected move given that only three candidates were expected to be ousted in the current round of voting.

Hamid Mamdouh, the candidate for Egypt, told Reuters he was out, along with the candidates from Mexico and Moldova.

One of the sources said there had been strong support from Latin American countries and in Asia for Mexican candidate Jesus Seade but that a decision by the Europe Union to back other candidates had weakened his chances.

The campaign teams of Moldovan candidate Tudor Ulianovschi and Seade did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
The online car-buying process can seem daunting. Where to begin and how to tackle all the moving parts like test-drives and financing, especially for a big-ticket purchase, can be overwhelming for many shoppersand only more so in a lockdown climate that further limits in-person services. Accordingly, auto brands are sharpening their online edge, leveraging opportunities within ecommerce to create personalized and perhaps even better experiences than brick-and-mortar can offer.

Hyundai-owned luxury brand Genesis is taking the wheel with its new Concierge experience, a next-level online service that matches customers with a personal advisor to guide them from discovery through to delivery. The process begins when consumers express interest in a vehicle that they like online and reach out to the Genesis Concierge. Next, they promptly receive an email or text message about their inquiry. From there, the same advisor will steer them along their journey to purchase, providing personalized support, answering any questions, liaising with retailers on behalf of the client, scheduling test drives at home, and even arranging for financing and delivery of a vehicle should a purchase be made.

The goal of the program is to enable a seamless and enjoyable shopping journey that leaves the heavy-lifting to the advisor, enabling a complete and convenient online experience in a category that can sometimes struggle to translate to online. PSFK researchers included the Genesis Concierge in an article spotlighting next-level ecommerce journeyscheck it out here.

The Genesis Concierge
Chicago: News that US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 sparked an explosion of rumours, misinformation and conspiracy theories that in a matter of hours littered the social media feeds of many Americans.

Tweets shared thousands of times claimed Democrats might have somehow intentionally infected the President with the coronavirus during the debates. Others speculated in Facebook posts that maybe the President was faking his illness. And the news also ignited constant conjecture among QAnon followers, who peddle a baseless belief that Trump is a warrior against a secret network of government officials and celebrities that they falsely claim is running a child trafficking ring.

In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis was swept into an online vortex of coronavirus misinformation and the falsehoods swirling around this polarising election. Trump himself has driven much of that confusion and distrust on the campaign trail, from his presidential podium and his Twitter account, where he's made wrong claims about widespread voter fraud or hawked unproven cures for the coronavirus, such as hydroxychloroquine.

"This is both a political crisis weeks before the election and also a health crisis; it's a perfect storm," said Alexandra Cirone, an assistant professor at Cornell University who studies the effect of misinformation on government. "This is just one more piece of fake news in an election that's already seen a high level of fake news."
A Covid-19 outbreak inside the White House brings into sharp relief the literal nightmare scenarios that constitutional and presidential scholars have warned about for decades. What happens if Donald Trump is sick or incapacitated and unable to fulfill the duties of the presidency? And what happens if both Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence get sick? Who takes over then?

Most Americansif they think of presidential succession at allprobably assume that the government has clarified and settled the questions of who takes over at the White House in crisis situations. But there are two major problems with U.S. executive succession rules that inject enormous uncertainty: First, while the 25th Amendment neatly covers what happens if the president resigns, dies or falls sick in office, it says nothing about a sick or incapacitated vice presidenta problem that led Dick Cheney to write a secret resignation letter and have his White House lawyer hide it away in case his heart problems ever left him unable to function as vice president.

Secondand more problematic for a scenario where Nancy Pelosi is second in line to the presidencythe presidential succession plan laid out by Congress is legally murky and might actually be unconstitutional. Today, it remains an open debate whether the House speaker is actually eligible to succeed to the presidency.

All this is to say that, while the news that Trump has tested positive and is showing symptoms of Covid-19 is worrisome, true fear about the future of the Republic shouldnt settle in until either the vice president falls ill or the vice president takes over. Both these scenarios could lead to potential power struggles and fraught questions about whom military and government officials should be listening to.

Were obviously a long way from Trump being unable to fulfill the duties of the presidency, and Pence and his wife have now tested negative for Covid-19his separate travel schedule this week makes it seem likely that hes dodged whatever disease vector has already sickened Hope Hicks, Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. But any future questions about the vice presidents health might mean the nation would be in for a rocky time.

Story continues

Given the current makeup of the executive branch, its not hard to imagine a scenario in which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo might, with the help of an aggressive attorney general, William Barr, challenge any attempt by Nancy Pelosi to ascend to the presidency if both Trump and Pence are incapacitated by Covid-19perhaps even preemptively putting out a legal opinion that Pompeo is legally next in line for the acting presidency.

Could Nancy Pelosi assume the acting presidency and fire Barr to get her own contrary legal opinion? Would Barr treat such an order as legitimate? Would the Supreme Court weigh in? How those questions would be answered would almost certainly hinge less on actual legal fights and more on vague public sentimentsquestions such as whether the president or vice president looks likely to recover.

The nation could thus be deeply divided, in a hard-to-resolve way, on the very basic question: Who is the (acting) president of the United States? legal scholars Jack Goldsmith and Ben Miller-Gootnick wrote back in March at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 25th Amendment was a product of the Cold War, a desire to bring clarity to presidential succession as nuclear missiles collapsed time and space such that American government needed to know minute-by-minute who was eligible to succeed to the presidency. Until it was ratified in the late 1960s, in fact, the presidential line of succession had been a strange amalgamation of informal secret letters, confusing and shifting congressional legislation, and a seemingly unintentional misinterpretation of the Constitution itself.

Even when the Founders sat down to debate presidential succession, it wasnt an academic argument. In an era when daily life was much more uncertain and hazard-filled, colonial governors had a track record of high mortalitynearly a third had died in office. Who should take over in the event of a presidents death? Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania originally argued for the chief justice of the Supreme Court, while others pushed for the president of the Senate; however, both proposals seemed to the Founders to inappropriately mix the branches of government. The heir to the executive should come from the executive branch, so a late suggestion came to establish the Vice-President, who would be elected in the same manner as the president, while also serving as the president of the Senate on a day-to-day basis.

After the vice president, U.S. law later laid out only the House speaker and the president pro tempore of the Senate in the line of succession for most of Americas first centurya period when four presidents and five vice presidents died in office. It was a thin bench for the highest office in the land. Moreover, there was no mechanism at all for dealing with a sick or incapacitated president, so for more than a hundred years, the United States dodged constitutional crises only through luck and chance. Sixteen different timesa period totaling nearly 38 yearsin the countrys first nearly 200 years, the U.S. had been without a vice president. Seven of the first 34 presidentsone out of fivesuffered some period of incapacitation, during which time there wasnt really anyone technically able to execute the powers of the presidency.

When, in 1841, William Henry Harrison became the first president to die in office, a spirited debate unfurled in Washington over whether Vice President John Tyler actually assumed the presidential office or merely the duties and power therein. John Quincy Adams, himself a former president and in 1841 a member of Congress, believed that Tyler was merely the Acting President or Vice President, Acting as President. Tyler moved into the White House and, despite ongoing attacks from his political opponents who would refer to him as Your Accidency, he was never seriously challenged as president; for years to come, though, he would return unopened any mail that came to the White House addressed to Acting President or Vice President Tyler.

The odd thing, Constitutional scholars now agree, is that Tyler was almost certainly wrong about becoming president. Little was known in the 1840s about the debates that went on during the Constitutional ConventionMadisons notes from the debates, for instance, were only published for the first time in 1840, and the first major scholarly review of the Convention wasnt published until 1911. But subsequent study has shown that the Founders clearly intended for the vice president to merely act as president during a vacancy or incapacity. At least three other sections of the Constitution actually refer specifically to the vice president only acting as president. The only way the Founders ever intended for someone to become president was to be elected by the nation; anyone else would merely be acting. Yet Tylers precedent would guide the nation for the next 120 years. No one questioned the president title when Andrew Johnson took over from Abraham Lincolns assassination or when Calvin Coolidge took over after President Warren G. Hardings death from a heart attack.

Picking a successor for vice president was trickierand many times impossible. Through the 19th century, Congress elected the speaker and Senate president pro tem only while the body was in session, meaning that those posts sat vacant through the long periods of congressional recess. When Grover Clevelands vice president, Thomas Hendricks, died in 1885, Congress was out of session, and had anything happened to Cleveland, no one knew who would become president. Presidential aides were so concerned that they recommended Cleveland not even travel to Indiana to attend Hendricks funeral. That potential crisis finally nudged Congress to act, and in 1886 it added Cabinet members to the line of succession ahead of the congressional leaders.

Harry Truman, 60 years later, tried to reverse that, arguing that the speaker of the House has the closest thing to a national electoral mandate after the elected president. As a result, in 1947 Congress passed a law that outlined the modern succession linethe vice president, the speaker, the Senate president pro tem, and the Cabinet secretaries in descending order of their departments founding (leading to todays quirk that the Department of Homeland Security, one of the officials most versed in national security, is actually dead last in succession, although acting Secretary Chad Wolf is ineligible for the presidency since hes not a Senate-confirmed secretary).

Beyond just a clear line of succession, the presidency after Truman made clear that the U.S. government needed to wrestle with presidential illness or incapacity too. Dwight D. Eisenhower was hospitalized for seven weeks after a 1955 heart attack amid the height of the Cold War. It was not until two weeks after the heart attack that the tension in Washington was eased, then-Vice President Richard M. Nixon recalled years later. The ever-present possibility of an attack on the United States was always hanging over us. Would the President be well enough to make a decision? If not, who had the authority to push the button? The next year, Eisenhower had urgent intestinal surgery, as most of the nation slept, from 2:30 a.m. to 4:35 a.m., an experience that left Nixon worried. On several occasions afterwards, he pointed out to me that for the two hours he was under anesthesia, the country was without a Chief Executive, the armed forces without a Commander-in-Chief, Nixon wrote later. In the event of a national emergency during those two hours, who would have had the undisputed authority to act for a completely disabled President? Then, amid the high-stress weeks of the Cold War following the launch of Sputnik, Eisenhower in November 1957 suffered a minor stroke that left him disoriented and his speech slurred.

Eisenhowers answer was an informal agreement, hidden from the American people and unknown until decades later: In February 1958, he summoned Nixon and Attorney General William Rogers to the Oval Office and handed them a four-page letter outlining conditions under which the vice president could assume the powers of the presidency. He distributed just three copiesone to Nixon, one to Rogers and one to the secretary of State. He wrote that Nixon after such consultations as seems to him appropriate could just assume the powers of the presidency if Ike seemed unable to function. It was a wild, extra-constitutional arrangementone that cried out for a more formal process in the age of nuclear weapons. In the years ahead, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson both wrote similar letters, a system that would work only as long as there was total trust between a president and a vice president. Otherwise, it was a literal recipe for a coup.

The letter of agreement between Kennedy and Johnson read, in part, The Vice President agrees to serve as Acting President after such consultation as seems to him appropriate under the circumstances and allowed the vice president to operate with a free mind that this is what the President intended in the event of a crisis. JFKs assassination raised new problems and concerns (what if JFK had lain comatose after being shot, rather than dying immediately?) and left Johnson without a vice president for 1964. Through the end of that presidential term, House Speaker John McCormack kept in his Capitol office safe a secret two-page agreement that he and LBJ signed together on December 23, 1963, outlining when he could take over the presidency if Johnson fell ill or was otherwise incapacitated. It is outside the law, McCormack said later, but it was the only thing that could be done under the circumstances.

Seated behind President John F. Kennedy as he delivers his State of the Union address in 1962 are Vice President Lyndon Johnson and House Speaker John McCormack.

Finally, Congress moved on the 25th Amendment, which created the first-ever mechanism for replacing a vice president in the event of resignation, death or vacancy and created the first-ever system for dealing with presidential incapacity or illness. It arrived just in time: The resignation in 1973 of Nixons vice president, Spiro Agnew, amid the Watergate scandal was the first use of the 25th Amendment, allowing Gerald Ford to be nominated and confirmed by Congress as vice presidentand later to succeed to the office and nominate his own vice president. It made Ford the first American ever to become president without being elected to either the presidency or vice presidency.

And yet there are two major holes still in the 25th Amendment and the related Presidential Succession Act that, at least until now, have remained only abstract and esoteric questions for presidential and constitutional scholars.

Dick Cheney himself figured out the first problem in the 25th Amendment itself: There is literally no mechanism for removing an incapacitated vice president from the line of succession. As Cheneywhose heart problems were well-documentedtook office in 2001, he kept thinking about Woodrow Wilson, whose stroke had left him incapacitated for the final year and a half of his presidency and left his wife secretly managing the nations affairs. I knew how important it was to ensure we had a plan in place for leadership succession and survival, Cheney wrote later. We had a duty to make sure an enemy attack could not result in decapitation of our government.

For the Cheneys in the vice presidential mansion at the Naval Observatory, a vice presidential vacancy wasnt too much of a thought exercise: One of Lynne Cheneys novels, The Body Politic, published in 1988, had focused on the death of a vice president that the White House chose to cover up on the eve of critical primariessetting up a Weekend at Bernies-style satire that followed the staff trying to ensure that no one noticed the vice presidents death.

To ensure that his own health problems wouldnt leave the nation without an able vice president, Dick Cheney wrote a secret letter of resignation, dated March 28, 2001, and addressed it to the secretary of statenot unlike the letters that Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson had penned before the existence of the 25th Amendment. Sitting in his office two months after his inauguration, Cheney attached a cover letter to his resignation addressed to his legal counsel, Dave Addingtonyou are to present the attached document to President George W. Bush if the need ever arises.  Richard B. Cheney. He handed the letters to Addington with a cautionary speech: I wont give specific instructions about when this letter should be triggered, but you need to understand something. This is not your decision to make. This is not Lynnes decision to make. The only thing you are to do, if I become incapacitated, is get this letter out and give it to the president. Its his decision, and his alone, whether he delivers it to the secretary of state.

Addington slipped the resignation letter inside two manila envelopes, and hid it in a dresser drawer at his homewhere it would be safe, even from a crisis that destroyed the White House. Cheney told Bush what hed done and that Addington had the letter, if the need ever arose. Other than that, their plan remained secret throughout the presidency.

Theres still no more formal mechanism for an incapacitated vice president. Did Joe Biden write a similar letter as Barack Obamas vice president? Has Mike Pence filed away such a letter? If he hasnt, and Pence is incapacitated, the U.S. would be stuck without a functioning vice president until January 20, 2021 (and perhaps beyond, if Trump wins reelection). That would mean that there would be no one ready to step in if something happened to the presidentthe presidency would pass to Mike Pence, even if he were comatose and unable to fulfill the duties of the presidency. Nor is it clear that the 25th Amendments clause whereby members of the Cabinet can sign a letter removing the president from office would pertain to a vice president since that very clause vests the letters authority in the vice president. If theres no functioning vice president, theres no one to trigger the letter from the Cabinet saying the president cant function.

The second problem is with the statute, the Presidential Succession Act, that guides the line of succession beyond the vice presidency. It may not really be constitutionaland the nation may find the law tested in a moment of great crisis. Theres a clear and well-understood debate that the law dodges a vexing question: Are the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tem considered officers of the United States for constitutional purposes and thus eligible to succeed to the presidency at all? No less an authority than the author of the Constitution himself, James Madison, argued that they were legislators, not constitutional officers, and thus ineligible to become president. Congress has worried particularly since 9/11 about how, in a divided government, a terror attack or assassination attempt could alter government. You could shift the entire direction of this country with one or two bullets, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) explained during one hearing. What an invitation to assassins. We could have replaced George W. Bush with Nancy Pelosi. The process outlined in the law appears to be in conflict with other parts of the Constitution that hold that only executive branch officials are officers and that uncertainty could allow it to be disputed in court.

Legal scholar Akhil Amar told Congress during one post-9/11 hearing, The current Presidential Succession Act, 3 U.S.C. Section 19, is in my view a disastrous statute, an accident waiting to happen. It should be repealed and replaced.

Republican Senator John Cornyn raised the question of what would happen if a speaker of the House or Senate president pro tem ascended to the presidencyand then was challenged by the secretary of State, who argued that the legislators didnt count as constitutional officers. Believe it or not, the secretary actually has a rather strong case, in my view, Cornyn said. Who is the president? Whose orders should be followed by our armed forces, by our intelligence agencies, and by domestic law enforcement bureaus? If lawsuits are filed, will courts accept jurisdiction? How long will they take to rule? How will they rule? And how will their rulings be respected?

Later, a special bipartisan continuity of government commission led jointly by the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute, concluded, there are serious policy and constitutional objections to having congressional leaders in the line of succession.

The United States semiroutinely deals with moments when the vice president officially assumeswithout taking any meaningful actionthe presidency. In 2002, Vice President Cheney officially assumed the powers of the presidency when George W. Bush was sedated for a colonoscopy, and did so again in 2007. Officially, Cheney was in charge from 7:09 a.m. to 9:24 a.m. on June 29, 2002, and from 7:16 a.m. to 9:21 a.m. on July 21, 2007. And this summer, a new book by New York Times journalist Michael Schmidt reported that Pence was told to be ready to assume the powers of the presidency after a still unexplained urgent weekend trip by Trump to Walter Reed Hospital in November 2019.

But if the vice presidents not thereeither for a routine matter or an urgent crisiswe dont have any rule book ready.

For now, the nation waits.
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need for new parametric insurance products for both traditional and new risks, according to a report by insurance group InsTech London.

Parametric insurance has the potential to deliver on the promise of insurtech and fill gaps in insurance protection for individuals, SMEs and corporates worldwide, according to InsTech Londons Parametric Insurance  2021 outlook and the companies to watch report.

In 2019, there was about $140 billion in economic losses from man-made and natural disasters, according to a Swiss Re estimate. Traditional insurance covered only about $56 billion, or 40%, of that amount.

With the increasing risk from climate change and denser populations, losses will continue to rise, InsTech London said. Without a new approach to conventional insurance, coverage for most of these costs will still not be recovered by those affected.

Parametric insurance is one of the top 10 themes that we are focusing on, said Matthew Grant, partner at InsTech London. Weve been watching this market develop, and the companies that are really making a difference, for over 20 years. The industry is now at a point where the data and technology are available at a cost that makes it accessible for new companies  or existing ones  to enter this space and help solve the problem of the uninsured and uninsurable.

With technology now able to deliver coverage based on real-time data reporting, parametric insurance can succeed where conventional insurance has failed, InsTech London said. Parametric cover is now being considered across a wide range of risks, including earthquakes, hurricanes and flood. Triggers include shake density, wind speed, and water depth or rainfall, InsTech London said.

Some of the largest reinsurance organizations, including Munich Re, Swiss Re and AXA, are structuring parametric placements, while new companies are emerging and finding customers and investors both within and outside the insurance sector.

Parametric insurance has now found its place at the risk transfer table, where it will fill some of the gaps left by traditional insurance solutions, InsTech London said.
RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Governor Ralph Northam today invited Virginians to celebrate the richness of Virginia wine and raise a glass to the 32nd annual Virginia Wine Month this October. The oldest wine month in the country, the annual celebration occurs as winemakers traditionally harvest grapes off the vine and prepare their next vintages. This year, the month-long festivities will be held in accordance with social distancing guidelines and culminate with multi-faceted virtual Harvest Party celebrations on October 17.

Home to 312 wineries, Virginia is now the sixth-largest wine region in the United States. The Virginia wine industry generates an estimated $1.37 billion in economic impact and 8,218 jobs for the Commonwealth and drew more than 2.2 million tourists to Virginia wineries in 2015, according to the Virginia Tourism Corporation.

"Virginia Wine Month is a time to honor the resilience and pioneering spirit that cultivated our world-class wines," said Governor Northam. "Winemakers are no strangers to uncertainty, and the wine industry has demonstrated its ability to adapt and thrive despite the challenges created by the ongoing pandemic this year. This October, I encourage people across the Commonwealth to join me in celebrating the diversity, distinction, and unique character of our wine and the Virginians who make them."

Virginia's diverse landscape means winemakers have learned to listen to the land and craft wines that speak to the grace and grit of the Commonwealth. In recognition of their efforts and the end of the harvest season, the Virginia Wine Board has designated the third Saturday of October as the annual Harvest Party, a home-grown tradition that encourages revelers to gather safely in vineyards, restaurants, open fields, or virtual settings for a feast of Virginia food and wine.

"Nearly 50 years ago, a small group of Virginia winemakers embarked on an endeavor of viticulture, despite skepticism from the global wine community," said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring. "This has yielded not only a thriving economic sector of agriculture and tourism, but also expressive and one-of-a-kind wines. Opening Harvest Party to a number of celebrations, in-person and virtual, allows Virginia wine fans anywhere in the world to join in on the festivities, and I hope to see those in the Commonwealth and beyond join me in raising a glass on October 17."

Planned Harvest Party activities include virtual and socially distant events at vineyards featuring local food trucks, live music and more, as well as restaurant-curated cuisine paired with a variety of Virginia Wine. Select wineries will offer "Harvest Party Bundles," complete with wines and local artisanal foods. In partnership with SevenFifty Daily, a resource on the history and character of Virginia Wine can be found here.

Individuals, wineries, restaurants, and retailers celebrating October Wine Month have access to how to-guides, seasonal recipes, and wine pairing information and events planned across Virginia. Virginians can participate in a social media sweepstakes to win a virtual guided tasting with a local expert with tasty food and wine pairings included. As wineries begin to reopen, retailers and restaurants are participating in the Virginia Wine Board's "Toast Our Local Bounty" program, which offers incentives to those creating Virginia Wine displays and by-the-glass and bottle promotions. Those interested in celebrating the richness of the region's food, wine, and culture can visit the Virginia Wine Month homepage for more information.

To find out more information about Virginia wine and wine travel in the Commonwealth, visit VirginiaWine.org or click here to download the Virginia Wine App.

Virginia Wine Marketing Office

Contact: Annette Boyd

Phone: 804-344-8200

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Virginia Wine Board

Related Links

http://virginiawine.org


With a goal of raising one million prayers to guide leaders of America and heal our land, The Awakening in America launched on October 1, 2020. Our goal is to raise one million prayers for America.

Beginning today, The Himmelreich Memorial Library in Lewisburg, Pa. has launched a national outreach for One Million Prayers for America. The national campaign seeks to have Americans pray for our nation under the banner of The Awakening in America.

According to the projects organizers, The Awakening is an ongoing initiative designed to call Christians to prayer and repentance. The Awakening is not political, said Caroline Campagna, head librarian for The Himmelreich, the projects national sponsor. We are simply a gathering of believers joining together to pray for God to guide our leaders and to heal America.

Leading Americans to Prayer

According to Rev. Ryan Kraus, one of seven leaders offering prayers through daily online videos, The Awakening is inspired by the clear promise of God in the Bible. Kraus, who serves as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Lewisburg, PA, cites a well-known Biblical passage as the inspiration for The Awakening:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves

and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,

then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin

and will heal their land.

 2 Chronicles 7:14

"Prayer unites us with God and with each other, said Kraus, God has given us the gift of prayer to bring healing where we are divided. The Awakening is simply an online gathering of Christians who take the promises of the Bible to heart, that as we turn back to God in repentance and prayer, He will heal our land, as He has promised. Our goal is to raise one million prayers for America.

Rev. Walt McCord of San Antonio, Texas  another of the projects online prayer leaders  agreed. Just 50 prayer-partners in 50 churches in each of our 50 states praying daily can raise millions of prayers in just days, said McCord. Given the power of online and social media networks to unite Christian believers together in prayer, our goal can be realized.

How to Participate

The Awakening is the non-denominational outreach of The Himmelreich Memorial Library. For more than a century The Himmelreich has been dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through its library collections, programs, and lending services, all of which are offered FREE to the public. Upon its opening in 1902, The Himmelreich was recognized as the finest library of its kind in America, and the second largest in the world.

THE AWAKENING PRAYER-LEADERS-TEAM (WAVE-1)

NOW OFFERING ONLINE PRAYERS THROUGH NOVEMBER 3, 2020



SUNDAYS  Rev. Walt McCord (Wayside Chapel Evangelical Free, San Antonio, TX)

MONDAYS  Rev. Barb Yorks (Saint Andrew United Methodist, Milton, PA)

TUESDAYS  Rev. Ryan Kraus (First Presbyterian, Lewisburg, PA)

WEDNESDAYS  Rev. Glen Bayly (Ret. Missionary Alliance, Mifflinburg, PA)

THURSDAYS  Rev. Rich Earl (Ret. Mountainside Church, Shamokin, PA)

FRIDAYS  Rev. Steve Shirk (First Presbyterian, Milton, PA)

SATURDAYS  Rev. Andrew Knisely (Elysburg Alliance, Elysburg, PA)

Church congregations and individuals are invited to participate in The Awakening with daily prayers. For more details on joining in and being part of the One Million Prayers for America, go to http://www.TheAwakeningWorldwide.com.
THUNDER BAY - Thunder Bay police arrested seven people and laid multiple drug-related charges after responding to reports of possible forcible confinement at a city motel on Thursday.

On Friday, Oct. 2, seven individuals appeared in court and were each charged with one count of possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking and one count of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Kurtis Brian Ginter, 25, Sean Brent Ginter, 27, Isaac Adje Ankamah, 21, Adam Karras Brady, 25, Ashley Norissa Lawson, 25 and a 17-year-old youth from Toronto all remain custody and are scheduled to return to court next Monday and Tuesday for either bail planning or to work on retaining counsel.

Joanna Anderson, 24, was also charged but was released to a surety with a promise to pay $2,000 with no deposit. Anderson must reside with her surety in Kasabonika First Nation. Some of her release conditions require her to stay away from drugs and weapons. She must leave the city of Thunder Bay by Sunday, Oct. 4 and can only return except for court purposes.

Justice of the Peace Anna Gibbon also imposed a non-communication order on all co-accused which prevents them from communicating with each other in any way.

Police say officers were dispatched to a hotel on Memorial Avenue just before noon on Thursday, Oct. 1, following complaints of the possible forcible confinement of a woman, according to a Thunder Bay Police media release.

Officers learned the victim was at another location and in distress which led officers to a Limbrick Street residence in the 100th block.

According to the release, police spoke with a man and during that interaction, he told police the woman was inside the home where police located and confirmed her safety. While police were speaking to the man officers saw drugs being thrown from a nearby window.

An investigation resulted in police seizing cocaine and fentanyl valued at nearly $39,000.
DALLAS, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Securus Technologies today released its weekly update detailing the total number of free media downloads and news subscriptions, calls, video connections, and JPay Stamps it has provided since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The offerings are part of an emergency program Securus deployed with its correctional partners on March 13, when the pandemic was declared a national emergency. It was developed to support re-entry efforts and help incarcerated individuals stay connected with loved ones during this challenging time.

To date, those free offerings total:

27.2 million free call credits for incarcerated individuals and their families, resulting in 211.0 million free minutes of phone connections;

5.3 million free video connections to friends and families of incarcerated individuals;

13.9 million free JPay Stamps for electronic messaging;

140,062 free monthly subscriptions to Newsstand;

496,515 free game downloads;

1,342,450 free movie downloads;

Total accommodations for 401 agencies and 742 sites across the United States .

In addition to this ongoing assistance, Securus is offering compassion credits designed to accommodate incarcerated individuals who fall ill with COVID-19. Those credits, which are uploaded onto prepaid cards and distributed by correctional facilities, allow additional free access to Securus phone calls and video connections throughout an individual's medical care. The company is also making free calls available to public defenders at many locations.

For those facilities enabled with Securus tablet technology, the company has introduced select free movie and game titles during the COVID-19 pandemic, which have been downloaded almost 2 million times. This expanded assistance is in addition to the no-cost resources, including educational offerings, free eBooks, podcasts and other self-help tools that are always available free of charge.

"Aventiv is always seeking ways to make our products more affordable and accessible, especially at a time when the pandemic has made it challenging for families with incarcerated loved ones to stay connected," said Dave Abel, president and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. "That's why we are proud to have provided nearly 14 million free JPay Stamps to help alleviate the financial impact of the current crisis. We will continue to find ways to support incarcerated individuals during these difficult times."

The program is an element of an ongoing transformation effort by Securus Technologies to improve access to its services and provide greater support for those impacted by incarceration. The company continues to work with its partners to garner feedback about the situation on the ground. All support from Securus will be in accordance with the latest public health guidelines to ensure that the support is tailored and responsive to the unique needs of the incarcerated community.

ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Aventiv Technologies serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America, Aventiv is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

SOURCE Securus Technologies

Related Links

http://www.Aventiv.com


There may be a considerable lack of the usual Christmas sashaying and party-hopping this year, but that doesn't negate the need for an LBD or 'D' of any other kind.

Thank goodness then that celeb-favourite Vampire's Wife is collaborating with high-street giant H&M on a limited-edition capsule, just in time for - what is usually - party season.

The collection, which launches at the end of this month, is bursting with the Vampire's Wife signature gothic detailing, dramatic lace and glamorous velvet.

Speaking to British Vogue, the brand's founder Susie Cave, said: "H&M took great pains to find the very essence of what The Vampires Wife is about, and then realised my dreams to my exact specifications. To design a dress at The Vampires Wife and get it through to the finish line is extremely difficult, miraculous really, as we are a small company. H&M is extraordinarily powerful in that respect."T

Vampire's Wife x H&M (H&M) / H&M

Swedish retailer H&M is no stranger to a high-brow collaboration, having secured Karl Lagerfeld and Versace as just a few of its previous collaborators.

Vampire's Wife was founded by Cave - the wife of crooner Nick Cave - in 2014 and was endorsed by the Duchess of Cambridge during her royal tour of Ireland earlier this year. Killing Eve's Villanelle, Sienna Miller and Alexa Chung are just a few of the brand's other devotees.

The Vampire's Wife x H&M collection launches on October 22.
The defense secretary and several members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff attended an event at the White House on Sunday, days before President Donald Trump, his wife and a top aide tested positive for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley; and the top Army, Air Force and Marine generals attended a Gold Star family event at the White House on Sunday, multiple defense officials told Military.com.

Trump announced on Twitter early Friday morning that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. The two were tested Thursday night after Hope Hicks, one of Trump's top aides, was discovered to have the illness after showing symptoms.

There have been no changes to military alert levels following the diagnosis, said Jonathan Hoffman, a Pentagon spokesman. But most of the military's most senior leaders are now undergoing tests to ensure they don't have the virus.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville took a COVID-19 test Friday, according to a defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He's showing no signs of the illness caused by the coronavirus, the official said, but was tested as a precaution Friday morning after the president announced he has the virus.

Read Next: 'Lipstick on a Pig:' Plan to Pull US Troops from Germany Under Fire on Capitol Hill

Results are expected Friday.

Air Force Chief of Staff Charles "CQ" Brown also attended the Sunday event, said Brooke Brzozowske, an Air Force spokeswoman. Brown tested negative before the event, the official said, and again yesterday in preparation for upcoming scheduled meetings at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

That test also came back negative, Brzozowske said.

Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger has been tested for COVID-19 several times over the last week, said Maj. Eric Flanagan, his spokesman.

"General Berger continues to remain vigilant in mitigating the spread of the virus both for himself and the entire Marine Corps," Flanagan added.

Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was also at the Gold Star families event, CNN reported Friday. Milley was at the Pentagon conducting his normal schedule, and is regularly tested for COVID-19, the outlet reported.

Esper, who's traveling abroad, has tested negative twice since Sunday, Hoffman said. The defense secretary will be tested again Friday as planned for continuation of his travel.

He will not be returning to the U.S. early, Hoffman added. Milley was tested this morning and was negative, he said.

"The Secretary, Mrs. Esper, Chairman Milley, and Mrs. Milley send their thoughts and prayers to the President and First Lady for a swift recovery," Hoffman said in a statement.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday has not had any contact with the president or White House aides, said Cmdr. Nate Christensen, his spokesman. Gilday just returned to duty at the Pentagon this week after undergoing heart surgery.

Hoffman said Friday that the U.S. military stands ready to defend the nation and its interests.

"Our national command and control structure is in no way affected by [the president's] announcement," he said, adding that Esper is confident the White House's military medical team will ensure the commander in chief and first lady will "continue to receive the best medical care in the world."

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: President Trump and First Lady Test Positive for Coronavirus
So, this is uncomfortable. I dont often agree with Pauline Hanson. Indeed, I cant recall another instance. But on this, she is right. Freedom to dissent is the core of civilised democracy.

We learned this week that the Morrison government proposes a trade with our favourite Senator for White Victimhood. Shell support the new university funding bill if the government enshrines within it academics freedom of speech.

Pauline Hanson wants academic freedom enshrined in the government's new education bill. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

This is bizarre. What interest does Hanson have in academic freedom? Its bizarre that she, of all people, should be its champion. Its more bizarre that universities should oppose it, as if this were some corporate industrial relations issue.

The whole idea of the university, after all, and of tenure, was to protect dissent. After centuries of church stranglehold  now known as the Dark Ages  scientists and intellectuals needed to be able to question orthodoxy. They needed immunity from prosecution or persecution for statements or questions that the establishment saw as heresy. It was necessary for them, but also for us. We had to make Galileos possible.
Pakistan has said that he would have sacked the army chief had the with India been started without informing him.

Nawaz Sharif, who was the prime minister during the Kargil war, has long maintained that he was not aware of what was happening when the conflict broke out in 1999. He says the then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf had attacked Kargil without informing him.

"I would have sacked the army chief if Kargil operation was conducted without informing me," Khan said in an interview to private news channel Samaa TV on Thursday.

Khan also said that he would sack the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief if the latter asked him to resign. The comment was made in the context of three-time prime minister Sharif's claim that the ISI chief asked him to step down in 2014 when Khan had unleashed a big protest sit-in the capital.

He said the army was keeping the country united and slammed Sharif for targeting the military establishment.

"Look at Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen; the entire Muslim world is ablaze [so] why are we safe? If it weren't for our army, our country would've been in three pieces Khan said.

Sharif recently made two speeches from London, where he has been staying since November 2019 on medical grounds, directly attacking the army for interference in politics and claimed that Khan came to power through its support.

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.

Khan also said that it was not the army's job to run the government and failure of a democratically elected government should not be used to impose a martial law.

"If a judge gives a wrong decision it means the judiciary has to evolve. The army has evolved as well. Contemporary civil-military relations are the best in history because they are all working in their spheres," he said.

He also claimed that the army was standing by the government in all matters including relations with India, opening of the Kartarpur Corridor and the coronavirus pandemic.

(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.)
She faced a lifetime in a filthy Indonesian jail - or worse, the death penalty - after she was arrested in 2004 for bringing 4.2kg of marijuana into Bali.

But more than six years after being released from prison, Schapelle Corby is back in Australia and living her best life.

The 43-year-old, who will make her reality TV debut on Channel Seven's SAS Australia later this month, glows on the cover of the latest issue of Stellar magazine.

From Hotel K to cover girl: Former Bali jailbird-turned-reality star Schapelle Corby looks simply stunning on the cover of Stellar magazine, which hits newsstands on Sunday

The magazine, available with the Sunday Telegraph newspaper as a flipbook with Body + Soul, hits newsstands on Sunday.

Schapelle looks stunning on the cover in a light blue shirt with a matching gem ring, as her raven hair cascades down her shoulders.

Looking remarkably youthful despite her nine years behind bars, she opted for natural-look makeup and sported her signature defined brows.

Ready for the spotlight: Schapelle is one of the celebrity contestants on SAS Australia, an endurance reality show that premieres on Seven on Monday, October 19

The pull-out quote on the magazine's cover states: 'I didn't think I'd turn 40. I didn't think I'd be released from prison. I'm just so thankful to be able to grow old.'

Schapelle is one of the celebrity contestants on SAS Australia, an endurance reality show that premieres on Seven on Monday, October 19.

The stars will be put to the test both mentally and physically as they attempt to pass the Special Forces' strict entry requirements.

Under pressure: The stars will be put to the test both mentally and physically as they attempt to pass the Special Forces' strict entry requirements. Pictured: Candice Warner (left) and Roxy Jacenko (right)

Schapelle will have to endure sleep deprivation and interrogation techniques, but may have an advantage over her rivals because of her experience with Indonesia's legal system.

In 2005, she was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment after 4.2kg of marijuana was found in her boogie board bag at Ngurah Rai International Airport the previous year.

She served her time at Bali's notorious Kerobokan Prison, also known as 'Hotel K'.

After a series of sentence reductions, she was released on parole in February 2014 after nine years behind bars.

She was deported back to Australia in May 2017 amid a media frenzy.

Tough: Schapelle will have to endure sleep deprivation and interrogation techniques, but may have an advantage over her rivals because of her experience with Indonesia's legal system

Schapelle is in a long-term relationship with Ben Panangian, an Indonesian surfer she first met at a church service at Kerobokan in 2006.

Earlier this month, reports emerged claiming that Schapelle had been 'iced out' by her co-stars while filming SAS Australia in the NSW Snowy Mountains.

Woman's Day and New Idea claimed she'd been shunned by the other celebrities, who did not believe a convicted criminal deserved to be there.

Sydney PR queen Roxy Jacenko was allegedly very unhappy to be sharing the screen with Schapelle.

Doing time: In 2005, Schapelle was sentenced to 20 years in Bali's notorious Kerobokan Prison after 4.2kg of marijuana was found in her boogie board bag at Ngurah Rai International Airport the previous year. After a series of sentence reductions, she was released on parole in 2014

Outcast? Earlier this month, reports emerged claiming that Schapelle had been 'iced out' by her co-stars while filming SAS Australia. Woman's Day and New Idea claimed she'd been shunned by the other celebrities, who didn't believe a convicted criminal deserved to be there

However, cast member Merrick Watts later hinted that the rumours weren't true in an interview with the Hughesy & Ed radio show on September 8.

'There has been a lot of conjecture about Schapelle Corby and how she was treated by the rest of the cast,' the 46-year-old comedian said.

'I'm here to tell you the only time anyone got upset with Schapelle was me... because I was brought on the show as the drug trafficker and when I found out she was doing my gear I was very, very upset!' he added.

Merrick's humourous response seems to suggest that the cast warmed to Schapelle despite her notoriety and didn't give her the cold shoulder.
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian Supreme Court justice Rosa Weber has demanded Environment Minister Ricardo Salles explain a decision earlier in the week, which sought to weaken laws around coastal woodlands.

Weber's request, dated 30 Sept., gave Salles 48 hours to provide information surrounding the decision, citing the "urgency" of the issue.

On Monday, Brazil's National Environmental Council (Conama) revoked protections for mangroves and a type of coastal forest known as restinga that grows on splits of seaside land.

Conama's decision was later suspended by a federal judge who cited the risk to the environment that it posed.

Salles has argued that these forest types are already protected by a separate piece of Brazilian legislation, known as the Forest Code. However, there are some crucial differences between the Conama's protections and the Forest Code that environmentalists said could be exploited to further coastal development.

The previous Conama regulation, for example, protected restingas for a minimum of 300 meters from the sea, a detail missing from the Forest Code. Without it, disputed areas, such as degraded woodland, might no longer be classified as protected - potentially opening the path for real estate development.

For mangroves, although the Forest Code protects them in their entirety, again the revoking of the Conama legislation opens up potential loopholes over what exactly is classified as mangrove.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito, writing by Stephen Eisenhammer)
NEW DELHI : The Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared an ambitious project under which a highly secure communication network will be set up for the Indian Army in strategically key forward locations, including along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), at a cost of 7,796 crore, officials said on Thursday.

The project will be rolled out by government-owned company ITI within three years, they said, adding that the contract for its implementation was signed with the telecom entity on Thursday.

The officials said the project will provide better "survivability, responsiveness and high bandwidth" in any operational scenario and enhance the communication coverage of the network in areas closer to forward areas, including along the LAC.

The project will also help provide secure network coverage in areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border with Pakistan, they said.

"In order to meet the long pending demand of the Indian Army, the Cabinet Committee on Security has approved the proposal for establishment of Army Static Switched Communication Network (ASCON) Phase IV Network," the defence ministry said.

It said the project would augment the communication network of the Indian Army in the sensitive forward operational areas which in turn will provide a major boost to the operational preparedness especially keeping in view the current situation at the LAC.

India and China are locked in a five-month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained their ties. Both sides have held a series of diplomatic and military talks to resolve the row. However, no breakthrough has been achieved to end the standoff.

"The project is also a big opportunity for the public sector to showcase its capability and provide an impetus to the Indian economy and will be a step in the direction of achieving the goal of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India)," the ministry said.

With approximately 80 per cent indigenous content, the project will provide a boost to the Indian industry, it said.

The ministry said the project will lead to upgradation of the existing 'Asynchronous Transfer Mode Technology' to Internet Protocol (IP)/ Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology.

"Optical Fibre Cable (OFC), Microwave Radio and Satellite will be used as communication media," it said.

The ministry said the project would generate employment opportunities especially to the people in remote border areas and boost rural economy.

"The project involves execution of civil works, laying of OFC, tower construction, etc. And with utilisation of local resources, hiring of manpower, it would generate employment opportunities especially to the people in remote border areas, support and boost rural economy, assist in upliftment of the local economies, provide skill development during the prolonged period of execution and maintenance of the network," the ministry said.

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Strategic buy builds on industry-leading food and beverage, pharmaceutical and logistics portfolio

ABB has acquired Codian Robotics B.V., a leading provider of delta robots, which are used primarily for high-precision pick and place applications. Codian Robotics' offering includes a hygienic design line, ideal for hygiene-sensitive industries including food and beverage and pharmaceuticals. With the transaction, ABB is accelerating its engagement in the growing field of delta robots.

Codian Robotics is located in Ede, Netherlands and employs 20 people globally. The company will continue to serve its customers directly. The acquisition was signed and closed on October 1, 2020 and both parties agreed not to disclose any details regarding the purchase price.

"Our acquisition underscores our focus on breakthrough technology, helping our customers to fully realize the potential of automation and increase their flexibility in a rapidly changing business landscape," said Sami Atiya, President of ABB Robotics Discrete Automation. "Codian Robotics' technologies and industry expertise are the perfect addition to our suite of food and beverage, pharmaceutical, service robotics and logistics solutions, while also supporting ABB's machine-centric robotics offering."

"Over the years, we have developed an extensive product portfolio. ABB's impressive global presence and industry expertise will help us make our portfolio available globally. I am looking forward to working together to write the next chapter of our success story," said Freek Hartman, Founder of Codian Robotics.

While today the majority of robots in the food and beverage industry are not designed for touching food, Codian Robotics' portfolio includes a hygienic design that allows safe, open food processing.

"There is a strong need for pick and place robots that ensure high hygienic standards, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our food and beverage, pharmaceutical and logistics customers are particularly interested in the potential of automation, enabling supply chains to continue to function, while protecting employee welfare," added Atiya.

In the future, ABB will be able to provide its customers with a broader range of delta robots and integrated solutions from a single source, contributing to ABB's machine-centric robotics strategy which integrates machine automation and robot control into a single platform.

Hans Wimmer, President of ABB's Machine Automation division and Managing Director of B&R, said: "With Codian Robotics we are acquiring one of the world's most successful suppliers of delta robots with an extraordinary track record in the machine builders' sector. In the future, we will be able to offer our customers fully integrated solutions globally and for all industries."

ABB Robotics Discrete Automation is a pioneer in robotics, machine automation and digital services providing innovative solutions for a diverse range of industries, from automotive over electronics to logistics. As one of the world's leading robotics suppliers, we have shipped over 400,000 robot solutions. We help our customers of all sizes to increase productivity, flexibility and simplicity and to improve output quality. We support their transition towards the connected and collaborative factory of the future. ABB Robotics Discrete Automation employs more than 10,000 people at over 100 locations in more than 53 countries. www.abb.com/robotics

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB's success is driven by about 110,000 talented employees in over 100 countries. www.abb.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201002005143/en/

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Media Relations

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News of the infection of the worlds most powerful man with the coronavirus drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity that follows much of what Donald Trump does.

The US presidents announcement that he and US first lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19 permeated the global news cycle, sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands weighing in on social media.

Here is a flavour of some of the reaction:

Stock market

The positive test reading for the leader of the worlds largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors worries, including how the infection might affect the November 3 election between Mr Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

US stock futures and Asian shares fell in the wake of the news. The future contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials lost 1.9%. Oil prices also slipped.

Stock prices in Japan and Australia tumbled.

To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, financial services firm Rabobank said in a commentary. Anyway, everything now takes a back seat to the latest incredible twist in this US election campaign.

World leaders

World leaders and officials were quick to weigh in, and there was both sympathy and something approaching schadenfreude.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted: Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health.

US-India ties have prospered under Mr Trump, and India is seen as a partner to balance Chinas growing weight in Asia.

Australian agriculture minister David Littleproud, deputy leader of the conservative Nationals party, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp: Our best wishes go to the president and the first lady, but it demonstrates that no-one is immune from Covid-19 and catching it. So it shows that no matter the precautions, we are all susceptible to this.

A trying time, and it just goes to show that a global pandemic can in fact touch anybody, even the president of the United States.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference, did not mention Mr Trumps reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection, but she said the news reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan.

A TV screen shows Mr Trump at Seoul Railway Station (AP)

Global media

Major media across the globe also played up the announcement, with bulletins appearing on TV screens in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei and Beijing.

Chinas official Xinhua News Agency and state broadcaster CCTV both announced the news, but there was no immediate comment from the government in Beijing on Friday, the second day of an eight-day national holiday.

The positive test result for Mr Trump and his wife was the most searched topic in China  after news about the holiday  on the popular social media app Weibo a few hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

One user darkly joked that Mr Trump had finally tweeted something positive.

The Chinese government has bristled at Mr Trumps attempts to blame China, where the disease emerged, for the pandemic, and called for global cooperation in fighting it, a message that has resonated with the public.

Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the Covid-19.

Iranian state television announced Mr Trump had the virus, with an anchor breaking the news alongside an unflattering image of the US president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses.

US-Iranian ties have suffered since Mr Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

A man and his sons wearing face masks ride past an advertisement using a portrait of US president Donald Trump in Indonesia (AP)

Social media

Social media platforms in Asia were ablaze with quick reaction.

While the uncertainty seemed palpable on a scroll through various nations social media, many of the comments seemed to revel in the announcement.

Here comes a chance for him to actually try out his idea of injecting disinfectant into himself and fighting back (against allegations that) it was fake news! tweeted Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese internet entrepreneur, referring to an idea Mr Trump floated earlier this year for treatment.

Keio University economics professor Masaru Kaneko tweeted that populist leaders, like Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, got infected because they tended not to take the coronavirus seriously. The two other leaders seriously tackled (the virus) after they get infected themselves. Will the United States follow their examples?
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

South African student Jessica* had already missed two periods when she shyly slipped into a clinic to seek an abortion in early July, as the coronavirus outbreak was reaching its peak.

Nurses scurrying to accomodate a long line of patients with varying ailments told the 19-year-old that the clinic was "fully booked" and advised her to try at a hospital.

Two months later, with the help of a local rights group lobbying hospitals to assist, Jessica was finally booked in for a procedure that required surgeryrather than pillsdue to the delay.

And it was almost too late. Another dozen days would have taken Jessica past 20 weeks, the legal limit to terminate a pregnancy in South Africa.

"It was draining. It was the worst thing I have experienced," she told AFP via telephone two weeks after the operation.

The pandemic has made access to legal abortion services and contraception more difficult in South Africa, according to charities and health workers.

They believe that movement restrictions, overstretched hospitals and disrupted drug supplies led to unwanted pregnancies that many women failed to discontinue.

"Facilities were focused on fighting the pandemic," said Whitney Chinogwenya, spokeswoman for international charity Marie Stopes in South Africa.

"So we started seeing more people coming in and saying: I went to such and such hospital and they couldn't assist me."

Hospitals and clinics scaled back all but essential services when a nationwide anti-coronavirus lockdown was imposed in March.

The move freed up hands and space in facilities about to confront Africa's worst coronavirus outbreak.

But access to family planning suffered greatly as a result, particularly in already poorly-serviced rural areas.

"During COVID our whole service just came to a halt," said a hospital doctor in the southeastern small town of Peddie.

Fear and less privacy

Women seeking an abortion in Peddie were referred to far away cities.

The doctor, who did not wish to be named, suspected that most women were unable to travel such distances without raising questionsparticularly during lockdown.

"It takes a lot for them to even come here and ask for an abortion," he said, noting the stigma attached to the procedure.

"So to get here and be told that we are not providing these services must be a final nail in the coffin."

In KwaZulu-Natal province, many women stopped visiting clinics to renew their contraceptive injectionsthe most widely-used form of free birth control in South Africa.

A nurse overseeing reproductive health services in the area suspected they held back "from fear of catching coronavirus" and because of limited privacy.

"Women leaving their homes were likely to be questioned," she said, pointing to widespread misconceptions about contraception.

By the end of May, the nurse, also speaking anonymously, noticed a sudden surge in the number of women seeking to end pregnancies.

By then, the few facilities providing abortions were swamped by coronavirus and many were short on drugs.

Abortion pill suppliers said imports were often delayed because closed national borders resulted in fewer global flights.

"When they come to us it is usually the last straw," said Kholofelo Mphahlele, with advocacy group Section27 in Gauteng province.

"Nine out of 10 lockdown calls have been teenagers that want assistance as fast as possible," said Mphahlele. "Before their parents find out."

Abortion information platform safe2choose, meanwhile, noticed that the number of women who had passed the 12-week mark when they eventually reached out, had doubled during the pandemic.

After 12 weeks, abortion pills are no longer an option.

"There are so many more hurdles with the later pregnancies because it has to be in-clinic," said safe2choose consultant Marie-Simone Kadurira.

'I would have done it'

More than four months into her pregnancy, 20-year-old Silindokuhle* had not yet plucked up the courage to break the news to her mother.

The Johannesburg-based student was visiting her extended family in KwaZulu-Natal when she had unprotected sex.

Finding a morning-after pill was tricky in the conservative rural setting.

Silindokuhle returned to Johannesburg in June and stayed with her parents in Soweto township.

By then she knew she was expecting and was determined to discreetly terminate the pregnancy.

But the odds were stacked against her.

"It would have been easier if there wasn't corona," she told AFP via telephone.

When she went to a hospital, overwhelmed doctors referred her to a packed local clinic.

"There was a line of people outside," she recalled. "So I thought I would get back home too late, because I have a curfew."

Constrained by secrecy and uncertain about her options, Silindokuhle grew increasingly confused.

She eventually gave up when she heard the baby's heartbeat during an ultrasound.

"If I had managed earlier, before seeing the scanner, I would have done it," she said, tearing up.

"I am worried... but I just have to hope that everything will work out."

*Names have been changed to protect identities

Explore further Texas abortion patients' more likely to attempt to end their pregnancy on their own

 2020 AFP
Jaipur, Oct 2 : India's 1328th butterfly species has been discovered in Rajasthan during the ongoing "Big Butterfly Month", which is being celebrated from September 5. Butterfly expert and teacher Mukesh Panwar, a resident of Sagwara in Dungarpur district, discovered this sepcies named Spealia Zebra.

Panwar, a member of the Vagad Nature Club who has been researching butterflies for the last 15 years, saw the Spealia Zebra at Dhanraj Farm House in Sagwara on November 8, 2014. He clicked a photo and sent it to the Butterfly Research Institute in Bhimtal, Uttarakhand, for identification. After a nearly six-year-long research process, institute Director Peter Smetachouk announced that it is India's 1328th butterfly.

Smetachouk said that this butterfly, which flies at a high speed, has a width of 2.5 centimetres. The Spialia Zebra species is normally found in Pakistan.

Panwar, who is doing research on butterflies of Rajasthan, has seen and identified around 111 species of butterflies.
Abel Mata holds his grandson, Milo Walker, while sitting with his daughter, Athena Mata, and son-in-law, Justin Walker, on the patriarch's front porch in Torrance. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)

Police vehicles surrounded Abel Mata on a sunny afternoon outside his Torrance home. Officers wanted to know the identity of the child he'd been holding moments before.

A neighbor had called 911 to report that a Latino man had kidnapped a white baby.

A stunned Mata was forced to explain: The child was his grandson. Mata's daughter, Athena, had dropped 2-year-old Milo off for babysitting, as she did routinely, and the boy was inside the house with his grandmother.

As Mata and the officers walked toward the door, a blond woman came out of a neighboring apartment and approached them, shouting that he was the abductor. She carried a samurai sword, Mata said.

She said, Youre the one kidnapping the child,  he said.

His offense, by all appearances, was being the brown-skinned grandfather of a light-skinned child. The contrast  not unusual in a state where mixed-race families are common and Latinos, like other groups, have kin whose skin and hair color span the spectrum  had been pointed out before. But kidnapping?

I was totally caught off-guard, said the 55-year-old Mata, who works as a seventh-grade history teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Literally like somebody punching you in the face and knocking you down.

Mata's experience was extreme but in many ways, experts say, not surprising: People still often rely heavily on skin color to set standards of beauty and assign worth  and to determine who is family or a babysitter, or worse.

"While oftentimes we argue that the United States is quote-unquote 'post-racial,' we see a lot of incidents such as this one in Torrance, where we can see how race is still really a fundamental feature that we use when we interact with one another, said Natalie Masuoka, an associate professor of political science and Asian American studies at UCLA.

The incident began shortly after Athena Mata and her husband, Justin Walker, dropped off their son at her parents' house.

Story continues

As the couple drove away, she said, she noticed a blond woman standing in front of a garage a few doors down, watching them leave.

Ten minutes later, as Mata was packing his car with diapers for a trip to the park, two police SUVs rolled up.

They wanted to question me, he said. They said that someone had taken a white child and was carrying him around.

The blond woman had come outside to watch and now was carrying the sword in its sheath.

If this was a person of color who came out with a sword, I dont believe they would have made it over to speak to him, Athena Mata said. They would have been shot and killed.

Instead, police told the woman to walk away and said theyd speak with her separately, Mata said. They then ushered him inside and questioned his wife. Satisfied that no abduction had taken place, they prepared to leave.

But first, Mata said, they warned him not to approach his neighbor. If he did, he could be charged with harassment.

Abel Mata and his grandson, Milo Walker, 2. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)

They said if I talk to her and she says Im harassing her, Im the one that could get in trouble, he said.

When Mata later called the Torrance police station to ask what had happened when the officers spoke to the neighbor, he was told shed done nothing wrong.

I feel like to them its more illegal for a Mexican man to be carrying a white baby than it is for a white woman to be walking around carrying a weapon, his daughter said. They took more offense to my dad carrying around my white son than they did to a white woman carrying around a sword.

The woman wasnt arrested or cited because she remained on her property and never threatened Mata with the weapon, instead holding it off to her side as she yelled at him from a distance, Torrance Police Sgt. Alexander Martinez said in an interview.

Efforts to reach the woman, who was not identified, were not successful.

Our officers immediately knew that this was a grandfather with a child, he said. Nobody was handcuffed. Nobody was really detained. It was more just trying to get clarification from the family.

Martinez said it wasn't uncommon for officers to be called out for a misunderstanding involving neighbors and that they usually encouraged the parties to work it out among themselves. But he acknowledged that wasn't always possible, especially when tensions run high.

"People are sensitive right now. Whether its someone from a different race who says something or does something, it's always in the back of their mind: Was that their motive?" he said.

"We still have to respond to these calls and make sure nothings happening because if this would have been a good call and we didnt respond, that would have been a disaster."

The block where Mata lives is a mix of bungalows and townhouses with picket fences bordering neat lawns. Residents described a diverse neighborhood with a small-town atmosphere, where neighbors keep an eye on one another's houses and notice strange cars parked on the street.

"This part of Torrance is a giant melting pot," said Linnea Friberg-Price, 26, who has lived on the block since 2002.

She said that residents had been on heightened alert recently after a rumor flew that a man had tried to force a young woman into a sedan.

Torrance police had no record of such a crime but said that on Aug. 19 a man robbed two women at gunpoint in separate attacks, one about a block from Mata's house and the second about half a mile away. The suspect was later arrested, Martinez said.

The Matas said they understand why police responded. What if someone really had been abducting Milo?

Im glad that they came out for the call, but I wish that the woman with the sheathed sword would have been treated the same way that my dad was, Athena Mata said.

The interaction was Abel Mata's first with the neighbor, he said. Investigators said she didn't act with malicious intent, but Athena Mata doubts that.

Theres no way this could have been confused for a kidnapping, absolutely no way, she said. She just didnt agree with a man of color holding a white baby.

Abel Mata and his grandson, Milo Walker, 2, in the frontyard of Mata's home in Torrance. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)

Mata said that although the womans concern might have been genuine, the incident hurt him deeply. But it's a sign of the times, he said.

In my opinion, its because we have a heightened sense of race in our country, which Im very disappointed with.

In many ways, it's nothing new.

Race is very, very deeply embedded in American culture and American history, even down to the way that we constructed government, Masuoka said, pointing to the U.S. Constitution, which counted each slave as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives.

Particularly in this country, the foundation of why we have race was to assign less-than-equal status to people who are not classified as white, she said.

Although diversity is increasingly valued, incidents such as Mata's suggest that America still has a long way to go when it comes to actually embracing diversity, Masuoka said.

I think it goes to show you that even though we might in some ways celebrate being of mixed race, we still rely on what we call the rule of hypodescent, aka the one-drop rule  which is that if you are any partial ancestry that is non-European, you are Black, Latino, Asian, etc., she said.

In many ways, we can see the continued role of hypodescent in the ways in which people define race in this country.

Its not the first time the Mata family has experienced racial profiling. Mata's wife is white, and Athena Mata is fair-skinned. As a child, when Athena was out with her father, people would sometimes pull her to the side and ask if she was OK.

I didnt understand why until I got older, she said. My dad, when we would go visit our family in Mexico, we would be randomly picked to be stopped and searched at the border. This happened a lot growing up.

But this was the first time someone actually called the police because of the way they look, she said.

I was up all night crying because I felt my dad had been wronged and racially profiled, she said. And if the police weren't going to help us, I wanted to take it in my own hands in a safe and healthy way.

Athena Mata created a TikTok post consisting of cellphone video her dad shot of the police encounter interspersed with video clips of him playing with his laughing grandson. The post went viral, with more than 912,000 views as of Thursday, and inspired a segment on local television news.

I want people to know that nobody is one race anymore, and families are all blended, she said. My son is Native American, Mexican, Filipino, Irish. Hes got so much in him. You need to just stop assuming because of the color of people's skin. That was the point I was trying to get across with all of this.

With a population estimated at 30% to 40% Asian or Pacific Islander and about 17% Latino, Torrance has previously served as the backdrop for viral videos on race.

Over the summer, a woman was caught on camera berating two people in separate anti-Asian tirades at Charles H. Wilson Park. The woman, Lena Hernandez, was eventually charged with battery in a separate confrontation that took place at Del Amo Fashion Center mall.

Video clips of two of the encounters posted on Twitter drew outrage from the public and elected officials, with Torrance Mayor Patrick Furey describing the scenes as nauseating to absolutely anybody in our community.

Although a few people have accused Mata's daughter of exploiting the incident, she said most reactions had been sympathetic and some even apologetic.

People feel really bad, she said. Somebody actually walked up to my dad yesterday  another white woman  and said, 'Hi.' He thought the same thing was going to happen. And she said, I just wanted to say Im sorry for what happened. The whole block is upset about this. 

Mata said that conversation, which gave him hope, took place as he was walking with his grandson.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CHARLOTTE, NC / ACCESSWIRE / October 2, 2020 / Might a Self-Directed IRA be an ideal vehicle for a retirement plan during an unforeseen event, like the COVID-19 pandemic? Although investors around the world continue to wait for statistics related to the fallout of this global pandemic, one thing is clear: those investors who have built a solid foundation for their retirement are going to continue enjoying that foundation even after the main threats from COVID-19 pass.

But what is that foundation, and what does it look like? That is the topic of a recent post at American IRA, where the Self-Directed IRA administration firm examined how a Self-Directed IRA might help some investors prepare for unforeseen events, also known as "black swans." For an individual investor, using a Self-Directed IRA with a high-quality real estate property, for example, can be a tremendous way to build potential growth in a portfolio that does not rely on the individual swings of the stock market.

The article also mentioned that with a Self-Directed IRA, investors will already be used to having property managers handle the work, which means that even in the midst of a pandemic, property investors can enjoy a remote way of building a retirement nest egg. Even before "social distancing" became part of the nomenclature, investors with a Self-Directed IRA had gotten used to the peculiar rules of retirement investing with real estate, in which they have to keep the property separate from their personal investments.

The end-result, according to the post, is a method of investing that is highly adaptable to the world during-and potentially after-COVID-19. With investors managing their real estate property (through a property manager), they can continue to focus on the day to day aspects of their lives. As long as the property is a strong investment, it can continue to generate returns even in the midst of a pandemic.

For more information about Self-Directed IRAs, contact American IRA by dialing 866-7500-IRA. Interested parties may also view the post at www.AmericanIRA.com.

About:

American IRA, LLC was established in 2004 by Jim Hitt, CEO in Asheville, NC. The mission of American IRA is to provide the highest level of customer service in the self-directed retirement industry. Jim Hitt and his team have grown the company to over $400 million in assets under administration by educating the public that their Self-Directed IRA account can invest in a variety of assets such as real estate, private lending, limited liability companies, precious metals and much more.

As a Self-Directed IRA administrator, they are a neutral third party. They do not make any recommendations to any person or entity associated with investments of any type (including financial representatives, investment promoters or companies, or employees, agents or representatives associated with these firms). They are not responsible for and are not bound by any statements, representations, warranties or agreements made by any such person or entity and do not provide any recommendation on the quality profitability or reputability of any investment, individual or company. The term "they" refers to American IRA, located in Asheville and Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA.

SOURCE: American IRA, LLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/605807/American-IRA-Discusses-Do-Self-Directed-IRAs-Help-Real-Estate-Investors-During
Trumps rally at the Green Bay airport was one of two his campaign had planned in the state for Saturday, and had confirmed on Thursday even after top White House aide Hope Hicks tested positive for coronavirus. The event had promised to be a dramatic collision between the presidents homestretch push for reelection and his management of the pandemic that has taken more than 200,000 American lives.
The Afghan government and the Taliban will need to find compromises on a plethora of contentious issues to reach a peace settlement -- from civil liberties and womens rights to the country's name and flag.



The most crucial issue facing the warring sides is the makeup of Afghanistans future political system, which is currently an Islamic republic that is modeled on Western-style democracy.



An extremist Islamist group, the Taliban is seeking to transform the Afghan state into a theocracy. The militants see the current system as the product of a U.S. occupation.



The internationally recognized government in Kabul is seeking to preserve as much of the current constitutional order as possible, including key democratic tenets like womens rights, free speech, and competitive elections.



The Taliban has admitted that it cannot revive its Islamic Emirate, the official name of the brutal regime that ruled from 1996-2001. An international pariah that was targeted by U.S. sanctions and air strikes, the regime committed gross human rights abuses and persecuted women and religious minorities.

Fragile and deeply divided, the Afghan government has come to the peace negotiations that started on September 12 in the Gulf state of Qatar in relative weakness.



With roughly half of the country controlled or contested by the Taliban, Kabul lacks the military advantage to drive a hard bargain, especially with U.S. forces withdrawing, experts say.



As a result, they say, the Afghan government will likely have to accept significant constitutional changes and alterations to the current political system to achieve peace.



The Taliban knows that they cannot go back to their old emirate and will need to compromise because of their need for international recognition, says Kamran Bokhari, a director at the Center for Global Policy, a Washington-based think tank. We could see a hybrid between their medieval Sunni ideal and a modern Western-style state.



Bokhari says the likely outcome, if a peace deal is reached and the Taliban abide by it, is a Sunni Afghan version of the Islamic Republic of Iran -- a republican system with a heavy theocratic layer.



A political settlement between the opposing Afghan sides is a key component of a landmark U.S.-Taliban signed in February that is aimed at ending the 19-year war.



Under that deal, foreign forces will leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban, which agreed to negotiate a permanent cease-fire and a power-sharing formula with the Afghan government.



'Truly Islamic'



Rahmatullah Amiri, a Kabul-based political analyst, says recent remarks by U.S. officials and Taliban leaders appeared to show that regime change, via the negotiations, was under way.



Both sides will not use that term because of its sensitivity, says Amiri. But in reality, the Talibans main goal is regime change, and that is what is being discussed.



U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during the opening ceremony of the peace talks in Qatar on September 12, told the Afghan sides that the choice of your political system is yours to make.



He added that the size and scope of future U.S. financial assistance to the country, which relies heavily on international funding, would depend on that choice.



Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Talibans political chief and deputy leader, told the ceremony that Afghanistan should "have an Islamic system in which all tribes and ethnicities of the country find themselves without any discrimination and live their lives in love and brotherhood."



Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai, the head of the Talibans negotiating team, said the group was seeking to establish a "truly Islamic" system.



Abdullah Abdullah, the head of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, a body that oversees the peace talks with the Taliban, made his own reference to the current political system that is supported by millions of men and women from a diversity of cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds in our homeland.



Supreme Role Of Islam



There is common ground in the legal and governance systems of the Afghan government and the Taliban.



Both the Talibans political vision and the Afghan political system rely heavily on the centralization of power and the supreme role of Islam.



Afghanistans 2004 constitution prescribes that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam" and sometimes appears contradictory with more liberal and democratic elements within it.



Power resides in a heavily centralized government.



According to the Talibans views on governance, power should be centralized in an "Amir ul-Momineen," or leader of the faithful. This supreme leader is the head of state and has ultimate authority.



The Taliban, too, regards Sharia as the supreme law.



But the warring parties have staunchly different interpretations of Sharia law and the role of Islam.



The Taliban is a group of clerics, says Amiri. In any outcome, the implementation of their version of Islamic law is paramount for them.



The Iran Model



Experts say many new political systems are built on modifying existing models.



Bokhari says Irans Islamic republic, despite being predominately Shiite, could be used as a template in Afghanistan, a Sunni-majority country.



Under Iran's Islamic system of government, known as "velayat-e faqih," a top cleric serves as supreme leader and has the final authority on all matters of state and religion.



The system is designed to balance two forms of governance: theocracy and democracy. The supreme leader, the paramount expert in religious law, supervises the office of the president, who represents the people's will.



Bokhari says Afghanistans future political system is likely to have a complex web of institutions -- like the system in Iran -- that will be dominated by the Taliban at the expense of its opponents.



The Taliban could allow the presidency to remain in the hands of their opponents as long as it has oversight through a powerful cleric, much like Irans supreme leader, says Bokhari.



The Taliban will face stiff resistance in the legislative branch because they do not have a political party or experience in elections, experts say. But the group could look to establish a clerical body like Irans powerful Guardians Council, which supervises elections and vets legislation passed by parliament for compliance with Islamic laws.

Experts say the Taliban is likely to control the judiciary, which is already a stronghold of like-minded ultraconservative clerics.



The security sector, which is dominated by the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Police, and the National Directorate of Security, the countrys main intelligence agency, is likely to be a major source of dispute.



Bokhari says the Taliban will look to break that monopoly through a Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program as a framework for demobilizing or integrating fighters into the army or police.



Another option, he says, is for the Taliban to maintain a militia that is parallel to the state security forces like Lebanons Iranian-backed Hizballah, a powerful armed militia that plays a prominent role in politics.



Revolutionary Model



Experts say there are also reasons why the Talibans ideal "Islamic system" might not be based on or closely resemble Iran's.



It would be difficult for the Taliban as a movement, even among their own people and sympathizers, to put forward a model that was recognizably similar to the world's most prominent Shia Islamic state, says Andrew Watkins, a senior analyst for Afghanistan at the International Crisis Group (ICG).



The Iranian state is also based on a revolutionary model that seeks to export its 1979 Islamic Revolution, which goes against the Talibans insistence that its aims are solely national.
Revolut has announced that it is moving its Irish users accounts to Revoluts business in Lithuania. The move, which will happen in December, is temporary while the financial technology company awaits the outcome of a licensing process with the Central Bank of Ireland.

Revolut will transfer its Irish users to its e-money licenced business in Lithuania (where it also has a banking licence). This means Irish customers will then be regulated by Lithuania's Central Bank and not the FCA.

The money transfer and exchange company is currently licensed in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It has an electronic money or e-money licence in the UK, not a banking licence, and has until now been using that same e-money licence to operate in Ireland under EU passporting rules.

These passporting rules allow a bank or financial institution which is licensed in one EU country to passport or transfer the licence to another country without having to get full regulatory approval all over again.

However due to Brexit, and the lack of any sign of an agreement between the UK and the EU on many issues including financial services, Revolut's UK e-money licence will no longer be valid in Ireland come the end of the year. Customers will be transferred to the Lithuanian e-money business, not the Lithuanian bank business, which lies in a separate entity.

Also, as an electronic money institution, Revolut is required to segregate and safeguard its customers funds in a separate client money bank account. In the case of Irish customers, the client money bank account used to be with Lloyds in the UK and Revolut, in theory, has no access to this money.

Going forward, the client money bank account or holding account is said to be JP Morgan.

Commenting on the news, Head of Communications and PR at comparison and switching site bonkers.ie, Daragh Cassidy said, With all the focus on Covid over the past few months one huge upcoming event has gone largely under the radar recently; Brexit. This will have a detrimental impact on consumers and business all over Ireland and in the first sign perhaps of the chaos to come, Revolut has announced that it is temporarily moving its Irish customers to its e-money licenced business in Lithuania."

Going forward Revolut is working on getting an e-money licence from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), which is expected to be approved in the coming year or so, though no firm timelines have been agreed.

When this happens Revolut customers in Ireland will be migrated to its Irish business and protected and regulated by the CBI, but it will mean that their IBAN and BIC numbers will change once again.

Source: www.businessworld.ie
This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 1471 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why were doing this fundraiser, what weve accomplished in the last year, and our current goal, more original reporting.

Yves here. I suspect this discussion of corruption will strike a chord with many readers, particularly the shout out to Bill Black.

Perhaps its in the book, but Chayes discussion of interlocking networks at the top is consistent with a classic book on power in the US, Janine Wedels The Shadow Elite. I think Wedel was loath to use the corruption word, in part because shes a sociologist and its verboten in her profession to moralize. But her comparison of the US to Poland when the USSR was crumbling set up connecting those dots.

By Lynn Parramore, Senior Research Analyst at the Institute for New Economic Thinking. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website

Author Sarah Chayes, known for her analysis of corruption, has spent decades studying the ways of corrupt networks in countries around the world. In 2016, she caught a radio program about the Supreme Court overturning a conviction of Virginias former governor Bob McDonnell, found guilty of corruption by lower courts. The sort of thing Chayes had long observed in places like Afghanistan and Nigeria was now showing up in the United States. Her latest book, On Corruption in America And What Is At Stake, is a sobering look at the deep roots of corruption and why we cant afford to let it flourish. In the following conversation, she shares her insights with the Institute for New Economic Thinking.

Lynn Parramore: Tell us what motivated you to write this book after studying corruption in places as far-flung as Nigeria, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Nepal.

Sarah Chayes: When I was writing my 2015 book, Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security, I realized we are on the same spectrum as those other countries. I just did not yet realize exactly how relevant that analysis was to the U.S., and how swiftly the calamities would come.

On Corruption in America begins with the 2016 decision in McDonnell v U.S., in which the corruption conviction of a former Virginia governor was overturned by a unanimous Supreme Court. What stunned me was the divergence between ordinary peoples understanding of corruption  basically, if it quacks like a duck  and the unanimous view of elites across the political divide that corruption is something of minor consequence, beneath notice. The opinion, accepted by all eight justices, including the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg, warned that America was in more danger from the fight against corruption than from corruption itself.

I knew we were in for very serious trouble.

LP: What kind of trouble, exactly?

SC: I had been looking at countries with systemic corruption and no civic means of redress. These kinds of conditions led to violent explosions, ideological insurgencies, a massive movement that erupted across the Arab world, peaceful civic protests that in a couple of cases spiraled into world-shaking civil wars, mass migrations out of those regions, and what have you.

In the places Ive studied, there tended to be not so much a veer toward the extreme, but a jolt. Thats the kind of trouble I saw ahead for the U.S. I think we already experienced it to some extent in 2016, and I suspect its not over.

LP: Your book looks at networks of people who exploit political and economic systems to increase their wealth by working across private and public sectors. Help us understand this in a historical context. What is new or distinct with corruption in America today? What are some of its features?

SC: I looked at the Gilded Age in particular  understood broadly, from about 1870-1935  and heres the shocker: almost nothing is different today. Then, as now, intertwined, even intermarried, networks of billionaire-equivalents seized the main levers of power and bent them to their own objectives.

They wove themselves into incredibly resilient webs, which included business magnates, top government officials (or sometimes people serving in the two capacities at once), and even outright criminals. Often, they traded places in these various sectors, working in business for a while, then government, then back in business, and so on. They bent and distorted public institutions and laws, or eviscerated them. They physically crushed resistance. They brilliantly divided the egalitarian coalition against itself, across class and especially racial lines. They veiled themselves in secrecy. They bought people off.

Then, as now, their chief revenue streams were public procurement, finance, energy, and high-end real estate. Pharma/processed foods and the tech sector might be todays most significant additions.

LP: You note that both political parties are intertwined with corrupt networks. How does this manifest in the current election cycle? Some hope a Biden presidency would be a blow to corruption. Whats your take?

SC: This is one of the most difficult aspects of this book  for me, and doubtless for readers. Americans so crave a good-guy-bad-guy story, now more than ever. Were desperate for some sense of redemption. In the broad blue camp, what people want to hear is unadulterated Trump-loathing, and almost nothing else. But in the Biden-Harris ticket, Im afraid I see a bit of a fantasy: that we can just wake up from this nightmare and its 2015, and none of this ever happened. But this book asks readers to see how 2015 and the prior two decades or so delivered the nightmare. And it highlights the role of many Democrats in creating the conditions. That is, Trump is not the lone villain in these pages, and all other sins are not wiped away before the sole objective of removing him from the office he is unfit to hold.

The next problem here, of course, is false equivalency. I do not mean and am not saying that all sides are equally corrupt. There is a small coalition of uberwealthy Americans that, since the late 1970s, has been systematically working to dismantle the institutions and practices that promote citizens well-being. Few if any of them are Democrats. But, on the blue side of the house, we have witnessed mass infection with what I call the Midas disease (see below) and consequently, an opportunistic validation of the radical moves made by that coalition of the rich.

Biden and many of those around him are among those validators. Among Democrats, weve seen the glorification of the financial industry, the avid participation not just in pay-to-play politics but in the influence-peddling economy that delivered us Joe Bidens son Hunter serving on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. There was the Clinton Foundation before that.

Weve also witnessed the wanton sabotage of regulatory safeguards that protected Americans from the worst abuses of profit-seeking corporations. All this has ratified the program of the largely Republican cabal I just mentioned. That is, what could have been isolated after the Reagan Administration as a radical project that violated every American principle of government to benefit the governed has instead been turned into bipartisan orthodoxy. No wonder half the American electorate doesnt vote.

So, obviously, the naked project to turn the United States into the personal property of the Trump family and its acolytes, with the billionaires clinging to the bandwagon, must be stopped. But a Biden/Harris administration will not in and of itself deliver serious anti-corruption reform. You just have to look at the Wall Street folks clustered around the campaign, the McKinsey and such consultants to see that. Or look at who Harris did and did not choose to prosecute as Californias Attorney General.

Which means, its up to us to hold their feet to the fire. Get them elected  and even more daunting, do whatever it takes to get to January and get them into office  and then stay girded for the long battle ahead, for meaningful reform.

LP: You reference the work of white-collar criminologist Bill Black, a central figure in investigating criminal bankers during the Savings and Loan Crisis. He wrote a book, wonderfully titled, The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One. How about robbing a country by running it? Does President Trump fit that pattern?

SC: I love it, Lynn. And Black makes two further points. One is were not talking lone brigands, here. The S & L executives he was writing about wove networks that included appraisers, contractors, real estate agents, and other bankers. They were corrupt  and corrupting. The second key point is that the S&L banks did not survive. The business model was bankruptcy for profit. The execs walked away hands in their pockets jangling the lucre, but the banks collapsed. Now apply that principle to Trump and our nation.

LP: The nation collapses, and members of the Trump network walk away enriched.

SC: Thats how it worked then

LP: I did not expect to open a book about corruption in todays America and be plunged into a discussion of King Midas of Phrygia  he of the golden touch. Or read a probing analysis of Jesuss cleansing of the temple. Why do you weave these stories through this book?

SC: Myth, these days, is a word of contempt  meaning something patently untrue. But real myths are profoundly true. They are how our species has been examining itself and its way in the world for tens of thousands of years. When I witnessed the doings of our outsize public figures  caricatures, really  I found myself thinking: We have turned our back on our cultural wisdom, and so we are condemned to live our myths.

Theres a lot of wisdom in mythology. A grateful god offered Midas a single gift. Gold! he cried. It took about seven seconds till the kings delight transformed to despair. He reaches for an apple to crunch on; its gold. He pours out some wine and cant drink it. Hawthorn wrote a version of the tale, giving Midas a daughter, the light of his eyes, who at his kiss is transfigured into a statue. This is a story about the Midas disease  the compulsion to reduce irreplaceable values down to lifeless metal. Or, these days, to zeroes: in bank accounts. Today, the Midas disease is pandemic.

While researching the origins of this myth, I was dumbfounded to discover that Midas was real and ruled in Phrygia  approximately where and when money originated. The Midas myth is about money. This innovation was an entirely new way of storing value, which may have plenty of upsides, but when societies turn it into a yardstick for measuring social worth, theres no getting enough. So, everything of value is game for being reduced into zeroes. If you put people sick with the Midas disease in charge of your society, devastation will ensue.

Jesus spills money all over the temple floor, throws the furniture around, a whip in his hand. Quite a dramatic action for the Prince of Peace! Did you know the temple of Jerusalem in his day was the most magnificent building complex east of Rome? I didnt. The walls were gold-plated like President Trumps bathrooms! The high court sat there, the main bank and money exchange. You could say Jesus took on a combination of Washington DC, Wall St., the Vatican, and the military base in Qatar.

At the top of this edifice was a tight-knit coalition of the wealthy and powerful  in todays parlance, the billionaires. And it was at that moment, according to all four gospels, that this cabal started looking for a way to kill him. That is, the billionaires murdered Jesus. Not the Jews  who were, in fact, his own community. Interestingly, it couldnt be done just then, because he was surrounded by a cross-cutting coalition of that community. You might call it the broad-based egalitarian coalition.

There is a lot to learn here: Billionaires in charge of a communitys most sacred values, and the public trust, will ruin their society. The only chance of curbing them is to join together in a broad-based coalition, crisscrossing all identity divides  what Jesus was getting at with love thy neighbor  and to relentlessly keep the focus trained on the corruption of that ruling clique. We cant get distracted by manipulative efforts to divide us.

LP: What function do journalism and foundations that purport to be watchdogs play in curbing corruption? Or are they enabling it?

SC: A corrupt system requires a lot of support and assistance from people who may not be full-blown members of the networks. Theres one group you might call active facilitators. They sell their services for a fee: certain bankers and money-managers, real estate agents, registered agents who set up shell companies, certain lawyers, and whatnot.

Theres another, more nebulous, group you might call enablers: foundations and think tanks, many universities, most media outlets to one degree or another (excepting, of course, the media outlets that are owned and controlled by the network. Thats something else.) These institutions, starved of public funds, take kleptocratic networks money, largely in the form of advertising and, especially, philanthropic donations that are tax advantaged.

While they may stand by all their precepts of academic and editorial independence, they do huge services to the networks in return for the money. First, they validate them, provide a veneer of respectability. The names of network-affiliated individuals and institutions get lots of play as benefactors of what is presented as reasoned research or reporting in the public interest. Second, the media and research organizations offer access to their personnel, for recruitment. And third, they self-censor. While ostensibly working on topics that might be uncomfortable to the corrupt  telling truth to power  they do so in ways that dont ultimately challenge the system at all. Its more like box-checking. A doze of an anti-corruption and compliance course is offered. Policy-papers presenting tool-boxes for achievable fixes are churned out. Investigative reporters are subjected to crushing burdens of proof, or are encouraged to focus only on one side of the divide (political, gender, racial, what have you), making it impossible for a cross-cutting coalition ever to come together. Whereas, thats the only thing that can bring the system down.

LP: Youve mentioned cultural or identity group divides a couple of times. How do those divides mask cooperation at the top over corruption? How can we understand the current wave of protests in the U.S. in this context?

SC: In 2017, I conducted a study of half a dozen major anti-corruption uprisings on as many continents. I looked at how the various kleptocratic networks fought back against the sudden challenge. The single most effective countermove was to play on the identity-group tensions dividing the population. That is, to shatter the broad-based egalitarian coalition, the only force capable of outmatching the networks. Note: those networks, including here in the U.S., tend to span the very divides they manipulate so artfully.

Im afraid I see this tactic working all too well here. And again, though his behavior is egregious, its not just Trump. The various shades of blue are constantly falling for his bait, and have now made extreme virtue-signaling on cultural issues a kind of litmus. Thats especially race and gender, but also, for example, unquestioned adulation of medical expertise  though it was those same white-coated doctors, along with the pharmaceutical giants, who helped give us the opioid epidemic. Elites on both sides are actively dividing us up along identity lines.

In this context, I find the current protest movement  as important as the issues its raising are  a bit disappointing. The subjugation of non-whites in this country is part and parcel of the kleptocratic design on its political and economic systems. Again, dont get me wrong: if you expand beyond slavery to include the attempted genocide of Native Americans, it is the unspeakable crime at the root of our democracy. However, though certainly critical to enforcing it over the decades, the police are not the architects of this crime. Theyre just the pointy end of the spear. So, I find the emphasis on policing a bit misplaced. In other countries, in fact, I have seen kleptocratic networks under serious challenge willing to sacrifice the police. Witness highly touted police reform programs in Georgia and Honduras. A supporting data point for my thinking more broadly is the swiftness with which business elites have joined blue-leaning political elites in espousing the Black Lives Matter cause. The alacrity is suspect  it suggests were being distracted.

LP: Extreme conspiracy theories, such as those associated with QAnon, focus on the idea of a secret cabal of elites wreaking havoc on the world. How does what you describe differ from this kind of perspective, even though you aretalking about havoc-wreaking elite networks?

SC: Looking at something like the Koch network  the galaxy of interlocking organizations that have been spawned and supported and cultivated by the Koch brothers  the structure, organization, and practices have more conspiratorial features than even I would wish to have found. The Kochs deployed elaborate secrecy measures, including strict internal rules, constantly shifting corporate names to mask the operations and goals of a deliberate campaign that was therefore able to fly under the radar for nearly twenty years.

What Im not talking about, though, is some unitary, all-seeing and all-powerful global entity out of the Marvel Comics, responding in lock-step to the dictates of some mastermind. What we are confronted with is sets of overlapping, interwoven, but dynamic and shifting networks that ally, while often simultaneously being rivals. A good analogy might be mafia families, which are structured and organized, which do have specific practices, and which often, when operating in the same territory, make deals: you get the waterfront and I have the casino neighborhood over by the hillside. But theyre still shooting each other and theres still a lot of internal dynamics and turbulence. Thats more or less what were looking at, bearing in mind that, like the Mafia, these networks may be anchored in a given place, but are transnational. The features, the structure and dynamics, the favored revenue streams, may differ from country to country, and may evolve over time.

LP: How do you see such networks seizing opportunities to increase wealth in the Covid crisis?

SC: Let me count the ways! Start with straight-up fingers in the cookie jar stuff, like self-dealing contracts or loans under the Paycheck Protection Program that went to entities that were directly linked to people making the decisions  for example Foremost, the Chinese shipping company that belongs to the father of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, whose husband is Senator Mitch McConnell. That whole network gets us from aluminum in Kentucky to Russian oligarchs to Chinese state-run banks and shipping companies and shipping manufacturers. Its the sort of political-economic version of the Jeffrey Epstein network, it is so intertwined and frightening in terms of how directly it leads to the kleptocratic networks of China and Russia. Foremost getting a PPP loan  you know, thats just the poster child for corruption. Or there are the Warp Speed contracts, stripped of normal oversight mechanisms, that are going to some of the same pharmaceutical behemoths who gave us the opioid crisis  and which have long been well-wired in with leaders on both sides of the aisle in Washington.

Also, obviously, theres a lot of jerking around with medical realities in ways that affect the networks economically and financially. But I think more overlooked is the half a trillion in Treasury money to undergird the printing of trillions, or, more accurately, the creating of trillions worth of zeros in its ledgers  you dont even have to print money any more. So, with half a trillion in taxpayer money, you get another multi-trillion dollars in public money that is funneled directly into the stock market, in particular, corporate bonds, which are traded by private equity companies which are overrepresented in this administration and represent a giant shadow economy with basically no oversight.

So, one wonders why, until the last couple of weeks, the stock market has been booming in spite of economic devastation that were living through. Thats why! If youd pump trillions of dollars into state and local governments, youd have a decent Covid response. But thats not where the money is going.

LP: You note how the calamities leading up to WWII, from financial crises to wars to pandemics, finally resulted in what you call a disaster-survivor ethos, a more public-minded set of values that challenged the more materialistic, me-first, corruption-tolerant ethos that had held sway. Following the Greed is Good era of the 80s and 90s, the 21stcentury has brought on some pretty intense calamities  financial collapses, political instability, climate change, and now, a terrible pandemic. Do you see the generations following Gen X as possibly moving towards a new ethos, a new sense of connection and solidarity?

SC: Sadly, I dont see it. Ironically, I think that this pandemic has been the kind of disaster least fitted to generating that disaster solidarity, because it forces us physically apart from each other. Disaster solidarity emerges when youre suddenly thrown together, eating around the same table, in the same little skiff saving people off their roof, huddled in a fallout shelter. That kind of physical proximity hasnt been generated in this pandemic.

Heres what causes me the most fear: I look at the level of calamity that it took in the 20th century to create a new ethos: two world wars, entailing two genocides, mass starvation in Europe, and the nuclear bomb, plus a pandemic that put this one to shame, plus a global economic meltdown. and I think, what is the 21st century version of that much calamity? I hardly want to think about it. So the question for anyone alive today  the urgent question is: Can we generate the moral equivalent of this kind of a disaster survivor mentality and apply it to warding the calamities off? To making the changes that need to be made?

LP: And what kind of changes do we need to take back our political and economic systems? How do we do it?

SC: I turned the epilogue of the book into a bit of a kitchen sink for this. As much as I believe in the kind of planning and strategizing that a network like the Kochs were able to do, I also believe in Johnny Appleseed. Im sure this fight needs every single one of us contributing all of our diverse and sometimes off-beat gifts. But Im not sure what exact combination of all of those efforts will produce the results we need. And Im not sure thats knowable. So I went comprehensive. There is as close to something for everyone in that epilogue as I could manage.

But here are a couple of principles, not spelled out there. I would say that we need to shed the reflex of according blind respect for some of the august institutions that claim a sort of blanket respectability. And especially we should keep an eye on vocabulary. We must not be intimidated by complex verbiage, which is just a tool used by the network to disempower ordinary people. We have to look behind the facade, take the trouble to Google the board of directors, for example, boil all those fancy words down to the underlying concepts, which usually prove to be dazzlingly simple.

Also, while we to need treat other ordinary people from different backgrounds  political, social, economic, etc. with courtesy and respect  at the same time we do not have to be afraid to raise a ruckus. We dont have to get caught up in always being polite, especially when confronting individuals or institutions that are trying to overawe us.

I also think it is critical to make a distinction between the professional classes  scientists, academics, civil servants  and the kleptocratic networks Im talking about. The professional classes are by no means blameless. They have treated ordinary people with contempt. They have supported and been used by the corrupt. But they are not the architects of this system. And too much energy blaming them can distract us from those real players.

Keep your eye riveted on the very top.
The Uttar Pradesh Police has been slammed for allegedly 'forcing' the cremation of the Dalit girl's body in the dead of night and the subsequent manhandling of Opposition leaders trying to go to the gangrape victim's house

Amid outrage over the gangrape and murder of a 19 year-old Dalit girl in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh, the state government on Friday suspended the district's Superintended of Police Vikrant Vir and four police personnel linked to the case, reports said.

The girl died on Tuesday in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital, a fortnight after she was brutally gang-raped by four upper caste men, reports said.

The Hathras police has faced criticism for allegedly "forcing" the cremation of the girl's body in the dead of night and for the subsequent manhandling of Opposition leaders trying to go to the victim's house to express solidarity.

According to Indian Express, the four other police personnel who were suspended are: CO Ram Shabd, Inspector Dinesh Meena, SI Jagveer Singh and a head constable who were probing the alleged gangrape and death.

According to ANI, the government also announced narco test for the suspended policemen as well as the victim's family, after reports quoted the rape victim's family as saying that they were being intimidated and harassed by the district administration.

Though some reports said that Hathras district magistrate Praveen Kumar Laxkar too has been suspended, there has been no official confirmation yet.

A video where Laxkar is purportedly trying to 'intimidate' the victim's family has gone viral.

On Friday, a young boy, claiming to be a member of the rape victim's family told reporters that the Hathras DM had kicked one of the relatives on the chest.

In a video, the young member of the victim's family can also be heard accusing the Hathras police of holding other members of the family prisoners in their own home and snatching away their phones.

The police "locked the family members in their homes" so they couldn't speak to the media or Opposition leaders, reports quoted the boy as saying. Firstpost has not verified the authenticity of the video.

'Media will leave in few days, we will not': Hathras DM tells victim's kin

In one of the videos, the Hathras District Magistrate allegedly asked the womans father to reconsider if he wants to stick with the statement or change it.

Aap apni vishwasniyata khatam mat kariye. Media wale main aapko bata doon aaj abhi aadhe chale gaye, kal subah tak aadhe aur nikal jaenge aur 2-4 din bachenge ... Hum hi bas khade hain aapke saath mein, thik hai. Ab aapki ichha hai, aapko baar-baar bayaan badalna hai, nahi badalna hai..."

                ?              ,                  pic.twitter.com/RDV2jrQfRn  Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) October 1, 2020



(You should not destroy your credibility. About the media, I must tell you, half of them have left today the other half would leave by tomorrow morning... two or four more days maybe. Only we are standing by your side, alright. Now, it is up to you whether you want to change your statement repeatedly or not...), DM Laxkar tells the victim's father according to the video on social media.

A woman member of the family claimed they were being pressured by the district magistrate and feared "these people now won't let us live here", according to another purported video.

"Un logon ne mummy ke ulte seedhe video bana rakhe hain, us time haalat aise the ke jiske jo mu mein aa raha tha wo hum log bole ja rahe the... ab ye log humein yahan rehne nahi denge. Ye DM zyada hi chaalbaazi kar rahe hain, pressure daal rahe zabardasti... keh rah eke tum logon ki baton ka bharosa nahi hai, zabardasti bayaan badal rahe. Papa ko bulwa rahe keh rahe bayaan badalne se tumhari wo rahegi, hum log doosri jagah chale jaenge."

(They have made random videos of mother's statements. Soon after the incident, the situation was such that we were speaking anything that came to our minds... But now they (administration) won't let us live here anymore. This DM is a trickster, he is pressuring us. Says we are not reliable, we are changing our statement. They asked our father and told him that we lose credibility if we change the statement, we (administrators) will be sent to some other place,) the sobbing woman alleged.

Media slams UP Police

Several questions have been raised on the Uttar Pradesh Police's conduct starting from the immediate aftermath of the crime till today when members of an AITMC delegation were manhandled by the cops on duty.

Immediately after the crime, the victim's mother and brother say that they drove the half conscious girl to the Chandpa police station for further help. "Nobody listened to us there," her brother told Newslaundry. "The police kept saying, Just take her from here. Shes being dramatic and lying here. Do you want to trap us?'" the report quoted the victim's brother as saying.

She was first admitted to Aligarh Muslim University's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital and then shifted to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on Monday after her condition deteriorated. She succumbed to her injuries in Delhi on Tuesday.

The Newslaundry report further adds that though the victim regained consciousness in Aligarh and spoke with her family, the Hathras police chief Vikrant Vir said her statement was recorded only on 19 September, four days after the crime. The report also claimed that the victim was lying on a stone platform outside the station for hours, groaning in pain, before she was admitted to a hospital.

The police's role again came into question after the victim's brother alleged that the police forcibly took the body and his father for cremation as soon as they reached Hathras.

The family said that they begged the police not to cremate her in the dead of the night because it is against Hindu rituals, but the police allegedly burned the body in a lonely field without most of her family present.

The police, however, contradicted the family's claim and told PTI that the cremation was carried out "as per the wishes of the family".

The police was also condemned for misbehaving with Opposition leaders including Congress' Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi and TMC leaders Derek O'Brien, Pratima Mondal and Mamata Thakur.

With inputs from agencies
Friday, October 2, 2020 at 1:39PM

A Toronto man found the largest pain point for people looking to get a COVID-19 test: the wait. And hoping to ease the Greater Toronto Area residents' pain, Ben Harris built a website called covidwaits.com, which crowdsources information about COVID-19 testing centres.

The Toronto startup consultant found himself waiting for hours to get tested, and there wasn't an online resource that let him know where it was best to go without wasting so much time.

"My takeaway was, I wish someone would have told me that the Etobicoke drive-thru was five hours before I left my house," Harris told CTV News Toronto. "And the second thing was I wish there was a way that I could check the wait times before I went so that I could make the most informed decision about where to go."

The website relies on the kindness of those at the hospitals and healthcare centres, so others will find out how long they have to wait before getting a test. Harris said the more people upload wait times; the more accurate the site's data will be.

"In line, once you're already there suffering through the wait time, hopefully, you can post something to help out a fellow Torontonian so that they don't have to go through the same experience that you're going through," Harris explained.

Users don't have to worry about their privacy. Harris says he doesn't track the users.

"I don't want to know anything about anybody. All I want to know is what testing centre you're referring to and what the wait time is. Other than that, nothing. There's no login, there's no user tracking, nothing."

He's not looking to monetize the site, either. Harris just wants to help those who are looking to get tested in the GTA.
Svetlana Milgevskaya, owner of SAT

No one doubts that the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is imminent. And, although today we know very little about a dangerous virus to make accurate predictions, scientists and doctors assure: now we will have to live in a new reality. And this will last until an effective and safe vaccine is found (and this is at least 2-3 years).

There are several reasons why they talk about the second wave.

One of them is an analogy with the deadly Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1920, which, after almost complete weakening after the first wave, took the lives of about 30-40 million people with the second wave.

Another reason is the increase of the number of new infections after a noticeable decline in late spring. And this is quite understandable: the pressure of already visible negative consequences for the world economy forced the governments of many countries of the world to loosen anti-quarantine measures.

The cost of containing the pandemic turned out to be unbearable even for such developed countries as Germany and the United States - these countries were among the first to announce the second wave of coronavirus incidence.

The famous American economist, business philosopher and author of the bestselling "Black Swan" Nasim Taleb published the book "Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder" back in 2012. He offered an understandable and effective way to remain successful in times of uncertainty, kinks and shocks - to become "antifragile". That is, to acquire a valuable ability to temper as a result of negative and unpredictable events, to use stressful situations to gain experience as a unique advantage in the market.

The relevance of the concept of "antifragility" is more than obvious in the context of the "new reality of COVID-19". This was clearly demonstrated by small local businesses that not only managed to survive in the new conditions, but also grabbed new clients from their bankrupt "fragile" competitors.

Don't crash

Can we talk about "antifragility" in the context of analyzing the activities of Ukrainian players in the logistics market? Sure.

As of September 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced a division into 4 quarantine zones, and the situation with restrictions may change within 3 days - depending on the transition of a particular region to another zone. What does this actually mean for logistics service providers?

If we assess the losses of the industry as a whole, then as a result of the coronavirus crisis, air carriers (in particular, civil aviation), as well as operators of passenger transportation, have suffered more: a complete stop of public transport, intercity communications, air travel affected these market players.

However, it cannot be said that companies that deliver goods (we are talking mainly about B2B delivery) did not feel the consequences of quarantine measures: they lost many customers - after all, with the stop of non-competitive enterprises, the demand for delivery services also fell. According to the State Statistics Service, if compared with the previous year, cargo turnover in January-August fell by 17.1%, while motor transport suffered the most - minus 23.5%.

But there were also positive aspects: for example, the global drop in oil prices, as well as the stable operation of border checkpoints for international freight traffic.

It is already obvious that in the market for the provision of cargo delivery services, those players who develop and introduce a super-flexible working scheme in the event of internal restrictions on transportation will win.

After all, the situation with quarantine zoning can change rapidly. Accordingly, this will also affect the change in the directions of delivery of goods. Therefore, it is important that logistics companies do not stop expanding their infrastructure, despite the fact that the losses caused by the spring lockdown are quite tangible.

Delayed cargo - an inevitable problem in the context of the coronavirus crisis - is a big problem, but its negative impact can be reduced through infrastructure solutions and fast, high-quality communication with customers.

Digitalization of the service plays an important role in the latter - this will be an advantage both for the "company-client" chain and for optimizing internal losses.

This is the antifragility that Taleb speaks of: a force majeure situation forces business to seek solutions, and, consequently, to develop in those directions that do not show visible prospects in conditions of stability and predictability.

What is the forecast for the logistics industry?

The second wave of the pandemic will hit, first of all, "fragile" companies that do not have financial instruments to compensate for losses and sufficiently developed infrastructure facilities.

I would like to believe that after a new wave of the impending crisis, local Ukrainian logistics companies will not give up their market share to "clumsy" but financially stable transnational giants.
In 2018, a sign outside the Renwick Gallery alerted visitors to the government shutdown. (FCW photo)

Five weeks separate the November elections and the expiration date on the current stopgap funding measure keeping the federal government operational  and a path to avoiding a shutdown is not entirely clear.

Congress and the White House punted funding decisions to Dec. 11 with a stopgap spending bill passed by overwhelming margins by the House and the Senate and signed into law in the early hours of Oct. 1. While there was a push by some in Congress to have a continuing resolution expire next February, after the presidential inauguration, ultimately lawmakers settled on a post-election deadline.

"I think we're in a perilous time for a lot of reasons," Stan Soloway, a former senior Defense Department official and a past CEO of the Professional Services Council, told FCW. "In the case of the budget, there's only one scenario that I can see where we're not going to have a budget problem in December  and that's if we have status quo. If we walk into Dec. 11 with a lame duck Senate and a lame duck president, all bets are off."

The last comparable situation was in late 2018 when there was continuing resolution with a December expiration date combined with a lame duck Republican House of Representatives. That resulted in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The public laid the blame for the shutdown on the White House at the time. According to a CNN poll conducted in the midst of the shutdown, 55% said they agreed that Trump was most responsible for the shutdown, with Democrats blamed by 32% and both sides blamed by 9%.

But approval ratings won't mean as much if the shutdown scenario plays out against the backdrop of a Trump defeat.

"President Trump's reckless 35-day shutdown in 2018 inflicted unnecessary harm on federal employees, contractors, and local communities across the country," Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said in an emailed statement to FCW. "It would be callous to even threaten repeating that in the middle of a pandemic with millions of American already hurting. For once the President should try and show some empathy and not hold hostage the federal government."

Mike Hettinger, a former senior congressional staffer who lobbies on behalf of technology firms and government contractors, said he's worried about the continuing resolution expiring in the post-election environment.

"Five weeks after the election puts us right in the middle of what everyone expects to be a hot environment politically," Hettinger told FCW. One danger zone would be a defeated Trump "who wants to try to stay in power using a government shutdown as perceived leverage to get something out of Congress and the courts."

Hettinger notes that ongoing COVID-19 pandemic  which could be in the midst of a winter spike when the funding bill expires  might make a shutdown less likely because "it would be so egregious to shut down government, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services, in the midst of a pandemic that may be growing."

One thing that is unlikely to happen is Congress passing a slate of appropriations bills. The House has most of its bills in order, minus funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the legislative branch. The Senate reportedly has bills written, but they have not been publicly released or marked up in committee, let alone passed by the full chamber.

New shutdown plans

HHS is preparing for a possible lapse in appropriations. The agency is one of a very few to have updated their contingency staffing plan for a fiscal year 2021 shutdown. The agency, which includes CDC among its many components, hopes to maintain COVID-19 response at current levels even amid a shutdown.

"HHS will use the full extent of the authority under the Antideficiency Act (ADA) to maintain existing HHS activities, including COVID-19 response, research and vaccine and therapeutic development," the document states. "HHS will continue any COVID-19 activities supported by multiyear funding provided in the emergency supplemental appropriations bills."

In the event of a shutdown, CDC will have to do its share of that work with 62% of its employees furloughed  that's 8,295 furloughs out of 13,299 staffers, according to the agency's plan. That calculus could be altered if there is another round of pandemic stimulus and relief that includes funding for CDC and other pandemic response agencies.

The Department of Homeland Security also filed an updated contingency plan with the Office of Management and Budget. DHS, however, fares rather better than HHS when it comes to retaining employees. Just 14% of agency employees would be furloughed under a lapse in appropriations, with 217,601 out of 251,867 employees tagged exempt or excepted because of their work in law enforcement or other functions deemed essential.

While DHS would be close to full strength, its cybersecurity policy and response agency would be gutted by a shutdown. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would have 344 employees on the job out of more than 2,200.

Contractor guidance

David Berteau, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, has three basic pieces of advice for contractors facing funding uncertainty: conduct an internal assessment of existing contracts and determine your exposure; initiate conversations with government customers to find out who will be on duty to manage contracts in the event of a lapse in appropriations; and make sure invoices are current and submitted.

Additionally, Berteau advised contractors to close as many deals as possible.

"Maximize what you can get under contract before the CR ends," he said. "if funds are obligated from prior appropriations, the contract continues under the shutdown unless the government stops it."

Ongoing competitions, bid protests and lawsuits will also face delays, said Paul F. Khoury, a partner at the Wiley law firm who specializes in government procurement.

"Understand in these circumstances that things in your business pipeline are going to get delayed if there's a shutdown," Khoury said. He noted that in past funding lapses the Government Accountability Office has taken the position that for every day of shutdown there will be one day of delay on protests. The Court of Federal Claims where bid protest lawsuits are held may provide different guidance.

One thing that remains the same in the event of a FY2021 shutdown: it's unlikely that contractors will be paid for work that is put on hold. On the other hand, federal employees can take comfort that in the event of a shutdown, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 will be in effect. The law guarantees back pay to furloughed employees as well as employees required to work under exceptions, with payment to be made at "the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates."
GREEN Party activists have been told not to use 'big words' when trying to appeal to rural voters as they may not understand what they mean.

Senator Roisin Garvey said party members need to "choose their words" adding that she learned this from working with Travellers.

Ms Garvey made the remarks at the party's National Convention during a debate on the "anti-Green narrative" in rural areas that sees the party struggle to win votes outside the big cities.

The Clare-based Senator said of rural voters: "we don't have to give them statistics on carbon this and climate that and use big vocabulary...

"We really have to choose our words I suppose I learned this from working with Travellers for a few years.

"If you start engaging with people and you're using - even the word sustainable or biodiversity - this is vocabulary that's new stuff and we shouldn't assume that people understand what they are.

"Let's talk about the flowers, talk about the cattle. Talk about the robin, the sparrow

"I think colloquialism is important and I think simple vocabulary includes everybody.

"It's not your job to show off that you know cool terms when youre canvassing. It's to show that you can relate to everybody," she said.

Ms Garvey also advised party members to: "Wear the Clare jersey, go to the hurling matches, get to know your local priest."

Earlier former Sligo-Leitrim election candidate Blaithin Gallagher spoke of the difficulty of winning Green votes in rural areas.

She said she came up against "huge opposition" during her campaign and was heckled from the floor of hustings.

"The negativity the party attracted amongst primarily rural population was incredible with false stories and myths being perpetuated," she said.

Ms Gallagher said she could understand the perception that the Greens are an urban centred party.

She said just four of it's 12 TDs are from outside Dublin and they represent urban areas.

Ms Gallagher said the Green Party has "so much work to do" to win seats in rural areas.

She said: "We need to reclaim the narrative and show how voting Green is good for all of us across the island."

Ms Garvey said there is "a big enthusiasm" in rural areas "for doing the right thing and doing the good things for us and the planet."

She said that during the election just two people out of the 1,000 houses she canvassed "gave me grief".

Meanwhile, Ms Garvey said people are "freaking out" about Carbon Tax but farmers need to be told it's "not this big evil tax thats going to crush you forever."

Carbon Tax is set to increased again in the Budget with the proceeds to be set aside to protect people at risk of fuel poverty and for projects like retrofitting homes for energy efficiency.

Ms Garvey said she's optimistic about living in rural Ireland when she considers the measures to be funded by the ring-fenced receipts from "this carbon tax that everybody's freaking out over."

She listed paying farmers for biodiversity, native woodland and carbon sequestering and looking at increasing fuel allowance to help vulnerable people to heat their homes.

She blamed the media for the myth that the Green Party doesn't care about rural Ireland.

Ms Garvey said farmers care about climate change and "Were all on the same side here" and an important message for the Green Party is to outline what the proceeds will be used for in rural Ireland.

She said: "A lot of good is going to come out of that".

Ms Garvey added: "Its not this big evil tax thats going to crush you forever more... Were looking at retrofitting houses and reducing the cost of heating your home.

"So if you have to spend two and a half cent a litre more when youre driving your car  its not the end of the world."
Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have been publicly silent on the news of President Donald Trump's COVID diagnosis.

A number of lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have offered messages of support to the president and Melania Trump after they tested positive for the disease.

Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, tweeted his best wishes to the couple.

'Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands,' Biden wrote.

And Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she is praying for the Trumps.

'We all received that news with great sadness. I always pray for the Presidents family that they're safe. I continue to do so more intensified, and I know that hell have the best of care, and thats what we want for everyone in our country,' she said Friday morning on MSNBC.

But Trump's predecessors have been noticeably silent on social media about the current occupants of the White House. As have Hillary Clinton, Trump's 2016 rival, and former first lady Michelle Obama.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have been publicly silent on the news of President Donald Trump's COVID diagnosis

Many lawmakers have offered their best wishes to President Trump and the first lady

President Trump tweeted the news of diagnosis shortly before 1 am on Friday, saying he and the first lady.

Trump adviser Hope Hicks tested positive on Wednesday but she traveled on Air Force One with the president to Cleveland for the debate and sees him on a daily basis. It's uncertain when she would have been infected.

Hicks, 31, is said to have first felt unwell returning from a rally in Minnesota on the president's plane Wednesday evening.

She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, pictured on Tuesday, are both experiencing 'mild symptoms' after being diagnosed with COVID-19. They are quarantining in the White House

Hope Hicks hours before her diagnosis: Hope Hicks, far right, is pictured boarding Marine One on Wednesday. The President was also onboard alongside Stephen Miller, second from right, Jared Kushner, center. Her coronavirus diagnosis was announced the next day. They were on their way to Minnesota when this photograph was taken. She started feeling unwell on the way back

The president and first lady are quarantining in the White House residence.

Melania tweeted on Friday that she had mild symptoms but was feeling 'good'.

Trump has not tweeted since 1 am on Friday when he revealed the diagnosis, and was last seen in person on Thursday evening, returning from the fundraiser. He was due to take part in a conference call with governors at 12.15 pm but was replaced by Vice President Mike Pence, who has tested negative.

Trump's positive test for the coronavirus set off cascading effects through the chain of government  and raises a raft of constitutional issues should he endure a difficult illness or lose his battle with the disease.

The Constitution and laws enacted by Congress provide for a line of succession, as well as provisions for how to proceed if the president becomes incapacitated. A web of party and state election laws make provisions for how to proceed if a candidate must be replaced on the ballot.

The Election Day itself is fixed by law, and can be moved only by an act of Congress.

But there are ambiguities in all areas  from national party rules to state election law and even the line of succession  providing multiple avenues for chaos just 32 days before the Nov. 3 election.
Donald Trump had done everything possible to shift the focus of the presidential campaign away from his handling of the coronavirus.

His own infection now ensures that he cant  pulling Trump off the road 32 days before the election, throwing debates into question and fixing the public attentions more squarely than ever on a pandemic dragging down his prospects for a second term.

A president who once seemed impervious to October surprises is suddenly confronting one big enough to alter the outcome of the election.

The campaign as we knew it is over, said Andrew Feldman, a Democratic strategist in Washington. This is the worst nightmare for the Trump campaign.

Practically speaking, Trumps announcement early Friday that he tested positive for the coronavirus will immediately remove him from in-person campaigning, though for how long is unclear. Sean Conley, Trump's physician, said in a memo that Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive, plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence, and the White House removed a planned campaign rally on Friday night in Florida from Trumps daily schedule.

Trumps inability to hold rallies, even for a brief period, will hobble a campaign that has defined itself by its large, in-person gatherings, even during the pandemic. The second presidential debate, now scheduled for Oct. 15, is in doubt. And Trumps positive test will heighten scrutiny of the vice presidential debate scheduled for next week.

Officials with the Commission on Presidential Debates declined to comment on what the presidents diagnosis means for the schedule and format of upcoming forums. The second of three scheduled presidential debates is slated for Oct. 15 in Miami.

The more significant problem for Trump is that, now Covid-positive, it will prove almost impossible for him to steer public attention away from his biggest political liability. Americans disapprove of Trumps handling of the coronavirus pandemic by a wide margin. And cable news is going wall-to-wall with coverage of that  not U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, mail-in balloting or Trumps latest outrage.

Story continues

It is a perilous way to finish the campaign for a candidate already trailing in the polls. In the most conspicuous way imaginable, the positive test publicly undermines so much of Trumps rhetoric about the virus  from his faith in hydroxychloroquine to his cavalier pronouncements about a vaccine and his dismissal of Covid-19 as a disease that affects virtually nobody.

It was just this week, during the first presidential debate, that Trump mocked Biden for his mask-wearing, saying, Every time you see him, hes got a mask.

Trumps announcement of his positive test undercuts constant GOP criticism of Bidens decision to limit his own public appearances and choice to cloister for stretches at his home in Delaware. It also diminishes the effectiveness of Republican charges that Bidens cautious approach to travel is primarily designed to shield the 77-year-old Democratic nominee from public scrutiny.

Trumps illness, one Republican campaign consultant who worked in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush White Houses predicted, will be viewed as validating Biden hiding out in [a] bunker for preventative reasons, and not, as Republicans had maintained, the onset of dementia.

Rob Stutzman, a Republican political strategist who has been critical of Trump, described it as a devastating blow to the Trump campaign, the ultimate rebuke to his callous mishandling of Covid.

The full extent of the political fallout is unclear. If Trump becomes seriously ill, it stands to underscore Democratic arguments about his coronavirus leadership and mar the strong-man image he assiduously cultivates. If the physical consequences are less severe, he might find an opportunity to downplay the seriousness of the disease. An illness could also serve to humanize one of the coarsest presidents in history.

In either scenario, the positive test will put enormous pressure on a White House known for its secrecy, chaotic internal operations and loose relationship with the truth to avoid any misstep or public confusion that could affect the campaign.

There was uncertainty Friday within the presidents political orbit about what this means for his re-election prospects. Some White House aides were eager for the president to go on TV and address the nation.

"Folks are kind of like, What now? What does this mean for what we're trying to do here with 32 days left?" said a senior Trump campaign official. "I don't want to say this hit us by surprise because we knew the risks. [Trump] wanted to campaign and be out there with the people, so we tailored the campaign to the president's wishes. This definitely changes our plans, though."

Four years ago this month, Trump weathered both the release of the Access Hollywood tape and the Obama administrations assertion that Russia was meddling in the election. The implications of those events were widely overestimated.

Something upends the campaign every day and it is not yet possible to see how this plays out, said Mathew Littman, a Democratic strategist and former Biden speechwriter. I hope Trump gets healthy and then loses by a lot. Trump was already in deep trouble in this campaign with no real plan to turn this around.

But it is also more than that, with potential health, national security and financial implications that will reverberate beyond the campaign. International financial markets were shaken overnight.

This is a geopolitical event, Stutzman said. Our enemies are watching. If he falls gravely ill, the chaos could multiply  If Americans of any political stripe reflect on this news, they should be shaken.

Trump is overweight and, at 74, at higher risk for severe illness. But Conley said in his memo that Trump and the first lady are both well at this time." The likelihood, doctors said, is that he will recover.

Robert O'Brien, the president's top aide on foreign policy, returned to the White House in August after a mild case of Covid-19. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro also tested positive  in Bolsonaros case, like Trumps, after long downplaying the virus severity.

But even the possibility that Trump might become seriously ill had strategists in both parties discussing the potential implications of succession or the 25th Amendment, under which Trump, if medically incapacitated, could transfer power temporarily to Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence has tested negative for Covid-19, his spokesperson said Friday, hours after the president revealed he had contracted the coronavirus.

One Republican strategist said in a text message early Friday that the White House should keep Pence in one of those giant plastic bubbles, attaching an image of a man inside an inflatable ball.

For Biden, the attention that Trumps positive test will foist on the presidents handling of the virus was a stroke of political fortune. If Trump is confined to the White House, one Democratic strategist said, Biden will benefit from having the whole country to himself to campaign.

But Biden will also likely have to tread carefully to avoid appearing insensitive. It is hard to imagine him repeating the personal criticism he leveled at Trump during the debate this week, for example, when he said more people would die from Covid-19 unless Trump got a lot smarter, a lot quicker.

A Biden spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment overnight. But the former vice president tweeted Friday morning, Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

Alex Isenstadt and Gabby Orr contributed to this report.
Photo: The Canadian Press Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux waits to appear before the Commons finance committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Crown corporations have handed out an estimated $422 billion in loans, guarantees and deferrals to businesses since the start of the pandemic, the parliamentary budget officer says in a report that warns about a lack of details around the measures.

Four Crown corporations account for roughly $236 billion of the liquidity measures, as they're known, doled out since the start of the pandemic to make it easier for businesses to manage costs.

The measures are mostly to be repaid, with just some portions of loans being forgivable, meaning they are unlikely to have a large effect the federal deficit.

But budget officer Yves Giroux's report warned that they represent a significant expansion of the government's financial footprint and exposure to risk from bad debts that would hit Ottawa's bottom line.

"That's potentially a risk for Canadian taxpayers, who are ultimately on the hook if things turned sour. For example, if there was to be widespread default on these loans," Giroux said.

Even more problematic, he said, is the lack of public reporting of potential budget costs and risks.

Three of the Crown corporations reviewed provided the PBO with analyses of how a sharp downturn would impact their finances, but asked that they not be released publicly.

The fact the internal documents aren't being released to parliamentarians is a concern in terms of transparency for the budget office, Giroux said, particularly as the risks to the public purse may be worsened because of the unprecedented shock from the pandemic.

The one outlier in the report is the Bank of Canada, which reports weekly on its asset purchases, making it a model for other Crown agencies to follow, Giroux said.

The central bank has added $186 billion to its balance sheet since March to help ease funding for provinces, cities and private companies, and $234 billion in federal debt to effectively provide low-cost loans to the government.

As Giroux's report notes, the programs not overseen by the central bank have had mixed success. Some are under-subscribed, potentially exposing flaws like in the now-expired commercial rent-relief program, or been a big draw like an emergency loan program for small businesses.

The loan program, known as the Canada Emergency Business Account, hands out up to $40,000 in interest-free loans, with one-quarter of the funds eligible to be forgiven if paid back by the end of next year.

Loans through the program have helped many small companies manage costs, but the Liberals have yet to follow through on a promise from May to expand eligibility. Last week's throne speech also included a pledge to help businesses with fixed costs, such as rent.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told the House of Commons the government would have more to say "very soon" on updates to the loan program and throne speech promises, such as targeted support for businesses facing new rounds of lockdowns.

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said the updates can't come soon enough.

He said the original $40,000 lifelines are running out and suggested the government expand the loan value and amounts forgivable to keep businesses afloat the longer the crisis goes on, or if it deepens.

"So many of our members right now are struggling to outrun their debt," said Kelly, whose organization represents thousands of small businesses.

"If we move into another round of shutdowns, you can imagine how much more significant the problems are going to be."

For a government that is facing a historic debt and deficit, adding more in loans, loan guarantees and deferrals may be enticing because it won't show up on the bottom line. Giroux didn't put a specific figure to it in his report, but said the impact has been minor in the past.

Robert Asselin, senior vice-president of policy at the Business Council of Canada, said beyond liquidity supports, governments need to restore consumer confidence.

"And then companies can restore revenues and their bottom lines. So that's the real problem for the sectors who have been really affected," said Asselin, a former adviser to the Trudeau government.

"Liquidity was necessary, and it still is in some cases, but really the overall issue is demand."
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)approved a multi-million dollar plan to clean up toxic, polluted groundwater that sits near the Wanaque Reservoir, which provides drinking water to millions of people. Critics of the plan, though, say its not nearly enough to ensure safety.

On Thursday, the EPA announced it had finalized its $3.4 million cleanup plan to treat contaminated groundwater and mine water at one part of the 500-acre Ringwood Mines/Landfill site in Ringwood. The plan calls for the installation of wells at the Peters Mine Pit area of the Ringwood Mines site, then use of those wells to pump an oxygen-releasing compound into the aquifer below the site.

That compound is expected to break down the chemicals contaminating the aquifer, including the cancer-linked substance 1,4-dioxane. On Wednesday morning, the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute recommended the state move forward with the process of creating drinking water standards for 1,4 dioxane.
OMJASVIN M D By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Steroids have been the last resort in Covid-19 treatment. However, theres concern over the side-effects that they may cause, including immunosuppression and uncontrolled rise of blood sugar. To avoid these negative impacts, doctors in government hospitals across Chennai have proposed a different technique  administering these corticosteroids using nebulizers to mild and moderate-condition patients.

The difference is in the mode of consumption  instead of intravenous treatment, the medicine is inhaled directly into the lungs. Doctor A Ravi, nodal officer for Covid treatment at Stanley hospital, says the idea was proposed at a recent meeting. This method is likely to have lesser side-effects as the steroids do not pass through the blood stream, adds Ravi.

Though corticosteroids are being given in mild doses, they sometimes cause an increase in sugar levels.

The new method of administering the steroids will avoid this complication. In a study published in the European Respiratory Journal, doctors have said that the use of inhaled corticosteroids may be beneficial for treating viral infections.

However, the comorbid conditions of patients need to be taken into account before administering the steroids, says the study adding that the nebulized steroids may be used for those who have history of other respiratory illnesses.

Not life-saving: Experts

However, infectious diseases experts say that nebulized steroids have not shown evidence to save lives. Inhaled or nebulized steroids may have fewer side-effects but they cant be used on severe patients as the goal is to save lives, says Dr Ram Gopalakrishnan, Infectious Diseases Specialist at Apollo Hospital. He said that moderate doses of steroids through intravenous injections are the standard form of use and is beneficial for patients with severe Covid.

Dr Subramanian Swaminathan, Infectious Diseases Specialist at Gleneagles Global Health City, says there is not enough data to back the use of nebulized or inhaler steroids as standard treatment for Covid-19.In theory, they sound good as they may possibly reduce side effects but the inflammation caused by Covid is not just in the lungs, he said. Dr Swaminathan said that nebulized steroids can be given based on various criteria including by observing recovery trials.

Pulmonologists say that nebulized steroids would address inflammation only in the airways and it could also have harmful side effects. Nebulised steroids may increase fungal infections too and it is potentially harmful for a Covid patient, said Pulmonologist Dr Raj B Singh.
Americans find it important that the US or UK develop a COVID vaccine first

BOSTON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent Emerson College poll commissioned by the Association of Marshall Scholars finds that the strong majority (61%) of Americans believe a free trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom would strengthen US global leadership. Fewer Americans, but still a majority think that such an agreement would strengthen the US economy (54%) and the US job market (50%). Americans in the Midwest most strongly think that such an agreement would strengthen the US economy (59%) and job market (62%) while those in the Northeast most strongly think an agreement would strengthen US global leadership (62%).

Americans 3 to 1 (75%) find it very important or somewhat important that the US or the UK develop a COVID-19 vaccine before other countries such as Russia, China, and Germany.

"Over the last three years, the American public has shown strong support for a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom," said Dr. Nell Breyer, Executive Director of the Association of Marshall Scholars. "This continued support demonstrates that despite a period of deep global uncertainty, Americans recognize the democratic norms, shared values, rule of law, and common history that have helped anchor the US-UK alliance."

The majority (60%) of Americans believe the US-UK alliance is even more important than it was five years ago. This has increased four percent from 2019, when 56% of Americans said it was more important than it was five years ago. 47% of Americans see the British as the US's most valuable foreign partner and 37% reported shared democratic norms and values as the tie that binds the two countries. Regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, 48% of Americans think the president in the next term should make the US-UK alliance a priority in the first 100 days of their term.

Americans are split on the impact of the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on its alliance with the US: 28% think it has been strengthened, 24% think it has been weakened, and 21% think it has had no impact. The plurality (38%) of Americans who live in the West think Brexit has weakened the US-UK alliance.

Americans envision all aspects of the partnership with the British deepening or staying the same post-Brexit, including economic, security, defense, and diplomatic ties, as well as cultural exchange. A combined 90% of respondents view a good relationship with the US and UK as very important (58%) or somewhat important (32%).

The results of the year's survey will be announced at the 2020 Marshall Forum on Cities with a conversation between 1998 Marshall Scholar Sewell Chan of the LA Times and Tom Fletcher CMG, Principal of Hertford College, Oxford University. The Marshall Forum will be hosted virtually by the Association of Marshall Scholars on Oct 2, 2020 at 1:30 pm ET. For more information visit: https://marshallscholars.org/forum2020

Full results and cross-tabulation data available:

https://marshallscholars.org/news-and-updates/2020-Poll.

Methodology

All respondents interviewed in this study were part of a fully representative sample of N= 1,084 (sample size). Data were weighted by US parameters. The margin of error for the sample is +/- 2.9%. The survey was administered using landline, cell phones and online via Amazon MTurk and IVR and was conducted between September 13 and 14, 2020.

About Emerson College Polling

Emerson College Polling is part of the School of Communication at Emerson College. Emerson College Polling has been ranked as one of the most accurate collegiate pollsters by Bloomberg News and Nate Silvers' 538. Emerson College Polling is a Charter Member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative.
The Trinamool Congress on Friday alleged that its leaders were stopped by the Uttar Pradesh Police from meeting the family members of the Hathras gangrape victim.

IMAGE: People hold a silent protest demanding justice for the Hathras victim, at Carter Road in Bandra, Mumbai, on Thursday. Photograph: PTI Photo

In a statement, the party said that the delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs was stopped by police around 1.5 kilometres from the victim's home.

'A delegation of Trinamool MPs have been stopped by UP Police from entering Hathras. The delegation had travelled about 200kms from Delhi.

'The Trinamool MPs were on their way to the village in Hathras, travelling separately, to express solidarity with the grieving family and convey their condolences,' the statement said.

The delegation included Derek O'Brien, Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mondal and Mamata Thakur (former MP).

One of the MPs who was stopped said, "We are peacefully proceeding to Hathras to meet the family and pay our condolences. We are travelling individually and maintaining all protocols. We are not armed. Why are we stopped? What kind of jungle raj is this that elected MPs are prevented from meeting a grieving family."

'At this moment, we are just 1.5 km from the victims home in Hathras, explaining to police officials that we will walk the 1.5 km to the victims house in Hathras,' the statement said quoting the MP.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were on Thursday arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police after they were stopped from marching towards Hathras to meet the family members of the Dalit woman allegedly raped by four men on September 14.
(TNS)  Since COVID-19 first shut down in-person learning, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) has distributed devices and internet for thousands of students. But for months, district officials havent be able to answer these questions with certainty:How many kids actually need the technology? And does it work well enough to meet remote learning demands?Theyre questions central to conducting school online and closing digital access and learning gaps, especially for Seattle, whose schools appear to be staying remote for the foreseeable future.But after school buildings closed last spring, Seattle and other districts didnt take complete stock of how many students needed devices and internet, instead relying on student poverty rates and drawing estimates from surveys. As a result, data on technology access for students during the pandemic has been spotty.About 4,000 of SPS over 50,000 students havent been engaging regularly with online learning this fall, half of whom the district suspects are having issues with devices or connectivity, according to district spokesperson Tim Robinson.In some cases, the lack of firm information has made estimating the appropriate response to the problem harder and more time-consuming, especially when it comes to internet connectivity. And the main solution offered by school districts  discounted or free plans offered by internet service providers  sometimes results in internet access too slow to handle multiple kids learning online at the same time, according to industry guidelines.The most comprehensive statewide effort to get clarity on student tech needs  voluntary state surveys of school districts in May and August  only requested estimates. Based on the answers it received, the state education department projects that between 81% to 89% of Washington state students had adequate technology and connectivity for remote learning.Some districts did a good job of collecting data and provided some reasonable estimates, said Deb Came, superintendent of assessment and student information at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), but not all of them did.I wouldnt put a whole lot of precision on it, she said.SPS, in response to the August survey, estimated about 16% of students either lacked internet access or didnt have adequate internet access for remote learning. The district based these estimates on surveys of families. But other surveys taken by the city and county have found that up to 98% of families with SPS children have internet access. The variation between the districts own surveys and those of other government agencies makes it hard to settle on a reliable dataset, according to a city report.Tracking the actual number of Seattle schools students needing internet and devices has been challenging and brought to light that there has not been a structure in place to ensure this is collected for every student, the report says. This fall, district employees began checking in with every student, but the district has not released data gleaned from those check-ins in response to requests from The Seattle Times.We are working with all our building leaders to make sure identifiable gaps are determined and reported to the central office so we can work toward solutions, Robinson wrote in an email.To date, the district has issued 3,253 hotspots and internet access codes to families, according to a recent Seattle School Board presentation , sometimes giving multiple connections to families with multiple kids. The district estimated in August, per the numbers it sent to OSPI, that more than 8,000 students did not have adequate internet access. Roughly 43,000 students have picked up laptops or iPads, which amounts to about 79% of the districts enrollment.Why the data varyFor most school systems, checking in with every student wasnt necessary to gauge the number of computer devices they needed to order. Many planned to buy one for every student anyway, to keep things simpler. A few weeks ago, SPS announced it had finally secured a device for every student.But districts havent taken the same one-to-one approach to internet and information on internet access among kids and families. Thats partially because in a remote learning environment, its not only an issue of whether a student has internet access, but how good that connection is  which makes addressing the need much more complicated. Its much more nuanced than a binary question of whether someone does or does not have a device to learn on.The uniqueness of this new framework of remote learning, with all the new components that go into remote learning, presents a challenge that our staff continually rises to meet in order to find the best solutions in the most efficient time frame, Robinson said.Family situations can also change, and districts had to reevaluate this fall after getting a new crop of students, said Dennis Small, educational technology director at OSPI.The start of school brought outpouring of reports from around the region about inadequate service from district-provided internet hotspots or bandwidth too weak to support several people in a household logging on to learning platforms at the same time.The best estimate from state officials, based on data from May, is that 81% of Washington students have internet access adequate enough to support online instruction. More than 94% of them started the school year online.To get a general sense of demand earlier on, districts like Seattle relied upon a handful of online surveys they had sent to families since last spring. They began by acquiring hotspots for students living in shelters or transitional housing.It was only when this school year started that Seattle school employees began a formal and exhaustive tech check process.At Concord International Elementary School, a Title I school in the citys South Park neighborhood, that meant some students had devices before they had internet.My personal opinion: They could have used the summer as a good data collection (opportunity), and they did it at the very end, said Paulina Lopez, a parent of a second grader at Concord who serves on the board of the schools PTSA.Assessing students needs is time-consuming and hard: School districts have long struggled to communicate with low-income families and sometimes rely on forms of contact that involve, well, the internet. And even with reliable internet access and a device, parents and students still often require assistance with learning software, said Lopez.This year, SPS designated certain schools as tech support hubs. The district also offers a tech support hotline.Responding to the gapsThus far, school districts and the state government have mostly addressed connectivity issues by contracting with internet service providers such as Comcast to purchase internet access for families. On Thursday, OSPI launched a statewide program thats intended to serve about 60,000 students using $8.8 million from federal CARES Act relief package.This approach has some limitations. Even if the district pays, the onus often falls on families to sign up for the service, which can be challenging if there is a language barrier.And the internet speeds offered in discounted and free programs, including those in contracts Seattle Public Schools has with internet service providers, are sometimes too slow. Broadband Now, a consumer broadband research site, recommends a speed of 40 to 100 megabits per second to juggle multiple kids videoconferencing at the same time. But the free options offered by the state and school districts are around 25 megabits per second.This has forced districts to buy supplemental hotspots for families with many people working on the same network, or Wi-Fi repeaters to help connection carry through several rooms, said David Keyes, digital equity program manager for the City of Seattle. Local and state governments have been trying to apply pressure on internet service providers to offer faster speeds at more affordable prices.Seattle is also gearing up to launch a plan to help service internet gaps. A recent report estimated about 5% of the city did not have access to the internet. The main reason cited was affordability, not a lack of broadband or cellular tower coverage  big barriers that other parts of the state are facing. In Yakima, school district officials plan to broadcast Wi-Fi throughout the city.Seattle is pondering ways to encourage more competition and a range of internet service providers, said Keyes.Theres also been a growing call around the country to invest in universal broadband and stop local governments from leaning on businesses, including from local superintendents such as SPS Denise Juneau.We will continue to make sure that our students can access lessons remotely this fall, she said in a virtual town hall last month. But we must also demand that our countrys leadership step up and provide broadband for all as a public utility.
Brexit negotiations have intensified ahead of the unofficial deadline for a Brexit trade deal to be agreed, the meeting of EU leaders on October 15 and 16.

Leaders on each side remain optimistic that a trade relationship can be agreed before the end of the year, and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has suggested talks would continue up to Nobember.

Negotiations continue despite disagreement between the EU and the UK over the UK Internal Market bill, which allows the UK to override part of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement, and to make unilateral changes in Northern Ireland protocols. The EU has launched a legal action against the UK for this breach of the obligation of good faith.

The UK has one month to respond. However, it will be a long and uncertain legal process, and it is likely that a political solution will be sought along the way in conjunction with a trade deal.

The controversial bill could offer a safety net for trade between Britains four nations after December, but has soured relations with Brussels. The Internal Market Bill would not have an immediate impact, it only enables the UK Parliament to make unilateral changes.

Despite the uncertainty raised by the Internal Market Bill, for the purposes of Brexit preparedness planning in Ireland, it is presumed the Withdrawal Agreement will be applied in full and, deal or no deal, there will not be any border on the island of Ireland, and goods will pass freely.

However, the only certainty for Irelands food and agriculture sector is that how EU food businesses trade with the UK will change significantly, deal or no deal.

That means businesses must continue to prepare for new checks and controls on trade with and through Great Britain, which will be a reality regardless of how the trade negotiations go.

The Irish Government launched a new Brexit Readiness Action Plan on September 9, outlining the steps businesses should take between now and December.

They should contact brexitregistration@agriculture.gov.ie to register with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine as an importer/exporter and register on TRACES.

They should register with Revenue and obtain an EORI number.

They should familiarise themselves with the SPS controls in January (www.agriculture.gov.ie/brexit).

A number of new supports have been launched.

A Ready for Customs Grant of up to 9,000 will be available through Enterprise Ireland, per eligible employee hired, or redeployed within the business, to a dedicated customs role.

There will be free Skillnet Ireland Clear Customs Online Training (10 hours over five weeks) with level-6 accreditation.

Theres a Local Enterprise Office Prepare Your Business for Customs half-day online webinar on October 23.

A Bord Bia Customs Readiness Practical Training Programme of seven hours over three weeks takes place on October 8.

There's a Revenue two-tay teminar on trading agri-food goods on October 5 and 6, with technical information on sanitary and phytosanitary checks and requirements.
President Donald Trump and the first lady had started their "quarantine process" after White House senior aide Hope Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus.

According to a USA Today source, Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus after travelling with Trump in the last few days.

Other than going on quarantine, Trump added that he and Melania Trump also took coronavirus tests.

Results are still pending for their tests but are expected to arrive soon. Trump said they would stay in quarantine until the results of their coronavirus tests come, reported CNN.

Hicks was in frequent contact with the president recently. She travelled with him to and from the first presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, the Reuters reported.

In photos of their arrival in Cleveland, Hicks was seen not wearing a protective face mask. Hicks also travelled on the presidential helicopter, Marine One, for a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday.

During a Fox News interview Thursday night, Trump said he's not sure if he does have the virus.

"She tested positive," he said. "Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know."

"We spend a lot of time with Hope, and others," Trump added.

Trump also tweeted about Hicks's coronavirus test results. "Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19," he wrote.

In the same tweet, he also disclosed plans to begin his and the first lady's "quarantine process."

"The President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously," said White House spokesman Judd Deere.

Deere added that they are working closely with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office. He said the White House is ensuring all plans and procedures take CDC guidance into account.

According to a Bloomberg report, Hicks experienced symptoms linked to the coronavirus.

Hicks is not the only White House official who tested positive for the virus. Previously Katie Miller, the vice president's press secretary, also tested positive and has since recovered from COVID-19.

Hicks's Role in the White House

Hicks is one of Trump's longest-service aides. She was part of the president's original campaign team in 2015.

She took on the role of communications director and left the White House in 2018 to take a corporate executive job in Fox.

In February her return was announced by the White House, saying she will take the role as counselor to the president and aide to senior adviser Jared Kushner.

As Trump seeks reelection, Hicks played a key role in his communications strategy. Trump described her as a "very warm person."

Trump has been under fire for some time now because of holding rallies that critics believe will pose a risk to the spread of the coronavirus. Experts noted that these rallies are not commonly adhering to social distancing and mask-wearing that are key to slowing the spread of the virus.

The coronavirus has killed more than 200,000 people in the U.S. and has infected more than 7.2 million.

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Masks will not be required for casting in-person ballots because that mandate has to come from the office of Gov. Eric Holcomb, Bailey said. Those voting early at the county administrative center, where masks and temperature checks are required at the main entrance, will use a side entrance on Napoleon Street and will not have access to the rest of the building.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, says he hopes to rid France of what authorities call a parallel society of radical Muslims who, in his words, thrive outside the values of the nation.

The French president announced a series of measures on Friday in a proposed new law to defend the republic and its values and ensure it respects its promise of equality and emancipation.

He described Islam as a religion that is in crisis all over the world today before unveiling his plan to tackle radicalism. The comments prompted strong backlash from Muslim activists.

He also spoke of freeing Islam in France from foreign influences and intercepting education finances and other means to indoctrinate vulnerable people.

Macron coined the term separatism to describe an underworld in France that thrives in some neighbourhoods where Muslims with a radical vision of their religion take control of the local population to influence and indoctrinate.

Amongst the proposed measures are legal powers for local officials to combat extremism and a money injection to deal with social problems such as housing and poverty.

Wearing the hijab is already banned in French schools and for public servants at work.

The president stressed in the speech that he does not want the proposal to stigmatise French Muslims or fall into a trap laid by radicals. He blamed France itself for organising the ghettoization of a population that could easily fall prey to the preaching of some radical Muslims who may substitute their laws for those of the nation.

In the speech, Macron acknowledged how Frances colonial past has contributed to many of the problems in the country today.

We have created our own separatism in some of our areas. We have concentrated populations of the same origins, the same religion, he said.

However, he added that secularism has been and continues to be the cement of France.

The president outlined his plans in a speech in the working-class town of Les Mureaux, just west of Paris, after meeting with the mayor, Francois Garay.

Meanwhile, the trial continues in Paris after the deadly January 2015 attacks on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket by French-born Islamic extremists.

Just last week, a Pakistan national stabbed two people near Charlie Hebdos former offices in vengeful anger over the publications featuring of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

In his speech, Macron noted both occasions and said: The country has been hit by Islamic terrorism since 2012 and we have progressively rearmed against this threat.

Members of the French Muslim community have consistently denounced the acts, and describe them as going against the tenets of their religion.

The president also laid out a five-point plan that targeted the ways in which the radical brand of Islam is able to thrive around the world. Macron said that associations and home schools play key roles in steeping members and students in radical ideology.

The proposed bill is due to go to parliament early next year and would require all children from the age of three to attend French schools.

Distant learning and home schooling would only be allowed for medical reasons.

In the proposal, associations, which currently receive state funding, would be forced to be transparent about their spending and their often invisible leaders. They would also have to reimburse any misused funds and if found to be pushing ideas not aligned with the republic, they could be ordered to disband.

During the speech, Macron praised Frances schools as the heart of secularism (where) children become citizens and said education was key to the measures.

The authorities behind Macrons proposal contend that while once the vectors for incubating extremist Muslim ideology were mosques, now schools have proved to be the main vector. However, mosques will still be placed under greater control in the new measures.

One proposed measure will include gradually ending the long-standing practice of importing imams, the leaders of prayer, from elsewhere and train imams only in France.

The project will collaborate with a Muslim advisory organisation that works as an official conduit to French leaders.

The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris cautioned against mixing all Muslims in France with the separatism question.

For those who let it be believed that Islam is Islamism, and the reverse, there is indeed a distinction between the Muslim religion and the Islamist ideology, Chems-Eddine Hafiz wrote in a commentary in the newspaper Le Monde.

Nevertheless, the rector has shown support for the proposed initiative, on condition its not used as a communications gadget.

France has a population of up to 5 million Muslims with Islam the second most prevalent religion in the country.

While authorities say there are all kinds of separatisms, Macron claims that others are marginal while radical Islam is a constant danger to France as it sometimes translates into a counter-society.

The speech was a broad outline and more specific measures will be drawn up in the next two weeks.

He concluded by saying the proposed fight would indeed be long, because what took decades to build wont be put down in a day.
Make no mistake, this is intentional, Democrat Chris Hollins said at a news conference Friday. This is being done to make it more difficult for you to vote. But I urge you  do not be discouraged. If every voter only takes away one thing from today, I want it to be that your vote is your voice in our democracy.
Early ballots for the Nov. 3 general election went out this week to the one-fourth of Lincoln Countys registered voters who had applied for them by Monday.

County Clerk Becky Rossell, who doubles as the countys election commissioner, said her office sent out 5,951 ballots in that first wave.

Thats about 25.2% of the 23,616 county residents registered to vote in the May 12 primary, in which 9,279 early ballots were requested  largely due to COVID-19 health measures  and 7,999 of those were cast.

We had a pretty good rush (of ballot requests) right off the bat when we first mailed (application postcards) out, Rossell said. But now its trickled off to just a few every day.

Requests for early ballots will be taken by her office until 6 p.m. Oct. 23, she added, as will new in-person voter registrations.

To be counted, early ballots must be in the hands of Rossells office by 8 p.m. Election Day, when in-person polling sites also close.
A passenger of car who pulled the steering wheel resulting in the car leaving the road and hitting a farmer causing him serious injury, has told a court he was not "thinking straight" at the time.

Daniel Forde of Hillview Drive Ballymote, was before Sligo District Court where he pleaded to one charge of endangerment, by recklessly engaging in conduct creating a substantial risk of death or serious harm to another.

The court heard on December 2nd 2018 at Coagh, Ballymote, Forde was a front seat passenger in a car with four other occupants, traveling between Gurteen and Ballymote at 10.15am.

Forde had been drinking all day and night with friends and on the morning in question pulled the steering wheel of the car which entered a farmyard, hitting a quad bike and a farmer.

The farmer was cleaning his quad when he saw the underside of the Volkswagen Polo coming towards him from a ditch. The farmer suffered serious injuries the court was told.

Six people in total were taken to hospital following the incident. The court was told Forde is now 23.

Asked why this was done, Mr Tom MacSharry, solicitor, representing Forde, said "It was a moment of madness", and said it was coming up to Christmas and his client had been drinking.

Mr MacSharry said there was no obvious malice in what occurred and unfortunately there was an accident.

Sergeant Derek Butler told the court the farmer was in his yard cleaning his quad when he was the car coming through the air and it hit him and the quad.

Mr MacSharry told the court his client was highly distressed at the time and there was a high level of cooperation with gardai.

Forde told gardai the driver was holding the steering wheel with his knees and he grabbed it with too much force and the car hit grass.

Judge Kevin Kilrane said the offence as an "egregious act" and he was considering sending Forde to prison. Mr MacSharry said it was a "moment of madness."

"I wish it never happened, I wish I didn't make that mistake," Forde told the court.

The judge replied, "Mistake, to yank it [steering wheel], it could have killed all of you and the unfortunate man."

Forde said he wasn't thinking straight at the time and had stayed up drinking. He told the court there was one injuries claim being sought by one of the passengers of the car.

Judge Kilrane convicted Forde, fining him 2,000 and disqualified him from driving for four years.

"Anyone who does what you did does not deserve to drive," said the judge, who reluctantly granted him legal aid due to the serious nature of the offence.
Team Schulz, a local mask-making group organized by Sarah Schulz and comprised of 89 volunteers, announces that volunteer Cheryl Levy has personally sewn over 1,000 free face masks for Midland area communities. Team Schulz has been sewing and distributing free face masks since March 2020 and has given away over 11,000 masks.

"When I first heard about the mask project in early March, I went to a huge tub of fabric that I've had for years and found tons of cottons," Levy said.
(Natural News) NEW YORKMore than 150 groups in some 60 cities around the world rallied in protest of the Chinese regimes human rights abuses as it celebrated its 71st year of ruling.

(Article by Eva Fu republished from TheEpochTimes.com)

The global coalition on Oct. 1the anniversary of the Chinese Communist Partys takeover of China in 1949was a diverse mix of Tibetans, Hongkongers, Taiwanese, ethnic Mongolians, Uyghur Muslims, Kazakhs, and exiled Chinese dissidents, each with grievances against the regime for persecuting their communities. The suppression they faced has revealed to the world the true face of the Chinese regime: one that disregards human rights and poses threats to the world, they told The Epoch Times.

The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] cannot be given a pass, cannot be absolved of justice, just because its ruling China, said Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) in a speech in front of the U.S. Capitol.

Theyre allowed to get away with oppression, concentration camps, all kinds of horrific things that you already know about, whether its the Falun Gong, whether its our friends in Mongolia, whether its taking over Tibet, he continued, referring to Beijings persecution of the ancient spiritual practice, erosion of Mongolian cultural customs, and suppression of Tibetan Buddhists, respectively.

All of it has to end, and its criminal activity that must be recognized and stood against by the whole world community, and the United States must lead, he added.

Perry introduced a bill Thursday morning to designate the CCP as a transnational organized group and eliminate sovereign immunity for Chinese officials  which would allow them to be tried in U.S. court for criminal prosecution.

We must be the generation that confronts and defeats, and ends the wicked regime of the CCP, he said.

Different from the past few years, activists said they felt a newfound sense of solidarity as different groups witnessed Beijings recent authoritarian clampdown, such as the regimes proposed elimination of Mongolian-language teaching in Inner Mongolia schools, mass arrests of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, and repressive policies in Tibet and Xinjiang.

Pema Namgyal, a 26-year-old Tibetan graduate student majoring in psychology, was one among over 200 protesters in New York calling for the Chinese regime to be brought to justice.

It has nothing to do with the Chinese people personally, but the government itself, he said while attending a rally near United Nations headquarters. Namgyal was born and raised in India, and later immigrated to New York with his parents as refugees.

Deception has characterized the CCPs 71 years of ruling, said a woman who identified herself as Hongkonger A.

They say yes to everything before signing an agreement, but walk back on their promises immediately after, she said, noting the Sino-Joint Declaration that promises her homeland, a former British colony, a high degree of freedom under Chinese rule until 2047.

While her father has been telling her about the regimes evils since she was young, it was only last year, when millions in Hong Kong protested over a now-axed extradition bill, that she fully realized the extent of Beijings tyranny. The authorities speedy application of a sweeping national security law has been especially alarming, she said.

We used to have free speech, freedom of the press. Now we have nothing, she said.

Nicole Sara, an activist who lived in Hong Kong for 11 years, called Chinas National Day a day of mourning.

As far as all these people are concerned, theres nothing to celebrate, she told The Epoch Times. Its the beginning of the devastation for many, many people.

Evil regimes come and go, she said, believing that the Chinese regime would one day collapse. One day well look back and see the stain on Chinese history.

Read more at: TheEpochTimes.com and Tyranny.news.
Stephen Shainbarts first impression of Toronto?

It was almost as vibrant and energetic as his hometown New York City  but with less garbage and fewer rats. All considered, there are far worse places to call home.

Even if the streets were overrun with rodents and the transportation system equally chaotic to that of Manhattan, in his opinion, Shainbart would stay in Canada rather than return to the United States of America.

In a way, its a message, he told the Star on Thursday. Americas not so much a place as it is an idea to me. And Canada  though its not perfect  is practising that idea better.

That idea  of a country that is democratic, fair and free  was placed under threat, in Shainbarts view, by the election of Donald Trump.

Like the thousands of Americans who caused a crash of Canadas immigration website by searching how to move to Canada on the night of Nov. 8, 2016, the election of Donald Trump irrevocably shifted Shainbarts understanding of his country and pushed him to start looking into Canada as an alternative.

Unlike most of the thousands of online searchers, he actually did it.

He even wrote a book on the subject, titled, I Actually Did It! Becoming Canadian because of Trump.

Now, he says, dozens of American friends and acquaintances are reaching out to him for advice as they watch the 2020 election campaign and an unprecedented presidential debate this week.

The four years since Donald Trump was elected have not exactly seen a mass exodus of Americans to Canada  but there has been a rise in American immigration to Canada.

According to data provided by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the three years following Trumps election saw an average of 1,875 more applications for Canadian permanent residency from Americans than during the three years prior. The increase in applications approved over the same time period was a little less  1,163 per year, on average.

At least one Canadian jurisdiction has been encouraging those thinking of moving to Canada. Rob Calabrese of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia created a website aimed at attracting Americans to the island, which is facing a population decline, in 2016. Ahead of the 2020 election, the website has resurfaced.

Theres no way of knowing for sure how many of the immigration applications were related to Trumps election, and many Canadians assume the very idea of relocating is more hype than substance.

Yet Shainbart is living proof that some Americans followed through. The decision wasnt easy, but it was clear.

It was hard because I have a 15-year-old son in New York and it would mean moving away from him, he said. I was so concerned for the future of the country and his future as well. So I thought I would be protecting him.

Theres a personal family history at play, too.

My father was in the Holocaust. I know personally that democracies can disintegrate and die, he said. I dont think America is going to be as bad as Nazi Germany, but it doesnt have to be.

It could be 10 per cent as bad and its still worth it to leave.

The night of the 2016 election, Shainbart spoke to his sister over the phone, who said it sounded like he had already made his decision, and that all there was left to do was follow through.

It turned out to be years worth of work  first applying for a licence to work as a psychologist in Ontario, then a work permit, then permanent residency  but Shainbart completed his official move to Canada in January.

Now, as he watches the 2020 election campaign unfold in a state of high anxiety  he said his main worries are for his family and friends  Shainbart is also fielding requests for advice on how to do what he did.

Among those looking to follow in Shainbarts footsteps is Amanda Reseburg, a self-employed photographer who lives in Janesville, Wisc., with her husband and three children.

Reseburg says she always disagreed strongly with Trump, and admired Canada  which she always associates with the Anne of Green Gables books of her youth. But the idea of moving to Canada didnt become serious until one of her daughters was diagnosed with diabetes, and the COVID-19 crisis forced them to think about what would happen if her husband lost his job, and Trump cut the Affordable Care Act in a second term.

The cost of health care would become too great. And they were already haunted by the grim necessity of active shooter drills at their children's schools.

My husband and I both agree that we only get to do this whole raising a family thing once, and we want to do that in the best way possible, she said. Even if that means leaving behind a country that has gone off the rails.

Its not easy to immigrate to Canada. It took Shainbart years, and Reseburg and her family are working with a lawyer in hopes of immigrating to Nova Scotia. Shainbart thinks that partly explains why relatively few Americans have followed through on the idea.

I guess Im kind of a pioneer. I feel Im in a position to help some people, he said. But I also tell them it may not be as easy as they think.

Read more about:
BAGHDAD  In the span of 30 seconds, Ali Jasb, a young rights lawyer, vanished into the night in southern Iraq.

On an evening a year ago, a woman emerged from a dimly lit street in the city of Amara, her face hidden in a black abaya, and greeted Jasb. Almost immediately a black SUV pulled up, two men forced him in and sped away. The woman climbed into a waiting pickup truck and left.

That last sighting of the 21-year-old Jasb was captured by a surveillance camera at 6:22 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2019. Nothing has been heard from him or his captors.

Ever since, Jasbs father has been on a search for justice that has run repeatedly against one major obstacle: the increasing helplessness of Iraqs government in the face of powerful, Iranian-backed Shiite militias.

Jasb was abducted a week into historic protests which erupted across Iraq and saw tens of thousands of youth rallying against corruption and the ruling class. Like many others, hopes for change inspired by the movement emboldened Jasb to speak out against militias in his hometown.

Now Jasb is among 53 protesters who remain missing since the movement began on Oct. 1, according to the semi-official Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights.

The protests have largely been silenced by a combination of the coronavirus and a violent crackdown by security forces and militias that, according to the commission, killed more than 500 people.

Within that crackdown, militias are widely believed to have waged a campaign of terror, abducting dozens of prominent activists and assassinating more than 60.

In Jasbs case, judicial investigations seen by The Associated Press show a connection between his abduction and the most powerful militia in his home city, Amara.

His father, Jasb Aboud, is determined to bring its commander to trial.

I am afraid, he told the AP. But I lost what was most valuable to me, so Ive got nothing else to lose.

I CANT BE SILENT

Jasb exemplified the generation of hopeful activists who fueled the protest movement.

He threw himself into using the law to help people in Amara, a small city flanked by marshes on the Tigris River that is the capital of Missan province.

He married young and soon had a daughter, now 2. He often represented women trying to divorce abusive husbands. He was angered by the states failures, noting how his family still dug wells for water and relied on expensive generators for electricity.

When the protests erupted, Jasb participated and formed a legal committee to help those detained.

And he openly criticized the power of militias.

In Missan province, that meant Ansar Allah al-Awfia, one of the more extreme pro-Iranian militias. It was incorporated under the state-sponsored umbrella group, the Popular Mobilization Forces, created to fight the Islamic State group in 2014.

Over the years, it came to control important government offices and many businesses in Missan. Its loyalists won two of the provinces 10 parliament seats. Notorious for illicit dealings, it milked major revenue from border trade from Iran.

There was no response to repeated emails by the AP to the PMF seeking comment for this story, and calls and messages to al-Awfia were not answered.

When Jasb started getting threats, his father pleaded with him to stop criticizing the militia online.

I cant be silent, Jasb replied.

His peers believe his last case may have sealed his fate. He was helping the wife of a militiaman get a divorce, said his friend Akeel Auki, who heads the Missan lawyers union.

Any lawyer pursuing a case against a militia member will be surrounded by threats, Auki said. Ive received a lot of them.

On Oct. 7, Jasbs second child, a son, was born. The next day, he got a call: A woman seeking legal help asked to meet that evening on a street a few minutes drive away.

The surveillance camera later revealed what happened next.

CRISIS INHERITED

The protest movement scored an early victory, forcing out Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi. His successor, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, branded himself as a champion of the protesters.

He promised to hold early elections, investigate violence against activists and curtail armed groups.

But he was soon faced with the limits of his own administration. Abdul-Mahdi had allowed militias power to grow so much that now, we almost dont have a state, said a high-level official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Frequent rocket attacks targeted al-Kadhimis seat of power in Baghdad, straining relations with the U.S. A raid on the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, suspected of firing the rockets, backfired when most of those detained were set free  lack of evidence, the court said.

Militias blocked attempts to increase customs revenues, which would have cut funds they skim from cross-border trade, and militia corruption wrecked a program to boost agricultural exports, multiple officials said.

A fact-finding committee produced an official number killed during the protests but didnt name the killers.

The government had already inherited an economic crisis and an overwhelmed health system  if we name the killers, we will drown, a senior adviser to al-Kadhimi said on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

Activists continue to be targeted.

The July shooting death of a high-profile commentator and critic of Iran, Hisham al-Hashimi, sent shockwaves across Baghdad. Two leading activists in Basra were assassinated.

If the government cant deliver justice to someone like al-Hashimi, then who is Ali Jasb to them? said Hasab Wahab of the al-Amel Association rights group.

THE CRIMINAL CASE

On July 14, Jasbs father Aboud met with a new lawyer in Baghdad. The investigation by a Missan judge into his sons abduction had been stalled for nine long months.

They believed they knew why: Evidence had revealed a link to the commander of the al-Awfia militia, Haidar al-Gharawi.

The accused is a militia that has power in Missan, so it could be that it has influence over witnesses, even the law, said the lawyer, Wala al-Ameri.

Aboud and al-Ameri considered a bold gambit: Move the case to a hopefully more independent Baghdad court and request an arrest warrant against al-Gharawi.

The two men sat and reviewed the facts of the case.

According to the surveillance footage, Jasbs kidnappers drove a Chevrolet Tahoe and Toyota pickup, which had dark-tinted windows  banned under Iraqi law  and no license plates. Little was done to track down the vehicles.

Key to the case was the mobile number that had called Jasb.

Investigators found it belonged to an illegally acquired SIM not registered with the authorities. There is a thriving black market for unregistered SIMs, which cannot be traced to a user.

On a recent visit to a Baghdad commercial center, one dealer said the SIMs were smuggled from the northern city of Irbil. He offered one for 75,000 Iraqi dinars, about $63, then added: But after  youve never met me.

Police tracked down other numbers that had called the unknown SIM. Among them was a man named Saddam Hamed.

Hamed told investigators he had had no idea about the unknown number. But he said his wife, Fatima Saeed, sometimes used his phone to call a relative. That relative is married to al-Gharawi, according to his testimony.

The judge summoned Saeed for questioning but she never showed up. Both she and Hamed had fled.

Here, Aboud asked his lawyer: Do you think we have enough evidence?

Silence. The gazes of both men fell on half-drunk teacups. They decided to try.

OTHERS TAKEN

Testimony from others kidnapped by suspected militias provide clues into what Jasb may have endured.

One young activist in the southern city of Karbala, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Kadhim, told AP that in December he and four friends were rounded up by gunmen near Baghdads Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests. They were taken blindfolded to an unknown location.

For four days, they were beaten and interrogated. The captors accused them of an arson attack on the Iranian Consulate in Karbala and of taking money from the Americans, according to Kadhims account, corroborated by two other activists too fearful to speak on record.

Ill find what youre hiding under your skin, the interrogator said. Kadhim said his legs were electrocuted. His body felt like it was being ripped open.

Online threats prompted many leading activists to flee to Turkey, according to two rights watchers and two activists currently in Istanbul.

One who left for Turkey in February said he had received messages from an unknown number.

One read: We know where you live.

FATHER FORLORN

In September, al-Kadhimi visited Missan and gave Jasbs father an audience.

During the 15-minute meeting held in the compound of a Chinese oil giant, Aboud laid out the court documents. He named the militia he believed took his son.

Al-Kadhimi was shocked, Aboud said. He put his hand to his chest and promised he would deliver him to me.

The prime minister may be the bereaved fathers last hope after he hit another dead end.

The Baghdad judge deemed there was insufficient evidence for an arrest warrant against al-Gharawi. He dismissed Hameds testimony, saying only testimony from someone who saw the kidnapping could advance the case.

Now its a case against the unknown, Aboud said.

There are witnesses. None dare speak out.

One man told the AP he saw everything from a nearby shop. He spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear.

He recounted seeing the woman emerge and the men push Jasb into the vehicle. He saw police afterward search Jasbs car. The AP confirmed the shop had a view on the site.

But would he testify?

It would be my funeral the next day.

___

Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Abdulrahman Zeyad contributed.
Graphic of conceptual design of the teams shadow theory. Credit: Northern Arizona University

Is there life outside our planet?

The age-old question has long been asked by scientists and researchers without much progress in finding the answer.

There have been more than 4,200 exoplanets discovered outside our solar system, and while past techniques were developed to test for life on exoplanets, none of which tested for complex, non-technological life like vegetation. Now, space telescopes may soon be able to directly view these planetsincluding one within the habitable zone of the Earth's nearest star neighbor. With the help of these telescopes and a team of researchers in informatics and astronomy at Northern Arizona University, an answer to this question might not be so out of this world.

Funded by a NASA Habitable Worlds grant, a team of researchers, which includes Chris Doughty, David Trilling and Ph.D. student Andrew Abraham, published a study in the International Journal of Astrobiology that develops and tests a technique to determine whether specifically multicellular or complex-but-not-technological life can be uniquely detected outside the solar system.

In an attempt to find some answers, the team turned to one of Earth's most common multicellular life formstrees. More specifically, their shadows.

"Earth has more than three trillion trees, and each casts shadows differently than inanimate objects," said Doughty, lead author on the paper and assistant professor in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems. "If you go outside at noon, almost all shadows will be from human objects or plants and there would be very few shadows at this time of day if there wasn't multicellular life."

The team hypothesizes that abundant upright photosynthetic multicellular life (trees) will cast shadows at high sun angles, distinguishing them from single cellular life. Therefore, using future space telescopes to observe the types of shadows cast should, in theory, determine if there are similar life forms on exoplanets.

"The difficult part is that any future space telescope will likely only have a single pixel to determine if life exists on that exoplanet," said Abraham, who worked closely with Doughty on the study. "So, the question becomes: Can we detect these shadows indicating multicellular life with a single pixel?"

With just one pixel to work with, the team had to make sure that the shadows detected in these telescopes were conclusively multicellular life, not other exoplanet features like craters.

"It was suggested that craters might cast shadows similar to trees, and our idea would not work," said Trilling, associate professor of astronomy. "So, we decided to look at the replica moon landing site in northern Arizona where the Apollo astronauts trained for their mission to the moon."

Drones were used at different times of the day to determine that craters did in fact cast shadows differently than trees.

The researchers then turned to imaging to determine if their theory would work on a large scale. By using the POLDER (Polarization and Directionality of Earth's Reflectance) satellite, the team was able to observe the shadows on Earth at different sun angles and times of day. The resolution was reduced to mimic what Earth would look like as a single pixel to a distant observer as it rotates around the sun. Then, the team compared this to similar data from Mars, the moon, Venus and Uranus to see if Earth's multicellular life was unique.

The team found that on parts of the planet where trees were in abundance, like the Amazon basin, multicellular life could be distinguished, but when it came to observing the planet as a whole as a single pixel, distinguishing multicellular life was difficult.

However, the potential that observing shadows brings to the conversation of life on exoplanets could be closer than scientists and researchers have ever been before. Doughty believes the technique remains valid in theorya future space telescope could rely on the shadows found in a single pixel.

"If each exoplanet was only a single pixel, we might be able to use this technique to detect multicellular life in the next few decades," he said. "If more pixels are required, we may have to wait longer for technological improvements to answer whether multicellular life on exoplanets exists."

Explore further Looking for exoplanet life in all the right spectra

More information: Christopher E. Doughty et al. Distinguishing multicellular life on exoplanets by testing Earth as an exoplanet, International Journal of Astrobiology (2020). Journal information: International Journal of Astrobiology Christopher E. Doughty et al. Distinguishing multicellular life on exoplanets by testing Earth as an exoplanet,(2020). DOI: 10.1017/S1473550420000270
hand holds an electric hair clipper and cuts the boys long hair, barbershop at home, parent cuts hair while hairdressers are closed, stay home concept

Back in March of this year, when beauty salons and barbershops began closing across Southern California due to COVID-19 (along with many other businesses), I found myself thinking of how I was going to get my two sons a haircut. Yes, there were many other (perhaps, more important) questions and uncertainties to be addressed as we began the pandemic, but to fully understand the haircut dilemma, you must first meet my 4 and 11 year old boys who have very thick, dark, wild, stubborn hair that grows by the second! Our pre-pandemic routine was haircuts every 2-3 weeks, so, how was I going to manage that level of upkeep with the closures and an unforeseen date for reopening?

Its now been over half a year since the closures first began and as much as Id like to tell you that I carelessly allowed my children to outgrow their hair like cavemen, Im happy to report that I did indeed find a solution!

So, how did I solve my dilemma of the COVID Haircuts, as my kids like to refer to them? Needless to say, the solution was, of course, to cut their hair myself (although, they were not thrilled about this decision at first!) I had had zero practice or experience as a barber or hairdresser and could barely keep up with my own hair, for that matter. But, as cliche as it sounds, desperate times call for desperate measures.

I purchased a set of clippers, hair scissors, and a few other materials, watched a few YouTube tutorial videos, took a leap of faith, and dove right into it! The first round of haircuts were not terrible (my kids may say otherwise), but there was definitely a learning curve. With practice and patience, they no longer dread their biweekly COVID haircuts and my boys continue to be as handsome as ever!

As entertaining as my solution and trial runs were, it isnt the solution that matters as much as the steps I took in finding one. I found these steps to also be very useful in coping with several other issues Ive come across during these unprecedented times, and I believe they can also be useful for helping find solutions for organizational challenges that credit unions may be facing, or will face in the future.

Below are the steps I took in my thought process along with some thought-provoking questions and examples of a challenge that credit unions may have faced during those early months of the pandemic.

1. Seek Alternatives

Did your credit union temporarily close branches, call centers, or corporate offices due to the pandemic? If so, what alternatives were available for conducting essential business activities and servicing members? While remote work may have been far-fetched earlier this year, many organizations were forced to quickly look to this alternative as the solution. What other alternatives existed, were layoffs or furloughing of employees an option?

2. Acquire Equipment as Needed

In deciding that I would perform my sons haircuts myself, I needed to make sure I was well equipped for the challenge, therefore, I purchased clippers, scissors, and a few other items. If transitioning employees into a remote environment was a solution or response to the pandemic, what other equipment, if any, were needed? Did different business units require the same equipment, i.e. Call Center versus the Accounting team? Additionally, were there limitations or setbacks in obtaining additional equipment?

3. Learn New Skills

Although I would not recommend looking to YouTube for learning new skills related to overcoming organizational challenges, YouTube tutorials certainly helped me in learning how to cut my sons hair. Does your organization promote a learning environment? What resources do employees have for learning new skills? What skills needed to be learned, if any, in transitioning to a remote work environment, i.e. time management and/or organizational skills?

4. Lower Standards

Excuse me?! Yes, you read this one right. The lowering of standards may not be a popular opinion as we tend to get accustomed to reaching a certain level of performance or results, but in times when our capabilities and resources are perhaps, subpar, how can we expect the same level of outcome?

5. Take a Leap of Faith

Sometimes a leap of faith is needed, especially when doing the unthinkable or unplanned for. Some preconceived ideas about remote work may have been that productivity would decline or employees would have many distractions at home, such as children or other responsibilities. Having trust in employees, colleagues or coworkers is essential in a remote environment, after all, organizations function with the help of multiple people and teams.

6. Measure & Adjust

Did the solution work? Was the outcome as expected? What could be learned from this experience? Were there other findings or additional insights? In adjusting to becoming my sons personal hairdresser and realizing what a cost savings that is, it leaves me to question whether or not we will resume our normal, post-pandemic routine.

Becoming accustomed to the way weve always done things can oftentimes lead to complacency and deter people and organizations from attempting alternative solutions. In my opinion, we should always be avid, life-long learners in order to remain adaptive in our ever-evolving environments. Although the pandemic forced many of us to think outside of the box (who would have guessed Id actually be a decent hairdresser?), it is important that we as credit unions remain cognizant of the evolving needs of our environments and our members. Remaining cognizant and nimble will be the deciding factor of our outcomes in unprecedented times, such as the one we are currently in.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - BorgWarner Inc. (BWA) has completed its acquisition of Delphi Technologies. The completion follows approval by Delphi shareholders, receipt of required regulatory approvals, the satisfaction of certain conditions relating to indebtedness of Delphi Technologies, and the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions. In connection with the close of the deal, Delphi common stock will cease to be traded on the NYSE. BorgWarner also announced that Nelda Connors and David Haffner have been named to its Board. Connors and Haffner join BorgWarner's board from the Delphi Board. Connors is the founder, Chairwoman and CEO of Pine Grove Holdings, LLC. Haffner retired as the Chairman and CEO of Leggett & Platt, Inc. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, says Okyenman is solidly united behind the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in his bid to win the December 2020 general elections.



At a durbar held in honour of President Akufo-Addo, on Friday, 2nd October 2020, on the second day of the Presidents 3-day tour of the Eastern Region, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin noted that the President has demonstrated that he is, indeed, a President for all Ghanaians.



According to the Okyenhene, all of his (President Akufo-Addo) policies have affected every part of Ghana, and have been of immense benefit to every Ghanaian. This is because he has an ancestry where greed and the love of money is eschewed. Service to the Ghanaian people is what he, President Akufo-Addo, is all about.



The Chief continued, The President could have easily been someone whose only motivation in office iss to amass wealth for himself. But, no, he has not done that at all. On the contrary, he has implemented policies that have benefitted us all, and improved our living standards.



Touching on President Akufo-Addos handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin applauded the seventeen (17) addresses made by the President, which have so far outlined the measures being taken by Government to defeat the pandemic, as well as the steps to ease safely the restrictions.



He has taught us the importance of observing and adhering to the COVID-19 protocols. We should thank God that, at this stage of our national life, he has given us a leader like him. At the height of the pandemic, he provided us with free water and free electricity. He also gave allowances to frontline health workers. This shows the large generosity of his heart, he added.



The effective management of the economy over the last three and a half years by the Akufo-Addo Government, he stressed, has ensured that the pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on all economies around the world, did not bring untold hardships to the Ghanaian people.



On Free SHS, the Okyenhene indicated that this policy has ensured that money, or the lack of it, has not denied any Ghanaian child access to education, adding that other policies being initiated by the President such as 1-District-1-Dam, 1-Village-1-Dam, NABCO, the development of road infrastructure, and the Zipline drone delivery service are all bearing fruit.



He was born into a good home. He begun to believe in the public values of equity, equality, freedom and the pursuit of justice. All these are virtues Nana Addo possesses. It is said that, by their fruits, you shall know them. If his policies are bearing fruit, we, in Okyeman, say Nana toaso', he added.



To residents of Okyeman, who have been beneficiaries of the Presidents policies, the Okyenhene had a word of advice for them.



If you are from Okyenman or a Ghanaian, and your child is a beneficiary of Free SHS and all the other policies of Government, and you believe there is a new wind of development blowing, and you dont vote well on December 7, he retorted, eliciting a rapturous applause from the gathering.



Vote on my record



On his part, President Akufo-Addo thanked the Okyenhene and Okyeman for the warm welcome accorded to him and his delegation.



He told the gathering that my Government did not come to do lazy work. All aspects of our national life have benefitted from our policies, be they in health, roads, industrialization, or agriculture. My Government has worked for the benefit of all Ghanaians.



I have proven that I did not come to lie to Ghanaians, but to work for the progress and development of Ghana and for all Ghanaians. I am asking the people of Ghana to assess me on the basis of my record, and, if they were satisfied with it, they should give me an opportunity to do more for them by voting for me.



The President told the gathering further that I am a man of my word. I did not come to deceive to anyone, and that is what has given me the courage to seek your support in the upcoming elections. This is what will strengthen me to consolidate the gains chalked in my first term.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Neuron Mobility, one of Australia and New Zealands leading electric scooter rental operators, has announced that it has successfully raised a further USD$12 million in Series A+ investment, as consumers across the world are realising the potential of e-scooters as a safe, convenient and socially-distanced transport option during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The investment, led by Australian venture capital firm, Square Peg, along with GSR Ventures, brings the Singapore-headquartered companys total Series A funding to USD$30.5 million. The fresh capital puts the company in a strong position to accelerate international expansion, particularly in Australia and New Zealand post Covid-19, and to maintain industry leadership when it comes to innovation and safety.

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Neuron has partnered with councils across Australia and New Zealand to operate in nine locations including Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Canberra, Townsville and Auckland. The company aims to build on this further by expanding into at least five new cities across the region within the next 12 months. This will see the creation of around 400 jobs which will be split between Australia and New Zealand as well as its headquarters in Singapore. Outside of the region, the company has announced a launch in Slough, the first UK location amongst a number that the company will be operating in before the end of the year.

During the Covid-19 lockdown in Australia, Neuron reported that one in five users had never ridden an e-scooter before, and since then many have actively chosen to change their travel habits. Increasingly concerned with social distancing, Australian and New Zealand riders have increased their average e-scooter trip distance by 23% to 2.6km, while the average duration has risen by 10% to more than 14 minutes.

Zachary Wang, Neuron Mobilitys CEO, says: Cities across the world are rethinking their transport systems and increasingly people are looking for a safe, inexpensive and socially-distanced way to travel post Covid-19. This presents a great opportunity for micromobility providers. Our experience of operating in Australia and New Zealand, combined with fresh funding, will help us accelerate our growth across the region and beyond.

Our approach has always been to partner with cities and to adapt to meet their needs  this has led to quite a few world firsts and innovations. We strive to lead the industry when it comes to safety and sustainable operations  weve a whole host of exciting new features in the pipeline that well be rolling out soon.

Cities are increasingly open to micromobility  in the last two weeks we have opened in Canberra and Townsville in Australia, and have announced our first location in the UK  the time is right to export our knowhow to new cities across the globe.

Neurons industry-leading e-scooters are built specifically for renting and rider safety. The company was the first to implement a full suite of geofencing, allowing councils to better control where and how fast e-scooters can be ridden. Neurons e-scooters were also the first to feature interchangeable batteries for greener operations. They were the first to integrate voice guidance to educate users to ride safely. Neuron also launched the worlds first app-controlled helmet lock, which secures a safety helmet to the e-scooters between trips for the benefit of safety-conscious riders.

Neuron has introduced a range of other innovations including a topple detection feature that can detect if an e-scooter has been left on its side which then alerts an operations team to reposition it safely; an emergency button which can tell if someone has had a fall and helps the rider call the emergency services; and, a Follow my Ride feature allows the riders friends and family to track an e-scooter trip in real time for added safety and peace of mind.

Since the last funding round in December 2019, Neuron has launched in a further eight cities in Australia and New Zealand and has announced its entry into the UK market. Currently operating a fleet of 4,000 e-scooters, the companys 400,000 Australian and New Zealand riders have completed close to 2 million trips and 4 million kilometers of city travel.
The World Congress of Ukrainians (UWC) and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) invite volunteers to become international observers in the local elections in Ukraine on October 25.

On Sunday, October 25th, Ukrainians will vote for local council officials from the oblast down to the village levels. More than 25,000 officials will be elected under a new electoral law. These elections are significant because the role of local officials has been expanded by recent governmental decentralization reforms. The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) are seeking volunteers to serve as international election observers, reads a report posted on the UWC website.

The UWC noted that given the worldwide pandemic and various travel restrictions, the Election Observation Mission (EOM) will rely primarily on expats already residing in Ukraine.

These elections are unlike any other in Ukraines history, not only because of the challenges posed by the pandemic but because local governments now have a greater say in their local affairs, which is a long overdue and welcome departure from the legacy of the highly-centralized, Soviet past. UWC remains committed to supporting transparency and fairness of electoral processes, even during these challenging times, stated Paul Grod, UWC President.

It is noted that the UWC and UCCA EOM will coordinate in-country travel, lodging, translators and guides (if necessary) and provide official Central Election Commission (CEC) international observer accreditation. EOM volunteers will be responsible for all costs associated with their participation in the Mission.
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) will hold its 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Wednesday, November 4, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., Pacific Time. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, for the safety and well-being of our stockholders, directors and employees, and taking into account the protocols of local, state and federal governments, we have determined that this year's Annual Meeting will be held in a virtual format only.

The proxy materials and website www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ORCL2020 include instructions on how to participate in the meeting and how you may vote your shares of Oracle stock. A recording of the meeting will be available on the Oracle Investor Relations website at www.oracle.com/investor and at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ORCL2020 following the Annual Meeting through November 11, 2020.

About Oracle

The Oracle Cloud offers a complete suite of integrated applications for Sales, Service, Marketing, Human Resources, Finance, Supply Chain and Manufacturing, plus Highly- Automated and Secure Generation 2 Infrastructure featuring the Oracle Autonomous Database. For more information about Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), visit us at www.oracle.com or contact Investor Relations at [email protected] or (650) 506-4073.

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Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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London:

An Indian-origin couple in the UK are caught up in a divorce battle which includes a 160,000-pound ticket on the futuristic first commercial flight into space on British entrepreneur Richard Branson's famed Virgin Galactic. Meera Manek is taking her husband, Ashish Thakkar, to the UK High Court next week to dispute his claims that his assets are worth just 445,532 pounds.

The 33-year-old food writer and blogger insists that Thakkar is in fact a billionaire, 'The Daily Telegraph 'reported. "The Virgin Galactic flight will be discussed in court. It is an asset Ashish still holds and will be considered aspart of the investigation into his total wealth. Meera will demand the cost of the ticket be counted in his assets. She could demand he cashes it in," the newspaper quoted a source as saying.

Thakkar was among the first to sign up for Branson's dream project of launching the first commercial flight into space. The full amount of the tickets are paid up front but the tickets on Virgin Galactic are fully refundable up until the date of the flight. The UK High Court will now decide over the course of a five-day hearing beginning on Monday what Thakkar's assets are worth and a further trial will then determine how much Manek ould receive as part of the divorce settlement.

Thakkar is a Dubai-based businessman who runs the Mara Group and was born in the city of Leicester in the UK. His family were among the thousands of East African Indians who came to the UK after being deported by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 1970s. The 35-year-old married Manek in 2008 but the couple separated in 2013.

His soon-to-be ex-wife claims her estranged husband is the beneficiary of a complex series of companies held offshore. But he has told the High Court that the beneficiaries of the Mara Group an IT, banking and property group were of his mother and sister. 'The Sunday Times Rich List' had estimated Thakkar's wealth at 500 million pounds in 2015 but he was missing from the list in 2016. Justice Moor will rule on Thakkar's real wealth next week.

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Display analyst Ross Young and Mizuho Securities claim that Apple will include 120Hz ProMotion displays on its iPhone 13 lineup for 2021. The analyst also claims that the next iPhone SE refresh from Apple will now arrive in 2022 Spring instead of 2021.

There were rumors of Apple including a 120Hz ProMotion display on the iPhone 12 lineup this year itself but recent leaks have confirmed this is not happening. Mizuho Securities claims that Apple will be including a 120Hz high refresh rate panel on the 2021 iPhone 13 lineup. Ross Young also claims that Apple will be using variable refresh rate ProMotion displays on the iPhone 13 that will be achieved via LTPO technology. Right now, while there are plenty of Android smartphones with 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate displays, only the Galaxy Note 20+ from Samsung features a variable refresh rate panel.

Most important development on the iPhone 13 models from my perspective will be ProMotion with variable refresh rates through LTPO adoption on the Pro models.  Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) October 2, 2020

Mizuho Securities analysts also expect the lineup to look similar to Apples upcoming iPhone 12 lineup, with four models starting with a 5.4-inch display size and going all the way up to 6.7-inches. It is expected that LG Display and BOE will join Samsung Display in supplying OLED panels for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. Apple has so far been primarily sourcing OLED panels for its iPhones from Samsung Display itself. LG Display and BOE have tried to get into Apples OLED display supply chain but have had very limited success so far.

Our Take

With almost every other Android smartphone now shipping with a high refresh rate display, the lack of it on the iPhone 12 lineup might stick out like a sore thumb for many. However, the addition of a high-refresh rate panel has led to a decline in the battery life of most flagship Android devices this year as well. If Apple ends up going with a variable refresh rate panel on the iPhone 13 lineup, it would avoid such pitfalls.
The diagnosis marks a devastating blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them. In the best of cases, if he develops no symptoms, which can include fever, cough and breathing trouble, it will likely force him off the campaign trail just weeks before the election and puts his participation in the second presidential debate, scheduled for October 15 in Miami, into doubt.
A little more than a month before the U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump announced early Friday via Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus and have begun quarantining themselves.

In response, Vice President Mike Pence tweeted: Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends

President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.

Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.  Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) October 2, 2020

It is unknown exactly how drastically the test result will affect the presidents campaign activities. For the time being Trump will not be traveling to rallies or fundraising events.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reassured reporters traveling with him Friday to Croatia that he is feeling fine and does not have COVID-19, noting he has been tested regularly.

We are praying for the President and First Lady that theyll have a speedy recovery, Pompeo said.

Global markets fell following the news of Trumps diagnosis.

Naoya Oshikubo, a senior economist with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management in Tokyo, told Reuters he was worried that Trump would become even more aggressive against China after contracting the virus. Oshikubo added, I got the impression that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has become more anti-China after he had COVID-19. The coronavirus first emerged in China late last year.

Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas expressed concern, tweeting: Its not just a matter of the Presidents personal health; its a matter of national security. This virus has claimed over 200k American lives in 6 months.

If @realdonaldtrump tests positive for COVID-19, the White House needs to be honest with the American people.



Its not just a matter of the Presidents personal health; its a matter of national security. This virus has claimed over 200k American lives in 6 months.  Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) October 2, 2020

More than 7.2 million people in the U.S. have contracted COVID-19.



Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first foreign leaders to send well wishes to the Trumps. Modi said on Twitter, Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health.



That sentiment was echoed by some of the presidents fiercest critics.

We sincerely pray the President& the First Lady do not have the worst of this disease, American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said on Twitter. We must all pray for the full recovery of the President& his wife. For whatever religious or political persuasion you may be, we must all pray as millions of people are affected by this disease.

We sincerely pray the President& the First Lady do not have the worst of this disease.We must all pray for the full recovery of the President& his wife.For whatever religious or political persuasion you may be, we must all pray as millions of people are affected by this disease.  Rev Jesse Jackson Sr (@RevJJackson) October 2, 2020



More Reaction from World Leaders

I wish a speedy recovery to U.S. President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump, who tested positive for COVID-19.



I sincerely hope that they will overcome the quarantine period without problems and regain their health as soon as possible.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan (@RTErdogan) October 2, 2020



From Israel

Like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery. https://t.co/UcxQpsxBLE  Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) October 2, 2020

From WHO chief
Bybee Lakes Hope Center, the building formerly known as the Wapato Jail, opened its doors for the first time Friday, in advance of its official opening to residents on Oct. 12.

The 57,000-square-foot North Portland shelter will have 84 open beds during its first phase of opening, with around 400 more beds for longer-term housing expected to become available in December.

Wapato Jail sat empty for 16 years, after costing about $58 million of taxpayer money to build. Multnomah County sold it for $5 million in 2018 to developer Marty Kehoe. It was then purchased by developer Jordan Schnitzer.

Schnitzer has attempted to turn the unused jail into a shelter since he acquired the property. On Friday, he achieved that goal.

To all the doomsayers, Schnitzer said at a press conference in front of Bybee Lakes Hope Center, this is really a testament to a dream.

The facility will be run by Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers. Bybee Lakes will be the groups fourth homeless re-entry center in the state.

Some doubted the project would ever come to fruition, said Raven Russell, Director of Data and Major Projects for Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers.

Sometimes you have to prove people wrong, she continued, and we have.

On concern with the site was a lack of public transit access, Russell said.

TriMet called us, she said. We said we need a bus stop to make this happen.

She told the gathered group, You guys drove past it on your way here.

Russell said the timeline of the center was sped up in an effort to help people affected by coronavirus.

Alan Evans, CEO of Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers, said his company had created a data-driven, trauma-informed homeless re-entry program that it will use at the Bybee Lakes facility.

This is a tad bit surreal for me, Evans said as he took the mic at the press conference, because 20 years ago I was sleeping under the Burnside Bridge where I nearly froze to death one night.

Evans said during his time on the streets, it was difficult to get all his needs met in place.

If you want to get something that you need, you have to go to multiple places in multiple directions, he said, and when your life is falling apart thats impossible.

The new center will work to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness on many levels, he said, using an individualized approach to everyone who walks through the door.

Several officials were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, including Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and Oregon State Senators Lew Frederick, Betsy Johnson and Elizabeth Steiner-Hayward

We had many years where this incredible public asset was just sitting vacant, Wheeler said. It really took the leadership of the community.

"Government couldnt do it alone, he added, Here we now stand together and were seeing the best of what this community has to offer.

Frederick said he was incredibly pleased about the opening of the center.

He said in a two-block walk earlier in the morning, he saw six tents with people living in them.

These are folks I would like to be able to say, heres an opportunity, heres a place where you can go, Frederick said. Its not just a program, its not just a facility, its a basic concept that we do care.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri looks on during a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Lebanon, Israel Agree to Talks to End Sea Border Dispute

BEIRUT/TEL AVIVLebanon and Israel have agreed to a framework for U.S.-mediated talks aimed at ending a long-running dispute along the border between the two nations that have fought several conflicts.

Still, in a formal state of war, Lebanon and Israel have contested their land and maritime borders for decades, namely over an area in the sea on the edge of three Lebanese offshore energy blocks. Israel said the talks would cover the sea border.

Washington has mediated between the two sides.

This is a framework agreement, not a final one, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told reporters, less than a month after the United States imposed sanctions on his top aide for corruption and financially enabling Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese group which Washington deems a terrorist organization.

The heavily armed Hezbollah and Israel, sworn enemies, last fought a war in 2006.

The announcement comes with Lebanon facing its worst crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. The countrys financial meltdown was compounded by a massive port explosion that wrecked a swathe of Beirut in August, killing nearly 200 people.

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz confirmed the two sides would hold U.S.-brokered talks on the maritime border, a major point of contention.

The U.S. State Department welcomed the agreement and said it had taken three years of diplomacy to achieve.

Talks will begin in the week of Oct. 12, David Schenker, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, told reporters in a telephone briefing, adding that he will represent the United States in the negotiations.

It follows deals signed in August, brokered by Washington, between Israel and two Gulf Arab states to normalize relations.

Sanctions

Berri, a Hezbollah ally and influential Shiite leader in charge of the border file, said talks would be held under the auspices of the United Nations at a U.N. base in Naqoura near the boundary with Israel, known as the Blue Line.

He told a news conference in Beirut that Washington would push for agreement as soon as possible.

Berri mentioned the land and maritime border at the news conference, while Israel and the United States only mentioned the maritime boundary. One reason previous efforts to launch talks floundered was the two sides disagreeing over which frontier to discuss, analysts say.

A Lebanese official source suggested Berri was prompted to make the announcement now because of the economic crisis and U.S. sanctions imposed in August on his right-hand man, Ali Hassan Khalil. A Western diplomat echoed that.

Berri denied being swayed.

I, Berri, cannot be softened by force, he told reporters.

Speaking after the agreement was announced, Schenker, the State Department official, said the United States will continue to impose sanctions on Lebanese individuals allied with Hezbollah or engaged in corruption, adding that further sanctions remained in play.

In 2018, Beirut licensed a group of Italys Eni, Frances Total, and Russias Novatek to carry out Lebanons first offshore energy exploration in two blocks. One of them, Block 9, contains waters disputed with Israel.

Berri said he had asked French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been at the center of foreign efforts to help Lebanon out of the crisis, to press Total not to delay exploration for gas in the offshore area.

As well as the maritime border row, the two countries disagree over a border wall Israel started building in 2018. A U.N. peacekeeping force has monitored the boundary since Israels military withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000.

By Ellen Francis & Rami Ayyub
Next Insurance, a digital insurtech company focused on small business insurance, has expanded its workers compensation offering to 24 additional states, bringing the total number of states it offers coverage in to 30.

The additional states include: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. These states join previous coverage availability in: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada and Texas.

Legally required in most states as soon as a company hires its first employee, workers compensation protects both the employee and the business in the event of an accident, illness or death occurring while working or engaging in work-related activities. Next Insurances workers compensation policies cover medical expenses, loss of income, retraining, permanent injury, and survivor benefits. Even sole proprietors can utilize workers compensation if medical expenses related to workplace accidents are not covered by health insurance.

Coverage starts at $14 per month. Businesses can quote and explore their coverage options all online. Small business owners can obtain general liability, professional liability, commercial auto and workers compensation coverage in one place.

Next Insurance will steadily expand Workers Compensation in additional states into 2021.

According to Sofya Pogreb, COO of Next Insurance, the company is currently working on launching a pay-as-you-go option, which fluctuates automatically with a companys payroll.

Next Insurance gives insureds access to USA-based licensed insurance advisors, tools and services like 24/7 access to certificates of insurance from a mobile device or computer and in-house claims filings where a decision is typically made within 48 hours.

Next Insurance was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Palo Alto. It has received a total of $631 million in venture capital funding.

Topics Workers' Compensation Talent
Jim and Levora DAcosta celebrated 70 years of marriage on Thursday, October 1.

Residents of New Canaan for over 40 years, Jim and Levora met at Texas Tech in Lubbock. After graduation, Jim took a job as an engineer with GE in Mexico City, where he and Levora were married at the Union Evangelical Church.

Jims career then led them from Mexico to Texas and finally to New Canaan in 1974, where they settled down and raised their three children.

I feel fortunate to have spent my life with such a wonderful woman, said Jim. We have been very, very happy.


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WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Appraisal Foundation Board of Trustees today welcomed two new members and named Jeremy Gray as the new Chair of the Board of Trustees. Leigh Lester of Long Beach, California and Bob Morrison of Orlando, Florida joined the board for three year terms beginning January 1, 2021, and current board member Robert Taylor was reappointed to a second three year term. Current Board of Trustees Chair Leila Dunbar will become Immediate Past Chair on January 1, and Immediate Past Chair Ronny Johnson and board member Lisa Hobart will leave the board marking the end of their respective terms.

"We are so appreciative of the appraisers across the country who devote their time to serving on our boards," said President Dave Bunton. "Over the years, these board members have helped us build public trust in the appraisal profession and set up our industry for success long into the future."

The Appraisal Foundation Board of Trustees also named new members to the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) and the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB). Scott Robinson of Salisbury, North Carolina, Craig Morley of St. George, Utah and Riley Busenlener of New Orleans, Louisiana were appointed to the ASB, and Byron Miller of Minneapolis, Minnesota was appointed to the AQB. Shawn Telford of Oxford, Mississippi and Greg Harding of Gold River California were reappointed to the AQB. Wayne Miller and Mark Lewis will remain chairs of the ASB and AQB respectively, and John Ryan and Michelle Bradley will be vice chairs of each board.

BACKGROUND: The Appraisal Foundation is congressionally-authorized to set standards and qualifications for real estate appraisers. It is governed by a Board of Trustees which oversees two additional boards, the Appraisal Standards Board and the Appraiser Qualifications Board, responsible for writing the standards and qualifications respectively.

Media Contact:

Amy Timmerman

(202) 624-3048

[email protected]

SOURCE The Appraisal Foundation
Ms. Heidermans parents, who are preparing to sue the agency, said her death was proof that the Peace Corps could not ensure the health of volunteers in ordinary times, let alone during a pandemic.

Its reckless and its terrible, Julie Heiderman, Bernices mother, said in a recent interview, referring to the agencys plan to resume operations. From what we know and what happened with Bernice, its dangerous.

Beyond the Peace Corps medical mistakes, the Heidermans  Mrs. Heiderman, her husband, Bill, and their other daughter, Grace  said they were appalled at what they called the Peace Corps callousness. After Bernices death on Jan. 9, the Heidermans said, the agency, citing a need for efficiency, delayed sending the body to Germany for an autopsy until it had other reasons for a flight. The timeline for her return home kept shifting, but based on the Peace Corps assurances, they scheduled a church funeral for Jan. 20.

The body had not arrived by then and the Heidermans, exhausted, went ahead with the funeral anyway. Bernices remains finally came home four days later.

Peace Corps officials declined to be interviewed. In an unsigned email sent by the agencys press office, the agency said it continues to grieve the tragic loss of volunteer Bernice Heiderman and initiated several steps to further strengthen health care for volunteers after she died. The agency said the doctor who misdiagnosed Ms. Heiderman, Dr. Nizar Ahamada Said, no longer works for the Peace Corps.

Founded in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to spread American good will around the world, the Peace Corps is an unusual government agency. Its volunteers are not considered federal employees, which has made it difficult for them to receive help from the government if they become victims of crime or return home with lasting illnesses or injuries.

Theyre the ones that served. We ought to take care of them, Mr. Poe said.

Deaths in the Peace Corps are relatively rare, and often occur as a result of an accident or injuries. Including Ms. Heiderman, nine volunteers have died in the past three years.
SEOUL, South Korea  Once a year for the past three decades, the Joo brothers have traveled back to their hometown from South Koreas capital to mark the Chuseok holiday.

They drive from Seoul with their respective families, forgoing a bullet train that would cut the journey in half, with car trunks full of presents. And they always save room for the giant meal that they eat with their parents to mark Chuseok, the rough Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving.

This year, the government has asked South Koreans to stay home during Chuseok, which runs through the weekend, to avoid exacerbating the countrys latest coronavirus outbreak.

Many South Koreans, including the Joo family, have grudgingly followed orders, but their acquiescence comes with an emotional price: A normally joyful time of year now feels empty of its sacred rituals, and clouded with feelings of anxiety and disorientation.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has floated the unconstitutional idea of delaying the Nov. 3 election. His administration violated a judges order on the 2020 census and could be held in contempt. Another court ruled that he illegally sidestepped Congress to find billions for his border wall.

In ways large and small, in multiple corners of the government, the president has demonstrated a willingness to push the boundaries of federal law, if not outright flout them. And in the heat of a presidential campaign, that track record only adds to anxiety about whether Trump will abide by the results of the election.

When the president talks about being the law-and-order candidate, its clear that when he says the word law he means the laws he personally cares about enforcing, said Liz Hempowicz, public policy director at the private Project On Government Oversight. Thats not how a law-and-order system works. You cant pick and choose. Its just a complete breakdown of our democratic systems happening in front of our eyes.

Trump has already suggested the election will be rigged, and he has pointedly declined to promise a peaceful transfer of power if he loses. He jokes about staying in office beyond two terms, prompting supporters in Atlanta last week to chant 12 more years!

But its no joke to critics who see a callous attitude toward the laws he claims to uphold. They point to a series of instances in which Trump or officials in his administration have violated the spirit of the law, ignored it or made end runs around statutes to implement his policies.

We are used to presidents bowing to a court determination, bowing to a finding by an inspector general ... but if the president refuses to do that, what is the mechanism to hold him and his administration accountable? asked Trevor Potter, president of the private Campaign Legal Center.

Trumps defenders say such concerns are overblown.

David Rivkin Jr., a constitutional lawyer who served in the White House counsels office and the Justice Department in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, sees no cause for alarm when it comes to Trump abiding by the election results.

There is every reason to believe that he would use only lawful means to contest the electoral outcome, if a situation arises where the outcome is contestable, he said by email.

Trump has already telegraphed that hes expecting the election to be determined in the courts. He quickly nominated Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a move that many Republicans hope will help deliver a quick and decisive end to potential election litigation.

But Trump has also raised a multitude of doubts and objections about whether the election will be fair, and tossed out his own suggestions that could well contribute to confusion.

He urged people in North Carolina to vote twice, which is a felony. The president said later he was only suggesting that voters check to make sure their mail-in votes had been counted by trying to vote again in-person. But some states do not even tally mail-in ballots until the polls close on Election Day.

Trump also recently suggested that his supporters go to polling places in Philadelphia, which has a heavily minority population, but if they interfere with voting, that could violate state law. If supporters tried to intimidate or keep a person from voting, they could be found in violation of the Civil Rights Act or the Ku Klux Klan Act, Potter said.

In a move that dovetails with the Trump administrations claim that irregular voting will skew the election, a U.S. attorney in Pennsylvania last week sent out a press release about an investigation into nine ballots  some for Trump  that were found in a trash can. That raised eyebrows because Justice Department officials typically do not reveal details about ongoing criminal investigations, especially ones linked to the election or a particular political party.

Beyond election law, government watchdog groups have been tracking a raft of other examples where they allege that Trump is flouting laws.

Theres ongoing drama over the Commerce Departments violation of a federal judges order when it chose Oct. 5, 2020, as the date to end the census, even after U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh had issued an injunction allowing the nations head count to continue through October.

But Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross decided to end the count early anyway. The judge late Thursday said in a new order that the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau had violated her earlier injunction in several ways and she threatened them with sanctions and contempt proceedings if they did it again.

Defendants dissemination of erroneous information; lurching from one hasty, unexplained plan to the next; and unlawful sacrifices of completeness and accuracy of the 2020 Census are upending the status quo, violating the Injunction Order, and undermining the credibility of the Census Bureau and the 2020 Census, the judge wrote. This must stop.

Trump administration lawyers have said the suggestion that the federal government should be held in contempt was unfair.

Multiple legal skirmishes have unfolded over people Trump has ousted from government and those hes brought on under questionable circumstances.

Last spring, Trump used his authority to force out five inspectors general from various federal agencies who were tasked with sniffing out government mismanagement, waste and fraud. The president has the authority to fire inspector generals for failure to perform their duties, but he does not have broad authority to fire someone for the wrong reason.

The removals were described as retaliation for doing things that displeased Trump. For example, the intelligence community inspector general who was fired had given Congress the whistleblower complaint that led to Trumps impeachment. It claimed the president had asked Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Democrat Joe Biden, and Bidens son, Hunter, in exchange for military assistance.

Two top officials at the Department of Homeland Security, a sprawling agency with 230,000 people, were found to have been wrongly appointed to their positions and ineligible to serve, according to the Government Accountability Office, the independent investigative arm of Congress. One has since been nominated to fill the post of secretary permanently.

On Thursday, a judge ruled that a national commission on law enforcement, created earlier this year by Trump and Attorney General William Barr, violated federal law because its members lacked diversity and did not provide public access to meetings.

The Office of Special Counsel has cited the presidents top advisers multiple times for violating the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activity by federal employees. Special counsel Henry Kerner, a Trump appointee, recommended that Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway be fired after repeated violations, but the White House ignored that.

Concern also persists that the president is improperly benefiting personally when foreign governments spend money, rent rooms and schedule events at Trumps hotel in Washington.

If he is taking money from foreign governments without congressional consent, he is violating the Constitution, said Potter, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

___

Associated Press writer Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida contributed to this report.
Lake Geneva city officials are discussing boosting the citys hotel room tax from 5 percent to 8 percent to pay for renovations to the Riviera tourism center.

Mayor Charlene Klein is proposing the increase, which would cost hotel guests more than $400,000 a year in higher taxes to support tourism and other city government operations.

Klein presented the room tax rate increase Sept. 22 to the newly created Riviera Restoration Ad Hoc Committee as a possible option for funding work on the city-owned lakefront landmark.

Hotel guests last year paid a combined $798,239 in room taxes to the city at the current 5 percent rate.

The mayor, however, said other communities already are charging hotel visitors room taxes at the 8 percent rate.

Were 3 percent below, pretty much, what other municipalities are charging, she said.

To fund the Riviera restoration, aldermen this summer approved a 40 percent increase for wedding party rentals in the Riviera ballroom, from $3,900 to $5,500 for peak-demand Saturday weddings.

Members of the ad hoc committee had recommended the wedding rental rate increase as a way to generate money for Riviera renovations.

Now presented with a hotel tax increase, too, members of the city councils finance, licensing & regulation committee have put the brakes on the idea temporarily.

The city council committee Sept. 15 agreed to hold off on discussing the mayors idea.

Alderwoman Mary Jo Fesenmaier said she wants to determine how the proposed hotel tax increase would affect local businesses.

I dont think Ive researched it enough, Fesenmaier said.

The finance committee is scheduled to again consider the hotel tax increase idea Oct. 6.

The city is looking for ideas to finance a Riviera restoration project that began this year with about $2 million in spending, financed largely with bank borrowing, for a new roof and other exterior upgrades.

The long-discussed project has been forecast to cost $5 million or more before it is completed.

Except for the Riviera wedding rental rate increase, the city has not identified future funding sources for the project.

The city council agreed to establish the new Riviera ad hoc group at Kleins suggestion, despite concerns among some aldermen that the new group would circumvent the existing decision-making process within the city council.

The ad hoc group has since successfully pushed for the wedding rental rate increase, as well as a remodeling plan for the Rivieras first floor.

Klein said increasing the hotel room tax rate would provide more revenue to the city for the remodeling and possibly other expenditures.

With revenue of $798,239 from hotel room rentals last year, the city allocated a portion to the city tourism commission, which uses its funding to award grants to local organizations holding tourism events.

Klein told members of the ad hoc group that additional funding from hotel visitors also could be used to encourage more events at the Riviera.

Other possible funding options mentioned by the mayor for Riviera restoration have included borrowing more money and applying for outside grants. She said she recently learned of a grant between $250,000 and $750,000 to fund renovations to properties listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

I will be looking into that ASAP, Klein said.

Ad hoc committee member Grace Hanny proposed that the city hire a grant writer to apply for grant funding.

No estimate was presented on the cost of hiring a grant writer.

Theres a fee, Hanny said. But if you get it, its well worth it.

Another ad hoc committee member, Fred Gahl, said the city should consider other new revenue sources in the citys lakefront fund. The lakefront fund includes Riviera Beach admissions, buoy rentals, kayak rentals and pier rentals.

The city this summer approved beach admission increases.

You can significantly generate a lot more revenue off the lakefront, Gahl said, and have that be a very significant profit center.

The city has not released detailed plans or cost projections for the Riviera project, although a consultant estimated a couple of years ago that the work could cost $5 million.

The city in 2018 hired MSI General Corp. of Oconomowoc as architect and construction manager, to be paid 14 percent, which could equal $700,000 if the project ends up costing $5 million.

Klein said the city could hire someone to assist with fundraising efforts for the project. She said the city had planned to host fundraising events, but that those plans have been set aside because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Weve been stymied a little bit by the whole COVID situation, Klein said. Everything being normal, we probably would have had two or three fundraising balls or something planned at this point.

The ad hoc committee is scheduled Oct. 27 to discuss funding options again.

That will give us a few more weeks to get our thinking caps on, Klein said.

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The officials from a secretive Russian security force seemed to know exactly what they wanted when they reached out to Olga Izranovas company last spring.

They wanted movable tunnels that douse people in clouds of disinfectant.

They said it had to be done very fast, Izranova recalls.

She admits the tunnels are of limited efficacy in the coronavirus pandemic, but for her most important customer, every bit counts. The Federal Protective Service, Russias answer to the Secret Service, has helped build a virus-free bubble around President Vladimir Putin that far outstrips the protective measures taken by many of his foreign counterparts.

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

Russian journalists who cover Putin have not seen him up close since March. The few people who meet him face-to-face generally spend as much as two weeks in quarantine first. The president still conducts his meetings with senior officials  including with his Cabinet and his Security Council  by video link from a spartan room in his residence outside Moscow, which has been outfitted with Izranovas disinfectant tunnel.

In the coronavirus pandemic, Putins Russia has often been compared to the United States and Brazil, two other large countries whose leaders have played down the diseases risk and saw it spiral out of control. But while President Donald Trump and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil have chafed against restricting their own movements, Putin has retreated into an intricate cocoon of social distancing  even as he has allowed life in Russia to essentially return to normal.

The contrast between the behavior of Putin and that of his people now looms large, as a second wave of the pandemic threatens to wash over Russia. In Moscow, where people packed indoor bars and restaurants all summer with few masks in sight, the number of daily reported new cases tripled to more than 2,300 in the last two weeks.

As Russia lifted last springs lockdown, Putin presided over ceremonial events that seemed designed to exude a sense of normalcy. Behind the scenes, they were anything but normal.

Dozens of World War II veterans joined Putin on the risers in Red Square in June when he presided over a military parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Unions victory over Nazi Germany. But before being allowed within breathing distance of Putin, the veterans had to spend two weeks in quarantine at an isolated health resort.

We went for walks, were bored, sat around and breathed the air, said Lev Litvinov, a 100-year-old veteran.

The logistics proved so taxing that Litvinov did not actually make it to the parade. He said that after spending two weeks in quarantine, he got sick on the winding drive through the countryside toward Red Square, 50 miles away. He was taken instead to a health center, where he spent another week.

Most importantly, this is about their health, the veterans health, Dmitri S. Peskov, Putins spokesperson, said in June of the decision to quarantine the attendees.

Putins diligence in protecting himself is striking because in communicating with the Russian public in recent months, his government largely declared the virus vanquished.

I would like to congratulate you on our latest joint victory, Mayor Sergey S. Sobyanin of Moscow wrote to Muscovites in June, announcing the end of the citys lockdown. Indoor dining at bars and restaurants resumed just two weeks later.

Critics said Russia rushed to end its coronavirus restrictions in order to lift peoples spirits before the July 1 referendum on constitutional amendments that opened the door to Putin remaining president until 2036. When Putin announced in August that Russia had registered the worlds first coronavirus vaccine, it appeared that the country was delivering a final, crushing blow against the pandemic.

These common efforts and targeted and, as it turned out, very effective solutions have helped us to pass the peak of the epidemic and create conditions for further work, Putin said afterward in an interview with state television.

Families filled Black Sea resorts and adults returned to their offices. Across the country, children went back to school on schedule on Sept. 1.

But Putin remained in self-isolation. He continued to hold most of his meetings with government officials by video conference from a room in his suburban Moscow estate, Novo-Ogaryovo.

The residence, like the Kremlin, has been outfitted with a disinfectant tunnel made by Izranovas industrial-cleaning equipment company, Mizotty, in the Russian city of Penza. Walking through the tunnel, she says, feels and smells like passing through a cloud of pool-water mist.

Putins video conferencing room  beige chair, walls, telephones; a Dell computer screen, blank except for a photograph of the Kremlin as the desktop background  became so familiar that state television recently broadcast a segment on it.

These are the microphones on the presidents desk, the reporter intoned on the Sunday prime time show Moscow. Kremlin. Putin. When the indicator lights are red, sound is not transmitted.

That a state television reporter got to visit and interview Putin in August was an exception. Otherwise, the Kremlin has cut off journalists ability to see Putin in person, even for those who used to do so regularly, since March.

The work has been absolutely remote, said Andrei Kolesnikov, a journalist who has covered the Kremlin for Kommersant, a daily newspaper, since 2002. I know for a fact that no text journalist, myself included, has seen the president in all the days of the coronavirus.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, did not respond to requests for comment about the presidents coronavirus precautions. But Kolesnikov said he understood that the governors, business leaders and senior officials on Putins agenda are given a choice: meet by video link or spend up to two weeks in quarantine for an in-person encounter.

Since he misses real-life interaction with people, you would probably have the chance to drink tea with him afterward, in the case of an in-person meeting, Kolesnikov said. I think that they, of course, choose quarantine in that situation.

Putins extreme caution reflects not only his age  he is 67, putting him at relatively high risk of severe illness from the coronavirus  but also what critics describe as paranoia honed during his former career as a KGB spy. He made headlines last year when he sipped from his own mug at the Group of 20 summit in Japan, even as the other assembled world leaders drank from wineglasses.

According to the Kremlins website, only one person has met with Putin face-to-face more than once since April: Igor Sechin, a former KGB officer and a close associate of Putin since the 1990s. He now runs Rosneft, the Russian state oil giant, and saw the president in August and in May.

A Russian investigative news outlet, Proekt, reported Wednesday that authorities had set aside two large health resorts in the Black Sea city of Sochi for people quarantining before meeting Putin. In September, 30 nuclear industry workers who had quarantined in Sochi were then flown to Moscow to meet with the president at the Kremlin, according to Proekt.

Some people quarantine for two weeks, some people quarantine for a few days and some people meet without a quarantine, Peskov told reporters in response.

Putins European Union counterparts have started crisscrossing the Continent again, including for in-person summit meetings in Brussels. Putin, by contrast, has not gone abroad since January.

Peskov hinted this week that the president would only resume foreign travel after he gets a COVID-19 vaccine. But he advised that Putin was not ready to get the shot yet, despite all the state-media bombast about Russias world-leading achievement in developing it.

Its natural that when it comes to the head of state, special precautionary measures are in effect, Peskov told reporters.

By Anton Troianovski

c.2020 The New York Times Company
Thomas was jailed for ten years on Friday. (Police)

A former BBC presenter who sexually abused children and adults as they slept has been jailed.

Ben Thomas, who left the corporation to become a pastor, admitted 40 offences including sexual activity with a child and multiple sexual assaults.

Mold Crown Court heard the offences, which also involved making indecent videos of children, indecent assaults and voyeurism, took place over 30 years, starting in 1990, and involved 33 male victims aged between 11 and 34.

Many took place at Christian camps and conferences, the court heard, and Thomas began the attacks when he was aged 14 or 15.

Sentencing Thomas on Friday to 10 years and four months, Judge Timothy Petts said: For nearly 30 years, until your arrest in September 2019, you hid a dark secret, namely that you were a prolific sex abuser.

Ben Thomas has been sentenced for a string of sex crimes. (Police)

The judge said Thomas abused his role as a respected church leader to find potential victims and progressed to making secret videos of boys and men.

Judge Petts said: You know the harm you have caused to your victims and the wider impact your crimes have had upon your family and the church community.

Read more: Former BBC presenter Ben Thomas admits child sex offences

Prosecuting the 44-year-old, Simon Rogers told the court on Tuesday that the majority of his victims had no idea he had sexually assaulted them and only found out after he confessed to police.

Sometimes, when his victims woke up, he would pretend to be sleep walking, and one awoke during an assault when he felt the bed shaking, thinking dark spirits did it to him, Rogers said.

He turned on the light to find Thomas slumped between beds, looking flustered.

The court heard statements from other victims, one saying that their attackers face wont leave my thoughts.

Thomas, from Flint, Wales, who appeared on the BBCs Wales Today, admitted to police that he would derive sexual pleasure from touching his victims.

Thomas was sentenced at Mold Crown Court. (PA)

The court also heard he hid a phone in a wash bag to record boys going to the toilet or showering at an outdoor centre.

Story continues

Defending the disgraced former journalist, Rachel Shenton told the court his behaviour was something of an addiction, that he lost his family after admitting his crimes and had gone through an enormous fall from grace.

Officers have not been able to trace all of the victims Thomas confessed to abusing, the court was told.

Thomas resigned from his role as pastor at Criccieth Family Church in Gwynedd after his arrest, and North Wales Polices Detective Constable Lynne Willsher said she was grateful for the Evangelical Churchs assistance.

Detective Chief Superintendent Gareth Evans said: North Wales Police welcome todays sentence and I hope it will give some reassurance and comfort to the survivors of Thomass abuse.

He took a privileged position where he should have provided inspiration and guidance to young people, but instead caused real damage to young lives.
She's currently isolating inside her $7.3million Melbourne mansion with her husband Chris Judd and their four young children.

But on Friday, Rebecca Judd, 37, said she is 'going to be on one of the first flights to Perth' once the borders reopen.

The WAG reposted Premier Mark McGowan's statement to Instagram, in which he claimed there is 'no economic benefit' to opening Western Australia's borders and said this isn't true.

Travel: Rebecca Judd (pictured) said she is 'going to be on one of the first flights to Perth' once the borders reopen

'WA is bloody beautiful and I know many people from eastern states who can't wait to flood WA tourist destinations,' Rebecca wrote.

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She went on to reveal the destinations she'd like to visit include Broome, South West, Exmouth, Crown Perth and Samphire Rottnest.

Click here to resize this module

'I'll be on one of the first flights to Perth once allowed to. I understand it will take a bit longer from Victoria but we are getting there,' she continued.

'Can't wait to visit WA when safe to do so,' she ended.

'WA is beautiful!' : She reposted Premier Mark McGowan's statement to Instagram, in which he claimed there is 'no economic benefit' to opening Western Australia's borders

On Thursday, the Premier claimed that reopening the borders to South Australia and the Northern Territory would provide WA with no economic benefit.

The state has not recorded a case of coronavirus in the community for 175 days, but still refuses to open up - even to other safe states such as the NT and SA.

Mr McGowan said there is no point in pursuing a travel bubble because it would only encourage Western Australians to leave the state and bring few tourists in.

Bec wrote: 'WA is bloody beautiful and I know so many people from Eastern States who can't wait to flood WA tourist destinations'

'There is no benefit. All we'll do is lose jobs were we to open to those [jurisdictions],' he said.

'The other states want us to open the border so that West Australian tourists will flood east, not so that people from the east will come here.

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'They're only saying all this for very self-interested reasons because we have higher incomes, we have people that are more used to travelling and therefore we'll have more tourists go from Western Australia to the east.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 18:11:28|Editor: huaxia

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Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (C) prepares to take oath before the National Assembly in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Sept. 30, 2020. (Xinhua photo)

Corruption, security concerns mainly from U.S.-Iran tension, and growing economic trouble arising from the drop in oil revenues and the the spread of COVID-19 are the top challenges facing the new Emir of Kuwait.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait has multiple challenges to meet in the light of the global COVID-19 crisis as the country's new emir took office after the passing of the old ruler, Kuwaiti experts said.

Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah took the oath before the National Assembly, the legislature of Kuwait, on Wednesday to become the 16th Emir of the Gulf Arab country, a day after the death of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.



After the swearing-in ceremony, Sheikh Nawaf said Kuwait is facing serious challenges which can be overcome only by unity and concerted efforts of the people.

Speaking to Xinhua, Ayed Al-Manna, a professor of political sciences at Kuwait University, explained that these challenges are the legacy of the past.

"The most important challenge Kuwait has been facing for two years is corruption which involves money laundering, embezzlement of public money and human trafficking," he said.

The national security is another huge challenge, Al-Manna added, noting instability in the region, especially the tension between the United States and Iran, has put Kuwait in a sensitive position.

However, the professor expressed his belief in the ability of Sheikh Nawaf who held security positions for years, to address Kuwait's security concerns.



Sheikh Nawaf had long been governor of Hawalli Governorate, before holding the portfolios of Minister of Interior, Minister of Defense and Deputy Chief of the National Guard, Al-Manna said.

Education, health system, and housing are also among the major challenges that have been confronting Kuwait for years, according to experts.

A new headache is the growing economic challenge arising from the drop in oil revenues and the spread of the novel coronavirus that led to a nationwide lockdown and paralyzed the economy for months.

Maytham Al-Shakhs, an economic analyst and the head of Athra Real Estate Company, told Xinhua that Kuwait now suffers from a wide budget deficit and the division between the government and the National Assembly regarding the approval of the public debt law.

This challenge requires cooperation between the government and the National Assembly with the aim of improving Kuwait's credit rating after it was downgraded by Moody's, Al-Shakhs explained.

On the front of the foreign relations, Al-Manaa said he expects "more cooperation with the eastern side of the world without affecting the relationship with the western side." 
In a move that's sure to elicit cheers, the province says Grade 12 provincial exams scheduled for early next year have been cancelled, owing to learning disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/10/2020 (478 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a move that's sure to elicit cheers, the province says Grade 12 provincial exams scheduled for early next year have been cancelled, owing to learning disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"While some students have returned to full in-class learning scenarios, many have not. The implementation of a provincial test in this context raises questions around the fairness to students and the validity of the data if the tests were to proceed," Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen wrote in a letter to education stakeholders Thursday.

Much like in the spring, final-year students enrolled in mathematics, English Language Arts and French this fall will not have to take the annual timed exams.

Grade 12 student Ella Dela Cruz said she felt relieved after learning her January English exam has been cancelled.

There was no need to start the school year with this pressure hanging overhead.  High school teacher Darcia Jones

"Some kids are already stressed with whats going on with the pandemic and adding online learning with in-person school makes it worse," said Dela Cruz, 16, who attends Sisler High School.

"Its just overwhelming to include the exams at a time like this, so Im very happy and relieved they cancelled it."

A decision about second-semester finals, which are scheduled for May-June 2021, is expected in February.

Goertzen said the temporary suspension will allow teachers to focus on recovery learning, adapt their classroom practices as the public health situation warrants and respond to mental health and well-being concerns of students. "(It) may help alleviate anxiety on the part of both teachers and students," he added.

When high school teacher Darcia Jones learned about the decision, she had "a little celebratory yell" in her classroom.

TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SUN FILES Much like in the spring, final-year students enrolled in mathematics, English Language Arts and French this fall will not have to take the annual timed exams.

Jones, who teaches Grade 11 and 12 English in Winnipeg, has been outspoken about her belief provincial exams should be a write-off this year, given the unprecedented challenges facing the education system. (She said Thursday her Grade 12 English class is about two weeks behind schedule because of all the catch-up required this term.)

"There was no need to start the school year with this pressure hanging overhead," she said, adding she doesnt think it will be "fair or reasonable" for students to take the exams in the springtime, either.

The timed tests are written during several days and worth between 20 and 30 per cent of a final-year students mark in their respective course. In English, students write the test for three hours on the first day, and for one hour during each of the following three days.

"Theyre problematic at the best of times and in a year like this, I think it's definitely an appropriate decision to suspend them," said Martha Koch, an assistant professor of education at the University of Manitoba, who teaches courses on mathematics education and educational assessment.

Rather than level the playing field, Koch said provincial exams give a false sense educators are getting a "clear picture" of student learning in Manitoba. The exams disadvantage students who struggle to demonstrate their learning in a written format and under anxiety-inducing timed conditions, she said.

This relieves a bit of that pressure, a bit of that anxiety  and theres enough anxiety going on right now.  James Bedford, president of the Manitoba Teachers Society

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Kochs preference is to place greater emphasis on the day-to-day work students do in classrooms  and during the pandemic, virtual classrooms. She said shed like to see the exams count for less of every students mathematics grade, and if there ever was a time to review how assessment is done, its during a pandemic.

The president of the Manitoba Teachers Society called the announcement "the right decision."

"This relieves a bit of that pressure, a bit of that anxiety  and theres enough anxiety going on right now," said James Bedford, listing off stresses related to enforcing physical distancing and mask-wearing in classrooms, as well as concerns about individual and family health.

Bedford added the suspension will relieve teachers of the pressures to power-through the curriculum to cover everything before the exams.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
Loading As an education student, Mr Greenwood said he understood the importance of education

and would also like to see further funding for regional education, special needs and the mental health sector. "Rural and special needs education are not getting enough funding," he said. "The pandemic has only highlighted mental health and we need more resources." Ms Birch, a Monash engineering student, said she wants to see funding injected into renewable energy.

"We are a fairly big exporter of coal, we need to look towards how we can build renewable

energy, there are so many different types of renewable energy, we need to focus on this

before it's too late." Monash University student Jagveer Singh, 19, is worried about university funding and climate change. Credit:Justin McManus The university student Monash University arts student Jagveer Singh, 19, said he's expecting the federal government to cut funding for the university sector. "It's really disappointing, I hope we get some funding for the education sector but you only have to look at what they've done over the past few years to know," he said.

Loading Mr Singh said he would like to see the government inject funding into research, particularly medical research. "Especially after this pandemic, research funding is seriously underfunded in this country, universities are cutting jobs and many of them are amazing researchers," he said. "The government needs to fund further research." Mr Singh believes the number one issue for every young person in Australia is climate change. "We've been asking the government to do something on climate change, but I'm not expecting the government to allocate funding," he said.

He said the government continues to subsidise coal, gas and fossil fuels, yet disregards funding for renewable energy. Mr Singh said he would also like to see further funding in infrastructure, including high-speed rail. "As a part of the recovery from the pandemic, we need to make sure we reconnect our cities better, there are more than 12 million people in the Sydney corridor, it's better for the environment and will support regional communities who are so isolated from the cities," he said. Karissa Cornell hopes the government will inject funding into education and tourism. The unemployed person

St Kilda resident Karissa Cornell was previously employed as a project co-ordinator for a

construction company but was made redundant in July. Loading Since then, she has been searching for a job and has had numerous interviews but no success. Ms Cornell said she expected the federal government would inject millions into businesses, especially big corporations. "They will invest in businesses who can give them a return in the future," she said. However, Ms Cornell said she wants to see funding allocated to the education sector."Students are the future of Australia, we need to support the industries who provide education," she said.

She believes there is an urgency to provide further financial support for students. "People want to learn, yet there are a lot of students who have no support, they've lost their jobs during the pandemic whilst studying full-time, they cant survive off small Centrelink payments." She is also hoping the government will inject funding into tourism. "Australia thrives off tourism and yet our whole industry has been completely shut down. We need to invest in programs for regional tourism to help get them on their feet," she said.

The Henry family: Mark and Jennifer with daughters Rose, 16, and April, 13. Credit:Wayne Taylor The family Princes Hill mother of two Jennifer Henry said she's not expecting much from the federal budget. "I'm expecting lots of excuses, a bit of green washing maybe," she said. Loading

Dr Henry, who works at the University of Melbourne, said she's expecting the federal budget to focus specifically on businesses and manufacturing. "The government will be aiming to get the economy up and running," she said. However, Dr Henry said she'd like to see the government rethink its approach to funding higher education. "Australian universities are in such a pickle at the moment because of the loss of international student income, and we need to make up that shortfall with increased government revenue," she said. "They are going on about reopening the economy, and the education industry is our third highest export industry, it would be great to see the government put their money where their mouth is and put funding towards keeping university staff and research."

Dr Henry said university research should be a priority in the budget. "It's getting more competitive for universities to source funding," she said. She would also like to see the government inject funding into renewable energy. "The government keeps saying gas is the answer, but there are a lot better options. I'd like to see them stop investing in anything to do with increased coal infrastructure, but I cant see that happening under the Liberal government, she said.

Fraser Bell wants the government to focus on local manufacturing. The business owner Wetlands Minigolf owner Fraser Bell said he's expecting to see funding injected into businesses and manufacturing. "If they stimulate the economy, and the economy is stimulated and allowed to open, then it

will support other businesses," he said. Loading

Mr Bell said he wants to see federal funding injected into supporting Victorian businesses so they are able to reopen after coronavirus restrictions ease, despite it being a state issue. Mr Bell said further tax relief included in the budget will also further support businesses. "The federal government has given small businesses some GST relief, which has helped with cash flow, and it'd be good to see that moving forward over the next six to 12 months," he said. He is also hoping manufacturing will be given a boost. Loading
The shooting deaths of a woman and child in Warren and of a man whose body was found in a burned-out car in Detroit likelly are drug related, Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said Friday morning.

He also indicated at a news conference at the police station that he has asked federal authorities to get involved in the case so the killer or killers could receive the death penalty.

The bodies of a 28-year-old woman and 6-year-old boy, identified by police as Tairaz Moore, were found Thursday in the basement of their home near Nine Mile and Dequindre roads and the body of a 31-year-old man was found shot to death in a burned out car in the Hyde Park community at the Dequindre Cut in Detroit. The man was the father of Tairaz and the boyfriend of the woman. They resided in the Otis Avenue home.

Police said Friday morning they are not yet releasing the names of the victims.

The shocking, horrific nature of the case, particularly the death of a young boy, has visibly shaken Dwyer, who multiple times lamented the loss of the child.

The execution-style killing of a 6-year-old boy is truly evil, unthinkable and senseless, and showed no regard for life, Dwyer said. Only monsters and Godless creatures would pull the trigger on a 6-year-old in execution style.

Its the reason Dwyer contacted the U.S. Attorney in Detroit.

We want the death penalty, Dwyer said. When you murder a 6-year-old innocent or baby, the person or persons responsible deserve the death penalty.

He said the fact the woman and child may have been killed because they may have witnessed the murder of the man provides the necessary standard for calling in federal investigators for potential involvement.

Dwyer declined to comment further on the potential drug nature of the killings other than that a small amount of heroin was found in the home.

We suspect strongly that narcotics was involved, the reason for the homicides, Dwyer said.

The killer or killers could have known their victims as there was no evidence of a break-in.

Dwyer said investigators continue to search the home for physical and trace evidence.

There is video evidence, which Dwyer said could be forthcoming.

The case began when Detroit police responded at 2 a.m. Thursday to a burning vehicle at the east-side Detroit location, Detroit police commander Eric Decker. The man was found shot in the head, leading police to believe he may have been killed elsewhere.

Decker said the vehicle was a rental that had Massechusetts license plates. The male victim was tied to the vehicle, and Detroit police contacted Warren police to contact the victims family, Decker said. Warren police discovered the two bodies about 11 a.m. Thursday.

The double-murder scene Thursday drew a large crowd of onlookers, including family members. When Tairazs mother arrived at the scene with another woman, she became overcome with emotion, crying out: Why did they kill my baby? Why did they kill my son?

City assessing records show the 800-square-foot house is a rental owned by a Warren businessman.

The slayings marked the citys eighth and ninth homicides of 2020, the same number as all of 2019.

The double homicide came one day after a 32-year-old man died after he was lured out of his house by a stranger and shot to death on the 21400 block of LaSalle Street near Toepfer Avenue, in the area of Eight Mile and Gratiot.

Anyone with information should call Warren police at 586-574-4700, or Detroit police.
Having become exemplary of the bond that is possible between a community and its law enforcement, a public information officer who has served 34 years in Lafayette with the Indiana State Police is retiring.

Sergeant Kim Riley officially retires on Nov. 16, a full 34 years to the day since he graduated from the 44th Indiana State Police Recruit Academy in 1986, the state police department said in a statement. However, the officer hung up his hat for the last time on Sept. 18.

The sergeant was often affectionately addressed by his colleagues as grandpa, who commended him for being a familiar face to many among the communities he has served in.

Sgt. Kim Riley of the Indiana State Police. (Indiana State Police)

Riley is looking forward to spending his retirement seeing more of the United States, and more of his family.

Ive had a lot of good times here, Riley told WLFI. This place has been a great place to work. Ive been a police officer for 37 years. Part-time for three and 34 here, and I would not trade it.

A lot of them call me grandpa or gramps because Im kind of the older guy here, the sergeant said.

District Commander Lt. Tom McKee, who is taking on Rileys post as Public Information Officer in November, said that with age comes wisdom.

Having a trooper with that experience is invaluable, and having them as your PIO is something that you really cant measure, McKee said.

Thirty-four years ago, at the onset of his career, Riley was appointed to Lafayette after graduating from the Academy. He served nine years on patrol in Carroll and White Counties, during which time he became a member of the Tactical Intervention Platoon and was a Field Training Officer; he also served as a RADAR, VASCAR, and First Aid Instructor, the statement noted.

The sergeant was assigned to the Problem Oriented Policing Section (POPS) in 1996, where he served until 2003. Riley honed his skills in community engagement during this time and had a hand in improving road safety for the residents and commuters of Vermillion County when he helped redesign the dangerous intersection at State Road 63 and Interstate 74, according to the statement.

At this point in his career, Riley chose to explore a different path and joined the Gaming Division. He worked the Blue Chip Casino for two years before being promoted to the rank of sergeant. Riley served as the Public Information Officer for the Lafayette District from 2005 until his retirement.

Indiana State Police posted about Rileys retirement on Facebook, where members of the community left supportive messages for their officer in recognition of his last day on the job.

We appreciate your sacrifices and dedication! wrote one social media user, beside three emojis of the American flag.

Thanks for the great service, Kim, wrote another. They dont make many like you anymore. Best of luck with your retirement.

Thank you so much for your dedication & for keeping the bad guys at bay, added one supporter. I hope that you enjoy your much earned retirement. Good luck & God bless.

Trooper Corey Brown praised his colleague for serving with honor and dignity throughout his entire career.

On behalf of the entire Indiana State Police family and the Lafayette District, we wish Sgt. Riley a happy and healthy retirement, and a sincere thank you and congratulations, Brown said in the statement.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
Laura Coppola, who joined Swiss Re Corporate Solutions in January 2020 as Head Casualty and FinPro North America, was appointed Global Head FinPro in addition to her existing role. Going forward, Laura will be responsible for driving the company's growth in this line of business, overseeing a team of business leaders, underwriters and product managers, and developing the company's FinPro underwriting strategy globally. She will continue to be based in New York City.

With twenty-five years of insurance experience, Ms. Coppola has held numerous leadership positions of increasing responsibility within the industry. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stony Brook University and AFSB and RPLU designations.



Kristyn Smallcombe was appointed Global Head Construction Professional Indemnity and General Liability (PI & GL) in addition to her current role as Head Construction PI & GL North America, which she has held since 2018. In her new position, Ms. Smallcombe will be responsible for developing Swiss Re Corporate Solutions' Construction PI and GL underwriting approach. She will continue to be based in Chicago and report to Ms. Coppola.



Prior to joining Swiss Re, Ms. Smallcombe held numerous leadership roles, product line management and senior underwriting positions at a large corporate insurer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Skidmore College.



Paul Rodriguez was appointed Global Head Executive Risks in addition to his existing role as Head Executive Risks North America. Mr. Rodriguez will be responsible for leading and managing all aspects of Corporate Solutions' Executive Risks product line, which includes Directors & Officers Liability, Employment Practices Liability and Fiduciary Liability solutions. He will continue to be based in New York City and report to Ms. Coppola.

Before joining Swiss Re in 2011, Mr. Rodriguez held management and underwriting positions with other commercial insurers. He has a BA from St. John's University and an MBA with a specialization in Finance from Adelphi University.

"Laura, Kristyn and Paul are highly accomplished leaders with proven track records of delivering results  both throughout their careers and for our North America operations," said Kera McDonald, Chief Underwriting Officer Bespoke at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. "We are very fortunate to have so many talented colleagues ready to take on new opportunities and grow as leaders. Laura, Kristyn and Paul will no doubt work extremely effectively together to support our customers, oversee the profitable growth of our FinPro business and advance corporate insurance together."

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions serves customers and brokers in the Professional & Financial Services market by offering traditional and innovative risk transfer solutions from offices worldwide.

About Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions provides risk transfer solutions to large and mid-sized corporations around the world. Its innovative, highly customised products and standard insurance covers help to make businesses more resilient, while its industry-leading claims service provides additional peace of mind. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions serves clients from offices worldwide and is backed by the financial strength of the Swiss Re Group. Visit corporatesolutions.swissre.com or follow us on linkedin.com/company/swiss-re-corporate-solutions and Twitter @SwissRe_CS.

SOURCE Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Related Links

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Two members of Team Xecuter, a group that develops and sells devices that allow people to play pirated copies of games on their consoles, are in FBI custody. On Friday, the Department of Justice said Max Louarn, a 48-year-old French national, and Gary Bowser, a 51-year-old from Canada, were arrested in September. The two face 11 felony charges each related to their activities through Team Xecuter. The agency also charged Yuanning Chen, a 35-year-old from Shenzhen, China. Louarn and Bowser were leaders of Team Xecuter, according to the DOJ.

Team Xecuter came into the spotlight earlier this week when UberChips, a website that sold the group's hardware, agreed to a $2 million settlement with Nintendo. The company also has a pending lawsuit against the group. According to the DOJ, Team Xecuter includes more than a dozen members, including individuals who specialize in finding software exploits in consoles. Among other systems, the group had targeted the Switch, 3DS and NES Classic.
The release of the new James Bond movie 'No Time to Die' has been delayed until April 2021, the filmmakers have revealed.

The movie had been scheduled to debut in theatres on November 11 but will now be delayed in order to cater for a worldwide theatrical audience, the film's producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today announced.

A statement on Twitter read: 'MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, today announced the release of NO TIME TO DIE, the 25th film in the James Bond series, will be delayed until 2 April 2021 in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience.

'We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans but we now look forward to sharing NO TIME TO DIE next year.'

The release of the new James Bond movie 'No Time to Die' has been delayed until April 2021, the filmmakers said on Friday

The release of the new James Bond movie 'No Time to Die' had been scheduled for November 11

The new Bond film, which is produced by Barbara Broccoli, will also star Rami Malek as villain Safin

The 25th film in the franchise finds Bond after he has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica when his old friend Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright, from the CIA turns up asking for help.

Leaving his seemingly happy life with Madeleine, played by actress Lea Seydoux, Bond returns to the field to face Safin who is armed with a new dangerous technology that could impact the world.

The film, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, was originally scheduled for release in April 2020, but was pushed back to November in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

No Time To Die, which also stars Rami Malek as villain Safin and Ana de Armas as CIA agent Paloma, will deliver a satisfying ending for Daniel Craig's Bond, according to producer Barbara Broccoli.

Speaking on the first episode of the official James Bond podcast, she said: 'It's a culmination of everything that his portrayal of the character has been through and it ties up all the storylines. It's a pretty epic film, I have to say.'

The British actor, 52, whose first appearance as Bond was in Casino Royale in 2006, has also previously spoken about leaving the franchise after the next instalment.

However, in March this year a movie source said: 'I don't think Daniel is finished with James Bond, despite his previous claims. He was in this same position after Spectre came out, where he said publicly and loudly that he was done and then, as time passed, he just wasn't.

'There is something about this part that scratches an itch and he's not prepared to see it go to another actor yet.'

On Twitter MGM and Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures confirmed the movie release had been delayed

Daniel Craig, whose first appearance as Bond was in Casino Royale in 2006, has previously spoken about leaving the franchise

Last year the actor beat his predecessors to be the longest-serving James Bond

Craig has previously confirmed the Bond film will be his last after starring in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre.

The star also discussed his anxieties over the new script and admitted feeling 'physically very low' was the reason behind the film's five year delay in a recent interview with GQ Magazine.

The actor said: 'I was never going to do one again. I was like, 'Is this work really genuinely worth this, to go through this, this whole thing?' And I didn't feel... I felt physically really low.

'So the prospect of doing another movie was just, like, off the cards. And that's why it has been five years.'

Craig's last turn as Bond was in 2015's Spectre, which at the time was reported to be his final outing as the spy.

The actor said that the 'physicality' of Bond is 'a preparation, in a way', because he would not get the script beforehand.

He said: 'It's making my head go, 'This is what it's going to be'.'

Trying to prepare for a role in one of the most popular film franchises in modern cinema without a script also caused him to have anxiety.

He added: 'I have suffered from it in the past. I have suffered because it's been like, 'I can't cope. I can't deal with this'.'

Daniel Craig previously confirmed the Bond film will be his last after starring in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre

The new Bond film will also star French actress Lea Seydoux as Dr. Madeleine Swan

This year actress Lea Seydoux gave fans an idea of what to expect in No Time To Die ahead of its release.

She described her character's relationship with Bond as 'a modern love story', explaining fans will see a completely new side to the agent, as Bond settles down with Dr. Madeleine Swann after retiring from active service.

Speaking on the Official James Bond Podcast, Lea explained why it was so important to see Bond fall in love again after having his heart broken by Vespa (played by Eva Green) in 2005's Casino Royale.

She said: 'I think that it's also because of Bond and we needed Madeline to tell Bond's story I mean it was important to see Bond in love again because he had this relationship with Vespa but she betrayed him.

'But this time I think she's the real love in a way, I think it's really the film is a love story it's a story between the two of them so it's very unusual for a Bond film to see James Bond in love right? And I think it's quite modern in a way.

'In this film it's even more psychological and more emotional and I think that it's something that Daniel as James Bond created with this character.

'He created a character that is more vulnerable and who has flaws and I think that's what we like as an audience and it's true that James Bond is like a... it's not a real world right? But what we like is that in this world we can relate to the characters.'
According to Stratistics MRC, the Global X-ray Inspection Systems Technology is accounted for $469.89 million in 2017 and is expected to reach $1,063.48 million by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 9.5% during the forecast period. The growth is driven by adoption of technology in the food and pharmaceutical industry, and aviation sector and demand for technically advanced systems are the key driving factors for the market growth. However, contaminants like glass, stones, and ceramics are the factors hindering the market.

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-ray inspection systems are used to detect minute defects in any product or metal by destructive means. These inspection techniques cover a wide range of sectors such as automotive, food and pharmaceuticals and many more, from inspection of cracks in materials to detection of external matter into materials. The increased usage of minute products and their assembly in electronics industry requires quality inspection, which can detect hidden defects.

Based on dimension, 3D segment is expected to have a huge demand during the forecast period as it is a computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data, it keep on growing at a significant rate. Based on Geography, North America is estimated to have a lucrative growth owing to the presence of major market players, being technically advanced and high adoption rate among various industries.

Some of the key players profiled in the X-ray Inspection Systems Technology include Anritsu Industrial Solutions, Aolong Group, Bosello High Technology, DanDong Huari, GE Measurement & Control, Ishida, Loma, Mettler-Toledo International, Nikon Metrology, Nordson, North Star Imaging, Sesotec GmbH, Shi, VJ Technologies and YXLON International.

Dimensions Covered:

 2D

 3D

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Technologies Covered:

 Computed Radiography

 Computed Tomography

 Direct Radiography

 Film Radiography

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 Equipment

 Software

Imaging Techniques Covered:

 Equipment

 Software

Applications Covered:

 Aerospace

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 General Industry

 Government

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 Packaging

 Power

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End Users Covered:

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 Government

 Manufacturing

 Oil & Gas

 Power & Infrastructure

 Other End Users

Regions Covered:

 North America

o US

o Canada

o Mexico

 Europe

o Germany

o UK

o Italy

o France

o Spain

o Rest of Europe

 Asia Pacific

o Japan

o China

o India

o Australia

o New Zealand

o South Korea

o Rest of Asia Pacific

 South America

o Argentina

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o Rest of South America

 Middle East & Africa

o Saudi Arabia

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o Qatar

o South Africa

o Rest of Middle East & Africa

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WASHINGTONOn Thursday, I was talking to an insistent Donald Trump supporter who was sitting on a stoop in the town of Bedford in central Pennsylvania.

Look at our economy before they pulled this here gag, this coronavirus s---, he said. Thats all that is. A gag. Nothing but political.

Some gag: More than 200,000 Americans dead, more than seven million infected. Some politics.

And after Trump confirmed early Friday morning that he and his wife, Melania, had tested positive for COVID-19, its hard to tell who exactly the gag is supposed to be on.

In an election year that has already seen enough dramatic revelations and disastrous events to last a generation, Fridays news was a particularly disruptive and potentially tragic October surprise.

The end of the pandemic is in sight, Trump told the audience at a charity dinner on Thursday. By Friday morning, he had tested positive for the virus.

Late afternoon Friday, he was taken by helicopter to Walter Reed hospital  out of an abundance of caution, a White House spokesperson said  where he would remain for the next few days. He walked under his own power to and from the helicopter to make the trip. The White House doctor also reported Trump had received an experimental antibody treatment.

His actions  shunning masks, holding mass rallies and in-person fundraisers, mocking and accusing those who want to slow societys roll towards indoor classes, dining and mass gatherings  now yield what many warned could result from such a cavalier approach. Trump is infected. And he may have exposed many of his supporters, staff and colleagues along with him.

Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown Universitys School of Public Health, noted in a Twitter thread Friday that because of the incubation time of the virus, everyone who has been near the president at least from Saturday on needs to be identified, and many of them quarantined.

Thats a lot of contacts. Last Saturday, Trump introduced his Supreme Court nominee at the White House. Since then, hes held rallies in Pennsylvania and Minnesota, had many media events with senior government officials in attendance, and was on a debate stage unmasked with opponent Joe Biden for 90 minutes (his family members at the debate refused to wear masks when asked by event staff in the indoor auditorium). On Thursday, after his aide Hope Hicks had already tested positive, Trump went to a fundraiser in New Jersey and glad-handed 30 to 50 donors.

Thats in addition to any private meetings he and his close advisers may have had with officials, including members of Congress who are set to hold confirmation hearings on Trumps Supreme Court nominee and continue talks about economic stimulus for the virus-ravaged economy.

The long list of people who likely should be tested and quarantined will include many of the key personnel who run two branches of the federal government, people who regularly criss-cross the country and meet with hundreds of others.

That list could have grown a lot longer. On Friday night, Trump had been expecting to hold a rally for as many as 20,000 people in central Florida; on Saturday, he had planned two rallies in Wisconsin. Biden called that campaign approach irresponsible at the debate on Tuesday, and Trump responded by mocking his caution.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted Friday that he planned to go full steam ahead with the Supreme Court nomination hearings despite the news.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows also portrayed the news as minimally disruptive on Friday morning, saying, We have a president who is not only on the job, he will remain on the job. Notably, Meadows did not wear a mask when speaking to the media; he said he didnt need to because hed been tested.

The situation has observers brushing up on what happens in the worst-case scenarios. If the president becomes incapacitated, for instance, the U.S. Constitutions 25th Amendment would see Vice-President Mike Pence take over, either temporarily or permanently. If one or both of the presidential candidates were to become incapacitated or die before the election, their parties would determine who would stand in their place.

It may be unlikely to come to that. Despite being in a high-risk age group, chances are the president will recover quickly, in part because of the elite medical care he receives  and the same would hold for Joe Biden if he were to test positive. But the very potential for such scenarios will have a disruptive effect on the government and the campaign.

Whether it will shift the opinions of those like the man in Pennsylvania who thought it was all a gag is anyones guess. Conservative commentator DeAnna Lorraine speculated Friday that Trump could have been infected at the debate because of some kind of foul play. Does anyone else find it odd that no prominent Democrats have had the virus but the list of Republicans goes on and on? she tweeted.

Theres a much simpler explanation, of course: Republicans are aggressively and performatively defying advice on how to prevent the spread of the virus  treating it like a gag. Democrats are not.

If the virus were deterred by bluff and bravado, Trump would have completely stomped it out long ago. Instead, hes been infected. As it goes for him, so too for the country he leads.

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White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Scott Atlas speaks during a press conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Sept. 18, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

White House Adviser Expects Complete, Full, and Rapid Recovery for Trump and Wife

White House pandemic adviser Scott Atlas said he expects President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania to recover quickly after they tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday evening.

In a statement released to Fox News, Trumps new go-to adviser on the CCP virus pandemic said there is zero reason to panic over the presidents positive diagnosis.

Fox News host Sandra Smith read part of Atlas statement during a conversation with Fox News Sunday moderator Chris Wallace. He expects the president and the first lady to make a complete, full, and rapid recovery after the two tested positive, Smith said. He says that there is zero reason to panic.

Talking about the CCP virus itself, Atlas said the infection is very difficult to avoid, and it is no surprise that people still get infected even with precautions. He said he anticipates a complete and full and rapid recovery after the president and wife finished their necessary quarantine period.

Atlas added that he is confident that Trump would return to the campaign trail without too much delay, not only because the president is a very, very healthy guy, but also because the overwhelming majority of people, even at his age, do fine with this.

Atlas comments come after Trump announced early Friday that he and his wife both tested positive for COVID-19.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19, Trump wrote on Twitter. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence confirmed hours later that they have tested negative for COVID-19.

As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day, Pences Press Secretary Devin OMalley wrote on Twitter. Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.

Trumps positive test happened after senior White House adviser Hope Hicks, who had been traveling with the president to and from the first presidential debate on Air Force One, started showing COVID-19 symptoms and was quarantined before being tested Thursday.

Trump is joined by a handful of world leaders who have contracted the CCP virus, including Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Bolsonaro announced in August that he had fully recovered in less than a month, while Johnson spent a little more than two weeks in the hospital before going back to the job in April.
CAIRO  The Egyptian government is trying to reclaim the bust of Queen Nefertiti from Germany, but the latter is refusing calls for returning the Pharaoh statue to Cairo. Meanwhile, Egypt has emphasized that it is taking all necessary measures to restitute Egyptian antiquities that were smuggled out of the country illegally, including Nefertitis bust.

German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt and his team had discovered the Nefertiti bust on Dec. 6, 1912, in what had been the workshop of sculptor Thutmose in Amarna in Minya governorate. Borchardt took the statue out of Egypt in 1913, in breach of the rules on the division of architectural finds at the time.

Back then, the division rules stated that exceptional antiquities discovered by foreign excavation teams would be handed over to Egypt, while the remaining artifacts would be distributed among the party that discovered them and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Germany claim that the division of architectural finds in Amarna was legal and that Nefertitis statue was Berlins share, as per the German Deutsche Welle website. Egypt accuses Borchardt of wrapping the bust to conceal its value and smuggling it out of the country.

Egypt has been demanding the restitution of Nefertitis bust for decades. But all Egyptian attempts failed. In 1933, Hitler refused to return the statue to Egypt and wanted it to be displayed in the museum of the capital Germania that was to be established. In April 1946, King Farouk I, then-king of Egypt and Sudan, sent out an official memorandum to the Allied Control Council in Germany calling for the return of the statue.

In 2011, Zahi Hawass, then-secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, sent out an official letter to the German government, the relevant authorities and the German ambassador to Egypt, including a request to return the head of Nefertiti to Egypt.

During a visit to Germany on Sept. 18, Egypts Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled al-Anani reiterated his countrys claim for Nefertitis bust. In TV statements Sept. 19, Anani said he had asked the German authorities to return Nefertitis bust, but they insisted on keeping it since it is a unique piece in the art of sculpture.

He noted that Germany handed him five antiques to return to Egypt. He underlined that Egypt has continued to negotiate and take all necessary measures to reclaim the pieces that were illegally taken out of Egypt, including Nefertitis bust, which was taken from Egypt 107 years ago in a controversial way.

The relevant authorities in Germany insisted that the statue is owned by the Neues Museum in Berlin. Brigitte Gobtsel, press and media officer at the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) in Berlin, said, There are no negotiations with Egypt currently to return the statue, which is the property of the Neues Museum in Berlin.

Gobtsel said in press statements Sept. 21, Cairo did not submit any official request to restitute the bust of Nefertiti for long years. She noted, however, that Germany is always open to negotiations with Egypt.

Statements by German officials in the past reflect Germanys insistence on keeping Nefertitis bust rather than returning it to Cairo. German Ambassador to Egypt Julius Georg Luy said in a press statement after meeting with former Egyptian Minister of Tourism Yehya Rashed in February 2017 that the minister could not convince him with his point of view in regard to the return of Nefertitis bust. He added, Nefertitis bust is widely popular in Germany.

While Germany holds on to Nefertitis bust, archaeological experts and officials believe the statue is an Egyptian right and must be returned. They stress that the Egyptian government will continue to take appropriate measures and be patient in its negotiations with Berlin. There is also a proposition to turn the case into a popular campaign, by launching petitions for example, to avoid embarrassing the Egyptian government.

Mamdouh el-Damati, former Egyptian minister of antiquities, believes that Nefertitis bust has huge historical value. He noted that the authorities have been negotiating with the Germans since 1922, through 1933 in the days of King Fouad and then in 1945 during the rule of King Farouk.

Damati told Al-Monitor that he hopes the negotiations with Germany will succeed this time. He said the fate of Nefertitis bust depends on the negotiations.

He noted that Germanys pretext is that the statue is its right, as per the legal division that happened after the official excavations. Meanwhile, Egypt states that the division process was fraudulent and deceitful. Damati believes that the prolonged negotiations will finally tip the balance in favor of the holder of the stronger argument.

He said that Egypt will continue its negotiations and calls for returning the statue from Berlin, and that UNESCOs 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property plays no role in the fate of the statue. The convention has been in force since 1971 and does not have a retrospective effect.

Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, head of the Department of Repatriated Objects at the Ministry of Antiquities, confirmed Cairo's ongoing negotiations with Berlin, stressing that Egypt would not cede its right to reclaim Nefertiti's bust.

He told Al-Monitor that these negotiations will take time, and no date can be set for them to be resolved.

Hawass confirmed that Egypt was able to prove that the bust of Queen Nefertiti left Egypt illegally and that it was stolen. Therefore, it must be returned. In TV statements on Sept. 22, Hawass accused Borchardt of stealing Nefertiti's head by passing it off as a less significant discovery, smuggling it to Germany and leaving it out of the division process.

Hawass added in his statements that he is collecting signatures from Egyptian and foreign intellectuals to return Nefertiti's bust to Egypt because it was smuggled illegally, to avoid embarrassing the Egyptian government and to make the return of Nefertiti's bust to Cairo a popular demand.
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: A 33-year-old Dalit woman, who was allegedly gang-raped by three men four days back, died by suicide inside her house in Narsinghpur district on Friday.

The gang-rape victims kin alleged that the woman was upset over the local police not registering a case in the matter, despite the family reporting it to the local police outpost three days back. Her kin alleged that instead of registering case against the accused, the police made her husband and relatives to sit at the police outpost and allowed them to go the next day.

The rape victims kin also alleged that another woman from the same village identified as Leela Bai taunted her on Friday, when she went to fetch water from a common tap. Hurt over the taunt and no police action in the matter, the woman returned home and hanged self to death.

Finally acting into the matter on Friday, the police registered case of gang-rape against the three accused, two of whom belong to the deceased womans caste only. Two of the three gang-rape accused have been arrested.

Also, a case of abetment to commit suicide has been registered against a woman Leela Bai and the father of one of the gang-rape accused for provoking the woman to end life. One of the two abetment of suicide accused identified as Motilal Chaudhary has been arrested.

According to Narsinghpur district police superintendent Ajay Singh, "the assistant sub inspector (ASI) Mishrilal Kodapa, who headed the Gotitoriya police outpost has been suspended and arrested in the matter for dereliction of duty. He has been booked under Section 166 of IPC for dereliction of duty."

In a late night development, the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered the immediate removal of additional SP (ASP-Narsinghpur) Rajesh Tiwari and sub divisional officer police (SDOP) Sitaram Yadav in the matter and also sought explanation from SP Narsinghpur Ajay Singh in entire matter.

(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call AASRA's 24x7 Helpline: +91-9820466726 for assistance.)
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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus Thursday evening.

The president tweeted to confirm the news shortly before 1am EST Friday, writing: 'Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!'

Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from the virus. A statement from the White House doctor said both the president and first lady are 'well at this time' but did not say if either have symptoms.

If Trump becomes seriously ill, there are constitutional procedures that would allow Vice President Mike Pence to assume power temporarily, just weeks before the November 3 election.

But if Trump suffers mild or no symptoms, the president would be able to tout his recovery as evidence that the virus is a less grave threat than many believe.

It comes following news that the president's top aide Hope Hicks contracted the virus after traveling with Trump on Air Force One and Marine One multiple times over the last week.

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Last photo before diagnosis: Donald Trump looks bedraggled as he returns to the White House from his helicopter Marine One on Thursday afternoon, hours before revealing that he and the first lady had tested positive for Covid-19. He had attended a fundraiser in New Jersey

Hope Hicks hours before her diagnosis: Hope Hicks, far right, is pictured boarding Marine One on Wednesday. The President was also onboard alongside Stephen Miller, second from right, Jared Kushner, center. Her coronavirus diagnosis was announced the next day. They were on their way to Minnesota when this photograph was taken. She started feeling unwell on the way back

Hicks, 31, is said to have first felt unwell returning from a rally in Minnesota on the president's plane Wednesday evening. She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, according to an administration official.

A TIMELINE OF THE PRESIDENT'S TRAVEL Saturday, September 26: Trump announces his Supreme Court pick at the White House, then travels to a rally in Pennsylvania with aides including Hope Hicks. Sunday, September 27: The president plays golf in Virginia, gives a press conference in the White House briefing room and hosts a reception for Gold Star families. Monday, September 28: Trump gives a press briefing and inspects pickup vehicles on the White House lawn. Tuesday, September 29: Hicks is aboard Air Force One with the president and Melania to travel to the first presidential debate in Cleveland. Hicks is seen leaving the jet without a mask. The president spars with Joe Biden in a chaotic debate. Trump family members do not wear masks during the debate, violating venue rules. Wednesday, September 30: Hicks travels on Marine One and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota Wednesday. She is understood to have felt poorly on the way back, quarantining on the presidential plane to get home. Thursday, October 1: Trump still travels to New Jersey for a fundraiser. Hicks tests positive. Trump says he is awaiting test results, before confirming he and wife Melania have tested positive for Covid-19. Friday, October 2: A political rally in Sanford, Florida is cancelled. Advertisement

Trump then continued with his schedule Thursday and traveled to and from his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort to take part in two campaign events. He flew back to the White House on Thursday evening, when it was publicly confirmed Hicks had the virus.

Guests at the New Jersey gathering described being tested before they entered the private event.

His social media director Dan Scavino and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who were originally set to join him on the Thursday trip, were replaced at the last minute by other aides after coming into contact with Hicks.

First lady Melania, 50, tweeted: 'As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.'

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening. The White House had earlier distributed a schedule for Friday that showed he planned to go forward with a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and a political rally in Sanford, Florida. That has since been canceled.

The second presidential debate on October 15 is also in doubt, while there is no word yet on whether 77-year-old Joe Biden is being tested or will have to isolate.

Markets reacted badly after Trump's diagnosis today, with stock futures losing 1.9 per cent on the S&P 500, while oil prices also slipped.

Europe's major stock markets also dived in opening trade on Friday, with London's FTSE 100 and Frankfurt's DAX 30 both shedding more than one per cent.

'To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement,' Holland's Rabobank said in a commentary.

'Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this US election campaign.'

Following last night's news, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted: The strength of the entire country is with President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS. America stands united. Our country stands strong.

'Your President will continue to put the People first!'

WEDNESDAY: President Trump throws hats to supporters after speaking at a campaign rally at Duluth International Airport in Minnesota

TUESDAY: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave before boarding Air Force One to travel to the first presidential debate in Cleveland. The president says he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19

TUESDAY: Hope Hicks was spotted getting off Air Force One in Cleveland on Tuesday without her mask ahead of the first presidential debate in the city

White House physician Dr Sean Conley sent a letter to press secretary Kayleigh McEnany saying that the president and first lady were 'well' and promising to keep a 'vigilant watch'

In a letter to McEnany, White House physician Sean Conley said medics would keep a 'vigilant watch' on the president's health.

'The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,' Dr Conley said.

Who has President Trump been in contact with? Traveled on Marine One to a Minnesota rally on Wednesday: Hope Hicks, counselor to the president Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the president Dan Scavino, Social Media Director John McEntee, Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office Tuesday's debate in Ohio, where Trump traveled on Air Force One: Rudy Giuliani, personal attorney. Giuliani had spent the weekend at the White House doing debate prep Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff Trump's children and their partners: Donald Trump Jr, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump Bill Stepien, campaign manager Kayleigh McEnany, press secretary Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill Guests of Trump including Alice Johnson, who was pardoned of federal drug offenses at the urging of Kim Kardashian At the White House since Saturday with close unmasked contact with Trump: Amy Coney Barrett, Supreme Court nominee. She then had mask-free meetings with Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and other Republican senators from Monday Vice President Mike Pence Robert Ford, CEO of Abbott Laboratories, who was at the White House on Monday Admiral Brett Geroir, assistant Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar, HHS secretary East Wing aides, including valets and other White House staff who serve the first family Secret Service protection agents Advertisement

'The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our our country's greatest medical professionals and institutions.

'Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.'

Vice President Pence said: 'Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President Donald Trump and [first lady] Melania Trump.

'We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump and our wonderful First Lady Melania.'

UK prime minister Boris Johnson, who survived a scare with the virus in April, sent his best wishes to the president and first lady on Twitter, saying: 'Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus.'

Trump's ally Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said that 'like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery'.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyeusus, the head of the WHO who has clashed with Trump over the agency's handling of the pandemic, also sent his best wishes to the president for a 'full and speedy recovery'.

Trump has accused the WHO of being too close to China and announced earlier this year that the US would cut off funding for the Geneva-based body.

News of Trump's infection has turned attention to Hope Hicks and her travel schedule after the White House aide first felt poorly on the way back from Wednesday's rally in Minnesota.

Along with the trip to Minnesota, Hicks had been aboard Air Force One to fly to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.

She was spotted by DailyMail.com getting off Air Force One in the city without her mask.

On Tuesday, she was seen in a car without her mask with White House senior adviser Stephen Miller and campaign adviser Jason Miller. She is said to have worn a mask when on Marine One with Trump.

Hicks also traveled with the president to a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday where she was seen maskless and clapping to the Village People's YMCA.

Before announcing his positive test, Trump tweeted to say he and Melania were in quarantine while they awaited their results because of Hicks's diagnosis.

'Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible!,' the president said.

Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday, the president described the 31-year-old Hicks as a 'very warm person' and suggested she got close to supporters and contracted the virus.

'She's fantastic and she's done a great job,' Trump said.

'But it's very, very hard when you are with people from the military and from law enforcement and they come over to you and they, they want to hug you and they want to kiss you, because we really have done a good job for them.'

'And you get close and things happen,' the president added.

Trump said he was 'surprised' to hear that Hicks, who previously served as White House communications director and re-joined the administration this year ahead of the election, tested positive.

'She wears a mask a lot, but she tested positive,' the president said.

Typically, according to the CDC, a person develops symptoms five days after being infected, but symptoms can appear as early as two days after infection or as late as 14 days after infection, and the time range can vary.

There was no immediate comment from Joe Biden's campaign on whether the former vice president had been tested since appearing at Tuesday's debate with Trump.

Biden, 77, stood some distance apart from the president but there were plenty of raised voices in the bad-tempered debate. The CDC warns that shouting can spread the disease.

CNN's medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta said Biden should be 'immediately tested', warning that 'if you are indoors, you could think of the virus like smoke'.

All the attendees at the Cleveland debate were tested beforehand, while the former vice president's wife Jill Biden kept her mask on throughout, unlike members of the Trump family.

The second debate on October 15 is now in jeopardy. Trump could be out of quarantine in 10 days if he shows no symptoms, but if he develops symptoms he would have to isolate for longer.

In addition, the October 7 vice-presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris also appears in doubt, because Pence will have to isolate if he has been in contact with the president.

On Thursday evening, before Trump revealed he had tested positive, Biden berated the president for 'doing everything he can to distract' from his 'failed Covid-19 response'.

In pre-taped remarks to the Al Smith charity dinner, Trump told guests on Thursday night that 'the end of the pandemic is in sight'.

'Through advances in treatment, we have reduced the fatality rate by 85 percent since just April. We are on track to develop and distribute a vaccine before the end of the year, and maybe substantially before,' Trump claimed.

Biden has held a consistent lead in the polls, prompting Trump into an ever-more aggressive schedule of campaign rallies around the country.

Trump's Florida trip is off today and he looks certain to have to cancel a trip scheduled for this weekend in Wisconsin, another battleground, where Biden has held a small but persistent lead.

Trump had also been expected to travel frequently next week, including longer distances to western states.

TUESDAY: Members of the Trump family including (from left) Eric, Ivanka, Tiffany and Donald Jr took their masks off during the debate in Cleveland on Tuesday night

TUESDAY: Melania Trump had discarded her mask by the time she joined her husband Donald on stage following a rancorous first debate of the 2020 campaign

Joe Biden, pictured on the campaign trail in his home state of Delaware on Thursday, spent Tuesday night in fairly close proximity to the president but there was no immediate word on whether he had been tested or was isolating

TUESDAY: Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle walk across the tarmac to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base before flying to Cleveland for the first presidential debate Tuesday alongside Hicks

Hicks becomes the latest in Trump's circle to contract the virus after National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and White House coronavirus task force spokeswoman Katie Miller.

Hicks is one of the president's most trusted and longest-serving aides, having worked as spokesperson for his 2016 campaign. She originally served as White House as communications director, and re-joined the administration this year as an adviser ahead of the election.

White House spokesman Judd Deere had earlier said: 'The president takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.

Why did Trump's diagnosis take so long despite being 'most tested man in America'? Hope Hicks was self-isolating on Wednesday Donald Trump announced his positive test on Thursday, hours after the White House announced that Hope Hicks had come down with the virus. Hicks is said to have first felt poorly on Wednesday evening, when she returned from a rally in Minnesota on the president's plane. She was quarantined away from others on the jet and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, according to an administration official. But despite Hicks's symptoms as early as Wednesday evening, Trump then continued with his schedule Thursday and traveled to and from his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort to take part in two campaign events. They were held behind closed doors to a select audience. Trump then flew then back to the White House later Thursday evening, when it was publicly confirmed Hicks had the virus. Senior staff have been tested for Covid-19 daily since two people who work at the White House complex tested positive in early May, prompting the White House to step up precautions. Everyone who comes into contact with the president also receives a quick-result test. In May press secretary Kayleigh McEneny described Trump as the 'most tested man in America'. She said: 'He's tested more than anyone, multiple times a day. And we believe that he's acting appropriately.' But Trump later said: 'I don't know about more than one. I do probably on average a test every two days, three days, and I don't know of any time I've taken two in one day, but I could see that happening.' It is not known why the president's test took so long to come back or whether he was tested Wednesday evening when Hicks first began displaying symptoms. Testing for White House staff was ramped after a military valet contracted the virus and Trump and Pence tested negative. 'I've had very little contact with this gentleman. Know who he is, good person... Yeah it's a little bit strange, but it's one of those things,' Trump said at the time. He added that 'I felt no vulnerability whatsoever,' saying he felt the situation was controlled 'very well.' In the same week, Pence's press secretary Katie Miller - who is married to Trump adviser Stephen Miller - also tested positive. People working around the president at the White House had already been getting regular tests for the coronavirus. But staff, Secret Service agents, and guests had not been wearing masks in the West Wing. On May 11, a memo to the president's staff told them to wear face coverings, and discouraged unnecessary visits from other parts of the White House complex to the West Wing area. 'Common sense has finally prevailed,' one senior administration official said at the time. Advertisement

'White House Operations collaborates with the physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting Covid-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible, both on complex and when the president is traveling.'

Deere did not mention Hicks by name.

Multiple White House staffers have tested positive for the virus, including Pence's press secretary Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert O'Brien, and one of the president's personal valets.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is dating Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump J., tested positive in South Dakota before an Independence Day fireworks show at Mount Rushmore.

After earlier cases close to the president, the White House instituted a daily testing regimen for the president's senior aides.

On May 11, a memo to the president's staff told them to wear face coverings, and discouraged unnecessary visits from other parts of the White House complex to the West Wing area.

'Common sense has finally prevailed,' one senior administration official said at the time.

It is not known why the president's test took so long to come back or whether he was tested Wednesday evening when Hicks first began displaying symptoms.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who have been in close contact with a virus patient quarantine for 14 days, White House staffers are considered essential workers.

CDC's guidelines for exposed essential workers allows them to return to work if they take precautions, including taking their temperature before going into work, wearing a mask at all times and practicing social distancing.

Trump, the White House and his campaign have flouted other CDC guidelines and recommendations from public health officials, and largely refused to wear masks or practice social distancing.

Instead, Trump has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of supporters.

By contrast, Biden is running a deliberately low-key campaign with social distancing at most events, no large gatherings, and conspicuous use of his mask.

Still, Trump has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19. 'I felt no vulnerability whatsoever,' he told reporters back in May.

Trump mocked Biden at Tuesday's debate for wearing 'the biggest mask I've ever seen', while pulling a face covering out of his pocket and saying he wears one when needed.

The president had previously mocked Biden for wearing a mask in May, saying it was 'very unusual' to wear a mask outside and accusing a reporter of trying to be 'politically correct' by wearing one himself.

Biden called Trump a 'fool' in response, saying in an interview that 'this macho stuff' was costing lives.

Trump previously said he 'did not want to give the press the pleasure' of seeing him with a mask, while saying he had worn one away from the cameras.

He added that he could not see himself greeting 'presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens' while wearing a mask.

But the president finally changed his tone in July, saying it was 'patriotic' to wear a mask.

Melania Trump, by contrast, had let Americans see her in a face mask as long ago as April while urging people to take the health regulations 'seriously'.

'As the CDC studies the spread of Covid-19, they recommend people wear cloth face coverings in public settings when social distancing can be hard to do,' Melania said on April 9.

Trump also sparked outrage and ridicule after suggesting in April that people could inject themselves with disinfectant to fend off the virus, which would be extremely dangerous.

'Then I see the disinfectant which knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside for almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it'd be interesting to check that,' he said.

SATURDAY: Trump announces his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett (right), who subsequently had unmasked meetings with Republican senators during the week

SATURDAY: From left, White House director of social media Dan Scavino, Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, special assistant to the President and White House trip director William Russell, and director of the White House personnel John McEntee listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Saturday

SEPTEMBER 14: Hope Hicks sitting at close quarters with Donald Trump aboard Marine One, although wearing a mask

The president disembarks Marine One on September 14 while Hope Hicks waits. She was wearing her mask

Early in the pandemic, Trump played down the dangers - saying in January that 'we have it totally under control' and in February that 'it's going to disappear'.

Discussing the virus in an interview with Bob Woodward on March 19, Trump admitted that 'I always wanted to play it down' - despite having previously told Woodward that the disease was 'deadly stuff'.

Those comments sparked anger when they were revealed last month, with Biden accusing Trump of a 'life and death betrayal'.

VP Pence would take power under 25th amendment if Trump becomes incapacitated President Trump could potentially be forced to relinquish executive control to Vice President Mike Pence or be replaced on the GOP ticket altogether, if he becomes incapacitated from Covid-19. Trump is 74 years old, which puts him at higher risk of serious complications from virus. With the presidential election 32 days away, the positive result means the government may have to consider contingency plans in line with the Constitution should Trump become too ill to go through with the race. The 25th Amendment states that the vice president should replace the commander-in-chief in the event he or she is unable to continue the term. After Vice President Pence, the next in line is the Speaker of the House, in this case Nancy Pelosi. The president can also transfer power temporarily if he is incapacitated, before resuming his duties when he is able to. This has happened occasionally during scheduled surgeries for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. However, the looming election further complicates the matter, as the Democratic and Republican national committees could also pick a replacement to run on their party's ticket if the nominee were to withdraw. The committee could choose to nominate the vice presidential candidate, or another member of their party. The selection process would depend on the parties' respective bylaws. Under this scenario, all 168 members of the RNC would have to meet to vote on Trump's replacement. The rules require all members - three from each state and three from six territories - to cast the same number of votes they were entitled to cast the national convention. If members of a given state fail to unanimously agree on the casting of votes, they would then divide it equally and cast a third of those votes. That scenario, although hypothetical, would be the first of its kind since no presidential candidate of either party has ever died or withdrawn before an election. Advertisement

A FiveThirtyEight polling average currently shows 56.5 per cent of Americans disapproving of Trump's handling of the pandemic, compared to 40.4 per cent who approve.

Trump was in positive territory until early April, but his ratings gradually fell as the world's richest country suffered the deadliest outbreak on the planet.

The virus has killed more than 200,000 Americans and infected more than 7 million nationwide.

While there is currently no evidence that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test also raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness.

The Constitution's 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves 'unable to discharge the powers and duties' of the presidency.

If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted 'a written declaration to the contrary.'

This has happened occasionally, with Ronald Reagan briefly putting George H.W. Bush in charge during surgery in 1985, before George W. Bush temporarily transferred powers to Dick Cheney during colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007.

These were all brief, scheduled transfers of power and came nowhere near a re-election campaign.

There is also a second, never-used option: the vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law, can declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would 'immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President' until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.

Trump's infection has also led to suggestions that the election could be delayed, but this is highly unlikely because voting is already underway.

While the Constitution does not specify an election date, moving the poll would require an act of Congress including support from the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

And regardless of the election date, Trump's term ends on January 20.

If no president or vice president is elected by then, others in the line of succession would take over - although Pelosi might also be without a job if the House elections were delayed too.

Trump joins UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro as the most high-profile leaders to contract the disease.

Johnson, who was 55 at the time, spent an alarming three nights in intensive care at a London hospital before eventually recovering, while 65-year-old Bolsonaro rode out the infection at home.

When Johnson was ill, UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab deputised for him although the nature of his constitutional powers was not fully clear.

The White House offered to supply medicine for Johnson's treatment, as did the Chinese government, but London said the PM was receiving the best possible care from Britain's National Health Service.

Johnson has blamed his experience on being overweight, and his scare has prompted him to launch a crackdown on unhealthy eating.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who has described the virus as a 'little flu', had long played down the risks and predicted that he would easily survive an infection with Covid-19.

Germany's Angela Merkel, 66, self-isolated after a doctor who gave her a jab tested positive, and Canada's Justin Trudeau, 48, worked from home after his wife fell ill.
CUNA and Credit Union Legislative Action Council (CULAC), its federal PAC, announced Thursday support for four incumbents in tight November races for the U.S. House of Representatives with targeted political advertising.

For over 40 years, CULAC and CUNA have been the credit union movements strong political backbone, engaging in strategic member communications and independent expenditures (IEs).

We dont choose candidates by their partisan affiliation, said Trey Hawkins, CUNA Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer for Political Action. Like every candidate we support, these four credit union champions have recognized and supported policies that ensure their constituents can access people-over-profit financial services.

Of note:
Two rabbis located in Judea are spreading words of Torah to the nations, preparing the world for the Sukkot feast described by the prophet Zechariah in which all the nations will make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

The month of Elul began on Friday night (Aug. 21), ringing the alarm that one month remained to prepare for the intense holiday period of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. There is much to learn in order to observe the feasts in a meaningful manner. In recent years, many people from other nations have begun observing the feasts, each in their own way. In the case of Sukkot, this most cer...
An Anaheim Police Department patrol car is seen outside the station in Anaheim, Calif., on Sept. 10, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Man Charged With Killing Brother in Anaheim After Argument

An argument between two brothers escalated to a killing when one shot the other multiple times in Anaheim, California, according to police.

The two brothers, both from Anaheim, were arguing when Sergio Marcelino Hurtado, 36, allegedly pulled out a handgun and repeatedly shot his older brother, Jose Leroy Hurtado, 45.

Police said the shooting took place around 4 p.m. on Sept. 30 at the house the two shared on the 600 block of North Zeyn Street.

This does appear to be an isolated incident between family members who were residing in the same house, Anaheim Police Sgt. Shane Carringer told The Epoch Times.

Someone in the neighborhood in close proximity to the home called the police after hearing the gunshots.

Carringer said police arrived at the single-story detached house, in a relatively quiet neighborhood, to find Jose Hurtado lying on the floor, unresponsive, with multiple gunshot wounds.

Shooting victim Jose Hurtado is seen in a police file photo. (Courtesy of the Anaheim Police Department)

Sergio Hurtado, who was arrested and charged with the murder of his brother Jose, is seen in a police booking photo. (Courtesy of the Anaheim Police Department)

He said officers extracted the victim from the house and provided emergency first aidincluding tourniquet, blood-stoppers, compressions, assisted breathing, [and] CPR while waiting for Anaheim Fire & Rescue paramedics, who were dispatched to the scene to provide lifesaving measures.

He was transported to the hospital, so the paramedics saw some level of possible saving of the subject, Carringer said.

However, Jose Hurtado was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Anaheim SWAT officers arrived and searched the home. They confirmed there were no other victims or suspects inside.

Anaheim Police homicide detectives arrested Sergio Hurtado at the scene. He was charged with murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.

The suspect is being held in the Anaheim Detention Facility on $1 million bail.

Carringer said it is unclear why the brothers were arguing. He said detectives, who worked throughout the night, are continuing their investigation.

Theres no threat to the community of Anaheim at large, he said.

Carringer urged anyone with information about the shooting to call Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.
Like many energy companies across the world, the state-controlled firm has also been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Budrul Chukrut/SOPA/LightRocket via Getty

Norwegian gas and oil company, Equinor (EQNR) has announced its slashing 30% of the workforce in its exploration unit, to increase efficiency and reduce cost.

Equinor did not give an exact number but said hundreds of jobs will be affected worldwide, by the end of 2022.

Spokesman Erik Haaland told Yahoo Finance, that the company plans to reduce the UK exploration staff by around 60%. He said that a process had been initiated to increase efficiency and reduce cost in the UK exploration team, which is mainly based in London.

But, the reductions will not have an immediate impact on exploration plans, Haaland said in an email.

For 2020 we expect to drill around 30-40 wells globally, and this announcement does not affect the planned activity level for 2020 and 2021.

Equinors exploration spending has decreased by about a third from six to seven years ago. The firm said that it plans to focus on selected areas when searching for new gas and oil resources, including in the US, Brazil and Norway.

Previously, Equinor said it was planning to spend $1.1bn (853m) on exploration this year, whereas in February it expected to spend $1.4bn.

READ MORE: Oil prices fall as COVID-19 cases spike

In August, Equinor confirmed it was making job cuts in the UK, Canada and US in response to the oil downturn.

Meanwhile, the majority state-controlled firm said it will keep production going after dozens of its staff went on strike at the companys Johan Sverdrup oilfield, largest in western Europe.

Following the companys announcement, Norways Lederne labour union vowed to escalate its offshore industrial action to four other Equinor fields next week.

Like many energy companies across the world, Equinor has also been hit by the coronavirus crisis, after the pandemic reduced demand for petroleum.

On Wednesday, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB.L) revealed that it will cut 7,000 to 9,000 jobs as part of a major restructuring plan to shift the oil and gas giant to low-carbon energy.

Story continues

READ MORE: Stocks fall as Trump tests positive for COVID-19

The jobs cuts equate to just over 10% of its workforce. Shell has 83,000 employees, according to its figures at the end of 2019.

The group confirmed in its third quarter update that the headcount cull is set save the group $2bn to $2.5bn by 2022.

On Thursday, shares in BP (BP.L) sank to a 25-year-low after oil prices fell back towards $40 a barrel.

Rising COVID-19 cases have once more put oil prices under pressure, after more than doubling their gains since hitting record lows in April  the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company, which had 21,000 employees at the end of 2019, said it would offer staff in some locations, severance packages. But, it will tackle cuts in Norway differently, by giving staff other jobs leaving the rest of reductions to natural attrition, as the state owns a majority stake in the company.
Barron Trump, President Donald Trump and First lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Trumps 14-Year-Old Son Barron Is Negative: Spokeswoman

President Donald Trumps 14-year-old son, Barron, tested negative for COVID-19, said a spokeswoman for the first lady.

Barron has tested negative and all precautions are being taken to ensure hes kept safe and healthy, first lady Melania Trumps spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told news outlets on Friday morning, coming hours after President Trump and Melania Trump announced they tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

On Thursday night, Trump said he and the first lady would start his quarantine and recovery right away.

As too many Americans have done this year [the president] I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19, said the first lady. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together, she said.

Sean Conley, physician to the president, wrote in a memorandum released by the White House that the two are well at this time and are to remain within the White House for their quarantine.

Their diagnosis came after White House adviser Hope Hicks tested positive for the virus, and both Hicks and Trump were on Air Force One in Cleveland for Trumps debate on Tuesday and a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday.

Other top administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen confirmed they tested negative for the virus.

With only weeks before the Nov. 3 election, Trump will now be sidelined from in-person events after holding a slew of rallies with thousands of people at indoor and outdoor venues.

Trumps positive test also means that others at the highest levels of the U.S. government have been exposed and may have to quarantine, too. A White House official said early on Friday that contact tracing was underway.

Trumps physician, Conley, said he expected the president to carry out his duties without disruption while he recovers.

The White House issued a new schedule for Trumps activities on Friday that did not include a planned trip to Florida. Biden plans to campaign in Michigan on Friday. Both states are swing states that could help decide the U.S. election.

Meanwhile, Trumps rival, Democratic nominee Joe Biden said, Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

Other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, have also tested positive for the virus earlier this year.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Queensland bars, clubs and live music venues have rearranged furniture for attendees who are able to stand, while brides-to-be are locking in their wedding dates now that dancing is permitted.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the roadmap of eased restrictions on Friday, which includes people being allowed to eat and drink while standing at inside and outdoor venues.

Standing at inside and outdoor venues while eating or drinking will now be allowed. Credit:Steve Woodburn

Dancing will also be allowed for weddings of up to 40 people.

"You will be able to stand up inside and outside, whether it's a cafe, restaurant or a bar and have a drink," Ms Palaszczuk said.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The first presidential debate has come and gone, early voting is underway in many states, and the 2020 election is top of mind for most Americans and at the center of many conversations online. But the spread of false narratives about the election through social media poses a serious threat to American democracy. The Observatory on Social Media at Indiana University has a collection of tools and studies that aid in the fight against election manipulation and disinformation.

The observatory has launched the third iteration of BotSlayer, an application that scans social media in real time to detect evidence of automated Twitter accountsor "bots"pushing messages in a coordinated manner. Updates to the tool include better stability, a new alert system, an installer for Mac operating systems and several changes to the interface that make BotSlayer easier to use.

These improvements and new features are based on feedback from more than 500 beta testers, including major news organizations. The new version of BotSlayer has been released in time for journalists, researchers, civil society organizations and political groups to more easily monitor election manipulation attempts online as the race ramps up.

The tool, which launched in 2019, is free and open to the public. To further encourage public use of the tool, the observatory has developed a version already set up to track election-related Twitter activity. This allows those who don't have the time, resources or technological knowledge to set up their own tracking parameters to interact with it in the same way that people use the observatory's other popular web-based tools, Hoaxy and Botometer.

"As social media are weaponized to amplify disinformation, suppress voting and pollute the information ecosystem, we hope our tools can help raise awareness among citizens and decrease their vulnerability," said Filippo Menczer, Distinguished Professor of Informatics and director of the Observatory on Social Media.

Using network analytics and artificial intelligence methods incorporated in these tools, members of the observatory have helped journalists analyze data from their reporting on misinformation and online election manipulation. Recently, Menczer and Ph.D. student Pik-Mai Hui analyzed information that Washington Post reporter Isaac Stanley-Becker had gathered for an investigation into a network of accounts run by teenagers in Phoenix. The teenagers were coordinated and paid by an affiliate of conservative youth organization Turning Point U.S..

To conduct the analysis, Menczer and Hui started from a set of accounts provided to them by the paper and discovered 35 Twitter accounts (two of which had already been banned) that had posted 4,401 tweets with identical content. Most of the accounts posting this content had been created recently. Identical messages, including those amplifying false narratives, appeared in dozens of tweets.

A total of 467 messages had been posted in at least two tweets, and 188 messages were posted by at least two accounts. About 95 percent of the tweets were replies to posts from media organizations. This mirrors a targeting strategy used in the 2016 election, according to research about bot-amplification of low-credibility information previously conducted by the observatory.

The observatory also continues to track widely circulated controversial narratives throughout the 2020 election. The goal is to assess the public's awareness of them, the extent to which they are believed and whether someone's political leaning is related to their vulnerability to these narratives. In a recent survey, the observatory found that large segments of the population have encountered unsupported narratives through media exposure and find them plausible.

"More than 45 percent of survey respondents thought that mail-in ballots cause voter fraud, and a similar percentage believe that Joe Biden is cognitively compromised," said Betsi Grabe, professor in The Media School and associate director of the observatory. "Of particular concern is that the Department of Homeland Security found that Russia is amplifying false narratives about voter fraud in the upcoming presidential election and seeding disinformation about former Vice President Joe Biden's mental health."

The study was conducted in late August and early September. The research team will run five more surveys during the course of the fall election season.

The Observatory on Social Media is a joint project of the IU Network Science Institute; the Center for Complex Networks and Systems Research at IU's Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering; and The Media School at Indiana University, with support from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research at IU Bloomington. The Observatory's work is funded in part through a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which has committed $50 million to support new research on the internet's impact on our democracy.

Explore further Many Americans believe false election narratives, survey shows

More information: Evidence of a coordinated network amplifying inauthentic narratives in the 2020 US election. Evidence of a coordinated network amplifying inauthentic narratives in the 2020 US election. cnets.indiana.edu/blog/2020/09  he-2020-us-election/
A day after Rahul Gandhi was stopped from visiting Hathras by Uttar Pradesh authorities, he wrote in a tweet that he will not tolerate anyone's injustice. His tweet comes on the day of Gandhi Jayanti.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday quoted Mahatma Gandhi in a tweet as he wrote, I will not bow down to anyones injustice, a day after he was manhandled, stopped and even arrested by Uttar Pradesh police while he was on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh to meet the family of gangrape victim along with partys general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and other Congress leaders.

Rahul tweeted on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti that would not fear anyone in the world, he would not bow down to anyones injustice, he would win the untruth with the truth and he could bear all the sufferings while opposing the untruth. He added,  Happy Gandhi Jayanti.

A case has been registered against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and over 200 others under section 188, 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Epidemic Act, according to the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police.

Also read: Bihar Assembly elections: Mahagathbandhan finalises seat sharing, announcement likely tomorrow

Also read: Hathras politics: Case registered against Rahul, Priyanka and others in Gautam Buddh Nagar

Earlier on Thursday, Rahul and Priyanka were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police at Yamuna Expressway here while they were on the way to meet the Hathras gangrape victims family, who had died while receiving treatment in Delhis Safdarjung hospital on Tuesday. Gandhis were later released.

Both Congress leaders alleged they were manhandled and roughed up by police personnel while they were marching towards Hathras to meet the victims family. However, Noida Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Ranvijay Singh said that there was no lathi charge on anyone.

The 19-year-old had succumbed to injuries in the Safdarjung Hospital where she was brought on Monday from Aligarh Muslim University Medical College.

Also read: Gandhi Jayanti 2020: PM Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. A telephone conversation took place between Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, the interlocutors continued the discussions over the situation in Nagorno Karabakh and expressed deep concerns over the ongoing military operations. They also expressed concerns over the participation of foreign militants and illegal armed groups from the Middle East in the conflict.

PM Pashinyan once again focused on the extremely destabilizing behavior of Turkey and its interference in the military operations. The Russian side highlighted the immediate stop of the military operations and the resumption of the peace process in line with the joint statement of the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries issued on October 1.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
Were humans. We are undeniable.

That is the statement Kristi Hager wants to make with her large-scale painted fabric portraits of women on display at the Missoula Art Museum. The local artists exhibition, Equal: A Work in Progress, takes viewers through a generational journey of the faces of women who populate Hagers life. The show is meant to bring attention to the Equal Rights Amendment, which has yet to be ratified despite approval by the Senate 47 years ago, and the ongoing fight for womens equality.

I thought it would be further along in my lifetime, Hager said of that battle she and the women in the portraits have faced their entire lives. But I see progress.

When you enter the gallery, youre greeted by a chorus of faces, young and old, eyes staring directly back at you. The black and white paintings are keenly human, based on photographs or charcoal sketches Hager did of women family and friends.

You dont encounter them individually as much as collectively, said MAM curator Brandon Reintjes. When youre at the door looking in, its a crowd.

The portraits are as close to real life as possible, matching the photos and sketches theyre based on almost exactly.

I wanted to make them unequivocal portraits, by which I mean they were clear and unambiguous as the equality that is our birthright, Hager said.

The large fabric images seem anti-patriarchal in presentation, frameless and flowing freely, hung from the ceiling in the open space of the gallery as opposed to on the walls. Theres almost a physical connection to them as you walk through; no matter where you are, the women are looking at you.

I wanted to say, 'We are humans. Guess what? Were here, and were not going away,' Hager said.

She started the project, which as the title implies is ongoing, after the Womens March in January 2017.

I decided I really wanted to commit my artistic energies to what was most important to me, and I realized that womens equality was something that has been important to me, well, since I became an adult.

The women in her life became her subjects, as she worked to create her own female version of The Dude Wall  the section of hallway at universities and institutions across the country that acts as a portrait shrine to the esteemed men whove been at the helm for decades.

It isnt aspirational for people who dont look like that, she said.

She first painted a close friend, then did her great-grandmother, a German immigrant who spoke no English and likely never voted in the United States. The collection also includes her mother, goddaughter, fellow Missoula artist Beth Lo, women leaders of the University of Montana Pacific Islanders Club, which Hager joined to practice Hula dance, and an undeniably powerful portrait of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only face of any celebrity in the bunch.

Hager painted Ginsburg, who passed away on Sept. 18, more than a year ago, and despite worrying the national icon wouldnt fit with the rest, did the piece anyways.

When I decided to do Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I was resisting doing any of my heroes, because I didnt really want it to be about that, but something compelled me, she said, adding its the only person in the show she hasnt met besides her great-grandmother.

The collection is meant to show the humanity and heroism of regular, everyday women rather than big names in the history of womens rights, but something was telling Hager to make an exception.

My reverence for RBG is that she was such a visionary in seeing how systematically and incrementally you need to work to achieve lasting change, she said. And she never quit, so I guess at times when I feel discouraged, I have to remind myself that she and a lot of other women never quit.

When her friends or family see the portraits Hagers done of them, theyre usually a bit overwhelmed.

It has a powerful impact  the impact of seeing themselves larger than life and rendered with such care and precision is transformative, Reintjes said.

Theyve never seen themselves sort of at a heroic scale, Hager said. And thats the point in a way, that we are our own heroes.

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Here are the most important things to know about COVID in Connecticut.

This story will be updated regularly with the latest on COVID-19 in Connecticut and beyond. Check back later for more.

Nov. 13

CT announces 2,746 new cases since Thursday

State officials announced 2,746 new COVID cases since Thursday, 42 more hospitalizations and 11 deaths. The positivity rate has risen to 6.7 percent after having decreased to 4.3 percent on Thursday.

Rolling seven-day average of positivity rate continues to climb

According to a CT Insider analysis of the states data, the rolling seven-day average positivity rate has gradually increased each day this week since Monday. On Monday, the rolling seven-day average positivity rate was 4.0 and by today it climbed to 4.7. Although gradual, this change reflects a steady rise in infections.

Research: Parts of Africa may have a history with COVID-19

Researchers at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kifili, Kenya, found that approximately 4.3 percent of Kenyas population had a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the journal Nature reported. Antibody studies revealed that by the end of June, 4 percent of Kenyas population was infected but the death toll remained relatively low in comparison. Their findings suggest that the sharp contrast between Kenyas antibody prevalence and its COVID-19 deaths hints that the coronaviruss effects are dampened in Africa, according to the article.

Missing school may be linked to a shorter life expectancy, analysis shows

An analytical model published by the JAMA Network examined years of life lost in association with primary school closures in early 2020 and compared them to potential years of life lost had schools remained open. The model estimates that closing public schools during the pandemic can be associated with a decrease in life expectancy for American children because of the adverse effects missed education creates. We estimated that there is a 98.1% probability that the decisions to close U.S. primary schools in March of 2020 could be associated with more eventual YLL [years of life lost] than would be observed if these schools had remained open, even if schools remaining open had led to a substantial increase in the rate of death observed during the early phase of the pandemic, the researchers said.

Re-testing should be done carefully, study says

Patients who have recovered from COVID-19 infection should proceed to get repeated testing, but not in the 90 days following infection, the journal JAMA Internal Medicine reported. Not getting re-tested in that time period will help those patients avoid unnecessary quarantines as remnants of the virus may give a false positive if re-tested too soon. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests can be positive because of nonviable remnants of the virus, the article says. This means that the test cannot accurately determine whether or not the infection can be transmitted.

Nov. 12

COVID hospitalizations surpass 600 in Connecticut

State officials announced 33 more coronavirus hospitalizations since Wednesday raising the total to 617 patients currently hospitalized. In a press conference, Gov. Lamont expressed concern. We've doubled the number of people in the hospitals in the last two weeks, he said.

CT reports another 1,158 cases since Wednesday

Connecticut announced 1,158 new COVID cases since Wednesday amounting to a total of 85,899 cases since the onset of the pandemic. The daily positivity rate slightly increased to 4.8 percent. The state announced 10 more deaths for a total of 4,726.

Changes in smell can help predict COVID outbreaks, researchers say

Its been known for a while that loss of smell and taste are early symptoms of the coronavirus. Now a team from Penn State is showing that self-reports of changes in smell and taste can predict COVID outbreak. Our research suggests that an increase in the incidence of sudden smell and taste change in the general population may indicate that COVID-19 is spreading, One researcher said. This knowledge could help decision-makers take important measures at the local level, either in catching new outbreaks sooner, or in guiding the relaxation of local lockdowns, given the strong impact of lockdown on economic and social activities.

Poll finds that two-thirds of Americans support a one-month lockdown

Results from a poll conducted by YouGov suggest that nearly two thirds of Americans would support a one-month lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus. About 64 percent of the 13,000 U.S. adults surveyed said they would support a lockdown, while three out of 10 said they would not. Broken down by party, more Democrats  87 percent  said they would support a lockdown, compared to 30 percent of Republicans.

Yale supervises national rollout of new, cheap COVID test

A team from Yale University is supervising a national rollout of a cheaper coronavirus test. The SalivaDirect retails for about $25, and was developed by Yales Anne Wyllie, associate research scientist in epidemiology, and Nathan Grubaugh, assistant professor in epidemiology. The test is also saliva-based, and not nasopharyngeal, which makes it less invasive.

Nov. 11

CT now averaging more than 1,000 cases a day

As of Monday, Connecticut is averaging more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases a day, a level not seen since April 26. There have been more than 1,000 new cases reported by the state every day this week. The highest number of average daily cases since the pandemic began was April 22, when there were an average of 1,102 new cases. It is important to note, however, that many of these cases may be asymptomatic. Early in the pandemic, the state was conducting significantly fewer tests, and then only on patients displaying symptoms consistent with a coronavirus infection. More recently, the state has ramped up testing, which may be identifying a significantly larger number of positive cases.

COVID cases continue to climb in CT: 1,574 new cases reported

The state announced 1,574 new COVID cases Wednesday and 36 new hospitalizations bringing the number of patients currently hospitalized for the virus to a total of 584. Nine more deaths were reported raising the cumulative amount to 4,716 deceased. The positivity rate is 4.7 percent, a decrease from a high of 6.7 percent on Tuesday.

Entitled people are less likely to comply with COVID guidelines, research says

Are you entitled? If you have a sense of entitlement, youre less likely to comply with COVID-19 guidelines, according to a survey of three studies conducted by researchers from Cornell University. Not only were people higher in psychological entitlement more likely to believe that the threat of the virus was overblown, but they were also more likely to report that they had contracted COVID-19.

Cell phone data uncovers superspreader locations for COVID infections

Using cell phone data, researchers mapped what they called mobility networks, tracking and mapping the hourly movements of 98 million people from major metro areas across the United States as they went to and from points of interest like restaurants and religious establishments. They found that a small minority of superspreader [points of interest) account for a large majority of infections. The study, published this week in the journal Nature, also suggests that restricting occupancy at specific points of interest would be more effective than uniformly reducing mobility.

Researchers find rapid COVID tests to be about 99 percent accurate

Researchers went to a public plaza in San Francisco and tested the Abbott Labs rapid coronavirus test on 878 subjects, and found that it was spot on about 99 percent of the time, producing a false positive only very rarely. Connecticut has been expected to receive thousands of the $5, 15-minute tests, as Gov. Ned Lamont announced in October. The tests were accurate regardless of symptoms, researchers said.

Nov. 10

CT positivity rate jumps to 6.7 percent with 1,524 new cases reported

Connecticut announced 1,524 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, substantially raising the one-day positivity rate (the percentage of tests that are positive) to 6.7 percent. There were 52 new hospitalizations, for a total of 548 COVID patients currently in the hospital, and nine more deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-related deaths in the state to 4,707 since the start of the pandemic.

40 percent of COVID-19 patients experience severe ringing in the ears

A sizeable portion of people with COVID-19 experience exacerbated tinnitus (ringing in the ears), according to new research. An international group of researchers found that 40 percent of people with symptomatic COVID-19 said theyre tinnitus got worse. The good news is that 6 percent said their tinnitus got a little better, and 54 percent said there was no change. Lockdowns may have had an effect, too, according to the study: Pre-existing tinnitus was significantly exacerbated for those self-isolating, experiencing loneliness, sleeping poorly and with reduced levels of exercise. Increased depression, anxiety, irritability, and financial worries further significantly contributed to tinnitus being more bothersome during the pandemic period.

Respiratory illnesses becoming less common during the pandemic may not be a good thing

There has been a much lower incidence of common respiratory illnesses (like RSV and the flu) during the pandemic, but researchers at Princeton University said that it wasnt necessarily good news. As NPIs (non-pharmaceutical interventions, like masks and social distancing) are in place, people could become more susceptible to these common diseases, resulting in a stronger comeback. While this reduction in cases could be interpreted as a positive side effect of COVID-19 prevention, the reality is much more complex, study author Rachel Baker said. Our results suggest that susceptibility to these other diseases, such as RSV and flu, could increase while NPIs are in place, resulting in large outbreaks when they begin circulating again.

Existing drugs can curb an influx of cytokine that is a factor in COVID-19 deaths

A cytokine storm is the human bodys immune response to infection. Its when the immune system goes awry, causing all sorts of inflammation  so much so that it is one of the reasons people die from a COVID-19 infection. A new study shows that two chemicals in particular are responsible for generating that cytokine storm, as Science News reported, and that existing drugs might help curb that effect. Its worked in mice, but immunologist Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti said whether or not it will work in humans is another question. I know my colleagues have cured mouse COVID, he told Science News. But most of the time when you do the trials in people, they turn out to be negative.

Working from home has potential health benefits

A report from the CDC suggests that working from home has some potential health benefits. The findings suggests that, of the COVID-19 patients sampled, patients were more likely to test positive for a coronavirus infection if they had gone in-person to work or school, suggesting that alternative methods are preferable. Most community exposures were not associated with teleworking, the CDC said.

Nov. 9

3,338 new cases since Friday and 94 new hospitalizations

Connecticut announced 3,338 new coronavirus cases Monday, raising the positivity rate (the percentage of tests that are positive) to 3.7 percent. There were 94 additional hospitalizations, for a total of 496 COVID patients currently in the hospital, and 27 more deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-related deaths in the state to 4,698 since the start of the pandemic.

Bridgeport and Hartford averaging over 50 new cases a day

Bridgeport and Hartford continue to average a relatively high number of cases per day according to a CT Insider analysis of data. Bridgeport is averaging 59 new cases and Hartford averages 52. Stamford has the third-highest rolling seven-day average of Connecticuts largest cities, with approximately 42 new cases a day.

58 percent of Europeans would take COVID vaccine

Only 58 percent of people in Europe said they will take a coronavirus vaccine, according to new research, well below the threshold needed to generate herd immunity. Thats a problem, and education is the answer, according to researchers: Only by educating the general public about the benefits, safety and efficacy of vaccines can we hope to avoid the unnecessary prolongation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Antibodies found in camels used to neutralize COVID virus

Scientists have synthesized so-called nanobodies (very small antibodies) found in camelids (camels and llamas) to create an ultrapotent treatment for the coronavirus. The aerosol can actually neutralize the virus, according to researchers.

Air pollution creates higher risk of death for COVID patients

Air pollution may be linked to COVID deaths in the United States, according to new research. This is the first study that provides some consistent evidence that, if youre living in a [U.S.] county with a higher level of fine particulate matter, it increases the risk of covid mortality, Harvards Francesca Dominici told the New Scientist. The effect is not insignificant: For every microgram of particulate matter the COVID-19 mortality rate increased by 11 percent, the study says.

Nov. 6

Another 1,000 COVID cases in a single day

Connecticut announced Friday an additional 1,065 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with a positivity rate (the percentage of tests that are positive) of 3.6 percent. There were 22 additional hospitalizations, for a total of 402 COVID patients currently in the hospital, and 15 more deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-related deaths in the state to 4,671.

CDC lifts no-sail order for cruise ships (with one caveat)

The CDC has lifted its no-sail order, giving cruise ships the green light to sail again, with one important caveat: No passengers. In April, the CDC issued a no-sail order, and maintains that cruise ships pose a greater threat to disease transmission than other settings. But now the agency has issued a phased approach to resumption of activities, starting with simulated voyages designed to test cruise ship operators ability to mitigate COVID-19, followed by a return to passenger operations after certification.

Danish minks could pose COVID threat to humans

A coronavirus mutation found in Danish minks has already infected 214 people in Denmark, according to local news sources. The mutated virus variant reportedly has a lower resistance to antibodies, making potential vaccines less effective, according to the Danish prime minister. We have a great responsibility towards our own population, but with the mutation that has now been found, we have an even greater responsibility for the rest of the world as well, Mette Frederiksen said this week.

Masks dont inhibit oxygen during exercise, research says

Canadian researchers have found that wearing a facemask does not reduce the bodys ability to get oxygen during exercise. In terms of oxygen levels in the blood or muscles, No differences were evident between wearing or not wearing a mask, according to the study, published this week by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan. Wearing a face mask during vigorous exercise had no discernable detrimental effect on blood or muscle oxygenation, and exercise performance in young, healthy participants.

Study says wealthier people were able to socially distance more

A study was published this week in the journal Nature showing that wealthier people are more likely to practice social distancing. Residents of low-income neighborhoods were more likely to work outside the home, compared to residents in higher-income neighborhoods, the study says.

Nov. 5

CT reports over 1,100 new cases in a single day

Connecticut announced 1,157 new coronavirus cases on Nov. 5, 10 more deaths and six new hospitalizations for a total of 380 patients currently in the hospital. The positivity rate has lowered to 3.7 percent.

Asymptomatic COVID patients may be contagious for longer periods of time

Usually, people who test positive for the coronavirus but do not have any symptoms remain contagious for about eight days. As reported by the journal Cell, one woman was contagious for more than 70 days, raising more questions about how the disease operates. The patient, a woman in her 70s, is a leukemia patient, which is why they kept checking her blood for the virus, and which may have something to do with why she remained infectious for so long. Researchers said they expect to see more cases like this in the future.

Rutgers: Workers in support roles have higher risk of contracting COVID

Hospital workers are at greater risk of catching the coronavirus than the general public, and specifically those in support roles, according to the latest research from the Rutgers School of Public Health. Its not necessarily those in patient-facing roles who are more at risk: Phlebotomists, maintenance workers and housekeepers, and food services workers were specifically found to be at risk.

COVID corpses show extensive lung damage

A study in the journal Lancet uses postmortem examination of the lungs of COVID-19 patients to show how the disease attacks the body. This kind of study may shed light on so-called long COVID, researchers said. COVID-19 is a unique disease characterized by extensive lung thrombosis, the study said. Several of COVID-19 features might be consequent to the persistence of virus-infected cells for the duration of the disease.

Coronavirus on surfaces can provide warning sign of infection surges, research shows

Research from Tufts University shows that many surfaces carry coronavirus RNA, but not much of it. A team of researchers sampled 33 surfaces in public places, and found that All samples showed only low-level contamination, and the infection risk from touching one of the contaminated surfaces is low, according to an article in the journal Nature. The authors also found that sampling heavily touched surfaces might provide a warning of a surge of infections.

Nov. 4

CT reports 530 new cases, positivity rate slightly lowers

Connecticut announced 530 new coronavirus cases on Nov. 4, 11 more deaths and seven fewer hospitalizations for a total of 374 patients currently in the hospital. The positivity rate has slightly lowered to 4.2 percent.

New Haven sees fewer new cases than other major cities in CT

New Haven has a significantly lower average of new coronavirus cases than other large Connecticut cities. Since September, New Haven has averaged 12 new COVID-19 cases each day, according to a CT Insider analysis of state data. By contrast, Hartford has averaged nearly 30 new cases a day during the same time period. Danbury and Bridgeport are averaging about 22 and 24 new cases each day, respectively, while Stamford is averaging nearly 19 new cases each day.

Was COVID here before March?

COVID may have been circulating locally for longer than we think. This study suggests that the coronavirus was present in New York City long before the first case was identified on March 1. It also shows that the virus is about 10 times more deadly than the flu. The studys authors found seropositive samples as early as mid-February in patients at New Yorks Mount Sinai Hospital.

Superspreaders impact is outsized, study says

How important are superspreading events? Very, according to researchers from MIT. Superspreaders, infected individuals who result in an outsized number of secondary cases, are believed to underlie a significant fraction of total SARS-CoV-2 transmission, according to a study published this week. These events have a fat tail, the study shows, resulting in the spread of disease long after the events themselves. Researchers suggest that controlling superspreading events should be a focus: Our findings indicate that large superspreading events should be the targets of interventions that minimize tail exposure.

Pregnant women more likely to die from COVID: CDC

Pregnant women with the coronavirus are more likely to have a severe infection, according to the CDC. An analysis of 400,000 women with symptomatic COVID-19 infections showed that intensive care unit admission, invasive ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and death were more likely in pregnant women than in nonpregnant women. How much more likely? The analysis showed that pregnant women were nearly four times as likely to need invasive ventilation and twice as likely to die as women who were not pregnant.

Nov. 2

CT reports 2,651 new COVID cases since Friday

Connecticut announced 2,651 new coronavirus cases on Nov. 2, 11 more deaths and 11 new hospitalizations for a total of 340 patients currently in the hospital. The positivity rate has increased to 3.3 percent.

CDC: People can still vote if sick or quarantining within guidelines

The CDC has released guidelines for in-person voting on Nov. 3. In an email to CNN, the CDC confirmed that someone who is currently recovering from COVID-19 or quarantining from being exposed to the virus, can still vote. Any such voter is encouraged to wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet away from others and wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before and after voting. These voters are also urged to notify poll workers of their condition or quarantine status.

Diabetes patients with metabolic syndrome at risk for severe COVID

You are much more likely to die from a COVID-19 infection if you suffer from metabolic syndrome, a disease associated with type 2 diabetes, according to a series of recent research. A study of metabolic syndrome and COVID-19 mortality among a group of adult Black patients found that metabolic syndrome was significantly associated with increased mortality, admission to an intensive care unit, invasive mechanical ventilation and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Construction workers at high risk of contracting COVID, research suggests

Construction workers may be at significant risk of catching the coronavirus, specifically if construction work continues during lockdowns. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that resuming construction work during shelter-in-place orders was associated with increased hospitalization risks in the construction workforce and increased transmission in the surrounding community. Among the cohort in central Texas researchers studied, construction workers were five times more likely to be hospitalized.

DETECT study: Smartwatches can detect a COVID infection

Early results from research called the DETECT study has found that a computer using information obtained from smartwatches and other wearable technology can accurately detect a COVID-19 infection. The study is a big one  30,529 people, of whom 3,811 reported coronavirus symptoms. Its accurate, but not a panacea, as the study itself says: Such a passive monitoring strategy may be complementary to virus testing, which is generally a one-off, or infrequent, sampling assay. But it may be an important step, representing the transitioning of research from a dependence on brick and mortar research centers to a remote, direct-to-participant approach now possible through a range of digital technologies.

Oct. 30

CT positivity rate drops to 2.5 percent and 761 new cases reported

Connecticut announced 761 new coronavirus cases on Friday, seven more deaths and eight new hospitalizations for a total of 329 patients currently in the hospital. The positivity rate has sharply dropped to 2.5 percent after surpassing six percent on Oct. 29.

Study finds 20 percent of grocery employees infected

A study has found a high rate of asymptomatic COVID infections among grocery store workers. Published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, the study found that one out of every five of the grocery store workers tested were positive for coronavirus. Of those who tested positive, 76 percent were asymptomatic, and 91 percent had roles in the store that put them in contact with customers.

Bad air can linger for 5 hours, researchers say

Ventilation matters a lot, according to a study published last week in the British Journal of Anaesthesia. Aerosolized particles can remain in the air for more than five hours in a room with low ventilation rate, suggesting that hospital rooms with COVID-positive patients should be considered contaminated for extended durations after aerosol-generating procedures have been performed, the study said, since it has been shown that airborne SARS-CoV-2 remains viable for at least hours.

One patient at summer camp infects 118 people: CDC

A single COVID-positive patient infected 118 people at a summer camp in Wisconsin, according to the CDC. That patient tested negative a week before attending the camp, but developed symptoms and tested positive shortly after arriving. The result, the CDC said, was 76 percent of the people at the overnight camp, hailing from 21 states and two foreign countries, later tested positive. According to the CDC, this case demonstrates the need for pre-arrival quarantine and testing, cohorting, symptom monitoring, early identification and isolation of cases, mask use and enhanced hygiene and disinfection practices.

FDA considering expanded access process for COVID vaccines

The FDA announced that it is in the early stages of considering whether to use expanded access to distribute a potential Covid-19 vaccine, CNN reported. Expanded access is not an approval process, but rather a method to move along the process of approving an investigational medical product, like a vaccine. The process has been used before for vaccines, just not for a massive distribution that would be needed with a COVID-19 vaccine, according to CNN.

Oct. 29

CT positivity rate hits six percent and over 1300 new cases reported

Connecticut announced 1,319 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, five more deaths and 12 new hospitalizations. The positivity rate has significantly jumped to 6 percent.

Research suggests schools may not be COVID hot spots

Data from worldwide research is showing that schools may not be COVID hot spots. Despite fears, COVID-19 infections did not surge when schools and day-care centres reopened after pandemic lockdowns eased. And when outbreaks do occur, they mostly result in only a small number of people becoming ill, the journal Nature reported. Outbreaks in schools were found to be uncommon, even in places where infections were rising.

Decreased death rates could change if hospitals reach capacity again, a study suggests

Death rates are down, but that could change if hospitals reach capacity again, according to a study from researchers at Britains University of Exeter Medical School. In late March, four in 10 people in intensive care were dying. By the end of June, survival was over 80 percent, John M. Dennis told The New York Times. Dennis research showed that a better understanding for how the disease should be treated has played an important role in declining death rates, but also a falling critical care burden, the study said.

Harvard study: Flying in an airplane may be safer than grocery shopping

Flying in an airplane may be safer than grocery shopping or eating out, according to a study published Tuesday from researchers at Harvard Universitys school of public health. The risk of COVID transmission on a plane will be below that found in other routine activities during the pandemic, such as grocery shopping or eating out, the study said, though with a few caveats. There needs to be a multi-layered approach in order to keep passengers and employees safe, including wearing face masks, disinfection of surfaces and maintenance of appropriate ventilation gate-to-gate.

CDC: College students contract COVID because of failure to follow protocols

College students are getting COVID because they are not following standard protocols, according to the CDC. Following an investigation into 17 COVID cases at a Chicago college, the CDC determined that Colleges and universities are at risk for COVID-19 outbreaks because of shared housing and social gatherings where recommended prevention guidance is not followed. The Chicago Department of Public Health was notified in August of a cluster of COVID-19 cases among a universitys mens and womens soccer teams. That cluster, the CDC said, was the result of several events, including a birthday party and an unsanctioned game between the mens and womens teams.

Oct. 28

CT reports 17 new hospitalizations, decrease in positivity rate

Connecticut announced 490 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, nine more deaths and 17 new hospitalizations. The positivity rate has decreased to 3.4 percent from the previous high of 4.1 percent announced Tuesday.

New cases in Bridgeport have doubled, on average

In the last three days Bridgeports seven-day rolling average of new cases has nearly doubled, according to a CT Insider analysis of state data. The average of 40 new cases is the highest it has been in months. Bridgeports rise in cases mirrors the overall surge in the state.

Long-term exposure to air pollution tied to COVID-19 deaths: report

A study from the journal Cardiovascular Research found that long-term exposure to air pollution may be linked to 15 percent of COVID-19 deaths globally, as Aljazeera reported. Evidence suggests that in East Asia 27 percent of COVID-19 deaths could be tied to effects of poor air quality. The deaths linked to COVID-19 and air pollution presented a potentially avoidable, excess mortality, researchers said.

Study: Some antibodies attack body instead of COVID-19 virus

Some antibodies produced during a COVID-19 infection attack the body, as opposed to the virus, according to a study published by MicroB-plex, Inc., last week. Some patients bodies are producing so-called autoantibodies, which happens with diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. The research may be helpful in understanding in the increasingly documented cases of lingering COVID-19, researchers wrote.

Flu shots may help prevent COVID-19 infections, research suggests

A flu shot might help prevent a COVID infection according to new research. The research is preliminary, but scientists at Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands found that health care workers who had received a flu shot were 39 percent less likely to test positive for COVID-19, as Scientific American reported. As of June 1, 2.23 percent of the health care workers studied who did not get vaccinated against the flu tested positive, while 1.33 percent of those who got a flu shot tested positive for COVID.

Oct. 27

6 deaths, 538 new cases in a day

Connecticut announced 538 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, six more deaths and 22 new hospitalizations.

CT positivity rate up to 4.1 percent, highest rate since June

Gov. Ned Lamont announced Tuesday that the infection rate is up to 4.1 percent. This is the highest Connecticut has had since June. The rolling seven-day average positivity rate has risen every day for the last week, accumulating to an average of 2.5 percent today.

CDC: Six percent of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 are health care providers

Between March and the end of May, 6 percent of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 were health care providers, according to the CDC. Of those health care providers hospitalized with COVID, most, 73 percent, were obese. About 36 percent were nurses, 16 percent of them needed to be mechanically ventilated and 4 percent of those health care providers hospitalized with a COVID infection died.

COVID antibodies providing immunity dont last, according to a study

Antibodies associated with immunity from the coronavirus dont last, according to a study from the Imperial College London. Using a finger prick test to detect antibodies in the blood, researchers found that the number of people testing positive dropped by 26.5 percent between June 20 and Sept. 28. These findings suggest that immunity wont last more than a few months in some cases, but Helen Ward, one of the lead researchers in the study, was reluctant to draw that conclusion explicitly: We dont yet know whether this will leave these people at risk of reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19, but it is essential that everyone continues to follow guidance to reduce the risk to themselves and others.

Researcher suggests coronavirus may increase risk for Parkinsons disease

Coronavirus may increase risk of Parkinsons disease, according to a commentary published last week in the journal Trends in Neurosciences. "Evidence is mounting that the side effects of COVID-19 infection, such as inflammation and damage to the vascular system, could lay the foundation for development of Parkinson's disease, researcher Patrik Brundin told Science Daily. COVID-19 is clearly a major and ongoing public health threat, but the consequences of infection may end up being with us for years and decades to come.

Oct. 26

Over 2,000 cases and 37 new hospitalizations in three days

Connecticut announced 2,047 new coronavirus cases Monday, 12 more deaths and 37 new hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) has decreased to 2.2 percent from 2.9 percent on Oct. 23.

Mayo Clinic: More physically fit patients are less likely to be hospitalized for COVID

Exercise matters, according to research published by the Mayo Clinic. The more physically fit a patient was in the years prior to catching COVID, the less likely they were to be hospitalized, according to the study. As the study concludes, Maximal exercise capacity is independently and inversely associated with the likelihood of hospitalization due to COVID-19.

Study: Lockdowns affect health in both good and bad ways

What is being called a first-of-its-kind global study showed that lockdows significantly affected peoples health, in both bad and good ways. People cooked more and often ate healthier, but their mental states were adversely affected by community-wide lockdowns. The stay-at-home orders did result in one major health positive. Overall, healthy eating increased because we ate out less frequently. However, we snacked more. We got less exercise. We went to bed later and slept more poorly. Our anxiety levels doubled, said Leanne Redman, PhD, Associate Executive Director for Scientific Education at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Predictions show CT to have 6,000 to 9,000 COVID deaths by February

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, has released predictions for COVID-related deaths by state through the end of February. The most likely trajectory in Connecticut is somewhere between 6,000 and 9,000 deaths from the coronavirus, an increase of more than 1,000 in the next four months at the low-end. Nationwide, if 95 percent of the population wore masks, it would be the difference between 1,053,206 total deaths by the end of February and 381,798 total COVID deaths, according to the IHME.

NonCOVID-19 hospitalizations decrease during pandemic peaks, study says

A study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found a substantial decrease in the number of nonCOVID-19 hospitalizations across a range of diagnoses during the peak COVID-19 period. There were less hospitalizations for injuries, worsening of chronic conditions and medical events requiring inpatient care. The study attributes the decrease to three things: patients avoiding emergency care over fear of COVID-19, loss of health insurance, increased threshold for hospitalization and changes in patient lifestyle because of social distancing.

Oct. 23

CT positivity rate increases to 2.9 percent

On Oct. 23, Connecticut announced 679 new cases, eight more deaths and one new hospitalization. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) has increased to 2.9 percent from when it was 2.2 percent on Oct. 22. In the last seven days the positivity rate has fluctuated, but shown a general uptick where on six of those seven days the positivity rate is above two percent.

WHO: No normalcy for at least a year

The World Health Organizations chief science officer said this week that the world wont go back to some measure of normalcy for at least a year, even if a vaccine is approved and administered. Were looking at 2022, at least, before enough people start getting the vaccine to build immunity, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said during a media briefing. So, for a long time to come, we have to maintain the same kind of measures that are currently being put in place with physical distancing, the masking and respiratory hygiene.

Oxford vaccine creates strong response to COVID-19

The coronavirus vaccine being developed by Oxford University creates a strong immunity response, according to researchers at the University of Bristol, as British news source Metro reported. Vaccines usually inject tiny bits of a pathogen  in this case, the vaccine instructs the body to create the relevant protein itself, and it appears to work. This is an important study as we are able to confirm that the genetic instructions underpinning this vaccine, which is being developed as fast as safely possible, are correctly followed when they get into a human cell, said David Matthews, from Bristols School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

Researchers: Age does not determine if you contract COVID-19 or not

A group of Japanese researchers have determined that age has nothing to do with susceptibility to the coronavirus, according to research published in the journal Nature. Their mathematical model shows that age does affect severity of infection, but how old you are has nothing to do with whether or not you catch the virus in the first place.

Study: Mismanagement of pandemic led to more deaths

A study from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University estimated how many deaths the United States could have prevented if it had mirrored the policies and responses in six other high-income nations, namely South Korea, Japan, Australia, Germany, Canada and France. In the U.S., the death rate is 66.33 for every 100,000 people. Had The United States adopted strategies similar to those in the other countries studied, at least 130,000 fewer people would have died, according to the studys authors. By contrasting the U.S. proportional mortality rate with that of six other high-income countries, this report highlights the stark reality that is the United States continued mismanagement of the pandemic response, the study says.

Oct. 22

Connecticut reports 502 new cases

On Oct. 22, Connecticut announced 502 new cases, two more deaths and 19 new hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) has slightly decreased to 2.2 percent from 2.6 percent on Oct. 21.

Rolling 7-day average of positivity rate is steadily climbing

The rolling seven-day average for the positivity rate in Connecticut is on an uptick. In the last week, the average has steadily increased.

CDC: COVID can be spread during brief encounters

The CDC has said COVID-19 can be passed from one host to another during even brief encounters, as Stat news reported, prompting the agency to redefine terms. The CDC had defined a close contact as spending 15 minutes or more within 6 feet of someone else. Now its cumulative  you just need to spend a total of 15 minutes or more of the course of a 24-hour period within 6 feet of someone who was infectious.

Brazilian health officials: Patient dies in AstraZeneca COVID vaccine trial

Brazilian health officials have said that a patient involved in the vaccine trial run by AstraZeneca and Oxford University has died, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. It was not made clear if the patient had been administered the trial vaccine or was in the control group. The patient was reported to be a man in his 20s and was from Rio de Janeiro.

Russia is promoting COVID disinformation: ABC News

An internal U.S. intelligence bulletin reportedly obtained by ABC News says Russia is continuing to actively promote disinformation related to the coronavirus. Dated Oct. 19, the bulletin said those efforts have increased in pace since the start of the month. Russia continues to spread COVID-19 disinformation and conspiracy theories that have the greatest potential to impact U.S. public health efforts, the bulletin says, according to ABC News.

Oct. 21

State logs 416 new COVID cases

The percent of total coronavirus tests that were positive dropped slightly Wednesday, from 3 percent to 2.6 percent. The state added an additional 416 coronavirus cases, and eight new COVID-associated deaths. Four fewer people were hospitalized with COVID-19 infections Wednesday, according to data released by the state.

Hartford averages twice the new cases seen in other CT cities

The rolling seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in Hartford is double that in other major cities in Connecticut, according to a CT Insider analysis of state data. For the last seven days, Hartford has averaged 43 new cases per day. By comparison, Bridgeport is averaging 23 new cases per day. Danbury, which was considered to be having a coronavirus surge earlier this fall, is averaging 16 new cases per day.

CDC: Over 200,000 excess deaths during pandemic

The CDC said this week that there have been 299,028 so-called excess deaths during the course of the pandemic in the United States, significantly more than the 216,000 deaths directly attributed to COVID-19. Excess deaths are the number of deaths above the average for the time period, and are considered a good way to estimate the true loss of life from the pandemic.

Study: 71.5 percent of people open to take a COVID-19 vaccine

Globally, 71.5 percent of people would be somewhat likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature. The research asked 13,426 people in 19 countries their feelings on the subject of vaccines, and found a wide range nation to nation. In China, almost 90 percent of people said they would take a vaccine, compared to only 55 percent in Russia. In the United States, 75.42 percent of people answered yes to the question, If a COVID-19 vaccine is proven safe and effective and is available, I will take it.

American Academy of Pediatrics: CT children have lower COVID-19 infection rates than other states

The percent and number of kids with COVID-19 is lower in Connecticut than in most other states, according to a study released by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Nationwide, 10.9 percent of all coronavirus cases were among people aged 18 and under. In Wyoming, nearly 30 percent of all cases were among children, compared to about 4.3 percent in New York City and New Jersey. Connecticut saw less than 10 percent of all COVID cases among children, below the 11 percent median.

Oct. 20

CT positivity rate leaps to 3.0 percent

On Oct. 20, Connecticut announced 434 new cases, five more deaths and 22 new hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) has jumped to 3 percent from 1.7 percent on Oct. 19. This is the highest it has been since June.

COVID-19 vaccine may be ready for approval by December

The CEO of pharmaceutical manufacturer Moderna said a coronavirus vaccine should be ready for approval by December. Stephane Bancel, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, said that authorization might not happen until early next year. Moderna is one of four drugmakers in late-stage coronavirus vaccine trials.

Straits Times: University developing COVID-19 breathalyzer test

The National University of Singapore is developing a COVID-19 breathalyzer test, the Straits Times reported. Theres only been a pilot of 180 patients so far, but the test returned results in less than a minute and was shown to be 90 percent accurate. "Results are generated in real time, making it an attractive solution for mass screening, especially in areas with high human traffic, one researcher said.

Study: Nasal and oral rinses may deactivate coronavirus

Results from a Penn State College of Medicine study suggest that some nasal and oral rinses may inactivate coronaviruses. Listerine, for example, actually reduced the viral load under laboratory conditions, as did CVS Antiseptic Mouth Wash and others. The key may be how long you rinse your mouth, researchers said. One minute or more actually made a significant difference. Most of the common overthecounter mouth washes/gargles tested demonstrated at least a 90 percent reduction in infectious virus at one minute of contract time with the majority of products showing increasing virucidal activity with longer contact times, the study said.

UK vaccine trial moves toward human challenge trial

A UK vaccine trial announced it will begin a COVID-19 human challenge trial in January, the journal Nature reported. The trial is aimed at accelerating COVID-19 vaccine development in hopes of potentially ending the pandemic. But the prospect of deliberately infecting people  even those at low risk of severe disease  with SARS-CoV-2, a deadly pathogen that has few proven treatments, is uncharted medical and bioethical territory, the journal stated.

Oct. 19

CT COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations rise

On Oct. 19, the State of Connecticut announced 1,191 new cases, 12 more deaths and 11 new hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) has decreased to 1.7. percent from 2.4 percent on Oct. 16.

Study shows organ damage in some hospitalized COVID patients

A new study of patients who have been in the hospital with a COVID infection suggests a potential link between chronic inflammation and ongoing organ damage among survivors, as Reuters reports. About 60 percent of patients showed abnormalities of the lungs, 29 percent had kidney issues, 26 percent had heart problems and 10 percent had abnormalities in the liver.

CVS is hiring 15,000 workers to help handle vaccines

CVS is adding 15,000 workers across the United States to handle vaccinations for both the flu and a potential rollout of a coronavirus vaccine, the company said in a statement. Were estimating a much greater need for trained pharmacy technicians this year given the continued presence of COVID-19 in our communities, said Lisa Bisaccia, CVS chief human resources officer.

Notre Dame: Virus-related lockdowns prevent thousands of deaths linked to pollution

A study from researchers at Notre Dame University showed that virus-related lockdowns in China and Europe prevented tens of thousands of deaths related to pollution. Researcher Paola Crippa and her colleagues looked at the average number of deaths associated with pollution, the number of similar deaths that happened during pandemic lockdowns and the decrease in airborne particulate matter. The study estimated that 24,200 deaths associated with particulate matter were prevented in China, and another 2,190 pollution-related deaths were avoided in Europe, compared to the average.

WHO trial finds that COVID-19 associated drugs did not clearly impact patient outcomes

The WHO Solidarity trial found that four drugs  Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir and Interferon  have have little or no effect, on hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Research found that none of these drugs clearly reduced mortality, initiation of ventilation or hospitalization duration.

Oct. 16

CT Positivity rate drastically jumps to 2.4 percent

On Oct. 16, the State of Connecticut announced 802 new cases, two more deaths and no new hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) increased to 2.4 percent from 1.3 percent on Oct. 15.

Rolling seven-day average for positivity rate is at 1.7 percent

The rolling seven-day positivity rate average is at 1.7 percent, its highest in weeks according to a CT Insider analysis of state data. The positivity rate jumped to 2.4 percent on Oct. 16 from previously being at 1.3 percent on Oct. 15. For the past week, the average has varied between 1.3 and 1.5 percent until today.

Large Thanksgiving parties are a risk: Dr. Anthony Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that families need to reconsider having large Thanksgiving parties. "That is unfortunately a risk, when you have people coming from out of town, gathering together in an indoor setting," Fauci, the nations leading expert on infectious diseases, told CBS news. "It is unfortunate, because that's such a sacred part of American tradition  the family gathering around Thanksgiving. But that is a risk."

Politico: Pfizer will not seek vaccine approval until after election

Pfizer, one of four U.S. drug manufacturers in late-stage coronavirus vaccine testing, said that it wont seek authorization for a vaccine until after the election. "Let me be clear, assuming positive data, Pfizer will apply for Emergency Authorization Use in the U.S. soon after the safety milestone is achieved in the third week of November," the companys CEO wrote, as Politico reported.

CDC releases guidelines for COVID testing in schools

The CDC has released interim guidelines for coronavirus testing in schools. The guidance goes into detail on the types of testing, when testing is and is not recommended for students and staff, and which schools (and which people within schools) to prioritize testing. The agency made it clear that these are just guidelines, not mandates: These considerations are for testing in school settings and are intended for K-12 school administrators working in collaboration with their state, tribal, local, and territorial public health officials.

Oct. 15

CT positivity rate decreases to 1.3 percent

On Oct. 15, the State of Connecticut announced 213 new cases, three more deaths and three new hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) decreased to 1.3 percent from a high of 2.4 percent on Oct. 13.

Coronavirus strain infecting pigs in China could spread to humans

A related coronavirus that has torn through the pig population in China (Its called swine acute diarrhea syndrome, or SADS) has the potential to jump to humans, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The good news is that, "It is impossible to predict if this virus, or a relative of it, could emerge and infect human populations, as one reseracher said. However, it has been shown to replicate in human cells, which demonstrates potential risk for future emergence events in human and animal populations."

Research shows coronavirus travels through the air in different ways

Researchers have modelled how the coronavirus is transmitted via droplets and in aerosolized form, and suggest that it moves from host to host in different ways depending on the humidity in the air. UC Santa Barbara researchers say that ability to be transmitted in both droplets and aerosolized form may be why the virus did not abate in the summer as some researchers thought it might. We found that in most situations, respiratory droplets travel longer distances than the 6-foot social distance recommended by the CDC, researcher Yanying Zhu said.

Oxford University scientists developed a 5-minute COVID test

Scientists at Oxford University have developed a 5-minute antigen test, as NBC reported. Our method quickly detects intact virus particles, said Professor Achilles Kapanidis, at Oxfords Department of Physics. He said the test, described as cost-effective, should have an approved device in the middle of next year.

Israeli scientists identify drugs that can reduce COVID-19 severity

Israeli scientists have engaged in an extensive, systematic analysis of electronic health records to identify drugs that could reduce the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization, according to research published this week. Their results were encouraging: We identified several drugs and products sold in pharmacies that are significantly associated with reduced odds ratios of SARS-CoV-2 hospitalization and disease severity.

Oct. 14

CT positivity rate decreases to 1.9 percent

On Oct. 14, the State of Connecticut announced 164 new cases, four more deaths and 16 new hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) decreased to 1.9 percent, still a relatively high rate, but lower than the previously reported 2.4 percent on Oct. 13.

Dutch woman is first known death from COVID-19 reinfection

An elderly woman in the Netherlands has become the first known person to die from a COVID-19 reinfection, according to Dutch experts. She died nearly two weeks after being infected with the virus a second time. The lady had a rare bone marrow cancer called Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, but researchers said her immune system could have still been sufficient to eliminate, the virus.

COVID-19 financial losses amount to about $16 trillion, study says

A pair of researchers from Harvard published a study this week in which they show that the estimated cumulative financial costs of the COVID-19 pandemic related to the lost output and health reduction is about $16 trillion in the United States. Thats equal to about 90 percent of the total annual GDP of the United States, translating to an average loss of almost $200 000 for a family of four. Those numbers are not so straightforward. Half of that $16 trillion is lost income from the COVID-19-induced recession  the rest is the estimated economic effects of shorter and less healthy life, researchers wrote.

Deaths 20% higher because of the pandemic

There were 20 percent more deaths than usual between March and July, according to one recent research letter published by scientists from Yale University and the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Those deaths were not all directly related to COVID  only about 67 percent of those 225,530 excess deaths were from a coronavirus infection. The remainder are from pandemic-related issues (like increased poverty or stretched-too-thin hospital resources.

Effects of COVID-19 on mental health will be profound: NYU researchers

Three mental health professionals from NYU expressed concerns in a research letter over what the sheer number of pandemic-related deaths might do to the people left behind. Each COVID-19 death leaves an estimated nine family members bereaved, which projects to an estimated 2 million bereaved individuals in the U.S., they wrote. Thus, the effect of COVID-19 deaths on mental health will be profound. Its not just the effects of dealing with death. There is also a significant amount of stress and social disruption caused by the pandemic, which has increased rates of depression and anxiety, and substance abuse. A second wave of devastation is imminent, attributable to mental health consequences of COVID-19, they wrote. The magnitude of this second wave is likely to overwhelm the already frayed mental health system, leading to access problems, particularly for the most vulnerable persons.

Oct. 13

CT positivity rate significantly increases to 2.4 percent

On Oct. 13, the State of Connecticut announced 320 new cases, one death and 17 more hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) increased significantly to 2.4 percent.

Pfizer expands vaccine study to include teenagers

Pfizer has altered its vaccine study to include younger participants aged 12 through 15 after getting permission by the Food and Drug Administration. The study originally planned for 30,000 participants, but expanded the participant pool to 44,000 in September.

Johnson & Johnson pauses COVID-19 vaccine trial after unexplained illness

Johnson & Johnson is temporarily pausing its COVID-19 vaccine trial after an unexplained illness in a study participant. The company said adverse events, like illnesses, are an expected part of any clinical study. The illness is being reviewed by ENSEMBLE independent Data Safety Monitoring Board and internal physicians. It is not always immediately apparent whether a participant received a study treatment or a placebo, the company said.

COVID-19 reinfection more severe the second time, study says

A study by The Lancet, a medical journal, found that a person re-infected with COVID-19 had more severe symptoms during his second battle with the virus. The patient developed myalgia, a cough, shortness of breath and signs of pneumonia. Researchers speculate that the reinfection may have been more severe for one of the following reasons: the patient may have been exposed to a higher dose of the virus, this version of the virus may be more malicious or antibodies could have been infected and became dependent on the virus.

U.S. experiences more COVID-19 deaths than any country, according to JAMA Network

The medical journal JAMA conducted a study to explain why the U.S.has experienced more COVID-19 deaths than any other country. After the first peak in early spring, U.S. death rates from COVID-19 and from all causes remained higher than even countries with high COVID-19 mortality, the study says. JAMA found that these results came from several factors, including weak public health infrastructure and a decentralized, inconsistent U.S. response to the pandemic.

Oct. 12

Coronavirus can linger on touchscreens for at least 28 days

Coronavirus can live and remain viable for at least 28 days on touchscreens and banknotes, according to newly released research from Australia. The study, from researchers at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, showed that, at 68 degrees fahrenheit, the coronavirus can survive for a month on common surfaces such as glass, stainless steel and both paper and polymer banknotes. At 100 degrees fahrenheit, the virus can live less than 24 hours on those surfaces, the study said.

CDC: Infections in younger people happen before spike in infections in older people

A study of infection data by age group released by the CDC showed that in counties considered hotspots, including counties in Connecticut, a spike in the number of infections among younger people preceded a spike in infections among older people by several weeks. The dynamic was less profound in Northeast states, but the CDC notes that addressing transmission among young adults is an urgent public health priority.

CT projected to average over 16 deaths a day by 2021

Connecticut is currently seeing an average of 1.68 deaths from the coronavirus every day. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation data shows the state hitting 2.3 average daily deaths by Election Day, and more than 16 deaths per day by Jan. 1. The IHMEs predictions dont go any further than February but, by that point, Connecticut could be looking at 30 deaths per day from the coronavirus, with significant increases in infections and hospital resource use as well.

Hartford is averaging 10 new cases per day

Hartford has been experiencing a steady rise in new COVID-19 cases every day. Data shows that Hartford has reported at least 10 new cases every day since Sept. 28. The rolling seven-day average shows an average 11 new cases each day so far in October.

Trinity College and UNH suspend in-person learning over COVID-19 outbreaks

Trinity College in Hartford and the University of New Haven have experienced outbreaks in the last few days. The University of New Haven announced today that it is suspending in-person learning until Oct. 17 because of the outbreak. Trinity has also paused in-person instruction until it can get a handle on the growing cases.

Oct. 9

CT positivity rate increases to 1.68 percent

On Oct. 9, the State of Connecticut announced 290 new cases, three more deaths and six new hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) increased to 1.68 percent.

States without mask mandates have 10 times the COVID-19 cases

A study of states policies as they reopened showed that those without mask mandates saw 10 times the number of coronavirus cases as those states with mask mandates. This study contributes to the growing evidence that mask usage is essential for mitigating community transmission of COVID-19, the study concludes. States should delay further reopening until mask mandates are fully implemented, and enforcement by local businesses will be critical for preventing potential future closures.

A serious COVID-19 infection can provide long-lasting immunity

A Harvard study suggests that a serious COVID-19 infection does provide long-lasting immunity. Its been assumed that catching the virus does grant some measure of immunity, but Harvard researchers may be the first to confirm that severe infections do result in some measure of immunity on a long-term basis. We showed that key antibody responses to COVID-19 do persist. the lead researcher said.

Coronavirus can live on human skin for nine hours

Coronavirus can live on human skin for nine hours, according to a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The study shows that this nine-hour window during which the virus lingers creates a higher risk of transmission and underlines the importance of washing your hands or sanitizing.

Trump plans to hold a rally in Florida Saturday, whether infectious or not

President Donald Trump plans to hold a Saturday rally in Florida, an event which his doctors have cleared him for after a COVID diagnosis last week. Depending on the severity of his COVID infection, he may or may not be infectious at that point. According to the CDC, patients with mild to moderate remain infectious no longer than 10 days after symptom onset. Patients with more severe infections can be contagious for up to 20 days. The New York Times reported that Trump began experiencing symptoms on Wednesday, Sept. 30, exactly 10 days before his planned Saturday rally.

Oct. 8

384 cases and 5 COVID deaths as phase 3 begins

Gov. Ned Lamont announced an additional five deaths from COVID-19 Friday, as the state begins phase 3 of reopening, increasing indoor capacity in restaurants and opening up arts venues. The state also logged an additional one-day increase of 384 COVID cases, and a positivity rate of 1.4 percent.

White House chief adviser lays out vaccine approval for after election

A chief adviser to the White Houses Operation Warp Speed this week laid out a timetable for vaccine approval, after Nov. 3. On Tuesday, Moncef Slaoui told a symposium run by Johns Hopkins University that "Nobody can really say when," a vaccine would be approved, "but the expectation would be that this would happen between the month of November and December."

European Union secures 400 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

The European Union has secured 400 million doses of a vaccine being developed by Johnson & Johnson, one of four U.S.-made vaccine candidates currently in late-stage trials. The contract allows member states to purchase vaccines for 200 million people. They will also have the possibility to purchase vaccines for an additional 200 million people, the EU commission said in a statement, as was reported by Reuters. The E.U. has already signed similar deals with drugmakers AstraZeneca and Sanofi, which are also working on vaccine candidates.

U.S. ranked nine of 19 for pandemic management

The U.S. ranks ninth of 19 nations in terms of public perception of pandemic management, according to a new tool developed by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and the City University of New York. The U.S. was rated highly in terms of income, food and shelter aid, but did not perform as well, in the view of survey respondents in terms of government cooperation with other nations and global agencies.

500,000 sharks could die for COVID vaccine, conservationists say

A conservationist group says that as many as 500,000 sharks could be killed to provide a coronavirus vaccine to the worlds population. Squalene, used as an emulsifier in many vaccines, is often derived from shark liver oil. California-based Shark Allies has put together a Change.org petition to encourage the worlds drugmakers to use squalene from other sources. The organization estimates that, depending on the vaccine, as many as 500,000 sharks could be killed to provide two vaccine doses globally.

Oct. 7

Note: Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday that the state actually administered more than more than 17,700 coronavirus tests Tuesday, instead of 8,200 as he initially reported. That brought the percent positive to 0.7 percent instead of 1.6 percent.

CT positivity rate increases since Oct. 6

On Oct. 7, the State of Connecticut announced 123 new cases, one death and nine more hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) increased to 1.62 percent.

Fauci says the U.S. could have as many as 400,000 deaths before pandemic ends

Anthony Fauci said during an event hosted by American University that the United States could see as many as 400,000 coronavirus deaths before the pandemic is over, as Axios reported. "We could have 300,000-400,000 COVID-19 deaths, if precautions arent taken, he said.

NY locks down on COVID-19 hotspots

New York State is locking down again, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, placing restrictions on businesses, churches and schools near COVID-19 hotspots. Cuomo said the rules will be enforced in parts of Brooklyn, Queens, Orange and Rockland counties, and that they would take effect no later than Friday.

CT has had a 75 percent increase in COVID-19 cases over the last 14 days

The numbers are small, but the percentage increase in both cases and deaths from the coronavirus is high in Connecticut, according to data maintained by Kaiser Health News. There has been a 75 percent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state over the last 14 days, the sixth highest in the nation. There has been a 40 percent increase in the number of COVID-related deaths, though the state is still at a rolling seven-day average of two deaths per day, which is relatively low for the United States. There is a seven-day average of about 200 new cases in the state.

One-third of COVID-19 patients experience neurological effects

A study by Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology found that nearly a third of hospitalized COVID-19 patients experienced some form of an altered mental capacity. The symptoms are varied, ranging from dizziness to confusion to unresponsiveness. Patients with neurological symptoms experienced worse medical outcomes as a result, reported the New York Times.

Oct. 6

No new hospitalizations since Oct. 5

On Oct. 6, the State of Connecticut announced 121 new cases, 4 more deaths and no new hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) decreased to 1.47 percent.

Quest diagnostics releases at-home COVID-19 test kit

Quest Diagnostics has released a new, at-home COVID-19 test kit, WFSB reported. The kit includes a nasal swab PCR test that can be returned in an overnight FedEx envelope. A test kit costs $129 and can be ordered online at the Quest Diagnostics website. Alternatively, someone can complete the at-home test by buying it online and taking the specimen to a drive-thru pharmacy at a nearby Walmart.

White House blocks FDA guidelines preventing vaccine approval before election

The White House has blocked proposed FDA guidelines that would have prevented a vaccine from being approved before the Nov. 3 election, as multiple news organizations have reported. The FDA had instructed vaccine manufacturers to follow patients involved in vaccine trials for two months, a timeline that would have pushed any approvals to after the election.

13-year-old spreads coronavirus to 12 people in four states

The CDC has detailed how a 13-year-old with coronavirus spread the disease to at least 12 other people in four states. Fourteen people stayed in a house with the index patient, of whom 12 were infected (none worse masks or practiced social distancing). Six other relatives stayed outside of the hose and none of them caught the virus.

Relaxing social distancing rules contribute to increased transmission rates across U.S.

A study from researchers at the Center for Global Health in Boston showed that the transmission rate across the United States began increasing as soon as social distancing rules were relaxed. We detected an immediate and significant reversal in SARS-CoV-2 epidemic suppression after relaxation of social distancing measures across the U.S. Premature relaxation of social distancing measures undermined the countrys ability to control the disease burden associated with COVID-19, researchers said.

Oct. 5

Connecticuts positivity rate increases to 1.6

On Oct. 5, the State of Connecticut announced 823 new cases, four more deaths and 19 more hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) increased to 1.6 percent from the previous 1.3 percent on Oct. 2.

CT transmission rate at its highest since March

Connecticuts transmission rate is at its highest since March. The transmission rate is 1.11, according to rt.live and Yales model pins the rate at 1.15. This number means that an infected person will spread the disease to at least one other person on average, causing COVID-19 to spread.

MIT develops a cheap, new COVID-19 test

MIT has developed a COVID-19 test that is so cheap it could be administered at home every single day. The test returns results in 30 minutes to an hour, and is more than 90 percent accurate. We need rapid testing to become part of the fabric of this situation so that people can test themselves every day, which will slow down an outbreak, Omar Abudayyeh, an MIT McGovern Fellow working on the diagnostic, said in a release. The test is still in the research phase.

Coronavirus cases increase as cold front arrives

As the cold weather has arrived, there has been a record number of coronavirus cases in nine states, as Reuters reports. The states seeing the largest increases are those where the cold has taken hold, particularly in the northern Midwest. In Wisconsin, for example, an average of 22 percent of all COVID-19 tests are coming back positive.

CDC updates guidance to confirm COVID-19 can be spread through aerosols

Despite a mountain of other research, the CDC has gone back and forth about whether the virus can spread through aerosols, but a newly updated guidance affirms it can be spread through the air. Small viral particles can linger in the air for minutes or hours after a person has left a space, potentially infecting others. This kind of spread is called airborne transmission.

Oct. 2

Connecticuts COVID-19 cases continue to climb

On Oct. 2, the State of Connecticut announced 460 new cases, two more deaths and three more hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) is at 1.36 percent.

Norwich issued a COVID-19 alert after outbreak of positive cases

The state has issued a COVID-19 alert for the town of Norwich following a recent spike in cases in the area in the last two weeks, Gov. Ned Lamont said in a tweet early Friday morning. The state Department of Health said that Norwich recorded at least 84 new coronavirus cases in mid-September to raise the daily case rate to 24 per 100,000, the highest rate in the state. This is a significant increase in cases in Norwich we need to focus everyones attention on, said Acting DPH Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford in a release.

Moderna says vaccine could be ready by March 2021

The CEO of Moderna, one of the leading companies working on a coronavirus vaccine, said this week the company plans to submit its vaccine candidate to the FDA in January 2021, at the earliest, with an expected vaccine ready for public consumption no earlier than March or April of next year.

Kids are efficient virus spreaders, study says

Heres a little more about superspreaders: A study of 575,071 people who had been exposed to confirmed COVID-19 patients  the largest such study ever  found that children and young adults in particular were good at spreading the virus. Kids are very efficient transmitters in this setting, which is something that hasnt been firmly established in previous studies, said lead researcher Ramanan Laxminarayan.

Blumenthal getting tested after potential exposure at White House

President Trump has tested positive and is experiencing mild symptoms of COVID-19. Following his diagnosis, a string of White House officials along with Connecticuts Sen. Richard Blumenthal, have chosen to get tested. Sen. Chris Murphy stated the White House could now be a superspreading site, according to the New Haven Independent.

Oct. 1

Positive tests continues to grow in Connecticut

The percent of total tests that were positive in Connecticut continued to grow Thursday  1.85 percent of all coronavirus tests in the state came back positive, up from 1.78 the previous day. Again, three more deaths from the virus were identified, and another three people were fighting the disease in the hospital, according to the state

Who should get a vaccine first? Health care professionals

A study asked members of the public who they thought should get a vaccine first when one is available. Most people thought health care professionals should get a vaccine first. The goal is not only to better allocate limited resources but to build a little trust. Public engagement can contribute to resource allocation decisions, the studys authors said. Incorporating public preferences could advance the perceived legitimacy of vaccine allocation guidelines.

Vaccine trial participants experience symptoms in phase three

Participants in the vaccine trial being managed by Moderna and AstraZenica reported symptoms like fever, body aches, headaches and exhaustion, and while the symptoms were described as intense by some patients, they tended to abate in a single day or less, as CNBC reported. The Moderna vaccine candidate is one of of four currently in phase three trials in the United States.

Fauci says vaccine trials need a diverse group of patients

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci told congress that vaccine trials need to include a diverse group of patients. We need to get a diverse representation of the population in the clinical trials," he told a panel of Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) members, as The Hill reported. "So when they are proven to be safe and effective, we can say they are safe and effective in everyone, not only in whites."

FDA looks into a wider scope of side effects from AstraZenica vaccine candidate

The FDA is widening the scope of its investigation into possible side effects from the AstraZenica vaccine candidate, probably resulting in further delays, as Reuters reported. The stage three trial has been on hold since Sept. 8, after a patient in the trial developed a spinal cord illness called transverse myelitis.

Sept. 30

Percent positive up in CT

About 1.8 percent of the total number of coronavirus tests in Connecticut were positive, an increase of about .1 percent from the day before. There were a total of 221 new cases announced, and 12 new COVID-19-related hospitalizations. In addition, there were three more coronavirus-related deaths in the state.

COVID-19 may be ramping up in NYC

Coronavirus cases are spiking in New York City. The daily rate of positive coronavirus tests jumped to 3.25 percent on Tuesday from 1.9 the day earlier, though it then dropped back down to below 1 percent. That spike may be centered in the citys Orthodox Jewish community, but the city did just open up to 25 percent of indoor capacity at restaurants.

Percent positive up in New Jersey

New Yorks positivity rate  the percentage of tests that are positive  may be jumping up and down, and Connecticuts may be inching up, but pay attention to New Jersey. State officials there said Wednesday the positivity rate in that state climbed over 3 percent after being in the 2 percent range for weeks.

Transmission on surfaces unlikely in the real world

Coronavirus transmission on surfaces is unlikely, according to a letter published in the journal Lancet. In laboratory conditions its possible, but in the real world its far less likely, provided that standard cleaning procedures and precautions are enforced. Wash your hands.

Chinese citizens are already getting a vaccine

There has been no coronavirus vaccine yet approved in China, but state media has said that hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens are receiving an unapproved shot under an emergency authorization, as The New Yorker reported. The goal, they said, was to beat the United States to the punch. Chinese officials are thinking that Donald Trump might approve a U.S. vaccine before the election, Yiwu He, the chief innovation officer at the University of Hong Kong, told The New Yorker. So their goal is to have a vaccine approved before that.

Sept. 29

COVID-19 hospitalizations rise

Since Tuesday, the state of Connecticut announced 182 new cases, 2 more deaths and 17 more hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) has decreased to 1.06 percent.

Less than 10 percent of U.S. adults formed antibodies during first COVID-19 wave

A study by The Lancet shows that fewer than 10 percent of the U.S. adult population developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, during the first wave of the pandemic and fewer than 10 percent of those with antibodies were diagnosed. This has a lot of implications when youre looking at things such as vaccines.

Rapid COVID-19 tests to be used in Connecticut schools

Connecticut is expecting to receive 1 million rapid COVID-19 tests from the federal government. The tests are meant to help keep schools open. Of the 1 million tests, 69,000 will arrive next week, according to Gov. Ned Lamont. The tests will also be used in nursing homes, day care centers, prisons and for the state's rapid-response team to deal with virus outbreaks.

Lawsuit to stop kids from wearing masks in schools goes to court

Parents from five Connecticut towns are arguing that the state lacked the authority to create the mandate and violated the constitutional rights of students by imposing it. A state Superior Court judge is presiding over the lawsuit.

Americans over 30 have been drinking more during the pandemic

Adults over 30 have been drinking more during the pandemic, according to the JAMA Network Open journal. Alcohol consumption has increased 14 percent since 2019, averaging out to one additional drinking day per month by 75 percent of adults.

Sept. 28

More cases reported and one less hospitalization since Sept. 25

Since Sept. 25, the State of Connecticut announced 560 new cases, two more deaths and one less hospitalization. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) is at 1.1 percent Monday.

Silent reinfections coming to surface

An article from the journal Nature reports that the reinfection found in two Indian doctors who contracted COVID-19 in May is genetically different the second time around, according to the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in New Delhi. The evidence indicates that the doctors bodies are not harboring leftover virus, but instead being infected all over again. To this extent, it suggests asymptomatic reinfections are underreported.

CDC releases guidelines for a safe Thanksgiving

The Center for Disease Control released guidelines for Thanksgiving plans. One of these guidelines calls for those hosting a dinner to only include people who live in the household or have a virtual dinner.

Long-term care facilities allowing visitors again in Connecticut

The state Department of Public Health announced that long-term care facilities can begin to have visitors again. Visitors will be screened by the facility and are required to wear protective gear, such as masks. There will be limitations on how many visitors a patient can have at a time and how many are allowed in the facility.

The horseshoe crab could be a saving grace against COVID-19

Horseshoe crab blood is a key ingredient in the making of vaccines, even one for COVID-19, according to an article in National Geographic. The blood contains a substance called limulus amebocyte lysate, which helps detect a bacterial toxin that could be deadly if it makes it into vaccines. It just so happens this ingredient might be a saving grace in fighting COVID-19.

Sept. 25

Positivity rate in Connecticut is back down below 1 percent

There were 115 new cases of the coronavirus reported in Connecticut Friday afternoon, the lowest single day increase in recent memory. In addition, the state posted a positivity rate (the percentage of coronavirus tests that were positive) of a bit more than 0.8 percent. This news comes a day after Gov. Ned Lamont that the state would begin its phase three opening, allowing for restaurants to go to 75 percent capacity indoors.

Transmission rate remains slightly elevated

The only dark spot on Connecticuts COVID-19 horizon is the transmission rate (denoted as R0) which, according to rt.live, remained at 1.10 as of Friday evening. An Rt over 1 means the virus is spreading  below 1 and the virus is contained and not spreading through the population.

COVID-19 deaths globally are close to 1 million

The world is expected to cross the threshold of 1 million deaths from COVID-19 within the next few days. According to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University, there were 985,104 deaths worldwide from COVID-19 as of Friday afternoon. Most estimates suggest that the world will hit 1 million deaths from the coronavirus before MOnday.

Non-COVID hospital admissions up  for some

Hospital admissions dropped considerably during the pandemic, but non-COVID-related hospital admissions bounced back (to 16 percent below normal) in June and July. Not among all cohorts, according to this study in Health Affairs. Hospital admissions in majority Hispanic areas were 32 percent lower, and were 44 percent lower among pneumonia patients and 40 percent down among people with COPD or asthma.

Is there a new way to test for COVID?

There is potentially a new way to diagnose COVID-19 which could potentially be used to analyse thousands of samples per day on a single instrument, according to the pre-printed study. The LamPORE test platform, as its called, is about as accurate as the current PCR tests being used.
Collette Marie is one with the land.

Born and raised in the Las Cruces area, the New Mexico State University alumna finds comfort in her surroundings.

Which, in turn, is often the inspiration behind her work as an artist.

As work by the New Mexico Department of Transportation continues on the Interstate 25/University interchange project in Las Cruces, Collette Marie will see her work emblazoned on its biggest canvas yet.

In 2018, she was the winning recipient of a public art commission that she has titled Cultivo y Cultura  one that carries a $3.3 million price tag just for the art element.

I am very honored to have my work showcased here and for years to come and in such a large way, Collette Marie says. I think its important to look at the Las Cruces art community for this project.

Her design features giant agave blooms, song sparrows, lizards, local crops and native flora adorning the structures retaining walls.

Collette Marie was named a semifinalist and went through numerous rounds of presenting proposals. In spring 2018, she was officially chosen and submitted her final design for the project in August 2018.

According to the New Mexico Department of Transportation, construction began on the I-25/University Project on Jan. 2. It is to be completed in summer 2021.

As planned, the project will be constructed in six phases.

The fourth phase kicked off in September and the nearly 10,000-pound concrete panels with Collette Maries work began to be placed.

Panels are being shipped out every day, Collette Marie says. I try to take a trip out weekly to see the progress and how it is slowly being unveiled.

Each element in the design has a powerful intention.

She uses Southwestern themes, including desert plants, along with cultivation of crops, academia and Las Cruces culture, roots and history.

There are two sides to this project.

Collette Marie broke it up into the Triviz/NMSU side and the I-25 side.

Because NMSU is an agricultural university, she used four of the states specialty crops  chile, cotton, pecan and onions.

She also wanted to make the connection that planting a seed in the earth is symbolic of academic growth.

During my research, I found the NMSU Master Plan, she says. The university proposed construction for a new eastern campus entry. It also uses pecan trees as a marker to identify campus entries.

According to the NMSU Master Plan, to reinforce campus entry and identity, the planting of pecan trees is proposed to continue along all major campus entry drives. These campus entries provide opportunities for identity marking, which will help NMSU achieve greater visibility in the community and provide clear signals that tell visitors where to enter the campus.

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Collette Marie was also inspired by NMSUs historical roots in the chile world.

The Fabian Garcia Research Center was created in 1906. The center, which sits on 41 acres of land, was named for Fabian Garcia, professor of Horticulture from 1906 to 1945, according to the master plan.

Garcia was the first director of the State Agriculture Experiment Station, in 1913. He produced the hot Sandia pepper.

Of course, as the project continues, there will also be a phase in which the concrete panels are painted.

I wanted something that would last a long time, and I was looking for colors that would have longevity, she says. Thats how I came up with the palette. NMSU has their own color scheme, and I wanted it to complement that. 

For the I-25 side, the artist was inspired by her childhood on the north side of Las Cruces, where farming is prevalent.

Incorporated in the design is the ocotillo.

Its a personal favorite of hers, as well as an underappreciated Southwest plant. It also doesnt grow in northern New Mexico.

She added some agave imagery, as well as a sun disk and sunburst design.

Collette Marie wanted to mix it up when it came to the living creatures featured in her piece.

With this in mind, she chose the whiptail lizard and a song sparrow.

I went for the state reptile instead of the state bird, she says. Plus, the lizards are an all-female species. The song sparrow is dedicated to my grandmother, Alvita Trujillo Flores.

Being able to step outside of her comfort zone has helped Collette Marie grow  both personally and professionally.

This public art commission has afforded me the opportunity to acquire many new skills, including the experience of designing large-scale concrete relief surfaces, she says. The application and presentation process to compete for this contract was very competitive, with other talented artists in the running. My winning submission required weeks of hard work, focus and dedication. My ambition to win this commission was very powerful, and at times, I experienced moments of self-doubt and bouts of uncertainty.
Belarusian authorities on Friday announced they were imposing sanctions against the European Union, and threatened to revise the country's diplomatic relations with the bloc, in response to EU sanctions on several dozen Belarus officials accused of falsifying presidential election results and leading a crackdown on peaceful protesters.

The EU in the early hours of Friday decided to impose sanctions on about 40 officials, with the exception of President Alexander Lukashenko who was re-elected in August in a vote the opposition sees as rigged.

In response, the Foreign Ministry of Belarus issued a statement announcing its own sanctions against European officials. The Belarusian side, starting from today, puts into effect a retaliatory sanctions list, the statement said. The ministry didn't reveal the list and gave no details as to how many officials were on it.

If the EU further ratchets up the sanctions flywheel," there could be more serious consequences, according to the statement, such as Belarus pulling out of joint programs and projects or revising its diplomatic relations with the bloc.

"Belarus is always, in words and in deeds, against confrontation. We are for dialogue and understanding. But as a sovereign state, we're also determined, albeit not without regret, to respond to unfriendly actions in order to naturally defend our national interests," the statement read.

The official results of the Aug. 9 presidential election handed Lukashenko, who has run Belarus with an iron fist for 26 years, a crushing victory with 80% of the vote. His main challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya got only 10%. She and her supporters refused to recognize the results as valid, and mass protests have rocked Belarus ever since, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets and demanding Lukashenko's resignation.

The authorities' brutal response to the protests immediately after the vote, with police detaining thousands and injuring scores with truncheons, rubber bullets and stun grenades, elicited international outrage.

The government has scaled down on the violence, but kept the pressure on, detaining hundreds of protesters and prosecuting top activists. Many prominent members of the Coordination Council, formed by the opposition to push for a transition of power, have been either arrested of forced to leave the country.

Tsikhanouskaya is currently in exile in Lithuania. Her top associate Maria Kolesnikova remains in jail on the charges of undermining state security that could bring a five-year prison term if she is convicted.

The West doesn't have much leverage in the current crisis in Belarus, Minsk-based political analyst Artyom Shraybman told The Associated Press: Lukashenko doesn't care about the West's opinion of his actions.

Shraybman called the EU sanctions meager and symbolic. The EU countries adopt these sanctions solely for themselves, in order to show themselves that they're not cynics and that human rights matter for them, Shraybman said.

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Daria Litvinova in Moscow contributed to this report.
(L-R) Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley hold an end of year press conference at the Pentagon on December 20, 2019 in Arlington, Virginia.

WASHINGTON  The Pentagon said Friday there were no changes to the Defense Department's state of alert as the world reacted to the news of President Donald Trump's positive coronavirus test results.

"The U.S. military stands ready to defend our country and interests. There's no change to the readiness or capability of our armed forces. Our national command and control structure is in no way affected by this announcement," Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.

Trump announced early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. The announcement came hours after the president said he would begin a quarantine process after top aide Hope Hicks tested positive for coronavirus.

Vice President Mike Pence, who is next in line for the presidency, and his wife, Karen, tested negative, the White House announced later Friday.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley met with Trump at the White House on Sunday for a Gold Star Families event. Esper tested negative for coronavirus on Monday and again on Wednesday. Esper, who is currently wrapping up an international trip, will take another test on Friday.

Milley, the nation's highest-ranking military officer, tested negative on Friday morning.

Other top Pentagon leaders also were at Sunday's event and tested negative since then: Army chief of staff Gen. James McConville; Air Force chief of staff Gen. Charles Brown; Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett; chief of space operations Space Force Gen. John Raymond; and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is also traveling, said he was administered a test for coronavirus and that it was negative. Pompeo also told reporters traveling with him that he will proceed with his plans to travel to Asia on Sunday.

Health experts say that even with a negative test, it is wise to isolate for 48 hours after exposure.
Donald Trumps chief of staff said Friday the president was experiencing mild symptoms" of Covid-19, after the bombshell news of his infection upended the White House race a month before the Republican faces challenger Joe Biden at the polls.

The 74-year-old Trump  who has continued to cast doubt on the seriousness of the pandemic, even as the US death toll topped 200,000  announced in an overnight tweet that he and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, had tested positive and were going into quarantine.

Briefing reporters at the White House Friday morning, Trumps chief of staff Mark Meadows said the president was experiencing mild symptoms" but remained in good spirits" and very energetic."

The American people can rest assured that we have a president that is not only on the job, will remain on the job, and Im optimistic that hell have a very quick and speedy recovery."

Meadows said Trumps doctor would continue to attend to him at the White House, declining to give details of any treatment being provided.

Melania Trump for her part tweeted that she was overall feeling good" and hoping to recover fast.

Thank you for the love you are sending our way," she wrote.

While its ultimate effect on the race remains unpredictable, the thunderbolt news had immediate electoral consequences for Trump, forcing him to cancel a rally planned later Friday in key swing state Florida.

Further ahead, it looked certain the Republican  who is badly lagging the Democrat Biden in the polls ahead of November 3  would have to abandon a weekend trip to Wisconsin, another battleground, as well as a tour of western states next week.

And a question mark hangs over his second televised debate, set for October 15, against Biden  who has made criticism of Trumps coronavirus response his key issue.

The Democrat, who was mocked by Trump for his conspicuous mask-wearing as they shared the debate stage  unmasked  last Tuesday in Cleveland, said he and his wife Jill wished the couple a swift recovery."

We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family," Biden wrote on Twitter.

Contact tracing

News of Trumps infection right after one of his closest advisors, Hope Hicks, tested positive  sparking fears of a cluster of cases emanating from the heart of the White House.

Trump met with dozens of people through the week and reportedly went to a fundraiser in New Jersey after it was known Hicks had contracted the virus.

The White House said it was carrying out contact tracing, while Melania Trumps spokeswoman said the couples 14-year-old son Barron had tested negative.

Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo all let it be known they had tested negative, and the White House said Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett had also been given the all-clear.

But Republican Party chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who was last with Trump on September 25, tested positive earlier this week, according to US media reports.

Trumps positive test was more than a PR disaster for a president who has staked everything on trying to persuade Americans that fears of the virus are overblown.

In what has become an overtly political gesture, Trump almost never wears a mask in public  an example followed by his supporters and many of his aides.

The president has been using large rallies to try to change the subject from his much criticized Covid-19 response, vowing in a speech just Thursday that the end of the pandemic is in sight."

All that is now on hold, and with the clock ticking on the election.

Now Trump has become the worlds highest profile patient, proving that all the resources of the White House could not prevent the risk.

As the shock news sent global stocks sliding, leaders including Germanys Angela Merkel and Britains Boris Johnson wished the president and first lady a speedy recovery  while Russian President Vladimir Putin predicted Trumps vitality, good spirits and optimism" would see him through.

Technically obese and in his 70s, Trump is in a higher-risk category.
Celebration Of Life To Be Held For Local Teen Murdered In Sonora

Tuolumne, CA  The family of 17-year-old Eric Aguiar reports that he will be laid to rest this weekend.

Aguiar, a Jamestown resident and Sonora High student, was murdered by gunshot the evening of September 16 in a parking lot on School Street. We reported last weekend that 20-year-old Joshua Rodriguez of Tuolumne was arrested in connection after fleeing to Utah.

Aguiars family relays that an open to the public celebration of life and graveside burial service will be this Saturday, October 3, from 3-6pm. It will be held at the Carters Cemetery located near Carter Street and Cemetery Lane in Tuolumne.
Fishing industry wants more data, to ensure Seychellois always have fish on their plates

by Salifa Karapetyan

October 02,2020 | Source: SNA

Comprehensive information and data about fisheries in Seychelles will benefit the economy, the management of stocks and the general development of the country, a high government official said on Wednesday.



Or as another official put it: When there is no more fish on people's plates, it will be too late to gather information and act.



The Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) held a kick-off forum Wednesday organised jointly by the Department of Blue Economy and the initiative.



The leader of FiTI in Seychelles, Philippe Michaud, said it is becoming common for countries that are importing fish to know not only where the fish comes from, but also if the fish has been properly caught if the stock is sustainable, and if other aspects of this industry are in order. In Seychelles, fisheries is the second largest contributor to the economy after tourism.



"One challenge is that there isn't much interest in the sector. When it comes to tourism, for example, there is a large amount of information that is published and that is made available. However, with fisheries, even if there is a lot of information out there, it is not easy for a common person to understand," said Michaud.



FiTI is a global multi-stakeholder partnership where governments, business and civil society collaborate. It seeks to increase transparency and participation for the benefit of more sustainable management of marine fisheries and the well-being of citizens and businesses that depend on the marine environment.



The aim of the forum was to stimulate debates on how fisheries information is provided to the public and increase awareness about the importance of fisheries in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.



The forum was also held to pave the path to the presentation of a report Seychelles needs to submit to the initiative about the country's fisheries transparency. The report will be launched at the second full-day workshop - planned for the end of the year - where results will be presented and discussed.



The executive director of the International Secretariat of FiTI, Sven Biermann, said that there is a great need to educate people about the importance of transparency within this sector.



"I think that the sense of urgency is not there yet because there is still fish on the plate, people are still going out fishing, enjoying sport fishing among other activities. Yet we have seen from our colleague from FAO that fish stocks are declining," he said.



Biermann added that "we need to create urgency on this particular aspect because if there is no more fish on the plate, it is too late to react. We need to create the demand and that the public understands better how this sector in Seychelles is doing and is managed."



Without transparency in any sector, not only in fisheries, there is no understanding whether the government that has been entrusted with managing that particular sector is a good job said Biermann.



"The general public needs to have a wider understanding of how the sector is managed because it impacts all of the people living in Seychelles, not just from a trade or economic point of view, but also jobs, livelihood and culture among other things," he said.

 Seychelles News Agency, 2020

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
India recorded 81,484 new cases and 1,095 deaths in the past one day, witnessing a steady trend when cases have been in the range of 80,000-90,000 for over a week now.

The active patients' tally in India stands at 9,42,217. Those who are undergoing treatment are 9,42,217. Around 53,52,078 patients have recovered and 99,773 have succumbed to the deadly virus, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare's latest data suggests.

India is now the most affected country due to coronavirus after the US. The United States' COVID-19 tally has reached 7,494,671, including 212,660 deaths. Many estimates suggest that India could soon surpass the US since large part of its population is still unexposed to the virus.

The Indian Council of Medical Research has said a total of 7,67,17,728 samples have been tested so far, of which 10,97,947 were tested on Thursday alone.

Also Read: Coronavirus update: India records 88,600 new cases, 1,124 deaths in one day; tally surges to over 59 lakh

As cases continue to rise in the world, there is a huge rush among nations to immunise their citizens against coronavirus.

There are 191 COVID-19 vaccines under development around the world right now, and 41 of them are under clinical evaluation, according to the World Health Organisation.

As per the ICMR, there are three COVID-19 vaccines under human trials in India --Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN, Oxford's COVDSHIELD, and Zydus Cadila's ZyCoV-D.

Serum Institute has already begun Phase 3 trial of Oxford vaccine candidates at 17 sites, whereas Zydus Cadila and Bharat Biotech are conducting phase 2/3 trails.

Also Read: COVID-19 pandemic: One in every 250th person on Earth now infected

Also read: Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine unlikely to be ready before US Presidential elections

Also read: GlaxoSmithKline CEO optimistic Covid-19 vaccine widely available in 2021
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh polices statement that the Hathras victim was not raped is extremely irresponsible, unprofessional and an erroneous remark, experts in forensics, legal and police systems said on Thursday.

The specialists in these fields said that the 2013 amendment in rape laws has waived the clause that had made it necessary to establish 'penetration' in crimes of rape. The experts also questioned the delay in conducting the medical examination of the victim.

UP ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar had reportedly told the media on Thursday, No semen has been found in the forensic report. The FSL report has already clarified that there was no rape on the victim. However, the victims autopsy report mentions tears in her private parts."

ALSO READ | Nirbhaya's lawyer Seema Kushwaha to fight Hathras gang-rape victim's case

The woman had been assaulted allegedly by four upper-caste men from her village on September 14. She was found by her family in the fields, naked, bleeding, with multiple fractures and a gash in her tongue. Reportedly, her detailed medical examination was conducted days later, on September 22.

A senior scientific officer at a government forensic department said, As a general norm, after 72 hours of the act, it is difficult to get semen. So, it is crucial to send the sample for examination within 72 hours.

The horrific Nirbhaya tragedy brought reforms in the rape law and it was made clear that penetration is not necessary to establish the offence of rape. So, to presume that rape did not happen just because semen was not found is a false and erroneous conclusion more so, in the backdrop of the fact that medical was conducted after eight days of the incident," said former DGP of UP police Vikram Singh.

ALSO READ | Hathras gang rape victim had healed tears in private parts, finds autopsy

He added that in certain kinds of rapes such as digital rape, it was obvious that sperm would not be traced. He described the response of the UP police department as "shoddy and unprofessional."

Another former UP police chief, who did not wish to be named, said that it was "obvious that the UP police has jumped the gun and has made this extremely irresponsible statement. As per law, this so-called absence of semen is not enough to conclude that the woman was not raped especially when we know there were injuries to her private parts.

ALSO READ | Dalit leaders in BJP fear Hathras gang rape case may impact polls

Expanding on the legal loopholes in the statements made by the UP police officer, AT Ansari, who was the special prosecutor in the Nirbhaya rape case, said, "The 2013 amendment in IPC has waived the ingredient of penetration to constitute rape. As per the existing law it is not important that hymen should be ruptured. It has also done away with the two-finger test used by doctors on victims to establish rape."

The senior prosecutor said that after the Nirbhaya case, the rape law had gone through a sea change. "The definition of rape has now been expanded to include acts like penetration of the penis into vagina, urethra, anus or mouth, or any object or any part of the body to any extent into it (or making another person do so), to constitute an offence of rape. Even applying mouth or touching private parts were also classified as offences of sexual assault," Ansari added.
WASHINGTON - The Latest on President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus and being hospitalized (all times EDT):

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, left, with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, walk from Marine One to accompany President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One as he departs Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON - The Latest on President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus and being hospitalized (all times EDT):

12:10 a.m.

President Donald Trumps campaign manager, Bill Stepien, has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh has confirmed the news, which was first reported by Politico.

Politico said Stepien received his diagnosis Friday and is experiencing mild flu-like symptoms.

Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, also announced Friday that she had tested positive, joining Trump, the first lady, top Trump aide Hope Hicks and numerous others.

Stepien, who joined Trump at Tuesdays first presidential debate, plans to quarantine until he recovers.

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11:35 p.m.

The White House physician says his medical team has elected to initiate Remdesivir therapy for President Donald Trump.

Dr. Sean Conley says Trump is doing very well and is not requiring any supplemental oxygen.

President Donald Trump gives the thumbs-up as he walks from Marine One to the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, as he returns from Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Conley says he recommended Trump be moved to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for further monitoring.

In Trump's first tweet from Walter Reed since being transported there Friday night, the president says, Going welI, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!

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10:25 p.m.

President Donald Trumps former adviser Kellyanne Conway said late Friday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus, days after attending a White House event with several others who have since come down with COVID-19.

Conway tweeted Friday that she has a light cough and is feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians, she added.

Conway attended the Rose Garden announcement Saturday where President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Among the attendees, Republican Sens. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, the president of the University of Notre Dame, as well as Trump himself tested positive Friday for the coronavirus.

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8:35 p.m.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Tillis said in a statement Friday night that his rapid antigen test showed that he is infected. He issued the statement as President Donald Trump was being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the same illness.

Tillis, who is up for reelection in November, is the latest person to be diagnosed with the infection after attending the Supreme Court nomination ceremony in the White House Rose Garden for Amy Coney Barrett. Tillis was wearing a mask at the ceremony.

Vice President Mike Pence speaks at an event hosted by The Family Leader Foundation Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

He is the second member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to test positive. Just a few hours earlier, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah announced that he, too, is infected.

Tillis is routinely seen on Capitol Hill wearing a mask. He says he has no symptoms but will be isolating.

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HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP CONTRACTING THE CORONAVIRUS

The president announced early Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, and the White House said later in the day that he would be going to a military hospital for a few days for treatment. His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, and his wife, Jill, said they tested negative after encountering Trump at Tuesday's debate.

Read more:

 Trump going to hospital for a few days for virus treatment

 Trump's diagnosis rocks final stage of presidential campaign

 Trump's coronavirus infection creates new challenge for GOP

 Trump's virus infection thrusts world into uncharted territory

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HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

In this Sept. 29, 2020, file photo, from l-r., first lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden during the first presidential debate at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, the president tweeted early Friday. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

7:15 p.m.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham says senators can participate virtually in upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings after President Donald Trump and other lawmakers tested positive for the coronavirus.

Graham tweeted Friday evening that Any Senator who wants to participate virtually will be allowed to do so.

Grahams message came out as Trump travelled to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment at the advice of his doctors. His doctors say he is experiencing mild symptoms.

Graham said he had been tested for COVID-19 following his interaction with fellow Judiciary Committee member Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who has tested positive.

Graham said his test for the coronavirus was negative. He said Lee is in good spirits and on the mend and expects to be back to work with the committee by Oct. 12, set as the date for the beginning of the confirmation process.

6:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump has arrived at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and released a video saying that he thinks hes doing very well.

Marine One landed near the military hospital on Friday evening, and Trump was driven to the large complex. White House officials say that the visit is precautionary and that Trump will work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

When he walked out of the White House, he was wearing a mask and gave a thumbs-up to reporters. He also released a video on Twitter, saying, I think Im doing very well, but were going to make sure that things work out.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day.

Shortly before he departed for the hospital, his personal physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a memo issued by the White House that he had received an experimental antibody cocktail.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden stops to speak to members of the media as he walks out of the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, after pre-taping his speech for the Al Smith dinner. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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6:20 p.m.

President Donald Trump has appeared in public for the first time since his COVID-19 diagnosis, giving a thumbs-up before he boarded Marine One for a military hospital.

Trump walked out of the White House to the helicopter Friday evening on his way to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The White House says Trump will spend a few days at a military hospital on the advice of his physicians after contracting COVID-19.

The White House says that the visit is precautionary and that Trump will work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

Earlier Friday the White House said Trump remains fatigued and had been injected with an experimental antibody drug combination for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

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6 p.m.

Joe Bidens campaign is taking down its attack ads in the wake of President Donald Trumps coronavirus infection.

Thats according to a Biden campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity on Friday to discuss internal planning.

The Democrats campaign is removing all its negative ads, although in some cases, it may take days for ads already in circulation to stop running. The official says Biden made the decision before news surfaced that Trump was being transferred to a military hospital for a few days of treatment.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Air Force One to travel to the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

At least so far, Trumps campaign has not begun removing any of its attack ads against Biden.

The presidential election is just over one month away.

 AP writer Steve Peoples

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5:55 p.m.

Former President Barack Obama is extending his best wishes to President Donald Trump following his coronavirus diagnosis.

Obama said Friday that even during big political battles its important to remember that were all Americans, and were all human beings.

He spoke during a virtual fundraiser with Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Obama says he and his wife, Michelle Obama, hope for a speedy recovery for Trump and the first lady and anyone who has been affected by coronavirus around the country. Harris says she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, share their deepest prayers for the Trumps.

Let it be a reminder to all of us that we must remain vigilant and take care of ourselves and take care of each other, she said.

Their comments came amid news that Trump will be taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a few days on the advice of his doctors.

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Judge Amy Coney Barrett speaks after President Donald Trump announced Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court, in the Rose Garden at the White House, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

5:15 p.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump will spend a few days at a military hospital on the advice of his physicians after contracting COVID-19.

Trump is to depart the White House by helicopter early Friday evening for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The White House says that the visit is precautionary and that Trump will work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

Earlier Friday the White House said Trump remains fatigued and had been injected with an experimental antibody drug combination for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

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4:50 p.m.

Democrat Joe Biden says President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus is a bracing reminder of the seriousness of the virus. He also says hes received two tests, and both came back negative.

Speaking at an event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday, Biden said he received a test in Delaware and one from the former White House doctor who came up to Delaware to administer the test, and everythings clear.

The president said early Friday that he and his wife, Melania Trump, had tested positive for coronavirus. Biden was tested after spending nearly 90 minutes onstage with the president during their debate earlier this week.

Biden said he wished the president and the first lady a full recovery and that this is not a matter of politics. Biden said it was a reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously. It is not going away automatically.

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4:40 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 951 in Grand Rapids, Mich., Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Donald Trumps doctor says Trump is being treated with an experimental drug aimed at supplying antibodies to help fight his coronavirus infection.

Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs. They attach to a virus and help it be eliminated. But it can take weeks for them to form. The drugs are purified versions of ones that seemed to work best in lab and animal tests.

Trump is receiving a two-antibody combo drug thats currently in late-stage studies from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. The company previously developed a successful treatment for Ebola using a similar approach.

Its given as a one-time treatment through an IV.

Trumps physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said the drug was being given as a precautionary measure, and that Trump also was taking zinc, vitamin D, an antacid called famotidine, melatonin and aspirin. None of those have been proven to be effective against COVID-19.

Trump apparently is not receiving hydroxychloroquine, a drug he widely promoted that has been shown in many studies to be ineffective for preventing or treating COVID-19.

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4 p.m.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett and her husband had coronavirus earlier this year and recovered, according to two administration officials.

The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Barrett was nominated to the high court last week after the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Trump held a press conference outside where few people wore masks.

Trump announced Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the virus, after aide Hope Hicks was diagnosed.

The helicopter that will carry President Donald Trump to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., lands on the South Lawn of White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. The White House says Trump will spend a "few days" at the military hospital after contracting COVID-19. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Barrett has also been meeting with senators ahead of her confirmation hearing, including Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who also announced Friday that he had tested positive for the virus.

The science is unclear on whether someone who has the virus can get it again. Whether someone whos been infected with coronavirus has protection against future infection and for how long is unknown. A large study from Iceland last month suggested that antibodies that people make to fight the virus last for at least four months. However, several cases have been confirmed of people getting COVID-19 again, months after their initial bout.

 By AP writers Colleen Long and Jonathan Lemire

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3:30 p.m.

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a frequent target of President Donald Trumps, is blasting him for what she calls actively spreading a deadly virus.

Omar said earlier this year that her father died of the virus, and she said in a statement Friday that she doesnt wish it on anyone.

Omar, a Democrat, says the nation has been waiting for months to hear Trump say America will get through this together. And she says hes saying that now because its about him.

Trump announced earlier Friday that he and the first lady had tested positive for the coronavirus.

She criticized Trump for holding a rally and fundraiser this week in Minnesota without wearing a mask, saying he exposed hundreds of people in a state where cases are already rising.

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2:40 p.m.

President Donald Trump waves to members of the media as he leaves the White House to go to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after he tested positive for COVID-19, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The White House does not appear to be making any changes to current virus protocol, even after President Donald Trump and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19.

A senior White House official said Friday that masks will still not be mandatory at the White House, describing facial coverings as a personal choice, despite overwhelming evidence that they help to stop the spread.

And the White House is not planning to move to a different, more reliable testing system after the one it uses failed to detect that adviser Hope Hicks had the virus the day she began experiencing symptoms.

The president, his White House and his campaign have generally taken a lax approach to the pandemic, continuing to hold large events and failing to abide by social distancing recommendations.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House thinking, defended the current system.

 AP writer Jill Colvin

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2:30 p.m.

The vice-presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris next week will go on as scheduled after President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday.

An official with the Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed that no changes are anticipated to the Wednesday night debate in Salt Lake City. Both Pence and Harris underwent tests for the coronavirus on Friday and tested negative.

Pences physician said in a memo that the vice-president was not considered a close contact of anyone infected with COVID-19 and was not required to quarantine.

Vice-President Mike Pence remains in good health and is free to go about his normal activities, said Navy Lt. Commander Dr. Jesse Schonau in a statement.

President Donald Trump salutes as he boards Marine One as he leaves the White House to go to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after he tested positive for COVID-19, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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2 p.m.

President Donald Trumps campaign manager says all campaign events involving the president and his family will either be turned into virtual events or postponed until further notice.

Bill Stepien, who heads Trumps reelection, says Vice-President Mike Pence, who has tested negative for COVID-19, plans to continue to his campaign schedule.

The announcement comes after Trump tweeted earlier Friday that he and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus.

It is not clear when the president was exposed. One of the presidents top advisers, Hope Hicks, tested positive on Thursday for the virus. Two others  Utah Sen. Mike Lee and University of Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins  who attended Trumps Rose Garden ceremony on Saturday to announce the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court  have also tested positive for the virus.

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1:55 p.m.

Comedian Joe Piscopo attended the fundraiser at Bedminster on Thursday, which he described as a small gathering in New Jersey for Trumps friends.

It was meticulously run, from the Secret Service to COVID testing to masking, Piscopo told The Associated Press on the phone. The president came out of the portico to talk to guests seated at tables yards and yards away. Piscopo said he was at the back of the crowd and said, We were all social distancing and it was all outside.

He added, Ive never seen him more on top of his game, warm, funny, vulnerable. The president gave a 30-minute speech. Piscopo said he could not talk about it specifically but said that it was all positive. The president then answered questions. Piscopo said the president greeted the crowd of friends and called out to him specifically.

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U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., speaks during a televised debate with Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool)

1:30 p.m.

Minnesota health officials are urging people who attended events associated with President Donald Trumps visit this week to consider being tested for the coronavirus.

The Minnesota Department of Health on Friday urged anyone with symptoms to be tested right away. Trump announced early Friday morning that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19, just two days after he held a campaign rally in Duluth and a fundraiser in a Minneapolis suburb.

The health department said community transmission was high in St. Louis County -- which includes Duluth -- before the rally, and attendees may have been infectious without realizing it.

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1:25 p.m.

University of Notre Dame's president has confirmed he has tested positive for the coronavirus days after attending President Donald Trumps announcement that he was nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Rev. John Jenkins was invited to the Rose Garden ceremony because Barrett is a Notre Dame University alumna and law school professor. He apologized earlier this week for not wearing a mask at the ceremony.

In a message sent to Notre Dame community Friday, Jenkins said that he had learned that a colleague he was in contact with had tested positive for the virus, and he went into self-quarantine. Jenkins said he too was tested and learned he had the virus.

Trump announced earlier Friday that he and the first lady have tested positive for the virus. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who attended the ceremony, also announced on Friday that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

___

1:10 p.m.

Attorney General William Barr speaks with Kellyanne Conway after President Donald Trump announced Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court, in the Rose Garden at the White House, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is encouraging people who were at President Donald Trumps campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport on Saturday to get tested if they are feeling sick.

The department is asking people to download the COVID Alert PA phone app if they do test positive to anonymously alert people they may have come in contact with.

Thousands attended the outdoor rally, held hours after the president introduced his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, from the Rose Garden at the White House. Those at the rally were required to pass through a security checkpoint and get their temperatures taken.

Trump announced earlier Friday that he and the first lady have tested positive for the coronavirus.

___

12:45 p.m.

Joe Biden is moving forward with plans to travel to Michigan on Friday after he and his wife, Jill, tested negative for the coronavirus.

The Democratic presidential nominee had planned on travelling to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to talk about the economy on Friday morning. His trip was delayed by several hours as he awaited the test results.

He was tested for the virus after attending Tuesdays debate with President Donald Trump. The president said early Friday that he and his wife, Melania Trump, tested positive for coronavirus.

Biden spent much of the spring and early summer close to his Wilmington, Delaware, home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But hes stepped up his travel in the final stretch of the campaign, while still taking heed of public health guidelines.

He regularly wears a mask in public, something that Trump taunted Biden for during this weeks debate. And he mostly appears in front of small, socially distanced crowds.

___

12:30 p.m.

Joe Biden has tested negative for the coronavirus, his primary care doctor confirmed on Friday.

The Democratic presidential nominee and his wife were tested earlier in the day after news of President Donald Trumps infection was announced.

Dr. Kevin OConnor released the negative results in a statement issued by the Biden campaign. Biden was on the debate stage with Trump for more than 90 minutes earlier in the week. Its still unclear if Biden will hold campaign events later in the day.

Biden, in a social media post, thanked his supporters for messages of concern. He added: I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.

___

12:15 p.m.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee says he has tested positive for the coronavirus after experiencing symptoms consistent with longtime allergies. Lee visited the White House on Saturday for President Donald Trumps announcement that he had nominated Judge Amy Comey Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Lees disclosure comes after Trump said in an early-morning tweet that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the virus. Lee said in his statement that he had tested negative for the virus when he visited the White House for Saturdays event, which featured little social distancing and few masks.

The Utah Republican also met with Barrett on Tuesday in the Capitol. The two sat in chairs that were distanced several feet apart but took a photo before the meeting in which they were closer together. He also spoke to reporters after the meeting, removing his mask in front of the cameras as most lawmakers generally do.

___

11:55 a.m.

First lady Melania Trump says she is experiencing mild symptoms after she and President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

Thank you for the love you are sending our way. I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good. I am looking forward to a speedy recovery, she tweeted Friday morning.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said President Trump was also experiencing mild symptoms, but continues to work from the White House residence as he quarantines. The Trumps' youngest child, Barron, 14, has tested negative for the virus.
The town of Nikel on the Russian-Norwegian border hosted the virtual 3rd Northern Character: Green Screen international festival of environmental and social films. The theme of the 2020 festival was Nature is a Source of Inspiration. The festivals competition program featured nine documentaries and seven short feature films from Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

The festival jury included Tamara Sushko from Sweden, Gunnar Setra from Norway, and Nikita Chisnikov and Tatyana Yulusova from Russia. Honored Filmmaker of Russia, producer Valery Ruzin, president of the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio, member of the Union of Filmmakers of Russia and the International Academy of Management, headed the jury.

Russian director Yevgeny Bezborodov received the Grand Prix for his film Water: Time for Thirst about Kyrgyzstan, a land of glaciers, clean lakes and rivers. The republic became one of the first countries to face a water crisis, and all the problems of humankind are reflected in Kyrgyzstans problems like in a drop of water.

The award for the best short feature film went to the Russian film Forgive Me, Dog, directed by Nikita Khozyainov. The film shows a successful business manager on the verge of death. One fine day, he meets an old dog named Gray who he had mercilessly kicked out many years ago.

The Activist, directed by Petteri Saario from Finland, was named the best documentary. This touching and inspiring story deals with a miners daughter and her struggle against a sprawling mining company. The film shows the plight of a priceless swamp in a Lapland reserve and makes people wonder whether it is possible to sell everything if the price is high enough.

A special World Wide Fund for Nature award went to the film Lapland Reserve, directed by Boris Dedenyov, about the secrets and mysteries of this protected area that was established almost 90 years ago. The jury also presented another special award for the best camera work to the film Land of the Leopard or the Human Phenomenon, directed by Alexander Melnikov, on efforts to save the Far Eastern leopard. This film is about preserving the planets biodiversity.

The festival also included workshops by Russian and foreign filmmakers, the presentation of nature conservation projects by artistic means, non-contest showings and a cultural program.

The festival is sponsored by the Presidential Grants Foundation, the Administration of the Murmansk Regions Pechenga District, Norways Sr-Varanger Community, the Second School Center of Social Projects in the Pechenga District, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Murman State Television and Radio Company and Norways Troms International Film Festival (TIFF).
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Coming off a successful opening weekend to the 2020 season, the 14th-ranked Duke volleyball team will travel to Charlottesville, Va., to take on Virginia Friday, Oct. 2 and Saturday, Oct. 3 in Memorial Gymnasium. Both matches are slated for a 6:30 p.m. start on ACC Network Extra.Duke had a solid opening weekend against NC State as the Blue Devils took down the Wolfpack 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 25-8, 23-25, 15-12) on Wednesday evening before a 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21) victory on Saturday in Cameron Indoor Stadium.Seniorgot it done on all fronts Saturday evening, recording a team-high 14 kills and just two errors for a .300 hitting percentage, eight digs and three blocks. Schwantz now owns 23 kills, 24 digs and six total blocks through two matches.Duke leads the all-time series 53-13 over Virginia, with the first meeting dating back to 1982. In the last meeting in Charlottesville, Duke secured a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 26-24) victory on November 1, 2019. Duke owns a six-match win streak heading into the weekend.The Cavaliers enter the weekend 1-0 after sweeping The Citadel (3-0) in non-conference action on Sept. 18.In their opener two weeks ago, the Cavaliers hit .195 percent with 37 kills led by Sarah Billiard (9). Defensively, rookie Madison Morey collected 20 digs in her collegiate debut to earn ACC Freshman of the Week honors.Duke enters the weekend leading the nation in two key categories: blocks/set (2.00) and opponent hitting percentage (.088).In their season opener versus NC State on Sept. 23, the Blue Devils limited the Wolfpack to a .078 hitting percentage for the match and then .099 on Saturday. Duke's block was stellar at the net over the weekend, recording 16.0 total team blocks on Wednesday before 11.0 on Saturday.Duke's block was outstanding in the opening weekend of competition with 27.0 total team blocks (3.00 blocks/set) through two matches. The Blue Devils' best middle blockers from the 2019 season have already made an impact asandcombine for 22 blocks and four solo.Cooper is tied for fourth in the conference with 12 (1.33 blocks/set) followed by Fleming in seventh with 10 (1.11 blocks/set).(8, 0.89),(7, 0.78) and(6, 0.67) round out Duke's ACC blocking presence from last weekend.Duke featured four players with 15+ kills in the first two contests as seniorleads the team with 23 and a .229 hitting percentage with just seven errors. Sophomorechecks in with 20 kills, followed by juniorsandwith 18 each and sophomorewith 13.Duke has hit .168 through the first two matches, but have limited its opponents to just a .088 clip to lead the nation.Duke has racked up 156 total digs in the first two contests to rank second in the ACC as four Blue Devils reached the 20+ dig plateau. Junior liberoleads the pack with 38 (4.22 digs/set) to be tied for sixth in the ACC, followed by setter(32),(24),(21) and(21).For more information on Duke volleyball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeVB".
The residential tourism market on the Costa del Sol is expected to drop from five to eight per cent into next year and the recovery in demand from international buyers for second homes will be slow. This was the majority opinion of experts attending the 12th annual Residential Tourism conference, held at the Hotel Anantara Villa Padierna on Tuesday.

Juan Ramon Rubio Zalabardo, market expert at Deloitte said that the pandemic had hit the Costa del Sol directly and a recovery was expected by 2022-2023.

Delegates discussed how during lockdown there was an increase in enquiries but this didn't translate into real sales afterwards. When the restrictions ended, there was a bounce back in the market for first, main homes but interest in holiday properties saw a negative effect.

Prices stable for new homes

Experts feel that prices for secondhand properties should fall, but new-builds will not change.

Mikel Echavarren, CEO of Colliers International Spain, explained that, unlike the last financial crisis, property developers aren't in debt, so aren't in a hurry to lower prices. Whereas, private homeowners may be keener to sell and take offers from interested buyers. Rubio recalled that in 2019 the market had already fallen 10 per cent with demand stagnating from international buyers, which make up a third of sales.

The effects on sales of Covid-19 will be felt for some time, as tourist activity has fallen 80 per cent and the size of the economy by 10 per cent. However the experts at the conference pointed out that the launch of new developments hasn't been affected, with a 36 per cent increase in building projects getting under way.
There is no hope for justice for the 19-year-old woman who died after being allegedly gang-raped and assaulted in Hathras till Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath resigns and the Supreme Court takes cognisance of the issue, Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad said on Friday. Azad, who was at the protest site at Jantar Mantar to demand justice for the Dalit woman, asserted he will go to Hathras and the struggle will continue.

The Hathras victim cannot get justice till UP CM resigns and the Supreme Court takes cognisance of the issue. These kind of culprits should be punished as soon as possible so that others get scared before committing such crimes," he said, addressing protesters. We will go to Hathras and till the time the matter doesnt come to Delhi, there is no chance of getting justice."

Civil society activists, students, women and leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Left parties gathered at the Jantar Mantar on Friday evening to voice their protest against the Hathras incident. The protest was initially supposed to be held at the India Gate, but was later shifted to Jantar Mantar owing to prohibitory orders in place in the Rajpath area.

People gathered at the site wearing masks and raising slogans demanding resignation of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and justice for the victim, reliving memories of the 2012 gang rape case.

It is not the administration, it is the work of the UP CM who has barred entry to all including media and national or political leaders. I appeal to all safai karamcharis to stop working and let this government live in dirt," said Azad.

The UP government and the UP Police are under attack over the alleged gang-rape of a Dalit girl and the manner in which her cremation was done by the Hathras administration in the dead of night.

Personalities such as actress Swara Bhasker and lawyer Prashant Bhushan joined the protests.

The rape with the Hathras Victim was the first crime. The second crime was the inaction of the administration in UP. We demand an impartial judicial enquiry instead of the SIT set up by the UP government as we have full faith in the judicial system and hope that justice would be served," said Bhasker.

In the victims village, media and political leaders are not being allowed and the police have sealed the village.

Meanwhile the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday took suo motu cognisance of the Hathras incident and issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government.

On Thursday, the state government said that the forensic report revealed that the 19-year-old girl who succumbed to her injuries at a Delhi hospital was not raped.

ADG, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar claimed the cause of her death was an injury on the neck and trauma resulting due to it, as per the forensic science laboratory report.

(With inputs from agencies)
(Newser)  An Asian American woman who spent 17 years in prison is going free partly because of racist emails about her, BuzzFeed reports. Frances Choy, 34, who was convicted in 2003 of killing her parents in a Massachusetts house fire got life behind barsbut a judge vacated her conviction last month after the prosecutors' racist emails emerged. "This may be the first case in the US where a murder conviction has been thrown out because of racism on the part of prosecutors," Choy's attorney, John Barter, tells WBUR. According to a judge's motion, prosecutors Karen O'Sullivan and John Bradley exchanged "racially and sexually offensive emails" that degraded and mocked Choy and her nephew, 16-year-old Kenneth, who survived the blaze that killed Choy's parents.

story continues below

The case itself is a hot mess. Police testified that gasoline was found on Choy's sweatpants, but a reevaluation turned up nothing. Notes in Kenneth's handwriting detailed a plan for the crime, but he claimed Frances directed him to write the notes and appeared to set the fire. Choy's attorneys apparently failed to pursue a witness who said Kenneth had confessed, while police say Choy confessed but retracted her confession. Kenneth fled to Hong Kong before the trial and was later acquitted in the case. Out of all this prosecutors managed to convict Choy, but the racist emails and contradictory evidence led to her release. "It has been a tough and long journey," she tells the Enterprise News. "I'm relieved that the truth has been revealed and to have my life back beyond prison walls." (Read more wrongful conviction stories.)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A Staten Island man co-owns a New Jersey pharmacy which bilked federal health-care benefit programs of millions of dollars in a telemedicine kickback scheme, authorities allege.

William (Ben) Welwart, 66, a principal of Apogee Bio-Pharm, in Edison, N.J. has been charged with conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statue.

Also accused in the massive nationwide prescription medicine and medical-equipment scheme, are the pharmacys other owners, Ethan Welwart, 32, of North Brunswick, N.J., and Elan Yaish, of Cedarhurst, L.I., as well as several other defendants, said Craig Carpenito, U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

Apogee generated exorbitant revenues during the three-and-a-half years the scheme was in play between January 2016 and July 2019, a criminal complaint said.

In total, the defendants and other co-conspirators defrauded federal insurance programs of over $25 million, said the complaint.

By and large, the medications filled by Apogee and other pharmacies and marketed as part of the conspiracy were selected based on their high reimbursement amounts  not medical necessity, the complaint said.

The scam entailed a revolving set of kickbacks and bribes.

Marketing companies identified beneficiaries of federal health care programs, such as Medicare, officials said.

Those companies targeted the patients for prescriptions for medically unnecessary but expensive medicine and durable medical equipment, said authorities.

Medicines typically included pain creams, scar creams and migraine medications, while the equipment usually consisted of braces for wrist, shoulders, knees and ankles, the complaint said.

The marketing companies sent the beneficiaries' medical information to telemedicine companies, which paid kickbacks to doctors to obtain prescriptions for patients, authorities said.

The prescriptions were sent to Apogee, which filled them and submitted claims for reimbursement to Medicare and other insurers, said officials.

Apogee conducted business across the country, including California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas, said a criminal complaint.

The complaint said the prescriptions involved extremely large quantities of medicine that were highly unlikely to be used by a single patient in the time period prescribed.

For example, one prescription which Apogee filled called for 300 grams of lidocaine 5% ointment for use within 25 to 30 days.

That amount was an excessive quantity for use in the prescribed time period, said the complaint.

To increase revenue, Apogee, at William Welwart and Yaishs direction, sought to refill prescriptions without an additional script from a doctor, the complaint said. Apogee raked in the cash.

In 2016 the company was reimbursed about $1.3 million by Medicare, the complaint said.

But, that was before Apogee begin receiving large amounts of prescriptions from the conspirator telemedicine and marketing companies, said the complaint.

The next year, 2017, Apogees revenues increased to $3.65 million once it started getting those scripts.

Following, in 2018, Apogees Medicare reimbursements skyrocketed to about $22 million, the complaint said.

Nearly all of its prescriptions that year were generated by the involved telemedicine and marketing companies, said the complaint.

Apogee paid kickbacks to marketing companies ranging from 50% to 70% per reimbursed claim, said the complaint.

Over the course of the scheme, bank accounts controlled by the Welwarts transferred over $6 million to a bank account a co-conspirator controlled.

Online public records indicate several addresses for William Welwart on the North and West shores.

Defense lawyer Gregory Kehoe declined comment on the case.
JERSEYVILLE  A judge sentenced Roger Carroll  a Jersey County man convicted in the killing of Bonnie Woodward of Alton  to 65 years after Carroll on Thursday blamed the judge for his conviction.

Im not going to stand up here and apologize, Carroll, 54, said when given a chance to speak on his own behalf. I dont have anything to apologize for. I havent done anything wrong.

He told Circuit Judge Eric Pistorius that he did not get a fair trial.

You made sure I didnt get a fair trial, he told the court.

Carroll also blamed his attorneys for advising him not to testify.

I think it was the wrong decision, he said.

Carroll said he plans to appeal the decision of a Jersey County jury, which in March found him guilty of the 2010 first-degree murder of Woodward.

Its disappointing that he failed to use this opportunity to show remorse instead of compassion for the family, Madison County Assistant States Attorney Crystal Uhe said.

Carroll was charged April 12, 2018, with first-degree murder in the June 25, 2010, death of Woodward. He was an early suspect in the 2010 investigation, but the case lay dormant until April 2018 after his alleged assault of his wife, Monica, and subsequent testimony by his son, Nathan.

Uhe said the killing indirectly involved a dispute between the victim and her stepdaughter, Heather Woodward, whom prosecutors have said Carroll used to lure Woodward to his Jerseyville property, where he killed her.

Heather Woodward was 17 in the days leading up to the killing and planned to leave home when she turned 18. Authorities said Roger Carroll used the teen as bait for Bonnie Woodward.

It was a premeditated plan to lure her to his property where he shot and buried her like an animal in cold blood, Uhe said during the trial.

Carrolls attorney, Scott Snider, said that even the minimum 45-year sentence for the crime amounted to a life sentence for Carroll.

Everybody suffered, Uhe said, including Woodwards family who suffered through eight years of her being missing only to discover that she was killed.

Uhe said Carroll tried to kill himself in 2018 when he received divorce papers because he knew then that his wife would be able to testify against him.

The judge noted that Carroll went to great lengths to plan the crime and, but for some fingerprints on Woodwards truck and Nathan Carrolls testimony, the case might still be open.

This was a meticulously planned senseless death, Pistorius said. A teenage girl said her mother was mean to her.

Witnesses testified that Carroll killed Woodward, 48, of East Alton outside the Alton nursing home where she worked and burned her remains on a huge pile of brush before pushing them into a creek outside his rural home.

The penalty for murder is a sentence of between 20 and 60 years in prison, but the law provides for an enhancement of between 25 years and life if a firearm is used.

During the trial, Appellate Prosecutor Jennifer Mudge said that in the days before, Roger Carroll stalked Woodward, figuring out her schedule and likely whereabouts. Before the killing, he and his wife had taken in Heather Woodward, who they knew through church.

She (Bonnie Woodward) has to go away and not come back, Roger Carroll allegedly told his son, Nathan, who helped carry out the crime. Eight years later, after being promised immunity, his son testified about the death.
WELLESLEY, Massachusetts, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Advanced Metals Pty Ltd (GAM), a world leader in the socially responsible production of tantalum, recognizes the importance of the latest action from the U.S. government to encourage secure and sustainable production of tantalum from trusted producers. On September 29, the U.S. Department of Defense ("DoD") issued an interim rule that will require DoD contractors to cease supplying tantalum originally sourced in various forms from adversarial foreign suppliers in a specified list of nations.

GAM's operations  from mine to finished product  are fully compliant under DoD's new rule (DFARS 225.7018) that restricts the department from purchasing tantalum oxides, metals, and alloys which were derived at nearly any point in the supply chain from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. The rule formally implements a national security measure, signed into law last year, designed to limit DoD's exposure to non-allied sources for tantalum. Prized for its unique properties and uses in key defense technologies, tantalum is a designated critical mineral whose absence "would have significant consequences for the economy or national security," reported the Department of Interior in 2018.

"As the world's leading vertically integrated tantalum producer, we stand ready to deliver high performance and DFARS-compliant tantalum products to our customers," said Steve Krause, President of GAM Technology. "Now, more than ever, U.S. Department of Defense suppliers need dependable partners with reliable critical material supply chains, and GAM is capable of meeting their tantalum powder, chips, ingot, rod, plate or sheet enabling them to conform to this requirement."

DFARS 225.7018 implements section 849 of the National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA") for Fiscal Year 2020. Section 849 of the NDAA added tantalum to an existing statute (10 U.S.C. 2533c) that lists critical materials DoD cannot source (with few exceptions) from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.

About Global Advanced Metals (GAM)

A leading conflict-free tantalum producer fully compliant with DFARS 225.7018 and 10 U.S.C. 2533c, GAM has exclusive rights to the world's largest industrial resources of tantalum ore located in Western Australia. GAM produces conflict-free tantalum powders and metallurgical products at its Pennsylvania, USA, and Aizu, Japan plants for a range of industries including electronics, aerospace, automotive, medical, and chemical processing. GAM's processing facilities in Japan and the USA were first declared "Conflict-Free" in 2010 under the former EICC/GeSI Conflict Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) audit program and continue to maintain their conformance status under the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI). Further information regarding GAM is available at www.globaladvancedmetals.com

Media Contact

Kurt Habecker

+1-610-369-8220

[email protected]

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Following an outbreak of fighting in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, the European Union is announcing an allocation of emergency humanitarian aid to all the civilian population affected by the conflict, on both sides of the contact line, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said on Twitter, adding that the funding will deliver health support, medical equipment, food packages, and other urgent help to several thousand people.

In another Twitter post Janez Lenarcic said the fighting in Nagorno Karabakh already claimed civilian lives. International humanitarian law must be respected and the protection of civilian life and infrastructure ensured. The EU stands in solidarity with all the people affected by the violence and is ready to provide further humanitarian support, should human suffering continue. We call for an immediate end to hostilities.

The initial funding of 500,000 will help EU humanitarian partners, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, provide immediate relief to those affected by the fighting. All EU humanitarian funding is provided in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, and is channelled through international organizations, UN agencies and NGOs, he said.
The Uttar Pradesh police threw a cordon of officers round the village in Hathras district where a 19-year-old Dalit woman was gang-raped and murdered two weeks ago, preventing journalists from meeting the family amid allegations that authorities seized the phones of the victims relatives and put them under surveillance.

Since early Thursday, police set up barricades roughly 2km from the village on the main road, blocked off all access paths and deployed policemen even on the mud tracks and in the fields -- to ward off any outsiders from accessing the village.

WATCH | Hathras case: UP CM Adityanath suspends SP, ordered narco-analysis tests

Also Read: Hathras gangrape: Police stifle protests after forcibly cremating victim

On Friday morning, a teenager who said he was a cousin of the victim, approached journalists waiting at the barricades and alleged that the administration had locked in the family, seized their mobile phones and even hit the victims father. The police have occupied our house. They have even taken positions on the terrace, the boy alleged.

Also Read: Inhumane and goes beyond cruelty: Virat Kohli on Hathras gangrape

A villager said on condition of anonymity that apart from the streets, police are also camping outside the toilets of the victims house. The women of the house are finding it difficult to visit the toilet with policemen standing right outside, said the person, who emerged from the village on the pretext of meeting a doctor.

Also Read: After Hathras, another Dalit woman gangraped in Balrampur; UP govt faces backlash

The teenager said the family was desperate to meet the media. My uncle (victims father) also made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from the village with me. I know the secret exit routes through the agricultural routes because of which I could make it, he said.

He further alleged that the police cut off the familys contact with the outside world. They have seized our mobile phones and wont allow us to meet the media. All we want is speak to journalists about the pressure we are under, he said. The teenager said that a senior officer even kicked the victims father in his chest on Wednesday, causing him to fall unconscious.

The police denied the charges, and pointed out that Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code  which prohibits the assembly of four or more people  was clamped in the area. A senior officer said the ongoing probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was the reason for the restrictions. The three-member SIT is conducting the probe in the village. Till then, entry of the media is to remain restricted. We are also maintaining law and order. Hence, no political delegations and individuals are allowed inside the village, said ASP Prakash Kumar in the afternoon.
There were other issues discussed, from the need to achieve racial justice to addressing economic inequality. But in a conversation with Democratic congressional candidate Dana Balter, three Black community leaders from central New York highlighted the importance of voting in the upcoming election.

Balter, D-Syracuse, held the virtual discussion with U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a NY Democrat who chairs the House Democratic Caucus. After Jeffries spoke, three panelists  Yusuf Abdul-Qadir, Bishop Colette Matthews-Carter and Gwen Webber-McLeod  answered questions and continued the conversation.

One of Balter's questions was why does voting matter? Each of the panelists agreed that voting is important, but offered different explanations for why people should vote.

Matthews-Carter explained that there is power in voting because it allows citizens to hold their elected leaders accountable. It also gives voters an opportunity to communicate what issues matter to them.

Abdul-Qadir went further by using the last election as an example. Because Donald Trump won the presidency, he was in a position to appoint two Supreme Court justices and, with the death of longtime Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has nominated a third.

The ideological shift of the Supreme Court could affect several important issues, including the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, a 2010 health care law.

But it goes beyond the Supreme Court. Abdul-Qadir shared his concerns about immigration policy. There are other issues, from reproductive health to taxes, that could pique the interest of prospective voters.

"Your vote matters because what the president and what his allies in the Senate and the House, like Congressman John Katko, are doing are attacking these very foundational issues that we care deeply about," Abdul-Qadir said.

Webber-McLeod, an Auburn resident and businesswoman, believes it's critical to have conversations with members of communities of color, especially young people, about the importance of voting. She is in communication with young leaders who are not only frustrated with what they're seeing out of government, but think that their opinions don't matter in the decision-making process.

Her message to them is that it does and they should be involved because it affects everything from education to health care.

"If you're not at that table, you will never get your piece of the pie," Webber-McLeod said. "And your vote is one way to ensure you do."

Balter echoed Matthews-Carter's point that "voting is about power." She said that one reason why like-minded people don't like what's happening is that somebody else with a different set of principles is in power, and they're "exercising power over us."

The vote, she continued, is one of the tools to take that power back.

While New York isn't a big player in the presidential election, there are other races where every vote will matter. Balter highlighted her own  the campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. John Katko in the 24th Congressional District.

"The number of votes that are going to determine who wins this race will be so small that if all of the Black residents of the city who are registered vote in this election, you will make the difference," she said. "You can actually decide this election."

Earlier, Jeffries shared what's at stake. He believes this election is the most consequential since 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was first elected president.

Jeffries criticized the Trump administration and summarized what Democrats could do if they win both houses of Congress and the presidency. There would be record investments in affordable housing, he said, and language to ensure there is equity in job opportunities for infrastructure projects that receive federal funding. Other issues, such as police reform and criminal justice reform, could be addressed.

"The question is, who are we going to be as a country?" Jeffries said. "We want to move the country forward. Other folks want to turn back the clock. We're trying to bring people together. Some other folks are tearing us apart. We fight for the people. They're fighting for the privileged few. We want to stand up for the least, the lost and the left behind. They're standing up for the wealthy, the well off and the well connected. This is a fight for the heart and soul of America."

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Harvey Weinstein was charged Friday with the rape of two more women Los Angeles County prosecutors said.

Weinstein was charged with three counts of rape and three counts of forcible oral copulation involving the two women, the district attorney's office said.

A criminal complaint alleges Weinstein raped a woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills between September 2004 and September 2005, and raped another woman twice between November 2009 and November 2010 at a Beverly Hills hotel.

Weinstein spokesman Juda Engelmayer said, Harvey Weinstein has always maintained that every one of his physical encounters throughout his entire life have been consensual. That hasnt changed. At this moment we cannot comment on the additional charges until we learn more about them.

The new charges mean Weinstein is now charged with 11 felony counts in Los Angeles County, involving five women.

The 68-year-old former movie mogul is serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York on convictions for rape and sexual assault against two women.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles have begun the process of extraditing him, but agreed last month to delay attempts to bring him to California because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Weinstein was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this year while serving time in a maximum-security prison near Buffalo, New York.

Another extradition hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11.
Amid the widespread outrage over the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras and her forcible cremation subsequently, scores of Ghaziabad lawyers on Thursday demanded imposition of President Rule in Uttar Pradesh.

The lawyers demanded the dismissal of the Yogi Adityanath government and imposition of President Rule, saying that the gang-rape of a Dalit woman and her brutalization amid a spate of crime against women in Uttar Pradesh has tarnished the image of the country and would flatten its progress graph.

Also Read: Hathras victims father demands CBI probe alleging pressure from cops, administration

The lawyers sought imposition of President Rule in a memorandum addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind that they gave to District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey.

The agitating lawyers reached the district collectorate in a march from Civil Court under the banner of Adhivakta Sangharsh Samiti.

During the march, the lawyers raised anti-government slogans and burnt effigies of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, accusing him of having failed in controlling the soaring crime graph against women in the state.

Addressing reporters after leading the lawyers march, the advocates body convener Nahar Singh Yadav said the Yogi government has totally failed in controlling the crime in the state, more so against women.

Also Read| Hathras gangrape: Police stifle protests after forcibly cremating victim

And the police, in turn, try to eliminate evidence in haste to hide the soaring crime graph as happened in the case of the gang-rape of the Dalit woman in Hathras who was forcibly cremated overnight by police, said Yadav.

The gang-rape of the Dalit woman and her brutalization amid a spate of crime against women in Uttar Pradesh has tarnished the image of the country and would flatten its progress graph, he added.

The advocates body also Samiti demanded an impartial probe in the case under the supervision of a retired judge of the high court or the Supreme Court.

The case should be transferred in the fast track court of any other state, said Yadav, adding the government must provide protection to the rape victims family.

Also Read: No gathering permissible around India Gate area, says DCP

The lawyers body also demanded a government job, a house in Delhi and a compensation of Rs 2 crore for the Hathras gang-rape victims family.

In addition to the demonstration by lawyers, a Balmiki Samaj outfit held a protest march from Balmiki Park of Navyug Market to the collectorate and raised slogans against the Yogi government and blocked the traffic at many crucial traffic junctions.

They condemned the alleged forcible funeral of the rape victim by the Hathras police without her parents consent and demanded the termination of the Hathras police officials responsible for this.

The Balmiki Samaj also called for the suspension of the sanitisation and cleaning work in Ghaziabad on October 3, city president of Balmiki outfit, Anil Kalyani said.
BATON ROUGE, La. - A Louisiana trooper accused of shooting a 19-year-old man in the back during a traffic stop two years ago has been indicted on charges of aggravated second-degree battery and illegal use of a weapon.

A state police news release said Trooper Kasha Domingue was indicted Thursday by an East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury. Her attorney, John McLindon, declined to comment because he hadnt read the indictment, The Advocate reported.

Clifton Scott Dilley, who sued Domingue, the department and the state last year in federal court, was present in a wheelchair when the indictment was handed up, the newspaper said.

He did not comment. But his attorney issued a statement that Dilley and his family were grateful for this first step in the prosecution of Kasha Domingue.

The bullet damaged a bone and the spinal cord in Dilleys lower back, according to the lawsuit. Attorney Don Cazayoux has told news outlets that Dilleys lower body is paralyzed.

The family understands the difficulties associated with these prosecutions and also respects the jobs that the men and women in law-enforcement do every day to protect us and keep us safe from harm, the statement said.

The police news release said Domingue was put on paid leave and troopers would arrest her once a grand jury warrant was issued. It said only that the shooting occurred during a traffic stop on July 10, 2018.

Dilleys lawsuit accused Domingue of shooting him in the back and then lying about it. She first reported the incident with a radio code that indicated she had used a stun gun on him, delaying medical care, then said she shot him as he charged at her, according to the lawsuit.

A business surveillance camera recording showed unequivocally that Trooper Domingues story of being attacked was completely false, and that she instead shot a fleeing, unarmed passenger of a car stopped for a minor traffic violation, the lawsuit said.

State police said Domingue, who began working for the department in August 2015, was placed on desk duty after the shooting.

Colonel Kevin Reeves, the state police superintendent, said in the news release that Louisiana State Police began an immediate investigation into the shooting and has co-operated fully with the East Baton Rouge District Attorneys Office.

I remain confident in our investigative process. Through the judicial system, I expect a fair and just outcome to this incident, Reeves said in the statement.
The Dean of Academic Affairs at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) has advised John Mahama to avoid talks that seem to discredit governments effort to handle the Western Togoland conflicts in the Volta Region.



Dr Vladimir Antwi Danso said these talks are what the separatists need to fuel their agenda and recruit new followers.



Speaking on Joy FMs Top Story he stated that it is inadvisable for parties to feed into the issue to score political points.



The politicisation is going to exacerbate the situation, it is very unfortunate. This is not the time to either support or try to foment any trouble with this situation, he told Evans Mensah, Thursday.



Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had described as unserious, President Akufo-Addos posture towards the agitations by some secessionists group in the country.



According to Mr Mahama, the President has not exhibited tact in his attempt to resolve the canker.



Mr Akufo-Addo also justified his earlier silence on the matter saying the country at such a crucial time needs a leader who would not panic.



Dr Antwi Danso stated that the NDC Flagbearer should offer advice on how to help deal with the situation, if he has some.



He stated that John Mahama should leave the rumours surrounding the conflicts and voter suppression be, especially, since no evidence has been submitted as proof.



We are trying to make it difficult for the security agencies to gather good information to quell the situation with talks like these, he added.



This is the time for a bipartisan approach to dealing with the national issue especially with an election ahead, Dr Antwi Danso said.



He stated, let us not play into the public gallery for political mark scoring and then think that that will help election, it will make it worse.

Source: Myjoyonline.com









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

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Judge Amy Coney Barrett did not disclose her participation in an anti-abortion advert calling for the overturning of Roe v Wade in her paperwork to the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to a report.

Two Democratic committee aides told NBC News that the advert was not disclosed in the Senate forms required of judicial nominees and maintained that it should have been.

The two-page ad, published in The South Bend Tribune of Indiana, included Judge Barretts name in a list of more than 1,200 and branded the ruling in 1973 that declared a nationwide constitutional right to abortion barbaric.

The ad should have been included in Judge Barretts Senate Judiciary Questionnaire and was not, one of the two aides told NBC News under the condition of anonymity.

A White House spokesman told the broadcaster that because Judge Barrett did not write or edit the advertisement, it did not fall within the scope of the questionnaire.

As Judge Barrett said on the day she was nominated, A judge must apply the law as written. Judges are not policymakers, and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy views they might hold,'" White House spokesperson Judd Deere told The Independent.

Donald Trump announced on 27 September that he is nominating Judge Barrett to take the seat of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an abortion-rights supporter who died last month.

Victoria Nourse, a professor at Georgetown Law, who was nominated to the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals by Barack Obama, told NBC News that in her experience the process was very strict and she believes Judge Barrett should have included the information.

She should have disclosed it, Prof Nourse said. In my experience, I would have had to do it.

Youre supposed to give anything you have on the internet and all of your endorsements, Prof Nourse added.

The advert was part of a two-page spread that ran in conjunction with the anniversary of the Supreme Courts Roe v Wade ruling.

The unsigned page of the ad read: Its time to put an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v Wade and restore laws that protect the lives of unborn children.

The South Bend Tribune provided a copy of the ad, dated 21 January 2006, to The Associated Press. The Guardian first reported the existence of the ad.

Ms Barrett's strict Catholicism and staunch conservative ideology have worried Democrats that the judge may seek to overturn the US ruling that allows legal abortions. The advert appears to be the most direct expression of Barretts opposition to abortion.

She has voted at least twice on abortion issues as an appellate judge, both times joining dissenting opinions to decisions in favor of abortion rights.

Mr Trump said this week that it is "certainly possible" that Judge Barrett, could rule in favor of overturning the ruling.

She is certainly conservative in her views, in her rulings, and well have to see how that all works out, but I think it will work out, Mr Trump said.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Champaign County Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, who travelled to Tuesdays presidential debate in Cleveland with President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One, says he will get a coronavirus test after Trumps Thursday diagnosis with the potentially fatal virus.

Well get one, probably as soon as I get done with this interview, Jordan said in an interview on Fox and Friends. He added that hes praying for Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Trump aide Hope Hicks, who all tested positive for the virus. He said that Trump exhibited his usual amazing level of energy during their interactions on Tuesday.

Jordan said he wasnt worried that hed caught the virus during his time with Trump, because he was only with him for a brief, brief amount of time. He said he didnt return to Washington on Air Force One with Trump after the debate, so he could do media appearances in Ohio.

I feel great, said Jordan. I had a great workout yesterday. I feel fine.

Our prayers are with President Trump, the First Lady, Hope Hicks, and every other American family impacted by #COVID19.



America will defeat this virus.  Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) October 2, 2020

My prayers are with the First Family and all those infected with this terrible disease. Wishing the President and First Lady a speedy recovery.  Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (@RepMarciaFudge) October 2, 2020

Just to be cautious, Jordan said he will not personally attend a House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis thats scheduled to occur this morning, and will do so virtually.

I think thats probably the safest course of action, said Jordan.

On Friday afternoon, a spokesman for Jordan announced hed tested negative for the virus.

Mr. Jordan has been advised by his physician that since he was not in close contact with any COVID-19 positive people during a risk time period, he does not have to quarantine," said Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye. "Todays test was taken as a precaution and Mr. Jordan looks forward to continuing to work hard for the people of Ohios Fourth District.

Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur also attended Tuesdays presidential debate in Cleveland, but said through a spokesman that she was not in close contact with Trump or his entourage, safely distanced and wore her mask at all times in the debate venue. The spokesman said Kaptur will abide by the instructions of the contact tracing team if contacted.

Praying for the swift recovery of President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and the thousands of Americans diagnosed with COVID-19 each day, said a statement from Kaptur.

A statement from Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge said she, too, attended the debate, and took the necessary precautions while there, wearing a mask and social distancing as the Cleveland Clinic recommended.

I was not seated near the President nor any members of his team, Fudges statement continued. "I am not experiencing any coronavirus symptoms but will take a test if that changes. In the meantime, I am following health safety guidelines. This goes to show that this virus does not discriminate and anyone is susceptible. Everyone please stay safe and follow the CDC guidelines.

Ohio Republican. Sen. Rob Portman, who attended a White House event with Trump on Monday to highlight the new electric vehicle that will be produced by Ohios Lordstown Motors, also said hed get tested even though the event was socially distanced. Portman and his wife are not experiencing any symptoms, his office said.

On Monday, Rob was with President Trump briefly for an event outside the White House that featured Lordstown Motors, where social distancing was practiced, said a statement from Portman communications director Emily Benavides. While he is not experiencing any symptoms, and neither is Jane, out of an abundance of caution, he is consulting with his physician and plans to take a COVID-19 diagnostic test and cancel his scheduled in-person events today.

Later in the day, Benavides said Portmans test results were negative.

Lordstown Motors executives also are being tested, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, issued a statement that wished both Trumps and their White House staffers a speedy recovery and said he was troubled by reports that Trumps family and staff refused to wear masks at the debate in Cleveland, and then held a fundraiser the next day  endangering all who worked at and attended these events. His statement accused Trump of downplaying the virus for months, and said he owes it to the 200,000 Americans who have died because of his callousness to wear a mask and cancel his super-spreader rallies.

The President has the best health care in the world, paid for by taxpayers, said Brown. Hardworking Ohioans dont have access to the testing and resources he does because were seven months in and still have no national testing strategy. I hope this might cause the President to rethink his lawsuit to repeal the ACA in the middle of a pandemic and take health care away from others who get this virus.

Jane & I send our best wishes to President and Melania Trump for a speedy recovery. Im glad they immediately began to quarantine and I hope everyone will support their recovery by continuing to do their part to slow the spread by wearing a mask and practicing social distancing.  Rob Portman (@senrobportman) October 2, 2020

Wishing President Trump and the First Lady a speedy recovery. My prayers are with them.  Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (@RepAGonzalez) October 2, 2020

Andrea and my thoughts are with the President and First Lady this morning. We are praying for their safety and a speedy recovery.  Congressman Tim Ryan (@RepTimRyan) October 2, 2020

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Human trafficking remains a problem in Ohio, Cleveland FBI agent tells congressional task force

Sen. Rob Portman urges President Donald Trump to condemn white supremacy unequivocally

Ohio coal magnate Robert Murray has filed for black lung benefits, report says

Trump shows off Lordstown Motors pickup truck at White House on the eve of Cleveland presidential debate

Ohio Republicans pleased with President Donald Trumps Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, states Democrats are not

Sen. Sherrod Brown expects Democrats will fight like hell against Trump Supreme Court nominee

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U.S. House passes bill backed by Rep. Marcia Fudge to ban hairstyle discrimination

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general secretary Vadra on Friday said every woman in this country needs to raise her voice and question the government to seek justice for the daughter of Hathras.

Addressing a prayer meeting in memory of the Dalit rape victim, she said her party will continue to exert pressure on the government till justice is delivered in the case.

The prayer meeting was organised by Valmiki community at the Prachin Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir at Panchkuian road in central Delhi.

"I request everyone to raise their voice and every woman needs to question the government to seek justice for the daughter of Hathras," she told the gathering.

"Each and every woman of this country should raise her voice against what has happened to the woman in Hathras," she also said.

The 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped at a village in Hathras by four men on September 14. After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to the Delhi's Safdarjung hospital where she breathed her last on Tuesday.

She was cremated in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

Gandhi who has been at the forefront of the attack on the government over the incident said cremation is not done after sunset.

"It was wrong to do so without the consent of the family. We need to put pressure on the government to ensure justice for the young Dalit woman," she said.

"Our country does not have a tradition where the father, brother and the family of the victim are not allowed to light the pyre," said.

She also paid obeisance at the temple of Lord Valmiki.The temple hosted Mahatma Gandhi for 214 days between April 1946 and June 1947.

"Whatever has happened with the woman, her family faced it alone as they did not get any support from the government. Her family felt like they were alone. I came here to express solidarity with you and her family so that you all don't feel you are alone," said.

She urged the gathering to raise their voice against the incident.

"What has happened with you all we will fight against it. I urge you all to raise your voice and we will put political pressure on the government," the leader said.

Every woman of the country should exert moral pressure on the government to get justice for their sister, she 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.)
Frustrated Brits have had to pay up to 700 a ticket for last-minute flights back to the UK before 4am on Saturday after Turkey and Poland were put on the 14-day Covid quarantine list.

Charles Swallow, 33, from Newmarket, had flown out to Turkey to avoid Britain's lockdown, but ended up having to fork out the enormous sum after the price of the flight changed half-way through booking.

Boris Johnson's government made the decision to put both countries on its quarantine red list yesterday, along with the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba.

Friends Bethany, Kelly and Louise after arriving back at Luton Airport today from a sunshine holiday in Turkey

Charles Swallow, 33, from Newmarket, had flown out to Turkey to avoid Britain's lockdown, but ended up having to fork out the enormous sum after the price of the flight changed half-way through booking

Mr Swallow, who arrived at Heathrow this morning, told MailOnline: 'I was supposed to fly back tomorrow but I realised yesterday that they changed the quarantine situation between Turkey and England.

'The second I got home I went to book a flight back today to avoid the whole two weeks quarantine. I found a flight for 90 but half way through that booking I got a message pop up saying your flight is now 700.

'I had to bite the bullet because I have got a lot of work to do so I had to pay 700 for the flight. I'm gutted but what can you do? It is what it is.'

Luton Airport was also busy with passengers returning from both countries this morning.

Friends Kelly, 33, Bethany, 32, and Louise, 28, all from Manchester, were five days into a sunshine holiday in Turkey when they heard the news on Thursday about the new measures.

Kelly said 'The first I knew about it was when my friend back here in England sent me a link to the BBC story about the news that Turkey and Poland had been added to the list.

'We should have been flying back to Manchester on Sunday, but we had to change all our plans when we heard this news.'

The women had only booked the holiday a few days before they left last Sunday on purpose to make sure it was safe to go there and they wouldn't be faced with quarantine measures on their return.

'We booked at the last minute to make sure it was safe, so it's so disappointing what's happened' said Bethany.

The trio said they had to return because of job commitments, but they said they planned to head into London tonight, before heading back to the North West tomorrow.

They say they had to pay 150 each to get earlier flights back to the UK.

Lizzie Drury had barely touched down on the tarmac at Warsaw airport before friends and colleagues in the UK gave her the bad news

One British woman who travelled to Poland for work was in the country for just 20 minutes before realising she had to instantly return or face quarantine for two weeks.

Lizzie Drury had barely touched down on the tarmac at Warsaw airport before friends and colleagues in the UK gave her the bad news.

The 48-year-old, an equine nutritionist from Suffolk, had to pay around an extra 500 to get back home to Heathrow today.

She said: 'I flew to Warsaw yesterday to take part in a conference that we were helping to host and then literally within 20 minutes of landing yesterday we were then being notified by people back here at home that we had to get out as fast as possible unless we wanted to isolate for two weeks.

'We had to pay for a hotel at the airport and then book the flight which was doubling, tripling in price. It's probably been an extra, 500 if not more.

'What's so frustrating is that everything was left to the last minute to book in the hope of following government recommendations to travel etc. Even still you're given 24 hours notice to then get back.'

Mr Drury was one of around 200 passengers returning from Warsaw on a packed flight to Heathrow Airport today. Other travellers also spoke of hugely inflated ticket prices.

Magda, 30, who is originally from Poland but has lived in Feltham, west London, for the last 10 years, had to pay 400 for her ticket back to the UK.

She said: 'We had to buy a new ticket, it was so crazy. Tickets for today were about 400 at first and then jumped up to 1,000. Luckily I was able to get a cheaper ticket but paid 400.

'You couldn't fly from all of Poland, all of the tickets were around 800. It's getting crazy, people are going to Germany to stay for a few days because they still have holiday and then fly back.

'I was very disappointed, they only gave us one day to get back. Basically I haven't slept since because I found out at about 8pm yesterday and needed to pack and I've been travelling for about six hours. Now I'm going home to sleep.'

Chloe Brammah, a freelance beauty technician pictured yesterday in Turkey, told MailOnline that she was concerned she would lose earnings if forced to quarantine on her return

Chloe, whose flight is not until next Saturday, said that she has decided to stay in the country as she fears there will be no flights tomorrow because everyone will be rushing to leav

Alex Dunn, 42, from Daventry, was three days into a six day break with her husband and their family in Poland when they heard the quarantine announcement.

With her children needing to be back in school, Ms Dunn - who is from Poland - and her husband, took the decision to leave early, missing the family wedding, which was to be the highlight of their trip.

They spent Thursday trying to change flights and, in the end, she ended up paying 408 for fresh tickets for a flight back to the UK.

She said: 'I am so upset. I should be back in Poland today at my nephew's wedding, but I've had to miss it.'

Thomas Cook has now stopped selling holidays to Turkey and Poland after they were added to the quarantine list.

The popular travel brand re-launched last month as a 'Covid-ready' company only selling holidays to destinations on the Government's safe travel corridor list and has committed to providing flexibility to customers affected by changes to the rules.

A spokesman said: 'Turkey has been so popular since we launched and it's a huge shame that we have had to stop selling holidays to this fantastic country.

'We are in touch with customers who are due to head out there in the next two weeks to see if they want to move their holiday elsewhere or to a later date. We are also contacting all those customers currently enjoying a holiday in Turkey to help them decide what to do.

'For any other customers who have booked a Turkey holiday and want to discuss their options, give us a ring or drop us a chat and our team will be happy to help.'

There were fears yesterday that Greece and Italy could be subject to quarantine rules after the former recorded 20.5 cases per 100,000 people in recent days while Italy was at slightly above 20 per 100,000.

The Government currently uses a threshold of 20 cases per 100,000, along with a number of other criteria, when it makes decisions on whether to add or remove countries from its quarantine list.

The seven-day rate of new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in Poland is now at 25.9, increasing from 15.6 in the previous week.

Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba reported 142.4 new cases per 100,000, unchanged from 142.4 in the previous week.

Meanwhile, Turkey's rate has dropped to 12.9 cases, down from 14.2 in the week prior - but there are fears these figures are under reported and the true spread of infection is much higher, putting holidaymakers at greater risk.

Yesterday's announcement by Mr Shapps means holidays are only currently possible without any restrictions at either end to Germany, Sweden, Italy, mainland Greece, Gibraltar, San Marino and Liechtenstein.

The list of countries which UK travellers can visit without facing 14 days in self-isolation continues to dwindle.

The list of places Britons can travel to and return from without quarantining or taking Covid tests was already reduced to just nine last week.

Denmark, Iceland, Slovakia and the Caribbean island of Curacao were all removed from the safe list last Thursday.

There are still approximately 60 countries on the UK's 'green list' where quarantine is not required on return, but many of the nations have their own restrictions on arrival or are closed to visitors completely.

Mr Shapps said that Poland was added to the 'red list' after the rate of positive tests in the country nearly doubled from 3.9 per cent to 5.8 per cent alongside a 'rapid increase in weekly cases'.

The Transport Secretary said restrictions are being imposed on travel to Turkey because of the way the country is keeping track of Covid-19.
Iranian officials, who are typically quick to react to bombshell stories, appear to have chosen cautious silence in the immediate raucous debates triggered by the announcement that US President Donald Trump had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Unsurprisingly, the officials have also avoided sending any warm thoughts or prayers for the leader of the country they have considered Iran's number-one enemy for four decades.

However, Iranian media outlets, analysts and members of the public have reacted in messages largely about Trump's lesson and how the virus affects those who underestimate it. No one, absolutely no one, could be immune from COVIDs claws, read an article from the conservative state-funded news agency Young Journalists Club.

London-based Reformist and former Culture Minister Ataollah Mohajerani offered a chronology of Trump's actions before catching the virus, from his effort to reduce the pandemic to the level of a ploy by Democrats to his ridicule for the mask worn by his rival Joe Biden.

Veteran Iranian journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi wrote, Perhaps the quarantine period will give him enough time to come to recognize the fact that life is too fragile and not worth all the hue and cry  and ones health can be simply threatened with a microscopic virus. This could make him reconsider his behavior.

There was also analysis of the obesity and age risk factors that could make the American president a critical case. Some outlets focused on how the news rattled the US stock market and how the situation could impact the American economy. There were also conspiracy theories that the entire episode is a lie to which Trump has resorted as a fresh populistic tactic to draw public sympathy at a critical moment to tilt the outcomes of the Nov. 3 polls.

As have been trending across American social media, edited pictures of Trump getting shots of disinfectants  ridicule of his own suggested remedies  also made the rounds on Iranian platforms.

Iran, the Middle Easts worst-hit country, announced another 187 coronavirus mortalities on Friday and an infected population now past 464,000. The country is currently experiencing a third wave of the pandemic, with extremely alarming rates in the capital Tehran, where hospitals are reaching capacity due to an influx of patients with severe symptoms.

From the early days of the outbreak in Iran, a large number of senior Iranian officials have been infected, from a deputy health minister to over two dozen lawmakers and powerful former parliament speaker Ali Larijani. The countrys Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 81, has taken extreme precautions, delivering only televised speeches and attending no public events.

The US presidents infection was celebrated by some Iranian conservative media outlets that suggested karma was catching up to him and that Trump was paying the price for his order to kill top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

In these chaotic days, Trumps death is the only news that could make us feel better, wrote one Iranian Twitter user, who was supported in a reply: I dont want him to die of the coronavirus. Id rather to see him get killed in a drone or missile attack on his convoy, the other user tweeted in an open reference to how Soleimani was hit outside Baghdads international airport in January.
A number of defendants were very lucky to have their mothers in court to support them, Judge Mary Cashin commented at Portlaoise District Court on Thursday.

I am very impressed by the mothers of Portlaoise, who have attended here, she said.

You guys are very lucky to have them supporting you, Judge Cashin said.

The comments were made after three mothers accompanied their sons to court. The three separate drugs possession cases all involved defendants aged in their late teens or early 20s.

In two cases, the mothers wrote letters giving details of their sons background and the circumstances that led to their drug use.

One mother wrote that she hoped the detection by gardai had given her son a fright.

Commenting on the letter, Judge Cashin said: I am very impressed with it

Judge Cashin noted that the mother was heartbroken by the incident.

Another mother, whose 18-year-old son was caught with bags of cannabis-infused sweets, wrote a lengthy letter expressing the familys regret.

In this case, the court heard the mother had taken great steps to prepare a plea for her son.

I am very impressed with your mothers letter and, as a mother myself, I know it is not easy but our sons have to take the consequences of their actions, Judge Cashin said.

None of the defendants had previous convictions. All three cases were adjourned to allow for the preparation of probation reports.
Global airlines are pushing for widespread coronavirus testing as an alternative to quarantine measures and other travel restrictions that have dampened passenger demand and decimated the industry.

Why it matters: Airline officials have pegged the industry's recovery to the discovery of a coronavirus vaccine, but it could be mid-2021 before one is widely available.

In the meantime, industry officials say systematic testing of all passengers before departure could get around the restrictions and help restore public confidence in flying.

The big picture: Virtually every country in the world imposed some sort of travel restrictions to combat the pandemic, including quarantines, testing and contract tracing.

Even in the U.S., at least 17 states, including Hawaii and New York, have quarantine restrictions on out-of-state visitors.

Yes, but: The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the coronavirus is still not understood, the New York Times notes.

Global health policy has long encouraged global mass tourism and open borders, even during outbreaks, the Times notes  until the novel coronavirus arrived, triggering country-by-country responses.

The evidence both in favor and against restrictions is "very, very thin," Kelley Lee, a global health professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, tells Axios.

Her research team is trying to fill that data gap and help government leaders make more informed decisions.

Where it stands: After months of lockdowns, some countries are cautiously reopening their borders to international visitors (although Americans are still unwelcome in most countries, with some exceptions).

Hawaii will also begin welcoming back tourists this month  provided they test negative for the virus.

What's new: To facilitate the restart of travel, airlines are stepping in to offer coronavirus testing as another layer of precautions  besides enhanced cleaning, masks and social distancing  to reassure travelers.

Germany's Lufthansa will begin testing some passengers in Europe this month, and says it could expand the service to the U.S. and Canada.

Some airports are doing their own testing, too. Tampa International Airport this week became the first U.S. airport to offer COVID testing.

Zoom in: United Airlines will offer COVID tests to Hawaii-bound passengers in San Francisco starting Oct. 15, and says it could expand testing to other airports before the end of the year.

Passengers can make an appointment for a rapid test at the airport on the day of departure or perform a self-collected, mail-in test no more than 72 hours ahead of their trip. Antigen and antibody tests, which are deemed less accurate, will not be accepted, Hawaii officials note.

Passengers who test negative can skip Hawaii's 14-day quarantine. A test will not be required to board the plane, but without proof of a negative test result travelers will be required to quarantine upon arrival in Hawaii.

The onsite test is $250, while the mail-in self-test is $80, plus overnight shipping.

Hawaiian Airlines will offer testing as well.

What to watch: The International Air Transport Association wants government health authorities worldwide to standardize coronavirus testing for passengers  ideally with a rapid, inexpensive and accurate antigen test.
Seoul, Oct 2 : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected flood recovery efforts at a border village along with his sister, Kim Yo-jong, in her first public appearance after two months, state-media reported on Friday.

According to the report in Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Jong-un inspected the reconstruction site in Kimhwa county, where he was briefed about damage to dwellings, farms, transportation, the power grid and telecommunications.

"Hearing the report that about 88 per cent of the total construction project has now been done for nearly 1,000 families, he said with great satisfaction that the People's Army is making world-startling achievements under the energetic leadership and meticulous guidance of our Party," Yonhap News Agency quoted the KCNA report as saying.

The leader stressed that "this year has been the one of unprecedented hardships but it will be a year of great victory with particularly great worth of struggle", the report further said.

Without providing a date of their visit, the North's official newspaper Rodong Sinmun published a photo of the leader and his sister, dressed in a beige trench coat.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 2)  Here are new songs to accompany you through these tough times.

American indie pop band LANY released Friday its 10 newest tracks from mamas boy, which lead vocalist Paul Klein described as their best album yet.

The group  composed of three musicians  has already dropped four songs from mamas boy earlier this year  good guys, if this is the last time, you! and cowboy in LA.

All 14 songs are about 14 different emotions and nuances, Klein told CNN Philippines New Day.

We put every last drop of energy into this album, with the hopes that people will connect to it, he said.

The making

Klein shared they went to Nashville in Tennessee, United States, long referred to as Music City, to write six of the music releases for mamas boy, which is their third album.

I was really interested in telling stories in the songs and writing well-thought-out articulated songs versus the commercial pop song environment here in L.A. (Los Angeles), so we went there (Nashville) for two weeks in September of 2019.

He said they stayed there to collaborate with people in Nashville, where a lot of famed musicians, such as Taylor Swift, have kick-started their careers.

Returning to the Philippines

Klein is one-trillion percent sure he and the rest of his bandmates, will come back to the Philippines once the pandemic is over, he said, adding they miss their Filipino supporters already.

The second we can come back, we definitely will, I promise, Klein said.

He said for now, while people around the world continue to live under physical distancing rules due to the health crisis, fans could listen to their new tracks, in the hopes they would love them, and provide them comfort.

Last year, LANY had three-day sold-out shows in the Philippines, which made it the first foreign act to do so.
Marjory Wentworth, the poet laureate for the state of South Carolina, announced her resignation Friday. Her departure is effective immediately.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed serving as poet laureate. But after 17 years, it's time to pass the honor onto someone else," Wentworth said in a statement.

"I hope state legislators will approve a bill that will allow the position to rotate among the many talented poets in our state. Maybe this will give a little push in that direction."

Wentworth told The Post and Courier she submitted her resignation to the governor's office via email earlier this week. A statement to the paper from the governor's office shared that "the governor thanks her for her service and wishes her all the best."

On behalf of all of us at the South Carolina Arts Commission, I wish Marjory well and thank her for the many contributions she has made while serving as our States poet laureate," said David Platts, executive director of the S.C. Arts Commission.

Her resignation follows a flurry of related announcements from South Carolina cultural leaders lately. Among them are Spoleto Festival USA General Director Nigel Redden, who cited factors such as the pandemic and consideration of Black Lives Matter protests. Gaillard Management Corporation President and CEO Stephen Bedard has also announced his retirement.

Wentworth, who was appointed to the position by Gov. Mark Sanford in 2003, said the non-salaried position involves participation at numerous events throughout the year, while also penning poems for occasions.

In her role as poet laureate, Wentworth has long championed a rotation of poets, recommending it occur every three to five years. In doing so, a diverse range of poets can infuse the post with new ideas and initiatives.

Over her 17-year tenure, Wentworth's contribution has not been without its challenges. She has twice been excluded from gubernatorial inaugurations.

The first was for Gov. Nikki Haley's second term in 2015. Her recital of the poem "One River, One Boat," which commented on the Confederate flag flying by the Statehouse, was cut from the ceremony, making national headlines. She said she was also not invited to participate in the 2019 inauguration of Gov. Henry McMaster.

Platts underscored the significance of the role of a state poet laureate.

"The stature of the poet laureates position allows all of us to see and recognize that the arts do not merely exist for their own sake. Rather, they can provoke thought, self-reflection and meaningful dialogue across a wide range of opinions and perspectives, and they can unify by appealing to our better instincts."

According to Wentworth, poetry plays a particularly crucial role in challenging times.

"Poetry is always something that we turn to in a time of trouble or crisis," she said. "People want to try to ... find the language to explain what's going on."

When it comes to the untapped potential of a state poet laureate, Wentworth points to local examples as proof of its grassroots power.

"Look at what the city poet laureates have done," she said, citing the efforts of Marcus Amaker in Charleston and Ed Madden in Columbia to integrate poetry into those communities. "That just gives you an idea of what happens when you have this title ... and your mandate is to bring poetry."
Meghan Markle paired a slash neck top from a Haiti-born American designer with vegan leather trousers to discuss 'systematic racism' yesterday.

The Duchess of Sussex, 39, joined Prince Harry, 36, for a wide-ranging interview from their 11million California mansion yesterday, in which they spoke about discrimination faced by black people and talked about the Black Lives Matter movement.

Meghan, who is known for her love of designer brands and rarely wears the same outfits twice, looked elegant in a tonal brown ensemble for the occasion.

She made sure to keep her outfit on message, opting for a 290 slash-neck coffee coloured top from Haiti-born, New York-raised designer Victor Glemaud and a pair of brown vegan leather trousers from Stella McCartney.

Meghan Markle, 39, donned a 290 slash neck top from aHaiti-born American designer Victor Glemaud and vegan leather trousers to discuss 'systematic racism' yesterday

The Duchess swept her hair from her face into a slicked back bun and let her outfit do the talking during the video call.

She commanded attention to her eyes with sleek eyeliner, while keeping the rest of her make-up nude to emphasise her natural features.

The royal appeared elegant in the tonal ensemble and opted to wear independent designer Glemaud for the first time for the occasion.

It is a new brand for Meghan, who tends to favour larger labels like Givenchy and Victoria Beckham.

The Duchess donned the tonal brown outfit as she discussed Britain's systematic racism during an interview with Prince Harry yesterday

The brand was launched in 2006 and online is described as focusing on 'statement knitwear, designed for all people, genders, races, sizes and personalities, marrying comfort and style'.

The Haiti-born designer already has a host of celebrity fans including Florence Pugh and Hailey Baldwin.

The Duchess paired the trendy top with a set of vegan leather trousers from Stella McCartney, a brand she has worn several times in the past.

It is believed she has the trendy trousers in several colours, having donned a similar pair of trousers in black while appearing on America's Got Talent last week.

During the interview yesterday, Meghan praised Black Lives Matter protests in America after the death of George Floyd as 'beautiful' - but said this only applied to 'peaceful protest' and admitted many people found them 'inflammatory'.

It is believed the royal wore an almost identical pair of vegan leather trousers in black earlier this week while appearing on America's Got Talent

Speaking on Zoom to the Evening Standard, Harry also weighed in on Diversity's controversial BLM dance routine on Britain's Got Talent and said he was 'surprised' by the negative comments it had received.

In a separate article for the newspaper, the couple said: 'As long as structural racism exists, there will be generations of young people of colour who do not start their lives with the same equality of opportunity as their white peers. And for as long as that continues, untapped potential will never get to be realised.'

The interview is the latest in a long series of political comments by the couple, including last week when Harry intervened in the US election by urging voters to 'reject hate speech'.

The comments - which broke royal protocol - were widely interpreted as a call to vote out Donald Trump.

They prompted Buckingham Palace to immediately distance themselves from Harry by noting he was 'not working member of the Royal Family'.
Photo credit: Getty Images

From Cosmopolitan

In what appears to be a huge prank on the universe, we are on the brink of an extremely important presidential election in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic. Cool-cool-cool. As you ~may~ have heard, voters will decide between Republican sitting president Donald Trump and Democratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden. Both contenders have largely opposing viewsand policieson basically everything and seem to have a very difficult time talking to one another (no, Im still not over the chaos that was the first presidential debate!).

If you want to make sure you understand exactly where they stand on the most pressing issues, here is a cheat sheet so you can feel prepared to cast your ballot on November 3or literally now if youre doing early voting.

COVID-19

Donald Trump

Despite reportedly having known about the threat of the novel coronavirus since February, Trumps been insisting that COVID-19 will be gone before we know it. During the first presidential debate, he also claimed that we are weeks away from a vaccinea claim thats been heavily disputed. During a rally, Trump told the crowd that he would like to slow the testing because more testing leads to more positive cases whichyikes.

Trump also does not think we need a federal mask mandate. When asked why, he told Fox News Chris Wallace, No, I want people to have a certain freedom, and I dont believe in that, no.

For reference, the U.S. has 4 percent of the world population but 20 percent of the worlds COVID-19 deaths.

Joe Biden

The Democratic nominee would like to offer free COVID-19 testing to all Americans as well as increase resources for contact tracing and protective equipment. During the first presidential debate, Biden also mentioned creating a plan designed to alleviate financial hardship for small business owners. Notably, Biden has said that he would mandate that everyone wears a mask .



Climate Change

Donald Trump

Despite the literal science that says otherwise, Trump  does not believe  in climate change. Hes deflected the rising environmental dangers on Asia, insisting that the United States is the cleanest country. But according to FactCheck.org, the U.S. is actually 10th overall for best air quality and 29th for water and sanitation.

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Per the Brookings Institute, the Trump administration has taken 74 actions to weaken environmental protection. Hes mostly focused on rolling back policies that address climate change and support the fossil fuel industry, including the Obama Clean Power Plan, which limited carbon emissions in power plants. He also allowed drilling for the first time in the Arctic Refuge, which thrilled oil lobbyists.

In 2017, Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement, an international effort by world leaders to mitigate climate change, and rescinded policies that would combat climate change as well as give permission to private entities to bypass environmental regulations. So thatsnot good.

Joe Biden

During the presidential debate, Biden maintained that there is no greater challenge than climate change andcondemning Trumps actionspromised to rejoin the Paris Agreement. Biden has put forward a plan that allocates nearly $2 trillion in climate policy infrastructure and investment.

Racial Injustice

Donald Trump

Trump has implied, if not outright stated, that he does not support the Black Lives Matter movement. When asked in an interview with CBS News why Black Americans were still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country, he said, So are white people. What a terrible question to ask.



During the presidential debate, Trump was asked if he would denounce white supremacy and he refused. He then name-checked the violent right-wing group Proud Boys and instructed them to stand by.

Joe Biden

Biden has condemned violence that took place at the George Floyd protests that happened after the grand jury ruling regarding Breonna Taylors death. But he says he supports peaceful protest and has acknowledged racial injustice to be a systemic issue in this country. He made history by choosing the first Black vice presidential pick, Kamala Harris.

Police Reform

Donald Trump

Trump has repeatedly insisted that police do not need to be defunded, although he signed an order that allows Americans to report officers who have been fired or found to have used excessive force. He often touts the phrase law and order, which critics claim he uses as a racist scare tactic to make voters fearful of crime, particularly in suburbs.

Joe Biden

Even though a movement to defund the police gained support from liberals this summer, Biden has repeatedly said that he is not for defunding the police so much as he is all in for reform. Part of his campaign pushes for funding for continued training and body cameras. During the debate, he said there was systemic injustice in law enforcement. He also said, But look, the vast majority of police officers are good, decent, honorable men and women. They risk their lives every day to take care of us. But there are some bad applesand they have to be held accountable.

Gun Violence

Donald Trump

Trump has been appealing to his base by doubling down that the right to bear arms is a constitutional right (so was slavery, just FYI). Despite the surges in gun violence during his presidency, Trump has refused to take action that might marginally decrease school shootings and other gun-related massacres that have seen a rise in the past decade. The NRA loves him.

Joe Biden

Biden has long been a strong proponent for gun safety, and one of his major platforms is banning assault weapons. Hes also pushed for universal background checks and a federal gun buyback program that would take guns off the streets.

Health Care



Donald Trump

As Trump himself admitted during the first presidential debate, part of his plan for health care is abolishing the Affordable Care Act, although he has never put forward a replacement plan. He recently said hes going to sign an executive order to protect Americans with preexisting conditions. The president has repeatedly claimed that he plans on lowering the cost of drugs (including insulin), although he does not, according to fact-checkers.

Joe Biden

A huge part of Bidens legacy during his time as vice president was his involvement in passing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. It makes sense that Biden would expand Obamacare while also adding a public option that anyoneemployed or notcan sign up for, comparing it to a Medicaid-Medicare-like provision. Biden does not support free universal health care. His platform also supports keeping abortion accessible and protecting Roe v. Wade.



Reproductive Rights

Donald Trump

The Trump administration has attacked womens health and rights numerous times in the past four years. In 2017, one of his first acts as president was to reinstate the global gag rule that restricts access to safe abortion for women overseas. Trump has also supported the March for Life movement, which attacks womens right to choose.

Joe Biden

Under Biden, the Affordable Care Act will cover contraception and abortions. Hes made wishy-washy comments in the past about not supporting federal funding for abortion but wants to protect Roe v. Wade and stop any state restrictions on access to abortion. Biden also plans to rescind the global gag rule and restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Foreign Policy

Donald Trump

Trumps entire foreign policy plan can be summed up into his favorite phrase: America First. Hes exited the Trans-Pacific agreement, antagonized Mexico with his build a wall plan, and made immigration infinitely harder. Trump often sides with dictators and autocrats, like Vladimir Putin in Russia, and is friendly toward North Korea. He has also made several derogatory comments toward China, creating an unstable relationship with one of the biggest world leaders.

Joe Biden

Biden wants to restore dignified leadership at home and respected leadership on the world stage with his foreign policy, according to his campaign. He also plans to end wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East and strengthen relationships with Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Biden is a supporter of Israel, a longtime U.S. ally.

Peaceful Transition of Power

Donald Trump

On more than one occasion, Trump has insinuated that he would not accept the election results if he were to lose. During the first presidential debate, when moderator Chris Wallace asked if he will urge supporters to stay calm and not engage in civil unrest if Biden wins, Trump said that he will ask them to watch carefully and he wont go along with that if he suspects voter fraud. When asked if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power, he said, Were going to have to see what happens. You know that Ive been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.

Joe Biden

Biden has vowed to accept all the results of the election and has been encouraging voters to vote in person if possible. When asked about Trumps thinly veiled threats, Biden has said that he will use military power to escort Trump from the White House if necessary.

Military

Donald Trump

Although Trump frequently refers to the U.S. troops as the greatest on Earth, hes also made alarming comments about fallen soldiers, referring to them as losers, according to multiple reports. He infamously mocked the late Senator John McCain for having been captured in combat. Despite Trumps claims that military families love him, polls show that Biden has overwhelming support from the troops.

Joe Biden

Biden has made several pledges to ensure veterans and their families will receive the adequate amount of resources and care in return for their service. Part of his plan ensures that caregivers will get compensation for mental health care and peer support. Hes also pledged to help military families stabilize between relocations and increase economic opportunities for military spouses.

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The U.S. Army announced Friday that it is shutting down two of the specialized organizations it stood up after the 9/11 attacks to quickly identify and perfect new tactics and equipment for combat units.

The "discontinuation" of both the Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) and the Rapid Equipping Force (REF) is occurring because the Army is transitioning from counterinsurgency operations to a focus on multi-domain, large-scale combat operations, according to a brief news release.

Read Next: At Least 4 Top Generals May Have Been Exposed Before Trump Tested Positive for COVID-19

"The Army established these units to rapidly identify material and non-material solutions to operational challenges encountered during the counterinsurgency fight in Afghanistan and Iraq," according to the statement. "As our focus changes to great power competition and large-scale combat operations, Army analysis indicated that the personnel and resources could best be utilized in building the operational fighting force."

Army Times was first to report the story.

Most recently, the AWG led the Army's effort to train combat brigades in subterranean warfare. That effort began in 2018 when the service budgeted $572 million to train the majority of its brigade combat teams to fight in large-scale underground facilities that exist beneath dense urban areas around the world.

Former Special Operations Command AWG members developed new tactics in underground breaching and small-unit operations at the organization's Asymmetric Warfare Training Facility at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.

The Army has not yet decided how it will use the specialized A.P. Hill facility or the AWG's headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland.

"The Army is currently determining the final disposition of the facilities," a service spokesman told Military.com in an email.

The Fort Belvoir, Virginia-based REF has been a significant player in the Army's counter-drone effort. The REF has fielded anti-drone systems, such as Battelle's DroneDefender, which can be aimed like a rifle, and Radio Hill Technologies' radar gun-like Dronebuster to help protect units from small, commercial-style unmanned aerial systems that can easily be armed with homemade bombs.

Personnel and resources from both organizations will be reallocated to the operational force, according to the release. Both organizations will be fully deactivated by Sept. 30, 2021.

The service said it plans to "ensure the value of the organization's work over the past 14 years is not lost" by maintaining the lessons learned at the Army Combined Arms Center by organizations such as Center for Army Lessons Learned, according to the release.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: Army Is Spending Half a Billion to Train Soldiers to Fight Underground
Royal Enfields dominance in Indias mid-capacity cruiser segment does not need to be reiterated. Even with brands like Jawa and Bajaj who operate in the same segment could not budge the Chennai-based manufacturer. However, the segment has ripples once again after Honda unveiled the HNess CB350 that will soon be launched in the Indian market. Among the many questions, the one that stands atop is if the new offering could finally be the one that shakes things up at the top. And as we wait to get our hands on the product after the launch, heres how it fairs against the Royal Enfield Classic 350 on paper.

Powertrain and Transmission

The Honda HNess CB350 gets a 348.36 cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine that puts out higher output than the Classic 350 at 21 bhp at 5,500 rpm and 30 Nm of peak torque at 3,000 rpm. Also, a notable addition is a slipper clutch that comes with the five-speed gearbox.

The RE Classic 350, on the other hand, comes with a 346 cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder unit that puts out 19 bhp at 5,250 rpm and 28 Nm at 4,000 rpm. This motorcycle is available with a five-speed constant mesh gearbox.

Suspension and Braking

The Honda HNess CB350 features telescopic suspension at the front with twin hydraulic shocks at the rear. In terms of braking, the motorcycle gets a 310mm disc at the front and 240mm disc at the rear. The motorcycle comes with dual-channel ABS as well.

The Royal Enfield Classic 350, on the other hand, comes with 280mm disc brake at the front with ABS and a 153mm rear drum brake. However, buyers can choose for a 240mm rear disc with ABS at a premium.

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Features

Being a new product in the market, the Honda HNess CB350 has an upper hand when it comes to features. It gets an instrument cluster that has an analogue setup for speed, gear position, average fuel efficiency and yes, a fuel gauge. Buyers opting for the Deluxe Pro variant will also get the Honda Smartphone Voice Control (HSVC) that will allow riders to pair their smartphone via Bluetooth. Other notable features comes in the form of Honda Selectable Torque Control system that helps in maintaining rear-wheel traction, engine start-stop switch, and hazard switch.

Honda HNess instrument cluster. (Image source: YouTube/Honda)

The Royal Enfield Classic 350, on the other hand, comes with a sparsely loaded bag. You get a basic instrument cluster that has an analogue speedometer. The motorcycle misses out on a fuel gauge, which is replaced by a fuel indicator which lights up when the bike is running low.

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here
Joe Bidens campaign is making Ohio a battleground again.

Buoyed by polls showing him leading President Donald Trump, Bidens campaign boosted its TV advertising budget to $4.1 million for this month, nearly quadruple what he spent last month and two-thirds of his total ad budget for the state. The day after the first debate with Trump in Cleveland, Biden made his first appearance in Ohio on Wednesday as the Democratic presidential nominee.

A confluence of forces has made Ohio competitive again in the eyes of Democrats. The economy and health care amid the pandemic are bad. Trump is bleeding white working-class and suburban voters in polls. Conservatives in the state are warring with Republican Gov. Mike DeWine for locking down the state during the pandemic.

And DeWines Republican predecessor, John Kasich, is backing Biden.

Were going to win Ohio, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) declared in an interview. Biden is the most pro-worker nominee of either party in a generation.

A pair of recent public polls show why Democrats are bullish. A Fox News survey conducted late last month showed Biden leading Trump in Ohio, 50 percent to 45 percent. And a mid-September Quinnipiac poll had them in a dead heat, 48 percent to 47 percent.

But Republicans are equally bullish about Trumps chances in Ohio, which every Republican has carried to win the White House. Trump won it in 2016 by such an astonishing margin, 8 percentage points, that Democrats all but gave up on seriously contesting Ohio, long considered the ultimate bellwether state.

Republicans argue that Democrats are misreading the state. Trump has a unique appeal in Ohio, they say, and Bidens record of approving trade deals that benefited China will haunt him, regardless of what the polls suggest.

Its impossible for Joe Biden to win Ohio, said Bob Paduchik, a senior Trump adviser in Ohio, pointing to Bidens votes to approve trade deals that benefited China and on which many blue-collar workers blame job losses. Joe Biden voted for NAFTA and hes soft on China. Whether youre a farmer or a factory worker you know thats a losing proposition for Ohio."

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Bidens campaign acknowledges Trump has a deep connection to Ohio voters, especially white working-class and white voters who didnt go to college. But it's making the case through advertising and surrogates that Trumps promises of job growth have fallen flat. They say the president is anti-worker, as evidenced by a new overtime rule that increased the salary threshold to earn overtime pay. Brown estimated the change affects 50,000 workers in the state.

And as hundreds of thousands of Ohioans remain out of work because of the pandemic, the government stopped issuing weekly $600 checks. Brown contended that workers would blame the cutoff on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump.

The Biden campaign has made jobs a focal point of its attack on Trump. It launched its first major salvo against the president in an August TV ad that ran in the Akron media market after the president called for a boycott of Goodyear, a local company, because its management forbade workers from wearing political attire, including MAGA hats.

That Goodyear ad was relatively small, less than $12,000, according to the media tracking firm Advertising Analytics. The bulk of Biden campaign TV spending has been in Toledo and Youngstown. But this month, now that the campaign is flush with cash, it went up in the major media markets with large buys in whats known as the three Cs: Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland.

For months, Trump owned the airwaves in Ohio and Biden spent relatively little. But as the polls continued to break Bidens way, his campaign decided to make a bigger investment as a way to preserve his lead or to force Trump to spend dwindling resources to defend a state that he won in 2016 and cannot afford to lose in 2020.

Since June 1, Bidens campaign has spent and reserved a total of $6.2 million in TV ad spending through the election compared with $13.7 million for Trumps campaign, according to Advertising Analytics. Including outside allies, Trumps side is on pace for $15 million worth of TV commercials and Biden will have spent $8 million by the end of the election.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, accompanied by his wife Jill Biden, right, speaks at Amtrak's Cleveland Lakefront train station, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Cleveland, Biden is on a train tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania today. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Democrats are also accusing Trump of failing to deliver his promise to Lordstown residents when he told them in 2017 that manufacturing jobs are all coming back and dont sell your house. That didnt happen, and GM ultimately closed a plant there, leading Trump to blame the union and the state to recoup tax breaks from the company.

Before Tuesdays debate in Cleveland, Trump and Ohio Republicans fashioned the jobs story in Lordstown as a rising success because Lordstown Motors is now producing the worlds first electric pickup truck at the old GM plant, and GM is partnering with the firm LG Chem to make electric vehicle batteries.

But the Democratic congressman who represents Lordstown, Tim Ryan, said Trump is trying to take credit for harnessing the electric car market while ignoring the fact that his budgets called for eliminating tax credits for them. Trumps campaign, however, said workers credit the president for fighting for their jobs.

The totality of Trumps broken promises and the toll of Covid-19 are hurting the president in the state, Ryan said. He added that the presidents decision during the Cleveland debate to attack Bidens son for a cocaine problem will play poorly in Ohio, where drug addiction has taken a toll on families.

The suburbs are collapsing for Trump, Ryan said. Biden is doing better with African American voters, and hes winning back the white working class. Thats why hes up by 5 in the Fox poll.

That Ohio poll, released last week, was the inverse of a Fox poll released in late September 2016 that showed Trump leading Hillary Clinton by the same overall margin, 5 percentage points. To Ryans point, Biden is doing better than Clinton by 8 percentage points among white voters with no college degree in the Fox polls. Biden and Democrats say that Black voters, some of whom stayed home in large numbers in 2016, are more enthusiastic about voting against Trump this time.

Republicans, however, think Trumps field program and the intensity of his support are too much for Biden to overcome.

Scott Jennings, who ran Republican Mitt Romneys 2012 campaign in the state, said Trumps campaign field program more closely resembles President Barack Obamas from eight years ago, when he had an extensive on-the-ground effort that included door-knocking canvassers and offices. Biden is more like Romney, Jennings said, because hes entering the state relatively late. But the Biden campaign has virtually no physical presence because of the pandemic and hes just heavily spending on air.

Ohio is the safest of the Midwest states for Trump. But even I can read a survey, Jennings said, alluding to the closeness of the race in the state.

He said Trumps law-and-order and tough-on-China messages, however, are a better fit for the state than Biden, and voters are more culturally drawn to Trump beyond issues like trade.

There are a lot of rural voters, Jennings said. And people forget Ohio has a huge section of Appalachian territory and this is Trumps strongest area of the country.

State Rep. John Becker, who represents the Cincinnati suburbs, said the strength of Trumps support was on display last month in a massive interstate car parade that looped into the neighboring states of Indiana and Kentucky. Becker said hes confident Trump will win, but hes concerned with the tough economic conditions.

When the economy is bad, people want to kick out the party in power. Republicans run this state. We own it, Becker said.

In an unexpected twist, however, Becker blames DeWine and his coronavirus restrictions for the recession, a charge the governors spokesman denies. Becker tried to impeach DeWine and, after that failed, unsuccessfully tried to have him arrested for alleged acts of terrorism and violating civil liberties due to the coronavirus restrictions.

DeWines office said Becker was being ridiculous.

Democratic strategist Daniel van Hoogstraten, an adviser to the For Our Future super PAC that began organizing in the state before the pandemic, said the Republican dysfunction and Trumps leadership failures will cost him in Ohio.

Ohio is ground zero for Trumps broken promises, Hoogstraten said. Theres a path for Biden in Ohio.


Chennai, Oct 2 : The former Managing Director and CEO of Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank Sunil Gurbaxani on Friday said he was asked to quit on September 7 itself failing which he would be voted out at the September 30 annual general meeting (AGM).

"As early as September 7, I was asked to quit on my own or I would be voted out by shareholders at the September 30 AGM. I didn't quit under pressure and hence was voted out," Gurbaxani told IANS.

Gurbaxani was appointed as MD & CEO of the bank for a period of three years from February 27, 2020.

The ordinary resolution moved for Gurbaxani's appointment at the AGM was defeated, with 90.49 per cent of the votes polled against the proposal. Only 9.51 per cent of the votes were polled in favour of his appointment.

"I am going back home with my head held high. It is strange that a bank Board including a Director-Shareholder who had earlier recommended my name to RBI (Reserve Bank of India) for the top position, voting against in the AGM in about seven months time. This despite the fact the bank has performed well," he added.

According to him, the RBI's direction to dismiss an advisor who was earlier the Chief General Manager (CGM) of the bank was not only reason for him to be voted out, but there are governance issues like the appointment of a 69-year old person as a Director and others.

"A sitting Board member voting against a sitting MD is also misgovernance. Only four or five shareholders voted against me while other resolutions were passed at the AGM," Gurbaxani said.

He also dismissed as motivated the campaign that he was for opening more branches in North India.

"We were closing down branches in North India. Further out of 40 loss making branches 15 were turned profitable. With proper technology effective control could be exercised over the branches located away from the headquarters or regional offices. That is how all the new generation private banks work. The fastest cars have the best brakes," Gurbaxani, who was earlier with Axis Bank, said.

"When there is business potential why not tap that with effective control mechanisms. As an MD & CEO it is also my duty to look at potential business areas. Similarly, should one not look for people with required skill sets in the market if such people are not there inhouse?" he asked.

Gurbaxani claimed in the last six months the performance of some business segments of the bank were better than that of the last six years. The total deposits have grown, the current account, savings account (CASA) grew by two per cent to 31 per cent, the new to bank business was also better and the gold loan business too grew well during the last three months.

Meanwhile the RBI on Thursday approved an interim arrangement for formation of a a Committee of Directors (CoD) to exercise the powers of MD & CEO till such time a new person takes charge.

The CoD consists of G. Subramonia Iyer as Chairman, and G. Rajagopalan Nair and P.K. Vijayakumar as Members.

"As advised by the RBI, the interim arrangement will not continue beyond four months, within which the Bank will complete the process of identification and appointment of a new MD and CEO," Dhanlaxmi Bank said.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)
Life won't suddenly go back to normal with a vaccine, and distributing it could take a year, scientists have warned.

The experts argue that restrictions should only be gradually relaxed over the coming months until herd immunity has been achieved.

The claims come in a new report from the Royal Society, which warns people have to be 'realistic' about what vaccines could achieve and the hurdles facing a mass roll-out.

It said that even if a cure is ready to be distributed by the spring, it would take several months to vaccinate enough people and allow old normal routines to return.

Life won't suddenly go back to normal with a vaccine, and distributing it could take a year, scientists have warned. Pictured: The vaccine trials in Oxford

Care home residents and staff will be first to get a Covid-19 vaccine ahead of NHS staff and all over-80s Care home residents and staff will be the first to get a Covid-19 vaccine when one is approved, according to fresh government advice. Everyone over the age of 80 and NHS staff will be second in line, updated guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation states. The body, which consists of 20 top scientists, advises ministers on all vaccines. It admitted its guidance for any UK Covid-19 vaccination scheme is likely to change in the future. Matt Hancock previously pledged that Britons with underlying conditions would be near the front of the queue for any jab. But millions living with heart disease or other ailments that raise their risk of dying of Covid-19 won't be vaccinated until everyone over the age of 65 is inoculated, according to the new guidance. WHO WILL GET A COVID-19 JAB FIRST? Under the proposed ranking by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the vaccines will be rolled out in the following order: older adults' resident in a care home and care home workers

all those 80 years of age and over and health and social care workers

all those 75 years of age and over

all those 70 years of age and over

all those 65 years of age and over

high-risk adults under 65 years of age with underlying health woes

moderate-risk adults under 65 years of age with underlying health woes

all those 60 years of age and over

all those 55 years of age and over

all those 50 years of age and over

rest of the population (priority to be determined) Advertisement

One of the report's authors, Charles Bangham, chairman of immunology at Imperial College London, said: 'Even if it is effective, it is unlikely that we will be able to get back completely to normal.

'There's going to be a sliding scale: even after the introduction of a vaccine that we know to be effective, we will have to gradually relax some of the other interventions.'

There are currently more than 200 vaccines being developed globally, with dozens of these at clinical trial stage.

The Government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said last week that there was a chance we could see one before Christmas but it was more likely to arrive next year.

That will have also played a part in Boris Johnson's suggestion that coronavirus restrictions will need to be in place until March.

Several challenges are highlighted in the Royal Society report, including the need to inject people with RNA, a type of genetic material, in some of the most promising studies, even though an RNA vaccine has never been produced at a large scale.

Questions also remain over supply chains, with some vaccines having to be kept at -80C while being transported.

Furthermore, as much as 80 per cent of the population may have to be innoculated to achieve herd immunity, even if a vaccine proves to be 90 per cent effective in reducing transmission.

Professor Nilay Shah, the head of the department of chemical engineering at Imperial College London, and another of the report's authors, said: 'It will take a long time to work through the different priority groups, so it is not a question of life returning to normal in March, even with all the things having a following wind and passing all those hurdles.

'We may be able to start the process in March, but to get through that vaccination it's many months, maybe more than a year. We need to recognise that we are trying to do something that has never been done before.

'We need to vaccinate at around 10 times the rate of the flu vaccination programme, and thousands of people will need to be retrained. That needs to be communicated clearly so that the expectations are realistic, because they do relate back to [lockdown restrictions] that we will need to make for many months ahead.'

Prof Shah added that some 20,000 people would need to be recruited by the NHS to deliver the drug and that field hospital may have to be built for the mass vaccination programme.

One of the report's authors, Charles Bangham, pictured, chairman of immunology at Imperial College London, said: 'Even if it is effective, it is unlikely that we will be able to get back completely to normal'

The report comes after scientists suggested that Britain's rising coronavirus infection rate may actually speed up vaccine trials and move the world one step closer to eradicating the disease.

The UK is now well and truly in the midst of a second wave, with 6,000 new cases every day and hospital admissions doubling every week.

Britons have been told they will need to live with tough new lockdown restrictions for another six months, with ministers banking on a jab being ready by then.

Oxford University's front-runner vaccine candidate was supposed to be rolled out this autumn but trials came to a standstill when infection rates petered out over summer.

Studies had to be moved abroad to the likes of Brazil, the US and South Africa - where coronavirus was still rife - to test if the jab can prevent infection.

In order to prove beyond doubt a vaccine works, scientists need to inoculate tens of thousands of people then send them back into the community and wait for some to get infected.

This has been a sticking point for the Oxford team because there was barely any Covid-19 transmission for months in the UK. But experts have told MailOnline the one 'silver lining' to Britain's climbing Covid-19 rates is that it could speed up this process.
NOTE: This article first appeared on FCW.com.

Five weeks separate the November elections and the expiration date on the current stopgap funding measure keeping the federal government operational  and a path to avoiding a shutdown is not entirely clear.

Congress and the White House punted funding decisions to Dec. 11 with a stopgap spending bill passed by overwhelming margins by the House and the Senate and signed into law in the early hours of Oct. 1. While there was a push by some in Congress to have a continuing resolution expire next February, after the presidential inauguration, ultimately lawmakers settled on a post-election deadline.

"I think we're in a perilous time for a lot of reasons," Stan Soloway, a former senior Defense Department official and a past CEO of the Professional Services Council, told FCW. "In the case of the budget, there's only one scenario that I can see where we're not going to have a budget problem in December  and that's if we have status quo. If we walk into Dec. 11 with a lame duck Senate and a lame duck president, all bets are off."

The last comparable situation was in late 2018 when there was continuing resolution with a December expiration date combined with a lame duck Republican House of Representatives. That resulted in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The public laid the blame for the shutdown on the White House at the time. According to a CNN poll conducted in the midst of the shutdown, 55% said they agreed that Trump was most responsible for the shutdown, with Democrats blamed by 32% and both sides blamed by 9%.

But approval ratings won't mean as much if the shutdown scenario plays out against the backdrop of a Trump defeat.

"President Trump's reckless 35-day shutdown in 2018 inflicted unnecessary harm on federal employees, contractors, and local communities across the country," Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said in an emailed statement to FCW. "It would be callous to even threaten repeating that in the middle of a pandemic with millions of American already hurting. For once the President should try and show some empathy and not hold hostage the federal government."

Mike Hettinger, a former senior congressional staffer who lobbies on behalf of technology firms and government contractors, said he's worried about the continuing resolution expiring in the post-election environment.

"Five weeks after the election puts us right in the middle of what everyone expects to be a hot environment politically," Hettinger told FCW. One danger zone would be a defeated Trump "who wants to try to stay in power using a government shutdown as perceived leverage to get something out of Congress and the courts."

Hettinger notes that ongoing COVID-19 pandemic  which could be in the midst of a winter spike when the funding bill expires  might make a shutdown less likely because "it would be so egregious to shut down government, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services, in the midst of a pandemic that may be growing."

One thing that is unlikely to happen is Congress passing a slate of appropriations bills. The House has most of its bills in order, minus funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the legislative branch. The Senate reportedly has bills written, but they have not been publicly released or marked up in committee, let alone passed by the full chamber.

New shutdown plans

HHS is preparing for a possible lapse in appropriations. The agency is one of a very few to have updated their contingency staffing plan for a fiscal year 2021 shutdown. The agency, which includes CDC among its many components, hopes to maintain COVID-19 response at current levels even amid a shutdown.

"HHS will use the full extent of the authority under the Antideficiency Act (ADA) to maintain existing HHS activities, including COVID-19 response, research and vaccine and therapeutic development," the document states. "HHS will continue any COVID-19 activities supported by multiyear funding provided in the emergency supplemental appropriations bills."

In the event of a shutdown, CDC will have to do its share of that work with 62% of its employees furloughed  that's 8,295 furloughs out of 13,299 staffers, according to the agency's plan. That calculus could be altered if there is another round of pandemic stimulus and relief that includes funding for CDC and other pandemic response agencies.

The Department of Homeland Security also filed an updated contingency plan with the Office of Management and Budget. DHS, however, fares rather better than HHS when it comes to retaining employees. Just 14% of agency employees would be furloughed under a lapse in appropriations, with 217,601 out of 251,867 employees tagged exempt or excepted because of their work in law enforcement or other functions deemed essential.

While DHS would be close to full strength, its cybersecurity policy and response agency would be gutted by a shutdown. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would have 344 employees on the job out of more than 2,200.

Contractor guidance

David Berteau, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, has three basic pieces of advice for contractors facing funding uncertainty: conduct an internal assessment of existing contracts and determine your exposure; initiate conversations with government customers to find out who will be on duty to manage contracts in the event of a lapse in appropriations; and make sure invoices are current and submitted.

Additionally, Berteau advised contractors to close as many deals as possible.

"Maximize what you can get under contract before the CR ends," he said. "if funds are obligated from prior appropriations, the contract continues under the shutdown unless the government stops it."

Ongoing competitions, bid protests and lawsuits will also face delays, said Paul F. Khoury, a partner at the Wiley law firm who specializes in government procurement.

"Understand in these circumstances that things in your business pipeline are going to get delayed if there's a shutdown," Khoury said. He noted that in past funding lapses the Government Accountability Office has taken the position that for every day of shutdown there will be one day of delay on protests. The Court of Federal Claims where bid protest lawsuits are held may provide different guidance.

One thing that remains the same in the event of a FY2021 shutdown: it's unlikely that contractors will be paid for work that is put on hold. On the other hand, federal employees can take comfort that in the event of a shutdown, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 will be in effect. The law guarantees back pay to furloughed employees as well as employees required to work under exceptions, with payment to be made at "the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates."
Farmer protests over the three farm bills recently passed by Parliament have affected the procurement and sale of paddy in Uttarakhand, especially in Haridwar where most of the crop is grown.

Farmers associated with Bharatiya Kisan Union factions of Tikait, Ambawat, Tomar, Ridh and Uttarakhand Kisan Morcha are protesting across the state, particularly in the plain region farm belts of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar.

Also read: Stubble burns, farmers from Haryana say they have no option

Paddy procurement centres, run by the food and civil supplies department and Uttarakhand State Cooperative Federation Limited (UCF), have seen an abysmal footfall since they opened on Thursday. Farmer union representatives said they were busy holding protests, sit-ins and blocking highways, leaving them no time to queue up at paddy procurement centres.

In addition, they are expected to register through e-portals -- something they are not used to. Till last year, cooperative committees were involved in procuring the produce from farmers but now it is done through food and civil supplies department and the UCF.

In the paddy-growing area of Haridwar, there are 17 procurement centres; seven of the UCF and the rest of food and civil supplies department. A quick survey of these centres revealed that most of them saw just a handful of farmers visit in these two days.

Due to farmer agitation, all agriculture-related work has been affected. But, we have make that sacrifice. Farm bills are anti-farmer and the minimum procurement price is also low, farmers are voluntarily joining the agitation... paddy crops can be sold a few days late too, said Rahul Chaudhary, a farmer leader from Bahadrabad.

Farmers arent too happy with the minimum support price either. The government set Rs 1,868 per quintal for common grade paddy, and Rs 1,888 per quintal for grade A as the minimum support price.

The government should increase minimum support prices of crops, provide a subsidy, lower fertilizer costs and ensure proper procurement set-up. Farmers should have a bigger say in the process, said Manglaur legislator Qazi Nizamuddin.

On the low footfall, however, UCF officials said paddy crop was still being harvested and more farmers were expected now that the monsoon season was over.

Our centres are assisting farmers in every possible way so that this process is convenient and time-saving for them. Operators register farmers details coming for procurement and the payment gets credited into their accounts within a stipulated time frame. As our centres will remain open till December, footfall will increase in the coming days, said Mangalaur and PaniylaaLathardeva procurement centre in-charge Rajendra Singh Bisht.
Judge rejects Colorado ministrys request to hold conference with over 175 people; appeal filed

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A federal judge in Colorado has ruled against a ministry that wanted to hold an in-person conference that would have over 175 people, in violation of a state public health order.

U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello ruled against a request by Andrew Wommack Ministries International to exempt them from the in-person cap imposed by Governor Jared Polis.

AWMI had planned to hold a pastors conference next Monday at their affiliate ministry Charis Bible College, which has approximately 650 enrolled students.

Granting such an injunction would present a high risk of harm to the state of Colorado as well as the public generally, ruled Arguello on Tuesday.

The relief the Plaintiff requests has the potential to increase case numbers significantly, placing a high burden on the state. Further, Plaintiff would be compromising the health of the public, which could cause the death of an untold number of innocent citizens.

AWMI is being represented by Liberty Counsel, which filed an emergency request for an injunction on Thursday before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

The Governors Orders must satisfy strict scrutiny because they substantially burden AWMIs religious exercise and are neither neutral nor generally applicable, read the request.

The Orders are not neutral or generally applicable because they internally discriminate between AWMIs impermissible religious activities and AWMIs permissible non-religious activities in the same building for the same number of people.

"Prohibiting Coloradans from joining others at a religious gathering for religious reasons, such as a worship service or conference, while permitting them to join others at the same facility for non-religious reasons, such as giving or receiving food, shelter, or counseling, 'violat[es] the Free Exercise Clause beyond all question.'"

Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver said in a statement on Thursday that Colorados restrictions give preferential treatment to nonreligious gatherings over religious gatherings.

While the virus does not discriminate between nonreligious and religious gatherings, Gov. Polis does. This discriminatory treatment is unconstitutional, he continued.

According to Colorados official guidance on outdoor gatherings, a venue cannot have more than 175 people per designated capacity, depending on the usable square footage of said venue.

Some churches have argued that they are being unfairly targeted by state limits on in-person gatherings aimed at helping to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Lawsuits centered on challenging state and local government restrictions on in-person worship have had mixed results in the courts, with some churches failing to get exemptions.

On Thursday, a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 to reject an emergency injunction request from a Pasadena, California-based ministry.

The majority concluded that Harvest Rock Church, Inc. and Harvest International Ministry, Inc. were not being unfairly treated compared to similar, secular entities under the meeting restrictions imposed by California.

The Orders apply the same restrictions to worship services as they do to other indoor congregate events, such as lectures and movie theaters. Some congregate activities are completely prohibited in every county, such as attending concerts and spectating sporting events, stated the majority.
Harrisburg, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/02/2020 -- The Market Insights Reports has added a new statistical market report to its repository titled as, Pharmaceutical Packaging Market. It provides the industry overview with market growth analysis with a historical & futuristic perspective for the following parameters; cost, revenue, demands, and supply data (as applicable). Furthermore, the report also sheds light on recent developments and technological platforms, in addition to distinctive tools, and methodologies that will help to propel the performance of industries. The report also presents forecasts for Pharmaceutical Packaging investments from 2020 to 2026.



The pharmaceutical packaging market was valued at USD 73.49 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach a value of USD 118.01 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 8.24%, during the forecast period (2020-2025).



Top Key Players in the Global Pharmaceutical Packaging Market: Becton Dickinson, Amcor, Gerresheimer, Schott, AptarGroup, Capsugel, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. and Other.



Inquire here to avail discount on this report:



https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/08262258835/global-pharmaceutical-packaging-market-insights-and-forecast-to-2026/inquiry?Mode=28



Company Development:



In March 2019, Schott developed Everic vials for packaging of small volumes of sensitive drugs. This product offers quality fill and finish and is highly suitable for high potent drugs such as biologics.



In March 2019 - West Pharmaceuticals opens New Digital Technology Center in Bengaluru, India. This Digital Technology Center will allow West Pharmaceutical team to create compelling digital experiences for their global customer base, source talent from India's fast-growing technology industry and bring forward the latest digital advancements to create insights and value for their customers and team members for ultimately delivering better business results.



In October 2018, Aptar Pharma launched a new product, PureHale, at CPhI Worldwide, in Madrid, Spain. This product is specially designed by using Aptar's Bag-on-valve technology for upper respiratory care. This helped the company expand its product portfolio in the bags segment.



Market Scope:



Pharmaceutical packaging is the packages and the packaging processes for the pharmaceutical process where several raw materials, such as glass, plastic resins, etc, find application in the production of pharmaceutical packaging. Due to advanced and diverse drug-producing industries, the global demand will come from the developed economies. Based on drug delivery, the oral segment may lead the pharmaceutical packaging market in future. Oral drug delivery mode is widely used to administer drugs through mouth, which proves to be an easy and efficient method of drug administration.



This report segments the Global Pharmaceutical Packaging Market on the basis of Types are:



Glass

Paper & Paperboard

Plastics

Others



On the basis of Application, the Global Pharmaceutical Packaging Market is segmented into:



Blister Packaging

Parenteral Containers

Plastic Bottles

Pouches

Others



Explore Full Report with Detailed TOC Here:



https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/08262258835/global-pharmaceutical-packaging-market-insights-and-forecast-to-2026?Mode=28



Regional and Country-level Analysis:



The key regions covered in the Pharmaceutical Packaging market report are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. It also covers key regions (countries), viz, U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, etc.



Important Features that are under Offering and Key Highlights of the Reports:



 Detailed overview of 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 Pharmaceutical Packaging Market

 Strategies of key players and product offerings

 Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth.



Finally, the Pharmaceutical Packaging market report offers a complete and detailed study of global Pharmaceutical Packaging market by using numerous analytical tools and models such as SWOT analysis, investment return analysis, and porter's five forces analysis which are useful for beginners to access the upcoming opportunities. After exploring the market insights through primary and secondary research methodologies, if anything is required except than this, market insight reports will provide customization as per specific demands.



Customization of this Report: This report could be customized to the customer's requirements. Please contact our sales professional (sales@marketinsightsreports.com), we will ensure you obtain the report which works for your needs.



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MarketInsightsReports provides syndicated market research on industry verticals including Healthcare, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Technology and Media, Chemicals, Materials, Energy, Heavy Industry, etc. MarketInsightsReports provides global and regional market intelligence coverage, a 360-degree market view which includes statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.



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Note: - All the reports that we list have been tracking the impact of COVID-19 the market. Both upstream and downstream of the entire supply chain has been accounted for while doing this. Also, where possible, we will provide an additional COVID-19 update supplement/report to the report in Q3, please check for with the sales team.
Whatever went on between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on Tuesday night, it wasnt a presidential election debate, it was an unpresidential disaster.

For the TV viewers unlucky enough to have stuck it out through this 90-minute waking nightmare, the experience was like standing in front of a 10-storey fan into which heavy artillery were constantly firing mud. Or like watching two guys wrestle in the gutter over a nickel.

From start to finish it was a high-decibel cacophony of insults, accusations and angry interruptions as the ever-pugnacious President Trump  staying true to brutal form  mocked the intelligence of his Democratic rival, accused Biden of being a stooge for socialists and even attacked his son, Hunter.

And while even a saint would have been rattled by Trumps rude and blistering attacks, it was nonetheless disappointing to hear Biden respond in kind by calling the president a liar, a racist, and the worst president American has ever had, as well as telling him to shut up, man.

No matter who you think won this ugly verbal brawl, the losers were clear: the American people and every American ally around the world that still looks to the United States for leadership.

One of the most common responses of the American pundits who watched this dumpster fire was that they were ashamed of what theyd witnessed. Thats a stunning admission in a country known for its patriotism  but it was entirely appropriate.

No matter who wins this election, the office of U.S. president has been diminished, for now, shorn of the respect that should be due to the worlds most powerful leader and, in turn, to the worlds most powerful economic and military nation.

How can this supposed beacon of democracy continue to shine when the democratic process of choosing its highest official is debased in this way, its light heaped with dirt? And how can the widening fractures in the U.S. on racial, economic and political lines be brought together when Trump, who might still be elected for another four years, not only treats his opponents with contempt but refuses in a public debate to denounce white supremacists? Stand back and stand by, was his bizarre and troubling message to one of these groups, the Proud Boys.

No wonder the dismay over this debate, as well as the state of disunion it signifies, spread far beyond the U.S. There is a consensus in Europe that this is getting out of hand, and this debate is an indicator of the bad shape of the American democracy, observed Ulrich Speck, an analyst with the German Marshall Fund in Berlin.

European leaders must (be) thinking, The American leadership is over, concluded Nicole Bacharan, a political analyst living in France, adding that authoritarian leaders such as Russias Vladimir Putin must be telling themselves  they can do everything because the U.S. isnt a leader anymore.

The gleeful reaction in China, the emerging powerhouse that is challenging Americas global dominance, was also instructive. Such a chaos at the top of U.S. politics reflects division, anxiety of U.S. society and the accelerating loss of advantage of the U.S. political system, said Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party propaganda sheet.

The relative decline of the U.S., and its global economic and military empire, had been observed before Trumps rise. His presidency has accelerated this decline and even if it is reversible it will take years to do so.

For Canada, which remains Americas closest neighbour and ally, the debate should serve as a reminder of this sad reality.

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Alexandra Voroshilova, coordinator of the Severodonetsk office of the Vostok-SOS Charity, told UNIAN how residents of Luhansk region ended up in a ring of fire, whether the authorities made conclusions after previous fires, and why some people cannot receive compensation for their destroyed property.

Is it possible to compare the fires that were raging across Luhansk region this summer with what's happening now? How badly were villages affected?

It's like Smolyaninovo fires [in early July a forest fire spread over a huge area and practically destroyed the village] multiplied by five. My neighbors' house in the village of Syrotyno burned down to the ground. Today I talked with the owner and helped her salvage through the ruins. She still fails to realize what's happened: she laughs, then the next moment she weeps, and then falls silent...

Another neighbor has been trying to tackle fire all through the night after taking his family to a safe location. He started the power generator and turned on the pump. Until there was enough gasoline, he watered the house and the yard from the rooftop. Neighboring houses were burning around him so he was afraid that the flames would engulf his crib, too. When I called him at two or three o'clock in the morning, he said: "It's like hell. Fire's everywhere. I think I might burn to death on this roof."

Nevertheless, he kept his house safe and remained unharmed. That's how people risk their lives. The neighbor could leave, but he could lose a place to return to.

It's scary when you can't control the situation. The wind picked up the flames from the forest, and gusts carried it in different directions. Houses lit up chaotically  it wasn't always the streets close to the forest line that suffered most. The flames were spreading in all directions. On Wednesday, the wildfire miraculously bypassed the village surrounded by the forest, but on Thursday the settlement was eventually hit with the blaze.

Is there a major threat for Severodonetsk?

The glow is again visible in Severodonetsk. Air quality is horrid in the city and surrounding villages. We are suffocating, everyone's got contact eyes. The smoke is like a thick curtain, and it further thickens when the wind blows from the forest.

This week I stayed in Syrotyno. We didn't sleep on Wednesday night. At 20:00, electricity went out  fire destroyed the cables. We packed up and left without even taking our stuff. We only grabbed IDs and took our dog... Then we were preparing to leave Severodonetsk.

Fire moved to the area where the Azot chemical plant is located. If it catches fire, this will threaten the whole city. This is a working enterprise, there's ammonia and saltpeter in warehouses. We feel like we're on a powder keg, fire is surrounding us. And also, don't forget that there is war going on.

Eyewitnesses say UXOs and mines detonated near Stanytsia Luhanska due to the heat. Have you heard anything about this?

This also happened near Severodonetsk. There is an airfield in the forest, perhaps mines had been planted around the perimeter, or UXOs could remain. There were some explosions but, fortunately, no one got hurt.

Part of the premises at the checkpoint in Stanytsia Luhanska burned down completely. Plastic blocks were used during the construction, so they quickly lit up. Fire broke out when there was a queue there. As a result, the checkpoint was shut down. Those who wanted to cross to the other side are in limbo. They are now waiting to hear, whether the checkpoint will reopen or not. And, most likely, the crossing process will take long to reset.

What do they say on what caused these fires?

Official reports say it was "careless handling of fire". I think there is clearly a human trace here. I read that they were shooting from the other side of the line, but unfortunately I have no data from our military.

Those who have suffered are not yet reflecting on reasons. They are in shock, they have not yet fully realized what's happened. People are very angry and just yell at officials visiting them.

Where were those who fled from wildfires accommodated?

People from villages slept in schools. Elderly people, large families, those with disabilities were offered mats to sleep on in gyms. There's no heating there and no shower. Most of them left the place yesterday to move to their relatives. Also, strangers offer to share their apartments with them for a while.

I know that the authorities first suggested that they be accommodated in hospitals, where at least some beds are available, but they were eventually brought to schools. Most likely it's due to the fact that some clinic branches are being closed due to COVID-19.

Is there information about the number of victims?

There's no official stats and no exact data on victims. There are those whom we never found  perhaps they were evacuated and are now in Severodonetsk without phones. There's one family with kids who never got in touch. In total, some 10 to 15 people didn't show up. It is unclear where these people are. Among them there are also those who were immobilized residents who just couldn't get out of the area on their own.

Did the authorities follow up on their promises to the victims of summer fires? Have they built or renovated their homes?

We take care of a few such families, we helped them with construction materials, while our lawyer provided legal support. Those whose homes were partially damaged received UAH 20,000-30,000. I know that there are those who received UAH 200,000-300,000, bought a new house and a land plot, but there aren't too many of them.

Money was offered only to those who had real estate paperwork on them. But there were those who had their papers gone in flames, some lived without registration, and some had outdated papers. A lot of families never got anything. They are suing, trying to get what's theirs. But how much time has passed? Everything is still unresolved. There are those who just won't report to the authorities and collect information. It's the elderly who live in such villages, so it's especially hard for them.

Can you compare the latest fires with those you saw this summer? Has anything changed after that disaster? Do emergency services have enough equipment and additional resources?

For weeks, maybe a month, the word has been spread that the tragedy could repeat itself. At the Azot chemical plant staff were told to inspect and clean water hydrants. Two months passed, and everyone forgot about the threat.

It seems to me the authorities were unprepared for wildfires to return, on an even larger scale. The only thing that has changed for the better is that they gave the go-ahead for fire response aviation. Helicopters take up water from lakes and drop "water bombs".

What's it like for firemen to tackle the blaze now?

They gotta work, they have no choice. Those young guys who came from all across Ukraine, they've been working for more than 24 hours without sleep or rest. I see it's difficult for them as they operate obsolete equipment. Before their fire trucks arrive at the scene, they spill half of the water from the tank on bumby roads.

I feel sorry for these guys. When Smolyaninovo was burning, a field kitchen was deployed where they could have lunch and drink tea. This time, however, for some reason, no such kitchen was set up so it was locals who were feeding them, buying them food. But now it's very cold outside, these guys are freezing amid those mad winds, and they also need time to rest.

We will hope fire will be eventually put out and then we will go out and help the victims together. People are used to volunteering. Things will get better eventually.

Vlad Abramov
Russia produced an average of 9.93 million bpd of crude oil and condensates last month, a little above its OPEC+ quota but still down 11.8 percent on the year, Interfax reported today, citing data from the Energy Ministry.

Production of oil and condensates over the first nine months of the year averaged 10.35 million bpd, down by 7.8 percent on the respective period of 2019. Earlier this year, Russias oil production fell by a double-digit rate for the first time in more than two decades as a result of the OPEC+ agreement. Later, however, as the extended oil cartel relaxed the cuts, it began climbing again.

Even with rising productionand exportsconcern remains about demand even in Russia. Last week, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told a meeting of G20 energy ministers that all players on the global energy market need to act together to tackle the effects of the pandemic on oil demand.

"It is obvious that the structure of the energy sector will be transformed both from the point of view of demand and from the point of view of supply. Recovery will not be quick and it will take quite a long time to reach the pre-crisis indices," Novak said, noting that demand for crude oil this year had slumped by as much as 10 percent as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The latest news from the pandemic front is unlikely to give much hope to those waiting for a price recovery. With a second wave of Covid-19 raging across Europe and U.S. cases continuing to rise, most are preparing for a long wait until prices rebound. However, some, such as Goldman Sachs most recently, expect a price improvement next year, prompted by an oil supply deficit.

The investment bank said last month that it expected Brent crude to reach $65 a barrel in the third quarter of 2021 thanks to the availability of a coronavirus vaccine, which is expected next year as well. Even so, Goldman analysts said oil could finish next year with a decline to $58 a barrel.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
UofG part of global program to understand zoonotic viral disease spill over

The University of Glasgow is joining a global five-year program to understand and address threats posed by zoonotic viral diseases that can spill over from animals to humans, such as SARS-CoV-2, in an effort to reduce risk of infection, amplification, and spread.

The Universitys Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine (IBAHCM) will be part of the consortium of wildlife and human disease experts and networks from around the world, which is led by Tufts University.

The $100m program  funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)  will see UofG receive a share of $1.5m to provide management input, and technical support in the form of mathematical modelling, statistics and surveillance design.

The program will build on the Universitys expertise in One Health, one of UofGs Research Beacons, and will enhance the capacity of local, national and regional institutions in countries across Africa and Asia to understand factors that contribute to the risk of zoonotic spillover; develop and implement measures to reduce early risk of spillover and spread; and quickly identify and respond to spillover events.

IBAHCM will support two hubs within the consortium: the Wildlife, Livestock, Epidemiology, and Behaviour Change Resource Hub; and the Surveillance, Mapping and Modelling Resource Hub. The focus will be on viruses: coronaviruses, Influenza, Nipah virus, paramyxoviruses and Ebola virus, in ten countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, DRC, Ethiopia, Liberia, Uganda, and Cote dIvoire.

Prof Dan Haydon said: This is a significant opportunity to engage with a global consortium on a timely and obviously hugely important topic, and we thank USAID for the award.

"Given the wide-ranging expertise on this topic in IBAHCM, and the Universitys focus on One Health, we are well positioned to contribute to this program and look forward to working with the STOP Spillover consortium over the next five years.

Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk / 0141 330 6557 or 0141 330 4831
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan held another telephone conversation with President of France Emmanuel Macron, as reported the news service of the Government of Armenia.

The interlocutors discussed the situation created in Nagorno-Karabakh and the developments unfolding during the hostilities.

The Prime Minister extended thanks to France for its fundamental and constructive stance on the inadmissibility of unleashing a war, and the parties viewed the involvement of foreign terrorist militants in the hostilities as inadmissible.

Macron attached importance to the speedy cessation of the hostilities and restoration of the peace process, in accordance with the October 1 statement of the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

PPashinyan said the penetration of Turkey and Turkey-backed terrorists into the region is unacceptable and emphasized that it will be impossible to restore regional security without the withdrawal of those destabilizing forces. In the context of establishment of peace, Pashinyan attached importance to the close cooperation with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and their respective countries.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. Like you I saw the bits about where you will have transited through etc and that SA and Zim are not exempt from quarantine but just thought it defies logic that one has to quarantine when literally transferring and not entering or going through immigration. That said nothing is logical about the pandemic so caution is required. My son just got back to UK for studies today and said there were some transfer passengers so that is encouraging but we do not know what their fate was.

Barbados is fine as they just need a negative covid test and as far as I have seen are not excluding any countries but getting our holiday consultant to verify with our specific travel plans with the transits through UK and SA.

I have heard that policing the quarantine is next to impossible in UK but the fact that on entry we will declare that we intend to stay few days is where the catch would be. If we are lucky we can use the Barbados loophole since arriving from there means no pre travel form or quarantine necessary as they are exempt but because its within the 14 day window that we trip would have originated out of 2 non exempt countries just seems like a hassle and risky to try to enter UK. Also transiting through SA en route to Zim should be ok its just entering SA that wont be possible as we UK is on their ban list.

Will let you know what I am able to find out and how it all goes as I am sure I am not the only person with these questions and these forums are so helpful for this kind of thing.
Strom Thurmond talks to reporters after setting a record for the longest-ever filibuster by an individual senator; he spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. (Associated Press)

If Democrats win control of the Senate and White House in November, many progressives want to get rid of a long-standing Senate rule  the legislative filibuster  to ensure that their agenda in a Joe Biden presidency isn't foiled by Republicans' obstructions.

That would allow legislation to pass with 50 votes instead of the 60 required in recent decades for any significant initiatives. Whether to abolish or scale back the filibuster is one of the most consequential decisions Democrats would make, affecting the prospects for bills on healthcare, climate change, guns, immigration and more.

Proponents say the filibuster has been grossly misused, undermining the Senate's effectiveness, and they believe Republicans would use it to block anything Biden tried to achieve. But critics in both parties warn that ending the filibuster would damage the Senate as an institution, and allow the majority to steamroll the other party.

What is the filibuster, and why does it matter?

The filibuster is a political blockade by a united minority to prevent a Senate vote on a bill. In recent decades, when the minority party won't relent in its opposition, the majority must hold a so-called cloture vote  requiring a supermajority of 60 votes  to break the blockade and permit the Senate to act on the pending legislation.

Ideally for the minority party, if the majority can't muster 60 votes, either it must compromise with the minority or its legislation dies.

Why do progressive Democrats want to get rid of the filibuster now?

If Democrats win a majority, they will almost certainly have fewer than 60 votes. Presumably Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)  if he wins reelection  would become the minority leader and instruct Republicans to filibuster any progressive legislation that comes before the Senate, much like he did as minority leader in President Obamas first six years.

We dont think Mitch McConnell should be allowed to weaponize partisan obstruction  to prevent any opportunity to make the changes that the American people want, said Eli Zupnick, spokesman for Fix Our Senate, a coalition of progressive groups advocating to eliminate the filibuster.

Story continues

Among their Senate allies is Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). Im holding conversations with [senators] saying, 'Are we going to have a functioning legislative body or not? he said.

Will Senate Democrats actually end the filibuster?

Thats unclear. But an increasing number of Democrats have become supportive.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) wants to keep the filibuster, but acknowledged that moderates like him could change their minds if Republicans use it to block a Democratic majority's legislation.

I didnt come here just to watch somebody stonewall, he said. If its like the economy is going to hell and were not doing anything to help, thats not healthy.

Given the hesitance of those like Tester, few expect Democrats  if they're the majority  to have enough votes to change the rules when the new Senate convenes in January. More likely, momentum would build if Republicans repeatedly filibuster.

Democratic leaders, including Sens. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Patty Murray of Washington, have voiced more support in recent days. Murray said in a statement that she'd prefer bipartisanship, but "I also know weve got a long list of challenges that grow more urgent by the day. And Im not interested in watching Sen. McConnell or Senate Republicans keep us from acting if we have the chance."

The top Democrat in the Senate, Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York, has not ruled out the idea, nor has Biden. In the first presidential debate Tuesday, Biden sidestepped the issue: Whatever position I take on that, thatll become the issue."

While Biden, a longtime senator before he was vice president, is considered an institutionalist who favors Senate tradition and bipartisanship, he also doesn't want his agenda to be dead on arrival in the Senate.

Democrats' anti-filibuster momentum already may be building, given their outrage at Senate Republicans power play to confirm a successor to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg  Amy Coney Barrett  even as voting has begun for the next president. Senate Republicans in 2016 blocked President Obamas nominee after Justice Antonin Scalia died nine months before the election.

"If the Senate Republicans confirm Judge Barrett, Democrats must move to end the filibuster and expand the Court in the next Congress," Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said.

Why keep the filibuster?

Proponents, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), say eliminating it would only deepen the polarization in Washington. The 60-vote requirement is supposed to encourage the majority to reach consensus with the minority on bills, though that's increasingly rare.

The filibuster really does require some level of bipartisanship. It requires some negotiation, Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said in 2018. The majority cant just run over the minority, and in the long run, legislation is better if it's formed that way.

Richard Arenberg, a former Senate Democratic aide who co-wrote Defending the Filibuster: Soul of the Senate in 2012, warned that without the filibuster, legislation could be enacted and then undone again as control of Congress and the White House changed hands.

The legislative filibuster may be the single most important thing preserving the Senates constitutional role as a check on majority tyranny, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, a Republican leader, said recently.

What might Democrats do?

They could completely eliminate the filibuster. But options that stop short of that are viewed as more likely.

Merkley has proposed requiring a more active filibuster. Senators would have to be in the chamber to lodge their opposition or have to keep talking, alone or in tandem with allies. Either method would likely reduce the number of filibusters.

Absent the filibuster, could Democrats pass Medicare for All and the Green New Deal?

Thats unlikely, at least in the short term. Democrats would still need 51 votes, and neither program is thought to have that much support even if the party has additional members in next years Senate.

How did the filibuster come to be?

The Constitution says the Senate makes its own rules. In 1805, shortly after then-Vice President Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton, he persuaded the Senate to get rid of its rule for cutting off debate. But according to Sarah A. Binder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, that opened the door to the filibuster in the mid-1800s  with opposing senators talking nonstop to prevent a vote on bills.

In 1917, the Senate acted to curb the practice. The result was a precursor of the filibuster rule as it exists today: The Senate could end debate by a vote of two-third of all senators. The threshold was later reduced to three-fifths, or 60 votes.

For a half-century after 1917, filibusters were few; the Senate cast votes to end them no more than seven times in each two-year Congress, according to congressional statistics. Over time, however, they gradually increased and then spiked as politics became more polarized in recent decades.

The Senate over the last two years has set a new record: 258 votes to end filibusters. Yet even that doesn't convey the impact of the obstructionist tactic: If the majority leader knows 41 senators would support a filibuster, he typically has shelved a bill because of the difficulty of corralling 60 votes.

Hasnt the filibuster been scaled back already?

Yes. Amid Republicans' obstruction of Obamas appointees, in 2013 Democrats got rid of the filibuster for executive branch nominees and all judges except Supreme Court justices. Just four years later, Republicans got rid of the filibuster for Supreme Court justices, to confirm President Trumps first nominee, Neil M. Gorsuch, 54-45.

Obama said the filibuster is a relic of Jim Crow times. True?

In his eulogy of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis in July, Obama urged the Senate to eliminate the filibuster  calling it another Jim Crow relic  so the Senate could pass a new voting rights bill. While Obama overstated the connection  the filibuster has been used against many policies and nominees  history does show a link.

Southern Democrats for decades used the filibuster  or just the threat of one  to oppose Civil Rights-era bills, including anti-lynching legislation going back to the 1920s. In the mid-50s, Vice President Richard M. Nixon  acting as the president of the Senate  led an unsuccessful effort to repeal the filibuster to allow passage of a voting rights bill, according to Adam Jentleson, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and author of the forthcoming book Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy. Perhaps the most famous filibuster was Sen. Strom Thurmonds 24-hour, 18-minute talkathon against a Civil Rights bill in 1957.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
No hope for justice for Hathras victim till UP CM resigns: Chandra Shekhar Aazad

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Oct 02: There is no hope for justice for the 19-year-old woman who died after being allegedly gang-raped and assaulted in Hathras till Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath resigns and the Supreme Court takes cognisance of the issue, Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad said on Friday.

Azad, who was at the protest site in Jantar Mantar to demand justice for the Dalit woman, asserted that he will go to Hathras and the struggle will continue.

"The Hathras victim cannot get justice till UP CM resigns and the Supreme Court takes cognisance of the issue. These kind of culprits should be punished as soon as possible so that others get scared before committing such crimes," he said, addressing the protesters.

Jantar Mantar buzzes with activity as protesters gather to seek justice for Hathras gang-rape victim

Yogi Adityanath warns: Rapists will be destroyed | Oneindia News

"We will go to Hathras and till the time the matter doesn't come to Delhi, there is no chance of getting justice," Azad added. Civil society activists, students, women and leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Left parties gathered at the Jantar Mantar on Friday evening to voice their protest against the Hathras incident.

The protest was initially supposed to be held at the India Gate, but was later shifted to Jantar Mantar owing to prohibitory orders in place in the Rajpath area. People gathered at the site wearing masks and raising slogans demanding resignation of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and justice for the victim.
Speech recognition systems using a database of childrens voices could also have benefits in education, the researchers say. Credit: Shutterstock

Engineers from UNSW Sydney are leading a drive to sample the voices of Australian kids so that they can be better understood by devices that use voice recognition software.

And the researchers say the benefits could also flow into education and speech therapy where digital devices could provide immediate and ongoing feedback in speech training and other learning tasks.

Up until now, speech recognition software that powers virtual assistants like Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri has relied on a growing database of adult voices.

But all that is about to change with the launch of AusKidTalk, a joint project of five Australian universities that aims to build a world-first database of Australian children's voices.

Dr. Beena Ahmed, a senior lecturer with UNSW's School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, says while speech recognition technology has made leaps and bounds in the last decade, the technology is still lagging when it comes to understanding and speaking with children.

"There's been a big improvement in speech recognition to work with different accents and languages," she says. "But so far that has just been for adults. There is a definite shortage of data for childrennot just in Australia, but all over the world. This is despite children being such an important demographic. Companies like Amazon, Apple and Google are all starting to notice that this is a big market."

Dr. Ahmed and her fellow engineers, linguists, psychologists and speech pathologists are about to start recruiting 750 children between the ages of three and 12 to provide speech samples as part of the AusKidTalk program. In sound-proof studios located at each of the five campuses, the children will be recorded as they are prompted to repeat words, digits and sentences before engaging in unscripted storytelling exercises.

The new database of children's speech will be used by linguists and psychologists to better understand how children develop their speech and language. Engineers, meanwhile, will be able to use it to develop new speech recognition systems that will interact with younger users much more seamlessly.

Dr. Ahmed says the accuracy of speech recognition systems when interacting with children has so far been quite poor.

Credit: University of New South Wales

"The main reason for this is because children's speech is quite different from adults' speech.

"Children's language skills aren't as sophisticated as adults. They might mispronounce or leave sounds or words out, or change the expected order of words. Then there are physiological differencestheir vocal tract isn't fully developed, and until they hit puberty, they speak in much higher pitches. All this makes their speech very different from adults and therefore harder for speech recognition systems to process."

Potential benefits for speech therapy and education

In addition to recording samples of typical speech, the researchers will also be recording samples of disordered speech spoken by children.

The idea behind this is if speech recognition systems could be taught to recognise when children are having problems forming words, they could not only be used to understand voice commands spoken by kids with impaired speech, but could also be used therapeutically to help with speech training using a mobile device.

"Speech therapy is a very costly business," Dr. Ahmed says.

"You've got parents spending up to $200 for a session with a clinician, and still having to do a lot of home practice that the clinician can't monitor.

"Another problem is that parents can also find it hard to provide feedback themselves, because they're not properly trained or because they're already tuned to understand their kids in cases where others might not."

But with an automated speech therapy tool, kids and parents could get instant feedback when they practice what they've learned with the clinician, Dr. Ahmed says.

"It would give children immediate and ongoing access. You can't expect this level of attention from limited appointments with limited numbers of available pathologists."

Speech recognition systems using a database of children's voices could also have benefits in education.

"A lot of schools rely on getting parent volunteers to listen to children doing their reading in early education. But in schools that may have trouble getting enough parent volunteers, a child could read to a tablet or computer which could listen and correct them as they went," Dr. Ahmed says.

The researchers say the COVID-19 pandemic has shown just how important remote communication and learning tools are.

"Unfortunately children have not been able to benefit from these tools as much as adults due to a lack of effective speech-based tools for remote speech therapy and learningso they likely have not been able to get the same benefit from telehealth and tele-education tools," Dr. Ahmed says.

Dr. Ahmed says after the samples of 750 children have been recorded and integrated into a speech recognition system, an open source database will be available online for other researchers to work with. The project is expected to be complete by June 2021.

AusKidTalk is an ARC-funded program involving UNSW Sydney, The University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, Macquarie University and the University of Melbourne.

If you would like your child to take part in this research, visit the AusKidTalk website for details on how to apply.
Sasha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman in "The Trial of the Chicago 7."

(JTA) - The timing couldn't be more prescient for Aaron Sorkin's newest film, "The Trial of the Chicago 7."

The movie by the Jewish "West Wing" creator, which is coming to Netflix on Oct. 16, is about the Jewish anti-war activist Abbie Hoffman, who was tried along with six others for conspiracy and inciting to riot for their role in the 1968 protests at the Democratic National Convention.

Hoffman is played by none other than the Jewish actor Sacha Baron Cohen. It's his second super-Jewish dramatic role for the streaming service after playing the Israeli spy Eli Cohen in the 2018 miniseries...
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gave an interview to Canadian The Globe and Mail renowned periodical, in which he referred to the situation along the Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact. The article on the Prime Ministers interview is presented below.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are on the brink of all-out war over Nagorno-Karabakh. In an exclusive interview with The Globe and Mail, Mr. Pashinyan said his country is on a civilizational front line  and that countries such as Canada that are allied to Turkey, via NATO, need to decide which side they are on.

Mr. Pashinyan said Turkey had encouraged what looks to be a full-scale attempt by Azerbaijan to recapture mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian-populated region that has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces since a bloody war in the early 1990s. He said Turkey had sent Syrian mercenaries to aid the Azerbaijani side  an allegation supported by Russia and France  and that the Turkish air force had also attacked Armenian positions.

Turkeys military personnel and the Turkish armed forces are directly engaged in the hostilities, Mr. Pashinyan said by telephone from the Armenian capital of Yerevan. Turkeys NATO allies must explain why these F-16 jets are shelling towns and villages in Nagorno-Karabakh and killing civilian populations.

On Thursday, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that both men share concern about the sending of Syrian mercenaries by Turkey to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Mr. Pashinyan also called for Western countries to reconsider weapons sales to Turkey, after The Globe reported on allegations that imaging and targeting systems manufactured by Burlington, Ont.-based L3Harris Wescam  and sold to Turkey  were being used by the Azerbaijani side in the conflict.

He said Turkeys role in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be viewed in the context of Turkeys involvement in conflicts in Syria and Libya, as well as Turkeys aggressive stand toward Greece and Cyprus over maritime borders in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr. Pashinyan said his government was in permanent conversations with Russia, and went on to note that Turkeys behavior was an issue for the entire international community.

On Thursday, France, Russia and the United States issued a joint call for an immediate ceasefire and for the warring parties to commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions. However, the ceasefire push was rejected by Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan.

Mr. Pashinyan said he welcomed the ceasefire call, and condemned Turkeys rejection of it.

Terrorists imported from the Middle East are fighting on the side of Azerbaijan, under Turkeys sponsorship. How could anyone propose now to leave the population of Nagorno-Karabakh unprotected, facing terrorists and extremists? he said. A ceasefire can be established only if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus.

Mr. Pashinyan cast Mr. Erdogan as a leader with dreams of restoring the Ottoman Empire, which decimated its ethnic Armenian population with a series of massacres and deportations carried out during the First World War.

A hundred years have passed and Turkey has returned to the South Caucasus, in order to continue the Armenian genocide here.
The Fox News reporter John Roberts on Thursday excoriated the White House for deflecting questions on President Donald Trump's stance on white-supremacist groups. YouTube

Fox News reporter John Roberts lost his temper on air on Thursday as he discussed the White House's efforts to dance around questions on President Donald Trump's stance on white supremacy.

"Stop deflecting. Stop blaming the media. I'm tired of it," Roberts, Fox News' chief White House correspondent, said in an impassioned reaction to Thursday's press briefing.

During the presidential debate on Tuesday, Trump declined to explicitly condemn white-supremacist groups.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Fox News reporter John Roberts on Thursday became visibly frustrated with the White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany's responses to questions on why President Donald Trump had not condemned white supremacist groups.

"Stop deflecting. Stop blaming the media. I'm tired of it," Roberts, Fox News' chief White House correspondent, said in an impassioned reaction to Thursday's press briefing.

"The press secretary would not, in a definitive and unambiguous and non-deflecting way, say that the president condemns white supremacism in all its forms and any group that espouses it," Roberts told the Fox host Melissa Francis.

He mentioned that several prominent Republicans in Congress had urged Trump to "correct" his recent statements on the matter.

"For all of you on Twitter who are hammering me for asking that question, I don't care!" Roberts said. "Because it's a question that needs to be asked, and clearly the president's Republican colleagues a mile away from here are looking for an answer for it too."

During the briefing, Roberts asked McEnany for a declarative statement on whether the president denounced white supremacism and groups that espouse it.

McEnany falsely said Trump had "condemned white supremacy more than any other president in modern history." White-supremacist and other far-right groups have frequently celebrated Trump's rhetoric and policy positions, and white nationalists have endorsed him in the past.

Story continues

The White House press secretary went on to misleadingly say that Trump's "record on this is unmistakable," adding that it was "shameful that the media refuses to cover it."

Later, McEnany went after Roberts on Twitter and noted that his wife, the reporter Kyra Phillips, said in a tweet on Wednesday that Trump "tells me he DENOUNCES white supremacists."

But Roberts' questions on Thursday were linked to Trump's well-documented history of decrying white supremacy only feebly after public pressure. The president has repeatedly failed to forcefully condemn white-supremacist groups and their ideology.

Trump has on many occasions made comments that directly align with the worldviews of white supremacists; he told a rally of nearly all white supporters in Minnesota last month that they had "good genes" as he referenced the "racehorse theory."

It's true that the president has disavowed white-supremacist groups in some instances. But this has generally occurred after he received an endorsement from such groups or people associated with them  including the Ku Klux Klan  or after he ignited backlash for making racist or xenophobic statements.

In one of the most infamous moments of his presidency, Trump blamed "many sides" for violence at a neo-Nazi rally in August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a counterprotester was killed.

Subsequently, the former KKK leader David Duke celebrated Trump's remarks and thanked the president for condemning the "leftist terrorists."

After the outcry over his response, Trump came forward to denounce white-nationalist groups. But it took a significant amount of criticism, including from Republicans, to push Trump to that point.

During the presidential debate on Tuesday, the moderator, Chris Wallace of Fox News, asked Trump to explicitly condemn white-supremacist groups. In response, Trump elevated a far-right extremist group with a record of disseminating white-nationalist propaganda and perpetrating violence.

"Proud Boys, stand back and stand by!" Trump said. "But I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left."

On Wednesday, Trump backtracked and claimed he didn't know who the Proud Boys were, despite explicitly mentioning them during the debate. It was part of a broader pattern for Trump, who has leaned heavily on white-supremacist ploys as he fights for reelection.

Read the original article on Business Insider
US includes Taiwan on forced labor list due to fishing industry abuses

by Chris Chase

October 02,2020 | Source: SeafoodSource

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released its 2020 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, and has included Taiwan for the first time for its issues related to forced labor in the fishing industry.



The inclusion comes after 19 NGOs and businesses urged the DOL to include the nation on its list after discoveries of forced labor on fishing vessels in Southeast Asia. A damning Greenpeace report accused 13 foreign distant-water fishing vessels of using forced labor.



Greenpeace applauded the DOLs decision to include Taiwan on the list, which is considered an authoritative source on the state of forced labor and is a key resource in sourcing decisions by U.S. companies.



The yellow card from the E.U. in 2015 prompted Taiwan to make changes to its fisheries regulation. However, despite the strong and widely recognized relationship between illegal fishing and forced labor, Taiwan had largely overlooked the rights of migrant fishers as it reformed its fisheries policies, Greenpeace East Asia Ocean Campaigner Pearl Chen said in a release.



That lack of oversight, Chen said, is part of why laborers on board Taiwanese vessels still often face labor and human rights abuses, and more needs to be done.



Migrant fishers are still discriminated against by the two-tiered recruitment system and remain at risk of abuse and forced labor on board Taiwanese fishing vessels, Chen said. In addition to the government, FCF, a Taiwan-based seafood company and one of the worlds top three tuna traders, should take more responsibility for forced labor risks in its supply chain and be a leader by revamping its business so it fosters an ethical seafood industry that effectively prevents forced labor.



The report acknowledged that Taiwans fleet  the second largest in the world  has repeated instances of crews facing difficulties related to forced labor.



Similar to crews on Chinese-flagged vessels, crews on Taiwan-flagged vessels face confiscation of documents, long days with little rest, physical and verbal abuse, and lack of payment, the report stated.



The report recounts the story of Irwan, and Indonesian man who signed a contract to become a fisher with a recruitment agency in his hometown. Subsequently, he didnt receive a copy of his contract, and boarded a Taiwan-flagged vessel in Dakar, Senegal. After being promised a monthly salary of USD 450 (EUR 382), he had multiple fees deducted from his pay that he was uninformed about. After fees, he was receiving just USD 50 (EUR 42.50) a month.



On board, the captain of the vessel confiscated the crews passports and forced workers to fish for 16 to 18 hours a day, with an average of just 2 to 3 hours sleep. If no fish were caught, they were forced to work up to 34 hours straight.



Irwan had no days off, no health insurance, and no protection from violence aboard the ship, the DOL report states. He experienced beatings from his captain, and at times, from fellow crew members who were ordered to do so by the captain. Irwan also witnessed the deaths of fellow migrant fishers from abusive working conditions, their bodies wrapped up and stored in the freezer or thrown into the sea. In the vast distant waters, workers are isolated and there is very little oversight. At sea, it is difficult and often impossible for fishers to escape these conditions.



Seafood is a major perpetrator of both forced and child labor in a number of countries. By the DOLs reckoning, at least 11 countries utilize child labor in the fishing industry, while 4 countries utilize forced labor.



Countries using child labor in the seafood industry include Brazil, Cambodia, El Salvador, Kenya, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Yemen. Countries using forced labor include China, Taiwan, and Thailand; and countries using a combination of both forced and child labor include Bangladesh, Ghana, and Indonesia.



While todays announcement is a significant milestone in the global fight against forced labor and illegal fishing, much more remains to be done to eradicate these twin scourges from our planet, Greenpeace USA Senior Oceans Adviser Andy Shen said. Greenpeace calls on DOL to remain principled in their engagement with the Taiwanese government. Structural, not superficial, reforms are needed to fundamentally change the system designed to exploit people and our ocean.

 2020 Diversified Communications. All rights reserved.

Theme(s): Communities and Organisations.
Event

The Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) is attended by the highest calibre international hotel investors of any conference in Africa. It is the leading hotel investment conference that connects business leaders from the international and local markets, driving investment into tourism projects, infrastructure and hotel development across Africa.

Africa Hotel Investment Forum is organized by
New South Wales health authorities are urgently contacting all passengers and crew from a Melbourne to Sydney flight after a customer tested positive to coronavirus.

Jetstar Flight JQ510 left Melbourne at 11am on 27 September and one passenger is believed to have flown while infectious.

The passenger was a traveller returning from Victoria, who tested positive on day two of hotel quarantine, NSW Health said in an emailed alert on Friday.

A passenger is believed to have flown while infectious with coronavirus on Jetstar flight JQ510 that left Melbourne at 11am on 27 September bound for Sydney

Most passengers are already in hotel quarantine, however health authorities are urgently contacting 47 passengers with special permits or quarantine exemptions including crew.

Those deemed close contacts are advised to get tested immediately and isolate themselves for 14 days even if the test result is negative.

The news came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison issued a joint statement with five senior ministers announcing Australia would establish a safe travel zone with New Zealand.

Passengers arriving at Sydney's Charles Kingsford Smith Airport in July. A returned traveller is believed to have flown while infectious and is now in hotel quarantine

The Jetstar check-in area at domestic departures in Sydney's Charles Kingsford Smith Airport in August. People travelling from Melbourne to Sydney must go into hotel quarantine however there were 47 exemptions on the affected flight including crew

Passengers from New Zealand can travel to Australia, quarantine-free from Friday, October 16, as long as they've not been in a coronavirus hotspot during the previous 14 days, the statement said.

New Zealand had no known hotspots as of Friday according to the Australian Government definition of a three-day rolling average of three locally acquired cases per day.

'Any state or territory that imposes travel restrictions consistent with the Australian Government-defined hotspot ... will be able to participate in the Safe Travel Zone,' the joint statement said.

Victoria recorded seven new cases of coronavirus on Friday, increasing the state's total to 20,191 of which 261 are active infections, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Friday.

Another two Victorians died bringing the state's death toll to 802.

New South Wales reported another four coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Thursday, all of whom were returned travellers in hotel quarantine.

NSW has only recorded one new locally acquired case over the last 10 days.

The state's total now sits at 4227 with 53 deaths according to Federal Health Department figures on Friday.
ABB buys Codian to expand into hygienic delta robots

ABB has acquired the Dutch delta robot manufacturer Codian Robotics, whose products includes a hygienic line, suitable for food and beverage and pharmaceuticals applications. The deal accelerates ABBs involvement in the expanding field of delta robots, which are used mainly for precision pick-and-place duties. Both have parties agreed not to disclose any details regarding the purchase price.

Codian Robotics is located in Ede in the Netherlands and employs 20 people. The company will continue to serve its customers directly.

While most robots in the food and beverage industry are not designed to touch food, Codians portfolio includes a hygienic design that allows safe food processing.

Our acquisition underscores our focus on breakthrough technology, helping our customers to fully realise the potential of automation and increase their flexibility in a rapidly changing business landscape, says Sami Atiya, president of ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation. Codian Robotics technologies and industry expertise are the perfect addition to our suite of food and beverage, pharmaceutical, service robotics and logistics solutions, while also supporting ABBs machine-centric robotics offering.

There is a strong need for pick-and-place robots that ensure high hygienic standards, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, he points out. Our food and beverage, pharmaceutical and logistics customers are particularly interested in the potential of automation, enabling supply chains to continue to function, while protecting employee welfare.

Codian Robotics' portfolio of delta robots includes hygienic designs that can handle food safely

In the future, ABB will be able to offer its customers a wider range of delta robots and integrated systems from a single source, bolstering its machine-centric robotics strategy which integrates machine automation and robot control in a single platform.

With Codian Robotics we are acquiring one of the worlds most successful suppliers of delta robots with an extraordinary track record in the machine-builders sector, comments Hans Wimmer, president of ABBs Machine Automation division, and managing director of its Austrian subsidiary, B&R. In the future, we will be able to offer our customers fully integrated solutions  globally and for all industries.

Over the years, we have developed an extensive product portfolio, says Codians founder, Freek Hartman. ABBs impressive global presence and industry expertise will help us make our portfolio available globally. I am looking forward to working together to write the next chapter of our success story.
By Nazish Hussain, TwoCircles.net

While the world was dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, in India, however, Muslims became targets of a concerted attack. The media attention was focused on socio-religious organization Tableeghi Jamaat and they were blamed for spreading the virus. New catchphrases emerged targeting Muslim identity like Corona Jihad, Maulana aaya, Corona laya, Corona bomb etc. Numerous cases of religious discrimination cases were reported across the country.

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In Ranchis Hindpiri area, the entire place was sealed by the authorities and news was spread of Tableeghi Jamaat members hiding there. However, the authorities knew well in advance of the arrival of Tableeghi Jamaat members. Misinformation and rumours were spread regarding Muslims and corona by local newspapers in Ranchi. In the wake of these developments, Muslims had to face the brunt of these rumours in the form of religious discrimination and apathy.

TwoCircles.net spoke with few of these Muslims to talk about their experiences and the quest for justice.

Nadeem Khan, a middle-aged man from Hindpiri, is a social activist. Nadeem is a well-known person in the local community in Hindpiri.

On 30 May, during the pandemic lockdown, he faced an issue regarding monetary discrepancy from his bank account situated near Church road in Ranchi. He had to visit the bank to get the issue resolved. It was the same bank where he was invited for its inauguration. According to him the staff there was known to him and always had friendly demeanour towards him. However, on that day, when I tried to approach the bank manager regarding my issue, she was rude to me, he said.

Although shocked at the behaviour, Nadeem tried to put his discomfort aside and wanted to get his work done. So, he proceeded further. And yet again he felt humiliated. This time it got more intense. The lady manager had made derogatory remarks on his religious identity. Jolha log ko kyun aane dete ho, she said regarding Nadeem to the guard at the bank. I got very angry at the remark; however, I controlled my anger and left from there.

On 2 June, Nadeem wrote a complaint letter against the Managers behaviour and sent it to the bank through speed post. But as per Nadeem, his application was simply returned to him at his address on 4 June.

Sharing his thoughts on the necessity to take a stand against such behaviour of discrimination he says, In Muslim society these incidents (related to corona pandemic) were prevalent and there was no action taken against it. So, I felt it necessary to talk about such behaviour and take stand against these kinds of incidents.

Nadeem said that many people from the Muslim community approached him with their own experiences of discrimination at ATMs and other places. But when Nadeem asked them to file FIR they were not ready to do so and wanted to just let go.

Nadeem believes that the Muslim community largely remains fearful. And under the influence of clerics, they remain dependent solely on God. And which is why the Muslim community always adjusts with what happens to them. I too am a believer, but I feel faith should be accompanied with action, he said.

Keeping these in mind Nadeem was determined to take a stand. He made a team of 5 to 6 people including a lawyer, community and local body representatives to discuss the matter and to take things ahead legally. For filing FIR they went to a police station.

Nadeem says when he talked of filing FIR against the bank on religious discrimination against him, the police officer denying his experience in scolding tone said, What strange things you are talking of? Bank does not do all that! To this Nadeem replied, Have you become judiciary now to pass judgments? After the verbal spat the police personnel took the application, however, did not file an FIR. The police later said they will investigate the incident. Nadeem claims that the police authorities tried to persuade him to drop the FIR against the bank and compromise on the matter. After three attempts they filed an FIR and the same Police Officer himself became the I.O of the case. On 6 June I went to thana to file an FIR but on 8 June they registered my FIR and they show the date of 6 June, says Nadeem. After filing the FIR, the regional manager of the bank called Nadeem on 9 June apologizing for what had happened and intended to close the matter.

Nadeem, however, remained resolute to take action. The lady has not only hurt me personally but made derogatory remarks based on my religious identity. I did not want to harass anyone with ill intention against anyone. I only have two intentions: what has happened was wrong and must stop and secondly, If you take action at one place it will show the result (acting as a deterrent) at many places.

If the authorities wanted to take action they could have approached the lady Bank Manager giving her a warning not to repeat such behaviour. However, they did not do so. I realized that the government might have changed but people are the same as they were with a Sangh mentality, he says.

Talking about his experience with the police station, Nadeem says that even though he went there with local influential representatives, the police were discriminatory. He says if this was the behaviour of the police with us, how would they behave with common people? This is why 90 per cent Muslim community is scared of thana police. The 10 per cent gets discouraged by the police behaviour and further demoralized and silenced by kurdoglos in the community, points out Nadeem about the people within the Muslim community.

Nadeem says, There are many brokers even inside the community whom we have addressed by different names at different times Dalal, Mir Jaffer, Jumman Miyan and now they are known as Kurdoglo (a character from a popular Turkish TV series Dirilis Ertugrul). Many people tried to threaten and to influence me to take the case back. However, I have remained firm in the decision. I have been in social work for two decades and the constitution is enough for me.

Nadeem says that those who came to influence me have gone silent now and the remaining are calling his story fake. Now I am fighting to establish what has happened to me. Second, not everyone in society is ignorant. Some people know how to fight back. Third, I want to tell others that if something happens you must also fight back, he said.

Nadeem wrote letters to the concerned authorities regarding the discrimination and apathy he experienced from the bank and the police respectively. I have registered a complaint at 15 different institutions including state human rights commission, minority commission and RBI. After that, I received a response from two-three places. Jharkhand State Human Rights Commission sent me response stating the Ranchi city SP should look into the matter of allegations of discrimination against the concerned Police Officer. However, till now no action has been taken on the FIR yet. As a result of my efforts I have only received sympathy till date, he said.

Sajjad Idrisi is a social worker in Hindpiri who has been vocal and critical against the way administration was handling the lockdown in Hindpiri. He was also actively working on the ground to provide relief to the stranded people in Hindpiri and to maintain peace and distribute rations.

One day in May he received a call from SDO asking to get himself tested for corona to which he replied that he is fit, but after insistence, he obliged and got himself tested. He was informed that his result is positive. After seven days he was to be admitted in a quarantine centre. He received a call from the authorities asking him to inform and calm people himself. Sajjad says he happily obliged with the district administration to maintain law and order. However, I am deeply hurt by what happened afterwards. After going to the hospital Sajjad was informed that his whole family would get picked up to be tested and put in quarantine. I got anxious and I was profusely sweating at that time. I sat on the bed but the stress was so intense that I felt I might get a heart attack, he said.

Sajjad was asked about people who he had been in touch with. Since I was active in social and relief work to distribute ration I mentioned that. I was also informed of the meeting I had with DSP and SDO. But they did not quarantine anyone except for my family.

My family was taken to another quarantine facility where they were found negative after the corona test. They were asked to be in the quarantine centre for 14 days. That time it was Ramadan. I called authorities in charge of the quarantine facility there. Requesting them that my children and wife are fasting so if they could kindly arrange something for them. But they would only give soaked grams with salt. And there was no one to attend to them or take care of them, he said.

Sajjad kept in touch with his family through video calls. He recalls, During a video call, it was so painful for me when my daughter would ask to be with me. Sajjad says, My children would tell me that the behaviour of authorities at the quarantine centre was not good with them.

Sajjad says that the experience at the quarantine centre has affected his familys mental health. My 13-year-old daughter is depressed. Her trauma resurfaced from the last four days again. She is not able to sleep. She keeps murmuring that the police are coming and the doctor would arrest and take her to hospital, he said.

Sajjad says he couldnt sleep at night thinking of his childs condition.

Sajad said that being a responsible citizen of the state, he has always come forward to help the governing authorities. But when I was in trouble and requesting some help, this is what they did to my family instead. What was my fault? Why did they do this to my family?

Imtiyaz Alam, a young father, lost his newborn baby as the state government did not do any arrangement for emergency medical cases before enforcing the lockdown in an entire area with a large population.

At night, around 1:30 at night my wife started getting labour pain. There was barricading on two roads. We managed to arrive near Marwadi college. On reaching there the police behaved as if we had corona. From afar, the police were asking us to go back and that they will not allow us to leave. I requested that there is a patient but still they did not permit us and started arguing. At last, I had to give up and return home. After coming home I called one nurse. Somehow she managed the delivery, says Imtiyaz.

With tears brimming in his eyes, he says slowly, After the delivery, the child died. Imtiyaz said that after the word spread, the media approached him and he gave a statement. And then slowly people came to know that was wrong on the part of the police, he said.

He says that after the news went viral, the police denied if he had ever come there. The city SP called me to ask if I went there. I asked them to check the CCTV camera. Then the police verified and found that I went there. The next day I saw in the news that one daroga (inspector) got suspended and action was to be taken against one magistrate. After that I could not know what had happened in the case, he says.

Imtiyaz says he did not file an FIR.

That time I was disturbed. However, it was also a matter of the community where I live. The community should have taken responsibility and done its duty to take up this issue. I am ready to stand up for the right issue however if I fight alone I wont be able to go very far. However, if people had supported me I would have taken this up, he says.

Devanti, 28-year-old, lives in a slum area near Argora Ranchi. In a single room mud home, she lives with her three children, aged between six to three years old. The youngest of her three children is a three-year-old disabled boy who is bedridden. Devanti leaves him to the care of her six-year-old girl child who looks after the kid, while Devanti works in the homes in the colony.

I was working as a domestic help before lockdown at five homes. During lockdown, everything stopped. Slowly when the restrictions were relaxed people started going back to their work. I also planned to go. Then one of my co-workers who lives in the neighbourhood informed me that I cant go to work there anymore, she says.

On asking the reason the co-worker informed Devanthi, As you are married to a Muslim they wont keep you and you wont be allowed to work in Hindu homes.

Working in those homes, Devanthi never had to reveal her identity to anyone before. On asking how the employer got to know of her identity, she believes someone might have informed them about her. After being refused from one place she stopped going to other Hindu homes herself. I stopped going to all the other homes myself as other homes too are in the same colony, she says. Out of the five homes, three were Hindu families and two Muslims. Devanti has now stopped going to Hindu households and works only at Muslim homes.

She says one Hindu lady had called her to come back to work but she refused her. I did not mention to her why I left working in a Hindu colony rather I said I dont have time anymore. She says that as she has never mentioned her identity before, she doesnt feel like going there now. Due to corona there was already much going on between Hindus and Muslims so I was scared. I didnt know how they would react knowing that I had a love marriage with a Muslim man, she said.

Sajrun Nisha came to the city from a village to earn her livelihood. For the last six years, Sajrun worked in one of the homes in Ashok Kunj Vihar. Even after the pandemic broke out, I worked there for one month. But then discrimination against Muslims got high. In May the lady employer fired me. She did not say it herself that she is firing me rather she told me people in the society are saying that why I have kept a Muslim and that I should fire you. So I wont keep you to work in my home anymore, says Sajrun.

She tried reasoning with the lady but to no avail. Aunty virus is not associated with any religion. I have been working at your home for so many years. Had you ever faced any problem because of me, Sajrun tried to reason with her. But the lady employer did not change her mind.

Sajrun says that the lady hired another help, a non-Muslim, who lives in the same slum area where she resides. Aunty told her that she was not aware that I was a Muslim and if she knew she would not have kept me. When I confronted Aunty regarding this matter she simply refused that she ever said anything like that, mentions Sajrun.

She laughingly points out the irony that the Hindu lady herself lives in the rented home of a Muslim owner.

Sajrun later went to work at an office. One day as Sajrun was getting ready for work she received a call asking her to not come now and they didnt tell her when to come. After two-three days Sajrun got to know that they had hired someone else to work there. I called the staff there asking if they had hired someone already or they would still call me. From the office, she got a reply that they have hired someone else. I told them that they should have let me know and that I would have started looking somewhere else. To that, they replied it was the order from the boss to keep a Hindu for work.

After this experience, she says, Now, I will never go back there again.

A month before I got to know that the aunty who fired me had got corona. People asked me to call her and give a fitting reply. But I let it go. However, I feel it is important to raise the issue of religious discrimination, says Sajrun.
AUSTIN, Texas: Civil rights and voter advocacy groups have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block an order by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that dramatically reduced the number of drop-off locations for mail ballots.

The lawsuit filed late Thursday could be the first of many legal challenges against Abbotts order that assigns just one drop-off location in each of Texas 254 counties and allows poll watchers to observe ballot deliveries. The order, which took effect Friday, shutters dozens of sites statewide, including in Texas largest cities and Democratic strongholds.

The Republican governor said the order is needed to ensure election security echoing calls from President Donald Trump for his supporters to keep close watch on mail-in voting, but Democrats blasted it as blatant voter suppression.

The lawsuit filed in Austin names Abbott, Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs and election administrators in Harris, Fort Bend, Travis and El Paso counties. It was filed by the Texas League of United Latin American Citizens; the National League of United Latin American Citizens; the League of Women Voters of Texas; and two voters.

Abbotts order would eliminate 11 drop-off locations in Harris County, which includes the nations fourth largest city, Houston.

Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, who is named in the lawsuit, said during a news conference Friday that Abbotts move would force elderly and disabled people to drive long distances and wait in long lines to cast their ballot. He said he, too, would fight Abbotts order.

Its something he should strongly reconsider and if he doesnt reconsider himself he is going to hear about it in the courts, Hollins said of Abbott.

Hollins is also named in a lawsuit from Abbott calling for the Harris County Clerks Office to stop plans to send mail ballot applications to the countys more than 2 million registered voters.

Abbotts staff said he was not limiting voting, pointing out that he has increased the period during which voters can submit their mail-in ballots in person to include anytime up to Election Day.

The additional time provided for those who want to submit their mail-in ballot in person is sufficient to accommodate the limited number of people who have traditionally used that voting strategy, the governors office said in a statement.

Prominent members of the state Republican Party sued Abbott in September seeking to halt a one-week extension of early voting.

Voters have already begun returning ballots for the November presidential election. Texas is one of just five states not allowing widespread mail-in voting this year. To qualify for a mail-in ballot, Texas voters must be: away from their county of residence on Election Day and during the early voting period; sick or disabled; confined in jail but otherwise eligible to vote; or 65 years old or more.

Polls also show much tighter races in Texas this year. Democrats could take over the state House of Representatives for the first time in two decades.

For years, Texas had allowed straight-ticket voting, but Abbott signed a law in 2017 that eliminated the option starting this fall. Democrats sued to have it reinstated to reduce wait times for in-person voting, but a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Novembers elections are too close for Texas to restore straight-ticket voting as an option.

The U.S. Postal Service informed Texas in July that, given the states current mail ballot request deadline, some ballots may not be delivered to voters by Election Day, and that even if all ballots reached voters on time, there was a significant risk that completed ballots postmarked on or near Election Day would not be received by the states Nov. 4 deadline.

The Texas Secretary of States office has not responded to Associated Press requests for comment on its plans to ensure the timely delivery of ballots.

___

Acacia Coronado is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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
Melissa Kopka/iStockBy JUSTIN GOMEZ, TERRANCE SMITH, WILL STEAKIN, and LIBBY CATHEY, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that he would not accept any changes intended to enforce the rules and limit interruptions at the remaining two presidential debates hours, shortly before his campaign attacked the Commission on Presidential Debates.



"Why would I allow the Debate Commission to change the rules for the second and third Debates when I easily won last time?" Trump tweeted Thursday afternoon while traveling to a fundraiser in Bedminster, New Jersey.



His veiled threat to reject any changes and possibly not participate in the remaining debates comes on the heels of the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announcing Wednesday it would make changes to the formats of his next two debates with Democratic nominee Joe Biden.



The CPD said Tuesday's "debate made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues."



"The CPD will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly," it said in a statement.



Possible changes include allowing the moderator to mute the microphone of one candidate when the other is speaking, but the commission was adamant Wednesday afternoon, according to sources, that any new structure would not come as a result of negotiations with the campaigns.



At Thursday's White House press briefing, asked if the president will commit to participating in the next debate if the commission moves forward with its new effort to enforce the rules, McEnany suggested the commission actions would hurt the president and benefit Biden.



"With regard to the commission rule changes, the president made clear his view on that yesterday, that he thinks the only way there is a fair debate is a change in the moderator and a change in the Democrat nominee," McEnany said. "He wants to debate. He plans on being at the debate, but he wants the rules to be fair, wants a fair exchange, and doesn't want rules that cover for a certain candidate's inability to perform well."



On a call with reporters later Thursday, the Trump campaign questioned the commission's impartiality, deeming it "anti-Trump."



Trump 2020 Campaign manager Bill Stepien, Senior Adviser Jason Miller, Communications Director Tim Murtaugh and Deputy Campaign Manager for Presidential Operations Max Miller rattled off board members of the commission they called "permanent swamp monsters" while ignoring multiple Republicans on the board such as former President George W. Bush.



"We do not want any changes to what has already been laid out and what's been agreed to for the second and third debates. Period. Point blank," Miller said on the call.



Asked if Trump is committed to attending the debates, with or without changes, Miller said the president "fully plans" on being there.



"President Trump fully plans on participating in and winning both the second and third debates," he said. "So, we feel very confident, but there should not be any changes to what has been agreed to and set out."



The Biden campaign, meanwhile, has slammed the Trump campaign's approach to the debate process as "erratic and chaotic" and reiterated that it will participate in the remaining two debates under CPD rules.



"Our position is clear: we will participate under the CPD's rules. The only real question left is whether the President will start following the rules in the next two debates," Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said Thursday.



Biden briefly spoke to reporters on Thursday afternoon outside the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, confirmed he would participate.



"Yes, I'll participate in the debate," said the former vice president.



When asked if he is opening to certain rule changes such as muting candidate microphones, he said he does as long as both candidates "have an opportunity to respond to the question of the people in audience," referring specifically to the next debate which is will be in a town hall format in Miami, Florida.



Sources told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl there's a real chance that there won't be another presidential debate if the Trump campaign can't come to an agreement with the CPD.



The next presidential debates are scheduled for Oct. 15 and Oct. 22.



ABC News' John Verhovek contributed to this report.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
TMC's presence in Goa to help BJP in polls, claims Sanjay Raut

None support behaviour of police with Rahul Gandhi: Raut

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

Mumbai, Oct 02: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday lashed out at Uttar Pradesh police for "man-handling" faced by Rahul Gandhi on his way to meet the Hathras gangrape victim's family.

Raut said the purpose of this high-handedness was "to ensure that the cries for justice of a poor girl and her family should not reach the world".

Rahul Gandhi, who march with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra proceeded on foot towards Hathras after being stopped in Greater Noida.

Gandhi alleged that the police lathicharged and pushed him to the ground. Gandhis had begun a march to Hathras after their cars were stopped by authorities.

They were taken to the guest house of Buddha International Circuit for violating Section 144 and were later released on personal bonds.

"Rahul Gandhi is a national political leader. We may have differences with Congress but nobody can support Police's behaviour with him. His collar was caught and he was pushed to the ground, in a way it's gangrape of country's democracy", said Raut.

Later, both Rahul and Priyanka tweeted slamming the Uttar Pradesh government for trying to stop them.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

Nirbhaya's lawyer not allowed to meet Hathras victim's family

"In times of sorrow, loved ones are not to be left alone. The 'Jungle Raj' in UP is such that meeting a family in mourning also scares the government. Do not be so afraid, Chief Minister!," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar also on Thursday criticised the Uttar Pradesh government after Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's convoy was stopped by police.

Taking to Twitter, Pawar said the "reckless behaviour" of Uttar Pradesh Police towards Rahul Gandhi is "extremely condemnable". "It is reprehensible for those who are supposed to uphold the law to trample upon the democratic values in such a manner," the leader said.
NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Telgoo5, a telecom billing company recently took up a special project, a rideshare application for IVRs that enables people without smartphones to connect with rideshare drivers. Telgoo5 developed this application for a traditional Jewish community in Monroe, NY. Since its inception, this application has expanded to cover 25 locations in the United States, as well as locations in Canada and Belgium. The community that inspired the project does not believe in or rely on smartphones, which effectively locks them out of rideshare applications like Uber and Lyft. Using an innovative approach, Telgoo5 developed a way for community members to request rideshare drivers through a phone call on a non-smart cellular device.

In order to connect with a rideshare driver, the user must dial a phone number and leave a message detailing when they need a ride, where to, and from what location. There are options for users to specify whether they need local rides, long-distance rides, and sprinter rides. Through the proprietary IVR application, a request is sent out to a variety of drivers. The drivers can accept the rides and are then presented with response options like "I will be there in 5 minutes" or "I will be there in 10 minutes." Once a driver has accepted the ride request, the user gets SMS notifications that the driver is on the way. Both the requester and the driver are given the option to communicate with each other directly over a telephone call. Just like smartphone rideshare applications, credit cards can be loaded into the IVR for contactless payment. There is an included administrator and reporting panel that allows the company to view and manage all rides remotely.

"We are passionate about using technology to solve modern problems," said Sandy Mehra, managing partner of Telgoo5. "We relished the opportunity to put our skills to use outside of the telecom business space in order to solve a problem for a community in need."

"The rideshare application developed by Telgoo5 has greatly improved the quality of life for our community members," said Mr. Rosenberg. "We had been struggling to secure reliable transportation for a long time before the Telgoo5 team provided us with such an easy-to-use solution."

To learn more about Telgoo5, visit https://www.telgoo5.com/.

About Telgoo5

Telgoo5 is a telecom billing company that is committed to enabling companies to digitize their products and assets. They provide a stable, cutting-edge platform to support hundreds of clients. Their products include prepaid billing, BSS point of sale, BSS Revenue Assurance, BSS Billing and Rating, Online Charging System OCS, Offline Charging Settlement (mediation), CRM Selfcare, CRM Mobile Apps, CRM IVR, CRM Voucher/Pin Management, and Analytics. For more information, visit https://www.telgoo5.com/.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Telgoo5 Inc.

Related Links

https://www.telgoo5.com


Since Thursday, more than 200 nurses at Mercy Fitzgerald have been working without a contract in hopes of securing a deal that they say will help them provide better service to the community.

Having been negotiating with parent company Trinity Health since early August, another bargaining session between the two sides is set for Oct. 5. No strike authorization vote has yet been taken.

Approximately 280 nurses at Mercy Catholic Medical Center  Mercy Fitzgerald Campus are represented by the Mercy Fitzgerald Nurses Union, a division of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals.

Were hopeful that the hospital will come back with an offer that we can accept, Jackie Ximines, 14-year Mercy Fitzgerald registered nurse and co-president of the Mercy Fitzgerald Nurses Union, said. Ximines also served 20 years at Mercy Philadelphia.

Officials for the administration likewise expressed optimism that a solution can be reached.

Despite the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the related financial impact the pandemic has had on our ministry, we at Mercy Fitzgerald remain fully committed to negotiating in good faith and with the goal of obtaining a fair, consistent and sustainable agreement with our nurses, Christy McCabe, director of marketing for Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, said. We continue to negotiate and are scheduled to meet again with union representatives in the coming days.

The Mercy Fitzgerald Nurses Union co-president shared the unions priority.

The biggest thing that we want is a staffing grid, Ximines said. Right now, they dont have the proper staff that they need.

When coronavirus was at its peak in the spring, that situation was exacerbated.

At the height of COVID, I can tell you it was the equivalent of working in a war zone, Ximines said, adding that everyone at the medical facility did their best. We all rose to the occasion  We went above and beyond the situation with COVID.

However, she added, We cant continue to work under those conditions.

Medical professionals, and many others, are vigilantly monitoring the pandemic for the event of a possible resurgence. In addition, flu season is approaching.

You never know what is going to happen, Ximines said.

She added that their priorities werent with wage increases or benefits.

Our issue really isnt with salary, she said.

The co-president emphasized that the union members are concerned with not having enough people to take care of people safely.

We just want to be able to serve the community the way they deserve, Ximines said. Its a great hospital. We value the community.

Mercy Fitzgerald is a 188-bed hospital that provides advanced acute services for those in eastern Delaware County and Southwest Philadelphia. It provides services for more than 186,000 people a year. Mercy Fitzgeralds parent company merged with Michigan-based Trinity Health in 2012.

Trinity Healths Catholic health care network includes 92 hospitals and 106 continuing care facilities in 22 states. Its annual operating revenues are $19.3 billion and they have assets of $27 billion. Company officials say they return $1.2 billion to the communities they serve annually through charity care and community benefit programs.

In April, Trinity Health announced 2,500 positions across its nationwide system would be impacted by a reduction of hours or a redeployment to positions in other locations because of the financial stresses created by the pandemic.
Srinagar, Oct 2 : A soldier shot himself dead with his service rifle in Jammu and Kashmir's border town of Uri on Friday, police said.

The deceased was identified as Rakshet Kumar of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, and hailed from Samba district of the Union Territory.

"An FIR has been registered in this incident and legal formalities are being completed," a police officer said.
Supreme Court approves public consult to investigate former presidents

Mexico City, Mexico  The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) declared the proposal promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador constitutional. In a close six for and five against vote, the proposal of citizen consultation to investigate former presidents of Mexico will be addressed.

During a virtual session, members of the Suprema Corte se Justicia de la Nacion (SCJN) discussed whether or not the popular consultation was unconstitutional, however, it was determined that the citizen consultation meets the requirements established in the Constitution and can be carried out.

Now it will be up to the president of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Senators, Eduardo Ramirez Aguilar, to publish the resolution in the Parliamentary Gazette and turn the petition over to the Governance Commission for analysis.

Subsequently, it must be approved or rejected in the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. If it is rejected, the process ends there, but if it is approved, congress will issue by decree the convocation of the citizen consultation and will notify the National Electoral Institute for the organization thereof.
Syrian fighters say they were deceived into fighting and were led to believe that they would protect military points rather than fight against Armenian forces, Al-Masdar reports

The Syrian mercenaries who were sent to the Karabakh region to fight on behalf of Azerbaijan have suffered significant losses over the last 48 hours, as their death toll continues to rise.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the Turkish-backed mercenaries suffered heavy losses in the Karabakh region with 28 fighters have killed and 60 wounded in clashes with the Armenian forces.

The SOHR report corroborated a claim made by a Syrian fighter to the BBC on Wednesday about being deceived during their recruitment to Azerbaijan.

The first Syrian casualties were reported on Wednesday morning, when local activists in northern Syria began reporting about the losses of fighters from the Turkish-backed militant groups.

The Syrian militants were reportedly offered $1,500 a month to deploy to Azerbaijan, where they were led to believe that they would be protecting military points inside the country.

However, their deployment to Azerbaijan took a turn for the worse this week when heavy clashes broke out between the Azerbaijani military and Armenian forces.

In an interview with the BBC, a Syrian fighter named Abdallah told the news agency that their forces were deployed to the front lines and threatened with imprisonment if they refused to go.

It should be noted that despite the claims about Syrian casualties, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense maintains that no foreign fighters are currently fighting in their ranks.

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 PSNI has not been idle over mandatory face mask rules introduced to slow the spread of coronavirus, a senior officer has said.

Northern Irelands police service was criticised after it emerged earlier this week that no fines had been issued over the wearing of face masks.

The use of face coverings in indoor settings, such as shops or shopping centres, has been mandatory since August 10. They must also be worn on public transport.

PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne told the Northern Ireland Policing Board that there has been a 90% compliance with the rule in retail and on public transport, and that officers have been focusing on policing house parties, in line with health advice that such events are how the virus is mainly spreading.

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But Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd, who leads the police effort on coronavirus, said officers have not been idle over the face mask rule, visiting 3,656 retail properties to support businesses.

A lot of the public discourse at the minute around face coverings is almost hinting that police arent doing anything in this space, and nothing could be further from the truth, he said.

The Executive regulations designated retail businesses to have powers to seek any such steps to ensure compliance with the wearing of face coverings up to but not including fixed-penalty notices.

There is a role for businesses, and I am not saying its all their job, but there is a role.

We have had eight complaints from the public in relation to the wearing of face coverings in shops  there is a much lower level of public complaint and a much higher level of compliance.

He said across the UK as a whole, fewer then 10 fines have been issued over the non-wearing of face coverings in a retail shop.

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Mr Byrne said the policing of coronavirus restrictions was a matter of almost daily concern and scrutiny.

Were here to follow the health regulations and direction set in that context rather than turn it into a police enforcement issue, he said.

Mr Todd also gave further detail on police activity.

Since pubs reopened and restrictions imposed we have had on the higher side of 650 calls for service  that is on top of about another 1,000 inspection visits that we have performed. That has resulted in a lot of advice but equally has resulted in 60 prohibition notices issued to various premises including closures, he said.

House parties were prioritised by the police service because that was the request of health (service leaders), because thats what the information said was the source of the public health risk.

Over 450 fines to-date have been issued on that, another 30-odd last night, so the problem hasnt gone away. This is an ongoing daily priority for us in terms of tackling that community transmission borne out of house parties with large numbers.

And a further 104 prohibition notices on householders who have been hosting those parties. So that is a substantial amount of work.

Mr Todd said work also goes on in terms of quarantine and self-isolation for those ordered to do so, with around 20 fines issued, starting at 1,000.

Earlier, Stormont health minister Robin Swann told his partys scrutiny committee that police have a responsibility over face masks, but added: Its one they have been reluctant to use to date.

Mr Byrne said engagement between police and the Stormont Executive over coronavirus regulations has ebbed and flowed like the tide.

Early on we struggled for meaningful engagement, and Alan (Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd) and I had to make the case about being at the table and being able to offer a view, he said.

We have also got an eye on the long-term consequences for trust and confidence with policing and how hard we tried to get the style right. Eventually therell be commentary about whether weve been spot-on and, I suppose in other cases, where we could have done things differently.

The consistency piece is something we tried hard to get right from the early days clearly every circumstance is slightly different so you cant always apply one-size-fits-all policy.
Washington, Oct 2 : A new poll has revealed that Democratic presidential nominee was leading US President Donald Trump in New Hampshire, a swing state where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won against the incumbent leader in the 2016 election.

Released on Thursday, the Emerson College poll found that 45 per cent of the state's voters backed the former Vice President, while 45 per cent sided with Trump, The Hill news website reported.

While 1 per cent of the voters were undecided, 2 per cent said they would vote for someone else.

Biden leads among women in New Hampshire with 55 per cent, while Trump garnered 42 per cent of the female votes.

Among the male voters, the two rivals were tied at 49 per cent.

In the poll, the President was ahead of Biden among the age group between 45-64 with 50 per cent.

But among all other age groups, the former Vice President was leading.

Biden also earned the backing among independents at 54 per cent.

According to CBS/YouGov poll released on Sunday, Trump and Biden were also neck-and-neck in the swing states of Georgia and North Carolina.

In Georgia 47 per cent of likely voters support Trump, versus 46 per cent for Biden, while in North Carolina, 48 per cent of likely voters supported the former Vice President, versus 46 per cent for the President.

Meanwhile, an NBC News-Marist poll also released on Sunday found Biden leading Trump in two other swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan.

Last month, the CBS News Tracker revealed that the states of Florida and Texas remain tight battlegrounds in the November 3 presidential election, reports Politico news.

In the 2016 election, Trump won both the states.

No Democratic presidential candidate has won Texas since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

The swing states are Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
NEW YORK (AP)  The presidential debate commission says it will soon adopt changes to its format to avoid a repeat of the disjointed first meeting between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.

The commission said Wednesday that the debate "made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues."

One possibility being discussed is to give the moderator the ability to cut off the microphone of one of the debate participants while his opponent is talking, according to a person familiar with the deliberations who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The next presidential debate is a town hall format scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami.

Meanwhile, the Nielsen company said that 73.1 million people watched the debate on television, where it was shown on 16 networks. That's more than any other television event since the Super Bowl, even if it fell short of the 84 million who watched the first debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016. That was the most-watched presidential debate ever.

Moderator Chris Wallace struggled to gain control of Tuesday's debate in Cleveland because of frequent interruptions, primarily by Trump. The candidates interrupted Wallace or their opponent 90 times in the 90-minute debate, 71 of them by Trump, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.

Wallace, of Fox News, pleaded for a more orderly debate, at one point looking at Trump and saying, "the country would be better served if we allowed both people to speak with fewer interruptions. I'm appealing to you, sir, to do that."

"Ask him, too," Trump said.

"Well, frankly, you've been doing more interrupting than he has," Wallace said.

Biden on Wednesday called the debate "a national embarrassment." But despite some suggestions that the final two presidential encounters be canceled, both campaigns said they expected their candidate to attend.

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said the commission was "only doing this because their guy got pummeled last night. President Trump was the dominant force and now Joe Biden is trying to work the refs."

ABC News' Martha Raddatz, who moderated one of the three Trump-Clinton debates in 2016, said Wallace was put in nearly an impossible situation. Faced with the same behavior, she said she might have called a full stop to the debate for a moment to recalibrate.

She never had the option, technically, to cut off the microphone of a candidate four years ago, she said. It also wasn't in the rules that were agreed to in advance by the candidates and commission.

"To say, 'He's not going to follow the rules so we aren't, either'  it's an unprecedented situation," Raddatz said. "That was so out of control."

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Twitter was ablaze with criticism for Wallace early in the debate for losing control of the proceedings. That was illustrated by MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, who tweeted, "What is Chris Wallace doing? He has no control over the debate. He asks a question and lets Trump continue yelling. This is a disgrace."

By the time he was on "Morning Joe'' the next morning, Scarborough had cooled off. He called on the debate commission to act.

"While it was extraordinarily frustrating, I think all of us need to walk a mile in his shoes before saying the morning after, 'He could have done this, he could have done that,'" Scarborough said.

Some of the president's supporters felt that Wallace was too hard on their candidate. Trump himself suggested he was also debating Wallace, "but that's no surprise."

Wallace even got some criticism from opinion personalities on his own network. "Trump is debating the moderator and Biden," primetime host Laura Ingraham tweeted during the debate.

Another Fox colleague, Geraldo Rivera, expressed more sympathy.

"The guy signed up to moderate a debate and he ended up trying to referee a knife fight," he said.

Wallace, host of "Fox News Sunday," was not immediately made available for comment by Fox.

There is some skepticism about what the commission can do that is really meaningful. "I'm not sure that there's a format change that can solve that problem," said Sen. Pat Toomey, Republican, of battleground state Pennsylvania.

Wallace is the only presidential debate moderator this cycle with prior experience, after receiving praise for handling the final Clinton-Trump debate in 2016. The other two moderators are Steve Scully of C-SPAN and Kristen Welker of NBC News.

Scully moderates the Miami debate, a town hall format where citizens get to ask questions, which may make interruptions more difficult.

"Having prepared for these, the town hall is a completely different event in the debate Olympics," tweeted David Plouffe, an adviser to former President Barack Obama. "If Trump brings the same nastiness to Florida, it will be doubly painful to watch but it will be doubly painful for him politically."

___

Associated Press writers Bill Barrow, Laurie Kellman and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.
And allow us to help with the gluhwein. Heres a classic recipe for mulled wine from Master Sommelier, restaurateur and Check, Please! host Alpana Singh to fill up your boot mug. As she wrote in the 2009 article published in RedEye, This recipe can be customized according to your own tastes, but take extreme caution to not boil the wine!
The Odd Theatre Companys Daniel Ryan has been named the winner of the national Best Actor Award by Association of Irish Musical Societies. The announcement was made at the Associations awards ceremony on Saturday, September 19, which was held virtually and broadcast online.

Daniel (27), who is from Newbridge, won the prestigious award for his portrayal of Seymour Krelborn, the ill-fated florists assistant, in The Odd Theatre Companys production of the iconic musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors at the Riverbank Arts Centre last November.

During the musical Seymour, its protagonist, stumbles across a new breed of plant he names Audrey II - after his co-worker crush. But as this R&B-singing weed grows, promising unending fame and fortune to the down and out Seymour, the young florist soon learns that his appetite has a cost.

Containing both comedic and tragic elements, and requiring demanding vocal performances, the part is commonly regarded as one of the most challenging in musical theatre. In fact, Ryan is the first person in the near 40 year history of the Associations awards to take home a Best Actor trophy for the role.

The Odd Theatre Company received an additional honour at the ceremony as Little Shop of Horrors, and its choreographer, Aine Foley, were named runners-up for the Best Choreography Award.

Usually held at the INEC in Killarney in front of an audience of over 1,250 people, the awards were instead screened online from a studio this year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, with nominees video-calling in through Zoom. Presented by Today FMs Fergal DArcy, the broadcast included performances from West End stars such as Rebecca Storm, Brian Gilligan, and Killian Donnelly.

Despite its digital format, Ryan, who also co-hosts Irelands leading musical theatre podcast, The Oddcast, was able to receive his award in person as he was appearing on the show in a featured segment with The Oddcast.

Following his win he joined the Association of Irish Musical Societies and American College Dublin 2019 Scholarship winner, Megan Pottinger, for a rendition of one of Little Shop of Horrors hit tunes, Suddenly, Seymour, a performance which is available on the Associations YouTube channel.

It was an absolutely unforgettable experience, said Ryan of his win. I owe so much to my family for the incredible support they have shown me, as well as to the cast and creative team of this spectacular production of Little Shop of Horrors. They created something truly special. I am honoured, not only by this award, but that I could share the stage with so many of my closest friends.

Director Cian ODowd added, Daniel is a superlative actor, who played Seymour with complete authenticity, commitment, and nuance. It was a simply phenomenal performance. This award just confirms what we already know about Daniel, that he is one of the most talented performers in Irish musical theatre.

About the group

The Odd Theatre Company is an amateur theatre group from Co. Kildare, whose members hail from throughout the county. The companys debut show, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, was the Irish premiere of this celebrated Broadway musical, which was followed by the Neil Simon farce Rumours, and acclaimed rock opera Rent in 2018.

The group produced the killer musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors at the Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, from 28 to 30 November 2019.

The cast of Little Shop of Horrors included: Daniel Ryan (Seymour); Keelin Kilduff (Audrey); Conor Kilduff (Mushnik); Mark Trundle (Audrey II); Cormac Malone (Orin); Cherise OMoore (Crystal); Emma Kilduff (Chiffon); Lynn Carter (Ronnette); Adam Trundle (Wino and Puppeteer); and Rory Dignam (Wino and Puppeteer).
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has told people to "hold the line" after television footage aired of people gathering in droves at St Kilda beach ahead of warm weather this weekend.

Dont risk everything. What we can hold back now means a truly normal summer. Please - Hold. The. Line, Professor Sutton tweeted after a large gathering of people surrounded a television reporter, grabbing and kissing his face in breach of COVID-19 restrictions.

It shows Seven News reporter Paul Dowsley attempting to warn Victorians of the current restrictions while a group of up to 70 people gather behind him.

Seven News footage at St Kilda beach on Friday evening. Credit:Seven News

Many arent wearing face masks while others have them hanging from their chins, before one mask-less woman runs up and plants a kiss on the television camera.
Former Married At First Sight star Aleks Markovic has revealed what inspired her to launch her own beauty range.

The 26-year-old told The Wash on Friday that she was often being asked what makeup she had on- so she decided to create her own.

'I was constantly asked by friends what beauty products I was wearing, in particular what lipsticks I had on. So I decided to launch my own lipstick line with all the colours that I love,' she told the website.

She's got the look: Former Married At First Sight star Aleks Markovic (pictured) has revealed what inspired her to launch her own beauty range. The 26-year-old told The Wash on Friday that she was often being asked what makeup she had on- so she decided to create her own

Aleks went on to explain that she wasn't happy with the matte formulas on the market already.

'I was just fed up with those matte-style lipsticks that look quite cakey. I wanted to create a product that was moisturising and long-lasting.

'That I could eat and drink with, go out in and it'd still stay fresh, with the colour strong enough to stay on the lips all day or night,' she said.

Fancy! Aleks announced the new line on Instagram on Monday with a promotional photo of her new lipstick. 'Tears stream down my face with excitement as I announce this, and boy am I proud to welcome Aleks beauty' she told her fans

Good taste: 'I was constantly asked by friends what beauty products I was wearing, in particular what lipsticks I had on. So I decided to launch my own lipstick line with all the colours that I love,' Aleks told The Wash

The makeup line is cruelty-free, affordable and Australian-made, she told the publication - and so far, people are loving it, she says.

'I haven't had any negative feedback yet it's all been really positive!' Aleks said.

Aleks announced the new line on Instagram on Monday with a promotional photo of her new lipstick.

She wrote in her caption: 'Tears stream down my face with excitement as I announce this, and boy am I proud to welcome Aleks beauty.

Love it! 'I haven't had any negative feedback yet it's all been really positive!' Aleks said

Her way: 'I was just fed up with those matte-style lipsticks that look quite cakey. I wanted to create a product that was moisturising and long-lasting' she added

'My vision [has] come to life and something that I had a dream of creating is finally here. I listened to the universe and followed my gut and even though this wasn't easy, I know that God has led me here,' she wrote.

Aleks rose to fame after appearing on this year's season of the Channel Nine dating experiment, where she was paired with Ivan Sarakula, but the pair have since split.

The beauty, who also works in real estate, admits that the show opened doors for her to pursue her dreams.

'Being on MAFS gave me a lot more opportunities, you're more recognised now so people know who you are,' she told Perth Now.
Combahee Experimental: Celebrating Black Womens Experimental Filmmaking, a series of free screenings and conversations, will be presented virtually on Oct. 7, 22 and 29 via Zoom by the Lewis Center for the Arts' Program in Visual Arts at Princeton University.

The series is curated by multimedia artist Simone Leigh and Black feminist theorist of visual culture and contemporary art Tina Campt, with guests Julie Dash, Angela Davis, Barbara McCullough, Nuotama Bodomo, Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, Garrett Bradley and Rungano Nyoni.

The voices, insights and the complex artistic and conceptual ideas of Black women filmmakers, and experimental filmmakers in particular, is frequently absent from public discourse on cinema, said Campt. 'Combahee Experimental' responds to that absence by screening their work and asking them to talk to each other about it.

This is a still from Garrett Bradley's "Alone." The filmmaker will take part in a Zoom webinar as part of the Lewis Center for the Arts Program in Visual Arts' "Combahee Experimental: Celebrating Black Women's Experimental Filmmaking."Courtesy of Lewis Center for the Arts

"By celebrating the work of earlier experimental filmmakers who broke new ground and contemporary ones who are continuing to create such work today, we hope to create a space that opens new possibilities for other artists, Campt added.

First up at 6 p.m. on Oct. 7 will be Filmmaking in Troubled Times with activist, scholar and writer Angela Davis and filmmakers and Julie Dash and Barbara McCullough in conversation with Campt and Leigh.

Davis taught at University of California at Los Angeles and at Santa Cruz, is the author of several books on feminism, race and civil rights, and a former member of the Black Panthers and Che-Lumumba Club, an all-Black branch of the Communist Party. McCullough and Dash are artists whose early work was created in the context of this movement.

Following the conversation, the curators will screen early works from the women of the LA Rebellion movement including Dashs film Illusions (1982), McCulloughs Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification (1979), Camille Billops and James Hatchs Suzanne, Suzanne (1982), and Zeinabu irene Davis' Cycles (1989).

The following two programs in the series will focus on the work of emerging Black women filmmakers from across the diaspora:

On Oct. 22 at 6 p.m., The Black Surreal will welcome filmmakers Nuotama Bodomo and Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich in discussion with Campt and Leigh followed by screenings of Hunt-Ehrlichs Spit on the Broom (2019) and Outfox the Grave (2020) and Bodomos Afronauts (2014) and Boneshaker (2014).

Experiments in Narrative on Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. will begin with Campt and Leigh in conversation with filmmakers Garrett Bradley and Rungano Nyoni followed by Bradleys film Alone (2017) and Nyonis I Am Not a Witch (2017).

Campt is Owen F. Walker professor of humanities and modern culture and media at Brown University and a research associate at the Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Leigh is an artist whose sculpture, video and installations explore Black female-identified subjectivity.

Registration via Zoom Webinar is required and advance registration is encouraged at arts.princeton.edu/vis-film-series.

For more information, call 609-258-5262, email LewisCenter@princeton.edu or visit arts.princeton.edu.

This is a still from Madeleine Hunt Ehrlich's "Spit on the Broom." The filmmaker will take part in a Zoom webinar as part of the Lewis Center for the Arts Program in Visual Arts' "Combahee Experimental: Celebrating Black Women's Experimental Filmmaking."Courtesy of Lewis Center for the Arts

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A high-powered government delegation on security led by the National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah today, October 2, visited the Volta Region to have a first-hand information of the security situation in the region following threats from secessionist groups in that part of the country.

The delegation first met with the Regional Security Council after which they had an emergency sitting with the Volta Regional House of Chiefs and paid a working visit to the 66 artillery regiment and the Volta Regional Police Command.

Addressing the press after the days activities, Deputy Minister for Information, Pius Enam Hadzide said 60 suspected criminals have so far been arrested in relation to recent disturbances in the Volta Region.

So far, 60 suspected criminals have been arrested, 54 have been remanded and the rest being processed for court.

The 60 according to Mr. Hadzide are suspected to be members of the separatist movement demanding the secession parts of Ghana to form a Western Togoland.

The Deputy Minister also disclosed that 54 out the 60 people arrested are currently on remand while the rest 6 are being prepared for court.

The House and delegation also agreed that continuous dialogue and collaboration between government, chiefs, and security forces are crucial in the fight ahead.

Mr. Hadzide indicated that security forces had been deployed to certain areas in the Volta and Oti Regions.

Deployments have been made according to the strategy that the security is using to deal with the unfortunate and criminal event. Deployments have so far been made to Juapong, Hohoe, Aflao, Nkonya-Alavanyo, Kpando, Kpasa, and Kete-Krachi in the Oti Region. There have already been deployments in Kpassa, Kete-Krachi, and Nkonya-Alavanyo but these have been reviewed to deal with the current threats.

He also commended the Regional House of Chiefs in its unanimous condemnation of the secessionist activities.

It is worthy of note that the Volta Regional House of chiefs once again openly condemned the activities of secessionist groups namely the burning of buses, blocking of roads, and attack on two police stations. In fact, the Regional House of Chiefs was unanimous in its condemnation and once again committed itself as custodians of the land to a united and prosperous Ghana made up of 16 regions and 204 MMDAs as we currently have.

Background

Violent activities of the secessionist groups have heightened in recent times.

Members of the group recently blocked entry roads into the Volta Region in demand of the elevation of Volta Region, Oti Region and parts of northern Ghana into an independent state known as Western Togoland.

The subsequently attacked the State Transport Corporation (STC) in the Volta Regional capital, Ho, and set ablaze one of its buses.

---citinewsroom
US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19 and will go into quarantine immediately, the president tweeted late Thursday.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19, Trump said in the tweet, less than two hours after posting that his close aide Hope Hicks had tested positive.

We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

The tweet raised immediate concerns about the health of the president, who is more than 70 years of age and obese.

Trump had earlier in the evening tweeted he and the first lady began our quarantine process after one of his closest advisers, Hope Hicks, who had travelled with him several times in the last few days, tested positive .

Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19, President Trump tweeted. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!

Watch l We will get through this together: Trump & Melania test positive for Covid-19

Hicks had travelled with Trump and his team on Air Force One to Cleveland, Ohio for the first presidential debate. She also travelled with Trump to his rally in Duluth, Minnesota, on Wednesday and was seen in close contact with senior members of the presidents campaign.

According to rules made by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people who were in close contact with Hicks should quarantine themselves. That would include the president, the first lady and senior members of the presidents re-election campaign.

Bloomberg, which first reported Hicks testing positive, said she had felt ill in Minnesota and quarantined herself on the way back on the presidential aircraft.

The president takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously, White House spokesman Judd Deere has said in a statement.

White House Operations collaborates with the physician to the president and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting Covid-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible, both on complex and when the president is travelling.

Hicks is the fourth White House personnel to test positive for Coronavirus, after a personal military valet of the president, a member of the vice-presidents staff and the National Security Adviser Robert OBrien. But Hicks has been the closest of them all to the president, who had gone on a 10-day course of Hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug.

More than 207,000 Americans have been killed by Covid-19 and millions have been infected. President Trump has refused a responsibility for them, and has been blamed for his botched response to the pandemic, despite his fervent claims to the contrary, citing travel shut-downs.

More egregious has been his open scepticism of the use of face masks and social distancing norms. He rarely wears one himself despite professing his complete endorsement of masks.
Dr Mary Favier, the Covid-19 advisor to the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) said the death toll was now, starting to climb.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning she said:

Deaths tend to follow four to six weeks after the rise in rates so unfortunately, it is coming.

For us as GPs, we know our hospital services are under strain already. We know we have people on trolleys; we know the ED departments are busy.

"GPs are exceptionally busy. We didnt get the summer lull we usually get so we are in a vulnerable situation in Ireland and because our health services have been under-resourced for so long, we need to protect them."

The GP said the 28 deaths recorded in September was the highest since the first wave and noted that there were 10 in the last week alone.

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Dr Favier said the situation is now starting to get the feel of the first wave in March and April.

Last week alone, GPs referred 56,000 people for testing. 56,000 people must have rang their GP, at a minimum because not all would have been sent for testing, and were referred on through services for testing and tracing.

She said the only way to combat the disease now is for all of us to change our behaviours.

It is hard and we are all tired of it. People often feel, well Ill wear a mask I am fine but you need to wear a mask and wash your hands. You need to wash your hands, wear a mask and keep your two metres distance.

She said while it is hard, as GPs and health professionals they just have to keep encouraging people to adhere to the public health guidelines.
YEREVAN, Armenia: Officials in Armenia said Friday the country is ready to discuss a cease-fire in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces has continued for six straight days, killing dozens and leaving scores wounded.

This weeks fighting is the biggest escalation in years in the decades-long dispute over the region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is controlled by local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. It prompted calls for a cease-fire from all around the globe.

On Thursday, leaders of Russia, France and the United States co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group, which was set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1992 to resolve the conflict issued a joint statement statement calling for immediate cessation of hostilities and resuming substantive negotiations  under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

Armenias Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that the country stands ready to engage with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to reestablish a cease-fire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements.

Armenia remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the statement read.

The deadly clashes in the region resumed Friday, with Armenian military officials reporting Azerbaijan carrying out strikes on Nagorno-Karabakhs capital Stepanakert, and Azerbaijans Defense Ministry accusing Armenian forces of shelling the Agdam region.

The regions officials said more than 150 servicemen on their side have been killed so far. Azerbaijani authorities havent provided details on its military casualties, but said 19 civilians have been killed and 55 more have been wounded.

Several journalists were wounded in shelling of the Matruni town on Thursday. Two of them were French citizens working with Le Monde newspaper.

Reporter Allan Kaval and photographer Rafael Yaghobzadeh were taken to the Stepanakert hospital and operated on there, and were being evacuated Friday morning to Yerevan. The two will be then taken to Paris, Le Monde reported.

In an article published Friday, Le Monde said they had traveled to Martuni on Thursday morning to state for themselves the extent of the damage from this weeks fighting. They were with several French, Armenian and other journalists when the town was attacked.

The report quotes regional human rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan as saying four civilians were killed and 11 other people wounded in the shelling.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked for decades in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, where a separatist war was fought in the early 1990s, ending in 1994 three years after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The 4,400-square-kilometer (1,700-square-mile) enclave in the Caucasus Mountains, roughly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, lies 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border.

Azerbaijans president said Armenias withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh was the sole condition to end the fighting. Armenian officials claim Turkey is involved in the conflict, allegedly sending fighters from Syria to the region and deploying Turkish F-16 fighter jets to assist Azerbaijani forces.

Turkey has publicly supported Azerbaijan in the conflict and said it would provide assistance if requested, but denied sending in foreign mercenaries or weapons.

__

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, and Angela Charlton in Paris, 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
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump is experiencing mild symptoms" of COVID-19 after revealing Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunges the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election.

Trump, who has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans, said he and Mrs. Trump were quarantining. The White House physician said the president is expected to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering. A White House official said Friday morning that the president was experiencing mild symptoms but was working from the White House residence.

Trumps diagnosis was sure to have a destabilizing effect in Washington and around the world, raising questions about how far the virus had spread through the highest levels of the U.S. government. Hours before Trump announced he had contracted the virus, the White House said a top aide who had traveled with him during the week had tested positive.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately," Trump tweeted just before 1 a.m. "We will get through this TOGETHER!

Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus on Friday morning and remains in good health," his spokesman said.

Many White House and senior administration officials were undergoing tests Friday, but the full scale of the outbreak around the president may not be known for some time as it can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test. Officials with the White House Medical Unit were still in the process of tracing the president's contacts, the official said.

Trump was considering how he might address the nation or otherwise communicate with the American people Friday, the official added.

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and did not appear visibly ill. He is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide.

Gov. John Bel Edwards asks Louisianans to join him in prayer for President Trump, first lady Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards took to Twitter early Friday morning to express his sympathies for Donald Trump after the president and first 

The presidents physician said in a memo that Trump and the first lady, who is 50, are both well at this time and plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

The diagnosis marks a devastating blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them. In the best of cases, if he develops no symptoms, which can include fever, cough and breathing trouble, it will likely force him off the campaign trail just weeks before the election and puts his participation in the second presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami, into doubt.

Trumps handling of the pandemic has already been a major flashpoint in his race against Democrat Joe Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware because of the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday nights debate.

I dont wear masks like him," Trump said of Biden. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

In a tweet Friday morning, Biden said he and his wife send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family. Vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her husband tweeted similar sentiments.

It was not immediately clear whether the former vice president had been tested since appearing at the debate with Trump or whether he was taking any additional safety protocols. Trump and Biden did not shake hands during the debate, but stood without masks about 10 feet apart for the 90-minute event.

World leaders offered the president and first family their best wishes after their diagnosis, as governments used their case as a reminder for their citizens to wear masks and practice social distancing measures.

On Friday, Trump had been scheduled to receive an intelligence briefing, attend a fundraiser and hold another campaign rally in Sanford, Florida. But just after 1 a.m., the White House released a revised schedule with only one event: a phone call on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors.

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Trump's announcement came hours after he confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of his most trusted and longest-serving aides, had been diagnosed with the virus Thursday. Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private information. She was isolated from other passengers aboard the plane, the person said.

Hicks had been with Trump and other senior staff aboard Marine One and Air Force One en route to that rally and had accompanied the president to Tuesdays presidential debate in Cleveland, along with members of the Trump family. The Trump contingent removed their masks during the debate, in violation of the venue rules.

Multiple White House staffers have previously tested positive for the virus, including Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert OBrien and one of the presidents personal valets. An RNC official confirmed Friday that Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel learned she had tested positive Wednesday afternoon. She has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday and did not attend the debate.

But Trump has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened. Since the coronavirus emerged earlier this year, Trump has refused to abide by basic public health guidelines  including those issued by his own administration  such as wearing face coverings in public and practicing social distancing. Instead, he has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of often mask-less supporters.

I felt no vulnerability whatsoever, he told reporters back in May.

The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen the economy without driving virus transmission. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen. U.S. stock futures fell on the news of Trump's diagnosis.

Questions remain about why it took so long for Trump to be tested and why he and his aides continued to come to work and travel after Hicks fell ill. Trump traveled to New Jersey on Thursday for a fundraiser, potentially exposing attendees to the virus. Trump's social media director Dan Scavino and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who were originally set to join him on the trip, were replaced at the last minute by other aides.

McEnany briefed the press Thursday morning while Hicks was presumed to have the virus, but offered no public word on the case close to the president.

It is unclear where the Trumps and Hicks may have caught the virus, but in his Fox interview, Trump seemed to suggest it may have been spread by someone in the military or law enforcement.

Its very, very hard when you are with people from the military or from law enforcement, and they come over to you, and they want to hug you, and they want to kiss you, he said, because we really have done a good job for them. And you get close. And things happen.

Several members of Trump's Cabinet were undergoing testing for COVID-19 Friday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the fourth in line to the presidency, tested negative shortly before he landed in Croatia. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also tested negative, while Attorney General William Barr was to undergo a test Friday morning.

The president's youngest son, Barron, tested negative and all precautions are being taken to ensure hes kept safe and healthy, said Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's spokeswoman.

The White House began instituting a daily testing regimen for the presidents senior aides after earlier positive cases close to the president. Anyone in close proximity to the president or vice president is also tested every day, including reporters.

Yet since the early days of the pandemic, experts have questioned the health and safety protocols at the White House and asked why more wasnt being done to protect the commander in chief. Trump continued to shake hands with visitors long after public health officials were warning against it, and he initially resisted being tested.

The White House had required aides to wear face coverings in the West Wing this spring, but that policy has gone unenforced for weeks and most aides near the president have made a habit of not wearing masks. On Friday after Trump's test, West Wing workers were complying with the policy once again.

Trump is far from the first world leader to test positive for the virus, which previously infected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was hospitalized last month while fighting what he called a hellish case of COVID-19.

While there is currently no indication that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated due to illness.

The Constitutions 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which the president can declare himself unable to discharge the powers and duties of the presidency. If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted a written declaration to the contrary.

The vice president and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body established by law can also declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenias foreign ministry issued a statement over the joint call of the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries.

Armenpress presents the MFAs statement:

We welcome the fact that the Minsk Group Co-Chairs at the level of their leaders reacted to the use of force in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone by way of strong condemnation.

Armenia has been consistently rejecting and condemning the threat or use of force by Azerbaijan and the direct involvement of Turkey in the hostilities against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. The aggressive joint actions of Azerbaijan and Turkey and the use of foreign terrorist fighters have been undermining regional security and peace, significantly raising the risks of a full-fledged war. This aggression against Nagorno Karabakh must immediately cease.

Armenia remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. While this aggression against Nagorno Karabakh will continue to receive our strong and resolute response, we stand ready to engage with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries to re-establish a ceasefire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has accused Akufo-Addo government of diverting buses procured for the Ghana Private Road Transport Union(GPRTU) to the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP).

The 33-seater buses were procured for the union in 2016, but members reportedly considered the cost too high to guarantee them any meaningful returns.

However, the NPP government under a current arrangement initiated in 2019 allegedly reduced the price of the buses by 53.5 percent to make them affordable to the GPRTU members.

Commenting on the matter in interaction with locals, the former President said the ruling NPP managed to create a smokescreen by appropriating the vehicles and shared to its members.

The already registered busses that we secured for drivers under my government in 2016 were re-registered by the NPP government and shared to NPP Chairpersons across-board. They removed the license plate and registered again as if they procured it. Any bus you see in town with the inscription Chairman One is part of the fleet of busses we procured for the GPRTU, Mr Mahama told Drivers and Okada Riders Association at Techimentia.

The microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) in 2019 presented 83 buses to the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) under a hire purchase agreement.

The government explained that the high price of the buses made it impossible for the GPRTU to acquire the vehicles for commercial operations, hence the intervention by the government.

---Kasapafmonline.com
According to SIPRI, Israel sold US$ 375 million worth of military hardware to Azerbaijan between 2017 and 2019. After five days of fighting, only partial losses are available. France, Russia, and the United States call for an end to the fighting. Turkey, an ally of Azerbaijan, demands the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno Karabakh as a precondition.

Yerevan (AsiaNews/Agencies)  The Armenian government yesterday recalled its ambassador in Tel Aviv, accusing Israel of selling weapons to Azerbaijan, its rival for control of the Nagorno Karabakh region.

Armenian separatist forces and the Azerbaijani army have been battling over the past five days, with hundreds of dead.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Israel was Azerbaijans main foreign supplier of weapons, selling military hardware worth US$ 375 million, between 2017 and 2019, including attack drones by companies like Elbit systems.

Since the start of the hostilities, Armenia and Azerbaijan have issued only partial reports on casualties and losses, which are impossible to verify.

Yerevan announced the deaths of 104 soldiers and eight civilians; Baku has announced the death of 18 civilians but has remained silent on its military losses.

According to an Armenian spokesman, at least 350 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed yesterday, and several planes and helicopters were shot down.

Armenia claims that at least 800 Azerbaijani troops have been killed so far; Azerbaijan says that 1,900 Armenian soldiers have died.

In recent days, France and Russia have confirmed the presence of jihadis fighters who, with the help of Turkey, arrived Nagorno Karabakh to fight alongside the Azerbaijanis.

France, Russia and the United States, members of the Minsk Group, which have mediated past ceasefires in the region, have called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

The trio urged the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to "commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the main ally of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, told the Turkish parliament in Ankara that there will be a ceasefire only with a withdrawal of the Armenian forces from Nagorno Karabakh.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Trials on the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University have resumed in Japan but not the United States, where the pharmaceutical giant is working with regulators, a statement released Friday said.

The Financial Times, citing sources close to the case, reported that the US drug regulator the FDA had expanded its investigation into the serious side effects suffered by one trial participant, which had led to a brief halt in the tests.

The British company did not respond immediately to an AFP request for comments.

"The Phase I/II clinical trial for the COVID-19 vaccine AZD1222 has resumed in Japan after discussion with the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency," AstraZeneca said in a press release on Friday.

It said it had triggered a "voluntary pause to vaccination across all global trials on 6 September to allow review of safety data by an independent committee".

"Their recommendations have been supported by international regulators in the UK, Brazil, South Africa, India and now in Japan, who have deemed that the trials are safe to resume," the group said.

It will "continues to work with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to facilitate review of the information needed to make a decision regarding resumption of the US trial," added the statement.

Trials began at the end of August and group head Pascal Soriot said last month that the vaccine could still be ready by the end of the year, despite the setback.

The vaccine is one of the most advanced Western projects, having already been tested on tens of thousands of volunteers worldwide.

The World Health Organisation has identified 35 "candidate vaccines" being tested in human clinical trials around the world, with nine already in the final stage, or about to enter it.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) estimates that it could take until at least early 2021 for a vaccine against COVID-19 to be approved and available for global use.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 AFP
Ugandan President, His Excellency Yoweri Kabuta Museveni has applauded the introduction of the Bsystems Collateral Registry System now known as the Security Interest in Movable Property Registry System (SIMPO) in the country.



According to him, the use of the online registry platform in the country will enable Ugandans to use their moveable assets as collateral to borrow money for their businesses from financial institutions.



Speaking during the official launch of the registry software platform alongside the countrys National Intellectual Property Policy by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) at the State House Entebbe, President Yoweri Museveni noted that the smooth implementation of the registry system and the IP Policy will go a long way to boost the ease of doing business and stimulate innovation and creativity in Uganda.



To most lenders, collateral means having land or a building. But if I have a thousand heads of cattle, each valued at sh1m, why would you refuse to finance my investment? The ministry of finance should wake up the banking sector. For entrepreneurship, agriculture, and industrialization to thrive in Uganda, the Government will continue to address the issue of high lending rates amongst financial providers, he said.



The Registrar General of Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), Twebaze Bemanya in his remarks also disclosed that following its activation in September 2019, the Security Interest in Movable Property Registry System (SIMPO) has already recorded over 4,000 registrations, with the most commonly use assets to secure loans being motor vehicles and motorcycles.



He added that these account for most of the property owned and pledged by borrowers including micro, small and medium enterprises



Ugandas new Security Interest in Movable Property Registry System (SIMPO) which was designed and developed by leading Ghanaian software solution company, Bsystems Limited will not only provide information on encumbrances of movable property of borrowers but to also assist creditors to easily have access to database online to register their interest in movable collateral pledged for loan.



Following the passing of the Security Interest in Movable Property Act of 2019 by the countrys legislative body, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and the Bank of Uganda together with other financial entities worked together to establish the SIMPRS to provide world-wide access for users to register an interest in movable property, enforcement of security interests, search of the register and other related matters.



Currently Bsystems Collateral Registry System which allows customers to search the systems database to ascertain whether the same collateral has not been used to cover another borrowing has been implemented in eight African countries including Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia with an ongoing implementation in Mozambique to make it nine.













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The ongoing long weekend has turned out to be a bright spot for the tourism sector. Travel companies have seen a pick-up in demand over the previous month.

In the first two months after the easing of lockdown restrictions by the end of May, most bookings were for a one-way journey, as people mostly travelled for essential purposes. Now, travel and airline executives say that leisure demand is slowly returning, with an increase in bookings to popular weekend gateways this weekend. For the long weekend, we are noticing some leisure demand and better loads, which have been ...
Mumbai, Oct 2 : Actor Hiten Tejwani feels it is wrong to blame a particular industry for the consumption of drugs, adding that narcotics abuse happens across all sectors.

"A lot of celebrity names are being involved in the case, but as of now nothing has been proved. I don't think one particular industry should be blamed for the consumption of drugs because it is happening across all sectors. We often see call centre guys smoke outside their office premises, and I don't know what they smoke. Till the time something is proved, we can't express our views. I think the biggest mistake we make is we assume things very quickly," said Hiten, interacting with the media on the set of his forthcoming film "Shatranj" on Friday in Mumbai.

Hiten returned to shooting after six months. "I really missed being on a set over the last few months because as a television actor, we are used to work on daily basis. When you take such a big break, you feel irritated. Today, we are shooting the climax of the film. We are not shooting here with the same strength because as per government's guidelines only 33 per cent of the total workforce is allowed on a film set. But I am glad that we have finally started shooting," he said.

"Shatranj" also features Shawar Ali, Kavita Tripathi, Ekta Jain, Hemant Pandey and Ashutosh Kaushik, and is directed by Dushyant Pratap Singh. The film is scheduled for release in the first week of December.
Vancouver could have its first permanent overdose prevention site outside the Downtown Eastside as soon as November if city council approves a new lease arrangement next week.

The proposed site at the intersection of Seymour and Helmcken streets would add needed overdose prevention and response services in the heart of Vancouvers Yaletown neighbourhood. The building, two blocks from the busy Granville strip, is flanked by upscale rentals and condos.

Recent anti-homeless and anti-drug user posts from some people in the neighbourhood have raised concerns that the site and its clients could be targets for abuse.

But an advocate who worked on the report to council on the proposal said the increased visibility of homelessness and drug use during the pandemic is exactly why a safe and supportive space is needed.

Thats the whole point of opening them, is to use more safely indoors, said Karen Ward, a Downtown Eastside resident and advocate who worked on the report. You dont want to be using an alleyway behind a garbage can.

Sadly, I think that that has been communicated by all of these people all over the city dying.

Overdose prevention sites are places where people who use drugs can go to test their drugs, get sterile equipment such as new needles and be supervised in the event they overdose.

The sites are an important part of harm reduction for drug users as overdose deaths surge in B.C., partly due to pandemic-driven isolation and increasing drug toxicity. In Vancouver alone, 259 people have died of illicit drug overdoses so far in 2020.

Ward said advocates have been asking for a site in the neighbourhood for years, but the need became even more urgent as current overdose prevention sites struggled to serve clients while also complying with COVID-19 precautions. There are currently five permanent sites in the city, all in the Downtown Eastside.

The proposal would move the Thomus Donaghy Overdose Prevention Site, a site near St. Pauls Hospitals Thurlow Street entrance, into the first floor of the city-owned building at 1107 Seymour St.

The current tenants would move to new space in the bottom three floors of the building. The other 11 floors of the building include 81 units of non-market rental housing.

The decline in overdose deaths prior to COVID-19 was seen in part due to the increase of overdose response and prevention services, reads the report to council.

A new site in Yaletown would provide services to people who use drugs where they work and live, Ward said, and acknowledge they are part of the community.

The report says the neighbourhoods unique demographic will benefit from another gateway to tailored services, including a safer supply of alternatives to street drugs.

It will also offer staff and users more safety and security at the site, named after peer worker Thomus Donaghy, who was killed in an altercation during a shift at the site in July.

This new location will allow the Thomus Donaghy OPS to continue to offer life-saving services to the residents of the West End and Granville corridor while increasing physical accessibility and overall safety for service recipients and program staff, wrote Jennifer Cudlipp, board chair of site operator RainCity Housing, in a Sept. 17 letter to the city.

RainCity did not make anyone available for comment, and neither did collaborator Vancouver Coastal Health.

But Charles Gauthier, executive director of the Downtown Business Improvement Association, said the site would be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood as far as his members are concerned.

We must do whatever we can to provide important resources with as few barriers as possible in the ongoing struggle against the current opioid crisis, he said in a statement to The Tyee. The association believes that harm reduction strategies, including well-placed supervised consumption sites and a safe drug supply, can contribute to healthier, safer communities.

Both Ward and Mary Clare Zak, the citys managing director of social policy and planning, expect the proposal to be approved by council, but anticipate criticism from nearby businesses and housed residents.

They hope any opposition is focused on increasing supports and housing people, rather than blaming or shaming them.

We expect it will create some negative backlash, said Zak, lead author of the report.

Ward said people who are worried about how the site could change the neighbourhood should demand more action from governments on homelessness and the overdose crisis. Corpses everywhere would be much worse than having an imperfect site, she said.

This is part of the world that we have created. Instead of being angry its visible, lets address it in a real way, she said.

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New Delhi:

After award of a record Rs 4.5 lakh crore contracts in the highways sector, a multi-modal transport planning comprising airports, railways, bus stations and waterways will be implemented in a big way, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday.

"We broke all records in highways...We have awarded contracts worth Rs 4.5 lakh crore so far. We will be awarding contracts for 15,000 km of highways by March taking the highways building pace to 30 km from 20 km a day in December,"Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister said addressing media.

He said 15 per cent rise in budget allocation for highways was a welcome step and for the first time Budget has made a provision for multi-modal transport hubs which will comprise air, rail, surface and water transports.

The country needs to adopt a holistic and integrated multi-modal transport planning for the sector including roads, railways, waterways and airways to reduce traffic congestion, bring down pollution and make the overall movement of passengers and goods more efficient and cost effective.

The Minister pointed out that in most cities, bus stations, airports and railway stations are situated at quite a far distance from each other and if these are properly integrated, a lot traffic congestion and pollution can be reduced.

The government is committed to set up multi-modal hubs where all modes of transport -- air, road, rail and waterways wherever possible -- are within close proximity to each other. Besides this, latest technology for electricity basedMass Rapid Transport like the metrino and hyperloop will beset up.

Talking about the Shipping sector Gadkari said that Sagarmala is all set to be a game changer with its stress on port-led development.

The programme will create 1 crore jobs, including 40 lakh direct and 60 lakh indirect ones, he said, adding ports are being mechanised and modernised.

He said waterways are also being developed in a big way and 111 rivers would be developed as National Waterwaysbesides promoting coastal shipping along the country's 7,500km of coastline.

Ro-Ro services are being launched to cut down travel time and distance and cruise services are being brought in to carry both goods and passengers. The agenda of the Ministry is to harness the full potential of the maritime sector through its Sagarmalaprogramme, he said.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump said they have tested positive for COVID-19 on October 2. The announcement came after several of the US President's close contacts have tested positive in recent days, and the list continues to grow. Here are some of the Team Trump members who tested positive for the infectious disease recently.

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the novel coronavirus on October 2, and will be quarantining themselves in their residence at the White House.

Trump, who is 74, is at a high risk of hospitalisation due to COVID-19. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, the rate of hospitalisation of individuals in the 65-74 age bracket is five times higher when compared with 18-29 year olds, and it further increases to eight times in the next age bracket.

Age can also increase the severity of the disease, and likelihood of death. Eight out of 10 COVID-related deaths recorded in the US are among adults aged 65 years and older, according to the CDC.

Also read: Trump tests positive for COVID-19: What happens to his re-election campaign?

"The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our country's greatest medical professionals and institutions," Trump's physician Sean Conley 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

"Rest assured, I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering," Conley added.

Doctors have cautioned that Trump's age and weight are risk factors for COVID-related complications, in a report by The Guardian.

"There are other risk factors and co-morbidities such as whether you are a heavy smoker, have diabetes, or have heart disease. The key risk factors for Trump that we know about are his age and the fact he's overweight, and they'd be high-risk factors." Dr Barry Dixon, a physician from Melbourne told the publication.

Follow our full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here.
The software will be integrated at the Dr. B. C. Roy Technology Hospital of the Institute

The researchers at IIT Kharagpurs (Kgp) Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering have developed a telemedicine system, iMediX.

The system integrates homecare with healthcare services from the hospital. Considering the emergent needs due to COVID-19 Pandemic, the system facilitates critical health care support to patients at their doorsteps through remote consultation by a physician. The system is accessible by any standard internet browser and also from a mobile device.

In this system, a patient signs up to get an account by providing her Email ID or Mobile number. Then the patient can make a request for consultation by choosing a Department of the hospital, entering her chief complaints and uploading necessary scanned medical records. The hospital administration processes the request and assigns a doctor. The doctor after logging in sets an appointment date and time for the patient and the system communicates the information to the patient by Email and SMS. On the day of visit, the doctor consults the patient using video conferencing and advises her by writing a prescription, which is sent by Email to the patient. The patient can also download the prescription from her account.

The software was launched on October 2, 2020 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and will be integrated at the Dr. B. C. Roy Technology Hospital of the Institute which provides emergency healthcare services for the campus residents and employees, confirmed the office of Principal Medical Officer Dr. Samir Dasgupta.

Director Prof. V K Tewari shared his plan to expand the use of this technology to people outside the campus through the upcoming superspeciality hospital of IIT Kgp. The researchers are already in touch with healthcare MSMEs for commercialization of the copyrighted version of the technology. A base model was installed at Swasthya Bhawan, Govt. of West Bengal on trial basis. Field trials are also underway for the base model at Bangladesh.
President Trump, first lady under quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19

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President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, are both now under quarantine after revealing early Friday that they have tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER! Trump tweeted shortly before 1 a.m. Friday.

The first lady shortly followed with a similar tweet after 1 a.m. and noted that she had postponed all her upcoming engagements.

As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together, the first lady noted.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

The presidents physician, U.S. Navy Commander Dr. Sean P. Conley, said he and his medical team would maintain a vigilant watch over the president and that he should be able to continue carrying out his duties without disruption.

The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our country's greatest medical professionals and institutions. Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments, he said in a statement.

The presidents diagnosis comes after his close aide, Hope Hicks, also tested positive, which was first reported by Bloomberg.

Hicks reportedly traveled with the president aboard Air Force One to and from the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday and to a Minnesota rally on Wednesday. She began feeling poorly in Minnesota and quarantined aboard the presidential plane on the way home, people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg.

Pres. Trump mocks Joe Biden on the issue of masks: "I don't wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen." https://t.co/5Bl4Ob3O2t#Debates2020pic.twitter.com/OA3ffVcrkg  ABC News (@ABC) September 30, 2020

While Trump has encouraged people to wear masks, he has not supported a national mandate and is often seen without one. During the first presidential debate Tuesday, Trump had taunted Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden for always wearing one.

"I don't wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he's got a mask," Trump said. "He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen."

As an older adult, the risks of severe illness for President Trump, who turned 74, in June is great, according to the CDC. Eight out of every 10 deaths from the virus, which has killed more than 200,000 people in the U.S. since the pandemic started, have been among those 65 and older.

People in their 60s or 70s are, in general, at higher risk for severe illness than people in their 50s. The greatest risk for severe illness from COVID-19 is among those aged 85 or older, the public health agency noted in a bulletin last month.

Michael Baker, a professor with the department of global health at the University of Otago in Wellington who is an adviser to the New Zealand government, said while the president is in a high risk group, many people his age on average, do well with the virus.

If you dont know anything about Donald Trump, just knowing that hes a male, over 70, and appears to be overweight, right away, you can say hes in the high-risk group, Baker told The New York Times. The good news is that even people who have a number of risk factors, on average, do well. Only a minority have illness and severe consequences.

David Hui, director of the Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said if the president has no underlying health conditions he is likely to fare well.

If he doesnt have diabetes, high blood pressure or any long-term illness, then the outcome probably wont be severe, Hui told the Times.

Devin O'Malley, press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, said Friday that COVID-19 tests from Pence and his wife, Karen, came back negative.

"As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day. This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery," O'Malley tweeted.

Pence also said he was praying for the speedy recovery of the president and the first lady.

"Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania," Pence tweeted.
In addition, the Tribune in 2014 documented more than 400 current or retired state and local government employees who worked elections for Madigan, donated regularly to his campaign funds, registered voters for him or circulated candidate petitions on his behalf. The investigation also found repeated instances in which Madigan took personal action to get them jobs, promotions or raises. From the ranks of those workers, Madigan built the most potent ground game in Illinois politics, which he has used to influence elections in every corner of the state, especially state House races.
As an icebreaker, Antonio Wiggins often begins by talking sports.

But the conversations between the Jackson, Mississippi, barber and his customers, African-American men, tend to turn very quickly to more weighty subjects.

Wiggins, who is also Black, caters not only to his patrons hair but also to their well-being.

He plies his trade at Trendsetters Barber College in Jackson, which is the largest city in the southern state and has a population that is 80 percent African-American.

Wiggins said he tends to the grooming needs of people from all walks of life.

Everybody sits in this chair," he said.

I have a guy who comes that is a doctor. Ive got the pastor. We get the drug dealer," Wiggins said. I cut a guy on a Friday. He went on to kill someone on the Saturday."

Anthony Kelley, who runs Trendsetters, which also serves as a teaching school, said barbers in the American South are like pillars in our community."

Wiggins and Kelley recently joined The Confess Project," a coalition of Black barbers seeking to cater to the mental health needs of African-American men in a region of the country scarred by decades of racism.

We, as barbers, we try to offer them, you know, shoulders to lean on," Kelley said. A place where they can come to and open up and talk.

Because, you know, really a lot of people they cant afford to go to a psychiatrist or psychologist," he said.

In the Black community, theres not a lot of alternatives that we can turn to. So we try to help them," Kelley said.

The barbers meet regularly to discuss best practices and the topic of their latest meeting was suicide prevention.

A lot of people, during these critical times, start thinking about suicide," Kelley said. These are some depressing times."

You dont feel judged

Robert White, 49, awaits his turn in the unpretentious shop where the walls are decorated with pictures and posters, including one advertising a hotline for those suffering from depression.

White said that he has been coming to Trendsetters once a month for years and feels comfortable."

We talk about just everything in life," he said. You dont feel judged.

Sometimes you just want to be heard."

That is particularly important during a year in which the coronavirus pandemic has exacted a heavy toll on the African-American population, and cost millions of jobs.

Two customers of Darius Campbell, a Black barber in the town of Terry, south of Jackson, have lost five members of their family to Covid-19 while others are having a hard time making ends meet.

The main thing that I see, the worst, is struggling to pay bills," Campbell said.

I deal with a lot of family men," he said.

Their biggest fear? Can I take care of my family tomorrow?" he said. Are they going to come take my house from me in three, four, five, six months?"

Another frequent topic of discussion is police brutality against the African-American community, which came to a head in the United States in May with the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

We know people whove been brutalized by police," Wiggins said. We are in Mississippi so we are so used to racism."

With the November 3 presidential election on the horizon, talk has also turned to politics, said James Bennett, a 34-year-old municipal worker who gets his hair cut by Wiggins every Saturday.

Its one of the key subjects," Bennett said. You can join the conversation anytime you want."

Campbell said his customers are in agreement on one thing  we need to get (Donald Trump) out of office."

Wiggins said the Republican president lacks integrity" and is insensitive to the problems of Black Americans.

Were looking for someone showing love to us because we feel so unloved," he said.

Wiggins said he was encouraging young patrons to register to vote.

He said hell cast his ballot on November 3 even if Trump is expected to easily beat Democrat Joe Biden in Mississippi, a Republican stronghold.

So will Robert White and he said hell be back in the barbers chair to discuss the results.
On Thursday night, actress Sayani Gupta, on Twitter, likened the alleged gang-rape of a Dalit woman in Hathras to her film Article 15s script after the Uttar Pradesh police official said that the forensic report of the victim did not confirm rape.

Many seemed to agree with Sayani by commenting on how the 2019 crime drama, in which the local police attempt to cover up a gangrape in Uttar Pradesh, is eerily similar" to what is allegedly happening in Hathras. However, there was another section of the Internet that couldnt help but point out the hypocrisy" of Article 15s leading man Ayushmann Khurrana, who played a Brahmin cop fighting caste-based atrocities in the movie.

When your movie Article 15 was about to release you seemed to be the most caste-sensitive savarna on this planet. @ayushmannk now that you dont have a movie on release, you cannot even state that she was a dalit woman? pic.twitter.com/3FYJarQHbu Agatha Srishtie  #DALITLIVESMATTER (@SrishtyRanjan) September 30, 2020

Srishty Ranjan, who is an influential Dalit voice on social media, called Ayushmann out over an Instagram Story in which the actor had condemned the alleged gangrape of the Hathras victim without stating that she was a Dalit." Srishty wrote, When your movie Article 15 was about to release you seemed to be the most caste-sensitive Savarna on this planet. @ayushmannk now that you dont have a movie on release, you cannot even state that she was a Dalit woman?"

Ranjan, who also criticised Bollywood actresses Priyanka Chopra and Sonam Kapoor in a Twitter thread over not acknowledging the caste-based crimes and sexual violence in the country, spoke to News18 on why she thinks the film industry has failed her community.

When upper-caste people make a movie about our trauma, it is nothing less than appropriation. Even when white people appropriate Indian culture, they are called out by people of our country, but the same people fail to see how the Savarna-dominated film industry has always made money out of the trauma of the oppressed-be it Gully Boy or Article 15. As an individual, its important for them to speak up for the community from which they benefited and which got them recognition and laurels," Srishty said.

Ranveer Singh when asked about his political views because they had appropriated the Azaadi slogan in Gully Boy, he said, in an interview, that hes apathetic to politics. This is where the industry fails the people of India."

The death of two Dalit women after they were allegedly gang-raped in Hathras and Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh has caused nationwide fury, with hundreds and thousands of protestors taking to the streets to demonstrate against the growing incidence" of caste-based crimes in the country.

Its completely unfair for all of these individuals to make a movie about us and then not speak when the Dalit community is going through a lot of pain," Srishty added.

The young Dalit activist, who hails from rural Bihar, said that Ayushmann was named among the 100 most influential people of 2020 in the world by TIME magazine for doing socially-engaged cinema but when his influential" voice is needed the most, the actor is silent.

Ayushmann was featured in Time magazines 100 Most Influential People 0f 2020 list alongside revolutionary people like Bilkis from Shaheen Bagh. During Article 15s promotion, he would talk about the oppressed and appeared to be the most caste sensitive Savarna in India. He literally played the role of an upper-caste saviour in a movie about caste-based sexual violence, but when he put out his statement about the Hathras case, he did not even mention the caste of the victim. This is nothing but hypocrisy. You cannot make a movie about caste-based sexual violence and stay mum when your voice is actually needed."

Apart from Swara Bhasker, Richa Chadha, Zeeshan Ayyub, and Sayani Gupta, not many Bollywood celebrities have acknowledged the alleged role of caste in the Hathras and Balrampur cases while condemning them.

Another Dalit activist and aspiring actor Jyotsna Siddharth, who is also the founder of Dalit Feminism Archive, an intersectional and multidisciplinary community centre to document Dalit Feminism in India and South Asia, said that an actors job is not done after doing a social movie, he or she must go beyond it because otherwise, it would be just a performance."

I find this very appalling," she said, before adding, When you look at Hollywood, there are celebrities who identify with a certain cause. And, when you look at our Bollywood industry, they have no commitment towards the society in any way. Im not saying that they must raise voice against casteism, even though they should, but identify with some cause at least. Do they not have any social commitment or responsibility?

Its great that they are making socially-relevant films but they must go beyond acting in those movies and use their privilege. They just dont feel accountable enough for society because why would they? They have comfortable homes and lives. They constantly talk about their personal journey and struggles of making it big as an actor, not understanding that struggle itself is rooted in the caste, class, and gender location."

Jyotsna said that it angers her to see Bollywood celebrities show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, which campaigns against racism, discrimination, and violence toward black people, but fail to condemn the caste-based atrocities in their own country.

When the Black Lives Matter movement was happening, how many Bollywood celebrities actually talked about caste-based violence in India. Its infuriating to me because as an aspiring Dalit female actor, I feel how do I find my own space in this industry which refuses to understand the caste system and recognise that they are the equal perpetrators of this system and are feeding off this system because it is giving them certain privileges and benefits. Somebody has to die and go through this violence here for them to be against it."

Echoing a similar sentiment, Srishty said, Priyanka Chopra Jonas who is also Global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador has made a career in the West speaking about diversity and race. It would be quite hypocritical for her to identify structural discrimination in the West, but not in India. Hollywood stars and pop stars are the front runners in any kind of protest, but Bollywood stars will only copy their lifestyle and movies but not the things that they stand for."

so chopra jonas has finally spoken. but she didnt mention the word caste or dalit. try not talking about race when a black atrocity comes to light, and see how fast they cancel you there! pic.twitter.com/MPHkcg0wYz Agatha Srishtie  #DALITLIVESMATTER (@SrishtyRanjan) September 30, 2020

Srishty said that even though she understands why some Bollywood stars choose not to speak on social or political issues, especially given the witch-hunt" that is ongoing against the film industry, she thinks they still have the power" to change narratives and shift the political discourse.

Movie stars enjoy such a huge influence in the country. This makes it imperative for them to speak up for the people who adore them so much. And, in a tumultuous situation like what India has been going through in the past few years, how can they disengage themselves from the very audience that has helped them reach where they are?"
The Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) has charged the government to be decisive in dealing with the secessionist group following the recent violent activities in the Volta Region.

There were recent attacks by a secessionist group fighting for the independence of Volta Region as Western Togoland has raised security concerns in the Region.

In a press statement from the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa, it has stressed the urgency for the government to deal decisively with the secessionist group.

FOSDA urges the Government of Ghana to be decisive in dealing with this matter to forestall worse actions and violence in the interest of the peace and security of Ghana. We also urge Government to hold consultations with all stakeholders concerned to find long term solutions to this issue.

Most importantly we urge the Government to adequately resource peace promotion institutions such as National Peace Council and National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to engage in peace-building activities that will bring calm to the affected areas and the Nation at large, a press release from FOSDA has said.

According to the group, the acts of the secessionist group are tantamount to terrorism and should not be tolerated, especially less than 3 months into the general elections which are already characterized by very high tensions.

Below is the full press release:
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 1)  The Caticlan airport will be used solely to welcome tourists heading to Boracay Island as the Aklan provincial government seeks to assure the safety of visitors as travel routes reopen.

Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores allayed fears of COVID-19 infections, vouching for the safeguards in place as the world-renowned paradise reopens to guests from all over the country.

The Caticlan Airport  a short boat ride away from the white sand beaches  will be used solely by tourists. Returning Aklanons, particularly locally-stranded individuals and those returning from official travel, will only be allowed to enter and leave the province via the Kalibo Airport in the mainland.

"The danger of mixing tourists and locals will be lessened," Miraflores told CNN Philippines' The Source.

READ: Traveling to Boracay? What you need to know ahead of islands opening to more locals

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said separately that a designated area has also been set up for triage and the checking of requirements for tourists who will drive to Boracay.

"Its safe here in Boracay because we have installed health protocols that will protect our tourists and of course, our local residents..." Roque said. "We know the risks, but we also have to balance the risks with our economy."

The governor noted that Aklan primarlily depends on tourism, with some 20,000 people counting on the sector to make a living.

Boracay is off to a slow but steady start, with less than a hundred tourists traveling to the island as visitors from outside Western Visayas were allowed entry.

All tourists must have a negative COVID-19 results done via a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken two days before travel.

The governor added that each traveler will have his own QR code, which will be used during the stay and scan at each site visited for easier contact tracing.

Should a tourist show symptoms of COVID-19, there are protocols to isolate the patient and bring them to Kalibo for swab testing. A dedicated vehicle will ferry the suspect case to Aklan's own swab testing facility, Miraflores said.

"We have very stringent rules and regulations for travelers going to Boracay," MIraflores said. "We understand that theres still fear of travel among our tourists, so we expected the numbers to be low but we are very hopeful that in next few weeks or months, the confidence on travel... and the confidence of tourists going to Boracay is restored.Tourists would always think of safety first."

READ: No liquor ban in Boracay but discos still not allowed

Roque, meanwhile, said he will fly to Boracay on Saturday and stay there until Monday, and hold his regular press briefing there.

However, he said there are slim chances that President Rodrigo Duterte will visit the island anytime soon, saying Duterte has a lot of work to do in Malacanang.
Most organizations are paying lip service when they acknowledge social justice issues, but here, at least some attention is being paid. The alternative is silence, and silence is unacceptable.

Symbiosis

I share a manager position with a conscientious and hardworking co-worker who has much better tech skills than me. Since we started this arrangement, hes invented useful shortcuts that have allowed him to take on what seems like the lions share of our work. He gets it done more quickly and accurately than me and says he enjoys it. Our supervisor doesnt care how the work is divided as long as it gets done. Im able to do the minimum tech tasks required for my job  slowly and laboriously. I pick up whatever tasks he doesnt do, and I know this is a good problem to have, but I feel inadequate and guilty and am wondering how to best grow my work skills.  Andrea, Michigan

This is, indeed, a good problem to have. You and your co-worker have found a balance that suits your strengths. He is happy, and I suspect youre relieved. You arent inadequate. You have nothing to feel guilty about, as you arent doing anything wrong. If you werent doing your fair share, that would be a problem, but this isnt that.

It does seem like you want to improve your technical skills, so you should make a plan for doing that work. Do you need to take a class or workshop? Do you need to practice these skills and study the latest books? Do you need to ask a co-worker to mentor you? You have a lot of options here. Figure out how to grow your skills and at the same time, recognize that you are of use and that being of use takes many different forms.

The finger-staring is annoying

I work on a small marketing team for a hospital, and its just my boss and me. We discuss our lives in a casual manner. Recently, I realized my longtime marriage had to end. I stopped wearing my wedding band and engagement ring. My boss noticed Im not wearing it anymore, and Ive caught her staring at my finger. The finger-staring is annoying, but now my boss has taken this to another level. We keep notes and assignments in a file and place our initials next to the person responsible for a task. She has begun changing my initials  as in, a different initial from the one for my married last name. At first, I thought it was an honest typo, but she keeps using these new initials. When I first started at this job, I gained a little weight, and she handed me a flier advertising our hospitals maternity services. I was not pregnant. I didnt say anything then, so this is why I think this initial thing is a ploy to get me to say something. If I dont, shes going to keep doing this nonsense. Because shes my boss, do I have to muster up something more polite than I dont want to talk about it? Do I actually owe this update because were such a small unit? What if she asks me straight out? Im also open to the idea that Im just super sensitive about this right now.  Anonymous

You may be sensitive about your marital status right now, but your boss is passive aggressive. It sounds like the rest of your working relationship is fine, but you have every right to establish boundaries. The initial thing is simply bizarre. I am not at all sure what her goal is beyond tormenting you in the pettiest, strangest of ways.

Certainly, its always good to have a collegial relationship with your boss, but you dont owe her or any co-worker information about your personal life that you arent inclined to share. Given that you are such a small team, though, and given that you want her behavior to end, I would simply tell her that you and your husband are separating, youre not ready to talk about it, and youre grateful, in advance, that she will respect your boundaries during this difficult time.

Roxane Gay is the author, most recently, of Hunger and a contributing opinion writer. Write to her at workfriend@nytimes.com.
By Nandita Bose WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With a framed Joe Biden poster in the background, Amazon.com Inc's Jay Carney made no secret of his long history with the presidential candidate while speaking at a virtual policy roundtable during August's Democratic party convention. Carney, who is Amazon's public policy and communications chief, touted the hundreds of thousands of jobs his company has created and joined Microsoft Corp's President Brad Smith as one of two senior tech executives to have a public role at the convention - hinting at Amazon's potential ...
Ford's third-quarter deliveries topped expectations on the strength of pickup truck demand as the overall industry surged close to a booming 17 million annual sales pace in September. The automaker's sales fell 4.7 percent in the quarter, beating analysts' estimates for a 6.7 percent decline on the strength of Ford's best third quarter for pickup sales since 2005. Deliveries of F-Series trucks rose 3.5 percent, and Ranger sales increased by 8.2 percent. Industry-wide auto sales hit a pace of 16.8 million in September, the company said. The Michigan-based carmaker is predicting its first annual loss in a decade, partly because it is temporarily shutting two U.S. factories to retool.
Colorado Must Respond to Court of Appeals by Sunday

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Liberty Counsel

Oct. 2, 2020



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Oct. 2, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered Governor Jared Polis to respond to Andrew Wommack Ministries International (AWMI)'s emergency request for an injunction pending appeal by 5:00 p.m. MT this Sunday. The court's order was issued barely three hours after Liberty Counsel filed the emergency motion. AWMI's Ministers' Conference begins Monday, October 5 at 7:00 p.m. MT.



The governor's executive orders give preferential treatment to nonreligious gatherings over religious gatherings. However, the city of Cripple Creek, which resides in the same county (Teller County) as AWMI, reopened its 12 casinos on June 15. Three of the city's largest casino operators say customers have returned in larger numbers than expected with a revenue increase from last year from slot machines.



Each casino pays the city a flat fee per slot machine and gaming table. Gaming device fees are the largest revenue source for the city. Those fees were waived during the casino closures. As a result, the city cut its budget by $2.2 million for 2020 due to loss of the betting device fees and related gambling taxes. Last month, Teller County officials asked the state to allow the casinos to reopen blackjack, craps, poker and roulette tables, and serve alcohol around the clock.

Teller County has favored casinos with a "wink and a nod" by allowing them to manipulate the number of people in their buildings in order to exceed the 175-person limit. Equal treatment is not offered to AWMI, which has a 3,100-seat sanctuary with a total of 5,000 seats in various rooms at its Charis Bible College campus.

Governor Jared Polis and the state and local public health departments are discriminating against religious gatherings with restricted numerical and capacity limitations that are not imposed on nonreligious gatherings.

Under the governor's orders, AWMI may conduct nonreligious counseling, social services, "necessities of life," and educational services for P-12 individuals at its facilities in unlimited numbers provided only that social distancing is practiced. But as soon as the gathering transitions to a religious meeting or worship, the 175-person limit applies. Moreover, nearly 100 "Critical Businesses" are exempt from the size limitation, including Primary-12 public, charter, and private education. Gov. Polis' orders subject AWMI to "jail time and fines" for conducting a religious worship service if there are more than 175 individuals present in the same sanctuary.

In addition, Gov. Polis allows mass gatherings of protestors throughout the state with no social distancing or other health precautions.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "We are pleased the Court of Appeals is responding quickly to our emergency request for an injunction pending appeal regarding Governor Jared Polis' unconstitutional orders. The governor gives preferential treatment to nonreligious gatherings over religious gatherings while the First Amendment gives preferential treatment to the free exercise of religion."

Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost.



SOURCE Liberty Counsel



CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org



Related Links



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During the meeting, Arroyo said he was going to introduce a trailer bill in the veto session expanding the use of sweepstakes games and offered to make periodic payments to the senator in exchange for his support, according to the criminal complaint filed against Arroyo last year.
A Pennsylvania Lottery Cash 5 ticket sold in Lancaster County is worth $100,000.

According to a news release from the lottery, the ticket for the Thursday, Oct. 1 drawing, was sold at Turkey Hill, 1490 Stony Battery Road, Lancaster. The Turkey Hill will win $500 for selling the ticket.

The ticket matched all five balls drawn - 3-8-21-31-37, to win $100,000, less withholding.

Cash 5 prizes expire one year from the drawing date. The person with the winning ticket should contact the nearest Lottery office for further instructions or call 800-692-7481.

The lottery said more than 16,500 other Cash 5 tickets also won prizes in the drawing.

READ MORE
The Belgian king's love-child has won the right to call herself a princess after a seven-year legal battle to prove he is her father.

Delphine Boel, 52, was told she could use the royal title as well as the surname of former King Albert II, 86, in a ruling by the Brussels Court of Appeal on Thursday.

Boel, who works as an artist, will now be called Delphine of Saxen-Coburg-Gotha, Princess of Belgium, according to her lawyer.

Her two children, Josephine and Oscar, will also receive royal titles and the right to be referred to as his or her royal highness.

Delphine Boel, 52, (pictured at a court hearing earlier this month) won the right to call herself a princess after a seven-year legal battle to prove former King Albert II is her father

In a statement issued after the ruling, Boel's representatives said: 'She is delighted with this court decision, which puts an end to a lengthy procedure that was particularly painful for her and her family.

'A judicial victory will never replace a father's love, but it does offer a sense of justice, which is further strengthened by the fact that many more children who have gone through similar ordeals may be able to find the strength to face them.'

He added that Boel was pleased that she would now be treated the same as Albert's three other children - Philippe, now King of Belgium, Prince Laurent and Princess Astrid.

Rumors about Albert (right) and Boel's mother, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps (left), came to light in a biography of Albert's wife, Queen Paola, was published in 1999

Boel, who works as an artist, repeatedly stated that she was the king's daughter and used it as a theme in some of her professional artwork (pictured on a sculpted 'throne' aged 30)

The ruling had been in the offing since Albert decided in January to no longer fight a claim that he was Boel's father after finally agreeing to have a DNA test which returned a positive result.

His lawyers said previously that 'scientific conclusions indicate that he is the biological father of Mrs Delphine Boel'.

Rumors about Albert and Boel's mother, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, - the aristocratic wife of a well-heeled industrialist - had been around for years.

But the news that the king might have had a child with her broke into the open when a biography of Albert's wife, Queen Paola, was published in 1999.

The former king had never made any public statement on the allegations but in his Christmas message to the nation that year, King Albert alluded to a past infidelity.

King Philippe of Belgium (pictured) took over from his father after he abdicated in July 2013 citing ill health

Princess Astrid, daughter of the former King Albert II, (left) and his youngest son Prince Laurent (right)

Boel's lawyers said she was pleased that she would now be treated the same as Albert's three other children - Philippe (left), now King of Belgium, Prince Laurent (centre) and Princess Astrid (right) with their parents Albert and his wife Paola in 1965

Former King of Belgium: Albert II Albert II ascended to the throne in 1993 after the unexpected death of his brother King Baudouin, aged 62, who had no children with his wife Queen Fabiola. A renowned bon viveur, he was popular with both people and politicians for his easy going style and was seen as a unifying factor in the linguistically divided country. The role was largely constitutional with only a ceremonial role in affairs. But Albert was forced to make rare political interventions during a long period of political stalemate in the country in 2010 and 2011. He remained on the throne for two decades until he cited ill health in July 2013 and abdicated in favour of his son Philippe. Advertisement

He said he and Queen Paola lived through a 'crisis' in the late 1960s that almost wrecked their marriage but that 'a long while ago' they overcame their marital problems.

Boel, who bears a striking resemblance to certain members of the royal family, repeatedly stated that she was the King's daughter and used it as a theme in some of her professional artwork.

Albert could not be compelled to court while on the throne - limiting Boel's chances of proving her case.

But, in 2013, she began court proceedings after he abdicated and in turn lost his royal immunity.

Boel maintains that she brought the paternity case because she was angry at having been cold-shouldered by the royal family.

Her previous lawyer stated that she was not motivated by money, since she was better off as a Boel - an family of industrialists worth around $1billion (774million).

Boel's mother gave a TV interview the day Albert stepped down from his role during which she spoke publicly for the first time about her affair which occurred before he became king.

Baroness Longchamps said that her affair, with the then Prince Albert of Liege, started in 1966 and ran until 1984.

She added that he was a regular presence during the early years of her daughter's life.

Longchamps divorced the claimant's legal father, Jacques Boel, in 1978.

Belgian media reports claimed that he then disinherited his daughter because of the embarrassment that the scandal had caused to the family.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday said that senior party leaders and members of the Delhi legislative assembly (MLAs) would gather at the India Gate in the evening to protest against the gang rape and murder of a Dalit teenager (19) by four upper caste men in Uttar Pradeshs Hathras district earlier this week.

We will gather in large numbers at the India Gate at 5 pm to protest against the Hathras incident. All our MLAs and several senior leaders are supposed to join us. We demand a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into the incident, security for the family of the victim, compensation, charge sheet to be filed at the earliest and the case be assigned to a fast-track court, said Rajendra Pal Gautam, a minister in the Delhi government and an AAP leader.

Also read: Hathras victims father demands CBI probe alleging pressure from cops, administration

Several civil society groups and individuals have called for a protest at the India Gate on Friday to demand justice for the Hathras victim.

Activists from the Bhim Army, actor Swara Bhaskar, students activists from Delhi University (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), members of All India Students Association (AISA), Students Federation of India (SFI) and others have planned to gather at the India Gate on Friday evening to demand justice for the Hathras victim.

On Thursday, Delhi Police reiterated that all gatherings are prohibited near the India Gate under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The prohibitory order banning assembly of four or more persons at one place has been in place since the end of March to ensure that the public comply with social distancing norms amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in the national capital.
LONDON - First, the British government implored its citizens to, please, please, go and get a flu shot, saying it was vital to protect the state-run health-care system from being overwhelmed by a double-barrel blast of covid-19 and seasonal influenza this winter.

Now, Britain is running low on flu vaccine, struggling to meet the skyrocketing demand, because people tried to do what the government asked of them.

Major pharmacies have halted flu shot appointments. Doctors' offices are putting people on waiting lists - or telling them to call back in December. Although the government has urged calm and said more supplies are on the way, a survey of general practitioners in Britain found that only a quarter expect to have enough flu vaccine to last the winter.

The story is similar in many countries across Europe. As coronavirus cases rise, urgings from public health officials about the need to avoid a "twindemic" has upped demand for flu vaccines - and, in some places, triggered shortages. Governments are rationing flu shots to those most vulnerable, while they scramble for supplies.

In a limited way, it's a trial run of what governments may face if and when coronavirus vaccines are available. It may also be an early indication that, even in countries traditionally skeptical of vaccines, large swaths of the population will be willing to get inoculated for covid-19.

Ann Moen, World Health Organization's chief of influenza preparedness and response, has acknowledged that some Northern Hemisphere countries are having trouble sourcing additional flu vaccines. The United States says it has plenty of doses stocked, but many countries in Europe don't.

This past flu season was relatively mild in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina all glided through with low numbers. South Africa barely had any cases at all. But Europe is worried that even an average flu season, combined with the stresses of covid-19, could be disastrous.

The vaccine supply problem stems in part from orders placed in 2019, before anyone knew that the second wave of a global pandemic might coincide with the northern flu season.

Still, public health experts have been surprised by the eagerness for flu shots this year, both in vaccine-embracing countries such as Britain, where more than 70% of people over 65 normally get a flu jab, and in nations where uptake is usually low.

Poland, for instance, has a reputation for rejecting vaccines and distrusting pharmaceutical companies. Last year, only 4% of the population got flu vaccinations and 100,000 doses went unused. But this fall, Poland's health minister said the country is facing a flu vaccine shortage and trying to negotiate new shipments, amid increased demand.

In Italy, the country's regional health authorities have placed orders for 17 million shots, almost 50% more doses than last year.

"We were preparing for an increase, but not such a significant number," Massimo Scaccabarozzi, president of the association that represents Italy's pharmaceutical companies, told the Guardian newspaper. "It's a big challenge."

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government promised an unprecedented campaign, to double last year's effort and deliver flu vaccines to 30 million people in England - more than half the population - including free shots for anyone aged 50 and over.

"There is no national shortage of the flu vaccine. . . . It is completely wrong to suggest otherwise," said a spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care, who is not named by government protocol.

"The vaccine is already being delivered for those in at-risk groups, including the over-65s," the spokesman said. "And this will continue throughout the winter months, so there is still time for those eligible people to get their vaccinations."

But with even high-risk people ending up on waitlists, there are doubts about whether the government can deliver.

"It certainly looks like demand is outstripping supply quite considerably," said Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, who is monitoring the flu vaccine program.

"There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment," Marshall said. "Will we in general practice have enough vaccine to deliver to those to greatest need? When will new supplies come through? Will the public be patient and understanding with [the] need to wait in line while those with the greatest need get it?"

He said people were already showing understandable frustration.

"They have been told they are going to be vaccinated. They were expecting it, wanting it. Many are going along to their GPs and pharmacies saying, 'Here I am. Can I have it?' And now are having to be told, 'Please be patient. Hold on, because you might be a priority group, but you're not a top priority group.' "

Britain and the rest of Europe don't traditionally encourage flu vaccines for everyone, as the United States and Canada do. Instead, Europe aims to vaccinate a substantial portion of the most at-risk groups: primarily the elderly, people with chronic conditions, pregnant women and health-care workers. This year, there was talk of going broader. But most of that talk was short-lived.

In Belgium, the health ministry declared in June that "it is more crucial than ever to be able to vaccinate people at risk as widely as possible to avoid overloading the health-care system, given the possible risk that the flu season will coincide with a peak of covid-19."

The ministry proposed expanding the target group to people aged 50 to 64.

But while Belgium had increased its vaccine order for this year, to 2.9 million doses, that's far short of the 4 million doses it would need to execute the ministry's proposal.

"Vaccinating people who fall outside the priority group, such as workers in good health, is out of the question," Lieven Zwaenepoel, a spokesman for the Belgian Pharmaceutical Association, told the country's De Morgen newspaper. "Everyone will have to show solidarity."

That means most of the country will remain unvaccinated.

Likewise, German Health Minister Jens Spahn was among those who called for broader flu vaccinations this year, amid fears the health system could be overloaded.

"Anyone who wants to have themselves and their children vaccinated can and should," he told Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper in August. That's why Germany had acquired additional doses, he said. Other health experts called for teachers to be covered as fully as possible.

But even having purchased more flu vaccine than usual, with 25 million doses, Germany won't be able to cover the 40 million people considered highest risk, much less the entire population of 83 million. Ultimately, the county's vaccine commission recommended that only high-risk groups get inoculations.

About half of those eligible in Germany say they plan to do so. That's higher than in typical years; about a third of people 60 years and older and 20% to 50% of people with chronic illness received a flu vaccination last winter.

But health experts worry it's still not enough.

"It is frightening that almost every second person who belongs to a risk group wants to forgo the flu vaccination," said Fritz Becker, chairman of the Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists, in a recent statement.

"The vaccination is safe and well-tolerated. Those who are vaccinated not only protect themselves, but also others from infection. That should be enough incentive," Becker said.

And people skeptical of the well-established flu vaccine may be even more nervous about the prospect of a brand new coronavirus vaccine that is tested, approved and produced in record time.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 2)  Allies of Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco should consider resigning from their leadership posts if they have a problem with the current head of the House of Representatives.

Rep. Fredenil Castro, who is a supporter of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, made the call during a privilege speech, which led to the temporary suspension of plenary debates on the proposed 2021 national budget.

Resign [from] your leadership positions and let those who are willing to help and cooperate take over, Castro said.

There is no shame in admitting defeat at the hands of the better foe. But it is not fitting to pretend to be part of the team while betraying your colleagues and undermining the efforts of Congress, he added.

Two of Velascos most trusted allies are deputy speakers  1-PACMAN Partylist Rep. Michael Romero and Surigao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel.

During the plenary deliberations on Friday, lawmakers also approved the motion to elect Castro as deputy speaker, replacing Romero from the position.

Deputy Majority Leader Xavier Romualdo made the motion that was not objected. This was then approved by Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu.

Cayetano and Velasco are currently at odds over a term-sharing agreement brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte last year. Under the deal, Cayetano was supposed to serve as Speaker for the first 15 months or until this month. Velasco would then take over the post for the succeeding 21 months.

Earlier this week, Cayetano and Velasco met with Duterte to talk about the agreement. The following day, Cayetano offered to resign and detailed what transpired in the palace meeting during a plenary session originally intended for budget deliberations. The budget hearing was then rescheduled for Friday.

Cayetano recalled the President asked Velasco to move the leadership change to December to ensure the general appropriations bill will be passed on time, a proposal that the Marinduque representative rejected.

The Taguig-Pateros legislator said Velasco was adamant that Cayetano should step down on October 14, the last session day before Congress goes on a month-long break.

Cayetano said it was agreed during the meeting that he should be the one to announce the turnover of speakership, but added that Velascos camp jumped the gun by leaking the information to the media.

He then offered to resign from his post, which was rejected by an overwhelming majority of lawmakers at the plenary.

For Castro, this means that a majority of the House members prefer Cayetano as their leader.

Kahit araw-arawin ni Speaker Cayetano na magbitiw, araw-araw din siyang ibabalik ng mas nakararami na mga kasapi ng mababang kapulungan ng Kongreso, he said.

[Translation: Even if Speaker Cayetano chooses to resign every day, most House members will also choose to reject his resignation every day.]

In a recorded statement posted Friday night, Velasco denied all allegations raised by Cayetano against him.

He also questioned the reason behind Cayetano holding on to the position, noting that "to hang on to the speakership and extend his term until December on the pretext of budget deliberations only raises suspicions."

Velasco also asked if Cayetano and his "sidekicks" are fighting the change in leadership in order to pass a budget that will be big enough for them when the real goal is to pass a budget that will address the country's issues on health, poverty, and education.

The lawmaker then assured that he will abide by their agreement despite the "unwillingness" of the House Speaker.

"Speaker Cayetano, you gave your word in front of the President to honor the term sharing agreement. Please, I appeal to you, finish the budget and resign on October 14," Velasco said.
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Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has gained ground in betting markets over President Donald Trump following their first debate of the 2020 U.S. election campaign, two betting market aggregators said.

Bettors on British exchange Smarkets give Biden a 63% chance of winning the Nov. 3 election, up from 55% before the acrimonious debate. The Republican Trump's chances remain unchanged at 43%.

"It was clearly about personalities rather than content," Sarbjit Bakhshi, head of political markets at Smarkets, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum on Thursday. People betting on how various states might vote learned nothing new, he said.

On UK-based Betfair Exchange, Biden's odds improved to 60% after the debate, up from 56%, while Trump's chances worsened to 40% from 43% pre-debate.

"Biden is pitching himself in a very different way to Hillary Clinton, he's emphasising his working-class, blue-collar credentials and emphasising the class aspect that it's Scranton versus Park Avenue," Betfair spokesperson Darren Hughes said on Wednesday in reference to Trump's 2016 rival.

Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden and the moderator in their Tuesday night encounter, with Trump questioning Biden's intelligence and Biden calling Trump a racist, a liar and the worst president ever.

Smarkets odds give Democrats a 60% likelihood of winning both the popular and Electoral College votes.

On London-based Ladbrokes Coral Group, bettors gave a 30% chance of a repeat of 2016 when Trump lost the popular vote but won the state-by-state Electoral College vote that decides the winner.

"There are a lot of gamblers placing very unrealistic expectations on Trump," Matthew Shaddick, head of politics betting at Ladbrokes Coral said on GMF on Tuesday.

"I think 'shy Trumpers' is one of the major reasons people are prepared to back Trump at very low odds. But I am very sceptical."

Reuters/Ipsos polling before the debate showed 51% of likely voters backing Biden while 42% said they would vote for Trump, with the remainder undecided.





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A total of 2,352 new COVID-19 cases were reported from on Thursday.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said that the count of cases in the city has reached 2,07,494 including 27,435 active cases, 1,70,678 recoveries, and 8,969 deaths. The city reported 43 deaths due to the disease on Thursday.

Police informed that one policeman died and 188 policemen tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

The total number of positive COVID-19 cases in police now stands at 23,548, including 2,956 active cases. The police force has reported 20,345 recoveries and 247 deaths due to the disease.

(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 Spanish judges request to probe a Las Vegas Sands staffers apparent role in a criminal spying operation against Julian Assange indicates the investigation is homing in on US intelligence. Tellingly, the Department of Justice is stonewalling the application. By Max Blumenthal

October 01, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - The Spanish judge presiding over the trial of a security firm owner apparently hired to spy on jailed WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange has sent a request to the U.S. Department of Justice for an interview with Zohar Lahav, the Israeli-American vice president for executive protection at Las Vegas Sands.

Sands is owned by the ultra-Zionist casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, one of the single largest donors to Donald Trumps presidential campaigns and the Republican Party.

According to court documents reviewed by The Grayzone, the judge seeks to probe Lahavs relationship with disgraced UC Global CEO David Morales, who was indicted for an array of crimes after allegedly presiding over a spying operation targeting Assange while he was confined within Ecuadors embassy in London.

This request follows a previous attempt at securing witness interviews that was effectively blocked by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The judge outlined four objectives for the interview with Lahav:

Determine Lahavs relationship with Morales

Determine the occasions when Morales and Lahav met in the United States and Spain

Determine if Lahav had communications and meetings with Morales regarding the alleged illegally obtained information under investigation

Determine if Lahav or his superiors in Las Vegas Sands, Sheldon Adelson and Brian Nagel, had access to the alleged illegally obtained information under investigation.

The judges interest in Nagel indicates that the Spanish investigation is now probing the suspected role of U.S. intelligence as the guiding hand behind UC Globals criminal spying operation.
At least two homes in the St. Helena city limits are known to have burned in the Glass Fire.

The city is aware of two houses that have burned, along with a garage at a third property, said City Manager Mark Prestwich. There are also reports of at least one additional property that has burned, but authorities have been unable to confirm because it is behind a locked gate, Prestwich said.

One of the destroyed houses was located off Howell Mountain Road in an area where the city limits extend east of Silverado Trail. Another is on the west side of town.

As of late Friday, the entire city remained under either mandatory evacuation orders or advisory evacuation warnings. Heavy smoke has pushed St. Helenas air quality well into the very unhealthy range.

After extensive power outages from Sunday through Tuesday, power has been restored to all of St. Helena except the northeast corner, where PG&E will not restore power until its deemed safe to do so.

An extensive dozer line has been established west of St. Helena, running along the north-south perimeter close to the city limits, Prestwich said. Those lines behind the Sylvaner and Sulphur Springs areas were "holding strong," with no additional threat to St. Helena, the city reported Friday afternoon.

Cal Fire officials have warned that the fire could spread during high winds that are forecast for late Friday and into Saturday morning.

The fire destroyed the citys three water tanks outside the city limits at Meadowood, eliminating water service in the Meadowood and Madrone Knoll areas. Prestwich said city representatives have talked to county and state emergency services officials about installing portable tanks to restore water service in those areas.

Customers in the Meadowood area will receive a "Do Not Drink Water / Do Not Boil Water" notice. The water in the rest of the city's system is safe to drink, according to a press release issued Sunday by the city.

"There have been no leaks or depressurization in the City distribution system outside of the Meadowood area," the press release stated. "All water distribution samples collected have met state and federal water quality requirements. Therefore, the water is safe to drink with the exception of the Meadowood area."

"As a precaution, the City is testing for volatile organic compounds, including benzene and will report these results as they are obtained. The City is also implementing knowledge and experiences from other communities subjected to wildfire and are developing sampling plans based on both our specific situation and the lessons learned from their experience."

According to preliminary assessments, the City of St. Helena has incurred more than $2 million in damage to city facilities and the cost of emergency response.

On Friday the City Council ratified an emergency declaration issued Sunday by Prestwich. The declaration will help the city seek local, state and federal reimbursement for costs associated with the fire.

As of Friday morning, the Glass Fire had burned 60,148 acres and was 6% contained. Cal Fire has assigned more than 2,500 personnel to the fire.

Watch Now: Firefighters race to save homes from wildfire

You can reach Jesse Duarte at 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com.

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Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap was on Thursday questioned by police in a rape case filed against him by actor Payal Ghosh for more than eight hours. After that, Kashyap's lawyer Priyanka Khimani released a statement on behalf of the filmmaker stating that Kashyap has denied all wrongdoing in the matter and has provided his statement to the Mumbai Police.

The statement says that Anurag Kashyap has provided "documentary proof" of the fact that throughout August 2013, he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films. The lawyer said that the material provided by Anurag Kashyap in support of his statement, "demonstrates that the complaint of Payal Ghosh is an outright lie."

Anurag Kashyap is distressed with the false and reckless allegations made against him that have caused pain to him, his family and his fans, the statement said adding that Kashyap intends to vigorously pursue the legal remedies available to him.

Here is the statement from Anurag Kashyap's Lawyer:

In an FIR registered with the Versova Police Station, one Ms Payal Ghosh has alleged that in August 2013, my client, Mr Anurag Kashyap, called her to his house and sexually harassed her. My client presented himself for questioning before the investigating authority on 1st October 2020.



Mr Kashyap has denied all wrongdoing in the matter and has provided his statement to the police. The material provided by Mr Kashyap, in support of his statement, demonstrates that the complaint of Ms Ghosh is an outright lie. Mr Kashyap has provided documentary proof of the fact that throughout August 2013 he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films. Mr Kashyap has categorically denied that any such alleged incident ever took place and has also denied all allegations levelled against him.



These sudden, belated allegations of an alleged incident of August 2013 have been widely publicised by the Complainant for the purpose of vilifying Mr Kashyap, irrespective of the outcome of the judicial process. Mr Kashyap is confident that the falsity of the complaint has been exposed, not only by the evidence presented by Mr Kashyap but also the ever-shifting version of events put forth by Ms Ghosh in the media. Mr Kashyap is apprehensive that now that the falsity of her allegations in the FIR has been established, she will alter her version of events in the investigative process as well.

Mr Kashyap is distressed with the false and reckless allegations made against him that have caused pain to him, his family and his fans. Mr Kashyap intends to vigorously pursue the legal remedies available to him. Mr Kashyap vehemently denies any such incident, as has been alleged, and has sought for severe action against Ms Ghosh for misusing the criminal justice system and for hijacking the Me Too Movement for her ulterior motives. Mr Kashyap is confident that justice will prevail.

READ | Anurag Kashyap summoned by police after Payal Ghosh's allegation of rape & FIR against him

Payal Ghosh says Kashyap 'lied'

Taking to Twitter, Payal Ghosh has said that Anurag Kashyap has lied to the Police in his statement. She has revealed that she will move an application seeking various lie-detection tests.

Mr.Kashyap has lied bfr police in his statement..my Lawyer,is moving an application 2conduct Narco Analysis,Lie Detector &Polygraph Test of Mr.kashyap 2find out d truth Today application wl be filed to d police station,4 d interest of Justice @narendramodi @AmitShah #BetiBachao  Payal Ghosh (@iampayalghosh) October 2, 2020

READ | Payal Ghosh reacts after filmmaker Anurag Kashyap gets summoned by Mumbai Police

Payal Ghosh's allegations against Anurag Kashyap

On Thursday, a team of Versova Police Station took Payal Ghosh to a government hospital in Mumbai's Andheri for a medical test in the case. The actress had last month filed an FIR against Anurag Kashyap accusing him of sexually assaulting her. Kashyap called the actor's claim an attempt to "silence" him for his outspoken views. Anurag Kashyap has found support in his industry friends, with Hansal Mehta, Taapse Pannu, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub as well as former wife, film editor Aarti Bajaj crediting him for creating a safe workspace for women.

@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

And here is the statement from my lawyer @PriyankaKhimani .. on my behalf .. thank You pic.twitter.com/0eXwNnK5ZI  Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) September 20, 2020

READ | Anurag Kashyap reaches Versova police station for questioning over Payal Ghosh's rape FIR

READ | Payal Ghosh & Ramdas Athawale meet Maha Governor; discuss case against Anurag Kashyap
The return of Asda to British ownership under the leadership of Mohsin and Zuber Issa will bring a fresh dynamic to Britain's grocery market.

It underlines how smart the Competition Commission was to block the Asda merger with Sainsbury's, which would have cut the number of big grocery chains from four to three.

It is a huge achievement for the Issa brothers, backed by private equity group TDR Capital, and a terrific demonstration of how British-Asian entrepreneurs increasingly drive retail in Britain in the same way as Jewish immigrants founded and developed great enterprises, including Tesco and Marks & Spencer, in the early 20th Century.

The return of Asda to British ownership under the leadership of Mohsin and Zuber Issa will bring a fresh dynamic to Britain's grocery market

It is a huge achievement for the Issa brothers, backed by private equity group TDR Capital

Historically capital for such enterprise came from banks. My wife's grandfather Maurcie Lermon turned a haberdasher in the Welsh valleys into nationwide department store chain Macowards with a 10,000 loan from Lloyds Bank.

Private equity ownership is often problematic because of its dependence on the magic of leverage and a tendency to be short-term in its outlook.

Amid the national gloom of Covid-19 and lingering uncertainty about the shape of Brexit, private equity is seeing opportunities in the UK's greatly undervalued public quoted and private markets.

The decision by insurer LV, the former Liverpool Victoria, to choose Bain Capital as a partner is a case in point.

It is also known that private equity has shown interest in becoming involved with BT amid a sinking share price.

The Competition Commission will likely take a look at the deal with EG, the Issa brothers' global petrol station enterprise.

Asda has a presence on some 300 UK forecourts and EG on almost 400. Reality is that ownership of convenience stores in Britain is widely dispersed.

Tesco is the biggest player with some 2,500 out of more than 46,000 nationwide. So the competition threat doesn't seem that serious.

Under new ownership, and run by Roger Burnley, an architect of the aborted Sainsbury's merger, Asda will be more of a threat to upstart German retailers Aldi and Lidl.

Asda's past success has been low prices and it will want to reassert its dominance. Value shopping will be much in demand as the pandemic reaps a bitter harvest on the jobs market and household incomes.

Less in the limelight than publicly quoted rivals, Asda had a relatively good pandemic. It increased the numbers of is online customers from 400,000 to 700,000 in line with Sainsbury's, but behind Tesco with 1.2m.

Regarded as a mature and underwhelming bit of the landscape before Covid, grocery is having a renaissance.

Remote workers are more likely to pop into their local convenience store to buy sandwiches or prepared lunch than Pret a Manger or even Greggs.

Eating and spending more time at home will mean bigger shopping baskets as well as speeding up the switch to online. There is plenty of scope for expansion amid the scramble for delivery slots.

The value in quoted grocers has been underlined by the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's shopping basket. He has been buying up stakes across Europe, including Sainsbury's in the UK, Casino in France and Metro in Germany.

The financials of the Asda deal are unnecessarily obscure, other than the promise to invest an extra 1billion investment over three years. An important thing to note is that petrol stations and grocery stores are both great cash flow enterprises.

Property developer Gerald Ronson built his Heron empire on the back of forecourts. A combination of garages and Asda's cash flow of around 1.3billion should enable debt obligations to be comfortably met.

After a passage of time, we shouldn't discount the idea of the Issa brothers and TDR Capital returning Asda to public markets vacated two decades ago.

US working again

Had the Trump White House not been paralysed by the president's Covid diagnosis, the big US election talking point might have been the latest jobless rate, the last data set before the November 3.

After an August jobs surge, the return to work slowed to 661,000 overall in September but numbers were distorted by a falling away of some public sector work.

Encouragingly for Republicans, private payrolls climbed by 877,000. The unemployment rate fell to 7.99 per cent of the workforce from 8.4 per cent. Permanent scarring looks to be far less than after the financial crisis.

But it might be all a bit too late for Trump's re-election push.
America can be proud of many things: our innovation, generosity and entrepreneurial spirit are unsurpassed. Yet when it comes to our nation understanding one of the greatest gifts ever given to humanitythe Biblewe're moving from dumb to dumber, and it's no laughing matter.
Accounts serving the aims of the Chinese Communist Party are increasingly taking to Facebook to air "inauthentic content," a new report by an Australian think tank has found.



In an investigation into inauthentic activity on Facebook, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) found that fake accounts are posting content in English and Chinese "that support[s] the political objectives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)."



Post topics have included the U.S. Governments decision to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok, the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, ongoing tensions in the USChina relationship, as well as the U.S. government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, the report found.



"Theres considerable diversity in the accounts and pages linked to this activity set on Facebook," the report by Elise Thomas, Albert Zhang, and Jake Wallis said.



"Most of the accounts we discovered were created or became active in 2020. Some have been active since January or February this year, while others appeared only in September 2020."



It said some of the accounts posting about the pandemic have also previously posted on other topics close to the CCP's heart, including attacks on exiled billionaire Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Kwok.



The report focused in particular on the activity of 33 Facebook accounts, which often displayed account usernames combining Chinese characters and often random English alphabetic characters, with cartoons in place of profile photos.



Their posts typically included short videos uploaded directly to the platform, it said.



"The actors behind information operations play an adversarial game with the social media platforms, evolving their tactics to find new vulnerabilities," the report said, adding that operators often switched tactics to avoid being identified as inauthentic by the platforms they use.



It said previous analysis suggested that individual operators may be operating independently, leading to greater diversity in the way the content gets presented online.



Accounts possibly coordinated



The report said that it couldn't conclusively determine that the 33 accounts were backed by China, but that they showed signs of being inauthentic, coordinated, and possibly automated.



"The cross-platform activity we analyze presents narratives that support the political objectives of the CCP and involve a significant investment in time and resources over a period of months, implying a well-resourced, persistent and patient actor," it said.



It cited the removal of more than 2,000 YouTube channels since April by Google following a Threat Analysis Group investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China.



The report said one indication of inauthentic behavior is repeated engagement with posts by the same set of accounts.



"The Facebook accounts and pages identified in this report also displayed highly coordinated and possibly automated behavior to create inauthentic engagement," it said, adding that, on Aug. 24, more than 30 unique accounts liked, commented on, and shared the same five posts from pages titled Together to fight the epidemic, Fight-the-epidemic, Health First, Peaceful coexistence of the world and China will win.



"All of these interactions are from the same group of appropriated or newly created accounts," it said, adding that one or no friends or connections was also commonly found among the suspicious accounts, another potential marker of inauthenticity.



Reported by Jia Yuan and Rita Cheng for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
According to Gautam Budh Nagar police, a case under sections 188, 269 and 270 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Epidemic Act has been registered against Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

A case has been registered against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and over 200 others under section 188, 269 and 270 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Epidemic Act, according to the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police.

Earlier on Thursday, Rahul and Priyanka were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police at Yamuna Expressway here while they were on the way to meet the Hathras gangrape victims family, who had died while receiving treatment in Delhis Safdarjung hospital on Tuesday. Gandhis were later released.

Both Congress leaders alleged they were manhandled and roughed up by police personnel while they were marching towards Hathras to meet the victims family. However, Noida Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Ranvijay Singh said that there was no lathi charge on anyone. The 19-year-old had succumbed to injuries in the Safdarjung Hospital where she was brought on Monday from Aligarh Muslim University Medical College.

Also read: Hathras politics: Rahul, Priyanka taken into custody by UP police, march to Hathras stopped

Also read: Hathras Horror: Forensic report shows the victim wasnt raped, says UP Police

Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that the forensic report of the Hathras victim, who succumbed to her injuries following an alleged gang rape, shows that the woman was not raped.

The government has formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case and said the matter will be heard in the fast track court. All four accused in the case have been arrested.

The senior police official said that the postmortem, which was conducted by a team of doctors in Delhi, has established that the death was caused by the trauma of her neck injury.

Also read: Bihar polls: NDA likely to announce seat-sharing soon, BJP holds meeting at Naddas residence
Pastor Panha Mey was conflicted in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Other congregations were livestreaming services, and though he was grateful to have an option to continue serving his flock at Cambodian Baptist Church of Houston, he still felt something was missing.

Church is a time for fellowship, to catch up with others, to pray together. He figured a streamed service simply wouldnt allow for that type of interaction.

Then, Mey participated in a Zoom meeting with Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston and the Greater Houston Partnership  and he came up with a solution.

The call was designed to bring congregations of all faith traditions together with experts from the Texas Medical Center and government officials, including Mayor Sylvester Turner and Judge Lina Hidalgo. Not only would their expertise help clergy navigate COVID-19, but they would benefit from their connection during this time.

The Zoom meeting was held weekly, and Mey attended every time.

After the Interfaith calls, it dawned on me, he said. Zoom allows people to interact. What was being done with Interfaith, maybe we could do that at church?

Zoom videoconferencing software allows church members to sing, to share a testimony and join in a reading. They log in early and stay late.

Weve been doing church all along, Mey said.

His success with Zoom has allowed him to take time with returning to in-person worship. Mey now plans to wait until November  and he is not alone.

Interfaith Ministries and the Greater Houston Partnership conducted a survey Sept. 17-21 of the 93 congregations that had been regulars on the Zoom meetings. Two-thirds reported not yet returning to in-person services.

About 66 percent of those that did not meet in person were planning to reopen by the end of October, and 34 percent did not have a date in mind.

Safety concerns are still paramount, Bob Harvey, CEO and president of the Greater Houston Partnership, said.

For the congregations that are reopening, 96 percent are requiring face masks, while the remaining 4 percent are encouraging their use, and 78 percent plan to maintain social-distancing standards.

Survey results revealed that about 80 percent of participants plan to continue virtual services once in-person services resume, and another 14 percent plan to offer online worship but to a more limited degree.

As we all know, the faith community has embraced virtual services, Harvey said. They created a new capability, and to some extent, perfected the model over time.

Martin B. Cominsky, president and CEO of Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, remains impressed by the innovative ways that clergy have continued to minister to their members.

They understand their faith transcends their physical presence, he said. Faith leaders have done a great job in reducing the impact and metrics in our city. Theres a lot to be proud of in the way the faith community responded.

This survey was the second offered by the Greater Houston Partnership and Interfaith Ministries. An initial questionnaire in late May gauged whether congregations reopened on Memorial Day. At the time, 83 percent had not and opted for virtual services instead.

The second survey dovetailed with businesses and schools reopening. The ground is shifting, and we didnt know where the faith community was  or how we could best help them, Harvey said.

He said that clergy have been at the forefront of the citys efforts to stay safe and healthy. When asked to close doors and cancel services to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they rose to the occasion.

It was really remarkable, Harvey said. They came together, and they really responded.

From that first gathering in March, a weekly Zoom meeting developed, with leaders from the Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Sikh and Hindu communities all on the line. Often, 125 to 150 people joined the sessions. As the months passed, the calls topics expanded to include hurricane preparations and the census in addition to COVID-19.

Texas Medical Center experts explained the important metrics of COVID-19 for the faith community  tallying new hospitalizations, positive case counts and rates of transmission. More than 60 percent of the faith leaders said this guidance was the most helpful in making decisions related to resuming physical services.

Thara Narasimhan, president of Hindus of Greater Houston, said that recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Harris County officials were also key guides during COVID-19.

Nearly half of the temples have not yet opened their doors, she said. Some have opened partially and a few by appointment only.

Almost all offer online visits or rituals on Facebook or YouTube.

Mosques across the city have started reopening while retaining virtual options, said Shariq Ghani, director and founder of the Minaret Foundation, which focuses on building relationships to increase civic engagement in the Muslim community.

Early on, Muslim leadership decided it was best to limit worship at the mosques to help contain the spread of COVID-19, and they closed their doors altogether to comply with local regulations, Ghani said. We learned alternative ways to reach our congregants to assist them with their needs and help uplift them spiritually.

Even as mosques reopen, Ghani said the weekly Interfaith calls will continue to offer guidance to imams.

These weekly calls allow faith leaders the opportunity to engage our leadership, relay our parishioners concerns and get a broader view, Ghani added.

The Rev. Harvey Clemons at Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church also values the Zoom meetings for providing information needed for caring for church members.

If there ever were a time when people needed a pastor, now is the time, Clemons said. If there ever were a time when a pastor needs to live up to his or her responsibility, now is the time. People need someone to love them and shepherd them through these crucial times.

At Pleasant Hill, in-person worship resumed about a month ago. In the large sanctuary, with room for 1,000, services started with 10 members and now include 20.

As infection rates decline, Clemons plans to increase attendance to 50 members.

Pre-pandemic, Rabbi Brian Strauss typically saw 300 to 500 people in attendance at Congregation Beth Yeshurun. Now he has limited the count to 40.

Strauss explained that health and safety remain his chief concern. He pointed to the Jewish principle of Pikuach Nefesh, which states that saving a human life is of utmost importance.

Life is more precious than any mitzvah, the rabbi said. We have to protect life.

Lindsay Peyton is a Houston-based freelance writer.
You might want to grab your sunglasses if you plan to venture over to Leonards gilded headquarters to view the spring collection  the brightly colored prints are a stark contrast to the dark, dripping streets of Paris and it can take a moment for the eye to adjust to the blast of varied motifs and styles.

The label propped up a surfboard in its Paris showroom as part of the lineup, which hinged on a tropical theme with prints featuring hibiscus flowers, palm fronds and flamingos.

Christine Phung had turned to Hawaii for the final leg of her design term at the French luxury label. Floral prints were bright while silhouettes included neoprene-inspired designs, variations on the classic Hawaiian shirt, silky jumpsuits with bare backs and surfer trunks. The brand is a bit retro, so the challenge is to find its contemporary side, remarked Phung.

Leonard president Nathalie Tribouillard-Chassaing was on hand to explain how the family-owned label sees its future, flagging intentions to bring in younger and digitally-savvy talent. The collection was presented as a film, featuring star surfer Nina Reynal riding waves in Biarritz  marking an important dip into digital for the brand.

As for the houses creative direction, a new stylist will steer the winter collection  already chosen, though she declined to give the name.

The artistic director is our house, said Tribouillard-Chassaing, explaining that the strategy is to invite a new stylist every three or four years.

Launch Gallery: Leonard Paris RTW Spring 2021

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Half a dozen galaxies entangled in the gravitational web of a supermassive black hole, less than a billion years after the Big Bang, have been spotted by astronomers.

Researchers from the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) say this is the first time such a close grouping has been seen so soon after the universe began.

Black holes emerging in the earliest years of the universe are thought to have formed from the collapse of the first stars - but until now astronomers didn't know how they were able to grow so big - up to the size of a billion Suns - so quickly.

The observations of the galaxies surrounding the supermassive black hole were made by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT).

Finding this tangled web of galaxies 'feeding' an early supermassive black hole suggests they grow in web-like structures which contain plenty of gas to fuel them.

This image shows the sky around the supermassive black hole surrounded by at least six galaxies. This picture was created from images in the Digitized Sky Survey 2

Supermassive black holes are exotic, strange and relatively common cosmic phenomena - they appear at the centre of most galaxies including the Milky Way.

Marco Mignoli, astronomer from INAF, and study lead author, said the research was driven by the desire to understand supermassive black holes in the early universe.

'These are extreme systems and to date we have had no good explanation for their existence,' the Italian researcher explained.

All of the galaxies surrounding the black hole were lying in a cosmic 'spider's web' of gas extending to more than 300 times the size of the Milky Way.

'The cosmic web filaments are like spider's web threads,' said Mignoli, adding the 'galaxies stand and grow where the filaments cross'.

'Streams of gas - available to fuel both the galaxies and the central supermassive black hole  can flow along the filaments.'

The light from this large web-like structure, with its black hole of one billion solar masses, has travelled to Earth from when the universe was 900 million years old.

The discovery helped fill in part of the puzzle of how these relatively abundant but extreme objects formed so quickly after the Big Bang, the team said.

It is thought the first black holes must have grown very fast to reach masses of a billion suns within the first 900 million years of the universe's life.

Astronomers have struggled to explain how sufficiently large amounts of 'black hole fuel' could have been available to enable these objects to grow so quickly.

The team behind this new study predict that it could be down to dark matter halos.

With the help of ESOs Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have found six galaxies lying around a supermassive black hole, the first time such a close grouping has been seen within the first billion years of the Universe

Colin Norman of Johns Hopkins University in the US, also a co-author on the study, said the discovery adds support to the theory that supermassive black holes form and grow within massive dark matter halos in large-scale web-like structures.

These large regions of invisible 'dark matter' are thought to attract huge amounts of gas in the early Universe.

Together, the gas and the invisible dark matter form the web-like structures where galaxies and black holes can evolve and allow a black hole to become supermassive.

The galaxies spotted inside the web are some of the faintest current telescopes - Earth or space-based - are able to spot.

This chart shows the location of the supermassive black hole surrounded by at least six galaxies, in the constellation of Sextans

It was made using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile - but larger telescopes are needed to find even fainter objects.

'The absence of earlier detections of such structures was likely due to observational limitations,' Norman explained.

'We believe we have just seen the tip of the iceberg, and that the few galaxies discovered so far around this supermassive black hole are only the brightest ones,' said co-author Barbara Balmaverde, an astronomer at INAF in Torino, Italy.

The findings have been published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 16:25 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48bfe72 1 National coronavirus,COVID-19,COVID-19-death-toll,pandemic,satgas-covid-19,satgascovid19,#pakaimasker,#ingatpesanibu,#ingatpesanibucucitangan,ingatpesanibujagajarak,#ingatpesanibupakaimasker,#jagajarakhindarikerumunan,#jagarak Free

A resident of Ponorogo, East Java, died two days after apparently recovering from a coronavirus infection.

Patient 329 from Jambon district died two days after his declared recovery from COVID-19, Soedjarno, the acting regent of Ponorogo, said on Thursday as reported by kompas.com.

According to Soedjarno, the patient was declared recovered from the coronavirus on Monday but died on Wednesday while in self-isolation at home.

Ponorogo Health Agency head Rahayu Kusdarini said the patient had comorbidity, but she did not elaborate.

Previously, National COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo said that 92 percent of COVID-19 patients in certain regions of the country had comorbidities, putting them at a high risk from the disease.

Based on data from the past six months, up to 92 percent of patients in some regions have comorbidity factors, with diabetes being the most common, he said during a public discussion on Sept.16 as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that the province with the highest number of COVID-19 patients with diabetes was East Java.

The second-most-common comorbidity factor in COVID-19 patients is hypertension, followed by heart disease, lung and respiratory disorders, kidney disorders, asthma and cancer.

COVID-19 is very lethal to the high-risk group [the elderly and patients with comorbidity factors], he said.

Therefore, Doni said, the governments first priority was the protection of these vulnerable groups, while also looking to increase the testing capacity and optimize contact tracing. We test more than 30,000 specimens a day.

However, this was still below the 38,000 people a day that the World Health Organization recommends as the minimum, he said.

Separately, a patient in Medan, North Sumatra, has reportedly tested COVID-19 positive a month after recovering from the same disease.

Ori Kurniawan is the first person known to have been reinfected in North Sumatra and is now under isolation at a hospital in Medan.

Ori, 25, who works as an aide for North Sumatra Deputy Governor Musa Rajekshah, was declared to have recovered from COVID-19 by doctors at Adam Malik Hospital in Medan on April 6 after having been in isolation since March 25.

North Sumatra COVID-19 rapid response task force spokesperson Aris Yudhariasyah said it was the first case of reinfection in the province.

[He] is the first COVID-19 patient [in North Sumatra] to have experienced reactivation and reinfection [of the virus], but where he got reinfected is still unclear, Aris told The Jakarta Post.

The WHO has warned about possible reinfection with COVID-19.

There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection, the United Nations agency said in an April 24 statement.

Eight months into the pandemic, much is left to be learned about COVID-19, including its long-term effects and how it affects survivors' quality of life.

The WHO, in a Sept. 9 update, said that, while people typically recovered from COVID-19 in two to six weeks, for some, symptoms might linger or recur for weeks or months following the initial recovery, even among those with mild cases.

The WHO said COVID-19 might increase the risk of long-term health problems, as it could affect not only the lungs, but also the heart, brain and the nervous system  resulting in, for example, anosmia, or the loss of the sense of smell, and cognitive impairment in terms of memory and concentration, musculoskeletal and mental health. (iwa)
A fair and equitable society is a healthier society, and a participatory society strengthens communion, Pope Francis stressed at the General Audience on Wednesday morning, 30 September. Speaking from the Vaticans San Damaso courtyard, he continued his series of catecheses on the need to heal the world in this time of pandemic, and reflected on a passage from the Letter to the Hebrews (12:1-2) and the importance of keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, who saves and heals the world. The following is a translation of the Holy Fathers catechesis, which he delivered in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Good morning!

In recent weeks we have reflected together, in the light of the Gospel, on how to heal the world that is suffering from a malaise that has been highlighted and accentuated by the pandemic. The malaise was already there: the pandemic highlighted it more, it accentuated it. We have walked the paths of dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity, paths that are essential to promote human dignity and the common good. And as disciples of Jesus, we have proposed to follow in his steps, opting for the poor, rethinking the use of material goods and taking care of our common home. In the midst of the pandemic that afflicts us, we anchored ourselves to the principles of the social doctrine of the Church, allowing ourselves to be guided by faith, by hope and by charity. Here we found solid help so as to be transformers who dream big, who are not stopped by the meanness that divides and hurts, but who encourage the generation of a new and better world.

I would like this journey not to end with my catecheses, but rather that we may be able to continue to walk together, to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (cf. Heb 12:2), as we heard at the beginning; our eyes fixed on Jesus, who saves and heals the world. As the Gospel shows us, Jesus healed the sick of every type (cf. Mt 9:35), he gave sight to the blind, the word to the mute, hearing to the deaf. And when he cured diseases and physical infirmity, he also healed the spirit by forgiving sins, because Jesus always forgives, as well as social suffering by including the marginalized (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1421). Jesus, who renews and reconciles every creature (cf. 2 Cor 5:17; Col 1:19-20), gives us the gifts necessary to love and heal as he knew how to do (cf. Lk 10:1-9; Jn 15: 9-17), to take care of all without distinction on the basis of race, language or nation.

In order for this to really happen, we need to contemplate and appreciate the beauty of every human being and every creature. We were conceived in the heart of God (cf. Eph 1:3-5). Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary (Benedict XVI, Homily for the beginning of the Petrine ministry, 24 April 2005; Encyclical Laudato Si, 65). Furthermore, every creature has something to say to us about God the creator (cf. Encyclical Laudato Si, 69, 239). Acknowledging this truth and giving thanks for the intimate bonds in our universal communion with all people and all creatures activates generous care, full of tenderness (ibid., 220). And it also helps us to recognize Christ present in our poor and suffering brothers and sisters, to encounter them and to listen to their cry and the cry of the earth that echoes it (cf. ibid., 49).

Inwardly mobilized by these cries that demand of us another course (cf. ibid., 53), that demand change, we will be able to contribute to the restoration of relations with our gifts and capacities (cf. ibid., 19). We will be able to regenerate society and not return to so-called normality, which is an ailing normality, indeed which was ailing before the pandemic: the pandemic highlighted it! Now we return to normality: no, this will not do, because this normality was sick with injustice, inequality and environmental degradation. The normality to which we are called is that of the Kingdom of God, where the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up and the poor have good news preached to them (Mt 11:5). And nobody plays dumb by looking the other way. This is what we have to do in order to change. In the normality of the Kingdom of God, there is bread for all and more to spare, social organization is based on contributing, sharing and distributing, not on possessing, excluding and accumulating (cf. Mt 14:13-21).

The gesture that enables progress in a society, a family, a neighbourhood, or a city, everyone, is to give oneself, to give, which is not giving alms, but is a giving of self that comes from the heart. A gesture that distances us from selfishness and the anxiety of possessing. But the Christian way of doing this is not a mechanical way: it is a human way. We will never be able to emerge from the crisis that was highlighted by the pandemic, mechanically, with new tools  which are very important, they allow us to move forward, and we must not be afraid of them  but knowing that even the most sophisticated means, capable of doing many things, are incapable of one thing: tenderness. And tenderness is the very sign of Jesus presence. Approaching others in order to walk [together], to heal, to help, to sacrifice oneself for others.

Thus, that normality of the Kingdom of God is important: that bread may reach everyone, that social organization be based on contributing, sharing and distributing, with tenderness; not on possessing, excluding and accumulating. Because at the end of life, we will not take anything with us into the other life!

A small virus continues to cause deep wounds and to expose our physical, social and spiritual vulnerabilities. It has laid bare the great inequality that reigns in the world: inequality of opportunity, of goods, of access to health care, of technology, education: millions of children cannot go to school, and so the list goes on. These injustices are neither natural nor inevitable. They are the work of man, they come from a model of growth detached from the deepest values. The waste of leftover food: with that waste one can feed everyone. And this has made many people lose hope and has increased uncertainty and anguish. This is why, to emerge from the pandemic, we must find the cure not only for the coronavirus  which is important!  but also for the great human and socio-economic viruses. They must not be concealed by whitewashing them so that they cannot be seen. And certainly we cannot expect the economic model that underlies unfair and unsustainable development to solve our problems. It has not and will not do so, because it cannot do so, even though some false prophets continue to promise the trickle-down effect that never comes (Trickle-down effect in English, derrame in Spanish (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 54). You yourselves have heard the theory of the glass: the important thing is that the glass become full and then overflow to the poor and to others, and they receive wealth. But there is a phenomenon: the glass begins to fill up and when it is almost full it grows, it grows and grows, and the trickling down never happens. We must be careful.

We need to set to work urgently to generate good policies, to design systems of social organization that reward participation, care and generosity, rather than indifference, exploitation and particular interests. We must go ahead with tenderness. A fair and equitable society is a healthier society. A participatory society  where the last are taken into account just like the first  strengthens communion. A society where diversity is respected is much more resistant to any kind of virus.

Let us place this healing journey under the protection of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Health. May she, who carried Jesus in her womb, help us to be trustful. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, we can work together for the Kingdom of God that Christ inaugurated in this world by coming among us. It is a Kingdom of light in the midst of darkness, of justice in the midst of so many outrages, of joy in the midst of so much pain, of healing and of salvation in the midst of sickness and death, of tenderness in the midst of hatred. May God grant us to viralize love and to globalize hope in the light of faith.

Special Greetings

I cordially greet the English-speaking faithful, especially the new seminarians who have arrived in Rome to begin their years of formation and the deacons of the Pontifical North American College. May the Lord sustain their efforts to be faithful servants of the Gospel. Upon all of you and your families I invoke the joy and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!

Lastly my thoughts turn as usual to the elderly, to young people, to the sick and to newlyweds. May each one, in whatever situation they may find themselves, know how to be generous in their commitment to a better future, in the acceptance of trials and suffering, and in mutual love for the edification of a united, true family.
Mairead McGuinness, pictured during her hearing in the European Parliament on Friday - Shutterstock

Brussels will refuse the City of London access to the EU's market from next year unless the UK sets out its plans to diverge from the bloc's financial rules.

Mairead McGuinness, an Irish centre-right MEP, is the candidate to be the EU's financial services commissioner. If approved by the European Parliament  which is expected  she will be the City's gatekeeper to the Single Market.

The Fine Gael politician and former member of the parliament's Brexit Steering Group, told MEPs at a hearing into her candidacy that Brussels needed answers from the UK.

"[We're] trying to get from the authorities in the United Kingdom to some idea of their vision for their financial services sector," she said. "We do not know what the intention of the United Kingdom is, particularly on financial services, but we do know they plan to diverge."

Equivalence is the system of regulatory recognition that will govern UK financial services in the EU after the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31. It replaces the EU "passport" which UK firms and those in EU member states currently enjoy.

Ms McGuinness said: "Unless and until we get clear answers from the United Kingdom about their intentions to deregulate [...] it will be difficult to grant equivalence.

"Under all circumstances  deal or no deal  the trade in financial services between the EU and the UK will be different and less fluid as of January 1 next year."

Equivalence can be unilaterally withdrawn by the European Commission with as little as 30 days notice in some cases. British negotiators tried to convince the EU to introduce more consultation in the process during the trade negotiations with Brussels, but with no success.

London is Europe's major financial hub. The commission has granted equivalence so that EU companies can continue using London clearing houses from January 1. It sees this as important for financial stability in the bloc because the houses guarantee deals.

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"We need to avoid being overly dependent on a third [non-EU] country for key financial services," Ms McGuinness told MEPs before calling for the bloc to build up its financial infrastructure.

"Is it, if you like, financially prudent for us to rely on a third country for the location of vital services? In my view we need to take a precautionary approach," she said.

Brussels is anxious about the risk of London undermining its rules and regulation in the future.

"I want to make sure that we have a strong European financial system, and that the services that underpin our financial stability are under our rules and supervision," Ms McGuinness said.

EU states have pushed back on more common supervision in markets in the past, fearful of losing more regulatory sovereignty.

The Wirecard collapse has prompted the European Commission to revisit the question. Ms McGuinness said it took investigative journalism to uncover the 1.9 billion hole in the balance sheet of now collapsed German payments company.

"The Wirecard scandal is a shocking tale of fraud and failure of supervision," she said. "We need to take a long hard look at what went wrong there and learn the lesson."
The following is the English text of Cardinal Pietro Parolins address to the members of the Committee of Experts of the Evaluators of the Moneyval Programme of the Council of Europe, whom he met on Wednesday, 30 September, in the Vatican.

Your Eminences, Your Excellencies,

Esteemed Members of the

Moneyval Evaluation Team,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When on 4 October 1965 Pope Paul VI addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations, he introduced himself to those present in the following memorable words: The one speaking to you is one like yourselves, your brother, and even one of the least among you, who represent sovereign States. For he possesses  if you choose to consider us from this point of view  only a tiny and practically symbolic temporal sovereignty, the minimum needed to exercise freely his spiritual mission and to assure those who deal with him that he is independent of any sovereignty of this world. He has no temporal power, no ambition to enter into competition with you. As a matter of fact, we have nothing to ask, no question to raise; but rather a wish to express, a permission to seek: that of being allowed to serve you in the area of our competence, with disinterestedness, humility and love.

In these few sentences, the Pope described the special nature of Vatican City State, whose creation in 1929 ended the Roman Question that had arisen with the taking of Rome on 20 September 1870 by the Italians. From the outside, Vatican City State, albeit tiny in size, can be likened to other States. Yet it has a completely distinctive feature that must always be taken into account: it exists to serve the ministry of the Pope, ensuring the sovereignty of the Holy See and the freedom of the Roman Pontiff. In this sense, it can be considered functional and instrumental to a supernatural end.

Saint Paul VI, in that same address, went on to point out that the Holy See is the bearer of a message for all humanity. He wished to speak for the poor, the disinherited, the suffering, the unfortunate, and those who long for justice, a dignified life, liberty, prosperity and progress.

The voice of the Pope insistently calls for justice and peace, in opposition to everything that demeans the human person in his or her dignity and fundamental rights. As Pope Francis has said, When an economic system places only the god of money at the centre, policies of exclusion are triggered and there is no longer any place for men or for women. The human being, then, creates that throwaway culture that leads to suffering, depriving so many of the right to live and to be happy (Message for the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Populorum Progressio Foundation, 20 November 2017).

From these references alone, it is evident that on the international scene, the Holy See is inspired by purposes different from those ordinarily pursued by other members of the community of nations, and also that from its need to pursue those purposes, the Holy See has a distinctive place within that same community. In his address, Saint Paul VI referred to this distinctive place by pointing out that the presence of the Holy See within the United Nations is a means of proclaiming the Good News: Here we are celebrating the epilogue to a laborious pilgrimage in search of an opportunity to speak heart to heart with the whole world. It began on the day when we were commanded: Go, bring the good news to all nations (Mk 16:15).

Evidently, then, the Holy Sees position among the members of the international system is not based upon its symbolic territorial sovereignty, but rather on its ability to take actions and build relationships in the supranational domain that are in conformity with the evangelical mandate that determines its existence. As Saint John Paul II said to the United Nations on the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation, the Holy See, in virtue of its spiritual mission, seeks to advance the common effort to build the civilization of love, founded on the universal values of peace, solidarity, justice, and liberty (New York, 5 October 1995).

If, on the one hand, this dimension, which we might term prophetic, enables the Holy See to be the voice of the voiceless, it also implies that the Holy See itself should be exemplary in the management of all things pertaining to the State, not least its economic and financial aspects.

It is against this backdrop that we must understand the engagement of the Holy See and of Vatican City State in the field of finance and international cooperation in general, and in particular, its decision to take part in the process of evaluating the measures for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism adopted by the Moneyval Programme of the Council of Europe.

In the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the Vaticans internal organization assigns a prominent role to the Financial Information Authority, which is responsible for oversight and regulation, and for financial information relative to that specific sector. In addition, other subjects, under various titles and each in accordance with its respective role, have a part to play regarding policies countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Recently too, nonprofit and volunteer organizations, as well as canonical and civil juridical persons registered in Vatican City State, have been directed to report to the AIF any suspicious activities of money laundering or the financing of terrorism.

As can be seen, systems are progressively being set in place to enable greater control of financial operations potentially exposed to the risk of money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In this regard, the interventions and recommendations of the Moneyval evaluators are a resource for which we are greatly appreciative.

It is clear, too, that, in the light of their distinctive features as mentioned above, the Holy See and Vatican City State cannot be treated in the same way as national States, who are not exposed to these risks in the same way. Unlike other subjects participating in the Moneyval project, whose economies are aimed at creating wealth and prosperity for their respective national communities, the funds managed by the Holy See and the Vatican City State are chiefly directed to works of religions and charity. Yet that does not detract from the fact that  in the ways proper to its internal system  they must apply every form of oversight compatible with their intended purposes. Indeed, precisely by virtue of the priority destination of funds, it is necessary that the ethical dimension of investments be an object of particular concern.

In November 2015, Pope Francis told the Board of Superintendence of the Institute for the Works of Religion: the IOR cannot have as a primary operating principle that of the greatest possible profit, but rather principles compatible with the norms of morality, consistent efficiency and praxis that reflect its specific nature and exemplarity that should mark its operations. These operative principles, which should inspire not only the IOR but also every other agency of the Holy See, certainly include policies for countering money laundering and financing of terrorism. This visit of the Moneyval evaluation team helps us to keep them in even clearer focus.

We are grateful for your presence and for the encouragement you give us to render a service that can help us devise a financial system increasingly at the service of men and women. In conclusion, I would like to return to the aforementioned address of Saint Paul VI, in which he described himself as an expert in humanity: that humanity which we must consider in all our actions. That humanity must be the yardstick of every policy, especially with regard to its economic and financial implications. If profit should become the sole law governing every decision, a grave error of evaluation would be made, and we would embark on the path of a baneful dehumanization. I thank you, then, for your work, which helps us to assess the potential for the common good of every choice we make on the economic and financial plane.
The most glaring example is the U.S. demand to hold a credible investigation into the killing of Khashoggi, who on Oct. 2, 2018, was dismembered by a team of Saudi agents after he visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents that would allow him to marry his fiancee. Khashoggi, who wrote opinion columns for The Washington Post, had sharply criticized Mohammeds consolidation of power and mishandling of the war in Yemen.
Chevron Nigeria Limited has announced it will lay off a quarter of its work force.

The firm said Friday it was reviewing its manpower requirements in the light of the changing business environment.

The company said it will continue to evaluate opportunities to improve capital efficiency and reduce operating costs.

In this process, the company will be streamlining its workforce and improving service delivery and overall performance at all levels, the company said in a statement signed by Esimaje Brikinn, General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs.

The statement noted that the aim is to have a business that is competitive and an appropriately sized organisation with improved processes.

This will increase efficiency and effectiveness, retain value, reduce cost, and generate more revenue for the Federal Government of Nigeria, he said.

According to him, the new organisational structures will, unfortunately, require approximately 25 per cent reduction in the work force across the various levels of our organisation.

It is important to note that all our employees will retain their employment until the reorganisation process is completed, he noted.

Chevron says it supports the Nigerian government in its objectives and efforts to build a prosperous Nigeria.

It said in the area of employment generation, the company has several social investments which are helping to provide employment for thousands of Nigerians.

PENGASSAN Kicks

Meanwhile, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has vowed to resist the move with all available tools.

In a statement issued by Chevron Branch of PENGASSAN and signed by its Branch Chairman, Ete Oyegbanren, and Branch Secretary, Lavin Aghaunor, the union claimed the affected workers have already been locked out from the office by Chevron Nigeria Limited under the guise of COVID-19 restrictions.

The union called on the Federal Government to intervene by directing Chevron to comply with Nigerian laws and regulations in the oil and gas industry.

It appealed to the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Director of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to ensure that Nigerias national interest is protected in this unfolding situation.

Part of its statement is reproduced below:

All 2,000 workers were constructively dismissed and then asked to reapply for fresh jobs while 600 of them are already penciled down to be sacked at the end of the fresh recruitment based on a pseudo reorganization of the company.

Chevron Management experimented with Work From Home (WFH) since the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020 and discovered that since Nigerians can work from their homes during the lockdown period using internet connection, the same work being done by Nigerians here can be done remotely by Americans from the US hence the move to sack 600 Nigerians and replace them with Americans who would be working remotely from the US.

This is a case of worsening the unemployment situation in Nigeria and using same to address those of America.

Chevron Management is boasting that the President of Nigeria cannot dictate to them how to run the company, despite the fact that NNPC owns 60 per cent of the Joint Venture.

The 600 workers that are being sacked are primarily lower cadre employees whose salaries are negligible when compared with the humongous emoluments paid to their American expatriates counterparts.

Recall that the FG pays 60 per cent of the massive salaries and allowances of these expatriates and Chevron Management plans to engage more expatriates in America who will replace the 600 Nigerians currently being sacked in the current scheme.

To worsen matters, none of the top management of the company including the chairman and managing director who earn the chunk of what constitute high opex is affected by the sack, instead it is the same top management that chooses to sack 600 lower level workers whose only crime is working hard to sustain Nigerias oil and gas production even in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic.

When PREMIUM TIMES reached out to the company on Friday, a spokesperson dismissed the claims made by the union leaders.

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In his statement, Mr Brikinn claimed that there are no plans to migrate Nigerian jobs outside the country.

He said: We have prospects for our company in Nigeria. However, we must make the necessary adjustments in light of the prevailing business climate; and we need everyones support to get through these tough times stronger, more efficient and more profitable, in order to sustain the business.

He said Chevron Nigeria Limited is in alignment with both its Joint Venture partners, the NNPC, and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on this process.

We are actively engaging our workforce to ensure they understand why this is being done, he said.

We will continue to consistently engage all relevant stakeholders, including the leadership of the employee unions as we continue this process of business optimisation.

At CNL, the welfare and safety of our workforce is one of our highest priorities. Making changes to the organization is never easy for anyone that will be impacted, but it is necessary to improve our ability to remain competitive in Nigeria. Reducing the cost and improving the efficiency of our operations is critical to generating more revenues for the Federal Government of Nigeria.
For Shonel Bryant and her young family, it should have been the best news in the world. Midway through months of chemotherapy for a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, Bryant was hugely relieved to get the all clear.

But while the Daylesford mother-of-two prepared to finish her course of chemo and undertake radiation, another nightmare scenario rolled in from left field.

Shonel Bryant was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in early October last year. Credit:@enchanted_weddings

Just when I got the good news they couldnt see it on the scan, and I started feeling more upbeat, COVID happened and it just slammed me back down into that fear state that I was originally in, she says.

I just felt like I couldnt go anywhere or do anything without putting myself at risk. My immunity was non-existent, so that was very challenging.
On Sept. 2, COPS/Metro leaders saw, for the first time, the text for the workforce-development referendum on San Antonios general-election ballot.

The community alliance reps had good reason to scrutinize the ballot language, because workforce development has been a major priority for COPS/Metro.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic devastated our job market, San Antonio had a major problem with income inequality and economic segregation. The pandemic, which has resulted in the loss of more than 150,000 local jobs, has only intensified that problem.

COPS/Metro leaders strongly encouraged Mayor Ron Nirenberg to move forward with SA: Ready to Work, a four-year, $154 million workforce-development plan, designed to provide job training and education for 40,000 local residents. It will be funded by the reallocation of an existing 1/8-cent sales tax that currently goes to aquifer protection and linear creekway programs.

When youre asking voters to embrace an ambitious new program, your messaging must be precise. The last thing you need is ballot text that provides a distorted picture of what youre asking from voters.

When COPS/Metro saw the first sentence of the referendums text, they grew alarmed. The text began by describing SA: Ready to Work as an increase of one-eighth of one percent of sales and use tax.

Thats not exactly the way the workforce-development campaign team would like to introduce the referendum, which will appear on the ballot as Proposition B to voters. Their campaign messaging has urged San Antonians to vote yes for Jobs, training, higher wages and no tax increase.

The ballot language, however, had been crafted by the city attorneys office to comply with state law.

Although Proposition B will not raise anyones sales taxes, it will add a new source of revenue to the San Antonio Early Childhood Education Municipal Development Corporation, an entity created years ago for the citys Pre-K 4 SA program.

For that reason, the ballot language was legally required to describe SA: Ready to Work as an increase in sales taxes. There was no need, however, to put such language at the beginning of the referendums text, and risk spooking voters over a nonexistent tax hike.

It was legalese language, but nobody had looked at it with a political eye, said Walker Moore, a COPS/Metro organizer.

Moore said alliance reps figured out that we had a problem that Wednesday night (Sept. 2) and we were told that nothing could be done, because the ballots were on the verge of being printed.

COPS/Metro leaders didnt give up so easily. They enlisted the help of Southwest Side Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, to see if a last-minute tweak  which wouldnt alter the substance, but would shift the emphasis of the text  could be done.

It led to some frantic last-minute negotiating. Garcia said she was on the phone at 10 p.m. with City Manager Erik Walsh and with Assistant City Manager Carlos Contreras early the next morning.

It took a lot of calls to help me understand what was possible, Garcia said.

Ultimately, everyone agreed to a revision that moved the tax-increase phrase to the middle of the text and moved up the section describing the programs objectives.

During a conversation with Ray Rodriguez, deputy city attorney, Garcia also asked about the possibility of adding a header to the text.

The city had much more flexibility in the language for a header, as opposed to the propositions formal text.

The header that COPS/Metro crafted with Rodriguez described SA: Ready to Work as a workforce program for job training and scholarships, a reallocation of an existing sales and use tax resulting in no net tax increase.

Thats a perfect summation of what the referendum is all about. Garcia said she simply hoped to make the proposition text better and more understandable.

On Sept. 4, COPS/Metro reps spoke with Jacque Callanen, the Bexar County elections administrator, who told them she could hold off on printing the ballots if they could get her the revisions by the end of the day. And thats what happened.

COPS does a great job of advocating and sometimes they might not get attention if theyre asking something, Garcia said. All it really took was a phone call and asking, Hey, are we looking at this thing? Have we considered that?

Im always happy to advocate for anybody who calls who isnt getting answers. But fortunately we have a really good team at the city attorneys office and they came up with a really good solution that stayed true to the ordinance that we had approved.

Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Gilbert, become a subscriber. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron filed a motion to delay the release of audio recordings related to the Breonna Taylor case on Wednesday, adding to a mounting list of questions that followed a grand jury's decision to charge only one of the three officers involved in the young woman's death.

Judge Ann Bailey Smith agreed to extend the deadline to noon on Friday.

Cameron had requested a week to redact the names and personal information of witnesses and private citizens from the 20 hours of audio recordings, which he'd been ordered to submit to court by noon on Wednesday. The attorney generals motion for an extension came amid growing calls for transparency in the case. Former Louisville Metro Police Department Officer Brett Hankison is facing three counts of wanton endangerment, but neither he nor the two other officers involved in the shooting were charged with murder or even manslaughter.

Taylor, 26, and her boyfriend were asleep in her Louisville apartment on March 13 when the officers, executing no-knock search warrant, broke down her door with a battering ram.

MORE: Ballistics report raises questions in Breonna Taylor shooting

The charges against Hankison, who fired 10 shots into Taylor's apartment, stem from the errant bullets that penetrated a wall of the residence and entered a neighboring apartment occupied by a child, a man and a pregnant woman, Cameron said at a news conference following the grand jury's announcement.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is among those asking for more transparency in the wake of the grand jury decision.

"It's time for people to be able to see the basic information, facts and evidence, and to be able to come to their own conclusions about justice," he said.

PHOTO: Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron addresses the media following the return of a grand jury investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor, in Frankfort, Ky., Sept. 23, 2020. (Timothy D. Easley/AP, FILE)

Attorneys for Hankison and Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, have advocated for the release of the grand jury transcript and evidence connected to the case. Walker's civil lawyers filed a successful motion over the weekend to have the evidence collected by LMPD's Professional Integrity Unit released to the public.

Story continues

Did Cameron present substantial evidence against the officers?

Prosecutors are generally able to set the agenda and control what evidence jurors are presented in court, according to legal experts, but civil rights advocates and attorneys for Taylor's family have raised questions about the volume of evidence presented against the officers.

"Did he present any evidence on Breonna Taylor's behalf?" family attorney Ben Crump asked last week. "Or did he make a unilateral decision to put his thumb on the scales of justice to help try to exonerate and justify the killing of Breonna Taylor by these police officers?"

The calls for transparency intensified on Monday when an anonymous member of the grand jury raised concerns about how Cameron had portrayed the case to the public.

MORE: Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron asks for delay in release of Breonna Taylor grand jury recording

"The public deserves to know everything," said Kevin Glogower, a Louisville lawyer representing the anonymous grand juror. He filed a motion to release confidential court audio and asked that jurors be allowed to speak freely about what Cameron did not present.

PHOTO: A picture of Breonna Taylor is seen at a makeshift memorial for victims of racial injustice, following the announcement of a single indictment in Taylor's case, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2020. (Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters)

Glogower said Cameron may have misrepresented the process when he signaled that the jurors "agreed" that charges beyond wanton endangerment weren't warranted.

"The full story and absolute truth of how this matter was handled from beginning to end is now an issue of great public interest and has become a large part of the discussion of public trust throughout the country," Glogower said in a court filing this week.

Cameron's office has maintained that it presented "all of the evidence" and was thorough.

Why weren't the other officers charged?

Family and supporters of Taylor were outraged last week when the grand jury announced charges solely against Hankison, who was fired by the police department over the summer. He was arraigned Monday in Jefferson Circuit Court, pleading not guilty. He is free on $15,000 bond.

Hankison faces 15 years in prison -- five years for each person he's accused of endangering -- but no charges directly related to Taylor's death.

Crump called the charging decision another example of how white officers aren't held accountable for what he referred to as "the genocide of persons of color."

MORE: Kentucky AG explains why Breonna Taylor case decision is taking so long

"Her killing," Crump said in a statement after the grand jury announcement, "was criminal on so many levels: An illegal warrant obtained by perjury. Breaking into a home without announcing, despite instructions to execute a warrant that required it. More than 30 gunshots fired, many of which were aimed at Breonna while she was on the ground. Many others fired blindly into every room of her home. A documented and clear cover-up, and the death of an unarmed Black woman who posed no threat and who was living her best life. Yet here we are, without justice for Breonna, her family and the Black community."

The AGs office has not addressed those claims specifically, but it said there was no conclusive evidence to show Hankison's bullets struck Taylor

PHOTO: Former Louisville Metro Police Officer Brett Hankison is pictured in a booking photo released by the Shelby County Detention Center in Kentucky on Sept. 23, 2020. (Shelby County Detention Center)

Louisville Metro Police Department officers Myles Cosgrove, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Hankison executed a "no-knock" entry warrant based on allegations that Taylor had been accepting packages for an ex-boyfriend whom police were investigating as an alleged drug trafficker, according to the warrant.

Taylor and Walker awoke around midnight when they heard a commotion at their front door, police said, citing Walkers statement. Walker, a licensed handgun owner, said he fired his weapon in self-defense, saying he thought his home was being broken into, according to police.

The plainclothes officers returned gunfire, hitting Taylor, who died shortly thereafter, police said.

How did the grand jury reach a decision?

Protesters and civil rights advocates took to the streets last week to speak out against the grand jury decision and demand an explanation from the attorney general's office as to why other charges weren't filed.

Civil rights attorney and legal analyst Areva Martin said it's generally "very difficult" to get an indictment against police officers because they are, essentially, a part of the "criminal justice system where prosecutors work and they have a symbiotic relationship in many ways."

"It's pretty low bar to get an indictment via the grand jury process because the prosecutor controls everything -- they control the information that's presented, they control the witnesses that are presented," Martin told ABC News' "Good Morning America" this week. "Cameron could have presented a robust case and then, you know, gave the power as it should have been to the grand jury to make a determination based on the totality of the circumstances."

Some civil rights advocates, including Crump, accused Cameron of making a unilateral decision about the evidence he chose to present to the grand jury.

"If Hankison's behavior constituted wanton endangerment of the people in the apartments next to hers, then it should also be considered wanton endangerment of Breonna. In fact, it should have been ruled wanton murder," Crump said. "How ironic and typical that the only charges brought in this case were for shots fired into the apartment of a white neighbor, while no charges were brought for the shots fired into the Black neighbor's apartment or into Breonna's residence."

"This amounts to the most egregious disrespect of Black people, especially Black women, killed by police in America, and it's indefensible, regardless of how Attorney General Daniel Cameron seeks to justify it," he added.

Why didn't the AG recommend murder charges to the grand jury?

Cameron recommended that the grand jury indict Hankison on charges of wanton endangerment but said the other two officers, whose bullets struck Taylor, were "justified in their acts" because Taylor's boyfriend first one shot first.

PHOTO: Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot and killed by Louisville, Kentucky, police officers after they allegedly executed a search warrant of the wrong home. (Breonna Taylor Family)

"Our judgment is that the charge that we could prove at trial beyond reasonable doubt was for wanton endangerment," Cameron said in an interview this week with local station WDRB. "The charge that we could prove at trial, beyond reasonable doubt, was for wanton endangerment against Mr. Hankison."

"Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly were fired upon by Mr. Walker. They were justified in returning fire," he added.

That initial shot, which Cameron said Taylor's boyfriend admitted to firing, gave Mattingly and Cosgrove cover for every shot they returned, regardless of its result, Cameron said. That includes shots fired into a upstairs apartment, where people were at home at the time, WDRB reported. The trajectory of those bullets, he said, suggests they were fired by Mattingly and/or Cosgrove as they returned fire.

The attorney general's office said the bullets fired into the upstairs apartment couldn't be recovered to test, making it hard to conclude who shot them.

The office also said there was no conclusive evidence to show Hankison's bullets struck Taylor.

ABC News' Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.

Questions mount as release of grand jury recordings in Breonna Taylor case delayed originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global health and beauty e-commerce leader iHerb is committing US $100 million in Russia within the next two years to better serve Russian communities we have been privileged to support for many years.

This commitment will include a variety of areas such as exporting Russian products, partnerships with Russian logistics companies, expansion of our technology development center, and the building of robotic fulfillment centers. Such investments will enable vital health and personal care products to arrive at our customers' homes more quickly and efficiently in furtherance of iHerb's mission.

"We are committed to our mission of offering our global customer base the earth's best selection of available natural products, at the best possible value, delivered with the most convenient experience," says iHerb President Emun Zabihi. "I am confident that this investment will get us closer to our mission and what we offer to our valued customers in Russia."

iHerb's renewed commitment in Russia builds on our already strong relationship with valued local customers and further demonstrates iHerb's determination to do its part to continue in helping bolster Russia's economy, both at the local and national levels.

iHerb has invested extensively in offering the best overall value in the world for more than 30,000 quality brand name natural products, shipped directly from our state of the art climate controlled facilities. Our expanded investment in Russia further demonstrates iHerb's commitment to quality, customer experience, and delivering health and wellness products safely to where our customers live and work.

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About 20 hours of Breonna Taylor grand jury proceedings have now been made public after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron hit out at 'repugnant' critics who called him a 'race traitor' for his handling of the case.

The rare release of such material on Friday comes a week after Cameron, a Republican and the state's first black AG, announced that the jury would not bring murder charges against the three Louisville police officers for Taylor's killing.

A court ruled that the content of the proceedings, typically kept secret, should be released.

Cameron, whose office led the investigation into the police actions the night the black EMT was shot dead in her apartment, did not object to the file's release.

Secret recordings from Breonna Taylor grand jury deliberations were released on Friday after Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron (left) hit out at 'repugnant' critics who blasted his handling of the case

But on Wednesday, his office asked for a week's extension to edit out personal information from the material. The judge gave him two days.

The audio recording of the jury proceedings will be added to fired Officer Brett Hankison's public court file.

Hanksion, who was one of the three officers who shot his weapon during the raid, was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into a neighboring apartment. No one was hit in the neighboring apartment.

Hanksion, who was fired after the shooting, pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Cameron has acknowledged that he did not recommend homicide charges for the officers involved.

In the aftermath of the grand jury decision, Cameron was labelled 'scum', an 'Uncle Tom' and a 'sell-out', with detractors accusing him of siding with the white cops instead of the black victim.

In an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Thursday evening, Cameron defended his position, stating: 'It is so unfortunate... because I led with the facts and the truth and had that lead to the conclusion.

'It is repugnant, it is so disappointing, but it's par for the course. Anytime someone stands for the truth, and when that truth is different from a narrative that has been pushed by others, this is how they respond.'

In an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Thursday evening, Cameron defended his position and hit out at his 'repugnant' detractors

'Black Republicans, folks that believe in the truth ... we are going to stand up. That's what I did in presenting all of the information to the grand jury in the Breonna Taylor investigation, and that is what I'm charged to do.

'The tragedy is that Breonna Taylor... was hit. But he tragedy doesn't allow for me to not present facts and truth -- and that's what we've done here.'

Officer Brett Hanksion was one of the three officers on the scene when Taylor was shot and killed. He has been charged with wanton endangerment

On March 13, three officers used a narcotics warrant to enter Taylor's Louisville apartment, startling the 26-year-old EMT worker and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who had both been sleeping.

Walker grabbed his legally-owned gun and began firing at the officers. The cops promptly fired back in self-defense with Taylor becoming caught in the crossfire. She was shot multiple times and died at the scene.

Cameron said two officers who fired their guns, hitting Taylor, were justified because Walker had fired at them first.

His appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight came before the 20 hours worth of audio recordings from the grand jury proceedings was released.

In an interview earlier this week, Cameron claimed that the grand jury could have brought murder charges against the other two cops on the scene - Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrobe.

However, Cameron claimed claimed his office did not do so because they would never have been able to prove the murder accusations at trial.

'Basically your question is about whether we recommended any murder charges against Cosgrove and Mattingly. The answer is no. Ultimately, our judgement is that the [only] charge that we could prove at trial beyond a reasonable doubt was for wanton endangerment against Hankison.'
Columbia University will award the 2020 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize to three scientists:

Robert Fettiplace, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

A. James Hudspeth, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, and the Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA

Christine Petit, College de France, Paris, and Institut Pasteur, Paris, France

for discovering the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind hearing.

Hearing is fundamental to human communication and social interaction. Together, Robert Fettiplace, James Hudspeth, and Christine Petit have made invaluable discoveries about how the ear converts sound waves into electrical impulses that the brain interprets as language, music, or noise. Hearing loss is estimated to affect 466 million people worldwide. The work of the three winners of the 2020 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize helps us understand why hearing is so vulnerable to damage--and proposes ways to protect and repair hearing.

Robert Fettiplace showed that individual sensory cells inside the ear called hair cells, located inside the cochlea (a spiral-shaped cavity within the inner ear), are electrically tuned to specific sound frequencies and are arranged in an ordered pattern, much like the keys of a piano. In subsequent experiments he showed that each hair cell's electrical tuning frequency is defined by the properties and location of specific types of ion channels in the cell.

James Hudspeth developed innovative ways of studying hair cells, which are difficult to investigate because they are protected by the skull. He showed that bundles of hair cells act like a switch: When vibrations prod the bundles in one direction, the hair cells open channels that let in charged particles, creating electrical signals that are converted by the brain into sound. Moving the bundle in the opposite direction closes these channels.

Christine Petit has identified several groups of genes that play key roles in hearing, bridging the gap between basic science and medicine. Working with families affected by inherited hearing loss, she has uncovered over 20 genes that cause deafness when altered. Petit's research on the function of these genes has provided valuable insights into how hearing loss occurs at the molecular level, opening a pathway for developing innovative therapies.

Comments

Gerard Karsenty, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Genetics & Development at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and chair of the Horwitz Prize Committee:

"Recognizing the work of these pioneers in the study of hearing continues the tradition of the Horwitz Prize to recognize trailblazers in biomedical science."

Awardee Biographies

Robert Fettiplace, PhD, is professor of neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He studied at Cambridge University, where he obtained a BA in medical sciences and a PhD in biophysics.

A. James Hudspeth, MD, PhD, is the F.M. Kirby Professor at the Rockefeller University in New York City and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He graduated with a BA in biomedical sciences from Harvard College and completed his MD and PhD at Harvard Medical School and Harvard University, respectively.

Christine Petit, MD, PhD, is professor "Classe exceptionnelle" at Institut Pasteur and professor and chair of Genetics and Cellular Physiology at the College de France in Paris, France. She graduated from Orsay University with a degree in biological sciences, genetics, and biochemistry, received her PhD at Institut Pasteur, and completed her MD at Pierre et Marie Curie University.

The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize

The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize was established under the will of the late S. Gross Horwitz through a bequest to Columbia University. It is named in honor of the donor's mother, Louisa Gross Horwitz, who was the daughter of Dr. Samuel David Gross (1805-89), a prominent Philadelphia surgeon who served as president of the American Medical Association and wrote "Systems of Surgery." Of the 103 Horwitz Prize winners to date, 51 have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes. Most recently, 2014 Horwitz Prize winner James P. Allison, PhD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD, of Kyoto University. For a list of previous Horwitz Prize awardees, please click here.

The 2020 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize Lectures will be hosted virtually this year. Drs. Fettiplace and Husdpeth will present their lectures Nov. 24 and Dr. Petit later this year on a date yet to be determined. Check the lecture website for more information.

For more information about the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize and the lectures, please visit https://www.ps.columbia.edu/about-us/message-dean/deans-lecture-series/louisa-gross-horwitz-prize-lecture/2020-louisa-gross-horwitz-prize-lectures

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Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Columbia University Irving Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast. The campus that Columbia University Medical Center shares with its hospital partner, NewYork-Presbyterian, is now called the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. For more information, visit cuimc.columbia.edu.
WASHINGTON  U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., tested negative for COVID-19 after President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, tested positive, a slew of diagnoses that have set off fears of a wider outbreak at the U.S. Capitol and could impact the campaign for president and Supreme Court nomination.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Friday he would get tested.

Gov. Ned Lamont called Trumps diagnosis a wake-up call. Many Connecticut politicians sent their wishes for recovery for the president and first lady.

Trump has mild symptoms, but out of an abundance of caution, he will work from presidential offices at Water Reed National Military Medical Center for the next few days, said White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany Friday evening.

On Capitol Hill, the positive tests set off calls for more regular testing of members and staff from Blumenthal, Murphy and others, as senators reacted with concern that White House officials, other senators and even Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, who had contact with Trump in the last week, could have spread the virus to others. Coney Barrett had COVID-19 this summer.

Murphy and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., asked for a pause on the Supreme Court nomination process while the Senate grapples with the extent of the virus. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the confirmation would advance with hearings beginning Oct. 12.

There is a real risk that the White House is now a superspreading site, risking the health of anyone who works at or visits the building, Murphy said. In the Senate, Leader McConnell needs to require immediate tests of every senator and staff member who has visited the White House over the last two weeks. A large group of senators were with the president last weekend, when he could have been able to transmit the virus, and this could pose a major threat to the safety of the Capitol complex.

Coney Barrett tested negative for the virus, a White House spokesman said Friday. But U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, tested positive after a maskless meeting with her earlier this week, among other activities on the Hill. Lee is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee with Blumenthal. Blumenthal participated in a meeting of the committee on Thursday.

Im going to get to tested again, Murphy said on MSNBC Friday. I was tested last week. Im going to get tested again before I walk back into that building for good.

Lamont said Friday he will have his staff tested more regularly as a result of Trumps case.

Its a wake-up call for a lot of people who were beginning to get very casual about COVID and wearing the mask, Lamont said. I think that the infection of the president and first lady is a reminder that were not out of the woods. Its a reminder of how cautious we have got to continue to be. Its a reminder that October, November are going to be incredibly important months.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence tested negative for the virus, officials said. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who was with Trump during the presidential debate Tuesday, wished Trump well and tested negative Friday. Bidens vice presidential pick, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., also tested negative.

Trump, who has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the virus that has been associated with the deaths of more than 200,000 people in the United States, announced he and his wife tested positive in a tweet shortly before 1 a.m. Friday.

Trumps Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Friday They remain in good spirits. The president does have mild symptoms and as we look to try to make sure that no only his health and safety and welfare is good, we continue to look at that for all of the American people.

Hours before Trumps announcement, White House officials said that a top aide to the president  Greenwich native Hope Hicks  who had traveled with him on Air Force One this week to a packed outdoor rally in Minnesota had tested positive for the virus. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel also has tested positive. Trump defended his practice of holding large rallies during the pandemic during the debate and mocked Bidens frequent mask-wearing.

It just reminds you that we want to continue to err on the side of caution, Lamont said, recalling that he once served on the Greenwich Board of Selectmen with Paul Hicks, the father of Hope Hicks, Trumps top adviser who tested COVID-19-positive earlier on Friday.

Schumer demanded complete contact tracing and testing for White House officials, Coney Barrett and senators who met with them this week. He asked for all results to be made public to contain the outbreak. Positive test results could stymie an already tight timelines for Barretts Supreme Court confirmation, which Republicans are pressing to complete before the election.

Asked whether he was comfortable with White House officials and Coney Barretts team coming to Capitol Hill in advance of her confirmation given their contacts with Trump, Blumenthal said the Senate as a whole will have to make a decision about the procedures for hearings and committee meetings going forward.

Although the White House completes regular testing of staff and officials, the U.S. Capitol does not mandate regular testing of members and their staffs. Murphy and Blumenthal said Friday more should be done.

Public health measures ought to be implemented regardless of the presidents diagnosis, he said. We should be taking public health precautions, like wearing masks, physical distancing, testing where someone has been exposed or shows symptoms. These public health guidelines are science-based and more necessary now than ever ... we should be very, very mindful of our responsibility not only to ourselves, but to the public who may come in contact with us and also may rightfully look to us and the way we conduct our business as a model.

Murphy said the Senate should implement a a mandatory mask policy in the Capitol complex and a regular testing program.

No business should move forward in the Senate until we implement these protocols and have a full understanding of the scope of the White House spread, Murphy said.

U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5, who tested positive for the coronavirus last month and is still in quarantine, has been vocal about calling for regular testing of members and staff on Capitol Hill, calling it irresponsible not to. She sent a letter to House leaders last week advocating for more testing.

Hayes has been experiencing difficulty breathing, fatigue, some fever and nausea, and trouble sleeping as she recovers from what she first suspected what seasonal allergies. Hayes was tested after a member of her staff tested positive in mid-September. She said wouldnt wish this virus on anyone.

U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1, joined calls for regular testing at the U.S. Capitol in the light of the new cases.

I believe everyone should take mask wearing and social distancing seriously and that masks should be mandatory at minimum until there is a vaccine, Larson said. Im glad Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, D-Calif., requires masks in the House and in House office buildings. I also think routine testing should occur prior to entering a House building or a hearing room given the member contact all across the country and in airports.

Larson said he has been tested several times since August and all were negative.

The White House has not made all cases among its staff and administration officials public. An unidentified White House staffer tested positive in September, after Trump held a large signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords, an agreement, which established diplomatic relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

National security adviser Robert OBrien previously had COVID-19. A White House valet who serves the president was diagnosed months ago. Katie Miller, the vice presidents communications director and the wife of Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller, also has had COVID-19.

Barron Trump, 14, has tested negative for the coronavirus after both his parents tested positive, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

A number of the core team of the White House continue to get tested on a daily basis like we are, like we have been, Meadows said Friday. As we look to that, were very excited about making sure that not only that the health and safety of the president and first lady is addressed, but certainly that we address this battle together, as a nation, together, and the American people can rest assured we have a president that is not only on the job, will remain on the job  and Im optimistic hell have a very quick and speedy recovery.

Murphy raised the prospect that the presidents diagnosis could be a national security weakness.

The presidents diagnosis, and his failure to protect the nation from the pandemic, present a serious national security vulnerability that our adversaries may attempt to exploit, Murphy said Friday. Thus, the United States must monitor threats closely and remain incredibly vigilant in the coming days.

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, said I wish the president, first lady, and any White House staff who may have been infected a speedy recovery. Larson and Joe Courtney, D-2, expressed their well wishes Friday.

Former U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., a close friend and campaign advisor of Biden, said he hopes the president, first lady and Lee get well soon.

Political differences may exist but when it comes to peoples health, we all are hoping for a speedy recovery, he said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said Friday that Trump has made the issue of wearing a mask a political choice, despite the public-health consequences.

The president today makes everyone realize that absolutely no one is immune, from the virus, Looney said in an interview. Maybe it will be a cautionary moment for public health. The reality is that he has been modeling irresponsible and reckless behavior.

State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, on Friday shared his sympathy and concern for the president and his family, but he said in an interview that Trump has been gambling with his health.

The president has minimized and downplayed the virus and not taken precautions such as using masks, Duff said. For him and the people around him it has always been a game of Russian roulette. It literally has been just a matter of time. I hope the consequences of not taking COVID seriously doesnt have a devastating effect on him and his family.

Duff said it underscores the need to obey public health protocols.

He said that candidates for public office whom he knows are going door-to-door wearing masks, keeping safe distances and not having long conversations with voters. In his own re-election campaign, Duff cancelled his usual ice cream social at his home, appearances at train platforms and a biennial pasta dinner dance.

Voter contact is so important in Connecticut elections, said state House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, who directs House Democrats campaign efforts. We have asked House Democratic candidates to be very careful when campaigning  wear a mask, step back after knocking on a door and use lots of hand sanitizer. With care and caution, it is possible to have meaningful contact with the people you hope to represent. Campaign mail and lawn signs are great, but they dont win elections  conversations do.

State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, offered the president prayers for a full recovery, adding that the coronavirus is a frightening virus that needs to be taken seriously.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton also said he was sending prayers to the president and the first lady on the news that they have tested positive for COVID-19.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
DUBLIN, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Foodservice Tea Market in US 2020-2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The foodservice tea market in US is poised to grow by USD 2.66 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 4% during the forecast period. The market is driven by rising demand for mobile foodservice and the functional benefits of tea. This study identifies the growth of food delivery and the takeaway market as one of the prime reasons driving the foodservice tea market in US growth during the next few years.



The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current us market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The foodservice tea market in US market analysis includes type segment and geographic landscapes.



The foodservice tea market in the US is segmented as below:



By Type

Iced tea

Hot tea

By Distribution Channel

Full-service restaurants

Limited-service restaurants

Others

The report presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters.



The foodservice tea market in US covers the following areas:

Foodservice tea market in US sizing

Foodservice tea market in US forecast

Foodservice tea market in US industry analysis

The robust vendor analysis provided in the report is designed to help clients improve their market position, and in line with this, this report provides a detailed analysis of several leading foodservice tea market in US vendors that include Aroma Espresso Bar, Davids Tea Inc., Dunkin Brands Group Inc., Gong cha, McDonald Corp., Nairobi Java House Ltd., Peets Coffee Inc., Restaurant Brands International Inc., Starbucks Corp., and The Coca Cola Co. Also, the foodservice tea market in US analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage on all forthcoming growth opportunities.



Key Topics Covered:



Executive Summary

Market Overview

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 - 2024

Five Forces Analysis

Five forces summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Distribution channel

Market segments

Comparison by Distribution channel

Full-service restaurants - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Limited-service restaurants - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Distribution channel

Market Segmentation by Type

Market segments

Comparison by Type

Iced Tea - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Hot tea - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Type

Customer landscape

Overview

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Competitive scenario

Overview

Landscape disruption

Industry risks

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Aroma Espresso Bar

Davids Tea Inc.

Dunkin Brands Group Inc.

Gong cha

McDonald Corp.

Nairobi Java House Ltd.

Peets Coffee Inc.

Restaurant Brands International Inc.

Starbucks Corp.

The Coca Cola Co.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/o4z9d

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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The Dominican Republic's National Directorate of Drug Control said it confiscated 673 packages of cocaine on Wednesday

The drugs, close to 673 kilos valued at $32.3 million in the United States, were found inside a container at the Multimodal Caucedo Port in Boca Chica

The massive shipment was mixed in with a delivery of cocoa bound for Europe

Narcotic agents have confiscated a massive cocaine shipment inside a shipping container while conducting a routine search at a port in the Dominican Republic.

The National Directorate of Drug Control said the drug bust took place Wednesday night at the Multimodal Caucedo Port in Boca Chica.

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A team of drug enforcement agents and port security inspectors were looking into 10 containers which were slated to be shipped to Europe.

The agency said they found cocaine split into 673 plastic wrapped packages hidden among a delivery of cocoa.

The confiscated drugs, which had an estimated weight of 673 kilos, have a United States street value of $32.3 million.

The Dominican Republic's National Directorate of Drug Control announced the seizure of 673 bundles of cocaine that were found inside a container filled with cocoa Wednesday at the Multimodal Caucedo Port in Boca Chica. The container was allegedly bound for Europe

An agent from the Dominican Republic's National Directorate of Drug Control loads an agency truck with cocaine seized Wednesday night. Authorities have interviewed at least 15 people of interest, including South American nationals

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National Directorate of Drug Control spokesman Carlos Devers said Thursday that authorities were interviewing at least 15 people of interest, including South American nationals.

No arrests had been made as of Thursday.

'So far there is good information that will lead to the arrest of members of this network of international drug trafficking that try to use our territory for their illegal activities to be arrested and brought to justice,' the agency said in a press release.

A member of the National Directorate of Drug Control loads a truck with the cocaine that was seized from a container at a port in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic

In March, authorities at an airport in Zaventem, Belgium, seized 350 kilos of cocaine hidden in several suitcases after a plane had arrived from the Dominican Republic. The shipment had a value of $16.8 million.

According to the U.S. Department of States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs [INL], the Dominican Republic also serves as the 'ideal transshipment point for drugs from South America to the United States.'

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'Resource constraints, endemic corruption, and lack of political will have handicapped the Dominican Republic,' the INL indicated. 'Inadequately trained Dominican law enforcement personnel hinder its ability to guarantee the safety of citizens.'
Cicero, N.Y. -- Four employees who work at a Cicero nail salon and spa have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and patrons may have been exposed, according to the Onondaga County Health Department.

The employees work at Healthy Nails and Spa, located at 7999 Brewerton Road in Cicero, and worked between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Sept. 26, 28, 29 and 30, health department officials said.

Health department investigators are currently identifying all close contacts of the employees and notifying them that they may have been exposed.

The health department says those who may have been in contact with the employees should monitor themselves for symptoms of Covid-19 for 14 days. If symptoms do develop, stay home and call your doctor for further guidance, they said. If you are elderly, have underlying medical conditions, or are immunocompromised, call your doctor early even if your illness is mild.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
After a Republican state representative said Thursday he tested positive for the coronavirus, House Democrats urged GOP lawmakers to take COVID-19 more seriously.

State Rep. Paul Schemel, a Republican from Franklin County, said in a statement he began experiencing mild symptoms on Wednesday and took a COVID-19 test on Thursday when he was informed he had a positive result.

House Democrats said they wished Schemel a full recovery. But they also said too many House Republicans arent dealing with the consequences of the coronavirus and need to take measures to help more people affected by the pandemic. Democrats faulted Republicans for failing to move important bills and the unwillingness of many GOP lawmakers to wear masks.

We wish the representative a speedy recovery as he battles this serious virus, House Democratic leaders said in a statement.

Its unfortunate, however, that once again House Republicans brought members and staff to the Capitol to continue the charade of working for Pennsylvania while doing nothing to truly help our state, House Democratic leaders said. In the past few weeks we have done hardly anything legislatively to increase the pay for essential employees, work to fix our election code as we speed toward the upcoming General Election, provide PPE for frontline workers or provide funding for grants to help struggling small businesses.

House Democrats continued: Among other things, Republican leadership did find time to continue their purely political attacks on Governor Tom Wolf and hold a hearing today, which ironically ended early due to the positive COVID-19 test, to attack Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine over her successful mitigation tactics that have saved thousands of lives in Pennsylvania.

Jason Gottesman, a spokesman for the House Republicans, criticized Demorcatic leaders for their statement.

This sort of divisive press release is disingenuous, especially given the bipartisan nature of many of the bills we have passed that have been supported by some members of House Democratic leadership, Gottesman said in an email.

Over the past several weeks the Pennsylvania House of Representatives led by the House Republican Caucus has passed bills along bipartisan lines that provide relief to our hospitality industry and their workers, protected Constitutional rights in times of emergency, and ensured our children have the best educational opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, Gottesman added.

After Schemels diagnosis was announced, State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, praised House leadership for taking this situation seriously, and halting all House activity while contact tracing and other mitigation efforts are put into place.

However, for months now, I and my colleagues have watched House Republicans try to tear down our states efforts to mitigate this crisis, and attend voting session after voting session in the House chamber and in smaller meeting rooms without wearing masks, Frankel said in a statement.

I hope that this will serve as a wake-up call to my Republic colleagues that -- despite their claims to the contrary -- this crisis it not over, but remains something to be taken very seriously, he added.

State Rep. Pat Harkins, D-Erie, said he sat with Schemel at a committee hearing Tuesday. Harkins said Schemels diagnosis is delaying House action and is an interruption we can scarcely afford.

I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who are complaining that restrictions are overblown and that it is time to return to normal to remember that there can be no normal without the certainty of public health, Harkins said in a statement.

More than 160,000 people in Pennsylvania have contracted the coronavirus and more than 8,000 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster County, issued a news release noting that Schemel is working with staff to track any possible exposures. Those who may have been exposed are being contacted.

Gottesman, the House GOP spokesman, noted Republican lawmakers are aiming to do the work of the people and are listening to their constituents.

In addition to bills addressing the pandemic, Gottesman cited legislative work on election reforms and efforts to improve the pension system.

Moving forward, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will carry on with that work on behalf of Pennsylvania families, workers, and small businesses," Gottesman said. "We continue to welcome the continued support of many House Democrats in that effort.

Schemel is the third lawmaker in the General Assembly to have announced he has tested positive for COVID-19.

The first was state Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Dauphin County, who announced in May he had tested positive and has since recovered. In July, state Sen. Tony Williams, a Philadelphia Democrat, announced he had tested positive and he too has resumed his duties.

More from PennLive

Pa. House lawmaker tests positive for COVID-19, delaying legislation on election, rent relief

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Students of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) held a protest outside their campus in Powai on Friday evening against the gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh (UP). The woman was attacked on September 14 by four men. On Tuesday, she passed away at a Delhi hospital during treatment.

Students of the institute gathered as part of a series of protests that were held across the country by different groups on Friday on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

IIT-B For Justice condemns the brutal gang-rape, mutilation and murder of a Dalit student by a gang of men in Hathras, UP. It is sickening to see how the victims body was snatched away from the family, and the stand the UP Police are taking in the matter. We demand immediate action, said a statement released by the group which organised the protest.

One of the protesters called for probe into the polices role in the case. She eventually succumbed to her injuries and at present, instead of helping to get justice for the victims family, the UP Police are threatening them to stay quiet. We stand in solidarity with the family and demand the resignation of UP chief minister as well a proper inquiry into the role of the state police in the case, said a student from the group.
Central Oregon Coast Enters Phase 2 Soon, Expanding Hours, New Openings

Published 09/27/20 at 11:41 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Lincoln City, Oregon)  There is good news for Lincoln County on the central Oregon coast, as the area is about to enter phase 2 of COVID-19 restrictions, meaning many eateries and bars will get extended hours and capacity, and some places will get to open for the first time. (Above: Tidal Raves)

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown recently announced the lifting of phase 1 restrictions for the county, starting September 29.

In a letter to the county, Gov. Brown stated it has met all the required pre-requisites, which includes a much lower rate case rate of four cases in the two weeks between September 6 and 19. In that period only four cases of coronavirus were recorded.

As we all know by now, reopening does not come without risks, Brown wrote. With every restriction lifted we know transmission of the virus has the potential to increase.

Restaurants like Tidal Raves in Depoe Bay, Sirens Oceanfront Restaurant at Fogarty Beach and Fathoms Restaurant in Lincoln City will likely be enjoying new aspects and hours, although exactly what each will do is uncertain at this point.

The Bijou Theatre in Lincoln City has been just barely in operation by selling its popcorn to visitors and relying on small change from streaming sites that offer movies that pass along a cut to the theater. Now, as of September 30 it gets to open up for the first time.

Its restrictions will be many, including all patrons will have to be six feet away from each other. The only way to purchase a ticket is to reserve one ahead of time by emailing bijoutheatre541@gmail.com. That way, the theater ensures that each seat is only used once per day, as there will be multiple showings. You pay once you arrive.

The theater has already arranged for stringent cleaning methods. 1624 NE Highway 101. Lincoln City, Oregon. www.cinemalovers.com. (541) 994-8255.

At Fathoms, there is limited capacity and the lounge is currently closed. This may change under phase 2. Hours are: breakfast from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.; lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. 4009 SW Highway 101. Lincoln City, Oregon. 541-994-1601 or 800-452-8127

At Tidal Raves, they recently just expanded their hours to 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. They opened up in May for dine-in service with limited hours.

Currently, Tidal Raves is not accepting parties over six people, and all waiting for table service must do so outside and with at least six feet of separation. There is no bar seating at this time.

A spokesman for the Oregon coast hotspot said she was unsure what phase 2 would mean for the restaurant. 279 NW Hwy 101. Depoe Bay, Oregon. 541-765-2995.











Sirens Oceanfront Restaurant in Lincoln Beach

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 06:46:16|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) environment ministers reiterated during an informal meeting on Thursday their commitment to work on means to achieve the new target of reducing at least 55 percent CO2 emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.

German Minister for the Environment Svenja Schulze, who presided over the meeting, stressed the importance of "team work" and solidarity within the EU to keep alive the ambitious target, as some member states will have more work to do than others.

"We must ensure an agreement among the member states is reached on this by the end of the year," she told an online press conference following the meeting.

Huge investments will be needed to realize the goal, but the effort will not only be good for the climate but also provide an opportunity for the EU to recover with greater economic growth, she noted.

So far, EU's greenhouse gas emissions have only dropped by 25 percent compared with 1990 levels, German News Agency dpa reported last month, citing European Commission figures.

The informal meeting also debated the issue of biodiversity. "It is very reassuring to see ministers take action here in Europe," said Virginijus Sinkevicius, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries.

Loss in biodiversity will have negative effects on food security, the economy, people's health and the ability to mitigate climate change, he added.

Sinkevicius also said that the EU must "set an example on the global arena" and pave the way for a successful outcome of the global biodiversity negotiations at the 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in Kunming, China in 2021. Enditem
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney said on Friday he would take back to Washington Britain's and Ireland's commitment there would be no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland because of Brexit.

"One of the messages I will take back is ok, there's still a lot to be worked out but the British are working to make sure there's not a hard border, the Irish are working to make sure there is not a hard border, and the Europeans are working to make sure there is not a hard border," he said.

That message was welcome, he told British think tank Policy Exchange.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Michael Holden)
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized Russia's plans to expand the use of "invasive" facial-recognition systems because of the group's "serious concern" over the project's potential threat to privacy.

The Kommersant newspaper reported last week that CCTV cameras with facial-recognition software will be installed in public spaces and at the entryway of apartment buildings in 10 pilot cities across Russia, with the purported aim of protecting public safety.

The technology is already used in Moscow, where the authorities are planning to expand its use in trams and underground trains.

"Russia's track record of rights violations means that the authorities should be prepared to answer tough questions to prove they are not are undermining people's rights by pretending to protect public safety," Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, said in a statement on October 2.

The expected deployment of facial-recognition technology across the country has also been criticized by international human rights group Amnesty International, which has warned it would "inevitably have a chilling effect" on protesters, as well as by privacy groups and digital-rights lawyers in Russia.

Russian national security laws and surveillance practices "enable law enforcement agencies to access practically any data in the name of protecting public safety," according to HRW, which cited reports highlighting "a pattern of data breaches" in connection with the integration of the facial-recognition software into Moscow's video surveillance.

The legal-aid nongovernmental organization Agora is challenging Moscow's use of the technology at the European Court of Human Rights, saying there is no judicial or public oversight over surveillance methods in Russia, including facial recognition.

Last month, Anna Kuznetsova of Roskomsvoboda, an NGO that monitors censorship, filed a lawsuit against the Moscow Information Technology Department, claiming that she easily gained access to the data gathered by dozens of cameras across the Russian capital.

Kuznetsova said the data was made available for sale on the "dark web" and included detailed information about her whereabouts over the period of one month.

Meanwhile, Roskomsvoboda has documented at least seven cases of Moscow residents whose personal data was made available for sale on the Internet this year.

Moscow investigators have opened a criminal case into the alleged sale of facial-recognition data by two law enforcement officials, but HRW said the authorities "do not seem to recognize the need for developing appropriate limits on collecting, processing, and storing personal data, which would help prevent such security breaches."

HRW said the Russian authorities should suspend the use of facial-recognition technology nationwide and "invite civil-society experts and policymakers to engage in a debate regarding the necessity, proportionality, and legality of the use of facial-recognition surveillance."
Rebecca Gormley and Biggs Chris put on a defiant display as they headed for dinner on Thursday after his ex shared messages where she branded their relationship 'fake'.

The Love Island stars held hands as they made their way home from a meal at Brasserie of light Restaurant in London after attending Eve and Jess Gale's hair extension launch.

Brunette beauty Rebecca, 22, looked stylish in a white crop top, high-waisted jeans and leather jacket for the night out with her beau.

Going strong? Love Island's Rebecca Gormley and Biggs Chris put on a defiant display leaving dinner after his ex shared messages where he branded their relationship 'fake'

She teamed her outfit with a quilted black leather bag and grey and white trainers as she left the swanky eatery with Biggs in tow.

Biggs, 27, matched his outfit perfectly to hers with a white t-shirt, ripped jeans and Louis Vuitton bag.

Earlier in the evening Rebecca put on a glamorous display in a nude body con dress and heels as she supported her fellow Love Island alum at their beauty launch.

Shy? Brunette beauty Rebecca, 22, looked stylish in a white crop top, high-waisted jeans and leather jacket for the night out with her beau who covered his face with a shopping bag

The couple's appearance comes after Biggs apologised to girlfriend Rebecca after his ex Lori Matthews shared messages where he appeared to call their relationship 'fake'.

The reality star took to his Instagram Stories on Tuesday night to address Lori's claims where Rebecca also insisted that she is 'not bothered' by it and 'everything is good' with the couple.

Make-up artist Lori shared a TikTok video to her Instagram account, which has 37.1K followers, just hours earlier where she accused ex Biggs of leaving her for Rebecca after appearing on Love Island.

Stylish: She teamed her outfit with a quilted black leather bag and grey and white trainers as she left the swanky eatery with Biggs in tow

Oh dear: The couple's appearance comes after Biggs apologised to girlfriend Rebecca (pictured) after accusations from his ex-girlfriend

In the short footage, which was overlapped with La Roux's track Bulletproof, Lori exposed messages, which appeared to be from Biggs, where he called his relationship with Rebecca 'fake'.

Posing at the start of the video, she wrote: 'Think you can hurt my feelings? My ex convinced me to support him going on Love Island... then left me after to get with another islander.'

The clip then went to a picture of the former couple kissing as well as showing a grab from their own YouTube channel called 'Biggs & Lori'.

Wow! Earlier in the evening Rebecca put on a glamorous display in a nude body con dress and heels as she supported her fellow Love Island alum at their beauty launch

Slick: She wore her brunette tresses in sleek waves around her features for the event in London

Lori then exposed the messages in the TikTok video, where Biggs said things such as his relationship with Rebecca will 'never proceed' and it's 'for the public'.

The messages started with Biggs heading to the villa for the winter edition of Love Island earlier this year where they discussed their future.

Lori put: 'Mwahhhh love you loads and loads' and 'see you soon it'll fly in', to which he replied with: 'Babe am gonna smash it for us' followed with a video of himself.

She then showed more messages where he appeared to say: 'Honestly you have nothing nothing nothing to worry about,' and 'I swear and you should your freaking sleeping in my house.'

Claims: Biggs apologised to girlfriend Rebecca on Wednesday after his ex Lori Matthews shared messages where he appeared to call their relationship 'fake'

Yet the messages took a dramatic turn when Lori then shared texts from March where she said: 'Listen Biggs I stood by you. Not for you to be with her a year so answer me now I need a time frame?'

Biggs appeared to reply with: 'I have the best easiest ride' and 'Lori I'm telling you', to which she responded with: 'Why do you lie then! You said you were gonna cut it'.

With the messages adding: 'BUT the Rebecca thing will never proceed' and when Lori suggested they would be 'acting like a couple', Biggs replied: 'For the public duhhhhhh' and added 'do we see each other noo do we post pictures no.'

Video: The reality star, 27, took to his Instagram Stories on Tuesday night to address Lori's (pictured) claims where Rebecca also insisted that she is 'not bothered' by it and 'everything is good' with the couple

The messages end with Lori appearing to give Biggs an ultimatum, she says: 'End it with her and do ur own thing you got what you wanted? Were you lying when you said you wanted to cut it soon.'

To which he replied with: 'It's about my life and how this year I wanna grow am telling you me and Rebecca won't be a thing if you're not happy that this is fake.'

Lori ended the video by sharing an Instagram post of Biggs and Rebecca together where he says he 'loves her', the make-up artist spits out her cocktail and laughs.

Accusations: Make-up artist Lori shared a TikTok video to her Instagram account, which has 37.1K followers, just hours earlier where she accused ex Biggs of leaving her for Rebecca after appearing on Love Island

Biggs was quick to address Lori's video and claims as he issued a response to his Instagram Stories.

At first, he mimicked the make-up artist by giggling, he then added: 'Just want to address this madness, it's so sad it's happening now because I'm at my happiest.

'Family has never seen me this happy. Even though I hate to admit it, I must say ok, I am the happiest I have ever been.'

He added: 'For this to creep up, my mum said she's not surprised this has happened, not surprised the negativity, when others see others being happy, they want to tear it down.'

Biggs insisted: 'We did not plan this, I always fancied you [Rebecca], never thought this would happen. I left the villa myself and she left with Jordan, to find each other outside the villa. You get me. Obviously, apologies.'

'I just wanted to say I'm sorry, you get me,' to which Rebecca, who was also in the video, added: 'I get it, like I'm not bothered. Obviously I appreciate your apology but I'm not bothered like.'

Biggs continued: 'I apologise to you for any mistake I've made tonight, I don't want to talk too much tonight, I could tell you guys some madness, I just wanted to apologise. You get me, keep it moving and good vibes.'

Messages: In the short footage, which was overlapped with La Roux's track Bulletproof, Lori exposed messages, which appeared to be from Biggs, where he called his relationship with Rebecca 'fake'

The end: Lori ended the video by sharing an Instagram post of Biggs and Rebecca together where he says he 'loves her', the make-up artist spits out her cocktail and laughs

Rebecca also addressed the claims and wrote on her Instagram Story: 'I am so grateful for everyone's messages, I love you all. Everything is good with me and Biggs, living in the moment not in the past.'

The couple went on to share loved-up snaps and videos of themselves during a train journey on Wednesday.

MailOnline has contacted both Biggs and Rebecca's representatives for further comment.

It is not known how long Biggs and Lori dated but the Love Island star appears in one of her YouTube videos from August 2019.

During the footage, Lori calls him her 'good friend' to which he jokes: 'Friend? Is that what you call it these days.'

With the make-up artist admitting she is waiting for him to ask her to be his girlfriend.

Biggs and Rebecca have been inseparable since appearing on the winter edition of Love Island earlier this year.

Rebecca had originally left the Love Island villa with Jordan Waobikeze, who she pursued in Casa Amor, but confessed shortly afterwards that she wanted to go on a date with Biggs.

Biggs had similarly failed to find true love in the villa after Jess Gale did not choose him during the recoupling.
Iconic brand celebrates latest brand innovation with Street Art Lighter Collection

LONDON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zippo has collaborated with globally renowned urban contemporary artist D*Face, to create a mural, as part of its partnership with the inaugural London Mural Festival, in celebration of the launch of its latest design innovation, the new 540 Color decoration process. At the cutting edge of creativity and artistic innovation, Street Art is the perfect medium to showcase the brands latest innovation which enables them to create the most vivid and impactful designs to date.

A new video narrated by the artist reveals the large-scale artwork, capturing the creative journey behind his first London mural, available to view from 3pm today https://www.facebook.com/VT/videos/2803413546603455 .

In the video, D*Face discusses his subversive self-portrait, that combines pop-media and imagery, not only as a satirical comment on content consumption in the 21st century but as a nod to Zippo's iconic pop culture status and commitment to individual expression.

The mural, located on the side of the Theatro Technis Theatre in London's Kings Cross, is one of over 40 large-scale murals and artistic events, taking place throughout September as part of the festival's celebration of Street Art in the Capital.

The mural design has also been captured on a limited edition Zippo windproof lighter, a canvas for self-expression, using the new 540 Color decoration process. This latest design innovation from the brand allows Zippo to add any design, in full color graphics, to the windproof lighter, wrapping around all edges and surfaces - creating a surround sound of visual information, both reflective of the mural design and fitting of our times.

The D*Face limited edition lighter forms part of the new Zippo Street Art Collection featuring designs from four artists; D*Face, Marija Tiurina, Pref and Tristan Eaton. The collection will be available online from today in the US https://www.zippo.com/pages/540-color-street-art-collection and in the UK from 27th October.

Follow the creative journey of Zippo x D*Face on Facebook (@Zippo), Instagram (@OriginalZippo) and Twitter (@Zippo).

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1274764/D_Face_x_Zippo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1165481/Zippo_Logo.jpg
In this article:

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Berlin on Tuesday, a German government spokeswoman said on Friday.

The meeting comes after Tsikhanouskaya met French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday in Vilnius, the highest-profile Western leader to meet the exiled opposition leader.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; writing by Maria Sheahan; editing by Thomas Seythal)
CAMBRIDGE, MA - September 30, 2020--The MIT Press Journal Rapid Reviews: COVID-19 (RRC:19) has openly published the first official scholarly peer reviews of pre-print research from Li-Meng Yan, Shu Kang, Jie Guan, and Shanchang Hu that claims to show that unusual features of the SARS-CoV-2 genome suggest sophisticated laboratory modification rather than natural evolution. Reviewers Robert Gallo, Takahiko Koyama, and Adam Lauring rate the study as misleading and write that the "manuscript does not demonstrate sufficient scientific evidence to support its claims."

Find peer reviews and information about this study at Rapid Reviews website.

While this research has been widely debunked in popular media, scholarly peer review represents a different type of rebuke from the scientific community. The original study was posted on a public pre-print server without the benefit of peer review--a necessary part of the scientific publishing process in which scientists review one another's work, vetting research for accuracy and evaluating methods and evidence. Pre-prints enable researchers to share information quicker, but they have created a need for rapid and transparent peer review to correct misinformation about COVID-19 and to minimize the influence of unverified research.

"While pre-print servers offer a mechanism to disseminate world-changing scientific research at unprecedented speed, they are also a forum through which misleading information can instantaneously undermine the international scientific community's credibility, destabilize diplomatic relationships, and compromise global safety," explains the RR:C19 Editorial Office.

RR:C19 was launched in June 2020 to provide rapid and transparent peer review of COVID-19 pre-prints. When the 'Yan Report' was published in September, RR:C19 quickly sought out peer reviews from world-renowned experts in virology, molecular biology, structural biology, computational biology, vaccine development, and medicine.

These reviews are now openly published, along with a response from the RR:C19 Editorial Office, that states, "Collectively, reviewers have debunked the authors' claims that: (1) bat coronaviruses ZC45 or ZXC21 were used as a background strain to engineer SARS-CoV-2, (2) the presence of restriction sites flanking the RBD suggest prior screening for a virus targeting the human ACE2 receptor, and (3) the furin-like cleavage site is unnatural and provides evidence of engineering. In all three cases, the reviewers provide counter-arguments based on peer-reviewed literature and long-established foundational knowledge that directly refute the claims put forth by Yan et al. There was a general consensus that the study's claims were better explained by potential political motivations rather than scientific integrity."

Reviewer Dr. Robert Gallo, biomedical researcher and co-founder of The Institute of Human Virology

Evidence Scale Rating: Misleading

"Widely questionable, spurious, and fraudulent claims are made throughout the paper about the thought-to-be precursor of SARS-2, RaTG13, found in bat caves. The author's attacks include quotes which have not been referenced, including how this 'has been disputed and its truthfulness widely questioned. Soon a paper proving that will be submitted.' She then goes on to attack several genome sequences as fraudulent, ranging from pangolin coronaviruses to bat coronaviruses, again without evidence. The reference she cites for that, in fact, does not make that claim."

Reviewer Dr. Takahiko Koyama, IBM Research, Computational Biology Center

Evidence Scale Rating: Misleading

"[The] authors' speculation of furin cleavage insert PRRA in spike protein seemed quite interesting at first. Nevertheless, recently reported RmYN02 (EPI_ISL_412977), from a bat sample in Yunnan Province in 2019, has PAA insert at the same site[2]. While the authors state that RmYN02 is likely fraudulent, there are no concrete evidences to support the claim in the manuscript. In addition, argument of codon usage of arginine in PRRA is not convincing since these are likely derived from some kind of mobile elements in hosts or other pathogens. Further investigations are necessary to unravel the mystery of the PRRA insert. For these reasons, we conclude that the manuscript does not demonstrate sufficient scientific evidences to support genetic manipulation origin of SARS-CoV-2."

Reviewer Dr. Adam Lauring, University of Michigan, Internal Medicine

Evidence Scale Rating: Misleading

"A key aspect of research ethics and the responsible conduct of research is to include information on who supported the work - financially or otherwise. The authors' affiliation is the "Rule of Law Society & Rule of Law Foundation." It is not clear who supports this Foundation or what its purpose is. It is important for there to be transparency regarding research support, especially for a manuscript that is based on conjecture as opposed to data or empiricism. It is also unethical to promote what are essentially conspiracy theories that are not founded in fact."

###

Rapid Reviews: COVID-19 is an open-access overlay journal that seeks to accelerate peer review of COVID-19-related research pre-prints. The journal is edited by Stefano M. Bertozzi, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the School of Public Health at University of California Berkeley, and published by the MIT Press.

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Established in 1962, the MIT Press is one of the largest and most distinguished university presses in the world and a leading publisher of books and journals at the intersection of science, technology, art, social science, and design. MIT Press books and journals are known for their intellectual daring, scholarly standards, interdisciplinary focus, and distinctive design.

About the UC Berkeley School of Public Health

For 75 years and counting, the UC Berkeley SPH has been dedicated to making a transformative impact on the health of populations through its values of health as a right, strength through diversity, think forward, and impact first. To eliminate inequity and injustice that affects the health and dignity of all people, SPH is committed to radical public health collaborations that challenge conventional thinking, leverage technology, and build bridges between research, public policy, education, and action.

About the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation is dedicated to improving lives globally with information technology, neuroscience, and AI. The Foundation is the legacy of IDG founder Patrick J. McGovern, who believed in the potential for technology to democratize information, improve the human condition, and advance social good.

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For Koreans, these colorful seaweed rice rolls evoke memories of picnics, school lunchboxes, and family trips

It is the sohn mat that makes every kimbap so unique and special, my mom explained, carefully assembling stacks of julienned vegetables and arranging them neatly by color, ready to be rolled up in rice and seaweed.

Sohn mat, which literally translates to taste of the hands, is a Korean phrase that captures a cooks unique way of cooking by feeling or instinct, adding that personal flourish and magical handmade touch. When you taste the food, you can feel the love of the person who made itthats sohn mat.

And my sohn mat, my mom added with a laugh, is extra special.

Indeed, thats the secret ingredient to her kimbap, Korean rice rolls. A portmanteau of kim, dried roasted seaweed, and bap, cooked rice, kimbap is Koreas official picnic and lunchbox (dosirak) dishand my favorite packed school lunch growing up. Like a sandwich, its a portable food that requires no utensils to enjoy.

Id watch as my mom took those rainbow-colored stripsorange carrot, green spinach, yellow pickled daikon and sliced omeletand laid them down on a thin bed of rice, evenly spread over a sheet of black roasted seaweed. She would make sure that items of the same color were not next to each other, so that the cross section of the finished roll would properly showcase each individual ingredientindependent, but in harmony with its neighbor.

The pinwheel of colors inside kimbap aligns with Koreas ancient philosophy, based on the theory of the Five Elements, that every meal should incorporate the five flavors, colors, and textures of food. Kimbap achieves this balance in every bite.

Using both hands, she would carefully and tightly roll up the fillings within the rice and seaweed. Shed press firmly across the cylinder, snuggling everything in nicely, and then brush the seaweed wrapper with a light coating of sesame oil followed by a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Using her sharpest and longest knife, shed cut the rolls into individual round, bite-sized slices, each flashing kaleidoscope-like insides.

Tuck the fillings in tightly when you roll up your kimbap. (Tung Le/Shutterstock)

Before they all went into my dosirak, shed pick up a piece and pop it into my mouth (my favorites were the end pieces, with extra fillings poking out). I loved the contrasting textures and flavorsthe soft rice, the crunch of tangy-sweet daikon picklecoming together into the perfect bite.

As the ultimate convenience food, kimbap is now sold everywhere in Korea. Youll find packaged rolls in subway stations, street vendors, grocery stores, and even stand-alone restaurants specializing in the portable snack. Still, for many Koreans, including myself, memories of kimbap begin at home.

Ive eaten kimbap all my life, said Robert Austin Cho, chef and owner of Kimchi Smoke in New Jersey. My mother used to pack a lot of kimbap when we went on family trips. For me, trips meant it was kimbap time.

Hooni Kim, chef and owner of Danji in New York City, has similar memories. I associate kimbap with school trips, so there is a connection of kimbap to happy, special days out, he said.

When chef Sohui Kim of Brooklyns Insa Restaurant went on class trips, I had my mothers kimbap to look forward to, she fondly recalled. I opened my dosirak and unveiled the most beautiful, colorful, tasty work of art. It did not disappoint. I even shared a few pieces with my friends, bragging about my moms sohn mat.

Endless Variations

There are four broad styles of kimbap, each of which includes numerous different variations in filling.

Traditional kimbap is cylindrical with the seaweed wrapper on the outside. Nude kimbap, alternatively, has the rice on the outside, similar to Japanese uramaki or an inside-out roll. Samgak kimbap has a triangle-like shape with usually just one filling tucked inside, similar to Japanese onigiri and mostly sold in convenience stores. Finally, gye-ran kimbap is similar to traditional kimbap, but with an additional thin layer of egg omelet wrapped around the outside.

Samgak kimbap. (Iuliia_n/Shutterstock)

When it comes to what you roll up inside, the skys the limit.

Vegetables can be raw, cooked, or pickled and preserved: bright green spinach, orange carrot, yellow pickled radish, fiery red kimchi, multicolored bell peppers, dark green perilla leaves, or brown braised burdock root, to name a few. As for the protein, youll often see versions with bulgogi, fish cakes, imitation crab sticks, fried meat cutlets (donkaesu), spicy dried squid, or fish eggs.

There are also different regional types of kimbap. Chungmu kimbap, which hails from its namesake city, now called Tongyeong, is the simplest kind of roll, consisting of only rice and seaweed. The rolls are thin, and served alongside radish kimchi (seokbakji) and spicy squid (ojingeo muchim).

Chungmu kimbap. (Bbaessak/Shutterstock)

Mayak kimbap, meanwhile, was invented in Seoul at the Gwangjang market, and got its name from its addictive qualitiesmayak means narcotic. This kimbap is a mini, uncut version of traditional kimbap, with only a few fillings such as spinach, carrots, and pickled daikon. It is served with a sauce made with hot Korean mustard and soy sauce for dipping.

Mayak kimbap. (Ruben M Ramos/Shutterstock)

Kimbap sold at the Gwangjang market in Seoul, South Korea. (Von StreetVJ)

Still other fillings reflect modern Western influences, such as American cheese, Spam, canned tuna fish, and luncheon meats. Cho of New Jerseys Kimchi Smoke makes a hearty version with juicy chopped smoked brisket and creamy avocado. Higher-end rolls boasting luxury ingredients such as truffles, caviar, and sea urchin also abound these days.

Chef Hooni Kim mused that he sees the size of kimbap growing, with ever more ingredients being stuffed inside. I sometimes struggle to fit one piece in my mouth nowadays, he said, laughing.

But many still love kimbaps simple, traditional fillings. Chef Sohui Kim, for instance, is a purist, and shuns versions with cheese and other Western ingredients; she loves hers filled with spicy dried squid. I also prefer classic versions, such as bulgogi or imitation crab meat.

But the sheer range of possibilities is part of what makes kimbap so popular: theres something for everyone. A roll can be tailor-made to fit anyones discerning palate.

What is consistent, though, is that it is always made by handand most commonly by loving mothers packing their childrens lunches.

SIDEBOX: Kimbap Versus Sushi

Kimbap looks a lot like its Japanese cousin norimaki, sushi rolls wrapped in nori (seaweed), and specifically futomaki, a thicker type of norimaki with multiple ingredients. Between the two countries, though, the exact origin of rice rolls is a source of contention.

Japan claims that Koreas first versions of kimbap evolved from Japanese influences, and did not appear until after the annexation of Korea in the early 20th century. Koreans challenge this declaration, holding that kimbaps beginnings were within their own borders, and proliferated from the production of kim (dried seaweed) in the Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces from the 15th century. Official dish definitions aside, Korea undeniably has a long, ingrained tradition of rolling rice with banchan (various side dishes) in seaweed.

Whichever came first, there are some notable differences between Korean kimbap and Japanese norimaki.

Traditionally, all of the protein fillings for kimbap are cooked, while sushi often includes raw fish. Kimbap rice is seasoned with only sesame oil and salt, unlike sushi rice, which is seasoned with vinegar. Kimbap is also decidedly fatterstuffed full of a myriad of colorful ingredients.

To serve, kimbap is usually accompanied by slices of danmuji (pickled yellow radish) or kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage), while norimaki is typically served with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger.

Judy Joo is a chef, restaurateur, author, and TV personality. Her newest book is Judy Joos Korean Soul Food.

RECIPE: Bulgogi Kimbap (Korean Rice Rolls)
OTTAWA - The federal government is adding $600 million to a fund to help small- and medium-sized businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic, Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly said Friday.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA - The federal government is adding $600 million to a fund to help small- and medium-sized businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic, Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly said Friday.

The announcement brings total support through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund to more than $1.5 billion.

A lease sign hangs in the window as a cyclist walks past a commercial store Monday August 31, 2020 in Ottawa. The federal government is adding $600 million to a fund to help small- and medium-sized businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The government says the fund has already helped more than 12,000 businesses struggling because of the pandemic, which has hit everything from main street boutiques to hotels and restaurants.

The relief and recovery fund, administered through federal regional development agencies, is intended to help enterprises that might not be eligible for other pandemic-related assistance.

Of the new money, almost $456 million will go to small- and medium-sized operations facing financial pressure to help them keep employees and cover costs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau listens to Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly during a news conference in Ottawa, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Another $144 million will provide rural businesses and communities with access to capital and technical support, and will be delivered by community futures development corporations across the country.

"What we've learned is that in certain hard-hit sectors, it was more difficult for businesses to have access to capital through financial institutions, and that's why they came up to us," Joly said in an interview.

For instance, in northern Ontario, half the businesses supported to date are in the tourism sector, she said.

"We're seeing that all over Canada."

Money has also gone to startup companies that need support to stay afloat, she added.

"That was key, because we need to keep our innovation and our competitive edge, notwithstanding the pandemic."

Joly said she's also aware that major downtown cores are "really going through difficult times right now, and we're looking at solutions."

The minister said she spoke with chambers of commerce in several big cities this week to see what the government can do to help.

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Meanwhile, businesses have been urging the federal government to further expand the commercial rent relief program, especially since rent was due Thursday.

Earlier this week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business warned that only one-fifth of its members expected to stay open without rent relief.

Pressed on this Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the added regional funding is needed because the larger programs, such as the one for rent relief, had not helped everyone.

"There were still many small businesses, particularly in rural or remote areas, that were falling through the cracks of those particular programs," Trudeau said at a news conference in Ottawa, where he appeared alongside Joly to unveil the new funding.

Still, he said the federal government would have something more to say on "support for fixed costs" in the near future.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.
Nirbhayas lawyer not allowed to meet Hathras victims family

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

Lucknow, Oct 02: Seema Kushwaha, lawyer of the 2012 Delhi gangrape case on Thursday said the family of the alleged gangrape victim in Hathras has requested her to stand as their legal counsel but the state administration was not allowing her to meet them.

"The family (of alleged gangrape victim) has asked me to come to Hathras as they want me to stand as their legal counsel. I was in touch with the police and the victim's brother. I am not being allowed to meet them as the administration is saying that it will affect law and order situation," Kushwaha told ANI.

Hathras case: Demand to impose Presidents rule in UP

"I wanted to ask how my meeting with the family will create law and order problem. I came here as an individual, how can I create law and order problem. I will not leave from here before meeting the family and the administration has to ensure the meeting so that people can trust that administration is helping. As a private counsel, I want to give my help," she added.

Kushwaha was the family lawyer of the 23-year-old paramedical student who was gangraped in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people including a juvenile in Delhi.

None support behaviour of police with Rahul Gandhi: Raut

All four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case -- Akshay Singh Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Mukesh Singh -- were hanged to death in March, this year, 2020.

The 19-year-old Hathras girl had succumbed to assault injuries in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday where she was brought on Monday from Aligarh Muslim University Medical College.

All you need to know about Seema Kushwaha

Seema Samriddhi Kushwaha was born in a village called Uggarpur in Uttar Pradesh. "Until recently, if you Googled it-it wouldn't show up-that's how remote it is," she tells.

The Nirbhaya case, the most talked-about rape case in the country, was Kushwaha's first.

Kushwaha is a young lawyer now preparing for her civil services examination. She was still studying when decided to fight the Delhi gang rape case in 2013.

She graduated from Delhi University in 2014, but before that, in 2013, she had secured a death sentence for the rapists from the Saket Court.

Hathras case: HC issues summons to top UP officials

Today, she also serves as a legal advisor for the Nirbhaya Jyoti Trust, a charitable institute that helps women who have experienced violence.


45th Session of the Human Rights Council

Item 7: General Debate on the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, during the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council

30 September 2020

Statement by Sri Lanka





Madam President,

Sri Lanka aligns itself with the statement delivered by the Non Aligned Movement.

Sri Lankas long held principled position on this matter has been clear. We recognize the legitimate and inalienable right of the people of Palestine to statehood and to the natural resources in their territory. Any form of annexation, irrespective of its size, would constitute a violation of international law, jeopardize prospects for a peaceful settlement to the issue and cause destabilization of peace and security in the Middle East region.

Recent UN reports, including by the Secretary General, have indicated continued human rights violations of the Palestinian people in the OPT. We therefore urge Israel to abandon completely its annexation plans as well as similar activities, and respect the rights of the Palestinian people to fundamental freedoms and security. We echo the expectation of the Secretary General that the recent agreement would lead to an opportunity for re-engagement for constructive and meaningful negotiations to resolve conflict in line with the two-state solution based on relevant UN resolutions and international law.

We note with concern the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and in Israel consequent to COVID-19 and urge both parties to work in cooperation with the international community in the fight against the pandemic. We appreciate the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for responding to the new humanitarian challenges in the OPT and call the international community for strengthened support to their activities.

While recognizing the legitimate and sensitive security concerns of both the Palestinian and the Israeli peoples, Sri Lanka observes that uncertainty that continues in the region will only contribute to further deepening the crisis, and we encourage both parties to exercise maximum restraint.

Sri Lanka remains committed to supporting a negotiated settlement fully in line with the internationally agreed parameters of two states living side by side in harmony with one another on the basis of the 1967 borders.

Thank you.

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Connecticut has a tax problem that is likely to get worse in 2021 as the legislature and local governments confront the economic carnage wreaked by COVID-19.

For years, progressives have been pressuring Gov. Ned Lamont to push harder for tax hikes.

Meanwhile, weve seen property tax bills go up, up, up even as property values decline or sit stagnant  a trend that may be worsened by the pandemic, especially in towns whose main appeal was easy proximity to New York City.

According to the Tax Foundation, Connecticuts ... effective property tax rates on owner-occupied housing (are) now among the highest in the country at 1.7 percent of housing value. This is occurring even as Massachusetts and New York have prioritized constraining property tax hikes.

While Lamont may be less aggressive on the tax-hiking than the most left-wing in the Nutmeg State might like, the reality is, without the measures these two neighboring states have in place, there is no limit to the pain potentially facing a ton of us.

With COVID added to the mix, next year, well be facing a gruesome fiscal picture that tax-hikers will use to justify hammering even harder taxpayers who are already getting hammered hard by property taxes.

This is one reason why Connecticut needs to prioritize legalizing marijuana in 2021: We dont have a ton of new revenue lines, and those that we do have (e.g., soaking the rich) could well deplete our tax base further.

By the way, that is a non-starter: The ultrta-wealthy are highly mobile, and will flee high-tax states. And people are fleeing Connecticut: In 2019, data from U-Haul and United Van Lines pegged us as a net-migration-out state. According to United Van Lines, we were among the top 10 such states last year; per U-Haul in 2020, we slipped from 21st in its list of growth states to 34th  reflecting that people just arent coming here and our tax base will decline.

By fully legalizing marijuana, we can put new revenue from a new industry on the table and minimize the pain the rest of us, especially homeowners, will sustain to our wallets.

According to a new study from the University of Connecticuts Fred Carstensen, direct new revenue from legalization could go as high as $48 million in the first year of legalization and as high as $223 million five years in.

Currently, we are projected to be facing a $3.5 billion hole in the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Paying down our rainy day fund will help with this, but even if it were all paid out, wed come up $400 million short.

If we want to minimize how much of that deficit can potentially be shoved onto existing taxpayers, putting new sources of revenue on the table makes sense  even if we wont see hundreds of millions from it for a few years down the line.

Its worth noting that both Grover Norquists Americans for Tax Reform and the National Taxpayers Union do not regard taxes on newly-legalized marijuana as tax hikes as long as the rates applied are more or less in line with those applied to similar product categories.

That means that any Republicans who might be worried about a vote for legalization forming the basis of attacks on them as tax hikers can rest easy. And the rest of us will see some more money in state and local coffers that mean were not walking around with targets on our backs for those who favor copycatting Californias direction on tax policy.

Of course, for many opponents of legalization, their objections are nothing to do with questions of revenue and income, taxes and spending. People query whether the social implications of legalization make it worth any potential financial upside.

Personally, I havent used marijuana in any form since 2002; I also stopped drinking that year; my only sinful behavior these days is the occasional bingeing on chocolate chip cookies.

I see the downsides of both drugs and alcohol (and the cookie-bingeing) in very personal terms (usually, its in the tightness of my yoga pants).

But I also recognize that my experience is not universal, and that recent studies show that marijuana can be useful in treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) including among veterans, and in enabling opioid addicts to move off of these deadly drugs and onto something that might, if you believe Afroman who sang about what he failed to get done that day because he got high, make you lazier but wont actually kill you.

This, and not the fiscal impact of moving away from our current marijuana regime, is why you have fairly conservative Republicans such as Ohio Rep. David Joyce backing federal legislation that would allow states to legalize marijuana.

That is on top of super-Trumpy members of Congress such as Rep. Matt Gaetz, libertarian-conservatives such as Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Tom McClintock, and more moderate Republicans such as Sen. Cory Gardner who all take marijuana-friendly positions (plus all the Democrats who support it, such as vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris).

If legalized marijuana can help our veterans and those suffering from addiction to oxycontin or heroin, its hard to argue for keeping it bound up in even the relatively limited red tape associated with medical marijuana or decriminalized marijuana. Ditto when anecdotal evidence indicates it can help seriously ill people suffering from, say, epilepsy and for whom traditional pharmaceuticals dont work. That is especially so when few of us are logging any real driving distances anymore and staying close to home 24-7  and bearing in mind that positive experiences of telecommuting during the pandemic may turn that into a much more permanent condition, regardless of what happens with a COVID vaccine, establishment of herd immunity, or anything else.

There is one big, final reason that Connecticut needs to proactively legalize, not just decriminalize, marijuana and it is racial equity and criminal justice.

The sad reality is that decriminalization does not do enough to prevent African-American men, in particular, from being stopped, abused and, yes, even killed by police.

This summers wave of Black Lives Matter protests emphasized to the nation the need for systemic reforms to tackle racial disparities in policing and curtail police brutality against Black and Brown Americans. Its not enough to simply better train police, ban chokeholds, or end qualified immunity  I support all of those measures, too. We need to eliminate the pretext for so much excessive law enforcement activity targeting minority men, especially, and the pretext very often is to do with drugs, including marijuana, even where it has been decriminalized.

In the toniest parts of Fairfield County, these latter two arguments for full legalization will likely carry less weight than the fiscal ones. But they are all important reasons for pursuing legalization in 2021. The legislature should act accordingly and give taxpayers, veterans, those trying to kick opioids, gravely ill people and young minority men a break.

Liz Mair is a longtime proponent of marijuana legalization and the owner, founder and president of Mair Strategies LLC, which consults on the issue. She lives in Stamford.
The Fourth Congress opened the floodgates for a wave of opportunism unprecedented in the history of the Fourth International. A few weeks after the Congress, a WRP delegation which included Healy, Mitchell and Vanessa Redgrave flew off to the Gulf States for a money-raising jamboree of a politically-depraved character.

Notwithstanding the Congress Resolutions denunciation of the Gulf States, Healy hob-nobbed with the feudalists and big bourgeois of Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. The political flavor of the trip was indicated in the following notation made by Healy about his stay in Kuwait (We quote from a document written and signed by Healy, dated April 14, 1979, summarizing the results of the trip. It was discovered by the International Control Commission in November 1985.): We worked closely with the Palestine Liberation Organization, although they were not required to assist us with funds since in the opinion of the delegation this was mainly a matter for Kuwaitis and their friends among the rich Palestinians.

Healys collaboration with these reactionary forces was graphically illustrated in one incident described in his report:

On March 31st an invitation was made to the delegation to meet at dinner with a group of left-oppositionists led by the SULTAN family. The object of this meeting was expressed to Vanessa Redgrave by NAJJAT SULTAN as an invitation to explain the real reasons for your visit to Kuwait. The delegation declined to accept this invitation as we did not wish to intervene in the political matters in Kuwait.

Having steered clear of the radical trouble-makers, Healy was able to report that large sums of money were raised from leading Kuwaitis including generous cheques from the Crown Prince, the Governor of Ahmadi and other leading feudalists.
Hip hop star Denise Chailas long-anticipated mixtape Go Bravely is now available having been released by narolane records.

This 11 track mixtape is Chaila's first body of work to be released since her two-track 2019 EP, Duel Citizenship.

Produced by her narolane records cohort, MuRli, Go Bravely features current single Holy Grail, as well as the opening song that catapulted her to household name status, Chaila.

"This mixtape is a series of sonic polaroids; a patchwork collection of snapshots and messages that came to me in the midst of overwhelming messiness. These songs are affirmations and declarations from every part of me that refused to lie down and give up when everything in me told me I should. Go Bravely is the purest expression of my faith Ive ever articulated. It means: Come as you are. One foot in front of the other. Leave nothing of yourself behind. Stop waiting to be ready. Choose yourself. Just start. Go Bravely, said the Zambian-born artist.

Go Bravely is out right now!!



Written by me

Produced entirely by @MuRliMuRl

Executive produced by @GodKnowsRF

Recorded and mixed by @narolanerecords

Given new life by You.



Find it here: https://t.co/uBMj8exCGQ



Or anywhere else you get your music! x pic.twitter.com/xIxxZkIXQT  denise (@DeniseChaila) October 2, 2020

Denise has had a year to remember. The Limerick-based rapper has appeared on The Late Late Show and performed with the RTE National Concert Orchestra alongside Dermot Kennedy for the Shine: A Summer concert last August.

Denise also performed on Songs From An Empty Room in July and Other Voices in May on RTE television.

She was named Limerick Person of the Month over the summer.

Denise released Chaila, which pokes fun at the mispronunciation of her surname, was released in June and peaked at number 8 on the Official Irish Homegrown Chart.

Stream Go Bravely on Spotify and Apple Music now.
The challenges that Coronavirus has brought us over the past six months make it easy to forget there are good things around us. One of these stories involves The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and Kiryat Motzkin, a small, middle class city north of Haifa in Israel, where the Federation has had an ongoing partnership since 2006. This partnership has been made possible through the generosity of Federation donors. Through this partnership, the Federation supports two important programs that make a tremendous difference to the life of the elderly and the at-risk youth.

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Linkedin Mardika Parama (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 17:33 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48c492a 1 Business Indonesia,Dubai-Expo-2020,World-Expo,Trade,UAE,Saudi-Arabia,investment Free

Indonesia is targeting to attract 2.5 million visitors to its pavilion in one of the oldest global events, the World Expo, which will be held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), next year, as it aims to boost cooperation in trade and investment with Middle Eastern and African countries.

Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto reiterated on Thursday that Indonesia would still participate in the event, which is held every five years, despite a year-long postponement to October 2021 from this year, due to the COVID-19 global crisis. The event is scheduled to last until March 2022.

Indonesia is set to have a 3,000-square-meter pavilion, joining 192 participating countries that will promote their tourism, culture, economy and technological achievements, Agus said. The Indonesian pavilion is set to combine the futuristic and the traditional, according to the Trade Ministry.

We will exhibit and promote trade, tourism and investment with Indonesia [at the pavilion], as well as introduce our Golden Indonesia 2045 Vision, he said during the broadcasted Indonesias pavilion mascot and logo unveiling event on Thursday, referring to Indonesias 100-year independence milestone.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has instructed his ministers to take advantage of the event to expand Indonesias trade partnership, especially with emerging economies in the Middle East and the Africa region, according to the minister.

The statement came as the country struggled with slowing global trade as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indonesias total exports from January to August stood at US$103.16 billion, a 6.51 percent year-on-year (yoy) drop from the same period last year, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data shows. Imports, meanwhile, fell by 18.06 percent yoy to $92.11 billion in the same period.

Indonesias trade value with the UEA fell by 19.96 percent yoy to $1.68 billion between January and July this year, Trade Ministry data shows. In the same period, Indonesian exports to the UEA fell by 10.1 percent yoy and imports by 26.52 percent yoy.

Last year, Indonesias trade value with the UEA reached $3.65 billion, with exports of $1.47 billion and imports of $2.18 billion. Most of the exported products were jewelry, cars and other motor vehicles for transport and palm oil, among other items.

From January to July, Indonesia also booked a 23.84 percent decrease yoy in trade value with Saudi Arabia at $2.27 billion, with exports falling by 8.46 percent yoy and imports by 30 percent.

Agus said the expos postponement has disrupted Indonesias trade mission to the region.

Read also: Indonesia finalizing 'travel corridor' with UAE

The ministry previously set a target to export $1.46 billion worth of products to the UAE and $1.7 billion to Saudi Arabia to offset oil and gas trade deficits with the countries.

Of course, there have been disruptions to our mission [as a result of the delay]. However, Im optimistic that with the postponement, the event will be more flexible and we could do more business matching and trade deals, he said.

UAE Ambassador to Indonesia Abdullah Salem Obeid Al Dhaheri assured during the unveiling event that the expo would take place next year and the UAE government aimed to attract 24 million visitors during the event.

The UAE is working hard to make Expo Dubai a prominent platform to showcase human achievements in many fields with more than 200 countries, companies, organizations and educational institutions, he said in a speech.
Automotive supplier Hella is selling its front camera software division to Volkswagen's Car.Software Org. However, the company will continue to invest in topics such as automated driving, electromobility, software and digitalization.

Hella is selling its business with front camera software and the related activities in the area of testing and validation to the Car.Software Org, a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen. Both companies have signed a corresponding agreement.

The transaction is expected to result in extraordinary income in the range of approximately 100 million Euro in the event of a successful closing. The business activities to be sold are located at the Berlin-based subsidiary Hella Aglaia. In the course of the sale, about half of the companys employees are to be transferred to the Car.Software Org, which Volkswagen founded at the beginning of the year as a cross-brand unit for software development. The transaction is still subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities and is expected to close in the first quarter of calendar year 2021.

The exit from the front camera software business is based on stringent portfolio management. This is based on our strategic cornerstones of technology leadership, market leadership and the fulfilment of certain financial key figures, said Hella CEO Dr. Rolf Breidenbach. If we cannot sustainably achieve one of these three criteria with a product, we will not pursue the corresponding business activities any further. In order to achieve our goals in the long term, we would have had to make extraordinarily high investments in the field of front camera software combined with a high level of entrepreneurial risk. We are therefore pleased to have found a strong partner in Volkswagen who will continue to develop these activities strategically.

Hella Aglaia's other business activities in the fields of energy management, lighting control and people sensing are not affected by the sale. We will continue to invest consistently in future automotive topics such as electromobility, automated driving, software and digitalization, emphasized Dr. Rolf Breidenbach. With a newly founded Global Software House the supplier for example is further expanding its worldwide software competences. At the same time, the company continues to invest in essential key components for assisted and autonomous driving.
On October 2, the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary. P Kumaran visited the Clifford Pier to pay tribute to the father of the nation where his ashes were immersed 70 years ago. In a post on Twitter, the Indian embassy in Singapore wrote that the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore commemorated Mahatma Gandhi at the Global Indian International School (GIIS) SMART Campus and at Clifford Pier.

"High Commissioner P Kumaran offered floral tributes to the Mahatma at the GIIS SMART campus," Indian High Commission said in a tweet. "High Commissioner P Kumaran also visited the Clifford Pier to pay respects at the place where a part of #MahatmaGandhi ashes was immersed more than 70 years ago at Clifford Pier," it added.

Mahatma Gandhi''s ideas and messages are more relevant than ever before, India''s High Commissioner to Singapore P Kumaran said in a PTI report. Further, at the event organized with ministers and policymakers on the 151st birthday of Gandhi, he said, Gandhism resonates widely even today, adding, that leaders worldwide opted Gandhis ideals of harmony and peace for people-centric governance, providing better standards of living and respecting nature.

Read: Gandhi Jayanti: US House Of Representative Pays Tribute To 'Bapu' With Special Message

Read: On Gandhi Jayanti, India Gifts 41 Ambulances And 6 School Buses To Nepal

High Commissioner P Kumaran also visited the Clifford Pier to pay respects at the place where a part of #MahatmaGandhi ashes were immersed more than 70 years ago at Clifford Pier-@fullerton_sg #GandhiJayanti GandhiJayanti # # #MannMeinBapu, #MKGandhi pic.twitter.com/kYSD5tlXTF  India in Singapore (@IndiainSingapor) October 2, 2020

One of the 'greatest leaders'

P Kumaran addressed Indian students and local community leaders on Gandhi Jayanti, where, he also pointed out the impact of Gandhis principles such as cleanliness in 2020 that inspired the 'Swachh Bharat' mission launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He insisted that Gandhi's ideas and messages were more relevant than before among leaders of the free world. Speaking at the event, President of the UN in Singapore Alexander Charles Louis called Mahatma Gandhi as one of the greatest leaders the world has seen. He urged the aspiring students to inculcate the Gandhian values and principles in their course of the journey.

President of Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) Tushar Doshi was quoted saying by PTI, Mahatma Gandhis life is inspiring, and his principles of non-violence, simplicity, and truth inspire us in daily life

Read: Gandhi Jayanti: Team 'Thalaivi' Remembers 'man Who Taught Value Of Fighting For Truth'

Read: Gandhi Jayanti: Indian, Chinese Envoys Pay Tribute To 'Bapu' On 151st Birth Anniversary
TRENTON  Council had the last say in this one.

The governing body overrode Mayor Reed Guscioras veto of an ordinance that moves the municipal election from May to November.

The change also moves runoffs to December rather than June and gives the mayor and council members another six months in office.

Gusciora vetoed the measure this week after council passed it 5-2 Sept. 17, saying Trentonians should decide the issue.

This is ultimately a decision that should be approved by our residents via referendum, Gusciora said in a statement announcing his veto. If we are truly serious about increasing participation in our electoral system, then we should not deprive Trentonians the opportunity to be heard in this matter.

Requiring a supermajority to override, council got the five votes needed to moot Guscioras executive action with Joe Harrison and Jerell Blakeley voting no.

Marge Caldwell-Wilson had asked ordinance sponsor Robin Vaughn to reconsider a referendum when the measure passed last month.

While she was the swing vote Thursday, the North Ward councilwoman did not change her position.

Its expected from them, Gusciora said. Its not wise. This is their continual reaction to things.

Vaughn suggested the city would see increased voter turnout and savings as much as $181,000 by aligning Trenton with other municipalities in Mercer County that conduct elections with the general election.

The West Ward councilwoman was also at odds with city law director John Morelli over whether the election change could be executed by referendum.

Morelli said nothing in state law prevented council from allowing voters to decide the issue as a ballot question while Vaughn countered that a referendum was illegal and the change had to be instituted by ordinance.

That is what council did the first time around, until this latest iteration of the bill repealed the previous measure.

Critics blasted legislators for extending their terms and suggested the benefits werent conclusive: Inclement weather could deter older infirmed voters from turning out to the polls, they said.

Gusciora wanted more research into the potential benefits given the implications for the city.

Once the election is moved, a provision in the law says municipalities cannot change the election date again for 10 years, officials said.
Mika Salo has admitted he thought Lewis Hamilton's penalties at Sochi were "harsh".

The former F1 driver, who was a FIA steward at the Russian GP, came under fire after Hamilton and his fans accused the governing body of unfairly targeting the six-time world champion.

Salo was also criticised for allegedly leaking information about the penalties to the Finnish broadcaster C More.

Now, he is again defending the stewards' decision amid claims the penalties assigned to Hamilton for illegal pre-race practice starts were too harsh.

"It was a clear violation of the rules, so some sanction had to be imposed," Salo told Iltalehti newspaper.

"We also thought it was harsh, but we acted according to the penalty table."

However, the stewards later rescinded the decision to add penalty points to Hamilton's super licence, which would have moved him perilously close to a race ban.

"After the race, we were showed a radio conversation between Hamilton and the team which said that the team had given permission for the practice start to take place," Salo said.

"It was a communication problem, because Mercedes didn't mean for Hamilton to do the start as far away as he did. They accepted the other penalties," he added.

However, Salo hit back at the notion that Hamilton is routinely targeted by the FIA.

"The stewards have so much information and data at their disposal that decisions always stand up to reasoning," he said.

"A couple of years ago, there was a death threat from the Netherlands when we penalised Max Verstappen, but there was nothing questionable about it. Max committed a clear foul."

Salo also dismissed reports that he is unlikely to work for the FIA again after the latest controversies.

"This is completely voluntary - no one forces me to do it," he insisted.

"The teams chose me for this role and I certainly haven't heard any complaints from them. And the drivers should know that I am the steward judging from the driver's perspective. I'm on their side."

(GMM)
(Newser)  For decades, Yoko One has been involved in a legal skirmish with a former assistant to late husband John Lennon, and the battle has just ramped up again. TMZ reports the 87-year-old artist and activist has filed a lawsuit against Frederic Seaman, whom she accuses of copyright infringement and breach of contract. Seaman first pleaded guilty in 1983 to swiping private notes, photos, and journals from Lennon's New York City residence, and Ono thought then that the issue had been resolved. But Seaman's representations "turned out to be lies and the start of yet another scheme," Ono's lawyer writes in the new complaint, per Fox Business. Ono sued Seaman in the late '90s after it became known that Seaman was selling Lennon memorabilia he'd apparently stolen. In 2002 the two settled that complaint, with Seaman agreeing to adhere to a confidentiality agreement.

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"I did wrong by you and indeed am guilty of violating your trust," Seaman apologized to Ono in 2002. That's according to the current suit, which claims he also vowed to stop dishing about his time with Ono and Lennon. However, Ono's latest legal action was prompted after Seaman conducted a 23-minute interview last month in which he chatted about Ono and Lennon, Lennon's murder, and a book he'd put out in 1991, noting he might revise it and put out an expanded reissue. "Unless otherwise ordered by this Court again and held in contempt and punished for his contumacious behavior, it is clear that Seaman's abuses will continue," Ono's lawyer says in the suit. What Ono hopes to see come out of her new complaint: Seaman finally zipping his lips about her family for good, and at least $150,000 in damages. (Read more Yoko Ono stories.)
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, on Friday wished Donald Trump a speedy recovery after the US president and his wife Melania caught Covid-19.

In a tweet, Tedros wished the couple "a full and speedy recovery". Trump is pulling the United States out of the WHO, accusing it of mishandling the coronavirus pandemic and being too close to China.

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Theater project embezzlement sentence appeals set for late October

 RAPSI, Kirill Ryabchikov

13:23 02/10/2020

MOSCOW, October 2 (RAPSI) - The Moscow City Court on Friday scheduled appeals against sentence in a high-profile Seventh Studio stage company embezzlement case for October 23, the courts press service told RAPSI.

Appeals have been filed by all defendants except the Gogol Centre theater director Kirill Serebrennikov.

On June 26, the court passed a 3-year suspended sentence and an 800,000-ruble fine on the Gogol Center theater director Kirill Serebrennikov for embezzlement of 129 million rubles (about $2 million) of budget funds allocated for the theater project Platforma. Ex-head of Seventh Studio Yury Itin also received a 3-year suspended term and a fine. Producer Alexey Malobrodsky was given a 2-year suspended sentence and a fine.

Director of the Russian Academic Youth Theater Sophia Apfelbaum received a fine but was released from its payment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

The court also granted a 129 million-ruble civil suit. Serebrennikov, Itin and Malobrodsky are to pay the money.

The court found that Serebrennikov and Itin had committed embezzlement involving Malobrodsky in the crime. However, Apfelbaum was not aware of their criminal plans but provided for the approval of the Platforma financial plans submitted by Serebrennikov. However, the court found Apfelbaum guilty of negligence resulted in grave damage.

According to investigators, defendants in the case stole 133 of 214 million rubles ($3.3 million) of budget funds allocated to the Seventh Studio company in 2011-2014 for development and popularization of contemporary art in Russia as part of the project Platforma.

Serebrennikov was arrested in late August 2017 and then placed under house arrest. In early November, Moscows Basmanny District Court seized assets belonging to Serebrennikov including apartment, car, and money in the amount of more than 360,000 rubles ($5,300), over 60,000, and $4,000.
Imagine having little control over who visits your home or what they do there. Imagine if others are routinely speaking for you and your own views are rarely sought. Imagine approaching the local council about a problem about, say, parking permits, and the councils response comes via a state government department  as if youre the property of the bureaucracy.

The lockdown scene at the public housing towers in Flemington earlier this year. Credit:Jason South

This is crudely the predicament of many of Melbournes public housing residents. They lack the kind of autonomy over their daily lives that the rest of the public takes for granted. It's not because authorities are guilty of malign intent  benign neglect, though, yes, such as the failures in infection control that contributed to Julys hard lockdown of inner-city commission towers.

More generally, the structures governing public housing communities are remote and rigid  and, in my view, not immune to ingrained (if unconscious) prejudice against the poor, especially when the poor speak little English and come from war-torn countries.

The fact several African-Australian candidates from public housing estates are standing in Octobers local government elections ought to rattle such prejudices. So should the fiascos in the early days of the hard lockdown. In announcing the measure, the Premier and ministers described the residents as some of Victorias most vulnerable.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is confident that Nagorno Karabakh conflict has no military solution, ARMENPRESS reports spokesperson of the Secretary General Stephane Dujarric told Voice of America.

The Secretary General of the UN said that he is deeply sorry for that the sides continue the military operations despite the numerous calls to cease the fire from the international community, including himself and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs. He calls on the sides to stop all military operations.

According to the spokesperson, the Secretary General is confident that the conflict has no military solution. He emphasized that the continuation of the military operations will further exacerbate human sufferings and that the dialogue is the only way for a stable and lasting solution.

He reminded the leaders of both sides that civilian people and infrastructures should always be protected.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
MIDDLETOWN  Corporate partners are the backbone of the Middlesex United Way. Our partners provide significant contributions each year that help us provide funding to local agencies, and assist countless people struggling in the areas of education, financial stability, health, housing and racial equity and inclusion.

We are honored to shine a spotlight on local companies and their employees for outstanding community spirit and support of Middlesex United Way. Eversource employees generously participate in the workplace campaign. The company provides a corporate gift and an employee matching program, in addition to serving as a corporate sponsor.

The Middlesex United Way strives to create lasting change in our community and does so with the help of many other local nonprofits. We support community programs and initiatives that help those in need. These efforts would simply not be possible without the support from companies and their employees.

Eversource and its campaign team work incredibly hard to reach 8,000 employees in three states. They use the companys intranet and daily electronic newsletter to reach employees, and in they hold in-person kickoff meetings where employees can learn more about the United Way and how they can have an impact.

Some of their keys to success include support from top company leadership, creating a team approach, being prepared, and connecting people to the ways they can have a big impact in their communities. Year after year, Eversource is a part of our Top 10 workplace campaigns, meaning their employees fundraising efforts are at the top of total workplace campaigns among all donors.

Eversource is committed to the health and economic well-being of their customers, businesses and institutions within their service territory. Eversource invests in organizations and initiatives that provide meaningful and sustainable change in our communities through signature sponsorships, charitable giving and employee engagement.

They have identified their own focus areas of health and well-being of youth, education, clean energy and environmental stewardship and community development, particularly those in underrepresented communities. In 2019 alone, the Eversource Foundation awarded over $2 million to nonprofit organizations, and 850 employees volunteered at over 50 events throughout Connecticut.

Even during COVID-19, with most of their employees working from home, they continued to identify ways in which they can support our communities. Some recent examples include a group of Eversource Stitchers utilized their sewing skills to make masks for first responders; and over 50 employees and their families collected trash and other debris along the Connecticut River in support of the Connecticut River Conservancys annual Source to Sea event, of which Eversource was a sponsor.

Also, in addition to their sponsorship of the Connecticut Invention Convention, Eversource employees volunteered virtually to judge the phenomenal inventions created by Connecticut students.

To support critical social services provided by nonprofits, Eversource donated more than $2 million through the Eversource Foundation to COVID-19 response efforts, including the Connecticut United Ways COVID-19 Response Fund. Over 5,000 people received direct financial assistance for food, housing and other essentials through the fund.

Eversource is just one of our generous corporate sponsors, and we hope to continue to highlight the amazing efforts these sponsors make each year.

To learn more about the programs Middlesex United Way partner with or our corporate sponsorship program, contact Manny Martinez at manny.martinez@middlesexunitedway.org.

Kevin Wilhelm is president and CEO of the Middlesex United Way in Middletown.
Kesagee Nayager appointed new Prisa president

Kesagee Nayager was appointed as the new president of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (Prisa) at the institute's 63rd annual general meeting held earlier this week.



Nayager holds several educational qualifications, including an MBA from the Wits Business School and is also an Accredited Public Relations Professional (APR).
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 09:35:45|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a significant supplement to the existing international financial institutions by providing loans for infrastructure construction to less developed countries to enhance national development, an Indonesian scholar said.

Bambang Suryono, president of the Jakarta-based think tank Nanyang ASEAN Foundation, told Xinhua recently that unlike traditional international financial institutions whose main purpose is to reduce poverty, AIIB focuses on the development of infrastructure.

"Due to the different positioning and business focus, AIIB and the existing multilateral development banks are complementary rather than competitive," he said.

Suryono, also chairman of the Asia Innovation Study Center in Indonesia, said the establishment of AIIB enhances the overall strength of multilateral development banks at a time when there is a huge demand for infrastructure financing in Asia, and will boost regional and even global economic development.

He also said AIIB's funds come from its various members, and AIIB pools together the funds to improve the usage efficiency. The AIIB loan will help reduce the development gap between countries in the region by "supporting the poor and weak through the rich and strong."

Talking about the relationship between Indonesia and AIIB, he said Indonesia is a founding member of AIIB and has played an important role in the establishment and operation of the bank.

Indonesia's Assistant Minister of Finance Suminto acts as a director from the constituency of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste and is one of the 12 directors of AIIB.

Besides, Indonesian Deputy Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Luky Eko Wuryanto serves as AIIB's vice president and chief administration officer, and is one of the five vice presidents of AIIB.

At the same time, Suryono said Indonesia is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of AIIB since its establishment.

According to the official website of AIIB, as of the end of September 2020, AIIB has approved eight Indonesian loan projects covering slum upgrading, irrigation, infrastructure development in tourism area, communications and epidemic prevention among others, agreeing to provide about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in loans to Indonesia.

The National Slum Upgrading Project is the first Indonesian project approved by AIIB in 2016. Suryono spoke highly of the project, saying that it will change the lives of 9.7 million people in Jakarta and 153 other cities by providing clean drinking water, sanitation, waste disposal and wastewater drainage systems, as well as better roads.

Suryono said AIIB's pragmatic and efficient professionalism in Indonesia's National Slum Upgrading Program has been welcomed by the Indonesian government and people.

"It is hoped that AIIB will extend this cooperation with Indonesia to other Asian countries and contribute more to poverty alleviation, environmental protection and infrastructure development around the world," He added.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many countries, including Indonesia. In June, three months after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Indonesia, AIIB approved two Indonesian projects totaling 1 billion U.S. dollars to provide financial support for prevention and impacts mitigation of COVID-19 as well as economic recovery.

Suryono said the two AIIB projects were timely. "The COVID-19 is continuing spreading in the country with a significant slowdown in economic activity and a decline in state revenues."

"The AIIB loan will help ease the impact of the epidemic on the real economy, especially on small and micro enterprises, and increase the confidence of Indonesians in fighting the epidemic and restoring the economy." Enditem
President Donald Trump has canceled rallies planned for Saturday in two Wisconsin cities after the president tested positive for COVID-19.

Trump's campaign had been adjusting plans as late as Thursday afternoon surrounding rallies in Janesville and Green Bay  despite the latter city's designation by a White House task force as a COVID-19 "red zone." At about 3 p.m. Thursday, Trump's campaign announced La Crosse's rally had been relocated to Janesville.

On Friday, Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a statement all of Trump's previously planned campaign stops were being transitioned to online events or temporarily postponed. Events involving Trump's immediate family also have been postponed. Vice President Mike Pence, who has tested negative for coronavirus, will resume his scheduled events.

"All other campaign events will be considered on a case-by-case basis and we will make any relevant announcements in the days ahead," Stepien said.

Temporary flight restrictions for Air Force One flights to Janesville Regional Airport and Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport were canceled this morning, according to advisories from the National Business Aviation Association. Officials with both airports confirmed on Friday that the president's flights had been canceled.

Stepien's announcement is the first official word from the campaign on the president's planned stops in Wisconsin, where positive COVID-19 cases have surged in recent weeks.

Wisconsin set a new record Thursday for daily COVID-19 cases  logging 2,887 cases, according to the Department of Health Services. On Friday, DHS reported another 2,745 new cases and a total 1,353 deaths as a result of the disease.

Trump said late Thursday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, just a month before the presidential election and after having spent much of the last year largely downplaying the threat of the virus.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER! Trump tweeted.

Trump's announcement came just hours after he confirmed that senior aide Hope Hicks, who had traveled with him several times this week, had tested positive.

On Friday, Joe Biden's campaign reported that both the former Vice President and wife Jill Biden had tested negative for COVID-19.

"Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern," Biden tweeted. "I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands."

Also on Friday, Bloomberg reported that Trump learned of Hicks' infection Thursday morning, yet he continued with a full schedule of events.

Trump had originally planned stops in La Crosse and Green Bay this weekend. Mayors in both cities said yesterday they were concerned the president's rallies had the potential to become superspreader events, as both communities are seeing surging positive cases of COVID-19.

In an interview with the State Journal on Thursday, the president's son Eric Trump, who held a campaign events that day in Becker, Minn., and Rothschild, said the Trump campaign was "taking every precaution" to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

Trump said he feels there's a double-standard when it comes to making efforts to mitigate the disease's spread.

"No one ever cares when its antifa protesters, no one ever cares when its other kinds protesters," Trump said. All of a sudden when Trump comes in with a lot of patriotic Americans who love this country and want to celebrate the presidency and all of a sudden people start talking about COVID and I think its really disingenuous of people."

Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich said on Thursday he has no problem with campaign events, but said his concern lies in the fact that oftentimes, Trump's rallies often come with few face masks and limited social distancing.

"If it's a typical Trump campaign rally, it's clear to me that's not something our public health officials would be encouraging, really anywhere," Genrich said.

State leaders react

As news spread that Trump had tested positive, Wisconsin leaders on both sides of the aisle shared well wishes and prayers for the president.

"Kathy and I are sending our best wishes to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in their recovery," Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tweeted Friday.

Republican leaders U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, tweeted wishes that the president and the first lady have a full recovery.

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, also tweeted hopes for a speedy recovery, adding, "this should show the nation the need to take Covid-19 seriously, and that means wearing a mask and properly social distancing. Ignorance or arrogance or denial can be costly."

"The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 206,000 Americans," U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, tweeted. "And we are still in the midst of this pandemic. I wish that President Trump and the First Lady make a quick recovery. Please wear a mask and practice social distancing."

In a statement, Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Andrew Hitt expressed prayer for Trump and all infected by the coronavirus.

"We look forward to their speedy recovery and to seeing the President in Wisconsin again soon," Hitt said. The stakes of this election are high. President Trump has spent the better part of four years fighting on behalf of hard-working Americans. Now Republicans in Wisconsin get to return the favor, and will be working harder than ever to effectively get out the vote for our president.
The closure of City Colleges Fort Mason campus is a devastating blow to the people of San Francisco and our citys creative future.

This beautiful, special art campus fostered so much creativity and community. For four decades, Fort Mason was the place for thousands of San Franciscans to explore painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography and mixed media and learn from gifted teachers. Fort Mason helped launch the careers of many artists, and provided not only workspace for creative people who might not be able to afford the price of a private art studio in San Francisco, but also a vibrant, warm and supportive community that encouraged artistic growth and perseverance.

My time spent as an art student at Fort Mason, with teachers and classmates who mentored me in my art practice, was one of the most meaningful educational experiences of my life. My favorite painting teacher, Glen Moriwaki, had studied with some of the greatest of the Bay Area Figurative painters, including Elmer Bischoff and Joan Brown. The Fort Mason Art campus was truly a creative bastion in a city that had historically prided itself on its art, music and theater culture. But in recent years, San Franciscos vivid cultural life has languished as the city increasingly prioritizes technology, money and real estate over arts and culture. And by closing the Fort Mason campus, the Board of Trustees has done serious damage not only to the college, but also to the arts in our city and to San Francisco itself.

San Francisco voters need to know that our College Board of Trustees is responsible for the sickening loss of such an important treasure. With no financial analysis underlying it, the rash closure of Fort Mason didnt even make sense financially, and will actually result in a financial loss to the school. We need a new Board of Trustees that makes sound financial decisions for the long-term viability of the college. In November, San Franciscans must vote out our College Board incumbents, who chose to close the Fort Mason campus and cut hundreds of classes and jobs. We need new values and vision on our community college board.

A new board of trustees that acts responsibly is essential for the survival of CCSF. However, the battle for the soul of community colleges needs to happen at the state level as well as locally. Californias repeatability rules, which were enacted in 2012 and restricted students to a total of four classes in any of the artistic disciplines, were the beginning of the end of Fort Masons glorious tradition of learning and growth. How can anyone master the art of painting in four semesters?

All Californians should know that the opportunities for meaningful lifelong learning and personal enrichment offered for decades by our community colleges are in danger. We should all be fighting the threat to our community colleges as the state strangles the vision of community college and tries to downgrade us all into junior colleges. In this junior college model, lifelong learning of the arts  as well as the vocational classes that retrain workers to participate fully in our states economy  would be sacrificed for the sake of recent high school graduates who want to transfer to four-year colleges. The mission of the California community colleges is education for everyone. If Californias voters truly understand the stakes, we can save our community colleges from further destruction.

Fawnee Evnochides, an ESL instructor at City College of San Francisco, is a former art student at CCSFs Fort Mason campus.
Sterling rose early on Friday before Britains David Frost and the European Unions Michel Barnier meet to continue Brexit talks.

Significant issues remain between Britain and the EU Union about their post-Brexit trade relationship, British housing minister Robert Jenrick said on Friday.

A more important meeting is set for Saturday, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss the next steps.

This meeting is what sterling longs needed, said Jordan Rochester, forex strategist at Nomura. He expects sterling to continue rising because the risk-reward getting a deal over no-deal.

Still, the pound is unlikely to strengthen by much until it becomes clear in which direction the talks are headed, he said. With each (Brexit news) headline you get sucked in to put trades on and within minutes a denial comes in and it turns either way.

The pound had a tumultuous day on Thursday, rising and falling in direct response to Brexit-related news, as Britain and the EU neared the end of the last scheduled round of trade talks before the blocs leaders assess progress on October 15-16.

Rochester has been advising not to trade sterling unless they have to.

The pound was last trading up 0.4pc versus the euro at 90.78 pence and up by 0.2pc against the US dollar at $1.2914.

Sterling overnight volatility gauges receded however. The cost for options on a three-month contract for protection against volatility also fell to a one-month low.

Britain is struggling with a coronavirus-induced economic recession, another headache in addition to Brexit.

The events industry warned Johnson on Friday that more than 90,000 people in the exhibitions business would be made redundant in the coming weeks unless he offered more support to replace a government job-furlough scheme.

More British companies reported a fall in sales over the past three months than an upswing, despite the lifting of lockdown restrictions for most parts of the economy, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said on Thursday.

However, Britain on Thursday reported 6,914 new Covid-19 cases, a decline from the previous two days, when more than 7,000 cases were reported daily.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In a major crackdown, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, on Friday, suspended

five police officers, including Hathrash Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Vir, in connection with the rape and murder of 19-year-old Dalit girl.

Shamli SP Vineet Jaiswal was transferred to Harthras to replace the suspended SP with the directive to take charge with immediate effect. However, no action was taken against district magistrate Praveen Kumar Laxkar so far.

The other four officials to have faced the action included Deputy SP in the rank of CO Ram Shabad, inspector Dinesh Kumar Verma, sub-inspector Jagveer Singh and head constable Mahesh Pal.

The CM cracked the whip on police officials on the basis of the primary report furnished to him by three-member special investigation team (SIT) for laxity in handling the case of the dalit girl.

The sources claimed that the SIT, besides finding slackness on the part of the police officials, had also recommended Polygraphic and Narco test of all the cops involved in handling the case, all the accused and also the family of the victim.

ALSO READ: Hathras gang-rape: Goa Congress protests UP police action against Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi

The SIT stayed in Boolgarhi village for over 48 hours and recorded statements of over 100 persons and also met cops. It submitted a preliminary report with its recommendations on Friday.

The SIT was formed on the CM's instructions on September 30. It was headed by state home secretary Bhagwan Swarup, inspector general Chandraprakash and PAC commandant, Poonam. The team was instructed to submit a report within seven days.

The 19-year old survivor died at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday. She had suffered multiple fractures, paralysis in a brutal attack on September 14 in Boolgarhi village in Hathras district.

First she was admitted to local hospital and later shifted to JLN Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh. Later, on September 22, the victim accused four youths of her village of gangrape. All four

accused were arrested. Later, quoting the FSL, Agra report, the police

claimed that the girl was not assaulted sexually.

Meanwhile, amid nationwide outrage over the case and aspersions over the state governments intent, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti had urged CM Yogi to allow politicians and media personnel meet the family members of the victim.

You must have known that I am admitted to the Corona ward of AIIMS after I was found Covid positive. Today is my 7th day here. I have not been able to meet anyone. I was not present at the hearing of special CBI court on Babri Masjid case.

I have not spoken to anyone on telephone as well. But I have been following television news, the senior BJP leader posted on twitter. Referring to the Hathras incident, Uma Bharti said she was certain that the CM was handling the situation deftly. But the way police has locked the victims

family offers various scope for debate and apprehension, the veteran BJP leader

wrote.

The women belonged to a Dalit family. Police hurriedly conducted her last rites and now the family has been locked down. I dont know of any rule that prohibits the family of a victim if SIT probe is going on. This will raise question over the SIT probe only, Uma Bharti tweeted.

In no uncertain terms, Uma Bharti denounced the action of UP Police saying its action would tarnish the image of not only the UP government, but also the BJP government. The BJP leader also alluded to the recent groundbreaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. We are committed to bring Ram Rajya back in the country, she wrote.

Your image as the CM is very clean. I would request you to allow media personnel and politicians, including those from the Opposition to meet the family, the veteran BJP leader wrote.
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Linkedin (Kyodo News) Orange, Australia  Fri, October 2, 2020 13:30 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48b1718 2 News Australia,backpackers Free

Australian farmers are worried crops will be left to rot and fruit prices will surge as coronavirus travel restrictions have stripped the country's AU$12 billion (US$8.6 billion) horticulture industry of vital working holidaymakers.

In a typical year, cherry farmer Guy Gaeta's primary concerns in the weeks leading up to harvest are weather events like hail and frost.

But with his cherry trees just beginning to bloom, the 63-year-old is for the first time losing sleep over whether he'll be able to get the fruit off the trees planted across the rolling hills of his 13-hectare family-run farm.

"We really need backpackers," Gaeta told Kyodo News from his property in Orange, a small city in regional New South Wales.

"Farmers are used to losing a crop. We lose them many times to hail, to rain, to frost. But to lose perfectly good cherries because you can't pick them, it's unprecedented. It will be really straining on peoples' mental health."

Working holidaymakers, predominantly young backpackers from Europe and Asia, and seasonal workers from the Pacific islands are the backbone of Australia's horticulture industry.

For Gaeta, up to 90 percent of his 50-70 strong workforce is made up of working holidaymakers.

However, as the coronavirus pandemic took hold earlier in the year, many travelers returned home. Simultaneously, a near-blanket ban on international arrivals to Australia, in place since March, has prevented newly granted visa holders from entering the country.

Figures from the Australian government show an almost 37 percent decrease in the number of working holiday visa holders in Australia, from roughly 135,000 in June 2019 to over 85,000 in June 2020.

With its good weather and safe reputation, Australia is one of the most popular destinations for Japanese working holidaymakers, and Japan is the fifth-most-common country of origin for Australia's working holiday visa holders.

But Japanese working holidaymakers have also decreased by almost 28 percent, down to 8,600, over the past 12 months.

Queensland strawberry farmer Adrian Schultz told Kyodo News that roughly 30 percent of his workers are Japanese in a normal year. However, when case numbers in Australia began to rise, families in Japan requested that their children come home.

"Because of the Japanese attitude to their work, it's hard (to have fewer of them on the farm)," Schultz, 53, said in a telephone interview, adding that many Japanese returned to work on his farm for multiple harvests.

"They're very loyal, they work hard...If we were to have no Japanese here at all, I would miss that."

While his small farm has not been too badly affected, Schultz says he knows of several other farms that have already removed large swathes of strawberry crops because they can't find enough pickers.

But for orchardists like Gaeta, removing or choosing not to plant a crop is not an option, and instead, they may be forced to walk away from trees full of extremely valuable fruit.

"It's heartbreaking," said Gaeta's wife, Simonetta, who compared growing cherries to raising a child.

Read also: Algeria named 2020's best country for backpacking

The pandemic has also hit urban Australia, with unemployment rising to almost 7 percent. In the wake of increased joblessness, workers unions have called on farmers to hire more local labor.

However, both Schultz and Gaeta said Australians are historically reluctant to work on the farms and are not as motivated as the internationals.

Both men want to see the government relax travel restrictions for working holidaymakers and allow travelers to self-isolate on a farm.

The Gaeta family has already purchased personal protective equipment like face masks, and hand sanitizer in the event international workers are allowed to come to the farm.

Despite the bleak outlook, Gaeta's cautious optimism extends to the upcoming cherry season.

"I think we'll be right...Backpackers know that picking cherries is very lucrative for them. We won't have anyone that earns under $200 a day...(and) they can earn up to $300-$350 a day," he says, explaining that pickers are paid a piece rate for the amount of fruit picked each day.

That is not always the case, however, with unions and others arguing the working holiday visa scheme amounts to a source of cheap labor which allows unscrupulous businesses to pay below the Australian minimum wage, a factor that also makes the work unappealing to locals.

A 2017 University of New South Wales national survey of temporary workers in Australia found underpayment was "widespread" in fruit and vegetable picking work, with almost one-third of people surveyed earning $10 an hour or less, around half the country's legal minimum wage.

Despite paying his workers well, Gaeta worries that the pool of remaining holidaymakers will continue to shrink as peoples' visas expire, and the borders remain closed.

"If we get through this year, it's going to be a disaster next year," he said.

And he urged backpackers not to give up on traveling to Australia again one day.

"We need you."

Topics : Australia backpackers
Now there are about 100 people on the list of political prisoners, and most of them are Crimean Tatars.

Human rights activists have submitted to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague a motion regarding Russia's crimes against over 100 illegally detained citizens of Ukraine, most of whom are Crimean Tatars, in the occupied Crimea.

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday, Head of the Center for Public Freedoms Oleksandra Matviychuk said the number of prisoners and persecuted persons in Russian-occupied Crimea had been on the rise, an UNIAN correspondent reports.

"Now there are about 100 people on our list of political prisoners, and most of them are Crimean Tatars," she said, adding that the Ukrainian state has no leverage to protect its citizens living under the Russian occupation in Crimea.

In turn, Scott Martin, a U.S. lawyer with Global Rights Compliance LLP said the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague received reports on about 104 Ukrainian citizens, most of whom had been detained or arrested in the occupied Crimea on terrorism charges.

Gregory Frolov, a representative of Free Russia Foundation NGO, added that materials for submission to the ICC had been gathered over the past six to eight months. According to him, the motion was submitted last week.

The organization he represents is deeply engaged in efforts toward the release of Ukrainian political prisoners, added Frolov.

Read alsoZelensky elaborates on Crimea-related issues to be raised internationally"And so that the people who actually built this repressive machine, being directly responsible for the ruined lives and for the years they've spent in inhumane conditions, be punished," Frolov said.

In turn, Matviychuk expressed hope that in the near future the ICC would decide on transition from the stage of preliminary study of the Ukraine case (which, among other things, includes issues of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Crimea and Donbas) to the stage of independent investigation.

"Every year the Office of the Prosecutor reports on the progress of preliminary investigations. When we analyze what they write on the Ukrainian case, in particular the issue of occupied Crimea, we find the references to political persecution, but not as many as we'd like to see. It's the gap we'd like to fill with our motion," Matviychuk explained.

She said since the onset of the Russian occupation in 2014, Crimea, as a former resort destination, has been turning into a massive military base, with the ever-growing military contingent and weapons arsenals.

"Even now, we can say Russia is conducting military operations in Syria using a military base located in Crimea. In particular, missiles are delivered from there, then to be used in Syria hostilities," Matviychuk said.

Read alsoKuleba urges international community not to turn a blind eye to Russia's terrorist methodsRussia's actions in occupied Crimea: Human rights activists elaborate

According to her, Russia is pursuing a policy of population resettlement to Crimea to build such a base.

"The occupying authorities of Crimea and the Russian Federation view the entire population of the peninsula as potentially disloyal," she said.

Matviychuk added that resettlement was carried out in two ways.

"The first is the path of controlled migration with the implementation of various programs for the resettlement of Russian citizens from different regions of Russia to the occupied Crimea," the rights activist said.

Another one is the deployment of a system of political persecution, which sends the proactive minority a signal to flee the peninsula, she said.

According to Matviychuk, political persecution manifests itself in various ways, through a variety of enforcement mechanisms (searches, interrogations, fabricated criminal and administrative cases), as well as illegal methods, such as assaults, abductions, torture, and murder.
Around 30 Congress



workers along with state party chief Amit Chavda were detained here on Friday for holding a protest without permission over various issues, including the new farm laws, police said.

The protest, led by Chavda, was held outside the district collectorate against the BJP governments at the Centre and the state.

Apart from opposing the newly-enacted farm laws, the protesters also sought complete fee waiver for all school and college students in the state in view of the pandemic.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Vijay Patel said, "We detained around 30 workers and Chavda for holding the protest without permission. They did not even maintain social distancing during the protest. They will be released later."



Before his detention, Chavda accused the government of suppressing people's voice.

"Since schools and colleges are shut, we want the government to waive 100 per cent fees of all the students. We are also protesting peacefully against the anti-farmer laws enacted by the Parliament," he told reporters.

"But the BJP government is acting like the erstwhile British rulers by not allowing us to raise issues concerning farmers and middle class people," he added.

The state government has recently asked the private schools to take a 25 per cent cut in the annual fees.

The Congress, however, wants 100 per cent waiver in school fees 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.)
Mahinda Rajapaksa is a democratically elected leader who received a massive mandate of 71% of votes, and he owes nothing to Delhi or Washington for staging his political comeback, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi holds a discussion with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa, September 26, 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo

The virtual summit between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa turned out to be somewhat surreal.

The summit was the first of its kind Modi has had with any South Asian leader.

The expectations were high. But fault lines have appeared.

On the core issue of the Sri Lankan Tamil problem, the joint statement (external link) issued after the September 26 summit says, 'Prime Minister Modi called on the Government of Sri Lanka to address the aspirations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and respect within a united Sri Lanka including by carrying forward the process of reconciliation with the implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed the confidence that Sri Lanka will work towards realising the expectations of all ethnic groups including Tamils, by achieving reconciliation nurtured as per the mandate of the people of Sri Lanka and implementation of the Constitutional provisions.'

Clearly, Rajapaksa failed to give any commitment regarding the implementation of the 13th Amendment enacted by the previous government, which came to power in 2015 after his ouster.

Instead, he has spoken of the 'expectations of all ethnic groups including Tamils' and has stated his intention to 'nurture' national reconciliation 'as per the mandate' he received in the February election and the relevant constitutional provisions.

Interestingly, Rajapaksa also called Modi's attention to the 'massive mandate' that he received from the electorate.

Rajapaksa said, 'It is our responsibility to work for all, with all.'

In sum, he has conveyed to Modi that the reconciliation process must have acceptability among the majority Sinhala community -- implying that Delhi is barking up the wrong tree.

The irony is that the Modi government too practises a majoritarian ideology within India.

There is already a demand from the Sinhalese majority community that the 13th Amendment should be scrapped.

Nonetheless, Modi decided to press ahead. Effectively, Rajapaksa has pushed back at Modi's emphatic demand that the implementation of the 13th Amendment is 'essential'.

The Sri Lankan Tamil problem has had a geopolitical dimension, historically.

India has been a star performer on that diplomatic turf.

The Indian intervention took different forms at different times.

Since the late 1970s, for a decade Delhi used the Tamil problem to pressure the pro-western Sri Lankan leadership of then president J R Jayewardene (1978-1989).

But Colombo exhibited exemplary diplomatic skill to ward off India's intrusive policies.

By the mid-1980s Jayewardene brilliantly outmanoeuvred Delhi by enticing it to jettison its previous role as the mentor of the Tamil militant groups and instead be their terminator, and in the process wearing out Delhi so comprehensively that it somehow extricated itself altogether from the Sri Lankan nationality question, finally, to count its losses.

Through the next two decades, geopolitics took a back seat in the Indian calculus, which immensely helped Colombo to successfully defeat the Tamil separatist groups by 2008 after twenty-six years of conflict.

Enter the Modi government.

Geopolitics began staging a comeback almost overnight in 2014, thanks to the animus against China in the Modi government's foreign policy.

By January 2015, for the first time in Sri Lankan history, external powers orchestrated a regime change in Colombo ousting the staunchly nationalist leadership of Rajapaksa who was perceived as 'pro-China' in Delhi and Washington.

A unique feature of the regime change project was that the Tamils organised under the Tamil National Alliance was grated on to it to overthrow an established Sinhala-led government in Colombo.

The TNA will carry this opprobrium for a long time to come.

It was not in Tamil interests to have identified with what was quintessentially a geopolitical project.

In retrospect, although the futility of the 2015 regime change project soon dawned on them, Delhi and Washington decided to double down on the Sri Lankan turf.

This is so because Rajapaksa's return to power in Colombo has coincided with the surge of the US-Indian 'Indo-Pacific strategy' to contain China.

The new agenda is to bring the Rajapaksa government into the orbit of the Quad (Quadrilateral Alliance between the US, Japan, India and Australia.)

But the Sri Lankan nationalists are unwilling to take sides between the Quad and Beijing -- as indeed most countries in the Asian continent.

Hence the renewed use of the Tamil problem to pile pressure on Colombo.

The 'humanitarian intervention' in Sri Lanka is in pursuit of a geopolitical agenda. But Mahinda Rajapaksa is a democratically elected leader who received a massive mandate of 71% of votes, and he owes nothing to Delhi or Washington for staging his political comeback.

The virtual summit last week reveals that Sri Lankan nationalism continues to militate against Delhi's intrusive policy.

Delhi has baited the Sri Lankan religious establishment with a $15 million grant 'for promotion of Buddhist ties', but Colombo will remain vigilant about Indian intentions in cultivating the powerful Buddhist clergy.

The modus operandi in the 2014-2015 period to destabilise the incumbent government must be still fresh in memory.

Colombo is in a far better position than at anytime before to counter US-Indian intervention in Sri Lanka's internal affairs.

Fundamentally, there is a contradiction insofar as while Sri Lanka's external policies are driven by geo-economic considerations, the agenda pursued by India and the US is paramountly geopolitical, drawn from a perspective that the island is a 'permanent aircraft carrier', as a former Indian national security advisor once candidly put it.

The induction of Quad into the Indian Ocean region is an urgent necessity for the US's Indo-Pacific strategy.

An American military presence in Sri Lanka would enable the US to advance a so-called 'island chain strategy' to control the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean, which are of vital importance to China's foreign trade.

Top US officials have been threatening the Sri Lankan government since last year that unless it cooperated with the Indo-Pacific strategy, its human rights record in the war against Tamil separatists in the 2007-2008 period will be held against it and there will be hell to pay.

Without doubt, Rajapaksa accepted Modi's invitation to the virtual summit anticipating the likelihood of the Sri Lankan Tamil problem being brought to the forecourt of the bilateral discourse.

He was ready with a response.

Delhi should think hard how far it is in India's interests to be seen hawking the US's Indo-Pacific strategy in the South Asian region.

Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, a frequent contributor to Rediff.com, served the Indian Foreign Service for 29 years.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Impracticum not only challenges students to become better writers, but also insists on the urgency  as writers and as human beings  to become more attentive, more compassionate, more accountable to our communities." - Emily Roese, Impracticum Program Director

This summer, UNSAID Press launched Impracticum, an independent creative writing program offering a unique curriculum of eight-week workshops, seminars, craft lectures, and readings. While working intensively with some of the most accomplished writers, editors, and teachers in the world, Impracticum students will spend a certain amount of time volunteering for one of several local helping organizations affiliated with Impracticum staff and its visiting teachers. Volunteer work is an intrinsic part of the Impracticum curriculum and is predicated upon the idea that volunteering will make participating students more creative, conscientious, and resilient writers.

Impracticum not only challenges students to become better writers, but also insists on the urgency  as writers and as human beings  to become more attentive, more compassionate, more accountable to our communities. This idea is foundational to every course we offer. Its what sets Impracticum apart from other writing programs. - Emily Roese, Impracticum Program Director

Impracticums first class will be an eight-week virtual seminar on John Berrymans The Dream Songs taught by Joe Wenderoth, author of the cult classic Letters to Wendys. Wenderoth has also written four volumes of poetry, an essay collection, and the genre-dissolving Agony: A Proposal, which will be published by Unsaid Press.

Its a bizarre situation, says Wenderoth, a book that is so well known, so beloved & respected, and so universally misunderstood.

Each week, students will engage with lectures that interrogate various poems from The Dream Songs and participate in weekly interactive sessions with Joe Wenderoth, held via Zoom. Class begins on October 1st and runs through November 19th. Due to the continued threat of COVID-19 and the related challenges of in-person service, UNSAID will, for the time being, donate a portion of all class proceeds to various NYC organizations. A portion of raised tuition from the inaugural course will be donated to two local charities: Mr. Bones & Co. and Sean Casey Animal Rescue.

Impracticum is currently accepting students for Reading The Dream Songs with Joe Wenderoth. Visit UNSAID online to register. https://www.unsaidpress.com/

About UNSAID Press:

Under the guidance of Editorial Director, Bret Gladstone, UNSAID Press publishes works across literary genres. Inaugural releases from UNSAID Press include Joe Wenderoths Agony: A Proposal, the second volume of Wenderoths beloved epistolary novel Letters to Wendys, and a compilation of critical essays celebrating the books 20th Anniversary. For more information on UNSAID Press contact Brie Bouslaugh, at brie@unsaidpress.com
By PTI

SHAHJAHANPUR: An FIR has been registered against 58 people for allegedly attacking a police team and injuring four officials during a protest against power cut in Hamzapur village in Nigohi area here, police said on Friday.

"The incident took place on Thursday night. People had gathered at Nihogi power substation to protest against power outage and had a fight with the substation employees. They later reached the Nigohi Police Station to file a complaint in the matter and created traffic jam," ASP (City) Sanjay Kumar said.

When a police team reached there, the accused snatched the mobile phone of Nigohi SHO, Govind Singh.

They then clashed with the police, injuring four policemen.

Kumar said additional security force was sent to the clash site to control the situation.

A case was registered in this connection against 58 people, including 50 unidentified persons, the ASP said.

No arrests have so far been made in the matter, he added.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The organizing committee of the 43 Alumni for Biden PAC released its first digital ad focusing on the harmful policies of President Trump's administration and their negative impact on the United States Latino community.

43 Alumni for Biden

"One of the cornerstones of 43 Alumni for Biden's efforts is to bring compassion and empathy back to the White House," said Abel Guerra, 43 Alumni for Biden Organizing Committee Member. "This ad highlights the blatant failures of Donald Trump as President toward the Latino community and our need to elect Joe Biden as our next President of the United States."

The ad was developed in partnership with The Lincoln Project. The English version can be viewed here; and the Spanish version here.

"We are thrilled to partner with The Lincoln Project in this effort," continued Guerra. "Whether it's ending the separation of families at the border or standing with our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico at all times of need, Joe Biden exemplifies the type of compassionate leadership America desperately needs and deserves."

43 Alumni for Biden was formed and organized by a group of volunteers, former members of the 43rd Administration who are investing their time, expertise, and financial resources to make a positive impact in this historic campaign. We welcome the participation and support from family, friends, colleagues and others who believe in our mission to set aside partisanship and elect Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.

43 Alumni for Biden is a registered Political Action Committee formed to support and elect Joe Biden as the next President of the United States. Principles matter more than politics. That's why we, a group of alumni who have served Republican legislators, governors and presidents, are choosing country over party this November.

We worked for W. We support Joe.

43AlumniforJoeBiden.com

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lost 18 of the Democratic negotiators' vote in her proposed $2.2 trillion stimulus bill. Here is why they opposed the proposal.

On Thursday evening, the House Democrats passed their own $2.2 trillion stimulus spending by a 214-2017 vote. The Republican lawmakers unanimously opposed it, while 18 Democrats crossed party lines to vote against the bill.

Those that broke with the Democrats' position were moderate in their party who represent the red-leaning districts. At least 17 of those joined their Republican colleagues in voting against the bill said that there is no chance of it to become a law. The Republican Senate believed that the House should wait for a bipartisan deal to be reached before they push through the vote, according to NewsWeek.

Pelosi gathered with Dean Phillips, Congressman of Minnesota and fellow Democrats Jason Crow of Colorado and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey on the floors before he voted against the measure. Following their long conversation, both congressmen voted in favor of Pelosi's stimulus bill.

"We are closer than we have been in months, but the only thing that will deliver the help my constituents need is a bill that will become law," Democrat Cindy Axne of Iowa, who also voted against the bill, said.

The so-called Heroes Act 2.0 legislation is a skinny version of the initial $3.4 trillion Heroes Act passed in May. Representative Peter King was the only member of the GOP that supported the bill at the time. The Senate Republicans then blocked it because of its high price tag.

The Heroes Act 2.0, a new version, includes a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks, $225 billion for education, extended $600 unemployment support per week, $436 billion in emergency aid for local and state governments and airlines and restaurants industry assistance.

Negotiations between Democrats, Republicans, and the Trump administration have not yielded a bipartisan deal after several months of stimulus deadlock. Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, has indicated that the new stimulus package would fail in the Senate as the Republicans urged a smaller bill.

The party recently proposed a roughly $500 billion stimulus package which Democrats described as "dead on arrival."

The proposal is about a half the figure of Republicans' previously proposed $1 trillion HEALS Act. McConnell said, "We're very, very far apart. The thought that Senate Republicans would jump up to $2.2 trillion is outlandish."

Both parties blame the opposite party for failing to pass another stimulus package amid the pandemic. Republicans accused the Democrats of using COVID-19 to have a progressive political agenda. At the same time, Democrats criticized the GOP for allegedly declining to provide enough funds.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held negotiations hours before the House vote. The discussions took about 50 minutes, as per Pelosi's spokesperson Drew Hamill.

Reportedly, the top negotiators discussed the latest offer of $1.6 trillion of the Trump Administration. Speaker Nancy Pelosi resisted the offer and insisted that the amount was too low to provide for Americans adequately.

Although Pelosi said that she is "optimistic" that an agreement will be struck, and Mnuchin ensured that any stimulus deal would include $1,200 direct payments, Democrats admitted that both sides still "have a dollar and values debate" to overcome.

On Thursday, when asked by reporters about the chance of having a deal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "I don't know. It just depends. We'll see."

Check these out:

COVID-19 Stimulus Talks Deadline Finally Set on Noon Wednesday, Democrats Say

Stimulus Checks Might Be Released Mid-October Once Pelosi, Mnuchin Reached a Deal

Heroes Act 2.0: New Stimulus Package, Inclusions
Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw mother of seven, tragically died in hospital while nurses attending to her uttered racist remarks and Echaquan shared a live video on Facebook. Her death has called attention to a health-care system that Indigenous medical workers say has been failing to serve Indigenous people for years.

Cheryllee Bourgeois is a Metis exemption midwife with Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto. She said that when speaking with friends and colleagues about Echaquans death, people would share that they had similar experiences.

I cant tell you since I first heard about it on Tuesday, how many people have said, Yeah, my family actually had an incident like that X number of years ago, or, you know, last year when my dad died. 

Exemption midwives are regulated through a community process instead of through the College of Midwives of Ontario, which allows them to broaden their scope of care for Indigenous women. For example, they are able to perform STI tests and Pap tests on women who are not pregnant, while midwives can usually only perform on women who are pregnant.

It provides a different way than in the usual health-care system, Bourgeois said. It makes a difference for women knowing that their practitioner is also Indigenous, and also (has) understandings and teachings that go along with how you care for yourself.

At the same time, Bourgeois recognizes the privilege to be able to provide or have access to someone like an exemption midwife, which only exists in Ontario and Quebec, and says change is needed beyond that.

A transformative health-care system really has to be the full system, Bourgeois said. So often, when you go into these spaces, youre treated as not human enough. And then what ends up happening is you see the outcomes of that dehumanization, in situations like the one that happened with Joyce. But Joyces situation is not uncommon.

Another recent example is Brian Sinclair, an Ojibwa man, who in 2008 died in a Winnipeg emergency room, where he waited for 34 hours and was not seen by hospital staff who assumed he was intoxicated, or homeless, or had been previously discharged.

The inquest found that he died of a treatable bladder infection and had a referral letter from a physician in his pocket. Some academics and physicians say his cause of death was racism.

The history of colonization in this country is fraught with appalling health experiences for Indigenous people, from smallpox brought early on by settlers, to the spread of tuberculosis and other illnesses in residential schools.

In a press conference, Quebec Premier Francois Legault said he was shocked at the racism Echaquan endured, but he refused to acknowledge that Indigenous people experience systemic racism in Quebec institutions.

For Dr. Lisa Richardson, a mixed Anishinaabe physician who is the strategic lead in Indigenous health for Womens College Hospital and U of T, the existence of systemic racism in health care is a truth with several reports to back it up, but a truth that people seem afraid to acknowledge. We will not have reconciliation, until we have truth, she says.

Dr. Suzanne Shoush, a Black and Indigenous physician and Indigenous health lead at U of Ts department of family and community medicine, agrees that Echaquans death should not be seen as a two rotten eggs situation. All of this treatment is not unique to Joyce, she said. I want it to be seen as systemic and structural.

Medicine runs on algorithms and stereotypes, Dr. Shoush said. Doctors look for patterns and symptoms to determine what looks like appendicitis or what looks like a stomachache. But when racist stereotypes are in the mix, the result can be deadly in the form of misdiagnosis, overlooked symptoms or failure to treat.

If youre not culturally competent you, you can kill people, she said.

If care and history are taken into account, the experience for Indigenous people can be different. Dr. Shoush remembers a patient of hers who was a residential school survivor and asked to be taken to the hospital to get help for substance abuse. During the patients intake, it was discovered that she had scabies, and she was isolated in a room.

To walk into an institution that is not Indigenous, not seeing any Indigenous faces, immediately be told, oh, youre dirty, get into this room, stripped (of) your clothes and belongings, Dr. Shoush said. It was such a triggering reminder of residential school that she fled.

A small but powerful detail could come about in what is hanging on the walls. For example, Dr. Shoush said that over the years, as LGBTQI peoples difficulty accessing fair health care was recognized, clinics have begun posting positive signage.

We are telling people from the LGBTQ community, we see you, we care about you, you are important, we will not discriminate, we will make an active effort to not discriminate, she said.

If an Indigenous person walks into a room, what do they have in the physical environment to show that theyre that this is a place for Indigenous people where they are welcomed and will be treated with dignity?

Bourgeois said that all health-care providers need to understand that they have to be mindful of their approach when caring for a patient who has a mistrust of the system, even for herself as a Metis midwife. I still am a health-care provider, that could be a potential harm to somebody. So, its important to remember that, for all health-care providers, that you need to keep that humility in terms of the care youre providing.

She also said similar challenges exist for Black communities, other racialized people and people who are vulnerable to being targeted by systems.

We can hold individuals responsible for their individual behaviour, and we should, Bourgeois said. But unless you look at the systems that are holding them up and change those, its going to continue.

Angelyn Francis is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering inequity and inequality. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Reach her via email: afrancis@thestar.ca

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(JNS)  Following the signing of the peace deals between Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, American Jewish leaders from prominent organizations such as the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the American Jewish Committee and the World Jewish Congress have come forward to discuss how they have played a quiet, behind-the-scenes role over the past 25 years to encourage the Gulf nations to seek peaceful relations with Israel. Now that Israel has established a warm peace with Bahrain and the UAE, perhaps it is the best time for these same American Jewish...
The Los Angeles Police Department last year launched an investigation into false gang labeling at the elite Metro Division. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Three more Los Angeles police officers have been criminally charged with falsifying information on field interview cards, pushing the total number of charged officers in the growing gang labeling scandal to six.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey announced the charges Friday, alleging that the officers  all from the LAPD's troubled Metropolitan Division  had falsified information used to enter the names of people they had stopped on the street into a statewide gang database.

"In all three cases, the defendants are accused of writing on the card that a person admitted to being a gang member, even though body-worn camera video showed the defendants either never asked the individuals about their gang membership, or the individuals denied gang membership if they were asked," Lacey's office said.

Officer Rene Braga is charged with filing a false police report and preparing false documentary evidence in a single case. Officers Raul Uribe and Julio Garcia are each charged with preparing false documentary evidence in a single case.

The officers could not be reached for comment, and it was not clear if they had attorneys. Their alleged offenses occurred in 2018, according to court records.

A spokesman for Lacey's office said Friday that prosecutors would review all pending and past cases and convictions involving the three officers  it was not immediately clear how many that was  and then "determine what appropriate steps need to be taken."

The board of directors for the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, called Friday for Lacey and the LAPD to ensure that the "due process rights" of the latest charged officers are protected and that the legal process is "conducted in a fair manner to determine the truth."

The board also said its expectation "is that any officer filling out a police report or field interview card does so with the utmost care and accuracy" and that the cases brought by Lacey reflect the department's "rigorous internal investigative processes."

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Three other LAPD Metro officers were charged by Lacey's office in July. One of them, Braxton Shaw, stands accused of falsifying information on 43 field interview cards. His attorney has said Shaw did nothing wrong.

An additional 18 officers remain under investigation. Of those, 11 are assigned to their homes, and seven are assigned to desk duties.

The additional charges Friday make the scandal one of the largest to hit the department in decades and renew questions about the Metro Division's quick ascent and then steady decline in influence within the department over the last five years.

The division was rapidly expanded and heavily relied upon to make traffic stops and confiscate weapons  especially in South L.A.  under a plan to address gun violence that Mayor Eric Garcetti and former LAPD Chief Charlie Beck put into motion in 2015. The number of Metro officers was more than doubled under the plan, and the number of car stops the division's officers conducted increased from a few thousand a year to more than 63,000 in 2017.

The work was later questioned and slowed after a 2019 investigation by The Times revealed that Metro officers were stopping Black drivers at a disproportionate rate. In recent months, the division has become a prime target for cuts as the department weighs its options after a $150-million budget reduction and as additional economic pressures mount in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement Friday, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the department is "committed to continuing our thorough investigation of these troubling actions and have already taken steps to ensure it never happens again."

He added, "Reverence for the law and respect for people are the pillars of our core values. We will strive to live up to those principles by holding anyone accountable who violates them."

Alex Comisar, a spokesman for Garcetti, said the charged officers' alleged conduct is "absolutely unacceptable," "undermines the public trust in a department that does heroic work to keep Angelenos safe every day" and should result in serious consequences for any officer found guilty.

He said Garcetti is focused on "putting an ambitious set of reforms into place that will help us re-imagine public safety in Los Angeles."

The scandal has already spurred officials to halt the department's use of the state's CalGang database  a longtime demand of police reform activists who say false gang labels can haunt people for years, hurting their immigration standing and their ability to find employment and housing.

The LAPD launched its investigation into false gang labeling at Metro last year, after a Van Nuys mother received a letter in early 2019 informing her that her son had been identified as a gang member. She fought the label, telling an LAPD supervisor that she believed her son had been misidentified. After the supervisor reviewed body-camera footage and found inaccuracies in the officer's report, the woman's son was removed from the gang database, and internal affairs began a deeper review.

In the wake of the charges against the first three officers in July, Lacey's office began dismissing cases that hinged on the testimony of the accused officers, saying prosecutors could no longer rely on their testimony in cases going back years.

Booking records show that the newly charged officers surrendered Friday at the L.A. city jail at 7 a.m. and were released a few hours later on their own recognizance.

The officers are set to be arraigned in February. Braga faces up to three years and eight months in jail, while Uribe and Garcia each face up to three years.

Field interview cards have been used for decades to gather intelligence in a city beset by gang violence. The information populated a database that officers accessed to help them with investigations. A Times analysis found that Metro used such cards more than other divisions, filing more than 20% of cards during an 18-month period, despite making up about 4% of the force.

Shaws credibility previously came into question in 2015, when a prosecutor discovered video from an LAPD patrol car that contradicted testimony Shaw gave about a weapons arrest. The next year, a judge tossed out an unrelated firearm case after prosecutors disclosed their investigation of Shaw.

After Shaw and officers Michael Coblentz and Nicolas Martinez were charged in July with conspiracy to obstruct justice and multiple counts of filing a false police report and preparing false documentary evidence, Lacey's office began reviewing hundreds of cases in which the three were involved, going back years. The Times has reported that at least seven cases have been dismissed; others remain under scrutiny.

Last month, L.A. County Public Defender Ricardo Garcia said on Twitter that without more accountability from law enforcement, "racial profiling will continue as a tool for systemic racism that rewards and perpetuates corruption and lies."

Garcia told The Times that his office's Law Enforcement Accountability Unit would conduct a review of the officers' cases.

Shaw, Coblentz and Martinez are set to be arraigned Oct. 13.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
We think outsiders ought to stay out, Pompeo told the FOX News TV channel late on Thursday. Were urging a ceasefire. We want them both to back up.

Weve spoken to the leadership in each of the two countries, asking them to do just that, he said, referring to Armenia and Azerbaijan. Were hopeful that in the days ahead theyll see that violence wont resolve the conflicts that are there  and having third parties  other nations  join in that only exacerbates the problem.

Pompeo did not explicitly point the finger at Turkey or other regional powers when he warned against internationalization of the Karabakh conflict.

In a joint statement issued earlier on Thursday, the U.S., Russian and French presidents also called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

We also call on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, they said.

The group co-headed by the U.S., Russia and France has long been spearheading international efforts to broker a solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to dismiss the appeal by the three mediating powers, saying that they should instead demand that the Armenians pull their troops out of Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron continued to accuse Ankara of recruiting jihadist fighters in Syria and sending them to Azerbaijan.

"A red line has been crossed, which is unacceptable," Macron said, speaking after a European Union summit in Brussels. "I urge all NATO partners to face up to the behavior of a NATO member.

Armenia has likewise alleged that terrorist fighters from the Middle East are taking part in the Karabakh conflict on the Azerbaijani side. Turkey and Azerbaijan deny that.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry welcomed on Friday the joint statement issued by Macron and Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. "We welcome the fact that the Minsk Group co-chairs at the level of their leaders reacted to the use of force in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone by way of strong condemnation," it said in a statement.

"We stand ready to engage with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries to reestablish a cease-fire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements," it added amid continuing heavy fighting along the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact around Karabakh.

By contrast, Azerbaijan effectively rejected the mediators appeal. In order to stop the violence Armenia must withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh, said a senior aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Washington: US President Donald Trump is displaying "mild symptoms" of the coronavirus but is in "good spirits" and remains engaged with his work, according to White House chief-of-staff Mark Meadows.

As of early afternoon in the US capital, Trump has yet to make any public statements about his condition, more than 13 hours since revealing on Twitter that he and wife Melania had tested positive for COVID-19.

US President Donald Trump is in "good spirits" after testing positive for COVID-19, the White House said. Credit:AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

White House physician Sean Conley said in a statement that Trump "remains fatigued but in good spirits".

Conley said that he administered Trump a single dose of an experimental antibody cocktail, as well as zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and aspirin.
SPRINGFIELD  The City Council on Friday filed a lawsuit in Hampden Superior Court against Mayor Domenic J. Sarno regarding a long-running dispute over whether to revive a civilian Board of Police Commissioners.

Since 2016, members of the council have insisted the police are not sufficient to police their own department, citing concerns over officer misconduct. The council on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to authorize Northampton attorneys Thomas Lesser and Michael Aleo to file suit. The lawyers have volunteered to work on the case for free.

The five-member Board of Police Commissioners was formed by the City Council in 1902 and dismantled in 2005 by a state-run Finance Control Board in favor of a sole police commissioner. Since then, four successive commissioners have essentially had sovereign power over hiring, promotions and disciplinary measures including terminations.

Proponents of a return to the civilian police commission argue it will balance the scales of power and improve police accountability. Opponents harken to the commissions heyday in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, contending the five-member panel became too vulnerable to lobbying over promotions and discipline.

The council voted to re-establish the commission in 2016; Sarno vetoed the measure.

The ordinance the City Council passed was adopted in the wake of concerns regarding misconduct by and a lack of oversight of the Springfield Police Department. The ordinance reorganized the Police Department by abolishing the position of Police Commissioner and creating a Board of Police Commissioners to oversee the Police Department, the lawsuit reads.

The complaint seeks injunctive relief from a judge to force the mayor to comply with the City Councils will.

The council revisited the issue in 2018, voting to restore the police commission. Sarno and the citys lead attorney deemed the city ordinance the council relied upon legally invalid" and refused to appoint any members.

Since the ordinance became law, Mayor Sarno has unilaterally chosen not to appoint members to the Board of Police Commissioners. As a result, the Board of Police Commissioners has laid dormant, and the Springfield Police Commissioner continues to oversee the Police Department, albeit without legal authority, the lawsuit reads.

Sarno instead has proposed and amended pitches for a civilian oversight board to consider police discipline, which naysayers contend has no meaningful authority.

The police department of Massachusetts' third largest city should not be operating outside the rule of law, the complaint reads.

The city has not yet had an opportunity to respond, but an outside attorney retained by the city earlier this week said the councils initiative is bad public policy.

If this lawsuit is brought it will be decided in court, based on the law, and without the influence of what appear to be short-sighted and politically motivated loud voices. The mayors interest is to uphold the rule of law and to respect the rights and interests of all of Springfields citizens and the citys charter. We are confident that this effort by the City Council will fail, Worcester attorney Michael Angelini said after Tuesdays vote.

The mayor and the council have remained in a stalemate over the issue. The dispute comes during uneasy times for the police department, which has been roiled by criminal cases against police accused of brutality and other misdeeds.

The U.S. Department of Justice weighed in over the summer with a report on a years-long investigation, concluding the Springfield Police Departments Narcotics Unit was routinely too violent during arrests. The police department has denounced the report as flawed and inaccurate.

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Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Kimberly Guilfoyle

Kimberly Guilfoyle allegedly left her Fox News position two years ago after her assistant at the time accused her of sexual harassment, a new expose claims.

On Thursday, the New Yorker published a report examining why Guilfoyle, 51, left her job as a personality on Fox News' The Five back in July 2018.

Guilfoyle  who is now a Trump re-election campaign adviser dating the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.  previously stated she voluntarily departed the TV hosting gig, though a 2018 Huffington Post report claimed a behind-the-scenes workplace misconduct allegation led to her exit. An attorney for Guilfoyle denied the claims at the time.

According to the New Yorker, Fox News allegedly paid the female assistant  who accused Guilfoyle of showing her graphic photographs of men, among other allegations  up to $4 million to prevent legal action.

Reps for Guilfoyle and Fox News declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.

In a statement to the New Yorker, Guilfoyle said: "In my 30-year career working for the SF District Attorney's Office, the LA District Attorney's Office, in media and in politics, I have never engaged in any workplace misconduct of any kind. During my career, I have served as a mentor to countless women, with many of whom I remain exceptionally close to this day."

RELATED: Trump Reportedly Called Kimberly Guilfoyle After RNC Speech Where She Shouted Her Support

The New Yorker retained anonymity for the accuser while reporting on the alleged draft complaint, which the magazine reports never made it to court and is muffled by an NDA.

"I wish you well. But I have nothing to say," the former assistant reportedly told the outlet when reached for comment.

Among the reported accusations, the young assistant  who was hired to work with Guilfoyle and Eric Bolling in 2015  alleged that Guilfoyle would have her work and sleep over at her New York City apartment while Guilfoyle would be undressed. Guilfoyle also allegedly showed photos of genitalia belonging to some men she had slept with, according to the New Yorker.

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Evan Vucci/AP/Shutterstock Kimberly Guilfoyle and Donald Trump Jr.

RELATED: Trump Aide's Wife Denies Abuse Accusations Despite Saying He 'Hits Her' as He Announces Campaign Exit

Per the magazine, the accuser also alleges that Guilfoyle "spoke incessantly and luridly about her sex life, and on one occasion demanded a massage of her bare thighs," "told her to submit to a Fox employee's demands for sexual favors," and "encouraged her to sleep with wealthy and powerful men."

According to the New Yorker, when an investigation was launched into the alleged accusations, the accuser said she declined Guilfoyle's attempt to pay her to keep quiet.

RELATED VIDEO: Trump's Ex-Assistant  Ousted After Loose-Lipped Dinner with Reporters  Tells Her White House Story

Trump's Ex-Assistant  Ousted After Loose-Lipped Dinner with Reporters  Tells Her White House Story

"I think this book reads almost like my diary," Madeleine Westerhout says of the fittingly titled Off the Record

In a brief statement at the time of her exit in 2018, the network said simply said, "Fox News has parted ways with Kimberly Guilfoyle."

A source close to Guilfoyle told PEOPLE at the time that her parting of ways with Fox News was mutual and amicable.

In April 2019, Guilfoyle announced that she would be joining Trump's re-election campaign, about a year after she began dating Don Jr.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - From a filthy cell in Saudi Arabia, the Ethiopian migrant spoke on a smuggled phone, fearing to give his name. Some 300 countrymen are detained with him, he said. And no one knows when Ethiopias government might bring them home.

We are detained in a very inhumane condition, sleeping on waste overflowing from a nearby toilet. We really want to go back home but no one is assisting us, including Ethiopian officials, he told The Associated Press from a detention centre outside the Saudi capital, Riyadh. We are beaten every day, and our only crime was seeking a better life in a foreign land.

New details are emerging of the squalid detention conditions facing thousands of migrants from Ethiopia  men, women and children  some who were chased across the border from Yemen into Saudi Arabia this year amid gunfire because of coronavirus fears.

A new report released Friday by Amnesty International describes widespread abuses in Saudi detention facilities, including beatings and electrocutions. Detainees described being chained together in pairs and being forced to use cell floors as toilets.

Surrounded by death and disease, the situation is so dire that at least two people have attempted to take their own lives, Amnesty researcher Marie Forestier says in the report. Pregnant women, babies and small children are held in these same appalling conditions, and three detainees said they knew of children who had died.

The abuses highlight one of the most popular, and most dangerous, migrant routes in the world. The Saudi government did not immediately comment.

Thousands of Ethiopians cross into Saudi Arabia every year after a journey across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden from Somalia or Djibouti and through conflict-torn Yemen, looking for better lives.

Amnesty International said thousands of Ethiopian migrants had been working in northern Yemen, earning money to pay for their passage to Saudi Arabia. When the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, Houthi authorities began ordering migrant workers to go to the border, where they reportedly became caught in crossfire between Saudi and Houthi forces, the new report says.

The International Organization for Migration says some 2,000 Ethiopians are stranded on the Yemeni side of the border without food, water or health care.

Now migrants say they are held in life-threatening conditions.

I wouldnt have left my country had I known this hellish condition would await me, another detained migrant told the AP. I had some suicidal thoughts in the past. It is just unbearable, especially during those very hot days, since we dont have an air conditioner. And they beat us with electric cords whenever we complain. And they took all our money and cellphones.

He said he was detained nine months ago because his Saudi residence card had expired. The only thing I want now is to return to Ethiopia, but thats just a dream for now, he said. The detainees spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for their safety.

The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated their repatriation, with Ethiopian authorities saying they dont have the quarantine capacity to handle the return of so many people at once, which could overwhelm the health system.

Ethiopias state minister at the foreign ministry, Tsion Teklu, told the AP that up to 16,000 Ethiopians are estimated to be held in Saudi prisons. She said some 4,000 have been repatriated since April.

We are now working to repatriate 2,000 more migrants by bringing around 300 of them every week, she said, adding that Ethiopia has repatriated some 400,000 in recent years. The problem is compounded with the fact that some of our citizens that are repatriated are re-trafficked.

In a separate statement Friday, the foreign ministry noted reported abuses in Saudi detention and said authorities are working together to confirm them and improve conditions.

The ministry also said migrants suffer sexual abuse, torture, dehydration and hunger on their monthslong journey to Saudi Arabia, and this makes the repatriation process even more complicated as the psychosocial support is intense. The reintegration process also needs enormous resources as returnees come back home empty-handed.

Amnesty International urged more and speedier efforts, with outside help.

If quarantine spaces remain a significant obstacle, other governments and donors must support Ethiopia to increase the number of spaces to ensure migrants can leave these hellish conditions as soon as possible, Forestier said. Nothing, not even a pandemic, can justify the continued arbitrary detention and abuse of thousands of people.
Towards the end of last year, Kenya and China were strengthening their collaboration in financial technology, with officials and firms from both countries being keen to expand an already strong bilateral commercial partnership.

Daniel Mainye, senior manager for fintech, brand, and innovation at Nairobi-based Cytonn Investments, has highlighted how the enhanced cooperation between Kenya and the growing Chinese fintech sector gives two key benefits: access to the sizable Chinese consumer market and the latest technological developments.

The integration between Alipay, a Chinese fintech company, and M-PESA, the revolutionary mobile phone transaction system ubiquitous in Kenya, that happened in March last year, also underlined the existing levels of collaboration between the two countries. Kenyan financial institutions are also stepping up partnerships, with big hitters such as Family Banks and Equity integrating both WeChat and Alipay with their payment platforms.

Kenya already has a strong fintech presence, and it has a legitimate claim to being its hub on the continent. This phenomenon unarguably finds its origin in M-PESA. By harnessing mobile phone technology, the Vodafone-led initiative has helped Kenya achieve greater financial inclusion; this has resulted in a reduction in inequality and alleviation of poverty in the country.

M-PESA, Paving the Way for Financial Inclusion

M-PESA is now used throughout the country and is a standard method of payment. It is difficult to overestimate the effects of the company on Kenyas daily economic reality. Residents use the platform to buy fresh fruit and vegetables in local markets, for example. It is just as common to see someone pay in cash as it is to witness a mobile-driven transaction.

Generally, where cash is accepted, M-PESA is also an option. This technology also enables the growth of other industries where those without bank accounts have struggled to become consumers, such as Kenyan online casinos or the e-commerce shops. Economically, this is a vital development, as it allows those previously classed as unbanked to perform transactions and thereby fuel economic growth.

Sub-saharan Africa as a whole is a leader in the number of people using mobile money accounts, with 12% of adults (equivalent to approximately one-third of the banked population) compared to just 2% worldwide using the technology to conduct transactions.

The positive effects of M-PESA in Kenya overflowed to neighboring regions. The rate of financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa has risen steadily to reach a record level of 43%. It is likely that growing collaboration with China only helps to increase this figure.

Benefits Go Both Ways

The increased collaboration between the two countries is undoubtedly benefiting Kenya. The growing demand for Chinese apps, access to a significant consumer market, the clear technological benefits; as a result, Kenya will have greater and greater economic growth in the years to come.

For example, Kenyas tourism and hospitality sector is adopting Chinese fintech to make transactions easier for growing numbers of Asian visitors. Kenyan financial institutions are also embracing Chinese payment platforms to encourage investment. Access to improved technology will further reach unbanked members of the population.

However, and this should not be underestimated, China also stands to win with this partnership. The mobile phone penetration in Kenya gives Chinese firms clear opportunities for investment. Drawing on data from the Communication Authority of Kenya, a staggering 29.1 million mobile money subscriptions exist in the country at the current moment.

And the experience of giving unbanked sectors of the population access to a developed transaction system is incredibly useful; even considering its position as a global economic leader, China still has 40% of its population living in rural areas and with little access to financial services.

China also benefits through the sale of its products to the Kenyan population. WeChat Pay and Alipay are both already known in the country, and the increased awareness of China-Kenya collaborations will further fuel their adoption. Interest in eCommerce platforms such as Aliexpress.com also continues to grow.

Potential for Further Growth

Considering mobile penetration is still relatively low at just under 50% throughout sub-Saharan Africa, it is clear that the growing partnership between China and Kenya will have a positive financial effect on the region.

There is incredible potential for further development of store-of-value transaction products, as well as other key sectors. It will further facilitate Chinese investors to transfer necessary funds into the region.

The fintech industry will further likely see accelerated growth due to Covid-19 and the enforced adoption of digitization of services. Both governments and the private sector alike are looking for ways to improve efficiency, provide greater flexibility, and ensure negative economic effects can be dampened.
Kerala on Thursday reported 8135 cases and crossed 2 lakh mark even as chief minister Mr Pinarayi Vijayan announced a series of new schemes to create 50,000 jobs in the agricultural sector within 100 days to address the huge unemployment situation created by the pandemic.

The state crossed the 2 lakh mark in Covid - 19 cases and recorded the highest deaths in a single day with 29 persons succumbing to the infection on Thursday. The official death toll has now risen to 771.

During the past 24 hours, 59,157 persons were tested in the state and 2,828 recovered from the infection. Of the new cases, 7013 contracted the disease through contact, source of infection among 730 is yet to be ascertained, 67 infected persons came from abroad while 218 from other states.

The chief minister said that the state had more than doubled the Covid - 19 cases in a month recording 1,20,721 cases and 448 deaths in September alone. In the last one week the state has recorded 40,000 plus new cases indicating a huge spread.

Kozhikode reported the highest number of cases at 1072 followed by Malappuram 968, Ernakulam 934, Thiruvananthapuram 856, Alappuzha 804, Kollam 633. Thrissur 613, Palakkad 513, Kasargod 471, Kannur - 435, Kottayam - 344.

Initiative to address unemployment triggered by pandemic: Apart from 50,000 jobs in agriculture sector, the government will create 10,968 posits in educational institutions including schools and colleges, 700 posts in medical colleges, 1217 jobs outside health and education sectors besides 425 posts in higher secondary schools, 1000 persons will be employed in CFLTCs, 5000 persons to be employed via Public Service Commission in next 100 days, 2000 people will be employed in civil supplies distribution division for next three months, 3977 persons will be employed in public sector units and 500 posts will be created in cooperative sector.
TORONTO - Ontario announced tighter COVID-19 restrictions Friday amid mounting criticism that the government was ill-prepared for a second wave of the pandemic, which has seen crippling lines at assessment centres, a ballooning testing backlog, and a surge in new cases.

But public health officials in Toronto  the hardest-hit city in Ontario  said the measures did not go far enough in dealing with a provincial caseload that could reach 1,000 new daily infections by mid-October, according to the latest modelling.

The province said it would make COVID-19 testing available by appointment only, require masks in all public indoor spaces, and tighten restrictions on businesses in virus hot spots.

We have made some tough but necessary decisions always based on the best medical advice and scientific evidence available, said Premier Doug Ford, as he defended his governments preparedness plan.

The government also said it would put a pause on 10-person social bubbles, and urged people in the province to only have close contact with those who live in the same household. Those who live alone can consider having close contact with another household.

All were saying is just be careful, Ford said. Just keep your circles tight.

Ontario reported a record 732 cases Friday and a backlog of 90,513 tests.

Ford said the shift to scheduled appointments at the provinces 155 assessment centres will help them winterize and further address hours long lineups.

It will make sure folks dont have to wait outside for hours, Ford said. It will help us ensure necessary screening takes place to ensure those that need a test can get a test.

For weeks, the majority of new cases have been reported in Toronto, neighbouring Peel Region and Ottawa, and Ford said immediate action was required in those areas.

He said restaurants, bars, banquet halls and gyms in those regions would all face restrictions on their operations.

No more than 100 customers will be allowed in restaurants and no more than six people will be permitted at a table. Restaurants will also be required to collect contact information from all patrons to bolster contact tracing.

Torontos medical officer of health called on the province to do more, suggesting it ban indoor restaurant and bar service for four weeks  two incubation periods for the virus  suspend indoor fitness classes and sports, and ask people to only leave their homes for essential trips.

Dr. Eileen de Villa said while she has some authority to make such changes under existing public health regulations, she received legal advice that it would be unprecedented for a local medical officer of health to enact such broad changes.

These numbers wont reverse on their own, they wont reverse themselves. They will only increase without action, de Villa said in a news conference Friday.

This is why I am asking the province for support to do more. Quick action is needed now.

Both the Ontario Hospital Association and the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario have called for tougher restrictions on hot spot regions.

Earlier this week the OHA called for Toronto, Peel and Ottawa to be shifted back into Stage Two of the provinces reopening plan, a move that would close indoor dining areas of bars and restaurants, gyms and movie theatres.

The OHA warned that hospital capacity was in serious jeopardy because of the increasing case counts.

On Friday, the RNAO also said the province needed to shut down bars and not allow inside table service at restaurants. It should also close gyms and churches, the group said.

The organizations CEO, Doris Grinspun, described the provinces announcement as too little, too late, noting most municipalities had already implemented mandatory masking policies.

We absolutely need to take more serious measures  if we dont, if we dont take them now, what will happen is that we will have a complete lockdown in a matter of a very short time, she said.

Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist at the University of Toronto, said the new measures will not go far enough to cut rising case rates.

Targeted testing is needed in places where transmission is occurring, and the government should close bars and restaurants completely, he said.

Were falling further behind every day, Furness said. Were not managing this pandemic at all. Were reacting to it.

Meanwhile, the medical director of Toronto Western Hospitals COVID assessment centre said the changes to social bubbles need to be clearly communicated.

The lack of clarity just makes people throw their hands up, said Dr. Camille Lemieux. I think it really loses traction with people who are just completely exhausted with all of this.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the government is putting Ontario at risk with half measures and contradictory rules.

(Doug Ford is) applying superficial Band-Aids to deep gashes, she said in a statement. He never had a plan to stop the second wave from getting out of control, and so it has.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.
Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Appalachia was founded in 2004 by Mike Romano and Brian Stone. As a services-only company, Appalachia maintains a vendor-neutral position, which allows the company to serve clients in an unbiased manner  recommending the solution(s) that are best suited for their needs and budget. Maintaining such a position enhances the breadth and depth of skill across various technology platforms and services.

The acquisition strengthens Appalachias position in the marketplace as a leading cybersecurity firm. With their combined expertise, Appalachia and Stronghold Cyber Security will provide the most comprehensive, end-to-end security compliance offering; starting with a readiness assessment, then moving on to assist with remediation and ongoing IT management and security monitoring (SIEM).

A Closer Look at Appalachias Capabilities:

Appalachias cybersecurity practice capabilities currently include:



Security Assessments

Penetration Testing

Vulnerability Scanning

Managed Threat Detection and Response

Firewall, VPN and Perimeter Security

Additionally, Appalachia provides a variety of IT infrastructure and systems-based services, ranging from Microsoft 365 (including Office 365 & Office 365 GCC High, Teams, SharePoint, Intune, and OneDrive), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), Cloud Migrations, Network Assessments and Implementations, Wireless Site Surveys and Installations.

Founder Jason McNew, CISSP, has over 20 years of experience in the field of Information Technology, including 12 years at the White House Communications Agency (WHCA) and Camp David, where he worked on some of the most secure systems in the world, for some of the most important customers in the world. While at WHCA, Jason held a Presidential access clearance  an elite clearance granted only to those of unquestionable character and integrity.

Jason, a United States Air Force veteran, holds a Masters degree from Penn State in Information Sciences, Cyber Security and Information Assurance, in addition to a Bachelor of Science and two Associate of Science degrees. Penn States Cyber Security program has been reviewed and endorsed by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

CMMC stands for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification and builds upon existing DFARS regulation. The goal is to implement an appropriate level of cybersecurity across the US Department of Defense supply chain  which includes more than 300,000 companies, and will be used as a requirement for contract award.

Appalachia Acquires Stronghold Cyber Security: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement, Mike Williams, VP of Professional Services said:

This acquisition is very exciting for us on a number of levels. Jason is a well-respected cybersecurity professional with a number of unique, yet complimentary skillsets, which continue to position Appalachia as a leader in this space. The acquisition also plays to our core values and overall company strategy as we're always looking to improve and evolve as a company. Weve checked all the boxes and we couldnt be happier hes part of our family.

Added Terri Bendl, Director of Sales and Marketing:

Continuing to invest in our security offerings has become increasingly important to help our clients protect their data and their business. Adding SCSs expertise will expand Appalachias ability to assist businesses, specifically DoD Contractors, who work with the US Department of Defense in their journey to meet CMMC Compliance

Appalachia Partners, Mike Romano and Brian Stone:

SCS/McNews background and vision for using cutting edge technology to protect the defense industrial base from advanced persistent threats born in cyberspace is what led us to partner with them, and it is fulfilling to have seen that strategy realized. Our partnership with SCS has produced outstanding growth for Appalachia and we are equally as excited for the next chapter, where our combined capabilities will allow us to advance our solutions to the next level.

To discuss your cybersecurity goals with one of our certified cybersecurity experts, contact us at info@appalachiatech.com or call 888-277-8320.

About Appalachia Technologies, LLC:

Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Appalachia was founded in 2004 and is a Best Places to Work in PA for 4 years in a row. Appalachia has been a Top 50 Fastest Growing Company in PA and has been named on the MSSP Alert Top 250 MSSPs, CRN MSP 500, and Channel Futures MSP 501 Lists. Appalachia is a SOC 2, Type II Audited company.

At Appalachia Technologies, we help businesses in our community stay ahead of the latest cybersecurity threats through a combination of technology, service, and education. We begin with a security risk assessment of the environment and then we build a cyber security roadmap to identify and prioritize improvements to your overall security posture. Our managed security services allow you to focus on your business goals and objectives, while our SOC (Security Operations Center) proactively monitors, manages and responds to security events in your environment.

For more information, visit: https://appalachiatech.com/ or https://www.strongholdcybersecurity.com/
Im honored to be appointed as a new member of the Economic Advisory Council"

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Appointed Global4PLs CEO Sergio Retamal to its Economic Advisory Council

Global4PL is pleased to announce that its President and CEO, Sergio Retamal, continues to be recognized as a business and community leader and has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Advisory Council.

Im honored to be appointed as a new member of the Economic Advisory Council. I hope to provide valuable input from a global trade and small- to medium-size business point of view, as well as from a diverse communitys perspective, said Retamal.

Economic Advisory Council members provide the Banks senior management with information on current and pending developments in the regional and national economies. Members are typically appointed to two-year terms.

About Global4PL

Global4PL is logistics and global trade company, providing IOR-EOR services in 168 countries, and supply chain and transportation services that deliver maximum long-term value and strategy. For more information, please visit https://www.global-4pl.com

About the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, with branch offices in Los Angeles, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Portland, and a cash processing office in Phoenix, provides wholesale banking services to financial institutions throughout the nine western states. As the nations central bank, the Federal Reserve System formulates monetary policy, serves as a bank regulator, administers certain consumer protection laws, and is fiscal agent for the U.S. government.
It's been two and a half months since their royal wedding day, and Princess Beatrice and her new husband are clearly still in the honeymoon phase.

The Queen's granddaughter, 32, and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 36, were spotted strolling down Curzon Street in West London, arm in arm on Thursday evening after visiting Mayfair private members club Loulou's.

With large smiles the newlyweds took a swift walk through Mayfair to Green Park Station in Piccadilly, where Edoardo hailed a black cab.

Princess Beatrice, 32, and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 36, were seen strolling down Curzon Street in Mayfair, West London, on Thursday night on what appeared to be a date night

Beatrice cut a chic figure in an all black ensemble and a houndstooth clutch, while property developer Edoardo wore a loosely fitting casual suit paired with trainers.

After roughly a five minute stroll through central London Edoardo stopped to hail a cab for them both.

Edoardo and Beatrice were seen safely donning their masks before entering the black cab.

Beatrice kept it simple in an all black ensemble, paired with a hounds tooth clutch which she held in one hand while keeping holding on to her new husband's arm with the other

The couple are said to have narrowly avoided crossing paths with a former flame of Beatrice's father, model Monika Jakisic, 40.

Ms Jaksic was seen getting into a car on Cuzon Street after attending the Mayfair club Loulou's, just minutes before the Duke of York's daughter walked past.

Prince Andrew was rumoured to be dating Ms Jakisic, a model and former girlfriend of George Clooney in 2014, although the romance was not confirmed.

After a roughly five minute walk the pair were seen hailing a cab, before putting on their masks

Beatrice's outfit, with high boot heels, did not appear to be the perfect walking ensemble for their central London stroll

After enjoying a secret wedding at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge in Windsor on July 17 Princess Beatrice and Edoardo continued their low-key start to married life with a modest honeymoon driving around France.

The couple, who had just 20 guests at their wedding, were spotted by an eagle-eyed tourist as they drove 'a small car absolutely packed to the roof with stuff' in the south of France.

'It was such a surprise to see them,' the tourist said. 'Edo was behind the wheel and they looked just like any other couple enjoying the beautiful drive.'

The couple stayed close as they took the romantic stroll through a busy west London
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Washington  Fri, October 2, 2020 15:51 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48bd3bf 2 World Donald-Trump,COVID-19,US-election,Melania-Trump,White-House,campaign Free

President Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid-19, upending the already tense US election, but was described by his doctor on Friday as feeling "well" and able to perform his duties while quarantining.

Trump, 74, first announced on Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, had tested positive.

"We will get through this TOGETHER!" he wrote.

The news detonated a political bombshell a month before election day.

The first immediate consequence was cancellation of a Trump campaign rally meant to take place in Florida later Friday.

Badly behind in the polls against Democratic challenger Joe Biden ahead of Nov.3, Trump has been using large rallies - where most people go without masks - to try to change the subject from his much criticized response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Just Thursday he said in a speech to a New York charity event: "The end of the pandemic is in sight and next year will be one of the greatest years in the history of our country."

But now the leader who has repeatedly cast doubt on the seriousness of the virus - despite more than 200,000 Americans already dying - has become the world's highest profile patient, proving that all the resources of the White House could not prevent the risk.

Biden, who has made criticism of the Republican's coronavirus response his key issue, made no immediate statement about the president's health after the news broke.

Technically obese and in his 70s, Trump is in a higher-risk category for coronavirus patients.

Trump's official physician, Sean Conley, said in a statement that the president and his wife "are both well at this time."

"They plan to remain home at the White House during their convalescence," he said. However, "I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering."

Trump's positive test was more than a PR disaster for a president who has staked everything on trying to persuade Americans that fears of the virus are overblown.

There were concrete, instant impacts to his campaign strategy, particularly throwing into doubt the future of his signature rallies.

The events, which Trump says prove his true political strength better than the dismal opinion polls, bring together thousands of people, often without masks and sometimes in contravention of local rules.

All that is now on hold, at least for the immediate future, and with the clock ticking rapidly down on the election.

In addition to canceling the Florida trip, it looked certain that Trump would have to abandon a trip scheduled for this weekend in Wisconsin, another battleground. He had also been expected to travel frequently next week, including longer distances to western states.

A second televised debate with Biden is scheduled for Oct.15.

The news came right after one of Trump's closest advisors, Hope Hicks, was reported Thursday to have come down with the virus.

Hicks, 31, traveled with Trump to Cleveland for his first debate with Biden on Tuesday. She was with him again for a campaign rally in Minnesota on Wednesday.

With Hicks sharing Trump's Air Force One plane and the even more cramped confines of the Marine One helicopter, speculation immediately erupted that Trump and possibly many others in his close entourage were exposed.

Despite Hicks' diagnosis, Trump took another Air Force One trip on Thursday to meet with donors in New Jersey.

It was only late Thursday that Trump confirmed media reports about Hicks while giving an interview to Fox News. He announced that he had been tested but did not say whether he had received the results.

"You know I spend a lot of time with Hope, and so does the first lady," Trump said.

Hicks is the most senior White House aide announced to have contracted Covid-19.
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city stands at 23,602.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko has said the number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the city rose by 447 in the past day.

"In the past day, another 447 residents of Kyiv tested positive for coronavirus, including 28 healthcare workers. There were 10 fatalities," Klitschko told a briefing on October 2.

"As of today, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city is 23,602."

According to the city mayor, 251 women aged 19 to 82 and 168 men aged 18 to 83 are among those infected.

Ten girls and 18 boys (from one to 17 years old) have tested positive.

Klitschko said 45 new patients had been hospitalized, while the rest are self-isolating, undergoing treatment at home under medical supervision.

He added that 312 people had recovered in the past day.

In total, 7,253 Kyiv residents have already beaten the disease.

Read alsoDaily COVID-19 high beats record third day in row on Oct 1The highest number of the new cases in Kyiv was registered in Dniprovsky district (93), Desniansky district (70), and Podilsky district (61).

The total death toll in the city is 401 cases.

Quarantine in Ukraine: Background

The adaptive quarantine was introduced on August 1. The Ukrainian regions were split into the green, yellow, orange, and red zones depending on hospital load, the average number of PCR and ELISA tests, the ascertainment rate of COVID-19, and daily spread dynamics.

Quarantine-related curbs differ in each zone. The mildest ones are in the green zone, the regions included in the red zone will have to introduce the toughest restrictions.

On August 26, the Cabinet of Ministers extended the adaptive quarantine until November 1.

Health Minister Maksym Stepanov says the ministry has no plans to introduce a new lockdown in Ukraine yet.

The new quarantine zoning across Ukraine reviewed by the state and regional commissions on emergencies quarantine zoning in line with the latest reports on the epidemiological situation took effect on September 28.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday condemned the treatment meted out by Uttar Pradesh police to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi when he was on his way to meet Hathras victim's family, and termed it as "gang-rape of democracy". Talking to reporters, Raut said that Gandhi was a leader of a prominent political party and nobody would support the way he was "manhandled" by the police.

"We may have differences with the Congress party. He(Rahul Gandhi) can be stopped from going to Hathras citing imposition of section 144, but the way police behaved with him holding his collarthe way he was pushed and then thrown on the ground was highly condemnable," he said. "This is gangrape of democracy and the incident should be probed. Is this the way opposition leaders should be treated so that nobody asks questions? You can ridicule him politically as is always being done. But the way policeman handled him is an act nobody will support," he said.

Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several Congress workers were briefly detained in Greater Noida on Thursday for alleged violation of prohibitory orders while walking towards Hathras to meet the family of the 19-year-oldDalit woman, who died on Tuesday, a fortnight after she was allegedly gang-raped near her village in western UP. Rahul Gandhi also fell down in the scuffle after police tried to stop him and his supporters from proceeding on the Yamuna Expressway.

Raut also questioned the silence of those who targeted the Maharashtra government "as if heavens had fallen" when the illegal construction of an actress was demolished. He was referring to Kangana Ranaut, whose bungalow in suburban Bandra was partially pulled down by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently following her war of words with the ruling Shiv Sena over her remarks on Mumbai.

When asked about reports that the Hathras victim was not raped as claimed by the UP police, Raut asked if the victim had lied in her dying declaration. The Sena MP also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should break his silence over the Hathras incident. He also criticised the curbs on media reportage of the incident.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena workers held a protest outside the Churchgate railway station in south Mumbai demanding justice for Hathras victim. They waved black flags and held placards.
WASHINGTON - In the fall of 1918, as President Woodrow Wilson scrambled to end World War I, the flu pandemic began its lethal march across the country, killing at least 675,000 Americans over the next two years.

Churches were closed. Public dance halls were shuttered. No corner of the nation's capital was spared - not even the White House.

On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that he and first lady Melania Trump have contracted the novel coronavirus, the deadliest pandemic since the 1918 flu. Trump - who has repeatedly played down the risks of the virus and eschewed the masks his own scientists recommend - was diagnosed after a top aide, Hope Hicks, tested positive.

In 1918, Wilson's personal secretary was among the first in his administration to be sickened. Margaret, his eldest daughter, got it. Secret Service members did, too. Even the White House sheep were not spared.

Also not spared: the president of the United States.

In April 1919, Wilson traveled to the Paris Peace Conference for talks on ending the Great War. Soon after arriving, the president become ill with a fever and violent fits of coughing that left him nearly unable to breathe.

Wilson's condition deteriorated so quickly that his personal doctor, Cary T. Grayson, thought he had been poisoned.

"But it soon became obvious the diagnosis was simpler, if only marginally more reassuring," wrote John Barry in "The Great Influenza."

Wilson was so ill that the talks were nearly derailed. The president could not even sit up in bed.

In a hand-delivered letter to Wilson's chief of staff back in Washington, Grayson wrote that the night Wilson became ill "was one of the worst through which I have ever passed. I was able to control the spasms of coughing but his condition looked very serious."

Wilson's administration worked furiously to keep Wilson's diagnosis a secret. Grayson told reporters that Wilson had a cold and just needed some rest, blaming the president's illness on the rainy weather in Paris.

Meanwhile, Wilson's condition worsened. And he began acting strange.

"Generally predictable in his actions, Wilson began blurting unexpected orders," A. Scott Berg wrote in his biography of Wilson. "Twice he created a scene over pieces of furniture that had suddenly disappeared," even though the furniture had not moved. Wilson also thought he was surrounded by spies.

Wilson's entourage was worried - not just about his illness, but also about the talks falling apart because of what the illness was doing to his behavior.

Barry recounts how in a meeting at Wilson's bedside, he told negotiators: "Gentlemen, this is not a meeting of the Peace Commission. It is more a Council of War." Barry described a frightening portrait of a president:

"Colonel Starling of the Secret Service noticed that Wilson 'lacked his old quickness of grasp, and tired easily.' He became obsessed with such details as who was using the official automobiles. When Ray Stannard Baker was first allowed to see Wilson again, he trembled at Wilson's sunken eyes, at this weariness, at his pale and haggard look, like that of a man whose flesh has shrunk away from his face, showing his skull."

The talks went on, with Wilson relying on deputies before he could return to face-to-face talks. Ultimately, he yielded to several French demands that he had previously said were nonnegotiable. The president fully recovered, only to be stricken by a major stroke a few months later.

In the years since Wilson's death in 1924, scholars have debated whether he actually suffered a stroke during the conference - not the flu.

Barry opposes those theories. Wilson's symptoms, which included "high fever, severe coughing, and total prostration," Barry wrote, "perfectly fit influenza and have no association whatsoever with stroke."

How did Wilson's illness affect world civilization? Would the peace terms have been different? Would the war have gone on?

"No one can know what would have happened," Barry wrote. "One can only know what did happen. Influenza did strike Wilson."
Patients receiving care for advanced cancer at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health were more likely to survive or experience a longer period without their disease progressing if they received personalized cancer therapy, report University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers.

Led by Razelle Kurzrock, MD, director of the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy at Moores Cancer Center and senior author of the study, a multidisciplinary molecular tumor board was established to advise treating physicians on course of care using an individual patient's molecular tumor makeup to design precision medicine strategies.

"Patients who underwent a molecular tumor board-recommended therapy were better matched to genomic alterations in their cancer and had improved outcomes," said Kurzrock. "The three-year survival for patients with the highest degree of matching and who received a personalized cancer therapy was approximately 55 percent compared to 25 percent in patients who received therapy that was unmatched or had low degrees of matching."

Of 429 patients evaluated by the molecular tumor board, 62 percent were matched to at least one drug, report the researchers in the October 2, 2020 online issue of Nature Communications. Twenty percent of patients matched to all recommended drugs, including combination therapies.

The tumor board acted in an advisory role and treating physicians chose not to use the board's recommended strategy in 38 percent of cases, opting instead for a standard therapy approach that might have been unmatched to the patient's genetic alterations or had a low degree of matching. These patients experienced a lower progression-free survival and overall survival rates.

The use of next-generation sequencing allows for the identification of novel potential targets for patients with cancer to improve outcomes, but there are challenges to using this approach widely, said Shumei Kato, MD, associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and first author.

"One of the hurdles is that every cancer patient appears to be carrying different molecular and genomic patterns despite having the same cancer type," said Kato, a Moores Cancer Center medical oncologist specializing in rare and gastrointestinal cancers. "This can be challenging since we are customizing therapy based on the unique genomic pattern patients have, and thus it is difficult to predict the response. In addition, this approach requires multidisciplinary expertise as well as access to drugs or clinical trials not always available in smaller practices."

At Moores Cancer Center, the molecular tumor board is composed of experts in basic, transitional and clinical research as well as bioinformatics, genetics, radiology, pathology and physicians in multiple specialties such as medical, surgical and radiation oncology.

Further clinical investigations with a larger sample size are necessary to identify the matching score thresholds that determine the usefulness of a precision medicine approach, said the researchers.

###

Co-authors include Amelie Boichard, Mina Nikanjam, Elizabeth Weihe, Dennis J. Kuo, Ramez N. Eskander, Aaron Goodman, Natalie Galanina, Paul T. Fanta, Richard B. Schwab, Rebecca Shatsky, Steven C. Plaxe, Andrew Sharabi, Ryosuke Okamura, Suzanna Lee, Scott M. Lippman, Jason K. Sicklick, all of UC San Diego; Ki Hwan Kim, UC San Diego and Seoul National University; Hyo Jeong Lim, UC San Diego and Veterans Health Service Medical Center in Seoul; Edward Stites, Salk Institute for Biological Studies; and Jacob J. Adashek, University of South Florida.

Disclosures: Kato serves as a consultant for Foundation Medicine and receives speaker's fees from Roche. Eskander serves as a consultant for GSK, Merck, Eisai, Clovis Oncology, AstraZenica, Pfizer and Iovance. He has received speaker fees from AstraZenica and Merck. Sharabi reports research funding and honoraria from Pfizer and Varian Medical Systems, consultant fees from AstraZeneca and Jounce Therapeutics, personal fees from Merck, and is the scientific founder with equity interest in Toragen Inc. outside the submitted work. Sicklick receives research funds from Foundation Medicine Inc. and Amgen, as well as consultant fees from Grand Rounds, Deciphera and LOXO. Kurzrock has research funding from Incyte, Genentech, Merck Serono, Pfizer, Sequenom, Foundation Medicine, Guardant Health, Grifols, and Konica Minolta, as well as consultant fees from LOXO, X-Biotech, Actuate Therapeutics, Genentech, Pfizer and NeoMed. She receives speaker fees from Roche, and has an equity interest in IDbyDNA and CureMatch, Inc. She is a co-founder of CureMatch and board member of CureMatch and CureMetrix.
A man who raped a woman as she walked home after a night out in east London has been jailed.

Leon Rochester, 33, has been sentenced to nine years in prison after sexually assaulting a female in Leytonstone.

The victim was walking home along Leytonstone High Road in January when Rochester approached her and offered her a drink.

He then walked her to a secluded location where he carried out the attack.

He met the victim as she walked down Leytonstone High Road / Google Maps

Rochester ignored her repeated pleas for him to stop. The victim eventually managed to break free and run away.

Police were called by a member of the public who came across the woman in a distressed state.

Detectives carried out enquiries and found CCTV which placed Rochester at the location. They also spoke to a witness who heard the woman ask him to stop.

The victim was attacked in Kirkdale Road / Google Maps

Rochester was arrested at his home address in Woodhouse Road a few days later and was charged with rape.

Following a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, he was found guilty on October 1.

Detective Inspector Jeremy McDermott said: Id like to commend the victim for coming forward and telling us about her terrifying ordeal. Thanks to her bravery, both then and during the course of the investigation and trial, a dangerous offender has been taken off the streets.

The entrance to Snaresbrook Crown Court in Holybush Hill / PA

Although this sentence cannot make up for what she has gone through, I hope that the verdict and sentencing brings her some level of closure.

I would also encourage all victims of both sexual assault and rape to come forward and contact police. We know that it is an incredibly difficult thing to do but we can provide you with appropriate help and support while carrying out an investigation to find those responsible.

Anyone who needs support can call police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Further advice can be found on the Met's website.
On Friday, RPI president Ramdas Athawale addressed the media and spoke about the ongoing investigation of actor Payal Ghosh's case against filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. On reports of Kashyap's denial of allegations levelled against him, Athawale stated that he is "lying" and that he should be arrested. Union Minister Ramdas Athawale has stood by Ghosh in her fight against Kashyap and has also offered protection to her.

"Anurag Kashyap is lying, Payal Gosh is speaking the truth. In the film industry artists are exploited but they keep quiet because of work. I feel Payal should be believed and justice should be served. Anurag Kashyap should be arrested,'' said Athawale on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Payal Ghosh and the RPI leader held a joint press conference where he had lauded Ghosh for speaking up about her tragic experience. Athawale further said that they were giving a 7-day ultimatum to Mumbai Police to arrest Kashyap or RPI will start protests across Mumbai. The minister also helped the actor put forth her plea before Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.

Read | Anurag Kashyap reaches Versova police station for questioning over Payal Ghosh's rape FIR

Payal Ghosh files complaint against Kashyap

On September 22, Payal Ghosh had registered a sexual assault complaint against Anurag Kashyap at the Versova police station in Mumbai, three days after opening up on the alleged incident. She had tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking action against Kashyap and security for her after claiming that he had forced himself upon her around 2013-14. She has also filed a complaint against him under the NDPS act.

Read | Anurag Kashyap issues statement on 8-hr grilling on Payal Ghosh's rape FIR; claims 'proof'

Anurag Kashyap issues statement

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap was on Thursday questioned by police in a rape case filed against him by actor Payal Ghosh for more than eight hours. After that, Kashyap's lawyer Priyanka Khimani released a statement on behalf of the filmmaker stating that Kashyap has denied all wrongdoing in the matter and has provided his statement to the Mumbai Police.

The statement says that Anurag Kashyap has provided "documentary proof" of the fact that throughout August 2013, he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films. The lawyer said that the material provided by Anurag Kashyap in support of his statement, "demonstrates that the complaint of Payal Ghosh is an outright lie."

Read | "Anurag Kashyap has lied to Police": Payal Ghosh to seek narco test over 'Sri Lanka' alibi

Read | Anurag Kashyap summoned by police after Payal Ghosh's allegation of rape & FIR against him-
Gender and Women's Studies

Dr. Samantha L. Vandermeade received her Ph.D. in Gender Studies from Arizona State University in 2020 and joined the Gender and Womens Studies department in UWs School of Culture, Gender, and Social Justice as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the fall of 2020.

Her dissertation, Using the Masters Tools to Dismantle the Masters House: Gendered and Racialized Citizenship, Pro-Immigrants Rights Advocacy, and White Privilege in the Borderlands, examined pro-(im)migrants rights activism and advocacy among middle-class White women in Phoenix, Arizona. Utilizing a feminist, intersectional analytical lens and drawing upon critical race studies, Whiteness studies, and citizenship theory, the dissertation explored study participants' understandings and enactments of their racialized and gendered citizenship in the context of their activism. The project ultimately found that these White women face thornily difficult ethical questions regarding how to wield the rights entailed in their gendered citizenship and their White privilege on behalf of marginalized, Latinx, non-citizen migrants when those rights and privileges draw their power from very same systems that work to oppress the migrants they seek to aid. The project also makes the case that White womens lives, as well as their experiences of citizenship and activism, are inherently and fundamentally intersectional and should be analyzed as such.

Dr. Vandermeades larger research interests and teaching focus on intersectional feminist theory; critical Whiteness studies; immigration and the borderlands; (anti)racism; citizenship; race and rurality; sociopolitical conservatism; social justice activism; gendered labor and social reproduction; and feminist pedagogy. She is currently working on a number of projects and publications, including an article on teaching Whiteness in the rural classroom; an article regarding spirituality, (anti-)religiosity, and community among White, antiracist activists; a co-authored article on transnational queer labor organizing; and a co-authored article on the history of methods and methodology within the field of Womens Studies. She is also revising her dissertation and looking forward to its publication as her first monograph.
New Delhi: October 2 marks the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi who is also known as the Father of the Nation.

Today is the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and as millions across the world, political leaders and heads of states pay tribute to the Mahatma Gandhi, let's have a look at his life and learn some important financial mantras.

Mahatma Gandhi played a major role in making India British-free. His mass movements united people across the country who came together to fight against the injustice done to the Indians. Mahatma Gandhi's reform movements are written in golden words in the history of India. But it is his simplistic lifestyle and approach that gives us a big financial lesson.

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Cut down on excessive expenditure

Expenses are something that you can choose. While some expenditures are very important like your food, medicines, children's education fee, some others could be redundant. You must know when to cut down those excessive expenditures. Gandhi in his autobiography MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH has mentioned how he kept account of every expenses he made and how they were very carefully calculated.

Invest as per your need not as per your greed

Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote, "The world has enough for everyone's needs, but not everyone's greed" is still a living example of how we should take life's decision. Be it investment or buying simple things in our everyday life. We must buy what we need and thus cut down on over spending.

Take small steps, don't wait for big things to happen first

Many people wait for getting a big hold of things. But the fact is that one can always start small and build it brick by brick. A small investment made today will become big in the future. There is always a scope of further investing in it or making bigger investments when you have the capacity to do so. Gandhi's freedom movement has taught us that millions of people participated with Gandhi in his freedom struggle, but he took small steps first.

Maintain financial discipline

Mahatma Gandhi and discipline have become synonymous for followers of Gandhian principles. Anecdotes from his life tells us how he maintained discipline and remained true to it throughout his life. You must learn and maintain financial discipline. If you follow this core principle, you will see that those small steps you had taken on investment are giving you good returns. You can start by saving as low an amount as Rs 100. This might look very insignificant for you, but as and when you grow in your career, you can increase the amount. You will realise that there is no maximum limit to your savings, but maintaining the discipline is important.

Patience and Faith

Gandhi faced immense adversities during the freedom struggle, but he did not give up. His strong will power, patience and faith helped him tide through tough difficult times. Investment too are very similar when it comes to patience and faith. Dont accept your investments to grow into millions overnight. Give it some time and have patience. Long term investments are going to fetch good returns, all you need to do is wait for the right moment.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump said in a tweet that he and first lady Melania Trump are beginning the self-quarantine process after Hope Hicks, one of his closest senior advisers, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Some of the details remained unclear Thursday night, but a source familiar with the situation said Hicks tested negative Wednesday morning, before a trip to Minnesota for a Trump rally, and was not believed to have been showing any symptoms before departure.

Hicks, who apparently began showing minor symptoms sometime late Wednesday, quarantined on Air Force One on the trip back, and her test came back positive Thursday morning, the source said.

Hicks, who is among the highest-profile members of the administration to have tested positive, is in frequent contact with Trump.

Image: Hope Hicks (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file)

Hicks, 31, recently traveled on the presidential helicopter, Marine One, and on Air Force One with the president to Cleveland for Tuesday's debate, along with 20 to 30 aides and family members, and she was seen backstage. Hicks was also on the plane traveling to Trump's rally in Minnesota on Wednesday night, along with the president's son-in-law and top aide, Jared Kushner, and Dan Scavino, another top White House adviser.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and alerts on Trump's Covid diagnosis

She was seen in a photo Wednesday not wearing a mask after exiting Marine One with Kushner and White House aide Stephen Miller.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that those who test positive should self-isolate, monitor symptoms and wear masks when around other people. It says to seek emergency medical care immediately if symptoms, such as trouble breathing, get worse.

Image: Hope Hicks (Leah Millis / Reuters)

The president confirmed Hicks' diagnosis, which was first reported by Bloomberg News, during a phone interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night and said he and the first lady had been tested but had not yet heard the results.

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"Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know," Trump, 74, told Hannity. "I just went for a test, and we'll see what happens."

He said Hicks is a person who is "warm" with military members and for whom "it's very hard to say 'stay back.'"

Trump later tweeted that he and the first lady will begin isolating until they receive their results.

Judd Deere, the White House deputy press secretary, did not confirm Hicks' positive test results in a statement to NBC News earlier Thursday but instead described the administration's safety precautions.

"The President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously," he said. "White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidelines and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling."

Hicks, the former White House communications director and top press aide to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, returned to the White House in February to work closely with Kushner.

Hicks left the White House in 2018 to take on a senior role in Fox Corp.'s communications office.

Hicks had no political experience before she joined the Trump campaign in 2016. Before that, she worked for Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump.

Her resignation in 2018 came one day after she testified before the House Intelligence Committee in its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Hicks was referred to nearly 180 times in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the matter.

Earlier this year, several White House staffers, including Secret Service personnel, tested positive for the virus after a Trump rally. One of the president's personal valets, who works in the West Wing serving him his meals, among other duties, tested positive for the coronavirus in May.
Saagar Enjeti is on the rise. Once at The Daily Caller, he now fronts a news show for The Hill, Rising with Krystal and Saagar, co-hosted by the former MSNBC anchor Krystal Ball, with whom he also co-authored The Populists Guide to 2020. He maintains a popular podcast, The Realignment, and has appeared on Joe Rogans much-more-popular podcast and Tucker Carlsons highly rated Fox News show. Hes become kind of powerful, according to a recent profile in The American Conservative. The New York Timess David Brooks has lumped him in with Oren Cass, Henry Olsen, and others as prominent exponents of Working-Class Republicanism.

Thats quite a CV for someone so young, and Enjetis professional success should by rights invite further scrutiny of his ideas. Enjeti believes that Donald Trumps election was proof of the intellectual desiccation of conservative orthodoxy, which, as he and others see it, was a kind of zombie Reaganism, a libertarianism whose leeriness toward federal power was responsible for most of our national ills. He is welcome to make this case. But a recent post he authored for Casss organization American Compass illustrates several problems with it, or at least the version of it that he presents.

The first problem is factual. Enjeti targets Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson, whom he deems insufficiently understanding of the problems of offshoring, manufacturing decline, and job loss  even though [Johnson] represents a state that voted Republican for the first time since Ronald Reagan when it went for Trump in 2016; explicitly because of Trumps pro-worker, anti-China message. There is a serious discussion to be had about Johnsons views, and the problems presented by Chinas rise. But serious people ought to do it honestly, considering the relevant facts. To hear Enjeti tell it, youd think that Johnson was dragged across the finish line on Trumps coattails in 2016; in truth, Johnson won 50.2 percent of the states vote (1.479 million votes) to Trumps 47.2 percent (1.405 million). It seems that, in Wisconsin, at least, Johnson is more popular than Trump, if some voters were willing to support the former but not the latter.

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This leads us to the second problem with Enjetis analysis, which is historical. It is worth remembering that 2016 was not Ron Johnsons first election. Johnson won his Senate seat in 2010, one of the wave years (2014 was the other) for Republicans during the heyday of the Tea Party, when Barack Obamas presidency served as a useful foil for conservatives. Enjeti has contempt for this period. In his American Compass piece, he belittles Tea Partiers for mounting pointless filibusters and obstructing the business of the government. In The American Conservative, he is similarly dismissive. Domestic politics was just boring, he writes. Second term Obama, there was just nothing happening. There were certainly things to be frustrated about as a conservative during the Obama years. But by their end, Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate, a vast majority of state governorships, and almost enough state legislatures to pass constitutional amendments on their own. Whatever the flaws of conservatism and the Republican Party during that time, there might be something worth learning from such success.

At this point, Enjeti would say I probably only think that because its what the billionaires want me to think, which brings us to the third main problem with his public posture. There is a legitimate argument to be had about the future of conservatism. I am fine with admitting some of my own priors in this debate; for instance, I find Enjetis notion that the Republican Party was totally in the pocket of monied libertarian interests before Trump somewhat misguided, to say the least. Others will dispute this contention, which is their right. But if they are serious, then they will find a way to do it without arguing that, for example, Trumps election was a final nail in the coffin of zombie Reagan-era public policy pushed by the billionaire and think tank class in Washington. Or that Johnsons views can be explained by an ideological commitment to the market fundamentalism that billionaires want congressional legislators committed too [sic].

Enjetis political program, as far as I can discern it, is not Marxist. But his style of argument, which denies that people can have views not entirely determined by material circumstances, bears a strong whiff of the Marxist notion of false consciousness. For Marxists, false consciousness was a condition of material blindness to reality that purported to explain why the proletariat was unable to perceive its immiserated state and revolt. For Enjeti, the influence of a nefarious billionaire class is the only way to explain why everyone doesnt see the world as he does, or why his views have failed to revolutionize American politics. He casts disagreement with him as inherently illegitimate, thus reducing his need to make serious counterarguments based in reason and fact. Its a superficial approach, and, ultimately, a futile one: It accomplishes nothing, and makes actual argument impossible.

Of course, maybe actual argument is not what Saagar Enjeti is interested in. That would be disappointing, but it would also raise a question: What, then, is he interested in? At the beginning of his American Conservative profile, Enjeti is quoted as saying that Its about power, man. His arguments may be factually, historically, and philosophically flawed. But about this, at least, one gets the sense that he is honest.

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Such facilities will become "communicators" between the government, police, and public.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a working trip to Rivne region, met with representatives of NGO For the Welfare of Life "Berehynia" to discuss the establishment of centers to support victims of domestic violence.

The relevant report was published by the President's Office on its website, October 1.

According to the NGO representatives, such centers should employ professionals in all necessary fields who are not always available with social services. These include psychologists, lawyers, community or family counselors, correctional experts, and social educators. Engaging the community in addressing such issues will break down psychological barriers between staff and visitors.

"We designed the development of various master classes and training sessions there, which will help such women improve their psycho-emotional state. It's very important. Also, we designed a temporary stay room there," the Office quoted NGO representatives as saying.

In addition, such facilities will become communicators between the government, the police, and society.

Zelensky stressed the inadmissibility of domestic violence on any pretexts. According to him, the state should make every effort to reduce the number of such cases.

"There must be an understanding in society that domestic violence is unacceptable, it's savagery. But if there is an unfortunate situation in a family, a person should know that he or she will be rendered support," he said.

Domestic violence in Ukraine: Background

Some 142,000 cases of domestic violence were reported to the police in Ukraine in 2019.

Mobile police teams dealing with cases of domestic violence have been set up in all large cities across Ukraine.

Ukraine may increase fines for domestic violence by hundreds of times. Relevant bill No. 3908 has been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.

The Cabinet has drafted a bill toughening liability for acts of domestic and gender-based violence committed by military personnel, police officers, and other officials who are subject to disciplinary regulations. Such persons will bear administrative responsibility on a general basis.
To mark what is truly a manmade holiday, Manufacturing Day, the Council of Fashion Designers of America is rolling out three new ways to support local manufacturing.

In honor of todays designated holiday, the CFDA, Vogue and the New York City Economic Development Corporation are naming the third round of grant recipients of A Common Thread. The program was set up to help raise awareness and funds for American companies that have been waylaid by the coronavirus crisis. This time around, a total of $500,000 contributed via the Fashion Manufacturing Initiative will be doled out to 47 New York City-based manufacturers.

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The CFDAs chief executive officer Steven Kolb said, Manufacturing is a critical sector of the fashion industry that employs a diverse group of skilled individuals who support the design community behind-the-scenes and create significant economic impact.

Of the third-round recipients, 51 percent are minority-owned business enterprises, 46 percent are women-owned business enterprises and more than 10 different services across clothing, accessories and jewelry manufacturing are represented. Like many organizations in recent months, the CFDA has been making a more public and concerted effort to be more diverse in all that it does.

Bantam Leather Inc., F&G Cutting Inc., Geri Gerard Ltd., Michael Stuart International, Mint Collaborative Inc., Toms Sons International Pleating LLC and Zoilas Sample Room are among the 47 companies benefiting from the third round.

At this point, A Common Thread has raised more than $5 million and has distributed more than $4.5 million to 128 businesses.

The global pandemic shutdown, extended temporary store closures, retail bankruptcies, furloughs and layoffs have drastically impacted manufacturing. Some apparel companies have responded to the situation with on-demand business models. The need to strengthen domestic manufacturing across various sectors is also a political topic, and one that President Trump and his opponent for Vice President Joseph Biden agree on. Last year, Trump signed an official proclamation to acknowledge National Manufacturing Day.

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The CFDAs commitment to manufacturing included the establishment of FMI in 2013 with the NYCEDC and industry leaders and founding partners like Andrew Rosen and Ralph Lauren, among others. Over the past six years of the FMI, the CFDA and NYCEDC have jointly invested more than $3 million in 33 New York City-based manufacturers, largely to acquire advanced technology, provide associated training, promote locally made fashion through designer-retailer collaborations and other efforts. Last year, FMI was expanded into a $14 million public-private partnership.

Given the number of manufacturers that are in need of financial support due to the economic strains caused by COVID-19, the CFDA and the NYCEDC have set up the Workforce Relief Collective, a new business development program. It will distribute low to no-cost products and services to New York City-based manufacturers to help keep employees safe and healthy as they continue to return to work. Resources related to transportation, and health and safety are being made possible from such partners as the ride sharing service Lyft and the eco-friendly cleaning essentials from Blueland. In addition to Lyft ride credits and a three-month supply of Blueland surface cleaning products, the selected manufacturers may receive masks, face shields, digital thermometers and other products that are being sourced on need.

Applications are being accepted for the Workforce Relief Collective through Oct. 14 at 11 a.m. EST. To be eligible, companies need to have been in business and generating revenue for at least one year with annual revenue under $10 million. Companies must be contract manufacturers that specialize in the development, sampling and production of garments, accessories and/or jewelry for well-known or established fashion brands. Brands with in-house production cannot apply.

The NYCEDCs president and ceo James Patchett said, As New York City looks toward recovery, investments in the fashion and manufacturing industry are integral in building on New York Citys core strengths.

The CFDAs third Manufacturing Day-inspired effort is a guide for its Production Directory. Introduced in 2013, the directory is a resource that now has more than 270 businesses featured on it. The guide will help companies to narrow the search, to explore that narrowed search and contact their best matches. Categories now have custom filters. Price points, for example, can be classified by better, budget, bridge, moderate, contemporary, designer and couture.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 2, 2020 / The business landscape has always been known for being tough and challenging. In a place overflowing with exceptional and remarkable individuals, only the best and the greatest can stay afloat. And making it clear that she is not one to sink, Naomi Alabi brings out her creative flair and proves that she has what it takes.

Inasmuch as the creative industry is brimming with talent and passion, it comes as no surprise that the competition brewing therein is as intense as ever. But despite the fierceness of it all, Naomi Alabi breaks through barriers and overcomes obstacles as she makes her way to the top. And with everything that she has accomplished, she shows everyone that hard work coupled with faith is vital.

Pounding the pavement with her revolutionary ideas, Naomi Alabi is hailed as the esteemed owner of Streety Society, a fashion accelerator program which consists of Street Fashion Week and CreatorsTV.

CreatorsTV is an American fashion digital subscription video on demand (SVOD) network that is available on RoKu, Firestick, AppleTV, and many more. Meanwhile, Street Fashion Week has developed an all-star roster of over 140 streetwear designers. And each season-during New York and LA Fashion Week-it celebrates the vision of said designers by showcasing their most recent work in a collective fashion show.

As a platform that nurtures and accelerates creativity and passion, Street Society helps emerging creatives turn their creative concepts into sustainable businesses. And all year round, it works to uplift, produce, and develop aspiring streetwear designers.

As Naomi Alabi and her team began preparing for this season's Street Fashion Week, they were inspired to launch CreatorsTV as a way to bring New York Fashion Week to the homes of virtual attendees. Naomi also plans to produce various shows that focus on highlighting the stories of the creatives behind well-celebrated brands.

Taking pride in CreatorsTV and her other projects, Naomi Alabi is glad that she did not give up earlier in her journey. Growing up, the New-York-based entrepreneur knew that she wanted a career in fashion. But being a first-generation Nigerian American coming from a single-parent home, she had to face many cultural barriers. She then took it upon herself to rise above adversities and inspire those who shared the same struggles.

Having gone through her fair share of ordeals and trials, Naomi Alabi was emboldened to jumpstart her creative pursuit and build a career with nothing but hope and grit. The odds may have been against her at first, but her resilience and persistence came through. As a result, this triumph and feat empowered other creatives to step into their light and go after their dreams.

Taking her fashion venture to greater heights, Naomi Alabi continues to cement her outstanding reputation and, at the same time, open gates of opportunities for other success-driven entrepreneurs.

Although she is now enjoying the fruits of her hard-earned achievements, Naomi Alabi still likes to look back on her humble beginnings to remind her and others that nothing is impossible. Her journey may not have been smooth sailing, but the storms that came along the way only made her success taste much sweeter.

To know more about Naomi Alabi and CreatorsTV, you may visit their website.

Company: CreatorsTV

Email: hello@creatorstv.online

Phone number: 323 300 4620

Website: www.creatorstv.online

SOURCE: CreatorsTV

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/608857/Naomi-Alabi-of-CreatorsTV-Sheds-Light-on-Her-Creative-Journey
Eleven persons kidnapped in Rafi local government area of Niger State are yet to be released one month after they were abducted, residents said.

In the attacks, PREMIUM TIMES reported that a police officer, securing a bank, was killed alongside five residents of Kagara town, the council headquarters of Rafi local government area.

On September 2, the attackers raided the banks ATM and abducted 11 persons.

Suleiman Haruna, a relative of some of the kidnapped victims, told PREMIUM TIMES that the kidnappers were demanding N8 million before to release the abductees.

We have spoken with them several times on payment of ransom; now they said they cant pick our calls unless we provide the money and the payment would be for all the abductees not some of them, Mr Haruna said.

A traditional ruler in the area, who confided in PREMIUM TIMES, said that it has been a month since the victims have been in captivity due to the inability of their relatives to pay the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.

He said the majority of the relatives of those kidnapped were living from hand to mouth, thus, they cannot raise the millions of naira ransom.

The traditional ruler identified the kidnaped victims as: Juli Umar, Salihu Alawa, Rahamat Muhammad, Farida Muhammad, Ismail Ibrahim. He said the latter three are secondary school students.

Other victims are Abdulqadir Ibrahim, Ibrahim Musa, Abdulqadir Adamu, Friday Seme, Mr Nathaniel, and Mr Obi; a chemist.

The traditional ruler appealed to the government and other concerned citizens to help secure the release of the victims and reunite them with their loved ones.

When contacted on Friday, Wasiu Abiodun, the police spokesperson in Niger State, did not respond to questions on the efforts of security personnel to rescue the victims. He said he would call back; however, he didnt do so hours later.

The Rafi council area in Niger State shares a border with the troubled Birnin Gwari local government area in Kaduna State.

Banditry has been a long-running scourge for residents of the area. In Niger State, between 2011 and June 2020, over 582 people were killed in attacks.
Turkey, Poland and three Caribbean islands have been removed from the list of safe countries people can travel to without going into quarantine when they return to the UK, following fears they could be experiencing a second wave of Covid-19.

The move, announced by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Thursday, means people travelling from the two countries or the islands of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba will have to isolate for two weeks if they return to the UK after 4am on Saturday October 3.

Here is what that will mean for holidaymakers:

 When will I have to self-isolate?

The new measures come into force from 4am on Saturday October 3 meaning that travellers returning to the UK from any of those destinations have around 36 hours to return and avoid going into quarantine.

TRAVEL CORRIDOR UPDATE: The latest data indicates we need to remove Turkey, Poland, and Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba from the #TravelCorridor list this week.



This means if you arrive from these destinations from 4am Saturday 3 October, you will need to self-isolate.  Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) October 1, 2020

Anyone returning after that date will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.

It applies to people returning to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

 What is the rate of coronavirus infection in these countries?

The seven-day rate of new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in Poland is now at 25.9, increasing from 15.6 in the previous week.

Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba reported 142.4 new cases per 100,000, unchanged from 142.4 in the previous week.

Meanwhile, Turkeys rate has dropped to 12.9 cases, down from 14.2 in the week prior  but there are fears these figures are under reported and the true spread of infection is much higher, putting holidaymakers at greater risk.

 Ive got a holiday booked to a country on the list, what should I do?

The FCO advises British nationals against all but essential travel to the countries on the quarantine list.

Those who still decide to travel after the quarantine is in force will have to self-isolate for two weeks on their return.

What happens if I do not quarantine after returning from one of these countries?

Punishments for people caught not self-isolating after returning from a country not on the travel corridor list will increase from Friday. Penalties will start at 1,000 and can rise to 10,000 for repeat offenders.

Sign up for our free travel newsletter!

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to 'Travel Insider', our free travel newsletter written by award-winning Travel Editor, Pol O Conghaile.
Princess in a mask, a backpack tucked behind, her usual golden locks shoved into a ponytail.

That was the very 2020 image seen by royal-watchers galore when 14-year-old Leonor, presumptive heir to the Spanish throne, was spotted en route to the first day of school in Madrid last month.

Alas, it wasnt destined to be an especially long stay. A mere three days later, after a classmate tested positive for COVID-19, her entire class was obliged to go into a 14-day quarantine  Leonor, in particular, becoming once again the face of a pandemic that has ravaged her country, as it has so many.

On my radar for some time as one of the more on-it junior royals, the eldest daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, who is sometimes called the Disney Princess (that smile! that hair!), but actually carries the title of Princess of Asturias  and is meant to be Spains first female monarch since the reign of Isabella II (1833-1868)  has turned into one of the shooting stars of the year, her growing maturity dovetailing with this bumpy time: a year not only of global upheaval, but one in which the House of Bourbon finds itself rattled (her grandfather, the former King Juan Carlos, having gone into exile this past summer after a thicket of scandals).

A ubiquitous presence lately, but also a much-needed fresh face  it does not hurt that her entire family, including her equally adorable younger sis, Sofia, have turned mask-wearing into an art-form  the princess has made many morale-boosting appearances. But it was during a state tribute to victims of the pandemic held in July at the Royal Palace when Leonor fanned still even bigger headlines: specifically, when captured on camera discreetly nudging her dad to put his mask back on after he forgot to when sitting down from a podium. With a diplomats verve, she tapped his arm, leaned in closely to remind, after which the king murmured his thanks and course-corrected.

It reminded me of what first stoked my interest in her, in 2019: when Leonor was deployed to Barcelona, amid a backdrop of protests and an ongoing simmer for Catalonia independence, where she proceeded to deliver a speech held at the Princess of Girona Foundation awards. The hat-trick? She delivered it in English and in the native Catalan dialect (something she speaks fluently, along with her native Spanish and a good smattering of Mandarin, too). The poise, man.

From a very young age, our parents have told us about Catalonia, Leonor said in her speech deemed successful even by antiroyalists. This land, Catalonia, will always occupy a special place in my heart.

She first tumbled into the world on Monday, the 31st of October 2005 at 1:46 a.m. arriving by C-section at the Clinica Ruber Internacional de Madrid. Felipe and Letizia  still prince and princess  gave their first-born a name that was frequently used in the royal families of Castile, Aragon and Navarre. Meaning light (in both Spanish and Portuguese). The interest in her ever since? Fuelled, surely, by her camera-readiness  she and her sister gave off a fun Olsen twins vibe when they were younger  but also pulled by a kind of old-school debutante allure: her taking up the cello, her promise in sailing, etc., etc.

But this, too: the attention soars as a matter of simple supply and demand. Supply being something of a dwindling thing when it comes now to hereditary royals of a certain age, a point made a lot in the lead-up to the Harry-and-Meghan nuptials, in 2018: that it would be the last big royal wedding of that kind for another 20, 30 years, until the Georges and Charlottes get to dating-and-marrying age. Leonor, meanwhile, is a mere few years away from being a fixture of the young jet-set and covered as such in the Hello! magazine ecosystem. The glam wheels find a way of turning somehow, after all.

The interest, of course, doubled when Leonor became heiress to the throne, when her grandpa abdicated in 2014 (after 39 years), the crown passing to her father. As much as it can be hard to remember, given recent events involving Juan Carlos  a scandal involving elephant-hunting that morphed into a trail of widespread financial improprieties  he was the captain of what was considered a fairly steady monarchy: the man who in the 1970s helped make the transition from despot General Franco to parliamentary democracy and the one who faced down an attempted military coup in 1981. The people loved him.

Until they didnt. With public opinion aflutter and his son, Felipe, even deciding to give up his personal inheritance to make a point, the self-exile of the one-time king (leaving his wife, Queen Sofia, in Spain) has set all of Spain in a gossip maelstrom in recent months. Was he in the Dominican? In the UAE? No one seemed to know.

What is certain is that Felipe  in shrugging off other branches of the family in terms of royal duties  has unveiled a playbook that slims down the monarchy to a core four: himself, Letizia and his two daughters. One that brings to mind the template created in Britain, in 1936, after Edward VIII abdicated  George VI putting himself, his wife and the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret centre stage.

Like Elizabeth then, Leonor now is the future.

And yet the able guiding hand of her mother cannot be overstated: a woman with a degree, who worked as an anchorwoman and ascended from decidedly humble roots (her grandfather was a taxi driver), Letizia puts the glam in common. A never-let-them-see-you-sweat glam. (Like a certain Suits actress, she first arrived on the regal hustings with one marriage already under her belt, the journalist was wed to a high school teacher for a year.)

It is that touch of the people, but also a gift at image-crafting  Letizia has long been considered one of the best-dressed women in the world  that her eldest has inherited, say royal observers. And for Felipe himself, possibly the wisest decision he ever made, choosing her as wife. She is said to ground him.

Likewise, the chorus of many ordinary Spaniards, like a pensioner, who told Reuters at the time of their marriage: The monarchy seems medieval to me, but if there has to be a queen I would prefer it to be someone who doesnt have blue blood.

Bingo: Letizia. Hola: Leonor.

With those finely honed mama-bear instincts in play, the world even got an interesting glimpse into the Letizia/Leonor dynamic, when on a recent official visit to Mallorca the princess was asked by another teenager what she would like to do as an adult. Leonor had barely had a chance to respond when mom interjected to say her daughter will do what she has to do, not what she wants to do.

Case closed. Smile intact. Watch this space.

But, with republicanism in vogue, the question remains an open one: will there even be a monarchy to mount in Spain? And is a girl in a mask enough to save it?
News of the infection of the most powerful man in the world with the most notorious disease in the world drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity that follow much of what does, even from 10,000 miles away.

Trump's announcement, on Twitter, on Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and the deep uncertainty that accompanied it, permeated the global news cycle, upending countless plans and sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands looking to weigh in on social media.

The positive test reading for the leader of the world's largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors' worries, including how the infection might affect the Nov. 3 election between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. stock futures and Asian shares fell in the wake of the news. The future contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials lost 1.9 per cent. Oil prices also slipped. Stock prices in Japan and Australia tumbled.

To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, Rabobank said in a commentary. Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this U.S. election campaign. World leaders and officials were quick to weigh in, and there was both sympathy and something approaching schadenfreude.

Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

U.S.-India ties have prospered under Trump, and India is seen as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia.





Our best wishes go to the president and the first lady, but it demonstrates that no one is immune from Covid-19 and catching it. So it shows that no matter the precautions, we are all susceptible to this, Australian Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, deputy leader of the conservative Nationals party, said on Australian Broadcasting Corp. TV.

A trying time, and it just goes to show that a global pandemic can in fact touch anybody, even the president of the United States. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference, did not mention Trump's reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection, but she said the news reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan. Major media across the globe also played up the announcement, with bulletins crawling across TV screens in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei and Beijing.

China's official Xinhua News Agency flashed the news, and an anchor on state broadcaster CCTV announced it; there was no immediate comment from the government Friday, the second day of an eight-day national holiday. The positive test result for Trump and his wife was the most searched topic in China after news about the holiday on the widely used social media app Weibo a few hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

One user darkly joked that Trump had finally tweeted something positive. The Chinese government has bristled at Trump's attempts to blame China, where the disease emerged, for the pandemic and called for global cooperation in fighting it, a message that has resonated with the public.

Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the Covid-19.

Iranian state television announced Trump had the virus, an anchor breaking the news with an unflattering image of the U.S. president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses. U.S.-Iran ties have suffered since Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

Social media platforms in Asia were ablaze with quick reaction.

Would Trump blame the Chinese? Would he thumb his nose at his critics and enemies by breezing through the quarantine without serious symptoms, tweeting away from the White House? Would he become gravely ill, or worse, and, if he did, what would that mean for the U.S. election, one of the most contentious in recent history?



While the uncertainty seemed palpable on a scroll through various nations' social media, many of the comments seemed to revel in the announcement.

Here comes a chance for him to actually try out his idea of injecting disinfectant into himself and fighting back (against allegations that) it was fake news! tweeted Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese internet entrepreneur, referring to an idea Trump floated earlier this year for treatment.

Keio University economics professor Masaru Kaneko tweeted that populist leaders, like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, "got infected because they tended not to take the seriously. The two other leaders seriously tackled (the virus) after they get infected themselves.
Just like riding a bike: Sarah Megan Thomas wrote, produced and stars in the fact-based "A Call to Spy." Thomas plays Virginia Hall, one of the first female British spies stationed in Nazi-occupied France. (IFC Films)

It couldn't have been comforting for a few civilian women in World War II-era England to learn the spy agency they'd just been recruited to was run by people who were figuring it out as they went. But extraordinary times call for extraordinary people to measure their courage against the scourge of Nazi occupiers in France.

Based on real events and people, "A Call to Spy" is about early female agents in the Special Operations Executive, a hastily organized British spy agency. A key officer operating without a rank, Vera Atkins (Stana Katic), finds two unusual candidates to go undercover in France: Virginia Hall (Sarah Megan Thomas) and Noor Inayat Khan (Radhika Apte). Virginia is an American with a wooden leg. Noor is a Muslim pacifist. The two become key agents in the British espionage effort.

It's notable the film should be "FFF" rated; that is, its writer/producer, director and stars are all female, and it contains many scenes of women concerning themselves with subjects other than men. That makes it a rarity among espionage films. The lead characters are new to the spy world and as integrating women into such field work is new at the time, their female recruiter is finding her way as well. They're trained to kill if necessary, but this isn't an action movie. It's about these specific women taking on crucial real-life missions, risking their lives and learning on the job. It's not glamorous. There are no Aston Martins with machine guns. There are just heavy radio kits and the insecurity of operating in a foreign country among Nazis and French collaborators.

That it's written and produced by a woman (Thomas, who plays Virginia) and directed by one (Lydia Dean Pilcher, a two-time Emmy-winning producer) means the cinematic approach at least has the opportunity to differ from the countless specimens of these films we've all seen  though budgetary limitations likely had something to do with the filmmaking choices as well.

Story continues

I spy with my little eye: Radhika Apte plays Noor Inayat Khan, one of the first female British spies to operate in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, in "A Call to Spy." (IFC Films)

The film suffers, perhaps, from straddling too many worlds at once, and there's a notable lack of urgency at times. We bounce among the three women's stories, spending time (for instance) with Vera's struggle for U.K. citizenship while the others' lives are on the line. We never tangibly sink into the experience of any of the women. We don't feel the building tension of the closing Gestapo net, the seeming impossibility of a snowy mountain passage or the simple, gritty fear of walking down the street in Paris, knowing every German soldier you pass is looking for you.

The emphasis is more on the courage than the suspense, as when the agency head (Linus Roache) tells Virginia, "The Gestapo won't go easy on you because you're a woman," and she retorts, "I don't plan to go easy on them because they're men."

It's refreshing to come at the spy genre from a different angle and rewarding to be introduced to these extraordinary women. Just don't expect a pulse-pounder or even a particularly atmospheric, experiential film.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
An Abuja Area Court in Karmo on Friday dismissed the case of certificate forgery filed against Ahmed Ndakene, representing Idu/Moro/Pategi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

Mr Ndakene was brought before the court to answer a criminal complaint on the alleged criminal breach of section 88(1), 89(3) and 109c of the Administrative Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.

The complainant, Mahmud Babako, a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the election that Mr Ndakene emerged winner, under the All Progressive Congress, alleged that Mr Ndakene forged his certificates.

Mr Babako also alleged that the said forged document was presented to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the form he used to contest for the election.

Delivering judgment, Justice Ismail Jibril dismissed the suit.

Mr Jibril held that the decision of the court was based on the police report earlier read by the court clerk.

The judge in addition discharged the defendant and ordered that a copy of the police report be made available to the counsel representing both parties.

The prosecution argued that the police was tasked by law to find out the authenticity of the credentials presented and used by Ndakene for the election, whether they were forged or not.

In a report, the police also said they wrote to INEC, West African Examination Council (WAEC) and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

The report concluded that WAEC issued a certificate after Mr Ndakene claimed he lost his original statement of result in August 21, 2012 and was issued attestation of result with number: 00002218 by WAEC.

The Ministry of Education, Minna, confirmed that Mr Ndakenes name was on the list of students that sat for November/December 1990 examination, according to the report.

The police report equally claimed that the school principal of Government Science College, Kagara, Niger, between 2010 and 2016, Ahmed Paiko, who was recorded on audio and camera, confirmed that he was the one that issued and signed the statement of result in 2013.

The report stated that the investigation failed to prove a prima facie case of forgery and giving false evidence on oath against the suspect.

In conclusion the report said that it was eventually clear that Mr Ndakenes certificate and results were genuine as contained in the documents he submitted at INEC to contest for a seat in the House of Representatives.
TICKERS: FRI

Source: Streetwise Reports (10/1/20)

Freeport Resources' new copper-gold project in Papua New Guinea already has a 5.7 million ounce gold equivalent resource estimate.



Papua New Guinea, located along the Pacific Rim of Fire, features a number of large gold-copper mines, including the massive Ok Tedi copper, gold and silver mine and the Porgera gold mine. Across the border, on the Indonesian side of the island, sits Freeport McMoRan's colossal Grasberg gold-copper mine, the largest gold mine and second largest copper mine in the world.

Located in the PNG Orogenic Belt, not far from the Indonesian border and only 25 km from Ok Tedi, lies the Star Mountains copper-gold project. Freeport Resources Inc. (FRI:TSX.V) recently received TSX approval to close its acquisition of Quidum Resources and, once this transaction is closed, Freeport will control the Star Mountains project through its wholly owned subsidiary, Highlands Pacific Resources Ltd. The transaction is subject to approval from the Mineral Resources Authority in Papua New Guinea, which the company expects to receive in the coming weeks.

"It's a classic copper-gold porphyry, very large, as are many deposits in Papua New Guinea," representatives of Freeport Resources told Streetwise Reports. The property totals 501 square kilometers in four leases.

The project has seen more than US$60 million in exploration work since its discovery in 1971, with half of that conducted in the past half-dozen or so years.

"Highland Pacific did a partial farm-out joint venture with Anglo American Plc, which came in and spent something like $35 or $40 million of the $60 million. But then Anglo departed Papua New Guinea due to a change in corporate priorities at the time," Freeport Resources noted. "Extensive drilling, field work, geophysics, and aeromagnetic and radiometric surveys have provided deep knowledge of the regional geological setting."

To date, 51 holes have been drilled on the property, for a total of 21,415 meters, and of the seven prospects tested, mineralization was identified at five.

A maiden resource estimate released in 2018, using a 0.3% copper cut-off grade, calculated an Inferred resource of 2.9 million ounces of contained gold and 840,000 tonnes of contained copper, for roughly 5.7 million ounces of gold equivalent.

Freeport's management likes the fact that the project is roughly equal copper and gold, giving it upside exposure to both metals.

The property comes equipped with an exploration camp, airstrip, helicopter pad and core shed.

To expedite further project work, the company will engage the existing Highlands Pacific technical and administrative team that has been with the project from day one, allowing them to maintain project continuity and momentum. As part of the same strategy, the company will keep the same base camp and onsite staff that have been associated with this project in Papua New Guinea for the last 15 years.

The company notes that it plans to conduct extension drilling on the property on known targets to further expand its already large gold and copper resource base. In parallel to ongoing exploration, the company believes that "the project's substantial copper-gold resource base will attract the attention of large mining companies and intends to pursue discussions about a possible strategic joint venture or sale."

In addition to Star Mountains, Freeport holds several properties in Canada, including the Red Rose mine, a past-producing tungsten-gold-silver-copper project in the prolific Rocher Deboule mining camp; the Spanish Mountain Gold property; the Q Claims, a major fluorite deposit; and the Hutton Garnet Sands project in northern Labrador that consists of beach sand deposits.

Once the Star Mountains transaction has closed, Freeport will have approximately 69 million shares outstanding and 117 million outstanding on a fully diluted basis.

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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. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Freeport Resources, a company mentioned in this article.
Mumbai, Oct 2 : The coming-of-age drama Wake Up Sid released on this day in 2009 and actor Namit Das, who made a mark as a budding actor back then in the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer, says he never imagined it would become a cult film.

The film marked the directorial debut of Ayan Mukerji, and it revolves around Siddharth (Ranbir), a spoilt son and a disinterested college student, who learns what sense of responsibility is the hard way from Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma), an aspiring writer from Kolkata. Namit played the role of Rishi, Sid's college friend.

"It is awesome to know that the film I had the opportunity to be a part of has withstood the test of time. When I was approached for it, I could not have imagined it turning into a cult film. Although yes, I knew it was a special and unique film and I thought I could make something out of my character Rishi. It was really Ayan's enthusiasm and positivity that eally drew me to the project," said Namit.

"'Wake Up Sid' was my first out-and-out commercial project. When I look back at some of the memories of the first reading, I recall visiting Ayan's house. I was going to be introduced to Ranbir Kapoor. He had so much charm that I just became a fan. That's probably the only time I have been starstruck," he added.

Looking ahead, Namit has "Aafat-E-Ishq" in his kitty, and is awaiting the streaming of Mira Nair's "A Suitable Boy".
In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late.

 Martin Luther King Jr.

We are watching in slow motion possibly one of the most horrendous and preventable humanitarian disasters in our nations history. With schools closed, hundreds of thousands  if not millions  of children are being left to fend for themselves academically, emotionally and developmentally and they may never catch up. The cost in terms of trauma and lost potential is incalculable. We, as a state and as a country, will pay for this eventually, just as these children are paying now and may for generations to come. We have to do more and we have to do it immediately.

With our extreme rates of poverty, New Mexico public schools have long provided so much more than an education. They provide two to three meals a day, access to health care, daily child welfare checks  a fifth of all reports of possible child abuse or neglect come from teachers or school officials, safety and hope. The idea that these children will eventually be OK without all that schools offer is magical and dangerous thinking.

With unemployment at 12% in July 2020, and workers experiencing reduced hours and job insecurity, many families in New Mexico are unable to afford gas, food, rent, diapers, school supplies or medicine. The New Mexico Legislative Finance Committees June 10 report stated that just the three months of distance learning in the spring semester led to up to a year of learning loss and if reopening is delayed until January 2021, this could mean an additional 14 months of learning loss. At-risk students were viewed as having an even more severe learning loss from school closures. The American Academy of Pediatrics acknowledges that children of color from low-income families may bear the brunt of this heartbreaking situation.

We need a heroic and calculated state and local response to address this humanitarian disaster. We must create a detailed, long- range and comprehensive strategy to prevent the worst-case scenario of massive spikes in school dropouts, suicides, food insecurity and child abuse and neglect from coming to pass.

We must stop discussing what cant be done and why and start focusing on what can be done and how. The answer to the legitimate concern of keeping children and educators safe from the virus must be more creative and strategic than shutting off access to all that schools offer children and calling it a day. The cost of doing that is far too high.

There are many questions that we are morally obligated to ask to get to a plan that keeps people safe from the virus while addressing the dark reality that many children will be permanently harmed unless we act now.

Who are the most at-risk children and what can be done for them today? While transmission rates are low, are districts and educators willing to revisit shutdowns and consider solutions such as outdoor learning? If schools must be shut down, how are we ensuring that at-risk children have everything they need to participate? What funding streams can the state and districts cobble together to fund the LFCs $26.2 million projected cost of ensuring that every student has a device and internet access? Can the school-based health centers open and leverage existing technology to offer telehealth? Can the Department of Higher Education work with institutions to create a volunteer network of tutors to support students via phone or Zoom? Can we leverage bus contracts to deliver food and pick up homework? Can each district and the state develop school and community-specific reopening plans based on the needs of that student population and evidence-informed best practices? How will we know if we are succeeding and what will we do if we arent?

The state must lead, and the rest of us must be open to bringing our best ideas and a willingness to sacrifice. This is the moment to act if we do not want to be too late.
President Donald Trump was flown to Walter Reed military hospital where he will spend a few days after contracting COVID-19, the White House said Friday, as the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

Earlier in the day, the presidents physician said in a memo that Trump received a dose of an experimental antibody combination that is in clinical trials. Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley said Trump remains fatigued but in good spirits.

Here is how the news unfolded on Friday, Oct. 2 (all times CDT):

9:35 p.m.: Kellyanne Conway tests positive for coronavirus

President Donald Trumps former adviser Kellyanne Conway said late Friday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus, days after attending a White House event with several others who have since come down with COVID-19.

Conway tweeted Friday that she has a light cough and is feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians, she added.

Conway attended the Rose Garden announcement Saturday where President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Among the attendees, Republican Sens. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, the president of the University of Notre Dame, as well as Trump himself tested positive Friday for the coronavirus.

Associated Press

Attorney General William Barr speaks with Kellyanne Conway after President Donald Trump announced Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court, in the Rose Garden at the White House, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)

9:15 p.m.: An abundance of risk, not caution: Retracing Trumps steps in the days leading up to his positive COVID-19 diagnosis

No one knows how, when or from whom Trump became infected. Nor is it established who, if anyone, has contracted the disease from him. But to retrace some of his steps over the last week is to see risk at multiple turns and an abundance of opportunity for infection.

This was the case day after day and right up until a few hours before his positive diagnosis, as he took a contingent to New Jersey for a fund-raiser with the White House knowing hed been close to someone sick with COVID-19.

The result is that one of the most protected people on the planet has caught a disease that has killed more than 1 million people worldwide, more than 200,000 of them in the United States.

Heres a look at the days leading up to it. Calvin Woodward and Jill Colvin, Associated Press

7:40 p.m.: GOP Sen. Tillis of North Carolina tests positive

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Tillis said in a statement Friday night that his rapid antigen test showed that he is infected. He issued the statement as President Donald Trump was being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the same illness.

Tillis, who is up for reelection in November, is the latest person to be diagnosed with the infection after attending the Supreme Court nomination ceremony in the White House Rose Garden for Amy Coney Barrett. Tillis was wearing a mask at the ceremony.

He is the second member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to test positive. Just a few hours earlier, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah announced that he, too, is infected.

Tillis is routinely seen on Capitol Hill wearing a mask. He says he has no symptoms but will be isolating.

Associated Press

7:35 p.m.: Trumps age and health woes put him at greater risk after COVID-19 infection. Heres what experts say about his outlook.

President Donald Trump has several strikes against him  age, obesity, elevated cholesterol and being male  that could put him at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus infection he disclosed early Friday.

Trumps doctor said later in the day that the president felt fatigued and that he had been given an experimental treatment aimed at staving off a severe case of COVID-19. Friday evening he was flown to a military hospital where he will spend a few days. Being there would allow for closer monitoring, such as if doctors decide theyd like scans of his lungs, and a quicker reaction time if he takes a turn for the worse.

The odds are far and away that hell have a mild illness as most people with the virus do, said Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic who has no role in Trumps care.

But COVID-19 is very unpredictable, he stressed.

We have young people who die. We have nursing home patients, a lot of them, who actually do quite well, Poland said.

7:15 p.m.: Graham says senators can participate virtually in upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham says senators can participate virtually in upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings after President Donald Trump and other lawmakers tested positive for the coronavirus.

Graham tweeted Friday evening that Any Senator who wants to participate virtually will be allowed to do so.

Grahams message came out as Trump traveled to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment at the advice of his doctors. His doctors say he is experiencing mild symptoms.

Graham said he had been tested for COVID-19 following his interaction with fellow Judiciary Committee member Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who has tested positive.

Graham said his test for the coronavirus was negative. He said Lee is in good spirits and on the mend and expects to be back to work with the committee by Oct. 12, set as the date for the beginning of the confirmation process.

Associated Press

6:20 p.m.: What we know  and what we dont  about Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment

There are many unanswered questions surrounding President Donald Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said he only had mild symptoms, and his doctor said Trump was fatigued. But the president was being flown to Walter Reed Medical Center, where he was expected to stay a few days.

6:15 p.m.: How does a transfer of power work under the 25th Amendment?

President Donald Trump announced early Friday on Twitter that he has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and he will spend several days at Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment and evaluation.

The 25th Amendment provides some answers about how presidential power could be transferred, either temporarily or more permanently. Trump has not invoked the amendment in this case. In fact, the White House said he will continue to work from an office set up for him at the hospital.

Here are some questions and answers about the amendment. Jessica Gresko, Associated Press

5:40 p.m.: Trump arrives at Walter Reed, releases video

President Donald Trump has arrived at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and released a video saying that he thinks hes doing very well.

Marine One landed near the military hospital on Friday evening, and Trump was driven to the large complex. White House officials say that the visit is precautionary and that Trump will work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

When he walked out of the White House, he was wearing a mask and gave a thumbs-up to reporters. He also released a video on Twitter, saying, I think Im doing very well, but were going to make sure that things work out.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day.

Shortly before he departed for the hospital, his personal physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a memo issued by the White House that he had received an experimental antibody cocktail.

5:20 p.m.: Trump walks to Marine One, gives thumbs up

President Donald Trump has appeared in public for the first time since his COVID-19 diagnosis, giving a thumbs up before he boarded Marine One for a military hospital.

Trump walked out of the White House to the helicopter Friday evening on his way to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The White House says Trump will spend a few days at a military hospital on the advice of his physicians after contracting COVID-19.

The White House says that the visit is precautionary and that Trump will work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

Earlier Friday the White House said Trump remains fatigued and had been injected with an experimental antibody drug combination for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

5:05 p.m.: Biden campaign taking down attack ads, AP sources say

Joe Bidens campaign is taking down its attack ads in the wake of President Donald Trumps coronavirus infection.

Thats according to a Biden campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity on Friday to discuss internal planning.

The Democrats campaign is removing all its negative ads, although in some cases, it may take days for ads already in circulation to stop running. The official says Biden made the decision before news surfaced that Trump was being transferred to a military hospital for a few days of treatment.

At least so far, Trumps campaign has not begun removing any of its attack ads against Biden.

The presidential election is just over one month away.

Steve Peoples, Associated Press

4:25 p.m.: Trump going to hospital on advice of doctors

The White House says President Donald Trump will spend a few days at a military hospital on the advice of his physicians after contracting COVID-19.

Trump is to depart the White House by helicopter early Friday evening for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The White House says that the visit is precautionary and that Trump will work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

Earlier Friday the White House said Trump remains fatigued and had been injected with an experimental antibody drug combination for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

Associated Press

4 p.m.: Biden says Trump diagnosis demonstrates virus threat

Democrat Joe Biden says President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus is a bracing reminder of the seriousness of the virus. He also says hes received two tests, and both came back negative.

Speaking at an event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday, Biden said he received a test in Delaware and one from the former White House doctor who came up to Delaware to administer the test, and everythings clear.

The president said early Friday that he and his wife, Melania Trump, had tested positive for coronavirus. Biden was tested after spending nearly 90 minutes onstage with the president during their debate earlier this week.

Biden said he wished the president and the first lady a full recovery and that this is not a matter of politics. Biden said it was a reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously. It is not going away automatically.

Associated Press

3:40 p.m.: Trump got experimental antibody cocktail, doctor says

President Donald Trumps doctor says Trump is being treated with an experimental drug aimed at supplying antibodies to help fight his coronavirus infection.

Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs. They attach to a virus and help it be eliminated. But it can take weeks for them to form. The drugs are purified versions of ones that seemed to work best in lab and animal tests.

Trump is receiving a two-antibody combo drug thats currently in late-stage studies from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. The company previously developed a successful treatment for Ebola using a similar approach.

Its given as a one-time treatment through an IV.

Trumps physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said the drug was being given as a precautionary measure, and that Trump also was taking zinc, vitamin D, an antacid called famotidine, melatonin and aspirin. None of those have been proven to be effective against COVID-19.

Trump apparently is not receiving hydroxychloroquine, a drug he widely promoted that has been shown in many studies to be ineffective for preventing or treating COVID-19.

Associated Press

3:15 p.m.: Officials say Barrett had virus over the summer

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett and her husband had coronavirus earlier this year and recovered, according to two administration officials.

The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Barrett was nominated to the high court last week after the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Trump held a press conference outside where few people wore masks. Barrett and her family were not wearing them.

Trump announced Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the virus, after aide Hope Hicks was diagnosed.

Barrett has also been meeting with senators ahead of her confirmation hearing, including Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who also announced Friday that he had tested positive for the virus.

The science is unclear on whether someone who has the virus can get it again.

More than 205,000 Americans have died from COVID-19.

Colleen Long and Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press

3:10 p.m.: Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis sends final stage of election into further chaos  and no one knows exactly what comes next

An election year already defined by a cascade of national crises descended further into chaos Friday, with President Donald Trump declaring that hes tested positive for the coronavirus after consistently playing down the threat.

Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who spent 90 minutes on stage with Trump in their Tuesday debate, tested negative and moved forward with plans to attend a campaign event in Michigan Friday afternoon.

No one knows exactly what comes next.

Much depends on the extent of Trumps symptoms, but, at the least, the development focuses the campaign right where Biden has put his emphasis for months  and where Republicans dont want it: on Trumps uneven response to a pandemic that has killed more than 205,000 people in the U.S. And for the short term, its grounded Trump in a quarantine, denying him the large public rallies that fuel his campaign just a month before the election.

More broadly, the stunning development injected even greater uncertainty into an election already plagued by crises that have exploded under Trumps watch: the pandemic, devastating economic fallout and sweeping civil unrest. With millions of Americans already voting, the country on Friday entered uncharted territory that threatened to rattle global markets and political debates around the world.

Read more here. Bill Barrow and Steve Peoples, Associated Press

2:45 p.m.: Rep. Ilhan Omar blasts Trump for actively spreading virus

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a frequent target of President Donald Trumps, is blasting him for what she calls actively spreading a deadly virus.

Omar said earlier this year that her father died of the virus, and she said in a statement Friday that she doesnt wish it on anyone.

Omar, a Democrat, says the nation has been waiting for months to hear Trump say America will get through this together. And she says hes saying that now because its about him.

Trump announced earlier Friday that he and the first lady had tested positive for the coronavirus.

She criticized Trump for holding a rally and fundraiser this week in Minnesota without wearing a mask, saying he exposed hundreds of people in a state where cases are already rising.

Associated Press

2:30 p.m.: Sen. Dick Durbin says Trump should sympathize with those who have preexisting conditions

Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin had a message for President Donald Trump on Friday: Get well soon  and maintain the Affordable Care Act.

Before blasting Trumps swift nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court as a crack at dismantling the landmark health care plan, the second-ranking Democratic senator said the health of the president and the first lady  who both announced early Friday morning that they tested positive for the coronavirus  is paramount.

We wish them a complete and speedy recovery, Durbin said at a news conference at Mount Sinai Hospital on Chicagos West Side. Politics aside, this is a moment for us to come together and as we should with every person facing this challenge and wish them the very best care and the very best results as quickly as possible.

Durbin, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he also hopes Trump takes this time to sympathize with the millions of Americans with preexisting conditions who could lose health care should the Supreme Court strike down the ACA, also known as Obamacare. That starts with ensuring Senate Republicans do not install Barrett on the highest court before it hears oral arguments on the laws constitutionality on Nov. 10, he said.

Having said that, we now have to advise the president after he is fully recovered that he is a person with a preexisting condition, Durbin said. He has tested positive for COVID-19. He joins at least 6 million Americans in the same category. It wont make a big difference probably in his life or the life of the first lady moving forward, but it can make a big difference if were not careful.

Read more here. Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune

2:15 p.m.: 11 positive virus cases related to debate setup

Cleveland officials say theyre aware of 11 positive coronavirus cases related to the setup and planning for Tuesdays presidential debate.

The city said in a statement Friday that its working with state and federal officials and is involved with interviewing those who tested positive.

Earlier Friday, President Donald Trump announced that he and the first lady had tested positive for COVID-19. Both traveled to Cleveland on Tuesday for the first presidential debate of the campaign. Its unclear where they contracted the virus.

Cleveland officials say most of the cases stemming from the pre-debate planning and setup involved people from out of state. They say health officials are now looking into their travels.

Associated Press

1:40 p.m.: White House not making changes to current virus protocol

The White House does not appear to be making any changes to current virus protocol, even after President Donald Trump and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19.

A senior White House official said Friday that masks will still not be mandatory at the White House, describing facial coverings as a personal choice, despite overwhelming evidence that they help to stop the spread.

And the White House is not planning to move to a different, more reliable testing system after the one it uses failed to detect that adviser Hope Hicks had the virus the day she began experiencing symptoms.

The president, his White House and his campaign have generally taken a lax approach to the pandemic, continuing to hold large events and failing to abide by social distancing recommendations.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House thinking, defended the current system.

Jill Colvin, Associated Press

1:35 p.m.: Commission says Pence-Harris debate still on

The vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris next week will go on as scheduled after President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday.

An official with the Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed that no changes are anticipated to the Wednesday night debate in Salt Lake City. Both Pence and Harris underwent tests for the coronavirus on Friday and tested negative.

Pences physician said in a memo that the vice president was not considered a close contact of anyone infected with COVID-19 and was not required to quarantine.

Vice President Mike Pence remains in good health and is free to go about his normal activities, said Navy Lt. Commander Dr. Jesse Schonau in a statement.

1:20 p.m.: Trump wont campaign in person for now

President Donald Trumps campaign manager says all campaign events involving the president and his family will either be turned into virtual events or postponed until further notice.

Bill Stepien, who heads Trumps reelection, says Vice President Mike Pence, who has tested negative for COVID-19, plans to continue to his campaign schedule.

The announcement comes after Trump tweeted earlier Friday that he and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus.

It is not clear when the president was exposed. One of the presidents top advisers, Hope Hicks, tested positive on Thursday for the virus. Two others  Utah Sen. Mike Lee and University of Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins  who attended Trumps Rose Garden ceremony on Saturday to announce the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court  have also tested positive for the virus.

Associated Press

12:22 p.m.: Notre Dame president tests positive for COVID-19 after attending White House Rose Garden ceremony

The University of Notre Dames president has tested positive for COVID-19, a school spokesman confirmed Friday morning, less than a week after he attended Amy Coney Barretts Supreme Court nomination ceremony at the White House without wearing a mask.

The Rev. John Jenkins has mild symptoms and contracted the illness from a colleague he was in regular contact with at Notre Dame, according to university spokesman Paul Browne.

Jenkins, whos led the Catholic university since 2005, has drawn scrutiny in recent weeks for appearing not always to follow COVID-19 safety precautions.

In August, Jenkins sent an apology to students after he was photographed taking a group picture with students standing around him, and within 6 feet, when the school reopened for in-person classes. The photo, which was shared widely on social media, appeared to show everyone wearing masks.

More recently, Jenkins came under fire for not wearing a mask when he attended the Rose Garden ceremony for Coney Barretts nomination Saturday. Photos from the event also show Jenkins in close proximity to other guests and shaking hand with attendees.

Jenkins also apologized to students and faculty for that in a message Monday. He said he had a rapid COVID-19 tested before the event and that it came back negative.

Read more here. Elyssa Cherney, Chicago Tribune

11:30 a.m.: Biden tweets he is negative for COVID-19, hits campaign trail

Former Vice President Joe Biden announced Friday that he and his wife Jill have tested negative for COVID-19 after sharing a debate stage with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, who has announced a positive test and some symptoms of illness.

"Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID, " Biden tweeted. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands."

Dr. Kevin OConnor released the negative results in a statement issued by the Biden campaign. Biden was on the debate stage with Trump for more than 90 minutes earlier in the week.

Biden is moving forward with plans to travel to Michigan on Friday after he and his wife, Jill, tested negative for the coronavirus.

The Democratic presidential nominee had planned on traveling to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to talk about the economy on Friday morning. His trip was delayed by several hours as he awaited the test results.

Biden spent much of the spring and early summer close to his Wilmington, Delaware, home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But hes stepped up his travel in the final stretch of the campaign, while still taking heed of public health guidelines.

He regularly wears a mask in public, something that Trump taunted Biden for during this weeks debate. And he mostly appears in front of small, socially distanced crowds.

Chicago Tribune staff and the Associated Press

10:43 a.m.: Leader McConnell tweets that Supreme Court nomination process is still on as Sen. Mike Lee announces positive result

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he spoke with the president on Friday after Trumps postive test for COVID-19. The Kentucky Republican said the president, who the White House says is working from his private residence, was in good spirits and indicated the confirmation process for Judge Amy Coney Barrett was still a go.

Hes in good spirits and we talked business  especially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett, McConnell tweeted. Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve.

Meanwhile, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a key member of the Judiciary Committee, announced he has tested positive for COVID-19, just a few days after he met in-person and indoors with Judge Barrett. The two are pictured on social media not wearing masks, but its not clear when Lee believes he was infected.

Judge Barrett had a negative test on Friday morning, a White House spokesman said.

She is following CDC guidance and best practices, including social distancing, wearing face coverings, and frequently washes hands."

Also Friday morning, The Washington Post, citing sources, reported Barrett had contracted the novel coronavirus earlier this year. Associated Press and Chicago Tribune staff

10:38 a.m.: Biden tested after proximity to Trump at Tuesdays debate

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has been tested for the coronavirus in the wake of President Donald Trumps infection and is awaiting results.

Thats according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.

Biden was on the debate stage with Trump for more than 90 minutes earlier in the week.

Its unclear if Biden will appear at his scheduled campaign events later in the day. The Democrats campaign is expected to announce the results of Bidens test and his travel plans later Friday.

Associated Press

10:28 a.m.: Stocks dip  but dont dive  on news of infected president

Stocks are pulling lower Friday, as Wall Streets first reaction to President Donald Trumps testing positive for the coronavirus was to retrench.

The S&P 500 was down 0.6% in morning trading, and a measure of fear among investors was on the rise. But the moves werent close to as chaotic as earlier this year, when markets were first selling off on coronavirus fears. Stocks were also paring their earlier losses, with the S&P 500 more than halving its 1.7% drop from shortly after trading began.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 116 points, or 0.4%, at 27,700, as of 10:07 a.m. Eastern time, after earlier being down 433 points. The Nasdaq composite was 0.9% lower.

Read more here. Associated Press

10:20 a.m.: First lady tweets shes overall feeling good

First lady Melania Trump tweeted Friday morning that she, like her husband the president, was experiencing mild symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Thank you for the love you are sending our way. I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good. I am looking forward to a speedy recovery, she wrote.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said President Trump was also experiencing mild symptoms, but continues to work from the White House residence as he quarantines. The Trumps youngest child, Barron, 14, has tested negative for the virus. Associated Press

9:33 a.m.: Trump tests positive just before planned stops in Wisconsin, the latest coronavirus hot spot

President Donald Trumps testing positive for COVID-19 came on the eve of two planned rallies in battleground Wisconsin, a state where coronavirus cases are surging and threatening to overwhelm hospitals.

Wisconsin currently ranks third nationwide in new COVID-19 cases per capita and in the past week has broken daily records for new cases and deaths. The states chief medical officer on Tuesday said Wisconsin was in crisis and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, along with local officials where Trump planned to rally, had urged him to reconsider.

Trumps campaign had not yet officially canceled the Saturday rallies scheduled for Green Bay and Janesville, but the president said Thursday night that he was quarantined at the White House.

His rallies typically attract thousands of people, most of whom dont wear masks, despite guidance from state and federal health officials that is an effective way to slow the spread of the virus.

Cases in Wisconsin have surged after the state Supreme Court struck down the governors safer at home order in May. A conservative law firm is now asking a judge to end the states mask mandate. Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan pointed to Trumps diagnosis in a call for conservatives to drop their lawsuit.

Associated Press

9:31 a.m.: Ronna McDaniel, leader of the Republican Party, tests positive

A Republican National Committee official confirmed Friday that Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel learned she had tested positive Wednesday afternoon. She has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday and did not attend the debate.

Associated Press

9:23 a.m.: Democratic leaders send prayers, Pelosi says she hopes positive test is learning experience

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says shes praying for the president and hopes his testing positive for COVID-19 might be a learning experience about the virus.

Let us all pray for the presidents health, Pelosi said on MSNBC. She added, This is tragic, It is very sad.

The speaker said she was tested out of caution and is awaiting results. But said warned against brazen behavior that allowed something like this to happen

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is wishing President Trump and first lady Melania Trump a full and speedy recovery after they contracted the COVID-19 virus.

Harris tweeted Friday that she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, are keeping them and the entire Trump family in our thoughts.

Harris is scheduled to campaign in Las Vegas on Friday. It was not immediately clear whether those plans would change.

Associated Press

7:50 a.m.: Biden sends well wishes to Trump and family

Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden tweeted well wishes for President Trump and first lady Melania on Friday morning, saying he wished the couple a speedy recovery and said he and his wife, Jill, would pray for the president.

Trumps handling of the pandemic has already been a major flashpoint in his race against Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware because of the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday nights debate.

I dont wear masks like him, Trump said of Biden. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

It was not immediately clear whether the former vice president had been tested since appearing at Tuesdays presidential debate with Trump or whether he was taking any additional safety protocols. Trump and Biden did not shake hands during the debate but stood without masks about 10 feet apart for the 90-minute event.

Associated Press and Chicago Tribune staff

7:15 a.m.: Vice President Mike Pence announces hes negative for COVID-19

Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus on Friday morning and remains in good health, his spokesman said.

As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day. This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19, he tweeted. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery. Associated Press and Chicago Tribune staff

6:45 a.m.: Putin offers sincere support to Trump as world leaders offer statements of support (and some schadenfreude)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is extending wishes of a speedy recovery to U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, and expressing sincere support in this difficult moment, according to a statement released by the Kremlin on Friday.

The Kremlin says Putin sent Trump a telegram saying, I hope that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus.

The Russian president joined a list of world leaders expressing sympathy and concern and some thinly-veiled schadenfreude, in light of Trumps repeated downplaying of the pandemic and shoot-from-the-hip approach to the science surrounding it.

For example, the Australian satirical news site Betoota Advocate posted a story with this headline: Trump Family Records More Cases Of Community Transmission Than Entire State Of Queensland. Read more here.

Associated Press and Chicago Tribune staff

4 a.m.: Pompeo says he has tested negative for COVID-19

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he and his wife have tested negative for the coronavirus after they were examined on their airplane 20 minutes prior to landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on Friday.

He said it was the fourth time in two weeks he has been tested.

President Donald Trump announced on Twitter early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Pompeo says the last time he was with Trump was on Sept. 15, at the White House, for the signing of normalization agreements among Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The top U.S. diplomat says he is reconsidering upcoming travel to Florida on Saturday and Asia starting Sunday as a precaution.

He says, We are praying for the president and the First Lady and we hope they have a speedy recovery.

Associated Press

3:40 a.m.: On Monday, Trump updated the nation on coronavirus strategy. By Friday, he tested positive.

On Monday, President Donald Trump updated the nation on the administrations coronavirus testing strategy and announced a plan to distribute 150 million rapid tests. By early Friday, he had the virus himself.

On the days in between, Trump interacted with scores of staff, donors and supporters. Even the woman he has nominated to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, has been at the White House this week.

The president held preparation sessions with staff members for his debate Tuesday night with former Vice President Joe Biden, in the tight quarters of the West Wing, where officials who are tested regularly have relied on negative results as an excuse to forgo masks and other safety precautions.

He attended a closed-door fundraiser at a private home of a wealthy supporter in Minneapolis, and he appeared before thousands of people at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, where most of the crowd did not wear masks. He also shared a stage with Biden.

It is not yet clear when and how Trump contracted the virus. The president and the first lady, Melania Trump, said they had both tested positive hours after one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, had also tested positive. Hicks received the diagnosis after she began experiencing symptoms Wednesday while attending the presidents rally in Minnesota. Trump kept his appearance there to about 45 minutes, roughly half the length of one of his typical rally speeches.

Early Friday, it was still unclear how many other aides who had come into close contact with Trump had tested positive, but the White House said its medical unit was conducting contact tracing. Top advisers to the president described themselves as in a state of shock and said they expected a number of additional cases among people in Trumps orbit. White House officials had hoped to keep the news about Hicks from becoming public, to no avail.

Read more here. Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman, The New York Times

3:10 a.m.: How the world reacted to news of Trumps COVID-19 infection

News of the infection of the most powerful man in the world with the most notorious disease in the world drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity that follow much of what Donald Trump does, even from 10,000 miles away.

Trumps announcement, on Twitter, on Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and the deep uncertainty that accompanied it, permeated the global news cycle, upending countless plans and sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands looking to weigh in on social media.

The positive test reading for the leader of the worlds largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors' worries, including how the infection might affect the Nov. 3 election between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. stock futures and Asian shares fell in the wake of the news. The future contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials lost 1.9%. Oil prices also slipped. Stock prices in Japan and Australia tumbled.

Read more here. Foster Klug, Associated Press

2:35 a.m.: Timeline of Trumps activities in week coronavirus hit home

With just a month to go until the election, President Donald Trump had a busy schedule during the week the coronavirus hit home with him. Trump tweeted early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.

2 a.m.: Shares, oil prices sink after Trump tests positive for COVID-19

U.S. stock futures and Asian shares fell Friday after President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The future contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials briefly lost more than 2% but were down 1.4% as of 0630 GMT. Oil prices tumbled more than 3%.

Trump tweeted news of his test results just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks had come down with the virus after traveling with the president several times this week.

The positive test reading for the leader of the worlds largest economy heaps uncertainty onto a growing pile of unknowns investors are grappling with, first among them how it might affect the Nov. 3 election and American policies on trade, tariffs and many other issues beyond then.

To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, Rabobank said in a commentary. Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this US election campaign.

Read more here. Elaine Kurtenbach, Associated Press

1:55 a.m.: Trump joins growing list of world leaders infected with COVID-19

President Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, joining a small group of world leaders who have been infected. Trump is 74, putting him at higher risk of serious complications.

Heres a look at other leaders who have been infected. Cara Anna, Associated Press

1:20 a.m.: Pence send prayers to Trumps; no word on whether VP had been tested

Vice President Mike Pence says he and his wife, Karen, are sending their love and prayers to President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump after the Trumps announced early Friday that they had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Pence says on Twitter, We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery.

Trumps positive test came just hours after he confirmed late Thursday that senior aide Hope Hicks had come down with the virus.

The White House had no immediate comment on whether Pence had been tested after the Trumps' and Hicks' diagnoses.

Associated Press

12:40 a.m.: White House doctor says Trump will continue carrying out his duties without disruption

President Donald Trumps White House doctor has issued a statement saying the president will continue carrying out his duties without disruption after contracting the coronavirus.

Dr. Sean Conley, the physician to the president, says the president and first lady Melania Trump are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence. T

Trump has canceled plans to attend a fundraiser and to fly to Florida for a rally on Friday, but he did keep on his schedule a previously planned midday telephone call on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors.
A draft of the journal-access plan is to be released in the coming weeks, with Cabinet approval expected by the end of the year.

In a move to make international research more accessible to researchers in India, the government is pushing for a 'one nation, one subscription' access plan to scholarly journals. Currently, research papers are hosted by academic publishers (Elsevier, Oxford University Press, Wiley, etc.), who offer subscriptions to a selection of journals in various research disciplines for an annual fee. A nationwide subscription would give scholars and researchers in the country access to a variety of journals under a single, national subscription plan. The Indian government is reportedly negotiating with scientific publishers around the world to set up the journal-access plan, with researchers consulting on the process, as per a report in Nature. The proposal comes under the new science, technology and innovation policy, under development by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and the Department of Science and Technology.

In the weeks to come, a draft of the journal-access plan will be released, and an approval from the Cabinet could be expected by the end of the year, the report added. If successful, India would be the largest country to strike a deal that would give access to articles otherwise behind a paywall, to all citizens, researchers said.

The national journal access plan is a subscription service at discounted rates, and not the same as the open access (OA) movement, which is relatively new. Conceived some 25 years ago around the time of the internet, OA has since become a global movement to promote the free and rapid sharing of scientific information among researchers. It ensures greater (digital) dissemination and findability of research results, and as a result, a larger potential impact on both science and society. But, open access has also attracted the interest of members from the broader public. In Germany among other countries, research institutions have come together to purchase subscriptions that allow its academia and citizens to access research from around the world under a national journal-access plan.

A different, politically-motivated global effort is underway to make for open-access to research, called 'Plan S'. Led primarily by funders, researchers and institutions in Europe for Europe, the scheme is looking to speed up the transition to a fully OA-world. The consultation period for Plan S came to an end in early 2019, and generated responses that filled thousands of pages, and igniting a broad debate around OA, said Jon Tennant in a story he authored for the Conversation on Plan S. Some of these concerns overlap with that of nationwide open-access.

"Publishers want to make money in exchange for a service. Senior academics, who have built careers on publishing in traditional journals, might feel that disrupting this undermines their status. Learned societies need revenues generated from publishing to support other activities for their members," Tennant said. "One difference to the Plan S debate is that the ideological and practical case made for Open Access has already been won. The question now is simple about implementation and the development of an equitable system for access to research around the world."

Plan S requires scientists and researchers who benefit from state-funded research organizations and institutions in the EU to publish their work in open repositories or in journals that are available to all by 2021.

India has already made its stand clear on Plan S  it doesn't work for us. The volume of research coming out of India is high  the third-highest in the world as of 2018. But journals, and particularly open-access publications, ask for processing fees up-front to have research published in them. This isn't a feasible option for India, with its diverse research output coming from a variety of institutions that may not be able to afford the fees on an ongoing basis.

A national journal-access plan would be a considerably different approach to OA, and one that the government is already considering, with a fair degree of seriousness. Whether these discussions are a success will largely depend on whether publishers accept discounted rates for having research published in their journals, according to the Principal Scientific Adviser to the government.

"We must formally discuss with publishers, learned societies and OA journals to come forth with a policy, and negotiate with them...what we do will be what we think is best for our context.," Prof VijayRaghavan, told The Wire in an October 2019 interview. "A separate matter from all of this, which simultaneously must be addressed at its full level for this to be effective, is how we must evaluate individuals, groups of individuals, institutions and research in general. Unless that undergoes a sea-change globally, all of this will be cosmetic."
National Missing and Unidentified Persons SystemBy EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News



(NEW YORK) -- Friday marks two years since Kierra Coles, a young, pregnant U.S. postal worker, disappeared from her Chicago neighborhood without a trace.



There's still no sign of her, with the mysterious case classified by Chicago police as "a high-risk missing person investigation with potential foul play suspected."



Each day brings more pain and frustration for Coles' mother, Karen Phillips, who is "begging for anybody to come forward" with information.



On Oct. 2, 2018, Coles, who was 26 years old and about three months pregnant, vanished on Chicago's South Side. Her car was found in front of her apartment with her phone and packed lunch still inside.



Phillips said she has no idea what happened to her daughter. She said she tries not to overthink the possibilities because the first few months of the disappearance, the stress made her physically sick.



"That's a big thing that I struggle with every day. What really happened? I don't know if she's being tortured or if she's safe or what," Phillips told ABC News last week. "Sometimes I just have to completely put it out of my mind because it'll wreck you."



Her mind also drifts to thoughts of the grandchild her daughter was carrying.



"He or she will almost be 2. And not knowing if she's out there, the baby's out there, if they're together -- it's hurting," she said.



Coles was the last of Phillips' children to have a baby, and the entire family was excited to see her as a new mother -- especially Coles herself. Phillips said Coles seemed happy in their last conversation; Coles asked her mother for advice on what milk to drink during pregnancy.



In that last conversation, Coles also told her mother that her boyfriend was planning to come over the night of Oct. 2, Phillips said.



Phillips said the last time she saw the boyfriend was when she filed the missing person report, and after that, he "vanished." Coles' boyfriend could not be reached by ABC News and the Chicago police declined to comment about him, citing the ongoing investigation.



When it comes to the investigation, Phillips said she feels "the police just put it [the case] to the side because they're frustrated with it."



"It's already frustrating that it's gonna be two years, and for y'all [the Chicago Police Department] to say y'all don't have enough to go on, it's really disappointing," she said.



Chicago police told ABC News, "At this point, anybody with knowledge of her last whereabouts is asked to contact the Chicago Police Department as we are seeking any and all information in an attempt to locate her and we won't stop until we do."



However, Coles' case is considered suspended, added police spokeswoman Sally Bown.



"Suspended means the case cannot be continued further at this time," Bown told ABC News. "There are many possibilities such as having exhausted all the available evidence. A suspended case can always be re-opened if more evidence becomes available."



The United States Postal Inspection Service, which is involved in the investigation because Coles was a postal worker, did not immediately comment to ABC News. The FBI, also part of the case, deferred comment to the Chicago Police.



With no leads, Natalie Wilson, co-founder of Black and Missing Foundation, Inc., is urging "the community to get involved."



"People forget these cases because as time goes on they believe the individual may have been found or that they are deceased. But we hold onto hope," Wilson told ABC News.



This year, "other competing priorities" -- like the pandemic and the presidential election -- are "definitely hampering the awareness" of missing persons cases, Wilson noted.



"We are not seeing as many missing persons reported in the media, however our caseload has increased dramatically," she said. "You would think with the pandemic, people are home. But no, it has increased. We receive calls from family members many times during the day asking for assistance finding their missing loved ones."



"Share Kierra's profile, because we believe someone knows something," Wilson urged. "If it were your family member you would want someone to come forward with information."



Wilson added, "If you don't feel comfortable reporting it to law enforcement, please come to our website and report the tip anonymously. We promise you we will not in any way disclose your identity. But her family deserves answers."



For Coles' mother, as each day passes, she's "looking for leads, just hoping somebody will come forward."



"Somebody knows something other than the person that did whatever happened," she said. "For you to just sit there and not say nothing ... I just wish somebody would have a heart to say, 'I'm gonna give this family some justice.'"



"Any small lead can lead to what really happened," Phillips said. "That's all I'm really praying for."



Wilson asks anyone with information to submit an anonymous tip to the Black and Missing Foundation, Inc at 1-877-97BAMFI or at bamfi.org.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate, energy and environment news from around the Golden State and the country. In Palm Springs, Calif., Im Mark Olalde.

Did you watch the presidential debate on Tuesday night? I'm so sorry. But surprisingly, moderator Chris Wallace did ask about climate change. Biden walked a center-left line, nodding to the wildfires sweeping the West and pledging to rejoin the Paris Agreement but distancing himself from the Green New Deal, instead committing to his own plan. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez  a progressive leader and champion of the Green New Deal  wasn't upset, defending Biden for a plan that environmental experts have said is actually pretty decent.

Perhaps Biden's most important point came when he said no new coal- or oil-fired power plants would be built in the U.S. The future is renewable, he acknowledged. Trump, meanwhile, only vaguely said that humans contribute to climate change (scientists agree we're the main cause). As a crowning environmental achievement, he pointed to the plan to plant a billion trees to soak up carbon. A few things. That's not the plan  it's a trillion tree initiative  and, while a fantastic idea, it's a smokescreen that Republicans have begun jumping on while they avoid more important solutions like transitioning away from fossil fuels and plastics.

Sticking with the federal government for our first story, chaos continues in the country's largest land holder: the Bureau of Land Management. The never-confirmed director of the agency  an unabashed opponent of public lands called a "sagebrush rebel"  has served illegally for more than a year, a federal judge ruled. Every decision he made during that time could also be vacated, HuffPost reports.

FILE - In this May 9, 2008 file photo, male sage grouses fight for the attention of females southwest of Rawlins, Wyo. Montana, Wyoming and other Western states are reporting population declines for the birds in 2019.AP Photo/Rawlins Daily Times, Jerret Raffety, File)/The Rawlins Daily Times via AP, File)

Here's some other important reporting....

MUST-READ STORIES

Gold, terrorism and black markets. If you haven't yet read the FinCEN Files investigation from BuzzFeed, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and 108 other newsrooms that exposed banks shrugging as they were used to finance the world's dastardly deeds, you need to do so. But I'll just point out one part. Gold companies had a hand in a quarter of global suspect transactions the publications uncovered, in many cases raising suspicions of the connection between the legal and illegal mining industries, the latter of which leads to environmental destruction and gang activity in many parts of the Global South.

Story continues

Perpetual pollutants. Sharon Lerner of The Intercept this week continued her stellar reporting on PFAS, a group of synthetic and likely carcinogenic chemicals that persist indefinitely in the environment. She found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Trump administration has stalled its own effort to list several of these substances as hazardous. (Meanwhile, in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law this week that takes on PFAS, one of several environmental bills that advanced. I've got the round-up for The Desert Sun.)

Palm oil's dirty industry. The AP is out with a new investigation that found clear evidence of slavery being used in the palm oil industry, which also has a history of deforestation and other environmental woes.

POLITICAL CLIMATE

A brown cloud hangs over Phoenix, pollution fed in part by vehicle traffic.

Come on, Arizona. Erin Stone from The Arizona Republic is out with an astounding deep dive into the Copper State's failed response to the climate crisis. If, like me, you've lived in Phoenix's heat, you know just how rough it can be to survive in that state. So what is the Republican stronghold doing about climate change? A mere 15 years ago, Arizona was a leader in fighting to clean up its environment. "In recent years, the governor and the Legislature have taken no cohesive action, enacting laws that prohibit mitigation efforts at a local level. One state law even prevents state agencies from monitoring greenhouse gases," she writes.

The elephant in the environment. Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin this week acknowledged that his party can hold up Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court for "perhaps a matter of hours, maybe days at the most," but there's no stopping the GOP from barreling ahead. So, what does this mean for the environment? InsideClimate News has the details, but in short, it's tough news for the natural world. Her father was a long-time lawyer for oil supermajor Shell, she's extremely conservative and she would give a generation-lasting majority to the party that denies basic scientific facts.

Chamber made. With its headquarters overlooking the White House, the Chamber of Commerce has a huge influence on American politics. DeSmogBlog is out with a story about an environmental group's report digging into the chamber's power and how it has advocated for fossil fuels.

CHECKING IN AROUND THE COUNTRY

Every day is a wild one for the environment, but the news seems to be coming out of a fire hose these days. In the name of keeping my finger on the pulse of national environmental shenanigans, let's quickly bounce around some states' recent, top news.

Texas. The Lone Star State may be known as an oil stronghold, but its future is renewable. Forbes reports that, this year, the grid serving nearly all the state "is scheduled to add almost as much wind as it has in the past five years combined and almost triple its solar capacity."

Nevada. Our USA Today Network friends at the Reno Gazette-Journal report that the Center for Biological Diversity is suing two federal agencies to protect Tiehm's buckwheat, a rare wildflower. The plant only grows on 10 acres in Nevada, and 40% of the entire species was removed or wiped out earlier this month.

Arizona. Staying in the Southwest, the Cronkite News Service writes in The Arizona Republic that the federal government has blocked the Tohono O'odham tribe from accessing one of its sacred sites near the border. This comes as the Trump administration steamrolls the tribe and numerous federal laws to continue border wall construction.

California. Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, is now home to some of the most progressive oil regulations in the country, the Ventura County Star reports. County supervisors narrowly approved a new general plan that creates a buffer zone between oil and gas extraction and communities that is nearly half-a-mile in some places.

New Mexico. Searchlight New Mexico, a small investigative newsroom, is out with an expose of a foreign-run, water- and land-guzzling marijuana operation that is both likely illegal and using child labor near the Navajo Nation.

Wyoming. The Powder River Basin produces about 40% of America's coal, and the country's two largest coal mining companies had hoped to merge to dominate that region. A judge recently upheld a Federal Trade Commission decision blocking the move, S&P Global Market Intelligence reports, delivering another painful blow to the struggling industry.

AND ANOTHER THING

Two years ago, an orca known as Tahlequah carried her dead calf for 17 days and more than 1,000 miles. Scientists say that she is now pregnant again.

Forget politicians, let's look at animals. Two years ago, an orca caught the world's attention when it carried its dead calf for 17 days, sparking cries to focus on species conservation. The pod that spends time in the Puget Sound, the Seattle Times reports, appears to be doing well this year, with another baby orca born the other day, the second this month. While it's futile to measure the global scale of the extinction crisis by individual animals, hope for the future of biodiversity must be found somewhere.

And while we're on the topic of adorable animals, don't forget that it's #FatBearWeek hosted by Katmai National Park and Preserve. It's an annual celebration of huge and healthy wildlife in Alaska, and these big bears definitely deserve your votes.

Scientists agree that to maintain a livable planet, we need to reduce the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration back to 350 ppm. Were above that and rising dangerously. Here are the latest numbers:

Atmospheric CO2 levels continue rising to dangerous levels.

Thats all for now. Dont forget to follow along on Twitter at @MarkOlalde. You can also reach me at molalde@gannett.com. You can sign up to get Climate Point in your inbox for free here. And, if youd like to receive a daily round-up of California news (also for free!), you can sign up for USA Todays In California newsletter here. Mask up, everybody! Cheers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Climate Point: Trump can't remember his own environmental stance in debate
Wishing them a speedy recovery, there was a hint of told-you-so-ism in Kaines statement.Let me stress: All need to take this seriously. Please follow CDC guidelines of mask-wearing, hand-washing and social distancing.

Kaine knows of what he speaks.

He and his wife, Anne, announced in May that blood tests showed they had been exposed to the coronavirus, which has hit about 10 of the states elective officials and their spouses. There have been at least 149,000 cases in Virginia and approximately 3,300 deaths.

Because the political implications of Trump laid low by COVID-19 a month before the election are inescapable  it could invigorate voters on both sides  few candidates did much more than note the president is sidelined.

In the Trump-carried, military-rich 2nd District on Virginias Atlantic coast, Democratic U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria  seeking a second term in a grudge match with Scott Taylor  said on Twitter, I have seen some people making light (or worse!) of the Presidents diagnosis. The health of the President is a National Security issue and all Americans should wish for a speedy recovery.

Definitely doesnt sound like another day at the office.
The gloves appear to have come off in the India-China standoff in eastern Ladakh. In response to a query by an Indian daily, on September 25, the Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement that the China-India border LAC (Line of Actual Control) is very clear, that is the LAC on November 7, 1959. China announced it in the 1950s, and the international community, including India, are also clear about it.

Four days later, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said, China does not recognise the so-called Union Territory of Ladakh illegally established by India and opposes infrastructure construction in disputed border areas for military control purposes.

Both these statements are a clear indication of the hardening Chinese stance and are like a red flag to the Indian government. The numerous rounds of talks at the military, diplomatic, and political levels appear to have had minimal impact on finding some common ground in resolving the Ladakh crisis.

The Chinese reference to the 1959 LAC is highly regressive. The 1959 LAC was first mentioned by the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in his November 7, 1959 letter to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Zhou proposed that the armed forces of China and India each withdraw 20 kilometres at once from the so-called McMahon Line in the east, and from the line up to which each side exercised actual control in the west.

In his reply on November 16, Nehru wrote, We do not yet know with any precision where the frontier line lies according to the claims of the Chinese Government An agreement about the observance of the status quo would, therefore, be meaningless as the facts concerning the status quo are themselves disputed.

Another specific reference to the 1959 LAC came in the Chinese declaration of a unilateral ceasefire on November 21, 1962, signaling the end of the 1962 India-China war. Peking Radio announced that Beginning from December 1, 1962 the Chinese frontier guards will withdraw to positions 20 kms behind the line of actual control which existed between China and India on November 7, 1959.

Despite the Indian Army having suffered a major defeat, Nehru refused to accept the Chinese version of the 1959 LAC. He wrote to Zhou on December 1, stating that this was an attempt to retain under cover of preliminary ceasefire arrangements, physical possession over the area which China claims and to secure which the massive attack since October 20, 1962, was mounted by your forces. This we cannot agree to.

The rapprochement following Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhis visit to Beijing in 1988 led to a series of border agreements that were preceded by discussions on the alignment of the LAC. As described in Shivshankar Menons book Choices: Inside the Making of Indias Foreign Policy, before the 1993 Agreement, the Chinese insisted that they would only respect the 1959 LAC, but after hard negotiations, it was decided to create a group of experts to advise on the resolution of differences between the two sides on the alignment of the line of actual control."

Unfortunately, the exercise to resolve the differences in the LAC could never be completed. This has led to some assumptions that the LAC is an ever-changing line being routinely salami-sliced by the Chinese in their favour. These assumptions are not correct.

In the last 60 years after the 1962 War, and particularly after the Wangdung incident of 1986, both countries have consolidated areas under their control. There exist some disputed pockets, mostly small, where both sides have a different perception of where the LAC lies. However, even in these disputed areas, there is clarity on the ground about each others perception due to the patrolling patterns. An easily understood example is the North Bank of Pangong Tso, where the Indian Army was patrolling up to Finger 8 and the Chinese Army to Finger 4. These two points defined their respective LAC claims.

This mutual understanding of the LAC, reinforced by various agreements and protocols, ensured decades of calm along the border. By harking back to an undefined line that apparently existed 61 years earlier, the Chinese leadership has put the very concept of the exiting LAC in dispute. This would obviously be unacceptable to India.

The second red flag for India is the Chinese statement that they do not recognise the illegally constituted Union Territory of Ladakh. The BJP leadership considers the decision to dilute Article 370 and bifurcate the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories as one of their singular achievements. By questioning this, China is intruding into a most sensitive political space where no concession is possible by the Indian government.

It is sometimes argued that Chinas adoption of a maximalist position is only part of a coercive process to gain the greatest advantage in the negotiations. However, as Thomas C. Schelling, winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, reminds us, Coercionrequires that our interests and our opponents not be absolutely opposedCoercion requires finding a bargain. By raising demands that are entirely unacceptable to India, China has made a resolution of the current crisis extremely difficult.

Notwithstanding the continuing dialogue and the periodic statements that follow, it is becoming increasingly apparent that both sides have hardened their political positions. Perhaps the only saving grace in this situation is that neither country wants a full-scale war. However, if our only hope now is on the thousands of cold, tense, and heavily armed soldiers facing off along the LAC to keep the peace, we could yet stumble into a conflict.

The author is former Northern Commander, Indian Army, under whose leadership India carried out surgical strikes against Pakistan in 2016. Views expressed are personal.
The death toll from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in India surpassed the 100,000 mark on Friday, a grim milestone that comes exactly seven months from the day the first batch of cases were reported in the country.

India became the third country in the world to cross this landmark  only the United States (212,000 deaths) and Brazil (144,000 dead) have reported more fatalities  but does so with a significantly better mortality rate than nearly all other countries that have seen large outbreaks. Indias case fatality rate (CFR)  the proportion of death to the number of confirmed cases  stands at 1.56%, which is not only half of the global average (2.98%), but also better than the comparable rates in the US (2.84%) and Brazil (2.99%).

Also Read: 1 vaccine may have reached initial efficacy test

However, since the first week of September, daily deaths in India have been outstripping those in any country in the world. On average, 1,065 people have died every day over the past week in the country, against 755 average daily deaths in the US and 713 in Brazil in the same period.

This has made India the biggest contributor to the global death tally  one in every five fatalities (19%) in the world in the past week has come from India. The first death due to Covid-19 was reported on March 12 in Karnataka, with the 100,000th fatality coming 204 days later. If Indias fatalities are divided into four phases of 25,000 deaths each, each has become shorter than the one preceding one. While the first 25,000 deaths took 127 days (on July 16), India crossed the 50,000 mark only 30 days later (on August 15). Deaths crossed the 75,000 mark another 25 days later on September 9, with the latest 25,000 fatalities coming in just 23 days.

Also Read: Death data highlights need to check young-old transmission

The seven-day average of fatalities in India has been over the 1,000-mark for the past 28 days, according to HTs Covid-19 dashboard. At its peak (so far), this number touched 1,166 for the week ending September 19. To be sure, this has dropped slightly over the past few days and is 1,069 as on Friday. Only the US, where the trajectory touched 2,300 deaths a day for the week ending April 21, has seen more people die this consistently.

Also Read: Gurugram: New Covid-19 cases show decline of 23% in a week

As of Friday night, of the 6.47 million people infected in the country, 100,896 have lost their lives and over 5.42 million have recovered. The death toll is, however, expected to keep rising as the country is still adding 81,431 new cases a day on average, and of those around 1.5% (based on Indias CFR) will succumb to the disease.

WATCH | Covid update: Donald Trump test positive; Mumbai slums infection; Kerala cases

Government experts have credited Indias relatively better Covid-19 mortality rate to a series of factors such as the experience in dealing with other lung diseases such as tuberculosis, and early interventions in terms of the nationwide lockdown. These things were crucial in identifying the infected, and isolating them as per requirement very early on in the disease stage, said Dr Samiran Panda, head, epidemiology and communicable diseases, India Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Also Read: Maharashtra government to procure Covid-19 medicines, test kits worth 634 crore

Independent experts said the countrys relatively younger population may have also helped in reducing mortality. Fewer people dying in India of Covid is not surprising as the severity of infection is low in the country, which among other factors can be attributed to better immunity status to fight any infections, and also relatively younger population with fewer comorbidities, said Dr NK Mehra, former head, transplant, immunology and immunogenetics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.

The fact that the outbreak in India started relatively later than it did in the western world may have also worked to Indias advantage on the CFR front. This becomes particularly evident because as the disease has progressed, scientists and doctors have learnt to fight and treat it better. As the result, the CFR has been improving, both in India and the rest of the world. Indias CFR has halved since the start of July  it was 3% on July 1.

We obviously know the disease far better now, and manage to save most of the hospitalised patients. The mortality rate is under 2%, which is decent if you compare with other countries, said Dr GC Khilnani, former head, department of pulmonology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.

The share of deaths among the states, however, has largely been uneven, with Maharashtra (37,480 deaths till Friday) accounting for 37% of all fatalities in the country. It is followed by Tamil Nadu with 9,653 deaths and Karnataka with 9,119 people killed.

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Fighting between DR Congos regular army and a militia force has claimed 11 lives and breached a peace deal in the conflict-plagued northeast of the country, according to UN sources.

In the violence overnight Wednesday, three soldiers, six militia fighters and two civilians were killed in Ituri province, the UN Radio Okapi reported.

Ten people were seriously wounded, among them six militia members and four soldiers, the report said late Thursday.

The Front for Patriotic Resistance in Ituri (FRPI), one of many rebel movements active in eastern DR Congo, signed a peace accord with the government on February 28 this year, in the presence of the United Nations.

The accord provided for a ceasefire and the integration of FRPI fighters into the army, with draft legislation to give an amnesty to the rebels except in cases of war crimes or crimes against humanity.

Under the deal, the militia members  several hundred men  have since been confined to their quarters awaiting their transfer to the armed forces (FARDC).

The overnight battle is believed to have broken out when FARDC soldiers opened fire to disperse FRPI fighters who attempted to attack a military command post.

The FRPI has remained active since ethnic conflict took tens of thousands of lives in Ituri between 1999 and 2003, until a European military force named Operation Artemis intervened under French leadership.

One of the militias leaders, Germain Katanga, was released from prison in March, after the International Criminal Court reduced a 12-year sentence imposed in 2014 for a conviction on war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Katanga was serving his term in DRCs capital Kinshasa after being repatriated from the ICC in The Hague in 2015.

A region rich in gold bordering Uganda and South Sudan, Ituri is wracked by a separate conflict in the northern Djugu territory, which has left about a thousand people dead since December 2017.
Cancer can be a devastating and complicated disease for anyone to go through, so many seek help through support groups. While the pandemic has kept people isolated, many of them are still reaching out for support.

The breast cancer support group at Houston Methodist Willowbrook is still holding its monthly meetings, although meetings are being conducted over Zoom now to stay socially distanced. The group is overseen by a trained facilitator who helps attendees, male or female, with a curriculum focused on health and healing, said Jannie Bennett, the director and founder of Reconstruction of a Survivor, the group that coordinates the support groups.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Komen Houston Race for the Cure goes virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic

People are diagnosed with breast cancer on a daily basis, so we are here to help those who are in treatment, those who are newly diagnosed and those who are out of treatment, Bennett said. Weve been here for them because we want to provide the continued support.

Bennett said the group has been offering this support by providing some financial assistance to some of the women in treatment  to a larger degree now than before the pandemic  and providing meals to some women going through cancer treatment or who have recently finished it.

It is not easy to have people who have been laid off from their position and are in treatment, she said.

The problem since Zoom meetings began, Bennett said, has been some people having trouble accessing meetings.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Death reporting delays led state officials to offer false assurances about Texas death rate

I have seen a drop in a few members, Bennett said. Most people do not have the technology or the access to the internet in order to attend the meetings.

So, for some older members, Bennett said, they rely on attending the meetings over the phone, as opposed to face-to-face over video chat.

Sarah Hughes is the facilitator of the support group in Willowbrook, and a cancer survivor herself, and had been facilitating the group for just a couple of months before they had to transition to Zoom.

I feel like its working out better, Hughes said about how Zoom meetings have been going. One of our ladies moved to Florida and can still pipe in and join the meetings virtually.

A breast cancer diagnosis can be a private kind of thing for women, Hughes said, so it can be helpful to have others going through the experience as well for mutual support.

I dont have any great advice to get anybody through this, were just there to support each other, Hughes said. Everybody in that call have been through different stages and levels (of breast cancer.) Mentally, emotionally, spiritually, its all important to be able to talk and have an outlet.

paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
After weeks of suffering from several pregnancy scares, Chrissy Teigen and his John Legend lost their unborn third child.

On October 1, the "darkest day" in the life of the Legend family occurred after they, unfortunately and heartbreakingly, lost their baby boy following Teigen's pregnancy complications.

The couple shared the heart-wrenching news in their respective social media accounts, which certainly shocked their fans.

"We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we've never felt before," Teigen wrote. "We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions."

Since Sunday, Teigen had been staying at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after disclosing that she had been bleeding for less than a month.

Unfortunately, nearly a week later, Teigen suffered a miscarriage and lost baby Jack.

Legend and Teigen immediately received an outpouring of support from fans and celebrities in Hollywood. However, some people are not sensitive enough to their offer sympathies, even choosing to slam Teigen instead.

One Twitter user wrote, "What happened to #ChrissyTeigen and #JohnLegend with the lost of their newborn it's heartbreaking. BUT why in the hell there's son pictures about it??? Isn't that kinda twisted and abnormal behavior?"

"I don't trust you or believe you. I think you sacrificed your child to someone higher. You and your husband shouldn't have sold your souls to the deep state," an Instagram user theorized.

Most commenters pointed out that neither Teigen nor Legend should have shared the news online.

Despite those insensitive trolls, their supporters defended them and explained why the couple did that.

Why Legend, Teigen Had To Let It All Out

There is a huge difference between being oversharers and feeling grief -- and the couple definitely felt the latter.

Their fans and followers stood up for them against the trolls and said that sharing social media updates helps the two emotionally and mentally.

One woman, who also offered her full-support to Legend and Teigen, expressed how the disgusting comments on the news make women feel unsafe.

"Chrissy Teigen and John Legend lost a child. It's not karma. It's not payback. It's not a lesson. It's a baby," one netizen penned.

Meanwhile, the Emmy Award-winning publicist Danny Deraney also defended the two and told everyone that it is not everyone's place to dictate how Teigen would deal with the grief.

"I do know, that even if she asked to take a picture of herself at one of her worst moments, so what? That shot helped millions of women cope with one of our culture's greatest stigmas," he continued.

Teigen's miscarriage came after she shared updates in a series of videos on her Instagram Story.

The 34-year-old model disclosed that time she had been bleeding heavily despite being on bed rest. She further explained that the issues she experienced during her third pregnancy caused her to be hospitalized.

Teigen was already half-way through her third pregnancy when she lost her child, who could have been the baby brother of Luna and Miles.

READ MORE: Chrissy Teigen Suffers Pregnancy Scare -- Hospitalized!
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump traveled to New Jersey for campaign events on Thursday apparently knowing that aide Hope Hicks was sick and had tested positive for COVID-19.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said officials learned of Hicks positive test as Marine One was taking off for the trip to Bedminster, New Jersey, where Trump had scheduled a fundraiser and a roundtable discussion with supporters at his golf resort.

Meadows would not provide other details, telling reporters, Im not going to get into the tick-tock. He did say contract tracing already had begun and that some staff members who had been in close contact with Hicks were pulled from the New Jersey trip.

The White House announced early Friday that Trump and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning development that came just hours after Trump confirmed that Hicks had tested for the virus.

Trump said he would begin an immediate quarantine. A campaign trip to Florida that was scheduled for Friday was canceled.

It's not known whether Trump contracted the virus from Hicks, one of his top aides. But she had traveled to Minnesota with Trump for a campaign event on Wednesday.

Hicks boarded Air Force One for the Wednesday night flight to Minnesota because she had tested negative for COVID-19 that morning, a person familiar with the situation said.

She showed symptoms on the flight back from Minnesota, was put in isolation aboard the plane and received a second test that came back positive.

Trump went ahead with the trip to New Jersey the next day.

Election fallout: President Donald Trump's coronavirus test result could alter his reelection campaign, undercut pandemic messaging

President Donald Trump stands on stage with first lady Melania Trump after the first presidential debate with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

The events in New Jersey were closed to the press. But GOP fund-raiser John Sette attended the events and said Trump did not appear to be ill.

"He was 100 percent normal," Sette said. "He looked perfect. He looked 100 percent normal and he spoke 100 percent normal. He wasnt yelling, but thats because he wasnt debating anybody.

Story continues

Trump spoke for about 15 minutes and then took questions from the crowd for about an hour, Sette said. He estimated about 300 people attended.

As for his own health, Im fine, and I dont know what Im going to do," Sette said. "I wasnt near the president and I didnt shake hands with anybody, so Im assuming Im fine.

Comedian Joe Piscopo, who was also at Bedminster, said Trump "looked stronger than ever  top of his game."

"He was charming, he was funny, he was warm," Piscopo said. "The tenor of his voice was strong."

Rich Roberts, a physician who attended the Bedminster events, also said Trump showed no COVID symptoms.

For the entire hour he did not cough once, he did not sneeze once, he didnt clear his throat once, he didnt use a tissue, his eyes were not watering ... his energy level looked good," Roberts said. "There was a lot of spunk in him.

The New York Times reported, however, that some attendees said Trump had "cold-like symptoms" and seemed lethargic.

Reporters who watched Trump as he landed back at the White House shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday said he did not appear to be visibly ill.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy issued a statement Friday morning saying that the contact-tracing process is under way and urging anyone who attended Trump's events in Bedminster to take full precautions, including self-quarantining and getting tested.

"If there is one thing we have learned in New Jersey over these months, it's that we pull together and support everyone fighting this virus," said Murphy, a Democrat.

The White House also issued a statement stressing that precautions are taken whenever the president travels.

"The president takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously," spokesman Judd Deere said. "White House Operations collaborates with the physician to the president and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the president is traveling."

Critics, however, accused the president of putting his staff at risk.

"Praying for the health of the many people that the President and his staff carelessly and in some cases knowingly exposed to a deadly virus," tweeted former President Barack Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau.

Former Bill Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart tweeted: "None of this adds up. If they found out about Hicks before leaving for NJ, they should have had the President tested before leaving and waited for the rapid results. There is no justification for him going."

Several administration officials have tested positive before, including National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, Vice President Mike Pence press secretary Katie Miller, and one of the presidents personal valets.

Contributing: Dustin Racioppi of The Bergen Record

Presidential debates: Future of presidential debates unclear after Trump tests positive; Trump family largely ignored mask rules Tuesday

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump COVID: Trump went to New Jersey after Hope Hicks positive test
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris  Fri, October 2, 2020 18:04 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48c60fa 2 Art & Culture painting,nazi Free

The French government agreed Thursday to hand back three looted paintings to the heirs of a Jewish collector who died in a German concentration camp.

The canvases by Fauvist Andre Derain were once owned by the renowned Parisian gallery owner Rene Gimpel, who was denounced by a rival dealer after joining the Resistance to fight against Nazi occupation and France's collaborationist Vichy government.

The decision comes after an appeals court in Paris on Wednesday overturned a lower court's decision not to hand back the works.

They are housed at the modern art museum in Troyes and the Cantini museum in Marseille.

The works, painted between 1907 and 1910, were taken as spoils when Gimpel was arrested.

The lower court had found there were doubts about the authenticity of the paintings, but appeals judges said there were "accurate, serious and consistent indications" that the works were the same ones taken from Gimpel.

"This is great," said Corinne Hershkovitch, a lawyer for Gimpel's heirs, who are still trying to recover other works in his collection.

"The court agreed on the points we put forward and we are very happy to be recognized," she said.

Gimpel, who was of Jewish descent, was a prominent art collector in the early 20th century. Active in the Resistance, he fled Paris early in World War II and headed for the French Riviera.

He was arrested in 1944 and deported to Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg, Germany, where he died the following year.

France has stepped up its efforts to return art looted by the Nazis after an internal government report in 2018 criticized the "inefficiency and lack of ambition" of official efforts to return art taken from Jews.

Officials are now using genealogical experts and specialist researchers to trace families so treasure can be returned to their rightful owners.

Topics : painting nazi
Preservica accelerates product innovation with $3.8m funding from Mobeus

Oxford, UK and Boston, MA ? Oct 01 2020: Preservica today announced an additional $3.8 million[1] (?3m) investment from Mobeus Equity Partners.

Demand for Preservica?s market-leading Active Digital Preservation software has continued to grow as government, academic and business organizations around the globe seek to preserve and provide access to critical records, including those related to the pandemic and other recent world-changing events.

The funding will accelerate product innovation including new product-led initiatives that will make it easy for organizations of all sizes to start preserving critical records, as well as further innovation in Preservica?s core technology platform. The investment builds on the recent appointment of Phil Beckman as Preservica Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Preservica?s software future-proofs all types of digital content against technology obsolescence, ensuring it remains accessible and trustworthy over decades to meet legal, compliance, statutory and brand value needs. Available as SaaS or on-premise, the solution is trusted by a growing global client base including HSBC, Yale University, the Associated Press, Transport for London (TfL), Amnesty International and twenty two US State archives.

Matt Mead, Venture Partner, Mobeus Equity Partners

?Mobeus supported the spin out of the original Preservica technology platform from its successfully exited portfolio company Tessella. Since 2016, we have partnered with Preservica to drive its international expansion and further technological development by providing an overall commitment of $12.8m (?10.0m). We continue to be impressed by the team?s progress against its core operating KPIs and believe the long term market drivers around privacy and governance make this a very exciting opportunity.?

Mike Quinn, CEO Preservica

?Everyone at Preservica is delighted with this additional investment by Mobeus Equity Partners. It reflects a real confidence in the business especially at this time of global change. The funding will enable us to accelerate our plans to further innovate in our core product as well as make it easy for organizations of all sizes to quickly start using digital preservation to protect critical information.?

[1] The investment round provides an initial ?2.5m with an additional facility of ?500k.
WASHINGTON - The call that came into state capitals stunned governors and their National Guard commanders: The Pentagon wanted thousands of citizen soldiers airlifted to the nation's capital immediately to help control crowds outside the White House in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

Presidents have routinely activated Guard troops to fight foreign enemies, and in extraordinary circumstances have federalized them to quell civil unrest, using the vast power of the commander in chief.

But the June 1 appeal to states was different. President Donald Trump was drawing instead on an obscure law, changed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that made it easier for governors to voluntarily send guardsmen across state lines for counterterrorism missions. His action was not an order but a request, essentially inviting states to augment the District of Columbia National Guard, which he controls, in a potential clash with civilian protesters.

The request had the effect of cleaving state militias along partisan lines, according to interviews and internal Guard documents. While red states jumped to answer the president's call, governors and Guard commanders in blue states were incredulous. The result was a deployment to the nation's capital that military historians say appears to have been without precedent: Over 98% of the 3,800 troops that arrived in the District came from states with Republican governors.

In a secure video conference that day with Guard leaders from across the country, Maj. Gen. David Baldwin, head of the California National Guard, questioned the need for the massive deployment. Baldwin, who has led the force under multiple Democratic governors, said the situation in the District appeared no more urgent than that in California, where his troops were already stretched thin by dozens of planned protests.

"I love you like a brother," Baldwin said to the top District Guard official on the call, according to three people who were listening, "but f--- this, I have other things to worry about," he said, before dropping off the line.

Baldwin declined to comment for this story.

Officials in Utah, by contrast, scrambled to respond. Within hours, Utah National Guard members who were waiting for an expected deployment to Afghanistan were instead put on planes bound for the District. In the three days that followed, armed guardsmen streamed into the nation's capital, nearly all from Republican-led states such as Florida, Indiana, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The only Democratic-led state to send troops was New Jersey, which contributed fewer than 100 soldiers, and only on the condition that they be assigned security shifts at monuments and not engage with protesters outside the White House.

The same ability to mobilize National Guard troops from sympathetic states into Washington remains readily available today to Trump, who has repeatedly declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the election. On Tuesday, in the first presidential debate, Trump suggested that the election was being "rigged," declaring that "this is not going to end well."

In an interview last month with Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro, Trump was asked what he would do if his opponents "threaten riots if they lose on election night."

"We'll put them down very quickly if they do that," Trump answered. He pointed to a June guard deployment in Minnesota as an example of how he could move with speed and effectiveness.

"If we had to, we'd do that and put it down within minutes, within minutes," Trump said. "In Minneapolis, they were having problems. We sent in the National Guard, within a half an hour, that was the end of the problem - it all went away."

That deployment was the decision of Minnesota's governor, a Democrat, not Trump.

Trump's effort to marshal the National Guard to his side was in some respects a portent. Over the summer, he and Attorney General William Barr repeatedly flexed federal power in American cities, or threatened to do so, often against the wishes of local and state officials. Democrats leading many of those cities denounced what they said were authoritarian tactics aimed at seeking election-year advantage.

The administration drew similar criticism for its actions in the District. on June 1, when thousands of largely peaceful protesters were driven from city streets around the White House, clearing the way for the president and military leaders to cross Lafayette Square. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, later apologized for his presence alongside Trump, saying it "created the perception of the military involved in domestic politics." The most senior District National Guard officer on the ground that day, in testimony he provided to Congress as a whistleblower, contradicted the administration's claims that protesters were so violent that the street-clearing offensive was needed.

The White House declined to comment for this story, and the Justice Department did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the legal basis for the June deployment or on the partisan divide in the response by state militias.

But in a letter to District officials in June, Barr wrote that the deployment was justified because the protests had not remained "within the control of local law enforcement," had "threatened federal operations around the White House complex" and that television footage "conveyed the impression that the United States was on the brink of losing control of its capital city."

- - -

The mobilization to the District. that would ultimately involve guard troops from 11 states began on May 30, after protests over police brutality that were roiling the nation reached the nation's capital.

Trump's Army secretary, Ryan McCarthy, traveled to the hangar-like armory where the 1,200-person District National Guard is based and ordered its commander, Maj. Gen. William Walker, to begin deploying available troops to Lafayette Square. The troops were to back up U.S. Park Police officers maintaining a one-block buffer between the White House and the protests.

The next day, however, the numbers of protesters only grew. Inside the White House, Trump fumed, worrying that the images showed the country as out of control, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations and deliberations of the president. In tweets and phone calls, Trump urged mayors and governors to "get tough" and to call out their own National Guard soldiers. For anyone contemplating breaching the White House grounds, Trump added a public warning that they would be attacked by "vicious dogs."

That Sunday night, May 31, protests near Lafayette Square grew violent. An annex at the historic St. John's Church was damaged by fire that appeared to have been set, and furniture in the lobby of the nearby AFL-CIO building was set ablaze.

The following morning, Trump, angry over what he perceived as the continued bad optics of the federal government lacking control, ratcheted up his call to restore law and order, the officials said. Trump wanted active-duty military on the streets of the capital by nightfall, one of the officials said.

Trump considered invoking the rarely used Insurrection Act of 1807, the two said. The power was tapped by presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy in 1950s and '60s to force Southern states to integrate schools. President Lyndon B. Johnson used it to send 4,700 Army troops to quell the Detroit riots in 1967. It has been used infrequently since, mostly when a governor has requested federal help to enforce laws. The last time that happened was when President George H.W. Bush dispatched 4,000 troops to the Rodney King riots in California in 1992.

Milley told Congress in July that he counseled against such a move. Instead, he recommended that active-duty military be placed on alert and flown to bases near the District, but remain outside the city.

"My assessment and advice was . . . that under the prevailing conditions active-duty troops were, and are, not necessary to deploy on the streets of America. The Insurrection Act was, in fact, never invoked," Milley said.

Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper both testified that they saw violence as the exception in the days after Floyd's death. "We should be proud that the vast majority of protests have been peaceful. Peaceful protest means that American freedom is working," Milley said.

Esper added that Americans were "understandably" wanting to exercise their right to free speech following Floyd's death. He blamed rioting and looting on a small number of people seeking to exploit the demonstrations.

Trump, however, repeatedly disparaged the protesters in the District as "anarchists." Esper told Congress the president set a goal for how many guard troops he wanted to see patrolling city streets that night: 5,000.

That day, Trump suggested in a call with governors that protesters were about to be met with overwhelming force in the nation's capital.

"If you don't dominate your city and your state, they're gonna walk away with you," Trump said in a late-morning call, audio of which was soon leaked to reporters. "We're doing it in Washington, in D.C. . . . We're going to do something that people haven't seen before," he said, "we're going to have total domination."

Trump and his military leaders drew on the president's little-known role as commander in chief of the District National Guard, akin to that of a governor in a state, to facilitate the deployment.

But mobilizing so many guard troops on such short notice was highly unusual. It was complicated by the fact that more than 10,000 soldiers had already been called up by states to help shuttle supplies, take airline travelers' temperatures and provide security at hospitals to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview, Walker, the District guard commander, said he supported bringing in out-of-state troops. He likened it to requests from the guard every four years seeking troops from other states to help with inaugural events.

But the request was different. It was the first time a specific provision of federal law - 32 USC 502(f) - was used to provide federal funding for guard troops to travel to the District to counter acts of civil disobedience, a Defense Department spokesman acknowledged in an email to The Washington Post.

State Guard leaders said they were told at the time of the requested deployment that their states would be reimbursed under the provision. Barr also cited it as the authorizing language in a letter to District officials on June 9.

For decades, the obscure statutory provision titled "Required drills and field exercises" dealt almost exclusively with how the U.S. government would reimburse states when guard soldiers were asked to travel for training exercises.

In the post-9/11 environment, guard troops had been patrolling airports and border crossings. The Pentagon was rethinking how, beyond emergency funding, it could facilitate the Guard responding to ongoing terrorist threats and any future attacks.

John Dehn, then a staff attorney at the U.S. Army Forces Command, was among a team working through the issues. Eventually, Congress addressed the funding issue by amending the training statute, making it possible for guard soldiers to be paid federally for "Support of operations or missions undertaken by the member's unit at the request of the President or Secretary of Defense." In 2006, Section F added two lengthy sentences.

"It was to deal with counterterrorism," said Dehn, who is now a law professor and director of the National Security and Civil Rights Program at Loyola University's School of Law in Chicago. "Nobody writing this new provision likely viewed it as ever becoming some sort of work around for the Insurrection Act."

In its 15-year existence, the new provision had been used to pay guard soldiers deployed for inaugural events, drug-interdiction missions, surveillance and other support along the U.S.-Mexico border, and for small, ongoing rotations at ballistic missile sites.

Then came June 1, 2020.

From Trump and Esper, the request for troops to keep order in the District flowed to the Army, and to the chief of the National Guard Bureau. The group serves as the voice for state Guard forces at the Pentagon, and its leader is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

For months, the bureau had been holding a morning situational call for state Guard officials on the novel coronavirus. That day, the call was overtaken by the request coming from the White House.

"There was this tension that if states don't cough up enough troops, the 82nd Airborne is going to go in there" to the District, said one Guard official who was on the call and spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation.

The official said it was clear to everyone on the line that the request was unusual. "I don't think anyone was unaware that we were in the midst of a very controversial day, and there wasn't going to be a good answer, either way," the official said.

- - -

In state capitals, any doubt about the unusual nature of the request faded as governors began receiving calls directly from Esper pleading for troops.

Two of those calls went to neighboring Maryland and Virginia - the former a state with a Republican governor, the latter led by a Democrat.

The secretary asked Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to activate what would have been nearly all of the state's available Guard that day and to deploy them across the Potomac River into the District, according to two people briefed on their phone conversations that day.

Northam told Esper he would have to think about the request. The governor's office began seeking more information.

Clark Mercer, Northam's chief of staff, placed a call to John Falcicchio, the chief of staff to District Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat.

"Clark said, 'What do you need?' And to be honest, it was complete news to us," Falcicchio said in an interview.

He said neither the White House, the Pentagon nor the District Guard commander had informed the city's mayor, police chief or homeland security officials that they were working to bring in the equivalent of a brigade of out-of-state militia - by nightfall, if all went according to plan.

Northam called Esper and told him Virginia would not send troops, according to the two people briefed on the call.

Mercer said the fact that city officials had been left in the dark was a significant concern. "What if you send them and something happens, and they're not even wanted, that's a potentially very bad situation," he said.

In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan was more receptive. But he and state Guard commanders promised just 120 soldiers, and not before June 3, two days away, according to a guard official.

Across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, where most states are led by Democratic governors, officials declined to send troops. The only exceptions were New Jersey, which said it could initially spare 17 soldiers, and up to 80 within a couple days, and Delaware, which promised scores of soldiers and said it would try to send an initial group later that day.

None of that, however, approached the number Trump wanted on the ground that night.

By late afternoon in the District, the anxiety among officials at the National Guard Bureau was palpable on a previously scheduled coronavirus video conference with commanding officers of all 50 states, said five people on the call.

Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, then the guard bureau chief, was "clearly frustrated" by the small number of troops who had been committed to reach the District by nightfall, said one state commanding general.

Two other guardsmen who were listening to the call said Baldwin, the California Guard commander, challenged the urgency of the requested deployment to the District after a planned coronavirus discussion was halted.

"They cut off the states and just kept asking, 'How do we meet the 5,000 number,' " said one of them, a senior Guard official.

A deputy in the National Guard Bureau kept asking which states had military planes ready to fly or could have them ready that day, and how many troops each could get to the District, said the other.

"The California [adjutant general] was not alone in questioning," that official said. Baldwin's comment was "a little bit of a dig," the official said, reminding the National Guard Bureau that it "should be supporting the states, not the other way around. Everyone else on that call answers to their governor."

In an interview in June, Lengyel said he was working through a tough task.

"It's true I was busy, trying to get soldiers in" to the District, Lengyel said. "That's what I was asked to do."

Lengyel did not return a follow-up call in July and retired in August. A spokesman for the National Guard Bureau referred further questions to Esper's office. A Defense Department spokesman pointed a reporter to Esper's testimony in July before a House committee investigating the Lafayette Square clearing.

Esper told the committee that, on Trump's orders, and to "protect federal functions, personnel and property" he requested that governors provide 3,800 guardsmen toward that effort, pursuant to 32 USC 502(f).

Within hours of that request, however, a scene unfolded outside the White House that would further divide states.

Federal police in riot gear fired gas canisters and used grenades containing rubber pellets to scatter largely peaceful demonstrators. Without the thousands of Guard troops the White House wanted, the Park Police led the charge, flanked by an auxiliary force - largely assembled by Barr - that included U.S. marshals, federal agents, homeland security personnel and federal prison guards.

Park Police directed over 200 National Guard soldiers from the District, at that moment still the only jurisdiction with troops in the capital, to rush forward and create a human barrier, blocking protesters from coming within several blocks of the White House. Their actions helped clear the way for the president, surrounded by Barr, Esper, Milley and others to walk to St. John's Church for a three-minute photo op.

Later that night, two District Army National Guard helicopters roared over demonstrators who remained on city streets after curfew. One hovered as low as 45 feet, using a war-zone tactic to whip up tropical storm-force winds to disperse crowds.

Watching the chaos on television, Delaware Gov. John Carney, a Democrat, reversed his decision. Buses loaded with Delaware National Guard troops were turned around and sent back to a state armory, according to two people familiar with the movements.

In the air at the time were about 100 members of the Utah National Guard. They would arrive after dark and take up positions near dawn across the U.S. capital, guarding monuments and a perimeter around the White House. The soldiers wore bulletproof vests and were armed.

By the end of that day, over 400 more National Guard troops would arrive from South Carolina, 300 from Mississippi and nearly 200 from Indiana. Following them were 300 from Missouri, over 500 from Florida and 1,000 from Tennessee.

Inside the District Armory, ammunition and supplies from each arriving state piled up and the usually quiet gymnasium became a mess hall.

"We are serving as much meals or more as we would be in a forward location in Afghanistan or Iraq," the District National Guard said in a Facebook post. "More than 5,200 guardsmen . . . activated in support of a civil unrest mission."

Protests in the District multiplied in size over the ensuing days but remained mostly peaceful. As criticism of the Lafayette offensive and the continued military presence in the District mounted, Esper on June 5 ordered the more than 5,000 National Guard troops amassed in the nation's capital to disarm.

Two days later, Trump tweeted that he had given the order "for our National Guard to start the process of withdrawing from Washington, D.C."

"Now that everything is under perfect control," he wrote. "They will be going home, but can quickly return, if needed."

- - -

The Washington Post's Alice Crites and Josh Dawsey contributed to this report.
As the month of September comes to end  the month of Childhood Awareness  the City of Laredo, in conjunction with one local organization, laid tribute to this cause by unveiling a mural at Albert Ochoa Park in support of awareness in an emotional ceremony on Wednesday.

The event was a collaborated effort between the city and the childhood cancer organization Smiles from Heaven. Its purpose was to dedicate a mural to the childhood cancer community to bring hope and awareness while showing affected families that no one fights alone.

When I was reached to discuss this project, I could not think about any better location than this one, City of Laredo Mayor Pro Tempore and District IV councilman Alberto Torres said. We have high traffic, family events going on, we have Nixon High School  the only high school in District VI  and a lot of more traffic during the full hours on this street near the Albert Ochoa Park.

Projects like these help bring awareness to the community and awareness to the families of a very unfortunate situation such as childhood cancer. To bring this awareness to members of our community is key to continue educating us on the different causes and different ways of detecting and seeing what are actually the signs of childhood cancer. We thank the Bella Strong Organization and Foundation for their support and to have the courage of doing the leadership of spearheading this project for the community and bringing that much awareness to the city of Laredo.

Present at the event were Ray and Betsy Sanchez, who are the founders of the Bella Strong Foundation and co-founders of Smiles from Heaven. Both spoke about how much the project meant not just for the legacy of their daughter but for the efforts locally to stop this disease from causing more families to experience what theyve gone through if they can help educate more people about the illness.

The mural was painted by Abel Gonzalez. It features four children, including one depicting Bella. The other three are depicted in the costumes of Captain America, Superman and Wonder Woman to demonstrate that they are the true heroes in the fight against childhood cancer.

In 2017 through 2019, my family went through the most difficult and dramatic crisis of our lives, Ray Sanchez said. We witnessed our daughter die of cancer and live in a childrens hospital for the majority of our lives. What we learned in those difficult days and those dire times, it is our desire to share with you and for you to look at light through the lens of fate.

Ray Sanchez believes that the mural will raise awareness to something that can help people not just shed the light on all of those who helped pray for him and his family during Bellas struggle against pediatric cancer but also on the true sickness that takes many children from families like theirs.

For Besty Sanchez, she said it is important for the children facing this disease and the families experiencing it to hope for recovery, because about 88% of those sick children do recover. Unfortunately, Bella could not be in that group.

This life-threatening disease is real and scary, and thats why we fight for hell as 90% of children will be OK because it might be due to advancement in science, but our current medicine still fails, Betsy Sanchez said. Note this: our children only get 4% of federal funding. Our children deserve more, our families deserve more and our Bella deserved more.

Although Ray Sanchez congratulated all the people that formed part of the construction of the mural, he stated that the real heroes are those children battling childhood cancer.

Heroes live in the hearts of little children fighting big battles. These children are the heroes, Ray Sanchez said. I hope this mural brings you hope, courage and a reminder for us in the community that you are not alone in this fight. Keep fighting, as we are here fighting along with you.

Another speaker at the event was Leticia Mondragon, who works at the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center. She discussed her work with Bella and other children that have suffered from childhood cancer as well as the importance of how these children need continued blood donations as this forms an important part of the recovery process.

I know that little Bella is smiling down on us down here on this day to honor little Bella  and all those children who have fought childhood cancer, those who are angels, those who continue to fight and those who are in remission, Mondragon said. Today is their day to honor them, and I encourage everyone to donate blood. ... What people dont realize is that these cancer patients need donated blood on a daily basis and to register everyone to be a match for a child, especially among the Hispanic and Latino community. This is needed as there are little matches, (even for) Bella because of lack of people registered.

Other Laredo councilmembers were also at the event and expressed some words to help raise awareness on the issue.

We are here to help acknowledge and bring awareness of this issue, and we are not going to stop as we are going to continue through the efforts of council and elsewhere, District II Councilmember Vidal Rodriguez said.

District V Councilwoman Nelly Vielma was also present at the event and pointed out how important this project is for the community and the future of trying to end childhood cancer locally.

It is important to raise awareness and try to prevent, and also to treat it if its something genetic and learn from it to learn more about childhood cancer, Vielma said. We are also grateful for all that came and showed support.

The Sanchez family also discussed that there are more events planned concerning childhood cancer awareness and other issues in the coming weeks and months, as they organize and prepare other events that hope bring the community together to discuss the issue and shine a light on an important issue. Some of these events include helping impacted families and getting in contact with the Smiles from Heaven organization to take Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to them.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
New Delhi, Oct 2 : Hampi-based curator Lavina Baldota conceptualised 'Santati four years ago as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary. "The idea that started with textile art, 'Khadi A Canvas, by Gaurang Shah expanded to involving art and design minds from various disciplines along with collections from different museums - each interpreting their Gandhi," Baldota said.

Twelve other individuals and institutions eventually came on board. The exhibition opened at Mumbai's NGMA, on October 2 last year and subsequently moved to New Delhi's Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum, New Delhi's IGNCA and to Hyderabad's Saptaparni, is now headed for Vadodara. It has now been immortalised in a coffee table book, also titled 'Santati' (HarperCollins) for which New Delhi-based poet and mixed media artist Navkirat Sodhi has woven its strands together with some soul-tugging verses which, if set to music, could well spawn a new genre in the 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' style.

"Personally, for me, the journey has led to self enquiry, shedding of the unnecessary and a humble realization that I have a very long way to go.

To quote Navkirat, 'keep walking till you know this journey knows no end'," Baldota, whose father was closely association with Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom movement, told IANS in an email interview.

Sodhi couldn't agree more. "Spiritually, it has been a journey of letting go of unnecessary mental shackles and transferring all energy into constructive, creative, faith-filled action," she told IANS.

"Since the book is about the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi's messages then, now and next - this process has reaffirmed my belief in simple living, high thinking. It has shown me how poignant and infinite his ideas remain for a world grappling with the consequences of its collective action," Sodhi added.

"The power of the Mahatma is such that everyone involved in Santati, whether it's the curator, the artists, the artisans, the collectors or the viewers have all been touched. The exhibition was experiential and so is the book. The book has immortalized the exhibition and all that it stands for. Like the subject we have managed to maintain the austerity and yet create an impact," Baldota said.

"There has been research at many levels, involving many people. For instance, the research of Kishore Jhunjhunwala (the collector) has been for over 50 years and the research of Navkirat Sodhi has been for two extensive years. Every artist involved in Santati delved deeper into Mahatma Gandhi's ideologies and portrayed what resonated with them," Baldota explained.

For instance, Gaurav Gupta's :Tunnel of Infinity" was inspired by the Mahatma's heartbeat that he came across at Gandhi Smriti, Ashiesh Shah's "Shanti totem" represented peace and self- reliance , Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth's "Ahimsa, inspired by Gandhiji's spectacles, represented non-violence.

Gaurang Shah's "Khadi A Canvas: was obviously a tribute to the 'swadeshi' movement and Khadi, Rajesh Pratap's "Neel Vidroh" was inspired by Satyagraha, and Jean Francois Lesage's panels were inspired by Gandhiji's letters and the Dandi March.

"This apart, identifying and exhibiting photographs, paintings and sculptures from the collections of NGMA, IGNCA, JJ School of Arts, Museum of Art and Photography and the Kishore Jhunjhunwala memorabilia have been an important part of my research and curation," Baldota said.

It was equally hard work for Sodhi, given that Gandhi's collected works appear in over 100 volumes.

"What is now in book form is the result of our physical journey from concept to realisation. We visited each participating artist at their studio during the making of their works. Then I delved for months into the collected works by and about Mahatma Gandhi at the National Gandhi Museum and Library.

"I also visited Mani Bhawan in Mumbai and watched available audio-visual material about the man in India and globally. Once my spirit almost soaked in the light of his philosophy and dynamism is when I started penning the poems," Sodhi explained.

For Sodhi, of course, the research was more experiential than academic. It involved hours of staring into the works of artists from NGMA, JJ School of Arts, IGNCA and reading Mahatma Gandhi's collective works voraciously from the heart.

"The book has art spanning a century and somewhere between the photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the paintings of Nandalal Bose, Ramkinkar Baij, Elizabeth Brunner, the phenomenal weaving by textile designer Gaurang Shah and so much more, my research became more of a sublime process to weave art, the struggle for freedom and a mind that became a universal phenomenon, through poetry," Sodhi said.

Not surprisingly the way was made easier for her because "poetry is very much an alive form of expression. There is no greater joy for me to recite or perform to an audience who might otherwise be disinclined to or intimidated by poetry. It is when a poem tugs at those heart strings, that it comes to life. This is why I strive to include newer disciplines, artists and spectators to the repertoire of poetry's simple magic," she said.

What are their next projects? For Sodhi, from how it's shaping, "it seems like a long work in poetic fiction. I have been doodling with the framework for a little while. And a few collaborations are still under wraps.

As for Baldota, she is planning on curating a multi-disciplinary exposition on Hampi, facilitating engagement of local crafts and artisans with prominent artists and design people.

Given their success with Santati, there can be doubt that both Baldota and Sodhi have wings to fly and it won't be surprisingly if we keep hearing about then in the years to come.

(Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani can be reached at vishnu .makhijani@ians.in)
Sean Hoare shows his delight as Dundalk booked their place in the Europa League group stages at the Aviva Stadium last night. Photo: PA

Dundalk have landed Arsenal in a dream Europa League draw.

Filippo Giovagnoli's players can look forward to two meetings with the Premier League giants after today's draw pitted them with Mikel Arteta's side.

They will also face Rapid Vienna and Molde after landing into Group B.

The order of the fixtures will be confirmed later today.

Giovagnoli's team qualified for the group stage after three successive wins through the champions route of the competition, culminating with last night's victory over Faroese opponents KI Klaksvik.

It's unclear if spectators will be present for any of their games.

UEFA have given permission for clubs to allow fans into Champions League and Europa League ties provided the attendance doesn't exceed 30pc of stadium capacity.

But that is also dependent on local authority rules and, under current restrictions, Dundalk games in Dublin would be subject to Level 3 rules in the capital which mean sporting fixtures must take place behind closed doors.

However, an FAI statement on Thursday night indicated they would be making representations to the government with regard to fixtures taking place in the Aviva Stadium from November onwards.

This is likely to be tied in with GAA requests to allow spectators into Croke Park for the latter end of the inter county season and IRFU attempts to secure crowds for their big international games.

Dundalk's Europa League games are set to come into that bracket with the Aviva Stadium to function as their home ground under UEFA regulations.

Celtic, who were losing UEFA Cup finalists in 2003, will also face Czech side Sparta Prague and French club Lille in Group H.

Neil Lennons side dropped into the Europa League qualifiers after being knocked out of the 2020-21 Champions League by Ferencvaros of Hungary.

Rangers will face Standard Liege of Belgium and Polish side Lech Poznan in Group D, in addition to the glamour trip to Lisbon.

Tottenham, UEFA Cup winners in 1972 and 1984, have been drawn against Bulgarian side Ludogorets, LASK of Austria and Royal Antwerp from Belgium in Group J.

Jose Mourinhos men secured their place in the group phase after a 7-2 victory over Israeli side Maccabi Haifa on Thursday night.

The final Premier League representatives, Leicester, will take on Braga of Portugal, Greek side AEK Athens and Zorya Luhansk from Ukraine in Group G.

Additional reporting by PA
The matter of Lewis Hamilton's expiring Mercedes contract could be delayed until after the 2020 season.

Earlier, the six-time world champion indicated that he felt uncomfortable negotiating a new deal for 2021 and beyond amid the covid crisis.

But others suspect that he is waiting to see not only how speculation of a potential team sale pans out, but also what role Toto Wolff will have in the future.

"It is clear that I want to continue with the team, but we can sit down to do that later," Hamilton said. "I am not talking to anyone else."

The German broadcaster RTL claims the matter of Hamilton's contract has been postponed until after the 2020 racing season.

When asked about that, team boss Wolff told Sky Deutschland: "That can happen. We have already done that in the past.

"I love working with Lewis and I think it's mutual. A contract like that requires a lot of detailed work so we want to take our time to look at that."

(GMM)
adamkaz/iStockBy ARIELLE MITROPOULOS and HALLEY FREGER, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- For Frances Smylie Brown, the upcoming presidential election will mark the fifth time she has worked the polls as an election judge in Denver. But with the novel coronavirus still lurking, she knows that this experience will be like no other.



Preparations include a raft of increased safety protocols at polling sites, such as separating voters and judges with plexiglass separators, spacing outlines and disinfecting surfaces.



"The people who chose to work here are aware there's COVID and know that we go to huge extremes to keep everybody safe," Brown, 67, told ABC News.



Like Brown, election officials around the country are gearing up for the unique challenges of opening polling places during a global pandemic. Out of the 12 states ABC News did not receive information from, seven have a state-wide mask mandate in place. And 33 -- plus Washington, D.C. -- of the 39 states reached out to by ABC News confirmed that they plan to require or strongly recommend voters to wear face coverings. For them, one of the thorniest challenges has been figuring out what to do with voters who refuse.



While many shops and grocery stores now routinely refuse service to shoppers without masks, creating any barrier to voting presents bigger legal issues.



None of the states reached out to by ABC News said they are prepared to turn away voters who refuse to wear masks, but many said they are making preparations, like trying to head off crowds by encouraging people to use mail-in ballots and or allowing curbside voting and special booths where workers can wear protective equipment.



To mask or not to mask



One crucial element to keeping voters and poll workers safe is to strongly urge those planning to vote in-person to wear masks. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has encouraged doing so, telling ABC News' Deborah Roberts, "If you go and wear a mask, if you observe the physical distancing, and don't have a crowded situation, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to do that."



In Colorado, where there is a statewide mask mandate in place, the secretary of state has issued step-by-step recommendations on what to do, including training poll workers to use de-escalation techniques, such as maintaining a calm voice and demeanor in the event of conflict. Brown said that part of their training involved learning to remain calm in all situations.



"It's much more of a focus this time," she said.



But staying calm may not always be so easy. During the Minnesota primary in August, the city of Minneapolis reported 21 incidents where voters refused to wear masks, according to Grace Wachlarowicz, an assistant city clerk who helped run the election. Although the right to vote supersedes the state's mask mandate, she said voters still faced potential penalties for refusing to comply, or for turning down alternative voting options. However, the election's office reported that as of now, no one has been charged.



The Minnesota Voters Alliance and several GOP lawmakers recently sued Gov. Tim Walz, challenging the legality and constitutionality of his July 25 executive order, which requires that masks be worn in public places, including polling places. The lawsuit contends that the order conflicts with a 1963 state law that makes it illegal for someone to conceal their identity in public with a mask.



Those suing Walz are seeking a restraining order against him. The judge in the case promised to issue a ruling soon. Regardless of the lawsuit, the secretary of state's office said "no voter will be denied the right to vote for failure to wear a mask."



And for those who won't...



Some don't agree that election officials are out of line when asking voters to mask up. Nicholas Stephanopoulos, an expert on election law and constitutional law and a professor at Harvard Law School, told ABC News he did not think it would be unconstitutional to turn away a voter who refused.



"For challenges like these, the law asks how heavy is the policy's burden on voting?" he said. "Here, the burden on voting is trivial; it's perfectly easy to cast a ballot while wearing a mask."



In Texas, a nonpartisan organization called Mi Familia Vota, which works to increase civic engagement in the Latino community, joined with the Texas NAACP and two individuals and filed a lawsuit to protest the state's decision to tolerate voters who refuse to wear a mask. They argued the lax standard "will put voters at risk of transmitting or being infected with the coronavirus."



"The risk will not be shared equally," the lawsuit alleges, because of indications that Black and Latino voters are at a disproportionately high risk of being infected by the virus. The legal challenge was dismissed in August by a federal judge.



Other states are trying to find ways to accommodate everyone safely. New York election officials will require voters and poll workers to wear masks at the polls, but they will also recommend that each polling site have an isolated area where poll workers in protective equipment can assist voters who are unable or unwilling to wear masks.



In Connecticut, as well, election officials are asking voters to wear masks at polling sites, but cannot require masks in a way that prevents anyone from voting. Election officials have been encouraged to find special accommodations for voters who refuse to wear masks. Some are trying out curbside voting, where poll workers bring the voters their ballots and privacy sleeves right to their cars.



Despite the increased safety protocols across the country, people like Brown, who work at polling sites, are determined to assist voters. She said she's excited by the new voters who have registered in her state.



"What a wonderful thing and what an important thing you can do," Brown said. "I strongly believe that everyone should come in and vote, no matter how they're going to vote."



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
There could soon be a new adjudication process for motorists to dispute a parking ticket in Peterborough, rather than going to court.

Its called a Parking Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP) system, and it could replace the courts to deal with parking infractions.

Using the AMP system, a screening officer would review the ticket and decide whether to cancel it, reduce the fine or to extend the deadline for payment.

If the ticket stands and the motorist wishes to appeal, a hearing officer would step in for a second review and decide whether the motorist gets a break.

All this would be free to the motorist whos disputing the ticket, states a new city staff report, with municipal hearings available once a month.

At a meeting on Monday, councillors will review the proposal from staff for the first time and decide whether to give it preliminary approval. If approved, the matter would need a final vote at a forthcoming council meeting to be put into effect.

City staff recommends AMP as a quicker, less-expensive means for motorists to dispute parking tickets  and it would also keep the courts from being tied up with very minor offenses, the report notes.

Currently the only way to dispute a parking ticket is before a judge or justice of the peace.

Its an expensive process thats often ridden with delays, the report states: a justice of the peace costs the city $300 an hour and the matter can require several court appearances to arrive at a resolution.

But under AMP, a hearing officer would be paid $275 for a 3.5-hour adjudication, or $350 if it takes longer.

A screening officer could meet with the motorist in person, the report explains, or virtually or not at all (they might simply review the documents).

Furthermore it could generate money for the city: The report states that city staff would consider asking other area municipalities whether theyd like to enter into an agreement with Peterborough to use its AMP system.

Peterborough wouldnt be the only city in Ontario to adopt AMP. The provincial government amended the Municipal Act nearly 14 years ago to allow these types of hearings, and other cities have it in place.

Although the report doesnt mention it, a web search of municipalities shows that the cities of London, Markham, Brampton and Waterloo already use AMP, and that Toronto is considering it too.

City councillors meet at 6 p.m. on Monday at City Hall. The meeting will be livestreamed on the citys website.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Moroccos Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita signed a deal today aimen agreement today cementing the two countries defense relationship through the next decade.

Full details of the accord, signed during Espers visit to Rabat, have not been publicized. But the Pentagon said it would allow the two countries to improve their military cooperation, with an emphasis on the annual African Lion multinational exercise led by the United States and Morocco.

Moroccos Foreign Ministry said the agreement will serve as a road map for defense cooperation between the two countries, both in terms of strategic partnership and shared security goals.

Improving the degree of military readiness is among the priorities, the countrys Royal Armed Forces said in a statement. During the visit, Esper met with Deputy Prime Minister Abdeltif Loudiyi and the inspector general of Moroccos armed forces, Gen. Abdelfettah Louarak.

The two sides also discussed regional problems, economic issues, and more, according to the Pentagon.

Why it matters: The United States is looking to build up its partnerships in North Africa amid Russias growing military presence on the Mediterranean, and amid both Moscow and Beijings interests in Africa in general.

Todays agreement follows a similar 10-year road map signed by Esper and Tunisian officials this week.

That plan included cooperation on areas such as freedom of navigation, sharing intelligence and disaster response operations, the Pentagon said, adding that the deal took two years to negotiate and could serve as a blueprint for future US agreements with other governments in Africa.

On Thursday, Esper made the first visit of a US defense secretary to Algeria since 2006. The trip was widely seen as gesture to invite the former French colony  one of the region's top military spenders per capita  closer to the United States' strategic orbit.

Algeria has relied for decades on Russian arms sales. Longtime President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was ousted by popular protests last year, and the countrys draft constitution, if approved, would allow it to deploy its troops outside of the countrys borders.

What's next: While the United States formally considers Morocco and Tunisia non-NATO allies, it's not clear Algeria intends to move to join its neighbors anytime soon.

Know more: Read about the US Africa Commands latest assessment of foreign fighters and Russian hardware in the conflict in neighboring Libya.
Technavio has been monitoring the biostimulants market and it is poised to grow by 2 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 12% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005737/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Biostimulants Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to transform the growth of various industries, the immediate impact of the outbreak is varied. While a few industries will register a drop in demand, numerous others will continue to remain unscathed and show promising growth opportunities. Technavio's in-depth research has all your needs covered as our research reports include all foreseeable market scenarios, including pre- post-COVID-19 analysis. Download a Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impacts

Frequently Asked Questions:

What are the major trends in the market?

Reduction in arable land is a major trend driving the growth of the market.

Reduction in arable land is a major trend driving the growth of the market. At what rate is the market projected to grow?

The year-over-year growth for 2020 is estimated at 12.11% and the incremental growth of the market is anticipated to be 2 bn,

The year-over-year growth for 2020 is estimated at 12.11% and the incremental growth of the market is anticipated to be 2 bn, Who are the top players in the market?

ADAMA Ltd., BASF SE, Bayer AG, Evonik Industries AG, FMC Corp., ISAGRO Spa, Italpollina Spa, Syngenta Crop Protection AG, UPL Ltd., and VALAGRO Spa, are some of the major market participants.

ADAMA Ltd., BASF SE, Bayer AG, Evonik Industries AG, FMC Corp., ISAGRO Spa, Italpollina Spa, Syngenta Crop Protection AG, UPL Ltd., and VALAGRO Spa, are some of the major market participants. What is the key market driver?

The demand for organic food is one of the major factors driving the market.

The demand for organic food is one of the major factors driving the market. How big is the Europe market?

The Europe region will contribute 27% of the market share.

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. ADAMA Ltd., BASF SE, Bayer AG, Evonik Industries AG, FMC Corp., ISAGRO Spa, Italpollina Spa, Syngenta Crop Protection AG, UPL Ltd., and VALAGRO Spa are some of the major market participants. The demand for organic food will offer immense growth opportunities. To make most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free.

View market snapshot before purchasing

Technavio's custom research reports offer detailed insights on the impact of COVID-19 at an industry level, a regional level, and subsequent supply chain operations. This customized report will also help clients keep up with new product launches in direct indirect COVID-19 related markets, upcoming vaccines and pipeline analysis, and significant developments in vendor operations and government regulations.

Biostimulants Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Biostimulants Market is segmented as below:

Product Acid-based Extract-based Others

Type Raw Crops And Cereals Fruits And Vegetables Turfs And Ornaments Others

Application Foliar Soil Seed

Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40738

Biostimulants Market 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. The biostimulants market report covers the following areas:

Biostimulants Market Size

Biostimulants Market Trends

Biostimulants Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies a reduction in arable land as one of the prime reasons driving the biostimulants market growth during the next few years.

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Technavio's in-depth research has direct and indirect COVID-19 impacted market research reports.

Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform

Biostimulants Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist biostimulants market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the biostimulants market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the biostimulants market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of biostimulants market vendors

Table of Contents:

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

Preface

Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Value chain analysis

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2019

Market outlook

Market size and forecast 2019-2024

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT

Market segmentation by product

Comparison by product

Acid-based Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Extract-based Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by product

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY APPLICATION

Market segmentation by application

Comparison by application

Foliar Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Soil Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Seed Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by application

PART 09: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 10: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY CROP TYPE

Market segmentation by crop type

Comparison by crop type

Row crops and cereals Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Fruits and vegetables Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Turfs and ornaments Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by crop type

PART 11: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 12: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 13: MARKET TRENDS

Reduction in arable land

Upcoming regulation on biostimulants

Global initiatives to improve agricultural output

PART 14: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 15: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

ADAMA Ltd.

BASF SE

Bayer AG

Evonik Industries AG

FMC Corp.

ISAGRO Spa

Italpollina Spa

Syngenta Crop Protection AG

UPL Ltd.

VALAGRO Spa

PART 16: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

Definition of market positioning of vendors

PART 17: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005737/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/
Friday, October 2, 2020

Bookpleasures.com welcomesas our guest professor, writer and artist, Kathleen Kelley Reardon.





Kathleen has published tennonfiction books and two crime mysteries. Her debut novel, ShadowCampus, was described by Forbes as fast-paced and amasterful debut. Damned If She Does (2020), aManhattan-based sequel described by Kirkus as informed andsearing, was selected for their September 2020 Great IndieBooks Worth Discovering.







Kathleen is a member ofthe Ireland Chapter of the International Womens Forum. She livesin Schull, West Cork Ireland where the upcoming third book in hercrime mystery trilogy takes place.

A professor of businessand communication, Kathleen has published extensively in journals,magazines, and was a signature front-page blogger with HuffingtonPost from 2005 to 2016.

Shes also writtenfor The Conversation, Big Think and ThriveGlobal.

Her classic HarvardBusiness Review case, The Memo Every Woman Keeps in Her Desk,became a reprint bestseller leading to her first trade book, TheyDont Get It, Do They?

Its from this workabout female challenges at work that Kathleens two crime mysterynovels emerged - along with writing about sexual misconduct anddeveloping a spectrum from mild forms of offense to egregious onesabout which she was interviewed by David Brancaccio on MarketplaceMorning Report.

In September, Kathleenpresented online at the International Dublin Writers FestivalCrossing the Bridge from Nonfiction to Fiction Writing. Shedescribed the false dichotomy of treating fiction andnonfiction as if in two distinct silos. Nonfiction can inform fiction- as did her nonfiction writing about challenges women face inhostile workplaces before writing her novels ShadowCampus and Damned If She Does.

Her nonfiction trade booksinclude The Secret Handshake, Its All Politics, TheSkilled Negotiator and Comebacks at Work, whichhave been Amazon bestsellers.

Norm: Good day Kathleenand thanks for participating in our interview.

How did you get startedin writing? Why do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goalfor your books?

Kathleen: Hi Norm. Thanksfor inviting me. My nonfiction books derived from my research as aprofessor of communication and later business.

My two crime mysterieswere influenced by some of that research on gender differences and myown experiences as a professor.

Shadow Campusstarts with a young professor, Meg Doherty, found hanging in heroffice nearly dead the night before her tenure decision.

In Damned If She Does,a sequel, Meg has been keeping a dark secret from everyone, includingher brother Shamus, until she comes upon the body of the man whocaused it all and she quickly becomes the prime suspect. Both booksinvolve a brother-sister duo solving the mystery.

Norm: What has beenyour greatest challenge (professionally) that youve overcome ingetting to where youre at today?

Kathleen: There have beenseveral. I would say that overcoming breast cancer in my earlythirties and twenty years later being diagnosed with Parkinsonscertainly presented major obstacles.

Fortunately, by the time Ibegan to realize that I had Parkinsons disease, much of my careerhad been established. Nevertheless, at the age of 52 I had plans thathad to be reconfigured. I did become a fiction writer and artist, soyou could say that when a door closed, two windows opened.

Norm: How do you dealwith criticism?

Kathleen: Im used toconstructive criticism as a writer. You have to listen to what othersthink when youre a professor or you wont be able to publish injournals important to promotion. You get used to editors asking forchanges and the same thing happens when writing nonfiction books inparticular.

Norm: What did you findmost useful in learning to write? What was least useful or mostdestructive?



Kathleen: I lovedwriting even as a child. I was fortunate to have some wonderfulteachers early on, especially in my junior year of high school. Judith Kase was extremely encouraging and helped me developconfidence in and enthusiasm about writing. All writers getrejections, especially early on. Its important to keep writing andto improve by reading the works of highly regarded authors.

Norm: Do you write moreby logic or intuition, or some combination of the two? Pleasesummarize your writing process.



Kathleen: With crimemysteries, Id say both are necessary. You have to keep in mindwhat can logically occur. In terms of intuition, Im oftenasked how I keep readers from knowing who did it. The answer: Ihide it from myself. Any of the primary characters could be thekiller and I keep several as candidates until near the end.

Its a lot like spinninga number of plates, but thats what I enjoy about mysteries. If Iknow precisely who done it while writing, theres a goodchance that Ill accidentally telegraph that to my readers.So, keeping me in the dark keeps them in the dark too. Itruly enjoy that aspect.

Norm: Does the linebetween truth and fiction sometimes become blurred for you?

Kathleen: Most fictionisnt void of truth. Unlike my nonfiction books, however, theresmore room for play and imagination with fiction.

Id say that if the lineblurs, its purposeful for me. I allow my nonfiction, especiallyabout academia and gender issues, inform my crime mysteries thatoccur in academic contexts.

But, for example, ShadowCampus starts, as I mentioned, with Meg Doherty, a youngprofessor, found hanging in her office  nearly dead - on the eveof her tenure committee decision. While promotion to tenure is astressful time and people can present obstacles, this was certainly ascene that no one I know has experienced. Yet, it wasnt beyond therealm of possibility in fiction.

Norm: How do you choosethe names of your characters?

Kathleen: Thats a funquestion, Norm. I take time with this. Meg and Shamus, the leadcharacters, are from and Irish American family, and I like thosenames. Jeffries in Damned If She Does needed a name thatsuited a tough detective. It took a few walks to come up with hisname. I think it suits him well. Sometimes I hear a name and realizethat it will fit a character.

Norm: Do you ever dreamabout your characters?

Kathleen: Yes. And aboutthe plot. The characters and their story become part of your lifewhen youre writing.

You begin to know whatthey would and wouldnt do. I should mention that Megs dreamsequence in Damned If She Does was partially derived from adream Id actually had when writing the book. It was so unsettlingthat it woke me up ?

Norm: What doyou think most characterizes your writing?



Kathleen: I do a lot withdialogue rather than telling the reader exactly what characters looklike or what theyre doing. Take Shamus, for example, there arehints in my books about what he looks like, but I find readers comeup with their own version of Shamus. I like giving them that option.

Norm: Could you tell usabout your latest novel, Damned If She Does?

Kathleen: Damned If SheDoes is first and foremost a New York City crime mystery. Butfiction often conveys messages about reality. In this case theplot involves Meg Doherty keeping a dark secret for six years. Thisis how its described on Amazon:

When a renowned professoris viciously murdered at a Manhattan conference, Meg stumbles uponthe scene and quickly becomes the prime suspect. It falls to herbrother, Shamus, to help prove her innocence.

The estranged sister andbrother we met in Reardon's debut novel, Shadow Campus, nowfind they know less about each other than they thought. Caught inNYC's blinding media spotlight, gilded society and criminalunderworld, the pair must confront not only Meg's secret but along-suppressed family mystery.

Damned If She Does"artfully stirs" what Kirkus Reviews describes as a"dangerous cauldron of ambitious scholars." "Informedand searing" in her "takedown of ivory tower politics,"Reardon makes us work for answers throughout the "page-turningscenes" of this MeToo whodunit.

Norm: How did youbecome involved with the subject or theme of your book?

Kathleen: As a professor,I was tenured at two universities. I knew the process well. Iremember waking up one morning with the plot of Shadow Campus inmy head. I had to get the bones of it down. So, I started writingvery early that morning.

After my three childrenhad gone to school, I spent much of that day writing. I rememberbeing on spring break and putting everyday of that week into ShadowCampus.

With my academic work,though, I had to put it away and mostly work on it during the summersfor a few years. You could say that I was immersed in the context ofthe novel by being a female professor in a department where women hadnot successfully attained tenure through the system. I was the first.

And, it was a struggle much like the one Meg experiences in Shadow Campus. DamnedIf She Does takes place at an academic conference. I attendedthose for years, some in New York City. So, again my experience as aprofessor influenced the story.

Norm: What were yourgoals and intentions in Damned If She Does, and how well doyou feel you achieved them?

Kathleen: My primary goalwas to write a second crime mystery that would be a challenge for thereader. I believe that was achieved given what readers tell me. Ialso wanted to bring Shamus and Meg back to life and present themwith a number of dangerous challenges. Theres a helicopter scenethat is particularly harrowing.

Norm: What was the mostdifficult part of writing Damned If She Does and what did youenjoy most about writing this book?

Kathleen: The difficultycame mostly from the cognitive challenges I have with Parkinsons.I used to be able to fit two days into one. Cognitive issues were oneof the earlier symptoms for me and one of the most troublesome as aprofessor and writer.

I learned that exercisingmy brain as I did when writing blogs, helped. Still, I would haveloved to put in four hours a day writing Damned If She Does,but it wasnt possible most days.

I meditate using BernieSiegels Morning and Evening Meditation. I met him when I wasdiagnosed with breast cancer in my early thirties. My oncologistintroduced me to him. His meditations have made a world of differencein terms of restoring my energy to write each day and also to paint.

Norm: Where can ourreaders find out more about you and your books?

Kathleen: Both ShadowCampus and Damned If She Does are available on Amazon.comand described there. And right now, Damned if She Does is only$5.00 on Kindle. Also, the audible version of Damned If She Doeswill be ready soon.



You can also follow me on MY BLOG



Im excited about that.Two performers, Brendan Conroy and Camilla Griehsel did the readingnear where I live in West Cork, Ireland. I produced it and because ofCovid-19, we communicated daily by video conferencing. My husband,Chris, is editing it.

Norm: What is next forKathleen Kelley Reardon?

Kathleen: I have the thirdcrime mystery of the trilogy to write. Its partially done. Imlooking forward to writing a memoir. Friends and family have beenencouraging me to do that. Im beginning to warm up to the idea.Ill continue to paint as I love it. Some of my painting is atwww.paintingdoc.com and at www.mizenartists.com

Norm: As this interviewcomes to an end, what advice can you give aspiring writers that youwished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have listenedto?

Kathleen: Dont waituntil you think you have a story good enough to write. Start writingnow. Short stories or even journal entries will get you going.

Norm: Thanks once againand good luck with all of your future projects.

Kathleen: Thank you verymuch, Norm.



NormGoldman -- bookpleasures.com

islisted at

ExpertClick.com
SOLNA, Sweden, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The following representatives of Loomis AB's shareholders will be members of the Nomination Committee for the Annual General Meeting 2021:

Elisabet Jamal Bergstrom, appointed by SEB Investment Management, Chairman of the Nomination Committee

Helen Fasth Gillstedt , appointed by Handelsbanken Fonder

, appointed by Handelsbanken Fonder Bernard Horn , appointed by Polaris Capital Management

, appointed by Polaris Capital Management Marianne Nilsson , appointed by Swedbank Robur Fonder

, appointed by Swedbank Robur Fonder Jacob Lundgren , appointed by Andra AP-fonden

The Chairman of the Board, Alf Goransson, has convened the Nomination Committee to its first meeting and has also been co-opted to the Nomination Committee.

The Nomination Committee shall prepare proposals for the Annual General Meeting in 2021 regarding the election of Chairman of the General Meeting, members of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the Board, auditor, fees for the members of the Board including division between the Chairman and the other Board members, as well as fees for committee work, fees to the company's auditor and, if necessary, changes of the instructions for the Nomination Committee.

The Annual General Meeting will be held on 6 May 2021 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Proposals to the Nomination Committee can be sent via e-mail to [email protected] before 31 January 2021.

For further information, please contact:

Alf Goransson

Chairman of the Board

Contact: Carina Cederblad

+46-8-522-920-53

[email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/loomis-ab/r/nomination-committee-for-loomis--annual-general-meeting-2021,c3209387

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/51/3209387/1314081.pdf Nomination Committee for Loomisa Annual General Meeting 2021

SOURCE Loomis AB
With immaculate bodywork, its clearly still in tip-top condition despite having a few miles on the clock.

And Kate Mosss old car is looking pretty good for its age, too.

Or, at least the white Mini Cooper certainly looks like the supermodels former runaround  which she was pictured in 19 years ago after passing her driving test.

This car  which has the same bodywork and number plate  was handed to Kate Mosss daughter Lila Grace for her 18th birthday

Kate Moss was pictured driving her new Mini in Notting Hill in September 2001

This car  which has the same bodywork and number plate  was handed to Miss Mosss daughter Lila Grace for her 18th birthday. And the teenager looked shocked and thrilled when it arrived outside her mothers home in Highgate, north London, on Tuesday.

The young model excitedly inspected the soft-top and sat in it, watched by her smiling mother and father Jefferson Hack, Miss Mosss former partner.

Miss Moss, 46, then took her daughter for a final spin around the block before handing the youngster the keys. Also at the birthday gathering was Mary Davidson  the mother of actress Sadie Frost  who used to be Lilas nanny.

Miss Moss took her daughter for a final spin around the block before handing the youngster the keys

Miss Moss is back in London after isolating in her Cotswolds pile with her boyfriend Count Nikolai von Bismarck, 33, Lila, and half-sister Lottie, 22

Miss Moss was photographed with an identical-looking Mini in September 2001.

At the time, the novice driver drew jokey comparisons to her motor racing namesake Stirling Moss as she spent ten minutes trying to reverse in to a parking space.

She had passed her test only that May. Onlookers in west Londons Notting Hill reportedly saw the model look embarrassed and then giggle with relief when she finally managed to park the car, which had a 1998 number plate.

It is believed to be the same car Miss Moss gave her daughter  and according to the Carnalytics website, it has had four keepers and no change in number plate.

Miss Moss is back in London after isolating in her Cotswolds pile with her boyfriend Count Nikolai von Bismarck, 33, Lila, and half-sister Lottie, 22.

After years of heavy nights out, she recently revealed she now prefers yoga and watching Netflix before bed.
President Donald Trump gives the thumbs-up as he walks from Marine One to the White House in Washington as he returns from Bedminster, N.J., Oct. 1, 2020. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

World Leaders Wish Trump, First Lady Well After COVID-19 Diagnosis

Leaders around the world sent well-wishes to U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after they tested positive for COVID-19, the new disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter.

My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus, added British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who went through a harrowing ordeal with the disease earlier this year.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said he and his wife were thinking of the Trumps and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery.

Netanyahu was among those who attended an outdoor White House signing ceremony on Sept. 15. Israel signed peace accords with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Officials from the countries said the deals were assisted greatly by Trump.

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, left, meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Sept. 15, 2020. (Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement that hes pulling for a quick recovery for Trump and his wife.

I am certain that your inherent life energy, high spirits and optimism will help you to overcome the dangerous virus, Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin on Friday.

A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she sends her best wishes to the Trumps.

I hope that they recover well from their coronavirus infection and are soon completely healthy again, the spokeswoman quoted Merkel as saying, Reuters reported.

Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that officials were sending their best wishes to the Trumps for a speedy recovery & return to full health, adding: The government & people of Taiwan stand with the U.S. at this testing time.

Vice President Mike Pence said he and his wife were sending their love and prayers to the president and first lady.

We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania, he wrote on Twitter.

It wasnt clear whether Pence would be or has been tested for COVID-19 following the Trumps diagnosis, or the confirmed case of White House aide Hope Hicks. The White House didnt respond to an inquiry.

While there were fears that Trump, 74, is in a high-risk group for COVID-19, former White House physician Ronny Jackson, now a Republican candidate for a congressional seat, said early Friday that both Trumps are not showing symptoms.

A man wearing a face mask walks near a TV screen reporting about U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump during a news program with a file image of Trump at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 2, 2020. (Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)

The President is in very good health and has NO comorbities [sic], he wrote on Twitter, referring to underlying health conditions such as diabetes or obesity.

Well over 99% of healthy individuals in the Presidents age group recover completely and most never even become symptomatic. I fully expect this to be the case with President Trump as well, he added.

Members of Congress joined world leaders in wishing the Trumps well.

My husband Abraham and I offer our best wishes and aloha to President @realDonaldTrump and the First Lady @FLOTUS and praying for their speedy recovery, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) wrote on Twitter.

We also send our best wishes to Ivanka, Tiffany, Donald Trump Jr., Eric, and Barron during this difficult time.
UP Polls: Priyanka in Firozabad to continue women centric campaign

Can you see any other face?: Priyanka Gandhi on Congress's CM candidate in Uttar Pradesh

Hathras rape case: Priyanka Gandhi joins prayer meet for victim at Valmiki Temple

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Oct 02: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi today attended a prayer meet at the Maharishi Valmiki temple in Delhi in memory of the victim of the brutal rape and murder.

This comes a day after former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka were detained by the Uttar Pradesh Police while walking towards Hathras to meet the family of the rape victim.

Hathras SP, 4 other cops suspended; media barred from victim's village till SIT completes probe

Hathras sealed ahead of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi's visit|Oneindia News

A 19-year-old woman, who was brutally gang-raped in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district two weeks ago, died of her grievous injuries at a Delhi hospital on Tuesday, prompting outrage, protests and calls for justice.

Recalling the horrors of the Nirbhaya case, the Dalit teen was allegedly sexually attacked by four men on September 14 and referred on Monday to a Delhi hospital in an extremely critical condition with spinal injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue.

She couldn't survive the night and died at 3 am, Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir quoted her family as saying.
(Newser)  President Trump and Melania Trump's positive coronavirus tests have kicked off a flurry of testing among the political elitefollowed by a midday sigh of relief from Democrats following news that Joe Biden tested negative. The New York Times has confirmation by way of his campaign. Meanwhile, one other positive case was apparently confirmed well before the Trumps': that of RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel. CNN has this statement: "After a member of her family tested positive for COVID-19, the Chairwoman was tested for the virus. On Wednesday afternoon, she got confirmation she was COVID-19 positive. She has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday." Mike Pence and his wife have tested negative, as has Trump's youngest son, Barron. "All precautions are being taken to ensure he's kept safe and healthy," Melania Trump spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told Fox News. More:

Fox News also reported by way of a source that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have tested negative.

Joe Biden isn't the only other debate participant to seek a test following Trump's news. Moderator Chris Wallace said on Fox & Friends Friday, "You can bet ... I'm going to have to get a test." Politico quotes the 72-year-old as saying: "Although I think I was far enough away, you know, we all take that question: 'Were you exposed to somebody who has tested positive for COVID?' The answer is yes."

story continues below

Chris Christie also plans to get tested. Politico reports he spent time at the White House "off and on" between Saturday afternoon and Tuesday to help Trump prepare for the debate. He was tested daily, but he said he hadn't been tested since Tuesday morning.

As for what potentially looms for Trump, NBC News talks to a number of doctors who say it would be useful to know exactly when Trump contracted the virus. That's because the early stage of the infectionsay, the first three to five daysis often marked by little to no symptoms. Serious complications would generally appear during "days four through eight, but [it] can be later as well," per a Boston doctor who's been working with COVID-19 patients. Another says he's "had some patients get critically ill more than two to three weeks after the initial infection."

NBC News adds it's likely Trump's oxygen levels will be closely watched using a pulse oximeter, as they can plunge even in cases where people don't have severe symptoms.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is calling for anyone who was at Trump's Thursday fundraiser in his state to get tested. NJ.com reports the event was held at his Bedminster golf club, and a source tells the New York Times Trump had contact with roughly 100 people.

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah on Friday also revealed he'd tested positive after experiencing allergylike symptoms. He tweeted, "Unlike the test I took just a few days ago while visiting the White House, yesterday's test came back positive. On advice of the Senate attending physician, I will remain isolated for the next 10 days."

(Read more coronavirus stories.)
They have been told they are going to be vaccinated. They were expecting it, wanting it. Many are going along to their GPs and pharmacies saying, Here I am. Can I have it? And now are having to be told, Please be patient. Hold on, because you might be a priority group, but youre not a top priority group. 
Press Release

October 2, 2020 Drilon opposes sale of Phl properties in Japan

'You can never put a price tag on these Ph properties in Japan' Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon joined Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. in vehemently opposing the planned sale of various Philippine government properties in Japan citing their symbolic value to the Filipinos. "I agree with and support Sec Locsin's position on this issue. We oppose any plan to sell any of our properties in Japan. You can never put a price tag on these properties," Drilon said in a statement Friday. As the Supreme Court said in its ruling: "it is indeed true that the Roppongi property is valuable, not so much because of the inflated prices fetched by real property in Tokyo, but more so because of its symbolic value to all Filipinos, veterans and civilians alike." Drilon said that the Roppongi property, along with three other Philippines properties in Japan, are "symbols of Filipinos' bravery and sacrifices." The Roppongi property was acquired by the Philippine government pursuant to the reparations agreement between the Philippine and Japanese governments in 1956. Under such agreement, this Roppongi property was acquired by the Philippine government for a specific purpose, namely, to serve as the site of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. Aside from the Roppongi property, the Philippines has three more properties in Japan, which include the Nampeidai Property in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, the Kobe Commercial Property in Naniwa-cho, Kobe and the Kobe Residential Property in Obanoyama-cho, Shinohara, Nada-ku, Kobe. In 1990, the Supreme Court, in the case of Laurel v. Garcia, ruled that the Roppongi property cannot be sold without the concurrence of Congress. The former justice secretary explained that in accordance with the said ruling, the President cannot convey valuable real property of the government on his own sole will as such conveyance must be authorized and approved by a law enacted by Congress. But considering the properties' importance and value, Drilon said the laws on conversion and disposition of property of public dominion must be faithfully followed in accordance with Supreme Court rulings. Being part of public dominion, the Roppongi property and all other properties in Japan cannot be sold unless it is transformed into private property through legislation. Aside from the legislation that will transform these properties into private property, it would also need a law authorizing their conveyance. Section 48, Book I of the Administrative Code of 1997 provides that before the Philippine government can sell properties exceeding P100,000.00, the relevant Department Secretary is required to submit the necessary papers and recommendations to the Congress of the Philippines for approval, according to the former justice secretary. "Let me quote Vice President Savador Laurel when he said that 'the Roppongi property is not just like any piece of property. The Tokyo properties are a monument to the bravery and sacrifice of the Filipino people in the face of an invader; like the monuments of Rizal, Quezon, and other Filipino heroes, we do not expect economic or financial benefits from them,'" Drilon said. The minority leader said he is ready to fight "tooth and nail" in order to preserve the Philippine properties in Japan. "I will oppose the passage of that law in the Senate," he said. Drilon said the government should instead sell Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo if it aims to generate funds, not the Roponggi and other Japan properties that have so much historical value to Filipinos.
Followers of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters gathered at Jantar Mantar on Friday evening to protest against the gang-rape of the 19-year-old Dalit woman in Uttar Pradeshs Hathras.

Azad said that he will visit Hathras and urged the Supreme Court to take cognizance of the incident.

I will visit #Hathras. Our struggle will continue till the time UP CM doesnt resign, & justice is served. I urge SC to take cognizance of the incident, he said.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D Raja also joined the protests.

The UP government has no right to stay in power. Our demand is that justice should be served, Yechury said.

Here are the latest updates:

- Narco polygraph tests of the SP and DSP are also to be conducted, UP Chief Ministers Office has said.

- Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the suspension of Hathras superintendent of police Vikrant Vir and three other police officers for their handling of the gang-rape case.

- Entry and exit gate of Janpath metro station have also been opened now, says DMRC.

- DMRC has opened exit gates of Rajiv Chowk and Patel Chowk metro stations now.

- The entire country wants that the culprits should be given stringent punishment. Some people feel that attempts are being made to save them. At this time, the victims family needs all the possible help, says Kejriwal.

- This is a fight for justice for the family of the victim.There should be no politics over this issue. Such a crime should not have happened in any state in the country. No matter where it happens, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, or any city, Bangalore, Kolkata, or Delhi, the victim will always be one of Indias daughters. We have to ensure that rapes do not happen at all anywhere in the country, says CM Arvind Kejriwal.

- Delhi CM Kejriwal leads a candle light vigil on Jantar Mantar Road, flanked by AAP leaders including Aatishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Durgesh Pathak.

- Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has joined the protest at Jantar Mantar

- In view of the protests, Janpath metro station has been shut and exit gates at Rajiv Chowk and Patel Chowk stations will not be open, DMRC said.

- In a video message released earlier during the day, Azad said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needed to break his silence over the brutal rape of the woman.

The PM washes the feet of Dalits before elections but remains quiet when a Dalit daughter of Uttar Pradesh is brutally raped. We will organise a protest at India Gate at 5pm today. The PM will have to give us answers, he said.
Sirisia MP John Waluke brought Parliament to a standstill Thursday as he made his first public appearance since he was jailed over Sh313 corruption case.

Waluke, who was in custody for about four months, was Monday released on a cash bail of Sh10 million pending an appeal of his 67-year jail sentence.

His return to Parliament was met with jubilant cheers from his colleagues, interrupting the business of the House.

Nominated MP David Ole Sankok clapped his hands as the Sirisia MP walked in, attracting the chairs attention.

We dont clap our hands; you know how we do it. Let us have decorum in the House, said Jessica Mbalu.

In his defense, Sankok said: We are colleagues, Speaker you know I dont have legs so I must use the hands and mouth.

In his address, Waluke thanked those who supported him and reiterated that he was innocent.

I have been away for months and I want to take this opportunity to thank those who stood by me. I want the nation to know that I did not steal anything and Im not corrupt. Sometimes madam speaker its just a challenge, Waluke said.

The lawmaker also mentioned that his experience in prison taught him some lessons.

Ive been in jail for almost 4 months and Ive learnt a lot. It is a very big experience Madam Speaker that Ive learnt there are prisoners in prison some who have been jailed without any mistakes, said MP John Walukhe.

Meanwhile, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on Thursday challenged the decision by Justice John Onyiego to release Waluke and his business partner Grace Wakhungu.

Take notice that the DPP, being dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court intends to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision in which the court released each of the appellants on bail pending their appeal, the notice of appeal read.
2020 has been a challenging year, to say the least. A year that started with so much hope and promise has thrown us one curve ball after another. As we continue to watch California burn, we watch our friends struggling and wonder what will become of the 2020 vintage. With all the destruction and sadness, we need some hope and inspiration. The story of Mi Sueno is that.

Mi Sueno is a story of hard work. It is the story of perseverance. It is the story of success. It is the story of the American dream. Mi Sueno is the story of Rolando and Lorena Herrera.

When Rolando and I first spoke, the Wallbridge Fire in Sonoma and the Hennessey Complex Fire in Napa were burning, and the sky was filled with smoke. Rolando described walking through the vineyards was like walking in the clouds. Harvest had only just begun and yet he was not concerned. Having survived the 2017 fires, Rolando learned a lot. While no one knows what might happen in the bottle over time, he said, I am not afraid of smoke anymore.

Harvest at Mi Sueno began on Sept. 8, with the picking of Chardonnay. With 40 acres, his plan is to continue harvest through the third or fourth week of October. Rolando looks at 2020 as another year of learning, but he is optimistic. It is too soon to know how the smoke will affect his grapes, but he looks forward with positivity.

If you had met Rolando as a child, he would never have said that he would one day be a winemaker. While he grew up around agricultural farming with his grandparents, he was not even aware of the world of wine.

Rolando was born in Mexico in El Llano, the plain. Surrounded by thousands of farming acres, he was born and raised in the fields, pulling weeds and rocks as a child.

Rolandos father had been travelling to the Central Coast of California since the 1960s. A friend encouraged him to go to Napa to work at a big chicken factory in St. Helena. In 1967, he worked a harvest at Schramsberg. While in Napa, Rolandos father met landscaping architect Jack Chandler who was impressed with his work ethic, offered him a job and helped bring his family to Napa.

Rolando came to Napa in 1976 and lived there for five years before returning to Mexico. But, after two years in Mexico, Rolando knew that he wanted to return to Napa. He had an older brother who was still living there. So, in 1982, at the age of 15 1/2, Rolando moved to Napa to continue his studies.

Rolando enrolled in Napa High School and worked as a dishwasher at Auberge du Soleil at night. He and his brother would move around, sleeping in the vineyards and in their car. It was difficult, but they were determined to establish themselves in Napa.

By 1985 Rolando was finished working in restaurants and wanted to work outside. He got a summer job breaking rock for a wall for Warren Winiarski, founder of Stags Leap Wine Cellars. At the end of summer, Rolando thanked Winiarski for the opportunity and said he was returning to high school. Winiarski, impressed with his work ethic, offered him a job to work harvest.

Rolando did not know what harvest was, but he accepted the job. He described the amazing experience of walking into the cellar for the first time. It was like walking into a new world. The smell. From the first moment I walked in, I knew this is what I wanted to do.

Stags Leap Wine Cellars is where Rolando grew up, spending three years working in the cellar and seven years as cellar master. Rolando also enrolled in Napa College to study winemaking. After 10 years, he had reached a plateau and after a hard decision, he left to work at Chateau Potelle in St. Helena.

Rolando explained that leaving a great job at Stags Leap Wine Cellars where it was like family was the most important step in his journey. Working at Chateau Potelle offered an opportunity to work in a small winery where he could do everything from working in the vineyard to blending and tasting in the cellar. In three years, he grew from cellar master to winemaker.

1997 was a big year for Rolando. He married his wife Lorena. And, after years of being told what to do and how to do it, Rolando felt ready to take on more responsibility. He felt the inner pulling of his entrepreneurial spirit but with so much competition and talent in the region, he did not know who would hire him.

So, he decided to buy his own grapes and experiment. The idea was to make a few bottles of wine and use them as his resume. He bought four tons of Chardonnay from a vineyard in Carneros and made 18 barrels of wine, playing with yeasts and lees. Nine months later, he blended the wines together for the final result. He had no money but bottled the wine, and Mi Sueno was born.

While 1997 was the first vintage of Mi Sueno, it was his last vintage at Chateau Potelle. Rolando was hired as the assistant winemaker at Napa Wine Company and two months later, he was hired as the head winemaker at Vine Cliff Winery. He worked three harvests at Vine Cliff while slowly growing Mi Sueno.

Needing more flexibility, Rolando accepted a job with Paul Hobbs and worked as the director of winemaking from 2001 to 2003. By 2003, Rolando was running around, burning the candle at both ends, with his job, three consulting clients, his own brand and two children.

Forgoing the comfort of a paycheck, he took the leap to focus on Mi Sueno full time, while maintaining a few consulting gigs to help pay the bills. Rolando also began expanding his vineyards. With long term leases, he started in 1998 with five acres in Carneros, and today has eight vineyards with 40 producing acres. In 2007 he bought a building and built the winery on Enterprise Way.

Mi Sueno has been producing 10,000 to 11,000 cases of wine a year since 2009. They make Chardonnay from Los Carneros and Sonoma Mountain, Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley, and Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley.

2020 was off to a great start for Mi Sueno. Rolando started clearing a 20-acre property in Mount Veeder. He also started planting a new 45-acre vineyard in the Petaluma Gap that he had been eyeing for eight years.

First Covid-19 hit, and then the fires. Fortunately, Rolando and his family have not been significantly affected. There have been some delays due to Covid. And now it is a waiting game to see how the 2020 vintage will turn out.

But regardless of the roadblocks of 2020, Rolando never dreamed life would be so good to him. I could never imagine it, he said. I am a big dreamer, but I did not have the means or the background. As a child, he wondered how people succeeded. More than 30 years later, after hard work and patience, he has succeeded.

Mi Sueno is Rolandos field of dreams. He is determined to make Mi Sueno one of the best wineries in Napa. And it is this that drives him to be a great farmer and a steward of the land.

I love what I do, he said. For 35 years I have been working but I have loved it. I stopped working the day that I walked into the cellar. I am having the time of my life. You cannot rush success. Patience is the key. Work hard and you work smart.

Now, more than ever, Rolando knows the American dream exists.

Mi Sueno wines tasted:

 Mi Sueno 2016 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($75), 700 cases

Fruit is sourced from Coombsville (60 percent), Oak Knoll (10 percent) and Mount Veeder (10 percent). The juice spends 20 to 30 days skin contact and is then put in French oak barrels, of which 50-60 percent are new. The wine is luscious with notes of blackberry, cassis, chocolate, coffee, licorice, leather, sweet tobacco, and white clay. It is sweet upon entry into the mouth and has a fresh and lovely mouthfeel. The acid is well-integrated, and the tannins are smooth yet grippy.

Mi Sueno 2017 Mama Ester Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Coombsville ($90) 210 cases

In 2016, Rolando started producing single vineyard wines. Mama Ester is named after Rolandos grandmother, his role model in life. It is a three-acre vineyard in Coombsville. He has been working with this vineyard for seven vintages but 2017 is the first vintage as a single vineyard wine. The juice spends 25 days on the skins and the wine is aged in 70 percent new French oak. The wine has aromas of dark fruits, cassis, coffee, vanilla, and dusty wet earth and on the palate chocolate and graphite notes appear. The wine is young and tight and needs 15-20 years of aging. But it is a wine of confidence, power, and strength which is representative of Rolandos Mama Ester.

 Mi Sueno 2017 Lynnes Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder ($90), 275 cases

Planted in 2012, Lynnes Vineyard was the second vineyard Rolando leased in Napa. The wine has aromas of dark fruit, violets and roasted pumpkin seeds. It is a big wine yet refined and youthful with ripe, chewy, yet integrated, tannins.







Watch now: The Story of the American Dream: Mi Sueno

Allison Levine is owner of Please The Palate, a marketing and event-planning agency. A freelance writer, she contributes to numerous publications while eating and drinking her way around the world. Allison is also the host of the wine podcast Wine Soundtrack USA and a co-host of Crush On This videos on YouTube. Contact her at allison@pleasethepalate.com.
Letters to the editor, Oct. 2, 2020

For Rick Stracqualursi

To the editor,

I have become increasingly concerned about our present situation with the Covid 19 pandemic. In South Dakota we have thousands of people with no health insurance, or those who have lost their insurance after losing their jobs. With the upcoming Legislative session, we need legislators in Pierre who are highly educated in medical care and extensively experienced in medical issues, as well as dedicated to doing the right thing for the people of South Dakota, not to just follow the party line. I feel that person is Rick Stracqualursi for District 34 for the House of Representatives. Rick is a 29 year resident of Rapid City. He is highly experienced in health care economics. Improving health care access and controlling costs are high on his agenda.

That is why I, as a lifelong registered Republican, have chosen to support and work for the election of "Rick for the House", District 34 House of Representatives. We need legislators with Rick's experience working on South Dakota's problems. Please support Rick Stracqualursi for District 34 House of Representatives.

Allen E Nord, M.D., Rapid City

For Julie Frye-Muller

To the editor,

I would like to take this opportunity to show my support for Representative Julie Frye-Mueller in her run for election to the Senate District 30. She is a strong legislative defender of taxpayer rights.

After I was elected in 2018, I was assigned to the committee on local government and sat beside Representative Frye-Mueller. She was very encouraging, helpful and could not have been more supportive.

Julie recognized my individual potential and encouraged me to pursue my interests to their fullest. In my first session serving in the House she asked me if I would consider a leadership position if asked. Even though I was inexperienced, she reassured me I could expand my abilities without fear.

Representative Frye-Mueller reminds me of Ronald Reagan, she doesn't care who gets the credit, only that the citizens she represents are the benefactors of good legislation. She is one of the strongest advocates for our children and the privacy of the citizens of South Dakota.

I urge you to elect Julie Frye-Mueller for Dist. 30 State Senate. Allow her knowledge and passion to represent the citizens of South Dakota and be an inspiration to other legislators. I would be honored to serve with Senator Julie Frye-Mueller.

Tina Mulally, Rep. Dist. 35

You don't have the right

To the editor,

The citizens of SD who refuse to adhere to public health measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 do so in the name of freedom. Your freedom does not give you the right to infect other people. It does not give you the right to spread a disease which causes the cost of health care to rise.

It does not give you the right to cause the death of those with underlying conditions. It does not give you the right to delay getting society back to a more normal existence by your reluctance to adhere to simple rules, much like wearing a seat belt.

It does not give you the right to refuse a vaccine that would protect you and your family and those around you because of baseless conspiracy theories and false information. Your freedom doesn't give you the right to take it away from others.

Peter Dunner, MD, Bethesda, MD

Russians seek to undermine the U.S.

To the editor,

Beginning with the turn of this century, I served in Russia as a US diplomat. While ordinary Russians were envious of our American democracy, it was equally clear that their leadership sought to destroy our way of government. They understood that our democracy was the source of our social strength and our national power.

Through social media, the Russian Government seeks to undermine our way of life. They, among others, are making every effort to discredit our democracy and to seduce Americans into believing that our media and voting are suspect and untrustworthy.

It is my hope that Americans will reject this claptrap. A free press, such as we have, is essential to a great republic such as ours. Our voting procedures, including mail-in voting, used reliably since the Civil War to ensure that the broadest participation of our citizenry in elections, are the envy of the world.

Only the misinformed, or Americans seeking to overthrow our democracy, would fall in with the propaganda lines embraced by the Russians. No one knowingly wants to be a stooge for a foreign power. Unfortunately, the biggest stooge promoting these seditious lies, seemingly for his own advantage, is our own president.

Geoffrey Wiggin, Rapid City

Enjoy Trump's America

To the editor,

There are three people in the US that think they are smarter than all the Republicans combined. Read their rhetoric and see what you think. Gov Kasich and Terry Painter have a real plan for America. Pretend that the Republican agenda really belongs to the Democrats. Pretend that the Democratic agenda is really what the Republicans are preaching. Lets get it straight boys!

Either you are for the anarchists, which you preach, or you are for President Trumps agenda. Now we know that your hatred for President Trump supersedes all other agendas so the conclusion is that you are lying about your own position. So, Terry Painter, please refrain from any more of your anti-Trump, anti-Republican, anti-MAGA banter and just write something nice about Joe Biden and the Democrats. That will keep you busy Nov. 3, 2020 because there is nothing you can say that is the actual truth and we will recognize them as the lies you have been trying to extoll as the truth for the last four years. Get real man and enjoy the America that Trump brings you.

David C. Oleson, SR

Why I wear a mask

To the Editor:

I wear a mask because: It will help when I exhale, cough, or sneeze to keep the water droplets inside of the mask. I think Im in mint condition but I could be asymptomatic. I am thinking of you and your family, co-workers, neighbors loss of income, hospital expenses, or death. I am thinking of myself that wearing a mask will help protect me from the water droplets, from you or others so that I will not have loss of income, hospital expense, spread of the virus to my family, neighbors, or personally die.

Richard Rohrer, Rapid City

CAMPAIGN LETTERS POLICY

Your opinion is welcome. Letters to the editor should be 200 words or less and include the authors name and address, along with a phone number for confirmation purposes.

The phone number will not be published. Letters to the editor are limited to two per month per person. Letters mentioning topics connected to an upcoming election must be received within three weeks of that election.

Letters that endorse a candidate may be used, but multiple letters received for the same candidate with similar language will not be printed. Letters about a campaign, candidate or issue may be run as a paid advertisement within three weeks of an election.

-Journal Editorial Board

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. French President Emmanuel Macron said on October 2 that he would hold a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the transfer of Syrian militants through Turkey to Azerbaijan.

I will call President Erdogan in the next several days because I believe that France, as a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk Group, must demand explanations around this issue, Macron said.

Macron said he held a phone conversation on October 1 with Russian President Vladimir Putin to exchange information about the situation in Nagorno Karabakh. I believe I can say the Russian party is assessing the situation in the same way. I also think that poses a threat to the security of Russia and the whole region, Macron noted, describing the situation as unacceptable, according to Sputnik News.

France 24 reported that Macron also slammed Turkey for crossing the red line by transferring the jihadist militants to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone.

I call on all NATO member states to take note of the behavior of a NATO member state [Turkey], the French leader added.

Earlier President of France Emmanuel Macron announced that more than 300 Syrian Islamist militants have been transferred through Turkeys Gaziantep into the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone and are involved from the Azerbaijani side in the military operations. He said France possesses confirmed information, and has even identified the foreign fighters.

Earlier the Pentagon had also confirmed the information that Turkey transferred mercenaries to Azerbaijan.

The BBC had even managed to speak to one of these mercenaries, who said that they have been tricked into going to Azerbaijan for 2000 dollars a month and they didnt know they would be involved in military operations.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday exhorted the people of poll-bound Bihar to be extra cautious against concerted efforts to mislead them by using fear, emotions and rumour-mongering to create an atmosphere of distrust.

She urged them to stand united to fight the prevailing rule of anarchy, atrocity and misconduct in the country.

She was addressing a gathering of party leaders and workers of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) as part of Gandhi Chetna rally via a video-conference to mark the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

She also honoured the families of 151 freedom fighters of Champaran Satyagrah on the occasion and unveiled a statue of the Father of the Nation at the Congresss party office in East Champaran district.

Also Read: Bihar Assembly Election 2020: Mahagathbandhan finalises seat distribution, Cong to field 70, Left parties to field 30

She said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 proved to be a game-changer for the poor and the downtrodden during the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

The viral outbreak had led to the biggest-ever reverse migration of labourers to their native places following the 68-day nationwide lockdown restrictions that were enforced from March 25 to contain the spread of the contagion.

Earlier, the MGNREGA, 2005 was opposed by the opposition. But the scheme has come to the rescue of the migrant labourers and the poor, she added.

She paid rich tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri, whose birth anniversary is also observed on Friday. The Congress chief said that the Gandhian thoughts were the soul of the party.

He (Gandhi) embarked on the Champaran Satyagrah to liberate helpless farmers, labourers and the downtrodden from atrocities of the then British colonial rule. It was Champaran that gave Gandhi the title of Mahatma, she added.

Also Read: Bihar Assembly Election 2020: BJP to conduct town halls to woo farmers and women

In an apparent attack on the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, the Congress leader drew parallel with the colonial British rule and said a similar kind of situation was prevailing in the country. She alleged that the interests of millions of farmers, labourers and poor were being sacrificed for the benefits of a few people.

Crores of people are being rendered jobless, small and cottage industries being destroyed, while government institutions that gave jobs are being sold, she said.

She said that her party had always promptly acted against those, who were alleged to have engaged in any kind of misconduct.

But this government is doing just the opposite. Even the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, which was enacted to fight corruption in the government, has been weakened in such a way that none can get a reply to their queries, she added.

Shaktisinh Gohil, All India Congress Committees (AICC) Bihar in-charge, said the public should vote judiciously in the upcoming Bihar polls. He said the fight is between two schools of thoughts: live and let live vs. live and let them die.

He cited the alleged gang-rape and death of a Dalit teenager (19) by four upper caste men in neighbouring Uttar Pradeshs Hathras district earlier this week and alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies were trying muzzle the voice of the oppressed community.

Gohil claimed that the Congress always gave respect to the aspirations of the Dalit community. He reminded the public that Congress had got Bhim Rao Ambedkar elected to the Lok Sabha by vacating a seat, which was won by the party.

Shatrijis slogan Jai Jawan and Jai Kisan has been glossed over by the NDA government. PM Modi did not have the courage to take the name of China, whose Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) had killed 20 of our brave soldiers from the Bihar regiment in eastern Ladakhs Galwan valley in May, he alleged.

Udit Raj, a former BJP Member of Parliament (MP) and a Dalit leader, rued that the Congress could not claim the credit for safeguarding the rights and interests of the downtrodden in the society.

It was during the Congress regime that the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) got reservation, land, jobs and, most importantly, dignity. What new thing did other parties give it to them (SCs and STs)? Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was attacked by the UP Police on Thursday for raising his voice against the injustice meted out to the slain Dalit teenager at Hathras, he added.

Madan Mohan Jha, chief, BPCC; Sadanand Singh, Congress legislature party leader; and Akhilesh Prasad Singh, chief, BPCC campaign committee were among the others who attended the programme in Patna on Friday.

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In a slight change in his programme, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will now hold tractor rallies in Punjab and Haryana from October 4-6 to protest against the contentious new farm laws.

Earlier, Gandhi was scheduled to hold tractor rallies from October 3-5, the party had said. However, the rest of his itinerary will remain the same.

"Change in @Rahul Gandhi tractor rallies programme; rescheduled to October 4, 5, 6. Rest (itinerary) remains the same," Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh''s media advisor, Raveen Thukral, tweeted.

Singh, state Congress president Sunil Jakhar, party''s Punjab incharge Harish Rawat, and all state ministers and party MLAs will join the protests, "to give voice to the angst and pain of the farmers, whose livelihood and future has been put at stake by the central legislations".

A spokesperson of Punjab Congress had said on Thursday that the tractor rallies were expected to be supported by farmers'' organisations and will cover more than 50 km over three days.

The rallies are scheduled to begin around 11 am on each of the three days and will be conducted amid strict COVID-19 protocols, the spokesperson had said.

Gandhi is likely to address rallies at Kaithal and Pipli in Kurukshetra district of Haryana on October 6 instead of October 5, following which he will return to Delhi.

Farmers have expressed apprehension that the Centre''s farm reforms would pave a way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big companies.

Parliament had last week passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Farmers'' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill; and the Farmers'' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill.
The weather bureau issued a thunderstorm warning for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for Saturday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued a yellow alert predicting thundershowers with lighting and gusty winds - ranging between 30 and 40 kilometres per hour - at isolated areas in the city and suburbs. A similar alert has been issued for Palghar and Thane for Saturday and only for Thane for Sunday.

Satellite images and weather models have indicated moderate to intense thunderstorms with lighting and heavy spells at isolated places in Maharashtra between October 3 and 4, said KS Hosalikar, deputy director-general, western region, India Meteorological Department.

Development of these convective echoes was witnessed across some parts of Marathwada and central Maharashtra between Thursday and Friday, especially during evening hours. These thundershowers are short-lived and vary in intensity across different locations, he said.

Also read: MS Dhoni breaks huge world record in CSK vs SRH IPL 2020 match

On Friday, the city and suburbs did not receive any rain between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. The day temperature in south Mumbai was 32 degrees Celsius, a degree Celsius above normal, while the suburbs recorded 31.9 degrees Celsius, which was normal.

Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg could also expect thundershowers over the weekend. An orange alert has been issued for north Maharashtra districts of Nandurbar, Dhule, and Nashik while various other areas in central Maharashtra, including Pune, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, and Ahmednagar, can expect heavy to very heavy rain and thundershowers.

Satisfactory AQI on Friday

The pollutant-measuring indicator  air quality index (AQI) - was recorded at the satisfactory category at 68 for PM2.5 pollutant. It was 75 (satisfactory) on Thursday. It is predicted to be 63 on Saturday, according to the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research.
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Linkedin Alya Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 06:53 478 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4898368 1 National COVID-19,covid-19-Indonesia,covid-19-task-force Free

Indonesia is expecting the World Health Organization (WHO) to include the Southeast Asian country among the recipients of the rapid antigen test kits so as to speed up coronavirus detection in the archipelago.

Earlier on Monday, the WHO announced that some 120 million antigen test kits would be available at a cost of US$5 each for low- and middle-income countries. It said the $600 million scheme would serve to expand testing in poorer nations where lab facilities or trained health workers to carry out swab tests were lacking.

"We have communicated with the WHO's representative in Indonesia and we asked [for Indonesia] to be considered to receive the test kits from the WHO," national COVID-19 task force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito said on Thursday.

Read also: Use antigen tests for screening but with caution: Experts

Wiku said Indonesia would immediately use the rapid antigen tests to expedite coronavirus screening and detection in the country.

Will lndonesia use rapid antigen tests? The answer is yes. We have received good quality antigen tests recommended by the WHO. We are currently reviewing and considering to use them, said Wiku.

He went on to say that the rapid antigen tests were more accurate than the rapid antibody tests. However, they may require further confirmation with a PCR test, especially if a person tests negative but appears to have COVID-19 symptoms.

The antigen tests offer the chance of a faster result, even within minutes, without sophisticated lab equipment. It only uses a paper strip containing coronavirus antibodies that react when touching the virus spike protein. (aly)
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill is telling voters to ignore a letter from a Texas organization telling them they are not registered to vote and providing an unofficial registration application.

The letter comes from the Election Mail Service in Austin, Texas and urges Alabama voters to go to the website ALVotes.org, Merrills office said. That organization is not associated with Merrill, who is the official responsible for running Alabamas vote in November.

After being notified by numerous voters who have received information in the mail addressed to people who have passed away or no longer reside in our state, our office immediately contacted the Election Mail Service to stop spreading the false information, which has in turn only confused and misled voters, Merrill said.

Merrill said this week that his biggest challenge in the campaign so far has been unofficial mailouts like this one. They send voters to websites that arent official.

Alabamians should once again be reminded to use AlabamaVotes.gov as their trusted source for election information," Merrill said Friday. "Questions about the election should be answered directly by our office at (334) 242-7200. Voters can check their voter registration status online at the states official website.
Some Bay Area public health leaders said Thursday that they remain unclear on how they will adhere to the states new health equity metric, intended to protect disadvantaged areas hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

One official said the new metric  which counties must meet in order to move forward with economic reopening  is inadequate and unfair. But others said that even if its not a perfect solution, they understood the value in tracking the disparate impact of the pandemic on some communities, and especially people of color.

The health equity metric, which takes effect Tuesday, primarily relies on the positive test rate  the percent of coronavirus tests that come back positive, a statistic that is widely used as an indicator for when its safe to ease restrictions and reopen a local economy. Higher positive test rates indicate the virus is spreading more quickly.

Health equity is important, but at the same time, tying it to a single measure doesnt really paint the whole picture, said Dr. Karen Relucio, the Napa County health officer. She said she supports the new metric even if she has concerns about how it may be applied.

The California Department of Public Health, which unveiled details of the new metric Wednesday evening, defended the new metric against complaints from some health officers that it puts an unreasonable burden on counties.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

The conditions that result in poorer health outcomes for communities of color are persistent and systemic, state public health officials said in an email reply to questions about the metric. An approach based on health equity will improve testing and services for COVID-19 patients who need it most, and in the long-term it will set the standard for how government can function.

The states efforts to improve positive rates for disadvantaged communities comes at a time when counties are struggling to find a balance between public health concerns and economic reopening pressures. This new metric could pit community safety against business prosperity, if the stated goals prove hard to achieve.

Under the new metric, each county must ensure that positive test rates in its most disadvantaged neighborhoods do not significantly lag behind the countys overall positive rate. For a county to advance to a less-restrictive tier, the disadvantaged neighborhoods  measured by a variety of social, health and economic factors  must come within 5% of the overall positive test rate required for that tier.

How the metric will affect Bay Area counties ability to progress toward reopening  and how exactly counties will respond to the complex requirement  remained in question in most places Thursday. But it appears that many regions will struggle to bridge large health disparities that mostly impact Latino, Black and Pacific Islander communities, particularly as testing lags in these communities.

In San Mateo, for example, the positivity rate for disadvantaged communities is 7.1%, compared with the countys overall positivity rate of 3.7%. But Alameda County officials said Thursday that they are meeting the metric goals  the countys overall positive test rate is 2.3%, and 3.8% for its at-risk communities.

Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County health officer, said she welcomes the new metric as a tool, and motivation, for improving spread of disease in communities of color.

A county cant move along until the least advantaged quartile is also ready to move along. Its a no one is left behind type strategy, which I think is entirely appropriate, and really welcome, Cody said.

She did not know Thursday the exact metric for her county, but she said the positive test rates for the overall county and lower-income communities  in particular, parts of east San Jose and the south county  were not far apart. She said the county had identified higher-risk communities early in the pandemic and made efforts to move testing and other resources there.

We have been looking at our data and allocating resources accordingly to address disparities, Cody said. And were starting to see case rates come down and positivity rates come down. Were starting to see some positive signals, which is a great relief. These communities need a break.

In San Francisco, Dr. Grant Colfax, director of public health, said the city has similarly shifted resources to neighborhoods most affected by the pandemic, increasing access to testing and health care and support for those who need to isolate.

But some local public health officials said the measure is narrow in focus and tries to swiftly repair systemic health inequities and socioeconomic issues that have played out across the state for decades.

Solano County Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas said Thursday the health equity measurement misses the mark because it focuses on repairing the disproportionate effect of the virus on people who live in poor communities, rather than the racial and ethnic inequities that are driving the health disparities in many counties.

It also focuses on issues that counties do not have short-term control over, he said.

In essence, the metric does not provide us with a meaningful opportunity to show progress or lack of progress on the underlying issues related to COVID-19, Matyas said.

Relucio, the Napa County health officer, said there was a lot of discussion between the state and the county health officers, including the California State Association of Counties, to develop the health equity metrics and find metrics that we can all live with.

She said what they came up with isnt perfect but she appreciates that the state is trying to get people to understand how important health equity is, not just to the communities most impacted, but to the overall pandemic response. Counties need to address health disparities if theyre going to keep case counts under control, she said.

The metric makes it clear that addressing health disparities is going to require an all-county approach, she said, involving all sectors of the government and economy. I think thats the point the state is trying to get across, Relucio 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.

Communities of color have been devastated by the pandemic, accounting for a higher portion of cases and deaths in most Bay Area counties and across the United States.

Health experts and community advocates have said low-income people of color are particularly vulnerable because they often work essential jobs that prevent them from staying home. Many also live in crowded housing to afford high rents, which puts them at higher risk of contracting the virus, they said.

Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis said he understands the frustrations with the metric. But it sparks important conversations, and without it, the social and health inequities plaguing disadvantaged communities would simply persist, he said.

Its obviously extremely challenging to find a single indicator that encompasses inequities and the disproportional impact of COVID-19, Willis said. I applaud the goal of a measurable and specific indicator that actually influences the ability for counties to move forward.

Under the new health equity metric, counties that report a lag between positive test rates must submit plans for funding and preventing spread of the coronavirus within these communities. Many said they plan to double down on contact tracing and testing efforts in the hardest-hit communities and developing programs that focus on culturally competent, bilingual care.

As we target our public health response to the outreach and education about the behaviors that can keep residents safe, increasing access to testing particularly in our most impacted communities, and providing culturally competent contact investigation, we also know that the structural roots of these issues are much deeper and will require sustained attention over the years to come, Louise Rogers, San Mateo County Health chief, said in a statement Thursday.

Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said the metric will not have a negative effect on the countys reopening.

San Mateo County as an example San Mateo County officials provided details concerning the new health equity metric that will be used to determine future tier status updates. 3.7% County's overall positivity rate. 3.9% Health equity threshold based on 5% of overall rate. 7.1% Actual rate for disadvantaged communities. Note: Data for specific neighborhoods or communities were not available for other Bay Area counties. See More Collapse

Sonoma County welcomes the addition of this metric as it aligns with the countys own focus on equity and addressing health disparities, Mase said in a statement.

Health advocates applauded the states move, calling it an essential and attainable element of our pandemic response.

By focusing our collective resources on the health and safety of the communities most impacted by the pandemic, we can safely move to reopen our state, said a coalition of health advocacy organizations in a statement Thursday. We encourage the state and counties to engage local community leaders in developing strategies to achieve the necessary progress, and to focus concurrently on the immediate pandemic response and on the systemic inequities in our state.

Tatiana Sanchez and Erin Allday are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com, eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TatianaYSanchez, @erinallday
In the wake of Hathras incident, former Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attended a prayer meeting organised by its Delhi unit at citys Valmiki Temple today. The Congress had asked its party leaders to organise prayer meetings in Valmiki Temples across the country as the victim who was killed in Hathras belonged to the Valmiki Community.

The Congress has continuously hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government on the issue of handling of the case and demanding justice for the victim. On Thursday, both leaders tried to visit Hathras to meet the victims family. However, they were stopped midway and a case was registered against them.

In Delhi, the State unit has organised this meet at the Mandir Marg Valmiki Basti. One of the oldest settlement of the community in the national capital. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday quoted Mahatma Gandhi in a tweet as he wrote, I will not bow down to anyones injustice, a day after he was manhandled, stopped and even arrested by Uttar Pradesh police while he was on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh to meet the family of gangrape victim along with partys general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and other Congress leaders.

Also read: Wont bow down: Rahul Gandhi quotes Mahatma Gandhi a day after being detained by UP cops

Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra offers prayers at Maharishi Valmiki Temple#HathrasCase pic.twitter.com/1e8ADktcqH  ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2020

Also read: Gandhi Jayanti 2020: PM Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat

Rahul tweeted on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti that he would not fear anyone in the world, he would not bow down to anyones injustice, he would win the untruth with the truth and he can bear all the sufferings while opposing the untruth. He added,  Happy Gandhi Jayanti.

Earlier on Thursday, Rahul and Priyanka were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police at Yamuna Expressway here while they were on the way to meet the victims family, who had died while receiving treatment in Delhis Safdarjung hospital on Tuesday. The Gandhis were later released.

Both Congress leaders alleged they were manhandled and roughed up by police personnel while they were marching towards Hathras to meet the victims family. However, Noida Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Ranvijay Singh said that there was no lathi charge on anyone.

The 19-year-old had succumbed to injuries in the Safdarjung Hospital where she was brought on Monday from Aligarh Muslim University Medical College.

Also read: Bihar Assembly elections: Mahagathbandhan finalises seat sharing, announcement likely tomorrow
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Overnight October 1-2 the situation in the Artsakh-Azerbaijani conflict zone has been relatively stable-tense, Deputy Commander of the Defense Army of Artsakh Artur Sargsyan said at a press conference.

Shootings continued in separate directions, with the use of warplanes, gunships and heavy artillery. The operative-combat situation has not changed significantly. At the moment the military operations have resumed in all directions of the frontline. The Defense Army forces continue repelling all the attacks of the adversary, causing losses both in the manpower and the military equipment, he said.

The Azerbaijani side has lost 39 more armored equipment, 4 SU-25 aircrafts, 3 Mi-24 gunships, 17 UAVs and nearly 830 soldiers. Artur Sargsyan stated that an artillery division has also been destroyed.

On September 27 Azerbaijan launched a massive attack against the Republic of Artsakh, targeting also the civilian settlements, including the capital Stepanakert. A total of 11 civilians were killed, over 60 were wounded in Artsakh from the Azerbaijani attack.

Azerbaijan also targeted Armenias military and civilian infrastructures, as a result of which a civilian in Vardenis town has been killed, as well as a civilian bus appeared under fire from the Azerbaijani attacking drone.

The Artsakh Defense Army has lost 157 soldiers with nearly 120 wounded.

Armenia and Artsakh declared a martial law and general mobilization.

Azerbaijan has suffered nearly 1280 losses in manpower, as well as 2700 wounded.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Cancun International welcomes first European flight since Coronavirus

Cancun, Q.R.  After nearly six months without flights from Europe, Cancun received its first plane with the arrival of Lufthansa flight LH514 from Frankfurt, Germany. Lufthansas Director General for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Felipe Bonifatti, welcomed Flight 514 from Frankfurt together with tourist authorities to the Cancun International Airport Thursday.

The Lufthansa flight landed with 260 passengers. Last month, the airline announced its intention to resume the route, which will offer two weekly flights at the beginning of October and three weekly flights at the end of the month.

Felipe Bonifatti said returning to Cancun is a great step for Lufthansa Group as well as for the world-class tourist destination that is Quintana Roo. The demand for vacation travel is increasing and we are proud to be the first European airline to return to the Mexican Caribbean. Our commitment to Mexico and its people is clear and firm. Thank you Quintana Roo for welcoming us once more.

On October 3, an Edelweiss flight will follow, landing at Cancun International from Zurich.
Parents have been warned to be vigilant about their children's safety after three girls were harassed by a grown man in a public park.

Three girls, aged four, eight and 11, were playing at a reserve near Hunt Place at Muswellbrook in the NSW Hunter Valley region when a man walked towards them.

The man, who was in his early to mid-20s, called out to the children before pushing all three of them to the ground.

He then attempted to touch the eight-year-old girl's face with his hand but she managed to push him away.

A man looks at children playing in a park (stock image). Three girls, aged four, eight and 11, were playing at a reserve near Hunt Place at Muswellbrook in the NSW Hunter Valley region when a man walked towards them and pushed them to the ground

All three girls then sprinted away from the reserve, leaving the stranger behind.

The eldest girl, 11, then called the police on her phone, who arrived a short time later and drove all the girls back to their homes.

Officers from the Hunter Valley Police District are investigating the incident and have now appealed to the general public for assistance.

The man is described as being between 155cm to 165cm tall, in his early to mid-20s, with a dark complexion, medium build, black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone who has information that could assist investigators is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the website.
Warning: the following article explores sensitive subjects including miscarriage and may be triggering for some readers.

Thousands of Australians are touched by the trauma of pregnancy loss each year, but when Chrissy Teigen posted a photo of her grief after miscarrying her son Jack, there was a collective and sharp inhale, even from those of us whove had this experience, in some cases many times over.

In her bravery, Chrissy Teigen  a model, television personality and the wife of musician John Legend  ventured into the ugly side of pregnancy loss. Its one we rarely talk about and even more rarely see.

When we do discuss miscarriage, we use beautiful, peaceful words like rainbow or angel and we layer our farewells over photos of candles and sunshine.
***If you've been affected by this article, you can call stillbirth and neonatal charity, SANDs, on 0808 164 3332 or visit www.sands.org.uk***

Amanda Holden has shared her support to Chrissy Teigen after she tragically lost her baby on Wednesday night.

The BGT star, whose son Theo, was stillborn at seven months pregnant in 2011, has advised the star and husband John Legend to 'hold on to each other' following the heartbreaking tragedy.

Amanda took to the comments after Chrissy, 34, bravely shared her sad news to social media on Thursday.

Heartbreaking: Amanda Holden has shared her support to Chrissy Teigen after she tragically lost her baby on Wednesday night

One follower had written a lovely post which read: 'In Lebanese culture, we believe babies like Jack are angels that God selectively chooses to watch over you. Sending you light.'

To which Amanda, 49, replied: 'This is how I dealt with my loss.'

Talking about her support for Chrissy and John, the star told MailOnline: 'I've talked about it often, but I truly believe my stillbirth, my little boy, picked me. Because he wasn't destined to come to earth.

'I believe in that kind of spirituality and I think that post kind of reflected how I felt and however that poor lady Chrissy, I know she's got an amazing husband and family by her, which is obviously, what Chris and I have as well.

Reaching out: The BGT star, whose son Theo, was stillborn at seven months pregnant in 2011, has advised the star and husband John Legend to 'hold on to each other' following the heartbreaking tragedy

'So I think you can get through most things if you've got a rock solid marriage and family around you.'

Reflecting on her own heartache with husband Chris Hughes in 2011 after their son Theo, was stillborn at seven months pregnant, Amanda added: 'I just feel bad for them in the days to come and I hope they can find strength in each other.

'Someone said to us, "Hold on to each other because this is going to be a bumpy ride" basically. It was an understatement.'

Amanda also shared her support to Nicholas Lyndhurst, who son Archie, 19, was found dead at his family home in west London following a short illness.

Sharing experiences: Amanda shared the loveliest message after a follower had sent his condolences to Chrissy on Thursday

Strength: Reflecting on her own heartache with husband Chris Hughes in 2011 after their son Theo, was stillborn at seven months pregnant, Amanda added: 'I just feel bad for them in the days to come and I hope they can find strength in each other.' (pictured)

She said: 'It was an awful day yesterday I just felt bad for Nicholas Lyndhurst as well, it was a very, very dark day.'

Amanda who is also a parent to Lexi, 14, Hollie, eight, with husband Chris Hughes has been very open about her tragic loss.

She previously said about Theo: 'I held him in my arms for the first time and that is when I realised that I was still a mummy even though he was fast asleep.'

Amanda released her new emotional album on Friday called Songs From My Heart which features the song With You from the musical Ghost, based on the 1990 film.

The star previously revealed that the emotional song reminds her and husband Chris of their late son Theo.

Tragic: Amanda also shared her support to Nicholas Lyndhurst, who son Archie, 19, was found dead at his family home in west London following a short illness (pictured with wife Lucy and son Archie in 2017)

The presenter revealed in an emotional Instagram post earlier this month that she feels 'every word, every emotion and every breath it takes' to sing it.

Talking about her emotional album, Amanda told MailOnline: 'Every single song means something to me and means something to our family, there's a real poignancy behind everything.'

Chrissy took to social media on Wednesday to reveal that she and husband John had lost their baby, days after she was admitted to the hospital with severe bleeding.

She shared the heartbreaking news with a lengthy post and series of images, saying their little boy, Jack, has died following complications.

Heart wrenching: Chrissy took to social media on Wednesday to reveal that she and husband John had lost their baby, days after she was admitted to the hospital with severe bleeding

Chrissy wrote: 'We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we've never felt before.

'We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn't enough.'

The post included a series of black and white photos taken at the hospital, showing Chrissy crying on her bed as well as a shot showing her and John cradling their son.

On Monday, Chrissy revealed she was on 'serious bed rest' due to bleeding and said she was 'about halfway through', which is around 20 - 24 weeks. A stillbirth is when a baby is born dead at 24 weeks or later.

She said: 'We never decide on our babies names until the last possible moment after theyre born, just before we leave the hospital. But we, for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack'

She revealed she and John, 41, had begun calling their unborn baby boy, Jack.

She continued: 'We never decide on our babies' names until the last possible moment after they're born, just before we leave the hospital.

'But we, for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack. So he will always be Jack to us. Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever.

'To our Jack - I'm so sorry that the first few moments of your life were met with so many complications, that we couldn't give you the home you needed to survive. We will always love you.

'Thank you to everyone who has been sending us positive energy, thoughts and prayers. We feel all of your love and truly appreciate you.

She said: 'But everyday cant be full of sunshine. On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out. But we will hug and love each other harder and get through it'

'We are so grateful for the life we have, for our wonderful babies Luna and Miles, for all the amazing things weve been able to experience.'

Losing a baby past 24 weeks is a stillbirth rather than a miscarriage. If a baby dies before 24 completed weeks, it's known as a miscarriage or late foetal loss.

Shortly after breaking the tragic news to her followers, Teigen took to her Twitter page to further express her shock from the loss.

'Driving home from the hospital with no baby. How can this be real,' she wrote.

In her words: Teigen also penned a lengthy caption explaining the tragedy and expressing her family's grief

Disbelief: Shortly after uploading her undeniably sad news to Instagram, Chrissy took to her Twitter page to further express her shock

The four photos uploaded to Chrissy's Instagram paint a heartbreaking scene, with one of the pictures showing Chrissy crying and cradling Jack in her arms as John leaned next to them.

Another featured Chrissy sobbing as she held her hands to her face and sat at the edge of her hospital bed in nothing but a blanket and a bonnet.

Teigen and Legend had revealed they were expecting their third child together in the music video for John's new single, Wild, in August. It is unclear how far along exactly she was in her pregnancy.

The mother-of-two had been hospitalised at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night after enduring a month of bleeding due to having a weak placenta and had been at the hospital since.

***If you've been affected by this article, you can call stillbirth and neonatal charity, SANDs, on 0808 164 3332 or visit www.sands.org.uk***
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at RTI International  Dr. Pia MacDonald and Dr. Meera Viswanathan  have been tracking the COVID pandemic since its start using real data and on-the-ground experience from past infectious disease outbreaks to conduct research that provides insights and recommendations for best practices for effective COVID testing, contact tracing and screening processes that curbs infection rates and protects lives.

MacDonald and Viswanathan can provide evidence-based indicators and public health approaches that federal, state and local health officials should be implementing as part of their re-opening measures, outbreak response and containment, public health interventions and disease prevention efforts.

Expert on Testing and Contact Tracing:

Pia MacDonald , MPH, PhD, Global Health Expert at RTI International, is using her experience from past epidemics to track the potential spread and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In her current role, Dr. MacDonald's work is focused on emerging infectious diseases and strengthening capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks. She has an extensive experience in infectious disease epidemiology and surveillance, global health security, public health preparedness, and outbreak investigation and response. Dr. MacDonald has served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer within the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, led projects funded by the CDC, Pan American Health Organization, National Association of Country and City Health Officials, and the North Carolina Division of Public Health.

Expert on COVID Screening Process Effectiveness:

Meera Viswanathan , PhD, Director of the RTI International- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center, has new research that questions the effectiveness of COVID-19 screening practices, including symptom screening in public spaces. Her latest research findings revealed that screening methods for COVID-19 used across the country have an "extremely high" chance of missing infected individuals. She shared that for screening to be effective it needs to incorporate three key measures: screening methods that are more sensitive and accurate, a robust public health infrastructure with a testing plan put into place, and public buy in  she emphasized that testing will not succeed without public acceptance.

To request an interview, email [email protected].

About RTI International

RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach  one that integrates expertise across the social and laboratory sciences, engineering and international development. We believe in the promise of science, and we are inspired every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities and businesses around the world. For more information, visit www.rti.org.

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Melania Trump said she and the president were 'feeling good' as they began their White House quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19.

The first lady said in an early-morning tweet that she and Donald Trump were quarantining at home 'as too many Americans have done this year'.

'We are feeling good and I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe and we will all get through this together,' she said.

Melania, 50, and the president, 74, were both described as 'well' by White House physician Sean Conley who said medics would maintain a 'vigilant watch'.

Melania Trump said she and the president were 'feeling good' as they began their White House quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19

The first lady said in an early-morning tweet that she and Donald Trump were quarantining at home 'as too many Americans have done this year'

'The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,' Dr Conley said.

'The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our our country's greatest medical professionals and institutions.

'Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.'

Donald Trump revealed the positive test results last night hours after the president's aide Hope Hicks was confirmed to have contracted the virus.

The 31-year-old counselor to the president, who travelled with him on Air Force One this week, is the closest aide to Mr Trump to test positive so far.

She was part of Trump's entourage who travelled to Cleveland, Ohio for Tuesday night's debate against Joe Biden.

At the debate, Melania and other Trump family members wore masks when they entered the debate venue but took them off during the televised contest.

Trump, Pence and other senior staff have been tested daily, and everyone who comes into contact with the president also receives a quick-result test.

Previously, Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller tested positive and recovered from the virus in May, while one of Trump's personal valets has also had the virus.

The president's diagnosis is a blow to his claims that America has put the worst of the pandemic behind it as he battles for re-election on November 3.

There was no immediate word on whether 77-year-old Biden had been tested or whether he would isolate after spending Tuesday night near the president.

While there is currently no evidence that Trump is seriously ill, the positive test raises questions about what would happen if he were to become incapacitated.

Melania Trump had discarded her mask by the time she joined her husband Donald on stage following a rancorous first debate of the 2020 campaign

Under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, a president can declare themselves 'unable to discharge the powers of the presidency' and hand over power temporarily to the VP.

Alternatively, the vice-president and senior officials can declare the president incapacitated and temporarily put Pence in charge, but Trump could challenge this.

Trump joins UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro as the most high-profile leaders to contract the disease.

Johnson spent an alarming three nights in intensive care at a London hospital before eventually recovering, while Bolsonaro rode out the infection at home.

When Johnson was ill, UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab deputised for him although the nature of his constitutional powers was not fully clear.

Germany's Angela Merkel self-isolated after a doctor who gave her a jab tested positive, and Canada's Justin Trudeau worked from home after his wife fell ill.

Markets reacted badly after Trump's diagnosis today, with stock futures losing 1.9 per cent on the S&P 500, while oil prices also slipped.

'To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement,' Holland's Rabobank said in a commentary.

'Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this US election campaign.'
Its beloved of festival goers - some 25,000 attend in normal years - and authors alike. Luminaries over the years have included Vikram Seth, Jung Chang, Jeffrey Eugenides, Michael Ondaatje, Hanya Yanagihara, Lionel Shriver, Ian Rankin, Eka Kurniawan, Hanif Kureishi, Nick Cave, Yotam Ottolenghi and Richard Flanagan. A visiting writer may feel as if shes entered an alternate reality, where at any moment Bianca Jagger might ride in on a horse, or a flying champagne cork might hit you on the head  Its all very Mustique in the 1970s, Australian author and festival guest Brigid Delaney wrote in The Guardian in 2017. But there is an eerie sense of deja vu this year: the mood is more Bali 2003 than 1970s Mustique. Street vendors sit together in the absence of tourists in Tanah Lot, Bali, last month. Credit:Bloomberg When you drive in Kuta, its like a ghost town, 90 per cent of businesses are closed, DeNeefe says. People are just hanging in there. There are a lot more little warungs (roadside food stalls), people out the front of their houses selling Nasi Jinggo (a Balinese snack wrapped in banana leaf) for 20 cents.

But despite the pandemic making international travel an impossibility, postponing the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival was never an option. Rebuilding Bali has always been part of our identity, DeNeefe says. Like many literary festivals, Ubud has pivoted online. This year Kembali 2020 (kembali is the Indonesian word for return or come back) features a digital program of panel discussions, book launches, poetry readings, film screenings and cooking demonstrations. While we are not on the ground building the economy, in this case we are about rebuilding the creative communities and giving them a voice, DeNeefe says. She is typically upbeat: shes over the moon the festival has snared Talking Heads frontman, author and filmmaker David Byrne, who will reflect on his new film with Spike Lee and how isolation has impacted his creativity. DeNeefe has been trying to get Byrne to the festival for years.

He had an interest in Bali, having studied gamelan, the traditional Indonesian ensemble music made up predominantly of percussive instruments, on the island in the late '70s. DeNeefe says this time he couldnt say he was too busy: He doesnt have to leave the house!" But despite her sanguinity, its been a tough year. Earlier this year DeNeefe was forced to lay off a quarter of her staff: I dont even know after this festival if well have anything in the kitty, but the show must go on. She is a veteran of force majeure. In 2005, six days before the second festival was due to begin, more bombs exploded in Bali, this time killing 20 people at Jimbaran Beach Resort and Kuta. DeNeefe was dining with Indian writer Amitav Ghosh when they learned of the attack. Amitav said Oh my goodness, I have to go there tomorrow, I want to interview the people and see how they feel', DeNeefe recalls.

For some years after this, DeNeefe was warned she was brave to hold a festival where foreigners could be attacked by terrorists. I had to try to have careful screenings when people came into sessions, there was always a bit of a fear we could be a target. In 2017 the festival was again in jeopardy after Mount Agung - Balis largest and most sacred mountain - began rumbling. The volcano had been dormant since 1964. Balis tourism industry was thrown into turmoil, with people cancelling trips amid fears planes would be unable to fly if there were ash clouds in the sky. The festival went ahead but for a while it was touch and go. But DeNeefe says the most fraught year was 2015, the 50th anniversary of the 1965 massacre of an estimated 500,000 suspected communists and their sympathisers. The mass killings are one of the darkest chapters in Indonesian history and remain extremely politically sensitive today. Loading

The festival had scheduled several panels on the mass killings and a screening of Joshua Oppenheimers film The Look of Silence, which examines the fallout from the massacre. But it was forced to cancel the sessions after authorities refused to issue a permit for the festival if they proceeded, in the first act of censorship in the history of the festival. Eka Kurniawan, the first Indonesian writer to be nominated for a Man Booker International prize, said at the time the cancellation was embarrassing. Seventeen years after reformasi [the end of the Suharto era], we are still being haunted by such things, he told The Age in 2015. Indonesian author Eka Kurniawan. Credit:Jefri Tarigan If censoring ideas is tolerated, it will continue until it reaches its peak: eliminating the lives of men considered different.

Kurniawan is also a guest at this years festival. I think [the anniversary of] 1965 was the hardest, DeNeefe says. All the natural disasters we took in our stride but that year we didnt really know what was going on, with a lot of police sitting in our office and making everyone extremely edgy and nervous. That rocked our team. They are gentle folk and some left after that. At the time DeNeefe was criticised from some quarters for not calling authorities bluff and proceeding with the contentious panels. Panellists' chairs were shrouded in black in protest at censorship during the 2015 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. Credit:Sonny Tumbelaka Im used to being criticised, but the thing was the authorities said they were not going to give us a permit, DeNeefe says. They didnt stop us going ahead but anybody in Indonesia knows if you dont have a permit you are insane - they have every right to close you down.

In the end DeNeefe says the censorship provided the best possible publicity - both for the mass killings of 1965 and the festival. I was on the phone 24/7 to journalists from all over the world. This year the pandemic means writers will not be put up in villas in Ubud and feted like rock stars. There will be no festivalgoers sipping cocktails. No impassioned authors will speak at exquisite venues nestled in the mountains. Janet DeNeefe at the opening of the festival in 2018. DeNeefe will not be called upon to stage 11th-hour interventions to get writers into the country. (She once managed to persuade authorities to allow Israeli writer Etgar Keret, who was camped outside the Indonesian embassy in Bangkok, into Bali on an Israeli passport. Israel and Indonesia have no formal diplomatic ties.) But DeNeefe remains excited. In collaboration with one of Balis young filmmakers, Wayan Martino, the festival is producing a video series to document Balis food and cultural heritage. The first episode will capture the life of a vanilla farmer at Mupubati Farm in Bali.
Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump apparently planned to travel to Houston next week for a campaign event before he was diagnosed with COVID-19.

Trumps campaign sent a fundraising email to supporters on Friday morning that said: Hes heading to Houston, Texas, next week and he specifically requested that we reach out to YOU to accompany him. It urged supporters to donate ANY AMOUNT TODAY for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the president.
Karwai Tang/WireImage Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender

Alicia Vikander is spending her birthday with loved ones thanks to husband Michael Fassbender.

Though the Oscar winner turns 32 on Saturday, she revealed on Good Morning America Friday morning that she already got her big gift  a surprise trip to see her family.

"Actually, my husband surprised me with a trip to Sweden," she said. "Landed, I got a COVID test and was negative so I was able to hang out with my mom and my dad and a lot of family members I haven't seen in a long time. So that was kind of a perfect gift."

Vikander and Fassbender, 43, are celebrating their third anniversary this month after tying the knot in Ibiza in October 2017. The actors met in 2014 on the set of their film The Light Between Oceans, in which Vikander prophetically played Fassbenders wife.

In 2017, they exchanged vows at the luxurious La Granja farmstead resort surrounded by friends and family, sources told PEOPLE at the time. Following Vikander and Fassbenders under-the-radar wedding, the pair honeymooned in Italy.

RELATED: Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender Spotted in Ibiza Where They Married in 2017

The Light Between Oceans

The actress appeared on GMA to promote her upcoming film The Glorias, which follows the life of women's rights icon Gloria Steinem. Vikander spent time with the activist before filming and even got to rehearse her character with the woman herself during a session alongside costar Julianne Moore.

"The first time I was so kind of amazed and starstruck and so honored to meet her," Vikander said. "Then I finally got a second chance. Shes been extremely generous with giving her time and helping us out making a great movie, but also to get this film out."

The Glorias is streaming on Amazon now.
The news of president Donald Trump's positive Covid-19 test has caused shockwaves in Capitol Hill and indeed throughout the world.

Just over a month out from election day, the president will be forced to quarantine for at least 10 days, meaning he can't get out on the campaign trail.

Amid the pandemic, Mr Trump has repeatedly called for the November poll to be postponed to allow voters to cast their ballots safely.

So, does Thursday night's bombshell announcement make the prospect of a delayed election more likely?

Does president Donald Trump have the power to delay the election?

Article II of the US constitution sets out that only Congress can decide to delay or postpone an election.

However, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) looked at ways of delegating power to the president in the event of similar disaster.

The CRS report concluded that Congress could hand over power to the commander-in-chief to postpone the election - but only according to its will.

Is it possible for Congress to delay an election?

Congress would need to pass federal legislation if it wanted to postpone an election.

That would mean both the House of Representatives and Senate agreeing on a law. And as the coronavirus relief package has shown, getting the two houses to agree can be a long and protracted process.

Has the US ever delayed an election before?

In terms of presidential elections, the answer is no.

However, there have been a few occasions where state-level contests have been halted.

New York state in 2001 delayed its primary election due to the attacks on the World Trade Center.

In 1992, officials in Florida postponed the Dade County primary due to Hurricane Andrew.
Amid mounting anger against the rapes in Uttar Pradeshs Hathras and Balrampur, another incident of gang-rape was reported from Lucknow on Friday. However, the incident took place in August and a police complaint has been filed now after outrage over the Hathras gang-rape.

The incident took place under the jurisdiction of Gudamba police station area where a Dalit woman went to meet the accused in August and was allegedly raped. The accused, identified as Vipin, had allegedly called a meeting on August 22 on the pretext of getting the woman a job. When she reached the accuseds house, she saw three to four more men there as well, including one Shakeel. The woman has alleged that all the men took turns to rape her and kept her captive for about a week.

A week later when her condition deteriorated, the accused left her and fled. They even threatened the woman of dire consequences if she approached the police.

When the woman first went to police outpost Gadhi to file a complaint with her family members, her grievance was not heard. The victim then went to Gudamba police station to lodge a complaint on September 3 but there, too, her complaint was not lodged. However, after the Hathras incident made headlines, the police reportedly came under pressure and filed the FIR. Two men were arrested later.

DCP North Zone Shalini said, The victim later gave a complaint in my office after which a case was immediately registered. Police have arrested two accused so far and the matter is under investigation. The woman has alleged rape, further action is being taken, she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 10:58:27|Editor: huaxia

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MEXICO CITY, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- COVID-19-infected migrants who enter Mexico without complying with health regulations could be committing a crime, the National Institute of Immigration said on Thursday.

The agency issued the warning after hundreds of migrants left Honduras Tuesday night on their northbound journey to the United States as part of a new caravan, which crossed the Honduran border with Guatemala on Thursday.

Mexico's federal penal code penalizes a person with up to three years in prison if "knowing that he is ill with a serious illness and is infectious that puts the health of another in danger," the agency said.

The criminal codes of Mexico's southern states of Chiapas and Tabasco, which border Guatemala, also establish penalties of up to five and 10 years in prison, respectively.

The caravan is the first to mobilize during the pandemic since the last caravan departed in January. Enditem
The Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says the current COVID -19 tests at the airport must be celebrated and not attacked.



The minister also announced that government has no plans of suspending the tests at the airport, changing the company, or suspending the contract.



According to him, the company Health Frontiers, as contracted by the airport company Limited is providing a critical service that protects the 30million Ghanaians from the importation of cases.



Mr. Nkrumah was responding to claims by the Minority questioning the operations of the company tasked to perform that duty.



We are very satisfied with their tests which have helped prevent 50 cases from getting into the general population as of the end of September 2020. It will be irresponsible of us to tinker with the successes being achieved so far he said.



The Information Minister who is also the MP for Ofoase Ayirebi rubbished claims by the Minority questioning the credibility of the company providing the service at the airport.



Their services were well procured, their standards meet global requirements and we have no qualms with them. If indeed the minority wants answers to questions, they know the appropriate place to file those questions as parliament resumes.



He said It was sad that the NDC has at every turn sought to play politics with the management of COVID 19.



Their scare tactics, calls to parents to withdraw wards from schools and attacks on government have all failed. This is the latest page in their book of cooked up controversies he stated.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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

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A member of the swab team working at the Covid-19 test centre at DkIT earlier this year. Photo: Aidan Dullaghan/Newspics

Northern Ireland reported 934 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, more than double the previous record daily total rate registered two days ago in the British-run region.

Northern Ireland's seven-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 population shot up to 139.4 from 69.5 a week ago as a result, health department data showed.

The death occurred on Friday and was a man aged 80 or over who died in hospital in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon council area.

There are 65 patients in Northern Ireland hospitals with Covid-19, along with nine in intensive care units.

There are also 28 active care home outbreaks, while 209 outbreaks in such settings have been closed.

It comes as Northern Ireland's leading coronavirus advisers issued stark warnings to the public to "plan and prepare" for what could be a further two lockdowns.

Northern Ireland's chief medic Dr Michael McBride said there was a "narrow window of opportunity" to act after expressing concern at an increase in cases in other areas.

Meanwhile Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Ian Young has said it's possible there may be two periods of lockdown in Northern Ireland over the course of the winter.

Speaking on BBC NI's Nolan radio programme, Professor Young said; "I think it would be sensible to plan for the possibility of one or more periods of circuit break over the course of this winter."

Asked if the mid-term school holiday at Halloween would be a suitable time to introduce a short-term lockdown, Professor Young said: "In terms of the likely impact of a circuit breaker it would be more effective if schools were off at the same time than if schools were functioning."
Russia continues to support illegal armed formations in Donbas and has not yet withdrawn its forces and heavy weapons from eastern Ukraine.

U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE James S. Gilmore said this at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on October 1, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Russia has yet to withdraw its forces and heavy weapons and never ceased its support for illegal armed formations. In light of the developments in Europe, that we are seeing these days, maybe it is time for this particular issue to go away," he said.

Over the past six years there have been dozens of ceasefire recommitments and local truces, yet the bloodshed continues. We all therefore got to maintain vigilance, support the SMM, and continue to hold Russia accountable for perpetuating this conflict, Gilmore noted.

He stressed that the U.S. sanctions against Russia over its aggression in Donbas will remain in force until Russia fully implements its Minsk commitments.

ish
The Belfast-born poet Derek Mahon has died after a short illness.

Mr Mahon, one of the foremost contemporary Irish poets, died in Cork on Thursday night.

Poetry Ireland said it was "deeply saddened" to hear of the 78-year-old's death.

"His influence in the Irish poetry community, literary world and society at large, and his legacy, is immense.

Our sympathies to his family and friends," the organisation said.

His poem, Everything is Going to be All Right, which he wrote during the pandemic, captured the national mood.

Born in Belfast in 1941, Mr Mahon lived in Kinsale for the past several decades.

He is widely regarded as one of the most talented and innovative Irish poets of the late 20th century.

He was best known for illuminating ordinary aspects of daily life through his skillfully crafted verse.

He attended the Royal Belfast Academic Institution.

After studying French at Trinity College, Dublin, he spent a year in France at the Sorbonne University.

He subsequently lived and worked in cities across the United States and Canada before moving to London to become a journalist.

His first collection, Twelve Poems, was published by the Belfast Festival at Queen's in 1965.

Oxford University Press then published his first major collection, Night Crossings, in 1968.

He went on to publish many collections of poems across a career that spanned 50 years.

The Gallery press, which published a number of works by Mr Mahon, described him as a "master poet" and a "pure artist".

They wrote on social media: To his partner Sarah Iremonger and his children Rory, Katy and Maisie we send heartfelt condolences.

"We will miss him forever as a friend and beloved author. Peace to Dereks beautiful mind. Mr Mahon was a member of Aosdana, the Irish association of artists and had received numerous awards for his work.

He received the David Cohen Prize for Literature in 2007 in recognition of his work.

Mr Mahon will also be remembered for poems such as A Disused Shed in County Wexford, A Refusal to Mourn, Beyond Howth Head, The Hudson Letter and The Yellow Book.

BBC journalist Fergal Keane described the death as a "terrible loss".

"He was a master whose words reached me at the darkest moments of life," Keane said on social media.

The books editor of the Irish Times, Martin Doyle, called Mahon one of Ireland's finest poets.

Irish President Michael D Higgins said: News of the death of Derek Mahon will be received with great sadness by his colleagues in Aosdana but also, and more widely, by those who understand what the loss of a great poet, with a body of work such as his, entails.

"Not so long ago one of his poems A disused Shed in County Wexford was in contention as Irelands favourite poem. Derek Mahons body of work revealed a poet that could draw on an easy familiarity with the classics, but which brought to them a wit and freshness that was both perceptive and provocative in equal measure.

"He shared with his northern peers the capacity to link the classical and the contemporary but he brought also an edge that was unsparing of cruelty and wickedness."

He added: "The loss of Derek Mahon, yet another artist gone from us in recent times, is like the falling of oak trees. We are left with hope from the fruit of the acorns in which the writing and its encouragement represents as legacy.

"To his partner, family and many friends, Sabina and I send our deepest sympathy.
The South American tapir is in steep decline due to habitat fragmentation from deforestation, agriculture and human habitation. Credit: Shutterstock

The fires in the Amazon region in 2019 were unprecedented in their destruction. Thousands of fires had burned more than 7,600 square kilometers by October that year. In 2020, things are no better and, in all likelihood, may be worse.

According to the Global Fire Emissions Database project run by NASA, fires in the Amazon in 2020 surpassed those of 2019. In fact, 2020's fires have been the worst since at least 2012, when the satellite was first operated. The number of fires burning the Brazilian Amazon increased 28 percent in July 2020 over the previous year, and the fires in the first week of September are double those in 2019, according to INPE, Brazil's national research space agency.

Despite the surge in fires, international attention has waned in 2020, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the degradation of the Amazon rainforest has profound consequences from climate change to global health.

Global climate implications

The Amazon rainforest covers approximately eight million square kilometersan area larger than Australiaand is home to an astounding amount of biodiversity.

It helps balance the global carbon budget by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and plays a key role in the global water cycle, stabilizing global climate and rainfall. A nine nation network of Indigenous territories and natural areas have protected a massive amount of biodiversity and primary forest.

Yet these lands are under siege. As of 2019, an estimated 17 percent of the Amazon's forest cover has been clear-cut or burned since the 1970s, when regular measurements began and the Amazon was closer to intact.

As the rainforest bleeds biomass through deforestation, it loses its ability to capture carbon from the atmosphere and releases carbon through combustion. If the annual fires burning the Amazon are not curtailed, one of the world's largest carbon sinks will progressively devolve into a carbon faucet, releasing more carbon dioxide than it sequesters.

While the global impacts are dire, the local impacts of these fires are also significant. Persistent poor air quality, which extends far into Brazil and other regions of South America, including in metropolitan centers like Sao Paulo, can lead to health problems.

As roads are built and forests are cleared for timber production and agriculture, a checkerboard of tropical forest edges is created. These destructive activities can lead to rapid extinctions and a severe loss of species richness anywhere that human encroachment occurs.

Many researchers predict that deforestation is propelling the Amazon towards a tipping point, beyond which it will gradually transform into a semi-arid savanna. If the deforestation of the rainforest continues past a threshold of 20-25 percent total deforestation, multiple positive feedback loops will spark the desertification of the Amazon Basin.

Global health implications

Zoonotic diseases, like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are on the rise. Understanding the root causes of these spillover events that move viruses from animals to humans gives us insight into how to prevent future zoonotic outbreaks. The degradation and fragmentation of tropical rainforests such as the Amazon may be a key factor in this process.

The checkerboard of forest edges increases the potential points of contact between humans and wildlife, which in turn increases the likelihood of viral transmission and the emergence of novel human diseases. Intact forests and high levels of biodiversity, on the other hand, can provide a "dilution effect" associated with a lower prevalence and spread of pathogens.

The present pandemic may well have had an environmental genesis. Maintaining the Amazon's current high level of biodiversity is vital, both for the health of the global ecosystem and because, otherwise, the Amazon could become a future hotspot of emerging diseases. When we protect the global ecosystem, we also protect ourselves from emerging zoonotic diseases.

Interventions are complex, but the protection of Indigenous territories, the restoration of already degraded lands and, most importantly, continued international awareness of political dynamics and consumer choices, all offer us ways to avert oncoming tragedy. If we do not take a longer view of this pandemic and look upstream for drivers and causes, pandemics will continue to emerge.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
France warned Friday against the risks of an "internationalisation" and "out of control" escalation in the conflict over Nagorny Karabakh, as fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia shows no sign of abating.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in a telephone call that a failure to halt the fighting would "bring the risk of an out of control escalation," his office said.

He also warned them "over the risk that an internationalisation of the conflict" would represent, after President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that fighters in Syria had travelled to Azerbaijan via Turkey.

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At a recent performance on Kyrgyzstans independence day, an improvisational poet known as an akyn memorably called out the countrys endemic corruption in front of its president, top officials, and foreign guests.

To the strains of a traditional Kyrgyz lute, the akyn denounced big ones who stealthily fill their pockets, electors who have grabbed the ballot boxes and steal votes, and the countrys customs service, where money is taken out in buckets.

The last allusion would not have been lost on his audience. For years, as revealed in a previous series of investigations, deputy customs chief Raimbek Matraimov enabled  and profited from  a smuggling empire run by a secretive Uyghur family.

Matraimov is no longer in the customs service. But over the years, he and his brothers, who still hold important public functions, have amassed vast riches  and converted them into influence.

This new investigative series by RFE/RLs Kyrgyz Service, OCCRP, Kloop and Bellingcat shows how.

From living an extravagant lifestyle on modest declared salaries, to secretly taking control of private customs facilities and trade routes, to pouring wealth into a crucial election campaign, the Matraimovs embody many of the brave poets warnings about the dangers of corruption in the heart of Central Asia.

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Continuity of government is always in place, she said on MSNBC. I always say its a relic of the past, but nonetheless, they say we have our job we have to do, and this is what well do.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, is the current president pro tempore in the Senate. He is 87.

What if the president is too ill to perform his duties?

Under the 25th Amendment, ratified in the 1960s to clarify presidential disability and succession planning, presidents can voluntarily designate powers to their vice presidents if they become seriously ill or are unable to perform their duties.

If Mr. Trump became gravely ill, he could provide letters to the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate saying he was unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office to transfer his powers to Mr. Pence, who would, in effect, become acting president. Mr. Trump could reclaim his full authorities when he recovered.

On Friday afternoon, as Mr. Trump was expected to depart for Walter Reed, Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, said the president would remain fully in power.

No transfer, he said. The president is in charge.

Since the amendment was ratified in 1967, the vice president has taken power in only three instances, each of them exceedingly brief. In 1985, when President Ronald Reagan was put under anesthesia for a colon procedure, he granted his powers to Vice President George Bush for about eight hours, though he avoided formally invoking the amendment. And in 2002 and 2007, President George W. Bush temporarily transferred his authorities to Vice President Dick Cheney during colonoscopies.

Can the president be involuntarily replaced?

The 25th Amendment also allows for the forcible removal of a president, including if he is too ill to designate his authorities or simply refuses to do so.
Shaun Williamson's secret son Gary has joked that he preferred rival soap Coronation Street to his dad's show EastEnders before learning of their relation.

While appearing together on Loose Women on Friday, the actor, 54, and his eldest child, 32, chatted about how they connected with each other.

When asked if he'd grown up seeing Shaun as Barry on EastEnders, Gary hilariously replied: 'I was always more of a Coronation Street fan myself.'

Joker! Shaun Williamson's secret son Gary (right) hilariously revealed he was 'more of a Coronation Street fan', preferring the soap to his dad's show EastEnders, while appearing on Loose Women on Friday

The Loose Women panel burst out laughing as Gary continued to explain how he was aware of Shaun, with him previously saying he 'admired' the actor on Extras.

Shaun, who talks about discovering he had a son in his book A Matter of Facts, also explained a little about what happened between himself and Gary's mother.

He said: 'I went to America, said Ill do what I can when I come back, but I had to go for work. When i got back shed got together with another gentleman and theyd decided to raise Gary as their own.'

The Loose Women panel, which included Stacey Solomon on Friday, then asked Gary what he knew as a child and if he was aware of his connection to Shaun.

Surprise: The former EastEnders actor (pictured on Loose Women) explained how he was unaware of his son, who he fathered with a circus juggler, until receiving an email in 2013

He replied: 'I thought the other fella was my father until the age of 26 so you can imagine that being a discovery that happens to you at that age being mind-blowing.

'It was complicated, there was lots of personal circumstances that lead to it being put off and put off and we had some tragedy around the age of 16 and it never felt like the right time.

'Eventually my sister found out and said "enough is enough, its about time to give Gary the opportunity to connect with his roots and find out where he comes from".'

Shaun finally connected with his son, who was living in Northern Ireland, in 2013 after being sent an email.

Entertained: The panel, which included Kaye Adams, Judi Love, Nadia Sawalha, and Stacey Solomon, were left giggling after Gary's joke about being more of a Corrie fan

Gary has previously admitted that the news of who his father was came as a shock, especially as he had 'admired' the actor from his role in Ricky Gervais' sitcom Extras.

Writing in his dad's book, Gary said: 'Me and my mates had even planned to go and see him when he was in a show at the Belfast Opera House some years before, so that we could meet him afterwards. How weird would that have been?'

It was revealed last week how Shaun - who played Barry in EastEnders for a decade before being killed off in 2004 - fathered Gary with a circus juggler more than 30 years ago.

The actor, who also has a daughter Sophie, 22, and son Joseph, 20 with ex-wife Melanie Sacre, said the revelation was 'the most frightening but amazing discovery'.

Iconic: Shaun became a household name thanks to his role as Barry Evans on EastEnders, his character was dramatically killed off (pictured) by the evil Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) in 2004 after ten years on the soap

Shock: Gary also said discovering his father was Shaun at the age of 26 was 'mind-blowing'

Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, Shaun said: 'When I found out I had another son, I was stunned. I was shaking when I went to meet him.'

The actor added: 'He said he never thought in a million years that Barry from EastEnders could be his dad.'

The Celebrity Big Brother star told how he met Gary's mother, who remains anonymous, when he was working as a barman in 1987 aged 22.

Shaun described how he was 'blown away' by the circus juggler and the pair went onto get engaged after six months despite having a 'fiery relationship'.

Father and son: Shaun met his long-lost son Gary in a hotel in Belfast in 2013 and described how the pair 'hit it off' from the start (pictured together in 2018)

The star ended the relationship as he took up a job as a Pontin's Bluecoat before he was told by his ex-fiancee that she was pregnant.

However she later explained to her ex Shaun that her landlord's son was in fact the father and his name would be on the birth certificate.

In 2013 the former postman received an email out-of-the-blue stating it was 'Gary' from his 'circus days'.

The Extras star sent a paternity test to a centre in Canada which confirmed that he was his biological son with Shaun describing how it all 'fell into place'.

Shaun met his long-lost son Gary in a hotel in Belfast and described how the pair 'hit it off' from the start.

He said: 'It was a surreal experience. I could immediately see the similarity. We hit it off straight away.'

Shaun became a household name thanks to his role as Barry Evans on EastEnders from 1994 until 2004. His character was dramatically killed off by the evil Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks).

The actor has gone on to appear on the likes of current programme Mister Winner, Ricky Gervais' Extras and Scoop.

While in 2017, he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and joked as he entered the house that he would have 'Barry from EastEnders' written on his gravestone.
SEATTLEThe words on a handmade sign spoke eloquently: Love is not tourism.

Last Sunday, a wedding  one of many  took place at busy Peace Arch Historical State Park in Blaine, Wash., uniting a couple who had been separated by a closed border for more than six months. Allyssa Howard drove north from the Everett area, where she has lived for the past four years; Sara Morosan came from her home in Chilliwack, B.C., an 80-minute drive east of Vancouver. Both wore lace dresses  one black, one white  with black lace-up boots; both of their faces glowed.

Howard and Morosan are just one of many cross-border couples whose plans for a life together have been affected by new pandemic regulations  and who came together, appropriately, at the Peace Arch. The park is unique along the U.S.-Canada border, in that it is a place where people from either side of the border can gather together. The border itself officially closed to non-essential travel in March (essentially banning tourism), and the Canadian side of the park closed in June. But the gatherings at the Peace Arch have continued; a peaceful loophole.

And the weddings there have multiplied. Its happening every day, literally dozens of couples at the border, people from around the country, said Len Saunders, an immigration attorney in the border town of Blaine. He noted that hes doing a huge business in spousal green cards  never in this capacity before.

Park ranger Rickey Blank, manager of the Peace Arch Historical State Park, concurred. Pre-COVID, he said in an email, weddings between folks across the border might happen once or twice a week; now its 20 to 25 weddings weekly. (Blank said that couples wishing to marry at the park should contact park staff in advance  impromptu weddings are discouraged  and expect to follow all current social-distancing guidelines. While getting married at the park with an officiant and a small handful of people is possible, the parks department is not allowing larger weddings (with tents, tables and such) at any of its state parks. This is not only a public health concern during a pandemic, but also these activities are harming the parks landscaping and natural resources, said Anna Gill, communications director with the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.)

Howard, who is 34, and Morosan, 28, met online six years ago, immediately drawn together by shared interests, particularly in Japanese animation. We just started talking about the same kind of nerdy stuff, remembered Howard of their instant connection. The two met in person for the first time in 2015, when Morosan flew to Minneapolis, where Howard then lived. Love blossomed, and Howard found a new job in Everett and moved west in 2016. It wasnt an easy decision  the first time moving away from my family, Howard said in a telephone interview  but it meant the two would be separated only by a drive of a few hours and an open border.

For several years, they saw each other once or twice a month on weekends: Morosan would take the Greyhound bus to Everett, or Howard would drive to Chilliwack. The miles were many, but so were the rewards: By the time of the Vancouver Pride Festival in August 2019, the two were engaged, with a wedding planned for October of this year.

And then the pandemic hit, and the border slammed closed. Neither woman could cross the border to see the other; visiting a nonrelative loved one is considered non-essential travel. (There are exceptions for travel into Canada for immediate family, but a fiancee does not qualify.) The October plans for a bigger wedding were put on hold. At that point, we thought, Lets wait until the borders open, Howard said, but that day didnt come.

It was very hard, said Morosan, who works in a grocery store. I had plenty of nights and days when I felt very depressed and I felt defeated because I couldnt see her, I couldnt drive to the border, she couldnt come here. I know she was only two hours away, but its still distance and it still hurt.

After Howard lost her job as a bus driver, the two realized their best option was to go ahead and get married, so Howard could come to Canada and begin the process of becoming a permanent resident  and the couple could be together. They were encouraged and informed by Faces of Advocacy/Advocacy for Family Reunification at the Canadian Border, a Facebook group with more than 7,000 members.

Last Sunday, the wedding was small and simple, with a friend officiating and a very small group of friends and family looking on. (Park gatherings, said park ranger Blank, are restricted to 10 people or fewer; two groups of five, separated by two metres.) Now Howard, who can cross the border once the marriage license is certified, is planning to move north, with a mandatory 14-day quarantine immediately after her arrival.

Shell need to apply for permanent residency status, for which being married to a Canadian qualifies her. Mark Belanger, a Vancouver lawyer specializing in immigration, said that currently it takes between six months to a year to get permanent residency, but that an American spouse like Howard would be allowed to be in Canada throughout that time, and can apply for a work permit. He said hes seen a significant uptick in applications from cross-border spouses seeking permanent residency  about double last years rate.

Its a long and expensive process (Howard and Morosan have a GoFundMe set up), but it means that a very long six months of separation will soon end, and that formerly online conversations can finally happen face to face.

Im just so excited to see her again, said Howard, speaking before the wedding. Shes always been there, ready to help me whenever I needed her. I feel like she is someone whos willing to fight for me, and to go the distance. Ill do the exact same thing for her.

At this time, said Morosan, you have to keep the ones you love close.

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Kim Kardashian shared a new photo shoot to Instagram on Friday to promote her SKIMS waffle line which debuts in five days.

The 39-year-old reality TV siren was seen in a bra and sunglasses as she poured maple syrup over stacks of morning waffles on a table.

This comes after her longtime friend Jonathan Cheban told Wendy Williams that the fragrance mogul and her rapper husband Kanye West are 'doing good,' throwing cold water on claims the power pair are on the rocks.

Kim having some fun: Kim Kardashian shared a new photo shoot to Instagram on Friday to promote her SKIMS waffle line which debuts in five days

Kim looked perfectly glammed in her new waffle look.

Her hair was worn stick straight, Cher-style, and her tanned body was covered in a light oil.

The Selfish author added several yellow gold necklaces, and large hoop earrings with tinted sunglasses with very long nails in a French manicure.

In other images, Kim had on a white waffle T-shirt, which is part of the waffle line, and black wrap-around ski-style sunglasses.

'COMING SOON: WAFFLE  new, ultra-soft brushed waffle loungewear designed for stay-at-home style and comfort,' the star wrote in her caption.

Sweet idea: The 39-year-old reality TV siren was seen in a bra and sunglasses as she poured maple syrup over stacks of morning waffles on a table

'Launching in 4 colors and in sizes XXS - 4X on Wednesday, October 7 at 9AM PT / 12PM ET exclusively at SKIMS.COM.

'Join the waitlist now to receive early access to shop before they sell out.'

The setting was an old school 1950s diner with a black booth and salt and pepper on the table.

She credited the photographer as Indiana.

More covered up: In other images, Kim had on a white waffle T-shirt, which is part of the waffle line, and black wrap-around ski-style sunglasses

Another look at the waffle design: In this image a model wears the bra top and pants with a robe

As the day wore on Kim popped over to her Insta Stories to model some of the items from her SKIMS waffle collection.

While posing up a storm in the loungewear she also shed some light on what her 'inspo' was for the new clothing.

'I really came up with this idea because I had, my kids had pajamas that were this material and they love them,' the mother of four shared.

She not only slipped into some waffle-colored attire but also what she called the 'mineral' shade, a 'minty greeny blue' color.

Making it happen: As the day wore on Kim popped over to her Insta Stories to model some of the items from her SKIMS waffle collection

She looks amazing: While posing up a storm in the loungewear she also shed some light on what her 'inspo' was for the new clothing

So sweet: 'I really came up with this idea because I had, my kids had pajamas that were this material and they love them,' the mother of four shared

Kim was clearly excited to unveil her new offerings to her legions of fans as she assured them: 'You guys are gonna love this collection.'

That day she swung by her dressing room and stretched herself across a chair in a pinup pose worthy of Bettie Page.

A professional photographer snapped away at her as she arced her legs, declaring she was 'obsessed with this legging.'

Kim also let her followers get a look at her office setup as she continues her studies to become a lawyer like her late father Robert Kardashian.

Variety: She not only slipped into some waffle-colored attire but also what she called the 'mineral' shade, a 'minty greeny blue' color

Thrill: Kim was clearly excited to unveil her new offerings to her legions of fans as she assured them: 'You guys are gonna love this collection'

Leggy lady: That day she swung by her dressing room and stretched herself across a chair in a pinup pose worthy of Bettie Page

Sensational: A professional photographer snapped away at her as she arced her legs, declaring she was 'obsessed with this legging'

Hard at work: Kim also let her followers get a look at her office setup as she continues her studies to become a lawyer like her late father Robert Kardashian

True to her love of glamour her laptop is covered in sparkles, but she also has her mind on work as a set of flashcards labeled 'CRIMINAL LAW' was also visible.

This comes after her pal Cheban stopped by the Wendy Williams Show on Thursday to promote his FoodGod Truffle Ketchup.

The host grilled him on how the TV star is doing with husband West after claims the duo are on the rocks.

'They're good!' exclaimed the Celebrity Big Brother star. 'It's you know, it is what is - but they're good.'

Grilled to a crisp! Jonathan Cheban has been best friends with Kim for over a decade and knows her life well. So when the FoodGod stopped by the Wendy Williams show on Thursday to promote his FoodGod Truffle Ketchup, the host grilled him

How are they? The host grilled him on how the 39-year-old reality TV star is doing with husband Kanye West after claims the duo are on the rocks. Seen in February

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians guest star was certainly put on the hot seat as Wendy demanded answers about the KKW beauty expert and the Paranoid rapper.

The conversation started with Wendy asking how Kim and Kanye - who share four kids - are doing.

'Good, I mean I saw them last month in LA after not seeing them for five months because of COVID,' he began.

'It's you know, it is what is - but they're good.'

A-OK: 'They're good!' exclaimed the Celebrity Big Brother star. 'It's you know, it is what is - but they're good'

Close: The conversation started with Wendy asking how Kim and Kanye - who share four kids - are doing. 'Good, I mean I saw them last month in LA after not seeing them for five months because of COVID,' he began

Good daddy: West with all four of his kids recently: he has North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm with Kim

Kim and Kanye have been seen going on dates recently after a tearful reunion in Wyoming in September, and he was pictured with all four of their kids - North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm - last week.

Cheban, who wore a plaid shirt, then explained how West is different.

'It's Kanye - he's a genius. His brain is on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It's overwhelming.

'There has to be a certain point where things go AWOL and he comes right back, I think that is how a genius is.'

It is what it is! 'It's you know, it is what is - but they're good,' added the TV star

Get this: Cheban, who wore a plaid shirt, then explained how West is different. 'It's Kanye - he's a genius. His brain is on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It's overwhelming'

West has in the past gone on social media rants or said shocking things in interviews but then seems to quiet down, which could be his pattern.

In September Kim took to social media to talk the ketchup up: 'Okay, so I just got home to The Ultimate Truffle Ketchup by Foodgod,' Kim said.

'My brother was so excited when Jonathan launched his truffle ketchup. He ordered three of them online and text me and was like, "I just got us Jonathans truffle ketchup and we have to try it!"'

Good product: Cheban has a new truffle ketchup out that he and Wendy tried on the show with French Fries. He said he worked on his truffle ketchup for a year. 'People are addicted to it,' added the star
The High Court ruled on Friday that the government's advice against non-essential travel to most countries due to the risk of COVID-19 infection was legal, dismissing a case brought by low-cost airline Ryanair .

Ireland has some of the strictest COVID-19 travel advice in Europe, advising against non-essential travel to all but four countries - Cyprus, Finland, Latvia and Liechtenstein. Those four countries however have restrictions on incoming passengers from Ireland.

Passengers from all countries - other than those four - coming into Ireland are advised to restrict their movements for 14 days.

Ryanair described the Irish government measures as "nonsensical" and questioned their legality in a High Court case that rival Aer Lingus also participated in.

"The government acted lawfully in providing travel advice and public health advice in respect of the coronavirus pandemic on a non-statutory basis," the ruling by Justice Garrett Simons said.

"The advice to avoid non-essential travel and to restrict movements on entry to the State is just that: advice," the ruling said. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
COVID-19 cases in the Houston region increased by more than 1,000 between Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Authorities added 1,083 cases to the Houston region rolls, bringing the total here to 198,933. In Harris County alone, cases increased by 849, totaling 143,530 people who have been infected since the beginning of the pandemic.

Deaths in the Houston region increase by 14 to 3,470. The Houston region's positivity rate went relatively unchanged, sitting at 6.45 percent.

Statewide, cases increased by 3,704 to 778,181. Deaths increased by 113 to 16,102 across Texas.

In other headlines, President Donald Trump tweeted that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus hours after Hope Hicks tested positive, according to Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller of the Associated Press. Hicks is one of Trump's closest and longest-serving aides.

Several Texas politicians sent support for the president, while others offered tongue-in-cheek commentary.

Read more reactions from the Houston Chronicle's Benjamin Wermund here.

NOTE: The numbers included in this report represent a one-day change in data from Wednesday, Sept. 30 through Thursday, Oct. 1. 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.
Prairie Girl Bakerys fantastically flavoured cupcakes and designer confections have been longtime favourites of Toronto office workers. Before COVID-19, they could be picked up for work events or on the way home from five Prairie Girl stores, including two in the underground PATH at First Canadian Place and Brookfield Place.

When COVID-19 shut down the city in mid-March, the bakerys founder Jean Blacklock remembers thinking that her team would be back to work before the buttermilk in the kitchens expired in April.

They were naive, she says now.

It was around June that Blacklock made the decision to permanently close all but the original Prairie Girl at King Street East and Victoria Street. It is extremely busy, she said, in part because the companys treats can be boxed individually for safe, distanced celebrations.

Were really doing very well for one store  but we had five, said Blacklock.

In terms of my business, people will continue to celebrate. Human nature will remain human nature. But the nature of work and where we do it, I think, is changing fundamentally, she said.

Listen to Ed Tubb and Joanna Chiu discuss the second wave

She isnt alone. Experts say remote work is having a profound effect on office space downtown and the businesses traditionally supported by the people who worked in them, an impact that could reshape or rebalance how the citys core develops in the future.

Mayor John Tory told the Toronto Region Board of Trade last week that he is convening a group of business leaders to help address the long-term effects of the pandemic on downtown. Without minimizing the challenges to main street and suburban business, he said theres more at stake in the core, where the office towers are now only 10 per cent occupied.

If the whole thing goes into a massive decline then you have a much bigger collective impact on one small area that is important to the Toronto, Ontario and national economy, said Tory.

According to new data from the board, work in the accommodation and food-service sectors accounts for almost 40,000 jobs or eight per cent of all employment in the core  but has the lowest capacity for remote work of all industries, at just one in 20 jobs.

The figures, found in the boards regional recovery playbook, Shaping our Future, show that in terms of the current use of commercial space in the city core during the pandemic, about 68 per cent of jobs have the capacity for remote work.

Thats almost 350,000 jobs having a high capacity for remote workSo thats a significant amount of traffic that the downtown is not seeing, said Marcy Burchfield, vice-president of the Board of Trades Economic Blueprint Institute.

According to its study, the sectors with the highest capacity for remote work are finance and insurance, which account for 115,875 downtown jobs. About 96 per cent of those industries have the capacity/opportunity for at-home work. The 89,955 positions downtown in professional, scientific and technical services fields arent far behind at 88 per cent.

Meanwhile, the study shows that the third- and fourth-largest sectors in terms of downtown employment do not have a high capacity for remote work. The health-care and social-assistance fields account for 46,780 jobs in the core  but just 29 per cent can be done remotely.

Accommodation and food-service jobs downtown might not shift to working from home, but the trend may well impact them all the same. Positions in food service and retail are directly related to the demand generated by having people coming into downtown for work, notes the study.

Prairie Girls Blacklock doesnt think big downtowns like Toronto will ever be the same. Companies have become too adept at managing with much of their workforce at home.

When this is over and its no longer a public health crisis why would they return? I think its moved beyond a public health crisis into a repositioning of where people work, she said.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in Torontos PATH system, the vast underground network of commercial and walking space. Pre-COVID on any weekday  especially around lunchtime and after work  you could find packed corridors filled with people grabbing meals, shopping, coming to or from their jobs and using transit stops connected to the network.

These days those corridors are empty.

The term, perfect storm, though cliched, is not far off as it applies to the PATH, said Karl Littler, vice-president of public affairs for the Retail Council of Canada. You have an absence of office workers  far more people are working from home as was the case before. The number of people working from home is five times as high as it was in pre-COVID times. There are no tourists or next to none. University and college students are at home.

Take all of that and you have an obvious foot traffic problem.

The apparel industry for example  clothing, shoes, accessories  has taken a drubbing. Littler said the apparel industry has in the last four months lost $7 billion in Canada, which suggests about $500 million in losses in Toronto.

Whats in the PATH in Toronto? A lot of apparel, he said.

If even a fraction of those Toronto jobs shifted home dont ever return to the core, there is the potential for a profound re-balancing of growth where growth is no longer concentrated in denser urban centres across the region, the Board of Trade study concludes.

Whats clear, said Littler, is were going to see some net shift from Toronto to the suburbs as far as shopping  simply by virtue of remote working.

Burchfield said experts are predicting that dispersed development as opposed to concentrated growth in urban centres like Toronto. If remote work takes hold, she said, offices may need to provide different uses  some people are talking about child care or possibly affordable housing.

So far, downtown office rents are holding steady in Toronto, according to a third-quarter report released by commercial real estate company CBRE on Tuesday. But the vacancy rate rose in that period to 4.7 per cent, from 2.7 per cent in the second quarter.

Thirty-six per cent of all the vacant space downtown is sublet space, which rose 136 per cent quarter over quarter as companies  many of them technology based  re-evaluated their office requirements, said the report.

Chuck Scott, CEO of commercial real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield Canada, is not predicting the demise of the office. In fact, his company expects Torontos need for office space will expand once the pandemic passes.

The office will always be there. Its just going to be rethought and part of an overall workplace eco-system, said Scott.

Companies will reassess their footprint as home-based work takes its place in that eco-system. But that will be offset by the need to provide more square footage for workplace physical distancing  a reversal of the recent trend toward denser offices, Scott said.

Were going to see vacancy rise and rents softening in the near term, said Scott. But long term, we see the demand (for office space) growing.

Cushman and Wakefields Global Office Impact Study & Recovery Timing report, released on Tuesday, forecasts asking rents for office Canadian office space will start to soften by the end of this year and will decline 5.5 per cent from the peak by the end of 2021. Office employment, though, is forecast to recover by the second quarter of next year, with rents anticipated to recover by the third quarter of 2022.

Toronto will continue attracting an outsize share of tech-sector jobs, according to the report.

From 2022 to 2030 were actually expecting office demand to grow by just over 53.9 million square feet in Canada. Thats in spite of a 14.5 per cent drag were expecting from the impact of work from home, said Scott.

Toronto went into the pandemic with record low vacancies and a reputation for attracting top talent. That, he said, will sustain it through the pandemic challenges.

When it comes to attracting global retailers and luxury brands, Toronto also compares favourably to some other global cities, said Arlin Markowitz, senior vice-president at CBRE. Canadas handling of the pandemic and its relative stability look attractive even next to hot markets like New York or Miami, he said.

Markowitz, who heads up CBREs urban retail team, said his group has set up 28 retail leases in the last 60 days, most for service stores  banks, grocers, dentists and cannabis shops.

In dense neighbourhoods people still need veterinarians, a dentist, a take-out coffee shop, people still want fast food, he said.

And while the PATH has been hard hit, Markowitz said there are sparks of interest by luxury retail brands in space in the Bloor St.-Yorkville area.

Some businesses think they can scoop a discount because of COVID, he said, and frankly, thats what theyre doing.

However, small is the flavour of the month among retailers, he added, suggesting some are leasing spaces as tight as 700 sq. ft.

And while enclosed shopping malls may be struggling, suburban strip plazas have advantages, said Markowitz.

In the past 10 years the narrative has been urban  the suburbs are dead and all that. Now some of those suburban centres are looking very attractive, he said. People like the idea of pulling up to a strip plaza, parking right in front of the store they want to go to. You put on your mask and you get out.

Retail always finds a way to evolve, said Markowitz. Whether its cannabis consumption lounges or stationary bikes and treadmills, theres always going to be a new kid on the block.

Although Torontos core has seen profound changes, the waterfront has managed to maintain almost as much foot traffic as last summer despite the absence of tourism, said Tim Kocur, executive director of the Waterfront Business Improvement Area (BIA).

As part of its pedestrian count, the BIA did a snap survey asking people why they had come. Of the 100 we asked, 62 gave postal codes that were Dundas Street or south  so a 30-minute walk. Two-thirds of people were actually from downtown and were just spending more time on the waterfront this year, he said.

The business community plans to build on that local interest by planning events such as public art installations, that add excitement but dont encourage gathering.

Theres definitely worry because we cant fully understand the future so its hard to forecast how well well be doing in a year or two, said Kocur.

But waterfront businesses are optimistic about the areas bounce-back potential, he said.

Were hoping that Toronto will actually be even more of a waterfront city because this has been one of the prime destinations for people who couldnt get out of town.

Correction - Oct. 2 - This story has been updated to correct the name of Jean Blacklock
Taking to Twitter, she wrote: "A gruesome incident like Hathras took place in Balrampur. The girl was raped and her legs and waist were broken. Girls have been tortured in Azamgarh, Baghpat and Bulandshahr. The lawlessness in Uttar Pradesh is without any limits. Marketing and making speeches do not work to maintain law and order. This is the Chief Minister's time for accountability. The public needs answers."

Lucknow: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday slammed the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over a gang rape in Balrampur district, saying that "marketing and making speeches" do not work while maintaining law and order.

According to reports, a 22-year-old Dalit college student was raped and brutalized in the Gaisari village of Balrampur on Tuesday.

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the crime which came just days after the gang rape and subsequent death of a woman in Hathras, and whose cremation in the night by the police has provoked nationwide outrage.

Meanwhile, in what seems to be a replay of the Hathras incident, the Balrampur victim was also cremated in a hurry late on Tuesday night amidst a heavy police deployment.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also the party in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, along with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will visit Hathras on Thursday to meet the family of the victim.

The government has, however, sealed all the boundaries of the district and imposed Section 144.

Three policemen guarding the victim's family in Hathras have been infected by the novel coronavirus. For this reason the village might also be declared as a containment zone.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Veer said he had not received any information on the Congress leaders' visit.

"All borders of Hathras have been sealed. No one will be allowed to come to Hathras. The arrival of political leaders may lead to huge crowds. In view of the possibility of law and order deteriorating here, they will be stopped at the borders itself," he added.
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Paddling

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New York State has more than 7,500 lakes, ponds and reservoirs and more than 70,000 miles of rivers and streams. Paddling on these water bodies can take the form of canoes, kayaks, and rafts. Many lakes, ponds and rivers in the Adirondacks and Catskills provide paddling opportunities without motorized boating.

Paddling is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, view the forests and mountains and watch wildlife on the water and along the shore. Whether it's a leisurely flat water paddle on a pond or lake or an exciting whitewater paddle on a raging river, there is a range of paddling opportunities in New York State to meet the desires of all paddlers.

Information on paddling safety, rules, and etiquette

Information on how to safely enjoy Spring paddling

Where to Go

Here is a sample of areas with paddling opportunities. To explore other DEC lands across the state, visit our places to go page.

Flat Water Paddling

Many DEC Campgrounds are situated on bodies of water and provide access for paddlers. Most campgrounds also offer canoe, rowboat, and/or kayak rentals.

St. Regis Canoe Area - It is the only designated Canoe Area in New York State, the number and proximity of lakes and ponds make possible a remote and unconfined type of water-oriented recreation in an essentially wilderness setting.

Essex Chain Lakes - The Essex Chain Lakes Complex contains 18 waterbodies totaling 785 acres that range in size from 3-acre Chub Pond to 216-acre Third Lake. Ten miles of the Hudson River on the eastern boundary and four miles of the Cedar River in the southern section make this is a paddler's paradise.

Tivoli Bays - The site includes two large coves on the east shore of the Hudson River including Tivoli North Bay, a large intertidal marsh and Tivoli South Bay, a large, shallow cove with mudflats exposed at low tide.

Saranac Lakes Wild Forest - This area features countless paddling opportunities with 144 water bodies ranging from small ponds entirely owned by the State to large lakes with a mix of State Land and private lands.

Extended Backcountry Trips

Northern Forest Canoe Trail (leaves DEC website)- This is a 740-mile (1,190 km) marked canoeing trail in the northeastern United States and Canada, extending from Old Forge in the Adirondacks of New York to Fort Kent, Maine.

White Water

Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area - This area is known for spectacular scenery created by a deep gorge, sheer cliffs, flowing waterfalls, and dense forests. The rapids in the gorge normally range from Class 2 through Class 4, depending on water level.

Hudson Gorge Wilderness - Whether you are a hardcore thrill seeker or have a family, rafting through the Hudson Gorge is one of the most thrilling experiences on an Adirondack water.

Letchworth State Park (leaves DEC website) - This park features the Genesee River flowing through a meandering 550-foot deep river gorge lined with slate cliffs. The rapids in the gorge normally range from Class 2 through Class 3, depending on water level.

Water Releases for Esopus Creek Recreational Events - DEC facilitates the recreational use of Esopus Creek by directing New York City to make increased diversions into the creek for whitewater events on up to four weekends per year. Historically, the Department has received requests from a consortium of recreational groups that hold these events including American Whitewater, the Kayak and Canoe Club of New York, the Appalachian Mountain Club, and the American Canoe Association. These groups coordinate scheduling with other planned boating events throughout the region.

Always wear a personal flotation device (PFD, aka life jacket) while on or along the water. Especially when water temperatures are cold or when currents are swift.

Immersion in cold waters can quickly result in lowering of core body temperature, leading to inability to move, hypothermia and drowning. Wearing a PFD can prevent drowning.

Falling in to swift currents can easily result in being pulled and kept under water and collisions with rocks, logs and other objects causing injury. A PFD can prevent drowning. A helmet is strong recommended when paddling in whitewater and other swift currents.

State law requires all children under 12 to wear a PFD while on a watercraft.

State law requires all children under 12 to wear a PFD while on a watercraft. State law also requires all people on a pleasure vessel less than 21 feet long to wear a PFD between November 1 and May 1.

Large waves can form on large waters bodies with steady winds. Heavy winds can create large waves on small and medium-sized water bodies. Know your abilities and the forecast for wind before setting out.

Turn you canoe or kayak to point into large waves (or wakes from motorboats) to prevent being overturned

Find shelter on shore when you hear thunder.

Hire a guide if you are unsure if your skill levels meet the challenges of paddling.

See the NYS Outdoor Guides Association (leaves DEC website) for information on outdoor guides.

Additional information on Outdoor Safety

For more information about paddling requirements & paddling safety, visit the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historical Preservation (OPRHP) boating page (leaving DEC website).

Respect Others

When paddling in waters with motorboats: Keep close to the shorelines and out of the channels to allow safe passage of motorboats; and Groups should paddle behind one another not abreast to prevent blocking passage of motorboats and other paddlers



Do not block carries (portage trails), put-in or take out sites with your watercraft or gear.

Load your gear out of the way of others who are ready to launch or retrieve

Watch ahead when portaging, so you don't run into others using the portage trail.

Speak quietly to not disturb others, sound carries across water.

Protect the Lands & Waters

Know the rules of the lands & waters you will be recreating on

Know the principles of Leave No Trace (leaves DEC website).

Carry out what you carry in.

Pack all gear, supplies, clothing and food in waterproof bags which is strapped or secured to the kayak, canoe or raft. If you overturn you will be able to retrieve your belongings and not litter the water.

Access to the Water

DEC provides many points throughout the state. These include both hand launch and boat launch sites. Hand launch sites allow for the launching of non-trailered (aka car top) watercraft such as canoes, kayaks, john boats and other small boats. Some hand launches are for watercraft with or without outboard motors, many hand launches are watercraft without motors - check the regulation.

Boat launches are mainly for trailered boats, but non-trailered watercraft may use them as well. DEC provides a list of boat launch sites by county.

Paddlers should share the boat ramp and docks with other users and launch quickly and safely.
Lord Alan Sugar is now out of mandatory quarantine and able to begin filming The Celebrity Apprentice for Nine.

He finished his final day of quarantine on Wednesday.

Speaking to Lorraine on ITV he was full of praise for local restrictions.

On Tuesday he said, Im on the last day of very, very strict quarantine here, I have to say, with a lot of admiration for the manner in which the Australian authorities deal with a situation -which obviously reflects in the fact that here we are in New South Wales where they get alarmed when theres more than one case of Coronavirus.

But its very, very strict and tomorrow, Im out of jail!

As the UK battles a second wave of coronavirus he added, I can tell you what, if you impose the rules that the Australian Government have imposed in England never mind people protesting in Trafalgar Square

The Australian population have bowed down to it. Thats why theres no cases here.
On July 2, all Caroline Mackenzie Gottlieb wanted to do was sit inside her cool, air-conditioned apartment. Ms. Gottlieb, 36, is a features producer for NBCs Today show in Manhattan, and had spent the last few days shooting on location in Charlottesville, Va. It had been hot and humid in Virginia and it was hot and humid when she got back to her Manhattan apartment, where she lived with her boyfriend, David James Virenius. Mr. Virenius, who is a director of programmatic advertising for the Weather Channel in Manhattan, had other plans.

He starts asking me to go for walks in Central Park, Ms. Gottlieb said. Normally Ms. Gottlieb loves Central Park, and goes almost every day with her dog, Henry. But after her trip to Charlottesville, I did not want to leave the apartment, she said.

Ms. Gottlieb and Mr. Virenius met on Bumble in February 2019, and by the end of the night Mr. Virenius knew he had met someone special.

I kind of knew she was the one on our first date, he said.

Ms. Gottliebs realization about how much she liked Mr. Virenius was a little more painful. On their third date, while walking around the Upper West Side in Manhattan, Mr. Virenius made Ms. Gottlieb laugh so hard that she walked into a small fence post. Her leg was bruised and bleeding by the time they got to a bar where they were planning to grab a drink.
Anurag Kashyap and Payal Ghosh

Mumbai: Denying actor Payal Ghoshs allegations of rape against him, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on Friday described them as false and reckless and said he was out of the country during the period she has mentioned in her FIR.

A statement issued by his lawyer a day after he was questioned in the case said Kashyap provided documentary proof to the police to establish the fact that he was in Sri Lanka shooting for a film in August 2013.

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Payal Ghosh and Anurag KashyapVersova police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Kashyap on September 22 after Ghosh alleged that he had raped her in August 2013.

"Mr. Kashyap has denied all wrongdoing in the matter and has provided his statement to the police. The material provided by Mr. Kashyap, in support of his statement, demonstrates that the complaint of Ms. Ghosh is an outright lie, said the statement by his lawyer Priyanka Khimani.

Kashyap, who was questioned by Mumbai Police for eight hours on Thursday, has said he will vigorously pursue legal remedies.

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Anurag KashyapMr. Kashyap has provided documentary proof of the fact that throughout August, 2013 he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films. Mr. Kashyap has categorically denied that any such alleged incident ever took place and has also denied all allegations levelled against him, Khimani said in the statement.

Khimani said the filmmaker is distressed with the false and reckless allegations made against him that have caused pain to him, his family and his fans.

Mr. Kashyap vehemently denies any such incident, as has been alleged, and has sought for severe action against Ms. Ghosh for misusing the criminal justice system and for hijacking the Me Too Movement for her ulterior motives. Mr. Kashyap is confident that justice will prevail, the statement read.
Marine One, the presidential helicopter, carries President Donald Trump away from the White House on the way to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

When many Americans woke to the news that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, cable news had already been up much of the night, scrambling to cover Octobers whopper of a surprise.

The news broke just before 10 p.m. on the West Coast, when most prominent cable TV anchors, Beltway reporters and in-house doctors are usually fast asleep or just ending their day. Whether jostled out of bed like NBC's Andrea Mitchell or powering straight through like CNNs Don Lemon, each had to walk a fine line while reporting on the grim irony of Trump testing positive for a deadly virus that he's repeatedly sought to downplay. Human compassion faced off with politics, well-wishing with hard, cold facts as TV news came to grips with what veteran NBC journalist Brian Williams described as a colossal story.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, whose profession demands he respond quickly to medical emergencies, was on CNN within minutes of the news breaking, replete with sopping wet hair. (Heck, its possible he was wearing only a towel from the waist down.) He said the odds were good for Trump and that he should recover but that the news should not be entirely unexpected given the presidents lax use of masks.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, from left, CNN anchor Don Lemon and Dr. Leana Wen discuss the news in the early morning hours of Oct. 2 that President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus. (CNN)

To that point, the network produced the viral clip of Trump making fun of challenger Joe Biden during Tuesdays presidential debate for wearing protective face coverings in public. He could be speaking 200 feet away from you, and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen!

Bedheaded Washington Post newsman Carl Bernstein was all too happy to light into the president for knowingly putting the lives of Americans in danger when he failed to take decisive measures to curb the pandemic despite understanding its severity earlier this year. And why had the president attended a rally Wednesday after learning that Hope Hicks  his closest nonfamilial advisor  had tested positive, asked Anderson Cooper, who joined the CNN crew around midnight.

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MSNBCs go-to COVID-19 expert, Dr. Vin Gupta (no relation to Sanjay), was also on the air within minutes of the story breaking. He clarified, as he has for months, the seriousness of the disease, then tried, delicately, to explain why the president is among the population at higher risk for severe illness. . Trump will probably be just fine, he said, but hes a senior so theres a higher likelihood of him becoming very sick or dying of COVID  and then theres the question of his BMI" body mass index. The subject of Trumps weight was clearly uncomfortable. Hes obese, Gupta said carefully, and that puts him in more danger.

U.S. President Donald Trump walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 2 as he heads to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, after testing positive for COVID-19. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The Fox News team looked shellshocked as they broke the news, repeating that the president and his staff get tested daily  which they supplemented, as Friday wore on, with a somewhat new-for-the-network emphasis on the important of mask-wearing and hand-washing. (Apparently that wasnt enough, one guest said of the testing regime.)

The news outlet has been widely criticized for amplifying the White House's dismissal of, and misinformation about, COVID-19  almost right up to the moment the president tweeted that he and the first lady had tested positive. In a live interview with Trump earlier Thursday evening, Fox personality Sean Hannity waited a full 10 minutes before broaching the biggest story of the day as if it were a mere sidebar: "By the way, some news broke earlier this evening, Hannity said, referring to Hicks' positive test.



Networks tried to glean clues about who else in Trump's orbit might have contracted the virus. Each outlet embarked on its own version of contact tracing in real time, producing flow charts and diagrams of people known to have been in close contact with Hicks or the president. At one point, MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi surmised how many people in Trumps inner circle, and at the two rallies he attended this week, needed to be tested. It was a long list.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, third from left, waits with White House staff as President Donald Trump prepares to leave the White House Friday to go to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after he tested positive for COVID-19. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Tuesday hed been on a plane with Melania, all of his adult children, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle, social media director Dan Scavino, Rep. Jim Jordan and prison-reform activist Alice Johnson, among others, on the way to the debate with Biden. And then there were the rallies in Minnesota and New Jersey, plus meetings on the race to confirm a new Supreme Court justice before election day. The possibilities kept unfurling with each new photo and clip of a mask-free Trump and Hicks clustered around others who were unprotected, from Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett to supporters who caught MAGA hats after a sweaty POTUS threw them into the crowd.



CNN counted at least 45 people in danger of contracting the virus from interactions with the Trump administration, including Rudy Giuliani. Like many other news outlets, the network posted their photos, yearbook style, and began moving them into columns: positive, negative, awaiting results.

By midafternoon Friday, though, the pictures on cable news had become "alarming and upsetting," as Fox News host and debate moderator Chris Wallace put it, as the networks watched for the president to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House for the brief flight to Walter Reed.

It was, as with so much of Trump's presidency, both unprecedented and utterly surreal; on MSNBC, Brian Williams described a video posted to Trump's Twitter account, in which the president thanked his well-wishers and announced his departure for the hospital, as "proof of life and health"  a phrase that might be used alongside a video of an American held captive abroad.

All the major networks and cable news outlets were there long before the chopper's blades began to whir, streaming live feeds that interrupted their regular programming. They waited, the cameras fixed on the Secret Service personnel flanking the exit and Trump's path to the helicopter. When he finally emerged, his departure was at first obscured from the news cameras, but a White House feed was released within minutes.

It captured Trump in a suit and tie, replete with a mask, making the short walk to the awaiting craft. He flashed a big thumbs up for the camera before boarding, and as Marine One lifted off the media was left behind to continue covering the most bizarre twist in Trump's presidency yet.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
(Newser)  "[The] president of the United States has tested positive for COVID-19," was Brian Williams' somber announcement at around 1am Friday on MSNBC. "This puts us in all new territory." And with that new territory, per the Washington Post, well wishes from around the world began pouring in for President Trump and first lady Melania Trump, who announced their positive coronavirus diagnosis just after midnight, a few hours after news broke that close aide Hope Hicks was infected. One of the first to send out a message: British PM Boris Johnson, who himself battled the virus earlier this year. "My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady," Johnson tweeted. "Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus." Other reaction, which NBC New York describes as a mix of "shock, sympathy, [and] mockery":



According to the Interfax agency, Vladimir Putin sent a telegram: "I am certain that your inherent vitality, good spirits, and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus," the Russian president's message said, per the National Post.

From India, which has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote, "Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a similar message.

Out of France, a warning. The news, says a French government spokesman who wished a quick recovery for the Trumps, is "a sign that the virus spares no one, including those who are the most skeptical about its reality and gravity," per WaPo.

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Some response seemed more schadenfreude than sympathy. From Hu Xijin, the editor of China's state-owned Global Times: "President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19. The news shows the severity of the US' pandemic situation. It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection."

Others, such as journalist Carl Bernstein, say this news puts the US in a precarious position. "We are now in the midst of a national security crisis," he said on CNN, per the Boston Globe. "We have to be concerned about adversaries, particularly Russia, taking advantage of this situation for its own purposes."

At least one health official is calling it a "nightmare" for Trump. "COVID19 is a serious infection, especially for someone who is older like Mr. Trump," Dr. Ashish Jha, head of the Brown University School of Public Health, noted. "I can't believe he was infected. This is a total failure by WH team to protect the President."

Some are hoping this changes the attitude toward the virus, both from the president and the country in general. "After 209,000 American lives Lost, maybe now this gets taken seriously," former RNC Chair Michael Steele tweeted.

Conspiracy theories and dark humor about the president's diagnosis also proliferated online. "Poor Melania, it's probably the longest time she'll have to spend isolated in Trump's company since she married him," one commenter snarked.

(Read more President Trump stories.)
Dael Orlandersmith in "Until the Flood," which will be streamed as part of Center Theatre Group's new Digital Stage. (Robert Altman)

Los Angeles' largest nonprofit theater company, Center Theatre Group, said at the end of March that it hoped to stage live performances by fall at all three of its venues: the Ahmanson, the Mark Taper Forum and the Kirk Douglas. But by mid-June, the company said it would have to lay off more than half of its staff and remain dark until April 2021.

With almost seven months between now and then, and with spring still very much uncertain, Center Theatre Group is expected to announce on Friday the creation of a fourth venue built for the COVID-19 era: the Digital Stage.

This virtual venue will feature content innovated by a newly announced group of theater artists dubbed the CTG Creative Collective. They include playwright Dominique Morisseau; Chicano performance artist, writer and social activist Luis Alfaro; solo theater performer and comedian Kristina Wong; animator, director and designer Miwa Matreyek; performance artist, playwright and educator Daniel Alexander Jones; director, experimental artist and Early Morning Opera founder Lars Jan; the Latino performance troupe Culture Clash; and the magic, clowning and illusionist company Elephant Room.

CTG Artistic Director Michael Ritchie said in an interview that he would like to make the Digital Stage a permanent fixture, even after the threat of the coronavirus fades. The hope is that the kind of work appearing on the Digital Stage will transcend COVID-related restrictions to establish a new language for theater.

Members of the collective will receive stipends, thanks to a $200,000 grant from an anonymous donor.

Theyve been engaged to help us create art but also to be a brain trust, a think tank, evaluating where we are now through to what happens when we get back to what we would consider in a normal theater state, Ritchie said. They are working both individually and collectively to create projects, sometimes in pairings and sometimes in groups.

A complete slate of the collectives offerings has not yet been released, but the future is being teased out with the announcement of a new serialized retelling of Chavez Ravine, the Culture Clash play commissioned by CTG.

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The show first played at the Taper in 2003 and was revived at the Kirk Douglas in 2015. The new Digital Stage version, which examines the destruction of a Latino neighborhood in order to make way for Dodger Stadium, will feature selected scenes curated into nine innings or episodes that will be filmed on location around the city. It will incorporate music, archival films, period photos, interviews and new performances by Culture Clash members Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza.

Ritchie said another project will feature an exploration of the L.A. landscape through its rivers, roads and highways. The idea is to create a series of app-based audio performances so people can listen to stories about neighborhoods, told by artists, theater makers and residents, as they walk or drive through them.

A TV studio is being set up at Kirk Douglas in Culver City that will allow dynamic recordings of performances for streaming under the banner Live From KDT. Multicamera offerings include Alfaros three-play series of Chicano adaptations, The Greek Trilogy of Luis Alfaro, as well as Kristina Wong for Public Office, a one-woman show examining Wongs leap from reality TV to hyperlocal politics.

Already-filmed performances will be on offer via the Digital Stage too. These include choreographer and CTG associate artist Matthew Bournes Swan Lake, The Car Man, Romeo & Juliet and Cinderella. The performances will be introduced by Bourne.

Until the Flood, which reflects on the aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown, the black 18-year-old shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., will be available to stream. Written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith and directed by CTG Associate Artistic Director Neel Keller, the piece was filmed during a Rattlestick Playwrights Theater production.

Its an incredibly exciting time to be working in the theater right now, given the fact that we're not in the theater, said Ritchie. Were not trying to be television or film or radio. Were trying to be theater.

A full list of CTGs Digital Stage offerings, including community conversations, audio theater and educational programming, is posted on the company's website.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A retirement home development company backed by pensions and insurance giant Axa has announced plans to build 30 new 'villages' for older people in the next 10 years.

Honing its sights on 'affluent' towns and cities across the country, Axa-backed Retirement Villages Group said it was targeting a number of locations including Marlow, Walton-on-Thames and Winchester.

Retirement Villages claims the planned urban and 'peri-urban' developments will be essential to meet a future spike in demand 'from baby boomers currently in their sixties and seventies.'

Earlier this year, This is Money exclusively revealed that the Royal London Pension Property Fund had agreed to provide funds for Audley Group's Wycliffe Park retirement village development at a 25-acre site at Horsleys Green.

Future vision: View of the entrance to the Wellness Centre at Retirement Villages Group's newly acquired site in Chester

Retirement Villages recently snapped up a new site in West Byfleet, Surrey, and today said it was on the hunt for further sites which are a minimum of 1.5 acres in 'desirable town centres or edge of town locations that are close to high quality amenities'.

Cambridge, Chelmsford, Chichester, Newbury, Newmarket, Strataford-upon-Avon, Wilmslow and York are all on Retirement Villages' location wish list.

The company said it was looking for stand-alone sites or to work with partners with whom it can develop and build schemes of up to 200 apartments in each location.

Will Bax, chief executive of Retirement Villages, said: 'As a country we have to move now if we are going to build enough retirement homes of the right kind for the future.

'Forthcoming generations will prize independence, security and proximity to town centres more than any other.

'We are looking for sites and partners to help us create vibrant new urban communities that actively promote positive, independent ageing.'

At present, there are 16 'villages' built by Retirement Villages spread across the home counties, the south west and the east of England.

Most of the group's homes offer independent living only, but some sites also offer residential care, nursing care and specialist dementia care provided by care home group HC-One.

Desirable: Marlow in Buckinghamshire is one of the locations flagged by Retirement Villages Group

Retirement Villages first started developing and managing purpose-built retirement sites back in 1981. But, in 2017 the group was acquired by Axa Real Assets on behalf of their clients.

At the time Andrew Ovey, head of healthcare at Axa Investment Management Real Assets, highlighted what he called 'significant scope for further penetration of an undersupplied market providing long-term stable cash flows, for the benefit of clients'.

In the same year Legal & General established Legal & General Capital, with a mandate to invest in companies that actively buy and develop land across a number of real estate asset classes including affordable homes, modular homes, build to rent, build to sell and later living.

In August this year, This is Money revealed how the Royal London Pension Property Fund had agreed to provide funds for Audley Group's Wycliffe Park development, a 25-acre site at Horsleys Green.

Audley will be responsible for delivering the site - which is located between Stokenchurch and High Wycombe - and subsequent operational running of the village, including the sales and marketing of all the properties.

The finished homes will be sold on a 250-year leasehold basis to retired buyers, with homeowners then expected to pay a 750 monthly management charge to Audley.

Together with a percentage fee - paid upon sale of the property in the future - this income will be used to pay running costs within the community, supplement access to care and provide a long-term yield to Royal London's pension holders.
British Brothers Buy Walmarts Asda With TDR in $8.8 Billion Deal

LONDONBritains billionaire Issa brothers and private equity group TDR Capital have bought Asda from Walmart in a deal which gives the British supermarket chain an enterprise value of $8.8 billion and the buyers a platform to roll out smaller stores.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who founded petrol station operator EG Group nearly two decades ago, are taking Asda back under British ownership for the first time since 1999 when U.S. retail giant Walmart paid 6.7 billion for it.

The Issa brothers have a reputation for good brand partnerships, for convenience and for growth and thats really what we were interested in for Asda, Judith McKenna, President, and CEO of Walmart International told Reuters on Friday.

McKenna said the deal was not about job cuts and the new owners said they are targeting growth by expanding into convenience shops from its large supermarket and online operations, bringing Asda more in line with market leader Tesco and No. 2 Sainsburys.

People follow social distancing rules as they queue outside an Asda supermarket as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Northwich, Britain, on March 27, 2020. (Molly Darlington/Reuters)

The Issas said they wanted to utilize their experience to help build a differentiated business at Britains third-biggest supermarket chain, in which Walmart will retain an unspecified minority stake, as well as a commercial relationship and a board seat.

British retail veteran Roger Burnley will remain as CEO of Asda in a deal which ratings agency Moodys said allows Walmart to continue to refocus its international efforts on markets with more long-term upside, such as India and China.

McKenna would not say for how long Walmart has committed to remain an investor or comment on the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO).

The brothers and TDR will help make decisions about what that future path looks like, she said.

Convenience Shift

The new owners said they will invest more than 1 billion over three years to keep prices low, develop supply chains, and in e-commerce, in addition to convenience stores.

British finance minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the deal, which will see Asda retain its headquarters in the northern English city of Leeds.

An Asda employee makes a delivery in Keele, Britain, on April 1, 2020. (Carl Recine/Reuters)

Last year Walmarts attempt to sell Asda to Sainsburys for 7.3 billion was thwarted by Britains Competition and Markets Authority and McKenna said she expected the regulator to also consider the new deal.

Britains highly competitive supermarket sector has been upended by the COVID-19 crisis, which sparked a jump in salesand costsas shoppers stocked up on goods during lockdowns.

While Asdas sales rose, it still lagged the growth of its biggest rivals, partly due to a lack of convenience stores that have thrived as Britons shop closer to home.

All of the big four chains also face fierce competition from German discounters Aldi and Lidl and there are fears recession triggered by the crisis will spark a margin damaging price war.

By Kate Holton and James Davey
Brooklyn Hughes had been assigned a Girl Scout project to take action. And amid the coronavirus pandemic that has kept the 12-year-old from seeing her friends at school, she couldnt stand the thought of being unable to trick-or-treat this Halloween.

She settled on her project: She would email her case for saving Halloween in New Orleans to Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Brooklyns Sept. 19 missive to mayor@nola.gov made clear the understanding that children and their families should wear masks and distance themselves from one another to limit the virus spread. And maybe, because Halloween is on a Saturday this year, trick-or-treating could last all day instead of waiting until sundown. That would space out the flow of little goblins in the streets.

+7 New Orleans bars can reopen for takeout only, but heres why some say they'll stay closed Bars in New Orleans are permitted to open once again, albeit under narrow restrictions, a change that immediately boosted the spirits of some 

Me and my friends all go trick-or-treating together, Brooklyn wrote. Ill be really sad if we cant do Halloween this year.

Brooklyn was bracing for the worst three days later when she saw her inbox light up with a reply from Cantrell. It was good news: While her administration was still hammering out guidelines, the mayor wrote, Of course we will have Halloween!

I love your ideas!!!! I am proud of you and please stay engaged, Cantrell concluded, signing off as Your Auntie Mayor.

Brooklyns exchange with Cantrell took center stage Thursday morning, when the mayor announced at a news conference that New Orleans would loosen some coronavirus restrictions beginning Saturday at 6 a.m. Most of the rules revolve around alcohol sales and restaurant dining capacity, but Cantrell made it a point to ensure families that Halloween would not be canceled; trick-or-treaters would just need to cover their faces and practice social distancing to minimize the risk of contagion.

Halloween rated a mention during the mayors briefing on looser coronavirus rules mainly because of Brooklyn, a sixth grader at Bricolage Academy in Treme, Cantrell said.

The happy ending that began with a late start to a Girl Scouts project left Brooklyn and her mother, Krystal Johnson, beaming with pride.

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Johnson said Thursday that, like many children her age, Brooklyn was saddened that officials had canceled myriad activities during the pandemic. Shes been going to school virtually all fall and has rarely gotten to see her classmates in person.

Its been hard, Brooklyn said. At school I used to see them.

But one thing she did have was Girl Scouts Junior Troop 40150, whose leader, Carrie Fisher, had instructed members to take some sort of action.

Brooklyn admitted she initially forgot to do the project. Yet deadlines, even blown ones, spur action.

First, Brooklyn remembered that she had met Cantrell around this time last year at a luncheon honoring Girl Scouts founder Juliette Low. And second, she couldnt stomach completely losing trick-or-treating on Halloween, which she called the best time of year.

So Brooklyn went for it. She e-mailed Cantrell, reintroduced herself and offered suggestions on how to save Halloween.

+8 Here's when middle and high school students in New Orleans will return to class Older public students in New Orleans will soon be headed back to the classroom, at least some of the time.

Johnson said she isnt sure why Cantrell listened to her daughter at a time when so many others flock to social media to tell the mayor what to do. Maybe its because Brooklyn didnt make any demands but instead put forth a couple of ideas expecting nothing in return.

Im proud of her having the courage to step up and even make suggestions, Johnson said. And to see the mayor adopt some of her suggestions is just totally awesome.

Brooklyn said she was already counting the days until she could put on her costume and venture out into the neighborhood aside her fellow trick-or-treaters.

She plans to go as Buttercup, a character in the superhero show "Powerpuff Girls."
"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
Beyond similarity in duration, the journey of Ebonyi founding fathers for the creation of Ebonyi State was every inch tougher than the Jewish exodus from Egypt. Ebonyi founders had neither pillars of cloud to guide them in the day, nor pillars of light to guide them in the dark nights. There were no manna and quails to assuage their hunger; nor water from rocks to quench their thirst. Ebonyi founders were simply driven by their stark but unflinching faith in God, conscientious commitment to the common good and their desire to bequeath a free and egalitarian society with unlimited opportunities to their succeeding generations. For 39 solid years, Ebonyi founders journeyed through the wilderness of sacrificial agitation for self-determination encapsulated in the quest for the creation of Ebonyi State without minding the danger the quest posed to their comfort, limbs and lives. This impeccable and undiluted sacrificial investment was rewarded by God through the government of Gen. Sani Abacha, a hero whom Ebonyi people have refused to sing, on 1st October, 1996!

The fortuitous nature of the creation fiat did not permit the founding fathers of Ebonyi State to conclude deliberations on the choice of the capital and the rotation of power among the component senatorial districts of the proposed State. For obvious reasons, the creation fiat of Ebonyi State proclaimed the old provincial capital town of Abakaliki as capital of Ebonyi State while power rotation which was not important in the regimented setting under which Ebonyi State was created was not addressed. This lacunae was negatively exploited by the agents of the military who chaperoned democracy in Ebonyi State in 1999 to initiate and foist a power rotation sequence which was contrary to or inconsistent with the religions, culture, conventions and conscience of Ebonyi people. This strange and unfortunate power rotation sequence which has rounded off its turbulent tour of the three senatorial districts of Ebonyi State is inequitable and has made Ebonyi polity highly inflammatory; and elections subject to private expediencies, very expensive and conscienceless. The result is that for the six times that gubernatorial elections have taken place in the history of Ebonyi State, all the senatorial districts have always laid claims to the plum position and followed the claims up by contesting each of the elections. Oftentimes, Ebonyi guber contestants aligned with and compromised Ebonyi people's collective interests to neo-colonial forces. This has led to the drift of Ebonyi State towards neo-colonialism to the point that people of other states gloat over the making of Ebonyi governors with open champagne pops!

Ahead of the approaching 2023 gubernatorial election, the confusion arising from the jackboot power rotation sequence in Ebonyi State is not abating. Ezza Ezekuna clan of Ebonyi Central are laying exclusive claim to the gubernatorial seat on grounds of being the undisputable eldest clan and scion of Ebonyi State who apart from leading the struggle for the creation of Ebonyi State equally holds records of the greatest investments or sacrifices for the common good of Ebonyi State before, during the struggle for creation and after the creation of the state. Specifically, Ezza Ezekuna was the only major clan in Ebonyi State who fought wars in defence of minority clans at Effium, Ezillo, Umuhuali et cetera before the creation of Ebonyi State. Ezza Ezekuna people have no history of forceful conquest. The presenter of the formal request for the creation of Ebonyi State, Sen. Offiah Nwali; the highest donor in fund-raising drive of the Movement for the Creation of Ebonyi State, Chief Samuel Okohu; and the unsung martyr of Ebonyi creation struggle, Monday Umanyi, were all from Ezza Ezekuna clan. In the contention of Ezza Ezekuna clan, supplanting or ignoring the scion, firstborn or eldest son of any given family or society in the administration of patrimonies as well as powers, privileges and liabilities arising therefrom is fundamentally irreligious, unconventional, conscienceless and inconsistent with the culture of Ebonyi people which they enforce daily by honouring their elders/scions in their homes, places of worship and society. Izzi Nnodo clan and the rest of Ebonyi North district of Ebonyi State is equally laying claim to the guber position based on the existing power rotation sequence which began its turbulent journey from Ebonyi North. Having gone through Ebonyi Central to Ebonyi South, Izzi Nnodo believes that the second round of the rotation should begin with them. Izzi Nnodo people also contend that they provided the land for the state capital and other projects. This latter ground of Izzi claim is punctured by the fact that the radius of Abakaliki capital territory spans through Ezza Ezekuna land to other parts of Ebonyi Central senatorial district. Ebonyi Southerners, especially Ehugbo Omaka Ejali people of Afikpo North LGA are also part of the contention for the 2023 gubernatorial position of Ebonyi State. Ehugho people insist that given the role of their son, Akanu Ibiam, whose towering goodwill significantly served as the ultimate fillip for the creation of Ebonyi State; and their role as the administrative capital of Ebonyi South district, it is only proper for the second round of the existing power rotation sequence to begin with Afikpo!

The inflammatory controversies, drift to neo-colonialism and gradual irrelevance of Ebonyi people to the choice or making of their governors which have continued to characterize the current power rotation sequence in Ebonyi State prove that the existing power rotation sequence is faulty, unacceptable and deserves to be changed. Furthermore, the fact that the institution of the existing power rotation sequence lacks Ebonyi people's wilful and Ebonyi autochthonous content makes it extrenous and undemocratic. All these and more make the convocation of the maiden Ebonyi Political Summit a compelling necessity which should hold to put in place an orderly, conscientious, religious, autochtonous and people-centred power rotation plan or Ebonyi Charter of Equity ahead of the 2023 gubernatorial election. At 24, the roundtable beckons on the conscience of the present generation of Ebonyi people to tie up the only end inadvertently left open in the foundation of Ebonyi State as laid by Ebonyi founding fathers. This is a challenge which demands courage and can only be ignored by this present generation of Ebonyi people at the risk of qualifying to be rightly labeled cowards. I publish this essay inspite of a galaxy of subliminal threats to my limbs and life; and I make bold to say that whether Ebonyi Political Summit is allowed to happen or not, this essay exonerates many Ebonyi citizens of conscience, courage and goodwill who support the idea of the compelling summit from the undignifying and negative labels and stigmas of cowardice and a failed generation.

Congratulations to Ebonyi State and her people at 24!
FORMER Debenhams workers have vowed to continue their battle for a better redundancy package after ending a five day sit-in.

Four workers and a supporter who described themselves as the Deise 5 ended their occupation of the high street chains Waterford store today.

They spent five days in the buildings canteen during a sit-in protest after the retailer went into liquidation in April with the loss of over 1,000 jobs.

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The workers are entitled to a basic statutory redundancy package but want liquidators KPMG to give them an exit deal they claim was previously negotiated with the retailer.

They said this was worth four weeks pay per year of service, including statutory redundancy.

After emerging from the sit-in at 1pm, they said they will continue their fight and vowed that stock will not leave the store until a just settlement is in place.

"Everyone has played their part this week from us occupying the store, to the people who stopped lorries leaving with stock, to the people who marched on government offices, to everyone who lobbied their TDs to sign the pledge or to all of those who stood and weathered the elements on the pickets, said former worker Mags Sinnott.

This is not just about five individuals. This is about unity in our fight together for what is right.

We are more determined than ever to secure a just settlement. We're leaving that canteen and this building to step up our fight. We feel we achieved as much as we can from the inside this time so we will now rejoin the picket lines to continue our fight to defend the stock which is our leverage".

They said at meetings with Fianna Fail Minister Mary Butler and Green Party TD Marc O Cathasaigh this morning they said the dispute could be resolved by paying the package from the sale of stock or the State allowing money owed to it by the liquidator to be used to meet their demands.

They said the politicians refused to sign a Mandate pledge on the picket while the occupiers looked down. The workers said government moves to set up a stakeholder forum does not address the immediate need for justice.
News that the worlds most powerful man was infected with the worlds most notorious disease drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity surrounding everything about President Donald Trump.

Trumps announcement Friday, on Twitter, that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and the deep uncertainty that accompanied it, flashed across screens large and small, upending countless plans and sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands looking to weigh in on social media.

The positive test reading for the leader of the worlds largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors' worries, especially about its effect on the Nov. 3 election between the Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. stock futures and most world markets fell on the news as did the price of oil.

World leaders were quick to weigh in, with official sympathy from the top and something approaching schadenfreude elsewhere. Trump joins a growing list of the powerful who have contracted the virus, including many who were skeptical of the disease.

I hope that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in a direct message to Trump released by the Kremlin.

Italian right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini tweeted: In Italy and in the world, whoever celebrates the illness of a man or of a woman, and who comes to wish the death of a neighbor, confirms what he is: An idiot without soul. A hug to Melania and Donald.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized for a week in April after he contracted COVID-19, wished Trump a speedy recovery.

Dr. Bharat Pankhania, who advises Johnsons government on communicable disease control, said he hopes that Trumps positive test sends a message to the president and other world leaders.

We need politicians, especially politicians like President Trump who has a lot of power and influence, to take this seriously and to support their scientists and clinicians in leading the outbreak management, rather than have political influence in trying to deny that this virus is in circulation and drag your feet around control measures because it suited your agenda.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference, did not mention Trumps reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection, but she said the news reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan.

Major media across the globe also played up the announcement, with bulletins crawling across TV screens in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Dubai and Beijing.

People wearing face masks watch a TV screen reporting about U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump during a news program with a file footage at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)AP

To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, Rabobank said in a commentary. Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this U.S. election campaign.

Chinas official Xinhua News Agency flashed the news, and an anchor on state broadcaster CCTV announced it; there was no immediate comment from the government Friday, the second day of an eight-day national holiday.

The positive test result for Trump and his wife was the most searched topic in China on the widely used social media app Weibo a few hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

One user darkly joked that Trump had finally tweeted something positive.

The Chinese government has bristled at Trumps attempts to blame China, where the disease emerged, for the pandemic and called for global cooperation in fighting it, a message that has resonated with the public.

Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19.

Multiple Arab news media outlets on Friday continuously broadcast footage of Trump and his wife after the virus announcement.

Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel based in Dubai, cut to a long live shot of the White House. Qatari state-owned Al Jazeera channel brought in four commentators to discuss the prevailing state of uncertainty in the United States, questioning whether Trump could effectively steer a reelection campaign and run the country from quarantine.

Iranian state television announced Trump had the virus, an anchor breaking the news with an unflattering image of the U.S. president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses. U.S.-Iran ties have suffered since Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

Social media platforms were ablaze with quick reaction.

Would Trump blame the Chinese? Would he thumb his nose at his critics and enemies by breezing through the quarantine without serious symptoms, tweeting away from the White House? Would he become gravely ill, or worse, and, if he did, what would that mean for the U.S. election, one of the most contentious in recent history?

While the uncertainty seemed palpable on a scroll through various nations' social media, many of the comments seemed to revel in the announcement.

Here comes a chance for him to actually try out his idea of injecting disinfectant into himself and fighting back (against allegations that) it was fake news! tweeted Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese internet entrepreneur, referring to an idea Trump floated earlier this year for treatment.

Keio University economics professor Masaru Kaneko tweeted that populist leaders like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro got infected because they tended not to take the coronavirus seriously. The two other leaders seriously tackled (the virus) after they got infected themselves. Will the United States follow their examples?

And the satirical Australian news site, the Betoota Advocate, posted a story with this headline: Trump Family Records More Cases Of Community Transmission Than Entire State Of Queensland.
Cat Bordhi, who found joyful rebellion in thinking up new techniques for knitting socks, cowls and other clothing, and whose books encouraged others to question the orthodoxy of that age-old practice, died on Sept. 19 at her home in Friday Harbor, Wash. She was 69.

Her daughter, Jenny Low, said the cause was cancer.

Ms. Bordhi (pronounced BOARD-ee), who learned to knit from her grandmother, had a revelation one day in 2000 when she picked up her needles to make a pair of socks and was confounded by the complicated methods that instruction manuals dictated. There had to be an easier way, she thought. She came up with a simpler technique using circular needles  two needles connected at the bottom by a cord. Her process started at the heel, rather than conventionally, at the toe or the cuff.

She then decided to share the news of her discovery: In 2001 she self-published a book called Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles.

If you love learning new skills, delight in knitting architecture, love to knit socks or just have cold feet, she wrote, I welcome you to the world that lies within these pages.
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly ready to sell Daniel James in a bid to land Jadon Sancho.

Solskjaer still hopes to test Borussia Dortmund's resolve over Sancho, despite the German club claiming that he will not leave during this transfer window.

Borussia Dortmund have refused to budge on their 108million valuation, with United's offers coming nowhere near that yet.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly ready to sell Daniel James

Solskjaer could raise 25m from the sale of Leeds target James but is yet to convince the club's hierarchy to sanction a deal, according to ESPN.

United have reported interest in a host of players, with their chase for Sancho being the transfer saga of the summer.

Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele is an alternative but only on loan, while Watford winger Ismaila Sarr has been mooted at a cost of 45m.

The club have been in negotiations over 18m-rated full back Alex Telles and have again failed to meet Porto's valuation.

Solskjaer is yet to convince the club's hierarchy to sanction a 25m deal for winger James

James, 22, has scored four goals in 47 appearances for United since completing an 18m move from Swansea during the 2019 summer transfer window.

James almost joined Leeds from Swansea in 2019, even travelling up to Yorkshire on January deadline day to sign a contract.

But the move collapsed after Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins pulled the plug at the eleventh hour.

James headed back to Swansea and eventually ended up signing for Manchester United the following summer.
Nothing happened on 31 August in the al-Salam camp in Darfur. No cries of joy, no cries of relief, no jubilation, not even clenched fists. On that day, however, peace agreements were initialled for Darfur, as well as for South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The Darfur deal concerns first and foremost the al-Salam IDPs, and is supposed to end the conflict in which they have lost loved ones and property, bringing them peace, justice and compensation. After more than ten months, talks between the Sudanese transitional authorities and the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SFR)  a coalition of six rebel alliances from Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile  have finally come to a successful conclusion. The term historic is not too strong. The agreements initialled in Juba put an end to nearly two decades of conflict, laying the foundation for a new Sudan to emerge from the revolution of December 2018.

Its all very nice, but it wont have any effect on the ground or on us, predicts one young man from al-Salam. The armed groups have negotiated only for positions and privileges. He asked to remain anonymous. According to him, one of the rebel movements that signed the Juba accords, the SLM/A Mnini Minawi, is still trying to recruit young people in the camp, offering them money and weapons. Telling this can bring reprisals.

From the al-Salam IDP camp near the North Darfur capital Al-Fashir to the big South Darfur town of Nyala, people we contacted were not convinced. Certainly, there is general approval for the eight protocols making up the accord: security, land ownership, transitional justice, reparations and compensation, development of the nomadic and pastoral sector, wealth sharing, power sharing, and the return of refugees and displaced persons. Both parties agree that strengthening reconciliation in Darfur is one of the ultimate objectives of this agreement, says the text initialled in Juba. It aims to do this by addressing the root causes of conflict and strengthening measures to reduce them, supporting mechanisms and operations that aim to facilitate reconciliation and rebuild social harmony. Both parties recognize that the marginalization of the people of Darfur is one of the main reasons for these conflicts.

Transitional justice principles all included

But the sincerity of the parties remains a major unknown  and the people we spoke to in Al-Fashir and Nyala recall that two armed movements, one from South Kordofan, the other from Darfur, have refused to sign.

Lawyer Suliman Baldo, advisor to the NGO Enough Project, sums up the prevailing mood: All the principles of transitional justice are in the text. But we have the experience of several previous agreements [in 2006 and 2011, under the presidency of Al-Bashir]. The principles, the intentions, the proposals for institutions were impeccable, for the recognition of the displaced and war victims, the right to return to their lands, the right to compensation and reparation, the principle of an end to impunity for the Sudanese defence and security forces. But on the ground, nothing changed. Lets hope that this time there will be more serious implementation and follow-up.

Peace above all

The Sudanese transitional government, which emerged from the December 2018 revolution that overthrew the military-Islamist regime of former President Omar Al-Bashir, has made peace the cornerstone of its policies and a prerequisite for reform. All the governments programmes are based on peace, and if peace is not achieved, none of the transitional governments programmes will be carried out, government spokesman Faysal Mohamed Saleh told the press at the end of August.

This shows the importance of the ceremonies for the final signing of the agreement, scheduled for October 3 in Juba. The difficult negotiations lasted more than ten months and concerned two major conflicts that ravaged peripheral and marginalized regions of Sudan. The conflict in Darfur, which erupted in 2003, left more than 300,000 people dead along with 2.5 million displaced persons and refugees, according to UN estimates. The war in the Nuba Mountains in the southern state of Kordofan and Blue Nile, on the border with South Sudan, is a continuation of the war that pitted Khartoum against the southern Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (SLPA/M) until 2005. Forgotten by the 2005 peace, refusing to remain in the bosom of the North, the fighters of the Nuba Mountains took up arms again in 2011.

Truth Commission and Compensation Fund

Weapons had to be silenced, but also, it was said in Khartoum, the root causes had to be addressed. Today, both the government and the armed groups boast of having reached a comprehensive peace deal that addresses all the problems. These include the fair distribution of power and wealth, the resolution of land disputes, the protection of religious freedom, and transitional justice. Bodies such as a commission for displaced persons and refugees, a truth and reconciliation commission, and a compensation and reparations fund are planned, Baldo explains. But there are no details about who will be responsible for establishing these bodies, or how they will be funded. This is a bit too imprecise for my liking.

Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok has made it clear that this peace agreement is only a first step on a long and difficult path. Its a list of principles, such as we must facilitate access to land and education, or compensate for the losses suffered by displaced persons and refugees, but there is no mechanism, says Mohamed Suliman Khatir, a jurist in international law from Nyala in Darfur. When you look at how all this is going to be implemented, there is nothing!

Using traditional justice?

The text of the agreement states that in order to punish individuals who have committed crimes related to the conflict () traditional justice mechanisms are competent to try crimes that would not fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, the Special Court for Darfur, the national justice system or the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This is not enough for Baldo, who believes that existing traditional justice mechanisms in Darfur should be used to establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and decide on compensation and reparations: These mechanisms for conflict management and prevention are very well codified, they have existed for centuries and are still in use today, he explains. They are tribal conferences that meet during serious incidents between two communities, under the authority of neutral mediators accepted by both parties. We must build on them, with an adaptation of international practices of interest to Sudan. He evokes the experience of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission in Morocco: Like Sudan, Morocco is a traditional and Muslim country. However, it has accepted two practices banned by Islam: exhumation and the principle of equal compensation without gender difference. It has instituted human rights training in school curricula and police academies. It also practiced lustration and eliminated from the ranks of the security agencies people directly involved in the persecution of civilians.

A problem in the Sudanese case is that the head of the negotiations was none other than Mohammed Hamdane Dagolo, alias Hemetti, number 2 of the Sovereign Council (transitional joint leadership) and leader of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary unit which under Omar al-Bashir integrated the former Janjaweed deemed responsible for numerous abuses. The fact that Hemetti acknowledged errors in his speech after the signing in Juba does little to satisfy the displaced in al-Salam camp or the refugees in Chad. They are also angry at the presence of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who currently presides over the supreme organ of the transition. He too is accused of serious crimes in Darfur.

If the communities dont join in, it wont work

However, the Juba agreement provides for a judicial component. Those who have committed violations of human rights and international humanitarian law [will] be prosecuted, according to the jurisdiction of national or international courts or the Darfur Special Court, says the agreement. National courts will refer crimes outside their jurisdiction to specialized judicial mechanisms, which are the Special Court for Darfur, traditional justice mechanisms and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. But its not clear how this will work, in addition to the fact that commanders of armed groups obtained amnesties during the negotiations. If some of them have committed war crimes, they must be prosecuted! Baldo exclaims. This impunity is unacceptable!

We cant trust them, says our young man from the al-Salam camp. All the more since, according to Mohamed Suliman Khatir, the populations primarily concerned were not consulted. The negotiators did not even go to the zones concerned, he says. But we overthrew the regime of Omar al-Bashir, we are supposed to be in a democracy and not apply the old top-down methods without consultation. If the communities dont join in, it wont work.
Michigan Police Locate 25 Missing Kids, Including 9-Year-Old Foster Runaway

Police in Michigan located 25 missing children in several counties with Operation MISafeKid, officials said.

Michigan State Police said they discovered the children in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. They tracked down photos, last known locations, and background information.

The operation led to the discovery of a 9-year-old foster care runaway as well as two teen girls who were believed to be sex-trafficking victims, officials added, according to WXYZ-TV.

The victims cases were turned over to the Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes Task Force along with the FBI, officials said, according to WWJ Radio.

State troopers were able to close the 25 missing children cases by locating the individuals and making sure they were safe or returned them from their homes, officials said.

Michigan currently has 4,016 missing person cases in its database, with 974 of those being children under the age of 18.

In August, a sheriffs office in Michigan reported that seven children were rescued in Genesse County in an operation that resulted in the arrests of 17 people. In one instance, officials located a 16-year-old in a barn surrounded by barbed wire. The sheriff added that it appears the girl was being held by human traffickers, said Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson at the time.

The fear in her eyes was real, he said at the conference about the girl.

National stats confirm that a pedophile or predator taken off the street can save the life of 25 future victims, said Swanson, as reported by WNEM-TV. I dont want to take police reports of people that have already been assaulted, said Swanson. I want to find the people before they hurt the victims.

Meanwhile, this week, the U.S. Marshals Service said 11 children were located in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of a monthslong operation. The U.S. Marshals said to local news outlets that they were able to arrest several individuals while recovering the children, including an adult male who was charged with aggravated statutory rape.

And it comes after several other U.S. Marshals operations were conducted around the United States, including in northeastern Ohio, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Georgia, and elsewhere over the past month or so. In those operations, more than 100 children deemed endangered or missing were recovered.

Any information about missing or endangered children should be reported to local police offices or to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-The-Lost. Information about violent fugitives can be provided to the U.S. Marshals Service at (504) 589-6872, via email at usms.wanted@usdoj.gov, or with the USMS tips app. Crimestoppers GNO may also be contacted with tips at (504) 822-1111.
The Congress has prepared a draft model law that will be legislated by party-ruled states in order to annul the central farm laws.

IMAGE: Punjab Youth Congress workers set a tractor on fire near India Gate during a protest against the new farm laws, in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI Photo

Sources said on Friday that the model law has been drafted and will soon be sent to Congress-ruled states to replicate it in their state assemblies.

The move comes days after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi asked states under party's rule to enact legislations to bypass Centre's three farm-related laws that have triggered protests by farmers.

The move also comes ahead of the tractor rallies to be taken out by the Congress in Punjab and Haryana from October 4, in which party leader Rahul Gandhi will participate. The rallies are part of Congress agitations against the farm legislations.

The Congress is strongly opposing the three legislations and it has launched countrywide protests in each district and Vidhan Sabha on Gandhi Jayanti.

The Congress president had advised the Congress-ruled states to pass laws in their respective states under Article 254(2) of the Constitution which allows the state legislatures to pass a law to 'negate anti-agriculture central laws' that 'encroach' upon the state's jurisdiction under the Constitution.

The Congress claims that rules under Article 245(2) allow a state legislature to enforce laws 'repugnant to the parliament law', a provision used by the Bharatiya Janata Party earlier against the central land acquisition act.

The sources said that while Congress-ruled states are set to pass the law, some of the non-National Democratic Alliance ruled states are also likely to pass it, as they are opposed to the central farm legislations.

Parliament had passed The Farmers' 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 during the Monsoon Session and the president granted his assent for them.

The laws seek to liberalise the agriculture sector and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country they want at a better price.

The model law brought by the Congress will be called the Protection of Farmers Interest and Farm Produce (Special Provisions) Bill that has been cleared by party MP and legal expert Abhishek Singhvi.

The model law shall declare 'null, void and inoperative' anything that is inconsistent in the three central legislations with the state law.

It will also include a provision to ensure that no farmer shall be paid below the minimum support price for the price of the produce.

The draft model bill seeks to ensure safeguards for farmers including the minimum support price regime and the framework under the APMC Act to protect their interests.
Txakoli (pronounced chah-kuh-lee) hails from the Basque region of northern Spain. Made from the hondarrabi zuri grape, these wines tend to be uncomfortably acidic, a surprise uppercut to the palate that can send you reeling. But theyre delicious and fascinating as long as you arent expecting a simple sip. Dont drink them too cold  refrigerator temperature only emphasizes the acidity  and pair them with food, which softens the acidity and brings out fruit flavors of citrus and kiwi. What type of food? Anything vibrant or spicy. These wines can take it. The Txakoli Malda benefits from being a 2018  the time in bottle softens the wine just a bit and gives it an appealing roundness on the palate. ABV: 11 percent.
CARLINVILLE  Macoupin County will continue to have a powerful economic development tool as the result of a decision announced this week by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).

Macoupin County is one of seven areas in the state to have its Enterprise Zone application approved by DCEO. The approved application, which is an expansion of Macoupin Countys existing Enterprise Zone, becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2021.

The approved Enterprise Zone includes the new communities of Staunton, Bunker Hill and Royal Lakes, as well as additional unincorporated areas of the county. The current participating communities of Carlinville and Gillespie are also in the new zone.

Illinois remains open for business, and we are committed to supporting our economically depressed communities with tools proven to attract investment to all corners of our state, said DCEO Director Erin Guthrie. With the renewal of these seven Enterprise Zones, we look forward to continuing our work with local officials to support new investments and economic growth across our downstate communities.

All seven applications submitted as part of the 2020 review process were approved and represent renewals or modifications of previously authorized Enterprise Zones. The applications were evaluated based on statutory criteria ranging from anticipated investment and job creation/retention to the communities commitment to diversity and inclusion, according to the DCEO announcement.

Warren Ribley of Chicago-based WCR Enterprises was hired by Macoupin County governmental entities to prepare the application on their behalf. Ribley, who was the DCEO Director under Governor Pat Quinn, said Macoupin Countys application scored the second highest of the seven submitted.

The communities worked very well together. We had great support from the elected officials and the business community, Ribley said. It was a good collective effort. They took it seriously and worked hard to make sure they set up the county for investment to the best extent they can.

Ribley said it took six months to prepare and submit Macoupin Countys application. The process involved meeting the 11 different criteria under which the application is evaluated.

A public hearing was held, each of the communities had to pass an ordinance and inter-governmental agreement for their participation in the zone, Ribley said. You have to describe your infrastructure plans, demonstrate how investment will have an impact on equalized assessed valuation, show that there have been plant layoffs, and show that there are workforce preparedness tools available to prepare people for the jobs that are hopefully going to be generated.

The locally-administered Enterprise Zones act as a stimulus to attract investment by private companies for job creation. That stimulus is driven by incentives that are available to those companies that locate or expand in the zone. Any building materials that are used in the expansion, new project or renovation are exempt from Illinois and local sales taxes. Theres an investment tax credit that the company qualifies for which is an offset against its Illinois corporate income tax. Under the ordinances that the local units of government pass theres also a local property tax abatement for up to 10 years.

We included territory that is out around the interstate coming off of Illinois 16 and down around the Staunton area, those are both seen as high growth potential areas, Ribley said. Each of the communities had designated territory that they have targeted for investment. There was some rationale why some areas were put in, it was based on where they saw the best potential for either new development or the expansion of existing companies.

Carlinville Mayor Deanna Demuzio said the city has used its Enterprise Zone designation in the past and looks forward to continuing that use with the new zone.

The City of Carlinville is excited about the economic development opportunities offered by the new Enterprise Zone. Its an effective local tool that we can use to attract new business, assist our existing businesses and add new jobs, Demuzio said. Carlinvilles proximity between the Metro East and Springfield offers an accessible community with a great quality of life sought by employers and employees.

The Macoupin County Enterprise Zone was expanded in 2006 to include areas adjacent to the Interstate 55 corridor. The boundary expansion that year also extended the zones original 2011 termination date by ten years, to 2021.

The other six Enterprise Zone approvals announced this week by DCEO were for Altamont/Effingham County, Clark County, Lincoln and the 394 Corridor, Saline County, Taylorville/Christian County, and Williamson County. Under a law passed a few years ago, every Enterprise Zone has a sunset date. Communities that desire to have a new zone designation have to come in with a new application, although there is no guarantee that any former designation will be renewed.

Other existing area Enterprise Zones include Beardstown, Belleville, portions of St. Clair County, Fairview Heights, Gateway Commerce Center, Jacksonville/Morgan County, Jersey-Greene Intermodal, Madison County Discovery, Montgomery County, Riverbend, and Southwest Madison County.

According to DCEO, an estimated 4,570 jobs were created and nearly 38,000 jobs were retained as a result of more than $657 million in investment attributable to the Enterprise Zone program in 2019.
Rahul Gandhi gives adjournment notice on giving unhindered access to pasture lands in Ladakh

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Word 'lynching' practically unheard of before 2014, 'Thank You Modi-Ji': Rahul Gandhi

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Rahul Gandhis tractor rallies re-scheduled

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Chandigarh, Oct 02: In a slight change in his programme, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will now hold tractor rallies in Punjab and Haryana from October 4-6 to protest against the contentious new farm laws.

Earlier, Gandhi was scheduled to hold tractor rallies from October 3-5, the party had said. However, the rest of his itinerary will remain the same.

"Change in @Rahul Gandhi tractor rallies programme; rescheduled to October 4, 5, 6. Rest (itinerary) remains the same," Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's media advisor, Raveen Thukral, tweeted.

Gandhi Jayanti: Farmers protesting farm laws will be successful, says Sonia Gandhi

Singh, state Congress president Sunil Jakhar, party's Punjab incharge Harish Rawat, and all state ministers and party MLAs will join the protests, "to give voice to the angst and pain of the farmers, whose livelihood and future has been put at stake by the central legislations".

A spokesperson of Punjab Congress had said on Thursday that the tractor rallies were expected to be supported by farmers' organisations and will cover more than 50 km over three days.

The rallies are scheduled to begin around 11 am on each of the three days and will be conducted amid strict COVID-19 protocols, the spokesperson had said.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

Gandhi is likely to address rallies at Kaithal and Pipli in Kurukshetra district of Haryana on October 6 instead of October 5, following which he will return to Delhi.

Farmers have expressed apprehension that the Centre's farm reforms would pave a way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big companies.

Parliament had last week passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill; and the Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill.

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Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 13:51 [IST]
One-third of the 16,364 people who died from opioid overdoses over a roughly four-year period in Canada were in British Columbia, according to new national data released Wednesday.

The data from a federal-provincial-territorial committee on opioids demonstrates how Western Canada has been hit hard by the barrage of overdoses, with B.C. having a high rate of death per 100,000 population related to illicit drugs, including opioids, compared to other parts of the country from January 2016 to March 2020. Rates have been rising in other regions, such as Ontario, as well.

It also shows that 77 per cent of the deaths across Canada involved fentanyl or fentanyl analogues, and 72 per cent involved drugs that were not manufactured by a pharmaceutical company and medically approved for use.

Jurisdictions across Canada must identify and take advantage of life-saving programs, like safer drug supply, which provides prescription medication instead of toxic street drugs, said Canadas chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, in a joint statement released with the figures.

Providing people with the support they need to reduce harm is more important now than ever, Tam said alongside New Brunswick chief medical health officer Dr. Jennifer Russell.

Canadians must understand that substance use disorder is not a choice, but a treatable medical condition, they said, with underlying drivers such as mental illness, socioeconomic factors like housing and employment, and access to health services.

The Special Advisory Committee on the Epidemic of Opioid Overdose, co-chaired by Tam and Russell, published new figures indicating that 16,364 people died of an apparent opioid-related overdose in Canada between Jan. 1, 2016 and March 31, 2020.

That breaks down to 3,025 people in 2016, 4,150 people in 2017, 4,372 people in 2018, 3,799 people in 2019, and 1,018 people from January to March 2020. During this period, there were also 20,523 opioid-related poisoning hospitalizations across Canada, excluding Quebec.

In B.C., the committee reported 1,005 deaths in 2016, 1,524 deaths in 2017, 1,565 deaths in 2018, 1,002 deaths in 2019, and 267 deaths from January to March 2020. The committee cautioned that figures from B.C. represented deaths related to all illicit drugs including opioids, but not limited to them.

The BC Coroners Service has counted more than 1,000 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths just this year. In August, there were 147 in the province, a 71 per cent increase over August 2019.

The epidemic is claiming victims roughly evenly across most of the working-age population, according to the national data. People in their twenties represented about a fifth of deaths, as did people in their forties and fifties, while those in their thirties made up more than a quarter.

The committee also compiled emergency medical services data from nine provinces and territories from the first three months of 2020 and found that there were more than 4,560 suspected opioid-related overdoses during this time. In the same period, 1,067 people were hospitalized due to opioid-related poisoning.

Since the implementation of COVID-19 public health measures this spring, opioid-related harms have also spiked in several parts of Canada, the committee found.

This could be attributed to a growing unpredictable and toxic street drug supply, limited access to services available for people who use substances, and feelings of isolation and anxiety, said Tam and Russell.

As a consequence, more people are using drugs alone, putting them at increased risk of overdose and death.

The joint statement did not mention the issue of decriminalization, which was endorsed this summer by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and has been called for by B.C. Premier John Horgan and B.C.s top health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Decriminalization is typically seen as replacing criminal penalties for the possession of illicit substances with lesser punishments like fines, while leaving in place other drug-related criminal sanctions for charges like trafficking.

Tam herself has said that moving toward a societal discussion on decriminalization should be part of the mix of approaches that is deployed, along with increasing access to safer drug supply and putting in place more supervised consumption sites.

In August, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada issued new guidelines for prosecutors to find alternatives for simple possession in most cases that dont involve other factors, such as the safety of children.

Health Canada, however, has told Canadas National Observer that the federal government is not considering the decriminalization or legalization of illegal drugs at this time.

After the chiefs of police endorsed the move, Justice Minister David Lametti and Health Minister Patty Hajdu said they welcome their endorsement of a holistic approach including harm reduction and diversion  but that did not mean they endorsed decriminalization itself.

Pressed on the issue of decriminalization, Hajdu has responded that she doesnt believe there is any silver bullet to the opioid crisis.

Carl Meyer / Local Journalism Initiative / Canadas National Observer

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Belgium formed a new government 16 months on from an inconclusive election, with caretaker finance minister Alexander De Croo named as the new prime minister

Belgium's new 7-party government under Prime Minister Alexander De Croo promised Thursday to do ``whatever it takes`` to overcome the coronavirus crisis, including spending enough to ensure the country's rattled population overcomes the pandemic's devastating economic impact.

The new government emerged after nearly a year and a half of complex negotiations among parties divided along linguistic as well as political lines.

Even though De Croo succeeded a woman _ Sophie Wilmes _ his team of 20 ministers and state secretaries is the first in Belgian history to have gender parity. It's also relatively young, with the age average at 44.

After taking the oath in front of Belgian King Philippe, De Croo went to the European Union's parliament in Brussels, preferred over the Belgian house because it allows for more social distancing, to address the national legislature and highlight the momentous task ahead.

``The depth of this crisis is unprecedented and the threat of a new wave of infections and uncertainty about a vaccine casts a shadow over the recovery. We will have to live with the virus for some time,`` he warned.

He promised more testing, investment in protective material and vaccine development. Belgium, a nation of 11.5 million, has been especially hard-hit by the virus and reached the 10,000 death mark on Wednesday. While spending to keep the economy afloat will be necessary, a key challenge will be to keep the budget deficit under control.

De Croo, a Dutch-speaking Liberal, is leading a 7-party team of Liberals, Socialists and Greens, divided into separate linguistic entities, and the Dutch-speaking Christian Democrats. Especially the Socialists and the free-market Liberals traditionally have opposing views on spending.

Still, the government program calls for new initiatives such as a higher minimum pension, more health sector spending and improved public services.

Despite his age, the 44-year-old De Croo already has almost a dozen years in Belgian politics at the highest level and was vice premier in the outgoing government.

His team is brimming with fresh faces. ``It is the woman's century,`` he said, referring to the title of his 2018 book and highlighting his efforts for gender equality. ``That is why this government has as many men as women. It is a historic step for our nation.``

The cabinet includes Green Vice Premier Petra De Sutter, a professor specializing in gynecology and fertility who is the first transgender woman to hold so high a government position in Belgium. She had been part of the EU parliament since last year.

The government formation took close to 500 days since the May 26, 2019 elections.

Beyond the linguistic strife between 6.6 million Flemings and 5 million Francophones that is a given in Belgian politics, the 2019 elections saw major advances by the far right in northern Dutch-speaking Flanders, and by the far left in southern francophone Wallonia.

It made compromise, an essential element of Belgian politics, even harder.

It was with obvious relief that De Croo headed off immediately to his first European Union summit, a short walk from the parliament.

``Happy to announce that in Belgium we finally have a new government,`` he said in his arrival statement. Soon after he found himself in a diplomatic cocoon with the likes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.

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Election 2020 Thousands Excluded as Overseas Voting in Myanmar Election Starts in Singapore

Voters in Singapore wait outside Myanmars embassy on Thursday to cast their advance votes for the November general election. / Khin Hnin Swe

While more than 32,000 migrants from Myanmar are eligible to cast advance ballots in Myanmars Nov. 8 general election in Singapore from Thursday, another 2,000 did not get their ballots papers although many were on the voter lists.

Voters in Singapore can cast their ballots from Oct. 1-18 and make up about 32 percent of overseas voters.

Nationals from Myanmar in Singapore, whose right to vote in the election was uncertain, are among nearly 8,000 nationals who are not on the Union Election Commissions (UEC) voter lists, even though they registered for early voting at Myanmars embassies.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from July 16 to Aug. 16, 109,470 migrants registered for early voting. The UEC approved 101,526 of them and their ballots papers were sent to various diplomatic missions in late September.

Those who applied for the early voting using form 15 did not get their names on early voter lists as the applications for early voting applications did not arrive at township offices in time, according to voting volunteers in Singapore.

We heard some of the form 15 applications went missing and the mail was sent to the wrong addresses, said Daw Khin Moe Moe Shein of Singapore, who volunteers to help with early voting. She voted on Thursday but many of her friends are not on the voter lists.

She has been studying the process, how the forms are submitted and why around 2,000 applicants have been denied their voting rights.

Daw Khin Moe Moe Shein told The Irrawaddy that when she talked to the electoral sub-commissions in Yangons Bahan, Hlaing, North Dagon, East Dagon, North Okkalapa and Kyauktan townships, the commissioners said they could not provide advance ballots as they did not receive requests although the applicants are on the voter lists.

The volunteer said: It is sad to learn that eligible voters forms were sent to the wrong addresses and they are losing their right to vote due to mismanagement.

Ko Myo Naing from Yangons Kamayut Township, who now works in Singapore, was surprised to find his name was not on the voter lists on Sept. 27 on the embassys website.

The embassy in Singapore said anyone not on the UECs list must submit a form to the embassy before Sunday, Oct. 4.

I submitted the complaint form and on Thursday my name appeared on the list but I will have to wait for the ballots papers to arrive in Singapore before the deadline, said Ko Myo Naing.

COVID-19 travel restrictions made him question whether his ballots papers will arrive on time.

Despite the uncertainty, Ko Myo Naing also volunteers to help other nationals in Singapore. Most of them are domestic helpers, so the volunteers help them by sharing information about early voting and getting a queue number to vote in the embassy, he said.

Citizens from Myanmar in Singapore cast the most ballots in the 2015 general election.

Because of COVID-19, the Singaporean authorities are restricting gatherings and the police monitor queues outside Myanmars embassy to ensure preventative measures are followed.

The police and internal affairs officers are watching closely and if we get too close together, they remind us to keep our distance, said Ma May Sandar, a volunteer who helped other voters in Singapore on Thursday.

Meanwhile, in Thailand, three polling stations will be opened in the embassy in Bangkok between Oct. 3 to Oct. 13 for some 39,000 registered voters.

In northern Thailand, nearly 1,000 migrants can cast their ballots from Oct. 10-13, according to the Myanmar Consulate General Office in Chiang Mai.

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Lome, Togo (PANA) - Togo Thursday recorded 25 new coronavirus (COVID-19) infections, taking to 1,809 the number of people affected by the pandemic in the country, official sources told PANA here
Akshay Kumar is all set to return home after wrapping up the shoot of his upcoming espionage thriller, Bell Bottom. He took to Instagram to share a picture of him and Vaani Kapoor posing outside a chartered jet and wrote that it was a long but fruitful schedule.

Mission accomplished! After a long but fruitful schedule, grateful to have shot and completed #Bellbottom during the pandemic ! Now its time to head back #JetSetGo, he captioned the photo.

Bell Bottom, directed by Ranjit M Tewari, is the first film in the world to pull off a start-to-finish schedule during the Covid-19 pandemic. Crediting his team, Akshay had earlier said, The new normal has made us realise a different way of working that none of us could have imagined. I hope our shoot during the pandemic reassures others that keeping all safety in mind, its time to get things moving again.

Also read | Serious Men movie review: Furious and fabulous, Nawazuddin Siddiquis new Netflix film is one of the finest of 2020

Akshay and the team of Bell Bottom flew to Scotland in August to shoot for the film. He made an exception and broke his rule of working only eight hours a day, to make up for the time lost in the initial 14 days of quarantine. He pulled a double shift and also made suggestions to fast-track the process of shooting and save the producers money.

Bell Bottom, inspired by true events, will see Akshay playing a RAW agent who rescues more than 200 hostages in a hijack situation. The film, set in the 1980s, is scheduled to release on April 2, 2021.

Meanwhile, Akshays next, Laxmmi Bomb, will be out on November 9. The film is scheduled for a direct-to-digital release on Disney+ Hotstar. It will simultaneously release in theatres in select overseas markets - Australia, New Zealand and UAE.

Another film of Akshays, Sooryavanshi, was set to release in the coming days. Though it was scheduled to hit the theatres on Diwali 2020, it has now been delayed.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Education on benefits of masks has not gone far enough

Re: Financial penalty will send real education message, letters, Sept. 21

Perhaps people are tired of the two extreme sides of the story, those who are mask wearers and those who are not.

I am aghast at the number of people nonchalantly wandering around malls and grocery stores with no face covering. These are pretty much the only places I am going these days.

Some stores have a greeter at the door reminding people to don their mask and clean their hands upon entry. In contrast, within the mall no greeter, minimal signage.

Why is a face covering not required? If someone has a health limitation that should not preclude them from wearing a soft elastic around their head in order to use a face shield in enclosed public places? A bandana over the nose is also a gentle non-mask alternative for people who can tolerate it.

I think our education efforts have not gone far enough, nor are they consistent enough.

Bravo to businesses who are paying a greeter to send a clear message upon entry of the expectations in that establishment.

And there is always the option of enforcement penalties, which would be expensive. Please, teach more and teach better practices.

Kelley Evans

St. Catharines

Noisy mufflers a scourge across Niagara

Re: Niagara cops to crack down on vehicles with tricked out mufflers, Sept. 26

Noisy auto mufflers and driving techniques that make the noise even louder have become a scourge.

The story originating in Niagara Falls suggests policing is only happening in the city of Nagara Falls.

The problem is regionwide and I want the police to step up their game and police the noisy behaviour in all parts of the Niagara Peninsula.

The intrusive noise is disrespectful to all in the community.

Don Alexander

St. Catharines

Remember Welland councillors who supported pay hike

Re: Attempt to reconsider Welland council pay raise fails to garner enough support, Sept. 9

The citizens of Welland are very upset about the pay increases Welland councillors have approved themselves.

They obviously are ignoring citizens complaints and have even ignored the newspaper article on this.

Those councillors who did not support the increase have also been ignored.

Remember all of those who supported this increase in the next election.

Don Smith

Welland

Do Ontarians never learn?

Ontario went through the costly Green Energy Act under former premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne.

The architect of this legislation was Gerald Butts, Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus friend and former principal secretary. The same Gerald Butts is now helping plan green energy policies at the federal level.

Instead of listening to what this government says people need to think for themselves. What will this do to their household budgets and their monthly energy bills, especially now we are heading into the fall and the winter. The Trudeau government is planning to spend many billions of dollars to comply with the unrealistic and unaffordable Paris Climate Accord.

This while Trudeau has given us a net federal debt of more than a trillion dollars while many Canadians are financial struggling, disregarding their dire financial circumstances. If a fall election were to happen, polls show Trudeau would be re-elected.

Have Ontarians not learned anything from the Ontario experience, which destroyed the provinces economy and caused a lot of financial hardship for many? Dont be deceived by Trudeaus free COVID-19 handouts, because large tax increases to pay for this are coming.

Look at his history. People do your homework.

Rob Janssen

Lincoln

Letters welcome

We welcome letters from our readers. Send them to letters@niagaradailies.com or mail to 55 King St., Suite 600, St. Catharines, Ont., L2H 3HR. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Please include your name, address and phone number for verification purposes.
Dozens of demonstrators in Rochester, New York, protested into the night Wednesday over an incident that saw police put a hood over the head of a Black man who died seven days later, per the New York Times.

Details: New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday her office was investigating the March 30 death of Daniel Prude. His brother said Wednesday he called police to say he was having a mental health issue. The family has called for the officers involved to be fired.

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

"I placed a phone call for my brother to get help. Not for my brother to get lynched. ... How did you see him and not directly say, 'The man is defenseless, buck naked on the ground. Hes cuffed up already. Come on.' How many more brothers gotta die for society to understand that this needs to stop?"

 News conference remarks by Joe Prude, brother of Daniel Prude

Of note: The Chicago man's autopsy ruled his death a homicide, arising from "complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint," Rochester First notes.

His face was pushed into the pavement for two minutes as police detained him, per the NYT.

What they're saying: Per ABC7, Rochester Police Chief La'ron Singletary said, "We do take this investigation seriously from day one. That morning I ordered a criminal investigation."

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
More than 750 students at Northumbria University have tested positive for Covid-19.

The university said all were now isolating, as were those they have come into contact with. Seventy-eight of the 770 who tested positive are symptomatic, a spokesperson said.

Northumbria University is among more than 50 institutions to have confirmed coronavirus cases in recent weeks after thousands of students returned to campuses.

Glasgow University has had 172 confirmed cases while the University of Manchester recorded 221.

A spokesperson for Northumbria University said: The increase in numbers comes in the week after students returned to university and reflects the good access to and availability of testing, as well as rigorous and robust reporting systems.

In parts of the UK where universities started term earlier, numbers of student cases surged in induction week, and then reduced.

We are making it clear to students that if they break the rules they will be subject to fines from police and disciplinary action by the universities which may include fines, final warnings or expulsion.

However, lecturers have since claimed they were encouraged to take on a greater than average amount of face to face sessions despite concerns from staff.

One employee, who asked to be made anonymous, said: "We have high anxiety levels among staff and students who have a sense that the establishment is not listening to those anxieties about face-to-face teaching.

"There's a lot of frustration because almost everything that we deliver face-to-face could be done much more safely online.

"There's confusion about why we are not following other universities in the region who I think moved online earlier, pre-empting this."

Meanwhile a lecturer at the university, who said she had spoken to a colleague who felt face-to-face teaching was unsafe, told the PA news agency: "I had to remind her we are not working on the railway lines, on oil rigs or other extreme circumstances.

"We shouldn't be in a situation where we don't feel safe at work - nobody should."

Staff were informed of the scale of the outbreak in the university by email. It's terrifying the lecturer added "and that information was delivered in a way that did not recognise that we would see that figure and gasp in horror".

Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, urged the government and university officials to tackle the unfolding crisis of case spikes in learning establishments immediately.

She said: "We warned last month that, given the current restrictions in the region, the direction of the infection rate and the problems with test and trace, it was clearly far too soon for a mass return to campus.

We told Northumbria University they had a civic duty to put the health of staff, students and the local community first and we take no pleasure in now seeing another preventable crisis play out.

Meanwhile councillor Irim Ali, Newcastle City Council's cabinet member for neighbourhoods and public health, blamed a small number of students who she said were undermining efforts to bring the outbreak under control.

She said: We are working alongside both universities to support those students who are self-isolating, and have mobilised volunteers to deliver food packages and other essential items to those confined to their accommodation.

But while work continues to control ongoing outbreaks, we need all students to comply with the regulations and guidance.

Coronavirus: London on lockdown Show all 29 1 /29 Coronavirus: London on lockdown Coronavirus: London on lockdown A man walks down a deserted Camden High Street Photos Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Goodge Street Station is one of the many stations closed to help reduce the spread Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown An empty street in the heart of Chinatown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown People in masks in Chinatown a day after the lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A near-empty Piccadilly Circus during the first week of lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Sonja, my neighbour, who I photographed while taking a short walk. It was nice to briefly chat even from a distance Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A couple sit on the empty steps of the statue Eros in Piccadilly Circus Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Making sure I stay two-meters apart  DArblay Street, Soho Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A mannequin behind a shop window. UK stores have closed until further notice Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A notice displayed on a shop window in Camden Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown As part of the lockdown, all non-essential shops have been ordered to close.Image from Camden High Street Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A skateboarder wearing a mask utilises his exercise allowance in the Camden area Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Communities have been coming together in a time of need Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A woman stands alone in a deserted Oxford Street. Up until a few weeks ago, on average, half a million people visited the street per day Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A couple walk hand in hand down a street in Soho, a day before the stricter lockdown was announced Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown During the first week of March, shoppers focused on stockpiling necessities ahead of a countrywide lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Many supermarkers are operating a queuing system to make sure only a limited amount of customers are allowed in at anyone time Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Stay Safe  Curzon cinemas are temporarily closed under the new measures Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Pubs, restaurants and bars were ordered to shut as part of the lockdown Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden High Street There are fears that coronavirus could lead to permanent closure of struggling shops Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden Town is eerily silent on a normal working day Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Shops and supermarkets ran out of hand sanitisers in the first week of the lockdown. As we approach the end of the second week most shops now have started to stock up Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Empty streets around Soho Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A noticeboard on Camden High Street urges the public to stay at home Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Camden High Street, one of Londons busiest tourist streets turns quiet Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Thriller Live confirmed its West End run ended in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown Empty and eerie Soho streets after stricter rules on social distancing announced Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A woman pauses for a cigarette on Hanway Street, behind Tottenham Court Road Angela Christofilou Coronavirus: London on lockdown A man steps outside onto Hanway Street, that sits behind what is usually a bustling retail hub Angela Christofilou

However some students have argued the examples set by rule makers undermine measures designed to curb the spread of the virus.

Ewan Hillier, a film and TV production student at Northumbria, said: There are accommodations with hundreds of students in and some are not following the rules and mixing ... so I am not surprised by the cases.

When you see MPs breaking the Covid rules such as Margaret Ferrier or the bars in parliament open after 10pm ... We are young adults who follow what we are told and when rules are unclear and the leaders break the rules themselves how do they expect us to follow them?"

He added that he was still waiting on results from a test he had taken five days prior, and is isolating as his flatmate tested positive on Saturday.

"I am annoyed that the uni told us to come back," Mr Hillier said. "Most students have and are in contracts with accommodations for the year when I could have stayed at home, been safe and not wasted money."

A spokesperson for the Northumbria Students' Union said it had been working with the university and council to create an environment where students can not only safely access the education they came here for but enjoy life on campus too.

We've adapted the use of our buildings and the services we provide to ensure that students enjoy a great start to their university experience, whilst taking every precaution to limit the spread of the virus, they added.

Additional reporting by PA
ALLIANCE, Ohio - Joe Biden had come to town, but it was not exactly easy to see him. The Democratic nominee, traveling through eastern Ohio on a chartered train, had stopped here for a socially distanced speech and news conference, with invited guests gathered at the station. Across the tracks, hundreds of people rallied, unable to hear the candidate. Even if they'd wanted to, supporters of President Donald Trump had brought a sound system, alternating loudly between songs including "God Bless the USA" and audio clips of Biden's gaffes.

"He's doing an interview right now - let's make sure he hears us!" one Republican organizer shouted through a bullhorn. "Former Democrats for Trump! Let's hear you!"

Biden supporters outnumbered the Trump supporters, barely. Nobody was surprised. Until the past few weeks, Ohio was seen as a lock for the Trump campaign, a swing state that had swung, thanks to conservative Democrats in this part of Ohio walking away from the party. Biden's campaign, which bought a few ads around the party's August convention, has expanded its buy, adding ads in the Mahoning Valley media market that Democrats lost badly four years ago.

But unlike some parts of the Midwest, which moved back toward Democrats in 2016, eastern and Appalachian Ohio stayed red in 2018. Household names who'd won it easily before, such as Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, saw their vote share decline. The Democrats' post-debate optimism is running up against decades-long trends, and local Republican parties that have successfully defined themselves around the president - antiabortion, pro-police and against laissez-faire trade deals. Biden's stops, which focused on health care and tax fairness, were designed to give voters another, more populist option.

Biden's six-city tour was focused mostly on places where Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign had cratered. "I think some we can win back; others, it's about cutting the margin," Biden told reporters late Wednesday, when the tour was over. "A lot of White, working-class Democrats thought we forgot them and didn't pay attention. I want them to know I mean sincerely that I'm going to be your president, I hear them, I listen to them. I get it. I get their sense of being left behind."

Democrats have said that about rural areas and working-class White voters across the country. Ohio, until recently, seemed too far out of reach. President Barack Obama won it by three points in 2012, not far off his national margin in the popular vote. Democrats, having watched nervously as thousands of their eastern Ohio voters pulled Republican primary ballots to support Trump, were hopeful that Trump's unpopularity in suburbs would override any losses in rural areas. They were wrong. Clinton lost the state by nine points, far behind her average across the country.

Just as the exodus of White working-class Democrats had turned West Virginia into a red state, just as it had ended Missouri's decades-long status as a bellwether, fate seemed to knock Ohio out of the front-line swing states. In 2019, when the Democratic super PAC Priorities USA revealed its ad strategy for 2020, it notably left out Ohio. The explanation: "If Ohio is in play, we'll have already won the easier states and have 270 electoral votes."

That's still how Democrats view this state - flippable only if Biden is winning in a rout. Zack Space, a former Democratic congressman from the region who lost a statewide race for auditor in 2018, said he was surprised by how few former Democrats crossed back to support the party then, without Trump on the ballot. The difference-maker, he suggested, was Trump's focus on "the idea that there was an invasion of Mexicans, coming in a caravan." Trump might try that again, but the effects of the novel coronavirus might have loosened up his support.

"We all know that Biden's going to run up the score in urban and suburban areas, but the question is whether he can mitigate the damage in this region," Space said. "If he loses 42-58 instead of 35-65, he could pull out a win statewide. And I think that's possible. When I drive through, I see some Biden signs. Four years ago, the only Hillary Clinton signs I saw were 'Hillary for Prison.' "

Alliance, a city of 22,000 people that had lost a quarter of its population since the 1960s, was the sort of place that had elected Trump. It's split between Stark County, which had tended to break narrowly for the winner in statewide elections, and Mahoning County, which contains Youngstown, the biggest Democratic stronghold between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Trump won Stark by 17 points and lost Mahoning by three. Every precinct between Youngstown and Alliance backed the president.

In interviews here, Democrats said they were encouraged to see less visible opposition to Biden than they'd seen for Clinton. But they did not see the kind of support Obama used to get, much less Bill Clinton.

"I kind of thought I was the only Biden voter in Alliance," said Tony Lamonica, a 64-year-old retired computer programmer who'd come down to the station to support the candidate.

The president's supporters were far more visible, even if they did not bother to join the peaceful protest of Biden. Daisy Blankenship, 35, who managed a store with her husband, had draped a Trump flag across its windows and planted more Trump signs in the yard, across from her son's toys.

"It's not the Democrats for the workers, like it uses to be. It's more about control," Blankenship said. "Keep everybody at home. Give them free cheese and a check in the mail." Asked about Trump's policies, she focused on his experience before entering the White House. "He's not a politician. He's a businessman. He's unique."

Other former Democrats - someof the voters who said they supported the president - had specific gripes with the party. It had become centered on "socialism." It had lurched toward "globalism." It had become too critical of police and supportive of civil unrest, an issue that had not reached yet fever pitch in 2016. And it had not worked as hard as Trump to renegotiate international trade deals.

"Bill Clinton was a good president," said Jody Burkey, 53, who said his scrap metal business had begun booming the day after Trump's election. "The economy was doing good at the time. But some of the things that he did - you know, the after-effects of NAFTA and whatnot - kind of destroyed our country."

Democrats had a theory that some of their lost voters could be brought back under the tent. Republicans had a reality: They kept adding voters and took special notice when those people said, proudly, that they had pulled Democratic ballots for years and never would again.

"When I moved here 15 years ago, the county was blue, top to bottom, just like Cleveland," said Cindy Spink, the GOP chairwoman of Ashtabula County - north of Youngstown, blue in 2012, and the site of a 19-point Trump victory in 2016. "And now we have Democrats who walk into our headquarters and say they're voting straight Republican, down the ticket. It just keeps happening. People are fed up."
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has cut the sod for work to commence on the 83.5-kilometre standard gauge railway line from Kumasi to Obuasi, as part of the new Western Line being constructed.



Performing the sod-cutting ceremony, on Wednesday, 30th September 2020, President Akufo-Addo noted that, by January 2017, out of the 947 kilometres of colonial narrow-gauge rail network bequeathed to the country by the colonialists, barely 10% was operational.



He stated that, apart from the 15 kilometre narrow gauge railway line, built between 2012 and 2017, from Sekondi to Takoradi via Kojokrom, no kilometre of railway line had been added.



Upon my assumption of office, I was determined to change this statistic, because I believed that the presence of an efficient, effective railway system was critical to the progress, prosperity and development of our nation. This led me to the decision to establish the Ministry of Railways Development, with the dynamic Hon. Joe Ghartey, Member of Parliament for Essikadu Ketan at the helm of affairs. By all accounts, this has started yielding fruits, the President said.



He continued, Todays event, the cutting of the sod for the construction of the 83.5km Kumasi to Obuasi line, is a clear manifestation of the Akufo-Addo Governments policy to grow and develop the countrys railway sector.



It will be recalled that, earlier this year, Cabinet and Parliament both approved a 500 million agreement for the construction of a new standard gauge line from Takoradi Harbour to Kojokrom, and also from Manso to Huni Valley.



Once this is completed, one hundred and two kilometres (102km) of new standard-gauge railway lines would have been constructed, as part of the development of a new standard-gauge Western Line.



President Akufo-Addo explained that the Western Line is critical to the successful establishment of the new bauxite and aluminum industry being promoted by Government.



The Sheini and Oppon Manso iron ore deposits, which will form the basis of the imminent iron and steel industry, according to the President, require a modern railway network to transport the ore and the processed raw material.



Additionally, President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that work is also progressing steadily on the Tema to Mpakadan Line, which is the first phase of the Tema to Paga section of the Ghana-Burkina Railway Interconnectivity Project.



This railway line has branch lines to Sheini and Oppon Manso. The exploitation of the bauxite deposits at Atiwa, as part of the nascent bauxite and aluminum industry, will also benefit from the construction of a new railway line, he added.



With the imminent commencement of construction of the Boankra Inland Port, following the approval by Parliament of a $300 million concession facility, the President stated that, since 1995, the country has been been grappling with the development of the inland port.



The economic viability of the Boankra Inland Project, he stressed, will be greatly enhanced by the presence of a railway line, adding that a new standard gauge railway line from Accra to Tema to Kumasi is a must, and I expect contracts to be signed for the commencement of the construction of a line from Accra to Tema towards Kumasi before the December elections.



With the countrys railway network having never gone beyond Kumasi, the President announced that a feasibility study and the preliminary design of a new standard gauge line, from Eduabin to Paga through Bechem, Sunyani, Techiman and Tamale, has been completed.



Next week, final stakeholder holder consultations will commence, after which the processes for land acquisition will begin. Let me take the opportunity to appeal to the chiefs, who are the custodians of our land, to give their full support to this project. The economic value of all lands, where there is development of the railway line, will be greatly enhanced, he added.



In the first four years of his administration, President Akufo-Addo noted that more construction activity in the railway sector has gone on than in any period of the countrys history since independence.



Over the last three years and ten months we have laid a solid foundation, which will receive an even greater impetus when Nana and the NPP get four more years to do more for you. My commitment to the development of a new modern standard railway network is unwavering, he assured.





Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Businesses in 89 of Tennessees 95 counties will no longer have to adhere to social distancing guidelines, Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday, even though cases of COVID-19 in the state have been persistently high.

The Republican governor said he would lift all virus-related limits on businesses and social gatherings for most of the state. The action, which took effect Thursday, notably does not apply to Tennessees six populous counties with locally run health departments: Sullivan, Knox, Hamilton, Davidson, Madison and Shelby counties. They can continue implementing their own restrictions.

Shelby County, which includes Memphis, last week removed occupancy restrictions for all businesses, after limiting them to operating at 50% of capacity for months. Social distancing guidelines, such as keeping customers 6 feet away from each other, still apply, officials said.

In Nashville, officials say the city will soon allowing certain events to have up to 500 people conditional on the health departments approval starting Oct. 3. Bars and restaurants may operate at 50% capacity but must close by 11 p.m. Retail stores can operate up to 75% capacity.

According to data kept by The Associated Press, there were about 287 new cases per 100,000 people in Tennessee over the past two weeks, which ranks 13th in the country for new cases per capita. The state has seen at least 2,389 virus-released deaths.

We were one of the last states to shut down and one of the first ones to open up, and its been very important to me that we take a targeted approach that is not overreaction, but that is actually a reaction to whats happening on the ground, Lee said at a news conference Tuesday.

He added that the removal of the business restrictions doesnt remove the affirmation for business owners that they should follow safe practices.

The governor said that he was ending limits on social gathering sizes because they were unnecessarily complex to keep in place, adding that gatherings are not one-size-fits-all and that people have learned how to assess risk and protect themselves and others from the virus.

The six larger counties have power under state law to issue their own directives on businesses and venues, the governors office said. Lee said the governor has the authority to suspend existing state law, but he hasnt in this case.

Lee on Tuesday also announced he would again extend the states emergency order to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

He had initially imposed the state of emergency on March 12 in order to free up funding and relax rules regarding the treatment and containment of COVID-19. He extended the order through October on Tuesday, the day before it was set to expire.

The moves come amid some pushback from Republican lawmakers who have been critical of the executive branchs powers under a state of emergency.

Tennessee was one of the first states to reopen its economy despite objections from health officials and Democratic lawmakers. Lee has since vowed he wont shut down businesses again and has rebuffed calls to enforce a statewide mask mandate.

Instead, Lee recently chided a request from Nashville for an additional $82.6 million of federal funding and heavily criticized the citys strict regulations put in place in an attempt to curb the coronavirus pandemic. Nashville leaders have credited the social distancing rules as key reasons the city has seen a drop in cases as rural areas have struggled to keep the virus under control.

The conflict has resulted in a back-and-forth between political leaders, with Republicans and Democratic lawmakers accusing each other of misspending virus relief funds.

The state of emergency will continue to urge  but does not require  people to wear masks when out in public and urges limited activity, maintain social distancing and staying home whenever possible.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including life-threatening pneumonia.

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

Topics COVID-19 Legislation Tennessee
The new methodology allowed researchers to recover the DNA of ambrosia beetles trapped in resin samples. Image: Enrique Penalver, IGME These samples were taken directly from the trees in Madagascar forests. Image: Xavier Delclos, UB-IRBio The study sheds light on the study of temporary evolution of DNA degradation to find the maximum time a resin can keep DNA from past organisms inside.. Image: Georg Oleschinski, Universitat de Bonn From left to right, the experts Xavier Delclos, Monica M. Solorzano and Enrique Penalver.

02/10/2020

Recerca

An international team of experts recovered the DNA of trapped beetles in samples of resin collected from 2013 to 2017 in the Madagascar forests, according to a study published in the journal Plos One. The study explores new limits of conservation of genetic materials in resinous samples, and counts on the participation of Xavier Delclos, professor at the Faculty of Earth Sciences and member of the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the UB.

The study is led by the experts David Peris, who got his doctoral degree at the UB under the supervision of Xavier Delclos, and Kathrin Janssen, both from Bonn University (Germany). It is also signed by Enrique Penalver, from the Spanish Mining and Geology Institute (IGME), and Monica M. Solorzano Kraemer, from the Senckenberg Research Institute (Germany), among other experts.

Truth or fiction: DNA recovery of trapped organisms in amber

Recovering genetic materials from samples in fossil resins from millions of years ago is one of the big challenges in palaeontology. So far, all initiatives in the scientific community to recover the DNA of trapped living beings in copal or amber from thousands and millions of years ago did not provide any satisfying result.

According to Professor Delclos, the rock of organic origin that better preserves organisms from the past is amber. If you look into the remains of organisms inside resins or amber, you can see the bodies in three dimensions and all the characters are well-preserved. In particular, the resin keeps the exoskeletons of these arthropods very well which are mainly formed by chitin or the leaves from producing trees. However, internal organs usually decompose when the organism is included by the resin. If a molecule like DNA could be preserved over time, the container should be amber. Therefore, there is controversy to try and extract genetic material from dinosaurs think Jurassic Park inside the DNA preserved in blood-sucking insects from the Cretaceous.

For how long could the genetic material be kept inside the resin?

In the study, the team set a strict protocol to guarantee the correction of results and therefore rule out potential mistakes that have led to scientific controversy in previous studies. This methodology allowed researchers to recover the DNA of ambrosia beetles and wood-boring weevils trapped in Hymenaea verrucosa resin samples, gathered during the campaigns of 2013 and 2015. These samples were taken directly from the trees in Madagascar forests as part of different expeditions to study how resinous trees can originate amber sites with many trapped insects.

Despite the fragility of the genetic material, experts could detect the genetic material of beetles in the resin using the Polymerase Chain Reaction technique (PCR). Experts detected material in the beetle specimens of Mitosoma that were conserved in resin. According to David Peris, this technique gave a lot of plasticity to cross-check and confirm that if we detected DNA in our specimens, it was from resin-preserved beetles.

According to Enrique Penalver, we are completely certain of the device, since we used primers that start sequencing in genetic material only if the sample shows some specific genetic material of this type of beetle.

The study sheds light on the study of temporary evolution of DNA degradation to find the maximum time a resin can keep DNA from past organisms inside. The study confirms degradation goes fast, in just a few years, and that there are containers in the fossil records that allow the preservation of DNA much easily than resins (contrary to what was believed), notes Delclos.

Researchers highlight the need to make more analysis with older resins perhaps with new techniques in order to establish the tie limits of conservation of such a molecule like DNA. Therefore, we can say that Michael Crichtons novel and the movie Jurassic Park are still fiction, notes Xavier Delclos.
Russian Standard Vodka comes to China

Russian Standard Vodka is to launch in China, the brand's owner Roust Group has announced.

Roust, the world's second largest vodka producer, has partnered with Beijing Soko to launch the premium Russian spirit in China.

More the 3.6 million cases of Russian Standard Vodka are currently sold every year in 85 markets across Europe, the US and Asia, and opening up the substantial Chinese consumer market could provide a significant boost to sales.

Mark Wood, regional general manager Asia Pacific at Roust Group, said: "We are pleased to introduce consumers in China to the world's number one Russian premium vodka through our partnership with Beijing Soko. This launch represents another step in becoming a leading player in a global premium vodka market. We are confident that our brands are positioned well in the Chinese market and we look forward to growing our sales and market share quickly."

Dmitry Sokolov, owner of Beijing Soko, said: "We are excited to bring Russian Standard to Chinese vodka consumers and confident that the brand is well positioned for success in this market."

Following a strong 2019 in Asia-Pacific, Roust Group is continuing to see good growth and market share gains in the region. Volumes for 2020 are expected to be up by 20 per cent year-on-year to more than 2.15 million litres with a strong performance in key markets including Australia and Japan.

2 October 2020 - Bethany Whymark
Former Democratic U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday addressed the first meeting of the commission Gov. Tony Evers wants to draw the states political maps, saying fair maps will help reduce partisan rancor and the political polarization that have divided the country.

Holders address and the meeting of the newly formed Peoples Maps Commission, made up of members from Wisconsins eight congressional districts, come as lawmakers gear up to draw the next set of political boundaries that will be used for the next decade.

With fair maps, you can have political debates that are not pushed to the extremes, but toward reasonable solutions and principled compromises, Holder told the online meeting of Peoples Maps Commissioners. With fair maps, you can help lower the temperature in Madison and in the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C., and with fair maps, you are more likely to have representatives who truly reflect the will of the people.

Holder currently serves as the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. He said partisan gerrymandering has bred gridlock, polarization and cynicism about democracy, and said the problem cant be solved by politicians alone.
In this July 8, 2019, file photo, Sen. Joe Manchin, (D-W.Va.), speaks at a roundtable on the opioid epidemic at Cabell-Huntington Health Center in Huntington, West Virginia. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo, File)

Manchin Becomes First Democrat Senator to Meet Trumps Supreme Court Nominee

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday met with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, making him the first Democratic lawmaker to meet with President Donald Trumps pick for the nations highest court.

Manchin said in a statement that the two met to discuss matters of relevance to his constituents as senators gear up for Barretts confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, set to start on Oct. 12. Nominees to the Supreme Court typically meet with senators ahead of the hearings, although some Democrats have refused.

Yesterday, I had a pleasant meeting with Judge Amy Coney Barrett to discuss her experience, record, and thoughts on issues that will impact West Virginians, Manchin said in the statement, in which he praised her impressive background and credentials but voiced concern about how she, a known conservative, would vote on issues of importance to the Democrat agenda.

Despite her impressive background and credentials, Judge Barrett offered no contrast to her prior views and writings about the Affordable Care Act which continue to give me serious concerns if she were to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, Manchin said.

If confirmed, she will rule on the Texas vs. California case that will determine the future of healthcare for vulnerable West Virginians and Americans, including 800,000 West Virginians with preexisting conditions. I will closely examine the Senate Judiciary hearings and encourage West Virginians to as well, he added.

Trump nominated Barrett to fill a vacant seat on the high bench after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If Barrett is successfully appointed, this would give the Supreme Court a 63 conservative majority. Republicans have largely hailed the decision to move forward with the nomination, while Democrats have been vocal in their opposition, with some blue-state senators making public pronouncements that they will not meet Barrett, claiming the process that led to her nomination so close to a presidential election is illegitimate.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has been joined by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Maize Hirono, (D-Hawaii), in refusing to meet with Barrett.

I am not going to meet with Judge Barrett. Why would I meet with a nominee of such an illegitimate process and one who is determined to get rid of the Affordable Care Act? Schumer wrote in a tweet.

I will oppose the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, as I would any nominee proposed as part of this illegitimate sham process, barely one month before an election as Americans are already casting their votes, Blumenthal wrote in a Sept. 26 tweet.

While Manchin met Barrett, he, too, complained about the confirmation process taking place so close to a presidential election.

Mitch McConnells unprecedented rush for confirmation is fanning the flames of division at a time when Americans are deeply divided, he said in his statement, referring to the Senate Majority leader.

McConnell (R-Ky.) has publicly said that Trumps nominee will get a vote this year but has not yet said when a vote can be expected on the Senate floor. In remarks to Fox News on Thursday, McConnell said he would decide when to proceed with a floor vote after the Senate Judiciary Committee has made its decision on Barretts candidacy.

Republican senators began meeting with Barrett on Tuesday at the Capitol, with Vice President Mike Pence and McConnell being the first.

We believe the Senate has an opportunity here for a fair and respectful consideration, Pence told reporters ahead of the meeting. We urge our Democratic colleagues in the Senate to take the opportunity to meet with Judge Barrett, and as the hearing goes forward to provide the kind of respectful hearing the American people expect.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the Judiciary Committee would vote on Barretts nomination on Oct. 22, possibly setting up a floor vote by the end of the month.
Rome's traditional cobblestones are loved and hated in equal measure.

Rome would not be the same without its ubiquitous cobblestones, known locally as sampietrini, which carpet the streets and alleyways of the city's historic centre.

Although an undoubted symbol of Rome, and much-photographed by tourists, the sampietrini are a source of debate and division among Romans.

The purists defend the traditional role of the basalt stones in the landscape of the Eternal City, however motorists - particularly those on two wheels - beg to differ.

They say the sampietrini are unsuitable for modern transport, providing a bumpy journey and - when it rains - a treacherous surface for motorbikes and scooters.

Neither are they ideal for pushing strollers over, or walking across in high heels. They add to the noise of traffic whose vibration causes damage to surrounding buildings, while a missing sampietrino poses obvious dangers to motorists.

However, in addition to their aesthetic quality, the humble sampietrini have certain advantages: they are robust but quick to remove when required, they offer easy drainage and can be reused.

As for the sampietrino itself, it is a pyramid-shaped block of volcanic rock, cut by hand and then hammered into a sand base with mallets until it forms an even - or relatively even - surface.

The rock originally came from quarries around Rome, at the foot of the Alban hills but also around Viterbo, however in 2000 the city imported machine-made stones from China in a bid to spruce up the capital for the Jubilee year.

Rome is currently undertaking a programme to remove the historic cobblestones from streets used heavily by traffic, such as Via Nazionale, which in turn are being asphalted, leaving a thin border of sampietrini to serve as a reminder of what once was.

The stones removed from busy streets are being taken to quieter, narrow streets which are either pedestrianised or have little or no traffic.

The most high-profile street destined to be paved with sampietrini is Via del Corso, the city's main thoroughfare, between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Venezia.

But what is the connection between Rome and the sampietrini?

The story dates back to the end of the 16th century when they were first used in the area around St Peter's - hence their name - under the pontificate of Sixtus V (1585-1590).

Their use became more widespread in the early 18th century under Pope Clement XII Corsini who oversaw extensive building programmes in Rome.

The sampietrino comes in various sizes according to the sampietrino.it website: the largest measure 121218 cm; the most common ones are 12126 cm; while the smallest ones, 66 cm, are very rare but can be found in certain areas of Rome such as Piazza Navona.

In recent years the city's traditional sampietrini have been joined by hundreds of brass cobblestones, each with its own devastating story to tell.

These memorials are referred to as stolpersteine in German, or literally translated stumbling stones and are installed outside the last chosen place of residence of victims of the Holocaust.

During Italy's coronavirus lockdown in the spring of 2020, grass grew between the city's sampietrini, most noticeably in Piazza Navona and Piazza del Popolo, which were covered in a green carpet.
Democrats have a problem on the Texas border that could cost them dearly in what is setting up as the closest presidential election the state has seen in decades.

While the 200-mile stretch from Brownsville to Laredo is the most reliably Democratic region in Texas, it has also become one of the most confounding for the party. The area has been beset by abysmal voter turnout, years of state party neglect and local party ambivalence. All are major obstacles for the Joe Biden campaign as he seeks to be the first Democrat to carry Texas in 46 years.

In a close race, if Democrats boost turnout along the border to match statewide turnout averages it could be enough to give Biden the states 38 electoral college votes, which would assure President Donald Trump has no viable pathway to re-election. But if those areas see the same dismal turnout as in 2018, tens of thousands of Democratic votes would be lost.

I dont know if weve realized the power we have, said Laredo Democrat Sylvia Bruni, chairwoman of the Webb County Democratic Party.

The problems were on display in 2018 when Democrat Beto ORourke skateboarded and livestreamed himself to record-shattering turnout in most of the state.

While ORourke won a whopping 68 percent of the vote in the five counties between Laredo and Brownsville, the combined turnout was just 39 percent compared to the statewide average of 53 percent turnout. If those five counties  with nearly 800,000 registered voters  had matched average turnout, ORourke would have added tens of thousands of votes to his total.

While that would have still left ORourke short against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, it is clear those votes could mean the difference for Biden if his campaign builds off what ORourke was able to do in the rest of the state.

If they turnout, Biden wins, ORourke said earlier this week.

The Laredo region was one of the worst for ORourke. Its where Democrat Hillary Clinton received 32,000 more votes in 2016 than ORourke did in 2018.

That loss of votes counter-balanced ORourkes surge in Harris County, where he received 39,000 more votes than Clinton had.

We let Beto down, said Ana Saenz, a longtime Democratic activist from Laredo. We just didnt get the vote out.

The Biden campaign knows the numbers well. They and the Texas Democratic Party have hired staff from the border, invested more in getting out the vote and are promising to reach out to more voters than in past elections. Even actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is aware of the issue, this week announcing his foundation is sending $250,000 to Cameron County for an early voting center to help 25,000 people vote safely.

Were specifically focusing on South Texas and border communities, said Rebecca Acuna, Bidens state director.

Acuna, herself a Laredo native, said the Biden campaign is reaching out to voters over multiple platforms in both English and Spanish to boost the areas Democratic turnout.

But it is not happening in a vacuum. While the Democrats try to drive up their turnout, Republicans are rattling their cages. Just two weeks ago as many as 7,000 trucks, cars and motorcycles decked out with Trump gear honked and screeched tires for miles through the streets of Laredo in a message to Democrats that they have a fight on their hands this year.

Weve got them scared, Webb County Republican Party chairman William Young said with laugh. And for good reason.

Plenty to be outraged about in the Valley

It would be hard to find a region with more at stake in the presidential election than the five counties along the border between Brownsville and Laredo. Immigration, the impact of COVID-19, and health care  the three most dominant issues in the presidential election  hit this region harder than most.

While the five counties represent just over 5 percent of the state population, they have recorded nearly 20 percent of Texas deaths from COVID-19. So far, 2,847 deaths have been attributed directly to COVID-19 in the five counties with a combined 1.6 million residents. That is more deaths than Harris County, which has triple the population.

And while Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the nation, it is even worse on the border. Before the pandemic hit, U.S. Census data indicated about 20 percent of people under 65 in the state were uninsured as of 2018. But in the five border counties, the average uninsured rate for those under 65 was 30 percent.

Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who campaigned along the border during his presidential bid, said both of those issues are motivating voters in the Valley this year.

So many families there can see just how much they have been short-changed by the Trump administration and by Republican leadership, Castro said.

And no region is more impacted by President Trumps signature campaign promise of building a wall along the border. The same five counties are Trumps top priority for building barriers, which requires seizing land from private landowners through eminent domain and further separating cities in the U.S. from larger metro areas in Mexico where many South Texas residents have families.

Its become a polarizing issue, said Melissa Cigarroa, a landowner along the border who is also an activist with the No Border Wall Coalition. Its not just this wall or high fence. It is a 150-foot clearing. It is semi-militarized zone, with all of the sensors, towers and roads. And all the lost public lands.

Even without a wall, border security is impossible to miss in Laredo. The city stands on a stretch of the Rio Grande with a riverside park that leaders have dreamt of developing as a tourist destination. But instead, border patrol agents are everywhere  one day last week, four of their white-and-green SUVs tracked every vehicle and pedestrian, not to mention the Border Patrol trucks that make pass-throughs along neighborhood streets.

Trumps aggressive push for a border wall has more appeal in the region than Democrats might want to acknowledge, Webb County GOP chairman Young said. He said not all of the people cutting through the region illegally are dangerous, but there can be aggressive confrontations. He said people want a wall. They want someone to prevent illegal crossings.

Why vote when the GOP doesnt have a chance?

Laredoan Amber Avis-Hinojosa, 30, says that even with all those issues, its a challenge to get people out to vote. Generations of noncompetitive local elections makes it still more difficult.

The participation is very low in Laredo, said Avis-Hinojosa, who has become active in the Democratic Party and is trying to run for local office herself. Were trying to find innovative ways to get people out.

Democrats have dominated the regions politics for more than a century. Most local races are determined in primary elections and there is nearly zero threat of a Republican ever carrying any of the border counties. Bruni said she was among the complacent at one point. With races mostly decided, many dont worry about voting in November, despite the presidential candidates and statewide candidates who needed their votes.

As long as we were doing well in Webb County, why should we worry? Bruni said.

Then Trump was elected. Bruni, an educator, was always a Democrat, but never went too deep into partisan politics. That changed with the tone of the immigration debate, the governments failure to stop COVID-19, and the August 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, where Latinos were targeted by a white man linked to an online post about a Hispanic invasion of Texas.

She says all that has spurred a new intensity from local Democrats, many of them young.

Those younger Democrats have tried to modernize a local party that had fallen behind, and was out of shape.

Weve realized how unorganized the Democratic Party was before, said Avis-Hinojosa, who is now the party treasurer in Webb County, where Democrats didnt have balance sheets or even bank statements to track the finances.

Meanwhile, Bruni went to work on restaffing the countys precinct volunteers, who are the backbone of get-out-the vote operations. She said for years the party left most of those types of positions unfilled, assuring dozens of neighborhoods with no coordinated effort to get voters to the polls.

Will the Trump Train backfire?

For the Biden campaign it has been critical to hire Democrats from the border who understand the terrain, like Acuna.

Our organizing director is from and lives in Mission, Texas, Acuna said. We have organizers in Webb County. We are having dozens of events every single day there.

Just this weekend, Biden campaign officials showed reporters a list of 29 different events in South Texas over four days ranging from phone banks and training sessions to virtual rallies and online outreach programs to faith groups, veterans and other targeted audiences.

Many of the events, both in Spanish and English, include special guests. Next week in McAllen, comedienne Cristela Alonzo speaks at one event, while another in Harlingen calls on Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez to make an appearance to help rally volunteers.

And beyond that, the State Democratic Party hired Rafael Benavides, another Laredo native, to serve as its Spanish language press secretary with a focus on engaging voters in new ways. Benavides said that has meant reaching out to voters through bloggers, Spanish language podcasters and an array of social media messages.

Were reaching out to people who had never been reached out to before, he said.

Back in the spring, Biden was struggling to match Hillary Clintons appeal to Latino voters, lagging by nearly 20 percent points.

But that appears to be changing: A poll released this week by the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Houston and Univision found Biden leading with 66 percent of the Latino vote, compared with 25 percent for Trump. It found that Latino support for Biden has almost doubled since March.

Texas is competitive because Latino support has shifted to the Biden-Harris ticket, which translates to support down-ballot for Democrats, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a UH political science professor. Latinos feel the Democratic Party has better outreach to their communities and is better equipped to handle recovery from COVID-19, the economy, health care and ending racial divisions.

The turnout in the region in 2018 shows the work Democrats have before them. In Webb and Cameron counties, just 38 percent of voters made it to the polls. In smaller Starr County it was 32 percent  second-worst in the state. Only neighboring Zapata County was worse, at 29 percent.

Democrats say the Republicans gave them an unintentional gift with that Trump Train through Laredo.

When the Trump supporters stormed through town, disrupting traffic, Bruni said the phone at the Democratic Party office started ringing. Thousands of yards signs were handed out in a matter of hours, and thousands signed up for a Ridin with Biden car parade Democrats were planning.

This place has been nonstop ever since, Bruni said.

They came in and they shook a hornets nest, said Laredo Democratic activist Robert Tellez.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 21:32:31|Editor: huaxia

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-- Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for COVID-19, after a close aide contracted the virus.

-- There have been more than 7.2 million COVID-19 infections in the United States as of early Friday, with nearly 210,000 deaths.





WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- In an early Friday morning announcement, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he and his wife, Melania Trump, have tested positive for COVID-19.

The news came as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the country, infecting more than 7.2 million people and claiming nearly 210,000 lives, both figures the highest in the world, according to tallies by Johns Hopkins University.

Many U.S. states are also seeing an uptick in new cases as the country is further reopening despite a high baseline of daily infections.

Trump, in a tweet, said that he and his wife have tested positive for the virus. "We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately," he wrote. "We will get through this TOGETHER!"

Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2020 shows screens displaying U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. first lady Melania Trump arriving on stage for the 2020 Republican National Convention. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The announcement came just hours after the president confirmed that White House counselor Hope Hicks, a close aide, had contracted COVID-19. Hicks had traveled with him multiple times this week, including on board the presidential helicopter Marine One for a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, as well as on Air Force One to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.

Melania tweeted she and her husband are quarantining at home "as too many Americans have done this year."

"We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements," she said. "Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together."

Vice President Mike Pence tweeted early Friday morning that he and his wife send their prayers to Trump and Melania. "We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery," he added.

File photo taken on March 29, 2018 shows U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shaking hands with outgoing White House Communications Director Hope Hicks on the West Wing Colonnade before departing from the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. Hope Hicks returned to the White House as a counselor to the president in early 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

In a memo, White House physician Sean Conley said he received confirmation on Thursday evening that the couple had tested positive for the virus.

"The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence," Conley noted. "Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments."

Trump told Fox News on Thursday night that he and the first lady had spent "a lot of time" with Hicks, while acknowledging that it was difficult for him and those close to him to avoid the virus since many people, including members of the military, interact with them.

"It's very hard when you're with soldiers, when you are with airmen, when you're with the Marines and the police officers. I'm with them so much. And when they come over to you, it's hard to say, 'stay back, stay back.' You know, it's a tough kind of a situation. It's a terrible thing," he said.

The White House regularly tests Trump and Pence for COVID-19 and administers tests to those who come in close contact with them, including members of the press and other White House guests.

In addition to Trump, the first lady, Hicks, multiple White House officials, including the president's national security advisor Robert O'Brien and Pence's communications director Katie Miller, as well as other staffers, have previously tested positive for the virus.

"Wishing a swift recovery to President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and the 43,000+ people who tested positive for #COVID19 today," former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy tweeted. "Too many have suffered and lost their lives due to this virus. I hope we will come together at last to build a unified response to the pandemic."

Photo taken on Aug. 10, 2020 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The fall and the winter of 2020 and 2021 are expected to be "probably one of the most difficult times that we experience in American public health," said Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a webinar in July.

It's projected that the coronavirus will incur more than 410,000 deaths by the end of the year, according to a recent report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. If current trends linger, daily deaths could soar to 3,000 in December, it said.

(Video reporters: Deng Xianlai, Sun Ding, Hu Yousong, Tan Yixiao; Video editor: Jia Xiaotong)
Wearing a face mask is mandatory these days to keep everyone safe and I do so, but I have a problem: While I have tried a variety of masks made of different materials (including 100 per cent cotton), all seem to cause my face to break out in a rash. Have you any suggestions? I am very prudent to wash the mask each time I wear it and have recently been careful to use a mild detergent.  Joy, Waterloo

When my son started junior kindergarten, he hadnt even turned four years old yet. He was so little that I had to hoof him up onto the first step of the school bus because he couldnt manage the leap under the girth of his giant backpack.

I had channelled all my preschool jitters into researching and buying the perfect lunch box, as if the right one would ensure his smooth transition. (Spoiler: He spilled his lunch on the floor every day for a week anyway but survived.) This crazy, crazy year, my son started Grade 1 and I fell into a panic trying to figure out which masks would be comfortable and wouldnt aggravate his eczema and would save him from this madness and would withstand his desire to lick the inside periodically. (We managed to curb that inexplicable habit before the first day.) Of course, the stakes are so much higher now than they were when I was stressing needlessly about lunch boxes but, regardless, change is hard and stressful. Even for your skin.

I applaud your commitment to doing the right thing despite your discomfort (youre doing so many things right!), so lets try to protect your skin while youre protecting others. I called Dr. Sonya Abdulla, who is a leading dermatologist who practises out of the Dermatology on Bloor office in Toronto, to discuss your concern.

Generally, we need to first look at whether its a pre-existing skin condition thats getting aggravated or new onset condition, she says, noting that the most likely culprits for this common issue are acne (now with the trendy nickname of maskne, trademark pending), rosacea, eczema and psoriasis. These conditions can flare up for a number of reasons but, in this case, it likely boils down to friction from the mask irritating the hair follicles, occlusion from the mask itself or the humidity trapped in by the mask, which creates a breeding ground to disrupt the skin barrier.

But before we get into how to overcome those challenges, lets take a moment to really get specific. The word rash doesnt actually point us in any particular direction, explains Abdulla. Its really about as descriptive as telling a realtor you want a house. Do you want a charming cottage by the sea or a mid-century bungalow with a view? (Id happily wait out the pandemic in either of these, to be honest.)

So the things that I typically ask patients about are symptoms  is there burning, itching or tenderness?  and the characteristics of the skin: is it smooth and red? Is it flaky or bumpy? Are there pustules? These are the details that will ultimately dictate the treatment. So have a careful look and gain an understanding of the rash and how it changes, which is really important information you can give a doctor to get a proper diagnosis.

Your first line of defence when dealing with any rash, however, should be to dial your skin care routine way back to avoid causing any irritation. Use a gentle cleanser and light water-based moisturizer, and avoid vigorous exfoliation (chemical-based products like AHAs, cleansing brushes, microbeads: were looking at you); you should also steer clear of potential irritants like fragranced products or face wipes. Then its time to make sure youre not clogging your pores, so your skin can breathe and heal.

The No. 1 thing that triggers occlusion, particularly for women, is makeup, says Abdulla. So consider skipping foundation under your mask while your skin recovers  especially since it might actually be causing the problem. The other products to consider are facial oils. We know that its very trendy to use oils in skin care right now but, under a mask, they can be occlusive and can also disrupt the barrier to trigger inflammation and aggravate an inflammatory condition.

Lastly, its important to know that masking can actually increase the penetration of any active ingredients you may be using, like retinol, she says. So ingredients you might have tolerated on a daily basis may now be more appropriate to use only every few days. (The classic signs of irritation are itching, burning, redness, flaking and dryness.)

If your skin care was part of the problem, you should expect to see your skin calm in seven to 10 days. If it continues to get worse and is uncomfortable, then its worth getting a medical consultation to make sure you can get a specific diagnosis and discuss targeted treatment, like anti-inflammatories for rosacea.

Now, its also important to ensure the fit of your mask is correct so youre not getting abrasions or pressure sores. Unless youre specifically required to wear medical-grade PPE, your mask should simply cover your nose and mouth without gaps and lie gently on your skin without compressing the area. Sometimes peoples masks are simply too tight and they just need a larger mask, says Abdulla.

As well, youre absolutely right that masks need to be washed after every wear, but you might also want to consider changing your mask regularly throughout the day, whenever it gets damp. (As I learned with my son, that can be a lot more than once a day.)

Humidity can definitely be a challenge. Hopefully now that the weather is transitioning, it will be a little bit easier to tolerate, but try to find safe opportunities to take off your mask whenever possible and let your skin dry, says Abdulla. (Remember to wash your hands before and after taking it off!) And then throw on a clean mask, if you can.

The stress of this whole prolonged situation alone is enough to give most of us a rash, I know. But if we continue to focus on taking care of others, like youre doing, we will get through it. Well just have to keeping trying to get a handle on the hacks that help us deal with the inevitable bumps along the way as smoothly as possible.

Send your pressing fashion and beauty questions to Kathryn at ask@thekit.ca

Shop the advice

These gentle products should help you avoid irritation

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo-Cleanser, $30, laroche-posay.ca

CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion PM, $17, shoppersdrugmart.ca

Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution, $20, shoppersdrugmart.ca

Elta MD AM Therapy Facial Moisturizer, $46, skinmedix.com

SkinCeuticals Gentle Cleanser, $48, skinceuticals.ca

This article contains affiliate links, which means The Kit may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by advertising. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set. More information.
Trade unions on Friday announced that they will go on a one-day nationwide strike on November 26 to oppose the labour codes approved by the Parliament recently and demanding cash transfer to all non-income tax paying families. The labour codes are designed to impose conditions of virtual slavery on the workers, making formation of unions difficult and virtually taking away the right to strike, keeping large sections of unorganised sector workersout of their ambit, a draft declaration to be signed by central trade unions in its national convention to be held on ...

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President Trump tweeted the news on Friday morning.

Although in good health now, he is at high risk and the symptoms could worsen; a major risk for the markets over the next 5-10 days.

The election campaign will suffer and Bidens chances improve; something the market will start to price in.

Markets dropped heavily in the early hours of Fridays session as some concerning news hit the wires. President Trump and the First Lady have both tested positive for Covid-19 as has aide Hope Hicks who likely transmitted to them around the time of the presidential debate. The news caused stocks to spike around 2% lower, although they have since recovered after the European open. The US dollar gained, as did gold as safe haven plays.

Of course, the Trumps will have the best possible healthcare, but there are heightened concerns due to the Presidents age of 74 and his weight problem. Trump is not the first leader to contract the virus. As Reuters remind us,

British Prime Minister Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent two weeks recovering after contracting COVID-19 in late April. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went into quarantine in March after his wife was diagnosed with the coronavirus. Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro called it a little flu after being infected in July.

Perhaps more of a concern for many is the timing as there are around five weeks till the election. Even if the President makes a speedy recovery, crucial campaigning time will be lost due to illness and quarantine. It also undermines Trump who has played down the virus risk, the need for masks and claimed the virus would soon disappear.

When a President Falls Ill

We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER! tweeted the President early Friday morning. But despite his positive messages, the campaign trail will be in ruins. As Reuters reported,

The White House issued a new schedule for Trumps activities on Friday that did not include his planned trip to Florida. Biden is scheduled to campaign in Michigan on Friday. Both states are swing states that could decide the U.S. election.

Trump is expected to "continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering" White House physician Scott Conley said, but this will depend on how serious the symptoms get. We know the coronavirus can show mild symptoms or none at all in the early stages of infection but go on to become life-threatening. Certainly we can expect the tweets to continue, but no physical presence in key states could be a problem for the election.

Market Reaction

Stocks down, gold and the USD higher tell us what the market thought about the news initially. Mild panic selling could be expected and the usual reaction due to algorithmic trading is usually sell first and then ask questions later. This often leads to the declines recovering all the way back again and we may be seeing that now in Fridays session as US indices have recovered nearly half of the drop.

In the slightly longer-term, the market may start to give higher probabilities to a Biden win and position accordingly. This likely means a higher US dollar and lower stocks as Biden is likely to roll back the 2017 tax cuts. However, Biden could still be a positive for the markets overall and it is a misconception that markets perform poorly under Democrats.

Other News

While Trump contracting the virus will steal all the headlines, other significant events are unfolding, As ING point out, a deal on fiscal support is still floundering:

...although the USD 2.2 trillion package was passed in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, there is still no agreement with Republicans, with one of the key contested issues being the size of weekly job insurance.

Also, the NFP jobs report is due out later on Friday. Volatility will be high and the weekend risk is heightened in case the Presidents health deteriorates
Election 2020 Rival Candidates Spell Out Goals, Dreams as Myanmar Election Nears

--

YANGONEven though the 2020 election is rapidly approaching, candidates in Yangon are unable to launch public campaigns due to strict COVID-19 related restrictions from the Ministry of Health and Sports. The Irrawaddy spoke with candidates from four different partiesthe National League for Democracy (NLD), Democratic Party of a New Society (DPNS), Peoples Party (PP) and Kaman National Development Party (KNDP)which will compete in constituencies in Yangon Region. All said that their biggest challenge is how to campaign effectively under restrictions that control their ability to meet with voters. The candidates shared their plans for the 2020 election and their priorities if elected to Parliament.

Ei Thinzar Maung is one of the youngest 2020 candidates from the DPNS, a party led by the former student leaders of the 88 uprising, pro-democracy protests in 1988. The 26-year-old woman is running for a seat in the Lower House of Parliament, representing the Pabedan Township constituency. A human rights activist since 2012, she was the first female president of the student union of Yadanabon University. She was among the several students who were arrested and faced violent crackdowns in 2015 for seeking changes to an education bill that limited academic freedom. She has been involved in human rights activities on behalf of minority groups, including the Rohingya, and has demanded an end to armed conflicts in Kachin and Rakhine states.

What are the main things you want to accomplish in Parliament?

My two priorities are to promote and protect human rights and to fight against discrimination. By winning a seat in the Hluttaw [Parliament] I want to be a voice for voiceless the people. When it comes to human rights, my political determination is to work for minority rights. Minorities are always left out in political decision-making. Some think that minorities voices should not speak out at this time because it might ruin the reform process. I want to say that as we seek reforms, we must not ignore the voices of the minorities. If we really want to make [political] changes, we must consider the voices of these people. Otherwise, the people of Myanmar will gradually lose hope. And they may even feel that this country no longer belongs to them. My standard values are freedom, equality and justice. As a candidate, I want to be a representative for all the minorities in the country.

What are the top priority reforms needed for the people in your constituency?

When people are being discriminated against for a long time, it becomes normal for them. They no longer think that it is discrimination. I think that we have to keep identifying discrimination and speaking out against it. I believe that it is the main thing that I can to do for the people in my constituency.

Moreover, the Pyithu Hluttaw [Lower House] has to focus on legislation. I think that it is necessary to focus on amending laws relating to the publics right to access information. There are laws that have violated human rights, such as 505 (B) and the peaceful assembly law. Such laws should not exist anymore. Some laws serve only to protect the powers of the authorities rather than to protect the rights of the people. Human rights activists are being unnecessarily oppressed due to those laws. In the meantime, we need to amend the laws that narrow the framework of democracy as much as possible. If you are a government, you will be subject to criticism. You cant just listen to the voices from your supporters. You must also listen to those who do not like your policies. If I were in the Parliament, I would surely try to change these laws.

What would you like to see for your country in the future?

I come from [Kachin State], where the civil war is still ongoing. So, I want to see our nation as a peaceful country without conflicts. It is important not only to stop the wars but also to create a community where people are warm and kind to one another.

Sithu Maung is the son of die-hard supporters of the NLD. His home was even turned into a township office of the NLD in Yangon when the party formed in 1988. He was one of the student leaders who led the re-founding of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU). In 2007, the young Muslim man was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for his role in the Saffron Revolution, peaceful demonstrations led by the monks against the military government. His parents were sentenced to about four years, accused of helping his protest activities. He was released from prison in 2012. Since then he has been involved in activities with the student union and efforts to amend the 2008 Constitution. He also works as a trainer on the subject of constitutional federalism in ethnic areas across the country. He is running for the Lower House of Parliament in the Pabedan Township constituency for the NLD. Ei Thinzar Maung is among his opponents for that seat.

What are the main things you want to accomplish in Parliament?

When I applied as a candidate, I chose the seat for the Pyithu Hluttaw. Because the power distribution between the central government and the regions is limited by the 2008 military-drafted Constitution, we are attempting to establish a democratic federal union in our country. I believe that I can make more political changes from the Pyithu Hluttaw. I can implement programs based on the NLDs political policies and goals, and also focus on issues relating to the constitutional rights of citizens. I would be able to amend and abolish laws that are not in line with democracy. Moreover, I could ask questions in the Parliament, representing all ethnic people in my constituency. I also want to carry out legal amendments to protect their rights and interests. As a trainer on the subject of federalism, I hope to be involved in our countrys transition as we form a democratic federal union.

What are the top priority reforms needed for the people in your constituency?

In Pabedan, the rule of law is important. Small crimes, including theft, are occurring. And another problem is traffic congestion. I understand that the traffic problem cannot be solved alone. It must be solved in collaboration with the other townships. At the union level, I believe that I can focus on imposing regulations [relating to it]. People say that I chose Pabedan because I am a Muslim. That is totally wrong. Actually, Pabedan is in the downtown area. We can even say that it is the heart of Yangon. It has multiple cultures, multiple religions and multiple ethnic groups. When the military government cracked down on pro-democracy movements, the people in Pabedan opened their doors to save us. They allowed us to stay inside while military officers were searching for us. We owe them our lives. I would like to repay those debts if I am chosen as a lawmaker.

When it comes to politics, we cannot just work for one religion or one ethnic group. I would never view politics so narrowly. I would never work politically for just one ethnic group. We must strive politically for all the people in this township. I also believe that we need to push for legal reforms such as enacting laws to provide more protection for people who are being oppressed. I would never let anyone in my township suffer discrimination and indignity. I will firmly stand to work for all the people in this country.

What would you like to see for your country in the future?

When we talk about peace, we often refer to the armed conflicts. On the other hand, if there is any ethnic or religious violence, we must say that we are not living in a peaceful society. So we need to resolve the armed conflicts based on the political aspirations of the ethnic people through political means. At the same time, to build a peaceful and harmonious society, we need to be able to ease tensions based on religious hatred, racial discrimination and other forms of discrimination. Only then, I believe, can our country truly become a diverse nation. I want to see such a Myanmar. I just want to see our country become a more secularized society.

Mya Thida is one of the new faces among the ruling partys candidates for 2020. She is running for a seat in the Lower House of Parliament for Dagon Myothit (North) Township, in Yangon Region. She became a member of the NLD in 2012 and had previously volunteered in various social and educational organizations. She received a Chevening Scholarship in 2017 and holds a masters degree in international development from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. She works as a senior program associate at the Renaissance Institute (RI), an organization led by high-profile economists and NLD central economic team members in Myanmar. She is involved in research work on sub-national governance and municipal finance at the RI.

What are the main things you want to accomplish in Parliament?

One of my political beliefs is that young people should be involved in politics. As a young woman, I want to focus on areas involving youth and women if I am elected as a lawmaker. My studies focused on peace and development, and also the role of international organizations and civil society. Based on my educational background, I also hope that I would be able to participate in our peace process, which is one of the NLDs main priorities.

What are the top priority reforms needed for the people in your constituency?

I will work effectively for the needs of the people in my constituency, particularly the need for the rule of law and addressing the lack of job opportunities. As far as I have observed, young people who are weak in their educational backgrounds and employment opportunities are more likely to become involved in drug use. Lack of education and job opportunities have led young people to commit both petty crimes and major crimes. The rule of law affects our daily lives. So, I want to focus on those issues. Moreover, the basic requirements for the people in my constituency include basic health care and infrastructure improvements, including roads.

What would you like to see for your country in the future?

Our partys main agenda is to achieve long-lasting peace in Myanmar. As a young woman, I am willing to help build a nation that all ethnic groups in this country are dreaming of.

Maung Maung Hlaing was involved in the formation of the ABFSU and democracy movements in 1988. Later he left politics and focused on family business. In 2013, he left business and reentered the political arena. In 2015, he ran for the Lower House of Parliament from Dagon Myothit (North) Township as an independent candidate. However, he did not secure the seat. Later, he became a Central Executive Committee member of the Peoples Party (PP), which is comprised of people who participated in the widespread pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988. Now, he is running again for the Lower House of Parliament in Dagon Myothit (North). Mya Thida is among his opponents in the township.

What are the main things you want to accomplish in Parliament?

We have been thinking about what kind of reforms we need in this country since 1988. I have always wondered: Why is this country so poor and what do we need to do to solve that problem? If you ask me what I want to do in Parliament, there are a lot of things to do [for reform] in this country. There are a lot of issues that need to be improved, particularly the economy, education, social security, health and also political reforms. As a Lower House lawmaker, I will reinforce implementation of the partys policies that prioritize the publics interest, especially economic, peace, investment and youth policies, and womens issues.

What are the top priority reforms needed for the people in your constituency?

The most important thing in my constituency is the rule of law. Another issue is the drainage system. People face flooding problems when it rains. We need to discuss that on the regional level to solve that problem. Moreover, according to the partys policy, the 2008 Constitution needs to be amended, including Article 436. We need to work in Parliament to eliminate unnecessary laws and replace them with good ones. We also need to amend Article 261 of the 2008 Constitution if we want to form a democratic federal union. In our party, we have been carefully studying and discussing possible ways to amend the Constitution.

What would you like to see for your country in the future?

There are lot of things that we need to improve in the country. We want to see our country as a democratic federal union in the future. Thats what all the ethnic groups in Myanmar have been longing for.

U Hla Thein is running for the Yangon regional parliament seat for Mingalar Taung Nyunt constituency, under the banner of the Kaman National Development Party, which represents one of the ethnic monitories from Rakhine State. He is a vice chair of the party. The Kaman are one of the 135 officially recognized ethnic groups in Myanmar. The group belong to the Islamic faith. Despite the fact that the party is small, it contested both the 2010 and 2015 general elections. However, it did not secure a seat in either election. The party is competing for five seatsthree in Yangon Region and two in Rakhine Statethis year.

What are the main things you want to accomplish in the regional parliament?

I want to work on the plight of minorities in Myanmar. We have a lot of other minorities in the country, including the Kaman. Minority rights are being abandoned in all government administrations. Ours affairs are being neglected by the government. So, I want to represent our ethnic monitories in the parliament, especially to address our rights when it comes to education and health issues. We are facing many difficulties because administrators have ignored our rights for long. I want to win in this election to address officially these issues in the [Yangon] parliament.

What are the top priority reforms needed for the people in your constituency?

In Mingalar Taung Nyunt, the main problem relating to public health is the stray dogs issue. Moreover, some Muslims are having a hard time getting citizenship cards despite both of their parents being citizens for a long time. These things should not happen. I will focus on that issue and will push the government to solve that problem, especially pointing out what the government needs to do for these people. The most important thing is to obtain full rights for minorities. We believe in equal opportunities for all, regardless of race or ethnicity.

What would you like to see for your country in the future?

I want to see our nation in the future as a country that values humanity. I hope there would be no discrimination among the ethnic groups. Every citizen must have full rights, no matter what their ethnicity or religion. I hope our country becomes a democratic federal state where all have equal opportunities and rights.

Thet Htar Suu Kyi is one of the young candidates from the NLD seeking a Yangon regional parliament seat for the Mingalar Taung Nyunt constituency. She is one of U Hla Theins opponents competing in the township. The 29-year-old woman grew up in her constituency and served as a volunteer at the NLD head office in 2008 when Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest. In 2012, she became involved in activities of the NLD Central Executive Committee in a supporting role. She became an assistant to the NLD Central Economic Committee in 2018.

Later, she was invited to Tokyo University as a guest student under the graduate school of public policy program to study economics, focusing on financial markets and development in emerging Asia. She was not available for an interview because the party has imposed a ban on its candidates talking to the media for the time being.

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Many Myanmar Migrants in Thailand To Be Denied Vote as Extra Polling Stations Ruled Out
Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah died Sept. 29, leaving behind a legacy of diplomacy and positive feelings in Kuwait, the Middle East and around the world. He had a reputation for being the wise man of the region, and in recent years worked tirelessly to end the rift within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). A week earlier, US President Donald Trump awarded the 91-year-old ruler one of the more rare and prestigious awards given by the White House; the last one had been granted three decades ago. The White House praised Sheikh Sabah's tireless mediation of disputes.

Sabahs death occurred as Kuwait recorded over 100,000 cases of the coronavirus and could face one of the worst economic crunches among Gulf states. Deutsche Bank has estimated Kuwaits $140 billion economy could shrink by 7.8% this year.

The statesmans successor, Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 83, was sworn in Sept. 30, while the emirate could head for one of its most significant crisis in history.

Credible sources indicate that there will be a devaluation of the currency by up to 25%, which would have a massive impact on living conditions of Kuwaitis and residents, Kuwait-based entrepreneur and economic analyst Geoffrey Martin told Al-Monitor.

Businesses on the brink of bankruptcy

In April, the country approved a $5.2 billion stimulus package to spur lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The banking system, however, has been very reluctant to grant loans during the COVID-19 crisis, especially since a lot of these SMEs are on the brink of bankruptcy, Kuwait-based senior economist Chaker El Mostafa told Al-Monitor.

No plans to bail out private sector businesses or to actively support some of the 25,000 to 30,000 SMEs operating in Kuwait was announced. Martin said, It was decided that the private sector will be left on its own completely. This is what I call triage.

Yet Mostafa said a new law that decriminalizes bankruptcy recently approved by the Kuwait National Assembly is very important. It provides protection to entrepreneurs and will become a catalyst for private entrepreneurship, he added.

According to James Swanston, an economist with Capital Economics who specializes in the Middle East and North Africa, economic reforms are needed more in Kuwait than elsewhere in the Gulf. Kuwaits business environment is ranked worst among all GCC countries on the Ease of Doing Business Index.

But Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy, and the outspoken parliament often hinders reform efforts to protect generous social benefits and public sector wages. Public sector salaries and subsidies account for 71% of spending for fiscal year 2021.

While all GCC states agreed to introduce a 5% value-added tax (VAT), Kuwait is yet to announce an official date for the VAT to be imposed. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates implemented the tax in January 2018, followed by Bahrain a year later.

The parliament is the problem in terms of passing economic reforms. No one would vote for someone who is gonna tell them, Hey, by the way, you are losing 30% of your salary, Martin said, noting that eight out of 10 Kuwaitis work in the public sector.

The parliament has also repeatedly blocked a crucial debt law that would allow Kuwait to tap international debt markets to fund its budget deficit. The International Monetary Fund estimates it could reach 11% of the gross domestic product this year.

I cannot accept someone who is illiterate economically to decide my future, Mohammad Aljouan, a Kuwaiti senior adviser in the banking sector, told Al-Monitor.

Parliamentary elections are due later this year, and Aljouan said the mandate of Kuwaits $533 billion sovereign wealth fund should be updated to allocate part of the Future Generations Funds returns on investments to Kuwaits annual budget. Look at Norway's wealth fund, it has a clear contribution to the budget, he said.

Decline in global oil demand

Fifty-nine years after Kuwait gained full independence from Britain, the Gulfs northernmost state faces the daunting challenge of steering its economy away from carbon-intensive industries. Last year, oil revenues accounted for 89% of Kuwaits revenues.

According to studies published in September by oil and gas "supermajors" BP and Total, oil demand is expected to decline sooner than expected as the global oil market might never recover from the economic and societal impact of the coronavirus crisis.

Although GCC states have one of the worlds lowest oil production costs and might be the last oil producers standing, impacts will be felt across the board, experts anticipate.

During the pandemic, many migrant workers went unpaid or lost their jobs. All companies are in cost containment, said Hari Krishna, a Nepali migrant worker who lives in Kuwait and is a board member of Shramik Sanjal, a network of workers from Nepal.

Like other GCC countries, Kuwait relies heavily on low-income foreign laborers who account for nearly 70% of the population  a disposable workforce entitled to no social rights and seen as the first variable for adjusting any economic contractions.

Yet Krishna believes foreign low and semi-skilled workers will remain the backbone of Gulf economies in the post-oil era. I am hopeful there will still be many job opportunities for Nepali migrant workers in the region, he told Al-Monitor.
LISTOWEL  The Listowel Business Improvement Area (BIA) was finally able to hold its annual general meeting (AGM) on Sept. 23. The meeting would normally have been held in the spring if the local business community hadnt been dealing with the effects of a global pandemic.

The BIA finally had a chance to review activity from 2019 and discuss the work it has been doing in 2020.

We reviewed our budget for 2020 and then we went into our plan for 2020, said Lisa Schaefer, Listowel BIA coordinator. I know 2020 is almost done. Our AGM was supposed to be in the spring but it had to be postponed because of COVID.

One of the big projects planned for this year was going to be the Win This Space contest, but it had to be pushed aside until 2020.

We had a lot of really cool events planned  Paddyfest, our seasonal promotions and beautification but what we planned to do and what we did do was vastly changed because of COVID, she said. Many of our events scheduled for the spring and summer were cancelled and we had to pivot to support our businesses because they were closed and significantly impacted by the pandemic.

The BIA worked with the Municipality of North Perth and the Chamber of Commerce to develop local promotional ideas to help remind shoppers to support local businesses whenever possible during the economic crisis caused by the shutdown of local businesses.

We did a lot of really cool promotions, said Schaefer. One of the ones we did was a lot of support for the Kinsmen Club for the gift card program. We were the lead sponsor for that.

During the summer, the BIA helped plan events which followed health precautions such as the Library Scavenger Hunt and the Daycation Program.

As the winter holiday season approaches there are plans for decorating contests for residents and businesses.

Win this Space was discussed at the meeting and Schaefer said it will launch in January with applications being accepted until mid-February and training starting March 24, with the winner being announced in the middle of May.

You dont just apply and then win the space, she said. The big part of this program is we want applicants to take training to help them open their business so we offer five to six weeks of training.

Everyone who attends the training will learn about marketing, human resources, finance and budgeting.

Its everything you need to write an effective business plan and launch your business, said Schaefer. Thats what we like about Win this Space. Its not just that you get money and win a bunch of stuff. Its that you get the education and the tools you need to be successful.

Even if they are not the winner of the contest, businesses opened by participants will receive supports for a year.

The winner gets the big monetary package but everyone wins in that everyone is supported so that everyone can be successful, she said. Thats what were proud of with Win this Space  the educational component and the tools we give for people to be successful when they run their business.

The BIA has several mandates to support the local business community from marketing and advertising to community beautification to organizing local events.

None of that changed for us during the pandemic, she said. We didnt stop doing what we were doing, we just changed what we were doing. We had to adapt but our work didnt lessen and the work we are doing to support our business community did not change. Promoting Listowel and what our community has to offer has never been more important. COVID has hit everyone hard but no one more than our small businesses.

Schaefer said the goal this year has been to let locals and visitors know Listowel is open for business and its safe to shop here.

I live here, my kids go to school here, my husband teaches here and I volunteer here, she said. I know firsthand how amazing our business community is and how amazing the people who run our businesses are so I have that personal connection which makes me want to see our businesses succeed, not just from a work perspective but from a personal perspective.

This is likely the most challenging time Schaefer recalls businesses experiencing, and she believes if the second wave of COVID-19 is happening it is important to support local businesses because the impact of more stipulations and closures due to the pandemic could be devastating to the local economy.

We need to support local during this time, she said. We appreciate our businesses and we thank them for everything they have done and continue to do. We know this is a very difficult time and we encourage everyone to support local if they can. Think local first. Think local always.
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The millionaire founder of Maximuscle Zef Eisenberg died after his car 'veered off the runway and flipped' at a former RAF base as he was trying to break a British land speed record.

The 47-year-old from Guernsey was trying to break a 207mph land speed in his Porsche 911 Turbo S when he veered off the runway at Elvington Airfield, a former RAF base to the east of York, on Thursday afternoon.

The racer, who launched the supplement brand in 1995, had previously been involved in a 230mph crash at the same track in 2016, which nearly killed him.

The father-of-two's last Facebook post shows his Madmax 1200hp Porsche car refuelling on Wednesday, with the caption: 'Late night testing....for the next stage of MADness....'

He added: 'After it's 239.6mph run at Vmax, let's turn up the boost and see what the beast can deliver updates to follow'.

Motorsport UK confirmed he died after losing control of the sports car as he reached the end of a run. It is believed he was chasing the record for the British 'flying kilometre'.

The race allows drivers a rolling start - so they can get up to speed ahead of the actual kilometre - before they hurtle down the course twice to get an average time.

The incident happened at the same track where Richard Hammond crashed in a jet-powered car at almost 300mph in 2006 leaving the Top Gear presenter in a two-week coma with brain injuries.

Zef Eisenberg (pictured with Keanu Reeves in April) was killed when his car 'veered off the runway and flipped' at Elvington Airfield, a former RAF base to the east of York, on Thursday afternoon

Eisenberg's family confirmed to the BBC it was him who had died as a source revealed he had 'veered off the runway and flipped' the car. He is pictured with his partner Mirella D'Antonio

The driver died while trying to complete a land speed record. A car is seen on the back of a tow truck

His last Facebook post shows his Madmax team car refuelling on Wednesday with the caption: 'Late night testing....for the next stage of MADness....'

Officers wearing face coverings search the area where the car crashed during an attempt at the British land speed record yesterday

Eisenberg's family released a statement which said: 'Known for the enthusiasm that he applied to each of his projects, Eisenberg injected his positivity into everyone he came into contact with.

'They, in turn, were left feeling upbeat and in an enlightened mood. His family have described him as a 'true genius with unique talents'.

'Eisenberg leaves behind a loving partner Mirella D'Antonio and two children. His parents and four siblings all adored him and followed his progress with great admiration.'

They added: 'All have expressed their great sadness and ask for their privacy to be respected at this tragic time.'

A full investigation has now been launched by police and Motorsport UK, the governing body for four-wheeled sport.

How a bodybuilder made millions by getting into the fitness industry before turning his attention to speed Zef Eisenberg was originally a gym instructor, nutritionist and herbalist, with expertise in the health industry who started his company as it was about to undergo rapid growth. In 1995 he started Maximuscle, the only UK-based sports nutrition supplier at a time when the American market was already saturated - but still growing, as the health movement gripped the USA. Eisenberg already had a cult following when, as a competitor himself, he wrote and self-published an expose dispelling myths on what products worked and which did not, selling 24,000 copies. The book, in 1993, earned him the 3,000 that he initially used to set up Maximuscle in 1995. He never borrowed a penny but working 'stupid hours', he made it a market leader in Britain. The creatine product, which aids performance, was used by England and Arsenal football teams, and traded off a reputation for including nothing that would make professional athletes fail drug tests. He built it into Britain's largest supplier of sports nutritional products, which was sold to Darwin Private Equity in 2007 for 75million but Mr Eisenbrg remained the largest private shareholder. In 2011, he cashed in, getting 162million for his stake from drugs company GlaxoSmithKline, and originally agreed to stay on as a consultant. However, he later left Maximuscle altogether and launched a 150million Dragon's Den-style health fund, hearing pitches from entrepreneurs. Advertisement

Eisenberg, who has more than 70 British, world, UKTA, ACU and Guinness land speed records, was well known for presenting ITV4's Speed Freaks and The Bike Show.

The former bodybuilder's 2016 crash at Elvington Airfield nearly killed him as he drove a jet turbine-powered motorbike at 230mph to try to set a new world record.

He was riding a 350,000 bike - the fastest of its kind in the world - built by the Madmax team he funded with cash from the 162million sale of Maximuscle in 2011.

The incident left him with 11 broken bones and he was presumed dead but overcome the devastating injuries and was back at the racetrack for the anniversary of the crash.

A search was being conducted of the runway at Elvington today as the investigation into his death continued.

The wreckage of the high powered sports car was removed on Thursday night by police on a low loader truck for forensic examination.

A security guard who was on duty at the time said: 'I have seen a lot of these record attempts. This is the worst crash I have seen here for years - worse than Richard Hammond.

'The car just veered off the runway and flipped. The next thing I knew was all these police cars rolled up.'

Health and Safety officials from York Council arrived on site today to liaise with police searching the runway for clues.

An eight-strong team of specialist officers were searching the runway next to Second World War green huts.

Flights are expected to be grounded while the probe continues on the strip, according to one health and safety official.

He added: 'We are just here to see if this a health and safety enforcement area or not. Richard Hammond was a lucky fellow. These are risks you take when you take things to extreme.

'I know there's a thrill in being scared but it's a thrill you would want to avoid most of the time. I guess some people are addicted to it for the adrenaline buzz.'

Thursday's event was organised by Straightliners UKTA.

Eisenberg was in a relationship with Mirella D'Antonio after divorcing in 2018 and has two children.

He was also a herbalist, personal trainer and nutritionist, and founded the Maximuscle company in 1995 with just 3,000 of his own money.

He built it into Britain's largest supplier of sports nutritional products, which was sold to Darwin Private Equity in 2007 for 75million but Eisenbrg remained the largest private shareholder.

In 2011 he cashed in, getting 162million for his stake from drugs company GlaxoSmithKline, and originally agreed to stay on as a consultant.

But he later left Maximuscle altogether and launched a 150million Dragon's Den-style health fund, hearing pitches from entrepreneurs.

Eisenberg opened up to Goodwood Road & Racing about being on a motorbike racing at 200mph, saying: 'At 234mph it was still accelerating. Rapidly.

'But we were running out of runway, and I couldn't hold on any longer. It took me three years of gym work to get to that speed. At 220mph the disc on my vertebrae was popping out. There's so much force being put on the neck.'

The adrenaline junkie said his team put a strap running from his helmet to his body to 'stop his head from snapping backwards'.

He added: 'That allowed me to increase the speed without my neck compressing and popping out a disc each time. It's not for the faint of heart.'

Eisenberg, who has a Guinness World Record and about 50 British and world land speed records, was well known for presenting ITV4's Speed Freaks and The Bike Show

North Yorkshire Police said they were called out to a 'serious collision' shortly after 4.30pm

The former bodybuilder's 2016 crash at Elvington Airfield nearly killed him as he drove a jet turbine-powered motorbike at 230mph to try to set a new world record

The incident left him with 11 broken bones and he was presumed dead but overcome the devastating injuries and was back at the racetrack for the anniversary of his crash

Eisenberg opened up to Goodwood Road & Racing about being on a motorbike racing at 200mph, saying: 'At 234mph it was still accelerating. Rapidly'

Eisenberg grew up in Finchley, north London, and left school at 15 after taking his GCSEs at University College School. He soon founded Maximuscle, which rocketed to the top of the sports nutrition industry.

What is the British Land Speed Record and which one was Zef Eisenberg trying to break? There are various British Land Speed Records based on the surface, the type of vehicle and how the speed is calculated. The one Zef Eisenberg was trying to break was the 207.6mph set by Tony Densham on October 3, 1970, in a Ford-powered dragster. This was over a Flying Kilometre course. This means the driver goes a kilometre with a rolling start, and then repeats the run a second time in the opposite direction. The final result is the average speed across both runs. Other recent records include: October 2013: Electric car speed record - Paul Drayson hit 205mph to set the electric car land speed record.

Electric car speed record - Paul Drayson hit 205mph to set the electric car land speed record. May 2014: Electric bike speed record - Sam Green at Elvington Airfield hit 105mph on a Saietta R bike.

Electric bike speed record - Sam Green at Elvington Airfield hit 105mph on a Saietta R bike. May 2018: Sand speed record on a motorbike - Zef Eisenberg at Pendine Sands hit 201.5mph on a supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa bike.

Sand speed record on a motorbike - Zef Eisenberg at Pendine Sands hit 201.5mph on a supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa bike. May 2019: Sand speed record in a car - Zef Eisenberg at Pendine Sands in Wales hit 210.332mph in a custom Porsche 911 Turbo Advertisement

Before he died he lived in Saint Peter Port in Guernsey where he help set up the largest concrete skatepark and largest adventure playground on the island. Only last month the racer unveiled the Eisenberg V8 - a a 3000cc V8 engine motorbike.

After earning his first 1million, Eisenberg told the FT his secret was to be 'endlessly curious and (being) not afraid of commitment, hard work and trying to resolve things'.

He added: 'My childhood was difficult but I learnt that the only way to survive is to work your way out of it, and if you fall down you have to pick yourself up again.'

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today: 'Shortly after 4.30pm on 1 October 2020 we were called to a serious vehicle incident at Elvington Airfield near York.

'The incident occurred during a British Land Speed record attempt and the driver, 47-year-old Zef Eisenberg tragically died at the scene.'

Motorsport UK said it was working with the police and event organiser to probe the tragic incident.

In a statement, the body said: 'Motorsport UK is deeply saddened to announce that a fatal accident occurred this afternoon at Elvington Airfield during a British Land Speed Record attempt.

'Motorsport UK, together with the event organiser and the local police, has begun a full investigation into the circumstances of the incident.

'Further information will be provided once the initial findings of the investigation are available. Our thoughts are with the driver's family, who have been informed, the organisers of the event, and other members of the motorsport community present.'

Last year Eisenberg beat the 'flying mile' record held by actor Idris Elba, who took the title in 2015 after it stood for 88 years when Sir Malcolm Campbell reached 174mph in his iconic aero-engined Blue Bird.

Mr Eisenberg had already broken the sand speed record on a motorbike and added the flying mile record at 182mph (293km/h).

But his attempts to top 200mph were thwarted after the engine on his Mad Max 400bhp supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa blew up.

He averaged 182.4mph over two miles on the beach in Carmarthenshire. A flying mile takes the average speed over two mile-long runs, with a mile to get up to speed.

North Yorkshire Police were again on the scene of the crash on Friday morning as their investigations continue

Elvington Airfield was the scene of a crash involving former Top Gear presenter Hammond in 2006

Actor Elba achieved 180.361mph in a 650hp Bentley Continental Super Sport twin-turbo W12 in 2015. But Eisenberg needed only a single run in both directions to surpass them both, with a rear tyre that was found to be falling apart after the first run.

Elvington was an RAF station until 1992 and has become a popular motorsports venue since entering private ownership. It has hosted dozens of world record attempts and is also used as a filming location.

On Sunday, Jason Liversidge, who has motor neurone disease, set a world speed record in his custom-made electric wheelchair.

And last week Andy Jennings, 28, from Swindon, set the Guinness World Record for the fastest wheelie bin, reaching speeds of 45.35mph in his homemade motorised bin.

The privately-owned venue, which is an active airfield, is also a facility for driving, driver training, filming and other testing purposes for professional organisations.
The Australian sharemarket plunged in the final hour of trade on news US president Donald Trump and his wife Melania had contracted the coronavirus one month out from the US election.

The market dropped 50 points in seven minutes following the news and finished 81.4 points, or 1.4 per cent lower at 5791.5 - the lowest close in more than a week and also the market's worst weekly loss since April.

Meanwhile, the Aussie dollar dipped from 71.60 US cents to 71.33 US cents in the wake of the news, but edged back to 71.55 US cents after the close.

The Australian sharemarket plunged in the final hour of trade on news US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania contracted the coronavirus just a month out from the November presidential election. Credit:AFR

Friday's fall mirrored nosediving US futures markets, which briefly dipped more than 2 per cent and were pointing to heavy losses for Wall Street traders in Fridays week-ending session. Oil prices tumbled more than 3 per cent.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 14:56 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48b82af 4 National Maruf-Amin,MarufAmin,Vice-President-Maruf-Amin,ITE-Law Free

A man in North Sumatra has been arrested for allegedly posting a photo collage of Vice President Ma'ruf Amin next to Japanese porn star Shigeo Tokuda, also known as Kakek (Grandpa) Sugiono among Indonesian adult movie watchers.

Officers of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) arrested the man, identified as Sulaiman Marpaung, at his house in Tanjungbalai city on Friday.

The photo collage was first posted on a Facebook account named Oliver Leaman S, allegedly owned by Sulaiman. The picture had also gone viral on other social networking platforms.

On Sept. 25, the head of Nadhlatul Ulamas youth wing GP Ansor in Tanjungbalai, Salman Al Hariz Saragih, reported Sulaiman to the police.

Read also: Vice President Maruf can do more to develop sharia economy

Sulaiman has been charged with violating Article 28 of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) law on spreading information to incite hatred, which carries a maximum sentence of six years' imprisonment.

National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Argo Yuwono said Sulaiman had uploaded the picture because he had been disappointed by a statement Maruf had made, but he did not elaborate on the details.

Earlier, Salman said he had reported Sulaiman to create a deterrent effect and to remind the public not to be reckless in using social media.

We object to the post uploaded on [Sulaiman's alleged] Facebook account that has insulted the vice president, he said as quoted by tempo.co. (aly)
Croatia Airlines has been forced to significantly reduce frequencies across its network with many European countries renewing entry restrictions, crushing travel demand. During the first half of the month, the carrier will be operating the majority of its international network with frequencies ranging from one to three flights per week, with a few exceptions. Services planned to operate just once per week include those from Zagreb to Rome (via Dubrovnik), Paris, Sarajevo and Skopje. Flights from the Croatian capital to London Heathrow and Munich will be maintained twice per week, Brussels three weekly, Zurich four times per week and Frankfurt 22 times per week. As previously reported , operations between Zagreb and Dublin have been cancelled, while the planned resumption of its Barcelona route has been pushed back until next summer season. Furthermore, the airline has suspended its flights from Zagreb to Vienna until October 22.





The airline will continue to maintain nonstop flights from Split to several international destinations including Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Rome and Vienna, with frequencies ranging between one and three weekly services. Frankfurt and Munich are the exception as they will run four and seven times per week respectively. The carrier will also maintain operations from Dubrovnik to Frankfurt and Rome once per week, as well as a one weekly flight from Rijeka to the Bavarian capital. Croatia Airlines will continue to run an extensive domestic network throughout the month with high-frequency routes including Zagreb - Split, Zagreb - Dubrovnik and Zagreb - Zadar.





Percentage of cancelled Croatia Airlines flights on weekly basis

Commenting on its operations, Croatia Airlines CEO, Jasmin Bajic, said, Weve had an unusual summer, and, by all accounts, autumn too will be challenging. Our company has suffered the fate of the aviation industry as a whole, but also shares the common hope well soon return to regular, everyday flights, the way they were before the coronavirus outbreak. However, the carrier is certain it will weather the ongoing crisis. The company noted, Croatia Airlines is a carrier in its prime. Having recently had its 31st birthday, were experienced enough for what lies ahead, aware enough of the demands that the present moment places before us, mindful enough of our responsibility towards passengers and the more than 1.000 employees and members of their families. Commenting on its operations, Croatia Airlines CEO, Jasmin Bajic, said, Weve had an unusual summer, and, by all accounts, autumn too will be challenging. Our company has suffered the fate of the aviation industry as a whole, but also shares the common hope well soon return to regular, everyday flights, the way they were before the coronavirus outbreak. However, the carrier is certain it will weather the ongoing crisis. The company noted, Croatia Airlines is a carrier in its prime. Having recently had its 31st birthday, were experienced enough for what lies ahead, aware enough of the demands that the present moment places before us, mindful enough of our responsibility towards passengers and the more than 1.000 employees and members of their families.

Photo by Alan Grubelic
LONDON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the effective expropriation of a legally obtained asset by the Georgian National Communication Commission (GNCC), NEQSOL Holding have today announced that their dispute with the Government of Georgia - over the ultimate beneficial ownership of Georgian internet provider Caucasus Online - will be referred to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The decision comes after the GNCC announced the appointment of a special manager to the board of Caucasus Online, who has been given the authority, amongst other things, to dismiss directors, members of the supervisory board and employees of the company, and suspend or restrict its right to distribute.

This appointment effectively amounts to a hostile take-over of the Georgian internet provider by the government, to reverse the deal that had seen the former receive substantial foreign investment by Azerbaijani holding NEQSOL.

This is not the first instance of discriminatory and punitive actions by the Georgian government towards foreign investors. Their repeated breaches of international obligations protecting foreign investment and private enterprise prompt serious concerns about the business environment in Georgia; and about the transparency of the government led by Georgian Dream Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia on the eve of parliamentary elections.

There is no doubt that these recurring disputes have deterred foreign investment in Georgia, and will continue to do so, threatening both the country's and the region's economic prospects.

In the face of such hostile actions by the Government of Georgia - in its efforts to takeover Caucasus Online and in its refusal to engage with foreign investors - NEQSOL Holding was left with no choice but to refer the case to an international arbitration tribunal.

Head of Strategy at NEQSOL Holding Teymur Taghiyev said:

"It is with deep regret that we have been left with no choice but to refer our dispute with the Government of Georgia to international arbitration.

We are confident that the change in beneficial ownership of Caucasus Online complied with all legal and procedural obligations under applicable Georgian law, and have made every effort to explore all possible resolutions to this dispute.

However, the Government of Georgia has inexplicably remained determined to undermine the development of Caucasus Online and of NEQSOL's wider digital infrastructure project, in which it planned to integrate the Georgian provider.

The Government of Georgia has for months been breaching its obligation to treat NEQSOL's investment fairly and equitably, and has now expropriated it, despite our commitment to Caucasus Online, and to the development of Georgia as a digital hub in the Caucasus.

We hoped to resolve this issue through negotiations, but our efforts have been in vain. We always remain open to a mutually agreeable solution to this dispute, not only for the benefit of our investment, but for the benefit of the Georgian people.

However, we cannot stand idly by whilst the Government of Georgia undermines and disregards international standards and the rule of law in its dealings with investors."

NOTES TO EDITORS

- In 2019, NEQSOL Holding acquired beneficial ownership of shares in Nelgado Ltd., the parent company of Caucasus Online.

- With the purchase, NEQSOL Holding planned to integrate Caucasus Online's existing assets - a 1,200 km submarine fibre optic cable - into an international fibre optic transit infrastructure system it is developing, connecting Central Asia to Europe, thereby positioning Georgia as a regional digital hub with tremendous benefits to the Georgian economy.

- The acquisition was cleared with the full knowledge of the Government of Georgia. Throughout acquisition proceedings, both the Government and the Prime Minister were kept informed of the intended change in beneficial ownership, both by NEQSOL Holding and by the seller, Mr. Khvicha Makatsaria.

- Despite this, on 17 October 2019, the Georgian National Communication Commission (GNCC) stated that Caucasus Online had breached Articles 26 and 27 of the Communications Law for failing to seek the GNCC's prior approval on the change in its shareholders.

- This was the first step in what has widely been perceived as the expropriation and forced re-nationalisation of Caucasus Online by the Georgian Government.

- In July 2020, the GNCC informed all Georgian telecoms operators that they would be amending the Communications Law, in what is believed to be an effort to facilitate the hostile takeover of Caucasus Online.

- The amendments, passed unconstitutionally, introduced additional regulations for the telecoms sector and gave unprecedented powers to the regulatory body - including the authority, amongst other things, to dismiss directors, members of the supervisory board and employees of a telecoms company and suspend or restrict the latter's right to distribute.

- In a public hearing held on 1 October 2020, the GNCC decided to appoint such a manager to Caucasus Online.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left Rome on Friday after a three-day visit during which he met Italian and Vatican officials. Pompeo and his staff departed on a flight from the airport of Ciampino, in southern Rome, in the early morning.

A journalist at the airport called out to him asking when was the last time he had been with President Donald Trump, who announced late Friday he tested positive to Covid-19. Pompeo did not answer.

(Image Credits: AP)

This story has not been edited by www.republicworld.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
T ower Hamlets in east London has advised residents to avoid mixing with other households unless absolutely necessary.

The borough's mayor, John Biggs, told residents it was a "matter of life and death" as he urged people to "do everything in your power to protect each other".

In an open letter, he wrote: Despite a fall over the summer, we are seeing cases of Covid-19 rise and we need to accept that the situation is once again worsening. Tower Hamlets now has one of the highest levels of Covid-19 in London.

As a second rise in infections hits us, we must take all steps necessary to limit the spread of the virus and protect those most at risk.

He added: With this in mind, now is the time we must take further action. I am clear that the current national rules are a minimum and my advice to you all is to do everything in your power to protect each other. Our individual actions have consequences for us all.

The next few months will be very challenging. Without a vaccine or more effective treatment, our primary weapon against the virus is responsible behaviour.

"Measures to curb the spread of the virus will only work if people follow them.

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The mayor said the virus has a higher impact on older and medically vulnerable residents, as well on some Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.

"The diverse communities in Tower Hamlets are what make our borough great, but it also means Tower Hamlets is at greater risk," he said.

"Every single one of us must play our part to protect our communities and stop the virus spreading."

Rachel Blake, the deputy mayor of Tower Hamlets told the Evening Standard: "We have to be really open with people about how serious this is.

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

"We've got the fourth highest infection rate in London. Our evidence shows that households visits is a high area of transmission and that is why we are asking people to avoid visiting other households."

Ms Blake insisted that Tower Hamlets was not yet entering a local lockdown, but that the mayor's request was the council's way of "being open with people about how the virus is being spread" in Tower Hamlets.

In Tower Hamlets, 143 new infections were recorded in the seven days up to September 28, the equivalent of 44 cases per 100,000 people.

This was up from a rate of 38.5 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to September 21.

According to Government data there have now 1,438 cases of Covid-19 recorded in Tower Hamlets from March 4 to September 26.

Local lockdowns at 'tipping point' says mayor of Greater Manchester

It comes as a row grows over whether all eight million Londoners should be subjected to the same rules if social lockdown restrictions prove necessary.

Health chiefs and Mayor Sadiq Khan agreed yesterday that the virus should be fought as one city even though some areas have much lower infection levels than others.

But MPs in boroughs with low levels say that will mean millions of Londoners being subject to more curbs than necessary  and could prolong the duration of everybodys lockdown.

Harrow East MP Bob Blackman said a London-wide approach could means restrictions lasting for longer because different areas may peak at different times.

What happens if east London has a high rate of infections one month, and west London has a high rate a month later when east London has come down? If you lock down the entire capital then it could stay locked down for longer than necessary.

It does not make sense to treat a city of eight million people as being all the same, or to restrict the movements of all of those people. It should be done on a borough by borough basis, otherwise people are naturally going to say hang on, this does not make sense.

A spokesman for Mayor Sadiq Khan said there was expert agreement that the virus should be tackled on a London-wide basis.

The Mayor, London leaders and public health advisers met yesterday afternoon to discuss the spread of coronavirus in the capital, with some boroughs seeing much higher incidences of the virus than others.

The meeting agreed to monitor the situation very closely over the coming days and to continue to move forward and tackle the virus together as one city.
LEXINGTON, Ky., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV), a leading worldwide supplier of premium branded lubricants and automotive services, announced today that it plans to acquire 33 quick-lube service centers in Idaho, Missouri and Kansas in two separate acquisitions.

The company has signed a definitive agreement with L & F Enterprises (doing business as Einstein's Oilery) to purchase 12 quick-lube service centers in the Boise, Idaho area. The Einstein's Oilery service centers will be rebranded as Valvoline Instant Oil ChangeSM (VIOC) after closing of the transaction. The company has also signed a definitive agreement with its franchisee Westco Lube, Inc. to acquire 21 existing VIOC service centers in the greater Kansas City area and in Topeka and Wichita, Kansas. Both acquisitions are expected to close in early Q1 FY21. Financial terms for the acquisitions were not disclosed.

"The strength and resiliency of our stay-in-the-car service model and the tremendous efforts of our teams and franchisees have enabled Valvoline to continue to grow its quick-lube business even during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Sam Mitchell, CEO, Valvoline. "Einstein's Oilery has a tradition of exemplary customer service. Likewise, Westco Lube has established Valvoline as a trusted name in the communities it serves. Both acquisitions fit within our expanding network of company-owned service centers and we are proud to welcome them into the Valvoline corporate family."

"When we were ready, we knew we wanted to sell to a company that was best-in-class," said Michael Meuret, co-owner of Einstein's Oilery. "After getting to know the Valvoline leadership team and culture, we knew we could trust Valvoline to continue our commitment to our employees and dedication to the customers we have proudly served since 2007."

"When we look to add service centers into our network, it's important to us that they share Valvoline's commitment to its people, safety and world-class customer service," said Tony Puckett, senior vice president and president, Valvoline Quick Lubes. "We're happy that the Einstein's Oilery team has entrusted us to expand on their great work, and we look forward to welcoming their team and guests and the opportunity to further grow the Valvoline service center network in Idaho."

"I joined Valvoline as a franchisee more than 20 years ago, and looking back now, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Valvoline has been a tremendous business partner," said Dick Jacobsen, owner, Westco Lube, Inc. "I am thankful for the Westco team and their many contributions. They are truly like family to my wife, Julie, and me. Knowing the Valvoline culture as well as I do, I couldn't be more comfortable with this transition and confident in the future success of all involved."

"Our relationships with our team members and franchisees define our culture," Puckett said. "Dick Jacobsen set the standard for our core values through his remarkable leadership and personal commitment to our collective success. I am excited about the opportunity to extend our service center growth further in the Missouri and Kansas markets."

About Valvoline

Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV) is a leading worldwide marketer and supplier of premium branded lubricants and automotive services, with sales in more than 140 countries. Established in 1866, the company's heritage spans more than 150 years, during which time it has developed powerful brand recognition across multiple product and service channels. Valvoline ranks as the No. 3 passenger car motor oil brand in the DIY market by volume. It operates and franchises approximately 1,400 quick-lube locations, and it is the No. 2 chain by number of stores in the United States under the Valvoline Instant Oil ChangeSM brand and the No. 3 chain by number of stores in Canada under the Valvoline Great Canadian Oil Change brand. It also markets Valvoline lubricants and automotive chemicals, including the Valvoline High Mileage with MaxLife technology motor oil for engines over 75,000 miles; Valvoline Advanced Full Synthetic motor oil; Valvoline Premium Blue heavy-duty motor oil; Valvoline Multi-Vehicle Automatic Transmission Fluid; and Zerex antifreeze. To learn more, visit www.valvoline.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, including estimates, projections, statements related to Valvoline's business plans and operating results are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Valvoline has identified some of these forward-looking statements with words such as "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "estimates," "is likely," "predicts," "projects," "forecasts," "may," "will," "should" and "intends" and the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on Valvoline's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions as of the date such statements are made and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of Valvoline's most recently filed periodic reports on Forms 10-K and Forms 10-Q, which are available on Valvoline's website at http://investors.valvoline.com/sec-filings or on the SEC's website at http://sec.gov. Valvoline assumes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future.

TM Trademark, Valvoline or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries

SM Service mark, Valvoline or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Sean T. Cornett

Sr. Director, Investor Relations

+1 (859) 357-2798

[email protected]

Michele Gaither Sparks

Sr. Director, Corporate Communications

+1 (859) 230-8079

[email protected]

SOURCE Valvoline Inc.

Related Links

http://www.valvoline.com


In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, President Donald Trump observed that the world is engaged in a great global struggle: We have waged a fierce battle against the invisible enemy  the China virus  which has claimed countless lives in 188 countries.

The United States has launched an aggressive mobilization to fight COVID-19, including producing a surplus of ventilators that could be shared with nations in need and effective therapeutics. Even now, three vaccines are in the final stage of clinical trials, said President Trump:

We will distribute a vaccine, we will defeat the virus, we will end the pandemic, and we will enter a new era of unprecedented prosperity, cooperation, and peace.

At the same time, Chinas leaders must be held accountable for their actions, declared President Trump:

In the earliest days of the virus, China locked down travel domestically while allowing flights to leave China and infect the world. . . .The Chinese government and the World Health Organization, which is virtually controlled by China, falsely declared that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

President Trump also urged the United Nations to hold China accountable for its environmental abuses:

Every year, China dumps millions and millions of tons of plastic and trash into the oceans, overfishes other countries waters, destroys vast swaths of coral reef, and emits more toxic mercury into the atmosphere than any country anywhere in the world. Chinas carbon emissions are nearly twice what the U.S. has, and its rising fast.

If the United Nations is to be an effective organization, said President Trump, it must focus on the real problems of the world. This includes terrorism, the oppression of women, forced labor, drug trafficking, human and sex trafficking, religious persecution, and the ethnic cleansing of religious minorities.
LONDON  President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19, prompting many to seek clarity on the procedures in place to deal with a variety of scenarios. The president, 74, who is regularly tested for Covid-19, said via Twitter that he and the first lady would now begin their quarantine and recovery process. The development, which comes late in the run-up to the Nov. 3 presidential election, has raised the possibility that others at the highest levels of U.S. government could have been exposed to the virus in recent days and may need to quarantine as well. White House physician Dr. Sean Conley said in a letter that the president and first lady were "both well at this time, and they planned to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence." Conley said the White House medical team would maintain a "vigilant watch," before adding he expected Trump "to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering." "I will keep you updated on any future developments," Conley said.

What happens now?

In a research note published earlier this year, John Hudak, a senior fellow and deputy director at the Brookings Institution's Center for Effective Public Management, outlined some of the scenarios designed to "protect the president, the integrity of the office, and the continuity of government" in the event of a positive Covid-19 test.

Hudak said the test, in itself, would not be cause for emergency action. Instead, Trump "would likely be able to continue his everyday activities and manage the office either undisturbed or with mild challenges." It was expected to create some challenges for those around him, however. "The need for 24-hour Secret Service protection could put agents at risk for contracting it. But given modern technology, the president could quarantine and have remote or sufficiently distanced contact from most, if not all, aides, including the individual(s) who would be involved in the presidential daily brief," Hudak said.

US Vice President Mike Pence speaks on Covid-19 testing in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on September 28, 2020. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

Trump's positive coronavirus test does mean other precautions need to be taken, with those in the line of succession likely to be in limited contact with the president to reduce their chances of contracting the virus. Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Grassley (who serves in the role of president pro tempore, making him third in line for the presidency), and members of the cabinet will all need to be isolated from the president, Hudak explained. The diagnosis will mean it is important for the president "to continue to communicate with the American public, especially if he is mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic," Hudak said. "Seeing the president on camera can restore faith in his wellness, calm nervous Americans, stabilize stock markets and project to the world that the president remains well enough to execute the office."

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during her weekly news conference in the Capitol in Washington on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. Caroline Brehman | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been sharply criticized, although the president frequently hails his own management of the health crisis. At a campaign rally in Ohio late last month, Trump claimed the disease "affects virtually nobody." To date, the U.S. has recorded more than 7.27 million cases of the coronavirus, with 207,808 related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Could the election be delayed?

Earlier this year, New York University law professor Richard Pildes told the Washington Post that the Republican National Committee would take control should Trump be unable to continue as the Republican nominee ahead of the election. Pildes said in the event of the death of either Trump or Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, the respective parties would need to replace the name of their candidate on each state's ballot with the name of a new candidate.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks as he participates in the first 2020 presidential campaign debate with U.S. President Donald Trump held on the campus of the Cleveland Clinic at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, September 29, 2020. Brian Snyder | Reuters

However, with millions of votes already cast, others are unsure whether this solution is practical in a contested race. At this point, "it seems impossible for candidates to come up with a new name to replace a name on the ballot without starting the whole election process over, which is not possible in the 30+ days before election day," Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, said in a blog post published Thursday. Hasen said he found it "hard to believe" Congress would pass a bill to delay the presidential election, although conceded it was a possibility if one of the presidential candidates were to become incapacitated. "While things are not certain, what's most likely (is) that the election would take place on time with the deceased or incapacitated candidate's name on the ballot, and then there would be a question if legislatures would allow presidential electors of each state to vote for someone other than the deceased candidate," Hasen said.

Contingencies for a seriously ill president

In testing positive for the coronavirus, Trump follows in the footsteps of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 56, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, 65. Johnson, in particular, became seriously unwell after testing positive for the virus. The U.K.'s ruling Conservative Party leader spent three nights in intensive care in April, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab deputizing for the prime minister at the time.

US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during a diner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 7, 2020. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
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Early on the morning of September 11th, 2017, already a solemn day for our nation, a light went out due to suicide. Our father, Patrick Vezeau, was an oral surgeon near the end of an accomplished career who quietly fought a lifelong battle with depression. He embodied the heights of achievement in his profession, and, in death, we have come to realize he exemplified the common risk of suicide among health care providers. Our nuclear family consists of a physician, a veterinary student, a PhD student, an oral pathologist, and our father, an oral surgeon. His death created a space for conversations recognizing depression as a common trait in our family, often exacerbated by our health care-driven careers.

Suicide impacts clinicians, including physicians, dentists, pharmacists, and veterinarians, disproportionately to other Americans. Though they are less likely to die of heart disease and cancer, the leading causes of death in the U.S., physicians, and veterinarians are more than twice as likely to die from suicide. Additionally, they are more likely to complete suicide due to greater knowledge of and access to lethal means. Approximately 30 U.S. health care workers are lost to suicide every week. Similarly, health care trainees are known to have higher rates of suicide than their peers. Shared sources of stress across these professions include increasing levels of student debt, estrangement from family and loved ones due to work commitment, perceived risks of seeking treatment, more time spent on paperwork, and less time spent with patients. This leads to burnout and compassion fatigue. The intensity of the COVID-19 response has only exacerbated these risks.

Our father was devoted to his family and also tirelessly involved with organized oral surgery. He was part-owner in a private practice for a large underserved area, was the lead board examiner for his specialty on several occasions, helped to restructure these examinations, and still managed to regularly publish scholarly literature. As an oral surgeon, his responsibilities were not those of a dentist alone, but also of a surgeon, anesthesiologist, and internist. As we have reflected on our father, we have come to understand he worked at the nexus of some of the most at-risk clinical professions. As such, we believe he represents the intersection of suicide risk across these health care domains.

Acknowledging the shared burden on diverse groups of health care providers will galvanize further interprofessional wellbeing efforts. Already, there is a dedicated network of mental health professionals working at the intersection of many health care fields. A number of states have integrated wellness programs that serve struggling health professionals from many fields. There is even a group in the National Academies of Medicine, the Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, devoted to advancing mental health for many types of clinicians.

To raise awareness of this shared struggle, one of the authors of this piece worked with a medical student and the office of Iowas Governor, Kim Reynolds, to declare September 19th as Clinician Suicide Prevention Day. This day was launched with the vision of uniting health care providers around an issue deeply impacting their interlinked professions. Those observing the day held a 30-second moment of silence  for the 30 U.S. health care workers lost to suicide every week. If two students can do this in Iowa, surely it can be replicated elsewhere.

Now, the onus is on us to carry this movement forward outside of our institutional and professional silos; moving forward together as a combined front. We must recognize, encourage, and reinforce ongoing efforts to further integrate clinician mental health and support systems. Those interested in connecting this web of wellbeing and suicide prevention can start by reaching out to friends, opening inter-organizational dialogue, sharing best practices, or joining existing efforts in these areas. In our shared journey of suicide prevention, this must only be the beginning.

Anne Lyle Vezeau de Geus is a family medicine resident. Neil Vezeau is a veterinary student. Grace Vezeau is a graduate student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Data from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) indicates some 13,282 persons in 150 communities in the Central Gonja and North Gonja districts in the Savannah Region have been affected by recent floods in the region.

According to NADMO, the victims lost a total of 10,948 acres of farmlands.

3,082 persons were also displaced, according to NADMO.

The report indicates that, although some of the displaced persons are living with family members and friends, most of them are living in three camps set up by the NADMO.

Nearly a thousand people are currently being housed at the Wasipe Senior High school in Daboya, a school expected to reopen next week.

Stakeholders within the region believe that the persons displaced in Central Gonja are probably living the worst conditions as they are living in makeshift tents in nearby communities.

At Samkpakura in the Central Gonja District, over a hundred people from Kpageso community have been living in tents for the past two weeks.

Charity Kobina and Benedicta Sanahe who live at the camp at Samkpakura told Citi News that all their belongings and homes have been submerged.

All our properties, our farms, and homes have been destroyed. We have no relatives in this area to go to thats why we are here.

We need items and food to survive because all our things have been destroyed, but what we really need are home at higher grounds to live. All these are happening to us because we live closer to the water, a victim told Citi News.

Mohammed Tohir, the Savannah Regional Coordinator of NADMO told Citi News that the organization is partnering with other organisations to extend support to the affected victims.

He said, we have just concluded a joint field evaluation with World Food Programme, UNICEF, Care International, and the Red Cross and are hopeful they will come on board soon to support.

Recent floods and the opening of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso adversely affected a number of communities in northern Ghana.

---citinewsroom
Hong Kong's leader Thursday hailed her city's "return to peace" after China imposed a security law that helped quash last year's huge democracy movement, as thousands of police were on standby to stamp out any mass rallies during National Day celebrations.

The People's Republic of China celebrates its founding on October 1 with a holiday and carefully choreographed festivities.

But in Hong Kong, it has become a day of grievance for those worried about authoritarian Beijing's intensifying crackdown against its opponents.

Protest has been effectively outlawed for most of this year and Beijing also imposed a strict national security law on the semi-autonomous business hub in June.

On Thursday morning, helicopters flying the Chinese and Hong Kong flags buzzed the harbour as Chief Executive Carrie Lam and senior mainland officials attended a ceremony ringed by police and security barriers.

"Over the past few months, an indisputable fact in front of everyone is that our society has returned to peace," Lam said in her speech.

"Our country's national security has been protected in Hong Kong and our citizens can again exercise their rights and liberties in accordance with laws," she added.

Last year, the 70th anniversary brought fierce clashes between protesters and police during seven months of democracy demonstrations that upended Hong Kong.

Authorities denied permission for a protest march this year, citing security concerns and an anti-coronavirus ban on more than four people gathering in public.

Lam's administration also suspended September local elections for a year -- one of the few occasions when Hong Kongers get to cast a vote -- citing the risk posed by the pandemic.

A police source told AFP that 6,000 police officers had been drafted in to stop any protests -- double the contingency usually placed on reserve.

- 'End one-party rule' -

Throughout the morning, groups of prominent democracy activists held small rallies -- deliberately keeping to no more than four people.

Story continues

One group chanted "End one-party rule" and burned a protest petition, surrounded by some 40 police officers.

Others gathered in groups of four outside the heavily guarded Liaison Office that represents Beijing's government in the city.

"In today's China, those who pursue freedom are suppressed while those doing the suppressing are in power," activist Lee Cheuk-yan told reporters.

A day earlier, office director Luo Huining gave a speech calling for more patriotism to be instilled in Hong Kong, saying pride for the motherland was a duty, not a choice.

Police maintained a high presence throughout the city on Thursday, conducting multiple stop and searches.

Five people were also arrested earlier in the week on suspicion of inciting others to protest and commit violent acts.

The rejected rally application was made by the Civil Human Rights Front -- a coalition that organised record-breaking marches last year.

The group is calling for the release of 12 Hong Kongers in mainland Chinese custody who were caught last month trying to flee protest-linked prosecutions.

Those 12 were trying to escape to Taiwan by boat but were intercepted by the Chinese coastguard and have since disappeared into the mainland's opaque judicial system.

For most of this year, protest has been all but impossible in Hong Kong.

On the rare occasions when demonstrations do bubble up, riot police and plain-clothes officers move quickly -- on one day last month nearly 300 people were arrested.

Over the last 16 months, more than 10,000 have been detained during protests and the courts are crammed with trials. Many prominent protest leaders are being prosecuted.

- New security law -

The crackdown has been aided by the national security law that China imposed on the city in June.

The broadly worded legislation criminalised expressing certain opinions, deepened the political chill seeping into the city and allowed mainland China's security apparatus to operate openly in Hong Kong for the first time.

The security law has led to sanctions by the United States and condemnation by many other Western nations.

But Beijing and Hong Kong authorities say it is needed to restore stability.

"The national security law will absolutely stop rabble-rousers in Hong Kong from having their capricious way," the Liaison Office, which represents China's government in Hong Kong, said this week.

yan-jta/jah
By PTI

DUBAI: The UAE's iconic skyscraper Burj Khalifa on Friday lit up with a colourful LED show in the honour of Mahatma Gandhi's journey, celebrating his 151st birth anniversary.

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world"- Immortal words spoken by #MahatmaGandhi, the father of the entire nation of India.

"#BurjKhalifa lights up with an LED show to honour his journey and to celebrate his 151st birthday," the official Twitter handle of Burj Khalifa said in a tweet.

Earlier, the Indian Consulate in Dubai presented its finale event from The Address Downtown, from the backdrop of iconic Burj Khalifa on the occasion of culmination of the celebrations of 150th years of Gandhi's birth.

The Indian mission said in a tweet that the programme started with Gandhiji's popular bhajan Vaishnava Jana".

Be the change that you wish to see in the world- Immortal words spoken by #MahatmaGandhi, the father of the entire nation of India. #BurjKhalifa lights up with an LED show to honour his journey and to celebrate his 151st birthday. pic.twitter.com/AAgcDztrb8  Burj Khalifa (@BurjKhalifa) October 2, 2020

Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 is also marked as the International Day of Non-Violence on account of the non-violent strategy adopted by Gandhi to help India secure independence from the British colonial rule in 1947.

The consulate officials are also holding a cleanliness drive in the premises of the mission.

With the support from the Indian community, 151 trees will be planted on different sites to mark the occasion.

On the 149th birthday of Gandhi in 2018, a special LED show on Burj Khalifa marked the commencement of the two-year line up of programmes of 150 years of Gandhian ideologies in the UAE.

The special LED show was jointly organised by the Indian Embassy, Abu Dhabi, Indian Consulate in Dubai and Emaar Properties.

Images of Gandhi and the Indian flag were beamed on the world's largest LED-illuminated facade on the same day in 2019.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks at the National Mall in Washington on Sept. 22, 2020. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

Pelosi to Airlines: Hold off on Furloughs and Firings

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi(D-Calif.) sent a message to Airline CEOs asking them to hold off on furloughs and firings, confirming that a relief bill for airline workers is forthcoming.

The massive furloughs and firings of Americas airline workers jeopardize the livelihoods of tens of thousands and threaten to accelerate the devastating economic crisis facing our nation. Today, I am calling upon the airlines to delay their devastating job cuts as relief for airline workers is being advanced in Congress, Pelosi wrote in a statement Friday.

She said that Congress is on the verge of passing paycheck relief for the airlines.

We will enact Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Peter DeFazios bipartisan bill or a make the relief part of a comprehensive negotiated relief bill, extending the Payroll Support Program (PPP) for another six months, Pelosi wrote.

As relief for airline workers is being advanced, the airline industry must delay these devastating job cuts, she added.

Thursday, Reuters reported that American Airlines is moving ahead with 19,000 employee furloughs, which Chief Executive Doug Parker confirmed in a memo to employees on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in an effort to avoid Thursdays announcement Airline CEOs met with the White House in mid-Sept. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker spoke to reporters outside the White House after meeting with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to try to extend the PPP.

Without action, theyre going to be furloughed on Oct. 1, and its not fair. Its not fair to them, its not fair to our country. Theres enormous bipartisan support for an extension of the payroll support program, which would keep those people employed, Parker said.

So, were just here to plead with everyone involved to get to a COVID relief package before Oct. 1. On Oct. 1 those people are furloughed, and we just want to make people understand that without that, thats absolutely whats going to happen, and small communities will lose service.

The first round of PPP for millions including the airline workers, ran out Oct. 1.

United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby and Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Gary Kelly also attended the meeting. Kelly told reporters the initial payroll support plan didnt go far enough and long enough.

The CEOs were asking for another $25 billion to provide sufficient relief for the coming six months.

Meadows told reporters that if Speaker Pelosi was willing to move a bill to keep people from being laid off in the airline industry thats stand-alone, that the president would certainly support it.
Madrid was set to go into partial lockdown on Friday night, complying with an order from the Spanish government but determined to fight it in the courts.

Measures that ban all nonessential trips in and out of the capital and nine of its suburbs covering around 4.8 million people were set to be enacted at 10 p.m. (2000 GMT).

Spain's Socialist prime minister, Pedro Snchez, said there was a critical need to take the new steps in the European hot spot.

But officials in Madrid, whose regional government is managed by the conservative Popular Party, balked at the order, saying it would bring chaos and further the sap the economy's health. It filed an appeal at the National Court against the new measures.

Under the national order, travelers will need to prove that they are going to or from work, to see a doctor or to conduct essential administrative or legal errands in order to leave Madrid or the town where they live.

Restaurants must close at 11 p.m. and shops at 10 p.m., with a restriction of 50% capacity.

Similar measures already apply to more than 1 million residents, and the region has limited social gatherings to a maximum of six people.

Madrid's legal challenge argues that restrictions violate regional self-rule laws.

Madrid is leading the resurgence of the virus in Spain, which has Europe's highest cumulative caseload 770,000 since the onset of the pandemic.

The capital had a two-week infection rate of 695 cases per 100,000 residents Thursday, more than twice the national average of 274 cases and seven times the European average, which stood at 94 per 100,000 residents last week, according to the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

But Madrid regional health chief Enrique Ruiz Escudero said the situation is improving, with the infection rate falling to 607 per 100,000 Friday and four consecutive days of fewer people being admitted to hospitals.

The numbers give us reason for hope, he told a news conference.

Madrid legal chief Enrique Lpez said authorities will comply with the order, deploying more police, even though they believe it will create chaos.

He estimated the order will cost the Madrid economy 8 billion euros ($9.4 billion). He did not provide details of how the amount was calculated.

Prime Minister Pedro Snchez has refused to budge, saying Friday that Madrid faces a moment of extraordinary seriousness. The situation in Madrid is critical because (the region) has 33% of (COVID-19) deaths, he said in Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit.

Some passengers at Madrid's main train station, Atocha, welcomed the new steps.

I think they need to take strong measures to control the epidemic here in Madrid, said Vicente Mira, a 62-year-old retired teacher.

Communication manager Pablo Torres, 36, wanted officials to get tough, saying the current measures are nonsense and a sticking plaster on something that is a lot bigger problem. It wasn't immediately clear how the new measures might affect the few tourists arriving in Madrid, but regional authorities can't ban foreign visitors unless closes its borders.

(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.)
WARSAW, Poland - Experts from Europes leading human rights body said Friday that they have held constructive talks with Polish authorities on a landmark treaty aimed at protecting women and girls from violence.

A Council of Europe delegation visited Warsaw this week, some two months after Polands justice minister threatened to pull out of the treaty, known as the Istanbul Convention.

It was not clear if the productive nature of the talks described by the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence indicated that Polands conservative government intends to remain in the treaty.

The Istanbul Convention, named for the city where it was opened for signatures in 2011, is aimed at protecting women from domestic abuse and other violence. It has become a target for populist and nationalist governments that argue the accord poses a threat to traditional families due to its premise that violence against women is often rooted in cultural traditions.

Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobros threat in July to quit the treaty triggered street protests by women and exacerbated ideological tensions between liberals and conservatives that were already at a boiling point over LGBT rights.

Polands potential withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention also carried the risk of widening the rift between Poland and some of its European Union partners, which are concerned about a perceived illiberal drift under the nationalist government.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki asked the nations constitutional Tribunal to study the convention to give its opinion on the pact.

The experts visit this week was planned before Ziobro threatened to pull out. They are assessing whether Polands police, judiciary, shelters for domestic abuse victims and other relevant institutions work effectively to ensure the protection of women.

One area they said needs work is the rape laws, a problem highlighted when a Polish court last month ruled that a 14-year-old girl had not been raped because she didnt scream.

The move by the justice minister and Morawieckis counter-move came amid a power struggle between the two for future control of Polands political right as the 71-year-old ruling party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, plans to step back from frontline politics.

Simona Lanzoni, the second vice-president of GREVIO, which is the acronym for the group of Council of Europe experts that monitors compliance with the treaty, said the treaty does not seek to dictate whether to be traditional or modern.

The question of the Istanbul Convention is to protect women inside a family or outside a family from violence, Lanzoni said at a news conference in Warsaw.

The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental body that includes 47 nations. To date 34 countries have ratified the Istanbul Convention.
A gang who sold fake 50 notes to London criminals for as little as 12.50 have been jailed for 23 years.

Ringleader Darren Watkinsons syndicate were even selling their forged 20 notes for 3.50.

City of London Police were tipped off about Watkinson, 45, William Fullerton, 38, Adam Abela, 34, and his 68-year-old father Mario Abela in November 2017.

The gang also had access to cocaine, guns and amphetamines, Inner London Crown Court heard.

During the police investigation, some members conspired to supply a firearm to the criminal underworld.

The gang also had access to cocaine, guns and amphetamines, Inner London Crown Court heard

Barry Latif, 44, was arrested by armed officers in possession of a revolver.

Detective Constable Sally Prinsloo, who led the investigation said: City of London Police is committed to disrupting serious and organised crime.

We worked tirelessly to dismantle this crime group who were selling counterfeit money, drugs and firearms with input from our partners at the Bank of England and the National Crime Agencys Counterfeit Currency Unit.

Thanks to this proactive action, a number of dangerous criminals have been jailed, and a large amount of counterfeit notes and a firearm have been taken out of circulation, making our streets and local communities safer.

Watkinson, of London Road, Essex, was sentenced to 10 years and four months after admitting conspiracy, possessing a weapon and having controlled Class A drugs.

Fullerton, of Ballinger Point, Bromley, was jailed for nine years and six months, while Adam Abela, of Langland Close, Essex, was sentenced to four years. Mario, of the same address, was sentencted to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years.

In a separate trial, Latif, of Chapman Street, Tower Hamlets, was found guilty of conspiracy to sell or transfer a firearm and being in possession of a bladed weapon. He had pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in a public place.

Latif was sentenced to seven years along with his co-defendants on September 25.
MOSCOW - Teresa Koeppel, now global director for communication, marketing and engagement for Compass Group at Google, has been appointed chief marketing officer for the University of Idaho, as well as executive director of University Communications and Marketing.

Koeppel, whose career has focused on engaging audiences in organizations missions and impact, will join the university Monday, Nov. 9, 2020.

Koeppel will apply her experience to building upon the University of Idahos reputation and further strengthening its relationship with students and prospective students, parents, communities across Idaho and other important internal and external audiences.

I am excited about joining the University of Idaho  one of the nations highly recognized public research universities  and about the opportunities and challenges ahead, Koeppel said. I look forward to partnering with the colleges, centers and sites across the state to continue communicating the universitys incredible impact on individuals and communities throughout Idaho and beyond.

Previously, Koeppel spent many years in higher education helping audiences understand the impact of and engaging them in institutional growth and success. At the University of Washington (UW), she served as the director for campaign communication and as the senior director for communications and engagement at UW Medicine Advancement. At the Washington State University Foundation, she served as director for marketing and communication.

Teresa brings experience working at other higher education institutions and, especially, at another land-grant university, University of Idaho President Scott Green said. Her varied experiences, including in the private sector, broaden her approach and will allow her to effectively partner with departments across the University of Idaho to build on the excellence of our communications and marketing efforts.
The vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris next week will go on as scheduled after President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday.

An official with the Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed that no changes are anticipated to the Wednesday night debate in Salt Lake City. Both Pence and Harris underwent tests for the coronavirus on Friday and tested negative.

Pences physician said in a memo that the vice president was not considered a close contact of anyone infected with COVID-19 and was not required to quarantine.

Vice President Mike Pence remains in good health and is free to go about his normal activities, said Navy Lt. Commander Dr. Jesse Schonau in a statement.
Kolkata, Oct 2 : Another West Bengal Minister Tapas Roy has tested positive for Covid-19, state Health department's sources said on Friday.

Roy underwent a Covid test on Thursday.

At around 10 p.m. on Thursday, a senior official of the state health department informed the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs that Roy's Covid report was positive.

Roy was immediately admitted to Kolkata Medical College and Hospital at around 11.30 p.m. on Thursday. The Minister is asymptotic and keeping stable so far, family sources said.

Roy's wife and daughter went for self isolation after he was tested positive.

Earlier, West Bengal Sunderbans Affairs Minister Manturam Pakhira had also been tested positive for Covid-19 last week.

Several state Cabinet members, including Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari , Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose and Food Minister Jyotipri yo Mullick and Animal Husbandry Minister Swapan Debnath had tested Covid-19 positive in the past. They have all recovered now.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Trinamool Congresss (TMC) Rajya Sabha (RS) member Derek OBrien was pushed to the ground by a Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police team on Friday afternoon when he and some other lawmakers had tried to visit the Bul Gargi village in Hathras, where a 19-year-old Dalit woman had died earlier this week after she was allegedly gang-raped by four upper caste men in September.

Kakoli Ghosh-Dastidar, who represents the Barasat constituency in the Lok Sabha and was a part of the TMC delegation, was also allegedly roughed up by the UP Police.

Also read: AAP leaders to protest at India Gate today

The TMC delegation had landed on the outskirts of the womans village early Friday afternoon.

But they were asked to stay behind the barricades, which have put up around one and a half kilometres from the village, which has emerged as the centre of a political controversy since the crime was first reported.

OBrien had urged the UP Police Ghosh-Dastidar be allowed to visit the aggrieved family members of the deceased woman. However, the police turned down his request.

I am sick and tired of UP, OBrien said.

The arrogant police are mishandling the situation. They have pushed Ghosh-Dastidar to the ground for trying to comfort the victims family members. We wanted to offer solidarity to her family, he said.

It is an atrocity against Dalits and women by the government. Cant I even meet and comfort the family members of the victim? asked Ghosh-Dastidar.

The situation between the media persons and the UP Police outside the village remained tense for the second consecutive day amid allegations that the womans family members were being harassed.

A youth, who claimed to be a cousin of the victim, emerged from the village to the main road on Friday morning and alleged that the police had taken control over her family members.

He alleged that the victims father had passed out on Wednesday after the police thrashed him with a stick.

They have seized our mobile phones, he alleged.

He further alleged the police had occupied the womans house and personnel were deployed in the streets of the village and even on adjoining farm lands. He said that he managed to sneak out of the village through a secret route.

He ran as soon as the police came towards him while he was speaking to the media persons.

The police personnel, who was deployed at the spot, did not respond to the allegations. However, they conceded that restrictions were imposed in the entry and exit to the village.

Vikrant Vir, superintendent of police, Hathras, was unavailable for his comment.
Abu Dhabis wealth fund Mubadala buys a 1.4% stake in Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited for Rs. 6,247.5 crores. This is the second significant investment by Mubadala in Reliance Industries Subsidiary. They have invested Rs.9,093.60 crore for a 1.85% equity stake in Jio Platforms early this year. The investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs4.285 lakh crore.

RIL in its Regulatory filing stated, Mubadalas investment will translate into a 1.40% equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis. Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of RRVL, is Indias fastest-growing and the most profitable retail business serves across the nation through its 12000 stores. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries commented, I am happy to welcome Mubadala as a valued investor in Reliance Retail Ventures. We value the partnership with a knowledge-rich organization like Mubadala and acknowledge their confidence in our mission to strengthen the core of Indias retail sector- the millions of small retailers, merchants and shopkeepers- through the power of technology. Mubadalas investment and guidance will be an invaluable support in this journey.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Managing Director and group CEO, Mubadala Investment Company, said that they are pleased to deepen the relationship with Reliance Industries by investment in RRVL. He added Mubadala group will continue supporting RRVL in the visionary transformation of Indian Retail sector. Previously, Silver Lake, KKR India and General Atlantic have invested in RRVL. Since September Reliance has raised Rs.24,847.5 crore by selling its 5.65% stake. Reliance has been offering all of its 13 investors around the globe who had poured Rs.1.52 lakh crore in Jio Platform a chance to explore investing in the retail unit.



Walmart to have a stake in Tata's worth $25 Billion

PM Modi's letter to all village heads of the country, appeal to make 'Jal Jeevan Mission' a mass movement

Indian Government allows Bangladesh to export onions
Jacques-Louis Monod, a French composer, conductor and pianist known for his fierce dedication to new music, died on Sept. 21 in Toulouse, France. He was 93.

His death was confirmed by his friend and former student, Harry Bott.

Mr. Monod, who made his career primarily in New York and London, was a champion of the Second Viennese School, the group of 20th-century composers comprising the titan Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) and his acolytes. As both pianist and conductor, Mr. Monod helped their work  difficult, complex, often atonal  gain wider currency outside the European continent.

He was known in particular for helping to introduce American audiences to the music of Anton Webern (1883-1945). A disciple of Schoenberg, Webern was among the most ardent adherents to his mentors 12-tone, or serial, compositional technique. Under its dictates, a musical work must deploy all 12 notes of the chromatic scale in precisely equal proportion throughout, foregoing the stable tonal center that had underpinned Western music for centuries.

As a composer, Mr. Monod hewed to serialism while retaining, in the view of most critics, a healthy measure of lyricism. He was especially esteemed for his vocal music, much of it performed in collaboration with the American soprano Bethany Beardslee, to whom he was married for a time in the 1950s.
US President Donald Trump, pictured at the White House on October 1, 2020, has been berated for playing down the pandemic threat

The Covid-19 crisis had already haunted Donald Trump's first term in office, as his scatter-gun response placed him increasingly at odds with the science. Then he tested positive, a month before the election.

The US president announced in the small hours of Friday that he and First Lady Melania Trump would be going into quarantine after they were both found to have contracted the novel coronavirus.

Hours earlier, Hope Hicks, one of his top aides who is also close to the first lady, had received news of her own positive test.

The coronavirus, which emerged late last year in China and early in 2020 in the US, has upended Donald Trump's presidency, casting him into a dangerous moment in his battle with Democratic rival Joe Biden over who will occupy the White House for the coming four years.

- Downplaying the threat -

Trump first mentioned the new coronavirus in public on January 22, 2020, during a visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China. It's going to be just fine," he said at the time.

The populist Republican has consistently downplayed the threat posed by the pandemic, saying on numerous occasions that the virus would disappear as the weather warmed.

"Typically, it will go away in April," he said in February.

According to The Washington Post, which analyzed the president's statements, he said 34 times that the virus would disappear on its own.

Instead, the outbreak spread rapidly, forcing state governors and local authorities across the country to impose lockdowns.

By mid-March, the US had ground to a standstill, with schools closed and links to the rest of the world drastically reduced.

The economy soon collapsed and with it one of the president's main arguments for re-election.

During his first debate Tuesday with Biden, Trump maintained that he had built "the greatest economy in history." But he was harking back to pre-pandemic conditions that no longer hold.

- Disorganized management -

Since the beginning of the crisis, Trump has promoted unproven remedies for Covid-19 such as hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug which doctors say has proved ineffective against the coronavirus.

He backed the drug with the full force of the federal government, announcing on March 28 from the White House that it had been given emergency authorization.

Trump even announced at the end of May that he himself had embarked on a preventive course of the therapeutic.

"I'm taking it, hydroxychloroquine, right now, yeah. Couple of weeks ago, I started taking it," he declared.

The Food and Drug Administration's emergency approval would later be revoked, but Trump remained an ardent promoter of the treatment on the world stage.

The episode was emblematic of the president's confused messaging on the outbreak.

Amid the repeated promises of a vaccine, the far-fetched remedies and the rush to reopen the economy, Trump left the actual management of the fightback to individual states, dooming any chance of a unified national response.

In early April, health authorities recommended that masks be worn in an announcement at the White House that Trump immediately undercut by insisting he himself would not wear one.

The billionaire former reality TV star has even gone as far as piling mockery on those who do follow the advice to mask up, including Biden.

Trump didn't appear masked in public until July 11 but has rarely been seen covered up since.

He has been excoriated for his stewardship of a crisis that has so far led to almost 208,000 deaths in the United States, among 7.2 million registered cases.

The US -- home to less than five percent of the world's population -- is the worst-hit nation, accounting for more than 20 percent of the global death toll.

- Contrast with Biden -

In stark contrast to the cautious, by-the-book Biden, who has spent much of the election season at home in Delaware, Trump decided to continue actively campaigning and has basked in large crowds of devoted supporters in a series of rallies.

He was in Minnesota on Wednesday. An event scheduled for Friday in Florida has been canceled, and appearances scheduled for Saturday in battleground state of Wisconsin look likely to fall be the wayside, too.

Tests carried out regularly on the 74-year-old president had so far come back negative.

Until his late night tweet when he made the announcement that stunned the world: "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV )Summit on Friday through video conferencing. The summit aims to bring overseas and resident Indian researchers and academics under a common platform.

Earlier, Modi had tweeted, Looking forward to tomorrows Vaibhav Summit, which brings together scientists as well as researchers from the Indian diaspora. Do join at 6:30 PM on 2nd October.

A statement from the Prime Ministers Office read, The aim of the summit is to bring Indian-origin luminaries in academic institutes and research organisations across the world and resident counterparts on a single platform to debate upon collaboration mechanisms to strengthen academic and science and technology (S&T) base in India for global development.

The summit is being organised by around 200 academic institutes and S&T departments, led by the Principal scientific advisor, Government of India.

Here are the top quotes from the Prime Ministers address:

1. The Prime Minister began his virtual address by thanking the scientists who offered their suggestions & ideas today. You have brilliantly covered many subjects. Most of you highlighted the importance of greater collaboration b/w Indian academic & research ecosystem with their foreign counterparts, he added.

2. The Prime Minister said that the government has taken numerous measures to boost scientific research and innovation adding that science is at the core of the efforts towards socio-economic change.

3. In 2014, four new vaccines were introduced in our immunisation programme. This included an indigenously developed Rotavirus vaccine. We encourage indigenous vaccine production, PM Modi said.

4.The Prime Minister highlighted, We want top-class scientific research to help our farmers. Our agricultural research scientists have worked hard to ramp up our production of pulses. Today, we import only a very small fraction of our pulses. Our food-grain production has hit a record high.

5. The need of the hour is to ensure more youngsters develop an interest in science, Modi said adding that one must get well-versed with the science of history and the history of science.

6. Indias call of an Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India), includes a vision of global welfare. To realise this dream, I invite you all & seek your support, PM highlighted.

7. Modi also said that VAIBHAV summit celebrates science and innovation from India and the world. He called it a it a true sangam or confluence of great minds.

(With ANI inputs)

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In the beginning there was breakdancing. The young Stefan Richter, growing up in communist East Germany, relished the images and beats of early hip-hop culture, as well as the music of Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. There was a Harry Belafonte movie about the gritty lives of African Americans in the south Bronx called Beat Street that the authorities allowed to air on television, probably because it showed not all streets of the west were paved with gold. He says he must have watched that movie about 30 times.

During the first protests for freedom in 1989 in his hometown of Chemnitz, which was then called Karl Marx Stadt, the teenage Richter joined in. He wasnt quite sure what the protests were all about. But the 15-year-old loved showing off his moves  weaving, bobbing and popping to the delight of the protesters.

Then the East German riot police arrived, first circling the crowd before beating up men and women holding candles, and tossing them into police trucks.

For me, it broke the picture of the state I was living in, says Richter, better known now as Trettmann, one of Germanys most famous rap stars. I started to go to the protests every day. Even when mama said no. Within months, the regime propped up by the Stasi and the Soviet Union collapsed, giving new life to the dream of reuniting the two Germanys.

But reunification turned instead into what is now considered a swallowing up by West Germany of the East. Not only the communist system, but all the Easts innovations and creativity, their experiences, unique interactions with popular culture and the world were discounted, ignored and even derided.

Thirty years after reunification, there continues to be a stark distinction between those rooted in the East and West of Germany.

East Germans feel like second-class citizens, says Trettman, who lives in Leipzig and continues to visit his hometown as well as other eastern cities and towns.

Three decades later, Germans are reassessing reunification. On the surface, the economies of east and west appear to be slowly evening out. But experts say thats largely because of a migration toward the west and several large cities of the east that has depopulated huge stretches of eastern Germany.

Voting patterns show a stark shift toward the extreme right by many in eastern provinces. Surveys show twice as much support for far-right parties in east as in the west. Anti-immigrant fervor and violence is more prevalent. Whats more troubling is that many of the people who are voting for the far-right are young people born after reunification.

Salaries in the eastern states of Germany lag behind those in the west by roughly 17 per cent. Surveys show differing views about the future of Germany, with a majority of easterners pessimistic about the future while the majority of westerners are optimistic.

Even the landscape of the capital Berlin  once a divided city  shows glaring differences. A colourful west is filled with organic grocery stories and vegan restaurants. A drab east is dotted with dreary Soviet-era apartment blocks.

Rapper Trettmann performs on stage (DPA/AFP via Getty Images)

Theres still a lot of difference, says Marcus Boeick, assistant professor for contemporary history at Bochum University. Theres an insecurity about the rise of right-wing populism. Many East Germans until today have a very sceptical approach to western liberal democracy.

In his song, Grauer Beton, or Grey Concrete, Trettmann  who frequently raps about life in eastern Germany and performed last year at the celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall  describes the dreariness and hopelessness of the former communist cities. Behind almost every door, there is an abyss, he raps. Just so you know where I'm from.

The continuing divide between east and west is rooted in decisions made during reunification, which ended up not only wiping out the savings of many East Germans, but also discounting their experiences and lives. Among the most bitter legacies of that time was the Treuhandanstalt, the notorious governmental organisation formed to dispose of eastern assets. For East Germans, it became a symbol of unaccountable power and rampant neoliberal capitalism.

The westerners had a sense of being winners of history, says Boeick, who himself grew up in eastern Germany and has conducted numerous surveys among those from the east. The Cold War seemed to be won. Everything connected to socialism seemed worthless. So the west just tried to transfer their know-how, money and elites to the east.

In retrospect, there were benefits to the socialist model that was dismantled. There was no fear about survival. There was a sense of collective solidarity. Today, amid worldwide discussions about the efficacy of global capitalism and the increasing disparities between rich and poor, some aspects of the East German system appear appealing. Eastern Germans share nostalgic tales of what one scholar called a communitarian, less cutthroat nation.

There was scarcity in socialism; maybe you had to wait 15 years for a car or a telephone,says Trettmann. But everybody could afford the basics. Bread was cheap. Milk was cheap. There was kindergarten. There was good schooling.

East Germans themselves were partially to blame for what many consider a botched transition, which has had major and possibly avoidable repercussions. They themselves wanted quick access to what they considered a superior system, without considering problems like unemployment, poverty, and social ills. They were in for a rude awakening. After some months east Germans realised factories will be closed, many people will be unemployed, and they have to adapt to this new culture, says Boeick. It was like the poor cousin moving into the rich mans house.

Visitors next to a remaining section of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery (EPA)

Trettmann blames conservative east Germans for bullying a protest movement led by young idealists. They were older people and they wanted to go to Kurfurstendamm now, he says, referring to the famous western Berlin shopping district. This was the biggest mistake they made.

Amid the economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus, tensions between east Germans and newly arrived immigrants are especially worrisome. Far-right extremists and immigrants have clashed violently in Trettmans hometown of Chemnitz, where the anti-foreigner Alternative for Germany (AfD) has performed well in elections. Those living in the east are 14 per cent more likely to have an unfavorable view of Muslims and more than twice as likely to have an unfavorable view of Jews than those in the west, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.

For Trettmann, its no mystery why there is friction. The refugees are coming. They have swagger. They are happy. They are coming from war zones. They are having a good time, he says. Theyre in the tram fresh from the barber shop, with new clothes. They all have new mobile phones. The old people are afraid of them. The East German people dont like that. They are jealous. Its some simple s**t. Theyre jealous.

A major problem is that east German cosmopolitans have mostly left their hometowns for the west or even abroad. Boeick says that out of 60 people who graduated from his school in the tiny town of Hettstedt, perhaps five remain. Some moved to Leipzig. A few are working as educators in wealthy Bavaria. One is in San Francisco.

Many East Germans of my generation left as there were no prospects, he says. My generation and the generation before my era  these are the people missing now. They all left the rural part of eastern Germany. This is a grave problem. They lack an indigenous elite. Growing up in Chemnitz during the Communist era, Trettmann says he was inspired by his older brother, a rebellious hippie who listened to Jimi Hendrix and was regularly in trouble with the Stasi. The problem now in those little eastern towns, he says, is that all those people with long hair left.
In September, the midsize MDX took the crown by a whisker (4,920 to 4,664 RDX units), while the companys new compact offering rules after the first nine months (37,788 to 32,553 examples). Of course, the RDX has the advantage of being Acuras first core model that was updated to the companys latest version of the Precision Crafted Performance DNA.But fret not, because mid-size crossover shoppers are in for a treat from the brand, as the MDXs all-new generation has just been teased. We are not exactly getting the new model, though, because the October 14th reveal will bring forth a prototype preview.According to the company , its MDX is not only a top selling model for the brand, but also Americas all-time best-selling 3-row luxury SUV (if we are to believe Autodata Corporations Motor Intelligence web analytics system). So, a major redesign is certainly an ambitious goal.Thus, the fourth generation MDX should bring with it new levels of Acura design, performance, technology and craftsmanship, assuming the mantle as the brands new flagship model. As far as we can tell from the neon-looking CGI teaser, the recent version is taking cues from the RDX and is enhancing them to better suit the proportions of the larger crossover.Acura accompanied the first teaser image with a short video, and the footage is banking on the connection between the new bodys sharp lines, the front Jewel Eye LED headlights, and the rear Chicane LED taillights.Without providing any specifics, Acura is also hinting that customers will be receiving a sportier MDX, with increased length and width, but also with a shorter roofline.
Lucknow, Oct 2 : Samajwadi Party (SP) workers on Friday faced a lathicharge when they were marching towards the Gandhi statue here to observe a silent 'satyagraha' in protest against the alleged deterioration in law and order, rising crime against women, unemployment and the recent farm and labour laws.

A heavy deployment of police was made around the GPO Park here, where the statue of Mahatma Gandhi is installed and the entire area was sealed off since the morning.

Barricades were put up around the Samajwadi Party office on Vikramaditya Marg to prevent party leaders from moving out.

Heated exchanges were witnessed at several places and over 20 party legislators, including Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary and party state president Naresh Uttam were taken into custody.

Party MLC Anurag Bhadauria was hit by lathis, and he showed laceration marks on his back to media persons.

"It was to be a silent 'satyagraha' against the 'suppression and oppression' of farmers, youth, common man, and the opposition by the BJP and the state government in Uttar Pradesh. The ruling party has taken away our right to protest peacefully and this is the worst thing that can happen in a democracy," Ram Govind Chaudhary told IANS.

Samajwadi Party state president Naresh Uttam Patel said, "The government has conspired to make the farmers mortgage their farms and become labourers in their own fields. In the name of an open market, the big traders and business houses will get the freedom to buy farmers' produce at lower rates. The Mandi system is being abolished. The government cannot stop us from protesting on these issues."
The family members of the ten accused were present with Chowdhury at the press meet.

Berhampore/Kolkata: West Bengal minister of state (independent charge), mass education extension and library services, Siddiqullah Chowdhury, on Thursday called the ten persons who were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently from West Bengal and Kerala for their alleged link to a terror module of Al-Qaeda "innocent."

Clearly defending them, he also demanded their release and blamed the NIA and the Narendra Modi government of defaming the Muslim community in the name of terrorism. Chowdhury, who is also the state president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, is the first member of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Cabinet to react against the central agency's crackdown.

At Berhampore district library office in Murshidabad, he claimed, "As far as my knowledge goes, all those who were arrested on the allegations of being terrorists of Al-Qaeda from Domkal and other places are totally innocent. Some of them had only read religious preacher Zakir Naik's books and pamphlets which is not a sin at all."

The family members of the ten accused were present with Chowdhury at the press meet. Expressing his solidarity with them, he alleged that the BJP government at the Centre and the NIA have been trying hard to tarnish the image of Muslims by linking them to terrorism.

"It is a dangerous ploy of central government," he added. Chowdhury even demanded that all those, who were arrested by the NIA, be freed because local clerics at the mosques have given them their certificate of innocence.
Shock. Anger. Sympathy. Disbelief. And a good-sized helping of schadenfreude.

The reaction to President Trumps positive coronavirus test result spanned the spectrum of emotions among Bay Area residents Friday as they grappled with the reality that the leader of the free world was headed to the hospital, a month before election day.

For some, the confirmation that Trump contracted the virus was the final reason to pull their support from the president. For others, it was a predictable comeuppance for a science-defying leader who has mocked the wearing of masks and downplayed the threat and endurance of the virus.

Its also not clear whether this will help or hinder his campaign. Some suggested he could recover and return to the campaign trail with an invincibility argument while others said this doomed his re-election.

The news also raised questions about the impact on Trumps health  his staff says he has mild to moderate symptoms, and Friday afternoon announced his transfer to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., out of an abundance of caution.

Yvonne Maldonado, a Stanford infectious disease expert, said the leader of a major country, with all the scientific knowledge available, should never have contracted COVID-19 and that Trump did is mind-boggling and scary.

The thing Im worried about is that hes not going to get that sick and then hes going to make fun of it and say, Look at me, Im strong, I got better, when in fact over 200,000 people have died, Maldonado said. Hes going to say its not true.

The chairman of San Francisco Republican Party had a similar, but more optimistic take.

If the president recovers, voters will have sympathy for him, said John Dennis, whose father died of COVID-19 in May.

If Trump recovers, I can already see the headline at the rallies: I kicked coronavirus ass, said Dennis. It will make Trump seem like he is invincible. It will give the campaign victory momentum, which is what you need to get out the vote.

Trumps diagnosis already appeared to be influencing the electorate.

John Bauters, an Emeryville city councilman, got a group text from his longtime conservative parents Friday morning. They had decided to vote early, rather than their usual election day trip.

They had voted for Biden. You mean, you didnt vote for Trump? Bauters brother responded.

Are you kidding? their mom said. He got himself COVID.

Bauters said they have been working their way left on the political spectrum since they voted for Trump four years ago, but were still undecided before the presidents positive test.

The diagnosis was the nail in the coffin for mom, he said. She calls him COVID man now.

Pranav Jandhyala, a self-described moderate Republican, wished Trump a speedy recovery, while noting that if the president can get the virus, given his security and testing, then anyone could get it.

He clearly did something wrong in terms of not following CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) procedures and telling other people to do the same, said the recent UC Berkeley graduate. It might shift the conversation around coronavirus in the debate. I think its a huge credibility issue.

Jandhyala, who founded Bridge USA with the aim of reducing political divisiveness, voted for Trump in 2016 but wont this time.

His response to coronavirus is one pretty big thing, he said.

For those who didnt need swaying, Trumps positive test  and the positive tests of other members of his inner circle, including his wife, Melania, and close aide Hope Hicks  offered Bay Area residents a big I-told-you-so moment.

Chris Reynolds, 65, was walking down San Franciscos Harrison Street on the way to the corner store for a pack of cigarettes Friday morning, not long after he heard.

His first response: Well, sort of ... I was happy, he said. Trump took COVID so lightly.

Nearby, Noa Bar, 32, was inflating her bike tires, struggling with a morality question.

Im fighting against my inclination to wish his COVID is really bad, and everybody I know is saying something like that, she said. This is a human who has done so much harm to so many.

Judy Rosenfeld, 70, walking home from a San Francisco post office, was similarly conflicted.

I dont wish it on anybody but ..., she said, her sentence unfinished. I cant say Im glad but Im not sad.

Masks  or the presidents refusal to wear them  was among the hottest topics raised by locals.

The first thing I said was, Oh, God, it actually happened. Hes been so careless, said Tara Rose, 31, who works in a San Francisco clothing store.

It does validate some of what Im feeling, she said. Watching Trump go maskless and hold big rallies, it definitely makes you feel like youre going insane.

Barbara Emery, 69, of Martinez, was having coffee outside a Walnut Creek Starbucks with her husband, Fred, who said it was foolish for the president to not wear or promote masks and declared his diagnosis poetic justice.

Trump supporter Arne Simonsen said he wears a mask, but its something each individual should decide  even the president.

It was his personal choice and turns out not to be such a good choice after all, the Antioch city clerk and former city councilman said by phone from Scotland. It comes down to individual responsibility without being told by government as to how we should protect ourselves from COVID-19.

Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, however, lambasted the president for that personal choice.

From day one of this pandemic, the president has disregarded the data, science and facts. This has created a public health catastrophe in this country that we know is preventable. And now it has caught up with him, he said. This virus isnt political, wearing a mask shouldnt be political. And now, outrageously, I am reading that White House staff are still not wearing masks.

It remained unclear how many more people in contact with the president would also test positive, including Biden. In some ways, the diagnosis felt momentous, with a potentially lasting impact on the national approach to the pandemic, the election and beyond.

It also felt like just another curveball in an unsettling year.

We are in crazy times, said Todd Sedgwick, 48, a foreman at a sprinkler company, working in San Francisco on Friday.

Tom Mizell, 34, an electrical engineer on his way to his Mission office, was pensive about the news, calling the timing of the diagnosis terribly convenient for Trump.

It will make it hard for Biden and others to attack him, like youre punching down, he said. Plus, Trump gets to avoid a second debate, and all the news about his taxes and poor debate performance will get pushed away.

It will be interesting, he said, to see who else gets sick and what all of this will mean for the future of the country.

But mostly, Mizell said, he just wants the election to be over.

Its been a long enough year, he said. Ive gotten enough gray hairs.

Staff writers Erin Allday and Matthias Gaffni contributed to this story.

Jill Tucker, Nora Mishanec, Ryan Kost and Peter Hartlaub are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com nora.michanec@sfchronicle.com Rkost@sfchronicle.com phartlaub@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker @nmichanec @ryankost @peterhartlaub
July 16, 2020

Gov. Greg Abbotts approval ratings were in a tailspin as he prepared for the states GOP convention. Far-right members of his own party were calling for censure because of his mandatory mask order. One of his key medical advisers appeared on CNN days before and conceded Texas had reopened too early during the pandemic.

Houstons mayor, a Democrat, had foiled plans to bring thousands of party faithful together at the indoor George R. Brown Convention Center. What would have been a pro-Trump stump speech delivered live with applause breaks was instead a prerecorded video of Abbott in the studio of his campaign office. His tone was defensive and, at times, defiant.

I know that many of you do not like the mask requirement, he said. I dont either. It is the last thing that I wanted to do.

He paused. Actually, the next to last. The last thing that any of us want is to lock Texas back down again.

But each day, the facts get worse.

About this series When a novel virus first surfaced in China last year, it followed a path that public health experts in the U.S. had feared for years. But as COVID-19 quickly spread, it became clear that officials at all levels of government were unprepared  despite the warnings. This series documents how public officials failed to protect the public, leaving millions of people exposed. Part 1: Exposed: Nearly 3 dozen local COVID patients said their symptoms preceded the regions first confirmed case, data shows Part 2: Warned: Officials at all levels of government knew they were unprepared for a pandemic and cut funding anyway.

Some cities in Texas, particularly along the border, were running out of ICU beds. Deaths had almost quadrupled, he said, reaching more than 100 in a single day during the previous week.

But for weeks, Texans had been dying in far larger numbers than the state was reporting, a Houston Chronicle investigation shows.

From the start of the pandemic, state officials have used flawed data to guide their decision making and inform the public, sparking confusion and forcing the government to make several embarrassing changes to statistics published on its main COVID-19 website.

Case counts fluctuated wildly as the Texas Department of State Health Services added in thousands of backlogged test results. The DSHS public dashboard showed plenty of available ICU beds while doctors in South Texas were forced to decide whom to send home to die. Critically, the state relied on an antiquated reporting system for its daily death updates, giving a distorted picture at the pandemics peak of how many people were dying.

Despite having a new vital statistics tracking system that cost more than $17 million, the state relied on local health departments to report new deaths publicly on their websites and then tallied them for the daily statewide total. DSHS officials occasionally spot-checked the public tally against the internal database of death certificates, said Chris Van Deusen, a DSHS spokesman.

But by late July, when the state announced plans to publicly report deaths based on death certificate data, the difference between the two numbers was 407.

Van Deusen said the undercount was unintentional. Theres always a lag in reporting deaths, he said.

Yet Texas lagged far behind other hard-hit states in publicly reporting deaths, a Chronicle analysis using U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. In late July, the number of people who had died but were not yet counted in the state tally peaked at 3,811  an undercount of roughly 44 percent.

In terms of raw numbers, Texas gap was at least two to three times greater than Californias or New Yorks during their deadliest days. Florida and Washington, also hit hard, peaked with gaps of about 20 percent. New York, the early epicenter of COVID-19 in the U.S., topped out at around 1,700, about 6 percent.

While Texas reporting lagged, Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick repeatedly said it had one of the lowest death rates in the country. They cited the states death rate to justify reopening, noting Texas had lost fewer lives per capita than California and New York.

But by mid-July, Texas already had surpassed California in the number of deaths per capita, death certificate data shows. Now, Texas has a higher rate than 33 states  nearly 53 deaths per 100,000 people.

Abbotts spokesman, John Wittman, said the governor insisted DSHS switch reporting methods within days of learning of the undercount.

As with any novel virus, data is changed and updated constantly, Wittman said. From the beginning, the governor has demanded that DSHS report the most accurate data to the public in the timeliest manner. The death certificate reporting was no different.

Patricks senior adviser, Sherry Sylvester, said in September that Texas continues to have a relatively low mortality rate that is still far lower than New Yorks.

While politicians boasted about the death rate, newspaper obituaries chronicled the lives lost to COVID-19. A family from Alice lost a mother, a father and two sisters. Couples married for decades died days apart.

The family of Juan Carlos Charlie Rangel of Brownsville paid by the word to blame President Donald Trump and Abbott for his death.

They downplayed the virus, his family wrote, and littered the airways with mixed messages on how to remain safe.

Rangel, 60, an avid fisherman and family man, died on July 12, a day when the state reported a death toll of 3,192.

According to state death certificates, by that date the toll was actually 5,180.

March 16, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 0

Actual number of deaths: 2

The news conference was supposed to start 20 minutes earlier, but Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was still in the hallway of the countys emergency management center, huddled with her staff and Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Lawyers for the County Attorneys Office had worked through the weekend on an order to close bars and limit restaurants to takeout only. The draft was hours from being final. But bars were already prepping for St. Patricks Day. Hidalgo felt she had to act immediately.

The 29-year-old Democrat, the countys top elected official, had worried as the city kicked off its largest event, the Houston Live-stock Show and Rodeo, just as the first cases in Texas were announced.

Initially, she relied on public health advisers. Cases linked to international travel could be contained, Hidalgo was told. The trouble was community spread, when the cases cant be traced, they said. But Hidalgo was concerned that tests were scarce; would they detect it in time? She decided that advice made no sense.

She and Turner let the rodeo go on for days, until the first confirmed case of community spread.

She should have been more aggressive, she thought: It was a lesson.

Hidalgo headed into the news conference. She and Turner announced the orders, effective in both the city and county.

We are at a pivotal point right now, she said. The decisions you make to go out in groups or to stay home will very much determine whether people live or die.

March 19, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 3

Actual number of deaths: 6

Gap in death statistics: 3 (50 percent lower)

Abbott adjusted his microphone and fiddled with a stack of papers. He was about to announce the states first public health disaster declaration since 1901 and issue an executive order that would effectively shut down most businesses in Texas.

The second-term governor was in a political Catch-22.

If he issued a broad executive order forcing millions of Texans to stay at home, he would hear about it from conservatives who didnt like the government telling them what to do, even in a pandemic. But if he didnt take strong steps quickly, he risked more spread, more deaths, and potentially an even longer recovery.

Abbott had issued a disaster declaration the week before, but the situation had gotten worse. The number of coronavirus cases in the state had increased more than 300 percent  to more than 140, Abbott said.

The state had reported its first death, a 97-year-old Matagorda County mortician, as well as its second and third. And the virus had been detected in 20 more counties, bringing the total to 27.

Following the orders in Houston and Dallas, Abbott limited bars and restaurants to takeout only and forced gyms to close. He encouraged businesses to allow employees to work from home and limited social gatherings to 10 or fewer people. He closed school buildings and barred visits to nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

The shutdown was scheduled to last two weeks.

March 24, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 9

Actual number of deaths: 21

Gap in death statistics: 12 (57 percent lower)

Cynthia Reyes couldnt stop thinking about Dan Patricks interview on Fox News.

In a segment with Tucker Carlson that had gone viral overnight, the lieutenant governor suggested elderly Texans like him would be willing to risk death if it meant reopening the economy.

Those of us who are 70 plus, well take care of ourselves, Patrick told Carlson. But dont sacrifice the country.

Easy for him and his elderly friends to say, Reyes thought. They dont have to leave home for work every day like my husband.

Judge Hidalgo and Mayor Turner had issued stay-at-home orders that morning. People were supposed to leave only for critical errands, such as food or supplies  or to work essential jobs.

Cynthia, a mother of three from Pasadena, was able to work from home. But her husband, Mike, was an electrician who worked in tight spaces. It made social distancing nearly impossible.

Later that day, his company notified staff via text of its first potential COVID-19 case at its project site in Nederland, where Mike worked.

April 20, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 495

Actual number of deaths: 669

Gap in death statistics: 174 (26 percent lower)

Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, studied the states COVID-19 data.

The bow-tie wearing, bespectacled 62-year-old researcher was well-known nationally in scientific circles. For decades, hed been friends with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. This spring, Fauci became the face of Americas COVID-19 response. But to Hotez, he was just Tony.

Hotez saw little cause for alarm in Houstons COVID-19 data. Hospitalizations hovered around 1,400 or 1,500. Only about 500 deaths were reported so far. The stay-at-home order appeared to be working, he thought.

But there were testing shortages, with long lines at Houstons free drive-up testing sites. Hotez worried that the testing shortage might make it hard to accurately measure the spread.

After years of serving on the governors infectious disease task force, Hotez had heard warnings that the states public health system could be overwhelmed in a pandemic. He hated seeing what happened in New York.

The latest modeling for Texas gave him hope. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation initially forecast 6,000 deaths in Texas by Aug. 4. The IHME had just knocked that estimate down to 1,000.

If social distancing continued through June 1, the state could prevent a resurgence of the virus, he told a Chronicle reporter.

Its too soon to start high-fiving each other, he warned. Things could still go wrong.

April 25, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 623

Actual number of deaths: 845

Gap in death statistics: 222 (26 percent lower)

Shelley Luther, a Dallas hair salon owner, stood before a crowd of 250 mostly maskless protesters outside Frisco City Hall and held up a folded piece of paper.

Tear it up! They screamed.

Keep it open! They cheered.

The 46-year-old unfolded the cease-and-desist letter from a Dallas County judge that demanded she close her salon, as required by state and local orders.

And then she ripped it to pieces.

Im not anyone special; I just know that I have rights, Luther told the crowd, gathered to protest Texas stay-at-home orders. You have rights to feed your children and make income. And anyone that wants to take away those rights is wrong.

The protest was organized by Open Texas, a group that opposes the stay-at-home orders and urges the governor to reopen businesses, schools and churches.

They werent the only ones upset. A group of activists, including Steve Hotze, had sued Abbott over his executive order, arguing it infringed on their constitutional rights.

Unemployment claims topped 1 million. Businesses across the state were shutting down. Food bank lines swelled as more and more Texans watched their paychecks disappear.

April 27, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 663

Actual number of deaths: 900

Gap in death statistics: 237 (26 percent lower)

After almost 40 days of semi-lockdown, Abbott, maskless, announced that Texas was ready to reopen. The COVID-19 infection rate had been declining for the past 17 days, he said.

The lives saved are priceless, but the price has been steep, he said. Many have lost jobs, others have lost businesses  many are struggling to pay their bills.

He was going against the guidelines outlined by one of his key advisers, Dr. Mark McClellan. McClellan, a physician and economist, is the director of Duke Universitys Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy. A native Texan, McClellan also steered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration through the SARS outbreak as its commissioner.

He co-authored a paper published in March that garnered national media attention and was designed to serve as a road map for states to reopen safely. There had to be robust testing, sufficient contact tracing and ample hospital bed space, the authors wrote.

McClellan said he had been consistent in conversations with Abbott and other members of the states reopening strike force, appointed by the governor, that the state wasnt meeting all of the key criteria yet.

The state had tested only about 1 percent of the population since the start of the pandemic. Many county health departments were already overwhelmed and unable to properly trace the source of new infections. Hospitals in some parts of the state were in danger of being overwhelmed.

Abbott said the decision was data-driven and guided by medical experts. Were not just going to open up and hope for the best, he said.

Abbotts order allowed retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls to reopen May 1 at 25 percent capacity. Museums and libraries also could reopen at that level, but their hands-on exhibits had to remain closed.

Abbott pledged to ramp up testing to 25,000 daily and mobilize more contact tracers statewide.

Occupancy levels could increase and more businesses could reopen May 18 if the spread of COVID-19 could be contained.

We are Texans, he said. We got this.

At Transtar, the Harris County emergency operations center in Houston, Hidalgos staff watched Abbott and groaned.

They knew the announcement was coming but didnt know the details. One employee crouched over a computer screen, reloading a state webpage in the hopes of downloading the governors order the moment it was posted.

Hidalgo walked briskly to her office in the emergency center. Shed come under fire for erecting a $17 million tent hospital at NRG Park that ultimately wasnt needed. Then she issued a mandatory mask order punishable by a fine of up to $1,000. Other counties had issued similar orders, but Patrick said she had abused her authority. U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw said the punishments would lead to government tyranny.

Hidalgos team had told the governor the mask order was coming as a courtesy; she said Abbotts staff raised no objections. In conversations with people close to the governor, Hidalgo was told again and again that his reopening plan would leave her mask order untouched.

But she worried that he would cave to pressure from the far-right wing of his party. It would lead to more mixed messages, she feared.

Crossing the Transtar lobby, she caught a glimpse of Abbotts news conference. A reporter asked the governor about her mask order.

We strongly recommend that everyone wear a mask, Abbott replied. But by my executive order, it supersedes local orders with regard to any type of fine or penalty for anyone not wearing a mask.

Ugh, she muttered. Of course.

May 7, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 973

Actual number of deaths: 1,228

Gap in death statistics: 255 (21 percent lower)

Sitting next to the governor in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump praised Abbott for his coronavirus response and his reopening efforts.

Abbott is a very special governor. Hes done a phenomenal job.

Abbott touted Texas death rate as one of the lowest in the country.

Back in Dallas, a crowd cheered as Shelley Luther walked out of jail.

Two days earlier, Luther had been found in contempt of court and sentenced to seven days in jail after opening her salon in violation of state and local orders. She also was fined $7,000. At the D.C. news conference, Abbott said jailing her was wrong.

We should not be taking these people and putting them behind bars, he said.

His new executive order, he added, would ensure no one was jailed for violating an executive order.

So that includes the woman that Ive been reading about with the beauty salon? Trump asked.

Shes free today, Abbott said.

Good, Trump said.

June 21, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 2,182

Actual number of deaths: 2,605

Gap in death statistics: 423 (16 percent lower)

Charlie Rangel and his wife, Rosa, rose before dawn.

The free coronavirus testing site near their home in Brownsville opened at 9 a.m., but their daughter, Rosemary, saw what was happening at free testing sites near her home in San Antonio.

She urged them to get there early.

But when the couple arrived, the pavement already warmed by rising temperatures, they were sent home.

There were only 140 tests available that day, workers said. People had been camping out all night.

Rosemary felt sick.

Her parents, who had been married more than three decades, lived with their 34-year old daughter, Yesenia. A week ago, Yesenia had attended a dinner party with friends.

She wore a mask but took it off to eat.

The fever and chills started within days. She tested positive.

Rosemary scheduled tests for her parents two days later.

Then she started reaching out to local officials. The mayor. City Council members. The public health department. Anyone she could think of.

Did they know people were camping out overnight to get tested? What were they going to do about it?

For what felt like the hundredth time since the pandemic infiltrated the U.S., she begged her parents to stay with her in San Antonio.

They refused to leave home.

June 23, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 2,220

Actual number of deaths: 2,689

Gap in death statistics: 469 (17 percent lower)

Mike and Cynthia Reyes did their best to isolate, but Mike couldnt avoid work.

The company had notified employees of cases at the Nederland refinery job site. It started with one. Then it shot up to seven.

Mike, 50, knew it was dangerous, but the risk was hard to gauge. A foreman had told him that managers were instructed to keep quiet about who was sick, Mike told Cynthia.

He constantly received texts from the company urging social distancing and good hygiene, but he told his wife it was bull----.

They were all bunched up by the turnstiles when they checked in. And while they were told to take every other seat on the bus, they werent 6 feet apart.

Cynthia thought it was crazy they were sending him to a place with so many infections. The company sent a text that afternoon requiring masks at all job sites. If you do not have a facial covering, one will be provided for you, the text said.

Mike was provided a mask, but Cynthia said it was so small, it fit their 6-year-old son.

June 24, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 2,249

Actual number of deaths: 2,755

Gap in death statistics: 506 (18 percent lower)

Charlie Rangel eased his daughter, Yesenia, into the car. She had blacked out. Her oxygen level was dropping.

Charlie, 60, had diabetes and hypertension, which put him at high risk if he caught COVID-19. But he was focused only on Yesenia. She couldnt stand. He helped her into a wheelchair and rolled her into the ER.

Four hours north in San Antonio, Rosemary started to panic. She didnt believe the numbers being reported by Cameron County, where Brownsville is located, were accurate. The county of about 423,000 had reported 1,881 cases and 52 deaths so far. If those numbers were wrong, she thought, people werent taking the virus seriously enough.

In Houston, Mike Reyes woke up with a pounding headache and a tickle in the back of his throat.

Cynthia worried, but Mike brushed it off. It was probably allergies brought on by a Saharan dust storm that had wafted across the Atlantic from Africa. He left for work.

June 26, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 2,324

Actual number of deaths: 2,892

Gap in death statistics: 568 (20 percent lower)

Hidalgo stood before a bank of television cameras at the Transtar podium, a chart projecting exponential growth in COVID-19 hospital admissions behind her.

Today we find ourselves careening toward a catastrophic and unsustainable situation, she said. Our current hospitalization rate is on pace to overwhelm the hospitals in the near future.

She moved the county to its highest threat level and asked residents to stay home except for essential errands. But Hidalgo had hoped to do more than beg residents to comply.

For days, she had sent Abbott charts of rising Texas Medical Center counts, stats from other states, and grave projections for the rest of the summer if trends continued. In one of several evening phone calls, the governor asked her to delay the announcement so he could review the data she had sent.

Encouraged by the tenor of their talks, Hidalgo thought shed made a breakthrough. Maybe he would allow her to issue an enforceable stay-home order. In a phone call the night before, she made her pitch. But the governor said his position had not changed.

Shed hoped that Texas Medical Center leaders would back her. Theyd come out with a strong warning about hospital capacity earlier in the week, but then theyd walked it back. That morning, they had pulled key data on intensive care capacity from their website. They passed on joining her for the announcement. Mayor Turner also declined.

So Hidalgo did it alone. Her order lacked teeth, but if her last option was to deliver the most dire warning to date, thats what she would do.

That afternoon, Abbott went on ABC-7 in El Paso to explain news he tweeted that morning: He was again shutting down bars  indefinitely  and scaling back the number of people allowed to eat in restaurants. The anchor, Stephanie Valle, asked him to clear up confusion.

What I said from the very beginning of the pandemic and repeated it often and that is first, all of our decisions will be based upon data, he said. A month ago, Abbott said, the positivity rate was about 4percent. It had since topped 10 percent.

That is a warning sign that we have massive spread of COVID-19.

Valle reminded Abbott that he had the benefit of seeing how reopening in other states led to case spikes. Did he regret reopening so soon, only to have to walk it back?

If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, he said.

Harris County sent out a public safety alert to millions of people, urging them to stay home, wear a mask and cancel gatherings. The pandemic threat level was elevated to Level 1. Hospitals were approaching capacity.

Dan Patrick tweeted a screenshot of the alert with a scathing criticism: #overthetop.

June 28, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 2,393

Actual number of deaths: 3,062

Gap in death statistics: 669 (22 percent lower)

Charlie Rangels grandson, Noe, slid the pulse oximeter over his grandfathers index finger, watching the numbers dance across the tiny screen.

The 10-year-old had been the data collector for his grandparents since his mother, Yesenia, was taken to the hospital four days earlier.

Charlies oxygen saturation level was 81. A normal reading is between 95 and 100.

Noe FaceTimed Rosemary with the news. Rosa, Charlies wife, couldnt drive, so Rosemary stayed on the line as they called 9-1-1.

It would be an hour before an ambulance could get there, the operator said.

Well wait, Rosemary told them.

Charlie struggled to breathe.

The 9-1-1 operator called back.

Four hours, they said.

But his oxygen levels are at 81. He has diabetes. He has hypertension, Rosemary pleaded.

Itll be four hours, they said. Do you still want to wait?

Yes.

The ambulance never arrived.

Denise Rangel, Charlies youngest daughter, donned a mask and a trash bag. She drove him to Valley Baptist Medical Center.

June 30, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 2,424

Actual number of deaths: 3,246

Gap in death statistics: 822 (25 percent lower)

The rise in coronavirus cases in Texas had started making national news.

Houston moves to severe covid warning. Will enough people listen? New York Times headline read.

Patrick, the lieutenant governor, defended the states COVID-19 response on SiriusXMs Doctor Radio. Texas was not only experiencing far fewer COVID fatalities than comparably big states such as California and New York, he said. He claimed only three states were faring better.

In comparison to everyone else, we have one of the lowest death rates in the world, Patrick said.

Even by the artificially low number of deaths Texas was reporting at the time, nine states had lower per capita fatalities. CDC death certificate data shows that 16 states had lower death rates then.

On Fox News Laura Ingraham show, Patrick said the higher death rates in New York and California proved locking down doesnt work.

If it did, those two states would be doing better than Texas, he said.

Patrick went on to criticize Dr. Fauci for saying Texas skipped over some reopening guidelines.

We havent skipped over anything, Patrick said. The only thing Im skipping over is listening to him.

July 2, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 2,525

Actual number of deaths: 3,467

Gap in death statistics: 942 (27 percent lower)

Under soft studio lighting, Abbott made a painful political reversal of a position he had vehemently held for months.

One of the best ways to keep businesses open while also slowing the spread is for everyone to wear a face covering, he said, holding up a Texas flag face mask. Medical studies have shown that wearing a face covering slows the spread of COVID-19.

For months, he had refused to lay down a mask order for the state of Texas  even as local governments orchestrated their own and public health leaders across the country said it was necessary to slow the spread. The number of positive cases had soared from an average of about 1,500 per day in late May to more than 6,000 in the past week. Hospitalizations had tripled to more than 5,700.

More than 91 counties across the state were experiencing record high numbers in the past three days.

Abbott stressed that no one could be jailed for ignoring his order.

I know that wearing a face covering is not the convenient thing to do, but I also know that wearing a face covering will help us to keep Texas open for business, he said. We are now at a point where the virus is spreading so fast there is little margin for error.

July 4, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 2,608

Actual number of deaths: 3,747

Gap in death statistics: 1,139 (30 percent lower)

Mike Reyes awoke dehydrated and disoriented.

Cynthia was surprised. Hed been up and about all week: He picked up food from Pappas; he bought medication at Walgreens. Not once did he mention having trouble breathing.

Whens the last time you drank something? she asked him.

Yesterday, when I was at work, Mike answered.

Her surprise turned to worry. He hadnt been to work all week.

Mike got up to go to the bathroom and started screaming.

Im tired of being sick! Im tired of being sick!

Their daughter, Alexandria, came sprinting down the stairs. Mike made his way unsteadily back to the bedroom.

I dont think Im going to make it, he told his wife.

July 7, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 2,715

Actual number of deaths: 4,189

Gap in death statistics: 1,474 (35 percent lower)

McClellan, one of Abbotts key medical advisers, watched the Texas hospitalization rate with concern. Hed spoken with Abbott about the mask order and was convinced it would help drive down the numbers. But projections for Texas looked grim as he appeared on CNN for an interview with Poppy Harlow.

Texas had one of the shortest stay-at-home orders in the country, she noted. You had all sorts of things, like salons, et cetera, opening. And the question is did those actions contribute to the deaths in Texas?

I do think Texas reopened too fast, he replied.

He said his research at Duke-Margolis on reopening suggested that the state would need to see a downward trend in cases and have the ability to do sufficient testing to contain outbreaks before proceeding with aggressive reopening.

I know in many parts of the country, governors are under a lot of pressure for economic reasons for reopening, he added.

But, he said, reopenings wont succeed economically if we cant keep cases in check.

July 8, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 2,813

Actual number of deaths: 4,387

Gap in death statistics: 1,574 (36 percent lower)

Every year for as long as Rosemary Rangel Gutierrez could remember, her father had called at midnight to wish her a happy birthday.

But this year, tears clouded her eyes as she video called her dad, who had been in the hospital for more than a week.

An oxygen mask covered Charlies nose and mouth. But still, he struggled to breathe.

He couldnt speak. She taught him to sign.

She sang herself Happy Birthday.

I love you, he signed.

July 12, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 3,192

Actual number of deaths: 5,180

Gap in death statistics: 1,988 (38 percent lower)

Yesenia Rangel was recovering at home. But her fathers kidneys were failing.

Doctors called Rosemary, asking if they could put her father on dialysis.

Of course, she told them. Whatever you can do.

Within the last two days, Charlies oxygen levels had dropped so low that doctors decided to intubate, allowing them to hook him up to a breathing machine and take pressure off his failing lungs. But during the procedure, his heart stopped.

Doctors revived him.

Then his organs started to go. His blood pressure dropped.

Rosemary could barely breathe through her sobs. She wanted to hold his hand and say goodbye. But he couldnt suffer more, alone.

Hes ready, she told the doctors.

Two hours later, at 8:15 p.m., Charlie took his last breath.

July 15, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 3,432

Actual number of deaths: 5,915

Gap in death statistics: 2,483 (42 percent lower)

Hotez prepared for another TV interview in his home office. The Yale-educated doctor had been measured in his media appearances for the first months of the pandemic. But hed abandoned that after a conversation with his wife, Ann, the week before.

Shed been sitting on the couch with the cat as he studied the latest death data from the Houston Health Department. Most of the dead were Latinos, he observed. It wasnt a surprise. Latinos make up a large portion of essential workers. They also have a higher prevalence of diabetes and obesity, putting them at higher risk of dying should they contract COVID-19.

But the toll was staggering, he said. Every week since April, more Texans had died than the historical average, a wave of excess death with no modern parallel. Latino deaths had exploded to 134 percent above average, compared to 45 percent for Black residents and 38 percent for whites.

I feel like the White House is not saying a word about this, Hotez told his wife. Nobodys saying a word about this.

Peter, Ann said, You dont want to wake up one morning in the fall and say you didnt do all you could to stop this devastation.

Hotez stewed about the problems he saw in the governments response: a lack of a national road map, a misinformation campaign, exponential case growth and record deaths.

This is one of the great failures in the history of public health in the United States, he said on CNN.

July 18, 2020

Reported number of deaths: 3,865

Actual number of deaths: 6,609

Gap in death statistics: 2,744 (42 percent lower)

Sunset Memorial Funeral Home in Brownsville was silent as Rosemary Rangel set up the livestream.

Charlie was remembered as humble and loving, a welder and mechanic who put family first.

He never should have died alone in a hospital bed, Rosemary said as tears soaked her mask.

This is not a joke.

EPILOGUE:

By Aug. 4, more than 10,000 Texans had died from COVID-19, 10 times more than what the IHME model had forecast back on April 21.

Mike Reyes friends and family bid him farewell Aug. 15. His 6-year-old son, Christian, couldnt reach the microphone, so his big sister picked him up.

I love him so much, Christian said.

In her grief, Cynthia stewed. She knew why Texas politicians couldnt wait to reopen, she said, and it burned her up: It was all about the money.

Shelley Luther ran for a Texas Senate seat in a special election this past week. The results were so close that she will face state Rep. Drew Springer in a runoff election.

On Monday, Charlie Rangels family chartered a boat off South Padre Island to scatter his ashes in the ocean. It would have been his 61st birthday.

As of Oct. 1, 16,102 people have died from the virus in Texas. The latest IHME model suggests that more than 33,000 Texans will die from COVID-19 by the end of the year.

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Jordan Rubio is a data journalist and web designer on the Houston Chronicle's investigative team. Since joining the Chronicle in 2016, he's won four straight Star Online Package of the Year Awards from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors. A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Rubio previously worked at the Victoria Advocate. You can reach him at jordan.rubio@chron.com and follow him on Twitter @jordan_rubio.

Alex Stuckey is an investigative reporter for the Houston Chronicle and joined the paper in 2017. That same year, she won a Pulitzer Prize after unearthing the rampant mishandling of sexual assault cases at Utah colleges and universities while working at the Salt Lake Tribune. She is an Investigative Reporters and Editors award winner and a Livingston Award finalist. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com and follow her on Twitter @alexdstuckey.

Jay Root has been a member of the Houston Chronicle investigations team since April. A native of Liberty, Texas, Root got his start in journalism at the Houston Post, and hes been covering state government, politics and the U.S.-Mexico border since the late 1990s. He broke the story that put the current Texas attorney general on the path to criminal indictment and his recent documentary Border Hustle was nominated for a Peabody Award. Reach him by email at jay.root@chron.com and follow him on Twitter @byjayroot.

Zach Despart covers Harris County for the Chronicle, including Commissioners Court and flood control. He came to Houston from the Burlington Free Press in Vermont and was also the managing editor of the Houston Press. In 2017 he won the Best Feature award from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for his feature on Venezuelan corruption in Houston and Miami. He is a New York native and graduate of the University of Vermont. Follow him on Twitter or email him at zach.despart@chron.com.

Mike Morris, Matt Dempsey, Elizabeth Conley, Jeremy Blackman and Lisa Gray contributed to this report.

Design and photo editing by Jasmine Goldband

Editor Susan Carroll

***
Gandhiji is a role model for me, says top cop Rajinder Kumar Vij, whose sketch of Mahatma Gandhi is garnering all the praises online on social media. One Twitter user even wrote: Multitalented officer.

Another artwork by IPS officer RK Vij.

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, we got talking with Vij, special DGP, Chhattisgarh Police Headquarters, Raipur, who shares, This wasnt the first time I made Gandhijis sketch in April 2009. The very first time I sketched the Mahatma was as an engineering student in Kurukshetra, in the 1980s.

He goes on to add, Now, I try to steal some time for my passion and each time is blissful.

Vij also confesses that hes deeply influenced by Gandhis principles of truth and non-violence. He adds, Mahatma Gandhi believed that crime is a social disease, and therefore criminals required suitable reformative treatment, and not punishment. He wanted the Police to be replaced with peace volunteers. But he realised that this wasnt possible till the masses understood and lived the creed of non-violence. He also exhorted that the Police must be like friends to the public, he says.

Author tweets @Nainaarora

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Got a few minutes to read this story? Then you have a few minutes to lock down your personal information online and keep it from falling into the wrong hands in the future.

There's no such thing as privacy anymore, said Adam Miller, president of Bellaire-based Aegis Insurance and Financial Services. I don't care how private you think you are. Just accept it.

But there are a few steps you can take to reduce the number of eyes (both human and virtual) looking at your contact information.

Can you remove your email address from online databases?

What is this? I'm Gwendolyn Wu, and I'm writing "Houston How To," a series on how to navigate the city and its complexities. Humans have an innate drive to improve themselves, and we're always striving to live better, smarter and more efficiently by throwing countless dollars and hours at our problems. The Houston Chronicle wants to simplify that for you. As a reporter, I usually ask the questions, but I can't be the only one wondering how something works. What are things you need to know how to do, Houston? You can find me on Twitter at @gwendolynawu or by email at gwendolyn.wu@chron.com. See More Collapse

The answer, unfortunately, is probably not. How many apps, online stores and websites have your email address? You know, when they ask for contact info to send coupons and package tracking details?

That information has been out there for ages; even if you dont think youve posted your email on Facebook or another social network, youve probably submitted it to online businesses that in turn sell your data.

But there are a few things you can do to keep future businesses from getting your personal contact information. When a store or app asks for an email address to give you a discount, create a brand new email address. Miller recommends directing businesses to an email inbox used just to receive spam in case they sell that data.

MORE HOW TO: Your questions answered on voting, drivers licenses, COVID life

I don't want my email address out there because you could then do reverse searches for your information, Miller said. That means that when someone types your spam email address on a search engine, they have a harder time linking that to you and your other contact info.

It works. When I Google my spam email address, an inbox created 10 years ago to sign up for Flash game websites that became a safe haven for shoe store and H-E-B coupons, I find no link to my name.

You can also try random email address generators like 10minutemail.com when you need a spam email. Some sign-in features allow you to create alias email addresses that obfuscate your real email address with a made-up one, and redirects the emails to your actual inbox.

Can I remove my information from public records?

Under the Texas Public Information Act, government agencies are not forced to make public records available online. You can obscure some data, such as removing your name from property records and voter registration records available online.

Homeowners can fill out a form to remove their names from the online records of the Harris County Appraisal District.

This does not mean that your name is completely written off the record, though, said Jack Barnett, a HCAD spokesperson.

If someone does file a public information request for an account, they would see the owners name even though the name had been removed from the website, Barnett said.

Removing your name from the online listing could create problems if you need to prove residency when enrolling kids in school, Miller said. Keep paper utility bills in case you need to validate that you live at that address.

There is another option to remove names from property records. If youre a member of law enforcement, state legislator or a victim of domestic assault/harassment/stalking, you can fill out a form to request confidentiality on your home address.

Texas also allows residents to remove their personal information on online voter registration records. The Harris County Clerks office offers a form that must be mailed or faxed. You will still be registered to vote, but anyone looking to confirm your voter registration status on harrisvotes.com, the countys elections hub, will instead have to call the clerks office or visit in person to confirm your Election Day polling place. And like the Harris County Appraisal District, that information will still be available if someone files a public information request for your voter registration record.

Could I ask Google to take down pages that include personal information?

If I type my name into a Google search, dozens of results pop up linking me to my current and former workplaces and to where I went to school. By the nature of my work, Im extremely online and have a reason to keep parts of my contact information out there for readers and sources to see. But not everyone needs to have that readily available by web search.

Google allows people to request the removal of their personal information from search results. The things that can be removed: bank account numbers, hand-written signatures, sexually explicit photos and Social Security numbers, among others.

STEPS FOR PREVENTION: How do you recover from identity theft?

But the search engine will not delete content containing dates of birth, addresses or phone numbers, and taking that information off a search listing doesnt make it disappear from the internet. You could reach out to the owners of the webpage to take it down, but that usually requires a fee, Miller said.

I'm sure some people would pay that fee to get their number removed, he said.

Where else might I have posted my phone number, address or email address?

Have you checked your social media accounts, particularly Facebook? Your email and often, your phone number, are linked to Facebook and may be publicly viewable on your timeline.

On the desktop version of Facebook, go to your profile and click the eye icon at the top, under the cover photo. There, you can view your profile as the public sees it. Check the About page to see whether any personal contact information is on there. (This is how one of my best friends discovered that his entire street address was public on Facebook. Yes, street number and all.)

On mobile, go to your profile and tap edit public details. Scroll down to edit your about info, and you can see all of the information youve uploaded to your profile, and who can see it. Tap the edit buttons as you scroll to adjust what information is public.

If you live with kids or older family members who are social media super users, check their profiles to make sure they havent put any contact information up for grabs there as well.

Like Miller said, though, that if that data is already online, its pretty hard to get it removed. But some of the steps outlined here might be a start in reducing how easy it is to find your contact information online.

gwendolyn.wu@chron.com

twitter.com/gwendolynawu
1. Do you support restructuring Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to provide more attention/revenue to non-hunting wildlife and recreation?

No. These are separate issues and should be dealt with individually.

2. How do you plan to serve in the Legislature during a pandemic? Will you wear a mask while in the Capitol? Do you think the session should be held in-person, remotely or some mix of the two?

I plan to do whatever is required to do the very best possible job for all constituents in House District 98. I will wear a mask when at the Capitol. I will also social distance as well comply with all CDC recommendations. If the COVID situation is stable, I believe that there is a greater likelihood that the legislative session can be in person. Right now we all need to be flexible, careful, and take care of those who are vulnerable in our community as well as taking care of ourselves.

3. Climate change caused by human emission of fossil fuels has affected Montana, including an increase in average annual temperature and shifts in growing seasons for farmers. Should Montana offer subsides for clean energy creation? Do you support or oppose ending tax breaks and subsidies for coal, oil and gas production?

Montana should do all it can to promote clean energy. Montana should offer subsidies for clean energy creation as well as subsidies for clean, efficient energy production of existing fuel sources.

4. The University of Montana has seen a 40% enrollment drop since 2010, and now is struck with the effects of the pandemic. What, if anything, should be done to help the university?

As a university professor and businesswoman, I believe the University of Montana needs to offer as many courses as possible online so as not to disrupt the learning environment and student opportunities during the pandemic. Retention of the current students is vital. Focus should be on attracting high-paying jobs to Missoula, which will keep our graduates here. We need to look at designing and developing certificate programs tailored to specific industry needs. The integration of A-I and big data into traditional majors such as political science, and law is imperative. We need to emphasize the benefits of vocational training.

5. What do you see as the No. 1 issue facing your constituents and how will you address it?

The No. 1 issue facing my constituents is quality of life. Basic safety is core to our collective quality of life. I have started an online petition to stop any defunding of the police. The resolution would call for any elected official such as the mayor or the City Council to be held personally accountable in the event the police are defunded. I also believe there should be a halt to any tax increases or spending. My opponent has voted to increase spending by close to $1,000,000,000 during his three terms in office. This is absurd in the current environment.

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Project Safe Childhood, a federal child sex trafficking sting, has resulted in serious charges against 3 men in separate cases that could land them in prison for the rest of their lives.

As the Morning Call of Allentown reports, Philip Schmaldinst, 44, of Lehigh County; Lorenz Quiambao, 39, of Easton; and Robert Duus, 34, of Monroe County, are each charged with one count of attempted sex trafficking of a child and one count of attempted enticement of a minor.

Indictments filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Scranton say the men attempted on Sept. 24-25 to entice minors online to engage in sex acts for money.

As an example of the allegations in the separate cases, U.S. Attorney David Freed issued a press release stating that one of the suspects, Duus, allegedly tired to get a minor to engage in sexual activity with him via online communications, and also attempted to get the minor to engage in a commercial sex act.

The Morning Call points out that a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorneys office said that although the three men were arrested in the same operation, the men are not co-defendants in the coming court case.

An attorney for Duus said he could not comment on the charges. Lawyers for Schmaldinst and Quiambao did not return phone calls, the Call reported.

The maximum penalty for the offenses is life in prison, with a mandatory 15-year minimum prison term. The cases were investigated by the FBI in Philadelphia, with state and local law enforcement assisting. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffery St. John is prosecuting all three cases, the Call reported.

Project Safe Childhood is described as a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children -- and to identify and rescue the victims.

BREAKING NOW:

Man accused of pulling woman from car, shoving her down after fender bender in Pa. bar parking lot

Pa. mail carrier rescues 2 abandoned puppies; sadly 2 others die

Ku Klux Klan flyers saying Vote Pro-White under investigation in Pa.
A cool and soggy weekend is in store for the first weekend of October, but warmer weather could be on the way.

Cold air flowing over the relatively warm Great Lakes has caused bouts of lake-effect rain showers over the last few days. Lake-effect rain showers continued on Friday and Saturday. Some areas, such as in Marquette, Michigan, were just cold enough for snow to mix in late Thursday evening and early Friday morning. Luckily, with the light intensity of the precipitation and temperatures above freezing, no snow accumulation occurred.

By later Saturday and into Saturday night, a low pressure area approached the region, causing a chilly rain to fall across the Great Lakes.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

On the northern fringe of the precipitation, however, temperatures into Sunday morning may once again be low enough to allow for a few, isolated wet snowflakes to mix in with the rain.

"While moisture is limited with this system, air temperatures appear low enough for areas like northern lower Michigan to see some snowflakes mixing in on Sunday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz said.

Even though snow accumulation is unlikely, Benz also mentioned that there could be a brief slushy accumulation on colder surfaces where precipitation falls most heavily. Roadways will just remain wet, as the ground is still warm from the recently passed summer.

By the afternoon hours on Sunday, all areas should be warm enough for any remaining precipitation to fall in the form of rain.

A dry day is expected on Monday as the precipitation shifts to the east. Monday will also be a warmer day, with high temperatures in the 50s and lower 60s.

"Early October can be a volatile time with regards to temperatures in this region," Benz said. "The jet stream becomes more zonal into Monday, meaning its flow is from west to east. This will allow warm air from the Pacific to shift east from the Rockies to the Midwest for early this week, allowing temperatures to rebound."

Story continues

Systems on Tuesday and Wednesday are largely expected to pass by to the north, through southern Ontario. If any precipitation does make it into the Upper Midwest, it should all fall as rain given where the next batch of cold air is likely to head.

"Another shot of cold air arrives later this week, but could be focused farther east across the eastern Great Lakes to New England," Benz said.

By the following weekend, a prolonged warm stretch may be in store. Since it is now October, "warm" is a relative term. Still, widespread 60s will be possible.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Harrisburg, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/02/2020 -- The Market Insights Reports has added a new statistical market report to its repository titled as, Insulated Packaging Market. It provides the industry overview with market growth analysis with a historical & futuristic perspective for the following parameters; cost, revenue, demands, and supply data (as applicable). Furthermore, the report also sheds light on recent developments and technological platforms, in addition to distinctive tools, and methodologies that will help to propel the performance of industries. The report also presents forecasts for Insulated Packaging investments from 2020 to 2026.



The Insulated Packaging market was valued at USD 13.47 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 19.60 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 5.86% during the forecast period of (2020-2026).



Top Key Players in the Global Insulated Packaging Market: Amcor, Deutsche Post DHL, Huhtamaki, InsulTote, Sonoco, American Aerogel, Cold Ice, Davis Core and Pad, Dupont, Ecovative, Exeltainer, JB Packaging, Laminar Medica, Marko Foam, Providence Packaging, TemperPack, TP Solutions, Woolcool and Other.



Inquire here to avail discount on this report:

https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/07102140653/global-insulated-packaging-market-insights-and-forecast-to-2026/inquiry?Mode=28



Key Market Trends:



Food and Beverage Industry to Show the Maximum Application



- Food and Beverage application in the insulated packaging market are expected to grow significantly in the forecast period (2019 - 2024). The growth rate may be due to factors such as a rise in demand for packaged food and increase in ready-to-eat food consumption.

- Also, increasing working demographics, and the changing lifestyle and increasing awareness for a healthy lifestyle of people are proliferating the growth of packaged food and online grocery shopping trends.

- Due to the increasing trends of packaged foods and online grocery shopping, the trend of buying perishables online is also increasing, giving rise to the need for shipment and storage of perishables in a thermally controlled environment.

- Nearly one-third of digital grocery shoppers in the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and France had groceries delivered at least once in a week in 2018, according to a study published by Capgemini in 2019.

- Another important characteristic of insulated packaging is that the container protects the contents from being crushed or squeezed. The products will be safe inside an insulated container.



This report segments the Global Insulated Packaging Market on the basis of Types are:

Plastic

Wood

Corrugated Cardboards

Glass

Others



On the basis of Application, the Global Insulated Packaging Market is segmented into:

Food & Beverages

Industrial

Pharmaceutical

Cosmetic

Others



Regional and Country-level Analysis:

The key regions covered in the Insulated Packaging market report are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. It also covers key regions (countries), viz, U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, etc.



Explore Full Report with Detailed TOC Here:

https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/07102140653/global-insulated-packaging-market-insights-and-forecast-to-2026?Mode=28



Important Features that are under Offering and Key Highlights of the Reports:

 Detailed overview of 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 Insulated Packaging Market

 Strategies of key players and product offerings

 Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth.



Finally, the Insulated Packaging market report offers a complete and detailed study of global Insulated Packaging market by using numerous analytical tools and models such as SWOT analysis, investment return analysis, and porter's five forces analysis which are useful for beginners to access the upcoming opportunities. After exploring the market insights through primary and secondary research methodologies, if anything is required except than this, market insight reports will provide customization as per specific demands.



Customization of this Report: This report could be customized to the customer's requirements. Please contact our sales professional (sales@marketinsightsreports.com), we will ensure you obtain the report which works for your needs.



About MarketInsightsReports

MarketInsightsReports (An Ameliorate Solutions Group Company) provides syndicated market research reports to industries, organizations, or even individuals with the aim of helping them in their decision-making process.

These reports include in-depth market research studies i.e. market share analysis, industry analysis, information on products, countries, market size, trends, business research details, and much more.



MarketInsightsReports provides syndicated market research on industry verticals including Healthcare, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Technology and Media, Chemicals, Materials, Energy, Heavy Industry, etc. MarketInsightsReports provides global and regional market intelligence coverage, a 360-degree market view which includes statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.



Contact Us:

Irfan Tamboli (Head of Sales)  Market Insights Reports

Phone: + 1704 266 3234 | +91-750-707-8687

sales@marketinsightsreports.com | irfan@marketinsightsreports.com



Note: - All the reports that we list have been tracking the impact of COVID-19 the market. Both upstream and downstream of the entire supply chain has been accounted for while doing this. Also, where possible, we will provide an additional COVID-19 update supplement/report to the report in Q3, please check for with the sales team.
Truong Bich Dao, HR director of Nestle Vietnam, receiving the Certificate of Merit and memento from the Organising Board

This is the second time the company has received this prestigious accolade for its constant efforts with diverse practical activities for its workers.

The awards ceremony, the second of its kind in Vietnam after the first one in 2016, was hosted by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), in tandem with the MoLISA and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Of the 50 award-winning businesses this year, Nestle Vietnam is one of five businesses based in the southern province of Dong Nai to receive the award.

According to a VGCL representative, the award aims to inspire businesses to take good care of their employees, creating an efficient working environment that helps promote their employees capacity and working spirit.

Relaxing working environment at Nestle Vietnam

Through the award programmes set of criteria, taking good care of the employees is being quantified into a concrete set of criteria, motivating firms to set forth clear orientations and development targets, building a friendly working environment and a business culture like the employees second home.

Aside with human resource optimisation policy, Nestle Vietnam also goes pioneer in expediting commitments on woman empowerment and gender equality.

At the awards ceremony held today, Truong Bich Dao, HR director of Nestle Vietnam, shared the companys practical experiences in countering the challenges brought by COVID-19 pandemic.

In her words, Human is the most essential factor in the five priority groups, including ensuring safety and benefits for the employees, optimising supply sources, optimising distribution channel, flexible in approaching consumers, and finally joining efforts to support the government and the community.

Specifically, despite the pandemic implications, Nestle Vietnam has ensured incomes and other benefits for their employees.

The company has been realising its commitment to developing young generations through the Management apprentices programme. The company earmarks about VND18 billion ($782,600) annually to staff training both at home and abroad.

Nestle Vietnam's employees are also active volunteers of community-oriented programmes

Not only going avant-garde in implementing human resource optimisation policy, Nestle Vietnam also goes pioneer in expediting commitments on woman empowerment and gender equality.

In 2018, Nestle Vietnam was among the signatories of the CEO Statement of Support for the Womens Empowerment Principles (WEPs) with the UN Women and UN Global Compact at a forum hosted by UN Women in Hanoi.

In 2019, Nestle Vietnam secured the third place in the list of 10 Best Places to Work for in Vietnam announced by leading human resources company Anphabe after continually harvesting high ranking in the tally from 2014.

Founded in 1995, Nestle Vietnam has made ceaseless efforts for investment and business expansion to meet the ever-increasing demands from consumers. The company directly recruits more than 2,800 employees, and indirectly creates about 10,000 jobs for relevant stakeholders in their supply chain.
(JNS)  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Sept. 18, the eve of Rosh Hashanah, at the age of 87 was a symbol of female empowerment, as well as a renowned scholar and jurist. Though not religious, she was a proud Jew, and her achievements as an attorney in an era where women were not fully accepted in the legal profession and then as a principled judge justify the many laudatory eulogies about her.

But Ginsburgs status as a pop-culture icon and idol of liberals, feminists and others, who nicknamed her the Notorious RBG after a rap star, made her known popu...
US President Donald Trump has underplayed the pandemic for months, eschewing masks, criticising others who wear them and holding large rallies with unmasked supporters against the advice of public health professionals.

Here is a timeline of some of his comments.

January 22 to CNBC: "We have it totally under control. Its one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. Its going to be just fine."

US President Donald Trump holds a mask during the first presidential debate. Credit:UPI

January 24 tweet: "China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!"
Arros QD

London, UK

Quique Dacostas eponymous restaurant in Spain had the rare distinction of being on the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants list and also having earned three Michelin stars. In London, his Mediterranean restaurant is a celebration of rice. Valencian-style paella (with rabbit, chicken or beans) is cooked in iron pans on wood-fired stoves. The huge pans are delivered to the table, so guests can share and scrape up the toasty bits at the bottom. Also on the menu is rice with smoked eel and a black garlic aioli. And, as is fitting for a fancy restaurant, black rice with truffle.

Kams Roast Goose

Hennessy Road, Hong Kong

Kams, run by a third-generation restaurateur of the same name, seats only 30, but in Hong Kong, everyone queues for a good meal. Kam earned a Michelin star four months into its launch. Kams Roast Goose, served on a bed of rice, is sweet, with a crisp top layer.

Osteria Francescana

Modena, Italy

No tables available till April 2021, despite the pandemic. the three-Michelin-starred Massimo Botturas 12-table restaurant is widely considered the best in the world. Theres always some rice or risotto in the multi-course meals. Green Over Brown Over Black features risotto cooked three ways: with herbs, chicken and squid. No butter or cheese, but critics have described it as creamy and buttery, while still retaining three distinct flavours.

Liao Fan Hawker Chan

Singapore

Chan Hon Meng earned a Michelin star in 2016 for his rice and noodle food stall, and ended up becoming the man who served the worlds cheapest Michelin-starred meal  chicken rice for the equivalent of about 200. He partnered with Hersing Culinary a few years ago to open Liao Fan Hawker Chan, a slightly more comfortable place to dine, but with the same food. The rice comes with a signature soy-sauce blend, and the restaurant now has outposts and pop-ups around the world.

Ritz Restaurant

London, UK

Modern British cuisine in some of the grandest surroundings imaginable  they insist on a jacket and tie. The one-Michelin-starred restaurant serves several classics (Beef Wellington and Gateaux St Honore), but for breakfast they serve a rice dish with roots in the Indian khichdi. The original dish is a mix of curried rice, smoked haddock and eggs. At the Ritz, it comes deconstructed, and worthy of a photo shoot.

Meena

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Drive past rice fields and sit down to a locally sourced rice-based meal at Meena. There are traditional Thai and modern classics, and most preparations come garnished with edible flowers and fruits, which explains why theyre so popular on social media. Their signature offering: five-colour rice balls made with different types of rice and dyed using local flowers and herbs. No Michelin stars but a special mention in the guide.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rachel Lopez Rachel Lopez is a a writer and editor with the Hindustan Times. She has worked with the Times Group, Time Out and Vogue and has a special interest in city history, culture, etymology and internet and society. ...view detail
The coronavirus pandemic is surging across most of Canada, with total new daily infections rapidly approaching 2,000or more than four times the average just six weeks agoand hospitalizations and deaths on track to experience a parallel spike in coming days.

Yet the federal Liberal and provincial governments are pressing forward with their homicidal back-to-work, back-to-school drive, which prioritizes big-business profit over human lives.

Quebecs right-wing CAQ premier, Francois Legault, has ordered the Greater Montreal and Quebec City areas and the Chaudieres-Appalaches region, or more than 5.5 million people, into partial lockdown. Theatres, bars and restaurants in these red zones have been ordered closed from October 1 to 28, and residents instructed not to socialize with anyone outside of their households. In contrast to the strict controls on social gatherings, Legault and other government officials insist that schools and businesses will remain open.

Legault, who has previously publicly advocated for herd immunity, that is letting the virus rip through the population, declared Monday, Our goal is to protect our health system, our schools and the work of as many workers as possible.

Yesterday, Quebec reported 933 new COVID-19 cases, the highest number since early May, 16 deaths and 13 new hospitalizations.

In neighbouring Ontario, a further 538 infections were reported Wednesday, with the majority, as has been the case over the past two weeks, coming from Toronto, Ottawa and the Peel Region. Worryingly, the province has reported outbreaks at 46 long-term care facilities. Residents of long-term care facilities and seniors homes accounted for well over three-quarters of the more than 5,000 Canadians who died during the first wave of the pandemic between March and June.

Earlier this week, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott reported that 62 percent of the provinces new infections are among people aged 40 or under, a damning indictment of the push of the entire political establishment for the reopening of businesses and schools with virtually no restrictions.

On Monday, Ontario reported over 700 new COVID-19 cases, its highest one-day increase since the pandemic began. This development prompted the Ontario Hospital Association to request that Ontarios Doug Ford-led Conservative government move certain regions of the province back to Stage 2 of its reopening plan, which would reimpose restrictions on certain businesses.

Such a step has been all but ruled out by governments at all levels. Last week, a leaked Ontario government planning document revealed that even in its worst-case scenario for the pandemics second wave, only targeted action, singling out specific workplaces, schools or localities, is envisaged. The return to an earlier stage of provincial reopening, or even regional approaches to tightening would be avoided in favour of organization-specific or localized change, stated the document.

Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu has struck a similar tone, stressing that unlike the lockdowns forced on governments by popular pressure earlier this year, future public health measures should be surgical. In its September 23 Throne Speech, the Trudeau government similarly insisted shutdowns should be short-term and limited to the local level.

Who is responsible for the resurgent pandemic?

The reckless drive to keep schools and businesses open that all levels of government are now pursuing is motivated by the demands of corporate Canada and the financial oligarchy for their profit-making to be intensified, regardless of the cost in human life.

This is having a particularly disastrous impact on schools, whose reopening was uniformly pressed for by the federal Liberal government, the hard-right governments of Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, and British Columbias NDP government, because only if children were herded back to class could parents be freely available to generate profits once again for the corporate elite.

As of Tuesday, Ontario has reported 308 infections in schools among students and staff. A further 126 cases have been recorded at childcare facilities, leading to the closure of 36 centres and 176 homes. In Quebec, the Gerard-Filion High School on Montreals south shore was forced earlier this week to close for two weeks after positive tests were recorded among 26 students and seven staff members. Overall, provincial figures released a week ago revealed 1,163 cases at 489 schools.

These catastrophic numbers, which will inevitably produce a surge in fatalities in the weeks ahead, are the direct product of conscious policies pursued by the political establishment.

Faced with the looming health disaster produced by their embrace of herd immunity, political leaders are rejecting all responsibility and instead blaming the population. I know its difficult, I was young myself, I remember what we wanted to do is go out with our friends and have fun, stated Legault at a press conference Tuesday.

This slanderous attempt to blame young people for the resurgent virus is aimed at shifting attention away from the total failure of government policies to contain the pandemic. To the extent that infection rates are raging among younger people, this is above all because they have been forced back to unsafe schools, or because a greater proportion of them work in poorly paid, customer-facing service jobs that bring them into regular contact with large numbers of people.

The back-to-work drive was orchestrated in a conspiracy involving the federal and provincial governments, the trade unions and big business. Its first stage involved the Trudeau government funneling $650 billion in March into the bailout of the banks, big business and the financial markets so as to assure the wealth and investments of the rich and super-rich. Then, in a series of closed-door consultations beginning in April, they began planning how the economy could be reopened and future lockdowns averted. In a joint statement published by the federal Labour Ministry, leading business lobby groups, the Canadian Labour Congress and Unifor on April 15, policies were called for that would keep Canadian businesses ready to come roaring back and ensure the economy can recover by getting people back to work quickly and in a safe manner.

Three weeks later, on May 8, the CLC took upon itself the task of justifying a reckless reopening of the economy, declaring in a statement that there was no alternative. Forcing millions back to unsafe workplaces would be a monumental challenge in the era of COVID-19, declared the union bureaucrats. But it is a challenge that we must meet.

As the back-to-work, back-to-school drive got under way, the unions ensured that no organized opposition from workers developed. All attempts by workers to protest or strike against unsafe conditions were sabotaged or declared illegal. The union bureaucracys indifference and contempt towards the lives of the workers they purport to represent was summed up bluntly by the comments of Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation President Harvey Bischof. He declared just days prior to the reopening of the schools, If the question is whether we are planning some illegal job action, the answer is a flat-out no.

Only a working class-led movement can stop the pandemic, save lives and protect workers incomes

If this homicidal policy is to be stopped, working people must take matters into their own hands and intervene into the growing health and socioeconomic crisis as an independent political force. The first step in this process should be the building of rank-and-file safety committees in every workplace, school and neighbourhood to fight for the shutdown of all nonessential sectors of the economy until the pandemic is contained; full income security for all jobless workers; and the provision of proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for all essential workers. The building of such committees will require a relentless political struggle against the NDP and pro-capitalist trade unions.

The urgency of such a struggle has been underscored by the political events of the past week. The NDP, led by Jagmeet Singh, has made clear that it once again intends to prop up the minority Liberal government, this time by backing its pro-corporate Throne Speech in parliament. The policies outlined in the speech will, if implemented, ensure the further acceleration of the reopening of the economy, which will have deadly consequences for working people. According to a recent projection by the US-based Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, Canadas COVID-19 death toll could reach 16,000 by the end of the year if current public health policies remain in place.

Early Wednesday morning, the NDP joined with the Liberals and other opposition parties to ensure rapid passage of the governments latest spending bill. The main component of this is the transfer of the approximately 2.8 million workers still receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) onto Employment Insurance (EI) or a number of newly created, makeshift benefits designed for the self-employed and individuals responsible for providing care to relatives. The stricter requirements attached to EI and to the Canada Recovery Benefit, including to actively seek work and accept any reasonable job offer, mean that in practice the vast majority of workers will be pushed off these programs as soon as possible. They will be forced into taking low-wage, insecure jobs, putting their own health and lives, not to mention those of their families, at risk amid a dramatic resurgence of COVID-19.

Singh told HuffPost in a recent interview that his party was ready to back the Throne Speech and would be more than happy to back the Trudeau government for another three years until the next federal election is due. The NDP leader justified this position by touting a temporary sick leave benefit agreed to by the Liberals that will give workers a grand total of two weeks of sick pay, claiming this is something that will help millions of Canadians.

The truth is that the NDP has desperately been seeking to cooperate with the Liberals for over a year. Prior to the 2019 federal election, Singh repeatedly offered the NDPs services as a coalition partner to Trudeau. Throughout the pandemic, the NDP has supported the government on all critical votes, including its anti-democratic decision to shut down regular sittings of parliament for four months at the end of May.

The NDPs latest decision to back the pro-war, big business Liberals was fully endorsed by the unions, which in response to the greatest capitalist crisis since the Great Depression have dramatically expanded their corporatist collaboration with government and big business. In early September, CLC President Hassan Yussuff gave Singh and the NDP their marching orders, telling CBC Radios The House that the social democrats have an obligation to work with the Trudeau Liberal government.

Should Singh and the NDP get their way, the Liberals and their backers from big business and the union bureaucracy will press ahead with reopening the economy at a cost of thousands more deaths. They will continue with their planned increase in military spending by over 70 percent from 2017 levels by 2026. And they will press ahead with their ever-closer integration of the Canadian military with US-imperialist aggression around the world, including against Russia and China.

The alternative to this disastrous course is the development of a worker-led counteroffensive against austerity and war, and for a policy aimed at containing and eradicating COVID-19. Under conditions of increasing strikes and protests among workers in Canada and internationally, and the discrediting of the entire political establishment through their complicity in the enforcement of policies that are leading to mass death, the objective conditions for the organization of a mass movement in opposition to the capitalist profit system are extremely favourable. What is now required is the building of a mass socialist partythe Socialist Equality Partyto provide the struggles of the working class with the conscious revolutionary leadership that the present situation so urgently demands.
Firefighters pushed to gain the upper hand Friday on the devastating Glass Fire, with active battles in northeastern Napa County, where towns including Calistoga and St. Helena remained threatened.

Things looked better on the western side of the blaze, with mop-up operations starting in Sonoma County. But despite making headway, the struggle is far from over. Saturdays temperatures in the North Bay are expected to hit the mid-90s, well above normal.

The fire consumed 61,150 acres by Friday evening and was only 8% contained. It destroyed 293 homes in Napa and Sonoma counties and was threatening 29,000 structures. On the fire lines were 2,611 personnel from a dozen fire agencies employing everything from bulldozers to helicopters to tamp down the spread.

As grim as this sounds, firefighters on the scene saw reason for optimism as the weekend approached.

It was a pretty fair day of progress, Mark Brunton, the Cal Fire incident section chief, said Friday evening. A big reason was that the strong gusts forecast by meteorologists stayed modest. The winds have not materialized as predicted, and that helped keep things under control.

This still appeared to be the case Friday evening, with flags hanging limply from flagpoles in St. Helena, one of the Napa communities still endangered by the sprawling blaze. But elsewhere, away from the fire zone, winds picked up: gusts of up to 36 mph were recorded on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County.

South of Calistoga there were no signs of active blazes. Instead, as darkness fell and the smoke thickened, the burned husks of wineries loomed along the Silverado Trail, reminders of the havoc wrought by the early days of the fire, which began around 3:45 a.m. Sunday. The community of Angwin was deserted and nearly silent, except for the distant rumble of fire trucks being used to hold back the fire a few miles away to the north and east.

Nic Coury / Special to The Chronicle

Much of the focus Friday was on saving Calistoga, the wine and mud bath haven where the Glass Fire still burns out of control on its perimeter.

Trees charred black were visible under a red setting sun from where the fire had raced across hilltops in the sparsely populated area to the north. Despite that, it appeared most structures had been spared by the firefighting effort and no small amount of luck.

Here flames were still visible, throwing off heavy gray smoke as dozens of firefighters worked to contain the fires spread. Down below on Old Lawley Toll Road, near Highway 29 to Calistogas north, crews worked and rested in shifts as they defended homes and property along the winding, narrow road.

Earlier in the day, a two-story house burst into flames on Tucker Road southeast of town, and firefighters fought to save homes nearby. Active fire was also seen on Diamond Mountain Road. Numerous trees had fallen, their trunks glowing red, and burning branches blocked several roadways.

The trees are falling like flies, said a Napa County sheriffs deputy from his patrol car as a warning.

Juan Perez, 27, of Calistoga parked his car Friday morning at the Food Mart near the intersection of Highway 128 and Lincoln Avenue to pump gas. He had defied the original evacuation order despite a wall of flames heading down the mountain near Silverado Trail. But on Friday, his 9-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter told him they were afraid, so he decided it was time to go.

Its been pretty bad, the ash and the smoke, Perez said, as ash flakes wafted down on top of him. Plus Im running out of water and food.

Ken Arevalo, 58, surveyed the damage at Foothill Elementary in Deer Park where his 12-year-old son goes to school. One of the schools buildings, which he said was built was 1902, was destroyed. Its now a pile of white, brown and gray rubble.

Its very sad, he said.

Now Playing: The Glass Fire continues burning through Sonoma and Napa counties, forcing new evacuations of entire communities. Video: San Francisco Chronicle

Arevalo, his wife and son evacuated Sunday morning after their neighbor honked and screamed at them to get out. His home survived, but his truck did not.

I am just grateful to God that our home was saved, Arevalo said, adding that his luck was bittersweet because of all the other damage in the area.

The scene on the fires western front, in Sonoma, had a different tone.

Weve had really good success there  today we buttoned up a lot of areas and started mopping up, especially near Santa Rosa and the nearby hills, Brunton said. One grim factor aiding firefighters was that the fires spread in some areas slowed down as it reached areas that had been devastated in 2017.

The vegetation hasnt grown too thick, so its relatively easy to get a bulldozer in there, and recreate fire breaks used to battle the Tubbs Fire three years ago, Brunton said.

Statewide, almost 17,000 firefighters on Friday were battling 23 major wildfires.

Near Redding, where firefighters continue to battle the Zogg Fire, Cal Fire reported another successful day in the efforts to bring the huge blaze under control. As of Friday evening it was 56% contained, up from 39% the day before, and only 150 additional acres burned on Friday to bring the total amount of charred land to 56,168 acres.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

The August Complex of blazes, already by far the largest in state history, continued spreading Friday through forested northern landscapes. The conglomeration of 37 fires ignited by lightning in Mendocino National Forest in August has burned nearly 1 million acres  but containment Friday climbed from 51% to 56 %, according to a Cal Fire report.

Since the beginning of the year, 8,200 wildfires have burned more than 3.9 million acres in California, well past the previous record of 1.54 million acres scorched in 2018. Nearly 8,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed, 31 people have died and some 53,000 residents have been evacuated.

We are dwarfing that previous record, and we have a lot of season yet to go, said Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter.

The Glass Fire was still burning hot, but fire officials said they had made major progress in Sonoma County, where Santa Rosa appeared to be safe, and the Highway 12 corridor was mostly secure.

Rainer Navarro, the Santa Rosa police chief, urged people to stop moving barricades and trying to get back into their homes.

Its entirely understandable that people want to get back to their homes, Navarro said. We are working to get that done as quickly and efficiently and as safely as possible.

Although the weather is expected to begin cooling next week, officials said, conditions are still volatile.

We have a long way to go, said Shana Jones, a Cal Fire unit chief. We still have a lot of active fire.

Before temperatures decrease next week  at least according to meteorologists  powerful gusts of wind were expected into Saturday.

Our fuels are extremely receptive to any ignition source whatsover, Brunton said. It wont take much for any ignition source to ... get the vegetation burning.

Chronicle Staff Writer Michael Cabanatuan contributed to this report.

Sarah Ravani, Peter Fimrite, Chase DiFeliciantonio and John King are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com, pfimrite@sfchronicle.com, jking@sfchronicle.com, chase.difeliciantonio@

sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @SarRavani, @pfimrite, @jkingsfchron @ChaseDiFelice
Terming as "absolute lie" that he had called her to his home in August 2013 and 'sexually harassed' her, Kashyap responded to police summons and recorded his statement with the investigating officer on October 1.

Mumbai, Oct 2 (IANS) Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has denied all allegations of sexual harassment levelled by "one Payal Ghosh" to the Mumbai Police, his lawyers said in a statement here on Friday.

"Kashyap has provided documentary proof of the fact that throughout August 2013, he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films," said his lawyer Priyanka Khimani.

Accordingly, he has denied that any such alleged incident ever took place and scoffed all the charges levelled against him in the matter, the lawyer said.

Khimani added: "These sudden, belated allegations of an alleged incident of August 2013 have been widely publicized by the complainant (Ghosh) for the purpose of vilifying Kashyap, irrespective of the outcome of the judicial process."

Though expressing confidence that the falsity of the complaint is now exposed, Kashyap is also apprehensive that the complainant would "alter her version of events in the investigative process as well".

Expressing distress over the false and reckless allegations against him, Kashyap has sought severe action against Ghosh accusing her of "misusing the criminal justice system and for hijacking the 'MeToo' Movement for her ulterior motives.

Khimani added that he would vigorously pursue the legal remedies and is confident that "justice will prevail".

Days after Ghosh's allegations, the Versova Police had summoned Kashyap to record his statement to probe the offence registered against him.

Earlier, Ghosh, 31, met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari along with Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale and her lawyer Nitin Satpute.

Claiming that there was a threat to Ghosh's life, Satpute submitted a letter to the governor demanding security for her and himself.

--IANS

qn/dpb
Two staff members at a popular tourist outlet, who had their employment terminated after a successful battle to have toilet facilities installed, have now been reinstated.

Karen Doyle and Linda Lyons work at the kiosk on Cobh Pier for Spike Island Tours but were forced to visit local hotels and shops to use toilet facilities until the company agreed in July to finally instal a portaloo on the pier.

Eight days ago they were told that their services were no longer required due to a fall-off in business, despite the fact that their seasonal contracts ran until December.

The women held a protest on the pier which was reported in Mondays Irish Examiner.

Two-hour meeting

On Thursday evening, following a two-hour meeting between board members for the company and trade union representatives, a joint statement was issued about the womens status.

Spike Island Development and UNITE the Union confirm that following a meeting today all issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of the parties."

The staff concerned are returning to work for the remainder of the 2020 season.

Both parties are delighted to have a satisfactory and positive outcome to this matter and look forward to working together for the remainder of the 2020 season.

"Moreover everyone looks forward to a more successful tourist season in 2021.

The statement added that no further comment would be made about the affair.

When contacted Unites Brendan Ogle said that he just wanted to thank everybody who had got in touch and offered support to the women during the whole affair.

The womens plight had been reported in the Irish Examiner over the last month and had been raised last week in both the Dail and the Seanad.

They had been trying for over a year to have toilet facilities installed as they were being forced to visit local shops and a hotel.

In July, the pair were presented with a contract in which they were asked to agree to use the toilet facilities in a local library but they refused and contacted the trade union.

Following the meeting on Thursday that decision has now been overturned.
The news early Friday that President Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus sent shock waves across the nation and around the world.

The announcement rattled the markets, prompted concern from world leaders and further unsettled an already-chaotic presidential race less than five weeks from the election.

This is about as 2020 as it gets.

We wish a complete and speedy recovery to the president, first lady Melania Trump and others in the administration who may have been exposed to the virus that has killed more than 207,000 Americans, sickened countless others and wrecked the economy.

At 74, the presidents age, sex and weight put him in a group that is at higher risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19. We hope that the quick diagnosis and the health care he receives at the White House will spare him the need for hospitalization, intensive care or breathing assistance that has been required to treat thousands. Were relieved to hear that, so far at least, Trump is experiencing only mild, cold-like symptoms.

In wishing for the best possible outcomes for the president, we also sincerely desire that this news drives home the scary realities of the virus and the need to urge everyone to observe the simple guidelines of wearing a mask around other people, keeping a safe distance from others in public or crowded situations, and regularly washing our hands.

President Trump has at times reinforced these common sense guidelines, but has too often sent mixed or muddled messages about the severity of COVID-19 and the ease with which it is transmitted.

Even worse, the president has repeatedly undermined or even mocked advice about wearing a facial covering, a tool that medical experts and scientists have cited as the best way to slow the spread of coronavirus.

When asked at the presidential debate on Tuesday night about why he almost never covers his face in public, Trump pulled a mask from his suit pocket and said, I put a mask on, you know, when I think I need it.

But he then chided Democratic opponent Joe Biden and tried to score political points by suggesting the former vice president was being overly cautious.

I dont wear masks like him, he said, motioning to Biden. Every time you see him, hes got a mask.

We dont yet know how the president was exposed to the coronavirus, but shortly before the news was announced Bloomberg News reported that Hope Hicks, a senior adviser who traveled with him this week, had tested positive.

Numerous photos show the president, Hicks and others in the administration walking and talking together without masks.

We hope everyone quickly recovers and can begin spreading the wisdom of masks and social distancing, instead of misinformation about the coronavirus.
NEW YORKMore than 150 groups in some 60 cities around the world rallied in protest of the Chinese regimes human rights abuses as it celebrated its 71st year of ruling.

The global coalition on Oct. 1the anniversary of the Chinese Communist Partys takeover of China in 1949was a diverse mix of Tibetans, Hongkongers, Taiwanese, ethnic Mongolians, Uyghur Muslims, Kazakhs, and exiled Chinese dissidents, each with grievances against the regime for persecuting their communities. The suppression they faced has revealed to the world the true face of the Chinese regime: one that disregards human rights and poses threats to the world, they told The Epoch Times.

The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] cannot be given a pass, cannot be absolved of justice, just because its ruling China, said Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) in a speech in front of the U.S. Capitol.

Theyre allowed to get away with oppression, concentration camps, all kinds of horrific things that you already know about, whether its the Falun Gong, whether its our friends in Mongolia, whether its taking over Tibet, he continued, referring to Beijings persecution of the ancient spiritual practice, erosion of Mongolian cultural customs, and suppression of Tibetan Buddhists, respectively.

All of it has to end, and its criminal activity that must be recognized and stood against by the whole world community, and the United States must lead, he added.

Perry introduced a bill Thursday morning to designate the CCP as a transnational criminal organization and eliminate sovereign immunity for Chinese officialswhich would allow them to be tried in U.S. court for criminal prosecution.

We must be the generation that confronts and defeats, and ends the wicked regime of the CCP, he said.

Different from the past few years, activists said they felt a newfound sense of solidarity as different groups witnessed Beijings recent authoritarian clampdown, such as the regimes proposed elimination of Mongolian-language teaching in Inner Mongolia schools, mass arrests of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, and repressive policies in Tibet and Xinjiang.

Pema Namgyal, a 26-year-old Tibetan graduate student majoring in psychology, called for the Chinese regime to be brought to justice.

It has nothing to do with the Chinese people personally, but the government itself, he said while attending a rally near United Nations headquarters. Namgyal was born and raised in India, and later immigrated to New York with his parents as refugees.

Nicole Sara, an activist who lived in Hong Kong for 11 years, called Chinas National Day a day of mourning.

As far as all these people are concerned, theres nothing to celebrate, she told The Epoch Times, adding that its the beginning of the devastation for many, many people.

Evil regimes come and go, she said, believing that the Chinese regime would one day collapse. One day well look back and see the stain on Chinese history.

Nicole Hao contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times
Fair play. Its the obligation of journalists to seek out the other side of the story, to get a response from the person at the centre of allegations and criticisms, to double check claims.

Its a basic tenet of reporting. Fairness demands it.

The Star has sometimes fallen short, either failing to seek out a response or making only a pro forma effort.

Not surprisingly, such failures invite trouble. They can lead to legal threats, corrections, and revisions of online stories, along with an editors note flagging the changes for the reader.

There are many reasons a reporter might fall short. Inexperience, deadline pressure and the assumption that efforts to seek comment were adequate when in truth they fell short of what should have been done to ensure that the person who was the target of criticism was given a chance to comment.

None of these are acceptable.

The Torstar Journalistic Standards Guide makes clear the obligation for journalists and editors on this front:

We are obligated to investigate and publish all sides of the news we report. The essence of fairness demands that before publication every effort must be made to present subjects with all allegations  the sooner the better, and the more detailed the better.

If a person cant be reached or refuses to comment, the story should say so, the guidelines state.

The Supreme Court of Canada recognized the importance of this journalistic practice in a 2009 ruling that rewrote the defence for libel when reporting on matters of public interest. In setting out the responsible communication defence, the court highlighted on the onus on a media outlet to demonstrate it was diligent in trying to verify an allegation, including whether the plaintiffs side of the story was sought and accurately reported.

Failure to do so also heightens the risk of inaccuracy since the target of allegations may well be able to offer relevant information beyond a bare denial, the Supreme Court justices wrote.

If a reporter failed to seek comment, it seriously undermines their defence in any subsequent legal action. Another good reason to do such due diligence.

Ironically, its become easier than ever to get a response, through an emailed statements or comments posted on social media.

Which brings me to another concern on this front. I worry that this practice can lull journalists into becoming passive receivers  a statement is received, cut-and-pasted into a story and voila, job done.

This is about more than simply ticking a box to get a response to provide a story with balance. Simply getting a comment is not a cure-all.

A journalist has an obligation to fact-finding. This is about determining those facts, testing assertions, seeking another version of events and ultimately, getting at the truth that should be a journalists goal in every story. Yes, interview subjects do flat-out lie to reporters; rarely, thank heavens, but it underscores the need to verify.

The job of a journalist is to have questions, to seek answers. That is best done when journalists are talking to people, posing those questions. The preference should always be to seek an interview, to get past the stock statement that may not even address the issues at hand.

I recognize companies and governments like to hide behind carefully vetted statements, rebuffing any further queries and refusing to do any interviews which carry the risk for them of veering off into uncharted territory.

But that must not blunt the ambition of a journalist who should seek out interviews as a matter of course. If an interview is declined, say so in the story. At least readers will know the journalist tried.

Ottawa columnist Susan Delacourt touched on this recently when she wrote on the importance of seeing past political messaging. News is exactly whats needed to punch through that galloping rampage of messaging. News is what happens when we get off the message track, she wrote.

Ill second that.
Rep. Abbotts opinion letter to the Missoulian about the Montana Reinsurance Program was written in an attempt to smear the reputation of our State Auditor and gain points for her political party and her partys candidate for Congress. It provided you, the voter, with a misrepresentation of the legislative background of the Montana Reinsurance Program with incomplete and inaccurate information about the hard work of many people in the State Auditors Office, the Governors Office, and our Montana health insurers to save Montanans millions of dollars in health insurance costs.

Rosendales office prepared and was a proponent for this legislation in the 2017 regular session (HB 652) and again in the 2017 special session (HB 5). Rep. Abbott voted NO to both, and Governor Bullock vetoed both bills, delaying the application and approval of the state innovation waiver and creation of the reinsurance program by almost three years.

In 2018, a working group was created with grant money from the Montana Healthcare Foundation to discuss the state innovation waiver once more and perform a feasibility study. If credit should be given to anyone for the Governors sudden change of heart, it should be to the Foundation for their willingness to provide funding for stakeholders to work toward creation of this program.

The State Auditors Office came alongside the Governors Office and stakeholders to prepare legislation to be introduced in the 2019 session. Rosendales office worked to promote this legislation, testify in support of the bill, prepare multiple fiscal notes for the bill, and offer bill amendments to the Bill Sponsor (Sen. Fitzpatrick) that would clarify language, remove the need for a full-time employee in administering the program by the SAO, and give as much control to the Montana Reinsurance Association itself as possible while maintaining compliance with state and federal law. I know this, because I wrote these proposed amendments while employed there as a staff attorney. I was in frequent communication with CMS to ensure the proposed changes were in compliance with waiver requirements and applicable law. The SAO took the laboring oar in getting the program up and running and assisting where needed until an attorney was hired and an external administrator was chosen for the program and continues to be an asset to the success of the program.

Rep. Abbotts claim that we almost ruined it is absurd and untrue. It demeans the hard work that I and many others put in to create good law and build a successful program that decreased insurance premiums and saved Montanans millions of dollars. The truth is, Rosendale knew this was good for Montana and he pressed on to care for his constituents and their needs despite two vetoes from Bullock. Rosendale garnered bipartisan support for a good program, put faith in his team, and encouraged everyone to keep working until the job was done.

Janell Depner, Esq.

Helena

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Spitting Image, Britbox

Rating:

You wont be surprised to hear that the Conservatives come in for a terrible thrashing. Quite literally in the form of Priti Patel, who has been turned into a leather-clad dominatrix determined to give Michael Gove a taste of her whip.

What repulsive kink do you want today? she growls at him in her padded dungeon, before going on to state that all immigration is banned henceforth except for Israelis. Eh?

Perhaps it was predictable that the new Spitting Image show has cast the Home Secretary as a demented vampire who will say the unsayable, on every topic from abortions to salad choices. Why do so many young people like rocket? she asks. Its just smelly salad leaves. Isnt she a one! At her side, the yapping Gove is depicted as a man close to orgasm because he wants to sell off the NHS.

Meanwhile Dominic Raab is a karate expert who thinks the country is going to s***, Dominic Cummings is an alien who eats babies and earthling snacks, while Prime Minister Boris goes back to university because he hears that all the students smoke bongs and have a non-stop rummage in the scrummage, yaroo.

Perhaps it was predictable that the new Spitting Image show has cast the Home Secretary as a demented vampire who will say the unsayable, on every topic from abortions to salad choices

Theres a running gag about Johnson not sacking Cummings, which should have them rolling in the aisles if those aisles are in a high security facility for Momentum voters with revenge complexes and a poor grasp of reality.

The only light drubbing  more like a tickle with a red duster  the Opposition receive is the polite suggestion that Keir Starmer might be just a tiny bit boring and needs a ginger-haired Elton John to give him some showbiz pizazz.

Then its back to bashing Boris again. Politically, the entire show is about as balanced as a three-legged elephant on a tightrope  and thats not a very funny gag either. It must be catching. Sadly, the grim level of schoolboy satire and jokes on show in the new Spitting Image is mostly rather poor; all of it dredged up from the kind of restrictive modish thinking that only serves to have a chokehold on hilarity. The credits list more than 18 writers contributing to the 22-minute script for the first episode and by my reckoning, they came up with one good joke between them.

Meanwhile Dominic Raab is a karate expert who thinks the country is going to s***, Dominic Cummings is an alien who eats babies and earthling snacks, while Prime Minister Boris goes back to university because he hears that all the students smoke bongs and have a non-stop rummage in the scrummage, yaroo

Some puppeteering scenarios have potential, but never seem to quite make it past the comic finishing post. For inexplicable reasons, Prince Harry is given a cockney accent and sets out in California to find a job as a driver. Back at home, Meghan greets him with these words: Hey its the husband formerly known as prince.

That is just a waste of everyones time. I dont even want to mention President Trump, who is the colour of baked terracotta, features far too often in the show  he is the easiest of targets, of course  and does something absolutely filthy in bed, but not of the sexual variety.

It is nearly a quarter of a century since Spitting Image was first launched, at a time when Margaret Thatcher led the country, Neil Kinnock led the opposition and Roy Hattersley led the world in the drenching art of the glottal shower. It was sly, hilarious, uproarious and unmissable, becoming a Sunday night must-watch. So far the new version has much to learn from the past, as they dip a big rubberised toe into the whirlpool of satire. Chiefly that it is wrong and imprudent to mistake crudity for audacity.

Then its back to bashing Boris again. Politically, the entire show is about as balanced as a three-legged elephant on a tightrope  and thats not a very funny gag either. It must be catching

The puppets are marvels of boneless spite, with chins bobbing like glazed apples. However, there are anomalies.

Keir Starmer looks more like Teddy Kennedy, James Corden has a regrettable touch of the Hyacinth Buckets and Piers Morgan looks like someone has stuck a pair of rosebud lips on a fast-deflating udder. I didnt have a clue who several of the new puppets were and can I just suggest that while New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern is a major darling and heroine of the Left, most of the populace dont give a hoot about her, even when she is dressed up like Mary Poppins in the shows grand finale.

And thats the problem. The difference between Spitting Image now and Spitting Image then is that the former is fatally constipated by being politically correct and the latter didnt give a glorious damn. Perhaps, like Pritis whip, it will crack more effectively in the weeks to come.
by Paul Wang

The Civil Front for Human Rights was denied permission to march for "health and safety" reasons. Gatherings of more than four people are prohibited. But several groups managed to manifest their dissent and support for those arrested. Glory to Hong Kong on flute only.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - China's national holiday, the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, was a day under police control for the city of Hong Kong. Since early morning, at least 6 thousand policemen have been deployed in various hot spots of the territory, checking documents, searching bags and briefcases, blocking gatherings.

The Civil Front for Human Rights - sponsor of the most numerous demonstrations in the territory, capable of gathering up to 2 million people - has not received permission for any gathering. The Front wanted to organize a march to support the 12 Hong Kongers who fled to Taiwan and who were arrested at sea by the Chinese police. The reason for the ban was "health and safety": due to the Covid-19 epidemic, all gatherings of more than four people are prohibited.

Last year, in full fight for democracy and against the extradition law, there were huge demonstrations, clashes with the police, barricades, Molotov cocktails. A policeman even shot a young man. This year the security law and anti-Covid measures have almost eliminated the protests.

Despite this, small groups of people - mostly young people - dressed in black [the "uniform" of democracy protesters] gathered in Causeway Bay, the starting point of the demonstrations. In other streets in the center, groups shouted the slogan "Free Hong Kong, revolution of our time", considered a cry for independence and prohibited by the new security law. The police even blocked groups of people from climbing Lion Rock, a hill overlooking Kowloon, where in the past protesters have displayed giant pro-democracy banners.

By the end of the day, around 10 pm, the police had made at least 86 arrests. The charges: participation in unauthorized gatherings; violation of social distancing; lack of documents; possession of "weapons".

The most poetic protest was that of an 18-year-old, Max Jin, who on a street in Causeway Bay played the music of "Glory to Hong Kong" on his flute, which has become the anthem of the democratic movement and which as of this year is forbidden to sing in schools in the name of the security law.
Vineet Upadhyay By

Express News Service

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Tourism is now promoting a concept of 'workcation, working in a socially-distanced location in Uttarakhand. The department has planned a list of destinations ranging from a series of homestays amid lofty hills, cool weather, lush greenery, fresh air, and spellbinding landscapes.

Dilip Jawalkar, secretary tourism, Uttarakhand said, Workcation has lately become the trending concept of vacation. With people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, this concept has become a much-needed escape and a great opportunity to take your work on a holiday break. Uttarakhand Tourism is offering this thoughtful concept of Workcation to visitors in numerous nature scenic hotels, resorts, and homestays in locations such as Jim Corbett, Lansdowne, Mussoorie, Kausani, Dehradun, Nainital, Almora, among others.

A plentiful of homestays, hotels, and resorts in Uttarakhand are offering delightful and pocket-friendly workcation packages to the visitors, which can be tailor-made as per the demand.

One can also throw in the benefits of pleasing weather and limitless access to the outdoors, engaging in fun activities such as trekking, biking, birdwatching, stargazing, and others, said officials.

Apart from offering scintillating workcation locations, UTDB will soon be rolling out the much thoughtful Tourist Incentive Coupon scheme, wherein tourists visiting Uttarakhand for a minimum of 3 days will be provided with a discount of up to Rs 3000 on booking their stay in hotels/homestays.

Sharing their experience of hosting visitors on a workcation, Rishi of Faraway Renz Resort in Jakh, Uttarakhand, says Till now, we have hosted 6 different families from the national capital region and 5 from within Uttarakhand who had come with the idea of workcation. Office goers have been attending calls, while kids do their online classes. One family liked the concept so much that they extended their 1-week plan to a 24-nights stay. All this has led to a 44% average occupancy in August. Thats higher than what we did in May last year.

Vicky Manral, who runs the Eco Harrymans Homestay in Nainitals Pawalgarh village, has received enquiry calls from over twenty professionals.

He says, Amid the COVID pandemic, workcation has come up to be a new trend among office goers who are stuck in the work-from-home cycle and desperately want to travel to experience a change in scenario. Lately, a lot of people have shown interest in booking our homestay and making our place their workstation for the next couple of months.
According to a cabinet statement, Rabie said that the last nine months saw the passing of the world's biggest container ship, with a total tonnage of 240,000 tons, through the waterway

A total of 14,019 ships passed through the Suez Canal between January and September 2020, or 165 more vessels than in the same period last year, the canal authority's chairman Osama Rabie told Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly at a meeting on Friday.

According to a cabinet statement, Rabie said that the last nine months saw the passing of the world's biggest container ship, with a total tonnage of 240,000 tons, through the waterway. The vessel, which is 400 metres long, with a beam of 61 metres and a depth of 33.2 metres, was carrying 23,964 containers.

Rabie also referred to the successful transfer of 12 giant pipes, over 500 metres long and with a diameter of 2.3 metres, from Norway to Bangladesh, in addition to several petroleum tankers loaded with 107 million tons of oil in the same period.

The chairman said that the authority is pushing to reach 95 ships a day by 2023, as well as diversifying the sources of revenues via related activities, boosting productivity and reducing the costs by utilising the latest technological techniques.

IKEA has directed its shipping agents to depend on the Suez Canal in place of the Cape of Good Hope during their trips from the east to the west, he added.

According to Rabie, the step came as part of a green marketing policy over concerns related to the increased emissions of greenhouse gases over long sailing distances.

The meeting also went into the latest developments on developing and upgrading navigation along the canal via implementing many ventures, such as upgrading 16 pilot stations and establishing ten emergency garages.

As part of a plan for digital transformation, the authority has developed programmes to make online reservations for ships and shipyard services easier.

The online services include requesting a transit, requesting a fee estimate prior to transit, ship repair and maintenance, rescue services, and quality services.

Egypt has stressed in the past months that traffic through its vital shipping route has not been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and shipping is proceeding at normal rates.

The canal, which is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia, is one of Egypt's primary sources of foreign currency.

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Editor's take: I've always preferred cans to in-ear headphones, mainly because the latter always tend to get uncomfortable after a short while, regardless of fiddling around with tips. The UE Fits, however, could be just the answer for people like me who've been looking forward to wireless earbuds that actually adjust according to ear shape for a more comfortable fit.

Ultimate Ears, a Logitech audio brand, is known for its funky Bluetooth speakers, but the company's new UE Fits wireless earbuds appear to be its most interesting product yet.

Existing wireless options offer some flexibility and comfort by allowing users to swap between various sizes of silicone or foam tips. The UE Fits, however, go one step above by detecting the shape of your ear to harden their gel-filled tips accordingly, all in under a minute.

Users begin the fitting process by running the UE Fits app (Android/iOS) with the earbuds inserted. The app then uses UV-based 'Lightform' technology to trigger embedded LEDs in the earbuds that cause the gel-filled tips to harden permanently to the contours of each ear. Once it fits, it sits.

Ultimate Ears notes that this personalized fit offers "wearable comfort free of pressure, pain or irritation, even after extended use," alongside passive noise isolation thanks to a natural seal that blocks ambient noise. There's no word yet on replaceable tips, but UE could start selling them down the line.

Other specs of the UE Fits include 10mm drivers and support for SBC, AAC and Apt-X Bluetooth codecs.

They offer eight hours of continuous battery life that goes up to "over 20" with the included charging case. They're also water resistant, sweat-proof and feature on-device play/pause touch controls that can be customized with the companion app.

Ultimate Ears has an "exclusive pre-sale" offer for US buyers -- where the earbuds will be available initially -- that discounts the UE Fits from the standard $249 price to $199 for a limited time. Orders are expected to ship this fall, backed by UE's 30-day satisfaction guarantee.
Paying rich tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries, Chief Minister on Friday urged people to take a pledge to keep their surroundings clean.

He also urged them to join hands with the government to achieve the goal of 'Swacch Bharat Mission', launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of 'Gandhi Jayanti' in 2014.

Khattar was speaking after launching Swachhta Pakhwada in Panchkula. State Assembly Speaker and MLA from Panchkula Gian Chand Gupta was also present on the occasion.

The chief minister also launched a state-of-the-art mobile water testing laboratory van, which will be an effective mode of surveillance of drinking water quality in rural areas in the state, an official statement said.

Khattar said the government has decided to celebrate Swachhta Pakhwada in all cities of the state from October 2 to October 17, with the objective of bringing a fortnight of intense focus on the issues and practices of 'Swachhata'.

He said during these 15 days, special focus would be given on the cleanliness of sewerage systems and desilting of ponds.

In the ongoing COVID-19 situation, ensuring cleanliness has become even more important, Khattar said, adding the government would be able to achieve this objective only through the active participation of the people.

Today we are celebrating the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, the two great personalities who had made an unmatched contribution for ensuring the freedom of our nation and prosperity of the people, he said.

Khattar said Mahatma Gandhi always had cleanliness and sanitation closest to his heart and he always wanted to see India clean and green.

He said Lal Bahadur Shastri gave the slogan of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' and worked towards strengthening the security system of the country and upliftment of weaker sections of the society.

Following the call of the Prime Minister (Modi), the government has launched Swacchta Abhiyan (campaign) in the state and became the first state in the country to achieve 100 percent ODF status in rural areas, Khattar said, adding that now all urban areas in have also been certified as open defecation free.

The chief minister exhorted the people, especially the youth, to take a pledge to work voluntarily towards making the country green and clean.

(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.)
Currently, there is 1 flight per week going from Montreal, Canada to the Cayo Coco airport which is servicing 5 resorts in that region only.

There is a plan in place by the Cuban government to open Varadero next for the end of September, but that has not been signed off and requires many agencies including foreign governments/companies to agree to.

At this point, travel to the mainland which includes Memories Jibacoa is very much down the road.

It is only speculation that MJ would open this year and in my opinion, will not open until 2021 at the absolute earliest, despite our desire to return to a beautiful and amazing place, never mind to also support the local Cuban population.
In a major relief to thousands of Indians residing in the United States, a federal judge has blocked the enforcement of the H-1B visa ban issued by President Donald Trump in June this year, saying the president exceeded his constitutional authority.

The Trump administration had enforced a temporary visa ban on a large number of work permits, including the most sought after H-1B visas.



File

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White in Oakland, California, agreed with several big U.S. business groups, which argued President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by imposing the immigration restrictions. The order, at odds with the conclusion reached by a federal judge in Washington, means the fight will likely move to an appeals court.

The ruling places an immediate hold on a series of visa restrictions that prevent manufacturers from filling crucial, hard-to-fill jobs to support economic recovery, growth and innovation when most needed, the National Association of manufacturers said.

Reuters

In July, the president had argued that the United States needs to save and protect jobs for its domestic work force at a time when millions of them lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.

A number of IT companies and other US firms, and those representing them had voiced their opposition to the temporary ban.

Manufacturers went to court to challenge the administration's ban on certain visas because the restrictions both undermined the industry at a critical time and conflicted with the law, said NAM senior vice president and general counsel Linda Kelly.

AFP

We are competing with the rest of the world to find and develop top talent to support innovation in our industry. Today's decision is a temporary win for manufacturers committed to building that innovation in the United States, he said.
Dictador unveils limited-edition 2 Masters Royal Tokaji release

Colombian rum producer Dictador has announced a new limited-edition release in its 2 Masters series - which it crossed continents to achieve.

Dictador 2 Masters Royal Tokaji is a rare edition of 40-year-old Colombian rum that has been matured in wine casks from the acclaimed Royal Tokaji Wine Company in Hungary.

It is the latest edition to the Dictador 2 Masters range, a project that aims to create unexpected flavours and finishes with the producer's rums to make an investment-worthy product.

In this collaboration, Dictador's master blender Hernan Parra worked with Royal Tokaji's master blender Zoltan Kovacs to age a 1977 vintage Dictador rum for seven months in 12-year-old, 300-litre Zemplen oak barrels that were previously used to age the 2016 Royal Tokaji Aszu 6 puttonyos.

Hernan Parra said: "In the depths of the 13th century Royal Tokaji wine cellar, our rum has developed a new and extraordinary finish. Its palate is elegant and balanced, smooth and rich, with a good attack and a persistent finish."

Only 475 decanters of the Dictador 2 Masters Royal Tokaji will be available worldwide through Goedhuis & Co Fine Wine Merchants for a recommended price of 750/670.

To protect the authenticity of its products, Dictador has created a robust cryptographic seurity system in its labels; they contain 11 protective layers, gold paint with UV glowing protection, microtext and typographical numbering. The bottles are presented in armoured glass packaging that use fingerprint technology to unlock.

2 October 2020 - Bethany Whymark
When first introduced 123 years ago, the Epidemic Diseases Act allowed colonial authorities to detain plague suspects, destroy or demolish infected property and dwellings, and examine passengers at will

Gautam Buddh Nagar Police lodged an FIR against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and around 200 other party workers under The Epidemic Diseases Act for not maintaining social distancing and not wearing face masks.

The Congress had started a march on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida after their convoy was stopped near Pari Chowk while they were on their way to Hathras to meet the family of the 19-year-old Dalit teen, who had died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday, a fortnight after she was allegedly brutally gangraped.

The two Gandhi siblings and around 150 party workers were briefly detained by the police and later released on personal bond, a senior officer told PTI.

The Act, amendments to which were passed by the Parliament during the recently-concluded Monsoon Session, was also used to charge members of Tablighi Jamaat on allegations that they had violated the lockdown norms, The Times of India reported.

The colonial-era act of 1897, comprising merely four sections, was first enacted in the erstwhile Bombay state to combat the spread of the bubonic plague and was then used in the plans to contain the swine flu outbreak in 2009, the rampant spread of malaria in 2015 and the cholera outbreak in 2018. It has now been put into force to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Provisions of the Act empower Central and State governments to take certain actions to prevent the spread of a disease. The sections also sets penalties for disobeyance of orders issued under the Act and provides legal protection to public servants discharging duty.

The Act also empowers the government to take measures and prescribe regulations for the inspection of persons travelling by railway or otherwise, and segregation, in hospital, temporary accommodation or otherwise, of persons suspected by the inspecting officer of being infected with any such disease.

When first introduced 123 years ago, the Act allowed colonial authorities to detain the plague suspects, destroy or demolish infected property and dwellings, prohibit fairs and pilgrimages and examine passengers at will. During the British Rule, the issue of the check-up of Indian women at railway stations and public places, especially by male health workers, received criticism for threatening the honour of women, according to a report by The Wire. In fact, according to the report, it was the chief reason behind the Plague Riot of Kanpur in April 1900.

Among the limitations of the Act include the lack of a definition of the term epidemic, not defining duties of the government and the absence of provisions pertaining to air travel.

After the recently passed amendments, an act of violence against healthcare service personnel would be a cognizable and non-bailable offence, inviting at least six months to five years of imprisonment and with a fine ranging between Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh.

Additionally, people who damage vehicles of healthcare workers or clinics will have to compensate by paying twice the value of the damaged property. An investigation against such cases will take place within 30 days, and a decision will be announced within a year.

These amendments assumed importance amid reports of a spike in attacks against healthcare workers during the handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
Multiple positions in Harris County are up for election, including Harris County Sheriff as candidates Joe Danna and current sheriff Ed Gonzales compete for the position.

Both Republican candidate Danna and Democratic candidate Gonzales agree that crime in Harris County needs to be curbed, but both have varying methods of providing the service to the community.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Meet Al Hartman, the controversial Houston CEO who is suing Hidalgo, Abbott over COVID orders

Gonzales said that while he knows the sheriffs office is only one cog in a larger criminal justice system, his office is focused on preventing violent crime while being aware of larger issues.

I have the unique perspective of leading the largest jail in Texas, he said. Ive learned that many who cycle through our jail suffer from mental-illness and addiction. The entire criminal justice system must become more creative and effective in dealing with these complex issues that tend to recycle through the system over and over and prove to be very costly and continue to foster crimes.

On HoustonChronicle.com: How the biggest Democratic stronghold in Texas could cost Joe Biden a win here

Danna, who has previous experience in law enforcement, said he believes Harris County is currently in a safety crisis.

Our officers are overloaded, overwhelmed, undervalued and Harris County residents are underserved, he said. Recruitment is low because the current administration is ineffective and not supportive of officers. There is no leadership, there are politics and pandering.

Gonzales said that HCSO works with community partners to serve all areas of the county including unincorporated portions like the Cypress, Klein and Spring areas.

It is important to continue to work collaboratively with all public safety partners, he said. Weve worked closely with Constables, DPS, HPD, school and college PDs, and others. Weve also worked with area chambers of commerce to address public safety concerns. Issues such as homelessness now extend to all parts of Harris County; Northwest and unincorporated areas of Harris County are no exception.

Neither candidate believed in defunding police services, but rather providing more services better able to fight violent crime.

From a policing standpoint, we must remain proactive in reducing violent crime, Gonzales said. The safety of Harris County residents is my North Star. Ive utilized existing resources to accomplish this task.

Danna said Harris County Sheriffs Office is in need of a breath of fresh air.

Dialogue between citizens and law enforcement will be real, frequent and tangible, Danna said. I want meetings in the community, out and open and in public. Not these closed-door meetings where nothing happens except current leaders pat each other on the back and sweep issues under the rug. Voices of citizens most affected by law enforcement need to be heard.

For information about the Nov. 3 elections in Harris County, visit www.harrisvotes.com.

chevall.pryce@chron.com
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

New analysis from researchers at the University of Oxford finds that from March to July this year, Europe had a 28 percent lower rate of excess deaths than the U.S.contrary to claims by President Donald Trump that Europe experienced greater excess mortality than the U.S.

Dr. Janine Aron and Professor John Muellbauer's research suggests that around 57,800 Americans would have survived had the U.S. managed the pandemic as effectively as Europe. In other words, the U.S.'s poor pandemic response may have cost the country more lives than World War I.

Excess deathsthe number by which actual deaths from all causes exceeds 'normal deaths' - is the best way of measuring lives lost to the pandemic. The proper way to compare the pandemic death toll across countries is to express excess deaths as a percentage of "normal deaths." This eliminates differences in how countries count coronavirus deaths and differences in population sizes; and it provides a more complete picture of pandemic-related fatalities. With an apples-to-apples comparison it can then be inferred how effective different countries' pandemic policies have been at protecting lives.

Using this measure, Dr. Aron and Prof. Muellbauer's analysis shows that from March to July this year Europe had a 28 percent lower rate of excess deaths than the U.S.revealing that repeated claims by Trump that Europe has experienced 33 to 40 percent higher excess mortality than the United States are false.

The research notes that the U.S.'s substantially higher statistical excess death rate is surprising since the U.S. has had several advantages compared to Europe:

The pandemic hit Europe about three weeks earlier, giving the U.S. extra preparation time and the chance to draw upon rapidly advancing knowledge regarding effective treatment, testing, and policies to suppress the virus.

The U.S.'s younger population should have left it less vulnerable than Europe to a virus that hits the elderly disproportionately hard.

The U.S.'s far less dense population should have meant the virus spread less easily there than it did in Europe.

Regional data paints an even starker picture:

The U.S. Northeastcomparable to Europe in terms of population densitysuffered over a third higher excess death rate than the worst-hit country in Europe, Spain.

The Southern U.S. is significantly less dense than the Northeast and experienced its peak 15 weeks later, yet it suffered a higher rate of excess deaths than the European average.

Only the sparsely-populated U.S. West did slightly better than the European average, but still had an excess death rate almost four times higher than densely-populated Germany.

Trump has tried to blame the U.S.'s poor performance on Democratic governors and mayors. But the Oxford analysis adds to mounting evidence suggesting that the failure was nationalcoronavirus killed Americans at far higher rates than in other developed countries, whether in red states or blue.

To put the figures in perspective, if these 57,800 American lives had been lost to war, this would be the third deadliest war in U.S. historydeadlier than both World War I and Vietnam.

Professor John Muellbauer, the study's co-author, added, "Studies comparing U.S. states that explain these excess mortality patterns can lend policy insights, with proper controls for demographics, population density and racial composition, as well as for the timing of the pandemic."

"These results raise important questions as to why the U.S., with its technical and institutional capabilities, its lower population density, more youthful population, and a longer lead time, was far less effective in its response to COVID-19 than Europe," said co-author Dr. Janine Aron.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: The US excess mortality rate from COVID-19 is substantially worse than Europe's. The US excess mortality rate from COVID-19 is substantially worse than Europe's. voxeu.org/article/us-excess-mo  ially-worse-europe-s
Pandemic Response

School Leaders Launch National COVID-19 School Response Dashboard

A group of national education organizations, researchers and technology experts has launched the National COVID-19 School Response Dashboard, a database that maps schools' voluntary responses to the pandemic across the United States. The data is intended to help school administrators, state leaders, families and the general public review the current conditions of the virus in their own communities, compare that information to other places and make decisions for the school year based on the data.

So far, hundreds of schools have joined the effort. And organizers are seeking additional ones. Superintendents can enroll their school districts by completing a district enrollment survey. Principals can enroll their schools by completing a baseline school survey.

The dashboard currently provides the capability to filter on state, school type and grade band, average student and staff infection rate (based on reported two-week periods) and instructional approaches (in-person, hybrid or fully virtual). The project organizers said the dashboard would be continuously updated as districts joined the effort and provided their case counts and information about their learning models.

The project is being led by Brown University Professor of Economics Emily Oster. Oster co-led a team of researchers and students at Brown, MIT, Harvard University, Massachusetts General and elsewhere, to launch "COVID-Explained," a website that provides unbiased information about the virus. She worked with Qualtrics, a user experience management company, to create the dashboard.

Among the participants are the AASA, The School Superintendents Association; the National Association of Secondary School Principals; and the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

"In the middle of a pandemic, where our nation is left unable to answer the most basic of questions, the idea of leaving our schools in a position of starting a school year unable to reasonably anticipate what COVID looks like in buildings and classrooms across the nation was unfathomable to me," said Oster in a statement. "COVID Explained was my first step into the work of bringing facts about the virus--how it spreads, how it is treated and who it affects the most--and making sure that information is accessible and actionable. This dashboard is the school version of that work--an effort to aggregate unbiased information to help school leaders and policymakers alike make good, data-driven decisions. I am humbled by the great work being done by school leaders across the nation in getting schools open for the 2020-21 school year and through this partnership and dashboard, we are able to support their continued leadership."

"Our nation's public-school superintendents--and the schools and students they serve--started the 2020-21 school year with inadequate access to broad, nationwide data reporting the realities of COVID in schools. [The] launch of the initial dashboard is just the first step in what will be an enduring effort to make this data as robust and meaningful as possible," added AASA Executive Director Daniel Domenech. "We call on school superintendents across the nation to make sure their districts are enrolled and participating, and we remain committed to supporting and serving our nation's school leaders through this pandemic."

The dashboard is openly available on a Qualtrics website.
L ivia FIRTH says the phoenix starts again from the ashes as she believes the opportunities that Covid is presenting us with mean that sustainable fashion has a future.

The film producer and ex-wife of actor Colin Firth told the Londoner: It showcased more than ever how unsustainable the fast fashion business model is, referring to the pandemic.

Firth added: Financially fashion is being destroyed by Covid, it has taken a huge hit.

She was speaking ahead of this years Green Carpet Fashion Awards which are taking place digitally later this month and will feature holograms and videos, like Minority Report, she said. Firth, who has been a fierce campaigner against fast fashion  inexpensive clothing produced by retailers such as Boohoo  said she though Covid would change peoples perspectives.

Coming out of that lockdown ... our primary instinct has been more like, I want to see my friends, rather than, I want to go shopping, so hopefully this will stay, she said.

Firth said for her own lockdown shed been lucky to spend it near Tuscany on a farm, where she also mastered Zoom, which, she added, for me, was a huge achievement.

Next step: changing fashion.

Poor Boris left dangling again in Mayfair

Artist Antony Haylock exclaims as strange requests go, this was up there. He made two life-size models of Boris Johnson when he was caught on a zipwire, waving Union Jacks. The effigies have been put up outside Richard Carings 34 Mayfair restaurant. Diners beware.

Bernadine fires her cannon at the canon

Getty Images

Bernardine Evaristo has called for canons, plural as she decried academics who present students with a limited palette of writers who are mostly white and writing whiteness. Evaristo, giving the Goldsmiths Prize lecture, said decolonising the curriculum was still important. Broadside.

Ivana isnt a morning person, says her PR

Loose Women

AFTER Ivana Trumps comment on Loose Women last month that immigrants rape and steal led to 78 complaints to Ofcom, her representative Liz Brewer tells us it was a bit early for her. She explained to The Londoner: It was four in the morning for her with hair and make up. She added she planned to have a very diplomatic word. She has been isolated and that doesnt do anybody any good. Something a little stronger than diplomatic would be better.

SW1A

Rahil Ahmad

Activist Dolly Theis says her Second Hand September campaign with MPs and peers was so successful shes planning to do it in October too, though she admits it doesnt have quite the same ring to it. She told us MPs leapt at the chance to show off their thrifty glad-rags around Westminster. Many told her theyd never before bought second-hand things. Theres a first time for everything.

---

JEREMY HUNT earlier this week pictured himself with his children at Go Ape, a treetop adventure park. So did he get up there himself? An aide tells us the former foreign secretary didnt this time but joined them last year when it knackered him out and made him realise sadly hes the wrong side of 50. Chin up, Jeremy, politicians are naturals on the high wires...
Whether his priorities should be funded through deaccessioning  long a flash-point in the museum field where the directors association has previously sanctioned members that have sold off artworks to pay for general operating expenses  is likely to be widely debated.

Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, while praising the move as a radical and creative idea that needs to be taken seriously by every museum in the country, also cautioned that this is not the solution for every museum. There is a slippery slope here because there are museums that have the wherewithal to solve this issue of inequality with the ranks of museum staff right now without selling one work of art, he said. If they wanted to, they could solve this problem.

In 2018, Mr. Bedford led the museums deaccessioning of seven paintings by blue-chip names to bring into the collection new works by lesser-known artists of color, better reflecting the citys majority Black population. Now he is taking a parallel action to respond to demands from his own staff members to address the extraordinary disparity of compensation between the lower end of the hierarchy and the top that is found at museums around the country.

This is done specifically in recognition of the protest being led by museum staff to be paid an equitable living wage to perform core work for an institution with a social justice mission  that symmetry between who we say we are and what we actually are behind our doors, said Mr. Bedford. He has not experienced staff insurrection of the scope being led at some institutions, including the Guggenheim Museum, but he has received substantial feedback that the B.M.A. needs to improve.
Several months into the pandemic, Peter Newell's Palo Alto, California-based innovation consulting firm BMNT hadn't skipped a beat. Business was up as more clients sought its advice on how to adapt to a world grappling with Covid-19 and his already distributed team made the remote work transition seamlessly. Still, Newell faced the same challenge all leaders faced, that of supporting a team that's juggling work, child care, and countless other challenges.

Now six months into the pandemic--with no discernible end in sight--that task is all the more urgent.

"Hope has pretty much worn off ... that an immediate solution to [Covid-19] is coming," Newell says of his team. "There has been a mixture of responses, everything from people exhibiting super human behavior to make everything work for everyone around them, to 'I'm burning out,' and everything in between."

As Newell, a former Army colonel who spent many years on the frontlines leading troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, prepares for the next six months, his top priority is to both keep things running smoothly and ensure employees find a way to recharge. "You have to be very careful how much gas is left in the tank when the veil of Covid finally lifts," he says.

Below, he offers tips on how to support employees' well-being as you lead them through whatever the next six months might bring.

Find out what your people really need.

Newell says the past six months have forced his employees to make very difficult decisions. One high-performing worker suddenly found herself homeschooling three young kids. At the same time, the pandemic shifted her husband's work into overdrive. Rather than juggle schooling plus work, she decided to take a leave of absence. "It got to the point where they realized they couldn't serve two masters," Newell says. "It was the right choice, given the circumstances."

What's a sustainable groove for one staffer is not the same for another. Finding out where each of your employees is on that spectrum, he says, is crucial to addressing burnout before it's too late.

Reinforce the value of taking time away.

Since the pandemic began, Newell has stressed to his staff the importance of not just taking some days off but taking a substantial break at some point. "A couple weeks--and I mean, shut off your phone and go read something different," he says, even if a destination vacation is impossible. If you don't disconnect from work to get a change in perspective, "it makes you dull," he says. "You won't be as focused or efficient in your thinking."

The reality, however, is that his employees are reluctant to take the time. To reinforce how important he thinks this is, Newell is hoping if he leads the way, more will follow. Soon, he and his wife plan to hop into their camper and go off the grid for two weeks.

Acknowledge the people who are picking up the slack.

Newell admits that BMNT--a two-time honoree on Inc.'s list of the fastest-growing companies, with $12 million in revenue in 2019--has been in a more fortunate position than many other businesses. He's added 10 people since the pandemic began. Encouraging two-week vacations may be unrealistic if your team is already struggling with so many employees dividing their time between family and work during the day. "There is always somebody who has to pick up the slack," he says. And rewarding those people with promotions or bonuses may be impossible right now.

"I don't know if there's a good answer for it, other than taking the time to call attention to the impact this has on everyone," Newell says. "Acknowledge those employees who are stepping up to the plate, and especially when they're dealing with things outside of the normal working window."

Listen to and validate their struggles.

"Overcommunicating still applies right now," Newell advises. He meets every other week with his directors and the rest of the staff and requires everyone to turn their computer cameras on so he can see their faces and how they're doing. Even this is inadequate, he says. So he also has one-on-ones as often as possible. The goal is to invite them to honestly tell you what they're feeling--without fear of being perceived like they're whining or dumping on you.

"The ones who concern me are the ones who are burying" the stress they're experiencing, Newell says.

How do you get employees to really be honest? Newell says he's learned a lot about this from being married for 30 plus years.

"I had to learn from my wife to listen and validate problems, rather than try to solve them," he notes. It's the same with his workforce. "I can make decisions that will keep us in business and reduce the impact on them as much as possible. But that doesn't mean it's not OK to vent difficulties. I need to provide that opportunity without malice or judgment."

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CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian and NZ dollars slipped against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, as investors turned cautious after U.S. President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.



Trump began the quarantine process along with First Lady Melania, who also got infected with the illness.



The news came after Hope Hicks, one of his closest aide, had tested positive.



Investors await the all-important nonfarm payrolls data for clues about the direction of monetary policy.



The economy is forecast to have added 900,000 jobs in September, compared to 1.37 million jobs in August. The unemployment rate is projected to fall to 8.2 percent from 8.4 percent.



Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 4.0 percent on month in August - coming in at A$29.481 billion.



That beat forecasts for a drop of 4.2 percent following the 3.2 percent gain in July.



The aussie dropped to 2-day lows of 74.93 against the yen, 0.7131 against the greenback and 1.6424 against the euro, after rising to 75.88, 0.7188 and 1.6330, respectively in early deals. The next possible support for the aussie is seen around 72.00 against the yen, 0.68 against the greenback and 1.66 against the euro.



Pulling back from its early highs of 0.9549 against the loonie and 1.0806 against the kiwi, the aussie depreciated to a 3-day low of 0.9498 and a 4-day low of 1.0771, respectively. Next key support for the aussie is likely seen around 0.92 against the loonie and 1.06 against the kiwi.



The kiwi edged down to 0.6615 against the greenback and 1.7703 against the euro, off its early high of 0.6655 and an 8-day high of 1.7639, respectively. The kiwi is seen finding support around 0.645 against the greenback and 1.82 against the euro.



The kiwi touched a 2-day low of 69.55 against the yen, down from a high of 70.25 seen at 8:00 pm ET. The kiwi is poised to find support around the 68.00 area.



Looking ahead, Eurozone CPI for September is scheduled for release in the European session.



U.S. factory orders for August, jobs data and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for September will be featured in the New York session.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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President Donald Trump's positive test for the coronavirus set off cascading effects through the chain of government  and raises a raft of constitutional issues should he endure a difficult illness or lose his battle with the disease.

The Constitution and laws enacted by Congress provide for a line of succession, as well as provisions for how to proceed if the president becomes incapacitated. A web of party and state election laws make provisions for how to proceed if a candidate must be replaced on the ballot.

The Election Day itself is fixed by law, and can be moved only by an act of Congress.

But there are ambiguities in all areas  from national party rules to state election law and even the line of succession  providing multiple avenues for chaos just 32 days before the Nov. 3 election.

Who is in charge of the country now?

President Trump continues to be in charge, both in title and effect. The White House reports that he has mild symptoms, and there were media reports that he was lethargic on the way back from events Wednesday and Thursday.

The White House physician says Trump and First Lady Melania Trump 'are both well at this time.'

The president cancelled a scheduled rally and has a single event on his schedule. He hasn't tweeted since announcing early this morning he tested positive for COVID-19.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters he spoke to the president and that Trump immediately pegged him with inquiries about the country. 'His first question to me this morning was: How is the economy doing? How are the stimulus talks going on Capitol Hill?' he said.

In reality, the massive U.S. government keeps plodding along even when the president is overseas or tending to his campaign or other matters. The major issue Meadows mentioned  a coronavirus relief package  has already been negotiated mostly by Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. All that would be needed from the president is a sign-off and his signature.

Should Trump's condition deteriorate, there are provisions in place for handing off temporary authority to the vice president. Trump is 74 and medically obese, placing him at higher risk than many Americans.

In the worst-case scenario, who comes after Mike Pence?

The line of succession is set by law - although there are ambiguities. Pence's role as successor is enshrined in the Constitution. The vice president tested negative for the coronavirus, his office revealed Friday.

If Pence, 60, were to become incapacitated or be unable to serve, next in line for the presidency would be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, 80, a Democrat, in terms set out by the Presidential Succession Act.

Next in line is the Senate president pro tempore, the senior-most majority party member, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, 87.

Next in line would be Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, followed by other secretaries.

Should Pelosi be elevated, Republicans could mount a challenge to the succession law. Some scholars question its constitutionality, and there are questions about whether she would have to resign her seat to step in.

There are also provisions in the 25th Amendment for the cabinet to step in if the president is 'unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.' This came up during the Russia probe, as it was revealed former acting attorney general Rod Rosenstein made a comment about it at a meeting while Trump raged about the probe. Rosenstein said he was joking.

Under a scenario where President Trump was living and sought to dispute the move, it would force a vote in Congress, with a two-thirds vote required in each house for his removal.





Can Republicans replace Donald Trump on the ballot?

The Republican National Committee has the ability to elevate the vice presidential candidate as the nominee or another Republican should Trump withdraw or die in office.

As it turns out, RNC chair Ronna McDaniel tested positive for the virus Wednesday, it was reported on Friday.

For any change, all 168 members of the RNC would have to meet to vote on Trump's replacement.

All members of states and territories would vote and met as the did in Charlotte. During a flap this summer when Trump sought to move the convention, party officials concluded that the RNC had to meet and couldn't do its vote virtually.

Replacing Trump on the ballot would be an extreme challenge  in part because people have already begun voting in many states.

Even if Trump were to die in office before election day, his name might still be on the ballot.

Even so, the Electoral College system could provide a solution. People who vote for Trump are in fact casting votes for a slate of electors.

The Electoral College meets in Congress on December 14.

'Basically, there is a possibility that even if Donald Trump's name is still on the ballot and he were to have withdrawn, that those electors could still end up voting for the Republican ticket, whatever that is, in December, John Fortier, the former executive director of the Continuity of Government Commission, told NPR.

People wait in line to cast their ballots in-person for the November 3rd elections at the early voting Chicago Board of Elections' Loop Super Site in Chicago, Illinois, on October 1, 2020

Among the most challenging scenarios is what will happen if the vice president and the cabinet wanted the president to go, but he was still living and not wanting to relinquish his office.

'Congress might have to decide whether to keep the president on, or to keep the vice president,' said Fortier. 'So it could go further down the line, but, you know, that would be the more extreme version.'

'Could the president's name be removed from the ballot? I think it would be very difficult,' he said.

Can the election be postponed in any form?

This is an idea that Trump himself floated as the coronavirus hit  only to be immediately shot down by Republican congressional leaders.

The Nov. 3 Election Day is set by law, not by the Constitution, and it technically could be changed. But this would require legislative action by the Democratic House and the Republican Senate, with the president's signature.

That power to set the election is derived from Article II of the Constitution.

It is possible states could still act to modify their election rules. Many have already done so amid the coronavirus, but those changes have already drawn legal challenges. The Republican Party and its allies have been fighting a variety of changes to expand mail voting, to do away with secondary envelopes, to loosen postmark rules and mail delivery times, to send mail ballots to all registered voters, and other steps.

Any last-ditch changes just weeks before Election Day would be certain to draw challenges from interested parties.

The Constitution sets the end of the presidential term at January 20.

States have the authority to set the procedures of their elections, and many opted to delay their primaries. But the national Election Day itself is fixed.

How we got here

The president confirmed on Friday that he and First Lady Melania tested positive for coronavirus after traveling with counselor Hope Hicks, who fell ill on Wednesday.

'Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!' he tweeted.

Trump is 74 years old, which puts him at higher risk of serious complications from virus.

With the presidential election less than 32 days away, the positive result means the government may have to consider contingency plans in line with the Constitution should Trump become too ill to go through with the race.

The 25th Amendment states that the vice president can replace the commander-in-chief temporarily in the event that Trump is incapacitated.

If the VP is also unable to assume control, the powers are then delegated to the Speaker of the House, in this case, Nancy Pelosi.

THURSDAY: Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 1, 2020, following campaign events in New Jersey hours before revealing he has COVID-19

The president tweeted to confirm the news shortly before 1am EST Friday

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump began 'their quarantine process' Thursday evening after Hope Hicks tested positive for COVID-19

Line of succession: Under the 25th Amendment, Vice President Mike Pence is next to assume executive control if the president cannot finish his term. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is second in line, if neither the president nor VP can take over

RNC RULES FOR FILLING VACANCIES FOR PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS The RNC's rules state it is authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention. The RNC may also reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies. In voting under this rule, the RNC members representing any state 9 of 43 shall be entitled to cast the same number of votes as said state was entitled to cast at the national convention. In the event that the members of the Republican National Committee from any state shall not be in agreement in the casting of votes, the votes of such state shall be divided equally, including fractional votes, among the members of the RNC present or voting by proxy. No candidate shall be chosen to fill any such vacancy except upon receiving a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the election. Advertisement

However, the looming election further complicates the matter, as the Democratic and Republican national committees could also pick a replacement to run on their party's ticket if the nominee were to withdraw.

The committee could choose to nominate the vice presidential candidate, or another member of their party.

The selection process would depend on the parties' respective bylaws.

Under this scenario, all 168 members of the RNC would have to meet to vote on Trump's replacement.

The rules require all members - three from each state and three from six territories - to cast the same number of votes they were entitled to cast at the national convention.

If members of a given state fail to unanimously agree on the casting of votes, they would then divide it equally and cast a third of those votes.

That scenario, although hypothetical, would be the first of its kind since no presidential candidate of either party has ever died or withdrawn before an election.

A statement from the White House doctor said both the president and first lady are 'well at this time' but did not say if either have symptoms.

If Trump becomes seriously ill, there are constitutional procedures that would allow Vice President Pence to assume power temporarily.

The Constitution's 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves 'unable to discharge the powers and duties' of the presidency.

If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted 'a written declaration to the contrary.'

This has happened occasionally, with Ronald Reagan briefly putting George H.W. Bush in charge during surgery in 1985, before George W. Bush temporarily transferred powers to Dick Cheney during colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007.

These were all brief, scheduled transfers of power and came nowhere near a re-election campaign.

There is also a second, never-used option: the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet can declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would become Acting President until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.

There has also been speculation about a delayed election, but this is highly unlikely because voting is already underway.

While the Constitution does not specify an election date, moving the poll would require an act of Congress including support from the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

And regardless of the election date, Trump's term ends on January 20.

First lady Melania tweeted: 'As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.'

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health.

WHAT DOES THE 25TH AMENDMENT SAY? CAN TRUMP'S CABINET REALLY TOPPLE HIM? The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution deals with presidential authority in the event of death or removal from office, and was ratified in 1967, in the wake of John F Kennedy's assassination. What does the 25th Amendment say? It is in four sections, all dealing with the president leaving office during his or her elected term. The first section states that the vice president takes over the Oval Office if the president dies or resigns  or is removed  something which the original Constitution did not clearly state. Presidents of course can be removed by impeachment, a feature of the constitution from the start. They can also be removed through the 25th Amendment - of which more below. Section II states that if the vice president dies, or resigns  or is fired  both the House and Senate have to confirm a new vice president. Until 1967, presidents could change vice presidents mid-term on their own if they got the vice president to agree to resign - not something that actually happened, but which was possible in principle. Section III makes clear that a president can temporarily delegate his powers to the vice president, and later reclaim them when he - or she - is capable of serving. This is most often invoked if a president is under the influence of surgical anesthetic for a short period of time. Section IV is the amendment's most controversial part: it describes how the president can be removed from office if he is incapacitated and does not leave on his own. The vice president and 'a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide' must write to both the president pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, saying that 'the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.' The term principal officers of the executive departments would normally mean the cabinet secretaries. So at least eight of the president's 15 most senior Cabinet members together with the vice president must agree that a president should be removed before any plan can move forward. Notifying the House Speaker and the Senate president pro tempore is the act that immediately elevates the vice president to an 'acting president' role. The deposed president can contest the claim, giving the leaders of the bloodless coup four days to re-assert their claims to the House and Senate. Congress then has two days to convene  unless it is already in session  and another 21 days to vote on whether the president is incapable of serving. A two-thirds majority in both houses is required to make that determination. As soon as there is a vote with a two-thirds majority, the president loses his powers and is removed, and the vice president stops acting and is sworn in as president. But if 21 days of debate and votes ends without a two-thirds majority, the president gets back his powers. What could happen to trigger the 25th Amendment? Vice President Mike Pence and eight of the 15 'principal' Cabinet members would have to agree to notify Congress that President Donald Trump was incapable of running the country. That group is made up of the Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Interior Secretary, Agriculture Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Labor Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretary, Transportation Secretary, Energy Secretary , Education Secretary, Veterans Affairs Secretary and Homeland Security Secretary. Their formal notification would go to the House Speaker and, in the senate, to the 'president pro tempore', the Senate's most senior member. As soon as the letter is sent, Pence would become 'acting president.' Alternatively, Congress could set up its own mechanism to decide if he is fit for office - maybe a commission, or a joint committee. Pence would still have to agree with its conclusion and then write formally to the Speaker and president pro tempore. Or another possibility is that the pool of 'principal officers' is considered to be bigger than the 15 and a majority of that group call Trump incapable. What if Trump does not agree? If Trump claims he is capable of holding office, he would write to the House Speaker and the president pro tempore of the Senate within four days, setting up three weeks of intense debate in both houses of Congress. Trump would be removed from office if both two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate agreed with Pence and his cabal. If either of both chambers fell short of that mark, Trump would retain his powers and likely embark on a wholesale housecleaning, firing Pence and replacing disloyal Cabinet members. Are there any loopholes? The 25th Amendment allows Congress to appoint its own panel to evaluate the president instead of relying on the Cabinet  the men and women who work most closely with Trump  to decide on a course of action. It specifies that some 'other body as Congress may by law provide' could play that role, but Pence would still need to agree with any finding that the president is incapable of discharging his duties. That commission could hypothetically include anyone from presidential historians to psychiatrists, entrusted to assess the president's fitness for office. Another loophole is that it does not spell out that the Cabinet is needed to agree, but says that the 'principal officers' of the departments are needed. That term is undefined in the constitution. In some departments legislation appears to name not just the secretary but deputies and even undersecretaries as 'principal officers', so many more people could be called in to the assessment of Trump's fitness. But Trump's cabinet has a swathe of 'acting' cabinet officer - and it is unclear if they could therefore take part in removing him. Could Trump fire Pence if he rebelled? No. The vice president can resign or be impeached and removed - but he does not serve at the pleasure of the president. Is there any precedent for this? No. Only Section III, the voluntary surrender of presidential powers, has ever been used - and only very briefly. In December 1978, President Jimmy Carter thought about invoking Section III when he was contemplating a surgical procedure to remove hemorrhoids. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush both voluntarily relinquished their powers while undergoing procedures under anesthetic. Section IV has also never been invoked, although there have been claims that Ronald Reagan's chief of staff Donald Regan told his successor, Howard Baker, in 1987 that he should be prepared to invoke it because Reagan was inattentive and inept. The PBS documentary 'American Experience' recounts how Baker and his team watched Reagan closely for signs of incapacity during their first meeting and decided he was in perfect command of himself. Advertisement

The White House had earlier distributed a schedule for Friday that showed he planned to go forward with a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and a political rally in Sanford, Florida. That has since been canceled.

Fears that the president may have contracted the virus were raised after it was revealed Hicks had traveled on both Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One in the past week.

Along with the trip to Wednesday night's rally, Hicks had been aboard Air Force One to fly to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland.

She was spotted by DailyMail.com getting off Air Force One in the city without her mask.

Hicks also traveled with the president to a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday where she was seen maskless and clapping to the Village People's YMCA.

Confirming the news of Hicks' positive test earlier in the evening Trump had told Fox News: 'Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know.

'I just went for a test and we'll see what happens.'

He later tweeted to confirm he and Melania were in quarantine, writing: 'Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!'

Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota Wednesday evening, according to an administration official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to disclose private information.

She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, that person said.
Since the Government first announced restrictions limiting people's movement on March 27th, gardai have had a large role in policing the measures.

New figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that 228 complaints have now been made to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) with Covid-19 mentioned as a factor.

For 228 complaints, its probably quite low considering the context of the policing operation that went on.

Jim Mulligan, the president of the Garda Representative Association, said the figures are not high considering their context.

Were into our sixth month, heading for our seventh month now of varying degrees of lockdown and I suppose the first couple of months of it was complete lockdown, he said.

For 228 complaints, its probably quite low considering the context of the policing operation that went on and is going on during it all. I mean, our interaction with the public has been hugely expanded as a result of this and with the checkpoints that have taken place.

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Almost 40 per cent or 90 of the complaints made were in relation to roads policing.

A further 22 complaints related to public order, while 14 were made about arrests.

20 of the complaints relate to north Dublin, while there were 16 in Donegal.
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Duluth International Airport in Duluth, Minnesota on Sept. 30, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Over Half of Attendees at Trumps Minnesota Rally Were Not Republicans: RNC

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Thursday that President Donald Trump continues to attract new voters from outside his base, citing figures from the presidents rally in Minnesota showing that 60 percent of the attendees werent Republican.

Our data from the Duluth Rally shows @realDonaldTrump is still bringing in tons of new voters, McDaniel wrote in a message on social media, noting also that 20.9 percent of those at the Duluth rally identified as Democrats.

Other figures cited by McDaniel were that 8.4 percent of attendees have not voted in the last four elections and that 17.2 percent did not vote in 2016.

Trump lost Minnesota to Hillary Clinton in 2016 by about 1.5 percent, or fewer than 45,000 votes. The Trump campaign is hopeful that he can flip the state in the upcoming election, with the figures cited by McDaniel reinforcing this view.

A recent MPR News/Star Tribune/KARE-11 Minnesota Poll, released Sunday, found that around 8 percent of likely voters in Minnesota said they are undecided, while 2 percent said they would vote for another candidate. With the poll putting Democrat nominee Joe Biden ahead of Trump by 6 points, the battle for the undecided demographic is a key one for the president.

Nathan Gonzales, the editor and publisher of Inside Elections, a nonpartisan election analysis website, told MinnPost in an interview that he believes Minnesota is within Trumps reach and he might be able to to flip the state.

Preya Samsundar, an RNC spokesperson, told MinnPost that she sees evidence Trumps chances in Minnesota are good.

Were seeing the tides turning. Theres a mass exodus of Democrats. There has been for a long time, she told the outlet.

Trump hit the campaign trail in Minnesota on Wednesday, claiming a win in Tuesdays first presidential debate against Biden and framing his bid for re-election as a values-based clash between freedom and socialism.

Im not just running against Joe Biden, Trump said at the Duluth rally. Im running against the corrupt far-left media, socialists, and communists, and the Democrat Party, and the special interests whove made a living bleeding our country dry.

At the rally, Trump denounced Antifaa far-left anarcho-communist group that has been involved in rioting across the United States in recent monthsand pointed out how Biden called Antifa just an idea.

Ideas dont assault cops and they dont burn down buildings, Trump said. Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Just as the stalemate over the Chief Ministerial candidate of the AIADMK continued, a message posted by the partys official twitter handle that party MLAs have been summoned to the headquarters on October 6, a day ahead of the announcement for CM candidate caused ripples for a few hours.

While many of the MLAs and senior functionaries told Express that they did not receive any message from the AIADMK headquarters to come to Chennai on October 6.

AIADMK headquarters also denied that they did not send any such invitation. However, the tweet posted by @AIADMKOfficial remained there for over three hours and later it was deleted without any explanation.

Party sources said it was the handiwork of a section of the IT wing and the tweet was put out as a message conveyed to another section of the party.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha M Thambidurai called on Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam at his residence held lengthy discussions and Law Minister CVe Shanmugam held an hour-long discussion with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at his residence. Later, Panneerselvam left for Theni district by road. He is expected to return to Chennai on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Palaniswami and Panneerselvam met at Gandhi statue on Marina. Both reciprocated formal greetings and offered floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. Later, both leaders together paid homage to former Chief Minister K Kamaraj at his memorial in Guindy.

When asked whether it was possible to announce the Chief Ministerial candidate October 7, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said he could not assure that but would say that everything would come to an end in a smooth manner.
In a truly once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, Virginias Franklin County Sheriff and four deputies all welcomed baby girls into their families within weeks of one another.

The colleagues got together to mark the occasion with a photoshoot that was both rare and adorable.

Sheriff Bill Overton stood front and center on the day with his baby granddaughter in his arms. Standing proudly beside him were his four colleagues, holding their own daughtersall five babies dressed in matching onesies, with thin-blue-line designs, and sporting dark-blue ribbons on their heads.

Meanwhile, photographer Brad Holley had the honor of immortalizing the moment for posterity.

In one photo, the sheriff and his deputies pose with their baby girls in front of the department building with two patrol cars. Another shot features all four lying on a Thin Blue Line flag taken from above in honor of their fathers, and grandfathers, chosen profession.

A message on the baby girls onesies reads My Hero.

Holley later took to Facebook to share some of his favorite snaps from the shoot. I think that its pretty cool to have 5 girl babies, all born so close together, in one department, he captioned, admitting in good humor that it was a little difficult to get all five babies to cooperate for group photos.

[B]ut we did the best that we could, Holley signed off, and they were all sooo cute! More to come later!

Deputy Justin Hylton jumped into the comments section to thank Holley for facilitating the day. Thank you for capturing these moments for us and our little ones, he wrote. We talk about our babies every day with each other at work. It was great to get them all together for this opportunity!

This is absolutely beautiful, added one netizen. Theyre all going to be best friends one day!

Adorable, added another. They should take pictures together each year!

Sheriff Overton took office in January 2012, and describes himself on the Sheriffs office website as humbled by the response of the Franklin County community to his efforts to build a reciprocal relationship. In fact, Overton credits the input of the community for helping make the county such a great location for himself, and his colleagues, to raise their families.

Without their support and trust, Overton writes, we could not have accomplished the many initiatives that have helped develop our community into a much safer place to raise our families.

Holleys heartwarming photos of Franklin Countys finest, with their baby girls proudly in their arms, are giving the whole community something to smile about.

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter here: https://www.theepochtimes.com/newsletter
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 21:19:32|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Science Council of Japan said Friday it will continue to urge Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to explain his refusal to appoint six people as new members of the organization which operates under the auspices of the premier but makes proposals independently from the state.

The council's decision followed Suga not appointing six of the 105 nominees who were set to join the council from Thursday.

Japanese leaders have been naming members of the council as recommended by its members since 2004, based on the country's law and on the organization's protocols.

Suga's refusal to appoint the six members is the first time since 2004 that a prime minister has decided against appointing nominees.

Suga also refused to provide reasons why he denied appointments to the council of the recommended academics.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a press briefing on the matter that the prime minister "is not obliged to appoint the recommended people to the council."

He added that the appointment of the council's members "is under the legal jurisdiction of the prime minister and that the government will appoint members based on its own views."

Opposition parties and individuals snubbed by Suga took aim at the new Japanese leader, suggesting the move could lead to impartiality in the council's research and called into question the constitutionality of Suga's decision.

"The refusal to appoint without a clear reason raises constitutional questions," Takaaki Matsumiya, a Ritsumeikan University professor specializing in penal code, who was among the excluded six, during a joint hearing held by opposition parties, was quoted by Kyodo News as saying.

Matsumiya spoke out in parliament in 2017 against the controversial conspiracy bill, believed by opposition parties and some legal entities at the time to infringe on certain civil liberties.

The move was also called into question by Constitution professor at Jikei University School of Medicine, Ryuichi Ozawa, who described Suga's action as "a major infringement of academic freedom."

Ozawa has also spoken out in parliament about previous controversies related to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), now headed by Suga.

These included him saying in 2015 that controversial security legislation that paved the way for Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to exercise the right to collective self-defense was "unconstitutional."

Secretary-general of the LDP's own junior coalition Komeito ally, Keiichi Ishii, for his part, said that the government should provide "an explanation as thoroughly as possible even if they cannot give the full details."

Established in 1949, the Science Council of Japan describes itself as a "special organization under the jurisdiction of the prime minister, operating independently of the government, for the purpose of promoting and enhancing the field of science, and having science reflected in and permeated into administration, industries and people's lives."

"It represents Japan's scientists both domestically and internationally with the firm belief that science is the foundation upon which a civilized nation is built," according to the council's website. Enditem
WASHINGTON  The House of Representatives voted along mostly party lines to pass a revised COVID-19 relief bill Thursday evening as negotiations remained stalled with the White House and a deal between Democrats and Republicans on urgently needed aid remained out of reach.

The proposal, a pared-down version of the Heroes Act passed by House Democrats in May, passed on a 214-207 vote. All Republicans voted against it, along with 18 Democrats.

The Republican-controlled Senate likely will not act on the bill. Republican senators have balked at a higher price tag for more relief.

House Democrats unveiled their $2.2 trillion proposal on Monday, though House Republicans panned the bill as a socialist wish list, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters it would be outlandish to think Senate Republicans would support a relief bill over $2 trillion.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Thursday the Trump administration was counteroffering a package with $1.6 trillion in relief funds, leaving the two sides hundreds of billions of dollars apart.

Democrats acknowledge the bill under consideration Thursday evening will not be the final version of a stimulus deal.

"Negotiations are continuing, and I ardently hope that we can soon return to this Floor with a bipartisan agreement," House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said on the House floor. "In the meantime, a strong vote tonight will show our will to act and bring us closer to delivering much-needed relief to American families."

House Democrats had lined up a vote Wednesday evening on the legislation but postponed the vote to give Pelosi and Mnuchin another day to negotiate.

'You know that your dream's ending': Flight attendants bid tearful goodbyes as they're furloughed

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Pelosi did not appear optimistic Thursday about the prospects of coming to a bipartisan deal on a coronavirus stimulus bill.

Story continues

While Pelosi said she remained "hopeful" and called talks with Mnuchin "constructive," she noted that Democrats and the White House had "a difference, not just of dollars, but of values."

"Hopefully, we can find our common ground on this and do so soon," the California Democrat said.

But even after Mnuchin and Pelosi spoke again by phone Thursday, Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill said distance on key areas remain.

Pelosi told reporters later Thursday a deal had still not been reached, and "Even if we came to some agreement, nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. It's the language."

Asked about the odds of an agreement, she said, "I don't know, it just depends. We'll see."

The impasse in negotiations comes as many of the benefits previously approved by Congress have already run out. The $600 federal boost to unemployment benefits ran out in July, a loan forgiveness program for small businesses expired, and airlines have warned of mass layoffs and furloughs as their billions of dollars in federal payroll assistance expire on Oct. 1.

The bill, an updated version of legislation passed by House Democrats, would provide a round of $1,200 relief checks, reauthorize the small-business lending program, bring back the $600 federal boost to the unemployment benefit through January and provide assistance for the airline industry.

The bill includes:

$225 billion in education funding, with $182 billion for K-12 schools and about $39 billion for post-secondary education

$120 billion in grants for restaurants

$436 billion in assistance for state, local and tribal governments

$75 billion for COVID-19 testing, tracing and isolation measures

$15 billion in funding for the U.S. Postal Service

Increased food assistance benefits

Among the sticking points in negotiations have been the amount of the unemployment benefit, which Republicans said would disincentivize work if it provides too much money. Democrats offered $600 in their proposals, whereas Republicans offered $200 and $300 in other proposals. Both sides also remain far apart on the amount of aid to give to state and local governments. Republicans are wary of adding to the deficit and say the money would bail out mismanaged local governments.

More: Travel industry layoffs begin as Congress fails to come up with new relief package

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19 stimulus: House passes bill as negotiations hit roadblock
Nearly four months after it was canceled by Paramount Network, Cops has quietly resumed production in Spokane County, Washington.

The sheriffs department in Spokane confirmed Thursday that two Cops film crews have been riding with the County Sheriffs Office and Spokane Valley Deputies since September and will do so through December. We have a longstanding relationship with COPS and Langley productions, and we are pleased they have decided to return, the Sherrifs office said in a press release.

The episodes will not air in the U.S. but are being produced in order to fulfill contractual commitments the series has with the international territories where it airs, a rep for the shows producer, Langley Productions, told TheWrap.

Also Read: Texas Sheriff Indicted Over Destruction of 'Live PD' Footage in Javier Ambler Case

Cops was canceled after a 33-year run by the Paramount Network amid the nationwide protests against police brutality after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

A&E also canceled its top-rated Live PD, which also followed officers on patrol.

Shows like COPS highlight the work of law enforcement. They show, even for a few minutes, what the men and women out protecting our communities deal with day in and day out, Sherrif Ozzie Knezovich said in a statement. People need to see how quickly things can turn, the decisions that need to be made quickly, and how well Deputies and Officers adjust and respond appropriately. They show the hard work and professionalism of law enforcement, despite what some anti-law enforcement activists and those in the media want you to believe.

Read original story Cops Resumes Filming in Washington State At TheWrap
Ken Klippenstein is not a meme. Well, hes not just a meme. The DC correspondent for The Nation is probably best known to the general public for starting (and winning) a Twitter fight with billionaire Elon Musk. If you dont know him from that, chances are youve heard about the time he fooled then-congressman Steve King into quote-tweeting a picture of Klippensteins uncle Col. Nathan Jessup (a character portrayed by Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men) on the Fourth of July. Klippenstein promptly changed his Twitter display name to Steve King is a white supremacist for all of the Iowa Republicans followers to see.

But beyond his pugnacious Twitter presence, Klippenstein, 32, has emerged as one of the most fearless reporters of the Trump era, as willing to report deeply and sympathetically on the internecine conflicts within the bureaucracies of the executive branch as he is to tweak Trumps allies on social media. Klippensteins reporting on the Department of Homeland Security, his work dispelling rumors that the FBI seriously considered anitifa a terrorist threat, and sundry other scoops have made him the go-to guy for the kinds of sensitive documents most reporters would kill, or at least maim, to acquire.

And it turns out the Twitter stuff helps with sourcing, too. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I sort of become a dissent channel for career people that I think a lot of other reporters pass up.

You moved to The Nation in January. How are you settling in?

Its been great. They give me a long leash in terms of the time I need to pursue things, which Im so grateful for.

Just having the time to write the stories, man! I mean, the way [newsrooms] try to squeeze quotas out of reporterseverything is going to be superficial if you have to write three or four stories a week. They seduce these kids right out of college. Hey, you want a job for 50k? And you say, whoa, thats a lot of money, what do I do? Oh, youre on breaking news! Well, that sounds sort of kinetic and exciting. And then after two years and a thousand stories, youre burned out and you dont really have any skills to bring anything elseincluding elsewhere in the industry.

How did you decide you wanted to be in journalism, given those pressures?

I graduated in 2010, right in the middle of the financial crisis, and the stakes seemed really high. I wanted to be a fiction writer, but then I saw everything falling apart, and it just became impossible to ignore the political situation. So I thought, Well, reporting is one way to keep writing and still address this. I didnt have the same access to sources. I mean, youre a reporter, you know? There are things people will tell you in person that they wont tell you over the phone. So I had to find another approach, and when I discovered FOIA, the dowsing rod just went down. You can get your government documents for free, essentially, and they have to give them to youin theory. Once I started getting those, a lot of the editors I had been working with didnt really care that I didnt have a background in media or any formal training. They really liked the primary-source documentsthose dont depend on the credibility of the reporter, because its just, you know, the receipts.

When did people start coming to you directly with those documents?

It really ramped up under the Trump administration. The big untold story about this administration, I think, is that there is a civil war going on in a lot of the agencies, even the agencies that you think of as being really partisan Trump people. The ICE union endorsed Trump, which is very unusual. [Even] the FBIs trade group doesnt get into politics like that. So youd look at that and think Whoa, [ICE] is made up of really partisan Trump people, youre not gonna get anything from them! But it turns out when you talk to the folks inside, particularly the career peoplethe bureaucrats, not the political appointeesthey dont like whats happening.

One former DHS official told me hed been tasked with chasing down people who had overstayed their visas. He said, This is not what I signed up for. I signed up to track cartels, to monitor human trafficking. But that doesnt fit into the prism of this Presidents ideology. [Reporting on DHS,] you will actually find a lot of people who maybe you dont agree with politically, but have a lot of reservations about the way things are being pursued.

So I sort of become a dissent channel for career people that I think a lot of other reporters pass up.

You went to [Christian college] Wheaton, right?

Yeah.

I assume that means that youre from a fairly conservative background.

Oh yeah. I couldnt tell you how many people in the intelligence community I meetparticularly older guys, who are very Christianand, when they see that, theyre like, Oh, a young Wheaton man! Im happy to talk to you. I have a very weird Christian background. My parents are Christian, but my dad is Mennonite. Do you know what Mennonites are?

Sure. Where I grew up I remember we had Mennonites selling honey at the gun shows.

Theyre a very heterodox group because, I guess, they have a lot of conservative views, but then theyre sort of like the Quakers in terms of being really into pacifism and left-wing foreign policy. So I never really slotted in with the kind of conservative Christianity you might think of, although they were intensely religious, and that helps a lot with being able to interact with certain sets of people. I still have a lot of affection for that religious tradition. It helped me think about things.

How did you learn to write a FOIA request?

Oh, the same way I learned everythingby pestering the people who were doing it. They were mostly very kind. I bugged the people at MuckRock a lottheres a whole culture of FOIA warriors, and theyre kind of like my sources. A lot of them are libertarian conservative types. I dont know why that is. The left doesnt do that stuff as much. And then a lot of it was just fucking around, which is how Id characterize my entire approach to everything. Eventually something works, and then you just keep doing that.

Its really notable that youve managed to succeed in political journalism, where it often feels like everyone knows everyone else from school.

When I was younger, I was worried about that. If everybody knows each other, how am I gonna get in here? I didnt go to one of these fancy schools! And then as I got older, I realized that its actually sort of a crutch: if you do that, you get to rely on these types that end up becoming the political appointees I was describing before. The dirty secret of some of the big legacy papers is that theyre getting a lot of their stuff from the White House. Im not saying not to do thatits important to learn things from wherever you canbut if youre only going to the politicals, youre not going to hear what the rank and file have to say. And theyre often at loggerheads with each other.

So what do you feel is under-reported at the moment? What should we be reading more of on your beat?

I would love to read more coverage on the case for reform of DHS, not from the left, but from DHS rank and file. So many people I talked to there are very conservative but would love to dismantle the agencynot by vaporizing all of its components, but by returning those components to the agencies that they used to be under. Almost all the agencies within DHS, other than intelligence and analysis, already existed under other auspices [before DHS was formed in 2002].

Like when there was an Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Exactly. And the Secret Service used to be under the Treasury, and so forth. A lot of these guys want to go back to that. Of course, I think there should be a moral case for not, you know, splitting up families at the border. Thats clear! But there are other debates and other arguments, in addition to that, that could appeal to different types of people. House Democrats are suddenly looking at this seriously. So I think that its a really important time to do that kind of thing.

The Nations audience is very lefty and a lot of what youre writing would potentially be of interest to very conservative DC audiences. Are you looking to broaden horizons there?

That is absolutely my aspiration. In my opinion, a lot of the national security reporting tends to be pretty if not reactionary, then center. And theres a lot of appetite for something different. I do get screamed at by lefties sometimesWhy are you friends with ICE people, and things like thatbut if they want to dismantle the agency, if thats what theyre interested in learning from this reporting, they should understand the parts and pieces and how they go together.

Do you remember when the Mueller report came out and everyone was talking about SIGINT [signals intelligence] and all that?

Yes! Everyone started writing proper names in all caps.

Its so annoying! But it also marginalizes ordinary people who dont have time to learn all the weird lingo.

The point seems to be make people feel like theyre too stupid to understand it so they have to follow us on Twitter or buy our books.

Yeah. I mean, it is complex, but you dont have to understand it on a technical level, as though you were going to go and work for the FBI. You just need to understand the big picture. Readers want to understand whether something is advancing the public interest or not. Thats a much easier picture to paint.

So, have you heard from Steve King lately?

[Laughs.] No, I havent heard from him. But you would be amazed how many sources Ive gotten who are like, Hey, arent you the guy from Steve King? Id much rather be known as the guy who has some public interest story that advanced an important discussion, but unfortunately, its Are you the Steve King guy? But then theyre like, Oh, this is so great! You know, Im in such-and-such a federal agency, can you help me with a story? Even people from the intelligence community. Ill get spooks who reach out! Its so weird.

When I came into this, I thought, Oh, Im going to break stories, and people will see me as credible on the issues, and then stakeholders in that little field will reach out. Nope! I mean, that has happened, but there have been many more responses to these insane memes, like Elon Musk screaming at me and calling me a douche. Far more people reach out and leak stuff to me over that than over stuff Ive written. But thats how it goes, I guess.

Theres a big generational divide over whether or not to mind your manners when powerful people are behaving badly, and it sounds like not doing so has paid off for you.

Well, I was never properly socialized at a journalism school, so I wouldnt even know how to follow the decorum even if I wanted to. Sometimes I end up violating little norms that I dont even understand. People tell me that, and Im just like, Dude, youre telling me that if I clean up my act, people will talk to me instead of a seventh-generation Yale grad? My view is always that youll never be able to be more deferent and polite than those guys, so why even fucking try?

RECENTLY: Television is making more documentaries than everbut skipping the journalism

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Sam Thielman is the former Tow editor at the Columbia Journalism Review, and a reporter and critic based in New York. He is the creator, with film critic Alissa Wilkinson, of Young Adult Movie Ministry, a podcast about Christianity and movies, and his writing has been featured in The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, and Variety, among others.
France has arrested 29 people accused of using crypto-currency to fund jihadist fighting in Syria reports Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

French police on Tuesday arrested 29 people in a sting operation targeting a network of terror financing for jihadists in Syria, prosecutors said.

The network, active since 2019, mostly operated via the purchase of crypto-currency coupons whose references were given to jihadist contacts in Syria and then credited to bitcoin accounts, the anti-terror prosecutors office said in a statement.

This marks a departure from previous methods to transfer funds identified by Frances anti-terror financing and money laundering services, which mostly involved cash mandates, it said.

Constant surveillance of these networks prompted terrorist organisations to seek more opacity by using crypto-currencies such as bitcoin, the statement said.

Two French jihadists, identified as Mesut S and Walid F, both 25, are believed to be the architects of the network, working from northeastern Syria, the prosecutors said.

They are suspected members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organisation, an al-Qaeda affiliate.

They were both sentenced to 10 years in prison in absentia in 2016, and are the target of an international arrest warrant.

Their accomplices were caught after purchasing coupons worth 10 to 150 euros (12 to 176 dollars) each on many occasions over recent months in several locations in France.

The coupons are available at licenced tobacco outlets known as Tabacs  of which there are about 24,000 in France  that also offer various small payments services, such as cashcard top-ups and money coupons, without requiring proof of identity.

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.
Certain areas of Donegal have an incidence rate of coronavirus four times the national average (stock photo)

Some 100,000 jobs are at risk as there has been a dramatic collapse in new hotel bookings over the past fortnight, the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has said.

According to a survey conducted by the IHF, the hotel sector would normally expect to generate 350,000 new bookings each week at this time of the year, however, due to Covid-19 and the additional restrictions implemented by the government, this number is down by 70pc.

Hotel room occupancy rates across the country are at 40pc for September, 22pc for October and 11pc for November based on business currently booked. This compares to 89pc last September, 81pc last October and 82pc last November.

The survey is based on a response from 305 properties which accounts for 32,475 guestrooms throughout the country.

Some 270,000 livelihoods are supported by the tourism sector, which is one in 10 of all Irish jobs. So far this year, 100,000 of these jobs have been lost with the IHF saying that a further 100,000 of these are at immediate risk.

Read More

Due to the unprecedented circumstances, the federation is calling for enhanced employment subsidies, a reduction in tourism VAT to 9pc, additional liquidity measures, and a restoration of international travel safely.

The situation has now deteriorated further in recent days, and we have reached a critical point with cancellations wiping out all new business generated over the week, Chief Executive of the IHF Timm Fenn said.

Effectively, no net new business has been generated over the last seven days for the country as a whole  the first time this has happened since the sector reopened at the end of June.

The collapse in new bookings is extremely worrying and adds to an already exceptionally challenging environment. It is a direct consequence of additional Government restrictions and points to a very difficult number of months ahead.

This must be recognised by the Government in the upcoming Budget. Existing supports for the tourism industry are totally inadequate given the current restrictions. Urgent and unprecedented intervention by the Government is essential to support tourism and safeguard the thousands of jobs that are at risk.

Although he agreed that public health must always be number one priority, this goes hand in hand with ensuring a viable economy when this pandemic has passed.

The survey was carried out on Monday, September 28, the breakdown of occupancy results for Octover/November 2020 is as follows:

National room occupancy: 22pc Oct / 11pc Nov

Dublin City and County: 10pc Oct / 8pc Nov

Border region: 31pc Oct / 16pc Nov

Mid-West: 21pc Oct / 11pc Nov

Midlands / Mid East: 25pc Oct / 9pc Nov

South East: 38pc Oct / 17pc Nov

South West: 29pc Oct / 11pc Nov

West: 29pc Oct / 14pc Nov
CLINTON  Pumpkins On Parade: DIY & Community Display is being hosted by the Henry Carter Hull Library.

Register to pick up a pumpkin at Henry Carter Hull Library between 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 24 to take hom and carve. Bring it to the library between Oct. 28-29, to be displayed in the librarys windows for Halloween.

The library will illuminate all the pumpkins in the evenings of Oct. 29-Oct. 31, while viewers drive, walk, or parade past the library windows.

Registration is required to reserve a pumpkin. Limited to one pumpkin per family/household, while supplies last. All ages welcome.

To register visit hchlibrary.org/event/pumpkins-on-parade, email askus@hchlibrary.org, or call 860-669-2342. Prizes will be awarded.

Voya Financial honors local teachers

BRANFORD  Since 1996, the Voya Unsung Heroes program has awarded more than $5 million to help the nations educators turn innovative teaching ideas into reality.

Voya Financial, a leading provider of retirement plans for educators, recently announced that Jacqueline Thurston and David Carpenter, teachers at Totoket Valley Elementary School in North Branford, have received a $2,000 grant as part of the companys 2020 Unsung Heroes awards competition.

Through the Voya Unsung Heroes program, Voya Financial awards grants to K-12 educators nationwide to honor their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects and their ability to positively influence the children they teach.

"For more than two decades, we have been committed to making a difference in the community by investing in the future of education and providing opportunity for educators to innovate, said Heather Lavallee, president of Tax Exempt Markets. Though every year we celebrate the Unsung Heroes whose ideas in the classroom will better prepare our nation's children for a rapidly changing workforce, this year is unique. Educators like Jacqueline and David have had to be particularly innovative, and will continue to be, as they find new and creative ways to reach their students to help keep them engaged and learning during challenging times. It is instances like these that make us proud to support Americas educators as they go above and beyond to prepare their leaders of tomorrow for successful futures.

Thurstons and Carpenters innovative teaching idea, Adventure Programming, focuses on the schools Project Adventure classes and camps, which partner after school enrichment with physical education. These classes and camps teach students life skills such as shared leadership, respectful collaboration, teamwork, negotiation and transcending comfort zones. The Voya grant will be used to take these classes and camps to the next level through the purchase and installation of new equipment to expand the elements of the Project Adventure classes and camps. Through this project, Thurston and Carpenter hope to build community in the classroom by enabling various classes to work together, socially and emotionally.

Where necessary, some programs will need to be adjusted for distance learning or will have to be recalibrated for implementation based on social distancing requirements in each state.

Selected from a group of applicants from across the country, Thurston and Carpenter are among only 50 winners across the country who will receive this award to help fund and bring their program to life. In addition, they will now compete with other finalists for one of the top three prizes  an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 from Voya Financial.

To learn more about this years winning projects, as well as those from previous years, visit the Unsung Heroes website (unsungheroes.com). Applications for the 2021 Voya Unsung Heroes awards are currently being accepted through the website until April 30, 2021.

Unsung Heroes is part of Voya Foundations signature program, Voya Teacher Voices. Voya Teacher Voices focuses on empowering teachers to become leaders by promoting the teaching career, recognizing high-achieving accomplishments, providing training opportunities and offering financial support to achieve their goals.

First Church providing Sunday lunches to shelter

MIDDLETOWN  First Church in Middletown has answered the call from St Vincent DePaul, to provide 80-100 Sunday lunches to residents of The Mens Shelter at the YMCA and The Eddy Shelter (the homeless shelter in town). The church has been providing meals each Sunday since April.

The effort is supported by First Churchs Vision Fund and individual donors to address food insecurity. With the pandemic the need is urgent. We also wanted to support local restaurants so our plan has been to purchase grab and go meals from local restaurants (see list below) for distribution on Sundays. The response has been fantastic and we are happy to partner with these restaurants. Chu Ngo from Lan Chi Vietnamese Restaurant has taken on the coordination of this program, according to a statement.

To support the program, residents can make a donation to First Church, 190 Court Street, Middletown, CT 06457 and write Sunday Lunch Program in the memo line. The cost of one Sundays meals is $500.

Residents can also help by supporting local restaurants by either ordering takeout or enjoying outside dining.

Fall classess to begin at Epoch Arts

EAST HAMPTON  Epoch Arts, 27 Skinner St., East Hampton, is starting a small 4 week class session, with a reduced number of students in each class and a reduced number of classes offered

We have individual desks for each child, will provide each child their own supplies for the classes, will be disinfecting the classrooms and common rooms and are also offering many classes that will meet in our outside classroom, according to a statement. Class times have changed to accommodate cleaning and to reduce the number of people in the building. The new class times are 3:30-4:30 pm and 5:15-6:15 pm. Masks must be worn and we will follow COVID guidelines as we proceed. Full Epoch COVID guidelines can be found on our class registration page. This may seem like a lot, but it is worth it if we are able to safely meet with our students and have some quality, in person time with them.

All class offerings are posted online and registration is now open. Visit !http://www.epocharts.org/classes-registration/ to register.
Investment Community Teleconference Set for November 6, 2020 at 8 a.m. ET

TORONTO, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Hydro One Limited (TSX: H), the largest electric transmission and distribution utility in Ontario, plans to release its third quarter financial results the morning of November 6, 2020 before North American financial markets open. A summary of the results will be distributed by newswire and the complete MD&A and financial statements will be posted at hydroone.com/investors and www.sedar.com.

Hydro One's management will host a teleconference with the investment community at 8 a.m. ET that same morning to discuss the results and outlook. Those wishing to listen to the teleconference should access the live webcast on the Investor Relations Events and Presentations section of Hydro One's website at www.hydroone.com/investors. A rebroadcast of the teleconference will be available following the call at the same link.

Those members of the North American financial community wanting to ask questions during the call should dial 1.866.221.1674 at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time and request Hydro One's third quarter results teleconference, conference ID 5952718 (international callers should dial 1.270.215.9604). Other interested parties and media are welcome to participate on a listen-only basis.

Hydro One Limited (TSX: H)

Hydro One Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with approximately 1.4 million valued customers, approximately $27.1 billion in assets as at December 31, 2019, and annual revenues in 2019 of approximately $6.5 billion.

Our team of approximately 8,800 skilled and dedicated employees proudly build and maintain a safe and reliable electricity system which is essential to supporting strong and successful communities. In 2019, Hydro One invested approximately $1.7 billion in its transmission and distribution networks and supported the economy through buying approximately $1.5 billion of goods and services.

We are committed to the communities where we live and work through community investment, sustainability and diversity initiatives. We are designated as a Sustainable Electricity Company by the Canadian Electricity Association.

Hydro One Limited's common shares are listed on the TSX and certain of Hydro One Inc.'s medium term notes are listed on the NYSE. Additional information can be accessed at www.hydroone.com; www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov.

SOURCE Hydro One Limited

Related Links

http://www.hydroone.com


DENVER, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greeting Card Association (GCA) has moved to the Denver area, and is gearing up to operate under an innovative new management model. By combining the executive leadership of a proven non-profit changemaker and the operational expertise of an established association management company, GCA enters the next phase in its history with renewed energy and optimism.

Nora Weiser, CEO & Founder of Denver non-profit consultancy 12 Flavor, LLC, will join the organization as its Executive Director. Weiser will focus on board-level transformation, governance, strategic planning, and fostering innovative new approaches to achieving GCA's mission. Weiser previously served for ten years at the helm of the American Cheese Society, transforming the organization to better serve its members while elevating the profile of American artisan cheeses. Under Weiser's leadership, the organization more than doubled its membership, revenues, and annual event attendance.

Weiser is partnering with Aurora-based Civica Associations, Conferences & Exhibitions, an association management company that focuses on streamlining operations and helping clients better utilize technology to advance efficienciesand their missions. "Association management companies know the nuts and bolts of running associations," says Don Knox, Managing Director of Civica. "Partnering with Nora gives us the chance to put real focus on GCA's mission and vision at the Board level, and see how that informs Civica's ability to deliver improved service to the association and its members."

George White, President and COO of Up With Paper and current GCA president, is excited about making this move as GCA gears up to head into its 80th year in 2021. "All industries have been impacted by the current pandemic," says White, "and it has given us a chance to reevaluate how we do things, why we do things, and most importantly how our organization, and the industry we serve, are changing. As a creative industry, we are excited to partner with a creative leader and a creative management company to help us change, grow, and evolve."

In addition to its mission to educate, promote, represent, and celebrate the greeting card industry, GCA's move to new management coincides with high-profile changes occurring at the United States Postal Service. More than 60% of greeting cards sent in the U.S. are delivered by USPS, and GCA advocates tirelessly on behalf of its members, and the citizen mailer, to maintain affordable, timely mail delivery six days a week.

About the Greeting Card Association

Founded in 1941, The Greeting Card Association (GCA) is the non-profit U.S. trade association serving the greeting card and social expressions industry. GCA represents nearly 200 American and international publishers and industry partners by promoting the tradition of sending greeting cards, helping members grow their businesses, recognizing creativity, and serving the industry and citizen mailer as a voice for media, leadership, and advocacy on industry issues.

Contact: Nora Weiser

Executive Director

[email protected]

202.216.9627

SOURCE Greeting Card Association

Related Links

https://www.greetingcard.org


Sen. Mike Lee Tests Positive for COVID-19

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, following the diagnoses of President Donald Trump and the first lady.

Lee said in a statement at around noon on Friday that he tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus that emerged last year in China.

Lee said on Thursday, he was experiencing symptoms consistent with longtime allergies. He then sought medical attention and was tested for the virus.

Unlike the test I took just a few days ago while visiting the White House, yesterdays test came back positive, Lee said, adding that he will remain isolated for the next 10 days on the advice of the Senate attending physician.

Like so many other Utahns, I will now spend part of 2020 working from home, Lee remarked. He told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that he will return to work at the Judiciary Committee to advance Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett to the full Senate for a final vote.

Meanwhile, President Trump is experiencing mild symptoms of the virus, said White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Friday morning. First Lady Melania Trump also confirmed she is suffering mild symptoms.

Trump is not incapacitated and is working in isolation to avoid infecting others, Meadows said. He gave no other details.

We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER! Trump said in a Twitter post early on Friday morning.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife tested negative, a Pence spokesman said. The White House official said Pence would work from his own residence several miles from the White House and his staff was being kept separate from Trumps staff out of an abundance of caution.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 29, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Pence, 61, a conservative former U.S. lawmaker and Indiana governor, would take over if Trump were to become incapacitated.

The Republican National Committee would choose a replacement nominee if Trump were to become incapacitated, but it is already too late in most states to change the names on the ballot. Millions of ballots have been sent out to voters and at least 2.2 million people have already voted, according to figures compiled by University of Florida Professor Michael McDonald.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 23:41:36|Editor: huaxia

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TASHKENT, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Businesses in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic in northwestern Uzbekistan, will receive tax incentives for a three-year period to accelerate economic and social growth, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on Friday.

Businesses engaged in the spheres prioritized by the government will be exempted from land, property and sales tax for small businesses turnover, as well as income tax for individual entrepreneurs for a period of three years, Mirziyoyev said at the session of the Jokargy Kenes, the parliament of Karakalpakstan.

New industrial enterprises in Takhtakupir, Bozataus and Shumanai regions of Karakalpakstan with a low level of development will be provided with tax and customs privileges for the same period, the president told the deputies.

Since Mirziyoyev took office in 2016, Uzbekistan has taken a series of measures to promote economic reforms, including liberalizing its foreign exchange market, reducing taxes and offering preferential treatment to foreign investment. Enditem
MESA, Ariz.  A suspect in a hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian earlier this week in Mesa has been arrested, according to police.

They said 45-year-old Joseph Eckert was booked into a Phoenix jail Thursday on suspicion of failing to stop for a fatal collision.

Hes accused of running over 81-year-old Larry Lans on Tuesday as the victim was walking on a sidewalk.

Police said the truck Eckert was driving left the roadway and drove onto the sidewalk and struck Lans along with a water meter valve and an electrical box.

After the crash, police said Eckert fled in the truck.

Investigators found surveillance footage that identified the vehicle and license plate number and that eventually led them to Eckert.

Police said Eckert has no knowledge of hitting a person.

Its unclear if Eckert has a lawyer yet who can speak on his behalf.
In the hours after Donald Trump tested positive for Covid-19, word spread quickly within Joe Bidens campaign: There would be no public gloating. Stay off of social media, staffers were told. Avoid conversations with reporters. Dont make any mistakes.

Friday was a day of hibernation, as one Biden adviser put it, an approach designed to allow the news cycle to burn on its own fuel.

Campaign advisers said that the public would come to its own conclusion that the presidents failure to protect the nation or take the pandemic seriously enough had come back to haunt him, and that his mockery of Biden for wearing masks and being cloistered in his basement was now freighted with an irony that could cost Trump a second term.

Their bottom line was this: on Friday, with just 32 days until Election Day, Biden was on the campaign trail in Michigan. And Trump, along with First Lady Melania, were in quarantine.

Karmas hell, said one Biden donor, Dick Harpootlian, a South Carolina lawmaker. Bidens been right all along  theres no joy in being right and you dont want anyone to get ill, nobodys getting smug about this. But it is four weeks before the election and Trump has taken himself off the playing field, which he brought on by himself.

The moment served as a campaign fable, one that Biden began writing months ago. Bidens aides, following the advice of medical professionals, went to extraordinary lengths to painstakingly keep the candidate and the campaign safe during the pandemic. That meant following safe practices but also ignoring months of criticism from Trump and others who chided Biden for appearing weak and hiding in his basement.

The campaign didnt find out Trump tested positive for Covid from Trump aides or the White House, but rather through news reports. While there was apprehension among aides over whether Biden or any staffers had become infected because of the proximity of the two staffs at Tuesdays debate in Cleveland, it was blunted by their confidence that all along they had followed the strictest health protocols. That included regular testing, always wearing masks, limiting crowd sizes and practicing social distancing at all times.

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On Friday, advisers huddled to discuss a range of possibilities, including whether Biden should continue traveling or whether the campaign should scuttle a new plan to allow door-to-door canvassing in four states.

They came to a quick verdict. Biden traveled to Grand Rapids, Mich., as planned on Friday, though the campaign canceled a scheduled fundraiser for later in the day. The door knocking will go on after all.

The flight to Michigan occurred after Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, tested negative for Covid, according to a campaign statement from Bidens physician Dr. Kevin O.Connor said.

"The seriousness of this virus also underscores how we need regular testing with results turned around rapidly and available to everyone, said Biden in Michigan. "It's not just the folks in the White House or travel with me who deserve regular testing...every single American deserves safety and peace of mind.

This is not a matter of politics. It's a bracing reminder to all of us we need to take this virus seriously. Its not going away automatically.

The Biden campaign also tested those who attended the first presidential debate with the former vice president for Covid-19. A source familiar with the situation told POLITICO that the Biden campaign has rapid testing capability and is testing everyone who attended the debate. The campaign has not reported any positive results.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) were among those who traveled with Biden to Tuesdays debate and have been tested. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti were also among those who attended the debate. Coons, Ryan and Garcetti have reported negative tests.

Ryan expressed anger at the Trump family for its approach to the virus at the debate, saying the family and campaign should be held accountable for potentially exposing Biden and other attendees to the virus.

Ryan, who sat in the Cleveland debate hall where the Trump family refused to wear masks, said he woke up Friday morning to see the news that the president had tested positive and promptly was tested in Washington D.C. because he would have to fly home soon to be with his wife, a school teacher, and children.

Not a one of em wore masks. It was obnoxious when I saw it that night, but after having a Q-Tip jammed down my nose again, Im angry at them, Ryan told POLITICO, referring to the Trumps. Its the height of arrogance. Its dangerous. They endangered other people. They were up on the stage where Joe Biden was.

The fact is that Biden was responsible and Trump made fun of him for it, Ryan added. Biden should keep doing what hes doing, especially if your opponent cant go out and you can, because you did it right.

Biden on Friday offered his condolences to Trump and first lady Melania Trump after they tested positive .

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery, Biden wrote in a tweet Friday. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

Biden donor and bundler John Morgan urged Biden to stay the course and keep his campaign schedule, including an upcoming stop in Florida.

Joe can show us all what the new normal looks like. You cant live in a bubble underground. He wears a mask and social distances. He can be instructive and it vividly highlights who we all should be following, Morgan said.

The only thing that has changed is Trump has Covid because he did not campaign the proper way. Herman Cain is dead because he didnt campaign a proper way.

Bidens running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, was tested on Thursday as part of the campaigns routine testing protocol, and tested negative. The California senator and her husband, Doug Emhoff, were both tested again for Covid-19 on Friday morning and both tested negative. They will continue on their planned travel to Las Vegas, Nev., and Greensboro, NC, respectively, an aide said.

Harris will also attend virtual fundraisers Friday with former President Barack Obama.

Theres not a lot of schadenfreude, said Steve Schale, who runs the pro-Biden Unite The Country super PAC. The feeling out here is for Biden to put his head down and finish the race. Ran through the tape.

Chris Cadelago and Nick Niedzwiadek contributed to this report.


Clashes in northern Syria between pro-regime fighters supported by Russian airstrikes, and Islamic State group jihadists have killed at least 18 fighters since Thursday, a war monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday that 11 regime and allied fighters and seven jihadists were killed in clashes in an area of the Badia desert where the provinces of Raqa, Aleppo and Hama meet, and in another area in the east of Homs province.

Russian aircraft carried out strikes in support of their Syrian regime ally, the Britain-based Observatory added.

IS jihadists have retained a roving presence in Syria's vast Badia desert and regularly carry out attacks there, despite losing their last shred of territory in the country in March 2019.

Last week, 13 members of the pro-regime forces and 15 jihadists died in the northern province of Raqa in similar circumstances, while in August the jihadists claimed an attack that killed a Russian general near the city of Deir Ezzor.

And at the start of July, the Observatory said 20 pro-government fighters and 31 jihadists died in two days of clashes in the province of Homs.

IS jihadists declared a "caliphate" in large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, implementing their brutal interpretation of religion on millions under their rule.

But various campaigns against them in both countries whittled away at that proto-state before Kurdish-led forces expelled them from their last patch of territory last year in Syria's far east.
SINGAPORE, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A legal profession powered by technologythat's the bold new vision put forth for the profession's future at the end of TechLaw.Fest 2020. Attracting more than 6,000 registrations from over 100 countries, the event featured more than 50 networking opportunities, panel discussions and keynote addresses over five days.

TechLaw.Fest 2020 also boasted more than 120 speakers from the likes of tech giants Alibaba and Google, academia, and leading local and international law firms. Together, they offered thought-provoking and practical insights into legal innovation, technology law, access to justice and the future of automated legal operations.

Said Mr Edwin Tong SC, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, "With its record turnout and success in bringing stakeholders of legal innovation closer together, TechLaw.Fest 2020 has shown how a purely digital event can be just as meaningful and engaging as a physical one. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it is a good example of how technology and innovation can help us pull through and emerge stronger. The Technology and Innovation Roadmap (TIR) seeks to encourage the legal industry to step up efforts in technology adoption and innovation, so that we can better position ourselves to seize more opportunities in the new normal."

Said Ms Serene Wee, Chief Executive of the Singapore Academy of Law ("SAL"), "It has been a huge week for the entire profession. Thanks to technology, we were able to host a wholly virtual event that saw leading minds from across time zones discussing the rapidly evolving role of the legal profession and the variants of legal technology, and how both will intersect in the future of law. At the heart of all this is a key issue of access to justice. The profession now has a deeper understanding of the implications and opportunities of digital transformation and we hope this week has provided a new impetus for changes in mindsets on what legal services are all about."

Initiatives launched at the five-day TechLaw.Fest 2020 include:

Legal Industry Technology & Innovation Roadmap : Launched by Mr Tong, the roadmap identifies technologies that impact the delivery of legal services. It also includes an overview of current and upcoming initiatives to support the development and adoption of such technologies.



: Launched by Mr Tong, the roadmap identifies technologies that impact the delivery of legal services. It also includes an overview of current and upcoming initiatives to support the development and adoption of such technologies. ALITA Legal Tech Observatory: Spearheaded by the Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation and Technology Association ("ALITA"), the Legal Tech Observatory is the world's first regulatory observatory for legal technology. Modelled after similar observatories in blockchain and artificial intelligence, the ALITA Legal Tech Observatory provides a real-time database of legal tech players and initiatives in the Asia-Pacific . It will be a hub for actionable insights for jurisdictions and industries, with input from a broad spectrum of legal tech actors.

For more on these initiatives, kindly refer to releases from Ministry of Law and ALITA.

The third edition of TechLaw.Fest was the largest ever, both in terms of reach and content. Running from 28 September to 2 October 2020, it was free for all registrants. It was organised by SAL, Singapore's Ministry of Law and MP Singapore.

About TechLaw.Fest

TechLaw.Fest is a signature Law & Technology event hosted annually in Singapore. TechLaw.Fest brings together the international community to debate, deliberate, act and innovate in both the law of technology (policies, regulations, legislation, case law and governance) and the technology of law (infrastructure, business transformation and people development). It is co-organised by the Singapore Academy of Law, Singapore's Ministry of Law and MP Singapore. More information can be found at www.techlawfest.com.

About the Singapore Academy of Law

The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL)'s vision is to make Singapore the legal hub of Asia. SAL works with our stakeholders to set new precedents of excellence in Singapore law through developing thought leadership, world-class infrastructure and legal solutions. More information can be found at www.sal.org.sg .

About Ministry of Law, Singapore

The Ministry of Law is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for ensuring that Singapore's legal infrastructure is clear, efficacious and transparent. It is currently led by Minister for Law K Shanmugam. The Ministry of Law formulates and reviews legal, intellectual property, land, insolvency, public trustee, moneylending, pawnbroking, legal aid and community mediation policies, as well as legislation and strategies under MinLaw's purview; provides legal and policy input for other Ministries' proposed Bills and programmes; develops the legal services, alternative dispute resolution and intellectual property sectors; and regulates and licenses all law practice entities and registers foreign-qualified lawyers in Singapore, amongst other its other functions. More information can be found on www.mlaw.gov.sg.

About MP Singapore

Trusted since 1987, MPI embodies more than a quarter century of event building, marketing and management experience in both Eastern and Western cultures, practices, and business philosophies. We bring world-class talent, industry expertise, and incredible enthusiasm into the design and management of extraordinary online-to-offline experiences for your organisation. MPI is part of Pico Group, a global group of agencies specialising in engaging people, creating experiences and activating brands for businesses, institutions and governments. As part of the Pico group, MPI has unlimited access to a wide network of industry contacts and resources. Pico Far East Holdings has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 1992. For more information, visit www.mpinetwork.com.

SOURCE Singapore Academy of Law

Related Links

http://www.techlawfest.com


It would be just a few hours short of a complete year, and right on cue, Microsoft has given the world the updates to two of the Surface computing devices. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go and the Microsoft Surface Pro X have been updated this time around, and Microsoft says that these are part of the mission to design a Surface for every person, work style and location. In fact, the Surface Go is getting even more love with the naming, that is now Surface Laptop Go. At this time, there are no updates for the Surface Laptop and the Surface Book series of computing devices. In fact, Microsoft is now accepting preorders for the Surface Pro X in India, with prices starting Rs 1,49,999, but that is only for commercial customers at this time.

The Microsoft Surface Go remains the most compact Microsoft Surface computing device, complete with the 12.4-inch display. The updated Surface Go now runs the 10th generation Intel Core i5 processor, which should certainly offer better performance than the predecessors Gold processor 4425Y. depending on which variant you pick, this will have up to 16GB RAM and 256GB storage. Microsoft claims up 13 hours of battery life and says all configurations are optimized for better battery life. Certain variants of the Microsoft Surface Go will also have a fingerprint sensor integrated in the power button, for Windows Hello one-touch sign-in. the Surface Go has a 72-p front facing camera for video meetings and video calls, and this is paired with what the company calls Studio Mics and Omnisonic Speakers wit Dolby Audio. You will be able to buy the Surface Go in Ice Blue, Sandstone and Platinum colour options.

Prices for the Surface Go start at $549.99 though we do not know what the eventual India pricing would be. Just for perspective, the current line-up of Microsoft Surface Go devices are priced around Rs 50,999 and Rs 57,999, depending on which variant you pick.

What you can preorder in India right now is the Surface Pro X. The US pricing for this starts at $1499.99 (around Rs 1,09,900 direct conversion) while the preorder options in India start from Rs 1,49,999. This powers the Windows on ARM experience with the Microsoft SQ 1 and SQ 2 processors depending on which variant you pick. This has a 13-inch PixelSense display and will offer the Windows 10 on ARM (Consumer) experience. The RAM options will be between 8GB and 16GB while you will be able to select from variants with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage. Microsoft claims up to 15 hours of battery life from the updated Surface Pro X. Microsoft says that more and more apps are adopting the ARM and Windows 10 combination, including Microsoft 365, Microsoft Edge, Netflix, Spotify, Google Chrome, Firefox and WhatsApp. They have also announced a new version of Microsoft Teams optimized for Windows on ARM.

At this time, the entry-spec Microsoft Surface Pro X with the Microsoft SQ 1 processor with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is priced around Rs 1,04,999.
TUCSON, Ariz., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The announcement that President Trump and the First Lady have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 shows that the need for early treatment to prevent serious illness and death from COVID-19 is extremely urgent, states the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons (AAPS).

The number of studies on hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has reached 126, with 76 peer-reviewed. The evidence overwhelmingly shows that early treatment is likely to be effective, while late treatment is much less likely to help. Early treatment is also likely to reduce the period of infectiousness.

Thousands of physicians worldwide are using HCQ with zinc and azithromycin or doxycycline, and are reporting excellent results. Nations where HCQ is widely and freely used have a death rate 73 percent lower than nations such as the U.S. in which its use is discouraged or restricted.

Adequate levels of vitamin D and zinc are critical for resisting viral infections, notes AAPS. A number of other treatments including ivermectin and corticosteroids are also showing great promise.

HCQ in an appropriate dose is one of the world's safest medicines, safer than most drugs available over the counter, AAPS points out, as shown by more than 65 years of use in hundreds of millions of patients.

The President has stated that a vaccine will be available soon, but that will be too late for patients already infected.

A few powerful bureaucrats, including Anthony Fauci and some in the FDA and other agencies, have used their influence to keep most Americans from receiving early home treatment. According to Yale epidemiologist Harvey Risch, the result may have been 100,000 needless deaths.

Courts have so far declined to order the FDA to stop hoarding the Strategic National Stockpile of HCQ and to withdraw the opinion-based negative statements cited by state agencies that restrict HCQ use. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals just denied the AAPS emergency motion that requested this relief.

It is past time for the President to overrule the naysayers so that physicians will be free to prescribe as they see fitwhile protecting his own health and his First Lady's.

AAPS has represented physicians of all specialties in all states since 1943. The AAPS motto is omnia pro aegroto, meaning everything for the patient.

SOURCE Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)

Related Links

http://www.aapsonline.org


As part of its ongoing commitment to expanding the global conversation on the human experience in healthcare and the need for rigorous research to understand and address its impact, The Beryl Institute will award grants to ten healthcare organizations and two doctoral students.

As part of its ongoing commitment to expanding the global conversation on the human experience in healthcare and the need for rigorous research to understand and address its impact, The Beryl Institute will award grants to ten healthcare organizations and two doctoral students.

These programs broaden the dialogue on the value and impact of focusing on the patient experience and increase the volume of data-driven and evidence-based practices in support of improving the human experience in healthcare. Additionally, these programs support insights around the 8 strategic lenses of the experience framework that can guide and inform healthcare strategy and actions.

The 2020 Patient Experience Grant Program study titles and recipients are:



Improving Family Engagement in Team Rounds through Admission Orientation and Expectation-Setting - Duke School of Medicine, Durham, NC

Improving Patient Satisfaction Scores by providing Patient Support Individuals during Preoperative Anesthesia Discussions  University of Utah School of Medicine, Dept. of Anesthesiology, Salt Lake City, UT

Improving Patient Satisfaction by Changing the Environment in the ED Lobby and Patient Rooms - Sutter Amador Hospital, Jackson, CA

Improving Transitions in Care Processes between Acute and Community Settings in a time of COVID-19 - Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Improving the Human Experience in a Pediatric Emergency Department through Art - NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, New York, NY

Building Organizational Bench Strength to Consistently Provide an Excellent Patient Experience - Sutter Health, W. Sacramento, CA

Reducing Perceived Stress Levels of Family Caregivers of Pediatric Patients through Relaxation - Cohen Childrens Medical Center, A Division of Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, NY

Preparedness for Transition to Adult-Centered Care in Pediatric Patients with Sickle Cell Disease - Childrens Hospital & Medical Center and the University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE

Impact of the Patient Advocate on Patients and Healthcare Organizations - Kaiser Permanente, Clackamas, OR

Patient-Defined Value of Recovery following Cardiac Surgery - University of Tennessee, College of Nursing, Knoxville, TN

Now in its eleventh year, the Patient Experience Scholar Program also supports individual doctoral students exploring patient experience related topics from disciplines across the healthcare educational spectrum. Under the Scholar Program, the 2020 grant recipients and research topics are:



Haripriya Sathyanarayanan, PhD Candidate, Architect (EDAC, LEED AP), University of California, Berkeley - Spatial Perception of the Pediatric Built Environment and Patient-Centric Design: Can Collaborative Design of Inpatient Spaces Enhance the Patient Experience?

Natalie Jones, MSN ED., CCRN, Thomas Edison State University - Will implementing an improved communication protocol improve nursing stress levels and improve patient safety outcomes related to pressure injuries?

All recipients will complete research in their areas of focus and develop research reports to be published through The Beryl Institute. Recipients will also be asked to present their findings at an upcoming Patient Experience Conference.

To view all Patient Experience Grant recipients, visit:

https://www.theberylinstitute.org/GrantRecipients

To view all Scholar Program recipients, visit:

https://www.theberylinstitute.org/page/PXSCHOLARS

About The Beryl Institute:

The Beryl Institute is the global community of practice committed to elevating the human experience in healthcare. We believe human experience is grounded in experiences of patients & families, those who work in healthcare and the communities they serve. We define patient experience as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organizations culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.
By Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) - Google has postponed the Australian roll-out of News Showcase citing regulatory complications, just three months after announcing the product, as the U.S. internet giant grapples with one of the most audacious attempts to police its activities. After naming Australia, Germany and Brazil as markets where it would start paying publishers to feature their news, the Alphabet Inc unit dropped Australia from the product's launch this week because its antitrust body has since pushed for laws forcing Google to pay royalties for content ...
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) recommended yesterday that visits to homes be restricted to six people from no more than two households nationally. It said people could continue to meet socially in other settings, but only with people from one other household.

NPHET also recommended that the entire country remain at Level Two restrictions for three more weeks, while Dublin and Donegal will remain at Level Three restrictions.

A Cabinet meeting was not required to approve the tightening in visitor restrictions, as such changes are provided for in the Governments roadmap.

Theres always a lag between the number of cases, followed by the hospitalisations and then followed by the deaths and we just need to be careful not to be lulled into a false sense of security.

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Dr Nuala O'Connor, lead advisor on Covid-19 at the Irish College of GPs, has said far more pressure on hospitals can be expected in the weeks ahead.

One of the things that I think has been giving people a little bit of false reassurance is the fact that there, to date, we havent had the same number of deaths, but the number of deaths are rising.

Theres always a lag between the number of cases, followed by the hospitalisations and then followed by the deaths and we just need to be careful not to be lulled into a false sense of security.

Statement

A statement issued by the Department of Health yesterday evening following NPHETs recommendations stated: "NPHET have further advised that Government extend the Level Two measures currently in place for a further period of three weeks, with Donegal and Dublin remaining at Level Three."

NPHET will continue to monitor the rising rates of Covid-19 infection in other counties with Monaghan, Cork and Galway of particular concern at the moment, with the statement adding: "While there continues to be a number of counties with particularly high incidence, the NPHETs main concern now is the overall national picture".

It comes as 442 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the State yesterday, while another four deaths were recorded as a result of the virus.

Dublin recorded 170 cases, with 47 recorded in Cork, 28 in Donegal, 23 in Meath, 21 in Galway, 20 in Monaghan, and the remainder spread across 20 other counties.
Every investor in Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. We also tend to see lower insider ownership in companies that were previously publicly owned.

Donaldson Company is a pretty big company. It has a market capitalization of US$5.9b. Normally institutions would own a significant portion of a company this size. In the chart below, we can see that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Donaldson Company.

View our latest analysis for Donaldson Company

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Donaldson Company?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Donaldson Company already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Donaldson Company, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Donaldson Company is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc., with ownership of 9.8%. With 8.8% and 8.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, State Farm Insurance Companies, Asset Management Arm and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

Story continues

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 14 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Donaldson Company

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Donaldson Company, Inc.. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own US$24m worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, with a 20% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Donaldson Company better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Donaldson Company you should know about.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump is experiencing mild symptoms of COVID-19 after revealing Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunges the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election.

Trump, who has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans, said he and Mrs. Trump were quarantining. The White House physician said the president is expected to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering. A White House official said Friday morning that the president was experiencing mild symptoms but was working from the White House residence.

More: Where Trump was before being diagnosed with coronavirus: timeline

Trumps diagnosis was sure to have a destabilizing effect in Washington and around the world, raising questions about how far the virus had spread through the highest levels of the U.S. government. Hours before Trump announced he had contracted the virus, the White House said a top aide who had traveled with him during the week had tested positive.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately, Trump tweeted just before 1 a.m. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus on Friday morning and remains in good health, his spokesman said.

Many White House and senior administration officials were undergoing tests Friday, but the full scale of the outbreak around the president may not be known for some time as it can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test. Officials with the White House Medical Unit were still in the process of tracing the presidents contacts, the official said.

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and did not appear visibly ill. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide.

The presidents physician said in a memo that Trump and the first lady, who is 50, are both well at this time and plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

The diagnosis marks a devastating blow for a president who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them. In the best of cases, if he develops no symptoms, which can include fever, cough and breathing trouble, it will likely force him off the campaign trail just weeks before the election and puts his participation in the second presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami, into doubt.

Trumps handling of the pandemic has already been a major flashpoint in his race against Democrat Joe Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware because of the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday nights debate.

I dont wear masks like him, Trump said of Biden. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

In a tweet Friday morning, Biden said he and his wife send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family. Vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her husband tweeted similar sentiments.

It was not immediately clear whether the former vice president had been tested since appearing at the debate with Trump or whether he was taking any additional safety protocols. Trump and Biden did not shake hands during the debate, but stood without masks about 10 feet apart for the 90-minute event.

Trumps announcement came hours after he confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of his most trusted and longest-serving aides, had been diagnosed with the virus Thursday. Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private information. She was isolated from other passengers aboard the plane, the person said.

Multiple White House staffers have previously tested positive for the virus, including Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert OBrien and one of the presidents personal valets.

But Trump has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable, even after White House staff and allies were exposed and sickened. Since the coronavirus emerged earlier this year, Trump has refused to abide by basic public health guidelines  including those issued by his own administration  such as wearing face coverings in public and practicing social distancing. Instead, he has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of often mask-less supporters.

I felt no vulnerability whatsoever, he told reporters back in May.

More: After Pa. lawmaker tests positive for coronavirus, House Democrats urge GOP to take pandemic more seriously

The news was sure to rattle an already shaken nation still grappling with how to safely reopen the economy without driving virus transmission. The White House has access to near-unlimited resources, including a constant supply of quick-result tests, and still failed to keep the president safe, raising questions about how the rest of the country will be able to protect its workers, students and the public as businesses and schools reopen.

U.S. stock futures fell on the news of Trumps diagnosis.

Questions remain about why it took so long for Trump to be tested and why he and his aides continued to come to work and travel after Hicks fell ill. Trump traveled to New Jersey on Thursday for a fundraiser, potentially exposing attendees to the virus. Trumps social media director Dan Scavino and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who were originally set to join him on the trip, were replaced at the last minute by other aides.

By JILL COLVIN and ZEKE MILLER, The Associated Press

More:

What if Trump cant fulfill duties because of coronavirus? How presidential succession works

Trumps age, gender put him at risk for severe coronavirus
As protesters demanding justice for the Hathras gang-rape victim assembled at Jantar Mantar on Friday evening, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) re-opened the Janpath Metro station after closing it for few hours as a pre-emptive measure.

The exit gates at Rajiv Chowk and Patel Chowk metro station have also opened after they were closed for a brief period.

Protests demanding justice are being held by several political parties, including Aam Aadmi Party and Dalit rights organisation Bhim Army. Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad has said he will visit Hathras and further urged the Supreme Court to take cognizance of the incident. Earlier, Azad through a video message said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to break silence over the brutal rape of the 19-year-old.

In the evening, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal joined the protest. The entire country wants that the culprits should be given stringent punishment. Some people feel that attempts are being made to save them. At this time, the victims family needs all the possible help, Kejriwal said.

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A new face has come aboard for the election in the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division board of education trustee race in the city. Cherise Arnesen was born in midtown Prince Albert and wants to serve the city of her birth.

I have a skill set that has not been represented on the school board, I have education that has not been represented on the school board so I am a fresh asset, Arnesen said.

Arnesen explained that she sits on the board for the Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation, which runs Innovation Place in both Saskatoon and Regina near the campuses of the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina.

I sit on that board, that is a pretty serious responsibility and the level of oversight is taken very seriously. It is how I came to feel qualified to be a benefit to my own community, Arnesen said.

Arnesen explained that she is bringing another unique perspective to the board if elected.

I am pursuing the directors education program by Institute of Corporate Directors. That program is again a high degree of accountability for board members. The Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), their mandate is basically building better board members so that you have better boards that make better decisions for a better Canada, she said.

She explained that in her experience a new set of eyes is an excellent thing for boards.

A big thing in the professional board world is a higher accountability than ever before. With that comes really reviewing the skill set matrix of board members. Fleshing that out so you have a wide variety of perspectives and nothing is getting lost for oversight. And that includes turnover, Arnesen said,

She also has teaching experience in many locations including Kenaston, where she taught Grade 1 to Grade 12. She also taught in the inner city in London, England, in Saskatoon and northern Alberta.

So I have got a really varied boots on the ground in the classroom experience to bring, she said.

The nomination deadline is October 7 in all school divisions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was recently spotted inspecting the recovery work in flood-hit areas of the nation, state media reported on October 2. The leader was accompanied by his sister, Kim Yo Jong, who made her first public appearance in two months. Their visit comes as summer storms, typhoons and floods have hard hit the hermit nation, destroying hundreds of houses and annihilating food supplies.

Appreciated the speed of reconstruction

During his visit, Kim appreciated the speed of reconstruction work in Kimhwa County in Kangwon province, KCNA reported. Commenting on the destruction in the country, the leader said that storms and natural disaster, this year, have been one of unprecedently hardships.

Amidst all this, a vehicle that may be carrying intercontinental ballistic missile was spotted at a parade training ground in Pyongyang suburbs amid signs of preparation for celebratory parade on October 10, a US-based think-tank said. The ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was founded on October 10, 1945, and North Korean troops are preparing for a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the party.

Read: Kim Jong-un's Sister Wants North Korea's Kids To Spend 90 Mins Daily Learning About Him

Read: North Korea Satellite Images Show Military Parade Preparations Despite COVID-19 Scare

38 North, a program of the Stimson Center dedicated to analysing events in and around North Korea, released satellite imagery of Mirim Parade Training Ground on September 22. The analysts said that the shape and size of the vehicle suggests a transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) for a large missile. However, they also added that it could be a towed mobile-erector-launcher (MEL) with its truck-tractor attached, citing insufficient imagery resolution.

They acknowledged that the vehicle could be something else but added that it seems unlikely in this particular location and circumstance. The Mirim facility has regularly been used as a rehearsal location for parades but the rehearsals, according to 38 North, started slightly later when compared to previous years, possibly because of COVID-19 measures and weather constraints.

Read: North Korea Boasts 'reliable And Effective' War Deterrence Capacity For Self-defence At UN

Read: North Korea's Satellite Images Suggest Vehicle Likely Carrying Ballistic Missile: Report




Endotracheal Aspirates is less invasive and less costly in detecting ventilator-associated pneumonia, a common hospital infection in the era of COVID-19

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Oct. 1, 2020 -- As ventilator use in hospitals skyrockets during the COVID-19 pandemic, results of a study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), City of Hope, HonorHealth Research and Innovation Institute, and the University of Arizona suggests there may be a better way to diagnose ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

The findings of this study, which was supervised by Patrick Pirrotte, Ph.D., Director of TGen's Collaborative Center for Translational Mass Spectrometry, were published today in the scientific journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.

Intensive care unit (ICU) patients with prolonged hospitalizations, and in need of a mechanical device to help them breathe, are at high risk for developing VAP, which can increase the length and cost of hospital stays by as much as $50,000 per patient. VAP is associated with 60% of all hospital-acquired infections. VAP is also associated with more than half of ICU antibiotic use, which can lead to multi-drug resistance.

Currently, the most common way of diagnosing VAP and guiding treatment options is through the use of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), in which an invasive bronchoscope is passed through the mouth or nose deep into the patient's airway and lungs, with a measured amount of fluid introduced and then collected for examination.

The TGen-led research team assessed an alternative method called endotracheal aspirates (ETA), a non-invasive, faster and less costly diagnostic test in which respiratory secretions are suctioned from the lungs of patients using the already inserted intubation tube. This study represents the first detailed characterization of ETA proteins and metabolites.

"ETA has been historically overlooked in favor of BAL," said Khyati Pathak, Ph.D., a staff scientist in TGen's Collaborative Center for Translational Mass Spectrometry, and one of the study's lead authors.

Marissa McGilvrey, a research associate in Dr. Pirrotte's lab, and one of the study's lead authors, agrees: "Our study revealed that ETA is functionally diverse and highly enriched in proteins involved in immunity, suggesting that ETA is an attractive source to study lung infection."

The study involved 16 patients under mechanical ventilation in the ICU trauma center at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center. Eleven of the patients acquired VAP.

"Intubation is one of the most common interventions in critical care and has been linked to increased susceptibility of lung infection and death," said Charles Hu, M.D., a Phoenix-area trauma and critical care surgeon, and an author of the study. "Intubation procedure, duration on the ventilator, length of stay and inappropriate antibiotic treatment, as well as compromised or weakened immunity, may contribute to the development of pneumonia."

ETA provides more frequent 'molecular snapshots'

One of the advantages of ETA is that it can easily be done repeatedly without invasive procedure. ETA was collected daily, starting at the first day of intubation. BAL was collected as part of current standard-of-care procedures and used for microbial cultures to aid in clinical diagnosis.

"We hypothesized that reduced invasiveness involved in ETA sampling allows easier and more frequent molecular snapshots of the patient immune response," said Frederic Zenhausern, Ph.D, M.B.A., Director of the Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, and one of the study authors. He also holds appointments at TGen and HonorHealth. "We anticipated that this enhanced granularity would provide valuable mechanistic insights into the causes of VAP."

Researches showed that ETA captures a rich and diverse airway proteome, enabling detection of VAP pathogen peptides and immune proteins associated with an early response to infection.

"In the majority of VAP patients, these distinctive pathogen signatures found through ETA were present up to two days earlier than the BAL culture-based diagnosis," said Dr. Pirrotte, the study's senior author. "ETA may be an attractive alternative for earlier and cost-effective clinical diagnosis of pneumonia in intubated patients."

###

This study -- Molecular Profiling of Innate Immune Response Mechanisms in Ventilator-associated Pneumonia -- was funded by the Flinn Foundation and TGen. HonorHealth Research and Innovation Institute trauma research at Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center enrolled patients and collected data. City of Hope, a world-renowned independent research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, provided statistical analysis and reviewed data interpretation.

About TGen, an affiliate of City of Hope

Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based nonprofit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life-changing results. TGen is affiliated with City of Hope, a world-renowned independent research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases: CityofHope.org. This precision medicine affiliation enables both institutes to complement each other in research and patient care, with City of Hope providing a significant clinical setting to advance scientific discoveries made by TGen. TGen is focused on helping patients with neurological disorders, cancer, diabetes and infectious diseases through cutting-edge translational research (the process of rapidly moving research toward patient benefit). TGen physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of both common and complex rare diseases in adults and children. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities worldwide, TGen makes a substantial contribution to help our patients through efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. For more information, visit: tgen.org. Follow TGen on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @TGen.

Media Contact:

Steve Yozwiak

TGen Senior Science Writer

602-343-8704

syozwiak@tgen.org

About HonorHealth:

HonorHealth is a non-profit, local community healthcare system serving an area of 1.6 million people in the greater Phoenix area. The network encompasses six acute-care hospitals, an extensive medical group, outpatient surgery centers, a cancer care network, clinical research, medical education, a foundation and community services with approximately 12,300 employees, 3,700 affiliated physicians and 3,100 volunteers. HonorHealth was formed by a merger between Scottsdale Healthcare and John C. Lincoln Health Network. HonorHealth's mission is to improve the health and well-being of those we serve. Learn more at HonorHealth.com

About HonorHealth Research and Innovation Institute:

HonorHealth Research and Innovation Institute is helping shape the future of medicine. We're finding cures and improving treatments in areas like gene therapy, early drug/device development, early detection and prevention of disease. Through our clinical trials and applied research, we've given hope and improved the lives of patients from all 50 states and 28 different countries around the globe. Our advanced technologies and cutting-edge treatment options are introducing tomorrow's cures, today. For more information on oncology clinical trials for pancreatic cancer email clinicaltrials@honorhealth.com or learn more at HonorHealth.com/research. Follow HonorHealth Research and Innovation Institute on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @HRInstitute_AZ.

Media Contact:

Lauren Strait

602-300-9039

Lauren.Strait@hotmail.com
Janus Henderson Group plc (NYSE/ASX: JHG) will announce its third quarter 2020 results on Thursday 29 October 2020 at 4am EDT, 8am GMT, 7pm AEDT. A conference call and webcast to discuss the results will be held at 8am EDT, 12pm GMT, 11pm AEDT.

Those wishing to participate should call:

From: United Kingdom 0800 358 6377 (toll free) US and Canada 800 239 9838 (toll free) Australia 1 800 573 793 (toll free) All other countries +1 323 794 2551 (this is not a toll free number) Conference ID 7246170

Access to the webcast and accompanying slides will be available via the investor relations section of Janus Henderson's website (ir.janushenderson.com). A webcast replay will be available for a period of at least seven days following the call.

About Janus Henderson

Janus Henderson Group (JHG) is a leading global active asset manager dedicated to helping investors achieve long-term financial goals through a broad range of investment solutions, including equities, fixed income, quantitative equities, multi-asset and alternative asset class strategies.

At 30 June 2020, Janus Henderson had approximately US$337 billion in assets under management, more than 2,000 employees, and offices in 27 cities worldwide. Headquartered in London, the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201002005016/en/

Contacts:

Investor enquiries:

Jim Kurtz

US Investor Relations Manager

+1 (303) 336 4529

jim.kurtz@janushenderson.com

Melanie Horton

Non-US Investor Relations Manager

+44 (0) 20 7818 2905

melanie.horton@janushenderson.com

Press enquiries:

Stephen Sobey

Head of Media Relations

+44 (0) 20 7818 2523

stephen.sobey@janushenderson.com
TOKYO (AP)  News of the infection of the most powerful man in the world with the most notorious disease in the world drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity that follow much of what Donald Trump does, even from 10,000 miles away.

Trumps announcement Friday, on Twitter, that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and the deep uncertainty that accompanied it, permeated the global news cycle, upending countless plans and sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands looking to weigh in on social media.

The positive test reading for the leader of the worlds largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors' worries, including, most prominently, how the infection might affect the Nov. 3 election between Trump, a Republican, and Democrat Joe Biden.

U.S. stock futures and Asian shares fell in the wake of the news. The future contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials lost 1.9%. Oil prices also slipped. Stock prices in Japan and Australia tumbled.

To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, Rabobank said in a commentary. Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this U.S. election campaign.

More: After Pa. lawmaker tests positive for coronavirus, House Democrats urge GOP to take pandemic more seriously

World leaders and officials were quick to weigh in, and there was both sympathy and something approaching schadenfreude.

Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

U.S.-India ties have prospered under Trump, and India is seen as a partner to balance Chinas growing weight in Asia.

Italian right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini tweeted: In Italy and in the world, whoever celebrates the illness of a man or of a woman, and who comes to wish the death of a neighbor, confirms what he is: An idiot without soul. A hug to Melania and Donald.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized for a week in April after he contracted COVID-19, wished Trump a speedy recovery.

Our best wishes go to the president and the first lady, but it demonstrates that no one is immune from COVID-19 and catching it. So it shows that no matter the precautions, we are all susceptible to this, Australian Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, deputy leader of the conservative Nationals party, said on Australian Broadcasting Corp. TV. A trying time, and it just goes to show that a global pandemic can in fact touch anybody, even the president of the United States.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference, did not mention Trumps reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection, but she said the news reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan.

Major media across the globe also played up the announcement, with bulletins crawling across TV screens in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Dubai and Beijing.

Chinas official Xinhua News Agency flashed the news, and an anchor on state broadcaster CCTV announced it; there was no immediate comment from the government Friday, the second day of an eight-day national holiday.

The positive test result for Trump and his wife was the most searched topic in China on the widely used social media app Weibo a few hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

One user darkly joked that Trump had finally tweeted something positive.

The Chinese government has bristled at Trumps attempts to blame China, where the disease emerged, for the pandemic and called for global cooperation in fighting it, a message that has resonated with the public.

Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19.

Multiple Arab news media outlets on Friday continuously broadcast footage of Trump and his wife after the virus announcement.

President Donald Trump stands on stage with first lady Melania Trump after the first presidential debate with Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)AP

Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel based in Dubai, cut to a long live shot of the White House. Qatari state-owned Al Jazeera channel brought in four commentators to discuss the prevailing state of uncertainty in the United States, questioning whether Trump could effectively steer a reelection campaign and run the country from quarantine.

Iranian state television announced Trump had the virus, an anchor breaking the news with an unflattering image of the U.S. president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses. U.S.-Iran ties have suffered since Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

Social media platforms were ablaze with quick reaction.

Would Trump blame the Chinese? Would he thumb his nose at his critics and enemies by breezing through the quarantine without serious symptoms, tweeting away from the White House? Would he become gravely ill, or worse, and, if he did, what would that mean for the U.S. election, one of the most contentious in recent history?

While the uncertainty seemed palpable on a scroll through various nations' social media, many of the comments seemed to revel in the announcement.

Here comes a chance for him to actually try out his idea of injecting disinfectant into himself and fighting back (against allegations that) it was fake news! tweeted Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese internet entrepreneur, referring to an idea Trump floated earlier this year for treatment.

Keio University economics professor Masaru Kaneko tweeted that populist leaders like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro got infected because they tended not to take the coronavirus seriously. The two other leaders seriously tackled (the virus) after they got infected themselves. Will the United States follow their examples?

By FOSTER KLUG, The Associated Press

More:

Gov. Wolfs office says crowd limits remain in place for this weekends high school games; more guidance next week

Disneylands war with California over reopening sets up a critical pandemic choice

Coronavirus cases increase among young adults, in-person school attendance potential cause
Donald Trumps positive coronavirus diagnosis was somehow inevitable, with his public contrarian swashbuckling about the seriousness of the disease and his dismissing any need for people to mask up.

But the respiratory disease comes with major risks for someone his age  74  and who is, according to the eyeball test alone, overweight. Both can make ones coronavirus symptoms more severe, doctors say.

Then there is the matter of his heart. His former White House physician, Ronny Jackson, told reporters early in his term that Trump has a common form of heart disease. But is any condition that alters the functions of a 74-year-old heart really common? Its certainly not reassuring.

That is a big reason Mike Pence, the presidents loyal vice president, has always worried Democrats. He is, literally, one heartbeat away from becoming the 46th President of these United States. The former Indiana congressman and governor is notably more conservative than Trump, and political analysts have long said he would not only continue the Trump agenda, but steer it sharply toward the right.

Trump has been urging his supporters to turn out in big numbers to vote against Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris.

Ever since Harris mistakenly referred to a possible Harris administration before quickly correcting herself, the president has used the gaffe to warn that the 77-year-old Biden is nothing more than a senile Manchurian candidate who, if elected, would be told what to do by the radical left. But now that he is Covid-positive, that narrative has flipped.

College athletics directors have warned for months that some of their student athletes who contracted Covid-19 have also developed a post-viral heart condition. And those are healthy and strong hearts. That suggests Trump may not be out of the woods when his temperature drops and his mild symptoms dissipate. Should he have complications down the road after, possibly, being re-elected, Pence could be called on to temporarily perform the duties of the Office of the President  or, and this scribe is certainly not rooting for anyone to perish from anything  finish his bosss potential second term.

Unless.

Of course, all of that is the ultimate in Washington speculation. But it is certainly possible, given Trumps age and weight and his pre-existing heart condition.

There is another, perhaps even more likely scenario: He emerges from the White House residence in two weeks somehow stronger and even more energetic.

Trump has all of the characteristics of a comic book villain, and has created his own thematic universe complete with interwoven and complex storylines. Thats not meant as a pejorative. Actually, it is something of a compliment from someone who has studied this president closely for more than four years.

This correspondent has a sneaking suspicion. Two, really.

One is if you asked the president how he sees himself, he would describe something akin to a strong, brash character who does things his way using mystical powers to vanquish his enemies. It works for him. Thats why he is still, despite it all, within striking distance of winning a second term.

The other is that, after what likely will be two weeks of jaw-dropping presidential tweets and rollercoaster-like 43-minute Fox News call-ins, the campaigner-in-chief will essentially kick open the door of the White House and hit the trail like he never has before.

More powerful, somehow. Three rallies a day at first. Then four. Two states at first. Then three a day.

Lock her up!

We love you!

His loyalists will roar their approval of his race-baiting dog whistles as he barnstorms from swing state to swing state trying to drive up the conservative turnout by declaring he beat the coronavirus and got back out there to stop the radical, far-left Democrats from turning the United States into a Venezuelan-style socialist banana republic.

Controversy after controversy and self-inflicted wound after wound has not stopped Donald John Trump or helped Joe Biden open an insurmountable lead.

Why would coronavirus?
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Bihar Assembly elections 2020: Top sources in the Congress party suggest that the seat-sharing for 'Mahagathbandhan' has been finalised and Congress will be contesting nearly 70 seats whereas the Left parties will field candidates on around 30 seats.

The seat-sharing for Mahagathbandhan has been finalised ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, said sources on Friday adding that Congress will be contesting nearly 70 seats whereas the Left parties will field candidates on around 30 seats.

RJD will give 70 seats to Congress but will not let them have a seat of their choice. Senior NDA leaders also held a meeting in Patna on Thursday regarding the finalisation of seats for the Assembly polls and are likely to announce the seat-sharing formula before October 4 in Delhi.

Bihar Assembly poll nomination has already begun but the two major political alliances  the NDA and Mahagathbandhan  till now, have not announced any official candidate. However, sources told ANI that the seat-sharing for Mahagathbandhan has been finalised and is likely to be announced in Bihar tomorrow. Top sources of the Congress party from Bihar told ANI, Seat-sharing arrangements have been agreed to and are likely to be announced tomorrow in Patna.

While bargaining is on regarding who will contest from Balmiki Nagar Lok Sabha by-election in Bihar because both RJD and Congress want to contest on this seat. Senior NDA leaders have also held a meeting in Patna on Thursday regarding the finalisation of seats for the Assembly polls and are likely to announce the seat-sharing formula before October 4 in Delhi.

Also read: Hathras politics: Case registered against Rahul, Priyanka and others in Gautam Buddh Nagar

Also read: Foreign NGOs must adhere to Indian laws with respect to foreign funding: MEA on Amnesty International

The first phase of the nomination has already begun in Bihar for 71 seats and the Election Commission of India is busy in the preparation of state election monitoring all poll-related matters with officials. There are a total of 243 Assembly seats in Bihar.

Also read: Gandhi Jayanti 2020: PM Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat
This press release may not be published, transmitted or distributed either directly or indirectly in the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan. This press release does not constitute an offer and is provided solely for information purposes.

Bio-UV Group (Euronext Growth - FR0013345493 - ALTUV), a specialist in water and surface treatment and disinfection systems, today announces the success of its capital increase with the elimination of preferential subscription rights, targeting a specific category of investors.

Due to high demand from investors, the company placed 2,193,234 new shares with a par value of 1.00 per share, at a price of 5.80 per share including the issue premium, for a total of 12.7 million, compared with around 7.0 million initially anticipated, representing 21.20% of the company's capital after the transaction.

The funds were raised among 26 eligible investors, including 19 domestic investors and 7 international investors, excluding investors from the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan.

The funds raised from the capital increase will primarily be used for external growth opportunities notably with the aim of acquiring new clean chemical-free disinfection technologies and to bolster commercial and marketing activities.

Main terms of the Transaction

The transaction was carried out pursuant to the decision by the Board of Directors of 21 September 2020 and the powers granted to the CEO by the Board of Directors on 1 October 2020, in accordance with the authority delegated by the fourteenth resolution approved by the Combined General Shareholders' Meeting of 29 May 2020, at a price of 5.80 per share, representing a discount of 10.11% in relation to the weighted average share price over the last five trading sessions prior to the decision by the CEO to launch the transaction (6.452) and of 8.81% in relation to the closing share price at 30 September 2020 (6.36).

The transaction entailed the accelerated building of an order book, after which the number and price of the new shares issued were determined.

Ordinary shares with no preferential subscription rights were issued for this capital increase, which were reserved for eligible investors pursuant to Article L.225-138 and the fourteenth resolution approved by the Combined General Shareholders' Meeting of 29 May 2020.

The settlement/delivery of the new shares issued under the capital increase and their admittance for trading on the Euronext Growth market in Paris is scheduled for 5 October 2020.

The new shares will bear current dividend rights and will be admitted for trading on the Euronext Growth market under ISIN code FR0013345493, with the ticker ALTUV.

Following settlement/delivery, BIO-UV Group's share capital will comprise 10,346,993 shares and 12,072,784 voting rights, split as follows:

Shareholders Number of shares % of share capital Number of voting rights % voting rights EURL BGH 1,595,894 15.42% 3,165,747 26.22% Free float 8,751,099 84.58% 8,907,037 73.78% Total 10,346,993 100.00% 12,072,784 100.00%

For reference, the stake of a shareholder owning 1.00% of the company's share capital prior to the issue will be brought to 0.79%.

Pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 4 of (EU) Regulation 2017/1129, this issue did not give rise to the publication of a prospectus approved by the AMF (French financial market authority).

Detailed information on the company, particularly as regards its business, results and related risk factors, is provided in the annual financial report for the financial year ended 31 December 2019 and the interim financial report covering the first six months of 2020. These documents as well as other regulated information and all of the company's press releases are available on its website (www.bio-uv.com).

Transaction partners

EuroLand Corporate

Transaction advisor Mainfirst

A Stifel Company

Associate lead arranger and bookrunner Gilbert Dupont

Associate lead arranger and bookrunner

About BIO-UV Group

Created in 2000, BIO-UV Group designs, manufactures and markets innovative ultraviolet water and surfaces treatment systems, and since September 2019, Ozone and AOP.

The range of equipment developed by the Group is aimed at several markets: ground, marine and surfaces.

Listed on Euronext Growth - Paris (FR0013345493 - ALTUV), BIO-UV Group has granted the "Innovative Company" label by Bpifrance and is eligible for the French "PEA-PME" investment scheme.

Contacts:

BIO-UV Group

+33 (0)4 99 13 39 11

invest@bio-uv.com Investors relation

Mathieu Omnes - ACTUS

+33 (0)1 53 67 36 92

momnes@actus.fr Press relation

Serena Boni - ACTUS

+33 (0)4 4 72 18 04 92

sboni@actus.fr

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Agartala, Oct 2 : Journalists in Tripura on Friday wore "Black Badge" to protest the Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb's reported "threats to the media" last month and attacks on seven reporters in less than a month.

Demanding withdrawal of the Chief Minister's alleged "threats to the media" in an official function at Sabroom (in southern Tripura) on September 11, Tripura Assembly of Journalists (TAJ), a body comprising editors and working Journalists, spearheading the protests and recently met Governor Ramesh Bais seeking his intervention.

TAJ Chairman and veteran Editor Subal Kumar Dey said that after the Chief Minister's alleged "threat", seven journalists were attacked in different parts of Tripura but the police did not take any action against the attackers whereas the Chief Minister remained silent.

Demanding withdrawal of the comments made by the Chief Minister, Dey said that they would send a detailed memorandum to the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Information and Broadcasting Minister, Press Council of India and various other rights bodies in India and abroad.

"We would continue our agitations until the Chief Minister publicly sought apology for the threat to the media," Dey added.

The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) has, however, claimed that Deb's comments were taken out of context.

An official of the CMO said that the present state government in Tripura is committed towards freedom of press, rights of media and the welfare of the journalists.

"During the lockdown period, the government had arranged vehicles for transporting newspapers to various districts and sub-divisions, increased the journalists' pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000, provided financial aid to newspaper hawkers among other welfare activities to support the media. But a section of the media is trying to malign the image of the government, exaggerating the facts with some motives," the official said.

He said that the Chief Minister during a recent meeting with the local television channels' owners, categorically stated that his government was always supportive to the media and journalists.
Seven Indians have been kidnapped by terrorists in Libya including one Munna Chauhan of Kushinagar district and the kidnappers are demanding $20,000 ransom from the company in Libya they were working for, Munnas relative Lallan Prasad told PTI.

Munna Chauhan, a resident of Garhiya Basantpur village under Nebua Naurangia police station limit in Kushinagar district, went in September 2019 to Delhi through a Delhi-based company ND enterprises Travel agency as argon welder. "His Visa was ended on September 13, 2020," Lallan said.

On September 13 he talked to his family in Kushinagar on phone and he will take flight from Libya for Delhi on September 17 and after that, he didnt talk to them and the family was not able to contact him on phone. On September 27, I went to Delhi and talked to the travel agency which sent him to Libya, they told me that they are kidnapped by terrorists in Libya. Lallan said.

They also told me that the company has agreed to pay the terrorists.

Lallan filed an online FIR with Delhis Prasadpur police station and appealed to the External Affairs Ministry to take safe steps for the release of Munna Chauhan and other six workers.

Munna is the only working member of his family which includes his old mother Chandrawati, wife Sanju, 13 years old daughter Rani, 8 years old son Vishwajeet aka Karan and four years old Sarvesh.

His father Ram Bachan died 10 years ago. The kidnapping of one a man in Kushinagar in Libya has come into our cognizance. Police are in contact with the family. SP Kushinagar Vinod Singh said.
Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon has called on one of her own MPs, who travelled hundreds of miles after testing positive for coronavirus, to resign.

The first minister of Scotland said she was very angry and had spoken to Margaret Ferrier and made clear my view that she should step down as an MP".

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross also branded Ms Ferrier's decision to travel between London and Glasgow on a train with coronavirus symptoms "reckless and dangerous".

Mr Ross himself resigned as a minister over his party's refusal to sack Boris Johnsons chief aide Dominic Cummings over his trip to Durham during lockdown.

Shadow Scotland secretary Ian Murray called on the SNP to "come clean'' over what it knew and when about the MPs decision to travel to and from Westminster.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he learned Ms Ferrier had coronavirus around 4pm on Wednesday.

Within 20 minutes we were in full swing on what we needed to do to ensure the safety and security of staff and members", he told Sky News.

He added: "Obviously this is completely reckless behaviour for a Member of Parliament - to put staff and fellow MPs at risk is not acceptable."

He added: "What made it worse was only being told on Wednesday on something that people knew about on Monday - well the MP themselves knew about it on Monday."

The Independent understands some SNP MPs discovered what their colleague had done when they saw the news on social media.

An email from the party to SNP MPs around 6pm last night, just as reports broke.

The SNP's leader in Westminster earlier hinted that she should resign.

Ian Blackford said Ms Ferrier would be expected "to reflect on her position" after she twice travelled across the country with Covid-19.

The MP travelled from Glasgow to Westminster once with suspected coronavirus symptoms, and then a second time back to her constituency home with a confirmed case of the virus.

She apologised on Thursday, admitting she should have self-isolated while waiting for her test result, adding: "I deeply regret my actions."

But asked whether the MP should quit, her boss Mr Blackford told the BBC: People are making enormous sacrifices and MPs have to be judged at the highest standards. People will expect her to reflect on her position.

The SNP withdrew the whip from Ms Ferrier on Thursday, but there are calls within the party for more serious sanctions or consequences.

"The only action that I can take as Westminster leader is what I've done - suspended the whip from Margaret," Mr Blackford told the BBC.

"This is a desperately serious situation that's taken place and at the end of the day we should be judged by the actions we take.

"It's clear that Margaret travelled to London having had a test, and having then been informed that she had tested positive did the journey in reverse. That is not only wrong, that is a breach in the law."

He added: "We've been living with this Covid for a number of months now, people are making enormous sacrifices, and MPs have to be judged to high standards.

"We have a situation where not only has the guidance being broken, bur the law has been broken. I would simply say to Margaret that people will expect her to reflect on the situation she has put herself in and that she has let herself down, her constituents, and indeed her country down.

"I'm asking her to reflect on her position, but I think it's pretty clear what I'm doing."

Ian Blackford, the SNPs leader in Westminster (Reuters TV)

The SNP chief added that he did not have "formal powers" to force someone out of parliament, and that she should come to a decision herself, adding: "She has created a set of circumstances that are simply not acceptable."

Other figures in the party also called for Ms Ferrier to go. David Linden, SNP MP for Glasgow East, said: "I don't think her position is tenable and she should resign." Mr Linden was joined in his call by Aberdeen MPs Kirsty Blackman and Stephen Flynn.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 14 January 2022 Ecologist Emma Smart (left) and retired GP Dr Diana Warner outside HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, following their release from the prison where Emma undertook a 26-day hunger strike during her incarceration. Ms Smart was sentenced in November, along with other members of Insulate Britain, to serve four months for breaking a High Court injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 motorway during the morning rush hour on 8 October last year PA UK news in pictures 13 January 2022 A TV presenter holds a copy of a newspaper outside 10 Downing Streetafter the Prime Minister apologised for attending a gathering of colleagues in the Number Ten garden in May 2020, while the UK was in strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic Getty UK news in pictures 12 January 2022 Fitness guru Derrick Evans after receiving an MBE during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 11 January 2022 A couple walk underneath an umbrella during wet weather on Westminster Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 10 January 2022 A jogger passes the Covid Memorial Wall in London AP UK news in pictures 9 January 2021 The sun rises over horses at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 8 January 2022 Riders compete during the Veterans Men's race at the UK Cyclo-Cross National Championships 2022 in Ardingly, south of London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 7 January 2022 A dog looks out of a car window at the wintry conditions in Killeshin, Co. Laois PA UK news in pictures 6 January 2022 People walk through frost and mist alongside a frozen lake during sunrise in Bushy Park, London REUTERS UK news in pictures 5 January 2022 A skier jumps on the slopes at Allenheads in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 4 January 2022 Freshly-fallen snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 3 January 2022 Dean Morrison, 13, receives his Covid-19 vaccine from student nurse Anthony McLaughlin during a vaccination clinic at the Glasgow Central Mosque PA UK news in pictures 2 January 2022 Konastantinos Tsimikas of Liverpool with Chelseas Mason Mount during the Premier League match at Stamfrod Bridge Liverpool FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 January 2022 New Years Eve Lasers, drones and fireworks illuminate the sky in front of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich shortly after midnight in London EPA UK news in pictures 31 December 2021 Competitors in fancy dress run across the Pennine tops near Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the annual Auld Lang Syne Fell race which attracts hundreds of runners every year PA UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket PA UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queens Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London PA UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London Getty UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham PA UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip PA UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London Reuters UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester PA UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge. Getty UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year PA UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton PA UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election PA UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire PA UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster Getty Images UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, PA UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judges decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange PA UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service PA UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine PA UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow PA UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra Getty UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother PA UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square Reuters UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 2 December 2021 Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum Getty UK news in pictures 1 December 2021 Meerkats at London Zoo with an advent calendar PA UK news in pictures 30 November 2021 Workers put the finishing touches to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree ahead of the lighting ceremony later in the week PA UK news in pictures 29 November 2021 Home Secretary Priti Patel is greeted by a police dog at a special memorial service for Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana Getty UK news in pictures 28 November 2021 Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City battles for possession with Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United during a match at the Etihad during snow Manchester City/Getty UK news in pictures 27 November 2021 Residents clear branches from a fallen tree in Birkenhead, north west England as Storm Arwen triggered a rare red weather warning AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 26 November 2021 A killer whale (orca in the fjord of Skjervoy, northern Norway AFP/Getty

A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment on whether Ms Ferrier should resign, saying only: Thats a matter for her and her party.

He added: The prime minister has been clear that everybody needs to follow the rules in order to allow us to reduce the spread of the virus and protect lives.

We have been clear that people must self-isolate if they have coronavirus symptoms, if they test positive or if they are contacted by Test and Trace.

Asked whether the SNP MP should be fined for her actions under new rules which allow a 4,000 instant penalty for recklessly breaching self-isolation, the spokesman said: Enforcement is a matter for the police and it is for them to enforce the rules in an appropriate manner.

The spokesman said that only one individual had been identified as a close contact of Ms Ferrier and asked to self-isolate and confirmed that this person was not a government minister.

If Ms Ferrier resigned as an MP it would cause a by election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, a marginal seat which has changed hands a number of times since 2010.

Ms Ferrier captured the seat from the Labour party in 2015, but lost it again to them at the 2017 election. She however won it back at the 2019 election, with 23,775 votes to 18,545. The Conservatives clocked in at a distant third place.
Ukraine authorities on Thursday, October 1 informed that wildfires in the eastern part of the country have killed at least nine people and detonated unexploded ordnances that were lying in the vicinity. As per reports, the ordinances were fired during the fighting between Russia-backed separatists and Ukraine in 2014-2016.

Read: Wildfires Leave Trail Of Destruction In Ukraine

Wildfires burn 250 houses

According to reports, the Luhansk regions emergency services have stated that almost 11,000 hectares or 27,000 acres were on fire. The devastating fire has already destroyed 250 residences. In the town of Stanichna Luhanska, two streets of houses were engulfed by the flames, the town is just outside the rebel-controlled city of Luhansk and therefore contained shells from 2014-2016 when fighting readily occurred in the region.

As per reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that some of the fires could have been caused by artillery fire from the rebel-held territory. While fighting had died down significantly since 2014, sporadic clashes between separatist rebels and Ukrainian security forces are still reported.

Read: Ukraine Investigates Death Of US Embassy Employee

In the midst of the devastating wildfire, Ukraine also struggling with a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, Ukraine has reported more than 220,000 positive virus cases and has a death toll of over 4,000.

The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 34 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 1 million. As per John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, the US has reported more than 7.3 million positive COVID-19 cases and a death toll of over 200,000.

(With AP inputs, Image: AP)

Read: Ukraine Medics Battle Virus As World Toll Hits 1M

Read: 79th Anniversary Of Infamous Babi Yar Massacre Of Jews In Ukraine
A wildlife photographer recently captured one of natures most extraordinary camouflage masters on camera  a moth larva that looks like a mossy twig on a moss-covered tree.

Over they years weve featured a bunch of natural camouflage artists on Oddity Central, from the butterfly that looks like a dead leaf, or the moth with a disgusting scene painted on its wings, to the terrifying assassin bug, but the larva captured by wildlife photographer David Weiller in the Madagascar rainforest is definitely up there with the most impressive. Looking like a bulbous patch of moss and lichen with a twig-like body attached to a moss-covered tree, this fascinating creature looks like part of the tree, not a living thing.

Photo  David Weiller/YouTube screengrab

This debris-carrying bug larva has evolved the perfect camouflage defense to deter attacks from birds and other predators, Weiller wrote in the description of a YouTube video.

Although the wildlife photographer doesnt offer too many details about the critter, he does mention that it is a Camouflage Moth Larva (Superfamily Tineoidea) from the rainforest of Andasibe, in Madagascar.



Its unclear how the larva covers its body with this natural debris, or if at least part of it is in fact its body, but one thing is for sure  its almost impossible to spot on that tree. In fact, when its not moving, the only way to tell its a alive is to see it poop. Luckily, David Weiller got that moment on camera as well.
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Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden embarked on a campaign tour of Pennsylvania and Ohio after his first presidential debate against President Trump this week. On Friday he campaigned in Michigan. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

While President Trump's reelection bid has been upended by his COVID-19 diagnosis, his challenger, Joe Biden, kept his campaign apace on Friday, after two tests came back negative.

Biden returned to the trail in Michigan, and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, traveled to Las Vegas.

The former vice president and his wife, Jill Biden, underwent PCR testing, which uses a nasal swab; Jill Biden also tested negative. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump revealed early Friday (EDT) that they both have the virus.

Biden and Trump appeared onstage together Tuesday night at the presidential debate, which their wives attended.

Trump has been been transferred to Walter Reed military hospital, where he will remain for several days "out of an abundance of caution," the White House press secretary said Friday afternoon. His campaign said that scheduled campaign events involving the president would be postponed or held virtually.

In the morning, Joe and Jill Biden sent best wishes to the First Family for a swift recovery. "We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family," Biden wrote.

At his sole event in Grand Rapids on Friday, Biden largely stuck to his standard stump speech, vowing to be a president who will not forget working-class communities that have been overlooked. The remarks were nevertheless freighted with the news of the day, as Biden wore a mask for the event's duration and bookended his comments with well-wishes for the First Family.

"This is not a matter of politics, its a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously," Biden said.

He reiterated his call for COVID-conscious practices, especially wearing a face covering mask.

Be patriotic," he said. "Its not about being a tough guy, its about doing your part.

The Biden campaign said it would take down all negative television advertising, but the Trump campaign still accused the vice president of "attacking the president as he was preparing to head to the hospital," citing references Biden made in his speech about the president's plan on the economy and Social Security.

Story continues

Biden aides were urging staff to keep a low public profile. As this situation continues to unfold, we ask that you refrain from posting about the situation on social media unless otherwise directed by your manager, campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon wrote in a memo.

Biden's negative test results do not mean he is in the clear. It can take several days for the virus to be detected, and experts said more testing is a must. It usually takes five or six days for symptoms to develop, according to MIT Medical, and the incubation period can be as long as 14 days.

If Biden was infected during the debate on Tuesday, "you wouldnt expect him to be positive today. I am more interested in how he tests tomorrow and Sunday and Monday," said Dr. John Swartzberg, a UC Berkeley infectious disease expert. "That is when we really want to look at the test.

Harris, who was not in Cleveland for the first presidential debate, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, both tested negative for the virus on Friday morning.

Harris appeared at a grass-roots virtual fundraiser with former President Obama on Friday afternoon, where both politicians kicked off the event by acknowledging Trump and his wife.

"Doug and I are sharing our deepest prayers for the health and recovery of the president and the first lady," Harris said. "The threat of this virus is real for all of us. Let it be a reminder to all of us that we must remain vigilant and take care of ourselves and take care of each other."

Obama also said he wished the Trumps a speedy recovery.

"Its important I think for all of us to remember that even when were in the midst of big political battles with issues that have a lot at stake, that were all Americans and were all human beings, and we want to make sure everybody is healthy," Obama said.

At nearly the same time as when the two Democrats were offering best wishes, the Trump campaign sent out a fundraising missive blasting "Lyin Obama and Phony Kamala Harris."

"We all know that Sleepy Joe isnt fit to be YOUR President," read the email. "We know it. You know it. And even Obama knows it  thats why hes holding a fundraiser with Kamala instead of Joe, who is probably already asleep in his basement."

Biden and Trump have taken vastly different approaches to the pandemic, which has killed more than 208,000 people in the U.S. Biden has opted against large campaign rallies, which Trump has continued to hold as recently as Wednesday. Republicans have derided the former vice president's more limited campaign schedule, mocking him for "hiding in his basement."

The Democratic nominee has also been more assiduous about wearing a mask in public, per public health guidelines. Trump has occasionally been photographed wearing a face covering, but he had previously said it was unnecessary for him, since he and those around him are tested frequently.

Trump said in the first presidential debate that he wears masks "when needed" but immediately drew a contrast between his rival and himself.

"I don't wear masks like him," Trump said. "Every time you see him, he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from them and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen."

Times staff writers Arit John and Maura Dolan contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
OTTAWA - People desperate to bring extended family members to Canada as the world remains locked down due to COVID-19 are being given some hope by the federal government.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadian border guards are silhouetted as they replace each other at an inspection booth at the Douglas border crossing on the Canada-U. S. border in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday August 20, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

OTTAWA - People desperate to bring extended family members to Canada as the world remains locked down due to COVID-19 are being given some hope by the federal government.

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced Friday that more family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents will now be eligible to enter the country.

"The pandemic is an ongoing threat and we need to continue to be cautious and restrictive about who can enter into Canada," he said.

"We recognize, however, that these restrictions should not keep loved ones apart."

Those now eligible for entry include adult children, siblings, grandparents and those who have been in a committed relationship for at least a year, which will have to be proven by a notarized declaration.

The process of how they will be able to enter will be published online soon and those who have the needed documentation can arrive beginning Oct. 8.

While that might give hope for family reunions for Thanksgiving, Mendicino said nobody should make travel plans until they've been authorized under the new program.

The federal government is also implementing a compassionate-entry program for those who don't qualify as family but want to enter Canada for specific reasons, such as to see a dying loved one.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marco Mendicino watches Health Minister Patty Hajdu speak via video conference during a news conference in Ottawa, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Those granted compassionate entry may also be exempt from the current 14-day quarantine requirement, pending discussions with local health officials.

For all other travellers, the quarantine and other screening measures remain in place, and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said enforcement will be stepped up.

The broader border restrictions with the United States are in place through to Oct. 21, restrictions on travellers from other countries apply until Oct. 31, and Blair said the government continues to review COVID-19 conditions around the world.

"It's not a decision that we come to lightly or renew lightly," he said of keeping the border tightly controlled.

International students are also being granted more flexibility and starting Oct. 20 will be admitted if their places of learning have been identified by provincial governments as having suitable COVID-19 plans.

Canada first closed its borders to all but a short list of essential workers in the spring in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.

After an outcry, the government opened the gates a crack to immediate family members of citizens and permanent residents, but many other family members had been left off the list of exemptions.

Some of those barred from Canada had been putting pressure on the government in recent weeks to ease the rules, with many coming forward with heartbreaking stories of children having to say goodbye to their dying parents over video chat or siblings unable to enter the country to care for ill family members.

Conservative immigration critic Raquel Dancho said the changes are welcome, though for many come sadly too late. She said her party would be watching closely to see if the new measures are implemented effectively, and urged the government to also move ahead with other options for safe reunification.

The Liberal government must provide rapid testing for airports and other points of entry into Canada so that Canadians can be reunited with their loved ones safely and protect the public," she said in a statement.

The new measures come in response to what officials have learned about how the virus is spreading in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier Friday.

Community transmission is by far the biggest challenge and cases imported from outside the country are a tiny fraction of the total, he said.

Still, the expanded measures come as COVID-19 cases in Canada are rising and in some communities, restrictions are being reinstated on businesses and social gatherings.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Friday the new border measures were taken in concert with local health authorities.

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.

"This disease is not going away any time soon. Countries will be struggling for a very long time," she said.

"This government believes firmly in compassion and we know that we needed to take these steps, given that this is not a short-term problem."

The ongoing nature of the crisis means the government must also start looking at how to help other vulnerable populations, said NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan.

"The Liberal government needs to exempt refugees from the travel restrictions so that they can get to safety," she said in a statement.

"Lives literally depend on it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.
ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy Stock Photo

En espanol | Tampa International Airport began offering COVID-19 testing to all travelers this week, the first U.S.-based airport to offer a pilot program with two types of FDA-approved COVID-19 tests. The tests are available to all departing and arriving passengers, regardless of gate locations, which airlines they are booked on or their final destinations. The pilot program, in partnership with BayCare Health System, is open to all ticketed passengers who are flying or have flown within three days and can show proof of travel.

"As a gateway to the West Coast of Florida with a growing market for international travel, Tampa International Airport has a responsibility to explore safe, rapid and affordable ways to keep our travelers, their destinations and our community as safe and healthy as possible, airport CEO Joe Lopano said in a news release.

Tampa's COVID-19 testing pilot program began Oct. 1 and is offered on a walk-in basis through Oct. 31. Testing is available seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., before security checkpoints inside the Main Terminal near the Airside F shuttle.

Travelers may choose between the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test ($125) and the rapid antigen test ($57). PCR nasal swab test results are more accurate and are broadly accepted domestically and internationally. If PCR test results are required in passengers destinations, it is recommended that travelers take the test three days before departure; results are expected within 48 hours.

The rapid antigen test is more accurate within five days of the onset of symptoms and can offer same-day reassurance for arriving or departing travelers; results are available within 15 minutes.

Alexandra Bouzas was about to board her flight to Newark Thursday morning when she stopped by the Tampa airport's COVID-19 testing site. A friend she was going to visit in New Jersey saw an article about the testing pilot, so Bouzas decided to get the rapid antigen test. After swabbing her nose, she handed off the specimen to a nurse, who notified her 15 minutes later with the result: negative.

"It's peace of mind and just good to know before I visit my friend that I'm COVID-free, Bouzas said. She has a 6-month-old baby, and it's better to be safe than sorry."

This summer, XpresCheck, an initiative of XpresSpa, began offering COVID-19 testing to passengers traveling through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. XpresCheck testing sites in the Arrivals Hall, pre-security near the AirTrain at JFK, and at Departures in Terminal B, pre-security at Newark, offer the PCR nasal swab test and a blood antibody test; results of these tests are available within two to three days.

Doug Satzman, CEO of XpresSpa Group, told AARP that XpresCheck will be launching a third test next week at JFK and Newark: a molecular rapid test that will yield results in 15 minutes. Satzman also said that XpresCheck is in talks with a number of airports across the U.S. to provide similar COVID-19 testing options.

Other U.S. airports that are looking into providing onsite COVID-19 testing include Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Los Angeles International, Miami International, Orlando International, Portland (Oregon) International, San Diego International and San Francisco International. Philadelphia International is exploring multiple COVID-19 testing opportunities with plans to roll out a rapid testing solution by the new year.

Travel to Hawaii

Beginning Oct. 15, domestic travelers are welcome back to the Hawaiian Islands, so long as they provide a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of departure and upload the results into the state's Safe Travels online platform. If travelers have taken a COVID-19 test and are awaiting results when they arrive in Hawaii, they must quarantine until their results are received. Upon arriving in Hawaii, all passengers will have their temperatures checked and must complete a health questionnaire online before they can leave the airport. Check more testing requirements before visiting Hawaii.

In an effort to make traveling to Hawaii easier for their customers, carriers are offering testing. Among them:

Alaska Airlines will partner with Carbon Health to offer rapid COVID-19 testing at its pop-up clinics across the West Coast, starting Oct. 12 in downtown Seattle. When Alaska Airlines nonstop flights to Hawaii resume from Portland, San Jose and San Diego on Nov. 1, Carbon Health plans to add pop-up and full-service clinics for rapid COVID-19 testing in those cities, too.
During the first presidential debate on Tuesday night, when moderator Chris Wallace asked President Donald Trump if he would be willing, tonight, to condemn white supremacists and militia groups, and to say that they need to stand down, the President seemed to many to do the opposite.

Proud Boys, he said, stand back and stand by.

While it wouldnt be the first time the President failed to condemn white supremacists, his most recent commentdirected at an organization founded in New York City during the 2016 presidential election season and designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centerconfused even members of his own party. On Wednesday morning, Tim Scott, a Black Republican U.S. Senator from South Carolina, told reporters that he thought the President misspoke and should correct it.

Speaking to reporters later that day, Trump indeed walked back his comments, asserting that he did not even know of the Proud Boys before former Vice President Joe Biden mentioned them in the debate as an example of a militia group. (At least one outlet has linked former Trump adviser Roger Stone to the group, and President Trumps FBI has called them an extremist group.)

"I don't know who the proud boys are," Trump tells reporters on the South Lawn, per pool. He adds: "Whoever they are, they need to stand down"  Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) September 30, 2020

Members of the Proud Boys, however, saw his remarks differently, celebrating online and vowing to stand by, an expert monitoring their social media posts told TIME. On Twitter, Kathleen Belew, author of Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America and an assistant professor of History at the University of Chicago, warned that such an interpretation was no surprise: Trumps shout-out sounded like a call to arms, she wrotea green light that could be catastrophic.

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And, Belew noted, the story goes beyond any one organization. Though the Proud Boys were the only group mentioned by name during the debate, they are part of a movement that goes back decades, if not generations. TIME spoke to Belew about the origins of that movement and where the Proud Boys fit in that history.

TIME: Whats going on in American history when the movement that produced the Proud Boys begins?

BELEW: Right after the Vietnam War, there was this huge narrative about the government betraying soldiers in Vietnam. The far right was able to use that narrative to bring together a whole bunch of people who had not been able to band together in common cause before. Here, Im talking about Klansmen, Neo-Nazis, radical tax resisters, followers of a white religion called Christian Identity, and a whole bunch of white separatists and white supremacists. They all came together in the late 1970s and called themselves the white-power movement.

At the Aryan Nations World Congress [in 1983], several people reported that there was a meeting where activists decided to wage war on the federal government. Nobody was in the room who wasnt an activist so we have to take everything they say with a grain of salt, but we can measure a real change in movement tactics after that meeting, where they started doing things like targeting infrastructure and government agents. They have no more hope for political change at that point. The kinds of changes these activists wanted were so extreme that even under Reagan, even under a conservative Executive, they didnt think they could ever achieve things they wanted.

From 1983 forward, were talking about a movement that is fundamentally opposed to democracy and to the United States as a nation; when people talk about white nationalism, the nation in white nationalism is not the United States. The nation in white nationalism is the Aryan nation. So right away were talking about a fundamentally more violent and radical thing than most people think about when they hear the word nationalism.

Then across the 1980s and 1990s, this movement begins to figure out how to capitalize on changing culture in order to bring in bigger and bigger groups of people. The first group it brings in are the skinheads in late 1980s. The skinheads are a lot younger. Theyre in cities instead of in rural areas and suburbs, and it lets the movement get this inflow of younger membership. And then the second thing that happens is the militias.

How would you define a militia in this context?



The paramilitary white-power movement in the 1980s has often been thought of as separate from the militia movement, but actually I think its more instructive to think about them as a Venn diagram. The larger circle is the militia movement, and then mostly, but not entirely contained inside it is a smaller but much more violent and radical white-power movement. There are militiamen and militia groups that are not white power, but there are very few white-power groups in the 1990s that are not militia.

All of it is paramilitary and by that I just mean characterized by military uniforms, language, weapons, et cetera, even though its not conducted within the military. They tend to be highly organized, and they tend to be organized most vociferously around opposing the federal government and around gun rights. So a white power militia would take that frame and then add on a whole bunch of stufffor instance, the assumed attack on the white birth rate and things like that.

From the 1990s forward, the guns, the weapons, the people, the money flow from those earlier white-power groups into militias. That gets us to the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the largest deliberate mass casualty on American soil between Pearl Harbor and 9/11. But most people still dont understand what it was and or what it meant. That bombing was the work of a movement, not a few disaffected people.

Hundreds of far-right Proud Boys and their supporters held a rally in Delta Park in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 26, 2020. Mark PetersonRedux

Is that building targeted for a certain reason? What did it mean to white power groups?

It has structural-integrity advantages. It has a glass facade and a place you can park a truck. It also housed federal government employees, and so it was seen as a hit on the federal government. After the Oklahoma City bombing, there was an upflow in militia activity, and then also a whole bunch of people began to use the Internet much more. Its important to note they had been online since 1983 and 1984.

How are they online that early?

They are way early. They are pioneers. What theyre using is early computer message boards that are code-word accessed. On the message board they posted things like ideologies, but also things like personal ads. So effectively what they were doing was Facebook before Facebook was even invented.

Where do the Proud Boys fit into this history?

Fast forward to now: What were seeing is the re-emergence of something that has been there this whole time. Id characterize Proud Boys as a group that straddles the line between militia and a white-supremacist fight club. Its commonly noted they are in some instances a multiethnic group. Weirdly this is not that atypical, but it is a white-supremacist group. They do believe in the primacy of western culture, and they believe that other places are dirty and degraded. They dont like Islam. They dont think very highly of women.

For me, the Trump comment, however he meant it, was heard by white-power activists as a call to arms. This has been a paramilitary movement that very easily understands what stand by means in the context of a military campaign. That means [be] preparedly ready. He didnt say stand down, which means something completely different. And we know that has hit home with these groups. We see them incorporating it in their slogans and badges. We see them retweeting about it all the time. To me, its not even just about the Proud Boys; its about all of the other groups that are emboldened by this. Even if Trump didnt mean it, its very difficult to unring this particular bell.

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And Wednesday, when he was speaking to reporters, he did say whoever they are, stand down.



The important thing is how they heard it, because I think it will very likely result in violence, and you just cannot undo a statement like that. And also, not for nothing, a Proud Boys [member was was at least partly] responsible for [organizing] the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. So for Trump not to know about them is a flagrant failure of his presidency.

How do the militia groups that expand after the Oklahoma City Bombing compare to the militias that existed in the early U.S.?

Thats a great question. Absolutely not. The militias Im describing are just late 1980s forward. What weve seen before that like, the Second Amendment militias in early America, has not existed since the Dick Act [of 1903]. The act incorporates militias into the National Guard. Theyre regulated. Historians of early America wouldnt recognize these [modern] militias as a continuation of that tradition.

What about vigilante racial violence in the Jim Crow era? How are present-day militias connected to that history?

This is part of that longer thread of vigilante violence for sure. And by vigilante, I simply mean extralegal violence that is attempting to preserve status quo power or systemic power. With my undergraduates, I get into a definitional debate [about] when something stops being vigilante and begins to be revolutionary meaning, at what point do you stop supporting the system of power thats already in place and start attempting to overthrow it?

The white-power movement has mostly been a revolutionary movementand I say that in no positive connotation at all but rather to just say, it has mostly been interested in overthrowing the federal government rather than supporting it. So I think one of the questions people ought to have is, if these groups were to come out and support Trump in some way, what would they do after that? Because I dont think that all of them are genuine supporters of any American leader.

Do the culture wars that are getting going in the late 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s play a role in fanning the flames of the white-power movement?

Yes and no. The people who join the white power movement largely do so because they dont see another place for themselves in the nation. So part of that has to do with feeling unrepresented in the culture, part of that has to do with rising fundamentalism, not that those are the same thing, but theyre overlapping Venn diagram circles. Then of course, theres the post-Vietnam frustration, general economic frustration, so some of it is coming out of the historical context.

But actually, one of the interesting things I found in my research is that the best predictor for rises in Klan activity across American history has been the aftermath of warfare. Its more consistent than poverty, than civil rights legislation, than immigration surges. The best predictor is the aftermath of warfare, and turns out that thats not just about veterans; all of us get more violent in the aftermath of warfare. My undergraduates dont remember a time when we were not at war, and what that aftermath period looks like in the present is one of the big open questions about this historical moment.

Why would warfare make people feel this way? Was this about veterans struggle for re-entry?

Thats the question I had that started the book. It turns out there are also a lot of people who werent there and didnt fight but claim the war as part of their identity anyway, so I think it has to do with how all of our society is mobilized in wartime. Doing violence somewhere else ricochets back into the nation in ways that we dont always anticipate.

Are there myths you often find yourself debunking or misconceptions you often find yourself setting the record straight on?

People should really push back when they read about a lone wolf. There are such things as individual acts of violence, and even mass violence or apolitical acts of mass violence, but there is not a white-power lone wolf attack. It is a movement.

Have white-power groups motives evolved over time?

Yes and no. They tack onto the prevailing frustrations of the moment. Theyre always trying to recruit.

When you say the white power movement tacks onto whats happening in the news, have any notable examples galvanized them recently?

I think the Trump election is what brought this to Charlottesville, but then Charlottesville brings them to the next event. It springs up from itself once it gets going, so its a momentum kind of thing. One of the concerning things today is that we are in a rising tide kind of a moment. Its going to keep going up until we stop it.
Even in the most technical aspects of filmmaking, there is poetry to be found.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even in the most technical aspects of filmmaking, there is poetry to be found.

That was the operating principle, and will perhaps be the legacy, of Winnipeg-born sound editor Fred Brennan, who will be celebrated this evening with a career achievement award at a virtual gala sponsored by the Canadian Cinema Editors, a professional association of film editors.

Alex Dukay / Sony Pictures Annette Bening in Being Julia

Brennan has spent more than 40 years in the business, working in all aspects of sound recording, from recording the footfalls of the dog star of The Littlest Hobo in the 1980s, to re-recording dialogue in the studio  known as ADR or Automated Dialogue Replacement in the business  which came to be Brennans specialty. Over the years, it has placed him in the studio with actors such as Philip Seymour Hoffman (Owning Mahoney), Ralph Fiennes (Sunshine) and Annette Bening (Being Julia).

Contacted at his home in Toronto, Brennan, 70, says that it all started with his appreciation for poetry, nurtured in his youth in St. James.

"One of the strongest influences in my work cutting sound is the poetry of Longfellow," Brennan says. "If you read Longfellow, immediately theres a cadence to the language that is inescapable. That cadence is there and that was in my work."

In fact, Brennan started out wanting to be a writer. He was in a business administration course at Red River College in the early 70s when he deflected into the creative communications course.

"Writing was the prime focus of the course," he says. "There were many offshoots  there was audio production, video production and other related subjects  but the centre of it was writing."

Soon after Red River, Brennan found himself in Saskatchewan, writing ad copy for a radio station. It was also there where he found work on the 1977 film adaptation of W.O. Mitchells Who Has Seen the Wind directed by Allan King and shot in Arcola, Sask.

"I essentially followed the circus back to Toronto and that was where I continued to work in advertising, but quickly, through the people I met on Who Has Seen the Wind, I got into film production.

"To me, the very essence of film production is editing, so I got into the editing room and started working and all that sense of language came back to me," he recalls. "So I naturally gravitated to the sound work."

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Brennan has performed all the duties of the sound department, including recording Foley effects and putting a microphone to wind, water and nature.

"I remember a point, maybe in the late 80s or early 90s where I made a decision consciously to concentrate on doing ADR," he says. "So I would practise. I would take lines that we had recorded and cut them and re-cut them and learn and teach myself."

Now retired for more than a year, Brennan is content to cap his career with this honour from his peers.

"Ive always thought that we as sound editors were part of the chain of hands from author to audience," he says. "Thats our job. Its been very gratifying."

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The mishap at a Rochester printing plant that led to Brooklyn voters getting flawed ballot paperwork has prompted Mayor de Blasio and others to call for an investigation into the snafu.

De Blasio waded into the controversy Friday on the Brian Lehrer show after a caller questioned whether Phoenix Graphics, the Rochester-based firm responsible for printing the ballots, was being investigated based on its ties to the Republican Party.

I think it should be investigated, de Blasio said. If the vendor might have had a motivation because it seems awfully strange that something this big and this mistaken could happen  then there should be an investigation. What I will do is find out whether there is any way the city can do that even though we do not control the Board of Elections, or whether the state would have to do that investigation.

The uproar over the ballots erupted earlier in the week as Brooklynites began reporting that the names on the absentee ballots that they received in the mail did not match the names on the return envelopes. As complaints rolled in, the city Board of Elections announced that it would resend the ballot packages to the approximately 100,000 voters who were affected.

De Blasios apparent motivation for a probe seemed to stem from the printers political ties  many of its employees are registered Republicans and the company has donated to GOP causes in the past.

But others pointed to a different rationale for the matter to receive more scrutiny.

Susan Greenhalgh, a senior advisor on election security at Free Speech For People, cited past balloting issues  like the Russian hack of VR Systems, a company that provides election software as at first seeming potentially innocuous, but upon further examination taking on a much more serious hue.

The vendor isnt really qualified to know if they were hacked, Greenhalgh said of Phoenix.

There needs to be a meaningful investigation into what happened, she added. It should be done pronto. They need to get someone in and investigate right away.

Story continues

Greenhalgh has been monitoring election security for years and said that while the Brooklyn ballot snafu might well stem from a human or mechanical error on the printers end, it still bears further scrutiny, especially given attempts by Russians and other foreign governments to tamper with the presidential election.

Getting such a probe to occur is not as easy as it may seem, though.

Greenhalgh and a well-placed law enforcement source said that in cases like this, the vendor or the Board of Elections would have to request an investigation.

Greenhalgh said that creates a catch-22 because vendors have little incentive to do so because it could hurt their business and boards might not want the scrutiny for a couple of reasons, protecting their own jobs and not wanting to erode confidence in the electoral process.

On Friday, New York City Board of Elections Director Michael Ryan said a trap door on one of the high-speed machines that processed the Brooklyn ballots malfunctioned when the ballots were being paired with their corresponding envelopes, causing the ballots to be coupled with the wrong envelopes.

But Ryan also said a subsequent software problem was identified as well.

When they updated the software, all of the data that you could potentially have for forensic analysis of what went wrong was lost, he said. We dont have an explanation other than ultimately human error for not appropriately going through these ballot envelopes and ensuring that the inside envelope matched the outside envelope once this problem was occurring.

Phoenix did not return multiple requests for comment.



2020 New York Daily News

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PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- COVID-19 continues to have deep and lingering financial impacts on the state's hospitals. A mid-year analysis of financial data shows nearly 60 percent of the state's hospitals in the red and an average statewide operating margin of negative 4 percent.

The decline is the result of a dual blow of declining revenues and rising expenses, according to the report from the Center for Health Analytics, Research and Transformation (CHART) at the New Jersey Hospital Association. Officials said the state's hospitals haven't experienced this level of fiscal distress in more than 20 years.

"COVID-19's fiscal impact on our hospitals reaches historic levels," said Sean Hopkins, senior vice president of CHART. "The last time we saw margins dip this deep into the red was in the late 1990s when hospitals sustained deep federal payment cuts under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. At that time, we saw margins fall to negative 1.7 percent and negative 2.3 percent in 1998 and 1999, which pales in comparison to the numbers we're seeing today."

The report, "At Mid-Year, COVID-19's Financial Wounds Continue for N.J. Hospitals," shows the impact of continued loss of revenue from the suspension of elective procedures at COVID-19's peak in the spring and the slow rebound of patients returning to the hospital. CHART's data, comparing June 30, 2019, with June 30, 2020, shows that:

Total patient revenues declined 6.6 percent.

Emergency department cases plummeted 23 percent.

Hospital admissions fell by 8 percent.

Outpatient visits dropped by 22 percent.

An additional aggravating factor: a 12 percent increase in total operating expenses, as COVID-19 required hospitals to redirect resources to increase staffing; boost supplies of personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals and ventilators; and modify operations and facilities to expand capacity.

CHART's analysis takes a closer look at the disruption of elective procedures in New Jersey hospitals and the lingering impact. Gov. Murphy's executive order 109, in effect March 27 through May 26, required hospitals to suspend elective procedures during the state's COVID-19 surge. CHART used claims data for some of the highest-volume elective procedures performed in New Jersey hospitals (bariatric surgery, pacemaker insertion, spinal fusion, knee replacement and hernia repair) to gauge the impact.

In April and May 2019, the state's hospitals performed these procedures 4,336 times. That number plummeted to just 400 statewide in April and May 2020. (The state's executive order suspending procedures during this time allowed exemptions for cases in which a delay would result in "undue risk to the current or future health of the patient.") The year-over-year decline persisted even when the suspension was lifted. In June and July 2019, 4,194 procedures from the list of high-volume procedures were performed, compared with 3,191 in June and July 2020.

But the greatest decline in volume by percentage was seen in hospital emergency departments, where cases plummeted 23.4 percent between June 30, 2019, and June 30, 2020. That has healthcare leaders concerned.

"These numbers reflect real lives  people at home or on the job who may be experiencing a life-threatening situation but refusing to go to the emergency department," said NJHA President and CEO Cathy Bennett. "When accounting for the long-term impact of COVID-19, the greatest cost of all may be the impact on the health and well-being of residents who delayed seeking necessary care."

NJHA officials said a hospital turnaround is critical for the statewide recovery from COVID-19.

"The state's hospitals pump $25 billion annually into the New Jersey economy and employ 154,000 people," said NJHA's Roger Sarao, vice president of economic and financial information and lead author of the CHART report. "They are an essential part of the road to recovery from this public health and economic crisis."

Despite the challenges, Bennett stressed that N.J. hospitals remain ready on the frontlines.

"Our hospitals are resilient," she said. "New Jersey's healthcare heroes are now the nation's experts in caring for both COVID and non-COVID patients safely and successfully. We are rebuilding our stockpiles of PPE and other essential supplies. The capacity is there, and the safety precautions are in place. Our priority is to be there for our communities."

Visit CHART online at www.njha.com/CHART to view this bulletin and other data reports.

NJHA is a not-for-profit trade association which partners with its 400-plus members in a collective goal of improving the health of the people of New Jersey.

SOURCE New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA)

Related Links

http://www.njha.com


NEW YORK - Personal injury attorney Steve Barnes, whose law firm Cellino & Barnes was known on two coasts for its catchy TV jingle, was killed Friday in a small plane crash in western New York.

Barnes, a registered pilot, died along with his niece, Elizabeth Barnes, his longtime law partner told The Associated Press.

The single-engine Socata TBM-700 crashed at about 11:45 a.m. in a wooded area near Pembroke, New York, authorities said, as it neared the end of a flight from Manchester, New Hampshire.

His passing is a significant loss for the legal community, Barnes law partner Ross Cellino said. He was always a fearless advocate for his clients.

Neighbours described the plane making a loud, whining noise, then dropping into a wooded area and exploding, Genesee County Sheriff William Sheron said. He said the plane had been destined for Buffalo.

The plane was registered to a corporation that shares an address with Cellino & Barnes, records showed.

Cellino & Barnes began as small firm in Buffalo but became well known in New York City and beyond for its ubiquitous advertising on billboards and on television.

Its old-time jingle, in which the law firms phone number was put to song, has been the subject of a sketch on Saturday Night Live, and other late-night TV host jokes for years. Broadway actors in 2018 posted viral videos of themselves singing the jingle in what was dubbed the Cellino & Barnes Challenge.

The law firms principal lawyers, Barnes and Cellino, appeared together in the advertisements, but had a falling out in recent years and battled each other in court.

Barnes is survived by his longtime partner, fellow attorney Ellen Sturm, and three children.

All of us at Cellino & Barnes are deeply saddened, Cellino said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the cause of the crash. NTSB spokesman Terry Williams said the agency would release its initial report within seven to 10 days.
Photo: The Canadian Press President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Middletown, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

UPDATE 2:20 p.m.

President Donald Trump will spend a few days at a military hospital after contracting COVID-19, the White House said Friday.

Trump was to depart the White House by helicopter late Friday for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a White House official said. The official said the visit was precautionary and that Trump would work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

Earlier Friday the White House said Trump remains fatigued and had been injected with an experimental antibody cocktail for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

ORIGINAL 2:10 p.m.

The White House said Friday that President Donald Trump remains fatigued after contracting COVID-19 and has been injected with an experimental antibody cocktail for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

Just a month before the presidential election, the revelation came in a Trump tweet about 1 a.m. after he had returned from an afternoon political fundraiser. He had gone ahead, saying nothing to the crowd though knowing he had been exposed to an aide with the disease that has infected millions in America and killed more than a million people worldwide.

First lady Melania Trump also tested positive, the president said, and several others in the White House have, too, prompting concern that the White House or even Trump himself might have spread the virus further.

Trump has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the virus, rarely wearing a protective mask and urging states and cities to reopen and reduce or eliminate shutdown rules.

The presidents physician said in a memo late Friday that Trump received a dose of an experimental antibody cocktail by Regeneron that is in clinical trials. Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley said Trump remains fatigued but in good spirits" and that a team of experts was evaluating both the president and first lady in regard to next steps.

The first lady, who is 50, has a mild cough and headache, Conley reported, and the remainder of the first family, including the Trumps son Barron, who lives at the White House, tested negative.

Both Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have tested negative, their campaign said. Vice-President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus Friday morning and remains in good health, his spokesman said.

Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was with him and many others on Saturday and has been on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, also tested negative, the White House said.

Trump's diagnosis was sure to have a destabilizing effect in Washington and around the world, raising questions about how far the virus has spread through the highest levels of the U.S. government. Hours before Trump announced he had contracted the virus, the White House said a top aide who had travelled with him during the week had tested positive.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately," Trump tweeted just before 1 a.m. "We will get through this TOGETHER!

While House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday tried to assure the public that Trump was conducting business as usual, even as he confirmed that the White House knew Hope Hicks, the aide, had tested positive before Trump attended a Thursday fundraiser in New Jersey.

I can tell you in terms of Hope Hicks, we discovered that right as Marine One was taking off yesterday, said Meadows. Several staffers were pulled from the trip, but Trump did not cancel and there was no direct evidence that her illness was connected to his.

Many White House and senior administration officials were undergoing tests Friday, but the full scale of the outbreak around the president may not be known for some time as it can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test. Officials with the White House Medical Unit were tracing the president's contacts.

Trump's reelection campaign said it was putting on hold all events featuring Trump and members of his family but that Pence would resume campaigning since he tested negative.

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and did not appear ill. He is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide.
While Apple has touted the Apple Watch's heart-monitoring feature, experts say it may be sending users to the doctor unnecessarily.

A new study finds that only about 10 percent of Apple Watch owners who went to a doctor after being alerted of an abnormal heart rate were diagnosed with a condition.

False positives saddle consumers with unnecessarily medical bills, researchers said, and can overtax healthcare systems.

The watches may also lead people to ignore legitimate symptoms, like dizziness or shortness of breath, because they haven't received an alert.

Scroll down for video

Since the introduction of the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018, the popular wearable has allowed users to perform an electrocardiogram and receive alerts if their heart rate is abnormal

In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, researchers at the Mayo Clinic analyzed patient records for mentions of the term 'Apple Watch' between December 2018 and April 2019.

They found 264 patients said their Apple Watches alerted them to an abnormal heart rhythm.

Half of them already had a history of heart trouble, and roughly two-thirds reported symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath or dizziness.

But only 30 patients went home with a diagnosis of a cardiovascular event from their healthcare provider.

The FDA approved the Apple Watch 4's ECG feature to alert users of an atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rate that can be a precursor to a so-called 'silent' stroke.

In a recent study, only 10 percent of people who sought care after receiving an alert were diagnosed with a cardiovascular event. Experts say false positives can clog the healthcare system and cause unneeded stress and anxiety in wearers

'Understanding context and the nuances of illness is important and at this point cannot be fully understood purely by a wearable medical device,' study author Heather Heaton, a professor of emergency medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine told The Verge.

Apple Watches have always had a heart monitor, but the Series 4, which hit stores in September 2018, lets users perform an electrocardiogram to measure the electrical activity of their heart.

The FDA approved the watch's ECG feature to detect atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rate that can be a precursor to a so-called 'silent' stroke, and alert the wearer.

Apple COO Jeff Williams praised the Series 4 as 'an intelligent guardian for your health.'

But the FDA stipulated that the ECG feature shouldn't be used to diagnose a heart condition or 'replace traditional methods of diagnosis or treatment.'

Patients already diagnosed with atrial fibrillation aren't supposed to use the alerts, but more than 20 percent of the cases the Mayo Clinic team looked at had a history of Afib.

It's also not recommended for anyone under 22, but the report found two dozen people flagged in the report were younger than that.

Patients already diagnosed with atrial fibrillation aren't supposed to use the alerts, but more than 20 percent of the cases the Mayo Clinic team looked at had a history of Afib

Consumers often don't understand the watch's sensors are much less sophisticated than the ECG you'd get in a doctor's office, which typically gathers data from a dozen areas of your heart.

There's also the question of what to do with all the information, which Apple says can be sent to your doctor.

'Who is going to be analyzing that data, and is there going to be proper follow-up?' Shephal Doshi, director of cardiac electrophysiology at Providence Saint John's Health Center, told Self magazine.

Doshi said a lot of results are just 'noise' and it can be hard for even trained clinicians to determine what's relevant.

'There are some patients who start sending you EKGs every 30 minutes, which can become a challenge.'

A 2019 report in the New England Journal of Medicine found less than one percent of Apple Watch wearers got an alert.

But in just the last few months of 2018, the Apple Watch 4 sold over nine million units - more than every other smartwatch on the market that year.

That means hundreds of thousands of alerts could be going out.

On the flip side, users may ignore cardiac symptoms that didn't come in conjunction with an alert from their watch.

Features like the Apple Watch's ECG tool 'blur the line between rigorously-studied medical devices and wellness tools,' co-author Kirk Wyatt, a pediatrics professor at Mayo Clinic, told The Verge. 'It is hard for a user to ignore an alert that they could have a serious medical condition.'

The newest iteration of the popular wearable, Apple Watch Series 6, was unveiled in September.

Apple claims it can read a wearer's blood oxygen levels in just 15 seconds, by measuring the color of blood flowing through the body.

The tech giant has raised the idea that the blood-oxygen monitor, in conjunction with the heart-rate feature, could detect early signs of COVID-19.

It's not clear how the new Mayo Clinic study would impact that goal.

The rapid evolution of technology continues to encourage non-experts to act as their own clinicians: A recent survey found almost half of 16 to 24-years-olds buy medicine after just Googling their symptoms.

A study commissioned by Lenstore found 45 percent of Gen-Zers in the UK diagnosed themselves and bought over-the-counter remedies using information they found on the Internet.

That figure dropped to slightly more than 30 percent for participants 25 to 44, 15 percent for 44 to 54-year-olds and just 5 percent for people over 55.

In all, 59 percent of people said they Google their symptoms before consulting a doctor, and 47 percent said they use the search engine to determine whether they need to visit a doctor in the first place.
The Executive Committee of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission hears a presentation on a public health bill.

BRPC Supporting Measure to Create Comprehensive Health Districts

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission has signed on in support of a bill that would create standards for boards of health, promote comprehensive health districts and establish appropriate funding.

The measure, HD.5306 , was filed on Thursday morning by state Reps. Hannah Kane, R-Shrewsbury, and Denise Garlick, D-Needham, and has so far accrued 38 supporters, including state Reps. John Barrett III and Tricia Farley-Bouvier.

Laura Kittross, public health program manager for the BRPC, explained at Thursday's meeting of the Executive Committee that the bill if passed would accelerate the recommendations released last year after a two-year study of local and regional public health.

Massachusetts is unique in having a local board of health for each of the 351 communities in the commonwealth while other states use regional or county. California has about 60 regional boards for 40 million people; Massachusetts with 6.3 million people has about 11 percent of all the boards of health in the country.

The quality and resources for each board of health vary greatly, Kittross said, and can range from "an elected board member who has never done anything related to local public health before to people who have master's degrees and all the credentials you could want."

"It's really hard to know actually how well we are doing. Smaller municipalities in particular struggle with funds for their health department or to find somebody who's qualified who wants to work five hours a week or five hours a month, depending on the size of the town," she said. "So many of our local health departments are slow to meet their statutorily mandated services in Massachusetts, and few in Massachusetts are prepared to meet nationally recommended standards such as the Foundational Public Health Services."

The Blueprint for Public Health Excellence issued last year by the Special Commission on Local and Regional Public Health, and on which Kittross served as representative for the Western Massachusetts Public Health Association, recommended restructuring and funding the public health system, particularly in promoting shared services.

"By pooling resources, functions, and expertise, a consortium of cities and towns, especially those that are smaller or less prosperous, can improve compliance with their statutory and regulatory mandates and expand the protections and opportunities they offer residents," the report stated.

Some of the steps toward this was provided in the State Action for Public Health Excellence, or SAPHE, Act passed in April (and also sponsored by Kane and Garlick). Two existing health districts and eight new groups representing more than 40 municipalities were given grants to plan for sharing resources and expanding staff.

The BRPC was able to obtain $47,000 in grant monies for the Public Health Alliance to hire an administrative assistant and do some online permitting.

The newest bill, dubbed SAPHE 2.0, would being implementing the recommendations of the Special Commission by setting minimum standards for education and training, inspections, communicable disease investigation, reporting and permitting for boards of health either individually or through the creation of cross-jurisdictional entities.

It would also set unified standards for reporting to the Department of Public Health and supplement local funding using a formula based on populations, valuations, level of shared services and sociodemographic data.

Kittross said the commission's recommendations were expected to take five to 10 years to institute but the appearance of the novel coronavirus changed that.

"As we all know, about six months ago a little thing called COVID came along and really shone a bright light on the fact that our local public health system is not adequately structured, staffed or financed to meet a large-scale public health challenge," she said. "And a lot of inefficient and really expensive systems had to be set up in a big hurry in order to deal with COVID."

She pointed to the $60 million contact and tracing program rolled out through Partners in Health that would not have been needed if there were adequately funded and staffed public health nursing programs.

"As we were able to do here in Berkshire County, that could have been easily ramped up without that kind of expense and it's been a very bumpy rollout for $60 million," Kittross continued. "In addition, there was $20 million that was provided as emergency funding for local boards of health, but there was no infrastructure, there was no way a state could do contracts with 351 separate municipalities. ...

"So again, structure and infrastructure had to be built very quickly to get that money out. And BRPC played a big part in that."

Commissioner Rene Wood of Sheffield asked how the bill might affect the health alliance and BRPC. Kittross said it could make the agency more sustainable and a better resource for the Berkshires.

The legislation will not require shared services but the goal is to incentivize and encourage the expansion of shared services to meet the goals outlined in the recommendations with three levels of funding support  the highest going to comprehensive districts, although Kittross noted the text may change as the bill works its way through the Legislature.

"I would hope this would be an opportunity for the Berkshire Public Health Alliance and for the municipalities in Berkshire County to consider going to a comprehensive district model," she said. The alliance now has more of a cafeteria model through which communities chose which services to employ. "But it's all speculation at this point."

Chairman Kyle Hanlon asked if this should be brought before the full commission by Executive Director Thomas Matuszko said the Executive Commission could make the decision to join the coalition in support of the measure.

The commission voted in favor.

Editor's note: the incorrect figure was given for the state's contact tracing program and has been corrected.
The TikTok of the cannabis world is gaining traction with people who like sharing videos about their buds and bongs and winning cash by doing it. Dont worry about a ban on the app by President Trump, though.

Daily Bonfire is not a product of China  it was created by entrepreneurs Mark and Pamela Hadfield, a San Rafael couple whose Hello MD website (hellomd.com) sprang to popularity in 2013 by linking patients to medical and lifestyle articles about cannabis as well as doctors who could provide medical recommendations for cannabis, required before the passage of Californias Proposition 64 and legalization of adult use.

Daily Bonfire, whose name was inspired by the idea of daily use and by the communal act of sitting around a bonfire, fills several niches in the marketplace. As one of the few apps devoted to cannabis (along with Duby, MassRoots and Reddits r/trees thread), it allows consumers to build community around a substance that is largely banned from mainstream social media.

Daily Bonfire

Currently there is no way for (cannabis) brands and retailers to effectively market to target audiences  were blocked from Instagram and Facebook, Pamela Hadfield said. And since social media has become a tool for advertisers the world over  especially when trying to reach Millennial and Gen Z consumers, for whom short-form videos are a preferred method of communication  a cannabis-themed app allows cannabis businesses to reach consumers interested in their products.

Unlike Duby and MassRoots, which are based on photo sharing, Daily Bonfire is video based, with clips showing users talking about plans to get high on the Fourth of July, showing how many bong hits are possible in a minute, attempting to ride a hoverboard (and crashing) while high. Advertisers (retailers and brands) work with the app to sponsor contests that encourage users to make and upload videos to win prizes. Contest themes range from best homemade bong to favorite exercise with cannabis. Prizes range from $25 gift cards for DoorDash to $500 in cash.

It makes consumers aware of the brand, and it makes retailers happy as well, Pamela Hadfield said. Reddits r/trees thread allows for photo- and video-sharing, but has no rewards program.

Social justice was also on the Hadfields minds in creating the app. The company is committed to investing 5% of annual profits in its own Diversity Empowerment Program, and supporting nonprofits including the ACLU, Black & Brown Founders and NORML, among others.

The Hadfields, both 47 and parents of three girls, held executive positions in the tech world  he as a startup founder and she as a consultant in user experience and product design  before training their sights on the cannabis industry. Neither was a cannabis advocate until Pamela, a 25-year migraine sufferer with fibromyalgia, turned to CBD (cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis) after prescription drugs proved ineffective against the debilitating headaches that struck about four days a month.

I was using Vicodin regularly, she recalled, and thought I had nothing to lose. With a daily tincture high in CBD and low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of cannabis), her headaches have ceased, she says. She also credits cannabis for her success in hiking the 211-mile John Muir trail last summer, migraine-free.

In 2013, mainstream acceptance of cannabis had not yet arrived, especially in investment circles. We will never touch cannabis  thats why we dont invest in porn and gambling, Pamela Hadfield recalls a prominent venture capitalist telling her. I was shocked that this was the opinion, when I saw the trajectory of where cannabis could go from a health wellness and medical standpoint.

The venture worlds loss has been the Hadfields gain. Two years ago, they established hellomd.com in Canada, where cannabis is federally legal, to operate an online cannabis consultation portal for Shoppers Drug Mart, that nations largest pharmacy chain.

With thousands of users (Hadfield declined to be specific), Daily Bonfire has a long way to go before meeting TikToks reach, a reported 500 million active users a month. But who knows? The worlds stoners have never yet had a place to light up together. Daily Bonfire might just provide the spark.

Carolyne Zinko is a freelancer and former Chronicle staff writer.
Political leaders, students, activists and members of the civil society gathered at Delhis Jantar Mantar on Friday evening, demanding justice for the 19-year-old Dalit woman who was gang-raped and murdered in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, and voiced concern over the law-and-order situation in the state.

Smaller protests were held in other parts of the city, including CR Park, Vasant Kunj, Lodhi Colony and Dwarka.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who joined the protest in Jantar Mantar, demanded capital punishment for the perpetrators. The culprits should be given the harshest punishment so that nobody in the world tries to repeat such an act. They must be hanged till death. Some people have been feeling that attempts are being made to save the culprits and the whole incident is being covered...The FIR for rape was not lodged for many days, no proper treatment was given to her, and her body was cremated at night going against Hindu customs. Several actions have made people believe that the whole incident and the culprits are being shielded, he said.

The chief minister led a candle-light vigil on the Jantar Mantar Road along with his party MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, and senior leader Durgesh Pathak.

In a statement later in the evening, he said: There should be no politics on the matter, it is not ethical to play politics on this. When one says a rape has happened in Uttar Pradesh, another person says a rape has also happened in Rajasthan. This is no argument.

Student groups from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Ashoka University and Ambedkar University were joined by members of organisations such as All India Democratic Womens Association and the National Federation of Indian Women, and the Dalit group Bhim Army.

Politicians such as Left leaders Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and Kanhaiya Kumar, Yogendra Yadav, Jignesh Mevani, Kanhaiya Kumar and Chandrashekhar Azad also participated in the protest.

Delhi Police registered an FIR under the Epidemic Act and Disaster Management Act for defying social distancing norms and gathering in large numbers to protesting at Jantar Mantar. They did not name anyone but said the FIR was against all protesters.

Another FIR was registered against eight members of Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Congress at Vigyan Bhawan for defying social distancing norms and carrying a match towards BJP President JP Naddas house to protest against three farm bills passed recently in Parliament.

On Friday afternoon, the organisers changed venue of the protest from India Gate to Jantar Mantar. Anticipating a large number of protesters, there was heavy presence of police and central security forces.

All arterial roads connecting Jantar Mantar with India Gate were barricaded by the police. Residents from the satellite cities of Noida and Gurugram also joined.

In the evening, when crowds started to gather, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation closed the entry and exit of the Janpath Metro station at 7pm. The exits of the Rajiv Chowk and Patel Chowk stations were also shut. Police barricades were erected and vehicular traffic diversions and restrictions were put in place at several places in central Delhi.

Sitting in different smaller groups, the protesters shouted slogans demanding justice for the young woman and her family and the resignation of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

There were an estimated 1,000- 1,200 protesters at Jantar Mantar.

Asha Singh, who had come from Balmiki mohalla in Bawana in north-west Delhi said: Is being born in a so-called lower caste a crime? That woman and her family in Hathras need justice. The incident happened in a village 200 km from Delhi. 200 km is not too far a distance. Tomorrow it can happen anywhere. It has to be stopped now.

As the crowd shouted slogans, police personnel in riot control gear stood at a distance.

Madhurima Kundu, member of the All India Students Association, said, They can conduct polls in Bihar amid Covid-19 crisis but protests are being scuttled. The Dalit victim was cremated without even allowing her family to attend the cremation. This shows the state of the country we are in.

Shadipur resident Kusum (goes only with first name) was in Jantar Mantar with her eight-year-old daughter. We learnt about the protest through WhatsApp messages. We had to be here today. It is a barbaric crime that has happened against a woman, against a person of the Dalit community, she said.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said he would soon march to Hathras to meet the victims family.

Speaking about the SIT constituted by the state government to investigate the case, lawyer Prashant Bhushan said: Who can trust their SIT? The village has been cordoned off and we are getting reports that the familys phone has been seized and they are not being allowed to talk to the media. This is unacceptable.

CPI leader and former JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar said, A bigger pandemic than Covid-19 is the patriarchal and casteist mindset of the society. That is why we have gathered here to demand justice for our daughters.
By Associated Press

YEREVAN (ARMENIA): Officials in Armenia said Friday the country is ready to discuss a cease-fire in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces has continued for six straight days, killing dozens and leaving scores wounded.

This weeks fighting is the biggest escalation in years in the decades-long dispute over the region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is controlled by local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. It prompted calls for a cease-fire from all around the globe.

ALSO READ: Azerbaijan says Armenia must withdraw troops to end clashes

On Thursday, leaders of Russia, France and the United States  co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group, which was set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1992 to resolve the conflict  issued a joint statement statement calling for immediate cessation of hostilities and resuming substantive negotiations ... under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

Armenia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that the country stands ready to engage with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to reestablish a cease-fire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements.

Armenia remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the statement read.

The deadly clashes in the region resumed Friday, with Armenian military officials reporting Azerbaijan carrying out strikes on Nagorno-Karabakh's capital Stepanakert, and Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry accusing Armenian forces of shelling the Agdam region.

The region's officials said more than 150 servicemen on their side have been killed so far. Azerbaijani authorities haven't provided details on its military casualties, but said 19 civilians have been killed and 55 more have been wounded.

Several journalists were wounded in shelling of the Matruni town on Thursday. Two of them were French citizens working with Le Monde newspaper.

Reporter Allan Kaval and photographer Rafael Yaghobzadeh were taken to the Stepanakert hospital and operated on there, and were being evacuated Friday morning to Yerevan. The two will be then taken to Paris, Le Monde reported.

In an article published Friday, Le Monde said they had traveled to Martuni on Thursday morning to state for themselves the extent of the damage from this weeks fighting. They were with several French, Armenian and other journalists when the town was attacked.

The report quotes regional human rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan as saying four civilians were killed and 11 other people wounded in the shelling.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked for decades in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, where a separatist war was fought in the early 1990s, ending in 1994  three years after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The 4,400-square-kilometer (1,700-square-mile) enclave in the Caucasus Mountains, roughly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, lies 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border.

Azerbaijan's president said Armenias withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh was the sole condition to end the fighting. Armenian officials claim Turkey is involved in the conflict, allegedly sending fighters from Syria to the region and deploying Turkish F-16 fighter jets to assist Azerbaijani forces.

Turkey has publicly supported Azerbaijan in the conflict and said it would provide assistance if requested, but denied sending in foreign mercenaries or weapons.
DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have been friends with another couple for more than 50 years. The four of us have shared lots of good times together.

After recent open heart surgery, the husband became very depressed and talked to his wife about "ending it all." She asked me to take the few handguns (all legal) they had in their home to be safe. I didn't feel I could say no. I'm not interested in guns, but it seemed a simple request. So she "snuck" them out to me during our last visit.

When the husband discovered what his wife had done, she told him about my role in it. He now demands I return his guns and says he no longer wants anything to do with me. His wife wants me to hold onto them for now.

What should I do?

 Torn over this

DEAR TORN: From what I have been told, depression after heart surgery is not unusual. Hang onto the guns and urge the wife to report her husband's threat to harm himself to his doctors and let them guide her. She should also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which is 800-273-8255. Someone who has talked about suicide should not have easy access to the means to do it.

DEAR ABBY: Since this coronavirus pandemic started, I have seen lots of articles stressing the importance of staying connected to elderly family members, friends and those living alone. My husband and I have each other, so we are sheltering in place. Although we have eight grandkids who all live within 50 miles, we haven't heard a word from any of them, whether via phone, email or text, all of which we do. How bad is that?

 Disconnected in California

DEAR DISCONNECTED: If you have reached out to your grandchildren and been ignored, shame on them. If you haven't, it's time you did. Sometimes young people become so engrossed in their daily lives they forget about anything else. But that's what parents are for, to "remind" them that reaching out to someone who needs a kind word (or an errand run during a pandemic) can be rewarding not only for the receiver but also for the giver. Parents should remind them to take five minutes occasionally to text Grandma.

DEAR ABBY: I started and completed a college fund for my two daughters. Only one of them used it. The other joined the military and used the GI Bill for college instead of the money from the college fund ($10,000). Am I obligated to give her that money? I did pull it out of the fund and have it in a certificate. I figure when she buys a house, I'll give it to her then.

 Wondering in Florida

DEAR WONDERING: Check with the bank to make sure there won't be a problem if the college fund money isn't used for your daughter's education. If you can apply it elsewhere in a way that will benefit her -- and part of a down payment on a house would definitely qualify -- I think it would be wonderful. But check first.
Sri Lanka paid a huge price for political and military miscalculations. The political environment, created by Sirisena-Wickremesinghe, cannot be scrutinized without taking into consideration previous situations.

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Security of a country did not depend on its Defence Secretary. There were various structures and it was a matter of collective action, one-time Defence Secretary, Austin Fernando, told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI) on Saturday (26).

The P CoI, appointed by former President Maithripala Sirisena, is inquiring into the Easter Sunday attacks. Sirisena named the Commission several weeks before the end of his five-year term.

Fernando further said: It is not mandatory for the Defence Secretary to have an intimate knowledge of the role played by the Ministry. If that is the case, a fisherman should be the Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture should be a farmer.

Let me examine Austin Fernandos statement, taking into consideration the direct talks between President Ranasinghe Premadasa and the LTTE, during the period 1989-1990 (the late General D.S. Attygalle served as the Defence Secretary from 15.08.1983 to 16.02.1990), outbreak of Eelam War II (General S.C Ranatunga served as the Secretary Defence from 16.02.1990 to 01.05.1993) and the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) with the LTTE entered into by Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe (Austin Fernando functioned as the Secretary Defence from 21.12.2001 to 03.11.2003).

Hemasiri Fernando, who served as Secretary Defence in the run-up to the April 21, 2019, Easter Sunday attacks, is under investigation for criminal negligence. In all four above-mentioned instances, the government apparatus collectively failed, though the circumstances were different.

The only difference is in the case of the disastrous 2002 CFA. The then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga cannot be faulted as Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe blindly signed the catastrophic Oslo-drafted 2002 peace initiative, keeping even his cabinet in the dark.

Austin Fernando is absolutely right. Security of a country does not depend on its Defence Secretary. In fact, a single person cannot guarantee national security, regardless of political clout he or she wielded. However, one person can cause irreparable damage, through irrational and unilateral actions/decisions, as in the case of the CFA. The appointment of retired military officers certainly cannot guarantee national security. The late Gen. Attygalle and Gen. Ranatunga facilitated President Premadasas ill-fated strategies that weakened the military. Taking Fernandos assertion into consideration, it would be pertinent to examine how President Premadasa (1989-1990), Premier Wickremesinghe (2002-2003) and President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe (2015-2019) jeopardized the national security. Those who served under them, too, equally contributed to the rapid deterioration of security by simply giving into political dictates, thereby providing tacit support to despicable political agendas.

Sri Lanka paid a huge price for political and military miscalculations. The political environment, created by Sirisena-Wickremesinghe, cannot be scrutinized without taking into consideration previous situations. In the absence of detailed study, the public tend to consider the Easter Sunday security failure as an isolated case. But, the extraordinary Easter Sunday terror project, perhaps, is part of an insidious political strategy to keep Sri Lanka in perpetual anarchy. Those who had perpetrated nearly simultaneous suicide attacks, in three administrative districts, certainly deliberated the political environment before going ahead with the operation. Who exploited the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) to deliver such a devastating message? Did NTJ succumb to external elements? When did India actually infiltrate the NTJ and what is the status of the Indian intelligence gathering operation in Sri Lanka? Why didnt Indian intelligence share information on NTJ (Zahran Hashims gang) much earlier? And, most importantly, why were both Sinhala and Tamil communities targeted?

Defence Chiefs play ball with Ranasinghe Premadasa

Having secured the presidency, in January 1989, President Premadasa sought an agreement with the JVP. The UNP leader also made an attempt to reach a consensus with Tamil groups, including the LTTE. The President succeeded in reaching an understanding with all armed Tamil groups, except the LTTE. The presence of one-time militant Douglas Devananda, leader of the EPDP (Eelam Peoples Democratic Party), in President Gotabaya Rajapaksas cabinet of ministers, is evidence of Premadasas successful political strategy. In addition to the EPDP, Premadasa brought the EPRLF (Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front), TELO (Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization) and PLOTE (Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam) into the political mainstream. However, Premadasas bid to reach an understanding with the LTTE ended disastrously, in the second week of June 1990.

At the time, Premadasa initiated direct negotiations with the LTTE, the late Gen. Attygalle had been the Secretary, Ministry of Defence while Lt. Gen. Hamilton Wanasinghe served as the Commander of the Army (16.09.1988- 15.11.91). Did the President consult the Defence Secretary and the Commander of the Army before initiating negotiations with the JVP and the LTTE? Did they approve of releasing from custody of over thousands of JVP suspects in early 1989? Their release resulted in an immediate stepping up of violence though the police, the military and the government-sponsored civilian death squads crushed the JVP, by the end of 1989.

Having captured JVP leader, Rohana Wijeweera, at Ulapane, in the second week of Nov. 1989, he was brought to Colombo, interrogated and executed. Premadasa knew what befell Wijeweera, who led two insurrections, in 1971 and 1987-89.

However, Premadasas apparent unilateral decisions, in respect of the LTTE, caused immense harm. Believing in the possibility of successful conclusion of negotiations with the LTTE, Premadasa, hastily announced the hotly disputed decision to request New Delhi to terminate its military mission in the North-East Sri Lanka. Did Premadasa genuinely consult the Defence Secretary, Commander of the Army or at least his Prime Minister, the late D.B. Wijetunga, before demanding the pull-out of the Indian Peace Keeping Force? Premadasa, obviously didnt believe in consultations. In his capacity as the leader of the UNP and the President, Premadasa largely believed in unilateral decisions. The catastrophic handling of direct negotiations with the LTTE paved the way for terrorists to launch devastating attacks on the Army after obtaining from the then naive government military supplies, money, as well as building materials. Clearly, the Secretary Defence and the Commander of the Army played ball with Premadasa. In fact, all cooperated with Premadasa. Officials bent backwards to appease the all-powerful President. The then Election Commissioner, the late Chandrananda de Silva, overnight recognized the PFLT (Peoples Front of Liberation Tigers) as a registered political party. The writer was among several local and foreign journalists, invited by the late LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham, to the Colombo Hilton where he made the announcement. Chain-smoking British passport holder Balasingham declared proudly that their emblem would be a Tiger in a red flag of rectangular shape. Premadasa, or late Chandrananda de Silva, had no qualms in the PFLT receiving political recognition in spite of it being armed. The LTTE received political recognition a couple of months before Velupillai Prabhakaran resumed Eelam War II.

Prez playing with fire

Did Premadasa consult the Defence Secretary and Commander of the Army before lifting restrictions imposed on the Northern Province, abandoned Point Pedro and Valvettiturai army detachments, pardoned convicted Maradana bomber Manouri Daniels, along with over a dozen other LTTE cadres, held under the PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act), and provided weapons and funds to the LTTE. Premadasa did what he wanted to do. The UNP leader was not bothered about security implications. Obviously, his security chiefs remained mum. President felt confident in his political strategy. He was so confident, he ordered law enforcement personnel to surrender after the LTTE surrounded police stations in the East. Premadasas decision resulted in the deaths of over 400 officers and men. Did the President consult Gen. Attygalles successor Gen. Cyril Ranatunga and the Commander of the Army before the government reached an agreement with the LTTE?

The Army in the East averted a calamity by refusing to surrender, in spite of the senior leadership directing them to do so. General Gerry H. de Silva, who served as the Commander of the Army (1994-1996) in his memoirs titled A most noble profession commented on Premadasas strategy/the governments failure to recognize the threat posed by the LTTE. First published in 2011, two years after the successful conclusion of the war against the LTTE, De Silva acknowledged: We failed to see through the emerging trends and LTTE machinations. Despite constant threats and humiliation meted out to security forces and the police by the militants, the politico-military hierarchy preferred to put up with the ignominy in order not to rock the boat.

The LTTE capitalized on the situation. A rejuvenated LTTE called the shots, and quickly moved into a position of strength, politically and militarily. They were riding the crest of a wave and must have felt that the time was opportune to achieve their goal of Eelam.

The Gemunu Watch officer is the only Commander of the Army to author a book on his career.

Within a week after the resumption of hostilities, in the second week of June 1990, the ill-prepared Army lost the Overland Main Supply Route (MSR) to the Jaffna peninsula. Premadasas honeymoon with Prabhakaran lasted 14 months. The Tiger Supremo resumed the war, at lightning speed, just two months after India terminated its military mission here. Sri Lanka was left high and dry after the series of follies by Premadasa, at peace making, and the military couldnt regain the MSR, till January 2009. Premadasas Generals turned a blind eye to what was happening on the ground. When fighting erupted, the Army had just one battalion, plus troops in the Jaffna peninsula. In spite of continuing to build up, the top brass ignored the growing threat until it was too late. So, the mere appointing of a retired General as Secretary Defence cannot guarantee rationale thinking. Premadasas strategy was nothing but a massive and unprecedented collective failure that almost resulted in capitulation of the Northern forces. Premadasa turned a Nelsonian eye to the LTTE evicting the entire Muslim population from the Northern Province, in Oct 1990. At the behest of Premadasa, the then Army Commander facilitated coordinated LTTE attacks on rival Tamil groups. The LTTE massacred hundreds of people. The response of Premadasa and his chief negotiator, the late A.C.S. Hameed, to the LTTE threat, caused quite an embarrassment to the government, undermined the State and, basically, allowed the LTTE to transform itself to a conventional fighting force. The then Higher Education Minister Hameed never realized ground realities.

Retired General de Silvas assessment can be applied to all Presidents. except war-winning Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had faith in his younger brother Gotabayas capacity to coordinate the war effort against the LTTE.

Generals Attygalle and Ranatunga certainly owed an explanation as regards their failure to prevent the catastrophe in the North. Obviously, no one dared to challenge Premadasas dangerous strategies. Having served as the Commander of the Army, for a decade, and Defence Secretary, General Attygalle received appointment as Sri Lankas High Commissioner in London where he facilitated Kittus (Sathasivam Krishnakumar) arrival there. On the orders of Premadasa, the SLAF brought Kittu to Colombo where the British High Commission made arrangements to send the former LTTE Jaffna Commander to receive treatment for his amputated leg. The Generals had no say and Premadasa had his way.

Can you imagine a government facilitating a terrorists travel to London where he took over the LTTEs International Secretariat responsible for running a massive extortion racket? The funds ultimately ended up with arms suppliers who provided the LTTE a range of weapons, T 56 assault rifles to shoulder fired missiles. General Ranatunga, too, received appointment as Sri Lankas High Commissioner in Canberra and then London. Presidential nominees to top diplomatic posts always received parliamentary approval.

Security fiasco in 2002

Not having learnt from Premadasas stupidities, Ranil Wickremesinghe too plunged headlong into a similar folly with Austin Fernando et al in tow.

Ranil Wickremesinghe picked experienced administrative service officer Austin Fernando as Secretary Defence within days after winning the Dec 2001 parliamentary election. Wickremesinghe also brought in one-time Attorney General Tilak Marapana on the National List as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence. Wickremesinghe adopted a simple strategy. The UNP leader advocated a policy of appeasement, thereby jeopardizing the entire security apparatus. The LTTE brazenly exploited the situation to its advantage. Prabhakaran stepped up training, recruitment of fresh cadres, as well as forcible conscription of children. The government did nothing. The LTTE intensified protests opposite security forces bases, restricted/interfered with police and military movements whereas the government repeatedly reiterated its commitment to the Oslo-led peace process like a mantra. Wickremesinghe dismissed intelligence assessment as regards the rapid LTTE built up. Wickremesinghe told a hastily arranged Temple Trees meeting, attended by senior officers responsible for intelligence services et al their assessment of the LTTE training 6,000 cadres at the onset of the CFA was wrong. The Premier contradicted his own intelligence apparatus on the basis of what the Indians told him. The then Defence Advisor Senior DIG Merril Gunaratne, who had been among those invited by the Premier, had the strength to stand by his report, based on information/analysis provided by all services. Obviously, Wickremesinghe hadnt been in a mood to listen to anyone who questioned Prabhakarans motives though the continuing LTTE build up was evident.

Wickremesinghe followed his policy of appeasement. In his capacity as Secretary Defence Austin Fernando had no option but to go along with the Premier who authorized the finalization of CFA without proper consultations with the military top brass or the intelligence services.

The then Defence Secretary also provided some hilarious side shows like carrying a basket of fruits to a terrorist receiving treatment at a Colombo hospital.

Fernando himself claimed at the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in August 2010 that he hadnt been involved in the process leading to the finalization of the document. However, top SCOPP (Secretariat for Coordinating Peace Process) Dr. John Gooneratne subsequently revealed before the LLRC how Norway rejected four proposals made by Sri Lanka. Had those proposals been accommodated in the CFA perhaps Eelam War IV could have been avoided, Gooneratne told the late C.R. de Silvas Commission. The writer covered the entire LLRC proceedings. Gooneratne revealed the hitherto unknown proposals namely (a) CFA to pave the way for a negotiated settlement (b) prohibition of smuggling of arms, ammunition and equipment (c) freedom of movement for other political parties in areas under the LTTE control and finally (d) halt to forcible recruitment. Sri Lanka never received the backing of Peace Co-Chairs, the US, Norway, EU and Japan to get those just proposals included in the CFA.

The UNP never revealed rejection of its proposals until Gooneratne took advantage of the LLRC to set the record straight. Austin Fernando and SCOPP Chief Bernard Goonetilleke, who appeared before the LLRC could have revealed the truth. The UNP remained mum. Throughout the CFA period, Premier Wickremesinghe tried to suppress information that may have caused embarrassment to his government, the Norwegians and the LTTE. Obviously there hadnt been any proper consultations among members of the cabinet, parliamentary group or the military top brass regarding the Oslo-led process.

Austin Fernando cannot absolve himself of the responsibility for the UNP governments actions during the CFA. The person who served as Secretary Defence cannot claim lack of knowledge of a particular situation. The same applies to the Defence Minister. During Marapanas tenure as the Defence Minister Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI)-run operation was exposed to the whole world with media scenes. In spite of strong protests by the Army, the UNP went ahead with its political project. The exposure of the operation led to the deaths of several operatives. The LTTE also hunted police officers engaged in anti-terrorist operations. When Defence Advisor Merril Gunaratne blamed the LTTE for the killing of Inspector Thabrew at the Dehiwela police station, Premier Wickremesinghe himself questioned the veteran law enforcement officers assessment.

The UNP allowed the LTTE to bring in undeclared cargo via the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). LTTE delegations returning from negotiations with Wickremesinghes delegations from various foreign venues and others brought large packages. The foolish government provided air transport. The LTTE brazenly used the opportunity to its advantage. The CFA provided the organization required protection. The LTTE exploited the Oslo arranged CFA, the same way it used direct talks with Premadasa to achieve its targets. High profile assassination of TULF leader Appapillai Amirthalingham is a case in point. Prabhakaran moved a hit team in an SLAF chopper that brought LTTE delegates from the Vanni to Colombo in 1989.

Both political and military leaderships should accept responsibilities for lapses. During Austin Fernandos tenure as the Defence Secretary, the military was ordered to stop issuing situation reports, suspended Wanni Sevaya (special radio that catered to the military and the police), subjected military reports to civilian approval and basically succumbed to LTTE tactics. While closing down Wanni Sevaya, the government permitted the LTTE to import state-of-the-art radio equipment to upgrade its own propaganda and communication facilities.

If not for the then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratungas intervention in late 2003, the UNP could have allowed the LTTE build up to continue until it was too late to take counter action. The UNP permitted the deterioration of the situation to such an extent, the LTTE by early 2003 felt confident enough to brazenly quit the negotiating table. The LTTE quit talks in late April 2003 to set the stage for an all-out war. By late 2005, the LTTE was confident it could overwhelm the Army in a large-scale conventional confrontation. The assassination of much-loved Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, in early August 2005, indicated their readiness to take on the government. Had the LTTE succeeded in assassinating Army Chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in late April and early Oct, 2006, the LTTE, perhaps could have achieved Eelam. There cannot be any dispute as regards the role played by the Army Commander and the Defence Secretary to bring the war to a successful conclusion. There had never been previous attempts on the lives of the Army Commander and Secretary Defence. The LTTE knew the government strategy could be aborted by assassinating the two most important men. Their failure brought the war to an end three years later with the LTTE militarily annihilated. If the LTTE succeeded, Sri Lankas unitary status could have been jeopardized by now. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe coalition proved the danger in pulling in different directions, lack of vision and strategy as well as pursuing of political agendas inimical Sri Lanka State.

The writer is the news editor of the Island, daily newspaper in Colombo
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday evening ordered the suspension of Hathras superintendent of police Vikrant Vir and three other police officers for their handling of the case relating to the alleged gang-rape and murder of a Dalit woman that has shocked the country. The chief minister took the decision on the basis of an initial report of the special investigation team set up to look into the case, a statement by the Uttar Pradesh government said.

Also Read: Hathras gang-rape case: UP cops barricade village to stop media, Oppn from meeting family

The government also decided that narco-analysis polygraph tests would be conducted on everyone involved in the case. This decision is expected to include the rape victims family as well, particularly in context of the state governments autopsy report that contradicted the victims allegation that she had been gang-raped on 14 September.

Watch | Hathras case: UP CM Adityanath suspends SP, ordered narco-analysis tests

The 19-year-old died on Tuesday and according to her family, she was cremated past midnight under alleged pressure from the district administration. This allegation had provoked the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court to take cognisance of the case. The judges will hear the case on 12 October.

Also Read: Uma Bharti tweets some advice on handling Hathras case to Yogi Adityanath

The UP governments statement said the Hathras police chief Vikrant Vir was being placed under suspension for negligence and tardy investigations. Also to be suspended are the circle officer Ram Shabd, inspector Dinesh Kumar Varma, senior sub-inspector Jagvir Singh and head constable Mahesh Pal.

The chief minister had earlier ordered the special investigation team led by home secretary Bhagwan Swarup to submit its probe report within seven days. But the SIT appears to have been told to come up with a preliminary version in face of escalating protests after the womans rushed cremation.

The action against the police officers handling the investigation is seen as an expression of the governments displeasure at the police officers letting the situation get out of hand and signal that the administration was responsive to the many concerns expressed around the probe.

Also Watch| Hathras case: UP CM Adityanath suspends SP, ordered narco-analysis tests

The announcement was preceded by Yogi Adityanaths tweet earlier in the day that pledged to ensure exemplary punishment for the guilty in crimes against women.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party promptly praised the chief minister for the action. I welcome the suspension of senior #Police officials from #Hathrus, BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal tweeted.

There is some concern within the BJP over the oppositions strident campaign over the Hathras incident to build a narrative that projects the BJP to be anti-Dalit but the party is expected to tread carefully so that it does not alienate its traditional support base.

Also Read: 2 km from Hathras village, mahapanchayat demands release of accused and a CBI probe

The narco-analysis on all parties concerned including the police officers involved in the probe is seen to be part of this balancing act.

The opposition is unlikely to tone down its attacks on the government after the suspensions. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted a fresh attack at Yogi Adityanath soon after news of the suspensions emerged, wondering what would change by suspending a few pawns. The Congress leader, who along with brother Rahul Gandhi had been prevented from reaching the Hathras village where the victims family lives, said the chief minister was trying to shift blame and the government must reveal the phone records of the district magistrate and SP to ascertain who had been issuing instructions to them.
YEREVAN, 2 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 2 October, USD exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 488.60 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.39 drams to 572.54 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.10 drams to 6.22 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 3.39 drams to 631.12 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 238.42 drams to 29878.24 drams. Silver price down by 1.64 drams to 371.04 drams. Platinum price up by 220.49 drams to 14106.55 drams.
Terry Goodkind, the author of the best-selling epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth, died on Sept. 17 at his home in Boulder City, Nev. He was 72.

His wife, Jeri Goodkind, confirmed the death but did not specify a cause.

Mr. Goodkind was a latecomer to writing: He spent years as a woodworker and wildlife artist before publishing his first novel, Wizards First Rule, when he was 45. But that book  the story of a heroic forest guide, Richard, who teams with a beautiful woman, Kahlan, to defeat an evil wizard, Darken Rahl  won legions of fans and earned positive reviews when it was published by Tor Books in 1994.

Kirkus Reviews called the novel, which became the first book in the Sword of Truth series, a wonderfully creative, seamless and stirring epic fantasy debut.

Over the next 24 years, Mr. Goodkinds series grew to include 17 books, several of them best sellers. Together, the Sword of Truth books have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. In 2008, the books were adapted by the director and producer Sam Raimi into a television series, Legend of the Seeker, that aired for two seasons on ABC.
E ver since playing an instrumental role in the release of around 250,000 documents in 2010 relating to the Iraq and Afghan wars and detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Julian Assange has feared the US would try to put him on trial.

In seven years holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge, the 49-year-old was confined largely to a single room, allegedly spied on by his enemies, and stripped of the niceties of normal life, as he tried to avoid the prospect of a criminal trial.

But he now finds himself squarely in the fight of his life, battling against extradition to the US and facing 18 espionage and hacking charges. Assange says he was shining a spotlight on Americas handling of the War on Terror.

However, the US has another view  that he is nothing more than a hacker and spy, using his Wikileaks platform to encourage illegal activity and helping US analyst Chelsea Manning to crack codes to get the classified documents.

It is also alleged that Assange put military sources in danger by revealing their names. If convicted, he could face the rest of his life behind bars alongside terrorists and serial killers. If victorious, he could walk free.

Inside Court 10

The Old Bailey is playing host to the latest stage of Assanges epic legal battle, a historic courthouse more used to gruesome murders and terror plots. Assange has spent the last 17 months in isolation at HMP Belmarsh, locked down for 23 hours a day at the maximum security prison.

For the last four weeks, Assange has spent each day inside the glass-fronted dock of court 10, across the room from the person who will decide his fate, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser.

Assange likes to deliver freewheeling speeches in his softly-spoken tones and has occasional bursts of anger. He was met with a firm rebuke from Judge Baraitser on the third day when he interrupted a witness. You will hear things, no doubt many things, you disagree with during these proceedings, she told him. If you interrupt proceedings it is open to me to proceed in your absence. This is obviously something I would not wish to do.

Julian Assange during his hearing at the Old Bailey / PA

Assange could not contain his frustration when the evidence of Khaled El-Masri, who was tortured at the hands of the CIA, was being summarised: I will not accept you censoring a torture victims statement to this court, insisting on it being read out in full.

When Assange was hauled from his embassy hideout  dubbed Operation Hotel by his Ecuadorian hosts  in April 2019, he had a long beard and unkempt hair. Now in court he is still as pale as ever but well-groomed. Confined to the secure dock, he at times kneels on the floor to speak briefly to his lawyers through gaps in the bulletproof glass.

Social distancing rules have meant dozens of journalists and observers watching the proceedings online through video feeds. The technology has at times failed  temporary loss of sound, video glitches, and interruptions including the sound of a dog barking somewhere on the line.

In a particularly testing episode, lawyer Eric Lewis repeatedly shouted can you hear me? over the videolink from the US to an oblivious courtroom. The court was also only able to offer a single camera angle on the hearing room, with the central figure of Assange sometimes out of shot. The irony of the media struggling to hear in a case about press freedom was not lost of those trying to listen in.

Julian Assange supporters rally ahead of extradition hearing 1 /24 Julian Assange supporters rally ahead of extradition hearing A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange holds a placard calling for his freedom outside Woolwich Crown Court AFP via Getty Images Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange demonstrate outside Belmarsh prior to his extradition hearing Getty Images Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, a supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, arrives outside Woolwich Crown Cour Reuters Police officers speak to demonstrators outside Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in London, where the extradition hearing of Julian Assange is due to take place PA Julian Assange's father John Shipton speaks to the media after visiting Julian Assange at HMP Belmarsh PA Supporters hold a banner which reads 'Free Assange' as they protest against the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange outside Belmarsh Magistrates Court AP Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, one dressed as a judge with a kangaroo mask on, call for his freedom outside Woolwich Crown Court AFP via Getty Images A supporter hold a placard which reads 'Free Assange' as she protests against the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange outside Belmarsh Magistrates Court AP Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange,hold placards calling for his freedom outside Woolwich Crown Court AFP via Getty Images A activist supporting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, wears a US flag over her mouth outside Woolwich Crown Court AFP via Getty Images Nina from Amsterdam, a supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, wears a face mask called for Assange's freedom as she poses for a photograph outside Woolwich Crown Court AFP via Getty Images A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange dressed as Jesus and carrying a cross joins others with placards in calling for freedom for Assange outside Woolwich Crown Court AFP via Getty Images Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis talks to the media as he leaves Belmarsh Prison after visiting Julian Assange, Reuters Reuters Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images AFP via Getty Images

Lonely, but not alone

Assanges army of supporters have packed the streets outside the Old Bailey with throbbing drumbeats and noisy demands for him to be freed. Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood is his chief cheerleader, shouting about a stitch-up from inside a giant birdcage.

Dissident artist Ai Weiwei, a long-time ally of Assange, staged a silent protest in the shadow of the court this week, wearing a T-shirt featuring a picture of them together taken at the embassy years earlier. Free him, let him be a free man, he told reporters. He (Assange) truly represents a core value of why we are free  because we have freedom of the Press.

Ai Weiwei / AFP via Getty Images

Former Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson and ex-shadow chancellor John McDonnell have been among Assanges visitors at Belmarsh, although they havent been seen at the Old Bailey.

London-born rapper and activist M.I.A has joined the crowds outside. Socialite Jemima Khan was one of Assanges top backers in 2012 when she offered up 20,000 to secure his bail, but backed away from his campaign after he retreated into the embassy.

Dame Vivienne Westwood protest for Julian Assange at Old Bailey 1 /14 Dame Vivienne Westwood protest for Julian Assange at Old Bailey Dame Vivienne Westwood is suspended 10 Feet high inside giant bird cage in protest for Julian Assange at Old Bailey Getty Images Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Reuters Nigel Howard PA

Lawyers do battle

In Assanges corner is Edward Fitzgerald QC, who waged successful campaigns to stop the extradition of Lauri Love and Gary McKinnon to the US on hacking charges and was awarded a CBE in 2008 for his human rights work. Fitzgerald is from the internationally renowned Doughty Street chambers, which Sir Keir Starmer helped to establish, and is now home to lawyers including Amal Clooney.

Also on Assanges team is Mark Summers QC, a tenacious extradition specialist who represented the US government previously in the fight to bring flash crash trader Navinder Sarao to justice.

Leading the US governments team is James Lewis QC, described as a Rolls-Royce advocate who helped the US government to bring former Finsbury Park Mosque cleric Abu Hamza to justice for terrorism.

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

The love story

On the eve of the extradition battle, Assanges secret love affair was thrust into the open. He has been in a relationship with lawyer Stella Moris for the last nine years, and fathered two sons with her during his time in the embassy.

Ms Moris, who joined Assanges team as a legal researcher, recruited a friend to pose as her childrens father as a cover story, while visiting him regularly and keeping their relationship a secret from watching embassy officials.

She has since revealed how Assange proposed using virtual reality technology when she was pregnant with their first child, writing will you marry me? in the sky as they walked together along a beach he had created online. She has sat just feet away from Assange in court throughout the extradition hearings.

Stella Morris and her children with Julian Assange / PA Media

In a statement outside the Old Bailey yesterday, she said: He is in prison because he informed you of actual crimes and atrocities being committed by a foreign power. That foreign power has ripped away his freedom and torn our family apart. That power wants to put him in incommunicado detention in the deepest darkest hole of its prison system for the rest of his life.

Nomadic upbringing

Assange was born in Queensland, Australia, and had a nomadic childhood. His mother Christine, who left home when she was 17 and fell pregnant in her early twenties, spent time on the run from a cult leader. It is estimated Assange attended more than 30 schools.

The court heard reference to childhood trauma and adverse experiences, but the judge blocked further publicity of his struggles. His father John Shipton  a regular presence at the court hearings  is said to have been absent during much of Assanges youth. But it was Mr Shiptons name that he used when establishing the Wikileaks domain in 2006.

Assange, who fathered another son, Daniel, as a teenager, developed a passion for computers in his youth but ran into legal difficulties for hacking in Australia.

Jemima Khan / Getty Images

Assanges mental struggles

Assange has been starved of sunlight and his physical and mental health have suffered. US prison expert Joel Sickler told the court Assange is plagued by nightmares of being pinned down and murdered, as he warned that confinement in a strict US prison could lead him to the brink of suicide.

Assange revealed himself that he contemplates suicide repeatedly on a daily basis and is trying to come to terms with the end of my life. He has watched a clip on loop of Bosnian Croat warlord Slobodan Praljak killing himself with cyanide in court in The Hague, ominously commenting he did the right thing, and told one medical professional: It doesnt matter if Im dead in a year.

Dr Quinton Deeley, a consultant neuropsychiatrist, said he believes Assange is on the autistic spectrum. He has had very few lifelong friends. At times in court, Assange has appeared to struggle to remember the simplest of details, like his own date of birth.

The Trump connection

Next months US election adds a dimension to proceedings. President Trump stands accused of reviving the case against Assange when it had gone nowhere under President Obama, branding his Wikileaks adversary a spy and using it in his war on the media.

Assanges long-standing lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who was once famously caught in a clinch with Corbyn aide Seumas Milne, told how US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher visited the Ecuadorian embassy in 2017 at Trumps behest to offer a pardon, in return for help in his political manoeuvrings against the Democrats.

Assange refused to reveal a source of information, and the following year he was indicted on espionage charges. Judge Baraitser will not decide if the Americans can have Assange until after the US election.

If she agrees to extradite, Assanges legal battle, which has been raging for more than 10 years, will go on with his army of supporters and celebrity fans watching on closely. For now, his life in isolation continues.
Medical staff attend to a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy after another deputy accidentally shot her in the leg. (KTLA)

A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was rushed to a hospital Friday morning after she was accidentally shot in the leg by another deputy, authorities said.

The incident  which authorities characterized as an "unintentional discharge"  occurred at approximately 5:10 a.m. in the parking lot of the South Los Angeles Sheriff's Station, at 1310 W. Imperial Highway, according to department officials.

The two deputies "were preparing their patrol vehicle at the station for the start of their shift" when "a male deputy unintentionally discharged his firearm  striking his partner, a female deputy, who was seated behind the steering wheel of the parked patrol vehicle," sheriff's officials said in a statement.

Deputy Shawn Dubusky, a department spokesman, said the round struck the female deputy in her leg.

The injured deputy was taken to a hospital for treatment. Authorities said she was in stable condition as of Friday afternoon.

Dubusky did not identify what hospital the deputy was taken to, but other outlets have reported that it was Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

The incident remains under investigation.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Washington:

US President Donald Trump has justified his controversial executive order on immigration, saying it will help keep terrorists out of the country and it was his responsibility to keep Americans "safe and free".

"I will never forget that my responsibility is to keep you the American people -- safe and free," Trump said in his weekly address to the nation that also made its debut on Facebook and YouTube.

"That's why last week I signed an executive order to help keep terrorists out of our country. The executive order establishes a process to develop new vetting and mechanisms to ensure those coming into America love and support our people. That they have good intentions," Trump said.

Trump last week signed the executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees and impose tough new controls on travellers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

On every single front, Trump said his administration is working to deliver for American workers and American families. "You, the law-abiding citizens of this country, are my total priority.

Your safety, your jobs and your wages guide our decisions," he said. Noting that this week he nominated Neil Gorsuch for the United States Supreme Court, Trump said his nominee is a man of principle.

"He has an impeccable resume. He is widely respected by everyone. And, Judge Gorsuch's proven track record upholding the Constitution makes him the ideal person to fill the vacancy left by the late, great Antonin Scalia, a truly fabulous justice," he said.

This week his administration also took significant action to roll back the massive regulation that is devastating the economy and crippling American companies and jobs, the President said.

"That's why I have issued a new executive order to create a permanent structure of regulatory reduction. This order requires that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must and I mean must be eliminated. It's out of control," he said.

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Hannah Brown is known for being self-conscious, but this trait of her almost took away her chance to appear in "The Bachelor."

In December 2018, ABC first revealed that Brown would be joining "The Bachelor" after she was cast for its Season 23.

However, the 26-year-old former beauty pageant titleholder almost did not appear on national TV.

On her official YouTube Channel, Brown shared a video titled "10 Things You Didn't Know About Me" where she shared that her acne almost stopped her from joining the show.

While growing up, she never faced such skin issue. However, it suddenly popped out of nowhere when she became a young adult.

"It was a whole dramatic thing. If y'all want to know more about it, I'll talk about it. It's definitely a part of my story," she revealed.

When she finally noticed that her face started to have breakouts, she felt like she had to warn the casting team of "The Bachelor."

She then recalled how she wanted to know if they would still want her to join the show despite the "accutane" thing. It also stressed her not knowing what would happen to her skin.

Fortunately, "The Bachelor" raised a thumbs up and gave her a go-signal to join the series. However, when Brown watched the hit ABC show, she noticed that the other contestants had "zero pores on their skin."

Even though acne kept on popping out on her skin, her fans still loved her so much for being approachable.

Brown, the Beauty Conscious?

Aside from her acne, Brown recently shared her story about getting her brows waxed for the first time.

"I will never forget the day that this boy Dylan in my class pointed out [my unibrow]," she recalled. "He was right. I definitely had a unibrow."

The TV personality then recollected how she came home feeling upset about what Dylan told her. Soon after she saw her eyebrows, she immediately waxed it.

The waxing procedure then became a routine for her since third grade.

However, since now that thick, full brows are what people want these days, it bodes very well for her.

"These suckers grow back in the middle of the night. I'm telling you, if I went three days without [waxing], I would have a unibrow," Brown revealed.

To stop a unibrow from occurring, she said she worked with a brow specialist in Los Angeles. Per the expert, she needed to grow out her hair for six to eight weeks.

Unfortunately, this still did not work for her since she thought she would look like Chewbacca.

Despite being so stressed out about how she looks like, her fans showered her with unending love and appreciation.

One fan said, "Hannah is the person we all wanna be friends with: Adventurous. Fun. Quirky. Funny. Sweet. Real."

"Hannah is one of the most genuine and entertaining people to ever come out of the bachelor franchise," another one wrote. "I just realized I smiled throughout. She is SO cute and chirpy."

READ MORE: Did Khloe Kardashian Undergo Plastic Surgery?
The 2019 Year of Return, when Ghana welcomed Africans in the diaspora to participate in events associated with the countrys rich cultural heritage, was an opportunity to learn more about what tourists want. One million foreign visitors entered the country to mark 400 years of the first enslaved Africans arriving in the United States.

The event reaffirmed Ghanas prominence in heritage tourism and the importance of tourism to its economy.

The sector is one of the main socio-economic drivers of Ghanas foreign income and job creation. It also stimulates the growth of other industries. Tourism contributed 6.2% of Ghanas GDP in 2017 and is the fourth highest income earner for Ghana after gold, cocoa and oil. In 2017, 1.3 million international tourists visited the country and before the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector had high hopes for tourism growth.

The importance of heritage in Ghanas tourism offerings means that museums are a big part of tourism. I conducted a study to examine tourists experiences of the countrys National Museum. I aimed to find out what effect their experiences have on their satisfaction with their museum visit, their loyalty to the venue and their willingness to pay more for a visit. I also wanted to understand how the frequency of a tourists visit to the museum influences the relationship between satisfaction and willingness to pay more.

I found that frequency of visits has an influence on the willingness to pay more. This research also found that the more often people visit a museum, the more they are willing to pay. This study offers managers of museums some insight into how to attract and satisfy more tourists and the economic benefits this could bring.

Findings

Ghana has several museums across the country. Among them are the National Museum and Museum of Science and Technology in Accra, Volta Regional Museum, Cape Coast Castle Museum, Upper East Regional Museum in Bolgatanga, St Georges Castle (Elmina Castle) Museum, and Fort Apollonia Museum of Nzema Culture and History. In 2018, these museums received thousands of visitors with the Cape Coast and Elmina castles being the most popular.

My research was done at the National Museum, which contains artefacts, cultural objects and Ghanaian artists paintings. The National Museum is the largest and oldest museum in Ghana. Built in 1975, it is a leading heritage tourism destination particularly for African-Americans who trace their family roots to Ghana.

During the tourism season of 2019, I engaged with 385 domestic and foreign tourists on site, which represented a 68.8% response rate. The visitors completed questionnaires directly after their experience of the National Museum. Most of the tourists were female (56%) and 30% were aged between 35 and 44. Just over half (52%) were international tourists. About the same percentage (53%) were repeat tourists.

Analysis of the questionnaire responses showed that tourists museum experience had a direct impact on satisfaction. In turn, satisfaction influenced loyalty; and loyalty affected willingness to pay more for the experience. Number of visits also had a positive relationship with willingness to pay more.

What it means

The findings support the perception of the government of Ghana and other stakeholders that tourist experience and satisfaction should be cultivated.

The main research problem addressed in this study was the need to consider museum cultural experience as part of the tourism experience. First, the finding confirms that visitors experience has a positive effect on tourist satisfaction. This is evidence that visitor expectations were likely to have been met.

Considering that museum experience creates emotional attachments, this finding underscores the importance of preserving cultural heritage at museum destinations. The study showed that tourists satisfaction positively influenced loyalty, loyalty positively influenced willingness to pay more and frequency of visits moderates the relationship between satisfaction and willingness to pay more.

The findings are encouraging for Ghana because they suggest that the National Museum of Ghana is adopting international standards to preserve and protect cultural heritage that would attract tourists from all over the world.

In addition, Ghana provides a unique cultural context in which to study the effects of tourist experience, as there are creative art exhibitions and cultural artefacts that attract a large number of tourists to the museums.

The tourists indicated that they were likely to visit the museum repeatedly. This would expose them to different personalities and cultural values, and help build lasting relationships.

Alexander Diani Kofi Preko

Senior Lecturer, Marketing, University of Professional Studies Accra
South Park Pandemic Special

South Park Pandemic Special Comedy Central

In October 2004 Salon published a conversation between "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Heather Havrilesky, the site's TV critic at that time. Parker and Stone were promoting "Team America: World Police" but the exchange that garnered most attention was the article's kicker.

Well, in parting, do you have a special message for all those undecided voters out there? Stone: Stay home. Parker: Don't vote! Stone: And it's no big deal. If you don't want to vote, you don't have to. F**k that vote or die s**t. I hate that.

Sixteen years later "South Park" is making election-related headlines with another kicker, this one near the close of "The Pandemic Special." At the end of an hour in which quarantine tensions exploded into riots, government-sanctioned police murders and a pangolin kidnapping, the townsfolk find a reason to come together . . . and for a moment it looks like Trey Parker, who wrote and directed the special, is about to bestow a mote of optimism upon us, a line indicating some belief that sanity will eventually prevail.

"Now we have hope," says a scientist who is researching a vaccine using the pangolin's DNA. He holds the strange animal in his arms as he addresses the crowd. "We've learned that we might never get back to our old lives. But by working together, we might just find a new way to "

That's when his speech is cut off by an orange-faced Mr. Garrison stepping up and roasting the scientist, pangolin and hope with a flamethrower. Then the animated series' Donald Trump stand-in breaks the fourth wall to glibly tell viewers, "Don't forget to get out and vote, everybody! Big election coming up."

"The Pandemic Special" marks the 308th "South Park" episode and is its first to run an hour, and between that and its debut in a season when many veteran series are figuring out when, how and if to go back into production automatically guaranteed it would attract an audience.

Story continues

The episode also is a one-off; Comedy Central hasn't announced a premiere date for the 24th season, and in the final moments of the special Stan Marsh's father Randy announces to his wife Sharon that the entire depressing experience has made him consider only making "specials" from now on.

That off-handed line might tell us something about what "South Park" will look like for the foreseeable future, or it might mean nothing. Mr. Garrison's act of violence, though, is the out-of-left-field shocker generating many a day-after headlines. That's understandable.

The reliable ideology that forms the spine of "South Park" is that Parker and his co-creator Matt Stone aren't on anyone's side  politically, culturally or socially. We used to describe the show as an equal opportunity offender, and maybe that's true in a sense. Where that label falls apart is in the show's recurring proof that it actually has a moral center of sorts; equal opportunity offenders don't tend to care about anyone or anything.

Not so here. "The Pandemic Special" won't be remembered as the finest hour of "South Park," and I say this not as a pun but in acknowledgment that with Comedy Central running through its catalogue, you're more likely to turn on back-to-back repeat episodes that are sharper, more coherent and outrageous than Wednesday night's entry.

At the same time, it's also very much evidence that the show's producers feel as stuck in the mire as everyone else  and they do care. Parker and his team deserve credit for using the hour as a catch-all to poke fun at the absurdity of living our lives through Zoom screens, the bizarre direction that the mask debate has taken, and the vile absurdity of pouring enough funds into our police departments to enable them to afford military-grade equipment while teachers are left to choose between employment and their safety.

The overall message of this episode isn't one of the "South Park" team feeling above it all to the point of comfortably rolling their eyes at madness gripping America. Instead it reflects a kind of frazzled incredulity and disillusionment about where we find ourselves.

The alternate title to "The Pandemic Special" easily could have been "How in the hell did we get here?" except for the fact that "South Park" already knows the answer; Parker and his producers have chronicled our descent across multiple seasosn and lined it up neatly in the 19th and 20th seasons' serialized arcs.

Even so, the attraction to decoding what Mr. Garrison's statement about voting is understandable and a little odd in equal measure considering what else the episode had to say.

If the "South Park" team speaks through its creators, "The Pandemic Special" is both a self-deprecating work as well as a sympathetic one. "These are very serious times, and nobody wants or cares about your special right now!" Sharon Marsh spits after Randy announces his new product in an over-the-top promotion.

As the town's main wrongheaded opportunist and gentleman pot farmer, Randy employs poorly thought-out schemes and spouts platitudes and virtues in the name of drumming up sales for his pot business, Tegridy Farms.

Rarely does Randy find an event, joyful or tragic, that he can't spin into some type of special. His new strain is where the episode's title come from and is a manifestation of corporate greed, tragedy profiteering, and empty signaling from brands. (We also find out that he played a key role in kicking off the pandemic that involves bestiality and a mind-altering substance-fueled bender with Mickey Mouse.)

Following that bit, "South Park" jogs through the land of everything that's sucking right now: Zoom calls. The horror of dealing with wall-climbing children afflicted with cabin fever. Public institutions forcing workers back on the job despite failing to enact adequate safety measures. In the episode's A-plot, Stan, Kenny, Kyle and Cartman all return to school, only to find that their old teachers have quit and been replaced by the town's cops, who are in need of jobs after being defunded.

"I don't want any unnecessary death," the chief of police tells his officers before they enter the classrooms. Of course, the moment a fight breaks out between two white kids, the teacher cop whips out his gun, takes aim and fires . . . at Token, one of the few Black kids in South Park.

Soon after the police force realizes they're not equipped to teach elementary school children math, so they transform the place into a prison.

We expected the eventual rampage the town's police would be called in to quell, although the usage of Motley Crue's aggro anthem "Kickstart My Heart" was a nice touch. (Honestly, the song's lyrics rhyme "kickin' ass" with . . . "kickin' ass." It's no America, F*ck Yeah," but it's close!)

But as on the nose as this subplot is, Mr. Garrison's fiery executive action leaves a bit more open to debate. Lots of people wonder what that turn indicates about whether Parker (and perhaps Stone) have changed their minds about the necessity of voting. Another way to consider the scene is in terms of what they're saying about the integrity of our democratic process, which isn't terribly uplifting.

"South Park" loves to lampoon politicians and celebrities, but it reserves a special zest for lampooning the easily manipulated machinery that props up government and politics. Season 23's finale, "Christmas Special," skewers the righteous celebration of legalized marijuana by having Randy get the town hooked on his new product, "Christmas Snow," a special strain of cocaine-encrusted cannabis.

When the Mayor frets that Randy will get them all put in jail for selling an illegal substance, he tells her not to fret and steams through the process  getting people to sign petitions, making his case before governing body after governing body until, bam, it's the law of the land. Now everybody can get tweaked, and Tegridy Farms can keep making money hand over fist.

The speed from which the taboo flips from vilified and illegal to legal is ludicrous, but in "South Park" such absurdity has always been normal. So when the show's version of Trump roasts a scientist alive in the street, it's just another day in that cartoon Denver town.

Parker and Stone have been describing presidential elections in simple binary terms since 2004 when a character explained that "nearly every election since the beginning of time has been between some douche and some turd." Every presidential election cycle resurrects this idea, pitting Giant Turd against Big Fat Douche, except with new faces each time. This election no different in that respect.

But I also think Parker's message isn't revealing anything about his or Stone's politics as much as hint that he doesn't have much faith that we're going to vote our way out of this. In short bursts of accelerant and fire Mr. Garrison roasts hope and hard logic into a crisp; in the next scene Randy stares out over his crop as the hills beyond burn unabated.

For the entire episode he's watched businesses once taken for granted close and seen the Grim Reaper nearby; now Tegridy Farms has shut down, and the hooded figure lurks on the periphery of his property line . . . riding a tricycle. Randy's greed has finally gotten the better of him, and now (to paraphrase another rock lyric) the whole world is stupid and contagious.

"I can't take these shutdowns anymore and I'm scared of what it's doing to me," Stan says at one point, going on to confess that he just wants his life back. "The truth is I just want to have fun again."

Don't we all . . . but this "special" doesn't necessarily leave us with the belief that can happen any time soon.

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The Okyenhene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori-Panin says hes very confident President Akufo will win the upcoming December 7 election to continue with his sterling performance that has seen Ghanas considerable development in four years.

The Overlord of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area whos also the President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs made the statement while addressing the Regional House of Chiefs at a ceremony attended by President Akufo Addo.

He commended President Akufo Addos courageous leadership that has ensured Ghana bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control much to the admiration of many across the world.

Lots of people all over the world are commending President Akufo Addo for his decisive leadership that has seen Ghana bringing the threats posed by the coronavirus under significant control. His appointees have also played a crucial role in Ghanas fight against COVID-19. We all have to also take good care of ourselves to ensure that the COVID-19 is eradicated from Ghana.

The day the Presidents service will end and I know his service will not end now, it will end after 2024. When he builds his Presidential library he should indicate in writing how he fought COVID-19 so that others can learn from him, Okyenhene stated.

Ghanas coronavirus active cases have further plummeted from 530 to 413 as of October 1, 2020.

The latest update by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) shows that 30 new cases have been recorded pushing the countrys case count to 46,656.

The death toll still stands at 301.

A total of 45,942 recoveries and discharges have been recorded since COVID-19 was first imported into Ghana mid-March 2020.

---kasapafmonline
Campaigning for seats in Kyrgyzstan's parliament is ending, and on October 4 the country's voters -- along with thousands of expatriates -- will head to the polls to choose from 16 parties in a vote whose outcome is completely unpredictable.

Like all of Kyrgyzstans election campaigns, this one has had its share of controversies, but it has also shown once again how very different -- and far better -- this Central Asian country's elections are compared to its authoritarian, undemocratic neighbors.

Campaigning

Due the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit Kyrgyzstan hard, this election campaign has been conducted with special rules for candidates who meet with the public. The rules boil down to: Dont meet with crowds or hold rallies.

It is too bad because Kyrgyzstans parliamentary campaigns often feature large crowds gathered in stadiums and -- more often -- in the hippodromes that even modest-sized towns have.

It is part politics and part festival, complete with musical performances and usually someone dressed like the Kyrgyz mythical hero Manas riding around on horseback.

There are 16 political parties representing a broad spectrum of views competing in these elections. There were 14 in the 2015 parliamentary elections and 29 in the 2010 elections.

Far fewer parties compete in elections in neighboring countries and -- with Tajikistan being the lone exception  the other countries only field pro-government parties for the voters to choose from.

Kazakhstan had six parties competing in the countrys last parliamentary elections in March 2015. The ruling Nur-Otan party, the party of first president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, took 84 of the 100 seats available. The others went to parties that are puppets of the government.

In Tajikistans parliamentary elections in March, seven parties competed. There was a solitary, genuine opposition party taking part as the Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan was on the ballots but officially received just 0.3 percent of the vote in elections that were carefully managed from above. The ruling Democratic Peoples Party of Tajikistan took 47 of the 63 seats available.

In Turkmenistans last parliamentary elections in March 2018, three parties competed, though there were 116 so-called independent candidates. The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, the countrys only registered political party until 2012 and therefore traditionally the presidents party, took 55 of the 125 seats in parliament, with the mislabeled "independents" taking 48, and the two other pro-government parties -- the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Agrarian Party -- each receiving 11 seats.

Uzbekistans parliamentary elections in late December 2019 and early January 2020 featured five parties. The Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the party that has nominated Uzbekistans presidents as its candidate since 2007, took 42 of the 125 seats available; the others went to parties supportive of government policies.

In all of the elections in these four countries and in previous ones, praise for the president is effusive during campaigning.

That certainly has not been true during Kyrgyzstans current campaign.

Criticism of President Sooronbai Jeenbekov and the Kyrgyz government has been heard frequently on the campaign trail and in the many debates that are held on prime-time television almost every night on a range of topics and with pro-government and opposition candidates taking part.

Those candidates have also criticized each other during the debates, quite a change from Kazakhstan, as a recent report from Eurasianet noted, and Uzbekistan, where there were debates during the last parliamentary elections for the first time. Though they were popular, the debates came up short in addressing some of Uzbekistans most pressing problems, such as government corruption, home demolitions, and a lack of heating and electricity. In addition to those issues being largely ignored, there was also little evidence of any disputes between the parties.

I Know Whose Party That Is

Parliamentary elections in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan routinely feature candidates about whom most of the electorate knows little, if anything. Since all the parties are completely loyal to the president, they are more like hydra parties -- many heads that lead one pro-government body -- and fail to produce charismatic candidates.

Kazakhstans political parties are similar. There are some veteran politicians whose names are known, and the ruling Nur-Otan party has taken to including celebrities on its party list during the campaign, though none ever end up taking seats in parliament.

Kyrgyz elections have generally been about personalities more than they have been about politics.

People in the country know, for example, that the Ata-Meken party is former parliamentary speaker Omurbek Tekebaevs party; that the now-fractured Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan was former President Almazbek Atambaevs party; and that Ar-Namys (Dignity) is former Prime Minister Feliks Kulovs party.

Most of the parties taking part in these parliamentary elections were founded after the 2010 revolution that ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiev.

Vote-Buying

Some of these new parties in Kyrgyzstan are, as professor and columnist Asel Doolotkeldieva recently wrote, only a cover for "long-standing, informal elite political and economic networks."

The presence of these groups has altered campaigning in a bad way.

Parties with access to greater finances stand a much better chance on election day, and not just because they can put up more campaign billboards along the roadside.

Allegations of vote-buying have been made since at least 1995, but then it was often on the level of people standing outside polling stations offering a free shot of vodka to anyone willing to vote for a candidate.

Vote-buying has been one of the most frequent complaints during this campaign, and a vodka shot is nowhere near enough.

Kyrgyzstans economy has never been great and the spread of the coronavirus has made the situation worse. Many people could use some extra money, making the temptation to sell ones vote an attractive offer.

And there seem to be some parties willing to hand over enough money to feed a family for a week or more.

But even this points to a difference between Kyrgyzstan and the other Central Asian countries.

Votes are rigged in the other countries. The ultimate results might be known to a select few officials well in advance of election day.

The voters and ballots are merely props. There is no need for candidates or parties to buy their votes, or even to pay much attention to them.

But political parties in Kyrgyzstan must pay attention to voters. Offering money for votes is unsavory attention to be sure, but it does give voters in Kyrgyzstan an importance that the electorates in neighboring Central Asia do not have.

So if these parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan are far from perfect, they are still at a level not yet achieved in neighboring countries.

Should the other Central Asian governments ever loosen their systems and allow truly competitive polls, they will likely encounter the same small-scale problems Kyrgyzstan is already working its way through -- the kind of things all democratic countries face to one degree or another.
Millions of women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce due to Covid-19, according to a new report.

Female workers have been affected by the stress of juggling careers and looking after children, often compounded by a lack of help from their partner, it claims.

Women's rights organisation Lean In, which was founded by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in 2013, surveyed 40,000 employees at 317 US firms for its report.

It found a quarter of women are considering giving up work due to stress and another quarter are worried about their performance at work being judged because of their need to look after their child.

Men are less likely to consider switching to a less demanding job, taking a leave of absence or leaving work altogether to look after their children, compared with women, it also found.

The report suggests employers should do more to address 'employee burnout' to prevent women leaving their jobs and erasing 'progress made toward gender diversity' in the workplace in recent years.

One in four women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce, which could wipe out years of progress on gender diversity, Lean In said

'Some companies may think that worrying about employee burnout is a luxury they cant afford right now,' said Sandberg and Lean In CEO Rachel Thomas in a piece for the Wall Street Journal, detailing their findings.

'In fact, its mission-critical  if companies rise to the moment, they can head off the disaster of losing millions of women and setting gender diversity back years.'

For the past six years, the Women in the Workplace study has revealed progress for women at all levels of management.

But the disastrous pandemic has meant 'all those gains could be wiped out in a single year', Lean In says.

Working at home due to the coronavirus lockdown has meant the 'boundaries between work and home have blurred'.

Women are having to balance work, childcare and homeschooling responsibilities while worrying about layoffs, furloughs and financial insecurity.

Working mothers are doing a 'double shift' consisting of a full day of work, followed by hours spent caring for children and doing household chores.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, founded Lean In in 2013 to help offer women 'the ongoing inspiration and support to help them achieve their goals'

Mothers are are more likely than fathers to worry that their performance is being negatively judged due to their combined responsibilities during the pandemic, the report says.

One female vice president of a company with two children said: 'I feel like I am failing at everything  Im failing at work, Im failing at my duties as a mum, Im failing in every single way, because I think what were being asked to do is nearly impossible.

'How can you continue to perform at the same level as in the office when you had no distractions, plus being asked to basically become a teacher for kids and everything else with online learning?

'Im doing it all, but Im feeling like Im not doing any of it well  I worry that my performance is being judged because Im caring for my children.'

Lean In found mothers are more than three times as likely as fathers to be responsible for most of the housework and caregiving.

Theyre 1.5 times more likely than fathers to be spending an extra three or more hours a day on housework and childcare, which is equivalent to 20 hours a week, or half a full-time job.

Meanwhile, one in five mothers who dont live with a spouse or partner, are more likely than mothers overall to have concerns about financial insecurity.

And dads are less likely to be seen as the primary caregiver by the children, which can increase stress, the report suggests.

One woman with three children under five years said: 'Theres an assumption in a lot of families that the woman is the primary caregiver  kids literally walk past their dads to go to their mums to ask for stuff.

'The pandemic has highlighted how disproportionately things fall on women.'

Perceptions of how much housework mothers and fathers do also vary, the report found.

72 per cent of men surveyed said they think they share domestic chores equally with their female partner - but the women thought differently

76 per cent of mothers with children under age 10 say childcare is one of their top three challenges during Covid-19, compared to 54 per cent of fathers with young children.

While more than 70 per cent of fathers think they are splitting household labour equally with their partner during Covid-19 but only 44 per cent of mothers say the same.

39 per cent of women said they're responsible for most of the household work, compared with 13 per cent of men who responded likewise.

And 3 per cent of men could say they were responsible for most of the housework, compared with 12 per cent of women.

Given the enormous challenges mothers are facing at work and at home, mothers are considering downshifting their career or leaving the workforce and are 'more likely to be thinking about taking these steps than fathers'.

Men are less likely to consider switching to a less demanding job, taking a leave of absence or leaving work altogether to look after their children, compared to women

17 per cent of mothers have considered reducing their work hours during the pandemic, compared to 9 per cent of fathers, and 15 per cent of mums have thought about taking a leave of absence, compared with 9 per cent of fathers.

Among mothers who are thinking about downshifting or leaving, a majority cite childcare responsibilities as a primary reason, the report found.

Women are also 'often held to higher performance standards than men, and they may be more likely to take the blame for failure'.

To combat this, Lean In is advising companies to reset goals, extend deadlines and generally offer more leniency during the pandemic.

'They should also reflect on performance reviews  is it fair to hold employees to criteria set before Covid-19?' Sandberg and Thomas wrote.

'Should performance ratings be adjusted to reflect the reality this year?

'These are hard questions to answer, and every team is different, but nothing about work right now is typical, so expectations of employees shouldnt be either.'
Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Chemicals giant LyondellBasell will acquire a $2 billion stake in Sasols U.S. chemicals operations in Lake Charles, La., the companies said Friday.

The deal, which forms a joint venture between the two companies, gives Netherlands-based LyondellBasell a 50 percent stake in Sasol's Lake Charles base chemicals assets, including the ethane cracker and the low and linear low-density polyethylene plants. Sasol is based in South Africa.
Educational psychologist Paul Dressel wrote in 1957: A grade is an inadequate report of an inaccurate judgment by a biased and variable judge of the extent to which a student attained an undefined level of mastery of an unknown proportion of an indefinite amount of material.

This startling quote may raise hackles, particularly of some teachers and parents. However, I suspect many students would agree. That this quote was made 63 years ago does not detract from the truth of the statement. I acknowledge that over this period there have been efforts for reform and some improvements in the art of grading.

In 32 years of teaching, my colleagues and I faced many challenges, but never one so great as trying to teach and assess students during a pandemic. One of the positives of this situation is that many have expressed newfound respect and admiration for teachers, which I hope carries over when times return to normal.

Assessment and grading have long been problematic for educators. We all would like to think we know what A-F grades mean, but other than a general range from excellent to failing, do we?

Say you want to hire a writer and the applicant shows you a transcript with several A grades for writing courses. Would you say, Oh, good, and hire the person, or would you ask for a sample to be written in your presence?

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio-area school districts drop A-F grading system for coronavirus semester

Long ago, we assigned numbers to correlate with A-F grades. Numbers, yeah. They are precise and give us a more accurate rating, right? Numbers are good for many measurements  but when one digs down through the numbers to assess what someone knows or can do, they can get slippery and fuzzy. For example, if 100 is the highest amount, equal to 100 percent, how can a student earn a grade of 102, which sometimes occurs in determining the class valedictorian? Dont ask me. I was even told by math people there are such things as imaginary numbers.

In Texas, teachers grade students, administrators grade teachers, and the state grades administrators, schools and school districts. Over the years, a veritable plethora of acronyms have been devised to name these rating regimens. I recall in my later teaching years a new teacher evaluation was implemented to much fanfare for its accuracy and objectivity.

We were given training in the new system. There were some objective measures, but under questioning about how certain decisions were made, the presenters would fall back to by the judgment of the observer.

Much student evaluation is based on standardized testing that has long been the subject of debate as to its effectiveness. Standardized testing started gaining momentum in the early 20th century for use in college admissions and by the Army in World War I. Much of the testing and grading we do is for sorting and ranking.

Some observers have noted that the new Texas school ratings of A-F have a strong correlation to a communitys level of wealth. If you are battling insomnia, try checking out the Texas system showing how the A-F grade is calculated.

So, what to do? Many educators advocate for authentic or alternative assessments, in which students demonstrate by a variety of methods what they know and can do. Of course, this takes a lot of time and can be messy, so Im just going to give you an 80. Be glad you got that much.

John Eubanks is an author, former teacher and actor who lives in Converse. He can be reached at joneu62@gmail.com.
South Africa's borders officially open for the first time in six months on 1 October but if they hadn't, students on Henley Business School Africa's brand new NQF level 8 qualification for Africa would have been walking through the continent's factories and fairs - from the comfort of their own home - on 27 October.

Henley Business School Africa is a leading global business school with campuses in Europe, Asia and Africa. It holds elite triple international accreditation; has the number one business school alumni network in the world for potential to network (Economist 2017); and is the number one African-accredited and -campused business school in the world for executive education (FT 2018, 2020), as well as the number one MBA business school in South Africa as rated by corporate SA (PMR 2018, 2019, 2020).

Theres an immense amount of romanticism about Africa, says Henley Africa dean and director Jon Foster-Pedley, and rightfully so, but the fact that the pan-African dream has never properly taken root and been developed, especially commercially, is perhaps because no one has set about creating a powerful and practical framework that interrogates what it takes to do business in Africa and then gone about teaching those skills.The Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice (Africa) that Henley has now developed is a unique qualification to teach those skills to ambitious and enthusiastic business leaders to become truly successful in one of the last high potential, untapped markets in the world - and forge their own network of cross-continental peers. Its also another key gateway for the schools internationally acclaimed flagship executive MBA programme.The PG Dip (Africa) blends the best of the Henley Africa assets  especially its pioneering Full Immersion Reality Education (#HenleyFIRE)  with some of the best educators available. Cameroonian Francois Ameguide will be teaching the strategy component of the year-long part-time evening course and also designed the immersive modules. Hes not just an adjunct faculty member at Henley Africa, but also an MBA graduate and an investment banker with a 16-year track record of deal origination and execution across sub-Saharan Africa.The uniqueness of this course is that it provides the context within which business is conducted in Africa  which is different from country to country, Ameguide explains. Its a three-dimensional approach; exploring the economic dynamics of the particular country or region, understanding management orientation and unpacking cultural nuances.Immersion through virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) is a vital part of this process. Normally you would expect students to travel to the country to immerse themselves, but Covid-19 makes that much more difficult. It has also opened all our eyes to new opportunities that really excite us. So instead, wearing a VR headset, the student will actually go on a walkabout of a manufacturing plant in Accra, Ghana, and talk to the plant management about the challenges they face, as one example.Or they can go to an art gallery in Accra and speak to one of the artists there about their work and its cultural and historic significance.Ghana is just one example. Henley Africa hopes to virtually showcase at least one country from west Africa, one from east and one from southern Africa in each cohort to allow students to feel and deeply comprehend the differences between them  and appreciate the similarities.Providing students with a near-real experience has been a hallmark of Henley Africas PG Dip programmes, through the Henley FIRE process pioneered by Louise Claassen, who will be playing a leading role once more, alongside Ameguide. The immersive learning component now is available through VR and AR platforms. Its also asynchronous, allowing students to learn at times that suit them using Henley Africas virtual platforms that were perfected during South Africas lockdown, making it highly convenient not just for students based in South Africa, but across the entire continent.Covid-19 drove us upwards in many ways, says Foster-Pedley, when we pivoted to virtual learning, we opened many new doors and unlocked a host of new opportunities. One of these is being able to infuse the lessons we have learnt from this process into the programmes we now present. The PG Dip (Africa) is a dynamic incubator of all of these innovations.He is extremely excited about the potential of the course.Africa is a complex and beautiful concept. There are huge economic and social opportunities and through this course, we can help bring people together. We can better prepare South Africans to seamlessly operate in other African countries while introducing African businesspeople to ready-made networks in South Africa. Through all this we are exploring the international and global opportunities too and helping Africans see and seize their rightful commercial status in the world.When I look at Africa, I see these areas of brilliance in every region that remain unconnected. If we can find a way to bring them together and tap into that simmering potential, I think theres an extraordinary energy that we can harness  and with that a wonderful freedom too.This organically African, globally benchmarked, course for Africa is an opportunity for us to start seriously collaborating with each other, not competing.If you would like to be part of the PG Dip (Africa) journey, please go to https://www.henleysa.ac.za/postgraduate-diploma-in-management-practice-pgdip/ for further details.
Anthony Hudgins, left at the microphone, and other members of Local 22 of the International Firefighters and Paramedics Union, gather Friday outside their union hall in Philadelphia to protest the union's endorsement of President Donald Trump. Read more

The announcement by a union representing Philadelphia firefighters that it had endorsed President Donald Trump deeply divided its membership this week and sent shock waves through the unions international structure, which endorsed Joe Biden last year.

Trump had been expected to visit Philadelphia on Sunday to thank the firefighters, a plan scuttled by his announcement early Friday that he and wife Melania had tested positive for COVID-19. But even before that, union members were sharply critical of the endorsement and the process that led to it.

"We stand asking  not even asking, demanding  that the endorsement of Donald Trump is removed immediately," Lisa Forrest, president of Club Valiants, a 400-member group of Black firefighters in the city, said during a rally Friday morning. She and others spoke outside the Philadelphia Firefighters and Paramedics Local 22 union hall in the citys Callowhill section.

Mike Bresnan, president of Local 22, surprised many of his unions members Tuesday with the endorsement, praising Trump and criticizing the IAFF leadership in Washington for an endorsement process he called undemocratic.

The Biden endorsement was done without a canvas of local unions and the consideration of the rank and file IAFF membership, Bresnan wrote in his endorsement letter.

Some of Local 22s 4,700 members found that claim burning with irony, and complained about how Bresnan went about his own endorsement process. The union sent members a link to a Presidential Election 2020 Survey in a Sept. 3 email, asking them to log on to the Local 22 website to say if they supported Trump, Biden, another candidate, or didnt plan to vote.

Chuck McQuilkin, the unions vice president and political director, said about half of its members arent signed up to receive emails so they likely never saw it. The survey, which did not say it was for an endorsement, drew 577 votes  with Trump winning a little over 400 votes and Biden getting a little over 100. But those votes represented only about 12% of the unions members.

McQuilkin said he had never seen Local 22 insert itself in a presidential election. He called it a bad idea that will create problems with Democratic politicians in the state going forward.

We have members on both sides that, no matter what you do, youre going to piss off a bunch of people, he said. It was avoidable. Just stay out of it.

The membership is divided now, McQuilkin added. The executive board is fractured.

It appears to our organization that the motivation behind Local 22s action is to create a divide and push a political agenda that does not reflect the views of all the members it represents, Club Valiants said in a statement.

Forrest said Local 22 should have called a meeting and put the issue before all the members. She said some members who received the email didnt feel comfortable sharing their political leanings with the union and didnt know the survey would lead to an endorsement.

They didnt poll the whole membership, she said in an interview Thursday. Thats not how you endorse a candidate.

Bresnan did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump was thrilled by Local 22s endorsement. A great honor. Thank you, Trump tweeted.

Trumps daughter, Ivanka, a senior White House adviser, followed up with her own tweet: Way to go, Local 22!

The union had announced Trumps visit in an email to members Thursday.

McQuilkin called Bresnan a big Trump guy. The union presidents Twitter feed backs that up. He tagged the president and his son Eric in a December tweet that said, Many Local 22 Firefighters in Philadelphia, PA not happy with the IAFF endorsement of Biden. With a few policy changes Trump could be on the table come Nov. lets talk.

Demetrio Olivieri, president of the 250-member Spanish American Professional Firefighter Association, also met with members Thursday who were upset about the endorsement. This endorsement only further escalated the divisions and racial discord within the department, the group said in a statement this week.

The process was broken, Olivieri said in an interview. Everybody should be up in arms at the way this was handled.

Harold Schaitberger, general president of the unions international organization, said Local 22 has the right to endorse a presidential candidate, but he echoed complaints from McQuilken, Forrest, and Oliviere about union members who were left out of the process.

We have a 40-year practice, policy, and understanding that the international handles federal elections and, certainly presidential elections, while locals handle local elections, he said.

He said Biden has stood with the IAFF every step of the way on every issue coming before the Congress since 1976.

The unions members chanted Run Joe run when Biden addressed them in Washington in March 2019, a month before he received their endorsement. Biden was not a declared candidate at the time, though early polling showed him to be the Democratic front-runner.

I look around this room, I see the people who built this nation, Biden said then.

Schaitberger said that Local 22 faces a great divide, and that he had heard from union officers and members disturbed" by the endorsement.

I am dismayed about what is happening in Philadelphia, Schaitberger said. This was done wrong. I dont believe it represents, overall, the view of the members.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 2)  More rains can be expected in the coming months with the onset of La Nina, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

The state weather bureau made the announcement Friday, adding that the cool weather pattern would most likely last until the first quarter of 2021.

Nag start na po ang La Nina kaya nagbibigay na po tayo ng advisory. La Nina is present in the Tropical Pacific, Ana Solis, PAGASAs chief of climate monitoring and prediction section.

[Translation: La Nina has started. Thats why we are giving an advisory. La Nina is present in the Tropical Pacific.]

La Nina, the counterpart of El Nino, is characterized by below-normal sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean near the equator -- a result of shifting wind patterns in the atmosphere.

PAGASA said the eastern part of the Philippines such as the Bicol region, MIMAROPA, and Eastern Visayas, and Eastern Mindanao would be most affected by La Nina.

Athough it is expected to be weak to moderate, every La Nina is different and may still bring adverse effects, the weather bureau warned.

Challenges amid COVID-19

It stressed that the change of weather presents several challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Flooding and the prevalence of diseases such as cholera and leptospirosis can make the situation worse so there is need to make sure that local governments have dedicated evacuation centers that are separate from isolation centers for coronavirus patients.

PAGASA said that physical distancing and other minimum health protocols should still be strictly observed.
CAMEROUN :: Pangolin scales traffickers to appear to court :: CAMEROON

Pangolin scales traffickers shall appear in the Court of First Instance of Ebolowa and the Bertoua Appeal Court on October 6, 2020.

The court case that will be heard in Ebolowa Court of First Instance is against a man who was arrested in Ebolowa with 23kg of pangolin scales, during an operation carried out by wildlife officials of the Mvila Divisional Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife in collaboration with the police. The operation was also carried out with the technical assistance of LAGA, a non-governmental organization specialized in wildlife law enforcement. The case will be heard for the second time after the first hearing was adjourned by the judge on September 1 for presentation of evidence and arguments.

Meanwhile, the case that will be heard on the same day in the Appeal Court of Bertoua is against five people who were arrested in Abong-Mbang with 31 kg of pangolin scales. They were arrested by wildlife officials of the Upper Nyong Divisional Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife during their attempts to sell the scales. The operation was carried out in collaboration with the Abong-Mbang Police and with the technical assistance of the Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA).



The cases fall within the framework of the wildlife law enforcement program launched in 2003 by the government of Cameroon. The program aims at effectively enforcing the 1994 wildlife law by tracking and bringing to justice, offenders of the law. This law governs the wildlife sector in the country and gives a maximum 3-year prison term and or a fine up to 10 million CFA francs to anyone found guilty of breaking it.

The law is aimed at protecting wildlife species from extinction which is becoming, as days go by, a serious problem for the country. Several people still find it difficult to understand that there is a law that strictly applied and there are dangers posed by zoonosis, that is the transmission of diseases from animals to man with the spread of the coronavirus a very close reminder. Pangolin scale traffickers must therefore be the subject of exemplary sanctions, in order to alert public opinion to the dangers posed by the illegal trade.
- On the natural gas scene, a geopolitical shakeup is brewing as natural gas is positioned to overshadow crude oil as the most important fuel in the world and as the key bridge fuel for a renewable energy transition. That means more power for Qatar over Saudi Arabia, for one. It also means a lot of power for Israel, which until very recently had zero energy leverage. Despite the fact that Libya is a crude oil giant, Turkeys meddling here isnt about Libyas oil--its about Mediterranean gas and all the power that comes with getting a share of this. With that in mind, keep an eye on the emerging Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum which brings together previously unlikely bedfellows, including Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Cyprus,

- Now, Turkey is sending its Syrian mercenaries to another reigniting conflict zone: The battle over Nagorno Karabakh between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Renewed fighting erupted on September 27th when Azerbaijani forces (Turkish allies) attacked Armenian forces controlling the majority of Nagorno Karabakh territory. The forces of both sides have now been fully mobilized. This is another war of external party involvement. Armenians declared this territory their own in 1991, leading to a war between the two countries when the Soviet Union collapsed. Turkeys involvement pits it against Armenian ally Russia, once again. Moscow has a military base in Armenia.

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict

- Now, Turkey is sending its Syrian mercenaries to another reigniting conflict zone: The battle over Nagorno Karabakh between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Renewed fighting erupted on September 27th when Azerbaijani forces (Turkish allies) attacked Armenian forces controlling the majority of Nagorno Karabakh territory. The forces of both sides have now been fully mobilized. This is another war of external party involvement. Armenians declared this territory their own in 1991, leading to a war between the two countries when the Soviet Union collapsed. Turkeys involvement pits it against Armenian ally Russia, once again. Moscow has a military base in Armenia.

- On the natural gas scene, a geopolitical shakeup is brewing as natural gas is positioned to overshadow crude oil as the most important fuel in the world and as the key bridge fuel for a renewable energy transition. That means more power for Qatar over Saudi Arabia, for one. It also means a lot of power for Israel, which until very recently had zero energy leverage. Despite the fact that Libya is a crude oil giant, Turkeys meddling here isnt about Libyas oil--its about Mediterranean gas and all the power that comes with getting a share of this. With that in mind, keep an eye on the emerging Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum which brings together previously unlikely bedfellows, including Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Cyprus, and Jordan (among others). The highlight of that grouping is the fact that Israel is going to sell Egypt and Jordan $30 billion in natural gas. Its a tough pill for Turkey to swallow.

- The NordStream2 pipeline, with only 160 kilometers left to lay, has been dealt another blow as insurers informed the consortium of companies behind the Russian pipeline project that they would no longer cover any activity related to this pipeline or the Turkstream pipeline. Project shareholders--Gazprom (51%), German E.ON, Wintershall Dea, French Engie, Dutch Gasunie--are indeed finding this last, and smallest stretch hard to complete in time to begin operations next year, as planned.

COVID Market Update

Oil prices have had a horrific week. Prices were first battered by reports that OPEC had increased its production by 160,000 bpd for September over August figures. Russia also increased its production, and exports for the whole group was up also. Mostly these gains were attributed to Libya and Iran, who are not required to cut production under the deal. This may not have had such a significant effect on prices, except the oil demand growth picture hasnt improved. Favorable jobs data in the US may have lifted prices under normal circumstances, but the 875,000 added jobs announcement was tempered by reports of two major airlines cutting a fair amount of jobs. Then on Friday, President Trump announced that he and the First Lady had tested positive for the coronavirus--this spooked the markets further, sending already low oil prices from Thursday plunging by another 4% in the early morning hours. Any positive rig count data is expected to have only a muted effect on these prices given the multitude of bearish news this week. Poor BH data, however, will likely pressure prices further.

- Houston-based Oasis Petroleum, with assets in the Williston and Delaware Basins, is the latest shale-patch member to file for Chapter 11 protection. Chapter 11 didnt come as much of a shock, after two weeks ago, Oasis skipped its debt payments. Formal default was forthcoming in mid-October. It is shocking, however, that Oasis managed to eke out a Q2 profit as its revenues fell sharply.

- The second shale bankruptcy this week came from Lonestar Resources US, which operates mainly in the Eagle Ford, producing 14,000 bpd. Lonestar had total debt of $546.3 million as of the end of June and has defaulted on two debt payments. Its market cap is now $4.96 million, compared to hundreds of millions back in 2014.

- Shell will cut as many as 9,000 jobs worldwide. This is, Shell says, to facilitate its shift away from fossil fuels and toward low-carbon energy, in an effort to simplify Shells structure. It hopes to save more than $2 billion annually through this move in the next couple of years. But Shells job cuts follow multiple other oil industry job cuts, brought on by the low oil prices and crashing oil demand thanks to the pandemic. Whether because of a shift to low-carbon or pandemic--or perhaps a bit of both--the job cuts will add to the industrys talent woes. Within a day, Shells shares sank to a level not seen in 25 years.

- Norways Equinor has joined the staff cutting oil companies and has plans to cut 30% of its exploration staff over the course of the next three years as it tries to maintain efficiency and cut costs amid the oil price slump and waning demand. Equinor is not planning, however, to alter its exploration plans for this year or next. This is the second round of job cuts that the oil major has announced in the last couple of months.

- Exxon is expecting another lousy quarter for its production business in the form of its third consecutive quarterly loss for that side of the business. Analysts are expecting a loss anywhere from $.07 to $.30 per share.

- The coronavirus pandemic has brought OPEC together again as the cartel struggles to shore up its forecasting ability in the face of uncertainties. A special meeting was held this week to discuss how to improve analyses, transparency, and data reporting among stakeholders.

Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions

- Oil and gas mergers and acquisitions--although few in number--are critical if the industry is to survive. Devon Energy and WPX are the most recent examples. The new entity, or rather the new Devon, will hold $6 billion in debt against $6 billion in equity and have the capacity to produce a half a million barrels per day. Itll be larger than both Apache and Marathon Oil. Expect to see more M&A activity in the sector in the months to come.

- It appears that Rosneft and Aramco are giving up on purchasing a stake in Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp as both energy giants continue to struggle over their nearly self-made oil price crisis. The refining industry isnt looking like a sound place to put what little cash there is in the industry just yet, as gasoline and other refined products have seen a sharp dropoff in demand. Asias profit margins for gasoil, in particular, is at the lowest level in four months, as inventories are still too high.

Discovery & Development

- Exxon Mobil appears to be closer to a deal with the Government of Guyana over the offshore Payara project. While many had feared the new PPP government that took office in Guyana after the March elections would attempt to renegotiate contracts with Exxon, as we pointed out in numerous newsletters, this was not likely. The deal now appears to be on track with only some adjustments to Exxons gas flaring, which has been under scrutiny in relation to its Liza-1 well, which was expected to reach 120,000 bpd in August. In the Payara project--the third development in Exxons Stabroek block--the oil giant is eying 220,000 bpd. Any further delays could push Exxons start date for Payara back to 2023.

- London-based Pantheon Resources had a shocker of an announcement this week, after finding 302 million barrels of recoverable oil from its Talitha Project on the Shelf Margin Deltaic horizon in Alaska. Pantheon owns 89.2% in the project. It is one of three targets that Pantheon has in the area, although Talitha is the shallowest. NPV at 10% per annum is $2.7 billion at Brent between $45.84 and $54.89. This project is just a stones throw from the trans-Alaskan pipeline.

- Moscow-based Lukoil has achieved commercial production from its FIlanovsky field in the Caspian Sea--it is Russias largest oil discovery in more than two decades, with recoverable reserves of 129 million tonnes of crude and 30 billion cubic meters of gas, producing 6 million tonnes per annum.
Tibetans, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Hongkongers, Southern Mongolians, Taiwanese, and Chinese Democracy Activists join together for the Global Day of Action to call on governments to stand against the Chinese Communist Partys suppression of freedom, democracy, and human rights, in front of the Chinese Consulate in Toronto on Oct. 1, 2020. (NTD Television)

Chinese Canadians Join Global Protest Against Chinese Regime

Coalition of groups urge governments to take action against the Chinese Communist Party on 71st anniversary of Peoples Republic of Chinas founding

Rallies were held in nearly 90 cities around the world on Oct. 1 to call on governments to resist and challenge the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as it marked its 71st year of rule.

The coalition of over 150 human rights groups that organized the Global Day of Action called National Day, the anniversary of the CCPs takeover of China on Oct. 1, 1949, a day of mourning.

The coalition, which described the event as the largest-ever joint, cross-movement action against the CCP, is made up of civil society groups representing Tibetans, Uyghur Muslims, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, southern Mongolians, Vietnamese, Kazakhs, and exiled Chinese dissidents who have experienced repression and human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime.

Our enemy is not China. Our enemy is a brutal regime that has its knee on the neck of all people around the world, as well as our own. Under Chinese communists oppression, none of us can breathe. said Gloria Fung, the president of Canada-Hong Kong Link, a co-organizer of the rally, in a speech in front of the Chinese consulate in Toronto.

Not only has it broken its international agreement that promises one country, two systems, it has also turned Hong Kong into a police state with this national security law.

President of Canada-Hong Kong Link Gloria Fung speaks at the Global Day of Action rally in Toronto on Oct. 1, 2020. (NTD Television)

Fung went on to explain that under the security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong, which went into effect on June 30, anyone, anywhere around this world, that is critical towards the Chinese communist party, could be considered to be a criminal, and be arbitrarily arrested and detained in Chinese prison, including we Canadians here.

Chinese-Canadian democracy activist and author Sheng Xue said in her speech that we need to unite together because the CCP is so evil and also getting much power.

Sheng also stressed that the CCPs mishandling and coverup of the COVID-19 virus outbreak has caused millions of deaths worldwide.

Over 1 million people died, and 34 million people affected. So our lives have been totally changed. But for what have we paid this price? What price has the whole world been paying? There must be one outcometo end the Chinese communist tyrant. That is what we really want.

The concerns the organizers cited include Chinas occupation of Tibet, the arbitrary detention of millions of Uyghurs in internment camps, the loss of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, the erasure of Southern Mongolian culture and language, the intimidation and bullying of Taiwan, and the detention, disappearance, and silencing of countless Chinese rights lawyers and activists.

Protesters hold banners saying Take Down CCP at the Global Day of Action rally in Toronto on Oct. 1, 2020. (NTD Television)

Tsering Wangyal, president of Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario, said that the collective effort [of the global protest] in itself sends a very strong message to the CCP.

I believe that the most important aspect of our common struggle is that our voices need to be heard, Tsering said, adding that people need to write to or talk to their MPs, and pressure the government to take the issue of rights infractions in China seriously.

The organizers noted that Tibet is one of the most heavily restricted countries in the world. In March 2020, Freedom House ranked Tibet as the second least free place in the world for the fifth consecutive year; only Syria ranks as less free, it said.

Crimes Against Humanity and Cultural Genocide

Winnie Ng, chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China, noted some of the atrocities committed by the CCP.

China has consistently committed crimes against humanity and cultural genocide, even upon its own people, Ng said, stressing that the regime has also used surveillance, imprisonment, censorship, even murder of activists.

Andrew Song from the Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada warned about the threats Taiwan faces from the Beijing regime.

The CCP openly announced at the beginning of this year that they would not exclude the use of military force to attack Taiwan if we dare to claim separation or independence from China, he said.

Though the Taiwanese people are concerned about the threat, Song said they are not afraid, and called the CCP a bully.

Regarding the situation of Uyghur Muslims in China, a representative of the East Turkestan Association of Canada who goes by the name Enver said the CCP is using a step by step approach to eradicate his ethnic group.

So please, everybody, say something and stop the evil CCP from wiping out all the Uyghurs, forced labour, organ harvestingthe whole ethnic is going to be extinct soon if nobody stands up for it.

According to rights groups, at least 1 million Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other predominantly Muslim minorities are being held in massive camps in Chinas Xinjiang region where they are subjected to indoctrination, forced labour, and other crimes.

Hugh Yu, chair of the Canada Committee for the Democratic Party of China, gave an historical account of the millions of deaths that have occurred as a result of the CCPs various political campaigns.

Former Canadian Senator Consiglio Di Nino speaks at the Global Day of Action rally in Toronto on Oct. 1, 2020. (NTD Television)

Former Senator Consiglio Di Nino also spoke at the Toronto rally. What has happened and what continues to happen in China is inhumane, he said.

Its about the people in China who are denied the fundamental rights and freedoms. They have to know that theyre not alone. They have to know that the world is watching. They have to know that we care.

The organizers cited two encouraging steps that have been taken to push back against the Chinese regimes rights abuses this year: the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international cross-party alliance of parliamentarians from democratic countries established in June, and a statement issued in June by more than 50 independent U.N. experts denouncing Chinas human rights record.

All People Must Stand Together

In an interview with NTD Television, Fung said the situation in Hong Kong has been very dangerous for pro-democracy activists since the national security law came into effect.

Many pro-democracy people have been arrested and many went missing. It is possible that they have been extradited to mainland China, she said.

There are a lot more people we dont really know were arrested too. We have no information about their names and where they are, and how they are now. Under the so-called national security law, none of the lawyers, families, or reporters are allowed to interview them or even be present in the court.

Fung said she hopes the Canadian government will apply the Magnitsky law to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong officials.

Chinese-Canadian democracy activist and author Sheng Xue speaks at the Global Day of Action rally in Toronto on Oct. 1, 2020. (NTD Television)

Sheng told NTD the CCPs crimes include the forced organ harvesting of the Falun Gong practitioners, arbitrarily detaining up to 3 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in concentration camps, forcing 150 Tibetans to self-immolate, forbidding the South Mongolians from learning their own language and cultureall of which are unprecedented in history.

Because of all the evils this regime committed, many people regard National Day as an insult and so treated it as a mourning day instead, she said.

The most important thing now is all people must stand together to end the CCPs tyranny, Sheng added.

The organizers called on Ottawa to take the following actions:

Take stronger multilateral action in response to unprecedented human rights abuses perpetrated by the Chinese government, and demand China immediately fulfill its human rights obligations in all bilateral and multilateral dialogues and exchanges.

Establish an independent UN Human Rights Council mechanism to assess and monitor the ongoing and egregious human rights violations in China, particularly in relation to East Turkistan, Tibet, Hong Kong and Southern Mongolia.

Impose targeted Magnitsky-style sanctions, such as the US Global Magnitsky Act, the Canadian Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, and the UK Criminal Finances Act against senior Chinese government officials linked to human rights abuses.

Impose economic sanctions on companies that are profiteering by aiding and abetting Chinas genocidal and colonial policies in Tibet and East Turkistan.

Revisit government policy towards the PRC and Taiwan, urging it to revise its one China policy and support Taiwans democracy. Condemn the PRCs military intimidation of Taiwan and support Taiwans meaningful participation & inclusion in international organizations.

April Zhu contributed to this report.
The award was one of two announced by the Institute of Classical Studies, with the aim of supporting public engagement work relating to the ancient world.



The successful entry was submitted by Dr Ersin Hussein of the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Egyptology, in partnership with the Egypt Centres Collection Access Manager Dr Ken Griffin.



The funding will help to develop a new display in the Egypt Centre museum, entitled Egypt and Its Neighbours, which will feature objects from Egypt, Greece, Rome, Cyprus, Mesopotamia, and Nubia.



The Institute for Classical Studies recently hosted an online awards event, where Dr Hussein and Dr Griffin shared more detail about their projects.



Dr Ersin Hussein, an expert in Roman Cyprus in particular, said:



The Egypt and its Neighbours display will be a catalyst for student and public engagement with a number of topics at the heart of todays world, such as racism, cultural diversity, self-presentation, and identity formation. The ancient world is rich with material to encourage meaningful discussion around these issues.



Several lecturers across the department of Classics, Ancient History, and Egyptology already offer modules discussing these themes in the ancient world.

Swansea University is one of the few places in the UK offering specialist modules on Egypt, Greece, Rome, Cyprus, Nubia, and the ancient Near East. We really wanted the display to bring together the research that we do in the museum setting not just for our students, but for our visitors, from schoolchildren to the general public.



Dr Ken Griffin of the Egypt Centre added:



Our educational programme is at the heart of the Centres work. The award will allow us to develop the programme to include topics such as identity, diversity, racism, and xenophobia in the ancient world. In doing so, it will hopefully open up discussion on current issues.



In line with the museums core aim of widening participation, various groups and individuals have been consulted throughout the planning process, thus making this a co-creation project.



Find out more about the Egypt Centre

Animal mummies digitally unwrapped  Egypt Centre mummies on BBC news
A further 201 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Derry City and Strabane.

It is the highest daily total on record with overall positive cases now standing at 1,283 in the council area.

Across the country 934 positive cases were recorded in the past 24 hours.

That is more than double the previous highest total registered on Wednesday.

In the past seven days there have been 637 new cases in Derry City and Strabane.

The seven day rate per 100k is 422.8 up from 169.9 one week ago.

Those aged between 20-39 account for many of the positive cases locally in the past seven days (308).

A total of 30,095 people have been tested locally since the start of the pandemic.

Belfast has the highest number of cases with 3,165, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 1,430, then Derry and Newry, Mourne & Down with 1,203.

After the local surge was discussed at a meeting of the Northern Ireland Executive, a raft of new measures were announced by First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill at a briefing in Stormont.

They will come into effect on Monday.

From next week, pubs, cafes, and restaurants in the local council area will only be allowed to offer takeaways or outdoor dining.

Hotels will only be allowed to provide services to their overnight guests and for wedding/funeral bookings.

All museums, galleries and cultural attractions will be closed.

Sports fixtures will be allowed to continued but spectators will be banned.

No organised indoor events will be allowed in community halls or other such venues.

People living in the local council area will be encouraged to work from home and to avoid unnecessary travel.

If people must travel, they are being urged not to use public transport.

People are also being asked not to visit the Derry and Strabane council area unless necessary.

The new restrictions will be in place for an initial period of two weeks, but Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said they would be reviewed on a weekly basis.
Meet what could be the next pastry sensation of Instagram: the brioche feuilletee.

Think of it as a bready kouign amann, with a caramelized, sugary top and a flaky, buttery texture achieved through a lamination process similar to croissants.

Photos of the golden loaves from Maison Nico, a new market and cafe from the owners of Michelin-starred French restaurant Nico, have been making the rounds on Instagram among Bay Area food lovers despite the pastrys limited availability. The brioche feuilletee has only been available at three pop-ups so far, and the baked good itself is not commonly found in the United States. But its about to get much easier to find the brioche feuilletee when Maison Nico opens later this fall.

Maison Nico will take over the Jackson Square location of Michelin-starred French restaurant Nico, which permanently closed in July due to the pandemic, and will also be headed up by Nicos Andrea and Nicolas Delaroque in partnership with sommelier and restaurateur Paul Einbund of the Morris.

Chronicle food critic Soleil Ho tried one of the pastries and approves: The feuillettee is made with thin and flaky layers of brioche dough that ripple together, she said. A light sugar glaze seizes the layers together, granting them a sweet crunchiness. Its interior has a bready heftiness and is chewy, but not tough. Slice it and dip into your morning tea or coffee for best results.

Chef Nicolas first became curious about brioche feuilletee when he spotted recipes in French cookbooks a couple of years ago. He didnt have much time to experiment with the pastry while running Nico, but he returned to it during the pandemic.

I was fascinated by the lamination work and the fact that it was a brioche, so you get that doughy crumb, he said.

Einbund encouraged Nicolas to develop his own brioche feuilletee since they believe no one else is serving them in San Francisco. Nicolas slight twist on the classic is that he uses some levain in the dough instead of just yeast, giving the loaf a more complex flavor.

Maison Nico

In addition to brioche feuilletee, Maison Nico will specialize in pate en croute, terrines, seasonal tarts and other Parisian-style pastries available for takeout. There will also be coffee, cocktails and French and Californian wines, along with a small market selling artisanal products inspired by the owners time in France.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Some will be imported ingredients, such as some anchovies from the south of France Einbund loved or a specific Provencal olive oil the Delaroques recalled from a vacation eight years ago. The chefs at Maison Nico will also make their own jams, pickles and other bottled products to line the shelves.

Before the cafe opens its doors, Maison Nico will hold pop-ups at the Morris  so far, the brioche feuilletee ($14) has been available for pre-order on Sundays for Wednesday pick up. Maison Nico is also launching a weekly stand at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market this Saturday  look for the pastries and pate en croute on the front plaza from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Maison Nico. Opening this fall. 710 Montgomery St., San Francisco. instagram.com/maison_nico

This story has been updated to reflect Maison Nicos stand at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market moving to the front plaza.

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker
A 17-year-old youth has been found guilty of preparing for acts of neo-Nazi terrorism after researching how to convert a blank-firing gun into a live weapon.

The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, told police he was 'a nine to 10' on a scale with 'full on Nazi Hitler' as a 10.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court deliberated for more than 15 hours over four days before unanimously convicting the boy of preparing for terrorist acts between April and September last year.

The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age has been found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court (above) of preparing for acts of neo-Nazi terrorism after researching how to convert a blank-firing gun into a live weapon

The defendant closed his eyes as the verdict was delivered, then sat down with his head propped on his hand as members of his family wept in the nearby public gallery.

The youth, from Rugby, Warwickshire, told the court he had not intended any act of terrorism, and 'had existed in an echo chamber' of far-right chat rooms.

At the start of a month-long re-trial, prosecutor Matthew Brook said the evidence showed the teenager wanted to create a firearm capable of 'smashing heads' after joining the so-called Feuerkrieg Division (FKD).

The youth, who was convicted on Friday, saw his original trial halted in March due to the national Covid-19 lockdown.

In his opening speech to jurors, Mr Brook said the boy had praised the terrorist who carried out a mass shooting last year in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 people at two mosques.

Mr Brook told the jury panel: 'In this case, the evidence will prove that the defendant became radicalised so he fully believed in extreme right-wing ideology.

'He came to believe an ideology which thinks a race war is coming, an ideology which believes its followers should bring about a race war, should accelerate its start, so that the white race can become supreme.

'He came to believe in an ideology which praises terrorists who carry out mass shootings, like the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand, and called the perpetrators of such terrorist massacres 'saints'.'

The court was told that the boy, who had admitted possessing documents likely to be useful to a terrorist, researched how to convert a blank-firing gun and had offered advice to members of neo-Nazi chat groups.

Jurors also heard the youth was admitted to an online neo-Nazi grouping after completing a 'test' survey in which he expressed a hatred for Jews.

Jurors heard the boy had praised terrorist Brenton Tarrant (pictured) who carried out a mass shooting last year in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 people at two mosques

In one series of chatroom messages, the defendant said he was an administrator for a group named League of Nationalists, which was 'probably' not going anywhere, but added: 'Whatever happens I'm going to have a local unit.

'I'm working on the propaganda and the weapons. I need men.'

Following the youth's arrest last September, it emerged he had asked an adult friend for advice on where he could buy a blank-firing gun.

In interviews conducted around a fortnight after his home was raided, he was asked to explain gun-making instructions found on his phone, and knives and a home-made gun stock seized from his bedroom.

A rubber 'practice' knife, a face-mask featuring an image of a skull, and a piece of aluminium pipe were also recovered, along with sketches of gun designs.

Mr Brook said of the boy's exchanges with other members of neo-Nazi forums: 'They had discussed their extreme dislike for some racial groups and he had also talked to them about making firearms and specifically about using blank-firing guns as a basis to build functional weapons.

'He said to the police that he had held right-wing views for a number of years, but he had recently been talking to more extreme people.

The 17-year-old youth told police he was 'a nine to 10' on a scale with 'full on Nazi Hitler' (pictured) as a 10

'He claimed that, although he had been discussing with these people about converting guns, it had in fact all been a fantasy and he had not done anything in the real world.

'When asked to put himself on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being, in the police's words, 'full-on Nazi Hitler' - when asked to put himself on that scale - he said he was a nine to 10.'

Judge Paul Farrer QC remanded the defendant in custody until a sentencing hearing on November 6.

He told the boy's barrister: 'There'll have to be a sentencing exercise to embrace not only this count but also the other nine charges he pleaded guilty to in relation to the nine expedient documents - the terrorism documents, as within the Terrorism Act.

'He's still only 17 years old, he was 16 at the relevant time.

'While the nature of the sentence may be inevitable, the court is going to benefit from having some input from the youth offending team.'
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Linkedin (Reuters) Warsaw, Poland  Fri, October 2, 2020 20:05 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48cce2b 2 Art & Culture Poland,nazi,shipwreck,treasure,World-War-II,Russia Free

Polish divers say they have found the wreck of a German World War Two ship which may help solve a decades-old mystery - the whereabouts of the Amber Room, an ornate chamber from a tsarist palace in Russia that was looted by the Nazis.

Decorated with amber and gold, the Amber Room was part of the Catherine Palace near St Petersburg, but was last seen in Koenigsberg, then a Baltic port city in Germany but now the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

It was from Koenigsberg that the Karlsruhe steamer set sail in 1945 with a heavy cargo, before being sunk by Soviet warplanes off the coast of Poland.

Divers from the Baltictech group say they have found the wreck of the Karlsruhe.

"We have been looking for the wreckage since last year when we realized there could be the most interesting, undiscovered story lying at the bottom of the Baltic Sea," diver Tomasz Stachura said in a statement.

"It is practically intact. In its holds, we discovered military vehicles, porcelain and many crates with contents still unknown."

Read also: Greece inaugurates 'Parthenon of shipwrecks'

The Karlsruhe had been taking part in Operation Hannibal, one of the largest sea evacuations in history which helped more than one million German troops and civilians from East Prussia escape the Soviet advance towards the end of World War Two.

Documentation from the time suggests the boat left Koenigsberg in a hurry, with a large cargo and 1,083 people on board.

"All this, put together, stimulates the human imagination. Finding the German steamer and the crates with contents as yet unknown resting on the bottom of the Baltic Sea may be significant for the whole story," said diver Tomasz Zwara.

The Amber Room was constructed in Prussia and then given to Tsar Peter the Great of Russia in 1716 as a present.

The Germans dismantled it and took it to Koenigsberg during the war where it then disappeared during Allied bombing raids on the city. Many believe it was destroyed. Russian craftsmen have constructed a replica Amber Room in the Catherine Palace.
WASHINGTON  Senate Democrats argued Friday it was "premature" to move forward with confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett as two members of the committee that will hold the proceedings tested positive for COVID-19.

Both Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., tested positive for COVID-19, days after meeting in-person with Barrett, sparking worries from Democrats about the safety of the hearings.

Despite the concerns, Senate Republican leaders say they want to move ahead with confirmation hearings for Barrett, which are slated to begin Oct. 12. Both Lee and Tillis are members of the 22-member Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold the hearings and ultimately decide whether his confirmation will move forward for a vote in the full Senate.

In the past 24 hours, a flurry of officials have tested positive for COVID-19 in the aftermath of President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and White House adviser Hope Hicks testing positive for COVID-19. Members of Congress and even presidential candidate Joe Biden rushed to be tested in the aftermath of their diagnoses, finding the disease had spread to nearly 12 people thus far.

It is premature for Chairman Graham to commit to a hearing schedule when we do not know the full extent of potential exposure stemming from the presidents infection and before the White House puts in place a contact tracing plan to prevent further spread of the disease," said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he spoke to Lee earlier Friday and "wished him a speedy recovery."

On Twitter Friday evening, Graham rebuffed Democratic calls to postpone the hearings and said things will go on as planned on Oct. 12, noting he was also tested for COVID-19 and found to be negative. He added that "any Senator who wants to participate virtually will be allowed to do so."

Story continues

But just hours after the tweets, another member of his panel also tested positive.

"Over the last few months, Ive been routinely tested for COVID-19, including testing negative last Saturday, but tonight my rapid antigen test came back positive," Tillis said in a statement Friday evening. "I will be following the recommendations of my doctor and will be self-isolating at home for 10 days and notifying those Ive been in close contact with. Thankfully, I have no symptoms and I feel well."

Like Tillis, Sen. Lee said he also plans to self-isolate for 10 days. He said in a statement Friday afternoon

Lee announced in a statement released Friday morning he received a positive COVID-19 test after "experiencing symptoms consistent with longtime allergies" on Thursday. He said he would self-isolate but assured Republican Senate leaders he would be "back to work in time" to advance Barrett's nomination in the Judiciary Committee and the full Senate, which has final say on a nominee's confirmation.

More: Speedy confirmation schedule for Amy Barrett injects urgency into FBI background probe, analysts say

More: The Senate could confirm Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court just days before Election Day, with hearings beginning Oct. 12

Seventh U.S. Circuit Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett (L), President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, meets with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) as she begins a series of meetings to prepare for her confirmation hearing in the Mansfield Room at the U.S. Capitol on September 29, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Lee met with Barrett on Tuesday and Tillis met with her on Wednesday. They both took part in a Wednesday Judiciary Committee hearing with former FBI Director James Comey, pressing him on his handling of the Russia inquiry.

Both also took part in Wednesday's lunch meeting of Republican senators.

Tillis also attended an in-person debate in North Carolina Thursday evening, where he faced off with former North Carolina State Sen. Cal Cunningham, a Democrat. Cunningham said on Twitter he wished Tillis a quick recovery and would also get tested himself.

Since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Sept. 18, Democrats have sought to delay the confirmation process for the Supreme Court seat, citing the proximity to the Nov. 3 election. Democrats hope Joe Biden defeats Trump on Election Day and that Democrats win back the Senate, which would give Democrats control of picking and confirming justices.

But a majority of senators previously supported moving the nomination forward to fill the seat before the election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., explained last month that the Senate had plenty of time to get Barrett confirmed before Election Day.

Save for a few delay tactics, the GOP majority in the Senate left Democrats unable to stop Barrett from being confirmed. Then came Friday's news that Trump and Lee tested positive.

"Its critical that Chairman Graham put the health of senators, the nominee and staff first  and ensure a full and fair hearing that is not rushed, not truncated, and not virtual. Otherwise this already illegitimate process will become a dangerous one," Schumer and Feinstein wrote Friday.

More: After Trump's COVID diagnosis, a running list of everyone being tested and their results

More: Which members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19?

McConnell told reporters at a news conference Friday in Kentucky the Senate would continue to push forward with Barrett's nomination, and added there were no plans to alter how the Senate operates, including when it came to widespread testing.

"We've been operating in the same environment now since the first of May, and we've been able to do Senate business. There's no reason why we can't continue to do that," he said. "The disease has not kept us from operating as we would normally, and there's no reason to expect that to be the case in the foreseeable future."

McConnell added that the news had not shifted the timeline for a full Senate vote to confirm Barrett to the Supreme Court. "I'm planning on moving to the nomination as soon as it comes out of committee," he said. Graham has already said that date could be as early as Oct. 26.

McConnell refused multiple times to say whether he'd been tested for COVID-19 in light of Trump's diagnosis. The Kentucky Republican repeatedly said, "we're following the CDC guidelines."

Unlike the White House, Congress does not have a standardized COVID-19 testing program but on Friday, the Capitol's top doctor announced a new COVID-19 testing strategy that allows more flexibility for lawmakers and staff to receive a test.

The Office of Attending Physician Brian Monahan announced that his office was providing tests to lawmakers and staff who "have symptoms suggestive of coronavirus or who are concerned they may have been exposed to a known positive Covid 19 patient."

The new guidance, while allowing for more testing on Capitol Hill by those who request it, does not mandate tests for those who visit the Capitol  a policy that the White House has instituted.

The White House offered rapid-testing machines to lawmakers earlier this year, but Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined the offer in May, saying the testing equipment could be better used elsewhere.

For months, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concern about the lack of testing in the Capitol. Those worries were renewed Friday after Trump's diagnosis.

"I dont understand why the Speaker would continue to not have testing," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., not often one to agree with McCarthy, concurred on the need for testing.

She told reporters Friday it might not be a bad idea to mandate testing, adding there was a possibility of a "super spreader" event with all members of Congress flying in from districts around the country and congregating at the Capitol.

"I think it is incredibly important that we would be tested, " she said.

More: How safe is Capitol Hill from COVID-19? Here's what we know.

Contributing: Christal Hayes

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19: Mike Lee tests positive as GOP seeks Barrett confirmation
Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone" or the "Company") (TSX:CS) will release its 2020 third quarter results on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 before market open, followed by an investor conference call and webcast at 11:30 am (Eastern Time).

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST DETAILS

Link to the webcast and audio: https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1381418&tp_key=8587deb61f

Dial-in numbers for the audio-only portion of the conference call are below. Due to an increase in call volume, please dial-in at least five minutes prior to 11:30 am ET to ensure placement into the conference line on time.

Toronto: (+1) 416-764-8650

Vancouver: (+1) 778-383-7413

North America toll free: 888-664-6383

Confirmation #34334355

A replay of the conference call will be available until November 4, 2020. Dial-in numbers for Toronto: (+1) 416-764-8677 and North American toll free: 888-390-0541. The replay code is 334355#.

Following the replay, an audio file will be available on Capstone's website at: https://capstonemining.com/investors/events-and-presentations/default.aspx.

ABOUT CAPSTONE MINING CORP.

Capstone Mining Corp. is a Canadian base metals mining company, focused on copper. Our two producing mines are the Pinto Valley copper mine located in Arizona, US and the Cozamin copper-silver mine in Zacatecas State, Mexico. In addition, Capstone owns 70% of Santo Domingo, a large scale, fully-permitted, copper-iron-gold project in Region III, Chile, in partnership with Korea Resources Corporation, as well as a portfolio of exploration properties. Capstone's strategy is to focus on the optimization of operations and assets in politically stable, mining-friendly regions, centred in the Americas. We are committed to the responsible development of our assets and the environments in which we operate. Our headquarters are in Vancouver, Canada and we are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Further information is available at www.capstonemining.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001006220/en/

Contacts:

Jerrold Annett, VP, Strategy and Capital Markets

647-273-7351

jannett@capstonemining.com



Virginia Morgan, Manager, IR and Communications

604-674-2268

vmorgan@capstonemining.com
Michael Sabia knows all about making money from going green.

He took sustainable investing mainstream, a pioneer when he was at the helm of Quebecs giant provincial pension fund who imposed stringent environmental targets on his investment team, and subjected all investment decisions to a strict carbon budget that ratcheted down the amount of emission-producing assets they could back.

Now that hes overseeing $35 billion in public money at the Canada Infrastructure Bank, hes vowing to take a similar approach, and he argues that the timing is perfect.

He makes a strong case. But the bank has failed to live up to its billing for four years now, with only a couple of marquee projects to its name.

Alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna on Thursday, Sabia outlined how he would use $10 billion of the banks budget to attract private-sector partners to the banks projects, and plow the money into clean power, home retrofits, broadband, irrigation and zero-emissions bus systems.

Over the next three years, the infrastructure bank will aim to double or triple the size of its own investment by leveraging third-party financing, creating about 60,000 jobs along the way.

At a cost of $167,000 per job, its not really a job-creation bonanza. But by their nature, the projects are compatible with the federal governments goals to foster growth while cutting emissions dramatically and forge a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.

In an interview with the Star, Sabia said hell take that approach a step further by insisting that every investment the infrastructure bank gets involved with will undergo scrutiny for its climate implications.

It will influence everything we do. It will be a crosscutting approach just like he implemented at the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, Canadas second-largest pension plan.

There, he said, every single investment had to have an analysis of the carbon consequences, et cetera. The same thing will be true here.

The $10 billion is one thing he hopes to show results on quickly, he said, but what he really has his eye on is electrification  connecting and transmitting clean hydro power sources across the country.

Its an environmentalists dream scenario that would cost much more than the $2.5 billion earmarked for transmission on Thursday. And its a scenario that Sabia readily admits is ambitious and may not come to pass. Hes willing to try anyway, despite some tough hurdles.

Among the criteria his bankers have to meet to get involved in a project, he lists:

Impact: quality projects that spur lots of economic growth.

Value: projects that attract third-party investors and open the door to more investment in related areas.

Return: projects that allow the investors to make a profit and allow the infrastructure bank to keep its $35 billion capital base intact so that it can keep taking on new projects.

The challenge for Sabia will be to do all that, while also cutting emissions and while also making its only shareholder  the federal government  happy. McKenna and Trudeau frequently mentioned their own criteria of inclusion, job creation and helping with the recovery from the pandemic crisis.

And then theres the inevitable politics. In the last election campaign just a year ago, the Conservatives promised to axe the infrastructure bank and use the $35 billion to help eliminate the deficit. Their new leader repeated a version of that position on Thursday.

We will scrap Justin Trudeaus $35-billion infrastructure bank which has been nothing but a waste of taxpayer dollars and bring forward a real plan that gets job creating projects built, said Erin OToole.

So, not only does Sabia have to convince investors that they can make decent returns by investing in carbon-cutting projects, he also has to convince them that its safe to stick around for the long term even though the official opposition in a minority government wants him and his organization gone.

Sabia says hes up for the challenge.

He notes that big institutional investors  the type the infrastructure bank needs to work with to meet its goals  are not feeling the love right now from fixed income markets, where returns are almost nothing. Instead, those investors are looking for steady, long-term returns from infrastructure projects in stable countries like Canada, he said.

And once his bank signs a deal, its a solid arrangement that cant be undone by the whims of politics, he argues.

He also needs to overcome lethargy. The infrastructure bank was created in 2016 with great fanfare, highlighted as an innovative way to build bridges and roads, leveraging taxpayers money with institutional investors shopping for new projects. But during that time, the bank struggled with its governance model, saw upheaval in its top echelons, and only financed a couple of large projects. There is no CEO right now.

I think people are rightly skeptical. They havent seen a lot. But now theyre going to see things. I think, I hope, that thats going to change the skeptics minds, he said.

This is a start.

Lets hope its not a false start.

Read more about:
DUBLIN, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "IoT in Elevators Market - By Application, By End user - Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2020 - 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global IoT in Elevators market is slated to accrue revenue worth approximately 56.35 (USD Billion) by 2026 and will record a CAGR of almost 15% during 2020-2026.



The report offers assessment and analysis of the Top 10 IoT in Elevators market on a global and regional level. The study offers a comprehensive assessment of the market competition, constraints, sales estimates, opportunities, evolving trends, and industry-validated data. The report offers historical data from 2017 to 2019 along with a forecast from 2020 to 2026 based on revenue (USD Billion).



Introduction



IoT or connected things are utilized in elevators for facilitating vertical passenger transport as well as effective commodity transportation with the help of artificial intelligence. Additionally, it facilitates upgradation of key components of elevator, enhances the service efficiency of elevators, and improves elevator safety & maintenance facility. IoT enabled elevators are embedded with unique features such as low waiting periods, power efficiency, and mobile connectivity. The IoT in elevators market is likely to gain traction in the coming years due to its massive use in malls, high-rise buildings, hospitals, and hotels.



Market Growth Dynamics



Surge in urbanization and rising need for amenities in the residential & commercial sectors in emerging economies will drive the growth of the market over the forecasting years. Apparently, installation of predictive maintenance facility in elevators for monitoring heat changes, noise fluctuations, and friction will drive the market trends. Additionally, IoT technology assist in reducing total downtime in elevators and this will create lucrative growth avenues for the market over the forthcoming years. In addition to this, escalating need for secured as well as power proficient systems will define the surge of IoT in elevators market over the forthcoming years.



Furthermore, large-scale need for smart services by the organizations for protecting assets as well as securing them against external & internal challenges will steer the expansion of market in the years to come. Apparently, growing need for remote monitoring will drive the business trends.



North America To Contribute Major Market Revenue Share By 2026



The growth of the market in North American sub-continent over 2020-2026 is owing to presence of major players in the countries like the U.S. and availability of strong IoT infrastructure in the region. Apart from this, rise in the high-rise constructions, immense proportion of digitization, and technological breakthroughs in the countries like Canada and the U.S. will offer new growth avenues for the market in the region over the forecast timespan.



Competitive Landscape



Key players profiled in the report include:

Otis Elevator Company

Toshiba Elevators

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

ThyssenKrupp AG

KONE Corporation

Schindler Group

The global IoT in elevators market is segmented as follows:



By Component

Hardware (M2M Gateway/Elevator Gateway)

Software

On-Premise

Cloud

Services

Designing and Engineering

Installation

Refurbishing

Maintenance and Repair

Managed Services

By Application

Preventive Maintenance

Remote Monitoring

Advanced Reporting

Connectivity Management

Others (Call Management)

By End-user

Residential

Commercial

Industrial

By Region

North America

The U.S.

Canada

Europe

France

The UK

Spain

Germany

Italy

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Southeast Asia

Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

& GCC

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/okaroa

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets

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LONDON  President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis is unlikely to move the needle ahead of next month's presidential election, a political analyst told CNBC on Friday.

Trump, 74, and first lady Melania Trump, 50, have both tested positive for Covid-19 and are now self-isolating. It comes just 32 days ahead of the presidential election, prompting world stocks to slide as market participants await further clarity on a variety of different scenarios.

White House physician Dr. Sean Conley said in a letter that the president and first lady were "both well at this time," before adding that he would provide updates on any future developments.

"I don't think really that anything is going to have a big impact in terms of changing the polling numbers in favor of Trump or Biden at this point," Cailin Birch of The Economist Intelligence Unit told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Friday.

"There is definitely a possibility that we could have a little bit of a sympathy vote coming through for Trump," Birch said. "But  I'm not sure, given his approach to the virus  plus the fact that the U.S. political spectrum is just so deeply polarized and entrenched, that it will have any real sort of impact."

Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been sharply criticized, although the president has touted his own management of the health crisis. At a campaign rally in Ohio late last month, Trump claimed the disease "affects virtually nobody."

In testing positive for coronavirus, Trump has followed in the footsteps of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 56, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, 65.

To date, more than 34 million people have contracted Covid-19 worldwide, with more than 1 million related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Four of the Pi of the Sky Detectors cameras. Credit: Marcin Sokoowski.

Strangelets, and specifically nuclearites, their heavy species, are very dense, compact and potentially fast objects made of large and roughly equal numbers of up, down and strange quarks, which may inhabit the universe. Their existence was first hypothesized by Edward Witten back in 1984. These objects have never been detected before and have so far attracted less attention than meteors, perhaps due to their lack of relevance in particle physics.

At the end of 1984, theoretical physicists Alvaro De Rujula and Sheldon Lee Glashow introduced the idea that, when crossing the Earth's atmosphere, nuclearites produce light in a similar way to meteors, losing very little of their energy in the process. If their prediction is right, teams working at meteor observatories should be able to confirm whether these objects exist or not. So far, however, very few researchers have conducted studies investigating this possibility.

A different cosmic phenomenon rooted in particle physics, known as ultra-high energy cosmic rays, shares some of the same theorized characteristics of nuclearites. These cosmic rays, in fact, also produce trails of light in the atmosphere, although they do this via a different physical process. In addition, they move much faster than nuclearities and are usually observed in the ultraviolet (UV) band.

Unlike nuclearities, ultra-high energy cosmic rays have been detected before. Nonetheless, they are a very rare phenomenon, with fluxes lower than 1 particle per square kilometer per 100 years for the highest energies. To detect them, scientists thus need to monitor large volumes of the atmosphere using big detectors, which could eventually also lead to the detection of nuclearities.

Researchers at RIKEN in Japan, the National Center for Nuclear Research in Poland, Aix Marseille University-CNRS, the Polish Academy of Sciences and University of Warsaw have recently carried out a search for nuclearities and other heavy compact objects based on photographic data collected by the "Pi of the Sky" detectors at the INTA El Arenosillo test center in Mazagaon near Huelva, Spain and at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Their paper, journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/  ysRevLett.125.091101">published in Physical Review Letters, introduces a set of limits that could guide future searches for heavy compact objects in the universe.

"I came across the idea of observing nuclearites with a camera when I joined the JEM-EUSO collaboration, which intends to build an orbital UV telescope monitoring the Earth's atmosphere, looking mainly for cosmic rays, but also nuclearites, meteors and other phenomena," Lech Wiktor Piotrowski, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Phys.org. "A much bigger volume of the atmosphere is visible from the orbit compared to the on-ground observatories, thus the chances of detection are increased by an order of magnitude."

The key objective of the recent study by Piotrowski and his colleagues was to discover nuclearities or other heavy compact objects crossing the atmosphere in photographs taken by the Pi of the Sky detectors, or to at least set limits on their flux, if their search yielded no positive results.

While the final UV telescope developed by the JEM-EUSO collaboration could aid the study of numerous cosmological phenomena, the researchers have not yet started using it to collect observations (although the data from smaller precursor experiments is currently being analyzed). In their recent study, they thus decided to use available ground data collected as part of the Pi of the Sky experiment.

The prediction that nuclearities produce light as they cross the atmosphere is based on estimations of their density and potential speed. This characteristic could thus be shared by other cosmological objects of different natures.

Since De Rujula and Glashow introduced their theory back in 1984, the list of objects that are hypothesized to leave light traces in the Earth's atmosphere has grown substantially, also including objects that are not directly relevant to the field of particle physics, such as small primordial black holes. While their search for nuclearities was fruitless, it allowed Piotrowski and his colleagues to set a series of limits that could narrow down future searches for both nuclearities and other heavy compact objects in the universe.

Four of the Pi of the Sky Detectors cameras. The detector. Credit: Marcin Sokoowski.

"In high school, reading a popular article about hypothetical 'strangelets' and how they may destroy the world, convinced me that I should become a particle physicist," Piotrowski said. "I have become one, but in the process, I started to think that I will never have anything to do with those strangelets. Then, a few years later, thanks to the work I conducted as part of the JEM-EUSO collaboration, I found out that with archival data of my old sky-gazing experiment Pi of the Sky, I could make some substantial contribution to the topic of strangelets. This is how this paper was born."

The core idea behind the study carried out by Piotrowski and his colleagues is fairly simple. When one looks up at the sky at night, he/she should theoretically be able to see the tracks of nuclearites and other heavy compact objects, just like he/she sees those left by meteors or satellites.

The tracks left by nuclearites and other heavy compact objects, however, should be slightly different. A nuclearite should be able to pass through the whole atmosphere, thus the light trail it leaves would be very long and give off a constant brightness that only changes based on the physical distance with an observer. The researchers searched for these long trails in photographs taken as part of the Pi of the Sky experiment.

"Seeing such a track would give us a candidate, while a lack of any detections would allow us to set a limit on the flux of nuclearites and other heavy compact objects," Piotrowski explained. "This involves calculating the overall time of sky observations and an effective surface of the volume of the sky observed, which depends on the detector pointing, as well as on the assumption that the objects were coming from all possible directions, from a single direction or from some specific direction configurations. Finally, the limit needs to include the detection efficiency of the detector (which can be obtained through simulations), and information about how well we can distinguish between the objects of interest and other tracks, such as those coming from meteors and satellites."

The Pi of the Sky detector takes images of the sky using CCD cameras with commercial photographic lenses mounted on them, without any filters. It can therefore collect images that roughly reflect what a human observer would see when looking up at the sky.

The detector's exposures last approximately 10 seconds and its cameras follow the movement of the stars. It can thus also be used to gather information about how the volume of the atmosphere changed during the course of the night.

"During the Pi of the Sky experiment, we did not foresee any research related to tracks, and performed an automatic analysis of stars and star-like transients, after which most of the raw data was discarded," Piotrowski said. "The luckily remaining raw data, spanning through several years and cameras, was used for the analysis presented in our paper."

The researchers analyzed all the raw frames collected by the Pi of the Sky detector, discarding approximately 50% of them due to their poor quality. Subsequently, they searched for images of tracks in the remaining good quality frames, which included 1766.05 h of observations gathered by a single, 20x20 degree camera equivalent. Their search was conducted using a Hough-transform based algorithm specifically designed to identify tracks in images.

"We have identified almost 36,000 tracks in the data, most of which were automatically classified as meteors or satellites based mainly on the variability of their brightness (the brightness of a nuclearite should be almost constant), the remaining were filtered out manually, leaving 29 candidates," Piotrowski said. "Nine of those were found in a catalog of satellites, leaving 20 candidates. In future dedicated experiments, those candidates could be further classified based on their speed, which cannot be derived from the analyzed 10 second exposures."

As the data used by the researchers did not include any information related to speed, they were unable to determine whether the 20 candidates that they could not identify are in fact nuclearities or heavy compact objects. However, based on the data available to them, they think that the possibility of them being heavy compact objects is highly unlikely.

The Pi of the Sky Detector. Credit: Aleksander Filip Zarnecki.

"Almost all of the 20 remaining tracks are shorter than 500 pixels (our CCD is roughly 2000x2000 pixels), while for the nuclearites, we expect an almost flat distribution through all possible track lengths, limited almost only by the point of entry into the atmosphere and the edge of the field of view," Piotrowski explained. "The candidates are thus most likely satellites or meteors, with a portion of a track in our cameras too short to show the characteristic variability of brightness."

Based on the results they gathered so far, Piotrowski and his colleagues assume that the images they analyzed contain no traces of nuclearites or other heavy compact objects, thus they set out to place a limit on their flux based on the data available to them. To do this, they calculated the effective surface of the atmosphere's volume contained in each frame, which depended on the direction a camera pointed in, the hypothetical mass of nuclearites and the estimated efficiency of nuclearite detection using the camera's specific configuration.

The efficiency of nuclearite detection was calculated by superimposing representations of nuclearite tracks on real images of the sky and running the Hough-transform based track detection algorithm on this artificial/simulated data. As nuclearites have never been observed before, simulation tools are particularly useful for studying them and showing what they would look like.

Ultimately, the researchers changed the flux limit based on the "separation efficiency" (i.e., an estimated value that describes how well they would be able to tell nuclearite tracks apart from light trails produced by meteors, satellites and other commonly observed objects). This value was derived from the length distribution of the 20 tracks that they were unable to identify during their search.

"The curvature of our limit line comes from two factors," Piotrowski explained. "First, the lower the nuclearite mass, the dimmer it is and the lower the sensitivity of our detector. This effect dominates the lower masses, where the detection efficiency is very small. Second, the heavier the nuclearite, the higher in the atmosphere it can start emitting light. Thus, the volume of the atmosphere observed is bigger for heavier nuclearites, allowing for setting a better limit on the flux. This dominates the highest masses, where the detection efficiency becomes mass-independent."

Exotic states of matter that cannot be directly observed from Earth have been the focus of numerous past research studies. Unveiling new forms of matters that cross the atmosphere would have important implications for the study of physics, astrophysics, astronomy and potentially other scientific fields as well.

The limits on the flux of heavy compact objects set by Piotrowski and his colleagues could be an important step towards better understanding the nature of heavy compact objects. For instance, they could guide future studies investigating the existence of stable quark matter in the universe.

"We now also have an experimental confirmation that heavy compact objects in the given mass range cannot cross the atmosphere in large numbers," Piotrowski said. "This is a starting point for the verification of the specific models for each heavy compact object type and its possible source in the universe. But there is also a more mundane reason for the performed study. Up to now, it seems that no one had searched for heavy compact objects in the analyzed mass range; as scientists, we should explore such terra incognita, because often, something new lurks there. It didn't this time, not with our current sensitivity, but this was a first step."

The recent study carried out by this team of researchers also proves that purely astrophysical experiments could be of great value for the study of particle physics. While astrophysics and particle physics are closely related, in fact, the ideas introduced by Witten, Rujula and Glashow in 1984 have remained largely untested or addressed by particle physicists for several decades.

In the future, the paper authored by Piotrowski and his colleagues could inspire other teams worldwide to search for nuclearities or other heavy compact objects. Meanwhile, the researchers plan to continue exploring this topic as well, in order to further narrow down the search for elusive cosmological objects.

"The obtained limits could now be used and modified to put constraints on specific types of heavy compact objects and their distribution in the galaxy/universe," Piotrowski said. "Second, it is also important to improve on the limits. This will be done in future experiments: on-ground ones dedicated to the purpose of detecting heavy compact objects, and orbital ones observing huge volumes of the atmosphere."

More information: Lech Wiktor Piotrowski et al. Limits on the Flux of Nuclearites and Other Heavy Compact Objects from the Pi of the Sky Project, Physical Review Letters (2020). Journal information: Physical Review Letters Lech Wiktor Piotrowski et al. Limits on the Flux of Nuclearites and Other Heavy Compact Objects from the Pi of the Sky Project,(2020). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.091101

 2020 Science X Network
Nepal has proposed resumption of flights to India from October 17. According to reports, Nepal's Civil Aviation Ministry sent the proposal to the COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC), which upon acceptance would see flight between the two countries resume after roughly 7 months. Nepal blocked all flights to and from India back in March after the country entered into a nationwide lockdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read: On Gandhi Jayanti, India Gifts 41 Ambulances And 6 School Buses To Nepal

Strict health protocols proposed

Nepals Joint Secretary of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ministry Kamal Prasad Bhattarai told ANI: "We have proposed resumption of flights from October 17, the proposal has been sent to the CCMC for consideration but we are yet to receive any response. Once they decide over the date we can further sort out the number of flights and permits to be issued. Bhattarai also added that once the proposal is accepted then air operations will resume with adherence to the health protocol.

Read: As Virus Curbs Nepal's Festivals, Devotees Fear Gods' Anger

As per reports, once the proposal is accepted it will then go to the cabinet for final approval. The health protocol listed in the proposal would be similar to those for people arriving in Nepal from different nations.

According to the existing protocol, all passengers entering Nepal via airways must present a negative RT-PCR test result for COVID-19 and the date of the test should not exceed 72 hours prior to the time of boarding. Moreover, foreigners entering Nepal are mandated to quarantine themselves for 7 days in a hotel while Nepali citizens returning from India must quarantine themselves for 14 days at homes.

Read: COVID-19: Nepal Reopens Some Schools With Health Safety Protocols

Nepal has so far reported more than 82,000 positive coronavirus cases and has a death toll of more than 500 people. The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world.

The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 34.7 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 1 million. As per John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, the US has reported more than 7.2 million positive COVID-19 cases and a death toll of over 200,000.

Read: Price Of Nepali Tea Booms In Indian Market Post Lockdown; Boosts Prospects Of Producers

(With ANI Inputs, Image:Pixabay)
Trump also has controversially proposed using law enforcement to patrol polling places, telling Fox News in August, Were going to have sheriffs, and were going to have law enforcement, and were going to hopefully have U.S. attorneys and were going to have everybody, and attorney generals. Such tactics historically have been used to scare voters of color, though Trump is limited in his ability to make good on his threat.
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
President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, the Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin has commended President Akufo-Addos COVID-19 Rapid Response Taskforce team for teaching all the 16-Regional Houses of Chiefs to know how best to fight the virus in the various communities.



According to him, the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs are pleased with the work of the taskforce in a sensitization training led by Dr. Da Costa Aboagye to teach them a lot of things they need to know about the fight against the virus.



Addressing a gathering at the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs on Thursday, October 1, 2020, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin showered praises on President Akufo-Addo for being a courageous man with the nation at heart to find a way to contain the virus in the country.



Yesterday, his COVID-19 Rapid Response Taskforce led by Dr Da Costa Aboagye came here to teach us a lot of things we need to know about the fight against the virus; the ways they have used to contain the virus in the country is incredible and we must again commend the President and the team for their effort in the management of the COVID-19 in the country," he applauded.



Dr. Da Costa Aboagye reacting on his Facebook Wall to the Okyehene's acknowledgement of his effort in sensitizing the Regional Houses of Chiefs against the COVID-19 fight said such commendation from the great Okyehene, the President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs makes him humbled.



He reiterated that his story is an indication that FREE EDUCATION FOR ALL GHANAIAN CHILDREN is the future of Ghana.



Read Dr Aboagye Da Costa's full comment on his Facebook Wall



It was humbling to hear my name mentioned by the great Okyenhene, President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs to His Excellency, the President of the Republic for a sensitization Covid-19 workshop provided. I am very very humbled and my story is an indication that FREE EDUCATION FOR ALL GHANAIAN CHILDREN is the future of Ghana.



Let me end with my own quote- "the foundation of our collective future success and development as a country is education - Dr Dacosta.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









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

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P aris's top restaurateurs vented their anger today as the French capitals celebrated hospitality industry faced having to shut down to contain a surge in coronavirus infections.

Health minister Olivier Veran has already ordered bars and restaurants in Marseille to shut for two weeks and last night warned that Paris could be placed on maximum alert from Monday, meaning similar measures there.

Mr Veran said the wider Paris region had now passed all three of the governments criteria for being put on the highest level of alert. Over the previous 24 hours, the infection rate rose above 250 cases for every 100,000 inhabitants.

It is getting worse faster in Paris and its surrounds, he told a news conference, pointing out that around a third of ICU beds in the Paris region were now occupied by virus patients.

He said the government and Paris City Hall would take another look at the indicators on Sunday and act if there was no improvement.

French health minister Olivier Veran

Responding to the warning, one of Frances top chefs urged fellow restaurant and bar owners and their staff to protest outside their businesses before todays lunch service. We will not die in silence, Philippe Etchebest, a double Michelin-starred chef who frequently appears on TV cooking shows said.

The government must understand that restaurants are not to blame for Covid, Alain Fontaine, owner of Le Mesturet and president of the Association of Master Restaurateurs, said restaurants only accounted for two per cent of coronavirus clusters in France.

We dont understand why were being targeted, he said. Its going a bit far.

Meanwhile, New Zealanders will be able to travel to the Australian cities of Sydney and Darwin without having to self-quarantine from October 16.

But New Zealand will continue to insist on travellers from Australia going into hotel quarantine for two weeks on arrival. We want to open up Australia to the world, the countrys transport minister Michael McCormack said. This is the first part of it.
Boris Johnson has blamed the recent rise in coronavirus infections on public complacency rather than the governments failure to test, saying that discipline on social distancing and hygiene measures had frayed over the summer.

The prime minister accepted that some people had had bad experiences with the test and trace system set up by the government to keep the Covid-19 virus under control, and said he wanted to apologise for that.

But he suggested that responsibility for the sharp uplift in cases over the past month lay with the general public, who had lost the muscle memory of the kind of social distancing and hygiene measures that drove down infections in the spring.

In a round of interviews with BBC regional TV programmes, Mr Johnson said: In March and April, in Scotland and across the country, we came together and got the virus down.

Alas, what happened since then is that everyone got a bit complacent and a bit blase about transmission and the rules on social distancing werent perhaps obeyed in the way they could have been or enforced in the way they could have been and thats why weve had to put in measures both in Scotland and elsewhere to bring it down again.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 21 January 2022 Willesborough Windmill, a white smock mill built in 1869 is bathed in the morning sunshine as the moon sets behind in Ashford, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 January 2022 A jet skier jumps the waves off the coast at Blyth in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 19 January 2022 Britains Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, participate in a therapy session with individuals who have experienced the care system, during a visit to the Foundling Museum in London REUTERS UK news in pictures 18 January 2022 Surfers enter the sea as the sun rises over Tynemouth on the North East coast PA UK news in pictures 17 January 2022 Bonhams Danny McIlwraith holds a Nigerian polycrome carved wood mask during a photocall for the sale of the Jim Lennon Collection at Bonhams in Edinburgh PA UK news in pictures 16 January 2022 The moon rises above the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, Hampshire PA UK news in pictures 15 January 2022 Demonstrators outside Downing Street during a Kill The Bill protest against The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London PA UK news in pictures 14 January 2022 Ecologist Emma Smart (left) and retired GP Dr Diana Warner outside HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, following their release from the prison where Emma undertook a 26-day hunger strike during her incarceration. Ms Smart was sentenced in November, along with other members of Insulate Britain, to serve four months for breaking a High Court injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 motorway during the morning rush hour on 8 October last year PA UK news in pictures 13 January 2022 A TV presenter holds a copy of a newspaper outside 10 Downing Streetafter the Prime Minister apologised for attending a gathering of colleagues in the Number Ten garden in May 2020, while the UK was in strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic Getty UK news in pictures 12 January 2022 Fitness guru Derrick Evans after receiving an MBE during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 11 January 2022 A couple walk underneath an umbrella during wet weather on Westminster Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 10 January 2022 A jogger passes the Covid Memorial Wall in London AP UK news in pictures 9 January 2021 The sun rises over horses at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 8 January 2022 Riders compete during the Veterans Men's race at the UK Cyclo-Cross National Championships 2022 in Ardingly, south of London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 7 January 2022 A dog looks out of a car window at the wintry conditions in Killeshin, Co. 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Getty UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year PA UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton PA UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election PA UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire PA UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster Getty Images UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, PA UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judges decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange PA UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service PA UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine PA UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow PA UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra Getty UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother PA UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square Reuters UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London AFP/Getty

Challenged over whether a lack of testing had allowed the virus to get out of control, Mr Johnson replied: Thats not the reality. The nation came together in March and April. What happened over the summer was a bit of sort of fraying of peoples discipline and attention to those rules.

He accepted that there had been problems with the test and trace system, which has never met its targets for identifying contacts of coronavirus patients and telling them to self-isolate.

Of course there are people whove had bad experiences and I apologise for the bad experiences that people have had with NHS Test and Trace, said Mr Johnson.

But he added: It is a fact that we are conducting more tests than any other European countries, 20 million people have been tested.

He said that cases were now rising in London, after a period in which the capital largely avoided the second wave seen in the north of England.

Alas! Because we came together as a country, we got the numbers down and Im afraid some of the muscle memory has faded, he said.

Asked if he took responsibility for cutting testing in London, the prime minister replied: I, of course, take full responsibility for everything the Government has done.

Mr Johnson  who famously defended his adviser Dominic Cummings against demands for his resignation for breaching lockdown  declined to say whether suspended SNP MP Margaret Ferrier should resign her seat after attending parliament with coronavirus.

Asked whether he was worried about MPs or advisers breaking the rules, he said: I think everybody should stick to the rules and thats what they are there for. Weve seen they did make a huge difference.

Because everybody stayed home and protected the NHS, we saved many thousands of lives. Ive got absolutely no doubt about that and we can do that again this time around.

Mr Johnson said that the government was keeping a very careful eye on coronavirus cases.

We are trying to perform this careful balancing act of keeping education going and keeping as much of the economy going as we can, he said. So it relies very much on people collectively doing the right thing.
Pro-lifer punched in front of Supreme Court day after Amy Coney Barrett nomination

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A pro-life protestor demonstrating in support of Amy Coney Barretts nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court was allegedly punched in the face by a pro-abortion activist in front of the Supreme Court Building on Sunday in Washington D.C.

Video footage captured by Breitbart documented the dueling demonstrations in front of the Supreme Court that took place less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump selected the 48-year-old 7th Circuit Court of Appeals judge to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Abortion rights protesters called their demonstration opposing Barretts nomination the No Confirmation Before Inauguration. Meanwhile, Students for Life of America held a counterprotest in favor of Barrett. The counterprotest featured members of the groups SCOTUS Squad.

According to Students for Life, a network of pro-life student groups with chapters on college and high school campuses across the country, pro-life demonstrators were vastly outnumbered by pro-abortion protesters by a margin of 95% to 5% on Sunday.

A picture posted on the Students for Life Twitter page showed that some pro-abortion demonstrators were not pleased about the presence of the pro-life group.

About an hour into the video, Autumn Schimmer, the communications and market manager for Students for Life Action, can be seen conversing with a woman as a nearby pro-life protester chanted Pro-life is human rights!

At the same time, a pro-abortion protester was yelling womens rights are human rights!

I was approached by a pro-choice woman who wanted to have a conversation about what feminism means to me, Schimmer recalled in a statement. I told her that women are not empowered when they kill their own children, and we need to do better.

After that, she was getting more aggressive, Schimmer continued. I took a step back to return to my group. She approached me and punched me in the face and ripped off my face mask. This is very upsetting. Being attacked by a pro-choicer just shows that the violence of abortion breeds a culture of violence and normalizes it.

Breitbart caught up with Schimmer after the incident, who told the videographer: Im okay. But this just shows that the left is okay with violence and why are we okay with violence?

While the Breitbart video did not catch the attack as it happened, it appears to have taken place at about the 1:02:45 mark of the recording.

At this time, Schimmer was holding a sign that read Trust Pro-Life Women accompanied by the hashtag #Justice4Life and the Students for Life Twitter handle. The other side of her sign read: I cant believe these feminists are protesting a woman. Approve her now.

Seconds later, the woman she was conversing with was shown walking away.

Schimmer, who said she lives in Chicago, described the woman who punched her as a coward in her exchange with Breitbart.

She was mad that I didnt respond to one of her questions and when I was chanting with one of my co-workers, she hit me in the face and told me that I was not willing to have a conversation, Schimmer recalled.

After the attack, other pro-life protesters tended to a visibly shaken Schimmer, whose mask was removed. Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins announced via Twitter Sunday that the assault was reported to the police and the assailant was identified.

The attack on the pro-life demonstrator is not a unique incident.

A report compiled by the pro-life website Life News reports that more than 100 acts of assault, vandalism and harassment targetted pro-life advocates in 2019. The website listed over 40 examples of vandalism and attacks against pro-life and conservative groups that have taken place so far in 2020.
The governors office and the attorney generals office also declined to comment and refused to say whether they have received and reviewed additional OSIG reports of parole board decisions.

Charlotte Gomer, spokesperson for Attorney General Mark Herring, said, These questions are protected under attorney-client privilege, and referred questions to the Inspector Generals Office.

Alena Yarmosky, spokesperson for Gov. Ralph Northam, also referred the newspaper to the inspector general about the agencys disclosure process and or subsequent reports. I will note that Code Section 2.2-313E specifies that only the Inspector General can release this information, she wrote in an email.

Chapman, the parole board chair, also declined to comment on whether she has been made aware of additional OSIG reports.

Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, addressed fellow lawmakers about the issue on the Senate floor Friday afternoon.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In his new book The New (Ab)Normal: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19, published today, MIT Professor Yossi Sheffi maps how companies grappled with the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic and how they can survive and thrive as the crisis subsides. Sheffi pays particular attention to supply chain's role in helping companies manage and recover from the pandemic. Supply chains worldwide play a crucial role in sourcing, making, and delivering essential products to the world's 7.8 billion people at a price they can afford.

The New (Ab)Normal: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19

"Much has been written about the pandemic, but the book takes a different perspective by showing how the virus emphasizes our interconnectedness and how supply chains are the connective tissue that is vital to the health of a vibrant society," says Sheffi.

The book begins with an account of the struggle to mend the global economic fabric as the coronavirus ripped more holes in it. By viewing the crisis through a risk management lens derived from Sheffi's previous books, The Resilient Enterprise and The Power of Resilience, the author shows how companies create corporate immune systems to recognize and manage large-scale disruptions quickly.

Having set the scene, Sheffi describes the emergence of a "new normal" where phenomena such as business safe zones that protect customers and workers from the contagion and the rise of telecommuting redefine daily life. The new normal reshapes supply chains as well. For example, the acceleration of technology trends during the crisis could profoundly influence the future performance of supply chains, argues Sheffi.

He also explores broader changes wrought by Covid-19. An example is how the pandemic affirms supply chain's critically important societal role. Sheffi shows that contrary to many media headlines, supply chains performed heroically during the pandemic and maintained supplies of critical products such as food. Yet, he acknowledges that there were failures and offers prescriptions for avoiding future breakdowns in healthcare supplies.

The book ends with a look at the post-pandemic future  and the outlook is not necessarily gloomy. For instance, technological advances inspired by the crisis could level the playing field between small and large companies. Nimble small businesses can use a growing array of off-the-shelf cloud computing and mobile apps to narrow the competitive gap between themselves and larger rivals.

An essential lesson from the crisis is that flexibility and agility are critical to managing the pandemic's disruptions and the pivot towards a changed future.

Supply chains will be at the core of the recovery. As The New (Ab)Normal highlights, supply chains served humanity during this global crisis and will continue to do so when the pandemic subsides and beyond.

"One of my key objectives in writing the book is to help executives adapt their business models and supply chains to a world transformed by Covid-19," says Sheffi.

Notes to editors

Dr. Yossi Sheffi is Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems and Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL). MIT CTL has been a world leader in supply chain management education and research for nearly 50 years. Sheffi is an expert in supply chain management and is the author of five award-winning books. The New (Ab)Normal is available as an e-book on Amazon.com and will be released in softcover in the coming weeks.

SOURCE MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics

Related Links

https://ctl.mit.edu


One of the family members of the Hathras gang-rapes victim on Friday said that the family was being stopped from speaking to media as the administration has imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) in the Bul Gargi village located in Uttar Pradeshs Hathras. Section 144 prohibits the gathering of more than four people.

The 19-year-old girl was gang-raped by four men on September 14 and died at the Safdarjung hospital in Delhi on Tuesday. The victims family members alleged that cops conducted the last rites in the early hours of Wednesday without informing the family members. Hathras police, however, maintain that the cremation was carried out after the familys approval.

Also Read: Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad to protest against Hathras gang-rape at India Gate at 5pm

According to news agency ANI, a minor from the victims family on Tuesday morning was sent by the family to reach out to the media and was directed to connect with them.

They have taken the phone. My family have sent me here to call the media for speaking. I ducked down and came via the field. They are not letting us come out neither are they allowing the media to come in. They are threatening us as well, the minor told the agency.

As he was speaking to the media, a police officer came and he fled the spot. A verbal spat broke out between the police officer and the media representatives.

Also Read: Committed to womens safety, tweets CM Adityanath amid Hathras protests

The Uttar Pradesh Congress in a tweet said that chief minister Yogi Adityanath has banned media from entering the village as it has presented some important facts from the ground in front of the whole country.

(With ANI inputs)
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Democratic congressional candidate Hillary Scholten raised over $1.5 million over the past three months, her campaign said Friday, topping rival Republican candidate Peter Meijers $1 million fundraising haul.

Im so humbled by the support weve received over the past 15 months, said Scholten, who is running in the 3rd Congressional District to replace U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, L-Cascade Township.
RTHK: Trans-Tasman travel bubble to open within weeks

Australia will within weeks allow residents of New Zealand to enter the country without having to quarantine, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said on Friday, as Canberra seeks to revive its ailing economy as Covid-19 cases begin to slow.

Australia in March closed its borders to all non-citizens and non-permanent residents to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Opening its borders for the first time to foreigners, McCormack said New Zealand citizens and residents will be allowed to travel to Australia's most populous state New South Wales and its remote Northern Territory from October 16.

They will not have to undergo a two-week mandatory quarantine, which is required of all Australians returning from other nations.

"This is the first stage in what we hope to see as a trans-Tasman bubble between the two countries," McCormack told reporters in Canberra.

New Zealand has effectively eradicated Covid-19, reducing the threat of additional infections in Australia.

While Australia has eased restrictions on its closest ally, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said earlier on Friday those who travel to Australia would have to quarantine on their return.

She also said New Zealand would not open its borders to Australians for now.

The travel route is a boost to Australia's economy, which shrank 7 percent in the three months ended June, the most since records began in 1959, as virus curbs paralysed business activity.

New Zealand is Australias largest market for visitor arrivals, surpassing China due to the pandemic, according to Australian Tourism 2020 data.

Australia has in recent days accelerated plans to stoke economic growth as Covid-19 cases slow significantly. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2020-10-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
For us, the risk is losing really valued and important cast and crew members  because they cant make ends meet.

Michael Cassel, producer of such hits as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, is among many warning of the effects of this weeks cuts to JobKeeper on the theatrical world, especially in Melbourne where the return of live performance remains a tentative hope for an uncertain date.

Theres still no clarity on reopening, Cassel says. The challenge in being on JobKeeper on reduced amounts is it becomes [harder] to keep up with mortgage repayments, family costs and lifestyle.

A scene from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

The federal government made no exception for Victorians in the JobKeeper cuts, despite the pandemic second wave putting the state weeks, if not months, behind other states on its return to theatres (and many other workplaces).
Any customer who wants to be ensured they can make a purchase place their name and phone number on the stores website and receive an estimated arrival time, she said. The waitlist be accessible 15 minutes prior to the stores opening so theres no need to camp outside before the store opens, she said.
External Affairs staff in the Mountain-Prairie Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides support to the regional office and field stations to communicate and facilitate information about the Service's programs to the public, media, Congress, Tribes, partners, and other stakeholders in the 8-state region.

Law enforcement is essential to virtually every aspect of wildlife conservation. The Office of Law Enforcement contributes to Service efforts to manage ecosystems, save endangered species, conserve migratory birds, preserve wildlife habitat, restore fisheries, combat invasive species, and promote international wildlife conservation.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Fish and Aquatic Conservation Program in the Mountain-Prairie Region helps conserve, protect, and enhance aquatic resources and provides economically valuable recreational fishing to anglers across the country. The program comprises 12 National Fish Hatcheries.

Providing leadership in the conservation of migratory bird habitat through partnerships, grants, and outreach for present and future generations. The Migratory Bird Program is responsible for maintaining healthy migratory bird populations for the benefit of the American people.

The Mountain-Prairie Region's Office of Ecological Services (ES) works to restore and protect healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and plants and the environments upon which they depend. Using the best available science, ES personnel work with Federal, State, Tribal, local, and non-profit stakeholders, as well as private land owners, to avoid, minimize, and mitigate threats to our Nation's natural resources.

Created in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, today's National Wildlife Refuge System protects habitats and wildlife across the country, from the Alaskan tundra to subtropical wetlands. Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Refuge System's 560-plus refuges cover more than 150 million acres and protect nearly 1,400 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. While national wildlife refuges were created to protect wildlife, they are for people too. Refuges are ideal places for people of all ages to explore and connect with the natural world. We invite you to learn more about and visit the national wildlife refuges and wetland management districts in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a long tradition of scientific excellence and always uses the best-available science to inform its work to conserve fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitat for the benefit of the American public.

The Mountain-Prairie Region consists of 8 states in the heart of the American west including Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

News Release

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Information in Montana Grizzly Bear Killing and Removal of GPS Collar

Grizzly bear illegally killed near Babb, Montana

For Immediate Release

October 2, 2020

GREAT FALLS - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking information on the illegal killing of a sow grizzly bear in northern Montana. The bear, collared by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, was last known to be alive on May 4, 2020. Law enforcement agents believe the bear was killed on or around May 4 near Paisley Road, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

The GPS collar on the bear was found to have been physically cut from the carcass of the bear, shortly after the collar had registered a mortality signal. GPS coordinates uploaded from the device show that the collar had been moved away from the site of the kill and dumped in a separate location. The GPS collar has since been retrieved by the Blackfeet Fish and Wildlife Department.

The Service is asking for your help. The Service is offering a monetary reward of up to $3,000 for information contributing significantly to and furthering the investigation into the death of this grizzly bear.

If you have any information about the killing of this grizzly bear, please call the Services Special Agent at 406-761-2286 or email lawenforcement@fws.gov. Members of the public who report information can remain anonymous.

The Service will apply applicable legal protections to hold accountable anyone who knowingly harasses, harms or feeds grizzly bears. Grizzly bears are currently protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

For bear safety tips when living in or visiting grizzly bear country, visit: http://igbconline.org/bear-safety and https://www.fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2016/7/8/Wildlife-Safety-Tips-for-Enjoying-the-Great-Outdoors.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen in the West, visit our website, or connect with us through any of these social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and Instagram.

 FWS 
Joe Biden and his wife Jill have both tested negative for the coronavirus and are returning to the campaign trail.

The former vice president took a test on Friday morning amid concerns that he may have contracted the virus from Donald Trump during their debate earlier this week.

Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for Covid. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands, he wrote.

Mr Bidens campaign said he would return to the campaign trail with an event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Mr Trump revealed on Thursday night that he and his wife Melania had contracted the virus this week. That test followed news that the presidents senior aide Hope Hicks had tested positive. It is not known who contracted the virus first.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the president was showing mild symptoms but did not give further information about when he contracted the virus.

The news that Mr Trump had contracted the coronavirus just a month away from the election has sent shockwaves through his campaign, and thrown into doubt his re-election prospects in an already chaotic final stretch.

There were also concerns that the president may have passed on the virus when he attended a fundraising event in New Jersey on Thursday. According to the New York Times, the president came into contact with around 100 people at the event. Mr Trump learned that Ms Hicks had tested positive for the virus before the event but went ahead with it anyway, the Times reported.

Mr Biden earlier said that he and his wife Jill send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery.

We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family, he added.

Kamala Harris, Mr Bidens running mate, also tested negative on Friday morning.
In the latest development in the Payal Ghosh-Anurag Kashyap sexual assault case, Ghosh's lawyer Adv. Nitin Satpute has filed an application at Mumbai's Versova Police station requesting them to conduct Narco Analysis, Lie Detector and Polygraph Test of the filmmaker. This move follows Payal Ghosh's refusal to accept Kashyap's claims in his statement recorded by the Police on Thursday during his interrogation. Taking to Twitter on Friday and tagging PM Modi and Union HM Amit Shah in her post, Payal had said that Anurag Kashyap has lied to the Police in his statement and that she would file an application "in the interest of justice".

Payal Ghosh's lawyer shared the said application on Twitter where the actor has expressed her disappointment at the failure to arrest Anurag Kashyap. She has alleged a threat to her life and claimed that she lives under a cloud of constant fear.

Have a look:

Today I hv filed an application to d Police station on behalf of Payal Ghosh to conduct Narco Analysis, Lie Detector and Polygraph Test of Mr Kashyap to find out d truth, for the interest of Justices. @ani @pti @TV9Marathi pic.twitter.com/Hm4Of1rzUR  Adv Nitin Satpute      (@Nitin_Satpute) October 2, 2020

Read | Anurag Kashyap reaches Versova police station for questioning over Payal Ghosh's rape FIR

Earlier in the day, Payal had also addressed the media and spoken about Anurag Kashyap's statement to the Police claiming that a person who is accused will not own up to his crime easily and that his denial is something she expected. Moreover, she also quashed the filmmaker's statement where he claimed that he wasn't in India at the time and revealed that Kashyap had been filming for Bombay Velvet in the city.

Read | Anurag Kashyap issues statement on 8-hr grilling on Payal Ghosh's rape FIR; claims 'proof'

Anurag Kashyap denies allegations

Anurag Kashyaps lawyer Priyanka Khimani in a statement revealed that the filmmaker had denied all wrongdoings while providing his statement to the police. She stated that the director provided documentary proof to the police about being in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films in August 2013. He denied that the alleged incident took place, the statement read.

Read | "Anurag Kashyap has lied to Police": Payal Ghosh to seek narco test over 'Sri Lanka' alibi

Payal Ghosh had tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking action and security, claiming that Kashyap had forced himself upon her in 2013, in a tweet as she invoked the MeToo movement. She registered an FIR against Kashyap under Sections 376 (I) (rape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty,), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement) on September 23 at the Versova Police Station. After calling Payal Ghosh for questioning, Mumbai Police summoned Kashyap for interrogation on October 1. Ghosh has also lodged complaints with the National Commission for Women and Narcotics Control Bureau, claiming Kashyap consumed drugs.

Read | Payal Ghosh refutes Anurag's 'not in India' defense, reveals alleged disclosures by him
Joe Biden's campaign and other Democrats in key battleground states say they're readying their own efforts to monitor balloting as they express concern about President Donald Trump's call for supporters to show up at the polls to watch for problems with voting.

Biden's campaign has enlisted thousands of volunteers and the Democratic National Committee began building voter-protection teams in some states as early as last year, according to the campaign.

"I think we feel like we have the right team in place and the right plans in place," said Rachana Desai Martin, Biden's national director of voter protection.

Republicans have plans to use about 50,000 volunteers from early voting through Election Day, according to the Republican National Committee, and Trump is actively encouraging supporters to sign up to be a "Trump Election Poll Watcher" as part of the "Army for Trump."

"I'm urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully," Trump said during Tuesday's debate with Biden. "Because that's what has to happen. I am urging them to do it."

Trump said early Friday that he has tested positive for coronavirus along with his wife, Melania, and one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks. It's unclear how that will affect his campaign one month before the election.

The president's statements raised concerns among election lawyers and voting-rights advocates about potential voter intimidation or clashes. There have already been scattered confrontations, including on the second day of early voting in Virginia on Sept. 19, and on Tuesday in Philadelphia with the opening of satellite election offices.

There are a number of third-party groups that are recruiting either off-duty or retired law enforcement or military who may show up as so-called ballot security task forces, said Adam Sparks, an election lawyer with Krevolin and Horst in Atlanta.

"I'm concerned about physical intimidation at the polls," said Sparks, who is part of a team of Democratic lawyers opposing Republican efforts to restrict voting.

In Philadelphia, the Trump campaign is suing the city for access to satellite election offices that were opened this week. On Tuesday, a deputy sheriff escorted Trump's Pennsylvania director of Election Day operations out of an office when election officials said he was being disruptive, Politico reported. A Trump campaign lawsuit also challenged a commonwealth law that requires poll watchers to live in the county where they observe the polls.

While Trump complained during Tuesday's debate that poll watchers were denied access because "bad things happen in Philadelphia," city commissioners said no poll watchers were certified yet -- and that by law, they can only observe polling places on Election Day.

In Pennsylvania and most other states, a limited number of poll watchers representing candidates and political parties must be approved to enter polling locations and observe the process, and they can't interact with voters.

There's concern about the potential for clashes and problems at the polls, but it's illegal to intimidate or harass voters, said Suzanne Almeida, interim executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania. The group is helping lead a coalition with about 1,000 nonpartisan "poll monitors" who will be outside polling locations across the commonwealth to ensure voting goes smoothly.

"We are doing a lot scenario planning," Almeida said. "The best thing we can do is prepare in advance."

In Ohio, the state Democratic Party launched what it called its "most robust voter-protection program ever" starting before the state's primary this year and has been working for months to prepare for early voting and Election Day by recruiting poll observers across the state, Chairman David Pepper said.

Pepper said it's "troubling" that Trump is urging his supporters to go to the polls to watch because of fears about voter intimidation.

Democrats are especially concerned about the lapsing of a 1982 federal consent decree requiring the Republican National Committee to get court approval before undertaking certain efforts to prevent voter fraud. The decree was issued after a federal court was told the RNC enlisted the help of off-duty sheriffs and police officers to intimidate voters by standing at polling places in minority precincts.

"In the past there has been a lot of bluff and bluster," Myrna Perez, director of the Voting Rights and Elections Program at the Brennan Center, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, said in an interview. "We have more reason to take it seriously now."

The RNC says the the decree's 2017 expiration puts the party on an equal basis with Democrats.

"Now that the playing field has been leveled, we can do what Democrats and other Republican groups have been able to do for decades: ensure that all votes are counted properly, and that more people can vote through our unmatched field program," said RNC spokesman Mike Reed. "This is about getting more people to vote, certainly not less."

Reed rejected suggestions poll watching will be harmful. Poll watchers will "receive rigorous training to abide by each state's laws for observing the voting process," he said. "We make very clear to volunteers they need to be respectful and polite, and are not there to be intimidating."

In Florida, no new measures are being enacted because of Trump's remarks during the debate, said Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Supervisor Craig Latimer, who's also president of the Florida Supervisors of Elections. Poll watchers are common in elections, and they must follow credentialing and other rules, he said.

Poll workers who see problems developing at polling places are trained to alert law enforcement and the supervisor's office, Latimer said.

The Wisconsin Republican Party has used poll watchers for years to identify legal issues and ensure compliance for a smooth election process, and "we'll continue that practice this cycle," spokesman Alec Zimmerman said by email.

New York State Board of Elections Republican Co-Chair Peter Kosinski said he's "not really concerned about that kind of activity here.

State law allows both major parties to have volunteer poll watchers at polling sites, and New York also has two Republican and two Democrat poll inspectors to ensure nothing wrong is going on, Kosinski said.

"I have full confidence that those poll workers, those inspectors, are able to handle themselves at the poll sites," he said.

The poll watchers can challenge voters, and the inspectors would then make the final determination as to whether there is a problem, he said.

The state has sufficient staffing and resources to "ensure that the poll sites are open, accessible, and that everybody's rights are being protected," he said.
Ashley James has admitted she is feeling anxious after receiving 'unsolicited advice' from other people during her pregnancy.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 33, discussed the pressures she has been under for the last 26 weeks in a candid Instagram post on Friday as she shared a snap of her blossoming baby bump.

The blonde beauty went makeup free as she posed in white underwear and opened up about the ups and downs of her journey, admitting some days she feels 'invincible' while other times she can 'barely function'.

Candid: Ashley James has admitted that she is feeling anxious after receiving 'unsolicited advice' from other people during her pregnancy in a new post

In the emotional post she penned: 'What I've come to realise is that every single pregnancy is so unique, so don't compare your journey to anybody else's and don't listen to unsolicited advice.

'I have days where I feel invincible, and days like yesterday and today where I don't get much sleep and can barely function.

'I know people who are loving pregnancy, and people who are hating it. People who LOVE their bodies, and people who are struggling. People who feel relaxed, and people who are anxious about everything.

Honest: In the emotional post she penned: 'What I've come to realise is that every single pregnancy is so unique, so don't compare your journey to anybody else's'

'I've realised that usually the people who offer up unsolicited advice think they're being helpful. Usually they were worried about a certain area and so they want to share their experiences to ease your worries, but what they don't realise is that it's an area you weren't even worrying about.Plus, they're the 10th person to offer advice on a different topic of pregnancy that day.'

Giving a comparison to illustrate her point she added: 'It's the equivalent of us walking down the street and every person we pass stopping to earn us of a different danger we might encounter based on their own fears. 'If you trip over the pothole you might break your leg', 'someone might run a red light and run you over', etc etc.

'It turns out it's the opposite of helpful, and they're more likely to plant doubt or anxiety in our minds. Please don't give advice unless someone asks for it, no matter how good your intentions are.'

Hot mama: Ashley is expecting her first child with boyfriend Tom Andrews, 31, and last month the couple discovered they are expecting a baby boy which is due in January 2021

She signed off by saying: 'I just want to say, to myself as much as anyone else, however you're feeling and whatever you're going through, through the good days and bad days, you're doing great and we got this.'

Ashley is expecting her first child with boyfriend Tom Andrews, 31, and last month the couple discovered they are expecting a baby boy which is due in January 2021.

Ashley, who famously championed single life, started dating tech professional Tom in October 2019 when they reconnected after meeting a decade earlier at work.

Going strong: Ashley, who famously championed single life, started dating tech professional Tom in October 2019 when they reconnected after meeting a decade earlier at work

Six months later, the couple discovered they were having their first baby, after Tom moved into Ashley's London home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this week Ashley showcased her growing baby bump as she returned to her fitness training after recovering from pelvic pain.

She also revealed that she and her partner Tom have decided their child's name but have not announced it to the public yet.
New Delhi, Oct 2 : The Covid-19 pandemic has made sustainability and slow fashion a center-stage conversation, which would have otherwise taken a little more time to happen. And in the times to come, we will see a greater focus on sustainability, call for transparent supply chains, increased impetus on local artisan craft and hopefully a reduction in fast fashion consumption, believes Arundhati Kumar, Founder of Beej.

Beej is a fashion accessories brand that vouches for the use of sustainable materials and fabric that are innovative alternatives for regular fast fashion fabric resulting in a major carbon footprint. They use leather made from pineapple leaves, cork and recycled sarees to make high-end luxury bags.

IANSlife caught up with Kumar to know more about the brand, the materials they use and the process. She also shares her views on the current state of fashion in India and the importance of making mindful choices in current times.

What materials does Beej use in the making of their products? Kumar: At Beej, we work with a variety of plant -based leather alternatives that we have carefully selected for their manufacturing process and environmental impact. We work a lot with cork. PiAatex and Desserto are all fascinating plant-based new age bio-materials, very unique in their own ways both in look and feel and structure.

The cork we work with comes from Portugal, which is also home to most of the cork oak forests found in the world. The bark of the cork oak is harvested very nine years, which is then used to make the cork fabric/ leather we use for our products.

The fun fact is, that when harvested responsibly, the tree absorbs upto five times more CO2 while growing back, thus playing a major role in reducing green house emissions. All our cork is FSC certified. This is a certification from the Forest Stewardship Council that certifies that the cork is responsibly harvested without hurting the trees or forests.

As a material cork is very versatile, highly durable, light weight, stain and scratch resistant, a natural water repellent, hypoallergenic and anti-fungal. It's also a renewable resource and 100 percent recyclable.

PiAatex is made from the leaves of the pineapple plant and is essentially a by-product of the pineapple industry in the Phillipines. It's a natural, non -woven leather alternative. Apart from being plant based, it's also water resistant, sustainable, about 90 percent bio-degradable, and with a very low environment impact.

It's a patented technology and material, made by just one company in the world , that is Ananas-Anam.

Desserto is a plant based vegan leather made from Nopal cactus. This has been developed in Mexico by a company called Adriano Di Marti. Desserto's cactus leather is organic, partially biodegradable, soft, durable, and high enough quality that it can be used to make clothing, accessories, furniture, and even car interiors. It's a cruelty free, sustainable alternative, without any toxic chemicals, phthalates and PVC. With a look and feel almost identical to very soft leather, it can be the perfect material replacement for high end luxury products.

We also work with upcycled leather. These are usually leather scraps that would have otherwise found their way to some landfill. We use these scraps to create leather panels that are then used as accents / trimmings in our bags.

The latest material we've added is Khesh. Khesh is upcycled handloom material that's made from old cotton sarees. Its low environmental impact, manufacturing process and the variety it offers while designing makes it a perfect material to work with.

Can you explain more about Khesh? Kumar: I discovered Khesh on a chance visit to a weekly village market in Shantiniketan and the first thing that attracted me was how good it looked. When I then found out how it's made, it was a perfect addition to materials we work with. The fact that it uses what's already existing to create something new makes it more sustainable than most other materials.

The other thing about Khesh is, it's a material made and sourced from India. While we work we various materials sourced from across the globe I always wanted to work with more materials sourced from within India, as I truly believe as a country we have strong roots in sustainable practices.

Khesh is a traditional form of weaving that originates from the Birbhum district of West Bengal. It is believed that "khesh", was started in Shilpa Sadan in the early 1920s. This was the vocational training centre that Rabindranath Tagore had set up in Sriniketan, adjacent to the Visva Bharati University.

It's a weaving technique where the warp is new yarn and the weft is thin strips torn from old cotton sarees. The tearing process is labour intensive and is done by hand largely by the women folk within the weaving community. A single saree yields 80-90 strips . The beauty about khesh is that no two materials look the same and this is because the weaver can only specify the colour of the weft and not the warp. The warp threads are randomly chosen from the hanging strips and only once the fabric is woven can it be appreciated in its full beauty.

We source our Khesh from Amar Kutir which is a certified cooperative set up in 1927 in Shantiniketan for the development, and marketing of rural crafts.

What is the scope of slow fashion or eco fashion in Indian fashion industry? Has the pandemic revolutionised the idea of slow fashion? Kumar: In a way Covid-19 has made sustainability and slow fashion a center-stage conversation, which would have otherwise taken a little more time to happen. Today almost all fashion brands are looking to make a shift towards sustainability as it's no longer an option.

With an increase in belief driven consumption amongst the millennials, I believe this is a category that is here to stay and will only grow here on. 'Sustainable fashion' is one of the fastest growing categories in ecommerce globally today having grown 3x in the last two years.

The Fashion Industry in India and globally is going through a major crisis and an overhaul of sorts. In the times to come we will see a greater focus on sustainability, call for transparent supply chains, increased impetus on local artisan craft and hopefully a reduction in fast fashion consumption.

There is a small voice of influence that is steadily gaining momentum for sustainable apparels and garments, how do you aim to create a niche and awareness for sustainable accessories? Kumar: You are right when you say that the sustainable apparels space has had some head-start over the accessories space. The accessory space is still very new and almost unexplored. I think the answer lies in awareness and then experience. Knowing about these materials and its impact is one thing, but willing to switch from leather and put your money on trying something new when you are not sure about quality, durability etc. is very different.

The other factor is price, because these are patented bio-materials where a lot of research has gone into it, and the production capacity is limited the prices are steep, far steeper than vegan leather that has a plastic base. The other thing that makes these materials expensive is the manufacturing process - every element that goes into the making of these products is carefully selected to ensure its non chemical, non toxic and not harmful for the environment. All of that adds to cost.

It's important we make consumers understand why that is, so they appreciate the difference.

A large part of our focus as a brand is on tapping forums where we can have such conversations. More than really speaking about our bags, I want to talk about materials, research, impact etc. because these are things I keenly follow more as an individual.

How do you see the future of fashion in India? Kumar: I see a lot more independent small labels making their foray - there was this whole space between high street fashion and designer brands that was untapped for a long time - that is changing.

Social media has today allowed young brands and designers to showcase their designs and reach out to potential customers without huge investments and costs. It's created a level playing field for many.

Looking at the current scenario, how important do you think it is to make mindful choices? Kumar: When I started I realised the understanding of the difference between what makes a product vegan or cruelty free and what makes it sustainable wasn't very clear. Very often people use them interchangeably.

We have to understand there is no product which has a zero impact. Every time you buy or create something new there is an impact, so it comes down to understanding what this impact is and minimizing it.

The materials we've chosen to work with have minimal impact - some of it is created from agricultural waste and others have been ethically harvested to ensure they do not damage the eco-system from where they are sourced. The disposal of these products at the end of their life cycle is also significantly less damaging to the environment. They're either partially or completely biodegradable.

How do you think the pandemic has changed the way fashion is seen in India? Kumar: Firstly people have realised that we all have way more than we need - most of us have gone back our closets, and realized that we have so much stashed away, that sometimes we didn't even remember.

It has brought the supply chains into focus - when we earlier bought an outfit not much thought was given to the person who's actually made it. During the pandemic they were the worst affected. With factories shutting down, orders getting cancelled, brands refusing to pay up, people losing their livelihoods and all of this being highlighted, shared and campaigned for extensively on social media, today a lot more people are aware, which is a first step towards responsible consumption.

Finally people are a lot more comfortable in their own skin today, six months of not having to dress up has changed the way a lot of us view our wardrobes - it's about being more relaxed, easy and laid back. Wearing what makes you happy. I feel this trend is here to stay.

Plans for the future? Kumar: We are always looking to work with newer materials and once things settle down a bit, I am looking forward to introducing some newer leather alternatives. We are also looking at launching a men's collection soon and are in conversation with a few international platforms to start retailing. Over the next few months our focus will be on building our product portfolio, tapping global platforms to retail our products and mostly importantly building more awareness and conversation around what we do and why.

(Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in)
Any conception of the uneven development (from which the law of combined development is derived) of the world economy and the class struggle was denied. Thus, the resolution, which had been dashed off by Slaughter during a few spare hours, presented the following assertions:

1. The objective laws of capitalist decline now operate without hindrance. They have broken through. (Ibid., p. 4)

This can only mean that all subjective factorssuch as the conscious intervention of the bourgeoisiehave now been overwhelmed, and capitalist economy is plunging like a cascading waterfall into the abyss. However, as history has demonstrated and as Trotsky explained, the bourgeoisie is not a passive victim of objective laws of capitalist decline but intervenes within the objective process to counteract and influence the operation of these objective laws. It is only within the sphere of abstract scientific studyas in Volume One of Capitalthat we can study the abstract movement, without hindrance, of the objective laws of capitalist decline. In Volume Three, Marx already deals with the more complex forms through which these laws are mediated in capitalist society. In society the laws of capitalist decline operate through classes, which reciprocally act upon and influence their operation. It need only be pointed out that the most essential law governing the decline of capitalismthe tendency of the rate of profit to declineitself does not operate without hindrance but is subject to a whole series of countervailing factors, of both an objective and subjective character. Thus, the statement quoted above, which constitutes, so to speak, the theoretical foundation of the entire document, is an absurditywhich arose out of the complete repudiation by the WRP of the need for any serious work on the development of Marxist perspectives.

2. It is the open dominance of these objective laws of capitalist historical crisis, on a world scale, that characterizes essentially the political situation in every country. (Ibid.)

This statement was based on the first and provided the bridge to the following political conclusion:

3. The capitalist class finds itselfand this is historically unprecedentedconfronted by a working class which despite growing mass unemployment is making mass revolutionary experiences as an undefeated class. Along with the mass revolutionary struggles of the British miners and other European workers goes the mounting resistance of the masses of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, driven on by the same insoluble crisis. (Ibid.)

This is, indeed, historically unprecedented, because such a situation as that described in the above paragraph has never existed and never will. All the connections between different countries and their struggles were established purely through the power of the English language. In truly Olympian fashion, Professor Slaughter even decreed that unemployment was no longer a significant factor in the concrete conditions of the class struggle within each country.

4.The reality is that the decisive revolutionary battles are already engaged. (Ibid., p. 5)

This statement was presented as a universal truth, applicable to every country. It meant that those who take this document seriously would have to view any struggle, now matter how isolated or small, as one of the decisive battles of the revolutionthat is, of immediate life and death significance. There is no essential difference, therefore, between a strike by gold miners in South Africa, mass demonstrations in Haiti, and strikes involving a small number of workers in the United States. Such a perspective could only lead those who based their political work upon it to the wildest and most fool-hardy adventures.

5. Every single day is a movement of the revolutionary flux of developmentsit is not a question of something building up for the future. (Ibid.)

This meant that everywhere in the world the revolutionary situation was already in its nine month, and the mass movement in every country had already attained its highest possible level of development.

6. The political strugglein which the working class and the International Committee sections are now involvedare struggles in which the question of state power is already directly posed and has to be answered. (Ibid.)

Slaughter could write these words, andas Trotsky once warned about middle-class academics, put them back in his briefcase, forget about them and trundle off to Bradford University the next morning. But for those in different parts of the world who read these words, their meaning had far more serious implications. While producing these words cost Slaughter nothing but an afternoon at his writing desk, it could cost genuine revolutionists their heads.

7. The objective laws predominate and the struggle for power is on the agenda in every country, whether it be in the form of a development contained in the struggle to organize the General Strike in Britain or some other form. (Ibid.)

This sentence established the identity of every form of struggle, not only in disregard of its level of development, but, no less important for the strategy of the ICFI, of the class forces which predominate within it. With the phrase some other form, a political identity was created between the struggle of different social strata. They were all endowed with the same historical weight and significance within the perspective of the International Committee. Thus, no distinction could be allowed between demonstrations of US farmers and strikes by Minnesota meatpackers; or between strikes by Indian railway workers and the occupation of the Golden Temple by the Sikhs; or the Brighton bombing by the IRA and the miners strike. All these struggles were presented as merely different forms of the same universal essence. Thus, the historical perspective of the ICFI was decisively shifted off its proletarian axis.

8. The proletariat of the United States, undefeated, enters struggles of a revolutionary nature simultaneously with those of the rest of the world. (Ibid., p. 7)

When these lines were written, the level of strike activity in the United States had fallen to its lowest level in the entire post-war period for the third consecutive year. There had not taken place a single mass demonstration of the working class since 1981. Trade union membership, beneath the impact of repeated betrayals by the AFL-CIO, had fallen to its lowest level in more than a generation. In mid-1985, a series of strikesincluding the first steel strike in 25 yearsbegan. They were largely of a defensive character, called to resist demands for wage cuts and other contract concessions. None were of a political character. Yet, the resolution placed the class struggle within the United States at the same level as that in South Africa, Brazil or Britain. If this were the case, the perspective of fighting for the formation of a Labor Party as the first step toward the establishment of the political independence of the working class would have to be thrown outfor there would be no need for the intermediate stage of development.

In fact, since 1983 the WRP had been placing pressure upon the Workers League to drop its demand for the formation of a Labor Party in the United States. The central emphasis placed by the Workers League had been attacked by Slaughter in his December 1983 letter and in February 1984, without presenting any evidence to substantiate his charge, Healy alleged that the Workers League was transforming the demand for a Labor Party into a strategical goal and thus liquidating the fight for the building of the Workers League. What Healy and Slaughter really wanted was to force the American organization to abandon its proletarian orientation and turn it toward the bankrupt middle-class radical protest movement.

9. The revolutionary class confrontation, the struggle for power, the development of a whole series of interconnected, unevenly developed, but unified struggles for state poweris now joined, not anticipated merely. (Ibid., p. 8)

This sentence is merely a variation on the same theme, with a bit of confusion added. For the sake of his theoretical soul, Slaughter addeda few drops of inkthe words unevenly developed. But once it is asserted that the unified and interconnected struggles for state power are now joined and not merely anticipated, the words unevenly developed can be nothing more than meaningless verbiage. At any rate, none of these statements were concretely illustrated with examples from either history or the actual living development of the class struggle. Thus, Slaughter did not explain the difference between a struggle for state power that is joined and one that is merely anticipated. He did not establish the historical point at which the anticipated struggle for state power became transformed into one that was actually joined.

Slaughters supra-historical abstractions, disconnected from the actual developments of the class struggle, were not merely the product of his own theoretical impoverishment. The WRP leadership needed this type of document precisely because it could not tolerate any concrete analysis of the strategical experiences of the party and the international class struggle during the previous decade.

10. All the political tasks of the International Committee and its sections flow from this revolutionary content of the struggles in which the working class is inescapably engaged. (Ibid., p. 9)

With these words Slaughter was attempting to cast a very wide net. While speaking of All the tasks..., Slaughter failed to elaborate even onefor the International Committee, for a single section...or even for a branch. Although they attempted to transform Lenins Philosophical Notebooks into a factional platform against the International Committee, none of the anti-Marxist charlatans in the WRP leadership were capable of genuine dialectical analysis. They could not understand why Lenin quoted appreciatively this beautiful formula from Hegels Logic: Not merely an abstract universal, but a universal which comprises in itself the wealth of the particular, the individual, the single.. (Collected Works, Vol. 38, p. 99)

It is hardly surprising that in the aftermath of their split from the International Committee, Healy and his renegade clients in the Greek WIL should invoke the authority of the 10th Congress Resolution. It was the type of document that could furnish a petty-bourgeois demagogue with enough winged phrases to last him for a year. In its style and content, the 10th Congress Resolution bore a striking resemblance to those prepared by Pablo on the basis of the 1951 Third Congress:

The situation is prerevolutionary all over in various degrees and evolving toward the revolution in a relatively brief period. (The Building of the Revolutionary Party, SWP International Information Bulletin, June 1952, p. 35)

The 10th Congress document marked the climax of the anti-internationalist rampage of the Healy-Slaughter-Banda clique. The repudiation of this reactionary exercise in petty-bourgeois radical phrase-mongering was an elementary duty of the Trotskyist faction inside the International Committee of the Fourth International.

The 10th Congress was historic in this sense: it proved that the Workers Revolutionary Party had forfeited all right to the leadership of the International Committee of the Fourth International.

Seven months after the conclusion of the 10th Congress, delegates of the International Committee were urgently summoned to London for a meeting held on August 17, 1985. It was chaired by Banda and addressed by Healy, Corin Redgrave and Dot Gibson, the WRPs treasurer. They claimed that there was a serious financial crisis caused by unexpected tax surcharges that had been levied by the government. No reference was made to the political crisis raging inside the Partythe desertion of Jennings, the allegations against Healy and the demand for a Control Commission investigation into his activities. Promising to repay all loans, the WRP collected 84,000 pounds in pledges. By now, as the crisis within the leadership approached its denouement, its relations with the ICFI had degenerated into extortion and grand larceny.
A tiny flatworm has provided scientists with the first evidence that species may be able to adapt to a rapidly changing climate in a relatively short period of time.

Over the past 100 years the flatworm has adapted to survive in different sea water conditions - developing a new tolerance to lower salinities caused by rainfall.

Researchers from the University of Plymouth repeated a century-old study into the tiny coastal invertebrate to see how it has changed since the first study in 1914.

The soft-bodied creature, called Procerodes littoralis show how individual species may be able to adapt and survive the localised effects of climate change.

Their findings could provide some of the first evidence of evolutionary rescue taking place in the wild - with the creature changing its physiology in a short space of time.

Marine Biology graduate Katharine Clayton (pictured) and Professor John Spicer showed species may be able to evolve and adapt to climate change

In 1914, pioneering female scientist Dorothy Jordan Lloyd led the original flatworm study at the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth.

More than a century later, marine biologists at Plymouth University replicated the study, both in the processes it followed and the precise locations where samples were originally collected in the nearby Wembury Bay area.

In the recent study, scientists tested the flatworms across a range of different concentrations of salt water in the laboratory.

It showed the creature - common on the coasts of western Europe and North America - was able to regenerate following minor injuries at lower salinities than were recorded originally.

A microscope image of the intertidal flatworm Procerodes littoralis. The coastal creature is able to regeneration under certain conditions and those have changed over 100 years

Plymouth University experts replicated the study, both in the processes it followed and the precise locations where samples were originally collected in the nearby Wembury Bay area

Co-author, John Spicer said the idea of evolutionary rescue - where animals evolve to survive when faced with rapid climate change - has been around for 20 years.

'Many, including myself, have doubted the possibility of such rescue, especially over such a short space of time in terms of species evolution,' the professor said.

Spicer, from the University of Plymouth, is a world-leading authority on how marine species can adapt to climate change.

He added that 'this study shows it may well be possible in the wild because, in comparing two identical experiments 100 years apart, the animal has changed how it works, its physiology.'

'It is proof that evolutionary rescue may exist in the wild, not just in the laboratory, and is a major step forward in our understanding of how species can adapt as the environment around them changes.'

In 1914 Dr Jordan Lloyd discovered there was an optimum salinity level for flatworms to regenerate - either side of this and they wouldn't be able to.

This new study found there is no longer an ideal salinity, suggesting individuals have extended their tolerance range in the intervening century.

Scientists also examined rainfall levels for the Wembury Bay area and found they had increased between 1914 and 2018.

Dr Dorothy Jordan Lloyd (left) worked at the Marine Biological Association early in her career and carried out the original investigation into flatworm regeneration

An increase in rainfall levels likely caused lower salinities in the intertidal region, where the flatworm is commonly found and from where these samples were taken.

DOROTHY JORDAN LLOYD: AN EARLY PROTEIN SCIENTIST The original 1914 study into flatworms was led by Dr Dorothy Jordan Lloyd. Jordan Lloyd was an early protein scientists who studied the interactions of water with proteins. She was the first to propose that the structure of globular proteins was maintained by hydrogen bonds. Her 1914 study into flatworms revealed their ability to regenerate - but only under certain levels of salinities. Born in Birmingham, she contributed multiple scientific papers and was a leading expert in leather technology. She dies in Surrey in 1946 aged 57. Advertisement

Researchers say this provides possible evidence that the species has adapted to climate change at a local level and in the wild.

Study leader Katharine Clayton, at Plymouth University, said they first wanted to see how the flatworm tolerated salinity levels in its natural habitat.

'However, we quickly found out about Dorothy's study in 1914 so it became a perfect test of how an individual population had adapted to changes within its immediate environment,' Clayton, who is now studying for a PhD at Exeter, explained.

Professor Spicer added: 'With the two studies being conducted 50 years before and after the start of the Anthropocene, it also provides a fascinating insight into the effect humans are having on species with whom we share our planet.'

The Anthropocene is a theoretical 'epoch' that defines by the impact of human activity on the planet including nuclear tests and plastic pollution.

Some scientists believe the Anthropocene began int he 1960s, and others when the first nuclear weapons were tested in the 1940s - the specific date has yet to be ratified - but it likely started after Jordan Lloyd's 1914 study of flatworms.

The new study has been published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series and the original 1914 study was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Ghostbusters actor Rick Moranis has been punched in the head in an unprovoked attack in New York.

Moranis, who also starred in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Little Shop of Horrors, was walking near his apartment building in Manhattans Upper West Side when the attack occurred.

A surveillance clip, recorded on Thursday (1 October), shows a man passing Moranis on the street and suddenly punching him, knocking the actor to the ground.

Moranis, 67, took himself to hospital in the wake of the attack, where he was treated for pain in his head, back and right hip, police have confirmed.

The suspect remains at large, with the NYPD offering a reward of up to $2,500 (1,900) for information on his identity.

Moranis has largely retreated from public life over the last two decades, seldom appearing on-screen since the 1997 sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.

The actor, musician and filmmaker, who was born in Ontario, Canada, rose to fame on the sketch show SCTV, before transitioning into movies.

Rick Moranis attends an event in 2017 (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

His other credits include the Star Wars spoof Spaceballs and the 1994 live-action version of The Flintstones.

In September, Moranis broke a 13-year acting hiatus by appearing in an advert for a US phone company. He will also appear in a forthcoming spin-off of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
michelle goldberg

Im Michelle Goldberg.

ross douthat

Im Ross Douthat. And this is The Argument. [THEME MUSIC] Today, a debate about the first 2020 presidential debate. Then, our colleague Michelle Cottle from the editorial page joins us to talk about Amy Coney Barretts nomination, Trumps taxes, and the larger state of the race. Just one more month to go, folks. Were almost there. [THEME MUSIC] After what has felt like a decade-long campaign, the 2020 presidential debates finally kicked off on Tuesday night. And it was something.

archived recording (donald trump) Supreme Court justice archived recording (joe biden) Would you shut up, man? archived recording (donald trump) Listen, who is on your list, Joe?

ross douthat

Were recording this on Wednesday morning. Its only been 12 hours since the debate. So while our reactions are fresh, our bodies and brains may be a touch exhausted. But with that proviso, lets dive in. Was the debate everything you expected, Michelle?

michelle goldberg

Im not sure exactly what I expected. To me, the big question was, he couldnt  I think both because of the gender dynamics and because of COVID, he couldnt physically menace Joe Biden the way he did Hillary Clinton, which was to me the sort of dominant takeaway from the debates in 2016. I just remember feeling so defiled by watching that. And its interesting to me that so many more people had that experience watching this, right? At the end of the debates, you had this kind of shudder go through the cable news pundocracy. It was as if people suddenly saw the Trump that Ive been seeing for four years. And to me, its interesting that they didnt see that when he literally stalked Hillary Clinton like some deranged sociopath across the stage four years ago. I went into it with my kind of heart in my throat about whether Biden would make some sort of memorable gaffe. I think he made a few gaffes, but they werent particularly memorable. The question, as always, is does kind of Twitter Trump, which I think is the real Trump, come to the fore? And I think it really did. And I think thats why both there was such sort of mainstream revulsion, but also a lot of right wing angst this morning. What did you make of both the stand back and stand by to the Proud Boys and the calls for his supporters to harass people at polling places and the closing rant about the illegitimacy of the election? What was your takeaway?

ross douthat

My takeaway was that Trump is unfit for the presidency, I guess, which has been my take all along. And the difference between us, I think, is still there in that a lot of what people are so alarmed by in Trumps rhetoric about the election is the president sort of raging impotently at an election that hes losing and doesnt have the capacity to turn around. And hes reduced to talking about how all of these ballots are bogus, he wont accept the election results if its on the backs of mail-in ballots. Thats basically the takeaway there  that Trump is not setting himself up to steal the election, hes setting himself up to tell his core supporters that the election was stolen so that he can go on and have that be his narrative and whatever, from his perspective moneymaking post-election world he lives in.

michelle goldberg

But dont you think hes laying the groundwork for either election or post-election violence?

ross douthat

Well, this is the other thing, right? So from who? The thing about Trump that weve seen now  weve watched him for about four years, Trump is very good at getting people to attend rallies where he himself is speaking. He is capable of getting small numbers of Trump-friendly armed militia types to drive through cities where protests are taking place. Hes shown no capacity that Ive seen to generate large scale marches, protests, public gatherings, anything on his own behalf when he himself isnt present. And the Proud Boys 

michelle goldberg

Im worried just about a couple massacres  you know, not about Proud Boys flooding the streets like the brownshirts.

ross douthat

OK. Well, good, all right. Im glad youre not worried about that.

michelle goldberg

A couple massacres is not good.

ross douthat

I feel like thats 

michelle goldberg

A couple massacres is a lot.

ross douthat

Yes, I think that if somebody goes in and shoots up a polling place 

michelle goldberg

Can I just say we already saw in Virginia, polling has barely just started and we already saw kind of Trumpists come out and try to interrupt people going out and voting in Virginia. I just cant imagine that youre not going to see that magnified.

ross douthat

The big headline takeaways from the debate will be, Trump was incredibly aggressive and interrupted and broke the rules and fought with the moderator. Trump again had trouble condemning white supremacists and violence from his supporters.

michelle goldberg

Wait, no, no, Im sorry to interrupt and be Trumpist, but I just want to say quickly that it wasnt 

ross douthat

We agreed to rules, Michelle. I get two minutes.

michelle goldberg

It wasnt that he had trouble condemning, because, stand back and stand by, they took it as an exhortation, not sort of an ambivalent  I mean, its their new logo. Its their new slogan. So they took it as a call to arms. To me, thats much more serious than sort of having trouble condemning someone.

ross douthat

I just mean this is exactly what always happens in these situations. Hes asked to condemn some extremist supporter, he says, sure, Ill condemn them. Tell me who they are, and Ill condemn them. And then he says something that isnt quite a condemnation. And weve seen this play before with David Duke and the KKK.

michelle goldberg

But again, its not that it wasnt quite a condemnation. It was an exhortation. To me, those are very different things.

ross douthat

No, its not  no, it wasnt a condemnation. No, I agree. I agree. It was a, stand back and stand by.

michelle goldberg

It was a call to arms.

ross douthat

It was a call  it was a call to hang out.

michelle goldberg

OK. OK. A call to get ready.

ross douthat

Right. And then the next thing he said was somebody has to do something about antifa. I think in certain ways, that was Joe Bidens best debate moment, because he set Trump up for it, right? Trump was like, give me a name. And Biden says, Proud Boys. And then you get that line out of Trump, which then becomes a big part of the story. I mean, I will say that watching the debate did not make me feel overwhelmingly positive about the prospect of Joe Biden as president of the United States. And I know that thats a tough thing to abstract from the fact that you so desperately dont want Donald Trump to be president of the United States, but somebody used the word wan to describe Biden. He didnt seem senile  Trump, like his senile thing is wrong, he just seemed very old, and sort of in a way that made me think that there will be truth to the idea that whoever is sort of in a position of power in a Biden presidency will have a lot more agency and power in that presidency than would have been true if Biden had been elected eight years ago, would have been true in a Hillary Clinton presidency, and so on. Its useful to see that he is a faded version of himself. And the campaign hes running is sort of perfect for beating Trump, but yeah, it doesnt fill me with optimism about the dynamic Biden-led United States of 2021.

michelle goldberg

I mean, I dont know that Bidens leadership will be particularly dynamic. I trust him to hire good people. And this is me being the technocratic Obama-ite that I basically am, but I think if you have good, smart people throughout the bureaucracy, that you can make things work in your direction. I have a lot of faith in who Biden has hired so far, and I dont think you can kind of separate the effectiveness of his campaign from the choices hes made about who is running that campaign and their refusal to be baited by Twitter, their refusal to be slaves to conventional wisdom. Theyve actually shown a lot of wisdom and restraint. Obviously, I think wan is right. I think he seems faded. Something I keep going back to is I once interviewed Erica Chenoweth, who is a Harvard professor who studies mass nonviolent movements, including mass nonviolent movements to unseat dictators and authoritarians. And she said typically that these movements when they succeed, they have as figureheads old consensus figures  not kind of dynamic new revolutionary figures, but kind of old consensus figures that can peel off members of the existing regime, that can get some sort of military buy-in. Again, because I think of Trump as an autocrat, as a fundamentally anti-Democratic figure and see his presidency in some ways as a continuation of the Republican ethos, because I think the Republicans have been becoming authoritarian for a long time  I think his persona is more in line with Duterte or a Milosevic or an Orban or a Putin than with George H.W. Bush. And so the strategies against him should be thought of in the same way. And in that sense, if Erica Chenoweth is right, then Biden actually is the man for the moment.

ross douthat

But if you took  I mean, I guess to me whats been striking, as you know, about the Trump presidency in certain ways, his weakness  certainly his weakness relative to the figures that hes compared to in this sort of authoritarian analogy, be it Orban or Erdogan or whomever. And it struck me that in a world without the coronavirus, having the sort of wan, faded symbol of the establishment as the opponent to Trump would have given him so many openings and opportunities, many of which he wouldnt take, because he cant help himself, right? This is the fundamental fact about Trump is that if he turned the dial back to normal by like two degrees, he would be a much, much more effective politician. But he cant do it. Hes incapable of doing it.

michelle goldberg

So one of the things that I thought was interesting, both in the debate and in the kind of post-debate spin was this conviction by Trump and by Trumpists that they had baited Biden into alienating the left, right? He kept saying, youve lost the left, because youve admitted that youre not for a Green New Deal, or youve admitted that you dont want to defund the police. The assumption, I think, was that the left acts like the right. And if you had had a, say, Romney debate where Romney came out very strongly for not overturning Roe v. Wade, I think it really might have depressed evangelical turnout. I just dont think  I mean, there are obviously parts of the left that are disenchanted. But in general, I dont think that the left really works like that. How do you think that wavering Republicans saw what Biden did last night? And what, if anything, would have solidified their support?

ross douthat

I mean, again, I dont think I speak for the typical wavering Republican. I think that the stuff we were talking about before  the fact that Biden partially out of strategy, partially out of the limits of his own capacity, seems wan and not dynamic  is a problem, because it creates this sense of, well, who will actually be president? And you, Michelle Goldberg, who follow campaign politics and know all the people that Biden has hired, can think to yourself, well, I know these people, and Im not worried about it. I think a lot of people who look at liberalism and the left from the outside, it becomes easier to get very nervous about the idea that, well, we dont know whos going to be running the Biden presidency. It could easily be people who are much, much more left wing than he is. It would be helpful to Biden to project more fully, not just defensively, right  not just in response to Trump baiting him, but to project more fully the idea that he was trying to project with his, I am the Democratic party line, right? To sort of say, look, Im going to govern from the center. The people Im going to appoint are going to be people who are close to the center of America. Sort of 

michelle goldberg

That actually would upset the left.

ross douthat

Yes. That might  yeah, well, right, and thats  well, thats the risk.

michelle goldberg

My sense is that the left probably came out of last night feeling pretty good, because Biden didnt refuse to abolish the filibuster, didnt come out against packing the courts. So they feel as if the possibility to make progress in a Biden administration has not been foreclosed.

ross douthat

Right. Well, and thats the other thing. I think theres actually a way for him to reaffirm his commitment to not packing the court and not abolishing the filibuster that still leaves the option open. And I think his strategy of saying, Im not going to dignify that with a comment, only works because Trump is acting so crazy around him. I think its another case where in a more normal debate, that would have looked like a really evasive answer.

michelle goldberg

Right, no, I think his answer should be more like, I wont do it as long  some sort of ultimatum.

ross douthat

He should 

michelle goldberg

Some sort of, as long as Republicans are willing to govern with me, as long as Republicans are willing to work in partnership to govern America the way it should be, then I have no intention of doing this. And then he can do it more in sorrow and anger when Mitch McConnell inevitably tries to blow up his first term.

ross douthat

Well, and he can do it with the Supreme Court too. And this, too, would get some people on the left upset but he could say, look, if we have a new justice on the court, I respect the court as an institution. Im going to give them the benefit of the doubt, but we have to be allowed to govern, and basically set himself up for a world where he could endorse court packing if the court actually struck down Obamacare  sort of lay the groundwork for that. And that would take it off the table as an immediate thing, which, again, would make some people, not just on the left but some sort of mainstream liberals, upset. I think thats the macro level problem for him- - the fear that we dont see him. Hes gotten really old. Hes not running a normal campaign. And we just dont know what is actually going to go on in his administration. And also, I think he could go further in condemning antifa. I think his line about how antifa is, its an idea, its not an organization.

michelle goldberg

Thats true.

ross douthat

That plays really well with center left journalists. I dont think it plays really well with 

michelle goldberg

No, but its objectively 

ross douthat

People who are worried about like 

michelle goldberg

I dont think it does either.

ross douthat

Their streets being burned.

michelle goldberg

We should acknowledge that its objectively true.

ross douthat

I mean, the Republican sort of leaning back and forth between the two of them would be pulled more towards Biden if Biden said not just, you know Im not a socialist, like this kind of stuff, but said, look, under a Biden presidency, were going to go after anarchists who burn American cities. I think that would be a really effective line for the that swing vote. And Biden isnt doing that exactly. If Biden did that, if Biden had a spiel at the next debate where he said, I think a couple of mayors  pick a couple mayors and say, theyve screwed up, and I think theres a lot of white anarchists who are escalating things, and we need to be tough on them  if he said that, would parts of the left freak out?

michelle goldberg

I think parts of the left would freak out, because I think that the view even among sort of normie Democrats like myself is that, god knows I hate black bloc kids who think that smashing Starbucks windows is the first step to the revolution. But I do think that when I look at whats happening, I think the crackdown has been hugely disproportionate. I think weve seen massive violations of civil liberties. Im much more scared of paramilitary forces in unmarked cars picking up people without warrants than I am, again, of these stupid vandals. Maybe Im totally wrong, right? I dont live in the suburbs, I live in Brooklyn. But I do not think that there are that many suburban women who are not already Trumpists who really fear that the CHAZ zone is coming to their neighborhood.

ross douthat

I think that that is a place where there is a certain number of, well call them normie Republicans, who think that there is an aggressive left within the Democratic Party that is soft on riots. And I think maybe it would cost Biden too much, but I think he would benefit with those voters specifically by seeming tougher on the anarchist faction. [THEME MUSIC] All right, lets stop there, and well be right back. [THEME MUSIC] And were back. Joining us is Michelle Cottle, our friend over on the editorial board who writes about all things US politics. Welcome back to The Argument, Michelle.

michelle cottle

Thank you, Ross. Im just so relieved to see that both of you survived the presidential debate thunderdome.

michelle goldberg

Well, Im just curious what both of you had to take to go to sleep after that.

michelle cottle

Who went to sleep? I was up on Twitter for hours. I was completely wired. It was like Id had six espressos.

ross douthat

This is why I strongly recommend having a five-month-old baby whenever there are presidential debates around.

michelle goldberg

Because it allows you to fall asleep at any time?

ross douthat

Well, it allows you to fall asleep and then wake up and then fall asleep and then wake up. But I did manage to go to sleep somehow. So I want to get into all of the other news of the last week. But first, lets just get your insta reaction. Do you think the debate mattered? Do you think it moved the needle for either candidate? Will there be more debates?

michelle cottle

Oh my god  were being punished, I think. I think theres no other explanation. I dont think it changed anything substantially. Going into this, this is not an original observation, but Trump really needed to change the trajectory. He went in clearly trying to force Joe Biden into having a senior moment or melting down or weeping or whatever he had in his brain. That didnt happen. Biden held his own. He was not electrifying, but the entire event was a just general freak show. But that works to Bidens advantage, because he did what he had to do, whereas Trump really needed to change things.

ross douthat

All right, lets lift up a little bit. Our episode last week was about the empty Supreme Court seat and the strategies for both parties as the Republicans try to fill it. Since then, weve gained a nominee in Amy Coney Barrett, whose name came up a few times in the debate. Michelle, can you talk a little bit about the legislative politics here? Youre our Congress and Senate whisperer. Do you think anything dramatic is going on behind the scenes that could change how, I guess, the Democrats especially approach this nomination?

michelle cottle

Look, the Democrats are being very cautious with this one. They do not want to overplay their hand or be accused of being excessively personally destructive. And they are very upfront about the fact that they have few options in terms of shutting things down. They really cant shut this thing down. Theyre doing parliamentary maneuvers like invoking rules that will limit the amount of time the hearings are held or when committees meet, but Schumers been pretty clear  the minority leader  that he doesnt have a lot of options at his disposal for this. Now, she has started her tour of Capitol Hill. She has settled herself into the Mansfield Room right off the Senate floor. The senators are coming in to meet her. They are still planning to start the hearings around the 12th. And they are hoping to vote her out of committee on the 22nd, which would have a vote on the floor, possibly within two weeks of an actual election day, which is going to make Democratic voters mobilize as well as Republican voters. And the question this time around, not so much with the presidential race as with the Senate races, is whos going to benefit most from this. Whereas the presidential race is thought to be pretty stable, there are individual Senate races that this is going to impact.

ross douthat

Yeah. And Im wondering, particularly, maybe about South Carolina, because Lindsey Graham is such a prominent figure in Supreme Court battles. And hes having a much, much closer race than hes ever had before. And my assumption has been that a Supreme Court nomination fight helps Graham, because South Carolina is fundamentally a conservative leaning state, and its a way to sort of remind South Carolinian voters why they usually vote for Republicans and so on. Do you think thats right? Or do you think it plays  do you think its actually a mobilizer for his Democratic challenger?

michelle cottle

I mean, I think its both.

ross douthat

Thats  come on, give me one or the other. You cant 

michelle cottle

No, no 

ross douthat

You cant choose both doors.

michelle cottle

I think Lindsey Graham is likely to pull it out, in part because he will do what he does. He will grandstand and do his pro-Trump outrage maneuvers for the cameras during the hearings. And his challenger, Jamie Harrison, had been running basically neck and neck with him and completely overwhelming him with money. I mean, weve seen recently Graham on Fox News almost crying, begging people to send in money because hes being overwhelmed. As you say, its an incredibly red state. And this sort of battle tends to harden partisan lines. So this could ultimately work to his advantage. And I think the kind of over-under on this is that it will help him a little bit. It will destroy Susan Collins in Maine most likely. It will destroy Cory Gardner in Colorado. Its a toss-up with Thom Tillis in North Carolina. So theres at least a half dozen states where this is going to play and have an impact. But nobody can tell you, for the most part, which way itll come down in terms of mobilization.

ross douthat

I want to go back to the other Michelle. What do you think of the Democratic strategy so far? Do you think there is a percentage for them in doing hearings as normal? Do you think the party should be skipping hearings to lean into the argument that this is illegitimate?

michelle goldberg

I think they should be leaning into the argument that this is illegitimate. Im pleasantly surprised that youre seeing some procedural maneuvers on the part of Chuck Schumer and some other Democrats. I think they know they cant stop the process. I think they have to at least show that theyre making an effort to slow it down to exact a price, and again, to highlight its fundamental illegitimacy. Theyre not going to go after her the way they went after Kavanaugh. By not meeting her, theyre saying it doesnt matter who she is. The arguments that I think they should be making  both the obvious arguments of hypocrisy, which, thankfully, theres a lot of video to make that argument for them, and then they should be telling everyone, this is a person whos going to overturn Roe v. Wade, overturn the Affordable Care Act and is being shoved through in this rushed and illegitimate process to uphold Donald Trumps attempts to cheat in the election. And so none of those kind of depend on an evaluation of Amy Coney Barretts judicial philosophy, of her temperament.

ross douthat

I mean, it seems like youre making a case against the people who dont want to have hearings at all. Because if you dont have hearings, you dont have the opportunity to ask Barrett about her comments about the Affordable Care Act, to ask Barrett about Roe v. Wade and to ask Barrett  I can see the Democrats, their sort of best hearing moment potentially is them saying, youre being appointed by a president who is questioning the legitimacy of the election. Do you promise 

michelle goldberg

And you wont commit yourself to recusal. I mean, to me, thats a big thing that in her Senate questionnaire, she wont commit herself to recusal. That to me gives the game away.

ross douthat

Well, theyd all have to recuse, right? I mean, if the logic is you have to recuse if Trump appointed you, then 

michelle goldberg

No, its not if Trump appointed you  if Trump appointed you because he said that your role on the court is to uphold his ballot challenges.

ross douthat

I dont know. I think an argument for recusal for Barrett would have to have Gorsuch and Kavanaugh recusing too.

michelle goldberg

I dont  I think its very different. I actually think whatever people say about her sterling character, her willingness to take the nomination under these circumstances makes me seriously doubt that. So look, I think that there are benefits to holding hearings. And ultimately, I think there will be hearings, right? But I dont think they should be meeting with her. I think that when the actual vote comes down, they shouldnt be there, they shouldnt give them a quorum, they should just let them push it through on their own. But theyre going to show up to question her, and thats probably a good thing.

ross douthat

Michelle C., does that sound like Michelle G. is describing the Democrat strategy? Or do you think there are any other complexities or wrinkles to what theyre going to try and do?

michelle cottle

They dont want to be culture warring over this in kind of a general space. So this is why they have committed to the ACA as digging in on the health care piece even more than Roe v. Wade. They dont want to have questions come up in the hearings that are a replay of what happened in her appeals court hearings where they have the issue of her religious faith become a hot button issue, so we dont want another, the dogma lives loudly within you, quote to come up, because 

ross douthat

Which was what? Just for listeners, it was what?

michelle cottle

Dianne Feinstein was bringing up her Catholic beliefs, which appeals and concerns a certain segment of voters, but also had a fair amount of backlash and was not received well by others. So they are being extremely careful in certain ways with her as theyre stressing that they believe this is a completely illegitimate process that is certainly being rushed. Even if you hold to the position that whenever a seat comes vacant, that it should be filled at that moment, they will be rushing these hearings. They will be rushing a lot of the usual steps. It will be truncated. Now, the Democrats, as far as their questioning and how to approach this, I do think that they are not going to miss an opportunity to raise these issues in a hearing. So I do think that that is their opportunity to draw attention to a lot of their concerns. But its a no-win situation for them at this point.

ross douthat

Yeah, I mean, Ive been struck by the mix of people on the internet saying what I would consider to be somewhat offensive things about Amy Coney Barrett versus the attempt at stringent discipline among elected Democrats to not talk about her Catholicism.

michelle cottle

You know not to get on social media Ross, for these types of things.

ross douthat

Well, but its striking, because there really was  I mean, Feinsteins line of questioning for Barrett is now hated by liberals, because its seen as having created Barrett as a kind of cult heroine for religious conservatives. But there was this period where this was sort of taken up as a quasi strategy by Democrats, to sort of go after Trumps nominees for being religious conservatives and specifically weirdo Catholic conservatives. And I think its interesting that that was both a thing briefly and now is seen as having been a failure that Democrats dont want to repeat.

michelle cottle

Look, I think it probably is, substantively, a failure, and it is just an extra little twist of the knife for people who have seen the Handmaids Tale as a cultural touchstone during our current nightmare, that the person that Donald Trump has chosen to eviscerate Ruth Bader Ginsburgs legacy belongs to an organization that refers to certain women members as handmaids. That said, I think its failed substantively in these previous confirmation fights, and its particularly hard to use against a woman, right? Its one thing to knock a man for belonging to a misogynist organization that either excludes women or has as its dogma female subservience. Thats a harder case to make against a woman at the pinnacle of professional success. Contra Ross, I dont see a huge difference between what Amy Coney Barrett represents and what Phyllis Schlafly represents. I think the right has always elevated certain women to kind of deliver the coup de grace to feminism, right, that gives it an extra sort of savor to be like, look, ladies, isnt this what you wanted, a woman doing it? But it is true, right? The one thing that the right understands, as much as they rail against it, is identity politics.

ross douthat

Yeah, I mean, Ill speak up for right wing identity politics. I dont want Amy Coney Barrett on the court because it gives me a special savor to have her disagreeing with Ruth Bader Ginsburg on abortion. I want her on the court because Im a religious conservative who has three daughters and wants them to believe that they can be professionally successful and also have big families. And so it means a lot to me personally  or it will mean a lot to me personally  to be able to say to my daughters that this is an example of what a Catholic woman can do and be. And that is identity politics, in a sense. And I dont think all identity politics is bad identity politics. I think the left is fundamentally right about the idea that representation matters in that way. Before I pivot us away from this, Michelle C., is there anything that you could imagine happening, lets say its a huge, buried scandal in People of Praise or something  Amy Coney Barretts charismatic group that shes part of  or something, Is there anything you can imagine derailing this nomination?

michelle cottle

It would have to be extremely special. I think Democrats kind of are skittish after the Brett Kavanaugh hearings where that whole thing caused such an uproar. I dont think they want that happening this close to an election. And I think shes already been through the appeals court hearings and theyve vetted her heavily looking at her before for this. So you can never say never in these times. I mean, who knows  there could be human heads in her freezer for all we know. But unless it comes to that level of creepiness, I doubt this is going to get derailed.

ross douthat

Why wont Joe Biden condemn New York Times writer Michelle Cottles speculation about human heads in Amy Coney Barretts freezer? That is my question for you. So weve done a whole segment and weve barely touched on what in a normal political moment would be huge news, right, which is the fact that in between the Barrett nomination and the first debate, our newspaper published a big story on years of Donald Trumps tax returns, which were leaked to the newspaper after Trump, of course, famously refused to release them for many years. And 

michelle cottle

No, no, no, hes just waiting on the audits, Ross.

ross douthat

Hes waiting on the audits. But I want to ask you both about the politics of this, but first, a general question, which is reflected in sort of divergent reads on what weve learned about Trumps taxes. And one read is that they show that hes a huge failure at business who was able to pay no taxes because hes losing tons of money, and the other is that he is a savage success whos able to avoid paying taxes because hes basically cheating. None of us are tax experts, but that wont stop me from asking both Michelles  is Trump a failure or a cheat?

michelle cottle

Do we have to pick? Can I go with both?

ross douthat

Or both.

michelle cottle

I think its all of the above. I dont like to limit myself.

michelle goldberg

I think hes a failure in a lot of ways and a cheat. He might have more money than the, what was it, negative-$47 million that he is said to have earned one year. I trust the reporters who broke this story whove seen these documents, whove talked to tons of people  their interpretation is that hes a man, I think the word was in a tightening financial vise. So Im sort of willing to defer to their analysis.

ross douthat

Michelle C., Im both curious where you come down on the cheat or failure question, but also if you see this long-awaited revelation as having any political impact whatsoever.

michelle cottle

Well, much like Michelle, I find him in this as in all things to be both a loser and a cheat. Now, as far as will this move the needle, no. This is just one of those stories that is awesome and will be a big issue on social media and reporters will talk about it and the people who pay a lot of attention to politics will talk about. It is incredibly complicated and incredibly obscure. And 

michelle goldberg

Can I interrupt that?

michelle cottle

Absolutely.

michelle goldberg

I agree with the main thrust of what youre saying, but I actually think the number $750 is not complicated and not obscure. And I think we all have this kind of nothing matters mentality because nothing matters enough to make Senate Republicans constrain Trump, and theyre sort of the only force capable of doing it. But there was an AP story recently about ex-Trump voters  Trump voters who had turned on him. And for a lot of them, the breaking point was Covid. But for others, the breaking point was things you wouldnt expect like the treatment of the Kurds or Trumps general approach to Syria. And so I dont know that it will matter in a way that will show up in polls.

michelle cottle

Well, what were talking about here, is it going to be a pivotal moment or move the needle a lot?

michelle goldberg

it doesnt have to be a pivotable moment. It just has to  you peel off a couple people. You peel off 0.1 percent. You make 0.1 percent of people who are already on the fence less likely to vote for him cumulatively, when it comes to people going out to vote, thats where weve seen things matter quite a bit.

michelle cottle

For sure. But were talking about his taxes. And for years and years and years, all weve heard is show us the taxes, show us the taxes, thats going to blow this whole thing wide open. At this point, we have to come to the conclusion that nothing is going to blow anything wide open. Yes, it is an accretion of issues, and the $750 is what has made the rounds, and it is appalling that you can be as ostentatiously wealthy as he is and pay that little money. But in terms of was this the earth shattering story that people who spent years demanding his taxes seem to think it was going to be? No.

ross douthat

But I mean, also thats because in 2016, he already made the case that he was just a savvy businessman. And without having his taxes out there, he made a version of the case for why avoiding paying taxes makes him a super genius, right?

michelle cottle

He was doing that in the debate last night. He was asked about this, and hes like, I was a businessman, and like everyone else, I used the tools at my disposal to pay as little taxes as possible. And hes tried to turn it around and blame it on Biden for having passed whatever tax bills that 

ross douthat

Which is true, actually, right? I think its clear that the Obama stimulus, some of those maneuvers actually helped Trump.

michelle cottle

And he blames- - he blames the system.

ross douthat

But I  see, I 

michelle cottle

Its always  its the system. Its a broken system.

ross douthat

I mean, to me whats striking is that I think he could have released his taxes on his own years ago and just made that argument. And I think at some level, it suggests theres some part of Trump that agrees with you, Michelle G., that its actually like  that $750 figure 

michelle goldberg

Its humiliating for him.

ross douthat

Right.

michelle cottle

He doesnt want to be seen as a bad businessman.

ross douthat

I do think that if the tax returns had come out and showed, as some progressives imagined they would, that he had been receiving $100 million payments from secret Russian corporations, that that would have had more of an effect, right? And there were things that people on the left imagined or predicted would be in these returns that dont seem to be in the returns.

michelle goldberg

Well, lets be clear, I mean, the reporters made clear that the returns lacked the specificity to sort of show that even if those payments were there, the returns wouldnt show it. And so theres people pretending that he was somehow exonerated by these charges.

ross douthat

The dream will never die. Fine.

michelle cottle

But I do think Michelle is absolutely right that this is all about his ego. One of the things that struck me in the debate is how bonkers he went when Biden suggested he wasnt smart. He basically had a meltdown and then launches into some kind of comparative CV  I went to this school, and you went to that. He is incredibly insecure and cant stand anyone knowing that hes basically a loser.

ross douthat

I think theres definitely an element of the 2020 campaign that maybe is slightly under appreciated, which is that there was this famous Saturday Night Live sketch in 1988 where Jon Lovitz playing Dukakis listened to Dana Carveys George H.W. Bush rambling and said, I cant believe Im losing to this guy. And theres clearly a big part of Trump that cannot believe that he is losing to Joe Biden, which I think came out in that moment. All right, lets wrap things up there. And now were going to do our recommendation for the week. And, Michelle G., I think you have something for us.

michelle goldberg

OK, so Im recommending this in some sense out of pure selfishness, because I just wanted to keep going as long as possible. Theres an outdoor spin studio called BYKlyn Yard in Brooklyn that is one of the few things keeping me together, I mean, in as much as my sanity is being held together with duct tape and paper clips. It is going there two or three times a week that is kind of making sure that the whole thing doesnt fall apart. Its one of the few things in my life that feels normal, one of the few parts of my day where I can stop thinking about how absolutely awful everything is. Every day that I go there is a better day. And its obviously going to shut down eventually, because its going to get cold. And I want them to stay in business as long as possible. I want this to be a profitable endeavor for them.

michelle cottle

I dont even live in New York, and I express my complete sympathies and agreement on this. I am dreading winter with just kind of Game of Thrones, the white walkers are coming for me, levels of terror because I dont want to be shut up inside. You can do outdoor yoga class, you can still do biking, you can do hiking. I have not gone Overlook Hotel Shining on my family yet. But when winter comes and this is no longer feasible, I fear for everyones safety.

michelle goldberg

Yes, and Im a winter person. I usually am fine with winter, because Im basically an indoor person. I like going to the movies, I like going to bars and restaurants, I like going to the theater.

michelle cottle

None of which youll be able to do this winter.

michelle goldberg

Right? Ive never understood why a person would voluntarily, say, go camping. This ordeal has forced me  I also wasnt a spin person. But this ordeal has forced me to kind of pursue new endeavors. And so Im willing to work out outside as long as it is physically possible. But the question is how many other people are as well?

ross douthat

Yeah. I mean, thats my question, right? I totally agree. I think Ive talked about this before during the worst of Covid  but weve been taking our kids to state parks around Connecticut. And I dont go to spin classes, but I do ride my bike around the mean streets of New Haven a little bit. So what youre actually recommending in addition to this spin class is a sort of polar bear approach to winter exercise.

michelle goldberg

Absolutely.

ross douthat

Absolutely. I think we can all agree on that. So, Michelle Cottle, thank you again so much for joining us. It was a pleasure.

michelle cottle

The pleasure was mine.

michelle goldberg

Thanks, Michelle. [THEME MUSIC]

ross douthat
An elderly woman is discharged from Beach General Hospital after recovering from COVID-19, in Kozhikode.  PTI photo

In the wake of rapid rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, the Kerala government has announced stringent restrictions to curb the spread of virus. Gathering of more than five persons at a time has been banned for a month from October 3.

Public congregations and gatherings pose an impending danger of a super spread of the infection. Hence, an assembly or gathering of more than five persons cannot be permitted, reads the order issued by Kerala chief secretary Vishwas Mehta.

For the enforcement of social distancing, the provisions of the Section 144 of the CrPC shall be effected. District magistrates are directed to assess the ground situation in their districts and use the relevant provisions and orders under Section 144 CrPC to control the spread of the disease, according to the government order.

Strict restrictions will be imposed in containment zones and in specific areas where the disease spread is apprehended. But, the existing relaxations for functions like marriages and funerals will continue. As per an earlier government order, 50 persons can attend marriage functions while 20 persons are allowed in funerals.

The state government has also decided not to reopen schools and colleges, though the Centre has given permission to the states as per Unlock 5.0 guidelines.

An all-party meeting convened by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan early this week has decided to implement stringent restrictions to rein the virus transmission while turning down the proposal for complete lockdown.

COVID-19 tally crosses 2 lakh in Kerala

Kerala reported 8135 fresh cases on Thursday taking the total COVID-19 tally to more than two lakhs. The total number of cases in the state stands at 2,042, 41. As many as 29 deaths, highest single day spike, were also reported on Thursday. With this, the total death toll in the state rose to 771.
Pursuant to Article 34(f) of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Constitution 2004, the National Executive of the GJA has decided to hold this years Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association on Friday, October 23, 2020 at 10:00am at the Ghana International Press Centre in Accra.

Per Article 34(a)(ii) of the GJA Constitution, the AGM, which is the highest decision-making body of the Association, shall be convened by the National Executive in the first quarter of each year.

However, following the imposition of COVID-19 restrictions by the President of the Republic of Ghana in March 2020, and in the desire to uphold the rule of law and ensure public health safety, the National Executive decided to postpone the AGM to later in the year when the restrictions are eased and the environment is conducive for the holding of the event.

Agenda:

To discuss the General Secretarys Annual Report;

To discuss the audited accounts of the Association to be presented by the National Treasurer;

To deliberate on reports and audited financial accounts of the Ghana International Press Centre, which shall be presented by the Director of the GIPC;

To discuss regional reports, and

To discuss any other matter which the National Council or a member may raise.

All members in good standing are entitled to attend the AGM. Members in good standing, with the exception of honorary and student members, shall have the right to vote at the AGM.

While assuring members of holding the AGM strictly under COVID-19 safety protocols, the National Executive wishes to remind all that the AGM is the highest decision-making body of the GJA for which reason members must endeavour to attend.

Kofi Yeboah

(General Secretary)
All three candidates for the 3rd District congressional seat originally registered to vote as Democrats.

Two have switched parties as they launched challenges to 15-term U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, but for different reasons.

Margaret Streicker of Milford, the Republican candidate, sees the Democratic Party as having moved too far to the left. Justin Paglino of Guilford, running on the Green Party line, believes the Democrats are not progressive enough.

Contributed Photo /

Streicker, in her first political campaign, changed her party registration from Democrat to Republican on Nov. 16, 2019, according to records in the Milford registrars of voters office.

Frankly, at 18 I voted for Rosa, Streicker, 45, said Wednesday. But now Im disgusted with all that Rosa and the modern left represents, and thats why Im running.

She said she voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 and for Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson in 2016, and she plans to vote for Republican President Donald Trump on Nov. 3. As for DeLauro, In the last few elections I didnt care who the [opposing] candidate was; I voted against her, she said.

Streicker, who also has been endorsed by the Independent Party, said of her campaign, The bottom line is I intend to work with all parties to lower taxes  to create more jobs, to improve our infrastructure, which is crumbling around us and for transparency in medical pricing.

She said issues should not come down to a binary decision of red vs. blue. Im fiscally conservative. Im socially moderate. Ive been saying that this entire time, she said.

Right now, the Democratic Party does not represent the values my parents instilled in me, she said. I believe in equality under the law. I dont believe in looting and rioting. She said Tuesdays debate between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden was the first time that I heard anyone truly condemn it from the left.

Streicker said it was not important that she had been a registered Democrat since 1983 because Ive voted how I wanted to vote for years. As an outsider it never really mattered to me. It never affected me because I voted for the candidate I wanted to vote for.

Paglino said he had thought about switching from the Democratic Party for some time because it didnt represent his liberal views. He said the immediate catalyst came when Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent democratic socialist senator from Vermont, dropped out of the Democratic presidential race April 8.

Contributed Photo

Thats when I decided to go to a local chapter meeting of the Green Party of Connecticut.  Like many progressives Ive been frustrated with the direction of the party leadership for a long time.

He said progressives like himself have struggled with whether they should stay in the Democratic Party and try to reform the party from within, despite the demands of the partys major donors and their corporate influence.

He said he has opposed the national partys positions on issues such as authorizing the invasion of Iraq, deregulating Wall Street and backing the North American Free Trade Agreement. Im opposed to free trade, he said. I advocate for fair trade  trade agreements that incorporate high labor standards and environmental standards so that laborers are paid a fair wage and that concerns over pollution are taken seriously in other countries.

As a voter, he said, I have always thought, well, we only have two choices, the Democrats and the Republicans  but then when I learned about ranked-choice voting I learned how a better democracy is possible.

Ranked-choice voting, which is used in Maine and which divvies up the votes of a last-place candidate among those voters second choice, would give him a chance to win, he said, and he needs to run to press that issue.

You cant have a multiparty system with first-past-the-post voting, said Paglino, 47. who said he cast his first presidential vote for Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992. Its really the absence of ranked-choice voting that is the reason we only have two dominant parties.

While the Green Party has never won a congressional seat, Paglino said, I view this as a nothing-to-lose campaign because I feel I am on the ballot representing many ideas that are popular but are not espoused by the other candidates in the race, such as Medicare for all and a carbon tax.

Whatever the outcome of the race, I feel good that Im giving voters a choice to vote for policies that have majority support, he said. I view our health care crisis and our climate crisis as enormous threats to our well-being, the well-being of all Americans. The solutions that most Americans favor have not been embraced by the major parties.

DeLauro, who learned Democratic politics from her parents, both of whom served as New Haven alders, said in an emailed statement, Part of what makes American Democracy so great is our freedom to change political parties as personal ideologies shift and party platforms adjust to meet to the needs of the moment.

Contributed Photo

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

I cannot comment on other peoples personal decision to change parties, but I am confident that the people at the top of the Democratic ticket represent the values  governing with fact, truth, and science and providing for working families over handouts for the wealthy  that guide my work for the people of Connecticut, DeLauro said.

Scott McLean, chairman of the Department of Philosophy and Political Science at Quinnipiac University, said changing parties is not unusual, especially when deciding to run against someone like DeLauro, who has a lock on this seat.

I cant imagine they think that their odds of winning against Rosa DeLauro are very good, but they want to run, they want to get their views out, he said.

McLean said he did not have statistics on how often candidates change parties to run, but its more common when you have a longtime incumbent with party support like Rosa DeLauro.

He said the best chance for the Republican Party in the 3rd District is to find someone who will run whos fiscally conservative and run on lowering taxes, which is popular among voters.

A moderate Republican, such as former Gov. M. Jodi Rell, has a better chance to win in Connecticut, he said.

File Photo /Christian Abraham / File Photo

Shed be in good company, McLean said of Streicker. Ronald Reagan was a Democrat and became a Republican. [Former U.S. Sen.] Joe Lieberman was a Democrat who became an independent and was pretty well aligned with Republicans on many issues.

Theres nothing wrong with someone changing parties if they can give reasons and if they can talk about the issues, he said. We need two political parties in this state and maybe three [that] can hold the party in power accountable.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
A Russian journalist has died after setting herself on fire the day after her flat was searched by police.

Irina Slavina, 47, posted: 'I ask you to blame the Russian Federation for my death.'

A deeply distressing video from BAZA media shows her setting herself on fire and a man desperately trying to put the flames out.

Slavina was editor-in-chief of Koza Press, in Nizhny Novgorod, a news agency that had run stories which had annoyed the authorities.

Irina Slavina, 47, editor-in-chief of Koza Press, set herself on fire outside the headquarters of the Interior Ministry in Nizhny Novgorod near a statue for Russian policemen

Slavina (pictured) is believed to have been questioned in relation to a police probe into Open Russia

The married mother-of-one had been repeatedly fined after previous disputes with officials.

She set herself on fire outside the headquarters of the Interior Ministry in Nizhny Novgorod near a statue for Russian policemen.

The journalist ignited the flames near a statue to Russian policemen.

Slavina is believed to have been questioned in relation to a police probe into Open Russia, a pro-democracy organisation founded by London-exiled critic of Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, formerly Russia's wealthiest man.

In June she was accused of spreading fake news and she posted: 'For now, I just want to die. the mental pain from injustice is so strong that it is already hard physically.'

The final straw was a search of her home on Thursday.

She posted: 'They took what they found - all the flash drives, my laptop, my daughter's laptop, computer, phones - not only mine, but also my husband's, a bunch of notebooks on which I scribbled during press conferences.

'I was left without the means of production.'

Slavina said that her husband had been the one that opened their front door to the police.

A memorial has been set up at the site where Slavina set herself on fire. A picture of the journalist sits among flowers and candles

Emergency services are seen at the incident site. They said that a corpse 'deformed by fire' was found

On Thursday, Slavina's house was searched by police who took away her laptop and notebooks as well as laptops belonging to her husband and daughter

'I was naked,' she said. 'I had to get dressed under the looks of an unknown woman.

'They were searching the flat.

'They didn't allow me to call the lawyer. They were searching for brochures, leaflets, accounts of Open Russia.'

Opposition politician Ilya Yushin accused the authorities of 'breaking people psychologically', saying the current situation in Russia was a 'nightmare'.

'Over the past years security officials have subjected her to endless persecution because of her opposition (activities),' said Dmitry Gudkov, another opposition figure.

A spokesman for the emergency services said a corpse 'deformed by fire' was found at the site.
Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah) announced on Friday that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

The news came after President Trump revealed that he and First Lady Melania Trump have contracted the virus, along with White House aide Hope Hicks and RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. Lee has made multiple appearances on Capitol Hill and at the White House in recent days, although it is not apparent that his case is connected to the presidents.

On Tuesday, Lee met with Trumps Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett contracted coronavirus during the summer and has since recovered, the Washington Post reported, and on Friday Barrett tested negative for a reinfection.

Yesterday morning, I was experiencing symptoms consistent with longtime allergies. Out of an abundance of caution, I sought medical advice and was tested for COVID-19yesterdays test came back positive, Lee said in a statement on Friday. The Utah senator will quarantine for at least ten days.

Lee added that he spoke with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and Senate Judiciary Committee head Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and assured them I will be back to work in time to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

Republicans are attempting to confirm Barrett as Supreme Court justice before election day, over the objections of Democrats. Lee was set to take part in Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Barrett.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and ranking Judiciary Committee member Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) called for the Barrett hearings to be delayed following the news that President Trump contracted coronavirus.

It is premature for Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) to commit to a hearing schedule when we do not know the full extent of potential exposure stemming from the presidents infection, Schumer and Feinstein said in a statement.

More from National Review
Next year's season of Married At First Sight, which is currently being filmed in Sydney, is reportedly falling apart at the seams.

Former bride Ines Basic claims that producers have started searching for 'intruders' to replace couples that have already broken up.

'They [are] already falling apart,' she wrote on Instagram on Thursday.

Perfect match? Next year's season of Married At First Sight, which is currently being filmed in Sydney, is reportedly falling apart at the seams. Pictured: an unidentified MAFS couple arriving for a dinner party at a warehouse in Sydney's Lilyfield on Wednesday

Ines, who was paired with Bronson Norrish on the 2019 season and infamously had an affair with Sam Ball, added that last-minute replacements were being drafted in.

'I know people being asked to come in as intruders. Sorry for the spoiler,' she wrote.

Channel Nine declined to comment.

Desperate search: Former bride Ines Basic (pictured) claims that producers have started looking for 'intruders' to replace couples that have already broken up

Insider knowledge: 'They [are] already falling apart. I know people being asked to come in as intruders. Sorry for the spoiler,' Ines wrote on Instagram on Thursday

Production is well under way on the 2021 season of Married at First Sight.

Paparazzi photos have emerged of one of the weddings being filmed in the Hunter Valley on September 17.

Daily Mail Australia also caught the cast arriving for a dinner party at a warehouse in Sydney's Lilyfield on Wednesday.

Work in progress: Production is well under way on the 2021 season of Married at First Sight. Pictured: a bride arriving for a dinner party at a warehouse in Sydney's Lilyfield on Wednesday

While details of the cast haven't yet been announced, Daily Mail Australia recently revealed the identity of one of the grooms set to appear.

Hit 104.7 Canberra radio presenter Bryce Ruthven will be heading down the aisle, after taking three months of leave and temporarily relocating to Sydney.

The 30-year-old is hoping to find the love of his life on reality TV, having reportedly ended his engagement to a woman named Lana earlier this year.

Revealed: While details of the cast haven't yet been announced, Daily Mail Australia recently confirmed the identity of one of the grooms: radio presenter Bryce Ruthven (pictured)

Nine has promised that the upcoming season's cast will be 'the most genuine yet'.

The network has also said the 2021 series will be about 'love not fame' as all the participants are determined to find a lifelong match.

Furthermore, the new season will feature Alessandra Rampolla, a certified clinical sexologist with more than 20 years' experience, on the panel of experts.
C helsea Clinton has urged people to lay off Donald Trumps son Barron, saying she feels "very protective" of the teenager.

Ms Clinton, 40, the only child of former president Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, made the comments as she discussed the abuse she receives online.

She told the Jemele Hill is Unbothered podcast: "I think he was 11 when his dad won and that's a year younger than I was when my dad took office. Like, he's a kid.

"Don't objectify this kid. I think he just turned 14. He's a teenager, leave him alone."

Ms Clinton said she has no issues with criticism of President Trump, whom she described as "a racist, Islamophobic, antisemitic, misogynistic, transphobic human being" on the podcast  but said people should lay off Barron.

Hillary Clinton / Getty

"I will, you know, have a whole lot of sympathy for any critiques, criticism, pain, anger you want to hurl at his parents," she said. "But leave him alone."

Ms Clinton also spoke about the "intense" vitriol she receives online adding that it "definitely" affects her.

"Everything that people say to me on Twitter, they say to me in person," she said.

"Like, 'I wish you were dead. I'm sorry you feel that way. 'I wish your mother aborted you.' I'm sorry you feel that way. 'I wish you had died in Benghazi and then maybe your mother would have had a different reaction'.

"You're always like  what else can you say? 'Im so sorry you feel that way. I wish you nothing but the best, hope you have a better day tomorrow.' You know?"

As well as Barron, the former first daughter said she feels protective of other presidents' children, including Jenna and Barbara Bush and Sasha and Malia Obama describing their bond as a sorority of sorts.

"I very much felt protective of the Bush twins who were just a little bit younger than me and certainly very protective of Sasha and Malia, she said. I wanted them to have as normal a life as possible. I knew that was going to be hard.

Ms Clinton also discussed her former friendship with Mr Trumps daughter Ivanka Trump on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

"I've not spoken to her since 2016 and I have no interest in being friends with someone who is not only complicit but actively taking part in this administration's every day collision of cruelty and incompetence," she said.

"We were in touch at the beginning of the campaign. But it's just really hard when there's someone who's actively embracing their candidate -- whether it's their father or not -- who is trafficking in racism and sexism and anti-semitism and Islamophobia and homophobia and transphobia and conspiracy theories and lies and is so fundamentally corrupt.

She added: "I don't think [Ivanka and her father] are the same by any standard, but I think she's more than complicit, as anyone who has worked for him for so long by definition is. And I don't want to be friends with someone like that."
Plenty of people want to know whether they ever had COVID-19, and public officials need to know. But existing antibody tests that look for markers of the disease caused by the coronavirus have not met the challenge, with accuracy, cost and convenience problems.

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University and elsewhere, however, are working on the next generation of these tests that can be done at home.

We wanted to develop something you could use on your kids, said Netz Arroyo, a Hopkins assistant professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences who joined with a biomedical engineer and a biophysicist to repurpose a common medical device to look for the virus.

It would be easy and you may not even have to poke their finger every time, he said. Now you have to go to a lab and have a blood draw.

Antibody tests are different from the diagnostic tests widely used to confirm COVID-19 cases, which involve a nose swab being sent to a lab for analysis.

The Hopkins group designed its antibody test using a glucose monitor, a tool already used by millions of diabetics at home to keep tabs on their sugar levels using a finger prick of blood.

The test can use a drop of blood, saliva or maybe other bodily fluid on a paper test strip that is inserted into a container and then into the monitor. If there are antibodies present, it sets off a series of chemical reactions. The monitor still reads glucose, created by the chemical reaction caused by the presence of antibodies, and the level is proportional to the level of antibodies.

Antibodies are proteins produced by a persons immune system in response to a virus. Their presence can indicate someone was infected recently, but do not indicate an active infection. They typically offer protection if they encounter the same virus again.

Thats not to say that a positive coronavirus antibody test promises someone immunity from another case of COVID-19. Scientists do suspect survivors of the disease have some protection, but they dont know how much or for how long.

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Once thats sorted out, antibody tests could prove someone has immunity and could return to school or work, Arroyo said. They also may be used to track the effectiveness of a vaccine.

More immediately, the tests could identify hot spots that were not obvious from diagnostic testing alone. Health officials and scientists say many people with COVID-19 are not diagnosed with a lab-based PCR test or a rapid test in a doctors office because they have no symptoms or mild illness and are not tested.

The Hopkins test is proving reliable but is being refined still and wont be available until perhaps sometime next year. Arroyo noted that this mechanism can also be adapted for future outbreaks and pandemics.

For now, there are 47 antibody tests with emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Nearly all require individuals to visit a lab to have blood drawn.

That has limited wide-scale use so far, though researchers have begun using the tests to assess the infection rates in certain areas.

One recent study by Stanford University School of Medicine used blood samples taken from dialysis patients to determine that fewer than 1 in 10 Americans have antibodies to the coronavirus, with higher rates among Black and Hispanic people and those in densely populated areas.

Other research projects are underway, including at Northwestern University in Chicago with the aid of a test developed there that, like Hopkins test, relies on a drop of blood that could be collected at home. In that case, the blood is dried on a paper strip and mailed to a lab.

Each costs about $1, a fraction of typical antibody tests at commercial labs that can range from about $40 to about $120.

Work started on the Northwestern coronavirus test in April in the lab of Thomas McDade, an anthropology professor and a faculty fellow in the universitys Institute for Policy Research. He said they have proved easy to use and reliable.

Like the Hopkins tests, they show the level of antibodies, information that could show the severity of someones infection but also could help scientists understand levels of potential immunity. Repeat tests could show whether antibodies and their protections wane.

The Northwestern lab already has tested 1,000 samples and plans to get 3,000 to 4,000 from Chicago-area disadvantaged neighborhoods to show the rates of illness and death. An earlier study found 70% of people who lived with someone infected with COVID-19 also tested positive.

An individual infection is not super useful information  though I understand peoples individual level of curiosity, McDade said.

I cant tell you how many people have written or talked to me about that cold they had in March probably being coronavirus, he said. They all come back negative, but a lot of people with no symptoms come back positive.

He said the real value of the tests is the insight into hidden hot spots.

Such tests will be crucial going forward since diagnostic testing has been lacking since the start of the pandemic, said Dr. Ravina Kullar, a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America and adjunct faculty member at UCLA.

Having more easy-to-use and reliable antibody tests, including those that show the level of antibodies, will help inform decisions about resources and mitigation efforts, she said.

All of these tests can be expensive, require you to go to a clinic or doctors office, and cannot be done at the comfort of your own home, Kullar said. Diversifying our testing in the U.S. can help with controlling this pandemic, so a test that can be done at home, like a pregnancy test or glucose monitor, to tell you if you may have had the SARS-CoV-2 virus or if you presently have it could be a game-changer.



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The Commonwealth has closed international borders and WA Premier Mark McGowan has repeatedly said the states hard border with the eastern states would not be removed until community transmission was eliminated, which required 28 days without a mystery infection being recorded across the country. On Thursday, he veered from his messaging, implying opening the state would also result in West Australians spending their tourism dollars elsewhere in the country and losing their jobs to those in the eastern states. The benefit to opening to the Northern Territory or South Australia for Western Australia is not there, there is no benefit," he said. Far more West Australians will go there on holidays than people from South Australia or the Northern Territory coming here on holidays. All we will do is we will lose jobs.

University of Notre Dame political analyst Martin Drum said while the majority of West Australians supported Mr McGowans hard border stance, public sentiment would begin to shift come Christmas as more realistic timeframes for a vaccine sunk in and other states with the virus under control began opening to one another. Over the next month or two, thats when it gets interesting, he said of the state governments next move. "People understand McGowan and the government's stance even where they have family over east, they still understand it because of the circumstances, but it just starts changing when you have lower levels of community transmission. "You can probably announce the lowering of the border a month out from Christmas and still give people time to book flights, etcetera, to make plans for the summer holidays, but any later than that and it starts getting tricky and you start copping a lot of flack from people that would like to see their family, in particular over Christmas." Finance Minister Mathias Cormann echoed Dr Drums view that the tide would soon turn on WAs hard border stance.

I have long argued there is no public health upside from keeping our state borders closed to those jurisdictions which are in the same or a better position than WA, he said. Im sure that over time that will become the prevailing public view. We cant have this situation where state borders are going to be closed based on arbitrary political judgements and not for proper public health reasons for months on end. We need a predictable exit strategy, based on objective, predictable public health criteria and I would like to see some evidence that the state government is giving itself the tools to re-open our economy to other Australian jurisdictions in a COVID-safe way. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged the possibility of opening Australias international border to other countries with low community transmission, such as New Zealand and Japan.

Minister for Finance, Mathias Cormann. Credit:Sydney Morning Herald However a spokesman for the McGowan government said the state had not been told of any future changes to the international border. International arrivals are a matter for the Commonwealth Government, however, we have not received any indication that changes will be made for their border arrangements at this point, he said. Well continue to work productively with the Commonwealth on these issues. Any significant increase to international arrivals at this point in time would put severe strain on hotel quarantine systems.

The spokesman did not directly respond to whether there was an exit plan out of the pandemic which did not involve WA having to accept the virus back into the community in some capacity. Asked if the state government had considered a future scenario for if a vaccine continued to elude scientists long-term, he said, WAs current health advice is not based on a vaccine". Our hard border continues to be one of our most effective weapons in stopping the spread of COVID-19 into our state and for that reason the hard border will stand until the health advice says otherwise, he said. Professor Collignon said he believed nation-wide elimination  the requirement for WA to open its interstate border  was still possible, despite Victorias second wave. However, he argued travel should be permitted across Australia if the infection rate in a region is less than one in every 300,000 to 400,000 people.
Friday University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Chancellor Donde Plowman announced plans for in-person commencement ceremonies this November to celebrate both spring and summer 2020 graduates and fall 2020 graduates.Socially-distanced ceremonies will take place each day for four consecutive days Nov. 19-22, with three ceremonies per day before the end of the fall semester.I know how disappointing it was for spring and summer graduates to not be able to celebrate in person with their friends and family, and we have been looking for a way to create a meaningful experience for them, said Chancellor Plowman.We are still in the middle of a pandemic, but we have learned a lot about this virus since May. It is still very difficult to hold large events, particularly indoors, but we have a solid plan in place. I appreciate everyones patience as we work to do this in a way that celebrates our graduates and creates a safe experience for them and their families.Chancellor Plowman said these ceremonies will be a bit different from previous years, but that finding a way to recognize the hard work and accomplishments of these graduates has been a priority for the administration, deans and faculty.Details are still being finalized; however, the university plans to have 200 graduates per ceremony and a limited number of guests per graduate. Everyone will be required to wear a mask and stay socially distanced.We know this is not perfect solution and, unfortunately, we know these dates may not work for everyone, but we are also committed to giving spring and summer graduates the opportunity to attend May 2021 ceremonies if they so choose, said Provost John Zomchick.All spring and summer 2020 graduates will receive information next week with details on how to register. Fall 2020 graduates will receive information about commencement ceremonies by email in the coming weeks.
No absentee ballots in the key battleground state of Wisconsin were found in rivers last week, and though local authorities reported some absentee ballots were temporarily lost in a batch of mail found on the side of the road near Appleton, Wisconsin, none of the ballots were from the state, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said on Thursday.

Unanswered questions about what happened to the batch of mail found in eastern Wisconsin are likely to be addressed by an ongoing Postal Service investigation, but the incident has come under intense and perhaps premature scrutiny because of unsubstantiated claims the president made during the first presidential debate on Tuesday, when he said that mail-in ballots were being "dumped in rivers."

"Did you see what's going on?" Trump said onstage. "They are being dumped in rivers. This is a horrible thing for our country."

"There is no evidence of that," responded Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany later made it clear that Trump was talking about the investigation in Wisconsin.

MORE: A step-by-step look at Trump's falsehoods on mail-in voting: Analysis

McEnany was repeatedly pressed by a reporter on Thursday to clarify where the "river" that Trump talked about was located, but she declined to answer.

"You're missing the forest through the trees here," she responded to the reporter.

The lost mail in Wisconsin was actually found on the side of a road and in a ditch line in Greenville, Wisconsin, a small town of about 12,000 people outside the city of Appleton. The mail was supposed to be in transit to the post office, according to the Outagamie County Sheriff's office. "Several" absentee ballots were found among three "trays" of mail, according to the sheriff's office.

Outagamie County Sheriff's Office Lt. Ryan Carpenter described each "tray" as about 18-inches high with an estimated few hundred pieces of mail. Officers who reported to the scene didn't count how many absentee ballots were in the mix, Carpenter said.

Story continues

PHOTO: White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks during a press briefing at the White House on Oct. 1, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The U.S. Postal Service, which is in charge of the investigation going forward, declined to comment, but Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe announced on Thursday that she'd been informed by post office officials that no Wisconsin ballots were among the lost mail.

Wolfe said she was not informed what state the ballots were from.

"There was mail found outside of Appleton, and that mail did not contain any Wisconsin ballots, no Wisconsin ballots were part of what was found, no Wisconsin ballots were involved or impacted by the incident," Wolfe said Thursday afternoon.

"But if there were ever an issue with Wisconsin ballot, it's a very intentional, deliberate process with many safeguards in place, where we would be able to identify issues," Wolfe added.

MORE: Hereas what to know about mail-in voting for November

Wisconsin began sending out absentee ballots to voters on Sept. 17. The state is a vital win for either candidate in the path to victory this November.

Greenville town clerk Wendy Helgeson said she hopes USPS investigators can offer clear information to the public sooner rather than later, so as not to undermine the integrity of the process.

"If there's one thing that I would hope that people know about our state is that there's a huge amount of integrity in the job that we do, and people take a lot of pride in it, nobody wants to be in the newspaper," Helgeson said.

Trump's claims about fraud in the mail-in ballot process have grown as the country nears Election Day, which is about a month away, but there is no evidence that voter fraud will increase as mail-in voting becomes a more popular choice due to the pandemic.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump participates in the first presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on Sept. 29, 2020 in Cleveland. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Election officials in Democrat and Republican states alike have been clear that they have confidence in their election process, and experts agree that the risk of fraud is very low.

"There is no evidence that widespread or systematic absentee voter fraud is a real phenomenon. There have been scattered instances of both in-person and absentee voter fraud throughout history. But that's something that both Democratic and Republican campaigns have engaged in. And there is just no evidence that it happens on a widespread or systematic basis," said Kate Shaw, law professor at Cardozo Law School and ABC News legal contributor.

And for voters both in Wisconsin and across the country who don't want to rely on the mail to vote this year, there are other ways to safely cast a ballot without increasing the risk of contracting coronavirus. In many states, early voting or absentee in-person voting is an option, which allows voters to cast their ballots in person ahead of Election Day. There are also drop boxes, where voters can drop their absentee ballots off directly with their election clerks instead of sending it through the mail.

MORE: Trump, campaign push back hard against any debate rules changes

In Wisconsin, voters have already started receiving and returning absentee ballots at a rate that far surpasses what was seen in 2016: 1.2 million absentee ballots have been requested as of Oct. 1, per the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which is 16 times more ballots than were requested by this time last year. Already, 395,000 ballots have been returned, which is seven times more than the same time last year.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot in Wisconsin is Oct. 29, but voters should give themselves at least a week before the Nov. 3 deadline to return it by mail. Voters can also submit their ballots to a dropbox, vote absentee in-person with their ballot at a clerk's office beginning on Oct. 20, or vote in person on Election Day.

No matter how Wisconsin voters choose to cast their absentee ballots, they can track their ballots online through the whole process. Each Wisconsin absentee ballot has an intelligent barcode, so its movements can be tracked much like an Amazon package.

ABC News' MaryAlice Parks and Kendall Karson contributed to this report.

Trump claimed ballots were 'dumped in a river.' The reality is far from it. originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
PARIS, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OneTrust today launched the CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program, providing organisations with the support they need to get their cookie banners compliant before the CNIL updated enforcement action begins in April 2021. These fast track resources will help organisations get same-day support and guidance to implement a cookie compliance solution according to CNIL guidelines.

Fast track your CNIL cookie consent compliance today with OneTrust

Sign up for a webinar for more information on how to fast track your compliance

Today, October 1, the CNIL published its latest recommendations on the use of cookies and associated tracking technologies. These recommendations are the finalised version of those released early this year. While the CNIL now continues its enforcement of the previous cookie recommendations, starting April 2021, it will begin enforcing against non-compliant organisations under its new, revised guidance.

The CNIL highlighted the following principles and recommendations:

Continued browsing with the cookie banner can no longer be considered as a valid form of user's consent and consent validity requires a clear positive action

"Reject All" button is recommended to be on the cookie banner's first layer

Each cookie purpose must be highlighted prominently on the first layer of the cookie banner

Users should always have easy access to manage their cookie preferences and withdraw their consent at any time, and companies could implement this through a static cookie icon as a best practice

Users should have access to an up-to-date and structured list of third parties

Organisations that drop the cookie are also responsible for collecting a valid proof of consent  even towards third parties

Some trackers can be exempt from consent, including authentication cookies, audience measurement cookies, or cookies used to limit the access to free content on a website

OneTrust CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program

With OneTrust's CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program, organisations can fast track their compliance with the CNIL's recommendations regarding cookies management. With the end of March deadline before enforcement action quickly approaching, OneTrust's program will allow organisations to create, customise, and publish they cookie banners to ensure that cookies and trackers are not placed until valid consent has been acquired. With the first domain free, OneTrust's CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program provides all the tools you need to get started.

With OneTrust's CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program, customers will get access to:

First domain for free

Step-by-step implementation guides and a range of resources detailing CNIL best practices

Pre-configured cookie banner and preference centre templates

OneTrust Autoblocking TM and third-party tag management systems integrations

and third-party tag management systems integrations 24/7 support with both implementation and ongoing maintenance to keep your compliance on the fast track

OneTrust solutions also support the new CNIL requirements for mobile app compliance.

Fast track your CNIL cookie consent compliance today with OneTrust

Sign up for a webinar for more information on how to fast track your compliance

"In April 2021 the CNIL will being enforcing these latest guidelines on the use of cookies and tracking technologies. As part of our commitment to the French market we want to support our customers in getting compliant with the CNIL's latest recommendations regarding cookies management," said Kabir Barday, OneTrust CEO and Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP). "OneTrust have launched the CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program to get organisations the support and tools they need to achieve compliance quickly."

Fast track your CNIL cookie consent compliance today with OneTrust. For information sign up for a webinar, or to request a demo, visit OneTrust.com or OneTrust.fr.

OneTrust, and OneTrust CNIL Cookie Consent Fast Track Program are registered trademarks or trademarks of OneTrust LLC or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions.

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NVIDIA has announced that its delaying the the GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card by two weeks to allow it to build more stock ahead of the launch. We know this may be disappointing to those eager to purchase a GeForce RTX 3070 as soon as possible, however this shift will help our global partners get more graphics cards into the hands of gamers on launch day, the company wrote.

NVIDIA launched the RTX 3080 GPU last month, but it sold out almost immediately and cards soon appeared on eBay at highly inflated prices. As a result, the company was forced to apologize, saying it was not prepared for the demand. The company even pre-apologized for the lack of GeForce RTX 3090 GPUs before they went on sale, but that card also sold out despite the exorbitant price.

The RTX 3070 offers the best price-performance combination of the three cards, matching the performance of the previous-gen RTX 2080 Ti card. The latter model cost $999 at launch and is still selling for highly inflated prices on Amazon. With all that in mind, it makes sense for NVIDIA to wait and stock up on the $499 RTX 3070, as demand for the GPU is likely to be sky-high. The cards will now go on sale on October 29th, rather than October 15th as previously planned.
High drama ensued outside a private hospital in Model Town on Friday after the family members of a 13-year-old boy, who died during treatment, staged a protest against the hospital authorities.

The protesting members alleged that the child, who had dengue, was rushed to the hospital late on Thursday, and throughout the night, the hospital staff kept on charging money at various stages of the treatment. It was in the morning that they learnt the child had died. The agitated kin claimed that over 1 lakh was charged by the hospital, yet the boys life was not saved.

The deceased has been identified as Sagar, son of Rinku Ram (35) and Rekha (33) of Mandi Gobidngarh.

However, the hospitals managing director, Dr Baldeep Singh, dubbed the claims baseless and said the child was suffering from dengue and was rushed to the hospital in a serious condition.

The patient was critical when he was brought to the hospital. The family gave an undertaking before admitting him. We tried our best to save the child, but he could not survive. While the parents were fully aware of the boys critical condition, a few relatives accompanying them created a ruckus, said Dr Baldeep.

The protest also led to traffic jam in Model Town area, but the police intervened to pacify the protesters and normalised the vehicular movement.

Later, the hospital authorities and relatives of the deceased reached a comprise and no police complaint was lodged in the matter.
ATLANTA  As part of a partnership with the Qatar Foundations World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), The Carter Center announces new recipients of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism in Qatar.

In 2018, The Carter Center joined with WISH to develop a program designed to train students at universities in Qatar about accurate and ethical reporting on mental illnesses. Four students from Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), were trained in the first two cohorts.

Two new students will be part of the 2020-21 class. A senior Qatar-based journalist also has joined the program as a fellow.

The incoming fellow and student scholars have committed to investigating specific topics around mental health in Qatar over the next year, with the impact of COVID-19 being the primary focus.

Their participation in the program kicked off with a virtual three-day meeting hosted by The Carter Center in September 2020, during which they presented their plans for the year ahead.

The two students from NU-Q, Inaara Gangji and Maryam Abujbara, are both journalism and strategic communications majors.

They will work closely with professors at NU-Q, and with mentors in the United States and Qatar, to gain the skills and knowledge needed to produce accurate and balanced reports on mental health issues in ways that aim to eliminate stigma and increase accurate mental health reporting.

Mohammed Hadi, a senior editor at Qatar News Agency with over 19 years of journalism experience, was chosen for the main fellowship program in consultation with Hamad Medical Corporation.

As a fellow, Hadi will have access to the Carter Centers resources and top experts in mental health and journalism, as well as networking opportunities.

Communicating about mental health accurately, sensitively, and with integrity is vital, said Nick Bradshaw, director of partnerships and outreach at WISH. Our longstanding partnership with The Carter Center was established with the aim of improving the quality of mental health reporting in Qatar.

Hadi, a Tunisian-born media studies graduate from Qatar University, and a former reporter at Qatar Television, will focus on how COVID-19 and the quarantine have impacted the mental health of vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly.

His reporting will show how the media can contributes to public opinion about the mental health needs of vulnerable groups.

While it is extremely important to work with professional journalists, we believe it is also important to train students to learn best practices before commencing their professional careers, Bradshaw said.

Inaara Gangji, a senior at NU-Q, will consider the role of Qatars national mental health helpline in helping the population navigate through this difficult time, and its shortcomings, given the countrys diversity.

Maryam Abujbara, a junior at NU-Q, will investigate why discussing mental health in Qatari society and across the Middle East is considered taboo.

Probing the links and gaps between mental health institutions and the general population in Qatar, Abujara will consider how to effectively raise awareness about sensitive topics in her society.

Mental health will be one of the key areas explored during the Virtual WISH 2020 summit happening online on November 15-19, 2020.

When Rosalynn Carter started this program in 1996, her aim was to increase accurate reporting and eliminate the stigma that surrounds mental health, said Eve Byrd, director of the Mental Health Program at The Carter Center. Its been gratifying for all of us to see the dedication and enthusiasm coming from the journalism fellows and scholars in Qatar.

Their work is helping to break down barriers and build awareness about mental health needs and solutions in Qatar, Byrd said.

Since 1996, the Center has awarded one-year fellowships to more than 200 journalists, connecting them with resources and experts to increase the quality and accuracy of mental health reporting around the world.

The program is currently in the United States, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Latin America and was previously in New Zealand, South Africa, and Romania.

The Carter Center provides training, educational materials, mentorship, evaluation tools, and technical assistance to WISH to develop a sustainable and tailored program in Qatar.

WISH manages the program in Qatar and is responsible for the selection of journalists and adapting the program to meet the needs of the population in Qatar.

Read more about the fellowships on mentalhealthjournalism.org and on the Center's website here.

Contact: Rennie Sloan, rennie.sloan@cartercenter.org

The Carter Center

Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.

The World Innovation Summit for Health

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) is a global healthcare community dedicated to capturing and disseminating the best evidence-based ideas and practices. WISH is an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and is under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, its Chairperson.

The inaugural WISH Summit took place in Doha in 2013 and convened more than 1,000 global healthcare leaders. Through international summits and a range of ongoing initiatives, WISH is creating a global community of leading innovators in healthcare policy, research and industry.

Together, they are harnessing the power of innovation to overcome the worlds most urgent healthcare challenges and inspire other stakeholders to action.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The influence of bots on vaccine-related discussions on social media is a lot smaller than we think, with only a minor fraction of information from bots reaching active social media users.

The University of Sydney-led research looked at over 53,000 randomly selected active Twitter users in the United States and monitored their interaction with more than 20 million vaccine-related tweets posted by both human-operated and bot Twitter accounts from 2017 to 2019.

Other studies have examined vaccine-related content on social media, but there has yet to be a reliable estimate on how much of the vaccine-related content that social media users potentially see or interact with comes from bots.

The research team found that an overwhelming majority of the vaccine-related content seen by typical users in the United States is generated by human-operated accounts.

In the three-year period, a typical Twitter user potentially saw 757 vaccine-related posts, just 27 of those were critical of vaccination, and most users were unlikely to have ever seen vaccine-related content from a bot.

More than a third of active Twitter users posted or retweeted about vaccines but only 4.5 percent ever retweeted vaccine-critical information.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Public Health, was led by public health informatics expert Associate Professor Adam Dunn, who is head of Biomedical Informatics and Digital Health from the School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health.

"The study shows that bots play little to no role in shaping vaccine discourse among Twitter users in the United States," says Associate Professor Dunn.

"There is concern about the role of bots on the spread of misinformation on social media, and pressure on social media companies to deal with them. We found that Twitter users rarely encounter and share vaccine related content posted by bots.

"The reality is that most of what people see about vaccines on social media is neither critical nor misinformation. It is convenient to blame problems in public health and politics on orchestrated and malicious activities, so many investigations focus on simply tallying up what vocal anti-vaccine groups post, without measuring what everyone else actually sees and engages with.

The researchers suggest that resources that are being invested by social media platforms and policy makers for controlling bots and trolls might be more effectively used on interventions to educate and improve media literacy. Education interventions may help to create a protective barrier around the small anti-vaccine groups to stop misinformation from spreading.

Key findings:

A typical user was potentially exposed to 757 vaccine-related tweets, of which 27 included vaccine-critical content, and none were from bots.

36.7 percent of users posted or retweeted vaccine content, but only 4.5 percent of users retweeted a vaccine-critical tweet, and 2.1 percent of users retweeted a bot.

A subgroup of 5.8 percent of Twitter users in the United States are embedded in communities where they were more engaged with the topic of vaccination in general. But even among this relatively small subgroup, the vast majority never engaged with vaccine-related posts from bots, and instead were engaging with vaccine-critical content posted by other human users in their communities.

The study did not examine social media engagement with trolls, rather focussed on human-operated Twitter accounts that use a range of approaches to gain followers and post misinformation.

The 'information epidemiology' landscape

The study comes at a critical time when the topic of public health misinformation spread via social media platforms is a pressing question for government and global agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic, including in Australia.

Associate Professor Dunn studies the epidemiology of health information, a field that measures how people are exposed to or seek out health information online, and the tools that can be used to prevent the spread and impact of misinformation.

"Vaccine confidence is unevenly distributed within and across countries, which can lead to increased risk of outbreaks in places where too many people decide not to vaccinate."

"I think the best tools that social media platforms have for stopping misinformation are those that can empower their users to spot it and add friction to passing it along. For public health organisations and researchers, the tools we need are those that can prioritise resources by signalling when the benefits of tackling misinformation outweigh the risks of unintentionally amplifying it by engaging with it.

"By focusing investigations only on counting what bots, trolls, and malicious users post without looking at what people potentially see and engage with, there is the risk of unnecessarily amplifying that content and could make it seem much more important than it really is."

Explore further Vaccine proponents and opponents are vectors of misinformation online

More information: Adam G. Dunn et al, Limited Role of Bots in Spreading Vaccine-Critical Information Among Active Twitter Users in the United States: 20172019, American Journal of Public Health (2020). Journal information: American Journal of Public Health Adam G. Dunn et al, Limited Role of Bots in Spreading Vaccine-Critical Information Among Active Twitter Users in the United States: 20172019,(2020). DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305902
French Parliament has rejected a provision of a new bill against animal cruelty that sought an end to battery farming and certain hunting practices. Earlier this week, the committee approved a ban on using wild animals in circuses and marine parks, as well as mink farming.

During the four-hour debate, parliamentarians, including those from President Emmanuel Macron's ruling LaREM party, voted against the measure to improve the condition of animals bred in intensive farming by enforcing outdoor access by 2040.

The provision - the most ambitious and most expensive of the bill - was rejected on the grounds that it wold increase production costs and therefore the price paid by the consumer.

Other measures removed from the bill included hunting with dogs and in underground in burrows of foxes and badgers.

The provisions were proposed by Cedric Villani of the EDS (Ecology, Democracy and Solidarity) party.

Earlier in the week, parliament voted in favour of banning wild animals in circuses and marine parks within 5 years -- within two years for certain animals such as bears, elephants and lions.

It also approved an end to breeding American mink for fur production within five years, but not for certain rabbit species that are bred for fur making.

Ahead of the debate, animal rights campaigners released images taken from a farm they said houses more than 40,000 rabbits in small cages in the western Brittany region.
Progressive evangelical leader urges Biden to talk to evangelicals about abortion, religious freedom

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A longtime progressive evangelical leader who's urged white evangelicals to rethink their vote for President Donald Trump is now calling on 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to do more to appeal to evangelical voters and address their concerns about abortion and religious freedom.

Ron Sider, a theologian, professor and social activist who founded the group Evangelicals for Social Action in 1973 and authored the popular 1978 book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, published an op-ed in USA Today on Monday.

In the piece, Sider, 80, explained how and why it's important for Biden to do something that his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, did not do in 2016.

With the Democratic Party sliding further left when it comes to stances on LGBT issues and abortion, Sider argues that white evangelicals  a major voting bloc for Trump  need Biden to show that he understands and respects our concerns.

There are millions of evangelicals (and Catholics) in swing states who want to vote for Biden, Sider argued. We agree much more with Biden than with Trump on numerous issues: racial justice, economic justice, the environment and climate change, tax policy that demands more of the rich, health care for all  and much more. We want to vote for Joe Biden!

But on two issues  abortion and religious freedom  we need to hear that Bidens campaign understands, respects and can talk to us about our concerns, even though they do not fully agree, he continued.

Sider, an emeritus professor of theology, holistic ministry, and public policy at Palmer Theological Seminary Pennsylvania, is also the editor of the new book, The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump.

The book consists of essays written by 30 evangelical Christians from various backgrounds calling for white evangelicals to rethink their vote for Trump in 2020 after exit polls showed that 8 in 10 white evangelical voters voted for Trump in 2016.

Former President Bill Clinton personally told a very close friend of mine that the reason his wife Hillary Clinton lost Pennsylvania (and the presidency) in 2016 was because of her stand on abortion, Sider wrote. In 2008, she said abortion should be legal, safe and rare. In 2016, she refused to say it should be rare.

In 2016, Clinton was urged by progressive evangelical leader Jim Wallis to state publicly a call for abortion to be rare. But she never did. Some Trump supporters would also argue that Clintons support for late-term abortion was one of her downfalls.

In 2016, she refused to say it should be rare, Sider explained. That kind of stance ignores basic polling data.

Sider cited a Gallup poll showing that about 29% of Americans say abortion should be legal in every instance, 20% believe abortion should never be legal, and about 50% said abortion should be legal with some restrictions.

I expect that Biden will keep saying he'll guarantee that abortion continues to be legal and safe, Sider said. But Biden could also say that as a Catholic, he understands those who want it to be less frequent.

Sider went on to argue that important Democratic policies actually foster fewer abortions, citing figures suggesting that the number of abortions fell under President Barack Obama. Sider argues that Obamas policies improved economic support for low-income persons, including insurance coverage for contraception.

Millions of evangelicals and Catholics in swing states do not think abortion trumps all other issues, Sider contends. We think universal health care is a pro-life issue. So are capital punishment, climate change, racial justice and effective poverty reduction programs here and abroad.

We want to support Biden for these and other reasons, he added. But it would make it much easier if Biden would show some understanding of the tens of millions of Americans who think abortion should be grieved, not celebrated.

Sider went on in his op-ed to say that the issue of religious freedom is also crucial, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 to make same-sex marriage a national right.

Sider criticized the fact that some prominent Democratic figures have argued that any faith-based organization that believes it must be faithful to its traditional view of marriage in its hiring practices should lose all government funds.

That would mean that many thousands of religious colleges, universities and faith-based social service agencies serving millions of people would lose both government funds (for example Pell grants and work-study funds) and even lose their tax-exempt status, Sider wrote. If that view prevails, it will vastly weaken and probably destroy vast numbers of faith-based organizations and harm millions of poorer Americans.

Sider stated that he supports adding federal discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity but stressed that religious freedom for faith-based organizations should also be protected. Sider voiced his support for the Fairness for All Act, legislation introduced last year that is backed by the National Association of Evangelicals.

Millions of Christians in key swing states want to defeat Trump this year. Some of us will vote for Biden regardless of what he says on these two issues, Sider explained. But others will not. And that loss of votes might cost Biden the presidency  and far more important, mean another four years of Trumps devastating policies. I hope Joe Biden will do what he can to hear our deeply felt concerns on abortion and religious freedom.

The Christian Post reached out to Sider to inquire if he has reached out directly to the Biden campaign. A response is pending.

Siders plea comes after Public Religion Research Institute polling data showed in late April that favorability among white Christians in battleground states had dropped by 27 percentage points since mid-March. The PRRI data at the time suggested that Trumps favorability among white evangelical Protestants declined 11 percentage points since March to 66% in April.

In late May, PRRI found that 62% of white evangelicals hold favorable views of the president.

However, recent data from Pew Research show that about 82% of evangelical registered voters say they plan to vote for or are leaning toward voting for Trump in 2020.

As previously reported, the Biden campaign believes that it can appeal to younger millennial evangelical voters and moderate evangelical voters even if the majority of white evangelical voters still vote for Trump in November.

John McCarthy, the deputy national political director for the Biden Campaign, told Just The News that he thinks evangelicals who voted for Trump will be open to Bidens message.

In 2008, President Barack Obama, whom Biden served as vice president, won 26% of the white evangelical vote and 21% of the white evangelical vote in 2012. By comparison, Clinton won just 16% of the evangelical vote in 2016.

Broad swaths of the faith community did not feel like the Democratic nominee was interested in their vote, former Obama campaign faith adviser Michael Wear said of Clinton in an interview journalist David Brody.

"I've been very clear that the invitation was not given in 2016, Wear added.
UP: Elections not won on exit polls basis, results will be surprising: Kamal Nath

Hathras case: Demand to impose Presidents rule in UP

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Ghaziabad, Oct 02: Amid the widespread outrage over the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras and her forcible cremation subsequently, scores of Ghaziabad lawyers on Thursday demanded imposition of President Rule in Uttar Pradesh.

The lawyers demanded the dismissal of the Yogi Adityanath government and imposition of President Rule, saying that the gang-rape of a Dalit woman and her brutalization amid a spate of crime against women in Uttar Pradesh has tarnished the image of the country and would flatten its progress graph.

The lawyers sought imposition of President Rule in a memorandum addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind that they gave to District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey.

The agitating lawyers reached the district collectorate in a march from Civil Court under the banner of Adhivakta Sangharsh Samiti.

During the march, the lawyers raised anti-government slogans and burnt effigies of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, accusing him of having failed in controlling the soaring crime graph against women in the state.

Also Read:

Addressing reporters after leading the lawyers' march, the advocates' body convener Nahar Singh Yadav said the Yogi government has totally failed in controlling the crime in the state, more so against women .

And the police, in turn, try to eliminate evidence in haste to hide the soaring crime graph as happened in the case of the gang-rape of the Dalit woman in Hathras who was forcibly cremated overnight by police, said Yadav.

The gang-rape of the Dalit woman and her brutalization amid a spate of crime against women in Uttar Pradesh has tarnished the image of the country and would flatten its progress graph, he added.

The advocates' body also Samiti demanded an impartial probe in the case under the supervision of a retired judge of the high court or the Supreme Court.

The case should be transferred in the fast track court of any other state, said Yadav, adding the government must provide protection to the rape victim's family.

The lawyers' body also demanded a government job, a house in Delhi and a compensation of Rs 2 crore for the Hathras gang-rape victim's family.

In addition to the demonstration by lawyers, a Balmiki Samaj outfit held a protest march from Balmiki Park of Navyug Market to the collectorate and raised slogans against the Yogi government and blocked the traffic at many crucial traffic junctions.

They condemned the alleged forcible funeral of the rape victim by the Hathras police without her parents' consent and demanded the termination of the Hathras police officials responsible for this.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

The Balmiki Samaj also called for the suspension of the sanitisation and cleaning work in Ghaziabad on October 3, city president of Balmiki outfit, Anil Kalyani said.

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Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 9:00 [IST]
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NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Churchill Capital Corp III ("Churchill III") (NYSE: CCXX), a public investment vehicle, today confirmed the special meeting of stockholders to approve the pending combination with Polaris Parent Corp., the parent of MultiPlan, Inc ("MultiPlan"), will be held at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on October 7, 2020 via live webcast. The proxy statement is available in the Investor Resources section of Churchill III's website as well as on www.sec.gov.

The consummation of the business combination is currently expected to occur on October 8, 2020, the day immediately following the special meeting of stockholders, subject to final stockholder approval and satisfaction of other customary conditions.

As previously disclosed, Churchill III stockholders, representing approximately 41% of the outstanding common stock of Churchill III, have agreed to vote FOR the business combination proposal with MultiPlan as well as the other proposals set forth in the proxy statement. In addition, as previously disclosed, an affiliate of MultiPlan owns approximately 6.6% of the outstanding shares of Churchill III's common stock and has agreed to vote such shares FOR the business combination in the same proportion as the votes cast by other Churchill III stockholders FOR the business combination relative to all votes actually cast by other Churchill III stockholders with respect to such proposal.

Further, Churchill III has received commitments from existing investors and new PIPE investors for funding and non-redemptions of approximately $2.9 billion in the aggregate, which is more than sufficient to satisfy the closing cash condition.

Holders of Churchill III's common stock as of the close of business on September 14, 2020 are entitled to vote at the special meeting. The Churchill III Board of Directors unanimously recommends that stockholders vote "FOR" the business combination proposal with MultiPlan as well as the other proposals set forth in the proxy statement.

About Churchill Capital Corp III

Churchill Capital Corp III is a public investment vehicle formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, acquisition, or similar business combination. Churchill III was founded by a group of leading current and former business and financial leaders. Churchill III's securities are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbols CCXX, CCXX. WS and CCXX.U. The Company raised $1.1 billion of cash proceeds in an initial public offering in February 2020. Churchill's first public equity investment company, Churchill Capital Corp, led by Jerre Stead, merged with Clarivate Analytics, a leading provider of comprehensive intellectual property and scientific information, analytical tools, and services in May 2019. Churchill Capital Corp II and Churchill Capital Corp IV are actively pursuing initial business combination targets in any business or industry. For more information, visit iii.churchillcapitalcorp.com

About Multiplan

MultiPlan is committed to helping healthcare payers manage the cost of care, improve their competitiveness and inspire positive change. Leveraging sophisticated technology, data analytics, and a team rich with industry experience, MultiPlan interprets clients' needs and customizes innovative solutions that combine its payment integrity, network-based and analytics-based services. MultiPlan is a trusted partner to over 700 healthcare payers in the commercial health, dental, government and property and casualty markets. MultiPlan is owned by Hellman & Friedman and other investors. For more information, visit multiplan.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication includes "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "will," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "should," "would," or similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean the statement is not forward-looking. Such forward looking statements are based on current expectations that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from expectations expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Investors are also encouraged to review the risks and uncertainties indicated in the definitive proxy statement filed with SEC on September 18, 2020, including those under "Risk Factors" therein, and other documents filed or to be filed in connection with the business combination with SEC by Churchill III. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and, except as required by law, Churchill III and MultiPlan undertake no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements in this communication speak as of the date of this communication. Although Churchill III may from time to time voluntarily update its prior forward-looking statements, it disclaims any commitment to do so whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise except as required by securities laws.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of, an offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer or invitation to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any securities, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant to the proposed transactions or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of any securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. In particular, this communication is not an offer of securities for sale into the United States. No offer of securities shall be made in the United States absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, such registration requirements.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed transactions, Churchill III filed a definitive proxy statement with the SEC on September 18, 2020. Stockholders are urged to read the definitive proxy statement and any other documents filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed business combination or incorporated by reference in the definitive proxy statement because they will contain important information about the proposed business combination.

Investors will be able to obtain free of charge the proxy statement and other documents filed with the SEC at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Churchill III when and if available, can be obtained free of charge by directing a written request to Churchill Capital Corp III, 640 Fifth Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10019.

Contacts:

Media: Steven Lipin or Felipe Ucros. Gladstone Place Partners, 212-230-5930

SOURCE Churchill Capital Corp III

Related Links

https://iii.churchillcapitalcorp.com


For the first time since he was 16, Tom Wibert will be out of a job.
The Chief Medical Officer of Northern Ireland, Michael McBride, has advised the public to prepare for a potential second lockdown adding that wider restrictions may need to put in place which may include a circuit breaker.

The Stormont Executive announced local restrictions for the Derry City & Strabane Council area yesterday in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19.

They include hospitality businesses limited to takeaway, delivery and outdoor dining, and a call to avoid unnecessary travel.

Dr McBride said further restrictions are likely in the coming weeks if the coronavirus numbers continue to rise, and did not rule out a short intensive lockdown, known as a circuit breaker, according to RTE.

"I do believe that we need to plan and prepare and look at options around a so-called circuit breaker," he told the BBC.

"For us to get through the next number of months we may well need to apply further restrictions, perhaps for a short period of a couple of weeks ... and then if the virus starts to increase again we may need to reapply some of those wider further restrictions.

"It is crucially important that we keep on top of this virus and we deploy all of the tools in our toolbox.

"There is no magic bullet here, no hammer that you can take out that will suppress this virus; it is about the combination of interventions, restrictions that reduce mixing between people.

"There may come a point, if we see very significant transmission at a Northern Ireland level, that we need to move away from local restrictions to wider restrictions at a Northern Ireland level, and that may include a circuit breaker."

"We have a very narrow window now to act, the consequences would be profound if we don't," he added.

The increase in numbers of those testing positive in Derry city and Strabane is deeply worrying, he said.

Numbers in the Belfast, Newry, Mourne & Down, and Mid Ulster Council areas are also rising.

He added that the number of new cases are doubling every nine days. The number of admissions to hospital is doubling every nine days. The medical expert said that the people of northern Ireland could be back to wave-one numbers of people in our hospitals with Covid-19 as early as three weeks from now.

"We have a very, very short window of opportunity to put in place wider restrictions to actually stop the spread of this virus."

Yesterday, First Minister Arlene Foster said any new period of full lockdown in Northern Ireland should only happen as part of a co-ordinated move across the UK.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said a lockdown, if it were to be required, should be undertaken across the island of Ireland.
Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), said effective checks have been mounted by the Federal Government against identity theft in the admission process into Nigerias tertiary institutions.

Mr Oloyede made this known at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday in Abuja.

He said incidents of impersonation and other forms of identity theft during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination had dropped from 74,000 in 2019 to 4,900 in 2020, a 93 per cent reduction.

According to him, the Federal Government, through the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, issued a directive mandating JAMB to transfer candidates biometrics to their institutions of choice.

He said the implementation of the directive will end fresh capturing of biometrics and pictures of candidates for post-UTME tests.

Mr Oloyede said Mr Adamus directive had already uncovered 657 cases of candidates whose photographs could not match the ones recorded in JAMBs database but were currently angling to change the photographs.

He said the board had subsequently referred those who requested for change of photographs to come down to its headquarters.

He said the intention is to bring perpetrators of fraud to book.

In previous admission exercises, certain candidates who appear in the institution for registration were different from those who actually sat the examination.

This was possible because the institutions were taking fresh pictures and biometrics, thereby making it possible for impersonators to have a field day to ply their trade.

In the last exercise, we insisted, as directed by the Minister of Education, that all institutions should use the already captured biometrics and pictures by the Board.

This made it impossible for the candidates whose examinations were taken on their behalf by professional examination takers to gain admissions.

Mr Oloyede said the implementation of the directive had led to the arrest of one Etim Israel, a police constable, who was paraded before journalists on allegation of examination malpractice.

Etim hired a school teacher named Emmanuel and paid him N30, 000 to write the 2020 UTME for him, while he was away on official duties.

Luck however ran out on him when his photograph could not tally with Emmanuels and was forced to visit the JAMB headquarters in Abuja for rectification.

He scored over 200 points in UTME and wanted to read fishery at the Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpaden, Mpat Enin.

But the new measures in place will not let him dare show his face in his chosen institution as it is the picture of his impersonator that was displayed at the screening venue, he said.

He said incidents of impersonation and other forms of identity theft during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination had dropped from 74,000 in 2019 to 4,900 in 2020.

The JAMB boss, who said that the 4,900 cases were still high and questionable, pointed out that the drastic reduction was triggered by a process introduced by the board.

He said the process allowed officials to take a snapshot of any candidate who claimed he could not be biometrically verified compared with the picture in JAMBs database.

Last year, one of the steps we took was that if somebody comes to be verified for examination and he is not verified biometrically, we will ask that the candidate or the person who appears to write the exam should take a new picture and take fresh biometrics of the candidate.

Many of the candidates were under the impression that it was an indication that we will ask them to sit for another examination; that a make-up will be made for them as usual.

But you would recall that last year, we had over 70,000 candidates in that category. That has been reduced to 4,900 this year.

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When candidates, who are impersonating were asked to subject themselves to another round of picture-taking and biometric capturing, many people had erroneously thought that was a preparation for yet another examination.

Rather, this was to match the new data with what was obtained during the registration exercise to establish if the same person had done the original registration, Mr Oloyede said.
The horse and carriage rides that have become symbolic of New York City's Central Park will return this weekend after shuttering for six months amid the pandemic.

The return of horse-drawn carriages to the upper Manhattan park signals a return to normalcy in the Big Apple, but it also underscores the significant plunge in tourism that previously financed much of the city.

New York City, which emerged as the country's virus epicenter, recorded an approximate 90 per cent drop in visitors between April and June - a reported $250million in tourism-related taxes.

The city briefly rejoiced this week when indoor dining was allowed, but a state report found that half of its restaurants could close in six months over a lack of diners and tourists.

New York City's quandary laid bare the discrepancies between business owners attempting to jump start the economy and a lack of consumers.

A handful of horse-drawn carriages will return to New York City's Central Park this weekend to officially reopen business

But Frank Riccobono, owner of NYC Horse Carriage Rides, told DailyMail.com that the companies opening on Saturday understand the stakes.

'We're taking a big chance with what we're doing and don't know what we're walking into between the travel ban and COVID-19,' Riccobono, a veteran of 16 years, said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's travel ban was first implemented earlier this summer when COVID-19 cases in New York City decreased and other states saw their numbers skyrocket.

Residents from more than 30 states are still required to quarantine when they enter the city, where 249,000 people were infected and 23,800 died.

NYC Horse Carriage Rides, a long time staple in the New York City community, held their grand debut on Thursday evening.

Colm McKeever: 'The lights are going to come back on in New York City, and we are going to be a part of it'

'We're trying to bring back happiness to New York City...making up for lost special occasions,' Riccobono told DailyMail.com

Colm McKeever, a carriage driver for 31 years, shared a similar sentiment with New York Daily News.

'The lights are going to come back on in New York City, and we are going to be a part of it,' McKeever told NYDN on Thursday.

'This is a great moment of hope. Theres a symbolism to seeing a horse-drawn carriage going down the street. Its really exciting for the city, I think, for all of New York.'

Riccobono told DailyMail.com that only a handful of carriages or so will return for business on Saturday, with many of them focused on public health guidelines.

His carriages have been outfitted with hand sanitizers and masks. Many business owners will require cleanings in-between rides.

NYDN reported that Mobile Health Inc., a testing company in New York City, will administer rapid results COVID-19 tests before operations begin.

This weekend will be the first time horse carriages will return since March, when the pandemic shuttered industries from all sectors and the typically buzzing city fell silent.

Christina Hansen: 'With everything else' canceled  the Rockettes, Broadway, no Macys Parade, no Times Square ball drop  we can at least be the one, real, non-virtual New York City Christmas tradition still open

Many owners transported their horses to out-of-state farms for six months, including Riccobono, who kept his at a farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

But their return comes just in time for the holiday season, specifically Christmas.

'With everything else canceled  the Rockettes, Broadway, no Macys Parade, no Times Square ball drop  we can at least be the one, real, non-virtual New York City Christmas tradition still open,' driver Christina Hansen told NYDN.

The publication reported that a dry-run held Thursday saw eager customers asking for rides in advance of Saturday.

'Its been dark old days for a while now, and its an exciting business,' McKeever told NYDN. 'People need to see the city coming back. And once the ball starts to roll, dont ever count New York down. That balls not going to stop.'

Riccobono said NYC Horse Carriage Rides has used reservations to schedule rides and has already had a few customers so far.

Although he did not disclose how many, he said on Thursday night his business gave a ride a family vacationing from California and couple from Texas celebrating their anniversary.

Pictured: A carriage is seen during winter season at the Central Park in New York on November 23, 2019 - just two months before the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the city

Riccobono added that on Friday he had 'several' reservations in the day and he looked forward to Saturday.

Still, it's likely that the number of visitors who could show up won't be on par with previous years.

In an interview with Market Watch, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer noted the 90 per cent decline in tourism in the last quarter of fiscal year in 2020.

'In the midst of the pandemic, we are starting to realize that our 62 million [annual] tourist visitors will be no more in the short term,' Stringer told Market Watch.

'We havent lost our mojo as a city, but the pandemic has curbed what we can do to attract people from all over the world.'

The problem of tourism appeal could assist in shutting down 24,000 restaurants and eliminate 150,000 jobs, according to a report from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on Thursday.

'Estimates of the potential permanent closures of City restaurants and bars over the next six months to a year have generally ranged from one-third to one-half of all establishments that existed before the pandemic.

Waiter Lenworth Thompson serves lunch to David Zennario, left, and Alex Ecklin at Junior's, a chain restaurant, on Wednesday

'At the high end, that could result in a permanent loss of nearly 12,000 of the Citys restaurants and bars, and nearly 159,000 industry jobs, although the opening of new restaurants would mitigate some of these losses,' the report reads.

The report also revealed that the vast majority of restaurants across the city are small businesses with fewer than 20 employees.

Most of the jobs (192,500) are in Manhattan, 51,700 are in Brooklyn and 49,100 are in Queens. The average restaurant worker salary was $33,700 in 2019.

The two areas with the most restaurants are midtown and lower Manhattan - together, they make up 40 percent of the city's jobs.

The report came after New York City restaurants reopened after seven months, but still operated under a 25 per cent capacity limit.

Diners inside Keens Steakhouse on Wednesday on the first day of indoor dining in New York City. Restaurants can operate at a 25 percent capacity

The 25 percent capacity limit drastically reduces the amount of money restaurants - many of which struggled to turn a profit when packed - can make.

Many are urging Cuomo to allow them to start at 50 percent on October 15 and 75 percent on November and 100 percent by Thanksgiving.

But others have pushed back against encouraging droves of tourists back into the city.

'Regaining the tourism revenue this fall means letting a million potential carriers into our city,' City Councilwoman Farah N. Louis told Market Watch.

'The relative loss of allowing the coronavirus to ravage New York once again is much more detrimental to the economy than the relative and temporary tourism industry deficit.'
Vaccine will be registered with Malaysias National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) after completing a Phase 3 clinical trial

Malaysia's Solution Biologics Sdn Bhd (SOLBIO), a subsidiary of Solution Group Bhd, has inked a deal with China based CanSino Biologics to distribute Ad5-nCoV vaccine candidate targeting COVID-19 in Malaysia. Indonesia is currently preparing to support commercialization. SOLBIO signed a registration, manufacturing and commercialisation agreement with CanSinoBIO on 23 September 2020.

SOLBIO is ready to pursue the Market Authorization Certificate from Malaysias National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) to commence the marketing and distribution of Ad5-nCoV.

SOLBIO and CanSinoBIO have also formed a joint working committee to ensure smooth project implementation.

The vaccine, Adenovirus Type 5 Vector, will be registered after completing a Phase 3 clinical trial with Malaysias National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA). The vaccine has to pass Phase 3 clinical trial to prove to be safe and effective as per U.S. FDA standards.

We hope to secure the vaccine as soon as CanSinoBIO completes the trial, which is in compliance with the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations of the US Food and Drug Administration standards, said Solution Group managing director Barry Lim.

Known as a technology investment holding company, Solutions Group Berhad is publicly traded on the Malaysian stock market. The company maintains a number of subsidiaries, including the life sciences-focused SOLBIO mentioned above.
'What can we do different?' Louisville police chief gets her chance to lead during a tumultuous time
Around 330,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), or 8 percent of Norways oil and gas production, would be affected after a Norwegian workers union steps up a strike action on October 4, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG) said on Friday.

NOG has been negotiating with trade unions representing offshore workers for weeks. The association and the trade unions were disagreeing over annual pay for offshore workers, and after failing to reach an agreement, the matter went to mediators.

The Norwegian Union of Industry and Energy Workers, Industry Energy, and the Norwegian Union of Energy Workers, Safe  representing 85 percent of the offshore workforce  have accepted a deal on the financial parameters, NOG said.

Yet, the smaller Lederne union has refused to accept the new terms, broke off negotiations on September 30, and 43 of its members went on strike at the giant Johan Sverdrup oilfield.

Lederne has said that it would escalate the strike on October 4.

As things look now, Equinor-operated oil and gas fields Kvitebjrn and its Valemon satellite, as well as Gudrun and Gina Krog, will have to shut down, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association said on Friday.

Neptunes Gja field will have to shut down as a result of the walkout. The same applies to its Vega satellite, which is operated by Wintershall Dea Norge.

The six fields in produce in total 330,000 boepd, while total oil and gas output from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) is about 4 million boepd.

The risk therefore exists that about eight per cent of total petroleum production from the NCS could be lost through extending the strike, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association said.

Norway is currently reducing its oil production by the end of the year because of the slump in oil prices in March and April. In a bid to support global efforts to prop up oil prices and ease the glut, Norway has decided it would cut its crude oil production by 250,000 bpd in June, and then maintain a 134,000-bpd lower rate of production for the rest of 2020.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. With combined Turkish and Azerbaijani attacks on the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and Armenia entering their 5th day, Senate and House leaders are rallying Congressional condemnation, through legislation and Congressional letters  working to bring about concrete policy changes that would cut U.S. military aid to the Aliyev regime and sanction President Erdogan for risking regional war amid a global pandemic, ARMENPRESS reports, citing the official website of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

U.S. legislators  from across the aisle and in both houses of Congress  are sounding alarms regarding Azerbaijan and Turkeys latest offensive against Artsakh and Armenia. Weve seen swift calls for concrete U.S. action to end military assistance to Azerbaijan and sanctions on Turkey for aiding and abetting Azerbaijani aggression  threatening a full-scale regional war during a global pandemic, said ANCA Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan. Special thanks to Senator Menendez, Representatives Speier, Pallone, Schiff, Bilirakis, Nunes, and the Congressional Armenian Caucus for taking the lead in changing the failed U.S. policy of artificial even-handedness which has only emboldened Turkey and Azerbaijans warmongering. With broad-based nationwide grassroots advocacy, the ANCA looks forward to seeing unprecedented support for each of these Congressional initiatives.

In the House, Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Jackie Speier (D-CA) is set to introduce a resolution which condemns Azerbaijans aggression, denounces Turkeys role in the attacks, calls for an immediate cease-fire, and urges the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group to secure an agreement from Azerbaijan to cease offensive military operations against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia and to accept independent third-party monitoring along the line of contact.

The bi-partisan Speier Resolution, which already includes Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), David Cicilline (D-RI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA) as original cosponsors, is gathering broad-based support in the face of Azerbaijani aggression.

Also in the U.S. House, Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone and Jackie Speier, House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff and Ranking Republican Devin Nunes (R-CA) are leading a Congressional letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling for decisive U.S. government action to condemn Azerbaijans unprovoked aggression, threatening continued U.S. aid to the Aliyev regime, demanding greater cease-fire monitoring along the line of contact, and calling out Turkeys detrimental role in Azerbaijans recent attacks.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Democrat Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is leading a similar letter to Secretary of State Pompeo, calling for the immediate end to U.S. security assistance to Azerbaijan and calling on the Trump Administration to immediately engage with Turkey President Erdogan to disengage from the conflict. If Turkey is unwilling to step back from active engagement in the conflict, then the State Department should immediately suspend all sales and transfers of military equipment to Ankara, notes the Senate letter.

Well over 150,000 letters and 10,000 calls have already reached President Trump, former Vice-President Biden, U.S. Senators and House members through the ANCAs dual action portals  anca.org/alert and anca.org/call  in support of zero-ing out military and security aid to Azerbaijan, sanctioning Turkey for their participation in the latest attacks against Armenia and Artsakh, urging the implementation of the Royce-Engel peace proposal, which would help ensure a cease-fire through the more OSCE monitors along the line of contact and the placement of gunfire-locator systems to identify those breaking the ceasefire.

Over 25 Senate and House Members have already condemned the Turkey and Azerbaijans anti-Armenian attacks.
The European Union on Friday, October 2 has warned to impose sanctions on Turkey amid an escalation in tensions with Greece over energy resources and maritime borders. According to the international media reports, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has urged Ankara to maintain peace and regional stability. She also called on Ankara to "abstain from unilateral actions" in the eastern Mediterranean region.

READ: Kurz: Turkey Using Migrants As Weapons Against Europe

EU warns Turkey of sanctions

Addressing a meeting of the EU leaders European Commission Chief reportedly said that they want a positive and constructive relationship with Turkey as well as with Ankara. She added that this thing will work when provocations and tensions stop and Turkey abstains from unilateral actions from now onwards. Earlier, seven European nations have come together over their shared concerns for heightened tensions in the Meditteranean and urged Turkey to end its unilateral and illegal activities in the region. As Turkey seeks to expand its energy resources in the Mediterranean, France, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Italy, Spain, and Portugal tried to gathered in Corsica for de-escalation talks on Thursday, September 10.

READ: Merkel On Belarus Sanctions, Relationship With Turkey

In their statement, the leaders also re-affirmed their support for Greece and Cyprus, who they claim have been facing Turkey's hostile actions. The statement further added that if Turkey continues with its aggressive activities in the Meditteranean and rejects attempts to open dialogue, then the EU is prepared to develop a comprehensive list of restrictive measures to be slapped on the Erdogan government.

Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on September 29 that the United States strongly supports dialogue between Greece and Turkey, amid rising tensions over energy resources. Pompeo is on a two-day trip to Greece and visited the NATO base of Souda Bay on Crete with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Tensions between Greece and Turkey escalated after Ankara sent research boats to look for resources in the eastern Mediterranean. The research boats were accompanied by warships, which upset the Greek side, who immediately asked Turkey to withdraw the vessels. Greece sent its own warships in the area stoking fear among regional partners. The European Union warned Ankara of possible sanctions for its actions in the eastern Mediterranean.

READ: Armenia Claims Turkey Downed One Of Its Jets

READ: Spain Rebuffs Turkey's 'unilateral' Gas Search, Backs Cyprus
Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden waves as he leaves the Hotel Dupont after having internal campaign meetings in Wilmington, Del., on Sept. 16, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Joe Biden Says Hes Tested Negative for CCP Virus

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, have both tested negative for COVID-19.

He confirmed in a Twitter post, saying, Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. 

I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands, Biden added.

In a statement from his physician, Dr. Kevin OConnor, the Bidens underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 today and COVID-19 was not detected.

I am reporting this out in my capacity as both Vice President Biden and Dr. Bidens primary care physician, he added.

The update comes hours after President Donald Trump confirmed on Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump contracted the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Earlier on Thursday, he noted that White House adviser Hope Hicks had contracted it.

In a Twitter statement on Friday morning, Biden said he and his wife send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

Trump and the first lady remain in good spirits, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said, adding that the president does have mild symptoms. He didnt elaborate on what symptoms he has.

Hes in the residence now and, in true fashion, hes probably critiquing the way Im answering these questions, Meadows told reporters. He continues to not only be in good spirits  but very energetic, the chief of staff said, adding that business appears to be continuing as usual at the White House.

Doctors will continue to monitor both the health of both the president, 74, and the first lady, 50, Meadows added. Members of the White House will be continued to be tested on a daily basis.

Trump had a campaign rally planned for Florida on Friday and two planned for Wisconsin on Saturday. Vice President Pence and his wife, Karen, who are tested on a daily basis, tested negative for the virus Friday, a spokesman told media outlets.

The presidents physician said in a memo that Donald and Melania Trump are both well at this time and plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence. Their son Barron, who lives at the White House, tested negative.

The White House began instituting a daily testing regimen for the presidents senior aides after earlier positive cases close to the president. Anyone in close proximity to the president or vice president is also tested every day, including reporters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related video: President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump test positive for the coronavirus.

University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, has tested positive for COVID-19.



The following statement was sent out to the campus from the university:

"During self-quarantine this week, University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, learned that a colleague with whom he has been in regular contact tested positive for COVID-19. Fr. Jenkins was tested and found to be positive for COVID-19 too. As a result, he is entering an extended period of isolation as indicated by University medical personnel and county health officials. My symptoms are mild and I will continue work from home, Fr. Jenkins

The reverend attended the White House Supreme Court announcement last Saturday and was criticized for not wearing a mask and shaking hands.

According to the Chicago Tribune, in a statement to students sent Monday, Rev. Jenkins apologized for not wearing a mask, saying, "I write to express my regret for certain choices I made that day and for failing to lead as I should have."

Jenkins' positive COVID test comes after President Donald Trump announced he and the first lady had been diagnosed with the virus. The first couple are experiencing mild symptoms and are isolated in the White House residence.
Nine parents filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District and its superintendent, Austin Beutner, on Thursday. The plaintiffs - brought together by two advocacy organizations, Innovate Public Schools and Parent Revolution - allege that the state has violated children's rights to equal public education.

In the lawsuit, the parents argue that the state "failed miserably" to make literacy available for all students. In kindergarten alone, enrollment has dropped by 10,000 students compared to last year.

Insufficient Time, Instruction, or Connectivity

The plaintiffs state that the district is failing to engage their children online at the same rate as other large California school districts. Despite state-mandated class sessions, there are instances of instructors dismissing the students early and not going over class material.

Many challenges include lack of devices, insufficient instructor training, being unable to access the district's platform, and poor connectivity. One of the parents, Akela Wroten Jr., stated that his daughter fell so behind he's using mobile educational apps and a private tutor.

Many are concerned about their children's future and how long-distance learning will impact their future. ClearWay Lawyers advises parents and guardians to practice safe social distancing when seeking legal advisory. Contact your representatives via phone, email, live chat, or video call whenever possible.

Disparity Between LA School Students

Throughout California, the change started with many learning models during the pandemic. While some schools were online-only or hybrid (half in-person, half online), one thing remained consistent: a shortage of Chromebooks, connectivity, and proper instruction among disadvantaged students.

However, rather than being caused by the pandemic, it's the outcome. Seth Litt, the executive director of Parent Revolution, states that Black and Latino students have been let down by the district long before the pandemic. Litt argues that equipment and more experienced teachers are outsourced to neighborhoods with more white families.

The suit alleges that Black and Latino students, those learning English, and students with disabilities were disproportionately affected when the school district switched to online learning. While Litt supports closing schools to ensure the safety of the staff and students, he advocates for LAUSD to have the same standard and opportunities as other LA school districts.

An LAUSD report reflects the allegations: after the district closed campuses and made the transitions in March, over 50,000 Black and Latino middle and high school students didn't regularly participate in classes. Students that are homeless, in ESOL classes, or special needs also had lower online participation.

Age Groups, ESOL, and Special Needs

On Monday, Superintendent Austin Beutner said that classes from kindergarten to the fifth grade could be easily managed. Younger students can be kept in smaller groups with one teacher throughout the day. High school classes pose more of a risk due to a roaming schedule that involves more than one teacher.

The LA County Department of Public Health announced that schools would be able to open for in-person classes for children with special needs. The classes will be no more than 10% capacity at a time to follow state and county guidelines for COVID-19.

The priority will be given to those who are most impacted by the lockdown. It includes children with disabilities or who are learning to speak English. This will allow at least 200,000 children who require special services to go back to school.

Reopening Guidelines for LA School District

County DPH officials stated that schools would not be permitted to reopen for full in-person instruction until at least November. The county will also need to be the red tier for at least two weeks. At the moment, LA County is in the purple tier, which is the most restrictive stage of the COVID-19 code system.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bob Blumenfield has requested detailed plans for reopening schools in November. As of now, It is unclear if LAUSD has put together a formal plan for in-person instruction in November.
Lets be perfectly honest: There is a total absence of political will to fix these systemic problems at the federal level. I would love for Congress to get its act together to unrig our nations broken system of redistricting, but I would advise against holding your breath on that one. Lets just say theres a reason recent polls show that congressional approval ratings are around the same as the percentage of Americans who believe in the existence of Bigfoot.
COLUMBIA  The CEO of a company that partnered with the University of South Carolina to win a research grant has been charged with defrauding the federal coronavirus relief fund.

Martin Kao of Honolulu-based Martin Defense Group, formerly known as Navatek, was charged with two counts of bank fraud and one count of money laundering in an indictment unsealed Wednesday.

A complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Hawaii alleges that the company submitted two false applications for loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. The applications did not disclose earlier relief loans the company had received and exaggerated the number of company employees, according to the complaint.

The company received about $12.8 million from those loans, and $2 million was transferred to Kao's personal accounts, according to the complaint.

Kao was arrested in Honolulu on Wednesday. In a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser after the charges were disclosed, the company said: Navatek is a highly reputable company with a long record of service to its clients and the people of Hawaii. The governments actions today were a complete surprise."

A judge ruled Friday that the CEO can be released on $2 million cash bond, after the government argued he should remain incarcerated for failing to disclose to authorities all of the assets he owns.

In a previous line of credit renewal, Kao told a bank he owns property in Taiwan valued at $16 million, but he told court officials it is worthless, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Nolan. A home in Tokyo valued at $7 million and a $6 million home in San Francisco were among the properties Kao failed to list for pretrial services, Nolan added.

USC is one of several universities that formed research partnerships with the company. In July, the university announced that the U.S. Office of Naval Research was making a $9.2 million research grant to USC and Navatek to test power-control systems for combat ships.

Navatek had hired 10 engineers and scientists for its Columbia office in anticipation of the grant, according to a USC news release in July. The company also would be looking to work with interns from USC and S.C. State University, according to the release.

USC is aware of public reports of the charges filed this week through media reports but has no other information, spokesman Jeff Stensland said Friday.

Other universities that have research partnerships with the company include the University of Michigan, Wichita State University in Kansas and the University of Maine.
The state govt said restrictions will be imposed in containment zones and in areas where spread of infection is apprehended, however, the existing relaxations for events will continue

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has imposed section 144 of CrPC, prohibiting the assembly of more than five people to control the surge in coronavirus cases in the state.

A late night order issued on Thursday by Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta said gatherings pose an impending danger of a super spread and that the order shall come into force from 9 am on 3 October and will remain in effect till 31 October.

"In light of the surge in number of COVID-19 cases in the state, public congregations and gatherings pose an impending danger of a super spread of the infection. Hence, an assembly or gathering of more than five people at a time cannot be permitted. For the enforcement of social distancing, the provisions of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of 1973 shall be effected...," the order said.

It also said the district magistrates are directed to assess the ground situation in their districts and use the relevant provisions and orders under section 144, CrPC to control the spread of the disease.

"Strict restrictions shall be imposed in containment zones and in specific areas where the spread of the disease is apprehended. Existing relaxations for categories like weddings, funerals etc shall be continued and the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) concerned shall issue proceedings, considering the ground situation in their districts," it said.

Kerala's COVID-19 tally crossed the grim milestone of two lakh on Thursday as the state reported 8,135 fresh cases, while the death toll climbed to 771 with 29 more fatalities.

The southern state, which has been witnessing a rapid spike in new cases in recent weeks, had crossed the one lakh mark on 11 September, seven months after India's first case was reported from the state, when a Wuhan returned medical student tested positive.

The total number of coronavirus cases touched 1.50 lakh in the state on 24 September with the pace of the spread further increasing, prompting the government to warn of strict action against those not following preventive measures such as social distancing and wearing of masks.

Currently, at least 72,339 people are undergoing treatment for the infection, with over 2.43 lakh people under observation, including 30,258 in isolation wards of various hospitals in the state, officials said.
Anyone who writes online or in a word processor has likely gotten used to the inevitable squiggly line denoting a misspelled word or clumsy phrase. But what if you use a word that's loaded, a phrase that's too formal or not formal enough, or refer to a group of people in an outdated way? Writer is a service that watches as you type, flagging language that doesn't match up with your style guide and values, and it just raised $5 million to scale up.

Both people and the companies they work for want to improve the way they write, but not just in terms of grammar and spelling. If a company says it's inclusive, but the language in its press releases or internal blogs are peppered with anachronisms and bias, it suggests their concern only goes so far.

"Companies are hungry to put actions behind their words," said Writer founder and CEO May Habib. "They want to be able to tell a consistent story to their users everywhere that they're interacting with them. What Writer does is let people know when they're using insensitive language, or things that could be considered negative, and let companies set brand guidelines."

Right off the bat let us admit that there is a whiff of the sinister about the idea of a company dictating how its employees speak, though that's nothing new when it comes to content and official communications. But this isn't about controlling speech for power  it's about recognizing that we are all flawed communicators and could use a hand keeping ourselves honest. Less thought police and more a well-informed angel sitting on your shoulder whispering things like, "Hey. Are you sure you want to describe that lawyer as 'exotic'?"

Examples of things Writer checks for. Image Credits: Writer

There are tons of slip-ups we all make along those lines; less obvious, but no less potentially offensive. It's important in public communications, among other things, to refer to a group by the term they prefer, not the first one that pops into your head; Writer has up-to-date libraries of this information sourced from the communities themselves. Some phrases may have become politically loaded in the last couple of years, but you're not aware; no problem, it has alternatives. You want to avoid unnecessarily gendered language, great, but everyone slips up now and then; Writer can spot it  or make the connection with previous pronouns to make sure you don't, for example, gender an anonymous source.

Story continues

Accusations of "political correctness" will dog the service, but as Habib put it: "This is beyond politics; this is about respect for people who live a certain way, or are a certain way, and prefer to use certain terms. We're trying to help companies create communities of belonging." And as we've seen over and over again in tech, there is often a serious disconnect between the stated aspiration of a company and how people are treated within them. Just using the right words is a pretty low bar to start with, honestly.

Image Credits: Writer

Writer isn't just a growing blacklist of words you should think twice about using, though. The natural language processing engine at the heart of it is also very concerned with things like sentence complexity, paragraph length and tone. It has to have this deeper understanding, Habib explained, because "it's not enough to underline  you need to know what to replace it with, and when you replace it, you need to fit it into the sentence. These are actually hard NLP problems."

That lets it fit into a variety of roles in addition to promoting inclusive language. It can watch for the usual spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as things like formality, active voice, "liveliness" (whatever that is, I don't have it) and other metrics that help define a brand.

And of course you can bring in your own style guide so your editors don't have to roll their eyes at serial commas in headlines, double dashes instead of em dashes, e-mail instead of email and all the rest of the little nips and tucks that keep a brand's writing in a generally recognizable shape.

Image Credits: Writer

The service can also switch between style guides or adjust or disable itself in different apps and sites  so internal emails aren't given the same guidelines as press releases, or a blog post's style can be differentiated from a newsletter's.

Obviously Grammarly is a big competitor here, but Habib feels that it and the growing number of in-browser or in-app checking services are very focused on the technical piece. Writer is less about preventing an individual writer's errors, and more about creating consistency among groups of writers and making sure they are working from the same high-level linguistic standards.

Of course security is also a concern  no one wants a keylogger running on their machine, however helpful it may be. Habib was careful to emphasize that Writer runs locally in the browser as a plug-in, integrating with Word or Chrome for now but with other apps and services on the way. "None of that data ever hits a writer server, and no metadata  all the processing is done in the text area," she said. The only data that's sent back is the fact that a given suggestion was used, such as changing "should of" to "should have" or "illegal aliens" to "undocumented immigrants." No user data is used to train the models and no content apart from the correction itself is sent or stored on Writer's servers.

Writer is available now, for $11/person/month (with the obligatory free trial period, of course) for a basic version and some unspecified amount for enterprise deals with multiple style guides, plagiarism detection, and so on. It's only available in English, and although there is of course demand for the service in other languages, the depth of the NLP model and the specificity of what it recognizes to the language mean it does not generalize well. To take on Spanish or Korean would be to develop an entirely new product. So English it is for now.

The company is new, and has been developing its NLP engine (on the back of a previous effort, which monitored user-facing language in GitHub repos) for 18 months in something like stealth. The $5 million seed round, led by Upfront Ventures, Aspect Ventures, Bonfire Ventures, and Broadway Angels should help the company scale, though it already has some top-tier, household-name customers, so with that and the money, its immediate future seems to be secure.
The federal government has ordered the reopening of all schools in Nigeria.

The minister of education, Adamu Adamu, made the announcement during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday.

He advised all institutions to adhere to the guidelines for the reopening of schools, as earlier announced by the presidential task force.

He said all unity schools should open by October 12 while states and private schools will determine their own modalities of reopening.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the federal government ordered the closure of tertiary institutions, secondary and primary schools nationwide following the outbreak of coronavirus in the country in March.

Mr Adamu said the decision to reopen the schools was because the COVID-19 infection figure is declining.

We have consulted widely with stakeholders in the sector including the Association of Private Schools (NAPPS), Provosts of Colleges of Education, Rectors of Polytechnics, Vice-Chancellors of Universities, State Governors, Commissioners of Education and other development partners on the matter and secured their support and cooperation, he said.

He said adequate sanctions await any school owner that does not comply with the safety guidelines which may result in an outbreak of coronavirus in the school.

He advised schools to be vigilant, strict and rigid in the implementation of COVID-19 protocols for the safety of the children, insisting that nothing should be taken for granted.

Safe distancing procedures should be regularly practised. Additionally, schools should develop and display simple context-specific reference protocols on the day to day actions to be operated in each school, he said.

He also advised schools to make water and sanitation facilities available across the schools.

States reopen

Many states including Lagos, Oyo, Kano and Enugu, have since announced dates for the reopening of schools in their domains.

Giving a further breakdown, the spokesperson of the education minister, Ben Goong, said the Federal Ministry of Education has written to National Universities Commission ( NUC), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to work on modalities and decide when they intend to open.

However, he did not say anything regarding the Academic Staff Union of Universities which has been on strike for six months now.

ASUU declared an indefinite strike despite the closure of all tertiary institutions by the federal government.

Earlier, the government released a schedule for various national examinations for exit classes including Junior Secondary School (JSS) 3 and Senior Secondary School (SSS) 3.

These include the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) for SSS3 students conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO) which will start on October 5 and end on November 18.
A Nigerian senator, Ali Ndume, told the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, that he is unable to find Abdulrasheed Maina, an ex-pension boss for whom he is acting as surety.

Mr Maina is accused of diverting N100 billion of pension funds and is also facing trial for alleged money laundering.

He is being prosecuted by the EFCC on a 12-count charge, accused of operating fictitious accounts and carrying out fraudulent activities.

The former pension chief, who was in hiding for almost two years, was arrested by the State Security Service last year.

The SSS handed over Mr Maina, who headed the pension reform task team, to the EFCC, which had declared him wanted for over a year.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the North-east senator agreed to act as a guarantor for Mr Maina.

I cant find him

When Mr Ndume was asked of the whereabouts of Mr Maina, whom the judge said had failed to appear in court for the third time within one week, the senator responded: My lord, I must confess, I do not know.

Okon Abang, the trial judge, at the beginning of the trial, had ordered Mr Maina to provide a current and serving senator as surety in exchage for bail.

Mr Maina has also requested that the judge reduce the bail bond from N1 billion to N500 million, a request the judge agreed to. He also agreed that Mr Maina provide one surety instead of two.

Mr Ndume later explained why he stood surety for Mr Maina.

He then provided documents of a property he owns in Abuja worth N500 million as a bond.

However, both men were absent for court sessions scheduled for September 29.

When Mr Ndume attended the court session on September 30, he was not accompanied by Mr Maina.

Rattled senator, angry judge

Meanwhile, Mr Ndume told the court the defendant was absent September 29 because of an armed attack on the convoy of Babagana Zulum, Governor of Borno State. He said Mr Maina (apparently part of the convoy) was admitted in the hospital.

He also said he expected Mr Maina to attend the court session because his (Mainas) wife said so.

He also told the court that I know Mainas residence in Kaduna but not in Abuja.

The senator beseeched the court to grant him more time to find the defendant. The defence lawyer, Farouk Oronsaye, also urged the court to adjourn the case.

However, Farouk Abdullah, the prosecuting counsel, disagreed.

He told the court Mr Maina was not a patient at Maitama General Hospital. He urged the court to issue an arrest warrant for him as it seems he had jumped bail.

An exasperated judge told Mr Ndume he is not pleased with the conduct of the suspect, adding that he (Ndume) should have been aware of the many risks involved in standing as surety.

He then adjourned the case till October 5 adding that both the surety and defendant must be present in court that day.
After my dad survived his heart attack, I thought for sure I was going to die. I was a preteen with a fantastically morbid imagination, and I dreamed up every possible scenario, from having a heart attack of my own, to harboring a case of undiagnosed stomach cancer, to being stabbed by a crazed murderer who broke in through my bedroom window. I thought I was going into anaphylactic shock after eating a banana; for years, I had a recurring dream about getting shot while playing in my suburban backyard.

I hadn't realized at the time that my fixation on the precariousness of life  there are so many ways to die!  wasn't anxiety about my own death, but my parents'. Personally dying somehow seemed more tolerable to obsess over than losing either my (healthy! youngish!) mom or dad. Moving far away for college, and then for work, has only honed my anxiety. I still catch myself doing nonsensical numerology and faulty math to stave off the inescapable: The average lifespan of an American male is 78 years, so if I go back to visit home for a week a year, that's only roughly 105 more days left with my dad...

I don't quite consider this "anticipatory grieving," a term typically used when a caretaker mourns a death in the more immediate future, and one that applies to the situation filmmaker Kirsten Johnson was going through while making her new documentary, Dick Johnson Is Dead. But I do recognize in it the impulse to rehearse something that is adjacent to the real fear, to better avoid confronting the inevitable head-on. In her film, out on Netflix on Friday, Johnson records herself repeatedly staging fake versions of her father's death with his participation: Dick Johnson gets taken out by a falling air conditioner, tumbles fatally down the stairs in his house, and even gets whacked in the neck with a post by a distracted construction worker. "Just the idea I might ever lose this man," she explains in a voice over, "is too much to bear." Dwelling in this fiction instead, where Dick Johnson is repeatedly resurrected as soon as the crew calls "cut," is better than facing the truth: that he has Alzheimer's, the same disease that took Kirsten Johnson's mother, and is noticeably in decline. Dick Johnson Is Dead is a movie about a parent dying, yes, but more than that, it is about the tricky paradox of preemptively mourning someone before they've gone away.

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There are hundreds if not thousands of movies about death and grief, but it is still a bit of a taboo in America to be consumed by the possibility of loss before it actually happens, as if not talking about dying acts as a kind of magical barrier against it. But Alzheimer's both tragically and uniquely presents an opportunity to explore the twilight of missing someone before they're actually gone; Dick Johnson describes it as "the long goodbye," and says at one point that he lost his wife, Johnson's mother, twice: once when she'd declined to the point that she was no longer herself, and a second time, a few years later, when she actually passed. The timing of the movie's release is also uncanny; at present, many millennials and Gen-Xers are having to consider their aging parents' vulnerability and mortality, perhaps for the first time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blessedly, Dick Johnson Is Dead never veers into the obvious  and schmaltzy  conclusion that we ought to cherish every moment with each other because who knows when someone might get an Alzheimer's diagnosis, much less get squished by a falling a/c. Nor does it tell us we ought to live every moment with abandon, like there will be no tomorrow, as the cancer kid genre of movies frequently suggests. Rather, it stokes our anxieties about loss, then lets us sit with them on our own terms. "The worst thing," Johnson gives voice to in one narration, "the deepest fear, is being left behind." Call it exposure therapy  Dick Johnson is, after all, a retired psychiatrist.

Religion might offer some comfort when considering the eventual death of a living relative. But while Johnson's father was a Seventh-day Adventist (he later became an atheist, although that didn't make it into the final cut of the movie), Johnson notably doesn't include herself in that category. Still, she erects a large, colorful set to stage a version of Dick Johnson's "heaven," where she can imagine the reunion of her father with her mother, and grant him the normal-looking toes he badly wishes he'd been born with. In such a way, Johnson doesn't just confront the actual act of her father dying, but what stretches past it  the imagined afterlife having the ghostly, unmentioned flip side of her own life also extending beyond her father's death, without him.

As upsetting as the topic might be, there is profound joy, humor, and humanity in the exercise of Dick Johnson Is Dead. By circling around the topic of Johnson's Alzheimer's with his parade of imagined deaths, the family also celebrates the inverse: Dick Johnson's life, not as a concept, but as something he is actively still living. At one point, Dick Johnson even gets the enviable opportunity to attend his own funeral, where friends and family give tearful and heartfelt eulogies while knowing full well he is waiting behind the scenes to emerge with a smile. At the emotional climax, as Dick's best friend chokes through a devastated trumpet salute, the film cuts to Johnson and her dad howling with laughter, peeping through the windows to watch the flummoxed "mourners" from outside the room.

The title Dick Johnson Is Dead of course contains the film's final contradiction: Dick had to be alive in order to shoot the scenes of his fake deaths. He becomes immortal because of them, forever able to crinkle his eyes to smile at his daughter behind her rolling camera. Still, no amount of preemptive grief or obsessive recording of moments slows time or stays the inevitable; Johnson knows it, and I do too. But what happens in front of the camera  those smiles, that fake blood, the countless fudge chocolate cakes, the deep belly laughter  all that was entirely, wonderfully, serenely real.

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The agony and ecstasy of Bob Bafferts 2020 were encapsulated in 30 minutes at the Kentucky Derby.

His tumultuous ride began prerace, when one of the two contenders from his barn, Thousand Words, flipped over in the paddock and broke the wrist of top lieutenant Jimmy Barnes. Moments later, Baffert watched his one remaining entry, Authentic, run the race of his life to best heavy favorite Tiz the Law. Great, except the touchy colt then wheeled around sharply in the winners circle and flattened a surprised Baffert.

A friend of mine sent me a text and said, It looks like you went to hell and back in 30 minutes, the Hall of Fame trainer recalled with a gallows chuckle as he looked ahead to Saturdays Preakness Stakes, for which hell saddle both the favored Authentic and Thousand Words.

Its been that kind of year for the most successful trainer in the history of the Triple Crown series. He started with a quartet of potential Derby contenders only to see the most determined of them, Nadal, retired because of a condylar fracture and the most brilliantly fast of them, Charlatan, knocked off the trail by an ankle injury. Baffert also faces a 15-day suspension, which hes appealing, because two of his most talented horses, Charlatan and the filly Gamine, tested positive for elevated levels of the numbing agent lidocaine at May 2 races in Arkansas. Those test failures, which wiped out victories for both horses, followed a 2019 New York Times report that Baffert-trained Justify had tested positive for the anti-nausea drug scopolamine before he won the Triple Crown in 2018.

With his trademark white hair and sunglasses and his record of relentless success over the last quarter-century, Baffert is the face of his sport to casual fans. So it was startling to see his name in so many unwanted headlines. But he bounced back, training Authentic up from an unconvincing finish in the July 18 Haskell Stakes to a brilliant performance in the Sept. 5 Derby. On Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, Baffert will seek his record-breaking eighth Preakness victory.

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As ever, no one questions his ability to prepare a horse for the biggest stage.

I thought it was the best Triple Crown training job that Bob has ever done, NBC analyst Randy Moss said. He took a horse that appeared to be clearly distance-challenged in the Haskell and really, really cranked up his training between the Haskell and the Kentucky Derby. He walked that tight rope of how much is too much, and then he ran the best race of his career.

At Pimlico this week, the 67-year-old Baffert has seemed cool as ever, lamenting the loss of big-event atmosphere due to the coronavirus pandemic but expressing unforced belief in his horses' form.

Ive been doing this so long that I understand its a high and low sport, he said, reflecting on the twists and turns of his 2020. Its highs and lows constantly, but youve got to look forward  I never look back  and just keep going.

The one subject that produces palpable frustration in his voice is the potential suspension for medication violations. Baffert does not want to be known as one of the bad actors in a sport plagued by doping scandals.

The system is broken, he said, pointing to the state-by-state mishmash of medication rules that often leave trainers confused. It was purely a case of contamination, but theyre testing at such low levels now.

By contamination, he means that Charlatan and Gamine were possibly exposed to lidocaine because Barnes was wearing a pain-relief patch containing the numbing agent. In Justifys case, Baffert said the Triple Crown winner was exposed to scopolamine because he munched on jimson weed that was mixed into his feed and bedding. That explanation, supported by the fact horses in neighboring barns also tested positive for scopolamine, satisfied the California Horse Racing Board, which cleared Baffert.

When things like that happen, they drag the horse, the owner and me through the mud, and it really leaves a bad taste in your mouth, he said.

Authentic was the top 3-year-old in Bafferts talent-laden barn before Nadal and Charlatan stepped up during Derby prep season. With four victories and a runner-up finish in the Santa Anita Derby, it wasnt as if hed stunk it up heading into his showdown with Tiz the Law at Churchill Downs. So Baffert wasnt shocked when the bay colt came through.

Hes a very talented horse, he said. He was always very talented.

He brushed off the notion that he somehow drew the best out of Authentic with unusually rigorous work.

I just trained him, he said. I always run fit horses. I dont know why people use the word hard.

He also thought too much was made of Authentics unfocused finish in winning the Haskell, noting that the horse needs constant encouragement down the stretch and that jockey Mike Smith let up because he had a big lead. Smith did not see Ny Traffic pulling close as the finish line approached.

He wasnt tired or anything, Baffert said. It looked like life and death, but I know the horse really well.

With John Velazquez riding him in the Derby, Authentic showed his mettle by pulling away after Tiz the Law challenged at the top of the stretch.

To turn the tables on him, were going to have to improve or hes going to have to not run as well as he did in the Derby, and I dont see any of that happening at this point in time, as far as him not bringing his A game, said Bret Calhoun, who trained Mr. Big News to a third-place finish in the Derby and will take another shot at Authentic in the Preakness. Based off the race in the Haskell, you thought the mile and a quarter might be an Achilles' heel for him, but obviously, he proved everyone wrong. He set hot early fractions, and he carried it.

Baffert believes the pandemic actually helped Authentic by pushing the Derby to September and the Preakness to October. While the timing proved ruinous for Nadal and Charlatan, it allowed Authentic to mature into his considerable tools.

To me, I think hes getting better, Baffert said. You can tell hes filling out.  Hes just turned into such a superior animal.

Its the kind of superlative he applied to his two Triple Crown winners, American Pharoah and Justify. He also still believes in Thousand Words, the quirky colt who won the Aug. 1 Shared Belief Stakes before he acted up at the Derby.

That was just a freaky thing, Baffert said. He got mad, went up and his hind legs went out from under him. Hes always been tough to saddle. You have to saddle him on the walk and when you stop, he gets mad. Hes not that bad, but you have to keep moving. Then once he has the saddle on, hes fine.

He promised his team (sans Barnes, whos still laid up with nine screws in his surgically repaired wrist) wont make the same mistake at Pimlico.

Hes got a lot of speed, Baffert said of the former $1-million yearling purchase. Hes not as quick as Authentic, but if he can get in a nice rhythm and be right there, who knows?  He was so immature. Mentally, hes starting to catch up. But hes always been a bit of a slow learner.

As to the possibility of breaking his seven-Preakness tie with 19th century trainer R. Wyndham Walden, Baffert gave his usual demurral.

I have never chased any records in my life. They just happen, he said. Ive never stopped to smell the roses and take it in. Im always thinking about the next week.

145TH PREAKNESS STAKES

At Pimlico Race Course

Saturday, 5:45 p.m.

TV: Chs. 11, 4 (coverage begins at 4:30 p.m.)

Post; Horse; Jockey; Odds

1; Excession; Sheldon Russell; 30-1

2; Mr. Big News; Gabriel Saez; 12-1

3; Art Collector; Brian Hernandez Jr.; 5-2

4; Swiss Skydiver; Robby Albarado; 6-1

5; Thousand Words; Florent Geroux; 6-1

6; Jesus' Team; Jevian Toledo; 30-1

7; NY Traffic; Horacio Karamanos; 15-1

8; Max Player; Paco Lopez; 15-1

9; Authentic; John Velazquez; 9-5

10; Pneumatic; Joe Bravo; 20-1

11; Liveyourbeastlife; Trevor McCarthy; 30-1



2020 The Baltimore Sun

Visit The Baltimore Sun at www.baltimoresun.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Friday underscored that pupils "need" to go to school and the probability that the novel coronavirus will spread in the educational units "is not very high", according to Agerpres.

The Prime Minister is set to pay a working visit to the Ministry of Education on Friday.

When the journalists asked him if this school year would be compromised, he replied: "What do you mean compromised? It has just started. You know very well that several hundreds of schools are on the red [there are three scenarios in place for schools, related to the coronavirus - green, yellow, red - editor's note], some 4,000 on a mixed scenario and the rest functioning normally."

"If there are going to be cases of infections, the probability that they happen in schools is not very high. (...) We especially made this decision to disturb the education process as little as possible, for we must respect children's right to education. Children need to go to school, they need to keep up with the subject matters and precisely, for this reason, we established this system to take into account the epidemiological situation in every local community," explained the Prime Minister.
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A flurry of positive coronavirus test results that emerged Friday including the president's share a common nexus: the celebratory White House event where Donald Trump rolled out his nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

The September 26 gathering  which was filled with peans to textualism and conservative jurisprudence, as well as a family-centric national introduction to Barrett  also was silently harboring the deadly virus that has ripped its way through the nation.

Among those attending the outdoor announcement who would test positive were the president and first lady Melania Trump, who both appeared onstage for the formal introduction. The first lady also was seated next to two of Judge Barrett's seven children, who flew to Washington for the event.

Kellyanne Conway, who on Friday confirmed her positive test result, was sitting directly behind the first lady.

Seven people have now tested positive for coronavirus, after attending Saturday's Rose Garden event. They are 1: Donald Trump, 2: Melania Trump, 3: University of Notre Dame President John Jenkins, 4: Senator Mike Lee, 5: Senator Thom Tillis, 6: Kellyanne Conway, and Hope Hicks (not pictured)

First lady Melania Trump, who tested positive for COVID-19 in results made public Thursday, was seated next to one of Barrett's children

With few wearing masks to protect against the coronavirus, Republican senators joined other guests Saturday as Trump introduced 7th U.S. Circuit Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett, 48, as his nominee to the Supreme Court

Attorney General Bill Barr was seen at Saturday's event in the Rose Garden shaking hands and not wearing a mask as he said good bye former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and others

Republicans on Capitol Hill vowed to press forward with the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett despite her coming into contact with President Donald Trump on Saturday

Republican Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who announced Friday he had tested positive for coronavirus Thursday, was seated just two rows back, on the aisle, directly behind Vice President Mike Pence. Pence tested negative Friday, his office said.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis has become the second senator to test positive following Saturday's event

University of Notre Dame President John Jenkins, who was also there, tested positive, it was revealed Friday. Barrett taught law at the school.

Also testing positive was North Carolina senator Thom Tillis, who was at the event.

With new information coming in rapidly, and only a range of the incubation period for the disease, it was impossible to immediately tell if the Saturday event is where the president and the others became infected  or perhaps unwittingly spread it to others.

Close aide and counselor to the president Hope Hicks appears to have been pictured standing among a crowd of staff and supporters in the back.

None of those who later tested positive were seen wearing masks, and few of the attendees were.

Immediately after the event  where Republicans were nearly ready to declare victory on pushing through Barrett's nomination  Trump flew to Harrisburg aboard Air Force One, another possible vector for infection.

The plane features tight quarters and shared spaces. The president came to the back of the plane to talk, according to a pool report filed by a DailyMail.com reporter who was traveling with the president.

Although the content of his remarks were off the record, he engaged in back-and-forth with the press for about ten minutes.

Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett as Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court during a ceremony in the Rose Garden where he stood next to the First Lady, Barrett and her children

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway (C) tested positive, she confirmed on Friday. She is pictured with Attorney General William Barr (R) talking with guests in the Rose Garden after President Donald Trump introduced 7th U.S. Circuit Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett, 48, as his nominee to the Supreme Court at the White House

Kellyanne Conway on Friday night confirmed her positive COVID-19 test and said she was 'feeling fine'

Former NJ Governor Chris Christie was seen at Saturday's event flouting social distancing guidelines and not wearing mask

Very few guests at Saturdays even in the Rose Garden were seen wearing masks, and those who did were still in close quarters with other guests

At least 100 people were in attendance Saturday in the White House Rose Garden. So far, seven people including the President and First Lady have tested positive for coronavirus

Faith and Freedom Coalition founder Ralph Reed (C) shakes hands with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows at the event Saturday

Bill Barr chats with guests and shakes hands, without a mask, at Saturday's 'superspreader' event. His COVID-19 status is unknown

Lee was captured on video at the event chatting amiably with guests, mask in hand, although he wasn't wearing it.

He was captured on video kissing and hugging other guests effusively.

Lee, a key ally of President Donald Trump's revealed Friday he tested positive for the coronavirus.

The news, just the latest jarring news on a day of coronavirus bombshells, immediately threw the Senate GOP's intense confirmation schedule for the Supreme Court into doubt.

Lee is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and met its members on Wednesday for a hearing with James Comey.

As well as the possibility that its members - two of whom are 87 - may be advised to quarantine, the Senate has not voted on whether the SCOTUS nominee's hearings can be held remotely.

Lee was among the throngs of supporters who joined Trump and Barrett at the White House Saturday as Trump staged a ceremony for the announcement.

He also reportedly met the judge on Tuesday  with the Judiciary Committee planning to meet within days with the aim of setting up a floor vote before the election.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) revealed that he tested positive for the coronavirus. He met Tuesday with Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett

Lee tweeted that he took a Covid-19 test Thursday and that the 'test came back positive.' He did not say precisely when he got the results it or why he got tested Thursday

Mike Lee on Saturday: The Utah Republican senator was among the guests as Amy Coney Barrett was unveiled at the White House on Saturday as Trump's Supreme Court nominee - where he enthusiastically greeted two other guests

Effusive, and maskless: This was Mike Lee on Saturday - now he is quarantining after testing positive for coronavirus

Lee said in a statement he took a test 'out of an abundance of caution' after experiencing symptoms akin to allergies.

'Unlike the test I took just a few days ago while visiting the White House, yesterday's test came back positive,' Lee said in a statement. 'On advice of the Senate attending physician, I will remain isolated for the next 10 days.'

He says he assured party leaders he will be 'back to work in time' to join them in 'advancing the Supreme Court nomination' of Barrett.

Video from Saturday's announcement shows Lee, with a medical mask in his hand, shaking hands and speaking with supporters at the White House.

Lee tweeted out a photo of himself with Barrett, both unmasked, at his Senate office this week.

The New York Times reported that Lee met with Barrett on Tuesday, as she made the rounds with Republicans to try to secure her nomination.

Judiciary is set to meet on the nomination to begin hearings on October 12. Sen. Dianne Feinsein (D-Calif.), has formally asked for a delay. Democrats howled at the effort to jam through the nomination so close to the election after the GOP stalled President Obama's pick, Judge Merrick Garland, for nine months at the end of Obama's term.

White House spokesman Judd Deere told Axios Friday that Barrett, 'is following CDC guidance and best practices, including social distancing, wearing face coverings, and frequently washes hands'

At Saturday's event, Trump walked in next to Amy Coney Barrett, followed by the First Lady and Barrett's family

Republicans on Capitol Hill vowed to press forward with the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett despite her coming into contact with President Donald Trump on Saturday.

Since then, the president and first lady have tested positive for COVID-19 and the top Senate Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, has demanded that the White House 'immediately conduct a contact tracing regime' that includes Barrett and anyone she may have come in contact with.

Axios reported that Barrett tested negative for the coronavirus Friday morning, as GOP aides told the publication that Barrett's confirmation process will continue as scheduled.

But Barrett also met with Sen. Mike Lee of Utah on Tuesday - and he announced Friday morning that he had a COVID test come back positive Thursday morning.

Republican senators, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (right), have vowed to press on with Judge Amy Coney Barrett's (left) nomination for the Supreme Court, despite Barrett being in close contact with President Donald Trump on Saturday

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted Friday morning that he had spoken on the phone with President Donald Trump who had asked about Amy Coney Barrett's nomination. 'Full steam ahead,' McConnell reported to Trump

After Axios' initial report, both Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that meetings would proceed.

'Just finished a great phone call with President Trump. Hes in good spirits and we talked business - especially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett,' McConnell tweeted.

'Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve,' McConnell said.

Graham also said he had spoken with the president Friday morning and was asked by Trump about the Barrett confirmation.

'Were on track, were in a good spot, shes going to get confirmed and well start on Oct the 12th,' Graham said he told the president.

Even Lee, after testing positive, vowed to return to his work on the Judiciary Committee in order to get Barrett's nomination over the line.

Part of the traditional nominating process for a Supreme Court justice is in-person meetings with U.S. senators.

Most are at risk for COVID-19 because of their advanced ages.

White House spokesman Judd Deere told Axios Friday that Barrett, 'is following CDC guidance and best practices, including social distancing, wearing face coverings, and frequently washes hands.'

Barrett's confirmation hearings will have a virtual option for any senator who feels high-risk.
Jaipur, Oct 2 : The anger emanating over the Hathras gang-rape and murder case reached Jaipur on Friday with garbage being dumped in front of Hathras District Magistrate Praveen Kumar's house in the city.

In wake of a video in which Kumar was seen threatening the family of the rape victim going viral, some people reached his house in Vaishali Nagar to protest and threw the garbage.

Police reached the spot on receiving the information and dispersed the protestors.

Cleaners were called to remove the garbage.

SHO Anil Jaiman said that Kumar's house is rented out and only tenants stay there.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is asking insurance companies help wildfire survivors by providing up to 100% of personal property coverage limits without a detailed inventory to those who suffered a total loss of their home, similar to previous identical requests in past years.

Wildfire survivors who are still sifting through the ruins of their home should not have to face an exhaustive inventory in order to start the recovery process, Lara said in a statement. That is why I am asking insurance companies to do their part for their policyholders by providing coverage without the burdensome requirement of a detailed home inventory in order to have their claims paid.

The recent California wildfires have destroyed neighborhoods and devastated communities. The California Department of Insurance reported receiving numerous complaints from policyholders about the task of identifying every item of personal property they may have lost in the recent wildfires to collect the replacement cost of such items.

Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed Senate Bill 872 and Assembly Bill 3012, which are designed to provide protections for policyholders who suffered a covered total loss resulting from a wildfire during a state of emergency.

Even though the new laws are not yet in effect, Lara is asking that residential property insurance companies offer a payment under the contents (personal property) coverage of no less than 30% of the policy limit applicable to the covered dwelling structure, up to a maximum of $250,000, consistent with requirements in chaptered AB 3012.

Many insurance companies have already agreed to the Voluntary Expedited Claims Handling Procedures requested in Laras Aug. 26 notice, which included an initial advance payment for personal property of at least 25% of contents coverage without an inventory.

For major wildfires in the past handful of years, a large number of insurance companies made significant efforts to accommodate their policyholders by offering up to 100% of contents limits without an inventory, while giving policyholders the ability to recover additional benefits if they subsequently complete a full inventory, according to the CDI.

Lara is asking all homeowners insurance companies to notify the department by Oct. 23, whether they will comply with the notice and what percentage of total contents coverage they will provide without requiring a detailed personal property inventory.

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Topics Carriers California Catastrophe Natural Disasters Profit Loss Wildfire Property
ITHACA, N.Y. - For one low-income woman, not having a car meant long commutes on public transit with her children in tow, sometimes slogging through cold or inclement weather. But after buying a subsidized car through a Maryland-based nonprofit, she was able to move to a home located farther from bus stops, send her children to better schools and reach less expensive medical services.

"So many different things open up to a person that is mobile," the woman told Nicholas Klein, assistant professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University.

In "Subsidizing Car Ownership for Low-Income Individuals and Households," published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research, Klein reports insights from interviews with 30 people who gained access to inexpensive, reliable cars through the nonprofit Vehicles for Change (VFC).

He found that the cars conferred wide-ranging benefits, not only shortening commutes and opening opportunities for higher-paying jobs, but also dramatically improving quality of life. The recipients of subsidized cars spent more time with family, visited doctors they preferred, shopped for groceries more efficiently, attended more school events and enrolled kids in previously inaccessible after-school enrichment programs.

"For a lot of families, it's a really transformative moment that allows them to move up the economic ladder, to access all sorts of sort of social benefits and to just make their lives easier," Klein said of the access to subsidized cars. "It permeated everyone's lives in all sorts of different ways."

Transportation planners and scholars have debated subsidizing car ownership for decades, and VFC, which has provided more than 6,000 cars in Maryland and Virginia since 1999, is one of only a handful of such programs across the country. Critics say subsidizing cars on a large scale would exacerbate environmental pollution, traffic congestion and sprawl, and impose new cost burdens on car owners.

Klein said his research took a longer, more nuanced view that suggested such answers are "not so clear-cut." Beyond interviewees' experiences with a subsidized car, he also learned about their personal and car-ownership histories.

Most had owned cars before and planned to purchase cars again, typically through used car dealers that Klein called "pernicious." The interviewees had typically paid significantly more for used cars that were less reliable than those provided by VFC, which cost less than $1,000 and passed thorough inspections (through a job training program for formerly incarcerated individuals).

Considering that context, Klein said, scholars and policymakers should be asking not only about the benefits and consequences of having a car, but about the consequences of not making subsidized car ownership available to low-income families.

"What I see is that a lot of low-income households are going out and spending quite a bit more on unreliable used cars, and those cars may be polluting much more," he said.

Klein concluded that subsidized car ownership should be implemented more broadly, along with complementary programs providing subsidized repairs or replacement of older, more polluting and less efficient cars.

Such programs shouldn't come at the expense of longer-term investments in public transit and infrastructure expanding alternatives to cars, Klein said. But that infrastructure takes time to build and can't support everyone living in suburban or rural areas.

"In the meantime, these families are struggling, and we can think about ways to help them while also investing in high-quality public transit, and biking and walking infrastructure," Klein said.

Klein said his research relying on interviews proved valuable in a transportation field that emphasizes quantitative methods - for example, to measure economic outcomes such as how car ownership affects income or employment.

"When we only do that, we miss a lot of important nuance and details and we miss people's voices and stories," he said. "Qualitative research lets us understand the broader scope of effects that we might miss if we only rely on what's in the data, allowing us to see a broader range of possibilities."

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CEN police arrested three persons from Maharashtra who had been selling marijuana in Athani and seized the contraband, weighing 20 kg and worth Rs 4 lakh on Friday.

Nased on a tip off that a person from Pandarpur in Maharashtra has been selling marijuana in Athani, police nabbed Raosaheb Annappa Nandiwale, a resident of Billur village in Jat taluk in Sangli district in Maharashtra, and found two kg marijuana worth Rs 40,000, a bike worth Rs 20,000, and a cell phone.

During interrogation, Nandiwale informed the police that Sangeeta Dattatreya Wagaz and Vilas Pandurang Ghatge from Mohale in Pandarpur had given him the marijuana for sale.

Based on the information, police nabbed Wagaz and Ghatge, and marijuana weighing 20 kg worth Rs 4 lakh was recovered from them. A car and motorcycle worth Rs 2.70 lakh was also recovered from them. CEN police are investigating.
Indias Covid-19 death count has reached close to the 100,000-mark, eight months after the first case was reported and less than seven months after the first death in the country. Only two other countries the US and Brazilhave seen more Covid deaths than India.

Around 68 per cent of the deaths were concentrated in just five states: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The numbers, however, show that the death per million population at 72 is comparatively much lower for India than most other countries and also less alarming against ...
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Linkedin (Reuters) Paris, France  Fri, October 2, 2020 14:30 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48b6464 2 Food France,chef,COVID-19,coronavirus,pandemic,Philippe-Etchebest Free

One of France's top chefs on Thursday urged fellow restaurant and bar owners to protest against the possible closure of their establishments, as the government considers tightening rules to control a second coronavirus wave.

Double Michelin-starred Philippe Etchebest, who frequently appears on TV cooking shows, pressed restaurateurs and their staff to stand on the street outside their venues on Friday before lunch service and make some noise.

"We will not die in silence," he said on BFM television. "The government must understand that restaurants are not to blame for COVID and that closing our venues only moves the problem elsewhere," he said.

Read also: Mussels need eating: Some Marseille restaurants defy COVID shutdown

Etchebest, who regularly acts as a spokesman for the industry and has been consulted by President Emmanuel Macron, said closing restaurants and bars would encourage people to gather in private homes, where he questioned whether social distancing rules were respected at all.

Health Minister Olivier Veran has already ordered bars and restaurants in the southern city of Marseille to shut for two weeks and said Paris could be placed on the maximum alert level from Monday, meaning similar measures there.

Like other European countries where infection rates have surged in the past month, France has once again been tightening restrictions on public life, hoping it will be enough to contain the disease and avoid a second national lockdown.
Priti Patel's allies have laid a flurry of embarrassing leaks disclosing brainstorming on asylum policy firmly at the door of the Foreign Office.

The past week has seen several reports emerge describing extraordinary measures being mooted by the Home Office to get to grips with migration.

One claimed that Ms Patel had instructed her department to weigh up the logistics of shipping migrants to islands and far-flung overseas territories for processing, including Ascension Island, 4,000 miles away in the south Atlantic.

Others revealed proposals for a wave machine in the Channel to push back boats trying to make the crossing, and a plan to house those who do reach British waters on disused ferries.

The slew of damaging briefings has infuriated the upper echelons of the Home Office, with Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft confirming an inquiry into the leaks.

It risks exploding into an all-out Whitehall blame-war after supporters of Ms Patel hit back yesterday and pointed the finger at Foreign Office officials.

New proposals are part of Priti Patel 's over-arching programme to crackdown on the Channel migrant crisis

The past week has seen several reports emerge describing extraordinary measures being mooted by the Home Office to get to grips with migration, including processing asylum seekers in far-flung locations

A Conservative MP and ally told The Times the department was conjuring up 'bizarre and unworkable policy options, then leaking them' to discredit the Home Office's work to curb the levels of illegal migration.

But other government sources pointed to Number 10 chief adviser Dominic Cummings as the mastermind behind some of the more blue-sky thinking, such as the processing centres in British overseas territories.

One told The Times: 'Priti is being used as a punchbag... People are so afraid of crossing Dom that they are pinning it on other departments.'

The wheels of a Home Office probe into the leaks are already in motion to root out the source.

Asked at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) whether he thought the investigation will take account of the timing of the leaks and whether they were politically motivated, Mr Rycroft said: 'I'm sure they will look at all relevant factors.'

The wave machine option plan was among 'blue sky' ideas looked at by officials to discourage migrants from trying to cross in small boats - although it was quickly rejected.

The government has been working on ways to overhaul the creaking asylum system and crack down on abuse.

The marina at Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Migrants who land in Britain could be flown to hostels on the island

Migrants are currently being housed in Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, which has been repurposed for them

The Home Office's top civil servant Matthew Rycroft told the Public Accounts Committee: 'This is in the realms of a brainstorming stage of a future policy, everything is on the table'

Sources complained that already-dismissed proposals such as creating a processing site on Ascension Island, more than 4,000 miles from the UK, were being leaked by officials who 'don't like the whole concept'.

Ironically, a snap YouGov poll has found the public backed the idea of by a margin of 40 per cent to 35 per cent. However, that proposal has already been ditched.

An ally of the Home Secretary said 'offshoring' was being attacked by people who did not like it.

'It is a perfectly logical idea, but someone who doesn't like the whole concept said 'you can only do it if it happens 4,000 miles away' and leaked that,' they said.

The Isle of Wight proposal is understood to have 'problems', but other islands around the UK - including off the coast of Scotland - and old ferries are being seriously looked at.

'This is still very early days,' one source said.

Ms Sturgeon waded into the row yesterday, saying: 'They can rest assured that any proposal to treat human beings like cattle in a holding pen will be met with the strongest possible opposition from me.'

Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds added: 'The Tories are lurching from one inhumane and impractical idea to another.

'The idea of sending people to Ascension Island, creating waves in the English Channel to wash boats back and buying ferries and oil rigs to process asylum claims shows the Government has lost control and all sense of compassion.'

Mr Rycroft faced a grilling on the leaked plans when he faced MPs yesterday.

Citing problems with the landing strips in St Helena and Ascension Island, PAC chairwoman Meg Hillier said the idea was 'in the realms of cloud cuckoo land', asking once more 'Can you just confirm whether or not civil service time was actually spent investigating something where you couldn't even land aircraft?'

Mr Rycroft said: 'What I can confirm is that the civil service has been responding to ministers' questions about how other countries deal with what is a global issue - migration.

'We have been leaving no stone unturned in doing that. We've been looking at what a whole host of other countries do in order to bring innovation into our own system. No decisions have been taken.

'No final proposals have been put to ministers or to anyone else.

'This is in the realm of the brainstorming stage of a future policy and, I think as ministers have said in the House, everything is on the table, and so it should be at this stage of the policy-making process.'

Official documents marked 'sensitive' and produced earlier this month, summarise advice from officials at the Foreign Office, which was asked by No10 to 'offer advice on possible options for negotiating an offshore asylum processing facility similar to the Australian model in Papua New Guinea and Nauru'.

Home Office aides have also been ordered to draw up feasibility studies for the hostel-type centres on islands within the British Isles.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force following a small boat incident in the Channel yesterday

It emerged yesterday that officials had previously looked at locating a centre on Ascension Island or St Helena, thousands of miles away in the South Atlantic.

However, using such distant British overseas territories was ruled impractical over costs and logistical problems. Now, proposals for asylum centres on islands closer to home will be drawn up.

Migrants could be processed on disused ferries moored off the coast under the plans being considered.

Another option being considered is buying retired ferries and converting them into asylum-processing centres.

Boris Johnson is keen to deter migrants from making dangerous crossings from France with the proposals.

Meanwhile, The Times has been told that the Home Office held discussions about moving migrants to decommissioned oil platforms in the North Sea while their applications are processed. However, ministers decided that it was a 'no go' .

According to the Financial Times, other 'blue sky' options discussed include laying booms, barriers or even small boats together in parts of the Channel to stop migrants reaching the shore.

Another option was to have boats with pumps generating waves in a bid to force boats back into French waters.

However, the possibility was rejected amid concerns migrants in already-overladen boats would be capsized.

The plan to move migrants to ships is thought more realistic and is being given serious consideration.
Cloud computing is acting as an enabler for businesses to modernise their operations and gain agility to respond to competitive pressures in the ASEAN region amidst the devastating effects of the global health emergency.

Vietnamese company WeatherPlus has recently succeeded in monitoring the weather through more than 300 weather stations throughout the country.

It collects data from Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and transfers it to cloud computing through Amazon Website Services (AWS) to analyse the information. The group also tries to predict rainfall and analyse images to predict the spread of diseases in agricultural crops.

Just a few years ago, many would struggle to imagine that agricultural businesses in Vietnam could embark on a digitalisation journey, with farming deeply dependent on nature. But now, with cloud computing-based technology, farmers will have better information on weather patterns to increase yields.

WeatherPlus is not the only example of modern technology that can be used to solve problems. In ASEAN, especially in Vietnam where there is such vast agricultural land, traditional farming methods may not be able to yield optimal results.

Likewise, as a top performer in Vietnams sugar industry, Thanh Thanh Cong - Bien Hoa has moved to Oracle Cloud ERP, a platform that could support its growth and innovation pursuits across its businesses in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Singapore.

ACB, a Vietnamese privately-held lender, has also deployed Oracle cloud services to streamline all finance, procurement, and project expense management processes.

Most recently, Standard Chartered  which also operates in Vietnam  and Microsoft confirmed a three-year strategic partnership to accelerate the banks digital transformation through a cloud-first strategy.

It is slated to mark a significant milestone for Standard Chartered in making its vision for virtual banking, next-generation payments, open banking, and banking-as-a-service a reality by leveraging Microsoft Azure as a preferred cloud platform.

More than three million organisations, including the worlds leading brands like American Express and Coca-Cola, now rely on GitHub to go from idea to code and code to cloud.

The current crisis has highlighted the urgent need to focus on digitalisation, and the need to embrace new and innovative technologies, such as cloud to emerge stronger and boost economic competitiveness.

In Southeast Asia, according to a report from Adroit Market Research, the cloud computing market revenue is estimated to reach $40.3 billion by 2025 as a result of an increased demand for cloud computing among small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Particularly, the Vietnamese cloud service market is projected to grow from $165 million in 2018 to $291 million by 2024, exhibiting a double-digit compound annual growth rate of over 10 per cent during the period of 2019-2024.

Pandemic catalyst

In Vietnam, with the trend of digital transformation spreading, along with the encouragement of the government through initiatives such as the National Digital Transformation Programme, more businesses are gradually applying cloud computing in their operations.

What we are focused on right now is to help our customers and partners in Vietnam not only manage the unprecedented crisis effectively, but also build future resilience by investing in the right technologies and right skills for their people to be future ready, said Conor McNamara, AWS managing director of ASEAN.

Phong Pham, managing director at Oracle Vietnam  the local franchise of the California-based integrated cloud applications and platform services provider  told VIR that he has witnessed an uptick in demand for cloud services from enterprises of all sizes in light of the current pandemic. For example, Vietnamese businesses are already embracing the power of cloud services in helping them lower their IT total cost of ownership.

The opportunities that cloud creates are real and present today, providing the building blocks for companies to pioneer groundbreaking innovations and disrupt entire industries. Were seeing financial services utilising AI for automatic forecasting without human intervention, to smart manufacturing utilising real-time IoT data for equipment optimisations, Pham said.

The ongoing pandemic has posed a unique challenge across governments and businesses of all kinds in terms of being able to provide seamless services to their end-customers and stakeholders.

According to Vu Hoang Lien, chairman of the Vietnam Internet Association, this year is forecast to be the year of cloud computing when most of the workload will be gradually transferred to the cloud. In the next two or three years, cloud computing will likely present massive impacts on businesses and society  innovative cloud computing for AI and boosted business performance is upping the ante for most tech-led firms in Vietnam, as a common practice worldwide.

Pham The Truong, general manager at Microsoft Vietnam, told VIR that businesses that are fortified by digital technology are more resilient and more capable of transforming when faced with secular structural changes in the marketplace.

Nearly 90 per cent of chief information officers say they will accelerate their public cloud investments, up from 54 per cent prior to the pandemic. The adoption of data and AI is increasingly a differentiator for every business, as is multi-sense, multi-device collaboration, which has made remote everything possible, Truong emphasised. These secular trends are fundamentally reshaping every industry, across the public and private sectors. We call this tech intensity, and every organisation in every industry will increasingly need to embrace it to be successful and grow.

Vietnam presents a significant opportunity to accelerate digital transformation across all sectors of the economy by working closely with international technology companies in the development of policies and a regulatory framework that facilitate adoption of cloud computing technologies.

Deciphering the patterns

Businesses that sell cloud-based software services to businesses have largely been a sweet spot, especially since the pandemic has accelerated digitalisation.

Companies ranging from Microsoft and Zoom to Oracle, Amazon, and IBM have recently reported a surge in usage of their cloud-based businesses as more companies seek to rapidly accommodate their remote workers.

Meanwhile, experts believe 90 per cent of all manual IT operations and data management tasks will be completely automated, opening the door to a new era of IT innovation.

While some technology professionals are still consumed with routine operations such as backing up, scaling, tuning, monitoring, and securing critical information systems, autonomous databases are quickly making these activities a thing of the past.

As IT professionals shed a progressively larger portion of these administrative tasks, they will have more time to develop analytic applications and bring new revenue producing products and services to market. Cloud computing enables organisations to innovate faster than ever before. Liberated IT workers have more time to explore the latest advancements in AI and machine learning  from conversational user interfaces to blockchain to the IoT.

Pham of Oracle also drew examples that self-learning systems automate the collection of data across multiple applications, and can automatically visualise millions of data points.

By displaying enterprise data through graphs, charts and animations, business users can more easily perceive trends, patterns, and correlations in their data, rather than trying to glean insights from columnar reports and spreadsheets. The cloud moves these advanced technologies into the mainstream.

Leveraging Oracles deep expertise in data management, and with over 40 years experience in helping customers manage their mission-critical data, Oracle is supporting customers using their data to innovate, create new experiences, deliver differentiation, and understand their businesses better, Pham added.

McNamara from AWS explained, We are always looking for the best ways to help our customers and partners in ASEAN and Vietnam - both right now, and in the long-term to build business resilience. We believe the next big thing in technology will come from our customers who will invent and build innovative solutions leveraging AWS services to solve problems for their customers or industries. Modern technology is becoming incredibly popular, especially here in Asia.

Truong of Microsoft also expressed his optimism. We commit to develop the digital skills of the nation, having best practices that local businesses can learn from. We also have 61 data centre regions today, more than any other cloud provider - and more compliance certifications with 90 plus. Customers understand our overall differentiation, and today 95 per cent of companies in the Fortune 500 list are running on our Azure platform. VIR

Luu Huong/Thanh Van

Digital industry to contribute a quarter of Vietnams GDP by 2025 A pending project on national digital transition aims for the digital industry to contribute 25 percent of Vietnams GDP by 2025 and for the country to be placed fourth among ASEAN member states in terms of national digital ranking.
Officers and soldiers of a Chinese peacekeeping helicopter unit to Sudan's Darfur are awarded UN peace medals, October 1, 2020. /Xinhua

The 140 officers and soldiers of the third China Medium Utility Helicopter Unit (CMUHU03), a peacekeeping contingent to Sudan's Darfur, were awarded UN peace medals by the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on Thursday.

In a congratulatory message sent to the CMUHU03, Force Commander of the UNAMID Muriuki Ngondi hailed the unit's important role in peacekeeping operations in the region, calling the officers and soldiers "excellent Chinese emissaries in Darfur."

Since the CMUHU03 was deployed in Darfur in August last year, the contingent has accomplished over 60 tasks such as air patrol in unfamiliar places, personnel movement and casualty evacuation, carrying out 172 sorties safely. It is hailed as an "indispensable air force" by the UNAMID.

As of June 2020, China had contributed 370 peacekeeping troops to the UNAMID, which was established in 2007, according to the official website of UN Peacekeeping.

Over the past 30 years, China's armed forces have contributed over 40,000 officers and soldiers to 25 UN peacekeeping missions.

Currently, China has over 2,500 peacekeepers serving in UN peacekeeping missions, more than any other permanent member of the Security Council.

The country pays 15 percent of the UN peacekeeping budget and 12 percent of the UN regular budget, making it the second largest financial contributor following the United States.
Some winter oilseed rape may already have 10% of the crop showing phoma symptoms and may need treating, according to a new disease forecast.

The 2020 forecast reveals a wide range of predicted dates - 13 September to 10 November - for crops to reach this threshold across the UK.

But compared with 2019, most sites - 19 out of 29 - are likely to reach the threshold earlier, Rothamsted Research and AHDB's forecast shows.

In fact, the 2020 forecast predicted eight sites would reach it in September, in contrast to just two sites in 2019.

Catherine Harries, who manages disease research at AHDB, explains that phoma spores mature on stubble  a process that is favoured by warm, wet weather.

"Many sites monitored experienced such conditions in 2020, so it is important to look for symptoms in the field, especially when the local forecast suggests the threshold date is near.

"Backing up the forecast findings, we have received reports of early-sown crops showing phoma symptoms, she said.

Temperature and rainfall information from 1 July to 26 September is used to simulate the development of Leptosphaeria maculans  a key pathogen responsible for phoma leaf spot and phoma stem canker.

Accounting for subsequent crop infection, the forecast predicts the date when 10% of oilseed rape plants could potentially show symptoms of phoma leaf spot.

This level of infection relates to a treatment threshold for varieties with lower disease ratings (7 and below) for stem canker.

Ten top tips for phoma management

 Infected crop debris is the main source of infection  use cultivation and rotation to reduce disease pressure

 Select varieties with strong resistance to diseases, including phoma

 During autumn, monitor oilseed rape for phoma leaf spots - prioritise susceptible varieties and small crops

 Note that warm and wet conditions favour the disease. Most crops breach treatment thresholds in October, although it may be earlier

 A fungicide applied as close as possible to a threshold helps maximise its effect

 Check AHDB fungicide performance data, which includes information on product efficacy against phoma

 Treat varieties with lower resistance ratings for stem canker (7 and below) and small crops first, when 1020% of plants have phoma leaf spot

 Only treat varieties with high resistance ratings for stem canker (8 to 9) if more than 20% of plants have phoma leaf spot

 When reinfection occurs, consider a second spray  typically, four to ten weeks after the first spray

 Adjust spray programmes to account for any late-autumn fungicide (typically, November) required for light leaf spot control
LAS CRUCES  A New Mexico magistrate court judge has ruled there is probable cause to charge a former Las Cruces police officer in the choking death of a Mexican American man.

The Las Cruces Sun-News reports 3rd Judicial District Court Judge Casey Fitch ruled this week there was enough evidence to order former Las Cruces Police officer Christopher Smelser to stand trial for second-degree murder.

Smelser is accused of the Feb. 29 chokehold death of Antonio Valenzuela after he fled from a traffic stop.

Valenzuela, 40, had a warrant out for his arrest because of a parole violation and fought with officers who tried to detain him after he fled from a traffic stop. Valenzuela died at the scene.

The coroner determined Valenzuela died from asphyxial injuries and that he had methamphetamine in his system, which contributed to his death.

Las Cruces Detective Shane Brisco, who has trained officers in defensive tactics and is a proponent of vascular neck restraints, testified that Smelser held Valenzuela in a hold for too long.

Smelsers attorney, Amy L. Orlando, said Smelser had been trained to use the hold and the murder charge was a political move meant to grab headlines.
Tourism Minister confirms more inbound flights of tourists

PHUKET: Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has announced that a second flight of tourists to arrive in Thailand under the new Special Tourist Visa (STV) will land in Bangkok on Oct 26, followed by a third flight arriving from Europe on Nov 1.

Friday 2 October 2020, 10:42AM

Tourism and Sports Minister Phipat Ratchakitprakarn speaking to the press in Bangkok yesterday (Oct 1). Photo: MoTS

Speaking to the press in Bangkok yesterday (Oct 1), Minister Phiphat confirmed that a group of 150 Chinese nationals, all entering the country on the new Special Tourist Visa (STV), will be the first foreign tourists allowed into Thailand on a chartered flight under the conditional entry scheme for selected groups of foreigners, endorsed by the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). Mr Phiphat explained the group will fly directly to Phuket on a chartered Air Asia flight, adding that another, smaller, group of seven Chinese businessmen will arrive at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on a private jet on the same day, reports state news agency NNT. Another group of 126 Chinese tourists, from Guangdong will fly to Suvarnabhumi airport on a chartered Thai Smile flight on Oct 25, he said. A third group, of 120 tourists from Scandinavia and Schengen countries, will arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport on a Thai Airways International flight on Nov 1, he added. Regarding alternative local state quarantine (ALSQ) facilities to accommodate the tourists, Mr Phiphat said three hotels in Phuket and one each in Chon Buri and the northeastern province of Buriram had been chosen.
Ekuru Aukot on Thursday, October 1 reportedly stormed Thirdway Alliance Party offices in Lavington in the company of 20 men.

The partys Secretary-General Frederick Okango said the expelled party leader tried to access the office despite a court order barring him.

He (Aukot) stormed the offices with 20 goons who were armed trying to access the office against the court order, because he was expelled. There has been an altercation, Okango told Kenyans.co.ke.

According to the Thirdway Alliance Sec-Gen, the altercation resulted in damages on the premises after the men damaged the gate in an attempt to gain entry.

We told them that unless they have a court order, we will not give them access to the office, Okango said adding that police also arrived at the scene.

He also claimed that Ekuru Aukot issued threats to the members who had locked the offices.

Aukot is demanding to enter the office to take his things against a court order. He is not welcome here as he is not a party member, said Okango.

The matter was reported at Muthangari Police station under OB No. 31/01/10/2020.

Aukot was barred from accessing the premises following his expulsion from the party over allegations of financial impropriety and lack of transparency to party members.

The part also wrote to him demanding Sh5 million for allegedly using Party office to conduct private business through his law firm.

On diverse dates between February 2018 and August 2020, you used our clients offices to conduct your private commercial business under EA LAW consulting, full particulars and information whereof is well within your knowledge. A proper computation of the period within which you unlawfully used our clients offices is for a period of 30 months. To that extent, our clients charges are at the rate of Ksh150,000 per month, the letter reads in part.

Aukot is also accused of sponsoring goons to break a door to the offices, which has been valued at Sh500,000.

On or about 27th August 2020, you caused a group of goons to destroy a double mahogany wooden door that grants access to the offices of our client. The costs of replacement of the said door is assessed at Sh500,000, added the letter dated September 11.

Unless we receive your settlement cheque of Sh5,000,000 and our collection charges of Sh500,000 within seven (7) days of receipt of this letter, our instructions are to commence appropriate recovery proceedings against you at your own risk as to court costs and advocates fees.
Craig Woodhall has been sentenced for the murder of Victoria, right. (South Yorkshire Police/SWNS)

A 41-year-old man has been jailed for hacking his estranged wife to death on the street outside their home with a machete.

Craig Woodhall admitted stabbing his wife, 31-year-old Victoria, multiple times in a brutal and sustained attack in Barnsley in March that was seen by neighbours and children, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Police said he pursued the NHS nurse from their home into the street before attacking her with what they described as a Gurkha-style machete knife.

He dragged her to the ground and stabbed her repeatedly before walking away, returning twice to continue the violence, South Yorkshire Polices Detective Inspector Ben Wood said.

The court heard Woodhall, a former soldier, told neighbours who tried to come to Victorias aid that she deserved it and had been winding him up on the day.

Woodhall was sentenced to life with a minimum of 18 years and six months.

Craig Woodhall was sentenced on Friday. (South Yorkshire Police)

Police and forensics at the house in Barnsley. (Tom Maddick/SWNS)

The court heard that Victoria had recently left the family home to live with another man as the coronavirus lockdown was brought in.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC said she likely left her husband because she had had enough of your controlling and possessive behaviour.

He heard that the couple married in 2013 but the relationship deteriorated.

Your conduct may only be characterised as merciless, determined, sustained and savage in the extreme, the judge said.

The deceased was defenceless.

The blows were visited with brute force, bringing the knife down repeatedly from a height on to the body of the deceased. Your wife died rapidly from the acute blood loss.

It was an unrelenting avalanche of exceptionally serious violence visited upon a defenceless woman.

Victoria Woodhall was killed in March (SWNS)

DI Wood, speaking before sentencing, said: Victoria was subjected to a brutal and sustained attack, and there were several people in the immediate vicinity who witnessed this horrifying murder.

He said officers and medics tried to save Victorias life, but her severe injuries meant they had to pronounce her dead at the scene.

Story continues

A post-mortem examination found she died of multiple incised wounds.

DI Wood said: Victorias injuries were significant and extensive  she was stabbed with a Gurkha-style machete knife, which our officers recovered from the scene.

The violence she suffered was so extreme that she had multiple skull fractures, as well as significant injuries to her head, face, neck, arms, hands, shoulders and back.

Victoria was an operating department practitioner at the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, and the trusts chief nurse Angela Wood said she was a cherished and much-loved colleague.

Floral tributes left outside a house. (Tom Maddick/SWNS)

DI Wood added: This was a horrific attack, I know this incident caused a significant deal of distress within the local community, especially among those residents who witnessed the murder.

Those eyewitnesses have received support from our partners in Victim Care to process the traumatic impact of this crime.

Woodhall was arrested about an hour after the attack, when two officers driving in Barnsley were flashed by a car.

He got out of the car and was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Electrical Engineer Rob Wolfs (left) and Software Engineer Jens Johanson (right) in front of the Falcon-20 research airplane in Toulouse. Credit: SRON

SRON's aerosol instrument SPEX Airborne is spreading its wings again. On October 2, it will start a series of measurement flights across Europe onboard a Falcon-20 research aircraft. SPEX Airborne will measure aerosols in the atmospheretiny dust particles that can disrupt measurements of the greenhouse gas CO 2 . In time, SPEX is intended to go into space as part of the European SCARBO mission.

Europe is committed to measuring CO 2 emissions from space in order to achieve the European Green Deal targets. In addition to the future CO 2 space mission CO2M, the European Commission is funding a collaboration of 10 organizations, including SRON, that are working on a constellation of smaller satellites called the Space CARBon Observatory (SCARBO). A new miniature CO 2 measuring instrument, nanoCarb, has been developed for SCARBO in France. The Dutch SPEX Airborne is part of SCARBO, intended to correct the CO 2 measurements for disturbances caused by aerosols. Before these instruments go into space, they first perform a series of measurement flights from Toulouse on the Falcon-20.

A team of SRON engineers has already arrived in Toulouse to install SPEX Airborne in the Falcon-20 aircraft. "After the installation, one or two test flights will be carried out over France," says Martijn Smit from SRON. "Then it gets exciting, because we'll see whether everything functions properly. If the test flight goes well, the real work begins."

There will be flights over Poland and Germany above a number of power plants with high CO 2 emissions. The aircraft will also fly across Northern Italy and Southern Spainregions with often increased concentrations of aerosols.

Credit: SRON

This campaign will be the first time that CO 2 and aerosol are measured simultaneously.

The SCARBO consortium is led by Airbus Defense and Space in France. The project draws funding from the Horizon 2020 program of the European Commission. SRON and Airbus Defense and Space Netherlands are also currently developing the spectropolarimeter SPEXone for the NASA satellite mission PACE, which will be launched in 2023.

Explore further SPEX project gets wings: first measurements SPEX airborne published
On Thursday, dozens of people were arrested by Hong Kong riot police after demonstrators continued to march with anti-government agendas.

Law enforcement personnel blocked crowds from gathering together while Chief Executive Carrie Lam praised the city and its successful efforts in returning stability.

Anti-government protests

According to Reuters, witnesses saw police officers apprehend more than 50 people downtown and bound their wrists with plexicuffs before forcing onto buses. Officers posted on a Facebook post that they were searching for two men who allegedly threw petrol bombs into the streets.

Protesters revealed they wanted to march against Beijing's implementation of the new security law in the city that was passed on June 30. Demonstrators demanded officials to return 12 Hong Kong citizens who police arrested at sea in August for attempting to flee to Taiwan.

Police officials have ruled to ban the protests, arguing that the coronavirus pandemic is still a significant risk, and people gathering in large crowds could sharply increase infections. However, shoppers and passers-by continued to break into pro-democracy chants while avoid coming together into a large group.

A woman who was dressed in black during the protests, Jay, said that while it was China's national day, the people of the city considered it to be Hong Kong's death day. The demonstrator marched through the streets, passing police officers on the way.

Jay added that Hong Kong citizens are under pressure but argued they need to be strong and fight back to regain their freedom.

Many of the 6,000 police officers deployed along the routes conducted continuous stop-and-search activities throughout the city and sent away any person they thought was suspicious of being an anti-government protester.

Also Read: Hong Kong Police Arrest 289 People For Massive, Violent Protest Against Legislation Election Postponement

China and Hong Kong's ideologies

During the reception marking the 71st anniversary of the Communist Party rule of mainland China, Lam said that the apparent fact that people refused to believe is that stability has been returned to Hong Kong, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

This year, the majority of protests have been banned, and the city has begun returning to normal after spending two months under strict public-health regulations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A man who appeared to be in his 20s who identified himself simply as Mr. Wong, said that the government wanted people and the world to believe that Hong Kong is a stable and happy city.

Standing near police officers in the shopping district, Wong added the citizens are hiding their frustrations and argued Lam wanted what China's Communist Party wanted and cared little for the people.

Police arrested more than 60 people during the protests as onlookers shouted, "Don't be scared!" as the demonstrators were being loaded on buses.

The Civil Human Rights Front, which is responsible for organizing some of the city's largest protests during last year's political uprising, applied for the Thursday rally hiding behind the pretense of "Save 12 HK Youths," referencing the dozen of protesters who police arrested at sea.

Related Article: Hong Kong's New Security Law Denies Visa for Foreign Journalist, Marking Attack on Press Freedom

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Do the days seem without structure, the weeks and months a blur? It could be the effect of the sameness of life in the pandemic, on neurons in the brain.

A paper published in Journal of Neuroscience in September indicates that sameness of stimuli makes certain neurons weary, altering our perception of time.

The paper was co-authored by Masamichi Hayashi at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Suita, Japan, and Richard Ivry at the University of California, Berkeley. Hayashi and Ivry scanned volunteers brains while showing them the same scene  a grey spot on a screen  30 times without pause.

After the period of adaptation, participants saw the grey spot again, but for different lengths of time. Then, they estimated how long the object had stayed on screen. Participants could not effectively tell the difference between the durations; at the same time, scans showed decreased activity in a group of brain cells involved in time perception, indicating neuron fatigue, the report states.

Ive always been interested in the neural mechanism of time perception, Hayashi told HT. How is the time experience represented in our brains? Why does time pass so quickly when you are having fun? Why does time slow down when you get into a car accident?

In 2015, Hayashi and Ivry began conducting behavioural experiments to confirm their own earlier brain scan experiment in this area of study. Their volunteers were mainly students aged 18 to 27.

Our experience of time during the pandemic is probably associated with more memory-based recognition of time  the perception of time in the passing of days and months  which is a different area from the precise focus of our study, Hayashi says. Time estimation in the range of hundreds of milliseconds is important for a variety of daily activities, such as motor control, speech recognition and generation, playing instruments, dancing, etc. We still need to test, but I believe these time-sensitive neurons are involved in these timing-related activities too.

The reports findings may have other real-world applications. Distortions in time perception and timed performances appear in patients with Parkinsons disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. We hope that our findings will provide some insight to understand these disorders, Hayashi says.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Paramita Ghosh Paramita Ghosh has been working as a journalist for over 20 years and writes socio-political and culture features. She works in the Weekend section as a senior assistant editor and has reported from Vienna, Jaffna and Singapore. ...view detail
Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, joining a small group of world leaders who have been infected.

The US president is 74, putting him at higher risk of serious complications.

Here is a look at other leaders who have had the virus.

 Boris Johnson

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Whatsapp Boris Johnson (Brian Lawless/PA)

The UK Prime Minister was the first major world leader confirmed to have Covid-19. He was moved to intensive care in April when his symptoms dramatically worsened a day after he was admitted to hospital for what were called routine tests. He was given oxygen but did not need a ventilator, officials said. He later expressed his gratitude to NHS staff for saving his life when his treatment could have gone either way.

The Prince of Wales also tested positive in March and showed mild symptoms.

 Jair Bolsonaro

The Brazilian president announced his illness in July and used it to publicly extol hydroxychloroquine, the unproven malaria drug he had been promoting as a treatment for Covid-19 and was taking himself. For months he had flirted with the virus as he flouted social distancing at lively demonstrations and encouraged crowds during outings from the presidential residence, often without a mask.

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 Juan Orlando Hernandez

The Honduras president announced in June that he had tested positive, along with two other people who worked closely with him. Mr Hernandez said he had started what he called the MAIZ treatment, an experimental and unproven combination of microdacyn, azithromycin, ivermectin and zinc. He was briefly treated in hospital and then released. He has added his voice to growing pleas for equitable access to any Covid-19 vaccine, asking the recent UN gathering of world leaders: Are people to be left to die?

 Alexander Lukashenko

The president of Belarus, who dismissed concerns about the virus as psychosis and recommended drinking vodka to stay healthy, said in July he had contracted it himself but was asymptomatic. Belarus is one of the few countries that took no comprehensive measures against the virus. Other senior officials in former Soviet states who were infected include Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin.

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 Prince Albert II of Monaco

The palace of Monaco in March said the ruler of the tiny Mediterranean principality had tested positive but his health was not a concern. He was the first head of state to publicly say he had been infected.

 Alejandro Giammattei

The Guatemalan president said he tested positive for the virus in September. My symptoms are very mild. Up to now, I have body aches, it hurt more yesterday than today, like a bad cold, he said during a televised address. I dont have a fever, I have a bit of a cough.

 Jeanine Anez

The virus drove the Bolivian interim president into isolation in July, but she said she was feeling well.

 Luis Abinader

The newly elected president of the Dominican Republic contracted and recovered from Covid-19 during his campaign. He spent weeks in isolation before the countrys July election.

 Iran

Iran, the epicentre of the Middle Easts initial outbreak, has seen several senior officials test positive. Among them were senior vice president Eshaq Jahangiri and vice president Massoumeh Ebtekar.

 India

Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu, 71, recently tested positive but his office said he had no symptoms and was quarantined at home. Home minister Amit Shah, the number two man in prime minister Narendra Modis government, was admitted to hospital last month and has recovered. Junior railways minister Suresh Angadi last week was the first federal minister to die from Covid-19.

 Israel

Israels then-health minister Yaakov Litzman tested positive in April and recovered. He is a leader in Israels ultra-Orthodox community, which has seen a high rate of infection as many have defied restrictions on religious gatherings. The minister for Jerusalem affairs, Rafi Peretz, tested positive over the summer as cases surged nationwide, and also recovered.

 South Africa

The countrys mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe and labour minister Thulas Nxesi were infected as cases surged in June and July.

 South Sudan

Vice president Riek Machar was among several cabinet ministers to be infected.

 Gambia

Vice president Isatou Touray tested positive in July along with the ministers of finance, energy and agriculture.

Guinea-Bissau

Prime minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam in April said he had tested positive.
Amid rising concerns over the threat posed by China, the UK government is expected to bar a large number of Chinese students from studying certain subjects at British universities.

According to a report in The Times, UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will expand the remit of its security vetting for overseas applicants wanting to study subjects relating to national security, amid concerns about the theft of intellectual property.

Journalist Lucy Fisher reported that ministers at the national security committee signed off plans for stricter rules earlier this year.

The measures are expected to block hundreds of Chinese students from entering Britain. Visas for those already enrolled will be revoked if they are deemed to pose a risk, Fisher reported.

According to The Times, the moves comes after widespread concerns around intellectual property (IP) theft by students at the UKs top research labs.

Chinese students have been accused of IP theft in both the UK and the US.

A Whitehall source said: The ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) system is being expanded as we know that security threats are constantly evolving... We know that there are those who would seek to exploit our position as leaders in science & innovation. Ministers decided to take action earlier this year.

A recent report from a think tank, the Henry Jackson Society, found that 900 graduates of Chinese universities allegedly linked to the Peoples Liberation Army are enrolled in postgraduate studies at 33 British universities with serious research arms.

In 2018-19 Chinese students accounted for 12 per cent of all postgraduates studying at UK universities. Hundreds could face being blocked from taking up places going forward.

In May, a similar move was taken by the United States. The Trump administration had announced that it has banned some Chinese students and researchers from entering the United States after accusing them of stealing intellectual property.

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The son of a popular radio presenter has been convicted of commercial drug supply after being caught with $50,000 worth of cocaine in his mum's car.

Joshua Hammond, 24, is the son of WSFM radio presenter Michael 'Mike' Hammond, who presents on the station after Jonesy and Amanda on weekday mornings.

The younger Hammond was arrested by police with 279g of cocaine with a purity of 75.5 per cent in Campsie in Sydney's inner south west on September 25, 2019.

He was sentenced to two and a half years to be served in the community as an intensive corrections order, meaning he walked away from Downing Centre Court in Sydney on Thursday.

Michael 'Mike' Hammond (pictured) presents on WSFM after Jonesy and Amanda on weekday mornings. Mr Hammond's son Joshua, 24, has been convicted of commercial drug supply after being caught with $50,000 worth of cocaine in his mum's car

Mike Hammond gave evidence in court, saying he previously had a troubled relationship with his son, according to The Daily Telegraph.

But Judge Robyn Tupman said Mr Hammond's now-24-year-old son was solely responsible for his own crimes.

'He did what he did. It is not a person's fault because a 23-year-old decides to deal a commercial quantity of cocaine,' she said.

The court heard Joshua Hammond was fired from his plumbing apprenticeship after losing his driver's licence and broke up with his girlfriend, which lead to him developing a drug habit.

Mike Hammond gave evidence in court, saying he previously had a troubled relationship with his son on Thursday. But judge Robyn Tupman said Mr Hammond's 24-year-old son was solely responsible for his own crimes

A selfie of Mr Hammond. His son Joshua was found with 279g of cocaine with a purity of 75.5 per cent in his mother's car in Campsie in Sydney's inner south west on September 25, 2019

He binged on drugs such as cocaine, MDMA and GHB, racking up $5,000 of drug debt in the process in September 2019, the court heard.

Detectives intercepted the aspiring rugby player's phone calls before busting him with cocaine in his mother's car on September 25 last year.

NSW Police also seized nine mobile phones, a safe holding $7,000, electronic scales and clear packaging bags when they raided his bedroom at his mother's house in Willoughby on Sydney's Lower North Shore at a later date.

Hammond was previously convicted of drug supply three years ago and expelled or asked to leave three high schools while growing up.

'I'm embarrassed with the situation I find myself in. I have no excuses for it. I never want to put myself in this situation ever again,' Hammond said in court.

Judge Tupman said Hammond was just a cocaine courier and that other people were likely to cut up the drugs and sell them in Sydney.

She ordered him to have drug counselling and therapy sessions while he serves his intensive corrections order outside of jail over the next two years and six months.
Yes, you read that correctlythere is, in fact, a Borat 2 and you can, in fact, watch the trailer for it right now. The new promotional video for the sequel to Sacha Baron Cohens hit raunchy satirical romp just dropped as of today.

The film has Cohen returning as Borat Sagdiyev, the Pamela-Anderson-loving Kazakhstani reporter who tries his best (kind of) to understand American culture. He returns to America once more in this film, which is fully named Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Borat 2 imminent, reports suggest, with Trump, Epstein and Giuliani as targets https://t.co/01GxoPkdG1  The Guardian (@guardian) September 28, 2020

Although the trailer showcases Cohen (pardon, Borat) getting up to his old tricks of targeting clueless people and saying ludicrous things in front of them to incite a reaction, theres one new addition to this latest venture across the States Borats daughter, Sandra Jessica Parker Sagdiyev, as played by Irina Nowak.

As can be seen by the trailer, Borat 2 was the first movie to be produced during the coronavirus pandemic. Deadline reports that the movie crew were given the green light by unions to shoot once restrictions were slightly eased. It was quickly shot and finished in order to be released right before the election.

A pre-election release makes sense, as the trailer hints at Cohen and Nowak poking fun at American political party members. It seems at one point Cohen as Borat dresses up as Trump, offering his daughter to a very appalled Mike Pence. One can only imagine what else is in the film.

Borat 2 premieres Oct. 23 on Amazon Prime Video.
(Newser)  Somewhere in the White House or the Department of Homeland Security, Kyle Rittenhouse has support. Talking points distributed to department officials suggest ways to sympathetically portray the 17-year-old, who's charged with the fatal shootings of two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin. When answering reporters' questions, NBC reports, officials are advised to say Rittenhouse "took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners." In addition, the internal documents suggest saying, "Kyle was seen being chased and attacked by rioters before allegedly shooting three of them, killing two." Also: "Subsequent video has emerged reportedly showing that there were 'multiple gunmen' involved, which would lend more credence to the self-defense claims." Steer the conversation to law and order, officials were told, suggesting "This is also why we need to stop the violence in our cities."

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Four former Homeland Security officials under both parties told NBC it's not usual to be told to address a case still under investigation. "It is as unprecedented as it is wrong," said Peter Boogaard, who was a department spokesperson under President Obama. "They seemed more interested in Rittenhouse's reputation than calling for calm and actual law and order," Elizabeth Neumann, who was an assistant secretary under President Trump. Rittenhouse had posted his support of the president on social media, and Trump has said it looked like the teenager was trying to get away from the people he's charged with shooting. A lawyer for Rittenhouse said he plans to sue Joe Biden for libel, per Fox News, over a tweet the former vice president posted saying that the president refuses to disavow white supremacists. The video clip includes a still of an armed Rittenhouse in Kenosha. (Read more Kyle Rittenhouse stories.)
This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 1475 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why were doing this fundraiser, what weve accomplished in the last year, and our current goal, more original reporting.

Yves here. A welcome bit of good news on the Postal Service front.

By run75441. Originally published at Angry Bear

Prof. Steve Hutkins at Save the Post Office adds information on court rulings.

The Postal Service is now 0 and 5 in the eleven lawsuits filed against it as a result of the mail delays caused by the operational changes that went into effect in July. Yesterday two more orders were against the Postal Service.

In Pennsylvania v DeJoy, Judge Gerald McHugh of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that the Postal Service cant restrict extra or late trips for mail delivery and cant prohibit overtime. In Vote Forward v DeJoy, Judge Emmet Sullivan issued his second order against the Postal Service.

Here are the five orders that have been issued in federal courts banning the Postal Service from making the kinds of operational changes that caused delays over the summer:

As a result of these five preliminary injunctions, the Postal Service has had to walk back all the changes it made over the summer as well as making all sorts of commitments about what it will do to ensure timely delivery of mail ballots. Thats good news for voters and others who depend on the Postal Service for things like their medications.

These five rulings should mean something else as well. The Postmaster General and the Board of Governors have received the strongest of rebukes from four federal judges in five cases representing twenty-four states, several national organizations, and many individuals. This turn of events has to be unprecedented, and it has been a total embarrassment for the Postal Services leaders. It wont happen, but they should be thinking about resigning.

Like Sullivans ruling in New York v Trump, McHughs order in Pennsylvania focuses on the Postal Services failure to present its plans for cutbacks to the Postal Regulatory Commission for an advisory opinion, which would have afforded the public an opportunity to review it and comment on it.

District Judge Gerald Austin McHugh: Plaintiffs and the Postal Service agree that the Postal Service undertook a major new initiative following Louis DeJoys installation as Postmaster General. Both sides also agree that the Postal Service did not seek an advisory opinion and that no public hearing occurred before the Postal Service implemented these changes in July 2020. Against that background, Plaintiffs have produced compelling evidence from Defendants themselves, indicating that there has been a pronounced increase in mail delays across the country since the implementation of these changes. And the Postal Service insists that it is rolling back the changes and improving performance. The Postal Service is a critical agency that preceded the birth of the nation itself, one of a few agencies that the Constitution explicitly authorized. U.S. Const. art. I,  8. Congress has described it as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States. . . . 39 U.S.C.  101(a). Its ability to fulfill its mission during a presidential election taking place in the midst of a public health crisis is vital. The record in this case strongly supports the conclusion that irreparable harm will result unless its ability to operate is assured. I will therefore grant injunctive relief.

There are articles about McHughs ruling in the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Tribune, CNN, and Courthouse News.

Sullivans ruling in Vote Forward differs from his ruling in New York v Trump in significant ways. The most apparent is that the New York decision focused primarily on the Postal Services failure to request a PRC advisory opinion before implementing changes that had a nationwide impact. The Vote Forward order doesnt even mention the advisory opinion issue. Instead its about voting rights (as was true with the Jones case).

Judge Sullivan states: Here, the Court finds that the character and magnitude of Plaintiffs asserted injury to the right to vote is significant. Plaintiffs have provided sufficient evidence suggesting that Defendants policy has caused and will continue to cause inconsistency and delays in the delivery of mail across the United States, placing at particular risk voters residing in one of the 28 states that require mail ballots to be received, not just post-marked, by Election Day. Furthermore, while content neutral, Defendants policy changes place an especially severe burden on those who have no other reasonable choice than to vote by mail, such as those who may be at a high risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19 should they become exposed to the virus at the polling place, and those who are not physically able to travel to the polls due to disability. The Court respects that the federal government, and USPS in particular, have legitimate interests in maintaining efficient programs and in saving money; however, these interests do not justify the resulting harms Plaintiffs face. As stated above, the burden the USPS policy changes place on Plaintiffs constitutional right to vote and have their vote counted is significant. At risk is disenfranchisement in the November election of potentially hundreds of thousands of individuals.

There have been developments in some of the other cases as well. In Montana Governor Bullocks case, an amicus brief has been filed by twenty-four members of Congress. It focuses on the Postal Service failure to request an advisory opinion when planning changes with nationwide impacts.

In Jones, attorneys for the government have requested an extension as the parties continue to work out the wording of the passage on overtime in the Supplemental Guidance Document.

In New York, an amicus brief has been filed by Brady and Team Enough, two gun violence prevention organizations.
The Union celebrated the achievements under the Swachh Bharat Mission in the past six years on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on Friday.

Speaking at a webinar titled 'Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal', Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, "When SBM-U was launched in 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was with the vision of achieving 'Clean India' by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation."



"Today, I feel immensely proud, as well as humbled, to see how every citizen of urban India has come together to make that dream a tangible reality.

"This spirit of Jan Andolan and Jan Bhagidari the power of collective action and leveraging a healthy spirit of competition is exemplified by the Swachh Survekshan, the annual cleanliness survey of MoHUA," the Housing and Urban Affairs minister said in a statement.

The minister said that in Swachh Survekdhan 2020, over 12 crore citizens have participated.

"We will need to focus on enhancing our processing capabilities along with efficiently managing our construction and demolition waste, and bio-remediating all our legacy dumpsites," Puri said.

On his part, Secretary, MoHUA, Durga Shanker Mishra said 99 per cent of the cities in the country have so far become open defecation-free (ODF).

"We intend to continue our efforts and ensure that these numbers see substantial improvement in the next few years." he 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.)
A man who earlier pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and attempt to transfer obscene material to a minor has been sentenced to serve 30 months in federal prison.

Christopher Ray Wilson was also ordered to pay $5,000 restitution to "BluePillow1" series; a $5,000 Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act assessment; a $3,000 special assessment to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018 and a $200 special assessment.

Wilson will be on supervised release for five years.

He appeared before Judge Curtis Collier.

Prosecutor James Brooks said the FBI in San Juan, Puerto Rico conducted an online undercover operation in which an agent assumed the identity of a 13-year-old girl.

He said Wilson communicated with who he thought was a minor girl and on a number of occasions asked her to send him naked pictures of himself. He sent the girl photos of his private area.

The FBI in San Juan notified the FBI in Tennessee, and Wilson was interviewed. Images of a minor engaging in explicit sexual conduct were found on his cell phone.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 06:07:44|Editor: huaxia

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CARACAS, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's government on Thursday said it has succeeded in "normalizing" the supply of fuel throughout the South American country, following weeks of severe shortages and disrupted distribution.

Starting Monday, the country's 1,568 gasoline service stations will be reactivated after production at two of the country's main refineries was restored, Minister of Petroleum Tareck El Aissami told reporters at a press conference in Caracas.

"In addition, we are making a great effort -- exchange mechanisms with other countries from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) -- to guarantee supplies, additives and spare parts to achieve what is necessary to continue strengthening our refineries," he said.

Venezuela's oil infrastructure is suffering "the serious consequences caused by the persecution and unilateral coercive measures, misnamed sanctions, the United States government has imposed" on state-owned oil company PDVSA, said El Aissami.

For much of the year, Venezuela, a traditional producer of oil and oil byproducts, has had severe difficulties in supplying fuel and even had to resort to importing gasoline from Iran, as it did in May.

This year, Washington stepped up sanctions against PDVSA, affecting its sale, export and import operations. Enditem
(Photo : Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) PASADENA, CA - MAY 27: Principal Investigator, HiRise Camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Brian Portock talks to reporters in front of an image of a crater taken during the decent of the Phoenix Mars Lander during an update briefing, two days after landing in a northern polar region of Mars, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on May 27, 2008 in Pasadena, California. The Phoenix Mars Lander is the newest hope in the search for signs of life on Mars. Fewer than half of the Mars missions have made successful landings. At a cost of $420 million, the Phoenix Mars Lander has flown 422 million miles since leaving Earth in August 2007.

Planetary scientists and artificial intelligence (AI) researchers have collaborated on a machine learning tool that helped discover new craters on Mars - including small impacts left by a meteor about eight years ago.

Between March 2010 and May 2012, a meteor flew over Mars, burned, and eventually disintegrated into smaller pieces that crashed into the planet's surface. This left unusually small - and relatively easy to miss, at only 4 meters (13 feet) wide - craters. With the help of its AI-driven tool, NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California are looking forward to reduced lead time and increased findings on the Red Planet's surface.

Hours After Hours of Studying Images

Usually, NASA scientists have to manually analyze the images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in search of uncommon phenomena in the Red Planet's surface - avalanche, shifting sand dunes, dust devils, and more. Throughout the MRO's 14-year service, it has provided data that allowed the space agency to find more than 1,000 craters. Most of these discoveries begin with the Context Camera installed in the orbiter, taking extremely large yet low-resolution images of the planet's surface, covering hundreds of miles per shot.

RELATED: Elon Musk on Mars Colonization: "Good Chance You'll Die"





In Mars Orbiter Camera images, new boulder tracks were thought to have formed here between Nov 2003 and Dec 2004, but an earlier HiRISE image checked this location and did not find anything.



NASA/JPL/UArizona HiRISE 10K: Where New Boulder Tracks FormedIn Mars Orbiter Camera images, new boulder tracks were thought to have formed here between Nov 2003 and Dec 2004, but an earlier HiRISE image checked this location and did not find anything. https://t.co/RkZEp3HKdJ NASA/JPL/UArizona pic.twitter.com/wY1HToYDks October 1, 2020

Craters are detected through their blast marks, making them visible from the low-res images. However, the craters themselves remain virtually invisible, which leads to the next process. Using the High-Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE). It provides clearer, more detailed pictures of the target. In fact, its vision system can detect even the tracks left behind by the Curiosity rover. Additionally, the research team allows the public to put in their specific request through the HiRISE HiWish website.

This next process, according to a NASA press release, takes around 40 minutes for a researcher to go through a single Context Camera image. To cut the time required, the JPL team created a machine learning tool called the Automated Fresh Impact Crater Classifier. The AI tool is a part of a wider effort among Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists called COSMIC - for Capturing Onboard Summarization to Monitor Image Change - that aims to continuously improve Mars orbiters.

Training the Fresh Impact Crater Classifier

JPL researchers trained the crater classifier by providing it with a total of 6,830 Context Camera images, including locations that contained impacts already identified and confirmed by HiRISE. The images provided to the machine learning tool also included images with no impacts, to also train the tool to identify what not to look for.

After the training phase, the crater classifier was deployed on Context Camera's repository of more than 100,000 pictures. A process that used to take 40 minutes is now accomplished on an average of 5 seconds, thanks to a set of high-performance computers operating in parallel within JPL's supercomputer cluster.

"It wouldn't be possible to process over 112,000 images in a reasonable amount of time without distributing the work across many computers," explained Gary Doran, a computer scientist at JPL. The team was challenged at first with running 750 copies of the classifier across the entire cluster.

RELATED: Deep Learning Model Outperforms NPC, Player Records in Gran Turismo

However, a human operator still checks the data returned by the AI tool. Kiri Wagstaff, also a JPL computer scientist, explained that AI tools still can't do the "skilled analysis" that a scientist can do.

Check out more news and information on Mars in Science Times.
The North East Regional Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Alhassan John Kweku, has confirmed to this portal that a three-year-old boy has died in the flood that hit the North East Region.

According to the NADMO Director, the deceased fell into a pit during the flooding of Gbani in the West Mamprusi municipality.

At about 5:30am Thursday dawn, heavy downpour caused two dams to overflow their boundaries in some parts of the West Mamprusi Municipality.

The flood has resulted in over 1,500 people being displaced.

About hundreds of houses in the municipality have as well been submerged in the floods.

DGN Online gathered that two dams in the municipality namely Diani and Guabullga overflowed submerging houses and causing severe damages to properties in the communities.

The West Mamprusi Municipal Chief Executive(MCE), Aremeyaw Somo Lucky, who confirmed the incident to DGN Online, said personnel of NADMO are currently at the affected communities to rescue, protect lives and properties.

He indicated that affected persons were being rescued to the Walewale township to accommodate them temporary.

 In Walewale we have some newly constructed schools that are not in use because schools are not in session that we will move them into temporary.

He said the assembly is trying to redirect the water from the dams and also rebuild them as soon as possible.

Several communities including Sakogu, Nakpanduri, Bunkpurugu, Yunyoo have been cut off due to submerging of the bridge that links the communities to West Mamprusi Municipality.

An assessment team made up of NADMO (Regional and District MMDA level), Environmental Health (Regional and MMDA level), WFP, UNICEF, PLAN Ghana, Global Communities indicated in their reports that about 55,235 persons have been affected in the heavy downpour and resultant floods in addition to the spillage of the Bagre dam with 206 communities affected and nine persons confirmed dead in the North East Region.

---Daily Guide
courtesy of the Montgomery County Police Reporter

The body of a woman was found in the rubble of a house off Lake Conroe in Willis after an early Friday morning fire where the roof collapsed on the structure.

The woman, whose remains were recovered after firefighters controlled a blaze at the house on the 14000 block of Lakepoint, is thought to be in her 60s, according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter website.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf began an event Friday morning by wishing President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump speedy recoveries from COVID-19.

It became known late Thursday the Trumps have tested positive for the disease.

President Trump is experiencing coldlike symptoms, The New York Times reported on Friday morning.

I just wish them a speedy recovery. This cant be easy, Wolf said before discussing an unrelated subject with news reporters.

Wolf was later asked about remarks Trump made regarding Democratic governors during his debate with Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Tuesday night.

I dont think theres any secret the president and I dont agree on a lot of public policies, Wolf said. But that doesnt mean I dont wish them well as fellow human beings, and that he and the first lady recover well from this sickness.

Trump held an outdoor rally at Harrisburg International Airport that drew thousands of people on Saturday night. Before that event, Wolf criticized Trump, saying, It is gravely concerning that the president would insist on holding this event with blatant disregard for social distancing and masking requirements. His decision to bring thousands of people together in a tight space in the midst of a global pandemic caused by an airborne virus is flat out wrong.

Wolf on Friday said nothing about the rally until asked about it by a reporter. He said he had no specific recommendations for anyone who attended the rally, although anybody who has been in any crowd of any sort for any reason and where they find that there are people who have tested positive for COVID-19, you need to be very careful.

Other elected officials from Pennsylvania expressed good wishes on social media.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., posted a message on Twitter: Sending along best wishes to @realdonaldtrump and @flotus on a full and speedy recovery.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., offered similar hopes of a fast recovery.

COVID-19 is a serious illness that has impacted millions of American families, Casey wrote on Twitter. I wish President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump a speedy recovery following their positive test. I will keep them in my prayers.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said he and his wife, Gisele, offered their best wishes.

Gisele and I sincerely and unequivocally wish a rapid, full recovery to the President and First Lady, Fetterman wrote on Twitter.
A Victorian mother who defrauded Centrelink to help fund her family's holidays will spend two-and-a-half months behind bars.

Jade Cheasley, 31, lied so she could receive $102,086 in parenting payments she was not entitled to between March 2013 and May 2018.

She was jailed in Victoria's County Court on Friday for a total of 18 months.

Judge Mark Dean ordered Cheasley serve two-and-a-half months before being released into the community on a court order.

Jade Cheasley (pictured), 31, lied so she could receive $102,086 in parenting payments she was not entitled to between March 2013 and May 2018

She was jailed in Victoria's County Court on Friday for a total of 18 months. Judge Mark Dean ordered Cheasley (pictured with her husband and children) serve two-and-a-half months before being released into the community on a court order

Cheasley lived with her husband and their three children at Craigieburn, north of Melbourne.

But she told Centrelink she was separated from her husband in order to receive a parenting payment designed for singles.

Instead, the money went towards Cheasley's 'entitled lifestyle'.

She and her husband bought an investment property, and took their children on interstate and overseas holidays.

Court documents showed Cheasley's husband earned $226,000 as the director of a roofing business. He has not been charged.

Cheasley pleaded guilty to dishonestly causing a loss for the Commonwealth, and also to giving false and misleading evidence to a commonwealth entity.

Cheasley lived with her husband (pictured together)and their three children at Craigieburn, north of Melbourne. But she told Centrelink she was separated from her husband in order to receive a parenting payment designed for singles

She is in remission from myeloid leukaemia.

Judge Dean found the COVID-19 pandemic would make her time in prison harder because of her compromised immune system.

He accepted Cheasley was remorseful and unlikely to reoffend. She is due to be released from prison on December 16.

After that, she will spend more than 15 months on a recognisance release order.
New Delhi, Oct 2 : The Centre has granted permission for an additional borrowing of Rs 7,106 crore to Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for successfully undertaking reforms in the public distribution system (PDS) and ease of doing business respectively, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.

A Ministry statement said that Uttar Pradesh has become the sixth state to complete the PDS reform process under the 'One Nation One Ration Card System'. This made the state eligible to raise Rs 4,851 crore through Open Market Borrowings (OMBs).

It will help the state in mobilising additional financial resources required to fight COVID-19, it said.

According to the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Karnataka and Tripura have successfully carried out PDS reforms under the system.

Andhra Pradesh, it said, has become the first state in the country to successfully undertake "ease of doing business" reforms and thus become eligible to raise an additional Rs 2,525 crore through Open Market Borrowings.

Earlier, the state had also completed PDS reforms as per the 'One Nation One Ration Card System'.

In view of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre had in May, 2020 allowed an additional borrowing limit of up to 2 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to the states for the year 2020-21. This made an amount up to Rs 4,27,302 crore available to the states.

The scheme of raising additional amount had a clause which mandated that 1 per cent of this amount was subject to the implementation of four specific state-level reforms, where the weightage of each reform is 0.25 per cent of GSDP.

The four reforms are implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System, ease of doing business reforms, urban local body reforms, and power sector reforms.

Last week, the Ministry granted permission to five states, including Andhra Pradesh, to raise additional financial resources totalling Rs 9,913 crore through Open Market Borrowings. The other states were Telangana, Goa, Karnataka and Tripura.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on his way to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Sept. 30, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Trump Accuses Democrats of Anti-Catholic Prejudice

President Donald Trump in a pre-recorded speech on Thursday accused the Democratic party of bias against Catholics.

The president made the remarks as part of the virtual annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.

I consider myself to be a happy warrior, but its not so easy in these times. But he was a happy warrior of American politics, Trump said of Smith. He spent his life fighting for hardworking Americans and battling the anti-Catholic prejudice that you see even today coming out of the Democrat party.

The president then said he wont tolerate attacks on the faith of Amy Coney Barrett, a devout catholic he has nominated for the Supreme Court.

We will not stand for any attacks against Judge Barretts faith. Anti-Catholic bigotry has absolutely no place in the United States of America, the president said.

It predominates in the Democrat party, and we must do something immediately about it, like a Republican winand lets make it a really big one.

Barrett faced attacks on her faith during the confirmation to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden delivered a speech before Trump. The former vice president lamented the loss of life from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the coronavirus. Biden spoke of how his Catholic faith has helped him get through crises.

Throughout my life in public service, Ive been guided by the tenets of Catholic social doctrine that cuts across all confessional faithswhat you do to the least among us, you do unto me, Biden said.

We have an obligation to one another. We cannot serve ourselves at the expense of others.

Trump briefly touched on other topics, including his promise to deliver school choice to every American family. If implemented, school choice would be a boon for religious schools, which would be eligible to receive government funds for students who attend such schools in lieu of a public school.

He also touched on the topic of abortion through the lens of the Supreme Court and the upcoming election.

And we are defending the sacred right to life, the president said. Remember that when you vote. Thats so important, and so important to the Supreme Court. Every child, born and unborn, is made in the holy image of God.

In a familiar critique, he accused Beijing of taking too long to inform the world about the CCP virus outbreak.

China shouldnt have let it happen, but it did, Trump said.
OTTAWA and TRADITIONAL TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN PEOPLES, ON, Oct. 2, 2020 /CNW/ - Since the beginning of the pandemic, action has been taken at all levels to protect the most vulnerable and support those who need it most. Collective measures have been taken by women's groups, homeless shelters, and mental health organizations, and assistance with food delivery has been organized by community-based organizations across this country. This work and their leadership has been making a fundamental difference.

Today, on behalf of the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay  Superior North and Marcus Powlowski, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay  Rainy River, announced the 34 Indigenous organizations in Northern Ontario who received approximately $3.6 million in funding through the Indigenous Community Support Fund's off-reserve and urban stream to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding will aid with food security, mental health support services, homelessness, and required emergency supplies to ensure the health and safety of Indigenous Peoples.

The Ontario Native Women's Association received $1.8 million in funding to provide a coordinated safety response to the community in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. A portion of the funding was allocated for a centralized intake office that supports community members by ensuring that those calling in for services are not placed on a waiting list. As well, they established a series of GoBAGS, a drop off and pick up delivery service, to support those who need it. Those bags can include a variety of products, including cleaning kits, or PPE that support health and wellness needs for individuals and families. To date, the Ontario Native Women's Association has provided more than 15,000 immediate service supports throughout Northern Ontario. They continue to focus on building relationships and provide community supports to community partner organizations.

Fort Frances Tribal Area Health Services received $17,595 in funding to help address mental health and addictions needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. With this critical funding, they were able to provide calling cards to 35 individuals to access virtual health care services, and approximately 100 taxi vouchers for those needing to attend medical appointments, counselling sessions, crisis services, grocery shopping and medication. As well, 300 Indigenous children are set to receive children's books, art supplies and mental wellness resources to support families during the pandemic. The organization also prepared 250 care packages filled with diapers, bottled water, soap, cloths, wipes and other personal toiletries for those in need and struggling financially or unable to purchase these items during these difficult times.

As part of the Indigenous Community Support Fund, the Government of Canada is distributing a total of $90 million to Indigenous organizations and communities providing services to Indigenous Peoples living in urban areas and First Nations living off-reserve, to support essential services to the most vulnerable and to prevent and respond to potential COVID-19 outbreaks.

On August 12, the Government of Canada announced an additional $305 million for the Indigenous Community Support Fund. This most recent announcement brings the Indigenous Community Support Fund to $685 million in total funding. It will be distributed through a combination of allocations directly to First Nations, Inuit and Metis leadership, and needs-based funding, which will be application driven and extend to Indigenous communities and organizations serving First Nations living off-reserve and Indigenous Peoples living in urban centres.

The organizations within Northern Ontario are among approximately 260 Indigenous organizations supported to date by the Indigenous Community Support Fund to help address the critical needs of Indigenous Peoples living in urban centers and First Nations living off-reserve across the country impacted by the pandemic.

Quotes

"Today's announcement is an opportunity to highlight the tremendous work of Indigenous organizations in Northern Ontario who have been working tirelessly to ensure the safety and well-being of Indigenous Peoples throughout this crisis. Your dedication has helped Indigenous men, women and children living in Northern Ontario's urban areas access the much needed supports and services to prevent further COVID19 outbreaks."

Pam Damoff

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services and

Member of Parliament for Oakville NorthBurlington

"As COVID-19 continues to affect our country, I am deeply grateful to Indigenous organizations that are working tirelessly to help Indigenous people and communities stay safe. Today's announcement ensures these organizations continue to have the capacity to address the COVID-19 public health emergency."

The Honourable Patty Hajdu

Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay  Superior North

"I am impressed by the many services these Indigenous organization in Northern Ontario are providing to Indigenous families. With the investments provided in today's announcement, these organizations will undoubtedly be able help many more families struggling during these difficult times."

Marcus Powlowski

Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay  Rainy River

"The Ontario Native Women's Association (ONWA) would like to thank Indigenous Services Canada for their contribution to ONWA's community safety response proposal addressing the safety of Indigenous women. This must remain a priority for future investments as Indigenous women continue to experience disproportionately high rates of gender-based violence that continues to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic."

Cora McGuire-Cyrette, Executive Director

Ontario Native Women's Association

"Fort Frances Tribal Area Health Services (FFTAHS) is thankful to be able to provide additional support beyond our regular resources to address concerns related to Mental Health and Addictions during these challenging times of COVID-19. FFTAHS strives to provide high quality holistic services to community members of our 10 First Nations communities in Southern Treaty Three. With COVID-19 we have had to navigate waters that really challenged the way we typically provide services to ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff, clients and community at large. With the funding we were able to address some of these challenges and barriers to accessing Mental Health and Addictions services."

Kayla Caul-Chartier, Chief Executive Officer

Fort Frances Tribal Area Health Services

Quick facts

This support is part of over $2 billion that has been committed in specific support to Indigenous and northern communities and organizations in response to the COVID19 pandemic.

that has been committed in specific support to Indigenous and northern communities and organizations in response to the COVID19 pandemic. Project funding for the Indigenous Community Support Fund  urban and off-reserve stream was selected through a national Call for Proposals process.

First Nations, Inuit and Metis also have access to other support measures available to Canadian individuals, businesses and industries, through the Government of Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan.

Associated links

Indigenous Community Support Fund: Urban and off-reserve Indigenous organizations and communities

Indigenous Community Support Fund

Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan

Stay connected

Join the conversation about Indigenous Peoples in Canada:

Twitter: @GCIndigenous

Facebook: @GCIndigenous

Instagram: @gcindigenous

Facebook: @GCIndigenousHealth

Twitter: @Min_IndServ

You can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.isc.gc.ca/RSS.

SOURCE Indigenous Services Canada

For further information: For more information, media may contact: Adrienne Vaupshas, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, [email protected]; Media Relations: Indigenous Services Canada, 819-953-1160, [email protected]

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Inside Hook

The cast of This Is Spinal Tap is ready to go to 11 to help defeat Donald Trump: as director Rob Reiner announced on Thursday, the cast of the beloved mockumentary will reunite virtually in order to raise money for the Democratic party of Pennsylvania, a key swing state in the upcoming presidential election.

Announcing today: This Is Spinal Tap cast is reuniting to benefit the Democratic Party of Pennsylvania. Join me, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean on Oct.14 for a virtual reunion and help @PADems #TakeItToEleven https://t.co/Fw1FuzA89J  Rob Reiner (@robreiner) October 2, 2020

Reiner will be joined by Harry Shearer, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest for the Oct. 14 event, which will be hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt. Every dollar raised goes directly towards ending Trumpism by winning Pennsylvania, the official invite for the reunion reads.
Statco-DSI "Statco-DSI brings ProMach further upstream on the production line into the processing technology side of the business, giving us the ability to help customers from processing to packaging continue bringing essential products to the marketplace." --Mark Anderson, ProMach President and CEO

ProMach, a worldwide leader in packaging machinery solutions, announced today that it has acquired Statco-DSI Process Systems, a leading provider of integrated sanitary processing systems and engineering services for the food, dairy, and beverage industries. The addition of Statco-DSI expands ProMachs systems and integration capabilities for food and beverage processing, enhancing ProMachs capacity to provide complete turnkey systems along any part of the production line.

Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, Statco-DSI is recognized as one of the largest process equipment distributors and systems integrators for the sanitary processing market in North America. Statco-DSI provides an extensive portfolio of equipment, systems, and services to provide start-to-finish support for projects in the food, dairy, beverage, brewing, cosmetics, personal care, and biopharmaceutical markets. Statco-DSI brings local support to customers with ten offices across the United States providing engineering, system design, project management, sales, installation, training, spare parts, and service to their diverse customer base. Their nationwide network of factory-trained sanitary process professionals follows 3-A, FDA, and USDA regulations to design any size operation from one piece of equipment to an entire plant, with a proven track record of successful installations.

Our acquisition of Statco-DSI significantly expands our capacity to partner with our North American customer base in a very meaningful way, said Mark Anderson, ProMach President and CEO. Statco-DSI brings ProMach further upstream on the production line into the processing technology side of the business, giving us the ability to help customers from processing to packaging increase their efficiencies, streamline their operations, and continue bringing essential products to the marketplace. Whether its greenfield projects, minor upgrades, or major modifications we look forward to bringing even more value to our customers with best-in-class engineering services, stand-alone products, integrated systems, and aftermarket support. We are delighted to welcome Statco-DSI to the ProMach family."

Statco-DSI solutions are utilized across numerous market segments, including milk, ice cream, yogurt, cheese, water, carbonated soft drinks, distilled spirits, wine, and beer, among others. In addition to systems integration and engineering services, Statco-DSI designs and manufactures a comprehensive portfolio of sanitary equipment including BlenZer blending and mixing systems, Therma-Stat extended shelf life (ESL)/aseptic processing systems, high-temperature-short-time (HTST) processing systems, dry hopping systems, ozone injection systems, clean-in-place (CIP) systems, modular skidding systems, and plastic case packing systems. Statco-DSI also provides custom design/build services for complete greenfield facilities, line retrofits, and plant modifications. Additionally, Statco-DSI represents numerous processing and packaging equipment manufacturers and takes responsibility for the installation and support of these systems in the field.

Statco-DSI joins ProMachs Systems & Integration business line along with existing ProMach product brands Zarpac and ZPI. Bringing Statco-DSI into ProMach solidifies our solution and services lineup across our food and beverage market segments and lets us help companies ranging from start-ups to market leading multi-national companies grow their bottom line with a trusted partner, said Bret Ranc, ProMach COO. It provides tremendous cross-selling opportunities, new market segments, and another strong platform brand for our continued processing technology expansion. They have an excellent reputation in many areas, including ultra-high temperature (UHT) thermal processing systems, that complement our existing retort sterilization solutions available with our Allpax and Stock America product brands. That means we can provide customers even more choice to help them bring shelf stable food and beverage products to the marketplace, backed by ProMachs existing comprehensive packaging solutions portfolio that spans from filling systems to the end of the packaging line.

David Statham, CEO of Statco-DSI, along with Eric Perkins, President of Statco-DSI, will join ProMach along with the entire Statco-DSI team of over 185 employees. ProMach will continue to invest in Statco-DSIs operations across all locations to support their continued growth with new and existing customers across all markets.

Since Jim Statham founded Statco nearly four decades ago, weve made our mark with customers in the processing industry and we are excited to write the next chapter of our story as part of ProMach, said Mr. Perkins. Given our shared focus on the customer, ProMach felt like a natural home for us. And with ProMachs industry leading packaging expertise and geographic reach, along with the vast combined packaging and processing knowledge we each bring to the table, I am confident this will be a win-win for our customers and employees alike.

This is a very exciting time in the history of Statco-DSI, said Mr. Statham. By joining forces with a respected packaging leader like ProMach, we will be able to accelerate our business even further and bring substantial benefits to our customers. ProMach shares the same vision we do for how to grow and strengthen our relationships in the marketplace and Eric and I are looking forward to continuing this amazing journey that my dad started so long ago.

ProMach has grown over the past decade into a leading single-source provider of high-performance processing and packaging lines. It provides stand-alone machines, engineering services, and turnkey integrated systems for many of the worlds most recognized brands, with more than 40 best-in-class equipment product brands sold and supported around the globe. It continues to add complementary packaging and processing machinery solutions to advance its turnkey systems capabilities. Since 2010, sales revenues have more than quadrupled and ProMach has made the Inc. 5000 list of Americas fastest growing private companies for seven consecutive years. ProMach expects the addition of Statco-DSI to fuel further growth in North America, particularly with companies looking for consistent product performance as they launch new products and expand into new markets. ProMach continues to grow rapidly with a global customer base and operations in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.

For more information about Statco-DSI please call them at +1 (714) 375-6300 or visit them online at http://www.Statco-DSI.com.

About ProMach

ProMach is a family of best-in-class packaging solution brands serving manufacturers of all sizes and geographies in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, and household and industrial goods industries. ProMach brands operate across the entire packaging spectrum: filling, bottling and capping, decorative labeling, flexibles and trays, pharma, handling and sterilizing, labeling and coding, and robotics and end of line. ProMach also provides systems and integration including turnkey solutions, design/build, engineering services, and productivity software to optimize packaging line design and deliver maximum uptime.

ProMach designs, manufactures, integrates, and supports the most sophisticated and advanced packaging solutions in the global marketplace. Its diverse customer base, from Fortune 500 companies to smaller, privately-held businesses worldwide, depends on reliable, flexible, technologically advanced equipment and integrated solutions. ProMach is headquartered near Cincinnati, Ohio, with manufacturing facilities and offices throughout North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. For more information about ProMach, visit http://www.ProMachBuilt.com.
A number of media outlets of Armenia have issued a statement, which reads as follows:

On October 1st, 2020 Armenian and foreign journalists located in the town of Martuni, Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)], suffered as a result of artillery fire from Azerbaijan. More specifically, representatives of Le Monde newspaper, correspondent Allan Kaval and photojournalist Rafael Charles Yaghobzadeh, cameraman of Armenia television company Aram Grigorian and correspondent of online news portal 24news.am Sevak Vardumian were injured. Deputy editor-in-chief of the Russian Dozhd TV channel Dmitry Yelovsky also came under Azerbaijani fire, but he was able to take cover in a bomb shelter along with other journalists. According to official information, Azerbaijani troops opened fire on the vehicle carrying representatives of Agence France-Presse (AFP).

It is worth noting that the journalists suffered in a region, which is quite far from the line of contact between the conflicting sides. This is yet another proof that the attacks of the Azerbaijani military are also directed against the civilian population. This fact, as well as firing on journalists is a gross violation of the Geneva Convention.

Given the above-mentioned circumstances, we, the undersigned media organizations, are calling on:

 International community to resolutely condemn the war unleashed by Azerbaijan and demand from the official Baku to stop attacks on civilians and media representatives performing their professional duty;

 Governments of Armenia and Artsakh to take additional steps to ensure the safety of journalists.

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB

MEDIA INITIATIVES CENTER

JOURNALISTS CLUB ASPAREZ

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION CENTER

MEDIA DIVERSITY INSTITUTE-ARMENIA

PUBLIC JOURNALISM CLUB

JOURNALISTS FOR THE FUTURE NGO

JOURNALISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS NGO

GORIS PRESS CLUB
Like two US presidents before him, Donald Trump could temporarily hand over power to his vice president should he become incapacitated, for example while undergoing a medical procedure as treatment for the coronavirus. Trump said on Friday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was going into quarantine to begin the recovery process immediately.

Under Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution's 25th Amendment, adopted in 1967 following the 1963 assassination of President John Kennedy, Trump could declare in writing his inability to discharge his duties. Vice President Mike Pence would become acting president, although Trump would remain in office. The president would regain his powers by declaring in writing that he is again ready to discharge them.

The 25th Amendment's Section 4 also offers a path to stripping a president of power if, for instance, his Cabinet believes he has become incapacitated, but this has never been invoked.

SECTION 3 PRECEDENTS

- On July 13, 1985, President Ronald Reagan elected to have a precancerous lesion removed after it was discovered during a colonoscopy. He signed a letter that, while not specifically invoking Section 3, said he was mindful of its provisions. Vice President George H.W. Bush was acting president for nearly eight hours, from 11:28 a.m. until 7:22 p.m., when Reagan issued a letter declaring himself able to resume his duties.

- On June 29, 2002, President George W. Bush invoked Section 3, temporarily transferring his powers to Vice President Dick Cheney before undergoing a colonoscopy. Cheney was acting president from 7:09 a.m. to 9:24 a.m.

- On July 21, 2007, Bush again invoked Section 3 before another colonoscopy. Cheney was acting president from 7:16 a.m. to 9:21 a.m.

SECTION 4

Under Section 4, the vice president and a majority of either Cabinet officials or such other body as Congress may by law provide can inform leaders in the two houses of Congress that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.

In such a case, the vice president takes over as acting president. The president resumes office after informing the same two congressional leaders that no inability exists unless the Cabinet officials or other body declare otherwise. Congress then must assemble within 48 hours to decide the issue.

If two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives and of the Senate vote in their respective chambers that the president is unable to discharge the duties of office, the vice president remains acting president until after the next scheduled presidential election decides the next White House occupant. Otherwise, the president resumes office.
The Metraflow ultrasonic flowmeter from Titan Enterprises offers an ideal solution for flow monitoring applications requiring a high degree of cleanliness such as are found in the pharmaceutical, medical, semiconductor, and ultra-pure water markets.

Typically production processes in these markets require flow measurement devices able to cope with low flow rates and construction from ultra-pure materials so as to maintain hygienic, sterile, and sanitary conditions.

The single clean bore measurement tube construction of the Metraflow ultrasonic flowmeter makes it ideal for almost any application where cleanliness is important. Made from high-performance Perfluoroalkoxy Alkane (PFA) polymer, the Metraflow ultrasonic flowmeter offers wide chemical resistance and the ability to precisely monitor process flow temperatures up to 60C (140F) and pressures up to 28 bar (406 psi).

Using patented ultrasonic technology, with a single unbroken measurement tube, the Metraflow is a non-invasive device with excellent accuracy (calibrated to +/- 1.0% reading) and repeatability across flow ranges from 20 to 5000 ml/min.

The Metraflow uses Titan Enterprises patented transit time ultrasonic technology to accurately measure liquid traveling through a PFA flow tube. The compact integrated electronic, display, and sensor package offers superior performance in a single assembly. Computer and operational connections are separate, permitting setting and interface monitoring during normal operation through the Titan Interface Software.

The units, time base, set points and analog and digital outputs can all be set through the USB connector. The versatile software system also enables user configuration of other parameters such as flow alarms, cut off levels, and even data logging.

For further information on the Metraflow ultrasonic flowmeter please visit https://www.metraflowmeter.com/ or contact Titan Enterprises at +44-1935-812790 / [email protected].

Drawing upon over 40-years of flowmeter innovation - Titan Enterprises Ltd is a manufacturer of high-performance solutions including the Atrato ultrasonic flowmeter, Oval Gear flowmeters, low flow Turbine flow meters, and a flow instrument range.

Titans company philosophy of pushing the envelope by trying to do things a little different and better has resulted in sales of over 500,000 products into 50 countries worldwide and a repeat purchase percentage of 95%. All flowmeters produced by Titan Enterprises are designed and manufactured to ISO9001 and calibrated to an uncertainty of 0.25%.
On October 1, France announced that it will participate in Indias historic mission to Venus scheduled for the year 2025. This comes after President of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) K Sivan and the President of the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES) Jean-Yves Le Gall held a virtual meeting session and discussed topics related to the field of human space flight and agreed to boost France-India space cooperation. The two countries also held talks on the establishment of a ground facility in French Guiana.

The president of ISRO had a discussion with the president of CNES and they deliberated on various subjects such as common knowledge of the maritime domain, Trishna, ARGOS in Oceansat-3, cooperation in the field of manned space flights and establishing ground stations in Guyana,  Indian Embassy in France wrote in an online post.

President Jean-Yves Le Gall had attended the international Human Spaceflight Symposium organized by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and the Astronautical Society of India (ASI) in Bangalore, India, on 24 January 2020. During his visit, he had announced bolstering of France and Indias cooperation for human spaceflights and Indias future Gaganyaan missions and had affirmed CNESs support for the establishment of Indias space station.

Chairman @isro had discussion with President @CNES and they deliberated upon various topics like joint maritime domain awareness , Trishna, ARGOS in Oceansat-3, cooperation in human space flight area and ground station establishment at French Guiana.@MEAIndia @JawedAshraf5 pic.twitter.com/XBCHZrSWFO  India in France (@Indian_Embassy) October 1, 2020

India and France also embarked on the development of its first space system in the world for the surveillance of maritime traffic in August last year. CNES and ISRO in collaboration started the manufacture of satellites with telecommunications (AIS automatic identification) and observation radar and optical instruments according to the Centre national detudes spatiales (CNES) release. France and India will jointly operate the satellites and will monitor maritime traffic in the Indian Ocean, while the space system will also be utilized for French economic interests.

According to the Asia Pacific space watch report, CNES and its industry partners have extensive experience as it has supplied flights to the International Space Station (ISS) at European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for the long space missions such as the European Space Agency (ESA) six-month Proxima mission.

Read: India-China Military Talks To Be Held Again; Countries Evaluate Outcome Of 6th Round Meet

Read: India Calls For Immediate Ceasefire, Peace At Border As Azerbaijan-Armenia Fight Rages

French payloads for India's space mission

India and France, therefore, have collaborated for the CNES and ISROs teams to finalize cooperative agreements to provide services at CADMOS, at MEDES in collaboration with ESAs European Astronaut Centre (EAC) at Novespace. As per CNES release, the two nations would conduct training on parabolic flights onboard the Air Zero G. India and France jointly operate climate monitoring satellite TRISHNA, a high-precision thermal infrared observer which is expected to join the Indo-French satellite fleet. In 2019, Argos-4 Payload Module to be integrated into the Oceansat-3 satellite arrived in India from France. For India's Venus mission, the VIRAL instrument (Venus Infrared Atmospheric Gases Linker) will be co-developed with ROSCOSMOS and the LATMOS laboratory of CNRS with the French payloads for India's space mission in 2025.

Oceansat-3 is a central mission for the operational continuity of the Argos system. It will also strengthen the Franco-Indian fleet of satellites monitoring the climate from space, the CNES revealed in the release.

Read: SpaceX Releases Never-before-seen Footages From Its First Astronaut Flight; See

Read: India's Agnikul Cosmos Signs Deal With Alaska Aerospace For Test Launch Of 'Agnibaan'
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 09:17 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48a0350 4 National WHO,COVID-19,coronavirus,Posyandu,virus-corona,virus-korona-indonesia,toddler,IDI,Indonesian-Medical-Association Free

The health of 25 million toddlers across the archipelago is at risk as the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted services provided by the integrated health services posts (Posyandu), according to data from the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI).

The disruption had caused millions of children to lose access to regular immunization, vitamin A supplementation and developmental monitoring and screening, IDI chairman Daeng M. Faqih said.

He has urged Posyandu to continue operating as usual amid the pandemic to prevent long-term health effects on the children.



"The health effects felt by the children would also result in a huge financial loss for their families, regions and the country in the short or long run," Daeng said as reported by tribunnews.com.



Recent data from the Health Ministry revealed that 89.3 percent of basic services provided by Posyandu could not be optimally carried out during the pandemic, making many pregnant women unable to get sufficient prenatal care.

Read also: Parents worried about vaccinating children amid pandemic: Survey

Daeng further said the regional administrations should prioritize basic health care for children and pregnant women through Posyandu.



"Based on the World Health Organization's recommendation, the country should ensure residents can still access essential health services [amid the pandemic]," he said.

In early September, KawalCOVID-19, a volunteer group that independently records virus case numbers and deaths in Indonesia, reported that Indonesia was among the countries with the highest COVID-19 death rate among children.



KawalCOVID-19 cofounder Ainun Najib said that, according to national COVID-19 task force data, the case fatality rate (CFR) among Indonesian children aged 0-17 years was 0.9 percent, surpassing the United States, the country worst-hit by the pandemic, which has a CFR among children of 0.02 percent.



That means that 145 of 16,007 infected children of the age group have died, Ainun said. (nal)
New Delhi: Left leaders gathered at the Jantar Mantar here on Friday to take part in protests demanding justice for a 19-year-old Dalit woman of Uttar Pradesh's Hathras who died after being allegedly gang-raped. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, politburo member Brinda Karat and CPI general secretary D Raja were among the leaders present at the site. They questioned the silence of the central government over the issue.

"The silence of the central government and the top leadership of the BJP on such a heinous crime and the UP government's response thereafter speaks volumes about the authoritarian and anti-democratic 'chehra', 'chaal', 'charitra', and 'chintan' of the ruling party," Yechury said. "The Uttar Pradesh government has no right to stay in power. Our demand is that justice should be served," he said.

Hundreds gathered at the protest site and demanded justice for the victim, who died on Tuesday, suffering from fractures, paralysis and a spinal injury after a savage assault by four men. Karat said the lawlessness in Uttar Pradesh is "a caste code in operation, not the Constitution of India".

"We fought for the primacy of rape victim's statement in law, but now, they have brought a false report to save the criminals, saying there was no rape. I want to ask Modiji. Is this your culture? Your UP government has put the family under house arrest. You are punishing them and not the government responsible for her death," she said. "Is it your culture not to allow people to console the grieving family? Shame on you Modiji. Your government denied her proper medical attention, your government did not allow her family to give her a dignified funeral, and now, you are denying them solace. The UP chief minister should be sacked," Karat added.

.
TAMPA BAY, Fla., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KnowBe4, the provider of the world's largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, today announced it has launched a new Resource Center in recognition of National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) in October.

NCSAM is celebrated every October with the goal of bringing together government and industry to ensure everyone has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. This year's overarching theme is "Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart", which emphasizes the role everyone plays in protecting their online lives. KnowBe4 is an official champion for NCSAM with the National Cyber Security Alliance.

The no-cost KnowBe4 National Cyber Security Awareness Month Resource Center is a place for IT and security professionals to visit to help keep security top of mind for their employees. Some of the resources they can download include a cybersecurity training plan, awareness posters, cybersecurity tips sheet, printable assets, along with on-demand webinars and white papers.

"NCSAM serves as a great reminder that cybersecurity awareness should be an organization-wide effort," said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, KnowBe4. "This year's theme is a reminder that everyone has a role to play in keeping organizations safe. By offering these resources at no cost, we're making it easier for IT and security professionals to better protect their organizations from cybercriminals."

Throughout the month of October, KnowBe4 will also be providing a no-cost training video "Social Media: Staying Secure in a Connected World".

Visit the KnowBe4 NCSAM Resource Center here. For more information on KnowBe4, visit www.knowbe4.com.

About KnowBe4

KnowBe4, the provider of the world's largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 35,000 organizations around the globe. Founded by IT and data security specialist Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness about ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to awareness training on security. Kevin Mitnick, an internationally recognized cybersecurity specialist and KnowBe4's Chief Hacking Officer, helped design the KnowBe4 training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Tens of thousands of organizations rely on KnowBe4 to mobilize their end users as the last line of defense.

Media Contact

Amanda Tarantino

Public Relations Officer

KnowBe4

[email protected]

SOURCE KnowBe4

Related Links

www.knowbe4.com


HCM City authorities explain South Korean returnee protest

HCM City authorities have explained why Vietnamese returning to Vietnam from South Korea on a recent flight protested against being forced into high-cost quarantine hotels.







Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, deputy head of HCM City Department of Tourism.





On September 30, 158 passengers arrived at Tan Son Nhat Airport from Incheon at 12.30 pm after commercial flights were resumed. According to the passengers, they refused to be quarantined at hotels because the fees had been increased from VND1.3m (USD56) to VND1.7m per (USD73) person per room.



According to Vnexpress, 49-year-old Nguyen Thanh Nhan said that before the flight, Vietjet Air only said that customers could choose to be isolated at state-run quarantine facilities for VND120,000 (USD5) per day or at hotels. Another passenger said that after landing, Vietjet Air said the fee would be VND1.3m but later changed to VND1.7m and VND5m.



However, Vietjet Air said before the flight departed, they had sent an email to all passengers listing quarantine regulations and all of the passengers signed the agreements. "We said that the estimated fee was about USD100 per person. We didn't have any announcement about fixed quarantine fees or higher fees," a representative from Vietjet Air said.



Doan Quoc Binh, vice head of the Southern Airport Authority, said after landing in Vietnam, only three people agreed to go to the hotels. Later, 17 other people agreed and one passenger was sick and transferred to Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital.



"Other passengers demanded to be brought to city's quarantine centres instead of paid quarantine at hotels," he said. "After local authorities arrived, 43 people agreed to go to paid quarantine areas at the price of VND1.3m per person per room. After getting into the buses, they demanded to have four people per room. They continued to cause a ruckus at the hotel and were later transferred to the quarantine facility in Can Gio District."



He asked the airlines to tighten the regulations and clearly list all the fees before letting passengers board the planes such as the test and quarantine fees.



Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, deputy head of HCM City Department of Tourism, said that when commercial flights were allowed to be resumed, they had prepared paid quarantine areas and were responsible to review and evaluate the facilities. The list of the hotels are listed on the website of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.



They are proposing to evaluate 16 more hotels with over 1,025 rooms. They will persuade owners of 15 other one or two-star hotels to join the programme to make the fees more varied. There are seven hotels that are being used as quarantine facilities with prices ranging from VND1.2m (USD51) to VND6m (USD257) per room per night depending on the services such as three meals a day.



Hoa said she would investigate the case at Tan Son Nhat Airport to see if there are signs of overcharging.



Paid quarantine facilities will provide one room for one person. If passengers can prove to be related, two people can stay in each room.
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A collection of incredible photos showing the lives of sailors and marines at sea and on land have been released after they were picked as winners for this year's Royal Navy photo competition.

The pictures, which normally go unseen by the public, have all been recognised in the annual Peregrine Trophy Awards.

Each photographer is a Royal Navy sailor or marine that has worked in a particular branch of the Forces before being accepted into the photographic role and their work involves following warships and commandos to capture behind-the-scenes images and videos or operations, training and equipment.

Leading Photographer Kyle Heller, who was part of HMS Queen Elizabeth, was named the Royal Navy's photographer of the year for his portfolio after the vessel's deployment to America's east coast which saw the first British F-35B Lightning jets land on the aircraft carrier.

Speaking after receiving his award, Kyle said: 'This is a job like no other - it sounds cliched, but it's true. I'm still trying to get my head round winning the award, in all honesty. I'm not one for the plaudits at all and for me it's about the opportunities, experience and variation that you get with this job. There really is nothing like it.

'Life is never dull and you're there as part of history in those big moments. Seeing the Lightning jets land for the first time is that part of history you're there for and won't forget. I've seen so much around the world as a photographer and I'm very thankful for those opportunities. This is a proud moment for me.'

Kyle joined the Royal Navy in 1998 aged 17 and served on HMS Beaver, Sheffield and Cornwall before becoming a Royal Navy photographer in 2009 after which he covered operations in Antarctica, the South Atlantic, South America and the Caribbean and is now based at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall.

The Peregrine Trophy dates back to 1961 and is named after the HMS Peregrine Royal Naval Air Station in Sussex and this year's competiton was judged by Richard Pohle of The Times, Steve Parsons of the Press Association, Jane Sherwood of Getty Images, Lee Durrant of the BBC, Jack Ashdown of Great State and director of photography and cinematography Vince Knight.

More than 250 pictures and videos were submitted to the competition this year and although there will be no formal awards ceremony this year, the winning images will be put on display at the National memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire between December and March.

Winner of the Royal Navy Royal Marines Charity Family and Friends Award: This cheerful picture taken by Leading Photographer Barry Swainsbury shows a member of HMS Cattistock's crew returning home and joking around with his family after being reunited with them after having spent 10 months away on a NATO employment

This photo was part of the winning selection for the Photographer of the Year which was awarded to Leading Photographer Kyle Heller. The image shows the Norwegian anti-submarine frigate HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl alongside the UK's Carrier Strike Group as they travel east across the Atlantic Ocean following deployment in the United States

A Royal Marine of 45 Commando fires a .50 calibre heavy machine gun in Estonia in 2019 during the Exercise Baltic Protector which was part of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in Tapa. This picture won the award for Royal Navy Amateur Open Category in the Peregrine Trophy Awards and was taken by Captain Martin Harvey HM

An F-35B Lightning jet sits on HMS Queen Elizabeth's flight deck during her Westiant 19 deployment to the east coast of the United States. This was another photograph in the collection submitted by Leading Photographer Kyle Heller who won the Photographer of the Year award at this year's Peregrine Trophy Awards

Searching in the crowd: LAET Phillip Hulbert searches for members of his family after the HMS Queen Elizabeth returned to Portsmouth after completing its deployment to the United States' east coast. The image was captured by Photographer of the Year winner Kyle Heller and formed part of his portfolio that earned him the award

Search and rescue: Members of the 5845 Naval Air Squadron conducts a search and rescue operation to retrieve an isolated pilot who had become stranded at sea. The operation formed part of a training exercise in how to collect personnel and transport them onto the HMS Queen Elizabeth. Kyle Heller included this photograph in his winning portfolio at the Peregrine Trophy Awards

All smiles: A group of Sea Cadets in uniform sit on a wall as two in the group balance flagpoles under one arm. This photograph, taken by Sea Cadet Kayleigh Fairbairn won the Sea Cadet Category at the Peregrine Trophy awards

Eye in the sky: This view of HMS Queen Elizabeth's flight deck was taken by Leading Photographer Dan Shepherd. This was one of the Peregrine Trophy winning selection from HMS Queen Elizabeth

Amateur Photographer of the Year: A Royal Marine from 40 Commando poses for a photograph in Indiana while on a military training exercise. The Royal Marines were practising Dense Urban Operations with their USMC counterparts and this image formed part of Marine James Clarke's winning selection

Two Royal Marines from 40 Commando Recce troops stand under a red light, wearing their uniforms and equipment. Marine James Clarke captured the shot while the soldiers were on a training exercise in California to practise Urban Operations where they acted as the enemies for USMC forces

A Royal Marines Commando begins his descent from a Merlin helicopter during fast roping exercises on HMS Queen Elizabeth. This images was part of a winning selection for the Commandant General Royal Marines Prize won by HMS Queen Elizabeth and was taken by Leading Photographer Kyle Heller

Royal Marines load up onto a Merlin helicopter on the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth. The picture was taken during a fast roping exercise by Leading Photographer Dan Shepherd and formed part of the winning selection for the Commandant General Royal Marines Prize at the Peregrine Trophy Awards

Ready and waiting: Royal Marines are pictured sitting in a row on a Merlin helicopter during a fast roping exercise on the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth. Dan Shepherd submitted this picture as part of his winning selection for the Commandant General Royal Marines Prize

Group photo: The Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is seen ins transit alongside Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon, Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland and tanker RFA Tideforce as well as the USS Truxton and the USS Philippine Sea. The spectacular image was taken during training exercises off the east coast of America by Leading Photographer Kyle Heller

The warships of the UK's carrier strike team assemble. HMS Dragon, RFA Tideforce and HMS Queen Elizabeth sail together in a. This stunning photograph won the People's Choice Award at the Peregrine Trophy Awards and was taken by Leading Photographer Kyle Heller

Clear for take off: An F-35B Lightning jet is seen in mid-air above the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth during operational testing. Kyle Heller took the striking photograph which offers a view of the entire length of the flight deck as well as the sight of two helicopters sat further down the strip

Home again: The UK's aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are pictured stationed in Portsmouth together for the very first time. This striking image collected the Best Maritime Imagery award at the Peregrine Trophy Awards and was taken by Leading Photographer Ben Corbett

A crew member on the HMS Queen Elizabeth signals to a landing Merlin helicopter which was conducting training on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. The impressive picture was taken by AB Bill Spurr who scooped the Royal Navy Amateur Maritime Image Award at the Peregrine Trophy Awards

The Spirit of Diversity Prize winner: This striking photograph of AB WTR William Augustine was taken during Ceremonial Parade Training onboard the HMS Excellent. Taken by Ben Corbett, AB WTR Augustine is seen standing to attention while dressed in full uniform

One for the collection: This photograph by Leading Photographer Dan Shepherd shows a 2A British F35B Lightning jet pilot as he walks across the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth. Dressed in full flight gear with one of the lightning jets in the background, the pilot cuts a cool character

Eyes on: A Royal Marine dressed in full gear with camouflage on his face stares out of a partially closed blind at an enemy position in this incredible photo by Marine James Clarke. The picture was taken during an urban training exercise in the UK and helped Clarke scoop the Amateur Photographer of the Year award

Petty Officer Photographer Jay Allen has captured the intense focus needed in every single role in the Royal Navy. His photograph, which won the Engineering Prize at the Peregrine Trophy Awards, shows Leading Engineering Technician (Marine Engineering) Mills as he carries out maintenance work on a fresh water pipe in the 'Chippes Shack' on the Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan

Global Operations Prize winner: This breathtaking image of a Royal Marines assault engineer of 45 Commando preparing to charge during ice demolition training in the Arctic Circle. Leading Photographer Stevie Burke's image won the Global Operations Prize at the Royal Navy's annual photography competition

The Glorious Dead: This striking image of the Cenotaph in London was taken by AB Chris Sellers. Rays of light stream past the memorial to the fallen soldiers with two wreaths laying at the foot of the monument. This picture won the Royal Naval Association Award at this year's Peregrine Trophy Awards

Student of the Year award: Marine James Clarke's stunning portrait of Corporal Alex Morris, of the Royal Logistics Corps, won the award for Student of the Year. Morris, dressed in uniform, sits and poses for the portrait picture while staring to his left-hand side. A red light shines on his face from the direction he is gazing
A 'cruel and malevolent' man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after running his family like a 'cult' and subjecting them to decades of sexual abuse, a court has heard.

The 62-year-old paedophile, who can only be identified as AJH for legal reasons, was sentenced to 20 years in prison at a District Court in South Australia on Thursday.

He was found guilty of repeatedly raping his sister and two daughters and often used religion - as well as blackmail, violence and intimidation - to manipulate the women.

The predator first abused his sister in 1978 when she was just five-years-old and he was 20. The abuse until she was 12.

He also allowed his friends to watch and participate in the sexual abuse of the girl, District Court Judge Joanne Tracey said in sentencing remarks.

A 'cruel and malevolent' man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after running his family like a 'cult' and subjecting them to decades of sexual abuse

'You warned her not to tell anyone in a most horrifying way, on one occasion taking her out to the shed with her watching as you slit open a pet guinea pig, telling her that that was what would happen if she told your parents,' Judge Tracey said.

The man's offending against two of his three daughters began when one was aged about four and when the other was aged about nine.

'It is hard to imagine how terrifying, frightening and confused each of those little girls would have been,' the judge said.

The Advertiser reported how he told one of his daughters that God had made her to be his wife.

'Since leaving the home, she says she views her family as a cult,' Judge Tracey said.

'(Another daughter) described how you treated her differently to her sisters, isolating her from the rest of the family and threatening her if she spoke about your abuse of her.'

The court heard the paedophile ran his family like a 'cult' intimidating them with religion

The man pleaded guilty to maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with one of his daughters.

He was found guilty at trial of seven sexual offences against his other daughter.

Despite the horrific pattern of abuse, his four other children and his wife remain supportive of the convicted paedophile.

'I am not surprised by what you say about your wife  plainly, from what I have heard, she was involved in facilitating the abuse of your daughters,' Judge Tracey said.

The Judge described the family members who came forward as brave, eloquent and impressively, and praised them for overcoming their 'shame, embarrassment, nightmares and panic attacks' to bring a conviction against AJH
Tropical Storm Gamma became the 24th named storm in the Atlantic basin this season. Previously Tropical Depression 25, the system's maximum sustained winds had strengthened to 40 mph by 7 p.m. CDT Friday.

Tropical Depression 25 formed late Friday morning amid an area of disturbed weather over the northwestern Caribbean that meteorologists have had their eyes on since the demise of Beta, Sally, Teddy and Paulette.

As of Saturday morning, the tropical storm was moving in a northwestward direction at 9 mph, about 75 miles south of Cozumel, Mexico. Wind speeds had increased to 50 mph.

Tropical Storm Gamma is seen nearing the Yucatan Peninsula early Saturday morning, Oct. 3, 2020. (CIRA/RAMMB)

Mexico's government has issued tropical storm watches and warnings for the region.

Waters offshore of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula have become increasingly stormy in recent days.

This zone has been experiencing low wind shear relative to the rest of the Atlantic basin. Wind shear is the increase in the speed of breezes at increasing elevation in the atmosphere and can also involve a sudden change in wind direction from one area to the next. Strong wind shear can inhibit tropical development or cause a developed tropical system to weaken.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

When wind shear is weak as it is now over the northwestern Caribbean, warm waters and rising air can be enough to initiate tropical development.

AccuWeather is projecting the system to peak as a strong tropical storm before making landfall on the northeastern Yucatan coast Saturday afternoon. However, strengthening could resume and extend beyond tropical storm strength as the system gets into the southern Gulf of Mexico days later.

Because of weak steering breezes in the area from the northwestern Caribbean to the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, slow forward movement of this tropical system is likely to continue.

There are several scenarios that could develop with the most likely possibility being that the system moves northward very little during the short to medium range. However, any track the system takes will bring torrential rainfall and the risk of flooding and mudslides to the area from southeastern Mexico to Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.

Story continues

But swimmers should stay out of the water and boaters should consider keeping their vessels in port over the next several days due to building seas and surf. Increasing gusty winds in thunderstorms can lead to property damage and power outages.

"The system will wander straight across the Yucatan Peninsula and then drift into the southwestern Gulf of Mexico," AccuWeather's top hurricane expert Dan Kottlowski said.

A storm such as this has the potential to disrupt natural gas and oil production in the western Gulf of Mexico for several days, AccuWeather meteorologists say.

In this scenario, some weakening would occur followed by possible re-strengthening over the Gulf.

"Another option is for the storm to drift on a general west-southwest path that takes it over land in Central America, never to return to warm waters," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty.

In that case, the system would diminish later this weekend into early next week.

During much of next week, the northward path of Gamma will be blocked due to an area of high pressure over the central and eastern U.S. This will help to keep the storm away from the U.S.

In addition to Gamma, there is a second disturbance that AccuWeather meteorologists are keeping a close eye on. This second disturbance will not develop right away -- and may not develop at all.

"If Gamma becomes a strong tropical storm, it might then hinder development of the other system moving in from the east," Kottlowski said.

A strong, large system near the Yucatan Peninsula or the southwestern Gulf of Mexico would increase disruptive wind shear on its periphery.

"If Gamma moves over land and diminishes, then the door might be opened for more robust development with the second system next week as it moves northwestward over the Caribbean," Kottlowski explained.

Following Gamma, the next name on the list of the Greek alphabet is Delta.

Prior to the beginning of October, there have been 24 tropical depressions that have formed in the Atlantic basin this year with 23 strengthening into tropical storms. Twenty of the storms have set early-formation records.

The formation of Gamma eclipses the 24th storm on the record books, beating out Beta from Oct. 27, 2005. The majority of the former early-formation records were set during the notorious 2005 hurricane season. There was an initially unclassified storm during the 2005 season, which bumped the named storms and their numbers farther down the list that year.

The use of Greek letters this year has been just the second time recorded history that the secondary list of names has been used, with 2005 being the only other year the primary list of hurricane names was exhausted. During the 2005 season, there were 28 tropical storms that were strong enough to be named.

Despite 2020 being on record pace for formation and perhaps challenging the overall numbers of tropical storms, it is well behind a key record that is a parameter meteorologists use to measure the overall intensity of a hurricane season. That measure is called accumulated cyclone energy, or ACE.

ACE measures both the total power and duration of all tropical systems. As of Sept. 30, 2020, this measurement stood 101 units, which is above average. To put that number in perspective, however, the 2005 season finished with a record 245 units. The average for an entire season is 93 units.

AccuWeather is projecting at least one more tropical system to make landfall in the U.S. during the 2020 season.

Thus far there have been nine landfalls in the U.S., which ties the record from 1916.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
CHICOPEE  Three city police officers have contracted COVID-19 and an additional 16, who had some exposure to the infected employees, are self-quarantining until test results are returned.

Police Chief William R. Jebb and Mayor John L. Vieau said the three infections are considered a cluster and said they wanted to inform the public as quickly as possible.

One of the officers fell ill with symptoms related to the disease on Wednesday and was tested. Immediately after he learned he had contracted COVID-19, two more officers were also tested and found they have contracted the disease, Jebb said.

Unfortunately we had three officers test positive for COVID-19 today and as a result of that we put into action measures to protect officers within the building and citizens in the community, he said.

All three who tested positive do have symptoms of the disease. Two are isolated at home and a third is staying at the First Responder Recovery Center run by the Hampden County Sheriffs Department, Jebb said.

The Police Department informed the citys Health Department as well as the state Department of Public Health. At least 11 other officers, including Jebb, who came in closest contact with the three, received rapid-results testing and are negative for COVID-19, Vieau said.

Another 16 who are believed to have had remotely distant contact with the three have also been tested and are being quarantined until results are returned, which should be within 24 hours. The number of rapid-results tests available was limited, so those who came in closest contact were tested first, Vieau said.

There will be no gaps in service whatsoever. We will continue to respond to all calls, Jebb said. The building itself is being sanitized, all the work stations are being cleaned and all officers are required to wear N95 masks.

For now, the public will not be allowed to enter the Police Department for routine matters such as picking up records or applying for gun permits, Jebb said.

The infected and exposed officers primarily work inside the police station. No members of the public are believed to have been exposed to the coronavirus through routine calls, he said.

We have taken every precaution that we can to make sure we are protecting our police officers and the community, Vieau said. There has been no break in service and we are very confident and comfortable we have this at bay.

In March the city created an emergency plan that outlines how to handle COVID-19 outbreaks. Vieau praised Jebb for acting swiftly to put the plan in place and for being transparent.

The Health Department is now tracing the activities of the three officers and is trying to contact friends, family, city employees and anyone else who may have been in contact with them, Vieau said.

There are no concerns about the virus in the Fire Department. Although police and firefighters work out of the same Public Safety Complex on Church Street, the two departments are substantially separate, Vieau said.

There are about 100 officers working in the Police Department. Vieau said he was assured that there are still enough police to handle public safety in the city. If the number of cases increase, the department can ask for assistance from the Massachusetts State Police or departments in neighboring communities.

In late March state troopers augmented the Springfield police force when 20 officers were out. Some of the officers had contracted COVID-19 and others were quarantined while waiting for test results.

As of Monday, there were 30 active cases of COVID-19 in Chicopee. On Wednesday the state determined the number of cases in the city has increased over the past two weeks and placed the city in a higher-risk yellow category, which is for communities that report between four and eight cases per 100,000 population over the past two weeks. Chicopee had an average of 4.4 new cases every day per 100,000 people.

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Over the summer, when the Los Angeles Unified School District created its own COVID-19 testing program, the news generated so much national buzz that you might not have noticed: the school board never voted to approve the program.

In normal times, a board vote would be a crucial step; L.A. Unified board members must approve all major district purchases or contracts during a public meeting.

But since March 10, when LAUSD's board declared a formal emergency, Superintendent Austin Beutner has had special powers to make fast-track deals to help LAUSD respond to the emerging coronavirus crisis -- including the deal that launched the COVID-19 testing program: a $51.3 million contract with start-up lab company SummerBio.

Under LAUSD's normal process, Beutner said it would've taken four or five months to vet the SummerBio agreement and win the school board's approval. With emergency powers, district officials needed only a few weeks to close the deal -- and, Beutner said, they were still weighing their options until roughly 48 hours before they went public.

"We wouldn't have SummerBio if we had to go through the traditional process," Beutner said in an interview this week. "There's no chance ... Start-up companies don't do business with big bureaucracies."

THE NEW ABNORMAL

To Beutner, these emergency powers have been critical to LAUSD's pandemic response, allowing district officials to quickly launch programs that have won widespread praise: a meal distribution program and an initiative to connect every student to the internet on a district-provided device.

LAUSD administrators reported spending more than $210 million under these emergency powers between March 10 and Sept. 5, according to filings the district's county regulators recently released to KPCC/LAist.

Even in the context of a global pandemic, LAUSD's emergency declaration is extraordinary. No other L.A. County school superintendent currently has the same kind of emergency powers to enter no-bid and single-source contracts that Beutner now wields, according to the L.A. County Office of Education.

LAUSD board members have not rolled those emergency powers back -- in part because they feel the superintendent still needs the ability to act nimbly.

SummerBio, a Silicon Valley start-up, is providing the bulk of the COVID-19 tests LAUSD plans to use for its screening system for students and employees. (Kyle Stokes/LAist)

"Unfortunately, we remain in a state of crisis on multiple levels," said board member Monica Garcia in a statement. She added: "Nothing is normal and I am supportive of continuing to empower [the] superintendent with the authority necessary to act on behalf of our students, schools, and communities."

On the other hand, LAUSD has been operating under this emergency for nearly seven months -- and some school board members, while lauding programs created under the crisis powers, are beginning to wonder about when and how the district returns to normal.

"We can't continue as we are in perpetuity," said board member Kelly Gonez. "We should have a real conversation about the appropriateness of [the emergency declaration] moving forward, but I want to be thoughtful about that."

"It's not just that it's easier" to make deals under the emergency authorization, Gonez added, "it's that there have been benefits to students and families."

Board member Scott Schmerelson said he doesn't favor ending the emergency powers; instead, he believes the board should "modify" them. Schmerelson said he's urged Beutner to share more information with board members about how he's using the special authority.

"I am not sorry that we granted immunity to him to do whatever he needed to do," said Schmerelson, "because we were in a crisis. Now, little by little we're getting out of this crisis, so little by little, I would hope he would loosen the reins."

THE MOMENT THAT MADE EMERGENCY POWERS

In early March, as it began to dawn on LAUSD officials that a pivot to distance learning was inevitable, Beutner said his staff began calling tech suppliers in search of up to 200,000 laptops and tablet computers.

One phone call with Apple clarified to Beutner and his staff just how fast they needed to act.

"We were at a point with [Apple]," Beutner recalled, "where they said, 'We have this much inventory left in all of the U.S. and it's at our stores. Do you want it or not? New York's on Line A, you're on Line B.'" (For the record: Beutner declined to confirm that New York City's school district was actually the other bidder -- only that large districts were, in fact, competing with each other at this time to scoop up available devices.)

On a late night phone call, just hours before an LAUSD board meeting -- where Beutner's emergency powers were the sole item on the agenda -- the superintendent's staff realized the district would have to give Apple an answer.

"The conversation," Beutner recalled, "was pretty much, 'Okay, tell [Apple] yes. Don't sign it. There's a board meeting tomorrow ... We'll have a vote. And we'll sign right after the vote.'"

By the first Monday students were sent home for distance learning, LAUSD had spent more than $54 million on iPads, Chromebooks and Wi-Fi hotspots from T-Mobile. By the end of March, the district had spent another $13.4 million on a deal with Verizon wireless for even more devices, according to the district's reports to the county Office of Education.

Rafael Balderas, principal of L.A. Unified's Bell High School, stands between stacks of laptop computers for distribution to students in April. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

L.A. UNIFIED'S REPORTS TO THE COUNTY

When a school board declares an emergency, California law requires the district to get the approval of its county superintendent of schools on any purchases or contracts signed under this arrangement. The district needs the signature of L.A. County Schools Superintendent Debra Duardo "to move forward," according to a statement from her office.

County officials released copies of the reports for 24 of the 25 weeks between March 10 and Sept. 5. (They did not provide a copy of the report filed for Sept. 17-21 because, according to spokeswoman Margo Minceki's statement, "There are times when we need the district to provide clarification.")

A majority of the spending LAUSD reported covered purchases Beutner has confirmed were made using emergency powers.

But district officials also said their reports to the county included some purchases made with existing vendors under contracts approved before the emergency authorization. They say the total reported -- $210.3 million -- is best understood as the amount LAUSD has spent on pandemic response, not necessarily as a measure of the emergency powers.

Of that total, at least $53 million was spent on "single-source" contracts -- a reference to a deal made with limited competitive public bidding because the district believes the vendor offers a unique service.

'OUR FLEXIBILITY MADE US ATTRACTIVE'

Among the "single-source" deals LAUSD inked under these emergency powers: the SummerBio contract -- the $51.3 million agreement to provide LAUSD with the kits and results for up to 100,000 coronavirus tests per week.

But while the SummerBio deal was listed as a single-source contract, Beutner said a working group of district officials and outside experts -- some of them hired themselves under the emergency authorization -- thoroughly vetted the deal.

According to an LAUSD memo describing the deal, the district took bids from 22 potential providers of COVID-19 tests -- and SummerBio was the cheapest by far. While LAUSD's memo doesn't specify what each company would've charged, it does say the next-lowest competitor would've charged $192.3 million -- nearly four times as much as SummerBio.

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At the time, SummerBio was in talks with other potential exclusive customers. But Beutner said his broad emergency powers made LAUSD an attractive suitor.

With that authority, Beutner could bypass the cumbersome process of putting out an RFP -- a "request for proposals" -- that requires a lengthy paper trail that would normally scare off a start-up like SummerBio.

"Our flexibility," Beutner said, "our ability to act quickly, our ability to be unlike a big bureaucracy, if you will, made us attractive ... We could focus on the things that mattered to them and us -- the timeliness of the tests, the quality of the tests, their ability to deliver -- and not all the trappings of bureaucracy."

Though last spring's pervasive sense of total panic about the virus has faded, Beutner contended the broader crisis has not: three-quarters of the district's families face job loss and food insecurity. It's not clear when and how district campuses can fully reopen.

He argues it's necessary for the board to maintain his emergency powers to allow LAUSD to respond rapidly to future developments. In an interview, Beutner hinted at the possibility the emergency powers could be critical to allowing LAUSD to offer quick access to a future COVID-19 vaccine.

Even as board member Kelly Gonez said it's worth discussing when the district will resume its typical procurement process, she noted that the board would have to be thoughtful about how it pulls back emergency powers -- whenever that happens. For example, how could the district ensure continuation of the COVID-19 screening effort if the emergency authorization underpinning it goes away?

But for the moment, Gonez is more interested in discussing "what factors should be in place" before the board pulls back the emergency powers. She indicated it was too early to talk about a timeline for doing so.

"We are still in an emergency situation," she said, "even if the crisis isn't emerging right at this very moment."
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More signs emerged today that the UK's second wave of coronavirus is beginning to slow down, as the number of new positive tests were just 1.4 per cent higher than last week.

Another 6,968 cases were announced today, only marginally higher than the 6,874 last Friday. This small rise comes as most days in September saw a week-on-week increase of more than 35 per cent. Today's is the lowest weekly increase since August 25, suggesting last month's resurgence in cases has hit its peak.

The Department of Health confirmed 66 more deaths today, taking the total number to have died within a month of Covid-19 diagnosis to 42,268 - there are now an average 47 deaths per day.

An Office for National Statistics (ONS) today backs up signs that the outbreak is slowing and estimated there were 8,400 daily cases of the disease in England in the week ending September 24. This marks a 12.5 per cent fall from the 9,600 infections thought to have been occurring every day the week before.

The ONS described its findings as 'limited evidence' transmission of the virus 'may be levelling off following steep increases during August and September'. The estimate is based on 300,000 tests sent to homes across the country over the past six weeks - they produced 400 positive swabs and mathematical modelling is used to apply the result to the whole population.

The estimated 8,400 daily cases signals that Britain's testing regime is picking up the vast majority of cases in the country - there have been about 6,000 people testing positive on average in the last week.

Although the current numbers of positive tests seem high and are higher than they were during the peak in March and April, scientists predict that more than 100,000 people were catching the virus in the spring and tests would've picked up tens of thousands every day if the same amount of swabs were done then.

Today's study is the first to report a dip in infections in the last two months, after cases started to rocket in August when lockdown was fully lifted. And it comes on the heels of a wave of statistics yesterday suggesting the UK's spike in transmission is finally starting to slow down.

And the Government-funded REACT-1 project, carried out by Imperial College London, said there were signs that the R rate has fallen to around 1.1 now, from 1.7 in September, and that cases are now rising less steeply than they were a few weeks ago.

But the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) today released its own estimates of Britain's R rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects. SAGE said the R was between 1.3 and 1.6, up from a range of 1.2 to 1.5 last week. SAGE cautioned that its data was about three weeks out of date due to the way it monitors the virus, but issued a warning to people not to be 'complacent' about the virus, which it said was still likely to be growing.

An Office for National Statistics (ONS) report released today estimated there were 8,400 daily cases of the disease in England in the week ending September 24. This marks a 12.5 per cent fall from the 9,600 infection thought to have been occurring every day the week before

The Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) today released its own estimates of Britain's R rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects. SAGE said the R was between 1.3 and 1.6, but cautioned its data was about three weeks out of date due to the way it monitors the virus

Although the current numbers of positive tests seem high and are higher than they were during the peak in March and April, scientists predict that more than 100,000 people were catching the virus in the spring and tests would've picked up tens of thousands every day if the same amount of swabs were done then

The ONS said that in recent weeks there has been 'clear evidence' of an increase in the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 - but that it appeared to have slowed in the last seven days.

Katherine Kent, co-head of analysis for the Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: 'While the evidence suggests that the increase in new cases may be levelling off after a sharp rise in August and September, it is too early to be certain at this stage.'

The ONS estimated around 116,000 people in England were infected with coronavirus between September 18 and 24, the equivalent of around one in 500 people. This was up slightly on the previous estimate of 103,600 people  around 0.19 per cent of the population  for September 13 to 19.

COVID-19 CASES ARE FLATTENING BUT STILL AT 20,000 PER DAY, STUDY PREDICTS King's College London's weekly estimate of the number of people catching coronavirus in the UK suggests that the growth of the outbreak is slowing down, but there are still nearly 20,000 people getting infected each day. The Covid Symptom Study, run in conjunction with ZOE, a health-tech team that runs the Covid Symptom Tracker app, estimates there are now 19,777 people getting infected each day across the UK. This is a rise from the 16,130 daily infections prediction last week but the increase is smaller than it was between the previous two estimates. The rise from September 24 to October 1 was 23 per cent, while between September 17 and 24 it more than doubled from 7,536 (a 114 per cent increase). Some 14,837 of these cases are thought to be happening in England, with the majority in the North East and Yorkshire and the North West (a total of approximately 8,800). A further 2,294 people are thought to be getting sick each day in Scotland, along with 1,331 in Wales and 1,315 in Northern Ireland. The estimates are based on the results of 8,377 swab tests. And they suggest that the reproduction rate of the virus, the R, has fallen, too - to 1.2 in England, 1.3 in Scotland and 1.4 in Wales. Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist and leader of the study, said: 'We are confident that this flattening in the data looks real and that this might be an early sign of infection rates slowing down. 'This may be due to a number of factors including social distancing and the 'rule of six', but we can't discount the role of less susceptible people and prior immunity in those exposed and the natural cycle of the virus. 'We are seeing nearly 50 per cent of our cases are coming from the under 30s, which is more than in the spring, which may explain why the pressures on the NHS are less. 'We still need to continue to work together to make sure this flattening off isn't a small blip. As we head into winter we all need to be cautious and pay attention to the advice we are being given around local restrictions, social distancing and avoiding gathering in large groups.' Advertisement

Statisticians came to this figure by analsying 291,000 swab results from 336 randomly selected members of the public, whether they have symptoms or not, over the last six weeks. The results were based on 419 positive tests and, using statistical modelling, broadened to the wider population.

Rates of infection in the North West and North East - home the Britain's biggest Covid-19 hotspots - are higher than the rest of the nation, the study found.

In these regions, roughly one in 200 people are testing positive for the virus - more than twice the rate of the national average. In Yorkshire and the Humber and London the rate is 0.3 per cent of the population, or one in 330.

By contrast, the South East, South West and East of England have been much less impacted by the virus' resurgence. In the East, 0.1 per cent of the population are catching the disease - one in a thousand.

Even fewer people are getting infected in the South East and South West, where the rates are 0.07 and 0.08, respectively.

During the most recent week, between September 18 and 24, there were an estimated 6,400 people in Wales with coronavirus, around one in 500 - the same rate in England.

This week was the first time the ONS covered Northern Ireland in its report. It estimated 0.26 per cent of the population, or one in 400, have the virus.

Writing in the report, statisticians from the number-crunching body, said: 'Because of the relatively small number of tests and a low number of positives in our sample, credible intervals are wide and therefore results should be interpreted with caution.'

The ONS only look at people within the community and do not account of Covid-19 carriers in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings.

It comes as SAGE warned the R number in the UK could be as high as 1.6, as it warned the virus was still 'highly likely' to be growing exponentially.

The Government's scientists estimate the reproduction rate to be between 1.3 and 1.6, up from a range of 1.2 to 1.5 last week.

The R estimate only reflects the situation three weeks ago because of a lag in the way SAGE records its infection rate data, so it does not represent the virus's current trajectory.

But SAGE warned the public not to get 'complacent' amid reports the virus is dwindling again, from the likes of the ONS.

SAGE said in a statement: 'While there are some early indications suggesting that the growth of the epidemic might be slowing, SAGE urges caution and believes it is too early to draw firm conclusions.

'More data are needed to accurately assess any recent changes in transmission and it is still highly likely that the epidemic is growing exponentially across the country. Over the next few weeks, it will be important that we understand this in the UK and do not become complacent.

'Furthermore, while the rate of change might have slowed, if R remains above 1.0, infections will continue to grow at an exponential rate. This is currently the case for every region of England and all have positive growth rates, reflecting increases in the number of new infections across the country.'

The R number represents the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects and scientists have warned all along that keeping it below 1 is crucial to keeping the epidemic from spiralling out of control and growing exponentially again.

And SAGE estimates that the growth rate of the epidemic - how fast its spreading through the population - is between 5 and 9 per cent, up slightly from last week's prediction that it was 4 to 8 per cent.

HOW HAS THE R RATE CHANGED FROM LAST WEEK? AREA UK England -- East London Midlands NE and Yorks North West South East South West THIS WEEK 1.3 - 1.6 1.2 - 1.6 1.0 - 1.3 1.2 - 1.6 1.2 - 1.5 1.2 - 1.6 1.2 - 1.5 1.1 - 1.4 1.1 - 1.4 LAST WEEK 1.2 - 1.5 1.2 - 1.5 1.1 - 1.3 1.2 - 1.5 1.2 - 1.5 1.2 - 1.5 1.2 - 1.5 1.0 - 1.3 1.1 - 1.4 Advertisement

HOW HAS THE GROWTH RATE CHANGED FROM LAST WEEK? AREA UK England -- East London Midlands NE and Yorks North West South East South West THIS WEEK 5% to 9% 4% to 8% 1% to 6% 3% to 9% 3% to 8% 4% to 9% 4% to 8% 2% to 6% 2% to 7% LAST WEEK 4% to 8% 4% to 8% 1% to 4% 4% to 9% 3% to 7% 4% to 8% 3% to 9% 1% to 5% 1% to 6% Advertisement

In more evidence the UK's crisis is slowing, King's College London's weekly estimate of the number of people catching coronavirus in the UK suggests that the growth of the outbreak is slowing down, but there are still nearly 20,000 people getting infected each day.

The Covid Symptom Study, run in conjunction with ZOE, a health-tech team that runs the Covid Symptom Tracker app, estimates there are now 19,777 people getting infected each day across the UK.

This is a rise from the 16,130 daily infections prediction last week but the increase is smaller than it was between the previous two estimates.

KCL collects its data by sending tests to people who report tell-tale symptoms of Covid-19 into the mobile app, while the ONS study sends tests to random households regardless of their health status.

KCL has based its latest estimates on 8,377 tests this week, of which fewer than 200 were positive.

More positive tests improves the accuracy of the data but the study may have a slight bias because it only swabs people who are already ill - which may explain why it's estimates are greater than the ONS', which also tests asymptomatic people.

KCL's rise from September 24 to October 1 was 23 per cent, while between September 17 and 24 it more than doubled from 7,536 (a 114 per cent increase).

Some 14,837 of these cases are thought to be happening in England, with the majority in the North East and Yorkshire and the North West (a total of approximately 8,800).

A further 2,294 people are thought to be getting sick each day in Scotland, along with 1,331 in Wales and 1,315 in Northern Ireland.

The estimates are based on the results of 8,377 swab tests. And they suggest that the reproduction rate of the virus, the R, has fallen, too - to 1.2 in England, 1.3 in Scotland and 1.4 in Wales.

Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist and leader of the KCL study, said: 'We are confident that this flattening in the data looks real and that this might be an early sign of infection rates slowing down.

'This may be due to a number of factors including social distancing and the 'rule of six', but we can't discount the role of less susceptible people and prior immunity in those exposed and the natural cycle of the virus.

'We are seeing nearly 50 per cent of our cases are coming from the under 30s, which is more than in the spring, which may explain why the pressures on the NHS are less.

'We still need to continue to work together to make sure this flattening off isn't a small blip. As we head into winter we all need to be cautious and pay attention to the advice we are being given around local restrictions, social distancing and avoiding gathering in large groups.'

Meanwhile, health bosses announced another 6,914 coronavirus cases yesterday, which gave experts hope that the virus's steep trajectory was being curtailed.

Department of Health figures show the number of daily infections is just 4.2 per cent higher this week than it was last Thursday, when 6,634 positive tests were added to the official count.

But deaths are continuing to creep up. Officials declared another 59 laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 deaths on Thursday, up 47.5 per cent on the 40 posted this time last week but down slightly on the 71 registered on Wednesday. For comparison, more than 1,000 people were dying each day during the darkest weeks of the first wave in April.

Despite fatalities continuing to creep up, data now suggests that the surging numbers of cases which have rattled the nation in recent weeks appear to be slowing down.

Although the current numbers of positive tests seem high and are higher than they were during the peak in March and April, the remain only a ripple as scientists predict that more than 100,000 people were catching the virus in the spring and tests would've picked up tens of thousands every day if the same amount of swabs were done then.

In the strongest evidence yet that local lockdowns are working, results from the largest Covid-19 study in England found the R-rate fell from 1.7 to around 1.1

While the rate of infection appears to be falling, a study commissioned by the Department of Health, found that of the volunteers tested between September 18-26, one in 200 people had coronavirus.

It also revealed the virus to be spreading more among young people, while simultaneously laying bare the North-South divide, pointing to the North West as the epicentre of the UK's outbreak.

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT-1 programme at Imperial from the School of Public Health, said: 'While our latest findings show some early evidence that the growth of new cases may have slowed, suggesting efforts to control the infection are working, the prevalence of infection is the highest that we have recorded to date.

'This reinforces the need for protective measures to limit the spread of the disease and the public's adherence to these, which will be vital to minimise further significant illness and loss of life from Covid-19.'

The latest Imperial College study found 55 people per 10,000 tested positive, which is an increase on 13 people per 10,000 from the previous study between August 24 and September 7.
UW Scientist Discovers Genes Directing Hectic Cellular Expressways

David Fay

Mutants and a superpower used by a University of Wyoming molecular biologist led to discovering certain genes implicated in cancer, genetic diseases and birth defects can serve as traffic cops directing complex transportation superhighways inside cells.

This discovery by scientists working in the laboratory of David Fay in the Department of Molecular Biology led to his lab receiving a $2.7 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

As it turned out, I probably got the grant by the skin of my teeth, Fay says. It tends to be a very competitive process.

Fay, a professor, also is associate director of the Wyoming IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence grant. The $17.5 million NIH award broadly funds biomedical research and training at UW and throughout Wyoming.

Fay is not alone in bringing research dollars to the university among the professors in the department.

I dont think a lot of people realize our departments something of a powerhouse when it comes to bringing in ultracompetitive outside funding, Fay says.

Several members of the department have hit the grant jackpot since the first of the year. Associate Professor Dan Levy was awarded a $1.7 million, five-year grant from NIH to study how cells control the size of the nucleus, and Associate Professor Jay Gatlin recently was notified of a $1.2 million, four-year award from NIH to study how cells distribute their chromosomes during cell division.

Others in the department have secured multiple grants, including Professor Don Jarvis, whose six external grants fund a diverse array of projects, ranging from HIV research to therapeutic protein production. The funding portfolios of Jarvis and Associate Professor Grant Bowman include dollars to support local biotech companies started while at UW.

All 11 research-active faculty members in the department are externally supported, including its assistant professors.

Department Head Peter Thorsness credits the culture of the department in helping attract the high level of talent.

I expect the individual talent possessed by each of our faculty members would allow them to be successful in most places, but the supportive atmosphere in the department is not to be undervalued, he says. One key is that the department is committed to hiring new faculty who are better than we perceive ourselves to be. We have really bought in to the aphorism A rising tide lifts all boats.

The Fay lab, which started at UW in 2001, uses nematodes -- tiny roundworms -- to analyze gene functions conserved across many species, including humans. This basic scientific research relies on organisms that, although perhaps less complex than mammals, carry out many of the same fundamental processes at the cellular level and have advantages researchers can use in the lab, Fay says.

The beautiful thing about basic scientific research, he says, is that you can never really know at the beginning how your work will play out or the ways in which it might become relevant to human biology and disease.

Fay and the scientists in his lab were studying a process common to the growth of many worms and insects -- molting. As tiny larva develop into adults, a growing worm needs to trade in its old skin for a larger, roomier new skin.

A new skin has to be synthesized underneath the old one, and then the old one must be rapidly shed. The timing is tricky, as are the underlying mechanics of the process, Fay says.

To better understand molting, Fay enlisted the help of defective mutant worms unable to molt and then flexed what he calls a geneticists superpower.

Most scientists work with a hypothesis, a testable proposed explanation based on limited evidence and a starting point for more investigation.

As molecular geneticists, we get to ask How does this work? and then let the organism tell us, Fay says.

Researchers found several genes critical for the bulk movement of proteins and lipids inside cells by tinkering with those important for molting. These proteins and lipids are important building blocks -- for the skin of the worm and for other structures, he says.

The inside of a cell is a ridiculously complex set of highways but without obvious medians and guardrails, Fay says.

During molting, molecules are constantly being sent outside the cell or being brought back in to be recycled. Fays research indicates some of the genes critical to molting act as very busy traffic cops directing what goes where and when. And the genes discovered in worms have correlates in humans, where they carry out many of the same functions.

Before these studies in worms, these disease-associated genes had not been known to have a crucial function in cell trafficking.

We were skeptics ourselves, and it wasnt until the last few years that we really started to believe what our data were telling us, Fay says.

He says a particularly convincing experiment was taking human versions of the worm genes and showing that, when placed in the molting-defective worms, they could fully substitute for the missing worm genes; the worms molted just fine.

Fay is now collaborating with several groups outside UW to examine the trafficking functions of these genes in human and rodent cells, where they are looking for additional parallels. He looks forward to seeing where the worms take him and his research group over the next five years.

Despite the current pandemic situation, the energy and enthusiasm in the department these days are great, and work continues to get done, Fay says.

More about Fays laboratory and research is at www.uwyo.edu/molecbio/faculty-and-staff/david-fay/index.html.
Fox News anchor and presidential debate moderator Chris Wallace is thankful that there was no traditional handshake greeting during Tuesdays presidential debate.

Mr Wallace was speaking on Fox News on Friday morning following president Donald Trumps positive test for Covid-19 overnight.

The debate commission had decided there would be no opening handshake, and thank God for that. They were about eight feet apart from each other at their podiums, he said on Americas Newsroom.

Mr Wallace confirmed that he never got closer to the president than was shown on television on Tuesday night, but said that he was close enough to warrant getting a test.

At Tuesdays debate, both candidates wore masks backstage but removed them upon taking to the stage.

Former vice president Joe Biden approached the moderators desk at the end of the debate for a brief moment, but the president did not.

Vice president Biden did briefly to basically  I'm trying to remember the exact words, basically to say  I bet you didn't know you had signed up for this, Mr Wallace said earlier on Friday on Fox & Friends.

Obviously, it was an extremely contentious debate. I certainly saw no sign of any flagging of energy in the president and the vice president during the debate, he added.

Mr Wallace also said on Friday: The president of the United States is in the most secure bubble in the world... and he still got it. So, wear the damn mask!

The Trump family reportedly declined to wear masks while seated in the debate audience. Melania Trump joined her husband onstage at the end, without a mask, while Jill Biden wore one to congratulate her husband on his performance.

Both the president and first lady tested positive for the coronavirus having been in close contact with the presidents adviser Hope Hicks who had already tested positive.

There is a flurry of testing underway across the political world among those who have met with the president, attended events at the White House, or were present at the debate.

The Trump campaign is under fire for going ahead with a fundraiser in Bedminster, New Jersey, knowing that the president had been exposed to the virus.

Senator Mike Lee and Republican national chair Ronna McDaniel have already tested positive for Covid-19.
NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for over 11,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced BBX Capital, Inc. (OTCQX: BBXIA), a Florida based diversified holding company, Class A common stock has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market.

BBX Capital, Inc. Class A common stock begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "BBXIA." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

The OTCQX Market provides investors with a premium U.S. public market to research and trade the shares of investor-focused companies. Trading on the OTCQX Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws.

B. Riley Securities acted as the company's OTCQX sponsor. B. Riley Securities, Inc. is a full-service investment bank and subsidiary of B. Riley Financial, Inc., based in Los Angeles with offices across the United States, providing corporate finance, research, sales and trading services.

About BBX Capital, Inc.

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Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > AIDMAM & NDMJ Condemns Rising Atrocities Against Dalit Women and Minor (...)

[September 30, 2020]

Joint Press Statement

On 29th September 2020 India has once again failed Dalit Women and Girls in upholding their rights and safety; we have lost another young life to the savage brutal gangrape and murder. This brutal incident occurred on 14th September in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh and once again exposes the harsh realities of caste based sexual assault faced by Dalit women and girls in this country. Victim was dragged with the dupatta around her neck into the field where she was gang raped; suffered severe spinal cord injury, severely beaten up and also got deep cut in her tongue as she fought back the rapist. She was not in a situation to give her statement till 23rd September 2020 due to the severe injuries that paralyzed her condition.

The level of brutality and inhumanity continues even after the demise of the victim, as the UP police forcibly cremated the body in the early morning around 3 AM on 30th September. Victims body was burnt by the police against the will of the family members and not letting them take her home one final time. Beside this, the police locked family members and locals inside the house as per the statement of family members of the deceased.

Rising Atrocities:

Such ghastly incidents of violence are perpetrated everyday against women and minors and especially during the Pandemic and the Lockdown. The state of Uttar Pradesh has witnessed several cases of atrocities against Dalit women; with Lakhimpur Kheri leading in the graph of violence. In the past 60 days more than six atrocities were reported in the district against Dalit women and minor girls. Similarly in Saharanpur district, six cases of abduction and rape have been reported where NDMJ has intervened. These gruesome incidents of sexual violence reflect the real picture of Indian society constructed on violent casteist patriarchal structure.

It should be noted that the crime rate against Dalits in Uttar Pradesh has been rising exponentially in the last few years. As per the NCRB report of 2018, Uttar Pradesh tops the list of number of crimes committed against Dalits including Dalit women in 2018. Also, Uttar Pradesh has recorded the maximum number of cases of rape (526), attempt to rape (48), incidences of kidnap and abduction of Dalit women (381) and incidences of assault (711) in the year of 2018 under the SC/ST (PoA) Act. As per the compiled data of the NCRB reports of 2014-18, Uttar Pradesh has witnessed the maximum number of atrocities against Dalit women in India and an increase of 15% in the number or rape cases against Dalit women from 2015-18. 7,920 number of atrocities against Dalit women have been registered under the SC/ST (PoA) Amendment Act in Uttar Pradesh from 2014-18. A big majority of this figure has been for the cases of assault (3,421) and rape (2,410) of Dalit women. Attempt to rape (219) and kidnap and abduction (1,870) also form a major form of violence committed against Dalit women in Uttar Pradesh from 2014-18.

Hathras Incident:  On 14th September 2020, Dalit girl had gone to the fields to collect fodder for cows with her mother. Her mother was working around 100 meters away from the girl when four accused namely Sandeep alias Chandu s/o Narendra; Lavkush s/o Ramesh Singh, Ravi s/o Attar Singh and Ram Kumar alias Ramu s/o Rakesh Singh all resident of village Bugadhi under PS Chandpa District Hathras Uttar Pradesh from the dominant caste attacked the girl and gang raped her before strangling her. The victim, once she recovered a little, gave her statement to the police mentioning the names of three accused and explaining the whole incident. The girl was admitted to the District Hospital, Hathras with grave injuries on her spine, abdomen, and mouth on 14th September and was transferred to Aligarhs Jawaharlal Nehru Medical hospital following that. The doctors of Aligarh Medical Hospital have stated that she was brought in with severe trauma and a paralysed condition of the lower body because of the spinal cord injury. She was brought in to Safdarjung Hospital on 28th September 2020 and breathed her last on the morning of 29th September 2020.

Police Apathy and State Response:- We hold the Police and the State responsible for their inaction to register complaints and not arresting the accused in time. They have further inflicted mental as well as physical torture upon the survivors and the families. Every case reveals the state machinery has turned a blind eye toward the cases through its apathetic response, violated rights of victims to access justice and have nullified the Human dignity. In the Hathras case, the victims brother mentioned that no arrest was made by the police even after 10 days of the incident being reported. The fourth accused was arrested and sent in judicial custody only on 26/9/2020. There was no effort made by the police to provide the safety and protection to the family of the deceased. This became the root cause of threatening and criminal intimidation mounted upon the survivor family by the accused and their community.

Key Demands: 1. AIDMAM & NDMJ calls upon the State to uphold the rights of Dalit Women and Minors; 2. Strict implementation of the Rule of Law in the State of Uttar Pradesh and throughout the Indian State; 3. Calls for strict implementation of the SCs and STs POA Act, POCSO Act and Rules in cases of violence and discrimination agaisnt SC and ST communities especially Minors; 4. Fast track all cases of sexual assault on Dalit women and girls under the POA and POCSO Acts in conjunction with IPC Sections; 5. The non-bailable offense clause under the POCSO and POA Act should be followed in letter and spirit; 6. Provide relief and rehabilitation to survivors of caste and gender based violence as per the POA Act. 7. In the Lakhimpur cases FIR should include the names of all the accused as identified by the survivors and all accused should be arrested; 8. Police officials in Lakhimpur cases as well as in Hathras case should be booked under section 4 of the SCs and STs POA act for negligence in duty; 9. In Lakhimpur and Hathras cases of atrocities compensation, relief and rehabilitation should be provided to the family as per the SCs and STs POA Act. 10. Strict follow-up of the State and district vigilance and monitoring committees should be carried out in Uttar Pradesh as well as the entire Indian State.

With Warm Regards,

Dr. V. A. Ramesh Nathan, National Convener, National Coalition for Strengthening the POA Act and Its Implementation- +91-9560028068

Prof. Vimal Thorat, National Convenor, All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch +91-9999807818

All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch - National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (AIDMAM-NCDHR), New Delhi, India; has been working with Dalit women in 7 states, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana, Bihar, Maharashtra and Delhi in order to raise and address the issues of caste discrimination and violence against Dalit women on national as well as international platforms. Also, AIDMAM is doing advocacy with police and administration of these states for effective implementation of Scheduled Caste and Schedules Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 and 2016.

National Dalit Movement for Justice - National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NDMJ- NCDHR); focusing on Access to Justice by the Dalit communities from systemic discrimination, exclusion and violence based on caste and gender, promoting Dalit leadership specifically of Dalit women, and has been engaging with the Judiciary for justice, state machinery for effective implementation of Scheduled Caste and Schedules Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 and 2016, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, 2018 and other significant legislations, there is regular advocacy with the State for policy changes impacting dalit and other marginalized communities. NDMJ also engages at the international forums on issues impacting Dalit communities.
Opinion Article

2 October 2020

If it were a stable world, we would understand why UK hotel property owners would submit to the current CVA proposal.

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But since it's not, UK hotel property owners need to think past the temporary comfort of accepting a new rental review. It is our premise that the British lease, with its upward-only rent review structure is unstable.

The rapid compression of economic conditions in the hospitality, retail and leisure sectors are burdening tenants with rents they can no longer afford to pay. Landlords will be left with commercial properties that are unable to rent.

Retail and high street are being replaced by online (15% UK market share). Travel restrictions and health concerns have decimated international travel, especially in the leisure sector. Domestic leisure travel was a small bright spot last summer, but not a sustainable business segment.

Because of Zoom etc, worldwide workers have been liberated from the mandatory office regime/commute. Companies are reducing costs by no longer requiring employees to travel for business, meetings and conferences.

A previous PwC analysis has shown that over half of CVAs are unsuccessful, with the business ending up in another insolvency procedure. And it's often because the core business model was already in decline.

Even though this week's Pizza Hut CVA will allow 200+ landlords to continue with a reduced rent, it won't change the fact that consumers can have higher rated pizza at lower cost in the comfort of their own homes, rather than a Pizza Hut.

The price of failure is often largely borne by landlords. They suffer an initial loss of rental income, further detrimental impact to investment value, and then increased liabilities. And then the CVA fails to resuscitate the business that was already struggling.

This week, Whitbread has warned that 6,000 staff could lose their jobs. London hotels have been hit with an occupancy low of 37% in August, compared to the usual high 80s. To survive, hotels have slashed rates down into the 20 range.

With 77 London properties, how will this impact Travelodge's earnings, will it soon cause another CVA?

Researchers project another 4 years before hotels regain 2019 performance, but there will be bright spots.

Because Magnuson Hotels has successfully operated for decades through 9/11, 2008 and the present, we know there is investment upside for hotel assets facing CVA decisions, just not under the current rent structures. If asset owners transitioned to a business owner role and assumed control of their hotels with transparent professional management/branding, the outcome will be a growing long-term secure income stream.

No matter how hard UK hotel property owners look, there will be no more complete guarantees. But there certainly is the prospect of higher long-term asset revenues by taking control of one's own destiny.
Amid one of the worst wildfire seasons on record for the western United States, forecasters say a big weather pattern change will unfold later this week that will deliver vital rain and cooler conditions. The pattern shift will also serve as a respite from the persistent dryness and record-challenging warmth in much of the region.

Although the rain is not expected to arrive until the second half of the week, it is still welcome news for beleaguered firefighters on the front lines fighting a number of large blazes that have scorched millions of acres across the West as well as those who are suffering from poor air quality.

The number and rapid spread of fires this season have been brought on by drought, dry fuels, locally gusty winds and dry, hot air.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

Hot and dry conditions of late have been brought about by a large northward bulge in the jet stream over the western U.S.

"In this configuration, moisture from the Pacific is locked out of the region as storms are deflected well to the north over Alaska and then into central Canada, rather than moving directly eastward and inland from the ocean," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.

The same pattern with its warm air aloft promotes heat near the surface due to periodic offshore winds.

However, there continues to be indication that the jet stream will experience a major shift later this week.

"It appears the northward bulge will move toward the Central states and a corresponding southward dip will advance eastward from the central Pacific to along the West Coast of the U.S.," Anderson explained.

This setup will help not only to drive moisture inland from the Pacific but also to lower temperatures substantially over the western quarter to third of the nation.

In one scenario, a series of storms with rain would move onshore beginning late this week and perhaps continuing into the middle of October.

While things could still change, the pattern should at least bring some cloud cover, higher humidity levels and lower temperatures throughout the Pacific Coast states and perhaps to areas east of the Sierra Nevada. At this time, the best chance of showers appears to be from Northern California to Washington.

Story continues

Prior to the change in the weather pattern, some cooling from sea breezes will be felt along much of the Pacific coast into early week. Areas inland are forecast to remain very warm to hot into the middle of the week.

AccuWeather's long-range team of meteorologists lead by Paul Pastelok are expecting winter to get rolling early on this year.

While the pattern starting late this week might not be the true beginnings of the setup for the winter, it may be giving a hint of what is to come and that the clock may be ticking on the fire season for many areas in general.

Even with the upcoming forecast pattern change, there will likely to continue to be large fires burning, and some areas could be missed by significant rainfall.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
MOSCOW - The American Farmland Trust Farmers Market Celebration voting period closed on Sunday, September 20, 2020. Final standings were announced last week, recognizing leading markets based on the number and type of endorsements each received. More than 1,250 markets participated in the celebration. The results from this years celebration ranked the Moscow Farmers Market as the 11th best farmers market nationwide, third in the Pacific Region, and second in Idaho.

The Moscow Farmers Market has placed in the top 20 farmers markets nationwide since 2015, and this year marks its highest national ranking yet.

The City of Moscow thanks the many individuals that voted in this years American Farmland Trust Farmers Market Celebration. Mark your calendars for next years celebration which will open mid-June 2021.

The Moscow Farmers Market, and its contactless option the Motor-In Moscow Farmers Market, will end the 2020 season on October 31.
Boris Johnson with Ursula von der Leyen at Downing Street in January. - PA

Ursula von der Leyen said that the UK and EU should intensify trade negotiations after it was announced the president of the European Commission will hold urgent Brexit talks with Boris Johnson on Saturday.

News of the video conference call came as the last scheduled round of UK-EU trade negotiations ended in Brussels. It led to guarded hope among EU diplomatic sources that no deal could be averted. One official warned against being optimistic but said Brussels was "determined" to get an agreement.

The Prime Minister will be speaking to President von der Leyen tomorrow afternoon to take stock of negotiations and discuss next steps, a Number 10 spokesman said.

Mrs von der Leyen said, "We should not forget that we have made progress on many many different fields but of course the most difficult ones are still completely open and this is mainly also the question of the level playing field because this is a question of fairness."

She added, "Where there is a will, there is a way so I think we should intensify the negotiations."

During the crucial round the UK submitted a string of legal texts, including on the vexed issues of the level playing field guarantees, especially on state aid, and fisheries.

British compromise offers of a three year transition period for fishing quotas, with the UK share increasing over time, and on state aid fell short of EU expectations this week. France, in particular, is pushing hard for a permanent quota system.

David Frost, the UK's chief negotiator, said "familiar differences" remained. "On fisheries the gap between us is unfortunately very large and, without further realism and flexibility from the EU risks being impossible to bridge," he warned.

Michel Barnier said there had been "positive new developments" in police cooperation and aviation safety but "persistant serious divergences on matters of major importance for the European Union."

Story continues

Mr Barnier told EU lawmakers that talks would continue next week in London and in Brussels the following week.

Angela Merkel said after an EU summit in Brussels, "As long as negotiations are ongoing I remain optimistic, but obviously I cannot tell you that there has been a breakthrough. It will be a crucial phase over the next few days."

"We shall wait, wait and see whether we can make progress in these next few days. We are in a constructive mood. A lot will be determined by what Britain wants and what Britain does not want. It is up to Britain to decide this freely," the German Chancellor said.

Ive always been cautiously optimistic, said Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands, who said there was a geopolitical necessity for a deal. We need to stick together, he said.

It is a good sign I would say, said one EU diplomatic source, It is the right time for them to touch base. The EU needs to hear at the highest level that the UK government is serious about a deal.

British negotiators will hope Mr Johnson will be able to convince Brussels to enter intensive and secret tunnel talks in the run up to the October 15 EU summit. Mrs von der Leyen said she didn't like the word "tunnel" but added there were less than 100 days before the end of the Brexit transition period.

The European Commission will expect Mr Johnson to show a willingness to compromise on his red lines. It will demand concessions from Mr Johnson, including a stricter system of enforcement of subsidy law than the UK has offered. It also wants to guarantee that the British rules evolve over time to ensure continued fair competition with the EU.

It is the first time Mr Johnson and Mrs von der Leyen will hold Brexit talks since June. Then Mr Johnson urged the EU to put "a tiger in the tank" of the negotiations during a discussion that renewed optimism in London and Brussels.

It has long been expected that the two leaders would be brought in to find a political solution to the hardest to solve issues. The pound rose by as much 0.5 percent on the hopes it would bring a breakthrough.

The EUs deadline to finalise the deal is the end of October. Meeting that would give EU governments enough time to ratify the agreement before the end of the transition period on December 31 and avoid no deal, which would mean trading on less lucrative WTO terms.

Michel Barnier will meet Mrs Merkel in Berlin on Monday. Germany holds the rotating six month Presidency of the EU, handing it an influential role as Brexit enters its endgame.

Robert Abela, the prime minister of Malta, spoke to Mr Barnier on the margins of today's European Council summit after the EU negotiator held talks with David Frost.

Mr Abela said he explained the "importance of having close relations between the two sides as well as of safeguarding the EU's interest.

The trade negotiations were overshadowed on Thursday after the commission launched legal action against the UK for breaching the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement with its Internal Market Bill.

The candidate to be the EUs next financial services commissioner said on Friday that Brussels will refuse the City of London access to the Single Market from next year, even if there is a trade deal, unless the UK sets out its plans to diverge from the blocs financial rules.

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TOKYO, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nippon Express de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (hereinafter "NE Mexico"), a local subsidiary of Nippon Express Co., Ltd. based in Tokyo, has completed construction of its Guanajuato-Apaseo Logistics Center within the Colinas de Apaseo Industrial Park in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, and will begin operations at this Center on Monday, October 5.



Logo:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202009295059/_prw_PI4fl_57WoSqv8.jpg

Photo1: Exterior view of new warehouse

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202009295059/_prw_PI1fl_a55JlU5K.jpg

Numerous automotive set manufacturers as well as supplier companies have set up operations in the State of Guanajuato, forming together with counterparts in nearby Aguascalientes, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi and other states in the Central Mexican Plateau (Bajio region) a major industrial cluster, and it is expected that customer demand for warehouse storage of automotive-related parts and materials will climb still further.

This new Center was designed in-house from the drawing board based on NE Mexico's accumulated know-how in automotive-related logistics and then specially constructed to accommodate such logistics, enabling the Center to provide high value-added services coupled to customers' production plans. Consolidating the existing locations at Queretaro and Salamanca, the Center should also bring about greater operational efficiency.

Highlights of the Guanajuato-Apaseo Logistics Center:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202009295059-O1-D6Iej3bB.pdf

Photo2: Side-open container

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202009295059/_prw_PI2fl_pdEd9fh1.jpg

Photo3: Interior view of new warehouse

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202009295059/_prw_PI3fl_LOIyWFf2.jpg

NE Mexico has established the Center to enhance its nationwide logistics services and especially the services it provides to the automotive industry, positioned as a priority industry in the Nippon Express Group's Medium-term Management Plan.

Profile of new warehouse:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202009295059-O2-JmM2V13D.pdf

Nippon Express website: http://www.nipponexpress.com/

Official LinkedIn Account: NIPPON EXPRESS GROUP

https://www.linkedin.com/company/nippon-express-group/



SOURCE Nippon Express Co., Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.nipponexpress.com


James Nana Wamba, the main suspect in the murder of Law Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh, has revealed that the victim was killed after he showed resistance in a robbery attempt on his residence.

According to the police, the suspect, who is also a cleaner at the late professors residence dubiously, acquired a duplicate key to the victims room.

In his confession, the suspect also admitted that the victim was gagged and hit with an iron rod after he screamed for help.

The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department, COP Ken Yeboah, disclosed this at a press conference on Friday, October 2.

Based on forensic evidence gathered from the crime scene, James Nana Wamba was subjected to further interrogation which made him break down and confess that he masterminded the murder of professor Yaw Benneh.

He (James Nana Wamba) mentioned names of suspects but has just changed and now mentioned someone else, and we are going to the crime scene. In fact, he has admitted that he committed the crime with one other person, he disclosed.

He (COP Ken Yeboah) further disclosed that during the operation, GHS450 from his wallet, two mobile phones and a desktop Computer CPU were retrieved from the suspect.

About prof Benneh's murder

Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh was killed on September 12, 2020, at his Adjirigano residence in Accra.

Police have confirmed Prof. Benneh's death to Citi News. He was found lying in a pool of blood in is home.

Police arrived at his residence with a crime scene investigation team from the Criminal Investigation Department's headquarters to commence investigations.

---citinewsroom
There is no excuse for a Louisiana State Police trooper to use foul language in the course of doing or discussing his or her job. More disturbing is hearing a trooper claim to beat the life out of someone. Yet a short audio clip indicates that happened.

Reporter Jim Mustian, of The Associated Press, obtained a 27-second audio clip of Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth saying I beat the ever-living f*** out of him, referencing the controversial and questionable May 2019 death of Ronald Greene in Union Parish.

Louisiana trooper recorded saying he beat the 'ever-living f---' out of Black man who then died In graphic, matter-of-fact chatter picked up on his body-camera mic, a Louisiana State trooper implicated in the death of a Black man can be h

Choked him and everything else trying to get him under control, Hollingsworth said in audio AP obtained through an intermediary, with confirmation from two law enforcement sources. Apparently, he was talking with a colleague. We finally got him in handcuffs when a third man got there, and the son of a b**** was still fighting him, was still wrestling with him trying to hold him down, he said. He was spitting blood everywhere and all of a sudden he just went limp.

This is most disturbing, especially since State Police didnt open an investigation until August and early reports were clearly inaccurate, leading us to question their veracity and transparency. Unfortunately, Hollingsworth died in a single-car crash off of I-20 hours after finding out that he was going to be fired.

The initial report did not indicate any confrontation with Greene, and officials told his family that his injuries were the result of him hitting a shrub/tree after he led them on a lengthy car chase about an unspecified traffic violation. That didnt satisfy Greenes family. Just recently, they released photographs of Greene and his car. The idea of a car crash as the cause of Greenes death took a hit because the photographs show Greene had facial bruises and scalp cuts and his vehicle had minor damage.

Gov. John Bel Edwards refused to comment until a State Police investigation ends. District Attorney John Belton, of the 3rd Judicial District in northern Louisiana, declined to comment. The FBI and other agencies are investigating.

Louisiana trooper who faced firing in Black man's death dies in 1-vehicle crash A Louisiana state trooper has died following a single-vehicle highway crash that happened just hours after he learned he would be fired for hi

Public confidence is declining, rapidly, as bits and pieces of information continue to poke holes in the State Police story about what happened. Greenes family filed a lawsuit, saying among other things that State Police did not mention a struggle between Greene and some of the six troopers on the scene, that his vehicles airbag did not deploy and that Greene not only walked away from the crash uninjured but apologized for the chase. Whether any of that is true can be confirmed with the release of the body cam video footage.

Greenes family has been joined by Monroe-area community activists, the Louisiana NAACP and national civil rights advocates calling for the release of the footage. We advocated for that, too.

The trooper audio makes what is already a bad situation even worse. No matter the status of the investigation, the State Police, and officials, owe the public the transparency that can only come with viewing of the footage.
Julian Assanges extradition hearing concluded yesterday as it began, with a denial of his legal right to a fair trial. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser refused to admit additional evidence on the US governments flagrant abuse of due process.

When the evidentiary phase of the hearing opened four weeks ago, Baraitser refused the defences request that she excise additional allegations made against Assange at the eleventh hour by US prosecutors, in a superseding indictment. She refused a subsequent application made by the defence for an adjournment, to allow them to respond to the new indictment. Her ruling yesterday renders any challenge to this all but impossible.

Speaking for the defence, Mark Summers QC applied for a new statement drafted by Assanges instructing solicitor and veteran human rights campaigner Gareth Peirce to be admitted as evidence. The statement detailed issues that would have been raised by way of evidence, explored by way of evidence and potentially raised by way of submissions if there had been more or sufficient time to respond to the fresh and different allegations. This would have provided the necessary basis for the defence to make arguments in their closing submission about the US governments abuse of due process.

Following an objection from the prosecution, Baraitser refused to admit the statement.

This is only the latest in a series of legal abuses perpetrated against Assange. Earlier in the day, Edward Fitzgerald QC summarised evidence submitted by Peirce of the multiple ways the US has disrupted and violated the preparation of the WikiLeaks founders case.

Her statements recount Assanges legally privileged material being seized from the [Ecuadorian] embassy after his arrest, the intrusion into legally privileged meetings between herself and Assange by US agencies and the chilling effect upon preparations for these extradition proceedings that these actions have triggered. She notes that no reassurance had been given by the US that the ongoing representation of Mr Assange has not been, is not being and will not be the subject of unlawful intrusion by US agencies.

Peirce has spent a long career fighting some of the most infamous cases of state criminality, including the frame-up of Judith Ward, the Guildford Four, the Birmingham Six, mineworkers during the 1984-85 miners strike, the police murder of Jean Charles de Menezes and multiple individuals held on terror charges. Peirces efforts to check the power, secrecy, and abuses of the state have proceeded amid the ever more complete transformation of the legal system into an instrument of imperialist barbarism.

This fact was underscored by Baraitsers second significant ruling yesterday, which held that a speech made by US Attorney General William Barr on September 16 also could not be admitted as evidence. In that speech, Barr confirmed his view that the Executive has virtually unchecked [prosecutorial] discretion. In other words, if President Trump wants to see Assange imprisoned for life, whether that is legal or not is irrelevant. The defence tried to introduce these comments into proceedings as evidence for their argument that Assanges prosecution is politically motivated.

Barrs speech was given as reports circulated of a phone call with federal prosecutors in which he told them to consider charging US protesters with sedition. The Attorney Generals September 16 speech was in line with this proposal. Both are directed towards the construction of a presidential dictatorship in preparation for a massive assault on the working class. Attempts to destroy Assange are intimately bound up with these moves towards dictatorial forms of rule in the American ruling class.

Baraitser said that Barrs speech seemed to be of the kind an Attorney General makes as a matter of routine. That the British judge should make such a statement and decision is no surprise. The first judge assigned to the extradition case against Assange was Emma Arbuthnot. It was later revealed that Arbuthnots husband and son were both intimately connected with the British security servicesher husband, the Conservative Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom, had in fact been named in documents released by WikiLeaks. In addition, Arbuthnot herself had received financial benefits from two partner organisations of the Foreign Office.

This blatant conflict of interest forced Arbuthnot to retreat from public view, but she has never declared that conflict and continues to be responsible for guiding junior judges in her jurisdiction. She has refused to recuse herself from the Assange proceedings. The day-to-day running of the case was passed to Baraitser.

Baraitser has since held Assange on remand for more than a year and has repeatedly denied him bail and applications for improved prison conditions. She announced yesterday that she will give her decision on Assanges extradition at 10 oclock in the morning on January 4, leaving him locked up in Belmarsh maximum security prison for another three months at terrible cost to his health. The defence will submit its closing submission in writing in four weeks time and the prosecution two weeks after that.

Baraitsers clear intention is to rubber-stamp the US extradition request under a veil of secrecy. Having expelled 40 trial monitorsincluding representatives of Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders and EU parliamentarianson the opening day of the hearing, Baraitser has since been able to count on the virtual censorship of proceedings by the corporate media.

The scene outside the court on Thursday (credit: Nathalie Avesta)

For the last four weeks evidence has been heard detailing a sickening catalogue of war crimes and torture, which would never have been proved if not for WikiLeaks and Assanges heroic journalism. Yet those war criminals and torturers are not in the dock, but Assange, who has been denied any voice in proceedings. In all this time, besides the lamest of editorials registering pro forma opposition to his extradition four weeks ago, the press has not batted an eyelid.

The same can be said of every member of Parliament, sitting less than three kilometres from the Old Bailey.

Only one conclusion can be drawn from the past month and that is the burning need for an intervention by the international working class in Assanges defence. The line-up against Assange by every section of the state, its judiciary, parliament and media, has revealed that the working class is the sole constituency for the defence of democratic rights. Over the next three months, the World Socialist Web Site and Socialist Equality Party will spare no effort in turning this social force toward a global struggle for the WikiLeaks founders freedom.
CM Yediyurappa's son Vijayendra tests positive for COVID-19

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

Bengaluru, Oct 02: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's younger son and state BJP Vice President B Y Vijayendra on Friday said he has tested positive for COVID-19.

"During a routine check-up, I tested positive for Covid-19.I am doing fine, asymptomatic, and have isolated myself. Request everyone who has come in contact with me recently to take precautions and stay safe," Vijayendra tweeted.

India's COVID-19 surges past 6.39 million, death toll crosses one lakh

Yogi Adityanath warns: Rapists will be destroyed | Oneindia News

Vijayendra couple of times in the past had gone into home quarantine when his father and BJP MP from Chamarajanagara V Srinivas Prasad were infected, as he had come in contact with them. Chief Minister Yediyurappa was infected by COVID in August and he was hospitalised for a few days before he recovered.
Wahl said there is a difference between actively trying to deceive law enforcement and law enforcement not being able to corroborate a report of a crime, and he said Bernstein and her family have been cooperative throughout the investigation.

We were unable to corroborate (Bernsteins story), but we are not speculating on what did and did not happen, he said. He also confirmed that Bernsteins injuries were consistent with being burned, and said she has offered no alternative explanation for what happened to her.

Police noted that Bernstein has been consistent in her description of the attack to friends and family, her phones GPS locations matched up with what she reported to police and her phone messages did not indicate an intent to deceive law enforcement or the public.

Frat boys

Bernstein told police she was driving her brothers 2007 Hyundai Elantra through Downtown following a date when she stopped at a stoplight, possibly on West Gorham Street at State Street, at around 1 a.m. June 24 and was approached by four white men, one of whom yelled a racial epithet.
An American bidet company is launching its own dating app where users can hopefully search for The One while sharing details about their bowel movements and bathroom habits.

Tushy, maker of attachable bidets, announced today that it will launch a dating app called Cheek2Cheek, where singles can swipe left and right to find a romantic partner and are encouraged to be upfront about their poop.

What's more, the company says it will pay up to $20,000 for a wedding for any couple that meets on the app.

You won't see this on Tinder! Tushy, maker of attachable bidets, announced today that it will launch a dating app called Cheek2Cheek

Love at first flush! Users can swipe and filter based on traditional criteria like age and location but are encouraged to share their bathroom habits

Cheek2Cheek, which will launch in beta on Apple iOS and Google Android in a few months, promises to be similar to other dating apps like Tinder and Bumble.

Users can filter out prospective matches on general criteria like age, gender, and location, and swipe left or right depending on their interest.

But the main difference here is that bathroom habits are put front and center.

While there are no specific prompts that users are required to answer, the makers encourage singles to be candid about their bowel movements, bathroom habits, and butt and gut health, if they so choose.

They even have the option to share photos of their poop.

'Considering how many people are now working from home because of the pandemic  and how much time they are spending in their bathrooms  we figured it would be a good time to announce Cheek2Cheek, a dating app for fecal aficionados,' Miki Agrawal, Founder of TUSHY, said in a press release.

Have a looky loo! Tushy will also pay up to $20,000 for the wedding of any couple that originally meets on the app

Agrawal notes that there are plenty of other niche dating apps, like for 'Tesla owners, sea captains, bacon lovers, and more,' so it seemed natural to create one for people concerned about their bowel movements

'People's bathroom habits and comfort levels of pooping in front of a partner can be very divisive for a relationship and this app can help hash out those issues once and for all,' Agrawal added.

'With Cheek2Cheek you will be able to meet someone with a similar comfortability level about pooping as you.

'You can also find someone with the same sized/shaped poops as you, bathroom etiquette as you, or just someone experiencing similar gut/butt health issues.

'Were excited for everyone to showcase their true poo-sonality and meet like-behinded people.'

One two users match with each other, they can meet for a date in real life or go virtual.

'Cheek2Cheek will offer a face-to-face video chat component for users who match and are interested in connecting while they squat on the toilet,' the press release explains.

While most people live by the idea that what happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom, Tushy is clearly hoping to make defecation less taboo.

To that end, and to encourage users to take the app seriously, they're offering to pay up to $20,000 for the wedding of any couple that originally meets on the app.
Theres a really legitimate concern that this is about womens lack of access to services.

 Sarah Hawkes, co-director of the Global Health 50/50 research group

In Her Words is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

In May, in a small village in Herat Province in Afghanistan, Sediqas husband came down with symptoms of Covid-19 and was taken to a hospital in Herat City for treatment. When he came home, 10 days later, Sediqa looked after him.

Within a week, she fell ill, too.

I had the same symptoms and day by day, it got worse, said Sediqa, whose last name has been omitted for fear of repercussions. I was feeling so weak, I didnt feel like eating or drinking.

But when she asked to go to a hospital, her husband refused. He said no way. He told me to sunbathe and drink more tea.
Xi Jinping's bid for world climate leadership might be more palatable if China were not building a new coal plant every two weeks or adding more gigawatts of coal power each year than the rest of the world combined.

In February, China's National Energy Administration relaxed its "traffic light system" on permitting for new coal plants, opening the way for a construction blitz in the early 2020s. The small province of Jiangxi has a green light to double its coal power capacity over the next five years, adding 22 gigawatts (GW) or "another Turkey". Ecologists call it the "green leap backwards".

At the same time China is pitching for supremacy in renewable technology and electric vehicles. This has more to do with the strategic ambitions of "Made in China 2025" than mitigating climate change.

China already burns half the world's coal, and it keeps building. Credit:AP

An EV run off coal power is dirtier than a Volkswagen diesel. A lithium battery manufactured at 1000 degrees centigrade in Xinyu's giant coal-fired facility in Jiangxi is a brown horror story. So are the steel towers built for wind turbines. Coal produces 66 per cent of China's power, and 57 per cent of total energy.
According to the data summed up at 21:00, Azerbaijan has suffered 540 casualties, has over 700 wounded servicemen, has lost nearly 45 armored vehicles and 6 planes, most of which were not shot down from the sky, as well as 3 helicopters and 6 UAVs. This is what representative of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan said during a briefing today.

The battles continued. The adversary changed its tactic to a certain extent several times in an attempt to carry out offensive operations. The Armenian Armed Forces are heroically thwarting all the strikes, making the adversary suffer dire losses in terms of armored vehicles, artillery and manpower force. Currently, the situation remains tense, the battles continue. The directions are the north and south. Our Armed Forces mainly continue defense, but they are also carrying out military operations of other nature in certain places, Hovhannisyan said.

Touching upon Azerbaijans tactic to target peaceful civilians, Hovhannisyan said the following: Unfortunately, the adversary has had this tactic for the past two to three days, targeting peaceful civilians with weapons of large calibers. Today the adversary struck Hadrut twice and Stepanakert twice with missiles, hurting a large number of peaceful civilians and causing damage to structures, civil defense institutions and infrastructures.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / October 2, 2020 / PJX Resources Inc. (TSXV:PJX) ("PJX" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the closing of its' previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") (see September 21, 2020 press release) for total proceeds of $1,230,800. The Company is pleased to announce the Offering was oversubscribed and the previously announced 25% overallotment option was undertaken.

Use of Proceeds

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for expenditures on its properties located in Cranbrook, British Columbia and for general working capital. The gross proceeds from the issuance of the Flow-through Shares shall be used to fund exploration expenditures on the Cranbrook Properties and will qualify as Canadian exploration expenses (as defined in the "Income Tax Act (Canada)").

John Keating, President and CEO of PJX commented, "PJX has consolidated 100% of the mineral rights to the largest land holdings of a potential new gold camp in Canada that we call the Vulcan Gold Belt. The gold belt occurs within the Sullivan base metal mining district. Historical focus on Sullivan type zinc, lead and silver mining is in part why the district's gold potential has been overlooked. The Vulcan Gold Belt fits modern geological models and criteria for the formation of a world class gold camp. PJX has already identified a pipeline of priority target areas to explore and drill with potential to make multiple gold discoveries. (see https://pjxresources.com/gold-discovery-potential.pdf)."

Highlights

Target type: Orogenic and Magmatic Gold Trend with Fort Knox (>5mm ozs), Telfer (>30 mm ozs), Sukhoi Log (>30mm ozs) and other deposit type potential.

Vulcan Gold Belt - only place in North America where two regional crustal penetrating structures associated with gold deposits and gold mining camps in Canada and the United States intersect.

Estimated 1.5 million ounces of placer gold produced since 1864 gold rush.

Significantly underexplored - no bedrock source of placer gold identified to date - fewer than 150 holes drilled for gold exploration on entire 60 km trend.

First time 100% owned mineral rights consolidated, covering 520 km.

PJX has a pipeline of gold, silver and base metal (copper, lead, zinc) targets - 20 large targets identified to date.

Gold Shear Property - high-grade David Gold Zone with historical resource is next to drill.

Gold Shear Property - Mapping and prospecting have traced the David Shear that hosts the high-grade David Gold Zone for over 2,000 metres along strike to date. Gold mineralization occurs with quartz veins along the shear that continues on to PJX's adjacent Eddy Property. Quartz vein grab samples from the shear range from anomalous to up to 256 g/t gold. PJX plans to drill at depth and on strike of the David Gold Zone to identify orogenic style structural dilations with potential to host widths and gold grades similar to Walbridge's Tabasco Zone in Quebec. (see Long Section Comparison)

The foregoing geological disclosure and content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by John Keating P.Geo. (qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). Mr. Keating is the President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of PJX.

Non-brokered Private Placement

The Company will, subject to TSXV Exchange approval, issue a cumulative total of 2,480,000 Flow-through Units ("Flow-Through Units") issued at a price of $0.15 per Flow-Through Unit for gross proceeds of $372,000, and 6,870,400 Units at a price of $0.125 per Unit for gross proceeds of $858,800 (cumulative proceeds of $1,230,800.

Each Flow-through Unit consists of one common share to be issued as a "flow-through share" within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Flow-through Shares") and one common share purchase warrant. Each Unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each common share purchase warrant, whether acquired as part of a Flow-through Unit or Unit, entitles the holder to purchase one common share at an exercise price of $0.20 for 24 months following completion of the Offering.

The closing of the Offering constituted a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101") as certain insiders of the company subscribed for 840,000 Units and 80,000 Flow-Through Units. The Company is relying on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the participation in the Offering by insiders does not exceed 25% of the market capitalization of the company, as determined in accordance with MI 61-101.

Certain eligible persons (the "Finders"), subject to TSXV Exchange approval, will be paid aggregate cash finder's commissions of $50,980 and 301,120 non-transferable Finder's common share purchase warrants in connection with the Offering. Each of the Finder's common share purchase warrants entitles the Finder to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.20 per common share for 24 months following completion of the Offering.

All securities issued as part of the Offering are subject to a statutory four month hold period.

About PJX Resources Inc.

PJX is a mineral exploration company focused on building shareholder value and community opportunity through the exploration and development of mineral resources with a focus on gold. PJX's primary properties are located in the historical mining area of Cranbrook and Kimberley, British Columbia.

Please refer to our web site http://www.pjxresources.com for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Linda Brennan, Chief Financial Officer

(416) 799-9205

info@pjxresources.com

Forward-Looking Information

This News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements which relate to future events. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to exploration results, the success of exploration activities, mine development prospects, completion of economic assessments, and future gold production. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential", or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, level 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.

Although PJX 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 forward-looking 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.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: PJX Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/608948/PJX-Resources-Closes-Private-Placement
Coronavirus testing at Dodger Stadium. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The coronavirus has battered the economy and cost many people their jobs, but for dozens of Los Angeles Fire Department employees assigned to COVID-19 test sites, the pandemic has delivered a bonanza in overtime pay.

There are guys making more in a month than a teacher makes in a year, said an LAFD official who questioned the exorbitant payouts at a time when Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has taken bows for providing free COVID testing at several city locations, has told top city managers to prepare for possible layoffs and other cost cutting.

The numbers are shocking, said the official, who reached out to me but requested anonymity. He directed me to city records showing that numerous LAFD personnel have repeatedly been credited with 10, 16 and even 24 hours a day of overtime since they started pulling COVID duty shifts, even though test sites are generally open only from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Of course we all appreciate the heroic work of firefighters who routinely risk their lives, especially when half of California is in flames, and a lot of them aren't pulling any COVID duty. Also, the payroll records don't show whether all the overtime paid out to the firefighters the source named was for COVID work. But in my cruise through city payroll records, I found staggering payouts to LAFD personnel whose primary role when they work at testing sites is to open the facilities, close them, deliver results to a lab, replenish supplies and keep tabs on the equipment.

LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas acknowledged in an interview that the COVID overtime payouts totaled more than $7 million in the first half of this year, and estimated the total could now be as high as $14 million. As for the first $7 million, he said about 75% of that was reimbursed by the federal government. He lauded his departments role in the testing and defended the overtime costs as a valuable public service.

But the chief also told me he is now conducting his own internal audit based on the whistleblower allegations and my questions about them.

Story continues

I got tested at the Dodger Stadium site last week, and it was hard to see why paramedic and emergency training would be necessary for any of the workers at the test sites. It's not like firefighters administer the tests. You pull in, someone hands you a test kit, you run a swab through your mouth, dump the kit into a barrel and drive away.

Do we really need some of the citys highest paid and specially trained employees to do that work, often at time-and-a-half pay, in the middle of a fiscal emergency in which thousands of city employees are being furloughed and tens of thousands of civilians have lost their jobs?

According to city payroll documents, two fire captains identified by the source as working a lot of COVID shifts each made more than $200,000, in overtime pay alone, between March 28 and Sept. 12. Theres no breakdown as to how much of that overtime pay was for COVID duty, but I did see duty sheet records showing that the two men have frequently worked test sites.

In a single month, ending Sept. 12, one assistant fire chief who does a lot of COVID duty raked in more than $70,000 in overtime pay, according to the payroll records, or just above the median annual household income in L.A. County.

I checked payroll records for 25 LAFD employees who frequently were assigned to COVID testing duty, and found a total overtime payout to them of nearly $2.7 million since late March, for an average of more than $100,000 apiece. And they all earned their regular pay on top of that.

None of this sat well with one LAFD civilian employee, who dug through records and estimated that the COVID duty overtime payout was up to $12 million. The employee wrote a whistleblower letter challenging the legitimacy of some overtime claims, and noting that civilian LAFD employees face furloughs in the midst of the cash haul by their firefighting colleagues, who already make a lot more in salary.

Many people are getting paid for hours they could not possibly be working because I see them leave for the day but the overtime is still entered in the computer as hours worked. The hours are not documented anywhere, its the total honor system, but without any honor or integrity at all, the whistleblower wrote in the letter, which was shared with me, and which I was given permission to show to City Controller Ron Galperin.

Galperin was concerned enough by what was in the letter to launch an audit.

This is troubling and its disturbing, but its not surprising, said Galperin. He ripped city officials for not acting on his overtime reform recommendations last November, when an audit by the city controller revealed that $470 million in overtime was paid across all city departments in the year ending in June 2019. At the top of that list, with $192 million in overtime payouts, was the city fire department.

In perusing city records, I found numerous instances in which firefighters were paid for as much as 200, 300 and even 400 hours in overtime for single two-week pay periods. Thats partly because the department allows employees to gather overtime credits and then cash them in later, but its also because so much overtime is available.

My source told me firefighters often bank overtime credits until they get a raise or a promotion, and then redeem them when their value is higher. Regardless of the details, employees often double their salaries with overtime payments.

Its not just a question of money, said Galperin. Its also really unhealthy, its unsafe and unwise to be working that many hours.

I forwarded questions about all of this to Mayor Garcetti and got a written response from Deputy Mayor Jeff Gorell, which said in part that firefighters have been working around the clock on Garcettis nation leading program, and 1.5 million Angelenos have been tested so far.

We know this work takes an extraordinary amount of resources, Gorell said.

Terrazas said the majority of firefighters assigned to test sites ordinarily have desk jobs, so of the 60 or so on COVID testing each day, only about 10 are being pulled from station duty.

He said that while the majority of workers at test sites are civilians who work for a nonprofit co-founded by actor Sean Penn, firefighters are responsible for setting up the facilities, transporting and maintaining supplies and delivering tests to laboratories, all of which begins before test sites open and continues long after theyre closed.

Supervisors monitor overtime, the chief said, and assistant fire chief Ellsworth Fortman manages COVID testing.

Since March, according to payroll records, Fortman has logged 780 hours of OT, at a rate of $80 an hour, for a total of of $62,442.58.

Fortman defended the extra pay, saying that while overtime hours for him and others may be high, testing involves a massive daily undertaking, with firefighters working at six drive-through sites and three walk-in sites, and testing employees from various agencies, including LAX, the ports, and recreation and parks.

We run testing six days a week and sometimes Sundays, along with mobile testing depending on the need, Fortman said. Its a huge commitment and the overtime hours may be high  but Im proud of what our people are doing.

But I wonder, still, if we need firefighters on this assignment, often at time and a half, when so many others are struggling to survive and hungry for work. And I wonder if equipment needs to be hauled all over the city every day rather than have civilians drop by local fire stations or other public facilities for tests.

These are firefighters, my source in the fire department said. We should have shut down testing for a week and sent them all up to help out with the Bobcat fire. Its in our backyard.

Steve.lopez@latimes.com





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Aligarh : , Oct 2 (IANS) The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) continues to celebrate its centenary year by getting its academic credentials recognized, both, at international and national levels.

The AMU has now been placed sixth among the best Indian universities by 'The Week-Hansa Research Survey 2020', a performance assessment of universities across the country.

The AMU is placed in the list of top universities of the survey with a score of 654 based on parameters such as teaching, research, citations, industry income and the national and international outlook.

Vice Chancellor, Prof. Tariq Mansoor expressed satisfaction over the performance and said that the achievement is all the more significant as the university is observing its 100th year of existence.

He attributed the achievement to high-quality teaching, relevant and focused research of the highest quality and improved perception of the university, and hoped to improve the performance in the coming years.

Professor M.Salim Beg (Chairman, Committee for Ranking) said that the performance reflects AMU's growing presence and outreach. He added that it is for the second consecutive year that AMU has maintained the sixth position in the rankings.
Nancy Pelosi is not being serious when it comes to the negotiations, she said.

The acrimonious impasse persisted even as several industries, notably airlines, were running into severe financial constraints as the virus showed no sign of abating and people avoided traveling. Without the promise of congressional aid, United Airlines and American Airlines began furloughs of 30,000 workers on Thursday. The Labor Department reported Thursday that 787,000 Americans filed for state unemployment benefits for the first time last week, figures  unadjusted for seasonal variations  that are about four times the weekly tally of claims from before the pandemic.

In a 90-minute meeting on Wednesday in Ms. Pelosis office, Mr. Mnuchin put forward a $1.6 trillion offer, which Ms. Pelosi rejected as inadequate.

Were hopeful that we can reach an agreement because the needs of the American people are great, Ms. Pelosi said. But there has to be a recognition that it takes money to do that, and it takes the right language to make sure its done right.

The measure House Democrats pushed through contained many of the elements of their original $3.4 trillion stimulus plan, although lawmakers curtailed how long some provisions would last. In an effort to scale back the cost, lawmakers also halved their original proposal of nearly $1 trillion for state, local and tribal governments.

Democrats maintained a provision that would revive a lapsed $600-a-week enhanced federal unemployment benefit and another that would send an additional round of $1,200 stimulus checks to Americans. (Mr. Mnuchin said on Wednesday that if an agreement were struck, it would likely include another round of stimulus checks.)

They also included $225 billion for schools and $57 billion for child care, an extension of an expiring program intended to prevent the layoffs of airline workers through March 31, and the creation of a $120 billion program to bolster restaurants struggling to survive.

Ms. Pelosi insisted that approval of the Democratic plan would not signal the end of negotiations, telling reporters that it just says that this is how we came down from the package approved in May.
And then there are those who are completely asymptomatic. The Newport GP recounted an incident in mid-August when a woman came to his clinic for a COVID-19 test before visiting a sick relative in Lebanon. Newport GP Dr Hanna El-Khoury Credit:Scott McNaughton The woman felt healthy and, when pressed, could not recall experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms aside from a minor muscle ache, which she put down to a long walk. "She was positive," he said. "She did not believe it and said, 'it is probably false positive', and then she did another test and it was also positive."

Loading Doctors are also coming across unusual symptoms. Before the pandemic, Dr Pietas Nyamayaro rarely encountered chilblains. But during the peak of Victorias second wave of coronavirus, the Newport GP saw at least one patient a week with the painful red sores on their toes. "I have been working for 24 years and this year I have never seen so many chilblains," she said.

Scientists believe the chilblain-like lesions may be linked to an asymptomatic or mild coronavirus infection. Dr Nyamayaro has also treated patients she suspects are living with the long-term health effects of the coronavirus. Some of these patients never received an official diagnosis because they did not meet the previous strict criteria for testing. "One of my patients became ill in April and had symptoms of a cold with a cough," she said. "She did not meet the criteria for testing because she did not have a fever. She now has fibrosis, which is scarring of the lungs. She has a cough and a rattly chest."

Catherine Orr, who has treated more than 100 Victorians infected with coronavirus, said that while GPs can somewhat predict who will become very unwell (the elderly and those who are obese, have heart disease or diabetes), young and otherwise healthy individuals were also ending up in hospital. One of her patients, an international student in her early 20s, was rushed to hospital by ambulance after her situation deteriorated rapidly. Dr Catherine Orr has treated more than 100 patients with COVID-19 Credit:Justin McManus "She was speaking quite normally and then the next day, she couldn't get out of the bed," Dr Orr recalled. "She had become seriously unwell between 4pm and 10am the next day. So unwell that we called a lights-and-sirens ambulance and she went straight into ICU."

The West Melbourne GP has also learnt that there's a cohort of coronavirus patients with mild symptoms that can persist for months. Loading "These are people who haven't necessarily had a severe illness and been admitted to hospital, but they have persistent symptoms: fatigue, chest pain, shortness of breath," she said. Dr Billy Stoupas is puzzled by the erratic transmission of COVID-19. One of Dr Stoupas' patients tested positive to COVID-19 and had to quarantine with her husband for two weeks.

"Her husband never developed it, which was amazing," he said. "That was a bit of an eye-opener for me about transmission. You would think the person she lived with would also be positive." The Oakleigh GP has also learnt about the fear coronavirus can engender  something he has experienced firsthand. Dr Stoupas is the father of an 18-month-old girl and is terrified of bringing the virus home. "I was worried at the end of the day, taking off my scrubs and making sure everything was washed at 60 degrees," he said. "You may not hold your little one straight away. You are worried when your child gets a runny nose at childcare."
In the patois of punditry, charismatic has come to mean little more than like a rock star. But the striking thing about the charismatic leader is the extent to which his followers regard him as a healer of wounds, an alleviator of pain. In this sense, surely, Senator Barack Obama is charismatic. The carefully knotted ties and the dark, conservatively tailored suits only accentuate the exoticness of his shamanism; he has entered the American psyche not as a hero but as a healer.

The country, or much of it, has longed for such a figure, a man from the once-oppressed race whose rise to power will atone for the sins of slavery and racial stigmatization. But Obamas rhetoric encompasses more than a promise of racial healing. He is not the first politician to argue that politics can redeem us, but in posing as the Adonis who will turn winter into spring, he revives one of the more pernicious political swindles: the belief that a charismatic leader can ordain a civic happy hour and give a people a sense of community that will make them feel less bad.

In his unfinished treatise Economy and Society, Max Weber defined charisma as a certain quality in an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. Weber was able to do little more, before he died in 1920, than give a pseudoscientific elan to an idea that had been kicking around for centuries. Most of what he said about charismatic authority was stated more cogently in Book III of Aristotles Politics, which described the great-souled man who may truly be deemed a God among men and who, by virtue of his greatness, is exempt from ordinary laws.

What both Aristotle and Weber made too little of is the mentality of the charismatic leaders followers, the disciples who discover in him, or delusively endow him with, superhuman qualities. Charisma was originally a religious term signifying a gift of God: it often denotes (according to the seventeenth-century scholar-physician John Bulwer) a miraculous gift of healing. James G. Frazer, in The Golden Bough, demonstrated that the connection between charismatic leadership and the melioration of suffering was historically a close one: many primitive peoples believed that the magical virtues of a priest-king could guarantee the soils fertility and that such a leader could therefore alleviate one of the most elementary forms of suffering, hunger. The identification of leadership with the mitigation of pain persists in folklore and myth. In the Arthurian legends, Percival possesses an extraordinary magic that enables him to heal the fisher king and redeem the waste land; in England, the touch of the monarchs hand was believed to cure scrofula.

It is a sign of growing maturity in a people when, laying aside these beliefs, it acknowledges that suffering is an element of life that sympathetic magic cannot eradicate, and recognizes a residue of pain in existence that even the application of technical knowledge cannot assuage. Advances in knowledge may end particular kinds of suffering, but these give way to new forms of hurtmilder, perhaps (one would rather be depressed than famished), yet not without their sting. We do not draw closer to a painless world.

One of the objects of a mature political philosophy is to reconcile people to the painful limitations of their condition. The American Founders recognized this, as did the English statesmen who presided at the Revolution of 1688: they rejected utopianism. And yet, precisely because they knew that human beings are by nature far from perfect, they allowed a degree of scope, in their constitutional settlements, for the mysterious, quasi-magical qualities that Weber associated with charismarather as an architect, as a concession to human frailty, might omit the number 13 when labeling the floors of a building. The magic of the post-1688 English constitution, Walter Bagehot observed, lay in the pageantry of the monarchy, a relic of the mysterious grace of the healer-redeemer chiefs of old. The American Founders, after experimenting with weaker forms of executive power, created the presidency, an office spacious enough for a charismatic leader to work his wizardry but narrow enough to prevent delusory overreaching.

Unlike the English Whigs and the American Founders, the modern liberal regards suffering not as an unavoidable element of life but as an aberration to be corrected by up-to-date political, economic, and hygienic arrangements. Rather than acknowledge the limitations of our condition, the liberal continually contrives panaceas that will enable us to transcend it.

Barack Obama, in taking up the part of regenerative healer, is the latest panacea. As a society, Obama says, we are hurting. Our schools are crumbling. There are lines in the emergency rooms of the hospitals, and our corporate culture is rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed. He points to the millions of Americans who, in struggling with lifes difficulties (high gas bills, insufficient health insurance, and a pension that some bankruptcy court somewhere has rendered unenforceable), have become bitter and unhappy. Obama finds a scapegoat for the present discontents in politicsa politics, he argues, that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism and that has become a dead zone in which narrow interests vie for advantage and ideological minorities seek to impose their own versions of absolute truth.

The solution, he says, lies in a political reformation. Unless we begin the process of changing politics and our civic life, we will bequeath to our children a weaker and more fractured America than the one we inherited. Hence his mantra, Change we can believe in. Like the Nicene Creed, Obamas doctrine begins in belief. Credo. Once we believe in the possibility of a transformative politics, the perfection begins. The selfish politics of the present yields to the selfless politics of the future. We discover that this nation is more than the sum of its partsthat out of many, we are truly one. So believing, we can replace a politics that breeds division, conflict, and cynicism with a politics that fosters unity and peace. In Obamas project of national renewal, government can become an expression of our communal values, our sense of mutual responsibility and social solidarity.

Even as Obama suggests that a new communitarianism can heal Americas pain and change American lives, radically and for the better, he is careful to anticipate the charge of utopian delusion. Government, he tells people, cannot solve all their problems. But presumably it can solve most of them.

The danger of Obamas charismatic healer-redeemer fable lies in the hubris it encourages, the belief that gifted politicians can engender a selfless communitarian solidarity. Such a renovation of our national life would require not only a change in constitutional structurethe current system having been geared to conflict by the Founders, who believed that the clash of private interests helps preserve libertybut also a change in human nature. Obamas conviction that it is possible to create a beautiful politics, one in which Americans will selflessly pursue a shared vision of the common good, recalls the belief that Dostoyevsky attributed to the nineteenth-century Russian revolutionists: that, come the revolution, all men will become righteous in one instant. The perfection would begin.

In rejecting the Anglo-American politics of limits, Obama revives a political tradition that derives ultimately from Niccolo Machiavelli. In the Discourses on Livy and The Art of War, Machiavelli argued that it is possible to create a communitarian republic like the one whose outlines he glimpsed in Livys (highly romanticized) version of Roman historya polity in which citizens, forsaking their own swinish pursuits, would become happy in the pursuit of a common good. Wise laws, he maintained, would make citizens love one another. The virtuous res publica of the Romans could be conjured anew.

To liberate a people from the bondage of pain and establish a new communal order, a statesman must possess, Machiavelli argued, a kind of charisma he called virtu. He described the most charismatic statesman with whom he was (personally) acquainted, Cesare Borgia, in Weberian terms, as one who exhibits a fortune unheard of, a virtu and confidence [so much] more than human that he can attain all he desires.

Jacob Burckhardt credited the luminaries of the Italian Renaissance with envisioning the state as a work of art. More tragically, they envisioned it as a machinery of redemption. Machiavellis prince was the first intimation of a modern charismatic type, the demiurge who used a demonic virtu to overcome divisive self-seeking in the name of social solidarity. Self-interest led to market capitalism and alienation; civic selflessness led to public-spirited communitarianism and happiness. The Machiavellian vocabulary, the historian J. G. A. Pocock argued in The Machiavellian Moment, became the vehicle of a basically hostile perception of early modern capitalism. Machiavelli rejected the commercial ethos (predicated on the pursuit of private interest) that the leading Anglo-American statesmen sought to encourage.

In doing so, he anticipated modernitys childish dream of an anodyne world. His communitarian state is the prototype of the workers paradises of Marx and Lenin and the Nordic Valhallas of Hitler and Houston Stewart Chamberlain. His influence is evident in both the enlightened despot celebrated by the Continental philosophes and the socialist wizard admired by intellectuals like Edmund Wilson, who hailed Marx as a mix of Prometheus and Lucifer, a heroically diabolic figure who could redeem the waste land of modern capitalism, the forerunner of Lenin and Stalin, Castro and Mao. The Machiavellian ideal of a communitarian paradise haunts, too, the welfare-state philosophy that Bismarck (for his own cynical reasons) promoted when he established the worlds first Wohlfahrtsstaat, a model for socialists in Germany and welfare-state liberals in England and the United States.

In breathing fresh life into Machiavellis communitarian daydream, Obama revives a style of charismatic leadership that fell out of favor in the United States after the death of FDR. Of the three presidents since 1945 most often regarded as possessing charismatic qualities, the first, Kennedy, was a tax cutter who questioned liberal utopianism when he said that life is not fair, and the second, Reagan, sought to curb the hubris of New Deal etatisme. The third, Clinton, said that he could feel our pain but retreated from his pledge to heal it when he scrapped a plan to nationalize medicine. Obama, by contrast, is faithful to the old-style charismatics, whose slogans (social solidarity, for example) he has taken out of cold storage.

Of course, he would not have gotten far had he simply defrosted the ideas of Henry Wallace and George McGovern. Obamas charisma is tuned to the mood of the moment. The charisma of American political leaders has typically rested on images of unflinching strength and masculine authority: Teddy Roosevelt in the North Dakota Badlands; Kennedy, the naval hero whose sexual prowess was acknowledged even in his Secret Service code name (Lancer); Reagan, the man on horseback whom the Secret Service called Rawhide. Obamas charisma, by contrast, is closer to what critic Camille Paglia has identified with todays television talk-show culture, in which admissions of weakness are offered as proof of empathetic qualities. Talk-show culture is occupied with the question of why we feel so bad, when it is our right under the liberal dispensation to feel eternally good. The man who would succeed in such a culture must appear to sympathize with these obscure hurts; he must take pains, Paglia writes in Sexual Personae, to appear an androgyne, the nurturant male or male mother.

Obama, in gaming this culture, has figured out a new way to bottle old wine. He knows that experience has taught Americans to suspect the masculine healer-redeemer who bears collectivist gifts; no one wants to revive the caudillos of the thirties. Studiously avoiding the tough-hombre style of earlier charismatic figures, he phrases his vision in the tranquilizing accents of Oprah-land. His charisma is grounded in empathy rather than authority, confessional candor rather than muscular strength, metrosexual mildness rather than masculine testosterone. His power of sympathetic insight is said to be uncanny: Everybody whos dealt with him, columnist David Brooks says, has a story about a time when they felt Obama profoundly listened to them and understood them. His two books are written in the empathetic-confessional mode that his most prominent benefactress, Oprah, favors; he is her political healer in roughly the same way that Dr. Phil was once her pop-psychology one. The collectivist dream, Obama instinctively understands, is less scary, more sympathetic, when served up by mama (or by mama in drag).

With the triumph of Obamas post-masculine charisma, the patriarchal collectivism of the New Deal has finally given way to a new vision of liberal community, the empathetic mommy-state that Balzac prophesied in La Comedie humaine. The leader of the future, Balzac foresaw, would be a man who, like his diabolically charismatic Jacques Collin, possesses a capacity for maternal love. When his protege Lucien dies, Collin exclaims: This blow has been more than death to me, but you cant understand what Im saying. . . . If youre fathers, youre only that and no more. . . . Im a mother, too! Collin ends his career as a functionary of the stateand a policeman. The Grand Inquisitor of the future, Balzac intimates, will undertake his inquisitions in the name of matriarchal pity.

Yet if Obama has made redemptive communitarianism attractive in an age of sagging sperm counts, he has done nothing to correct the underlying flaw of the collectivist ideal: its incompatibility with the older morality of limits. The politics of consensus that Obama favors is incompatible with the Founders adversarial system, which permits those whom he disparages as ideological minorities to take stands on principle that, at times, frustrate the national consensus. Obama makes it clear that there is no place, in the politics he advocates, for those absolutists who would defy the community. The ideological core of todays GOP, he writes, is absolutism, not conservatism, an absolutism driven by those who prize absolute truth over communal values. This commitment to absolute truth, he argues, stands in the way of a politics that can solve our problems and change our lives.

Obama goes so far as to argue that the Constitution itself is a rejection of absolute truth. His moral relativism is intimately bound up with his conviction that we can transcend those limitations in human nature that the Founders acknowledged when they drafted the Constitution. This rejection of older moral standards, Machiavelli observed, is a tactical necessity for the charismatic redeemer. It is not simply that adherence to the Wests traditional morality would prevent such a leader from being properly ruthless in the pursuit of his ideal; it is that the old morality, with its emphasis on the limits of mans fallen condition, makes his communitarian paradise seem quixotican instance of utopian overreaching.

Machiavelli was ready with a solution. He helped prepare the way for the politics of redemptive healing by working to overturn the older morality. In particular, he undermined the Wests most potent myth of diabolic amorality and delusory hubris. Two years after he completed The Prince, Machiavelli composed a fable, Belfagor, or the Devil Who Took a Wife, in which he ridiculed the idea that the devil can take possession of a mans mind and corrupt those around him. In assuming (correctly) that the diabolic qualities of his redemptive prince would be easier to swallow once the devil himself became a joke, Machiavelli blazed a path that Voltaire, Diderot, Goethe, and Shaw afterward trod. No one fears the devil that Voltaire refused to renounce on his deathbed. (This is no time to be making enemies, he jested.) Goethes Mephistopheles is charming, as is Shaws (in Man and Superman). Even those characters whom modern European artists have intended to be diabolic (such as Balzacs Collin) arouse sympathy in a way that older devil-characters (Shakespeares Iago, for example) do not.

Dostoyevsky was among the few who grasped the momentousness of the change that Machiavelli initiated in the Wests conception of diablerie. Near the end of The Brothers Karamazov, he describes an encounter between the devil and Ivan Karamazov. The devil appears, not with claws and horns, but in the guise of an elegant man of the world: he phrases his mordant taunts in French and laughs at modern intellectuals who believe that he doesnt exist or who worry that to admit his existence would harm their progressive image. Dostoyevsky implied that it was precisely when the devil became a wit that the intellectual classes of the West succumbed to the most familiar form of diabolic temptation: the belief that men can transcend the limits of their condition and be as godsdemiurges with the power to heal the worlds pain and reshape it in accordance with a beautiful idea.

Obama has revived a cruel mirage, but the good news is that the country has defenses against his brand of redemptive politics. Some of these defenses are constitutional, others cultural. The very strength of Americas religious ideal of redemption has restrained, though it has not entirely forestalled, the development of alternative secular ideals of redemption. A religiously inspired belief in original sin has made Americans wary of succumbing to the Pelagian notion that a mere mortal, however charismatic, can build the New Jerusalem out of purely secular materials. The countrys constitutional system, itself founded on the theory of original sin, has created a perpetual conflict of factions and interests that so far has prevented any single party from imposing a monolithic unity from above, such as Europes collectivists were able to do.

And then there is Old Nick, the Wests traditional symbol of evil, who has retained a good deal more apotropaic power on these shores than in Europe. A 1991 survey by the International Social Survey Programme found that 45.4 percent of Americans believed in the devil (61 percent, according to a 2005 Harris poll), compared with 20.4 percent of Italians, 12.5 percent of Russians, 9.5 percent of West Germans, and 3.6 percent of East Germans. We often read about differences between America and Europe with respect to belief in God, but differences with respect to belief in diabolic evil may be even more revealing. It is significant that belief in the devil is lowest in those countries (Russia and Germany) that suffered, during the twentieth century, most acutely from forms of evil that might without exaggeration be called diabolic. Europeans, it may be, have proved more susceptible to the element of diabolic temptation in charismatic leadership precisely because they are less likely to believe in the reality of diabolic evil.

Still, its hard to deny that Obama has found a weakness in Americas defenses. His post-masculine charisma is likely to flourish in a political environment that has come to resemble not only a TV talk show but a TV reality show, in which the candidate rarely escapes the cameras eye. The masculine leader of old had to conceal his weaknesses. I rather tell thee what is to be feared, Shakespeare has Julius Caesar say, than what I fear, for always I am Caesar. When scrutiny was less intense, the man on horseback could hope to get away with it. Shakespeares Cassius laments that the public never knew how weak Caesar really was:

He had a fever when he was in Spain,



And when the fit was on him, I did mark



How he did shake; tis true, this god did shake . . .

Today a camera would capture the image of the shaking god. Superman, Norman Mailer said in his famous essay on Kennedy, can thrive in the supermarketbut in cable TV and YouTube, the Ubermensch may finally have met his match.

Meanwhile, the very images of frailty that undermine the masculine leaders pose of strength help the practitioner of the new post-masculine charisma, whose object is to appear humanall too human. Softness has become an asset for candidates who have molded themselves on the exhibitionist model of the Oprah matriarchy.

Hence Obamas spectacular rise. But Obama-mania is bound in the end to disappoint. Not only does it teach us to despise our political systems wise recognition of human imperfection and the pursuit of private happiness; it encourages us to seek for perfection where we will not find it, in politics, in the hero worship of a charismatic shaman, in the speciousness of a secular millennium. Lacking the moral parables that made our ancestors wary of those delusions in which overweening pride is apt to involve us, we pursue false gods and turn away from traditions that really can help us make sense of our condition.

Top Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
AMHERST  During the first half-year of COVID-19 pandemic, the towns positive test count rose slowly, reaching 139 by Sept. 2, but in this past month, 80 new cases were reported  a 58% jump in 30 days  with 219 cumulative cases as of Oct. 2.

Amherst municipal officials and University of Massachusetts officials say they are doing their best to deal with the spike of cases.

Massachusetts Department of Public Health does not provide data on COVID-19 deaths for each community, but does update case counts each week of those infected with disease. The recent spike in Amherst is related to case counts, not deaths.

Federal government data shows the older a person is  especially those with preexisting health problems  the more likely COVID-19 is a contributing factor if not outright cause of death.

This data shows less than 0.2% of those of college age die from the disease, of all that are infected; the rate is 0.03% for those less than 15 years old. It is 92% of deaths for those 55 and older.

Data published on the Amherst municipal public health webpage says there are currently 72 laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases in town, out of a running total of 219.

The relatively sudden increase in cases in the Town is of significant concern. We have dozens of people who are experiencing the illness, and our first priority is that those who have COVID-19 are isolating safely and with support. Most of this increase is related to a specific event. We continue to work closely with the University to monitor and manage these cases, Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman said in an email statement Friday.

Data published by University of Massachusetts-Amherst COVID-19 dashboard says there currently is 1 positive case among on-campus students, none for on-campus faculty, or staff; and 74 for off-campus students, 4 for staff, and 2 off-campus faculty.

The school total, of 81, represent Confirmed Cases of COVID-19, the webpage says.

The states DPH count for Amherst on Wednesday showed 181 cases; the town on Friday morning said there are now 219 cumulative cases (since March), a 21% increase in two days.

UMass on Thursday issued a statement to the college community saying: The university is working closely with Town of Amherst public health officials to monitor the matter and do continued outreach to students to deter spread of the coronavirus. This includes a comprehensive educational program as well as neighborhood Knock and Talks in which UMass and town representatives follow up on complaints to emphasize appropriate behavior and share information on safe gatherings.

In a separate message to all student Oct. 1, Brandi Hephner LaBanc, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life wrote: I want to reiterate my thanks to the thousands of students who heard the call and are coming in for testing and are cooperating with contact tracers. Please continue doing so, and keep practicing social distancing and wearing a mask. I will leave with you the brilliant words of Taylor Martin-Graham, UMass class of 21 and team leader in our Peer Health Ambassador Network: Now more than ever UMass is ready to do this. Together. Each of us is accountable for our part. Together we can show each other how much what youre doing helps. There is no revolution without u and i.

Massachusetts is experiencing an increase in the spread of the virus and some of the recent positive cases in our community are likely a result of hosting out-of-town visitors. The pandemic makes what was once commonplace much more challenging; we have to re-think how we interact with those we care about, she wrote.

According to a Center for Disease Control and Prevention report last updated on Wednesday, a total of 194,091 that perished this year in United States involve deaths with confirmed or presumed COVID-19.

Of this total, 1,513 deaths are in the age group from 15 to 24 years old, or 0.18% of the US population, a category that includes most college-age students.

Those 55 and older represent 177,804 of the deaths, or 91.6%, according to the CDC data published Sept. 30.

Only 67 of the 194,091 deaths were those less than 15 years old, or 0.03%, the CDC report says.
WILLIAMSPORT -- Three of the men responsible in part for a rash of heroin overdoses in Lycoming County in 2017 are facing more than 12 years in prison each.

Nathan Crowder Jr., 32, Wayne Saquon Davidson, 27, and Markeese Askew, 27, pleaded guilty Thursday and Friday in U.S. Middle District Court to a charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

They admitted distributing more than 100 grams of a mixture of heroin and carfentanil between October 2016 and July 2017. Askew also admitted selling crystal methamphetamine.

Four of those who bought drugs as part of the conspiracy nearly died after overdosing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan V. Martin said in outlining the evidence.

Those overdoses occurred in late June 2017 when UPMC Susquehanna in Williamsport and Wellsboro reported treating 51 such cases within a 48-hour period.

There were three confirmed deaths at that time but none are attributed to the three defendants.

The government had sought permission to introduce evidence of the deaths had the three opted for a trial.

Raymond Howard also was indicted in the case but has chosen to stand trial. Jury selection is scheduled later this month.

The plea agreements specify the three are to receive sentences in the range of 12 years, 3 months to 17 years, 6 months. The maximum term of the charge is 30 years.

They will be permitted to withdraw their guilty pleas if Judge Matthew W. Brann does abide by those sentencing ranges. All three have previous drug convictions.

Crowder, Davidson and Askew obtained heroin in Philadelphia and used cell phones to arrange distribution locations, relay information about law enforcement and to share information on the price and demand for drugs.

Martin in her recitation of the evidence detailed undercover buys and provided information about those who overdosed.

Howard is facing the same conspiracy charge along with a count of possession of a controlled substance.

READ MORE: Two hospitals treat 51 for heroin overdoses in 48 hours
Deputy Central Regional Minister, Thomas Adjei Baffoe has urged the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to provide continuous support and consultancy to local medicine manufacturers.



According to him, government recognizes the importance of traditional medicine in its quest to improve healthcare delivery in the country.



Speaking at the launch of the new COA Mixture and the commissioning of COA Research and Manufacturing Company Limited (RMCL), Hon. Adjei Baffoe admonished the staff to put up a good attitude to uphold the image of the company.



He added that Central Regional Coordinating Council is confident that management of the company will up their marketing strategies to create awareness about the new development.



President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Appiagyei Dankawoso I, in his address, also appealed to the management to offer training programmes to the youth to get into the production of traditional medicines in order to enhance the herbal medicine sector.



"It is a fact that the herbal medicine industry has numerous potentials, ideas and formula that could help in alleviating various diseases," he said.



NPP National Chairman, Freddie Blay also stressed the importance of herbal medicine to the health sector of the economy.



"Without herbal medicine, Ghanaians will find it difficult to access healthcare", he stressed.









Source: Sally Ngissah/Peace FM News









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

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Colorado Politics senior political reporter

Joey Bunch is the senior correspondent and deputy managing editor of Colorado Politics. His 32-year career includes the last 16 in Colorado. He was part of the Denver Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013 and he is a two-time finalist.
The U.S. House of Representatives may have approved a new coronavirus relief bill that would provide tens of billions of dollars for schoolsbut it doesnt mean substantial progress has been made on getting K-12 emergency aid.

The second version of the House Democrats HEROES Act , passed by a narrow margin Oct. 1, includes $175 billion in coronavirus aid for K-12, plus additional money to provide internet access to students and an education fund for governors, among other provisions. HEROES 2.0 represents a win for lobbyists and others pushing for virus aid relief specifically for schools, although it contains less than half the state and local government relief of the first HEROES bill that could also be used to prop up education budgets in a faltering economy.

But the Houses vote to pass the bill was, like other previous votes on COVID-19 relief packages, not a direct step forward in the process. Thats because the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, wont consider the legislation. That was true of the first HEROES Act, as well as a Senate GOP proposal that has a lot less money for education overall, would fund private school choice, and condition some of the aid on whether schools hold in-person classes. Democrats have rejected those last two provisions out of hand.

Negotiations between Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin are ongoing, and its too early to say that a relief deal wont be reached before the presidential election Nov. 3. But a breakthrough on those talks would have almost certainly have led Pelosi and her team to postpone any vote on HEROES 2.0 in favor of a grand coronavirus bargain. Funding for schools and state and local governments reportedly remains a sticking point in negotiations .

In his talks with Pelosi, Mnuchin has pitched $150 billion for education as part of a compromise deal, although its not clear how much of that would be earmarked for K-12, and many other details hadnt been worked on the education front. Thats substantially more than the $105 billion for education in the Senate Republicans latest proposal a fact that could complicate talks, given GOP senators opposition to relief bills with overall price tags like the ones Democrats have proposedbut less than the $225 billion for K-12 and higher education in HEROES 2.0.

Meanwhile, the promise over the summer that Washington would pour a flood of cash into school budgets to help them pay for health and safety measures, connect students to the internet, and address concerns about academic struggles at the start of the 2020-21 school year, has faded away. Thats left many educators and others bewildered and angry .

Since President Donald Trump signed the CARES Act in March, federal lawmakers have provided no additional emergency funding support for education, despite pledges from leaders in both parties that it was a top priority.

Education associations and lobbyists are still pushing for relief , and say its not too late for Congress to provide critical support for schools that are still struggling with the pandemic. Yet with federal lawmakers out on recess and tied up with campaigning throughout much if not all of October, theres no clear road ahead for a deal to get done.

Follow us on Twitter @PoliticsK12 . And follow the Politics K-12 reporters @EvieBlad @Daarel and @AndrewUjifusa .
New Delhi: Jantar Mantar in central Delhi buzzed with activity on Friday as the venue witnessed perhaps its biggest protest ever since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, with hundreds of protesters gathering there to demand justice for the woman who was allegedly gang-raped in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh. Social distancing norms and wearing of masks went for a toss as some of the protesters raised slogans without wearing them. Police kept on asking participants to wear masks and maintain distance through announcements even as the number of protesters swelled. A sea of people from different walks of life  students, activists, citizens and political leaders  attended the protest which was initially supposed to be held at India Gate but was later shifted to Jantar Mantar owing to the prohibitory orders in place around Rajpath area. They are silencing the family but they would not be able to silence the people. I am scared due to the COVID-19 pandemic but raising my voice to demand justice for the Hathras victim is more important. That is what forced me to step out at this time," said Neha Dwivedi, one of the protesters.

Another participant Shefali Verma, who is a mother of an 18-year-old woman, said, I am scared for the safety of my daughter. I know we are fighting a pandemic but it was important that today we come out to raise our voice against another pandemic, which is rape. We want justice for that daughter, who did not even get dignity in her death." Another woman, accompanying Verma said despite a surge in coronavirus cases in the national capital, she came out because it was essential. Only when we will unite to raise our voice, will it have some impact. We are living in difficult times, when we are fighting the pandemic and it is scary to be out at this time but it is the need of the hour," she said.

People also held a candlelight vigil for the Hathras gang-rape victim as slogans demanding the resignation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth and seeking justice for the victim rent the air. Left leaning student activists carrying "dhaplis" also raised slogans against the UP government. The police had said gathering of up to 100 people is permissible at Jantar Mantar and that too with prior permission of the competent authority. However, the number of protesters were more than 100 at the protest site.

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
NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO)(NYSE:BMO) today announced that it will implement a 1-for-20 reverse split of its MicroSectors U.S. Big Oil Index 3X Leveraged ETNs (NYSE:NRGU) (the "ETNs" or "Notes"), expected to be effective as of October 12, 2020.

The reverse split will be effective at the open of trading on October 12, 2020. NRGU will begin trading on the NYSE Arca on a reverse split-adjusted basis on October 12, 2020. Holders of NRGU who purchased such ETNs prior to October 12, 2020 will receive one reverse split-adjusted ETN for every twenty pre-reverse split ETNs.

In addition, such purchasers that hold a number of ETNs not evenly divisible by twenty will receive a cash payment for any fractional ETNs remaining (the "partials"). The cash amount due on any partials will be determined on October 16, 2020 and will equal, for each remaining ETN, the closing indicative value of NRGU on such date. Bank of Montreal will pay these amounts on or about October 21, 2020.

The closing indicative value of NRGU on October 9, 2020 will be multiplied by twenty to determine the reverse split-adjusted closing indicative value. Following the reverse split, NRGU will have a new CUSIP but will retain its same ticker symbol.

The reverse split will affect the trading denominations of NRGU but it will not have any effect on the stated principal amount of the ETNs, except that the stated principal amount will be reduced by the corresponding aggregate amount of any cash payments for the "partials."

Illustration of a Reverse Split

The following table shows the effect of a 1-for-20 reverse split on the hypothetical closing indicative value of the ETNs. The closing indicative value of an ETN is not the same as the principal amount (currently, $50) or the trading price of that ETN.





Number of

ETNs

Hypothetical

Closing Indicative

Value

Aggregate Closing

Indicative Value Pre-Reverse Split

100,000

$5.00

$500,000 1-for-20 Post-Reverse Split

5,000

$100.00

$500,000

None of the other exchange traded notes issued by Bank of Montreal are affected by this announcement.

Reverse Split

Ticker Symbol

Current CUSIP /

New CUSIP MicroSectors U.S. Big Oil Index 3X

Leveraged ETNs due March 25, 2039

NRGU

063679 815 /

06367V 105

The Notes are senior, unsecured obligations of Bank of Montreal.

Investment suitability must be determined individually for each investor, and the Notes may not be suitable for all investors. This information is not intended to provide and should not be relied upon as providing accounting, legal, regulatory or tax advice.

Investors should consult with their own financial advisors as to these matters. In addition, please see the pricing supplement relating to the Notes for important information about Solactive AG, the licensor of the Solactive MicroSectors U.S. Big Oil Index.

Bank of Montreal, the issuer of the Notes, has filed a registration statement (including a pricing supplement, prospectus supplement and prospectus) with the SEC regarding the offering of the Notes. Please read those documents and the other documents relating to the Notes that Bank of Montreal has filed with the SEC for more complete information about Bank of Montreal and the Notes. These documents may be obtained without cost by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, Bank of Montreal, and any agent or dealer that participated in the offering of the Notes, will arrange to send the applicable pricing supplement, the prospectus supplement and the prospectus if so requested by calling toll-free at 1-877-369-5412.

About REX

REX Shares is an independent provider of exchange-traded products (ETPs). As ETP architects, the REX team specializes in creating investment vehicles that solve specific access or efficiency challenges in investor portfolios. The firm is rooted with decades of structuring and building innovative exchange-traded product solutions.

For more information, please visit www.microsectors.com

Follow REX on Twitter @msectors



About BMO Financial Group

Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $974 billion as of July 31, 2020, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

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With 2020 being such a dismal disaster for most, any and all  joy must be cherished, celebrated and called out! All this darkness makes what little light we do have stand out, and Trey is truly a little light of mine.

The model-slash-muse-slash-podcaster-slash-fashion-journalist is a star being born and after scrolling, screaming, liking and sharing their many booked campaigns and editorial spotlights, I had to know more. Enjoy as I unravel the year they've had... so far!

Okay, hi, Trey! How are you doing?

You know, beautiful. I'm alive. That's all I can say. Listen, I'm blessed to be alive. No, okay. I'm doing the best I can. And that's all  2020 is only about doing the best that you can. Nothing more, nothing less.

Right? I mean, I feel like, in the beginning of 2020, quarantine, we were like, "We're all going to be super productive." That ended in May. Now, if you just see this to the end, that's already a flex.

What was this whole bread thing? It was like everywhere I looked, all of you fake ass, fake Celiac-having ass bitches, all of a sudden popping up: bread, bread, bread, bread, bread, bread. For what?

Photography and clothing: Harris Reed

Like not Celiac Disease and the sourdough. That's not a good combination.

Girl, that's what I'm saying. Fake. When we talk about performance, and I feel like we're going to get there, that's the thing I want to talk about. 2013, all of y'all, "Oof, gluten." And then y'all get locked in the house and you start becoming Pillsbury doughboy? What's the tea?

Someone's not telling the truth. Someone hasn't been telling the truth for a while.

In the words of Karlie Redd, it's a lie, it's a lie, it's all a lie!

It's all a lie! Like, it's all a lie! [laughs] Okay, so I want to start by just asking about you. Because I know you very well, and I'm obviously very addicted and obsessed. I literally share all of your Instagram posts, regardless of what it is. But for those of you who do not know, who are you? Where are you from? What are you doing?

So, my name is Trey. I'm 22 years old. I'm from a small town outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Through the grace of God and the universe and higher powers, I got out the first second I could. When I was 18, I started school at Central Saint Martin's, and I did my BA there and I studied fashion journalism. And then while I was there, I was very much on some "Everybody Hates Chris," my dad has three jobs situation. So, that's kind of when I started modeling, and then just living and just being, the vibes, the kin, the doll. So, that kind of happened.

And then this year, I launched my podcast as an extension of my final major project, which is called OTT. And for those of you who aren't up on any lingo from over the past 30 years, OTT means over the top. I've never been a top. However, I think that my personality goes further than a top. Right? I think we're living at a time in fashion media, where I feel like it's kind of in three categories of 1. no one says what they feel, 2. it's just a lot of anger with no substance, and then 3. it's just kind of there, right? So what I wanted to do with this is get into the journalism, get into the tea, because there are a lot of problems that a lot of people aren't talking about. Because a lot of things now are just PR; no one wants to  and I get that people are afraid, people have jobs, the way that the culture has become  no one really is saying how they feel.

I think that's why we're not happy with fashion at the moment. That's kind of why we're like, "What is this?" No one's like speaking about it, or they're speaking about it in such a volatile way that you can't have a healthy conversation. For me with the podcast, it's like, "Okay, these are people that I love. I respect their work." The respect is there. Once we have that, I'm a very trustworthy person; I want to be someone that you can feel free to share your story with and feel free to share your ups and downs. I'm not going to edit anything out to fit a narrative, you know what I mean? So that's kind of what I do in a lot of words. I'll have a drink now.

As you deserve. I love it in the mug, too. Very like, "Look at me being professional."

It's a mug that I bought for the NHS, it goes towards them.

Okay, beautiful. Would you ever have someone on your podcast that you weren't a fan of?

No. Um, fan...

Well, someone you admire or respected. Someone who you feel like - not like a gotcha interview, but we're going to have a talk, a debate. Let's take Dolce and Gabbana for example.

Who?

Do you think OTT could act as a courtroom, almost?

Do I look like Lisa Bloom? Do you see this wig? This is my Annalise Keating wig. You know what? I think never say never, and I think it is very important to have conversations with people who don't have the same experience as you. I just think, for me, I am open to that because I think we do need to have conversations. But right now, at this point in my life, I have too much stress. So at some point, of course, we're going to go there, because I think, journalistically, you need to be able to have those kind of debating conversations.

So, you're in London now; we met when you would come back to New York for the summers when you were in college. Is it like what your routine, your schedule was?

Girl, I wasn't just summering in New York, no. I don't even know if you know this; this is what happened. Basically, schools in England, you have a placement year. That's what we do, normally your junior year. For that 15 months, you work in the industry, like you're interning, and then you go back for your final year.

Okay.

For me, I spent six months working as a studio assistant for Mowalola. Because of the situation I'm in now, I was very nervous that my visa would not get renewed and I would have no network or any holding in America. I was scared. I was like, what if? Because I've seen this happen to friends of mine, so I was like, "You know what? I've never lived in New York. Let me do this. And there I really learned how to write three pieces a day. It was an experience that taught me so much about myself and gave me so much confidence as a writer because there was no time to be like, "Oh, I'm insecure about this." No, shit had to go out. When I came back for my final year, it just made me feel like, "This is what I want. This is what I'm doing. No one is going to tell me what, period." When we met, we really clicked right away, I'll say. You just made me laugh. I was just like, "This bitch is funny." To this day, I think that @fakeroberts deserves much more attention on the 'gram because those homemade memes, really, they actually are some of the funniest...

"There's always something new, there's always something that we can all have, and I feel like that's what we need to work towards. That unlearning of everyone can do well in their own way and succeed. Someone doing well is not a threat to you. Period."

They're baked with care, tucked in at night.

They're baked with care and gluten-free.

Gluten-free with all the bread. So, I literally did think that you were just summering in New York like, "Let me pick up an internship here and there." So you're a person who is always working.

I'm a to-do list girl. I'm the person that, I'll send my manager emails at like 3 in the morning. Me: please download my WeTransfer that you haven't downloaded.

You're like waiting for the transfer confirmation.

I'm definitely a workaholic, which isn't healthy because I need to realize that productivity is work smarter, not harder. I've always been the person like, even in uni, I would be stressed out. I would go to class and then go to a shoot that I would probably make no money on but it was with a designer that I would love, and then I would go back and do projects. I was always someone that has to be doing something all the time. I think what quarantine taught me is I just want to do what I want; the world is ending, and I feel like we are in a time when we can be multi-hyphenates. We can do different things and no one can put us in a box like the traditional sense of what a journalist is, what a model is, what a designer is.

I feel like we're in the midst of a collapse of the old guard. People who are older who are down can stay, but it's like... this just makes sense to us. I'm just talking to a friend, but I'm doing cool things and I'm interested in the cool things you're doing. So, let's just combine the cool things, meet in the middle and dance.

Let's support each other because the levels, when you talk about the old guard dying out, you see it. That's a thing that I always find so disgusting, this idea of, "Okay, you're going to treat someone horribly because you can put a top and a pair of pants together?" No! You're going to be mean to your intern because you can sew? You better knit in peace. I feel like that kind of cruelty is no longer accepted and allowed because there was never a purpose for it. I think the idea of hierarchy has really  it's demolished. We are at a time when we've watched so many of these lauded people, be thrown down because of all the bad things that they do in the dark. In the words of Faith Evans, "Whatever you do will come back to you." I think what we're building off this creativity, we respect you because of your work, and you don't need to act like a bird. When you go onto a set, you can treat everyone nicely. When you're in an office, you can treat people with care and respect, and that's what we need. There is no need, people should not be in fear when they go to work. People should be excited, and I'm very excited to watch this new generation have manners.

And it's absolutely free! People forget.

It's free, being kind is free. I will always say, there is always a difference between being a bad bitch and a bitch. A bad bitch supports your friends, I'm not going to say "has good credit" because we're all in a collapse. Looks good, is going to make sure that everyone is taken care of. A bitch is just rude. If you're a bad bitch, you already have that confidence within yourself. Nothing that I do is ever threatened by anyone else. I know what I walk into a room with. If you're a bitch, you're just rude. And those never last.

Never.

Period.

It's always interesting when you see someone who's kind of new and fresh  I feel like I'm kind of new and fresh. Someone who's going hard and trying to be the bitch because they think it's the bad bitch but they're just not being welcoming and they're just making their own journey harder if no one wants to be around them.

"The world is ending, and I feel like we are in a time when we can be multi-hyphenates. We can do different things and no one can put us in a box like the traditional sense of what a journalist is, what a model is, what a designer is."

Making your journey so much harder! And it's scary because we've been indoctrinated to, if you see that's your role model, that's kind of your image. If you think that's how you have to be to work in [fashion]  at some point, we're all adults. We all have to unlearn things that have been taught to us. At some point, you have to unlearn the idea of competition and compete with yourself. That's what's important. It's not like  I was talking to my friend about this the other day, this idea of scarcity. You have this, "I can only have this if I take it from you." In the words of Brother Nature, everybody eats. There's always something new, there's always something that we can all have, and I feel like that's what we need to work towards. That unlearning of everyone can do well in their own way and succeed. Someone doing well is not a threat to you. Period.

Absolutely.

Wow, I feel like 

You're honestly preaching right now. I feel like this is simply the Million Man March, and here I am, the million men.

Girl, I'm the million, I'm the millionth person and I'm just tired.

I'm tired that we're still marching. So, I want to talk about this cute little Christian Cowan campaign. So, what was that like? How was that? I feel like an idiot. Because, as you know, a friend of mine was working on it...

Yeah, I met him. He said you're one of his favorite people to ever be around! It was so surreal.

You looked amazing!

Photography: Vijat Mohindra for Christian Cowan x Lil Nas X

I'll explain to you how this all went down, I'm still kind of in a daze. Saturday afternoon, I go to the store to get my gin, I come home, I see a DM from Christian Cowan. In my mind, I'm thinking, "I know this man is based in New York, please do not tell me that I just lost a bag."

I was like, "Lord." Because I didn't see the message, I was like, "Please don't tell me I just lost a bag." I open the message, "Oh, wow, we're doing this campaign." I'm thinking like, I'm in London, is this okay? And he was like, in London, perfect. And I was just like, first of all, what the fuck? I was going through it that morning, and I was like, universe, please give me a sign. That day was just incredible, Christian was so kind and so incredible. When we talk about people putting their money where their mouth is, this is what I'm talking about. 100%. It's for charity, and listen, people love to "oh 20% of the proceeds..." This was 100% of the profits going to charity, right? That meant a lot. People really showing up for the community; that's what I cared about. It was just a beautiful day, the cast was incredible. I'm hearing Heidi Klum's in this, Marc Jacobs, I'm like "What?" In that very Tiffany Pollard voice like, "Heidi Klum?? Helena Christensen???"

When we talk about the industry changing, if you remember the age you got into fashion, a lot of us were in middle school, high school. It was an era where, any time you opened any magazine, it was just a white girl from Russia. No disrespect to them, but when you flip through every ad, no matter who it was, it was never someone who would look like us. And there was never anyone ever visibly queer, never trans, no one ever a gender-nonconforming person. And if they were, it was one season and you never saw them again. Even the Italian Vogue Black issue was incredible, but what change really happened after that? So, it's very beautiful to see. I know we're all tired of hearing the word "representation," but I do hope that the youth sees this and feel good. I think people always think it's corny to say I never thought I would be a model but I never actually did. The fact that I'm even a part of that? I am just grateful, I'm grateful that I can be a part of something like that. Overall, my look was fire, I can't even lie. I was fucking legs for days, I can't even  no, I looked cute.

I screamed. I shared the post like four times in one day.

I screamed, too! I was like, this isn't me, this me? I have to fix my bang. It was great, I'm still shook.

It's fun how things just happen now. Things even with me, they'll just happen through a DM. Someone recommending you, you're on a mood board, and they're like, "Hey, do you want to do this?" And it's not even kind of small creators, local creators, it's these big brands that we're talking about DMing people.

I'm telling you, please. PSA: keep your DMs open. Keep your DMs open.

Keep them open, and always check the message requests, too! People will reach out with just a "Hey, I work at this company or at this brand, do you want to do this thing?" And I'm like, absolutely. It's just so -

It's crazy.

We're all just on this platform together. You're on this platform and so is Christian Cowan.

That's what I'm saying. We're all so connected, so don't be a cunt.

Right. Okay, so I also want to talk about your iconic, ongoing, seemingly very familial relationship with Harris Reed.

My love.

Photography and clothing: Chet Lo

I can literally see the support from miles and miles away. It just looks very healthy. So, how did that come about?

I first met Harris in first year, probably within the first month: we went to this Stella McCartney talk, and then after we just talked for a couple hours and really hit it off. Then, when I was in second year, they asked me to be their fit model for their pre-collection. What I will say about Harris is Harris is one of the most supportive people I've ever met. In a fitting, any time they put anything on me, "Are you comfortable with this?" Even that kind of language, that level of respect I don't get all the time. As a friend, they've always been very incredible. Especially in June, that was a very terrible time for everyone Black, they've always been an incredible friend and we've always been very supportive of each other. I'm just very proud of them, and I think they're doing their thing. They're very kind, and I always say this, I've never seen someone work as hard as Harris. And that's why they're so successful, because they put their heart into everything. That's my ride or die, that's my bitch. I love them for life. You can even tell!

You can see it online, it's just so supportive. I'm like, "Wow, would love it to be me." It looks amazing, I always like liking their posts of you and your posts of them.

I'm just so proud of them.

What's it like working with Mowalola who I feel has always been cool as shit, but now is world scale and people are talking about this collab, that collab... I want that bag that she posted on Instagram a couple days ago, and I know it's going to sell out before I can get my hands on it, and that's okay...

So Mowa and I first met in first year. And again, it's always me at a talk. I was leaving a talk and CSM has like three levels, but it's open so you can kind of see everyone. She was on the first floor and then she ran down and saw me and was like, "Hey, will you be my muse for my final collection at CSM?" And I was like, "Me?" Because again, I was taken aback, but then I realized I'm the doll. But it was very beautiful watching her do her final collection before all of this. I remember I just fell in love with all the clothes. Have you seen her graduate collection?

Mhmm.

With those really low pants and the low jacket. And I just remember, I felt so sexy. At the time, no one was doing that. I'm just very grateful that she's brought me on to some incredible projects. When we did the Tim Walker shoot for W, that meant the world to me because W was the first magazine that got me into fashion. So having those full circle moments with her was amazing, and it's been really beautiful to watch her evolve and take off and do everything on her own terms.

"It's very easy to say everyone was sleeping on me but also, I was sleeping on myself. I didn't see my true value until very recently."

You're literally the main character, people are spotting you from across the room and saying, "Be my new muse." I would die.

I'm actually very shy, I'm very awkward. I'm a deer. I think that's also why my personality is very like, "Oh, okay!"

Absolutely.

I will say though, I've never been signed to an agency. I've been through it all, I've been through getting that request to go in, "Oh, sorry. We have someone that already has your look. Oh my god, you have a beautiful face, but hmm. You have a great body, but hmmm." I will say that I'm so grateful for that throughout everything, my work has been through my relationships. I'm a Cancer, I feel everything very deeply. So, it's really beautiful that I've been able to grow with people and watch them evolve into different stages of their career.

Is that a goal of yours to be signed? Because I feel like if that's a goal, it's going to happen soon. You're simply already being booked.

You know what, it's only a goal if someone sees me for me at this point. Because I've been through it, alright. It's so crazy, because I used to go home and I'd cry. It was a two-fold situation of 1. Divine timing and 2. It's very easy to say everyone was sleeping on me but also, I was sleeping on myself. I didn't see my true value until very recently.

Everyone's seeing at the same time right now.

Listen, I stopped sleeping on myself and the world woke up.

So, that's a good segue. You are everyone's muse, but who are your muses? Who inspires you?

Oh my god. So, there are so many people, but this is my thing. I'm not a hater, if I love someone, I'll let you know. It's everyone from Mr. Pearl, icon; Patrick Kelly, legend; The Muglers, like that era to me, *chef's kiss.* Pat Cleveland who was on the podcast, that was just like  like, I'm dead. You know what I mean? Ouija board. This interview is done via Ouija board. Karen Alexander. I'm so inspired by every Black model from the '80s to the mid-2000s, who put up with all the shit and still were able to come. Who else? Dolly Parton, white queen. White queen! Janet Jackson. So many people. It's crazy because my mind could go on for days in this interview. Paris Hilton. Shout out to Paris Hilton, because that documentary... did you watch it?

I haven't seen it yet. But I'm hearing everyone loves it. My friend called me and said "first of all, she's a genius. Second of all, she's a victim. But she's a survivor."

I want that written on my gravestone. "First of all, she's a genius. Second of all, she's a victim."

An icon.

But that's what I'm saying, multidisciplinary icons. Who else? Diana Ross. Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim, Misa Hylton. Wait! Okay. Let's talk about my two biggest muses of all time: Kimora Lee Simmons and Fran Drescher. Fran Drescher, obviously an icon. That girl. Maybe more Fran Fine than Fran Drescher but anyway. Kimora Lee Simmons, let's talk about Kimora Lee Simmons. Youngest Chanel bride ever, she gave us We Are the World, she showed you that you can marry rich in any nationality. Period. Baby Phat showed us what hip hop fashion was, gave it to the girls, gave us diversity. I've said this before, Kimora Lee Simmons is my first example of a Black person in fashion, running shit, doing shit. Life in the Fab Lane, for a generation of people, showed us you can not only have a seat at the table, but you can be at the head of the table. So, shout out to Kimora. I would do anything. That was a long answer, but Kimora is number one.

But you got there. Everyone loves Kimora. You're right, for us, for people our age to grow up with that being there, and me wearing my little Baby Phat to school, that's iconic.

I hate  I think also because we're Black, and as Black people, I know we're being asked all the time about every issue so I try to not bring it up all the time, but when it comes to representation, that's a national television star network: Kimora Lee Simmons running shit. Bossing white people around. Reparations!

Reparations! Amazing. And then she's relaunching Baby Phat with her adorable daughters, I'm here for the whole family function.

Making sure everyone in her family gets a bag!

Literally. Everyone's getting a bag. Everyone's eating, all the Lee-Simmons' are eating.

Period.

Okay, I think that might've been it - oh! My last question is kind of a big one, but what do you want? However that manifests to you, but what do you want?

"Realistically, every time I've ever wanted something tangible, I've never gotten it because I put so much energy into trying to get it and then the universe is like, 'Girl, you better learn.'"

What do I want? You know what's so funny. I want to be happy with whatever I do. I'm not trying to get all super sensitive, but I want to do work that makes me feel fulfilled. I want to just enjoy life at the moment. We are living in very dark times, I want to bring light with what I do. With whatever medium it is, I hope that I can bring just a bit of joy to the girls. If I can do that, then I'm good. I'm calm. In the words of Naomi, I have my career. I think I can also just bring a bit of peace to the kids. Realistically, every time I've ever wanted something tangible, I've never gotten it because I put so much energy into trying to get it and then the universe is like, "Girl, you better learn." And then when I'm chilling and I just release the outcomes, things happen for me.

That's so sweet, Trey. You're one of the sweetest, super hard-working, super cute people in the world. Okay, so I'm going to stop recording

Stop recording because we have some tea to get into!
Massachusetts native Mark Wahlberg is helping schools stay safe as students and teachers return to the classrooms during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wahlberg has donated 1.3 million masks to schools across the U.S., My San Antonio reported.

Some of those masks have gone to schools in Chicago, Rochester, New York and Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Of the 1.3 million, 100,000 disposable masks have gone to San Antonio, WOAI reported.

Of course, Massachusetts wasnt left out. WOAI reported Wahlberg also donated to classrooms in Quincy.

The Wahlberg family has been helping with donations throughout the entire coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this year, Walburgers deliver thousands of meals to Massachusetts health care workers and first responders.

Not being able to be fully operational these past several weeks has been heartbreaking for our entire organization. But that hasnt stopped our commitment to supporting the communities we serve however we can, Wahlberg in April. Partnering with Crescent Capital will allow us to give back the best way we know how, by providing warm meals to the heroes battling this virus each and every day.

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The types of UAVs being used by the adversary, the country of their manufacture, their approximate quantities, and the tactics and management of use can be said are found out and monitored by us. Artur Sargsyan, Deputy Commander of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army, said this to a briefing Friday, responding to the respective question of a foreign news reporter.

He added 17 drones of Azerbaijan were shot down on Thursday alone, and all of them were combat UAVs.

Sargsyan, however, did not respond to the question as to which country had manufactured these drones.

Another foreign journalist asked what the purpose of the Azerbaijani forces' attacks was.

"They are constantly attacking; the goal is to break through our defense," responded the deputy commander of the Artsakh Defense Army

And when asked whether the meaning of these attacks was to intimidate, Sargsyan responded: "It is better to ask them what the meaning is. The mentality is suchbarbaric."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tribute to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary saying, he epitomised simplicity and lived for the welfare of our nation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tribute to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary saying, he epitomised simplicity and lived for the welfare of our nation.

Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji was humble and firm. He epitomised simplicity and lived for the welfare of our nation. We remember him on his Jayanti with a deep sense of gratitude for everything he has done for India, PM Modi tweeted.

Meanwhile, sons of former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri, Sunil Shastri and Anil Shastri paid tribute at Vijay Ghat on his birth anniversary.

On the occasion of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastris birth anniversary, his sons Sunil Shastri and Anil Shastri paid tribute to him at Vijay Ghat on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary saying, he epitomised simplicity and lived for the welfare of our nation.

Also read: Gandhi Jayanti 2020: PM Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat

Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji was humble and firm. He epitomised simplicity and lived for the welfare of our nation. We remember him on his Jayanti with a deep sense of gratitude for everything he has done for India. pic.twitter.com/bTV6886crz  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 2, 2020

Also read: Wont bow down: Rahul Gandhi quotes Mahatma Gandhi a day after being detained by UP cops

Shastri was born on October 2, 1904 in Mughalsarai district of Uttar Pradesh. He shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi. He entered politics at a young age as a satyagrahi in the Indian National Movement. On August 15, 1947, he became the Minister of Police and Transport in independent India.

Shastri became the Prime Minister of India in 1964 and led the country during the India-Pakistan war in 1965. He coined the slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kisan which resonated with masses and was widely accepted. On January 11, 1966, he breathed his last in Tashkent after a cardiac arrest.

Also read: Bihar Assembly elections: Mahagathbandhan finalises seat sharing, announcement likely tomorrow
Afro-Cuban chairman of Proud Boys says they are not racist or white supremacists

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Enrique Tarrio, the Afro-Cuban international chairman of the far-right Proud Boys group of men who love America but hate political correctness, has publicly denounced racism and white supremacy after detractors began conflating them with white supremacists in the wake of the first presidential debate.

OK, so Im going to say it to you. Im going to give you the skinny. Im going to give it to you straight. I denounce white supremacy. I denounce anti-Semitism. I denounce racism. I denounce fascism. I denounce communism and any other -ism that is prejudice towards people because of their race, religion, culture, tone of skin, Tarrio said in an interview with WSVN Wednesday.

The Proud Boys group, which was started in 2016 by vice co-founder Gavin McInnes, has become one of the most debated subjects since they were mentioned during the debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday night.

Moderator and "Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace asked the president if he was "willing tonight to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities as we saw in Kenosha and we've seen in Portland?"

President Trump replied "sure" he was "willing to do that," but noted that "almost everything I see is from the left-wing."

Biden then mentioned the Proud Boys, which led to perhaps the most discussed line from the debate.

"The Proud Boys," Trump said. "Stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about Antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem."

The president, who has since denied knowing anything about the Proud Boys prior to their mention during the debate, has come under withering criticism from both the left and the right for not denouncing white supremacy and the Proud Boys more forcefully.

Jason Kessler, a white supremacist who identified as a Proud Boy, helped organize the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which attracted neo-Nazi groups and Klansmen, and resulted in the death of Heather Heyer and injury of 19 others in August 2017.

McInnes, who quit the group in 2018, previously tried to distance the Proud Boys from extremists, warning members that if you decide to rub elbows with those people [while] in colors, you very well could find yourself disavowed.

In his interview with WSVN, Tarrio noted that it was Biden who first mentioned his groups name during the debate and he didnt see Trumps response as an endorsement.

We dont consider it an endorsement by the president at all, Tarrio said. I believe stand back was kind of like answering Chris Wallaces question where he said to stand down, and he used the word stand back, but I think the point of controversy is the whole stand by thing. What I took from it, at least, is pretty much stand by me.'

The South Florida resident also argued that he believes his group is being demonized by the left for political gain.

Many people use us as political cannon fodder, Tarrio said. Its right before the election. The country has been rioting for four-plus months, and it is left-wing anarchists that are going out and burning down cities, and liberal politicians, Democratic politicians, need a boogeyman.
Before Asmars death, the ACLU 0f Virginia pointed to his case as an example of how it contended the VADOC was failing to meet the terms of a settlement of a lawsuit by 27 Virginia prisoners that called for stronger protections against the coronavirus and quicker releases for the medically compromised and others. It was the second time the ACLU had complained the VADOC wasnt living up to the terms of the deal. The VADOC disputed that characterization in a response.
Attorney General William Barr listens during an event in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, on Aug. 4, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

AG Barr Tests Negative for COVID-19

Attorney General William Barr tested negative for COVID-19 on Friday, a Justice Department (DOJ) spokesperson told media outlets.

DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec told CBS News that the attorney general had tested negative hours after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump announced that they had tested positive for the virus. A department spokesperson also confirmed Barrs CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus results to NBC News.

The DOJ did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times request for comment.

Other departmental secretaries such as Department of State Secretary Mike Pompeo, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have also returned a negative result after being tested on Friday. Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Secretary Chad Wolf had tested negative three times in the past seven days and has not been in close contact with the president, according to a statement sent to CBS News.

White House physician Sean Conley confirmed on Oct. 1 that the president and first lady tested positive, adding that they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence. He added that he and the White House team will maintain a vigilant watch over the pair.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said on Friday that Trump is experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms but remains in good spirits.

The news came after reports that White House aide Hope Hicks tested positive for COVID-19. Hicks had been traveling with the president this week but was wearing a mask.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people wear cloth face coverings in public settings and when around people who they do not live with, in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel also said she had tested positive for the virus and has been at home in Michigan since last Saturday.

Vice President Mike Pence, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, and White House adviser Ivanka Trump are among those who tested negative Friday. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden also tested negative.

In a statement on Friday, Kupec said the attorney general wishes the president and the first lady a swift recovery.

Praying for the first family and all those affected by COVID-19, the statement said.

Jack Phillips and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
She's a Hollywood star who never fails to look sensational whenever she steps out.

And Demi Moore was sure to command attention as she put on a very racy display during Rihanna's Savage x Fenty show Vol 2 in Los Angeles which aired on Friday.

The actress, 57, looked sensational as she posed up a storm in a plunging black bodysuit with a lace trim to cover her ample assets.

Sizzling: Demi Moore put on a very racy display in a black lace bodysuit as she made a surprise appearance at Rihanna's Savage x Fenty show on Thursday (pictured with Bella Hadid, Jaida Essence Hall, and Abby Champion)

Demi exuded confidence as she flaunted her toned physique in the slinky one-piece which she paired with some fishnet tights.

She added some sparkle to her sexy ensemble by donning a diamond choker necklace and drop earrings as well as a statement ring.

The beauty wore her long dark locks down, styling them poker straight and letting her tresses cascade over her shoulders.

During the star-studded show Demi was seen reclining on a blue sofa as she was surrounded by other stunning models all in a selection of lacy lingerie.

Sultry: Demi's bodysuit skimmed over hips and emphasised her ample assets with a floral lace trim

Wow! All eyes were on the actress as she commanded attention in a plunging black leotard and fishnet tights while surrounded by other stunning models

Looking good: She showed off her long limbs as she lifted one knee to strike a sexy pose

Demi also appeared to be in good spirits as she posed for a snap alongside model Bella Hadid, who rocked a lace bra and thigh-high boots.

Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 presented by Amazon Prime Video at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California and broadcast on October 2, 2020.

Also seen during the event were models Irina Shayk and Cara Delevingne who all impressed in a selection of lingerie.

Cara set pulses racing in a plunging black velvet bra with silver embroidery, teamed with fishnets and daring black makeup divided her face into a look of two halves.

Flaunt it: Demi appeared to be in good spirits as she posed for some snaps with Bella Hadid

Incredible: She beamed a smile while surrounded by scantily-clad models in lacy lingerie

Racy: Demi covered one shoulder with her very long locks

Glam: The star wore her long dark locks down and let them cascade over her shoulders as she posed up a storm on a blue sofa

While Irina paraded her amazing physique in a sheer black lace bra and sequinned shorts, teamed with a long silk robe.

Paris Hilton, 39, also made an appearance, with the hotel heiress putting on a sultry display in playful pink fishnets and a lace leotard.

And Rihanna didn't let down her models as she dressed up in her own revealing look, opting for striking leather hotpants, black gloves and an oversized statement top.

Gorgeous: Demi struck a cheeky pose for another sultry snap

Stunning: Demi moved her toned limbs around as she modelled in the Savage x Fenty show

Glam: Demi added a diamond choker necklace and sparkling earrings to her sexy ensemble

Centre of attention: She exuded confidence in the plunging bodysuit which boasted a lace detail to cover her assets

Rihanna's Savage X Fenty show will be broadcast on Amazon Prime video on Friday, October 2.

Behind the scenes it seemed safety was the number one priority as the crew was spotted in masks and protective face shields.

Although it seemed some of the models weren't akin to the rules of social distancing as they posed together backstage.

Incredible: Rihanna wore a cut-out bra under a leather blazer at the Savage x Fenty press day

Jaw-dropping: Cara Delevingne set pulses racing in a plunging black velvet bra with silver embroidery (left) while Irina Shayk paraded her amazing physique in a sheer black lace bra and sequinned shorts, teamed with a long silk robe

Rihanna also told People that part of organising the show was ensured that all of the models were safe in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said: 'It was a completely different process this year. We had to work around the challenges of COVID-19, keeping everyone safe and their health at the top of our list. It forced us to figure out new ways to produce a show.

'We had to figure out ways to make this feel as visually enthusiastic as possible. Im excited, and Im proud of my team  we pulled it off."
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Linkedin Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 14:48 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48b762e 1 Entertainment Satria-Dewa-Gatotkaca,Hanung-Bramantyo,superhero-movies,superhero,Entertainment,Indonesian-films Free

The much-anticipated superhero movie Satria Dewa Gatotkaca continues to take shape.

With Hanung Bramantyo (This Earth of Mankind, 2019) helming the project, the movie which will introduce audiences to the Satria Dewa cinematic universe inspired by the epic war of the gods Bharatayuddha and scribed by Rahabi Mandra  is expected to hit theaters by the end of 2021.

Behind the scenes: Director Hanung Bramantyo works at the shooting location in Yogyakarta. (Satria Dewa Studio/-)

A six-minute video of the attention-getting vignette was released on Aug. 13 to announce the cast aside from Rizky Nazar, who was cast in January as the titular character.

Action actors Yayan Ruhiyan and Cecep Arif Rahman (John Wick 3) joined the cast and will also be responsible for the fight choreography.

Actors Yasmin Napper, Omar Daniel and 12-year-old b-boy dancer/actor Ali Fikry will fight alongside Gatotkaca as the fellow descendants of the Pandawa brothers.

The cast also includes Edward Akbar, Jerome Kurnia, Axel Matthew and seasoned actress Yati Surachman. The latter will play a gun-toting fighter, a departure from her usual TV roles.

A new hero: Satria Dewa Gatotkaca is planned for release in 2021. (Satria Dewa Studio/-)

Producer Celerina Judisari from Satria Dewa Studio said the cast announcement had been delayed due to the pandemic.

"We released the pre-teaser since we have started filming. It is also the perfect time to show that the Indonesian film industry is able to get back to its feet quickly after being hit by the pandemic," she said in an online press conference.

"We also wish to pep up the audience and our fellows in the industry," she added.

Hanung Bramantyo said the project made him as excited as working on his first film in the early years of his career in 2004.

"My relationship with Gatotkaca and other characters in the Mahabharata epic began when I was 7. This project is like a dream come true to me.

"I work hard to stress the life values in the epic story, not to satisfy my ego but for the sake of the younger generations," he said.

Hanung, mostly known for his religious drama and glorifying biopics, was originally picked as the director in the film adaption of superhero comic Gundala before the creator, Harya "Hasmi" Suryaminata, died in 2016.

The project was later helmed by Joko Anwar, who released it in 2019 and started the first Indonesian Avengers-style cinematic universe called Bumilangit.

The second pre-teaser gave away a few plot details and a trenchant impression of the tone and characters of the movie.

It started with animated comic illustrations that contain the backstory of the animosity between the Kurawas and the Pandawa brothers that shepherd into modern times in which the descendants avenge the death of their ancestors.

In the Javanese version of the Indian epic, Gatotkaca was said to have wires as muscles and steel as bones with the ability to fly.

In stark contrast to the first vignette that had a washed out color tone, giving a melodramatic impression as Gatotkaca practices martial arts alone in his room (the clip is merged in the latest video), the teaser introduced the characters under the dramatic spotlight.

The fighting scenes were captured in slow motion but the overall shot made it more artsy than necessary for an action film designated for the big screen unless they were meant for the intro of a TV series.

The filming was reportedly done outdoors and in a studio in Yogyakarta and Jakarta under strict health protocols.

Variety reported on Aug. 28 that the first movie of eight in the cinematic universe was expected to cost up to US$5 million.

The production house is offering merchandise and collectibles inspired by the movie available at satriadewa.com as part of a plan to expand the universe through animation, e-sports, a theme park and licensing.
Meet this Kerala woman who completed 350 online courses in 90 days during lockdown

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 02: After knowing about the story of this Kerala lady one might doubt if anyone really gets more than 24 hours in a day.

Kerala's Arathi Reghunath has become everyone's dining subject after the news of her achieving world record at the Universal Record Forum (URF) for completing 350 online courses in three months.

Reghunath, a native of Elamakkara in Kerala's Kochi is one of those who made best of their time at home.

Daughter of Maliyekkal Madathil M R Reghunath and Kaladevi, Arathi is a second-year MSc Biochemistry student at MES College. She completed the impressive number of courses listed on 'Coursera' platform and made a world record at the Universal Record Forum.

"It was my faculty at college who introduced me to the world of online courses. There are a range of courses online. All of them vary in duration and curriculum. With the support of my college principal Ajims P Muhammed, Coursera coordinator Haneefa K G, and class tutor Neelima T K, I managed to finish the courses I signed up for within a few weeks," she said she to the New Indian Express.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

Arathi completed some of the courses were offered by John Hawkins University, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), University of Virginia, State University of New York, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Copenhagen, University of Rochester, Emory University and Coursera Project Network.

In other news, as its COVID-19 cases surge, Kerala has now climbed to the third position among states with the highest number of active cases. With a record daily caseload of 8,830 reported on Wednesday, the active cases in the state went up to 67,061. Only Maharashtra and Karnataka have more active cases, with 2,60,363 and 1, 07,737, respectively.
The precondition for the development of a Trotskyist party in Britain was the struggle against a nationalist outlook which expressed the pressure of imperialism and its ideology on the oldest working class in the world. Prior to the founding congress of the Fourth International, Trotsky intransigently opposed the attempt by the British ILP to preserve its national autonomy and later chastized the Workers Internationalist League, of which Healy was then a member, for refusing to subordinate its factional differences in Britain to the interests of the international proletariat and work within the discipline of its world party. He warned the WIL leaders:

It is possible to maintain and develop a revolutionary political grouping of serious importance only on the basis of great principles. The Fourth International alone embodies and represents these principles. It is possible for a national group to maintain a constant revolutionary course only if it is firmly connected in one organization with co-thinkers throughout the world and maintains a constant political and theoretical collaboration with them. The Fourth International alone is such an organization. All purely national groupings, all those who reject international organization, control, and discipline are in their essence reactionary. (Documents of the Fourth International, Pathfinder, p. 270)

This warning was not originally heeded by the WIL and valuable time was lost until its leaders finally recognized that the development of their organization was not possible without accepting the political authority of the Fourth International. In 1944, the WIL accepted unification with the existing British section. The development of the Revolutionary Communist Party proceeded through a sharp internal struggle against a petty-bourgeois clique within the leadership that was headed by Jock Haston. This was part of an international struggle against a petty-bourgeois tendency that was sympathetic to Shachtman and which was represented by Felix Morrow and Albert Goldman inside the Socialist Workers Party. It was in the course of that struggle that Healy emerged as the leader of the British section.

In 1953 the British section was split as a result of the growth of an international revisionist tendency led by Pablo and Mandel that proposed to liquidate the Trotskyist movement into Stalinism. The very existence of the Fourth International, which had been theoretically undermined by the revisionist conceptions that permeated the documents of the 1951 Third Congress, was placed in danger. Despite the previous retreats on critical theoretical and political questions that had been made by the leaderships in Britain and the United States, those forces within the Fourth International who based themselves on the working class rallied to defeat the revisionists. The high-point of this struggle was the issuing of the Open Letter by SWP leader James P. Cannon in November 1953, which established the International Committee of the Fourth International to mobilize and lead the orthodox Trotskyists against the Pabloite liquidators in the International Secretariat. Healy, having collaborated closely with Cannon in the fight against Pablo and his representative in Britain, John Lawrence, endorsed the issuing of the Open Letter.

This historic document denounced the Pabloites for working consciously and deliberately to disrupt, split, and break up the historically-created cadres of Trotskyism in the various countries and to liquidate the Fourth International. (The Militant, December 21, 1953)

The letter then restated the historic principles upon which Trotskyism was based:

(1) The death agony of the capitalist system threatens the destruction of civilization through worsening depressions, world wars and barbaric manifestations like fascism. The development of atomic weapons today underlines the danger in the gravest possible way. (2) The descent into the abyss can be avoided only by replacing capitalism with a planned economy of socialism on a world scale and thus resuming the spiral of progress opened up by capitalism in its early days. (3) This can be accomplished only under the leadership of the working class as the only truly revolutionary class in society. But the working class itself faces a crisis of leadership although the world relationship of social forces was never so favorable as today for the workers to take the road to power. (4) To organize itself for carrying out these world-historic aims the working class in each country must construct a revolutionary party in the pattern developed by Lenin; that is, a combat party capable of dialectically combining democracy and centralismdemocracy in arriving at decisions, centralism in carrying them out; a leadership controlled by the ranks, ranks able to carry forward under fire in disciplined fashion. (5) The main obstacle to this is Stalinism, which attracts workers through exploiting the prestige of the October 1917 revolution in Russia, only later, as it betrays their confidence, to hurl them either into the arms of the Social Democracy, into apathy, or back to illusions in capitalism. The penalty for these betrayals is paid by the working people in the form of consolidation of fascist and monarchist forces, and new outbreaks of wars fostered and prepared by capitalism. From its inception, the Fourth International set as one of its major tasks the revolutionary overthrow of Stalinism inside and outside the USSR. (6) The need for flexible tactics facing many sections of the Fourth International, and parties or groups sympathetic to its program, makes it all the more imperative that they know how to fight imperialism and all its petty-bourgeois agencies (such as nationalist formations or trade union bureaucracies) without capitulation to Stalinism, and, conversely, know how to fight Stalinism (which in the final analysis is a petty bourgeois agency of imperialism) without capitulating to imperialism. These fundamental principles established by Leon Trotsky retain full validity in the increasingly complex and fluid politics of the world today. In fact the revolutionary situations opening up on every hand as Trotsky foresaw, have only now brought full concreteness to what at one time may have appeared to be somewhat remote abstractions not intimately bound up with the living reality of the time. The truth is that these principles now hold with increasing force both in political analysis and in the determination of the course of practical action. (Ibid.)

The letter continued with a review of the main lines of Pablos program and his disruptive splitting actions all over the world, and then issued this call to Trotskyists all over the world:

To sum up: The lines of cleavage between Pablos revisionism and orthodox Trotskyism are so deep that no compromise is possible either politically or organizationally. The Pablo faction has demonstrated that it will not permit democratic decisions truly reflecting majority opinion to be reached. They demand complete submission to their criminal policy. They are determined to drive all orthodox Trotskyists out of the Fourth International or to muzzle and handcuff them. Their scheme has been to inject their Stalinist conciliationism piecemeal and likewise in piecemeal fashion, get rid of those who come to see what is happening and raise objections. That is the explanation for the strange ambiguity about many of the Pabloite formulations and diplomatic evasions. Up to now the Pablo faction has had a certain success with this unprincipled and Machiavellian maneuverism. But the qualitative point of change has been reached. The political issues have broken through the maneuvers and the fight is now a showdown. If we may offer advice to the sections of the Fourth International from our enforced position outside the ranks, we think the time has come to act and to act decisively. The time has come for the orthodox Trotskyist majority of the Fourth International to assert their will against Pablos usurpation of authority. (Ibid.)

Several months later, on March 1, 1954, Cannon analyzed the historical implications of the split:

We alone are unconditional adherents of the Lenin-Trotsky theory of the party of the conscious vanguard and its role as leader of the revolutionary struggle. This theory acquires burning actuality and dominates all others in the present epoch. The problem of leadership now is not limited to spontaneous manifestations of the class struggle in a long drawn-out process, nor even to the conquest of power in this or that country where capitalism is especially weak. It is a question of the development of the international revolution and the socialist transformation of society. To admit that this can happen automatically is, in effect, to abandon Marxism altogether. No, it can only be a conscious operation, and it imperatively requires the leadership of the Marxist party which represents the conscious element in the historic process. No other party will do. No other tendency in the labor movement can be recognized as a satisfactory substitute. For that reason, our attitude towards all other parties and tendencies is irreconcilably hostile. If the relation of forces requires the adaptation of the cadres of the vanguard to organizations dominated at the moment by such hostile tendenciesStalinist, Social Democratic, centristthen such adaptation must be regarded at all times as a tactical adaptation, to facilitate the struggle against them; never to effect a reconciliation with them; never to ascribe to them the decisive historical role, with the Marxists assigned to the minor chore of giving friendly advice and loyal criticism, in the manner of the Pabloite comments on the French General Strike. (Trotskyism Versus Revisionism, Vol. 2, New Park, p. 65)

The international struggle against Pablo was decisive for the future development of the Trotskyist movement in Britain. Despite their small numbers and extreme povertywhich was exacerbated by the provocations organized against them by the openly pro-Stalinist Pabloite Lawrence groupthe British Trotskyists had been immeasurably strengthened by the theoretical lessons of the struggle within the Fourth International. It proved to be the indispensible preparation of the British Trotskyists for their intervention in the crisis which erupted in 1956 inside the Communist Party following Khrushchevs partial revelation of Stalins crimes and the subsequent Soviet invasion of Hungary.

Politically armed through the struggle against Pabloism, the Trotskyists were able to win important forces from the ranks of the British Communist Partythus providing new opportunities for the expansion of the movements theoretical work as well as its activities inside the trade unions and the Labour Party. These gains were consolidated with the founding of the Socialist Labour League in 1959.

During this period, the British Trotskyists began to play an increasingly active political role in the work of the International Committee, especially after Cannon evinced a weakening in his stand against the Pabloites. Healy and his closest collaborator, Mike Banda, had closely followed the evolution of the Pabloites in Europeespecially their centrist response to the invasion of Hungaryand were convinced that there existed no grounds to suggest that the political differences between the International Secretariat and the International Committee had diminished. In fact, they were convinced of the opposite. Therefore, they viewed with increasing alarm the growing conciliationism within the American SWP toward the Pabloites.

Behind the increasing political tension between the SLL and the SWP was a growing divergence in the orientation of the two sections. Since 1957, when the SWP had launched the so-called regroupment campaign in the United States, it was increasingly directed in its political work toward the milieu of petty-bourgeois radicalism. The line of the SWP, even in its theoretical organ, grew softer and more conciliatory to the historic enemies of Trotskyism. By 1958 Hansen was publicly repudiating the political revolution against the Kremlin bureaucracy. The SLL, on the other hand, was deepening its penetration of the mass workers movement on the basis of an unrelenting struggle against the right-wing Social Democratic bureaucracy. In 1958 and 1960, Healy met with Cannon and other leaders of the SWP to see whether it would be possible to restrain their precipitous moves toward reunification with the Pabloites and work for the maximum clarification of the international cadre as a prerequisite for unity discussions with the International Secretariat.

However, the political differences between the SWP and the SLL continued to widen. In 1960, more than a year after Castro had come to power, the SWP swung over to the position that a workers state had been created in Cuba and that the Castro team consisted of unconscious Marxists who represented an adequate substitute for a Trotskyist party of the Cuban working class.

On January 2, 1961, the National Committee of the Socialist Labour League addressed a letter to the SWP leadership in which they expressed their deep concern that the veteran Trotskyists of the United States were drifting away from the strategic goal of the Fourth International. Itstressed to the SWP the great importance of the struggle for principles:

We are entering a period comparable in significance to 1914-1917 and it is as vital now as it was then to break sharply and clearly with all sorts of centrist tendencies within our own ranks. If we are to fulfill our revolutionary duty in the coming years as the Bolsheviks did, we have to follow the example of Lenin, not that of Luxemburg, in not merely criticizing but also uncompromisingly separating ourselves from all sorts of contemporary Kautskys; first and foremost, from the Pablo gang. (Trotskyism Versus Revisionism, Vol. Three, p. 46)

It is important to note that the SLL was insisting that the struggle against centrism and all forms of opportunism assumes the greatest significance at the very point when the objective situation brings forward an intensification of the class struggle and expands the possibilities for party building in the working class. Moreover, this attitude of theoretical intransigence came precisely when the SLL was beginning to make major gains inside the workers movementespecially among the youth inside the Labour Party Young Socialists, where the SLL was building its factions and training a youth cadre as Trotskyists.

It warned the SWP that the greatest danger confronting the revolutionary movement is liquidationism, flowing from a capitulation either to the strength of imperialism or to the bureaucratic apparatuses in the Labour movement, or both. Pabloism represents even more clearly now than in 1953, this liquidationist tendency in the international Marxist movement. In Pabloism the advanced working class is no longer the vanguard of history, the center of all Marxist theory and strategy in the epoch of imperialism, but the plaything of world-historical factors, surveyed and assessed in abstract fashion. (Ibid., p. 48)

The SLL took the Pabloites to task for their combination of impressionism and objectivism, and analyzed the significance of their revisionism for the Fourth International: ...all historical responsibility of the revolutionary movement is denied, all is subordinated to panoramic forces; the questions of the role of the Soviet bureaucracy and of the class forces in the colonial revolution are left unresolved. That is natural because the key to these problems is the role of the working class in the advanced countries and the crisis of leadership in their Labour movements. (Ibid. p. 49)

The British Trotskyists warned: Any retreat from the strategy of political independence of the working class and the construction of revolutionary parties will take on the significance of a world-historical blunder on the part of the Trotskyist movement. In Britain we have seen the results of Pablos revisionism in Pabloite actions since the formation of the Socialist Labour League and the current policy crisis in the Labour Party and we are more than ever convinced of the need to build a Leninist party absolutely free from the revisionism which Pabloism represents.(Ibid.)

Contrary to those who claim that principles stand in the way of building a party and in direct contradiction to the claims of that flabby imposter, S. Michael, that the upsurge of the masses negates the need for theoretical irreconcilability, the SLL declared:

It is because of the magnitude of the opportunities opening up before Trotskyism and therefore the necessity of political and theoretical clarity that we urgently require a drawing of the lines against revisionism in all its forms. It is time to draw to a close the period in which Pabloite revisionism was regarded as a trend within Trotskyism. Unless this is done we cannot prepare for the revolutionary struggles now beginning. We want the SWP to go forward with us in this spirit. (Ibid.)

The SWP responded with hostility to the proposals of the SLL. Cannon, who had given up on the American working class and reconciled himself to serving as the national chairman emeritus of an increasingly middle-class organization, wrote to Farrell Dobbs on May 12, 1961: The breach between us and Gerry is obviously widening. It is easier to recognize that than to see how the recent trend can be reversed. In my opinion, Gerry is heading toward disaster and taking his whole organization with him. (Ibid., p. 71)

In the course of the next two years, the SLL forced a discussion on the most fundamental problems of Marxist program and method despite all the attempts of Hansen to prevent any clarification of the historical implications of the 1953 split. The documents produced by the leaders of the SLL, especially Cliff Slaughter, were among the most important contributions to the development of Trotskyism since the great struggle against the petty-bourgeois opposition in 1939-40. To the ever-lasting historical credit of those who led this fight, the SLL courageously challenged the liquidationist wave that was engulfing large sections of the Trotskyist movement. Against the seemingly irreversible tide of adaptation to various petty-bourgeois leaders temporarily dominating the anti-imperialist struggle in the semicolonial countries, the SLL dared to stand up for principles that were being derided as out-of-date and irrelevant. It defended the perspective of the proletarian dictatorship and fought back against the debasement of Marxist theory by pragmatists and impressionists looking for the easy way out of building the Fourth International. It did not merely defend the Open Letter: the SLL fought to extract the essence of Trotskys teachings and their historical relation to Lenins life-long struggle to build a genuine proletarian party. Working in a country whose theoretical traditions were dominated by empiricism, the British Trotskyists became the champions of a renaissance of Marxist theory and exposed the bankrupt objectivism which constituted the anti-dialectical underpinnings of the Pabloite attack on Trotskyism.

As the word began to get around that the SLL was not going to play ball with Hansens scheme to liquidate Trotskyism under the cover of reunification, the slanderers set to work in order to frame the SLL and its national secretary, Gerry Healy, as ultra-left sectarians. But despite the calumny and falsifications, the SLL began to forge links with Trotskyists in different parts of the world. With extraordinary patience, its leaders undertook to train a Trotskyist faction within the SWP, impressing upon its members again and again that there existed no way to defend the Fourth International and build its sections all over the world except through the most exhaustive and thorough-going struggle against revisionism. Above all, they stressed that nothing could be built anywhere in the world, including Britain, unless the fight for the Fourth International was placed at the center of the work in each country.

In June 1963, as the SWP was carrying through its unprincipled reunification with the Pabloitesan action which was to destroy countless sections and cost hundreds of Trotskyists in Latin America their lives as a result of the catastrophic errors which followedHealy addressed a final letter to the party with which he had closely collaborated for more than 20 years. He denounced with indignation their cover-up of the betrayals of the LSSP in Sri Lanka and their publicity build-up of various bourgeois nationalists like Ben Bella. And he poured scorn on those who justified their abandonment of principles with the claim that they had broken out of isolation.

Of course you have no time for the sectarian SLL. Our comrades in the ranks and in the leadership fight day in and day out against reformism and Stalinism in the best traditions of the Trotskyist movement. But they do not yet speak to tens of thousands at public meetings like Ben Bella, Castro and the so-called Ceylon May Day meeting. In your eyes we are merely small, ultra-left fry. Our comrades took the leadership in the recent campaign against unemployment, organized and spoke to a mass meeting of 1,300, but this is small stuff. When our comrades deal powerful blows against the Social Democrats in the youth movement in the teeth of a violent witch-hunt, your correspondent T.J. Peters (a one-time leading SWP supporter who now writes like a retired liberal) speaks only of the great future before British Labour. We old-fashioned sectarians believe that the Fourth International of which our organization has always been an integral part, offers the only alternative to the corrupt leadership of so-called British Labour. But Peters has no time for us. He, like you, has really seen the light. It took you some time. (As the saying goes Those who come late to Christ come hardest.) It is approximately 12 years since George Clarke joined forces with Pablo and published the message of the infamous Third Congress in The Militant and what was at that time the magazine Fourth International. You failed to understand Pablo at that time, and then we had the split of 1953. Cannon hailed this split with the words that we were never going back to Pabloism. But at last you have made it. You now have allies all over the place, from Fidel Castro, to Philip Gunawardene and Pablo. We want to say only one thing and in this our congress was unanimous. We are proud, of the stand which our organization has taken against such a disgraceful capitulation to the most reactionary forces as that to which the majority leadership of your party has fully succumbed. (Ibid., pp. 163-64)

One year later, in June 1964, when the LSSPwhich had opposed the Open Letter and then played a key role in the maneuvers which led to the reunificationentered the bourgeois coalition government of Madame Bandaranaike, the warnings of the Socialist Labour League were confirmed. Healy had travelled to Colombo to attend the LSSP conference and to campaign against the traitors who were plotting their way into the coalition government. On the day of the conference, June 6, 1964, he stood outside the gates of the Town Hall, demanding to be admitted so that he could speak to the delegates and urge them to reject the decision of N. M. Perrera, Colvin De Silva and other LSSP leaders to enter the bourgeois government. Though he succeeded in forcing a vote on the question of his admission into the conference, Healy was denied entry. He remained at the gates outside the meeting, calling on delegates to break with the LSSP leaders and support the revolutionary wing. When the conference was over, Healy went to address dock workers in Colombo port, textile workers at Wellawatta weaving mills, and a group of university students. At all these meetings he explained the historic significance of the betrayal carried out by the LSSP in collaboration with the Hansen-Mandel United Secretariat. His call for the defense of Trotskyism against the LSSP traitors evoked a powerful response. The work he carried out in Sri Lankawhich was further developed during subsequent trips by Michael and Tony Bandalaid the basis for the rebuilding of the Trotskyist movement in that country.

In the United States, the SLL worked to reorganize the Trotskyist movement in the aftermath of the SWFs desertion of the Fourth International. Immense political assistance was given, not only in the analysis of the split but in the development of a revolutionary perspective for the American proletariat. Fighting against tendencies to see the split simply in the context of radical politics in the United States, the SLL fought to develop a genuine Marxist party, oriented to the working class and based on internationalism. As a result of this protracted theoretical and political clarification, the petty-bourgeois radical and anti-internationalist character of the Spartacist group was exposed and the conditions were created to transform the American Committee for the Fourth International into the Workers League in November 1966.

The work conducted by the Socialist Labour League between 1961 and 1966 represented a historic contribution to the building of the Fourth International. It had assumed responsibility for leading the struggle against revisionism and reorganizing, along with the OCI in France, the world Trotskyist movement.

It was during this period of intensive theoretical work on an international front that the SLL laid the foundations for enormous political and organizational advances within Britain. In 1964 it captured the leadership of the Labour Party Young Socialists. In response to a purge by the Wilson leadership in the Labour Party, it established the YS as the independent youth organization of the Trotskyist movement.

This influx of a new generation made possible an expansion of the SLLs political work. In 1968, the revolutionary perspective for which it had fought against the Pabloites was completely confirmed by the French General Strike of May-June. This development led to the rapid growth in the OCI in France and, under conditions of a growing conflict between the working class and the right-wing reformist Labour government, a substantial increase in the size of the Socialist Labour League. In September 1969, the first daily Trotskyist newspaper, the Workers Press was established.

In June 1970 the Labourites called an election, based on opinion polls which showed them coasting to an easy victory over the Tories. However, the treacherous record of the Government, exemplified by its abortive attempt to introduce anti-union laws, created the conditions for the victory of the Tories. This set into motion an escalation of class conflict on a scale not seen since the end of World War II. Workers, intellectuals and youth began to enter the Socialist Labour League in unprecedented numbers. The facilities and resources of the movement expanded at a tremendous speed. Actors and playwrights attended SLL lectures, joined the party and assisted in the staging of such powerful gatherings as the Alexandra Palace rally which drew an audience of 4,000. In response to the introduction of antiunion laws by the Heath government (the Industrial Relations Act) and the growth of unemployment, the SLL organized a national campaign against unemployment based on youth marches which attracted immense support in Britain and whose progress was followed with pride throughout all the sections of the International Committee.

Educational camps in Essex were held during the summers of 1970, 1971 and 1972 that attracted ever-larger international delegations. The strength of the SLL and its stature among revolutionists all over the world had grown enormously. As a result of its struggle against revisionism, it had been able to develop the first serious Marxist analysis of the post-war capitalist boom ever attempted within the Trotskyist movement and explained the explosive contradictions embodied in the Bretton Woods system of international finance based on dollar-gold convertibility. The British Trotskyists exposed the characteristic impressionism of Mandels theory of neo-capitalism, which attempted to transform Marxs Capital into an apology for the subordination of the working class to middle-class protest movements.
- A police officer, Lance Corporal Bright Akosa,has been arrested for involvement in an armed robbery

- The police officer allegedly used his official service weapon to kill 46-year-old Samuel Tawiah, a taxi driver

- The Director-General of the CID, COP Ken Yeboah said L/cpl Akosa hired a taxi from Pokuase to Adjei Kotoku under the guise of going to visit his building site.

- The taxi driver was however asked to stop the vehicle when they got to a nearby bush where he shot him twice by the police officer

Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

The Accra Regional Criminal Investigations Department, has arrested Lance Corporal Bright Akosa, together with two others for an involvement in a robbery case.

The arrest was affected by the Anti Robbery Unit of the Ghana Police Service in connection with a robbery and murder.

In a report filed by CitiNewsroom, the Director-General of the CID, COP Ken Yeboah, revealed that the police officer allegedly used his official service weapon to kill 46-year-old Samuel Tawiah, a taxi driver during a robbery operation.

Police man, 2 others arrested for killing taxi driver in armed robbery operation Source: citiewsroom.com

Source: UGC

They were arrested on September 14, and have been prosecuted, charged and remanded into police custody.

The policeman and his accomplice were offering a Nissan Versa taxi for sale in Cape Coast when they were arrested, COP Ken Yeboah said.

COP Yeboah said the police officer went to Pokuase to hire the taxi to Adjei Kotoku under the guise of going to visit his building site. Unknown to the taxi driver, one of the suspects, Ebenezer Tetteh, was hiding in a nearby bush.

He added that when the police officer got to the spot, he directed the taxi driver to stop the vehicle, and then he shot him twice.

Ebenezer then emerged from his hideout, pulled the deceased taxi driver and the policeman shot him again to ensure he had died. They left him in the bush, the CID boss continued.

The suspects then moved to the Central Region to sell the taxi for GHS8,000 to the third suspect.

In other news, James Womba, the main suspect in the murder of University of Ghana's Law lecturer, Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh, has spoken to the police in a new confession.

According to him, he went into the late professor's home with the intention to rob him and not to cause any harm to him.

The Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service, COP Isaac Ken Yeboah, while speaking in a media briefing, indicated that Womba and his accomplice knocked out Professor Benneh, killing him in the process.

COP Isaac Ken Yeboah said Womba was compelled to hit Professor Benneh because he was not forthcoming with what they were demanding from him and he also wanted to blow an alarm over the attack.

Womba is reported to have given a new name to the police as the one he committed the dastardly act with after he gave a different name in his first interrogation.

Interrogators say Womba confessed to hitting Professor Benneh with an iron rod and gagged him.

After incessant requests, Womba and his accomplice took two phones and an amount of GH450 cedis from the professor's wallet.

YEN is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident?

Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition?

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via Instagram or on YENs official Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
Have you seen Joe Biden's most recent political commercial? I viewed it yesterday on YouTube. It blames Donald Trump for over 200,000 deaths and 14 million jobs lost. Then it says Trump spent the entire debate blaming others. Please watch it (15 seconds), then see if your reaction is similar to mine.

I found it both ironic and funny.

Ironic because it has a picture at the ten-second mark of Biden standing behind a podium with a "BUY AMERICAN" sign on it. This is ironic in light of what he has done for China in the recent past. About Buy American: "In fact, when it comes to one of the most attention-getting provisions of the Biden plans  greatly expanding the use of federal Buy American requirements to boost demand for manufactured goods, tightening enforcement, and narrowing or eliminating loopholes  similar measures were actively opposed [emphasis mine] by Obama during the worst of the Great Recession of 200709." I guess Biden thinks the economy is strong enough now to implement what his boss opposed twelve years ago. But wait! Biden recently accused Trump of causing a depression. Since a depression is worse than a recession, I guess Biden thinks it's OK to implement economic sanctions Obama opposed. I find Biden's plans ironic and sad.

"Biden has also made statements about China, include 'robbing the US of our technology and intellectual property, or forcing American companies to give it away in order to do business in China.' along with currency manipulation, dumping of below-cost exports, and 'state-owned company abuses, or unfair subsidies,' and that have 'got to end.'" This from a man who said of China, "Come on, man, I mean, you know, they're not bad folks, folks. But guess what, they're not competition for us." OK, Joe, if China is not competition for us, if they're not bad folks, why did you say what you said about them in May 2019? What has altered your view in only sixteen months? Irony? Or hubris?

Biden stood up for China. He said Trump was "fear-mongering" and had "xenophobia." He then reversed himself, complimenting Trump's China policies. Ironic in light of the ad? Or hubris again? You decide. And don't forget that Biden praised China and the Communist Party in a 2011 speech at Sichuan University.

But the most ironic point (to me, at least) occurs at the twelve-second mark, when the announcer says, "He will fight the virus." Note that the announcer did not say "China virus" or "Wuhan virus." I wonder from where Biden thinks the virus came. And just what does he think caused the 200,000 deaths and the 14 million jobs lost? By the way, the 200,000 deaths figure differs with Dr. Brian C. Joondeph's citation of the Centers for Disease Control's "6 percent of COVID deaths were solely from the virus, without confounding comorbidities that may have contributed to but not necessarily caused death."

Funny, because the announcer says at the nine-second mark, "America Needs A Fresh Start" and, at the thirteen-second mark, says, "Rebuild our economy back." Why either? "The jobless rate had touched a 50-year low of 3.5% in February [2020] before rising to 4.4% the following month amid the early effects of the [virus] crisis." No less than the Conference Board says the economy is doing better than expected: "Economic growth has picked up in the third quarter following a sharp contraction of 31.7 percent (annualized rate) in the second quarter. While bringing US economic output back to pre-pandemic levels will require continued growth, there has been some progress in driving economic activity higher over the summer despite a sharp uptick in new COVID-19 cases. Indeed, various economic indicators that we track have rebounded in July and August at a greater than expected rate." They expect the future to be bright as well: "This upside forecast results in an annual growth rate of -3.2 percent in 2020 and a strong rebound of 6.9 percent in 2021. In this scenario US monthly economic output recovers completely to pre-pandemic levels by January 2021."

And this article by George Mentz sites ten reasons why Trump's economy is the best in 50 years. Reason 8 is particularly interesting in light of what Biden poses to "implement a fresh start and rebuild the economy." The only source that says Biden's economic plan is better than Trump's comes from Mark Zandi at Moody's Analytics (hat tip to Jack Hellner). Isn't it funny that I (and other AT readers) can find several economic reports that suggest that the economy doesn't require a fresh start or need rebuilding, but Biden's bunch can find only one?

Biden's way to implement a fresh start and rebuild the economy is to propose almost $4 trillion in higher taxes. Now, that's funny because it hasn't worked before, but he, like the Democrat party, ignores history. Actually, it's funny (we would cry if we didn't find it funny) that Biden thinks the economy needs him fiddling with it. Or is it again hubris on his part?

This commercial is entertaining to anyone with a modicum of sense because it places Biden's hubris, caused by him running for president, on obvious display. His hubris is both ironic and funny. I highly recommend it.
Amy Coney Barrett

Amy Coney Barrett University of Notre Dame

President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett signed an open letter in 2006 demanding that courts overturn Roe v. Wade. It referred to the landmark ruling, which guaranteed women the legal right to abortion, as a "barbaric" decision.

"The Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion for any reason," read the letter, first reported by The Guardian. "It's time to put an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade and restore laws that protect the lives of unborn children."

Barrett and her husband joined hundreds of others in signing the letter, which an anti-choice group placed in the South Bend Tribune. At the time, she was teaching law at the University of Notre Dame.

While the letter reflects the ideology held by a vast majority of conservatives, it may pose a hurdle for Barrett's confirmation to the high court. Democratic Senate aides told NBC News that Barrett should have disclosed the letter in her judiciary confirmation questionnaire as part of her response to a question asking for citations of "books, articles, reports, letters to the editor, editorial pieces or other published material you have written or edited."

St. Joseph County Right to Life, the group who placed the ad, claims that life begins at fertilization. It has also called for the criminalization of discarded frozen or unused embryos created through in vitro fertilization  an extreme position even among the anti-choice movement.

Conservative journalist Ramesh Pannuru defended Barrett by claiming that she had signed on to the half of the letter calling for an end to "abortion on demand"  not the half calling Roe "barbaric." The pages appeared side-by-side in the newspaper.

Trump, who pledged to nominate anti-choice justices, dismissed Democratic nominee Joe Biden's claim that Roe v. Wade was on the ballot in November at Tuesday evening's presidential debate. Trump claimed that Barrett's views on abortion were still a mystery.

Story continues

"It's not on the ballot," Trump said. "There's nothing happening there. You don't know her view on Roe v. Wade."

Asked about the matter over the weekend, Trump told Fox News that "it will work out." However, the president did not clarify the meaning of his words.

"She is certainly conservative in her views  in her rulings," Trump said. "And we'll have to see how that all works out, but I think it will work out."

But Republican lawmakers have publicly stated the opposite. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri told Senate reporters on Tuesday that Barrett's anti-choice views were "awfully clear."

"I think that's one where she meets my standard of having evidence in the record  out there in public, on the record  that indicates that she understands Roe was really an act of judicial imperialism and wrongly decided," Hawley said.

Barrett's open views on abortion, as well as the extreme religious doctrine which appears to inform those views, will come under scrutiny as senators weigh her background and qualifications  including from nominally pro-choice moderates like Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

The New York Times reported last week that Barrett and her husband were members of People of Praise, an obscure Christian sect which opposes abortion and teaches that God has willed men to assume authority over their wives and family.

According to The Times, People of Praise describes itself as a "charismatic Christian community" whose members swear "a lifelong oath of loyalty, called a covenant, to one another, and are assigned and are accountable to a personal adviser, called a 'head' for men and a 'handmaid' for women."

The Associated Press (AP) reported that former women members of the group said wives were taught to obey their husbands at all times  and must provide sex on demand.

One woman told the AP that the group barred her access to birth control, because wives were expected to have as many as children as God allowed.

Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who finds himself in an unexpectedly fierce re-election fight, said the committee's process was merely a pro forma matter.

"So, we'll start on Oct. 12, and more than half of the Supreme Court justices who have had hearings were done within 16 days or less," he told Fox News. "We'll have a day of introduction. We'll have two days of questioning: Tuesday and Wednesday. And on the 15th, we'll begin to markup. We'll hold it over for a week, and we'll report her nomination out of the committee on Oct. 22."

"Then it will be up to (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell as to what to do with the nomination once it comes out of committee," Graham said.

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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk across the South Lawn upon return to the White House in Washington on May 27, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump Fatigued, Taking Antibody Cocktail After COVID-19 Diagnosis: Physician

Top economic adviser says Trump has a 'very moderate case' of the virus

President Donald Trumps physician, Dr. Sean P. Conley, said the president remains fatigued but in good spirits after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, while First Lady Melania Trump has only a mild cough and headache.

According to an update from Conley, Trump is taking an 8-gram dose of Regenerons polyclonal antibody cocktail and completed the infusion without incident. The president is being monitored frequently by a team of experts, who will be making recommendations to Trump and the first lady.

Trump confirmed his diagnosis late on Thursday.

Other members of Trumps family have tested negative for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus, so far.

Conley said that in addition to the antibody cocktail, the president is also taking zinc, vitamin D, a daily aspirin, famotidine, and melatonin.

It came as White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump has a very moderate case of COVID-19, without elaborating, after the president confirmed that both he and the first lady were diagnosed.

I have not talked to him today, but apparently hes doing just fine, Kudlow added on Fox News. The president was kind of barking out orders for all of us, giving us tasks this morning to follow through. Hes on the phone, he said.

It came after White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said on Friday that Trump is experiencing mild symptoms, while Melania Trump confirmed on Twitter that her symptoms were also mild.

Some have noted that Trumps Twitter feed has been unusually quiet. Typically, Trump frequently makes posts and re-tweets comments from supporters or news outlets.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk from the Marine One helicopter back to the White House after traveling to Fort McHenry in Baltimore for Memorial Day holiday commemorations from Washington on May 25, 2020. (Erin Scott/Reuters)

Kudlow also told Fox News that he tested negative for COVID-19, noting that he is subjected to daily testing along with other White House officials. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also tested negative for the virus, as did Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was with him and many others on Saturday and has been on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, also tested negative, the White House said.

Meadows said that Trump was conducting business as usual.

I can tell you in terms of Hope Hicks, we discovered that right as Marine One was taking off yesterday, said Meadows.

After Trumps diagnosis, his campaign announced that he would be canceling events in several states on Friday and over the weekend as he recovers. Trump also said he will self-isolate at the White House.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, tested negative for the CCP virus, while Democratic nominee Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden tested negative on Friday, officials said.

The White House hasnt responded to a request for comment after Kudlows statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Russia is responsible for over half of all state-sponsored hacking, vastly more than any other state, according to a new report from Microsoft.

Russian activity made up 52 per cent of all attacks between July 2019 and June 2020, the software giants Digital Defence Report states.

It is followed by Iran, which makes up 25 per cent of the attacks monitored.

China is responsible for 12 per cent of attacks, while North Korea and other states make up the final 11 per cent.

The majority of their targets have been in the United States, which is targeted 69 per cent of the time. The United Kingdom is the next most popular victim, receiving 19 per cent of attacks, followed by Canada, South Kora, and Saudi Arabia.

While there has been much concern over recent years that countries criticial national infastructure  such as the national grid of financial services  could be targeted by hackers, Microsoft says that is not the most common target.

According to the software giant, 90 per cent of attacks from nation-states have been focused on nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), advocacy groups, human rights organizations and think tanks focused on public policy, international affairs or security.

The company suggests that nation-states are hoping to influence government policy through subtler means, rather than targeting infrastructure directly.

Other motivations of the hackers, Microsoft says, include attacking areas that are criticial to the stability, prosperity, and survival of opposing countries.

Microsoft observed 16 different nation-state actors either targeting customers involved in the global COVID-19 response efforts or using the crisis in themed lures to expand their credential theft and malware delivery tactics, Microsoft corporate VP Tom Burt said in a blog post about the report.

These COVID-themed attacks targeted prominent governmental health care organizations in efforts to perform reconnaissance on their networks or people. Academic and commercial organizations involved in vaccine research were also targeted.

This includes using spear-phishing via Microsoft Word documents, and used unique credentials by imitating an American fast-food chains email about the coronavirus, as well as fake online coupons.

Google had tracked similar attacks, with state-sponsored campaign apparently targetting US government employees with offers of free fast food.

It was one of 18 million attempted scam messages per day related to Covid-19.

Hackers from China have been targeting medial institutions in the United States and Asia, attempting to steal proprietary information during the coronavirus pandemic, the report alleges.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, hackers from Iran and South Korea have focused on global health institutions.

Recently, Russia was also accused of stealing secret research on coronavirus vaccines from UK labs, according to the NCSC.

It is believed that vaccine research facilities at Oxford University and Imperial College London are among institutions targeted by the hackers, who are thought to operate by exploiting weaknesses in VPN and external mail services used by researchers.

This form of attack is explicitly mentioned in Microsofts report, which states that the most common tactics of the hackers include gathering information, such as the passwords and addresses of email accounts, infecting systems with malware, and consistently targeting and frequently compromising outdated and unpatched VPN infrastructure.

This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a global non-aggression pact on cyberwarfare, suggesting that the United States and other countries should not make cybersecurity a hostage of political disagreement.

Microsoft had said last month that the Russian hacking group Strontium has attacked over 200 organizations including political campaigns, advocacy groups, parties and political consultants ahead of the presidential election in November.
WELLESLEY, Mass., Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Advanced Metals Pty Ltd (GAM), a world leader in the socially responsible production of tantalum, recognizes the importance of the latest action from the U.S. government to encourage secure and sustainable production of tantalum from trusted producers. On September 29, the U.S. Department of Defense ("DoD") issued an interim rule that will require DoD contractors to cease supplying tantalum originally sourced in various forms from adversarial foreign suppliers in a specified list of nations.

GAM's operations  from mine to finished product  are fully compliant under DoD's new rule (DFARS 225.7018) that restricts the department from purchasing tantalum oxides, metals, and alloys which were derived at nearly any point in the supply chain from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. The rule formally implements a national security measure, signed into law last year, designed to limit DoD's exposure to non-allied sources for tantalum. Prized for its unique properties and uses in key defense technologies, tantalum is a designated critical mineral whose absence "would have significant consequences for the economy or national security," reported the Department of Interior in 2018.

"As the world's leading vertically integrated tantalum producer, we stand ready to deliver high performance and DFARS-compliant tantalum products to our customers," said Steve Krause, President of GAM Technology. "Now, more than ever, U.S. Department of Defense suppliers need dependable partners with reliable critical material supply chains, and GAM is capable of meeting their tantalum powder, chips, ingot, rod, plate or sheet enabling them to conform to this requirement."

DFARS 225.7018 implements section 849 of the National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA") for Fiscal Year 2020. Section 849 of the NDAA added tantalum to an existing statute (10 U.S.C. 2533c) that lists critical materials DoD cannot source (with few exceptions) from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.

About Global Advanced Metals (GAM)

A leading conflict-free tantalum producer fully compliant with DFARS 225.7018 and 10 U.S.C. 2533c, GAM has exclusive rights to the world's largest industrial resources of tantalum ore located in Western Australia. GAM produces conflict-free tantalum powders and metallurgical products at its Pennsylvania, USA, and Aizu, Japan plants for a range of industries including electronics, aerospace, automotive, medical, and chemical processing. GAM's processing facilities in Japan and the USA were first declared "Conflict-Free" in 2010 under the former EICC/GeSI Conflict Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) audit program and continue to maintain their conformance status under the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI). Further information regarding GAM is available at www.globaladvancedmetals.com

Media Contact

Kurt Habecker

+1-610-369-8220

[email protected]

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SOURCE Global Advanced Metals
Rae, who created, executive produces and stars in the half-hour comedy Insecure for HBO and also executive produces sketch series A Black Lady Sketch Show for that premium cabler, is hosting SNL for the first time, but that episode marks Biebers fourth appearance on the show. His most recent one was just last season, in February 2020 in support of his most-recent studio album Changes. His latest track, Holy, featuring Chance the Rapper, reached No. 1 on the Spotify Global Chart and was streamed over 120 million times in its debut week in September.
Miley Cyrus got herself covered in fake blood while filming a mystery project in Brooklyn this Thursday evening.

The 27-year-old's upcoming video project apparently includes Dua Lipa who was seen shooting it with Miley earlier this week.

Late Thursday night Miley could be spotted returning to her hotel in the city and Dua was seen out to dinner in the Big Apple.

Dress-up: Miley Cyrus got herself covered in fake blood while filming a mystery project in Brooklyn this Thursday evening

While at her shoot in Brooklyn the Party In The U.S.A. was seen with false blood spattered from the chin down.

Miley could be spotted sizzling up a storm in a smoldering ensemble that included tight black corsetry to show off her trim figure.

The corset was cinched over a sleeveless white top and she added to the slasher feel of the look with fashionably torn-up hose.

Miley threw on some evocative accessories for the shoot, including a stack of bracelets and a top hat with a curved brim.

The look: The 27-year-old's upcoming video project apparently includes Dua Lipa who was seen shooting it with Miley earlier this week

Co-star: Later Thursday night Miley could be spotted returning to her hotel in the city and Dua (pictured) was also seen out and about in the Big Apple that evening

Wow: While at her shoot in Brooklyn the Party In The U.S.A. was seen with false blood spattered from the chin down

Balancing on a pair of sky-high black leather stilettos, the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus strung on a tangle of necklaces including a cross.

She wore her hair in a cropped platinum do for her latest workday and could be spotted chatting with crew members whilst in her trailer.

The trailer was parked on the street next to where a grunge chic set had been put up, offering another hint as to the tone of the video.

A female extra in white cowgirl boots could be spotted ambling about in front of the set which featured graffiti and an eerie portrait of a couple.

Ready for her close-up: Miley could be spotted sizzling up a storm in a smoldering ensemble that included tight black corsetry to show off her trim figure

Tip of the hat: Miley threw on some evocative accessories for the shoot, including a stack of bracelets and a top hat with a curved brim

When Miley was glimpsed returning to her hotel that evening she was corporate chic in a navy blue pinstriped trouser suit.

She kept her top hat from the music video on, adding a dapper touch to the getup and complementing the sleek black heels she wore.

Miley slung on a slender black leather handbag for her outing and wore a mask with a design of red lips baring teeth on them.

Meanwhile when Dua was seen out and about in New York that night she had slid herself into a black and white Chrome Hearts dress.

Hints: Miley recently shared on the New Zealand podcast the Dom, Meg And Randell Catchup that Dua and Billy Idol are both on her next album

Her mini was cut off at mid-thigh allowing her to show off her knockout legs as she headed into the Bowery Hotel which Miley was also spotted entering.

Sweeping her dark hair into a bun, she swung along a red leather purse with an embossed snakeskin motif and the word 'DEALER' scrawled across it.

The Albanian British pop act, who was returning to her hotel from dinner with her beau Anwar Hadid, was seen graciously signing an autograph for a fan.

Miley recently shared on the New Zealand podcast the Dom, Meg And Randell Catchup that Dua and Billy Idol are both on her next album.

By the way: Entitled She Is Miley Cyrus, Miley's next album was initially meant to be a combination of three EPs - She Is Coming, She Is Here and She Is Everything.

Entitled She Is Miley Cyrus, the album was initially meant to be a combination of three EPs - She Is Coming, She Is Here and She Is Everything.

Although Miley did manage to release She Is Coming last year she decided against dropping the next two EPs as separate entities.

Instead she will simply release all the songs as the full-on album She Is Miley Cyrus which does not currently have a publicly announced release date.

Miley and her 23-year-old boyfriend Cody Simpson went into self-isolation together amid the coronavirus pandemic but in August it emerged they have split.

The duo were longtime pals and Miley was even pictured attending Cody's star-studded 18th birthday bash.

'Miley is one of my best friends and she helps with some of that transitional stuff - trying to escape your childhood,' Cody told GQ Australia that year.

Her split from Cody came a year after her split from her husband Liam Hemsworth, whom she was married to for about nine months.

Rock 'n' roll touch: Miley slung on a slender black leather handbag for her outing and wore a mask with a design of red lips baring teeth on them

Recent history: Miley and her 23-year-old boyfriend Cody Simpson went into self-isolation together amid the coronavirus pandemic but in August it emerged they have split

After she separated from Liam she had a whirlwind summer romance from Kaitlynn Carter who had herself recently split from reality TV dreamboat Brody Jenner.

During a recent interview on The Joe Rogan Experience she shared that she was undergoing a 'pivotal moment' by being single again.

'I haven't been single in like, I guess really from 2015 - I mean, there's been little months, so maybe about five years. Like I've had, you know, a few months here and there where I've been single but not for a long period of time,' she said.

Meanwhile: When Dua was seen out and about in New York that night she had slid herself into a black and white newsprint dress

Place to be: Her mini was cut off at mid-thigh allowing her to show off her knockout legs as she headed into the Bowery Hotel which Miley was also spotted entering
The Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bismark Aborbi-Ayitey has reiterated that former President John Mahama ended 'dumsor' before leaving office.



The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) insists that power outage popularly known in Ghana as 'dumsor' was ended by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



However, the NDC disagrees.



Speaking to this on Neat FM's 'Me Man Nti' programme, Bismark Aborbi-Ayitey said: "it is established . . . if you are a Ghanaian and you know John Mahama solved dumsor, vote for him. If you don't vote for him, you're a wicked person..."



Listen to him in the video below





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

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The poet died in Cork on Thursday night after a short illness, according to the Irish Times.

Born in Belfast in 1941, Mr Mahon has mostly been resident in the Republic since his student days in Trinity College and had lived in Kinsale for the past several decades.

President Michael D Higgins paid tribute to Mr Mahon today, describing him as a "great poet".

The loss of Derek Mahon, yet another artist gone from us in recent times, is like the falling of oak trees.

He noted one of his poems, A Disused Shed in County Wexford, was in contention to be Ireland's favourite poem.

President Higgins said of Mr Mahon: "What I recall as his greatest strength was his poetic instinct to continually dredge for what was human about us; what was contradictory as well as what was full of possibility...

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"The loss of Derek Mahon, yet another artist gone from us in recent times, is like the falling of oak trees. We are left with hope from the fruit of the acorns in which the writing and its encouragement represents as legacy.

"To his partner, family and many friends, Sabina and I send our deepest sympathy."
The launch of Northrop Grummans Antares rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS) was scrubbed by about 9:40 p.m. due to an unknown problem with a component of ground support equipment.

The commercial cargo spacecraft, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus, was set to blast off on Thursday night carrying the name of deceased NASA astronaut Kalpana K.C. Chawla, the first Indian-born woman to enter space, for her key contributions to human spaceflight.

Tonights launch attempt for @NorthropGrummans Antares rocket to send the #Cygnus resupply craft to the @Space_Station was scrubbed about 2 minutes and 40 seconds before liftoff due to an unknown problem with a component of ground support equipment, NASA tweeted.

We have scrubbed tonights #Antares launch attempt after receiving off-nominal data from ground support equipment. Stay tuned for the time of the next launch attempt, Northern Grumman.

This marked the second delay in total for Northrop Grummans latest commercial resupply mission. The night launch was already pushed back from its original launch window of Tuesday evening due to weather conditions.

NASA has yet to detail specific reasons for the abort, after needing to delay at the original 11-minute mark due to a boat in the range.

On the NG-14 mission, the S.S. Kalpana Chawla was supposed to deliver approximately 3,630 kilograms of cargo to the station.

Research flying aboard the Cygnus includes the test of a biologic drug that could be used for the treatment of leukaemia, a plant growth study that will cultivate radishes as a model for future crops in space, a compact toilet for astronauts to use on deep-space exploration missions and a 360-degree virtual reality camera that will be used to film during a spacewalk for an immersive cinematic production.

Northrop Grumman, an American global aerospace and defence technology company said that this mission is named after Chawla in memory of the mission specialist who died with her six crewmates aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 2003 Northrop Grumman stated that it is proud to celebrate the life of Kalpana Chawla and her dream of flying through the air and in space.

It is the companys tradition to name each Cygnus after an individual who has played a pivotal role in human spaceflight, said Northrop Grumman.

While Chawla made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the space program, her legacy lives on. She has not only inspired her colleagues but also many back in India, to follow in her footsteps. Her final research conducted onboard Columbia helped understand astronaut health and safety during spaceflight.

Born in Haryana, India, Chawla moved to the United States to earn her masters and doctorate degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1984 and University of Colorado in 1988, respectively. She then began her career at NASA, conducting research in fluid dynamics at the Ames Research Center in California.

After becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, Chawla applied for and became a NASA astronaut as a member of The Flying Escargot, NASAs 15th class of trainees. In 1997, she launched on STS-87, a 15-day shuttle mission that was dedicated to the science flying as part of the fourth United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4).

Chawlas second spaceflight, STS-107, came to a tragic end on February 1, 2003, following 16 days of conducting science onboard the space shuttle Columbia.

A small piece of foam that struck the orbiters left wing during launch created a hole that went undetected during the mission. Upon Columbias return to Earth, hot plasma entered the wing, tearing it apart, and the resulting loss of control led to the vehicle disintegrating and the death of the crew.

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Black History Month is an annual observance that commemorates the history and achievements of members of the black community.

In the US  where it originated in the early 20th century  the month is also known as African-American History Month.

Here is everything you need to know about Black History Month:

When is it?

Black History Month takes place every year in the UK in October.

The annual observance is also commemorated in other parts of Europe during October, including Ireland and the Netherlands.

In the US, where Black History Month originated, the awareness month is held in February.

It is also celebrated in Canada during the month of February, where it became an officially-recognised event in 1995.

How did it start?

Virginian-born Carter Godwin Woodson, a historian and co-founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History), is credited with being the father of black history.

In February 1926, Woodson and his organisation launched Negro History Week, a precursor to Black History Month.

The group chose the second week of February for the observance to coincide with the birthdays of 16th US president Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass.

Woodson believed that education about black history was vital in the study of race within society, stating: If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.

The week grew in popularity over the years, leading to the creation of black history clubs. Mayors across the country also threw their support behind the week, advocating for it to become an official holiday.

Following more than four decades of the week, the first celebration of Black History Month in the US was held at Kent State University in 1970 from 2 January until 28 February.

In 1976, US President Gerald Ford recognised Black History Month, urging members of the public to seize the opportunity to honour the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavour throughout our history.

Black History Month was first celebrated in the UK in 1987, an event that was organised by Ghanaian-born Akyaaba Addai-Sebo.

How is it commemorated?

Black History Month in the UK is commemorated with various events across the country, including talks, exhibitions and concerts.

This years theme is Proud to Be. People of all ages are being encouraged to share what they are proud to be on social media.

In London, it is being marked with a three-hour cruise along the River Thames going from Temple to Greenwich and back.

The six-mile round trip showcases the thousands of years of African and Caribbean history on display along the river. This includes a closer look at Kings Colleges connection to the Caribbean and Canary Wharfs African roots.

The tour is available until 3 October and the tickets cost 36.

Also in London, the Zari art gallery in Fitzrovia is displaying the work of Black artists for its Honour, Remember, Inspire exhibition, which is showing until 29 October.

The LevelUP Foundation, a small Sheffield-based youth charity, is also hosting an event called Culture Kitchen.

Taking place at Sheffield Hallam University on 29 October, the event invites people to come and learn how to make signature dishes from a host of different countries including Jamaica, Nigeria and Guyana.

For all the latest news on Black History Month, click here.
(TNS)  Gov. Gavin Newsom stepped inside the hollow base of a majestic redwood tree in the Santa Cruz Mountains last month and marveled at the giants ability to withstand a brutal wildfire that ravaged the 118-year-old state park around him.How the hell do these things make it? Newsom asked a park ranger.The answer is that those trees evolved to endure a good burn. Fire is endemic to California. But the threat is changing now, thanks to the worlds warming climate and more than a century of poor forest management, among other reasons.Newsom saw as much that day in August when he toured the extensive fire damage at Big Basin Redwoods, Californias oldest state park. It wasnt the first time hed found himself in such a situation: Shortly after he was elected governor in 2018, Newsom and President Donald Trump walked through the burned remains of Paradise, the Butte County town decimated by the historic Camp Fire.About two weeks after Newsoms trip to Big Basin, he met with Trump again. By then the states already-severe fire 2020 season had intensified even more. Newsom urged the president to appreciate how the plumbing of the world had changed and that climate change is real.While the president has not fully embraced that reality, Newsom has since tried to press fast forward on Californias climate change actions, betting they will help ease the endlessly growing threat of wildfires in the state.He and other state officials have no time to waste.California is burning more than ever, with a record 3.7 million acres blackened across the state so far and weeks more of potentially dangerous weather in store. The fiery crisis could quickly become a political one too, as state leaders scramble to contain a worsening problem with myriad solutions, none of them easy to enact.And its not just a climate issue: To most effectively reduce the mounting risk of catastrophic wildfires, the state will need to grapple with its overgrown forests and misguided development patterns too.We have not done enough, said state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who has taken a leading role in wildfire legislation in recent years as his district burned.Politicians and policy experts broadly agree, though disagreement persists about the best next steps. On the climate front, Newsoms most ambitious measure was a recent executive order prohibiting the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.He has also called for a ban on new permits for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a controversial method of extracting oil and gas from the ground. Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and two other lawmakers have said they will introduce such a bill this year.Much more is needed to prevent catastrophic fires, including more aggressive measures to thin overgrown forests through measures such as controlled burns. California is trying to achieve that through a new partnership with the federal government that aims to reduce fire risks across 1 million acres of forest annually.But it will take years to achieve that goal, and a lot of reliable funding to maintain the endeavor in perpetuity. The state must also rethink its longstanding strategy of suppressing all fires, even nonthreatening ones that can help prevent places from burning more intensely later, said Henry McCann, a research associate at the Public Policy Institute of California. Fireproofing homes in the riskiest regions is another urgent need, he said.Theres no slam dunk or silver bullet solution, McCann said. Its an all-of-the-above type moment.Environmentalists have advocated for even stronger steps to protect the climate, and therefore lessen the risk of ruinous fires. Their ideas include moving up the states 2045 deadline to get all of its electricity from carbon-free sources and managing a responsible shift away from oil and gas production.Weve got to stop being a drug dealer, essentially, said Kathryn Phillips, director of the Sierra Club California.Abandoning fossil fuel production would be a tough pill to swallow in Kern County, where oil and gas remains a pillar of the economy. Petroleum is so deeply woven into the culture of Bakersfield that the mascots of the citys oldest high school, opened in 1893, are drillers.Newsoms environmental policies have already faced strong opposition from conservatives including Republican state Senate Leader Shannon Grove, who represents Bakersfield.Republicans believe we need to have responsible forest management, not import oil from countries with appalling human rights violations that tear down rainforests and ignore environmental regulations, Grove said in a statement to. Californians deserve a governor with real solutions for issues that affect our families, not one who likes to grab headlines.Newsom has been cognizant of the difficulties in making making such a seismic economic shift.None of us are naive in the state of California, as a fossil fuel production state, that we need to focus on a just transition ... to make sure those that are impacted by this transition are included in the new economic opportunities, Newsom said.Part of the solution for places such as Kern County could be attracting a lot of electric vehicle manufacturing and renewable energy business to the area, said Phillips of the Sierra Club.The culture of oil is so embedded in the politics of the place that getting leadership there to think more broadly about how do you develop a diverse, healthy economy has been a real struggle, Phillips said.Infrastructure investments will be essential as California tries to move toward an entirely carbon-free electric grid, experts say.The state has already struggled in that area, as indicated partly by rolling blackouts in August caused by a power supply shortage during a heat wave. State energy leaders said renewable power was not inherently to blame but they also admitted that regulators may need to rethink rules about electricity supplies and reserves. Others have called for more spending on batteries to store solar power for use when the sun does not shine.What we really need to be doing is building new stuff, said Leah Stokes, a UC Santa Barbara professor with expertise in climate and energy policy. We have to continue to create very strong incentives to build new, renewable energy as fast as possible.Paying for some of the needed efforts to lessen Californias wildfire burden will be a major challenge for state lawmakers in the years ahead. Dodd, the Napa state senator, said he might now be willing to support using revenues from the cap-and-trade program, through which large emitters can buy permits to release greenhouse gases.We dont have an unlimited checkbook, Dodd said. What weve got to do is prioritize the existing money that we already have.That idea has been advocated before by Sen. John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa (Orange County). Moorlach said the state needs to do more to reduce emissions from wildfires  which is a tricky area to address. Californias history of fire means that some amount of greenhouse gases from wildland blazes is natural.But theres no denying that wildfires do release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Human decisions to allow too much vegetation to build up and burn fossil fuels are fanning the flames.This year as of Sept. 24, fires had emitted an estimated 102.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to the California Air Resources Board. The fire emissions tally is larger than the equivalent metrics for fossil fuel pollutants from any sector except transportation in 2017, the most recent year available.If were serious about climate change, then neglecting addressing wildfires is disingenuous, Moorlach said.State lawmakers have also looked at ways to help homeowners immediately cope with the greater risk of major wildfires, though progress has been modest.State Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa, introduced what he called a big, audacious bill in 2018 that originally intended to make homes in highest-risk areas more resistant to fire  and set up a $1 billion fund to help homeowners pay for retrofits.The bill passed, but in a watered-down version that did not go as far as Wood wanted. He said it didnt feel like Californians were ready for this, a situation he called really, really disappointing, because here we are again facing these fires.I guess the challenge we really face here is that we have these fires in the fall, and then we come back in January and its raining and theres something else to work on, Wood said.California lawmakers need to recognize that housing policy is climate change policy, or should be, said state Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland. Smarter laws about where and how homes are built  allowing for denser construction in urban cores, improving public transit  can help the environment, she said.Wildfire is a familiar problem to Wicks, who grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Placer County. Her father worked for the U.S. Forest Service for more than four decades and even though he retired years ago, he still returns regularly to help fight fires, she said.Wicks was conscious of wildfire threats throughout her childhood. But whats happening in California now is orders of magnitude worse, she said.She recalled walking her young daughter to school, just a few blocks away from their home, the day Bay Area skies turned an Armageddon orange because they were blanketed with so much smoke. Her daughter wanted to know where the sun went.How do I explain to my 3-year-old that we basically destroyed the planet? Wicks said.Like many parents across California, shes worried about what the environment will look like when their children grow up, in the absence of more decisive steps to address wildfires and climate change.Are they going to be living in an environment that allows them to go out and take a hike, or are they going to grow up in a place where we have two or three months of toxic fumes that were all dealing with every single year? Wicks said.Even as the fires have only worsened over time, and despite Californias failure to solve other persistent policy problems, Wicks said shes not deterred. She has to keep pushing for bold policy changes, she said  she has no other choice.
SYRIA - More evidence are emerging that numerous rebels from Syria are being recruited to fight in the midst of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh as paid mercenaries.

During an interview with a Syrian national who refused to give out his real identity, they signed up to travel starting from the northern part of Syria going to Azerbaijan.

The man was living in the Afrin area which is located in the northern part of Syria, but he stated that he was originally from Damascus.

He also mentioned was part of the rebel Syrian National Army faction, which backed by Turkey.

The Syrian national also shared that their leader asked them if they are prepared to go to Azerbaijan to register, CNN reported.

The man stated in his WhatsApp account that he voluntarily did sign up and 90% of the unit where he was assigned also did the same thing.

He also shared that they will be compensated $1,500 when they will register for the assignment.

The man stated also that he does not know who was funding the whole operation but mentioned that their contracts are good for three months and every month they will be paid by their unit commander.

Read also: Bubonic Plague Outbreak in China, Mongolia Ignites Distress

The Syrian fighter stated that the volunteers for the operation were being gathered in the area of Hawar Kilis which is near to the Syria-Turkey border, a crossing that is controlled by a faction of the Syrian National Army while waiting for their transportation.

When the Turkish government was asked for an answer regarding the said operation and if they were recruiting Syrian fighters to proceed on the mission in Azerbaijan, the Foreign Ministry replied that all of it is just baseless allegations.

The Foreign Ministry located in Azerbaijan also refused that the fighters from Syria were on the soil of Azeri and stated that it is completely false and just a slanderous smear campaign organized in some foreign media denying the alleged connection with the importation of fighters from Syria going to Azerbaijan.

The Ministry also stated that Armenia was behind all of the allegations.

The Syrian fighter who shared the details of the operation stated that he is a father of three and his family was living under the poverty line making him prepared in traveling going to Azerbaijan.

He emphasized that it is all because of money, and the world knows that the people living in the Syrian soil are dying because of hunger.

Initially, the Syrian fighter thought that the volunteers will be sent there for guarding duties but after the first batch of fighters were sent to Azerbaijan, they learned that it is not just a normal guarding, it is fighting like in Syria and Libya.

He stated that the work there is not for a security company but it is war.

According to ABC, the Syrian fighter who used to be a carpenter shared that he just wanted life to return to normal and was only going to the mission because of the money, he stated that none of his relatives went in the first batch but he knows some guys who went in the first batch and shared that around 1,000 fighters or more had signed up for the mission and disclosed that some Syrians had been killed in the soil of Azerbaijan.



Related article: Cover-up Suspected as Rape Victim's Body Cremated Against Family's Wishes in India

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Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan gave an interview to the well-known French newspaper Le Figaro. Below is the full text of Nikol Pashinyans interview.

Le Figaro - You are blaming Turkey for providing military support to Azerbaijan. Do you have any evidence?

Nikol Pashinyan - Yes, we have proof. Russia, France and Iran have already recognized the involvement of the Turkish army in the large-scale offensive launched against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on September 27.

Top-level Turkish officials have publicly confirmed their support for Azerbaijan not only in political and diplomatic terms, but also on the battlefield. They are using Turkish UAVs and F-16s to bomb civilian facilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The international community, especially the American society, should be aware that U.S.-made F-16s are being used to kill Armenians in this conflict. There is evidence that Turkish military commanders are directly involved in the management of offensive operations. Ankara has provided Baku with military vehicles, weapons, and military advisers.

We know that Turkey trained and transported thousands of mercenaries and terrorists from Turkey-controlled areas in northern Syria. Those terrorists are fighting against the Armenians today. Many of them did not even know why Turkey deployed them to Azerbaijan. They realized that they had been made false promises after arriving in Azerbaijan.

We also know that these terrorists are taking drugs, because syringes full of narcotics have been discovered in the pockets of their uniforms - which may explain why about 30 per cent of Azerbaijani casualties are mercenaries from abroad.

Le Figaro  Do you think that Turkey is responsible for the escalation?

Nikol Pashinyan - Absolutely. The joint Azerbaijani-Turkish military drills that started in August have not been completed yet. And the offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh is actually the next phase of said exercises. Having prepared, they made the decision to launch an offensive, and they must be held responsible for this escalation.

After the unsuccessful July offensive on Armenias borders, Azerbaijan appealed to Turkey and it is obvious that Ankara is making decisions on many key aspects of the situation. They seek to reverse the regional balance of power in their favor.

Le Figaro - What do you mean?

Nikol Pashinyan - Turkeys wish is to strengthen its role and influence in the South Caucasus, changing thereby the status quo that has been in place for over a century. Turkey pursues the goal of building a sultanate-like empire, and has embarked on a path that may set the region ablaze.



Le Figaro  Are prepared for a ceasefire?

Nikol Pashinyan - It is up to Turkey and Azerbaijan to stop hostilities, because they are the ones who launched the offensive and are now killing Armenians. Nagorno-Karabakh cannot disarm, because that would lead to genocide. The people who live there are facing an existential threat.

At this stage, the opposing side shows no intention of stopping the fighting. I am not even sure that Azerbaijan has any control over those terrorists fighting on their side. Our intelligence has witnessed that the mercenaries enter the stores in Azeri settlements and ban the sale of alcohol, saying that they are applying Sharia law over there.

Le Figaro - Should the negotiations continue to be brokered by the Minsk Group?

Nikol Pashinyan - This is the only format that actually exists. The Presidents of Russia and France have issued a strong appeal. We are looking forward to international communitys active commitment to halting the aggression. Turkey cannot be a mediator for its biased and bellicose stance.

Le Figaro - Is this crisis more severe than that of 2016?

Nikol Pashinyan  This crisis is much more serious. It would be more appropriate to compare it with what happened in 1915, when more than 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered during the first genocide of the 20th century.

The Turkish state, which continues to deny the past, has once again ventured down a genocidal path. The world should be aware of what is happening here. The international community must intervene as swiftly as possible to prevent the spread of violence; otherwise the consequences of this standoff will spill over beyond the South Caucasus.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 2, 2020) - New Found Gold Corp. (TSXV: NFG) ("New Found" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results from NFGC-20-17, the first drill hole targeting the Lotto Zone ("Lotto") as part of New Found's recently commenced 100,000 m diamond drill program at its 100% owned Queensway High-Grade Gold Project ("Queensway"), 15 km west of Gander, Newfoundland.

Highlights

Two separate near surface, intervals of intense quartz veining with significant sulfide and visible gold were assayed on a rush basis and returned 41.2 g/t Au over 4.75m starting at 35 m down hole depth and 25.4 g/t Au over 5.15 m starting at 57 m down hole depth (see Figure 1). The orientation of these veins is uncertain and true widths may vary from 50% to 80%.

(see Figure 1). The orientation of these veins is uncertain and true widths may vary from 50% to 80%. Similar to the high-grade gold mineralization at Keats, the high-grade gold mineralization at Lotto displays characteristics suggestive of an epizonal orogenic depositional environment.

The Lotto Zone is situated along a secondary structure occurring along the east side of the Appleton fault approximately 2 km north of the high-grade Keats Zone (" Keats "), site of New Found's initial high-grade gold discovery at Queensway (see Figure 2).

"), site of New Found's initial high-grade gold discovery at Queensway (see Figure 2). In addition to the two reported near surface high grade intervals with visible gold, NFGC-20-17 also intersected three other zones of quartz veining and sulphide mineralization within wider structurally deformed corridors. One of these was intersected at approximately 160 m down hole depth. At the Appleton fault itself two intervals of quartz veining and sulphide mineralization were intersected, one on the hangingwall and one on the footwall of an approximately 30 m wide zone (279 m to 308 m hole depth) of fault related fracturing and alteration.

Assays are pending for the balance of NFGC-20-17 including for all these new intervals of quartz veining and sulfide mineralization.

Greg Matheson, P.Geo., Chief Operating Officer of New Found, stated: "We are delighted to encounter such impressive high-grade gold intervals in our first hole at the Lotto Zone. Hole NFGC-20-17 provides our first full geologic profile through the host stratigraphy on the east side of the Appleton fault. It is encouraging and exciting that at such an early stage in our exploration program, we now have two high-grade gold discoveries approximately 2 km apart yet within the same structural regime along the east side of the Appleton Fault Zone, with both areas demonstrating characteristics of epizonal style high-grade gold emplacement."

Hole No. From (m) To (m) Interval (m)* Au (g/t) Zone NFGC-20-17 35.25 40.00 4.75 41.2 Lotto Including 35.25 36.9 1.65 108.7 NFGC-20-17 56.95 70.75 13.8 10.1 Lotto Including 56.95 62.1 5.15 25.4 Including 61.0 61.8 0.8 138.3

Hole No. Azimuth () Dip () Length (m) UTM E UTM N NFGC-20-17 302 -46 354 658931 5428990

*The true width of mineralization is estimated to be 50-80%







Figure 1. Hole NFGC-20-17, Lotto Zone

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/65086_06370adbc4ee9a0b_001full.jpg







Figure 2. Targets in the Keats to Lotto Corridor, Appleton Fault Zone

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/65086_06370adbc4ee9a0b_002full.jpg







Photo 1. Lotto Hole NFGC-20-17 at 36 m depth

To view an enhanced version of Photo 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/65086_06370adbc4ee9a0b_003full.jpg







Photo 2. Lotto Hole NFGC-20-17 at 61 m depth

To view an enhanced version of Photo 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7337/65086_06370adbc4ee9a0b_004full.jpg

Discussion

At Keats the primary high-grade target occurs along the Keats Baseline fault, a secondary structure which parallels the Appleton fault situated approximately 200 m east of the main Appleton fault. Similarly, these new high-grade intercepts at Lotto appear to be in structures paralleling the Appleton fault on the east side with a similar offset as at Keats. An IP geophysics survey shows a chargeability response that also parallels the Appleton fault between Keats and Lotto for approximately 2 km (and open), again offset to the east side. New Found's ongoing drilling program will continue to target this corridor east of the Appleton fault between Keats and Lotto, as part of its grid drilling program testing multiple targets along 5 km of the Appleton Fault Zone.

Drilling Summary

Three core drills are now active on the Queensway project. The first drill is working at Lotto and the second and third rigs are turning at Keats.

Two additional holes (NFGC-20-20 and NFGC-20-22 have now been completed at Lotto to follow up on NFGC-20-17 and a fourth hole (NFGC-20-24) is now being drilled. Prior to moving to the Lotto Zone, the first rig completed six holes at the Little-Powerline Zone on the west side of the Appleton fault (Figure 2) and assays are pending for these holes.

To date four holes (NFGC-20-18,19,21,23) have been completed at Keats and an additional two holes (NFGC 20-25 and NFGC-20-26) are now underway. Assays from Keats are currently pending with the laboratory and the Company anticipates releasing initial results from Keats shortly.

Option Grant

New Found announces that it has granted stock options exercisable for a total of 25,000 common shares in the capital of the Company to a consultant of the Company. These stock options have an exercise price of $2.15 per option and expire on October 1, 2025. The options are governed by the terms and conditions of the Company's Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan. Following the grant of the stock options, the Company has a total of 14,020,000 stock options outstanding, representing approximately 9.87% of the outstanding common shares of the Company. This stock option grant is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

Marketing Agreement

New Found is pleased to announce that it has retained Gold Standard Media LLC and affiliates ("GSM") to conduct marketing services for the Company. GSM is headed by Kenneth Ameduri, who manages a marketing team headquartered in Austin Texas. GSM has been successfully marketing public companies since 2010. The term of the agreement is for two years ending September 22, 2022. GSM has been paid US$15,000/month in advance for these services.

QA/QC

True widths of the new exploration intercepts reported in this press release have yet to be determined but are estimated to typically be 50%-80% of reported core lengths. Assays are uncut, and calculated intervals are reported over a minimum length of 2 metres using a lower cutoff of 1.0 g/t Au. All HQ split core assays reported were obtained by either whole sample metallic screen/fire assay or standard 30-gram fire-assaying with ICP finish at ALS Minerals in Vancouver, British Columbia. The whole sample metallic screen assay method is selected by the geologist when samples contain coarse gold or any samples displaying gold initial fire assay values greater than 1.0 g/t Au. Drill program design, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and interpretation of results is performed by qualified persons employing a Quality Assurance/Quality Control program consistent with National Instrument 43-101 and industry best practices. Standards and blanks are included with every 20 samples for Quality Assurance/Quality Control purposes by the Company as well as the lab. Approximately 5% of sample pulps are sent to secondary laboratories for check assays.

Qualified Person

The technical content disclosed in this press release was reviewed and approved by Greg Matheson, P.Geo., Chief Operating Officer and a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101.

About New Found Gold Corp

New Found holds a 100% interest in the Queensway Project, located 15 km west of Gander, Newfoundland, and just 18 km from Gander International Airport. The project is intersected by the Trans-Canada Highway and has logging roads crosscutting the project, high voltage electric power lines running through the project area, and easy access to a highly skilled workforce. With working capital of approximately C$75 million the Company is well financed for aggressive exploration with an initial planned drill program of 100,000 meters. New Found has a proven capital markets and mining team with major shareholders include Palisades Goldcorp (33%), Eric Sprott (18%), Novo Resources (11%), Rob McEwen (7%), other institutional ownership (8%), and management, directors and insiders (4%). Approximately 65% of the Company's issued and outstanding shares are subject to escrow or 180-day lock up agreements.

Please see the Company's website at www.newfoundgold.ca and the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Acknowledgments

New Found acknowledges the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance Program, Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Contact

To contact the Company please visit the Company's website, www.newfoundgold.ca and make your request through our investor inquiry form. Our management has a pledge to be in touch with any investor inquiries within 24 hours.

New Found Gold Corp.



Per: "Craig Roberts"

Craig Roberts, P.Eng., Chief Executive Officer

Email: croberts@newfoundgold.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.

Forward-Looking Statement Cautions:

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, relating to further the exploration and drilling on the Company's Queensway gold project in Newfoundland. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks associated possible accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out the Company's exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/65086
Shaaban's statement came during a ceremony commemorating the death of a Russian pilot, Al-Watan says

Political and media advisor to the Syrian president, Bouthaina Shaaban, said on Wednesday that the support that Russian forces have given to the Syrian Army since 2015 has greatly helped liberate large parts of Syria from terrorists.

Shaaban added in an interview with Sputnik that the Syrian people are immensely grateful for the assistance provided by the Russian army. However, and unfortunately, parts of our country are still occupied by Israel, Turkey, and the U.S., and we will fight that battle until we liberate every inch of our land.

Shaaban stressed that there is no doubt that the presence of any American soldier on our lands is a breach of our sovereignty and a violation of international law and international legitimacy as well as all the rules and legislation governing the United Nations and inter-state relations, noting that how and when to rid of the occupying forces is a matter that should be determined by the state, based on its resources and capabilities. Moreover, the Syrian people will not turn a blind eye to the occupation forever, according to Shaaban.

Regarding the agreement between the Kurds and the U.S. with regards to Syrian oil, Shaaban said that the agreement is one that aims to steal the oil that belongs to the Syrian people, and there is no other way to put it. She pointed out that the theft of any economic resources, whether it is oil, wheat or water by the Americans and the Kurds will definitely have consequences on the citizens livelihood.

On Wednesday, the Russian Hmeimim Air Base in the Latakia countryside witnessed the inauguration ceremony of the memorial monument of Russian pilot Rifat Habibulin, who was killed while performing his military duty in Syria.

Russian General Aleksandr Chuyko, commander of the Group of Russian Forces in Syria, inaugurated the monument, which depicts the bust of Habibulin on a vertical platform, alongside his widow, his son, an Orthodox priest, and Russian and Syrian soldiers.

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.
A woman accused of striking a 23-year-old moped driver with her car and driving away last month was arrested this week in connection with the fatal hit-and-run crash, according to authorities.

Aquilino Sol Lopez, the victim of the crash, was riding a scooter on Route 139 on Sept. 27 when he was struck from behind and killed, according to the Norfolk District Attorneys Office.

Officers in Stoughton were called around 1:50 a.m. to the crash scene after the man was found in the road at the intersection of Route 139 and Route 24, the district attorneys office said.

Authorities claimed the driver responsible for the crash was not at the scene when police arrived.

The district attorneys office was notified Friday that a suspect was arrested. She was identified as 31-year-old Shandi Cardoza.

The Brockton woman was being processed at the Stoughton police station and is expected to be arraigned on multiple charges, including leaving the scene of a crash causing death, motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of a collision causing property damage and tampering with evidence, authorities said.

Greater detail will likely come out at arraignment late this morning or early this afternoon, but Stoughton police did some very impressive detective work to piece this investigation together, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said in a statement. Ms. Cardoza enjoys the presumption of innocence, and todays arraignment is just the start of this process, but Stoughton police deserve credit for a lot of hard work for developing probable cause to bring these charges."

Massachusetts State Police troopers were also important in moving this investigation forward into court, Morrissey noted.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden said in Michigan Friday that he was praying for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump as he encouraged Americans to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

'Jill and I pray that they will make a quick and full recovery,' Biden said. 'This is not a matter of politics. It is a bracing reminder for all of us that we must take this virus seriously. It is not going away.'

After Biden and his wife Jill tested negative for the coronavirus Friday morning, the former vice president took off to the key swing state of Michigan to give a speech, where he kept a mask on the whole time.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden told a Michigan crowd Friday that he's praying for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, while reminding Americans to please wear masks to curb the spread of the coroanvirus

During his campaign stop to Grand Rapids, Michigan, Joe Biden kept on his mask and brought up the importance of mask-wearing several times, after the president and first lady tested positive for COVID-19

Joe Biden was able to go on the campaign trail Friday because he and wife Jill tested negative for the coronavirus after spending 90 minutes onstage with the president Tuesday during the first presidential debate

'We must all do our part to be responsible,' he implored. 'It means wearing a mask in public. It means encouraging others to do so. It means having masking mandates nationwide.'

Biden cited the statistic: 'We can save 100,000 American lives in the next 100 days if everyone wears a mask in public.'

'So be a patriot. Do your part,' he begged. 'Wearing a mask will protect you. But it will also protect those around you - your mom, your dad, your son, your daughter, your neighbor, your co-worker.'

'Dont just do it for yourself. Do it for the people you love,' Biden said.

Trump has been mask-averse since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first recommended that wearing them could curb the spread of the virus.

He's gone so far to use Biden's mask-wearing as a sign of weakness.

Early Friday morning, Biden wished the president and first lady well.

'Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family,' he wrote.

In a later tweet he confirmed that he and Jill tested negative and could therefore resume campaigning.

There were concerns that the Bidens could have picked up the virus after being around the president and first lady Tuesday night at the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Biden campaign sent out a statement from the candidate's doctor confirming both Biden and his wife Jill were tested for COVID-19 and the virus 'was not detected.'

'I am reporting this out in my capacity as both Vice President Biden and Dr. Bidens primary care physician,' Dr. Kevin OConnor said.

But soon after wishing the Trumps well, Biden tsk-tsked the first couple for their mask aversion.

'Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands,' Biden wrote.

Joe Biden tweeted Friday afternoon that he and Jill had tested negative for the coronavirus. 'I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands'

The Biden campaign sent out a memo from Joe and Jill Biden's primary care physician that said COVID-19 was 'not detected'

The former vice president wrote that he and his wife Jill were thinking of the president and first lady and wished them a 'swift recovery.' 'We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family'

Joe Biden (right) will be tested for the virus Friday morning after spending Tuesday night on the debate stage across from President Donald Trump (left)

Biden's campaign has been meticulous about having the candidate and people around him wear masks and social distance.

The campaign was testing everyone who attended Tuesday's debate after the president's diagnosis, Politico reported Friday.

Trump adviser Hope Hicks tested positive on Wednesday but she traveled on Air Force One with the president to Cleveland for the debate and sees him on a daily basis. It's uncertain when she would have been infected.

The Biden campaign already asked one reporter - who was scheduled to travel with them but informed officials they had traveled with Trump to Minnesota on Wednesday - not to go.

All the attendees at the Cleveland debate were tested beforehand, while Jill Biden kept her mask on throughout, unlike some members of the Trump family. Melania Trump also wore a mask throughout, but removed her mask when she came onstage at the end of the face-off.

Biden, 77, is in the same high risk category as Trump due to age.

His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, tested negative for the coronavirus Thursday, according to Reuters.

She also sent out a tweet Friday wishing the president and his family well.

'Doug and I join Joe Biden and Dr. Biden in wishing President Trump and the First Lady a full and speedy recovery. Were keeping them and the entire Trump family in our thoughts,' Harris wrote.

During the debate, Trump mocked Biden for almost always sporting a mask.

Joe Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, also tweeted well wishes to the president and first lady Friday morning

'I don't wear masks like him. I dont think Ive ever seen him without a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from someone and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen,' he said.

The president also said of his packed gatherings, 'So far we've had no problem whatsoever.'

'If you could get the crowds, you'd do the same thing,' Trump told Biden.

Hicks, 31, is said to have first felt unwell returning from a rally in Minnesota on the president's plane Wednesday evening.

She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, according to a report.

Trump cancelled his Friday plans to hold a rally in Florida in the wake of his diagnosis.

Biden was seen in public Thursday when he recorded his speech for the Al Smith dinner.

He wore a mask.

The former vice president has been critical of the Trump administration's response to the pandemic.

But on Friday, the Biden campaign decided to pull down all attack ads aimed at Trump.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump both tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19), the president announced on Twitter early Friday morning.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19, Trump wrote in a tweet. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Trump is currently asymptomatic, according to the New York Times; however, the incubation period of the virus can range from two to 14 days, the CDC has said. It is not clear how long the president plans to quarantine in the White House.

In a memorandum, the presidents physician said that Trump and the first lady, who is 50, are both well at this time and plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, he added.

The positive test comes hours after Trump confirmed that Hope Hicks, one his closest aides, had tested positive for the virus, according to multiple reports.

She began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota Wednesday evening, according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private information. She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, the person told the Associated Press.

In a statement, White House spokesman Judd Deere previously said the president takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.

White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling, Deere said.

It is unclear how the virus could affect both the presidents health and the state of his campaign, with only 33 days until Election Day, the New York Times reported.

Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from the virus. Still, Trump has repeatedly downplayed concerns about being personally vulnerable to being at risk to COVID-19. I felt no vulnerability whatsoever, he told reporters back in May.

The president has also been seen without a mask in public on multiple occasions over the past few months and at times his messages about the virus have clashed with the countrys top medical leaders, both in press conferences and online.

At the Al Smith dinner on Thursday, an event put on by the Archdiocese of New York, Trump said his administration was on track to develop and distribute a vaccine before the end of the year, and maybe substantially before;" however, federal health officials said the vaccine wouldnt be generally available to the public until late second quarter, third quarter 2021.

Trump also claimed that the end of the pandemic is in sight, and next year will be one of the greatest years in the history of our country.

Over 34 million people have tested positive for the virus worldwide, and COVID-19 has caused over 1 million deaths globally. In the United States, more than 207,000 people have been killed by the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Associated Press materials contributed to this report.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he and his wife have tested negative for the coronavirus after they were examined on their airplane 20 minutes prior to landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on Friday. He said it was the fourth time in two weeks he has been tested.

President Donald Trump announced on Twitter early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. Pompeo says the last time he was with Trump was on September 15, at the White House, for the signing of normalization agreements among Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The top US diplomat says he is reconsidering upcoming travel to Florida on Saturday and Asia starting Sunday as a precaution. He says, We are praying for the president and the First Lady and we hope they have a speedy recovery."
On Friday, Judge Amy Coney Barrett was announced as President Trump's nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Barrett, age 48, has seven children with her husband Jesse Barrett is a previous assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Indiana.



Amy Coney Barrett is also well educated, having graduated with a BA in English Literature Magna Cum Laude from Rhodes College in Memphis Tennessee. Additionally, she earned her JD, Summa Cum Laude, from Notre Dame similarly to her husband, and was awarded the school's highest achievement award, the Hoynes Prize.



Barret would continue to gain knowledge and experience in the Judicial world after Law School by working as a clerk for an appeals court judge and for Justice Antonin Scalia in the U.S. Supreme Court between 1997 and 1999. She went on to then work in private practice in Washington D.C. until 2002 when she returned to Notre Dame to teach constitutional law, statutory interpretation, and federal courts. Then, between 2010 and 2016, she served by appointment of the chief justice on the Advisory Committee for the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure until she was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017 as a judge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.



As far as her judicial philosophy and beliefs, Barret is a proponent of what is known as originalism. Originalism, in the judicial world, is a method of interpreting the Constitution that seeks to determine the meaning of the text at the time it was adopted. Barrett also advocates for textualism in her judicial proceedings, "a method of statutory interpretation that relies on the plain text of a statute to determine its meaning."



Finally, Barrett is a known Roman Catholic and member of People of Praise, a "charismatic, ecumenical, and covenant community." As a devout Catholic and lover of God in the judicial community, she has gathered a few critics. California Senator Diana Feinstein feared that Barrett's beliefs could unjustly sway her opinion in case proceedings, stating that religion and law should be separate. Sen. Diana explained, "I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. And that's of concern."



However, Barrett was still appointed a federal judge, and in her 2016 commencement address to the graduating class of Notre Dame, she proudly stated, "Your legal career is but a means to an end. . . . That end is building the kingdom of God. No matter how exciting any career is, what is it really worth if you don't make it part of a bigger life project to know, love, and serve the God who made you?"
Nicky Campbell is to open up about his mental health struggles  including his emotional breakdown and late diagnosis with bipolar disorder.

The BBC Radio 5Live presenter, 59, is bringing out a memoir called One Of The Family, which will also focus on family, adoption, and his miracle dog Maxwell.

He will also talk about how being adopted has always made him feel like an outsider, his quest to trace his birth mother and the crushing disappointment he felt when he finally met her.

BBC Radio 5Live presenter Nicky Campbell (pictured) is to open up about his mental health struggles  including his emotional breakdown and late diagnosis with bipolar disorder

Campbell credits Maxwell for helping him understand my adoption and identity with greater clarity and to appreciate the true meaning of family and belonging.

Campbell previously published Blue-Eyed Son, a book about the search for his birth mother. His new memoir comes out in February. His podcast, also called One Of The Family, explores the lives of humans and dogs.

Campbell said: The beauty and simplicity of Maxwells world has helped me re-connect to my childhood and to Candy, the first dog I loved so deeply, he said.

Through this, I was able to understand my adoption and identity with greater clarity and to appreciate the true meaning of family and belonging.

Publisher Rowena Webb said: Nickys courage and honesty in writing his story makes this a very special book. And it wouldnt have happened without a very special dog called Maxwell. Its a book for life! And I cant wait for others to read it too.

Campbell credits his dog Maxwell (pictured together in 2010) for helping him understand my adoption and identity with greater clarity and to appreciate the true meaning of family and belonging

According to the Bookseller, Campbell will open up about how being adopted has always made him feel like an outsider; the guilt he has carried towards his Mum and Dad for needing to trace his birth mother, and the crushing disappointment he felt when he finally met her. For the first time, he will also reveal details about his emotional breakdown and how he has learned to live with a late diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

Campbell has signed a deal with publisher Hodder & Stoughton for the memoir, out in hardback, e-book and audio in February next year.

Campbell, who has four daughters with his wife Vicky, the former head of Virgin Radio News, previously published Blue-Eyed Son, a book about the search for his birth mother.

The star, who hosts Long Lost Family with Davina McCall, was born to an unmarried Irish mother before being adopted by Frank and Sheila as a newborn. Frank died in 1996, years before Campbell explored his Scottish roots in the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? in which he paid tribute to his wonderful dad.

Im so proud of this extraordinary family I was adopted into, he said. All the stories Ive heard somehow all contributed to making my dad the most wonderful dad that I could have had.

It couldnt have been for me more fascinating, revealing and enlightening. A family of which I am so proud and a dad of which Im so proud. I just wish he were here to share it. Campbells mother was a member of the Womens Auxiliary Air Force stationed at Beachy Head during the Second World War where she helped to guide RAF planes to their targets.

She recalled her role in the D-Day landings on Campbells Breakfast show in June. She previously featured in BBC documentary Women at War: 100 Years of Service in 2017.
Given the immense role which it came to play inside the Workers Revolutionary Party and the International Committee, it would not be possible to adequately trace the political degeneration of the WRP without referring to the gross distortion of scientific materialist dialectics by the leadership of the British section. The defense of a correct philosophical method, upon which Trotsky had insisted in his great struggle against Burnham and Shachtman in 1939-40, had been correctly developed by the Socialist Labour League in its fight against the revisionism of the American Socialist Workers Party. In the tradition of Trotsky, the SLL demonstrated the inner connection between the political and class line of Hansen and his pragmatic method, most clearly expressed in his definition of dialectical materialism as empiricism consistently carried out. The International Committees critique of the SWPs objectivist method and the examination of its connection to a whole series of fundamental revisions of Marxism, especially on the role of the conscious factor in the revolutionary process, was concretely illustrated in an exhaustive analysis of the whole political line of the SWP and its Pabloite allies in Europe.

In subsequent years, however, the SLL moved increasingly toward the view that in as much as all revisionism is related to an incorrect theory of knowledge, the actual analysis of the political forms through which revisionism is manifested was no longer necessary. On this basis, it was possible to justify splits within the Fourth International on the basis of disputes over questions of epistemology, without the clarification of political differences. This idealist view was propounded by Slaughter in 1971-72 in the course of the struggle against the OCI (which had wrongly denied that dialectical materialism is the theory of knowledge of Marxism) and was enthusiastically seized upon by Healy. A whole new basis for the political and theoretical life of the International Committee was created, in which all questions relating to program and principle were seen as inessential forms of the more fundamental problems of dialectical cognition. This rejection of the unified and inter-connected character of what Lenin had referred to as the three component parts of Marxismbased on German philosophy, English political economy and French socialisminevitably, under the pressure of class forces, opened the door for the worst sort of theoretical charlatanry. Especially after the opening of the College of Marxist Miseducation in 1975, at the very point when the political crisis within the WRP was developing with extreme rapidity, the utterly onesided and abstract (in the bad sense of the word) study of the moments of cognition became a means of justifying a revisionist line.

The systematic study of any of the political, historical and economic works of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky was brought to an end inside the WRP by 1977. All work to develop the political heritage of the ICFIs struggle against Pabloite revisionism was likewise abandoned by the WRP. This was inseparable from Healys theoretical views, which held that all knowledge was purely relative and that references, in the course of political discussion, to the great Marxist classics, amounted to imposing thought images on the external world. In the course of an unrelenting assault on historical materialism, Healy hammered out a philosophical method that added up to a thorough-going defense of unprincipled politics.

In reality, Healys method was a gross distortion of scientific dialectics which betrayed a complete lack of understanding of either the philosophical work of Hegel or Marx. The actual content of Healys theory of knowledgewhich claimed to trace the dialectical transition from individual sense perception to abstract thought and practiceamounted to nothing more than a glorification of the individual process through which he translated his own pragmatic intuition into various party activities. An auto-didact in the worst sense of the word, Healy came to believe that the memorization of a few Hegelian categories in proper sequence provided a master-key to universal knowledge. A serious study of Trotskyism, political economy, the history of the workers movement and, last but not least, the historical origin and development of philosophical concepts could be replaced with a few juggled phrases.

In June 1980, under the cover of introducing a new and eccentric branch agenda, Healy sought to establish a constitutional foundation for pragmatic impressionism in the day-to-day political work of the WRP. This was clearly outlined in a letter to all branch secretaries, written on June 14, 1980, by Healy,

The aim of the Agenda is to re-organize the work of our branches so that in the course of the meetings, theory emerges as a guide to practice. In other words the dialectical method is manifested in the way our practice is carried out.

The purpose is to train comrades in what is best described as the unconscious use of the dialectical method, just as one performs many skills and activities without necessarily being conscious that one is doing so, (Emphasis added) In other words, Healy had discovered that one could act as a Marxist without being conscious of itsome 20 years after the great American pragmatist Joseph Hansen had proclaimed this discovery to the world. In fact, Healy was now propagating the very same views that Trotsky had indignantly denounced in 1940. Replying to Burn ham, Trotsky wrote:

In the attorneys plea of Shachtman to the effect that you are an unconscious dialectician, the stress must be laid on the word unconscious. Shachtmans aim (also partly unconscious) is to defend his bloc with you by degrading dialectical materialism. For in reality. Shachtman is saying: The difference between a conscious and unconscious dialectician is not so great that one must quarre! about it. Shachtman thus attempts to discredit the Marxist method. (In Defense of Marxism, New Park, p. 107)

Like Gogols hero who was constantly amazed to discover that letters combine to form words, Healy informed his bewildered members:

Consciousness of theoretical abstractions comes later when we begin to think and analyze what we have been doing.

How would this discovery assist a Party member obliged to analyze a complex development in the political situationsuch as the declaration of self-determination by Turks on the island of Cyprus, the permissibility or impermissibility of providing critical support to bourgeois nationalists, or, to provide an example from contemporary events, the signing of the Anglo-Irish deal. For such developments, do we need consciousness of theoretical abstractions before or after we complete our analysis and decide what we should do? The answer to this question was given by Engels long ago when he wrote that the art of working with concepts is not inborn and also is not given with ordinary everyday consciousness, but requires real thought, and that this thought similarly has a long empirical history.. (Anti-Dhring)

Healy went on to provide a homeopathetic depiction of the phenomenology of thought that closely resembled what some American pragmatists have described as the ink-blot theory of knowledge: Consciousness is in brief a subjective form manifesting the relations that are materialized through our activity. It arises from the transition of new and as yet undetermined thought phenomena passing through perception in transition into abstract knowledge which we already possess, thereby, becoming determinate. The new, disturbs the old, and sets in motion the abstract theoretical process which will guide our practice. This sometimes happens so quickly, that unless we learn to think about what we are doing as soon as possible after we have done it, much valuable knowledge can be lost.

For the operation of this profound process, any mind will doand not only that of a human being. As Trotsky observed: On sighting a hare, a rabbit, or a hen, a fox concludes: this particular creature belongs to a tasty and nutritive type, andchases after the prey. We have here a complete syllogism, although a fox, we may suppose, never read Aristotle. When the same fox, however, encounters the first animal which exceeds it in size [setting into motion the abstract theoretical process], for example, a wolf [an as yet undetermined thought phenomena passing through transition into abstract knowledge...disturbs the old), it quickly concludes that quantity passes into quality, and turns to flee. [This sometimes happens so quickly that the fox does not have time to realize that he is an expert in Healys practice of cognition.]

Healys political aim was to deaden the theoretical convictions of the WRP cadre and to transform them into unconscious activists who towed the opportunist line worked out on the Political Committee of the WRP. He deliberately inculcated a contemptuous attitude toward genuine Marxism. The political traditions of Trotskyismits careful study of all political phenomena and their thorough discussion throughout the Partywas derided as the fatal flaw of propaganda groups.

In January 1982 Healy used the occasion of the 58th anniversary of Lenins death to flaunt his contempt for Trotskyism. In a 16-page pamphlet purporting to be an analysis of the legacy of Leninism, Healy made not a single reference to Leon Trotsky, Trotskyism and the Fourth Internationaluntil the final sentence when he noted, as an afterthought, that Trotskyists are the best Leninists. But, in an implicit attack on the Trotskyist movement, Healy claimed that Stalinism has placed the Leninists of today far behind an understanding of his theoretical achievements and the revolutionary practices which flowed from them. (Leninism 58 Years On, New Park, p. 1) This statement essentially wiped out the theoretical contribution made by Trotsky to the development of Marxism after the death of Lenin.

Significantly, Healy identified the continuity of Lenins work not with Trotsky and the Left Opposition but with the enormous advances in physics since Lenin died. (Ibid., p. 10) Healy singled out the year of Lenins death1924not to note that it marked the emergence of the Bukharin-Stalin theory of socialism in a single country and the beginning of the Left Oppositions struggle against it, but to point out in a gaudy display of erudition that It was in that year that the physicist Louis de Broglie laid the foundations of quantum mechanics (quantum theory) which studies the motion of small-scale particles. (Ibid.)

This shift from politics to physics (Of which Healy knew next to nothing) as the axis of dialectical materialism within the revolutionary party was inseparably linked with the repudiation of Trotskyism by the WRP leadership. The basic texts upon which Healy now relied in the preparation for his lectures were supplied by the Soviet academics, who have been engaged in a futile attempt to transform Lenin into a state philosopher. (The significance of the contributions of various Soviet philosophers such as T. Oizerman and E. V. Ilyenkov merits serious and careful discussion within the Trotskyist movement. This would require a review of the history of Soviet philosophy since the suppression of the Mechanists and the Deborinists in the late 1920s. Let us merely note at this time that such questions were never even broached by Healy.)

In early 1982 a member of the WRP, Chris Talbot, wrote a review in a WRP publication which criticized a book entitled Dialectics in Modern Physics by the Soviet philosopher Omelyanovsky. This occasioned a scathing response from Healy, defending Omelyanovsky against the criticisms of Talbot, who happens to be a professional mathematician. Not since Stalin denounced Shostakovichs Fourth Symphony (muddle instead of music) had a politician made such an unwarranted intrusion into a field outside his area of competence. Healys reply, which was presented as a major contribution to the pending WRP Sixth Congress, was significant not merely because it demonstrated his penchant to write about things of which he knew nothing at all. More importantly, it provided an insight into Healys political orientation and the underlying significance of his dialectical arabesques.

As Mao used ping-pong as a means of opening the door to the United States, Healy was attempting to use physics as a bait to open relations with the Stalinists and other counterrevolutionary forces. He flattered the Stalinists with the bogus claim that Soviet scientists and physicists have, despite Stalinism, kept the lead, thanks to the nationalized property relations in the USSR (Internal Bulletin No, 1, May 25, 1982, p. 3). This assertion could not be made by anyone who possessed a serious knowledge of the present state of physics. Moreover, to attribute this imagined preeminence to the existence of nationalized property relations in the USSR was to seriously depart from the analysis of the cultural and intellectual development of the USSR made by Trotsky.

Healys document revealed an even more insidious objective. Deliberately distorting the famous article written by Lenin in 1922, On the Significance of Militant Materialism, Healy attempted to make the case that without an alliance with non-communists, scientists and others, such as those interested in the materialist interpretation of Hegelian dialectics, a victorious revolution would not be possible. (Ibid, p. 1)

Lenin was writing quite specifically about the tasks of successful communist construction inside the Soviet Union after the victory of the Bolshevik revolution. As is well-known, Lenin placed even well-known ex-Mensheviks (as long as they were prepared to accept Soviet power), such as Axelrod, in important state academic posts. Moreover, he stressed the need to gather all the forces at the command of the Soviet state to vanquish the legacy of cultural backwardness in the USSR. The article goes on to define quite clearly the tasks Lenin had in mind.

Healys article, with its deliberately obscure wording, implied that a political and theoretical alliance with non-communistsincluding Stalinists and God knows who elseis necessary for the victory of the socialist revolution. Thus, the attack on Talbot was clearly a political justification for the class-collaborationist line of the WRP.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has today, Friday, October 2 has cleared the backlog of applicants for the special voters registration following the inability of officials to register all persons who turned up for the exercise on Thursday at the Asawase constituency of the Ashanti Region.

The exercise was generally smooth at various district offices in the Ashanti Region except for the Asawase constituency where many applicants complained about the slow pace of the process.

According to EC officials, only fourteen eligible applicants at the constituency who were unable to register on Thursday have been given the opportunity to register today.

One of the applicants who came to the office on Friday to complete her process after filling her forms on Thursday, Rabiatu Abdul Aziz, said her issues have been resolved.

I came here yesterday around 11 am and I left here because of issues with the machine. So they asked us to come today and so now I have my card, she said.

Meanwhile, some eligible applicants who could not partake in the registration exercise on Thursday trooped to the Asokore Mampong District office of the EC hoping to be given a chance to register.

I thought the registration was going to take about three to four days but that was not the case. Yesterdays registration was halted because of some issues. That is why I am here.

I came here yesterday but unfortunately they didnt do it for me. I came here today, and they are telling me they are done working but I still have the hope that I will be registered, another said.

This arrangement is however only for eligible applicants who went out to register yesterday but could not do so due to time constraints.

The October 1 voter registration exercise targeted qualified persons who could not participate in the mass registration exercise organized in June and July.

The electoral roll was opened from 7 am to 6 pm at the EC's district offices.

Some people who participated are voters who were outside the country due to COVID-19 restrictions, those who were under a 14-day mandatory quarantine and could not take part in the mass voter registration, and eligible voters who were duly issued voter ID cards but whose names are missing from the register under exhibition.

Persons who recently turned 18 were also given the chance to register.

---citinewsroom
Bexar County voters will be casting ballots for five district court benches and selecting a new chief justice for the San Antonio-based 4th Court of Appeals in November.

In recent elections, political party sweeps have ousted a number of well-respected and experienced members of the judiciary. Perhaps that will change this year without straight-party voting in Texas, but we have our doubts. Regardless, judicial elections in Texas are overdue for reforms to remove partisanship.

This will be the first of two editorials recommending judicial candidates. The second editorial covering our recommendations for the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will run in Mondays paper.

For Chief Justice of the 4th Court of Appeals, we recommend Rebeca Martinez, a Democrat who has held the Place 7 bench on this intermediate appellate court for eight years. She faces Renee Yanta, an appellate attorney and former judge.

If elected as presiding judge of this court, Martinez would have to resign her current bench.

The pandemic has changed the justice system, and Martinez has some innovative ideas for improving the transparency of the court, addressing technology concerns, and ensuring staff and the public can safely return to court.

In conversations with those familiar with Martinez, we heard praise for her work ethic, demeanor and knowledge of the law, but concerns were raised about her judicial temperament and treatment of staff, colleagues and others.

This is an open seat as 4th Court Chief Justice Sandee Bryan Marion plans to retire at the end of the year. This is one of 14 appeals courts in the state and has jurisdiction over civil and non-death penalty criminal appeals cases in 32 counties, including Bexar.

The five district court races on the ballot include two criminal and two civil court benches, and one juvenile court bench. Several former judges are seeking a return to the bench.

In the 37th District Civil Court bench race, we recommend Democrat Nicole Garza, a former schoolteacher who has been practicing law for 20 years. Garza has a passion for providing access to the civil justice system for lower-income Texans and has been recognized for that work by the State Bar of Texas. She faces attorney Joseph Appelt, who defaced signs of an opponent in a previous election.

In the 386th Juvenile Court race, we recommend Democrat Jackie Valdes, a veteran prosecutor who unseated Arcelia Trevino, a controversial incumbent judge, during the primary. Valdes has more than a decade of experience handling juvenile cases and would restore some much-needed professionalism to the operation of this court. She faces former Juvenile Court Judge Daphne Previti Austin. Both are outstanding, but we think Valdes has earned this moment.

In the 399th Criminal District Court race, we recommend incumbent Democrat Frank J. Castro for a second term. A political newcomer four years ago, Castro quickly earned a reputation as a hardworking judge by tackling a massive case backlog and establishing a manageable caseload. In his first term in office, Castro has handled dozens of felony jury trials and two capital murder cases. Castros criminal law experience exceeds his opponent, Judge Walden Shelton.

In the 407th Civil District Court race, we recommend Democrat Tina Torres, who has more than two decades of legal experience. She served briefly as an appointee to County Court-at-Law No. 10 in November 2013 after the judge in that court stepped down to seek another office. This an open bench as District Judge Karen H. Pozza is retiring. Torres faces former Judge Stephani Walsh.

In the 144th Criminal Court race, we recommend Republican Melisa Skinner. She was the judge of the 290th District Court for eight years but lost that seat in 2018 during a Democratic sweep at the polls. She faces Judge Michael Mery, who lost his seat in the 37th District Civil Court in the primary to Garza.

In January 2019, Skinner was hired by the district attorney as the lead prosecutor in the 144th District Court. In August, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Skinner to this bench following the death of Judge Ray Olivarri. That appointment is only to the end of the year. If elected, she would serve the two years left on Olivarris unexpired term. In temperament and expertise, she far exceeds Mery.
By AFP

WASHINGTON: The Covid-19 crisis had already haunted Donald Trump's first term in office, as his scatter-gun response placed him increasingly at odds with the science. Then he tested positive, a month before the election.

The US president announced in the small hours of Friday that he and First Lady Melania Trump would be going into quarantine after they were both found to have contracted the novel coronavirus.

Hours earlier, Hope Hicks, one of his top aides who is also close to the first lady, had received news of her own positive test.

The coronavirus, which emerged late last year in China and early in 2020 in the US, has upended Donald Trump's presidency, casting him into a dangerous moment in his battle with Democratic rival Joe Biden over who will occupy the White House for the coming four years.

- Downplaying the threat -

Trump first mentioned the new coronavirus in public on January 22, 2020, during a visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China. It's going to be just fine," he said at the time.

The populist Republican has consistently downplayed the threat posed by the pandemic, saying on numerous occasions that the virus would disappear as the weather warmed.

ALSO READ | 'Like a miracle, it will disappear': Trump's most notable quotes on COVID-19

"Typically, it will go away in April," he said in February.

According to The Washington Post, which analyzed the president's statements, he said 34 times that the virus would disappear on its own.

Instead, the outbreak spread rapidly, forcing state governors and local authorities across the country to impose lockdowns.

By mid-March, the US had ground to a standstill, with schools closed and links to the rest of the world drastically reduced.

The economy soon collapsed and with it one of the president's main arguments for re-election.

During his first debate Tuesday with Biden, Trump maintained that he had built "the greatest economy in history." But he was harking back to pre-pandemic conditions that no longer hold.

- Disorganized management -

Since the beginning of the crisis, Trump has promoted unproven remedies for Covid-19 such as hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug which doctors say has proved ineffective against the coronavirus.

He backed the drug with the full force of the federal government, announcing on March 28 from the White House that it had been given emergency authorization.

Trump even announced at the end of May that he himself had embarked on a preventive course of the therapeutic.

"I'm taking it, hydroxychloroquine, right now, yeah. Couple of weeks ago, I started taking it," he declared.

The Food and Drug Administration's emergency approval would later be revoked, but Trump remained an ardent promoter of the treatment on the world stage.

The episode was emblematic of the president's confused messaging on the outbreak.

Amid the repeated promises of a vaccine, the far-fetched remedies and the rush to reopen the economy, Trump left the actual management of the fightback to individual states, dooming any chance of a unified national response.

ALSO READ | Shock, sympathy, mockery: World reacts to Trump infection

In early April, health authorities recommended that masks be worn in an announcement at the White House that Trump immediately undercut by insisting he himself would not wear one.

The billionaire former reality TV star has even gone as far as piling mockery on those who do follow the advice to mask up, including Biden.

Trump didn't appear masked in public until July 11 but has rarely been seen covered up since.

He has been excoriated for his stewardship of a crisis that has so far led to almost 208,000 deaths in the United States, among 7.2 million registered cases.

The US -- home to less than five percent of the world's population -- is the worst-hit nation, accounting for more than 20 percent of the global death toll.

- Contrast with Biden -

In stark contrast to the cautious, by-the-book Biden, who has spent much of the election season at home in Delaware, Trump decided to continue actively campaigning and has basked in large crowds of devoted supporters in a series of rallies.

ALSO READ | US futures sink with Asia, Europe stocks after Trump tests positive for COVID-19

He was in Minnesota on Wednesday. An event scheduled for Friday in Florida has been canceled, and appearances scheduled for Saturday in battleground state of Wisconsin look likely to fall be the wayside, too.

Tests carried out regularly on the 74-year-old president had so far come back negative.

Until his late night tweet when he made the announcement that stunned the world: "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19."
YEREVAN : Pakistani soldiers are allegedly fighting alongside the Azerbaijan troops in Agdam, according to a telephonic conversation between two civilians, posted by Free News.AM.

During the telephonic conversation, two Azerbaijanis were speaking about the presence of Pakistanis in their territory, according to the Free News.AM.

"How can we write? I don't have money. We are fine, don't worry, 7-8 villages were liberated, don't be afraid," replied the second civilian.

"Yes. I know. I have seen on Instagram that Fizuli, Agdam have been liberated from occupation. Our side says that we have also taken Mrav mountain. What's wrong with the internet, why doesn't it work?" the first civilian stated.

The second civilian replied saying, our ministry has turned it off. As a lot of things happen here, people get in touch with Armenians, that's why they have turned it off.

The first civilian asked if shooting is taking place in another civilian's area.

To which the second civilian replied, "On Agdam's side. They have gathered Pakistani soldiers and have taken them towards Agdam."

Since 1991, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been waging an ongoing conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-majority autonomous region that proclaimed independence from the then-Soviet Azerbaijan Republic.

Yesterday, heavy fighting between the forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia broke out in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh region. The region lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994.

The flare-up continued for the second day.

Most of the international community, including the United States, Russia, Iran and European powers, have been calling for an end to hostilities and the start of talks. As the clashes continued on Monday, UN chief Antonio Guterres spoke to the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Guterres stressed that "the need for an immediate stop to the fighting and resumption without the precondition of meaningful negotiations without delay under the umbrella of the Minsk Group co-chairs, and also for the immediate redeployment of [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] monitors to the region," according to Guterres' spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric.

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CARLINVILLE  The 18th president of Blackburn College in Carlinville has only been on the job a few weeks, but hes already tired of hearing one thing about the institution.

If I hear the phrase best kept secret one more time Ill probably scream, said Dr. Mark L. Biermann. We have to do a better job of getting the Blackburn name out there, period. We cant be a best-kept secret.

Biermann officially took the reins of the private college with 486 enrolled students on August 15. His new role coincided with a U.S. News & World Report rating that listed Blackburn as the second highest-ranked liberal arts college for social mobility in Illinois, and the 19th in the nation. Blackburn is one of just nine federally-recognized Work Colleges in the nation and the only one with a student-managed Work Program that links students directly with employers in their field of study.

We have to be out there, and as people learn about us they get very interested and that generates more friends that are willing to support the institution, Biermann said. They want to be able to invest in something they know is going to be successful and support students in a unique way.

Biermann previously served as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. Prior to that, Biermann was Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Eastern Kentucky University, the inaugural dean of the School of Natural and Applied Sciences at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, and the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.

Biermann said it was Blackburns unique Work Program that drew him to the college.

I love the Work Program, and without it I dont think I would have applied to Blackburn, Biermann said. The Work Program in combination with the liberal arts curriculum is exactly what students need today to be able to thrive for decades after their college experience. Its a wonderful, powerful model for higher education and I see great things for the Work Program in years to come.

So much of the time colleges give the theoretical basis for things such as communication, working in teams, developing leadership, problem solving and critical thinking, but they dont teach the practical skills and techniques to go along with them, Biermann said. But then when you also have the Work Program to go with them, those skills get built even stronger so the students can be even better prepared.

Biermann joined the Carlinville campus in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the preparations had already been made for in-person learning this semester at Blackburn with a remote learning option for every course.

The faculty have done an incredible job getting courses available to our students, to be very flexible and creative to serve the students in front of them as well as the students tuning in through technology, Biermann said. The staff have done an amazing job picking up the things we need to do in addition, the sanitizing and cleaning, the work that happens around campus as we try to keep people as safe as we possibly can.

Biermann feels the Blackburn approach to the pandemic has worked well, and that is due in equal parts to good planning and good luck. The college has had five students test positive for COVID, but they were quarantined either at home or on campus and the school now has no active cases.

Coming out of the pandemic, I think that we should be able to leverage all of the things that we have learned, Biermann said. Our amazing capacity for doing things remotely, to continue reaching audiences that we havent in the past.

Blackburn College Board of Trustees Chairman Mike Smiley, a 1971 Blackburn alumnus, said the board chose Biermann as the new President because of his exceptional administrative and academic background and his enthusiasm for Blackburns Work Program.

Dr. Biermanns proven leadership and educational experience is the perfect fit for Blackburn, Smiley said. We believe he is the right person to help shape the colleges future and we welcome him and his family to the Blackburn community.

Smiley said the college is also working to fill two other executive positions, the Vice President for Inclusive Enrollment and the Vice President for Diverse and Equitable Student Life and Dean of Students, Title IX Coordinator.

Meanwhile, the accolades keep coming for Blackburn. Most recently, the college was recognized by Washington Monthlys College Guide as one of the top liberal arts schools in the country. From a list of 218 institutions, Blackburn was ranked No. 48 based largely on its record for social mobility and service.

There are students out there who could benefit from a Blackburn education far more than they could benefit from any other college or university in the United States, Biermann said. We just have to find a way of matching those students with the college so we can get them here on campus and provide that support.

Carlinville was founded in 1828 and Blackburn College in 1837. The community has wasted no time in welcoming the colleges new president.

Carlinville is wonderful, Biermann said. Carlinville and Blackburn are a great team.
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People worldwide DO NOT WANT utility Smart Meters  electric, gas, and water. Tens of millions have been installed and millions more are planned despite all their problems  including fires, explosions, and serious cybersecurity risks (see 1, 2).

These meters DO NOT save meaningful amounts of energy and customer bills usually increase because of them (see 1, 2). They also emit high levels of harmful electromagnetic radiation that can and have made people and animals sick (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

Telegraph UK recently published an unflattering op-ed about Smart Meters being installed so utilities can ration energy. Readers have responded with additional unflattering comments.

From Telegraph UK:

Theyre a scam, we should follow the Swiss model  Telegraph readers on smart meters

Is it time to review Britains household use of smart meters?

By Telegraph Readers 21 September 2020  1:30pm

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Richard Thomas 22 Sep 2020 2:35AM

I have a smart meter.

It cannot control any of my devices or appliances.

If I choose to I can schedule appliances to turn on or off based on the price of electricity. The smart meter plays no role whatsoever in this scheduling.

Smart meters do allow peak pricing. Peak pricing allows people to pay for the electricity they actually use. Old fashioned meters force non peak users to subsidise peak users.

I find it strange that there is so much opposition to this notion in The Telegraph, a paper that ostensibly supports the free market and opposes unnecessary subsidy.

Len RMaC 21 Sep 2020 2:18PM

Smart meters? Welcome to your personal peak period charging plan.

Richard Thomas 22 Sep 2020 2:27AM

Why should non peak users subsidise peak users?

Tom Clarke 21 Sep 2020 2:09PM

Wind and Solar are variable and so need to be buffered to enable best economic use and avoid the need for burning fossil fuel in power stations on stand by. Non essential use can be part of this buffer. Car batteries rarely need to be charged all night and could even be useful for sending power back into the grid, with user permission and an appropriate price. If heat pumps are heating a thick floor slab, a couple of hours are of little consequence.

Mark Bodmer 21 Sep 2020 2:08PM

Consider how the Swiss manage their power consumption.washing machines for example can only be used within a certain time window each day.

Very funny and complete nonsense of course. I assume the author just wanted to see if he could get away with it  April 1st style. Weve lived in Switzerland for 30 years.

john stevens 21 Sep 2020 1:51PM

I have always thought that Smart Meters were a scam. Clever marketing has convinced many that they need no know that when they switch the light on,their electricity usage increases. Its disappointing that the Government has fallen for this scam,one cannot resist the notion that the ears of ministers have been bent by lobbyists bearing gifts.

Geoff Robbins 21 Sep 2020 1:38PM

Whilst everyone is looking at the issues with smart meters, the real problem is sneaking up on us rapidly. The electricity grid itself, especially the wiring that delivers to households is deteriorating.

The first electric car was delivered in our road last year. Since then we have had continuing problems with power cuts caused by blowing fuses in the substation and power line. We also suffer from flickering lights and power drops.

The car in question isnt even a Tesla which has a fast charge facility, but a plug-in hybrid. Another e-car in the road will bring disaster.

Andrew Smith 21 Sep 2020 1:18PM

An electricity company calling me up and pushing a free smart meter immediately makes me suspicious. EDF have called me several times. Seems to me they would only offer this thing for nothing if it worked nicely for them, not me. Does not surprise me in the least that they might use it to switch people off. Buried in the small print of the smart meter acceptance form is probably a grant of permission to EDF to do so. Given the choice of massive capex in batteries all over the place or just cutting people off, I think we can assume what they, and all the other companies, will do.

Roy Dean 21 Sep 2020 1:00PM

Unfortunately, as can be seen from all this virus stupidity, most people cannot think for themselves and the only thing they dont believe in is Father Christmas and Fairies. Although 100 years ago many people did believe in Fairies.

In the old days they used to call it naive, now we just call it stupidity, as 20 million have been installed, that illustrates the lack of brainpower

Declare Your Independence! Profit outside the rigged system! Protect yourself from tyranny and economic collapse. Learn to live free and spread peace!



Stefan Melly 21 Sep 2020 12:49PM

Just another way of controlling you and yours.

Rohan Leaf 21 Sep 2020 12:21PM

Interesting to read this as Im fed up with my current (and previous) enegery supplier constantly LYING about me saying I requested a smart meter, and harassing me to make the installation appointment. Ive told them a few times Ill never have one so back off. The worst bit is the same tactics will be basically bullying some people in to getting one. Quite scandalous really.

Roger Galoubet 21 Sep 2020 12:15PM

I dont know why they ditched the original rotating disk meters; you could see at a glance how much power you were using. Mine was replaced many years ago with a digital display  nothing like as useful.

Incidentally I was having my motorbike MOTd this morning and (whilst keeping a respectful distance) I noticed the three-phase meter at the front of the garage. It was a rotating disk meter. I wonder if they do smart three-phase meters?

Mike Strivens 21 Sep 2020 1:03PM

Yes they do

I think

Roy Fletcher 21 Sep 2020 12:07PM

I have a perpetual magnetic generator it beats meter readings.

ian Brown 21 Sep 2020 11:17AM

Ive rejected the persuasion to have a Smart meter made by 3 different electricity companies. Its enough to read (and send in) your readings to the suppliers schedule, monthly or quarterly. Although I was irked somewhat by Shell Powers monthly demands. I also dropped them after one year because of their silly high tariff offers to continue with them. I believe they want to charge for energy in the same way they charge for petrol/diesel and oils IE through the nose where possible!

Switching regularly seems to work for me and Im broadly happy with my yearly total usage/bills.

But power suppliers are very greedy and customers need to keep an eye on their sharp practices at all times! I DO and you should too.

Simon Castleman 21 Sep 2020 10:53AM

When a smart meter automatically switches me to the cheapest tariff then Ill have one. Until then I can see no advantage for me so will resist this. In addition anything the government is pushing has got to be suspect.

John Needs 21 Sep 2020 10:39AM

When the full functionality of smart meters is rolled out they will allow you to see what the price of electricity is at certain times of the day. This will then allow you to decide when to use for example a power hungry washing machine when electricity is cheaper. This is why most new domestic appliances have a delay function to allow you to do this.

My feeling is the utilities would not deliberately cut off an item, they will just encourage you not to use it by making it expensive at peak times when there is little surplus energy available.

Richard Thomas 22 Sep 2020 2:41AM

This is already available. I have it set up.

The prices are published a day in advance. Our immersion heater is programmed to run during the cheapest possible period overnight. Occasionally the price is even negative.

C R Green 21 Sep 2020 10:30AM

The only reason for smart meters is so that your supplier can know hour by hour how much electricity you are usingThis will give them the information to develop individual tariffs for each customer..They will know when you use the most electricity and will be able to charge you on an hourly basis, increasing the personal unit charges for those hours you are using the most..Also,when their systems are hacked,every criminal will know from your hourly usage when you are in or out,or gone away on holiday,and when it is the best time to break into your propertyAvoid at all cost.

Alan Webster 21 Sep 2020 10:10AM

Re the comments about Swiss households having separate circuits for different appliances, this is utter nonsense, my house and all my friends and neighbours have a single circuit.

The energy providers are all canton-based. A few years ago the government wanted to privatise the system saying competition would reduce prices. This was rejected by a national referendum.

In addition to being able to ration energy and remotely turn off power, Smart Meters collect customer usage data 24/7 whereas original 1-way transmitting analog meters DO NOT. Utilities collect and analyze usage data so they can market more products and services to customers and/or sell data to 3rd parties. Documentary  Take Back Your Power  reveals more ugly details. If your utility company offers an opt out program, you may want to consider taking advantage of it.

Activist Post reports regularly about Smart Meters and other unsafe technology. For more information, visit our archives and the following websites:
CHICAGO  In harrowing moments, in the sobs of grieving mourners and the incessant wail of sirens, the crises of 2020 have played out painfully within a single Chicago community:

Patricia Frieson posted a hopeful Facebook message in late February when a mysterious new disease invaded her neighborhood: May the world recover from coronavirus soon. May all be well and happy.

Less than three weeks later, she was gone.

Ron Cashaw is a shopkeeper who has devoted 17 years to building his business. A community mainstay, he plays Santa every year. Alerted one horrible weekend that looters were smashing the windows of his clothing store, he rushed to confront them.

Would he be wiped out?

Teyonna Lofton, a beaming high school graduate, was honored by friends and family with a car parade one spring day. Later, as she waited at a gas station to buy a soft drink, shots rang out, and she fell hard.

She prayed she would not die.

In a chaotic year destined for the history books, Auburn Gresham has written its own grim chapter. This Black community on the citys South Side has endured a deadly virus, gun violence and economic misery  a constant state of turmoil that mirrors the tumult afflicting much of urban America.

Auburn Gresham was hit early by the pandemic. COVID-19 infections rose quickly. Stores closed during a citywide lockdown. Then the agonizingly public death of George Floyd spurred protests that turned ugly. Businesses were set ablaze. As summer arrived, shootings surged in the 6th police district. Over three months, there were a shocking 175 victims. The youngest, 10 and 11, were wounded in a drive-by attack.

Auburn Gresham has faced hard times before. Guns are easy to find. Fresh produce isnt. Poverty hovers around 20%. But theres never been anything like this: A once-in-a- century epidemic in a community without a hospital. Long lines of the newly unemployed waiting for food donations. Jobs disappearing. Anxious shopkeepers. And police racing from one scene to the next.

Forty-five years Ive been here and never has it been as bad as it is right now in terms of hopelessness, anger and despair. Never, says the Rev. Michael Pfleger, one of the citys most vocal social activists. He presides at St. Sabina, a Catholic church thats a community anchor.

One day in July, a gang dispute erupted in a shootout in front of a local funeral home, wounding 15 and leaving 60 bullet casings strewn about the sidewalk.

Pfleger walked over to the scene, then went home and cried.

__

Take care everyone.

So began the Facebook message that Patricia Frieson posted in late winter.

As a nurse, Frieson had tended to the sick in Arkansas, where shed relocated as a child to help her widowed grandmother. But her own ailments, including severe asthma and lymphedema (a swelling of the limbs), forced her to retire in the 90s. She returned to Auburn Gresham.

Frieson, a regular at the local Pentecostal church, was a devoted sister and loving aunt in a tight-knit family of nine siblings. She also was someone they could turn to for advice, a vocalist often called upon to sing at family weddings, parties and funerals.

On March 2, the family gathered for cake and ice cream to celebrate the birthday of Wanda Bailey, a sister who was two years older than Patricia.

A double tragedy followed.

More than a week later, Patricias asthma flared up and she was hospitalized. Four days later, she was diagnosed with COVID-19. She died the next day  the first known casualty of the disease in all of Illinois  as Wanda entered the hospital for breathing problems. She died of the virus nine days later.

My sisters never had a chance, says Anthony Frieson, who also was infected but didnt become seriously ill. We have to figure out how to keep going without them.

They were two of the earliest victims in the country of a pandemic that has ravaged Black people disproportionately. In Chicago, one of the nations most segregated cities, nearly 43% of the virus victims have been Black  more than twice the number of whites.

COVID-19 has pulled the curtain back on historic health inequities and Auburn Gresham is a tremendous example, says Dr. David Ansell, senior vice president for community heath equity at Rush University Medical Center.

In Chicago, white people live on average almost nine years longer than Black people, compared with a four-year mortality gap nationwide, he says. And Auburn Greshams rates of diabetes, asthma and cancer exceed citywide averages, according to the 2019 Chicago Health Atlas.

The higher rates of illness here and in other Black communities are attributed to a variety of factors, including lack of insurance and access to health care, poor housing, limited food options and stress.

As for the pandemic, Ansell says residents are also more vulnerable because many live in close quarters  multigenerational families, for example, sharing a bungalow  or hold front-line jobs in home health care, cafeterias and grocery stores.

State public health officials report more than 1,700 COVID-19 infections in ZIP code 60620, which includes Auburn Gresham. There were 77 COVID-19 deaths in the area as of late August, About half of the communitys 45,000 residents have been tested.

Auburn Gresham was one of Chicagos early COVID-19 hot spots; city public health officials dispatched supplies, including masks and hand sanitizer. But some local leaders were extremely frustrated it took several weeks to bring a testing site to the area. City officials say those sites were set up as soon as kits and trained staff were available.

With stores closing and layoffs widespread, a local group, the Auburn Gresham Development Corp., stepped in, distributing about a half-million dollars from private donations and government funds to help pay mortgages, utilities and other bills. It also has kept on staff about a dozen workers who delivered food to the elderly, made well-being calls and dispatched a mobile testing unit to 13 senior or veteran centers.

Others have walked the streets to warn one segment of the population  victims and perpetrators of gun violence  of the dangers of a virus they could unwittingly pass on to their families.

The Target Area Development Corporation, a social service group that addresses stubborn local problems, supplied its outreach workers face masks to distribute while making their rounds to prevent gang retaliation.

It hasnt been easy making the argument to young men who pay little attention to the virus and already have a fatalistic view of life, says Autry Phillips, the groups executive director.

Most of the youths we work with and talk to dont believe that theyll reach the ripe old age of 20 or 25 because what they see is that their friends are dying, he says. For them, seeing is believing so they think if none of my guys have died from the virus, its not real.

__

Some expected the pandemic would keep people hunkered down in their homes, reducing gang tensions.

We thought that the violence would have died down, says Jerrell Wayne Harris, an outreach worker. Unfortunately, it didnt. The same beefs were still out there.

Some worried longstanding disputes would be revived as the county jail released inmates to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The ready flow of guns in the community heightens the danger. Last year, 1,149 guns were recovered from the 6th police district  about 10% of the haul for the entire city.

As of the end of September, the district had recorded 59 homicides this year, nearly 60% higher than the same period last year.

The violence has stretched beyond bitter rivalries with the pandemic playing a supporting role.

When the virus turned Teyonna Loftons high school graduation into a virtual event, she basked in her car parade celebration, preparing for the actual ceremony the next day.

Hours later, Lofton, 18, was in line outside a locked gas station, waiting to buy a soft drink. The crowd was buzzing with talk about protests nearby that had grown violent.

A white SUV pulled in and a gunman started shooting. One bullet struck Lofton in her left arm. She collapsed. And she prayed.

No! Not me. Not today. She heard screams but didnt know if the shooter was gone. She saw a second victim sprawled on the ground. (He survived; no one was arrested.)

Lofton crawled on her stomach toward an ice cooler to prop herself up to inventory her wounds  her fingers were already numb. A friend called 911 but the emergency center was overwhelmed with reports of looting and vandalism across the city. Police would receive about 65,000 calls  50,000 more than normal  in a 24-hour period.

And Lofton, her jacket soaked in blood, couldnt wait.

Her mother arrived within moments. Lofton was whisked to a hospital where doctors found a bullet had pierced an artery. She needed two surgeries and a vein had to be grafted from her left leg to increase blood flow in her arm.

Now college is on hold as she undergoes therapy.

Im not angry at my shooter, she says. This happens every day. Its just crazy that it happened to me  Im still here. Im blessed. I cant complain.

And yet she is frustrated by a political system she believes favors the moneyed business interests and shortchanges the needs of her community. Its a common refrain in Chicagos Black and brown neighborhoods and one the mayor has pledged to address.

Why, Lofton asks, is there no local hospital? Why didnt police respond to her call? Nobody helps us, she says. Nobody.

No incident in Auburn Gresham was more shocking than the shootout outside a funeral home that wounded 15. In its aftermath, Pfleger, the pastor, couldnt stop crying.

Maybe it was the scale of the carnage. Or his doubts about whether his years of anti-gun activism had made a dent. Or maybe it was because he was reminded of his foster son, who was 18 when he was fatally shot across the street 22 years earlier.

Were looking at a whole community suffering from PTSD, he says.

Police Commander Rahman Muhammad says theres been a big shift since he began work in the 6th district 25 years ago  the first of three tours  when gun violence revolved around narcotics or some other criminal enterprise.

Now, he says, social media is often the driving force behind the shootings. Disputes frequently begin online by gang members whove grown up together and are now rivals. They taunt each other over petty matters that escalate into tragedy.

Muhammad also says solving crimes has become tougher because of an erosion of trust between the police and the community. Residents fear their own safety, and so are less inclined to cooperate.

Carlos Nelson, the head of the Greater Auburn Gresham group, views the recent rise in shootings as a byproduct of all the ills that torment this community  poverty, joblessness, a struggling education system  combining to make people feel hopeless and helpless.

Add to that warm weather when people are outside and its like a fuse that had been lit, he says. It will subside. Then the numbers will tick up again. But until you deal with the core issues at hand, youre going to be talking about this forever.

__

I had tears in my eyes, says Ron Cashaw.

Blocked by security bars, looters smashed the front window of his clothing store, Just Kicking, grabbed some clothing and ran away before Cashaw arrived.

The looting was something new, and horrible. But the community has a long history of trouble attracting and maintaining businesses.

We were living in economic apartheid before the coronavirus, Nelson says.

Auburn Gresham suffers from decades of disinvestment that began as the population transitioned from white to Black in the 1960s, he says, and residents frequently travel outside the community for health care or groceries. That creates enormous hardships for the elderly.

The pandemic added new pressures as barber shops, nail salons, restaurants and other mom-and-pop operations closed their doors, squeezing a community where about 30% of the residents are unemployed, according to Nelson.

Many of those working survive paycheck-to-paycheck, and theyve suffered, too, amid furloughs and job cuts. Food pantries have popped up. Nelsons group, working with a food depository, has served 1,200 families a week.

So in late spring, when protests spread nationwide against police brutality and calls for racial justice following George Floyds death, Auburn Gresham was fertile ground. Peaceful demonstrations spun into violence.

Stores burned to the ground. Looters grabbed money orders from a currency exchange and tried to crack open an ATM. Drug stores and grocery store shelves were stripped bare.

While Cashaw and his 17-year-old son were cleaning and boarding up, a menacing group of men approached. Why are you destroying the place where you shop and where you live? he asked.

Sensing they were about to force their way into the store, Cashaws son stood firm. I will fight each and every one of you. he said, his father recalls. The group moved on.

Pfleger, the priest, watched from another street, sensing a futility he hadnt seen before. During the looting of a Walgreens, a young woman he knew walked by, carrying an armful of stolen goods.

What are you doing? This isnt even you, he told her.

I know, she responded sheepishly, the priest recalls. But I dont have anything. I need this stuff. And they dont give a damn about us anyway.

__

As this agonizing year nears an end, some in Auburn Gresham are looking ahead  with hope.

Tequila Butler is among them. She suspects she was infected with the virus this spring after she was transferred from her job in a hospital kitchen to one cleaning COVID-19 patients rooms.

Butler, 41, wasnt tested, but she lost her sense of smell and taste, two common symptoms of the coronavirus. Her mother and a daughter also got sick.

After she was furloughed, she decided not to go back.

I know I gotta pay my bills, but if I bring this home to my family, how can I live with myself after that? she asks.

So Butler, a culinary school graduate, converted a rented U-Haul into a truck that sells $1 tacos, the low price to accommodate customers with little money. Its working; now shes looking to buy her own truck.

Nelson is trying to convince businesses that were looted or destroyed to return. Weve been begging and pleading, Help us rebuild,' he says.

A recent study of Auburn Gresham and three neighboring communities found 30% of groceries have closed since the pandemic and civil unrest.

Nelsons organization recently won a highly competitive $10 million grant from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation that will be used to build a hub that will provide medical, dental and other healthy living services.

The project  which will also be financed with $4 million in city funds  will include a community center, an urban farm that produces thousands of pounds of food a year and an anaerobic digester, which converts food waste into clean energy.

For Betty Swanson, its one more sign of the resilience of a community shes called home since 1964. A block club president and community activist, shes weathered many turbulent years in Auburn Gresham.

This is another. But shes not deterred.

When youve been knocked down so many times, theres not too much thats a blow to you, she says. We keep pushing on and plowing right along and if we cant make it through, we just turn around and go another way. So we dont give up. We dont quit. And we do come back.

__

Sharon Cohen, a Chicago-based national writer for The Associated Press, can be reached at scohen@ap.org or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SCohenAP. Martha Irvine and David Goldman contributed to this report.
PONTIAC, MI -- Police are continuing the hunt for a 17-year-old accused of shooting a Detroit man to death last weekend outside the Erebus Haunted Attraction. According to the Associated Press, a $2,000 reward is now being offered for information leading to the arrest of Damon Terrelle, the teen who allegedly shot and killed Douglas Reese.

Terrelle and Reese, 29 allegedly got into an argument early Sunday morning outside the attraction when Reese was accused of cutting in line. The two men exchanged words before going their separate ways. However, shortly after that witnesses reported hearing shots fired and Reese was found after being shot in the side, neck and chest.

Witnesses described seeing a blue sedan speed away from the scene shortly after the shots were fired. The AP reports Terrelle is facing a murder charge among others if he is captured. The Oakland County Sheriffs Office says Terrelle should be considered to be armed and dangerous.

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Richard Albert Mohler Jr., President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, discussed the seismic consequences of Amy Coney Barret's nomination to the Supreme Court in an article published Monday.Dr. Mohler, according to The Economist, is "one of America's most influential evangelicals."



He began by discussing the contemporary significance of the Supreme Court, " Indeed, the Supreme Court has, over the last few decades, assumed a stature and importance not intended by the framers of the United States Constitution."



Mohler specified that, although the judicial branch has been known as the "least dangerous branch of government", the Supreme Court was thoroughly transformed by progressives with "unilateral" decisions such as Roe v. Wade or the Obergefell case of 2015.



"The Supreme Court is now an engine of social revolution in the United States-a reality that clearly dated in the public mind to a series of cases that culminated in the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973," Mohler wrote.Mohler indicated that Barrett's judicial philosophy might be an antidote for the perversion of the Supreme Court by liberals. He argued that "will serve as a justice who is committed not to a regime of rights nowhere found in our nation's governing documents, but only those rights explicitly enumerated in the Constitution."



Mohler argued that Barrett shares the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's strict textualism and originalism when interpreting the Constitution. According to the Associated Press, Barrett gained "a reputation as a Scalia clerk in the late 1990s as bright and adept at picking apart poorly reasoned arguments."



Mohler also reasoned that liberals are especially fearful of the nomination of Barrett because she is a strict constitutionalist but she also is a woman and extremely qualified, making it tricky for Democrats to oppose her confirmation.



Mohler said that although Barrett answered affirmatively about upholding precedent during her nomination hearing to become an appellate court judge, she would not be bound to always respecting precedent on the Supreme Court. According to Mohler, "A seat on the Supreme Court, however, is an entirely different matter-it is those nine justices that get to decide what precedent represents a more accurate reading of the Constitution."



With a 6-3 majority, if Barrett is confirmed, the balance of power would shift greatly toward the right, as many important cases through history have been decided with a 5-4 vote. One example offered by Mohler was the decision to make gay marriage constitutional in 2015.



Mohler told readers that Barrett's nomination has seismic consequences and should encourage Christians, even with vehement opposition from Democrats.



According to Mohler, "The situation is only becoming more interesting, minute by minute."
Australia will welcome New Zealanders back into the country for the first time since March, allowing Kiwis to enter without being required to quarantine on arrival.

The announcement came from Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack on Friday, as Australian Covid-19 infections slow and Canberra seeks to revive its ailing economy.

'I have just gotten off the phone with (Northern Territory) Chief Minister (Michael) Gunner who says the fish are biting and the beers are cold, and he wants to see as many of his New Zealand cousins and friends as possible,' McCormack told reporters in Canberra.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack announced on Friday that Australia would welcome arrivals from New Zealand after closing its borders to all non-citizens in March, in a bid to give the country's ailing economy a boost

New Zealand citizens and residents will be allowed to travel to Australia's most populous state of New South Wales and its remote Northern Territory (NT) from October 16.

When they arrive, they will not have to undergo the two-week quarantine required of Australians arriving from other nations, McCormack said.

Instead, anyone arriving will have to declare they have not been in a hotspot - defined as place with three Covid-19 daily cases over three days - in the two weeks before their flight.

Australia closed its borders in March to all non-citizens to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has claimed 890 lives in the country and brought much of the economy to a standstill.

After experiencing a second wave of coronavirus cases that peaked in early august (demonstrated in the top graph above), Australia is now seeing the number of new daily cases regularly drop below 20. The virus has claimed 890 lives in the country (bottom graph), with daily deaths also decreasing since a peak at the end of August

Only 14 cases have been reported in NSW in the past two weeks - all of them people in hotel quarantine - while the Northern Territory has had no new cases since early August.

New Zealand meanwhile has effectively eradicated Covid-19, reducing the threat of additional infections in Australia from New Zealand visitors.

Mr McCormack said he wanted two-way travel but said no date has been set for when Australians can go to New Zealand.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said those who travelled to Australia would have to quarantine on their return. She also said New Zealand would not open its borders to Australians for now.

Travellers from New Zealande will be able to fly in to Sydney and Darwin without quarantine from 16 October under the first stage of the travel bubble. Pictured: Sydney, file photo

Ardern said on Thursday: 'In our view, we are not ready to have quarantine-free travel with Australia.

'I encourage New Zealanders to think about spending their dollars here locally,' she said.

'Even if Australia opens up borders for New Zealanders to go in without quarantine, that doesn't mean that they won't have to go into quarantine on return. At this stage they will.'

Ms Ardern and Mr Morrison have been discussing the return of regular travel across the Tasman for months, though New Zealand's Covid-19 elimination strategy means Ms Ardern is less inclined to open up.

'They have a very different strategy to us, and so they're making that decision and that is their prerogative but for now we of course have to keep New Zealanders safe,' she said.

New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern (pictured) said on Thursday: 'In our view, we are not ready to have quarantine-free travel with Australia'. Anyone who does go to Australia from New Zealand will be required to quarantine on their return home under New Zealand's measures

The travel route will provide a badly needed boost to Australia's economy, which shrank seven per cent in the three months ended June, the most since records began in 1959.

New Zealand tourists spent 1.44 billion in Australia during 2019, according to government estimates.

The NSW capital Sydney is Australia's biggest tourist destination, while the Northern Territory boasts Outback attractions like Uluru.

The agreement will also free up 325 Sydney hotel quarantine places for Australians to return from overseas.

McCormack said Canberra was also considering allowing residents of other countries that have no COVID-19 outbreaks to also enter Australia, although he declined to say which countries were under consideration.

The agreement between the federal government and the NSW and NT governments means Pacific islanders will be able to fly into Australia for work after spending 14 days in New Zealand.

'They can avail themselves of this opportunity, they can come and pick fruit, shear our sheep, fall in love,' Mr McCormack said.

The deputy prime minister said this was the first step in Australia's plan to re-open to the world after the Covid-19 pandemic.

'We may well extend this. We want to open up Australia to the world. This is the first part of it,' he said.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Scott Morrison flagged that flights could next be allowed from Japan, South Korea and Pacific islands such as Fiji.

Mr Morrison said opening up some international travel will be great for tourism businesses.

Australia's second-most populous state Victoria accounts for 90% of national COVID-19 deaths and remains in partial lockdown.

Victorian officials said seven people had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, down from 15 on Thursday and near the four-month low of five cases reported on September 28.
Pompeo said the U.S. wanted to support the aspirations of the people on the streets.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Washington has not yet made a decision on recognizing Svetlana Tikhanovskaya as President of Belarus.

In an interview with Fox News, Pompeo said the U.S. wanted to support the aspirations of the people on the streets.

"We've been very supportive. We declared that election was a fraud within days of the election's conclusion," he said.

"We've opposed the fact that he [Alexander Lukashenko] has now inaugurated himself. We know what the people of Belarus want. They want something different. They want freedom. They want to turn towards a different direction that President Lukashenko has not given them. And, we're going to be alongside them to try help them, support them, use our diplomatic capabilities to give them a better path forward," Pompeo said.

Belarus election: Reactions

Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly claimed "foreign interference" in the election and external efforts to foment the protests. He spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin who had promised him comprehensive assistance upon request.

On August 27, Putin suggested sending Russian security forces to suppress protests in Belarus.

The European Union declared non-recognition of the Belarus election results and reached an agreement to impose sanctions against Belarusian officials in response to vote rigging and the use of violence against protesters.

On September 15, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a statement on Belarus. Ukrainian lawmakers said the presidential elections in that country were unfair. They condemned repression against protesters and vowed support for sanctions to be introduced by the European Union against Belarusian officials.

On September 14, Putin received Lukashenko in Russia's Sochi. During the meeting, Putin promised to lend US$1.5 billion to Belarus. After the meeting, the Kremlin announced they would recognize Lukashenko as the only legitimate president of Belarus.

On September 23, Lukashenko was sworn in as President of Belarus during an inaugural ceremony held behind closed doors in the Palace of Independence in Minsk.

On September 24, Kuleba said Ukraine does not recognize Alexandr Lukashenko a legitimate head of Belarus following the latter's inauguration.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine is in solidarity with the position of the European Union on the events taking place after the presidential elections in Belarus.

On September 27, French President Emmanuel Macron said Alexander Lukashenko must step down, days after the European Union's foreign policy chief said the Belarusian strongman's "so-called inauguration" lacked democratic legitimacy.
Austin always beckons the weary traveler if you're looking for laid-back culture and off-the-grid, funky vibes. Hotel San Jose on South Congress has always been the ethereal Austin fix for an adventure that soothes the soul.

Now meet Hotel San Jose's new sister property, Hotel Magdalena.

Freshly unveiled Hotel Magdalena invites Houstonians to pay a visit to its new South Congress neighborhood in Austin. Hotel Magdalena is the new creative brainchild of Bunkhouse Group hotels in collaboration with renowned architecture firm Lake| Flato, and it's made a grand debut in October on Austin's Music Lane.

AUTUMN GETAWAY: Houston hotel rolls out staycation deals for fall

"The story of the hotel is the story of Austin--of live music, the outdoors, and relishing the hot summers in our beloved rivers and creeks," Bunkhouse's Vice President of Design and Development Tenaya Hills told Chron. "That naturally acted as a springboard for the design elements of the hotel--the pool being our own swimming hole, the buildings around it inspired by Austin's lake houses in the 1950s, which then informed the materials you see and furniture system we designed for the guest rooms."

Named after the biblical figure Mary Magdalene, the boutique hotel boasts 89 guest rooms, a dedicated event space and a 900-square-foot sunken swimming pool reminiscent of Barton Springs.

What's important about Hotel Magdalena is that it sits upon a treasured site for Austin. It was originally home to the Terrace Motor Hotel, a popular destination that opened in 1951 featuring 366 rooms and a convention center.

The Terrace Motor Hotel was later purchased in the '70s by legendary Texas artist Willie Nelson, who renamed the The Austin Opry House and converted part of it into a music venue. The Austin Opry House became a popular tour stop for such American music icons as Muddy Waters, Ike & Tina Turner, Tom Waits and, of course, Willie himself.

Now the Magdelana is a must-stop for Texas foodies. The hotel boasts Summer House on Music Lane, a full-service restaurant helmed by Executive Chef Jeffrey Hundelt (previously the culinary director of Austin's Launderette). Summer House on Music Lane's cuisine will embrace Texas roots and will open to the public in November.

"The menu features straightforward cooking taking cues from old school hospitality and slow food mentality, but with an Austin sensibility," Bunkhouse hospitality noted.

From a design perspective, Hotel Magdalena takes inspiration from the lush green space of central Texas and specifically, the lakeside culture in the 1970s era.

"Lake culture was an inspiration because its what we do here in the summer  hang out with friends on the water, grill, swim," Hills said. "Its fun, casual and relaxed, like this hotel is. 70s era Austin specifically is interesting just because of the richness of the music scene and the lore of the time  a sleepy, fun-loving college town. It was the era that created the Austin we know today."

So, what makes this hotel so unique in Austin?

"We want this to feel like an escape to nature but in the middle of a city," Hills said. "I love the indoor/outdoor connection; it really makes the experience at this hotel original and a true escape. And with the nature as core to the hotel concept, our team was focused on very special landscaping, and we were lucky enough to work with Ten Eyck landscaping to make it happen. "

The other true draw to Hotel Magdalena is that it lures the traveler who wants things to go at a slower pace with a natural vibe.

"We want people to walk into a clean, uncluttered room thats instantly calming," Hills said. "We want them to put their feet up, put some music on, and slow down. The traveler we had in mind loves Austin, loves what those hot summer nights feel like, and, of course, great food, good music and the art of relaxing."
Oregon secretary of state candidates Sen. Shemia Fagan and Sen. Kim Thatcher faced off Thursday night in a virtual debate organized by the City Club of Portland, during which topics included how they would handle redistricting, same-day voter registration and government accountability.

They also fielded questions on campaign finance, a major topic of interest to Oregonians and to the candidates themselves, whose total fundraising for the race is approaching $2 million with a month left until Election Day.
(Natural News) The latest installments of Project Veritas undercover truth series exposing Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as a criminal election thief may not have come to fruition had it not been for Minnesota State Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Minn.).

As it turns out, Drazkowski has been well aware of Omars shenanigans for quite some time now, and had approached the FBI with proof while calling for an investigation. The FBI ignored him, however, prompting him to reach out to Project Veritas.

Using the word languid to describe the FBIs response to his presented evidence, Drazkowski claims that he was stonewalled, which allowed Omar and her comrades to continue stealing elections and committing what amounts to treason against the American people.

I was not convinced that they were going to do an investigation, Drazkowski told political commentator Michelle Malkin during a recent interview. The only other organization that I could think of that would bring it to the surface was Project Veritas.

None of this is surprising when considering that the FBIs culture under Christopher Wray has changed very little since the days of his predecessor James Comey. The FBI continues to act in bad faith, refusing to pursue justice while allowing criminals to roam free.

Project Veritas, on the other hand, is doing the work that the FBI refuses to do, presenting solid evidence to show that elections are being stolen by Democrats like Omar who are engaging in ballot harvesting and cash-for-votes, or ballots-for-cash, criminal schemes.

Nobody would say that Ilhan Omar isnt part of this, stated Omar Jamal, a Somali community insider and chairman of the Somali Watchdog Group, about what is happening on the ground in Minneapolis where he lives.

Unless youre from a different planet, but if you live in this universe, I think everybody knows it.

More related news about Democrat election fraud can be found at Treason.news.

Ilhan Omar sent operatives into voting booths to vote in place of legitimate voters

Another bombshell admission by Jamal is that Omar has been sending operatives into voting booths with voters to cast votes for them.

They help us at the voting booth, one insider on recorded hidden camera admitted. They allow them to help us. They go inside with us and help us, and they actually do that inside there.

In other words, Democrats are unable to win elections on their own merits, or lack thereof, and thus have to pay and/or strongarm people into voting for them. It is about as criminal as it gets, and Omar appears to be one of the ringleaders in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

By now, President Trump is surely aware of the revelations made in Project Veritas videos, and our hope is that he and his team are developing some kind of strategy to deal with it. Otherwise Omar, and possibly many other Democrats, could end up stealing yet another election in November.

One thing is certain: Omar needs all the help she can get, despite being an incumbent, as she isnt well liked by her local media, writes Kit Daniels for Infowars.

Minnesotas largest newspaper endorsed her Democratic opponent in the last election, for instance, because the paper felt Omar was too radical and wanted to lead a national movement instead of representing her district.

Infowars commenters had a lot to say about the issue as well, emphasizing that the FBI is thoroughly corrupt and effectively useless. One called for Trump to fire Wray immediately, while another issued a plea for the military to move in and arrest by force garbage like Omar.

If they dont want to go along peacefully then the military needs to treat them as usurpers and enemy combatants and send them to their graves.

Sources for this article include:

NaturalNews.com

Infowars.com
From biblical archaeology to religion and politics in Israel, Temple Israel has adult education opportunities covering a variety of interests this fall.

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Dr. Ken Hanson will give a Zoom presentation called "Whose Holy Land? Archaeology Meets Geopolitics in Today's Middle East." Dr. Hanson is a scholar of Jewish history and Hebrew language and literature, as well as the coordinator of Judaic Studies at UCF. His talk will reveal the stories behind ancient artifacts and the perspective they offer on archaeology and politics today. Dr. Hanson is well known for his lively, in...
Two months after the Soviet-made "Lun" ekranoplan was hauled onto a remote beach in Daghestan to star in a military-themed Patriotic Park, the legendary craft remains wallowing in the breakers, sporting what appears to be significant damage.

The Lun-class ekranoplan is a unique naval craft built during the Cold War that was designed to skim just above the water. Its high-speed, low-altitude flight enabled it to pass over anti-ship mines and duck under many radar systems, enabling it to launch stealthy nuclear-missile strikes. Its disadvantages include a vulnerability to bird strikes as well as a dangerously wide turning radius. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the vessel spent several decades on a tightly guarded dock near Daghestans capital, Makhachkala, before being towed to its current location on an empty stretch of coastline 110 kilometers to the south.

On September 28, Egor Berkut made a trip to see the legendary ekranoplan, which he read was in the process of being converted into a museum exhibit, on a beach near the Daghestan town of Derbent. What he saw came as a shock. The professional illustrator told RFE/RL that the vessel was showing obvious signs of damage as it lay in the thumping waves of the Caspian Sea. Its a very sad sight.... Theres a hole in the belly, inside pumps are constantly running and pumping out water.

Other visitors to the site, which has become a pop-up tourist destination, reported similar frustration with what many believe is a momentous contracting blunder. Well-known Russian photographer and adventurer Vitaly Raskalov wrote in an Instagram post that the ekranoplans arrival was loudly announced by the local media. But since then it turns out that no Patriotic Park was built, so the ekranoplan lies on its belly near a wild beach, and is filled with water, since it was damaged during transportation. The absurdity is compounded by the fact that workers are trying to pull the 250-ton vessel out using a winch and bulldozers.

However, a spokeswoman for the city of Derbent claimed the operation to move and restore the ekranoplan is going to plan. Kamila Gamzatova, from the citys press service, told RFE/RL that the ekranoplans final resting place will be on a pedestal around 100 meters inland from the shoreline and said the vessel is already in the territory of the Patriotic Park, though the park doesnt yet exist. Gamzatova said the park, which will also feature helicopters and armored vehicles, wont open until 2021. Gamzatova claimed the contractors tasked with hauling the vessel have had their work slowed due to the rocking of the waves making the unusual job more difficult than anticipated. She said the ekranoplan is being pulled ashore maybe by 10 or 20 centimeters each day, but work hasnt ceased even once. A photo taken on September 28 shows the vessel does appear to have been hauled several meters toward land, but most of the hull remains in the water. Gamzatova vowed that the damaged ekranoplan will be repaired and repainted and it will look beautiful once mounted as the centerpiece of the military park.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Marine One at the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Washington, for the short trip to Andrews Air Force Base en route to Cleveland for first debate against Democrat Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Several Ohio officials, including Sen. Rob Portman, Congressman Jim Jordan and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, will get coronavirus tests today because they were at least in the same place as President Donald Trump this week.

Portman was with Trump just outside the White House for a Monday event featuring the prototype of an electric truck being built in the old GM plant in Lordstown.

Jordan and Husted attended Tuesday's debate in Cleveland, although both said they did not have close contact with the president or first lady Melania Trump.

More: Trump has tested positive for COVID-19. A look at where he's traveled and who he's been with these past seven days

Emily Benavides, Portman's communications director, said, "While he is not experiencing any symptoms, and neither is (wife) Jane, out of an abundance of caution, he is consulting with his physician and plans to take a COVID-19 diagnostic test and cancel his scheduled in-person events today.

Those attending the White House gathering and the debate were required to have a negative test for COVID-19.

The president and first lady announced early Friday morning they had tested positive for COVID-19. So has top aide Hope Hicks and, reportedly, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDanield.

Democratic Congresswomen Joyce Beatty of the Columbus area and Marcy Kaptur both were at the debate, but neither came into proximity with any of the Trump family members, their spokesmen said. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles was in the same situation but he has decided to get a test anyway, his spokesman said.

Fewer than 100 persons were in the actual debate hall in the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion, run by Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic.

During an appearance Friday morning on Fox and Friends, Jordan downplayed his interactions with those who tested positive, including the president.

I was only around the president for just a brief amount of time. I didnt fly back with him. I stayed to do some TV on Fox, the Urbana Republican said. I feel great. I had a great workout yesterday. I feel fine."

Story continues

More: Trump tests positive for COVID-19: Is he at increased risk? Will Biden get tested? Here's what we know.

Jordan said he has been tested 13 times, most recently on Tuesday. He still plans to join a virtual committee hearing Friday.

I think the president will beat it. The president has beat just about anything thats been thrown at him these last four years, Jordan said.

A spokesman said the congressman will follow his doctors orders regarding a quarantine and while he did not wear a mask during the debate, he "has always worn a mask when required and will continue to do so."

What do you want to know about Trump and COVID-19? We want to answer readers' questions.

Husted is getting tested even though he was relatively far away from the first lady and Trump's family, who sat in the front row.

"The lieutenant governors seat at the debate was at least 50 feet away from the stage and the presidents family & friends," said Husted spokeswoman Carolyn Cypret.

"Though he has no reason to believe that he came into contact with anyone who was positive with COVID-19, the lieutenant governor will take a test today, and we will release those results when they are available."

Cypret also said Husted "is voluntarily self-isolating at home until he receives the results."

Gov. Mike DeWine did not attend, but several other Ohio officials did.

One, House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, tweeted: "While I await guidance from the proper authorities, I will isolate."

Sykes attended with her father, state Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron. She did not mention if he is getting tested as well.

Sykes also confirmed reports from several news outlets that just before the debate, a Cleveland Clinic doctor offered masks to those in the audience who weren't wearing them, including Trump's family in the front row and Ohio GOP Congressman Jim Jordan in the second.

They refused.

"I am relieved to hear that the president, who has refused to follow so many of the guidelines, now plans to quarantine," Sykes said in a statement Friday morning.

"Sitting in the debate hall on Tuesday, I was concerned with so many in the presidents entourage who refused to wear masks, despite urging from Cleveland Clinic physicians. I am frustrated today as I worry now about my own health and the health of so many others who were present that evening like journalists, support staff, Cleveland Clinic professionals, and many others who could have potentially been exposed.

DeWine issued a statement: "Fran and I join our fellow Ohioans in praying for President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after they announced early today that they have both tested positive for COVID-19."

Dispatch reporters Rick Rouan and Randy Ludlow contributed to this story.

drowland@dispatch.com

@darreldrowland

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio officials get COVID tests after attending events with Trump
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Attorneys for voting-rights groups sharply criticized Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Thursday, saying he failed to follow a judges order to work closely with Cuyahoga County officials to ease congestion on Election Day.

In a brief filed in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, the attorneys said that they were pleased that LaRose approved an additional collection site for voters to cast absentee ballots. But they said he has not offered any rationale for why he failed to consider other locations at libraries, which elections officials had considered and voted on last month.

A spokeswoman for LaRose declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

LaRose agreed to allow the collection site, staffed by bipartisan elections workers, at a parking lot at 3100 Chester Ave. The lot is at Campus International High School and near the offices of the countys elections board.

LaRose made the decision this week after U.S. District Judge Dan Polster ordered him to work with the board to alleviate what the judge called the looming crisis for voters on Nov. 3, when residents would come to the boards offices to cast absentee ballots.

We think that an additional collection site is a good thing, said Jonathan Greenbaum, an attorney representing the League of Women Voters and the NAACP of Ohio. "But what is the difference between the collection site at the parking lot and the proposed collection sites at the libraries?

He doesnt offer a rational explanation. There is no rational explanation. There was no back-and-forth between him and elections officials. It was just, 'Were going to allow you to do X, but not Y.

The issue stems from a lawsuit voting organizations filed against LaRose over his Aug. 12 directive that permitted each Ohio county to have a drop box at its board of elections. The groups sought several drop boxes in each county. Last week, Polster issued an order but did not decide on the injunction the groups had requested.

Instead, Polster wrote, he held his decision in abeyance and wanted to see how a state appellate panel ruled on a similar case brought by the Ohio Democratic Party. A Franklin County judge ruled against LaRose, saying his directive was arbitrary and unreasonable. LaRose immediately appealed the decision.

In an attempt to work around the issue of drop boxes, Cuyahoga Countys elections board pushed to allow staff members from each political party to gather absentee ballots at libraries in the county, as well as the parking lot on Chester Avenue.

But LaRose initially decided against that measure, as well, citing pending litigation.

When Polster ordered LaRose to work closely with Cuyahoga Countys elections board, members said they believed there would be discussions with the secretary. Instead, LaRose decided the issue, according to the filing Thursday.

The document said LaRoses attorneys merely contacted counsel for the board and informed him that the Secretary had approved the portion of the boards plan that proposes to have Board staff collect absentee ballots in the parking lot on Chester.

The attorneys wrote that permitting one location while ignoring the other six serves no relevant and legitimate state interest and does little to address the looming crisis the Court described.

The filing said attorneys for the voting groups want to have a conference with Polster and LaRoses attorneys to have the judge reconsider his decision to hold off on the ruling.

Throughout this case, [LaRose] has contended that he is statutorily prohibited from permitting off-site ballot collection locations, the attorneys said. Yet he permitted the Cuyahoga Board to use the off-site Chester Avenue Lot.

The site on Chester will be open to voters on Oct. 13.
By Sofia Menchu and Gustavo Palencia GUATEMALA CITY/TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Over 2,000 Central American migrants heading to the United States from Honduras barged past armed Guatemalan security troops at the border on Thursday, as they sought to escape poverty exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, caravan members, many wearing face masks, began gathering near the Guatemalan border at 6.30am. By mid-day more than 2,000 migrants had crossed without authorization, said Guatemalan officials, who expressed concern about contagion

By Sofia Menchu and Gustavo Palencia

GUATEMALA CITY/TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Over 2,000 Central American migrants heading to the United States from Honduras barged past armed Guatemalan security troops at the border on Thursday, as they sought to escape poverty exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, caravan members, many wearing face masks, began gathering near the Guatemalan border at 6.30am. By mid-day more than 2,000 migrants had crossed without authorization, said Guatemalan officials, who expressed concern about contagion.

"We're talking about a caravan in the middle of a pandemic. The situation is complicated because they broke the health protocols and we don't know who has entered (the country)," said Guatemala's migration director Guillermo Diaz.

One member of the caravan died on Thursday after falling from a trailer in Guatemala and getting trapped under its wheels, the Guatemalan Red Cross reported.

The caravan is the biggest since the coronavirus pandemic hit Central America in March, triggering strict government shutdowns that battered already precarious economies, leading to rises in unemployment and poverty.

It is likely to face challenges crossing through Mexico, where President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has deployed the National Guard to the border with Guatemala and dispersed previous caravans under pressure from the United States.

Republican President Donald Trump has made cracking down on unauthorized immigration a key part of his platform, ahead of the U.S. presidential election in a month's time.

Members of the caravan said they were fleeing dire conditions in Honduras, which is experiencing the worst economic decline in its history.

"No one migrates because they want to, it's out of necessity," Carlos, a Honduran migrant who asked not to use his last name, told Reuters via WhatsApp after reaching Guatemala. "We don't have any money to eat."

Migration experts said the pandemic has exacerbated long-standing social issues in Central America.

"This new caravan is yet another effect of the pandemic, but even more than that, it's a result of social inequalities that are on the rise," said Misael Hernandez, a migration expert at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte.

(Reporting by Sofia Menchu and Gustavo Palacio; Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Laura Gottesdiener and Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel, Richard Chang and Rosalba O'Brien)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
After serving the Metis Nation of B.C. (MNBC) as the Thompson Okanagan youth representative for seven years, Shaughn Davoren was announced as the provincial youth chair-elect.

The 23-year-old Vernon resident triumphed with 209 votes over Columbia Valleys opponent Braydi Rice at 178 votes. However, Rice was unavailable for comment before the Pioneer went to press.

While there was a short window where it was possible for the interim results to be disputed, Davoren feels confident about his campaign and his new rail as the MNBC provincial youth chair-elect.

I put a lot more into it this time, he explained. The last time I was elected, I was acclaimed. This time, I was running against someone and that really motivated me to do more. I put a lot more on Facebook. I was on Instagram. I was on Snapchat. I was sharing my information in mail out cards and the engagement from the youth was the greatest. What I mean is, it was great that it wasnt for naught.

Davoren remains optimistic about the future and hopes to be sworn into his appointment officially on the tentative date of Oct. 14th.

In the interim, Davoren is beginning his first year as a registered nursing student at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan (UBCO).

Ive been doing college courses and upgrading, he said. I had to keep on reapplying and reapplying. I had to apply four times before I was finally accepted into the nursing program at UBCO to become a registered nurse.

Davoren indicated that his longterm goal is to work in healthcare either in Kelowna, his current home, or to travel north to work directly with Indigenous communities.

Im hoping to help out the Aboriginal community, said Davoren. My platform has always been based on the sensitivity of the Metis minority. I have a nephew who is Japanese-Metis. A good friend of mine just had a kid who is Vietnamese-Metis. My cousin is trans-Metis, so I want to introduce an LGBT role to the Metis youth council and to create a vice-chair position on the council.

He hoped to be collaborative in the role with the 15-to-30-year-old Metis citizens within B.C. as well as with his proposed vice-chair position.

I want to advocate for the youth and make sure that we are doing things are aligned with whats been said (by my peers) is wanted, he said. Youth are forward thinking, and I want to keep up with that. As a nursing student, I wont always be able to attend every meeting but we still need a seat at the table so we can have a voice.

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Inkbench Inc, the leading creative collaborative platform for marketers to amplify and protect their brand assets, announced today that James Green has joined the company as Chief Revenue Officer to drive integration of marketing, sales and revenue operations for the company.

James has 30 years of senior management experience, including strategic development and planning execution, having started his career with the Walt Disney Company, then running new business development and marketing for Steve Jobs at Pixar Animation Studios. Most recently, James founded and managed startups including Sabela (sold to 24/7 Media, now owned by WPP), GiantBear, (sold to Blucora BCOR), PVI (sold to ESPN), the world's first e-sports company The World Series of Video Games, and Magnetic (sold to Deloitte Digital).

"I'm thrilled James is joining our team to manage and continue to accelerate our firms growth, said George Abraham, CEO of Inkbench. I've known James for more than a decade and have watched him first-hand build sales everywhere he's worked, including Magnetic where he grew revenues from $1 million to $100 million per annum over a six-year period."

Inkbench allows entire teams to curate, create, and collaborate on marketing assets and campaigns with speed, efficiency, and controls that ensure that an organizations materials are effective, on-brand and in-sync. The unified platform offers a Curated Brand Library, an interconnected system of Workspaces, a powerful-yet-simple Design Canvas, and smart administrative controls.

"I'm really excited to join Inkbench, said James Green, Chief Revenue Officer for Inkbench. Inkbench meets a critical need for organizations, from franchising and non-profits to corporations, needing to stay on-brand while engaging the entire enterprise to support and expand branded communications, particularly in todays unique remote working environment.

About Inkbench

Inkbench (https://www.inkbench.com) is the leading creative collaborative platform for marketers to amplify and protect their brands. The patented enterprise platform combines a curated brand library with an advanced design canvas that businesses need to create on-brand materials swiftly and safely, within in a unified platform. Subscribers include The New York Blood Center, Alcon, and Syneos Health, among others. Inkbench Inc. is a New Jersey-based company that was founded by Steve Goodman who also founded The SPI Group, a leading corporate communications agency that was sold to Ruder Finn in 2019.
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Linkedin Yunindita Prasidya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 09:32 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48a268a 1 Business Bukit-Asam,PTBA,coal-business,solar-panel,renewable-energy,downstream-business Free

Publicly listed coal miner PT Bukit Asam is looking to expand its business into the renewable energy sector after announcing plans to install solar panel systems at existing unproductive mining sites.

The company has already successfully installed solar panels at airports.

Bukit Asam president director Arviyan Arifin said the miner had built and operated 720 solar panel systems at Soekarno-Hatta International Airports operation control center in partnership with state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura (AP) II.

The same system will be installed at other AP II airports, he added, while the company planned to capitalize on its existing mining areas to expand its solar panel business arm if it managed to strike lucrative deals from the new venture.

We are planning to build solar panel systems with a capacity of 100 megawatts [MW] in Ombilin, Arviyan said in a virtual media briefing on Wednesday, referring to the companys mining site in West Sumatra.

Accordingly, we will need 200 hectares of land, [which] is relatively available for us, he said.

A company document shows that the Ombilin site has a total area of 2,935 ha.

We are now talking with PLN as a buyer of this electricity.

Energy players in the country have started tapping into the growing renewable energy sector as concerns over environmental costs incurred by mining practices have risen, and numerous actors, including the government, are incorporating clean energy targets into their programs.

According to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministrys National Energy Plan of 2017, Indonesias utilization of new and renewable energy (EBT), including geothermal, solar energy, wind energy, among other power sources, had reached only 2 percent of its total potential.

According to the document, the government aims to have at least 23 percent of its total primary energy mix come from EBT by 2025 and at least 31 percent by 2050.

We are anticipating this opportunity, Arviyan said, adding that Bukit Asam was currently waiting for the governments announcement on a tariff policy in regard to the purchase of electricity generated by solar panels.

He went on to say that if the price was attractive, Bukit Asam would expand its solar panel development to Tanjung Enim, its mining site in South Sumatra, which has a total area of 66,414 ha, as detailed in the companys document.

Aside from developing a solar panel venture, Arviyan said Bukit Asam had embraced the quest to lower its carbon emission by installing ultrasupercritical technology in its power plants. Power plants equipped with the technology require less coal per megawatt-hour, which translates to lower emissions.

The company is also planning to develop its downstream business to reduce the environmental impact of coal, the president director said.

Among the products the company is developing is Dimethyl Ether (DME), which is a substitute for liquified petroleum gas (LPG). Other products that may be developed down the line range from lubricant and polythene to polyester and urea fertilizer.

This will be our transformation for the next five, 10 or 20 years ahead. Bukit Asam will no longer sell coal because coal itself will not be in use due to the rampant ESG [environment, social, governance] campaigns, Arviyan said. Many countries are no longer using coal-fired steam power plants anymore.

Bukit Asam human resources director Joko Pramono said during the same event: Since 2015, we have acknowledged that we need to raise our performance based on the triple P: people, planet and profit.

Bukit Asam reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted its business expansion. Its capital expenditure (capex) is projected to reach between Rp 2.7 trillion (US$182 million) and Rp 3 trillion, from the Rp 4 trillion initially targeted this year.

During the first half of the year, the company booked a net profit of Rp 1.3 trillion, lower than Rp 2 trillion pocketed in the same period in 2019, according to the company's financial report. Its revenue had also slipped year-on-year from Rp 10.61 trillion to Rp 9 trillion during the first six months of the year.

Bukit Asam shares, traded on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) with the code PTBA, jumped 1.52 percent to Rp 2,000 apiece on Thursday versus the Jakarta Composite Indexs (JCI) gain of 2.05 percent. The miner has lost almost 25 percent of its share value so far this year.
The Czech Telecommunication Office (CTU) has confirmed that seven interested parties are seeking to bid in the Czech Republics upcoming sale of 700MHz and 3400MHz-3600MHz 5G-ready spectrum.

The regulator is currently bound by the auction terms and the Electronic Communications Act not to reveal the names of the candidates, so it is unknown if the incumbent operators O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone have applied.

The three major players have attempted to halt the auction via legal action, but the CTU confirmed that the Prague courts had dismissed these challenges, saying: all requests for the issuance of interim measures filed with the court in order to stop the selection process have already been rejected, and none of the operators has succeeded in its application at the Municipal Court in Prague.

Reports by Reuters indicate that local firms Nordic Telecom and Sazka, which operates the MVNO SAZKAmobil, are interested in bidding. Meanwhile utilites firm CEZ has reportedly stated that it will not partake.

According to TeleGeography, the CTUs tender for the 700MHz and 3400MHz3600MHz spectrum is aimed at fostering competition in the market and thereby addressing the longstanding consumer  and indeed political - complaint that mobile tariffs are too high. To ensure new competitors are able to enter the market, the regulator has set aside a 2x10MHz block in the 700MHz band specifically for new entrants.
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Oct. 1, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump Hard at Work Following COVID-19 Diagnosis: White House

President Donald Trump is working hard from the White House despite his COVID-19 diagnosis, as he keeps tabs on the Supreme Court nomination battle and other issues, White House officials said Friday.

Hes had mild symptoms but he is hard at work, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters outside the White House. Trump is working so hard that were having him slowed down a little bit, she added.

Trump, 74, and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, tested positive for COVID-19 late Thursday, following White House aide Hope Hicks testing positive.

COVID-19 is a disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Trump has spoken on the phone on Friday with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany walks to speak to reporters outside the White House in Washington on Oct. 2, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Graham, who is helping guide the approval of Trumps Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, told an event in South Carolina that Trump was in good spirits.

The first thing he asked me is hows the hearings going? he said.

Republican Senate leaders say the turn of events wont affect their nomination schedule. Barrett is slated to be questioned by Grahams committee on Oct. 12. Two top Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Judiciary Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), said Friday that the hearing schedule is in peril and virtual hearings wouldnt be acceptable.

McConnell said that he and Trump talked businessespecially how impressed senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett.

Meadows told reporters outside the White House earlier Friday that Trump continues to be in good spirits and very energetic.

We talked a number of times this morning. I got the five or six things that he asked me to do like I do every single morning. He is certainly wanting to make sure that we stay engaged, Meadows said.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows talks to a gaggle of reporters outside the White House in Washington on Oct. 2, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Based on federal health guidance, the Trumps are isolating in the White House residence until they test negative twice.

The Trump administration put into place protocols to try to prevent the spread of CCP virus but even with a lot of the mitigating factors, what you have is a virus that is contagious, Meadows said.

Meadows, Jared Kushner, Dan Scavino, and other White House staffers and administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, tested negative for COVID-19 on Friday. So did the Trumps son, Barron.

The White House found out about Hickss positive diagnosis as Marine One was departing the White House to go to Trumps club in Bedminster, New Jersey, officials said. While some staffers who had been in close contact with Hicks were held back, Trump and others continued to a fundraiser there.

White House operations officials determined it was safe for the president to go, McEnany said, describing the event as socially distanced and outdoors.

Federal health guidance says people should remain at least six feet apart, or socially distanced, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hope Hicks, left, an adviser to President Donald Trump, President Trumps senior adviser, Jared Kushner, walk to Air Force One to depart Washington with the president and other staff on campaign travel to Minnesota from Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Sept. 30, 2020. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

Officials declined to say what treatment, if any, Trump is taking, but said Sean Conley, the presidents physician, would be providing expertise in terms of care. Several experts said White House doctors would be considering remdesivir, while at least one suggested the re-implementation of the combination of hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and azithromycin.

A top White House health adviser said people shouldnt panic over Trumps positive test. Dr. Scott Atlas said he expects the Trumps to make a complete, full, and rapid recovery.

Trumps positive test meant the cancellation of planned rallies in Florida, Wisconsin, and Arizona.

All previously announced campaign events involving the Presidents participation are in the process of being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed. In addition, previously announced events involving members of the First Family are also being temporarily postponed. All other campaign events will be considered on a case-by-case basis and we will make any relevant announcements in the days ahead, Bill Stepien, the Trump campaign manager, said in a statement.

Pences scheduled campaign events will move forward since he tested negative.

Vice President Mike Pence, center, with White House counsel Pat Cipollone, left, and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, speaks to reporters after meeting with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in Washington on Sept. 29, 2020. (Susan Walsh/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

World leaders and members of Congress wished the Trumps well following the diagnoses.

My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus, said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who went through a harrowing ordeal with COVID-19 earlier this year.

I wish the President and First Lady a speedy recovery. This is a terrible disease, and it continues to impact families across the country. Its as important as ever we all continue washing hands, wearing masks, social distancing, & taking the steps we can to keep each other safe, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement.

I want to express my prayers and support to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. We know they tested positive. I know how tough and strong of a person President Trump is and how tireless he is, and I know hes going to continue working for the American people, but Jennifer and I surely keep he and the first lady in our prayers for a quick and speedy recovery, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said during a hearing in Washington.

Other lawmakers accused Trump and White House staffers of endangering peoples health.

Im extremely troubled by the reports that the Presidents family and staff refused to wear masks at the debate in Cleveland, and then held a fundraiser the next dayendangering all who worked at and attended these events, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said.

Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, said on ABCs Good Morning America early Friday that he helped Trump prepare for the debate for several days leading up to Sept. 29.

No one was wearing masks in the room when we were prepping the president, he said.

Allen Zhong and GQ Pan contributed to this report.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) has issued a statement on the joint call of the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries. The statement reads as follows:

We welcome the joint statement by the presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries  Russian Federation, United States and France, strongly condemning the escalation of violence in the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict zone and calling for an immediate end to hostilities. This statement by the leaders of the three countries - permanent members of the UN Security Council has finally consolidated the collective position of the international community on the inadmissibility of the use of force, previously expressed by all members of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary General, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, and heads of states and governments of the European Union.

By continuing to reject the demands of the international community to restore peace in the region, Azerbaijan and Turkey are increasingly positioning themselves as rogue countries, demonstrating open rejection of generally accepted rules and norms of the civilized world.

Azerbaijan and Turkey not only persist in their unwillingness to follow the calls of the international community for an immediate ceasefire, but also consistently and deliberately increase the intensity of the hostilities. The Defence Army of Artsakh, which is now actually fighting also international terrorism, will continue to take all necessary measures to force Azerbaijan to end the hostilities, thereby contributing to international efforts to restore peace in the region. The Republic of Artsakh will continue to pursue a responsible security policy aimed at ensuring and strengthening long-term regional peace and stability.

At the same time, we believe that in a situation when Azerbaijan and Turkey enter into an open military alliance with terrorist organizations, which are outlawed by the civilized world, collective measures of the entire international community, including those of a coercive nature, are imperatively required to end the illegal acts of Ankara and Baku, which pose a threat to the entire world community.

In this regard, we once again emphasize that the international recognition of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh will not only allow the immediate end of the aggression, but also exclude the possibility of its repetition in the future. The international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh is an inevitable and logical result of the settlement process, which is not questioned by the international community, since the independence of Artsakh has strong legal, legitimate and fair basis. The sooner the process of international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh begins, the earlier the long-awaited and lasting peace will come into the region.
At the call of the CCAF (Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France) several hundred people belonging to the Armenian community in France gathered near the Azerbaijan Embassy in Paris, France, on September 29, 2020, to protest against the war that broke out in recent days in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan with the support of Turkey. Samuel Boivin | NurPhoto via Getty Images

LONDON  The re-emergence of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region have ratcheted up fears of a wider regional conflict at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. Dozens have been reported killed and hundreds wounded since fighting between the two former Soviet republics broke out on Sunday. The contested mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it has been under de facto Armenian control since the early 1990s. The territory declared independence from Azerbaijan in 1991. Armenia supports the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh region, but the country of roughly 3 million people has not officially recognized it. French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the fighting via telephone on Wednesday, calling on the warring sides to immediately de-escalate tensions. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also voiced his "extreme concern" over the latest skirmishes, pushing for a "return to meaningful negotiations without delay."

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards The contested mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it has been under de facto Armenian control since the early 1990s. CNBC

Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have dismissed the suggestion of holding peace talks, accusing each other of obstructing negotiations. It is unclear what flared the so-called "frozen conflict" but the fighting has already been the worst in decades.

Regional security implications

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a six-year war over Nagorno-Karabakh before reaching a truce in 1994 but have both since blamed one another for ceasefire violations in the enclave and along the border, most recently in July. Located in the South Caucasus between Europe and Asia, majority-Christian Armenia shares a border with Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Turkey. Azerbaijan, a mainly Muslim country of almost 10 million people, is to the east of neighboring Armenia and borders Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, and the Caspian Sea. Russia, a close ally of Azerbaijan, is part of a military alliance with Armenia. The Kremlin has offered to host talks between the two sides, claiming it had contacted the foreign ministers of both Armenia and Azerbaijan on Wednesday. The fighting has exacerbated tensions between NATO allies France and Turkey. France is home to many people of Armenian ancestry, while Turkey has called on the "entire world" to stand with Azerbaijan. Many link Turkey's support of Azerbaijan to the mass killing of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915, which Armenia says amounted to genocide. Turkey has resisted calls to recognize the killings as genocide, saying the death toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of a civil war. In an interview with state-run news agency Anadolu, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that French support for Armenia was akin to Paris backing Armenian occupation in Azerbaijan. In response, France's Macron said he had taken note of the political statements from Turkey, describing Ankara's comments as "reckless and dangerous."

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a press conference with Latvia's Prime Minister (unseen) after their meeting on September 30, 2020 in Riga, Latvia, during Macron's official visit to Latvia and the Baltic region. GINTS IVUSKANS | AFP via Getty Images

Speaking at a news conference in Riga, Latvia on Wednesday, Macron said he was "extremely preoccupied by the belligerent messages from Turkey in the past hours, which are removing Azerbaijan's inhibitions in what would be a recapture of the Nagorno-Karabakh. And we will not accept that." Macron said he would speak with the European Council and President Donald Trump about the fighting on Thursday. Analysts at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said their baseline scenario was for extended clashes near the line of conflict, but not full-scale conflict that would draw Russia into the fighting. "As the scope of the stand-off is particularly great, this scenario is still dangerous and presents chances every day for unintended escalation," they said. "It would involve a limited amount of financial strain on Azerbaijan, who is prepared to finance a short-term operation, and probably greater strain on Armenia's fewer financial resources and in light of its general mobilization." Eurasia Group analysts predicted the situation "could persist for days or even weeks," suggesting the location of the front, Putin's personal involvement, and the scale of Turkish involvement could be regarded as "signposts" for further developments.

Energy concerns

The Nagorno-Karabakh skirmishes also threaten to spill over and impact regional oil and gas infrastructure. S&P Global Platts said in a research note that the reported conflict zone lies around 30 to 40 kilometers from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude pipeline, Azerbaijan's main oil artery to world markets, and the South Caucasus gas pipeline, linked to Turkey and wider Europe. "While our base case remains for normal flows, a sustained conflict would increase the risk that the pipeline is damaged or shut down," S&P Global Platts said. The IEA estimates Azerbaijan, a major crude oil and natural gas producer, supplies about 5% of Europe's oil and gas needs.

A mountainous landscape of Nagorno Karabach (self proclaimed Republic of Artsakh) on October 10, 2019. The Republic is a subject of dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenians, it historically is occupied by Armenians but was included into Azerbaijan after the collapse of Soviet Union. Artsakh is today a de facto independent state but it is not recognised by any other party. It is possible to enter Artsakh only through Armenia. Dominika Zarzycka | NurPhoto via Getty Images
Attorney Thomas Plunkett represents former Minneapolis police officer Alexander Kueng in the Floyd murder case. Kueng is one of the four former officers charged in the case. The case is pending before Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill.

The courthouse sits in downtown Minneapolis and the case is proceeding in an atmosphere of mob justice. All four defendants have moved for a change of venue. I discussed the venue issue in Random thoughts on the Floyd case.

Defendants motion was originally predicated on pervasive pretrial publicity. Plunkett has now supplemented his argument with a personal account of the mob that greeted defendants and their counsel outside the court for the long hearing that included argument on the change of venue motion. As I put it in the linked post, we are one step removed from The Ox-Bow Incident. I have uploaded Plunketts six-page supplemental memorandum to Scribd and embedded it below.

The court has posted separate pages providing access to filings in each of the four cases. The page for the Kueng case is here with links to the pages for each of the three other cases.

Kueng Supplemental Change of Venue Memorandum by Scott Johnson on Scribd
Malaysia risks investment trouble as political drama drags on FILE PHOTO: Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin reacts during a session of the lower house of parliament, in Kuala Lumpur

(This story was corrected to remove the extra word "said" in paragraph 6. Earlier version corrected attribution in paragraph 5 and designation in paragraph 9)

By Liz Lee

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - With its leadership tossed into uncertainty again, Malaysia risks delays and loss of new investments, analysts and business groups say, as anxiety bubbles among foreign investors worried about policy disruption and reforms stalling.

A week after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim laid claim to the premiership citing enough parliamentary support to form a new government, the political situation is fluid and the power to decide what happens next rests with a king who is currently hospitalised.

Fitch Solutions said the upheaval since March was risky for Malaysia's long-term growth at a time when its neighbours compete for investments from firms diversifying manufacturing away from China.

"Malaysia could find it difficult to pitch its attractiveness to investors given the existence of lower-cost centres such as Vietnam and Indonesia on the one hand, and more stable politics in countries such as Singapore," its Senior Asia Country Risk Analyst Darren Tay told Reuters.

The power struggles that have ensued since the end of decades of unbroken rule by one party in 2018 could sap confidence among multinationals beset by coronavirus-related problems, analysts and business groups said.

"Political instability ranks high on corporations' considerations because it would have a ripple effect on policies," said the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce CEO Siobhan Das.

Muhyiddin Yassin unexpectedly emerged as prime minister in March after forging an alliance with opposition parties to gain a parliamentary majority.

He was accused of stealing power by shifting alliances instead of earning an electoral mandate and has rejected Anwar's claim of legislative backing.

Japanese firms long present in Malaysia are watching closely, and decision makers back home are worried it could complicate future plans, said Daiji Kojima, president of the Japanese Chamber of Trade and Industry.

Story continues

Bank Islam economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said equities investors were anxious about the possibility of a new election, while Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA, said a change in government could pose problems for new investments.

"Malaysia may struggle to attract foreign inflows when the country's governance is in such a state of constant flux," he said.

A smooth power transition, however, could see Malaysia's appeal restored in about six months, Halley said.

(Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Martin Petty)
(TNS)  Calling its proposal the boldest broadband legislation in the nations history, candidates mostly affiliated with the West Virginia Cant Wait political movement touted their plan to classify broadband internet as a public utility.In a parking lot at the Interstate 79 Technology Park, candidates running for everything from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to Fairmont City Council met to discuss elements of their Broadband for All proposal.A few key elements of the plan include having broadband internet access governed by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, which they believe would limit monopolistic power by service providers through the public funding of a broadband middle mile. They believe the new classification will increase competition and access, while working with counties and municipalities to secure federal funding, and create a state Office of Technology to coordinate the expansion of broadband.U.S. Senate hopeful Paula Jean Swearengin, 1st U.S. Congressional District candidate Natalie Cline, West Virginia House of Delegates District 48 entrant Ryan Deems, and Fairmont City Council contender David Knapp spoke at the event.Swearengin, who is running against sitting Senator Shelley Moore Capito in the general election, said West Virginians are poorly served by large out-of-state internet providers. She said it is time local public providers are empowered.Unlike my opponent, I do not favor price-gouging internet service provider monopolies like Comcast, Verizon, Suddenlink and AT&T. I support broadband as a public utility for all Americans by eliminating barriers to municipal and community-owned broadband networks and building a nationwide public digital infrastructure, Swearengin said.She said such an approach would be good for state businesses and workers and diversify West Virginias economy.If were going to expand our infrastructure and invite businesses here, we have to have good broadband. It will dramatically increase gross domestic product and create tens of thousands of well-paying union jobs, Swearengin said. Sustainable digital technologies can play a crucial role in supporting efficient, resilient, and decarbonized systems. Building this infrastructure can help provide a just transition for workers, which is vital for economic diversity in states like West Virginia.Aspects of the proposal would be funded by WV Cant Waits so-called Robin Hood tax structure as outlined in its New Deal for West Virginia plan.The Robin Hood plan would increase taxes and eliminate exemptions on the states wealthiest residents, while decreasing taxes for anyone making less than $168,000 a year. It would also reinstate the Estate Tax for estates over $1 million. WV Cant Wait estimates the Robin Hood plan would generate $56 million in revenue, enough to fully fund its Broadband for All initiative.Knapp recalled the first time he experienced high-speed internet and what a life-changing experience it was for him.I remember the first time I got internet in my home. It was the summer of 2002 and I remember we got it because we had just moved out of West Virginia to Columbus, Ohio, he said. While the reason for the move was not to get internet access, it definitely shaped my entire life from there because now Im a cyber security engineer for a Fortune 500 company operating out of West Virginia.Knapp said the local area is burdened with unusually slow internet access.The average download speed in Fairmont today is 33 megabits per second, which is 33% slower than the West Virginia average and 66% slower than the national average. In Marion County, 26% of residents have no access to fixed, wired internet service. We continue to pay more and receive less, he said.Knapp, too, blamed large corporations for charging too much and providing too little.Its not just a Fairmont problem, its a problem across the state. We must break the monopolies that raise rates and cut services. West Virginia must be a leader. This legislation we propose was not written by corporate lobbyists. It was written by the people of our state, he said.West Virginia ranks 47th in the nation in broadband connectivity, according the groups platform, with 500,000 residents, nearly one-third of the states population, having no access to high-speed reliable internet service.Such a disadvantage adversely affects education, economic development, tourism and business creation, according to WV Cant Wait.Deems, a teacher in Clarksburg, said a lack of reliable, affordable broadband has created significant issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.As a teacher, Ive seen the effects of the coronavirus on education and what the lack of broadband has done to it. Its put teachers in stressful positions. Its put our children, our future, behind because theyre not able to access education in an efficient way. It has to stop, Deems said.He said high-speed internet is crucial for workers today, many of whom have been forced to telecommute since the start of the pandemic.Our governor, Jim Justice, brags about how he still has a flip-phone. Unfortunately, I hate to break it to Jim, but those of us who work for a living need high-speed internet. And we need high-speed internet that is affordable and effective, Deems said.Cline said she favors uniform standards regarding the installation of broadband, such as those that exist for public utilities.If the coronavirus has shown us anything, its how necessary it is for every single household to be able to access broadband. Every single public school child should have access to it. Im ready to put forth legislation that will have the federal government champion this effort much like they championed the National Electrical Code, she said. From a federal perspective, its far past time our government step up, take control of this, and make sure we all have access thats affordable.Once considered a luxury, Cline said citizens well-being now depends greatly upon high-speed internet access.Its a necessity anymore. Its no longer a convenience service. The coronavirus has really shined a light on how necessary it is. Its time we all step up to make sure every family is able to access broadband, she said.
BEIJING - A fire at a tourist site in China killed 13 people on the first day of an eight-day national holiday, authorities said.

The fire engulfed an exhibition hall of ice lantern and snow sculptures Thursday at the Taitaishan theme park on the outskirts of Taiyuan city in Shanxi province, the Ministry of Emergency Management said.

Another 15 people were injured and taken to hospitals, where they were in stable condition, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Millions of people are expected to travel in China during the holiday in a much anticipated a boost to an economy hit hard by COVID-19.

Taitaishan is a sprawling park with several museums, rides and other attractions.

The Work Safety Committee of the State Council, a national-level organization, will oversee the investigation into the fire, the emergency management ministry said.

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Accra, October 2, 2020: - Olam International, a leading food and agri-business, in partnership with Singapore-based Temasek Foundation has donated a consignment of PPE to the Government of Ghana to support national efforts in the fight against COVID -19.

The consignment comprised various items of PPE including 3,000 surgical gowns, face shields, KN95 masks, and nitrile gloves. They were delivered to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research through the Ministry of Health.

This adds to a previous donation of RNA extraction kits for 20,000 COVID-19 tests, supplied by the two organisations in June. In March this year, Olam also donated two consignments of medical supplies to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (GARTH) and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR).

Speaking at the handing over ceremony at the Ministry of Health in Accra, Miss Patience Mantey, Quality Manager of Olams Packaged Food Business said: For us, safeguarding and supporting our community is a number one priority. Since the outbreak of the virus, Olam has supported front liner workers with many interventions to lessen the impact of the pandemic on the country.

As far as this pandemic is concerned, we are working on a global scale with local governments, health organisations and other partners to respond in an agile way to the challenges that we all face at this time. We believe our combined expertise and collective action can successfully curb the impact of COVID 19, Miss Mantey said

Receiving the items on behalf of the Noguchi Institute, Dr. Bernard Oko Boye, Deputy Minister for Health said donations such as these have helped the country tremendously in its fight against the COVID 19 pandemic; We are determined to win the war against COVID 19 in record time and with minimum casualties. But to achieve this, we do need the support of partners and Olam has proven itself as a worthy partner so far..

Dr. John Kofi Odoom, Head of the Virology Department at the Noguchi, Institute said the test kits donated earlier by Olam are expensive on the open market and are very significant for the work of the Research Institute.

Dr. Odoom said although current statistics of COVID 19 may look encouraging, the pandemic is not over yet and advised Ghanaians to continue to abide by all the recommended safety and preventive protocols until the pandemic is completely expelled from the country.

Temasek Foundation, a shareholder of Olam International, supports a diverse range of programmes aimed at enhancing livelihood and communities in Singapore and globally. The Foundations programmes, executed through philanthropic endowments, strive towards achieving positive outcomes for individuals and communities.
The Demise of American Democracy

When the highest representatives of a community are eager to throw mud at each other. When arguments merely serve as a facade to convey anger, mockery or contempt, then history has just turned a corner. One period has come to an end, a new one begins. Since September 29, 2020 we know that in the United States of America democracy is undergoing a process of rapid disintegration  it is being torn apart by diverging forces.

When the Weimar Republic came to an end,

its educated citizens were deeply convinced that Germany, with its great heritage of philosophy, poetry and its then world-leading sciences, was better immune to the bacillus of populism and barbarism than any other nation. The vulgar, brutal, barking Hitler was not taken seriously because he and his bloody henchmen did not fit at all into the world view of its most enlightened citizens. Was Germany not a cultured nation, and had it not even adapted to Western models by adopting democracy? This was the line of thinking among the educated and the economically secure classes, whose short-sightedness usually consists in overlooking the broad masses, that is those who are poorly educated and, moreover, defenselessly exposed to any haphazard economic shock. When the world economic crisis spread from the US to Germany and unemployment drove more than a third of the population into poverty, a rising number of traditional left-wing voters turned to the Nazis. Whenever poverty is rampant, only a few are immune to the bacillus of populism and barbarism. Because, as Bert Brecht said: First comes food, then morality. Between 1929 and 33, the number of Nazi voters rose in exact correspondence to the number of unemployed.

Donald Trump is on his way,

to liquidate American democracy as Hitler did with the German one. Ultimately, it is merely a facade that crumbles because democracy has long been hijacked by a plutocracy deceiving the masses with an elaborate democratic carnival. The industrial-military complex in the hands of the ominous upper one percent ensures with its electoral donations that only candidates make the race who prove to be docile. Bernie Sanders had no chance from the start as he didnt show such obedience.

Until Trump, the US plutocracy was by no means hostile to intellectual eminence (even if average Americans loved to mock the intellectual eggheads). At the best universities, the rich, with their generous donations, let a thousand flowers sprout more luxuriantly than anywhere abroad. To this day, this can be seen in the fact that Americans still set the tone in most areas of research, even in the critical sciences of politics, society and history, which in Russia or China are constantly muzzled by a single party or autocrats eager to monitor and control what may be said or thought in their country.

This freedom is put to an end under Trump. In the United States, too, a truth independent of politics shall no longer exist. Like Vladimir Putin or Xi Jin Ping, the new American would-be dictator claims the right to determine what is fake and what is truth.

It is not difficult,

to describe the dissolution process of American democracy. Ever since the vulgar television debate of the two presidential candidates, shamefully far removed from all objectivity, this process has been visible to all of us. But it is difficult to fight against ideological bias when it comes to naming the deep-seated reasons for this process. Even such a notorious liar like Donald Trump could only come to power because he saw the truth where it matters.

Why did I succeed in tax avoidance?, he objected to Joe Biden and himself provided the answer. Because you gave me the chance to do so through all those laws (benefitting the rich). And he could have gone even further. Why do half of American citizens give me their vote in the rust belts of our country where they used to follow the Democrats? Because you allowed their work to be outsourced to China so that they lost their work and their livelihood. And your intellectuals are even amused when pointing to the white trash and its backwardness.

Comparisons tend to limp, as we say

The Weimar Republic experimented with democracy for just a decade and without success for that matter, while the United States can boast of being the oldest representative democracy in the Western world. In contrast to the classic Athenian model, they even granted voting rights to their former slaves, albeit very late. But there is one thing that the end of democracy in the Weimar Republic has in common with the dissolution of democracy in the US. In times of great need, when other help seems out of reach, a broad stratum of underprivileged people calls for a dictator to represent their interests. The fact that such political gamblers invariably betray them and often waste them in wars is a different story. And so is the terrible misfortune: this downfall of a great civilization of such brightness of mind, of such refreshing informality and originality  a misfortune which will hardly leave the rest of the world and Europe unaffected. An epoch really seems to be closed. For a party that knows nothing better than to oppose Donald Trump with an old man, whose statements betray beginning senility, thus proves its own inability to change the tide. This insight too is part of the torment caused by the abdication of American democracy.

1 The world economic crisis that began in 1929 resulted in an emergency situation that was threatening the existence of nearly one in two Germans. In the course of Germanys gradual economic recovery, the party of Hitlers followers in the Reichstag had shrunk from 6.6 to 2.6 percent between 1924 and 1928, for the number of unemployed had fallen by about one-third from 340,711 to 268,443 within the same period. In other words, the Nazi party had almost disappeared from the scene.

This changed radically and virtually overnight after 1929, when the Reichstag was flooded by Hitlers followers, in strict parallel to the rising unemployment figures. The loss of jobs in September 1930 had quadrupled to 1 million or 62,000, and accordingly the proportion of Nazi votes had soared from 2.6 percent to 18.3 percent. For July 32 and March 33, the respective ratios were 5,355,000 / 37.4% and 5,598,000 / 43.9%.It should not be difficult to show the corresponding figures of growing poverty and the advance of the populists for the United States as well.

By Gero Jenner

https://www.gerojenner.com

 2020 Copyright Gero Jenner - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill offered their thoughts and prayers Friday after President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.

"Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery," Biden, a former vice president, said in a tweet. "We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family."

Biden, his wife and all of their campaign staffers who attended the Tuesday debate with Trump are being tested for the virus, according to NBC News. Biden was tested Friday and the results were negative, according to his personal physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor.

O'Connor said Biden and his wife were each tested and "COVID-19 was not detected."

Biden was scheduled to travel later Friday to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, and her husband Doug Emhoff also offered the president and first lady wishes for a speedy recovery.

"Doug and I join Joe Biden and Dr. Biden in wishing President Trump and the First Lady a full and speedy recovery," Harris said in a tweet. "Were keeping them and the entire Trump family in our thoughts."

Harris was tested Thursday, as part of the campaign's routine testing of principals, and tested negative, according to a campaign official.

Over the past several months of the campaign, Biden has criticized Trump's handling of the pandemic and has said he should have set a better example for wearing a mask and keeping a distance with others. But Trump accused Biden of hiding in his basement in Wilmington, Delaware, with only brief excursions for speeches.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden stops to speak to members of the media as he walks out of the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del., on Oct. 1, 2020, after pre-taping his speech for the Al Smith dinner.

The subject was revived at the debate Tuesday, when Biden cited projections that widespread mask wearing could prevent half of the 200,000 additional deaths expected by the end year. Biden had already proposed in August a nationwide effort to have everyone wear masks for three months, although it would take governors to implement such orders.

Story continues

"Just wear a mask," Biden said at the debate.

Trump said he wears a mask when necessary, and pulled one out of his pocket. He said those around him are tested routinely. But he ridiculed Biden for wearing one much more frequently. Trump also said Biden hasn't held rallies because he couldn't attract the large crowds the president generates, filled with people who stand close together and who often don't wear masks.

"I dont wear a mask like him," Trump said. "Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from him and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen."

The Trump announcement came just as Biden's campaign was beginning to canvass voters face to face. The campaign had resisted that step so far because of the health risks, but get-out-the-vote efforts can be crucial to boosting turnout.

For his part, Biden took a whistle-stop train tour Wednesday after the debate to six cities across Ohio and Pennsylvania. The trip offered him a chance to give speeches to larger crowds that kept a distance from his podium. But he also met with small groups of people while wearing a mask.

Biden and Trump each recorded speeches Thursday for the Al Smith Memorial Dinner, a charitable Catholic event in New York that offered another contrast in how the two candidates speak about the pandemic.

Trump said the country would defeat the virus through advances in treatment and he said a vaccine is on track for distribution "before the end of the year."

"I just want to say that the end of the pandemic is in sight, and next year will be one of the greatest years in the history of our country," Trump said.

But with more than 200,000 deaths nationwide already from the virus, Biden noted how many families have lost a loved one from the "unrelenting virus." He called the pandemic one of a handful of crises facing the country with the recession, a reckoning on race and the changing climate.

These are difficult times for our country," Biden said. "With each crisis, our faith is tested."

Contributing: Maureen Groppe

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump COVID positive test: Biden offers president prayers for recovery
General view taken ahead of an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, on Oct. 1, 2020. (Johanna Geron/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

EU Leaders Seek End to Embarrassing Belarus Sanctions Clash

BRUSSELSEuropean Union leaders sought on Oct. 1 to end an embarrassing standoff that prevents them from imposing sanctions on senior officials in Belarus who stand accused of falsifying presidential election results and leading a clampdown on peaceful protesters.

All EU member countries reject the result of the Aug. 9 election that allowed Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to extend his 26 years in office. EU members want a new election and agree that sanctions should be slapped on dozens of officials, perhaps even the leader once dubbed Europes last dictator.

But Cyprus, one of the EUs smallest member countries, is vetoing the move. It is demanding that its partners in the worlds biggest trading bloc also take action against Turkey for its energy exploration work in disputed waters off the island nations coast.

After European foreign ministers failed to break the deadlock in August, the EUs foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, warned that our credibility is at stake, if the bloc cannot forge a common foreign policy among 27 countries.

It is bad that we cannot make it work, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Oct. 1.

It is of major importance we agree on Belarus sanctions. There is a wide-ranging agreement on that. A link between Belarus and Turkey is political only, and has no explanation when we assess the facts.

What we need to achieve in the coming hours is a decoupling, while we have to recognize there are legitimate concerns about Turkey.

Ahead of the two-day summit, diplomats said an accommodation might be found. The leaders were holding wide-ranging talks about the EUs troubled ties with Turkey over its drilling in the Mediterranean Sea, its roles in the conflicts in Libya and Syria, and as a source of migrants trying to reach Europe.

Cyprus could be appeased if its partners underline their support in the final summit communique, or in a special statement from European Council President Charles Michel, who is chairing the two-day meeting. The leaders could then give a green light to sanctions against dozens of Belarus officials.

That would allow national envoys to quickly enact the sanctions in the coming days, the EU diplomats said.

French President Emmanuel Macron was staunch in his support, saying that solidarity is non-negotiable when it comes to Cyprus, but also to Greece in its long-running dispute with Turkey.

When a European Union member state is attacked, threatened, when its territorial waters are not respected, its the duty of Europeans to show their solidarity, Macron said.

In a televised address marking the 60th anniversary of Cypruss independence, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades expressed on Oct. 1 his sincere gratitude to all European Union member states for their staunch support and solidarity in light of Turkeys provocations.

But Anastasiades said he wants the leaders to take a more tangible and effective stance to bring about an end to gunboat diplomacy and for the crisis to be succeeded by dialogue or recourse to the international court on the basis of international law and the law of the sea.

Making the same point, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: The time has come for Europe to discuss with courage and honesty what kind of relationship it truly wants to have with Turkey. One thing is certain: Turkish provocation, whether this is expressed through unilateral actions or extreme rhetoric, can no longer be tolerated.

In Ankara, meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described his countrys operations in the eastern Mediterranean as its most important naval struggle of the past few centuries.

During a speech in parliament, Erdogan said the EU had turned into an ineffective, horizonless, and shallow structure and become a slave to the conceit of Greece and Cyprus. However, he also said that Turkey is committed to resolving disputes through dialogue.

In a draft of the final summit statement, seen by The Associated Press, the leaders say the EU fully supports the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect their President through new free and fair elections, without external interference.

They call on the Belarusian authorities to end violence and repression, release all detainees and political prisoners, respect media freedom and civil society, and start an inclusive national dialogue. In the document, they agree that restrictive measures should be imposed on Belarus officials.

The dispute shines a spotlight on troubling old questions about the EUs ability to act quickly and with one voice. The leaders will also discuss ties with China, but here, too, they are divided on how to approach a country that is a major trading partner yet poses serious economic and political challenges.

By Lorne Cook
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 2)  Authorities confirmed Friday that the body recovered near a clash site in Patikul, Sulu earlier this week belonged to an Indonesian fisherman who was among those abducted in January off Malaysia's eastern coast.

Indonesian Army and Police Attaches, as well as the kidnap victim's family, identified the body of 35-year-old La Aba, the military's Joint Task Force Sulu said in a statement.

Based on the medical findings, no gunshot wounds were found all over the body. However, a bruise was seen on his head. The cause of death is yet to be determined, the statement added.

Officials earlier said the victim may have been killed by his kidnappers when he tried to escape.

La Alba's remains were found after an encounter with his abductors on Wednesday, which resulted in the death of Abu Sayyaf member Arsibar Sawadjaan.

Soldiers found the body 300 meters from the site of the clash in Barangay Maligay, Patikul, Sulu, according to Lt.Gen Corleto Vinluan Jr., chief of the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command.

La Aba was among the five Indonesian fishermen abducted in waters near Sabah and authorities have suspected that the perpetrators may have fled to Sulu.

Aside from the search and destroy operations being conducted by JTF Sulu targeting the terror groups, operating troops on the ground are likewise performing a rescue mission to ensure the safety of the kidnap victims, the military said.
Despiteor rather, inseparably connected withthese advances, new problems arose within the International Committee in the aftermath of the split with the Socialist Workers Party. As early as 1966, differences began to emerge between the SLL and the OCI in relation to the role of the ICFI. The difference which first arose at the Third Congress of the ICFI in April 1966 over the question of the historical continuity of Trotskyism was a clear indication of centrist deviations within the world movement. While the OCI fought alongside the SLL against the Robertsonites and the Voix Ouvriere group who openly rejected the struggle against Pabloism as the essential criterion of historical continuity, the differences between the two sections grew wider. The French insistence that the Fourth International had to be reconstructed was not merely a dispute over terminology. It suggested a political orientation toward centrist forces under the cover of an international regroupment, and thus placed the gains of the fight against Pabloite revisionism in jeopardy. By making concessions to those who claimed that the Fourth International was dead and had to be reconstructed, it was declaring, if only implicitly, that the lessons of the past struggles against revisionism were not of decisive importance. Thus, it led directly to the political swamp of centrism, where everyone could get together regardless of the political records of the tendencies they represented.

Under conditions of the upsurge of the working class and student youth in France in 1968, these centrist vacillations assumed immense importance in the political development of the OCI and the ICFI. The French organization, which had for years been struggling to simply pay its bills and establish a presence within the labor movement, suddenly grew like an inflated balloon. By 1970 it was able to organize a rally at Le Bourget airport in Paris that was attended by 10,000 workers and youth. However, the OCI leadership of Lambert and Just adapted to the petty-bourgeois elements, such as Charles Berg, who flooded into the movement. Before long, the right-wing tail was wagging the Party dog.

Throughout this period, the differences between the SLL and the OCI developed over a wide range of principled questions, ranging from the refusal of the French organization to support semi-colonial Egypt against the Zionist state in the 1967 war to the syndicalist and abstentionist line of the OCI during the May-June General Strike and the 1969 Presidential elections.

Having experienced considerable growth in spite of themselves, the OCI leaders felt increasingly self-confident and disdainful toward the International Committee. After relocating themselves in a massive fortress-like structure befitting their new self-importance, Lambert and Just proceeded to establish their own international operation based on dealings with centrists all over the world. Among their most unprincipled relations was that which they cultivated with the Bolivian POR led by G. Lora, an organization which had a long history of collaboration with bourgeois nationalists and which had supported Pablo in 1953.

In July 1971 the OCI organized a youth rally in Essen, Germany, on a completely centrist basis, inviting representatives of not only the POUMthe centrist organization which played a major role in the defeat of the Spanish proletariatbut also of the Robertsonites and the US National Students Association, which had received CIA funding. In the course of that rally, which the SLL had agreed to attend, a resolution was presented by the British YS delegation which called on youth to devote themselves to the struggle for the development of dialectical materialism. The OCI, which had argued with the SLL against presenting the resolution, voted publicly against it.

One month later, the Bolivian army staged a coup which resulted in the overthrow of the left military regime of General Torres and the destruction of the Popular Assembly. Having supported the Torres government and expected that the military regime would supply the working class with arms in the event of a coup, Lora was deeply implicated in this political disaster. Tim Wohlforth, who was then secretary of the Workers League, published, with the agreement of the SLL, a critique of the policies of the POR.

The OCI responded by calling a meeting of its international faction in Paris and issuing a statement which denounced the SLL and the Workers League for capitulating to imperialism by attacking the POR publicly. Moreover, it had the audacity to claim that Lora was a member of the ICFI.

The ICFI majority, led by the SLL, responded to this attack by declaring a public split with the OCI on November 24, 1971. There is no question that the characterization of the OCI as a centrist organization was politically correct and the criticisms of the French organizations political line were entirely justified. Moreover, on the question of philosophy, the SLL correctly opposed the attempt by the OCI to deny that dialectical materialism was the theory of knowledge of Marxism and to claim that the Transitional Program rendered superfluous any further development of Marxist theory.

However, unlike the struggle with the Socialist Workers Partywhich was waged throughout the party ranks over an extended period of timethe split with the OCI was carried out without any extensive discussion within the ICFI or among its cadre in the national sections. The international ramifications of the split were given only cursory treatment, which bore no resemblance to the international fight that had been waged by the SLL between 1961 and 1966. It need only be pointed out that the ICFI did not win a single member from the French organization, despite the theoretical and political bankruptcy of the Lambert-Just leadership, and what was even worse, no attempt was made to develop a faction within the OCI. In not one document did the SLL go so far as to make an appeal to the French membership for support.

In contrast to the enormous patience and tenacity with which the SLL conducted the struggle against the degeneration of the SWPwhich continued even after the split (the American supporters of the ICFI remained in the SWP for another year)the break with the OCI was carried out with a political haste which could only leave a legacy of confusion that played into the hands of the French centrists. It should be pointed out that there had been no congress of the ICFI for five years prior to the split, and the break occurred just a few months before the next full congress, the fourth, was scheduled to take place. The OCI called for an emergency meeting of the International Committee and repeatedly demanded further discussion. This was unilaterally rejected by the Socialist Labour League, which simply declared that the split was inevitable and historically necessary.

Under these conditions the splitconsidered from the standpoint of the education of the cadre of the International Committee and the clarification of the most advanced sections of workers all over the worldwas decidedly premature. It represented a retreat by the Socialist Labour League from the international responsibilities it had assumed in 1961 when it took up the fight against the degeneration of the Socialist Workers Party. However necessary the critique of the methodological roots of centrism, and despite the subsequent claims that the split was over essential questions of philosophy, the issue of dialectical materialism neither exhausted nor superseded the fundamental political and programmatic questions that remained to be addressed.

While the split was directly precipitated by the Bolivian events, the SLL was soon claiming that they were only of secondary importance, and that the split within the ICFI had already taken place at Essen when the OCI opposed the resolution on dialectical materialism. This was a false polemic. The events in Boliviain which the OCI provided a political cover for Lorawere of immense historical importance for the international working class, above all for the proletariat of Latin America. It was absolutely essential that the ICFI should have analyzed this experience in the most minute detailjust as Trotsky analyzed the events in China, Germany and Spainin order to expose the counter-revolutionary implications of centrism in the present period. It was not enough to state that Lora and the OCI were wrong. More important from the standpoint of Marxism and the development of the ICFI as the World Party of Socialist Revolution would have been to raise this event to the level of a strategic experience of the international proletariat. This was all the more necessary in as much as the Bolivian proletariat had a long association with the Fourth International. In 1951 Pablo had sanctioned a parliamentary road to power in Bolivia, thus paving the way for the defeat of the 1952 Revolution. At the Fourth Congress of the ICFI in April 1972, the Bolivian events were barely referred to.

The SLL could correctly point to the serious mistakes which the OCI had made in France in 1968-69. But the problem was that these differences had not been discussed within the IC prior to the split. Moreover, the critique of the OCI ended before it reached the point of developing, on the basis of a Marxist analysis of the OCIs abstentionism, a concrete revolutionary perspective for the French proletariat.

This is a fundamental question. The task confronting leaders of the Fourth International is not only to unearth the betrayals and expose the mistakes but to discover the correct road. In the course of the fight against the SWP, the SLL restored to its rightful place in the practice of American Trotskyists the tactic of the Labor Party. Later, it corrected a tendency within the Workers League to adapt to Black nationalism and encouraged serious theoretical work on the development of a correct programmatic attitude toward this question.

Despite the strategic importance occupied by France in the development of the World Socialist Revolution, all work on the perspective of the ICFI for that country came to an end once the split was completed. Thus, despite the deep historical connections of the Trotskyist movement with the proletariat of that countryand whose problems had been the subject of some of Trotskys greatest writingsthe SLL simply abandoned the French working class.

Why, then, did the Socialist Labour League proceed in this way? The answer must be found first of all in the political development of the class struggle in Britain and the work of the British section. The sharpening of the class struggle under a Tory government produced an elemental upsurge in the working class which, as we have already noted, enabled the SLL to recruit hundreds of new members. But despite the many organizational successes, as important as they were, a process of political adaptation to this spontaneous upsurge of the working class in Britain began to take placeand it was reflected in political terms almost immediately in a change in the attitude of the British leaders toward the International Committee of the Fourth International.

Ironically, the SLL leadership responded to the growth of their own organization in much the same way as the OCI had responded to their political advances. Healy, Banda and Slaughter began to look upon the ICFI as an auxiliary to the practical work that was being carried out within Britain. The growth of the SLL was increasingly viewed as the basis for the future development of the ICFI, rather than seeing the building of the ICFI as the precondition for consolidating and advancing the gains of the movement in Britain. Their attitude toward the ICFI and its small and politically-inexperienced sections resembled the contempt with which the big ILP of the 1930s had viewed the Fourth International.

The haste with which the SLL carried through the split with the OCIwithout an exhaustive struggle against centrism throughout the International Committee and within its own ranksrepresented an adaptation to the spontaneous upsurge of the British labor movement and marked a serious retreat from the struggle to build the Fourth International. Despite the warning which it had made a decade earlier, the SLL failed to develop the political struggle against centrism within the Fourth International and make the lessons of that struggle the basis for the political education of its own cadre. This could not have happened at a worse time. Precisely because broad new layers were entering the SLL, it was more necessary than ever to base these forces on the historical foundations of the world Trotskyist movement and its long and on-going struggle against all forms of revisionism.

This retreat inevitably undermined the gains which had been made by the SLL. Inasmuch as the new forces were not grounded in great international principles, reinforced by a clear understanding of the world perspective, relations within the party inevitably assumed an increasingly pragmatic character based on limited tactical agreements centered on immediate goals (Bring down the Tory government. Moreover, politically-unclarified members were vulnerable to changes in the moods of different class forces to which the leaders themselves, having failed to theoretically comprehend the principal lessons of the struggles of the previous period, began to adapt.

Thus, within a very short period of time, the SLL, beneath the pressure of powerful class forces unleashed by the eruption of the world capitalist crisis in 1971-73, began to develop rapidly in the direction of centrism. This was the enormous price the Healy leadership paid for the failure to keep the pledge it had made to the Fourth International in 1961.
Children in local lockdown areas won't be able to take part in trick or treating. (Getty)

Children in certain parts of the country wont be able to take part in trick or treating for Halloween due to local lockdown rules.

The rules mean millions of children wont be able to participate in the traditional activity on October 31.

Downing Street has reportedly confirmed that parents in areas where households have been told not to mix wont be allowed to let their children go out and knock on peoples doors on Halloween.

That will include families in the North East, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester and other areas subjected to local lockdowns to curb the spread of coronavirus.

North-South divide on Halloween. No 10 says trick or treating banned under local lockdown rules on social mixing, which mainly apply in the North. But allowed elsewhere, provided children keep to the rule of six (which includes the person answering the door)  Jason Groves (@JasonGroves1) October 2, 2020

Asked about how the restrictions would affect trick or treating, Downing Street has said the rules are clear which means that parents in areas where households arent allowed to mix should stop their children from going out.

In areas not subject to local lockdowns, children will still have to abide by the rule of six, limiting the groups they can go out in.

A Downing Street spokesperson has told reporters: The rules are clear on household mixing, dependent on whether you are in a local lockdown area or not.

We are clear that everybody needs to follow the rule of six to ensure we can control and try and reduce the spread of the virus.

The rule of six will be asked of the public.

WATCH: People in England face 10,000 fines for not self-isolating

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Mumbai, Oct 2 : Coinciding with the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Maharashtra Congress on Friday organised a statewide agitation against what it called the "anti-farmers and anti-labour laws" formulated by the Centre.

Speaking at the protest in Nashik's Lasalgaon village, state Congress President and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat termed the new central legislations as "black laws" intended to "enslave" both the farmers and workers of the country.

"On the birth anniversary of Gandhiji and Lal Bahadur Shastri, we have started the 'Kisan-Mazdoor Bachao Divas' and demand that the Centre repeal these laws immediately," Thorat said while addressing a gathering of farmers, labourers and party activists.

Similar agitations were held in all districts of Maharashtra, led by local party heads, Ministers and other elected representatives.

Thorat said the party has launched a massive drive to collect over two crore signatures of farmers and workers to oppose these laws, which would be handed over to Congress President Sonia Gandhi for submission to the President of India.

He added that with these laws, the BJP-led government was trying to benefit certain industrialists at the cost of the poor farmers and labourers all over India.

In Nanded, PWD Minister Ashok Chavan led a bullock cart rally, while other Ministers like Yashomati Thakur, Sunil Kedar, KC Padvi, Vijay Wadettiwar, Satej Patil, Vishwajeet Kadam and others led protests in their respective areas along with the local party supporters.

Former Ministers like Naseem Khan, Mumbai Congress chief Eknath Gaikwad, elected representatives at the civic, state and national levels also joined the protests in Mumbai and other parts of the state.

Threatening to intensify what he termed as the "second struggle for freedom from the black laws", Thorat said the next phase would be a virtual farmers meet and online agitation in the coming days.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the countrys ban on religious emblems, which notably affects Muslim women who wear headscarves or veils, will be extended to private sector employees, who are providing public services.

The state will also have the power to step in where local authorities make unacceptable concessions to Islamists, Mr Macron said, citing religious menus in school canteens or segregated access to swimming pools.

France is now mandating masks for all citizens in certain public areas during the coronavirus pandemic. But that doesnt change the countrys ban on Islamic face coverings.

The French government confirmed that its years-long ban on wearing burqas, niqabs and other full-face coverings in public will remain in place, even as face masks become mandatory.

While French citizens nationwide will be covering their faces, women who do so with Islamic garb are still subject to punishment.

Frances Interior Minister confirmed to The Washington Post that the burqa and niqab bans remain, and women, who wear those coverings in public will be punished with the fine provided for second-class infractions.

The ministers office said in a statement to CBS News that the law does not explicitly ban burqas or niqabs, but rather total facial concealment in public. During the pandemic, masks must be removed for identity checks, the office said.

Violations of the ban can lead to a fine of up to 150 Euros (about 162 dollars) and taking a required class in French citizenship education.

The ban does include an exemption for face coverings used for health reasons, and the ministry said wearing masks to prevent COVID-19 contagion will not be a criminal offence.

France began its mandatory mask policy as part of what the government calls a new chapter in its emergence from a strict coronavirus lockdown.

Masks will be required on public transportation and in schools for all people over 11.

France in 2004 banned headscarves in public schools, on the grounds that state institutions are supposed to be religiously neutral.

The ban also extended to Christian crosses and the yarmulkes worn by observant Jews.

In 2010, France banned face-covering niqabs and burqas in public, framing it as a move to promote open and equal interaction in society.

READ ALSO:

The ban set off protests where some people clashed with police.

France was the first European nation to pass such a nationwide ban.

Five others  Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, and the Netherlands  have followed with national or partial bans.

Other have local bans in some cities or are considering legislation on broader bans.

The UN Human Rights Committee in 2018 said that Frances ban violated womens freedom of religion and could have the effect of confining them to their homes, impeding their access to public services and marginalising them. (dpa/NAN)
UPPER THUMB  Tuscola Countys first remote murder trial is underway.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed due to it, a remote courtroom was set up at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Caro, in order to comply with the states social distancing directives of staying at least six feet apart.

For a jury trial, 12 jurors have to be selected plus two alternates. There is not enough room in the jury box in Tuscola Countys Circuit Court room for 16 people to be six feet apart.

The trial is for Larry E. Lyons, 37, of Caro, who is charged with open murder, assault with the intent to murder and child abuse, charges that stem from an incident last December 2019, in Ellington Township.

The charges against Lyons allege he stabbed to death Brandy Marie Dickson, 35, of Caro, and severely injured their infant daughter, who was 11 months old at that time.

The trial started on Tuesday. Tuscola County Circuit Court Judge Amy Grace Gierhart is presiding over the trial.

They were able to seat a jury on Wednesday, and the trial is proceeding, explained Tuscola County Clerk Jodi Fetting.

According to Tuscola County Information System Director Eean Lee, he and his staff had to build a courtroom in two weeks. That required hooking up microphone connections with recording capabilities, moving some computers, and making sure the necessary programs were available offsite.

Lee noted setting up an entire courtroom in another location was a challenge; but so far, it has been operating smoothly.

Whatever the cost of setting up the courtroom is, it will be paid for with COVID-19 relief funds.

According to Tuscola County Controller-Administrator Clayette Zechmeister, the CARES funding spells out that it can be spent on things that were not originally in the budget and that had to be done because of the virus.
A woman has pleaded guilty to murder in West Virginia and was sentenced to 40 years in prison for brutally killing and dismembering her boyfriend so that she and her biological father could get married.

Amanda McClure, 31, appeared in McDowell County Circuit Court via video on Thursday and entered a guilty plea to a charge of second-degree murder in the February 2019 slaying of John McGuire, 38, of Minnesota.

McClures father, Larry McClure Sr, 55, was sentenced in August to life without the possibility of parole after he admitted to bludgeoning and strangling McGuire to death.

Amanda McClure, 31 (left), has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Valentine's Day 2019 murder of her boyfriend. Her father-turned-husband, Larry McGuire, 55, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in August and was sentenced to life in prison

Prosecutors said Amanda, Larry and his other daughter hit John McGuire, 38, with a wine bottle, injected him with meth and strangled him with a trash bag

Amanda's sister, Anna Marie Choudhary, 32, is also facing a first-degree murder charge for allegedly taking part in the crime, reported Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

The father and daughters allegedly killed McGuire together and buried his body in a shallow grave on their property before later moving the body to a location in Skygusty, West Virginia, where Larry and Amanda McClure had sex.

Just three weeks after the Valentine's Day 2019 murder, Larry and Amanda traveled to Virginia to get married on March 11.

In court on Thursday, Amanda apologized to McGuire's mother, Karen Smith, and begged the court for mercy.

'I have to look at myself every day,' she said. 'My family didnt raise me to be this way. Ive not only hurt Johns family, Ive hurt my own family.'

When given a chance to speak, Smith said Amanda broke her heart and the hearts of McGuire's six children, who are still terrified that she will come after them one day, and wondered aloud why she killed her son.

'She and her sister and her daddy are going straight to hell,' Smith said. 'I cant forgive her right now. Maybe later, but I cant forgive her right now.'

Amanda attempted to offer an explanation for what happened, blaming her father for having a bad influence on her.

'My dad didnt want anyone else near me,' she said. 'John told Larry that he loved me and we were going to get married. I wish I could bring John back. He was a good man.'

Presiding Judge Ed Kornish described the murder as 'heinous' and chided Amanda for failing to take full responsibility for her actions.

Amanda and her biological father had sex and got married in Virginia three weeks after her boyfriend's murder

'After killing John, you dug him up later. When you all dug him up his body was dismembered and stakes of some kind were driven through his body...Then you reburied him...there was no reason for this.' he said.

Kornish expressed hope that the 31-year-old defendant, who had a long prior history of drug offenses, would turn her life around in prison and emerge a changed person.

The details of the harrowing murder and of the incestuous relationship between McClure and his daughter Amanda were revealed during a preliminary hearing for the murder case in November.

'On or about February 14, Mr. John McGuire was struck in the head with a bottle of wine, then tied up, and then injected with two vials of methamphetamine. After the injection, he was strangled,' West Virginia State Police Trooper K.M. Saddler, the lead investigator in the case, testified in the preliminary hearing.

Larry McClure, was originally arrested for failing to register as a sex offender, and later disclosed to West Virginia State Police the location of the body, which was found on September 24, 2019.

A breakthrough in the case came on November 4 when McClure wrote a letter to police confessing to the crime and detailing the grisly murder.

McClure painted his daughter Amanda as the ringleader of the plot who wrapped a black garbage bag around his neck.

He said he does not know her motive for the killing, but alleged she was spending McGuire's monthly Social Security checks.

'I cannot tell you why Amanda wanted John McGuire dead,' he said.

'I am asking for this to be over and not waisting [sic} the taxpayers money and hurting the family members on both sides of this. John McGuires family and my family.

The criminal complaint revealed Larry and his daughter, who was raised by adoptive parents, had an incestuous relationship and got married just three weeks after the murder.

The two traveled across state lines to Virginia to tie the knot. Their wedding service was presided over by a United Methodist Church minster of the gospel and Amanda wrote the name of another man as her father.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Co-Chairs of the Germany-South Caucasus friendship group of the German Bundestag Albert Weiler and Till Mansmann issued a joint statement over the situation in Nagorno Karabakh.

The statement has been published at Albert Weilers official website.

The statement says in particular:

As Co-Chairs of the Germany-South Caucasus parliamentary friendship group of the Bundestag we urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to stop the military operations around Nagorno Karabakh. All participating sides should return to the negotiation table and take joint constructive works together with the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. The attempts to settle the conflict through military means destabilize the region and endanger the security of the local people.

Civilian settlements, including the capital Stepanakert, as well as the territory of the Republic of Armenia are being shelled. Numerous civilians have been killed, there are a number of wounded. We strongly condemn any act of aggression: violence cannot be a solution. All sides should remain committed to the international humanitarian law.

Moreover, we are deeply concerned over Turkeys involvement in this war. The involvement of Turkish forces will have a further dangerous negative impact on the already fragile stability. For that purpose we also call on Turkey to stop the military rhetoric.

At this painful moment our minds are with the families and relatives of the victims of the two sides.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Photo: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from The Hearst Corporation and The Norman and Rosita Winston Foundation, Inc. 82.20.  Estate of Philip Guston

Last week, four major museums  Washington, D.C.s National Gallery of Art; the Tate Modern; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and Bostons Museum of Fine Arts  jointly announced that their traveling Philip Guston Now retrospective was being postponed for four years. (The length of a presidential term.) The letter states that Gustons work could not be shown until a time at which we think that the powerful message of social and racial justice  can be more clearly interpreted.

This is a cloudy bureaucratic obfuscation if ever there was one. What the letter doesnt say is that the reason for this postponement is widely believed to be that these institutions are terrified that they will be protested and attacked as racist, lose funding, and that directors and board members may be forced to resign or be fired. Guston is, among much else, the painter of an extraordinary series of paintings, begun in the 1960s, of scary, crazy, cartoonish, cavorting, cigar-smoking Ku Klux Klansmen in white hoods driving around American cities in convertibles with their tops down. In one astonishing scene, we see an artist in a Klan hood painting at his easel. But these works do not seem to be the cause of the uproar. Former MoMA curator and author of an upcoming book on Guston, Robert Storr, revealed to The Art Newspaper that there had been pushback from [National Gallery] staff about the anti-lynching image from the 1930s. He may be referring to several large 1930s images made when Guston was still in his teens and there were thought to be around 3 million members of the Klan. One shows nine huge hooded figures in robes below a tree with the limp body of a Black man hanging at the end of a rope. One huge Klansman stares down at two blocks, shaped like Mississippi and Louisiana, at his feet. A destroyed image showed a Klansman whipping a Black man who has his feet and hands bound and is strapped to a post. Its horrifying, brutal, blunt Black pain depicted at its most explicit, not that different than we see in many videos today.

Almost instantaneously, the art world went into its dont tread on me, dont censor us act. A collective cri de coeur arose, How dare you postpone this show. Everyone knows these paintings are against racism. The Washington Posts Sebastian Smee compared the postponement to actions taken in Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. The art world has never been one for getting a grip. Of course, I reacted this way at first too. Upon consideration, the postponement is much more complicated than just appeasing philistines and snowflakes who are unable to cope with or properly process what the artist Glenn Ligon, in an essay for the exhibition catalogue, called these woke KKK paintings.

Former MoMA adjunct curator Darby English told the New York Times that the cancellation was cowardly and patronizing, an insult to art and the public alike. In a way, he is right: The curators canceling the show do seem to be scared. They should be.

Each of these museums probably has things on their walls and in their halls right now that are as disturbing and contestable as the Guston paintings. If the show went on as planned, and the works produced the protests its curators apparently expect, presumably the institutions would feel obligated to state, We will remove those works and no longer exhibit such art that perpetuates racist, sexism, xenophobia, and ideologies that promote hate and pain. This sets a bad precedent.

Part of me flinches at this prospect and sympathizes with Musa Mayer, daughter of the artist, who says, These [Klan] paintings meet the moment we are in today. The danger is not in looking at Philip Gustons work, but in looking away. Isnt it the job of museums to be able to present this art in ways that give audiences full views and understandings of such art? Is art to be defined exclusively by ideology, demographics, subject matter, current events, and populism? We cant reduce art to woke or not woke.

But another part of me says, Whats wrong with thinking twice about showing work that depicts racism, sexism, and homophobia? If exhibiting such things would generate outrage  well, maybe their outrageousness could be an occasion for reflection and interrogation.

Unfortunately, the museums duck all this. The statement never mentions the Klan paintings. They are the white elephants in the room. This tells us that these museums are afraid that to do so would reveal something deep and troubling about their own institutions, practices, histories, staffs, and those in power.

Of course these images are disturbing! These modern gargoyles freak me out. Yet the paintings are also physically beautiful and deeply strange. A measure of how great these works are is that they might easily trigger multiple interpretations and responses no one can predict. Guston said he wanted to paint a bunch of dumb creatures, just really dumb creatures [like] the world we live in and ambiguously wondered, What would it be like to be evil? But it is easy to imagine all sorts of responses to these works now. We could see white Proud Boys and Trumpists posing in front of the Gustons, giving white-power signs as nearby crowds with firsthand memories of the Klan look on. Ours is a moment of lived and witnessed blatant racism and everyday Black pain.

Of course, so was Gustons. He was among the most important, powerful, and influential American painters of the last 100 years. Born in 1913, he was the son of Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants, originally named Goldstein. As a young artist, he worked with the great Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. He was a lifelong activist-artist whose own anti-racist work  an early mural panel he made of a Klansman whipping a Black man strapped to a post  was destroyed by police who sympathized with the Klan. He was a first-tier Abstract Expressionist who suddenly returned to figuration in the 1960s and was critically rejected for it. Hes an art-world hero. I love him.

These are among the reasons that the art-world loyalist in me wanted to be in with the in crowd; especially as this crowd almost never asks me to be in anything  and this time they were asking me to sign a heady letter expressing shock over the shows postponement. I was told the letter may also appear in Le Monde. But I waited.

Thats when I saw two tweets by critic Aruna DSouza that stopped me in my tracks. The first pointed out that Darby English (of the cowardly quote) has an influential role at the Hauser & Wirth Institute, where he serves on the advisory board. The second that this international megagallery represents the Guston estate, and the Guston catalogue raisonne is being done under the auspices of the research center. (Someone countered that the catalog is being done under the auspices of the Guston Foundation. Either way, Hauser & Wirth represents the estate.) DSouza added that 4 white curators [and] 12 out of 14 non-Black contributors (one of whom is Dana Schutz), may not be the best people to frame his work at this moment. Yes we may need a Guston show, but not ANY Guston show. She could have added that all four of the museum directors are white. I completely agreed with her when she told ARTnews that the idea that Gustons Klan paintings is work thats important to see now and all museums have to do is educate audiences [about] why looking at KKK figures is good for them is terribly paternalistic and condescending. At this point, more than ever, its important not to tell Black audiences what they should be looking at, but asking them what they want to see. Amen.

Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, sealed the deal for me. He wrote that it would be tone deaf for the show to go on as scheduled. His statement reads, By not taking a step back to address these issues, the four museums would have appeared tone deaf to what is happening in the public discourse about art. He added that it would be absurd not to reconsider the who and how behind all of this. I decided to pause, shut up, and listen.

Today, I think Storr gets closest to the crux when hes quoted as saying that the National Gallery has conspicuously failed to feature many artists of color and that this is why the museum cannot explain to those who protect the work on view that the artist who made it was on the side of racial equality. He finishes, No wonder they caved to misunderstanding in Trump times. That, and how protests would reveal that all the organizers of the show and each of the directors are white, makes Storr right.

Many museums have addressed and are addressing internal issues of inequality and structural racism. It is more than ironic that chief among them is the Whitney Museum, yet it has been the most attacked while museums favored by the academy are given a pass. Regardless, many museums have become a little like the current Republican Party, a political party that is now rotten and dying because it never addressed its emphasis on money, power, and privilege; it tolerated racism, lived with and only paid lip service, at most, to issues of race and gender equality without rooting out and repairing its deeper structural racism and sexism. Similarly, too many museums talked about but didnt make enough hires of minorities in top positions, all while maintaining that their institutions were for everyone and that they were run democratically. This is why these museums chose to virtue signal and postpone the exhibition, seeming to say, Look how sensitive we are to Black pain and social issues. Such a postponement was easier than risking being called out or forced to actually change their power structures and hierarchies to make them more diverse. All in positions of authority today  or just those of us with good art-world jobs  face this day of reckoning.

And given this awful, supercharged moment of ascendant hate and racism, I can certainly wait four years to see a group of these paintings. These museums had better have healed themselves by then.
The governors office reported on Friday there have been 460 new cases of the coronavirus in the state.

The new cases were found among 33,808 new tests a positivity rate of just under 1.4 percent. On Thursday, the state reported 192 new cases out of 10,372 tests for a 1.8 percent positivity rate.

Three more people have been hospitalized for the illness, with a total of 110 now hospitalized in Connecticut, according to Fridays data.

Connecticut also recorded three more deaths attributed to the virus, bringing the death toll in the state to 4,513.

Connecticuts 460 cases reported Friday pushes the seven-day rolling average of daily cases to 244, or just under 70 cases per million people per day. Thats a jump from where the state has been over the last two weeks  in the range of 40 to 50 per day per million people.

But its still far lower than the national rate, which is hovering around 128 cases per million. Its also well below the threshold of 100 cases per day per million thats considered a warning level.

The more closely watched figure  percentage of tests showing a positive result  stands at 1.1 percent over the last seven days well in line as one of the nations lowest rates of the illness. The 460 cases reported Friday came with an asterisk, as part of a cache of 33,808 that were done earlier but not previously reported.

In short, two days of very large test numbers pushed Connecticut higher in total cases but the rate of illness remains low. The state has had five days of more than 400 cases since July, as overall averages have remained much lower.

The larger concern is hot spots such as Norwich, a municipality of around 39,000 residents in New London County, where public health officials said there has been a spike of 84 new cases between Sept. 13 and 26. That brought the daily case rate in Norwich to 24 per 100,000  the highest rate in the state.

Residents of the city are being told to limit trips outside their homes, wear masks when they do venture out, and avoid gatherings.
An Armenian serviceman fires a cannon towards Azerbaijan positions at the contact line of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, on Oct. 2, 2020. (Armenian Defense Ministry/AP)

Armenia Ready to Talk Cease-Fire Amid Azerbaijan Clashes

YEREVAN, ArmeniaOfficials in Armenia said Friday the country is ready to discuss a cease-fire in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces has continued for six straight days, killing dozens and leaving scores wounded.

This weeks fighting is the biggest escalation in years in the decades-long dispute over the region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is controlled by local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. It prompted calls for a cease-fire from all around the globe.

An ethnic Armenian soldier fires an artillery piece during fighting with Azerbaijans forces in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, in this handout picture released on Sept. 29, 2020. (Defense Ministry of Armenia/Handout via Reuters)

On Thursday, leaders of Russia, France, and the United Statesco-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group, which was set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1992 to resolve the conflictissued a joint statement statement calling for immediate cessation of hostilities and resuming substantive negotiations  under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

Armenias Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that the country stands ready to engage with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to reestablish a cease-fire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements.

Armenia remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the statement read.

The deadly clashes in the region resumed Friday, with Armenian military officials reporting Azerbaijan carrying out strikes on Nagorno-Karabakhs capital Stepanakert, and Azerbaijans Defense Ministry accusing Armenian forces of shelling the Agdam region.

The regions officials said more than 150 servicemen on their side have been killed so far. Azerbaijani authorities havent provided details on its military casualties, but said 19 civilians have been killed and 55 more have been wounded.

Several journalists were wounded in shelling of the Matruni town on Thursday. Two of them were French citizens working with Le Monde newspaper.

Reporter Allan Kaval and photographer Rafael Yaghobzadeh were taken to the Stepanakert hospital and operated on there, and were being evacuated Friday morning to Yerevan. The two will be then taken to Paris, Le Monde reported.

In an article published Friday, Le Monde said they had traveled to Martuni on Thursday morning to state for themselves the extent of the damage from this weeks fighting. They were with several French, Armenian, and other journalists when the town was attacked.

The report quotes regional human rights ombudsman Artak Beglaryan as saying four civilians were killed and 11 other people wounded in the shelling.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked for decades in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, where a separatist war was fought in the early 1990s, ending in 1994three years after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The 4,400-square-kilometer (1,700-square-mile) enclave in the Caucasus Mountains, roughly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, lies 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border.

Azerbaijans president said Armenias withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh was the sole condition to end the fighting. Armenian officials claim Turkey is involved in the conflict, allegedly sending fighters from Syria to the region and deploying Turkish F-16 fighter jets to assist Azerbaijani forces.

Turkey has publicly supported Azerbaijan in the conflict and said it would provide assistance if requested, but denied sending in foreign mercenaries or weapons.

By Avet Demourian
Unmasked supporters of President Donald Trump cheer as he arrives for a campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Middletown, Pa. Read more

I was a reporter in Rome in 2005 when Italy banned smoking in restaurants. I was skeptical. For many Italians, having a cigarette with after-dinner coffee was simply part of the meal, like dessert. Also, Italians are famously lax about following rules: They dodge their taxes and park on sidewalks. As I wrote back then: Smokers declared  basta!  they would never comply.

But to my shock (and ease of breathing, since I have asthma), very quickly everyone did.

If the Italians could do it with cigarettes, how come so many people in the United States arent following relatively simple mandates to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans?

Thirty-four states and Washington, D.C., have some sort of mask mandate, but many citizens and law enforcement agencies are blatantly ignoring them.

On Sept. 13, President Donald Trump held an indoor rally with thousands of mostly unmasked supporters in Henderson, Nev., in violation of a state mandate that prohibits gatherings of more than 50 people. Last week  before announcing that he tested positive for COVID on Friday  Trump held a rally in an airport hangar outside Pittsburgh, where thousands of mostly maskless people were crammed, cheering, cheek-to-jowl, even though the governor had asked the campaign to follow the states COVID-19 rules on mask use and social distancing.

 READ MORE: What Trumps positive coronavirus test means for his health and recovery

Some conservative groups have challenged governors broad authority to order COVID-19 prevention measures. Last week, a judge appointed by Trump overturned Pennsylvanias limits on gatherings, though a federal appeals court temporarily reinstated those limits Thursday. But the legal standing is relatively clear. Governors absolutely have the authority during a public health emergency to make laws  to force people to wear masks, to limit gatherings, said Jaime King, an expert on health law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. So Im perplexed at why people say, You cant force me.

People who act as if these rules are optional might point to a double standard, asking why they should have to obey when others  such as protesters against racial injustice this summer  didnt. But at the protests I observed in Washington and New York City, everyone was wearing masks and mostly kept at least three feet apart, outdoors, and moving. Yes, some people broke curfews, but there were very visible attempts at enforcement.

We routinely obey  and police officers routinely enforce  laws with which we dont entirely agree. Many people originally objected to seat belt laws as an infringement on personal freedoms, but who doesnt buckle up these days? Not smoking in restaurants and stores is now inviolable. My family had a dog in New York City when the Canine Waste Law took effect in 1978, and it was gratifying to watch women in minks suddenly start doing their pooper-scooping duty.

A big part of the reason adherence has been so variable is that governors generally declare the mandates, and local and city officials are left to decide how to enforce them. And these simple, sensible laws to protect public health have been politicized and wrapped up in controversy as no such laws before.

 READ MORE: Pa. crowd limits are in effect again after court order, though Wolf hints hes considering fans at school sports events

So now we have some law enforcement officials announcing that they wont enforce masking laws or limits on gatherings imposed by their own governors in states like Ohio and Wisconsin.

A sheriff or police chief giving advance notice that its OK to break the law? said Hall. Theres a new level of lawlessness to that. Imagine the authorities announcing it was fine to ignore stop signs.

The Italians miraculous turnaround on restaurant smoking offers lessons. There was consistent messaging: The law was there to protect nonsmokers health. And there were fines: 275 euros, around $320 today, for people smoking, and 220 euros for the restaurant managers or owners.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo was one of the few American governors who approached the coronavirus edicts almost militaristically (so un-New York) and got a tragic outbreak under control. In Maryland, a state with a Republican governor, a man who had two parties of 50 people at his home was sentenced to a year in jail.

 READ MORE: At Harrisburg rally, Trump vowed to win

But more governors have enforced these mandates timidly, almost apologetically. In many states, the message was muddled. In Pennsylvania, where disobedience could, on paper, lead to a $300 fine or up to 30 days in prison, state officials announced it wouldnt be enforced against individuals. Officials announced businesses could face citations if they didnt enforce the law, but the state was otherwise relying on citizens good sense and cooperative spirit.

The repercussions from the Trump rally that defiantly ignored Nevadas mandate? An angry tweet from the states Democratic governor criticizing reckless and selfish actions. Donald Ahern, the businessman who allowed the event to take place in his companys warehouse, was fined $3,000.

Enforcement is difficult when permission comes from the top, said King. How can we expect Americans to mask up when theyre watching a Trump rally and even he is breaking the law?

Elisabeth Rosenthal is editor-in-chief of Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit news service covering health issues, where a version of this piece originally appeared.
After decades, the ongoing consolidation of the U.S. steel industry may have reached its final point, Bradford said. Antitrust regulators could forbid the final two integrated steel companies from ever consolidating into one.

"U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs are the only integrated steel companies left," he said. "The automobile industry would likely argue against any further consolidation and certainly wouldn't be happy."

Unclear outlook

The deal is a game-changer for the Region, Indiana University Northwest Professor Micah Pollak said.

"I dont think its possible to overstate how huge an impact this will have on Northwest Indiana," Pollak said. "While the steel industry is not as dominant in Northwest Indiana as it once was, the economy here still very much revolves around steel, and to have the largest mills in the Region change hands is relatively earth-shattering. In Lake County in the first quarter of 2020, 5.8% of all jobs and 12.1% of all wages were directly in primary metal manufacturing with many more jobs and additional wages relying indirectly on the industry."

The outlook is unclear at this point, Pollak said.
Congress veteran and former chief minister of Himachal Pradesh Virbhadra Singh extended greetings to the people of Lahaul-Spiti district on the completion of Rohtang tunnel project that will be dedicated to the nation on Saturday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a statement issued here, Virbhadra Singh said people of Lahaul-Spiti will get round-the-year connectivity to the rest of the world by commissioning of the Atal Tunnel.

The veteran leader said as a Union minister he had taken up early construction of the tunnel in 2010 with the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The project was envisaged by former PM Indira Gandhi during her night stay at Keylong in 1972. People there had met her and demanded construction of a road that would keep them connected to Manali-Kullu despite snowfall, he said.

Singh said in the same year, Indira Gandhi had asked the ministry of defense to explore possibilities of constructing a road or a tunnel. In 2010, the then UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, under the leadership of PM Manmohan Singh, had laid the foundation stone of this tunnel on June 28, he said, adding that the tunnel also holds importance from a strategic point of view.
Even the personal troubles of Mr. Trumps former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, whom the president has attacked in private for months and whom Mr. Trump demoted over the summer, became a vehicle for assigning blame. When Mr. Trump was told a few days ago that Mr. Parscale had been detained by the police for allegedly threatening to harm himself, the president ordered aides to write a statement blaming Democrats and Republicans in name only who had been critical of Mr. Parscale, according to two people familiar with what took place.

Claiming to be the victim of the political establishment has been key to Mr. Trumps political persona since he entered the 2016 presidential race. And if he loses this time, he has spent months laying the groundwork for large swaths of voters to be receptive to his claim that it was wrongly taken from him.

Representative Peter King, Republican from Long Island, called Mr. Trumps play for self-pity a two-edged sword. It has been successful in harnessing his base of voters who see him as fighting for them, but not necessarily with others whom he still needs to convince.

I think it is important for the president to keep his base mobilized and tell some independent voters that the media is unfair to him, he said. But he can overplay that hand, so he has to watch it.

Avoiding responsibility has been a trademark of the Trump White House on matters big and small, from the response to the coronavirus pandemic to Mr. Trumps false claims about specific incidents of voting problems. As a businessman, too, Mr. Trumps modus operandi was to deflect blame for anything that went wrong. But in a pandemic, when more than 200,000 people have died and millions have lost their jobs, Mr. Trumps complaints about the system being unfair to him are discordant at best.

The only way to convince people that youre not a loser is to convince them that youre a victim, said Amanda Carpenter, a columnist for the Bulwark and a former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz. Having something be rigged against him is the ultimate ego protector, because he never has to admit that he lost.
The seat-sharing for Mahagathbandhan has been finalised ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, said sources on Friday adding that Congress will be contesting nearly 70 seats whereas the Left parties will field candidates on around 30 seats.

RJD will give 70 seats to Congress but will not let them have a seat of their choice.

Senior NDA leaders also held a meeting in Patna on Thursday regarding the finalisation of seats for the Assembly polls and are likely to announce the seat-sharing formula before October 4 in Delhi.

The first phase of the nomination has already begun in Bihar for 71 seats and the Election Commission of India is busy in the preparation of state election monitoring all poll-related matters with officials.

There are a total of 243 Assembly seats in Bihar.
The government on Friday announced the launch of an ambitious information technology project 'Sunidhi' to digitise all provident fund and pension related activities of the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO).

CMPFO, a statutory body under the coal ministry, administers different schemes of provident fund, pension and deposit linked insurance for coal mine workers.

"On the august occasion of 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, CMPFO inaugurated the -Superior New-generation Information and Data Handling Initiative (SUNIDHI), in response to Prime Minister's clarion call of Digital India campaign," the coal ministry said in a statement.

The Sunidhi module was inaugurated by settling the provident fund and pension dues of three retired employees of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) in the virtual presence of Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain and Coal India (CIL) Chairman Pramod Agrawal, among others.

The information technology project is an effort to digitise all provident fund and pension fund related activities of CMPFO so as to make the system more robust, the ministry said.

This software application is running from its data centre at Hyderabad in sync with the Disaster Recovery Centre at Bhubaneshwar.

"All the 23 offices of CMPFO are connected to the data centre...," it added.

The coal secretary advised opening of information kiosks to provide PF and pension related information in vernacular languages.

He added that the endeavour of CMPFO should be to extend seamless service to coal workers across the country.

Addressing the virtual gathering, Agrawal emphasised on further simplification and integration of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) of CIL and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) with CMPFO for seamless transaction and flow of PF and pension data information.

CMPFO was established in 1948 through an Act of Parliament to administer different schemes of provident fund, pension and deposit linked insurance for coal mine workers.

These schemes are administered through the board of trustees, comprising 23 members representing the Centre, state governments and employees' representatives under the chairmanship of the coal secretary.

(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.)
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Linkedin Peter Schoof (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, October 3 2020

Today, Germany is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its reunification. We Germans look back to this event with deep emotion. First and foremost, we are proud that our peaceful revolution happened without bloodshed and violence.

It marked the end of a process that began with the courageous uprisings in parts of Eastern Europe, namely the Solidarnosc movement in Poland. Our reunification would not have been possible without the consent and support of our international partners, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the then-Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev.

Their agreement allowed us  under the Two Plus Four Treaty  to reunify as a nation based on democracy, the rule of law and a commitment to human rights. At that time, there were also voices of concern. After all, Germany had triggered two world wars, with millions of victims in neighboring countries and the unprecedented crime of the Shoah, the extinction of millions of Jewish lives.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 16:01 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48bda49 1 National Garuda-Indonesia,face-mask,coronavirus,COVID-19,COVID-19-protocol,satgascovid19,ingatpesanibujagajarak,jaga-jarak,#jagajarakhindarikerumunan,#pakaimasker,#cucitangan,#cucitanganpakaisabun,#ingatpesanibu,#ingatpesanibupakaimasker Free

To support the governments Ayo pakai masker (lets wear masks) campaign, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia presented five of its aircraft with masks Thursday.

As a national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia has always committed to supporting the governments efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19. One way we do that is by encouraging people to wear masks, Garuda Indonesia president director Irfan Setiaputra said in a written statement on Thursday.

The masked livery adorned five Airbus A330-900 Neo aircraft serving domestic routes and international flights to Singapore and Japan.

Moreover, Garuda also introduced a livery design competition titled Fly Your Design Through the Sky this month. The winning design will be used for other Garuda aircraft.

In August, President Joko Widodo demanded intensified efforts to encourage mask-wearing as COVID-19 cases in the country continued to rise.

In response some ministries have distributed face masks in public. The Health Ministry distributed 1 million masks from Aug. 25 to 30. Meanwhile, the state-owned Enterprises Ministry distributed 500,000 face masks throughout the country.

The efforts to drive home the message on the need to wear masks come amid rising COVID-19 case numbers in the country.

Indonesias number of daily infections topped the 4,000 mark since September and has shown little sign of abating any time soon.

The National COVID-19 task forces Wiku Adisasmito has blamed ignorance among the public for transmission of the virus as people had failed to abide by health protocols by maintaining a safe distance from others and wearing face masks, among other requirements.

An online survey conducted by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) from Sept. 7 to 14 and involving 90,967 respondents across the archipelago shows that 17 percent  still believed it was impossible for them to contract the coronavirus disease. Respondents aged between 17 and 30 tend to be more skeptical of their susceptibility to the virus than those aged over 60.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta administration said in August that it had collected Rp 2.47 billion (US$188,120) in fines from violators of social restrictions, including from 62,198 people who were not wearing a mask.

We see that more and more people have started to neglect health protocols as time goes by. They seem to have no empathy for COVID-19 victims, he said in September.

However, the survey also revealed that around 92 percent of the respondents wear face masks in public, while 75.38 percent regularly wash their hands and 73.54 percent maintain a safe physical distance.

The rate of public compliance with the mask-wearing requirement had increased by 8 percent since April, BPS head Suhariyanto said, while noting that compliance with the hand-washing and physical-distancing policies had somewhat declined.

Ideally, these three parameters  mask wearing, hand washing and physical distancing  should be parallel, he said on Sept. 30. (iwa)
President Trump said early Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus and that he and First Lady Melania Trump would begin the "quarantine and recovery process immediately." Trump's illness could have significant repercussions for the 2020 presidential campaign.

Trumps positive test came just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks, one of the presidents closest advisors, had tested positive Thursday after several days of traveling with the president.





What happens if Trump dies?







White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was going to the hospital only out of abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts.

If the situation becomes dire, both the Democratic and Republican parties have rules for how to choose a new candidate if their nominee dies or withdraws before the election.

With about a month until election day, however, ballots have already been printed and early voting has begun, said UC Irvine law professor and voting expert Rick Hasen.

Whats most likely [is] that the election would take place on time with the deceased or incapacitated candidates name on the ballot, Hasen wrote in a post on his Election Law Blog, and then there would be a question if legislatures would allow presidential electors of each state to vote for someone other than the deceased candidate.

Not every state has laws addressing this possibility, leading to more uncertainty.

If we are unfortunate enough to have a presidential candidate die or become incapacitated this close to the election, what happens next is likely to be uncertain and messy, Hasen said in an interview. It could leave room for political gaming as well under the arcane rules of the electoral college.

If Trump gets sick or is hospitalized for an extended period, can the election be postponed?







The election would need to be held by Jan. 20, or constitutional rules of succession would apply. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is next in line.





Story continues

What symptoms does Trump have?







In a letter Friday afternoon, White House physician Sean P. Conley said Trump received a single 8-gram dose of Regeneron's polyclonal antibody cocktail as a precautionary measure. He's also been taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily aspirin, Conley said.

"As of this afternoon the president remains fatigued but in good spirits," Conley said. "He's being evaluated by a team of experts, and together we'll be making recommendations to the president and first lady in regards to next best steps."

On Friday evening, Trump was taken to the hospital. Trump would be "working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days," McEnany said.

Melania Trump had a mild cough and headache, the press secretary said.

Is Trump at greater risk of severe COVID-19?

Trump's age, sex and weight status increase his risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19.

According to a report in June from Trumps physician, the president is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 244 pounds. That means his body mass index, or BMI, is 30.5, just over the threshold for obesity.

Since the early days of the pandemic, researchers have observed that COVID-19 patients who are obese fare worse than those who are not.

Compared with young adults between the ages of 18 and 29, a person between the ages of 65 and 74 is five times more likely to be admitted to a hospital and 90 times more likely to die of the disease.

Other data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that, among COVID-19 patients in their 70s, the death rate for those who were in good health at the time of their infection was 10%. For those already dealing with a medical condition, the death rate was 32%.

A study published in July by the CDC reported that COVID-19 deaths in men outnumbered deaths in women in 41 out of 47 countries assessed.

President Trump speaks at a campaign rally Sept. 30 at Duluth International Airport in Minnesota. ( Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

What has Trump said about COVID-19?





Tuesday nights debate

So far, we have had no problem whatsoever, Trump said. Its outside. Thats a big difference, according to the experts. We do them outside, we have tremendous crowds.  Weve had no negative effect.

He held an indoor rally as recently as Sept. 14, in Nevada, and also one in Tulsa, Okla., in June. He also attended an indoor fundraiser on Thursday, after officials had learned of Hicks' diagnosis.

During the debate, Biden argued that Trump was underplaying safety measures, including the value of wearing a mask. He noted that the head of CDC has said 100,000 lives could be saved by January if Americans increase their mask usage.

It matters, Biden insisted.

Trump retorted: And theyve also said the opposite. To which Biden responded: No serious person said the opposite.

Trump mocked Biden for holding socially distanced events with smaller groups of voters, and for usually wearing a mask, per public health guidelines.

Every time you see him hes got a mask, the president said. He could be speaking 200 feet away, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.





What safety precautions were taken during the presidential debate?

President Trump's offspring sit in the audience at the Cleveland debate on Tuesday without masks, even though they were required at the debate hall. First Lady Melania Trump, center, is wearing one. (Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images)

There were several requirements in place at the debate hall in Ohio, including temperature checks, hand sanitizing, social distancing and masking, according to the Cleveland Clinic, the health advisor to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The clinic stated it believes there is "low risk of exposure to our guests" but is reaching out to address any questions or concerns. Those allowed inside the debate hall tested negative for COVID-19 before entering, according to the clinic.

"Individuals traveling with both candidates, including the candidates themselves, had been tested and tested negative by their respective campaigns," the clinic said in a statement.

(AP, Times Reporting)

Although attendees entering the hall were masked, the clinic stated, some removed their masks once they were seated.

"A Cleveland Clinic physician did offer audience members masks, but some did not adhere to the requirement," a spokeswoman said. Trump's family members were among them.

The first family came in wearing masks, but they took them off, moderator Chris Wallace said on Fox News. Members of the Cleveland Clinic came up to them and said if you need a mask and they waved them away.

What about the upcoming debates?







"As far as we know, we're going forward," he said. "Both campaigns have said they're proceeding."

Both Vice President Mike Pence, who met with the president on Tuesday, and California Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, tested negative for the coronavirus on Friday.

In a memo, Pence's physician said that the vice president "is not considered a close contact with any individuals who have tested positive for COVID," including the president, and did not have to quarantine.

Pence "remains in good health and is free to go about his normal activities, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Dr. Jesse Schonau said in a statement.

During a rally on Tuesday, Pence told the crowd he had met with the president in the Oval Office that day. People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 should be quarantined, which means staying away from others until they know if theyve been infected, according to public health officials.

The CDC defines close contact as being within six feet of someone who has COVID-19 for 15 or more minutes; providing care to someone with the disease; having direct physical contact with an infected person, such as through a hug or a kiss; sharing eating or drinking utensils; or being sneezed or coughed on by the infected person.

Even if you test negative for COVID-19 or feel healthy, you should stay home (quarantine) since symptoms may appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus, according to the CDC.

A little less clear is the status of the second presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15.

The University of Utah remains ready to host the debate, said university spokesman Chris Nelson. No one will enter the media filing center or debate venue "without having had a negative COVID19 [test] within a day of entering the area." There is a mask mandate inside any building or tent, as well as a requirement for physical distancing, Nelson said.

"It is our campus expectation and guideline that anyone in one of our buildings wear a mask [except the two candidates and moderator on stage who will be physically distanced]," he said. He said the university would be in communication with the commission on enforcement of that requirement.

"In terms of campaign staff, CPD staff, or family members of the candidates we would work in partnership with the CPD to determine next steps," he said.

Trump's campaign said in a statement that previously announced events involving the president are being moved to virtual events or being postponed. Other campaign events would be considered on a "case-by-case basis."

Fahrenkopf said a decision on the second debate will probably come down to whether the president is still sick at that time.

"It's too early to say," he said.

How will this affect campaigning?





off the campaign trailscheduled Oct. 15 debate

Trump is unlikely to be able to stage the kind of rallies that have energized him and his most loyal supporters. On Friday, his campaign announced that scheduled events involving the president and his family were "being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed. Fundraisers that had been scheduled next week in Orange County and Beverly Hills were canceled.

How could Trump's diagnosis alter the 2020 race?







The consequences of this will be disastrous for Trump's already flagging reelection campaign, Alan Abramowitz, Emory Universitys national polling and election forecasting expert, said in a statement. Even if he avoids a serious illness, he will be forced off the campaign trail for a considerable length of time and the questions about his handling of the pandemic and his personal behavior in relation to it will intensify.

What happens if Trump's condition deteriorates? What is the transition of power?





negative test

According to the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, when a president determines that he can't carry out his duties, he informs the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate, in writing, of his incapacity. While he's incapacitated, the vice president serves as acting president. Pelosi is the speaker; Iowa Republican Charles E. Grassley is the Senate president pro tempore.

If a president can't certify his own incapacity, the amendment allows the vice president and a majority of Cabinet secretaries to inform the speaker and the president pro tempore. In that case, the vice president would immediately take over as acting president.

If the president disputes the matter, the vice president and a majority of Cabinet secretaries must again declare the president incapable, in writing, within four days. Congress must then convene to decide the issue, and a two-thirds vote of both chambers is required to declare the president unable to exercise his authority.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Several families are part of the group of refugees granted asylum by Greek authorities who will be settled in Ireland in the weeks ahead.

The Department of Justice has said it will find homes for these 50 people in the Refugee Resettlement Programme, while officials will travel to Greece in the next fortnight to make arrangements for the group.

Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman said he is also currently seeking funding to bring in more unaccompanied children from Moria.

The Government has been working hard behind the scenes to ensure we have the capacity now to bring over both unaccompanied minors and family groups as well.

The Irish people really have come together and they really want to see the movement of people out of Lesbos, he said.

I think everyone sees the conditions that adults and children are living in over there, and I think thats why the Government has been working hard behind the scenes to ensure we have the capacity now to bring over both unaccompanied minors and family groups as well.

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Irish aid worker Caoimhe Butterly has worked at the camp since 2015, and is among those calling for at least 400 refugees to be resettled here.

The announcement in the Dail a couple of weeks ago vis-a-vis the four unaccompanied minors, we felt that we had to aim higher than that, she said.

Its based on an aspirational number, which at this stage were really going to stick to as a campaign.

400 in relation to the 13,000 women, men and children who are living through the cruelty and inhumane conditions in not only Moria but other refugee camps, its really a fraction of what we should be giving.
Chandigarh, Oct 2 : Formally launching the Congress signature campaign in the state against the 'black' farm laws, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday slammed the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for their "political theatrics" over Harsimrat Kaur Badal's resignation from the Union Cabinet, which they were projecting as a big sacrifice instead of a duty towards Punjab.

Recalling that he himself had resigned from Parliament twice to uphold the interests of the state and its people, he said he had done it out of a sense of duty and never as a "sham sacrifice", as had been done by Harsimrat Kaur.

Trashing the SAD protest over the agriculture laws as a "complete failure", Amarinder Singh termed it as an attempt to vitiate the atmosphere of Punjab.

"Where were they when the state government moved a resolution in the Vidhan Sabha on August 28 seeking withdrawal of the anti-farmer ordinances and demanding that the Centre make MSP a statutory right," he asked.

"Their gimmicks now would not help the Akalis woo the farmers, whose lives they themselves were party to destroying as allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," he said, reiterating that his government will challenge the new laws constitutionally.

"This is not a political fight about the BJP or the Congress, but a fight about our Kisani, about Punjab, our vajood (existence)," the Chief Minister said, while addressing the state's sarpanches virtually, on the sidelines of virtual inauguration of three projects to mark the birth anniversaries of father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri from the Civil Secretariat here.

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) President Sunil Jakhar and Punjab Youth Congress (PYC) president Brinder Singh Dhillon were present at the launch of the signature campaign against the farm laws.

Pointing out that despite being just two per cent of the country's population, Punjab has fed the entire nation for over six decades, Amarinder Singh said soon after the promulgation of the three farm ordinances by the Central government on June 5, he had written to the Prime Minister to convey his government's strong reservations and concern.

However, the Centre did not address the state's concerns but went ahead to enact the anti-farmer agricultural laws through brute majority, he added.

Noting that agriculture is a state subject, the Chief Minister said the Centre had encroached on the states' powers with these laws, which would devastate the farm sector, and reiterated his commitment to the farmer unions of full support of the state government in their fight against the "draconian laws".
Washington, Oct 2 : Washington Governor Jay Inslee has expressed displeasure over airplane giant Boeing's decision to move production of the 787 Dreamliner fleet to South Carolina, saying that it was "an insult".

In an official statement issued on Thursday, Inslee said: "Washington state remains the best place in the world to build airplanes. Boeing's success as a company is a credit to the workers and taxpayers of Washington state. Today's announcement is an insult to the hardworking aerospace employees who build 787s.

"I recently asked Boeing's leadership what the company needs to keep 787 production in Washington state. In all our conversations, they never asked for anything. I understand the serious market forces Boeing faces today. What I don't understand is why the company can't commit to restoring production here when the market for this plane improves." In an announcement earlier in the day, Boeing said that it was going to move the production of the rest of its 787 Dreamliner fleet to South Carolina in 2021, as part of a cost-cutting strategy.

As of 2019, Boeing was making record numbers of the 787 aircraft at its Everett widebody hub in Washington and since 2012 at the second plant in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Inslee further said in the statement that the move fell the "hardest on the more than 1,000 Washington workers who build the 787, and many more who face uncertainty as a result" "But Boeing's decision to take the 787 to South Carolina necessitates a review of our partnership and the company's favourable tax treatment," he added.
About 4,000 dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals, believed to have been bought online as pets, were found dead in boxes in China, an animal welfare group said on Thursday.

The grisly tragedy took place at a logistics hub in central China where the animals were stranded for nearly a week.

Rescuers managed to save just over 1,000 rabbits, hamsters, dogs and cats but the rest had perished by the time they arrived at the Dongxing facility in Luohe, Henan province on September 22, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.

Weve done rescues before but this was the first time I had experienced something this tragic," said a volunteer with the NGO Utopia Animal Rescue, who gave her name as Dan.

When we got there, there were several small mountains of boxes containing animals. Many of them were dead and had started to rot and give off terrible smells, " she told the Post describing the grisly scene at the depot.

Authorities are investigating the incident, which has again raised concerns over the lack of regulation of online pet sales in China.

A burgeoning e-commerce industry means almost anything, including live animals, can be bought online but pets are often illegally transported in unsafe conditions by courier companies, it added.
As the world remembers Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary as a pivotal figure in Indias fight for independence, United States Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Thursday introduced a bipartisan resolution to honour his life and legacy.

A press release issued by Krishnamoorthis office said, Despite facing tremendous hardship and injustice throughout his life, Gandhi never wavered in his fight for freedom, dignity and equality for all. The example he set continues to inspire thousands of people young and old across the world today.

The Congressman added that Gandhis principle of a non-violent protest spawned the civil rights movement across the globe and it continues to inspire similar non-violent movements till now.

Also Read| Gandhi Jayanti 2020: Twitter pays respect to Mahatma Gandhi

The Resolution stated that Gandhis legacy continues to have a lasting impact with regard to spreading peace and promoting non-violent protests as the most effective tool against unjust social and political conditions across India and all other nations.

Some of the key points in the resolution include:

1. Celebrating the life of Mahatma Gandhi

2. Encouraging American citizens to observe the International Day of Non-Violence.

3. Supporting freedom of religion across the world.

4. Recognising that elections, democracy and freedom are essential rights for all.

Meanwhile, another Congressman Brad Sherman said that apart from celebrating Gandhis birth anniversary, one must also honour his extraordinary life and enduring legacy of non-violence and equality.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) announced a collaboration to ensure family physicians, who can play an important role in the lupus diagnosis process, have the tools and resources to recognize the signs and symptoms of lupus and help people with lupus better manage their disease. Lupus is an unpredictable and misunderstood chronic autoimmune disease that ravages different parts of the body. It is difficult to diagnose, hard to live with, a challenge to treat, and can be fatal.

The Lupus Foundation of America and AAFP worked together to develop educational resources and tools in English and Spanish that are now available for family physicians, people who may be experiencing signs and symptoms of lupus, and people diagnosed with the disease. Resources and tools include:

Two new continuing medical education courses available to help family physicians recognize the signs and symptoms of lupus and increase confidence in making an accurate diagnosis.

Co-branded fact sheets to help people with lupus and those who are experiencing signs and symptoms of the disease understand lupus, the diagnosis journey, treating lupus, and care management.

A new first-of-its-kind Lupus Care Management Plan that people with lupus can use to prepare for their appointments with their care team, as well as set goals, track symptoms, get tips for communicating with their care provider, and manage overall health.

The tools and resources are available via the Lupus Foundation of America and AAFP's websites, as well as on familydoctor.org, AAFP's website for consumers.

"Improving the time to diagnosis is a key strategic outcome for the Lupus Foundation of America and working with health care providers is critical to meeting this goal," explains Stevan W. Gibson, president and CEO, Lupus Foundation of America. "Our collaboration with the American Academy of Family Physicians is designed to help bridge gaps in lupus diagnosis and care and provide educational resources for both family physicians and their patients to aid in diagnosing and managing lupus."

Lupus is difficult to diagnose and treat, in part, because signs and symptoms of the disease differ between individuals. Its health effects can range from a skin rash to a heart attack. People experiencing health issues that could be lupus often see a variety of providers to address their symptoms, with family physicians often being the first stop in the diagnosis process, especially in areas that may be further from a large city or major health system.

The Lupus Foundation of America has found that on average it takes nearly six years for people with lupus to be diagnosed, from the time an individual first notices their lupus symptoms. Getting an early diagnosis of lupus is critical to preventing long-term consequences of the disease.

"Family physicians can play an important role in early diagnosis and long-term care for people with lupus," according to Amy Mullins, MD, AAFP director for quality and science. "These new resources can help physicians better identify signs and symptoms of lupus to accelerate the diagnostic and treatment process."

Funding for these tools and resources was made possible in part by a cooperative agreement with the Lupus Foundation of America from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More information about lupus signs and symptoms is available at lupus.org.

About the Lupus Foundation of America

The Lupus Foundation of America is the national force devoted to solving the mystery of lupus, one of the world's cruelest, most unpredictable and devastating diseases, while giving caring support to those who suffer from its brutal impact. Through a comprehensive program of research, education, and advocacy, we lead the fight to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus. Learn more about the Lupus Foundation of America at lupus.org.

About the American Academy of Family Physicians

Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 136,700 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits -- that's 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America's underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine's cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP's award-winning consumer website, familydoctor.org.

Media Contacts:

Mike Donnelly

Lupus Foundation of America

[email protected]

Janelle Davis

AAFP

[email protected]

SOURCE Lupus Foundation of America

Related Links

http://www.lupus.org


Kerala reported a single-day spike of over 9,000 new cases on Friday, a day after the state government imposed Section 144 of CrPC, prohibiting the assembly of more than five people

Active cases of coronavirus in India remained under the 10 lakh-mark for the 11th consecutive day on Friday, the Union health ministry said even as the country's total caseload rose by 81,484 new cases.

The ministry added that the country continued to maintain its global position of having the maximum number of recovered patients.

With 78,877 people having recuperated from COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours, India's total recoveries surged to 53,52,078, pushing the recovery rate to 83.70 percent, according to data updated at 8 am.

"The last 10 lakh recoveries were added in just 12 days. With this, India continues to maintain its global position of being the country with maximum number of recovered COVID patients in the world," the ministry said.

The total number of cases (63,94,068) include 9,42,217 active cases, which comprises 14.74 percent. Maharashtra is leading the tally among states with more than 2.5 lakh cases. Karnataka follows with more than 1 lakh cases, the ministry said.

Fourteen states and union territories, including Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim, have less than 5,000 active cases of COVID-19, the ministry highlighted.

The ministry added that 78.07 percent of the new cases reported on Friday are concentrated in 10 states and UTs  Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Delhi and Chhattisgarh.

While Maharashtra contributed more than 16,000 new cases, Karnataka has contributed around 10,000 cases.

Kerala reported a single-day spike of over 9,000 new cases on Friday, a day after the state government imposed Section 144 of CrPC, prohibiting the assembly of more than five people.

Also, 10 states and UTs  Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Kerala  account for 72 percent of the newly recovered cases, the ministry said.

Maharashtra has the highest number of newly recovered cases, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

The toll rose to 99,773 on Friday, with 1,095 new deaths being reported. The COVID-19 case fatality rate was recorded at 1.56 percent, the ministry said.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 7,67,17,728 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to 1 October, with 10,97,947 samples tested on Thursday.

Donald and Melania Trump test COVID-19 positive

US president Donald Trump said on Friday that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a development that is likely to affect his hectic election campaign just weeks before the presidential polls.

"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!", 74-year-old Trump tweeted.

In a statement, Trump's physician Dr Sean Conley said the president and the first lady "are both well at this time", and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

"Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering," Conley added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind wished Trump and the First Lady a quick recovery.

"Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health," Modi tweeted. "Our prayers and best wishes are with you during this time," Kovind said.

Meanwhile, US vice president Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence tested negative for COVID-19 Friday morning, AP reported.

Second sero-survey indicates drop in infections in Mumbai slums, says BMC

The presence of COVID-19 antibodies in samples from slums in Mumbai was found to have decreased by 12 percent in the second sero survey, the BMC said.

It indicates that the infection spread in slums in the city may have come down, the BMC added.

Presence of anti-bodies in the blood indicates that the person has been exposed to an infection.

The latest survey disclosed that "sero-prevalence" of COVID-19 infection in slums is 45 percent, compared to 57 percent in the first sero-survey in the city (in July), the BMC said on Thursday, according to PTI.

The sero-prevalence in buildings was around 18 percent against 16 percent in the first survey, it added.

The latest survey was carried out in wards R-north (Borivali), M-West (Mankhurd and Govandi) and F-North (Worli and Lower Parel) in the second half of August.

"Sero-positivity from the second round, taken together with the current number of reported cases from slum areas in these wards, indicates there could be a reduction in the spread of infection in slum areas," said the BMC.

The BMC added that the sero-survey also found that only 27 percent health workers have developed antibodies despite being in constant contact with COVID-19 patients.

According to BMC, in the first and as well as in the second round of sero-survey, approximately 27 percent health workers in the city  who are more exposed to the virus than ordinary citizens  were found to have developed antibodies against the infection.

Uttar Pradesh govt allows religious events outside containment zones from 15 Oct

With the Uttar Pradesh government allowing programmes in the open outside containment zones in the next phase of coronavirus lockdown, decks have been cleared for holding Durga Puja and other religious events in the upcoming festival season, PTI reported.

Additional Chief Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal said the district administrations will permit such programmes with necessary availability of face masks, thermal scanners, hand sanitisers and social distancing.

The new guidelines will come into effect from 15 October while the festival season will kick off with Navratras from 17 October, the report said.

The new guidelines have been issued under which the lockdown will be effective only in containment zones, which have been converted into micro containment areas, he said.

Sehgal said in closed halls, permission will be given with 50 percent capacity but a maximum of 200 people.

Earlier this week, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said all precautions must be taken during upcoming festivals in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state government made the announcement even as deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya tested positive for COVID-19.

The former MP urged people who have come in contact with him to get tested at the earliest.

"After the initial symptoms of corona infection, I g ot the test done in which my report has come up positive today. I request all of you that whoever has come in contact with me in the last few days, they should go to the nearest health centre and get their tests done and follow the COVID rules," Maurya tweeted in Hindi.

DMK leaders booked for violating COVID-19 norms in Tamil Nadu

The DMK on Friday held "People's Sabha" meetings across Tamil Nadu, day after the state government announced cancellation of the customary "Gram Sabha", held on 2 October, citing the COVID-19 situation.

On Friday, cases were registered against party chief MK Stalin, women's wing secretary Kanimozhi and others for holding the meetings despite the government barring such events and for violating curbs imposed in view of the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reported.

The state government on Thursday night announced the cancellation of the meetings of the gram sabha, the grass root level democratic institution in each village panchayat, citing the pandemic situation.

The meetings are held at least four times in a year on 26 January, 1 May, 15 August, and 2 October. Though the DMK chose to describe the meetings as "Makkal Sabai Koottam" (Meet of People's Sabha), the banners with "government emblem", that formed the backdrop of such meetings, in several places announced the gathering as that of "Gram Sabha."

State-wise deaths

The number of new deaths on Friday include 394 from Maharashtra, 130 from Karnataka, 80 from Uttar Pradesh, 66 from Tamil Nadu, 59 from West Bengal, 45 from Punjab, 41 from Andhra Pradesh, 40 from Delhi and 29 each from Chhattisgarh and Kerala.

The total 99,773 COVID-19 deaths reported so far in the country include 37,056 from Maharashtra followed by 9,586 from Tamil Nadu, 8,994 from Karnataka, 5,869 from Andhra Pradesh, 5,864 from Uttar Pradesh,5,401 from Delhi, 5,017 from West Bengal, 3,460 from Gujarat, 3,451 from Punjab and 2,336 from Madhya Pradesh.

With inputs from agencies
Two computer coding errors left some 6,500 students with at least one grade lower than they should have received last month, and political rivals have now said they believe the Government should have disclosed the flaw sooner.

Irelands education department did not trust anyone enough to warn them of the calculated grades problem, according to the Labour party.

Around 200 parents and students made contact with a new helpline on Wednesday, Education Minister Norma Foley told the Dail on Thursday evening.

Statement from the Minister for Education @NormaFoleyTD1 and the Department of Education and Skills regarding Leaving Certificate 2020 Calculated Grades Process https://t.co/gWqsrt8tmw  education.ie (@Education_Ire) September 30, 2020

Labour TD Aodhan O Riordain said: Your department does not trust anyone.

You do not trust your cabinet colleagues, you do not trust anyone in the educational sphere.

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No one knew this was coming.

No one from the third level institutions or students union bodies nor teachers unions knew this was coming.

So obviously the education department does not trust anyone, it certainly cannot tell us but you cannot tell anybody about what was coming.

Calculated grades were introduced after exams were disrupted by the coronavirus shutdown.

The minister has apologised to students, saying the mistakes should not have happened.

She said that further checks are taking place to see if any further errors have occurred.

Mr O Riordain tempered his remarks in a personal tribute to the new minister.

I believe you are a compassionate, capable politician who is going to deliver a lot of good change in the education system in the coming time.

Ms Foley said many people had principled objections to how the calculation of grades was handled.

She said they would do their utmost to ensure students were in a position to receive their college place offers this year.

It is not an ideal situation.

I would never have wanted students to be in this position.

All of us would only want the best for the students.
(Alliance News) - Scancell Holdings PLC on Friday said it has selected Cobra Biologics to manufacture Scancell's Covid-19 vaccine in 2021.

Shares in cancer and infectious disease treatment developer Scancell were up 1.6% at 17.01 pence each in London. Year-to-date the stock has more than doubled from 7.24p on December 31.

Under a collaboration agreement, Cobra will produce plasmid DNA needed to generate the DNA vaccine, against SARS-CoV-2, for use in Scancell's Phase 1 clinical trial Covidty in 2021.

Scancell Chief Executive Officer Cliff Holloway said: "Our collaboration with Cobra is critical to us moving forward with our novel SARS-CoV-2 vaccine into the planned Phase 1 clinical trial, Covidty. Cobra has the expertise needed to produce clinical grade plasmid at scale and we look forward to working with them to advance our vaccine and demonstrate its potential effectiveness and protection against COVID-19."

The company's DNA vaccine will target the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein plus the key receptor binding domain of the spike protein to generate both T cell responses and virus neutralising antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"This new vaccine has the potential to provide long lasting immunity against COVID-19 by generating protection not only against this strain, but also against new strains of coronavirus that may arise in the future," Scancell said.

The Covid vaccine project is funded by an Innovate UK grant awarded to a consortium between Scancell, the University of Nottingham and Trent University.

Cobra Biologics is a unit of Cognate BioServices, a Memphis, Tennessee-based manufacturer of biological materials and pharmaceuticals.

By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
She just announced she's expecting her first child with beau James Kirkham.

And on Friday, Jessica Hart flaunted her baby bump in a bikini while relaxing along a pool's waters edge at the Casa Bellamar resort.

The 34-year-old model, who grew up in Melbourne but now lives in Los Angeles, checked-in at the luxury location on Thursday for a 'baby moon' with her NASCAR driver boyfriend.

'There's a tiny human growing inside my belly': Model Jess Hart showed off her large baby bump in a bikini during her baby moon in Mexico with race car driver beau James Kirkham on Friday

Taking to Instagram to update fans about her second-day stay, Jess showed off her growing belly and joked about how 'wild' being pregnant was.

'WILD to think that there's a tiny human growing inside my belly,' she captioned her post. 'It blows my mind daily.'

Her update comes after Jess shared a video of herself dancing on a private beach in Cabo San Lucas on Thursday.

In the clip, she can be seen wiggling her hips as she boasted she had her own private beach for the next week.

'OOUURR BEACH for the next seven days #babymoon,' the former Victoria's Secret model wrote in the caption.

Happy times: The coupe are staying at the Casa Bellamar resort

Happy dance: Her update comes after Jess shared a video of herself dancing on a private beach in Cabo San Lucas on Thursday

On Friday, the couple could also be seen exploring the beach side resort in video shared to James' Instagram story.

The black-and-white clip sweetly captured Jess' growing belly as the model walked down steps toward the beach, alongside James.

The resort is surrounded by high walls and cacti, and the couple appear to have it all to themselves, without another person in sight.

Updating fans: The couple could also be seen exploring the beach side resort in video shared to James' Instagram story (left). James also showed off his tattooed legs in another clip at the pool by himself (right)

James, who already has a daughter named Wren from a previous relationship, also showed off his tattooed legs while relaxing in the pool on Friday.

He uploaded video to his Instagram story showing him laying on a pool float with nobody else in the area.

The 'baby moon' comes after Jess and James revealed they were expecting a little girl in September.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 10:19:53|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- "There's no doubt" both the United States and China have benefited from the constructive, cooperative bilateral ties over the past 40 year, said Neil Bush, chairman of George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations, on Thursday.

The son of former U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush made the remarks in a video massage at a virtual reception and concert hosted by the Chinese embassy in the United States celebrating China's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, both of which fell on Thursday.

A year ago this day, Bush said he was invited to attend the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and "witnessed an amazing parade and saw a great outpouring of pride that the Chinese people rightfully have for the progress that has been made over the past 70 years."

"A lot of that progress can be attributed to our bilateral ties, the ties between the United States and China," he said.

"There's no doubt that we have benefited, that the Chinese have benefited, that we all have benefited from closer trade relations, from cultural exchanges, from student exchanges, from all of the ways that we've been connecting over the past 40 years," he said.

"It is my deep desire and hope that I will continue to commit myself to improving dialogue, to improving understanding, to bringing our countries together so that we can lock arms in trying to tackle the humans' greatest challenges that we face, challenges related to the environment, to terrorism, to health," he said.

"And right now, it's never more important than trying to learn from one another, so that we can tackle this terribly devastating global pandemic" of COVID-19 that has killed more than 1 million people worldwide, he said. Enditem
The two leaders are to speak tomorrow to discuss the next steps following the conclusion of the final scheduled round of formal negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal in Brussels.

The announcement of the video conference call prompted speculation that they could be preparing to launch a final series of intensive talks  dubbed the tunnel  in a last push for an agreement.

Speaking at a news conference in the Belgian capital, Mrs von der Leyen said she believed a deal was still possible, but warned that time was running out.



Where there is a will, there is a way, so I think we should intensify the negotiations

She said the most difficult issues  including fisheries and state aid rules  still had to be resolved if they were to get an agreement in place by the end of the Brexit transition period at the end of the year.

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It is good to have a deal  but not at any price, she said.

We have made progress on many, many different fields but of course the most difficult ones are still completely open.

But overall, where there is a will, there is a way, so I think we should intensify the negotiations because it is worth working hard on it.

We are running out of time  around 100 days to the end of the year  so it is worth stepping up now.

Downing Street made clear that Mr Johnson still believed there needed to be a deal by the time of the next EU summit in two weeks time on October 15th.

Good discussion with @MichealMartinTD on #NextGenerationEU & ongoing negotiations with UK.



We share the view that the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is essential for maintaining peace & stability on the island of Ireland and protecting the integrity of the Single Market. pic.twitter.com/b9jtIJQLTm  Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 1, 2020

The UK Prime Minister has indicated that he will walk away from the negotiating table if there is not an agreement by then as it will be too late to implement before the transition ends.

We have always said the middle of October is where we believe we would need to see a resolution to this in order to make sure we have all the things we need to have in place for the end of the transition period, a Downing Street spokesman said.

We continue to work towards a free trade agreement. Thats what we want, that is what we will continue to work towards.

Mrs von der Leyen and Taoiseach Micheal Martin updated EU leaders in Brussels on the state of the talks as the lead negotiators  Michel Barnier and Lord Frost  were meeting in the Belgian capital.

The EU has been angered by Mr Johnsons UK Internal Market Bill which gives ministers the power to override provisions in the Brexit divorce settlement relating to Northern Ireland  a measure the UK says is necessary to protect the peace process.

On Thursday, Mrs von der Leyen announced that the commission was taking legal action against the UK for breaching its international treaty obligations in the Withdrawal Agreement.

At her press conference, however, she suggested the issue could be resolved through negotiations.

It is so important to have this clarified. We have the possibilities now to sort out the difficulties on the island of Ireland and in good faith keeping the Good Friday Agreement. This is very important. This can be done too, she said.
Canadian actor Rick Moranis was sucker-punched in a random attack near Central Park in Manhattan this week and had to go to hospital.

The attack was caught on surveillance camera, and the footage was released by police who are looking for the suspect. Police didnt identify Moranis, but law enforcement sources confirmed that he was the victim to the New York Post and Daily News among other outlets.

The attack happened just a few blocks from the Central Park West apartment building where Moraniss character lived in the movie Ghostbusters.

Moranis representative Troy Bailey confirmed the news in a written statement Friday.

Rick Moranis was assaulted on the Upper West Side yesterday, the statement read. He is fine but grateful for everyones thoughts and well wishes.

Moranis, 67, was near his apartment building around 7:30 a.m. Thursday when a stranger punched him from behind in an unprovoked attack, knocking him to the ground, according to police.

Moranis suffered suffered back, hip, neck and head pain. He went to a local hospital before heading to the nearby police station to report the unprovoked attack.

The suspect has not been identified and is still at large.

Moranis starred in movies including Spaceballs, Little Shop of Horrors and Parenthood after breaking out on the SCTV comedy show in the 1970s.

He took a long hiatus to focus on his family but had recently reportedly signed up for a sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

With files from The Associated Press
This Sunday, if you do anything, pick up the phone to an older person and simply ask how they are.

That is the message being delivered by the Duchess of Cornwall, who says she had been left heartbroken by tales of pensioners who havent talked to anyone for more than a month, particularly during lockdown.

Speaking exclusively to the Mail, Camilla says the Covid crisis has given her a new appreciation of her own family  her husband, the Prince of Wales, children Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, and her five adored grandchildren.

Its good to talk: The Duchess of Cornwall speaks with women who served as code breakers at Bletchley Park during World War II

But it has also made her even more determined to use her position to ensure that others arent left feeling helpless, undervalued and alone.

Camilla, who turned 73 in July, says: I am of an age, thats the thing to remember! I am technically an old person. So I am just trying to help my contemporaries who arent as lucky as me.

I have got family, children, a husband . . . I am so very lucky. But you see and speak to these people who havent talked to anybody for months. They just want to wake up in the morning and share things with people. Their day is waking up in the morning, having a cup of tea and watching the telly, then trying to read a book . . . but they just long for a familiar voice. Not even a familiar voice, really. Just a voice.

Heres how you can help... Coronavirus has changed our world, but by donating to Age UK today you can help keep the door open for the most vulnerable older people and make sure they arent forgotten. To donate please visit: ageuk.org.uk/lonely. Anyone who needs support, is worried about an older relative or friend, or wants to find out more about the Telephone Friendship Service, can call Age UK Advice free on 0800 169 6565 (8am-7pm) or visit ageuk.org.uk. Any older person looking for a cheerful chat can call the Silver Lines free helpline, day or night, on 0800 470 8090. Advertisement

Shockingly, recent research suggests that more than a million older people go for more than a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member.

Initiatives such as tomorrows Silver Sunday, the national day to celebrate older people, which is supported by the Duchess, are attempts to ensure that deeply saddening statistic is erased.

With social distancing restrictions still in place, Silver Sunday will be different this year, but participants are still being encouraged to connect with older people on their doorstep, online, or over the phone  or through socially distanced tea parties and even a rule-of-six Zumba session.

Speaking about her involvement, the Duchess  who is also royal patron of The Silver Line, a helpline for older people, and President of the Royal Voluntary Service  says: These are such strange times. The whole pandemic has been so peculiar.

But I also think people have started to realise how many lonely people there are about.

I think Ive seen a lot  and through Covid Ive certainly talked to a lot of very lonely people.

You suddenly realise when you pick up that telephone there is a person who hasnt talked to anybody for an age and they are desperate to have a chat.

Not about anything in particular, just about ordinary things  whats going on in their life. Things that you take for granted.

She also highlights the issues many pensioners forced to shield have faced during lockdown.

I was thinking the other day, if you hark back to the good old days  certainly in rural areas  if you had an old person living alone, the neighbours would be pretty good at looking after them.

You also used to get the village policeman. It was part of their daily duty to look in on people, go in and sit and talk to them.

But now it just isnt like that any more. Its very hard.

I think through lockdown people could see how difficult it was to be locked in, and people could start to see those neighbours who were sitting in on their own.

Your home should be your castle, but it can also be a prison for those who dont have anyone to talk to.

The Duchess also praises Silver Sunday in a video message to support the day.

As a member of Silver Sundays target audience, I can honestly say that it is a completely brilliant initiative, she says. This year, of course, it will be very different, with most events taking place virtually rather than in the flesh. So Silver Sunday is more important than ever.

Its aim is to tackle the blight of loneliness that affects so many and which, very sadly, has increased significantly over the recent months of lockdown. I want to encourage everyone to take the time to remember the older generation on October 4.

Through doing so, you will make the most enormous difference to anyone who is feeling lonely this autumn.

In Silver Sundays words, You will fill the day with silver linings and the promise of happy days ahead.

Interviews by: Felicia Bromfield

'We can have a laugh - it's a special time': Two sets of friends across the generations reveal the joy that reaching out to isolated elderly brings

Gwen, 75, who lives alone in Devon, has weekly conversations with Natalie, 33, who works in music publishing in London. Gwen says:

Sundays are when I feel most alone  all the more so since Covid. I dont drive, so Im stuck inside at a loose end. Thats why my Sunday chat with Natalie is such a breath of fresh air.

Weve been speaking for a year now. Three years younger than my own daughter, she has become like a second daughter to me.

Gwen, 75, who lives alone in Devon, has weekly conversations with Natalie, 33, who works in music publishing in London

Im separated from my second husband and, after suffering kidney problems in 2017, I moved to be closer to my daughter, who has a seven-month-old son. It was a big adjustment moving at my age.

I joined an Age UK group that got me mixing with local people. Its how I found out about Age UKs Telephone Friendship Service, which matches over-60s with volunteers for a weekly chat. I was paired with Natalie last October and our weekly half-hour conversation really helped me through lockdown.

Conversation has always flowed naturally. Natalie is an interesting young lady who has family from Peru. I am from Singapore originally and moved here in 1971 with my first husband, who was a British serviceman.

Natalie isnt married but there must be a man out there  shes such a pretty girl. We havent met but she sent me a picture of herself with her Christmas card. Talking to her is a real highlight of my week.

Natalie (pictured) says: When I first signed up, I thought of it as doing something for someone else  but it quickly became far more than that. Gwen is now part of my life

Natalie says: When I first signed up, I thought of it as doing something for someone else  but it quickly became far more than that. Gwen is now part of my life. The other day she found a Gordon Ramsay recipe for scrambled eggs that used creme fraiche. We thought it was going to be a game-changer, so both decided to try it at our homes. Well, it turned out to be a disaster for both of us, which we found very funny.

I signed up as a volunteer because Im so close to my grandparents and couldnt bear the thought of an older person feeling lonely. Like many, I had a busy schedule but realised I could spare half-an-hour on the phone each week.

Now many of us no longer have a morning commute, theres no excuse not to do something worthwhile with that extra time. Its been a worrying period for everyone and Ive really appreciated Gwens more philosophical perspective on things.

Former nurse Pollene, 80, lives in Wandsworth, South-West London, with the support of carers, Age UK Wandsworth and her daughter. She has been speaking weekly to Clare, 39, also from London, for four years. Pollene says:

My calls with Clare mean a great deal to me. We have a little chat and then she reads to me, which I love. Its a joint effort choosing the books.

We were first introduced four years ago when Clare began visiting me in person. It only became a telephone service after lockdown. I have a lot of medical problems which means Im largely bed-bound so have been shielding since March.

Former nurse Pollene, 80, lives in Wandsworth, South-West London, with the support of carers, Age UK Wandsworth and her daughter. She has been speaking weekly to Clare, 39, also from London, for four years. They are pictured together above. Clare and Pollene cant meet since lockdown but chat online

My daughter lives nearby so Im still able to see her, but its a scary time. I feel nervous about going out and meeting people. I really look forward to my calls with Clare; its my special time. We have a laugh together and it really brightens my day.

Clare says: I was matched with Pollene because her family had been concerned that, although she had many carers, they were so busy Pollene didnt get a chance to have a proper chat with anyone.

It quickly became a two-way conversation  we shared stories about our childhoods and life in general. Pollene dictated her life story to me and I had it printed as a book for her.

Since lockdown I havent been able to visit in person, but I felt it was even more important to keep in contact. Due to a generous donation, Age UK Wandsworth were able to give Pollene an iPad, so were now able to do video calls twice a week.

We both love music so we sing or I play the piano and ask Pollene to name the tune. I also read aloud.

Becoming a befriender has really helped me with my own wellbeing. I live with long-term health problems after having cancer treatment when I was a teenager.

After I became unable to work, I lost my sense of purpose a bit. Being able to be of support to someone else has really helped to rebuild my confidence. Ive gained a wonderful friend in Pollene.

Now that Im aware many live isolated lives, I make an effort to smile or say good morning in the street. I also check in on neighbours to see if they need anything. In uncertain times that moment of connection can make you both feel better.
D onald Trump is at higher risk of severe Covid-19 due to his age, gender and weight, expert studies show.

The President and First Lady Melania have both tested positive for the strain after his aide Hope Hicks was diagnosed with the virus.

At 74, Mr Trump falls into the high-risk age group, with experts concluding that age is by far the strongest predictor of an infected persons risk of being hospitalised with the condition.

His chances are further affected due to his gender, with men around twice as likely to die from coronavirus as women. Reportedly weighing in at around 16 stone with a height of 6ft 3in, Mr Trump is also considered overweight.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says people aged 65 to 74 have a five times higher risk of hospital admission with coronavirus compared with those aged 18 to 29, and a 90 per cent higher risk of death.

For people aged 75 to 84, the risk of needing hospital admission jumps to eight times higher, with a 220 times higher risk of death.

The president got a clean bill of health in June from his doctor / Getty Images

Doctor Sean Conley told journalists in June that Mr Trump is healthy, he is medically overweight.

Reporters calculated that, at 6ft 3in, the president was just over the threshold for obesity.

In England in July, Public Health England (PHE) published a review which found a dramatic rise in the risk of hospital admission and death from Covid-19 for people who are overweight or obese.

Experts examined existing studies and concluded that people who are overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9, have a higher risk of needing hospital treatment and poor outcomes.

Meanwhile, having a BMI of 35 to 40 increases the risk of death from coronavirus by 40 per cent, while a BMI over 40 almost doubles the risk compared with people who are a healthy weight.

One study found that, compared with a normal BMI, being overweight increased the risk of admission to intensive care by about 50 per cent, rising to more than double the risk for those with a BMI of 30 to 35, and about a four-fold increased risk for those with a BMI over 35.

Dr Barry Dixon, an intensive care physician at St Vincents hospital in Melbourne, said Mr Trumps risk would increase if he developed pneumonia, which is associated with a high Covid-19 mortality rate, especially in patients over 65 and those who have cardiovascular disease or conditions affecting blood vessels of the brain.

Hes at a much higher risk of dying if he does develop that bad pneumonia, Mr Dixon told the Guardian. There are other risk factors and co-morbidities such as whether you are a heavy smoker, have diabetes, or have heart disease. The key risk factors for Trump that we know about are his age and the fact hes overweight, and theyd be high-risk factors.
LITTLE RIVER, S.C., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PCT LTD (OTC Pink: "PCTL") held their Shareholder Conference Call on September 29, 2020 and provide the following statement about the Company's activities in the United Kingdom and in the oil & gas industry.

PCTL received orders and a cash deposit from its U.K. partner, Paradigm Convergence Technologies (Europe) LTD. One of the provisions in our agreement requires a 50% cash deposit, which we have received.

PCTL President and CEO, Gary Grieco, commented, "We have all been deeply involved in putting together a launch in the U.K. Now, we have orders to provide equipment for the hospitals and equipment to provide volumes of fluids for the commercial markets in Europe. Growing this business is a priority and we've been advised by our U.K. partner to expect additional PO's in the very near term."

Several investors have asked for clarification regarding the oil and gas industry statements made during yesterday's shareholder conference call. No further information is public at this time, but the Company encourages everyone to review the audio recording of the conference call, which is posted in the investor relations section of our website, www.para-con.com.

"We appreciate that over 300 people took time from their busy days to listen to our conference call," stated Gary Grieco.

About PCT LTD:

PCT LTD ("PCTL") focuses its business on acquiring, developing and providing sustainable, environmentally safe disinfecting, cleaning and tracking technologies. The company acquires and holds rights to innovative products and technologies, which are commercialized through its wholly-owned operating subsidiary, Paradigm Convergence Technologies Corporation (PCT Corp). Currently trading on OTC:PINK, "PCTL" is actively engaged in applying for listing its common stock to the OTC QB market. The Company established entry into its target markets with commercially viable products in the United States and now continues to gain market share in the U.S. and U.K.

ADDITIONAL NEWS AND CORPORATE UPDATES:

PCTL would like to warn its stockholders and potential investors that material corporate information regarding sales, areas of business and other corporate updates will only be made through press releases or filings with the SEC. PCTL does not utilize social media, chatrooms or other online sources to disclose material information. The public should only rely on official press releases and corporate filings for accurate and up to date information regarding PCTL.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."

Such statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presently anticipated. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: the ability of PCTL to fulfill orders to the United Kingdom; PCTL's continued installation of equipment; subsequent installations of PCTL's Annihilyzer Infection Control Systems and other larger-volume equipment; PCTL's ability to raise sufficient funds to satisfy its working capital requirements; the ability of PCTL to execute its business plan; any other effects resulting from the information disclosed above; risks and effects of legal and administrative proceedings and government regulation; future financial and operational results; competition; general economic conditions; and the ability to manage and continue growth. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those indicated. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements PCTL makes in this press release include market conditions and those set forth in reports or documents it files from time to time with the SEC. PCTL undertakes no obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect current events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Gary Grieco, CEO and Chairman, PCT LTD

+1(843) 390-7900 Office

+1(843) 390-2347 Fax

www.para-con.com

www.pctcorphealth.com

www.survivalyte.com

Rich Inza, Investor Relations (RMJ Consulting, LLC)

+1(843) 491-4611

[email protected]

SOURCE PCT LTD
In a slight change in his programme, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will now hold tractor rallies in Punjab and Haryana from October 4-6 to protest against the contentious new farm laws.

Earlier, Gandhi was scheduled to hold tractor rallies from October 3-5, the party had said. However, the rest of his itinerary will remain the same; rescheduled to October 4, 5, 6. Rest (itinerary) remains the same," Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's media advisor, Raveen Thukral, tweeted.

Singh, state Congress president Sunil Jakhar, party''s Punjab incharge Harish Rawat, and all state ministers and party MLAs will join the protests, "to give voice to the angst and pain of the farmers, whose livelihood and future has been put at stake by the central legislations".

"Change in @Rahul Gandhi tractor rallies program A spokesperson of Punjab Congress had said on Thursday that the tractor rallies were expected to be supported by farmers'' organisations and will cover more than 50 km over three days.

The rallies are scheduled to begin around 11 am on each of the three days and will be conducted amid strict COVID-19 protocols, the spokesperson had said.

Gandhi is likely to address rallies at Kaithal and Pipli in Kurukshetra district of Haryana on October 6 instead of October 5, following which he will return to Delhi.

Farmers have expressed apprehension that the Centre''s farm reforms would pave a way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big companies.

Parliament had last week passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Farmers'' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill; and the Farmers'' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill.

Also read: Coronavirus vaccine update: AstraZeneca resumes clinical trials in Japan, US still paused

Also read: Department of Fertilisers ranked 3rd among 65 ministries in implementing central schemes
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said the city government will launch a mega anti-air pollution campaign on October 5 and a centre is being set up in Najafgarh to produce a chemical to deal with stubble burning.

Rai said he has appealed to the Centre and the neighbouring states to use the chemical developed by scientists at Indian Agricultural Research Institute here to manage stubble.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will launch a mega anti-air pollution campaign after a meeting with officials from departments of environment, transport, development, PWD, Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Jal Board, traffic police and municipal corporations, he said.

At a meeting of NCR states with Union Environment Prakash Javadekar, Rai asked the Centre to take time-bound action to ensure the 11 thermal power plants and more than 1,900 brick kilns using outdated technology in the national capital region control their emissions.

There are 11 plants around Delhi -- in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab -- which were supposed to retrofit their units with technology called flue-gas desulphurisation to reduce emissions by December 2019. Rai said there are more than 1,640 such brick kilns in Uttar Pradesh, 161 in Haryana and 164 Rajasthan. All these contribute to Delhis air pollution massively, he said.

The minister said the Delhi government presented its plan to tackle stubble burning in the city during the meeting with Javadekar.

He said a centre is being set up in Kharkhari village in Najafgarh where bio-decomposer solution will be prepared in around 400 containers starting Tuesday.

IARIs new technology involves a liquid formulation prepared using bio-decomposer capsules, fermenting it over 8-10 days and then spraying the mixture on crop residue to ensure speedy bio-decomposition of the stubble.

Capsules worth Rs. 20 can effectively deal with 4-5 tonnes of raw straw per acre.

Rai said the Centre has been providing subsidies up to 80 percent on farm machinery, but farmers still have to pay from their own pocket to use it. The Pusa bio-decomposer capsule is an economically viable option. We have estimated that only Rs. 20 lakh is needed to manage stubble in 800 hectares of agricultural land in Delhi, he said.

Javadekar said Uttar Pradesh will be using the Pusa microbial decomposer capsule technology over 10,000 hectares and Delhi over 800 hectares this year.

The Delhi government has been directed to focus on the 13 pollution hotspots in the city. 50 teams of the Central Pollution Control Board will be deployed in Delhi-NCR region to take appropriate action this year, the Union minister said.

Rai said an action plan has been prepared to stop stubble burning in the city.

Under it, farmers will fill a form providing details such as name, address, village, the area where they produce non-basmati rice and the date when they want the government to spray the chemical to tackle stubble burning.

Based on this form the Delhi government will send officials to spray the chemical at the designated farmland. Agricultural development officers of all the districts will lead this work, he said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.)

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BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda has authorized "three-four people" to intervene and defuse the crisis in the NDA in Bihar ahead of the Assembly polls, senior party leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said here on Friday.

Prasad, who represents Bihar's Patna Sahib constituency in the Lok Sabha, did not disclose whom the BJP chief has assigned that task, but asserted that everything will be settled amicably and the NDA will win a two-thirds majority in the Assembly polls.

Prasad was replying to questions from journalists here about the belligerent stance adopted by Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which seems adamant on contesting over 100 of the total 243 seats, and fielding candidates against the ruling JD(U) and a recent entrant in the coalition, the Hindustani Awam Morcha of ex-CM Jitan Ram Manjhi.

Also Read | Is Bihar politics up for another turn?

According to LJP leaders here, the party has convened a meeting of its parliamentary board for "final discussions on 143 candidates" which the party proposes to field, much to the chagrin of NDA constituents that have sought the BJPs intervention in the matter.

Opening a front against the JD(U) of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, LJP spokesman Ashraf Ansari also issued a statement saying, "The next government must implement our Bihar First Bihari First vision document (of Chirag Paswan). We do not accept the saat nishchay (seven resolves of Nitish Kumar)".

The turmoil within the NDA has caused the grouping to lose much of its surefootedness though the ruling coalition seems assured of an electoral victory with its main challenger, the RJD-helmed Grand Alliance, doddering under the weight of internal contradictions.

Founded and headed by jailed Lalu Prasad, the RJD is engaged in a tussle with its principal ally, the Congress, on the twin issues of how many seats which constituent should get and Tejashwi Yadav's projection as the face of the opposition coalition.

The Grand Alliance, which comprised five parties till a few months ago, has in the recent past lost Manjhi to the NDA while RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha has formed a parallel front with Mayawati's BSP.

Moreover, its plans to forge an alliance with the Left parties also seem to have run into rough weather with the CPI (ML), which has the strongest presence in Bihar among all communist parties, coming out with a list of 30 seats it proposes to contest and accusing the RJD of making an offer that was not respectable".

The notification for the first of the three phases of Assembly polls was issued on Thursday and the filing of nominations for it comes to a close on October 8.
(Photo by Jun Sato/WireImage) Ana de Armas

Ana de Armas' life in lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic has been without the comforting presence of her family.

In an interview with Flaunt magazine, the Knives Out actress opened up about living in Los Angeles away from her family in her native Cuba.

Its been so hard not to see them, de Armas, 32, said of missing her relatives.

The actress, who has been spending time amid the pandemic with her boyfriend, Ben Affleck, told the magazine the City of Angels isnt a place shed want to stay in forever.

Its a lot, or maybe its just because I miss Cuba too much or something, she said. Its a different experience for me to be in L.A.

RELATED: Is Ana de Armas Moving in with Boyfriend Ben Affleck? 'They Have a Good Thing Going,' Friend Says

De Armas has been keeping busy reading and trying to find whats next, she said.

I guess its kind of weird. Were all living in this strange situation and the circumstances are so new and everyones trying to figure out what to do, she told the magazine. That has taken some pressure out of whats next because there is no next right now.

Ana de Armas / Instagram Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas

Asked if she would like to continue resting more, the actress adamantly said, No, no, Im done with resting already!

The actress career took off after starring in Rian Johnsons Knives Out. She will soon be seen opposite Daniel Craig in No Time To Die, as well as in Deep Water opposite Affleck.

Last month, de Armas was seen moving her things into Afflecks Los Angeles home.

A source told PEOPLE at the time de Armas had a huge grin and seemed very excited about living with Affleck.

Ben and Ana really care for each other and they have a good thing going, a friend of the couple told PEOPLE. Shes aware that his family comes first. And appreciates that. They work very hard at that balance.

Affleck and de Armas, who met on the set of their thriller Deep Water in New Orleans, have been romantically linked since early March, when they were seen on a trip to her native Cuba.
There is no hero who overcomes all obstacles to emerge victorious in the anti-narrative of chronic illness. As radio presenter Jacinta Parsons well knows, sufferers all too often find themselves banished to a harsh, endless landscape largely invisible to the outside world. Parsons was in her 20s when she was diagnosed with Crohns disease, the complications of which plunged her into years of debilitating pain and anguish. Anybody familiar with this terrain will appreciate the magnitude of her achievement in finding the words for a life-sentence that condemns many to silence and a brave face. Her insight into human frailty and our deepest fears, her understanding of chronic illness as a hidden phenomenon and her sure touch as a writer imbue Unseen with the clarity of hard-won truth.

Doubly exiled, they fled the Nazis to Britain only to be branded enemy aliens, deported and incarcerated in Australia. These profiles feature a small selection of the 2500 men on the Dunera, along with the remarkable story of Edward Broughton, the Maori commanding officer of the military unit to which 700 ex-internees belonged. Moving, engaging and socially pertinent, these portraits capture the distinctive character of each subject, how their fate shaped them and what they made of their lives in Australia, from the brilliant Buchdahl brothers  Gerd, a philosopher of science, and Hans, a theoretical physicist  to Roy Thalheimer, a forestry clerk who as a child had sat on the lap of Lenins widow and who casts a sardonic eye over the Dunera legacy and the way it has been told.

In Defence of Shame

Tanveer Ahmed, Connor Court Publishing, $24.95

Credit:

We are so used to thinking of shame as a destructive force that a book in its defence throws out an instant challenge. By stigmatising shame, says psychiatrist, Tanveer Ahmed, our individualistic culture fails to appreciate how its expression can be an act of love, a signal that one is part of a human collective. At the same time, Ahmed is well aware of the complex role that shame plays in enforcing group identity or norms, and he doesnt minimise the pressures it can place on those who dont conform. What he argues for is a more nuanced appreciation of how shame can be usefully tamed, the value of good shaming (such as #covidiot) and how it can help us learn to tolerate negative or challenging emotions and so be better equipped for robust, morally-aware interaction with others and the wider world.

The Expendables

Jeff Rubin, Scribe, $34.99
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:26:24|Editor: huaxia

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The Capitol and a stop sign are seen in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

BEIJING, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday rebuked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's remarks on Uygur women as completely unfounded, saying those remarks are "another lie fabricated" by him.

"The so-called 'forced sterilization' on Uygur women is completely unfounded," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying in a statement in response to Pompeo's statement.

The Chinese government protects the rights and interests of all ethnic minorities in equal measure, with preferential population policies toward minorities groups including Uygurs, she said.

According to Hua, from 2010 to 2018, the Uygur population in Xinjiang grew from 10.1715 million to 12.7184 million, an increase of 2.5469 million or 25.04 percent, higher than the region's overall growth of 13.99 percent and much higher than the 2 percent of the ethnic Han population.

"These facts and data fully expose Pompeo's lie," said Hua.

She said the Chinese government attaches high importance to protecting women's rights and faithfully implements the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. There has been a notable improvement in women's political status, education level, and health conditions. Women's rights including freedoms of expression and association are safeguarded in accordance with law.

A woman and two children visit the ancient city of Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Han)

"In direct contrast, the United States has yet to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women," said Hua, adding that women in the United States still face systemic, prevalent and institutional discrimination and threat.

According to her, in the United States, women are 21 times more likely to die by firearm homicide than women in other high-income countries; up to 70 percent of women have experienced physical and or sexual violence from an intimate partner; and nearly a quarter of undergraduate women said they have been the victim of sexual assault or misconduct since entering college.

"Has Pompeo already forgotten the 'Me Too' movement initiated by women in the U.S. three years ago? With regard to genocide, due to the US government's massive expulsion, assimilation and killing policies, the population of native Americans nosedived from five million to 250,000. That is the very definition of genocide. On racism, has Pompeo already forgotten about 'Black Lives Matter'?"

"Facts are facts," said Hua. "The international community will not be fooled by the lies of Pompeo," she said. 


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Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan this week made a $500,000 contribution to the campaign to decriminalize small amounts of illicit drugs in Oregon.

The contribution was made Thursday by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Advocacy, the political arm of the couples philanthropic organization, according to Oregon Secretary of State records. The initiative focuses on science, criminal justice reform and education, according to its website.
Niagara Colleges teaching brewery has whipped up another winner.

The brewerys Beer 101 series won silver at the 18th annual Canadian Brewing Awards, in the bock traditional German style category.

The Beer 101 Bock was brewed by students at the college's teaching brewery, and was designed by college brewmaster Jon Downing.

This is the first time one of its bocks has won at the awards, considered to be one of the most prestigious brewing competitions in the country.

Downing describes the bock beer itself as a lager brewed in the traditional German style, but with a Canadian twist.

Our version is based on a traditional Bavarian bock style. It's actually a dark bock. We do use German hops in it and Bavarian malts, and Canadian malts.

Ours has the toasted, malty-rich flavour from the German malts used in it. It has fairly good body because it is stronger, but it has a light crispness that a lager would have as well.

The beer itself was actually brewed before the pandemic hit and the college was forced to close for the semester. Downing said the timing might have contributed to the beers success.

It was actually brewed right at the start of March, so literally the week before everything shut down, he said.

So we basically left it in the fermenter, and bock beers normally would actually be brewed and aged or stored for several months, so because of COVID we actually got to do that.

Normally we would do around eight weeks, but we actually did about 12 or 14 weeks of aging on this beer which obviously helped because it allowed it to win.

This isnt the first time Niagara Colleges brewery program has experienced success at the Canadian Brewing Awards.

In 2019, the college's Beer 101 Bitter and Beer 101 Strong both won bronze in their categories, while in 2018 Beer 101 Strong won silver.

Outside of its Beer 101 series, in 2013 the colleges Butlers Bitter took home gold.

All the beers in the brewerys Beer 101 series are brewed by students in the brewmaster and brewery operations management program at the colleges teaching brewery in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Downing said students have been back in the brewery this fall developing new flavours he hopes will be on shelves in the coming months.

Obviously we had a little bit of a break there, but right now they are back at it, and coming up in a month or two we will have dozens more varieties of beer available for sale that the students have actually designed and made.

The Beer 101 Bock, along with other blends in the Beer 101 series, can be purchased online at the wine visitor education centre website.
WASHINGTON - House Democrats passed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill Thursday over intense GOP opposition, even as bipartisan talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continued.

The legislation, which passed 214-207, has no chance of advancing in the Republican-led Senate and is opposed by the White House. But it's been nearly five months since the House passed the $3.4 trillion Heroes Act -- which also went nowhere in the Senate. So with the House set to recess Friday through the election, Pelosi, D-Calif., acceded to demands from moderate Democrats who wanted to take new action to address the toll of the coronavirus before heading home to campaign for reelection.

"This is not just a money debate and a language debate. It's a values debate. It's important for people to know that what this fight is about," Pelosi said on the House floor ahead of the vote. "The people have needs, and we have to meet them."

Republicans railed against Pelosi for advancing a bill that has no chance of becoming law, accusing her of playing politics instead of trying to strike a bipartisan deal.

"I'm very disappointed that this is the bill the majority has chosen to bring to the floor. I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will come back to the negotiating table and work with us," said Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee. "It's time for our leaders to come together, rather than take a vote on this damaging, partisan bill."

But even as the highly partisan debate was underway on the House floor, behind the scenes Pelosi was, in fact, working to try to strike a bipartisan deal with Mnuchin. The two spent the day trading phone calls and offers, and although Pelosi said they remained far apart on some issues, the negotiations were continuing and appeared to be getting into some granular details, such as specific language on a coronavirus testing plan, and whether and at what level Republicans could agree to a refundable child tax credit sought by Democrats.

"We're going back and forth with our paper and conversations," Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol late Thursday. Asked the odds of reaching a deal, she replied: "I don't know, it just depends. We'll see."

Pelosi and Mnuchin renewed their bipartisan talks only this week, after negotiations collapsed in early August. Congress has passed no coronavirus relief legislation into law since four bills in the spring totaling some $3 trillion, and chances of getting a new deal before the election have been looking exceedingly low.

But the fact that Pelosi and Mnuchin are now trading offers in earnest appears to suggest there's some hope of success. Even if they do manage to clinch a deal, however, the White House would still have to sell it to Senate Republicans, who have been highly skeptical of any legislation over $1 trillion.

Mnuchin went into the talks with Pelosi with a $1.62 trillion offer, the White House confirmed Thursday - a sum the speaker still views as too low. But there are a number of areas of overlap between the legislation the House passed Thursday and Mnuchin's offer, including small business assistance and a new round of $1,200 stimulus checks. The two sides both support enhanced unemployment aid, though Pelosi's bill has $600 a week compared to Mnuchin's proposal at $400.

The two sides are also circling agreement on some $75 billion for coronavirus testing and tracing, while working on specific language on how it would work. Pelosi is still holding out for more state and local aid than Mnuchin has agreed to.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has sounded skeptical about a new deal, but in an interview on Fox News Channel late Thursday he said he would evaluate any agreement the House speaker and treasury secretary come up with.

"If they can reach an agreement I will take a look at it and see whether I can sell that to Senate Republicans," McConnell said.

The legislation the House passed Thursday is a slimmed-down version of the $3.4 trillion Heroes Act from May, including many of the same provisions, but with time frames shortened to reduce costs. In addition to money for stimulus checks, small businesses, unemployment insurance, and coronavirus testing and treatment, it also has aid for election security and the Postal Service, and assistance to airlines that are up against a deadline to furlough workers, among many other provisions.

The closed-door and secretive negotiations between Pelosi and Mnuchin stood in contrast to public finger-pointing by both sides Thursday that appeared almost to forecast defeat and preemptively assign blame.

At the White House, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed that the administration had offered Pelosi an approximately $1.6 trillion package - much higher than many congressional Republicans would be able to support - but said Pelosi was "not interested."

"Nancy Pelosi is not being serious. If she becomes serious then we can have a discussion," McEnany said.

For her part, Pelosi criticized the GOP's proposals as too stingy, contending that the administration is focused on protecting tax breaks for the wealthy instead of help for families and children in need.

"This isn't half a loaf, this is the heel of the loaf," Pelosi said on Bloomberg TV of the White House proposal.

Even as Pelosi was criticizing the White House plan for not going far enough, some Republicans were suggesting it went too far.

Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, expressed concern on Fox Business about numerous provisions under consideration, including the amount of unemployment aid and aid for state and local governments. Brady said some help is necessary for the airline and restaurant industry but it is not clear at what cost.

"The worry is: 'How much wasteful spending will we have to swallow to do this?'" Brady said. "I do think we need some targeted help. The question is: 'Is the $500 or $700 billion that's really needed - is the other $1 trillion on top of it so wasteful that we can't do that?' We don't know that yet."

In the opinion of some Republicans the unprecedented $3 trillion stimulus Congress agreed to in March and April was more than enough and there's no need to do more.

But Mnuchin, along with other leading policymakers including Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, have consistently argued that more stimulus is needed amid signs that the recovery is slowing. Much of the stimulus approved in the spring has expired, unemployment remains high and layoffs are on the rise.

The number of people claiming unemployment rose slightly, to 26.5 million, and Americans' income dropped in August along with the expiration of emergency federal aid programs. Disney announced 28,000 layoffs earlier this week, and major airline companies have indicated tens of thousands of layoffs are possible in coming days without additional federal help. American Airlines has announced it will move forward with furloughing 19,000 workers, citing inaction in Congress.
Williamstown DIRE Committee Hears Concerns About Police at Schools

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee this week heard from several residents who echoed the concerns raised by committee members about the presence of police officers in the town's public schools.

"I wanted to underscore one of the points Meg [Bossong] made about the perception of safety versus how policing can make us feel not only unsafe but how we are acclimating our children to a world where not even their schools are free of policing," Peggy Kern said. "Not even their buses are free of surveillance. I think that's a really important thing to think about.

"The moment my daughter steps on a bus, there is a camera present. And when she walks into school, there is an armed agent of the state, which is what police officers are, posted outside of her school. When I think about policing  I start from the reality of what police officers are, which are armed law enforcement agents. So when I think about what we're using them for, I always ask myself, do we need an armed agent of the state for this.

"It's hard for me to imagine scenarios where we need armed agents of the state in our schools."

Kern was quick to note the horrors of school shootings but said society is better served by building connected communities and better mental health systems than "having armed officers posted in case that harm occurs."

She also pointed to recent allegations of racism and sexual misconduct connected to the Williamstown Police Department and said the local police force has "smashed its social contract with this community."

Specifically, she cited an allegation in a recently filed discrimination lawsuit against the town, town manager and police chief that an unnamed officer on the force admitted to State Police that he exposed himself to a local female resident against her wishes.

"For me, as a parent, do I feel safe wondering if the officer responding to an incident in my daughter's school will be the one exposed himself to a resident?" Kern said. "It's unacceptable. We're now in a position of having to balance the perception of the safety provided by an officer with the reality of their behavior."

Bossong, who was the first to address the DIRE Committee at its weekly Monday evening meeting, was a Williamstown resident until 2017 and still works in the town while raising her family in Pittsfield.

She asked the committee to investigate the role of police in schools and asked the town to rethink whether the use of police officers on school campuses is appropriate. In particular, she questioned the use of WPD officers to maintain traffic safety in the Williamstown Elementary School parking lot, a move prompted some years ago by parents' complaints about drivers' behavior during pickup and dropoff periods.

"You don't need to have sworn law enforcement officers doing that," Bossong said. "I am one of the people who, several years ago, complained to the schools and the town about the presence of law enforcement at Williamstown Elementary School, where I was dropping off my son, who is Black, and having to go by an armed canine officer every single day on the way into school.

"It's not appropriate. It's traumatizing in a historical and generational sense for students of color. And it's not a function that's necessary to be done."

Bossong, who was among those who spoke for reducing the Pittsfield police budget earlier this year, also talked about the role of a "school resource officer" in the school.

"Another function that school resource officers are often encouraged to serve is in a mentorship function or a guidance function or a youth development function," she said. "If there are people whose day job is as law enforcement officers who want to work in youth development and youth mentorship, there are many, many opportunities for people to work in that function or volunteer in that function.

"But the function of sworn law enforcement is not youth development. It's not youth mentorship. It's not possible for law enforcement to serve that function because they are neither trained nor equipped to work in that way."

The memorandum of understanding between the Mount Greylock Regional School District and the Lanesborough and Williamstown police departments calls not for a "school resource officer" but a liaison between the local departments and the school district. The MOU spells out qualifications for such a liaison, including that he or she have a, "[d]emonstrated commitment to de-escalation, diversion, and/or restorative justice and an understanding of crime prevention, problem-solving and community policing in a school setting."

At a June town community conversation about race sponsored by the school district, middle-high school Principal Jacob Schutz emphasized that the schools have liaisons instead of school resource officers and characterized the liaison's occasional presence in school as "informal" so that if officers are needed to deal with an emergency their presence won't be as jarring.

Bossong on Monday dismissed the distinction between liaisons and school resource officers as merely a matter of semantics.

"It's still a sworn officer in the school building," she said.

And, in fact, a review of the MOU between the Mount Greylock district and the WPD shows little, other than nomenclature, that distinguishes the liaison from this definition posted by the National Association of School Resource Officers: "a career law enforcement officer with sworn authority who is deployed by an employing police department or agency in a community-oriented policing assignment to work in collaboration with one or more schools."

At the outset of Monday's conversation about policing in schools, DIRE Committee member Andrew Art suggested that the committee start the discussion by hearing from school administrators and principals in the audience of the virtual meeting to get some background about the role of police at the schools.

"I don't think that's quite necessary," Aruna D'Souza said. "For me, the context of the conversation is that this [issue] has been raised by a number of community members as something they would like the DIRE Committee to address.

"When this was raised, I think by Jeffrey [Johnson] and others as an important conversation to have, we put it on the agenda, and I informally sent out invitations to people around the community that I thought would be interested in participating in or commenting on or listening to the conversation. [The administrators] weren't invited to the meeting and therefore might not be prepared to be panelists. I basically invited people as: You might be interested in this conversation."

Kerri Nicoll said that if the committee wants a formal discussion with school officials, it should formally invite them to the table.

"What I had imagined  was to get a sense from community members of what people's concerns and thoughts were on this topic," Nicoll said. "Perhaps our next step would be to contact school officials and have a more formal discussion with them about the history of this and how to move forward.  I think, as Aruna said, if we did not formally ask members of school administrations to be here to speak, we should not expect them to. I think most of them are here to listen to what community members have to say."

What they heard, for the most part, were concerns that armed police officers on school grounds are unnecessary and intimidating -- especially for students of color but not only for that group.

One resident, Ralph Hamman, stuck up for the practice of having police at WES, especially doing traffic enforcement. He said he had seen officers move cars out of handicapped spaces and "stop drivers from going the wrong way" in the lot.

Hamman also volunteered that he is the father of a "minority child," and their family is comfortable with the police presence at the elementary school. He characterized the police officers he has encountered at the school as "very friendly" and "a good role model."

D'Souza pushed back on the idea that families of all children would agree with that assessment.

"If I am not teaching [my daughter] to understand safety according to what is a data-verified real threat and understanding that her threat level versus someone else's threat level is different, I'm not giving her the right information," D'Souza said. "To tell a young Black child, say, that police are good guys is actually to give them false information given who they are and what the statistics say.

"That's why a lot of Black parents teach their kids to act in different ways near the police than a white parent may. I do think it's really important that we understand that those fears and perceptions are not coming from nowhere. They're coming from the actual experience of the world."

In other business on Monday, the committee addressed some tweaks to its statement of principles but agreed that the principles themselves are not written in stone and may evolve as the committee continues its work. It also decided to send a resolution to the Select Board that the elected body take those principles under advisement in approaching its own work.
Noidas garment industry, which presently caters to 70% of the designer attire requirement of the film industry in Mumbai valued over Rs 300 crore every year, has high hopes from the proposed infotainment city in Gautam Budh Nagar district.

The industry employs 800,000 workers from different parts of the country. The pandemic had hit the industry hard, as many workers left for their homes in other districts and other states. It also suffered a loss of 2,000 crore due to slackening demand. However, there has been some pick up in sales since the easing of restrictions and the new project, along with the apparel hub coming up in sector-29, the industry is looking forward to a favourable season.

Lalit Thukral, the president of Noida apparel export cluster (NAEC), said that they export garment worth over 25,000 crore every year.

We cater to everyone in Bollywood -- from the small to the big stars. It is a matter of pride for us that the garment products of Noida fulfil about 70% demand of apparel from film industry in Mumbai, he said.

He said the proposed infotainment city in the Yamuna expressway industrial development authority (Yeida) area, is expected to increase demand vy over 1,000 crore. We also suggested to the Noida authority to develop a fashion hub in sector 32. It can also be converted later into fashion street, which can promote GB Nagars one district, one product (ODOP), he said.

Exporter Manoj Sahoo said that the proposed infotainment city will create a huge employment and investment opportunities for the garment industry. Over 500,000-strong work force will be needed for the mega apparel Park, which is coming up soon at Sector-29 near Yamuna Expressway. It will also attract investment of over 5,000 crore. The Yeida has already initiated the process of land allotment to investors to set up nearly 150 apparel units there, he said.

When contacted, Yeida CEO Arun Veer Singh, also said that upcoming mega apparel park and the infotainment city near Yamuna expressway, will create bigger employment opportunities for garment industry in GB Nagar. It will also expect to attract many foreign investors in this sector. These projects will take the district on the global map, he said.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett tested positive for the coronavirus 'over the summer,' The Washington Post reported Friday, on the heels of President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Sen. Mike Lee all testing positive for COVID-19.

Barrett was at the White House with the Trumps and Lee on Saturday, when Trump officially nominated her for the Supreme Court. She met with Lee on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Barrett would have been tested at the White House before meeting with the president. The White House also confirmed she tested negative Friday after the Trumps' diagnosis was made public.

Barrett went to Capitol Hill three times this week and met with approximately 30 senators, The Washington Post said.

Republicans on Capitol Hill vowed to press forward with her nomination.

Republican senators, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (right), have vowed to press on with Judge Amy Coney Barrett's (left) nomination for the Supreme Court, despite Barrett being in close contact with President Donald Trump on Saturday

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted Friday morning that he had spoken on the phone with President Donald Trump who had asked about Amy Coney Barrett's nomination. 'Full steam ahead,' McConnell reported to Trump

Both Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that meetings would proceed.

'Just finished a great phone call with President Trump. Hes in good spirits and we talked business - especially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett,' McConnell tweeted.

'Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve,' McConnell said.

Graham also said he had spoken with the president Friday morning and was asked by Trump about the Barrett confirmation.

'Were on track, were in a good spot, shes going to get confirmed and well start on Oct the 12th,' Graham said he told the president.

Even Lee, after testing positive, vowed to return to his work on the Judiciary Committee in order to get Barrett's nomination over the line.

Part of the traditional nominating process for a Supreme Court justice is in-person meetings with U.S. senators.

Most are at risk for COVID-19 because of their advanced ages.

White House spokesman Judd Deere told Axios Friday that Barrett, 'is following CDC guidance and best practices, including social distancing, wearing face coverings, and frequently washes hands.'

Barrett's confirmation hearings will have a virtual option for any senator who feels high-risk.
Legislation that would protect young victims of sexual assault from having to encounter their attacker if they are enrolled in the same K-12 school has won the unanimous approval of the House Education Committee.

Senate Bill 530 now is in a position to go to the full House for a vote.

Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster County, said the bill was prompted by an incident that occurred in his senatorial district where a female student was raped by a classmate at a community event. The male student was adjudicated delinquent of sexual assault and then returned to the same school where the victim attended.

Understandably, this was incredibly difficult for this young woman, Martin told the committee. What we discovered was that the only option available for her was for her to leave the school, upending her life, her social circles that she was in in order to not be under the pressure of being in the same building, walking the same hallways as the person who raped her.

His bill, which passed the Senate last month by 50-0 vote, would require schools to remove any student convicted or adjudicated delinquent of sexual assault against another student enrolled at the same school.

The school district would be required to expel, transfer or reassign the offender to another school or educational program and the offender would not be allowed to be transported on the same bus or participate in school-sponsored activities as the victim.

If another school or online option isnt available, an alternative placement would be required for the student. That would be a cost, estimated by the Senate Appropriations Committee to be $12,400 annually at the secondary level, that the school would bear.

Martin said it has widespread support from the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and states Victim Advocate Jennifer Storm to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:00:20|Editor: huaxia

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YEREVAN, Oct.2 (Xinhua) -- Armenia on Friday welcomed the joint statement of the leaders of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, saying it remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We welcome the fact that the Minsk Group Co-Chairs at the level of their leaders reacted to the use of force in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone by way of strong condemnation," said Armenian Foreign Ministry in a statement.

Armenia is ready to "engage with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries to re-establish a ceasefire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements," said the statement.

Deadly clashes along the contact line of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan entered its 6th day on Friday, with the two sides declaring thousands of soldiers killed and wounded during clashes while some media reported that dozens have been killed and hundreds wounded.

Leaders of Russia, the United States and France on Thursday called for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the two countries.

A new round of clashes broke out on Sunday morning in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire was reached, but there have been occasional minor clashes along the borders. Enditem
Rating: 3.0 /5 Star Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Aishwarya Rajesh, Bhavani Sre, Arunraja Kamaraj, Munishkanth Director: P Virumandi

Ka Pae Ranasingam, the highly anticipated social drama Vijay Sethupathi and Aishwarya Rajesh in the lead roles, has finally released. The movie has thus emerged as the first Tamil feature film to release on Zee Plex, the pay-per-view initiative of the Zee group. Ka Pae Ranasingam is directed by P Virumandi and produced by the banner KJR Studios.

Did the Vijay Sethupathi-Aiswarya Rajesh-starrer meet the expectations? Read Ka Pae Ranasingam movie review here, to know...

Plot

Ariyanchi (Aishwarya Rajesh) is married to Ranasigam (Vijay Sethupathi), who works in Dubai, and the couple has a little daughter. On the day of their daughter's ear piercing ceremony, the death news of Ranasingam reaches the family. To bring back his mortal remains to their native, Ariyanchi needs to prove that she is his legally wedded wife.

But she has no legal documents to prove their marriage, despite getting married in the presence of their families. Ariyanchi begins her mission to bring her husband's mortal remains and learns the actual reason behind Ranasingam's death. How she succeeds in her fight with the government, forms the crux of the story.

Script & Direction

P Virumandi, the director has succeeded in presenting a deeply moving social drama that touches some of the most important issues faced by the common man. The battle of the central character Ariyanchi is narrated with complete sincerity, which makes the audiences instantly root for her.

But the excessive screen time and overdose of melodrama make Ka Pae Ranasingam a tiring watch, after a first few minutes into the story. The narrative tries to overemphasize the goodness of Vijay Sethupathi's character with repetitive scenes, and that is one of the biggest flaws of the movie. Even though it has a highly promising theme and stellar star cast, what lets down Ka Pae Ranasingam is the over-stretched narrative. It prevents the movie from becoming a fulfilling experience.

Performances

Vijay Sethupathi has played the titular character Ranasingam perfectly, even though he has less screen time. The character is a total cakewalk for the actor, who has appeared in similar roles in the past.

Aishwarya Rajesh delivers one of the finest performances of her career in the role of Ariyanchi. The actress has done a brilliant job in portraying the various shades of her character, with absolute conviction. The rest of the star cast, including newcomer Bhavani Sre, Arunraja Kamaraj, Munishkanth, and so on, have played their parts to near perfection.

Technical Aspects

NK Ekhambaram, the director of photography has done an amazing job with the visuals of the movie. Lalgudi N Ilayaraja, the art director deserves applause for the amazing set design. T Shivanandeesan's editing is not up to the mark, as repetitive scenes and duration are the biggest flaws of the movie. Ghibran, the music director has made a mark with the haunting background score. But the songs, on the other hand, are forgettable.

Pros

Strong theme

Performances by the star cast

Background score

Cons

Over-stretched narrative

Repetitive scenes

Verdict

Ka Pae Ranasingam is a deeply moving social drama, which discusses some important social issues. However, this Vijay Sethupathi and Aishwarya Rajesh-starrer is over-stretched, which makes it a tiring watch.

Also Read:

Ka Pae Ranasingam Full Movie Leaked On Tamilrockers For Free Download In HD Quality

D43: Is The Dhanush-Karthick Naren Project Delayed?
Field workers use a heating process to remove dioxin from contaminated soil at Da Nang Airport in central Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Vietnam's Ministry of National Defense.

Vietnam's Ministry of National Defense launched a dioxin cleanup project Friday to treat 35,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil at A So Airport in Thua Thien-Hue Province.

The project, expected to cost VND70 billion ($3 million), is scheduled to take around two years to complete.

In 350,000 cubic meters of soil that needs treatment, around 6,600 cubic meters contain dioxin levels of over 200 parts per trillion, considered "very serious," Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) Newspaper reported.

During the Vietnam War, the American military used A So Valley in A Luoi District as a field airport. This was also a place to store toxic chemicals and a transit station for the U.S. Air Force to spray Agent Orange containing the dangerous chemical contaminant dioxin across the region.

Thua Thien-Hue was one of the most heavily affected places by dioxin in Vietnam. The central province is home to nearly 16,000 people exposed to Agent Orange.

Vietnam still has 28 dioxin hotspots, including airports formerly used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.

The government hopes to complete the task of decontaminating the countrys soil by 2030.

Work on dioxin cleanup at Bien Hoa Airport, the largest dioxin hotspot in Vietnam, started last year and the cleanup is expected to take at least 10 years. In 2017, the U.S. and Vietnam successfully tackled contamination at Da Nang Airport, removing it from the official list of dioxin contaminated spots in Vietnam.

Between 1961 and 1971, the U.S. army sprayed some 80 million liters of Agent Orange over 78,000 square kilometers (30,000 square miles) of southern part of Vietnam.

Dioxin, a highly toxic chemical contained in the defoliant, stays in the soil and at the bottom of lakes and rivers for generations. It can enter the food chain through meat, fish and other animals, and has been found at alarmingly high levels in human breast milk.

Between 2.1 to 4.8 million Vietnamese were directly exposed to Agent Orange and other chemicals before the war ended in April 1975. These chemicals have been linked to cancers, birth defects and other chronic diseases.

The United States Agency for International Development last year pledged $50 million to support Agent Orange victims in seven Vietnamese provinces, including Thua Thien-Hue.
The Japanese Health Ministrys advisory body on Friday approved a policy to provide all members of the public in Japan with a free dose of vaccine against COVID-19 to avoid the spread of the virus.

Amid ongoing uncertainty as to how many doses of a vaccine may need to be administered for it to be effective, the policy refers to, at this stage, the initial dose for the Japanese public.

According to an official from the ministry and as reported by local media, it has yet to be officially decided whether foreign residents in Japan will be covered by the policy, even when a vast majority of foreign residents in gainful employment are paying for National Health Insurance in the same way as the Japanese.

The ministry official added, however, that from his personal viewpoint, foreigners should be eligible for the vaccine in the interests of public health.

The government said that by the first half of 2021 it hopes to have secured enough vaccines from a budget of 671.4 billion yen (6.4 billion dollars) to secure and administer enough vaccines to all members of the public.

It has agreed with British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc. to receive 120 million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed with the University of Oxford.

Similarly, Japan has agreed with Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE to receive 120 million doses of their potential vaccine, providing its development proves successful.

Japan is also negotiating with U.S. firm Moderna Inc. for at least 40 million doses of its vaccine candidate.
2 1 of 2 Matt Sayles, STR / Associated Press Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Chelsea Purgahn, MBI / Associated Press Show More Show Less



Borat is coming to Texas  or, more like coming for Texas.

A sequel to the 2006 satire about a fictional Kazakh journalist who travels to the U.S., played by British comedian Sasha Baron Cohen, will be released later this month, and it will feature Sid Miller, the states swashbuckling Republican agriculture commissioner.
Indias tally of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) surged to 6,394,068 after 81,484 fresh infections and 1,095 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministrys data showed on Friday.

The number of active cases of the coronavirus disease stands at 942,217 as India sustained its trend of maintaining active cases below the 1 million mark for the 11th successive day. The death toll has gone up to 99,773, the health ministrys dashboard showed at 8am.

India posted 78,877 recoveries between Thursday and Friday morning from across the country. The countrys recoveries stand at 5,352,078 on Friday, taking the national recovery rate to 83.70%.

Also read | With fewer admissions, 61% of Covid-19 beds in Delhi vacant

The rise in total recovered cases has been steep. The last 10 lakh recoveries were added in just 12 days. 77% of the total recovered cases are recorded in 10 States/UTs, the health ministry said in a release on Thursday.

Maharashtra has contributed the highest number to the total recovered cases followed by Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, it had said.

Also read | Covid-19: What you need to know today

The ministry had said on Thursday that 76% of the active cases are in 10 states and Union territories. As on date, the active cases contribute only 14.90% to the positive caseload of the country, it has said.

Also read | MP saw more Covid cases in September than first 5 months of outbreak combined

According to the ministry on Thursday, 76% of the new cases are concentrated in 10 states. Maharashtra contributed more than 18,000 to the new cases. Karnataka and Kerala, both contributed more than 8,000, it said. It also said that 82% of new deaths are reported from 10 states and Union territories. On Thursday, 40% of deaths reported were from Maharashtra with 481 deaths followed by Karnataka with 87 deaths.

India remains the second worst-hit country in the world after the United States as more than 34 million people have been infected by Sars-Cov-2, which causes the coronvirus disease, and 1,021,765 have been killed so far, according to Johns Hopkins Universitys tracker.
Kim Yo-jong, the dictator's younger sister, has not been seen since July 27

Security analysts speculated that her rising stardom had irritated Kim Jong Un

Kim has previously had political rivals within his own family executed

But Kim Yo re-emerged on Friday during Kim Jong's visit to flood-hit areas

Kim Jong Un's sister has returned to public life after two months in the shadows which prompted speculation the dictator was irritated by her rising stardom.

Kim and his younger sibling Kim Yo-jong inspected recovery efforts at a flooded village in Kimhwa County in North Korea's southeast on Friday. He said of the storms and other natural disasters, 'This year has been one of unprecedented hardships.'

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Kim Yo - dubbed the leader's 'number two' - is the only close relative playing a public role in politics and has risen to prominence for punchy statements against South Korea.

South Korean intelligence had been scrambling to track down Kim Yo after she disappeared - Kim has previously executed members of his family - but her re-emergence suggests that she still holds favour with the despot.

Kim Yo-jong stands several feet behind and to the left of Kim Jong Un as he speaks with beaming advisers at a construction site in Kimhwa County, following floods in the region

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, attending a wreath laying ceremony at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum during a visit to Hanoi for Kim's meeting with US President Donald Trump in March 2019

Kim Yo-jong, second from the back, walks in a line led by her older brother through a field in Kimwha County, southeast North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects sites of reconstruction in Kimhwa County. Earlier, state media had called the cookie-cutter houses a model of the 'socialist fairyland', advertising the regime's recovery efforts after thousands of homes were destroyed by floods.

The dictator's sister was last seen in public on July 27 at an event to mark 67 years since the armistice that ended the Korean War - although no full peace treaty has ever been signed.

She was touted as a possible successor earlier this year when the supreme leader mysteriously vanished from public view for several weeks, sparking speculation that he was dead.

He finally resurfaced in May - but experts say there are other signs that Kim Yo-jong's influence has been growing.

Believed to be in her 30s, she came to wider attention in the West during the flurry of international diplomacy in 2018 and 2019 by appearing at a series of international events.

These included the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea and the failed 2019 summit with Donald Trump in Vietnam.

But this year, Kim has taken on a more public policy role, cementing her status as an influential political player in her own right.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the building site on Friday. He said of the storms and other natural disasters, 'This year has been one of unprecedentedly hardships.'

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects sites of reconstruction in Kimhwa County, in this image released by North Korea's Central News Agency

Kim Jong Un is accompanied by close aides as he inspects the construction site in southeast North Korea

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'Prior to this, Kim Yo Jong was portrayed in state media as Kim Jong Un's sister, his protocol officer, or one of his accompanying officials,' said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a former North Korea analyst for the US government, earlier this year.

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'Now, North Koreans know for sure there is more to her than that.'

In March, state media carried the first ever statement by Kim, in which she criticised South Korean authorities.

There have since been several more, including a response to Trump and a warning that the North would cut communications with South Korea.

'In addition to the harsh words and sarcasm, they can be bitingly witty in ways that the other statements are not,' Lee said.

'She seems to have more leeway in crafting her statements, which of course is not surprising,' Lee said.

In a closed-door briefing to South Korean lawmakers in August, Seoul's spy agency said Kim Jong Un had recently delegated some of his powers to a select group of senior officials including his sister.

Kim Yo-jong, pictured right with her brother Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, has come to be seen as the dictator's 'number two' and a policymaker in her own right

Kim Yo-jong has represented her brother at several international events, including a meeting with South Korea's top national security adviser in the DMZ last year (pictured)

Officials from the National Intelligence Service said Kim's rule was still absolute but that he was seeking to relieve the stress of managing state affairs, lawmaker Ha Tae-keung said.

Summer storms and floods have hit North Korea hard, destroying thousands of homes and raising concerns of a worsening of the country's chronic food shortages.

While praising the recovery, Kim said he 'felt regretful' that new houses in the area were of a 'monotonous' design.

Earlier, state media had called the cookie-cutter houses a model of the 'socialist fairyland', advertising the regime's recovery efforts after thousands of homes were destroyed by floods.

Kim's comments were the latest official criticism in the tightly controlled country, where socialist glorification in the norm.

In recent weeks state media said Pyongyang had discovered 'faults' in its efforts to battle COVID-19, and Kim offered a rare apology for North Korea's killing a South Korean official in waters off the west coast of the peninsula.

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On Friday, the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun featured Kim's tour, showing lines of houses with red roofs and beige and white walls.

Kim said that although speed was important, he wished 'artistic harmony with the surrounding environment and diversity had been appropriately combined', KCNA said.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump has floated the unconstitutional idea of delaying the Nov. 3 election. His administration violated a judges order on the 2020 census and could be held in contempt. Another court ruled that he illegally sidestepped Congress to find billions for his border wall.

In ways large and small, in multiple corners of the government, the president has demonstrated a willingness to push the boundaries of federal law, if not outright flout them. And in the heat of a presidential campaign, that track record only adds to anxiety about whether Trump will abide by the results of the election.

When the president talks about being the law-and-order candidate, its clear that when he says the word law he means the laws he personally cares about enforcing, said Liz Hempowicz, public policy director at the private Project On Government Oversight. Thats not how a law-and-order system works. You cant pick and choose. Its just a complete breakdown of our democratic systems happening in front of our eyes.

Trump has already suggested the election will be rigged, and he has pointedly declined to promise a peaceful transfer of power if he loses. He jokes about staying in office beyond two terms, prompting supporters in Atlanta last week to chant 12 more years!

But its no joke to critics who see a callous attitude toward the laws he claims to uphold. They point to a series of instances in which Trump or officials in his administration have violated the spirit of the law, ignored it or made end runs around statutes to implement his policies.

We are used to presidents bowing to a court determination, bowing to a finding by an inspector general  but if the president refuses to do that, what is the mechanism to hold him and his administration accountable? asked Trevor Potter, president of the private Campaign Legal Center.

Trumps defenders say such concerns are overblown.

David Rivkin Jr., a constitutional lawyer who served in the White House counsels office and the Justice Department in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, sees no cause for alarm when it comes to Trump abiding by the election results.

There is every reason to believe that he would use only lawful means to contest the electoral outcome, if a situation arises where the outcome is contestable, he said by email.

Trump has already telegraphed that hes expecting the election to be determined in the courts. He quickly nominated Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a move that many Republicans hope will help deliver a quick and decisive end to potential election litigation.

But Trump has also raised a multitude of doubts and objections about whether the election will be fair, and tossed out his own suggestions that could well contribute to confusion.

He urged people in North Carolina to vote twice, which is a felony. The president said later he was only suggesting that voters check to make sure their mail-in votes had been counted by trying to vote again in-person. But some states do not even tally mail-in ballots until the polls close on Election Day.

Trump also recently suggested that his supporters go to polling places in Philadelphia, which has a heavily minority population, but if they interfere with voting, that could violate state law. If supporters tried to intimidate or keep a person from voting, they could be found in violation of the Civil Rights Act or the Ku Klux Klan Act, Potter said.

In a move that dovetails with the Trump administrations claim that irregular voting will skew the election, a U.S. attorney in Pennsylvania last week sent out a press release about an investigation into nine ballots  some for Trump  that were found in a trash can. That raised eyebrows because Justice Department officials typically do not reveal details about ongoing criminal investigations, especially ones linked to the election or a particular political party.

Beyond election law, government watchdog groups have been tracking a raft of other examples where they allege that Trump is flouting laws.

Theres ongoing drama over the Commerce Departments violation of a federal judges order when it chose Oct. 5, 2020, as the date to end the census, even after U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh had issued an injunction allowing the nations head count to continue through October.

But Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross decided to end the count early anyway. The judge late Thursday said in a new order that the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau had violated her earlier injunction in several ways and she threatened them with sanctions and contempt proceedings if they did it again.

Defendants dissemination of erroneous information; lurching from one hasty, unexplained plan to the next; and unlawful sacrifices of completeness and accuracy of the 2020 Census are upending the status quo, violating the Injunction Order, and undermining the credibility of the Census Bureau and the 2020 Census, the judge wrote. This must stop.

Trump administration lawyers have said the suggestion that the federal government should be held in contempt was unfair.

Multiple legal skirmishes have unfolded over people Trump has ousted from government and those hes brought on under questionable circumstances.

Last spring, Trump used his authority to force out five inspectors general from various federal agencies who were tasked with sniffing out government mismanagement, waste and fraud. The president has the authority to fire inspector generals for failure to perform their duties, but he does not have broad authority to fire someone for the wrong reason.

The removals were described as retaliation for doing things that displeased Trump. For example, the intelligence community inspector general who was fired had given Congress the whistleblower complaint that led to Trumps impeachment. It claimed the president had asked Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Democrat Joe Biden, and Bidens son, Hunter, in exchange for military assistance.

Two top officials at the Department of Homeland Security, a sprawling agency with 230,000 people, were found to have been wrongly appointed to their positions and ineligible to serve, according to the Government Accountability Office, the independent investigative arm of Congress. One has since been nominated to fill the post of secretary permanently.

On Thursday, a judge ruled that a national commission on law enforcement, created earlier this year by Trump and Attorney General William Barr, violated federal law because its members lacked diversity and did not provide public access to meetings.

The Office of Special Counsel has cited the presidents top advisers multiple times for violating the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activity by federal employees. Special counsel Henry Kerner, a Trump appointee, recommended that Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway be fired after repeated violations, but the White House ignored that.

Concern also persists that the president is improperly benefiting personally when foreign governments spend money, rent rooms and schedule events at Trumps hotel in Washington.

If he is taking money from foreign governments without congressional consent, he is violating the Constitution, said Potter, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

___

Associated Press writer Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida contributed to this report.
At least 7,000 migrants have managed to cross to the UK in small boats this year.

Wednesday marked the 100th separate day when people have arrived in small boats in 2020, according to analysis by the PA news agency.

Migrants crammed into unsafe dinghies have reached the UK from France on more than one in every three days, data shows.

Immigration officials say screening centres are sometimes being "overwhelmed" by the high numbers while staff remain conscious of the threat of Covid-19.

Meanwhile, charities continue to call on the Home Office to provide safe and legal routes for asylum seekers to put an end to the perilous Channel crossings.

In 2019, Home Secretary Priti Patel vowed to make such journeys an "infrequent phenomenon", but UK law enforcement now believe the issue will be here for a while.

A handful of people were seen arriving in Dover on Wednesday as migrants attempt the crossing before the weather worsens in autumn and winter.

Wednesday marked the 100th separate day of 2020 where migrants have successfully crossed the Dover Strait to the UK in small boats, PA analysis shows.

This means that people are successfully making the dangerous crossing more than once every three days.

The number of migrants arriving each day is heavily weather-dependent, with fewer than 10 arrivals on some days and hundreds making it to Dover on others.

In September alone, nearly 2,000 migrants reached the UK, more than the figure for the entirety of 2019.

Immigration staff say the "sheer volume" of migrant crossings in 2020 is "unprecedented" and has presented significant challenges.

Lucy Moreton, of the Union for Borders, Immigration and Customs (ISU), said: "On occasion this has overwhelmed screening centres, meaning that migrants must be transported longer and longer distances to be identified.

"Social services have also been hard pressed, meaning migrants must remain with us for longer periods before being collected and re-housed."

She raised concerns about the welfare of staff and the resources they are being given and called for more investment.

Ms Moreton said: "The ever-present threat of the virus worries everyone of course, but there is no PPE possible if you have someone in your arms trying to lift them from an unseaworthy vessel.

"Migrants often arrive soaked to the skin and contaminated with human waste, having sat in bilge water with vomit, urine, etc. Just seeing folk in such condition has an emotional toll as well.

"There have been reports of staff working 15-17 hours, largely because of the need to transport migrants to suitable identification or holding areas.

"You can't 'clock off' when you have the welfare of others to consider, and concerns have been raised about the safety of staff, especially drivers, on such extended hours."

Charities continue to call on the Home Office to provide safe and legal routes for migrants so they do not try the Channel route.

Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, said: "Since the Home Secretary naively pledged to make this dangerous route 'unviable', her department has presided over an unprecedented rise in people risking it all to make it to safety in the UK.

"The Government's closure of all safe and legal routes for refugees to reach the UK is driving this shift, and it will continue, regardless of the changing seasons, until safe and legal routes are created once more.

"Government's staggering incompetence in managing this situation safely is matched only by its casual disregard for human life."
Police are continuing to filter through more than 28,000 digital files after a computer repair shop discovered child pornography on a customers computer.

Roderick Cowan, 52, pleaded guilty in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Friday to a charge of possession of child pornography.

Crown attorney Michal Sokolski told the judge Niagara Regional Police have so far identified 77 images and more than two hours of videos that meet the legal definition of child pornography.

The images featured children as young as six months old, court heard, and several depict a sexual act between a child and a large breed dog.

I dont know that it makes a lot of sense to read into the record a description of the images, the Crown told the judge.

While the preliminary facts were read in to court Friday, Judge Lynn Robinson said the details may be augmented at future court proceedings as detectives continue to sift through thousands of files.

There are over 528 hours of videos still to be looked at and categorized and 28,000 files remain to be looked at, the Crown said.

The defendant, who has several previous convictions for child pornography offences dating back to 2003 and 2006, is scheduled to undergo an assessment and will return to court at a later date.

Court was told employees at a computer repair shop in St. Catharines contacted police in May after they discovered child pornography images on a laptop that had been brought in to be repaired.

Cowan, a resident of St. Catharines, returned to the store in June and was arrested by police.
The two correspondents of Le Monde, who were wounded in the enemy bombing in Martuni were recently transferred to Erebouni Medical Center in Yerevan. Shushan Hunanyan, the spokesperson of this hospital, told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

"They are in normal condition," she added.

As reported earlier, two Le Monde reporterswho are French citizenswere wounded in the Azerbaijani bombing of Martuni town of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Thursday. The condition of one of them was assessed as severe, and he was operated on.

Armenias 24news.am journalist Sevak Vardumyan was also wounded in the aforesaid Azerbaijani bombing.

The film crew of Armenia TV was also attacked while covering the hostilities, and cameraman Aram Grigoryan was wounded, but his injury is minor.
Canberra, Oct 2 : New Zealanders will be allowed to enter Australia in the first opening of international borders by the two countries since travel restrictions were imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack announced here on Friday.

"The establishment of a travel zone between Australia and New Zealand has been finalised," the BBC reported citing the Australian Deputy Prime Minister as saying to the media.

"This is the first stage in what we hope to see as a trans-Tasman bubble between the two countries, stopping not just at that state and that territory," he added.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, at first travel will be limited to New Zealanders.

McCormack further said that a decision on when Australians may be able to visit New Zealand would be up to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Friday's announcement came after Ardern had said on September 28 that an air bubble between her country and some Australian states was possible by the end of this year.

She had confirmed that work was underway for weeks on the prospect of forming a bubble, and the ability to move between parts of both countries that were not affected by the coronavirus pandemic, The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported.

Plans for a travel bubble between the two countries have been in discussion for months, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said in a news report.

However, the talks were disrupted after a resurgence new cases in Melbourne and also a second wave of the virus in Auckland.

New Zealand has recorded 1,848 cases and 25 deaths, while Australia has registered 27,096 infections and 888 fatalities.
Scottish farmers are being encouraged to participate in what is expected to be the most comprehensive survey of beaver numbers and their range.

Work on the NatureScot survey commenced on Thursday (1 October) to gather information on the locations of active beaver territories.

The survey is also assessing the health and spread of the overall population in Scotland.

NFU Scotland said it was 'important' that farmers and landowners were fully engaged in the survey.

Concerns have been highlighted that any species reintroduction in the wild may have an impact on local farming practices.

Survey work in 2017 shows that beaver numbers have grown, spreading out from the unauthorised release site on Tayside.

The latest survey, the first since the species received protected status, will cover Tayside and the surrounding river catchments, including the Forth, and river systems in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

NatureScot will be working with experienced beaver surveyors from University of Exeter to search for signs of beavers on foot and by canoe across the area.

For farmers and landowners with land adjacent to rivers or other waterbodies in and around the survey area, contractors may pass across property during the survey.

Farmers and landowners are also encouraged to report the presence of beavers on their land.

They can record sightings of beavers or evidence of beaver activity using the Mammal Societys Mammal Mapper app, available for both iPhone and Android, or online.

NFU Scotland vice president Martin Kennedy said farmers who were aware of, or suspect, beaver activity on their property should participate in the survey.

We know that beaver numbers and their range are expanding but we must establish an accurate record on both to support the work of the management framework that has been established for beavers in Scotland.

Some obvious signs of beaver activity that members can look out for include dammed watercourses, gnawed trees, piles of sticks and mud on the edge of a watercourse, general water edge disturbance and river bank erosion."
Zelensky's Office calls on the Mejlis to promote the creation of an international platform for discussing the issue of Crimea de-occupation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky puts a great focus on problems of the Crimean Tatar society, takes "pro-active personal steps" to protect rights of Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied Crimea and to free Crimean prisoners from captivity.

Zelensky expects from the Mejlis to work on issues within its competence, as reported by the press service of the President's Office.

"In particular, this also applies to creating an international platform proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky for discussing the issue of Crimea de-occupation, active promotion of the initiative on any global platforms, in particular in the media. This is direction that really requires ultimate efforts on the part of Mejlis representatives," the report says.

It is noted the president also proposes and implements programs for the reintegration of the Crimean Tatar population forced to move to mainland Ukraine.

Read alsoRights activists submit motion to ICC on Russia's crimes in Crimea"Our common task should be to work out solutions for the early return of Crimea under the control of the Ukrainian state," the President's Office said.

Russian occupation of Crimea: Background
Nicholas Saye, Federica Caso, Ecab Amor and Maria Jose Heshiki de las Casas have created Tumbao , a company of sustainable purses and wallets designed with ecological nopal leather from Mexico. To boost their brand, they have launched a micro-patronage campaign on Kickstarter .

"Through Tumbao in general, and with the Kickstarter campaign in particular, we would like to show that small actions can be very useful when it comes to creating positive and sustainable change," they explain. "It is an invitation for people to participate in improving the state of our planet, while at the same time purchasing an exquisitely designed product," they comment.

You may be interested: These Mexicans make sneakers from recycled PET and sargassum

Nicholas, Federica and Maria Jose are design students, while Ecab is a law and international relations student at the Spanish university IE University. Among the four founders there are nine nationalities (Mexico, the United States, Venezuela, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Peru and Japan). The four friends met for the first time in 2019 at the IE University Fab Lab convinced of the possibility of placing their products on the market without having to renounce ethical principles such as the defense of animal rights or the protection of the planet.

Photo: Courtesy.

From the beginning, they were clear about the environmental impact of their project and made every effort to make the supply chain in the production of their wallets and purses as small and local as possible. After trying various designs and different materials, they found in the cactus the perfect ally to make their products. "We chose the skin of the nopal as a material and it exceeded our expectations, due to its texture and its positive impact on the environment," they explain. Its suppliers are in Guadalajara (Mexico) and Nicholas, one of its founders, was able to consolidate the details of the production during his months of exchange in Mexico City this year.

With the campaign launched today on Kickstarter, the Tumbao team of entrepreneurs seeks a financial boost to make the company operational and thus do their bit in transforming the dynamics of fashion towards a more sustainable and responsible industry.

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Jamal Khashoggi at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2011. Saudi agents murdered the dissident journalist on Oct. 2, 2018. (Virginia Mayo / Associated Press)

Two years have passed since the grisly murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist and Saudi dissident, at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

It is widely believed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggis killing. Both the CIA and the United Nations have concluded as much. Prince Salman himself acknowledged that the murder took place, as he put it, under my watch.

Yet the United States continues to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, supplying Prince Salmans regime not only with the means to continue pursuing violence at home and abroad, most notably in Yemen, but also with an implicit endorsement of its autocratic agenda.

President Trump and members of his administration have argued that arms sales are necessary for a host of reasons  to create jobs in the U.S., to maintain influence within Saudi Arabia, and to further Americas national security interests in the Middle East. There is little evidence that such deals are accomplishing any of these objectives.

Rather, American weapons have helped to shield Prince Salman from the consequences of his actions, enabling policies that jeopardize the security of both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. The claims that arms deals would lead to significant jobs for Americans were also found to be greatly exaggerated.

The crown prince has not yet ascended the throne of his father, King Salman, but as the kingdoms de facto ruler, his efforts to consolidate power and crush dissent have been brutal. He has jailed and extorted family members and potential rivals. He has prosecuted and jailed political activists and human rights advocates, even as he touts his own ostensibly liberal reforms. More than a year before the killing of Khashoggi, he authorized the capture and torture of Saudi dissidents abroad. One former Saudi intelligence official alleged that the prince sent a team to Canada to kill him.

Saudi Arabias war in Yemen, begun at the urging of Prince Salman, is an utter disaster  for Yemeni civilians, of course, but also for the kingdom. Thousands of civilians have been killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, and many more have perished in the broader humanitarian crisis engulfing the country. The onslaught is made possible by American weapons. Across Yemen, fragments of arms supplied by American companies can be found in the remnants of bombed-out schools, hospitals and factories  enduring testaments to Americas complicity in Saudi Arabias war crimes.

Story continues

Riyadh and Washington have little to show for the bloodshed. Iran-backed Houthi insurgents remain firmly in control of Yemens capital, Sanaa, along with much of the countrys north. They are poised to push coalition forces out of key encampments in Marib province. In the south, nominal Saudi allies have splintered, providing another axis of violence in an already bloody civil war and creating fertile ground for transnational militancy.

The Obama administration also sold tens of billions in arms to Saudi Arabia, many of which are still being used in Yemen. But the administration pulled back during Obamas second term, suspending a sale of precision-guided munitions over concerns about civilian casualties.

The Trump administration reversed the ban on guided bombs and has gone full steam ahead ever since. Trump and Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo have claimed that arms sales to Riyadh are justified by a looming threat from Iran. But this, too, rings hollow. The continued militarization of the Persian Gulf only exacerbates tensions and creates new theaters of war for Tehran.

American lawmakers have grown wise to the damage caused by arms sales to Saudi Arabia. After Khashoggis killing, Democrats and Republicans joined forces to block such deals. Nevertheless, last year, Trump bypassed congressional oversight to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and other members of the kingdoms coalition fighting in Yemen. The episode exposed loopholes in the congressional review process for such deals, but it also roused further opposition to Americas role in Riyadhs military interventions.

The U.S. needs to terminate all weapons transfers and military aid to Saudi Arabia. Although congressional efforts to suspend arms transfers to Riyadh have failed in the past, it should remain a priority for American lawmakers. A moratorium on arms sales would not in and of itself stop the war in Yemen or Prince Salmans repressive tactics, but it would send a clear message that the U.S. will no longer give a blank check to the Saudi regime.

As Riyadh spends billions fueling conflicts, exporting violence and silencing dissidents, Americans of every political stripe are rightfully questioning the wisdom of the alliance. But in the years since Khashoggis killing, American policymakers have been unable to press the Saudi regime to stop killing civilians in Yemen or negotiate an end to the war. Halting arms sales would be the first step in a much-needed course correction.

William Hartung is the director of the arms and security program at the Center for International Policy and the author of a new report, The Mideast Arms Bazaar: Top Arms Suppliers to the Middle East and North Africa, 2015-2019. Elias Yousif is the acting director of the security assistance monitor at the Center for International Policy and the author of a new report, Beyond Performance: Lessons Learned from U.S. Security Assistance to Tunisia.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Tumble dryer lint can cause damage to the gills, liver and DNA of a popular species of mussel, according to a new study.

UK scientists exposed the Mediterranean mussel (mytilus galloprovincialis), which is caught for human consumption, to different amounts of lint over seven days.

Increasing the quantity of lint resulted in more abnormalities within the mussels' gills, leading to tissue being damaged, they found.

In the mussel's liver, the presence of lint led to atrophy  a reduction in tissue  and deformities leading to a loss of definition in tubules in the digestive gland.

Lint  tiny bits of fabric fibres that are shed from the edges of clothes  end up in multiple marine species and eventually on our dinner plate.

Scientists at the University of Plymouth exposed the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), found in various locations across the world, to differing quantities of tumble dryer lint. This species is also known as the black mussel because the shell can be dark blue or brown to an almost black colour

THE MEDITERRANEAN MUSSEL - Also known as the black mussel because the shell can be dark blue or brown to an almost black colour. - The two shells are equal, each with a rounded and a slightly bent edge. - It can grow up to six inches but is typically found to grow between two to three inches. - It is native to the Mediterranean coastline, but is found around the world due to unintentional transport of the larvae and adults due to the shipping industry. - It is found mostly on temperate sheltered and exposed rocky shores. - This mussel feeds by filtering particles through gills. - Its main predators include sea stars & gulls. Source: California Sea Grant Advertisement

An increased concentration of fibres also caused a reduction in the mussels' ability to filter food particles from the seawater and an increase in DNA strand breaks in the blood cells.

The precise causes of these detrimental effects are unclear but are likely to arise from the fibres themselves and chemicals within them, scientists say.

'The laundering of clothes and other textiles is among the most significant sources of synthetic microfibers within the environment,' said Dr Andrew Turner, associate professor of environmental sciences at the University of Plymouth.

'However, despite their known presence in a range of species, there have been very few studies looking in detail at their impact.

'This study shows for the first time what harm they can cause, and it is particularly interesting to consider that it is not just the fibres themselves which create issues but also the cocktail of more harmful chemicals which they can mobilise.'

The findings of the study, published in the journal Chemosphere, are unlikely to solely apply to lint, as its properties are similar to other textiles and fibres commonly found in waste water and throughout the marine environment.

As well as being eaten, mussels of the mytilus genus are commonly used to monitor water quality in coastal areas.

'The damage shown to them in this study is a cause for significant concern,' said Awadhesh Jha, professor in genetic toxicology and ecotoxicology at the University of Plymouth.

Image marks out the impact of lint microfibre exposure on mussel gills (AE) and digestive gland (FJ). Scale bar is 100 micrometres. One micrometre is one millionth of a metre

'Given their genetic similarity to other species and the fact they are found all over the world, we can also assume these effects will be replicated in other shellfish and marine species.

'Damage to DNA and impairment of the filter feeding abilities would have potential impact on the health of the organisms and the ecosystem.

'That is particularly significant as we look in the future to increase our reliance on aquaculture as a global source of food.'

Washing and tumble drying clothes releases thousands of microplastic and microfibre particles into the environment.

Lint - accumulations of textile fibres that gather in the front of a tumble dryer - (left) and a microscopic image of lint fibres (right)

When clothes are laundered, tiny fibres are released and these often flow into water sources and out to sea.

Previous research by the University of Plymouth has shown that fitting devices to washing machines can reduce the fibres produced in the laundry cycle by up to around 80 per cent.

Researchers compared six devices designed to catch microfibres, ranging from prototypes to commercially available products.

The most effective device, the XFiltra external filter, reduced the quantity of microfibres being released by 78 per cent.

Campaigners have called for all washing machines in the UK to be fitted with such filters in the same way as France, which is mandating that microfibre filters must be fitted to all devices by 2025.

Pictured, some of the microscopic fibres captured by filters during the study into the effectiveness of laundry devices

But in May, a report produced for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) suggested that fitting filters to washing machines could be less effective than changing fabric designs to reduce fibre loss.

In another study this year, Plymouth scientists showed that wearing clothes could release more microfibres to the environment than washing them.

They compared four different items of polyester clothing and how many fibres were released when they were being worn and washed.

The results showed that up to 4,000 fibres per gram of fabric could be released during a conventional wash, while up to 400 fibres per gram of fabric could be shed by items of clothing during just 20 minutes of normal activity.

This indicated that one person could release almost 300 million polyester microfibres per year to the environment by washing their clothes, and more than 900 million to the air by simply wearing the garments.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 17:28:53|Editor: huaxia

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KUWAIT CITY, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait has multiple challenges to meet in the light of the global COVID-19 crisis as the country's new emir took office after the passing of the old ruler, Kuwaiti experts said.

Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah took the oath before the National Assembly, the legislature of Kuwait, on Wednesday to become the 16th Emir of the Gulf Arab country, a day after the death of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

After the swearing-in ceremony, Sheikh Nawaf said Kuwait is facing serious challenges which can be overcome only by unity and concerted efforts of the people.

Speaking to Xinhua, Ayed Al-Manna, a professor of political sciences at Kuwait University, explained that these challenges are the legacy of the past.

"The most important challenge Kuwait has been facing for two years is corruption which involves money laundering, embezzlement of public money and human trafficking," he said.

The national security is another huge challenge, Al-Manna added, noting instability in the region, especially the tension between the United States and Iran, has put Kuwait in a sensitive position.

However, the professor expressed his belief in the ability of Sheikh Nawaf who held security positions for years, to address Kuwait's security concerns.

Sheikh Nawaf had long been governor of Hawalli Governorate, before holding the portfolios of Minister of Interior, Minister of Defense and Deputy Chief of the National Guard, Al-Manna said.

Education, health system, and housing are also among the major challenges that have been confronting Kuwait for years, according to experts.

A new headache is the growing economic challenge arising from the drop in oil revenues and the spread of the novel coronavirus that led to a nationwide lockdown and paralyzed the economy for months.

Maytham Al-Shakhs, an economic analyst and the head of Athra Real Estate Company, told Xinhua that Kuwait now suffers from a wide budget deficit and the division between the government and the National Assembly regarding the approval of the public debt law.

This challenge requires cooperation between the government and the National Assembly with the aim of improving Kuwait's credit rating after it was downgraded by Moody's, Al-Shakhs explained.

On the front of the foreign relations, Al-Manaa said he expects "more cooperation with the eastern side of the world without affecting the relationship with the western side." Enditem
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has presented some relief items to the flood victims in the West Mamprusi municipality of the North East Region.

The items include bags of rice, oil, milk, sugar, mosquito nets, plastic buckets, mattresses among others.

In addition, the Vice President supported the affected victims with an amount of GHC 100,000.

Addressing the affected victims, Dr. Bawumia indicated that he had to suspend all his campaign activities to rush to his home region to get first hand information about the flood situation.

According to him, he has instructed that 500 bags of maize should be purchased to supplement the food brought to the victims by the NADMO.

The Vice President assured the affected victims that government will provide them with zincs and other materials to rebuild their collapsed buildings after the rains subside.

By the grace of God we will do everything possible once the rains stop we will support the victims to rebuild their houses again for it to be able to withstand future flooding.

At about 5:30am Thursday dawn, heavy downpour caused two dams to overflow their boundaries in some parts of the West Mamprusi Municipality.

The flood resulted in over 1,500 people being displaced.

About hundreds of houses in the municipality were as well been submerged in the floods.

DGN Online gathered that two dams in the municipality namely Diani and Guabullga overflowed submerging houses and causing severe damages to properties in the communities.

When DGN Online visited some of the affected communities it was revealed that several houses have collapsed beyond repairs.

Several acres of farmlands in the affected communities have been destroyed with their source of water being polluted.

Affected victims in Gaagbini told DGN Online that they were compelled to sleep on the street last night due to the collapse of their houses.

 we had nowhere else to go than to sleep on the Main Street but NADMO gave us mosquito nets and food to eat.

Several communities including Sakogu, Nakpanduri, Bunkpurugu, Yunyoo were cut off due to submerging of the bridge that links the communities to West Mamprusi Municipality.

An assessment team made up of NADMO (Regional and District MMDA level), Environmental Health (Regional and MMDA level), WFP, UNICEF, PLAN Ghana, Global Communities indicated in their reports that about 55,235 persons have been affected in the heavy downpour and resultant floods in addition to the spillage of the Bagre dam with 206 communities affected and nine persons confirmed dead in the North East Region.

---Daily Guide
Christian leaders Eric Metaxas, David French debate evangelicals and Trump

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Two popular Christian figures, Eric Metaxas and David French, recently debated the evangelical case for and against President Donald Trump.

French, The Dispatch senior editor, is a self-described conservative Never Trumper, while Metaxas, a conservative radio host and author, has been outspoken about his support of the Trump administration.

Opening the debate moderated by Gabe Lyons during last weeks Q 2020 Virtual Summit, Metaxas explained that while he hated and despised Trump before the primaries, his mindset changed as he penned an op-ed for the New Yorker lightly mocking the now-president.

I began to see him differently, he said. I was born in Queens, my family is working class. Something connected me with him, as though I was listening to a Jackie Mason or to some comedian who communicates in a different way ... I began to shift and began actually to be open to the idea that maybe he could, you know, represent Americans.

Metaxas pointed out that famed theologian Martin Luther was a maniac who communicated in a crazy way that allowed him to connect with people who felt disenfranchised.

I think when you see Trump in that context, things change, he said. The question is, can we see him in that context?

The best-selling author also explained why he continued to support Trump after the Access Hollywood tape dropped in 2016 containing his lewd remarks about women.

According to Metaxas, the viciousness of the opposition to Trump drove him deeper into his support of the then-nominee. He argued that such opposition was hypocritical, adding: Who among us has not said horrifying things?

That level of viciousness blew my mind and made me think, perhaps I am missing something here. And perhaps, God chose Trump to shame the Church, he said. The Church had not been living out its faith in a way that was changing the world, that was sacrificial ... and that God, as He often does, reaches outside the camp to someone that will make our heads explode, and chooses him to shame us, to fight, because we decline to fight.

French explained his own anti-Trump position by emphasizing that Christians are called to be salt and light in all areas of life. Theres no area in which you are not called to be an ambassador and a witness for Jesus Christ. Theres no area that you wall off from Christian ethics, none, no area," he said.

He referenced his opposition to President Bill Clintons sexually immoral behavior in the '90s, pointing out that the Southern Baptist Convention roundly condemned such behavior at the time, stating: Tolerance of serious wrong by leaders sears the conscience of the culture, spawns unrestrained immorality, and also surely results in Gods judgment.

Evangelicals quickly went from the group of people most likely to say that character mattered to in 2016 the group that said the least likely that character mattered, French explained. Now did the truth, the theological truths articulated in the Southern Baptist Convention statement change? No, they did not. What changed was the partisan imperative. What changed was the atmosphere of fear.

In response, Metaxas argued that Trumps conservative policies, especially for the unborn, rise above his character flaws, noting, Obama ... is morally upstanding and hes a good family man and so on and so forth, and yet he did everything in his power to make it possible to murder the unborn in their mothers' wombs. He did everything he could to undermine biblical marriage. How do you give that a pass?

French argued that while support for life is necessary, its not sufficient, explaining that for a candidate to earn my vote they have to be pro-life but just being pro-life by itself does not earn my vote. A person who is malicious, cruel, corrupt, incompetent.

According to French, Americans dont just have two choices in the upcoming election, arguing they can exercise a veto and pick up the flag with a better candidate next time. He argued that many evangelicals voted for Trump due to fear that Americas about to end, evangelicals are ... isolated, were alone.

Were the most powerful religious movement in the world, he stressed. We have veto power over the political fortunes of one of the two great political parties of the most powerful nation in the history of the world. And we act as if we are some kind of persecuted minority on the edge of extinction, and thats, I think, grotesque.

Later in the debate, Metaxas acknowledged that ultimately, Americans dont need Trump  they need God. However, he reiterated the argument that Trumps earlier sexual indiscretions and controversial communication style dont outweigh the benefits of his conservative policies.

I simply dont see how anything that has been said here or has been said would get me to allow someone like Joe Biden or a Hillary Clinton to genuinely destroy America forever and we havent even touched on Kavanaugh, he said.

Evangelicals have been largely divided on Trumps candidacy. A recent survey from Pew Research Center found that while white evangelicals remain a core support group of Trumps, many have a low view of his character and conduct.

Just 15 percent of white evangelicals say morally upstanding describes the president very well; a quarter say honest is a very good descriptor of him; and fewer than a third say they like Trumps behavior.

While 63 percent of white evangelicals prioritize political leaders sense of morality and ethics, 67 percent say its just as important that they stand up for people with their same religious beliefs.

Recently, prominent SBC leader Albert Mohler made headlines after publicly reversing his anti-Trump position from 2016, revealing he will likely vote for Trump in November.

In an interview with The Christian Post, pastor and author Tim Keller pointed out that many evangelicals  particularly millennials  currently feel homeless politically.

Most people have to realize that both the Republican and Democratic party are for some good things the Bible would want you to be, he said. For example, the Bible says we should really care about economic and racial justice. The Bible also says that same-sex marriage and abortion are wrong.

We should take a look at that. The Republicans' platform is strong on two of them and weak on two of them, and the Democratic platform is strong on two of them and weak on two of them. Which one is the Christian party? You can say one is more important than the other because in abortion someone loses their life and maybe thats decisive enough for you to vote for Republican candidates. But you cant hitch the entire Christian church to one of those because no party reflects the whole gamut of what the Bibles values are.
First lady Melania Trump before the first presidential debate Tuesday at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland. Read more

In the summer of 2018, a week after her trip to the Mexican border where immigration officials were separating migrant children from their families, first lady Melania Trump called a close friend to complain about how the press covered the event  as well to air her frustrations with having to plan White House Christmas decorations.

Who gives a f about the Christmas stuff and decorations? Trump said to Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former confidante and East Wing adviser, who secretly recorded the conversation after she left the White House. I say that Im working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas and they said, Oh, what about the children that they were separated? Give me a f break.

Winston Wolkoff publicly released a portion of her recordings for the first time Thursday night when they aired on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360." The conversation, which was documented in Winston Wolkoff's recently released book "Melania and Me," spread quickly on Twitter hours before news broke that the first lady and President Donald Trump had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Critics went after the first lady for seemingly downplaying the conditions for migrant children separated from their parents under a Trump administration policy, as well as for lamenting her need to decorate for Christmas  a holiday the president has accused Democrats of trying to destroy.

 READ MORE: President Donald Trump says he, first lady Melania test positive for COVID-19

In a statement to CNN, the first lady's chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, argued that the recordings are part of Winston Wolkoff's attempt to boost her book's sales.

"Secretly taping the First Lady and willfully breaking an NDA to publish a salacious book is a clear attempt at relevance," Grisham said. "The timing of this continues to be suspect  as does this never-ending exercise in self-pity and narcissism."

Winston Wolkoff taped about a year's worth of conversations with the first lady beginning in February 2018 after she was terminated from her position as an unpaid adviser. Tax filings showed that Winston Wolkoff's company received $26 million from the presidential inauguration committee.

Last month, Winston Wolkoff told The Washington Post's Jada Yuan that the first lady used private email accounts, iMessage, and Signal, an encrypted messaging app, while at the White House. Critics said the finding was hypocritical considering the president's attacks on Hillary Clinton, who used a private email server while she was secretary of state.

At one point in the tapes aired on CNN, Trump suggests that the migrant children are treated well at the border and have a higher quality of life than they did in their home countries.

"The kids, they say, 'Wow I will have my own bed? I will sleep on the bed? I will have a cabinet for my clothes?' It's so sad to hear it, but they didn't have that in their own countries, they sleep on the floor," she said. "They are taken care of nicely there. But you know, yeah, they are not with parents, it's sad. But when they come here alone or with coyotes or illegally, you know, you need to do something."

 READ MORE: Philly immigrants and allies brace for Trump administrations promised ICE raids on sanctuary cities

Trump argued that families are trained to play sympathetic to get asylum. "They go over and they say like, 'Oh, we will be killed by a gang member, we will be, you know, it's so dangerous,'" Trump said. "So they are allowed to stay here."

"They could easily stay in Mexico but they don't want to stay in Mexico, because Mexico doesn't take care of them the same as America does," the first lady added.

The first lady also seemed exasperated over the negative press she received over her visit to the border.

"They will not do the story. We put it out," Trump said, referring to the media. "They are against us because they're liberal media. Yeah, if I go to Fox, they will do the story. I don't want to go to Fox."

She also complained about the press and the public calling on her to do more about the family separation policy. "They say I'm complicit. I'm the same like him, I support him," the first lady said, referring to President Trump. "I don't say enough I don't do enough where I am."

At one point, Melania Trump said that former first lady Michelle Obama never visited the border and seemed irritated that her duty to handle Christmas decorations at the White House was impeding her from doing more.

Im working my ass off on the Christmas stuff, Trump said. I was trying get the kid reunited with the mom. I didnt have a chance  needs to go through the process and through the law.

Trump also admitted to wearing the infamous jacket from Zara that read, "I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?" on the back to get attention from the press. She mocked the public's reaction to the jacket, disproving theories that she was sending a message to the media, or even to the president.

"I'm driving liberals crazy, that's for sure," Trump said. "They deserve it."

____

The Washington Posts Jada Yuan contributed to this report.
In Tuesdays presidential debate, moderator Chris Wallace tried to corner President Trump: Are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities as we saw in Kenosha and as we saw in Portland? Sure. responded Trump, before noting that all the violence he saw was the fault of ANTIFA and other left-wing groups. Both Wallace and Biden then implied that white supremacists and Proud Boys were responsible for the violence in Kenosha and Portland, which Trump rebutted by referring to ANTIFA. ANTIFA is an idea, not an organization. Biden responded.

Wallaces repeated references to white supremacist violence in Kenosha are obviously attacks on Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who was attacked in a dimly lit parking lot by a convicted pedophile under cover of a riot, and later by an ANTIFA mob incited by an illegally-armed felon who later admitted that his intent was to murder Rittenhouse. It is disgraceful for a journalist at Fox News (or any outlet) to attack a victimized minor as a white supremacist without evidence, much less in the middle of a presidential debate. Worse yet was Wallaces implied white supremacist smear against Aaron Danielson, a Patriot Prayer member who was executed by an ANTIFA member in the streets of Portland for being a Trump supporter.

By associating the Proud Boys with white supremacists and blaming them for the violence committed against right wing groups, Wallace inverted moral status between victimizer and victim. Last summer, rioters received political permission slips in the form of bail funds, law enforcement stand down orders, and prosecutorial amnesty, allowing left wing mobs to run rampant in their violence and arson. The only time prosecutors took action was when someone defended themselves against the mob.

Enter the Proud Boys. This group was formed by Vice News Founder and comedian Gavin McInnes, who set it up as a joke. Their name is a reference to a song by the hit Broadway show Aladdin and their initiation ceremony is to name breakfast cereals while getting punched on the arm. Affirmation of the superiority of Western Civilizatiton is at the heart of the group's ideology, as reflected in their flag:

The group holds monthly meetings at bars and style themselves in the fashion of a 19th century fraternal order (sorry ladies, this is a boys club) similar to the Shriners or the Knights of Columbus.

Just as with many fraternal orders, the Proud Boys actively engage in charity events. During and after the historic flooding of Houston in 2017, the group rented boats, trucks, trailers, and even an 18-wheeler to distribute emergency supplies to affected areas. Journalists caught wind of the event and attempted to track the Proud Boys by asking confused Houston residents where the Nazis were.

The Wikipedia entry on the Proud Boys leads off with a bald declaration featuring 13 footnotes.

What earns the Proud Boys the ire of the media is their advocacy of Western Civilization and their free speech activism, specifically their confrontations with ANTIFA. While Proud Boys stay away from ANTIFA events, Proud Boy events inevitably draw ANTIFA presence, usually resulting in self-defense violence and landing the group bad press and legal trouble. Why opposing ANTIFA would invite negative press is answered by a study by Dr. Eoin Lenihan, a professional political extremist group researcher. Dr. Lenihan mapped out the social media connections that American journalists have with ANTIFA members and ANTIFA twitter accounts. Some journalists are members of ANTIFA or actively source information from ANTIFA members who know the journalists will write sympathetic articles.

Archived Twitter post

Virtually all legacy media outlets reverently refer to ANTIFA as anti-fascist, but refer to the Proud Boys as white supremacist, fascist, alt-right, or neo-Nazi. After journalists successfully smear Proud Boys members, criminal charges considered flimsy or baseless in any other context become difficult to defend against, as few will stick up for the rights of individuals considered politically toxic. Well-read readers may recognize this as Saul Alinskys Rule 13 from his book Rules for Radicals: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

An incident in October 2018 plays out this dynamic perfectly. A few Proud Boys members went to an event at New Yorks Metropolitan Republican Club but were ambushed by ANTIFA on the way home. The police had known ANTIFA was looking to attack the event and had set up blockades to prevent violence, only for four ANTIFA members to find their way around the blockade and attack a stray member with a glass bottle. Other Proud Boys rushed to the victims defense and pummeled the ANTIFA members until they scattered. One Proud Boy shouted, There were f$#&ing four of them! referring to the number he fended off single handedly. This comment was later misconstrued by New York prosecutors and politicians as They were f$#&ing foreigners! leading to false accusations of racial lynching. Two Proud Boys, Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman, found themselves in a courtroom smeared as white supremacists as Kinsmans black wife and children watched perplexed and helpless from the gallery. Hare and Kinsman would later be sentenced to prison for gang violence.

This incident prompted Gavin McInnes to disassociate himself from the Proud Boys in an effort to help Hare and Kinsman avoid prison, as organizations require a leader to be considered a gang. The Proud Boys had become decentralized by 2018, but there is a symbolic leader named Enrique Tarrio, a black Cuban who sells T-shirts online. Tarrio was recently asked about Trumps Stand back and stand by comments made during the debate. He didnt condemn us. He didnt promote us either Tarrio replied.

Media outlets are now churning out poorly researched articles about the Proud Boys, repeating false statements from articles written years ago. Newsweek wrote an article discussing Gavin McInness video titled 10 Things I Hate About the Jews, a satirical video where he promotes Israel. The New York Times put out an article titled The Proud Boys, Who Trade in Political Violence, Get a Boost From Trump which falsely claims that the group had a presence in 2017 neo-Nazi marches in Charlottesville.

By focusing on the Proud Boys, journalists are attempting to move the discussion away from Trumps debate victory. Contrary to Chris Wallace and other Joe Biden allies, the ongoing riots are not the fault of any right-wing groups. Proud Boys did not attempt to murder Kyle Rittenhouse or burn down businesses in Kenosha, nor did they murder a Trump supporter in the streets of Portland. Such narratives are dead giveaways of journalistic malpractice and deserving of defamation lawsuits. According to Rittenhouses attorney, they are looking at just that.
Walker Industries has pledged to donate $1.5 million to Hospice Niagara toward development of two new palliative care centres of excellence in Fort Erie and Welland.

Each of the proposed sites would provide a home-like setting with 10 private rooms for people and their families to spend time together during the final stages of life.

The expansion will enable Hospice Niagaras programs and services to be accessible for more people across the region. The centres will house programs for people who are living at home, as well as bereavement care for children, teenagers and adults.

They would also provide educational opportunities to teach health-care professionals, staff and volunteers about the specialty of hospice palliative care.

This is a health-care opportunity that lines up with our focus of helping the most vulnerable this year, said Geordie Walker, president and chief executive officer of Walker Industries.

It builds on our relationship with Hospice Niagara, which began when we supported their previous campaign more than a decade ago to build a hospice residence in St. Catharines.

Hospice Niagara praised Walker Industries for its early support, launching the capital fundraising campaign with a strong start.

Walker Industries is a fifth-generation, family-owned Canadian company based in Niagara involved in environmental waste management and recovery, renewable energy, paving and construction, aggregates, and emulsions,

The Walker family has a very long history of giving back to Niagara and strengthening our community through their involvement, said Carol Nagy, executive director of Hospice Niagara.

Were extremely grateful for their support and for their trust in our vision to help people and families live well from the time of diagnosis of a terminal illness, and when experiencing the loss of a loved one.

Niagara is significantly under-served in terms of hospice bed capacity and community palliative care services, based on its population and its high percentage of seniors. While Ontarios auditor general recommends capacity of seven to 10 hospice beds per population of 100,000, Niagara has a hospice bed count of less than half that number at three beds per 100,000 residents.

In addition to several community palliative care programs and services, Hospice Niagara operates the Stabler Centre, a 10-bed hospice residence in St. Catharines that serves families across Niagara.

The hospice residence provides a peaceful, comfortable setting with private rooms where people receive professional nursing care, personal support, companionship, and bereavement and spiritual care. There is no fee for services.

Provided Hospice Niagara secures full approval from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, construction on the Fort Erie and Welland centres is expected to begin in the fall of 2021 with a late 2023 opening.

In the meantime, Hospice Niagara is planning a capital fundraising campaign to raise the necessary money to support the project moving forward.

This is a wonderful opportunity for all of Niagara, said Nagy. Expansion of these much-needed services could not be more timely, considering the strain our health-care system has experienced in recent years, given our growing number of seniors living in Niagara and our need to end hallway medicine.

We hope our community stands with us in supporting expansion of compassionate and exceptional care, to everyone, everywhere in Niagara.
The Pallister government has pressed the reset button on the Manitoba legislature, announcing a new legislative session beginning Wednesday with the speech from the throne.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/10/2020 (478 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Pallister government has pressed the reset button on the Manitoba legislature, announcing a new legislative session beginning Wednesday with the speech from the throne.

It means dozens of bills introduced late last year and earlier this year will die, including one that would have given municipalities control over retail shopping hours.

Also paused are the government's efforts to amend pension and cannabis legislation, set new election financing rules and change the manner in which the Manitoba Public Utilities Board regulates major Crown corporations.

MLAs had been scheduled to return to the legislature Wednesday to pick up where they had left off in late May. A new throne speech hadn't been scheduled until mid-November.

But a dearth of sitting days in the spring due to COVID-19 and stalling tactics by the Opposition NDP prevented the government from making much headway on its legislative agenda.

Premier Brian Pallister wouldn't reveal his strategy Thursday for breaking any future legislative logjams, but he said the Progressive Conservatives were ready to do what it takes.

"We're quite prepared to go to the wall to get our issues brought forward and action taken," he said shortly after it was announced the current session was being prorogued.

"We're quite prepared to go to the wall to get our issues brought forward and action taken."  Premier Brian Pallister

Among the new initiatives will be legislation to enhance paid sick leave for people affected by COVID-19. The legislation would follow through on an agreement with the federal government in July that saw Ottawa commit to fully fund the paid leave.

"We thank the federal government for taking that on and... there's some legislative support that has to happen as a consequence of that," Pallister said.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said his party served as an effective opposition in the spring, causing the government to regroup, but he doesn't underestimate the Progressive Conservatives.

"I think that after this throne speech the government is going to move aggressively and try to slip a bunch of big, dramatic changes to our schools, to our workplaces, to many things in Manitoba," he said. "They are going to try to slip those things through under the radar while many people in the province are rightfully preoccupied with fighting the pandemic."

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said he's disappointed that opposition MLAs will lose out on the opportunity to grill the premier and cabinet ministers during the budget estimates process, as had been expected, during the next few weeks.

"I think that after this throne speech the government is going to move aggressively and try to slip a bunch of big, dramatic changes to our schools, to our workplaces, to many things in Manitoba. They are going to try to slip those things through under the radar while many people in the province are rightfully preoccupied with fighting the pandemic."  NDP Leader Wab Kinew

"It's a way for the premier and his ministers to avoid direct questioning... over everything they've either been doing or not doing for the past few months," he said.

Oddly, the province's justice minister issued a press release Thursday trumpeting the fact that the government had introduced (but not passed) legislation in March that would allow it to join a class-action lawsuit with other provinces against opioid manufacturers. Hours later, the government announced it was scrapping the current session. Presumably, Bill 51 will be reintroduced this fall.

Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba, said Pallister may be looking to give his government a fresh start.

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"It's a way for the premier and his ministers to avoid direct questioning... over everything they've either been doing or not doing for the past few months."  Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont

The government has taken some heat over how the reopening of schools was handled  and for what it has and hasn't done to help Manitobans cope with the pandemic.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued the House of Commons in the summer, and Parliament resumed last month with a federal throne speech. Meanwhile, some premiers have recently gone to voters seeking a renewed mandate.

"So, maybe (Pallister) has been following the example of what's been taking place elsewhere," Thomas said.

 With files from The Canadian Press

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
The first of the two Boeing B777 aircraft, which have been specially retrofitted with the latest self-defence protection suite for VVIP transport duties, landed at the IGI Airport. The aircraft, which was originally owned by Air India, will now be handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF), which will be used to ferry the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister. The total cost of purchase and retrofitting the two planes has been estimated to be around Rs 8,400 crore. Here's a sneak peek of the aircraft.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 02:34:11|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Chief Negotiator David Frost said on Friday that outlines of a trade agreement with the European Union (EU) are "visible" while in some areas familiar differences remain as both sides concluded their ninth round of talks in Brussels.

Frost said in a statement that "constructive discussions" were conducted in a good spirit.

"In many areas of our talks, although differences remain, the outlines of an agreement are visible," he said. "This is true of most of the core areas of a trade and economic agreement -- notably trade in goods and services, transport, energy, social security, and participation in EU programmes."

State subsidy and fisheries remain two sticking points for the UK-EU talks. Frost said there has been some "limited progress" in level playing field but the EU need to move further before an understanding can be reached.

"On fisheries the gap between us is unfortunately very large and, without further realism and flexibility from the EU, risks being impossible to bridge," he said.

Frost's EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, said there are "positive new developments" on some topics such as aviation safety, social security coordination, and the respect of fundamental rights and individual freedoms.

However, he warned there is "a lack of progress" on some important topics like the protection of personal data, climate change commitments or carbon pricing, as well as persistent serious divergences on matters of major importance for the EU.

Britain and the EU have said a future trade deal needs to be agreed by mid-October to enable it to be approved ahead of Jan. 1, 2021. As the deadline looms, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will speak to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday via a video-conference call to "take stock of negotiations and discuss next steps".

Both sides started the lengthy and bumpy post-Brexit talks in March after Britain ended its EU membership on Jan. 31, trying to secure a future trade deal before the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the year. If there is no deal in place, Britain will trade with the EU on terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Enditem
Xtalks Life Science Webinars Its essential that clinical trial investigators can confidently monitor patient safety and sponsors have confidence that regulators will accept data that is gathered in a remote format.

Join a special panel of experts for a live webinar on Friday, October 16, 2020 at 2:30pm EDT.

The past years have seen advancements in remote monitoring and telemedicine. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the movement of healthcare from the hospital and outpatient facilities to the home. This decentralization has also affected the conduct of clinical trials; in July of 2020 FDA issued a final FDA Guidance on Conduct of Clinical Trials of Medical Products during COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

It is likely that the movement toward remote cardiac monitoring and remote clinical trial visits will continue well past the current public health emergency. As such, its essential that clinical trial investigators can confidently monitor patient safety and sponsors have confidence that regulators will accept data that is gathered in a remote format. Therefore, the Cardiovascular Safety Research Consortium has brought together industry experts along with representatives from FDA  from both Centers of Drug and Device Evaluation  in order to explore some best practices for remote cardiac monitoring.

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LT Stephen Browning, BS, Assistant Division Director - Blood Pressure and Flow Devices, Division of Cardiac Electrophysiology, Diagnostics and Monitoring, CDRH, FDA

Polina Voloshko, MD, Chief Medical Officer, BioTel Research

Kenneth Stein, MD, FACC, FHRS, Senior Vice President & Chief Medical Officer, Cardiac Rhythm Management and Global Health Policy, Boston Scientific

Elektra Papadopoulos, MD, MPH, Acting Director, Division of Clinical Outcome Assessment, Office of New Drugs, CDER, FDA

Kenneth G. Faulkner, PhD, Vice President, eCOA Scientific Services, eRT

For more information or to register for this event, visit Remote Cardiac Safety Monitoring for Clinical Trials: Through the Pandemic and Beyond.

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There is an ominous lull in the Leaving Cert reckoning - like the deep-breath anxiety before a student tears open their envelope in yesteryear.

Leinster House was carrying out its own continuous assessment yesterday of who will carry the can. There are numerous candidates.

"Nothing to do with us," said one Fine Gaeler. "Norma and Micheal involved, so a Fianna Fail problem."

And Fianna Fail deputies, for their part, are inclined to blame the permanent government, the mandarins of Marlborough Street. In their view, a freshly minted minister in the shape of Norma Foley has been badly let down.

Sinn Fein is meanwhile calling for accountability, but doesn't yet see who it should target. A question on the plinth as to whether the minister should consider her position drew a guarded response - that she has questions to answer.

Last night, Ms Foley went into the Dail and took questions on the affair. Like a good Leaving Cert student, she was well prepped and provided ready regurgitation of material.

She had already done the Mocks - in the shape of a Morning Ireland interview, which she smoothly sailed through with assurances to students and expressions of concern and regret that it had all come to this. But she repeatedly didn't answer the question asked - which is the great failing of some who sit the Leaving Cert, and a propensity annually inveighed against by teachers.

It is obvious Ms Foley has been carefully schooled in the political art of avoiding unnecessary admissions or being caught by a pitfall question.

But deputies of every stripe were agreeing there has to be accounting for what went wrong. With the audit still taking place, the results on individual performance have yet to be calculated for the 2020 class of politicians that cancelled the Leaving Cert.

And so the opposition largely confined themselves to asking about who knew what and when - and why Cabinet wasn't told.

Eamon Ryan's excuse in the Dail was that the extent of the glitch had not yet been established. He suggested the minister had been briefed by her officials and had then done the right thing by promptly informing the Taoiseach.

Micheal Martin approved interim steps taken to quantify the disaster and the following day, Friday, informed fellow Coalition leaders Leo Varadkar and Eamon Ryan.

There was no Fine Gael minister present in the chamber yesterday as Mr Ryan took Leaders' Questions for the second week in a row.

The Greens are agreeing it's a grotesque situation, but he was inclined to attribute it to almost an act of God.

Mr Ryan weaved a spell of an algorithm architect working on the Applied Leaving Cert and detecting something abnormal. Traced back, it turned out to be four mistyped characters in 50,000 lines of code.

That person had then realised the error and put their hand up, contacting the department immediately, he said. Sinn Fein spokesman on Education Donnchadh O Laoghaire, quick-witted but inexperienced, did not know where exactly to apply the scalpel.

"It smacks of incompetence," he said. People and institutions had been kept in the dark. He could detect the rank smell of responsibility, but couldn't see quite where it lay.

Peadar Toibin, a former colleague of O Laoghaire, saw through the one-outside-guy excuse. The Government, whenever it perceived trouble ahead, had always been fond of the precaution of hiring outside consultants, he complained.

"It looks like you are trying to outsource the blame as well to the private sector."

But the department had checked what it was given. Not exhaustively, it is admitted. What checks there were showed a 4pc deviation from expected or usual annual results, Mr Ryan admitted, unprompted. This was seen as acceptable.

It suggests official tolerance within a 5pc margin of error, which will seem high to many parents. After all, four marks out of a hundred can be crucial to any grade.

The audit continues. The minister hides behind the Taoiseach. Leo is nowhere. A Fianna Fail TD has called for the Sec Gen at Education to be called before committee. There are questions over the procurement process, almost certainly truncated at the very least. The full effects on students have yet to be fully established.

But it will go further than one overseas expert and his magical mathematics.
Sierra Leone's government has banned former president Ernest Bai Koroma and 120 others from travelling after a report was released indicating economic malfeasance during his time in office.

The ban was announced after a White Paper laid out detailed evidence of corruption and abuse of office for a number of former government officials.

The document is based on the work of three commissions of inquiry which investigated the assets of vice presidents, ministers and heads of government agencies who served along with Koroma in the administration from 2007 to 2018.

Headed by Justice Bankole Thompson, the commission found that the former president had reported his salaries, pension and income on investments to a total of 389,000 euros (4.48 billion Leones), a sum that far exceeds his total emoluments and legitimate earnings.

The commission also found that one of Koromas properties was valued at 4.3 million euros.

'Witch hunt' or truth?

Koroma released a statement on Wednesday, dismissing the report as a witch hunt.

He said the allegations are a politically motivated charade calculated to impugn his hard-earned reputation, adding that the governments relentless hecklinghas reached undue and unacceptable levels that amount to political harassment.

At the release of the White Paper at State House in Freetown, President Julius Maada Bio spoke of abuse of power.

When corrupt leaders build mansions and accumulate huge bank accounts, it is not for their ethnic groups, regions, or political party to live in. It is for themselves and for their immediate families, said Bio.

His comments were echoed in the youth league of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party, as member Sulaiman Sesay called it a shocking scale of corruption and abuse of office.

This report on the former two-term president and other officials could discourage Sierra Leoneans from working in politics or governance, and perhaps do greater damage to democracy in Africa, according to the former president.

Story continues

It also has the propensity of undermining peaceful democratic transitions on the continent as current leaders following these unfortunate events in Sierra Leone might find it difficult to readily hand over power, especially to opposition political parties, said Koroma.

After a two-term presidency, Koroma handed the reins over to Samura Kamara as head of the All Peoples Congress party. Bio defeated Kamara in the 2018 presidential election.

During his presidency, Koroma made the fight against corruption a focus, signing the Anti-Corruption Bill into law during his first year in office.

However, his government was also accused of absconding with millions of euros earmarked for sufferers during the Ebola epidemic. A report from the countrys Auditor General indicated that emergency money was, indeed, missing from the account.

Recommendations

The commissions of inquiry made several recommendations, among which were the forfeiture of properties to the state, the refund of monies allegedly misappropriated, while some issues were to be sent to the Anti-Corruption Commission for further investigation.

The government accepted most of the recommendations from the commissions of inquiry, except the one to ban suspect officials from public office and political activities.

It tends to distract from the object of the commissions of inquiry, according to the government statement, adding that the focus of government is to recover the peoples money and not to restrain anybody from political participation.

In following the recommendations, Minister of Justice Anthony Brewah imposed a travel ban on all 120 persons named in the White Paper, including former President Koroma.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) also invited Koroma to report to its offices in Freetown on Monday for interrogation on the issues raised in the White Paper.

ACC head Francis Kaifala said on national television on Wednesday evening that Koromas lawyers have been in touch with them suggesting that a team of investigators visit him in his home in the Northern Province.

The ACC has not reached any agreement yet, but Kaifala promised that they will accord Koroma all the dignity due him as a former president.

Kaifala added that all 120 accused have had their bank accounts frozen, but guaranteed that those affected will not starve.

It is simply a measure to prevent the flight of capital, or "activities that might have an adverse effect on the economy, Kaifala added.
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NEW MILFORD  Many Connecticut towns have seen an influx of city dwellers looking to escape their crowded living arrangements during the coronavirus pandemic. Now that many have made the move permanent, local officials want to make sure they are paying their share.

New Milford is no exception, launching a program Thursday through a contract with Municipal Tax Services in an effort to ensure people who have moved to town are registering their vehicles and paying the related taxes.

We had some residents throughout the summer say they thought it wasnt fair that the onus of motor vehicle taxes were borne by some and not by others, Mayor Pete Bass said, adding that tax revenue goes toward services used by most of the community, such as schools and improvements to roads and bridges.

Bass said many people may not be aware they have to register their cars. All new residents to Connecticut are required to register their vehicles within 60 days of moving, though the state has given a 180-day extension due to the pandemic.

New Milford is the latest Connecticut municipality contracting with MTS, joining Bethel, Waterbury, Stamford, and Hartford, said Andrew Schilkowski, an office manager for MTS.

MTS agents will scan license plates throughout town and compare the information they collect with the towns real estate, motor vehicle registration and personal property records to find those not registered in New Milford.

If a scanned Connecticut plate is not on the town's grand list, then MTS will dig down deeper, said Tax Assessor Brian Lastra. The bottom line, a lot of research goes into the effort of trying to identify vehicles that are located in New Milford and not taxed.

Schilkowski said the company is a licensed private investigator firm and follows state regulations.

All of the information we obtain is from public access points, he said. If anybody can go in there, our agents go in there.

This includes checking cars parked in shopping centers and on the street. Most of the scanning is done at night when cars are generally stationary.

Residents can leave anonymous tips online through the companys website, municipaltaxservices.com, or by calling the office. The MTS agents will then investigate.

The town will then send letters to residents with vehicles not registered in New Milford, letting them know they should register their car in New Milford.

Those who receive the letters can challenge it. Some examples might be that they are visiting a significant other or maybe put a bill in their name to help that person out but live somewhere else and can prove it, Schilkowski said.

Legally, we're interested in any instance where a person has established a residence in New Milford and has a motor vehicle which is either registered in Connecticut, is unregistered, or is registered in another state, Lastra said.

Under state statute a motor vehicle is subject to tax if such motor vehicle most frequently leaves from and returns to or remains in one or more points within this state, Lastra said, adding this generally applies to where the person lives.

The town doesnt pay a fee for the service. Instead, the company collects 50 percent of the taxes collected in the first year, Bass said.

Its beneficial, Bass said. Its not a cut to the taxpayer.

Schilkowski said the amount of money depends on how often the towns pursue the collections.

We only do the inspection on behalf of the city, he said.

The proximity to other states, the size of the town and the tax rate itself in each town factor into how much money is collected.

The company generally finds about 500 cars a year in smaller towns, like Bethel and New Milford, he said.

Bass didnt have an exact figure but suspects New Milford will be able to recoup tens of thousands of dollars the first year after the company takes its share.

Contracts generally last one or two years, giving towns the option to renew, Schilkowski said.

Bass said most of the people moving to town are from New York or lower Fairfield County and said most are unaware that they have to register their vehicle in town.

We all want to share the burden equally, Bass said.

kkoerting@newstimes.com
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - A UN panel of independent rights experts on Thursday urged governments to immediately address the inhumane conditions in detention faced by migrant workers who are also being blamed for spreading the coronavirus
Staff and students at a renowned Hungarian theater and film school are in open revolt after the government transferred control to a private foundation and a board of trustees that critics say is filled with allies of right-wing, nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Management and staff have resigned, a strike has been called, and students have been blockading the entrance for weeks. Budapest's University of Theater and Film Arts was attended by illustrious alumni like Casablanca director Michael Curtiz.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON D.C.) -- President Donald Trump announced Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19 and are now in mandatory quarantine.

"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19," President Trump tweeted. "We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"

The president's announcement was confirmed by White House Dr. Sean Conley, who released an official memorandum obtained by ABC News.

"This evening I received confirmation that both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus," Conley wrote. "The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain home at the White House during their convalescence."

Vice President Mike Pence reacted to the shock report, tweeting early Friday, "Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump."

Pence added he is praying for a "full and swift recovery.

Four hours before the president revealed he and his wife tested positive for the novel coronavirus, it was announced that a member of the president's inner circle had contracted COVID-19 -- Hope Hicks, one of the president's closest advisers.

Hicks was present at the debate on Tuesday in Ohio and, on Wednesday, followed the president to Minnesota for a rally.

Hicks had flown on the president's helicopter, Marine One, when it departed for Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday from the White House. She was also in the company of the president's other top advisers Stephen Miller, Dan Scavino and Jared Kushner at the time. None of these individuals wore a mask.

Hicks has started manifesting symptoms of the virus, sources confirm to ABC News, adding that her results came back on Wednesday.

The president has since canceled Friday's rally due to testing positive for the virus, however, a closed press call on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors" remains on his schedule as of early Friday morning.

Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden has yet to react to reports.

COVID-19 has infected more than 7.27 million Americans and is responsible for the death of at least 207,789 people, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
The case involving the Sea View Koh Chang hotel and American teacher Wesley Barnes has drawn new scrutiny to Thailands criminal defamation and computer crimes laws, which rights activists say are far too harsh.

The Sea View Koh Chang said in an e-mail that mediation had been set for October 8th with Mr Barnes, who works in Thailand.

It seems like the hotel is ready to settle, Mr Barnes said in a message to Reuters.

I will meet them next week to hopefully end this case once and for all. It would be wonderful to have this behind us.

Police said Sea View Koh Chang had filed a complaint in August after Barnes posted what the hotel described as false and defamatory reviews on TripAdvisor and Google after a row over a 500 baht (13) corkage fee.

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The hotel said it had reported the reviews to Tripadvisor and that some of them were deleted by the site administrator.

Mr Barnes was detained on September 12th and released two days later after posting bail, the islands police said.

Under Thailands criminal defamation and computer crimes acts, he could be fined up to 100,000 baht (2,700) as well as facing jail time.

Mr Barnes has defended reviews he had posted, saying the service had been bad and the restaurant manager was aggressive. He said Tripadvisor did not publish some of his comments.

Tripadvisor has temporarily suspended submissions of reviews of the hotel.

The site said it was investigating the incident with the US Embassy in Thailand.

Tripadvisor is opposed to the idea that a traveller can be prosecuted for expressing opinions, it said in an e-mail to Reuters. -Reuters
If you're seeking a romantic getaway like no other, look no further than a Kruger National Park honeymoon.

What requirements are needed to enter South Africa?

A valid and acceptable passport. Your passport should be valid for at least 30 days beyond your intended date of exit from South Africa. However, some immigration officials still request that a passport would have at least six months validity on the date of entry to South Africa. To avoid problems at the airport on arrival, you are advised to ensure your passport meets these requirements.

At least one blank page in your passport for endorsements.

A valid visa, if required.

Sufficient funds to pay for your day-to-day expenses during your stay. The currency used in South Africa is ZAR also known as the rand. Debit or credit cards are also welcome, but it is absolutely advisable to bring some rand with you for any gratuities, cash purchases, etc.

A return or onward ticket.

Entry Airports in South Africa and how do you get from these airports to the Kruger

Flying to Kruger Airports from Johannesburg or Cape Town

Flying directly to your Safari Lodge Airstrip (scheduled chartered flight)

Honeymoon specials

Free night offers

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Here you will enjoy opulence to the finest detail, secluded suites with sensational views, private candlelit meals and personal, attentive service, private pools, outdoor rose baths and exquisite cuisine set the scene for the most romantic honeymoon and, of course, the most exceptional big five game viewing.Setting out on lifes greatest journey together is an exciting moment, and there is no better way to start out than in the African wilderness.Below you will find some tips and advice about Honeymooning in the Kruger National Park.What about malaria prophylactics - are these to be taken when visiting the Kruger National Park?Even though the risk of malaria is usually low, I always advise my clients to be on the safe side and rather take malaria prophylactics.The choice of the appropriate drug that an individual should use is a decision that should be made in consultation with your medical practitioner or travel clinic.There are a few ways of getting to Kruger. Most trips usually start or end in Johannesburg or Cape Town.Flights operate daily from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Hoedspruit Airport, Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP) and Skukuza Airport. These are the main airports used to get clients to the Kruger lodges.On arrival at the above airports, clients are met and transferred by road to their lodge. This transfer can be between one, two or three hours each way.Flights operate daily from Johannesburg. This is the easiest and most convenient way to travel to the park. Flying time is approximately 90 minutes. You land at the lodge airstrip. A representative or ranger from your lodge will meet you at the airstrip and transfer you in a game drive vehicle directly to your lodge.Best of all, your trusted travel consultant will include all these flights into your itinerary - so no need for you to worry about flights and transfers!As a honeymooner, you are eligible for exclusive offers no other traveller gets. Take advantage of these special offers, which could be:Your honeymoon can be tailored to your budget with the help of a trusted travel consultant. There are so many choices of accommodation to choose from such as luxury suites set in very private locations, there is something for everyoneWhy not end your safari honeymoon off with a beach holiday or a few nights at the Victoria Falls.By following these tips and getting professional advice, all you would need to do say I do and pack your bags and head on over to Africa for the ultimate Kruger Honeymoon.An unforgettable romantic Kruger Park Safari for honeymooners is all you need to cure your wanderlust and to spend some time with your loved one.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday criticised the Uttar Pradesh police over the manhandling of Congress Rahul Gandhi at the Yamuna Expressway. Gandhi was on his way to Uttar Pradeshs Hathras to meet the family of the 19-year-old gangrape victim, who died earlier this week.

Rahul Gandhi is a national political leader. We may have differences with Congress but nobody can support polices behaviour with him. His collar was caught and he was pushed to the ground, in a way it is gangrape of countrys democracy, Raut was as quoted saying by news agency ANI.

Rahul Gandhi was marching towards Hathras along with his sister and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday when he was stopped by the police citing imposition of Section 144 in the area. During the scuffle between the Congress supporters and the police, Gandhi could be seen falling in videos.

Later, the Gandhi siblings were then taken away in a police jeep and kept in a guest house for some time. They were then released and escorted back to Delhi by the UP police.

A first information report (FIR) has also been filed against Rahul, Priyanka and other supporters for violating Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) under which the gathering of more than four people is not allowed as well as the violation of the pandemic act.

The 19-year-old gangrape victim had succumbed to her injuries in Delhis Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday. The incident has triggered a massive outrage across the country. Activists and opposition parties have planned protests across the country, including in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, over the handling of the case.
By Montserrat Castro Gomez

castromo@grinnell.edu

Hazel Murray 22 will be the new Vice President of Student Affairs for the 2020-2021 school year. Murray was running against Ashton Aveling and Francesca Dalla Betta, also third-years.

Murray, a gender, womens and sexuality studies major, served in SGA as a senator last spring. She is engaged in mental health advocacy on campus, and is involved in CBS (Concerned Black Students) and SOL (Student Organization of Latinxs). In an interview with the S&B, she expressed that she felt happy, overwhelmed and ready to start working in her new position within Cabinet.

I feel like Im gonna hold myself to, like, a really high standard, said Murray. I just hope I do well  not just for myself  but just the fact that, you know, people believed in my campaign enough to say, Hey, you know, shes right for this position. And so I want to live up to that, as well.

Murrays campaign is about transparency, accessibility and antiracism. She wants to, among other things, work with CBS to update the Black Manifesto, better student access to mental health providers and increase student participation in SGA. Murrays election comes after the resignation of previous VPSA Amelia Zoernig 21, who left the office after accusations that she had mishandled an event with a racist theme in the spring 2020 semester.

Murray told the S&B that the first thing shed like to do as VPSA is start a conversation within SGA to have delegates of the Grinnell Student Union (UGSDW) in the Senate.

People believed in my campaign enough to say, Hey, you know, shes right for this position And so I want to live up to that, as well.

 VPSA Hazel Murray 22

After an online forum where Murray and the other candidates gave voice to their platforms on Saturday, Sept. 26, voting for students was open from 12:00 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28 through midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

According to the election boardDestiny Magnett 22 and Declan Jones 21as well as SGAs Technology Advisor, Vidush Goswami 21, the turnout of this election was less than a third of the student body: 514 voted out of the 1,457 students enrolled and 173 taking a leave of absence.

Out of the 514, Murray won with 221 votes. Dalla Betta received 151 of the votes while Aveling received 126, a difference of almost a hundred votes behind Murray.

This turnout is significantly lower than it was last spring, when 700 students voted in the election for executive positions within the SGA cabinet. However, it is an improvement from last years fall senatorial election, where the turnout was 338 students.

The highest turnout seen by the seniors in SGA cabinet, and possibly those before them, was in the spring of 2018, where 958 students voted.

Jones explained that one of the challenges he and Magnett had to ensure voter turnout was establishing a relationship between the new candidates for VPSA and the students  especially first years  which is why they held an early forum prior to the election.

I think that was one of our main challenges, was kind of pulling off this special election with both the VPSA and the senators, when we didnt have last spring to prepare for it, said Jones, alluding to the previous campaign for executive positions, where the elected VPSA candidate resigned later in the summer. The campaign cycle was definitely  a very hectic schedule this semester.

Alongside the results for VPSA, students also know which of their peers will be representing them as senators this semester: First-years Anthony Kang, Nora Leahy and Lewis James, third-years Raven McClendon, Neil Israni and Makaela Burch and fourth-years Sophie Doddiemeade and Ahon Gooptu. No second years ran for election. A total of five first years ran for election, four third years and only the two fourth years mentioned above.

Trying to get people to run for Senate is the thing that weve been trying to figure out how to do, said Magnett. This is my second year as the election board chair, and  having conversations about how to get people more involved with Senate have been kind of at the forefront.

One of the reasons almost no students applied to be a senator, Jones said, might be because in the online format, senator representation is based on class years as opposed to locations on campus. Due to this low number of elected senators, the election board and SGA cabinet will need to appoint a number of them.

Goswami explained that in light of low participation, write-ins can count. There are a few candidates who did have, like, write-in campaigns.  its still a significant enough number that we would, like, reach out to them and see if theyre interested in  being a senator.

If write-ins are not enough, however, Cabinet will have to choose a number of students to be voting members of the Senate and have the previously-elected senators vote on their appointment.

Appointing senators is never what I would want to do, said Jones. In an ideal world, wed get plenty of applicants from each class year.

Jones and Magnett consequently mentioned SGAs intention to have a Senate this year that is structured differently to previous years. There will be 12 senators (elected and appointed) drawn from the just-held election, and then six MLC (Multicultural Leadership Council) leaders. These leaders will be nominated by their respective groups and, if they so choose, will then become part of the Senate. That means that the total number of senators (18) will remain the same as other years, but with a different configuration.

This resolution might make SGA extend to become a less insular group than it has been in previous years. As Magnett said: Were starting to see people who are, quote unquote, SGA outsiders running for executive positions.  I think that as we start to expand and engage with more students, instead of just like the same small group of students doing different jobs, thats going to really be the key to improving engagement with SGA.
Beirut: Lebanon and Israel have agreed to open their first negotiations on non-security issues in three decades, a rare if limited breakthrough between hostile neighbours that are technically at war and have no formal diplomatic relations.

Talks aimed at ending an enduring dispute over their maritime boundary in a patch of the Mediterranean Sea rich with natural gas are expected to begin this month, officials from both countries said on Thursday.

Israel's offshore Leviathan gas field in the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon and Israel have reached an agreement on a framework of indirect talks over a longstanding disputed maritime border between the two countries Credit:AP

The talks, to be held under the auspices of the United Nations and mediated by the United States, were announced just weeks after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalised relations with Israel, becoming the third and fourth Arab countries to do so. But officials involved in the maritime talks said a diplomatic accord between Lebanon and Israel was not on the table.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulated the parties on the agreement, saying in a statement that the talks "have the potential to yield greater stability, security and prosperity for Lebanese and Israeli citizens alike."
A federal judge originally ruled that the license for the dam was illegal because the people in the Indigenous lands affected were not consulted as required by law. But construction was allowed to proceed and the dam stands today. The project, which consists of two dams, removes 80 percent of the water from a 45-mile stretch between them along which two Indigenous lands are. Despite an estimated $18 billion price tag, the dams economic viability was always in question. The natural seasonal cycle of the Xingu River includes a long low-flow period that prevents Belo Monte from using many of its expensive turbines during much of the year.

The study in Nature Communications found that some lowland dams in the Amazon actually may exceed the carbon emissions rates of fossil fuel plants. Beyond that, these tropical dams cause environmental damage that is much more serious than their proponents admit, for benefits that are far less than claimed.

River ecosystems are turned into reservoirs, for instance, damaging aquatic diversity. Dams can block annual fish migrations, like that of the giant catfish of the Madeira River. According to one analysis, after Brazil built one dam on the Madeira, in 2011, and another in 2013, fish catches in what had been the worlds second greatest riverine fishery plummeted in Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. Thousands of people lost their fishing-based livelihoods, and the steep decline in fishing also led to social tensions in the region that persist today.

Another problem results when nutrient-rich sediments carried by these rivers are trapped behind dams rather than carried downstream and deposited on flood plains, where they are essential for agriculture. The nutrients also support the food chain that fish downstream depend on, compromising catches along thousands of miles of Amazonian rivers.

These huge impoundments also destroy forests, which drown in the sprawling reservoirs behind them and are cut down to make way for the accompanying development and to clear paths for transmission lines strung across vast distances to deliver electricity to faraway consumers and industries. The rising waters behind these dams can also displace thousands of people from their homes, as they have done time and again in the Amazon.

Some proposed dams are important components of planned waterways that will allow for the transportation of soybeans and other products by barge. This would accelerate the clearing of forest and the transformation of cattle pasture for soy cultivation. This switch from pasture to soy fields is already a key driver of deforestation as cattle ranchers sell their lands to soy farmers and buy cheap land deeper into forest areas to clear for new ranches.
An entrepreneur and hairstylist at Asante Mampong Shadrack Adu Agyei a.k.a Eboue of Bantama Barbaring Saloon together with friends and family members as well as Sikafuturo foundation donated items to Mampong Babies Home.

Eboue made this generous donation when he paid a courtesy call on the orphans at Mampong Babies Home at Asante Mampong on 30th September 2020.

The items worth GHC5,000 include bags of rice, assorted drinks, biscuits, oil, foodstuffs among others.

He made a similar generous offer last year giving out items to the children.

He promises to do more as long as he can.

Eboue in his speech said, seeing a smile on the faces of orphans is a joy and a promise he wishes to keep.

"I know how it feels to be an orphan and no parent chooses to die and leave their children behind as orphans", he said.

It is Adu Agyei Shadrack wish to always see food on the tables of most orphans if not all of them. "Seeing a smile on the faces of orphans is gratifying."

He, therefore, entreats all Ghanaians especially residents of Mampong to emulate similar kind gestures to the needy and orphans.
We wish this included TKC but the new trend for campaign 2020 consists of partisan cash paying wind-up toy writers to espouse talking points backed up by sketchy research.

In Kansas City, The Sentinel battles The Reflector for supremacy over a tiny crowd of hyper-partisan scumbags. Luckily the dearth of writing talent and/or original ideas keeps either/neither publication from wielding any real influence.

Also, they don't know as many fart jokes as our blog community. Natch.



Check-it:


As COVID deaths pass 1m mark, developing countries will suffer

Global deaths from Covid have passed the 1 million mark. Covid headlines remain one of the main drivers of global markets as the latter are trying to gauge the possible trajectory of the global economy and the likely policy response. Many countries are contemplating further tightening of Covid-related restrictions, which means that their economies may require more support. With their borrowing costs remaining low, developed economies may continue pursuing lax fiscal policies in years to come. Developing countries may find they have less room for fiscal stimulus, partly because the recent increase in risk aversion has driven up their borrowing costs.

On Tuesday evening, the incumbent US President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate, had their first televised debate.The debate was extremely charged emotionally. Repeated interruptions by President Trump prevented a meaningful discussion of candidates views on important issues. The aggressive debate tactic is unlikely to help Trump to lure more voters into his camp. Meanwhile, Biden, who maintained dignity and avoided potentially costly mistakes during the debate, should not lose any of his support. Importantly, he managed to emphasize Trumps failures in dealing with the coronavirus epidemic in the US, which was among his main priorities during the debate. On balance, the debate may have improved Bidens chances to win.

The US markets are also watching the fate of the new $2.2trn fiscal stimulus plan released by the White House Democrats. There seems to be little chance of the Republicans supporting the draft plan in the Senate during the most acute phase of the US election campaign. With the recent demand indicators surprising on the upside (see below), the Republicans may dispute the need for another generous package.

Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey said that he could not put a date on the end of negative rate review and that negative rates would require extensive communication. His statement supported the British pound, which has performed well vs. USD ahead of the crucial talks on the future of the UK-EU trade held this week.

A slew of US demand-related statistics released yesterday was surprisingly strong. US September consumer confidence rose to 101.8, vs 90 expected, the highest since April. US August goods trade balance widens to a record $83bn deficit, led by a rise in imports (the latter also indicates demand recovery). US 20 city home prices advance at 3.9% YoY, highest since Dec 18.

Eurozone September economic confidence increased more than expected, to 91.1 (which is the highest reading since March). German Sep CPI fell to -0.4% YoY vs -0.1% expected, lowest since 2015. The CPI move was driven by low energy prices and the VAT reduction.

In the emerging market space, the Russian rouble and the Turkish lira remained in focus. The Russian currency is suffering from a combination of negatives, including the threat of US and EU sanctions for the poisoning of opposition politician Navalny, risk aversion ahead of the US elections, and oil market softness. The announcement by Sberbank that it is going to pay generous 2019 dividends in October (part of which are going to be exchanged into FX and repatriated) has not helped. As USDRUB approached the psychological level of 80, the Russian Central Bank promised a little more FX intervention in the open market in 4Q, which helped to stop the slide. The Turkish lira remained under pressure yesterday as Armenia blamed Turkey for shooting down the Armenian jet. Turkey denied this report.

By Simona Stankovska

https://exante.eu/

 2020 Copyright Simona Stankovskar - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Chairman of the Volta Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has disclosed that the Council would hold an emergency consultative dialogue with key security Ministries on Friday.



The meeting will allow them to chart a way forward in the raging violence being perpetrated by members of secessionists groups seeking to declare statehood for parts of the region.



He mentioned the Ministries as National Security, Interior and Defence as well as Regional House of Chiefs and Caucus of Volta Parliamentarians.



Dr Letsa who made this disclosure to the Ghana News Agency in an interview said REGSEC had already engaged the Region's Parliamentary Caucus on Wednesday, on a fact-finding mission to gauge the security implications of the Western Togoland activities and the roles of the Parliamentarians to forging.



He described the interaction as fruitful as it is intended to return the region to normalcy, while seek to arrest and prosecute those elements charting destructive courses.



Dr Letsa called for the need for increased sensitisation for the MPs on the campaign trail as he assured them of intelligence sharing towards curtailing the activities of the reckless bandits.



He said lots of consultations had been carried out with key stakeholders, which he believed would give clarity to concerns been raised by all.



Dr Letsa urged the public to remain calm and bear with them as disclosing the nitty-gritty of security information including; how REGSEC was combating the miscreants would greatly jeopardize the security set up to beat these criminals to their own game.



He appealed to the media to remain professional in the trying times and avoid sensationalism and misinformation as that could aggravate the situation.



Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, whose Constituency suffered last Friday's attack by the group including; road barricades and burning of tyres described their interaction as fruitful and frank and pledged their support to the process.



He promised to work for the peace and unity of the region and to protect and maintain its territorial integrity.



He appealed to the security agencies to step up intelligence gathering expressing worry about their response time and urged them to go for the culprits in these criminal enterprises.

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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Happy Valley-Goose Bay residents were on high alert Thursday after a non-resident health care worker who recently arrived in the town may have visited local retail outlets before testing positive for COVID-19.

Health officials wont confirm whether thats the case, but alerts have been issued for anyone who was on either of two flights or in two stores in the town at a certain time last week to contact public health.

Labrador MP Yvonne Jones and others tweeted images of a long lineup at the drive-through testing site. Jones suggested it could be as much as two kilometres long.

Waylon Williams, a spokesman for the town, was in the lineup when contacted by The Telegram Thursday.

The town is concerned, and will be arranging to have meetings with Labrador-Grenfell Health on a local level to discuss what may or may not have happened, he said.

But the health authority said not everyone in that lineup was necessarily advised to get tested.

There are many more people seeking testing that really need to, but that would be expected, a spokesperson said when contacted.

Part of the reason is that the authority temporarily dropped its requirement that testing be done by appointment until Saturday, when residents will have to call 811 again to be assessed.

The positive case is a woman between 20-40 years old who apparently came from Saskatchewan to fill in for a staff position at the Labrador Health Centre, something that occurs regularly.

As a health authority which serves a rural and remote population, Labrador-Grenfell Health relies on locum support of health professionals from outside our region, the authority explained in a statement Wednesday.

Sometimes those professionals come from outside of the province. Labrador-Grenfell Health follows guidelines outlined by the Department of Health and Community Services and the chief medical officer of health around essential healthcare workers to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This process has been successful, and we continue to take great care in ensuring we protect the health and safety of our communities.

The stores and times in question are the Terrington Co-op on Sept. 22 from 4:30-6:30 p.m., and The Bargain Store on Sept. 23 from 3:30-4 p.m.

Those familiar with the town say the Co-op would have been especially busy at that time of day. Happy Valley also serves as a shopping hub for the rest of Labrador.

On Thursday afternoon, store president George Andrews announced in a Facebook post the store would close at 6 p.m. to ensure staff had a chance to call 811 for instructions.

He also assured customers that strict cleaning protocols are in place and offered to crosscheck Co-op card numbers for anyone who may not be sure if they were in the store at the time specified in the alert.

The safety of our customers and our staff is our top priority at this time, he said.

The flights involved are Air Canada flights 7950 and 7484 departing Regina and Toronto for Deer Lake on Monday, Sept. 21, and PAL Airlines Flight 901 departing Deer Lake to Happy Valley-Goose Bay on Tuesday, Sept. 22. Other passengers on those flights are asked to call 811 to arrange for testing.

Anyone who stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Deer Lake on Monday, Sept. 21, should also call 811.

Finance Minister Siobhan Coady has been told to self-monitor for symptoms because she was at the hotel around that time.

At a news briefing in St. Johns Thursday, Acting Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Rosann Seviour clarified that self-monitoring is not the same as self-isolating, in which a person is required to stay away from public spaces. She said the decision on whether a person is instructed to isolate or not is based on a variety of risk factors that depend on individual circumstances. That determination is made by public health.

Seviour is filling in for Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, who is on vacation.

During the briefing, Health Minister John Haggie would not confirm whether the health worker who tested positive actually visited the stores in question and said an investigation into the matter is continuing. Pandemic health orders dictate that essential workers who enter the province can begin work right away but must self-isolate when not at work or travelling to and from work.

He said Labrador clinics have a preliminary process to get immediate test results before sending them to St. Johns for confirmation. As of Thursday morning, no other positive results had been found.

To make sure those who should be tested get tested promptly, the minister advised anyone who does not meet the stated criteria to stay away from the drive-through station.

Dont sit in the queue. Go home.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Labrador-Grenfell Health emphasized that even though the worker may have been in contact with others at the hospital, strict protocols make it unlikely any spread occurred. All health care workers wear personal protective equipment on the job.

Considering we already have our COVID restrictions in place in terms of designated visitors and appointment-based services and things like that and social distancing and masks, hand sanitizer available, hand-washing, those measures  theres no additional measures to be taken at the hospital, the spokesperson said.
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September, National Suicide Prevention Month, is coming to a close. National Physician Suicide Awareness Day was September 17. What happens now that Septembers over?

All month, Ive wanted to write this post. Ive been hesitant because Ive been grieving the loss of a dear friend who took his own life on August 30. He wasnt even 50 years old. If youd met him, youd have never suspected in a billion years he was depressed. A smart physician with a riotous sense of humor who knew so many lines from Seinfeld episodes and myriad movies, he could hold an audience captive with his stories. He was a loving, devoted spouse, supportive and proud of his two high school daughters, always present at dance performances. He attended church and taught Sunday school for 13 years. He hadnt just been an internist or a pediatrician; hed been both, and chief resident.

A sadly familiar story, isnt it? Another solid person who looks so put together on the outside, always doing more than anyone ever asked him to do. Never just settling for good enough.

What feelings and thoughts did he have that convinced himself that the world and those who love him would be better off without him? That the pain of death was less than the pain of living?

Our community has been shocked by this news, not only because none of us had any idea he struggled with depression, but because such an event sends out aftershocks, triggering personal memories for everyone who hears the story. Even those who didnt know him, whove struggled with depression themselves or lost a loved one to suicide, re-experience their own pain hearing this story. Id be willing to bet theres not a single person out there who hasnt also experienced this kind of loss.

When I was 25 and had my major depressive episode, I experienced suicidal thoughts. Itd all started in med school with the B- I got on the first test one month into training. No matter what I did, what metrics I used to prove my self-worth, I never felt enough. I was scared all the time that I couldnt handle adult life. How could I be a doctor and take care of others when my mind was constantly distracted by ruminations of self-doubt, self-loathing, rehashing of past mistakes (i.e., not meeting my own or others unrealistic expectations, wrong answers, reading a CT scan overnight on-call and having my attending ask, Ummm  you didnt say that, did you?).

I took three months off from medical training to care for myself. I read Darkness Visible by William Stegner to help me understand what was happening to me. The book convinced me that it was depression creating my thoughts, not me. I took Prozac and saw a psychiatrist regularly, which helped me pull myself out, but eventually, anxiety would again burn through my serotonin stores, and insomnia would come back; my clues to resume the meds.

With uncharacteristic self-compassion, I chose to work part-time, never becoming a partner in private practice. Professionals acknowledge imposter syndrome, but I actually was an imposter, living an exhausting secret life that I had to manage privately. My group thought I was at home tending to my kids, and I was, but I needed those days off to replenish myself.

Its been three years since I left that job. I still take 1/4 tablet a day. Im so grateful for SSRIs and that I loved myself enough to not let the stigma keep me from taking care of my emotional life. I also took the meds because I love my family and prioritized taking care of my emotional self over scarring them with my own suffering. I have no shame about it. Zero.

If my story resonates with you, keep this in mind: You arent f*cked up. The system is f*cked up. Awareness of the deep emotional struggles health care providers experience is increasing  but we need more. More willingness to recognize that, like it or not, doctors are human. With so much negative cultural meta-emotion (the feelings about our feelings) around feeling anything but happy or in control, the intense shame around feeling sad or lonely is the judgment that holds people hostage. This is true for the general population, even more true in medicine, where shame is used frequently as a motivator to work harder and never make mistakes.

Theres so little talk about our low emotions. Yet feelings run the show in our lives and inside our minds. Its not our emotions that bring us the worst pain. Its pretending we dont have heavy feelings that hurts the most.

If you really want to make a dent in physician suicide, talk about your own feelings, not just with a therapist, but with the people in your daily life. Share your hardships. You spend all waking hours trying to ensure the longevity and well-being of everyone around you. Its time to take a long, hard look inward.

The medical establishment will never tell you to do it  although I am deeply committed to changing this status quo. You must grant yourself permission and follow your own rules of what is and is not okay for you in order to maintain your sanity and truly save your own life.

Hiding unwanted emotions is exhausting and impacts everything. If you arent sharing your difficult feelings, youre reinforcing an environment that keeps others from sharing theirs. Talking about your struggles creates opportunities and grants others permission to do the same. When you share whats really true, in a radically honest way, whats true changes. When you acknowledge your sadness, anger, or anxiety, you release some of the tension that comes with trying to appear unaffected. Speaking what you really feel is a crucial way to prevent further suicides.

Shame grows in the dark. Shame, when spoken, heals. Now that October is here, I hope Im not too late to make a difference.

The author is an anonymous physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
The United States, the UAE, and Israel will pursue a joint energy strategy as a means to improve the security of the region.

In a statement carried by the Emirati state news agency WAM, the three countries energy ministers said: "The United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, and the State of Israel, acknowledging the benefits of focusing on pragmatic steps that have tangible outcomes, agree to encourage greater coordination in the energy sector, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, oil, natural gas resources and related technologies, and water desalination technologies.

Together, our dynamic economies will look to leverage world-leading research and development capacities to meet the needs of current and future generations. We will also seek to find solutions to the energy challenges faced by the Palestinian people through the development of energy resources, technologies, and related infrastructure.

The announcement of that new partnership comes soon after the UAE and Bahrain became the first Arab countries in decades to establish diplomatic relations with the state of Israel. Both are oil producers, while Israel is an emerging natural gas producer with ambitions to become a significant exporter of the commodity.

The announcement is the latest example of how the current crisis is forging partnerships that may have looked unlikely before. All major oil producers, including those in the Middle East, are suffering the effects the pandemic has had on oil demand, and the natural gas sector is not doing too well, either, threatening Israels ambitions to become one of the largest exporters in the region.

But there were also geopolitical motivations behind the alliance. As per Oilprice.coms Simon Watkins, More than any other outcomes from this deal, the UAE wanted to put itself firmly in the U.S.s most-favoured allies for receiving future business and financing deals, as it suffered a big hit from the Saudi-led oil price war that just ended, and to be included in the U.S.-Israel intelligence and security network to protect itself from Iran.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Singapore investment company GIC will invest Rs 5,512.5 crore in the retail unit of Reliance Industries (RIL), joining the rush of global investors buying stakes in the Indian company.

This latest investment  the sixth in recent weeks  in exchange for 1.22 percent stake values Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore, Mukesh Ambani-controlled RIL said in a late-night statement on October 2.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, GICs global network and track record of long-term partnerships will be invaluable to the transformation story of Indian retail. This investment is a strong endorsement of our strategy and Indias potential.

Lim Chow Kiat, CEO, GIC, said, We believe Reliance Retail will continue to use its extensive supply chain and store networks, as well as strong logistics and data infrastructure, to add value to its customers and shareholders.

Reliance Retail has so far attracted investments worth Rs 30,360 crore in exchange for a combined 6.87 percent stake.

On October 1, Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co said it will invest Rs 6,247.5 crore to secure 1.4 percent in the retail unit of Reliance Industries (RIL).

This investment  with Silver Lake's co-investors and General Atlantic, the sixth in three weeks  too valued Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore.

Reliance Retail operates India's largest, fastest growing and most profitable retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its nearly 12,000 stores nationwide.

GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapores foreign reserves, said the RIL statement. A disciplined long-term value investor, GIC is uniquely positioned for investments across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and infrastructure, it said.

GIC has investments in over 40 countries and has been investing in emerging markets for more than two decades. Headquartered in Singapore, it employs over 1,700 people across 10 offices in key financial cities worldwide.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.

Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Retail and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
The Chinese people have suffered the worst environmental impacts, however, it is Beijing who threatens the global economy by exploiting natural resources through its One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, according to United States State Department.

Despite the Chinese Communist Partys claims of a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal fishing, Chinese vessels routinely violate the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of other coastal states, fish without permission, and overfish licensing agreements, US State Department said.

In a report titled Chinas Environmental Abuses Fact Sheet, State Department said: Beijing is the worlds largest emitter of greenhouse gases; the largest source of marine debris; the worst perpetrators of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; and the worlds largest consumer of trafficked wildlife and timber products. While the Chinese people have suffered the worst environmental impacts of its actions, Beijing also threatens the global economy and global health by unsustainably exploiting natural resources and exporting its willful disregard for the environment through its One Belt One Road initiative.

Further talking about the OBOR project, more commonly known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the report states that it aspires to create a network of enhanced overland and maritime trade routes to better link China with the world. However, the implementation of BRI lacks clear environmental guidelines, safety standards, and worker protections.

Many BRI-funded projects do not meet international standards, leaving countries to deal with the harmful consequences long after a project is completed. Environmental safeguards depend on the laws of host countries, and Beijing is leading nations away from developing their economies sustainably, the report further added.

The report also raised concerns about Chinas contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, as the country has been the worlds largest annual greenhouse gas emitter since 2006.

Chinas total emissions are twice that of the United States and nearly one-third of all emissions globally, it said.

Besides, China is also the worlds largest consumer of legal and illegal wildlife, and it has been identified as a Focus Country under the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt (END) Wildlife Trafficking Act, the report stated.

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NASA Astronaut posted on Twitter a few photos looking down from space of where the California wildfire once was that destroyed a huge chunk of what was sacredly being kept a forest and painted the sky orange for a good bit. Chris Cassidy is a NASA astronaut currently staying at the International Space Station or ISS.

The astronaut noted in a tweet that it was hard for him to imagine that the pictures shown were pictures of where the destructive California fires once were. He stated that he was also thinking of all of the different families and communities that were dealing with the whole catastrophic state of emergency. Chris Cassidy then said that to all of the firefighters that were working around the clock in order to save as much as they possibly could, Thank You.

It is hard to even imagine the destruction of the California fires. Thinking of all the families and communities who are still dealing with this catastrophic state of emergency. #ThankYou to all of the fire fighters working around the clock to save as much as possible. pic.twitter.com/yRE1MbnkvM October 1, 2020

Previous California wildfire

The previous California fire has burned about four million acres all across California in the year 2020 alone and over 8,000 buildings and structures have either been damaged or even destroyed, according to the California fire officials.

The devastation of the fire, in combination with the whole impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, has longtime residents just like Jan Zakin quite exhausted by the whole cycle of both worry and also repeated evacuations. According to Zakin, it is still very devastating that this thing could happen again. She stated to CNN that it still does not stop and that they just had it happen about a month ago as well as the previous year. She stated that it was like she can't really run away from the known fires.

Although other Californians have already made the decision to finally relocate together, Zakin's status is quite complicated because they actually own vineyards that are situated across 150 acres and are still deeply tied to this property ever since their purchase back in 1998. Zakin said that due to the recent evacuation, they are now reconsidering if they really should stay.

Read Also:

The dangers of the California wildfire

The Glass Fire in both Napa and Sonoma counties has burned a total of 56,781 acers ever since it sparked out and the Zogg Fire over in Tehama and Shasta counties have also scorched about 55,303 acres according to the Cal Fire.

Wildfires are actually a natural part of California's own landscape but the current year's wildfires have been extremely devastating due to the warmer temperatures in both spring and summer, earlier snowmelt, and reduced snowpack are all creating longer as well as more intense dry seasons. Climate change has also been a key driver of this current trend and is making forests even more susceptible to these severe fires according to Cal Fire.

Read Also:

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian Buenconsejo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By PTI

CHANDIGARH: In a slight change in his programme, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will now hold tractor rallies in Punjab and Haryana from October 4-6 to protest against the contentious new farm laws.

Earlier, Gandhi was scheduled to hold tractor rallies from October 3-5, the party had said.

However, the rest of his itinerary will remain the same.

"Change in @Rahul Gandhi tractor rallies programme; rescheduled to October 4, 5, 6. Rest (itinerary) remains the same," Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's media advisor, Raveen Thukral, tweeted.

Singh, state Congress president Sunil Jakhar, party's Punjab incharge Harish Rawat, and all state ministers and party MLAs will join the protests, "to give voice to the angst and pain of the farmers, whose livelihood and future has been put at stake by the central legislations".

ALSO READ | 'Will bear sufferings while opposing untruth': Rahul quotes Mahatma on Gandhi Jayanti

A spokesperson of Punjab Congress had said on Thursday that the tractor rallies were expected to be supported by farmers' organisations and will cover more than 50 km over three days.

The rallies are scheduled to begin around 11 am on each of the three days and will be conducted amid strict COVID-19 protocols, the spokesperson had said.

Gandhi is likely to address rallies at Kaithal and Pipli in Kurukshetra district of Haryana on October 6 instead of October 5, following which he will return to Delhi.

Farmers have expressed apprehension that the Centre's farm reforms would pave a way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big companies.

Parliament had last week passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill; and the Farmers' (Empowerment an

ALSO WATCH:
Update: The National Labor Relations Board dismissed the lawsuit in November 2020.

ANN ARBOR, MI -- Former employees of a downtown Ann Arbor marijuana dispensary say managers fired them for speaking up against racial injustice and attempting to unionize.

Ana Gomulka, former social equity program coordinator, and Lisa Conine, former community outreach coordinator, attempted to have conversations with Om of Medicine managers on improvements amid the Black Lives Matter movement and the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into his neck during an arrest.

The two asked managers to make a public statement about the movement, but Gomulka said they instead sent employees an email.

The two were later fired and immediately filed for wrongful termination through the National Labor Relations Board, Gomulka and Conine confirmed.

However, Om of Medicine co-founder Mark Passerini denies violating anyones rights.

Om of Medicine categorically denies engaging in any activity that violates employees' rights under the NLRA," Passerini said in a statement. "Om of Medicine is also committed to equal employment opportunity, treating everyone fairly and maintaining an environment free of discrimination, harassment and intimidation,

Employees picketed outside of the dispensary on Wednesday, Sept. 23, to stand for real justice in this industry and support the terminated employees, Gomulka said.

Cannabis retailer aims to break down stigma by normalizing marijuana

They tried intimidating us for speaking up against racism, said Gomulka, who identifies as a multicultural Black person. We know the cannabis industry. Over 85% of owners of cannabis, especially in our state, are white. It was very shocking they promoted me in this position and wouldnt let me do my work.

The reaction also shocked Conine, she said, as Om of Medicine is a known trailblazer and taking a stance on everything in the community.

"That was really disheartening with all of us, Conine said. "That hasnt been our experience at Om of Medicine,

Previous social media posts indicate the company stands against police brutality toward communities of color and note social inequities in the cannabis industry, citing people of color often are made as victims of mass incarceration and in constant fear of law enforcement.

Passerini said he and the Omies pride themselves in cannabis education, reform and helping communities right the wrongs caused from cannabis prohibition by seeking out opportunities to lift up those harmed by the war on cannabis.

Om of Medicines three core principles have been central to our mission," Passerini said in a statement. "First, serve our patients and customers with quality cannabis products in a safe and responsible manner. Second, provide our Omies, a fair, safe, and respectful workplace. Third, focus our advocacy efforts on one goal: to replace prohibition with opportunity so that our patients and consumers can safely learn about and procure cannabis for healing and responsible use,

To achieve this, we have always had an open-door policy to all community members, including elected officials, community leaders, and law enforcement. Working together, we have kept our patients safe to access their medicine with no issues for over a decade.

Darren McCarty cheers on Ann Arbors Om of Medicine as recreational cannabis sales begin

Issues escalated when Gomulka and Conine sought to unionize after Mission Dispensaries acquired Om of Medicine in 2019 to secure wages, benefits and more, Conine said.

After presenting managers with a letter of recognition for the union, Gomulka and Conine were told their positions would be eliminated because they no longer align with the company.

Ive never gotten any official discipline. It was all verbal and it was more of discouraging me from speaking up and trying to tell me that I wasnt doing it effectively, Conine said. I was never ever told that I was doing anything wrong with my job duties.

The company does not comment on personnel related matters, but Passerini said decisions are consistent with their mission.

Last week, a group of employees presented our company with a demand that our company recognize a third-party union as the exclusive bargaining agent for negotiating over the terms and conditions of employment," Passerini said in a statement. "We believe these are important issues and that all Omies should be given the opportunity to participate in a free and fair election under the National Labor Relations Act.

Gomulka is continuing to advocate for an equitable industry through Michigan Cannabis Workers Rising.

The group advocates for the voice of the Michigan cannabis workforce and for a safe and equitable industryRyan Stanton

Dexter would hold elections to sell city-owned property if ballot proposal passes

Ann Arbor traffic on Maiden Lane to be detoured for construction

Local Eats: Ypsilanti Townships Minys Mexican Restaurant named after mother
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 05:03:26|Editor: huaxia

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People take part in a women's strike in Brussels, Belgium, March 8, 2019. Thousands of women went on strike across Belgium on International Women's Day to campaign for women's rights and gender equality, local media reported. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)

The international community needs to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on women, strive for genuine gender equality, ensure that women advance at the forefront of the times, and enhance global cooperation in advancing women's development, Xi said at a high-level meeting on the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Experts worldwide said that the proposals raised by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday will consolidate global consensus on promoting gender equality and boosting comprehensive development of the cause of women against the backdrop of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

A Palestinian girl adjusts a face mask for her sister at their house in Gaza City, on Sept. 14, 2020. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

The international community needs to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on women, strive for genuine gender equality, ensure that women advance at the forefront of the times, and enhance global cooperation in advancing women's development, Xi said at a high-level meeting on the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Gertrude Mongella, secretary-general of the Fourth World Conference on Women, said that Xi's proposals have demonstrated the Chinese government's long-held position of attaching importance to the development of women's cause.

The women's rights advocate in Tanzania also said that China has always been committed to improving women's rights and interests and effectively lifting the status of women.

It is hoped that all countries can continue to work together, strengthen cooperation, increase investment in the cause of women, and promote the continuous development of global cause of women, she added.

Andrey Karneev, professor and head of the School of Asian Studies of Russia's Higher School of Economics, said that ensuring gender equality is a global trend, adding that China has been working hard to ensure gender equality, and handling issues related to gender equality in a constructive manner so as to guarantee women's rights.

He also said that China's experience is very valuable for other countries.

Hala Mansour, a sociology professor at Ain Shams University in Egypt, said "The international community has a role in helping women in developing countries, trying to support women by raising awareness, supporting training and rehabilitation, establishing joint projects."

A girl gets a red dot painted on her forehead, a tradition called "opening the wisdom eye", during the First Writing Ceremony, a traditional activity held for children before they are admitted to school, at a museum in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

She also said that China has great expertise in protecting women's rights, from which Egypt can learn, and the two countries can also cooperate in supporting woman to start small and medium-sized enterprises, and in providing skills training for women.

Juliana Gonzalez Jauregui, a researcher from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences of University of San Andres, Argentina, said that China actively supports UN Women's work, and has made great contributions to promoting gender equality and women's empowerment, which is a practice of China's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Pella Karpathiotaki, a Greek scholar, said that countries around the world still need to do more to ensure that women can enjoy healthy lives, educational opportunities and full social inclusion.

She also said that achieving gender equality and ensuring women's rights and interests are inevitable requirements for achieving a just and sustainable development, adding that China's successful experience in this regard is worth learning from.

Woman workers examine a train during a maintenance operation at a railway station in Guwahati, India, on March 7, 2018. (Xinhua/Stringer)

Mohna Ansari, former commissioner at Nepal's National Women Commission, said that the situation in Nepal has worsened following the pandemic, which has added more challenges to women's lives.

"Instead, what I believe is, we can convert this pandemic to an opportunity to strengthen women's socio-economic condition by encouraging them to break the boundary in a positive way," she said. 
Donald Trumps campaign has published dozens of ads on Facebook and Instagram featuring doctored images showing Joe Biden wearing earbuds below a bar of text asking, Whos in Joes ear?"

The ads follow allegations that the Democratic presidential candidate would rely on an earpiece feeding him answers at the candidates first debate appearance, a conspiracy that was widely spread across social media and dismissed by the former vice presidents campaign in the days leading up to Tuesdays event.

That day, the Trump campaign amplified the conspiracy, telling supporters that Mr Biden had declined an earpiece inspection before the debate.

Text on the ads, which began appearing on Facebook on Thursday, reads: Joe's BEGGING for breaks during the debate! CHECK JOE'S EARS! He REFUSED drug test & DECLINED an earpiece inspection!"

Facebook did not immediately respond to The Independents request for comment.

The claims follow a conspiracy playbook among Republican figures and right-wing media over the past two decades accusing Democratic candidates of relying on back-room aides during debates.

MSNBC anchor Ayman Mohyeldin pressed Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes about the ads on Thursday, but Mr Cortes accused Mr Mohyeldin of raising a gotcha question and added I dont even know if its our ad.

This is the first time I have seen that so I cant comment on it, Mr Cortes said. Frankly, Im not going to take your word for it and Im not going to take MSNBCs word for it."

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh claimed that Mr Bidens handlers had agreed to a pre-debate inspection for electronic earpieces" but abruptly reversed themselves and declined ahead of the debate.

The Biden campaign denied the claims, calling the allegations completely absurd.

His opponents campaigns continued to push the allegations, using the hashtag #CheckJoesEars throughout the debate.

In a post on Twitter that has been deleted, the campaigns rapid response staffer Jake Schneider compared a button available for sale from the Biden campaign website featuring a pair of sunglasses added to the candidate, but havent seen any coverage about that.

The latest efforts from the Trump campaign follow attempts to question the former vice presidents mental competency  including the presidents attorney Rudy Giuliani alleging without evidence that Mr Biden "has dementia"  while Mr Trump has routinely faced scrutiny throughout his time in office for the state of his health.

Mr Trumps campaign also has released ads compiling his rivals perceived gaffes or stutters, and his campaigns social media accounts routinely mock the candidate.

A headline leading Fox News on Tuesday afternoon, shortly before the debate was due to start, read Biden campaign rejects Trump's call for inspector to check candidates for listening devices at debate.

Weeks earlier, the conspiracy was bubbling on social media and far-right message boards, including QAnon-related platforms, while prominent conspiracy theorists suggested that Mr Bidens ears be checked before the debate in posts that were shared thousands of times.

Last week, more than 300 people shared a post, liked more than 1,000 times, from the page We Love President Donald J Trump that links to a story suggesting that "someone is helping" Mr Biden with an earpiece.

On 29 September, a reporter with The New York Post claimed that a source familiar with the campaign said that Mr Biden had agreed to an ear inspection but has now declined. She later reported that his campaign said that was false and had also denied claims that he had asked for breaks during the 90-minute debate.

Versions of the story from Breitbart and other right-wing Facebook pages were shared thousands of times on Tuesday.

The Trump campaign, facing accusations of promoting election-related misinfirmation, has been under fire for other ads on Facebook, including dozens that prominently featured a symbol used by the Nazis to identify political opponents.

Those ads, which ran in June, were removed by the platform for violating the companys policies "against organised hate.

Our policy prohibits using a banned hate groups symbol to identify political prisoners without the context that condemns or discusses the symbol," Facebook told The Independent at the time.

The company also removed a brief campaign video on Tuesday that linked refugee admission into the US with the spread of Covid-19.
SpaceX was only 18 seconds away from launching its 60 Starlink communications satellites. The possible cause of the abort wasn't specified by the company and it didn't give any new launch time and date.

Siva Baradvaj, SpaceX's space operations engineer, said, "There's a thousand ways that a launch can go wrong, and only one way it can go right. Now overall, the vehicle does appear to be in good health, but that will end our launch attempt for today." He mentioned this while in a live broadcast during the launch attempt.

With its launch site at Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, the Falcon 9 rocket was set to be on liftoff by 9:17 a.m. EDT. Unfortunately, because of weather and other significant factors, the mission was postponed at least twice.

Read also: Self-Charging Battery that can Surprisingly Last for up to 28,000 Years can be Coming Soon

SpaceX and Starlink in a nutshell

SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk in 2002. The company's formal name is Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Musk established the company with the goal of reducing space transportation costs. Once this is achieved, the company's main goal ultimately points at colonizing Mars. SpaceX is an aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company that is currently based in California.

Starlink provides satellite Internet access. It consists of a satellite constellation that is being constructed by SpaceX. Working in tandem with ground transceivers, this constellation comprises of thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit.

This venture began last 2015 and yearly, the company continuously makes multiple attempts of launching newer batches of its mass-produced satellites in space.

SpaceX plans to have an additional 30,000 Starlink satellites to supplement its 12,000 Starlink satellites that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has already approved. As of this year, the company has already successfully sent 775 Starlink satellites to orbit. Elon Musk's company plans to have launches every two weeks to achieve its goal of having 12,000 satellites operational.

According to astronomers, there were more of these satellites that have already been deployed but 27 of them, at least, have burned up.

SpaceX filed documents with the Federal Communications Commission. According to these, the company is also testing its system with hundreds of Internet users in North America while increasing its number of satellites in orbit. At the moment, the service is only open in certain areas of Canada and the northern United States.

Read also: Windows XP Source Code Has Been Unfortunately Leaked

Starlink: What connection speeds can it offer?

Kate Tice, SpaceX's senior program reliability engineer, said during a Starlink launch last September 3, "Starlink has super-low latency and download speeds greater than 100 Mbps." SpaceX, in one of its tweets, went on into describing that the connection speeds it offers are "fast enough to stream multiple HD movies at once and still have bandwidth to spare."

Elon Musk even publicly tested the Starlink network last October 2019. He used the network's internet connection to post a tweet on Twitter.

Read also: Pokemon GO's Temporary Bonuses will Stay Due to COVID-19
Who Rules the Nineveh Plains of North Iraq?

The exceptional security incident was seen by the observers as a preliminary "Iranian" message to several parties, through the implementing and loyal to it, as it is firstly a message to the Kurdistan region of Iraq, as well as to the international coalition to fight terrorism led by United StateAnd to some extent, the Iranian Kurdish parties opposed to the regime in Tehran.

But the incident also raised major questions about the political and security landscape in the region from which the missiles were launched, called the Nineveh Plain, as it is the subject of a historical political, demographic and military conflict between many political, national, religious and sectarian forces in the northwest region. Iraq.

Area The Nineveh Plain Its area is estimated at about 5,000 square kilometers, and it extends in the form of a plain arc surrounding the city of Mosul, from the Hammam Al-Alil side in its far east, up towards the Kurdish-majority town of Barada Rush, then heading west towards the towns of Farah and reaching the Mosul Dam Lake.

This plain includes the towns of Bashiqa, Bahzani, Baadarah, Tal Asf and Tilkaif, and dozens of smaller towns, with an estimated population of about half a million people, the majority of whom were Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Syriac Christians before waves Displacement And the immigration that hit them due to the worrying security situation over the past years, and at the moment there is a mixture of Kurds and members of the "Shiite" Shabak nationalism, Yazidis and "Sunni" Arabs.

Since the overthrow of the former Iraqi regime in 2003, the region has become a subject of conflict between the central authority and a region Kurdstan IraqThe region was subject to Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which considered it a subject of conflict between the two parties, provided that a referendum of its local population would take place in the future to determine its political and administrative affiliation to either party, the central government or the Kurdistan region.

During the years between 2003 and the terrorist organization "ISIS" occupation of that region in 2014, all the central Iraqi governments supported the "Shiite" Shabak people in this region, and helped them to expand geographically at the expense of Christians and Sunni Kurds and Arabs. Dozens of Shiite religious shrines and charitable institutions were built. And the network economy in the region, at a time when the local government in the province of Mosul was not implementing any development projects, which prompted tens of thousands of Kurdish and Christian families there to flee to the Kurdistan region of Iraq, which created a demographic imbalance in the Nineveh Plain to be almost devoid of Christians andThe Kurds.

The situation worsened after the "ISIS" occupation of that region between 2014 and 2017, so that it became of the same demographic color due to the waves of displacement.

And after overthrowingIsis"In the summer of 2017, there was an undeclared agreement between the governments of the Kurdistan region and the central government that control of the plain would be divided equally between the two parties.

Under the agreement, what was known as the northern Nineveh Plain was born, which includes the towns of Bashiqa, Bahzani, Qaraqosh and their geographical surroundings under the control of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and with them the "third regiment" forces, which included about 2,500 Christian fighters trained by the international coalition forces to fight terrorism, and they were political Supported by the Chaldean Assyrian People's Council, an Iraqi Assyrian political party, close to the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

As for the south of the Sahel, which included the towns of Baghdeda, Telkef, Carmelis, and Bartella and their administrative areas, they were controlled by the Iraqi regular forces, along with factions of the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces, with the presence and relative support of the so-called "Nineveh Plain Garrison Units", which included about 400 soldiers under the political auspices of the Democratic Movement. The Chaldean Assyrian Syriac "Zoa", and receives its resources from the Popular Mobilization Organizations.

After the referendum on the independence of the Kurdistan region of Iraq on September 25, 2017, the Iraqi army forces began on October 17 of the same year, with the support of the Popular Mobilization Forces and Iranian and Turkish regional support, an armed attack on the entire disputed areas, including all areas of the Nineveh Plain, even the northern ones. Which is agreed to be under the control of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Battles took place between those forces and forces Peshmerga For weeks, then it was agreed that the Kurdish forces would withdraw from the towns they had liberated from ISIS.

The security and administrative chaos prevailed in all the cities, towns and regions of the Nineveh Plain for nearly two years. The 30th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces, composed mainly of members of the Shabak nationality and loyal to the Badr Corps, used to rule that region by force of arms and form a kind of special state in the entire region of the Sahel.

This chaos led the former Iraqi prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi Because a bureaucratic order was issued on the first of July 2019 requiring the withdrawal of the Hashd factions from city centers, towns, and districts to the specialized camps, similar to the regular army brigades and their personnel, which was considered by several factions in the crowd as a blow to their influence, interests and dominance, including the Shiite Shabeki Brigade's 30th Brigade. Led by Waad al-Qaddo, whose members carried out a series of protests in his areas of control in the Nineveh Plain, such as burning tires, blocking roads and disrupting public life, which paralyzed public life in the region and cut supply lines between the city of Mosul and the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

On August 8, 2019, and contrary to what was expected at the time, and instead of implementing the prime minister's decision, the Popular Mobilization Authority intervened in mediation between the leaders of the 30th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces, the Mosul Governorate Council, the Iraqi army and the regular security forces in that region at the time, which reached a consensus. My appearance between the leadership of the 30th Brigade The popular crowd And the regular security forces, so that the two sides manage the security issue in the Nineveh Plains region in cooperation with each other, but in effect the entire region of the Nineveh Plain has been given to the 30th Brigade of the "Shiite" network mobilization linked to the Badr Corps, headed by Hadi al-Amiri, the closest Iraqi politician to Iran.

Since that date, the Nineveh Plain area has been considered an Iranian sphere of influence, through the full domination of the 30th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces, with powers and freedom of movement superior to that of the Iraqi army or security services.
Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday and has experienced mild symptoms from Covid-19,. the organisation has confirmed.

A member of the GOP chiefs family had tested positive earlier this week, prompting her to get tested. She confirmed her diagnosis on Friday morning and has been isolating at home in Michigan since last Saturday, according to a statement from the RNC.

The statement follows Donald Trumps announcement that the president, his wife Melania Trump and senior aide Hope Hicks have all tested positive for the disease.

Republican Senator Mike Lee also announced he has tested positive for the disease, at first believing he was experiencing allergy symptoms.

Unlike the test I took just a few days ago while visiting the White House, yesterday's test came back positive, he said in a statement on Friday. On advice of the Senate attending physician, I will remain isolated for the next 10 days.

He met with the presidents US Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Tuesday.

In a Twitter post late on Thursday night, the president announced that he had tested positive for Covid-19 along with the First Lady.

We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately," he said.

Two hours earlier, he confirmed that Ms Hicks had tested positive on Thursday, after she reported feeling ill as the presidents campaign returned to Washington DC from a Minnesota rally on Wednesday night.

The First Lady said: As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen reported testing negative on Friday morning, his press secretary announced.

Ms McDaniel appeared on Fox News on Thursday to discuss the 29 September debate between the president and Democratic candidate Joe Biden, but she did not mention her diagnosis.

She was last in contact with the president on 25 September, the RNC said. She has been at home since then.

In a message on social media on Friday, Ms McDaniel said she is praying for the Trumps.

She said: Wishing @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump a speedy recovery. We are praying for you!
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani East Constituency and Majority Chief Whip, Hon. Kwasi Ameyaw Cheremeh says the Bono Regional Minister, Hon. Evelyn Ama Kumi Richardson is corrupt.



According to Hon. Ameyaw Cheremeh, the corrupt activities of Hon. Kumi Richardson is affecting the integrity of the Akufo-Addo government and called for her to be brought to order.



I am appealing to President Akufo-Addo to watch the activities of Hon. Evelyn Ama Kumi Richardson for using her position to manoeuver her way into alleged broad day light thievery in the Region which is gradually affecting the party and can even have effect on the December crucial elections.



Hon. Kwasi Ameyaw Cheremeh disclosed this on Sunyani-based Nimdee FM.



People are asking questions . . . Is it true or otherwise that the Bono Regional Minister took four hundred thousand cedis from a contractor in charge of Secondary school project in the Sunyani municipality? Is it true or otherwise that the Bono Regional Minister levied all the Assemblies, DCEs of the Region to the tune of ten thousand (Ghc 10,000) each ahead of the Presidents visit and yet everywhere the President went the Assemblies still footed the bill? Is it true or otherwise that the Minister levied all the Assemblies twelve thousand Ghana Cedi (12,000) to procure motor bicycles? Where are the bicycles?



The activities of the Minister is causing us the 2020 election because she is grabbing all the government juicy contracts to herself and family members and it is wrong . . . I will not look on for this to happen, he stressed.







Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/[email protected]









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70% drop in the first eight months of the year. Bilateral trade halts at  436 million. The trade deficit with Beijing is growing, the only true partner of the North Koreans. The Pyongyang leader inspects the areas devastated by the passage of typhoons.

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - In the first eight months of the year, trade between North Korea and China recorded a 70% decrease compared to the same period in 2019, the South Korean Unification Ministry revealed today. According to their report the collapse is due to border controls set up by Pyongyang to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

From January to August, the two countries exchanged assets for 436 million euros: last year the figure was 1.5 billion. North Korean exports to the powerful neighbour amounted to 36 million euros, largely exceeded by imports (400 million).

Pyongyang remains heavily indebted, confirming its political and economic dependence on the Chinese giant. Last year, bilateral trade with China accounted for 95.4% of total North Korea's. In 2007 the share was 67.1%; due to international sanctions to contain the North Korean nuclear and missile program, Beijing is the only true partner of the Kim Jong-un regime.

The coronavirus emergency has dealt a severe blow to the already disastrous North Korean economy. In the past two months, the country has also suffered extensive damage from a series of floods caused by the passage of several typhoons.

According to data from the regime, in August the floods damaged more than 39,000 hectares of cultivated land, 16,680 homes and 630 public buildings.

The 38 North website reports that the Yongbyon nuclear site, central to the development of the Pyongyang atomic program, and the Punggye-ri nuclear site also suffered damage.

In an attempt to show that production activities are recovering, Kim recently inspected some agricultural areas affected by the floods. The images provided today by the state agency KCNA show him in the company of his sister Kim Yo-jong, a sign of her growing importance in the North Korean power structure.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday criticised the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for the manner in which it treated the Hathras gang-rape victim and cremated her mortal remains in the night against Hindu religious customs. Kejriwal said the victim was not only inhumanly treated, raped and killed by the savages, she and her family were also wrongly" treated by the ruling dispensation in UP. The way in which the ruling dispensation (BJP government in UP) treated the girl and her familyHindu religion cremation is not done at night but she was cremated at the night against our religious customs. Her family was not even allowed to have a last glimpse (darshan) of her," Kejriwal said.

On one hand, she was raped by the savages, on the other, the way in which the ruling dispensation treated her, it is not a good thing. We live in a democracy and those in power should not forget that they are not owners but Sevak (one who serves)" he said. The body of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in Delhis Safdarjung Hospital, a fortnight after she was gang-raped, was cremated in Hathras in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging that the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

Local police officers, however, hadtold said the cremation was carried out as per the wishes of the family". Earlier, Kejriwal had termed the death of the 19-year-old-victim as a matter of shame for the whole society, country and all the governments, and had demanded death punishment for the culprits.
Princess Stephanie of Monaco has spoken out against a ban on wild animals in circuses in France, claiming the creatures are treated like 'family' by their handlers.

The Monaco royal, 55, who is the patron of the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo, told local paper Monaco Matin that circus animals are 'loved and spoiled', saying: 'We've come a long way since the stool and the whip.'

France announced on Tuesday its resolution to gradually ban animals in circuses and dolphins in Marine parks in a bid to better animal welfare around the country.

Princess Stephanie famously ran away to join the circus with elephant trainer Franco Knie in 2000, moving into his caravan in Zurich with his three children.

Stephanie of Monaco, 55, spoke out against animal rights activists and France's recent decision to ban animals from travelling circus and marine parks (spoke out with an elephant during a press conference to launch the 39th international circus Festival in 2015)

Criticising the French ban, she said: 'They're members of the family. They are not trained or mistreated, but simply loved, fed, spoilt.'

She also argued that other trades where animals are exploited should be banned under the logic of the new French ruling.

'I will add that in France, everyone is free to work,' she said. 'Or else you'd have to forbid farmers from making money from cattle breeding.

'They'd have to ban horses races, because it's also animal exploitation.

Princess Stephanie feeding a giraffe. The Monaco royal said animals were loved, fed and 'spoilt' in circuses

'They should ban everything rather than hammering on the circus families. Circus has changed, it lives with its times.'

She also revaled why she would never become vegan, saying: 'We each have the right to put whatever we want on our plate. It doesn't mean we're bad people.

'If I want to eat a good steak, I'm not keeping someone else from enjoying soybeans.'

She added that she likes to wear 'warm' woolen sweaters and shoes that keep her feet dry, suggesting she believes the quality of vegan products are not up to scratch.

The royal said she would never be vegan and that people should not impose the way they think to others

The Princess, who is the youngest daughter of the late Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco, inherited her passion for the circus from her father.

In the same interview, she wondered why such measures should be imposed by a state.

Princess Stephanie, whose father Prince Ranier III of Monaco created the the first festival in 1974

France announced on Tuesday that it would gradually ban the use of animals in travelling circuses and marine parks (pictured: Stephanie of Monaco with a sea lion at the 34th Monte Carlo International Circus Festival in 2010)

It's not the first time she has lashed out at those who criticise circuses for using performing animals, claiming they're just trying to be 'fashionable'.

The royal previously told AFP that animals have always been an integral part of the show, saying: 'This is part of our cultural heritage. It's a whole, with clowns and acrobats.

She claimed that 'not all circus animals are unhappy' as welfare standards have improved, and claimed that critics are 'a minority who wish to impose their will upon others'.
Emily In Paris has a simple concept: a girl named Emily (Lily Collins), marketing executive from the Midwest, enjoys a Parisian sea change. Thats all the plot there is  there isnt any more. The devil of this Netflix show is in the detail, all the ways in which producer Darren Star (of Younger and Sex and the City fame) spins fantasy out of the romance of wide boulevards and flaky croissants.

Its the same thing hes been doing on television for decades, taking the most ordinary and relatable of concerns  Am I doing enough for my career? When will I meet The One?  and rendering them extraordinary, by virtue of glamorous locations, scripts fizzing with jokes, and impeccable costumes.

Actor Lily Collins as Emily in the new Netflix show Emily In Paris. Credit:EmilyInParis/Instagram

For the latter, Star often calls on the expertise of his long-term collaborator, legendary costume designer Patricia Field. It was she who styled Sex and the City, perfecting the look that would dominate television for the next two decades: trend adjacent (not driven), eye-catching and puffed full of fantasy. Whether it was Carrie Bradshaws ballerina skirts, floral corsages or strappy Manolos, Fields outfits on the show were pure escapist joy.

Emily In Paris is much of the same. The costume designer dresses Collins in a wardrobe full of whimsy, with certain patented Field items on high rotation: colourful coats, midriff tops, more stilettos than an episode of SATC. But Emily In Paris has a very specific fashion vibe: romance.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Despite the pandemic obliterating in-person interaction, Penn undergraduates Emma Arsekin and Janelle Schneider were able to gather and assess large amounts of data for political research, some from sizeable cross-sections of Pennsylvania's population, and get some valuable insights into political persuasion. As research assistants working for political science professor Daniel Hopkins, the two undergraduates spent the summer taking part in the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program (PURM) program.

Emma Arsekin, a junior from Houston, Texas, had a robust STEM background upon entering Penn, and was heavily involved in astrophysics research. "I took a hard left turn when I discovered political science research." Now a political science major, Arsekin looked to PURM for an internship that could ease her into social science research. Hopkins' research project, titled "The Racialization of American Politics" caught her eye. The project would allow her to analyze data from surveys in a humanities context, which she had never done before. "I'm interested in political science and history, especially in the Balkans, where my family is from. Racialization in politics is a commonly studied phenomenon in Balkan politics and history, because there is a lot of ethnic tension there."

Hopkins, a political science professor with a secondary appointment at the Annenberg School for Communication, writes extensively on politics and race, demographics, and partisanship, and draws thoughtful conclusions. He is currently writing a book about race and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Having Arsekin and Schneider as research assistants helped address the "bottleneck" of data Hopkins has compiled, and added valuable visual aids, including a video Arsekin made and a timeline from Schneider. Arsekin was particularly involved in tailoring survey questions surrounding American response to racial justice in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Schneider, a junior political science major from Hudson Valley, New York, had taken a class with Hopkins on data analytics in the fall of her sophomore year. When looking through the internships available through PURM she saw Hopkins' project and was excited. "He was such a wonderful professor."

For Hopkins, having research assistants with a range of data analytic skills has been "a game changer" in terms of his work. "Whenever I work with undergrad research assistants, I identify the skills they want to build. And one of the things I want them to get out of this is what it means to work together as a research team."

Despite it being an unusual summer, Hopkins found that being separated physically, unable to have lunch together or be in a physical space together, also meant the team didn't have the distractions, and were able to dive into long conversations about the research. "One of my jobs as a supervisor of this kind of work is to motivate and explain why we are doing this, and what is the research rationale. How do you take on complicated research projects, and how would you undertake the project to reduce error?"

The work itself wed large data with humanities and political opinion. Using R language (a powerful tool for looking at large sets of data), Schneider analyzed data from exit polls Hopkins gathered from the 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election. The study focused on the precise wording when gathering public opinion about a political issuein this case, the ACA. Voters in Kentucky were asked how they felt about the ACA. The treatment group were also informed that Kentucky's uninsured rate was down 6%. That question intended to look at wording, and how people's views of the ACA change when they are primed for hearing about the benefits provided by the state.

"I took these responses and looked at the treatment and control groups based on a favorability rating of one to four," Schneider explains. "I also broke the responses down by partisanship, and where people got their insurance."

The research team concluded that among Republicans there was greater favorability for the ACA when the 6% figure was brought up. The greatest increase in favorability came from Republicans, followed by independents, with a medium change in favorability. Among Democrats, their favorability measured the same. "We live in a polarized time, and that polarization is rooted in partisanship," Schneider says. "This study highlights the fact that people associate the ACA with [President] Obama. But when we included the 6% drop in uninsured rates, their favorability increased."

Hopkins has been collecting data from Pennsylvania state residents every month. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the research team put together an ad-hoc study over the summer analyzing a panel of residents to determine if they support extreme policy changes if delivered by experts. The study, "Partisan Polarization and Resistance to Elite Messages" was published this summer. "We used the panel to embed experiments in the surveys to see if Pennsylvanians were more or less likely to support a dramatic public health policy, like closing schools for the year or shuttering businesses," says Arsekin. "We wanted to find out if they were more likely to support those policies if they are advocated by 'elite' sources like public health experts or government officials, and how partisanship plays a role."

The research revealed that in general, when elites urge Pennsylvanians to follow a public health protocol, people showed support. But when the results are disentangled, and the elites are defined as government officials, support goes down. "We didn't find aversion to elitism, but people are distrustful when a politician advocates for a public health initiative," Arsekin says. "It has implications on who should be publicly advocating for these kinds of policies."

"Looking at the social media accounts and press releases of state Republicans and Democrats, and national leaders as well, I looked for a point where the public health issue of mask wearing became politicized, and created a timeline," says Schneider. "It was interesting to see how an epidemic begins scientifically, and then becomes so political, over wearing a mask."

Arsekin and Schneider had a role in every state of the research process: taking inventory of every question asked, performing metaanalysis, and setting up the next wave of survey questions. "I was extremely surprised to find people were neutral when a public health expert presents information, but very polarized when a government official asks you to do something for public health," says Arskine. "One of the big things that surprised me is how polarized and opinionated people in the state are. The responses about how people would describe [Pennsylvania] Governor [Tom] Wolf blew my mind from both ends of the political spectrum. Everyone had something to say."

Arsekin points out that the timing of this summer PURM internship coincides with an election year, and every election cycle has a spike in partisanship. "As far as whether this administration has done something to fuel such extreme partisanship, it's too early to say. But it is an election year. When my internship ended, Dr. Hopkins had started a related project on media and its effects on political engagement. I started setting up the study where free subscriptions to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Philadelphia Inquirer were given out to residents to see if they would become more politically engaged. I left feeling like there is always so much to work on, so much to learn. It was a lot of fun and really refreshing."

Schneider plans on attending law school after she graduates, and her summer spent working with Hopkins and Arsekin model the kind of environment she hopes to find in law.

"Our team had a real sense of collaboration, and I liked that. I'm interested in the intersection of public policy and public opinion."

A large portion of her work focused on the visuals for Hopkins' forthcoming book on the ACA. "The class I took with [Hopkins], Intro to Data Analytics, was the first exposure I had to survey research and code. Now, the work I did this summer will be included and cited in his book. It's exciting that I was able to make a contribution."
MIAMI, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A majority of Cuban Americans support President Donald Trump and plan to vote for him in November, according to the latest FIU Cuba Poll.



They gave Trump high marks on his handling of key national issues such as the COVID-19 crisis, immigration, health care, Cuba policy, China policy and the economy, and mixed but still supportive reviews on his handling of race relations and national protests. The Cuba Poll, which is the longest-running research project measuring Cuban American public opinion, also found increased support for isolationist policies and for the U.S. embargo on Cuba.



"Cubans remain a majority Republican ethnic group and like the majority of Republicans throughout the country, they are supportive of President Trump and his administration's approach to governing," said Guillermo Grenier, the principal investigator on the project and chair of the Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies in the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, the primary sponsor of the poll. "He receives high marks on handling all of the measured key national issues as well as his handling of Cuba policy and will receive a strong majority of the Cuban-American vote on Election Day."



A total of 1,002 Cuban Americans were polled from July 7 to Aug. 17. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent. The poll was conducted by Grenier and Qing Lai, associate professor of sociology in the Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies.



Support for the embargo has fluctuated over the past three decades. The 2020 poll found 60 percent of Cuban Americans support the policy, continuing an upward trend seen initially in the 2018 poll. This is the highest level of support since 2007. Younger Cuban Americans are more likely to oppose the embargo (46 percent) as are Cuban Americans who were not born in Cuba (50 percent) and registered Democrats (72 percent). The general support for the embargo is expressed simultaneously with the view, by 71 percent of the population, that the embargo has not been an effective policy.



Grenier and Lai characterized the tendencies in the results of the poll as either supporting "policies of the carrot" (engagement) or "policies of the stick" (isolation).



When it comes to the "policies of the stick," 73 percent of respondents support polices that are designed to promote regime change by putting maximum pressure on the Cuban government.

In the "policies of the carrot" camp, the sociologists noted the strong support for suspending embargo sanctions during the COVID-19 crisis (61 percent), high support for engagement measures such as selling of food (69 percent) and medicines (74 percent), and strong support for policies designed specifically to improve the economic well-being of Cubans on the island (70 percent).

Florida International University's Cuban Research Institute (CRI) began sponsoring the Cuba Poll in 1991.

The full story is here.

Media Contact:

Madeline Baro

305-348-2234

[email protected]

news.fiu.edu

@FIUNews

SOURCE Florida International University

Related Links

http://fiu.edu


Senator Chris Murphy claimed Friday that because President Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be absent from the campaign trail, he will rely more on Russian President Vladimir Putin to act as a surrogate for his reelection campaign.

Asked on CNN about continuing Russian efforts to support Trumps reelection campaign, Murphy said the Russian operation is much bigger and bolder and smarter than it was in 2016, and the U.S. must now be much more serious about the Russian threat given todays news.

If President Trump cant be out there on the campaign trail for the next two weeks, then he is going to rely on his surrogates and, unfortunately, one of his surrogates is Vladimir Putin, Murphy said.

So you are likely going to see this campaign ramped up by Russia over the next few weeks to try to substitute for the presidents absence on the campaign trail, the Connecticut Democrat continued.

Murphy added that he has concerns about the transparency of U.S. intelligence agencies, which he suggested could be downplaying the size of the Russian operation and their clear desire to try to elect President Trump to a second term.

President Trump announced in a tweet early Friday morning that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus and are beginning a quarantining process.

The U.S. intelligence community has long believed that Russia conducted successful online-disinformation campaigns in an effort to divide the American public and undermine confidence in election integrity during the 2016 presidential campaign, including by releasing hacked DNC emails.

Facebook in particular came under fire from critics who charged it with negligence during the last presidential-election cycle, when it allowed Russian actors, among others, to spread misinformation and attempt to sow discord on the site.

Last year, intelligence officials testified to Congress that Russia will likely continue to try to influence U.S. elections in 2020.

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On the internet, the spotlight often turns on without warning. For entrepreneur Ali Qasim, this happened one August afternoon when he was idly scrolling through Facebook and came upon a photograph of plain, cooked rice. Like every desi person, I love dal chawal. So I thought, Lets ask people on Twitter what they would prefer with a simple plate of rice.

His tweet (@aliqasim) was simple too: That photo, with the words, You can only add 2 things to this plate of simple rice - Name them. Users from across the subcontinent chimed in with familiar combinations: dal and pickle, curry and fish, ghee and sugar. Then things started to explode. It became so huge that I started to see recipes from all over the world, Qasim says.

Whats on Ali Qasims rice plate? Dal and kebabs.

Americans picked smothered okra and Louisiana hot sauce. Cubans picked beef and vegetables, for their national dish ropa vieja. Asians overwhelmingly picked crispy duck with sweet-and-sour sauce. But users also liked rice with pickled plums and sesame seeds; mashed potatoes and boiled eggs; eggs and a burger patty (a Hawaiian favourite); grilled shrimp and asparagus; and the Persian koobideh (or kebabs) and Shirazi salad. I was shocked to see how many preferred just ketchup, Qasim says. One user @AgBioWorld even suggested fortifying it with phytoene synthase and phytoene desaturase to get rice grains to produce beta-carotene, the precursor to Vitamin A  apparently good for the eyes!

You can only add 2 things to this plate of simple rice



-Name them pic.twitter.com/n7BE1ABPHM  Ali Qasim (@aliqasim) August 17, 2020

Qasims post has been quote-tweeted 92,000 times, and the replies number more than 17,000. I had no idea it would become this huge, but Ive loved the response and recipes from all over the world, he says. Users have bookmarked the page for lockdown recipe ideas. Many turn to it just to see how differently the world views their simple staple. Going viral, Qasim says, helped him view food as a way to experience a distant culture and unite the world.

Whats on his rice plate? Dal and kebabs.

Gold plated: How expensive can rice get?

One of the most sought-after varieties of rice in the world, comes from the unlikely location of Saudi Arabia. In the Al-Ahsa Oasis in the arid countrys Eastern Province, underground aquifers and springs allow date palms and agriculture to flourish.

A small group of farmers have been growing rice here for generations  chanting prayers in the fields and squeezing the most use from every drop of water, through the long growing season. The land yields hassawi rice, a red variety that is eaten whole, husk and all.

Its more a remedy than a meal  hassawi is prescribed to new mothers, those with arthritis or broken bones, and convalescents. Expect to pay upwards of 1,500 per kilo.

To truly break the bank, you have to head to Japan. In 2016, the Toyo Rice Corporation set a Guinness World Record by selling a variety of rice for $109 ( 8,022) per kilo. Under its Kinmemai Premium brand, Toyo matures local high-quality rice for six months using a proprietary method that gently buffs each grain and enhances its texture and flavour.

The rice, when its ready, needs no rinsing. But this isnt your everyday accompaniment to dal or curry. Kinmemai is sold in 140-gm sachets, for sushi or special meals in a bowl. Food critics describe the taste as being creamier than regular sushi rice, with a slightly nutty flavour.

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Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), the local arm of Japanese automaker Honda, will be giving away a Honda Brio to mark their 30th year in the country.

Until March 18 next year, Honda car owners who will successfully register and provide or update their contact information (via phone call and email verification) in the microsite link of HCPI will get one corresponding e-raffle entry for a chance to win exciting items.

Aside from the Honda Brio, other special prizes include:

25 winners of Free Gas worth P8,000 each

1 winner of iPhone 11 (64gb)

1 winner of Nintendo Switch

1 winner of iPad Air (3rd Gen.) (64gb)

5 winners of Blaupunkt Air Purifier

3 winners of Rustans Gift Certificate worth P5,000 each

3 winners of Sodexo Gift Certificate worth P2,500 each

Other than the respective prizes, HCPI will also give cash discounts as well as other deals and offerings through this months promo dubbed as Honda@30: The Dream Lives On.

For the whole month, those who are eyeing for a Honda City, BR-V, Brio, Civic, CR-V, and Mobilio can avail the following cash discounts, special all-in down payments, special offers, and other exciting deals:

For City, CR-V, and Mobilio, customers may enjoy the following huge cash discounts:

Model with Variant Suggested Retail Price Cash Discount 20YM City 1.5 E MT P828,000 P100,000 20YM CR-V S Diesel 9AT P1.868 million P90,000 19YM Mobilio 1.5 RS CVT P1.085 million P120,000

Buyers of the BR-V, Brio, and Civic may also enjoy the following special all-in and regular all-in low downpayment offers:

Model with Variant Suggested Retail Price *Special and Regular All-in Low Downpayment for as low as 21YM BR-V 1.5 S CVT P1.035 million *P10,000 20YM Brio 1.2 S MT P598,000 *P28,000 20YM Civic RS Turbo CVT P1.608 million P86,000

HCPI is also giving away a free Blaupunkt Air Purifier Airpure AP 1.0 set for purchases of the select variants of the City, Civic, CR-V, and Mobilio.

Honda car buyers this month will also receive a Petron-Honda Value Card that gives an additional 100 peso point bonus for every 140 liters of gasoline or 200 liters of diesel accumulated purchased per month.

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HCPI 30th anniversary promo

Other benefits of the Petron Value Card include Free Towing and Roadside Assistance, and Year-Round Personal Accident Insurance.

Moreover, HCPI also announced that a special all-in financing program at 10% down payment, with 36-60 months payment terms for select models are available through BPI Family Savings Bank, RCBC, China Bank Savings, and Bank of Commerce, subject to bank approval.

All-in financing promo option offers, such as low cash-out, low monthly amortization, and free one month amortization at 15%, 20%, and 25% all-in downpayment with 36-60 months payment terms, are available through BPI Family Savings Bank, RCBC, Bank of Commerce, China Bank Savings, BDO, PNB, PSBank, East West Bank, Robinsons Bank, and Security Bank. Customers may also submit their bank loan applications online through the Auto Loan link page in the HCPI website for select bank partners, subject to bank approval.

These offers are also thrown in with a three-year LTO Registration and Chattel Mortgage and a free one-year Comprehensive Insurance with Acts of Nature through select bank partners.

HCPI promo anniversary

HCPI president Masahiko Nakamura said that these treats are their way of thanking their customers for the continued patronage to the brand.

This October, as HCPI celebrates its 30th year, we aim to commemorate our milestones through showing our appreciation and giving back to our dear customers for their unending support and patronage to Honda throughout the years, the HCPI president said.

Photo/s from Honda Cars Philippines

Also read:

Honda Cars stretches cash discounts and other deals up to this month

Honda Cars PH to go VIRTUAL in August

Honda Extends Drive to 2020 Promo
Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which he received in 2007 in the television category. (Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images)

Hulk smash!

President Donald Trump's embattled star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been damaged again  this time by an angry green Avenger.

The sidewalk star was defaced with a pickax early Friday morning by a person dressed as the Incredible Hulk, the Marvel superhero, said Jeff Lee, a public information officer for the Los Angeles Police Dept.

Police officers responded to the scene around 5:50 a.m. and a vandalism report was taken from witnesses, Lee said. No arrests were made and the investigation will be handed over to detectives, "just like any other vandalism" case.

Frank Nielsen takes a photo of the spot where President Donald Trump's star is set on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was covered with plywood and surrounded by fencing and tarps after it was vandalized Friday morning. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

The incident occurred just hours after the president revealed that he and First Lady Melania Trump contracted the novel coronavirus  a threat he has downplayed for months.

The Hollywood Boulevard plaque sustained more than $3,000 in damage, a spokeswoman for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce told The Times. That bumps up the crime to a felony.

And the star will be replaced  again  by the chamber, which administers the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"Any star, which is vandalized or destroyed, no matter which honoree it belongs to will be replaced by the Hollywood Historic Trust, a non-profit, non-partisan group," said chamber President and CEO Rana Ghadban in a statement to The Times.

Ghadban continued: "When people are angry with one of our honorees, we would hope that they would project their anger in more positive ways than to vandalize a California State landmark. Our democracy is based on respect for the law. People can make a real difference by voting and not destroying public property.

Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was also vandalized in 2018. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Repairs were already underway Friday afternoon and the star was covered with plywood and hidden from public view.

The iconic pink-hued landmarks dot the streets of Hollywood and celebrate the professional contributions of inductees. Trump received his star in 2007 in the television category as a producer for his work on the beauty pageants that he owned.

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In recent years, the street monument has become a battleground for political debate in Los Angeles, often hosting protests, being spat upon or written on. In 2016 it was bashed with a sledgehammer, and in 2018 it was destroyed with a pickax .

This will be the third time the former "Celebrity Apprentice" host's star will be replaced by the trust, the chamber said. Clean Streets LA has previously cleaned up graffiti that the star sustained. But the stars are generally maintained on a voluntary basis by the Hollywood Historic Trust, which preserves Tinseltown's history, and no taxpayer dollars are used, the group said.

Other stars for fallen icons such as Bill Cosby and Michael Jackson have also endured bouts of vandalism but have never been removed.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A case has been registered against some members of political parties and NGOs who gathered on Friday at Jantar Mantar to protest against the brutal Hathras gangrape case and the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Delhi Police said.

Police said it had booked a few members of the Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Congress for flouting Covid-19 protocols and violating Section 144 of CrPC due to their protest against the government over farm laws, the Hathras case and other issues", ANI reported.

Various leaders and citizens thronged Jantar Mantar on Friday to protest against the brutal gangrape and resultant death of a Dalit teen in Uttar Pradeshs Hathras. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attended the gathering as well, and said the criminals should receive stringent punishment. Wearing masks and raising slogans against the UP administration, the groups demanded justice for the 19-year-old victim and asked UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to resign.

The protest was to be held at India Gate initially but had to shifted to Jantar Mantar owing to the prohibitory orders in place in the Rajpath area. Several political leaders, including from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Left, joined the protest.

Most of them said they were outraged over the way UP police cremated the body of the victim, who died in Delhis Safdarjung Hospital, a fortnight after she was allegedly raped by four upper caste men. The womans family alleged the police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night. But local police officers said the cremation was done as per the wishes of the family".

Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azaad addressed protesters at the gathering and said the victim could not get justice until Adityanath resigned and Supreme Court took cognisance of the issue. These kind of culprits should be punished as soon as possible so that others get scared before committing such crimes. We will go to Hathras and till the time the matter doesnt come to Delhi, there is no chance of getting justice," he said.

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav said the Hathras incident brings out the complete breakdown of anything called rule of law". Its not just that a rape happened, or that she was killed which is worse. There is a political patronage right from the beginning The Uttar Pradesh administration is out there to ensure that this news doesnt come out."

Meanwhile, the entry and exit gates of a few stations of Delhi Metro were closed on Friday due to the protest, officials said. Entry & exit gate for Janpath is closed. Trains will not be halting at this station.Exit gates for Rajiv Chowk and Patel Chowk are closed, the DMRC said in a tweet as the protest began to grow.
" " Members of Brigade 2506, the counter-revolutionary military unit that tried to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, surrender after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Just months after Fidel Castro and his communist revolutionaries took power in Cuba in 1959, the United States government secretly began to plot his downfall. Under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the CIA recruited Cuban exiles in the U.S. to form a counter-revolutionary army at a covert CIA training camp in Nicaragua called "Happy Valley." The group was known as Brigade 2506. When John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, he inherited a convoluted scheme to invade Cuba using 1,500 of these anti-Castro Cubans trained by the CIA.

The mission, known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, was doomed from the start and is widely regarded as one of America's worst foreign policy failures. The attack began the morning of April 15, 1961, with what was supposed to be an aerial bombardment of Castro's small air force. But the CIA-trained pilots, who flew World War II-era B-26 bombers painted to look like Cuban planes, failed to destroy all of Castro's aircraft.

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That's when things really started to unravel, says Jim Rasenberger, author of "The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America's Doomed Invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs". Here are five reasons why the Bay of Pigs Invasion went so spectacularly wrong.

1. Journalists Spotted the CIA's Fake Plane

While eight of the B-26 bombers were sent to destroy Castro's airfields, a ninth flew directly to Miami, Florida, where "the CIA came up with this cockamamie idea," says Rasenberger.

The B-26 pilot in Miami claimed to be a defector from Castro's air force who had risen up with his comrades to attack the communist regime. The CIA took pains to make his plane look legit, complete with a Cuban air force serial number and a nose cone riddled with fresh bullet holes, but savvy journalists on the ground quickly saw through the ruse.

"There was still tape on the gun barrels to keep the dust out and his guns were mounted in the nose of the plane, while Castro's were under the wings," says Rasenberger. "It gave away the whole game right there."

Suddenly, with one bad fake job, it was plain to everyone that the U.S. was clearly behind this invasion. The Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev was furious and Kennedy was backed into a corner. If he admitted U.S. involvement, he risked starting World War III.

2. Kennedy Canceled the Second Airstrike

With the world watching, Kennedy made a difficult decision to cancel a second round of airstrikes planned for the early hours of April 17. Those airstrikes were supposed to destroy the rest of Castro's air force and clear a path for the amphibious pre-dawn landing of 1,500 men.

"The moment Kennedy canceled those airstrikes, he doomed the invasion," says Rasenberger. "Castro still had half of his planes left. For the invasion to have any chance of succeeding, those planes had to be taken out."

Rasenberger doesn't think Kennedy got "cold feet," as some critics alleged, but rather made a rational decision that a second airstrike wasn't worth going to war with Russia. Unfortunately, it would prove to be the mission's undoing, leaving the invading force and supply ships vulnerable to devastating airstrikes from Castro's remaining pilots.
Ian Evans reflects on his 28 days in managed isolation on either side of the ditch. Photo: John Borren.

A month in a hotel doesnt sound too bad but when your worst fear is realised and you need to get back home to Australia quickly, it soon becomes an inescapable nightmare.

The news came in of a family emergency and with the shock came the reality.

The next available flight was over a month away but a call to a friend in the travel industry secured one within days.

Knowing wed face at least six weeks apart at one of the hardest times in Ians life was gut wrenching. I couldnt be there for him or his family. All I wanted to do was hug them and try to make sense of the situation.

One of the most difficult parts was having to deal with what I needed to deal with without having the physical presence of my wife for support.

Welcome home

Ians arrival in Sydney was confronting.

After a health check and immigration hes met by the defence force and federal police, then directed to a bus, accompanied by a police escort. In the city centre hes told he will be isolating at the Travelodge.

An 8m by 3m hotel room is home for the next 14 days. No time outside - just four walls and the hum of an air conditioner.

I needed to keep myself mentally fit and not let my head go into the situation.

Ian worked remotely a few hours a day, filling the rest of his time with TV, social media and occasional computer games.

When screen time got boring he would take photos of the outside world. He positioned himself by the window for the six minutes of sun that would crack through the Sydney skyline into his room.

Ian gave daily updates about the washing on the apartment balcony across the street until it got taken in after eight days.

Exercise was also a challenge.

It was nine footsteps from one end of the room to the other, so I moved a piece of furniture and I could turn nine steps into about 14 by walking in a circle. I would try and do that for five minutes, then I would run on the spot for a minute.

The routine was rounded out by 20 push ups on the window sill repeated three times.

Days revolved around meals. In Sydney, a catering company was used and meals usually consisted of meat, carbs and veggies, except for breakfast which would be either cereal or if you were lucky a hot breakfast, delivered the night before and microwaved.

The daily support he received from staff was amazing. Nurses called for a daily health check and a psychologist would check in every couple of days.

Staff deserve respect

Its important for people to know that the workers on the other side of it, generally speaking, do a fantastic job and they deserve to be treated with respect because they havent asked for this situation either.

The only time Ian had a personal interaction was for the two COVID-19 tests. Nurses in full PPE swabbed both nostrils and the back of his throat.

I could feel the first nose swab in the back of my throat.

Its uncomfortable but not painful and your eyes water for a while afterwards.

The first breath of fresh air on his release day made even Sydneys air taste sweet.

When I got out, it was mixed feelings as much as it was exciting to finally leave a small hotel room. It was also the start of dealing with a situation that nobody really wants to deal with.

On the return journey Ian knew what to expect but the challenges were different.

All I wanted to do was get home and you were so close to home.

The biggest difference was the ability to leave the room and the Stamford Plaza in central Auckland was a nicer hotel.

You could get out of the room. Getting fresh air and some sunlight made it a little bit more tolerable.

The food was also a big improvement with a menu and a few options rather than the you get what you get and you dont get upset approach at the Sydney hotel.

Ian worked full-time in Auckland and tried to get outside at least once a day.

Much as he didnt want to be there in either country it was a necessary part of the process to stop COVID at the border.

Its a crap sandwich that everyone travelling has to take a bite out of.
Katie Holmes has a knack for wearing something so effortlessly beautiful that it instantly becomes a style sensation.

Who can forget the cashmere bra and cardigan set she donned last year that went viral and sold out immediately despite its hefty designer price tag?

In the last couple of weeks the 41-year-old Dawson's Creek alum has been toting around another hot commodity and we're not talking about 33-year-old beau Emilio Vitolo Jr.

Slung on Katie's shoulder is little-known brand Sharkchaser's Bubble Bag. Seen first on the actress, the soon-to-be cult classic features a special lining that shields against cellphone radiation.

One to watch: Katie Holmes has a knack for wearing something so effortlessly beautiful that it instantly becomes a style sensation

High-tech bag: Slung on Katie's shoulder all over town is Sharkchaser's Bubble Bag. The little-known brand seen first on Katie features a special lining that shields cellphone radiation

The Khaite combo: Who can forget the cashmere bra and cardigan set she donned last year that went viral and sold out immediately despite its hefty designer price tag

More than a carryall: Founded in 2019 by Victoria Grantham, Sharkchaser is a world-class leather handbag brand that fuses the artistry of luxury with advanced technology to create true sustainability

Founded in 2019 by Victoria Grantham, Sharkchaser is a world-class leather handbag brand that fuses the artistry of luxury with advanced technology to create true sustainability.

'My bags are designed with 3 core pillars in mind - design, wellness and sustainability,' Victoria told the Daily Mail.

'Its very important for me to design accessories that have functionality for real life. We live in a time where our health and our planet are in continuous danger, this is why I committed to creating a luxury bag that addressed the well-being of customers and the environment.'

Each Sharkchaser handbag has a specifically placed special lining.

This lining is made with one of the most powerful EMF shielding fabrics available in the world, providing 65-80 decibel (dB) attenuation over 30MHz to 1GHz, which gives 99% shielding effectiveness.

The fabric has a specific combination of diverse metals with a Cobalt alloy top coating that allow the bags to provide remarkable electric and magnetic shielding.

Victoria is on a mission to create unique handbags that fight cellphone and electromagnetic radiation and reduce environmental pollution.

Wellness: Each Sharkchaser handbag has a specifically placed special lining. The fabric has a specific combination of diverse metals with a Cobalt alloy top coating that allow the bags to provide remarkable electric and magnetic shielding

Fittingly: Sharkchaser derives its name from the Shark Chaser repellent, a survival kit first issued by the US Navy and Air Force during World War II. Comprised of copper salts and dye in a large cloth tea bag, it deterred potential shark attacks

Mindful: 'The skin is specially developed for us, a sustainably tanned calf. It was very important for me that the manufacturing and materials came from Italy with the highest quality of raw material, process, and product,' shared Victoria

The Big Bubble retails for $1,150; sharkchaser.com

The Medium Bubble retails for $710; sharkchaser.com

Fittingly, Sharkchaser derives its name from the Shark Chaser repellent, a survival kit first issued by the US Navy and Air Force during World War II.

Comprised of copper salts and dye in a large cloth tea bag, it deterred potential shark attacks.

The bags are made in the north of Italy and the leather is also sourced from there.

'The skin is specially developed for us, a sustainably tanned calf. It was very important for me that the manufacturing and materials came from Italy with the highest quality of raw material, process, and product,' shared Victoria.

While the Bubble comes in several shades and sizes, Katie favors the medium in black. She's been spotted carrying it at least eight times in recent weeks.

'I think the Bubble Notte is perfect for Katies style! It is chic and effortless, and that's exactly how we intended our bags to be.'

The functional shape comes from a surprising place.

'The inspiration of the Sharkchaser Bubble Bag comes from a French military helmet bag, and the shape when filled was like a 'bubble'.

With the simplicity of a Mansur Gavriel and the edge of a Gult Gaia half-moon caged bag, the Bubble Bag has the makings to be the next cult favorite.

'I hope so,' Victoria said. 'Everyone needs a Sharkchaser bag, not only for its beauty but also for its functionality and cell phone radiation shielding!

'I hope more people start to realize the dangers of modern technology.'
Federal funding that put money in the pockets of local farmers and organic produce in the mouths of food-insecure families has come to an end.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture started the Farmers to Families Program during the pandemic to get free food to low-income families while supporting small farms scrambling for more business. But the department recently stopped issuing funds to local community organizations in favor of multinational food distributors such as Sysco. The change will affect Bay Area farmers, particularly farmers of color, and organizers say it will also result in tens of thousands of families getting lower-quality produce, and less of it.

The largest mission-driven Bay Area effort was led by the Concord nonprofit Fresh Approach, which coordinated eight different organizations  such as nonprofit Pescadero farm Pie Ranch and farmers market operator Agricultural Institute of Marin  to deliver 3,500 boxes of produce weekly to 14,000 people in seven Bay Area counties. From May through August, Fresh Approach delivered 50,000 boxes total and paid $1.5 million to local farmers, prioritizing farmers of color and organic farmers.

In September, the USDA issued Fresh Approach a basic ordering agreement to expand its reach to 70,000 people in 10 counties, but the funding never came. Instead, the departments latest round of funding for the program  $1 billion to last through Oct. 31  ended up going to large companies.

James Tensuan / Special to The Chronicle

A spokeswoman for the department said it sought out companies that could distribute produce as well as dairy and meat, and one of the main factors for successful funding was box pricing. Fresh Approach priced its produce boxes at $37 each while Sysco, for example, could assemble boxes with produce  none of it required to be locally grown  plus a gallon of milk, cheese and 5 pounds of precooked meat for $49.

To Fresh Approachs Andy Ollove, it looked like the priority went to the most calories for the least amount of money, as opposed to nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables.

At the beginning of the program, they touted it as supporting farmers market farmers, but at this point there are no farmers of that nature in this project, he said. If their mission is to just feed families, they already have a system to do that in SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.

The Trump administration has been heavily touting the program, even requiring new boxes to include a letter from President Trump claiming credit. Some politicians view the letters as a form of self-promotion for the president so close to an election, according to Politico. Ollove also believes there may be some political motives attached to the boxes, as Trump has repeatedly tried to cut funding for food stamps.

Its possible the program will continue to serve the same food-insecure families in the Bay Area, but no one knows for sure at this point. Its entirely up to the food companies such as Sysco to decide where the boxes go. Either way, community organizers said the new food boxes would be disappointing compared to what theyd gotten used to from local farms. The Fresh Approach boxes featured some of the Bay Areas highest-quality produce, including renowned peaches from Frog Hollow Farm.

Andrew Parks nonprofit Oakland Trybe was distributing 50 boxes weekly to families in East Oakland that dont live near a grocery store. Park said the boxes were always the best product the nonprofit would receive in any given month.

The feedback weve gotten is its like opening a gift at Christmas, Park said, noting recipients were accustomed to getting dried and canned staples from the food bank.

Those mostly organic produce boxes came from Agricultural Institute of Marin, which hopes to continue the program, even though the federal funding appears to be over. Marin Community Foundation is funding boxes for homebound seniors in Corte Madera and low-income Latino families in San Rafael, but CEO Andy Naja-Riese said hes still searching for funding to continue in Oakland and San Francisco.

If he cant find funding, that would mean no more reliable food for 50 East Bay families who depend on help from the Bay Area COVID-19 Eritrean Task Force, a volunteer group thats been delivering food to Eritrean immigrants. These individuals have already refused food from the food bank because its not culturally appropriate.

Those dried foods dont work well for the community because a lot of them have diabetes and high blood pressure, said volunteer Lea Berhane. Theyre new to the country. They dont know how to read labels.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Most of them also eat vegan for most of the year for religious reasons, so the new meaty boxes wouldnt be a good fit, either. Berhane said the group might have to stop food deliveries altogether.

James Tensuan / Special to The Chronicle

The loss of funding is also a blow for small farmers who were selling produce through the program. Amber Balakian said business at her familys Balakian Farms in the Central Valley slowed significantly during the pandemic because so many restaurants closed and fewer shoppers have been coming to the farmers markets. She estimates the boxes have made up 10% to 15% of her farms business.

There arent a lot of options for smaller, not corporate farms like us, she said. If there arent alternative methods to sell like the boxes, wed have to dump our produce or not pick it.

Ollove is disappointed to see the program end, but he plans to draft a report showing the economic impact of Fresh Approachs work during the pandemic.

This model did work with a really mission-forward vision, and its ripe for investment in the future, he said. But theres no philanthropic funder that could fund it to the scale we were doing.

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker
Trump has regularly appeared in public and in private without a mask  and has mocked Biden for wearing one and for curbing his campaign events for safetys sake. The president has insisted that the virus is mostly dangerous to older people  a group to which he belongs  or those with health complications, although medical experts say the virus can strike anyone. Trump has publicly and privately squabbled with a number of the medical experts in his administration over how seriously the White House should take the virus.
US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania announced on Friday that they had both tested positive for the virus

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has wished a speedy recovery for the US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump, who are both in quarantine after having tested positive for the coronavirus.

"I hope that they pass this stage quickly to return in full health and wellness to leading the appreciated efforts of the United States toward working on combating this virus at the international level, for the sake of all of humanity," the president wrote on his social media accounts on Friday.

"May God protect our peoples and all the peoples of the world," he added.

Trump announced the news on his Twitter account on Friday, saying: "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"

The first lady also tweeted: "As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together."

The announcement comes a few hours after one of the US presidents closest advisers, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the respiratory illness.

The virus has so far infected over 7 million people in the USA and caused the death of more than 212,000 others.

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The death of The Queen will affect the country deeply in ways many people will not realise, according to broadcaster Andrew Marr.

The veteran political journalist said her death will be an absolutely massive, massive moment as she has been part of British life for more than 70 years.

Marr, who has been presenting The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One for 15 years, said he thinks the Prince of Wales will be a good king provided he is able to hold back some of his ardent views.

Over the years, Charles has expressed opinions on the environment, farming, the countryside, GM crops and complementary medicine.

I think people dont realise yet quite how traumatic and surprising it is going to feel because, whatever your views of the monarchy, the Queen has been part of our lives for more than 70 years Andrew Marr

Describing the anticipated mood of the country when the Queen dies, Marr said: I think it is going to be an absolutely massive, massive moment.

I think people dont realise yet quite how traumatic and surprising it is going to feel because, whatever your views of the monarchy, the Queen has been part of our lives for more than 70 years.

Shes been on stamps, shes been on the currency, shes been in our dreams.

We refer to her all the time one way or another, and of course through The Crown and other recent films shes been on our screens as well.

She is part of us in a way that we are going to find very, very painful when she is torn out of our imaginations and our consciousnesses when she dies.

Welcome to socially distanced events #cheltlitfest. We are delighted to be welcoming live audiences to the Literature Festival this year - here are some of the measures we have put in place to ensure that you have a safe and enjoyable visit.



Buy tickets: https://t.co/N6k7vHfUxX pic.twitter.com/EOtSkBugdu  Cheltenham Festivals (@cheltfestivals) October 2, 2020

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Marr was speaking during an event at the digital Cheltenham Literature Festival to promote his new book, Elizabethans, a history of the past 70 years told through the eyes of more than 60 individuals.

Asked about the succession, Marr said: Prince Charles has been waiting for the job for a very, very long time.

He could be a good king and it depends entirely on whether he is prepared to put to one side his very sincere and strongly held views about lots of subjects, which will get him, as head of state, into dead trouble with foreign governments if he gets that far.

There are lots of questions ahead. I think it will be a very profound and rather grave moment for the country and a lot of people will be surprised about how emotionally they feel.

Marr also expressed his sadness at the decision of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to step down as working royals for financial and personal freedom and relocate to California.

Expand Close Andrew Marr expressed his sadness at the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs decision to step down as working royals (Ben Stansall/PA) / Facebook

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I think its very bad news for the royal family in a way because Harry and Meghan had the possibility of being members of the royal family who drew in an entirely new tranche of people to be interested in and indeed support the British monarchy, he said.

You know younger, more liberal, more open, and that extraordinary moment at the wedding where you had in the chapel at Windsor a black wife and a black pastor, and it just felt Britain is really changing.

Here we have the Queens grandson marrying a woman who can trace her descent back to African slaves. This is a really, really big moment.

The fact that they have left Britain and gone off to California, and in many ways come off the front pages as a result, I think is really bad news for the royal family.
South Africa: Post Office refutes claims made by newspaper

This story has been published on: 2020-10-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

The cumulative number of detected COVID-19 cases has now risen to 676 084 after 1 745 people tested positive on Thursday. Meanwhile, 132 more people succumbed to the deadly virus pushing the toll to 16 866 since the outbreak in March. Of the latest fatalities, 49 are from KwaZulu-Natal, 41 from Mpumalanga, 14 from Free State, eight fro... See more
The Uttar Pradesh government will provide a residential plot and job to a family member of the 22-year-old Balrampur woman who died after she was allegedly raped by two men, according to local Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Palturam.

IMAGE: Members of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind hold a candlelight protest demanding justice for the Hathras and Balrampur victims, in Kolkata, on Thursday. Photograph: Ashok Bhaumik/PTI Photo

The state government will also give Rs 2 lakh more as financial assistance, the Balrampur MLA who met the victim's family said on Friday.

"Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken note of the incident. The government will provide a residential plot and job to a member of the family," he said, adding that those involved in the act will be given strict punishment.

"The family has been given a financial assistance of Rs 6,18,750. They will be given Rs 2 lakh more," he added.

The Dalit woman had died on Tuesday after she was allegedly raped by two men here. Both accused have been arrested, police had said.

Talking to reporters in Balrampur on Wednesday night, the victim's mother had claimed that the accused broke the legs and back of her daughter, a charge denied by police.

"My daughter had gone to take admission to a college on Tuesday. On her way back, three-four persons abducted her, took her to their room, gave her an injection and raped her," she alleged.

"They later sent her back on an e-rickshaw, which dumped her outside our house. They broke her legs and back. She could not stand or talk," the victim's mother had said.

Quoting the victim's family members, Balrampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Dev Ranjan Verma said the woman, who worked in a private firm, returned home in a serious condition on Tuesday.

She looked dazed and had an intravascular cannula, medically known as vigo and used for administering an injection or other fluids in the body, inserted in her hands.

She was rushed to a nearby hospital, but died on the way, the SP said.

When the matter was reported to police by the hospital, her parents alleged that she was gangraped, he added.

Acting on her parent's complaint, police identified the accused as Shahid and Sahil and arrested them, the SP had said.

About the reports that the victim's legs and back were broken, he said, "It was not confirmed in the post-mortem. We contradict this news."

The victim was cremated on Wednesday after the post-mortem in the presence of her family members, police had said.
MILWAUKEE, Wis., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Local nonprofit Above & Beyond the Playground has received a donation from Phoenix Investors in support of their new computer lab. The donation totals $10,000 and has provided for 10 new laptops; 8 workstations; 2, 60-inch televisions; new cabinets; and a new, 30' x 24' meeting space. The room and materials will help Above & Beyond the Playground to serve its participants, student-athletes who call Milwaukee home.

Above & Beyond the Playground, which was established in 2015 to help student-athletes navigate the world both on and off the court, has continued to serve student-athletes throughout the coronavirus pandemic. "We needed a place and the equipment to continue to serve student-athletes during these uncertain times," said Deonte Tatum, Founder and Executive Director of Above & Beyond the Playground. "With everything turning virtual for the foreseeable future, the computer lab allows us to provide 24 middle school and 24 high school student-athletes with academic support services that so many young people need." Tatum added that the space is more than just a provision, it serves as "an inspiration to create hope and opportunity."

"Offering donations and financial support to organizations that truly make a difference is a privilege and an honor," said Frank P. Crivello, Chairman and Founder of Phoenix Investors. "Giving back is such a large part of our culture here at Phoenix Investors, and we are truly grateful for initiatives like Above & Beyond the Playground that work tirelessly to bring hope, resources, and opportunity to our communities and youth."

"We are extremely grateful that Phoenix Investors has made a such a generous donation to our organization," continued Tatum. "Both Above & Beyond the Playground and Phoenix Investors like creating opportunities for others and believe this opportunity will make a long-lasting impact in the lives of hundreds of present and future student-athletes."

About Phoenix Investors

Founded by Frank P. Crivello in 1994, Phoenix Investors and its affiliates (collectively "Phoenix") are a leader in the acquisition, development, renovation, and repositioning of industrial facilities throughout the United States. Utilizing a disciplined investment approach and successful partnerships with institutional capital sources, corporations, and public stakeholders, Phoenix has developed a proven track record of generating superior risk-adjusted returns, while providing cost-efficient lease rates for its growing portfolio of national tenants. Its efforts inspire and drive the transformation and reinvigoration of the economic engines in the communities it serves, currently encompassing over 32 million square feet. Phoenix continues to be defined by thoughtful relationships, sophisticated investment tools, cost-efficient solutions, and a reputation for success.

For more information, please visit https://phoenixinvestors.com.

About Above & Beyond the Playground

Above & Beyond the Playground is a nonprofit providing academic and athletic mentoring programs for middle school, high school and early college students in the City of Milwaukee. An ambitious desire to make a difference and nurture Milwaukee's youth compelled Deonte Tatum to develop a mentorship program structured around academics and athletics. Above & Beyond the Playground is modeled as an enrichment enterprise serving the public and is designed to promote personal growth and teambuilding through valuable mentor/student-athlete relationships to achieve common goals.

For more information, please visit https://www.aboveandbeyondtheplayground.com/about.

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Melania Trump can be heard saying give me a f**king break" while talking about children being separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border, in new leaked audio.

The First-Ladys ex-best friend Stephanie Winston Wolkoff released audio tapes to CNN which reveals details about a visit Ms Trump had to an immigration detention centre in McAllen, Texas in June 2018.

Ms Wolkoff appeared on CNN with Anderson Cooper on Thursday and leaked the tapes to the network.

The former model can be heard voicing her frustrations with being criticised for her husband's policies, in particular the policy of splitting up families illegally crossing the US-Mexico border.

She can also be heard venting about having to perform traditional first lady tasks - such as decorating the White House for Christmas.

I'm complicit. I'm the same like [President Trump], I support him, I don't say enough. I don't do enough, she can be heard saying on the call to Ms Wolkoff.

"Where I am. I put - I'm working like a - my ass off - at Christmas stuff that you know, who gives a f**k about Christmas stuff and decoration? But I need to do it, right?

Read More

The First Lady then said she wishes to be given a f**king break after referencing children being split up from their families at the border.

Ok, and then I do it. And I say that I'm working on Christmas planning for the Christmas. And they said, 'Oh, what about the children that they were separated?'" she said.

"Give me a f**king break. Where they were saying anything when Obama did that?

President Donald Trump has previously claimed that his presidential predecessor Barack Obama is responsible for the policy of separating children from their parents at the border.

However, under Obamas policy children were only separated from their parents if there were concerns for their well-being while now, it is a blanket policy.

In the call, Ms Trump does say she thinks its sad that children are being separated, however, she believes that the children that she met in these detention camps are happy to be in US custody.

All these kids that I met they were, theyre here in the shelters because they were brought by it through 'coyotes', the people who were trafficking - that's why they put them in jail, she said.

"And the kids that they go in shelters. And the way they take care of them. Its  you know, they even said, the kids, they said 'Wow I had my own bed? I will sleep on the bed. I will have a cabinet for my clothes?'

"It's so sad to hear it. But they didn't have that in their own countries. They're sleeping on the floors. They are taken care of."

She added: "They could easily stay in Mexico but they don't want to stay in Mexico because Mexico doesn't take care of them the same as America does."

Speaking on CNN, Ms Wolkoff said that the family do good things like going to the detention centre in order to look good, and not for the selflessness of doing good deeds.

"Unfortunately, this administration and the people around them, and this family, are only doing things that benefit them instead of all of these children and people that are suffering," she said.

Speaking about a story on her visit which is unclear in the call, Ms Trump then says that the liberal media are against her.

"I cannot go. I was trying to get the kid reunited with the mom. I didn't have a chance. Needs to go through the process and through the law, she said.

They would not do the story because they, they, they are against us, because they're liberal media,' she said.

"Yeh if I go to Fox, they will do the story. I don't want to go to Fox."

In a statement to CNN, Melanias chief of staff Stephanie Grisham slammed Ms Wolkoff for leaking the recording.

She said: "Secretly taping the First Lady and willfully breaking an NDA to publish a salacious book is a clear attempt at relevance. The timing of this continues to be suspect - as does this never-ending exercise in self-pity and narcissism.

The former best-friend of Melania Trump published a tell-all book on September 1, called Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of my Friendship with the First Lady.
WASHINGTON - Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, added her name to a local newspaper advertisement in 2006 that decried the "barbaric legacy" of Roe v. Wade and advocated overturning the landmark decision that guarantees a woman's right to an abortion.

The public declaration from Barrett drew criticism from a top Democrat on Thursday who warned that Senate confirmation of the conservative judge to replace the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will threaten women's reproductive rights.

Barrett, who met with 10 Republican senators at the Capitol on Thursday, likely will face questions at her confirmation hearings later this month about whether her personal beliefs will influence her legal rulings.

The White House, while not commenting directly on the ad, said Thursday that the president would never ask a judge to prejudge a case. Trump, who tapped Barrett last Saturday to replace Ginsburg, is pressing the Senate to confirm the nominee before the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Barrett was a law professor at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., when she attached her name to the ad placed by the St. Joseph County Right to Life group, of which Barrett and her husband, both Catholic, were members.

"We, the following citizens of Michiana, oppose abortion on demand and defend the right to life from fertilization to the end of natural life," read the ad in the South Bend (Indiana) Tribune. "Please continue to pray to end abortion."

The two-page ad ran on the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

"It's time to put an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade and restore laws that protect the lives of unborn children," the ad said.

Barrett did not disclose that she signed the ad to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which asks nominees to list any "published material you have written or edited, including material published only on the Internet, regardless of whether it was published in your name, another name or anonymously."

The existence of the ad was first reported by the Guardian.

A Democratic aide, with knowledge of the process, said the ad should have been included in her questionnaire that she submitted to the committee Tuesday. The aide spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the process.

During Tuesday night's presidential debate, Trump denied that abortion rights were on the ballot this November, and claimed not to know Barrett's view on the issue even though he's previously assured conservatives that he would nominate justices who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, responding to a question about this discrepancy, said Thursday, "the president has been clear that he would never ask a judge to prejudge a case."

"Judge Amy Coney Barrett has on multiple occasions said it is never appropriate for a judge to impose that judge's personal convictions, whether they derive from faith or anywhere else on the law," McEnany said.

The beliefs of the St. Joseph County Right to Life members go further than some antiabortion groups. In their view, discarding unused embryos from in vitro fertilization was akin to abortion.

Jackie Appleman, the executive director of St Joseph County Right to Life, told the Guardian that the group not only supports the criminalization of doctors who perform abortions, but also making it illegal to throw away frozen embryos.

While it's unclear if Barrett holds these same views, her opposition to abortion is well-documented in her writings and speeches in academia. As a Notre Dame professor, she was a member of Faculty for Life, which promotes writings that "respect the value of human life from conception to natural death."

Since becoming a federal judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, she has joined some opinions that took the antiabortion position, including one in which she supported a rehearing of a case that overturned an Indiana law requiring anyone under 18 years old to notify their parents before getting an abortion.

Abortion rights advocates also point to writings by Barrett in which she suggests an openness to overturning Roe.

"If anything, the public response to controversial cases like Roe reflects public rejection of the proposition that stare decisis can declare a permanent victor in a divisive constitutional struggle rather than desire that precedent remain forever unchanging," Barrett wrote, referring to the legal doctrine that courts follow historical precedent.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee that will consider Barrett's nomination, said Barrett has been an "outspoken critic of a woman's right to choose," and warned that she would undermine abortion rights.

"She has said as a judge, she would ignore precedent if it conflicted with her interpretation of the Constitution," Feinstein said. "Those statements, coupled with her record on the 7th Circuit, raise serious concerns about whether she would uphold the law."

About two-thirds of Americans support keeping Roe v. Wade in place while 29 percent favor overturning it, according to a CBS News poll published in June. Democrats - and, by a large margin, women - are more likely than Republicans and men to say abortion is an important factor in their 2020 vote for president, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Embracing the complete reversal of Roe v. Wade is politically difficult, even for some antiabortion Republicans, given the wide public support for the 50-year-old decision.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is in a tough reelection battle, said during a recent debate, "I think the likelihood of Roe v. Wade being overturned is very minimal. I don't see that happening."

But even if the justices don't address Roe directly, abortion rights advocates warn that the Supreme Court may take up other pending cases that wouldn't directly challenge the constitutionality of Roe, but could impose restrictions on abortions that would limit access for many women.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who has said his support for a Supreme Court justice is contingent on their belief that Roe was "wrongly decided," met with Barrett on Thursday, but skirted questions about whether they discussed Roe.

"I think she's been very clear, I think, on her views on Roe," Hawley said. "How she will vote in the future on Roe, I don't know. I don't know how it will come up for her. I can't ask her that."

Asked whether he'll seek assurance from her under oath when she testifies that she believes it was wrongly decided, Hawley said he had wanted to "see record evidence before the nomination. And we have that."
(JNS)  The United States has reimposed United Nations sanctions on Iran, in addition to imposing new sanctions and export control measures on 27 entities and individuals connected to Irans proliferation networks, according to a statement released by the White House on Monday.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the reimposition a step towards international peace and security.

The United States activated the mechanism last month to enact U.N. snapback sanctions on the regime under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and...
Washington: US President Donald Trump has been transferred from the White House to a nearby hospital and is expected to stay there for several days, in a concerning development in his battle with COVID-19.

The news came soon after Trump's physician released a statement describing the President as "fatigued" and saying the he had been given an experimental antibody cocktail.

The virus has rapidly spread throughout senior members of the Republican Party - including Trump's campaign manager and several senators - in an outbreak that appears to be linked to a recent White House ceremony for Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

US President Donald Trump boards Marine One as he leaves the White House to go to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre. Credit:AP

The official presidential helicopter, Marine One, landed on the White House lawn on Saturday (AEST) before transporting Trump to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Maryland.
The funds will support projects that integrate technical expertise, gender-based analysis and results-based management tools to enhance security sector institutions.

Canada will commit over $4.3 million to strengthen defense and broader security sector reforms in Ukraine as part of Canadas whole-of-government support to the country, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne says.

That's according to a statement released by the Canadian foreign ministry.

The contribution complements Operation UNIFIER, Canadas military training and capacity-building mission in Ukraine, and will be implemented in partnership with the Parliamentary Centre and Alinea International. These funds will support projects that integrate technical expertise, gender-based analysis and results-based management tools to enhance security sector institutions.

Canada's partnership with Alinea International will advance governance and democratic accountability of the security sector by helping reform initiatives undertaken within security sector institutions in Ukraine.

Today, I spoke with my counterpart from #Ukraine@DmytroKuleba to highlight the 10th rotation of Op UNIFIER and talk about the progress made.



To strengthen defence and broader security sector reforms, s announcing $4.3M to @Alinea_Ideas@parlcent. https://t.co/KbVREVnoaHpic.twitter.com/RGHGbgRFtn  Francois-Philippe Champagne (FPC)  (@FP_Champagne) October 1, 2020

Canada's contribution to the Parliamentary Centre will bolster the capacities of Ukrainian parliamentary committees to review and pass legislation required for security sector reform.

"Canada remains a steadfast partner of Ukraine in their sovereignty and territorial integrity," Champagne said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in turn noted that Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday spoke over the phone with his Canadian counterpart, noting "exemplary interaction" between the two countries in the field of security.

Read alsoZelensky, Trudeau discuss visa facilitation between Ukraine, CanadaAlso, Kuleba thanked Champagne for the active participation of Canadian troops in Operation UNIFIER and Canada's important contribution to strengthening security of Ukraine in cooperation with the Ukrainian Army.

Canada support for Ukraine: Background
Anurag Kashyap denied Payal Ghosh's allegations of sexual assault against him, in his statement to the police. The filmmaker termed the actors statements that he forced himself upon her as an outright lie. He also provided proof about being in Sri Lanka in August 2013, the period where the alleged assault took place.

READ: Anurag Kashyap Reaches Versova Police Station For Questioning Over Payal Ghosh's Rape FIR

Anurag Kashyap denies allegations

Anurag Kashyaps lawyer Priyanka Khimani in a statement revealed that the filmmaker had denied all wrongdoings while providing his statement to the police. She statted that the director provided documentary proof to the police about being in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films in August 2013. He denied that the alleged incident took place, the statement read.

The lawyer further stated that the 'sudden, belated allegations had been made with the intention of vilifying the filmmaker. She also stated that Kashyap was confident about the falsity of the 'ever-shifting version' of allegations being exposed and that he was apprehensive about the Payal Ghosh altering her version in the investigative process.

READ: Payal Ghosh Reacts After Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap Gets Summoned By Mumbai Police

Kashap was distressed with the false and reckless allegations made against him that caused pain to him, his family and his fans., the statement continued.

Kashyap plans to vigorously pursue the legal remedies and for justice to prevail, she stated.

Payal Ghosh had misused the criminal justice system for hijacking the Me Too Movement for her ulterior motives, the statement also read.

Reacting to the statement on Twitter, Payal Ghosh wrote that Anurag Kashyap had lied before the police. She claimed that her lawyer will move an application on Friday for conducting Narco Analysis, Lie Detector & Polygraph Test of Anurag Kashyap to find out the 'truth' in the interest of justice.

Mr.Kashyap has lied bfr police in his statement..my Lawyer,is moving an application 2conduct Narco Analysis,Lie Detector &Polygraph Test of Mr.kashyap 2find out d truth Today application wl be filed to d police station,4 d interest of Justice @narendramodi @AmitShah #BetiBachao  Payal Ghosh (@iampayalghosh) October 2, 2020

Payal Ghosh had tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking action and security, claiming that Kashyap had forced himself upon her in 2013, in a tweet on September 23. She got a First Information Report registered against Kashyap under Sections 376 (I) (rape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty,), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement) on September 23 at the Versova Police Station. After calling Payal Ghosh for questioning, Mumbai Police summoned Kashyap for interrogation on October 1.

Ghosh has also lodged complaints with the National Commission for Women and Narcotics Control Bureau, claiming Kashyap consumed drugs.

READ: Payal Ghosh & Ramdas Athawale Meet Maha Governor; Discuss Case Against Anurag Kashyap

READ: Payal Ghosh Asks Why Mumbai Police Hasn't Arrested Anurag Kashyap; Threatens Hunger Strike
J. Scott Applewhite, STF / Associated Press

Donald Trump Jr. was supposed to be in Texas today, but that plan was scrapped after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle were scheduled to be at a luncheon get-out-the-vote event at the Valencia Event Center in McAllen this afternoon, but because of the COVID-19 scare in the White House, they had to postpone the trip.
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Houston doctors said Friday that President Donald Trump stands a good chance of recovering from COVID-19, but they added that his hospitalization and quick treatment with an experimental drug suggest his case is more serious than initially assumed.

Trump was taken by helicopter to Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Md., hours after the White House called his symptoms mild and said he would continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering. He has fever and fatigue, two classic symptoms of the disease.

That hes hospitalized means his condition isnt mild, said Dr. Faisal Masud, medical director of critical care at Houston Methodist Hospital. Given the toll fever and fatigue can take on an obese 74-year-old, his case will require high level of monitoring and care.

The diagnosis of Trump, who flouted his own experts advice about the coronavirus, nevertheless shocked conservatives and liberals alike, partly because of the pandemics recent decline in many parts of the country, Houston and Texas among them.

It also showed the extraordinary speed at which things can go wrong if people dont follow the recommended preventative steps  the White House spread, Trumps progression from asymptomatic to mildly symptomatic to hospitalization in no more than a couple days.

Heres the lesson to be learned, said Dr. James McDeavitt, dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine. The virus is still as active, virulent and infectious as ever. Its also very democratic: It can impact the most powerful person in the world and the most disadvantaged. If we dont mask up, we may have to shut down again.

Though 40 percent to 50 percent of people infected with COVID-19 never develop symptoms and 80 percent of those who do recover, the odds get worse for people when theyre older and heavier. Masud, for instance, rates Trumps chances as good, not excellent because hes in his mid-70s and has a body mass index of 30, a number that fits into the obese classification.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people 65 to 74 years of age have a 90 times greater likelihood of dying from COVID-19 than those 19 to 28. People 75 to 84 have have a 220 times greater likelihood.

Also, that Trump developed symptoms so quickly suggests that he has an abundance of the virus, said one doctor. Such a high viral load is typically more difficult to treat.

But doctors interviewed by the Chronicle acknowledged Trump may have indeed been taken to Walter Reed out of an abundance of caution, as a White House statement said. Robert Atmar, a Baylor infectious disease doctor, said that on the plus side, the infection was identified early, Trump was started on potentially effective therapy and he has top doctors taking care of him.

The choice of an experimental treatment, a monoclonal antibody cocktail, was something of a surprise given first-line, early-stage therapy is typically two drugs granted emergency approval  remdesivir, an anti-viral developed for Ebola that has shown modest benefits; and convalescent plasma therapy, which is based on the idea that transfusing patients with the blood plasma of recovered patients transfers its healing power. Plasma therapy has received a lot of attention, but the evidence for it is still limited.

Doctors said the antibody cocktail  Regenerons REGN-COV2  was a reasonable choice. Though still in clinical trials, it is considered highly promising, particularly after a recent company news release reported that trial participants who got the cocktail cleared the virus and got over their symptoms significantly faster than those on a placebo. The trial has not yet been published.

Methodist and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth are participating in REGN-COV2 trials.

Antibody cocktails are synthetically produced versions of proteins made by the immune system that target the spike protein that the virus uses to attach to and infect cells. Ed Jones, president of the Houston Methodist Research Institute, calls it the next evolution of plasma therapy, more specific to the virus, able to get more shots on goal. He said thats what he would recommend to friends if they get COVID-19.

Trumps physician confirmed that Trump was given REGN-COV2 intravenously at the White House. Late Friday night, he also confirmed a report Friday that Trump has been given remdesivir. The two drugs are considered compatible, one working on the virus, the other with the immune system.

White House officials said Trump is not taking hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug he claimed to be using as a preventative during the summer. Stella Immanuel, the Houston doctor-minister who touts the drug that studies have found does not show a benefit, tweeted Friday that she thought the person who told Trump to stop taking HCQ should be punched in the face.

The best results for COVID-19 have come from dexamethasone, an approved steroid used in a wide range of conditions for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant effects. But if it were used to treat Trump, it would be a sign his disease had become severe. The drug tamps down an out-of-control immune response, a problem in severe cases. In less severe cases, a strong immune response is needed to clear the virus.

In severe cases, dexamethasone has been shown to reduce death by about a third.

The bottom line is we dont have enough data to know the severity of Trumps case, said Dr. Bela Patel, a critical care medicine specialist at UTHealth and Memorial Hermann Hospital. People his age do recover, but his age and weight definitely put him at higher risk.

todd.ackerman@chron.com
Kaenan Garms, 19, (pictured) is one of the three teens killed in a crash after Carlos Thompson, of Odessa, bought them alcohol

Police in Texas have charged a 22-year-old man in connection to a fatal crash that resulted in the death of three teens, and two others suffering serious injury.

Carlos Thompson, of Odessa, has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of purchase of alcohol for a minor.

He turned himself in to the Ector County Law Enforcement Center, the Odessa Police Department shared in a release.

Three teens, identified as 18-year-old Evan Hill of Odessa, 19-year-old Andrew Nading and 19-year-old Kaenan Garms of Odessa, died in the fatal crash on September 19, at 52nd Street and Clover in North Odessa.

Nading had been driving a GMC Terrain that struck a F-150 being driven by Garms, who had run a stop sign just moments prior. Nading was taken to a local hospital but died once there.

Benjamin Luna, the 19-year-old front seat passenger of the gray GMC Terrain, was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. DMorriyon Breaux, 18 and the front seat passenger in the F-150, is also in the hospital.

Initial investigation revealed that alcohol was a possible contributing factor, authorities said.

Evan Hill, of Odessa, (left) and 19-year-old Andrew Nading (right) also died in the crash on September 19

An investigation revealed that Thompson purchased booze for the group, meeting with them in a local park to give them the alcohol

Further investigation revealed that Thompson purchased the booze from a local grocery store. He would then meet up with two of the minors in Sherwood Park, where he gave them the alcohol.

All of the minors had been at the same party, prior to the crash.

A citation has also been issued to the person who was responsible for throwing the party where the group had attended, police shared. =
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 02:09:40|Editor: huaxia

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RAMALLAH, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 Palestinians were injured on Friday in clashes with Israeli soldiers in different parts of the West Bank, medical sources and eyewitnesses said.

The sources said that 15 Palestinian young men were injured by rubber-coated metal gunshots, besides dozens who suffocated after inhaling tear gas that Israeli soldiers fired to disperse them.

Palestinian eyewitnesses said that clashes broke out on Friday afternoon in the village of Kufr Qaddoum in the east of the West Bank city of Qalqilia between dozens of Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli army forces.

They said that the clashes broke out following the weekly protests that the Palestinians organize in various West Bank areas against the expansion of Israeli settlement confiscation of lands.

Similar clashes broke out on Friday afternoon in different West Bank areas between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers, mainly in the city of Hebron with no injuries reported. Enditem


Sulphide Development Update

Perth, Oct 2, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Wiluna Mining Corporation Limited ( ASX:WMX ) ( FRA:NZ3 ) ( OTCMKTS:WMXCF ) is pleased to provide an update on the progress of its staged sulphide development.The staged development will see the Company transition from its current production profile of producing 62kozpa from mining free milling ore through the current 2.1 Mtpa CIL processing facility, initially producing 100kozpa-120kozpa of gold and gold in concentrate.This will be implemented using the current, recently refurbished crushing circuit, the previously expanded mill circuit and a new 750ktpa concentrator by October 2021. The Company then intends to increase production of gold and gold in concentrate by, at a minimum, doubling the mining rate and the concentrator to produce circa 250kozpa by the end of 2023/early 2024.HIGHLIGHTS- Board approves Stage 1 sulphide development including concentrator construction- GR Engineering to be appointed EPC contractor for Stage 1 of concentrator development programme- Mine development and dewatering in progress and on schedule- Significant progress on Stage 1 infrastructure design- Approvals on track or in place- Stage 2 Feasibility Studies progressingSince our last quarterly report several significant milestones have been met. At our most recent Board meeting the Directors of Wiluna Mining approved the concentrator construction works. This includes the Company entering an EPC contract with GR Engineering Services Limited ("GRES").Top view the key dates for this contract and construction program and full detail of operations, please visit:About Wiluna Mining Corporation Ltd

Wiluna Mining Corporation (ASX:WMC) (OTCMKTS:WMXCF) is a Perth based, ASX listed gold mining company that controls over 1,600 square kilometres of the Yilgarn Craton in the Northern Goldfields of WA. The Yilgarn Craton has a historic and current gold endowment of over 380 million ounces, making it one of most prolific gold regions in the world. The Company owns 100% of the Wiluna Gold Operation which has a defined resource of 8.04M oz at 1.67 g/t au. In May 2019, a new highly skilled management team took control of the Company with a clear plan to leverage the Wiluna Gold Operation's multi-million-ounce potential.
After it was reported that Sushant Singh Rajput met his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty on June 13, the night before his mysterious death, his close friend and flatmate Siddharth Pithani has denied the news. Sushant was found dead in his Mumbai home on the afternoon of June 14. The case is now being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation while the Enforcement Directorate and Narcotics Control Bureau have also launched parallel investigations.

Rhea earlier said that she last spoke to Sushant on June 8, after which they had a tiff and she blocked him on WhatsApp. However, a new report quotes BJP leader Vivekanand Gupta as saying that an eyewitness saw Sushant dropping Rhea home on the night of June 13, between 2 and 3 am. The report also claims that a big politician was celebrating his birthday that night.

Siddharth, who is currently at his family residence in Hyderabad, told Times Now that the news was false and no meeting took place between Sushant and Rhea on the night of June 13.

On Thursday, Sushants sister Shweta Singh Kirti shared the report of his alleged meeting with Rhea on June 13 and wrote on Instagram, This is a true Breaking News in all sense, a game changer! A witness who can confirm that Bhai met Rhea on 13th night! What exactly conspired on 13th night, that Bhai was found dead the next morning? #JusticeForSSR #SaluteRepublic #Revolution4SSR.

Also read | Bobby Deol says he cant open his heart to dad Dharmendra: I made it a point to avoid that kind of distance with my own kids

In a press conference in August, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said that no party was held at Sushants house on July 13, contrary to reports. He also said that no politicians name came up during the investigation. There is no evidence against any politician from any party, he said.

Sushants death has been linked to that of his former manager, Disha Salian, who allegedly died by suicide on June 8. A party was held at the house of her fiance, Rohan Rai, the night she fell to her death.

A party was held the night before [her death] at Disha Salian fiances residence. She committed suicide at 3 am, it was verified through the CCTV footage that was analysed. Five persons were present at the party including Dishas fiance. Four others were present, but no political leader, the commissioner said.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

Follow @htshowbiz for more
A man has been caught on CCTV repeatedly hitting a two-year-old girl after she and his daughter had a fight over a toy at a kindergarten in the northern Vietnamese province of Lao Cai.

The incident took place at the Trumskids Kindergarten in Lao Cai City, the capital of the namesake province, on Wednesday and was recorded by cameras inside the classroom.

The video clip went viral on Thursday and infuriated many viewers.

According to the footage, there were about 10 children and three female teachers in the classroom that day.

C.T. and P.B.A., who are both two years old, happened to have a fight over a toy, before being separated by one of the teachers.

As the teacher was talking to A., T.s father stepped in the classroom and slapped A., grabbing her by the hair and hitting her leg.

He left the room but returned moments later and continued slapping the girl, hitting her buttocks, yelling at her, and forcing her to apologize.

Pham Quang Giang, A.s father, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that his daughter went home in a terrified state that day.

After the teacher told the family about the incident, they took A. to the hospital for a health check. She did not suffer any physical injury but was psychologically traumatized, Giang said.

Representatives of the school and local police arrived at Giangs home later that day to check on A. and work on the case.

As of Thursday afternoon, H.V.H., who is T.s father, had not apologized directly to A. and her family but only did it through texts and phone calls.

We do not accept his apology and will ask police officers to deal with the case. Beating a child is unacceptable, Giang asserted.

The board of Trumskids Kindergarten will also review the responsibility of the teachers for failing to protect A. from the violent actions.

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A former banker in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho is facing prosecution for appropriating 28 taels of gold from a customer of local lender TPBank in 2013.

The Peoples Procuracy of Can Tho City in Vietnams Mekong Delta region on Thursday transferred the case of Tran Thi Ngoc Chau, 33, to the municipal Peoples Court to begin legal proceedings against the former TPBank specialist for abuse of trust to appropriate property.

Working at the branch of TPBank in Can Tho City from 2013 to 2017, Chau was in charge of the gold safe keeping contract in 2013 between the lender and Nguyen Thi Thuy Lan, a local living in the citys Binh Thuy District.

According to the contract, Lan registered her personal information at the TPBank branch to have 46 taels of gold safeguarded there.

One tael of gold equals 37.8 grams.

Taking advantage of her duty, trust of colleagues, and loose procedures, Chau repeatedly signed in Lans account to withdraw a total of 28 taels of gold.

Chau sold the withdrawn gold to cover her personal expenses.

It was until November 2017, when Lan wanted to withdraw all of her 46 taels of gold from TPBank, that Chau moved 28 taels of gold from another customers safe keeping account to the lenders escrow account before transferring it to Lans.

The case was eventually uncovered in February 2019.

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Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe to open dry mortar mix plant in 2H20

02 October 2020

Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe is set to complete the installation of a US$2.2m dry mortar mix (DMX) plant during the second half of this year.

The project is part of LafargeHolcim Group's US$25m recapitalisation of its Zimbabwean subsidiary, which was announced last year.

"Currently, the DMX plant is being installed and is set to be completed in the 2H20, while the vertical cement mill supply contract was signed in August 2020," said the group's chairman, Kumbirai Kat.

Lafarge has been manufacturing DMX products for several years, albeit on a small scale. Once the new plant is completed, it is expected to improve the company's manufacturing capacity per year by over 700 per cent from the current 7000t to 50,000t.

Published under
Struggling businesses will be able to claw back thousands of dollars from the taxman under a policy being considered by the federal government.

A loss carry back scheme would allow companies who make a loss during the Covid-19 pandemic to get back some tax they previously paid when they were profitable.

The UK, US, Canada, Ireland, France and Germany all have loss carry back schemes and New Zealand has introduced a temporary one during the pandemic.

Struggling businesses would be able to claw back thousands of dollars from the taxman under a policy being considered by the federal government. Pictured: A cafe in Geelong

The Kiwi policy allows companies to carry their loss back one year to the preceding income year.

Businesses can get their refund after submitting this year's tax return or apply for a refund on provisional tax already paid this year.

The federal government is considering introducing a similar system in Australia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

In 2012, The Business Tax Working Group recommended introducing a loss carry back scheme to help companies through hard times.

The report said loss carry back 'has an automatic stabiliser effect by increasing cash flows for previously profitable companies during economic downturns when they are most needed.'

A loss carry back scheme would allow companies who make a loss during the Covid-19 pandemic to get back some tax they previously paid when they were profitable. Pictured: A cafe in Sydney

In 2012 The Business Tax Working Group recommended introducing a loss carry back scheme to help companies through hard times. Pictured: Kangaroos star and plumber Jasmine Garner

The group recommended a two-year carry back period and a cap stating the maximum amount that could be refunded.

Meanwhile, sweeping tax changes in the federal budget next week will make it easier for small businesses to give benefits to their staff including free parking, mobile phones and laptops.

About 20,000 companies employing 1.7 million Australians will benefit from ten tax changes as the government tries to drag the economy out of the first recession since 1990.

From April 2021 businesses that make between $10million and $50million will not have to a pay an extra tax when they give their staff parking and more than one portable electronic device.

Sweeping tax changes in the federal budget next week will make it easier for small businesses to give benefits to their staff including free parking, mobile phones and laptops (stock image)

About 20,000 companies employing 1.7million Australians will benefit from ten tax changes as the government tries to drag the economy out of the first recession since 1990 (stock image)

Under current fringe benefits tax rules, companies have to pay 47 per cent of the value of these benefits to the federal government.

The change will save businesses thousands of dollars and will help them attract and retain staff.

In another major change, all Australian companies will be exempt from paying fringe benefits tax when they pay for workers to train for a different role.

The government hopes this will encourage employers to re-train their staff to fill different positions instead of making them redundant.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said: 'Making it easier for businesses to upskill or reskill their workforce will help people to keep their job or to find a new job as we recover from Covid-19.'

What is fringe benefits tax? Fringe benefits tax (FBT) was introduced in 1986. It requires companies to pay tax on the value of certain benefits they give to employees such as free parking. The government says FBT plays an important role in maintaining the fairness and integrity of Australia's taxation system by placing employees with access to fringe benefits on a more even footing with employees whose remuneration consists entirely of salary or wages. In 2018-19, 43,288 businesses paid FBT, generating $3.8 billion in revenue, according to ATO data. Advertisement

The government is also considering allowing Aussies to deduct education and training expenses they incur themselves where they are not related to their current employment - but no decision has been made yet.

Around eight per cent of Australians changed jobs in the past year, with half of these changing industries and around a third of these changing occupation.

Other concessions to small businesses will include allowing them to immediately deduct certain start-up expenses and prepaid expenditure; simplify their pay as you go tax installments; and settle excise duty once a month instead of weekly.

Furthermore, the amendment period for income tax assessments will be reduced from four years to two years starting from July 1, 2021.

This means the tax office can only demand more tax within two years if officials feel a company has accidentally made a mistake on their tax return.

The changes are estimated to cost the budget $105million over the next three years.

They are part of the government's bid to slash red tape and reduce tax to help get Australians back to work after coronavirus lockdowns destroyed one million jobs.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said next week's budget is the most important since the Second World War and will aim to 'cushion the blow of the pandemic recession, to recover what's been lost - the jobs, the livelihoods, the hours, the incomes, the customers, the clients - and to take new ground by rebuilding our economy for the future.'

Mr Frydenberg said: 'The Morrison Government is expanding much needed tax relief to small businesses as part of our economic recovery plan.

'We know that the pathway to recovery is not through higher taxes but through a more competitive and efficient tax system that supports jobs and promotes investment.

'Enabling small businesses to keep more of what they earn means they can keep operating, pay their bills and retain or hire more staff.

'Australia's more than three million small and medium businesses are the engine room of our economy, which is why reducing their tax burden is critical in ensuring they not only survive the crisis, but continue to invest, grow and create jobs as the economy recovers.'

Previous support from small businesses has included JobKeeper, extending the Instant Asset Write Off, providing a Cash Flow Boost of up to $100,000 for employing small businesses, and boosting access to capital through the Covid-19 SME loan Guarantee Scheme.
Rebranding

2 October 2020

Sonesta Adds Sonesta Hamilton Park Morristown Hotel & Conference Center.

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation is excited to introduce a new branded and managed hotel in New Jersey, Sonesta Hamilton Park Morristown Hotel & Conference Center, expanding the company's national footprint in this key business destination.

Sonesta Hamilton Park Morristown Hotel & Conference Center, formerly the Wyndham Hamilton Park Hotel, located on thirteen beautifully landscaped acres, is a technology driven learning environment with distinct amenities, well-appointed guest rooms, and premier meeting facilities. The hotel is conveniently near the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the Morristown Green, Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Drew University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. It features a state-of-the-art fitness center, indoor and outdoor heated swimming pools, and 32,000 square feet of meeting & event space. Food and beverage options at the hotel include a coffee and wine bar, lounge and full 3 meal a day restaurant.

Sonesta recently introduced Stay Safe with Sonesta, a program created to take the company's standards on safe and clean hotels to the next level in response to COVID-19. Sonesta cares deeply about the health and well-being of our guests and employees. We have developed a rigorous new health and cleanliness program, Stay Safe with Sonesta, for all of our U.S. hotels. Working with Ecolab Inc., a leading provider of cleaning and disinfecting solutions for the hospitality industry, we have designed the Stay Safe with Sonesta program to meet or exceed applicable CDC and/or governmental requirements and guidance related to the current Coronavirus pandemic. The program will continue to evolve as we revise our protocols to follow updated guidance from public health authorities and maintain the most relevant levels of protection for our guests and employees. The pledge includes:
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 20:45:25|Editor: huaxia

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KATHMANDU, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government on Friday reported record high single day infection of over 2,700 COVID-19 cases as the total number of cases surpassed 80,000 mark.

"A total of record 2,722 cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours," Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson at Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population, said at a press meet on Friday. "With the addition of new cases, total COVID-19 cases in Nepal reached 82,450."

Last record high daily infections were reported on September 18 when Nepal's health ministry confirmed 2,020 cases in a single day.

Due to the rapid rise in cases, total cases doubled in just one month. COVID-19 cases in the Himalayan country crossed 40,000 on September 1, according to the health ministry.

On Friday, the number of active cases in Nepal reached 21,234, according to the ministry.

In the initial months of the pandemic, most of the cases were limited to returnee Nepali migrant workers. In the last two months, most of the cases are locally transmitted, according to the ministry.

Nepali officials said as cases are spreading among different clusters of the community, the elderly population and those suffering with existing health conditions have been increasingly infected, leading to increased deaths in recent weeks.

On Thursday, deaths from the COVID-19 in Nepal surpassed 500 mark. With the addition of new 11 deaths on Friday, the total deaths from the pandemic in Nepal reached 520, according to the health ministry. Enditem
Bhopal: Two cabinet colleagues of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and one of his former ministers have landed in legal trouble, just months ahead of the bypolls in the state.

As arrest warrant has also been issued in Rajasthan against Banku Kansana, son of PHE minister Aidal Singh Kansana, in connection with a case of assault on two policemen in Rajasthans Dholpur district.

A court in Dholpur issued the warrant against half a dozen persons, including Kansana, in connection with an assault and abduction of two policemen on October 8, 2019 in Dholpur.

The Rajasthan police had lodged a case under sections147, 148, 149, 332, 353, 307, 395 and 397 of IPC against 15 persons last year, nine of who were arrested by police and six of them were on the run, including Banku Kansana.

Aidal Singh Kansana is a former Congress MLA and is a minister in Shivraj Chouhan government.

Dholpur SP Kesar Singh Shekhawat told News18 that the victim policemen had named 15 men in the case and it has emerged that their abduction and attack took place at the behest of Banku Kansana. All of them were found involved in illegal sand mining, said the officer.

Former Balaghat MP Kankar Munjare has approached the high court principal bench in Jabalpur against Rajkumar Kanwre, brother of Ayush Minister Ramkishore Kanwre.

Munjare in the petition claimed on Thursday that Rajkumar was sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with a murder in the past and was later released on parole. The high court had offered him parole after seven years on condition that he would no longer get involved in criminal activities. Later, his plea for quashing the punishment was also rejected by the court, said Munjare.

Informing court about 17 criminal cases which involved Rajkumar from year 2003 to 2013, Munjare urged the court to quash his parole.

Shivraj Chouhans former cabinet colleague, Gaurishankar Bisen, has also landed in trouble after former MLA Kishore Samrite approached the court challenging Bisens caste and income certificates that the latter had submitted with the Election Commission during 2018 assembly polls.

Bisen had showed a meagre Rs 80,000 as his annual income and the officer concerned had issued the certificate without noticing the anomaly, said Samrite in the petition lodged with the high court. The former lawmaker has also raised objection to Bisen having secured an OBC certificate from SDM Waraseoni in March 2018 without informing the officer that he had been an MP and MLA in the past.

The court, after preliminary hearing, has summoned the relevant records and a reply from the state government.
An MP of the Scottish National Party who tested positive for coronavirus, attended the House of Commons on Wednesday and later travelled on public transport from London to Edinburgh faced persistent calls to resign on Friday.

Margaret Ferrier, MP from Rutherglen and Hamilton West, has been suspended by her party. Nicola Sturgeon, party leader and Scotlands First Minister, said she had spoken to Ferrier and asked her to step down as MP. She also faced strong criticism from speaker Lindsay Hoyle.

Ferriers actions revived debate about everyone, irrespective of position, following law and quarantine rules after evidence emerged of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Stanley Johnson, father of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, not obeying such rules.

Ian Blackford, SNP leader in Westminster, said Ferrier had broken the law and should therefore reflect very carefully on whether she can continue as a Member of Parliament for her constituents. Nobody is above the law, nobody is above the regulationsI am calling on Margaret to do the right thing.

Ferrier, 60, apologised for her behaviour in a statement: I apologise unreservedly for breaching Covid-19 restrictions by travelling this week when I shouldnt have. There is no excuse for my actions.

I deeply regret my actions. I take full responsibility and I would urge everyone not to make the same mistakes that I have, and do all they can to help limit the spread of Covid-19, she added.

Ferrier spoke for four minutes in the House of Commons in person. The House has been functioning under strict Covid-secure conditions that include few MPs present, with others joining debates through video link.

Ferriers actions are now a subject of police investigation in London and Scotland, Hoyle said. It could result in a 4,000 fine recently announced by the government for those breaching quarantine regulations.

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A Victorian government review commissioned three months after a multimillion-dollar contract was handed to a Melbourne hotel to quarantine people infected with coronavirus found the site was not fit for that purpose.

Brady Hotels has expressed its disappointment at the government's sudden decision to withdraw the contract, awarded to them by the Health Department and previously reported to be worth up to $10 million over a year.

The Brady Hotel was designated a 'hot hotel', to quarantine people who had tested positive to coronavirus. Credit:Joe Armao

It comes as Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton revealed genomic sequencing suggested none of nine hotel quarantine workers infected with COVID-19 since the program reset in July had contracted it in the hotels.

With just seven new cases and two deaths on Friday, taking Melbourne's 14-day average to 12.8, Professor Sutton said Victoria was on track for restrictions to be eased on October 19, but it would not be earlier.
Tuesday was another dispiriting day for the beleaguered airline industry as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) lowered already depressed estimates on the number of people expected to board flights in 2020.

Airline stocks trended downwards, among them United Airlines (UAL). It has become a familiar sight in 2020 for the struggling airline, as the stock has shed 60% of its value year-to-date.

So, with the pandemic still hogging the headlines and a lack of clarity on further stimulus, is now the right time to pull the trigger on UAL shares?

It is, in the near-term, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Linenberg. The analyst issued a Catalyst Call on the stock arguing that as the industry works to implement measures to address the patchwork of quarantine orders, both in domestic and international markets the stock sets up favorably heading into the fall.

Expounding on this, Linenberg said, We believe United (UAL) is poised to break out of its trading range as improved volumes, revenues, and cash burn drive renewed investor interest in a name that has led the industry in responding to COVID-19. Actions and initiatives that led the industry included: numerous liquidity raising transactions including the first transaction secured by the company's loyalty program, widespread use of passenger freighters, elimination of change fees, and pre-departure COVID-19 testing, among other things.

However, the short-term investment idea does not come without risk. Although the CARES Act Secured Loan Program should provide United with another $5.2 billion, should there be no extension to the Payroll Support Program on October 1, Linenberg expects more downward pressure on the shares. Furthermore, a spike in COVID-19 cases could undermine the expected recovery in consumers appetite for airline travel.

Overall, Linenberg has a short-term Buy rating on UAL shares along with a $54 price target, suggesting upside of 56% could be in the cards. (To watch Linenbergs track record, click here)

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What does the rest of the Street think? Looking at the consensus breakdown, opinions from other analysts are more spread out. 6 Buys, 2 Holds and 1 Sell add up to a Moderate Buy consensus. In addition, the $42.50 average price target indicates ~21% upside potential from current levels. (See UAL stock analysis on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
The medical devices market has witnessed promising growth recently due to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, technological advancements, and rising demand for innovative therapies. However, the low barriers to entry and rapid innovation are creating an extremely challenging competitive environment in the medical devices market. How can market players gain a significant strategic advantage over competitors? Infiniti's competitive intelligence solutions enable medical device companies to understand their competitors' strategies and stay a step ahead. Companies can also develop strategies to reduce costs, enhance quality, and maintain profitability. To leverage Infiniti's competitive intelligence solutions and gain an unparalleled competitive advantage in the medical devices market, request a free proposal

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201002005048/en/

Competitive Intelligence Solutions for a Medical Device Services Provider: Our Approach (Graphic: Business Wire)

"Growing prevalence of chronic diseases, rising geriatric population, and growing surgical procedures are driving the medical devices market growth. However, the rising costs of medical devices and evolving healthcare regulations are expected to restrain the medical devices industry growth," says a medical devices market expert at Infiniti Research.

Business Challenge:

The client, a medical device services provider in North America, faced growing threats from competitors in product development and go-to-market activities. The client also faced difficulties in anticipating competitors' activities, understanding past market disruptions, and planning future market opportunities and disruptions. Additionally, the rapid technological advances and low barriers led to increasing competition in the medical devices market. Therefore, the client approached Infiniti's experts to leverage their expertise in offering competitive intelligence solutions. During the five-week engagement, the medical device services provider sought to anticipate competitors' activities, assess competitors' market positioning effectiveness, and gain a strategic advantage in the medical devices market.

Our Approach:

Infiniti's competitive intelligence solutions experts developed a comprehensive approach to assist the client, that included the following:

Competitive intelligence study to uncover the key strategies of relevant competitors, pricing tactics, and relevant strategic partnerships

Company profiling and analysis to gather comprehensive insights from top medical companies, while taking into consideration factors such as competitors' investments and end-customers

Customer intelligence study to provide actionable insights to the client relating to the key criteria for medical devices vendor selection

Speak to industry experts to gain a comprehensive understanding of how Infiniti's competitive intelligence solutions help medical devices market players to understand the competitive landscape and strategize for potential market dynamics.

Business Outcome:

Infiniti's competitive intelligence solution enabled the medical device services provider to understand the competitive landscape and establish an ongoing intelligence operation that provided strategic agility in the face of rapid innovation. They also identified technologies and processes leveraged by competitors and identified the top medical devices outsourcing companies to help them at the time of immediate requirements. The medical devices company successfully met their immediate priorities and attained faster time to market, consequently reducing operational costs by 23%. Additionally, the client understood their competitors' investment into R&D and new technologies and anticipated competitors' strategies. Infiniti's competitive intelligence solutions positioned the medical devices market client to make more fully informed investment and commercial decisions quickly.

About Infiniti Research

Established in 2003, Infiniti Research is a leading market intelligence company providing smart solutions to address your business challenges. Infiniti Research studies markets in more than 100 countries to analyze competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions and develop intelligent business strategies. To know more, visit: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/about-us

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201002005048/en/

Contacts:

Infiniti Research

Anirban Choudhury

Marketing Manager

US: +1 844 778 0600

UK: +44 203 893 3400

https://www.infinitiresearch.com/contact-us
Hugh Jackman shows his funny side as he bares it all in a new ad campaign.

The Australian clothing and footwear brand, R.M. Williams -- best known for producing Chelsea boots -- named the 51-year-old "Wolverine" actor as their first-ever ambassador in 2019.

Now, the Hollywood A-lister appeared in the brand's recent commercial with nothing but confidence and his pair of black leather boots.

In the 90-second advert, Jackman was seen sitting comfortably in a chair, wearing his birthday suit while looking unfazed as he spoke to the company's executive.

Jackman discussed how he values the "Wear Only..." policy, donning literally just the R.M. Williams Chelsea boots as he placed his feet up on the executive's desk.

"My word is my bond. When I say, I'm in. I am all in, you know? And, honestly, it's me who should be paying you," Jackman mentioned in a clip.

Furthermore, "The Greatest Showman" star went on and raved about how "comfortable" and nicely crafted the footwear was.

"Look at this! It's one beautiful piece of leather. Beautiful stitching. And they're comfortable," Jackman said." "The balls of my feet just feel like they've died and were widely mourned and just went to ball heaven if you know what I mean."

He then decided to wrap up the meeting by rubbing his naked butt into the velvet chair as he mentioned, "What is this? You should sit in this! Everything at R.M.Williams is just so comfortable."

Looking perplexed, the company boss appears to be shocked at Jackman's behavior, but at the same time relieved that he can now leave his office as he offers him the chair, "You can have that," the exec quipped.

The Golden Globe winner also took to Twitter to hype his high-quality kicks.

"What can I say? The boots are comfortable. @RMWilliamsUK," he wrote alongside the campaign video.

Fans also had the funniest reaction to his new ad.

"The Man. The Music. The Balls, I mean, The Boots. So wish you coulda done this bit at your Hollywood Bowl show last summer!" one user responded.

Meanwhile, another fan seems to be interested in the chair rather than the boots.

"Can I ask if that chair is for sale??? Cause I want in on the bidding."

Ryan Reynolds Savagely Trolls Hugh Jackman

On the other hand, Ryan Reynolds immediately chimed in and called out the actor for hanging out in his office.

"Is that the chair from my office?" the "Green Lantern" star wrote, while one fan pointed out that it's his chair from the 2016 movie "Deadpool."

"I believe that is the chair from your office, Ryan! Was this the chair Deadpool used to fondle pulverine's balls to get his very own movie?"

Scarlett Johansson the Reason Behind Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds' Rift

Although they were longtime best friends, fans love Jackman and Reynolds' social media "feud," which started during their 2009 movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

In his previous interview with The Daily Beast, the "Les Miserables" actor mentioned that it was because of their co-star Scarlett Johansson.

"I used to ream him because I was very close friends with Scarlett [Johansson], and Scarlett had just married Ryan, so when he came on set I was like, 'Hey, you better be on your best behavior here, pal, because I'm watching,'"

READ MORE: Kylie Jenner Gets Savagely Trolled After Showing Off Her Bum
Regarding A tribute to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Sep. 27): Reading this article reminded me that the notorious RBG was a fighter, and her milestone accomplishments for womens rights will go remembered. While she is known for her unwavering sense of justice, Id like to talk about her communication style and humility.

As a soft-spoken girl myself, I have always struggled to understand my role as a leader. From the beginning, were taught that leaders are supposed to be outspoken and unwavering.

Watching Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speak illuminated an unconventional style of leadership  a quiet yet confident leader who empathizes. Her ability to effectively carry out justice shows me that my sensitivity is not a weakness, but rather an asset as a leader.

Jessica Ma, Belmont

Future fire behavior

Congratulations to Kellie Hwang and The Chronicle for Why burned areas still vulnerable (Front Page, Oct. 1). Here is a clearly written explanation of past and future fire behavior in Northern California; it describes a complex process that we can address in many aspects to both anticipate and mitigate fire damage. Hwangs report should be incorporated in state, county and local guidelines ASAP.

Dinah Lee, Sonoma

Trumps fake concern

Regarding State wary of Trumps plea to watch polls (Oct. 1): The presidents concern about improprieties occurring at polling places on election day is as phony as a three-dollar bill. All President Trump wants to do is encourage voter intimidation by his alt-right, vigilante-minded supporters and to drive down turnout.

His words would be considered dangerous coming from any public servant in our federal government. The fact that they were spoken by an incumbent U.S. president is despicable.

Karl Gustaffson, Half Moon Bay

Dont be in denial

Many reporters and readers have eloquently written about various aspects of the debate debacle. There seems to be, however, an unaddressed question. How on Earth could anyone who has even casually watched President Trump over the last five years be in any way surprised by his incoherent, insulting and disruptive behavior. And it will only get worse as the election approaches; an extreme narcissist and bully who is beginning to feel some pressure will lash out in any way his impulse-driven psyche directs.

Being surprised by his behavior in the debate reflects a scary level of denial on the part of so many people who should know better. We cannot be in denial about the dangerous and primitive character of this man playing politician.

Karen Cliffe, San Francisco

Constitution under siege

Some in the electorate may dispute whether the Constitution is under siege. Others may call inviting a foreign government, Ukraine, to interfere in our electoral process a hoax. And then there are those who dismiss the verbal assaults, losers and suckers, on our brave military, as the stuff of anonymous sources. What is not subject to discourse is the fact that President Trump deliberately lied to the public about the deadly nature of COVID-19, resulting in the unnecessary deaths of thousands of Americans. It is on the record, on audiotape, and indisputable. The top priority of the president of the United States, other than his solemn oath to protect and defend the Constitution, is to ensure the safety and security of all Americans. Trumps mismanagement of the pandemic, and the resulting loss of lives and livelihoods, is disqualifying. It is now up to the governed to see that it is enforced.

Jim Paladino, Tampa, Fla.

A step in right direction

Regarding Newsom signs bill to make jury pools more diverse (Sept. 30): Bravo to our governor and state Sen. Scott Wiener, who carried the bill, for seeing the unfair way many on trial are judged.

The attempt by our court system to attain the jury of ones peers system of justice has fallen woefully short of implementation, and minorities, primarily, suffer the consequences. This is one of the many reasons minorities are disproportionately relegated to the prison population. Repairing the damage done to Blacks and other minorities has begun in earnest. Racism, in one form or another, has existed since man stood upright. Its beginning to sound like this could be the start of an awakening.

Michael Haworth, Vallejo

Bidens decorum

Something most commentators havent discussed is that President Trumps performance was deliberate, and intended to throw Joe Biden, a known stutterer, off balance and make him look stupid. Thats also why he kept saying that Biden wasnt smart. Bidens team apparently prepared him for such disruptions, so that he plowed through Trumps interruptions with minimal loss of decorum, showing Trump for the bully he is. This also brings to mind the kindness in Bidens interactions with children dealing with their own stuttering issues (I remembering the stutterer who participated in Bidens acceptance speech). We would not see such interactions from Trump, who wont even show affection for his son Barron. Looking at the debate from the perspective of Trump attempting to incite Biden into stuttering, I would say that Biden won that round.

Joann Johnson, Rio Vista

Cancel the debates

The remaining presidential debates should be canceled. Adults should not be required to debate with a petulant child such as President Trump. Supposedly, the Commission on Presidential Debates is considering revamping the format for the remaining two debates. Why even bother? Had enough yet, America? Vote.

Al Comolli, Millbrae

Bullying on display

There has been endless criticism over the presidential debate since Tuesday night. I, too, was put off and disgusted, until I realized that this was one of the most honest and reveling displays of character that Ive ever seen. Joe Biden was low-key, reasonably patient and caring and had some good, progressive ideas that came across when he wasnt talked over by the incumbent president.

President Trump showed the nation  and the world  that he is an impatient, oppressive bully with no real plan for anything except the use of ignorance and brute strength. A person who clearly doesnt respect or want to work with anyone who disagrees with him. No surprise there. Hes been treating the people of our country  and the world  just like that for 3 years now. We, the people, will fix that problem in November.

Duane Van Dieman, Mill Valley

A path for redemption

Chris Wallace can redeem himself instantly from his disastrous debate moderation by quitting his job at Fox News, calling Fox out for what it is, a propaganda tool for President Trump, and stating the obvious truth that Trump is the greatest threat to America since the Civil War.
Joel Osei, 25, and girlfriend Diana Cristea, 18, accused of killing Adrian Murphy

A second man survived after Osei allegedly administered Scopolamine to him

Prosecutors claim couple used Grindr to arrange for Osei to meet men at flats

Scopolamine - known as the Devils Breath - is popular with robbers and rapists

A teenager accused of murdering a champion Irish dancer with a Devils Breath drug popular with robbers and rapists gave a huge gasp when police told her the victim had died, a court heard.

Joel Osei, 25, and girlfriend Diana Cristea, 18, are alleged to have killed Adrian Murphy, 43, who was found dead in his apartment in Battersea, southwest London on June 4, 2019.

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A second unnamed 40-year-old man was rushed to hospital and narrowly survived after Osei allegedly administered Scopolamine to him at his flat in Walthamstow, east London on 30 May.

Joel Osei, 25, and girlfriend Diana Cristea, 18, are alleged to have killed Adrian Murphy (pictured), 43, who was found dead in his apartment in Battersea, London

Scopolamine - also known as the Devils Breath - is popular with robbers and rapists in South America and Columbia who use it to incapacitate their victims, the court heard.

Prosecutors claim both victims were enticed by the pair of ruthless grifters who used the dating app Grindr to arrange for Osei to meet the men at their London flats.

Cristea is said to have been following the events closely as she plotted behind the scenes, the court heard.

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DC Sarah Heywood was responsible for searching Mr Murphys flat on 7 June following his death and was tasked with contacting everyone who he had called before the incident.

On Monday 10 June I was given an action, to call Diana Cristea to find out her relationship with Adrian Murphy because the telephone number ending in 2528 was shown as the last call made by Mr Murphy before he died, the officer said.

When the call went to voicemail, DC Heywood contacted the Young Generation Childrens Care Home where Cristea lived at the time but was told the 18-year-old was unavailable.

Mr Murphy's body was found in his flat in June 2019 by his best friend and the property's owner

Colombian 'Devil's Breath' date rape drug Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine or 'Devil's Breath', is made from Borrachero trees in Colombia, and used throughout the country to aid sexual predators and robbers. The odourless powder is blown into people's faces, which once inhaled can cause victims to lose their memory, free will, and in high enough doses, can even kill. It has been described as 'the most dangerous drug in the world'. In the past two years cases have been reported in Spain, France and the US. But last month, UK actor Robert Lindsay told Met Police a young woman he knew was attacked with a substance bearing a chilling resemblance to 'Devil's Breath' outside a London night club. The drug, also referred to as Burundanga in its native Colombia, is almost impossible to detect, as it disappears from the blood stream in two to six hours and can only be found in urine samples within 12. This makes it extremely difficult for victims to prove they have been given it  as they don't remember anything and it's untraceable in their system.

Care home staff told the officer Cristea had a new number which the officer tried.

She said: I called Diana Cristea about an hour later, she said she hadnt used the 2528 phone for a month.

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Cristea told the officer she had sold the phone in a market after the SIM card broke.

The officer said: I asked her if she knew Adrian Murphy, she said she didnt. I informed her that Mr Murphy had died.

Dianna Cristea let out a huge gasp and seemed shocked that Mr Murphy had died. But she maintained that she didnt know Adian Murphy.

Osei and Cristea allegedly stole a PlayStation, an iPhone, an Ipod, a laptop, three pairs of sunglasses, a school bag, and wallet from the man who cannot be named for legal reasons.

They also are said to have used the mans Tesco credit card to purchase items at Aydin Food and Wine shop valued 7.43.

The pair allegedly booked a hotel on the same day through Booking.com for 180 and spent $2,995 on software from Chief Architects using Mr Murphys card.

They used Mr Murphys Lloyds bank card to buy 54.63 worth of food from Deliveroo and spent 9.99 on Gumtree, it was said.

Mr Murphys Barclays Delaware MasterCard was also used by the pair on 2 June 2019 where they attempted to spend $80,049 (61,000) on stones from Padmavati Diamonds Company based in New York, it was said.

Osei, from Seven Sisters, denies murder, poisoning by administering a substance to endanger life, two counts of theft, and eight counts of fraud.

Cristea, from Tottenham Hale, denies denies murder, poisoning by administering a substance to endanger life, two counts of theft and seven counts of fraud.

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Mr Murphy, a seven-time All-Ireland Irish dancing champion, produced and choreographed numerous Irish dance shows, including Feet of Fire, and FireDance The Show.

He was laid to rest in his native County Kilkenny besides his parents on July 17 last year.

The trial continues.
While the ruling party is engaged in turning the battle for Bihar Assembly elections 2020 as 15 years versus 15 years (15 years of NDA compared to 15 years of the RJD government), the main opposition party Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is targeting the Nitish government on the issues of corruption and law and order.

Riding on the success of the RJD as the largest party in the last assembly elections, party leaders are once again hopeful of emulating it. But the point to be noted is that in this election RJD President Lalu Prasad is missing and the entire responsibility lies on Tejashwi Yadav's shoulders.

In Lalu's absence, the controversy over the seat-sharing dispute in the Grand Alliance seems to be something that has left Tejashwi appearing clueless.

The Hindustani Avam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), two major constituents of the grand alliance, have already deserted the coalition. Also, differences with old ally Congress over seat-sharing are yet to be resolved.

Clearly the leaders of the Grand Alliance are missing Lalu Prasad. Congress in-charge of Bihar Shakti Singh Gohil raised a question mark over Tejashwi and said that if Lalu were here, it would not have taken so long in taking a decision on seat-sharing.

The Bihar Congress in-charge also said that Tejashwi is a young face. People tend to mislead those who are less experienced. "It is already too late to decide on seat-sharing. Now the ball is in RJD's court. Decisions should be made quickly."

The Congress is a political party and is ready for every situation, he added.

There is no doubt that Lalu Prasad's speech, style and charismatic personality had the ability to woo voters.

RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari agrees that Lalu Prasad's charismatic personality made him stand apart from most politicians. He was perceived as the messiah of the poor. However, he said that the Congress should give up its tendency to be stubborn.

He said if the Congress provokes it, the RJD would not hesitate to retaliate.

By the looks of it, the way the dispute is going on in the Grand Alliance about seat-sharing, it won't be easy for Tejashwi to repeat the success of the last Assembly election.

In the last election, the RJD, the Congress and the JDU had contested together. The situation has changed this time round. The JDU is with NDA and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's party is also with the JDU.

However, RJD's opponents are now running down the Grand Alliance's chances of success.

BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand says that there is no party left in the Grand Alliance. "Now there is only RJD that remains. People in Bihar won't ever want the 15 years of RJD rule to return."

Out of the total 243 seats in the state in the last assembly elections, the RJD emerged as the single-largest party by winning 80 seats while its ally JDU had to settle for 71 seats.
Double Dutch Drinks launches Cocktail Soda range

Premium tonic and mixer brand Double Dutch has expanded its portfolio with its first Cocktail Sodas.

The range, which launches with the Bloody Mary Soda and the Cucumber Margarita Soda, has been created using the innovative field of molecular gastronomy, taking classic cocktail ingredients and developing their flavours into longer, lighter drinks.

The Bloody Mary Soda combines tomatoes, basil, cucumber, pepper and chilli for a spicy and herbaceous drink, while the Cucumber Margarita comprises cucumber, Persian lime, bell pepper and chilli. The products can be added to spirits to create a speedy cocktail, or can be drunk on their own as a non-alcoholic alternative.

Their launch ties in with a colourful rebrand of the existing Double Dutch mixer range.

Raissa de Haas, co-founder of Double Dutch Drinks, said: "We are proud to announce the launch of our brand new Cocktail Soda range, which provides yet another option for busy bartenders, hospitality groups, consumers and cocktail enthusiasts to make creative drinks easily and consistently while not compromising on flavour."

The new sodas are low in calories, vegan-friendly and made without preservatives or artificial ingredients. They can be bought from the Double Dutch webstore and Amazon from 5 October.

Read our interview with Raissa and Joyce de Hass of Double Dutch Drinks here.

1 October 2020 - Bethany Whymark
Catholics are being urged by the countrys bishops to pray the rosary with them Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. on the Facebook page or YouTube channel of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops.

The event is described as a prayerful moment of unity for our country to seek healing and ask Our Lady, on her feast, to pray for us and help lead us to Jesus.

Rosary for America is said to fall on the date the Church celebrates as the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The feast day honors what the Church regards as intercession of the Mother of Christ in helping the Europeans defeat the Turks during a 16th century naval battle as a result of Pope St. Pius V urging Europeans to turn to their rosary prayer beads during the battle.

The call by Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, Conference of Bishops president, who presides over the largest diocese in the country, asks participants to take a photo in advance of our rosary and share it on social media.

They are are directed to use #RosaryForAmerica and let us know where you are praying from  how beautiful will it be when we flood the digital highways with images of rosaries on Our Ladys feast day and after the recitation to post a prayer intention for the country and invite others to pray for that intention.

Instructions are given on the website on how to participate and pray the rosary  a chain of beads separated by one bead or other divider into five groups of 10 and linked to a short string displaying a cross as well as several beads. Prayers to Mary, as well as to the Holy Trinity and a profession of faith, are said as the holder advances along the chain and pauses at the dividers for set reflections on Christs life.

Catholics frequently pray to the Blessed Virgin, as the Mother of Christ, and many receive a rosary on their First Communion Day. Some Catholics recite the rosary daily while others may pray it with their families at home at different times during the year.
Back in the summer of 1968, when the concept of an American public intellectual was still imaginable, two of them did battle in a remarkable series of TV debates. Beginning at the Republican National Convention in Miami, Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr engaged in a string of snitty and bad-tempered encounters.

They cordially loathed one another to begin with, and by the time they got to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, the knives were out.

While they bickered, anti-war protesters were massing in numbers outside, and on August 28, about 15,000 of them gathered in Grant Park for a rally, after which several thousand then attempted to march to the International Amphitheatre, where the Convention was taking place.

They were halted in front of the Conrad Hilton, where the Chicago Police weighed in to clear them using baton charges and tear gas against, what had seemed to eyewitnesses, a peaceful demonstration.

Back on ABC TV, Vidal and Buckley took wildly differing views of this ugly incident, with Buckley predictably commending the brave upholders of law and order, while Vidal, equally predictably, remarked that "the police are rioting".

Buckley would eventually lose his temper - and the argument - by calling Gore "a goddamn queer", but meanwhile, a change of administration was looming. Lyndon Johnson, who had ramped up the war in Vietnam, was gone and Richard Nixon was in.

Things were about to get ugly in America, nowhere more so than in the courtroom of Julius Hoffman, a notoriously intemperate Illinois District Court Judge, who in 1969 oversaw the chaotic trial of the so-called Chicago 7.

This disparate group of anti-war activists and protesters were indicted at the behest of Nixon's gung-ho Attorney General (and future Watergate felon) John Mitchell, who wanted to make an example of them. They were charged, among other things, with crossing state lines with the intention of starting a riot, and ended up in the middle of a politically motivated show trial.

That's the backdrop to Aaron Sorkin's The Trial Of The Chicago 7, a film based on a script he wrote 13 years ago and which has gone through all sorts of doomed casting and directing incarnations on its way to the screen.

Those delays have turned out to be fortunate, because Sorkin has got his casting exactly right in a meaty and wryly amusing ensemble drama. In fact, the Chicago 7 were, for a time, the 8, as Black Panther Bobby Seale (played here by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) was cynically added to the trial to make the others look more radical by association.

Video of the Day

The Yippies, led by Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) were radical enough anyway, but Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) abhorred violence and ended up a California senator, David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch) was an actual pacifist, and Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp), John Froines (Danny Flaherty) and Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins) turned out to be equally harmless.

But listening to Judge Hoffman (a fuming Frank Langella), you'd think they were hardened international terrorists, and defending them looked a hopeless cause.

The man charged with that unenviable task is William Kunstler (Mark Rylance), a redoubtable celebrity attorney who would defend civil rights leaders, Native American activists, Black Panthers and prison rioters during a distinguished career.

Sorkin and his talented cast orchestrate this daft and histrionic trial beautifully; his script is driven by the fast-talking humour he's famous for, but never loses sight of the story's disturbing central argument.

And while it doesn't always give sufficient historical context, when his script and cast elide, they sing.

Rating: four stars
Thomas Ray Spoon, 70, of Ringgold, faithful husband, father, and papaw, made his transition to his eternal home to be with his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, surrounded by his loving family.

Ray was born and raised in Columbia, Ky., until he was drafted into the U.S. Army. As a patriot, Ray honorably served his country for 14 years. He served in the 88th Transportation Company as a Heavy Vehicle Driver during the Vietnam conflict then reenlisted into the U.S. Navy as a Construction Seabee and Boatswains Mate in Argentina and on the USS Independence for a total of 14 years. Once honorably discharged, Ray moved to Trenton, Ga., and met his wife Sheila Thompson. He was a Journeyman Pipe Fitter and a member of Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Local 43. Ray worked for the Chattanooga Coca-Cola Bottling Co. for 15 years and for 40 plus years he faithfully served his Lord and Savior through his church, The Crossing of Chattanooga, formerly East Ridge Church of God. He served in the Bus Ministry, choir, greeting, maintenance, and never said no to any task that needed to be done. Ray lived by the verses Matthew 25:34-36, 40 and faithfully served as unto the Lord. He bled orange and enjoyed watching the Vols and the Braves. Ray cherished his family and was considered the glue that kept them together.

Ray was preceded in death by his mother, Lida Mae Spoon; brother, DeWayne Judd; twin grandchildren, Goodness and Mercy, and Grace and Hope; and sister-in-law, Sandra Wall.

Survivors include his loving wife, Sheila Thompson; sons, Thomas Ryan (Lanissa) Spoon and Jonathan (Danielle) Spoon; grandchildren: Jonathan and Levi Spoon; brother, Billy (Delores) Spoon; sister-in-law, Linda (Jerry) Smith; brother-in-law, Stanley (Judy) Thompson; and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held Friday, Oct. 2, at 9:30 a.m. in the South Crest Chapel. Interment will follow with military honors in the Chattanooga National Cemetery escorted by the Patriot Guard Riders who will also serve as pallbearers.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to J. Spoon at P.O. Box 518, Rossville, to assist with medical expenses.

Condolences may be shared and webcasting of funeral services are available at lane-southcrestchapel.com.

Arrangements are by the South Crest Chapel of Lane Funeral Home & Crematory, Rossville.
World Sailing's Election Committee overseeing the 2020 Election of World Sailing's Officers is pleased to release the Presidential Candidates' question and answers.
Paines Plough has announced its 2020 autumn season with a two-week festival The Place I Call Home, which will feature new international plays and stream across multiple digital platforms.

Joint artistic directors Charlotte Bennett and Katie Posner commissioned three bilingual, international collaborations in March at the start of lockdown to connect writers and theatres across Europe. The festival will run from 19 to 31 October.

A Brief History of Struggle is a collaboration by Dipo Baruwa-Etti (London) and Calle Fuhr (Dortmund). The play spans 1928 to 2020 across both countries and contains six short stories in English and in German. Audiences will receive five-minute snapshots of imagined conversations between people in both London and Dortmund through WhatsApp. The UK-based cast includes Bella Maclean, Daniel Adeosun, Martyn Hodge, Phia Saban and Sophie Doyle. German cast includes Cosima Shaw, Jan Pohl, Kristin Atherton, Markus Von Lingen, Nenda Neururer and Peter Stark.

In Tandem by Travis Alabanza (London) and Magdalena Zarebska-Wegrzyn (Krakow) tells the stories of lockdown couples in English and Polish. In London, the conversations are about online Drag Queen Zumba lessons, keeping plants alive, a drastic lack of PPE and family relationships maintained via video calls. In Poland, a couple stuck in the same home try to find a way through lockdown together. Audiences will receive personal email invites of these two couples' lives over the course of a week. Cast includes Sharon D Clarke, Patrycja Durska, Leanne Henlon and Pawe Kumiega. In Tandem is a co-production between Paines Plough and Theatre Ludowy, Krakow

Posta Aerea is by Giuditta Mingucci and Rosie MacPherson and is produced by Paines Plough, Elsinor Centro di Produzione Teatrale in Milan and Stand & Be Counted Theatre. Audiences will receive a package from two teenagers  Aisha and Tania  who first met on an Italian beach and a year later are living in Sheffield and Riccione, reconnecting as pen pals. The stories are told in English and Italian.

All works are co-directed by Bennett and Posner. The duo commented: "At the start of lockdown none of us anticipated the enormity of the impact that these times would have on each and every one of us. This unimagined world we now live in has highlighted that there is no same experience for anyone. This playful new digital festival celebrates difference; sharing how this time has been for different artists across Europe as well as allowing us to experiment with how we can create different theatrical digital experiences to continue to tell stories."
COLOMBO, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The 21st-century Maritime Silk Road proposed by China in 2013 will boost stability and sustainable development for all countries involved, a Sri Lanka-based academic has said.

Prof. Samitha Hettige, an expert on strategic studies and conflict prevention, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that "the Maritime Silk Road is a great tool for conflict prevention and sustainable development, because of the economic and social prosperity it will bring."

"The Maritime Silk Road is a network which will connect products and services across the globe," he said.

New developments in infrastructure and technology along the Maritime Silk Road will encourage countries to build up their economic strength by producing more and trading surpluses, thereby preventing resource conflicts, Hettige said.

Hettige said that Sri Lanka's service, finance and logistics sectors would gain immense benefits from the Maritime Silk Road. The Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of Chinese companies along the Maritime Silk Road have positive impacts on social development, he said.

Infrastructure development along the Maritime Silk Road will enable smaller nations to sit as equal partners in the spirit of multilateralism. "China is involved in win-win cooperation," Hettige said.

Hettige said that the concept of the Maritime Silk Road has a deep historical basis dating back to Admiral Zheng He's expeditions to Asia and Africa during the Ming Dynasty.
Some people continue to claim its much ado about nothing. Or, at most, not unlike what weve seen and been through before. There has always been an undercurrent of radicalism in the US as well as around the world, and thats true. But what makes this one different is much more than the normalized fiery spectacle playing out seemingly each and every night on the TV news.

Yesterday, a guy by the name of Dick Costolo tweeted out the following:

Me-first capitalists who think you can separate society from business are going to be the first people lined up against the wall and shot in the revolution.

Not just some rando on Twitter, Mr. Costolo first has 1.5 million followers many of whom follow his every tweet with religious-like fervor. Beyond that, the guy was CEO of Twitter between 2010 and 2015. This aint fringe stuff.

The only surprising piece of his deviant twit was that Dick forgot to capitalize its final word: to each good standing Marxist of all varieties, its the Revolution.

This is what we, and Costolo, are really talking about  socialism in some variant form. Opponents like to distill the ideology into a single recipe, as if Marxism hasnt itself evolved with the times. This is a mistake; for one thing, the very fact that it keeps changing tells you a lot about the soundness of its conclusions.

True science, of course, should change as it becomes warranted; thats the bedrock principle behind it, the way human society moved out of the feudal Dark Ages and into the enlightened modern world. In the face of overwhelming evidence, to stick to ones predetermined deduction is backward, anti-science folly.

Just as it is to (try to) turn inconvenient hard science into emotional pleas.

Karl Marx agreed. If the man contributed anything it was in recognizing even for its opponents that capitalism, that which brought Enlightenment science into freedom and advance for its proponents, was the key ingredient which did so. Neither Marx nor Engels could deny that much from what they hated.

But from that, Communisms intellectual founders deduced a major flaw in its workings and associations; capitalism would expire from an inherent contradiction. To be workable for any prolonged period, the capitalist must exploit his workers; profits and all that. At a certain point, there would be no unspoiled workers left to spoil, thus too little profit left to keep the whole systemic enterprise afloat.

It was here that the Communist would be swept in; the revolution (sorry, Revolution) not mere accident of circumstance but a foregone conclusion of yet-to-be written history. Capitalism, Marx said, like all human beings it was born into its own grave.

The problem for these 19th century Marxists is that, well, its now the 21st century and only fits and starts with the socialism stuff. A century and more than a half later, and even the Russians got tired of waiting along the way. Chinese, too.

This is usually where the common criticisms of socialism, Marxism, Communism, communism, and Socialism all stall out. Maybe the Russians abandoned the project because it wasnt the right project? As modern and post-modern Marxists contend, the 19th century version was simply Revolution 1.0.

It's also a mistake to view Dear Karl (as Im doing right here) as mere caricature. The guy, like many psychopaths and narcissists, was brilliant. A lot of what he said about capitalism no one else had before, and much of it remains relevant today. You cannot simply throw the baby out with the bathwater if you want to successfully re-convert his faithful back to freedom and choice.

From the very beginning, Marx knew that it wouldnt be so easy. In the preface to A Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy, he wrote, No social formation disappears as long as the productive forces which have developed within it still find room for further forward movement. Taken further, what that meant for capitalism was clear; so long as it hadnt yet exhausted itself, the Revolution would still have to wait.

Marx just didnt think it would be that long of one.

The proletariat, like the bourgeoisie, wouldnt accede let alone participate so long as this remained true. Eventually, though, there would be no further forward movement possible so for Marx this was a question of pure timing.

To his later followers, it couldnt be that because oftime. Generations of them have come and gone waiting for this to happen. Rather than accept that maybe capitalism, like entropy, is as inexhaustible as human ingenuity, so long as it is allowed, post-modern Marxists in particular have sought various explanations for their long dry spell. Capitalism must still suck, just not in the way we thought.

Especially during the 1930s; if ever there was a time when Communism seemed to have it right, all the capitalist critiques falling into line, the socialist tumblers each and every one clicked into place, the Great Depression was it. Yet, once again, no revolution (sorry, Revolution).

To invent answers, new schools of leftist thought emerged which took, by necessity, Marxs original vision and expanded on it. Capitalism was far more insidious than Karl, Friedrich, or Lenin had surmised. Not just some economic foundation, nor just the means of production for invention and exploitation of new riches, capitalism must be surviving instead because it is a whole way of life.

As Lenin had said:

One of the fundamental differences between bourgeois revolution and the Socialist revolution is that for the bourgeois revolution, which arises out of feudalism, the new economic organizations are gradually created in the womb of the old order, gradually changing all aspects of feudal societythe difference between Socialist revolution and bourgeois revolution lies precisely in the fact that the latter finds ready forms of capitalist relationships.

This was already a violation of founding Marxism; Karl had warned that feudal societies couldnt be transformed. They absolutely needed to pass through a democratic/capitalist stage first, otherwise thered be no miracle wealth and technology to support the new socialist structure. Lenin had jumped the gun in Russia, but even so he could still see the myriad problems in that place where only a thin layer of bourgeoisie had existed over top mostly feudal existence.

To put it bluntly: the vast majority of people like capitalism. Thats one reason why Marx had also declared the true socialist revolution (sorry, Revolution) must first come from the workers, not the bourgeoisie. The workers should be its biggest complainers, the least satisfied (in theory) to labor forever onwards under such heavy exploitation. If any class would accept Communist, it's this one - but strangely never is.

As Marx wrote, capitalism skirted a fine line to assure an existence to its slave within his slavery. And once it stopped being able to do that, then the workers of the world unite!

Since they haven't, later Marxist scholars have fingered instead what they call tertiary industries. In fact, if you research Chinese economic accounts, for example, they conveniently break many of them down by primary industries (simple agriculture and fishing), secondary industries (like actual hard industry, think factories), and tertiary industries.

This last category would include companies like Twitter; service-oriented micro-economies which really depend upon sectors like high tech, computers, computer networks and the like. The real modern world. According to the countrys National Bureau of Statistics, tertiary industries made up 54% of Chinas value-added GDP in 2019, contributing nearly 60% of its economic growth.

This is where an Italian Socialist by the name of Antonio Gramsci has been so influential, particularly since 1975 when his original work from the 1930s was translated into many languages. Hardly anyone has heard this name, but his views have influenced everything including the leftist overtaking of schools, newspapers, law, as well as what sures like the politicization of every facet of society.

The bourgeois capitalist class could not, on its own, hold on to power in the way Marx had surmised  coercion economics alone. Instead, the capitalist vibe penetrates all levels of civic society; through the church, the media, the schools, etc. Gramsci called it cultural hegemony.

Though hegemony is ethical-political, it must also be economic, must necessarily be based on the decisive function exercised by the leading group in the decisive nucleus of economic activity.

The capitalists use these instruments of state and politics as well as all of civil, non-political society to reinforce their coercion and exploitation of the underclasses, who then accede to this arrangement as a sort of political compromise. So long as these elites keep making workers lives better, the peons wont notice that theyre really slaves.

A later follower of Gramsci, Erik Erikson, pointed out how in this view capitalism has itself evolved not just new technologies to make lives better but simultaneously new ways to dominate humanity through the monopoly given to it by the state (thus the term monopoly capitalism). It has been an artful perverter of joy and keen exploiter of strength.

As such, Gramsci wasnt willing to wait around for what he called Americanism and Fordism to flourish even for a time. His stated goal was to prevent the proletariat of Western Europe and the United States from being kept quiet by bread and circuses, passively waiting for decadence and destruction. Cultural hegemony meant that the socialists must first undertake a counter hegemony; or counter-cultural hegemony.

If todays workers are too fat, dumb, and made happy by the proliferation of tertiary industries, then some part of the bourgeoisie rather proletariat could be carved off and converted into a sort of perverted Leninism; still the small group of revolutionaries (sorry, Revolutionaries) who would guide society toward its badly needed awakening; to have ones eyes opened to what they claim is the reality of the human condition whether or not anyone wants this uninvited optical intrusion.

Because we are all slaves to the capitalist machine, the revolutionary (sorry, Revolutionary) believes our consent to living in such a system cannot be construed as meaningful. Here, even our consent is interpreted as exploitation (perfectly Orwellian justification). We need to be woke in order to see that we havent consented at all to what has been this compromise state.

You dont get to disagree with the revolution (sorry, Revolution).

It has to be that way because the role of the state is to preserve the bourgeois hegemony. The inherent flaws in the capitalist structure (they still believe that) means it produces an unstable situation; that it must accumulate enough profits to keep the whole thing going as well as to be able to reinvest in tertiary industries and the like. If profits fall too low, then crisis; the workers dont get their bread nor circuses, and there isnt enough left to be invested toward keeping the whole thing afloat.

The post-modern version of the Great Depression is just this; that the system broke down kind of like Marx predicted, but that bourgeois hegemony was maintained anyway by its monopoly position with the state interested only in this compromise with workers. In some places, like the US, capitalism was reformed into something like the New Deal which represented a new sort of concession in lieu of the socialist revolution (sorry, Revolution).

In others, such as Gramscis Italy, this had led to fascism (and a long time before 1929; Mussolini interrupted Marx from an earlier capitalism crisis, jailing leftists like Gramsci for speaking out against it). Reorganizing the state of production by incorporating it more heavily into the state where political power could strengthen hegemony via these other means besides economy.

In other cases, perhaps later cases, should profits ever fall too low and the government response insufficient, then Gramsci surmised that would be the time when counter cultural hegemony would be in best position to forward the revolutionary (sorry, Revolutionary) cause; workers would be awakened enough by the lack of circuses to question their coerced consent to the capitalism compromise of such minority rule - even if capitalism still had something left in the tank, not completely exhausted.

From that period forward, this brand of Marxism has spent decades preparing for that day, breaching all layers ("superstructures") of civil society in anticipation.

At this point, the state would have to increasingly resort to overt means to maintain the status quo; open coercion through the power politics more at home in the traditional Marxist critique. Mass demonstrations against what are feverish declarations of being stripped of rights, even outright clashes with the police and the attempted overthrow or destruction of symbols of the state (like federal courthouses, for one) and its monopoly capitalism.

This about sums up the full scale of 2020.

The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 (really 2007 to current) fit the narrative to a T. The government stepping in to "save capitalism matching the Gramsci-definitions of a monopolys only interest in preserving bourgeois cultural hegemony; keeping the economic minority at the top position it cannot otherwise hold.

But bailouts and TBTF werent enough; constant need for things like QE which from the street level of the revolutionary (sorry, ah, you get it) amounted to explicit, in-your-face state monopoly support for this system which had, as Gramsci and other post-modern Marxists predicted, run afoul of its unstable equilibria. That's their new bogey, the new Marxist target.

As it more and more fails to provide new kinds of circuses in tertiary ways, this leads to more and more state penetration into not just economic but also civil institutions (further eroding, or taking away, perceived rights).

The bourgeoisie can only call in the state to reorder or even alter (the way the New Deal supposedly had) the compromise position, as theyve done unsuccessfully through central banks. From the leftist side it is for counter cultural hegemony to be well-enough established and stocked with sufficient and sufficiently aroused (woke) sympathizers.

And everything that has happened since 2008 has played right into their hands. Though this post-2008 economy has been called a boom, and a tech-led boom, it hasnt even been growth. Sure, everyone has Twitter, but not anywhere close to enough have work. Sure seems unstable.

Have you seen the labor participation rate lately? It was big trouble even before 2020.

Why do the mainstream media, multitudes of school districts, near every single university, and so many lawyers and politicians sound like exactly the same cultural Marxist? Because later generations of socialists realized Marx was wrong about a fundamental precept. Capitalism might not be terminal, after all, but that didn't change anything so far as they were concerned.

Theyve instead been preparing not for its termination, but for any significant stumble which might afford them their first serious opportunity since the thirties to wake everyone up to what they claim is a much better, more equal way of living (of course, trading in any future progress for this new "equal" compromise).

Yes, society gets better and better, the human condition improves beyond anyones wildest dreams, but thats all the more reprehensible to the hardcore Revolutionary; Orwell again, what's good is actually bad. Like Gramsci or those who followed him have said (Erikson):

to grow up healthily without reaching personal maturity, to live well but without purpose, to invent ingeniously without aim, and to kill grandiosely without need.

Yep, damn those 23 different varieties of underarm spray deodorants, like Bernie said back in 15; screw the fact that the poorest among us are now far more likely to be obese, the Revolution demands those things back because the Revolutionaries know what true meaning is for the rest of us! How dare capitalism solve, and keep solving, the most basic wants and needs which have plagued human existence from time immemorial! It's just too messy.

Not a small difference from the original Marx which claimed capitalism can make things good but wont last to the post-modern Marx which now admits it can keep making things good but, dang it, it just leaves you all empty - and envious - inside, some people rich while others not.

It's the proliferation of nots which has made this time different. Without anyone else to offer a scientific explanation for so many, emotion sure can substitute.

As really stupid as it all sounds, and should sound, without enough legitimate growth in primary, secondary, or tertiary industries since August 2007, too many nots for any system, and the constant, absurd, and floundering interference from the state because of this, more and more people are listening to it anyway. Just how many, thats the question.

Is it really much ado about nothing this time?

Jeffrey Snider is the Head of Global Research at Alhambra Partners.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported an increase of 1,161 coronavirus cases on Friday, as well as an additional 19 deaths to the states death toll.

Pennsylvania now has had 161,284 cases since the start of the pandemic in March, and it has reported 8,179 deaths in that timeframe.

Your coronavirus update:

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

Coronavirus in Pa.

Four counties make up a quarter of Pennsylvanias new coronavirus cases: Allegheny (73), Centre (99), Montgomery (72) and Philadelphia (107) Counties totaled 351 of the states 1,161 reported cases, nearly a third of Fridays increase. Seven other counties reported at least 30 cases on Friday, including 37 in Lackawanna County and 55 in Westmoreland County.

While 1,161 is a high number of cases, though not strange given the recent surge in the last month, whats more worrisome is the consistency of the last few days. Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 is the first time since May 7 through May 10 that the state recorded at least three days in a row of more than 1,000 reported cases. Non-coincidentally, Fridays seven-day rolling average is 1,012, the highest the average has been since it was 1,049 on May 10. The states positivity rate is currently at 7.4%.

With 19 new deaths, the seven-day death average is at 14 per day.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Eleven concerning" counties

Each week, the health department updates its online early warning monitoring system and identifies counties with what the state has called a concerning percentage of positive cases over the last week, above the World Health Organizations recommended threshold of 5%.

(The state calculates percent positivity based on total tests, including duplicates. This method puts Pennsylvanias percent-positivity at 3.7% over the last week. Another way, used by lehighvalleylive.com and Johns Hopkins University, calculates percent positivity based on individuals tested, eliminating duplicate tests  that method shows statewide positivity at 7.4% over the last seven days.)

There are 11 counties considered concerning with a positivity rate above 5%. They are:

Centre County (9.4%)

Northumberland County (9.3%)

Snyder County (7.8%)

Lebanon County (6.6%)

Montour County (6.6%)

Perry County (6.5%)

Schuylkill County (6.5%)

Wayne County (6.1%)

Lackawanna County (6.0%)

Indiana County (5.9%)

Lawrence County (5.4%)

Coronavirus in the Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley reported 49 new coronavirus cases on Friday, bringing the regions total to 10,285. Lehigh County reported 27 of those cases, making its total 5,731, and Northampton County reported the other 22, bringing its case count to 4,554.

Lehigh County also reported one new death, the first state-reported death in the Lehigh Valley in over a week. The countys death toll now sits at 354, while Northampton Countys remains at 305 for the 11th day in a row.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Northampton Countys Facebook page also made public the data from its drive-through testing site at 3100 Emerick Blvd. in Bethlehem Township. Thus far, the testing site has yielded a 4.7% positivity rate.

As of October 1, the latest data from the COVID-19 drive-through testing site at 3100 Emrick Blvd. in Bethlehem Township... Posted by County of Northampton on Friday, October 2, 2020

Here is how the Lehigh Valleys neighboring Pennsylvania counties are faring with the coronavirus, from the states data:

Berks County has 7,258 total cases and 396 deaths, with 43 new cases and one new death reported in the last day.

Bucks County has 8,984 total cases and 611 deaths, with 55 new cases and one new death reported in the last day.

Carbon County has 473 total cases and 28 deaths, with two new cases and no deaths reported in the last day.

Monroe County has 1,816 total cases and 134 deaths, with seven new case and no new deaths reported in the last day.

Montgomery County has 12,397 total cases and 881 deaths, with 72 new cases and no new deaths reported in the last day.

Schuylkill County has 1,224 total cases and 55 deaths, with 20 new cases and two new deaths reported in the last day.

Pa. COVID Alert App will now track exposure in a few neighboring states

With the launch of the New York and New Jersey versions of the COVID Alert apps, Pennsylvanians traveling to those two states plus Delaware will be able to use their Pa. COVID Alert app to track exposure across state lines as well, according to a press release from Governor Tom Wolfs administration.

The free app available on both Apple and Google devices will send notifications to the users phone if theyve been exposed in any of the three states while traveling. And the interstate relationship goes both ways, according to the release, as app users from those states will also be notified of exposure if traveling in the other three.

Pennsylvanias app launched on Sept. 22, and thus far, over 180,000 state residents have downloaded the app.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
Digital transformation ministry, Microsoft to develop cloud services in Ukraine

20:59, 02.10.20 1338

The cooperation will help engage experienced IT specialists in the development of domestic cloud technologies.
The Birmingham Airport Authority has cut its budget by $7.2 million, reflecting the impact of coronavirus on worldwide air travel this year.

The projected loss in revenue is due to the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced passenger traffic and other passenger revenue, such as parking, at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, which is managed by the authority.

Total operating revenues for Fiscal Year 2021 are budgeted at $33.9 million, $7.2 million less than the $41.1 million that was earned in Fiscal Year 2020.

Total operating expenses are budgeted to be $27.2 million, an 8 percent reduction from the Fiscal Year 2020 budget and a 3 percent increase in Fiscal Year 2020 actual expenditures. When COVID19 was declared a pandemic, the airport authority reduced costs and expenses through various actions and will continue its cost saving measures through Fiscal Year 2021, which began July 1, 2020 and continues through June 30, 2021. The authority received CARES Act funding from the federal government to offset revenue loss.

The authority has received $18,745,394 in CARES Act funding, with $5,273,089 expended in fiscal year 2020, and $2,008,859 expended so far in the current fiscal year. Another $2,221,300 in CARES Act funding is budgeted for the remainder of the fiscal year, with a balance of $9,242,147 at the end of fiscal year 2021.

The budget, passed Tuesday, establishes spending authority for the operations of the Birmingham Airport Authority, which sets the rates and charges paid to the Airport Authority by the airlines, in accordance with their agreement. The Birmingham Airport Authority receives no local or state tax money for the operations of the airport.

Passenger enplanements and landed weight are the most important factors in the budget. The Transportation Security Administration checkpoint traffic in Birmingham has been trending in line or slightly ahead of the rest of the nation. The Birmingham Airport Authority has forecast enplanements for Fiscal Year 2021 at 800,754 passengers, or 48 percent lower than in the calendar year of 2019. So far, calendar year 2020 enplanements are 58 percent below 2019. Landed weight is forecast to be 40 percent lower than in 2019.

Passenger enplanements and landed weight are moving in the right direction despite the challenges of COVID-19, said Ronald F. Mathieu, Birmingham Airport Authority President and CEO. We proactively took several actions including restructuring our debt and implementing austerity measures to reduce our expenses, which resulted in having more days cash on hand this fiscal year. So even with the projected decrease in passenger traffic and revenue, the Authority expects to remain fiscally sound.

At its monthly meeting on Tuesday, the Birmingham Airport Authority Board of Directors also elected officers for 2020-2021, with all current officers being re-elected for another term. The elections began with David Germany being re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the next year.

I appreciate the vote of confidence from the Board and I am honored to continue to serve as your chair, said David Germany, Chairman of the Birmingham Airport Authority Board of Directors. I look forward to continued collaboration with my fellow Board members. Together, we are committed to keeping the airport moving forward.

Officers also re-elected include Bobbie Knight as Vice Chair, Christopher Johnson as Secretary, and Darlene Wilson as Treasurer. Cathryn Smith, BAA Executive Assistant and Board Administrator, will serve as assistant secretary and Korey Campbell, BAA Vice President of Finance, will serve as assistant treasurer.

Committees were also appointed with Bill Smith serving as chair for the Business Development and PR committee, Darlene Wilson serving as chair for the Audit and Finance committee, Robert Earl Kelly serving as chair for the Human Resources committee, and newly appointed board member R. Ashby Pate serving as the committee chair for the Economic Development and Capital Projects committee.
Suez container traffic -15% due to COVID, Med-wide drop Growth expected for Africa and Middle East says SRM study

(ANSAmed) - NAPLES, OCTOBER 2 - The Mediterranean continues to see 27% of container traffic transmitting through it of the about 500 shipping services lines in the world. However, COVID-19 has had a sharp impact on this sector as well, as shown by the 15% plunge in container traffic through the Suez Canal. The drop was offset, however, by the transit of ships from other sectors such as oil, which saw an 11% rise, according to a study by SRM, a research center from the Intesa San Paolo group that presented the study on Friday in Naples during the Naples Shipping Week. The "Italian Maritime Economy" study looks at the entire sea and among the effects of the pandemic it cites the frequent 'blank sailing' - i.e. routes cancelled due to not enough cargo, which at the end of May totalled 2.7 million TEU, equal to 11.6% of the total hold. SRM estimates that 7 million TEU were lost at the international level in 2020.



Forecasts show container traffic at the global level, however, to rise an average of 3.5% per year to 951 million TEU in 2024 with strong growth in the Mediterranean area given the outlet for Africa of +3.3% and that for the Middle East of +4.5%. On the Suez Canal, the report explains that the drop in traffic was due to factors linked to COVID-19: the drop in cargo carried by the ships and the drop in oil prices, which pushed many container ships to pass around Africa's Cape of Good Hope and in so doing save toll costs by lengthening the route by about 3,000 nautical miles. Some 52 - 5.1% of the total - large ships opted for this route in the March-June 2020 period. The Suez Canal Port Authority reacted by bringing in a 17% discount for container ships heading south and from 50% to 70% for the US East Coast- South Asia and South East Asia routes to encourage shipping companies not to opt for the longer route to save on toll costs. Among ports, the study found that Greece's Piraeus, which was selected by the BRI strategy as the Mediterranean benchmark port, reached 5.7 million TEU in 2019 thanks to Cosco, thereby becoming the top Med area port for containers, followed by Spain's Valencia with 5.4 million and Algeciras with 5.1 million. The Italian ports of Genoa and Gioia Tauro were in 8th and 9th place with 2.6 million and 2.5 million. On the issue of Italian ports, the study found that traffic was stable in the past five years with around 480-490 million tons of cargo that transited every year. Liquid bulk accounted for 37% of the total, followed by the container segment with 23%, Ro-Ro with 22% and solid bulk with 12% and merchandise at around 5%. In Italy, in the first 6 months of 2020, import-export via sea was impacted by COVID with a 21% drop in value and roughly 11% drop in tonnage. Italy is, however, still the leader in the Short Sea Shipping in the Mediterranea with 246 million tonnes of goods transported, equal to a market share of about 39%. (ANSAmed). (ANSA).




There was widespread international sympathy but also something that resembled schadenfreude after President Donald Trump announced Friday on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the new coronavirus.

"Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose relationship with Trump has grown close in recent years, tweeted.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized for a week in April  some of it in intensive care  after he contracted COVID-19, wished Trump a "speedy recovery."

Fallout: President Donald Trump's coronavirus test result could alter his reelection campaign, undercut pandemic messaging

Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu struck a similar tone and even used some of the same words: "Like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump and wish our friend a full and speedy recovery," he said.

The news that the 74-year-old American president caught a potentially lethal virus was carried in new bulletins and on TV screens across the globe from Dubai to Beijing.

Stocks markets in London, Tokyo and Australia fell sharply, and U.S. stock futures on Wall Street also declined as investors pondered what the announcement could mean for the Nov. 3 election between Trump, a Republican, and Democrat Joe Biden.

Government leaders around the world are weighing in on President Trump's coronavirus infection.

Elite group: Trump joins world leaders who have tested positive for COVID-19

"To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, the Dutch financial services firm Rabobank said in a commentary. "Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this U.S. election campaign."

But as the world expressed sympathy, some quarters appeared to take satisfaction in Trump's infection.

The news "reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan," said Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference. Koike did not mention Trumps reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection.

Story continues

'May God's healing powers touch them':Twitter reacts to Trump's COVID-19 infection

In China, where the government has bristled at Trumps attempts to blame Beijing for the outbreak, there was no immediate official reaction to the news beyond a brief announcement on CCTV, the country's state broadcaster. But Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that "President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19."

The topic was the most-searched topic in China on the widely used social media app Weibo a few hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

However, on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of sympathy and wished "the presidential couple an early recovery from COVID-19."

In Iran, state TV announced the news of Trump's infection with an unflattering image of him surrounded by what appeared to be giant graphical depictions of coronaviruses.

The Qatari state-owned Al Jazeera news channel brought in commentators to discuss the "prevailing state of uncertainty" in the U.S., questioning whether Trump could effectively steer a reelection campaign and run the country from quarantine.

On social media, some users appeared to revel in the announcement and pointed to some of Trump's misleading claims about the disease and how to treat it.

Trump tested positive for COVID-19: What's the typical course of the illness?

"Here comes a chance for him to try his idea of injecting disinfectant and fighting back (against allegations that) it was fake news!" tweeted Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese Internet entrepreneur, referring to an idea Trump suggested earlier this year for treating COVID-19. Trump has since claimed he was being sarcastic.

Masaru Kaneko, an economics professor at Japan's Keio University, tweeted that leaders like Britain's Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro "got infected because they tended not to take the coronavirus seriously." Since getting infected themselves, he said, Johnson and Bolsonaro started taking the virus more seriously. "Will the United States follow their examples?" Kaneko wondered.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with whom Trump has not always seen eye to eye on a range of issues from immigration to NATO spending, had a more forthright reaction.

"I send all my best wishes to Donald and Melania Trump. I hope that you will survive your #corona # Corona infection well and will soon be completely healthy again. @POTUS @FLOTUS," Merkel tweeted via her official spokesman, Steffen Seibert.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin also weighed in.

"I am certain that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus," Russia's leader said in a telegram sent to Trump, according to Russia's official Interfax news agency.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's COVID-19 infection draws sympathy from Putin, Merkel
Donald Trump has revealed he and First Lady Melania have tested positive for coronavirus and will begin quarantining in the White House immediately.

The couple apparently received their test results late on Thursday after White House aide Hope Hicks began to show symptoms and tested positive herself, reportedly on Wednesday.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER! Mr Trump tweeted in the early hours of Friday morning.

In response, world leaders including Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel wished the president and his wife a speedy recovery.

The bombshell development, just weeks before Novembers election, immediately threw the race for the presidency into chaos, and sparked a frenzied reaction from critics and supporters alike both in the US and globally.

He failed to protect the country, tweeted George Conway, a prominent Trump critic and the husband of former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway. He couldnt even protect himself.

Brian Klaas, an associate professor in global politics at University College London, pointed out how Mr Trump mocked then-presidential rival Hillary Clinton over contracting pneumonia in 2016.

Piers Morgan, a prominent UK journalist who has at times been supportive of the US president, tweeted the front pages of two US tabloids.

This is such a huge story with massive potential ramifications for America and the World, Mr Morgan tweeted, amid suggestions a bad case of the illness could potentially force Mr Trump out of the presidential running.

Political leaders also reacted to the news, with Russian president Vladimir Putin sending his sincere support in this difficult moment.

I hope that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus, Mr Putin added in a telegram sent to the US president, according to a statement from the Kremlin.

Media figures have suggested White House officials, and even Mr Trump himself, could have broken coronavirus rules amid reports Ms Hicks tested positive the day before the US president on Thursday travelled to New Jersey for a fundraiser.

Experts have warned of the heightened risk of coronavirus to Mr Trump, who at 74 and clinically obese is considered more vulnerable to the virus.
British government scientists said on Friday it was still likely that a resurgence in the Covid-19 epidemic was spreading exponentially despite survey data that suggested a small levelling off in a recent sharp rise of cases. The Office for National Statistics had said there was some evidence that the steep increases in new Covid-19 cases, seen in recent weeks in England, was slowing down. But government scientists urged caution as they published a reproduction "R" number that had risen slightly to 1.3-1.6 from 1.2-1.5, meaning that on average, every 10 people ...
In reviewing the history of the buffer states discussion, it should be noted that among those who originally disagreed most vociferously with placing central emphasis on nationalized property relations as the chief criteria of a workers state was Ernest Mandel (Germain).

In a document written in October 1949 and published the following January, he insisted that the decisive question for Marxists in defining the class character of a state was not this or that economic measure instituted by a new regimeno matter how apparently radicalbut its historical and political origins. Furthermore, Mandel stressed that for Marxists, the smashing of the capitalist state had not merely a negative, but a positive contentthat is, it implied the creation of a new state apparatus based on the revolutionary proletariat.

Mandel raised crucial theoretical questions that were anathema to those like Pablo, Cochran and Joseph Hansen who, beneath the guise of correct sociological definitions, were working toward a wholesale rejection of Marxist principles and an abandonment of the historical perspective of the Fourth International.

The most important section of Mandels document was entitled The Metaphysics of Nationalized Property. He recalled that in 1948, the Johnson-Forrest tendency had attempted to attribute to the Fourth International the position that a workers state is brought into existence merely through the nationalization of the means of production.

We immediately refuted this absurd accusation. We said that only the nationalization of the means of production resulting from the proletarian revolution was a criterion for the existence of a workers state. Only if one considers the economic transformations produced by the October Revolution in their entirety has one the right to consider for the USSR such formulas as mode of production, relations of production and property relations as three equivalent formulas expressing the existence of the proletarian revolution on the economic, social and juridical arena respectively. But it does not at all follow that any nationalized property whatever is to be identified with a non-capitalist mode of production and therefore with a revolution in the productive relationships. Such a conception would in fact be economist, that is, a serious phenomenological deviation from Marxism. But that was never Trotskys conception or that of the present majority of the Fourth International. Today the comrades of the RCP [then led by Jock Haston] and several comrades who favor the theory of the working class character of the Yugoslav state revive the accusation of the Johnson-Forrest comrades against us in an inverse sense: they accuse us of having abandoned Trotskys conception which, according to them, identified nationalized property with the workers state. Naturally, by applying themselves to the task they can find here or there in Trotskys articles ambiguous formulas which can be interpreted in an economist sense. But these formulas have exactly as much value as certain quotations from Lenin concerning the possibility of the victory of Socialism in Russia which are presented uncritically by the Stalinists. What is involved in both cases are not systematic theoretical expositions of the question but elliptical formulations in polemical articles whose real significance cannot be understood without considering them in context. On the whole in his theoretical writings, dealing especially with this question, Trotsky shows a preference for the formula nationalized property established by the revolution whose meaning has been clarified above.  Considering all these factors we define as metaphysical the reasoning of comrades who say: Yugoslavia (and most of the buffer zone countries) are workers states because industry and wholesale trade is almost completely nationalized. In effect these comrades make an abstraction of decisive factors in estimating the character of these nationalizations: who instituted them, when, in whose benefit, and under what conditions. They isolate a historic factor from its context and reduce what should be a profound historical analysis to a simple syllogism, in fact to a tautology and to a begging of the question. For in saying that Yugoslavia is a workers state because industrial property is nationalized, they presuppose that these nationalizations are workers nationalizations, that is to say they presuppose what they have to prove. [ 1 ]

Mandel noted the contradictions into which those who placed a one-sided emphasis on the fact of state ownership inevitably find themselves:

In our epoch when capitalist society is decomposing and the proletarian revolution is considerably delayed, we are confronted by transitional cases, cases of combined development in which the property relations can be overturned without the economy thereby automatically becoming an economy orienting away from capitalism toward socialism and without permitting us to conclude that what we have is a workers state. A striking example is given by the Popular Republic of Outer Mongolia. This country is the first example of a country treated like those of the buffer zone of the USSR. It has a constitution faithfully modeled on that of the Soviet Union. A quasi-complete statification of the means of production and exchange has been proclaimed and undoubtedly realized there. But it is impossible to designate Outer Mongolia as a workers state for the simple reason that neither a proletariat, a bourgeoisie or even a numerous class of agricultural proprietors exists or has ever existed, and almost the entire population consists of nomadic shepherds. The mode of production is much closer to primitive communism than to modern socialism. Nevertheless, we find there the most advanced property relations in the world. Combined development has thus given to all metaphysicians a brilliant lesson they would do well not to forget when they study the transitional society of the buffer countries.  But we have more recent examples of nationalizations: Burma and Czechoslovakia. Burma displayed the decision, ever since the proclamation of independence, to set up a regime of statification of the means of industrial production, the land and the banks. In fact, Burma has been given a constitution copied after the Yugoslav Constitution, declaring that all the wealth of the land and its subsoil, all the industries and all the banks belong to the people. Would there be anyone among us who would designate Burma on this account a workers state (Moreover, it is interesting to note that the Burmese Constitution also declares that power emanates from the Peoples Committees. It is time to understand that words and formerly clear formulas have alas! today been filled with a content which varies according to those who use them). [ 2 ]

Arguing that these examples demonstrate that the statification of the means of production can be carried out by states which are clearly not of a proletarian character, Mandel then came to his central point:

According to the Marxist-Leninist theory of the state, the transition from the bourgeois state to the workers state can only come about by means of the violent destruction of the bourgeois state apparatus and the establishment of a new type of state apparatus, the apparatus of a workers state. The partisans of the theory of the working class nature of the buffer states have quietly dropped this whole fundamental part of Marxist theory, without giving the slightest explanation as to why they have abandoned it.[ 3 ]

Mandel warned that the historical prognosis latent in the positions of those who were arguing on behalf of the proletarian character of the buffer states was

a perspective of the possibility of a growth and increasing development of Stalinism on an international scale in the years and decades to come! Up to now, we have justified our entire attitude toward Stalinism by judging its activity from the standpoint of the world revolution. We have never abandoned the criteria of historical materialism which consists in judging modes of production by their capacity for developing the productive forces. We have never condemned Stalinism from an abstract moralistic point of view. We have based our entire judgment upon the incapacity of Stalinist methods to effect the world overthrow of capitalism. We have explained that the shameful methods employed by the Kremlin cannot promote but only serve to impede the cause of the world revolution. We have explained the impossibility of overturning capitalism on a global scale by any means whatsoever when there is only one method to apply: that of the revolutionary mobilization of the proletarian masses through their organs of proletarian democracy. And we have appraisedand condemnedthe structural assimilation of this or that province or small country into the USSR precisely from this point of view, by saying: what counts today is not the expropriation of the bourgeoisie on small bits of territory but the world destruction of the capitalist regime; and, so far as this world destruction is concerned, the lowering of the workers consciousness, the demoralization and destruction produced on a world scale by the crimes of Stalinism are infinitely heavier in their consequences than these few isolated successes. Obviously the hypothesis of the destruction of capitalism, not in Estonia or in Roumania or even Poland, but in all Europe and the greater part of Asia would transform our attitude toward Stalinism from top to bottom. The destruction of capitalism among more than half of humanity, embracing all the important countries of the world except for the United States, would radically change the balance of historical advantages and disadvantages of Stalinist activity. OUR CRITERION OF STALINISM FROM THE STANDPOINT OF ITS INEFFECTIVENESS AGAINST CAPITALISM WOULD LOSE ALL ITS MEANING.  The comrades adhering to the theory of the proletarian character of the buffer countries are far from envisaging this eventuality, but it would be the logical conclusion of the road on which they have embarked and would oblige us to revise from top to bottom our historical appraisal of Stalinism. We would then have to examine the reasons why the proletariat has been incapable of destroying capitalism on such extensive territories where the bureaucracy has successfully achieved this task. We would also have to specify, as certain comrades of the RCP have already done, that the historical mission of the proletariat will not be the destruction of capitalism but rather that of building socialism, a task which the bureaucracy by its very nature cannot solve. We would then have to repudiate the entire Trotskyist argument against Stalinism since 1924, a line of argument based on the inevitable destruction of the USSR by imperialism in the event of an extremely prolonged postponement of the world revolution. Even today, certain comrades explain that the destruction of Stalinism will come about by its extension. All these revisions of Trotskyism would be perfectly justified if they corresponded to the facts, BUT IT IS NECESSARY TO HAVE THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW THROUGH THIS LINE OF THINKING TO THE END AND TO FORMULATE THE CONCLUSIONS IMPOSED BY THE FACTS![ 4 ]

In the early part of 1950, the majority of the SWP Political Committee indicated its agreement with Mandel and again expressed reservations about the implications of the buffer states discussion. In February, at a plenary session of the SWP National Committee, Morris Stein once again reviewed the development of the discussion:

Let us therefore start with this question of: What are the criteria for a workers state? In Marxist theory and in historical experience, we know of only one way in which a workers state can come into existenceby way of the proletarian revolution. That is, the proletariat, through its independent mass action and guided by the revolutionary party, is the only force in modern society able to abolish capitalist rule and construct a workers state. We know also, from theory, and one might add a century of Marxist practice, that the bourgeois state cannot be reformed into a workers state, but it and all its institutions must be abolished. And only then, can it be replaced by a workers state and its specific ruling organs.  Purely economic criteria for establishing the existence or non-existence of the workers state have figured in our movement only in discussing the degeneration of a workers state previously established by a proletarian revolution.  In brief, the most important element in the social revolution is the consciousness and self-action of the working class as expressed in the policy of its vanguard party.[ 5 ]

Stein took exception to the arguments of Hansen, whose main contribution to the discussion was his insistence that statification of the productive forces was the essential criterion for establishing the existence of a workers state.

It seems to me that it is Comrade Hansen and not Germain who needs enlightenmentnot on planningbut on the difference between a workers state arising from a proletarian revolution and this process of structural assimilation, or incorporation, of countries which the Stalinist bureaucracy is now trying to carry through as a substitute for proletarian revolution.  The minority will be wasting its shots if it continues to fire away at planning as a criterion for a workers state; or at dependence on the world market; or at the capitalist nature of agriculture in the buffer countries, and so on. We readily grant all these points and even go a step further and say that the immediate nationalization of industry is not necessarily a criterion for a workers state eitherprovided the regime in the country is that of workers power arising from a proletarian revolution.  They are fully aware, for example, that the origin of the Soviet Union in the October Revolution is an inseparable part of our definition of the Soviet Union as a degenerated workers state. They have tried to overcome this difficulty in two ways, both equally dangerous. On the one hand, some of them try to minimize the importance of origin. This is very dangerous because such a course can only lead them into the trap of bureaucratic revolution. That would be the unavoidable conclusion of such an argument pursued to its logical end.[ 6 ]

Stein concluded:

The simplified approach which reduces itself in essence to the proposition: nationalization equals workers state, can only disorient our movement. It is a caricature of Marxism. It substitutes bureaucratic nationalization decrees for a real analysis of the living class forces and their relative position within society. Such an approach cannot conceivably serve us either as a guide to understanding the events transpiring in the buffer countries or as an aid in shaping our policy toward them. Nationalization of industry, important as it is, can be considered as only one field in which the bourgeoisie has been compelled to surrender its decisive positions. But the bourgeoisie still has, as I mentioned earlier, considerable strength in society. Not the least of these is the fact that the agricultural relations remain capitalist, and that the bourgeoisie permeates all the institutions of the state, nationalized industry included.[ 7 ]

The importance of the arguments of Mandel and Stein were that they correctly placed central emphasis on the historical perspective of proletarian revolution against a growing current of opportunist adaptation to the Soviet bureaucracy and its ephemeral successes. This does not mean, however, that the eventual decision to acknowledge the existence of deformed workers states in Yugoslavia and the rest of Eastern Europe was wrong. When properly understood and properly used, this new definition fulfilled a necessary theoretical and political function. But as with all dialectical concepts, that of a deformed workers state is acceptable and retains its validity only within a given historical and political tolerance.

That is, as a means of defining the hybrid states which came into being under the specific and peculiar conditions of the postwar period, and of emphasizing the distorted and abnormal character of their origins, the concept of a deformed workers state establishes the principled basis upon which the Trotskyist movement asserts the necessity of defending these states against imperialist intervention, while at the same time clearly indicating the political tasks that confront the working class within these countries.

The use of the term deformed places central attention upon the crucial historical difference between the overthrow of the capitalist state in October 1917 and the overturns which occurred in the late 1940s in Eastern Europe: that is, the absence of the mass organs of proletarian powerSovietsled by a Bolshevik-type party. Moreover, the term itself implies the merely transitory existence of state regimes of dubious historical viability, whose actions in every spherepolitical and economicbear the stamp of the distorted and abnormal character of their birth.

Thus, far from associating such regimes with new historical vistas, the designation deformed underscores the historical bankruptcy of Stalinism and points imperiously to the necessity for the building of a genuine Marxist leadership, the mobilization of the working class against the ruling bureaucracy in a political revolution, the creation of genuine organs of workers power, and the destruction of the countless surviving vestiges of the old capitalist relations within the state structure and economy.

However, the ambiguity of the new definition provided an opening which opportunists were quick to exploit. Within the Fourth International, the use of the term deformed was being treated as if it were no more than a sort of adjectival afterthought. Rather than being seen as a historical mutation, produced under peculiar and exceptional conditions, which were bound up with the unresolved crisis of proletarian revolutionary leadership, the theory of the deformed workers states was being transformed into the starting point for an entirely revisionist perspective.

In effect, the dialectical tolerance of the concept was violated in order to present such deformed states as the social and political prototypes of future regimes! As this was being done, the essential universal forms of the workers states, which had been revealed in the Paris Commune of 1871, and the Soviet power created by the October 1917 Revolution, were downgraded to simply abstract theoretical norms of no special doctrinal and programmatic consequence.

The proletarian revolutionunderstood as the armed uprising of the working class, supported by the oppressed masses, led by its own Marxist party and culminating in the establishment of the dictatorship of the class realized through definite state formswas no longer seen as the historical premise of a workers state.

Hansen put the matter most crudely:

One of the easiest errors to slip into when considering this question [What is a workers state?] is to make a kind of fetish of the category workers state. All of us tend to think of it as something glorious that arose to put an end to the blood and filth of capitalism, To this day an aura surrounds the words workers state because of all the associations with Lenin and Trotsky and the great emancipating struggle they led. We therefore find difficulty connecting it with anything base, and even when we insist on its degeneration in the USSR a brightness still clings to it. We want it to be something noble and great and inspiring.[ 8 ]

If taken to its logical conclusion, as it eventually was by the SWP in the 1960s, Hansens argument led inexorably to the separation of the socialist perspective from its proletarian and revolutionary base. For Hansen, the term workers state provided a bridge to the complete repudiation of the scientific Marxist conception that socialism is the historical product of conscious struggle of the international working class. The crass pragmatism which underlay Hansens arguments came out most clearly in his insistence that the analysis of the buffer states in Eastern Europe had to be carried out on a country by country basis: a method which excluded any serious theoretical evaluation of the historical process manifested in Eastern Europe, its relation to the international class struggle, its place in the development of the world revolution, and its broad political implications for the Fourth International.

Moreover, Hansens suggestion that the Fourth International was reluctant to credit Stalinism with having created new workers states because of sentimental considerations recalled earlier and equally vulgar arguments by various petty-bourgeois intellectuals in the 1930s that Trotsky maintained that the USSR remained a workers state because of a psychological inability to recognize that nothing was left of the 1917 Revolution. Hansens method of reasoning was so backward and superficial that he could not understand that at issue in the debate over the class nature of the Eastern European states was not a fetishistic preoccupation with abstract norms, but the most fundamental question of all: the historical role of the working class as the gravedigger of capitalism and the builder of a world socialist society.

In April 1950, at the eighth session of Executive Committee of the Fourth International, it was officially decided to designate Yugoslavia a deformed workers state. (Mandel had, in the meantime, slipped his old positions back into his briefcase and was soon to forget all about them.) More significant than the actual definition, from the standpoint of the development of the Fourth International, was the manner in which it was justified. In proclaiming that a workers state had been established in Yugoslavia, Pablo and Mandel lavished extravagant praise upon the Tito leadership.

It was openly suggested that the crisis of leadership was being resolved in Belgrade, that the Yugoslav CP was ridding itself of the last ideological vestiges of Stalinism and that the Titoites were preparing the regrouping of revolutionary forces on an international scale, facilitating the organization of the new Communist opposition arising in the Stalinist parties and with which it is possible to envisage the construction in the near future of revolutionary Marxist formations for an entire series of countries.[ 9 ]

As the SWP prepared to go along with the executive committee, there was a farsighted and perceptive dissenterJohn G. Wright, the one authentic Marxist theoretician within the American movement, who had been Trotskys closest intellectual collaborator during the late 1930s. He was troubled by the political drift that was ever more apparent within the Fourth International. In a memorandum written in May 1950, Wright made the following warning:

The developments in Yugoslavia have been and continue to be of a transitional and intermediate character and do not allow of such a definitive formulation as the one accepted by the majority. The formulation adopted is virtually word for word Lenins own definition of Soviet Russia as it emerged from the October revolution, that is a workers state with bureaucratic deformations. It is premature to define Yugoslavia so categorically and sweepingly. In the Soviet Republic under Lenin and Trotsky there could be no question whatever of the passage of state power from the hands of the bourgeoisie into the hands of the working class and of the installation of a new type of state, a new social order, with new organs of state power truly proletarian in character. It is not correct to say that the same is already the case with Yugoslavia. It is inadvisable from the standpoint of our theory, nor is it necessary from the standpoint of the most effective and correct intervention in the unfolding Yugoslav revolution. On the contrary, it may provide a theoretical trap and under certain conditions lead to dangerous consequences. In the recent period the Yugoslav party and its leadership on the whole have been taking big strides toward completing the Yugoslav revolution. They are now moving to the left more rapidly that at any time since the 1948 break with the Cominform. From many indications it is quite possible that the evolution of the Yugoslav CP and of Yugoslavia itself may proceed in a relatively peaceful manner to the actual construction of a workers state and the conversion of the party into a genuine Leninist, that is, Trotskyist party. They may go all the way. This is and must be the goal of all our efforts. But this cannot be assumed in advance. There is a real danger that this our goal, and the Trotskyist intervention as a whole, may be obscured by a standpoint which declares as already achieved something whose attainment still lies in the future and which can come only as the result of conscious political action and struggle.  In other words, the genuine organs of workers power, the freely elected Soviets and mass organizations are yet to appear, the working class itself, above all, its self-acting vanguard organized in the revolutionary party, is still in a formative process. This situation is neither a mere shortcoming, a deformation nor a coincidence. Historical results can never be superior to the policies that produced them. Nor is the issue merely one of a desirable reform. It goes far deeper than that. If the actual leap has not yet been accomplished but still lies in the future, it means, for one thing, that most critical period internally lies ahead and not behind for the Yugoslav leadership, the Yugoslav party and the country itself. In fact, this critical period may be precisely the one through which Yugoslavia is now passing. If the main organs of proletarian powerthe Soviets  do not appear in the period immediately ahead, if the mass organizations are not soon permitted the maximum of self-action, initiative and proletarian democracy, then a process in the opposite direction may readily and even rapidly set in and decide Yugoslavias fate in just the opposite sense from the one indicated by the majority. This variant of development is left out completely by the majority formulation. This should be corrected. One of the guarantees of the completion of the Yugoslav revolution is not only what the Yugoslav leaders and party say and do; it is also what the world Trotskyist movement says and does. One of the chief shortcomings of the Yugoslav movement has been its tendency to draw more or less definitive theoretical and political conclusions from episodic, conjunctural and intermediate situations. This dictates all the greater caution by the Trotskyists in drawing their own theoretical and political conclusions. The revolutionary weight and potential of the Yugoslav developments is fully taken into account by the standpoint that Yugoslavia is not yet a workers state, that the Yugoslav revolution, precisely because it is not yet completed, is unfolding along the only road that it can take in order to survive, and that is to really establish in Yugoslavia what was really established in the Soviet Union under Lenin and Trotsky.[ 10 ]

Little more than a month after these lines were written, the misplaced confidence of Pablo and Mandel in the remarkable qualities of the Tito leadership was glaringly exposed by the outbreak of the Korean War. In a crucial vote inside the United Nations, which provided the pretext for imperialist intervention, Yugoslavia abstained, thus taking the very path against which the Fourth International had warned in July 1948, that of maneuvering between imperialism and the Soviet bureaucracy, rather than the path which the FI had urgedof world socialist revolution.
It should not surprise you that sometimes public figures are dishonest. It has always been that way, so fact-checking is one of the very first lessons covered in journalism schools. Truth matters, and its our job to get it right, we tell our students. Repeatedly.

Theres another kind of accuracy that matters, too, as public figures abuse logic and language to distract and confuse. And those who share news, whether they are paid reporters or people who retweet interesting things on their own accounts, need to be aware so they dont help deception to succeed.

Its a tough time to be in the truth business. In recent years, public figures have racked up falsehoods by the tens of thousands while shouting fake news to discourage journalists and audiences from questioning what they say. Dishonesty always happens, but the volume of falsehoods presented a real challenge. After an adjustment period, the media are getting better at pointing out fact errors in real time.
The Brazilian health ministry reported a 23 per cent decrease in COVID-19 deaths in September.

For the second consecutive month, Brazil - the epicenter for the coronavirus epidemic in Latin America - saw a drop in Covid 19 fatalities. Health ministry officials documented a 12 per cent drop in coronavirus deaths in August.

The most significant decreases came in the state of Sao Paulo followed by Minas Gerais and Bahia, according to Brazilian news outlet Extra Globo. Goias and Amazonas were the only states to register an increase in coronavirus deaths for September.

Aerial view of the Vila Formosa cemetery, in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Brazil's health ministry reported a 23% drop in COVID-19 deaths for September, the second consecutive month with a decrease in deaths caused by the deadly disease

Cemetery workers in Nova Iguacu, Brazil, place the coffin containing the remains of Jose de Arimateia on September 24. Arimateia died from COVID-19 complications

Brazil has reported 144,680 coronavirus deaths - the second highest in the globe, behind the United States.

The South American nation is the third highest for cases with 4,847,092, behind the United States and India.

'I believe that adherence to quarantine and the use of masks contributed to this fall, said Natalia Pasternak, president of the Science Question Institute. 'It is important to give these returns to the population to show that their effort has been rewarded, and that it is worth fulfilling the quarantine measures.'

The renowned scientists also attributed the lowered death rate to researchers and doctors who have a better grasp of the deadly virus.

Coronavirus has killed 1,025,075 worldwide and infected 34,429,410.

Beachgoers flocked to Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday despite the COVID-19 pandemic

An employee wearing a face mask measures the customer's temperature on September 23, 2020 at the entrance to the Mamma Jamma pizzeria in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Botafogo

'The drop in the number of deaths has two other reasons: the first is the decrease in people susceptible to being infected by the virus,' Pasternak said.

'And the other factor is that there is an important medical learning on how to deal with the disease that decreases the number of deaths, because doctors already know better how the disease acts in the body and what are the ways to intervene and treat it.'

Despite the drop in COVID-19 deaths in August and September, the health ministry said Thursday that Brazil registered 728 additional coronavirus deaths and 36,157 new cases over the last 24 hours.

Health professionals are monitoring certain cities for potential second waves.
Fiber to Home update

In spite of the harsh winter, a pandemic, and the derecho windstorm, Muscatine Power and Water's Fiber to the Home project is making good progress, reported Erika Cox, MP&W's director of customer and technology experience. "August was a fantastic month," said Cox, the project sponsor. "It was our best month on record," she told the board.

Toward the end of September, over 8,100 customers had been converted to the all-fiber network. That's 75% of all customers, Cox said. She added the current concern is with splicing. "Splicers will be accessing yards and gates and working at the cable box on the outside of the house," said Cox. "If splicing is going on in your neighborhood, it really helps us for customers to keep pets indoors and leave gates unlocked."

Cox reported the project is on track to complete all customer conversions in the first quarter of 2021. When board member Steven Bradford asked if the project contractor, Georgia based Atlantic Engineering Group, would seek more money at the project's conclusion, Huston replied he didn't think so. "At least, that's my perspective," he said. "Mine too," added Brandy Olson, MP&W's director of legal, regulatory, and people services.

Financial report
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 15:26:20|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Egypt confirmed late on Thursday 119 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number registered in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic to 103,317, said the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, 16 patients died from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 5,946, while 361 others were completely cured, increasing the total recoveries to 96,855, the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

Total COVID-19 recoveries in Egypt have reached 93.7 percent of the total cases registered in the most populous Arab 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 new cases on June 19, before they started to decline in the first week of July.

Amid declining COVID-19 infections and fatalities, Egypt has been easing relevant restrictions over the past couple of months as part of a coexistence plan to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities.

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
Amid rising concerns over the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccines under development, several participants in the human trial programme of Moderna and Pfizer reported high fever, body aches, headaches and exhaustion. However, these are common for any vaccine shots and not a reason to raise alarm, experts have said.

Here are the latest developments of Covid-19 vaccine from across the world

1. The clinical trials of Astrazeneca and Oxford Universitys vaccine have resumed in Japan after it was halted following Astrazenecas acknowledgement of severe illness in two cases. Trials are already going on in the UK, Brazil, India and South Africa

2. The United States is yet to allow Astrazeneca to resume its trial in the US.

3. No adverse impact of the Astrazeneca vaccine shots has been reported in India.

Also Read: Moderna says Covid-19 vaccine unlikely to be ready before US election: Report

4. Some participants may develop fever just after receiving a vaccine shot, but that is considered to be a mild reaction, experts have said.

5. One participant of Modernas trial developed a grade three fever, which is classified as 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit (39C) or above, after receiving the lower vaccine dose, Reuters reported. Another developed fatigue so severe that it hampered daily activities, but these side effects are staying only for a day.

Antisera as Covid-19 vaccine

The Indian Council of Medical Research in collaboration with a Hyderabad-based biopharmaceutical company has developed highly purified antisera by injecting inactivated SARS-CoV2 in horses, which can be a potential treatment for COVID-19. Antisera are blood serum high in antibodies against specific antigens and are injected in humans to help kickstart the immune system to fight specific infections.

(With agency inputs)
PHILIPSBURG:--- On behalf of the Mental Health Foundation, the Management would like to express sympathy to those who may have been emotionally affected by the recent unethical and negative publications about the foundation.

It is important that Management explains what the process has been on the hiring of any medical professional from any country who also includes medical professionals born in St. Maarten that are NON-BIG registered professionals before they are employed as dictated by the Laws of Sint Maarten issued by the Ministry of Public Health (V.S.A.):

Step 1  An application for Diploma evaluation must be submitted to the Ministry of Education, Division of Exam Department. This evaluation is done by the Department of all diplomas submitted by the applicant and is carefully scrutinized by Committee members that form part of the Department before they grant approval. This process takes 8 weeks or longer. Once approval is granted it is issued on a document called Diploma Evaluation Report.

Step 2 - An application to request permission for a Medical Professional to practice on Sint Maarten called the Establishment of a Medical Professional is submitted to the Ministry of Public Health. In this process the Ministry of Public Health scrutinizes via its medical professional committee members; the approved evaluation report; a declaration of good standing from the Medical Board in the country of origin; if not Dutch then MHF submits the required Employment Permit and Resident permit and Copies of diplomas certified by a notary. This process takes 16 weeks or more.

Step 3 - After the completion of Step 2 and 3, the Ministry issues a Ministerial Decree granting permission for the Doctor to practice on the island of St. Maarten and the final part of this process is the Oath declaration by the doctor to the Governor of St. Maarten.

As you will note above we stated that this is the legal process for a NON-BIG registered medical professional to practice in St. Maarten. The Law outlining this can be found in the LU: LANDSVERORDENING regelende de uitoefening van de geneeskunde, which can also be found via Google.com:

Artikel 2

Tot de uitoefening van de geneeskunde in haar volle omvang zijn bevoegd:

a. zij, die de hoedanigheid van arts op de wijze als bedoeld in de wet van 25 december 1878 (Stbl. 222) of de regeling, welke ter vervanging van deze wet mocht worden gesteld, hebben verkregen;

b. zij, die aan een van de bij landsbesluit, houdende algemene maatregelen, aan te wijzen buitenlandse universiteiten of hogescholen, een graad of diploma als geneeskundige hebben verworven en tot uitoefening van de geneeskunde in haar volle omvang in het betrokken land bevoegd zijn. Zodanige aanwijzing geschiedt niet dan nadat een bij landsbesluit te benoemen commissie, bestaande uit het Hoofd van de Inspectiedienst Volksgezondheid, Sociale Ontwikkeling en Arbeid, hierna te noemen: de Inspecteur-Generaal, als voorzitter en vier leden, die allen de hoedanigheid van arts dienen te bezitten, gehoord is omtrent de vraag of de betrokken opleiding ter verkrijging van de bedoelde graad of diploma gelijkwaardig mag worden geacht te zijn aan die welke in het Academisch Statuut (Stbl. 1921, no. 800) of de regeling welke ter vervanging van dit Besluit mocht worden gesteld, wordt verlangd ter verkrijging van de hoedanigheid van arts.

The reason this process needs to be explained is that it is important to refute the insinuation that Mental Health Foundation is illegally hiring medical professionals. The Government of St. Maarten does not accept anyone as a Medical professional to practice medicine on Sint Maarten, without the completion of the above-mentioned procedures and neither does the Mental Health Foundation.

The unethical and gravely inconsiderate publication has caused emotional stress to employees who consider MHF not only as their employer but as their second family. Public defamation of the character of an individual and their family members is a punishable act and Management intends to conduct a thorough investigation regarding what is considered a breach of confidentiality via all available legal procedures.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to those employees who have extended their support to the Management Team and especially to Dr. Pelswijk after the publications. We deeply appreciate the many messages and calls received from those in the community who expressed their disgust at the articles and extended their support to all staff and the Management team at MHF.

We end this notice by reiterating the vision of the foundation: MHF maintains a professional and integral approach, broadly supported by the population and guaranteeing continuity of Mental Health Care.
Kim Jong Un's sister has returned to public life after two months in the shadows which prompted speculation the dictator was irritated by her rising stardom.

Kim and his younger sibling Kim Yo-jong inspected recovery efforts at a flooded village in Kimhwa County in North Korea's southeast on Friday. He said of the storms and other natural disasters, 'This year has been one of unprecedented hardships.'

Kim Yo - dubbed the leader's 'number two' - is the only close relative playing a public role in politics and has risen to prominence for punchy statements against South Korea.

South Korean intelligence had been scrambling to track down Kim Yo after she disappeared - Kim has previously executed members of his family - but her re-emergence suggests that she still holds favour with the despot.

Kim Yo-jong stands several feet behind and to the left of Kim Jong Un as he speaks with beaming advisers at a construction site in Kimhwa County, following floods in the region

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, attending a wreath laying ceremony at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum during a visit to Hanoi for Kim's meeting with US President Donald Trump in March 2019

Kim Yo-jong, second from the back, walks in a line led by her older brother through a field in Kimwha County, southeast North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects sites of reconstruction in Kimhwa County. Earlier, state media had called the cookie-cutter houses a model of the 'socialist fairyland', advertising the regime's recovery efforts after thousands of homes were destroyed by floods.

The dictator's sister was last seen in public on July 27 at an event to mark 67 years since the armistice that ended the Korean War - although no full peace treaty has ever been signed.

She was touted as a possible successor earlier this year when the supreme leader mysteriously vanished from public view for several weeks, sparking speculation that he was dead.

He finally resurfaced in May - but experts say there are other signs that Kim Yo-jong's influence has been growing.

Believed to be in her 30s, she came to wider attention in the West during the flurry of international diplomacy in 2018 and 2019 by appearing at a series of international events.

These included the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea and the failed 2019 summit with Donald Trump in Vietnam.

But this year, Kim has taken on a more public policy role, cementing her status as an influential political player in her own right.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the building site on Friday. He said of the storms and other natural disasters, 'This year has been one of unprecedentedly hardships.'

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects sites of reconstruction in Kimhwa County, in this image released by North Korea's Central News Agency

Kim Jong Un is accompanied by close aides as he inspects the construction site in southeast North Korea

'Prior to this, Kim Yo Jong was portrayed in state media as Kim Jong Un's sister, his protocol officer, or one of his accompanying officials,' said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a former North Korea analyst for the US government, earlier this year.

'Now, North Koreans know for sure there is more to her than that.'

In March, state media carried the first ever statement by Kim, in which she criticised South Korean authorities.

There have since been several more, including a response to Trump and a warning that the North would cut communications with South Korea.

'In addition to the harsh words and sarcasm, they can be bitingly witty in ways that the other statements are not,' Lee said.

'She seems to have more leeway in crafting her statements, which of course is not surprising,' Lee said.

In a closed-door briefing to South Korean lawmakers in August, Seoul's spy agency said Kim Jong Un had recently delegated some of his powers to a select group of senior officials including his sister.

Kim Yo-jong, pictured right with her brother Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, has come to be seen as the dictator's 'number two' and a policymaker in her own right

Kim Yo-jong has represented her brother at several international events, including a meeting with South Korea's top national security adviser in the DMZ last year (pictured)

Officials from the National Intelligence Service said Kim's rule was still absolute but that he was seeking to relieve the stress of managing state affairs, lawmaker Ha Tae-keung said.

Summer storms and floods have hit North Korea hard, destroying thousands of homes and raising concerns of a worsening of the country's chronic food shortages.

While praising the recovery, Kim said he 'felt regretful' that new houses in the area were of a 'monotonous' design.

Earlier, state media had called the cookie-cutter houses a model of the 'socialist fairyland', advertising the regime's recovery efforts after thousands of homes were destroyed by floods.

Kim's comments were the latest official criticism in the tightly controlled country, where socialist glorification in the norm.

In recent weeks state media said Pyongyang had discovered 'faults' in its efforts to battle COVID-19, and Kim offered a rare apology for North Korea's killing a South Korean official in waters off the west coast of the peninsula.

On Friday, the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun featured Kim's tour, showing lines of houses with red roofs and beige and white walls.

Kim said that although speed was important, he wished 'artistic harmony with the surrounding environment and diversity had been appropriately combined', KCNA said.
Melania Trump, the first lady, delivered a profanity-laced rant about White House Christmas decorations and mocked the plight of migrant children who were separated from their parents at the border, during a 2018 conversation secretly taped by her former aide and close confidante.

Im working like a  my ass off at Christmas stuff, Mrs. Trump laments to Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who served as a top aide in the East Wing and has just published a tell-all book, Melania and Me. Mrs. Trump continues, You know, who gives a fuck about Christmas stuff and decoration?

Later in the conversation, which occurred in July 2018, the first lady complains that President Trump and his administration were being criticized that summer for separating families in a crackdown on illegal immigration.

I say that Im working on Christmas planning for the Christmas, and they said, Oh, what about the children? That they were separated. She used another profanity to express her frustration, asking Ms. Wolkoff: Where they were saying anything when Obama did that?
The White House's testing infrastructure has come under fire as President Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Hope Hicks, a press aide and a handful of reporters have tested positive for the coronavirus since Thursday morning.

The Daily Beast reported Friday that COVID-19 testing was inconsistent and the White House was relying on rapid tests that produce mixed results.

Additionally, the White House does not appear to be making any changes to its current virus protocol, as it will not move to a new testing system nor require mask-wearing.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany is seen taking off her mask Friday in the White House lawn. On the heels of the president and first lady testing positive for the coronavirus, there are questions about the White House's testing capacity and mask policies

More White House staffers were spotted wearing masks, but some top people, like Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, still talked to the press bare-faced. The White House is reeling Friday after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19

A senior administration official told the Associated Press that masks continue to be a 'personal choice' for staff - despite overwhelming evidence that they help stop the spread of COVID-19.

At the White House Friday, the pool reporter noted that White House staff was more masked than usual, but some major players, like Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, talked to reporters bare-faced.

'I've obviously been tested, were hopefully more than 6 feet away, and if theres any concern there from a guidance standpoint - we have protocols in place,' Meadows told reporters.

National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, who tested positive for the coronavirus in July, did, however, order the National Security Council staff to wear masks, CNN reported late Friday.

Whistleblower Olivia Troye, the former coronavirus taskforce aide under Vice President Mike Pence, spoke to The Daily Beast Friday and explained that most people working in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building weren't being tested daily.

And then they 'went into the West Wing for meetings,' Troye said.

Troye called out Trump's cavalier attitude about the virus - and criticized th administration, overall, for not practicing what medical experts preached.

'We should be protecting the president and the White House. We shouldnt be sitting on top of each other in the Situation Room in meetings, like we were for so long,' Troye told the Beast.

'It was a frustrating thing to watch and happen because there are still people on the White House staff who I know very well who dont take it seriously,' she continued. 'ou walk into the West Wing, there are signs saying you should be wearing masks, but hardly anybody followed the protocol. And even when you did wear a mask, it felt awkward.'

'Im actually surprised that it took this long,' said the ex-staffer, who now supports the election of Democrat Joe Biden.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA chief in the Trump administration, told CNBC on Friday that White House doctors are "probably considering" whether to give President Donald Trump remdesivir, Gilead Sciences' the antiviral drug approved for treating Covid-19 under emergency use authorization.

"Remdesivir is indicated for hospitalized patients. But there is thinking that it probably improves outcomes earlier it is introduced in the course of the disease," Gottlieb said in a "Squawk Box" interview.

The main question on how to proceed now that the president, first lady Melania Trump and White House advisor Hope Hicks tested positive for coronavirus is whether they are exhibiting symptoms, Gottlieb said before the New York Times reported Friday morning that the president is said to be exhibiting some mild symptoms.

Trump, 74, tweeted at 12:54 a.m. ET that he and the 50-year-old first lady tested positive for Covid-19, hours after the president said he would begin a quarantine process after the 31-year-old Hicks' positive test.

The president and first lady are "both well" at the moment, according to a statement from White House physician Dr. Sean Conley, released shortly after the president's tweet. Conley also wrote that he expects Trump to "continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering."

"They all have a good chance of doing well. [Trump] was previously in good health by all reports and will get excellent care," Gottlieb said.

However, Gottlieb said, "The president is in a high-risk group simply by virtue of his age, 74. He's also reported to be overweight."

Gottlieb said the White House is likely to "cast a wide net" on tracing whom the president came into contact. "I wouldn't be surprised if they tested the whole compound today, and brought in some different testing equipment so they can get a more sensitive result," he said.

The goal will also be to protect Vice President Mike Pence, Gottlieb said. Pence and the second lady, Karen Pence, tested negative, the White House announced Friday. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also tested negative on Friday morning.

The vice president is next in line to the presidency, followed by the speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, and Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

Trump is scheduled to appear at the second presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Oct. 15  just 13 days after he revealed his diagnosis. During their first debate Tuesday night, the president, generally eschewing mask-wearing and downplaying the virus, mocked Biden for wearing masks.

The president's positive test underscores how widespread and contagious the coronavirus is, Gottlieb said. The "bottom line message" is everyone is vulnerable, Gottlieb said.

How Americans view the virus given Trump's diagnosis depends on his condition  if Trump gets sick, people could get the message of the severity of the disease, Gottlieb said.

However, if Trump does not exhibit any symptoms, it could "cut the other way" and people could view the virus is not that bad, Gottlieb said.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden tweeted Friday morning: "Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family." Biden made no mention of whether he was tested in the tweet.

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing start-up Tempus and biotech company Illumina. Pfizer has a manufacturing agreement with Gilead for remdesivir. Gottlieb also serves as co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean's "Healthy Sail Panel."
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A single Uzbek mother of two has died after setting herself on fire to protest being evicted from her house in the eastern Uzbek city of Namangan.

Gulandom Dedabaeva's relatives told RFE/RL on October 1 that the incident had taken place on September 29 when local authorities came to evict her from the house she bought in 2018.

The 35-year-old Dedabaeva poured gasoline on herself and made a 13-minute statement accusing local authorities and a court of illegally taking her house from her before igniting the fire.

Although the flames were extinguished, Dedabaeva sustained severe burns and died hours later in a local hospital.

Earlier in June, a court in Namangan ruled that Dedabaeva paid money for the house to a person who in fact was not the owner of the property but a relative of the real owner.

The court also said that the person who "sold" the property to Dedabaeva had used forged documents saying that he was the owner.

The court then ruled that Dedabaeva must pay $12,700 to the real owner in three months and placed her under house arrest for four years and two months for "illegally" purchasing the property.

After Dedabaeva refused to pay the sum, saying she had already paid $13,000 for it, the authorities arrived on September 29 to evict her.

In recent years, there have been several self-immolation acts performed by Uzbek men and women to protest evictions in different parts of the country. Many of the acts have resulted in the deaths of the protesters.
New Delhi: Amid ongoing Sino-India standoff in eastern Ladakh along Line of Actual Control (LAC), the United States has approved India's request to buy USD 90 million worth of equipment, spare parts and logistical support for its fleet of C-130J Super Hercules cargo aircraft.

In its notification to the Congress, the Pentagon said the proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the US by helping to strengthen the US-India strategic relationship and improve the security of a major defence partner, which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region.

India has sought the items including aircraft consumable spares and repair/return parts; ground support and equipment; Cartridge Actuated Devices/Propellant Actuated Devices (CAD/PAD) fire extinguisher cartridges; flare cartridges; BBU-35/B cartridge impulse squibs.

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India has also ordered for one spare AN/ALR-56M Advanced Radar Warning Receiver shipset; spare AN/ALE-47 Countermeasures Dispenser System shipset; ten Lightweight Night Vision Binocular (F5032); ten AN/AVS-9 Night Vision Goggle (NVG)(F4949); GPS and Electronic Warfare.

It also sought instruments and lab equipment support; joint mission planning system; cryptographic device spares and loaders; software and software support; publications and technical documentation; personnel training and training and training equipment; contractor engineering, technical and logistical support, and other related elements of programme support.

The proposed sale ensures that the previously procured aircraft operates effectively to serve the needs of the Indian Air Force, Army and Navy transport requirements, local and international humanitarian assistance and regional disaster relief, according to the Defence Security Cooperation Agency's notification.

This deal sale of spares and services will enable the Indian Air Force to sustain a higher mission-ready status fleet, it said, adding India will have no difficulty absorbing this additional sustainment support. It further said that the proposed sale of this equipment and support worth USD 90 million will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

Notification of such major sales is mandatory under the Arms Export Control Act. Lawmakers have 30 days to review the proposed sale. The sale would be executed by defence major Lockheed-Martin.

India is one of the 17 countries to whom the US has sold its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The Indian Air Force currently operates a fleet of five C-130J-30s. India has placed order for an additional six C-130J-30s Super Hercules aircraft.

"From the highest landing strip in the world to austere runways almost destroyed by natural disasters, the C-130J goes where other airlifters can't, won't or don't go. It's a workhorse that's in operation around the world, flying in every environment and mission scenario required every day and everywhere," Lockheed says on its website.

(With PTI Inputs)
Shiv Sena on Friday staged protests against the Hathras gangrape and murder case. The party, which has anyway been locked in a bitter tussle with BJP over probe into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput , also said the Mumbai police should be allowed to probe the incident since Uttar Pradesh police had failed in doing its job.

Sena MP Sanjay Raut also called the heckling of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by UP police gangrape of democracy.

Also read: Priyanka Gandhi arrives at Valmiki temple in Delhi to attend prayer meet for Hathras victim

On Friday, Sena workers demonstrated in several areas, condemning the gangrape and raised slogans against the BJP government in UP headed by Yogi Adityanath.

In Mumbai, when an actors illegal office was partially demolished, everyone pounced on us and put the Maharashtra government in the dock. But here, after this ghastly incident, one is allowed to even question the Uttar Pradesh Government, remarked Sena MP Sanjay Raut.

The Sena staged protests at Churchgate, Thane and Mira Bhayender where its workers shouted slogans against the BJP-led government in UP.

Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik also demanded that the state police be allowed to register a case of this rape in Mumbai and send its team to Hathras to investigate the matter.

Sarnaik said even the Bihar Police had come to Mumbai to investigate Sushant Singh Rajputs case citing the incompetency of the Mumbai Police.

Since the Uttar Pradesh Police has failed in investigating the case, it is natural that the Mumbai Police should get involved now. There should be no double standards here, said Sarnaik.

The BJP, however, alleged that the Sena was politicising the issue. The Sena should have sensitivity while commenting on such an important issue where a 19-year-old is involved. They are just playing politics to score some brownie points, which is unfortunate, said BJP legislator Ram Kadam.

The Dalit woman was allegedly raped and brutalised by four upper-caste men on September 14 when she had gone to the fields in her village to gather cattle fodder. Left partially paralysed and admitted for treatment in the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College of Aligarh Muslim University, she was shifted to New Delhis Safdarjung Hospital when her condition did not improve and she died on Tuesday morning.

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Los Angeles: Harvey Weinstein has been charged with the rape of two more women, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.

Weinstein was charged with three counts of rape and three counts of forcible oral copulation involving the two women, the district attorney's office said.

Harvey Weinstein, pictured arriving at a Manhattan court on a walker in February. Credit:AP

A criminal complaint alleges Weinstein raped a woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills between September 2004 and September 2005, and raped another woman twice between November 2009 and November 2010 at a Beverly Hills hotel.

Weinstein spokesman Juda Engelmayer said: "Harvey Weinstein has always maintained that every one of his physical encounters throughout his entire life have been consensual. That hasn't changed. At this moment we cannot comment on the additional charges until we learn more about them."
The Greens and the NDP agree the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed shortfalls in the provinces long-term care system, but they have different views on how to fix it.

Campaigning on Thursday for the Oct. 24 election, Green Leader Sonia Furstenau says long-term care in must shift from the profit sector and become a government-supported service.

Furstenau says the Green partys long-term care policy is its first major promise of the campaign.

Earlier this week, NDP Leader John Horgan promised to spend $1.4 billion over the next decade to build new long-term care facilities.

While Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson has said care workers must be adequately paid.

But Terry Lake, CEO of the B.C. Care Providers Association, says the current model of government, non-profit and for-profit care is working well and the provinces system is regarded as a model for others.

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday shared Mahatma Gandhis thoughts on the prevalence of truth and principle of never bowing down before injustice on the 151st birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation.

Gandhis tribute came a day after he was detained along with Priyanka Gandhi, his sister and party general secretary, by the police in Uttar Pradesh while trying to reach Hathras, where a woman was allegedly gang-raped and murdered.

I will not fear anyone in the world ... I will not bow down before anyones injustice, I will win the untruth with the truth and I can bear all the sufferings while opposing the untruth, the Congress leader tweeted in Hindi.

Also Read: The Mahatmas life was his message, writes President Ram Nath Kovind

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also spoke in her message on Gandhi Jayanti about the injustice meted out to farmers and labourers, in an indication that her party will continue to protests against the Centre.

The grand old party also paid tribute to Gandhi with a video on Twitter alongside a verse in Hindi that roughly translates to, Gandhis education has shown the way to the world. Followed by their values, then got freedom. Today Gandhi wants the same values of Gandhi. The country is relieved of dictatorship and arrogance.

Also Read: Becoming a Gandhian

India, stand against tyranny undeterred, relentless, non-violence your weapon. #CongressKeVichaar #GandhiJayanti, the Congress party said in another tweet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind also paid tribute to the Mahatma, who was born in Gujarats Porbandar in 1869 and led Indias freedom struggle on the principles of truth and non-violence.
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New Delhi, Oct 2 : As part of the zero tolerance against corruption policy, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has tightened its grip on officials involved in corruption cases and facing disciplinary action.

The CVC has issued an order to all the ministries to submit the files of officers involved in cases of corruption to the Commission 30 days before the retirement of the officers so that appropriate action can be taken against them.

IANS has a copy of the letter issued by CVC Director J Vinod Kumar on October 1. The letter emphasizes on the early completion of ongoing disciplinary action against government officials who are going to retire soon.

A directive was issued on May 12, 2020 by the CVC saying that matters related to retirement should be submitted to its office by 5 p.m. on the 10th of every month but now it has to be submitted 30 days before the date of retirement of the officers, the letter read.

The Commission said in its letter, "If an officer is retiring on November 30, the report related to the investigation and action taken against him should be available on October 31, so that the CVC can take action against the officer." The letter has been sent to all the ministries, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), all the government departments and institutions. The CVC has also given strict instructions to Vigilance Officers of all the ministries.

Sources said that despite the earlier instructions, the ministries used to send the files of the officers late due to which they used to retire and the cases against them were not settled properly.

Since the officers get pension and other benefits immediately after retirement, it is important to settle the cases against them. Therefore, the Commission has now decided to ask the ministries to submit the files in advance.
As the coronavirus rages on elsewhere, Taiwan is set to go ahead with its LGBT+ Pride parade in what organisers believe will likely be the largest queer event held in 2020.

Now in its 18th year, the countrys Pride parade will see the streets of Taipei heave with the colours of the rainbow on 31 October.

Every last Saturday in October, the capital hosts the largest annual Pride parade in Asia. It normally welcomes an estimated 80,000 people each year, but organisers are expecting a lesser turnout due to the pandemic, according to Taiwan News.

While the coronavirus has made large gatherings unthinkable in many countries, Taiwan has almost remained impervious. The self-governing island has vastly contained its caseloads, enabling processions such as an LGBT+ Pride parade to go ahead with only minor restrictions.

As a result, organisers explained that they believe Taiwan LGBT+ Pride will likely be the largest queer gathering of any kind held this year after many Pride events were cancelled or digitalised.

But they nevertheless stressed for Pride-goers to maintain social distancing as well as wear face masks when in attendance.

The procession will set out from the Taipei City Hall Plaza in the afternoon. Participants can choose to take the north or south routes, which goes through Zhongxiao East Road and Xinyi Road, before returning to the original point.

The theme of the parade will be Beauty, My Own Way, organiser Fletcher Hong said.

Hong said that people should understand and respect each individuals own identity, speaking of how society should not force standards of beauty onto others.

As the coronavirus cancelled Pride, Taiwan held a parade on behalf of the world.

Taiwans national Pride parade comes after the country threw a Pride parade in June on behalf of the countless countries unable to hold their own due to the coronavirus crisis

In June, Taiwan hosted a Pride parade in Taipei on behalf of the more than 500 Pride events that were cancelled or postponed around the world.

Story continues

LGBT+ rights activist and honorary chairman of the Taiwan Gay Sports and Development Association, Chyi Jia-Wei told CNA at the time: Im marching for New York because thats the origin of the Stonewall uprising.

I attended the parade there last year, but this year it has been cancelled.

As June is pride month for the international LGBT+ community and so many cities cannot hold events, the parade in Taiwan is especially meaningful because it signifies our solidarity.
Boris Johnson is facing a fresh backbench Tory rebellion today over his 'nanny state' 10pm pub curfew as a senior Cabinet minister blames drinkers for the detested new rule.

Libertarian MPs are said to be considering whether they can force a Parliamentary vote on the new law brought in by the Prime Minister last week.

The move is putting huge pressure on hospitality businesses already on the brink of collapse amid questions over whether it is effective at reducing the spread of Covid-19.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock was hit with a barrage of criticism yesterday in the Commons, with one MP branding the curfew 'socialist' and warning it was destroying the economy.

But Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today insisted that the curfew was needed and laid the blame at people enjoying an evening in pubs not following the rules.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'The advice that I received, along with other ministers, was that, because the virus thrives on close contact between individuals, the longer one stays in pubs and restaurants and cafes, inevitably, the more likely it is that the virus will spread.

'And, the later that you stay and the more drinks that you have, the more likely you are to have close contact with other individuals and the less likely you are to comply.'

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today (left) insisted that the curfew was needed and laid the blame at people enjoying an evening in pubs not following the rules. But last night Tory Philip Davies (right) called on the Health Secretary to 'start acting like a Conservative' and stop presiding over a 'nanny state'

Revellers leaving pubs in Liverpool's Concert Square last night ahead of the curfew

The move is putting huge pressure on hospitality businesses already on the brink of collapse amid questions over whether it is effective at reducing the spread of Covid-19

Backbenchers are said to be examining whether they can force a vote when MPs hold retrospective debates on the laws introduced under emergency powers by ministers, the Telegraph reported.

Mr Hancock was accused of not acting like a true Conservative by a member of his own party last night as he came under fire over the curfew.

Arguing that the 'arbitrary' curfew is limiting people's freedoms, Tory Philip Davies called on the Health Secretary to 'start acting like a Conservative' and stop presiding over a 'nanny state'.

The Shipley MP told Mr Hancock that the 10pm curfew is a 'socialist approach which is serving no purpose at all apart from the further collapse of the economy'.

He said: 'Is the Secretary of State aware of the damage the arbitrary 10pm curfew is doing to pubs, restaurants, bowling alleys and casinos?

'Is he aware of the jobs that are being lost, all just to see people congregating on the streets instead and shop staff getting more abuse?

'When will the Secretary of State start acting like a Conservative with a belief in individual responsibility and abandon this arbitrary, nanny state, socialist approach which is serving no purpose at all apart from the further collapse of the economy and to erode our freedoms?'

Mr Hancock replied that he 'profoundly' disagrees with Mr Davies as he believes in 'individual responsibility and the promotion of freedom, subject to not harming others'.

The Health Secretary added: 'So it is perfectly reasonable to make the argument that we should just let the virus rip, I just think that the hundreds of thousands of deaths that would follow is not a price that anyone should pay.'

Tory former minister Andrew Jones urged Mr Hancock to 'commit to keeping the restrictions under the closest possible review'.

Mr Jones said: 'Restrictions curbing when we can go to the pub is against the DNA of our country, but we are in exceptional times and I recognise that includes taking measures which people don't like and ministers don't like having to introduce.'

Other MPs, including Tory Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales), asked whether the 10pm curfew could be reduced to a regionalised policy only enforced in areas with higher infection rates.

Earlier this week, seven Conservative MPs rebelled to vote against the renewal of emergency coronavirus powers.

They were Peter Bone (Wellingborough), Mr Davies, Philip Hollobone (Kettering), Esther McVey (Tatton), Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West), Charles Walker (Broxbourne), and William Wragg (Hazel Grove).

And the Tory chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, Greg Clark, wrote to Mr Hancock this week asking him to publish the 'scientific evidence' underpinning the curfew.

'It is important that the Government is transparent about the scientific advice that it draws on to inform policy decisions so that the reasons for them can be seen and understood,' he said in a letter to the minister,.

'Science proceeds through openness and robust scrutiny and it is important that this approach is followed by the Government during the pandemic.'
Rose Taylor was bullied for wearing women's clothes at Jaguar Land Rover after she began identifying as gender fluid/non-binary in 2017 (swns)

A gender-fluid engineer who was branded "IT" by bullying workmates at Jaguar Land Rover has been awarded 180,000 after winning a landmark discrimination case.

Rose Taylor, 43, was teased and harassed by colleagues at the car manufacturer after she began identifying as gender fluid/non-binary in 2017.

An employment tribunal heard how she suffered insults and abusive jokes from co-workers after she started wearing women's clothes.

One colleague asked her if her outfit "was for Halloween while another contractor told her: Its nice to see you in this attire. You have cracking legs.

Another worker asked her So whats going on? Are you going to have your bits chopped off? while she overheard two others say: "Have you seen IT in the atrium?

One female co-worker also described her as not normal when she announced she was transitioning and she was also told to use the staff disabled toilet.

Rose Taylor (L) has been awarded 180,000 after winning a landmark discrimination case (swns)

Another asked her why the "top half didn't match the bottom half" while a different colleague said: I was checking out your dress, saw it was you, and my jaw dropped."

The hearing in Birmingham was told how on one occasion a male worker laughed at her when she suggested he wear a rainbow lanyard - a symbol of support for LGBTQ pride.

Taylor claimed constructive dismissal and victimisation on the basis she had suffered discrimination because of gender reassignment and sexual orientation.

An employment judge in Birmingham ruled in her favour.

The victory is believed to be the first successful claim of its kind and was hailed as a "milestone" in recognising the rights of non-binary and gender fluid people.

Until now, there was uncertainty over whether The Equality Act protected those who who fell into the gender fluid/non-binary category.

JLR argued it did not but employment judge Pauline Hughes said it was clear "gender is a spectrum and that it was beyond any doubt Taylor should be protected.

The Jaguar XJ production line at Coventry's Browns Lane site in 2004 (File picture/swns)

On Friday Taylor wiped away tears as she was awarded a 180,000 payout from her former employer.

Story continues

Hughes said: "Hopefully your case will bring about real change. That is what we would all wish to see. The response has been extremely positive.

The entire history of equality and equality movement has individuals such as the claimant who have made a difference.

"The likes of Rosa Parks, Doctor Martin Luther King, Harvey Milk, Baroness Jane Campbell, Viv Anderson, Baroness Hayle and Notorious RBG.

"In our opinion Rose has made a difference.

Because she brought the case hopefully what happened to her will not happen to anyone else again at JLR.

Hughes added: I can see JLR has taken the findings seriously. That is a positive thing."

An aerial view of Jaguar Land Rover engineering centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire, where Rose Taylor worked (swns)

The tribunal was told Taylor, who worked for JLR as a navigation engineer for 20 years, changed the way she presented three years ago.

But she suffered various insults after she began mainly wearing women's clothes at the company's factory in Coventry before she resigned in 2008.

The tribunal judgement ruled "the claimant has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment" and the allegations of harassment were well-founded and that Taylor had been constructively unfairly dismissed.

Barrister Robin White said: Rose is pleased particularly because the case will make a difference for other people at JLR and more widely.

The case has changed the law and clarified protections for gender fluid and non-binary people and what they need at work.

Rose is particularly pleased to see the real impact this could have on other people.

We are relieved to hear them say they got it badly wrong, but would have preferred them to admit that earlier rather than fighting us to the finish.

Robbie de Santos, head of campaigns and communications at the charty Stonewall, hailed the case as a landmark.

He told Yahoo News UK: Were extremely pleased for Rose, whose landmark case is likely to have a huge impact on non-binary and gender fluid people across the country.

Until now, its not been clear whether non-binary people were protected under the Equality Act 2010, so this Employment Tribunal judgment will be key in supporting future judicial decisions and creates the potential for even more non-binary and gender fluid people to be protected from harassment and discrimination in all areas of their lives.

Dave Williams, JLR's executive director of HR, told Yahoo News UK: "On behalf of Jaguar Land Rover, I would like to apologise to Ms Taylor for the experiences she had during her employment with us.

"We continue to strive to improve in this area and we respect the outcome of the case. We welcome the recommendations and will implement these to strengthen our diversity and inclusion strategy, which has been developed in consultation with our employee-led networks and our board sponsored diversity and inclusion steering committee.

"Jaguar Land Rover does not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone can flourish, where our employees feel listened to, understood, supported and valued equally.

"We continue to work with our leaders, employees and employee-led diversity networks to foster a diverse, inclusive and gender-balanced culture that is representative of the society in which we live."

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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters)  Fri, October 2, 2020 16:45 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48c1525 2 World Donald-Trump,Melania-Trump,coronavirus,COVID-19,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,COVID-19-infection,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus Free

Get well messages for US President Donald Trump poured in from foreign capitals on Friday after he and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus, but some had little sympathy for a leader whose response to the pandemic has been widely criticized.

Trump, who might be voted out of office on Nov. 3, denies accusations that he downplayed the severity of the outbreak as the world's most powerful nation also became the worst hit, accounting for around 20% of a global death toll that crossed a million this week.

Most diplomatic responses to news that Trump, 74, and his wife Melania had tested positive for COVID-19 observed the niceties, while governments everywhere assessed how it might impact the outcome of next month's US election.

"COVID-19 is a battle we all continue to fight. Everyday. No matter where we live," European Council President Charles Michel said in a tweet, wishing America's First Couple a speedy recovery.

But disappointed by Washington's leadership during the global health crisis, some messages were laced with stinging barbs.

"This demonstrates that the virus spares no one, including those who have shown skepticism. I wish him a swift recovery, said Gabriel Attal, spokesman for the French government.

If one of the United States most important NATO allies sounded somewhat terse, there was no hiding the bitter satisfaction evident in China's state-controlled media following news that their country's chief antagonist had joined the COVID sick list.

"President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19," tweeted Hu Xijin, editor in chief of China's Global Times newspaper.

"The news shows the severity of the USs pandemic situation. It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection."

Barely two weeks ago, Trump had told the U.N. General Assembly that China, where the virus first emerged late last year, should be held accountable for unleashing "this plague on the world".

But it was just two days ago, during the acrimonious presidential debate that Democratic rival Joe Biden excoriated Trump for his handling of the crisis at home.

Having assured Americans in January that threat looming threat of the disease spreading out of China was "totally under control, and told them in February, that the virus would disappear one day "like a miracle", Trump tested their credulity in April by suggesting the possibility that disinfectant could be injected to clean out the virus.

The China Daily, the country's official English language newspaper, piled on:

"Since it emerged earlier this year, Trump, the White House and his campaign have played down the threat and refused to abide by basic public health guidelines  including those issued by his own administration  such as wearing masks in public and practicing social distancing. Instead, Trump has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of supporters. The virus has killed more than 200,000 Americans and infected more than 7 million nationwide."

Warmth and concern for Trump was more plentiful in Israel and Taiwan, two governments that treasure their friendship with the United States.

"Like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted, referring to his wife.

"The government & people of Taiwan stand with the US at this testing time," Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The third phase of the Back to Village programme in Jammu & Kashmir began on Friday as over 4,000 officers started visiting villages to resolve local issues, officials said and added the first two phases of the scheme have been successful.

Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha said the beginning of the third phase has coincided with Gandhi Jayanti and called it a perfect way to honour the Father of the Nation on his birth anniversary.

Mahatma Gandhi advocated Panchayati Raj, a decentralised form of government. Following the Gandhian ideas of Gram Swaraj and Panchayati Raj system, the Jammu & Kashmir government is making untiring efforts to reach out to the people and including all the stakeholders in the process of decision-making and public policy formulation to bring a positive social and political change.

Also Read: 40% of J&Ks Covid-related deaths took place in September

Sinha said the programme is a unique and ambitious exercise to reach the peoples doorsteps with responsive, accountable and equitable governance promoting values, ideology and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.

The ambitious programme starting from October 2 [Friday] is also seen as a unique effort of the government to strengthen the newly constituted Panchayats, Sinha said. He added the endeavour is as challenging as ambitious. It involves visits of over 4,000 gazetted officers to each and every Panchayat so that they can be well versed with the local issues and developmental needs. It also aims at ensuring that beneficiary-oriented schemes actually reach the last person.
CAMBRIDGE  Jose Chaves shop windows facing Main Street are still broken and boarded up with plywood more than a month after they were smashed one night in August.

The owner of City Appliances, located at the corner of Main and Wellington streets in downtown Cambridge, feels like it isnt worth the nearly $3,000 it will cost him to fix the damage. Business has been slow during the pandemic and this is the second window that has been broken in his shop. He already shelled out $1,500 to replace a window that was broken overnight.

Chaves doesnt think overnight security guards hired by the city to patrol the streets of downtown Cambridge will stop vandalism and petty crimes from happening in Galt.

It takes five seconds to break a window, what can they do? he said.

Chaves said he has noticed an increase in public drug use and homelessness in the downtown core just in the past three years his business has been downtown. He has found needles at the doorstep of his warehouse down the road. He has come to his appliance store to find vomit outside the door.

But instead of pointing fingers at the citys marginalized population, Chaves anger is directed at the citys politicians for their inaction in dealing with the deep-rooted social issues in the citys core.

The only solution is to help these people and get them off the streets. The city has to help them. If they dont smarten up this will be a ghost town soon enough.

The Downtown Cambridge Business Improvement Area asked the city for overnight security in the downtown core after several shop windows were broken along Main Street overnight.

The city answered with an announcement earlier this week: It will expand its existing security contract with Barber-Collins Security Services to add security patrols overnight, and it will also cover the cost.

According to police data, petty crime in the area has not increased in the past five years, but the downtown core has its own Waterloo Regional Police patrol as well as bylaw officers who also patrol the streets during the day.

Tony Tashs busy pizza joint on Wellington Street, Andys Pizza, was spared from recent vandalism. He doesnt agree with the BIAs jubilation over extra security on the streets at night.

Im sure it will help deter people, but at the same time how long will they be there and how much will it cost? he wonders aloud as he prepares a pizza Thursday afternoon.

Security guards wont help if someone throws a rock through your window.

Tash has worked in the downtown for decades and said drug use and homelessness has become more visible over the years. Like Chaves, he wants to see people get the help they need.

The homeless situation is tough. I see people in the streets and alleyways asking for money. Its sad to see, Tash said.

Cambridge has grappled with an opioid crisis and increasingly visible homelessness for the past few years, and the city has struggled with coming up with ways to deal with the citys social issues.

City council has pushed back against the regions desire to open a consumption and treatment site in the city despite the fact that it is a service that has helped hundreds of drug users at the Kitchener site since it opened last October.

Cambridges downtown shelter, The Bridges, has found permanent homes for 60 homeless individuals in the past six months. The non-profit shelter is typically overrun but it has ramped up its housing services to try to get more homeless people into safe, permanent housing.

Earlier this week, Mayor Kathryn McGarry said the city is in the midst of finalizing its contract with Barber-Collins to hire four new security officers to patrol the streets on foot and by car from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. She said the city will review the security service in a few months time.

Cambridge isnt the only municipality to hire private security guards to patrol its downtown. Earlier this summer, the city of Oshawa spent $100,000 to hire private security guards to patrol the streets of its downtown for a three-month period after a rise in homelessness, vandalism and drug use.
The Chamber of Deputies Chile has adopted a resolution in support of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

The Chilean legislature has called on the countrys president to "inform Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh region that Chile calls for an immediate end to the attacks and to continue seeking the conflicts peaceful, legal, and historic resolution within UN and international organizations."

In addition, the Chilean president was asked to "demonstrate in all international instances and forums in which he participatesbe it global, regional or bilateralthe need for all member states to make a similar call to the parties to the conflict to seek a peaceful settlement."

Finally, "actions by any non-conflict-party government to assist in the hostilities and offer military assistance" were rejectedand this clearly indicates Turkey's involvement in the conflict.

The resolution also states that "on Sunday, September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack on Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), as a result of which hundreds of peopleboth military and civilianwere killed in several cities in a matter of hours."

"It is extremely important that all countries that have diplomatic, consular or trade relations with the conflicting countries join this call, as the confrontation may have undesirable consequences, especially due to the possible interference of foreign states, especially the possible interference of Turkey, which in 1915 carried out the 20th centurys first genocideagainst the Armenian people," the resolution also reads.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 17:27:30|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has announced further tax exemptions for small and medium businesses in an attempt to create jobs and accelerate the nation's economic recovery.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Friday revealed that the federal budget for financial year 2020/21, which he will hand down on Tuesday, will include tax concessions for an additional 20,000 businesses.

Under the plan, businesses with annual turnovers between 10 million Australian dollars (7.1 million U.S. dollars) and 50 million Australian dollars (35.8 million U.S. dollars) will gain access to 10 tax concessions currently only available to small businesses.

Businesses will also be able to claim start-up expenses as a tax deduction.

Frydenberg said that the changes would provide "further tax relief to attract and retain workers and reduce red tape."

"We know that the pathway to recovery is not through higher taxes but through a more competitive and efficient tax system that supports jobs and promotes investment," he told News Corp Australia.

"Enabling small businesses to keep more of what they earn means they can keep operating, pay their bills and retain or hire more staff."

The announcement came as Ben Morton, the assistant minister to the prime minister, delivered a pre-budget speech to the Business Council of Australia (BCA) in which he promised urgent streamlining of government services to save businesses 100 million Australian dollars (71 million U.S. dollars) in transaction costs by 2030.

Morton, the head of the Prime Minister Scott Morrison's deregulation taskforce, told the powerful business lobby that "bad regulation is a job killer with no redeeming features."

"It inhibits consumer choice, business innovation and investment, and jobs growth," he said.

"The approach that I take is that, where regulation is required, it must be fit for purpose and lightest touch." Enditem
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: Father of the Hathras gangrape victim has demanded a CBI probe into the incident.

His 19-year-old girl, who was allegedly gang-raped by four youths, later succumbed to her injuries at a Delhi hospital on September 29. Police cremated her body on the wee hours of Wednesday against the wishes of the family.

Meanwhile, the Dalit victims village -- Boolgarhi  has been turned into a fort with a tight security cordon laid around 1.5 km of the village periphery. Even the media is not allowed to enter the village.

A video clipping, shared by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on twitter, showed the victims father claiming that three members of his family were pressured by the district magistrate and police officials at the PWD guest house to sign some documents.

He is shown guided by someone to say he is not satisfied by the probe going on and that he wants his daughters case to be probe by the CBI or a Supreme Court judge.

The victims father is shown been advised by someone to talk about the confinement of the family at their home by police who are not letting them meet media persons.

However, the victims cousin, who managed to come on camera hiding from the police, alleged that the cops took away their mobile phones and stopped them from interacting with media. He also charged the DM with intimidating his uncle.

Meanwhile, Sub Judicial Magistrate (SDM) Prem Prakash denied the charges of intimidation and confinement of the victims family by the administration. Over the restriction on entry into the village, he said it was being done as the SIT probe was underway and entry of media or political activists could hamper the investigation process.

Meanwhile, people from upper castes of Boolgarhi and adjoining villages came in support of the accused. They have sought a fair probe into the incident. If the complicity of the boys is proven, they should be given the strictest punishment, hanged, or even shot. But such politicking should be avoided over the issue, said local sources close to the families of the accused.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 19:37:30|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important statement at a high-level meeting held by the United Nations (UN) to mark the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women via video on Oct. 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's statements at High-level Meetings Marking the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN), demonstrating the global vision and firm commitment of China as a major country, have been welcomed and highly regarded by the international community, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday.

Wang gives an overview of Xi's participation and important statements at these meetings.

Xi has recorded video messages for a series of important video conferences, 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 Summit on Biodiversity, and the High-level Meeting on the 25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

It is widely agreed that Xi's statements and proposals will have positive and far-reaching impact on the evolution of the international landscape, both now and in the future, Wang added.

DEMONSTRATE NEW SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY

Xi provided comprehensive and systematic answers to such key questions as what kind of a world humanity will face in the post-COVID era, what role China will play in the world and what kind of an international order we all need, Wang said, adding that the Chinese president took a clear stand and unequivocally reiterated China's firm commitment to multilateralism, the authority of the UN, the path of peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation, and the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Photo taken on Sept. 14, 2020 shows the outside view of the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Noting Xi announced a set of new initiatives and measures at this year's General Assembly, Wang said these initiatives are part of China's proactive efforts to advance global peace and development. They are also the solid actions taken by China to support multilateralism.

Wang emphasized that the new statements and proposals by Xi at this year's General Assembly further enriched and expanded Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy in both theory and practice.

INJECT NEW IMPETUS INTO GLOBAL COVID-19 RESPONSE

Noting COVID-19 is a global public health crisis to confront humanity since World War II, and international solidarity is much needed in overcoming it, Wang said Xi put forward a range of important initiatives and proposals and demonstrated a strong sense of responsibility for the wellbeing of humanity against this backdrop.

Xi elaborated on China's experience in fighting COVID-19, including its people-first, life-first commitment, science-based approach and well-calibrated measures, Wang said, adding that many countries have stated that China's experience has been proven effective in practice, and reinforced their confidence and strength in defeating the virus.

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)

"China both advocates and more importantly, actively pursues global cooperation against COVID-19. Under the personal direction of President Xi, China engaged in a biggest-ever global humanitarian action in the history of the People's Republic, and provided assistance to countries in need to the best of its ability," Wang said.

FORGE NEW CONSENSUS ON GLOBAL GOVERNANCE SYSTEM REFORM

Emphasizing the global governance system needs to be reformed and brought up to date, Wang said Xi set out China's views on this subject in an all-round fashion, with a dialectical perspective on what should remain unchanged and what should be changed in today's global governance system.

The Chinese president pointed out that there is but one system in the world, and it is the UN-centered international system; there is but one set of rules, and it is the basic norms governing international relations underpinned by the UN Charter, Wang said, adding that these important statements set the tone for the reform of the global governance system.

Xi called on the UN to stand firm for justice, uphold the rule of law, promote cooperation and focus on real action, Wang said, adding that these four propositions epitomize the great expectations of the global community on the UN.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has a videoconference with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

Wang highlighted that Xi's resounding statements struck a chord with the majority of the international community, and charted the right course for reforming the global governance system.

PUT FORTH NEW PROPOSALS FOR GLOBAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Noting COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on the economic and social development of all countries, while the backlash against globalization and rise of protectionism has aggravated the global downturn, Wang said Xi made proposals on effectively removing the main obstacles holding back global recovery and development at this critical moment.

Xi calls for remaining committed to building an open world economy, upholding the multilateral trading regime with the World Trade Organization as the cornerstone, and working to ensure the stable and smooth functioning of global industrial and supply chains demonstrate China's vision and sense of responsibility to forge ahead against all odds and charted the future course for the world economy, Wang said.



Meanwhile, the Chinese president underlined that China aims to foster, over time, a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other, Wang said, adding that these statements reflected China's openness and readiness to share its huge market with the rest of the world, and projected its image as a responsible country promoting win-win cooperation through real actions.

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 24, 2020 shows a cargo ship loaded with containers at Dalian port in northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Yao Jianfeng)

Xi also made many important observations on the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation and the transition to green and low-carbon development, Wang added.

"All this has pointed the way forward for the sound and sustained growth of the world economy," noted the state councilor.

SET NEW BENCHMARK FOR GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL PROGRESS

Noting Xi put forward four proposals, namely, increase the drive for building a beautiful world, build synergy for global governance on the environment, increase the potential for high-quality economic recovery after COVID-19, and strengthen the power of action to tackle challenges to the environment, Wang said these insightful views and important announcements have contributed to the promotion of global ecological progress.

A giant panda is seen at the Qinling research center of giant panda breeding in Zhouzhi County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

Xi solemnly announced that having met its 2020 climate action targets two years ahead of schedule, China will scale up its nationally determined contributions, adopt even more forceful policies and measures, and strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Wang said these ambitious targets have shown to the world that China is firmly committed to the new development philosophy and stands ready to make new contributions to global climate response.



Looking ahead, Wang said that no matter what difficulties and obstacles may lie ahead, the pursuit of the Chinese nation for rejuvenation will not be stopped, the just cause of multilateralism will not be halted, and the prevailing trend of peace and development in the world will not be reversed. 
Takeover talks: LV said discussions with Bain are ongoing but there is no guarantee that a deal will go ahead

Several big-name insurers have been branded 'disgraceful' after confirming they will appeal a court decision ordering them to pay out to coronavirus-hit businesses.

At a hearing yesterday, Arch, Argenta, Hiscox, QBE, RSA and MS Amlin were granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Last month, the High Court found that most business interruption insurance policies should pay out to firms forced to close during lockdown.

But insurers were drawing distinctions in the wordings between policies, and could not agree on how the judgement should be interpreted.

Sonia Campbell, of law firm Mishcon de Reya who represented hospitality businesses, said: 'The decision by insurers to appeal is another nail in the coffin for small businesses.

'Rather than agreeing to abide by the judgment and pay claims, it is disgraceful that insurers continue to drag their feet and watch more and more of their own policyholders go to the wall.'
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Chon Buri, Thailand  Fri, October 2, 2020 14:05 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48b50fe 2 Art & Culture Thailand,buffalo-race Free

Thailand's annual water buffalo racing festival ploughed ahead on Thursday despite coronavirus travel restrictions leaving the event with a fraction of its usual tourist crowds.

The sturdy bovines were used as draught animals in farms across the kingdom until they were largely replaced by tractors and modern machinery just a few decades ago.

But farmers in Chonburi province near Bangkok have kept up traditional buffalo racing as a way to mark the start of the annual rice planting season and the end of Buddhist Lent.

Prized buffaloes pulling carts joined festive floats decorated with mythical naga serpents, while dancers in traditional golden costumes marched in a parade before the competition began.

The beasts thundered down the 100-meter track with jockeys balanced precariously on their rumps before leaping off at the finish line.

The course is typically caked in shin-deep mud but was bone dry for this year's event after a stretch of sweltering heat, and fire trucks were on hand to cool off the four-legged competitors.

This year's festival was capped off with a "beauty pageant" to judge the most attractive buffalo.

"They were so well-decorated in (costumes) and flowers it took me a while to realize there were buffaloes underneath," British expatriate Robert Owen told AFP.
The presidents of France, Russia and the United States called on Thursday for an immediate ceasefire between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces around Nagorno-Karabakh, but Turkey said the three big powers should have no role in peace moves.

France, Russia and the United States are co-chairs of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group, set up in 1992 to mediate in the decades-old conflict over the mountainous enclave in the South Caucasus.

They appealed for peace as the death toll rose in the heaviest clashes since the 1990s around Nagorno-Karabakh  part of Azerbaijan, but run by its mostly ethnic Armenian inhabitants.

"We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the relevant military forces," the joint French, Russian and US statement said.

They urged the ex-Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan to "commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions" under what is called the Minsk process.

But in a speech to the Turkish parliament just before the three countries' statement, President Tayyip Erdogan said he opposed their involvement.

"Given that the USA, Russia and France have neglected this problem for nearly 30 years, it is unacceptable that they are involved in a search for a ceasefire," Erdogan said.

He said a lasting ceasefire could be achieved only if "Armenian occupiers" withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh.

His comments are likely to fuel tension with his NATO allies as fears mount that the conflict could draw in regional powers Russia, which has a military base in majority Christian Armenia, and Turkey, a close ally of mainly Muslim Azerbaijan.

The conflict moved closer to the Armenian capital of Yerevan late Thursday as the government reported four "enemy" drones downed near the city.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on social media that the four drones appeared in Armenian airspace in the provinces of Kotayk and Gegharkunik, and Armenian air defence forces had destroyed them. A Reuters witness in the city saw a glowing object in the sky.

Dozens of people have been reported killed and hundreds wounded since Sunday in fighting that has renewed concern about stability in the South Caucasus, a corridor for pipelines carrying oil and gas to world markets.

Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in a 1991-94 war that killed 30,000 people, but is not recognised internationally as an independent republic.

Azerbaijan's civilian death toll has risen to 19, with 55 wounded, its prosecutor general's office said. Azerbaijan has not reported on casualties among its military forces.

Nagorno-Karabakh has said 103 of its troops have been killed and more than 200 wounded, while 11 civilians have been reported dead and more than 60 wounded.

Armenia said two French nationals working for France's Le Monde newspaper had been wounded during Azeri shelling of the town of Martuni in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region's foreign ministry said the two journalists had been operated on by local doctors. An Armenian government source said they were in critical condition and had been transported to Yerevan.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on the need for a ceasefire in a telephone call late on Wednesday. Their joint statement with US President Donald Trump was issued hours later on Thursday.

Macron's office said he and Putin had shared "concern regarding the sending of Syrian mercenaries by Turkey to Nagorno-Karabakh".

A Kremlin statement did not mention this. But the Russian news agency TASS quoted the Kremlin as saying the alleged deployment of fighters from Syria and Libya to Nagorno-Karabakh was extremely dangerous.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart had spoken by phone and expressed their willingness to cooperate closely to stabilise the situation, Lavrov's ministry said.

Turkey has said it will "do what is necessary" to support Azerbaijan, but has denied sending mercenaries.

Macron, whose country is home to about 600,000 people of Armenian origin, has accused Turkey of "warlike" rhetoric.

A German government source said EU leaders would discuss the conflict at an ongoing summit meeting.

Reuters
President Trumps announcement early Friday that he had contracted the coronavirus upended the presidential race in an instant, inviting significant questions about his cavalier attitude toward the pandemic and the future of his campaign just 32 days before the election.

Mr. Trump had already been trailing Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the polls, in part because of his mishandling of a virus that has unsettled the day-to-day lives of voters for over six months. The president compounded his difficulties by disregarding and at times belittling the basic precautions, such as wearing a mask, that his health advisers were urging Americans to take to protect themselves.

Now, though, his personal indifference toward the virus could threaten his own health, the stability of the country and his already dimming hopes for re-election.

Strategists in both parties and even senior aides to Mr. Trump said the president would face a harsh judgment from voters for throwing the country into greater uncertainty after one of the most trying years in American history.
Patna, Oct 2 : While the ruling party is engaged in turning the battle for Bihar Assembly elections 2020 as 15 years versus 15 years (15 years of NDA compared to 15 years of the RJD government), the main opposition party Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is targeting the Nitish government on the issues of corruption and law and order.

Riding on the success of the RJD as the largest party in the last assembly elections, party leaders are once again hopeful of emulating it. But the point to be noted is that in this election RJD President Lalu Prasad is missing and the entire responsibility lies on Tejashwi Yadav's shoulders.

In Lalu's absence, the controversy over the seat-sharing dispute in the Grand Alliance seems to be something that has left Tejashwi appearing clueless.

The Hindustani Avam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), two major constituents of the grand alliance, have already deserted the coalition. Also, differences with old ally Congress over seat-sharing are yet to be resolved.

Clearly the leaders of the Grand Alliance are missing Lalu Prasad. Congress in-charge of Bihar Shakti Singh Gohil raised a question mark over Tejashwi and said that if Lalu were here, it would not have taken so long in taking a decision on seat-sharing.

The Bihar Congress in-charge also said that Tejashwi is a young face. People tend to mislead those who are less experienced. "It is already too late to decide on seat-sharing. Now the ball is in RJD's court. Decisions should be made quickly." The Congress is a political party and is ready for every situation, he added.

There is no doubt that Lalu Prasad's speech, style and charismatic personality had the ability to woo voters.

RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari agrees that Lalu Prasad's charismatic personality made him stand apart from most politicians. He was perceived as the messiah of the poor. However, he said that the Congress should give up its tendency to be stubborn.

He said if the Congress provokes it, the RJD would not hesitate to retaliate.

By the looks of it, the way the dispute is going on in the Grand Alliance about seat-sharing, it won't be easy for Tejashwi to repeat the success of the last Assembly election.

In the last election, the RJD, the Congress and the JDU had contested together. The situation has changed this time round. The JDU is with NDA and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's party is also with the JDU.

However, RJD's opponents are now running down the Grand Alliance's chances of success.

BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand says that there is no party left in the Grand Alliance. "Now there is only RJD that remains. People in Bihar won't ever want the 15 years of RJD rule to return." Out of the total 243 seats in the state in the last assembly elections, the RJD emerged as the single-largest party by winning 80 seats while its ally JDU had to settle for 71 seats.
An insult-laden spat at a London pub that strained relations between U.S. and British law-enforcement agencies is at the center of a employment tribunal lawsuit against the UK Serious Fraud Office.

Tom Martin, an investigator at the SFO, was fired over the 2016 bust up after allegedly calling his counterpart at the FBI a four-letter word as a dispute widened over how to handle a joint probe into Unaoil SA. The SFO told a London court Tuesday [Sept. 29] that the incident exacerbated an already tense relationship between the two agencies.

Relations with the Americans in 2016 were already poor, Tony Osbaldiston, the former SFO official who led the disciplinary process for Martin, said in his testimony Tuesday. One of the reasons for the agents going for drinks was to try to help patch up relations with them, he said.

But Martin argues the fight was overblown as an excuse to fire him two years later. He said in the London lawsuit that his dismissal has had serious implications for his reputation and hes been unable to find another job.

The lawsuit is a rare glimpse into the interactions between law-enforcement officials on both sides of the Atlantic, which have often sparred over large investigations. An American, Lisa Osofsky, was hired to run the SFO in 2018 to strengthen the ties between the two groups.

One example of the differences was how to handle the investigation into Unaoil, which centered on allegations that the company bribed Iraqi officials for oil contracts. The UK wanted to prosecute members of the Ahsani family, which owned the company, but the U.S. Department of Justice may have undermined UK prosecutors by reaching a plea deal.

The SFO, a lawyer for Martin, the DOJ and the FBI all declined to comment.

Two former company executives were convicted of bribery by a London jury in July. But the conviction was overshadowed by the judges criticism of the SFOs handling of the investigation, particularly Osofskys meetings with David Tinsley, an American, who was working for the Ahsanis.

Martins 2016 tiff with FBI agents followed an early meeting that also included the Australian Federal Police to develop a strategy.

The group of agents began the day at the American Embassy in London but moved onto the embassy bar and then a local pub, where its alleged that Martin called an FBI agent a four-letter word as well as a spy and a quisling, a British term for traitor.

Martin says he probably did call the FBI agent, Kevin Luebke, a quisling, but doesnt recall or believe he called him the other names. He denies that his conduct amounted to gross misconduct.

Repair the Relationship

A year later, in August 2017, the Department of Justice raised concerns to the SFO about relations between UK and U.S. enforcement agencies. In 2018, the SFOs then interim director Mark Thompson flew to Washington to try to repair the relationship with the U.S. authorities following some tensions, the SFO said in court documents.

While there, the DOJ provided Thompson with a formal complaint against Martin regarding the 2016 incident, the SFO said, leading them to begin an internal investigation into Martins conduct.

Martin alleges that the complaint made against him by the U.S. was engineered by the DOJ and lawyers for Saman Ahsani, a Unaoil executive and member of the founding family.

Martin said the goal was remove him from the SFO case and thwart the SFOs extradition of Ahsani, who had been arrested in Italy.

With assistance from Gaspard Sebag and Chris Dolmetsch.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits Agencies USA London
Two Gladwin County women say they haven't yet received their absentee ballots, but a local official said additional ballots have arrived and are being mailed after a printing delay.

Julia A. Mitchell said Friday she has been calling the Butman Township Clerk's office about the issue.

"I called them since the beginning of September," Mitchell said. "They said (the ballots) were all gone, they didn't have any."

Butman Township Clerk Alayna Alexander said Friday afternoon that the township usually has around 400 residents who vote by absentee ballot, but this year, the number is nearly 900.

An initial shipment of 500 ballots ran out quickly, but the remainder were picked up by township officials on Thursday and were being prepared for distribution on Friday.

She attributed the delay to the printing company.

Alexander said ballot packets would be mailed late Friday or early Monday, and residents should receive their ballots in a few days.

Clara Mitchell, Julia's 95-year-old mother, said she usually votes in person but isn't this time "because of the virus." She added that she knows of at least one other friend who didn't get a ballot.

The township "said they ran out the last two weeks," she said.

Julia Mitchell said she believes the township "should not have run out" of ballots.

"You want to vote, and it's urgent this election," she said. "We just want to make sure you can vote."

She expressed relief when told that the ballots had arrived.

Local officials across the state began mailing out absentee ballots to residents on Sept. 24. More than 2.5 million absentee ballots have been requested in Michigan. Current law requires that ballots be in the hands of local election officials by 8 p.m. on Election Day  Nov. 3  but the Michigan Court of Appeals is reviewing a judge's recent ruling stating ballots that are postmarked by Nov. 2 should be counted if they arrive within 14 days after the election.
The Equality Commission found there was no public consultation during the budget development process for 2019-20 (Rui Vieira/PA)

The Department of Finance failed to comply with its equality scheme in the preparation of the 2019/20 budget, the Equality Commission has found.

Following an investigation, the commission made the finding in how the department had carried out its equality assessment and how it was presented to the decision maker.

Conor Murphy has been Northern Irelands Finance Minister since the Stormont Executive was reformed in January 2020, this budget had been prepared during the three-year collapse of the Assembly.

Expand Close Prime Minister Boris Johnson arriving at Stormont House in Belfast where the Secretary of States office is based (Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Prime Minister Boris Johnson arriving at Stormont House in Belfast where the Secretary of States office is based (Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/PA)

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland had responsibility for the decision at that time in the absence of devolved ministers. Those in the role over the year included Karen Bradley to July 2019 and Julian Smith to February 2020.

The commission also found that the department failed to comply with its approved equality scheme in relation to its commitment to consult on Equality Impact Assessments.

While the department presented an Equality Impact Assessment of its spending plans for the budget to the Secretary of State, as it had carried out no consultation on it, this did not conform to its equality scheme commitments.

The commission also found there was no public consultation during the budget development process for 2019-20, either on a draft budget and spending plans/draft budget allocations, or on any Equality Impact Assessment of those plans.

The commission has made recommendations for the department to improve practices.

A spokesperson for the department responded saying that the timeframe set did not allow for the consultation, adding: This was a matter outside of our control.

Expand Close Screengrab taken from the NI Assembly live stream of Geraldine McGahey, chief commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (Screengrab/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Screengrab taken from the NI Assembly live stream of Geraldine McGahey, chief commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (Screengrab/PA)

Chief commissioner Geraldine McGahey said equality screening is a legal requirement.

The Section 75 duties established by the Northern Ireland Act require public bodies to ensure that equality of opportunity and good relations considerations are at the core of policy development; screening and equality impact assessment should be central to the policy making process, she said.

This is a legal requirement, compliance is not optional, and compliance with the duties is a vital building block for good governance and accountability within a public authority.

In this case, the Department of Finance was compiling information for the budget for all our public services  a key policy that affects us all.

Consideration of the need to promote equality of opportunity and the desirability of promoting good relations while developing Northern Irelands budget should be fundamental to the policy making process and not be side-stepped as it was in relation to the 2019-20 budget.

Our politicians and senior officials must lead by example and ensure that they are equipped with the right information so that equality considerations are given the right place in policy making and decisions taken.

A Department of Finance spokesperson said: The 2019/20 Budget and timeframe was decided by the Secretary of State not the Department of Finance. This was a matter outside of our control.

The department recognises the importance of equality impact assessment and consultation in preparation of the Budget.

However there are many factors which are outside the departments control, for example, in terms of the next Budget the timing of the Spending Review by the British Government will significantly impact on the window for us to consult locally.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 2, 2020 Media contact: Jennifer Holton, 517-284-5724 Governor Whitmer Proclaims October as Michigan Agritourism Month LANSING, MI  Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed October as Michigan Agritourism Month. The month-long celebration recognizes the economic and social benefits of agritourism to our states farms and communities. Michigan Agritourism Month is a special time to acknowledge and experience the vast, integrated network of family farmers, processors, wholesalers, and retailers who produce a safe and nutritious food supply, as well as provide fun and unique farm experiences. Agritourism is a great opportunity to enjoy all that Pure Michigan has to offer, and as we head into fall in our state, I want to encourage everyone who takes part in things like corn mazes and wagon rides to do so safely, said Governor Whitmer. When you combine agriculture and tourism, you not only get fresh apples, pumpkins and baked goods, but you also get the experiences and lifelong memories that goes along with them. Fall is the perfect time of year to celebrate this month in Michigan. Please remember to always be safe and help protect yourself and others from COVID-19 by wearing a mask and maintaining six feet of distance. Agritourism is a niche form of tourism and defines the places where agriculture and tourism connect, including any time a farming operation opens its doors to the public and invites visitors to enjoy their products and services. Agriculture and tourism are leading economic drivers in Michigan, and agritourism provides ways for farmers to diversify their operations by offering value-added products and activities to protect their businesses against challenging weather conditions and market fluctuations. Examples include farmers markets, on-farm markets, wineries, roadside produce stands, on-farm weddings and events, corn mazes and much more. Agritourism is a year-round business for many farms in Michigan, but Agritourism Month is celebrated in October at the peak of harvest and during a time when people traditionally visit farms, pumpkin patches and cider mills. Agritourism opportunities are available in every county in our state, said Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Gary McDowell. Our operators are implementing key safety measures to assure the well-being of their customers. We also need visitors to help the agriculture community by following on-farm safety protocols, wearing masks, social distancing whenever possible, washing their hands often, and staying home if they are not feeling well. Some of the added precautions agritourism operations have implemented for this season include: Developing and implementing a COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and training employees on requirements under the plan.

Screening staff daily for symptoms of COVID-19 and not allowing ill employees to work.

Prohibiting gatherings of any size in which people cannot maintain six feet of distance from one another.

Limiting in-person interaction with clients and patrons to the maximum extent possible and prohibiting any such interaction in which people cannot maintain six feet of distance from one another.

Requiring employees to use personal protective equipment (gloves, goggles, face shields, face coverings, etc.) as appropriate for the activity being performed.

Ensuring frequent and thorough cleaning and disinfection of tools, equipment, and frequently touched surfaces.

Taking steps to maintain social distancing (a minimum of six feet) of guests in sale and retail areas and outdoor operations.

Providing signs or other materials for customers to inform them of changes to store and farm practices and explain the precautions the store is taking to prevent infection.

Enhancing sanitization of all operational areas, including sanitizing items customers touch after every use.

Encouraging family units to stay together and six feet apart from others. Customers should only be accompanied with family members and should limit the numbers in their groups. Visit www.MichiganFarmFun.com for a directory of Michigan agritourism businesses. The directory is searchable by business name, product, and region. To view the proclamation, click the link below: Agritourism Month 2020.pdf # # #
GREENWICH  Eastern Middle School was closed Friday out of an abundance of caution, according to the school district, after a teacher tested positive for COVID-19.

Principal Jason Goldstein, Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones and Jessica Wieneke, a nurse in the district, sent a message to families Thursday night notifying them that a seventh-grade teacher had a positive coronavirus test. The middle school was closed for the day to allow the district to conduct contact tracing, they said.

The teacher has not been in school since Tuesday, and we will update families as we determine the extent of any contact from team meetings and other possible interactions, they said.

A second message went to families Friday afternoon, notifying them that most staff and students had been cleared to return to the school Monday, Oct. 5.

Contact tracing has been completed, said the message from Goldstein and Wieneke. As a result of the one teacher who tested positive, there are five staff members and 11 students who will be quarantined due to exposure, and those families and staff members have been personally notified.

On its website, the school district publishes a weekly tracker of COVID cases. According to the tracker, there had been just one confirmed case, at Greenwich High School, since the start of the school. The tracker had not been updated Friday afternoon for the week ending Oct. 2, but the school districts Communications Director Sasha Houlihan said there had been no additional confirmed cases.

According to Goldstein and Wieneke, the Eastern Middle School building will be thoroughly cleaned before students and staff return to the classrooms on Monday.

The entire building is getting electrostatically misted (Friday) to disinfect it, the message said. A second round of misting and disinfecting will take place again (Saturday) in advance of our return on Monday.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will intervene in the Brexit negotiations for the first time since June when he holds talks on Saturday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in an attempt to unlock a deal.

The prime minister and the EU chief will discuss how the two sides can get to an agreement on their future trade and security partnership and what compromises each is willing to make -- a move seen by officials close to the negotiations as a positive step forward that could allow for more intensive talks in coming days.

While the final scheduled round of negotiations is set to end on Friday after making only limited progress, officials said the antagonism that blighted earlier talks has dissipated in recent weeks and both sides are intent on getting a deal. They have made some headway on long-standing stumbling blocks, and officials believe they are now in a position to enable Johnson and von der Leyen to make a final push.

But they are not there yet, and time is fast running out.

To succeed, Johnson and von der Leyen will have to convince each other they are prepared to make a final leap involving difficult compromises on both sides. If they can, the matter will go back to the negotiating table to nail down the details.

The pound erased losses to rise as much as 0.5% to $1.2954 as of 9:44 a.m. in London on hopes that Johnson and von der Leyen's call may spur a breakthrough.

The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier met with his British counterpart David Frost on Friday as the formal negotiations came to an end. Barnier will then meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin Monday to discuss the state of play.

Some progress was made this week on two of the biggest obstacles to a deal: the U.K.'s state-aid policy and the measures needed to enforce any agreement, officials said. But the two sides are still at loggerheads over what access EU fishing boats will have to U.K. waters, something that could yet scupper an overall deal.

There is still "a lot to do," U.K. Secretary for Local Government Robert Jenrick said Friday. He reiterated that the government is prepared to move on without an agreement if necessary after Dec. 31.

"There isn't very much time now, so we are urging the EU to show flexibility and pragmatism in these final stages of the talks," Jenrick told BBC Radio 4. "There are still some very significant issues to be resolved."

In Brussels, officials are hoping that Johnson's intervention will have the same effect as his call with von der Leyen in June when he resuscitated the negotiations by leaving EU chiefs in no doubt that a deal was his preferred option and that he understood what compromises were needed.

Johnson has said he wants a deal by Oct. 16, which would mean intensive joint drafting work -- the so-called tunnel --would need to begin immediately. The EU is more relaxed and is willing to allow talks to continue for at least another month.

"The EU is willing to close a deal," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters in Brussels on Thursday. "It helps if it is done before the end of the year, but I'm not going to commit myself to a date -- the sooner the better," he said.

If the two sides fail to reach a trade agreement by year-end, when Britain leaves the EU's single market and customs union, millions of consumers and business will suffer the cost and disruption of tariffs and quotas and relations between the two sides could be poisoned for a generation.
CLIFTON, N.J., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- You have unfortunately suffered an injury while at work, resulting in you not being able to work like you used to. Your first step was notifying your employer's insurance company of the injury in the hopes of being granted workers' compensation. Silverman & Roedel, LLC, one of New Jersey's leading personal injury and worker's compensation law firms, shares what occurs when your claim has been denied and what your next-steps are.

Compensable vs. Non-Compensable Injuries in New Jersey

There are many reasons for an employer or its insurance carrier to deny a Workers' Compensation claim. A claim may be denied if they believe that:

Your illness or injury did not occur at work.

You did not report the injury within the required time.

You did not file the claim in time.

Your injury was self-inflicted or that you refused to wear required protective gear.

You were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

You engaged in so-called horseplay.

You did not obtain medical treatment.

Your injury was the result of a pre-existing condition.

Some of these assertions are difficult to prove and primarily represent a delaying tactic on the part of the insurance carrier. The hope is that the injured worker will give up, as the appeals process can be complicated.

The Appeals Process in New Jersey

Luckily, here in the state of New Jersey you have two different appeal options at your disposal. Those options are an informal hearing or a formal hearing.

An informal hearing is a way to possibly resolve the matter without having to go through formal litigation. You will first submit an Application for Informal Hearing with the New Jersey Division of Workers' Compensation [DWC]. Once your application is processed the DWC will tell you when and where the informal hearing will take place.

The hearing itself is a lot more like a mediation than anything. A judge will ask you and your employer questions about the matter and evaluate any medical history or other documents you have provided. The judge will determine a recommendation to how your claim should be resolved. As it turns out, that recommendation is not binding, meaning neither you nor your employer has to heed the recommendation if you do not see fit. If this is the case, you will proceed with a formal claim.

A formal claim begins with a Claim Petition form with the DWC. It must be filed within two years of the injury or the last compensation payment you received from the insurance company. Once the petition is filed you will be assigned a formal hearing date.

Formal worker's comp hearings are just like regular trials. Both sides will testify and present evidence  you need strong and compelling evidence of your necessity for workers' comp. The judge will make a decision and unlike an informal claim, the decision is binding to both sides. Either party may appeal the decision though. That appeal can only go to the New Jersey Appellate Division of the Superior Court.

For more information, visit www.silvermanandroedel.com .

About Silverman & Roedel, LLC

Located in Clifton, NJ, Silverman & Roedel, LLC has represented clients in the fields of personal injury, automobile accidents, medical malpractice, social security disability, bankruptcy, and beyond. With over 37 years legal experience, they are dedicated and committed to their clients and seek to achieve the best possible result in each and every case.

Silverman & Roedel, LLC Contact

Pamela Roedel

(973) 772-6411

SOURCE Silverman & Roedel, LLC

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Alphabet Inc's Google has decided to pay some selected publishers around $1 billion for publishing their content on its news app. The media industry has for long accused the global tech giant of "unfair" treatment when it comes to using their content on its platform. The concession from Google will, however, be limited to select media publishers.

The company has rolled out the funding programme for three years, following which it'll be extended. Under this programme, Google will also provide its readers unrestricted access to some of the paid content by media outlets, reported Bloomberg.

The company will also allow media publishers to provide blurbs, bullets, and related news stories to link on its platform.

The company also launched Google News Showcase products in Brazil and Germany on Thursday. The product will allow media publishers to display branded content on Google platform and these story panels will be linked to their websites.

The decision comes as a relief for media publishers, which have been advocating against giants like Google and Facebook for using their content without paying for the rights to do so.

The search engine giant has been accused of cashing in on hard work and journalistic efforts put in by media companies to publish content that's in the public interest.

Also read: Paytm's IPL cashback scheme back days after Google's temporary ban

The current announcement by Google comes after its announcement in June when the company launched a licensing programme, under which it promised to pay users for quality content.

"Google News Showcase lets publishers curate stories on the news that matters, develop deeper relationships with readers and provides a new revenue stream for essential reporting," Brad Bender, a Google vice-president, said on a call with journalists.

As per Google, around 200 publications from countries like Australia, the UK, Germany, Canada and Brazil have opted for the Google News Showcase programme.

The company has said it will not cover all the media organisations as many of them do not necessarily produce content for Google News Showcase product.

Google has said its partnership with media companies for Google News Showcase product will vary from "market-to-market".

Also read: Digital advertising revenue to surpass television in FY21
BRIDGEPORT  A member of Stratfords Town Council accused of drunken driving applied for a pretrial diversionary program that could see the charges against him dropped.

William Perillo, 51, a Republican who represents District 7 on the council, appeared in court Thursday on charges he drove drunk on the Merritt Parkway while doing 117 mph last month.

In court, Perillo applied to take part in the pretrial alcohol education program, a diversionary program for first-time offenders.

If a judge grants his entry to the program, Perillo would take part in alcohol counseling. If he completes the program, the charges would be dismissed.

Perillo is scheduled to return to court Dec. 9.

He and his lawyer, Peter Billings, declined to comment Thursday.

He faces charges of operating under the influence, reckless driving, disobeying the signal of an officer and failure to drive in the proper lane.

In a prepared statement last month, Mayor Laura Hoydick said she had been made aware of Perillos arrest.

The offenses he is charged with are grave and alarming and I am grateful no one was injured, Hoydick said. Driving under the influence is a serious allegation which I don't take lightly. We await the outcome of the legal process that needs to take place.

State police said Perillo, a retired police officer, was stopped about 10:10 p.m. Sept. 12 near Exit 53 on Route 15 southbound.

Observed vehicle at high rate of speed, wrote Sgt. Robert Olechowski, who was listed on the police report as the investigating trooper. Vehicle clocked at 117MPH in clearly posted 55MPH zone. The operator initially accelerated refusing to stop. The operator continued for a considerable distance before finally slowing then bringing his vehicle to a stop.

Perillo allegedly exhibited numerous indicators he was under the influence of alcohol and was taken into custody for (motor vehicle) violations observed, the summary said.

Immediately after stopping the vehicle, Perillo complained of difficulty breathing, police said. He was taken to St. Vincents Hospital in Bridgeport by Stratford EMS for treatment.

There, he allegedly failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI.

He was released on a $2,500 bond to the care of the hospital staff, according to state police.
WEST HARTFORD - Back in 1998 when Matt Warshauer moved into his house on Main Street, he decorated for Halloween in typical fashion with pumpkins, spiders and witches on trees.

But reality became scarier than fiction for him in 2003 with the Iraq War. Warshauer said that was the first year he introduced political themes to his Halloween displays, enlisting the help of his daughters.
A Pakistan anti-corruption court on Thursday ordered the seizure of assets of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif for his failure to appear in the Toshakhana graft case, days after he was declared an absconder in the matter that allegedly caused a heavy loss to the national exchequer.

An anti-corruption court on September 9 indicted former president Asif Ali Zardari and ex-prime minister Yusuf Raza Gillani, while declared Sharif an absconder in the case.

The Islamabad-based accountability court was hearing the case filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which submitted a detailed record of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo's movable and immovable properties.

The accountability Judge Asghar Ali ordered the authorities to freeze Sharif's national and international bank accounts and seize his 206 acres of agricultural land in Lahore and 12.75 acres in Sheikhupura, as well as his house in Murree in Punjab province.

Two tractors and cars that the 70-year-old leader allegedly obtained from the Toshakhana (state gift depository) after paying 15 per cent of the price are also included among assets the court has ordered to seize.

The Toshakhana graft case is about alleged relaxation of rules by Gilani,68, for the benefit of Zardari, 65, and Sharif to buy vehicles gifted by foreign countries.

Sharif is accused of obtaining luxury cars from the treasury house by paying just 15 per cent of the price of these vehicles.

Similarly, Zardari and Gilani, are also accused of receiving luxury vehicles and gifts from the treasure house.

The court had issued non-bailable arrest warrant against Sharif in the case in June and the next month directed the Foreign Office to execute the arrest warrants through the Pakistan High Commission in London.

Last month, the court declared him a proclaimed offender after he failed to present himself before the court as he is in London for treatment for several health complications.

He went abroad after securing bail for medical treatment in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case and the Al Azizia case.

His Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party in a meeting on Tuesday asked him to stay there until the completion of his treatment.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan asked relevant authorities to take steps to bring back Sharif from London and to ensure that the former premier faces the corruption cases pending against him in various Pakistani courts.

The three-time premier, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar were convicted in the Avenfield properties case on July 6, 2018. Sharif was also sentenced to seven years in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case in December 2018. But Sharif was bailed out in both cases and also allowed to go to London for medical treatment.

In November last year, Sharif was allowed to travel abroad for his treatment, while Maryam had to stay behind till further orders".

In May, a picture of Sharif having tea at a London cafe along with his family went viral on social media, sparking a debate on the seriousness of his health condition.

The Pakistan government came under further criticism when last month Sharif's photos surfaced online, showing him strolling in a street, prompting calls from within the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to bring him back.

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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Its impossible to drive past the stately homes of historical Courtlandt Place and not wonder what they look like inside.

Theyre always popular on home tours, and this year, the Tudor Revival-style home known as the Myer-Hall House in Courtlandt Place will be one of four structures featured on Preservation Houstons Good Brick Tour, conducted via video on Preservation Houstons website and its YouTube channel.

Each Saturday in October, starting Oct. 10 with the Myer-Hall House, Preservation Houston will post a new video of a restored historical structure. The Oct. 17 video will take you inside a loft in the 1889 W.L. Foley Building downtown, and on Oct. 24 youll see the Rosenbaum House, a midcentury gem in Meyerland that has flooded more than once but has been restored to pristine condition.

Preservation Houston used Ward & Ames Special Events to produce the videos using drones and tracking shots inside the homes as well as for exterior views.

The first three videos are free, but the final video requires a $25 donation. With it, youll go inside the 1927 Niels Esperson Building and the 1941 Mellie Esperson Building, including a look at the Niels Esperson Buildings tempietto, which is not open to the public.

Eric Powitzky renovated and restored the Courtlandt Place home when they bought it more than a decade ago, earning one of Preservation Houstons Good Brick Awards in 2010.

Good Brick Tour When: Oct. 10, the 1910 Myer-Hall House on Courtlandt Place; Oct. 17, the 1889 W. L. Foley Building downtown; Oct. 24, the 1964 Rosenbaum House; Oct. 31, the 1927 Niels Esperson Building and the 1941 Mellie Esperson Building Where: Online at preservationhouston.org or YouTube.com/c/ preservationhouston Donate: The first three videos are free, but if you donate $25 during them, you will get a passcode to watch the fourth video, of the Esperson Buildings in downtown Houston. See More Collapse

Buying a home that needed as much work as this one didnt faze Powitzky, whose father is an architect and built several homes. Buying a grand fixer-upper seemed natural.

It had fallen into some disrepair and hadnt had a major update in quite some time. The restoration efforts included addressing infrastructure issues such as the heating/air conditioning, plumbing and electrical work. Three outdoor porches were replaced, with new foundations poured.

Built in 1910, the home, which now has state and national historic designations, was designed by prominent architects Sanguinet & Staats for Sterling Myer, a Houston attorney and civic leader, and his wife, Alice Bentley Myer. Fort Worth-based Sanguinet & Staats was better known for its tall office buildings but designed five homes on Courtlandt Place as well as the Link-Lee House on Montrose, which now houses the administrative offices of the University of St. Thomas.

The 5,200-square-foot home was purchased by businessman James Donald Hall in the 1920s, and his family lived there for four decades. It is on the market again, listed for $3.25 million through Martha Turner Sothebys International Realty.

Updated bathrooms and a larger kitchen and new breakfast room brought the two-and-a-half-story home to modern standards for the Powitzkys, but they didnt want to alter the features  such as wood beams and detailed woodwork  that made their home so grand.

Anywhere I sit in the house, I look around and, aesthetically, the proportions are so pleasing. Its so well designed, capturing the light in different rooms in the house, he said. I read the other day that open-concept houses could be trending downward because of the pandemic. It explained that different rooms in the house can add to the pace of our day  you spend time in one room and then another. Being in a series of separate spaces enriches your day.

Powitzkys son is off at college, and his daughter is a high school senior and spends some time with him and some with her mom, so the house feels a little big now. Powitzky uses the sunroom on Sunday mornings, does some of his work in his home office and on weekends uses the formal dining room.

From the front yard, youre greeted by a wide, welcoming front porch with a pair of swings, and Powitzky said this space is getting a lot more use than it used to. A Sunday afternoon happy hour of sorts has sprung up, with some residents heading out for neighborhood walks while others sit on their front porches to greet them.

Everyone in the neighborhood is close, said Powitzky, a native of Pasadena and physician. We have block parties, and we have a forum through email where we can talk about issues in the neighborhood.

Just inside Powitzkys home is what was once called a double parlor, essentially a front room on both the left and right, with pencil-width hardwood floors, Jacobean-style paneled walls and built-in bookcases with Arts and Crafts details. The current owners use one side as their family room and the other set up with a table and chairs as if its always ready for game night.

The wood architectural details extend to the dining room, study, staircase and second-floor landing, all of which have the same flooring and paneling.

Though the other rooms have exposed wood beams across the ceiling, the study is decorated with a coffered ceiling  wood beams in a grid  and has built-in shelves all around.

The virtual tour sticks to the homes first floor, but the second floor has bedrooms and bathrooms, and the small third floor is a bedroom/game room where Powitzkys band  the Chocolate Orbs, an 80s cover band  practices for its gigs at fundraisers and hospital functions.

diane.cowen@chron.com
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said he will organise a protest at 5pm on Friday in front of India Gate in Delhi against the gang-rape of the 19-year-old Dalit woman in Uttar Pradeshs Hathras.

In a video message, Azad said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needed to break his silence over the brutal rape of the woman. The victim died in Delhis Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday, a fortnight after she was gang-raped by upper-caste men while she was out with her mother to get fodder.

The PM washes the feet of Dalits before elections but remains quiet when a Dalit daughter of Uttar Pradesh is brutally raped. We will organise a protest at India Gate at 5pm today. The PM will have to give us answers, he said.

The Bhim Army chief had also led a protest at Gate Number 5 of Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday, soon after the victim was declared dead. He urged all members of the Dalit community to take to the streets and demand the death penalty for the culprits. The government should not test our patience. We wont rest until the culprits are hanged, he said.

On Wednesday, Azad was put under house arrest by local police in Saharanpur, where he started a dharna.

Incidents of rapes were being reported in many districts in UP, he said and demanded that Presidents rule be imposed in the state. Hathras, Azamgarh, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Balrampur every district in Uttar Pradesh is being embarrassed with incidents of rape. The constitutional machinery has failed completely. Yogi Adityanath cannot handle the government. The president should announce Presidents Rule as soon as possible, he said in a tweet in Hindi.

I am sitting at my house on a dharna, injustice will not be tolerated. In Uttar Pradesh, Dalits are being meted out with injustice. The DM and the SSP of Hathras who have been protecting criminals and performing inhuman acts have not been removed yet. How can one expect justice from such unworthy people? he asked in another tweet.

Azad reached Delhi along with supporters of his Bhim Army on Thursday.

(with PTI inputs)
Despite promises to keep in line with the OPEC+ pact, Iraq  OPECs second-largest producer and biggest laggard in implementing the cuts  slightly raised its crude oil exports in September compared to August.

Iraq exported a total of 78,388,619 barrels of crude last month, according to data from Iraqs ministry of oil cited by Iraq Business News. This means Iraqs average crude oil exports stood at 2.613 million barrels per day (bpd) for September, slightly up from the 2.597 million bpd crude the country exported in August.

Iraq received US$3.167 billion from its oil exports in September, at an average price of $40.407 per barrel it exported, the ministry said.

Oil revenues are critical to Iraqs budget income, but in recent months OPECs second-largest oil producer has come under pressure from its fellow OPEC+ partners led by Saudi Arabia to stop cheating on their production quotas and finally start complying with the OPEC+ agreement.

Iraq promised additional cuts of around 400,000 bpd in August in order to compensate for the lack of compliance with the OPEC+ deal in the previous months.

In August, Iraq did reduce its oil exports  to 2.597 million bpd from 2.763 million bpd, as per the oil ministry data. In September, however, Iraq slightly raised its exports, despite the fact that it has a lot of compensation to do to offset its previous lack of compliance.

Iraq, which has been the least compliant member of the OPEC+ production cut pact since it was first launched in January 2017, has been promising for months that it would reduce its oil production and fall in line with its quotasomething it hasnt done since 2017.

Despite the pledges, Iraq has yet to comply with the production cut deal. Yet, Iraq has improved its compliance with its production quota, the monthly

Reuters survey tracking supply to the market showed earlier this week.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed satisfaction Friday after a European Union summit where leaders discussed the EU's increasingly tense ties with Turkey over its drilling in the Mediterranean Sea.

After several hours of talks, the leaders agreed on a strong statement of support for Greece and Cyprus, coupled with a stern warning to Turkey that it could face punitive measures if its drilling project continues.

In a summit statement, they agreed that if Turkey continues to react positively in talks with Cyprus and Greece the bloc will "launch a positive political EU-Turkey agenda" with trade and customs incentives, and they held out the prospect of more money and benefits for continued cooperation on migrant flows.

If not, the leaders warned, "the EU will use all the instruments and the options at its disposal," to "defend its interests and those of its member states."

Mitsotakis said summit leaders had "made it clear, with absolute certainty, that the cessation of any unilateral action is a precondition for the improvement of the relations between the European Union and Turkey."

This story has not been edited by www.republicworld.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.
About 15 hours of audio recordings of grand jury proceedings in the Breonna Taylor case were released publicly on Friday, following demands for transparency by activists and Taylor's family. Grand jury proceedings are typically kept secret. The decision last week not to charge anyone directly in Taylor's death has led to outrage and renewed protests over police brutality and racial injustice.

The grand jury did indict now-fired Louisville officer Brett Hankison on wanton endangerment charges for firing shots into a neighbor's apartment in the March police raid that killed the 26-year-old Black emergency medical worker.

The grand jury issued their ruling after a two-and-a-half day presentation of investigative findings by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Cameron has described Taylor's death as a tragedy, but not a crime. He had initially declined to release the recordings, but then did so in the public court file on Friday following a judge's order.

"While it is unusual for a court to require the release of the recordings from grand jury proceedings, we complied with the order, rather than challenging it, so that the full truth can be heard," Cameron said in a statement.

CBS News is reviewing the recordings. Here is what they reveal about key questions remaining in the case.

What evidence did the grand jury hear about whether officers announced themselves before the raid?

In an interview recorded the day of the March 13 raid and later played for the grand jury, Louisville police Lieutenant Shawn Hoover said officers announced themselves as law enforcement before breaching Taylor's door.

"We knocked on the door, said police, waited I don't know 10 or 15 seconds. Knocked again, said police, waited even longer," Hoover said. "So it was the third time that we were approaching, it had been like 45 seconds if not a minute," Hoover said. "And then I said, `Let's go, let's breach it.'"

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The question of whether anyone heard officers identify themselves is key, lawyers for Taylor's family say, because Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker said he didn't know the people raiding the home were police and he opened fire to defend himself and Taylor from unknown intruders.

Cameron said his investigation concluded the two officers who fired the barrage of bullets that killed Taylor, Detective Myles Cosgrove and Sergeant Jon Mattingly, were justified in opening fire because they were returning a shot fired by Walker.

Mattingly also said in an interview played for the grand jury that officers announced themselves and said they had a warrant. Cosgrove, in his interview, said Taylor's home was considered a "soft target."

"We were asked to please knock and announce and to use our maturity as investigators to get into this house," Cosgrove said.

Detective Michael Nobles said officers made so much noise that an upstairs neighbor came outside and was told to go back inside. Hoover said he believed officers were being "ambushed" when Walker fired the shot that Cameron has said struck Mattingly in the thigh.

"They knew we were there. I mean, hell, the neighbors knew we were there," Hoover said.

But Walker told police in an interview heard by the grand jury, "If we knew who it was, that would have never happened."

A neighbor who described dropping to the ground as bullets flew through his wall backed up Walker's account. The neighbor said he never heard police announce themselves and assumed he was being robbed, according to a detective's testimony.

Walker appeared baffled as to why police would raid the home unless there was some kind of mistake. Taylor "never talked about anything that might have brought police to the door," Walker said.

Grand jurors also heard 911 calls from panicked neighbors and a distraught Walker, who told dispatchers, "Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend."

"She's dying," grand jurors heard Walker say.

Cameron has said he presented grand jurors with a witness who supported officers' statements that they announced themselves. But Ben Crump, a lawyer for the Taylor family, and Steven Romines, Walker's lawyer, say there are 12 other neighbors who did not hear any announcement.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron / Credit: Jon Cherry / Getty Images

Crump and Romines also say the witness referenced by Cameron changed his story. Cameron said he presented grand jurors with the discrepancies in the witness' testimony.

Speaking on "CBS This Morning" last week, attorney Ben Crump said: "If Daniel Cameron only presented his perspective and didn't present the other 12 neighbors, he has unilaterally made a decision on whether or not Breonna Taylor would ever get due process, whether she would ever get justice, and that is not right."

But speaking to local television station WDRB Tuesday, Cameron said whether or not police announced themselves would have no bearing on the outcome, because regardless, the officers were justified in returning the shot fired by Walker. Cameron said the neighbor the grand jury heard from was closest in proximity to Taylor's home and was in the best position to hear police announce themselves.

Testimony of one law enforcement officer heard by the grand jury showed police never ultimately executed the warrant to search Taylor's apartment. The warrant was linked to a drug investigation into her ex-boyfriend, who did not live there.

"Were drugs money or paraphernalia recovered from apartment 4? ... The answer to that is no," the officer said on the recording. "They didn't go forward with executing the initial search warrant that they had for Breonna Taylor's apartment."

What charges did the Kentucky attorney general's office recommend to the grand jury?

Cameron has said no murder charges were recommended against Cosgrove and Mattingly. Cameron had previously said in public statements and interviews that his grand jury presentation included evidence about the actions of the two officers, but that he did not recommend charges against them because he ruled their actions justified.

Cameron has said he felt the only charges that could be proven in court were three counts of wanton endangerment against former officer Brett Hankison for firing shots blindly from outside Taylor's apartment, endangering her neighbors when bullets flew into their unit.

In a statement Friday, Cameron's office said the 15 hours of recordings do not include charging recommendations offered to the grand jury, because they are not considered evidence.

Questions have been raised about Cameron's public depiction of what happened during the grand jury proceedings, most notably by a grand juror who in a rare move petitioned a judge to speak publicly about evidence Cameron left out. The anonymous grand juror accused Cameron in a legal filing of "using the grand jurors as a shield to deflect accountability and responsibility for these decisions."

Following the indictment against Hankison last week, Cameron said that while there are six possible homicide charges under Kentucky law, "these charges are not applicable to the facts before us because our investigation showed  and the grand jury agreed  that Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in the return of deadly fire after being fired upon."

Cameron initially refused to say whether he had recommended any charges against Mattingly and Cosgrove. But in the interview days later with WDRB, Cameron said he did not recommend murder charges and appeared to walk back his assertion that the grand jury agreed that Cosgrove and Mattingly were justified in their actions. He implied the grand jury could have taken issue with his interpretation of the evidence if they disagreed.

"I suppose... you know, again, the grand jury had two and a half days to ask questions, you know I suppose if they wanted to push... they're an independent body," Cameron told the station. "If they wanted to make an assessment about different charges they could have done that. But our recommendation was that Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in their acts, in their conduct, and that officer Hankison at least it was appropriate at this stage to charge him with wanton endangerment."

But for a grand jury to issue an indictment outside the scope of the options they are given by a prosecutor would be rare, said Cortney Lollar, a University of Kentucky College of Law professor. In Kentucky, like elsewhere, prosecutors have sole purview over what evidence and witnesses a grand jury hears, and the panel need only determine probable cause that the case against the defendant should move forward. It's a "pretty low standard," Lollar said, which is one reason for the saying that a grand jury would "indict a ham sandwich." In a jury trial, a judge would determine what evidence could and couldn't be introduced, the defense would have a chance to put on a case and the standard of conviction is guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Grand jurors do have the opportunity to ask questions, and may decide not enough probable cause exists to return an indictment recommended by a prosecutor. But they typically wouldn't have knowledge of the law to the extent that they would question the indictment options a prosecutor presents and recommend more serious charges, Lollar said.

"Most grand jurors are not lawyers, they aren't experts with the legal process," Lollar said. "They're going to take a look at the evidence and the law presented to them and decide whether there's enough to charge based on what's presented to them."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article has been corrected to indicate Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office released about 15 hours of grand jury recordings. The office initially said the recordings were about 20 hours.

Trump attempts to clean up "stand by" comment, earlier refusal to denounce white supremacists

House to vote on new COVID-19 relief package as Pelosi negotiates with White House

Military reports alarming increase in active-duty suicides
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Mellon auditorium in Washington on Aug. 24, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel Tests Positive for COVID-19

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel tested positive for COVID-19, according to a committee spokesperson.

After a member of her family tested positive for COVID-19, the Chairwoman was tested for the virus. On Wednesday afternoon, she got confirmation she was COVID-19 positive, the spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement on Friday.

She has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday, the spokesperson added.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, as did White House aide Hope Hicks.

COVID-19 is a disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Most patients recover with some combination of symptom treatment, rest, and hospital care. Many infections dont produce symptoms.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 29, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

A number of top Trump administration officials tested negative Friday for the new illness, including Vice President Mike Pence, White House adviser Jared Kushner, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Trumps 14-year-old son, Barron Trump, also tested negative.

The Trumps are quarantining at the White House, the president announced early Friday.

Trumps doctor said the couple are both well.

The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our countrys greatest medical professionals and institutions, he wrote in a memorandum. Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.

McDaniel, 47, became the chair of the RNC after serving as chair of the Michigan Republican Party. She is the granddaughter of former Michigan Gov. George Romney and the niece of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
DENVER, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With the 2020 presidential election only a month away, this year's Wealth Advisor Forum keynote speaker Jeff Bush of the Washington Update, will be one to watch as he discusses the economy, fiscal policy, healthcare, trade and foreign relations, taxation, immigration  in light of the election. The Investments & Wealth Institute's Wealth Advisor Forum Livestream + On-demand, October 19-20, 2020, is the premier wealth management conference for advisors. Designed to provide insights, effective strategies, and real-world tools to help financial professionals distinguish themselves among those that serve high-net-worth clients.

The two-day Livestream + On-demand conference gathers the right mix of up-to-date academic, practitioner and industry expertise. The experience includes designated networking opportunities, a virtual exhibit hall, live Q&A with speakers, and virtual polling through the latest state-of-the-art online conference platform.

The Wealth Advisor Forum will feature experts such as:

Stuart E. Lucas , Wealth Strategist Partners, LLC, will discuss his new book, The Taxable Investor's Manifesto , and new opportunities to redefine what good investment advice looks like.

, Wealth Strategist Partners, LLC, will discuss his new book, , and new opportunities to redefine what good investment advice looks like. Sean Hannah , Ph.D., Wake Forest University School of Business, will discuss ways to effectively lead, steward, and govern, highlighting the importance of these factors during the present times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. He will use insights he gained as a now retired U.S. Army Colonel.

, Ph.D., School of Business, will discuss ways to effectively lead, steward, and govern, highlighting the importance of these factors during the present times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. He will use insights he gained as a now retired U.S. Army Colonel. John Grable , Ph.D., University of Georgia , will discuss insights from risk research from the Financial Planning Performance Lab at the University of Georgia . Attendees will walk away with a comprehensive framework for identifying and understanding an individual investor's risk profile.

The Institute's Women in Wealth Program will also host a discussion on diversity and inclusion from Herman Brodie. Brodie will explore how and why stereotypes are formed, and how they can be changed. This presentation will be followed by a panel discussion on how addressing diversity within your workplace can makes a positive impact with client discussions, investing strategies and overall success.

Experience the premier wealth management conference from the comfort and convenience of your home or office for the first time ever. To learn more about the Wealth Advisor Forum and to register visit: content.investmentsandwealth.org/waf_2020-0

To learn more about the Institute visit www.investmentandwealth.org.

SOURCE Investments & Wealth Institute

Related Links

http://www.investmentandwealth.org


WASHINGTON  Since President Donald Trump disclosed early Friday that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus, White House officials have sought to assure the country that the president remains well enough to discharge his duties even as he was readied for transfer to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

If Trump's condition worsens, leaving the 74-year-old commander-in-chief incapacitated, the Constitution provides for a line of authority to steer the government in his absence.

Under the 25th Amendment, the president could notify House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and the Senate majority's senior member, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, that he is unable to function, transferring power to Vice President Mike Pence until the president indicates that he is able to return.

The provision has only been invoked three times since the amendment's ratification in 1967, creating a legal mechanism for designating a head of state when the president is disabled.

It was used briefly when Ronald Reagan underwent surgery in 1985 and similarly when George W. Bush was under anesthesia in 2002 and 2007.

President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan wave as they walk with their dog Rex on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, June 15, 1986 in Washington after returning by helicopter from Camp David, Maryland. The Reagans spent the weekend at the presidential retreat and returned to the executive mansion on Father's Day. The man in the background is unidentified.

The amendment both set up the process for the president to voluntarily relinquish duties and created a method  which has never been used  for powers to be taken away when others believe the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

If Trump believes he can still do his job but Pence and a majority of the Cabinet disagree, a transfer of power to Pence would require the backing of two-thirds of both the House and the Senate. Lawmakers could also designate through legislation an alternative group  other than the Cabinet  that the vice president could work with to declare Trump unable to serve.

In an extreme circumstance, if the president were to die from the virus, Pence is first in line to succeed him.

Pelosi, 80, is second. The speaker tested negative for the virus Friday.

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Grassley, 87, is third in line. Grassley said he won't be tested for COVID-19.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 56, is fourth and also tested negative.

Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a press briefing with the coronavirus task force, at the White House, Tuesday, March 17, 2020.

More: Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis postpones campaign events; Biden tests negative: live updates

More: Trump went ahead with campaign events in New Jersey after Hope Hicks tested positive for COVID

Barbara Perry, co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginias Miller Center, said its too early to talk about the presidents demise, but its not too soon to think about the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment if the symptoms of COVID-19 worsen and affect Trumps thinking.

Aside from his ability to do the job of the presidency, this coming as it does in the midst of a hard-fought presidential campaign in which hes trailing in all the polls, just 32 days out of the election, makes it equally historic, Perry said.

Beyond the concern for the continuity of government, analysts said Trump's illness raised national security worries.

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said adversaries should be expected to exploit U.S. vulnerabilities.

The White House and national security agencies must move quickly to ensure the chain of command is secure and the military is prepared to respond without delay to provocation or attack, he said. The COVID-19 pandemic, the recession and Trump's questioning of the election's integrity could embolden adversaries to test the United States.

"We have the president and first lady ill and the country is in a vulnerable situation. We have to be very prepared to deal with the possibility that an adversary will seek to take advantage," Panetta said.

This is not the first time that a president or a presidential candidate suffered from an illness during a campaign.

President Theodore Roosevelt, Perry noted, was shot in the chest while on the campaign trail in 1912. Theodore went on to deliver his speech, during which he said, I dont know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill the Bull Moose.

Roosevelts cousin, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who suffered from polio, was plagued with issues and questions about his health throughout his presidency. By 1944, when he was running for a fourth term, Roosevelt had already been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, although it wasnt public at the time.

The 25th Amendment was first used for a temporary disability when Reagan underwent surgery at Bethesda Naval Medical Center to remove a cancerous polyp in his large intestine in 1985. After the anesthesia wore off, his chief of staff and counsel asked if he felt well enough to resume his authority. He said he did and congressional leaders were notified, even though Reagan had said he didn't think his situation was the kind the authors intended when creating the amendment.

Nevertheless, it was used twice again to temporarily transfer authority to the vice president when Bush underwent routine colonoscopies.

During Vice President Dick Cheney's two hours as acting president in 2007, he wrote a letter to his grandchildren as a souvenir for them.

Contributing: John Fritze, Brianne Pfannenstiel,

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: If Trump's condition worsens: Line of succession explained
UW Professor Receives $8 Million Federal Grant to Monitor Snowpack, Soil Moisture in Upper Missouri River Basin

The colored portions of this map indicate the areas where mesonet weather stations -- with advanced snowpack and soil moisture monitoring capabilities -- will be deployed by the mesonet weather station networks of the five Upper Missouri River Basin states in support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Map by Ruben Behnke, South Dakota Mesonet)

The University of Wyoming has received a five-year, $8 million grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to establish a network of stations to monitor snowpack and soil moisture throughout the plains areas of the Upper Missouri River Basin. The goal is to help predict and prevent future flooding in these areas.

The grant announcement was made Sept. 28 by the U.S. Department of Defense. The grant runs through Sept. 27, 2025.

Ginger Paige, a professor of water resources in the UW Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, is the principal investigator (PI) for the Wyoming component of the project. The $8 million Wyoming contract is part of a larger $48.2 million project that is a collaboration with the other states in the Upper Missouri River Basin.

With the significant flooding in 2011 and 2019 in the Upper Missouri River Basin, it was clear that there was a need for improved total water monitoring, Paige says. Frozen and saturated soil, and significant snowpack on the Upper Missouri River Basin plains were major contributors to flooding in 2011 and 2019.

States that comprise the Upper Missouri River Basin are Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The areas targeted by this project are the plains of the Upper Missouri River Basin upstream of Sioux City, Iowa, and at areas up to 5,500 feet in elevation, Paige says.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha, Neb., is overseeing the project, contracting with the five states to install and retrofit the mesonet weather stations. A mesonet is a network of environmental monitoring stations.

The stations in Wyoming will be installed in the Big Horn and Powder River basins. The specific locations for the monitoring stations have not yet been established, Paige says.

These stations will monitor total water within the plains areas of the Upper Missouri River Basin, she says. This monitoring entails precipitation (rain and snow), wind speed and direction, solar radiation, air temperature, snow depth and soil moisture.

These data are important for improved monitoring and modeling of snow and run-off for river forecasting, drought prediction and reservoir management, she says.

The improved data will be available for use in water management by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, agriculture, emergency management operations, the general public, natural resources, research and water resources.

The University of Wyoming has won an important contract to keep communities safe, says U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Wyoming now has critical, additional resources to fund a new network of stations to monitor snowpack and soil moisture. These stations are essential for predicting floods and preparing for them.

Floods and droughts do tremendous property damage and, tragically, can cost lives. Thats why I worked to create and support this flood prevention program in recent water infrastructure laws, Barrasso continues. I am thankful to the Trump administration for awarding this important contract to the University of Wyoming.

The final network of monitoring stations will cover about a quarter million square miles with over 500 weather stations, which equates to a station every couple of dozen miles. Currently, some existing stations are being retrofitted, Paige says.

Paige says she will work with the Wyoming Mesonet in the collection and dissemination of the data from the Wyoming monitoring stations. Additionally, there will be significant collaboration with the PIs and mesonets from the other Upper Missouri River Basin states.

While no other UW faculty members are currently involved in the project, Paige expects some UW graduate and undergraduate students will eventually work on this effort.

The current contract does not explicitly contain a public outreach component. However, Paige says there certainly will be a large outreach component as the network is developed and data become available.

I have an extension appointment at UW and will make certain that there is an outreach component targeting citizen scientists, teachers and students, and water resource stakeholders across the state and region, Paige says. Most of these opportunities will be developed over the next few years.
Colonial and semi-colonial countries are backward countries by their very essence. But backward countries are part of a world dominated by imperialism. Their development, therefore, has a combined character: the most primitive economic forms are combined with the last word in capitalist technique and culture. In like manner are defined the political strivings of the proletariat of backward countries: the struggle for the most elementary achievements of national independence and bourgeois democracy is combined with the socialist struggle against world imperialism. Democratic slogans, transitional demands and the problems of the socialist revolution are not divided into separate historical epochs in this struggle, but stem directly from one another. The Chinese proletariat had barely begun to organize trade unions before it had to provide for soviets. In this sense, the present program is completely applicable to colonial and semi-colonial countries, at least to those where the proletariat has become capable of carrying on independent politics.

The central task of the colonial and semi-colonial countries is the agrarian revolution, i.e., liquidation of feudal heritages, and national independence, i.e., the overthrow of the imperialist yoke. Both tasks are closely linked with each other.

It is impossible merely to reject the democratic program; it is imperative that in the struggle the masses outgrow it. The slogan for a National (or Constituent) Assembly preserves its full force for such countries as China or India. This slogan must be indissolubly tied up with the problem of national liberation and agrarian reform. As a primary step, the workers must be armed with this democratic program. Only they will be able to summon and unite the farmers. On the basis of the revolutionary democratic program, it is necessary to oppose the workers to the national bourgeoisie. Then, at a certain stage in the mobilization of the masses under the slogans of revolutionary democracy, soviets can and should arise. Their historical role in each given period, particularly their relation to the National Assembly, will be determined by the political level of the proletariat, the bond between them and the peasantry, and the character of the proletarian party policies. Sooner or later, the soviets should overthrow bourgeois democracy. Only they are capable of bringing the democratic revolution to a conclusion and likewise opening an era of socialist revolution.

The relative weight of the individual democratic and transitional demands in the proletariats struggle, their mutual ties and their order of presentation, is determined by the peculiarities and specific conditions of each backward country and to a considerable extent by the degree of its backwardness. Nevertheless, the general trend of revolutionary development in all backward countries can be determined by the formula of the permanent revolution in the sense definitely imparted to it by the three revolutions in Russia (1905, February 1917, October 1917).

The Comintern has provided backward countries with a classic example of how it is possible to ruin a powerful and promising revolution. During the stormy mass upsurge in China in 1925-27, the Comintern failed to advance the slogan for a National Assembly, and at the same time forbade the creation of soviets. (The bourgeois party, the Kuomintang, was to replace, according to Stalins plan, both the National Assembly and soviets.) After the masses had been smashed by the Kuomintang, the Comintern organized a caricature of a soviet in Canton. Following the inevitable collapse of the Canton uprising, the Comintern took the road of guerrilla warfare a peasant soviets with complete passivity on the part of the industrial proletariat. Landing thus in a blind alley, the Comintern took advantage of the Sino-Japanese War to liquidate Soviet China with a stroke of the pen, subordinating not only the peasant Red Army but also the so-called Communist Party to the identical Kuomintang, i.e., the bourgeoisie.

Having betrayed the international proletarian revolution for the sake of friendship with the democratic slavemasters, the Comintern could not help betraying simultaneously also the struggle for liberation of the colonial masses, and, indeed, with even greater cynicism than did the Second International before it. One of the tasks of Peoples Front and national defense politics is to turn hundreds of millions of the colonial population into cannon fodder for democratic imperialism. The banner on which is emblazoned the struggle for the liberation of the colonial and semi-colonial peoples, i.e., a good half of mankind, has definitely passed into the hands of the Fourth International.
Essential workers entering Nunavut who have skipped stays at isolation hubs now have to wear a mask outside their dwelling for the first two weeks theyre in the territory, starting on Oct. 5.

Dr. Michael Patterson, Nunavuts chief public health officer, announced this on Friday, Oct. 2.

The risk is rising as the numbers again increase in the south, he said, explaining why this measure is being implemented now.

Patterson also said some people are confused about when they should wear masks, and some dont want to follow orders and look for loopholes, so were making [the rules] as clear as we can.

People who are in Nunavut who were exempt from isolation have been expected to stay in their dwelling when theyre not at work and to practise physical distancing. They must now also wear a mask outside their dwelling for the first 14 days.

To be exempt from a 14-day stay at an isolation hub, they sign an agreement saying theyll follow these orders.

Enforcement against those who break the orders is complaint driven, Patterson said.

On at least two occasions weve had RCMP visit people to deliver warnings, and were working on enhancing the enforcement process.

Premier Joe Savikataaq said on Friday that COVID-19 isnt going away anytime soon.

It is clear that we are into the second wave, he said. We all need to make sacrifices to keep each other safe.

That means continuing with the public health measures of washing hands frequently, maintaining a physical distance, following limits on gathering sizes, and self-isolating and wearing a mask when its required.

Meanwhile, a pilot project to increase the turnaround time of test results in Nunavut has been very successful, Patterson said.

That involved using a chartered plane to fly test swabs from around the Qikiqtani region to the hospital in Iqaluit to test them. Test results were known in less than 72 hours, Patterson said.

Since the project was successful, the Government of Nunavut will continue to use that system in the Qikiqtani, and will also have a plane on standby in Rankin Inlet so tests can be flown in from the Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions and tested in Rankin Inlet for rapid results.
Regulatory News:

ABIONYX Pharma (Paris:ABNX) (FR0012616852 ABNX PEA PME eligible), a new generation biotech company dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative therapies for patients, has decided to focus on the development of CER-001, which is proving to be useful in severe indications for short-term treatments, mainly renal for the time being. In order to pursue studies on CER-001 in this type of indications, the Company plans to restart a production campaign.

Indeed, ABIONYX announced in January 2020 that the French National Drug Safety Agency (ANSM) had granted a Temporary Authorization for Named Use (ATUn) for CER-001 in an ultra-rare kidney disease for which existing treatments are proving to be insufficient. In February 2020, a new Temporary Authorization for Named Use (ATUn) for CER-001 was granted to the company in Italy in an ultra-rare kidney disease for which existing treatments are proving to be insufficient.

The company is still awaiting final clinical data from these ATUn and preclinical studies. The Company pursue discussions with regulatory agencies for approval to proceed with an in vivo study on the mechanism of action of CER-001.

In this context, the company no longer has a stock of products to meet possible new requests from ATUn, and announces the launch of a capital increase of 1,850,000 euros (including premium) to strengthen the Company's cash position in order to finance the launch of a new production campaign for CER-001.

Terms and conditions of the issue

The Board of Directors decided today to issue a maximum of 2,695,648 new shares at a price of 0.69 euro per share (i.e. a 10% discount to the weighted average of the 10 trading days preceding today's Board of Directors' decision). This issue represents approximately 12.28% of the share capital on the date of the decision to issue.

This operation is part of a capital increase with cancellation of preferential subscription rights for the benefit of persons belonging to specific categories1, decided today by the Board of Directors, acting on the basis of the delegation granted by the Shareholders' Meeting of May 29, 2020 under the terms of its twenty-fourth extraordinary resolution.

The maximum overall amount of the capital increase is 1,859,997 euros (including a maximum nominal amount of 134,782 euros and a maximum issue premium of 1.725.215 euros). The new shares will carry current dividend rights, will be assimilated to the old shares and will have the same rights. They will be subject to all provisions of the bylaws and will be admitted to trading on Euronext on the same trading line as the existing shares.

Provisional calendar

The subscription period will begin on October 5, 2020 and will end on October 16, 2020 included at the latest, being specified that this period will be closed early if all subscription forms are received before this date.

Shareholders

The maximum number of shares that may be issued in this way represents 12.28% of the number of shares outstanding before issuance and 10.94% after issuance. By way of illustration, a shareholder who held a number of shares representing 1% of the share capital of ABIONYX before the envisaged issue, would represent after the issue 0.89% of the share capital (in case of full subscription of the capital increase).

Subscription intentions

In this context and in order to support the announced strategy, Emmanuel Huynh, Chairman of the Board, Cyrille Tupin, Member of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, and Christian Chavy, Member of the Board, have informed the company of their intention to subscribe for a total amount of less than 50% of the issue. They abstained from taking part in the vote on the Board's decision to issue.

The company received the subscription intentions of 5 other persons representing the balance of the capital increase.

Shareholding* structure before and after capital increase in %

Shareholders Before Capital increase % capital After Capital Increase % capital Domundi SC (M. Emmanuel Huynh) 2 218 750 10.11% 2 986 865 12.12% Cyrille Tupin 460 306 2.10% 837 117 3.40% BPI Participations (FR) 1 630 451 7.43% 1 630 451 6.62% Jean-Louis Dasseux 1 286 781 5.86% 1 286 781 5.22% TVM Life Science Ventures 1 213 439 5.53% 1 213 439 4.92% Luc Demarre 468 750 2.14% 896 286 3.64% Christian Chavy 173 913 0.71% Flottant 14 668 539 66.84% 15 617 812 63.39% TOTAL 21 947 016 100% 24 642 664 100%

*On the basis of information brought to the Company's attention, in particular for bearer shareholders via declarations of crossing thresholds (legal and statutory)

Lock-up

All of the corporate officers subscribing to this capital increase have agreed not to sell or trade the new shares during the next six months.

Objectives of the capital raising

The objective of this fund-raising is to strengthen the Company's cash position in order to finance the launch of a new CER-001 production campaign. The Company is expected to preserve its existing cash position of at least 5 to 6 million euros at the end of the fiscal year.

In view of the launch of a CER-001 production campaign, the company is facing significant supply tensions in the context of COVID-19. Therefore, the company, willing to already secure the supply in raw materials for its supply chain and to anticipate the technology transfer delays for a relocation of its production in France, will have to proceed to the preliminary payment of these materials for approximately 2 million euros.

Absence of prospectus

In accordance with the provisions of Article 211-3 of the General Regulations of the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), the issue will not give rise to a prospectus submitted to the AMF for approval.

Risk factors

The risk factors are described in the 2019 Universal Registration Document (chapter 3) filed with the AMF under number D.20-0351 on April 24, 2020 and available on the Company's website: www.abionyx.com and on the AMF website: www.amf-france.org.

About ABIONYX Pharma

ABIONYX Pharma is a new generation biotech company dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative therapies for patients. The biotech assets inherited from CERENIS Therapeutics constitute a rich portfolio of valuable programs for the treatment of metabolic diseases as well as with a HDL targeted drug delivery platform.

1 The categories of persons targeted in this issue are as follows:

Natural or legal persons (including companies), investment companies, trusts, investment funds or other investment vehicles of any form, under French or foreign law, who regularly invest in the pharmaceutical, biotechnological, cardiovascular and metabolic disease treatment or medical technology sector; and/or Companies, institutions or entities in any form, French or foreign, carrying on a significant part of their activity in these fields; and/or French or foreign investment service providers with equivalent status who are likely to guarantee the completion of a capital increase intended to be placed with the persons referred to in (i) and (ii) above and, in this context, to subscribe to the securities issued; and/or Directors (including officers), employees and members of any committee of the Company or one of its subsidiaries as well as any person (natural or legal) bound by a service or consulting contract with the Company or one of its subsidiaries.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201002005438/en/

Contacts:

NewCap

Investor relations

Louis-Victor Delouvrier

abionyx@newcap.eu

+33 (0)1 44 71 98 53



NewCap

Media relations

Nicolas Merigeau

abionyx@newcap.eu

+33 (0)1 44 71 94 98
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 23:50:48|Editor: huaxia

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TIRANA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) will allocate 70 million euros (82 million U.S. dollars) through a new program to support social inclusion in Albania, EU Ambassador to Albania Luigi Soreca said at the 5th edition of the Tirana Connectivity Forum 2020.

According to Soreca, the new EU program will strengthen social care services, improve inclusive education and broaden employment opportunities.

Soreca called it a "social emergency" that, according to surveys, nearly 40 percent of young people in Albania have a desire to emigrate.

This program, the first of its kind in the Balkans, will introduce a new employment scheme for young people, expand the coverage of welfare-to-work programs and target families most affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Soreca underlined that one of the EU's priorities is to help the socio-economic recovery of the Balkan region.

"We have allocated 26 million euros to a program that will support small businesses this year and next year. We will then help to re-employ people who were laid off during the crisis," Soreca said.

The Tirana Connectivity Forum covers connectivity, reforms and enlargement in southeastern Europe. It has been organized by the Cooperation and Development Institute in Tirana since 2015. (1 euro = 1.17 U.S. dollars) Enditem
Premier Daniel Andrews has publicly intervened in the contest to fill the seat in State Parliament left vacant by the resignation last week of Health Minister Jenny Mikakos.

Mr Andrews risked a backlash from his already restless Socialist Left powerbase by publicly calling on them to choose the first Indigenous Labor state MP when the faction gathers on Sunday to select their nominee to replace Ms Mikakos.

Prue Stewart with Kutcha Edwards in March after the government announced a redress scheme for Victoria's stolen generations. Credit:Simon Schluter

With internal party democracy still suspended in the wake of the Adem Somyurek branch-stacking scandal, the new MP will be chosen through a recommendation from the Premier to Labor's national executive, with the faction expecting Mr Andrews to respect the result of Sunday's ballot.

The Premiers gambit has raised the stakes in what was already a heated preselection contest as Socialist Left powerbrokers battled on behalf of their favoured candidates for the prize of Ms Mikakos' safe Northern Metropolitan upper house seat.
An idea thats been talked about in Labrador for years has moved one step closer to being a reality. The provincial government allocated $200,000 in the 2020 budget for a pre-feasibility study for a road to connect the north coast of Labrador to the Trans-Labrador Highway.

Julius Dicker, AngajukKak (mayor) of Nain, the most northern community in Labrador, told SaltWire he was surprised to hear the news and hes eager to see it move forward.

This has been something the combined councils have been asking for years, since before my time there, he told SaltWire from his home in Nain. Wednesday Its time for a road. We put forward resolution after resolution and its wonderful news theyre putting money aside for this.

Nain and all the other communities on the north coast of Labrador have no roads connecting them and are only accessible by sea, plane and  in winter  by snowmobile. Subsequently the cost of many goods and service in the region are much higher than other parts of the province.

Dicker said a road could change all that and he thinks the potential benefits would be worth it.

In the 1970s we never thought we would get direct phone lines and things like that and it happened, he said. A road would be a life changer here. With the way the economy is going, tourism is the big draw for the communities on the north coast, because of the pristine areas and connection to the Torngat park. A lot of positive would come out of it.

The 2020 budget also saw $39.8 million for paving on the existing Trans-Labrador Highway, which connects the other regions of Labrador to the island and Quebec.

Finance Minister Siobhan Coady said in her budget speech that paving of the highway is to be completed in the following two construction seasons.

The completion of the Trans-Labrador Highway is within sight Coady said. The final tender to complete paving of the highway between Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Southern Labrador was awarded this spring.

Other Labrador related announcements in the budget are money for upgrades to the Labrador Correctional Facility in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and $4.1 million for marine infrastructure improvements in Makkovik, which are expected to be completed next year.
LEWISBURG -- The state Supreme Court has affirmed the legality of awarding an Allegheny County railroad company a seven-year, multimillion dollar contract to operate five shortlines in central Pennsylvania.

In a 6-2 decision Thursday the court rejected the appeal of the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority (JRA) and affirmed a Commonwealth Court panel that a majority is determined by the number voting, not by those present.

The ruling validated the authoritys 7-3 vote in 2015 to award the operating contract.

The authoritys position is nine votes were needed because 16 members were present but six abstained. Five did so because their employers were shippers on the shortlines.

If the JRA intended nine votes were needed to carry any action, it could have amended its bylaws accordingly but it did not do so, the opinion stated.

The request for proposals to operate the shortlines also did not provide any indication nine votes would be required for action, it stated.

Pennsylvania follows the common law rules that action may be taken by a majority of members present and voting as long as there is quorum, the opinion authored by Justice Christine Donohue states.

Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor in a dissenting opinion found the Municipality Authorities Act requires all members physically present must be counted to determine a majority.

Justice Sallie Updyke Mundy agreed with Saylor but did not write an opinion.

The issue involves the authoritys vote to award the contract that included a five-year option to Carload Express Inc. of Oakmont.

Because Carload claimed the 7-3 vote was sufficient, the authority asked Clinton County Judge Michael F. Salisbury to decide what constituted a majority. He ruled nine.

But, a three-member Commonwealth Court panel overturned Salisbury ruling contracts could be awarded by the majority of members present and voting. The Supreme Court majority agreed.

Its a significant decision that needs to be fully examined and carefully considered by the JRA board, was the reaction Friday of executive director Jeffrey Stover. He declined further comment.

Although its 10-year contract with Susquehanna Union and Carload Co., which does business as North Shore Railroad Co., expired in 2017, the Northumberland-based company has continued to operate these shortlines over nearly 200 miles of authority track:

The Juniata Valley in the Lewistown area, Lycoming Valley between Avis and Muncy through Williamsport, Nittany & Bald Eagle between Lock Haven and Tyrone with links to Bellefonte and State College, Shamokin Valley between Sunbury and Shamokin and North Shore between Northumberland and the Berwick area.

North Shore president and CEO Jeb Stotter said he was disheartened with the Supreme Court ruling but added to him the vote should have never occurred because of what he called the inappropriate actions of a rogue board member.

It has a suit pending in Clinton County court over the alleged actions of Donald Purcell that had been stayed pending the Supreme Court decision.

It raises unethical conduct allegations about the former board member from Northumberland County who submitted his raw score ranking of the three finalists with no points for Susquehanna Union.

He testified in a sworn deposition he planned to give it 60 points out of a possible 100. Had he done so, the rankings of Carload and Susquehanna Union would have been the same.

The suit also accuses Purcell of having improper contact with another shortline operator that was eliminated early in the process and with North Shore employees despite being advised to stop.

The request for proposals listed Stover as the sole contact person, the suit states.

Despite the Supreme Court ruling the shortlines will continue operating as they have been because by agreement between the parties the new contract will not take effect until all litigation is resolved.

Attempts to reach Carload officials were unsuccessful.

READ MORE: Seven is enough: Authority cant deny railroad contract to winning bidder, Pa. court says
- Jubilee SG Raphael Tuju said the party's national management committee had recommended the removal of DP William Ruto as the deputy party leader

- The powerful official regretted the move saying he wished the coalition would not have reached such a point as he accused Ruto of "power grab"

- The CS without portfolio's remarks came a day after the DP was accused by President Uhuru Kenyatta's allies of staging a coup at the party's headquarters in absence of his boss

- Tanga Tanga politicians, however, rubbished claims they orchestrated a coup in the ruling outfit arguing they were bonafide members

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The wrangles in the ruling Jubilee Party have reached a new high after Secretary-General Raphael Tuju barred Deputy President William Ruto from accessing the outfit's offices in Pangani.

William Ruto (second left) giving a briefing regarding the Msabweni by-election as Tuju (r) and other members look on. Photo: Jubilee Party.

Source: Twitter

Tuju said the national management committee had recommended the removal of the second in command as the deputy party leader in a move that will likely increase tension in Jubilee.

While addressing the press on Friday, October 2, the powerful official regretted the move saying he wished the coalition would not have reached such a point as he accused Ruto of "power grab".

"We never wished to get to this point. We serve one president at a time. The party headquarters is not going to be allowed to be theatre of confrontations . DP (Ruto) as self declared 2022 presidential candidate will not be allowed to use party office as centre of operalisation of 2022 campaign," a visibly angry Tuju declared.

Jubilee SG Raphael Tuju speaking at a past event. Photo: Jubilee Party.

Source: UGC

Snubbed COVID-19 conference

The former Rarieda MP and now a Cabinet Secretary without a portfolio questioned why Ruto missed the national COVID-19 conference yet he had been invited.

"During COVID-19 conference, his seat remained conspicuously empty throughout the event although he was included in the programme to make remarks according to the state protocol then invite the president to make statements. From such travesty, the only thing we have received from DPs camp are tweets from his allies rubbing more salt into the injury.

"In many days, weeks and months, we have seen the DP run around the country in the so called hustler political rallies in churches, markets and roadsides, up to now, the vast majority of those who serve this party and the president have heeded the call by the president that we should not put the country in a campaign mode so early so that the country can concentrate on human interest development agenda of this nation," Tuju said.

Jubilee Party "coup"

Tuju's remarks came a day after Ruto was accused by President Uhuru Kenyatta's allies of staging a coup at the party's headquarters in absence of his boss who is away on an official visit to France.

The Tanga Tanga politicians, however, rubbished claims they orchestrated a coup in the ruling party arguing they were bonafide members.

"May I say, this is not a coup of the party because you cannot cause a coup in your own party, House or government. Therefore, let me put to rest your fears," Kandara MP Alice Wahome, a vocal Ruto supporter and fierce Uhuru critic argued.

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Hamilton Zoos notorious Sumatran tiger, Oz, died on Wednesday after suffering from serious renal complications.

The 15-year-old tiger had been a part of the Hamilton Zoos pride since 2013, but the animal made headlines in 2015 when he mauled senior zookeeper Samantha Lynda Kudeweh, 43, to death.

While Ozs death has brought back painful memories for many, Hamilton City Council CEO Richard Briggs says the incident has taught staff and council you cant be complacent with wild animals.

On September 20, 2015, Kudeweh was killed not long after she had fed Oz, who was in the main tiger den at 9am.

After placing the tigers' meat in the "feed flap" in the den of an area called the "Old Tiger House", she left, but did not close any of the gates between the outside enclosure and the den, allowing Oz to continue to be able to move freely between the two areas.

Kudeweh returned to the tiger enclosure at 10am to get bamboo to feed the zoo's red pandas. It was at that point she was killed.

Her body was found in the main enclosure with Oz sitting next to it.

The incident sparked a Worksafe investigation and a court case.

Richard says the council stands by the statement that Kudeweh should have never died and takes full responsibility for not having in place the right levels of control.

While the zoo was working on a number of improvements at the time, her death highlighted that in high risk areas you need to go hard and fast in putting those practices in place, he said.

The unfortunate passing of Kudeweh highlighted that you just cant take your time with these things. You cant be complacent, Richard says.

There were a number of recommendations made that we have improved, but there was also a need for engineering controls which basically means that no matter whether someone is doing what they should do or not, everyone deserves the right to go home at the end of the day."

Since then, he says, they have implemented improvements, such as, interlocked gates, removing trees, putting in better security systems, and better fencing.

Independent experts also did a broader review of the zoo to make sure the other class one (dangerous) animals and other animals were safe themselves as well as the community and staff.

When asked if Briggs was confident an incident like this will never happen again, he told Stuff he believes everything that they have done at the zoo is best practice, but they are also aiming to improve.

What it highlighted was that no matter how good you are you need to continue to be vigilant you need to stand up to make sure council is taking all their responsibilities appropriately in terms of keeping you safe as well.

He says since Kudewehs death more staff are also voicing their concerns to council when something isnt right or could put their safety at risk. This holds council to account for their own safety as well.

Briggs praised Kudeweh, a mother of two.

She was an exceptional person and an exceptional leader and zoo curator and we should make sure that we honour her memory by continuing to be the best zoo we can be at Hamilton Zoo and all other zoos in the world to ensure a tragedy doesnt happen like this again.

Sam Kudeweh was very well liked and popular because she was very good at her job and extremely good with the animals. It was a huge loss for a number of people in the organisation.

On Wednesday both the Zoo and council farewelled Oz online, citing some of Ozs quirky behaviours and the important part he played in the international breeding scheme.

Zoo Director Dr Baird Fleming says 15-year-old Oz became unwell over the past week and tests on Monday indicated serious renal issues, a common complication in older tigers.

He says Oz was buried on-site at Hamilton Zoo in a special place reserved for all zoo animal whanau.

They made the choice not the mention Kudewehs death in their online farewell to Oz, he says.

Out of respect for Sam, her family and keepers past and present, we chose not to mention Ozs involvement due to the sensitivities involved. We made Sams family aware of the news privately, Dr Baird says.

He says the team were still feeling the loss deeply for both Oz and Kudeweh.

Oz was born in November 2004 at Tel Aviv Zoo in Israel and transferred to Auckland Zoo in 2006. An important part of the international breeding programme, Oz fathered Auckland Zoos first Sumatran tiger cubs with Molek in 2008.

He transferred to Hamilton Zoo in 2013 where he joined Sali and fathered cubs Kirana and Kembali. Kirana remains at Hamilton Zoo with Sali and Mencari, while Kembali transferred to Adelaide Zoo in 2018 for breeding.

Sumatran tigers are critically endangered with less than 400 remaining in the wild on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Numbers are declining due to habitat loss from palm-oil deforestation and poaching.

-Stuff/Sharnae Hope
(Alliance News) - Moody's Investor Service earlier this week assigned a Prime-1 short term rating to Rio Tinto Finance USA Inc, while affirming all Rio Tinto PLC's ratings.

The credit ratings agency affirmed Rio's P-1 short term ratings and A2 senior unsecured ratings. The P-1 short term ratings for Rio Tinto Finance Canada Inc, Rio Tinto Finance Ltd and Rio Tinto Finance PLC are withdrawn, Moody's noted, as these companies are no longer part of Rio's commercial paper programme.

The outlook for the miner is stable.

"The affirmation of the Rio Tinto group's ratings reflects the resiliency of the company's performance in various price environments, particularly its iron ore operations which are the driving force in revenue, Ebitda, and cash flow generation" said Carol Cowan, Moody's senior vice president and lead analyst for the Rio Tinto group.

Moody's added: "The group's excellent liquidity position also supports the ratings."

The A2 ratings for companies within the Rio Tinto group "considers a number of key attributes", Moody's said. This includes its "large scale and low cost" operations across its major segments, particularly its iron ore operations in Australia. Moody's also noted Rio's "diversity of mineral and metals exposures and leading positions in a number of these."

"Rio Tinto's operating scale, productivity enhancements, cost profile and strong balance sheet provide resilience to market volatility. This, combined with financial discipline evidenced through changes in its dividend policy and debt reduction in recent years, together with a very strong earnings performance in 2019 has allowed for meaningful improvement in the group's debt protection metrics and leverage position," Moody's added.

The credit ratings agency said aluminium and copper prices have improved from lows reached earlier in 2020 as the coronavirus spread, while iron ore prices have remained high supported by continued strong steel production in China and production issues elsewhere in the world.

"Consequently, Rio Tinto is expected to continue to maintain a strong financial profile in 2020," Moody's said.

"The company's financial metrics are strong for the rating, however the volatility in the commodities in which it participates is an important consideration."

Shares in Rio Tinto were 0.5% lower in London on Friday at 4,627.00 pence each.

By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
The electoral reform dreams of ranked ballot proponents in Toronto have been delayed once more, with city council agreeing that complications due to COVID-19 make it impossible to deliver in time for the 2022 municipal election.

That is a hard motion for me to move, said Shelley Carroll, the councillor for Don Valley North, who had pushed for the city to switch to ranked ballots for 2022. Its no secret to most people that this is something Ive wanted for a long time.

Advocates say ranked ballots can improve the tenor of campaigning and encourage a more diverse field of candidates to run and stay in a race until the end, since it removes the pressure to withdraw to avoid splitting the vote.

Council was set to vote for staff to halt all work on the initiative in the wake of the pandemic, but Carroll introduced an amendment asking them to report back by the end of 2023 on how to get it done for 2026. It passed by 18 votes to 6.

The move to halt was recommended by Ulli Watkiss, the retiring city clerk, and a motion recommending that was passed by the citys executive committee last week.

Longtime advocate Dave Meslin sought to give the delay a positive spin, noting the vote showed strong support for an eventual reckoning with the topic.

As long as youre moving in the right direction then youre winning, said Meslin, who founded the Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto (RaBIT) advocacy group. It always takes longer than you think.

Democratic reform will continue to move forward no matter how much Toronto city council continues to drag their feet, said Meslin, who quit RaBIT five years ago to take the reform push provincewide.

Ranked ballots allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate secures more than half the vote, the candidate with the least votes is removed from the running and the votes they secured are given out to each voters second choice. The process is repeated until a candidate secures a majority.

Under the current first-past-the-post system, the eventual winner can emerge victorious from a crowded field of candidates with much less than half of the vote.

Several councillors spoke out in favour of the reform Friday, saying that their constituents often express frustration with the current system.

When I talk to voters, particularly younger voters, I think there are people who are disenfranchised with this (current) system, when they see time and time again the same electoral outcomes despite a deep desire for genuine change, said Brad Bradford, a first-term councillor who represents Beaches-East York.

He said there are a range of other ways to improve the system, which include allowing permanent residents to vote and introducing public campaign financing and term limits.

I think we should be taking steps to level that playing field, to bring forward more diverse voices, new voices, new perspectives. I think thats healthy, I think thats good for democracy.

Kristyn Wong-Tam, who represents Toronto Centre, said the current makeup of council, which is predominantly white and male, does not reflect Torontos diversity.

We simply dont look like the folks who are riding the transit system every single day, and yet thats who we want to serve and thats who we purport to serve, she said.

Wong-Tam said ranked ballots are going to be a game-changer once we get there, resulting in a more engaged electorate and an elevation of civic discourse.

She said the negativity in todays politics was a primary objection raised by women who took part in her Women Win TO project in 2018 that encouraged their involvement.

Opponents on council argued that ranked ballots would confuse voters, especially those for whom English is not their first language, with Stephen Holyday (Etobicoke Centre) arguing that if it aint broke, dont fix it.

Anthony Perruzza, councillor for Humber River-Black Creek, argued ranked ballots would in fact reduce turnout among racialized communities and make it harder to dislodge incumbents.

You want to suppress the vote in areas where you want to get diversity, do ranked ballots, he said. Make it more confusing for people who have language and literacy barriers, make it more complicated for them. Give them a real, real complex table or formula to go into an election, and then they will all stay home.

Reform advocate Meslin took issue with that argument.

I think its really racist to suggest that any particular ethnicity will have trouble counting to three, he said. Voting reform gives more power to voters and takes power away from politicians, and a lot of them are scared of that.

Elsewhere in Ontario

Ranked ballots were used in the 2018 municipal election in London, Ont., in which a young Black woman joined council for the first time in that municipalitys history, and young, gay and Indigenous candidates also won seats.

At least two other cities in the province, Kingston and Cambridge, are working to introduce the method for their 2022 elections.

Danielle Manton, the city clerk for Cambridge, said she plans to report back to that citys council on the viability of a ranked ballot vote by early January at the latest.

Im going to give council all the information I can collect to allow council to make an informed decision, she said by phone.

Manton said the city would need to request proposals for companies that supply voting equipment capable of counting ranked ballots.

Cambridge is days away from a ward byelection that was postponed in the early days of the pandemic, with voting restricted to a city hall polling station. The city is offering curbside voting and extended advance voting. Voters can request in-home voting, but no one has yet asked for that, Manton said, with the vote on Monday.

Kingston has not altered Dec. 2018 instructions to staff to prepare for ranked ballots, but must still hold an open house and a public meeting on the topic before passing the required bylaw.

Consultations planned for mid-2020 were delayed by COVID-19, spokesperson Jen Pinarski said, but staff will make every reasonable effort to involve residents, including by hosting livestreamed and closed-captioned webinars, phone, email and mail-in surveys and small group information sessions, if permitted by public health requirements.

Burlington council this week said it would hold public consultations on ranked ballots for 2022.

All municipalities that plan to switch to ranked ballots in 2022 must have their process in place by May 1, 2021, according to provincial regulation. Elections are due to take place on Oct. 24, 2022.
Union minister Raosaheb



Danve on Friday said it was not true that Congress leader was pushed by the police in Uttar Pradesh when he was on his way to meet the family of Hathras victim as he fell down due to the jostling crowd.

The BJP leader was speaking to reporters outside his residence here.

"It is not true that the police pushed the Congress leader. He fell down due to the jostling mob," Danve said.

"Visuals on television and social media showed that Gandhi must have fallen down due to themob not because of the police," the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution added.

and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were on Thursday detained by the Uttar Pradesh police after they were stopped on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida while walking towards Hathras to meet the victim's family.

fell down in the scuffle after police tried to stop him and his supporters from proceeding on the Yamuna Expressway. Pictures of the incident were shared by the party, which accused the police of manhandling the leader.

The Shiv Sena and the NCP, which share power with the Congress in Maharashtra, also criticised the over the alleged manhandling.

Replying to a question on Maratha quota, Danve said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government failed in effectively defending the Maratha reservation before the Supreme Court.

"They made head of cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation Ashok Chavan a scapegoat over the issue," he alleged.

"If TamilNadu can breach the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation, why can't Maharashtra? Reservation in Tamil Nadu is 69 per cent, while Maharashtra got a stay over it," he said.

Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is spearheading the movement for quota to the community, staged a protest outside Danve's residence on Friday.

(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 flagbearer for the All Peoples Congress Dr Hassan Ayariga has stated that should he win power his government will abolish the tradition of party manifestos.

This he says would be replaced with a national development plan that will cut across any new government that will come to power.

He explained that political parties would only be made to provide a manifesto tailored towards what specific part of the plan they wish to address coupled with the policy framework in the same regard.

Dr Ayariga made this declaration during the outdooring of his partys Nation manifest as well as his running mate

He said politicians should stop bringing out manifestos. We do not want to see politicians with manifestos anymore because these are manifestos that are lies and promises that they cannot achieve.

He went on the national development plan will be the manifesto of Ghana. So, if you want to rule Ghana all you need to do is tell us that this is our manifesto how do you intend to resource the manifesto or get us enough resources to be able to fulfill the national development plan.'

Because NDC will come and build something and leave it. NPP will come, abandon NDC projects, and start their own projects. We are wasting tax-payers money. So, when we have a national development plan, this will give us the blueprint of what we intend to do in the next 10years to 20 years. So, politicians will come, tell us how you are going to finance it. We dont need your promises anymore, we dont need your policies anymore.

Dr Ayariga insisted that the APC has a perfect picture of the roadmap of how we intend to develop our country from now till the next 20 years. So, that is an important plan that we must have, a roadmap for us to become developed and sustainable.

---starrfm
KYODO NEWS - Oct 2, 2020 - 14:30 | All, World, Japan

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian agreed Thursday in Paris to strengthen cooperation in response to the global coronavirus pandemic and over maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The ministers also confirmed close cooperation in monitoring activities at sea to prevent North Korean vessels from engaging in illicit ship-to-ship cargo transfers, seen as a method of evading U.N. sanctions on the country over its missile and nuclear programs, the ministry said.

Tokyo has been looking to coordinate with European partners in steps against China's rising assertiveness in the South and East China seas. The ministers agreed that their countries' positions over matters in the region are the same, according to the ministry.

Japan and France, which has overseas territories in the Indian and Pacific oceans, have stepped up their security ties, conducting joint military exercises at sea and holding bilateral foreign and defense ministers' talks on a regular basis.

While in France, the second stop on a four-nation tour that also includes Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Motegi also confirmed cooperation with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in a teleconference on coronavirus responses and the realization of a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, the ministry said.

Motegi initially planned to meet Maas in person in Germany during his European trip but the German minister had to enter self-isolation after coming in close contact with a person who tested positive for the coronavirus, a Japanese government source said.

In the talks with the European ministers, Motegi also requested their support in settling the issue of North Korea's past abductions of Japanese nationals, the ministry said.

As Raychelle Awuor Omamo, Kenya's Cabinet secretary for foreign affairs, was also in France, Motegi took the occasion to convey in person Japan's intention to cooperate toward strengthening the African country's health care system and response to infectious diseases, the ministry said.

Earlier Thursday, Motegi also met with Audrey Azoulay, director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and agreed to closely cooperate in reforming the U.N. body, the ministry said.

The talks came after South Korea requested UNESCO to have the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining" removed as a World Heritage site, saying it fails to recognize the suffering of Koreans who were forced to work at some of the facilities during World War II. Japan has criticized the move as unacceptable.

The dispute is one of several that Japan has been involved in with Asian neighbors at the body over issues related to wartime history.

Motegi is the first Japanese Cabinet member to travel abroad since Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took office Sept. 16 in the country's first leadership change in nearly eight years.

He will hold talks with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud on Saturday in Riyadh and travel to Kuwait to offer condolences over the death of Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who died Tuesday at age 91, according to the ministry.
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A luxurious hotel which was originally built by the fifth Duke of Devonshire in 1780 as the centrepiece of a Georgian spa development has finally opened its doors after a 17-year renovation project.

Buxton Crescent in Buxton, Derbyshire, had an initial completion date of 2007 and a budget of 32million - but a series of unforeseen hurdles saw that rocket to 70million and resulted in a 13 year delay.

However, the Grade I listed building has now reopened its doors once more, and now boasts 81 tastefully decorated bedrooms, an indulgent spa and three swimming pools - one of which is a newly refurbished Victorian thermal pool filled with heated Buxton mineral water.

The current Duke of Devonshire said he believes his ancestor built the stunning Crescent to emulate the facilities in Bath after he and his wife spent a lot of time there, reports the BBC.

 Slide me  Buxton Crescent, a luxurious hotel which was originally built by the fifth Duke of Devonshire in 1780 (pictured left) as the centrepiece of a Georgian spa development, has finally reopened its doors after a 17-year renovation project (pictured right)

The spa features a beautiful roof top pool (pictured) as well as an indoor and heated outdoor area with two integrated jacuzzi zones and a sauna

Speaking in 2017, he said: 'I'm afraid when it was built by my ancestor, it was not built to a very high standard, so [the developers] have had to put that right,' adding that, when finished, it would be 'the jewel in the crown of Buxton' and put the town and the county 'even more on the map'.

In the 1970s Derbyshire County Council took over more than half of the building, using it as offices and a library, while High Peak Borough Council has owned the other half of the building since 1993. Its Natural Baths were a public swimming pool from 1937 until 1972.

When developer Trevor Osborne took on the building and started work to convert it into a five star hotel in 2003, it had stood empty since 1992.

But the project was far from plain-sailing, with rotting timbers and protected springs running through the natural spa town causing all sorts of issues. A seven-year legal battle over planning permission dragged on until 2010.

When developer Trevor Osborne took on the building and started work to convert it into a five star hotel in 2003, it had stood empty since 1992. Pictured: one of the newly renovated dining rooms used for functions

The hotel's contemporary restaurant serves classic British cuisine with an international flair and a focus on local, seasonal produce

Bar and lounge menus are available from which you can choose light snacks and salads to traditional British comfort food

To make matters worse, one of the investors in the project, the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), which was due to put 5million into the pot, was disbanded in 2011. Thankfully Derbyshire County Council stepped in and offered a loan.

Other funding came from the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, High Peak Borough Council and Mr Osborne's own company.

Council leader Anne Western said at the time: 'The Crescent is of national historic significance and its restoration will put Buxton and the north of the county back on the map. This project is too important to Buxton and the rest of Derbyshire to fail.'

'I think when I agreed to take this project on I must have been young and foolish,' Mr Osborne previously told the BBC.

Rooms range from a traditional double to 'attic superior' rooms with characterful original features, spacious junior suites and a magnificant Crescent Suite (pictured). One night's bed and breakfast starts at 165, going up to 315 per night for a suite

Buxton Crescent's impressive Crescent Suite features a roll top bath (pictured) where you can relax while sipping Champagne and enjoying the view, as well as statement four-poster kingsize beds

Many of the characterful bedrooms boast original features, such as these attractive wood beams, as well as modern cons and stylish bathrooms

'It was difficult to come up with designs which would safeguard the water. When I took the project on I was advised there were three springs - we found at least 23.

'We have had just about every difficulty you could have with a building project like this.'

Having finally opened its doors, Buxton Crescent promises 'a unique, luxury spa experience, combining traditional beauty therapies with wellness and holistic treatments', according to its operators, Ensana.

An ideal base from which to explore the stunning Peak District National Park, the hotel offers a range of wellness and holistic treatments, from full body massages to an Indian head massage, as well as traditional beauty therapies.

The spa features a beautiful roof top pool as well as an indoor and heated outdoor area with two integrated jacuzzi zones and a sauna.

Having finally opened its doors, Buxton Crescent promises 'a unique, luxury spa experience, combining traditional beauty therapies with wellness and holistic treatments', according to its operators, Ensana

An ideal base from which to explore the stunning Peak District National Park, the hotel offers a range of wellness and holistic treatments, from full body massages to an Indian head massage, as well as traditional beauty therapies

Buxton Crescent boasts three swimming pools - one of which is a newly refurbished Victorian thermal pool filled with heated Buxton mineral water

The current Duke of Devonshire said he believes his ancestor built the stunning Crescent to emulate the facilities in Bath after he and his wife spent a lot of time there

Its contemporary restaurant serves classic British cuisine with an international flair and a focus on local, seasonal produce.

Bar and lounge menus are available from which you can choose light snacks and salads to traditional British comfort food.

Rooms range from a traditional double to 'attic superior' rooms with characterful original features, spacious junior suites and a magnificant Crescent Suite with a roll top bath and statement four-poster kingsize beds.

One night's bed and breakfast starts at 165, going up to 315 per night for a suite, while a Crescent Spa Taster package is priced from 252.50, and an Ensana Relax and Beauty Spa package starts at 347.50.

For more information visit https://www.ensanahotels.com/buxton/en
For Xavier, an eight-year-old boy with autism, the special stroller he uses is like a shelter from the noisy storm.

He relies pretty heavily on that stroller when we go out. Thats his safe place, so he can deal with the world, said his grandmother, Lori Patterson.

Last week, someone stole it  leaving Xavier heartbroken and Patterson wondering how shell find a new one for him.

When she told him the stroller was gone, she said, He went into total meltdown. He had a really rough time. Until the police officer came here (Tuesday), he hardly slept at all. He said, Im so worried, Im so worried.

Patterson and Xavier live in south St. Catharines; she believes the stroller was stolen last Friday morning.

Usually they keep it inside the house. She said she suffers chronic pain, and when they came home on the Thursday night she forgot to bring it in off the front porch.

Autism is a spectrum condition, and everyone deals with it differently. Patterson said Xavier is triple exceptional  gifted in some things, has cognitive delay in others and also has attention issues, so he needs one-on-one care.

To meet him, he fakes it so well you wouldnt realize sometimes that everything around him is too much for his senses to handle, she said. Hell tell me, Nana theres too much chaos in my head.

But hell have a conversation with you, and his memory is exceptional.

Sometimes she will cover the stroller while he is in it, if he needs solitude: The stroller, if we go anywhere  out for dinner, out for shopping  he uses it to get away when things get too busy, too bright, theres too much noise.

Thats his safe space.

When a police officer arrived, she said, she was able to say to Xavier, See, shes here, shes going to keep us safe. Were OK. Then he actually slept that night, that was good.

Through Facebook, several people responded saying they had seen a man pushing what looked like the stroller, with items inside it. Its like a jogging stroller and can hold up to 90 kilograms.

A new stroller can cost between US$1,000 and $3,000, Patterson said, though buying a used one is an option if she can find one.

Patterson started a GoFundMe page hoping to raise the money to buy another stroller but admitted Its a really strange concept to ask people you dont know to pay for something.

If the old one is recovered, she said, Now that Ive heard where its been and what happened to it Im not sure if I even want it back because I dont know how I can clean it.

Its a pandemic, who knows what its been exposed to. I know it sounds crazy, because I need a stroller.

For now, Xavier will stay home until she can get another stroller.

We can go in the car, but hes not going to want to go out anywhere. We wont be walking downtown like we normally do, Patterson said.

On Thursday, police issued an arrest warrant for Kristian Adam Smith, 44, of no fixed address. He will face a charge of theft under $5,000.

He is described as white with a unique facial tattoo of a bird. He is 5-foot-7 with a slender build, weighing about 150 pounds. He has scruffy black and grey facial hair, brown eyes and black and grey medium-length wavy hair.

Police said Smiths location is unknown, but he has ties to St. Catharines.

They ask anyone with information to contact investigators at 905-688-4111 and ask for dispatch.
A top official with Chinas state news agency wrote on Thursday that President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, have paid the price for failing to take adequate steps, personally and presidentially, to stop the spread of a pandemic Mr. Trump has labeled the China Virus.

President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19, said Hu Xijin, editor of Chinas Global Times, in Tweet to his more than 400,000 followers. It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection.

Mr. Trumps allies  led by Senator Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia who is up for re-election  hit back hard, blaming Beijing for failing to stem the outbreak quickly and hiding the extent and lethality of the pandemic from other countries, turning what might have been a local problem into an international health crisis.

WE MUST HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE, she wrote on Twitter in all capital letters.

The sentiment is in line with Mr. Trumps efforts to blame the broader pandemic and its economic impact on the United States on China rather than his own uneven response, including his reluctance to wear a mask.
Murders in New York City rose 79 percent last month compared to last year, and shooting incidents soared 127 percent, according to new NYPD crime statistics.

The citywide crime stats released on Friday show that New York's summer crime wave continued into September, as the city continues to grapple with a disturbing rise in violence.

Tensions in the city remain high after months of coronavirus lockdowns, economic misery and unrest in the streets, causing petty disputes to frequently escalate quickly into violence. As well, police say that gang violence has been a major factor in the rise in shootings.

There were 152 shooting incidents across the city in September, compared to just 67 such incidents in the same month last year, a 127 percent rise, the data shows. Over the first nine months of 2020, shootings were up 91 percent.

Murders in New York City rose 79 percent last month compared to the same month last year

There were 152 shooting incidents across the city in September, compared to just 67 such incidents in the same month last year

Also last month, there were 51 murders in New York, compared to 29 in September of last year, an increase of 79 percent.

Through September 30, there were 344 murders in the city, compared to 246 murders in the first nine months of 2019, an increase of 40 percent.

Burglaries also rose an alarming 38 percent in September, and were up 42 percent for the year through September 30.

Overall, index crimes rose just 2 percent in September, with the rise in shootings and murders counter-balanced in part by declines in hate crimes (down 33 percent so far this year) and reported rapes (down 19 percent in September).

Police say that sex crimes continue to go under-reported, and urge victims to come forward by contacting the NYPD Special Victims Division.

NYPD officers stand guard during a protest to demand justice for Daniel Prude, on September 3, 2020 in New York City. Violent crime in the city is up sharply from last year

In a press release, the NYPD touted its strong enforcement efforts, saying that gun arrests rose 98 percent in September from the same month last year.

'NYPD officers have achieved this record level of enforcement despite the approximately 2,500 officer reduction in manpowerfrom attrition and no new academy classesas well as a 59 percent cut to the uniformed overtime budget,' the department said.

Previously, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea has directly blamed Mayor Bill de Blasio's $1 billion cut to the NYPD budget for the city's recent surge in crime.

The $1 billion budget cut resulted in policing funds being reallocated to education and social services over the next year.

PC Dermot Shea (above) praised the NYPD for increased illegal gun enforcement

'You think back, crime follows certain patterns and trends. Certainly, we see upticks if violence in the summer... To have this crazy time happen this year, certainly, and leading to a defunding, it's really hurt,' Shea told Fox Business Network last week.

'This defunding movement at a time when we know crime generally takes an upward trajectory in the summer has been a double-whammy.'

Shea said the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the court system and legislative factors such as bail reform had also played a role in surging crime rates.

On Friday, Shea praised the men and women of the NYPD for the sharp rise in arrests for illegal guns in September.

'Despite the unparalleled challenges they face every day, our officers continue to engage with the community and zero in on the drivers of crime,' Shea said in a statement.

'I thank the men and women of the NYPD who work relentlessly, day-in and day-out, to keep New Yorkers in every neighborhood safe. We will continue to address crime upticks and work in close partnership with the residents we are sworn to serve,' he added.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea has directly blamed Mayor Bill de Blasio's (above) $1 billion cut to the NYPD budget for the city's recent surge in crime

Across the country, most major cities have seen a sharp rise in violent crimes since late May.

On Thursday, actor Rick Moranis, 67, got an unfortunate taste of New York City's rising violence when a man punched him in the face in a shocking unprovoked sidewalk attack on the Upper West Side.

Video released by NYPD shows the 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids' star walking southbound on Central Park West near West 70th Street at about 7.30am on Thursday.

Suddenly, an unidentified man wearing an 'I Love NY' hoodie strikes Moranis in the head, knocking him to the ground.

NYPD did not reveal the victim as Moranis in the public alert, but law enforcement confirmed his identity to the New York Post.
BOSTON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent Emerson College poll commissioned by the Association of Marshall Scholars finds that the strong majority (61%) of Americans believe a free trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom would strengthen US global leadership. Fewer Americans, but still a majority think that such an agreement would strengthen the US economy (54%) and the US job market (50%). Americans in the Midwest most strongly think that such an agreement would strengthen the US economy (59%) and job market (62%) while those in the Northeast most strongly think an agreement would strengthen US global leadership (62%).

Americans 3 to 1 (75%) find it very important or somewhat important that the US or the UK develop a COVID-19 vaccine before other countries such as Russia, China, and Germany.

"Over the last three years, the American public has shown strong support for a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom," said Dr. Nell Breyer, Executive Director of the Association of Marshall Scholars. "This continued support demonstrates that despite a period of deep global uncertainty, Americans recognize the democratic norms, shared values, rule of law, and common history that have helped anchor the US-UK alliance."

The majority (60%) of Americans believe the US-UK alliance is even more important than it was five years ago. This has increased four percent from 2019, when 56% of Americans said it was more important than it was five years ago. 47% of Americans see the British as the US's most valuable foreign partner and 37% reported shared democratic norms and values as the tie that binds the two countries. Regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, 48% of Americans think the president in the next term should make the US-UK alliance a priority in the first 100 days of their term.

Americans are split on the impact of the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union on its alliance with the US: 28% think it has been strengthened, 24% think it has been weakened, and 21% think it has had no impact. The plurality (38%) of Americans who live in the West think Brexit has weakened the US-UK alliance.

Americans envision all aspects of the partnership with the British deepening or staying the same post-Brexit, including economic, security, defense, and diplomatic ties, as well as cultural exchange. A combined 90% of respondents view a good relationship with the US and UK as very important (58%) or somewhat important (32%).

The results of the year's survey will be announced at the 2020 Marshall Forum on Cities with a conversation between 1998 Marshall Scholar Sewell Chan of the LA Times and Tom Fletcher CMG, Principal of Hertford College, Oxford University. The Marshall Forum will be hosted virtually by the Association of Marshall Scholars on Oct 2, 2020 at 1:30 pm ET. For more information visit: https://marshallscholars.org/forum2020

Full results and cross-tabulation data available:

https://marshallscholars.org/news-and-updates/2020-Poll.

Methodology

All respondents interviewed in this study were part of a fully representative sample of N= 1,084 (sample size). Data were weighted by US parameters. The margin of error for the sample is +/- 2.9%. The survey was administered using landline, cell phones and online via Amazon MTurk and IVR and was conducted between September 13 and 14, 2020.

About Emerson College Polling

Emerson College Polling is part of the School of Communication at Emerson College. Emerson College Polling has been ranked as one of the most accurate collegiate pollsters by Bloomberg News and Nate Silvers' 538. Emerson College Polling is a Charter Member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative.

About the Association of Marshall Scholars

The Association of Marshall Scholars fosters personal and professional relationships among Marshall Scholars, supports and publicizes the aims of the Marshall Scholarship Program, and enhances the experience of Marshall Scholars Studying in the United Kingdom, thereby strengthening the enduring relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States.

SOURCE The Association of Marshall Scholars

Related Links

http://www.marshallscholars.org


MOSCOW, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia's sovereign wealth fund, announces the delivery of the first batch of the Russian vaccine against coronavirus, Sputnik V, to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a human adenoviral vectors platform which is the only one in the world that has proven long-term safety and effectiveness.

Vaccination of volunteers in Venezuela will begin in coming days as part of double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine. Venezuela has become the first country in Latin America to start clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine after its registration in Russia with 2000 people taking part in the trial.

On August 11, the Sputnik V vaccine developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology was registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia and became the world's first registered vaccine against COVID-19 based on the human adenoviral vectors platform. Detailed information on the Sputnik V vaccine, the technological platform of human adenoviral vectors, and other details are available at sputnikvaccine.com

On September 4, a research paper on the results of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine was published in The Lancet, one of the leading international medical journals. Post-registration clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine involving 40,000 volunteers are currently ongoing. More than 60,000 volunteers have applied to take part in post-registration trials. The first results of these trials are expected to be published in October-November 2020.

RDIF has received orders for more than 1.2 billion doses of the Sputnik V vaccine for 2020-2021.More than 50 countries in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, Europe and CIS have applied for Sputnik V. RDIF has already announced supply agreements with Mexico for 32 million doses; with Brazil for up to 50 million doses; India - 100 million doses; Uzbekistan - for up to 35 million doses; Nepal - 25 million doses.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said:

"Venezuela is the first country in Latin America to take part in foreign clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine. Trials are already ongoing in Belarus with more of them planned in a number of other countries, including Brazil, India and the United Arab Emirates. While other vaccine producers use new and less studied approaches, namely monkey adenovirus and mRNA, and face obstacles in clinical trials, Sputnik V shows growing trust and demand in many regions, including Latin America. The vaccine will help the people of Venezuela in their fight against coronavirus and we ready to support other partners in the region."

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF's management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling more than RUB1.9 tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 800,000 people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia's GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at www.rdif.ru

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1140939/Russian_Direct_Investment_Fund_Logo.jpg
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Despite increased use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have had significantly fewer consultations with primary care doctors and markedly fewer assessments of common cardiac risk factors, according to a new study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The study found that the number of primary care consultations fell by more than 21 percent during the second quarter of 2020, compared with the average second-quarter visit volume from the second quarters in 2018 and 2019. That drop in 2020 occurred despite a large, simultaneous surge in telemedicinewhich increased from almost zero in prior years to about 35 percent of primary care visits from April through June 2020.

The study, based on an ongoing audit of outpatient care in the U.S., also found that the frequency of blood pressure and cholesterol assessments dropped by about 50 percent and 37 percent, respectively. These assessments, important tools for detecting elevated cardiovascular disease risks, typically require in-person care.

The results suggest a potential collateral effect of the COVID-19 pandemicgreater undiagnosed cardiovascular disease and less risk-factor monitoring than typically takes place through office-based primary care.

The study will be published October 2 in JAMA Network Open.

"These results indicate that there has been a significant decline in primary care use, at least in the early phases of the pandemic, and that telemedicine is an imperfect substitute for many office-based consultations," says study lead author G. Caleb Alexander, MD, a practicing internist and professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused directly more than one million deaths worldwide, more than 200,000 have occurred in the U.S. Social distancing policies as well as health-system restructuring to prioritize COVID care and reduce the potential for health care-related transmission have led to sharp reductions in the activities of ordinary life including routine doctor's visits. During this period, there has also been increased reliance on telemedicine, in which doctors consult with their patients via telephone or the internet, but the precise impact of telemedicine on the level and content of primary care delivery has been unclear.

For their study, Alexander and colleagues examined the National Disease and Therapeutic Index (NDTI), a nationally representative audit of outpatient care conducted by IQVIA, a health care technology company.

One key finding was that the estimated number of primary care consultations fell from an estimated average of 126.3 million per quarter in the second quarters of 2018 and 2019 to 99.3 million during April through June 2020, the first full quarter following the start of the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S.

That represents a drop of 21.4 percent, and the findings indicate that this drop occurred despite an unprecedented surge in telemedicine usefrom 1.1 percent of total visits in 2Q-2018 and 2Q-2019 to 35.3 percent in 2Q-2020.

The analysis also showed that the estimated number of office-based primary care visits declined by 50.2 percent from the second quarter 2Q-2018/2019 average to 2Q-2020.

The researchers examined several assessments or interventions that are commonly performed during primary care consultations, and again found large declines from the 2Q-2018/2019 averages to 2Q-2020. These included a 26.0 percent drop in visits where a medicine was initiated or renewed, as well as a 50.1 percent decline in blood pressure checks and a 36.9 percent decline in blood cholesterol tests.

The large declines in blood pressure and cholesterol checks during the pandemic reflect both a decrease in overall primary care visit volume as well as the less common assessment of these cardiac risk factors during telemedicine consultations.

"These are not trivial declines: They are large, clinically important declines involving two of the most fundamental elements of primary carethe prevention of heart attacks and strokes," Alexander says. "So these findings raise serious concerns regarding the collateral effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular disease prevention in the United States."

Explore further In-person clinic visits at VA down by half early in pandemic

More information: "Use and Content of Primary Care Telemedicine During the Covid-19 Pandemic in the United States" JAMA Network Open (2020). Journal information: JAMA Network Open "Use and Content of Primary Care Telemedicine During the Covid-19 Pandemic in the United States"(2020). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.21476
Cocaine and ice with a street value of $38 million has been found in boxes of adult sex toys bound for Melbourne.

Border Force officers found the drugs after they X-rayed a consignment of 21 boxes of adult products which arrived in Melbourne from Britain via Singapore.

Police examined the 21 boxes of sex toys. Credit:Australian Federal Police

Examination of the boxes by federal police found substances hidden within the items. Tests showed the substances were methamphetamine and cocaine.

In total, police found 40 kilograms of ice and 18 kilograms of cocaine allegedly concealed in the sex toys. The methamphetamine has an estimated street value of up to $30 million, and the cocaine $8 million.
Remark International Realty was established by Laura Kramer Rahmil, a seasoned broker associate with decades of real estate experience in California, Illinois, and Florida. "The decision to partner with Side was an outgrowth of my future-forward mindset and determination to exceed expectations with enthusiasm and passion."

Remark International Realty today announced its partnership with Side, the only real estate brokerage that exclusively partners with high-performing agents, teams, and independent brokerages to transform them into boutique brands and businesses. The collaboration will ensure that Remark International Realty, known for offering a singular service throughout California, is powered by the most advanced platform in the industry.

Remark International Realty was established by Laura Kramer Rahmil, a seasoned broker associate with decades of real estate experience in California, Illinois, and Florida. After acting as managing broker and director for a real estate technology firm, where she helped build teams and launch offices nationwide, Rahmil decided that Side was an ideal partner for her longtime firm. Headquartered in Los Gatos, with a second office in Campbell, Remark International Realty caters to clients in California, and internationally, who are interested in buying and selling residential, commercial and investment properties.

Partnering with Side will ensure Remark International Realty remains at the cutting edge of the evolving real estate market while allowing its agents to continue delivering premium services to their clients. Remark International Realty agents are fully supported by a one-of-a-kind premium brokerage platform, which provides transaction management, property marketing, lead generation, business growth opportunities, vendor management, and infrastructure solutions.

The decision to partner with Side was an outgrowth of my future-forward mindset and determination to exceed expectations with enthusiasm and passion, Rahmil said. Side provides us with end-to-end operational support, including best-in-class tech and specialized marketing teams, while we focus on creating personalized experiences for our clients.

Side is led by experienced industry professionals and world-class engineers who develop technology designed to improve agent productivity and enhance the client experience. Based on its belief that homeownership is a fundamental human right, Side is on a mission to improve the public good by providing top-performing real estate agents, teams, and indie brokerages with the best system, support, service, experience, and results.

About Remark International Realty

Remark International Realty goes beyond helping buyers find a personal paradise and does more than get sellers the biggest return on investment. They take the stress out of the real estate process by utilizing proven strategies that simplify the often-complicated transaction. On a mission to ensure the absolute best experience, they treat clients with respect, consistently surpass expectations, and ensure success. To learn more, visit http://www.remarkrealestate.com.

About Side

Side transforms high-performing agents, teams, and independent brokerages into successful businesses and boutique brands that are 100% agent-owned. Side exclusively partners with the best agents, empowering them with proprietary technology and a premier support team so they can be more productive, grow their business, and focus on serving their clients. Side is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.sideinc.com.
Seven men caught in a MI5 bugging operation targeting the Continuity IRA were on Friday told they will be sentenced later this month for dissident republican activity.

Mr Justice Colton told Belfast Crown Court that he will pass sentence on the accused on Friday, October 23.

The defendants pleaded guilty in January this year on charges arising from a covert MI5 bugging operation against the Continuity IRA in Newry almost six years ago.

Patrick Joseph 'Mooch' Blair (65) of Lissara Heights, Warrenpoint, Co Down; Joseph Matthew Lynch (79) of Beechgrove Avenue, Weston, Co Limerick; Liam Hannaway (50) of White Rise, Dunmurry in west Belfast; John Sheehy (36) of Erskine Street, Newry and the since-deceased Colin Patrick Winters (49) of Ardcarn Park, Newry, all pleaded guilty to charges of belonging or professing to belong to a proscribed organisation, providing weapons and explosives training, and conspiring to possess explosives, firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

They further admitted conspiracy to possess explosives, firearms and ammunition with intent, along with preparing acts of terrorism. Blair, Hannaway and Winters also admitted collecting information likely to be of use to terrorists.

Sheehy further pleaded guilty to attending a meeting at Ardcarn Park for the purposes of terrorist training.

Winters had also admitted to allowing his Ardcarn Park home to be used for the purposes of a terrorist meeting.

The court was told on Friday that Colin Winters had passed away in August.

Mr Justice Colton was told that his death was confirmed through a witness statement from a PSNI officer.

As well as admitting he received weapons training, Joseph Lynch further pleaded guilty to two counts of attending a meeting for terrorist purposes.

Seamus Morgan (64), of Barcroft Park, Newry, Kevin John Paul Heaney (47), of Blackstaff Mews, Springfield Road in West Belfast and Terence Marks (60), of Parkhead Crescent, Newry, all pleaded guilty to belonging or professing to belong to a proscribed organisation.

Marks also admitted to a further charge of receiving training in the making or use of explosives for terrorism.

All of the offences took place on dates between August 11, 2014 and November 11, 2014.

No details of the prosecution case were read out in court.

But a previous court hearing in 2014 was told that police believed Winters' home at Ardcarn Park was being used to host meetings of the Continuity IRA.

MI5 had gained access to the property and planted secret listening devices in a number of rooms in the property to record conversations at the meetings.

The court was told that suspects in the property had been recorded discussing potential targets for attack, including specific police officers.

Potential attacks against members of the judiciary were also discussed, along with weapons training, funding for terrorist activity and plans to get weapons, a prosecution lawyer added.

A PSNI detective involved in the investigation told the court that the suspects were "leading key figures of a proscribed organisation".

Defence counsel Des Fahy QC said Patrick Joseph Blair was now 65 and was in "poor health".

"We submit to the court that a prison sentence will be much more onerous on him than a defendant in much more robust health." The senior counsel added that Blair's ill health made him "much more vulnerable" in prison given the pandemic.

Mr Fahy told Mr Justice Colton that the defendant had been committed to bail in September 2015 and there had been no breaches of his release conditions. A defence counsel for Joseph Lynch said the defendant was now in his 80th year and was the sole carer for his 50-year-old son who had mental health problems. Mark Mulholland QC said that in a probation report, Lynch said that in terms of republicanism, "it's over for me...I have nothing more to do with do with republicanism".

The senior defence lawyer said it was evident from the transcripts of the bugged conversations at the house in Ardcarn Park in Newry in 2014, Lynch "may have talked the talk, but he did not walk the walk".

Mr Mulholland added that the defendant was the first to plead guilty which "may have been the catalyst" for the other defendants to follow with their guilty pleas.

Martin O'Rourke QC for Liam Hannaway said it was evident from the transcripts that what was being discussed was "aspirational" and that they "did not have the were for all in terms of resources and organisation to do anything".

In response, a senior crown prosecutor told the court that in terms of leadership, the pecking order was Blair, Hannaway, followed by Lynch.

The QC said that in relation to Hannaway and what he said at the secretly recorded meetings, it was "not bluff or bluster".

He told Mr Justice Colton that after the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, Hannaway was jailed for explosives offences and received a ten year sentence and received a further six year sentence for possessing ammunition.

Mr Justice Colton released the defendants on continuing bail.
Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill speak to the press before boarding a train in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 30, 2020. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Joe and Jill Biden Hoping for Swift Recovery for Trumps From COVID-19

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said in his first reaction to the news of President Donald Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis that hes hoping Trump recovers quickly from the disease.

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery, Biden said in a social media statement on Friday morning.

We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family, he added.

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Several hours later, at about 12:30 p.m., Biden said on Twitter that he and his wife both tested negative for the new disease.

Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands, he wrote.

President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden debate at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 29, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk from the Marine One helicopter back to the White House after traveling to Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Md., for Memorial Day holiday commemorations from Washington, in a May 25, 2020, file photograph. (Erin Scott/Reuters)

Biden was scheduled to campaign in Michigan later Friday.

Though older people and those with serious underlying health issues are more at risk of developing serious cases of COVID-19, most people who contract the illness end up recovering.

A small percentage of patients die.

The Trumps are both well, Sean Conley, physician to the president, said in a memorandum late Thursday.

The first lady said she and her husband are feeling good.

She postponed all planned appearances and Trump scuttled plans to travel to Florida for an Oct. 2 rally.
A gender-fluid engineer who was branded 'IT' by bullying workmates at Jaguar Land Rover has been awarded 180,000 after winning a landmark discrimination case.

Rose Taylor, 43, was teased and harassed by colleagues at the car manufacturer after she began identifying as gender fluid/non-binary in 2017.

An employment tribunal heard how she suffered insults and abusive jokes at the hands of cruel co-workers after she started wearing women's clothes.

One colleague asked her if her outfit 'was for Halloween' while another contractor told her: 'It's nice to see you in this attire. You have cracking legs.'

Another worker asked her 'So what's going on? Are you going to have your bits chopped off?' while she overheard two others say: 'Have you seen IT in the atrium?'

Rose Taylor (pictured leaving the Centre City Tower in Birmingham today), 43, a gender-fluid engineer who was branded 'IT' by bullying workmates at Jaguar Land Rover, has been awarded 180,000 after winning a landmark discrimination case

One female co-worker also described her as 'not normal' when she announced she was transitioning and she was also told to use the staff disabled toilet.

Another asked her why the 'top half didn't match the bottom half' while a different colleague said: 'I was checking out your dress, saw it was you and my jaw dropped.'

The hearing was told how on one occasion a male worker laughed at her when she suggested he wear a rainbow lanyard - a symbol of support for LGBTQ pride.

Ms Taylor claimed constructive dismissal and victimisation on the basis she had suffered discrimination because of gender reassignment and sexual orientation.

Ms Taylor was teased and harassed by colleagues at the car manufacturer after she began identifying as gender fluid/non-binary in 2017

And last month she won her claim against the Midlands manufacturing giant after an employment judge in Birmingham ruled in her favour.

The victory is believed to be the first successful claim of its kind and was hailed as a 'milestone' in recognising the rights of non-binary and gender fluid people.

Until now, there was uncertainty over whether The Equality Act protected those who who fell into the gender fluid/non-binary category.

Jaguar Land Rover argued it did not but an employment judge said it was clear 'gender is a spectrum' and that it was 'beyond any doubt' Ms Taylor should be protected.

Today Ms Taylor wiped away tears as she was awarded a 180,000 payout from her former employer and told the judge: 'It's still all sinking in.'

Employment Judge Pauline Hughes said: 'Hopefully your case will bring about real change.

The tribunal was told Ms Taylor, who worked for JLR as a navigation engineer for 20 years, changed the way she presented three years ago

'That is what we would all wish to see. The response has been extremely positive.

'Everyone in the room can think of a person who has made a difference in their life.

'The entire history of equality and equality movement has individuals such as the claimant who have made a difference.

JAGUAR LAND ROVER'S APOLOGY Dave Williams, JLR's executive director of HR, said afterwards: 'On behalf of Jaguar Land Rover, I would like to apologise to Ms Taylor for the experiences she had during her employment with us. 'We continue to strive to improve in this area and we respect the outcome of the case. 'We welcome the recommendations and will implement these to strengthen our diversity and inclusion strategy, which has been developed in consultation with our employee-led networks and our board sponsored diversity and inclusion steering committee. 'Jaguar Land Rover does not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone can flourish, where our employees feel listened to, understood, supported and valued equally. 'We continue to work with our leaders, employees and employee-led diversity networks to foster a diverse, inclusive and gender-balanced culture that is representative of the society in which we live.' Advertisement

'The likes of Rosa Parks, Doctor Martin Luther King, Harvey Milk, Baroness Jane Campbell, Viv Anderson, Baroness Hayle and Notorious RBG.

'In our opinion Rose has made a difference. Because she brought the case hopefully what happened to her will not happen to anyone else again at JLR.

'I can see JLR has taken the findings seriously. That is a positive thing.'

Ms Taylor, of King's Heath, Birmingham, will receive the payout within seven days and a further costs hearing was scheduled to take place in December.

The tribunal was told Ms Taylor, who worked for JLR as a navigation engineer for 20 years, changed the way she presented three years ago.

But she suffered various insults after she began mainly wearing women's clothes at the company's factory in Coventry before she resigned in 2008.

The original judgement ruled 'the claimant has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment' and the allegations of harassment were 'well-founded'.

It added: 'The claimant's allegation of victimisation in respect of the respondent's failure to permit her to retract her resignation is well-founded.

'The respondent's statutory defence to the above allegations fails, and is totally without merit. The claimant was constructively unfairly dismissed.'

Her barrister Robin White said after the case 'Obviously Rose is pleased particularly because the case will make a difference for other people at JLR and more widely.

'The case has changed the law and clarified protections for gender fluid and non-binary people and what they need at work.

'She is pleased both that there was financial compensation of course, and Rose is particularly pleased to see the real impact this could have on other people.

'We hope the case shows that the time Rose was working there JLR didn't appreciate other gender identities.

'I would be hopeful that the effect of the case would be that they will move forward and make changes and become one company which leads in this area rather than lagging behind.

'We are relieved to hear them say they got it badly wrong, but would have preferred them to admit that earlier rather than fighting us to the finish.'
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: The Opposition on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the State Government in the Assembly over the power tariff hike when the people are battling an extraordinary situation of Covid-19 pandemic and demanded its immediate rollback.

Not satisfied with the reply of Minister of State for Energy Dibya Shankar Mishra on the issue, the BJP members staged a walk out of the House.

The issue cropped up for discussion through adjournment motion notice brought by the BJP and Congress members.

Describing the decision of the State Government as unconstitutional, Opposition chief whip and BJP member Mohan Majhi said that when the lives of the common people have been greatly affected by the pandemic, the power tariff hike will put them in further problem.

ALSO READ | Former Union Minister Srikant Jena seeks white paper on power tariff hike

The manner in which the Minister has advocated on behalf of the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) for the hike is unjust and unacceptable, he said.

Majhi questioned the Governments inaction in collecting dues of over Rs 6,000 crore from the distribution companies. The State Government has done nothing to collect the dues from the distribution companies, but further burdened the common people with tariff hike, he said.

Criticising the move, deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Santosh Singh Saluja said that the Government should not have taken such a decision when people are as suffering from a serious public health disaster. Why is the Government not collecting dues of around Rs 3,000 crore from the industrial houses, he asked and demanded the immediate roll back of the hike.

Instead of taking steps to collect the dues from industrial houses, the Government is trying for one time settlement, he said.Congress whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati also criticised the tariff hike and demanded that the decision should be immediately withdrawn.

Making a statement on the issue, the Minister justified the step and said OERC has increased the tariff by only four per cent after a gap of seven years by examining all the aspects.

The Commission while exempting the Kutir Jyoti consumers and the farmers living below the poverty line (BPL) from the hike has revised the tariff by only 20 paise per unit for the people and the organisations who consume more than 50 units of power, he said and added that power tariff in Odisha is less than neighbouring states including West Bengal, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.

The Minister said the Commission has hiked the tariff as the power producing PSUs like the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) and the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) have increased the average cost of power by 68 per cent.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Todays archive page is from Dec. 6, 1970.

Meiers Corners resident Suzanne Crowley, 11, is named the national grand prize winner in Cappy Dicks famous puzzle contest. It is reported that the contest was published on the comics section of the Advance in November.

Suzanne will receive the 20-volume World Book Encyclopedia and the World Book Atlas.

In addition, she will receive an Apache tear-rock specimen.

If you have trouble viewing the page below, click here to enlarge it.
San Franciscos public schools are running on empty. The classrooms likely will stay closed until January, and a deep financial pit looms as well. If that sounds bleak, heres a promising note: There are thoughtful, experienced candidates vying for four seats on the Board of Education.

The contenders offer a wide range of talents and are rightly focused on assuring parents and teachers on health and safety while reaching out to kids cut off from school sites. Its a frustrating time with distance learning via laptops on kitchen tables offering no real substitute for teachers standing before rooms full of students.

Among the 10 contenders, four stand out: Jenny Lam, Kevine Boggess, Michelle Parker and Alida Fisher. Each is knowledgeable and prepared to step into the uncertain world of the citys schools. They would take seats on the seven-member board alongside current members Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez and Faauuga Moliga.

The board has had its recent stumbles, such as voting to cover up a historic mural at George Washington High School and a nonsensical idea to hand out straight As to all students when the schools shut down last spring.

Lam, an incumbent, offers a sharp focus on school finances. With its reserves tapped out, the system is facing a budget hole in the tens of millions. Shes also mindful of a confused school community where she said a third want to return to the class now, a third want to stay away and a third favor some form of personalized learning.

Boggess graduated from the San Francisco public schools and works as an educational policy director for Coleman Advocates, a local organization devoted to family issues. A top concern for him is reaching out to students who were struggling in class before the pandemic and are at risk of falling further behind now.

Fisher is longtime board watcher familiar with its structure and goals. Shes an adoptive parent who brings a needed perspective for those on the margins of city life: foster kids, homeless students and others needing help with learning disabilities.

Parker has a lengthy record in school affairs and is making her second run for the board. Like Lam, shes aware of major money trouble for a system with 55,000 students and over 100 buildings. Communicating these challenges to parents and teachers is a priority for her.

The city needs informed and sensible leadership to preserve its schools. This election provides a chance for voters to take part in that challenging job by electing Lam, Boggess, Parker and Fisher.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
Agility Recovery, a Denver-based provider of business continuity services for banking and insurance companies, has acquired Chicago, Illinois-based Recovery Solutions.

Recovery Solutions delivers audit-ready and Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council compliant business continuity services that help companies protect their people, operations, supply chain, and brand, all while meeting regulatory requirements.

The need for business continuity options in the banking and financial services sector continues to escalate as compliance throughout the entire supply chain grows in importance, said Jon Bahl, CEO of Agility Recovery. Agility has more than 4,000 customers.

He said the acquisition will help Agility further deliver on its promise to help businesses achieve resiliency, especially within the highly regulated banking and financial sector.

The firms services help businesses get their office space, power, technology and communications systems back to normal operations following disasters and disruptions. Services also include training, testing and emergency messaging.

Rick Lavin, CEO of Recovery Solutions, will join the Agility team to assist with the transition.

In 2018, Agility acquired Rentsys Recovery Services and in 2019, bought Preparis, an emergency notification software firm.

Agility is a portfolio company of private equity firm LLR Partners.

Topics Mergers
Key Highlights:

Some of the high-frequency indicators such as auto sales, air traffic, toll collection and rail freight loadings have revived hopes of recovery adding to the festive season cheers.

With monsoon rainfall remaining above normal this year, Kharif harvest is expected to be bountiful further supporting the rural consumption.

Flight occupancy during the last three months after the lockdown has also shown improvement prompting airlines to urge the government to allow them to operate more flights.

Some economists are, however, skeptical about a V-shaped recovery and continued growth momentum given that many sectors such as real estate and tourism are still not out of woods. Also, capacity utilisation at factories remains far from satisfactory.

Even as macro numbers point to continued distress in the economy, some of the high-frequency indicators such as auto sales, air traffic, toll collection and rail freight loadings have revived hopes of recovery adding to the festive season cheers.

With monsoon rainfall remaining above normal this year, Kharif harvest is expected to be bountiful further supporting the rural consumption.

"It's a combination of pent up demand, anticipation of festive demand, and natural improvement in demand. September has been a better month than July and August. If the trend extends beyond the festive season, we will have a better handle on demand normalisation," said Suvodeep Rakshit, Vice President & Senior Economist at Kotak Institutional Equities.

While year-on-year number for various sectors continue to be muted, the month-on-month sales figures for passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, air passenger traffic and rail freight among others have shown an upward trend. Domestic sales of passenger vehicles in August was 2,15,916 units (excluding BMW, Mercedes, Tata Motors and Volvo Auto) as compared to 1,82,779 in the previous month. In June, sales count of passenger vehicles was 1,05,617 units, as per data compiled by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Also Read: MSMEs seek liberal GST norms for smoother transition to online selling

Two-wheeler sales also reported sharp recovery during this period. The total two-wheeler sales in August was 15,59,665 as compared to 12,81,354 in July.

Weeks before the festive season begins, many automakers have reported jump in sales for the month of September. Car market leader Maruti Suzuki led the growth reporting 34% year-on-year jump to 147,912 units in September. Factory-gate shipments for Hyundai Motor India was also in high double-digit of 23.6% at 50,313 units in September. Analysts have attributed the rise in sales to pent-up demand and low base effect.

Likewise, passenger air traffic has also been climbing though it is far from the pre-Covid level. Domestic passenger traffic in August was 28.32 lakh compared to 21.07 lakh in the previous month. In June, all airlines together carried 19.84 lakh passengers. Flight occupancy during the last three months after the lockdown has also shown improvement prompting airlines to urge the government to allow them to operate more flights.

Also Read: Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar assures trade unions to address concerns over new labour codes

On the back of modal shift towards railways and demand uptick, Indian Railways has seen a gradual recovery in freight loading. In August, the Railways loading was 94.33 million tonnes which were 3.31 million tonnes higher compared to 91.02 million tonnes in the same month last year. In September 2020, the total freight loading was 102.12 million tonnes, up 15.3% from 88.53 million tonnes in the corresponding month of 2019.

"These are signs of recovery but we have to wait and see if the momentum is maintained in the next few months. There are other indicators which show that the momentum was lost. I think it is too early to say there is a generalised recovery," R Nagaraj, eminent economist and professor at Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) noted.

The doubts around a V-shaped recovery could hold true given that many sectors are still not out of woods and production capacity utilisation remains far from satisfactory. In the latest survey by industry body CII, 67% of 120 CEOs reported capacity utilisation of more than 50% as of now. Similarly, 27% of the companies surveyed reported 75 to 100% capacity utilisation now and about 44% of the companies expect that the capacity utilisation to be in the range of 75 to 100% by end of the second half of 2020-21.

"It's definitely showing recovery with more and more activities are being permitted. This festive season will be a big boost if public spending goes up," said Animesh Saxena, President of Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME).

Showing a broader picture of the economy, the output of India's eight core sectors of infrastructure recorded a sixth straight monthly decline of 8.5% in August.
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The 318-key property is ideally situated in the heart of the vibrant Alpharetta technology corridor. The property features 19 North restaurant, 10,000 SF of recently renovated meeting space, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

Atlanta Marriott Alpharetta is located at 5750 Windward Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30005. For more information or to book a stay, please click here or call 770-754-9600.

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Aimbridge Hospitality is the leading, global, third-party hotel management company operating branded full service, select service, luxury hotels, destination resorts, convention centers and lifestyle hotels. Aimbridge merged with Interstate Hotels & Resorts in 2019, and now represents a premium portfolio of more than 1,400 branded and independent properties in 49 states and 20 countries. Aimbridge is based in Plano, Texas and has additional corporate offices in Atlanta, Calgary, Fargo, Puerto Rico, San Clemente, Toronto and Washington D.C. Aimbridge's International Division, Interstate Hotels & Resorts, has supporting offices spread across Europe in Amsterdam, Birmingham, Glasgow and Moscow.

For more information on Aimbridge Hospitality, please visit www.aimbridgehospitality.com and connect with Aimbridge on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Aimbridge Hospitality
BENSALEM, Pa., Oct. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Law Offices of Howard G. Smith reminds investors that class action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of shareholders of the following publicly-traded companies. Investors have until the deadlines listed below to file a lead plaintiff motion.



Investors suffering losses on their investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in these class actions at 888-638-4847 or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com.

Airbus SE (OTC: EADSY, EADSF)

Class Period: February 24, 2016 - July 30, 2020

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 5, 2020

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that Airbuss policies and protocols were insufficient to ensure the Companys compliance with relevant anti-corruption laws and regulations; (2) that, consequently, Airbus engaged in bribery, corruption, and fraud in order to enhance its business with respect to its commercial aircraft, helicopter, and defense deals; (3) that, as a result, Airbuss earnings were derived in part from unlawful conduct and therefore unsustainable; (4) the full scope and severity of Airbuss misconduct; (5) that resolution of government investigations of Airbus would foreseeably cost Airbus billions of dollars in settlements and legal fees and subject the Company to significant continuing government investigation and oversight; and (6) that, as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG)

Class Period: October 23, 2015 - June 12, 2020

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 13, 2020

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that Cabot had inadequate environmental controls and procedures and/or failed to properly mitigate known issues related to those controls and procedures; (2) as a result, Cabot, among other issues, failed to fix faulty gas wells, thereby polluting Pennsylvanias water supplies through stray gas migration; (3) that the foregoing was foreseeably likely to subject Cabot to increased governmental scrutiny and enforcement, as well as increased reputational and financial harm; (4) that Cabot continually downplayed its potential civil and/or criminal liabilities with respect to such environmental matters; and (5) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: KODK )

Class Period: July 27, 2020  August 11, 2020

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: October 13, 2020

Shareholders with losses exceeding $150,000 are encouraged to contact the firm

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that the Company had granted its Executive Chairman, James Continenza, and several other Company insiders millions of dollars' worth of stock options immediately prior to the Company publicly disclosing that it had received the $765 million loan, which Defendants knew would cause Kodak's stock to immediately increase in value once the deal was announced. In addition, while in possession of this material non-public information, Continenza and other Company insiders purchased tens of thousands of the Company's shares immediately prior to the announcement, again at prices that they knew would increase exponentially once news of the loan became public.

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL )

Class Period: March 14, 2019  July 22, 2020

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: November 10, 2020

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) Gol had material weaknesses in its internal controls; (2) there was substantial doubt as to the Company's ability to continue to exist as a going concern because of negative net working capital and net capital deficiency; and (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants positive statements about the Companys business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

To be a member of these class actions, you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action. If you wish to learn more about these class actions, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com, or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.

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

Contacts

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith

Howard G. Smith, Esquire

215-638-4847

888-638-4847

howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com

www.howardsmithlaw.com
Archaeologists have found a site in Spain that might actually be a massacre ground from the Iron Ages thousands of years ago.

The site was first spotted by archaeologists in 1935 and excavated in 1973. The town of La Hoya is in Spains Basque region. It was reportedly destroyed between 350 and 200 BC in a violent attack. The town has never been reoccupied since then. Until it was excavated by modern archaeologists, it is believed that those who died simply remained there.

CNN

A team from Oxford University and another from Spain studied 13 skeletons that were removed from the site. Despite the fact that the existence of the site was known for decades, this is the first detailed analysis of human remains recovered from the site.



Remains of men, women and children were found. "One male suffered multiple frontal injuries, suggesting that he was facing his attacker," Teresa Fernandez-Crespo who is a lead author in this study reportedly said.

Also Read: Archaeologists Discover More Than 200-Year-Old Shipwreck In Mexico's Caribbean

fr24 News

She further added that this individual was actually decapitated, but his skull was never found. The attackers might have taken it with them like a trophy, she guesses.

Arms were cut off from a pair of man and woman, the study published in the journal Antiquity claimed.

The remains do not seem to be buried in proper graves, no evidence suggests that anyone came back to bury the dead or even collect their belongings, there were skeletons left on the street some in burning buildings.

Also Read: World's Oldest Shipwreck That Had Sunk 2,400 Years Ago Found In The Black Sea

Antiquity Publications Ltd

According to the study, all these clues hint towards a possible massacre by an enemy group. The researchers deduce that La Hoyas location between Cantabrian region on Spain's Atlantic coast, the Mediterranean and Spain's interior plateau might have something to do with the attack.

New evidence suggests the time wasnt as peaceful as some historians previously believed.
Joan H. Marks, who was a pioneer in genetic counseling, the practice of helping patients understand their risk of an inherited medical condition, and who developed it into a full-blown profession, died on Sept. 14 at her home in Manhattan. She was 91.

Her son Dr. Andrew Marks said the cause was heart failure.

Ms. Marks was the director of the graduate program in genetic counseling at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., for 26 years. When she started, in 1972, the program, the first in the nation to educate genetic counselors, was three years old.

During her tenure, she developed it into the largest such program in the country, which it remains, and helped to establish a new health care field. Today there are thousands of certified genetic counselors in the United States  professionals trained in both genetics and counseling who help patients and their families confront a variety of inherited conditions.

But when Ms. Marks began, doctors were skeptical that anyone without a medical degree could understand the intricacies of genetics. So the role of talking with patients and their families about inherited disorders and potential birth defects was often left to nurses and others.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 15:36:43|Editor: huaxia

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Deliveryman Orlando Lopez is on his way to deliver food ordered via mobile phone app Mandao in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 30, 2020. (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez/Xinhua)

by Yosley Carrero

HAVANA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Diara Garcia is the only female food delivery driver working for Mandao, a private business gaining traction here amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the government has asked people to stay home as much as possible to minimize the risk of exposure to the virus, food delivery start-ups are enjoying their heyday on the Caribbean island.

Garcia lost her job as a bartender at a restaurant due to the pandemic, but now she rides an electric scooter delivering food packages citywide.

The 22-year-old usually waits at home eager for a delivery message to pop up on her phone.

"We are playing a critical role during the COVID-19 emergency because we are helping people under these difficult circumstances," she said.

Since the onset of the pandemic in early March, restaurants in the Cuban capital have either closed or turned to takeaway deliveries only, which has affected people's day-to-day life to a large extent.

In Havana, nearly 190,000 people work for the private sector, 160,000 of whom have put a halt to their businesses due to the pandemic, according to local authorities.

Mandao has hired 20 food delivery staff to transport food from restaurants, farms and produce markets to clients, and all staff have been abiding by rigorous social distancing measures and biosafety protocols.

On the ground floor of an apartment building in Havana's Playa district which has been turned into an office for now, four workers receive around 100 orders a day through a brand-new application developed by an employee.

Marta Deus, who graduated with a business administration major in Spain, founded the app project in 2019 after studying successful experiences of food delivery services in different countries, including China.

"The pandemic has also been an opportunity for our business to grow because many people prefer to stay home to reduce risk of COVID-19 contagion," she said, adding that "we want to expand our business outside Havana."

Wearing a cap to protect himself from the sunshine, 25-year-old Orlando Lopez, a delivery driver at Mandao, said that many young people want to start businesses to help the country provide better services.

"In the future, I would like to run my own business, maybe to operate a gym," he said. "But for the moment, I will keep riding my Chinese scooter to deliver food to people."

Food delivery services continue to reach thousands of people in Cuba during the pandemic.

Among them is Havana resident Paula Canal, who has relied on the city's army of food delivery workers for her lunch or dinner.

"Food delivery services help people save time and avoid lines. These businesses are very welcome," she said. Enditem
Torontos skyrocketing COVID-19 infection rate  the highest ever  has city officials beseeching their provincial counterparts for new measures to slow the spread and escape avoidable deaths and a return to lockdown.

The rapid rise in cases in our city is deeply alarming, Coun. Joe Cressy, chair of the Toronto Board of Health, told the Star on Thursday. Increasingly were seeing cases and outbreaks across the city  in the community, in workplaces, and in congregate settings.

Based on the data, and looking at the experience of other jurisdictions, its clear that further public health measures are needed to save lives and keep our schools open, he added.

Our team is in active conversations with our provincial counterparts on next steps. There is a fierce urgency now.

Listen to Ed Tubb and Joanna Chiu discuss the second wave

According to the Stars daily count, Torontos average rate of new reported COVID-19 infections has never been higher.

Toronto saw an average of 265 new COVID-19 cases reported daily over the last week, well above the highest peak the citys seven-day average hit in the spring  230 daily cases as of May 25, the Stars Ed Tubb reports.

The rate of new cases has accelerated since the city entered Stage 3 of reopening at the end of July. On Aug. 1, Toronto had an average of about 15 cases reported daily over the previous week. That rate has doubled four times in two months.

In the spring, Ontario had much narrower criteria for testing and labs were processing far fewer tests daily than now. Many less severe COVID-19 cases were likely missed in the spring, meaning an undercount compared to current tallies.

However, Torontos infection growth rate, if sustained, would see the city soon reporting hundreds more cases daily. The seven-day average would surpass the previous peak infection rate for the entire province  about 600 daily cases  by mid-October.

Mayor John Tory said he continues to be alarmed by the rate of new infections. He has asked Dr. Eileen de Villa, the citys public health chief, what new actions, including those outside Torontos jurisdiction, could halt the spread.

This has been the subject of multiple meetings this week involving Dr. de Villa, myself and members of our senior command team, Tory said in an email.

All governments and all residents have to work together right now to follow public health advice and confront this resurgence.

Tory recently lauded Premier Doug Fords government for heeding calls for new restrictions including moving last call for alcohol at bars and restaurants to midnight and reducing the number of people legally allowed at private gatherings.

But Toronto is urging the province to impose further measures it cant legally do on its own, including:

Mandating physical distancing in indoor workplaces and mask usage when distancing isnt possible.

Fixing the provincial lab-result reporting system. Torontos online COVID-19 dashboard shows the city getting results within 24 hours, on average, only 18 per cent of time. Within 48 hours, its only 37 per cent. Officials say the slow turnaround makes tracing infected peoples contacts extremely difficult.

Lowering the limit of 50 people allowed in banquet halls and similar venues that host weddings and other gatherings that have triggered outbreaks. Also, considering further restrictions on bars, restaurants and gyms.

Dr. Vinita Dubey, Torontos associate medical officer of health, noted September saw 3,000 confirmed new infections. It is evident that there is an immediate, rising risk in Toronto of continued and significant COVID-19 resurgence, she said.

Recent outbreaks have been linked to private parties, workplaces, weddings, bars and restaurants, and religious services. Toronto Public Health notes, however, infections can happen anywhere where people dont physical distance, wear masks or wash their hands, behaviours it says will slow the spread.

The dangers of continued exponential growth are grave, raising chances the virus will once again invade seniors homes, homeless shelters and other congregate settings, Dubey said.

Dr. Andrew Boozary, an assistant professor at University of Torontos Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said Thursday that the alarming part is the disconnect between where we are on the (infection) curve and the policy measures that seemingly need to come into effect, as cooler weather forces people inside and puts vulnerable populations at risk.

We need to mobilize all efforts and supports to clamp down on this rising wave.

Dionne Aleman, a U of T assistant engineering professor expert on pandemic growth, is concerned that public health officials are not able to identify the source of a sizable number of new infections.

That makes it really difficult to have an evidence-based plan for what needs to be closed down, she said. Is it because of travellers not following quarantine or people holding parties?

If we dont know the sources its almost impossible to make effective surgical strikes at problem areas and control them.
Kanpur (UP) Oct 2: Uttar Pradesh minister Ajeet Singh Pal on Friday described the alleged gang-rape of a 19-year-old Hathras woman and her subsequent death a fortnight later as a small issue, asserting that the Dalit teen was not raped at all. Doctors have already made it clear that the Hathras woman was not raped, Pal, the UP minister of state for Electronics and Information Technology said in a statement which is set to further aggravate the controversy.

The minister also described the incident as a small issue, asserting that the law is taking its course in the case. We can do nothing if the Opposition is attacking (the government). They have no issue and are raking up such small issues intermittently. They are just raising issues and doing nothing in the public interest, the minister told reporters when asked about the Oppositions' attack against the government over the issue.

On being countered by media persons if the Hathras gang-rape case was a small issue according to him, he hastened to add, I am saying the matter is being investigated. Doctors have said nothing of this kind happened. Whatever is found in the investigation would be made public. UP's Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar too had on Thursday said that the forensic examination on the woman did not indicate rape.

"The report of the FSL has also come. It says clearly that samples did not contain sperm. It makes clear that there was no rape or gang-rape," Kumar had said on Thursday in Lucknow. But legal experts debunked the theory, telling .

.
Fox News' chief White House correspondent John Roberts speaking on Wednesday ((Fox News))

Fox News reporter John Roberts angrily responded to criticism from social media users, after he questioned White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Donald Trumps comments on white supremacy groups.

During the presidential debate on Tuesday, which was the first of the three planned before 3 Novembers election, the president was asked by moderator, Fox News host Chris Wallace, to condemn white supremacists and militia groups.

Mr Trump first attempted to avoid the question, but then name-checked the far-right white supremacist group the Proud Boys, and said: Stand back and stand by! But Ill tell you what, somebodys got to do something about antifa and the left.

Watch: John Roberts Does the president denounce white supremacy and groups that espouse it in all its forms?

Mr Roberts questioned Ms McEnany about the comments during a fiery press briefing at the White House on Thursday, but the press secretary argued that the president had condemned white supremacist groups.

She added that president Trump has condemned white supremacy more than any other president in modern history.

Some Twitter users criticised Mr Roberts for his questioning of the press secretary, and author Tim Young tweeted: John Roberts and Chris Wallace need to answer some questions to the public after their pushing of the false Trump won't denounce white nationalists story.

These are two of Fox News' top journalists and people who still tune in deserve apologies, corrections and answers.

John Roberts and Chris Wallace need to answer some questions to the public after their pushing of the false "Trump won't denounce white nationalists" story.



These are two of Fox News' top journalists and people who still tune in deserve apologies, corrections,and answers.  Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) October 1, 2020

While, Douglas Ernst, a writer at the conservative newspaper The Washington Times tweeted about the exchange: Here is another embarrassing clip in which John Roberts pretends as if the president is a horrible person because he refuses to play along with some sick version of Groundhog Day.

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Here is another embarrassing clip in which John Roberts pretends as if the president is a horrible person because he refuses to play along with some sick version of Groundhog Day. https://t.co/fU9e3OIKiO  Douglas Ernst (@douglasernst) October 1, 2020

Following the press briefing, Mr Roberts, who is Fox News chief White House correspondent, told the stations Melissa Francis live on air: The press secretary would not, in a definitive and unambiguous and non-deflecting way, say that the president condemns white supremacism in all its forms and any group that espouses it.

He added that the claim is not something that I just made up! as he cited top Republican senators Tim Scott, Mitch McConnell, and Lindsey Graham, who all asked Mr Trump to condemn white supremacy following the debate.

Mr Roberts, who was at this point visibly angry, then responded to criticism he faced from some social media users for his exchange with Ms McEnany, according to The Daily Beast.

For all of you on Twitter who are hammering me for asking that question, I dont care! he said. Because its a question that needs to be asked and clearly the presidents Republican colleagues a mile away from here are looking for an answer for it too.

So stop deflecting, stop blaming the media! he added. Im tired of it!

Following Mr Trumps name-check of the Proud Boys on Tuesday evening, members of the far-right group claimed his words were an endorsement, and one prominent member wrote: Standing by sir on free speech social media site Parler.

When asked about the group by a reporter outside the White House on Wednesday, Mr Trump said: "I don't know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down and let law enforcement do their work."

However, he did not clarify what he meant by his comment for them to stand by and when asked if he welcomes their support, Mr Trump said that he wants "law and order to be a very important part of our campaign."

Read more

Trump has given domestic terrorist groups a 'loaded gun' by refusing to condemn Proud Boys, says ex-aide

He had every opportunity: Trump aides criticised for defending presidents Proud Boys comments
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus early Friday  32 days before Election Day and while voters are already casting ballots. Its a stunning reminder that the northwest gate of the White House, where senior staff, VIPs and journalists gain entry to the 18-acre complex, is made of metal bars and not medical masks or face shields. Campaign rallies, candidate debates and rope lines at airport pit-stops offer even fewer protections  even for the most powerful person in the world.

Nobody knows exactly what happens next. The President of the United States has contracted a disease that has killed more than 207,000 Americans and sickened some 7.3 million. It will undoubtedly add new chaos into an election season already in uncharted territory as a result of the global pandemic, the resulting economic downturn, a reckoning on racial justice and wildfires torching the American West.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

The news comes after Trump, 74, and his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, met each other face-to-face on Tuesday night. On Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, White House aide Hope Hicks traveled with the President and other aides to events in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Minnesota. The communications adviser tested positive for coronavirus herself on Thursday, prompting the President and First Lady to be tested.

A note from the Presidents doctor, Sean Conley, said Trump and the First Lady are both well at this time and that they planned to remain within the White House as they recovered. He did not mention if they had any symptoms.The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our countrys greatest medical professionals and institutions, he wrote. Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.

Story continues

A note from President Donald Trumps doctor, Sean Conley, said Trump and First Lady Melania are both well at this time" after they tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday Oct. 2, 2020. White House

Vice President Mike Pence tweeted shortly after the Presidents announcement: Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends [President Trump] and [First Lady] Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery.

Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.  Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) October 2, 2020

Leading health experts criticized White House staff, who said the President should have been better insulated from the coronavirus.

This is a nightmare. COVID19 is a serious infection, especially for someone who is older like Mr. Trump, Dr. Ashish Jha, a physician and the Dean of Brown School of Public Health, wrote on Twitter. I cant believe he was infected. This is a total failure by the [White House] team to protect the President.

This is a nightmare.



COVID19 is a serious infection, especially for someone who is older like Mr. Trump.



I can't believe he was infected. This is a total failure by WH team to protect the President



Wishing both the President and The First Lady and speedy recovery. https://t.co/YVA2WpeNCu  Ashish K. Jha (@ashishkjha) October 2, 2020

The grave news brings into relief how the global pandemic has hit pause  and poured accelerant  on a U.S. election that is unfolding with few precedents. As the White House coped with a potential contagion in the Executive Mansion, Bidens campaign tried to seek some level of stability. The former Vice President made his way out of Cleveland on Wednesday across northeastern Ohio and into Pennsylvania. Social-distancing protocols were in place, and its not clear yet whether the Democratic nominee may also have been exposed to COVID-19.

But its also not clear what Tuesday nights debate shouting match between two men in their 70s looks like from a medical perspective.

Medical experts said that each person responds differently to COVID-19, but older people are at higher risk of infection and having serious complications. Eight out of 10 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. were people over age 65.

Its not a black and white picture at all, says Lesley Russell, adjunct associate professor at Menzies Center for Health Policy at the University of Sydney and former health policy adviser to the Obama Administration. We know this is a very strange disease and all sorts of things happen.

However, doctors have also gotten much better at treating COVID-19 since the initial outbreak, and treatments are now available for severe cases, including the antiviral remdesivir and steroids.

For his part, the President announced he was quarantining at the White House. It was a departure from his stand-strong mentality that he has telegraphed to this point.

Trumps consistent, sometimes outright hostility to mask-wearing politicized a key public health measure in the midst of the pandemic. He mocked Biden at rallies: Did you ever see a man who likes a mask as much as him? and was still doing so two days before contracting the virus himself. I dont wear masks like him, he said on the debate stage on Tuesday. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

Biden was working on his own reaction early Friday that conveyed the urgency of the moment without politicizing the diagnosis.

The contagion doesnt just stop at the White House. Reporters who traveled with the President and Hicks to the Cleveland debate aboard Air Force One may have been exposed. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has been busy on Capitol Hill escorting his Supreme Court nominee to meetings with Senators as recently as Thursday. Its unknown whether White House staffers could have exposed a government building packed with octogenarians. Hicks is also close to the Trump children, putting the First Family further at risk.

Trump is not the first world leader to downplay the risk of COVID-19, only to become infected. Those leaders recovery may offer some clues for whats ahead.

After contracting the virus in late March, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson continued to go to meetings and fulfill his duties until he displayed clear symptoms on April 5, including a cough and a fever. Johnson, 56, eventually had to be hospitalized for a week, where he spent three days in an intensive care unit and was given oxygen.

Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro, 65, spent almost 20 days in isolation after testing positive in July. Afterwards, he spoke on Facebook Live describing how he felt weak and might have mold in the lung and that he was taking antibiotics. His wife also tested positive and recovered around the same time. Before contracting COVID-19, Bolsonaro gleefully flouted social distancing rules at demonstrations and in crowds, often without a mask, downplaying the danger posed by the novel coronavirus which has infected more than 4.8 million Brazilians and killed 145,000 in the country.

Im healed from COVID. I have antibodies, no problems, Bolsonaro said in the video touting his recovery. In my particular case, I first thank God, and secondly, the medication prescribed by the presidential doctor: hydroxychloroquine. According to numerous studies, the drug  which is usually used to treat malaria  is ineffective against COVID-19 or even harmful. Trump has also repeatedly touted it as a cure for the virus.

As for the reality in the U.S., Trump is now the most prominent American official in government office to have contracted the disease. After months of refusing to wear masks and downplaying the risks, the problem has found its way to the highest ranks of the U.S. government. No one  literally, no one  outranks the President.

 With reporting by Laignee Barron/Hong Kong.
Three female veterans from Western Wisconsin condemned a congressional candidate and former Navy SEAL Thursday, saying a book he wrote speaks to an ongoing issue with gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the military.

In a 2015 book about the art of lost manhood and lessons learned as a Navy SEAL, Derrick Van Orden, R-Hager City, details an incident where he exposed a male lieutenants scrotum, enlarged from poison oak, to two unsuspecting female officers, which he described as young cute girls.

Van Orden defended the incident by saying it was part of a medical treatment, but others, including his opponent and longtime Congressman Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, have called it sexual harassment.

A man who respects himself and others doesnt offer up unsolicited views of peoples genitals for the sexual thrill and shock value, said Blair, a 26-year-old U.S. Army veteran and current hair stylist from Western Wisconsin.

Blair was one of three local veterans to speak out against Van Orden and his book during a virtual press conference hosted by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Van Ordens book was published only four years ago, and that disturbs me. It reads from a violent and distorted perspective and the maturity of an adolescent, Blair said.

He has made no effort to convey shame or remorse for a frankly gross mistake he made in the past, she added, and this is a terrible quality in a leader.

All three women shared their own experiences of gender and sexual discrimination while serving in the military, emphasizing that they werent alone.

The sexual harassment was daily and 24-7. We were constantly reminded that we didnt belong there, something was wrong with us, said Karri Kline, a graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.

The 62-year-old said she had repressed memories from her time at the academy, of being sexually harassed by superiors, including being yelled at by a man while he openly masturbated in a shower, and often found herself at the end of discrimination because of her sex.

Its devastating. I have dealt with PTSD, anxiety and depression my entire adult life, Kline said, who said she and her fellow female soldiers never felt empowered enough to speak up.

Just one week out of basic training, Blair said she was assaulted by her drill sergeant who was in charge of her and other wounded soldiers while she was recovering from a hip injury, and that two others were sexually harassed that same night.

In 2019, the New York Times reported that in the previous two years, sexual assault against women in the U.S. military had doubled, with an estimated 20,500 instances of unwanted sexual contact in 2018 alone.

The same report states that women only make up about 20% of the military, but are targets of 63% of assaults, with youngest and lowest-ranking women at the highest risk.

But the overall tone of Van Ordens book, titled Book of Man: A Navy Seals Guide to the Lost Art of Manhood, was just as troubling for the women, who say it promotes an outdated and toxic environment against women and minorities.

The behaviors, ideology, and arrogance outlined in this book, Blair said, can not be ordained by granting him a public office. There is nothing lost about the art of exploiting weakness in people and confusing this for strength.

A person advocating the lost art of manhood, which disrespect others, does not represent the values of the hard working, decent folks of Western Wisconsin, let alone the United States Navy, said Helen Kelly, a veteran who said she supports Kind in his re-election.

In her 20 years in the U.S. Navy Reserves in La Crosse, Kelly said she experienced discrimination at a lower level than other women, chalking it up to her law degree. But she said she was still exposed to the discrimination.

While teaching a sexual harassment training in the reserves, Kelly said she saw firsthand men dismissing the harassment, abuse and discrimination against women.

As to be expected, there was a lot of objection to this training, and snickering by the men who saw nothing wrong with the art of manhood. Some men simply did not know what they didnt know, and some men simply believed it was a male rite of passage to sexually harass women, Kelly said.

Now we have a congressional candidate who glamorizes his own sexual harassment of two young female ensigns under the guise of conducting medical training at the expense of his superior officer, she said.

Van Orden did not directly respond to the womens remarks on Thursday, but his campaign issued a statement from a colleague and friend of the candidates, who called him an incredible family man and professional and committed veteran.

Derrick has put himself in harms way to save lives over and over again. He is putting himself out there again, this time to save Wisconsin and this great country, said Sara Howard, a retired Navy Chief, who served with Van Orden for 10 years and has known his family for 20.

The recent slanderous attacks on his character are baseless and without merit. It is shameful, cowardice, and disrespectful to try to diminish the record of a decorated combat veteran who has sacrificed so much for his family and this wonderful nation, Howard said, calling Van Orden one of her best friends.

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Stoney spent two years negotiating, reviewing and lobbying the council to support the controversial deal. The council rejected it as public pushback crested and questions mounted about its complex financing scheme. The mayor has maintained the Navy Hill plan was a vehicle for other priorities: growing a landlocked citys tax base, creating thousands of jobs and generating new affordable housing.

Critics, and his opponents, say the time he spent pushing it came at the expense of other more pressing needs. Not so, he said, adding it didnt preclude him from making progress in other areas, like education and housing. Downtown redevelopment will still be a goal if hes re-elected, he said.

Also among his goals if re-elected, he said, is expanding access to preschool and redoubling efforts around housing, with a focus on increasing the share of Black homeowners in the city.

In September, his administration unveiled its long-awaited housing plan, coupled with a proposal that could seed the citys Affordable Housing Trust Fund with a projected $10 million in new funding annually by 2025, if approved by the council.

Stoney said he would not seek statewide office next year if re-elected Richmonds mayor.

The next 10 years in the city are critical, but I believe the next four years are even more critical than that, he said. With that, I plan on fully serving my four years as mayor, and you will not see my name on the ballot in 2021.
A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for his role in an automobile accident scheme supporting fraudulent insurance claims.

Luis G. Aguirre, of Hudson County, N.J., was sentenced for his role in an automobile accident scheme in which health care practitioners fabricated or exaggerated accident victims injuries to support fraudulent insurance claims to Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance plans for medically unnecessary services, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Aguirre pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Judge Chesler imposed the sentence by videoconference.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Aguirre helped to orchestrate an automobile accident scheme in Bergen County, N.J., by acting as a runner who identified and recruited accident victims to the scheme. Aguirre subsequently introduced the victims to various chiropractors, medical imaging centers and others, who billed PIP insurance plans for medically unnecessary services.

Aguirre and an employee from an auto body shop in West New York, N.J., identified and recruited individuals who had been in car accidents, finding them through word of mouth in the community and through relationships with health care providers in northern New Jersey.

Aguirre paid for each accident victim that the employee helped identify and recruit to the scheme. The employee, in turn, paid accident victims for participating in the scheme. Aguirre also ensured that the victims had filed police reports to support subsequent insurance claims.

Aguirre then directed the accident victims to visit specific health care providers to obtain medically unnecessary medical exams and services, such as X-rays and MRIs, for fake or exaggerated injuries that they supposedly suffered during the automobile accidents.

Aguirre was paid approximately $500 in cash by the health care providers for each individual accident victim that he delivered. He thereby caused health care providers to submit insurance claims to PIP insurance plans on behalf of the accident victims.

For example, on Sept. 25, 2018, an individual from North Bergen, N.J., was involved in an automobile accident in Elizabeth, N.J. Based on a police report of the incident, the accident was minor. The individual was rear-ended by another car when both were stopped at a red light.

According to the police report, the individual refused medical treatment at the scene, stating that they would seek separate medical attention. At the time of the accident, they had an automobile insurance policy, which included PIP coverage.

Aguirre learned that the individual was willing to participate in the scheme in exchange for cash payment. On Oct. 12, 2018, Aguirre directed them to visit the proprietor of an MRI Center in Rochelle Park, N.J., where they underwent a series of medically unnecessary X-rays. On Oct. 16, 2018, the MRI Center billed their PIP insurance policy.

Aguirres participation in the conspiracy caused an estimated loss to PIP insurance plans of more than $250,000, while the total loss caused by the conspiracy exceeded $3.5 million.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Aguirre to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $53, 710.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

Topics Fraud USA New Jersey
National Hurricane Center

You read that headline right: Tropical Storm Gamma formed in the Caribbean Sea on Friday, and it's headed toward the Gulf of Mexico.

It's expected to head north toward the Yucatan Peninsula in the next couple of days, then turn west into Mexico's Bay of Campeche by the start of next week.
There were four new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the area, Peterborough Public Health reported Thursday.

This brings the total number of cases confirmed since March to 125. There are 15 active cases, 108 resolved and two deaths.

There have been about 29,300 people from the city and county, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation tested.

Drive-through testing is being offered at Eastgate Memorial Park from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Because of crowding, health officials recommend people go for testing only on the advice of a medical professional.

People with symptoms can book appointments at the PRHC Assessment Centre, which runs from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. seven days a week. Appointments can be booked at 705-876-5086. The centre also offers testing on weekends, by appointment, for people without symptoms.

A health card is required for testing at both sites.
The White House sent Donald Trump to a big-dollar campaign fundraiser on Thursday with around 100 people knowing the president had been in close contact with a West Wing aide who had just tested positive for coronavirus.

Mr Trumps chief of staff, Mark Meadows, confirmed that Hope Hicks, who had been experiencing symptoms was notified that she had coronavirus right as Marine One was taking off yesterday from the White Houses South Lawn to ferry the president to Air Force One for the flight to his Bedminster, New Jersey, resort that hosted the GOP fundraiser.

The former GOP congressman briefed reporters outside the White House about the presidents and first ladys health after both tested positive for coronavirus early Friday morning.

The chief of staff described Mr Trump as still full of energy and having given him five or six taskings that are due back to the president later on Friday.

He continues to be not only in good spirits but energetic, Mr Meadows said. "He is certainly wanting to make sure that we stay engaged."

Despite his boss and Ms Hicks, who is heavily involved in West Wing functions, both contracting the highly contagious virus, Mr Meadows came out to the North Lawn driveway without a face covering. He even acknowledged the spreadability of the disease.

What you have is a virus that is contagious. Has the ability to affect everybody, he said, saying Mr Trump caught it even though we keep a pretty wide circle around the commander in chief.

Even with that wide circle around the president, we find thats hes having to deal with this like so many millions of Americans, Mr Meadows said.

There are at least 7.3m cases in the United States and at least 208,000 confirmed deaths from Covid-19, according to The Johns Hopkins University.

Mr Trumps chief of staff declined to describe what specific things the president is being given by his military doctors to combat the virus.

But he did say Mr Trump is in the residence at the executive mansion, likely watching him update reporters on live television.

Hes in the residence now, Mr Meadows said of the voracious cable news-watching-president. Hes probably critiquing the way that Im answering these questions.
The death has occurred of Gerard Lynch, Ashbrook Park, Avenue Road, Dundalk

Peacefully, in the dedicated care of the staff of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. Son of the late Harry and Sadie and husband of the late Winnifred (nee Keenan). He will be sadly missed by his sorrowing sons Andrew and Gavin, Andrews partner Aisling, granddaughter Abbie, brother Benny, sister Helen, brothers-in-law Declan and Stephen, sisters-in-law Patricia, Ann and Kathleen, father-in-law Gerry, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.

May He Rest in Peace

Funeral Arrangements Later

The death has occurred of Mick McDermott, Rassan, Dundalk, Louth / Crossmaglen, Armagh

Mick RIP passed away peacefully at his home with his loving family by his side. Devoted husband of the late Alice RIP. Cherished father of Geraldine (Gibbons), Ann and Peter. Predeceased by his daughter Mary (Morgan)) RIP. Dear father-in-law of Sean and Patrick. Loving grandfather of Martin, Gerard, Aimee and Aoife. Brother of Pat, Mary, Kathleen, Margaret and the late Eoin and Jane.

Reposing at his late residence at Rassan, Hackballscross from 8pm on Thursday evening. Mick's Wake and Funeral will be strictly private for family, friends and neighbours only in accordance with public health guidelines. Funeral on Saturday 3rd October leaving at 1pm to St Patricks Church Crossmaglen (via Culloville) arriving for Requiem Mass at 1.30pm. Burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Our Lady Of Lourdes Pray For Him

Deeply regretted by his sorrowing son, daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren and wider family circle.

The death has occurred of Nelly (Quinn McDonagh) McDonagh, Naughton Close, Hoey`s Lane, Dundalk

Peacefully, in the dedicated care of the staff of Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Beloved wife of the late Jamesy, daughter of the late Paddy and Ellen Quinn McDonagh and sister of the late Winnie, Paddy, Ton and Mikey . She will be sadly missed by her sorrowing sons and daughters Paddy, Kathleen, Jimmy, Martin and Collette, daughters-in-law, son-in-law, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends. Predeceased by her daughter-in-law Catherine.

May She Rest in Peace

Due to continued restrictions on numbers at public gatherings, Nellys Funeral Mass will be celebrated in the presence of her family and close friends only.

There will be an opportunity for the community to support the family and to remember by being present on the route, socially distanced, on Saturday morning as Nelly is brought from her home to the Church of the Holy Family for Mass at 11am and afterwards for burial in St. Patricks Cemetery.

The death has occurred of Micheal Nulty, Mourne View Terrace, Dublin Road, Dundalk

Peacefully, in the dedicated care of the staff of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. Son of the late Michael and Brigid, husband of Carmel and father of Paul and Fiona. His loss will be deeply and sincerely regretted by his wife, son, daughter, brothers and sisters Owen, Anne, Olive, Noeleen and Peter, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.

May He Rest in Peace

Due to continued restrictions on numbers at public gatherings, Micheals Funeral Mass will be celebrated in the presence of his family and close friends only.

There will be an opportunity for the community to support the family and to remember by being present on the route (this route will be confirmed here on Saturday), socially distanced, on Sunday afternoon as Micheal is brought from Quinns Funeral Home, Bridge Street, to St. Patricks Cathedral for Mass at 2.30pm. Private cremation will follow.

The death has occurred of Glen Reenan, Meadow Grove., Dundalk

Glen Reenan, Meadow Gove, Dundalk. Suddenly, at home, 30th September 2020. Glen, much loved son of Tommy and the late Dympna (nee English) and brother of Lisa, Annmarie, Rosemary, Brian, Fiona, and Thomas. Glen will be sadly missed by his father, brothers, sisters, brothers in law, sisters in law, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.

May He Rest In Peace

His cortege will leave Mc Geough's Funeral Home, Jocelyn Street, at 10.40am on Saturday on his way to St. Josephs Redemptorist Church arriving for Mass at 11am, followed by private burial.

The Mass can be viewed on www.churchservices.tv/dundalk

Due to current government guidelines, Glens Funeral will be attended by family and close friends only.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 23:51:19|Editor: huaxia

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CHINGOLA, Zambia, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese-built infrastructure, Tanzania-Zambia Railway line is still paying dividends despite having been constructed 50 years ago, Zambian business community said on Friday.

This follows the board of directors of Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) involving of the private Open Access Operator in the transportation of cargo in TAZARA line which has so far had contributed to substantial diversion of freight traffic away from the roads and therefore added in slowing down the deterioration of the roads in Zambia and Tanzania.

Morgan Lungu, a Zambian transporter, said TAZARA is still one of the major international routes to the sea coast.

"Despite having been in existence for several decades TAZARA is still very effective when it comes to exports of goods such as Copper which is transported in bulk," he said.

Lungu commended the TAZARA board for ensuring that the railway remains effective in the transportation of cargo.

And Maureen Mwape who is Chingola chapter chairperson for Women in Business said apart from Zambia and Tanzania, other African nations are also using TAZARA to export and import goods.

"The railway line has become beneficial to other African countries not only to Zambia and Tanzania," she said. Enditem
Rouhani was quoted by his office as telling Pashinian that the region cannot withstand instability and a new war."

"It is important for us to stop this conflict and we expect the two countries to take a step in this direction with tact and restraint," he said, referring to Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Rouhani said Iran has friendly relations with both South Caucasus nations and stands ready to play any constructive role in easing tensions between them. "We wish an urgent end to the conflict and we should all seek to resolve issues in the region through politics and international norms," he added.

The Iranian president was also reported to say: Any foreign intervention in this matter will not only not help resolve the problem but also prolong  the situation and make it more complicated.

It was not clear if he referred to Turkeys vehement support for Azerbaijan which has led Armenia to accuse Ankara of participating in the continuing fighting on Azerbaijans side.

The official Armenian readout of the phone call said Pashinian discussed the direct Turkish involvement with Rouhani. Prime Minister Pashinian presented some details of that, it said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts following the outbreak on Sunday of the large-scale hostilities along the Karabakh line of contact adjacent to Iran. Zarif reportedly urged both sides to restore the ceasefire regime and resume peace talks.
MILWAUKEE, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ademi LLP is investigating American Renal Associates (NYSE: ARA) for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of the law in its transaction with Nautic Partners.

Click here to learn how to join the action: http://ademilaw.com/case/american-renal-associates-holdings-inc or call Guri Ademi toll-free at 866-264-3995. There is no cost or obligation to you.

Ademi LLP alleges American Renal Associates' financial outlook is improving and yet shareholders will receive only $11.50 for each share of American Renal Associates common stock held. The merger agreement unreasonably limits competing bids for American Renal Associates by prohibiting solicitation of further bids, and imposing a termination penalty if American Renal Associates accepts a superior bid. American Renal Associates insiders will receive millions of dollars as part of change of control arrangements. We are investigating the conduct of American Renal Associates' board of directors, and whether they are (i) fulfilling their fiduciary duties to all shareholders, and (ii) obtaining a fair and reasonable price for American Renal Associates.

If you own common stock in American Renal Associates and wish to obtain additional information, please contact Guri Ademi either at [email protected] or toll-free: 866-264-3995, or http://ademilaw.com/case/american-renal-associates-holdings-inc.

We specialize in shareholder litigation involving buyouts, mergers, and individual shareholder rights throughout the country. For more information, please feel free to call us. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

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Most civilians were killed by suicide bombs and booby traps according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said on Thursday that it documented the killing of at least 102 civilians during the month of September, in illegal operations by parties to the conflict and the controlling forces in Syria.

SNHR stated in its report that at least 102 civilians  including 15 children, 10 women, and three medical personnel  were killed this September by those involved in the conflict and the controlling forces in Syria, indicating that suicide bombings and booby traps were the main reason behind the deaths.

The report indicated that 16 civilians  including two children and one woman  were killed by the Syrian regime forces, one at the hands of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and three  including one child and one woman  at the hands of the armed opposition/National Army.

He added that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) killed five civilians, including a child, last September. The report also documents the killing of 77 civilians, including 11 children and eight women, at the hands of miscellaneous parties.

The report pointed out that three medical personnel were killed last September, one of them due to torture in a detention center of the Syrian regime and two by other sides.

In September, SNHR also documented the killing of 12 civilians due to torture, 10 of whom were killed at the hands of the Syrian regime, and two at the hands of SDF.

The report indicated that civilians were killed due to mines last September as well, in various governorates and regions in Syria. It also documented a massacre due to a vehicle-borne explosive device in the Aleppo governorate.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Prime Minister on Friday wished US President and first lady Melania Trump a speedy recovery from COVID-19.

Earlier in the day, President Trump had announced that he and his wife Melania Trump have been tested positive for

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi: "Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUSa quick recovery and good health."

The US President and Melania are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19.

"As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together," Melania tweeted.

and Melania Trump underwent COVID-19 test after his top adviser Hope Hicks tested positive for

(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.)
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. On the initiative of the Member of the European Parliament MEP Stelios Kympouropoulos, 24 members of the European Parliament addressed a written question to the President of the European Council Charles Michel regarding the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh, ARMENPRESS was informed from EAFJD.

The MEPs are asking whether the EU is preparing to impose sanctions against Azerbaijan and whether the EU council is willing to take actions in order to exert all the necessary pressure on the government of Azerbaijan to stop hostilities and withdraw its troops.

Commenting on the written question of the MEPs, the President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) Kaspar Karampetian stated: "This just one of the many similar initiatives by the Members of the European Parliament. In the European Parliament there is already an awareness about who in fact unleashed this war. Except for literally two MEPs, who have both vested in interests in having a pro-Azerbaijani stance, there have been no statements in the European Parliament supporting Azerbaijan.

Furthermore Karampetian summed up: The EAFJD and our committees across Europe actively continue to raise awareness among the politicians. Please find the written questions below 1. What the President of the European Council will do for an immediate cessation of hostilities and ceasefire? 2. What kind of actions is the President of European Council willing to take exerting all necessary pressure on the government of Azerbaijan to stop hostilities and withdraw its troops? 3. EU continues to be Azerbaijan's biggest export and second biggest import market with a 51 % share in Azerbaijan's exports and a 16 % share in Azerbaijan's imports. Is the European Council willing to prepare a list imposing financial sanctions to Azerbaijan?
In February, just five years shy of its 100th anniversary, the Portage Avenue Bay store, the mammoth icon of a bygone era of downtown department store shopping, will shut down for good.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In February, just five years shy of its 100th anniversary, the Portage Avenue Bay store, the mammoth icon of a bygone era of downtown department store shopping, will shut down for good.

HBC's decision to close the 650,000-square-foot store at Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard  twice the size of the Winnipeg Ikea store  won't come as a surprise to most people in the city.

Over the years, the company has closed some of the store's six floors and its basement, consolidating stock on just two levels. Last year a company-wide valuation of HBC's real estate holdings valued the downtown Winnipeg building at precisely $0.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The Hudsons Bay store in downtown Winnipeg.

"The decision to close this store was a difficult one," said Iain Nairn, president and CEO, Hudson's Bay Co.

"The downtown Winnipeg Hudson's Bay store is one of HBC's 'original six' and has been a landmark in a city that has incredibly strong ties to HBC's history. We also know that Winnipeggers have a strong and loyal affinity for the Hudson's Bay brand today, and we hope to continue that relationship for many years to come at our Polo Park and St. Vital locations, and through thebay.com."

Back in time View a slideshow of construction of the downtown Bay, and video from its opening day in 1926. click to read more View a slideshow of construction of the downtown Bay, and video from its opening day in 1926. A Manitoba masterpiece Construction of Winnipegs downtown Bay store begins in 1925. The building that would open on this spot a year later could boast it was constructed entirely of Manitoba products. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba Visible behind the construction site are the Free Press and Boyd buildings. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba More than two million feet of lumber was used. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba The buildings 151 foundation piles are driven down to bedrock, 52 feet below. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba At the height of construction, about 1,000 workers were on the site each day. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba The construction proceeded with haste rarely seen today  it would open just a year after the ground was broken. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba Reinforcing steel used weighed in excess of 3,500 tons. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba Stonework includes 125,000 cubic feet of cut stone (locally cut Tyndall) and 1.5 million bricks. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba Original plans for the buildings exterior called for terra cotta to be brought in from the United States. At the urging of local leaders, the Hudsons Bay Company changed its plans and agreed to use $400,000 worth of locally cut Tyndall stone. The decision not only created additional jobs in Manitoba, but allowed The Bay to later advertise that the structure was constructed with 100 per cent of Manitoba products. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba Close

Company officials said it was a sad day, but as a result of changing consumer habits  shoppers long ago ditched the downtown for suburban malls and, more recently, online commerce  there was clearly no longer any commercial rationale for keeping the store open.

At one time, the closure of such a large store would cause serious ripple effects to commercial enterprises located within a few square kilometres. The reality is that the store has had little traffic for many years, its heft as a retail anchor long gone.

"Obviously, it is disappointing news," said Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman. "Many of us have fond memories of that store. As a child, (my family) used to drive downtown in our old Pontiac to look at the Christmas displays in the windows.

"It is definitely part of our cultural and historical fabric."

A look back: Winnipeg's downtown Bay The Bays main floor is elbow to elbow with Christmas shoppers in this 1940s photo. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba Winnipeggers could dine in style at The Bays Georgian Room. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba An elevator girl dressed in a toy soldier costume runs the Toy Town Express elevator at the downtown Bay in 1947. - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Manitoba Archives The Bay is uncharacteristically empty as the blizzard of March 4, 1966 hits. - Winnipeg Free Press ARchives Hudsons Bay Co. downtown store is bathed in light on March 13, 1973. - Gerry Cairns / Winnipeg Free Press Archives The first floor of the Hudsons Bay Co.s downtown store circa 1973. - Winnipeg Free Press Archives The Zellers grocery store in the Bay basement downtown closed in 2013. - KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES The Paddlewheel Restaurant in the Bays downtown store is seen decorated for the holidays in November 2004. - Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press Files The eponymous wheel at the Paddlewheel Restaurant. - Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press Archives Coins sit on the floor of a waterless tank next to a spinning paddlewheel. Water hadnt been in its tank for some time but patrons still used it as a wishing well until the restaurant closed in 2013. - (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press) Beef dinner platter at the Paddlewheel Restaurant. - Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press Turkey dinner platter at the Paddlewheel Restaurant. - Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press A patron walks outside the Paddlewheel Restaurant in 2013, shortly before it closed. - Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press The Paddlewheel Restaurant served its last meal in January 2013. - Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press Files RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES The Bay building on Portage Avenue in downtown Winnipeg in 2018. - MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The Hudsons Bay Co. building at Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard in November 2019. -

Friday was going to be a tough day for the store's 60 employees, some of whom have been there for many years.

"We are committed to treating every associate with respect and fairness through this process," a company statement said. "All eligible associates will receive appropriate employment separation packages and transfer opportunities will be explored where feasible."

The discussion will move to what happens to the building. There have been several past attempts to put together viable renovation plans to repurpose the building, but all have fallen short.

The downtown Bay: questions and answers about its past and future Click to Expand RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The Hudson Bay building on Portage Ave. in downtown Winnipeg. Posted: 2:40 PM Oct. 2, 2020 Why is the downtown Bay building significant? What's happened inside over the years? What's next for the building? Read Full Story

City council's decision in January 2019 to assign the building official heritage status has complicated matters. The designation protects the building from being demolished and ensures that several features  the exterior limestone walls, the outside canopy and the curved elevator lobby, among others  are preserved in future projects.

HBC said there are no immediate plans for the property after the doors close. The company has told the mayor it will work with the city and any interested parties that step forward.

HBC would "be open to anything" and said that it would not hold out for commercial reasons when working with potential developers, a company official said.

"Nairn was clear HBC was looking to work with the community on the next step for the building," Bowman said. "I appreciate the sense of corporate stewardship and responsibility to the community they have shown."

The Bay has more square footage than many other large buildings in Winnipeg. (Aaron Pollock)

While no one would argue that Winnipeg's downtown no longer functions as a retail hub, there are other elements of development that are going strong.

The area boasts more residents than ever, along with a steady pace of investment that includes True North Square, the Artis REIT apartment tower, Red River College's Innovation Centre and the soon-to-open Inuit Art Centre expansion to the Winnipeg Art Gallery across the street from the Bay store.

"The overall health and growth in our downtown is going in the right direction," Bowman said.

That said, having such a large building  it occupies a full city block  sitting empty would cause problems for any city.

Craig Patterson, a professor at the University of Alberta's school of retailing, and the editor-in-chief of Retail Insider, said the demise of downtown Winnipeg's last department store speaks to the suburbanization of retail.

"The department store concept is on the way out in North America," he said. "There is great downtown development, but the actual retail side of things is not what it used to be."

Patterson, who is researching the Hudson's Bay Co. and has done work on the decline of retailing in U.S. city centres, said such a large empty building can be bad for downtown.

"We have seen it in other cities," he said, "It can become a blight."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The Bay downtown has not seen busy crowds for many years.

Maureen Atkinson, senior partner at retail consulting firm J.C. Williams Group, said, "People will bemoan the loss of a store like that, but the reality is, the reason the store is being lost is because people are not shopping there."

Hudson's Bay Co. timeline An overview of the Hudson's Bay Co., from the 1670 signing of the Royal Charter, to early trading posts, through to changes in ownership and purchases of other companies, to today's news of the downtown store closure. click to read more 1670 - The Hudsons Bay Co., the worlds oldest continuously operating trading company, is born with the signing of the Royal Charter on May 2nd to Prince Rupert and the Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson Bay. 1821 - Hudsons Bay Company and North West Company merge. At the time, HBC has 76 trading posts, NWC 97, with 1,983 employees. 1831 - Fort Garry is originally built in 1821 on a site near The Forks, where the Red and the Assiniboine rivers meet. A new fort, Lower Fort Garry is opened downstream in 1831. In 1835, HBC rebuilds the first fort in its original location and names it Upper Fort Garry. 1881 - Opens a modest dry goods, grocery, and hardware store at the corner of Winnipegs Main and York streets and produces its first mail order catalogue that provides access to the Canadian rural market. 1913 - Builds the first of its modern department stores in Calgary at the corner of 7th Avenue SW and 1st Street 1926 - Opens its Portage Avenue store in Winnipeg, the last of its six large urban stores 1965 - Adopts the Bay brand for retail 1970 - Queen Elizabeth grants the company a new charter and its head office moves from London, England, to Winnipeg. The year also marks the companys 300th anniversary. 1974 - Establishes itself in the downtown core of Toronto with 260,000 sq. ft. of retail space and relocates its corporate office to Toronto. 1978 - Buys Zellers, Fields, and Simpsons the idea being for HBC to satisfy all potential customers through its three banners: Simpsons for the premium trade; The Bay for the middle market; and Zellers for the discount, mass market. 1987 - Officially moves its headquarters from Winnipeg to Toronto 1993 - The Bay acquires Woodwards Department Stores and most of the company's 26 stores are converted to Zellers or Bay stores. The net gain to HBC is 11 Bay stores and 10 Zellers stores in British Columbia and Alberta. 1998 - Zellers acquires Kmart Canada. Zellers now operates in 17 new Canadian markets and has a bigger presence in Canada than Walmart. 1999 - Launches Home Outfitters 2000 - Launches its web presence with www.hbc.com 2006 - Becomes a private U.S.-owned company when American Jerry Zucker acquires the company for $1.13 billion 2008 - National Realty and Development Corp. (NRDC) Equity Partners, which also owns the 47-store Lord & Taylor department store chain, buys HBC. 2011 - Sells Zellers leases to Target Corp., which acquires 220 leasehold interests for $1.825 billion. In 2012, HBC announces that the remaining Zellers stores will close by March 2013. 2012 - Returns to the public marketplace with an initial public offering of common shares. 2013 - Buys Saks Incorporated, which operates banners Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks OFF 5TH, for US $2.9 billion 2019 - After two decades of operation, HBC announces the closure of its Canadian Home Outfitters business in February. 2020 - Hudsons Bay Co. shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the purchase of the company by executive chairman Richard Baker for $2 billion, talking it private once again. 2021 - Scheduled to close its iconic Portage Avenue store in downtown Winnipeg. Close

But downtown economic development officials are not without hope. Dayna Spiring, CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg, said she has seen renderings of what is possible in that building.

"I think the store closing simplifies the issue," she said. "Now we are not having to deal with retail on the main floor.

"There are challenges for sure. It's a big building. But it is a landmark. There are opportunities, given its size, to really do something unique on the inside."

"People will bemoan the loss of a store like that, but the reality is, the reason the store is being lost is because people are not shopping there." Maureen Atkinson

Kate Fenske, who runs the Downtown BIZ, said news of the store's impending closure was hard to take.

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"We all have fond memories of going to that store," she said. "I just bought a new rain jacket there that I love, this spring."

While she said its closure marks a significant shift in the downtown landscape, it could also be an opportunity to start talking about the future.

"It's important not to lose site of major investments that are happening in the heart of the city," she said. "I think we need to look at this as a really good time to have a conversation in the community about what we want our downtown to be in the future.

"There is so much potential... and its important to keep that momentum going even during a pandemic."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Jaswant Singh was new to diplomacy on the world stage but he proved more than equal to the task. PTI Photo

Jaswant Singh, who passed away last Sunday after being in a coma for nearly six years, was an aristocrat by birth which gave him a broad conservative outlook of which gentlemanliness  in his day  was an essential part.

By training he was a soldier, which was common enough in his native Rajasthan. But in his personal inclinations, he was a man of books, which is far from common in that state or anywhere else for someone of his background.

This unusual mix, which was on a straightforward view in his personality, set him apart from any politician of my acquaintance  and his tenure in Parliament as an MP and this writers as a journalist ran almost in parallel.

Contemplating the life he lived after he is gone, it is hard to see him in any role other than that of a politician at an exalted level. This is because, at heart, he was a strategic ruminator who was happiest being in action at the junction of political grappling, and military and international affairs calculations.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee saw this straight off. In his first, very brief 13-day term as leader of the government, Singh was named finance minister, surprising everyone since the former Army major had had little to do with economics or finance in his life.

But there could be no question about his integrity, a critical requirement for anyone in public office, especially for the holder of the finance portfolio at the highest level. The finance minister also needs to have a strategic view of the society and the politics of the country.

Jaswant Singh summoned this, unlike most politicians, though it was evident that handing over Dabhol to Enron, without doing due diligence, was a serious error. It raised the spectre of corruption, and this would be easy to believe if the minister in question werent Jaswant Singh.

It is probable that the Vajpayee government saw the courting of Enron as a way of taking the first  seemingly harmless  steps toward courting America, with which Indias ties had been without warmth practically from the start of the Indian republic. If so, it turned out to be poor judgment.

But the late PMs judgment in subsequently making Singh his external affairs minister bore the country profit.

Jaswant Singh was new to diplomacy on the world stage but he proved more than equal to the task. He courted America but was not recklessly, or foolishly, right-wing in doing so, as a less sophisticated first-time external affairs minister from the right side of politics might have been.

Singh was never craven.

He always appeared mindful of his own and his governments and his countrys dignity, without being chauvinistically awkward or stiff-backed, as he went about choreographing the score for India-America relations in the post-Cold War setting.

This was evident in his numerous interactions over several years with Strobe Talbott, then US deputy secretary of state and President Bill Clintons pointman for India.

These two laid the scaffolding of India-US ties in a new era. Many had feared the rise of a Hindu nativist boor in the foreign office and heaved a sigh of relief as Singh went about his business.

When Vajpayee went for the Pokhran-2 thermonuclear test in May 1998, codenamed Smiling Buddha, the only political colleague who was in on the super-secret was Jaswant Singh, and not deputy PM L.K. Advani, Vajpayees buddy in politics over the decades and a BJP leader of the first rank who could himself have been Prime Minister.

This spoke of Vajpayees political trust in Jaswant Singh as much as his awareness of Singhs astuteness in matters of high politics, although the external affairs minister had not come through the RSS; indeed among many of whom he was sought to be reviled as a CIA agent.

But perhaps there was more to Vajpayees almost subliminal alignment with Jaswant Singh. One rose up the RSS stream, and in its political front the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (later BJP) on the strength of his many remarkable attributes as a person and as a politician.

The other first veered toward the Swatantra Party  that attracted many former feudal elements who were not of a communal bent  and later moved towards the Jan Sangh as the Swatantra had no political future and would die.

Both Vajpayee and Singh had a larger vision of India than the RSS or Jan Sangh allowed, though for obvious reasons they could hardly repudiate the Hindu right-wing in public.

At the top tier of the Jan Sangh (and BJP), perhaps there was also Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the former vice-president of India and a mass leader from Rajasthan who had once been the state chief

minister.

This writer once had the rare privilege of being in a private conversation with them in which Singh and Shekhawat (Singh treated Shekhawat as his elder and accorded him enormous respect) lamented the lack of vision and openness in the foundational precepts and the actions of the organised Hindu right-wing.

There was a phase in the BJP when Advani thought in a somewhat similar way without abandoning the core political moorings of Hindutva.

This was a time when he sometimes spoke of his wish that the BJP could evolve into a party like Germanys Christian Democrats, but he never spelt this out for the public record, perhaps fearing that the RSS would fry him if he did. But Advani did defend Jaswant Singh when the chips were down and the BJP was in the process of hounding the latter, eventually expelling him.

After Singh passed away, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did issue some lukewarm words in tribute, but the BJP largely ignored his contribution.

Between the Jan Sanghs founding in 1951 and the start of Modis tenure as PM in 2014, there was an interregnum of about two decades in which the BJP had the potential to transform into a normal rightist party, and being spiritually in tune with the Constitution.

Jaswant Singh was a product of that milieu. But the thought of such change was probably just wishful thinking by a few at the top. The urge had no roots at the mass level in the RSS-BJP, which continues to see the vision of Golwalkars India.
This is the moment police were called to break up a fight between students at a 'house party' at a locked-down halls of residence.

More than 1,500 students at Manchester Met University were asked not to leave their flats and self-isolate after a coronavirus outbreak at its accommodation blocks.

The lockdown has sparked fury, with many teenagers and young adults facing the prospect of weeks away from loved ones, with unions demanding those 'trapped in halls' be allowed to return home and study online if they wish to do so.

But a video shows police arriving at what appears to be a late-night gathering at the university's Birley Halls of residence - one of those under lockdown.

This is the moment police were called to break up a fight between students at a 'house party' at a locked-down halls of residence

Union demands students 'trapped in halls' be allowed to return home from university Students 'trapped in halls' should be allowed to return home from university and study online if they wish to do so, unions have demanded. The National Union of Students (NUS) and the University and College Union (UCU) have called for urgent action from the Government as coronavirus outbreaks have hit university campuses across the UK. Larissa Kennedy, NUS president, said students have been left struggling to access food and wellbeing resources, which she warned is needlessly risking lives. It comes after Boris Johnson said students will be able to go home for Christmas  despite Covid-19 cases rising 'quite rapidly' among young people. Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Gavin Williamson suggested a shift to online learning could be applied in 'specific cases' to enable students to safely return home at the end of term to be with their families over the festive period. But the education unions are calling for a move to online learning wherever possible  and they say students should be given a safe way to leave campus now if they want to. Advertisement

Residents said the youngsters were hosting a house party involving 'at least 20 students' when a fight broke out at 4.30am this morning.

Stephen Andrew, 27, lives across the street from the university halls and filmed the moment police officers arrived.

The hospitality manager said: 'Last night, there was quite a large number of students gathering, going on into the early hours of the morning.

'There was a lot of fighting that broke out at about 4:30am, to the point where it was actually quite concerning to see.

'There was at least sort of 20 students involved at the gathering, and about half a dozen were involved in the violence.

'I was actually the one who called it in to the emergency services and the police turned up very quickly, literally before I'd even hung up the phone.

'They responded with three vehicles and there were about seven or eight officers.

'My flatmates and I hadn't been in bed long but the amount of noise and commotion from across the road was enough to wake us up!'

Police officers can be seen breaking up the gathering of students at Birley Halls.

It comes less than a week after more than 1,500 students at MMU were told not to leave their accommodation and to self isolate for 14 days following a coronavirus outbreak on campus.

Last week, students at the Birley and Cambridge Halls went into lockdown following an outbreak of 127 Covid cases.

Students reportedly said they only found out when security staff at the gates told them they couldn't leave, and a few days later they were told the lockdown was optional.

Larissa Kennedy, president of the National Union of Students, said many have been left struggling to access food and wellbeing resources, which she warned is needlessly risking lives.

A video shows police arriving at what appears to be a late-night gathering at the university's Birley Halls of residence - one of those under lockdow

Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Gavin Williamson suggested a shift to online learning could be applied in 'specific cases' to enable students to safely return home at the end of term to be with their families over the festive period.

But the education unions are calling for a move to online learning wherever possible  and they say students should be given a safe way to leave campus now if they want to.
Dr Kojo Mensah Abrampah, Director General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has said the Commission cannot compel political parties to align their manifestos with the long and medium term development perspectives of the country.



However, he said it would be in the interest of the political parties themselves to align their manifestos with the development perspectives of the Country only if they desired to achieve maximum impact.



It is not for the NDPC to push for Parties to align but it is logical and rational for Parties to rather align to some of the longterm development perspectives of the Country.



Sincerely, if you want to get results, then the key thing is to develop manifestoes around the longterm development plan such as the Ghana at 100 perspective, he said.



Dr Abrampah said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the opening of the Ghana Priority Youth Forum at the University of Cape Coast on Thursday.



The forum, which was on the theme: The relevance of using data for policy making sought to solicit the views and expectations of the youth on the Countrys development going forward.

The Ghana Priority is a collaboration between Copennhagan Consensus Centre (CCC) and the National Development Planning Commission.



The CCC is a Global Think-Tank focused on using data for effective policy solutions using cost benefit analysis, the project seeks to provide government and the international donor community with systematic processes to help prioritise the most effective policy solutions and help Ghana accelerate the achievement of the National Development agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).



Dr Abrampah explained that once political parties are able to design a manifesto, which aligned with the longterm perspective of the Country, there was high probability that whatever that would be pursued under the manifesto would be close to reality.



He added that it was up to political parties to develop strategies to be able to implement what was outlined in their manifestos.



The manifesto is an intention and the intention must be probed by relevance, by feasibility and probed within a time frame, he said.



Dr Abrampah expressed content about the development trend of the country but stressed that though Ghanas development was on course, there was the need to set the right priorities.



Dr Ralph Nordjo, Coordinator of Ghana Priorities, CCC explained that the Ghana Priority research project sought to explore the smallest solutions to help Ghana and it covered themes ranging from poverty and health to education, infrastructure and gender equality.



He said the project was started some 18 months ago by selecting more than 400 development intervention policies that were in line with the National Development Agenda and the SDGs.



He said 80 of such policies were selected by reference to a group of eminent people based on top priorities.

Source: GNA









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Crevasses observed on Pine Island Glacier. These open fractures are a sign of structural weakening. Credit NASA

A new study into the structural damage of two major Antarctic glaciers reveals that ice shelf weakening has rapidly evolved in recent years. Multi-satellite imagery identified damage areas, sparking concerns that structural weakening could lead to major ice shelf collapse in the decades to come. This collapse, in turn, reduces the glaciers' ability to hold back major sections of the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet from running into the ocean.

Pine Island Glacier and Thwaites Glacier are located in the Amundsen Sea Embayment. The fastest-changing outlet glaciers in the region, they account for Antarctica's largest contribution to global sea level rise. Scientists have anticipated for at least 20 years that these glaciers will be the first to respond to climate change, Jessica O'Reilly, an environmental anthropologist at Indiana University, told GlacierHub.

If the ice shelves of these two glaciers collapse, it could trigger large-scale disintegration of the nearby West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which holds enough ice to raise global sea level by about 10 feet. The glaciers provide a natural buffering system that is holding back the enormous ice sheet upstream, but if structural damage is weakening the ice shelves, rapid outflow into the ocean could occur in the coming years.

The study results reveal that since 2016, damage in the shear zone of Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers has rapidly developed. The shear zone is located where the glacier meets the ice shelf, which acts as a braking system that slows the downstream flow of the glaciers towards the sea. Due to the resistive forces and stresses, ice breaks in this zone where the two meet, as seen in the image above. Parallel crevasses have formed perpendicular to the direction of flow, tearing apart the ice. Satellite imagery shows that for Pine Island, the south shear zone has been torn apart and fragmented, and for Thwaites, damage is accelerating upstream in its shear zone.

A large calving event on Pine Island Glaciers ice shelf in February 2020, observed from the Corpernicus satellite. Events like these may become all too common in the future, as fracturing and weakening of the ice increases. Credit: European Space Agency

Fracturing in the shear zone structurally weakens the ice front. At the same time, the glaciers have been increasing in downslope velocity, which in turn initiates further shearing and fracturing. This is rendering the ice shelves unstable, paving the way for large calving events while also reducing the shelf's ability to hold back the outflowing glacier.

In February 2020, a large rift developed across Pine Island's shelf due to damage in the shear zone. Satellites observed a huge calving event that caused unprecedented retreat of the ice shelf, further destabilizing it.

Adding to the concerns for these glaciers, warmer ocean waters in the Amundsen Sea is melting the ice shelf from below. Changing atmospheric and oceanic patterns are sweeping warm deep waters towards the floating ice shelves of Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers. Melting from below is making the overlying ice shelf even more brittle and thus susceptible to further shearing and fracturing. Study co-author Bert Wouters told GlacierHub that without ocean warming, we would not be seeing the changes and processes we are observing.

Furthermore, these glaciers are sitting on reverse bed slopes. This means once the glaciers start retreating, they will retreat further and further in a positive feedback loop. "At some point we may reach a point of no return, where collapse will be unstoppable. Once you remove the ice shelves, there is no way of stopping the mass loss of Antarctica," Wouters told GlacierHub.

Thwaites Glacier. Clearly seen are open fractures and a calving front. Although these have been long recognized, scientists are looking to see whether recent changes to the ice front is a distinctive signature of climate change. Credit: NASA/James Yungel

A significant challenge across climate science is to distinguish natural ice behavior from variability caused by human influence, confirms O'Reilly. However, the rapid changes to Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers have been clearly connected to anthropogenic climate change. O'Reilly, who has been following the study of Antarctic glaciology since 2008, tells that great progress has been made in understanding these glaciers. "Teams of scientists have been puzzling over these glaciers since the middle of the last century. This puzzling means a lot of exciting, innovative approaches to learning about the glaciers has emerged."

Although satellite images have long been used as a tool for studying these glaciers, the significance of this study is that the damage now observed is setting up further, and potentially catastrophic, ice loss in Antarctica. These glaciers are the gateway to the continent, and therefore rapidly developing damage to the barrier that is stopping the ice sheet from sliding into the ocean is a critical concern for scientists. But they're not the only ones who should be worried. O'Reilly reminds us that these changes will affect coastal communities, livelihoods and ecosystems globally.

Despite the significance of the new results, Wouters warns that there are still a lot of unknowns. "We keep finding new processes and feedbacks, so there might be others that we are not aware of yet, and those that we know about we don't fully understand yet, nor are these feedbacks incorporated into models."

Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers are endangered, and the current damage is almost impossible to heal. "These are the two key glaciers in West Antarctica that will define global sea level over the coming decades," Wouters told GlacierHub. Although major ice shelf collapse is unlikely to occur in the coming years, we are seeing the processes speed up, so it might be a matter of decades, explained Wouters. If the new predictions for further destabilization and ice loss prove to be accurate, the implications for sea level rise are likely to be severe.

Explore further Antarctica: Cracks in the ice

This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu.
Actor Shia LaBeouf has been charged after a June altercation. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

Actor Shia LaBeouf has been charged with battery and theft after a June altercation in Los Angeles.

The "Honey Boy" star was charged last week with one count of misdemeanor battery and one count of misdemeanor theft, the Los Angeles city attorney's office confirmed Thursday.

Prosecutors pressed charges against the 34-year-old actor for allegedly using force and violence against a man named Tyler Murphy, according to a copy of the misdemeanor complaint obtained by The Times on Thursday. The altercation, which took place on June 12, allegedly resulted in LaBeouf taking a hat that belonged to Murphy.

The complaint asks that a warrant be issued for LaBeouf's arrest.

Representatives for the "Transformers" actor did not immediately respond to The Times' requests for comment Thursday.

According to TMZ, LaBeouf and Murphy were involved in a verbal altercation that turned physical. After that, the actor allegedly took off Murphy's cap and left with it.

It's not the first time the former Disney Channel star has had brushes with the law. In 2014, LaBeouf was arrested outside New York Citys Studio 54 after he drunkenly disrupted a performance of Cabaret." He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to months of alcohol-abuse treatment.

In 2017, LaBeouf was arrested again after scuffling with a man at his "He Will Not Divide Us" protest in New York. (Those charges were later dropped.) That same year, he was booked for public drunkenness, disorderly conduct and obstruction in Savannah, Ga., that ultimately led to his infamous racist rant at the police station.

In 2018, he told Esquire that what happened in Georgia "was mortifying": "White privilege and desperation and disaster...It came from a place of self-centered delusion...It was me trying to absolve myself of guilt for getting arrested."

This past summer, the method actor was embroiled in a different kind of offense: whether he used brownface in the film "The Tax Collector."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Policing is among the top priorities for the two candidates in this months Onchan Commissioners by-election.

Residents have become increasingly concerned with anti-social behaviour in the area.

Officers are still investigating a specific case after a woman died following a disturbance in Onchan Park in August.

Kim Corlett and David Quirk both say they are keen to address the issue of youth crime if elected on October 22.

Mr Quirk has criticised the police, claiming early intervention is needed to clamp down on the issue.

He said: The police have been poor. Im sorry to say that of our constabulary.

We need to nip this in the bud. Early intervention gives you a lot of credit in the future because these juveniles, when they get to a certain age, its not just probation anymore, or custody; its prison.

Anti-social behaviour is also high on Ms Corletts agenda, who believes additional measures can be brought in.

I think every generation says there are troubles with teenagers, its just that we need to introduce procedures, she conceded.

We also need more CCTV cameras through the park so that any trouble can be identified and responded to.

Both candidates cited the recent death 73-year-old grandmother Lesley Cubbon, who died at her home, as a reason for increasing policing in the area.

Police had been called after complaints a number of youths were causing annoyance to residents near Onchan Park, however, it has not yet been determined whether the two incidents are linked.

A spokesperson for the Isle of Man Constabulary said: Where anti-social behaviour is identified around the Island we will use our resources to investigate.
CARY, N.C., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- USfalcon is pleased to announce that Michael Werner has joined USfalcon as the Vice President of the Operations, Readiness and Engineering (ORE) Division. As Vice President, Mike will lead the operations teams in the ORE Division in pursuit of new business and operational excellence in the Aviation Maintenance and Engineering and Air, Space and Cyber Operations and Training sectors.

Mike is an Army veteran who brings over twenty years of management experience across the full lifecycle of hardware and software new development, operations maintenance and support, information technology, and professional services contracts Prior to USfalcon, Mike held numerous Profit and Loss, Program Management and Capture Management positions within Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Solutions, Space and Rotary, and Mission Systems business areas.

Mike holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Management from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Master's Degree in Information Systems from Colorado Technical University and a Master's Business Administration in Finance from the University of Colorado.

Jerry Tussing, President and Chief Operating Officer, stated "We are excited to welcome Mike to the USfalcon family. With his strong background and experience in operations management, he is an excellent addition to our leadership team and we look forward to working with him to enhance and expand our business offerings."

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SOURCE USfalcon, Inc.
MOSCOW - The editor of a Russian news website died after setting herself on fire outside a regional police headquarters Friday, a day after officers searched her residence.

Russias Investigative Committee confirmed the death of Kolza.Press editor Irina Slavina in Nizhny Novgorod, a city of 1.2 million about 380 kilometres (235 miles) east of Moscow.

Slavina reported on Thursday that her home was searched by police, although the nature of the search was not clear.

The independent news site Meduza reported that Slavina left a message on Facebook saying her death should be blamed on Russian authorities.

Read more about:
Campaign curbs should apply to all, PM Modi must lead by example: Sena's Raut

Three detained as Shiv Sena leader hacked to death in Pune

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

Pune, Oct 02: A local Shiv Sena leader was killed in a midnight attack by a group of motorbike-borne assailants, police said on Friday. The deceased was identified as Deepak Maratkar, an office-bearer of the Shiv Sena's youth wing - Yuva Sena - and son of former party corporator Vijay Maratkar, they said.

Three persons have been detained in connection with the fatal assault, which seems like a fallout of political rivalry, the police said.

The attack, involving about half-a-dozen people, took place past Thursday midnight at around 12.30 am when the deceased was with his friend in the Budhwar Peth area in the heart of the city, the police said.

2 important allies are out: What is left of NDA after Akali Dal, Shiv Sena exit, asks Saamana

"The assailants came on motorbikes and some of them attacked Maratkar with sharp-edged weapons. As he started running, he was attacked by others. Five to six people attacked him with sharp-edged weapons," said an officer from the Faraskhana police station.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

The Sena leader was rushed to a hospital where he died, the officer said. "We suspect political rivalry to be the reason behind the act and three people have been apprehended and our investigation is on," he said. A case has been registered with the Faraskhana police station.

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Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 14:11 [IST]
A baby mountain lion severely burned in the Zogg Fire in Shasta County has been moved to the Oakland Zoo, where a team of veterinarians are treating his wounds.

The cub, only 4 to 6 weeks old, was found wandering on painful paws Wednesday by a Cal Fire firefighter in an area that was scorched by the blaze a few days earlier. There was no sign of his mother or any siblings.

The firefighter captured the young male and handed him over to the Shasta County Sheriffs Office, which in turn contacted California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials. Fish and Wildlife reached out to the Oakland Zoo for help, and one of the department's biologists drove the cub from Redding to Oakland.

Oakland Zoos Dr. Lynette Waugh and staff veterinary technicians immediately began treating the cub, who weighs only 3.75 pounds.

Waugh said the cub was badly burned, especially in the soft tissues of his paws. His whiskers were singed off, and he is suffering severe eye irritation. There is little doubt that he wouldnt have survived if the firefighter hadnt found him.

The good news is, the cubs lungs and bones were not damaged by smoke inhalation. Veterinary staffers are feeding him milk formula with a syringe, and he is also eating on his own. He's received antibiotics. His demeanor was described as feisty, which is a good sign.

Zoo spokeswoman Erin Harrison said the cub underwent surgery Thursday on his injured paws.

Dr. Alex Herman, director of the zoos veterinary hospital, said his team was cautiously optimistic that the cub would survive and thrive.

Because of his young age the cub wont be returned to the wild. Mountain lions stay with their mothers until they are capable of surviving on their own, usually when theyre about 2 years old.

The cub will be placed in a permanent home after he has completely recovered, the zoo said.
Armenia on October 2 said it is willing to engage in peace talks through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as international leaders continued to call for an immediate end to fighting with Azerbaijani forces over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.



There are concerns that this week's flare-up in violence around the breakaway territory could grow into a full-blown war between the archfoes and draw in regional powers Russia and NATO-member Turkey.



The Foreign Ministry in Yerevan said in its statement that it welcomed a joint call the previous day from France, Russia, and the United States -- the so-called Minsk Group mediating peace efforts since a shaky cease-fire was reached in the early 1990s -- for an immediate cessation of hostilities between forces fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The trio also called on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to "commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs."

The ministry said it remained committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and was ready to engage with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries to reestablish a cease-fire regime based on the 1994-1995 agreements.



Armenia on October 2 accused Azerbaijani forces of striking Nagorno-Karabakh's capital, Stepanakert. RFE/RLs Armenian Service reported that four people were injured but no one was killed.



The report quoted Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisian as saying there was a lot of damage to the citys infrastructure, including the building of the emergency services.



Hikmat Haciyev, foreign affairs aide to the Azerbaijani president, told reporters that if Armenia "wants to see an end of this escalation of the situation," it "must end its occupation" of Nagorno-Karabakh.



White House national security adviser Robert OBrien met on October 2 in Geneva with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev for discussions on a number of topics, including Nagorno-Karabakh.



We had business-like and constructive dialogue and, while we have differences, I am optimistic that the United States and Russia can make progress in key areas that will ultimately benefit both the American and Russian people, OBrien tweeted.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, but it and a handful of adjoining regions are controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists with close ties to Yerevan.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a conflict over the mountainous region since the waning years of the Soviet Union. They fought a war that ended in 1994 with an uneasy cease-fire and an estimated 30,000 killed.

Since the recent fighting erupted on September 27, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have shown little willingness to halt the violence.

The potential for robust Turkish military involvement in the conflict is being watched closely by Russia, which is already on opposing sides with the NATO member in conflicts in Libya and Syria.

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on October 2 and "insisted on the need to immediately stop the hostilities and resume political-diplomatic efforts" to settle the dispute in line with the Minsk Group appeal.



Both men "agreed to continue contacts in various formats," it said.



Putin and Pashinian both expressed "serious concern" over reports of foreign fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh "conflict zone," the Kremlin said.



Armenia and Russia have previously alleged that Turkey has sent Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan, something Ankara and Baku have denied.



The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on September 30 claimed "reliable sources" informed it of the deaths of a "Syrian fighter of Turkish-backed factions in Azerbaijan" in the fighting.



By October 2, the group said at least 28 Syrian rebels had been killed in the Azerbaijani-Armenian fighting.



In a signal Turkey has no intention to de-escalate, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on October 1 that his country would continue to provide all types of support to Azerbaijan as he criticized the Minsk Group for failing to resolve the long-running dispute.



Given that the United States, France, and Russia as OSCE Minsk Group cochairs have neglected the problem for nearly 30 years, it is not acceptable for them to call for a cease-fire in the face of negative developments today, Erdogan told parliament. He demanded Armenian occupiers first leave the territory.

In Washington, Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging him to engage with the leaders of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to encourage an immediate cease-fire and a return to negotiations.

Given the possibility that this conflict could engulf the region and draw in other external actors, it is imperative that the U.S. use its diplomatic leverage to bring about an immediate cease-fire, the senators wrote in the letter, which was released on October 2 by Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat-New Jersey), the top Democrat on the committee.

With reporting by AFP, AP, Interfax, and Reuters
The government wants to connect 100 per cent of Canadians to high-speed internet by 2030. REUTERS

Experts say Justin Trudeaus Liberal government is going to have a challenging time coordinating between different departments to roll out funding for broadband internet projects as the Canadian Infrastructure Bank (CIB) announced $2 billion to connect Canadians.

Trudeau, with Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna, and Michael Sabia, chair of the board of the CIB, announced Thursday the $10 billion CIBs growth plan in an effort to support Canadas COVID-19 economic recovery.

The additional $1 billion from the CIB that was announced in the 2019 budget, will connect about 750,000 homes and small businesses to broadband services in underserved communities, over the next three years. Sabia said funds from todays announcement will be rolled out by the end of 2020.

John Lawford, executive director and general counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said in an interview that while the announcement is positive, it is more of a political move under the excuse of COVID.

I havent seen a coordinated government thing. This is yet another sort of political layer of funding on top of all the other political layers of funding on top of the very inadequate CRTC fund, Lawford said.

Since 2016, the government has announced various funds to help connect more Canadians to broadband services. This includes the $585 million Connect to Innovate program administered through the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Ministry; the $1.7 billion Universal Broadband Fund administered through the Rural Economic Development Ministry; and $2 billion that would be brought in through private investment announced in the 2019 budget.

The CRTC also announced its own $750M Broadband Fund in late 2016.

In the 2019 budget, the government pledged to connect 100 per cent of Canadians to broadband internet services by 2030.

I just find this a lot of band-aids, and [todays announcement] is another band-aid, itll probably get some people connected fast, but itll be from an incumbent and it will be if they really want to do it, Lawford said.

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A lot of the spending from todays announcement isnt new money, but money that was allocated from the $35 billion (spent over 10 years) previously announced in the 2017 budget.

Accountability will be hard to track if projects are getting completed

Ramona Pringle, a tech expert and associate professor at Ryerson University, said that adding more money to roll out broadband services is good, but like Lawford added that the challenge will be to hold whoever is shelling out money accountable to ensure projects actually get completed.

I think one of the traditional hurdles hasnt necessarily been where the money is coming from, but who is doing the implementation of it and that the bottleneck is that the government relies on a small number of big telcos, she said in an interview, adding that big companies are going to be looking at a return on investment.

Pringle said that if the government is going to give funding it should share details on how the money is going to be spent and where the money has to be allocated.

Canada is a massive country with quite rugged terrain in many places, its a lot more expensive to get up to places in the north...the challenges there are even more complex, she said. So unless its specified...theres going to be this trickle-down [where money] goes to projects that are more cost-effective.

Dwayne Winseck, director of the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project, said in an interview that funding from so many departments will result in a lack of coordination.

The whole idea now becomes a coordinated problem. You lack an overall integrated approach and a kind of unified vision, he said.

Winseck was also concerned about who the money will go to for connecting Canadians.

It raises questions about whether this is going to then be in favour of the incumbents and if thats going to be a source of another problem that its at odds with the other principles underlying ISEDs approach which is competition and affordability, he said, adding he was particularly concerned that Sabia was the former CEO of BCE from 2002 to 2008.

Because all of the programs have different timelines, Winseck cautioned that the government will have to make sure that the right projects get the green light and that projects that get funding from different pots will be completed in the allotted timeframe.

Weve got different time horizons, different ministries, different buckets of funds, and thats going to make it really hard to track and maintain accountability of these programs so that we know whether or not whats been promised is actually been accomplished, he said.

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The mortal remains of soldier Shubham Sharma, 22, were consigned to flames with full military honours at his native village Fatehpur Sheikhan, along the 198-km international border in RS Pura sector of Jammu on Friday afternoon.

He was among two soldiers who were killed in Pakistan armys shelling along the LoC in Nowgam sector (Kashmir) on Thursday.

People raised pro-India and anti-Pakistan slogans while bidding final adieu to Sharma. The deceased is survived by parents, and two siblings.

Shubham had joined the army in 2016 and on Thursday he died on the line of duty in Nowgam sector. His mortal remains reached the village on Friday, said village sarpanch Surjit Singh.

Shubhams father, Vijay Kumar Sharma, who is a police SI, said, I am proud of my son, who has made the supreme sacrifice for sovereignty of the nation.

Shubhams younger brother, Sourav, is training to join the army. My brother sacrificed his life for the country and I will carry forward his legacy, he said.

J&K BJP chief Ravinder Sharma and other distinguished people attended the funeral.

Army too paid tributes to havildar Kuldeep Singh and rifleman Shubham Sharma on Friday, an army spokesman said.

Chinar Corps commander Lt Gen BS Raju and all ranks paid homage to the soldiers at Badamibagh cantonment, he added.

Meanwhile, activists of Dogra Front and Shiv Sena took out a protest rally and burnt Pakistan flag for continuous ceasefire violations along the LoC.

L-G pays tributes to the soldiers

Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha paid tributes to the soldiers who were killed during the ceasefire violation in Nowgam.

The soldiers laid down their lives in the service of the nation. The nation is indebted by this sacrifice, Sinha said. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of four jawans who were injured in the incident.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 16:10:38|Editor: huaxia

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TEGUCIGALPA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- At the age of two, Ashley Antonella from Honduras experienced one of the most traumatic events of her life so far when she, her young siblings and her parents attempted to enter the United States, an almost lethal experience that snuffed out their hope for a better life.

Rumors that all migrant families would be granted asylum in the United States and that the minors would be taken in made Nancy Diareli and Hedman Josue, Ashley's parents, decide to leave their impoverished life behind in Tamara, Honduras, in 2019.

Last year in January, the husband left for Mexico, where he worked to support his family for several months. The family reunited here five months later, and together, made their way north.

The small family almost drowned trying to swim across the Rio Grande river, which acts as a border between the United States and Mexico, and then faced harsh treatment by U.S. immigration authorities when they were detained in November.

On the cold winter night when the U.S. border patrol took them into custody, they were sent to a shelter, where conditions were, according to Nancy, close to "torture."

"They put us in cold rooms," she said, believing that the move was a punishment "so that you do not cross into their territory again."

"They didn't give us support to talk on the phone or explain their reasons," she added.

The children were taken to a juvenile detention center, and young Ashley became seriously ill with what her parents believe was a salmonella infection from the food they were given.

"The food made the children sick. They gave them ice-cold lettuce with bread. My daughter was already malnourished and they only gave her acetaminophen," said Hedman.

"We never received a medical check-up, only superficially. The United States is doing it wrong. They return us no matter what. If we are suffering from a disease, they do not treat us. Many return with COVID-19," he added.

Before being faced with their ordeal in the U.S., the small family traveled in Mexico from Tijuana in Baja California State to Piedras Negras, Coahuila State, to cross the treacherous Rio Grande river, carrying the smaller children on their parents' shoulders as strong currents threatened to drag them under.

The young mother trod water, praying and crying for fear that her two-year-old daughter would sink along with her. When they were finally on the other side, with numb limbs, her children were frozen cold, "not knowing if they were going to die or not."

The latest official data shows that the U.S. government has sent at least 8,800 unaccompanied minors back to the Mexican border during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An addition of 7,600 members of what authorities call "family units," made up of adults and minors, have been expelled since mid-March.

Honduran Vice Foreign Minister Nelly Jerez said at the end of 2019 that the return of family units from the United States "sends a clear message" that the U.S. authorities will not allow illegal entry into their territory, even if children are used as "shields."

Nancy told Xinhua that they were returned to Honduras "with trauma," and that she couldn't sleep while recalling everything that happened vividly.

"It hurt my soul," she said. Enditem
(PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  A Singapore-born man left for Malaysia at the age of 1 and continued his education there until he left to study at a UK university.

Basil Lim Boon Hoh failed to fulfil his national service (NS) liabilities and defaulted for a total of nine years, 11 months and 16 days, a court heard on Thursday (1 October).

Lim, 28, admitted to the offence under the Enlistment Act.

The prosecution said that Lim was aware of the need to serve national service as his father, who is Singaporean, had informed his son before the boy turned 10. His mother is a Malaysian.

Lim was first issued a Singapore passport when he was three weeks old. He was issued a second passport when he was nine years old. By then, Lim had travelled out of Singapore using his Singapore passport on around 10 occasions. He had also applied for and was issued a Singapore identity card in 2007 as his mother wanted him to have a choice in where he worked in the future.

Despite being a Singapore citizen, Lim did not study in Singapore. He was educated in Malaysia from 1996 to 2009 and later went to London for university. Lim gained Malaysian citizenship when he was 10.

When Lim was 16, his mother told him that he could ignore his NS liabilities as he had Malaysian citizenship.

By the time Lim turned 16.5, the liable age for national service, he had not attained a valid Exit Permit and failed to report for national service registration.

In 2009, several Further Reporting Orders were sent to Lims birth address, and to his addresses in Malaysia which his mother provided. When Lim still failed to register for NS, a Stop List and Police Gazette was raised against him.

In 2016, Lims lawyer sent representations to the Central Manpower Base (CMPB) requesting for a composition of Lims offences and to allow him to renounce his Singaporean citizenship.

CMPB rejected the representations and advised Lim to return to Singapore to resolve the issue.

Lim next responded on 19 March 2018, e-mailing CMPB to inform that he will return to Singapore on 27 March 2018. Lim did so and enlisted in National Service at the Singapore Civil Defence Force on 14 August 2018. He completed his NS on 13 August 2020.

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Lim has since said that he wishes to keep his Singapore citizenship as he does not speak Malay well and intends to work here instead of Malaysia.

While the prosecution sought five months and 18 days jail for Lim, his lawyer argued for one month instead.

The lawyer, Lim Kia Tong, said that his client had pleaded guilty to put a close to the matter that was brought about to some extent by the actions of his mother.

In an email to the lawyer, Lims mother stated that she did not know much about NS and that Lims father had left the family in 2003. She said that she had the mailing address changed to an old address as she did not want her son to see any letters about NS. By then, the apartment at that address has already been sold.

I never told Basil anything about this or NS because I wanted him to stay with me and not go back to Singapore, said the mother in the email.

After completing university, Lim then realised he had to resolve this issue and had several disagreements with his mother before returning to Singapore.

According to the lawyer, Lim was diagnosed with anxiety and depression stemming from his worry about the NS issue.

He has been receiving treatment in Malaysia and later at the Institute of Mental Health in Singapore since completing his NS.

Lim is expected to be sentenced on 15 October.

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Amanda Milling said the fund was a chance for Conservative supporters to play a part in cementing the 'Blue Wall'

Conservative MPs in former Labour strongholds have been offered a funding war chest to help them keep their seats at the next election as Boris Johnson battles to keep their loyalty.

A swathe of so-called "Red Wall" seats in the north of England, many of which had only ever voted Labour, fell to the Conservatives at last year's election.

Tory bosses have set up a crowdfund to establish campaign infrastructure in those seats before the next election in a bid to maintain the party's gains.

The move continues a charm offensive by Downing Street to maintain the support of the new cohort of MPs following backbench rebellions on both Brexit and the Coronavirus Act.

Amanda Milling, the Conservative Party co-chairman, will announce the new fund on Saturday, the first day of the virtual Conservative conference. It will be funded entirely by members and supporters, not from the party's existing coffers, and will be open after the announcement.

A spokesman said the fund was designed to "build a physical presence in the 'Blue wall' with a fully functioning headquarters", but would not reveal how much the Conservatives expected to raise.

Ms Milling said: "The fund is a chance not just for the party but for all Conservative supporters to play a part in cementing the 'Blue Wall' as the Conservative Government works to deliver on the commitments made to people at the last election.

"People put their faith in us in 2019, and this fund will help these seats to deliver positive change for their constituents as part of our work to build a bigger, better and stronger party in these Labour strongholds."

One Tory MP in a "Red Wall" seat told The Telegraph: "A lot of constituencies in the 'Red Wall' just don't have the financial resources of other areas, so this is clearly one way Conservative campaign headquarters is looking to help out with what they lack in membership with some central cash."

There is also expected to be an announcement on the new location of Conservative campaign headquarters, which is moving to the north of England.

Some political staff will remain in Westminster, but much of the back office will relocate in an attempt to connect the party to its new northern seats. It is thought the location will be in a major city, with one source suggesting that could be Leeds.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 15:51:44|Editor: huaxia

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by Jian Ping

CHICAGO, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- A special Chinese film was presented at the ongoing Asian Pop-Up Cinema Film Festival in Chicago in celebration of the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival at a drive-in theater in Chicago on Thursday night.

"The Climbers" was directed by Daniel Lee, and stars Wu Jing, Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Yi and Jing Boran, all household names in China.

The film is based on a true story about the first Chinese mountain climbers' journey to Mount Everest from the North Ridge, the most challenging side of the mountain. The perilous climb takes its toll on the mountaineers, forcing them to make life-or-death decisions at every turn. Fifteen years later, new climbers join them, demonstrating the same tenacity and spirit.

"It's our utmost pleasure celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with a blockbuster highlighting the majestic climb to Mount Everest by some Chinese climbers," said Sophia Wong Boccio, founder and executive director of the cinema.

In the face of COVID-19 pandemic, "we need to stick together and help each other in order to overcome any difficulties and climb any mountains," Chinese Consul General in Chicago Zhao Jian said in a video message played during the screening event. "Just like the story of the first Chinese climbers to summit Mount Everest that we are watching tonight."

"This is such a wonderful film," Susan Garvey from Chicago told Xinhua. "It's all the more powerful because it's based on a true story."

Garvey added she was so moved by the heroic undertaking and spirit of the Chinese mountaineers, and was also thrilled to experience the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival and taste a moon cake for the first time.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian film festival this year has been switched from indoor theaters to an outdoor drive-in venue and virtual streaming. Of the 22 films presented at the festival, seven are being screened at the drive-in theater, providing an in-person, large-screen viewing experience for audiences during the pandemic.

"What impresses me most is the breadth of these (Chinese film) choices," said Ron Falzone, moderator of Asian Pop-Up Cinema and associate professor of Cinema and Television Arts at Columbia College Chicago. "This is especially true since 'Best Director' and 'All About ING' come from first-time directors while 'A Touch of Spring' is coming from a woman based outside of China."

Many cinematic methods have been engaged in the films, Falzone said, adding that "a real sense that each (director) is willing to experiment with the form to say what they want to say."

"I love this because it is in this experimentation that Chinese cinema will continue to grow and potentially influence what is going on in the rest of the world cinema," he added.

According to Boccio, executive director of the cinema, there are five more films to be screened at the drive-ins following this blockbuster.

The Asian Pop-Up Cinema Film Festival in Chicago kicked off on Sept. 10 and will run until Oct. 31. Enditem
The long-term peace and stability of Xinjiang concerns the general reform and development of China, the national unity and ethnic solidarity of China, as well as the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is also an ultimate goal of Chinas work related to Xinjiang for the present and the years to come.

During the third central symposium on work related to Xinjiang held recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping demanded law-based governance and long-term efforts to develop Xinjiang, so as to continuously consolidate ethnic solidarity with a sense of community of the Chinese nation.

Farmers dry, sort and pack chilies in a village in Wulanzaigesen township, Bohu county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 28. Photo by Nian Lei, Peoples Daily Online

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, raised the general goal to maintain long-term peace and stability for Xinjiang during the second central symposium on work related to Xinjiang in 2014. It is a major strategic decision made by the CPC Central Committee based on the situation in both the autonomous region and the whole country, which made clear the priorities of the work related to Xinjiang.

Arduous efforts have been made by all parties, leading to major achievements in the work related to Xinjiang. There have been no terrorist attacks in the autonomous regions for three years and nine months so far; the fight against extremism achieved remarkable progress; public order and security have returned to society; unprecedented achievements have been made in economic and social development, as well as livelihood improvement. Besides, the senses of gain, contentment and security of people from all ethnic groups have been enhanced.

Practices proved that the governance strategy for Xinjiang made by the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core is completely correct, and all work related to the autonomous region shall be carried out for realizing the general goal of achieving long-term peace and stability. Contradictions come in priority, and only addressing the principal contradictions can the general situation be stabilized. As long as China aims at the general goal, it is able to ensure law-based governance and long-term efforts to develop Xinjiang into a region that is united, harmonious, prosperous, and culturally advanced.

To achieve the general goal calls for efforts to ensure the general stability of Xinjiang. People from all ethnic groups in the autonomous region have realized from the practices in the recent years that stability is the most important livelihood, as well as the lifeline for Xinjiangs development and prosperity. A prosperous Xinjiang shall be stable and harmonious. The autonomous region today is in a period of unprecedented prosperity, which needs a stable social environment more than ever.

Photo taken on Sept. 27 shows the beautiful scenery at the source of the Etuokesaier River, Wenquan county, northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Photo by Hu Weibin, Peoples Daily Online

It must be realized that the work related to Xinjiang is complicated and arduous and calls for long-term efforts. The country must further enhance social stability in the region, hold high the banner of the socialist rule of law, carry forward the spirit of the rule of law, and comprehensively promoting law-based governance, so as to improve the law-based social governance model under which Party committees exercise leadership, government assumes responsibility, non-governmental actors provide assistance, and the public get involved, and establish a social governance model based on collaboration, participation, and common interests.

To achieve the general goal calls for concerted efforts to address the deep-rooted problems concerning long-term peace and stability. The sense of community of the Chinese nation is the basis for national unity, ethnic solidarity and mental strength. Xinjiang, since ancient times, has been an inhabitant for various ethnic groups, and they are all members of the Chinese nation. The country must build stronger the sense of community of the Chinese nation, strengthen the studies on the history of the community of the Chinese nation and the diversity in unity of the Chinese nation, incorporate the sense of community of the Chinese nation into the Party members, youth, and social education in Xinjiang, guide the cadres and people from all ethnic groups in the autonomous region to build the correct views of country, history, nation, culture and religious, so as to plant the sense of community of the Chinese nation deep in their hearts.

Besides, the country should continue strengthening education on ethnic unity and progress at all levels, and promote the exchange, communication and integration of all ethnic groups. It should fully implement the Partys fundamental policy on religious affairs and guide Islam in Xinjiang to adapt to Chinas realities, so as to help religions develop healthily. Besides, the country must enhance work in the ideological field, carry out cultural projects in Xinjiang, and build a common homeland for all ethnic groups.

Nothing is more beneficial than stability, and nothing is more detrimental than chaos. The long-term peace and stability in Xinjiang is a fundamental interest of the 25 million people in the autonomous region, as well as a common aspiration of the 1.4 billion Chinese people. As long as China works for the general goal, and deepens its understanding of the CPCs governance strategy for Xinjiang in the new era, it is able to develop Xinjiang into a region that is united, harmonious, prosperous, and culturally advanced, with healthy ecosystems and people living and working in contentment.
Tune in to Facebook @metavivor on October 13 at 8 pm EST for the #LightUpMBC Live Stream Event to raise money for metastatic breast cancer research An estimated 42,170 Americans will die from metastatic breast cancer (MBC) in 2020, the equivalent of 115 women and men per day, said Laura Inahara of Moore Fight Moore Strong. The 115 landmarks that will illuminate this year represent the 115 lives lost every day to MBC in the U.S. alone.

METAvivor Research & Support in partnership with Moore Fight Moore Strong today announced the launch of #LightUpMBC  a landmark campaign created to bring awareness to and increase funding for metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

To address this, on October 13, Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, over 115 landmarks in all 50 U.S. states as well as Canada and Ireland will light up in the MBC symbolic colors of green, teal and pink as part of the #LightUpMBC campaign. Iconic locations include One World Trade Center, NYC, The Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth, historic Ford Field in Detroit, Clevelands celebrated Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the majestic Niagara Falls.

To view the illuminated landmarks across the globe, #LightUpMBC Live, a virtual benefit, will take place on October 13 at 8 p.m. EST on @METAvivor Facebook Live and http://www.metavivor.org. The virtual event will feature inspiring MBC stories heard from #LightUpMBC patient ambassadors at landmark lightings in their cities to help raise funds for metastatic breast cancer research. Musical performances will include John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls and David Bryan of Bon Jovi, who is also a Tony Award winner of the Broadway musical Diana.

METAvivor President Jamil Rivers says, Metastatic breast cancer (MBC), also known as stage 4 breast cancer, is not curable and means the cancer cells have left the breast and spread to other parts of the body. There is a lack of knowledge on MBC in comparison to early stage breast cancer, which leads to many widespread misperceptions.

An estimated 42,170 Americans will die from MBC in 2020, the equivalent of 115 women and men per day, said Laura Inahara, Executive Director of Moore Fight Moore Strong. The 115 landmarks that will illuminate this year represent the 115 lives lost every day to MBC in the U.S. alone. We hope that #LightUpMBC will not only spread awareness and raise funds, but also inspire people to truly want to make a difference for people living with MBC.

#LightUpMBC Social Media Challenge: Who lights up your life? METAvivor asks that people publicly share a photo and/or story of someone who inspires them by posting on their social media channels with the donation link: http://www.metavivor.org/LightUpMBC and using hashtags #LightUpMBC #METAvivor. By nominating friends to participate, you can help raise funds for MBC research.

Go to the website: http://www.Metavivor.org/lightupmbc to learn more about MBC, donate to this cause, and view a full list of participating landmarks.

About Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC)

Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is stage 4 breast cancer, for which there is no cure. Over 627,000 people die each year globally from MBC, with over 42,000 dying each year in the U.S. alone (115 per day). Metastatic breast cancer spreads mostly to the bones, liver, lungs and the brain, causing MBC patients to be in treatment for the rest of their lives  with only 22% of U.S. MBC patients living longer than 5 years. 20-30% of early stage breast cancers recur as stage 4 MBC. 98% of all breast cancer related deaths are from MBC, yet less than 5% of overall breast cancer research is currently allocated to researching metastatic breast cancer.



About METAvivor and the Origin of the Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Ribbon:

METAvivor puts 100% of every donation toward stage 4 metastatic breast cancer research. Dedicated to the specific fight of men and women living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, it is a volunteer led, 501c3 non-profit organization that exclusively funds stage 4 MBC research with the goal of transitioning it from a terminal disease to a chronic condition with a good quality of life for patients.

The Origin of the MBC Ribbon: The pink ribbon is well-known for representing the fight against breast cancer but MBC patients feel invisible and forgotten in the pink ribbon campaigns. To highlight the uniqueness of the disease and show its commonality with other stage 4 cancers, METAvivor designed a base ribbon of green and teal to represent metastasis. Green represents the triumph of spring over winter, life over death, and symbolizes renewal, hope, and immortality while teal symbolizes healing and spirituality. The thin pink ribbon overlay signifies the metastatic cancer originated in the breast.

For more information on METAvivor and to donate, visit http://www.metavivor.org/lightupmbc and follow on @METAvivor on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/metavivor and Instagram @metavivor

About Moore Fight Moore Strong

Moore Fight Moore Strong (MFMS) was formed in 2013 by family and friends who joined forces with a mission to support Jessica Moore who was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer (MBC) at the age of 32 and passed away 4 years later. MFMS supports Jess' vision to shine a light on stage 4 MBC through a campaign called #LightUpMBC by partnering with landmarks to illuminate in the symbolic MBC colors of green, teal and pink. All proceeds raised through #LightUpMBC benefit METAvivor Research and Support.

For more information on Moore Fight Moore Strong, visit http://www.MooreFightMooreStrong.com and follow on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MooreFightMooreStrong and Instagram @moorefightmoorestrong
CAMBRIDGE  The police union says Cambridges move to hire private security to patrol downtown streets overnight is short-sighted.

The complexity of downtown Galt. the issues there need highly skilled police officers in collaboration with outreach workers and/or social workers, said Mark Egers, president of the Waterloo Regional Police Association.

He said these workers are also all subjected to civilian governance and oversight while private security guards are not.

Earlier this week the city announced it will hire four private security guards to patrol the streets of downtown Galt overnight. The move came as a balm for business owners after a streak of vandalism in the downtown core last month.

Egers said police officers already conduct extra checks in the citys core areas as part of the police services core team, but he points out that there are three downtowns in Cambridge.

They do spend most of their time in downtown Galt, Egers said, but policing is just one part of an even bigger solution sorely needed for the many social issues that downtown Cambridge struggles with.

The issue of homelessness, there is just no where for them to go, Egers said.

A lot of the community partners have to get together  including police, they are a big part of it  and find out the root problems and how it can be addressed.

The private security is an extension of the citys existing security service contract with Waterloo-based Barber-Collins Security Services. On Friday, the city said the contract was finalized and the guards will begin soon. Two guards on foot and two in cars will patrol Galt between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., seven days a week.

This new overnight service will come at the citys expense and cost $24,000 each month. the city said it will evaluate the service over the next few months.

These security guards will add to patrols that already exist in the downtown core. These include bylaw officers during the day and Waterloo Regional Polices core team officers who patrol the citys three downtowns.

Egers said the city would be better off hiring paid duty police officers to patrol the streets overnight.

Im never in support of private security guards, Egers added.

Members of the Downtown Cambridge Business Improvement Area and Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry were delighted to hear of this new security service. The city said the move came at the request of the BIA in order to bolster a sense of safety in the downtown core that has struggled with public drug use, vandalism as well as public urination and defecation.

The city said the mandate of the security guards is to observe and report.

Anything unusual or any potential problems will be noted, tracked, and reported to the property authority: police, bylaw, fire department, building owner, social services, etc., said city spokesperson Susanne Hiller in an email.

Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin said he was aware the city was considering hiring private security, but he was not aware of the details of the service or when it would begin.

We have clarified with the City that this service is an extension of the Citys Ambassador Team and bylaw division, and that the security guards will be mandated to strictly observe and report issues, Larkin said in a statement.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service believes the complexity of issues in the downtown Galt area require highly skilled and trained police officers, outreach workers and/or social workers and will continue to work with the City of Cambridge to advance a more holistic and long term approach to ensure public safety, he said.

Cambridge has yet to come up with an approach to tackle its increasingly unstable downtown.

Harm reduction advocates in the city have pleaded with city council to open a consumption and treatment site to try to curb public drug use, needle litter and overdose deaths in the downtown cores. The city resisted after residents strongly opposed the idea of a site in their city.

Kitcheners consumption and treatment site has been open for nearly a year and has treated more than 130 overdoses. Egers said to his knowledge, Kitcheners site has not resulted in more calls to police.

When asked if the police union would support a consumption and treatment site as one solution for downtown Galts opioid crisis, he said yes.

If it would help, I would certainly be in support of any program that would help the people in downtown Galt, Egers said.

The city of Oshawa hired security guards this summer to patrol its downtown core after a rise in drug use and homelessness. The three month pilot cost the city $100,000.

Although security guards in Ontario may be allowed to carry a company-issued baton, handcuffs  even a gun, if theyre licensed under the Firearms Act  their powers dont really extend past those granted to a regular citizen.

Security guards have neither police nor peace officer powers. They have the same powers as any member of the public under the Criminal Code,  the Ministry of the Solicitor Generals website states.

A security guard can make a citizens arrest if a crime is witnessed, but the guard must hand the suspect over to a peace officer as soon as possible. A guard can also ask a person to leave private property, and can make an arrest without a warrant under the Trespass to Property Act if the individual refuses to leave.

With files from Brent Davis
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Boris Johnson tonight blamed the 'blase' public for causing a resurgence of coronavirus that forced him to bring in localised lockdowns affecting millions of Britons - and effectively cancelled Halloween.

The Prime Minister accused voters of being 'complacent' over the summer and allowing Covid-19 to proliferate again, despite his Government allowing pubs to reopen and encouraging people to 'eat out to help out' hard-pressed businesses in August.

His comments in a BBC Scotland interview came as No10 poured a large cauldron of humbug on Hallowe'en fun with a warning against trick-or-treating.

And it came despite Office of National Statistics figures suggesting daily infection cases had actually fallen - down to an estimated 8,400 today from 9,600 last week.

A spokesman told reporters that thousands of families under local lockdowns in broad swathes of England should not mix, when asked whether traditional ghoulish events should take place on October 31.

And it warned that elsewhere the Rule of Six applied, meaning parents face fines of up to 200 if their children are caught in larger groups going door-to-door for sweets.

Mr Johnson spoke in an interview about Margaret Ferrier, the SNP MP facing calls to step down as an MP after travelling from Glasgow to London and back while suffering from coronavirus.;

Asked if she should quit, he said: 'I'm going to leave that one very much to the SNP and to their whips - that's for them to decide but it's very important that everyone obeys the rules and the guidance  because you saw what happened in March and April in Scotland, across the country, we came together and got the virus down.

'Alas what happened since then is that everyone got a bit, y'know complacent and a bit blase about transmission and the rules on social distancing weren't perhaps obeyed in the way they could have been or enforced in the way they could have been and that's why we've had to put in measures both in Scotland and elsewhere to bring it down again.'

And in a second interview with local BBC in the North East he added: 'What happened over the summer was a bit of sort of fraying of people's discipline and attention to those rules.'

Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said: 'Boris Johnson desperately tries to shift the blame onto the British people when the reality is he failed to fix testing, allowing this virus to get out of control. The British people deserve better.'

It came amid fears that London could soon follow parts of the North East and North West including Newcastle and Liverpool into localised lockdown.

Tonight 770 students at Northumbria University in Newcastle tested positive for Covid-19 as the city was named England's coronavirus epicentre.

All of the students, 78 of whom are symptomatic, are isolating for 14 days, along with their flatmates and close contacts.

Asked repeatedly about whether trick-or-treating can go ahead around October 31, the PM's deputy spokesman said: 'The Rule of Six is clear, it includes children. We are asking people not to meet in groups of six or more'

An Office for National Statistics (ONS) report released today estimated there were 8,400 daily cases of the disease in England in the week ending September 24. This marks a 12.5 per cent fall from the 9,600 infection thought to have been occurring every day the week before

Coronaphobia is back: Three-quarters are now either very or somewhat worried about the impact of the disease on their lives, according to the latest ONS indicators

Coronaphobia is back: Just 20 per cent of adults said they had met another household in a private place last week, down from 30 per cent the previous week, an ONS survey shows

The proportion travelling to workplaces slipped from 64 per cent to 59 per cent, after the government's guidance shifted to recommend doing it where possible

How Covid-19 infection rates DOUBLED in most local lockdown areas One in three Britons will be living under tougher Covid-19 rules than the rest of the country tomorrow, despite data showing local lockdowns don't work in most places and that infection rates have actually risen. From Saturday, two million residents in Liverpool, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough will be banned from meeting people they don't live with indoors in a bid to curtail outbreaks there. It will mean a total of 22.4million Brits will be living under some form of economically crippling and socially restricting local shutdown. Ministers have justified the measures by claiming they are the only way to stop a second national wave of the disease. But data shows Covid-19 infections have doubled in the majority of areas in England that have been subject to long-term restrictions. In 11 out of 16 English cities and towns hit with lockdowns in the last nine weeks, the infection rate has risen at least two-fold and in some cases by more than 10 times. In Bolton, Britain's current Covid-19 hotspot, there were 200 infections per 100,000 in the last seven days, up from 14 per 100,000 on July 31. In Wigan cases have risen from seven per 100,000 people to 102 in the same period. Luton is the only area in the country which has successfully managed to drive down cases far enough to break free from the shackles of a local lockdown - but even the Bedfordshire town could be slapped with restrictions once again because cases have started to rebound. Scientists, MPs and local leaders say adherence to the rules is low because they have been too 'complex and confusing' to follow. In Middlesbrough, the mayor Andy Preston said he would 'defy the government' and that his town would 'not accept these measures' because there was no evidence they would work. Advertisement

At least 50 UK universities now have confirmed Covid-19 outbreaks, with 1,800 cases identified among students and staff, according to a survey.

It follows the news that infections in Newcastle have spiralled by 60 per cent to a rate of 250 cases per 100,000, according to health officials.

One in three Britons will be living under tougher Covid-19 rules than the rest of the country tomorrow, despite data showing local lockdowns don't work in most places and that infection rates have actually risen.

From Saturday, two million residents in Liverpool, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough will be banned from meeting people they don't live with indoors in a bid to curtail outbreaks there.

It will mean a total of 22.4million Brits will be living under some form of economically crippling and socially restricting local shutdown. Ministers have justified the measures by claiming they are the only way to stop a second national wave of the disease.

But data shows Covid-19 infections have doubled in the majority of areas in England that have been subject to long-term restrictions. In 11 out of 16 English cities and towns hit with lockdowns in the last nine weeks, the infection rate has risen at least two-fold and in some cases by more than 10 times.

In Bolton, Britain's current Covid-19 hotspot, there were 200 infections per 100,000 in the last seven days, up from 14 per 100,000 on July 31. In Wigan cases have risen from seven per 100,000 people to 102 in the same period.

Luton is the only area in the country which has successfully managed to drive down cases far enough to break free from the shackles of a local lockdown - but even the Bedfordshire town could be slapped with restrictions once again because cases have started to rebound.

But nonetheless Downing Street took a hard line against Halloween this morning

Asked repeatedly about whether trick-or-treating can go ahead around October 31, the PM's deputy spokesman said: 'The Rule of Six is clear, it includes children. We are asking people not to meet in groups of six or more.

'In local lockdown areas we have been very clear that households should not mix. In other areas not in lockdown the Rule of Six applies.

'It is correct parents will be fined if children meet in groups of more than six children.'

Scientists, MPs and local leaders say adherence to the rules is low because they have been too 'complex and confusing' to follow. In Middlesbrough, the mayor Andy Preston said he would 'defy the government' and that his town would 'not accept these measures' because there was no evidence they would work.

Boris Johnson will meet with civic leaders in the capital next week amid rising fears over the number of cases.

Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for more restrictions to be put in place.

Last night he was involved in a row with Shaun Bailey, the Tory candidate in the mayoral election due to take place in May.

Mr Bailey lashed out at the Government's homeworking rules, in an article for the City AM newspaper.

'Look around London and you see a city that has stalled. Tube use is down 70 per cent. High streets are empty. 69 per cent of Londoners are still working from home,' he wrote.

'We can talk about the cost to the economy  but we should also think about the cost to Londoners themselves. Because the truth is that I don't believe coronavirus is a good reason to put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk.

Locals back back rebellious Middlesbrough mayor for rejecting lockdown and vow to ignore new restrictions Locals in Middlesbrough have rallied around their rebellious mayor after he vowed to defy the Government's lockdown to protect the 'jobs and mental health' of residents. Andy Preston, an Independent, lashed out at ministers for their 'monstrous and frightening lack of communication and ignorance' in the strongest backlash yet against local lockdowns, which now cover 20million people - nearly a third of the UK population. Constituents backed him for 'sticking up for people and trying to stop businesses going bust' as some said they would ignore the new restrictions. The economic cost of local lockdowns is becoming increasingly clear, with the pub industry warning a quarter of venues could close permanently at the cost of 290,000 jobs and 7billion to the UK if restrictions continue well into next year. The Middlesbrough lockdown starts on Saturday morning - at one minute past midnight - and will ban people from meeting up indoors with anyone outside their household, including pubs and restaurants. Lockdowns in Hartlepool, Warrington and the Liverpool City Region, which includes Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, and Wirral, will come in at the same time as Middlesbrough. Advertisement

'Our city is built on people. And the more restrictions people face, the more our city is unable to function.

'If we keep introducing new restrictions on businesses and workers, we're putting livelihoods at risk  from small businesses to people who were struggling long before coronavirus hit.'

Mr Khan responded saying: 'This is very dangerous. Please ignore him. The Government advice is to work from home if you can - scientists say doing so could save lives.

'Urging Londoners to disregard scientific and medical advice risks the lives of Londoners.'

It came as Nicola Sturgeon demanded one of her own MPs quits today after they flouted coronavirus self-isolation rules to attend the Commons.

The First Minister urged Margaret Ferrier to 'do the right thing' as she faced universal condemnation for her 'utterly indefensible' behaviour in going to Westminster while suffering symptoms - and then taking a train back to Scotland after her test was positive.

The flagrant breach of quarantine law by the Rutherglen & Hamilton West is potentially punishable with a 4,000 fine. DUP MP Jim Shannon revealed this afternoon that he dined with Ms Ferrier at Parliament on Monday night and was told to self-isolate, but had since tested negative.

Ms Sturgeon said she had made it 'crystal clear' to Ms Ferrier that she must resign. 'I've spoken to Margaret Ferrier and made clear my view that she should step down as an MP,' she said.

'I did so with a heavy heart - she is a friend & colleague - but her actions were dangerous & indefensible. I have no power to force an MP to resign but I hope she will do the right thing.'

Earlier, the SNP's Westminster chief Ian Blackford, who has already stripped her of the whip, said this morning that she must 'reflect on her position'. 'I think it is obvious what she needs to do,' he told BBC Breakfast.

The Commons said one person who had come into contact with Ms Ferrier had been told to self-isolate, with investigations into who else might be at risk set to continue. Extra cleaning precautions have also been taken - although the damage might already have been done.

And new research today revealed coronaphobia is well and truly back among Britons as cases surge and restrictions are ramped up.

A man stands in a NOVID sanitisation booth during a demonstration in Liverpool city centre. NOVID is a walk-through fogging device, designed to eliminate any prospect of COVID-19 not just on the person walking through it, but also on the clothing they are wearing as well

Although the current numbers of positive tests seem high and are higher than they were during the peak in March and April, scientists predict that more than 100,000 people were catching the virus in the spring and tests would've picked up tens of thousands every day if the same amount of swabs were done then

Anxiety about the disease has hit the highest level since May as the government scrambles to get rising infections under control - with a third of the population now under local lockdowns.

Three-quarters are now either very or somewhat worried about the impact of the disease on their lives.

Meanwhile, the public is increasingly shunning meeting indoors, and the proportion working from home has spiked.

The trends were highlighted in the latest social indicators published by the Office for National Statistics this morning, which surveyed people across Britain from September 24 to 27.

It found levels of socialising, eating out and travel slumped after rises during the summer.

Just 20 per cent of adults said they had met another household in a private place, down from 30 per cent the previous week.

After lockdown restrictions were imposed across swathes of the North, 37 per cent in areas subject to extra curbs said they had not met anyone outside their own household.

In places where the lockdown has not been ramped up beyond the Rule of Six, the figure was still 22 per cent.

Eight in 10 said they had 'always or often' maintained social distancing when they met other people.

Mr Khan responded saying: 'This is very dangerous. Please ignore him. The Government advice is to work from home if you can - scientists say doing so could save lives'

The number of people getting infected with coronavirus has fallen in the last week, official data showed today.

An Office for National Statistics (ONS) report released today estimated there were 8,400 daily cases of the disease in England in the week ending September 24.

This marks a 12.5 per cent fall from the 9,600 infection thought to have been occurring every day the week before.

The ONS described its findings as 'limited evidence' transmission of the virus 'may be levelling off following steep increases during August and September'.

But, because the study is only based on a few hundred positive swabs, the Government-run body said it is too early to say the UK is out of the woods yet.

The ONS report today is the first to report a dip in infections in the last two months, after cases started to rocket in August when lockdown was fully lifted.

But it comes on the heels of a wave of statistics yesterday suggesting the UK's spike in transmission is finally starting to slow down.

There were 6,914 cases picked up through the Government's official testing programme yesterday - just 4.2 per cent higher than last Thursday. This was significant because cases had been almost doubling every week since late August.

More proof England's second wave IS slowing down? Official data show there are 8,400 new coronavirus cases per day down from 9,600 last week - but the UK's R rate has crept up to a possible 1.6 as 55 more deaths confirmed in early count

The number of people getting infected with coronavirus has fallen in the last week, official data shows - adding to a growing body of evidence suggesting the UK's crisis is slowing.

An Office for National Statistics (ONS) report released today estimated there were 8,400 daily cases of the disease in England in the week ending September 24. This marks a 12.5 per cent fall from the 9,600 infection thought to have been occurring every day the week before.

The ONS described its findings as 'limited evidence' transmission of the virus 'may be levelling off following steep increases during August and September'. But, because the study is only based on a few hundred swabs, the Government-run body said it is too early to say the UK is out of the woods yet. The ONS sent 300,000 tests to randomly-selected households across the country over the past six weeks and has used the results from 400 positive swabs, as well as mathematical modelling, to extrapolate the findings to the wider population.

The estimated 8,400 daily cases signals that Britain's testing regime is picking up the vast majority of cases in the country - there have been about 6,000 people testing positive on average in the last week. Although the current numbers of positive tests seem high and are higher than they were during the peak in March and April, scientists predict that more than 100,000 people were catching the virus in the spring and tests would've picked up tens of thousands every day if the same amount of swabs were done then.

Today's study is the first to report a dip in infections in the last two months, after cases started to rocket in August when lockdown was fully lifted. But it comes on the heels of a wave of statistics yesterday suggesting the UK's spike in transmission is finally starting to slow down.

There were 6,914 cases picked up through the Government's official testing programme yesterday - just 4.2 per cent higher than last Thursday. This was significant because cases had been almost doubling every week since late August. A King's College London study also found the rise in daily new cases is only 23 per cent higher than last week, after it rose by more than twofold in the week before.

And the Government-funded REACT-1 project, carried out by Imperial College London, said there were signs that the R rate has fallen to around 1.1 now, from 1.7 in September, and that cases are now rising less steeply than they were a few weeks ago.

The Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) today released its own estimates of Britain's R rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects. SAGE said the R was between 1.3 and 1.6, but cautioned its data was about three weeks out of date due to the way it monitors the virus.

It comes as Britain announced 55 more coronavirus deaths in the preliminary count, with 47 posted in England, four in Scotland, three in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. The early toll is almost 60 per cent higher than last Friday's figure, when 35 deaths were recorded. A full update will be published by the Department of Health later today.

An Office for National Statistics (ONS) report released today estimated there were 8,400 daily cases of the disease in England in the week ending September 24. This marks a 12.5 per cent fall from the 9,600 infection thought to have been occurring every day the week before

The Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) today released its own estimates of Britain's R rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects. SAGE said the R was between 1.3 and 1.6, but cautioned its data was about three weeks out of date due to the way it monitors the virus

The estimated 8,400 daily cases signals that Britain's testing regime is picking up the vast majority of cases in the country - there have been about 6,000 people testing positive on average in the last week

It comes as Britain announced 55 more coronavirus deaths in the preliminary count, with 47 posted in England, four in Scotland, three in Wales and one in Northern Ireland

Although the current numbers of positive tests seem high and are higher than they were during the peak in March and April, scientists predict that more than 100,000 people were catching the virus in the spring and tests would've picked up tens of thousands every day if the same amount of swabs were done then

The ONS said that in recent weeks there has been 'clear evidence' of an increase in the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 - but that it appeared to have slowed in the last seven days.

Katherine Kent, co-head of analysis for the Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: 'While the evidence suggests that the increase in new cases may be levelling off after a sharp rise in August and September, it is too early to be certain at this stage.'

COVID-19 CASES ARE FLATTENING BUT STILL AT 20,000 PER DAY, STUDY PREDICTS King's College London's weekly estimate of the number of people catching coronavirus in the UK suggests that the growth of the outbreak is slowing down, but there are still nearly 20,000 people getting infected each day. The Covid Symptom Study, run in conjunction with ZOE, a health-tech team that runs the Covid Symptom Tracker app, estimates there are now 19,777 people getting infected each day across the UK. This is a rise from the 16,130 daily infections prediction last week but the increase is smaller than it was between the previous two estimates. The rise from September 24 to October 1 was 23 per cent, while between September 17 and 24 it more than doubled from 7,536 (a 114 per cent increase). Some 14,837 of these cases are thought to be happening in England, with the majority in the North East and Yorkshire and the North West (a total of approximately 8,800). A further 2,294 people are thought to be getting sick each day in Scotland, along with 1,331 in Wales and 1,315 in Northern Ireland. The estimates are based on the results of 8,377 swab tests. And they suggest that the reproduction rate of the virus, the R, has fallen, too - to 1.2 in England, 1.3 in Scotland and 1.4 in Wales. Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist and leader of the study, said: 'We are confident that this flattening in the data looks real and that this might be an early sign of infection rates slowing down. 'This may be due to a number of factors including social distancing and the 'rule of six', but we can't discount the role of less susceptible people and prior immunity in those exposed and the natural cycle of the virus. 'We are seeing nearly 50 per cent of our cases are coming from the under 30s, which is more than in the spring, which may explain why the pressures on the NHS are less. 'We still need to continue to work together to make sure this flattening off isn't a small blip. As we head into winter we all need to be cautious and pay attention to the advice we are being given around local restrictions, social distancing and avoiding gathering in large groups.' Advertisement

The ONS estimated around 116,000 people in England were infected with coronavirus between September 18 and 24, the equivalent of around one in 500 people. This was up slightly on the previous estimate of 103,600 people  around 0.19 per cent of the population  for September 13 to 19.

Statisticians came to this figure by analsying 291,000 swab results from 336 randomly selected members of the public, whether they have symptoms or not, over the last six weeks. The results were based on 419 positive tests and, using statistical modelling, broadened to the wider population.

Rates of infection in the North West and North East - home the Britain's biggest Covid-19 hotspots - are higher than the rest of the nation, the study found.

In these regions, roughly one in 200 people are testing positive for the virus - more than twice the rate of the national average. In Yorkshire and the Humber and London the rate is 0.3 per cent of the population, or one in 330.

By contrast, the South East, South West and East of England have been much less impacted by the virus' resurgence. In the East, 0.1 per cent of the population are catching the disease - one in a thousand.

Even fewer people are getting infected in the South East and South West, where the rates are 0.07 and 0.08, respectively.

During the most recent week, between September 18 and 24, there were an estimated 6,400 people in Wales with coronavirus, around one in 500 - the same rate in England.

This week was the first time the ONS covered Northern Ireland in its report. It estimated 0.26 per cent of the population, or one in 400, have the virus.

Writing in the report, statisticians from the number-crunching body, said: 'Because of the relatively small number of tests and a low number of positives in our sample, credible intervals are wide and therefore results should be interpreted with caution.'

The ONS only look at people within the community and do not account of Covid-19 carriers in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings.

In more evidence the UK's crisis is slowing, King's College London's weekly estimate of the number of people catching coronavirus in the UK suggests that the growth of the outbreak is slowing down, but there are still nearly 20,000 people getting infected each day.

The Covid Symptom Study, run in conjunction with ZOE, a health-tech team that runs the Covid Symptom Tracker app, estimates there are now 19,777 people getting infected each day across the UK.

This is a rise from the 16,130 daily infections prediction last week but the increase is smaller than it was between the previous two estimates.

KCL collects its data by sending tests to people who report tell-tale symptoms of Covid-19 into the mobile app, while the ONS study sends tests to random households regardless of their health status.

KCL has based its latest estimates on 8,377 tests this week, of which fewer than 200 were positive.

More positive tests improves the accuracy of the data but the study may have a slight bias because it only swabs people who are already ill - which may explain why it's estimates are greater than the ONS', which also tests asymptomatic people.

KCL's rise from September 24 to October 1 was 23 per cent, while between September 17 and 24 it more than doubled from 7,536 (a 114 per cent increase).

Some 14,837 of these cases are thought to be happening in England, with the majority in the North East and Yorkshire and the North West (a total of approximately 8,800).

A further 2,294 people are thought to be getting sick each day in Scotland, along with 1,331 in Wales and 1,315 in Northern Ireland.

The estimates are based on the results of 8,377 swab tests. And they suggest that the reproduction rate of the virus, the R, has fallen, too - to 1.2 in England, 1.3 in Scotland and 1.4 in Wales.

Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist and leader of the KCL study, said: 'We are confident that this flattening in the data looks real and that this might be an early sign of infection rates slowing down.

'This may be due to a number of factors including social distancing and the 'rule of six', but we can't discount the role of less susceptible people and prior immunity in those exposed and the natural cycle of the virus.

'We are seeing nearly 50 per cent of our cases are coming from the under 30s, which is more than in the spring, which may explain why the pressures on the NHS are less.

'We still need to continue to work together to make sure this flattening off isn't a small blip. As we head into winter we all need to be cautious and pay attention to the advice we are being given around local restrictions, social distancing and avoiding gathering in large groups.'

Meanwhile, health bosses announced another 6,914 coronavirus cases yesterday, which gave experts hope that the virus's steep trajectory was being curtailed.

Department of Health figures show the number of daily infections is just 4.2 per cent higher this week than it was last Thursday, when 6,634 positive tests were added to the official count.

But deaths are continuing to creep up. Officials declared another 59 laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 deaths on Thursday, up 47.5 per cent on the 40 posted this time last week but down slightly on the 71 registered on Wednesday. For comparison, more than 1,000 people were dying each day during the darkest weeks of the first wave in April.

Despite fatalities continuing to creep up, data now suggests that the surging numbers of cases which have rattled the nation in recent weeks appear to be slowing down.

Although the current numbers of positive tests seem high and are higher than they were during the peak in March and April, the remain only a ripple as scientists predict that more than 100,000 people were catching the virus in the spring and tests would've picked up tens of thousands every day if the same amount of swabs were done then.

In the strongest evidence yet that local lockdowns are working, results from the largest Covid-19 study in England found the R-rate fell from 1.7 to around 1.1

While the rate of infection appears to be falling, a study commissioned by the Department of Health, found that of the volunteers tested between September 18-26, one in 200 people had coronavirus.

It also revealed the virus to be spreading more among young people, while simultaneously laying bare the North-South divide, pointing to the North West as the epicentre of the UK's outbreak.

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT-1 programme at Imperial from the School of Public Health, said: 'While our latest findings show some early evidence that the growth of new cases may have slowed, suggesting efforts to control the infection are working, the prevalence of infection is the highest that we have recorded to date.

'This reinforces the need for protective measures to limit the spread of the disease and the public's adherence to these, which will be vital to minimise further significant illness and loss of life from Covid-19.'

The latest Imperial College study found 55 people per 10,000 tested positive, which is an increase on 13 people per 10,000 from the previous study between August 24 and September 7.
United Nations :

The UN has removed Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar from its list of designated terrorists, lifting the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo imposed on the insurgent leader who has signed a peace pact with the government.

The Security Councils al-Qaeda sanctions committee concerning ISIS, al-Qaeda and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities removed Hekmatyars name from the ISIS (Daesh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List on Friday.

Therefore, the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 2 of Security Council resolution 2253 (2015) no longer apply to him, the Sanctions Committee said in a statement.

In details mentioned about the 67-year-old, the statement said Hekmatyar was listed on February 20, 2003 and was believed to be in the Afghanistan/Pakistan border area as at January 2011.

Hekmatyar, head of the Hezb-e-Islami party, had last year in September signed a landmark peace agreement with Kabul. He is expected to return to the country within weeks.

A former Prime Minister, Hekmatyar was a prominent anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s.

Following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan and fall of the Taliban, the US State Department designated him a terrorist, accusing him of taking part in and supporting attacks by al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

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KYIV  Ukrainian officials say massive forest fires in the eastern region of Luhansk have killed at least nine people.

A total of 17 people have been hospitalized while dozens of others have been evacuated as a series of blazes swept across several districts in the region, endangering 32 settlements, the State Service for Emergency Situations (DSNS) said in a statement on October 2.

According to the DSNS, more than 2,500 people and 264 technical units, including aircraft, have been dispatched to put out the fires, which it said had spread across an area totaling about 13,000 hectares.

The fires started on September 30 and hit an area close to the front line between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in the Luhansk region.

The conflict between Ukrainian armed forces and the separatists in Luhansk and the neighboring region of Donetsk has killed more than 13,200 people since April 2014.

Police have launched seven probes into the fires.

The Prosecutor-General's Office said on October 2 that it was looking into four possible causes of the deadly fires -- the shelling of Kyiv-controlled districts by the separatists, arson, extremely hot weather and winds, and the irresponsible usage of fire.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told reporters on October 2 that the government will pay compensation of 20,000-300,000 hryvnyas ($250-$3,800) to families who have lost relatives and/or suffered property damage as a result of the fires.
New York, Oct 3 : A federal judge has temporarily blocked US President Donald Trump's ban on issuing work visas saying such "a radical change in policy" does not serve the public interest.

Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Federal Court in San Francisco delivered the injunction on Thursday in a case filed by trade organisations representing tech, manufacturing and retail companies that recruit professionals from abroad.

The judgment applies to all categories of H visas for professionals and their families, L visas for employees transferred to work in the US, and J visas for scholars, trainees and some students.

Judge White's order is only temporary pending a final decision on the case or an appeal.

On June 25, Trump ordered the US embassies to stop processing the work visa categories till the end of the year because of the high unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The judge wrote that Trump's order negatively affects "hundreds of thousands of American businesses of all sizes and economic sectors" belonging to the groups that brought the suit.

"The benefits of supporting American business and predictability in their governance will inure to the public," he said.

TechNet, a group representing technology companies that challenged the Trump order, welcomed the decision.

Its CEO Linda Moore said, "We must ensure that visa programs remain in place to fill critical high-skilled labour shortages. Any policy or order that hinders American companies' ability to find high-skilled workers only harms our economic recovery at this critical time." Companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, GM and Amazon.

National Association of Manufacturers pointed out that the US was competing for talent with other countries and this was a short-term win but immigration laws have to be reformed "for a long-term win for manufacturers." Its General Counsel Linda Kelly said, "We are competing with the rest of the world to find and develop top talent to support innovation in our industry. Today's decision is a temporary win for manufacturers committed to building that innovation in the United States." (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis)
?? Escucha el microinformativo #MineduWillakun, en donde hablamos sobre el desarrollo del protocolo y el cronograma para la distribucion de las tablets para estudiantes y docentes.https://t.co/svfgZ8o7Uy
Covid-19 has greatly exacerbated the pressing socio-economic issues facing South Africans and many of the country's most astute and informed corporate, non-profit, government and academic leaders will engage this month (13 and 14 October) on how to address these challenges.

Dr Mamphela Ramphele, cofounder of ReimagineSA Martin Kingston, vice-president of Business Unity South Africa Busisiwe Mavuso, CEO Business Leadership South Africa Nomfundo Mogapi, executive director at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation Stephanie Kimou, founder and principal consultant for Population Works Africa

Activist, medical doctor, academic, businesswoman and political thinker Dr Mamphela Ramphele , cofounder of ReimagineSA, will discuss how corporates can help to strengthen SAs socio-political and economic conditions.



, cofounder of ReimagineSA, will discuss how corporates can help to strengthen SAs socio-political and economic conditions. Martin Kingston , executive chairman of Rothschild & Co, vice-president of Business Unity South Africa, and chair of the steering committee of Business for South Africa - Covid-19, will discuss rebuilding through collaboration.



, executive chairman of Rothschild & Co, vice-president of Business Unity South Africa, and chair of the steering committee of Business for South Africa - Covid-19, will discuss rebuilding through collaboration. Busisiwe Mavuso , CEO of Business Leadership South Africa, an association of some of South Africas best-known organisational leaders, will consider lessons from Covid-19 for business and development communities.



, CEO of Business Leadership South Africa, an association of some of South Africas best-known organisational leaders, will consider lessons from Covid-19 for business and development communities. Nomfundo Mogapi , executive director at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) has contributed to shaping regional policies and will talk about how to overcome trauma and woundedness for institutional and societal success.



, executive director at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) has contributed to shaping regional policies and will talk about how to overcome trauma and woundedness for institutional and societal success. Ivorian-American Stephanie Kimou, an international development consultant and educator, is the founder and principal consultant for Population Works Africa. This organisation supports innovative, African-led development solutions. Ms Kimou will discuss amplifying diversity, inclusion, and belonging in development.

In response to the pandemic, we have migrated our popular in-person Business in Society Conference to a physically distant, but virtually connected one, says Nick Rockey, Trialogue MD. This will be our 13th annual conference. We need extra clarity and sharpness if we are to address South Africas massive social divisions and economic constraints, and that is what the conference aims to bring.Key topics will be how we can reform the quality of basic and further education, bolster youth employability, leverage tech for development, and draw on monitoring and evaluation to improve the effectiveness of developmental programming.Over 300 virtual delegates have registered to date, including participants from Malawi, Kenya and Zimbabwe. They can look forward to hearing 60 speakers and taking part in over a dozen breakout sessions and panel discussions, as well as connecting directly with other delegates, sponsors and speakers. Five keynote presentations will take place:The pandemic holds the potential to reshape our world for the better, but it is essential that we collaborate, share knowledge, and harness technology if we are to develop a more sustainable and egalitarian society, says Rockey. The Trialogue Business in Society Virtual Conference is an ideal opportunity to tap into the ideas and insights of some of South Africas most perceptive and networked developmental leaders.Chief sponsors are Rand Water Foundation (registration); Old Mutual (theme one - breaking barriers to quality education); Vodacom (theme three - ICT for development); and MTN SA Foundation (theme four - monitoring and evaluation for social change).The cost for a full virtual two-day experience is R3500 excluding VAT, or R875 excluding VAT per three-hour session (one full morning or afternoon). Group discounts are available for three to five delegates, at 7.5%. Six or more delegates will be discounted by 10%. Email az.oc.eugolairt@ecnerefnoc or call 021 671 1640.View the two-day programme here
Oliver Dowden visited one of the cinemas to benefit from the funding (Yui Mok/PA)

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has made a visit to one of the 42 cinemas receiving a share of the Governments 650,000 coronavirus support fund for the independent cinema sector.

Mr Dowden shared photos from his visit to Reel Cinemas outlet in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, on Friday, where he was accompanied by members of the British Film Institute.

In one photo, Mr Dowden is seen holding a box of popcorn while another pictures him inside one of Reel Cinemas film theatres, wearing a face mask.

 NEWS



Nothing beats the experience of the big screen.



Our Culture Recovery Fund is now helping dozens of independent cinemas across the country - ensuring future generations can enjoy their unique character and history.https://t.co/D7joYMr6PR pic.twitter.com/mOdYQf9yiH  Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) October 2, 2020

He tweeted: Nothing beats the experience of the big screen. Our Culture Recovery Fund is now helping dozens of independent cinemas across the country  ensuring future generations can enjoy their unique character and history.

Great visit @Reel_Cinema in #Borehamwood today with @BFI. One of the 42 independent cinemas sharing 650,000 funding from our 1.57bn #CultureRecoveryFund

A shot in the arm to independent cinema with more to come. We are #HereForCulture. Please support your local cinema too.

Some 14 of Reel Cinemas venues  in locations including Chippenham, Chorley and Rochdale  are receiving support from the scheme, totalling 139,958.

The money is drawn from the Governments previously announced 30 million fund to help independent cinemas weather the pandemic.

The first tranche of support has gone to venues across England in locations including Gloucester, London, Plymouth, Rochdale, Wakefield and Sheffield, with more being allocated soon.

Video of the Day

Hello, the weeks delay is due to the volume & complexity of applications we received, many from organisations that are new to us. Given the amount of money involved, we have been undertaking additional due diligence to ensure that this public funding is spent responsibly 1/2  Arts Council England (@ace_national) October 2, 2020

It comes as Arts Council England said the first round of money to be distributed from the cultural recovery fund had been pushed back a week from Monday October 5.

Monday was supposed to mark the day grassroots music venues would begin finding out whether their applications to the 1.57 billion cultural recovery fund had been successful.

The council, which is delivering the funding, replied to a tweet from the Music Venue Trust (MVT) on Twitter, saying the delay was due to the volume & complexity of applications we received, many from organisations that are new to us.

It added: Given the amount of money involved, we have been undertaking additional due diligence to ensure that this public funding is spent responsibly.

We completely understand the pressure the sector is under at this challenging time and we have contacted all applicants to let them know.

Distribution of the Cultural Recovery Fund, 1st round due on Monday 5 Oct, has been pulled and delayed until Mon 12 Oct. At 4pm on the Friday before decisions were due to be announced. #CRFdelay



1. Who made this decision?

2. When?

3. Why? @OliverDowden @DCMS @ace_national  Music Venue Trust (@musicvenuetrust) October 2, 2020

In its original tweet, the MVT wrote: Distribution of the Cultural Recovery Fund, 1st round due on Monday 5 Oct, has been pulled and delayed until Mon 12 Oct. At 4pm on the Friday before decisions were due to be announced.

The trust questioned who had made this decision and why.

A second tweet from the MVT said: These are literally life changing decisions about peoples careers, livelihoods, businesses and in some cases homes. They are being made after months of agonising waiting. People are on a knife edge.

A spokeswoman for Arts Council England said: We understand this is an anxious time for many people and many organisations up and down the country. We are working hard to get this much-needed funding out as quickly as possible, to those who need it most.

Given the volume and complexity of the applications that came through to this brand new fund, weve had to do additional due diligence to make sure money from the public purse is spent responsibly.

We apologise that this has led to a weeks delay in letting the first tranche of applicants know decisions, but we will still be able to get money to them this month.
MILAN  The Italian State is once again stepping in to help a fashion company.

On Friday, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CPD), a company controlled by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, has agreed to support the international growth and product innovation of the contemporary Liu Jo brand with 15 million euros of funding.

More from WWD

Liu Jo SpA was founded in 1995 in Carpi, outside Modena, a storied knitwear hub in the Emilia Romagna region, and the brand today spans ready- to-wear, bags, shoes and accessories, in addition to jewelry, furniture, fragrances and eyewear licenses.

The company generates sales of about 400 million euros and employs 800 people. Liu Jo products are available in 48 countries through some 510 stores and 6,200 multi-brand points of sale.

The agreement follows Italys Ministry for Economic Development decision in July to invest 10 million euros in storied mens wear brand Corneliani, which a month earlier had submitted an application for admission to a composition with creditors procedure. The funds were channeled into safeguarding Cornelianis continuing operations.

The state intervention falls under the new Re-Launch Decree, developed by the Italian government to support the restart of the country after the COVID-19 pandemic and which includes the creation of a fund to support companies during the crisis.

Nunzio Tartaglia, in charge of the business division of CDP, said supporting Liu Jo is in line with its mission to flank the best mid-sized Italian companies that promote the quality of Made in Italy. Over the years, Liu Jo has built an enviable competitive positioning and a strong brand awareness thanks to the managerial skills of its founder Marco Marchi, who has always invested in product innovation, said Tartaglia. This has allowed the group to grow and we are sure it will continue to grow despite the current emergency, also through our support, which sees us increasingly closer to companies and the territory.

Story continues

Marchi has launched the Eccellenze Italiane project and in November acquired the Gruppo Blufin and its brands Blumarine, Blugirl, Anna Molinari and Be Blumarine from the founding Tarabini family. The brands are available globally through 500 points of sales, of which 31 are monobrand boutiques. The deal followed an acquisition by Eccellenze Italiane last fall of a 15 percent stake in Italian retailer Coin SpA, which operates 40 flagships in Italy and 100 stores under the Coincasa banner in the country and abroad.

Marchi said that the agreement with CDP is in sync with his groups plan to expand its partners and financial shareholders interested in Eccellenze Italianes growth projects as ambassadors of Made in Italy in the world.

He emphasized CDPs institutional mission to be close to companies and territories through a new organization.

The contract proves how attentive and available CDP has been in listening to our needs, putting at our disposal all the tools that could satisfy those needs, but also evaluating our business and our industrial plans supporting us and offering consultancy in this delicate phase of post COVID recovery, said Marchi.

The Eccellenze Italiane conglomerate aims to boost the visibility and business of Italian small and medium-sized companies on the global scene, according to Marchi. Last year, ahead of the pandemic, he said the final goal for Eccellenze Italiane was an IPO. Marchi first planned a listing of the Liu Jo company in 2018, a project that the entrepreneur has said was postponed because of unfavorable market conditions.
The Qikiqtani Inuit Association should have addressed environmental concerns with a large mine expansion project on Baffin Island before it inked a benefits deal with the owner, according to a joint letter signed by mayors of five Inuit communities and chairs of local hunters and trappers organizations.

Baffinland Iron Mines wants to double iron ore production at its Mary River Mine on north Baffin Island under a second phase of development, which is being assessed by the Nunavut Impact Review Board. After months of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the signing of the deal led the board to restart hearings. A pre-hearing conference wrapped up this week and the review board has yet to set a date for the final hearings.

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association, which is landlord of the Qikiqtaaluk Region and allows Baffinland to operate there through a commercial lease, signed the Inuit Certainty Agreement with the company on June 16. The agreement outlines benefits to the communities  such as Inuit employment and environmental monitoring efforts  throughout the mines life of about 21 years.

But leaders of hamlets and hunting organizations say the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, which represents 15,000 Inuit, signed the agreement prematurely and overlooked community concerns.

Louie Primo, senior administrative officer of Sanirajak (Hall Beach), told The Narwhal it doesnt make sense to establish benefits with communities that remain concerned about environmental damage that could result from an expanded mine. It doesnt really resolve anything, he said.

The joint letter, dated Aug. 29, was signed by representatives from Sanirajak, Pond Inlet, Igloolik, Arctic Bay and Clyde River.

The letter states that by inking the agreement, the association has demonstrated a particular interest in the outcome of the hearing process and has a particular bias that must be balanced by a fair and complete consideration of all issues and concerns.

The letter goes on to state that the agreement was put together without meaningful input from our organizations and the communities plan to adequately address possible impacts during the assessment process.

We respectfully reserve the right to determine agreement with the project based on our own findings; separately and distinct from the ICA and the associations determination.

A spokesperson with the association declined to comment, stating that the organization is currently involved in meeting with affected communities.

Technical meetings, community roundtables and hearings about the Mary River expansion project have been rocky, stopping and starting for almost a year. In March, hearings were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited both travel and public gatherings. They were rescheduled to be held virtually, but were cancelled due to concerns from intervenors that some people might not be able to participate in that format.

Almost one month after the certainty agreement was signed, Dan Vandal, minister of Northern Affairs, urged the review board to reboot the review process.

In a July 10 letter to the review board, he said it is appropriate to recommence the formal reconsideration at this time on the grounds that the Inuit Certainty Agreement was signed and both Baffinland and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association had requested it move ahead.

He further justified this recommendation by citing a section of the Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act, which states: The responsible minister may indicate to the board that a review or a reconsideration of terms and conditions is a priority in relation to other reviews or reconsiderations and may propose a reasonable period within which it must be completed.

The ministers letter makes no mention of other projects over which to prioritize, and the hearing was not postponed due to any conflicting projects.

Melanie Mellon, a spokesperson with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, said the Inuit Certainty Agreement is a sign of progress, however decisions about the next steps in the Phase 2 reconsideration process are the boards responsibility.

With the easing of public health restrictions, the review board scheduled a blend of pre-hearing teleconferences, in-person meetings and video conferences between Aug. 31 and Oct. 1, according to a July 29 letter from Karen Costello, executive director of the review board to interested parties.

The board has concluded that modifications and new approaches are necessary because an indefinite suspension of the boards usual in-person proceedings to await a return to normal is unacceptable, it says.

Once the hearing process is complete, the review board will issue a recommendation to the federal government on whether or not to allow the expansion project to go forward.

A spokesperson for Baffinland didnt return a request for comment prior to publication.

Baffinland is permitted to ship six million tonnes of iron ore from its port on Milne Inlet, just west of the community of Pond Inlet, located on Eclipse Sound. The company wants to increase production up to 12 million tonnes of iron ore per year and construct a 110-kilometre railway to move that ore from mine to port (it currently uses a tote road).

If the expansion is approved, the number of annual voyages by ore carriers would more than double, from 81 in 2019 to 176.

Community representatives and environmental groups remain concerned about what increased ship traffic could do to sensitive habitats and the marine mammals that rely on them to survive. These concerns were also raised by the Government of Greenland. Earlier this year, the Government of Canada affirmed the Kingdom of Denmarks right to be part of the expansion projects assessment due to potential transboundary impacts.

Overall, the transportation of the iron ore in the Mary River project must be considered one of the greatest threats to marine mammals in the Arctic, Greenlands Directorate for the Environment and Nature said in a memo included in a February letter from Denmark to the Canadian government, adding that there are risks of oil spills and collisions with whales.

Greenlands memo also noted that ice breaking and ship traffic could affect the habitat of seals, walruses and whales, noting that bowhead whales are just returning to the area after virtually disappearing for 100 years.

The region is particularly important to narwhals, with Eclipse Sound, which Milne Inlet opens into, being home to 10 per cent of the worlds population of the species, the memo said.

If Baffinlands proposed plan goes ahead, noise created by ships could permanently prevent narwhals from feeding in the area, it said.

The Inuit Certainty Agreement includes environmental protection, employment and compensation for wildlife loss. Most benefits  such as a country food study and Inuit-led monitoring program  would be bankrolled by Baffinland, including $3 million for childcare infrastructure in the five affected communities and the extension of a program that offers $400,000 per year for fuel for Pond Inlet harvesters for the remainder of the mines life.

Neither Baffinland nor the Qikiqtani Inuit Association would provide The Narwhal with a total dollar figure for the agreement.

As a transparent Inuit organization, QIA will release and discuss financial matters pertaining to the ICA with its board and impacted communities, Sima Sahar Zerehi, a spokesperson for the association, wrote in an email to The Narwhal. It is of utmost importance that this information is communicated and considered by those most impacted when considering whether or not to support the project proposal.

According to the agreement summary document, the agreement provides greater Inuit control and oversight, direct community benefits and new and expanded programs for Inuit in communities impacted by the Mary River project.

The agreement also requires that Baffinland have enough financial security in place to ensure that the entire Mary River project site will be cleaned up and restored when the project is completed.

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association will hold money earmarked for reclamation, the document says, and, if theres a dispute over the amount needed, Baffinland will provide the amount recommended by the association while the issue is settled.

Under the agreement, an adaptive management plan will be produced to monitor impacts from the project and prevent similar impacts in the future.

But Primo said an adaptive management plan may not be enough to address the intensity of the project.

Lets say that the activity becomes so great that the marine mammals just all leave and theres nothing more there for the people to hunt, he said. I dont know how you deal with that with an adaptive management process.

Read more about:
WILLIAMSPORT  A former Sullivan County administrative deputy sheriff has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for embezzling nearly $200,000 in sheriff sales money over a seven-year period.

Mary Handzus, 64, of the Laporte area, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann, who also ordered restitution of $250,755.

That consists of the $198,566 she stole, $47,189 spent by the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania for a forensic audit and the $5,000 deductible paid by the county toward the cost.

Handzus apologized to the county officials in the courtroom and said: The people of Sullivan County expected more from me. They deserved more. What I did was wrong. I knew it when I did it.

The retired Army captain who served a tour in Korea said it was desperate times for me, claiming she had used all her retirement funds and needed money to pay bills.

She is taking steps to have property in Sullivan County subdivided so part of it can be sold to pay the restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts said that Handzus did not have to steal. She had other resources.

Handzus referred to family and friends, who provided examples of the good she has done in the community. Roberts countered by pointing out when Handzus was fired she received a lump payment of $20,000 in retirement funds but did not apply any of it to what she stole.

Public corruption divides the people and government, the prosecutor said. It affects the publics image of government, Sullivan County Commissioner Brian Hoffman said.

Handzus had pleaded guilty in February to a charge of embezzlement from programs receiving federal funds. The charge covered the period between 2012 and 2019.

She was placed on leave when a bank on Jan. 4, 2019, discovered a discrepancy in the sheriffs sales checking account for which she had sole responsibility.

The Philadelphia native who has a masters degree in business administration was fired Feb. 5, 2019, after the audit concluded embezzlement had occurred.

She was able to write more than 100 fraudulent checks by making false entries in a ledger reviewed monthly by the sheriff, Roberts said.

Measures were put in place immediately so that no single employee will have access to funds without checks and balances, Sheriff Bobby Montgomery said.

Brann made note of the cover-up when he imposed the sentence that also included a two-year term of supervised release. Handzus is to self-report to prison on Nov. 2.
Im not kidding, I freaked out. I was so thrilled, she said. Sometimes when youre on stories there is that moment where you slip out of work mode. Out of respect for such a rare, wild sight. Its exactly what I did. I just stood there and stared. My camera wasnt rolling. I was just in total awe. Ill bet the first salmon I saw had to be 3 maybe 4 feet long.  And then just to see them hover over that clean spread of gravel where their eggs are. And they stay there, theyre guarding that life on their death bed. You have to stop everything youre doing and recognize the significance of that moment. And then you can go get your camera and take pictures. But first you have to recognize the moment.
Appalachian Underwriters, Inc. (AUI) has promoted three in-house Marketing team members Marketing representatives in its Oak Ridge, Tenn. Headquarters. The three members will service agents in their specific territories.

The promotions include:

Dakota Stiles, who will service the Delta area, which includes Ark., La., and Miss. Formerly the AUI Marketing coordinator, Stiles has more than a year of experience on the agency management side.

Katherine (Katie) Stevens work with agents in the Upper Midwest, including those in Ky., Mich., and Ohio. In her previous role as AUI Marketing Specialist, Stevens worked with AUIs insurtech partners and was a key player in the agency onboarding process.

Brittney Fryer, the newest member of AUIs Marketing team, will handle the Northwest, including Idaho, Mont., Ore., Wash., Wyo., as well as Okla. In her original role as AUI Marketing Specialist, Fryer worked on enrolling agents with AUIs sub-appointed carriers.

Appalachian Underwriters, Inc. is a full-service MGA and wholesale insurance brokerage, providing independent agents a national outlet to markets for workers compensation, commercial specialty and personal lines of insurance.

Topics Agencies Underwriting Tennessee
DUBLIN, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Product Innovation and Customization Driving the Mature Western European Above-the-neck PPE Market, 2020-2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

With nearly 95% of PPEs being sold through distributors, customer service is a key contributor to the growth of the above-the-neck PPE market in the region.

Amongst countries, Germany, the United Kingdom & Ireland, and France account for nearly a 56.5% share of the total market, with revenue contributions of 141.8 million, 124.3 million, and 106.5% million, respectively, in 2019.



The top 3 manufacturers hold a 48.5% market share by revenue. 3M leads the market with a share of 21-23%, followed by Honeywell with a 14-17% share and Uvex with and 9-11% revenue share. Investments into R&D to develop innovative products, coupled with strategic acquisitions, remain a key driver for market growth in the forecast period.



Partnerships are the way forward in the competitive market. For example, Schuberth entered into a partnership with 3M in 2016 to develop head protection PPE. Similarly, Hex Armour entered into partnership with Uvex in 2017.



Few notable M&As include 3M's acquisition of Scott Safety in 2017, and Globus Group's acquisition of ENHA Gmbh in 2017 and Alpha Solway in 2015. Similarly, with the aim to focus on its core businesses Kimberly Clark sold its welding PPE business to Surewerk in 2017 while 3M sold off its prescription eyewear business to Hoya Vision Care in 2017.



Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

Market Engineering Measurements

Executive Summary - CEO's Perspective

2. Market Overview

Market Overview - Definitions

Market Overview - Market Trends

Market Overview - Material and Other Trends

Market Overview - Key Questions This Study Will Answer

Market Segmentation

Market Distribution Channels

3. Drivers and Restraints - Total Above-the-neck PPE Market

Market Drivers

Drivers Explained

Market Restraints

Restraints Explained

4. Forecasts and Trends - Total Above-the-neck PPE Market

Market Engineering Measurements

Forecast Assumptions

Revenue Forecast

Revenue Forecast Discussion

Percent Revenue Forecast by Country/Region

Revenue Forecast by Country/Region

Revenue Forecast Discussion by Country/Region

Percent Revenue Forecast by Vertical Market

Revenue Forecast by Vertical Market

Revenue Forecast Discussion by Vertical Market

Percent Revenue Forecast by Segment

Revenue Forecast by Segment

5. Market Share and Competitive Analysis - Total Above-the-neck PPE Market

Market Share

Market Share Analysis

Competitive Environment

Top Competitors

Competitive Factors and Assessment

Growth Opportunities and Companies to Action

Growth Opportunity 1 - Regulatory Changes will Offer Stable Growth in the Hearing Protection PPE Market

Growth Opportunity 2 - Market Penetration through Organic Growth

Growth Opportunity 3 - IoT and Connected PPE on the Rise

Strategic Imperatives for Success and Growth

6. Head Protection Segment Breakdown

Key Findings

Market Engineering Measurements

Head Protection Segment - Overview

Head Protection Segment - Product and Technology Trends

Head Protection Segment - Regulatory Trends

Revenue Forecast

Percent Revenue Forecast by Product Type

Revenue Forecast by Product Type

Revenue Forecast Discussion

Unit Shipment Forecast

Percent Unit Shipment Forecast by Product Type

Pricing Forecast

Unit Shipment Forecast and Pricing Forecast Discussion

Percent Revenue Forecast by Country/Region

Revenue Forecast by Country/Region

Revenue Forecast Discussion by Country/Region

Percent Revenue Forecast by Vertical Market

Revenue Forecast by Vertical Market

Revenue Forecast Discussion by Vertical Market

Market Share

Market Share Analysis

Competitive Environment

7. Eye Protection Segment Breakdown

Key Findings

Market Engineering Measurements

Eye Protection Segment - Overview

Eye Protection Segment - Product and Technology Trends

Eye Protection Segment - Non-Prescription Safety Eyewear Product and Technology Trends

Eye Protection Segment - Prescription Safety Eyewear Overview

Eye Protection Segment - Prescription Eyewear Product and Technology Trends

Eye Protection Segment - Laser Safety Eyewear Description

Eye Protection Segment - Regulatory Trends

8. Face Protection Segment Breakdown

Key Findings

Market Engineering Measurements

Face Protection Segment - Overview

Face Protection Segment - Regulatory Trends

Revenue Forecast

Percent Revenue Forecast by Product Type

Revenue Forecast by Product Type

Revenue Forecast Discussion

9. Welding Helmets Sub-segment

Welding Helmets Sub-segment - Product Overview

Welding Helmets Sub-segment - Product and Technology Trends

Revenue Forecast

Percent Revenue Forecast by Product Type

Revenue Forecast by Product Type

Unit Shipment Forecast

Percent Unit Shipment Forecast by Product Type

Pricing Forecast

Revenue Forecast, Unit Shipment Forecast, and Pricing Forecast Discussion

Percent Revenue Forecast by Country/Region

Revenue Forecast by Country/Region

Revenue Forecast Discussion by Country/Region

Percent Revenue Forecast by Vertical Market

Revenue Forecast by Vertical Market

Revenue Forecast Discussion by Vertical Market

Market Share

Market Share Analysis

Competitive Environment

10. Face Shields Sub-segment

11. Hearing Protection Segment Breakdown

12. Ear Plugs and Bands Sub-segment

13. Ear Muffs Sub-segment

14. The Last Word

15. Appendix

Companies Mentioned

3M

Alpha Solway

ENHA Gmbh

Globus Group

Hex Armour

Hoya Vision Care

Kimberly Clark

Schuberth

Scott Safety

Surewerk

Uvex

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/acbxc

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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Mamata Banerjee upset after not being allowed to speak during PMs meet

Missionaries of Charity itself requested SBI to freeze all bank accounts: Govt

Mamata Banerjee on PM Modi's virtual hospital launch: We inaugurated it last year

Proposal to change rules for central deputation of IAS officers affects states' administration: Mamata to PM

BJP leader who threatened Mamata with COVID hug tests positive

India

oi-Deepika S

Kolkata, Oct 02: BJP leader Anupam Hazra, who had threatened to hug West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee if he got infected with COVID-19, has tested positive for the disease, health officials said.

Hazra, who has recently been appointed as a national secretary of the saffron party, was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata, they said.

He had complained of uneasiness and his samples were tested for coronavirus, the report of which returned as positive, the officials said.

After his controversial statement, the Trinamool Congress had lodged a police complaint against Hazra for maligning a public figure, who is a woman, thus violating the Constitution.

"Our workers are fighting a bigger enemy than corona. They are fighting Mamata Banerjee. When they (BJP cadres) have been able to fight it out against Mamata Banerjee without a mask, they think they can also fight against COVID-19 without wearing a mask," Hazra said.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

TMC writes to EC against The Great Khali campaigning for BJP candidate Anupam Hazra

"I have decided that if I get infected by the coronavirus, then I will go and hug Mamata Banerjee," he added.

Hazra, a former TMC MP who joined the BJP last year, said the way the bodies of COVID-19 patients were being cremated in the state was pathetic.
Terrified residents are preparing to flee their homes over fears a nearby dam could burst at any second.

Emergency crews swarmed Torquay, Victoria, at midnight on Friday as concern was raised over the leaking dam.

Kate Earnshaw, a resident of Pintail Drive, Torquay, said emergency services had briefed them about the issue about 9pm on Friday.

State Emergency Service volunteers and firefighters standing on Pintail Drive, Torquay at midnight on Friday as they prepared for potential emergency evacuations over fears a nearby dam could collapse. Picture: Kate Earnshaw

However, at 11pm they returned to tell the residents to pack their bags and get ready to evacuate if necessary within the hour, Ms Earnshaw said.

At 12.30am on Saturday, the mother-of-two spoke to Daily Mail Australia as she stood outside on her street with her bags packed watching the dam wall nervously.

'I'm just standing here with my neighbour,' she said.

'It's 180,000 megalitres of water, that's 20m deep, that is seeping out at the edges at the moment and they're worried that the edges are going to drop, and that it will just seep out and burst completely.'

Ms Earnshaw said the whole of Pintail Drive was preparing to leave, with at least 100 people, children and their pets getting packed to go to an evacuation centre.

Families in four houses in front of the dam had already been evacuated, she said.

Residents were packing their bags ready to go to an evacuation centre on Friday night

Emergency services can be seen assessing the dam on Horseshoe Bend Rd on Friday night

The entire area is a new housing estate, with most of the houses under a year old, many still under construction, she said.

'There's a lot of families here that have young children,' she said.

Ms Earnshaw said everyone had their bags packed with their valuables and essentials.

'We have everything ready to go but we just haven't woken up the children yet to go to the evacuation centre.'

Worried residents where packing up their important documents and essentials ready to leave in a hurry

Emergency lighting was set up at the dam site

Victoria Police confirmed the dam is located on a property on Horseshoe Bend Road and was being assessed.

'Residents in some surrounding properties on Pintail Drive have been notified of the assessment but no evacuations have been required at this stage,' Victoria Police said in a statement.

'Local water authorities are currently investigating and DELWP (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning) have been notified.'

Emergency services waiting in the street, ready to evacuate residents if the dam should burst

Residents believe the dam is on the Torquay Flower Farm on Horseshoe Bend Road although Daily Mail Australia was unable to confirm this with police at time of writing.

Ms Earnshaw said the dam had been seeping for a few days.

Emergency services could be seen setting up emergency lighting and assisting residents in the darkness, and at the dam site, at midnight.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed us. It stopped us midstride, paralyzed business and left us scrambling.

By many measures, the economy we had built in San Antonio before the pandemic was thriving, though there were parts of the city that hadnt shared in the prosperity. We remained the most economically segregated city in the country. Then the economy crumbled under COVID-19 and we vowed to rebuild it. And while this is the expected reaction of our can-do spirit, its also a question. Rebuild what?

The COVID-19 pandemic is testing us. Were holding the line against the spread of a disease buoyed by tantrums disguised as individual rights. Teetering in the outcome is an old way of doing business that leaves many people beyond its edges, with inequalities that we havent known how to resolve.

Case in point: San Antonios Council District 5 contains most of what is known as the citys West Side. It represents 8.75 percent of the citys population. Yet, the West Side accounts for roughly 14.5 percent of the citys COVID-19 cases and 21 percent of COVID-19 deaths. Most District 5 residents dont have the luxury of working from home. They are mostly service-industry workers who earn low wages, with low benefits and uncertain hours. In a less-infected world, they would go unnoticed, but their work is now labeled essential.

The scramble to survive the effects of COVID-19 takes on a special urgency on the West Side.

More than 90 percent of San Antonios 117,546 businesses are classified as small. In District 5, which has one of the highest poverty rates in the country, most employers are microbusinesses with 10 workers or fewer. With no large employer, the West Sides economy runs on the entrepreneurial strength of a community of more than 5,000 small businesses, sole proprietors and independent contractors. Yet, only 5 percent of West Side microbusinesses received CARES Act business relief grants sponsored by the city of San Antonio and Bexar County, and less than 34 percent received federal relief funds.

We should have known better.

In 1989, the Tomas Rivera Center and the Rockefeller Foundation funded a report titled The Economy of the Urban Ethnic Enclave. The purpose was twofold: to determine the condition of minority and disadvantaged firms in San Antonios West Side, which represented 10 percent of the citys total, and determine how the city and other organizations had assisted them.

On ExpressNews.com: Organization looking to redevelop the West Sides Basila Frocks building

The 1989 study mapped the landscape and drew a plan for West Side economic development that was promptly shelved. In the years since, it has gathered dust while development has been concentrated in the north-central sectors. Economic development has focused on the recruitment of outside industry, which uses smokestack chasing that ignores existing small businesses and downplays the 40 percent of San Antonios $124 billion GDP they generate. Thats a $49.6 billion missed opportunity.

For three decades, weve known how to fix the problem, but confronting the inequality that surrounds us hasnt been a priority. Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be a rush to business as usual, where we say were a compassionate city that fosters togetherness, that celebrates diversity and opportunity, and all the while looking away from the reality that reveals our self-deception.

Since 1989, weve had a specific plan to increase employment and develop microbusinesses:

Reduce structural obstacles such as disproportionate investment, development and government budget allocation.

Drive collaborative community initiatives in the five core economic sectors: construction, health care, retail, food services and professional services.

Strengthen inner-city residential and commercial systems.

Align business training and job development in our citys microbusiness enclaves.

We will miss the $49.6 billion opportunities again if we keep calling ourselves a compassionate city while leaving so many businesses without a fighting chance.

What are we rushing to rebuild after the pandemic? For businesses and workers in the West Side, business as usual is not an option. A recovery program that ignores historic obstacles is a pretense. We can and must be better.

Diane Sanchez is the founder and CEO of a local nonprofit called Micro:SA, an advocate for San Antonios microbusinesses. Shes the former CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
The prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand have agreed to "safe travel zone" plan that will be gradually rolled out, Australian Deputy PM Michael McCormack announced Friday.

Details: McCormack said the travel "bubble" will initially see Kiwis who aren't in a COVID-19 hot spot permitted to fly to New South Wales and the Northern Territory from Oct. 16 without mandatory quarantine. But NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made clear that Kiwis will have to go into quarantine upon their return.

The big picture: NSW has had no new COVID-19 local cases for a week, and the NT has had no infections for two months. New Zealand has 11 cases after containing its second outbreak to the city of Auckland.

The New Zealand prime minister Jacinda will decide when Aussies may visit NZ, McCormack said. Ardern said ahead of the announcement "we're not ready to have quarantine-free travel with Australia," per TVNZ.

"Even if Australia, and we've acknowledged that they may, open up the borders one-way for New Zealanders to go in without quarantine, that doesnt mean they wont have to go into quarantine on return. In fact, at this stage, they will."

 Ardern

Go deeper: Polls open in New Zealand's "Covid election"
LONDON - President Donald Trump's announcement Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the novel coronavirus met an outpouring of reactions around the globe, ranging from well wishes for a quick recovery to jabs at the president, who has routinely downplayed the threat of the virus that has killed more than 1 million people around the world this year.

Even in a year of relentless, grim news flashes, word that Trump, 74, had contracted the virus jolted foreign governments, roiled global markets and captivated the attention of a pandemic-stricken world.

Trump allies, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tweeted messages of support.

"Like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery," Netanyahu tweeted.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized and required oxygen therapy while battling a severe case of the virus in late March, sent his "best wishes" to the couple on Twitter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent well wishes to Trump, telling him: "I am confident that your vital energy, high spirits, and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus," according to Russian state media. The Kremlin said this week that Putin plans to be vaccinated against the coronavirus with an experimental Russian vaccine soon.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, who developed a close relationship with Trump and has met him three times, sent the U.S. president a "message of sympathy" and expressed hope he and the first lady would recover "as soon as possible," state media reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also sent words of encouragement to the couple.

French government spokesman Gabriel Attal, meanwhile, struck a more critical tone. He wished the president a "swift recovery," whle speaking on French TV channel LCI, but also called Trump's positive test result "a sign that the virus spares no one, including those who are the most skeptical about its reality and gravity."

Others had sharper words for the president.

"Mr. President . . . I suggest that you do not try to treat yourself with bleach," tweeted Radoslaw Sikorski, a European Parliament member and former Polish foreign minister, referencing Trump's earlier suggestions that disinfectants could serve a role as a possible treatment against the virus.

"President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19," tweeted Hu Xijin, the editor in chief of the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party-controlled newspaper. Trump has repeatedly attacked China for its handling of the pandemic, which first emerged in the city of Wuhan late last year.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., tweeted Friday that "China gave this virus" to the Trumps, adding, "WE MUST HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. "

But the Chinese Foreign Ministry took a softer tone. Spokeswoman Hua Chunying tweeted that she was "saddened" to learn of the couple's diagnoses. "Hope they both have a speedy recovery and will be fine," she wrote.

Chinese officials may see Trump having contracted the virus after spending months playing it down as a dose of "poetic justice," said Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The news could serve as kindling for the Chinese Communist Party's messaging that democratic institutions have failed to handle the global crisis, he said. But Trump's diagnosis just ahead of the U.S. election also "throws up a number of volatilities and variables which Beijing would rather not deal with right now."

World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sent the president "best wishes," despite Trump accusing the body of "severely mismanaging" the coronavirus outbreak. Earlier this year, Trump announced he planned to permanently cut U.S. funding to the WHO, describing their response to the pandemic as being too "China-centric. "

Some observers worried Trump's diagnosis could add further instability to an already divisive election season.

In a headline Friday, Belgium's Le Soir newspaper asked if Trump's illness was "a turning point for the campaign."

Thomas Wright, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, said that foreign governments will be watching closely as more details emerge about Trump's prognosis.

European leaders have been focused on "what scenarios could create real instability after the election," he said. But Trump's positive test result "adds in something very dramatic" even before Americans head to the polls.

Following this week's fiery presidential debate between Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, others questioned what the president's positive diagnosis meant for the health of others who had come into recent contact with him or the first lady.

But thus far, few European policymakers appeared to see a need to take hasty action.

One senior European security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to be candid in assessing the situation in the White House, said that the larger concerns continue to swirl over what will happen if the results of next month's election are close or unclear.

Trump has faced widespread criticism abroad over his handling of the pandemic. Foreign researchers have repeatedly accused the Trump administration of failing to adequately take into account scientific advice in the coronavirus response. More people have died from the virus in the United States than anywhere else in the world, with deaths continuing to climb past the 207,000 mark.

Trump did not don a mask in public for the first time until July, after months of downplaying their importance in the global effort to slow transmission. He has also mocked Democratic rival Joe Biden for wearing a face covering.

"Nobody is immune from #COVID19," the United Nations Office for disaster risk reduction, tweeted Friday, in response to Trump's positive test.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is fourth in the presidential line of succession, is wrapping up a five-day trip to Europe, where he has traveled to Greece, Italy and Croatia.

Pompeo has more consistently worn a mask when appearing in public than Trump. He said he was last with Trump on Sept. 15 and on Friday announced that he and his wife, Susan, had both tested negative for the virus.

Trump has joined a growing list of world leaders who have fallen ill with the virus. Johnson, who also initially downplayed the threat of the pandemic, reversed course after surviving a severe bout of the illness, which he later acknowledged nearly killed him. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, 65, tested positive for the virus in July, but experienced a much milder case. He has referred to the virus as "a little cold" and downplayed the necessity of masks in reducing transmission, even as cases rose exponentially in Brazil.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is 84 and spent 10 days in the hospital battling the illness last month, said in statement after Trump's diagnosis that the disease "can be overcome with appropriate and courageous actions." After Berlusconi's release from the hospital, he called the experience "the most dangerous challenge of my life" and urged people to wear masks.

- - -

Noack reported from Berlin. The Washington Post's Antonia Noori Farzan in Washington, Michael Birnbaum in Riga, Latvia, Isabelle Khurshudyan in Moscow and Carol Morello in Washington contributed to this report.
SPRINGFIELD - The president of Springfield College said Friday that the college has seen no new cases of COVID-19 among its students, faculty and staff since three students tested positive earlier this week.

In a statement to the campus, President Mary-Beth Cooper said the campus received test results from 359 people who were known to have had contact with three students, and all of them were negative.

This gives us guarded optimism that we may have caught this before it became an outbreak, she said.

The college also announced its Board of Trustees have decided to free tuition for the 2021-22 school year in recognition of the effects of the pandemic.

The three students who tested positive remain in isolation on campus

Each was a resident of Alumni Hall. When it was determined they had tested positive, the college announced that all residents would be quarantined in the residence hall for 14 days. Classes would be taken remotely, and food would be delivered.

Cooper said that since the start of the fall semester, the college has been and remains vigilant in controlling the spread of the virus.

This is why my leadership team and I did not hesitate when agreeing with our Rapid Response Teams decision to quarantine the student residents in Alumni Hall, she said. This decision was made as a preventative measure so that we can control any spread of the virus.

The college has since the middle of August administered 8,620 tests and all but five have come back negative, or 99.92%. It maintains an online COVID-19 dashboard that provides data, both weekly and cumulative, on tests administered and the number of positive cases.

Cooper also announced that the Board of Trustees conducted a virtual meeting over the weekend, at which time there were discussions of the colleges strategy for COVID-19 in the immediate and long-term future.

The board voted unanimously to keep tuition for the 2021-22 academic year at the same level as this year.

The undergraduate tuition this year, not including room and board or other fees, is $19,965 per semester or $39,930 per year.

Coopet said she appreciated the boards recognition of the effect of the pandemic on the campus, and its commitment to keeping the college affordable.

Related content:
Measures that ban all non-essential trips in and out of the capital and nine of its suburbs  covering around 4.8 million people  are set to be enacted on Friday evening.

Spains Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, said there was a critical need to take the new steps in the European coronavirus hot spot.

But officials in the capital, whose regional government is managed by the conservative Popular Party, baulked at the order, saying it would bring chaos and further sap the economy.

It has filed an appeal at the National Court against the new measures.

Under the national order, travellers will need to prove they are going to or from work, to see a doctor or to conduct essential administrative or legal errands in order to leave Madrid or the town where they live.

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Restaurants must close at 11pm and shops at 10pm, with a restriction of 50% capacity.

Similar measures already apply to more than a million residents, and the region has limited social gatherings to a maximum of six people.

Madrids legal challenge argues that restrictions violate regional self-rule laws.

The city is leading the resurgence of the virus in Spain, which has Europes highest cumulative caseload  770,000 since the onset of the pandemic.

The capital had a two-week infection rate of 695 cases per 100,000 residents on Thursday, more than twice the national average of 274 and seven times the European average, which stood at 94 per 100,000 residents last week, according to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

But Madrid regional health chief Enrique Ruiz Escudero said the situation is improving, with the infection rate falling to 607 per 100,000 on Friday and four consecutive days of fewer people being admitted to hospital.

The numbers give us reason for hope, he told a news conference.

Madrid legal chief Enrique Lopez said authorities will comply with the order, deploying more police, even though they believe it will create chaos.

He estimated the order will cost the Madrid economy 8 billion euros (7.2 billion).

Mr Sanchez has refused to budge, saying Madrid faces a moment of extraordinary seriousness.

The situation in Madrid is critical because (the region) has 33% of (Covid-19) deaths, he said in Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit.

Some passengers at Madrids main train station, Atocha, welcomed the new steps.

I think they need to take strong measures to control the epidemic here in Madrid, said Vicente Mira, a 62-year-old retired teacher.

Communication manager Pablo Torres, 36, wanted officials to get tough, saying the current measures are nonsense and a sticking plaster on something that is a lot bigger problem.

It was not immediately clear how the new measures might affect the few tourists arriving in Madrid, but regional authorities cannot ban foreign visitors unless Spain closes its borders.
BOSTON - Today, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a new 'Future of Manufacturing' grant of $499,955 awarded to a collaboration of Massachusetts organizations, which will help the region's manufacturers pivot their operations to address emerging crises. The project, called 'Rapid Execution for Scaling Production Of Needed Designs' or RESPOND, will create a diverse network of transdisciplinary stakeholders across academia and state government that will support and sustain critical 'super nodes' that will boost communication between organizations, help accelerate product development, and drive increased manufacturing capacity to address crises like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Announced on National Manufacturing Day, the grant will be led by UMass Lowell in collaboration with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), a public economic development agency, to develop a crisis-resilient manufacturing network. The grant will help the Commonwealth of Massachusetts build on the success of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (MERT), a state-led initiative that to-date has facilitated the production of over eleven million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other critical items by 50-plus manufacturers that pivoted operations to address COVID-19 at the onset of the public health crisis. MERT's membership included experts from UMass Lowell, MIT, WPI, the state's manufacturing sector, and leading medical experts in the state.

"This award recognizes that 'Made in Massachusetts' manufacturing has incredible potential yet to be unlocked, and that thanks to our industry partners, Massachusetts is poised to play a leading role in shaping the future of the manufacturing sector nationally," said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy. "The RESPOND project, validated and supported through this grant, creates potential for a high-impact, long-term program that benefits our manufacturing ecosystem statewide."

The RESPOND network will build a framework and testbed to develop ways that Massachusetts can build shared resources, tools, education programs, and workforce development efforts to help rapidly pivot manufacturing in the state and to stimulate new relevant research in the area. While the MERT effort is solely focused on producing PPE in response to COVID-19, RESPOND will provide value well beyond this individual crisis and will allow Massachusetts, research leaders, and manufacturers to address emerging future crises in a quick, collaborative, and systematic approach.

"RESPOND is about understanding how and what we did through MERT to help manufacturers pivot during a crisis; in this case, the shortage of PPE due to disrupted supply chains. Looking to the future, we then can create simulations to understand the infrastructure and resources we need to build into our ecosystem to enable us to respond even more effectively to the next crisis or to ongoing economic competition," said Julie Chen, Ph.D., UMass Lowell vice chancellor of research and economic development. "It has been a real honor over the past six months to be part of the MERT team. These are people from universities, hospitals, companies, government and non-profits that came together to make it possible for Massachusetts manufacturers to ramp up production of critical products to help save lives."

"At WPI we understand the importance of collaboration to help solve some of our most pressing challenges. We are proud of our collective efforts to address critical needs during a time of a crisis and we look forward to our continued work with the RESPOND team and industry partners." said Sara Saberi, assistant professor at Foisie Business School at WPI and co-PI on the NSF grant. "This grant also allows us to take what we learned from this crisis and expand our expertise in designing agile business innovations for future applications as well as planning for training, education, and workforce development. Building this capacity and knowledge for our communities based on science and scholarship is an important role for all our institutions."

"This grant allows us to retrospectively study what we've done with MERT. So we can look at doing this proactively in the future; undertaking efforts of ecosystem engineering and manufacturing as a collaborative network of networks across public, private, and academic institutions," said Ben Linville-Engler, the Certificate and Industry Director for the MIT System Design and Management (SDM).

As a member of the MERT, MIT's Linville-Engler created a graphic that highlighting the connections created between academia, manufacturers, hospitals, and others since the MERT's launch in March 2020. The graphic highlights the types of connections that will be enhanced and expanded under RESPOND. You can download a copy of the graphic on Dropbox or watch this interactive demonstration via MIT SDM's YouTube page.

"We thank the NSF for recognizing the importance that planning plays in responding to a crisis and how RESPOND can help Massachusetts prepare for what's next," said Carolyn Kirk, executive director of MassTech. "On the MERT, the existing relationships we had in the manufacturing ecosystem allowed us to create a collaborative project that led to products getting into the hands of our frontline workers in a manner of weeks. The next crisis will challenge us in new ways and RESPOND will help us develop the communication channels, training, and tools so that our manufacturers statewide can meet that challenge head-on."

The new network will contribute principally to the fields of manufacturing science, agile business models, product development and innovation, emergency preparedness and resilience, and data science. The network will disseminate its findings through stakeholder engagements, convening activities, and publications which include actionable documentation, resources, and tools.

###

Read more on the NSF's award here and on the 'Future of Manufacturing' website.

Managed by MassTech, the public economic development agency that oversees advanced manufacturing programs for the Commonwealth, the MERT was devised as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to assist manufacturers in targeted ways as the demand for PPE continues. Over 900 companies from around the world submitted interest to the MERT, including nearly 450 from Massachusetts. Of those, 50-plus companies made it through the program pipeline and have produced over 11 million items of PPE and other critical materials to date. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts also launched a separate $10.6 million dollar grant program to support the manufacturing and testing response to COVID-19, which included awards to UMass Lowell, WPI, and other statewide organizations.

About the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) strengthens the competitiveness of the tech and innovation economy by driving strategic investments, partnerships, and insights that harness the talent of Massachusetts. Launched in 1982, the agency is headquartered in Westborough, Mass., and has five divisions that focus on distinct areas of the Massachusetts innovation economy. Learn more at https://www.masstech.org.
Eleven months after revoking his detention under the stringent Public Safety Act, Jammu and Kashmir Police has initiated the process of taking NRI businessman Mubeen Shah into custody and attachment of his properties. The police had registered a case against Shah in June this year under various sections of the Indian Penal Code over his purported Facebook post against non-locals residing in the Kashmir Valley.

Yes, we are in the process of securing an arrest warrant against him after the police station concerned found his post on social networking site was aimed at creating communal tension," Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh said. Based out of Malaysia, where he runs his handicrafts business, Shah used to visit Kashmir once a year. Earlier, he was the president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Singh said that during course of investigation, police teams made correspondence with Facebook to get details of the person holding the account on the social media platform. On the basis of the evidence collected so far, a request has been made to the competent court for getting arrest warrant issued against him. The process of getting a lookout notice issued on the basis of the arrest warrant is also in progress," he said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police is trying to secure an Interpol Red Corner Notice against Shah. The police chief said that correspondence has also been made with the revenue authorities to get his property details to declare him a proclaimed offender and subsequent attachment of his property as per law.

Shah was detained on August 6 last year, a day after the Centre abrogated special status of the erstwhile state and bifurcated it into union territories  Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Shahs wife moved the Supreme Court challenging the order and on December 7 last year he was initially released temporarily" from Agra jail and later all charges against him were dropped after the Jammu and Kashmir administration revoked the PSA order against him.

In exercise of the powers conferred under section 19 (1) of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, the government hereby in supersession of government orderdated December 6, revokes the detention orderdated August 7, 2019," the order said. A Supreme Court bench of Justices N V Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai declared the petition of Shahs wife as infructuous after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the union territory, said the PSA has been permanently revoked.

Shah figured during the US Congress hearing on human rights in South Asia, focused on Indias action in Kashmir last November, when Indian-American Democratic lawmaker from Washingtons 7th Congressional district Pramila Jayapal raised the mater of his detention. One of the individuals detained without charges is Dr Mubeen Shah, who is the uncle of my constituents in Seattlethis is former CEO of chamber of commerce. His urologist who is affiliated with Registrar General of Hospital has called for his immediate release because of serious medical issues." Assuring Jayapal, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice G Wells had replied that America had taken up the issue of Shah with the Indian government.

Yes, we explicitly raised the case of Dr Shah and shared your concern about the grounds for detention particularly given the health condition. We have received a response that he is receiving medication," she said.
Leading Irish poet Derek Mahon has died aged 78 after a short illness.

A contemporary Irish poet, not only known by literature fans as he was regularly featured in the Leaving Cert English course, sadly passed in Cork on Thursday night.

One of Dereks poems, Everything Is Going To Be All Right, has also been a beacon of solace during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In March 2020, RTEs Six One News ended one of their bulletins with a beautiful rendition of Derek reading his poem. It captured the nations mood and was widely shared by people in Ireland and all over the world, through social media.

Born in Belfast in 1941, Mr Mahon lived in Dublin for several years before spending the past several decades of his life in Cork.

President Michael D Higgins sent his condolences to friends and family of Mr Mahon and said its the loss of a great poet.

News of the death of Derek Mahon will be received with great sadness by his colleagues in Aosdana but also, and more widely, by those who understand what the loss of a great poet, with a body of work such as his, entails, he said.

The loss of Derek Mahon, yet another artist gone from us in recent times, is like the falling of oak trees. We are left with hope from the fruit of the acorns in which the writing and its encouragement represents as legacy.

To his partner, family and many friends, Sabina and I send our deepest sympathy.

Director of Poetry Ireland, Niamh ODonnell, said that Dereks legacy in the poetry world is very keenly felt.

Derek was an extraordinarily brilliant poet. A gifted and noble observer of our world and one of that generation of outstanding poets from Northern Ireland who rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s.

"His legacy to us is an incredible body of work, full of hard-earned insight and wisdom, including so many touchstone poems that will continue to resonate with people all over the world for generations to come.

Chair of Poetry Ireland, Ciaran Benson, said, In the loss of Derek Mahon, Ireland, and the world of poetry, has lost an outstanding voice, one that ranged over the wide territories of contemporary life, both personal and natural.

"He effortlessly framed and clarified centrally important ideas and longings and gifted them back to us in a beautiful and rich body of work. His influence will continue to grow.
WASHINGTON  Department of Homeland Security officers considered extracting data from cellphones seized from protesters in Portland, Ore., which would have been a remarkable violation of privacy and the right to peaceable assembly, House Democrats said Friday.

Lawmakers on the Intelligence Committee called a hearing on Friday to examine the allegations of Brian Murphy, the former chief of the departments Office of Intelligence and Analysis, who has accused department leaders of suppressing intelligence warnings of violent white supremacy and Russian election interference.

But Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the chairman of the committee, opened the hearing by revealing that it had found that homeland security intelligence analysts were sent to Portland and questioned demonstrators. The Federal Protective Service, the homeland security agency that protects federal property, requested that the analysts extract data from phones seized from the protesters without a search warrant, a request that went unfulfilled, Mr. Schiff said.

Joseph B. Maher, homeland securitys acting intelligence chief, indicated that he had heard of the gathering effort, although he could not recall who in the agency had told him.
Looking forward to it! Glad there's no three month gap between theaters and streaming.

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what is this movie about?

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One night in Miami.

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Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown hanging out, done with a "let's take these historic figures and present them as real and conflicted" approach.

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I can't wait , I love Regina and she is having such a great year

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Yes Killmonger, this is my King.

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get dat directing Oscar Regina!!!

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imagine if she won best director. UGH I'D DIE



PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN

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fun fact: if she won shed also be the first person to ever win an acting oscar and then a directing oscar.



/whitneythatshistory.gif

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if anyone could do it it'd be regina!

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god knew exactly what was up when regina got the last name of KING tbh!

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From your mouth to God's ears! Even a nomination could make her one of the most accomplished child stars ever.

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I'm ready for her to be the first Black female director!

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can't wait to see this! excited to see leslie as sam cooke

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I'm so excited for this. I've heard good things from people who saw it at TIFF. I'm glad it'll be streaming relatively early.

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I want all the good things for Leslie and for Regina King, this is exciting!

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Congrats to her and good for the cast.

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Can't wait for this!

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Excited to watch this.

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> Christmas Day before its launch on Prime Video 3 weeks later on January 15.



When do people get screeners.

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damn regina king continues to do great work year after year. very excited to see this, wish i could see it in theatres but will make due with streaming.



if its on prime video does it mean it comes with prime memberships or would you still have to rent/purchase it? or do we not know this info yet. i dont have prime but ill use my bros account.

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Prime Video is a streaming service, so there wouldn't be any additional charge.

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oh dope thanks for the info! im not super familiar with prime stuff.

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Queen King!! Beyond pumped to see this.

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Australia and New Zealand must remain deeply engaged in the Pacific or other countries with "less sympathy for democracy" will step into the breach, New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says, in a thinly veiled reference to growing Chinese influence.

Peters, who is the leader of the NZ First party that governs in coalition with Jacinda Ardern's Labour party, said playing a bigger role in the Pacific was vital to Australia and New Zealand's mutual defence and security interests.

NZ Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. Credit:Getty Images

In November 2018, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a "Pacific step-up" and promised $3 billion in infrastructure spending in the region in response to a growing Chinese presence and influence.

Peters, who is also Foreign Minister, told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald on Friday that "there are many things that have to be done in the Pacific and working together we [Australia and New Zealand] can have greater impact. Thats very much, Im certain, on Marise Paynes mind and the co-operation has been exceptionally good".
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Stunning images of Africa from above - including the beautiful vast savanna and a rather curious giraffe - have been captured by one high-flying wildlife photographer using drones.

One of the photographs captures a bemused giraffe in its natural habitat looking straight up at a drone. The drone cannot be further than a few metres away, yet the giraffe seems completely at ease.

The drone image was captured by wildlife photographer Chris du Plessis who flies drones throughout Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

He photographs the beautiful landscape and captures unique aerial shots of giraffes, wildebeest, elephants and hippos along the way.

Chris spends his time between Germany and Africa and also uses drone photography to promote lodges and tourist destinations.

He said: 'The animals are so relaxed. I don't fly too close to them because I don't want to disturb them but sometimes I can get as close as one metre from an animal and they don't even notice the drone.

'They must think it's just bees or something.'

A curious giraffe in Africa looks up at a drone used by wildlife photographer Chris du Plessis to capture wild animals in their natural habitat

Hippos swim in a group, unaware of the drone flying nearby. The photographer says with a drone, he can get as close as one metre from the animals and they don't even notice

Four zebra are pictured together in an aerial shot by Chris who flies drones throughout Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana

A herd of puku, a medium-sized antelope found in wet grasslands, are captured in their natural surroundings

A lone elephant is photographed looking at the camera in a close-up shot. 'They must think it's just bees or something,' said Chris

African buffalo are pictured moving in a herd, completely relaxed about the drone flying nearby

Chris splits his time between Germany and Africa and captures shots of giraffes, wildebeest, elephants and hippos (pictured) on his travels
CALGARY - Oilsands and retail fuel giant Suncor Energy Inc. says it will eliminate as many as 1,930 jobs over the next 18 months as a result of cost-cutting to deal with low oil prices and market volatility.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Suncor Energy Inc.'s logo is shown at the company's annual meeting in Calgary on April 27, 2017.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY - Oilsands and retail fuel giant Suncor Energy Inc. says it will eliminate as many as 1,930 jobs over the next 18 months as a result of cost-cutting to deal with low oil prices and market volatility.

CEO Mark Little told employees on a conference call Friday morning the company will aim to reduce total staff by 10 to 15 per cent over the next 18 months, starting with a five per cent cut over the next six months, spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said.

The Calgary-based company had 12,889 staff at the end of 2019. Five per cent would equate to 644 positions and 15 per cent would equal 1,933.

"A few years ago we began to fundamentally change how we work, taking advantage of improved data technology, business processes, all with a view to improve our overall cost structure, accelerate free cash flow and strengthen our competitive position," said Seetal, referring to what was dubbed the "Suncor 4.0" program.

"We always anticipated this transformation would result in a smaller workforce over time and one example ... is the implementation of the autonomous haul trucks (driverless trucks employed at Suncor's oilsands mines).

"That said, the unprecedented drop in oil prices, the continued impact of the global pandemic and economic slowdown, as well as continued market volatility, have accelerated those plans."

The cuts are to be made across the entire organization, Seetal said, and will also affect Suncor's ranks of contracted workers, although she was unable to provide those numbers.

Employees will be offered voluntary severance, early retirement and may potentially be redeployed if their jobs are eliminated, she said.

"What's happening in Alberta today is nothing less than an economic emergency," said Alberta Premier Jason Kenney at a news conference on Friday.

"The government of Canada would be moving heaven and earth if we saw layoffs of this scale in the central Canadian manufacturing industry."

He called on Ottawa to "hit the pause button" on implementing a clean fuel standard opposed by many in the oil sector, as well as delaying ratifying the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous people because of its potential creation of uncertainty for oilpatch investors.

It is unfortunate to hear of additional job losses in the industry. The reality of the current situation is grim and taking a toll on the industry and on Canadians," said Tim McMillan, CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

CAPP, which estimates more than 28,000 direct and 107,000 indirect jobs have been lost in the sector so far this year, says the federal government should implement a plan for national economic recovery that includes taking advantage of an expected recovery in global oil and gas demand.

The news comes a few days after Royal Dutch Shell announced it would eliminate between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2022, a move expected to potentially result in hundreds of job losses among its 3,500 workers in Canada.

In June, BP, which has a smaller workforce in Canada, said it was cutting around 10,000 jobs from its global workforce to cope with the impact of the pandemic.

Suncor put projects on hold and cut its 2020 capital budget by $1.5 billion to a range between $3.9 billion and $4.5 billion in March to deal with lower oil prices.

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At the time, a spokeswoman said the cutbacks would result in fewer jobs for contract workers and could "potentially" hit employees as well.

Suncor's operations include oilsands development and upgrading, offshore oil and gas production, petroleum refining and retail fuel sales under the Petro-Canada banner.

Suncor shares rose on the Toronto Stock Exchange by as much as 2.6 per cent to $15.91 on Friday but remained at about one-third of their 52-week high of $45.12.

With a file from Bob Weber in Edmonton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SU)
Julian Assange's extradition hearing took its last evidence at the Old Bailey, London yesterday. Closing submissions will be made in writing and Judge Baraitser's ruling will be handed down on 4 January at The Old Bailey.

Protestors outside the Old Bailey on the final day of evidence at Julian Assange's extradition hearings. Photo credit: Tim Dawson.

Until 23 May 2019 journalists quite reasonably held opinions about Julian Assange and his legal tussles that were every bit as multitudinous as those of the public at large.

These might include the view that he is an irresponsible narcissist; that he is tainted by the Swedish sexual assault allegations; or, that he is a seer whose revelations have unmasked the shocking truths of modern warfare.

By the middle of spring last year, the Metropolitan Police had arrested Assange and he had been jailed for skipping bail in 2012. The US government had requested his extradition on a single charge of computer hacking. If convicted, he might serve five years in prison.

Then in May last year, in the upmarket Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia, the pursuit of Julian Assange took a new and deeply troubling twist. A grand jury returned a second, superseding indictment that included 18 charges, 17 of them for violations of the Espionage Act.

Assange himself now faced a potential sentence with a release date more than a century beyond his most optimistic lifespan. It was in the detail of the charges, however, that a critical juncture for media freedom stood out.

The indictment includes charges that Assange had: unlawfully obtaining and disclosed classified documents related to the national defense; actively solicited United States classified information, including by publishing a list of 'Most Wanted Leaks that sought, among other things, classified documents; engaged in real-time discussions regarding (Chelsea) Mannings transmission of classified records; and, actively encouraged Manning to provide more information and agreed to crack a password.

What this amounts to is cultivating a source to provide information  the most basic and universal journalistic activity. Jameel Jaffer, professor of Law and Journalism at Columbia University, put it bluntly in his evidence to Assanges extradition hearing. The indictment is mainly a description of Mr Assange engaging in core journalistic activities. These are activities that the governments apparent theory of liability would criminalise.

Whether or not you consider Assange a journalist, as some had agonised over, is rendered irrelevant. He is being prosecuted for activities that a great many journalists undertake every day of their working lives.

Nor is concern about such a precedent merely rhetorical. Following the 9/11 attack in 2001 successive US administrations have become increasingly aggressive about secrecy.

The quantity of government documents that are classified has increased exponentially. Paul Feldstein, a former ABC investigative reporter and now professor of history at the university of Maryland told the court that: over-classification of government records is widely acknowledged as rampant to the point of absurdity. Every government study of the issue over the last six decades has found widespread classification of information that the government had no basis to conceal.

Nor is the greater proportion of official documents being marked secret the only change. Tougher sanctions for at least some government employees who leaked classified documents are also evident post 9/11. More whistleblowers were prosecuted under the Espionage Act during the Obama administrations than under any previous presidency. The current Whitehouse incumbent looks set to trump that record.

Of course such prosecutions are highly selective. The more senior the leaker, it seems, the greater the chance of lenient treatment. Five years ago the government considered filing Espionage Act charges against General David Petraeus, Jaffer told the court. (It had) concluded that he shared classified information, including code words for secret intelligence programs and the identities of covert agents. The government ultimately allowed him to plead guilty to a misdemeanour charge of mishandling sensitive material.

Not so lucky Chelsea Manning, Reality Winner and a clutch of other relatively junior workers handed long jail sentences for Espionage Act violations. All of these prosecuted whistleblowers, however, were government employees who chose to share restricted material with non-security-cleared outsiders. Pursuing a foreign publisher of leaked information is wholly new territory.

The theoretical possibility of the Espionage Act being used against journalists and publishers is not new  but its deployment for this purpose is unprecedented.

The Espionage Act  a First World War knee-jerk statute  deploys terms that are unusually broad and vague. It provides not only for the prosecution of the unauthorised publishers of classified information, but also all subsequent publishers. Anyone repeating contents from a story in the public domain that is based on classified document could, theoretically, be in the firing line. Its a loaded gun pointed at the head of the press said legal scholars Harold Edgar and Benno Schmidt Jr.

Various administrations have considered prosecuting journalists under the Espionage Act, said Trevor Timm director of the San Francisco-based Freedom Of The Press Foundation. In each case, prosecutors have accepted that it would be unconstitutional.

Assange's case is groundbreaking  it is the first to be pursued this way against a publisher. Most disturbing of all, it would create a precedent that US administrations could deploy against journalists anywhere in the world if their stories relied upon information gleaned from classified documents.

Of course, no one believes that if Assange is successfully prosecuted, the US will initiate actions against every reporter who relies for a story on leaked or classified documents. The US government would have neither the time nor the resources, and anyway frequently leaks material deliberately in pursuit of its own ends.

A legal menace selectively deployed, however, is the more deadly.

Any journalist in receipt of classified information might reflect that, in all probability, they could rely on the leaked material with impunity. But certitude there would be not. Any story that happened to rub up the US administration up the wrong way might provoke an indictment similar to the one currently levelled against Assange.

By then, of course, Assange may well have disappeared into the supermax prison ADX Colorado for a term and in conditions that would make a medieval jailer blush. The public might well forget his name  but Assange's head on a spike will cast a darkening shadow over any reporter offered a classified document. Whistleblowers will be advised to shut up and knuckle down while beneficial sunlight will fall on fewer and fewer of the actions taken in the name of the public.

It is a fate to be feared by any journalist who cares about the trade we ply.

Text by Tim Dawson, IFJ representative at the Asssange's hearings
(ANSAmed) - GENEVA, OCTOBER 2 - The UN Human Rights Office is calling for urgent action to address the dire situation of migrants attempting to cross the central Mediterranean Sea in search of safety in Europe and to tackle the shocking conditions they face in Libya, at sea, and - frequently - upon their reception in Europe.



According to a statement posted on the website of the UN agency, ''a team dispatched by the UN Human Rights Office to monitor the situation of migrants transiting through Libya, highlighted a cycle of violence whereby people who had faced unimaginable horrors in Libya were left to drift for days at sea, had their boats dangerously intercepted and were returned to suffer arbitrary detention, torture and other serious human rights violations in Libya, which cannot be considered a safe port for migrants.'' The team interviewed 76 migrants.



Many reported being intercepted on previous sea crossings by the Libyan Coast Guard, including having their boats rammed or shot at, causing vessels to capsize or people to jump into the water in desperation. There were also reports that on at least one occasion the Armed Forces of Malta attempted to push a migrant boat back towards Libya, and on another occasion attempted to push a boat with migrants in the direction of the Italian island of Lampedusa, according to the statement.



Some migrants reported that commercial vessels did not come to their assistance, while others said commercial ships picked them up but returned them to Libya where they ended up in detention centres. If true, these are serious allegations of failure to assist people in distress at sea and possible coordinated push-backs that should be duly investigated, the UN body said.



UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that:"What is happening to migrants in Malta - and elsewhere in Europe - is the result of a failed system of migration governance, one that fails to place the human rights of migrants and refugees at the centre and for too long has been marked by a lack of solidarity forcing frontline states such as Malta to bear the brunt of the responsibility.'' "I urge the European Union and its Member States to ensure its Pact on Migration and Asylum addresses these challenges head on and results in a truly common and principled approach that ensures the respect and protection of the human rights of migrants and refugees," she said. (ANSA).


WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and his top aides signaled Thursday that they would reject any changes to the presidential debate format, as members of the commission in charge of the matchups zeroed in on potential adjustments aimed at avoiding a repeat of Tuesday's chaotic faceoff between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.

The changes - which could be announced as early as this weekend - would be aimed at reining in behavior like Trump's on Tuesday and making the debate more orderly. But the looming dispute with the Trump camp casts a cloud of uncertainty over the remaining debates, including Wednesday's session between the vice-presidential nominees.

Biden told reporters Thursday that he is open to changes following a debate in which Trump repeatedly cut him off and talked over him. Trump campaign officials told reporters that Biden's team had proposed several alterations, including allowing the moderator to mute candidates' microphones; having more questions addressed directly to each candidate; adding opening and closing statements; and limiting the "free discussion" period, which devolved into inaudible crosstalk during Tuesday's debate.

But Trump rejected such ideas, suggesting they would be aimed at eroding his advantage. "Why would I allow the Debate Commission to change the rules for the second and third Debates when I easily won last time?" Trump wrote on social media.

The Commission on Presidential Debates, an independent body, unilaterally determines rules for the exchanges and does not need approval from either campaign to change the terms, giving Trump few options if the commission does adopt the changes other than accepting them or boycotting the debates.

"We do not want any changes to what has been laid out and already been agreed to for the second and third debates," said Trump campaign strategist Jason Miller. "We have not asked for any changes. The Biden camp has."

But he stopped short of threatening to boycott the debates, saying that Trump "fully plans on participating."

Biden's campaign declined to answer questions about the debate negotiations or the suggestions that Trump's team said they had offered. "We are running our campaign, not running the debates," Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.

The caustic first debate prompted outrage and calls for changes after Trump ignored his time limits throughout and repeatedly interrupted Biden. Several commentators called it the worst debate in history, and the moderator, Fox News' Chris Wallace, told the New York Times afterward, "I'm just sad with the way last night turned out."

Beyond Wednesday's vice-presidential debate, the two remaining Trump-Biden matchups could be among the few opportunities to shake up the race, with Election Day less than five weeks away. The next session, in Miami on Oct. 15, will have a "town hall" format with undecided voters posing questions, an arrangement that could significantly change the dynamic.

So far the presidential campaign has been remarkably steady, with Biden holding a consistent lead in national polls and surveys of swing states.

More than 73 million viewers tuned in for Tuesday's debate, a large audience but smaller than the 84 million who watched the first exchange between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016.

During Tuesday's 90-minute session, Trump interrupted Biden so many times that the former vice president at one point told him to "shut up, man." The president often scoffed at Biden's answers, while Biden smiled incredulously at Trump's behavior.

Biden's and Trump's teams met with debate commission staff at 9 a.m. the day after the debate in a pre-scheduled session to review the upcoming vice-presidential faceoff in Utah. Biden's campaign offered input about potential changes to the format, according to Max Miller, the lead negotiator for Trump campaign, and another person familiar with the conversation.

Miller said Brady Williamson, Biden's debate negotiator, offered "suggestions" for changes but "he wasn't demanding it." The teams are set to meet again Friday.

Trump's aides Thursday also attacked the debate commission itself, with Jason Miller saying that those who run it are "permanent swamp monsters" who want to cozy up to Biden.

"They picked the moderator. They picked the questions, but it didn't turn out the way that they wanted," Miller said. In truth, the questions were written by the moderator.

Privately, Trump campaign officials acknowledged that the debate commission is likely to limit how much Trump and Biden can engage in direct verbal combat.

They said they see attacking the commission as good strategy, and something Trump has wanted to do for many months. Many aides viewed Trump's debate performance as less than stellar, so criticizing the commission as unfair to Trump is an alternative way to bolster the president, they said.

Trump advisers such as Kellyanne Conway and Chris Christie were seeking to convince the president to talk less in the next debate, officials said, while striking a different tone that was less combative and more empathetic.

There was a widespread belief in Trump's orbit on Wednesday and Thursday that the debate was a missed opportunity, according to conversations with eight White House officials, campaign advisers and others close to the president, because Trump talked too much and interrupted too frequently.

"My advice to the president is to let Biden speak because he's going to wear himself down," Conway said. "He will wear himself out. Folks already lack confidence in his competence. It is well known when Biden speaks with or without notes, he stumbles and bumbles, confuses numbers and makes a mess out of it."

Biden's supporters argued that Trump's performance was a display of bullying that would turn off everyone other than his base, but they acknowledged it was sometimes hard for Biden to get his message across, given the frequent interruptions.

Asked whether he would accept a change that would allow mics to be muted, Biden said he's open to that as long as "we have an opportunity to respond to the questions from the people in the audience."

It was unclear if the commission would make any changes to next week's vice-presidential debate in Salt Lake City. That will be a seated exchange (with the candidates sitting far apart due to coronavirus restrictions) moderated by Susan Page, USA Today's Washington bureau chief.

Aides and allies of Vice President Mike Pence said they believed he would make a traditional Republican pitch for the president's record. And after Tuesday's scorched-earth debate, some of them said they welcomed the change of pace and Pence's penchant for staying on-message.

"He's playing the same role in the debates that he did in 2016, which is coming in after the president had a big debate and made a lot headlines. He'll just be Mike Pence," said one senior White House official who was not authorized to discuss debate prep. "That means he's going to be a conservative guy, this calm former talk radio host who talks up MAGA and Trump and owns the libs."

Still, Pence's leadership of the coronavirus task force is likely to be front and center since the pandemic's death toll in the United States surpassed 200,000 last month.

Most Trump associates said they expect Pence, a conservative with deep ties to religious groups and evangelical leaders, to stay cool even if Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Biden's running mate, attacks him over the pandemic, abortion rights or gay rights.

"All he has to do is be kind and pleasant, to be reassuring and competent, and remind people that Kamala Harris is a San Francisco radical," said former House speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump ally. "He works well with this president because he has his own style. You don't need two people who are as aggressive and as tough as Trump. He's a bridge to everyday Americans."

Harris and her advisers, aware that she has not debated a Republican in a decade, have sought to lower expectations in recent weeks. On a fundraiser with former ambassador Doug Hickey last month, Harris jumped in when Hickey said he felt sorry for Pence for having to face her.

"Mike Pence debates really well," Harris said. "So lower the expectations!"

Her chief of staff, Karine Jean-Pierre, offered a similar message on a podcast with former Obama adviser David Plouffe.

"Mike Pence is a very good debater, and we have to be mindful of that," Jean-Pierre said.

Harris said that this debate will be different from those she took part in during the Democratic primary.

"Then it was mostly about speaking up about my position on various issues as compared to my colleagues on the stage," Harris told Hillary Clinton on a new episode of the former Democratic presidential nominee's new podcast.

"This time, it will be about requiring some level of knowledge, if not mastery, of Joe's record, the Vice President Mike Pence's record, Trump's record, and of course defending my own record," Harris said.

The last time Harris debated a Republican was in 2010, when she first ran for attorney general of California. She did not debate her challenger in the 2014 reelection to that post, and California's "jungle primary" rules meant that she faced a fellow Democrat in her 2016 Senate race.

Harris told Clinton that she is preparing for Pence to force her to confront "a series of untruths." Clinton warned Harris against "efforts to diminish you personally" and "to try to put you in a box."

"I don't necessarily want to be the fact-checker," Harris told Clinton. "At the same time, depending on how far he goes with whatever he does, he's going to have to be accountable for what he says."
In 1941, 22-year-old Merle Cheek was working for his dad on a farm near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. His draft status was 1A  eligible for military service  so he decided to enlist, knowing he was likely to be called into military duty.

Cheek enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was assigned to the 345th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter Group. He was stationed in North Africa after going through tech school and repaired fighter planes that were sent out on missions against Nazi Germany over the Mediterranean Sea and Italy.

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On Thursday, Cheek received an honorary title as an Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska. Cheek, who will turn 101 on Dec. 8, lives at Maranatha Bible Camp with his wife, Stella.

Mr. Cheek, I appreciate this opportunity, speaking from one airman to another airman, to offer this (honor) today, said Tyler Schmidt, captain of Nebraska State Patrol Troop D, who served in the Air National Guard. Both Schmidt and Cheek were stationed in Pisa, Italy, albeit many years apart.
What if in the age of internet and instant messaging, you receive a postcard from a loved one. All that waiting, anticipation, old school way of expressing feelings can be experienced again and with a personalized touch.

In the era of digitalisation and fast-paced world, a 26-year-old girl from Delhi is trying to keep alive the forsaken glory of postcards. With a venture named Postcards of love, Dipti Sharma is spreading love in an oldfangled way. The hand-crafted, hand-painted and customised postcards can be shipped all over India. Starting at 499, Postcards of love offer a variety of designs to choose from.

Dipti says, My inspiration to take up this initiative was to get in touch with older times, the times when joy, love, happiness - everything was unadulterated. The proceeds from the sale of the postcards are often used for animal welfare and wildlife conservation efforts. Kudos to her initiative and idea!
A psychiatric nurse who had a "wholly inappropriate relationship with a vulnerable patient has won a High Court challenge against a decision to strike him from the register.

The nurse accepted he was guilty of professional misconduct over his contact with the woman over a two-year period, continuing after he moved to another job.

However, he claimed a fitness to practice inquiry had breached his constitutional right to fair procedures before a report recommended his removal from the register of nurses.

Mr Justice Anthony Barr quashed the report and said the case should be referred back to the Fitness to Practice Committee (FPC) of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.

The nurse had brought judicial review proceedings challenging the legality of the October 11, 2018 report.

He did not object to the findings of professional misconduct and had made certain admissions. However, he did object to the report and recommended sanction.

The nurse said that challenged statements were put before the committee in breach of an express agreement that they would be excluded.

He also said he had made an offer not to take his name off the inactive register of nurses - an offer which would have prevented him from ever working as a nurse again.

He said this was rejected with no reason given. The nurse was employed by the HSE in 2007 to provide counselling to the woman, who is in her 30s, for an anxiety disorder. After he moved to another part of the country in 2008, his therapeutic engagement with her ended, but he continued to have contact with her.

The woman later made an allegation to another counsellor that she had had a relationship, including sexual relations, with the nurse between March 2007 and June 2009.

A HSE inquiry and Trust in Care Report made adverse findings against the applicant, although it appeared that some of the more serious complaints of there being a sexual relationship may not have been upheld in the report, Mr Justice Barr said.

Among the admissions the nurse made were that he breached the parameters of a normal therapeutic relationship with the patient; that on one or more occasions, he took her to locations outside normal clinical settings, he failed to have regard for the fact that she was an emotionally or psychologically vulnerable person and failed to fully report the volume and nature of text messages and phone calls between him and the woman.

The FPC cited the seriousness of the misconduct, the volume of text messages, continuing after the woman had left the mental health services, and the nurse's failure to express any remorse for his actions.

The challenged documents were only before the committee on a preliminary issue and it was proper that the board was then provided with all relevant materials, it was argued by the respondents.

Mr Justice Barr said it was difficult to see how the CEO, having expressly agreed to the exclusion of certain documents, could then justify those documents being placed before the FPC.

In breach of the terms of the agreement, the entirety of the challenged documentation was placed before the FPC, the judge said.

The committee should have addressed the applicants offer never to seek to have his name removed from the inactive register.

Although the inquiry process has not concluded, the judge said it was appropriate to intervene and strike down the FPC report, and to remit the matter back to the FPC for fresh consideration.
Days after reserving 600-acre Aarey land near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in suburban Mumbai as a forest, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has directed the state Home Department to immediately start the procedure to withdraw cases registered against protestors last year for opposing the felling of trees for a proposed metro car-shed there.

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Maharashtra Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray also tweeted about the decision taken at the State cabinet meeting.

I raised the issue of cases on those who protested against the tree hacking in Aarey last year, in cabinet meeting today. I was backed by Ministers @Awhadspeaks ji & @AslamShaikh_MLA ji. The cabinet has decided to withdraw these cases. I thank CM sir, DCM sir, HM sir for support.  Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) September 30, 2020

I raised the issue of cases on those who protested against the tree hacking in Aarey last year, in a cabinet meeting today. I was backed by Ministers Dr Jitendra Awhad ji and Aslam Shaikh ji. The cabinet has decided to withdraw these cases. I thank Chief Minister Sir, Deputy Chief Minister Sir, Home Minister sir for support," Aaditya Thackeray tweeted.

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He further tweeted that the protestors were standing for the future of the planet and the government can't have cases against those who stand up for the environment and forests.

These were citizens/ protestors standing for the future of our planet. To hold them from stopping desired work was one thing but to press police charges was another. We cant have cases against those who stand up for environment and forests.  Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) September 30, 2020

"These were citizens/ protestors standing for the future of our planet. To hold them from stopping desired work was one thing but to press police charges was another. We can't have cases against those who stand up for environment and forests," he said.

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Aarey often described as the last green patch of Mumbai has been a battleground of sorts for many years after the previous government decided to use the land for a car shed as part of the Mumbai Metro Rail.

Citizens and environmentalists opposed the move citing ecological concerns.

Despite the strong opposition from activists and the continued back and forth legal battles, in October 2019, the MMRCL went into the forest and cut down thousands of trees before anyone could do anything.

Several tribals, youths, and activists who protested the cutting of trees were detained and later arrested by the police.

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Though they were granted bail later, the case against them had worried many, who were students or young professionals.

Battled throughout to save Aarey

The battle to save Aarey forest took a decisive turn after the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Shiv Sena which was already backing the movement even when it was part of the NDA government came to power.

Last month, the Maharashtra government had signalled the beginning of removing construction material from the site.

Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) project director S K Gupta said that the car shed site is being closed and secured.

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He added that scaffoldings, shuttering, rebar and construction debris are all being cleared out and pits being filled so that they do not remain a safety hazard.

Earlier the government had declared 600-acre Aarey land as Reserve Forest and said that it will be the first example of a "huge jungle" being conserved at the centre of a megapolis.
President Trump steps off Marine One at the White House on Thursday after attending campaign events in New Jersey. He tested positive for the coronavirus hours later. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump may be the leader of the free world, but as far as the coronavirus is concerned, he is a 74-year-old male with obesity.

Each of those three attributes  his age, sex and weight status  increases his risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19.

The president announced on Twitter early Friday that both he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for coronavirus infections. He did not say whether he had experienced any symptoms of COVID-19, the disease the virus causes, but he did note that he and his wife planned to "begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately."

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Although many people who test positive for the coronavirus never develop any outward sign of infection, odds are that the president will experience symptoms of some kind. Roughly half of all COVID-19 patients in the U.S. experience a a cough, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other common symptoms include headache, muscle pain and shortness of breath.

Should Trump's infection progress to a case of COVID-19, there are reasons to be concerned about the potential severity of his illness.

The odds of a severe case of COVID-19  one that requires hospitalization, intensive care or breathing assistance  rise steadily with age, according to the CDC. Compared to young adults between the ages of 18 and 29, a person between the ages of 65 and 74 is five times more likely to be admitted to a hospital and 90 times more likely to die of the disease.

Other CDC data indicate that, among COVID-19 patients in their 70s, the death rate for those who were in good health at the time of their infection was 10%. For those already dealing with a medical condition, the death rate was three times as great: 32%.

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Since the early days of the pandemic, researchers have observed that COVID-19 patients who are obese fare worse than those who are not.

According to a report in June from Trump's physician, Dr. Sean Conley, the president is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 244 pounds. That means his body mass index, or BMI, is 30.5, just over the threshold for obesity. (He's got plenty of company: 42.4% of U.S. adults are obese, the CDC says.)

It's not clear why obesity may make a COVID-19 patient sicker. Doctors suspect that, as a respiratory illness, it may intensify the breathing difficulties common in people with obesity. Another theory is that obesity predisposes a person's immune system to overreact to the coronavirus, triggering a dangerous "cytokine storm" that destroys tissues without stopping the infection.

Whatever the reason, one study of COVID-19 patients who came to emergency rooms found that those who were under the age of 60 and had a BMI at the low end of the obesity range were twice as likely as non-obese patients to be admitted to the hospital rather than be sent home. They were also 80% more likely to spend time in intensive care.

However, that same study found no association between obesity and COVID-19 severity among patients 65 and older.

Although men and women are about equally likely to be infected with the coronavirus, researchers have observed a consistent gender gap among seriously ill COVID-19 patients. In Italy, one of the first countries to be hit hard by the pandemic, men in nearly every age group were twice as likely as women to die of the disease. That pattern has repeated itself around the globe.

A study published in July by the CDC reported that COVID-19 deaths in men outnumbered deaths in women in 41 out of 47 countries assessed. It also said that the case-fatality ratio  the proportion of people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 who die of it  was more than twice as high for men as for women.

One global data tracker shows that, for every 10 women admitted to intensive care because of COVID-19, there are 18 men requiring such treatment. And for every 10 women killed by the disease, 14 men die of it.

The gender gap could be explained in part by the fact that men are more likely to be smokers, which makes patients more susceptible to the worst effects of COVID-19. Experiments in mice also suggest that estrogen protects females from the worst effects of the coronaviruses that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS); that may be the case with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, too.

Some researchers have even theorized that men are more vulnerable because their testicles produce ACE2 proteins, which the coronavirus binds with when it gets inside a human body.

Trump does have one thing going for him: his race.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 60% of Americans are non-Latino whites. But non-Latino whites account for only 43% of confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. and 52% of COVID-19 deaths.

Latino and Black Americans are experiencing a disproportionate amount of both infections and deaths.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
WASHINGTON  Joe Biden is taking down his negative TV ads and said Friday he is praying for the president and first lady after Donald and Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19  a stunning development that has upended an already tumultuous campaign.

Democrats know they need to walk a fine line, but say Biden should press ahead full throttle with his campaign and prosecution of the case that Trump botched the coronavirus crisis, even as he expresses personal sympathy for the president.

"Suspending the campaign would be a disservice to the country and there is no reason to do it," said Ben LaBolt, a former aide to former president Barack Obama.

"One of the judgments voters are making is which candidate would have better managed the response to the coronavirus and who has the leadership to lead us out of this national emergency," LaBolt added. "While we should wish the president a healthy recovery, his diagnosis is a visible demonstration of a failure of leadership at every level of this White House."

Biden shared a stage with Trump in Cleveland just three days ago for one of the nastiest presidential debates in modern history, where some members of the president's entourage refused to wear facemasks despite organizers' rules and last-minute pleas from an on-site medical expert.

Image: Donald Trump And Joe Biden Participate In First Presidential Debate (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

Biden, 77, and his wife, Jill were tested for the virus Friday and found to be negative, their doctor said in a statement.

With the test result in hand, Biden proceeded with plans to campaign in the battleground state of Michigan Friday, while running mate Kamala Harris, who was not at the debate, also tested negative and traveled to Las Vegas for a previously scheduled campaign stop.

A Biden campaign official confirmed to NBC News that the campaign is pulling all of its negative TV ads attacking Trump, who was set to be hospitalized Friday night at Walter Reed Medical Center for several days as a precautionary measure.

Story continues

It's unclear if the next Trump-Biden debate, scheduled for Oct. 15 will proceed. "We haven't gotten that far yet," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News.

Trump has repeatedly mocked Biden for following health guidelines and taking strict precautions, ridiculing Biden for wearing a mask and running a largely virtual campaign from his basement until recently.

"I don't wear masks like him," Trump said at Tuesday's debate. "Every time you see him, he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen."

Some conservatives have suggested Biden stop campaigning or halt negative TV ads while Trump is sick.

But Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who was in the debate hall and is awaiting the results of a coronavirus test, said it's hypocritical for Republicans to demand Biden stop campaigning now after mocking his socially distanced campaign earlier.

"He tempted the gods. He made fun of Biden," Ryan said of Trump. "I don't think anybodys gloating about it. We're praying for him and his wife, but he's gotta take responsibility. He put himself a bunch of circumstances that were risky. He was reckless."

It's another unexpected turn in a campaign full of them.

"Its so unprecedented that its really hard to predict how it impacts things," said Alex Conant, a veteran Republican strategist.

On one hand, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saw a surge in popularity when he suffered through a coronavirus diagnosis in the spring and Trump has enjoyed a spike in positive media coverage on the news.

But on the other hand, the Trump campaign will lose their best fundraiser and messenger, as well as the chance to talk about anything other than the president's health, with critically few days left in the campaign.

"The campaign is quickly running out of time to raise Bidens negatives and win back swing voters," said Conant.

Biden has made Trump's handling of the coronavirus the central pillar of his campaign and has repeatedly argued that the president's cavalier attitude towards the virus  and outright denial of its danger on occasion  has made the situation far worse than it needed to be and led to needless deaths.

He largely suspended in-person events and door-to-door canvassing over the summer while Trump continued to hold large rallies where masks were scarce and social distancing guidelines brashly flaunted.

But Democrats know they need to tread carefully to not appear callous or gloating, even if many privately think Trump brought this on himself.

In an email to staff obtained by NBC News, Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon urged employees to "refrain from posting about the situation on social media unless otherwise directed by your manager."

"This election isn't about Trump getting Covid, it's about America getting Covid and Trump's infection is the latest proof that it's a risk to everyone," said Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson. "The pandemic's the most serious threat we've faced in a generation and voters want someone they believe will listen to experts, have a plan and combat the virus."

Republicans are sure to seize on any comments taking political advantage of what could be a potentially grave medical condition for the president.

Without citing any examples of people doing so, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, said on Twitter that he was "disgusted by those wishing ill on the President and First Lady."

"Its truly shameful," Graham added. "President Woodrow Wilson caught the Spanish Flu in 1919. I doubt the people of his time wished him ill."

The need to isolate could keep Trump off the campaign trail for critical days or weeks in the final month before the Nov. 3 election.

"All previously announced campaign events involving the president's participation are in the process of being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed," Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a statement. "All other campaign events will be considered on a case-by-case basis and we will make any relevant announcements in the days ahead."

Vice President Mike Pence, who tested negative, will resume campaigning and is scheduled to debate Harris next week.

Karen Finney, a veteran Democratic strategist, said Trump's only choice may be to campaign virtually, even though he's spent months scoffing at Biden for doing just that.

"Maybe, semi-ironically, he could employ a strategy similar to what the vice president has used and appear via technology," she said.

"This is a frightening moment because it's a reminder that anyone can get Covid," Finney added. "We have to be mindful of the risk and take it very seriously. And I hope that rebalances the conversation from those who were suggesting that we're not still in the middle of this."

Nse Ufot, the CEO of the New Georgia Project, a progressive group that works to engage young and minority voters, said Biden should send thoughts and prayers to the first couple and anyone else exposed, "And then he should return to 'chopping wood and carrying water'" on the campaign trail.

"There are 32 days until November 3rd and Americans in more than a dozen states have already begun casting their ballots," Ufot said.

The news comes just as Biden's campaign has begun to ramp up events.

The former vice president has been appearing in swing states more often, though with reduced crowds and press corps to comply with social distancing, and his campaign announced Thursday it will resume door-knocking after Democrats sounded alarm bells that they were getting lapped by Republicans, who say they have been knocking on 1 million doors a week.

Obama faced questions about continuing his 2008 campaign after rival John McCain decided to suspend his in the face of the financial crisis, but Obama decided he could "walk and chew gum at the same time" and went on to win in a landslide.

The late Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash 11 days before his 2002 reelection and Republican Norm Coleman, after a brief pause, continued stumping and defeated former Vice President Walter Mondale, who had been recruited to replace Wellstone on the ticket.

Jonathan Tasini, a progressive operative and Bernie Sanders ally, said he doesn't expect Trump to get the kind of sympathy from voters that a different president in this situation might enjoy.

"In normal times, there might be a 'rally around the flag' impulse. That might have been true, say, in April. But, at this point, too many people do not trust him and he's simply underwater," Tasini said.

"It will actually somewhat freeze the current status in place, and maybe even eliminate the next debate  and Republicans can't afford to have a frozen-in-place dynamic," he said, noting Biden is ahead in most polls.
To the Editor:

Hong Kong Is China, Like It or Not, by Regina Ip (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, Oct. 1), ignores the brutal reality of what is happening in Hong Kong. The inconvenient truth for Ms. Ip, a member of the Hong Kong Executive Council, is that Hong Kong is a legally autonomous region within which human rights abuses are rife.

Nothing can excuse the brutality perpetrated by the Hong Kong police: the arrests made of peaceful protesters, and the stripping of basic freedoms and overt human rights abuse.

Nobody forced the authorities to act this way; these acts were voluntarily perpetrated for political and dictatorial gain.

These abhorrent and selfish acts must be countered by the imposition by governments around the world of sanctions on senior officials in Hong Kong. We hold Hong Kong accountable to the standards that prevail in Western countries because those are the standards that Hong Kong residents have a right to expect under the Chinese-British Joint Declaration.
'I am convinced that your vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus,' the Kremlin quoted President Vladimir Putin as saying

World leaders on Friday wished US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania a quick recovery following his announcement that they were quarantining after testing positive for coronavirus.

- Russia -

"I am convinced that your vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus," the Kremlin quoted President Vladimir Putin as saying.

"Of course we wish President Trump a speedy and easy recovery," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

- UN -

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "sends his best wishes to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a quick and complete recovery," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

- WHO -

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wished the couple "a full and speedy recovery".

Trump is pulling the United States out of the UN health agency, accusing it of mishandling the coronavirus pandemic and being too close to China.

- EU -

"Wishing @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a speedy recovery. Covid-19 is a battle we all continue to fight. Everyday. No matter where we live," European Union chief Charles Michel said in a tweet, referring also to the First Lady of the United States.

- UK -

"My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted. "Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus."

Johnson himself spent three nights in intensive care in April after contracting Covid-19.

- Germany -

"I send Donald and Melania Trump all my good wishes," Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert tweeted on her behalf.

"I hope that they recover well from their corona infection and will be quite healthy again soon."

- Austria -

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said: "I wish a full & swift recovery to @realdonaldtrump & @FLOTUS. #COVID19 is a worldwide pandemic which we all need to fight together."

- NATO -

"My best wishes to @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS. I hope they both have a speedy recovery from COVID-19," the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said.

- Canada -

Also on Twitter, Canadian President Justin Trudeau wrote: "Sophie and I are sending our best wishes to @POTUSTrump and @FLOTUS. We hope you both get well soon and have a full recovery from this virus."

- India -

"Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter.

- Israel -

"Like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

- Egypt -

"My sincere wishes for a speedy recovery to US President Donald Trump and the First Lady," Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said.

He said he wanted the couple to "quickly overcome this stage and return to complete health and wellness to resume leading the valued US efforts to combat this virus worldwide".

- Jordan -

King Abdullah II said he was "wishing US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania a speedy and full recovery. Jordan is keen to continue working with the US and other partners to counter COVID-19 and its implications around the world".

- South Korea -

"Together with the people of the Republic of Korea, my wife and I wish you and the First Lady a speedy recovery. We would also like to convey our sincere words of encouragement and support to your family and the people of the United States of America," President Moon Jae-in said.

- Poland -

"Our good wishes for speedy recovery to our Friends @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS. #Poland and #USA will get through the hardships and succeed in fighting #COVID19," Polish President Andrzej Duda tweeted.

- Zimbabwe -

In Africa, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa tweeted: "My best wishes to President Trump @realdonaldtrump and the First Lady @FLOTUS as they make a full recovery from COVID-19."

- Colombia-

In South America, Colombian President Ivan Duque tweeted: "With the news they have tested positive for #COVID19, we express our solidarity with the president of the United States, @realDonaldTrump and the First Lady, @MELANIATRUMP. We wish them a quick recovery."

- Guatemala -

The Guatemalan government tweeted: "The @GuatemalaGob wishes President Donald Trump @POTUS and the First Lady Melania Trump @FLOTUS , a speedy recovery of #COVID19".

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According to the Verisk Maplecroft Index, China, Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, India, the Philippines, and Cambodia violate personal privacy the most. Artificial intelligence and big data have been used to collect information during the pandemic. Governments need more transparency to reverse the trend.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  The imposition of stringent anti-pandemic rules has transformed Asia into the region with the highest level of mass surveillance in the world, this according to the Verisk Maplecroft Index.

The UK-based analytics and risk-assessment firm behind the index surveyed 198 countries, classifying each for possible privacy violations via mass surveillance, personal data retention, and home searches.

Confirming a trend that began in recent years, the privacy of Asian people is increasingly at risk.

Among the worst offenders are China, Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, India, the Philippines, and Cambodia.

In response to the health crisis, China boosted mass surveillance against its own people, further limiting freedom of speech. To track people with the virus, Chinese authorities have imposed mandatory health apps.

China has also increased the use of facial recognition technologies and drones to track and, if necessary, punish anyone who breaks COVID-19 regulations.

India, the only democracy to make downloading a Covid-19 tracking app mandatory, also plans to introduce a national database by 2021.

New technologies and artificial intelligence and big data collection systems favour the intrusion by authorities into people's privacy. The Internet has not been spared.

Thanks to the powers guaranteed by the state of emergency, Cambodian authorities have been able to monitor social media without any restraints, often to target Prime Minister Hun Sens critics.

According to Verisk Maplecroft, threats to privacy rights in Asia will increase in the coming years.

To turn things around, national governments should adopt transparent measures in personal data management, in particular those used to counter the COVID-19 emergency.
Tanzania's Drug Control and Enforcement Agency (DCEA) has arrested a Tanzanian woman on 17 September for her involvement in trafficking drugs to India.

James Kaji, Commissioner of DCEA made a statement at a press conference on the arrest and stated that the arrest was made during a sting operation carried out by the agency in Dar es Salaam, lasting several days.

The arrested lady, Mary Edson was detained on charges of mailing two books to India, containing 450 grams of heroin. She confessed about sending drugs to India on at least three occasions through the same method. Edson claimed that she supplied the consignment of drugs through post on the directions of her Nigerian partner, who has now moved from Tanzania to Uganda and operates a drug network from there.

Commissioner James Kaji highlighted, according to Edson, the books she was shipping were for her boyfriend in Uganda who wanted them mailed to a friend in India. She has done this at least three other times.

However, on investigations, a heroin weighing machine was found from Edsons house, underlining that she was apprised about trafficking heroin and was willingly shipping them to India.

Tanzanian agencies argued that this is a new tactic of drug trafficking in which foreign drug traffickers marry Tanzanian women and later use them as mules to transfer drugs.

However, this is not the first case that has highlighted the Tanzanian angle in drug trafficking to India. In a similar case, two years ago, Jalandhar Police arrested a Tanzanian woman with 500 grams of heroin on September 3, 2018. The arrested trafficker Dorin Edson Nejuda stayed at New Delhi's Vikas Puri and was trafficking drugs to Punjab and Delhi.

The recent arrest made by the Tanzanian authorities reflects the pearls of a new string of heroin trafficking involving Pakistan, and African countries.

Besides the African nations, this is a worrying trend for Indian security agencies as they will now have to keep a watch on new Southern routes, besides the traditional routes of trafficking. Indian authorities should investigate the matter and find out about the Indian friend of Mary Edsons partner, who was supposed to receive a heroin package said an officer deployed in a central security establishment.

According to the UNODC's World Drugs Report, at least 87% of the global opium is produced in Afghanistan. Most of the opium fields are controlled by the Pakistani ISI, which later transports opium poppy to Pakistan for processing into heroin and then traffics it to all over the world.

Governments of Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa have seized back to back heroin consignments, originating from Pakistan. Pakistani nationals have also been arrested in some of these cases. Earlier, the Golden Crescent was the most prominent route used by the ISI to traffic heroin. However, these seizures highlight that a new Southern route of drug trafficking has been established comprising a well-established supply chain.

Pakistani dhows and boats carry heroin to the coastal countries of Africa including Tanzania and Mozambique. From these countries, the heroin is then trafficked downwards South of the African continent and elsewhere in the world. Due to back to back seizures of Pakistani drugs in the Indian Ocean Region and along the Line of Control (LoC) by Indian security agencies, Pakistan is now using this new route to traffic drugs to India.

Numerous ISI operatives have established their bases in Tanzania ,Mozambique and Kenya and are running a massive drug nexus from their African bases, generating huge revenue for the Pakistani agency.

On 5 February 2014, Tanzanian authorities arrested four Pakistani drug traffickers and seized around 200 kgs of heroin, valuing around Euros 10 million. Talking to the media, spokesperson of Tanzanian police Godfrey Nzowa said, the suspects were arrested in the early hours of Tuesday from a dhow that was sailing from the island of Zanzibar to the commercial capital Dar es Salaam. According to the Canadian media, more than 1.5 tons of heroin consignments were seized by a Canadian patrolling warship in the Tanzanian territorial waters in the year 2013 alone.

Similarly, on 22 February 2011, Tanzanian police arrested two Pakistani traffickers and seized 179 kgs of heroin from them, valuing Euros 9 million. Then talking to the press, Godfrey Nzawa of Tanzanian police said, this is the single biggest heroin bust in the countrys history. Very recently, security agencies of Mozambique caught a Pakistani boat at the Biera port on April 30 this year and arrested twelve Pakistani nationals. Similarly, Tanzanian agencies arrested 26 Pakistani nationals while they were carrying drugs in dhows to Tanzania. The traffickers were later released after back channel intervention by the ISI.

Dozens of news reports have emerged in the past couple of years about seizure of Pakistani origin heroin in African countries, valuing an unfathomable amount. The remaining consignments have already been trafficked to their respective destinations..

Besides India, the revelations made by arrests are problematic for Pakistan as well. This unchecked trafficking of drugs by Pakistani ISI through its proxies must have been observed by the FATF, which is supposed to review Pakistans performance on the FATF Action Plan in October 2020.

Interestingly, Pakistan is a party to several global conventions and agreements on drugs and is a member of multiple groups dedicated to check drug trafficking. Pakistan has been a party to the Ministerial Declaration of 2019, drafted during the 62" Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. The country, in 2018, was elected as the Rapporteur of the Intergovernmental Expert Group Meeting on International Challenge Posed by the non-medical Use of Synthetic Drugs. Pakistan is also serving as a member of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Foreign Policy observers believe that Pakistan could soon be charged for violation of the conventions and the positions that it holds at UN and multilateral forums on grounds of its failure to check the heroin trafficking as well as sponsoring proxies to distribute drugs everywhere in the world.
Anurag Kashyap's lawyer, Adv. Priyanka Khimani has released an official statement in the sexual assault case filed by actress Payal Ghosh against the filmmaker. The lawyer has denied all allegations against Anurag Kashyap, stating that he was in Sri Lanka in August 2013, at the time of the alleged assault.

Read the official statement of Anurag Kashyap's lawyer, here...

"In an FIR registered with the Versova Police Station, one Ms. Payal Ghosh has alleged that in August 2013, my client, Mr. Anurag Kashyap, called her to his house and sexually harassed her. My client presented himself for questioning before the investigating authority on 1st October 2020.

Mr. Kashyap has denied all wrongdoing in the matter and has provided his statement to the police. The material provided by Mr. Kashyap, in support of his statement, demonstrates that the complaint of Ms. Ghosh is an outright lie. Mr. Kashyap has provided documentary proof of the fact that throughout August, 2013 he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films. Mr. Kashyap has categorically denied that any such alleged incident ever took place and has also denied all allegations levelled against him.

These sudden, belated allegations of an alleged incident of August, 2013 have been widely publicised by the Complainant for the purpose of vilifying Mr. Kashyap, irrespective of the outcome of the judicial process. Mr. Kashyap is confident that the falsity of the complaint has been exposed, not only by the evidence presented by Mr. Kashyap, but also the ever-shifting version of events put forth by Ms. Ghosh in the media. Mr. Kashyap is apprehensive that now that the falsity of her allegations in the FIR have been established, she will alter her version of events in the investigative process as well.

Mr. Kashyap is distressed with the false and reckless allegations made against him that have caused pain to him, his family and his fans. Mr. Kashyap intends to vigorously pursue the legal remedies available to him.

Mr. Kashyap vehemently denies any such incident, as has been alleged, and has sought for severe action against Ms. Ghosh for misusing the criminal justice system and for hijacking the Me Too Movement for her ulterior motives. Mr. Kashyap is confident that justice will prevail."

Anurag Kashyap was summoned by the Versova police upon the sexual assault case filed by Paya Ghosh. The filmmaker was interrogated by the investigation team for over 8 hours, where he denied all allegations against him. As the statement suggests, Kashyap is planning to take all available legal actions, to prove his innocence.

Also Read:

Anupriya Goenka On MeToo Allegations Against Anurag Kashyap: I Totally Stand By Him

Mandana Karimi On Allegations Against Anurag Kashyap: Women Are Exploiting The Power We Fought For
Microscopic fibres created during the laundry cycle can cause damage to the gills, liver and DNA of marine species, according to new research.

Scientists at the University of Plymouth exposed the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), found in various locations across the world, to differing quantities of tumble dryer lint.

They demonstrated that increasing the amount of lint resulted in significant abnormality within the mussels' gills, specifically leading to damage of tissues including deformity, extensive swelling and loss of cilia. In the liver, the presence of lint led to atrophy or deformities leading to loss of definition in digestive tubules.

The increasing concentration of fibres also led to a reduction in the mussels' ability to filter food particles from the seawater and a significant increase in DNA strand breaks in the blood cells.

Scientists say the precise causes of the effects are not wholly clear, but are likely to arise from the fibres themselves and chemicals present within them.

They say the findings are unlikely to solely apply to lint, as its properties are consistent with other textiles and fibres found commonly in waste water and throughout the marine environment.

The study, published in the journal Chemosphere, was conducted by academics in the School of Biological and Marine Sciences and School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Dr Andrew Turner, Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences, was the study's senior author and has previously conducted research highlighting the chemicals - including bromine, iron and zinc - found within lint.

He said: "The laundering of clothes and other textiles is among the most significant sources of synthetic microfibers within the environment. However, despite their known presence in a range of species, there have been very few studies looking in detail at their impact. This study shows for the first time what harm they can cause, and it is particularly interesting to consider that it is not just the fibres themselves which create issues but also the cocktail of more harmful chemicals which they can mobilise."

Co-author Awadhesh Jha, Professor in Genetic Toxicology and Ecotoxicology, added: "Mytilus species are commonly used to monitor water quality in coastal areas, and the damage shown to them in this study is a cause for significant concern. Given their genetic similarity to other species and the fact they are found all over the world, we can also assume these effects will be replicated in other shellfish and marine species. Damage to DNA and impairment of the filter feeding abilities would have potential impact on the health of the organisms and the ecosystem. That is particularly significant as we look in the future to increase our reliance on aquaculture as a global source of food."

This study is the latest research by the University in the field, with it being awarded a Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2020 for its ground-breaking research and policy impact on microplastics pollution in the oceans.

That research has included work showing that washing clothes releases thousands of microplastic particles into environment, and that devices fitted to washing machines can reduce the fibres produced in laundry cycle by up to 80%. Scientists from the University have also showed that wearing clothes could release more microfibres to the environment than washing them.

###
Following news that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said he is praying for the President and First Lady and that he wishes the first couple a speedy recovery.

He said, "Our nation is behind you and we will get through this.

Bill Hagerty, Republican nominee for United States Senate, said, My family and I join Americans across the country in praying for President Trump, the First Lady and the Trump family and wish them a speedy recovery. President Trump and First Lady Trump are in the hands of the best medical doctors in America, and we are most optimistic that they will fully recover from the virus.

I have seen President Trumps work-ethic firsthand, and I know he will continue to carry out his duties while quarantining. The entire country stands united behind President Trump and First Lady Trump during this time, and we look forward to their full recovery soon.

Marquita Bradshaw, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, said, This news underscores the importance of wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. All of us are susceptible to infection. While voters deserve opportunities to hear from and engage with candidates leading up to Election Day, we must remain committed to safe and responsible campaigning practices during this pandemic.

"I join the rest of our nation as we pray for a speedy recovery for the President and First Lady.
The United States Navy said on Thursday it had undertaken an operation off the coast Venezuela in an effort to challenge the South American country's "excessive maritime claims in international waters."

A statement from Southern Command, which is responsible for US military operations in the Caribbean and Central and South American, called the exercise "successful."

"The USS William P. Lawrence conducted a freedom of navigation operation to challenge Venezuela's excessive maritime claim in international waters," a Southern Command spokesman told AFP.

"We routinely conduct freedom of navigation operations globally, peacefully, in accordance with international law," he added.

Venezuela had condemned the presence of the US warship off its coast, describing it as "a deliberate act of provocation."

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said in a statement the positioning of the guided missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence off the coast was "an intention to intimidate" Caracas.

Arreaza said the warship was inside the 24-nautical mile Venezuelan Contiguous Zone, "at a distance of 16.1 nautical miles from the Venezuelan coast."

Washington, which does not recognize Nicolas Maduro's presidency, did not allude to Caracas's denunciation, but played down suggestions of aggression and instead accused Venezuela of violating international law.

"The illegitimate Maduro regime improperly claims excessive controls over those international waters, which extend three nautical miles beyond the 12-nautical mile territorial sea, a claim that is inconsistent with international law," the statement said.

Plus, the statement pointed out, the US Navy had already engaged in such an operation this summer.

"The U.S. Navy previously contested Venezuela's excessive claims on July 15, when the USS Pinckney (DDG 91) lawfully and peacefully asserted internationally-recognized maritime navigation rights and freedoms during a similar operation in international waters outside of Venezuela's territorial sea."

Story continues

Southern Command claimed the US's access to international waters is vital for humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, anti-trafficking and regional cooperation.

The ship claimed in communication with Venezuelan authorities that it was carrying out "patrol operations against drug trafficking," the foreign ministry statement said.

"This is clearly a deliberate act of provocation, which is also erratic and childish," Arreaza said.

US-Venezuela tensions have escalated in recent months after Iran sent five tankers to help alleviate fuel shortages in the South American country.

In April, the US military said it was increasing its vigilance and deploying warships in the ocean near Venezuela, arguing there was an increase in organized crime.

Venezuela has frequently condemned the presence of US military vessels off its coast.

The USS William P. Lawrence is operating in the Caribbean Sea as part of counter narcotics work, the Navy said.

erc/db/jm/caw/ft
President Donald Trump has several strikes against him  age, obesity, elevated cholesterol and being male  that could put him at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus infection he disclosed early Friday.

Trumps doctor said later in the day that the president felt fatigued and that he had been given an experimental treatment aimed at staving off a severe case of COVID-19. Friday evening he was flown to a military hospital where he will spend a few days. Being there would allow for closer monitoring, such as if doctors decide theyd like scans of his lungs, and a quicker reaction time if he takes a turn for the worse.

The odds are far and away that hell have a mild illness as most people with the virus do, said Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic who has no role in Trumps care.

But COVID-19 is very unpredictable, he stressed.

We have young people who die. We have nursing home patients, a lot of them, who actually do quite well, Poland said.

Heres what experts say about Trumps outlook and next steps.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Infection causes mild or no symptoms in about 80% of cases. About 15% of people become seriously ill and 5% get critically ill.

Symptoms, when they do occur, usually appear two to 14 days after infection and can include loss of smell or taste, coughing, a sore throat, trouble breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea and fever.

Up to half of patients who are hospitalized dont have a fever when admitted but nearly all develop one. How people fare varies widely  some seem to be recovering and then suddenly worsen.

Pneumonia, often with a specific appearance on X-rays, sometimes develops but complications in virtually every organ of the body have been reported.

Doctors also increasingly recognize that some people have long-lasting symptoms.

TRUMPS RISKS

Older age, being male and having any other health problems increase the chance of severe illness, and Trump has those.

At 74, his age would be the primary risk factor, said Dr. David Banach, an infectious diseases physician at the University of Connecticuts health system.

People ages 65 to 74 are seven times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 than those who are 18 to 29 years old, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The risks rise exponentially at older ages.

Trump also is obese, with a body mass index just past 30.

Obesity is a state of chronic lowered immunity. In other words, you dont respond to vaccines as well, you dont respond to infections as well as people of normal weight, Poland said.

Trump takes a statin drug to lower his cholesterol, and that condition also raises his risk for COVID-19 complications, doctors said.

NEXT STEPS

Doctors likely will check Trump often for any difficulty breathing, coughing or other symptoms, Banach said.

No drugs are known to help for people with no or very mild symptoms. Remdesivir and steroids have shown benefit for certain moderately and severely ill patients and remdesivir is now being tested for patients in the early stages of COVID-19.

Late Friday, Trumps physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said the president had been given remdesivir at the military hospital.

Earlier, Trump was given an experimental antibody drug thats currently in late-stage studies from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs. They attach to a virus and help it be eliminated. The Regeneron drug is made with purified versions of two such antibodies.

RISK TO OTHERS

Could Trump have infected Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden during the debate Tuesday night?

Possible, but not likely, experts said. The candidates were more than 6 feet apart. But both candidates, especially Trump, spoke loudly, which research suggests can make virus particles travel farther, Poland said.

Biden said Friday on Twitter that he and his wife, Jill, tested negative.

Dr. George Abraham, who heads the infectious disease board for the American Board of Internal Medicine, warned that a negative test doesnt guarantee that someone is not harbouring virus because there might be too little to detect early in infection.

This is a wakeup call that shows the need for social distancing, wearing masks and other measures to reduce spread, Abraham said.

Biden similarly tweeted, I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.

A myriad of other people who have been around Trump in the previous 48 hours are at risk, doctors said.

Contact tracing is going to be really important, Banach said. The president comes into contact with many individuals during the day.

___

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.
Congressional leaders said Friday they are taking a fresh look at requiring virus testing on Capitol Hill after President Donald Trump s virus infection revived fears of an outbreak in the close, increasingly tense quarters of the House and Senate.

Just hours after news of Trump's diagnosis shook Washington and the 2020 campaign, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, became the latest member of Congress to test positive for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans. Each had appeared publicly without masks at various events; Lee attended the introduction Saturday of Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett.

As Trump's campaign canceled or postponed in-person events, anxiety spiked on Capitol Hill, where testing and tracing is offered, but not required, for anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to COVID-19.

We simply cannot allow the administrations cavalier attitude to adversely affect this branch of government," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement. "It is imperative that all results be made public in order to contain a possible outbreak and so we can determine the need for senators and staff to quarantine or self-isolate.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Friday morning about boosting or requiring testing in the Capitol.

We havent made a decision on that. In light of that we need to consult with our medical people, Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters. He said one concern was doing reliable tests.

Later, Pelosi's office referred to a statement from the Capitol physician reiterating the current policy.

The dilemma facing Congress remains similar to what confronts schools, houses of worship, workplaces and the White House as the virus rampages across the United States. Nationally and on Capitol Hill, there are no comprehensive plans requiring testing or wearing masks.

For months, leaders in Congress have resisted boosting the voluntary testing system there or accepting tests from the White House, saying supplies should go to frontline workers and the rest of America. But they've taken other precautions. The Capitol has been closed to visitors since March, and most offices and committee hearings are at least partially conducted remotely. House members can vote by proxy through their colleagues, to cut down on the number of people milling around.

But Capitol Hill remains a potential disease vector by any measure. Its a warren of tunnels, parlors, tiny elevators and odd staircases traversed by chatty lawmakers who have flown in from all over. Many members are older and more vulnerable to infection. A few Republicans have refused to wear masks at times.

The potential for the virus to spread was abundant just in the last few days. Barrett visited with dozens of senators, including Lee, ahead of her confirmation hearings expected to begin Oct. 12. Several members of Congress attended the first presidential debate Tuesday in Cleveland, where members of the president's family removed their masks during the 95-minute exchange. And then there was Friday's House session.

Trump's diagnosis amped up the atmosphere.

I think its time my colleagues who are, you know, denying the science to, you know, stop their flat earth nonsense and, and protect themselves and others," said Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y.

Everyone in the Capitol complex needs to be tested, tweeted Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. Every Republican Senator or staff member who was in close contact with Trump needs to quarantine. No business should proceed in the Senate until we understand the scope of this crisis.

Republicans were far more muted on the need for additional COVID precautions.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, a podiatrist, pointed out that some tests have been unreliable. Asked if his colleagues should wear masks more often, he replied, It would help.

___

Follow Kellman on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/APLaurieKellman
Anunt de selectare a participantilor si participantelor la cel de-al doilea curs de instruire din cadrul Programului educational pentru dezvoltarea competentelor lucratorilor de tineret
Canada has effectively banned the import of romaine lettuce from parts of Since 2016, romaine lettuce from California has been linked to outbreaks of E. coli illnesses in the US and its northern neighbor

Canada's food inspection agency announced on Friday it was restricting imports of romaine lettuce from parts of the US state of California linked to several recent outbreaks of E. coli food poisoning.

Importers will have to prove that any romaine brought into Canada does not originate from the Salinas Valley in Californiathe source of the past poisonings.

They can also provide laboratory certification of "below-detectable levels of E. coli" in romaine from the region, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said in a statement.

The import restriction, which also applies to mixed salads containing romaine, takes effect October 7 and will last until the end of the year.

Since 2016, romaine lettuce from California has been linked to outbreaks of E. coli illnesses in the US and its northern neighbor, including dozens of hospitalizations and at least one death in Canada.

Food safety investigations by both countries identified the Salinas Valley growing region as a recurring source of the outbreaks.

"To mitigate risk in the event of another outbreak this fall, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is implementing temporary import measures aimed at preventing contaminated food from entering the marketplace," the CFIA said in a statement.

The announcement comes one week before the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday.

 2020 AFP
Police in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested a woman who was caught on CCTV telling her young nephew to steal money from a local coffee vendor last week.

Officers in District 3 confirmed on Thursday they had apprehended Chu Thuy An, 42, for theft.

According to preliminary information, An was caught in CCTV footage that went viral on social media on Monday.

In the video clip, An carried a child on her motorbike to a coffee shop in an alley on Le Van Sy Street in District 3, where she told the kid to steal money from the seller when she was not paying attention.

The coffee vendor  57-year-old Tran Thi Tuyet Mai  told police that the incident took place at around 7:50 pm on September 23.

A woman arrived at the venue and gave Mai a VND20,000 banknote (US$0.86) to buy a glass of coffee.

Mai took out some money from a small bag to give her the change, before putting the bag away to make the drink.

The woman then said she needed to go elsewhere and would return later for the coffee, but she never came back.

Mai later noticed that her money bag was missing and told her son to check the CCTV, which recorded the entire incident.

The vendor said the bag contained about VND700,000 ($30) and multiple prepaid phone cards worth approximately VND1.6 million ($69).

Mai did not report the case until Monday. Police officers extracted the CCTV footage and were able to identify the license plate number of the womans motorbike.

Chu Thuy An tells a young boy to steal money from a coffee seller in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, September 23, 2020 in this screenshot taken from CCTV footage.

On September 30, officers escorted Dung, the current owner of the motorcycle, to the police station to verify the case.

Dung claimed he had lent his vehicle to An on September 23, adding that An was staying at a hotel in Binh Tan District.

Police raided the hotel later the same day and found An and her nephew inside a room, along with a pack of crystal meth.

At the police station, the woman stated that the nine-year-old boy is the son of her younger sister-in-law, adding that she had adopted him after his mother left him when he was five months old.

An said she has been using meth for about a year.

Officers are expanding their investigation to charge An for illegally trading, storing, and using narcotics.

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The seventh round of Corps Commander-level meet on the LAC standoff is expected next week and will be Lt Gen Harinder Singhs last.

On October 14, Lt Gen PGK Menon takes over the sensitive Fire & Fury Corps that is responsible for operations in Ladakh. Lt Gen Menon is currently posted as of the Additional Director of the Complaint Advisor Board at the Army Headquarters.

On September 21, when the sixth Corps Commander meeting took place, he was a surprise addition to team India. Lt Gen Menon will also be part of the seventh Corps Commander-level meet next week to ensure that the change of guard in mid-October does not impact the military level talks, sources said.

Six months and six rounds of Corps Commander meets later, one thing is crystal clear. The Chinese are not going anywhere. Their foreign ministry has hardened its position by asserting that their 1959 claim is the LAC. For the last 61 years, India has rejected this claim and has shot it down again.

Lt Gen PGK Menon takes over the Fire & Fury Corps at a time when relations between India and China are at their lowest since 1962. From Depsang Plains and Pangong Tso to Gogra Hotsprings and Galwan valley, China has ingressed at multiple points in Eastern Ladakh. It now occupies 1,000 sq km of Indian territory in Ladakh and says it does not recognise the illegally created UT of Ladakh.

Lt Gen Menon was commissioned into the 17th battalion of the Sikh Regiment and is currently the Colonel Commandant of the Sikh Regiment. In the past, he has served in Ladakh as a Brigadier. His one -year tenure in Leh will be focused on preventing any further ingress by the PLA and ensuring that the bitter winter in Ladakh does not become the biggest adversary for the 50,000 troops deployed in Eastern Ladakh.

Lt Gen Harinder Singh meanwhile moves from his high-stress assignment in Ladakh to the quiet and serene environs of the Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun as its Commandant.
EDITORS NOTE: NJ Cannabis Insider produces exclusive weekly content and monthly events geared toward those interested in the marijuana and hemp industries. To subscribe, visit njcannabisinsider.biz.

Some of the states progressive organizations have publicly announced their support for the ballot question seeking to legalize marijuana in New Jersey by joining a growing coalition.

Progressive Democrats of New Jersey, Action Together New Jersey and BlueWave New Jersey have all aligned with NJ CAN 2020, an organization of civil rights activists, doctors, lobbyists and industry stakeholders who have campaigned for legalization by highlighting racial justice issues.

The criminalization of cannabis has been a political act to oppress inner city and urban communities for decades, Jonathan Gibson, executive director of Progressive Democrats of New Jersey, said in a statement. This legacy of both political parties is a stain against the idea of justice and the moral fabric of America. We must dismantle these systems of oppression if we are to live up to our potential as a free and moral society.

New Jersey police arrest nearly 100 people a day for marijuana-related offenses and spend $143 million enforcing prohibition laws, legalization advocates say. And those arrests disproportionately impact Black people, although they use marijuana about as frequently as white people do.

SOMA Action of South Orange and Maplewood, the state branch of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and NJ-08 for Progress, representing the states eighth congressional district, have also endorsed the campaign, NJ Advance Media learned.

They join groups like the ACLU-NJ, Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, the Latino Action Network, New Jersey CannaBusiness Association and the NAACP in the coalition.

The campaign also released its first ad late last week, which focuses on the tens of thousands of marijuana possession arrests that take place each year, and the $143 million the state spends enforcing prohibition. More social media outreach is expected, as NJ CAN 2020 reminds people to turn the page over on their ballots to vote yes on the question.

It is time for New Jersey to #turnthepage on the marijuana prohibition. Remember to vote "Yes" on Public Question #1 this November 3rd. #NJCAN2020 #Voting pic.twitter.com/n32ET0MLHB  NJ CAN 2020 (@NJCAN2020) September 25, 2020

While quieter, the opposition remains.

Many people previously involved with Responsible Approaches to Marijuana Policy (RAMP), the former New Jersey chapter of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), have joined a new campaign, Dont Let NJ Go to Pot.

Gregg Edwards, the executive director, said the organization formed in July with the intention of defeating the ballot question.

Im surprised at the number of people who I have spoken to who have said theyre in favor of legalization, but opposed to doing it this way, he said, noting how the question would amend the constitution, but does not set limits on THC content in products, or give much overview at all as to how the state would regulate cannabis.

Like the pro-side, mail-in ballots and social distancing rules have upended the campaign. Edwards said sending out mailers did not make sense given the turnaround time of mail-in voting, and the campaign will not have video ads, either.

Instead, theyre relying on social media to spread the word, as well as reaching out to groups that have opposed legalization in the past. Most of their funds comes from individual contributions.

While in opposition over the amendment, both sides do agree that arrests for marijuana possession should stop.

Most of the people involved with us would say they support decriminalization, he said. We think the issue falls away if you decriminalize.

The New Jersey Republican State Committee passed a resolution opposing the ballot measure. In September, the Republican County Chairmens Association did the same.

A version of this story initially appeared in NJ Cannabis Insider.

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Amanda Hoover may be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj.
A worker is seen at Orlando Sanford International Airport, the site of a Make American Great Again campaign rally that was cancelled after U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, on October 2, 2020 in Sanford, Florida.

The Trump campaign said Friday that it will either postpone or hold virtually all events on its schedule involving President Donald Trump following his Covid-19 diagnosis.

The announcement comes hours after Trump revealed in a tweet that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19 and would immediately begin a quarantine and recovery process.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that the president is experiencing "mild symptoms" but is "feeling good."

Despite the pandemic, Trump had been engaged in a busy travel schedule filled with in-person events as he fights for reelection, with less than five weeks left to campaign.

But Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a statement Friday afternoon: "All previously announced campaign events involving the President's participation are in the process of being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed."

Stepien added that previously scheduled events involving members of Trump's family "are also being temporarily postponed."

"All other campaign events will be considered on a case-by-case basis and we will make any relevant announcements in the days ahead," Stepien said.

The campaign chief noted that Vice President Mike Pence, who tested negative for Covid-19 on Friday morning, will continue to campaign in accordance with his schedule.

Trump's Democratic rival, Joe Biden, also tested negative for the virus on Friday morning, and later in the day he departed for a previously scheduled campaign trip to Michigan.

But one negative test after a possible exposure is not enough to guarantee that a person hasn't contracted the virus, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota.

"All the people who said they were at the debate or at the rally here in Minnesota, or at a fundraiser here in Minnesota this week, none of those tests really are that meaningful to me yet by saying they're negative," Osterholm said on CNBC's "Power Lunch."

The absence of Trump's adult children and their significant others from the campaign trail will send a noticeable chill across the president's reelection effort. Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump, have emerged as some of Trump's most visible campaign surrogates, attending events all over the country and holding near daily livestreamed events on the president's behalf.

The differences between Trump's campaign events and those held by his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, became a central point of focus following the president's diagnosis  given that Trump has repeatedly mocked Biden for the safety precautions the former vice president takes at his campaign events.

During Tuesday's debate, Trump mocked Biden for wearing a mask, which the CDC recommends as a key element of preventing infection.

"I don't wear face masks like him," Trump said of Biden. "Every time you see him he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away ... and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen."

Trump also mocked Biden for not holding large rallies the way Trump has been doing since late August. Many, if not most, of the people at Trump's rallies are squeezed closely together and not wearing masks. Several of the rallies have been held in defiance of state and municipal orders that prohibit large gatherings.

Notably, former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain died from Covid-19 after attending a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the summer.

Biden, meanwhile, has strictly enforced social distancing, masks and crowd limits at his events. As a result, his campaign events have featured chairs spaced far apart and typically just a few dozen people.
Niagara has one final opportunity to blunt the impact of a second COVID-19 wave and avoid a return to lockdowns that could wound an already ailing economy, says Niagaras top public health official.

Dr. Mustafa Hirji, Niagaras acting medical officer of health, is urging Niagara residents to limit their social activities, avoid non-essential outings and double down on infection control behaviours to head off the kind of provincial government restrictions being imposed on other Ontario communities.

If we do that, we can spare everyone the pain of that kind of economic impact, said Hirji on Friday, the day Ontario set a new daily record for new COVID-19 cases.

If we voluntarily do it, we can avoid a return to the more restrictive lockdowns.

However, Hirji said, the sand is rapidly running out of Niagaras pandemic hourglass.

The local health department confirmed 11 new cases Friday, bringing the active total to 105 people, the highest it has been since early April when the first wave of COVID-19 was climbing.

Hirji said Niagaras situation is not yet as bad as Toronto  one of three regions, with Peel and Ottawa, to face new provincial government restrictions  but it could get there quickly.

I dont think we are as far off (of Torontos situation) as people might think, he said. If we do the things we need to, really limit our activities, then we can keep our restaurants open and enjoy those activities to some extent.

For those regions, Premier Doug Ford announced new limits on indoor dining at restaurants, occupancy at gym and banquet halls as well as a province-wide masking order that will require face-coverings to be worn in all public indoor spaces.

Niagara Region already has its own mask bylaw, which was recently extended until April.

It is not clear if the province-wide order will have the same degree of exemptions as the local bylaw does. Currently in Niagara, those with medical conditions that would be exacerbated by a mask do not have to wear one.

The new measures were put in place as Ontario registered a record 732 cases in a single day.

Hirji called that number troubling, but said it might actually pale in comparison to the situation in the spring.

Ontario was doing much more restrictive testing in April, and so at the time there were likely a lot of cases being missed, he said. So the numbers then, although high, were probably much higher than they are now.

In Niagara, the 11 new cases bring the historic local COVID-19 total to 1,092, with 105 of them still active. The last time there were that many active cases in Niagara was early April, when the daily case count was consistently in the double digits.

There were nine cases on both Wednesday and Thursday, with several days of double-digit increases in the preceding five days. It is all an indication of greater community spread of the novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

At least 64 Niagara residents with the virus have died during the pandemic. The last COVID-19 related death was recorded in July.

Hirji said recent cases continue to be driven by personal gatherings and social activities, rather than being generated in restaurants, gyms and other businesses.

That is why, he said, Niagara still has a chance to avoid tighter restrictions if people limit their social activities to bring the infection rate back down.

There is a lot of talk about the masking order, but I think the most important thing to note today is the call to limit social interactions, said Hirji. Right now, I think that is the most important thing that will impact the spread of the virus.

After months of not having COVID-19 admissions, Niagara Health reports it now has three patients at the St. Catharines hospital with the virus. Hospital executives urged the public this week to re-engage in infection-control behaviours  physical distancing, wearing a mask, and hand washing  to prevent a new surge in hospitalizations.

The news of Ontario placing new restrictions on some regions came after U.S. President Donald Trump  well known for mocking masking and physical distancing recommendations, and for lying to the public about the severity of the pandemic  tested positive for COVID-19 and was reportedly being taken to hospital.

Hirji said even putting Trumps behaviours aside, it is worth noting the White House goes to extreme measures to protect senior staff from the novel coronavirus, including the president.

They go so far as to test people every single day. Anyone who meets with the president gets tests and so on. Even with those measures, he still got COVID-19, Hirji said.

It just shows you how difficult it can be to prevent an infection. The virus is invisible, you cant see it coming. This is why we really need to be vigilant about our behaviours.
New Delhi:

Government on Saturday said it is keeping a close vigil on the situation arising out of oil spill following the recent collision between two ships at Kamarajar port and is in talks with ship owners for payment claims.

The Coast Guard ship and helicopters are carrying out regular sorties for continuous monitoring of oil slick... D.G. Shipping is also holding discussions with the owners of the ships and the mechanism of distribution of compensation and payment of claims by the insurers will be shortly in place, said.

Two vessels - MT BW Maple and MT Dawn Kanchipuram  while crossing each other had collided on January 28 outside the Kamarajar harbour. Kanchipuram, which was carrying 32,813 tonnes of POL, suffered a rupture which led to oil spill.

According to the governments status report, the P&I insurers of MT Dawn Kanchipuram are in the process of establishing a local Claims Desk and specifying the procedures for submitting and handling claims.

The representative from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (a specialised international agency on Oil Spill Response - arranged by the owner/P&I insurers of MT Dawn Kanchipuram) is already in Chennai, it said.

The authorities involved in the operations are confident that the situation is under control and the entire cleaning up operation will be completed in a couple of days, it said.

Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan is in Chennai to take stock of the situation.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the government has ordered a high-level probe, headed by Director General Shipping, to nail the guilty behind the oil spill and the report is likely in a month.

The government said the damaged vessel was towed safely and berthed at Kamarajar Port on January 30 2017 and the vessel has completely discharged the POL cargo, preventing any further possibility of oil spill.

A massive clean-up operation was launched in Tiruvallur, Chennai and Kancheepuram Districts by engaging more than 2000 persons at various sites including Ernavur, Chennai Fishing Harbour, Marine Beach, Besant Nagar, Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Neelankarai and Injambakkam beaches, the status report said.

It said the Coast Guard has been coordinating the cleaning operations jointly with personnel from the Chennai Port and Kamarajar Port, the state government and its agencies, Indian Oil Corporation, NGOs, Cadet Trainees from maritime educational institutions and fishermen. Groups were formed and cleaning work was undertaken at different places of the shoreline.

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There are 250 COVID-related election cases making their way through the nations state and federal courts. The Supreme Court, which lost one of its greatest defenders of the right to vote with the tragic passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is poised to issue critically important orders in voting rights cases in the weeks to come that could affect whether your vote is counted. Critically important cases from Pennsylvania and South Carolina, both of which raise important questions about the counting of mail-ballots that Americans will be casting in record numbers this election, are already before the Supreme Court. Cases from Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin are not far behind. Hanging over all of these cases is the likelihood that the conservative wing of the Supreme Court will say it is too close to the election to protect the right to vote.

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One of the most troubling developments of recent years is the Supreme Courts issuance of unsigned, and often unexplained, stay orders stopping courts from vindicating the right to vote close to an election. Through these cursory orders, decided in a rushed manner and without full briefing or oral argument, the Roberts court has been rewriting the rules of our democracy, despite the obvious truth that there is no time when the right to vote is more dear than when it is about to be exercised. Through these summary ordersa part of what is called the courts shadow docketthe court has put an expiration date on our Constitutions promise of an inclusive, vibrant, multiracial democracy. According to the courts conservative majority, once it is close to Election Day, courts should not be enforcing the fundamental right to vote, a right protected by more parts of the Constitution than any other right.

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This new doctrine makes a mockery of the Supreme Courts historic role of enforcing the Constitutions commands and preventing abuse of government power. No other body, John Marshall argued during debates over the ratification of the Constitution, can afford such a protection from an infringement of the Constitution. This is particularly important when the right to vote is at stake. Once a voter has been denied his or her constitutional right to cast a ballot, it is impossible to unring the bell. No later order can undo the denial of the right to vote for citizens whose votes have been suppressed.

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Importantly, no legal principle commands the courts to shut the courthouse doors on voters when their right to vote matters most. The Roberts court created these doctrines out of whole cloth. Before John Roberts became chief justice, the Supreme Court granted remedies to individuals victimized by restrictive election rules even quite close to Election Day, taking careful account of both the right to vote and governmental interests in the orderly administration of elections.

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When candidates brought suit to redress unduly burdensome ballot access rules, the Supreme Court granted relief to allow voters more choices at the ballot box. In 1968, just weeks before Election Day, the court ordered Ohio to add the American Independent Party to the ballot, allowing voters the right to choose the partys candidate for president. In 1976, a little more than a month before the years presidential elections, the court ordered Texas to add former Sen. Eugene McCarthy to the presidential ballot as an independent, refusing to allow the state to curtail the choices available to voters. Likewise, when voters challenged discriminatory voting changes, the court enjoined them, even close to the election. The court recognized that it was critical to act before the election took place because voters may be inclined to avoid the polls when an election is held in conceded violation of federal law. In sum, the Supreme Court refused to accept that violations of the right to vote must go unremedied simply because Election Day was drawing near. There was no expiration date on the right to vote.

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That all changed beginning in a 2006 case called Purcell v. Gonzalez, which announced that federal courts should be wary of issuing injunctions in voting rights cases close to an election. Court orders affecting elections, especially conflicting orders, the courts unsigned opinion explained, can themselves result in voter confusion and consequent incentive to remain away from the polls. As an election draws closer, that risk will increase. Since then, the conservative wing of the Supreme Court has repeatedly doubled down on what has been called the Purcell principle. Now, in practice, the Purcell principle means that the courthouse doors must be bolted shut as Election Day nears. This effectively reduces the right to vote to a second-class right and inevitably harms marginalized and less-powerful citizens. If courts announce that they will essentially never intervene, they invite partisan manipulation of our democracy.

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We have seen this play out repeatedly this past year. In April, in a 54 ruling in Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee, the courts conservative majority held that courts should ordinarily not alter election rules on the eve of an election, blocking an order designed to ensure that voters in Wisconsin did not have to sacrifice their health in order to vote. Even the extraordinary circumstances in Wisconsinthousands of voters would likely be disenfranchised because they had not received absentee ballots on a timely basis due to a public health crisis unparalleled in our lifetimedid not qualify for an exception from this so-called ordinary rule. The consequences were felt hardest in communities of color in cities such as Milwaukee, where only five polling places were open. Ginsburgs plea that ensuring an opportunity for the people of Wisconsin to exercise their votes should be our paramount concern went unheeded.

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In a string of unsigned, unexplained orders this summer, the Supreme Court has repeatedly shown that it will not protect the right to vote during an election year. The court has considered emergency motions in cases challenging voting or ballot access restrictions in Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Oregon, and Texas. In each case, the court sided with the state, prompting Justice Sonia Sotomayor to take the court to task for its pattern of repeatedly condoning disenfranchisement and forbid[ding] courts [from] mak[ing] voting safer during a pandemic. The exception that proves the rule was a case from Rhode Island in which the court refused to disturb a settlement in which the state agreed not to enforce the restriction in question. The upshot is that Purcell has become an inflexible rule that sanctions voter suppression and prevents courts from playing their historic role in protecting constitutional rights.

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What is even more troubling about this jurisprudential reversal is that it is entirely a product of the courts summary orders process, which is characterized by rushed decision-making and rulings announced with little to no reasoning. The Supreme Court announced Purcell without full briefing and oral argument. It has repeatedly applied Purcell in a string of cases that also lacked full briefing and argument. The courts reasoning in these cases ranges from cursory to none. It is not surprising that the Roberts court has not given any attention to all the ways Purcell diverges from the courts earlier case law that took as its touchstone the imperative of protecting the right to vote when it matters most. The Purcell principle has been developed without the sustained consideration and reflection necessary for proper judicial decision-making. Deciding major voting rights issues without time for proper consideration, argument, and reflection produces shoddy, error-ridden decisions that short-change the right to vote, one of our most cherished constitutional rights.

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As we approach what is shaping up to be a historic election, American democracy is in grave danger. The 2020 election is shaping up to be a crucial test of our constitutional commitment to free and fair elections. Even the norm that demands that candidates respect the will of the voters and facilitate an orderly transfer of power is under attack. History will remember those who fought to safeguard the right to vote and those who sought to suppress the vote, foment misinformation, and undercut the integrity of our electoral process. If the Supreme Court intervenes to squelch the casting and counting of votes, it will come at a cost to the integrity of the institution and our democracy.
Up to 44 sub-postmasters are set to have their convictions for fraud, theft and false accounting quashed by the Court of Appeal after the Post Office said it won't contest their cases.

The company today apologised for 'historic failings' which saw hundreds of employees wrongly sacked, forced to repay cash or wrongfully convicted  and some even jailed  after bosses pursued them for money 'missing' from branch accounts.

But it later emerged that shortfalls in the accounts of local branches were the result of flaws in their Horizon IT system, which was introduced to branches in 1999.

Even as evidence emerged that the computer system could be to blame, the Post Office continued to bully postmasters into pleading guilty to crimes bosses knew they had not committed.

The company paid a 58million settlement to postmasters last year after a High Court battle.

Up to 44 sub-postmasters are set to have their convictions for fraud, theft and false accounting quashed by the Court of Appeal after the Post Office said it won't contest their cases

What happened in the Post Office Horizon IT scandal? Hundreds of Post Office staff were wrongly accused of fraud, theft and false accounting after cash appeared to vanish from tills. A lengthy and murky legal campaign saw postmasters branded thieves, bankrupted and in some cases jailed. For years the Post Office denied there was anything wrong with its IT, but it later emerged the Horizon counter-top computer terminals were riddled with bugs. In December the Post Office capitulated after a long legal battle costing 32million of taxpayers' cash in legal costs before paying out 58million and apologising to wronged postmasters. However, many of the victims still carry criminal convictions, though today it was announced that up to 44 postmasters are set to finally have them quashed. The fallout continues, however, and there have been calls for a full public inquiry into what has been described as 'biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history'. Advertisement

Post Office chairman Tim Parker said today: 'I am sincerely sorry on behalf of the Post Office for historical failings which seriously affected some postmasters.

'Post Office is resetting its relationship with postmasters with reforms that prevent such past events ever happening again.

'Post Office wishes to ensure that all postmasters entitled to claim civil compensation because of their convictions being overturned are recompensed as quickly as possible.

'Therefore, we are considering the best process for doing that.'

In addition to full co-operation with the Criminal Cases Review Commission's review, the Post Office said it has set up an extensive disclosure exercise, by external criminal law specialists, to identify material which might affect the safety of any relevant historical prosecutions.

Solicitors acting for some of the sub-postmasters said it was a 'landmark moment'.

Hudgell Solicitors, which represented 33 clients, said their convictions, which have been against the names of many for a decade or longer, will now be quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Solicitor Neil Hudgel said: 'For the Post Office to concede defeat and not oppose these cases is a landmark moment, not only for these individuals but, in time, potentially hundreds of others.

'We are obviously delighted for the people we represent. Clearing their names has been their driving goal from day one, as their reputations and livelihoods were so unfairly destroyed.

'We must never forget that these people endured years of suffering and how these allegations and convictions affected not only the individuals themselves, but their loved ones too.

Post Office chairman Tim Parker (pictured with chief executive Paula Vennells) said today: 'I am sincerely sorry on behalf of the Post Office for historical failings which seriously affected some postmasters'

How the Post Office IT scandal unfolded over the years 1999: Horizon, introduced by Fujitsu is used by nearly 12,000 post office branches, but as problems start to appear and cash appears to vanish sub-postmasters are blamed. 2009: A meeting between victims is held, leading to the establishment of the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance (Jfsa), featuring 20 inaugural members. 2011: Shoosmiths (Access Legal) announces it is ready for legal action on behalf of some 55 sub-postmasters. 2012: Post Office appoints forensic accountants Second Sight to conduct an independent review. 2017: The first main procedural hearing is held in a group litigation on behalf of more than 500 claimants. 2019: The court rules in favour of the sub-postmasters and the Post Office eventually agrees to pay 58m in compensation. Advertisement

'We have secured what amounts to a clear admission from the Post Office that people were convicted of crimes on the basis of unsafe and unreliable evidence.'

Four years after losing her husband Julian to bowel cancer, and 12 years after he was convicted of false accounting by the Post Office, 65-year-old Karen Wilson has spoken of her determination to clear his name.

She said Julian was 'meticulous' in his running of the Post Office, which they bought in Astwood Bank, Worcestershire in 2001.

After a profitable first couple of years, he started experiencing troubles with the Horizon system.

When auditors finally arrived he was 'delighted' as he believed the issues would finally be resolved.

At the time the accounts had a shortfall in excess of 27,000, and Julian handed over nine years' worth of accounts for the auditors to look through.

He was suspended and told his only option was to plead guilty to false accounting, as that would prevent him from going to prison.

The couple had to sell their Post Office to pay back the money which was alleged to have gone missing.

'He was given 300 hours community service and he used to have to go out cleaning graveyards with other criminals.

'It was heart-breaking seeing my husband, who had done nothing wrong, having to do that,' said Karen.

'He knew it was the system right from the start but nobody would listen. Nobody wanted to listen. I have been determined to see this through to clear his name and have his conviction overturned.'

Four years after losing her husband Julian to bowel cancer, and 12 years after he was convicted of false accounting by the Post Office, 65-year-old Karen Wilson (pictured together) has spoken of her determination to clear his name

'He knew it was the system right from the start but nobody would listen' Four years after losing her husband Julian to bowel cancer, and 12 years after he was convicted of false accounting by the Post Office, 65-year-old Karen Wilson has spoken of her determination to clear his name. She said Julian was 'meticulous' in his running of the Post Office, which they bought in Astwood Bank, Worcestershire in 2001. After a profitable first couple of years, he started experiencing troubles with the Horizon system. When auditors finally arrived he was 'delighted' as he believed the issues would finally be resolved. At the time the accounts had a shortfall in excess of 27,000, and Julian handed over nine years' worth of accounts for the auditors to look through. He was suspended and told his only option was to plead guilty to false accounting, as that would prevent him from going to prison. The couple had to sell their Post Office to pay back the money which was alleged to have gone missing. 'He was given 300 hours community service and he used to have to go out cleaning graveyards with other criminals. 'It was heart-breaking seeing my husband, who had done nothing wrong, having to do that,' said Karen. 'He knew it was the system right from the start but nobody would listen. Nobody wanted to listen. I have been determined to see this through to clear his name and have his conviction overturned.' Advertisement

Other victims tell how they faced accusations of theft and false accounting Another of the postmasters told the appeal against their conviction will not be contested is Jo Hamilton. She was accused of stealing 36,000 from the village shop she ran in Hampshire and was told to prove her innocence by managers despite claiming there were issues in the computer system which led to discrepancies in the accounts. Over a gruelling two-year period, she desperately tried to avoid a serious charge of theft by pleading guilty to false accounting, but this then meant finding a new job was difficult with a criminal record. To make ends meet, she worked as a cleaner for people in the village. She told the BBC today: 'Twelve years I've been battling and it's just drained us. We've been fighting to prove we were innocent. There it is in black and white. I'm not a criminal.' Advertisement

Earlier this week, ministers launched a 'review', led by former High Court judge Sir Wyn Williams, to find out what happened.

But MPs and campaigners labelled it a 'whitewash' and a 'betrayal', and called for a full inquiry into the 'biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history'.

They said Sir Wyn will not be able to compel witnesses to attend or be cross-examined.

He will also not investigate what the role of the Government, which owns the Post Office, was in the scandal.

Last month, it was revealed the hundreds of the scandal's victims will be excluded from a new compensation scheme.

Hundreds of victims of the Post Office IT scandal will be excluded from a new compensation scheme.

Critics said it was unfair and worrying that the new scheme excludes Post Office workers in shops and 555 postmasters who won a High Court fight last year.

There are also concerns that postmasters will have to sign gagging clauses, known as non-disclosure agreements, to get their cash.

The Historical Shortfall Scheme closed to applicants in August as the Post Office tries to draw a line under the scandal dubbed the UK's biggest miscarriage of justice.

Close to 2,200 victims put in claims, taking the total number of those who could have lost out to more than 2,755.

But the Post Office, wholly owned by the Government, says the postmasters in the High Court case are not eligible as they won a settlement of 58million.

However, most of this went to legal funders and lawyers' fees.

Post Office workers in shops are also not eligible as their contract of employment was with companies such as McColl's, WH Smith and the Co-op, not the central Post Office company.

Tory peer Lord Arbuthnot said: 'This compensation scheme is designed to save the Post Office's face rather than to give genuine compensation to those who really need and deserve it.'

The Post Office's former boss last year finally apologised for the pain suffered by hundreds of postmasters accused of stealing money from the till.

Paula Vennells, 60, was chief executive when workers were jailed, made bankrupt or hounded out of their jobs after being called fraudsters.

She was branded 'heartless and shameful' for failing to apologise for leading the fight against staff over a botched IT system.

However, the Post Office eventually capitulated and handed 550 postmasters 58million in compensation in December.

Two weeks later, Mrs Vennells apologised. The comments came two days after the former boss, who is also an ordained priest, refused to apologise to a Mail reporter at her home in Bedfordshire.

Postmasters have previously called for Mrs Vennells, who ran the Post Office between 2012 and 2019, to return her CBE and some of the 2.2million she earned in bonuses.

She said: 'I have, of course, been closely following the developments related to the Post Office legal action.

'I am pleased that the long-standing issues related to the Horizon [computer] system have finally been resolved. It was and remains a source of great regret to me that these colleagues and their families were affected over so many years.

'I am truly sorry we were unable to find both a solution and a resolution outside of litigation and for the distress this caused.'

It is the first time Mrs Vennells has spoken publicly about the scandal since she gave evidence to a committee of MPs in 2015.

But her comments fall short of admitting that the shortfalls in postmasters' accounts were the result of glitches in the Horizon computer system.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 5.00 am ET Friday, Eurostat is slated to release euro area consumer prices for September. Economists forecast consumer prices to fall 0.2 percent annually, the same pace of fall as seen in August. Ahead of the data, the euro traded mixed against its major counterparts. While the currency dropped against the pound, it held steady against the greenback and against the yen. Against the franc, it recovered. The euro was worth 123.25 against the yen, 1.0792 against the franc, 0.9047 against the pound and 1.1715 against the greenback as of 4:55 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee this week expressed strong distaste for the Pentagon's plan to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops from Germany in keeping with the presidents order.

Committee ranking member Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, who is retiring this year, made the charge during a Wednesday hearing at which Pentagon officials were unable to give details on where many of the 11,900 troops to be withdrawn would go, how it would affect military families and how much it would cost.

Read Next: President Trump and First Lady Test Positive for Coronavirus

Thornberry said that acting Pentagon policy chief James Anderson and Air Force Lt. Gen. David Allvin, director of strategy and plans for the Pentagon's Joint Staff, were put in the difficult position of defending an ill-considered withdrawal order from Trump in June.

The president was likely sold on the Germany withdrawal by "a couple of staffers in the White House [who] clearly hadn't thought through the consequences," Thornberry said.

The result is that Defense Secretary Mark Esper "and the folks at the Pentagon are trying to put lipstick on the pig or make lemons out of lemonade," he added.

Other committee members were equally critical in assessing the withdrawal plan and its potential impact on the NATO alliance and the National Defense Strategy.

"From a layperson's point of view, it looks like we've reduced our troop presence in Europe at a time that Russia is actually becoming more of a threat," Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., told Anderson and Allvin. "It looks like we're pulling back, and I think that bothers a lot of us."

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the committee's chairman, said he is frustrated by what he called the witnesses' inability to answer basic questions on the implementation of the plan.

"The level of detail that we're getting here is just not acceptable," he said. "What the hell is going on, so we can exercise our oversight?"

Smith and others on the panel said the withdrawal plan appears to have been put in place without consulting NATO alliance partners.

The failure to consult "plays right into Russia's hands," Smith said. "They want to see us divided. We should not play into their hands."

The White House announced in June that 9,500 U.S. troops would be pulled out of Germany. In July, Esper outlined a plan for withdrawal that called for 11,900 troops to be withdrawn, reducing troop levels in Germany to about 24,000.

Esper said about half of the U.S. troops to be withdrawn would return to the U.S., while others would remain in other countries in Europe.

Anderson said he couldn't predict where in the U.S. the returning troops might go, but said some would eventually be in units that would be on call for rotations back to Europe. Others could be assigned to bolster U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific, he said.

"As with any major plan, it is subject to revisions and modifications going forward," Anderson said when pressed for details, adding that the timeline for the troop withdrawals and redeployments is yet to be determined.

Allvin said the strategy is to use "dynamic force employment" through rotations to Europe to lend unpredictability to efforts to deter Russia and "rapidly respond to emergent threats."

However, neither Anderson nor Allvin could answer many of the specific questions put to them by committee members from both sides of the aisle.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., asked Allvin whether the air hub at Spangdahlem, Germany, might be shut down as troops are withdrawn. Allvin said he didn't think so, but couldn't give a definitive answer.

Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., pressed Allvin and Anderson for any details they could provide for the military families affected by the withdrawals, and when and where they might go.

Allvin said no PCS moves for families in Germany are planned in the near term. He added that efforts are underway to give the families some predictability on moves "so they aren't sort of whiplashing around" while awaiting orders.

The hearing came a day before the Senate confirmed Allvin as the next Air Force vice chief of staff and his promotion to four-star rank.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Related: AFRICOM Headquarters Could Move to US as Troops Pull Out of Germany
(JNS)  In the wake of a reported U.S.-UAE deal in the works for the sale of F-35 fighter jets, Israels Defense Minister Benny Gantz departed for the United States on a brief 24-hour visit on Monday night, where he is scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and other senior members of the Trump administration.

According to a Reuters report, the United States and the UAE hope to have an initial agreement on the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to the Gulf state in place by December, as the Trump administration studies how to structure a deal without running afo...
This story is no longer updated here. For updates on all aspects of the coronavirus, with local, state, national and global news, go to The Chronicles Live Updates page.

On Friday morning Eastern time, President Trump tweeted that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus. The revelation came after Trumps aide, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. The revelation has raised many questions about his health outlook, the future of the campaign and about who has been or is being tested among the circle of people he has come into contact with in recent days.

Even if someone has tested negative, it does not necessarily mean they do not have the coronavirus. Experts say it typically takes five to seven days after exposure to have enough virus in the body to generate a positive test result. If someone takes the test before that window and the result is negative, it could just mean the virus is present but yet sufficient to be detected  the person could already be infected but not test positive for a few days.

Here are the latest updates on the officials, family members and others in Trumps circle who have been tested for the coronavirus since the president announced his positive result. Three unnamed members of the White House press corps have also tested positive.

Stephen Miller: One of President Trumps top advisers and a speechwriter, tested positive on Tuesday. Miller said in a statement that he already had been self-isolating over the previous five days. He is married to Katie Miller, Vice President Pences communications director.

Adm. Charles Ray: The Coast Guard vice commandant tested positive on Monday after feeling mild symptoms over the weekend, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The news caused top Pentagon officials who had interacted with him to go into quarantine.

Kayleigh McEnany: President Trumps press secretary, who meets regularly with reporters in a variety of settings, including most days in the cramped White House briefing room, tweeted Monday that she tested positive for the coronavirus and was beginning quarantine. News accounts reported two press aides also were infected.

Nick Luna: The close aide and body man to President Trump has tested positive, according to tweets from journalists at Bloomberg News and the New York Times. He is married to an aide to senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, who is President Trumps son-in-law.

Chris Christie: The former New Jersey governor Chris Christie tweeted that he has tested positive for the coronavirus. In consultation with my doctors, I checked myself into Morristown Medical Center this afternoon. While I am feeling good and only have mild symptoms, due to my history of asthma we decided this is an important precautionary measure, he tweeted Saturday. Christie helped Trump with debate preparation prior to the presidents face-off with Joe Biden.

Rick Scott: Florida Gov. Rick Scott rushed to clarify that he has tested negative for the coronavirus Saturday morning after he said the opposite during a television appearance.

Ron Johnson: Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, tested positive for the coronavirus, according to multiple media reports Saturday. Johnson is the third GOP senator to test positive. Johnsons office released a statement saying he was exposed to someone infected with the virus on Sept. 14, stayed in quarantine for two weeks, in which time he tested negative twice. He returned to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 29 and was exposed to another positive individual, his office said.

Bill Stepien: President Trumps campaign manager Bill Stepien has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a Politico report.

Kellyanne Conway: The counselor to Trump said on Twitter on Friday that she tested positive. My symptoms are mild (light cough) and Im feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians, Conway, who has been Trumps counselor, said. As always, my heart is with everyone affected by this global pandemic.

Joe Biden: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden reported that his coronavirus test was negative by tweeting Friday: Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.

Kamala Harris: Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for vice president, tested negative for the coronavirus Thursday as part of the campaigns routine testing protocol, an aide for the California senator said Friday. She again tested negative on Tuesday, the day before her debate with Vice President Mike Pence.

Nancy Pelosi: The House speaker said she was tested for the virus Friday. Her deputy chief of staff tweeted that she tested negative Friday afternoon.

Dianne Feinstein: The California Democratic senator was tested for the coronavirus on Monday, with a negative result, her spokesman said. She was present at a hearingThursday where a GOP colleague who later tested positive spoke while not wearing a mask.

Mike Pence: Vice President Pence and his wife Karen Pence have tested negative for the coronavirus, a spokesman for the Vice Presidents office tweeted Friday. Pence has been tested for the virus routinely for months, according to the spokesman. MSNBC reported Saturday that both tested negative again.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump: Trumps daughter and son-in-law tested negative for the coronavirus Friday, a White House aide tweeted Friday.

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.

Amy Coney Barrett: The Supreme Court nominee tested negative after being with President Trump last Saturday, the White House said. Barrett had previously recovered from a coronavirus infection

Mike Pompeo: The secretary of state told reporters he tested negative Friday.

Ronna McDaniel: The Republican National Committee chairwoman tested positive on Wednesday, a spokesman said.

William Barr: The attorney general tested negative five times between Friday and Tuesday, aides said. He planned to self-quarantine for now but was expected to return to work this week, they said.

Mike Lee: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a statement that he had symptoms consistent with longtime allergies but tested positive for the coronavirus. He is isolating for 10 days and plans to return to Congress to vote to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.

Thom Tillis: The Republican senator from North Carolina tweeted Friday evening that he had tested positive: Tonight my COVID-19 test came back positive. Im following the recommendations of my doctor. Thankfully, I have no symptoms and feel well. He urged anyone exposed or with symptoms to call your doctor, self-isolate, and get tested.

Steven Mnuchin: A spokeswoman confirmed Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is tested daily and was negative Friday morning. Mnuchin met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, earlier this week on coronavirus relief talks.

Mark Meadows: The White House chief of staff has tested negative for the coronavirus. His aide Ben Williamson also tested negative.

Hope Hicks: The president and first lady were tested after Hicks, one of Trumps closest aides, tested positive for the virus Thursday.

White House reporters: The White House Correspondents Association said in a letter Friday, Oct. 2: As of this moment, three White House journalists tested positive for COVID-19 today. All three had been at work at the White House and/or in the small press pool traveling with the president over the previous few days.
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands:--- CCRIF SPC has launched its newest parametric insurance product, which has been developed for the electric utility sector in the Caribbean. According to CCRIF CEO, Mr. Isaac Anthony, The development of this product is part of the scaling-up plans of CCRIF, which has as one area of focus the expansion of the Facilitys product offerings, an example of which is to address the needs of the electric utility sector in the Caribbean. By launching this product, CCRIF has expanded coverage to non-sovereigns and to the private sector, as it takes another bold step to grow and diversify its portfolio and membership. CCRIF currently provides parametric insurance coverage for tropical cyclones, earthquakes, excess rainfall, and the fisheries sector to 19 governments in the Caribbean and 3 in Central America.

Mr. Anthony takes this opportunity to express thanks to the Government of Ireland who provided a grant to CCRIF for funding the development of this product. He wishes to reiterate the key role that development partners have played and continue to play in advancing the work of the Facility. In speaking about the product, Executive Director of the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC), Dr. Cletus Bertin, stated that, The role of electricity in the economic and social life of the region is pivotal. This product is not just for the electric utilities sector. It is for the development of the region in terms of the economic and social life of the people, who are dependent on tourism as well as agri-business, light manufacturing, etc., which are all reliant on the steady supply of electricity. The product speaks to a broader agenda: our ability to bounce back quickly after a disaster and generate economic activity through the provision of electricity to the industrial and commercial sector.

The parametric insurance product for electric utilities has been first purchased by the Anguilla Electricity Company Limited (ANGLEC)  with the Facility working with other electric utilities in the Caribbean who are expected to join. CCRIFs ability to develop and offer products to non-sovereigns is based on the fact that, as a segregated portfolio company (SPC), the Facility is able to establish segregated portfolios (SPs) or cells that allow for total segregation of risk and risk management operations (pricing, policy formats etc.) among cells. Under this structure of SPs, CCRIF also is able to provide benefits such as the sharing of operational functions and costs, thereby being able to offer products that cost much less than if each member were to approach the reinsurance market individually. The SP established for public utilities is called the Caribbean Public Utilities SP (CPU SP) and joins 4 other SPs in the CCRIF structure.

The electric utilities product aims to limit the financial impact of devastating tropical cyclones by quickly providing financial liquidity to electric utility companies when a policy is triggered. The product will be limited to covering direct damage to the transmission and distribution (T&D) components of the electric power system due to impacts of wind. One of the issues faced by most electric utilities in the Caribbean is the inability to purchase traditional indemnity insurance for overhead T&D systems because of the very limited availability and uneconomical pricing.

Developing a parametric insurance solution for the electric utilities sector is particularly important because of the natural catastrophe risks faced by many Caribbean territories. Transmission and distribution systems are particularly exposed to wind damage from tropical cyclones such as storms and hurricanes. According to Mr. Anthony, The close relationship between wind speed and overhead T&D system damage created the opportunity for CCRIF to develop a new and innovative parametric insurance product which could be priced much more competitively in the marketplace than traditional indemnity insurance and would present lower basis risk to the insured utilities. Acting CEO of ANGLEC, Mr. Peter Lamontagne agrees with Mr. Anthony by stating that ANGLEC was severely impacted by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and almost all of its transmission and distribution network was destroyed costing the company in excess of XCD40 million to restore. At the time the company had XCD16 million in its reserves (a self-insurance fund) and needless to say, all the reserves were used up. There was an urgent need to find an alternative mechanism because of the active hurricane seasons that we are experiencing.

Economic losses of utility sectors, particularly transmission and distribution systems, after these events also are high, with citizens oftentimes bearing the brunt of the costs through their electricity bills.

The development of the utilities product was undertaken in close collaboration with CARILEC, an association of electric utilities, suppliers, manufacturers and other stakeholder operations in the electricity industry in the Caribbean where 35 of its members are electric utilities. Dr. Bertin has stressed that his organization  intends to promote the product as a proof of concept so that other utilities can assess the mechanism. The CARILEC Secretariat will continue to work with CCRIF as it continues to reach out to other utilities of CARILEC  both government-owned and investor-owned  to encourage them to sign on to this very useful insurance package.

The ability to provide quick liquidity is an important feature of parametric insurance considering the urgent need for liquidity after a catastrophe. Parametric insurance products are insurance contracts that make payments based on the intensity of an event (for example, hurricane wind speed, earthquake intensity, volume of rainfall) and the amount of loss calculated in a pre-agreed model caused by these events. Therefore, payouts can be made very quickly  and in the case of CCRIF, within 14 days after a hazard event. This is different from traditional or indemnity insurance that require an on-the-ground assessment of individual losses after an event before a payout can be made.

CCRIF was established in 2007, following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Ivan which resulted in countries such as the Cayman Islands and Grenada suffering economic losses of about 200 per cent of their annual GDP. The quick liquidity that CCRIF is able to provide within 14 days of these devastating events fills a gap that allows governments to begin initial recovery and support the most vulnerable in their populations. CCRIF has demonstrated that catastrophe risk insurance can effectively provide a level of financial protection for countries vulnerable to natural hazards. Since its inception in 2007, CCRIF has made a total of 45 payouts to 14 member governments totalling approximately US$163 million and which have benefitted over 2.5 million persons.
Mumbai, Oct 2 : Actor Sanjay Mishra lived in an ashram in Varanasi for a month during a recent shoot, and recalls the experience as one worth cherishing.

Mishra had his experience of an ascetic lifestyle during the shoot of "Bahut Hua Samman", an upcoming satire that also features Raghav Juyal, Abhishek Chauhan, Ram Kapoor, Nidhi Singh and Namit Das.

"It is nearly impossible to describe Varanasi in words. It's a feeling that ties you to it. Whenever I get to visit the city, there's a part of me that I feel I have left behind," Mishra said.

He added: "During the shooting of 'Bahut Hua Samman', I visited this holy city with the cast and crew. Those days are truly unforgettable. Raghav, Abhishek and I stayed in an ashram for almost a month to enjoy the true vibe of the city. It was a cherishing experience," Mishra shared.

Mishra even cooked for his co-stars on the set.

Recalled Raghav: "We had so much fun shooting. Beginning from staying at the ashram with Sanjay sir and Abhishek to trying a new dish each day, cooked especially for us by our very own Chef Sanjay sir, we made so many memories." Written by Avinash Singh and Vijay Narayan Verma, "Bahut Hua Samman" is scheduled to stream soon on Disney+ Hotstar VIP.
Vice President Mike Pence speaks at an event hosted by the Family Leader Foundation on Thursday in Des Moines. (Associated Press)

Sara Truesdell, a Christian conservative who voted for President Trump in 2016, is almost begging for a reason to back him again.

But the substitute teacher and stay-at-home mom wants a candidate who will be an example of Christ, she said outside a Target here, a suburb full of gleaming retail centers, fast-food chains and newly built townhouses behind outlet stores.

Janet Khongmaly, who also voted for Trump four years ago, is more blunt. Hes fine until he talks, the 49-year-old nurse said.

The fact that Trump cant count on suburban conservative women like Truesdell and Khongmaly less than five weeks before the election  and with early voting starting here Monday  is a giant red flag for his campaign.

Polls show the president in a dead heat with Democrat Joe Biden in Iowa, a state that Trump won by more than 9 percentage points in 2016, bigger than his margin in Texas.

Even before his COVID-19 diagnosis Friday, Trump was running out of time to alter the contours of a race that has been stubbornly stable across the country for months. Now, with the president hospitalized in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for at least the next few days, his campaign is on hold.

That may leave many voters' last impression of Trump as his combative performance in his debate with Biden on Tuesday, when he repeatedly interrupted Biden and the moderator and refused to denounce a violent far-right group.

Some former Trump voters here said they were troubled by the president's conduct at the debate.

I was expecting to see clarity. And Im just very disappointed by the behavior, the lack of really poignant speaking to the issues, said Don Hensley, 50, who develops food products. He voted for Trump in 2016 but is uncertain now if he will even vote.

Iowa wasnt supposed to be a hard state for Trump this time.

Iowa voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 but swung more decisively in Trumps favor than Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania, the other four states with large white rural populations that flipped in 2016. No other state saw as many counties  31  flip from blue to red.

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But the pool of undecided or persuadable voters is smaller this year than it was in 2016, when Trump benefited from voters who disliked Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, as well as several unusual factors late in the race.

They included the release of damaging Democratic emails hacked by Russian operatives and an announcement by then-FBI director James B. Comey, less than two weeks before election day, that he was investigating Clintons private email server.

Fortune could strike again for Trump. But for now, he is struggling not just to expand his base but also to close the deal with some of his former supporters. Interviews in Iowa showed many voters are still trying to overcome their reservations about his boorish behavior and harsh rhetoric.

He hasnt learned by now? Khongmaly said of Trump, who promised that he could act more presidential than Lincoln.

Most other Iowa voters have made up their minds. A recent Des Moines Register poll showed Trump and Biden tied at 47%, with 4% planning to vote for other candidates and just 3% undecided.

The two campaigns are thus slugging it out here. Biden, who has a large cash advantage over Trump, has begun airing ads here. The Trump campaign sent Vice President Mike Pence for a visit Thursday.

"The road to victory runs straight through Iowa," Pence told a few hundred supporters in Carter Lake, near the Nebraska border.

The Register poll showed the economy and law and order are the leading issues for Republicans, while Democrats care most about the pandemic and healthcare.

Trump called the coronavirus "a hoax," said Kathy Hoover, a 51-year-old retired teacher who supports Biden. "In the beginning, he didn't tell what actually was going on because he was afraid of a panic. He didn't give the American people enough credit to handle whatever panic came along."

Voters also face a daily barrage of ads from Sen. Joni Ernst, the Republican incumbent, and her Democratic challenger, Theresa Greenfield. It is the nations second-most expensive Senate race, behind North Carolina, with candidates and outside groups spending more than $90 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Republicans are confident they will win again here. One Trump campaign official who was not authorized to speak for the campaign said he puts Iowa in a basket with Georgia and Texas, which look close in polls but are not viewed internally as tight.

Trump won last time by promising to fight for farmers abroad and to bring back manufacturing jobs. He won almost every rural county to outweigh Clintons advantages in Des Moines and five other counties.

But his trade wars with China and Brazil since 2017 have hurt Iowas farmers. The president has taken pains to keep them from defecting, lavishing subsidies despite Republicans stated philosophy of opposing government intervention in the market.

Hes buying them off, said Carol Kriegel, whose husband used to run a farm. She declined to say whom she will vote for but said that many of her friends and relatives support Trump.

Kriegel sipped coffee with a group of other retired women at the Brooklyn Grocery store, a gathering spot in rural Poweshiek County, which is split between farmers and Grinnell College. Trump won the county comfortably in 2016.

Corn seeds from trucks are strewn on the paved streets in the small downtown, where a grain co-op is near the bank, the post office and other essential businesses, with a feed store around the corner.

Jay Foster, who manages a grain co-op in nearby Malcom, said farmers are struggling with the effects of a devastating derecho windstorm in August that blew away corn and beans and crushed large metal grain elevators, including five in Malcom.

He acknowledged that Trump's trade wars were hard on local farmers but said they still largely support the president.

It's the right thing in the long run," Foster said. "In the short run, it's tough.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

GIRLS ENROLMENT, RETENTION IN SCHOOLS ON THE RISE IN NIGERIA, PRESIDENT BUHARI TELLS UN EVENT ON BEIJING +25

Nigeria is witnessing an increase in girls enrolment and retention in schools, President Muhammadu Buhari declared Thursday at a UN high-level meeting commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the 4th World Conference on Women.

In a video message to the virtual meeting, convened by President of the UN General Assembly 75th session, Volkan Bozkir, in New York, President Buhari attributed the success to the implementation of the Universal Basic Education Programme, Girl Education Project and Safe School Initiatives.

Our Government is vigorously implementing the Universal Basic Education Programme, which enhances girl-child education at the grassroots.

Furthermore, the Girl Education Project has contributed to the marked increase in girls enrolment and retention in schools as well as guaranteed full productive capacity for future generations of women.

To ensure the security of school children, especially girls in the North-East of Nigeria, we have ratified the Safe School Declaration and begun the implementation of our Safe School Initiatives across the country, the Nigerian leader told the gathering in which Head of States and Government participated.

The president noted with satisfaction that through the Safe School programmes, his administration had ensured improved security through the provision of necessary learning materials for educational institutions.

On combating gender-based violence, the Nigerian president said that awareness on a Sex Offenders Register was ongoing to discourage and better manage cases of violence against women.

We are also expanding existing temporary shelters and building new ones in locations where they do not exist, to cater for victims of abuse and provide them with needed rehabilitation.

In our quest to address the menace of trafficking of our women and girls, Nigeria is working in close collaboration with relevant partners, to rescue, rehabilitate and re-settle rescued victims of trafficking, he said.

To mitigate the socio-economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, President Buhari disclosed that Nigeria prioritised vulnerable groups, including women, in the provision of medical and social assistance.

In the last year, over one million Nigerians have been enrolled into National Social Register of poor and vulnerable households to enable them to access needed social assistance.

Under the National Social Investment Programme, we have commenced cash transfers and distribution of food items to individuals and families across all States in Nigeria as palliatives to cushion the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Our administration believes that the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms are critical to the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

It is for this reason that I urge the international community to support the mandate and operations of the Human Rights Council in its quest to strengthen institutions in relation to gender equality and empowerment, as well as elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, he said.

President Buhari urged Member States to develop additional strategies to improve the quality of life for women and girls, pledging that Nigeria would redouble efforts to improve access to productive resources for women and girls as well as continue to ensure the protection of fundamental rights.

Our administration is mindful of the necessity to empower women and girls for the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; the African Union Agenda 2063; as well as the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, he said.

The President also used the occasion to congratulate Member States on the giant strides achieved in the implementation of the outcomes of the 4th World Conference on Women over the last two decades.

He noted that the twelve areas of critical concern identified in the Beijing Platform of Action, 25 years ago, have been instrumental in the progress so far recorded in advancing issues of women and girls globally.

He, however, stressed that sustainable development would remain impossible if women and girls are denied human rights.

Nigeria acknowledges that the achievement of full human potential and sustainable development is impossible if women and girls are denied their human rights and opportunities.

Since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration, Nigeria has made concerted efforts to ensure womens participation in all aspects of nation-building, through quality education, access to economic resources, as well as promotion of leadership roles at all levels.

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Our administration remains committed to eradicating poverty and enhancing growth and development for women and girls. In order to address all forms of gender-based poverty, we have initiated programmes such as: Tradermoni, Marketmoni and Farmersmoni under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme.

These programmes are particularly aimed at providing zero interest and collateral-free credits to petty traders, artisans and farmers, many of whom are women and girls, he said.

Femi Adesina

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)
B oris Johnson has offered his "best wishes" to Donald and Melania Trump after they tested positive for coronavirus.

The US president announced his diagnosis in a tweet in the early hours of Friday, following a positive test from one of his closest aides.

Hope Hicks returned a positive test on Thursday, with Mr Trump later tweeting: @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Mr Trump's Covid-19 diagnosis is the latest among world leaders.

Mr Johnson himself was admitted to intensive care after contracting the disease.

The EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier also fell ill, as did Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.

The Prime Minister wrote on Twitter on Friday: "My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus."

Vice President Mike Pence also led the support. for Mr Trump, tweeting on Friday: "Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery.

"God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania."

European Council President Charles Michel also tweeted saying: "Wishing @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a speedy recovery. #COVID19 is a battle we all continue to fight. Everyday. No matter where we live."

Vladimir Putin extended wishes of a speedy recovery to Mr Trump and his wife, expressing sincere support in this difficult moment, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.

It said the Russian president sent Mr Trump a telegram saying: I hope that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted: Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health.

Multiple White House staffers have tested positive for the virus, including Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pences press secretary, as well as one of the presidents personal valets.

Boris Johnson and Donald Trump / Getty Images

Ms Hicks travelled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for a Minnesota rally on Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday nights first presidential debate against Joe Biden.

The virus has killed more than 200,000 Americans and infected more than seven million nationwide.

The First Lady also tweeted after their diagnosis. She said: "As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together."

Sean Conley, physician to the president, said: The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our our countrys greatest medical professionals and institutions.

Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.

In a statement, White House spokesman Judd Deere said: The president takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.

White House Operations collaborates with the physician to the president and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting Covid-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the president is travelling, he added.

Mr Trumps age and weight are likely to put his medical team on alert as they monitor his condition.

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Some studies suggest Covid-19 patients who are obese may be at higher risk of being seriously affected by the virus, although it is unclear whether that is because they are more likely to have other health conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. In his 2019 physical, Mr Trump met the technical threshold for obesity.
Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday said that the president has "mild symptoms" after testing positive for Covid-19 and is very energetic".

"The president and the First Lady tested positive for Covid-19," he told CNN. "They remain in good spirits.

"The president does have mild symptoms and, as we look to try to make sure that not only his health and safety and welfare is good, we continue to look at that for all of the American people."

Trump said early Friday that he has tested positive along with his wife and one of his closest aides, throwing his campaign into deeper disarray just one month before the election.

Meadows said he himself has tested negative, along with other close Trump aides including his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The American people can rest assured that we have a president that is not only on the job, will remain on the job," Meadows told reporters, without wearing a mask. Im optimistic that hell have a very quick and speedy recovery."

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said hes tested negative for the coronavirus, joining Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in avoiding Covid-19 so far.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on a fresh stimulus package this week have yet to break the impasse thats persisted for months, said things might change in the wake of Trumps infection.

This kind of changes the dynamic," Pelosi said on MSNBC Friday. She has criticized the Trump administration for paying insufficient attention to containing the coronavirus and she said the current situation may change the White House stance on pandemic relief.

Maybe this will be the moment where people will say, OK, masks, sanitation, treatment," she said. It might be a learning experience," she said of the news. The speaker said she was tested Friday morning, and awaits the results.

Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, sent their good wishes to Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after they tested positive for coronavirus.

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family," Biden tweeted.

Biden and Trump faced off in a debate Tuesday night. Biden has criticized the Trump administrations handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris tweeted wishes for a speedy recovery."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- among the global leaders who has governed from home while in isolation during the pandemic -- said he hoped Trump would get well soon and have a full recovery from this virus."

Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, tested negative Friday for coronavirus, according to his aide Devin OMalley.

As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day. This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery," OMalley tweeted.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 09:26:45|Editor: huaxia

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SYDNEY, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has warned that the country is at serious risk of ships arriving from COVID-19 hotspots and spreading the virus into the community through contact with port staff.

In a statement released Thursday, the MUA called for the state of Western Australia (WA) to introduce tighter restrictions on vessels arriving after spending less than 14 days at sea, similar to measures already in place in other states.

WA was in the midst of containing an outbreak on board cargo vessel Patricia Oldendorff, which as of Friday remained anchored offshore with most crew members testing positive for the virus.

"The infection of the crew when sailing the Patricia Oldendorff into Port Hedland is a stark reminder of the risks WA's Maritime Borders poses to our community," the statement said.

"The government has done the right thing at the airports and land borders but the neglect of the maritime borders in a state with Australia's largest coastline is reckless and not acceptable."

According to the MUA, ships arriving from COVID-19 hotspots will sometimes spend less than a week at sea before berthing at one of WA's 17 ports.

Once berthed crew members work in close proximity with WA port services employees to discharge their cargo, posing a risk of spread which could reach the broader community.

"Simply relying on seafarers to quarantine at home in an overseas coronavirus hotspot or asking a Ship's Master to declare any sick crew members is not enough," MUA National President Chris Cain said.

Cain warned that continuing with practices as they were will eventually lead to a "massive outbreak" of COVID-19 in Australia.

"The only certainty the people of Western Australia can have in this is the implementation of a strong approach to our maritime borders requiring vessels to remain at sea for at least 14 days before they dock in a Western Australian port," he said. Enditem
One man has died and a record 934 cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the last 24 hours in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health has said.

It brings the death toll to 582, while the number of confirmed cases is at 12,886.

Friday's confirmed positive cases is more than double the previous daily high set earlier in the week.

Health Minister Robin Swann said he was "floored" by the latest figures.

Northern Ireland's seven-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 population shot up to 139.4 from 69.5 a week ago as a result, health department data showed.

The Southern Health and Social Care Trust confirmed a patient has died with Covid-19 following an outbreak at Daisy Hill Hospital in Co Down.

Read More

There are 65 patients in Northern Ireland hospitals with Covid-19, including nine in intensive care units.

There are also 28 active care home outbreaks, while 209 outbreaks in such settings have been closed.

Robin Swann told UTV that he never expected Friday's daily tally to be so high.

Speaking to those flouting the Covid regulations, the Health Minister said: "Those interactions that you're going to be having in the next couple of days and weeks are leading to the increases of positive cases of Covid  they will lead to hospitalisation and possibly the death of your loved ones.

"This isn't me scaremongering - the number of positive cases that we see today will translate into those things. So those people who think they're immune, those people who think they're above this virus, I'm saying to you now that you're not."

It comes as Northern Ireland's leading medical advisers issued stark warnings to the public to "plan and prepare" for what could be a further two lockdowns.

Northern Ireland's chief medic Dr Michael McBride said there was a "narrow window of opportunity" to act after expressing concern at an increase in cases in other areas.

Read More

Meanwhile Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Ian Young has said it's possible there may be two periods of lockdown in Northern Ireland over the course of the winter.

Speaking on BBC NI's Nolan radio programme, Professor Young said; "I think it would be sensible to plan for the possibility of one or more periods of circuit break over the course of this winter."

Asked if the mid-term school holiday at Halloween would be a suitable time to introduce a short-term lockdown, Professor Young said: "In terms of the likely impact of a circuit breaker it would be more effective if schools were off at the same time than if schools were functioning."

But Stormont's expert adviser said he did not think it would be appropriate to introduce such a measure over the Christmas holidays. "I don't think for a whole variety of reasons that that's a reasonable thing to do," he said.

It comes after a raft of new restrictions were introduced in the Derry and Strabane areas.

DUP MP Jim Shannon has said he is self-isolating after being seated at the same dining table as SNP MP Margaret Ferrier on Monday evening.

It's after Ms Ferrier faced controversy for the trip she made to London from her constituency in Scotland while awaiting the results of a Covid-19 test, for which she later received a positive result. She returned home to Scotland by train knowing she had been infected.

Read More

Check out our live blog below to see how Friday's developments unfolded:
Brains, not beauty, are a woman's secret weapon, according to the television pioneer who created passion-fuelled escapism such as Sex And The City and Beverly Hills, 90210.

Darren Star, architect of some of the most talked about American programmes of the past three decades, was discussing his latest show, Emily In Paris, a series of ten, sumptuously produced half-hour episodes shot on location in the French capital.

Lily Collins plays Emily, an Insta-savvy, 20-something, luxury goods marketing executive catapulted from Chicago to work in her firm's branch in Paris. 'Emily's a smart girl who happens to be attractive  and Lily Collins is beautiful,' Star told me.

Darren Star, architect of some of the most talked about American programmes of the past three decades, was discussing his latest show, Emily In Paris

Lily Collins plays Emily, an Insta-savvy, 20-something, luxury goods marketing executive catapulted from Chicago to work in her firm's branch in Paris

'But beauty is not what she leads with. She leads with her intelligence. That's her strength.'

Speaking to me from New York, Star added: 'I'm not setting out to define femininity in any of these shows. It's just writing the character that I think is of its time.

'I do tend to write strong, independent women; and I think Lily's Emily is an example of maybe where we're at with some women in their 20s now.' The show, which streams on Netflix from today, was shot with all the romantic comedy ambience of Funny Face or Sabrina, both of which were filmed in France and starred Audrey Hepburn (whom, from certain angles, Collins resembles).

'Emily's a smart girl who happens to be attractive  and Lily Collins is beautiful,' Star told me

'But beauty is not what she leads with. She leads with her intelligence. That's her strength'

Star, 59, hails from America's Midwest, like his heroine (who's a little culturally tone-deaf). But he's a Francophile, who studied French in his youth and back-packed around France and Europe when he was 19. He also knows 'some pretty formidable French women', who informed the character of Emily's nemesis Sylvie.

Sylvie runs the office of Savoir, where Emily has been transplanted, and she's a Grade-A bitch. 'Absolutely!' Star agreed. 'But she looks fantastic.'

As played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Sylvie is ultra-elegant in that effortless French way. (Sharp-eyed viewers will recognise 57-year-old Leroy-Beaulieu from another Netflix show, Call My Agent, in which she plays Catherine, the wife of philandering boss Mathias Barneville.)

'She's still got it,' Star said admiringly of Sylvie, while observing that she also has 'some vulnerability that she's covering up in those beautiful clothes'.

Sylvie runs the office of Savoir, where Emily has been transplanted, and she's a Grade-A bitch. 'Absolutely!' Star agreed. 'But she looks fantastic'

The outfits were chosen by Patricia Field, who also designed the couture confections worn by Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall in Sex And The City ('she's a genius,' Star said). 'It's entertaining just to look at the clothes,' he said, 'though sometimes I say: 'Tone it down. I want the audience to hear the dialogue, too!'

Netflix should green-light a second season straight away; because one of the joys of Emily In Paris is that it's like a trip to the City of Light at a time when none of us can actually get there.

Also, it would allow the actors, who all became friends ('unlike any of the shows I've done before,' Star quipped) to meet up again. The show's creator insisted he has no secret formula for writing his iconic characters. 'You are seducing an audience, so you want them to love your characters.

'I don't have to love everything they do, but I have to have a lot of affection.'

Carrie on screaming at Halloween!

West End star Linzi Hateley must have felt as if she'd come full circle. Thirty-three years after being offered the title role in Carrie, the musical version of Stephen King's tale about a teenager who unleashes terrifying telekinetic powers on her high school tormentors, she was being asked to play the poor girl's demented mother.

Carrie opened at the Royal Shakespeare Company's home in Stratford-upon-Avon back in 1988, with Hateley starring alongside legendary Broadway soprano Barbara Cook, who had been enticed over to play Margaret White, Carrie's Bible-toting single mother.

I covered the whole shebang. Carrie bypassed the West End and went straight to Broadway  though by that time, Cook had walked. Betty Buckley, another showbiz legend, replaced her.

The production was butchered by the critics and closed promptly. 'It was a traumatic experience, to be given such a wonderful opportunity aged just 17; to be in Stratford, and then on Broadway, and for it to all go so humongously wrong,' Hateley told me.

But not all her memories of Carrie are bad. She got to work with Cook and Buckley. Plus, Cameron Mackintosh saw her perform, and later cast her as Eponine in Les Miserables. 'And all these years later, it's become a cult. People adore it!'

Actors still sing numbers from Carrie at auditions. One popular choice is When There's No One; written after rehearsals had begun by the team of Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford. 'They hadn't got the number they needed for Barbara, and one day Michael and Dean walked in and said: 'What do you think of this?'

Hateley will perform When There's No One for the second, Halloween-themed episode of the new Theatre Channel, which launches today. It aims to offer viewers a front-row, West End experience from the comfort of home. A 12 ticket allows you to watch each 30-minute episode as often as you like. The first one, available now, features Jenna Russell and Carrie Hope Fletcher.

The Halloween special (out on October 30) will, besides Hateley, also showcase Josh Piterman, singing Confrontation from Jekyll & Hyde; and Bradley Jaden and Sophie Isaacs, performing Life After Life from Dracula. Adam Blanshay, who produces the shows, said episodes are filmed at the Theatre Cafe in London's West End. They are directed by Bill Deamer and filmed by Ben Hewis, with full production values.

 For ticket and download details visit thetheatrecafe.co.uk/channel.
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.
Trueface Contactless Access Control We are proud to be playing our role in helping our Armed Forces reopen safely and responsibly.

This morning, Trueface announced being awarded its third contract from the Air Forces AFWERX and Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) program, satisfying their need for frictionless access control to inhibit the spread of COVID-19 through physical contact by implementing facial recognition ingress on-base.

The Trueface solution will instantly identify individuals at Eglin Air Force Base and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst who have been cleared to access the installations without the need for physical contact with Security Forces Squadron or other host units, thus preventing the spread of communicable viruses like the novel coronavirus.

The addition of Trueface technology at Eglin AFB will add a layer of security that a human just cant do. Truefaces facial recognition will cross-check every person coming on base with the National Crime Information Center database. Additionally, the touchless entry for base access prevents the spread of COVID-19 or similar viruses while expediting access to Eglin AFB and reducing traffic congestion. We look forward to fielding Trueface technology at Eglin AFB.

As an American-made company, Trueface has been honored to partner with the Air Force on past Phase I and Phase II deployments to make their installations safer and smarter. The Trueface team is enthusiastic about the opportunity to affect the mission and empower the 87th Security Forces Squadron and the 96th Test Wing with frictionless access control capabilities, which will also result in reduced traffic congestion at entry points, improving the everyday ingress process for airmen and visitors alike.

During unprecedented times such as these, it can be difficult for government entities and businesses alike to balance biosecurity and physical security priorities. Solutions like contactless access control via facial recognition can satisfy both priorities simultaneously and encourage a safe and secure environment for all. Trueface CEO Shaun Moore commented, We are proud to be playing our role in helping our Armed Forces reopen safely and responsibly. Trueface technology is currently being optimized to ensure compliance through recognizing an individuals face even when a mask is being worn.

About Trueface

Trueface teaches computers to see like humans, interpreting the data they ingest. Once trained to understand the visual data in question, computers help businesses and agencies make instant decisions, allowing businesses to cut costs and agencies to redistribute human capital to higher-functioning tasks.

As a leader in computer vision, Trueface focuses on achieving equal performance for all without compromising speed, achieving a top ten ranking in the NIST FRVT test. On-premise technology allows for flexible deployments within clients' environments on hardware, in their cloud, at the edge, and even offline. Trueface is committed to the responsible deployment of computer vision technology and ensures their businesses and their customers are benefiting from the advancements of artificial intelligence.

About AFRL and AFWERX

AFRL and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research process in an attempt to speed up the experience, broaden the pool of potential applicants, and decrease bureaucratic overhead. Beginning in SBIR 18.2, and now in 20.R, the Air Force has begun offering 'Special' SBIR topics that are faster, leaner, and open to a broader range of innovations.
Of all the behavioural modifications weve been asked to make amid the COVID-19 pandemic, masks remain the most contentious.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 1/10/2020 (478 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Of all the behavioural modifications weve been asked to make amid the COVID-19 pandemic, masks remain the most contentious.

You dont see fistfights breaking out at convenience stores over handwashing, nor do you see large-scale protests demanding the right to work when sick. Masks are the pandemic made visible, a constant visual reminder of the changed world we inhabit. Masks are a harm-reduction tool corrupted, a talking point to be debated, politicized, protested.

But masks are among our most useful tools in fighting the spread of COVID-19. As has been repeated many times but apparently cannot be overstated: masks are about keeping other people safe.

Masks are now mandatory in indoor public spaces in Winnipeg. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

And, as of Monday, masks are now mandatory in indoor public spaces in the Winnipeg metropolitan area. This health region is at level orange, or restricted, on Manitobas pandemic response scale and will remain there for the next few weeks. A mask mandate is part of that order.

Of course, not everyone is on board. In Winnipeg, social media lit up with reports of people being rude to those who must enforce mask mandates, which mostly means staff at businesses that are open and just trying to survive. You know, the very businesses people complained were closed.

Retail and restaurant staff have also had to become de-facto conflict mediators. In Toronto, a fistfight broke out at a convenience store over masking; "Fighting Over Masks In Public Is The New American Pastime," reads a recent New York Times headline. Closer to home, a man was arrested and charged after a Walmart employee was assaulted while trying to enforce the stores mandatory-mask policy.

If theres an overarching criticism of pandemic messaging, its that it has been unclear and occasionally confusing. Many people have been struggling with the notable change in tone from April  when things were locked down and we were repeatedly told, "Now is the time to stay home"  to late summer, when youd be forgiven for asking "What pandemic?" despite the uptick in cases.

Canadian politeness and apologia bled through into how officials talk about public-health measures: things are "suggested," "encouraged" or "recommended." People "may be asked to" engage in further measures. In Manitoba especially, theres been a baffling amount of foot-dragging on implementing measures such as a mandatory mask mandate.

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All of this has set up the people on the ground  the wearers of masks, the people having awkward conversations with reticent family members and friends, the minimum-wage fast-food workers suddenly tasked with enforcement and conflict resolution  for failure. Its hard to be assertive about something when the public-health messaging has been anything but.

Retail employees such as Prabjot Singh should not have to be a de-facto conflict mediator for people who refuse to wear masks. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

The loudest voices in this should not be the anti-maskers, virus-deniers and entitled individuals who, for reasons unexplained, believe they are impervious to a virus that has shown, over and over again, that it doesnt discriminate.

Edicts, hard-line rules and fines should not be necessary for a greater-good public-health measure. In an ideal world, people would willingly don masks because its the right thing to do, and were all in this together.

If we want to avoid more people getting sick and dying, and if we want to avoid further lockdowns and restrictions, adjustments are required in our day-to-day behaviour. Masks, like seatbelts and condoms before them, will become normal. A habit. A reflex. A given.

Worth noting: the same week Winnipeg moved to level orange, the world marked a grim milestone  one million COVID-19 deaths. Wear a mask.
Return of Clamming to N. Oregon Coast, Opening Back Up to Non-Residents

Published 09/25/20 at 4:41 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Seaside, Oregon)  Recreational razor clamming opens back on the north Oregon coast as of October 1, and non-residents may again start crabbing and clamming on Oregon beaches as of October 7. (Photo above courtesy Seaside Aquarium)

Every year, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) shuts down razor clamming in July for conservation of the species, opening back up in October. This is always done at Clatsop beaches, which contain more than 90 percent of the states entire population of clams. As it reopens the area this year, ODFW said the clams are in great abundance and they are large.



Razor clams this year average just under four inches with a tremendous amount of clams over four inches, ODFW said.

This past winter created a high rate of survival for juvenile clams, which has contributed to this years high numbers and mature larger-sized razor clams. Juvenile recruitment was also high this year, so clammers can expect good numbers of one and two-year-old razor clams.

Clatsop beaches encompass some 18 miles from the Seaside side of Tillamook Head to the south jetty of the Columbia River. ODFW encourages clammers to maintain social distancing of at least six feet from anyone who is not a member of the same household.

The conservation closure has happened every year since 1967, running July 15 to October 1. Some years it has gone on longer if clam sizes or numbers are not satisfactory. The closures prevent disturbance and allow young clams to properly mature. During each closure, ODFW marine biologists conduct stock assessment surveys to determine population health and status.

Meanwhile, if you cannot make it to the north Oregon coast, other areas that provide plenty of clams include Agate Beach, North Jetty, and South Beach in the Newport area along with Cannon Beach, Cape Meares, and Yachats Beach.

The other good news is that non-residents can again engage in recreational crabbing and clamming after closures were put in place to help curb the spread of COVID-19. That restriction is lifted as of October 7.

Clamming along the entire Oregon coast had been closed to people who do not reside in Oregon starting April 11, as well as crabbing in ocean areas north of Cape Falcon and the Columbia River. The emergency rule was meant to limit visitation and crowding in coastal communities. The rule expires midnight October 6 and will not be renewed.

However, southern Oregon coast beaches are currently closed for recreational and commercial mussel harvesting because of a marine biotoxin, shellfish poison. The closure runs from the south jetty of the Coquille River in Bandon to the California border.



Always check for toxin-related closures before harvesting clams or crabs by calling the shellfish safety hotline 1-800-448-2472. Closures are also noted on ODAS Recreation Shellfish page and on ODFWs Recreation Report  Clamming and Crabby Report..

For more information about clamming on the Oregon coast, visit ODFWs Crabbing and Clamming page online. Oregon Coast Hotels for this - Where to eat - Map - Virtual Tour









Photos below courtesy Seaside Aquarium







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However, they say stock will never leave the store until a 'just settlement' is put in place for the workers.

They had been inside the unit at the City Square Shopping Centre since Monday after seizing an opportunity to get entry.

It has been over 170 days since Debenhams announced an end to its Irish operations.

Last Monday, five former Debenhams workers in Waterford started an occupation inside the store at City Square Shopping Centre in the city.

The occupants were calling for talks between KPMG, Debenhams and the shop stewards & their representatives, Mandate Trade Union, to discuss how online business could be used for their agreed redundancy package for staff.

At the time of their occupation they said in a statement that:

"This occupation is a peaceful protest but a necessary escalation to make sure we are not left with nothing. We have been left high and dry without the redundancy packaged that had been promised before.

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"We want KPMG to come back to the table for negotiations including shop stewards from the 11 stores to bring a positive end to the struggle the ex-Debenhams workers have faced for 172 days.
NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Aquiline Capital Partners today announced the signing of definitive agreements in which it will merge Insurance Claims Management, Inc., which operates under the CodeBlue brand, and FV Holdings, LLC dba MADSKY Managed Repair Program (MADSKY). The combination will bring together two industry-leading providers, offering a unique and unified interior and exterior emergency services and direct repair capability. Hunter Powell, currently CEO of MADSKY, will become CEO of the combined business.

CodeBlue is a rapidly growing provider of property claims outsourcing solutions for the insurance industry, using proven science and industry-leading technology to generate superior service and cost outcomes. The company was founded by Paul Gross with the introduction of a revolutionary water damage mitigation solution. It has since expanded to provide a "whole home" set of property claims outsourcing solutions, including First Notice of Loss, Water Mitigation, Direct Property Repair, Desk Repair and Contents Valuation for a multitude of insurance companies.

MADSKY is revolutionizing the handling of roofing and exterior restoration needs in the insurance claims and broader property management space. MADSKY combines a claims concierge service with a network of vetted and highly qualified contractors. The firm offers a revolutionary program that simplifies the property restoration process and helps homeowners get back to their lives faster than ever before. In addition, leveraging its strong base of experienced roofing professionals, MADSKY offers several proprietary expert services aimed at aligning claim outcomes across stakeholders and decreasing loss severity.

"Both CodeBlue and MADSKY utilize technology-enabled claims delivery models that benefit insureds, insurance carriers and contractors," stated Jeff Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aquiline Capital Partners. "We are excited to back Hunter, Paul and the combined leadership team as they further their market leadership in water mitigation and roofing while also entering compelling new areas where we will provide expertise and capital to support their growth."

"Combining CodeBlue and MADSKY brings together the leaders in managing interior and exterior damage assessment and repair. The combined entity will offer unique, value-added and mutually beneficial solutions to insurance carriers, property managers and individual property owners," said Hunter Powell. "Both firms share a purpose-driven ethos and a people-centric mentality, and together will bring unmatched focus and capabilities to delivering industry-leading services that blend results and performance with care and compassion. It is an incredible privilege to lead this organization."

"Aquiline Capital Partners has tremendous expertise in insurance, insurance claims outsourcing and financial technology," said Paul Gross. "Together we will continue to expand our property claim solutions offerings, extend the combined company's technology platform and market leadership position and develop deeper carrier partnerships."

About Insurance Claims Management (ICM)

Headquartered in Springfield, Ohio with additional offices in Hudson, Ohio and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, ICM, operating under the CodeBlue brand, provides independent First Notice of Loss, Water Mitigation, Direct Repair, Desk Repair and Contents Valuation outsourcing solutions to insurance carriers throughout the United States and Canada. Leveraging proprietary technology during FNOL, CodeBlue captures live videos created by policyholders and contractors get the claim assessed, initiated, approved, and finished more quickly while reducing traditional expense. The platform facilitates CodeBlue contractor management and facilitates communication and business processes for insurance carriers, ICM, network service providers and policyholders. For more information, visit www.codeblue360.com .

About MADSKY

MADSKY is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado and provides insurance carriers and homeowners with the largest network of skilled trade professionals across the U.S. to repair roof and exterior damage following a hail or wind event. MADSKY is the trusted, go-to partner for managing the entire roof restoration process. MADSKY's network of skilled roofing contractors, general contractors, independent adjusters, suppliers, manufacturers, and more are responsible for doing the restoration work. Learn more at www.MADSKYmrp.com .

About Aquiline Capital Partners

Aquiline Capital Partners, founded in 2005, is a private investment firm based in New York and London investing in businesses across the financial services sector in financial technology, insurance, investment management, business services, credit and healthcare. The firm has $5.3 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2019. For more information about Aquiline, its investment professionals, and its portfolio companies, please visit: www.aquiline.com .

ICM Media Contact MADSKY Media Contact Aquiline Media Contact Paul J Gross Hunter Powell Maria Jose Gonzalez / Josh Clarkson / Clare Glynn [email protected] 757-589-9000 314-378-1561 212-279-3115

SOURCE Aquiline Capital Partners

Related Links

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An MP is self-isolating after coming into close contact with an SNP politician who travelled hundreds of miles across the UK despite testing positive for coronavirus.

The news is set to increase the already growing pressure on Margaret Ferrier to resign.

Jim Shannon, the 65-year-old DUP MP for Strangford, has tested negative for Covid-19.

However, he is self-isolating at home as a precaution, his party said.

Mr Shannon came into contact with Ms Ferrier on Monday evening when they sat at the same dining table in the House of Commons.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has led the calls for Ms Ferrier to resign.

The first minister of Scotland said she was very angry and had made clear to the politician my view that she should step down as an MP.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross also branded Ms Ferrier's decision to twice travel between London and Glasgow by train with coronavirus symptoms "reckless and dangerous".

Mr Ross himself resigned as a minister after his party refused to sack Boris Johnsons chief aide Dominic Cummings over a trip to Durham during lockdown.

Shadow Scotland secretary Ian Murray has urged the SNP to "come clean'' over what it knew and when about Ms Ferrier's movements.

In another move which will pile pressure on the MP, Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle said that different stories, which he suggested had come from Ms Ferrier herself, had made it more difficult for parliamentary authorities to limit a possible outbreak.

Ms Ferrier, the MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, has been suspended by the SNP.

She has admitted travelling from Glasgow to Westminster with suspected coronavirus symptoms.

In London she was told that she had tested positive for the virus and then made another train trip back to her home in Scotland.
This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 1470 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why were doing this fundraiser, what weve accomplished in the last year, and our current goal, more original reporting.

The stunning news about the Trumps contracting Covid-19 has pre-empted many other stories. But lets not neglect an important Brexit development yesterday: that of the EU formally launching legal action against the UK for not removing the offensive sections of its Internal Market bill, which has passed the House but has not yet been approved by Lords. Recall that the some Government ministers have admitted that the Internal Market bill violated the Withdrawal Agreement, signed by the Johnson government. As we explained mid-September:

It is hard to fathom how the EU and UK can extricate themselves from the Brexit mess that Boris Johnson has engineered, particularly given that EU leaders had lots of antipathy for Johnson even before he became Prime Minister. They seem more inclined to throw him an anchor rather than a bone. For those of you who tuned out of this melodrama and missed the latest episode, the land border in Ireland was the Achilles heel of Brexit. The Good Friday Agreement is a tricky set of compromises and fudges that has been a tremendous success in practice. No one wants to touch this third rail except the ideologues in power in Great Britain. Even US Congresscritters have cleared their throats and said the UK can kiss its US trade deal goodbye if it messes with the GFA. Yet Boris Johnson is proceeding to advance a bill through Parliament that would negate commitments he agreed to in the Withdrawal Agreement, the very same deal he touted as a great win for the UK when he pushed it through shortly after moving into No. 10. Johnson is blowing up the Ireland compromise hed agreed to, of having Northern Ireland subject to EU restrictions on state aid, which for businesses that operated in Northern Ireland and Great Britain, would wind up applying to all of their UK activities. Johnson also wants to nix the Exit Declarations that Northern Ireland businesses would have to file for shipments into Great Britain. Johnson, when called out on the issue at the time of the vote on the Withdrawal Agreement, handwaved them away as light touch checks.The Government admitted then it had no idea how much compliance would cost Northern Ireland businesses. And in blowing up that arrangement, Johnson risks blowing up getting any sort of EU trade deal by year end. We are back to a Brexit Groundhog Day tape loop, a digitally enhanced version of the no deal Brexit scenario. And there has been so much talk of hard Brexit and crash-outs that the general public has become inured to what it might mean. Admittedly, with Covid having already killed air travel, thats one sector out of the Brexit line of fire. But even with all of the extra prep time, theres plenty of UK downside. Goldman not only argues that the hit would be much larger than for Covid, but that it would also be possible to identify the magnitude of botched Brexit damage.

Mind you, EU legal action against states is a far more measured affair than, say, the US Federal government suing states. The EU had cleared its throat and said the UK needed to remove the offending sections from the Internal Markets bill by the end of September. Since that hasnt happened, the European Commission, in its capacity as the guardian of the treaties, sent a letter to the UK asking for it to splain itself. The key bits of President van der Leyens short statement:

As you know, we had invited our British friends to remove the problematic parts of their draft Internal Market Bill by the end of September. This draft Bill is  by its very nature  a breach of the obligation of good faith laid down in the Withdrawal Agreement (Article 5). Moreover, if adopted as is, it will be in full contradiction to the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland. The deadline lapsed yesterday. The problematic provisions have not been removed. Therefore, this morning, the Commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the UK government. This is the first step in an infringement procedure. The letter invites the UK government to send its observations within a month.

Now some of you may be saying, This is silly. The UK will be done with the transition period in a few months and it can tell the EU to sod off. Thats not correct.

The UK and EU had agreed to a dispute resolution mechanism for disputes under the Withdrawal Agreement, although that isnt the route the EU chose to pursue.

Instead, the EU availed itself of the fact that the UK agreed that the European Court of Justice retains jurisdiction over the Withdrawal Agreement during the Transition Period. And as President von der Leyen set forth, the EUs position is that the UK breached what in an US commercial contract would be the good faith and fair dealing requirement that is implicit in all contractsand is explicit in the Withdrawal Agreement.

And if you read Article 87 of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Commission can file a case against the UK for a breach of the Withdrawal Agreement for up to four years after the end of the Transition Period, and the ECJ has jurisdiction over those cases:

If the European Commission considers that the United Kingdom has failed to fulfil an obligation under the Treaties or under Part Four of this Agreement before the end of the transition period, the European Commission may, within 4 years after the end of the transition period, bring the matter before the Court of Justice of the European Union in accordance with the requirements laid down in Article 258 TFEU or the second subparagraph of Article 108(2) TFEU, as the case may be. The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have jurisdiction over such cases.

Article 89 says UK courts will enforce rulings under Articles 86 and 87.

Richard North believes the EU is likely to launch other actions:

If the Bill becomes law, the UK could be in breach of the substantive provisions of the Protocol: Article 5 (3) & (4) and Article 10 on custom legislation and State aid, including amongst other things, the direct effect of the Withdrawal Agreement (Article 4). This, presumably could be subject of a further action, invoking the dispute procedure in the Agreement.

And dont assume this will get wound up before December 31 absent a massive UK climbdown:

22. So the EU, the other signatory to the deal, launched a legal action to stop us breaking it 23. We now have 3 months to resolve this case so we can get a vital trade agreement 24. An Argentinian / EU trade dispute has been ongoing since 2012. That's a bit more than 3 months  Russ (@RussInCheshire) October 1, 2020

With all this in motion, no wonder the other omens are not looking good:

Am told Michel Barnier will not be briefing EU leaders about #Brexit at their Brussels summit tomorrow. European Commission Pres will hold the Briefing while M Barnier meets UK chief negotiator David Frost. No Barnier presser planned  v unusual after negotiating weeks. Hmmmm..  Katya Adler (@BBCkatyaadler) October 1, 2020

Even before the Internal Market bill gambit, we had observed that the normally-fabulously-uncommitted-to-anything-other-than-himself Johnson had so dug himself in on a super-hard Brexit that it was difficult to see how hed back himself out of that corner if he found it necessary. And a short timeframe makes that even more difficult.

Chris Grey, in his new Brexit Blog post, points out that the Leave campaign and later the Tory government had promised, in effect, that the UK would remain in the Single Market, even though that was revealed under Theresa May to be cakeism:

It beggars belief that the government should now be contemplating, not as its worst scenario but as its best and indeed preferred scenario, the thinnest of trade arrangements with the EU.Britain has been driven by the implacable extremism of the Brexit Ultras to a situation where the only future relationship options are distance or dislocation.

Grey comes out more or less where we do, that the Governments choice to play hardball for domestic consumption, compounded by the Internal Market bill show of bad faith, has made it well nigh impossible to salvage the negotiation, even it the Government was merely posturing:

The IMB now goes to the House of Lords, where no doubt it will be mauled, but as trailed in my last two posts the government has delayed the timetable for this. Taken together with the terms of the EUs legal action, this means that there is a tiny window in which the trade talks can proceed without the Bill actually becoming law. That creates a theoretical possibility that the illegal clauses might be dropped in the light of a deal being done, according to Simon Coveney, Irelands Minister for Foreign Affairs, and others. Thus by the middle of October, conceivably, there might be a trade deal and an end to the threatened international law breach. But massive damage to trust has already been done, with the result that the issue of enforcement for the governance mechanism for any trade deal has now taken centre stage in the future terms negotiations. The obvious concern is that the Johnson will once again sign a rushed deal with implementation details to be filled out later, perhaps especially tempting given the ongoing coronavirus crisis, only to backtrack later when it comes to putting what was agreed into practice as has happened with the IMB. Shamefully, thanks to the behaviour of Johnsons government, our country is no longer trusted to behave honestly.

Johnson may get his comeuppance, but too late to relieve the negotiation deadlock:

Johnson will be gone in the spring. "The Tory party is far from being in revolt. But a deep disquiet is brewing. Many MPs feel that while they chose Johnson to lead them, they're now being ruled by his unaccountable gang. He's also proven far less able in office than many hoped  Brexit Bin  #NotMyBrexit (@BrexitBin) October 1, 2020

Meanwhile, wishful thinking abounds. Via Tony Connelly in RTE:

Meanwhile, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has said he expects Britain and the European Union to clinch a tariff-free and quota-free trade deal, in an interview published by online news site The Currency. I still think there will be a deal. It will be no quotas, no tariffs, some form of minimum standards and control on state aid and fishing, Mr Varadkar was quoted as saying.

Erm, while in theory anything is possible, even this sort of bare-bones pact looks to have lottery-ticket odds. The EU is not relenting on state aid. They are not letting the UK undercut the EU. And the UK has made so much noise about this issue that its hard to see how they could retreat.

And while a compromise would seem to be far more likely on fish, enforcement of any resource-sharing deal would be nightmarishly complicated and costly.

And as Gertrude Stein said of Oakland, Theres no there there. While an agreement waiving tariffs and quotas is clearly better than none, it does not prevent a hard customs border. And Im not sure about the no quotas part being possible, since those would presumably still apply through EU deals with other third countries like South Korea. In addition, bare minimum deals in key sectors almost certainly require more bells and whistles than no tariffs, no quotas:

Time is running out to secure a post-Brexit trade deal or a bare minimum agreement on drugs so as to avoid significant delays to supplies to the UK, MPs have been warned https://t.co/SSkPZZp6de  The BMJ (@bmj_latest) October 2, 2020

And whaddabout financial services?

Needless to say, we expected these talks to end badly. There was never any bargaining overlap between the Leave position and the steps on Barniers ladder. But as I so often say, it would be better if I were wrong.
I support T.J., and I will do whatever I can to help T.J. be successful, Dan Gosa, a member of the districts school board, said during the public comments period of the state boards Thursday meeting.

When Schneckloth was the interim the first time, he put his head down and got to work, Gosa said.

He said he has spoken to other members of the board, and they would like to be part of the solution and work toward getting the Davenport (schools) where they need to be.

Bruce Potts, the school board president, said after the meeting that an advantage of the plan is that Schneckloth is familiar with the district and the progress it is trying to make.

Potts said the districts next steps will be to get its next progress report on the action plan to the state  which should show the district has gained ground  then to begin working with Schneckloth on further efforts.

Several other people spoke during the public comments session on Thursday, expressing their concern over the states selections for the interim leadership.
(Newser)  Under pressure for not releasing its toll sooner, Amazon said Thursday that almost 20,000 of its front-line employees contracted the coronavirus. That's out of about 1.37 million front-line employees of Amazon and Whole Foods Market in the US, CNBC reports1.44%. The data is for confirmed or presumed cases from March 1 to Sept. 19. Amazon did not change its death toll among employees, which was last reported at eight. The announcement was the first indication the company has given of the effect of the pandemic on its workforce, per CNN. Labor groups, regulators and politicians had pressed Amazon to release the information. In the absence of company totals, warehouse workers had crowdsourced a database of infections. Amazon argued that any data it released could be misleading.

story continues below

In May, a dozen state attorneys general asked Amazon to provide a breakdown by state of coronavirus cases. In a blog post Thursday, Amazon said it used data from Johns Hopkins University to compare its coronavirus case rates to those of the general population. By that comparison, the company said its number of cases turned out to be 42% than would be expected. Employees at some Amazon and Whole Foods workplaces have walked off the job over conditions since the outbreak began. The company said it has made than 150 "process changes" to improve safety at its workplaces. The nation's largest employer, Walmart, has not released the number of its employees who have contracted the coronavirus. (Anti-COVID products sold on Amazon prompted a warning.)
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur and several party workers were detained by police during Kisan March near Mullapur barrier here on Thursday. However, they were released later.

SAD leaders were prevented from entering the city to hand over a memorandum for the President to ask for revocation of the three "black" laws on agriculture to the State Governor.

The police resorted to lathi-charge and use water cannons to disperse SAD workers during the Kisan March.

Senior SAD leader Parkash Singh Badal said that the "brutal" lathi-charge on peaceful protesting workers made this painful and dark day for democracy in the country.

"No one knows better than Akali workers how to stand up to brutal authoritarianism like one demonstrated by Chandigarh police against innocent workers," he said.

Earlier while addressing a massive congregation at Mullanpur, the SAD President said the Modi government was trying to muzzle the voice of the but the party would stand with them come what may.

"We opposed the black laws in parliament and subsequently left the ministry and even the alliance with the BJP. Today we are standing shoulder to shoulder with the of Punjab. I assure the that the SAD will not only fight for their rights but ensure they remained protected," he said.

Badal also announced that farmers of Punjab would not allow the implementation of the black laws in the State under any circumstances. "We will also not allow corporates to take over the produce of the 'annadaata'," he said.

Badal said that Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh should call an immediate Assembly session and revoke the APMC Act which he amended in 2017 to allow private mandis, contract farming and e-trading.

"We also demand that the entire state be declared as one Mandi to ensure the agricultural laws cannot be implemented in the state," he said.

Badal also asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to tell Punjabis why he was coming to Punjab to shed crocodile tears at their plight when he had called for scraping the APMC Act in 2019 and had refused to part ways with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra even when it voted in favour of the Agri 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.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:33:43|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

BERLIN -- New COVID-19 infections in Germany increased by 2,673 within one day, recording the highest daily number since the second half of April, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Friday.

New COVID-19 infections as measured by the RKI, the federal agency for disease control and prevention, have been picking up in Germany since the end of July and reached to date a total of 294,395 cases.

- - - -

BISHKEK -- The total number of COVID-19 cases in Kyrgyzstan rose to 47,056 on Friday, with 215 new cases reported in the last day.

Among the new cases, 28 are medical workers, bringing the total number of contracted medical workers to 3,294, said Deputy Health Minister Nurbolot Usenbaev, adding that 154 people recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total recoveries to 43,137.

- - - -

KATHMANDU -- The Nepali government on Friday reported record high single day infection of over 2,700 COVID-19 cases as the total number of cases surpassed 80,000 mark.

"A total of record 2,722 cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours," Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson at Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population, said at a press meet on Friday. "With the addition of new cases, total COVID-19 cases in Nepal reached 82,450."

- - - -

TBILISI -- Georgia reported a record 453 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the country's highest daily number yet, bringing its total to 7,093.

According to the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, 297 of the 453 new cases were confirmed in the western Adjara region.

- - - -

KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait on Friday reported 411 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 106,087 and the death toll to 615, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 7,574 patients are receiving treatment, including 137 in ICU, according to the statement.

The ministry also announced the recovery of 701 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 97,898.

- - - -

BEIJING -- China's railways saw 15.09 million passenger trips on Thursday, a record high for the period since the start of the COVID-19 epidemic, due to the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which runs from Oct. 1 to 8.

According to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., Thursday has been the busiest single day since the beginning of this year, beating its own expectation of 13 million trips. A total of 11.4 million trips are expected to be made on Friday. Enditem
An estimated 2.5 million girls globally are at risk of being forced into child marriage in the next five years due to mounting economic pressures related to the COVID-19 global pandemic, according to humanitarian aid organization Save the Children.

The report, Global Girlhood 2020: COVID-19 and Progress in Peril, which was released to the public Thursday, found that girls in parts of Africa and South America were especially vulnerable to child marriages. However, no region is expected to come close to being hit as hard as South Asia, forecast to have as many as 200,000 girls at risk in 2020.

The new analysis showed that nine of the 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriages are considered fragile states.

In April, the U.N. said there could be as many as 13 million more child marriages globally over the next decade as a result of the pandemic.

Researchers say that the pandemic has increased poverty around the world, which has resulted in a spike of girls being forced out of school and into work or marriage.

Bill Chambers, president and CEO of the British-based charity, said girls are far less likely to have the opportunity to return to school to pursue an education compared to boys.

"A growing risk of violence and sexual exploitation, combined with growing food and economic insecurity, also means many parents feel they have little alternative but to force their young daughters to marry older men, said Chambers.

Save the Children expects roughly 1 million additional pregnancies as a result of child marriage in 2020 alone.

The analysis found that as a result of the pandemic, efforts over the last 25 years to decrease early marriages around the world will be set back. If no action is taken to combat the sharply anticipated increase, the charity expects there could be 62 million marriages by 2025.

Dr. Faith Mwangi-Powell, chief executive of Girls Not Brides, a group that campaigns to end child marriages, said that providing financial support, increased monitoring and more community engagement are key factors in ensuring girls can continue their education.

In its report, Save the Children called upon global leaders set to come together virtually for the U.N. General Assembly in New York Thursday to make serious commitments to increasing the progress for gender equality. The meeting marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Womens Conference, which in 1995 led all governments to commit to a Platform for Action to achieve equality for women and girls.

Of the 190 countries that have participated in the U.N. General Assembly over the past week, only nine of the leaders representing their nations have been women.

Karen Flanagan, Save the Children Australias principal adviser on child protection, said that a renewed and increased commitment to protecting girls around the world is vital.

These marriages violate girls rights and leave them at increased risk of depression, lifelong violence, disabilities, and even death  including from childbirth  given their bodies simply arent ready to bear children, said Flanagan.
Opposition-led states are all set to question the Centres two borrowing options on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) shortfall compensation, ahead of the Council meeting on October 5.

States like Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Kerala, Delhi, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Telangana may take a collective decision during the informal meeting, which will be held on October 3. The agenda is to likely reject the borrowing options and ask the Centre to activate the grievance redressal mechanism.

Our stance is what it was. The Centre should not take a majoritarian view but develop a consensus. This has been the spirit of the GST Council. There are a few states who do not understand why they should take responsibility for a shortfall. First, you took away our taxation rights and then you want us to take a loan to make good the GST compensation? said Chhattisgarh commercial tax (GST) Minister TS Singhdeo to The Economic Times.

According to the report, Singhdeo also added that there would be more discussions on the matter and the formulation of a strategy.

The implementation of the GST has been criticised by the Opposition, and a recent controversy erupted due to the GST revenue shortfall of Rs 2.35 lakh crore for the states. As per the GST Act, the Centre has to compensate for any GST losses.

However, a discrepancy arises as the Centres calculation of Rs 97,000 crore is on account of GST implementation and Rs 1.38 lakh crore is the impact of Covid-19 on state revenues, the report added.

Manpreet Badal, Punjabs Finance Minister said, It cannot be my word against theirs. There is a dispute resolution mechanism under the law. Why has the Centre been unwilling to activate it for three and a half years? This sets a wrong precedent for India, to the news organisation.

Badal said that Punjab would reject the borrowing options, We do not know the math used by the finance ministry to reach these gures of Rs 97,000 crore and Rs 1.38 lakh crore. For us, this is a constitutional violation,(sic) he said.

West Bengal and Jharkhand too have rejected the options and the Opposition is looking towards Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well for support.
TOKYO, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tokyo Festival Executive Committee is holding its Tokyo Festival 2020 from Wednesday, September 30, 2020 to Sunday, November 29, 2020, in the Ikebukuro area of Toshima City in the Japanese capital. The Ikebukuro area will welcome a total of 35 diverse performing art programs, including those of the Tokyo Festival, Festival/Tokyo (F/T), the Metropolitan Theater Autumn Selection, the Toshima International City of Arts and Culture, and the Asian Performing Arts Farm (APAF) 2020. (Logo1:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106276/202009295036/_prw_PI3im_xY3QjDVJ.jpg) (Logo2:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106276/202009295036/_prw_PI1fl_Sd07A34x.jpg) (Logo3:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106276/202009295036/_prw_PI2lg_62O60tae.jpg) This year's theme is "To Meet or Not to Meet?" Tokyo Festival 2020, open to everyone, provides a place for your thoughts and mind to wander. It is part of what makes Tokyo a charming city. The festival is underway in a safe and secure manner with thorough COVID-19 preventative measures in place through cooperation from all involved. This year, to propose new performing art styles, a variety of performances will be held, including not only regular ones, but also online and VR performances. Comment by Satoshi Miyagi, General Director of Tokyo Festival "We will hold the Tokyo Festival."

"The Planning Team listened to their inner voice, which asked "Should we hold an international performing arts festival at this time...?" and we decided we had to hold the Tokyo Festival, because the real meaning of Tokyo will disappear if people in Tokyo close their mind against the outside. Due to the isolation caused by our protracted battle with an unknown virus, most of us lean towards a false dichotomy: we are eager to either divide into 'our side' or the 'enemy side.' We want to talk to someone who we agree with, and do not want to get to know someone who thinks differently to us. It is easy for us to close ourselves to 'others.' However, what are the values of Tokyo? Is it a city that welcomes everyone? A city that celebrates the diversi! ty of peo ple living there? We decided to hold the Tokyo Festival because we realized that we must not 'close the window' on this opportunity to meet with people." - Tokyo Festival 2020 Event

Name: Tokyo Festival 2020

Festival dates: September 30 (Wed.) - November 29 (Sun.), 2020

Sites: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Owlspot Theatre (Toshima Arts Center),

TOKYO TATEMONO Brillia HALL (Toshima Arts and Culture Theatre),

GLOBAL RING THEATRE (Ikebukuro Nishi-guchi Park Outdoor Theatre) and others in

the Ikebukuro area

Organizers: Tokyo Festival Executive Committee

Toshima City, Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation, Festival/Tokyo Executive

Committee, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture (Tokyo

Metropolitan Theatre & Arts Council Tokyo) - Program list (35 programs in total)

For more information about each program, please visit the program page of the

official Tokyo Festival 2020 website:

https://tokyo-festival.jp/2020/en/program/.

Contents are subject to change without notice. For details, please visit:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202009295036-O1-Y7S3xY78.pdf - Tickets

For ticket information, please refer to the ticket site on the official Tokyo

Festival 2020 website: https://tokyo-festival.jp/2020/en/ticket/ - About Tokyo Festival

Held since 2016, Tokyo Festival is an urban arts festival aimed at connecting the world through Tokyo's diverse and profound art culture. Since 2018, the festival has been jointly held by General Director Satoshi Miyagi (Director / SPAC- Director of the Arts, Shizuoka Performing Arts Center), and the directors of each project (Planning Team).

Tokyo Festival 2020 official site: https://tokyo-festival.jp/2020/en/ - Official social media accounts

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tokyofestivalsince2016/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tokyo_festival

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tokyo_festival/


In mid-2020 China revealed that its J20 stealth fighter had officially entered mass production. This was not the original J20 prematurely declared ready in 2017, but a much improved J20B. This comes two years after China admitted that production of the J20 was stalled and the manufacturer confirmed the reasons why. The details were explained on state run television, in part to help recruit the skilled workers needed to produce the J20. There is a labor shortage in China, largely because of the decades of low birth rates mandated by the one child policy. The Chinese aircraft manufacturing industry, for both military and commercial aircraft, is booming and workers able to fabricate and assemble components are in short supply. Building the J20 requires a disproportionate number of skilled workers. Parts of the fuselage are made of alloys that are particularly time-consuming to mold and then fabricate into complex structures. Many of the components come from Chinese suppliers who are still developing and perfecting their production capabilities. In general, the J20 requires a lot of exotic components and supplies are tight. China also revealed that development of the J20 has cost $4.4 billion as of 2018, and that the construction cost for each aircraft is $110 million. In addition to the manufacturing difficulties, there were performance problems with the prototypes and six production models turned over to the Chinese Air Force by 2018.

This came after a late 2017 announcement that the J20 had officially entered service. At that time, it was obvious, via aerial photos of the factory and air bases, that production of the J20 was not actually happening. The manufacturer had planned to build three a month initially but from mid-2017 to mid-2018 production turned out to have been zero. At that time there were apparently a dozen more in various stages of completion. By early 2018 it was known that there were several potential problems with the J20 production but the main ones had to do with stealth (the delicate materials on the airframe that make radar detection less effective) and engines. The most obvious problem was the engines. In 2018 the WS-10s installed were a stopgap and not efficient enough to support supercruise (go supersonic without using the afterburner).

China has had persistent problems developing high-performance jet engines. China has been developing the more powerful (and supercruise ready) WS-15 engine since the 1990s, for a larger aircraft like the J20. Despite a lot of effort, the WS-15 was still not able to work reliably enough for service (rather than a prototype) aircraft. Officials also confirmed rumors that a WS-15 exploded during a 2015 static (on the ground) test. That failure had been a secret, but when an engine this important fails by blowing up, the incident is difficult to hide. It also turned out that the WS-15 design and manufacturing problems were less difficult to fix than those encountered with other components and the skilled labor shortage.

In 2018 no date was given as to when the WS-15 would be available for use or whether it would have the same vectoring (ability to move the hot jet exhaust in different directions in order to make the fighter more maneuverable) the American F-22 uses. At first, a more powerful and reliable version of the WS-15 for J20 was believed possible by 2020, but changes in the shape and weight of the WS-15 would require modifications to the shape of the J20 which would require a lot of testing to ensure that stealth was not compromised. The factory would have to install new or modified manufacturing equipment and suppliers would have to do the same to produce the new airframe components. Apparently, all of those problems were solved by mid-2020. This included the WS-15 reliability problems.

The WS-15 saga was one of repeated disappointments and there may be more of that. Some high-performance jet engines are more reliable than others. Western engine manufacturers have been through this for decades as each now generation of engines was developed. China knows of that history and is resigned to repeating it. In 2018 it was announced that production models of the WS-15 were to be available in 2019. This was a reasonable assumption because the WS-15 has been in development since about 2003 and the first working version appeared in 2008. Based on past engine development experience the WS-15 should be ready for mass production by 2020, although the skilled labor shortage turned out to be more of a problem than anticipated. China overcame these production problems because you cant mass produce the J20B without mass production of the WS-15 engines.

There was another reason for the early 2017 announcement that at least a dozen J20s had been delivered to the Chinese air force as part of a new fighter squadron. This information was exaggerated and released to help with export sales because at the time Chinese media was reporting that Pakistan had agreed to buy J20s. Numbers were not announced and there were still questions about how effective the J20 actually is. Pakistani interest in the J20 may have more to do with the fact that China is the only major-power ally they have, their main supplier of weapons and, best of all, a neighbor. Pakistan cannot afford many $110 million aircraft and China is not known to be generous with credit or discounts when it comes to high tech gear like this.

While China began offering its 28-ton J31 fighter to export customers in 2014 (as the FC-31), it was not until 2017 that efforts were made to export the more advanced J20. The manufacturer of the J20 (CAC. Chengdu Aircraft Company) also produces the JF-17 and J-10. The JF-17 is a joint effort with Pakistan and Pakistan is the main customer. J31s are not yet ready for mass production, in part because it has some of the same production problems as the J20 and China is deliberately putting more emphasis on getting the J20 into mass production. The J31 has undergone a number of modifications and the manufacturer is trying to develop a version that could be used from Chinas new aircraft carriers.

The J20 made its first flight in 2011, a year before the J31. Before the originally scheduled mass production could begin in late 2015, eight prototypes were built. There were at least two original J20 prototypes, and in 2013 a new prototype appeared that had several modifications and is estimated to have a max weight of 37 tons. By 2018 several more prototypes have been built along with at least six production models plus over a dozen stalled on the assembly line. All of these were built with the understanding that some major (and time-consuming) refurbishing might be needed once the WS-15 engine was ready for service.

Work on the J20 began in the late 1990s, and the Chinese went forward on the assumption that it could be 25 years or more before they had a competitive stealth fighter-bomber in service. The twin engine J20 first appeared to be about the same weight class as the non-stealthy American 30-ton F-15C, but the production model was closer in weight to the F22. By comparison, the U.S. F-35A stealth fighter-bomber is a 31-ton, single engine fighter, while the twin-engine F-22 is slightly larger at 38 tons. The Russian Su-57 weighed in at 37 tons and its production is also stalled over technical issues. The Russians can make more powerful (and reliable) engines than the Chinese but are still having problems with their other techs (stealth coatings and electronics). Russia has officially put production of its Su-57 stealth fighter on hold and are suffers from some of the same production problems as the Chinese.

While the J20 looks like the American F-22 when viewed head-on, it's overall shape, weight, and engine power is closer to the older, non-stealthy American F-15C. In other words, the J20 is 20.4 meters (67 feet) long, with a wing span of 13.5 meters (44 feet). The J20 has about the same wing area as the F-15C, which is about 25 percent less than the F-22, which is a few percent larger than the F-15 in terms of length and wingspan. Worse for the J20, is the fact that its engine power is about the same as the F-15C, while the F-22 has 65 percent more power. With the afterburner turned on, the J20 has more power than the F-15C and nearly as much as the F-22. But because the afterburner consumes so much fuel you can't use more than a few minutes at a time. The afterburner also generates a lot more heat which makes an aircraft more visible to heat sensors. The J20B appears able to supercruise with a powerful enough engine, joining the F-22, Eurofighter, and Swedish Gripen as aircraft that can supercruise. The J20B appears capable of doing lots of engine-dependent things during tests or in theory that it has not been able to sustain in regular service.

The J20 has some stealthiness when it's coming at you head on. But from any other aspect, the J20 will light up the radar screen unless it has effective radar absorbing material on the exterior. For this reason, the J20 initially appeared to be a developmental aircraft, not the prototype of a new model headed for mass production. China soon made it clear that the J20 was indeed the basis for a new fighter and would go through as many design and shape changes needed to become combat ready. Based on recent Chinese warplane development projects (J-11 in particular) it was believed that the J20 had a long development road ahead of it. There were some obvious changes between the first and the later prototypes, but nothing all that drastic. Thus, it was surprising when the J20 was declared ready for service in 2017 but not so surprising when production was quietly halted because of unspecified problems. Yet the Chinese have been competent and relentless in developing complex technologies and there was no reason to believe they wont get the J20 working. That has apparently happened but that wont be confirmed until J20Bs show up in an operational J20 fighter squadron. That may take a year or two.

The J20 is only the fourth stealth warplane to fly, the others being the American F-22 and F-35, plus the Russian Su-57. The older U.S. F-117 was actually a light bomber and the B-2 was obviously a heavy bomber. While the shape of the J20 confers a degree of stealthiness (invisibility to radar), even more electronic invisibility comes from special materials covering the aircraft. It's not known how far along the Chinese are in creating, or stealing data on, these materials. China would most likely use the J20 singly, or in small groups, to seek out and attack American carriers. For the J20 to be a superior fighter capable of that, it would need electronics (including radars and defense systems) on a par with the F-35 and F-22 as well as powerful and reliable engines and effective radar absorbing materials.

The J31 and J20 are further evidence that China is determined to develop its own high-tech military gear. While China is eager to develop advanced military technology locally, it recognizes that this takes time and more effort than nations new to this expect. Thus, China is trying to avoid the mistakes Russia made in this area. That means having competing designs and developing necessary supporting industries as part of that. All this takes a lot of time and involves lots of little (and some major) failures. The Chinese are doing it right and are willing to wait until they get the military tech that is truly world class.
Faithlife announces acquisition of Wordsearch Bible from LifeWay

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Faithlife, a church technology company based in Washington state, has acquired Wordsearch Bible Software, a digital library used widely by Christian pastors across the U.S., from LifeWay Christian Resources.

As a result of the acquisition, Wordsearch will become a part of Logos Bible Software, a digital Bible study platform operated by Faithlife. Seven Wordsearch employees will also be transferring to Faithlife.

Faithlife announced its acquisition of Wordsearch in a Sept. 21 press release that said in part: Beginning immediately, Wordsearch customers will receive Logos-compatible editions of most of the titles they own in their Wordsearch library, as well as a comparable version of Logos, at no charge."

In an interview with The Christian Post, Bill Craig, LifeWays senior vice president of publishing, explained the decision to sell Wordsearch to Faithlife.

We recognized that while Wordsearch has been a tremendous tool for LifeWay and LifeWay customers, it takes a significant investment to continue to develop it as a technology tool, he said. During the COVID season, were making choices about where to make strategic investments. We believe that while Wordsearch has been a tremendous asset for Lifeway, Logos and Faithlife are in a much better position to protect the investment of our customers and their digital libraries in the future.

Weve had a tremendous relationship with our Wordsearch customers and our employees who have been Wordsearch employees for the last 10 years, for the last decade or so since Lifeway has owned Wordsearch, he added. Were pleased that Logos is prepared to care for and take care of our Wordsearch customers with the really excellent tool that Logos Bible Software is.

Phil Gons, vice president of Faithlifes Bible study products, told CP that his company was excited about the opportunity to acquire Wordsearch. It was becoming clear that the kind of Wordsearch platform in terms of technology wasnt really progressing and advancing. It was kind of reaching an end of life, he said.

We saw the acquisition as a great opportunity for us to give these folks a new home in a platform that is well supported (and) has lots of investment in technology, he said. Its a way for us to provide a great home to these longtime Bible software users.

Gons told CP that Wordsearchs transition to Logos, which has multiple phases, will take several months to complete. "The first phase was mostly complete at closing and announcement, and thats where we migrated users existing Wordsearch libraries that already have the corresponding title in the Logos library.  That was mostly done at the closing and announcement time, he said.

Wordsearch had a number of titles in their catalogs that we dont yet have in our Logos catalog. ... Weve been in the process of creating Logos versions of those new titles, he added. Our hope is to have that mostly wrapped up by the end of the year.

"Theres a third component of the migration process, and thats where we will be migrating Wordsearch users created content  the content that they created like notes, highlights, verse lists, and other kinds of user-created content.

Gons believes the acquisition will allow both LifeWay and Faithlife to focus on the areas they have developed expertise in over time. LifeWay is focusing really on their core competency and what they do really, really well which is create great materials for people, including Sunday school curriculum. Theyre a content producer and they do really, really well at that."

We can focus on building out technology and they can deliver content through our platform, he said.

Gons said he's excited about the many prospects that are opened up now that weve got this deeper relationship with them to serve the church together.

For more information on Wordsearchs transition from LifeWay to Logos, including a list of frequently asked questions, consult the Logos website.
Kendall Jenner looked like a very jolly girl as she was seen running away from a private jet in a video clip shared to Instagram on Friday.

The reality TV star was smiling from ear to ear as she wore an incredibly tight mini dress that showed off her impressive 5ft11in frame.

In her caption, the sister of Kylie Jenner talked about the importance of smiling.

Happy gal: Kendall Jenner looked like a very jolly girl as she was seen running away from a private jet in a video clip shared to Instagram on Friday

She has curves: The reality TV star was smiling from ear to ear as she wore an incredibly tight mini dress that showed off her impressive 5ft11in frame

'Something as simple as smiling can elevate your mood or even brighten someone else's day :),' said the Vogue model.

The caption began: 'In honor of #WorldSmileDay, @moon is partnering with @operationsmile to shine the light on some beautiful smile stories!

'Something as simple as smiling can elevate your mood or even brighten someone else's day :)

Smiling away: In her caption, the sister of Kylie Jenner talked about the importance of smiling

Mood booster: 'Something as simple as smiling can elevate your mood or even brighten someone else's day :),' said the Vogue model

'As I've spent more time learning and caring about my oral beauty routine with MOON, I've found the confidence to show off my smile more often. Your smile is important. What makes you want to shine yours?'

Sister Kylie hit like and added, 'Cutie.'

A man was seen walking out of the jet, but it is not known who he is.

Smile away! She added, 'Your smile is important. What makes you want to shine yours?'

Sister approved: Sister Kylie hit like and added, 'Cutie.' A man was seen walking out of the jet, but it is not known who he is

Last week the 24-year-old model showed off her sensational figure in a two-piece floral swimsuit after storming the catwalk during Milan Fashion Week.

Kendall's light green bandeau top featured straps delicately tied into bows across her shoulders.

She kept her bright orange iPhone case strategically placed over her face and captioned the snap 'nice bathroom.'

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star regularly poses in mirrors of her favorite room in the house.

Hello: The star was back to her favorite medium as she posted up in a bathroom for a selfie shared to Instagram last week

A Kendall classic: The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star regularly poses in mirrors of her favorite room in the house

Kendall is making the most of an interesting year with COVID-19 putting a halt to most international work and travel commitments.

She found solace in nature earlier this month and posted a few shots from her lakeside vacation.

Jenner recently made her Instagram Live debut to discuss politics with Jon Favreau, the former speech writer for President Barack Obama and current host of the popular politics podcast Pod Save America.

Vote: Jenner recently made her Instagram Live debut to discuss politics with Jon Favreau, the former speech writer for President Barack Obama and current host of the popular politics podcast Pod Save America

The reality star had some initial technical difficulties since she wasn't used to the format, but once things got underway the two discussed the perils of voter suppression across the country and the importance of increasing youth voting turnout.

'If you don't like what's happening in America right now, I honestly think this election is your last chance to change it,' Favreau warned.

'Voting won't elect a savior, it won't solve all our problems, but voting will give us a chance to do something about climate change, systemic racism, healthcare, and education. Voting will give us a chance to make sure that our politics isn't as f**ked up as it is right now, and that we're not all at each other's throats like we are right now.'
On October 1, the Azerbaijani armed forces used artillery in the direction of Shatvan village of the Gegharkunik region of the Republic of Armenia, as well as launched a missile attack from a combat UAVs at Mets Masrik settlement, as a result of which Gevorg Vardanyan, born in 1967, was killed and two civilians were wounded to varying degrees.

Later, the adversarys UAVs invaded the airspace of the Republic of Armenia and carried out surveillance flights near Yerevan, the capital city of the Republic of Armenia. All the UAVs were destroyed by the air defense forces.

Notably, hours from the statement of the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries on immediate cessation of hostilities Azerbaijan has opted for further escalation.

The Republic of Armenia strongly condemns these actions of Azerbaijan and considers them as a step aimed at further aggravating the conflict. We view this attempt of undermining regional security provoked and directly supported by Turkey as a response to the efforts and calls of the international community, particularly the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship to establish peace.

The military-political leadership of Azerbaijan and Turkey bears entire responsibility for further escalation of the conflict.
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Conservation projects aimed at protecting land-dwelling species could net major gains in helping species living in streams, lakes and wetlands with relatively minor adjustments, an international research collaboration that included Oregon State University has discovered.

Published today in Science, the findings are important because freshwater ecosystems host roughly 10% of all known species and one-third of all vertebrates despite comprising less than 1% of the Earth's surface.

Streams, ponds, lakes, rivers and swamps also play a key role in climate regulation and in providing food and fuel for communities around the globe.

Thanks to human-caused pressures over the last half-century - including habitat loss, overexploitation of resources, dam building and introduction of non-native species - freshwater vertebrates have seen their populations fall by about 80%, more than double the decline for marine and terrestrial vertebrate populations.

Climate change and pollution are exacerbating the problem, and scientists say new conservation approaches are needed to save freshwater ecosystems and the species that live in them. But typically, conservation efforts have focused much more heavily on land than water.

Bob Hughes, senior research professor of fisheries and wildlife in OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences, was part of a collaboration led by scientists at Brazil's University of Sao Paulo and University of Lavras and Britain's Lancaster University that analyzed more than 1,500 species in the Amazon.

The scientists looked at both terrestrial and aquatic species - including fish, dragonflies, caddisflies, birds and beetles - and ran simulations of various conservation strategies.

"When the strategies prioritized only terrestrial species, the benefit to freshwater species was on average 22% of what it was for strategies that prioritized freshwater species," Hughes said. "But when we used a joint focus, it was possible to increase freshwater benefits by as much as 600% at the expense of just a 1% drop in terrestrial benefits."

Conservation projects have generally focused on protecting species that live on land, said co-lead author Cecilia Gontijo Leal from the University of Sao Paulo and University of Lavras, and if freshwater species are considered at all, it is assumed that they will be protected incidentally - as a by-product of efforts to conserve land species.

"But we found that to address the freshwater biodiversity crisis, freshwater species need to be explicitly incorporated into conservation planning," she said.

Co-lead author Gareth Lennox of Lancaster University said the findings illustrate "a great opportunity for conservation, where protection for one species group does not require either loss of protection for others or significant funding increases."

Because conservation energy has more often been directed at land species, information is somewhat lacking on the distribution of freshwater species, the scientists say. That means one challenge in protecting those species is not necessarily knowing where they are, particularly in tropical regions.

But because a critical factor for freshwater conservation is the concept of connectivity - the surface links between lakes, wetlands and streams - the researchers developed a new method for protecting freshwater species.

"Freshwater species crucially depend on the connectivity of river systems," said Silvio Ferraz of the University of Sao Paulo. "By designing conservation reserve networks that take such connectivity into consideration, we found that freshwater protection could still be doubled in the absence of species distribution data. This shows that there are few impediments to vastly improving freshwater conservation in data-poor regions of the world."

Jos Barlow from Lancaster University stressed that the urgency of the biodiversity crisis facing humanity means that the many important and endangered freshwater species can no longer be overlooked.

"Our findings show that conservation that thinks across ecosystems and habitats can provide substantially improved outcomes compared to more narrowly focused efforts," Barlow said.

###

The research coalition also included scientists from Cornell University and Virginia Tech as well as researchers from Australia, Switzerland and Portugal.

A network of organizations in Australia, Brazil and the United Kingdom supported the work financially.
Members of the Yazidi faith are mourning the loss of Baba Sheikh Khurto Hajji Ismail, the spiritual leader of their ancient religious minority.

Baba Sheikh died Thursday at the age of 87 from health complications, his office said. He was hospitalized on Tuesday in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, for kidney and heart issues.

The Yazidis are a mainly Kurdish-speaking minority whose religion combines elements of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Islam and features a fallen angel as its central figure.

The Islamic State, which considered the Yazidis devil worshippers, overran their ancestral homeland of Sinjar in August 2014. The group killed thousands of Yazidi men and kidnapped more than 64,000 women and children in what the United Nations would later call a genocide.

More than 2,800 of the women and children taken captive in August 2014 remain missing, with many feared dead. Those who survived now live in camps scattered along northern Iraq, trapped in poverty.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, who survived captivity by the group, described Baba Sheikh as a beacon of light during a dark chapter in Yazidi history.

The Yazidi spiritual leader embodied our values of wisdom, kindness & tolerance. He led the community by example & treated Yazidi survivors with love & respect. He will be forever missed, she tweeted.

Baba Sheikh will be remembered in our history as one of the most important leaders of the [Yazidis], the advocacy group Free Yezidi Foundation wrote in a statement. His office has worked hard to help [Yazidis] maintain their identity despite the struggles and challenges our people face.

Iraqi President Barham Salih described Baba Sheikh as "one of the symbols of tolerance and coexistence in the country" and the US State Departments Bureau of Near East Affairs expressed sadness at his death.

The Yazidis secular leader, Prince Tahseen Said Ali, died in a German hospital in January at the age of 85. His son Hazem Tahsin Bek, a former member of the Iraqi Kurdish Parliament, took his place in July.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended a no-sail order for cruise lines from U.S. ports through Oct. 31, the cruise industry was already in a holding pattern until at least November. Despite the potential for a further extension in another month, Port Canaveral and at least one cruise line are prepping for the return of sailing.

Cruise lines have been under the order since mid-March as part of the CDCs efforts to battle the spread of coronavirus, but have also voluntarily suspended sailings. All member lines to trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) had earlier this summer already halted plans to get back to business until at least Nov. 1.

So now with the CDC update, the dates match, but it could have been longer.

Ahead of Wednesday nights extension, media outlets including Axios and The New York Times reported the head of the CDC wanted to halt sailings into February 2021, but acquiesced to merely a one-month extension at the behest of the White House.

"Anything is a sliver of light at this point in time, said Port Canaveral CEO Capt. John Murray, and he was critical of any extension and the CDCs take on the state of cruise safety.

Its exactly what I expected from CDC, Murray said. They have been very opposed to the cruising industry since the shutdown at the very beginning.

Cruise lines were at the epicenter of deadly outbreaks in early 2020 as the coronavirus first began to take hold, including the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined in Japan back in February, and one of the catalysts to the March shutdown of the cruise industry.

The challenge here is that since everything shut down in March, weve learned a lot about the coronavirus. Weve learned how it transmits. Weve learned how to treat it. Its still out there but its manageable and it can be managed, Murray said. And theyre proving that in Europe with the sailings over there right now. I think this was such a difficult thing at first with the CDC that theres no motivation for them to want to deal with it again and thats unfortunate for us.

Story continues

The CDC report, though, states, Cruise ships continue to be an unsafe environment with close quarters where the disease spreads easily and is not readily detected."

Through Sept. 28, the CDC report said 3,689 confirmed cases of COVID-19 or similar illness stemmed from cruise ships resulting in 41 deaths. This was from among 102 outbreaks on 124 ships, or 82% of ships within U.S. jurisdiction, the report said. Four ships still have ongoing outbreaks, the CDC said.

Recent outbreaks on cruise ships overseas continue to demonstrate that reduced capacity alone has not diminished transmission, the report said.

Part of cruise lines' plans for return to safe sailing include passenger limits, social distancing and according to a CLIA announcement in September, the requirement of a negative COVID-19 test taken between five days and 24 hours of sailing. Similar plans have been enacted by lines including Costa and MSC Cruises while recently beginning sailing in Europe.

Theres four cruise lines operating quite successfully in Europe right now and none of them were highlighted in their 29-page resort, Murray said.

On Thursday, Carnival Cruise Line announced that because of the extension, it was focusing solely on two Florida ports for its eventual return to cruise, canceling all cruises elsewhere for November and December.

As we have said throughout this pause, our return to operations will be gradual and phased in," said Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy. "While we are not making any presumptions, once cruising is allowed, we will center our initial start-up from the homeports of Miami and Port Canaveral.

Carnival, along with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, continue to have November sailings from Port Canaveral available for booking, while Disney Cruise Line and MSC Cruises have December options available.

Final itineraries and ships that will actually sail in cruisings first month, though, is not nailed down.

We dont know what ships or what rotations or anything at this point in time, Murray said.

No line can return to sailing, though, until the no-sail order is lifted, and a safety plan for sailing amid COVID-19 is approved by the CDC. And since cruise lines have to sail to at least one foreign port, destination countries have to be willing to let a ship dock and its passengers get off as well.

We dont know whats going to happen at the end of the month, Murray said. For all we know they could extend it again.

Murray said that the extension also means any actual sailing wont occur until mid- to late-November because of the time needed for the cruise lines to ramp up, but that Port Canaveral is ready.

We can get our component running very quickly, he said. Weve already given quite a bit of thought as to what would be required on a restart. Weve got Cruise Terminal 3 thats fully outfitted and ready to go. In fact if youre in there now, everythings covered in plastic just because we dont want it to get dirty before the first cruise ship arrives. We can go pretty quick.

Still, Murray said Carnivals stance to focus on Port Canaveral and Miami was proof that when people do get back on ships, the Central Florida embarkation point is one of the best options.

I firmly believe that we would be one of the first markets to start because were so much of a drive-in market and cruisings going to start with drive-in passengers, Murray said. I think weve always been in the drivers seat as far as a restart and I think todays message is clear indicator that thats they way its probably going to go.



2020 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

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ATLANTA, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With the November 3 general election approaching, Georgia Power encourages all employees to take part in the upcoming election and cast their vote. To assist employees, as well as customers, in the voting process, the company is providing voter information resources that are easily accessible for all voters. The company is also reminding employees to continue following COVID-19 safety measures closely when voting, including practicing social distancing and wearing facial coverings.

"At Georgia Power, we believe in being a citizen wherever we serve  engaging with and supporting communities across the state," said Paul Bowers, chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power. "One of the most fundamental ways our employees can continue that commitment is to get out and vote. It's important that each of us make our voices heard by casting a ballot to help shape our future, and that's exactly what we're encouraging our team to do."

The company has assembled the following sites from the State of Georgia and the Secretary of State in one place to provide voter information resources where you can find key election dates, learn how to register to vote, identify your polling location or secure an absentee ballot, and view your sample ballot.

Voter Information Resources :

State of Georgia voter resource page: www.georgia.gov/voting

Secretary of State on-line voter registration: https://registertovote.sos.ga.gov/GAOLVR/welcome.do#no-back-button

State of Georgia/Secretary of State absentee ballot registration: https://georgia.gov/vote-absentee-ballot

Secretary of State "My Voter" page https://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do

In order to vote in this year's general election, individuals must have registered by October 5. Early voting begins on Monday, October 12, and lasts through Friday, October 30. Voters are encouraged to vote early, if possible, to help with social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic and to help avoid long lines on Election Day, November 3.

About Georgia Power

Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's promise to 2.6 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (Instagram.com/ga_power).

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Linkedin Nina Larson (Agence France-Presse) Geneva, Switzerland  Fri, October 2, 2020 11:33 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48a879d 2 Business Liam-Fox,United-Kingdom,WTO,European-Union,global-trade,Brexit Free

A Briton seeking to lead the World Trade Organization vowed Thursday to hand a top WTO post to a European, even though lingering Brexit resentment is likely to deny him much EU support.

Liam Fox, Britain's first post-Brexit international trade secretary and one of five candidates remaining in the race to head the WTO, told reporters that if he wins he would appoint a European as his main advisor.

"If I become director-general, my chef de cabinet will be a European," he told a virtual briefing.

This, he said, was because if he, as a European, were to win, Europe would automatically lose one of the four deputy director-general positions that it currently holds due to regional balance requirements.

He stressed the need to ensure an "inclusive" cabinet at the top of the global trade body, adding that "we need to be clear from the outset that we will have to act as a global team if we are to deal with some of the very profound issues that face us today."

Fox meanwhile acknowledged that some European Union countries were unlikely to back a pro-Brexit British candidate amid continued anger over Britain's decision to leave the bloc.

Read also: Indonesia wants future WTO chief to support multilateral trade, developing countries

"For some, the issue of Brexit is hugely important, with a very small number believing that the United Kingdom should be punished for leaving the EU by not getting backing for any international job," he said.

The EU, which on Thursday launched legal proceedings in response to the British government's attempt to overturn parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, has yet to say who it backs in the WTO race.

Five become two

Besides Fox, there is one other man, Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri of Saudi Arabia, and three women  Amina Mohamed of Kenya, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria and Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea  still in the running.

But next week, the initial pool of eight candidates to replace Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down as the WTO director-general last month a year ahead of schedule, will be whittled down again, with just two remaining after a second elimination round.

It remains unclear whether the WTO members will ultimately agree on another leader from Europe.

There is no requirement for a regional rotation of the WTO chief position.

But there have been calls for an African to finally get a shot at running the organization, which has counted three director-generals from Europe, and one each from Oceania, Asia and South America since its creation in 1995.

The WTO aims to select a winner in November, but some have voiced fear that increasing politicization of the WTO, which relies on consensus to reach decisions, could draw out the process.

Whoever is handed the job in the end will be taking over an organization mired in multiple crises, and struggling to help members navigate a severe global economic slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
ALBANY  The Federal Communications Commission says that New York is one of just a handful of states that divert federal 911 funding to state resources and is looking for ways to discourage the practice in the future.

"The (FCC) has found New York to be a diverter of 911 fees every year since the 2009 report to Congress, and in 2018 New York continued to operate under the state law framework that provides for such diversion," the FCC said in a December 2019 report that covered fiscal 2018.

Because of that the FCC has launched a case to examine "ways to combat 911 fee diversion," which the commission says involves New York, although that assessment is due to the fact that New York does not provide the FCC with internal data.

The FCC claims that New York diverted $83 million of the $200 million in 911 fees that it collected in 2018 for uses other than the 911 systems across the state, or about 42 percent.

"Each year, the (FCC) reports to Congress on the collection and expenditure of 911 fees by states and territories," the FCC said in a statement. "These reports show that despite the critical importance of funding for 911 services, some states divert a portion of the funds collected for 911 to other purposes. Between 2012 and 2018 alone, states and other jurisdictions diverted over $1.275 billion in 911 fees to non-911 programs or to the states general fund."

The FCC has started a so-called notice-of-inquiry that will look at the effect that 911 fee diversion has on 911 services in the states that divert it. The FCC is also looking at ways that the commission can "discourage" such 911 fee diversion in the future.

"In addition, the (FCC) asks whether it could improve its annual 911 fee reporting process to further discourage fee diversion," the FCC said in a statement. "Americans place over 200 million emergency calls to 911 call centers each year."

FCC board member Michael O'Reilly said he was especially upset about New York's 911 fee diversion.

"What is unconscionable, even shameful, is that certain states hide behind labels like 'public safety' to dupe consumers and shortchange 911 call centers," O'Reilly said in a statement published on the FCC web site. "Yet, despite public reprimands and cajoling, these states simply refuse to change their diverting ways... In New York, I heard firsthand how local property taxes had to be increased at the county level to pay for 9-1-1 call answering centers to make up for the huge shortfalls in funds that were supposed to be sent by the New York State government. Similar stories can be told of the other states."

Freeman Klopott, spokesman for the state Division of Budget, said he disagrees with the FCC's findings.

New Yorks cellular surcharge is used to upgrade public safety communication systems and support emergency services operations, statewide, including through the provision of interoperable communications grants," Klopott said. "These programs are providing critical funding to help first responders at all levels of government communicate faster and respond sooner.

New Yorks cellular surcharge is used to upgrade public safety communication systems and support emergency services operations, statewide, including through the provision of interoperable communications grants. These programs are providing critical funding to help first responders at all levels of government communicate faster and respond sooner.

lrulison@timesunion.com
VANCOUVER / ACCESSWIRE / October 2, 2020 / Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX:NDM)(NYSE American:NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") has issued a Technical Report on Alaska's Pebble Project, including a revised mineral resource estimate announced in August (see Northern Dynasty August 20, 2020 news release) that establishes Pebble as the single most significant source of Rhenium in the world.

The '2020 Technical Report on the Pebble Project, Southwest Alaska, USA' dated September 30, 2020 can be accessed on www.sedar.com. According to the updated mineral resource estimate, at a 0.30% copper-equivalent cutoff,[1] the Pebble deposit contains:

2.6 million kg of Rhenium , 57 billion pounds of copper, 71 million ounces of gold, 3.4 billion pounds of molybdenum and 345 million ounces of silver within the 6.5 billion tonnes in the combined Measured and Indicated categories at a grade of 0.40% copper, 0.34 g/t gold, 240 ppm molybdenum, 1.7 g/t silver and 0.41 ppm rhenium; and

, 57 billion pounds of copper, 71 million ounces of gold, 3.4 billion pounds of molybdenum and 345 million ounces of silver within the 6.5 billion tonnes in the combined Measured and Indicated categories at a grade of 0.40% copper, 0.34 g/t gold, 240 ppm molybdenum, 1.7 g/t silver and 0.41 ppm rhenium; and 1.6 million kg of Rhenium, 25 billion pounds of copper, 36 million ounces of gold, 2.2 billion pounds of molybdenum and 170 million ounces of silver within the 4.5 billion tonnes in the Inferred category at a grade of 0.25% copper, 0.25 g/t gold, 226 ppm molybdenum, 1.2 g/t silver and 0.36 ppm rhenium.

After Pebble, the most significant deposits of Rhenium in the world exist at copper porphyry mines in Chile, including Chuquicamata (3.8 million kg) and El Teniente (2.76 million kg).[2]

Rhenium is considered a strategic metal by US Congress, the US Geological Survey, the US Department of Interior and the US military due to its primary use as an alloying metal in jet engine turbine blades, combustion chambers and exhaust nozzles - applications that rely on the metal's ductility and high melting point. Jet engine and related military applications account for ~80% of annual US Rhenium consumption, in addition to industrial applications that employ Rhenium as a catalyst - including for the production of high octane, lead-free gasoline.

Last year, the US imported 39,000 kg of Rhenium from foreign producers, while producing just 8,400 kg at six domestic mining operations. The addition of Pebble's future Rhenium production to existing domestic supply has the potential to drastically reduce US import reliance.[3]

The vulnerability of the United States' strategic metals supply chain, including Rhenium, has been identified and reinforced through a number of federal government programs and initiatives. For instance:

Presidential Order 13817, issued by President Trump in December 2017, instructs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a list of critical minerals and to develop recommendations to streamline permitting, and increase the domestic production of these critical minerals.[4]

In publishing its 'Final List of Critical Minerals 2018,' which included Rhenium among 35 critical minerals, the US Department of Interior noted: "The United States is heavily reliant on imports of certain mineral commodities that are vital to the Nation's security and economic prosperity. This dependency of the United States on foreign sources creates a strategic vulnerability for both its economy and military to adverse foreign government action, natural disaster, and other events that can disrupt supply of these key minerals."[5]

A second Presidential Executive Order, issued September 30, further emphasizes the importance of developing mines that will provide a domestic supply of these critical minerals. The order "declares a national emergency with the aim of enhancing domestic mining production and processing for critical minerals, rare earth materials" with follow up timelines to enable the "United States to broadly enhance its mining and processing capacity, including for minerals not identified as critical minerals and not included within the national emergency declared in this order. By expanding and strengthening domestic mining and processing capacity today, we guard against the possibility of supply chain disruptions and future attempts by our adversaries or strategic competitors to harm our economy and military readiness."[6]

The primary source of Rhenium around the world is mining operations based on copper porphyry deposits like Pebble, which recover Rhenium as a by-product through the treatment of molybdenum concentrates.

As proposed, the Pebble Project will produce approximately 15,000 tons of molybdenum concentrate each year over 20 years of mining and mineral processing. The Rhenium content in Pebble's molybdenum concentrate is forecast to be in the range of 900 ppm.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") for Alaska's Pebble Project was released by the lead federal regulator, the US Army Corps of Engineers ("USACE"), in July 2020 following 2 years of intensive study by 11 federal, state and local regulatory agencies, and extensive consultation with public stakeholders and Alaska Native tribes. The EIS found:

Pebble will protect the water resources of southwest Alaska;

Pebble will have no measurable impact on any fish population or fishery in the region; and

Pebble will make a profound economic contribution to the state and the nation, and particularly to the struggling Alaska Native villages in the project area.

The USACE is expected to issue a final Record of Decision for the Pebble Project this fall.

The technical information in this release was reviewed and approved by Stephen Hodgson, P.Eng., and David Gaunt, P.Geo., Qualified Persons who are not independent of Northern Dynasty. David Gaunt is also responsible for the August 2020 resource estimate.

About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset, owned through its wholly owned Alaska-based U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership ("PLP"), is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. PLP is the proponent of the Pebble Project, an initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral resources.

For further details on Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project, please visit the Company's website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com or contact Investor services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114. Review Canadian public filings at www.sedar.com and US public filings at www.sec.gov.

Ronald W. Thiessen

President & CEO

US Media Contact:

Dan Gagnier

Gagnier Communications

(646) 569-5897

Forward Looking Information and other Cautionary Factors

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. These statements include statements regarding (i) the mine plan for the Pebble Project, (ii) the social integration of the Pebble Project into the Bristol Bay region and benefits for Alaska, (iii) the political and public support for the permitting process, (iv) the issuance of a positive Record of Decision by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the ability of the Pebble Project to secure state permits, (v) the right-sizing and de-risking of the Pebble Project, (vi) the design and operating parameters for the Pebble Project mine plan, (vii) exploration potential of the Pebble Project, (viii) future demand for copper and gold, (ix) the potential partnering of the Pebble Project, and (x) the ability and timetable of NDM to develop the Pebble Project and become a leading copper, gold and molybdenum producer. Although NDM believes the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way be construed as guarantees that the Pebble Project will secure all required government permits, establish the commercial feasibility of the Pebble Project or develop the Pebble Project. Assumptions used by NDM to develop forward-looking statements include the assumptions that (i) the Pebble Project will obtain all required environmental and other permits and all land use and other licenses without undue delay, (ii) studies for the development of the Pebble Project will be positive, (iii) NDM's estimates of mineral resources will not change, (iv) NDM will be able to establish the commercial feasibility of the Pebble Project, and (v) NDM will be able to secure the financing required to develop the Pebble Project. The likelihood of future mining at the Pebble Project is subject to a large number of risks and will require achievement of a number of technical, economic and legal objectives, including (i) obtaining necessary mining and construction permits, licenses and approvals without undue delay, including without delay due to third party opposition or changes in government policies, (ii) finalization of the mine plan for the Pebble Project, (iii) the completion of feasibility studies demonstrating that any Pebble Project mineral resources that can be economically mined, (iv) completion of all necessary engineering for mining and processing facilities, (v) the inability of NDM to secure a partner for the development of the Pebble Project, and (vi) receipt by NDM of significant additional financing to fund these objectives as well as funding mine construction, which financing may not be available to NDM on acceptable terms or on any terms at all. NDM is also subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions, such as the current uncertainties with regard to COVID-19.

The National Environment Policy Act Environmental Impact Statement process requires a comprehensive "alternatives assessment" be undertaken to consider a broad range of development alternatives, the final project design and operating parameters for the Pebble Project and associated infrastructure may vary significantly from that contemplated in this presentation. As a result, the Company will continue to consider various development options and no final project design has been selected at this time.

For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com

[1] CuEQ uses metal prices of $1.85/lb for copper, $902/oz for gold and $12.50/lb for molybdenum, and recoveries of 85% for copper 69.6% for gold, and 77.8% for molybdenum in the Pebble West zone and 89.3% for copper, 76.8% for gold, 83.7% for molybdenum in the Pebble East zone. Contained metal is based on 100% recoveries. Further details on the mineral resource estimate are available in the August 20, 2020 news release. [2] https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1802/p/pp1802p.pdf [3] United States Dept of the Interior, US Geological Survey - Mineral Commodities Summaries 2020 - Rhenium [4] President of the United States, Executive Order 13817 - A Federal Strategy To Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals, December 20, 2017 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/12/26/2017-27899/a-federal-strategy-to-ensure-secure-and-reliable-supplies-of-critical-mineral [5] Department of the Interior, Final List of Critical Minerals 2018, Federal Register, May 18, 2018 (Notices) https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/18/2018-10667/final-list-of-critical-minerals-2018 [6]President of the United States, Executive Order - Addressing the Threat to the Domestic Supply Chain from Reliance on Critical Minerals from Foreign Adversaries - September 30, 2020 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-domestic-supply-chain-reliance-critical-minerals-foreign-adversaries/ SOURCE: Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/608831/Northern-Dynasty-Issues-Technical-Report-Southwest-Alaskas-Pebble-Project-Hosts-the-Worlds-Most-Significant-Rhenium-Resource
A lot of people know exactly what they like in a winebe it buttery Chardonnay, kicky Pinot Grigio or a spicy Shiraz.

For an increasing number of cocktail-curious people who are taking up home bartending in lieu of bar life, knowing what they like is a little harder. So, for the folks new to mixing spirits, we spoke with two Toronto bartending pros with a ton of wine knowledge, Danielle Yoon and Josh Lindley, to ask if our taste in wine might help us predict our ideal cocktail. And it turned out the answer is yes, experts can recommend a cocktail for nearly every wine preference, from bubbles to Burgundy.

What follows are some recipes designed for wine lovers looking to venture into spirits. Yoon advises people feel free to tweak, though, since thats the whole point of mixed drinks.

The fun part of a cocktail is that you can tailor it to yourself by adjusting it and modifying it, she says. Whereas, if you dont like a wine, thats it, you just dont like that wine.

If you like Pinot Noir....

Blood Orange Sour

11/4 oz Beefeater Blood Orange

1/2 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur

1 oz fresh lemon juice

 oz fresh blood orange juice (if out of season, other OJs OK)

1 egg white

Orange wheel (super-thinly sliced)

Method: Shake all ingredients except orange wheel in a cocktail shaker with ice. Fine strain into chilled coupe glass. Gently float orange wheel on top of the foam.

Why it works: Although it depends somewhat on where your Pinot Noir is from, its usually light in body, has a lot of acidity and is slightly tannic, so Id recommend a Gin Sour made with blood orange and elderflower for that, says Yoon, portfolio consultant at Corby Spirit and Wine. It works because its a little bitter from the tannins in the blood oranges and the elderflower gives it the florality that you expect in a lot of Pinots.

If you like Cabernet Sauvignon

Manhattan

2 oz rye whisky

3/4 oz sweet vermouth

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1 cherry (for garnish)

Method: Stir all ingredients together (except cherry) over ice in a mixing glass for 45 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass. Garnish with the cherry.

Why it Works: If someone is generally a big California Cab drinker or even an old, dusty, tannin-forward, old-world Cabernet drinker, I think a Manhattan is a reasonable jump to make, says Lindley, co-founder of Bartender Atlas . Basically barrels taste like barrels and, whether theres grapes in them or grains, theyre still going to get a little bit of that oaky warmth and a little bit of tannin, so I think thats the easiest way for a Cabernet drinker to jump into cocktails.

If you like Chardonnay

El Puente

1 1/2 oz blanco tequila

3/4 oz grapefruit juice

1/2 oz Martini Bianco vermouth

1/2 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur

Splash of mezcal

Method: Rinse a coupe glass with mezcal by swishing the liquid around the glass. Toss any mezcal out. Shake all other ingredients in a shaker for 30 seconds and strain into mezcal-rinsed glass.

Why it works: For a bigger-bodied white, I think a prefect match is a drink called El Puente from the PDT cocktail book, thats made with blanco tequila, grapefruit juice, some Martini Bianco and some St. Germain, explains Lindley, who is also currently manning the bar at a cocktail pop-up called Bitter Days in Parkdale (1320 Queen St. W.). And I feel like it gives you some of the florality and also a little bit of the acid from the grapefruit juice, plus some of the grassy notes that you get from both tequila and certain white wines.

(Recipe from The PDT Cocktail Book)

If you like Shiraz

Gin Smash

11/2 oz Malfy Gin con Limone

3/4 oz fresh lemon juice

3/4 oz simple syrup

4-8 blackberries or blueberries, depending on size

1 oz soda water

Method: In a cocktail shaker, smash up berries with syrup, lemon juice and gin. Shake with ice, then pour everything into a rocks glass and add a splash of soda.

Why it works: I use those dark berries because those are the notes youre going to find in a Shiraz, says Yoon. And if you really like the spicy punch you get from that wine, you can muddle in some fresh ginger and cloves so youre getting your spice and some acid. Overall, its a rounded cocktail thats a little softer, sweet and more lusciouslike the wine.

If you like Pinot Grigio (or a Sauvignon Blanc or a Riesling)

Phil Collins

2 oz Beefeater gin

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water)

1 barspoon green chartreuse (a teaspoon will be fine)

3 oz soda water

1 cucumber ribbon (for garnish)

Method: Add gin, lime juice, simple syrup and chartreuse to an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake for 45 seconds. Strain into tall Collins glass filled with ice. Top with soda and garnish with a slice or ribbon of cucumber.

Why it works: I put Pinot Grigio into the high-acid white category, similar to a Sauvignon Blanc or a Riesling so, for any of those super-citrussy herbaceous wines, I like to recommend a Phil Collins, which is basically a Tom Collins with a bar spoon of green chartreuse, Yoon explains. The chartreuse gives this highly acidic drink some herbal complexity.

If you adore bubbles

Daiquiri

2 oz aged white rum

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz simple syrup

Method: Shake over ice and strain into chilled coupe glass.

Why it works: Since I probably pop more cava (sparkling wine from certain regions of Spain) than any other wine at home, I thought Id handle the cocktail recommendation here. Bubbles are highly-acidic, delicate, lightly-sweet and dangerously easy-drinking. Only one cocktail matches thatthe classic lime Daiquiri, which is all of those things and more.
A microbus transporting Russian and Armenian reporters and American volunteers was shelled in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), RIA Novosti reports, citing its correspondent.

Among the passengers on the bus were reporters for Vremya Pokazhet, First Channel and RIA Novosti and the 4 journalists of Armenian television channels and a cameraman, as well as a US volunteer who is based in Yerevan.

Earlier, the journalists had visited the city of Martakert, which is currently completely empty since the shelling continues. After taping the destruction and talking to soldiers, the mass media representatives were under artillery fire on the way back to Stepanakert.

Shelling began when we were passing by the positions of soldiers while exiting Martakert. The journalists lied on the floor in the bus, and it was decided that the bus had to make a stop and we needed to hide, the RIA Novosti reporter said.

After the shelling, the person from the local press center escorting the journalists decided to return to the bus and leave the city immediately.

It is reported that there are no victims.
Men take part in morning prayers before the start of Yom Kippur at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City in 2008. (Kevin Frayer / Associated Press)

To the editor: In this dismal year, on the eve of the most holy and solemn Jewish holiday, how comforting it could have been to read some words of hope and inspiration.

Instead, the Los Angeles Times chose to print an irreverent, flippant, childish essay written by an admittedly "fallen" Jew who blames G-d for everything from COVID-19 to earthquakes to the "killing" of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

No doubt, many have asked a similar question of G-d as the one posed here by Shalom Auslander, as we watch, in agony, the country falling apart in myriad ways: "What have we done to deserve this?"

But most of us have looked inward to try to correct the problems and ensure solutions, much like L.A. Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and your editorial board did in their unprecedented, courageous and beautifully expressed mea culpa pieces on race. That would have been a more appropriate Yom Kippur message and certainly a more thoughtful and soothing one.

Marcia Kahan Rosenthal, Santa Monica

..

To the editor: I enjoyed Auslander's piece on Yom Kippur and how it's time for God to look in the mirror and take some responsibility for designing a product that was going to have major problems.

Religions and their endless numbers of rituals are just more things that continue to reinforce that we are different from each other. They cause so many conflicts between people.

It's kind of like nationalism  good for starting wars, but we need it so we can have the Olympics every four years.

Kenny Rich, Woodland Hills

..

To the editor: Auslander's opinion piece is timely and humorous, but it strains credulity. The devastations we're facing  COVID-19, extreme wildfires, police shootings, Trump administration attacks on democracy and more  are self-inflicted.

We can't blame God. We the people chose this president and the members of the Senate. We built our economy on the fossil fuels and excessive consumption that led to global warming. We created systems that militarized policing while starving schools, mental health programs, libraries, parks and other essential community services.

Story continues

The Day of Atonement is an opportunity to make tomorrow better  and if we don't, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Choral Brown, Culver City

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- An electrical engineering project manager and the Libertarian Party of Michigans political director are looking to unseat Kent County Clerk and Register of Deeds Lisa Posthumus Lyons in the November general election. Lyons, a Republican, will square off against Democrat and master electrician Devin Ortega-Furgeson as well as state Libertarian party official Jamie Lewis on Nov. 3. The winner will get a four-year term in office. This year, MLive Media Group partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information for readers. Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues. Information on all state and federal races and many of Michigans county and local races will be available at Vote411.org, an online voter guide created by the League of Women Voters. Heres background information on both candidates: Lyons , 40, is seeking a second term as the countys clerk. Before she was elected in 2016, she served six years in the state House representing portions of Kent and Ionia counties. She was unable to run again, as she was term limited. Lyons was the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018. She and running mate Bill Schuette lost to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Lyons holds a bachelors degree in agricultural and natural resources communications from Michigan State University.

Ortega-Furgeson , 57, is a U.S. Navy veteran currently working as an electrical engineering project manager. Ortega-Furgeson says he has more than 10 years in the field managing multimillion-dollar projects and has more than 15 years experience as a business owner. He is a union member and studied business and theology at Aquinas College.

Lewis , 54, is currently the political director for the Libertarian Party of Michigan. In addition to that, Lewis says he has held a variety of leadership positions in community, church and school organizations. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University. 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 where the candidates stand on some major issues, according to their responses to Vote411.org:

Why are you running for office?

Lyons:

Im proud to call Kent County my home, and am so grateful for the opportunity to serve my community. As a lifelong resident of Kent County (Alto, Bowne Township), my husband and I are now raising our four children, I have deep appreciation for the values that make Kent County a wonderful place to live, work, and serve. I am running for re-election as Kent County Clerk / Register to continue providing a strong voice for West Michigan, and to build upon my record of providing efficient, effective, and transparent leadership to Kent County residents.

Ortega-Furgeson:

I am running for office because I want to represent the voters of Kent County and make sure things run smoothly in the county. Kent County needs a leader who will focus on the training of city clerks to maintain transparent elections.

Lewis:

Politics is becoming more contentious every year. Voters say they want more choices but This is just not the right year to vote outside of the two largest parties. For those that want another choice, County Clerk is the office where you should start voting for another party. As a Libertarian, I have no vested interest in whether a Democrat or Republican wins. My interest would be in conducting efficient and fair elections where every candidate and party is treated on equal footing. As your County Clerk my interest will always be in what is best for you, the voters and residents, and not for one team over the other.

What is the greatest challenge facing the office you seek? How will you address it?

Ortega-Furgeson:

It is time for a top down changing of the status quo guard at Kent county offices! The mishandling of voting ballot bags has gone on for too long. The management of elections in Kent county starts with the Kent County Clerk. Lisa Lyons should be transparent with the number of ballot bags that have been eliminated form recount efforts due to miscount rules and broken chain of custody. Training for election workers for proper voting bag protocols is essential for the security of our democracy.

Lewis:

The purpose of Government is to protect your rights, not to restrict them. As County Clerk I will seek to make voting and all other interactions with the county to be as easy and convenient for you. No Reason Absentee voting will continue to be a huge undertaking for the office, but it is the right thing to do and I will continue to look for more ways to make voting as easy as possible for the voters of Kent County. I am a supporter of Rank Choice Voting, and will look for ways to incorporate it wherever state law allows.

Lyons:

My office is diverse: Clerk (vital records, elections), Register of Deeds (property records), and Clerk of the Circuit Court (court records). Rapidly changing technology and legislation is the common trend in each department. During my first term weve modernized our vital & land records recording technology, as well as implemented new campaign finance management software for Elections. Our next challenge will be the implementation of e-filing of court records. The recent COVID-19 shutdown proved the essential need for citizens to be able to remotely interact with the county, and Im committed to making that process easier for the end-user.

What strategies would you use to remain responsive and accountable to the public between elections?

Lewis:

Ideally, residents should have as little interaction with the county government as possible. Where residents do need to interact, I want that to be as quick, easy and painless as possible. The office will always be willing to listen to any ideas residents have to improve the voting experience. The goal is to make the office part of the background, where it is just expected that the quality and integrity of the process will be of the highest standard. If after a few years of being County Clerk no one knows who I am, that will be just fine with me. I will take it as proof I am doing an excellent job.

Lyons:

My commitment to the voters, as their elected Clerk/Register, has been to run an efficient, effective, and transparent office, one that is responsive to needs, and feedback of the residents of Kent County. In addition to serving in a public-facing office, where Im able to interact one-on-one with the Kent County residents every day, Im committed to using both traditional and new media for community outreach, making my office both accessible and responsive. I welcome any and all feedback, whenever the public is utilizing the services of one of our offices, or by phone, email, or social media.

Ortega-Furgeson:

When you are an elected official, it is your responsibility to communicate to all your constituents regularly, not just when you want to get re-elected. In todays day and age, it is easy to set up a news release on a regular basis, on a multitude of platforms.

Read more:

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Wyoming city councilman, planning commissioner vie for open 8th District seat on Kent County Commission

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The editor of one of Chinas biggest state-run newspapers has mocked Donald Trump, after both he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus.

Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the state-owned Chinese tabloid, Global Times, claimed on Twitter that the president and Ms Trump have paid the price for his gamble to play down Covid-19.

He added: The news shows the severity of the US pandemic situation. It will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection.

On Thursday evening Mr Trump announced that he and the first lady had tested positive for Covid-19, following the confirmation that his senior counselor Hope Hicks had contracted the virus.

On Wednesday, Ms Hicks travelled to Minnesota on the presidential plane Air Force One with Mr Trump and several of his aides, but none of them were pictured wearing face masks.

Following the announcement of Mr Trumps diagnosis, Sean Conley, the White House physician, said that the president and first lady are both well at this time, and added that he is expected to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.

After his diagnosis was announced, president Trump tweeted: We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately, and added: We will get through this TOGETHER!

The Global Times has repeatedly criticised Mr Trump throughout his presidency, and in recent months Mr Hu has run stories condemning the US response to the pandemic.

In articles earlier in the year, the Global Times called the US a barbaric and greedy country that doesn't care about humanitarianism and claimed that the US government has failed its people and also failed the world".

Conversely, Mr Trump has repeatedly attempted to blame the country for the virus, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, and has repeatedly referred to it as the China virus and Wuhan flu.

Concerns have been raised that the president using the phrases could lead to a rise of harassment and mistreatment of Asian Americans, according to NBC News.

In June, the US State Department labelled the Global Times, which has previously been criticised for running misinformation, and other Chinese media outlets as foreign missions controlled by the government, according to Business Insider.

The department also limited the amount of people who can work for the outlets in the US and justified the decision by claiming that in China there is long-standing intimidation and harassment of journalists, according to the New York Post.

In retaliation, China banned journalists from the The New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal from working in the country.

According to Johns Hopkins University some 7.2m people have now tested positive for coronavirus in the US and the death toll has reached 207,818, while China has recorded 90,567 cases and at least 4,739 fatalities.
BLOOMINGTON  The John H. Kraus Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 454 was described as a place where those who served their country can continue to serve their community, help fellow veterans and find camaraderie during a centennial celebration Friday.

The post, which has its home at 1006 E. Lincoln St., received its charter in May 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the commemoration until Friday. It has 512 members and is the eighth oldest VFW post in Illinois.

Two members of the Kraus family were among the more than 50 people who gathered outside the post building on a chilly morning. He was our great uncle, said Roger Kraus. He was 18 years old when he was killed in France in World War I.

Addressing the crowd, state Rep. Keith Sommer, R-Morton, said, You are Americas greatest heroes. Its not the celebrities. Its certainly not the politicians.

State Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, who joined the Illinois National Guard as a 17-year-old, said, "Post 454 has had a tremendous impact on our community."

State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, noted the many functions the post serves, from conducting Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies and providing proper U.S. flag disposal to doing community projects, serving with civic organizations and allowing community groups to have fundraisers and other events in the post building.

For Navy veteran Keith Throop of Bloomington, a member of the posts honor guard, one of the key services of the post is according military rites at the funerals of veterans.

To do the rites and hand the flag to family members and see the look on their faces always tugs at me, said Throop. It lets them know their family members service was appreciated.

Carl Haney of Normal joined the post about a year ago following his retirement after 25 years in the U.S. Air Force. Its great organization. Its a great way to meet fellow veterans and be part of the network now that I have moved back here.

Referring to his service with the Army in Vietnam, Normal Mayor Chris Koos said, I consider you all my brothers and sisters. That bond is strong.

Koos said, The work that you do for the community is appreciated. ... You served our country and continue to serve your community.

State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, emphasized, "We must continue to support our veterans, those who laid their lives on the line."

Marine Corps veteran Bill Read of Normal, who has served as post commander seven times, said the camaraderie is important but not the only reason he is a member.

I feel Im one of the lucky ones and need to give back something because I can, he said.

Photos: Volunteers help VFW Post 454 place flags at East Lawn Cemetery

Contact Lenore Sobota at (309) 820-3240. Follow her on Twitter: @Pg_Sobota

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Alcohol Consumption Rates for Women on the Rise, Including During Pandemic

Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related deaths have been increasing in recent years, according to multiple reports.

This has been especially for women, who have seen a sharper increase in alcohol-related deaths than men.

According to a recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association on Sept. 29, which focused on the changes in the levels of alcohol consumption in adults, women have also increased their alcohol consumption by 41 percent above pre-pandemic levels.

The study, which was led by Michael S. Pollard, the senior sociologist at the RAND Corporation, aimed to examine the changes in alcohol consumption in individuals across the United States. A total of 1,540 individuals were recruited for the study, ranging in age from 30 all the way to 80. Out of the entire study sample, 883 (53.6 percent) were female, and 715 (46.4 percent) of which were male.

In 2000, the rate for males was 3.6 times the rate for females (17.5 and 4.9, respectively); in 2018, the rate for males was 2.6 times the rate for females (22.6 and 8.6, respectively), the study indicated.

Weve had anecdotal information about people buying and consuming more alcohol, but this is some of the first survey-based information that shows how much alcohol consumption has increased during the pandemic, Pollard said.

This comes as there was a reported 54 percent increase in national sales of alcohol for the week ending March 21 this year compared with the same period in 2019. Online alcohol sales for the same week was 262 percent higher this year than in 2019.

The news release issued by the RAND Corporation indicated that according to the study, alcohol consumption rates increased for the overall population, as well as for women, younger adults, and non-Hispanic white individuals.

Alcohol consumption can have significant negative health consequences, so this information suggests another way that the pandemic may be affecting the physical and mental health of Americans, Pollard said.

Increasing Trend

In addition, according to data published in an Oct. 1 report by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Centers for Health Statistics (NCHS), there was a 43 percent increase in alcohol-related deaths from 2006 to 2018.

Rates overall and rates for males and females increased over the period. While rates were higher for males than females for each year, the rate of change was greater for females, resulting in a narrowing of the differences between male and female rates, the report read.

For men aged 25 and older, the rate decreased slightly from 2000 to 2005 (17.5 to 16.9 per 100,000 people). Then from 2006 to 2018, the rate increased from 16.9 to 22.6 per 100,000 peoplea 34 percent increase.

The rates for women at and over the age of 25, however, saw an increase from 4.9 per 100,000 people in 2000 all the way to 8.6 per 100,000 people in 2018. Thats a 76 percent increase from 2000 to 2018.

Moreover, compared to individuals who lived in urban areas, individuals who lived in rural areas increased at a more dramatic pace, especially in the small metro, micropolitan, and noncore areas.

If you or a someone you know is struggling with addiction, call the Al-Anon and Ala-teen hotline line on 800-356-9996 for support from a counselor. In case of an emergency, call 911.
Police are filing aggravated animal cruelty to a Newnan resident after finding a dead, malnourished puppy chained to a tree in his backyard. (Photo : Pixabay)

Police are filing aggravated animal cruelty to a Newnan resident after finding a dead, malnourished puppy chained to a tree in his backyard.

On Wednesday morning, investigators of the Newnan Police Department responded to probation compliance check on Smith Street and discovered a deceased puppy.

Puppy in Poor Condition

According to Deputy Chief Mark Cooper with the Newnan Police Department, the puppy was chained around the neck, and a rusty padlock held the chain that was attached to a tree. Bolt cutters were used to remove the chain from the animal and the tree.

The food bowl contained dirt and leaves and the water container was out of reach as the dog was constrained in the neck.

Authorities deem that the puppy had been malnourished for at least a month already. The ribs were visible and the dog had no indication of muscle or fat on her body, which are apparent signs of malnutrition.

The puppy's body was moved to University of Georgia for necropsy.

Patdrious Devoshun Meriwether,26, admitted ownership to the animal. Ask why he treated the puppy that way, he told the police "It's just a dog." Meriwether is charged with aggravated animal cruelty and violation of the Georgia firearms and weapons act.

Meriwether was arrested and sent to Coweta County Jail. He was however released on Thursday afternoon after paying the $7,900 bond.

In Georgia, aggravated animal cruelty constitutes felony and is punishable with up to five years in jail.





READ: Mother Swan "Dies from a Broken Heart" After Teens Smashed Its Nest and Eggs





Animal Cruelty Cases Filed To Woman With More Than 180 Animals

Meanwhile, in Delaware, Linda Favre, 65, was charged with several counts of animal cruelty after authorities seized more than 180 animals from her home Wednesday last week.

Favre was arrested after police officers received a tip about the deplorable conditions of the animals. A search warrant was executed and authorities found 182 cats and a dog living in her home in what authorities described as "deplorable condition."

Officials also reported that they removed one dead cat from the home, and two more cats died later.

Brandywine Valley SPCA, the state's contracted shelter provider took custody of the rescued animals.

According to BVSPCA, one dog and 118 cats were placed for adoption or moved to another shelter or rescue organization's adoption program. Sixty one cats are still available for adoption from BVSPCA.

READ ALSO: Woman Sentenced to Jail for Leaving Animals in 'Horrific Condition'





Rising Cases of Animal Cruelty

According to the Humane Society of the United States, the increasing number of animal cruelty cases reported is just "the tip of the iceberg" as a lot of cases do not get reported.

Most animal abuses that are often reported are dogs, cats, horses and livestock. People who are intentionally cruel to animals are often correlated with other crimes including violence against people.

Hoarding behavior sufferers, or those who are imposing severe neglect on animals by housing far more than they can take care of is often and indicator of people in need of social mental health services.

A study also indicates that people who intentionally abuse animals are mostly men under 30, while those who often hoard animal are likely women above 60 years old.

Animal cruelty and neglect is common across all social and economic boundaries, and are prevalent both in rural and urban areas.





READ NEXT: Bear Bile Being Promoted by China as Treatment for COVID-19





Check out more news and information on Animal Cruelty on Nature World News.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  A U.S. district judge has dismissed New Mexicos privacy claims against Google over privacy concerns, but New Mexicos top prosecutor vowed Monday to continue the legal fight to protect child privacy rights.

The judge concluded in a ruling Friday that federal laws and regulations do not require direct consent from parents when schools participate in Googles education platforms. Google had asked that the case be dismissed, saying it hasnt violated any laws as it is required only to make reasonable efforts to provide notice and obtain consent.

Under the ruling, New Mexico can amend its complaint.

The law is clear that Google must protect our childrens privacy, and we strongly disagree with the courts ruling, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas said in a statement to The Associated Press. For years massive tech companies like Google have lobbied Washington to keep themselves from being regulated, and I have no doubt that a company that has already paid millions of dollars in fines to the federal government is not putting the privacy and security of children first.

Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said Monday the company was pleased with the ruling and it will continue working with schools to protect students privacy.

The lawsuit was filed in February, citing violations of state law and the federal Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act. It followed a separate legal challenge in 2018 that alleged Twitter, Google and mobile app companies violated state and federal laws by collecting personal information through apps without consent.

The cases were initiated as public concern has escalated about whether information regarding online interests, browsing and buying habits were slipping into the hands of data brokers without consent. An Associated Press investigation in 2018 found that many Google services on Android devices and iPhones were storing user location even if users turned off location history.

In the latest New Mexico case, the state alleged Google failed to give direct notice to parents and that any notice Google provided wasnt intended for the childs parent and contains terms that no child under the age of 13 would comprehend.

While the state argues for direct notice to and consent by parents, that is not what the law and regulatory framework require, the ruling states. While this might be preferred in a perfect world, the law only requires operators to `make any reasonable effort to provide notice and obtain consent.

In considering what constitutes a reasonable effort, the court pointed to guidance from the Federal Trade Commission that recognizes many schools already seek parental consent for in-school Internet access at the beginning of the school year and that Googles G Suite for Education agreement _ to which schools commit when they use the services _ authorizes Googles data collection practices.

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

A 3D printed coronavirus model is seen in front of a displayed image of U.S. President Donald Trump in this picture illustration taken October 3, 2020. Dado Ruvic | Reuters

President Donald Trump announced in a tweet early Friday morning that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, leading to a slew of questions in the medical community about when, where and how he could have contracted it. The diagnosis has come as a surprise to some public health experts, given the steps that the White House took to keep the president and his inner circle safe, including regular testing and access to doctors. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany previously described the president as the "most tested man in America." As former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb noted this morning on CNBC: "They created a bubble around the president, and yet he still became vulnerable." So how did it happen? We asked public health experts and doctors for their take on the timeline of when the president could have been exposed, how long he might experience symptoms and where we go from here.

When was Trump exposed?

At this stage, it's all speculation. It's extremely challenging, given the limited data available, to make any hard and fast conclusions. As public health experts explain, it depends on how frequently the president was tested, the type of test he received and the timeline around when he started experiencing symptoms. There are also still some unknowns about the "early time course" of the disease, said Carl Bergstrom, a biologist and professor at the University of Washington. So even once this information becomes clearer, it may still be a challenge to map out exactly when Trump was exposed. Of course, there are a few theories that have been thrown out there.

U.S. President Donald Trump is accompanied by first lady Melania Trump while boarding Air Force One as they depart Washington on campaign travel to participate in his first presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Cleveland, Ohio at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., September 29, 2020. Carlos Barria | Reuters

Chief among them is that the president was exposed during the Supreme Court nominee announcement at the White House on Saturday. According to news reports, Notre Dame University President the Rev. John Jenkins, who was in attendance, later tested positive for Covid-19. Jenkins apologized earlier this week to the campus community for not wearing a mask or socially distancing at the event. Moreover, many of the guests, including top Trump administration officials, were photographed without masks. Another potential clue is that Hope Hicks, a close advisor to the president who traveled with him on board Air Force One several times this week, has also tested positive. But Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency medicine physician and an associate professor at Brown University, said she doesn't think it's likely that there was a transmission chain through Hicks, given that Hicks tested positive just hours before the president. "It makes far more sense they were exposed to a common vector, but really it's impossible to know." Again, there are no clear answers at this stage, public health experts stress. "I suspect the president could have been infected anytime in the past week," said Dr. Jeremy Faust, an attending physician in the Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine. "This virus is really hard to track."

U.S. President Donald Trump swings during a round of golf, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., September 27, 2020. Tasos Katopodis | Reuters

How long would it take to get a positive test result?

The results may be affected by the timing of the test. If the president was tested on the day he was infected, the result would likely come back negative. That's because there might not be enough viral particles in the nose or saliva. Often, it takes a few days after a person is initially infected  or after they develop symptoms  to get a positive result. Both Trump and the first lady have said that they're now experiencing mild symptoms, but it's unclear when that started. "It's usually about 48 hours, although there are cases where people were exposed to the virus and more quickly converted to a positive," said Faust.

What do we know about Trump's schedule?

U.S President Donald Trump poses with U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett and her family at an event to announce her as his nominee to fill the Supreme Court seat, at the White House in Washington, September 26, 2020. Carlos Barria | Reuters

In the 48 hours before he tested positive and potentially could have been contagious, the president traveled to Ohio, Minnesota and New Jersey, while accompanied by staff who did not wear masks. During those events, he may have also been in close contact with supporters who did not wear masks. On Wednesday, he traveled to a rally in Minnesota, where Hicks started to first experience symptoms. As The New York Times has reported, Trump fell asleep on Air Force One on his way back, at which point it became clear that something might be up. Several staffers started wearing masks by Thursday.

Is Joe Biden at risk?

Democratic nominee Joe Biden announced Friday afternoon that he's now tested negative for the coronavirus, after standing in proximity to the president for about two hours at the debate Tuesday night. Still, that doesn't mean Biden is in the clear.

"If you told me you were at a concert and 12 feet away from someone who later tested positive for several hours, I'd tell you to quarantine," said Ranney, the emergency physician. Ranney said Biden will likely be advised by his medical staff to take precautions, particularly if he starts experiencing any symptoms. "The guidelines are fairly clear," said Faust. "If you have an exposure, you have to quarantine 10 to 14 days, but it's less clear if after 7 to 10 days of negative testing ... you can call it off." What's not yet known is if Trump could have been infected prior to the debate. The CDC has reported that it's possible for a person infected with Covid-19 to spread the virus for at least a day or two before experiencing any symptoms. Trump has implied that he was tested before the event. Still, Chris Wallace, who moderated the debate, said in an interview with Fox anchor Bill Hemmer that the president arrived too late in Cleveland on Tuesday to get a Covid-19 test. "We don't think it's likely you can be contagious with a negative test, although it's always possible that a test was inaccurate," said Faust.

How long should the president quarantine?
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, attorneys at Hilliard Shadowen LLP and Hilliard Martinez Gonzales LLP filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to hold the United States accountable for the cross-border killings of numerous Mexican citizens. The Petitioners are the families of victims killed by United States Border Patrol agents along the nation's southern border. Victims include 15-year-old Sergio Hernandez, whose killing sparked a Supreme Court battle; Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, a 16-year-old who was shot in the back 10 times; a man who was having a picnic with his wife and daughters when he was shot by Border Patrol agents from an airboat in the Rio Grande; and 3 others.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), located in Washington, D.C., is the human-rights arm of the Organization of American States (OAS), created in 1959 "to promote and protect human rights in the American hemisphere." The United States ratified the OAS charter in 1948 and is bound to uphold its treaty obligations, including the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, which prohibits the arbitrary taking of life.



The petition alleges that U.S. Border Patrol agents systematically engage in extrajudicial killings of Mexican citizens along the U.S.  Mexico border.

The Border Patrol's "Rocking Policy" (shooting to kill in the absence of imminent threat), and the government's failure to adequately and timely investigate the shootings violate fundamental international law.

The petition also alleges that the U.S. violated international law by refusing to allow the families to obtain judicial review of these killings in U.S. courts. This past February the Supreme Court refused to allow the family of Sergio Hernandez to get judicial review by suing the individual border patrol agent. The courts had previously prohibited the families from directly suing the U.S. itself, asserting sovereign immunity to those claims.

Over 100 individuals have been killed directly by CBP agents or died in CBP custody in the last ten years alone.

This bombshell international lawsuit comes at a time of great crisis at the U.S-Mexico border, as President Donald Trump increases border security and personnel and continues a trend of militarizing the border.

The families of slain civilians and the entire Mexican nation look to the Commission to shine much needed light on the Border Patrol's toxic culture of racism, violence, and lack of oversight and accountability.

Counsel for the Petitioners, Nicholas Shadowen, said: "These tragic cases are yet another series of police killings in America that have gone largely unnoticed and wholly unredressed. The United States must be held accountable; there must be police reform in this country; and it must happen now."

"If the U.S. judicial system is so callous and broken that it disregards the lives of these innocent victims and flatly denies any reparations or remedies, then we will stand with these families and take their fight to a Court that recognizes and promotes the value of human life."

Counsel Robert Hilliard said "When the law of the land is that a U.S. law enforcement officer, while on U.S. soil, may shoot and kill an unarmed, unthreatening child, unchecked by the U.S. civil justice system, the arch of the moral universe snaps, no longer able to bend towards justice. The courage of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dissenting words resonate: "I resist the conclusion that 'nothing' is the answer required in this case." We call on this Commission to declare and find a violation of international law. What matters is the life wrongly taken, and the immensity of death."

The U.S. judicial system has failed the families whose loved ones have been killed by Border Patrol agents. The petition seeks justice and redress for the families, to press the federal government to acknowledge and reform its unlawful border policies, and to force the United States to comply with its obligations under international law.

ABOUT HMG http://www.hmglawfirm.com/

Hilliard Martinez Gonzales LLP (HMG) specializes in personal injury, mass torts, product liability, commercial and business litigation. For 35 years we have been trying cases all over the United States, exclusively on behalf of plaintiffs. Year after year, obtaining record verdicts and unparalleled settlements, our law firm proudly stands with those who have been harmed and seek justice.





ABOUT HS: https://hilliardshadowenlaw.com

Hilliard Shadowen LLP specializes in complex cases involving economic and social justice. The firm's team of experienced attorneys has steered some of the decade's landmark litigation, including the leading pharmaceutical antitrust cases and other milestone cases such as Hernandez v. Mesa, Staley v. Gilead, and the Visa/Mastercard merchant fee litigation.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Hilliard Martinez Gonzales, LLP

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A traffic camera captured a massive house explosion in Iowa on Monday after contractors hit a gas line.

Video of the frightening blast was captured by a city traffic light camera positioned near the end of Loras Boulevard in Dubuque.

The gas line had been damaged during work near the property, and luckily residents had already been evacuated by firefighters when the explosion tore through the house.

Incredibly, nobody was killed or seriously injured in the blast, which totally destroyed the house.

Footage shows an electric service crew gathering on Loras Boulevard as a fire engine from the Dubuque Fire Department waits nearby. A number of electric crewmen are standing near the home.

Crewman with Price Electric and firefighters with Dubuque Fire Department stood near Loras Boulevard after a gas leak was reported

One crewman grabs a fire extinguisher from the back of a truck, but puts it down and begins walking towards the house.

Seconds later, the property explodes in a huge ball of flame that sends glass, wood and other debris hurling through the air.

The crewman duck for cover before turning their heads to watch the smoke billow into the neighborhood. A firefighter emerges from his truck to inspect the explosion.

The house suddenly explodes, sending glass, wood and other debris into the air on Monday in Dubuque, Iowa

Chief Rick Steines said Price Electric was in the process of shutting down the gas when it ignited and caused the explosion

Chief Rick Steines with the Dubuque Fire Department said a machine struck a gas main Monday while working in the area.

He said firefighters evacuated the closest house while they waited for the gas company to arrive, KCRG reports.

Steines added the gas company, identified as Price Electric, was in the process of shutting down the gas when it ignited and caused the explosion.

'Price Electric is the contractor who was digging in the area,' Steines told KWWL. 'For some fiber optic conduit -- I believe, and that's more than likely how they struck the main.'

KWWL reports that Price Electric initially flagged the gas leak to authorities.

One firefighter was treated for a cut after the explosion, but no other crewman or neighbors were injured

One house was destroyed and others had windows blown out. A firefighter also was taken to a hospital for a cut, but suffered no serious injuries.

Michaela Cook, who witnessed the incident told KCRG that she felt the explosion from quite a distance.

'Basically I was sitting at my moms house minding my own business and then, all of a sudden, I felt the ground shake and I looked outside and I could see the fire, the smoke,' she told the publication.

The City of Dubuque urged owners of rental properties in a Facebook post to check in with tenants in the area.
As they celebrated the grand opening of a PJs Coffee of New Orleans on Friday in Spanish Fort, executives said their experience during the coronavirus pandemic has left them bullish about expansion plans in Alabama.

Weve been able to see an unbelievable amount of growth in business over the last six months, said Steve Ballard, one of three brothers who own Louisiana-based Ballard Brands, the company behind PJs. He and brother Scott Ballard, who also was on hand in Spanish Fort on Friday, said the phenomenon had left them wanting to do something entrepreneurial with the company.

However, the companys aims for Alabama go back further. In summer 2019, the company said it hoped to open as many as 45 shops in Alabama over the next few years, with the biggest concentrations in Mobile, Birmingham, Huntsville and Montgomery. First up would be three Mobile-area stores under father-and-son franchisees Harry and Dalton Dodich.

COVID-19 may have changed things up, but the general ambition is the same. The Dodiches still plan to start with three stores in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Their Spanish Fort store began a soft opening more than a month ago and reception has been strong.

Weve been doing so well here we feel like we can do more, Harry Dodich said.

The new Spanish Fort location of PJ's Coffee of New Orleans offers both drive-through service and a spacious interior.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

The location doesnt hurt: Its at the corner of Old Spanish Trail and U.S. 31, just up the hill from the east end of the Causeway and within shouting distance of I-10. In other words, its a prime spot to capitalize on commuter traffic between the Eastern Shore and Mobile.

Next up for the Dodiches is a shop they plan to build on Cottage Hill Road in Mobile. Harry Dodich said he hopes to see construction start by January, if not sooner.

David Mesa Jr., executive vice president and chief development officer for Ballard Brands, said that PJs has awarded licenses for 10 stores in Alabama. The next to open will be in Tuscaloosa, toward the end of the year, he said.

Mesa said that while the pandemic has been a challenge for locations without drive-through service, those with drive-throughs generally have seen substantial growth. I feel that weve been very fortunate in that the interest from the consumers hasnt changed, even if the patterns have, he said.

Mesa said he attributed PJs growth to three factors: It seeks to offer an upscale environment, high-end gourmet coffee and a great customer experience. He said the last means more than simply providing good customer service.

On Friday Scott Ballard had a down-home welcome for the chains newest operator.

Were a family-owned business, and welcome to the family, he said.
The post of the state commissioner for persons with disabilities (PwD) in Delhi has been vacant for five-and-a-half months. Disability rights activists want the Delhi government to fill the post so that grievances of PwD can be addressed at the earliest, especially during the Coronavirus pandemic.

After TD Dhariyals term as the state commissioner for PwD ended in December, the Delhi government gave additional charge to former bureaucrat Ramesh Negi, who was then the chairman of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights, in March. But Negis tenure ended in May and since then the post has been vacant.

In the absence of a full-time state commissioner, the staff is forwarding complaints to the respective departments for necessary action or requesting action taken reports. We are getting a lot of complaints. But we are just forwarding them to the concerned departments. If we get action taken report, we forward it to the complainant, said an official at the state commissioners office, requesting anonymity.

Also Read: With fewer admissions, 61% of Covid-19 beds in Delhi vacant

The subordinate officials dont have the power to pass any order. It is only the state Commissioner who can issue notices, summons, and hold hearings to address the grievances of people and pass orders for departments to comply. While the pandemic has been tough on people at large, it has made things extremely difficult for people with disabilities, said Dhariyal.

Social welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said, We had initiated the process to appoint a new commissioner before the assembly elections and had sent a few names to the chief secretary. As services are not under us, the selection of the new state commissioner has to be done by the committee chaired by the chief secretary.

Delhi governments chief secretary Vijay Dev said, Principal secretary home is heading the committee and the process is on.

Stressing on the need for a full-time commissioner, disability rights advocate and co-founder of Samarthyam Anjlee Agarwal cited how caregivers for PwD were listed among those eligible for a curfew pass during the lockdown after she approached the then commissioner Negi to intervene.

Also Read: 50 teams to check pollution in Delhi-NCR

The fact that there was a state commissioner for PwD, it became easier for us to get the issue addressed. The commissioner is the bridge between the disabled person and the government. An important order passed in Delhi can be replicated in other parts of the country, Agarwal said.

Dr Satendra Singh, professor at University College of Medical Sciences, said that state commissioners are the nodal authority to address concerns of people.

People with disabilities are facing problems, especially now during Covid pandemic, related to getting disability certificates, office-related matters etc. The Centre has also said that the commissioners will be the nodal officers to address all issues faced by disabled people during the pandemic. But the post is lying vacant for so many months. The government should appoint a full-time commissioner so that our grievances can be addressed at the earliest.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 02:31:16|Editor: huaxia

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ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Pro-government Yemeni security units launched a raid operation and targeted hideouts of the al-Qaida terrorist group in the country's eastern province of Maharah on Friday, a government official told Xinhua.

"The security units captured members of a terror cell after raiding their hideouts in a number of neighborhoods in Ghaydah, Maharah provincial city," the local government source said on condition of anonymity.

Intense armed confrontations broke out between the security forces and the terror elements in the area, leaving three terrorists killed, he said.

Intelligence information provided by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition helped the Yemeni security forces to raid the hideouts of the terrorists, the source added.

According to the Yemeni government official, the security forces captured a number of terrorist elements during the raid and confiscated various weapons as well as explosive devices found inside their hideouts.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) network, which mostly operates in eastern and southern provinces, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country.

The AQAP, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflict between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence in the war-ravaged Arab country. Enditem
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Rotunda Rumblings

Get used to those masks: The long-awaited results of the statewide coronavirus antibody tests show that only 1.5% of Ohioans had immunity in July. More people could possibly be immune, since current serological tests only detect antibodies for about three months after infection and the pandemic has been raging since at least March. Gov. Mike DeWine concluded that Ohio is far from herd immunity, and people will have to wear masks for awhile, Laura Hancock reports.

Breaking news from overnight: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19. The news came hours after it was revealed that top aide Hope Hicks, who traveled with Trump to the presidential debate in Cleveland Tuesday and to a rally in Minnesota Wednesday, had contracted the virus.

Holding pattern: Requirements that recipients of Ohio Medicaid work 20 hours a week are on hold, due to provisions from the federal government during the pandemic. Work requirements were supposed to go into effect Jan. 1. Its unclear when  and even if, considering Joe Biden might become president  theyll go in effect, Hancock reports.

Open up: DeWine joined Attorney General Dave Yost in calling on Energy Harbor and FirstEnergy Corp. to open their books to show whether two nuclear power plants actually need a $1.3 billion ratepayer bailout. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, Energy Harbor  a former FirstEnergy subsidiary  has refused to reveal whether the plants are profitable or not.

Clean up duty: DeWine on Thursday used his coronavirus briefing to denounce political extremists and once again, seek to reassure Ohioans that the November election will be fair and accurate. As Andrew Tobias writes, DeWine was performing some damage control after Trumps comments on the topics during Tuesdays debate in Cleveland, although he didnt elaborate on why he was addressing those topics specifically or criticize Trump.

Mail time: Despite Trumps fixation on the role unsolicited mail-in ballots may play in the November presidential election, nearly all the key battleground states, like Ohio, require voters to request an absentee ballot in order to get one. As Tobias reports, those states include Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Only Nevada, which only casts six electoral votes and is unlikely to be decisive, does universal ballot mailings.

Outside the box: Attorneys for voting-rights groups sharply criticized Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Thursday, saying he failed to follow a judges order to work closely with Cuyahoga County officials to ease congestion on Election Day, John Caniglia writes. The attorneys said in a federal court brief that they were pleased that LaRose approved an additional collection site for voters to drop off absentee ballots. But they said he hasnt offered any rationale for why he failed to consider other locations at libraries.

Portman decries hate groups: Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman on Thursday said Trump missed a good opportunity to clearly condemn white supremacy during Tuesdays debate in Cleveland, Sabrina Eaton reports. Portman urged Trump to do so unequivocally, because, as I said after the debate, there is no place in our society for hate groups of any kind.

Coal baron has black lung: Eaton writes that Robert Murray, the former CEO and president of an Ohio coal company that spent years fighting federal mine safety regulations aimed at reducing black lung disease, has filed a U.S. Department of Labor application for black lung benefits, according to a report from West Virginia Public Broadcasting and the Ohio Valley ReSource.

Stopping human trafficking: Juvenile prostitution activity continues throughout Ohio, with numerous traffickers victimizing children from Ohio within the state and other places throughout the country, the special agent in charge of Clevelands Federal Bureau of Investigation office told a congressional task force Thursday, Eaton reports. Eric B. Smith told the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence that since 2006, dozens of sex traffickers in Ohio have been convicted of federal and state charges, with some receiving life sentences.

Amazon prevails: The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Amazon.com is not liable for the death of a Lorain County high-schooler who died in 2014 from an overdose of caffeine powder promoted and purchased via the e-commerce giants website. As Pelzer reports, the ruling was based on the determination that Amazon never had control over the powder, which was sold by a third party.

Jobless claims keep rising: New filings for unemployment benefits rose last week in Ohio for the second straight week. But as Pelzer reports, the number of continued claims fell last week.

Find answers here: In the ongoing cleveland.com/Plain Dealer series Election Truth, Bob Higgs describes how optical scanners work. Theyre used in 71 of Ohios 88 counties.

11 red counties: Things are trending the wrong way with Ohios coronavirus county alert system with 11 counties now on red alert. Thats up from nine a week ago, and five two weeks ago, reports Rich Exner. This weeks red 11 are Ashland, Buter, Clermont, Hamilton, Mercer, Montgomery, Muskingum, Pike, Putnam, Richland and Scioto.

Improving Cuyahoga: Though Cuyahoga County remains on orange alert, cases have been trending in a positive direction. Cuyahoga has had fewer than half as many new cases per 100,000 in the last week than the rest of Ohio per 100,000, Exner reports, noting that it was once the other way around.

Nursing home deaths: The number of Ohio nursing home and long-term-care facility patients who have died with the coronavirus has now topped 3,000, with 58 new deaths reported in the weekly update. At least 3,046 patients of the facilities have died with COVID-19, representing 63% of the deaths statewide, Exner reports.

Thursday numbers: Ohio reported 1,327 new coronavirus cases Thursday, and 13 new deaths, Hancock reports.

Whats in a name: The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation authored by Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur that would rename the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation as the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. Adding Great Lakes to the Seaways name reflects its critical role in supporting waterborne commerce across the entire Great Lakes region, said a statement from Kaptur.

Buckeye Brain Tease

This Ohio natives resume includes a 1992 film that featured a future U.S. president in a cameo role. Who is the director and what is the movie?

Email your response to capitolletter@cleveland.com. The first correct respondent will be mentioned in next weeks newsletter.

Thanks for responding to last weeks trivia question:

An author said in 2017: Writing about my hometown is a little bit like writing about a relative. You see all of the great things about them, you love them dearly, and yet you also know all of their quirks and their foibles. What is this best-selling book, the author and the Ohio city in which it was set?

Answer: Little Fires Everywhere was set in Shaker Heights, where its author, Celeste Ng grew up. The book was adapted into an eight-episode miniseries, produced by Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, that was released on Hulu earlier this year.

Capitol Letter reader Nick Derksen of Pickerington, who is the legislative liaison for the Ohio Department of Education, was the first to respond with the full, correct answer this week. Thanks again to everyone who responded!

Birthdays

Friday: State Sen. Vernon Sykes; Dillon Barto, legislative aide to state Rep. Scott Wiggam

Saturday: Edward F. Noyes, Ohios 30th governor (1832-1890)

Sunday: State Rep. Don Jones; Ex-President Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893); Samuel Huntington, 3rd Ohio governor (1765-1817); Othniel Looker, 5th Ohio governor (1757-1845); Frank Jackson, mayor of Cleveland

Straight from the Source

If they want to pull my endorsement because I can say the words Black lives matter, it says more about them than me. I think theyre just being political.

-Ohio House candidate Sara Bitter, who lost the Cincinnati police unions support because she also supports Black Lives Matter, according to the Enquirers Cameron Knight.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
The Speech from the Throne on Wednesday September 23, 2020 was both a commentary on the state of the pandemic and how we as a country are holding up our end of flattening the curve and a restatement of many promises the Liberal government has put on the table before. Governor General Julie Payette read the nearly 7000 word Throne Speech in the Senate Chambers to a sparse number of Senators and Members of Parliament. Reiterating the warning of Canadas Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam, the Prime Ministers Office warned of the impending second wave and urged Canadians to face the invisible enemy that respects no borders together. This is our generations crossroads, Payette read. Do we move Canada forward, or let people be left behind? Do we come out of this stronger, or paper over the cracks that the crisis has exposed? This is the time to remember who we are as Canadians.

The governments planned approach to dealing with the COVID-19 crisis will be built upon four foundational pillars the speech said: fighting the pandemic and saving lives; supporting people and businesses through the emergency as long as it lasts, whatever it takes; Building back better by creating jobs and strengthening the middle class; standing up for who we are as Canadians and our values, including progress on reconciliation, gender equality, and systemic racism. This is not the time for austerity, the Governor General read. The Liberal government promised in the Speech to present an update to Canadas economic response to the COVID-19 crisis this fall which will include fiscal projections.

Public health officials have been increasingly sounding the alarm as case counts are once again climbing, especially in the four largest and hardest hit areas of the country. The daily average of new cases has been nearly triple what the daily average was a month ago. While the Throne Speech promises the federal government will do what they can to help including deploying tests as soon as they are approved, working to secure more personal protective equipment manufactured by businesses right here in Canada, creating a testing assistance response team and providing supports to businesses forced to close due local public health orders relating to outbreaks, it comes down to the individual to adhere to the public health recommendations heard repeatedly throughout the past six months: wash your hands, cough or sneeze into your sleeve, dont touch your face, stay home if you are not well, practice physical distancing, and wear a mask. Compared to the spring where the age group hit the hardest was the elderly, this second wave is being seen most in young people, those under 30, who now cumulatively outnumber the elderly according to a CBC report. The government is pledging to get vaccines to the Canadian public as soon as they are ready with investments to ramp up the capacity for distribution.

Aside from COVID-19 other health promises include the Liberals saying they will work with provinces and territories to set new national standards for long-term care and further targeted measures for personal support workers. Universal pharmacare was also in the speech with the promise to establish a national formulary to keep drug prices low.

To support businesses and people through this ongoing emergency, the Liberal government pledged to revamp the Employment Insurance program and make EI the sole provider of benefits to individuals. The revamp is promised to provide EI coverage for all including self-employed individuals and those employed through gigs as is common in the field of the arts. The speech outlined the phaseout of the popular CERB (Canadian Emergency Relief Benefits), set to expire on September 27th and the goal of moving everyone on the CERB to the expanded revamped employment insurance system. A new benefit which will pay $400 a week for up to 26 weeks  the Canada Recovery Benefit  will replace the CERB for those ineligible for EI, such as gig and contract workers. Over the coming months, the EI system will become the sole delivery mechanism for employment benefits, including for Canadians who did not qualify for EI before the pandemic, it reads. Meanwhile the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy  which sees Ottawa cover up to 75 per cent of wages for eligible businesses who have lost revenue during the crisis  will be extended until next summer. They have also committed to expanding the Canada Emergency Business Account, improving the Business Credit Availability Program, and bringing in supports for the hard-hit industries such as travel and tourism, and the arts. The Government will work with businesses and labour to ensure the program meets the needs of the health and economic situation as it evolves.

The third leg is building back better which is aimed at creating jobs and strengthening the middle class. In the Speech the government has promised the creation of one million jobs. These jobs it claims will come as a result of direct investments in the social sector and infrastructure, immediate training to quickly skill-up workers and incentives for employers to hire and retain workers. As well it promises to ramp up its Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.

Fourthly, the government identified the need for action on reconciliation, gender equality, and systemic racism. Called a she-cession by media, the pandemic has been hardest felt by women, especially low-income women. It has been nearly 50 years since the Royal Commission on the Status of Women outlined the necessity of child care services for womens social and economic equality, it said. Canadians need more accessible, affordable, inclusive, and high-quality childcare. Recognizing the urgency of this challenge, the government will make a significant, long-term, sustained investment to create a Canada-wide early learning and childcare system.

Additionally the Liberal government says it will bring in a new Canadian disability benefit modelled after the guaranteed income supplement for seniors; keep its earlier commitments to increase Old Age Security once a senior turns 75; move forward on its plan to empower municipalities to restrict or ban handguns; work to ensure all Canadians have access to high-speed internet; increase funding for rapid housing as part of its national housing strategy to address homelessness; and continue to invest in international development and work to ensure developing countries have access to a vaccine.

As expected, the Conservative party responded immediately saying they could not support the Throne Speech due mainly to the uncontrolled spending that would result from the fulfillment of the promises contained in it. The Conservatives also objected to the interference of the federal government in matters under the jurisdiction of the provinces and the fact that nothing was said to support the workers in the energy sector who have been struggling through a market crash on top of the pandemic. This the Conservatives said, would further magnify the disenchantment of western Canada.

The Bloc Quebecois as well rejected the Throne Speech on the basis of the federal governments plan to interfere in the business of the provinces. That being said, Yves-Francois Blanchetimplied that a blank cheque for healthcare within Quebec might change his mind.

The New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh responded to the speech by telling Canadians that he hears their concerns. In a $19-billion Safe Restart Agreement reached between the federal, provincial and territorial governments in July, the Liberal government committed to bring in a national paid sick leave program. If you want New Democrat party support, if you want my support, then you have to stop the proposal to cut help to Canadians who cannot get back to work and make sure you put in place paid sick leave for all Canadian workers, he said.

Late Friday afternoon it was announced that the Liberal government and the NDP had worked out a deal on the two stumbling blocks Mr. Singh identified in the Throne Speech. If what weve agreed upon is reflected in the bill thats presented on Monday, if all the same elements are still there, then we will be able to support that bill, and, yes, we will be able to support the Throne Speech, Mr. Singh said. In a brief statement on Twitter, Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez said the deal with the NDP will deliver the help that Canadians need.
By PTI

KATHMANDU: ]Seven Indians, including a woman, were arrested in Nepal on Thursday for supplying expired chocolate bars, according to the police.

A special Crime Branch team of Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, on the basis of a tip-off, raided three houses in Bafal and Kalanki areas in the outskirt of Kathmandu and seized thousands of sacks of expired chocolate bars.

There was a huge amount of expired chocolate bars in the three houses rented by the Indian nationals, Superintendent of Police at Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Office Ishwor Karki told PTI.

"The smugglers were about to change the labels on the wrappers of the imported chocolate," the senior police officer said.

The arrested Indians have been handed over to the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection Management for further legal action, Karki said.

The police have sealed all the three buildings.
According to data collected from TankerTrackers, Iran has managed to increase its oil exports significantly in September despite U.S. sanctions, Reuters reports.

The independent online service reported that, "Iranian oil exports have risen sharply in September in defiance of U.S. sanctions, three assessments based on tanker tracking showed, throwing a lifeline to the Islamic Republic and its collapsing economy."

Since the U.S. withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and unilaterally reimposed batches of economic sanctions on Iran in May 2018, Iran's crude oil exports have drastically dropped.

But information gathered by tanker tracking companies shows that Iran's oil exports are on the rise.

"Exports are way up right now. We are seeing close to 1.5 million barrels per day (BPD) in both crude and condensate this month,' Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers, told Reuters. "These are levels we haven't seen in a year and a half."

Oil tanker tracking data show that Iran's oil exports in September almost doubled compared to August, TankerTrackers data showed, and around 11 percent of the exports were ultra-light crude, known as condensate. Reuters could not independently verify the data. The range for August's exports is 300,000 to 750,000 BPD.

Data from TankerTrackers, which tracks shipments and oil storage, showed that nearly half of Iran's exports were picked up by foreign vessels via ship-to-ship transfers, making it difficult to determine final destinations.

Two other tanker tracking firms, which asked not to be named, told Reuters that their data also showed that Iran's oil exports had increased, but not as much as TankerTrackers' estimates.

One of the companies estimated that the increase in Iran's exports in September totaled about 100,000 BPD.

Before the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018, Iran's exports totaled about 2.7 million BPD, but fell to about 100 to 200 thousand barrels per day. As a result, even an increase of several hundred thousand barrels in Iran's daily export volume is a significant leap.

Iran's Ministry of Oil did not respond to Reuters' inquiry about the current volume of the country's oil exports.

Last week, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh defended the nation's efforts to increase oil exports despite U.S. sanctions, admitting that the documents related to oil sales were being forged to hide the Iranian origin of the crude oil shipments.

According to the Ministry of Oil website, Zanganeh told Majlis, the Islamic Republic's parliament, "What we export is not in the name of Iran. Export documents and shipment specifications are changed over and over again."

Meanwhile, satellite imagery has made it easier to track oil tankers, but it is still not easy to accurately assess each country's exports.

Changing the direction or volume of tanker shipments makes assessments difficult, and since the reimposition of the U.S. sanctions, the Iranian government has not provided accurate figures for its exports to OPEC, making it more challenging to estimate the country's exports.

Oil industry experts say Iranian oil tankers sometimes shut down their telecommunications messaging system, making tracking all the more difficult.
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sent shock waves through those of us across the country who respected her as a champion of womens rights, gay marriage, the LGBT community, and supporters of Obamacare among other causes.

Justice Ginsburg, named in the title of a biography, Notorious RBG, was known as a major dissenter in so many controversial Supreme Court cases over her long career, earning the respect of young and old alike for her outspoken views.

After Justice Ginsburgs death, we were very moved when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she would lie in state at the Capitol, the first woman accorded that honor. Like the similar honor given to the late Representative John Lewis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was also deserving of that national recognition, having left her indelible mark on Supreme Court cases that the period of history in which she served.

In a biography filled with Ginsburgs achievements, several major accomplishments stood out for me.

In 1973, she argued her first case before the United States Supreme Court. After the American Civil Liberties Union referred a number of sex discrimination complaints to her, she founded the ACLUs Womens Rights Project. She became the projects general counsel, as well as serving on the national board of the ACLU. At the time, she was writing the first textbook on sex discrimination law, Text, Cases, and Materials on Sex-Based Discrimination, published in 1974.

Prior to Justice Ginsburgs death, she told her granddaughter that her dying wish was that no new justice be named until after the inauguration in January 2021.

At first, Justice Ginsburgs dying wish was met with widespread bi-partisan support and accolades. But within hours of her death, President Trump said that he intended to fill Ginsburgs spot with a woman and confirm his nominee before the upcoming election, now five weeks away.

There was every likelihood that Trumps choice could undo Obama Care and other major cases and causes that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had supported over her long career. And this past weekend with the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, an arch conservative from Indiana, the fears of many may well become reality if she is confirmed.

Hearings for Judge Barrett will begin in mid-October and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised to have the voting done before the Nov. 3 election. So much for Ruth Bader Ginsburgs dying wish and the loud protestations of American voters and Democratic leaders.

So now, before the most crucial election in our history, we face the probability that Amy Coney Barrett could certainly create an earthquake of reversals, beginning with the Supreme Court hearings on Obama Care in mid November. A radio news report I heard this week indicated that Amy Coney Barrett had been outspoken about her disappointment in Justice Roberts decision to uphold Obama Care.

There is nothing we can do individually to block the nomination of this anticipated conservative justice, but collectively we can still voice our discontent for this process and this president by reaching out to our senators and representatives now and on election day in the polls. My wife already expressed her opinion to Sen. Chris Murphy and has already heard back from a staff member in his office with an offer to get her message to Sen. Murphy.

Contrary to the frustration we all may feel about the disregard for Justice Ginsburgs dying wish, we do have a voice in this democracy.

We can use our voices on absentee ballots and at the polls to possibly change the course of these next four years.

That does not mean I am telling anyone how to vote. I am instead hoping that everyone eligible to vote will overcome any concerns about whether their vote will truly count and vote for the candidate they truly believe will unite and lead the country. From my perspective, that will be the only way this election will have the impact it should have. Early voting has already begun and reports are saying that more than a million votes have been cast across18 States.

According to Stacy Abrams, former Democratic gubernatorial candidate in the state of Georgia and now the head of Fair Fight, Our votes will only count if voters believe they will make a difference. But voters have to show up. Abrams mentioned that her organization has been very encouraged by how many Georgia voters under 30 are registering, along with people of color.

Earlier this week, we witnessed one of the biggest travesties in debate history. It should have been a dignified, pre-presidential election debate, where candidates discussed Trump and Biden records, Supreme Court, Covid-19, the economy, race and violence in American cities and the integrity of the election. Instead, viewers like us witnessed a free-for-all where the president of the United States ignored rules, boundaries and the debate coordinator and hurled barbs and insults at opponent, Vice President Joe Biden.

Instead of what we heard, we needed the candidates to speak to whats really happening in America. Millions

of people are still unemployed and unable to pay their rent or mortgage, COVID-19 cases are spiking again, racial tension and violence is growing across the nation, theres little or no regard for climate change, theres warnings about how the results of the election will be handled and threats to the very democracy that Ruth Bader Ginsburg represented.

Sadly, on the very day that Justice Ginsburg was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, her legacy may have been buried with her.

Steven Gaynes is a Fairfield writer, and his In the Suburbs appears each Friday. He can be reached at stevengaynes44@gmail.com.
New Delhi, Oct 2 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday said it has filed a charge sheet against 33 people in connection with the murder of BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi in Chhattisgarh last year.

An NIA spokesperson here said that the agency filed the charge sheet on Thursday in an NIA court in Jagdalpur against 33 people, out of which six have been arrested.

Five accused in the case have already died, while 22 are still absconding.

The NIA arrested Madka Ram Tati, Bhima Ram Tati, Linge Tati, Laxman Jaiswal, Ramesh Kumar Kashyap and Haripal Singh Chauhan, all residents of Dantewada.

The case relates to an IED blast followed by indiscriminate firing on April 9 last year near Shyamgiri Village in Kuakonda Police Station of Dantewada in which Bhima Mandavi, the then sitting MLA of Dantewada, was killed by operatives of CPI (Maoist), along with four police personnel of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF).

The Maoists also looted the arms and ammunition of the security personnel killed in the attack.

NIA took over the case in March this year.

The spokesperson said with no clues available initially, break-through was achieved in the case after examining several witnesses, surrendered Maoist cadres and rigorous technical analysis.

"During the course of investigation, the NIA arrested six accused persons Madka, Bhima, Linge, Laxman, Ramesh and Haripal, who had provided shelter, food, logistic support, electric wires and steel containers to the Maoists.

"Investigation established that the decision to kill the then MLA of Dantewada was taken at Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) level meeting held in December 2018 in West Bastar," the official said.

Later, another meeting at Darbha Division Committee level, was held in the end of February, 2019, in the Gonderas Forest area of south Bastar, which was chaired by Giri Reddy a DKSZC member and in-charge of Darbha Division.

"During the meeting, as part of Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC), it was decided to kill Bhima Mandavi, along with other political leaders, police personnel and disrupt the election process. Bada Deva, Secretary of Darbha Division Committee, was made overall in-charge to carry out the objectives of TCOC," the official said.

Under the leadership of Maoist Bada Deva, cadres of CPI (Maoist) were mobilized and an IED on the Nakulnar-Bacheli road was placed near Shyamgiri village, where the annual fair was being organized.

The place was pre-decided because the Maoist leaders believed that prominent political leaders, including Bhima Mandavi would attend the annual fair scheduled on April 9.

NIA investigation also established that the top leadership of the CPI (Maoist), namely Nambala Keshava Rao, General Secretary of the banned organisation and secretary of the central committee was actively involved in the conspiracy along with Kattam Sudarshan secretary of the central regional bureau, Mallojulla Venugopal Polit Bureau and central committee (CC) member, Thippari Tirupati central committee member and secretary, CMC, Roulla Srinivas CC member and secretary, DKSZC, Hidma DKSZC member and commander, batallion Ganesh Uike DKSZC member and secretary, South Regional Committee.
(Newser)  One of President Trump's Wisconsin rallies scheduled for this weekend has been moved after local officials raised concerns about the event, given that the White House Coronavirus Task Force has labeled the area a red zone. The Trump campaign said the rally was moved from La Crosse because of a legal issue with the venue, the Hill reports, but it happened after local complaints. "The last thing we need is another spike in cases," the city's mayor had said. "We're already in that severe or high risk, and we don't need any more." Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, had called on Trump to cancel his rallies in the state or require that masks be worn. Wisconsin has the third-highest per capita increase in cases in the nation over the past two weeks, per AP. Another 2,887 new cases were reported Thursday.

story continues below

Asked why Trump would hold a rally where his administration has issued a warning about coronavirus spread, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the news media is quiet when Democrats violate social distancing guidelines. "The president believes that people have a First Amendment right to political speech," she said. "He is having a rally. People can choose whether or not to come." The La Crosse rally, scheduled for Saturday, will be moved about 175 miles to Janesville, where the virus is spreading less rapidly. Trump also plans a rally in Green Bay the same day. Wisconsin has had no limit on the size of gatherings since Republicans successfully challenged Evers' "safer at home" order early in the pandemic. (An indoor Trump rally had prompted a chilling warning.)
President Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid-19 and is quarantining with first lady Melania Trump.

Here's what happens if he begins to show symptoms and gets too sick to fulfill his role as President.

The Constitution lays out rules for succession

When Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, was hospitalized with Covid this year it underscored that there was no formal succession procedure in the UK and raised serious questions about who was leading the country. Johnson called on his foreign secretary to be deputized if he was fully incapacitated.

In the US, there are specific guidelines both in the Constitution and in federal law that dictate who takes over if Trump can't do his work. (Here's the line of succession.) But the first step is determining that a President is incapacitated -- and on this point there is very little clarity.

According to the 25th Amendment, he could make that determination himself and, with a letter to the Senate, formally hand power to Vice President Mike Pence, who would then govern until Trump informed the Senate that he was taking power back.

Here's how that looks in the 25th Amendment:

"Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President."

Ronald Reagan did this when he had cancerous polyps removed from his colon and George W. Bush did it twice when he had colonoscopies. In both cases, when the presidents were under anesthesia, they handed over power for a few hours, although Reagan disputed it was an intended use of the 25th Amendment.

The New York Times reporter Mike Schmidt recently reported that Pence was on standby to temporarily assume the powers of the presidency in 2019, when it was possible Trump would have to undergo a procedure requiring anesthesia at Walter Reed hospital, although very little is known about that situation and the White House has been guarded about details.

The Cabinet can step in

There is another clause in the 25th Amendment that's worth considering. If the President were incapacitated to such a degree that he could not temporarily transmit power, the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet could, technically, take it from him. If the vice president and a majority of the cabinet disagree, a supermajority of Congress and the Senate could vote to take it from him permanently.

This clause had in mind a President who was in a coma or suffered a stroke.

The Reagan administration drafted, but did not sign or transmit, letters to the Senate that would have taken power from Reagan after he was shot in 1981. You can see them at the Reagan Library's website.

Dwight Eisenhower, for instance, suffered a debilitating heart attack while in office in the 1950s. That was before the 25th Amendment, so there was no constitutional rule. Instead he came to an agreement with Vice President Richard Nixon about handing over power.

What if many people in the line of succession get sick?

The other element to consider is that since Covid has infiltrated the White House, it's possible, although not likely, the virus could incapacitate multiple members of the administration. Trump has been in close contact with Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has been in contact with House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

His Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has been working out of the White House and traveling to Capitol Hill to meet with senators.

The Presidential Succession Act is a law that's been in place since 1948 and it lays out a very long line of succession for the presidency "If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President."

First up is speaker of the House, although he or she would have to resign from Congress. Then comes the most senior US senator. Then it moves to the Cabinet.

And beyond plans for succession, the US has gamed out plans to keep the government functioning -- it's call continuity of government -- in all sorts of eventualities.

Obama administration Department of Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem said on CNN Friday that people should not worry about the government failing to function.

"Given the likelihood that statistically that the Trumps will be okay, they might be out of commission for a couple days I think the consequences will be more political than anything else," she said, pointing to the contingency of government planning.

"The systems are in place, they appear to be working. You're nervous because this is a time to be nervous, but in terms of the fact that Trump is not the presidency, nor is he the United States, we have plans for whatever contingency may occur."

What about the election?

One contingency that would be unprecedented in modern times is if a presidential nominee gets too sick to carry on a campaign.

Both Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden are on the ballot. People are already voting by mail and absentee, and the election will go ahead as planned.
AND then  without warning  everything changed. The Master of the Universe was brought to heel. The faceless, mysterious enemy that is Covid-19 finally ensnared Donald Trump.

There is a sense of deja vu. Has he not tempted the gods once too often? Lifes all about winning, he assured anybody who would listen down through the years. But Mr Trumps old mantra of wearing down his enemies by smashing their defences will be of little use to him this time round.

He is an older man with a weight problem and cholesterol issues. We are told his diet is not good. He has a disdain for physical exercise. In cold clinical terms, the US president has been in the at risk category for what can all too often be a fatal disease.

How this will affect his trademark gung-ho dogmatism is one of countless unanswered questions. Can he continue to be so blithely dismissive of this virus?

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Of course, should the infection be mild, it may add to his cultivated superman persona. One can almost hear him gloating Covid is but a minor irritant, something he was able to face down by sheer force of will.

But as of now there is a sense of shock; the most powerful man on the planet has not escaped the clutches of this pandemic. Out in key battleground states there will be lurking unease among some of his supporters. Could it be their messiah has got this Covid thing all wrong?

If this feeling spreads among those still uncertain about their voting intentions, it will scupper Mr Trumps re-election chances. The battle for the White House is now all about floating voters in about 12 states, where the dividing line between the president and Joe Biden is wafer thin.

These are the middle America Trumpian heartlands. If his core support starts to fray at the edges in the likes of Wisconsin, Florida and Texas, politically speaking, he is done for.

Mr Trump has politicised Covid throughout the campaign. He blatantly misused facts for personal gain. Essentially, his approach was that of the tough guy determined not to be seen as a wimp. He would see off a health scare he ridiculed as exaggerated and overblown.

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The issue of mask wearing was the ultimate symbolism of his hard-man approach. Only hours before he was confirmed Covid-positive, he taunted Mr Biden. The idea was to portray his opponent as weak and submissive in his approach to the disease.

I dont wear masks like him. Every time you see him hes got a mask. Biden could be speaking 200ft away  and then shows up with the biggest mask I have ever seen, he gloated.

Even if he makes an immediate and full recovery, can Mr Trump continue to be so dismissive of advice from health professionals? His confidence cannot but be dented, but even the mildest symptoms will be a startling reminder of his own mortality.

Those close to British prime minister Boris Johnson suggest that his confrontation with a potentially fatal illness was a life-changing experience. Mr Trump, whatever his inner mental reserves, will be no different. Right now, he will be a very worried man. Regardless of what happens, the momentum of his election campaign, has been shattered. The ripple effect  such as who else in his inner circle may have been infected  will grow in the coming days.

Mr Trumps whole style of campaigning, such as hosting large rallies, may be no longer possible. The two further debates scheduled with Joe Biden can hardly go ahead even if he is moderately unwell.

As of now, the arrival of Covid in the Oval Office cannot but boost Mr Bidens campaign. He will obviously have to recalibrate. In blunt terms, he cannot be seen to be kicking a man when hes down.

An unlikely knock-on of the diagnosis could be a newfound respect for the advice of those medics who are sentries at the gate. We have been reminded that the stealth-like Covid respects nobody, regardless of wealth and power.

In Ireland, Dr Tony Holohan is returning to the fray at an opportune time. We will surely listen to his cautionary words  and those of his team  with a new awareness of what just might lie in store for any of us.
The arrival of autumn has brought along the predicted rebound of coronavirus infections, at least in Quebec and Ontario.

On Friday, Ontario set a record for the number of new cases in one day and Quebec reported 1,000 new cases for the first time during the second wave. My colleague Dan Bilefsky and I wrote this week about the unwelcome resurgence and the return of tight restrictions in many parts of Quebec.

[Read: As Cases Surge, Pandemic Restrictions Again Descend on Quebec]

Since our article appeared, Francois Legault, the premier of Quebec, announced that the police now have the power to issue fines of 1,000 Canadian dollars to people violating measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus in the areas of the province that have been declared red zones. Officers can also call in a request for a warrant to enter the homes of people who have ignored restrictions by having visitors, and those breaking the rules can be fined.

And in Ontario, the province said on Friday that social bubbles had been put on hold and that people were asked to limit close contact to members of their households.
A Chinese online bookstore owner has reportedly been jailed for seven years for selling religious books.

Chen Yu, a Christian believer, has been found guilty of 'illegal business operations' after trading religious titles from foreign publishers through his e-commerce shop based in China, according to multiple news outlets.

Chen's sentence shows that Beijing 'is increasingly frightened by all things religious', a human rights organisation has said.

Chen Yu, a Chinese online bookseller, has reportedly been sentenced to seven years in prison after trading Chinese-language religious books that were published overseas in his home country. The above file photo shows a row of prayer books in traditional Chinese

Chen ran the Xiaomai Book Chamber (above) on Weidian, a Chinese e-commerce app boasting more than 80million vendors in 211 countries. He allegedly sold more than 20,000 books

Chen ran the Xiaomai Book Chamber on Weidian, a Chinese e-commerce app boasting more than 80million vendors in 211 countries.

With an online moniker of Zhang Xiaomai, he allegedly sold more than 20,000 books, including nearly 800 that were deemed as 'illegal publications' by Chinese authorities, reported Radio France Internationale.

According to US-based Radio Free Asia, many of the books came from the United States and Taiwan. Chen was labelled as an 'anti-China force' by police and officers also searched the homes of his customers to confiscated their purchases, the website said.

Chen was detained on September 1 last year and sentenced late last month, reported China Aid, a US human rights organisation founded by American-Chinese pastor Bob Fu.

China's law stipulates that its publishing industry must serve Socialism and be guided by Mao Zedong Thought. The above photo taken on February 20, 2013, shows a Chinese Catholic reading from a prayer book at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing

A statement from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism shows that Chen's bookshop was penalised on October 9 last year. The authority did not specify the form of penalty.

Chen's online shop is still accessible from London as of writing.

A picture circulating on social media shows that the Linhai People's Court handed Chen a seven-year prison sentence and a 200,000 yuan (22,760) fine on September 27.

The image, believed to be part of a court document, also states that police would confiscate Chen's iPhone and destroy his 12,864 'illegal' books which had been impounded by the Linhai City Public Security Bureau.

MailOnline is unable to verify the authenticity of the document independently.

Chinese priest Father Francis Liu, who shared the information on Twitter, told MailOnline that the picture came from a religious chatting group on WeChat, the Chinese equivalent to WhatsApp.

In this photo taken on June 2, 2018, a worker jumps from a truck parked in front of a church and the Chinese national flag near the city of Pingdingshan in central China's Henan province

Washington-based human rights group International Christian Concern has condemned Chen's reported sentence.

Gina Goh, the group's Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said: 'The sentence for Mr. Chen Yu shows how the Chinese government is increasingly frightened by all things religious.

'From religious symbols, Chinese couplets, to Christian books, anything that features religious elements is no longer tolerated by the Chinese Communist Party.'

All book publishers in China are subject to strict state censorship. The country's law stipulates that its publishing industry must serve Socialism and the people, and be guided by Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory.

Last year, the ruling Communist Party ordered the country's religious authorities to censor all translated versions of classic holy books to make sure that their messages would reflect the principles of Socialism.

The new editions must not contain any content that goes against the beliefs of the Communist Party, according to the country's top officials on religious matters.
A welcome banner hangs on the side of the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion on the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 27, 2020. (Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images)

Guests At Low Risk of Exposure to CCP Virus at Presidential Debate: Cleveland Clinic

The Cleveland Clinic on Friday told attendees of the first presidential debate that their risk of contracting the CCP virus at the event is low.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, the medical center that co-hosted the first of the three debates between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said guests are at low risk of exposure if they followed health protocols and precautionary measures that were in place.

As health advisor to the Commission on Presidential Debates and the host site, we had several requirements to maintain a safe environment that align with CDC guidelinesincluding temperature checks, hand sanitizing, social distancing and masking, said the Cleveland Clinic, which helped develop and enforce COVID-19 safety protocols for the debate in partnership with Case Western Reserve University.

The Clinic stressed that everyone that entered the debate hall tested negative for COVID-19 before being permitted inside, and that those traveling with both presidential candidates, including the candidates themselves, had tested negative, according to their respective campaigns.

Based on what we know about the virus and the safety measures we had in place, we believe there is low risk of exposure to our guests, the Clinic said, adding that while it is following up with the guests to address their questions and concerns, it is not believed to be necessary to test everyone again. If any guest still has a concern, the Clinic said it is willing to offer a retest.

Eric Trump and Senior Adviser to the President Ivanka Trump arrive for the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 29, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The statement came as Trump on early Friday morning confirmed that he and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19, the disease the CCP (Chinese Communist party) virus causes. The two, alongside several members of the first family, traveled to Cleveland for the Tuesday debate.

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence reported that they have tested negative for COVID-19.

As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day, Pences press secretary Devin OMalley wrote on Twitter. Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.

Biden also confirmed that neither he nor his wife, Jill, have contracted the CCP virus, which emerged from Wuhan, China, in late 2019.

Im happy to report that Jill and I have tested negative for COVID, the former vice president wrote on Twitter. Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands.
Sidra Median Al-Ghothani, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee, has been helping her brother and her neighbour's children to study while schools have been closed in Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan.  UNHCR/Shawkat Al-Harfoosh

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has launched a first-of-its kind platform providing verified information on higher education programs available to refugees worldwide.

Developed in response to needs expressed by refugee students, the UNHCR Opportunities site intends to provide a global database of reliable, up-to-date information on refugee-eligible, scholarship programs both in their current countries of asylum and abroad.

There has always been a need to centralize information on opportunities available to refugees, especially education opportunities. For most of us refugees, education is the means we use to keep hope and move forward, said Arash Bordbar, a refugee in Australia.

Having a platform where we can see different opportunities and match them with our own expertise and aspirations can change the way we can and will contribute to the societies we live in.

Only three per cent of refugees have access to higher education globally and many refugees may also not be aware of tertiary education programs available to them in their host countries or abroad. This digital platform aims to fill that gap.

As part of its education strategy, UNHCR and partners are also working to ensure that 15 per cent of young refugee women and men can access the benefits of higher education by the year 2030.

Higher education opportunities are very limited for refugees, but they are life-changing. They can help equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to live productive, fulfilling and independent lives. We hope more universities and academic institutions will come forward and offer scholarships for refugees, said UNHCRs Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs.

The Opportunities platform also aims to support the Global Compact on Refugees objectives in expanding third country solutions for refugees - alleviating some of the pressures on developing regions which are hosting 85 per cent of the worlds refugees.

Opportunities to study abroad also complement humanitarian admissions and resettlement programs by facilitating safe and legal entry of refugees to other countries. Study routes not only support their empowerment but also help with finding them long-term solutions, said Triggs.

Currently, the portal already covers some 20 programs offered by various education providers in over 60 countries, with UNHCR encouraging more universities to join the platform. Every service provider and program is verified independently by UNHCR prior to posting.

The portal will launch in two separate phases. The first phase launched this week focuses on higher education opportunities in line with UNHCRs Education Strategy and the Three-Year Strategy on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways developed by UNHCR and partners.

The second phase will launch next year and will feature third-country labor mobility opportunities for skilled refugees.

UNHCRs Opportunities portal can be accessed here: https://services.unhcr.org/opportunities/

For more information, please contact:
Newton County has yet to receive its waiver from Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts mandatory mask order, nearly a week since it submitted its application.

Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Olen Bean said the extra time has given the county an opportunity to hear from residents on both sides of the mask debate.

He said he personally hasnt fielded any calls, but County Judge Ken Weeks has heard from residents who support the waiver and others who have concerns.

The way hes been explaining it is he wants people to act responsibly, Bean said. He wants people to make up their own mind. This is not a mandate for no masks. All it is is the option for people to wear a mask.

Related: Evadale Elementary teacher dies from coronavirus

Private businesses still would be allowed to decide whether customers have to wear masks while inside the store. Bean said he also expects department heads and elected officials to be allowed to determine for themselves whether people visiting the specific county office will be required to wear a mask.

While waiting for the waiver, Newton County has stayed below 20 active cases. Only three of the 182 total positives are considered active at this time, Bean said.

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The extra time also has increased the countys confidence that there are no outstanding COVID-19 samples that could come back positive but are still waiting to be tested from the states testing clinic in September.

Residents will continue to be required to wear masks until the county has its waiver in hand.

In the meantime, nearby Jasper County also has seen its active cases fall below 20. County Judge Mark Allen said it has 19 active cases out of 764 total positives. The county must stay below 20 active cases for 30 days to be able to request a waiver. But Allen said hes answered many calls from residents who werent sure if the change in Newton County also would apply to them.

Related: Newton Co. looks to potential mask waiver

Ive had some department heads and other entities reach out and ask if the waiver has been granted, he said. Were not at the point yet where we can request a waiver from the governor. But were working on it.

He acknowledged that residents have coronavirus and mask fatigue. But he hopes that seeing the success both counties have had in keeping the number of active cases low will encourage residents to continue to be diligent.

Our people see a light at the end of the tunnel and know this is how we can get freed up, other than having a vaccine, and it is motivation and comfort, he said. If the counties around us have a large number of active cases, we know were going to have them, too. But we know were doing something right if the numbers are falling.

kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com

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Gov. Kim Reynolds announced a policy change this week to make it easier for Iowa students, teachers and business workers exposed to someone with COVID-19 to avoid a two-week quarantine, despite a surge in cases across the state.

Under the new state guidance, workers and children in day cares and schools dont have to quarantine as long as they and the infected person with whom they were in contact were consistently and correctly wearing face coverings. Only the infected person must go into isolation, while the close contacts should monitor their health.

The change breaks with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, which recommends a 14-day quarantine for anyone who is in close contact with someone who has tested positive regardless of mask use.

The Republican governor announced the relaxed guideline during a news conference where she acknowledged that rural counties in the northwest part of the state were suffering from uncontrolled community virus spread affecting all age groups.

With no public health mitigation strategies in place and old routines returning, the virus is simply spreading from person to person during the normal course of daily activities, Reynolds said.

Iowa, a state of about 3.2 million people, has been reporting an average of 800 to 900 new confirmed coronavirus cases per day in recent weeks, which gives it one of the nations highest infection rates.

The number of patients hospitalized statewide with the virus climbed Tuesday to 376, which was the highest level since late May. The increase has been driven by a surge in northwestern Iowa counties such as Osceola, Lyon and Sioux, which each have a two-week positivity rate of higher than 20%. Fifty long-term care facilities are also facing outbreaks.

Reynolds long ago rejected issuing a statewide mask mandate and has largely refused to implement stricter public health mitigation strategies since reopening the state months ago. She said Tuesday that she was sticking to her strategy of encouraging simple common-sense steps such as social distancing and hand washing, saying they were the states best defense against the virus.

Reynolds has also ordered school districts return to at least 50% in-person instruction, over the opposition of the state teachers union and school leaders in cities such as Des Moines, Iowa City and Ames. The courts have backed her mandate and all districts have reopened classrooms except Des Moines, where students have been learning virtually as the school board considers an October return.

The governor said that virus activity has ticked up as schools have reopened, and that shes heard a common frustration in recent weeks that too many students and teachers were being forced into quarantine.

In some situations they are having to quarantine a disproportionately high number of students when just a few positive cases have been identified, she said.

Reynolds and the state epidemiologist, Dr. Caitlin Pedati, said new information indicates that face coverings reduce the spread of the virus in school and business settings. They said the change in guidance was in line with similar moves in Nebraska and Wyoming, which like Iowa, have had some of the highest COVID-19 case rates in the country over the past two weeks.

The new guidance does not apply to health care or residential settings such as hospitals and nursing homes.

The governor said the change would give more flexibility to keep students in schools and had been sought by superintendents. The guidance allows people who are currently in quarantine to be released immediately as long as a face covering was worn consistently and correctly by the positive case and close contacts during exposure.

Reynolds called the policy change a great incentive to wear a mask, and she said she was encouraged by surveys showing most Iowa residents already do despite the lack of a requirement.

Were doing pretty good, she said. Im confident with the direction that were going.

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

Topics COVID-19 Iowa
A physical education teacher who had sex with his 14-year-old student has been jailed for five years.

Ben Nathan Kelly, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child under 16, during the early 2000s, in the north of regional Victoria.

The Victorian County Court heard Kelly would have sex with the 14-year-old girl before her shifts at a local KFC restaurant, news.com.au reported.

A court heard physical education teacher Ben Nathan Kelly, 41, would have sex with his 14-year-old student before her shifts at a KFC (file image pictured) in regional north Victoria

Kelly, who was ten years older than his victim, initially got the schoolgirl's number through one of her friends, the court was told on Friday.

He began having sex with the 14-year old after sending her increasingly flirty text messages.

'There was an aspect of your conduct towards your victim that could be characterised as grooming,' Victorian County Court Judge Christopher Ryan said.

The court heard the teenager would sneak to Kelly's house to have sex before her shifts at KFC.

He also once passed her a note at school that read 'I want to f*** you'.

She revealed the secret relationship to a friend years later and Kelly became concerned.

He messaged the other woman and told her if the victim committed suicide it would be her fault.

The pair began a sexual relationship in the early 2000s after Kelly started texting the 14-year-old. The victim told the court the experience left her feeling 'damaged' (file image pictured)

'This was crude attempt by you to prevent the victim's friend from revealing to others the nature of the relationship,' Judge Ryan said.

The victim, now 31-years-old, told the court she struggled with her mental health and felt 'damaged' because of what had happened with Kelly.

'It is sickening my trust was betrayed without me even realising it,' she said in a statement.

The court heard Kelly suffered from depression and was genuinely remorseful for his actions. He also pleaded guilty at an early stage of the case.

Kelly has also worked in a remote Indigenous community and donated to charities aimed at improving education in Indonesia.

The 41-year-old was placed on the registered sex offenders list for life.

He was sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail and will be eligible for parole in three years.
"It looks really bleak right now. This was a bust for the ages," said Kilduff. "The demand just isn't picking up."

Oil prices have clawed back from a crushing decline earlier this year, as the global economy shut down. Oil futures prices were even temporarily negative, as the market reacted to huge oversupply and a big drop in global demand. WTI futures fell below $40 this week and settled at $38.71 Thursday, falling 3.9% amid worries about the coronavirus and reports of a rise in OPEC output.

"If anything, they're vulnerable to falling into the low $30s. The oil market is taking Covid the hardest of all of the asset classes out there," said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital. "Demand is just not coming back, especially for jet fuel."

Analysts forecast the prices of Brent and West Texas Intermediate should rise to the low to mid-$40s per barrel, but they also see risks tilted toward another drop in oil prices.

Oil prices are expected to rise just slightly in the final quarter of the year, held back from further gains by a deep chill in global travel and a still healing economy.

Bank of America expects oil prices to remain range bound in the mid $40s to year end. "In terms of downside risks, a big second Covid-19 wave was always going to rank first, but a warm winter now ranks second given the persistent surplus in distillate fuels," according to Francisco Blanch, managing director of commodities and derivatives at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research.

Blanch expects little price movement even though he expects the oil market could move into a 4.9 million barrel a day deficit, due to OPEC cuts if demand does rise. "Yet diesel and jet fuel/kerosene make up by far the largest petroleum product group in the oil market," notes Blanch. He said that means crude oil prices cannot gain real traction until distillate demand, including jet fuel, recovers to a more normal level.

The oil industry has been cutting back on production and spending on further development. Royal Dutch Shell, for instance, is looking to slash up to 40% of the cost of producing oil and gas in an effort to preserve cash so it can overhaul its operations and focus more on renewables and power, according to Reuters.

The industry is also debating how much of the Covid-related cutbacks could be permanent.

A recent report from BP supported a longer-term view that fossil fuel demand may have already hit its limit and may not be likely to fully recover from the impact of the virus. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) recently cut back its near-term demand outlook, and now expects demand to average 90.2 million barrels a day in 2020, down 400,000 barrels a day from its last forecast and a decrease of 9.5 million barrels a day from a year ago.

"There are still these serious headwinds for oil in terms of the macro outlook," said Helima Croft, managing director and head of global commodities strategy at RBC Capital Markets. "OPEC is very focused on compliance. It's just a question to me of how much more can you get out of these producers in terms of compliance."

But news reports this week that OPEC output has risen slightly is raising a red flag. Libya production is now returning to the market, at a time when OPEC has committed to cutting back.

Croft said the agreement to cut back on production by OPEC and other producers, like Russia, will be reviewed again in December. The OPEC+ group is currently holding 7.7 million barrels off the market, but in December they are expected to return some oil to the market and hold back just 5.6 million barrels, she said.

"Looking at the concerns about a second [virus] wave, and I think about some of these OPEC issues, I think there are some downside risks," said Croft. "I think the question is can OPEC be nimble in response to a changing outlook ... It's a difficult decision but they shouldn't put 2 million barrels on the market."

Citigroup analysts said OPEC members would be hurt by another dip into the $30s or even lower, and will be looking to defend the price above that level. The analysts said they expect OPEC+ to keep a floor under prices.

"Unless there's a deep recession, we expect their mutual vulnerabilities will continue to provide the gel they need to largely keep their supply discipline intact," said Citigroup strategists. "What's more, the longer they wait, the more likely medium-term supply will flounder due to reduced capital spending."

Blanch said OPEC will have to delay the return of more oil this year, unless demand picks up into the high 90 million barrels a day, not now expected by OPEC.
There is no reason why we cant wait with this nominee to a moment that is safer, more consistent with history and gives us a chance to take a closer look at her record, Durbin said. The only, only compelling reason is that Nov. 10 hearing to eliminate the Affordable Care Act.  How do I know this? Because the president told me so. And he told America, thats exactly what hes setting out to do.
Goa Election 2022: Kejriwal hits back on Chidambaram, says Stop crying, Cong is hope for BJP, not Goans'

Hathras protest: Kejriwal joins protest, demands strictest punishment for accused

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Oct 2: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday joined the protest at Jantar Mantar against the alleged gang rape and assault of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the protesters, the chief minister said there should no politics on the incident. No rape incidents should happen in the country, Kejriwal added.

Hathras SP, 4 other cops suspended; media barred from victim's village till SIT completes probe

The young woman succumbed to the severe injuries she suffered when she was allegedly gang-raped and assaulted by four upper-caste men  later arrested  in the fields at her village in Hathras on September 14.

Yogi Adityanath warns: Rapists will be destroyed | Oneindia News

She was cremated in Hathras in the dead of the night with family members saying they were not allowed to bring the body home one last time. But police claimed they had the family's consent for the cremation.
Stem cell biotech Mesoblast's flagship treatment has suffered a regulatory setback after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) demanded further evidence of its effectiveness before granting approval.

The new demand comes despite the regulator's advisory committee voting in August that the data provided by Mesoblast supported the efficacy off its remestemcel-L treatment. The company, investors and analysts had subsequently expressed significant confidence that the product would be approved for use against acute graft-versus-host disease in children, a severe immune reaction that occurs in children after a bone marrow transplant.

Mesoblast chief executive Dr Silviu Itescu. Credit:Arsineh Houspian

However, the "complete response letter" by the FDA, which outlines the additional steps Mesoblast must take before approval, has cast fresh doubts over the future of Mesoblast's treatment. Under the new FDA recommendations, Mesoblast may need to conduct one additional randomised trial of remestemcel-L in adults or children to prove its efficacy.

Mesoblast's shares, which went into a trading halt on Thursday in anticipation of the regulatory ruling, opened 44 per cent weaker at $2.87 on the back of the news.
In a big development, Armenia has said that it "can't exclude the possibility" of Pakistani fighters on the ground fight along with "mercenaries operating in Azerbaijan".

Armenia's Deputy Foreign Minister Avet Adonts speaking to Zee News from Yerevan said," It won't be a surprise for us", recalling how in the 1990s Pakistani nationals were present when war broke in Nagorno Karabakh. He also slammed turkey for sending Jihadis to Azerbaijan explaining "this imposed or instigated war" has been "well planned jointly with Turkey".

Clashes have broken between Armenia and Azerbaijan in past few days over Nagorno Karabakh region leaving several dead and fears of spillover in the region.

Question: What is the current situation at the Armenia-Azerbaijan?

Avet Adonts: The dictatorship of Azerbaijan backed by Turkey instigated large scale war. Large scale war is taking place on the ground. On 27th of September, early morning between 6 to 7 am, they --Azerbaijan with its military instruments, the airplanes, heavy artillery, tanks all possible supply to start a massive attack towards Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire contact line between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, targeting the civilian population, capital of the area and many casualties are there. Defence forces of Nagorno Karabakh have reacted in a defensive manner, but in a targetted way but in a defensive manner to the aggression by Azeri military forces jointly with the Turkish. The military operation, defensive operations of Nagorno-Karabakh is providing security of its population, it is about 150,000 people of Armenian origin which used to live there. Its a large-scale war between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan backed by Turkey. They are expanding the geography of this war, they are approaching Armenian as well, taking into account-- on Armenian territory, the Armenia airplane has been down days ago. We have witnessed next to the capital to Armenia the drones of Azerbaijan. They were downed, but it is another attempt to provoke another escalation.

Question: What kind of global support you are getting?

Avet Adonts: The international community is well aware, this imposed or instigated war has been well planned jointly with Turkey. The situation needs a de-escalation, its very obvious. All the international community, with its leaders, are calling to de-escalate the situation. To stop the military operation, but the destination of all these urgent calls are Azerbaijan and Turkey. Why I am saying Turkey, because, Turkey is very much involved, within the military operation which has been initiated by Azerbaijan. It is a new component of part of the political map, they are practically there--helping not only politically, supporting the country politically as well in a very practical way, the military presence, weapon system, starting with the planes, ending with the drones and military personnel.

Question: Turkey's role in the situation? Is it sending Jihadis?

Avet Adonts: This is not a question, many people and media are putting up this question. It is very obvious. Not only Jihadis but mercenaries from Northern Part of Syria. They have arrived in Azerbaijan, via Turkey and Turkey was very instrumental in the recruitment process. The number is very different, starting with 1000, ending with 5000. It is very very obvious, proven that they are there, there to fight against Nagorno Karabakh people.

Question: What do you expect from India?

Avet Adonts: First of all, we value the quality and dynamics of our cooperation with India. India is very much crucial partner for Armenia, not only in our bilateral agenda but also within the region and international agenda. This is very much in line with the treaty of friendship and cooperation we are implementing jointly with India. As I mentioned in beginning, the de-escalation is very important as well as the unacceptability of this is hugely important. The joint statement produced by OSCE Minsk group-- Russia, US, France, Putin, Trump, macron, they have called for stopping the military operation and the 3rd party is very much involved, the name of 3rd party is Turkey.

Question: Reports of Pakistani support in terms of sending men on the ground? Is it true?

Avet Adonts: You know, the two countries that has supported Azerbaijan in it, within this development and that is Turkey and Pakistan. Both the countries are supporting Azerbaijan with its military and political support. Many media are reporting, Pakistani fighters have left Pakistan, and again via Turkey, they have reached Azerbaijan to join the mercenaries operating in Azerbaijan. It won't be a surprise for us. Practically it will be proven very soon.

Question: Your think, considerable possibility of Pakistani nationals on the ground?

Avet Adonts: We can't exclude this possibility, taking into account, they used to act in the same way at the beginning of 90s during the large scale war in Nagorno-Karabakh. With ceasefire agreement in 1994, these guys were there, of Pakistani origin. It would not be a surprise for us if they will be present this time as well. Since Thursday different media have been aggressively reporting the clash.


Cook County Jail Inmates Take Part In Early Voting Ahead Of Illinois Primary

An inmate at the Cook County Jail votes in the Illinois primary election in Chicago on March 7, 2020. Credit - Scott OlsonGetty Images

In late July, the Arizona Coalition to End Jail-Based Disenfranchisement, a local voting advocacy organization, mailed a small, white postcard to each person detained at the Apache County Jail in St. Johns, Arizona. It read: BEING IN JAIL DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE, and provided information about voter eligibility and how to request a ballot from a corrections officer.

A couple of days later, according to two men incarcerated at the jail, a corrections officer asked detainees to return their postcards. One of those men says the officer explained that his commander had asked for the postcards back. A third says that at least two other detainees told him that a corrections officer had taken their postcards as well.

I just handed it to them, surprised, says Christian Nasse, a 66-year-old detainee at the jail. And just put it in the memory bank that it was odd  another intimidation thing.

Nasse, who is being held at the jail pretrial on multiple charges, says by the time his card was taken, he had already requested his ballot. But when he received it, a different corrections officer warned him that he could face more charges if he voted with a prior felony convictionsomething that is true in some cases but didnt apply to Nasse, who is eligible to vote. Nasse said he eventually decided not to cast a ballot because he didnt want to risk any more legal problems. When asked whether he felt intimidated into making that decision, Nasse said yes.

When asked for comment, Apache County Jail Commander Michael Cirivello said postcards are not allowed in the jails housing units due to the inability to ensure that the cards do not contain contraband without destroying the postcard. He said a younger staff member had mistakenly allowed the cards into the housing units. (The Arizona Coalition said they were never told of this rule, nor did they see it listed in the jails rules for receiving mail.) Cirivello also said detainees are already provided information on voting in the housing units information cages, and that we at the Apache County Jail take [inmates] right to vote very seriously.

Story continues

Nasses alleged experience trying to vote in Arizonas Aug. 4 primary offers a small window into the complex set of barriers facing many of the 750,000 people in jail in this country. Like Nasse, most people in U.S. jails are eligible to vote. Many either have yet to stand trial, and so remain innocent in the eyes of the law, or are eligible for other reasons, such as serving time for lesser crimes like misdemeanors.

Its unclear how widespread voter disenfranchisement is in U.S. jails, but experts worry that the current environment creates a lot of room for error. Many U.S. jails lack voting policies, and are hobbled by major gaps in education on voter eligibility among both detainees and jail employees. While some local authorities are proactive about helping detainees access their ballots, others are not. Jails also generally lack transparency and are out of the public viewa problem that has been compounded during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many jails have suspended or restricted guest visits, including from advocacy groups that would normally visit before an election. We dont really know what the full picture is of jail-based disenfranchisement, partly because of this very decentralization, says Ariel White, an associate professor of political science at M.I.T.

These factors all combine to make access to voting in jails something of a blackbox, with inconsistencies that often render this constitutional right hard to access. Its a system that disproportionately impacts potential voters of color; for example, according to the Department of Justice, in 2018 Black people were incarcerated in jails at a rate of 592 per 100,000 Black U.S. residents, while white people were incarcerated in jails at a rate of 187 per 100,000 white U.S. residents. Five weeks before a major election, jail populations could make up a significant voting bloc, particularly in local races such as the race for sheriffthe very people who often have the discretion to facilitate voting programs. With the clock running, advocates across the country are scrambling to reach incarcerated people to make sure they have the resources they need to vote.

Sometimes problems with ballot access are only observable when there is a group or advocate serving in a watchdog role, like in Nasses case. After learning the postcards it had sent to the jail were confiscated, the Arizona Coalition to End Jail-Based Disenfranchisement sent a letter to the Apache County Sheriff and Apache County Jail Commander on Sept. 25, asking the jail to address the reports of alleged disenfranchisement of eligible voters within the facility. We have received reports indicating not only that Apache County is failing to take the steps necessary to ensure jailed voters can access the ballot, but also that jail staff have actively impeded outside efforts to assist voters held in Apache County Jail, states the letter, first reported by TIME.

Along with the taking of postcards, the coalition says they have received reports that a voter registration kiosk set up in the jail is dysfunctional, only leading users to a blank text box with no instructions. The group says they reached out to the Sheriff about addressing the issue of voter registration, but have not received a response. Soon, it will be too late: Arizonas registration deadline is Oct. 5, and the coalition urged the jail to at least make forms available by Sept. 28 and arrange for pick up of the forms by the registration deadline.

Cirivello, the jails commander, said the jail has communicated with the county recorders office over best voting procedures, trained staff on those procedures, posted information flyers for detainees and taken steps to ensure detainees can request ballots. They also pointed to the fact that the Arizona Advocacy Network & Foundation, a member of the coalition that wrote the letter, graded their jails voting policy a C in July. Cirivello wrote, While not a perfect score, it is a passing grade!

Where no one is doing anything

In the 1970s, the Supreme Court ruled eligible voters in jail cant be denied the right to vote because theyre incarcerated in the case OBrien v. Skinner. But that doesnt mean that jailed people are always given an opportunity to exercise that right.

State and local systems governing voting are often inadequateor simply dysfunctionalwhen applied to the context of jails, and end up putting a disproportionate burden on detainees to exercise their constitutional rights. For example, in the lead-up to the November 2008 presidential election, two men, Hassan Swann and David Hartfield, who were detained in Georgia at the DeKalb County Jail on misdemeanor convictions, were denied their request to receive absentee ballots at the jail, according to a federal complaint filed by the men. At the time, state law said only disabled voters could receive an absentee ballot to a location within the county other than their permanent mailing address.

The complaint stated that although the jail had put on voter registration drives and provided detainees with absentee ballot requests, country officials didnt inform Swann and Hartfield that they would not receive their absentee ballots at the jail. The county sent the incarcerated voters absentee ballots to their permanent addresses, and jail officials placed a drop box in the jail lobby for family members to drop them off. But Swann and Hartfield never ended up receiving theirs; their complaint stated the absentee ballots never arrived at their permanent addresses. And so the 2008 election came and went without the men casting their ballots.

The lawsuit charged that officials did not help the men find an alternative means to vote, thus violating their Fourteenth Amendment rights. The case never went Swann and Hartfields way: Hartfield was dismissed as a plaintiff by the district court, which sided with the state, and an appeals court ordered that the case be dismissed due to an omission Swann left on his absentee ballot application. Georgia did not change its law to allow detainees to receive absentee ballots who were incarcerated in the same county as their permanent address until 2019.



These complicatedand often unsatisfactorycivil cases often do little to move the needle, says Dana Paikowsky, an equal justice works fellow at Campaign Legal Center, one of the advocacy organizations included in the Arizona Coalition to End Jail-Based Disenfranchisement. [Courts] hold the voter to an extraordinarily high standard to prove that there is a denial, and their analysis is often disconnected from the realities of incarceration, she says. Incarcerated people are given limited access to information or communication, and many choose to represent themselves because of the cost of an attorney.

Another major problem is that many people in jail dont have the information they need to advocate for themselves. Many people who have yet to stand trial or who have been found guilty of misdemeanors dont know they are still eligible to vote. They depend on another partyoften the jail itselfto make them aware of it and create pathways to participating. And yet, the systems in place often require that voters not only recognize that theyre eligible to vote, but act proactively and persistently to access their right to the ballot.

An August report by The Appeal, an editorial project by The Justice Collaborative, compared two Georgia counties, DeKalb and Gwinnett County. A batch of emails obtained by American Oversight showed that in designing a voting procedure for detainees subsequent to the 2019 change in Georgia law, a Gwinnett county official told members of the staff that they had been advised it is the voters responsibility to ask for the opportunity to vote in the 2020 election cycle. A later email emphasized that no special announcements needed to be made. Meanwhile, in DeKalb County, the sheriff had partnered with a local NAACP chapter to run a voter registration drive in the county jail.

Its a case study for how different the process of registering and voting can be in two jails, divided only by a county line. I think that there are a lot of jurisdictions out there where no one is doing anything, Paikowsky adds. Where there arent advocates, where the local election official is not engaged and where the sheriff is not engaged.

My voice should be heard

Voting advocates agree that one of the best-case scenarios is that people find themselves in a jail with a policy that proactively helps them cast a ballot, or that partners with advocacy organizations like Arizona Coalition to End Jail-Based Disenfranchisement, that help people in jail vote.

Frank Baker, a 43-year-old detainee in Texas Harris County Jail, says he didnt know he was eligible to vote in jail until the Texas-based advocacy group Houston Justice told him so and helped him register. He wishes the jail had a better system in place to inform detainees of their right to vote without needing outside help. We wont know [we can vote] unless someone comes in and wants us to vote, Baker says. I havent been convicted My voice should be heard, even from the incarcerated state.

Since the start of their registration efforts at Harris County Jail in 2018, Houston Justice says they have registered over 2,500 voters. The Harris County Sheriffs Office touts its work with the county clerks office and Houston Justice to ensure incarcerated, eligible voters have the opportunity to vote by mail. Its a big priority for the Sheriff [Ed Gonzalez] to make sure that everyone whos eligible to vote has the ability to do [so], and weve taken steps that we think are far beyond what any other county jail in Texas is doing, Jason Spencer, a spokesperson with the Sheriffs Office, tells TIME.

In Hinds County, Mississippi, the Sheriffs office has only recently taken an active stance. Sheriffs for the most part are pretty much policy makers, and so theres no set rulebook, so to speak, thats going to regulate what every sheriff in the United States has to do, says Lee Vance, the Sheriff of Hinds County. Since Vances tenure began earlier this year, voting processes have been set up for incarcerated people at his jail. Before that, the county didnt have a system in place. I thought that wasnt fair nor was it acceptable.

Advocates say its exactly that individual subjectivity that creates such unpredictable and patchy access to voting between corrections facilities. Amani Sawari, who coordinates the Right2Vote Campaign, a national campaign that highlights marginalized voices of incarcerated people, has run into this problem before. She said, for example, that when she contacted the Kent County jail in Michigan, jail staff told her that inmates dont vote here, even after acknowledging to her that pretrial detainees were being held at the jail.

In response to an inquiry on the call and the jails voting policies, Kent County Correctional Facility Captain Klint Thorne said the inmate handbook gives incarcerated people awaiting arraignment guidance on how to request an absentee ballot application, and he said the jail had recently partnered with a local advocacy group to help get eligible voters in their jail registered. Without more information available to identify the staff member and follow up with them directly for more details, it is difficult to fully comment on the context of that phone conversation, he wrote in an email, adding eligible inmates are able to request an absentee ballot while confined.

The Maricopa County Estrella Jail in Phoenix, AZ on March 21, 2020. Ross D. FranklinAP

The Arizona Coalition to End Jail-Based Disenfranchisement, which sent the postcards to Apache County Jail, works across the state to fill these kinds of gaps. Adrienne Carmack, the deputy director of Arizona Advocacy Network & Foundation, a member of the coalition, says that even after developing jail-based voting procedures in partnership with the Maricopa County Recorders Office in the fall of 2019, it was months before the Sheriffs Office made time to meet with them.

When The Arizona Coalition and the Sheriffs Office finally did sit down in January, the Coalition was told that there wasnt enough time to implement the procedures before the March presidential primary. (A report released by the Arizona Coalition in July found that of the 2,700 Democratic voters the group estimated were in Arizona jails in March who would have been eligible to cast a ballot in the Democratic presidential primary, only seven people voted.) Since then, the Coalition says, the Sheriffs Office has been uncooperative about adopting their voting plan.

When asked for comment, the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office said it has updated its election information and awareness efforts through the use of tablets in the jail in partnership with the Maricopa County Recorders Office and Elections Department. MCSO always has and will continue our support of those who wish to exercise their constitutional right to take part in the election process, the Sheriffs Office said.

Its impossible to know what every jail across the country is or isnt doing to help detainees access the vote in the days ahead of this critical election. And that, advocates say, is why better state policies need to be implemented so something as fundamental as the constitutional right to vote isnt left up to the priorities of one jails administration.

In some cases its not necessarily malice, its about priorities, says Christopher Uggen, a professor of sociology and law at the University of Minnesota and the co-author of Locked Out: Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy. [It] is jarring to think that something as fundamental as the right to vote can come down to essentially the whim of a [local] official, he says. Thats not the way voting is supposed to work.
A day before Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, Cornell researchers published a study that found the U.S. president was likely the largest driver of COVID-19 misinformation.

Im not sure we need a team of PhDs to analyze 36 million news stories to know what is already crystal clear: Trump is a superspreader of lies. If he told you it was 100 per cent going to be sunny, youd politely nod and then leave the house with an umbrella and galoshes.

But now that Trump and wife Melania are infected with a dangerous virus he once called a hoax, Im questioning my own humanity. I should be sending thoughts and prayers. I should cling to a potential silver lining: maybe the brainwashed cultists in Trumpville will now take this pandemic more seriously and mask up and abide by social distancing. Maybe theyll start caring for others.

Maybe they will realize slamming the window on science is opening the door to harm. Maybe they will stop politicizing medicine. Maybe they will start listening to experts. Maybe they will crawl out of their conspiratorial swamps. After sleepwalking through COVID-19, maybe this is the wake-up call.

But all I can do is shake my head at the grim irony.

I havent had this many mixed feelings since The New WKRP in Cincinnati.

As comedian Paul F. Tompkins observed: Wishing harm, sickness or death on someone, even a bad person, is petty & small. BUT: it is genuinely & extremely funny that Trump got COVID. Its objectively funny. He downplayed it & mishandled it & thousands of people died. Now he has it. Its funny!

I dont think its funny. But the schadenfreude and jokes were definitely flowing as celebrities reacted.

Cardi B: BET YOU WANNA wear a mask now.

Michael Rapaport: Bleach it out.

Whitney Cummings: I dont get how Melania got it  shes been social distancing from trump since they got married.

Ice T: Can I say Karmas a Bitch..

Bradley Whitford: The Presidents arrogant, cynical, irresponsible denial of the deadly disease he now has is the most devastating self own in human history.

Its hard to argue with that last one. Thats why sympathy is so elusive.

Am I supposed to feel sorry for Donald Trump? I want to feel sorry for Donald Trump. But I dont feel sorry for Donald Trump. Lets get real: he has no one to blame but himself. Instead of leading by example, he followed his own narcissism. Instead of rising to the occasion, he tumbled into a lethal abyss. Instead of telling everyone to do whats right, he put on a daily clinic of horrific wrong.

Trump has mocked Joe Bidens noble embrace of masks. He has selfishly held rallies during a contagion, which is like organizing a walking tour during an earthquake. He has belittled his own scientists and consistently traded public health for personal ambition. He has promoted quackery, put a shotgun in the mouth of reality and waved off this pandemic like it was gnat at a picnic.

As Trump goes into quarantine, his symptoms are reportedly mild. But given his age, weight and the fact his body is about 80 per cent KFC, he could very well endure severe symptoms in the days ahead. Again, I want my heart to go out. But my heart is not having it. If someone repeatedly denies gravity and then jumps off a skyscraper, all you can do is shake your head upon the sound of impact.

What I do hope is that as Trump recovers  and he will be receiving the best medical care on the planet  he has a come-to-Jesus epiphany. Granted, its a long shot. Hes not exactly introspective. The more likely scenario is that he beats this and then crows about how its no big deal.

But what if this virus sickens him to the point where he finally realizes how much damage he did by downplaying it in the first place? What if this virus forces him to confront the catastrophic folly of his ways? What if it gives him a fever sufficient enough to freeze his worst instincts?

Again, long shot. But if, like me, you are struggling with mixed feelings today, Id encourage you to seek out the remarkable healing power of Joe Biden. On Friday, the former vice-president tweeted: Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

What a classy guy. How presidential and above the fray.

Donald Trump will have a lot of time for soul-searching in the days ahead.

Lets hope he strives to be more like Joe Biden.

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A Chinese vlogger whose ex-husband allegedly doused in petrol and set on fire as she was attempting to live stream has died.

Lamu was popular on Douyin, Chinas version of TikTok, where she had hundreds of thousands of followers.

Lamu suffered burns on 90% of her body and died two weeks after the attack.

The case has prompted conversation on social media about violence against women in China.

Lamu, 30, from Chinas Sichuan province, was known for her happy posts on rural life and was praised for not using make up in her videos, which had millions of likes.

According to state-media outlet the Beijing Youth Daily, Lamus screen went black soon after she started livestreaming on 14 September.

Her ex-husband, identified only by his surname Tang, had allegedly broken into her house armed with a knife and petrol.

A statement from Jinchuan County Public Security Bureau said that after the attack on 14 September, she was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to Sichuan Provincial Peoples Hospital for further treatment.

Her family asked her followers for financial help and more than one million yuan was raised in just 24 hours, according to The Paper.

Lamu died on 30 September.

THIS IS SAD. They had history of domestic violence. Kai like marriage is by force. Sigh!

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The Irish Second-Level Students Union (ISSU) and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) have written to Ministers Norma Foley and Simon Harris seeking an urgent meeting to discuss significant anxiety in the student population after errors were found in the Leaving Cert calculated grades system.

The unions want to work with the education and higher education ministers to find solutions which will mitigate the impact of this regrettable and traumatic situation for so many students.

They also say that the integrity of the Leaving Cert must be upheld and that the wishes of the students impacted by this failure must be heard and realised.

In a joint letter to the two ministers, the unions warn of serious fallout.

Read More

If not handled correctly, this could result in serious fallout that goes far beyond just grades and offers. We need to find the solutions to this together, as quickly and efficiently as possible, the presidents of the two unions, Laura Fitzpatrick (USI) and Reuban Murray (ISSU) write.

We need to find the solutions to this together, as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The two presidents also raise concerns about the Ministers confidence in the calculated grades system has been misplaced.

You will be acutely aware that the apparent reported failures in the system for grading have caused significant anxiety within the student population. This has caused serious concerns to emerge on availability of classes for students moving on to higher education, the letter reads.

We recognise that the COVID-19 emergency has inevitably caused deviations from the normal course for examinations, but we are concerned that the confidence expressed by you and others in the selected contingency system has been misplaced, it adds.

The letter says that the "mitigations" put in place must "fairly assess" the needs and protect students' welfare.

On behalf of our members we bring these concerns to you both to ensure that whichever mitigations are selected by the government to this issue are reasonable, rational, proportionate and commensurate with the need to fairly assess students and protect the welfare of students.
ST. PETERS, N.S.  Potlotek First Nation launched its moderate livelihood fishery to coincide with the Treaty Day celebrations on Thursday.

The Mikmaq community launched two boats with 235 lobster fishing tags. For Chief Wilbert Marshall, only fishers that could meet the boat safety standards and commercial fishing standards for traps were given tags.

Safety is the big, number one factor. We want to make sure the boats are up to par and all their traps were up to code, said Marshall.

The 52-year-old said the community could have launched at least a month ago, but the fishers wanted to hold back and launch to mark Treaty Day. Marshall says the moderate livelihood plan took 14 weeks to put together and was reviewed by lawyers. And it was important to have community input.

Hes hopeful the moderate livelihood fishery can help tackle some of the food insecurity issues his community has faced. And part of Thursdays launch was allowing fishers to catch and sell lobster without harassment.

We kept getting harassed by DFO. DFO kept taking their traps away, DFO said come with a plan, so thats what we did, said Marshall, adding the plan included modern science.

Craig Doucette was one of the community members who helped put the plan together. The 36-year-old has been fishing for the last 10 years and wants to reassure people conservation was a big part of Potloteks plan. Netukulimk is the Mikmaq way of conservation and for Doucette, its about caring for the product you harvest.

He says sustainability, conservation and economics all went into their plan to fish for a moderate livelihood safely. And as Potlotek launched their moderate livelihood boats, the day was emotional.

It means a lot to me personally because its for the people and not just myself, said Doucette.

Its a good thing to bring back food to your community. If Im healthy and able t do it, Ill do it til I cant anymore.

He says the community always strives to bring back food to those who need it. Once a year, they have a moose harvest and divide the meat for community members. Potlotek has about 600 residents.

Doucette sees fishing as asserting treaty rights, so it was fitting the moderate livelihood plan was launched on Thursday.

Im just glad that were here and were moving forward, a lot of emotions and we wouldnt have been able to do it without our community, said Doucette.

Avery Basque was down on the wharf putting together the bait bags for the lobster traps. The 20-year-old started fishing just last year but was proud to take part.

I feel like Im a part of history, said Basque.

I hope that in the future if I have kids, theyll be able to learn about this because its a big move.

To avoid any conflicts with local commercial fishers, Chief Marshall met with the local commercial fishing union and explained his communitys plan. Marshall wanted to avoid the same sort of conflict seen at the Saulinerville wharf when Sipeknekatik First Nation launched their own moderate livelihood fishery. Marshall said the union understood that they had to be good neighbours and would bring any grievances to the proper channels, and talk directly with DFO.

Marshall hoped more Canadians would take the time to understand the treaties. He also said their livelihood plan is a living document and will adjust to any new data. He hopes all the communities in Mikmaki develop a moderate livelihood plan together because seeing his communitys fishers excitement was rewarding.

Thats the best thing you can see, the smile in their faces, said Marshall.

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Calling Mahatma Gandhi the "biggest sympathiser" of farmers, labourers and the working class, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday expressed confidence that the agitation against three recently enacted "black laws" in the agriculture sector will become successful and the peasants will emerge victorious.

Paying rich tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversary, she said while the Mahatma was the biggest sympathiser of farmers, labourers and the working class, Shastri gave the slogan of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan'.

The Congress president's remarks came in the form of a video message on a day her party is staging dharnas in every district across the country in favour of farmers and against the three farm laws.

Noting that Mahatma Gandhi used to say that the soul of India resides in India's villages, fields and barns, she said the country's farmers and farm labourers are agitating on the streets against the three "anti-farmer black laws".

"The Modi government is making the farmers cry tears of blood, even though they grow foodgrains for the country with their sweat," she said.

Sonia Gandhi said the Congress party has always made laws with public consent and has kept the interests of people foremost before enacting laws, as democracy also means that every decision of the country has the consent of countrymen.

"But does the Modi government believe in this? Perhaps the Modi government does not remember that it was not able to change the 'Right to Adequate Compensation Law' for rights of farmers through an ordinance.

"The Congress party will continue to fight against the three black laws. Today our workers are agitating in favour of farmers and labourers in every assembly constituency. I want to say with confidence that this agitation of farmers and the Congress will be successful and the farmers will win," she said in her video message.

The Congress chief said during the coronavirus pandemic, all had demanded from the government that every needy countryman should get free foodgrains.

"Was it possible that without our farmer brothers, we could manage two meals for crores of our people," she asked.

"Today, the country's prime minister is doing gross injustice to our 'Annadata' farmers. The laws were made for the farmers, but they were not even consulted. The issue was not even discussed...their interests were set aside by talking to their select friends before framing the three black laws," she said.

Gandhi said when the voice of the farmer was not even heard while framing the laws in Parliament, they were compelled to take to the streets to express their voice peacefully on the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi.

"Far from listening to their voice, the anti-democratic, anti-people government blew lathis on them. What do our farmers and farm labourers want. They only want the right price for their hard earned produce in these laws and this is their basic right," she noted.

The Congress chief said when grain markets will be abolished, hoarders will be given a free hand to hoard foodgrains and the farmers' land will be handed over to capitalists for farming. "Then who will protect the crores of small farmers," she asked.

Observing that the future of farm laborers and others is linked to the farmers, she asked, "What will happen to small shopkeepers and labourers working in grain markets? Who will protect their rights? Has the Modi government thought about this?"

She said the Modi government should remember that it was not able to change the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act through an ordinance.

Party leader Rahul Gandhi while greeting fellow citizens on Gandhi Jayanti quoted Mahatma Gandhi's lines in his message, saying -- "I will not fear anyone in the world ... I will not bow down to anyone's injustice, I will win over untruth with truth and I can bear all the sufferings while opposing the untruth."

Sharing a quote of Gandhiji, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi, "...it is our duty to stand with the weak through our politics."

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala also quoted Mahatma Gandhi's words to say: "The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members."

"On Gandhiji's 151st Birth Anniversary, let each one of us remember it again," he tweeted.
The official name of GWM P series pickup is announced at Auto China 2020 with rendering pictures released afterwards

BEIJING, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- At Auto China 2020, GWM (601633.SS/02333.HK), a world-renowned SUV and pickup manufacturer, unveiled the official name of its P Series Pickup for international markets: POER.

The word POER (pronounced as power), an acronym for "Powerful, Off-road, Enjoyable and Reliable", is inspired by the Chinese character Pao, and also comes from the word POWER in its middle English form. It represents GWM's aim to build a vehicle that is powerful not just mechanically but also practically, that can go off-road, and the intelligent connectivity makes the ride always enjoyable, and intelligent safety to make it reliable in various road conditions.

This September marks one year since the launch of GWM POER pickup. The GWM POER quickly hit nearly 100,000 units target in such short time, as the absolute class winner in the market. Last year witnessed 1.8 million GWM pickup sold globally. And the market share of GWM pickup hits a record-high 50% in its home market, China.

GWM POER pickup, with the features of all-new design and intelligent safety, will be launched in certain international markets before the end of this year. GWM hopes the launch of this new-generation POER can bolster its international sales.

In recent years, due to the utility in a multitude of scenarios, pickup trucks have become immensely popular worldwide. As the models continue to be upgraded and start to be equipped with the latest intelligent safety technologies firstly applied on sedans and SUVs, in tandem with the expansion of usage scenarios, the vehicle is now meeting driver expectations in terms of stylish design, intelligence and comfort. In addition to the primary role as a utility vehicle, the pickup is ever more often selected as a family car and a weekend trip vehicle.

In keeping with this trend and based on the POER's product position as a global product, GWM will roll out the POER series with automatic transmission edition in international markets. This will be the first time the automaker has exported automatic transmission-equipped pickups in the 23 years that it has been exporting the vehicle type. With automatic transmission and the intelligent safety features, GWM expects the POER model to enter the high-end pickup segment, enriching the firm's product lineup and offering more choices for drivers.

With the aim of providing more options for consumers, the POER series will offer two different exterior styling. Both front face appear with a large grill design with great visual impact, adding a sense of power to the vehicle. The enlarged logo in the middle complements the look from the front, amplifying the sense of prowess and embodying the model with a desirably aggressive feel. The large size grill with a large size badge, together with the bulging muscles on the bonnet and body makes the whole car with aggressiveness and ready to fight nimbly like a Raider. The bulging lines look like the "sinew" in wild predators, injecting life and soul into the body. Car body design adopts a lot of "circle and curve" as basic elements, which symbolize the hidden resilient power in life and nature beauty.

About GWM

GWM is a world-renowned SUV and pickup manufacturer. The firm was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2003 and the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2011. With four brands, including HAVAL, WEY, ORA and GWM Pickup, the carmaker produces both conventional and new energy vehicles, and focuses on the SUV and pickup truck categories. GWM can independently support its core components, including engines and transmissions. In 2019, GWM sold 1,058,648 new vehicles, an increase of 1.43% year-on-year, exceeding the one million mark for the fourth consecutive year.

For more information, please visit https://www.gwm-global.com/

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1294626/POER_1.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1294627/POER_2.jpg
In the wake of President Trumps announcement that he has tested positive for the coronavirus, one of the many questions people have is who may have come in contact with him, or those in close proximity to him.

But despite Trumps rally last week at Harrisburg International Airport, the staff there was not exposed, said HIA spokesperson Scott Miller.

There was no contact between the president and those on the airplane, and our staff, Miller said. He flew in, landed, walked down the jetway, spoke on the stage, turned around, walked back onto his airplane, and was gone.

Miller said that the rally was held outside on the ramp of a private hanger, and HIA staff was not anywhere near Air Force one or anyone who flew on the aircraft. He added that the airport management had no concern about possible risk of being exposed to the virus by anyone traveling with Trump, and that no one from the presidents flight spent any time inside the airport itself.

All of our work was with the advance staff - the campaign advance staff, as well as Secret Service, things like that, in advance of the event - planning to make sure that safety procedures were in place, bus routes were defined, he said.

READ MORE: Trump at Harrisburg International Airport: People line up early to see the president

Miller said that the HIA staff is adhering to all Department of Health and CDC recommendations: masks are required within the airport, stickers on the floor indicate safe distances for queues, hand sanitization stations have been set up for staff and travelers, and cleanings are done regularly between flights.

Were doing everything we can to provide as clean a travel experience as possible, he said. So far the people, when they are ready to travel, are traveling, and weve had no complaints or issues that were aware of, of anybody coming or going.

Business has only recently begun to pick back up at the airport, Miller said. Current travel numbers are at their highest since March, he said. And even then, HIA is only seeing 40 percent of what they were seeing this time last year.

He added that despite COVID-19 concerns, airplane air filtration systems are relatively safe compared to many other indoor situations. According to Miller, current conditions are the cleanest and safest, from an air quality standpoint, ever, to fly.

[The discussion on coronavirus safety] has a lot of people wondering, should I go, should I not, Miller said. And the mixed messages coming out nationally, and sometimes even in the state, has confused a lot of people.

READ MORE: Pa. urges people who attended Trumps rally near Harrisburg to use COVID-19 tracing app

Roughly 1,500 people work at Harrisburg International Airport at 60 different businesses. The airport staff itself numbers only 100, Miller said, but they are screened daily for signs of COVID-19.

We monitor employees every day when they come in, Miller said. "Standard things: if you dont feel well, stay away. If we think someone isnt feeling well, we send them away. If theres any questions, we send them to get tested right away, and theyre not allowed to come back until theres a negative test.

So all of the precautions that we can take, we do, he said. Its something we take very seriously.
To the discomfort of some conservatives, the authors advocate strong government. However, they also argue, to the discomfort of some progressives, that large size is no guarantee of government strength; indeed, it is often a correlate of weakness. This correlation should be considered when President Joe Biden assembles a commission, comparable to the one that examined how 9/11 happened, to analyze how the pandemic struck a nation so unprepared, and how it erupted into such an unnecessarily enormous event.
Bengaluru, Oct 2 : In a bid to increase Covid-19 testing to 1.5 lakh tests per day, Karnataka Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar said on Friday that the state government has decided to set up Covid-19 testing labs in public private partnership (PPP) mode soon in order to triple the number of testing from the present rate.

Speaking to reporters after inaugurating the new Covid-19 testing lab set up by Eurofins Clinical Genetics India (ECGI) here, Sudhakar said the government is finalising the tender process and hopes to complete it in a week's time.

The minister asserted that this is being done following the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "He (Modi) wants us to triple our tests to fight the Covid better. We will be floating tenders to set up RT-PCR machines within two weeks," he said, adding that 144 labs have already been inaugurated in a matter of six months.

Sudhakar said that though positive cases are on the rise in the state, the mortality rate is under control at 1.52 per cent.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
A small group of people, including two law enforcement officials and a local Billings Clinic doctor, advocated on Thursday against legalizing recreational marijuana.

Wrong for Montana emerged in late September, led by Billings car dealer Steve Zabawa, who previously fought against medical marijuana expansion in 2014 and 2016 to oppose Initiative 90 and Constitutional Initiative 118, joint initiatives that if pass, would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana and set the age of consumption at 21.

Eleven states, and the District of Columbia, have fully legalized marijuana for adult use in the U.S. Medical marijuana is legal in Montana.

The campaign focuses on the societal costs of medical marijuana in legalized states like Colorado, and is backed by the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the Montana Contractors Association and the Montana Bankers Association.

On Thursday at Pioneer Park, several local faces emerged to take a stand against legalized recreational marijuana, including Billings Police Chief Rich St. John, Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder and a Billings Clinic psychiatrist.

Proponents for legalization, including New Approach Montana which put the issue on the November ballot, has said that Wrong for Montana is peddling in myths to try to sway voters.

We know the majority of Montanans agree that voting on I-I90 and CI-118 is the right decision for Montana, Pepper Petersen, the spokesman for New Approach Montana said. Our opponents are spreading misinformation in an attempt to cause confusion.

Petersen told Lee Montana Newspapers that Montanas more than 38,000 medical marijuana cardholders show people can be responsible cannabis users.

St. John and Linder both adamantly oppose the drugs legislation, saying it would increase violent and property crime and the state would see more instances of marijuana-related DUIs.

Legalized marijuana will be a significant problem and exacerbate addiction and social problems were struggling to deal with now, St. John said at the event.

A 2019 study published on crime rates in Washington and Colorado after legalization suggests that recreational marijuana had a minimal effect on crime rates there.

FBI crime stats analyzed from 1999 to 2016 in both states suggest that crimes remained steady after legalization, the study said, which was conducted by researchers at Washington State University, Stockton University and the University of Utah.

Linder shared personal anecdotes from his career in law enforcement that suggested to him that marijuana was a gateway drug to more serious drug abuse.

Regardless of what some people might say, marijuana is a precursor to worse things to come, Linder said.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse some research suggests marijuana use preceded the use of other drugs, but the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, harder substances.

The NIDA also said that other factors like a persons social environment were critical to drug use, and that tobacco or alcohol were also typically used before a person progressed to more harmful substances.

Bob Sise, an addiction psychiatrist at Billings Clinic, said he saw an increase in depression and anxiety in frequent cannabis users and was concerned more youths would abuse the drug.

Billings Clinic and its foundation have not taken a stance on the issue, said Clinic spokesman Zach Benoit, who attended the rally.

Both New Approach Montana and Wrong for Montana have pushed for advertising in the final days before the election.

Wrong for Montana raised more than $78,000 and used more than $61,000 in advertising, The Missoulian reported. New Approach Montana spent $2.3 million in television commercials to run from October and into November.

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Democrats have a problem on the Texas border that could cost them dearly in what is setting up as the closest presidential election the state has seen in decades.

While the 200-mile stretch from Brownsville to Laredo is the most reliably Democratic region in Texas, it has also become one of the most confounding for the party. The area has been beset by abysmal voter turnout, years of state party neglect and local party ambivalence. All are major obstacles for the Joe Biden campaign as he seeks to be the first Democrat to carry Texas in 46 years.

In a close race, if Democrats boost turnout along the border to match statewide turnout averages it could be enough to give Biden the states 38 electoral college votes, which would assure President Donald Trump has no viable pathway to re-election. But if those areas see the same dismal turnout as in 2018, tens of thousands of Democratic votes would be lost.

Now Playing: Organized by Latinos for Trump, hundreds gather on the northwest side of San Antonio to show support on the 'Trump Train.' Video: San Antonio Express-News

I dont know if weve realized the power we have, said Laredo Democrat Sylvia Bruni, chairwoman of the Webb County Democratic Party.

The problems were on display in 2018 when Democrat Beto ORourke skateboarded and livestreamed himself to record-shattering turnout in most of the state.

CRUCIAL VOTING BLOC: Trump has enough support from Latinos to win Texas, study finds

While ORourke won a whopping 68 percent of the vote in the five counties between Laredo and Brownsville, the combined turnout was just 39 percent compared to the statewide average of 53 percent turnout. If those five counties  with nearly 800,000 registerd voters  had matched average turnout, ORourke would have added tens of thousands of votes to his total.

While that would have still left ORourke short against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, it is clear those votes could mean the difference for Biden if his campaign builds off what ORourke was able to do in the rest of the state.

If they turnout, Biden wins, ORourke said earlier this week.

The Laredo region was one of the worst for ORourke. Its where Democrat Hillary Clinton received 32,000 more votes in 2016 than ORourke did in 2018.

That loss of votes counter-balanced ORourkes surge in Harris County, where he received 39,000 more votes than Clinton had.

We let Beto down, said Ana Saenz, a longtime Democratic activist from Laredo. We just didnt get the vote out.

2020 SURGE: Texas shatters voter registration records again as Trump-Biden election draws closer

The Biden campaign knows the numbers well. They and the Texas Democratic Party have hired staff from the border, invested more in getting out the vote and are promising to reach out to more voters than in past elections. Even actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is aware of the issue, this week announcing his foundation is sending $250,000 to Cameron County for an early voting center to help 25,000 people vote safely.

Were specifically focusing on South Texas and border communities, said Rebecca Acuna, Bidens state director.

Acuna, herself a Laredo native, said the Biden campaign is reaching out to voters over multiple platforms in both English and Spanish to boost the areas Democratic turnout.

But it is not happening in a vacuum. While the Democrats try to drive up their turnout, Republicans are rattling their cages. Just two weeks ago as many as 7,000 trucks, cars and motorcycles decked out with Trump gear honked and screeched tires for miles through the streets of Laredo in a message to Democrats that they have a fight on their hands this year.

Weve got them scared, Webb County Republican Party chairman William Young said with laugh. And for good reason.

Plenty to be outraged about in the Valley

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

It would be hard to find a region with more at stake in the presidential election than the five counties along the border between Brownsville and Laredo. Immigration, the impact of COVID-19, and health care  the three most dominant issues in the presidential election  hit this region harder than most.

While the five counties represent just over 5 percent of the state population, they have recorded nearly 20 percent of Texas deaths from COVID-19. So far, 2,847 deaths have been attributed directly to COVID-19 in the five counties with a combined 1.6 million residents. That is more deaths than Harris County, which has triple the population.

And while Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the nation, it is even worse on the border. Before the pandemic hit, U.S. Census data indicated about 20 percent of people under 65 in the state were uninsured as of 2018. But in the five border counties, the average uninsured rate for those under 65 was 30 percent.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who campaigned along the border during his presidential bid, said both of those issues are motivating voters in the Valley this year.

So many families there can see just how much they have been short-changed by the Trump administration and by Republican leadership, Castro said.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

And no region is more impacted by President Trumps signature campaign promise of building a wall along the border. The same five counties are Trumps top priority for building barriers, which requires seizing land from private landowners through eminent domain and further separating cities in the U.S. from larger metro areas in Mexico where many South Texas residents have families.

Its become a polarizing issue, said Melissa Cigarroa, a landowner along the border who is also an activist with the No Border Wall Coalition. Its not just this wall or high fence. It is a 150-foot clearing. It is semi-militarized zone, with all of the sensors, towers and roads. And all the lost public lands.

Even without a wall, border security is impossible to miss in Laredo. The city stands on a stretch of the Rio Grande with a riverside park that leaders have dreamt of developing as a tourist destination. But instead, border patrol agents are everywhere  one day last week, four of their white-and-green SUVs tracked every vehicle and pedestrian, not to mention the Border Patrol trucks that make pass-throughs along neighborhood streets.

Trumps aggressive push for a border wall has more appeal in the region than Democrats might want to acknowledge, Webb County GOP chairman Young said. He said not all of the people cutting through the region illegally are dangerous, but there can be aggressive confrontations. He said people want a wall. They want someone to prevent illegal crossings.

Why vote when the GOP doesnt have a chance?

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Laredoan Amber Avis-Hinojosa, 30, says that even with all those issues, its a challenge to get people out to vote. Generations of noncompetitive local elections makes it still more difficult.

The participation is very low in Laredo, said Avis-Hinojosa, who has become active in the Democratic Party and is trying to run for local office herself. Were trying to find innovative ways to get people out.

Democrats have dominated the regions politics for more than a century. Most local races are determined in primary elections and there is nearly zero threat of a Republican ever carrying any of the border counties. Bruni said she was among the complacent at one point. With races mostly decided, many dont worry about voting in November, despite the presidential candidates and statewide candidates who needed their votes.

As long as we were doing well in Webb County, why should we worry? Bruni said.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Then Trump was elected. Bruni, an educator, was always a Democrat, but never went too deep into partisan politics. That changed with the tone of the immigration debate, the governments failure to stop COVID-19, and the August 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, where Latinos were targeted by a white man linked to an online post about a Hispanic invasion of Texas.

She says all that has spurred a new intensity from local Democrats, many of them young.

Those younger Democrats have tried to modernize a local party that had fallen behind, and was out of shape.

Weve realized how unorganized the Democratic Party was before, said Avis-Hinojosa, who is now the party treasurer in Webb County, where Democrats didnt have balance sheets or even bank statements to track the finances.

Meanwhile, Bruni went to work on restaffing the countys precinct volunteers, who are the backbone of get-out-the vote operations. She said for years the party left most of those types of positions unfilled, assuring dozens of neighborhoods with no coordinated effort to get voters to the polls.

Will the Trump Train backfire?

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

For the Biden campaign it has been critical to hire Democrats from the border who understand the terrain, like Acuna.

Our organizing director is from and lives in Mission, Texas, Acuna said. We have organizers in Webb County. We are having dozens of events every single day there.

Just this weekend, Biden campaign officials showed reporters a list of 29 different events in South Texas over four days ranging from phone banks and training sessions to virtual rallies and online outreach programs to faith groups, veterans and other targeted audiences.

Many of the events, both in Spanish and English, include special guests. Next week in McAllen, comedienne Cristela Alonzo speaks at one event, while another in Harlingen calls on Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez to make an appearance to help rally volunteers.

And beyond that, the State Democratic Party hired Rafael Benavides, another Laredo native, to serve as its Spanish language press secretary with a focus on engaging voters in new ways. Benavides said that has meant reaching out to voters through bloggers, Spanish language podcasters and an array of social media messages.

Were reaching out to people who had never been reached out to before, he said.

Back in the spring, Biden was struggling to match Hillary Clintons appeal to Latino voters, lagging by nearly 20 percent points.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

But that appears to be changing: A poll released this week by the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Houston and Univision found Biden leading with 66 percent of the Latino vote, compared with 25 percent for Trump. It found that Latino support for Biden has almost doubled since March.

Texas is competitive because Latino support has shifted to the Biden-Harris ticket, which translates to support down-ballot for Democrats, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a UH political science professor. Latinos feel the Democratic Party has better outreach to their communities and is better equipped to handle recovery from COVID-19, the economy, health care and ending racial divisions.

The turnout in the region in 2018 shows the work Democrats have before them. In Webb and Cameron counties, just 38 percent of voters made it to the polls. In smaller Starr County it was 32 percent  second-worst in the state. Only neighboring Zapata County was worse, at 29 percent.

Democrats say the Republicans gave them an unintentional gift with that Trump Train through Laredo.

When the Trump supporters stormed through town, disrupting traffic, Bruni said the phone at the Democratic Party office started ringing. Thousands of yards signs were handed out in a matter of hours, and thousands signed up for a Ridin with Biden car parade Democrats were planning.

This place has been nonstop ever since, Bruni said.

They came in and they shook a hornets nest, said Laredo Democratic activist Robert Tellez.
President Trumps stunning revelation that he has tested positive for the coronavirus raises a host of questions not only about his health, but about politics and the future of a presidential campaign that has just a month to go before election day.

Here are some of them:

What happens to the remaining debates? Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are scheduled to return to the debate stage Oct. 15 and 29. The first is supposed to be a town hall-style session, where voters would pose questions to the candidates.

Will we see the first presidential debate via Zoom? Oct. 15, after all, is less than two weeks away, and people with the coronavirus are supposed to isolate for 14 days. The White House and Trumps campaign were silent on the debate question Friday, as the president checked into Walter Reed Medical Center out of what his press secretary called an abundance of caution.

When will the president be able to campaign again? Unlike Biden, Trump has been holding public rallies, several of them a week, including some indoors  the environment where the virus spreads most easily.

The president was scheduled to be in Florida on Friday and Wisconsin this weekend, two swing states he won four years ago but where he trails Biden now. Those trips are definitely off. On Friday, the Trump campaign said that all previously announced campaign events involving the presidents participation are in the process of being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed.

What if the presidents condition worsens? He already is in a higher risk group because of his age  74  and because he is overweight, at 6-foot-3 and 244 pounds.

Melania Trump, who also tested positive for the virus, tweeted Friday that we are feeling good. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Trump had mild symptoms but was in good spirits. (Meadows says he tested negative.) The presidents physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a statement that Trump was fatigued, and several media outlets reported that he had a low-grade fever and a cough.

Before leaving for the hospital Friday, Trump tweeted an 18-second video of him speaking from the White House, seeking to reassure the nation that I think Im doing very well, but were going to make sure that things work out.

If the presidents condition were to worsen to the point where he had to withdraw from the race, could Vice President Mike Pence be made the Republican presidential candidate? The answer is yes  under party rules, the Republican National Committee has the power to replace a presidential candidate who withdraws from the ticket after the convention. Trumps name would remain before the voters, since the ballots have been printed and millions of votes have been cast. But the GOP could still urge members of the electoral college to vote for their favored replacement candidate  presumably Pence.

Speaking of Pence, how is he feeling? Pences press secretary tweeted Friday that both the vice president and his wife, Karen Pence, had tested negative. However, even if someone has tested negative, it does not necessarily mean they do not have the virus. It typically takes five to seven days after exposure to have enough virus in the body to generate a positive test result.

Pence is supposed to debate Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris on Wednesday. Will that still happen? Its unclear, but the Trump campaign said Friday that given Pences negative test result, he plans on resuming his scheduled campaign events.

What about Biden? On Friday, he tested negative. Hes been taking many precautions, wearing masks in public settings, unlike Trump. But on Tuesday, the 77-year-old former vice president was standing about 10 feet from Trump for 90-plus minutes on the stage at the presidential debate in Cleveland, during which neither candidate wore a mask as they raised their voices at each other, a practice that expels more droplets into the air. Will he or the campaign want to repeat that experience, even if Trump is willing and able?

And what about the candidates families and staffs? Most of the Trump people in the small audience at the debate in Cleveland were not wearing masks. Did they mingle with the Biden people? On Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar defended Trumps family members for not wearing masks, telling a House committee that they are in a different situation than the rest of us.

Bidens campaign planned to resume in-person, door-to-door campaigning this week after shutting it down because of risks of spreading the virus. Will it move ahead with that? Biden has made only a handful of public appearances, but Harris has done more retail politicking, albeit not before large crowds like Trump. Will that continue?

Was Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin exposed to the virus? The Treasury Department says he is tested daily and that he tested negative Friday. He has been engaged in negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus package with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. Pelosis office said she tested negative Friday. But like Pence, Mnuchin and Pelosi will both have to wait several days to be sure any recent exposure to someone with the virus hasnt infected them.

What about Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett? She has been on Capitol Hill this week with Pence and Meadows, meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., among others. How will this affect her confirmation schedule?

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings are supposed to start Oct. 12, and Trump is anxious to have her seated on the court by election day. McConnell tweeted Friday that the nomination process was moving full steam ahead. However, one of the Republican committee members, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, said Friday that he had tested positive  one day after he was at a committee hearing and speaking without a mask on. On Tuesday, Lee was photographed standing less than 6 feet from Barrett, both maskless.

Later Friday, a second committee Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, said he had also tested positive.

There are several older members of the committee, including the ranking Democrat, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Her office said she was being tested, and the senator called on committee Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to delay the Barrett hearings. Graham tweeted that he tested negative and planned for the hearings to start as scheduled.

Barrett tested positive this summer but recovered, according to the Washington Post. She tested negative after being with Trump on Saturday, the White House said.

Other than the risks to his health, will this be an unmitigated political disaster for Trump? Hes spent months downplaying the danger of the virus publicly, even when he knew its danger, as he told journalist Bob Woodward.

Nationwide, could this encourage more people to wear masks and back away from the message that public life should reopen as quickly as possible? Will the presidents most ardent supporters, the ones who show up maskless at his rallies, be inspired to put on masks and practice social distancing? Will this slow the virus spread?

Will this ordeal inspire Trump to develop more empathy for those with the virus? Does he now regret mocking Biden for wearing masks?

Or will nothing change?

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
Somewhere in Idaho, a Mexican father of two cruises down the highway on his skateboard to the sweet strains of Fleetwood Mac.

He takes a long swig of Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry juice, straight from the bottle, and lip syncs along with gusto.

The iconic rock band has seen its 1977 hit Dreams triple in sales and double its streams since TikTok user @420doggface208 uploaded his now-viral video last weekend.

Before @420doggface208  real name Nathan Apodaca  posted the video, Dreams garnered an average of 49,000 streams a day, Rolling Stone reported. Since Apodaca shared the TikTok, the classic track off of the album Rumours has been streamed an average of 105,000 times a day.

Sales of the song nearly tripled after Apodaca posted the video on Saturday, shooting up 184 per cent by Monday.

Streams were up 127 per cent on Spotify, the platform said, with a 242 per cent increase in first-time listeners of the song. It also seems like the song was finding new (potentially Gen Z?) ears: Apple reported a 1,137 per cent increase in Shazams for Dreams  as well as an overall streaming spike of 221 per cent.

Apodacas TikTok traversed the internet, from TikTok to Twitter to Instagram, eventually making it as far as the members of Fleetwood Mac. We love this! the band tweeted from its official Twitter account on Saturday.

Social media has a habit of boosting the band: Dreams also spiked on the charts in 2018, following another viral dance meme.

Fleetwood Mac doesnt seem to be going anywhere any time soon  at least, vocalist and songwriter Stevie Nicks isnt. She has a couple of projects brewing this month: 24 Karat Gold: The Concert, a filmed version of her 2017 solo show, and a new single, Show Them the Way.

I have put a magical shield around me, because I am not going to give up the last eight years  what I call my last youthful years  of doing this, Nicks recently told the LA Times about her coronavirus fears. I want to be able to pull up those black velvet platform boots and put on my black chiffon outfit and twirl onto a stage again.

As for Apodaca, he seems to be doing well too: The TikToker told TMZ via video chat on Wednesday that hes received over $10,000 (U.S.) in donations. He plans to gift his mom $5,000 of that money and is also looking to get a new car.

I was coming to work and ... my car, it just shuts off sometimes  the battery, I dont know what it is, it just shuts off, Apodaca told TMZ. So it shut off, and I was like, Man, I got less than, like, 15 minutes to get to work, what am I gonna do? I always have my longboard in there, in case I run out of gas or something.

So I just jumped on my longboard. I was like, Ill just come back and figure it out after work. Started going to work, and then on my way to work, we have a little ... turnpike off the highway. So then I decided this would be perfect for a video.

The Idaho Falls, Idaho-based TikToker grabbed his Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry juice, cause thats my drink, and hit the road. The rest is viral history.
SPRINGFIELD  Investigators in the Holly Piirainen case have reportedly exhumed a body from a Hampden County grave in connection with the 27-year-old unsolved homicide.

Boston 25 News cites unnamed sources who say the Hampden district attorneys office received permission to exhume the body of a man from somewhere in Hampden County. The name of the deceased and any possible connections to Piirainen were not disclosed.

James Leydon, communications director for District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, on Friday morning said only: the Hampden District Attorney along with Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the office continue to aggressively investigate and follow up on leads that come in.

Piirainen, a 10-year-old girl from Grafton, was vacationing with her family at her grandmothers cottage in Sturbridge. On Aug. 5, 1993, she and her 5-year-old brother went down the road to see a litter of puppies, but the boy returned without her.

The only trace of her found was a single shoe.

For the next few days, more than 350 state and local police and volunteers searched the woods surrounding the family cottage.

She was missing until Oct. 23, 1993, when her body was found by hunters in a forest in Brimfield, a few miles away from where she was last seen.

Over the years, the Hampden district attorneys office has continued pursuing the case.

As recently as 2019, Gulluni spoke publicly about the investigation in order to seek information from anyone who could help close the case.

Along with Hollys family, I, members of my office, and the Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the case have never stopped investigating to bring justice to Holly and her family. We continue to ask members of the public who may have any information please contact us, he said in a statement published on Aug. 5, 2019, the 26th anniversary of Piirainens disappearance.

In 2012, then-District Attorney Mark Mastroianni held a news conference to announce that forensic testing had linked a Springfield man to the scene where Piirainens body was found at a time relevant to the investigation. The man died in 2003.

Mastroianni declined at the time to say what this evidence was and stopped short of saying the man was a suspect.

In 2018, a campaign called Hope for Holly was launched to help generate tips for the investigation.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden district attorneys office at 413-505-5993. Tipsters can also use text-a-tip by texting the word CRIMES (2-7-4-6-3-7) and typing the word solve into the body of the message followed by a tip.
A stock trader wearing a mask walks near social distancing signs the day a new IPO is launched at the New York Stock Exchange as the city continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on August 27, 2020 in New York City. The fourth phase allows outdoor arts and entertainment, sporting events without fans and media production.

In just the last 24 hours, the wall of worry for stocks got a lot higher.

President Donald Trump has contracted Covid-19, which keeps him off the campaign trail and secluded in the White House for at least two weeks. The betting markets are raising the odds for his rival Joe Biden, whose policies are generally not viewed as good for the market as Trump's.

Then the September jobs report confirmed the pace of job creation was already slowing, even before a wave of public announcements this week by Disney and others that they are laying off thousands of workers. There were 661,000 jobs added in September, well below the 800,000 or more that were expected.

Yet, the stock market has come off its lows, and the Dow, down more than 400 points early in the day, was now just slightly lower in afternoon trading.

"I look at the way the tape is trading, and it's trying to price in more stimulus," said Julian Emanuel, head of equities and derivatives trading at BTIG.

There was no big change announced in the discussions between Democrats and Republicans on a stimulus package to help the economy.

But there seemed to be a breakthrough when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Friday called on airlines to halt furloughs, promising some aid either as part of a bi-partisan stand alone bill or as part of a bigger negotiated relief bill.

Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, said he always believed there would be a stimulus package, but Pelosi's move to provide airline aid was a sign there could be further bi-partisan movement on a bigger package.

"The stock market seems like it was glued to that stimulus...It would swing back and forth on it," said Paulsen. "The stimulus package matters."

Pelosi said Trump's illness illustrates how serious the virus is and could change the tone of the negotiations. House Democrats approved a $2.2 trillion stimulus package this week, while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has offered $1.6 trillion.

"The biggest hurdle could be Senate Republicans. [Trump] understands his base. He knows what they want," said Tom Block, Fundstrat Washington policy analyst. The loss of Trump on the campaign trail could be a negative for Republicans in the election, but they may be more willing to come together on stimulus.

"I think it might marginally help it. I think the president wants this bill," said Block.

If adopted, the stimulus package is expected to provide another round of direct payments to Americans; enhanced unemployment benefits; aid for businesses and funds for state and local government. The September jobs report showed up some weakening in the labor market, and there was some market speculation that could help spur stimulus talks.

Permanent job losses in September rose by 345,000 to 3.8 million, an increase of 2.5 million since February. Public sector job losses were large, with 280,000 jobs lost in state and local education, as students in many areas stayed home. The stimulus was expected to provide specific aid for schools.

"This really crystalizes the need for additional aid now by Congress. This might change their views. Policy uncertainty is a tax on the economy," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton.

Emanuel said the fact the president is now ill could hurt confidence and slow down some of the improvement in the economy.

"The underlying tone is, again, whether its directly or later, there's going to be stimulus," Emanuel said. "'Whether it's this month or November, this reinforces the need for stimulus because the president falling ill signals to, at the margin, the person whose thinking about going out to dinner to think again. It's a significant economic and psychological hindrance."

But even with a potential stimulus bill, uncertainty about the election has increased.

"You're taking your best player off the field. He is a great campaigner. His supporters love seeing him," said Block. "He's off the field now for at least two weeks."

The big fear around the election has been that there will be no clear winner Nov. 3, leaving the market swinging wildly during weeks of uncertainty. Biden's lead edged up slightly after Tuesday's debate and is now an average 6.8% in major polls over Trump.

"It's been interesting over the past few days, as the polls seem to show that Biden's lead is stable or slightly up, and yet the market has had a positive bias," said Ed Keon, chief investment strategist at QMA. Keon made his comments on Thursday before the president's illness was known.

Biden gained less than a percentage point in the average of polls on RealClearPolitics following Tuesday's debate but picked up several points in betting markets.

"I think what the market is telling us...is having a resolution is more important than who wins...that the negative policy response of higher tax rates for corporations and higher income individuals which would be negative for the stock market, would be offset by greater fiscal spending," said Keon. Biden has said he would raise the corporate tax rate and capital gains tax rate, both negatives for stocks.

But some investors have been latching onto the idea that Biden would likely push through a big infrastructure package, if there is a blue wave and it brings in a Democratic majority in the senate.

"A blue wave might be more growth positive than four more years of gridlock" said Jon Hill, fixed income strategist at BMO.

However, the deeper concern in the stock market is still the pandemic and fears of another wave of infections. In a CNBC poll, 61% of strategists and investors were more worried about a new wave of the virus. Just 12% said they were worried about election uncertainty. Twenty-seven percent were concerned about a slow economic recovery.

As for the election, 67% said a Trump victory would be better than a Biden victory for the stock market.

Paulsen expects the stock market to stay volatile but continue its uptrend. However that could change if there's more risk to the election.

"To me, it's not so much about who wins the election, it's just whether it's so close that Trump could drag it on for a long time," said Paulsen. Another risk would be if Trump is unable to serve as the GOP candidate, he said.
R yanair today admitted passenger numbers had slumped 64% in September on last year's levels as the coronavirus hammered its flight schedules.

The budget airline flew 5.1 million passengers in the month compared with 14.1 million a year earlier.

Ryanair said it operated about 53% of its normal September schedule with a load factor - the industry measure of how full the planes are - of 71%.

The airline has been forced, like rivals, to slash its schedule as the UK and European governments impose travel restrictions.

It recently announced it would cut a further one in five of its October flights, blaming what it called "excessive and defective" quarantines and curbs.

The airline has been outspoken in its criticism of EU governments, particularly Ireland, which has imposed particularly tough restrictions. Ryanair has compared the Irish clampdown as "like North Korea" and claimed it has had no impact on the spread of coronavirus.

It has compared the Irish rules to Italy and Germany, where cases of the illness are lower than than Ireland's despite borders having been reopened.

Airlines have been hastily slashing prices to fill up what flights they are still operating. Ryanair recently launched a sale including buy one get one free deals and seats going for 5.

British Airways has been selling Europe flights for 35 and easyJet is offering Spain and Turkey at just 29.99.

However, demand continues to fall as people fear being locked down or quarantined. Tourism analyst ForwardKeys has said demand for Greece holidays has fallen 17%, leading to 41% falls in holiday prices as airlines try to entice travellers to take the risk.
Hanoi is scheduled to host the US - Vietnam Business Summit 2020 on October 9 with a range of topics up for discussion, including energy and the state of digital supply chains in the period following the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The upcoming event will be co-hosted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), along with the US Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi (Amcham Hanoi), with the title, Trusted Partners Prospering Together. The occasion serves as an annual advocacy discussion aimed at talking about the future of the bilateral commercial relationship between the two countries, in addition to commemorating 25 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States.

According to an announcement made by AmCham Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Adam Boehler, CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, will both be present at the event to deliver speeches.

Key points of discussion during the occasion will include the need to promote sustainable and predictable investment policies, how to drive growth and innovation through the digital economy, addressing the countrys energy development needs, and navigating Asias supply chain and manufacturing landscape in a post-COVID-19 world. Indeed, other topics include how to work together to help Vietnamese businesses and entrepreneurs reach their full potential, global trade dynamics, the US presidential election, and new opportunities aimed at fueling Vietnams economic recovery.

The Vietnam Trade Office in the US cite data provided by the United States Census Bureau as saying that the US remains one of the countrys leading trading partners, with trade exchange enjoying a 130-fold increase since 1994, from a figure of US$450 million in 1994 to US$75.7 billion by late 2019.

Two-way trade between the nations has witnessed strong growth and has been a bright spot in the mutual partnership, especially since the Vietnam-US Trade Agreement (BTA) came into force.

Since the BTA was signed in 2000, the structure of Vietnamese exports has changed significantly, with agricultural and aquatic products making it into the list of important export commodity groups, as opposed to main export items such as textiles and garments, leather and footwear has had been in the past.

In 2019, the five largest export commodity groups to the US, apparel and textiles, and footwear, telephones and components, computers and electronic products, and furniture, all saw impressive growth ranging from 9% to 24%.

Most notably, there are currently 10 commodity groups whose exports to the US market have a value of more than US$1 billion, including garments and textiles at US$14.8 billion, telephones and accessories at US$8.8 billion, and footwear at US$18.3 billion.

Furthermore, the nation also imports a large quantity of goods and materials from the US, such as computers, electronic products and components, cotton, machinery, equipment and spare parts, plastic materials at US$6.6 billion, and wood products at US$5.3 billion.

VOV

Vietnams small companies look to the US market The US is an important export market targeted not only by large Vietnamese corporations but also small enterprises.
The Thunder Bay Museum will be hosting a travelling quilt exhibit starting Jan. 31. The exhibit, titled Threads of Hope, explores hope, longing and desire for the future of the world. Fibre Art Network artists express world issues through their work in the exhibit. Each artwork is connected 
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 09:29:21|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- No new locally transmitted confirmed, asymptomatic, or suspected cases of COVID-19 were reported in Beijing on Thursday, the municipal health commission said Friday.

The capital also reported no new imported cases on Thursday, according to the commission.

Beijing reported one imported confirmed COVID-19 case on Sept. 24, who was the first imported asymptomatic case reported on Sept. 19 after the city resumed direct international passenger flights on Sept. 3. Enditem
Home First Finance, True North-backed affordable housing finance firm, on Friday said it has entered into an agreement with Warburg Pincus-affiliate Orange Clove Investments BV for an investment of about Rs 700 crore.

The investment is a combination of primary fund raise and secondary sales by existing shareholders, it said.

Global private equity firm has bought a 25 per cent stake in the housing finance company, according to a source.

As per the agreement, all the existing shareholders including True North Fund V LLP, Aether (Mauritius) Ltd, Bessemer India Capital Holdings, and Bank of Baroda former managing director and CEO P S Jayakumar, have sold their 25 per cent stake on a proportional basis, the source said.

Prior to this transaction, while True North was holding 45.97 per cent, Aether (Mauritius) and Bessemer India owned 30.65 per cent and 16.28 per cent, respectively.

The primary investment by is of Rs 75 crore and the balance is through the secondary route, the source said.

"Warburg Pincus' investment in Home First at this juncture is an acknowledgement of Home First's inherent strengths," Home First Chief Executive Officer Manoj Viswanathan said in a release.

He added that the company's strong focus on the salaried customer segment, its investments in technology and deep belief in digital processes and payment mechanisms have netted excellent dividends through multiple disruptive events.

Managing Director Narendra Ostawal said, "Warburg Pincus looks forward to the partnership with True North and towards backing Manoj and the management team in its next phase of expansion." Founded in 2010, Home First has a presence in 60 districts across 11 states and a Union territory with a significant presence in the urbanised regions of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

It targets first-time homebuyers who are typically salaried customers working in small firms or self-employed customers who run small businesses.

As of March 31, 2020, Home First had an asset under management (AUM) of Rs 3,618 crore with a net worth of Rs 933 crore and a gross non-performing asset of 0.87 per cent.

It reported a profit after tax was Rs 79.55 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 2020, against Rs 45.72 crore in the previous year.

The New York-based Warburg has over USD 53 billion in private equity assets under management invested across 185 across sectors and geographies.

Ambit Capital was the lead advisor on the transaction, while Axis Capital was the co-advisor.
One person who tested positive for Covid-19 ended up infecting 60 other people as part of a chain of transmission, it emerged yesterday.

The case was cited among a number of real-life episodes where the virus has been passed through a series of encounters due to a failure to adhere to anti-Covid rules.

Dr Una Fallon, a public health specialist in the Midlands, told a HSE briefing yesterday she could not go into the details of the case. However, it is another example of how a failure to reduce contacts and observe the rules on physical distancing and mask wearing had led to a worrying resurgence in the virus.

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Dr Fallon highlighted another instance where the Covid-19 virus appears to have spread in a school between two children, who swapped desks because one needed to be nearer the blackboard.

She was outlining how her teams work in tracking down the route of transmission of the virus and working to prevent others getting infected.

In another case two members of the one family who were infected attended a relative's funeral, which led to five more people catching the virus.

This was followed by a meal in a restaurant where one-third of staff were out due to being close contacts.

In the case involving the schoolchildren, the first pupil was infected within their family, but the second child who tested positive in the same class was a mystery because there was no evidence of a connection between the two.

However, a teacher provided a clue when they said the children swapped desks during one class so that one of the children could sit nearer to the blackboard.

The virus may have been passed on through an infected surface on the desk.

A key objective of public health teams was to prevent any further transmission, Dr Fallon said.

Earlier, HSE chief Paul Reid said that the hospital system was under pressure but not overwhelmed, despite the risk in hospitalisations among people with the virus.

There were 121 coronavirus patients in hospitals across the country and 22 people are in intensive care. Dublin hospitals are worst hit and have 65pc of the patients.

Yesterday it emerged that another four people had died from the virus, and a further 442 tested positive.

The cases included 170 cases in Dublin, 47 in Cork, 28 in Donegal, 23 in Meath, 21 in Galway, 20 in Monaghan, 14 in Clare, 12 in Roscommon, 11 in Laois, 11 in Longford, 10 in Cavan, 10 in Limerick, 10 in Tipperary, nine in Kildare, eight in Wicklow, five in Louth and five in Wexford. The remaining 28 cases were in nine other counties.

In a statement last night, the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) said it noted a further deterioration from last week.

The five-day average for cases is now 412 and 18 counties have an increased incidence rate when compared with last week.

The reproduction number is estimated to be between 1.2 and 1.4, with the growth rate in cases between 4pc and 5pc per day.

Nphet yesterday noted a particular concern in relation to trends in indicators of disease severity.

While there continues to be a number of counties with particularly high incidence, Nphet's main concern now is the overall national picture.

Given the disease profile, Nphet yesterday recommended no more than two households should meet at any given time. People should only have a maximum of six visitors from one other household to their home. People can continue to meet socially in other settings, but only with people from one other household.

Nphet has also advised that the Government extend the Level 2 measures currently in place for a further period of three weeks, with Donegal and Dublin remaining at Level 3.

However it said it would continue to monitor this situation very closely.
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. 5 Azerbaijani warplanes and 3 military helicopters have been shot down by Artsakh Defense Armys precision strikes around 16:00 October 2, the official information center reported.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
LONDON  President Trumps disclosure that he had been infected by the coronavirus sent a shudder around the world on Friday, drawing sympathy from leaders who have grappled with the pandemic in their own countries and more pointed responses from critics who noted Mr. Trumps cavalier handling of the threat.

Mr. Trump is not the first world leader to be stricken. Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil both were infected  drawing an eerie link between three populist politicians whose countries have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic.

At 74, Mr. Trump is older and more vulnerable than either of those men. The news of an American president contracting a potentially lethal virus also carried global repercussions beyond what would be generated by any other world leader. Financial markets fell in Asia and wobbled in Europe and the United States, before steadying after the disclosure that Vice President Mike Pence had tested negative.

For allies and adversaries alike, there was a sense of shock as they woke up to the news on Friday  even after three and a half years in which many believed they had lost the capacity to be shocked by anything involving a president whose words and deeds have regularly rocked the international order.
Bankable and brilliant, these words perfectly describe our latest digital cover star, Rajkummar Rao. The actor, with his powerhouse performances and outstanding acting skills, has made a mark on the industry in a short time. With films like Newton, Stree, Shahid, Bareilly Ki Barfi and many more to his credit, Rajkummar has indeed proved that hard work and success does pay off.

Celebrating the actors quirky and unconventional style with the powerful and sleek, Nokia 5.3, we bring to you the perfect duo on our latest digital cover. Playing the perfect companion to the star, the Nokia 5.3 complements his brilliance and it is the first time Filmfare has collaborated with a phone brand where we feature the star with the gadget on the cover.

Long-lasting battery life that can keep you going for two days, an advanced Quad camera with AI imaging to get you the perfect picture, a large screen of 6.55 inches to make everything look crystal clear and supporting Pure Android 10 OS, the Nokia 5.3 comes with features that make this phone irresistible just like out cover star.





So check out our one-of-a-kind digital cover with Rajkummar and his glamorous partner, the Nokia 5.3.
New Delhi: The Hathras case took a new twist on Friday (October 2) as the manager of the Ice factory, where accused Ramkumar alias Ramu is employed, has claimed that Ramu was not present in the village on the day of the incident.

The shift manager, Madhusudan, told Zee Media that Ramu reached the factory in the morning shift before 8 am on September 14. Showing the attendance register in front of the rest of the workers, he said that Ramu's presence marked in the record on September 14 and 15 proves this.

Madhusudan also showed Ramu's photo of that day in the factory's internal WhatsApp group. Ramkumar is the uncle of the main accused Sandeep.

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Ramu's father said that his son was not involved in any rape or gang-rape. Being of the same family, he has been implicated in the case. Describing the Hathras victim as his daughter, Rakesh told Zee News that if his son is guilty of gang-rape, he should be shot dead rather than running any trial.

He further said he is nor trying to save Ramu. If the gang-rape charges are proved against his son, he should also be killed.

Rakesh Kumar alleges that his son was earlier detained in the case and then released but as the sections of rape were added in the FIR, his son was again arrested. Expressing faith in the SIT investigation, he said the truth will come out.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday evening ordered the suspension top police officials of the Hathras district. The Chief Minister also ordered the narco test of the police officials.

The Chief Minister also said that the culprits behind such heinous crimes will face the strictest possible action.

The 19-year-old Hathras woman died at Delhi`s Safdarjung hospital on September 29, a fortnight after allegedly being gang-raped. The post-mortem report said the victim suffered a fracture of "C6 cervical vertebra" and there were "extravasations of blood along the fracture line" and the underlying spinal cord was "contused with ascending oedema".

The postmortem report, however, denied rape charges.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday suspended Hathras Superintendent of Police and four other policemen for alleged dereliction of duty in the events that led to the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman followed by her hasty cremation in the dead of the night in the absence of her family members.

The announcement came as protests were witnessed in several states, with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal calling for the accused to be hanged.

Others suspended include Circle officer Ram Shabd, Inspector Dinesh Kumar Verma, Sub-Inspector Jagveer Singh and head constable Mahesh Pal. They were suspended on the basis of a preliminary investigation conducted by the state government.

In the Hathras case, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed to suspend the SP, DSP, inspector and some others officials, based on the preliminary investigation report," said a statement from the Chief Ministers Office (CMO) on Friday night. Narco-polygraph tests of the SP and DSP will also be conducted."

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Avanish Awasthi said all these officers will have to undergo the test, along with family members of the deceased, to ascertain the truth behind the incident since they have been giving contradictory statements regarding the incident.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, who with her brother Rahul Gandhi had unsuccessfully attempted to march to Hathras on Thursday to meet the victims family, said the suspension was not enough. She once again called on Adityanath to resign.

What will happen if you suspend a few pieces? On whose order was the victim of Hathras and her his family suffering?" she asked in a tweet in Hindi, adding that the phone records of the DM and SP be made public.

The family of the victim, who succumbed to her injuries at a Delhi hospital after she was allegedly gang-raped in Hathras, also claimed they were being pressured by the district administration against repeatedly changing their statement. The father of the woman said he was being pressured by government officials and demanded a CBI probe into the matter.

The father, around 50 years old, claimed he was pressured into going to a police station where the district magistrate and police officials made three members of his family sign some document. But we are not satisfied with this. My daughters case should be probed by the CBI and monitored by a Supreme Court judge. We are under pressure from officials and confined to our home while the media has also been disallowed from meeting us," he said in a purported video shared by Priyanka Gandhi on Twitter.

There was speculation about DM Praveen Laxkar being suspended as well. The official was earlier this week was caught on camera issuing a veiled threat" to the rape victims father as he asked him to comply with the government. The video was shared by Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday evening.

Amid nationwide outrage over the brutal gang-rape and murder, Adityanath on Friday said the state government is committed to the safety of women and will ensure the strictest punishment is meted out to the four accused.

Issuing a warning to those who wish to harm the honour" of women, Adityanath in a tweet in Hindi said his government will ensure exemplary punishment and act as a deterrent in the future.

Scores of lawyers in the state have joined the demand for imposition of Presidents Rule in UP, also demanding the dismissal of the state government.

The 20-year-old Dalit woman was raped in a village in Hathras by four men on September 14. She died two weeks later, having suffered multiple fractures, paralysis and a gash in her tongue in the horrific assault.

The woman was admitted to Aligarh Muslim Universitys Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital and then shifted to Delhis Safdarjung Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday. She was cremated in Hathras during the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

All four attackers, upper-caste men from her village, are in jail. They will now also be charged with murder.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he and his wife have tested negative for the coronavirus after they were examined on their airplane 20 minutes prior to landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on Friday.

He said it was the fourth time in two weeks he has been tested.

President Donald Trump announced on Twitter early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Pompeo says the last time he was with Trump was on Sept. 15, at the White House, for the signing of normalization agreements among Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The top U.S. diplomat says he is reconsidering upcoming travel to Florida on Saturday and Asia starting Sunday as a precaution.

He says, We are praying for the president and the First Lady and we hope they have a speedy recovery."

This story has not been edited by www.republicworld.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.
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President Tzitzikostas at local leaders conference in Mannheim: "Cities and regions need direct access to EU funds to turn green words into green actions" 

The city of Mannheim virtually welcomed the 9th European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns organised by ICLEI with the support of EU institutions, including the European Committee of the Regions (CoR). Hosted by the Mayor of Mannheim and CoR member Peter Kurz, local leaders gave support to the Manheim Message, a collective call for cities and regions to be key partners in the EU's path towards climate-neutrality and a joint commitment to develop Local Green Deals.

The Mannheim 2020 conference was held virtually from 30 September to 2 October in a difficult social and economic context due to the COVID-19. Five CoR's prominent members took part, including President Apostolos Tzitzikostas, calling for cities and regions to be placed at the heart of the design and implementation of the EU's recovery plans, ensuring every territory becomes more sustainable, inclusive and resilient.

Apostolos Tzitzikostas, CoR President and Governor of the Region of Central Macedonia intervened saying: "To reach climate neutrality by 2050 and deliver a sustainable future for our citizens, regions and cities need to be part of the development, delivery and monitoring of EU recovery policies. As local and regional governments, we need to take ownership of the Green Deal, shape our own national investment and climate plans and have direct access to EU funds to make the Green Deal tangible in our communities. We must turn nice green words into real green action. If the Green Deal is not built and delivered with our cities and regions, it will not happen at all".

The CoR member and Mannheim Lord mayor Peter Kurz (DE/PES) declared: "The Mannheim Message underlines how important cities and local authorities are as key actors for Europe's future. We are committed to Local Green Deals designed in cooperation with our citizens and key stakeholders. We aim to build the strong foundations for the implementation of the Green Deal in Europe, and to accelerate the transformation to carbon-neutral, sustainable and inclusive societies. However, the Mannheim Message also stresses that we do not want to be merely implementation partners for programmes, measures and regulations. We want to be truly involved in co-creating Europe's future for the well-being of our citizens today and for future generations".

The Mayor of Seville, Juan Espadas (ES/PES), Chair of the CoR's ENVE commission and Green Deal Going Local Working Group, congratulated the Polish city of Katowice for winning the 2020 Transformative Action Award. Mayor Espadas said: "Our cities and regions need to undergo a deep economic and societal transformation to address the current COVID-19 crisis, but also the upcoming climate and biodiversity crises. A Europe made by smart revolutionary actions that have the capacity of changing the face of our territories, restoring ecosystems, contrasting climate change and moving towards healthier and more inclusive societies is indeed possible. Congratulations to Katowice that through its action aims to increase civic participation and to encourage residents to help make the city more sustainable."

Rafa Trzaskowski (PL/EPP), Mayor of Warsaw, said: "the Climate Pact is, first of all, a bottom-up process in which local communities make public their commitment to the European climate neutrality by 2050. But it is also a catalyst for social innovation, enabling mutual inspiration on the methods, ways and tools that are used to transform our societies towards a climate neutral Europe as quickly and equitably as possible. Cities across Europe desperately look forward to some new, bold financing schemes. Already a year ago, Warsaw, together with the other signatories of the Pact of Free Cities, called for more European funds to be directly accessible for cities. Such funds would boost investment in new, sustainable transport infrastructure, renewable sources of energy, greenery, deep retrofit of buildings and power-saving measures."

Roby Biwer (LU/PES), Member of the Bettembourg Municipal Council, Head of the delegation of Luxembourg at the European Committee of the Regions took the floor at the session 'Designing Just Green Cities through Urban Greening Plans'. The CoR rapporteur on various biodiversity opinions declared: "One of the key learnings from COVID-19 is that cities have to rethink their urban development plans. There is a higher expectation by the bulk of the population to breathe a better air and get greener areas in their neighbourhoods. We need to integrate nature and biodiversity in our lives to build a better future. The European Urban Greening Plans have the potential to bring nature back to cities and reward community action to restore and protect biodiversity in urban and peri-urban areas, by also allowing cities to exchange planning tools. Let's be the leaders of biodiversity conservation, not victims of it."

Additional information

Contact: david.crous@cor.euopa.eu / +32 (0) 470 88 10 37


The Vietjet Air flight VJ963 from Incheon International Airport that landed at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport was the second inbound flight permitted by aviation authorities after the Vietnamese government last month green-lighted the resumption of commercial flights to and from seven Asian destinations.

After completing immigration procedures, over 100 of the 158 passengers on the flight refused to proceed to hotels for the mandated 14-day quarantine, angrily protesting what they said was a discrepancy in the rates mentioned before and after arrival. A demand by some that the hotels allow four people in a room was refused as it would flout Covid-19 preventive protocol.

Some of the angry passengers booed and created a ruckus, live-streaming the incident on Facebook, gathering public attention. Several hours later, authorities intervened and took the passengers to a centralized quarantine facility in the outlying district of Can Gio.

Nguyen Thanh Nhan, 49, one of the Vietnamese passengers on the flight, told VnExpress from the Can Gio quarantine camp that passengers on the flight protested because Vietjet did not initially announce the specific quarantine fee.

"When selling tickets, the airline only said customers could choose to be isolated at two places, at centralized quarantine facility for VND120,000 ($5.16) per day, or at hotels, without saying how much it would cost a day," said Nhan.

Nhan said when arriving at Incheon Airport he was asked to sign a commitment paper agreeing to be quarantined at a hotel before boarding the flight.

Another passenger on the flight, who asked to remain anonymous, said that when the plane landed at Tan Son Nhat, a Vietjet staff announced that the hotel isolation fee was VND1.3 million per day, and all passengers agreed. But just minutes later, the carrier said it could not find vacant rooms and there were only options at VND1.7 million ($74), and then VND5 million ($216), the passenger said.

"We were not informed clearly on quarantine prices, and the final offer was beyond the pockets of many of us."

Doan Quoc Binh, deputy general director of the Southern Airport Authority, said at a press conference Thursday that all the 158 passengers had signed their commitment to being quarantined in hotels on arrival, but only three of them did so.

Some passengers persuaded others to refuse to go to hotels so that they could be taken to centralized quarantine facilities at cheaper costs, he said.

"Many people caused disorder, affecting the image of Vietnam's aviation industry. Some live-streamed and uttered falsehoods on social media," Binh said.

The citys Covid-19 steering committee intervened to have those refusing to be quarantined at hotels sent to the centralized facility in Can Gio, around 45 kilometers from the airport, to limit risks of community transmission, he added.

Officials have suggested to the Civil Administration Aviation of Vietnam that it asks airlines to apply stricter procedures and regulations including collecting hotel, transportation and testing fees from passengers before they board the flights to avoid similar incidents in the future.

'Not humanitarian flight'

"VJ963 was a commercial flight, not humanitarian flight and passengers should have voluntarily registered to be quarantined at hotels," Binh said.

Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh, deputy general director of Vietjet Air, said at the press conference that the airline had announced the list of hotels designated as quarantine facilities for all passengers at the Incheon Airport before the aircraft took off.

All the passengers had agreed and signed commitments to be quarantined at hotels upon arrival in Tan Son Nhat.

Binh said Vietjet does not decide hotel rates, but was responsible for surveying and trying to find the most reasonable chargers for passengers.

Responding to passengers' complaints that it announced higher hotel rates than it initially informed the passengers, Binh said the airline was not allowed to announce specific hotel prices based on the instructions of the Department of Tourism. Therefore, the airline had only announced that the hotel quarantine fee was expected to cost around $100 per night, depending on the services.

Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, deputy director of the municipal tourism department, said the city has designated 10 hotels with a capacity of nearly 1,000 rooms as paid quarantine facilities for passengers.

The two to five-star-hotels charge passengers between VND1.2 million to VND5 million per room per night, she said.

Doctor Phan Thanh Tam, deputy director of the HCMC Center for Disease Control, said that as guided by the Health Ministry, people entering the country are divided into two groups, those arriving on humanitarian flights and those on commercial flights. The latter have to use paid quarantine services and have to register specific addresses, book for hotels in Vietnam before boarding the flight, Tam said.

To limit the risk of infection, each passenger will stay in a separate room during the quarantine period, but a maximum of two people are allowed to share a room.

From January until the end of August, the Vietnamese government had quarantined people arriving in the country at its facilities or military camps for 14 days for free.

It has since decreed that foreign nationals and Vietnamese citizens returning from abroad have to pay a minimum of VND120,000 a day to be quarantined at government facilities while those preferring to quarantine themselves at hotels and resorts have to pay the listed price at these establishments.

Vietnam has gone 29 days without domestic transmission of the novel coronavirus. It has so far recorded 1,095 Covid-19 infections, of which 39 are active cases.
(Newser)  Harvey Weinstein was charged Friday with the rape of two more women, Los Angeles County prosecutors said, per the AP. Weinstein was charged with three counts of rape and three counts of forcible oral copulation involving the two women, the district attorney's office said. A criminal complaint alleges Weinstein raped a woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills between September 2004 and September 2005, and raped another woman twice between November 2009 and November 2010 at a Beverly Hills hotel. A Weinstein spokesman said: "Harvey Weinstein has always maintained that every one of his physical encounters throughout his entire life have been consensual. That hasn't changed. At this moment we cannot comment on the additional charges until we learn more about them."

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The new charges mean Weinstein is now charged with 11 felony counts in Los Angeles County, involving five women. The 68-year-old former movie mogul is serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York on convictions for rape and sexual assault against two women. Prosecutors in Los Angeles have begun the process of extraditing him, but agreed last month to delay attempts to bring him to California because of the coronavirus pandemic. Weinstein was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this year while serving time in a maximum-security prison near Buffalo, New York. Another extradition hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11.

(Read more Harvey Weinstein stories.)
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is carrying out an operation to bring back the body of SC Negi, 70, a former deputy inspector general (DIG) of the Border Security Force (BSF), who died in the icy heights of Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday while voluntarily leading a reconnaissance mission to find a shorter route to the China border.

The ITBP said the retired BSF officer was rescued by a patrol party of the force from the remote Nishangaon area of Kinnaur district along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

Negi was seen lying injured with multiple fractures by an ITBP patrol. He died while being carried by ITBP personnel.

The body is kept at Ganthambralam border post at a height of 18,600 feet in Himachal Pradesh, while a helicopter sortie is awaited to pick the mortal remains.

There is no foul play. He died after falling. His body has injury marks, Kinnaur superintendent of police Sarju Ram Rana said.

Negi, who belonged to Kinnaur, commanded a BSF battalion during 1999 Kargil War. He retired in 2010 after 33 years of service. A noted mountaineer, he was the oldest Indian police officer to lead an expedition to Mount Everest.

He took his last breath in the mountains for the cause of the nation when he was willingly leading a recce (reconnaissance) and survey team of security forces to explore the shortest route to the China border in Himachal Pradesh, the BSF said in a statement.

The security forces, however, declined to disclose the point of origin and end of the recce. He (Negi) was advised by his family against the trip in view of his age, but he said it will be his last one, the BSF said.
A US federal court has blocked President Donald Trumps temporary visa ban on foreign workers, bringing relief to hundreds of Indian technology professionals who rely heavily on H-1B work visas.

Trump exceeded presidential authority in suspending new H-1B, L-1, and J-1 work visas, US District Judge Jeffrey White of Northern District of California said on October 1 orde, asking the government to process visas with immediate effect.

The preliminary injunction shall take effect immediately and shall remain in effect pending trial in this action or further order of this court, the order said of the June 22 proclamation by Trump.

The lawsuit was filed by the US Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and other trade organistions in July and was supported by over 50 Silicon Valley tech companies like Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon.

The Congressional delegation of power does not provide the President with limitless power to deny visas to immigrants based on purely long-term economic concerns or purely domestic economic problem[s], the judge said.

Such unrestricted authority would be contrary to Congress explicit delegation of powers in foreign affairs and national security, the judgement added.

The plaintiffs, the judge said, demonstrated that the issuance of the proclamation exceeded presidential authority to deny visas in the context of domestic economic issue.

Judge White ordered that the defendants, and other involved should not engage in any action that results in the non-processing or non-issuance of applications or petitions for visas in the H, J, and L categories which, but for Proclamation 10052, would be eligible for processing and issuance, with respect to the Plaintiffs and the members of the Plaintiff associations.

This is a huge relief for companies as well as employees, who are overseas and are unable to return to the US. This judge asking visas to be processed would help those stuck in their home country, including Indians.

Indians are major beneficiaries of H-1B and L-1 visa categories.

The judgment, however, is limited to the plaintiffs. Greg Siskind, an immigration attorney, pointed out in a tweet, But these associations represent thousands of employees. So effectively it means that the government will have to drop the ban enforcement unless an appeal court overturns it.

Earlier, Judge Amit P Mehta denied relief to 169 Indian nationals who had filed a lawsuit for lifting the ban. The judgment was challenged and is pending.
The family of American hostage James Foley who was beheaded by ISIS in 2014 has accused star New York Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi of bullying them into talking to her and publishing inaccurate accounts in her stories.

The revelations come as Callimachi is facing growing scrutiny over the veracity of her award-winning podcast Caliphate and her journalistic practices, with some of her colleagues at The Times saying they do not trust her.

'If she told me it was sunny outside, I'd double check,' one senior reporter told The Daily Beast of Callimachi as part of a detailed expose that was published on Thursday.

Michael Foley (left), the brother of American hostage James Foley, has accused star New York Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi (right) of bullying the family into talking to her

James Foley was a freelance journalist who was captured by ISIS in 2012 and beheaded in 2014

Adding his voice to a chorus of Callimachi's detractors, Michael Foley, James Foley's brother, has accused the high-profile reporter of threatening his family into granting her interviews.

'She left our family with a lot of pain from her un-professionalism and lies,' Michael told The Daily Beast.

James was a freelance journalist working in Syria who was captured by ISIS in 2012 and beheaded two years later.

Michael said he raised concerns with Callimachi's coverage of his brother's captivity and beheading with editors at The Times, including in a January 2015 letter to then international editor Joseph Kahn.

'I would also like to bring to your attention, the extreme unprofessionalism and threats Rukmini directed to a grieving family only days after Jim's horrific and public execution,' he wrote at the time. 'On 2 occasions by phone, starting on Aug. 22nd, Rukmini threatened to publish a detailed torture story if I did not comply with her interview request.'

The brother raised objections to specific details in Callimachi's articles about James' time in ISIS captivity between 2012-2014, including that he had been repeatedly waterboarded and targeted for abuse by the terrorists, and that he had converted to Islam in earnest.

Callimachi wrote an email to Michael, complaining that The Times was the only major news outlet that has not been granted an interview with the Foleys. She said the paper had been sitting on information about James' captivity at the request of his parents (right)

'More specifically, I was told that if I did not publically [sic] discuss my concerns with US government support, that an article detailing Jim Foley's torture would be published,' Michael's letter to The Times stated. 'She cited pressure from her editors to print the torture story if I did not comply. I did ultimately bow to her threats, gave her a lengthy interview and she published torture accounts anyway.'

In an email to Michael from August 2014, which he shared with The Daily Beast, Callimachi complained that The Times was the only major news organization that has not been granted an interview with anyone in the Foley family, despite sitting on the details of James' captivity for over a year at the request of his parents.

'And my editors are beginning to question whether abiding by your family's wishes was the right thing to do,' she wrote.

His story of traveling to Syria in 2016 was turned in to a 2018 podcast by the New York Times

Shehroze Chaudhry, 25, from Burlington, Ontario, has been charged with a terrorism hoax

The Times defended Callimachi's exchanges with Foley to The Daily Beast, saying that editors have found them 'appropriate.'

Callimachi has landed in hot water after Shehroze Chaudhry, a 25-year-old from Canada whose remarkable story as a fighter with the Islamic State in Syria is the subject of Caliphate, has been arrested and charged with 'a hoax regarding terrorist activity'.

Chaudhry claimed he traveled to Syria in 2016 to join the terrorist group ISIS and committed acts of terrorism, including killings.

His story was the focus of Callimachi's podcast launched in 2018, for which she was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and won a Peabody Award.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced on Friday that they had arrested Chaudhry, who went by the name Abu Huzayfah in the podcast, and described in harrowing detail his role in executions.

'Hoaxes can generate fear within our communities and create the illusion there is a potential threat to Canadians, while we have determined otherwise,' said Superintendent Christopher deGale, the Officer in Charge of the RCMP O Division's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team.

Charges against Chaudhry were announced on Friday by Canadian police

'As a result, the RCMP takes these allegations very seriously, particularly when individuals, by their actions, cause the police to enter into investigations in which human and financial resources are invested and diverted from other ongoing priorities.'

Chaudhry will appear in court on November 16.

His account, as told to Callimachi, was incredibly graphic, in particular as he describes killing a man in an 'orange jumpsuit.'

He says: 'The blood was just  it was warm, and it sprayed everywhere....I had to stab him multiple times. And then we put him up on a cross. And I had to leave the dagger in his heart.'

Chaudhry is accused of lying about his involvement in terrorism and spreading fear

Yet Chaudhry also spoke to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and told a different story, which the CBC detailed in a May 2018 article headlined: 'Did former Canadian ISIS member lie to the New York Times or to CBC News?'

Nazim Baksh, a CBC News producer, said: 'We asked him repeatedly, did you do anything, did you kill, did you execute, did you participate?

''No,' he said, 'I was a low-level police officer.''

Five days after the CBC report, the New York Times published the sixth episode of Caliphate, in which Callimachi and her colleagues revealed they had found a problem with Abu Huzayfah's timeline, and that his version of when he was in Syria did not stand up to scrutiny.

The Times also managed to secure a photo of Abu Huzayfah on the banks of the Euphrates River in Syria, an indication that he had indeed made the trip.

Danielle Rhoades Ha, a Times spokeswoman, said in a statement that the podcast detailed questions about his story.

'The uncertainty about Abu Huzayfah's story is central to every episode of Caliphate that featured him,' she said.

'The episode tells listeners what our journalists knew for sure and what was still unknown.'

Callimachi tweeted that his arrest was 'big news'.

Callimachi tweeted on Friday that Chaudhry's arrest was 'big news'

She said she was always surprised he had not been arrested before

Callimachi also said that he was now stuck in 'checkmate'

'The narrative tension of our podcast 'Caliphate' is the question of whether his account is true,' she said.

'In Chapter 6 we explain the conflicting strands of his story, and what we can and can't confirm.

'Among my enduring questions - the question that we ended the podcast with - is the puzzle of why the Canadian government never charged him? I could never get a straight answer from the RCMP or CSIS.

'The fact that he was radicalized and pro-ISIS is all over his social media.'

She concluded that Chaudhry was now in 'checkmate'.

'The hoax charge forces a checkmate: Huzayfah can prove he wasn't lying by ... giving them whatever evidence they need to prove that he's a former terrorist - evidence they lacked to charge him with terrorism the first time around.'

A few days later, The Times changed its stance on Caliphate's coverage of Chaudhry, saying in a statement that it was 'undertaking a fresh examination of his history and the way we presented him in our series.'

On Wednesday, Callimachi tweeted out The Times' statement, writing: 'I welcome the @nytimes effort to re-examine the story of Abu Huzayfah.'

It was not the first time that Callimachi, who has worked at The Times since 2014 after coming over from the Associated Press, has faced questions about her reporting practices, including her handling of sources, and the accuracy of her stories.

Last fall, The Times had to walk back Callimachi's exclusive story about ISIS' purported use of a rival terror group to provide security for late leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, after it was determined that several receipts the reporter claimed were evidence of collaboration between the two groups were not authentic.

The Times' decision, reportedly led by Callimachi, to buy helmet camera footage showing a portion of a firefight in the Niger desert in 2018 that killed four US soldiers from a 'news agency' in Mauritania with ties to militants troubled some of her colleagues.

The Times stood by the purchase of the video, which showed the deaths of the servicemen and ISIS propaganda, saying that it was 'essential to reconstructing the attack.' The paper never released the video itself.

Callimachi also came under fire after publishing a story about a Syrian journalist who claimed in 2014 to have seen James Foley in prison.

Another Times reporter later re-interviewed the Syrian journalist, and the paper printed a correction, explaining that the man's name that appeared in the original profile piece was was pseudonym.

Callimachi's supporters at The Times believe that her critics are envious of her accomplishments, her high profile and her ability to deliver scoops while working a tough beat.
A team of physicists from the United States and Italy has developed an accurate model to explain how neutrinos interact with atomic nuclei, complicated systems made of protons and neutrons (nucleons) bound together by the strong force. This knowledge is essential to unravel an even bigger mystery  why during their journey through space or matter neutrinos magically morph from one into another of three possible types or flavors.

Neutrinos  often called ghost particles because they pass through matter, and our bodies, unnoticed  are shrouded in mystery.

They were one of the most abundant particles at the origin of the Universe and remain so today.

Despite nearly a century of investigations, physicists still do not fully understand the masses of neutrinos or the parameters that characterize a bizarre behavior known as flavor oscillations  the ability to morph from one flavor (or type) to another.

To measure these flavor oscillations, physicists have conducted two sets of experiments  MiniBooNE (Mini Booster Neutrino Experiment) and NOvA (NuMI Off-axis e Appearance)  at DOEs Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

In these experiments, they generate an intense stream of neutrinos in a particle accelerator, then send them into particle detectors over a long period of time or five hundred miles from the source, respectively.

Knowing the original distribution of neutrino flavors, they then gather data related to the interactions of the neutrinos with the atomic nuclei in the detectors.

From that information, they can calculate any changes in the neutrino flavors over time or distance.

In the case of the MiniBooNE and NOvA detectors, the nuclei are from the isotope carbon-12, which has six protons and six neutrons.

Interpretation of these experiments depends strongly on a detailed understanding of how neutrinos interact with atomic nuclei over a broad range of energies.

Dr. Alessandro Lovato and colleagues from the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, the INFN-TIFPA Trento Institute of Fundamental Physics and Applications, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Jefferson Lab and Old Dominion University addressed this problem in the regime where protons and neutrons are the dominant players in the interaction.

While first postulated almost a century ago and first detected 65 years ago, neutrinos remain shrouded in mystery because of their reluctance to interact with matter, Dr. Lovato said.

Our team came into the picture because these experiments require a very accurate model of the interactions of neutrinos with the detector nuclei over a large energy range, added Dr. Noemi Rocco, a postdoctoral researcher at Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab.

The teams nuclear physics model of neutrino interactions with a single nucleon and a pair of them is the most accurate so far.

Ours is the first approach to model these interactions at such a microscopic level, Dr. Rocco said.

Earlier approaches were not so fine grained.

One of the teams important findings, based on calculations carried out on the now-retired Mira supercomputer at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF), was that the nucleon pair interaction is crucial to model neutrino interactions with nuclei accurately.

The larger the nuclei in the detector, the greater the likelihood the neutrinos will interact with them, Dr. Lovato said.

In the future, we plan to extend our model to data from bigger nuclei, namely, those of oxygen and argon, in support of experiments planned in Japan and the U.S.

The teams paper was published in the journal Physical Review X.

_____

A. Lovato et al. 2020. Ab Initio Study of (,) and (,+) Inclusive Scattering in 12C: Confronting the MiniBooNE and T2K CCQE Data. Phys. Rev. X 10 (3): 031068; doi: 10.1103/PhysRevX.10.031068
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One in three Britons will be living under tougher Covid-19 rules than the rest of the country tomorrow, despite data showing local lockdowns don't work in most places and that infection rates have actually risen.

From Saturday, two million residents in Liverpool, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough will be banned from meeting people they don't live with indoors in a bid to curtail outbreaks there.

It will mean a total of 22.4million Brits will be living under some form of economically crippling and socially restricting local shutdown. Ministers have justified the measures by claiming they are the only way to stop a second national wave of the disease.

But data shows Covid-19 infections have doubled in the majority of areas in England that have been subject to long-term restrictions. In 11 out of 16 English cities and towns hit with lockdowns in the last nine weeks, the infection rate has risen at least two-fold and in some cases by more than 10 times.

In Bolton, Britain's current Covid-19 hotspot, there were 200 infections per 100,000 in the last seven days, up from 14 per 100,000 on July 31. In Wigan cases have risen from seven per 100,000 people to 102 in the same period.

Luton is the only area in the country which has successfully managed to drive down cases far enough to break free from the shackles of a local lockdown - but even the Bedfordshire town could be slapped with restrictions once again because cases have started to rebound.

Scientists, MPs and local leaders say adherence to the rules is low because they have been too 'complex and confusing' to follow. In Middlesbrough, the mayor Andy Preston said he would 'defy the government' and that his town would 'not accept these measures' because there was no evidence they would work.

Salford has seen its case rate soar by eight times since lockdown was enforced across swathes of Greater Manchester on July 31, spiking from 18.1 to 126.6.

In Manchester itself, the case rate has risen more than sixfold since the city was forced into lockdown on July 31 - rising from 22.1 per 100,000 to 147.6.

Oldham, another of the Greater Manchester towns to be hit with a local lockdown on July 31, has recorded nearly triple the cases in that time - from 54.3 per 100,000 in July compared to to 144.7 last week.

In Blackburn with Darwen, which was also forced into a lockdown nine weeks ago, cases have almost doubled since the rules came into force on July 31 - rising from 85.9 per 100,000 to 167.2.

Leicester - which became the first area in the UK to have Covid-19 rules tightened - is the only one of the 16 areas to record fewer cases than when it first went into lockdown.

Coronaphobia is BACK: Anxiety about virus hits highest level since MAY as a third of population is put under local lockdowns Coronaphobia is well and truly back among Britons as cases surge and restrictions are ramped up, research revealed today. Anxiety about the disease has hit the highest level since May as the government scrambles to get rising infections under control - with a third of the population now under local lockdowns. Three-quarters are now either very or somewhat worried about the impact of the disease on their lives. Meanwhile, the public is increasingly shunning meeting indoors, and the proportion working from home has spiked. The trends were highlighted in the latest social indicators published by the Office for National Statistics this morning, which surveyed people across Britain from September 24 to 27. It found levels of socialising, eating out and travel slumped after rises during the summer. Just 20 per cent of adults said they had met another household in a private place, down from 30 per cent the previous week. After lockdown restrictions were imposed across swathes of the North, 37 per cent in areas subject to extra curbs said they had not met anyone outside their own household. Three-quarters are now either very or somewhat worried about the impact of the disease on their lives, according to the latest ONS indicators Just 20 per cent of adults said they had met another household in a private place last week, down from 30 per cent the previous week In places where the lockdown has not been ramped up beyond the Rule of Six, the figure was still 22 per cent. Eight in 10 said they had 'always or often' maintained social distancing when they met other people. The proportion travelling to workplaces slipped from 64 per cent to 59 per cent, after the government's guidance shifted to recommend doing it where possible. And anxiety levels were heading upwards again. Some 74 per cent were very or somewhat worried about the effect of coronavirus on their lives, the highest since restrictions started easing in May. A separate poll will raise alarm bells for Boris Johnson, suggesting that a chunk of the public blames the surge in infections on his decisions. The YouGov research found 46 per cent thought it had been wrong to allow pubs to reopen - although 41 per cent said it was the right move. Britons also tended to believe that allowing students to return to universities was the wrong thing to do, with 45 per cent voicing that opinion against 40 per cent who backed it. Advertisement

The East Midlands city was recording 140 cases per 100,000 people on when it locked down on June 30 and it is now seeing 90 per 100,000. But Leicester's case rate still much higher than the 55 per 100,000 average across England.

It is unclear if case rates would've continued to rise in these areas if no action had been taken.

But if the Government's goal was to bring down infections then it had categorically failed, scientists said.

Sir Chris Ham, a former chief executive of the King's Fund thinktank, told the Guardian the figures showed that the government must 'redouble its efforts in generating public support for restrictions and using a wide range of community leaders to do so'.

He said infections were not falling because the rules were too 'complex and confusing', there was a lack of support for people self-isolating, and the test-and-trace system was 'still not working well enough'.

Dr David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter and an honorary NHS consultant, told the paper: 'The lack of clarity about what the rules are is a big part of the problem. We need very good, clear and consistent messaging across the board that we should minimise the spread by creating exclusive social bubbles.'

After coming under fire for the lacklustre results from local lockdowns, Boris Johnson cited Luton on Wednesday as an example of the measures working.

The Bedfordshire town saw cases fall when restrictions were imposed in mid-August, which allowed for the measures to be released by early September. But now cases are on the rise again, with infections up by 35 per cent between September 18 and September 25.

There are now concerns that Luton will follow in the footsteps of Stockport and Wigan and see even more restrictive measures reintroduced just weeks after they were eased.

If this becomes the case, it will mean not a single town, city or borough in England will have successfully turned around a Covid-19 outbreak with the help of a local lockdown.

Experts say it raises questions about whether the juice is really worth the squeeze, as local businesses go bust and people are forced to go weeks without seeing their loved ones due to the targeted measures.

Aberdeen is the only other place in the UK to have local lockdown restrictions lifted without being reimposed. The Scottish city saw bars, cafes and restaurants shut on 5 August after a spike in Covid-19 cases linked to the city's nightlife.

But restrictions were fully lifted on September 3 after three weeks. The infection rate is now around 8 per 100,000 - down from 32 at the start of August.

Of the places still in localised shut downs, Newcastle suffered one of the largest increases in Covid-19 cases in the country this week.

The city saw cases triple in the last week, rising from 53 per 100,000 to 157 per 100,000 in the week ending September 25 - despite having a local lockdown introduced on September 17. Separate data also shows fewer tests were carried out, suggesting the spike isn't down to more swabs being conducted.

South Tyneside, which was hit with the same measures in the North East a week ago, saw more than doubled from 74 per 100,000 to 178 per 100,000.

Wigan, which only just broke free of local lockdown restrictions this month - suffered a tripling in cases over the last seven days - with number rising from 40 per 100,000 to 102 per 100,000.

Halton - where residents have been locked down since September 18 - also saw infections rise three-fold, from 61.5 per 100,000 to 160 per 100,000.

Bury, in Greater Manchester, saw infections more than double from 75 per 100,000 to 157,000 in the same recording period.

Salford recorded a 70 per cent spike in infections in the last week, with cases rising from 79 per 100,000 to 127.

The Wirral and Rochdale saw an almost identical increase of 59 per cent week-on-week - suffering 121 and 124 cases per 100,000 on September 25, respectively.

Meanwhile, the likes of Bolton and Blackburn continue to have the worst case rates in Britain, despite living with draconian curbs for weeks.

Bolton tops the Covid-19 hotspot charts, with 201 infections per 100,000 recorded in the last full week of data, which was published on September 25.

Blackburn, which has consistently ranked among the worst three Covid-19 infection rate in the country, suffered 167 cases per 100,000 last week.

The Government is now facing push-back against local lockdowns, however, and the Mayor of Middlesbrough yesterday said he 'does not accept' the rules that have been imposed on the town.

Independent Andy Preston lashed out after Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs the town, along with Liverpool, Hartlepool and Warrington would face the same curbs as the North East.

In a video message Mr Preston said they went further than he and other local politicians had lobbied for, and in what is believed to be a first for a local politician, rejected the measures outlined in the Commons.

Middlesbrough and Hartlepool councils had asked for a ban on households mixing in their own homes. But Mr Hancock announced it would also be illegal for households in those boroughs to mix in a public setting such as a pub.

'I have to tell you I think this measure has been introduced based on factual inaccuracies and a monstrous and frightening lack of communication, and ignorance,' Mr Preston said in a video posted on Twitter.

'I do not accept the statement at all. I do not accept these measures. We need to talk to government, they need to understand our local knowledge, expertise and ability to get things done, and preserve jobs and well-being.

'We are really disappointed. As things stand we defy the Government and we do not accept these measures.

'We need to get Covid under control and we need to work with people to find a way of preserving jobs and mental health.'

As head of the local council Mr Preston has no official powers to over-rule the decision taken by ministers. But he could, in theory, prevent council staff from helping to enforce the pub closures and household meeting ban - though there has been no suggestion yet that he would.
Parents of more than 600 children died due to COVID-19 from April to May 28: Government

India recognises centrality of gender equality: Smriti Irani at UN

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

New Delhi, Oct 02: Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani said on Friday in India, the centrality of gender equality is recognised in all aspects of government's agenda, While attending the United Nations (UN) meeting on 25th anniversary of the 4th World Conference on Women.

"India today is attaching the highest priority to ensuring gender parity in all spheres of life and elimination on of all forms of gender-based discrimination. Several of our legislations such as those pertaining to sexual harassment of women at the workplace, protection of women from domestic violence, protection of children from sexual offences, and our criminal laws' amendments, have been strong enablers of women empowerment and protection of children especially girls, over the past six years."

The Minister said India has shifted from paradigm of women's development to women-led development.

Adding that India is now focussed on the inclusive growth as well as deep reforms that would bring about transformational changes, the Union Minister credited the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the same. She even talked about the reservation for women in India and noted that it ensured more than 1.3 million women are elected as representatives in leadership positions.

India recognises centrality of gender equality: Smriti Irani at UN

Smriti Irani said, "Reservation of seats for women in local governance in the situation has ensured that more than 1.3 million elected women representatives provide leadership in the formulation and implementing gender-sensitive public policies at the community level."

While speaking about well being of women during pandemic in the country, Irani said, Government of India took a series of measures for ensuring safety, security and wellbeing of women during COVID. It included one-stop crisis centres to provide medical, psychological, legal, police and shelter facilities to women under common roof.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

Meawhile, opposition delivered a scathing attack on Irani for her silence in Hathras gangrape and murder case few days back saying "We are ashamed to say Women and Child Development Minister is from UP and she is silent. She is a drama queen. She has proven she has no conviction, zero integrity, she is the worst, most shameless Woman and Child Development Minister in history of India".

Later the union Minister said she is confident that Hathras rape trial will be fast and hopes they hang soon.
- President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are set to start quarantine together after they both tested positive for COVID-19

- He made the announcement shortly after it was reported one of his top aides had tested positive of the disease

- Trump's aide is reported to have travelled with the president multiple times in the recent past aboard Air Force One

- They also travelled together to the presidential debate with Joe Biden in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday, September 29

Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

The United States of America President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19.

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during a pst event.

Source: UGC

Trump made the announcement on Friday, October 2, just hours after it was reported one of his senior aides identified as Hope Hicks had contracted the disease.

Taking to his Twitter account to make the announcement, the head of state said he and his wife would start quarantine immediately and that they would do it together.

Tonight, [the first lady] and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this together! the president tweeted.

The news was also confirmed in a memorandum by White House physician Sean Conley early Friday morning.

"This evening I received confirmation that both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus," he wrote.

"The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain home at the White House during their convalescence," Conley added.

The first lady also tweeted confirming the news and indicating she had postponed all her upcoming engagements till further notice.

"As too many Americans have done this year, [the president] and I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19," Melania Trump tweeted.

We are feeling good and I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe and we will all get through this together," she added.

According to media reports, Trump's aide had travelled with the president multiple times in the recent past including to the debate with Joe Biden in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday, September 29.

Hicks, a former White House communications director who now serves as counsellor to the president, attended other events with Trump aboard Air Force One.

In light of the president's positive COVID-19 test, he has cancelled Friday's rally and his only scheduled event is a closed press call on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors.

More than 7.27 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and at least 207,789 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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Source: YEN.com.gh
Chloe Ferry has booked a her third boob job as she plans breast reduction to suit her new slimmer figure following two stone weight loss.

The Geordie Shore star, 25, who has previously undergone two surgeries of her breasts, hopes that smaller implant will better complement her new figure.

Chloe is jetting to Turkey on Saturday, where she will have the cosmetic surgery at the Comfort Zone surgery clinic in Istanbul during her one-week stay in the country.

New look? Chloe Ferry has booked a her third boob job as she plans breast reduction to suit her new slimmer figure following two stone weight loss

The reality personality will have time to rest upon her return to the UK, as the government has just announced there is no longer an air bridge between England and Turkey.

A representative for Chloe Ferry said: 'Following on from Chloe's dramatic 2 stone weight loss this year, Chloe will be flying to Turkey on Saturday 3rd October 2020 for a one week stay to have breast reduction surgery to suit her new slimmer figure.

'Chloe will be visiting the Comfort Zone surgery clinic in Istanbul to have reduction surgery as Chloe feels that a smaller implant will complement her new slimmer figure.

Slimline: The Geordie Shore star, 25, who has previously undergone two surgeries of her breasts, hopes that smaller implant will better complement her new figure

'Chloe has been training hard with a strong gym regime this year not only for weight purposes but to help maintain a healthy and positive mind-set.'

She previously revealed she has spent over 50,000 on cosmetic procedures, which have included two nose jobs, liposuction and breast augmentation.

Less invasive procedures also include an eyebrow lift, dental veneers, dermal cheek fillers and Botox.

Chloe previously told told Closer magazine: 'Of course, it's a bit addictive. But I can stop myself, I'm happy with myself now.

Getaway: Chloe is jetting to Turkey on Saturday, where she will have the cosmetic surgery at the Comfort Zone surgery clinic in Istanbul during her one-week stay in the country

'I've spent a lot of money, it's expensive. I've worked hard for my money and I want to spend it on this.

'My ideal body shape is a small waist with a big bum and hips ... But I think people believe I've had more surgery than I have.'

Chloe's latest procedure will hopefully lift her spirits, after she revealed appearances can be deceptive on Thursday, while breaking down in tears on her Instagram story after having a bad day.

Sharing a series of selfies, the former Ex On The Beach contestant looked troubled as she wiped away tears and her lips quivered.

Chloe captioned the story: 'Life isn't always as perfect as it seems on social media today I'm having a really bad day and it's normal to feel like this'.

Later, she further confided in her fans: 'I can't wait for today to be over'.

The Geordie Shore star then shared footage of herself on a countryside walk as she tried to dispel her gloom.

Speaking directly to the camera, she said: 'Walking along... God I'm drained'.

Opening up: The reality star, 25, captioned her emotional story, 'Life isn't always as perfect as it seems on social media'

Pointing out a supposed imperfection on her downcast face, she added: 'Look at that, [a] bag'.

The next morning, however, Chloe's mood had improved and she thanked fans for their support after her difficult day.

She said: 'Morning everybody so I just want to say a massive, massive thank you to everyone who's messaged us.

'I've had so many messages - thank you so much it really makes us feel better.

Subdued: Pointing out a supposed imperfection on her downcast face, she added, 'Look at that, [a] bag'

'I just had one of those days when you just find out something - and then something else happens, and then something else happens.'

Highlighting the importance of showing both the good and the bad with her fans, she added: 'I wanted to share on social media that I was upset, because obviously social media is always happy.

'So I just wanted to show a bit of real life. And it's normal that people do have down days and stuff like that.

'But I'm a lot better today, I've had an early night. So yeah it's a fresh start. It's a new day, a new chapter.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 22:05:53|Editor: huaxia

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by Maria Spiliopoulou, Valentini Anagnostopoulou, Li Xiaopeng

ATHENS, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- In an art studio not far away from the Athens Acropolis hill, Georgia Psyhogyiou and Maria Foskolaki left aside their brushes on Thursday evening to take a break from a Chinese painting course, in order to enjoy online Chinese music concerts and theater performances and celebrate with their Chinese friends the Mid-Autumn Festival.

As part of an online culture week entitled "A Moonmoment to Remember" running from Sept. 28 to Oct. 5, the two Greek women joined numerous people from across the world who logged in to watch the cultural events and exchange wishes.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Mooncake Festival, fell on Thursday. It represents people's wishes for a harmonious and prosperous life and embodies people's longing for a family reunion, explained the organizers of the activities.

In Greece, the culture week was supported by the China Cultural Center in Athens. The online programs include exhibitions on the origin, significance, and customs of the festival, live concerts, short videos display, and mini-training classes on moon cake making, painting and others.

Psyhogyiou liked in particular the song "Wishing You Stay Well," an adaptation of a Chinese poem written by Su Shi, a poet in the Song Dynasty. It was sung by a chorus of people from many countries across the world.

"I think they sang very well, everybody from all the countries. The lyrics of the song were really touching and it was an interesting experience to get to see that," Psyhogyiou told Xinhua.

"Maybe it can even reach more people online than actually physically having, let's say, performances at specific places," she added, commenting on the idea of the online culture week due to the COVID-19 restrictions this year.

By participating in such online events or taking Chinese ink painting lessons in the past year at the art studio of Ioanna Lin, a Chinese artist living and working in Athens in recent years, Psyhogyiou wants to learn more about the Chinese culture and the Chinese people.

Chinese is also one of the seven languages she speaks. With a degree in architecture, she has just finished her studies in a tourist guide's school and is ready to welcome Chinese visitors to Greece once the pandemic recedes.

Foskolaki, a painter who is also very interested in Chinese arts, said she feels that she has been able to understand better not only the painting techniques but also the values of the Chinese civilization through the classes over the past year.

Foskolaki said big geographical distances between countries are no longer an obstacle. "Undoubtedly we are all closer nowadays. Nations' cohabitation is a reality, thanks to exchanges like trade ties, etc."

Eleni Mpilia, a philologist and journalist at the "China Greece Times" in the past seven years, joined the online activities this week during lunch breaks in her office with her Chinese colleagues.

"In a difficult period, culture is of major importance and we should protect it in any way possible. We should keep these contacts even from a distance," she told Xinhua on Thursday.

"Culture is a link between nations, a very strong one when it comes to a country so far away. The truth is that for many years we thought that China was so very far away from us that we had nothing in common," she said.

"As years go by, we see that these two civilizations get closer through actions made by the two states, initiatives taken by cultural centers and generally I see people coming closer as they get to know each other," she noted.

Mpilia was impressed with the online festival celebration as well as with China's effective response to the COVID-19 crisis.

"China is addressing the pandemic with great success. We see that while here we are taking restrictive measures, there they are opening up again, and cultural events are included. I was reading recently that more than half of theatres and cultural venues are now open. I think that China is an example for us and if we follow the same way, we will reach a solution sooner," Mpilia said before sending wishes to the Chinese people.

"I wish for health and happiness. I wish for families to come together again, which is the essence of the festival, and I wish for a good harvest," she said. Enditem
Los Angeles prosecutors filed new charges against disgraced movie producer and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein on Friday, accusing him of sexually assaulting two more women.

The six additional felony counts against Weinstein, 68, include forcible rape and oral copulation and now mean he's been charged with a total of 11 alleged sex crimes involving five women in L.A. County between 2004 and 2013.

I am thankful to the first women who reported these crimes and whose courage have given strength to others to come forward, District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement.

The willingness of these latest victims to testify against a powerful man gives us the additional evidence we need to build a compelling criminal case.

A representative for Weinstein, once one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, said the producer insists he's innocent of any sex crimes.

"Harvey Weinstein has always maintained that every one of his sexual encounters throughout his entire life have been consensual. That hasn't changed," a statement from a Weinstein spokesperson said Friday.

"At this moment we cannot comment on additional charges until we learn more about them."

Weinstein is now at the Wende Correctional Facility just outside of Buffalo serving a 23-year sentence for sex crimes in New York City.

In February, a jury convicted Weinstein of the third-degree rape of Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, in March 2013 and a count of criminal sexual act in the first degree against Mimi Haley, a former "Project Runway" production assistant, in July 2006.

L.A. prosecutors are seeking his extradition from New York and a hearing in the matter is set for Dec. 11 in Buffalo, officials said.

These latest L.A. charges stem from an alleged assault of "Jane Doe No. 4" that is said to have happened between Sept. 1, 2004, and Sept. 30, 2005 at a hotel in Beverly Hills, prosecutors said.

Another alleged incident involving a "Jane Doe No. 5" happened in November, 2009 and again in November, 2010, also a hotel in Beverly Hills, according to charges.

L.A. prosecutors had charged Weinstein in January with sexually assaulting two women during separate incidents in 2013. Then in April, the criminal complaint was amended to add an alleged sexual assault at a Beverly Hills hotel in May 2010.

If convicted as charged on all charges, he faces up to life in a California prison.
The owners of the horse racing track in New Orleans have agreed to pay a $2.8 million penalty for letting horse manure and urine into the citys drainage system for at least six years and to spend twice that on ending the discharges, federal prosecutors say.

The U.S. Justice Department described the fine to be paid by Churchill Downs Inc., owner of the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, as the largest ever paid by a concentrated animal feeding operation under the Clean Water Act, news outlets reported.

The agreement settles a federal complaint alleging that the Fair Grounds violated that law and the tracks state permit more than 250 times between 2012 and 2018.

This consent decree will stop the flow of untreated process wastewater into the local sewer system, which leads to local waters used for fishing and ultimately Lake Pontchartrain, in a way that recognizes the challenges presented by the racetracks urban location. said Jonathan Brightbill, principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division, said Tuesday in a news release.

Churchill Downs, based in Louisville, Kentucky, said it has worked with federal, state and local environmental agencies to find ways to deal with wastewater and stormwater at the New Orleans track. It has agreed to meaningful measures, including $5.6 million of capital improvements over the next three years, to address the conditions and obligations under the consent decree, the company told The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate.

Neighborhoods the government considers environmental justice communities surround the racetrack, which includes stables and barns that can house 1,800 or more horses at a time. The grounds also include horse wash racks and walkways, manure storage areas and storage areas for raw materials, the news release said.

Horse manure, urine and untreated wastewater is allowed to flow into city drainage if the city gets 10 inches of rain within 12 hours. However, it sometimes did so after as little as a half-inch of rain, as well as in dry weather, according to the news release.

The government said the track agreed to use best management practices and construction to comply with its permit and federal law. It also will conduct sampling, monitoring and hydraulic modeling to tell whether those measures work or more changes are needed, the government said.

Churchill Downs said the tracks urban location is challenged by extreme rainfall and poor natural drainage. These conditions are compounded by its sea-level elevation and an antiquated New Orleans wastewater and stormwater management system.

But, it said, Churchill Downs remains committed to protecting the environment and the health and welfare of the people of New Orleans and Louisiana.

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

Topics Louisiana
President Donald Trump is introduced by RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, February 1, 2018. Yuri Gripas/Reuters

Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, multiple news outlets reported Friday.

McDaniel, who has mild symptoms, was with President Donald Trump last Friday and has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday.

The chairwoman didn't announce her diagnosis until after the media reported it and did a remote interview on Fox News on Thursday without making any mention that she was infected with the virus.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, multiple news outlets reported Friday.

McDaniel, who has mild symptoms, was with President Donald Trump last Friday and has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday.

"After a member of her family tested positive for COVID-19, the Chairwoman was tested for the virus," the RNC said in a statement. "On Wednesday afternoon, she got confirmation she was COVID-19 positive."

The chairwoman didn't announce her diagnosis until after the media reported it and even did a remote interview on Fox News on Thursday without making any mention that she was infected with the virus.

Trump and first lady Melania announced early on Friday morning that they both tested positive for COVID-19. Hope Hicks, another top aide who has regular and close contact with the president, tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday morning after showing symptoms on Wednesday night at Trump's campaign rally in Minnesota.

While McDaniel wished the president and first lady well in a tweet on Friday morning, she's made no mention of her own illness.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The film is taking part in the ongoing Moscow International Film Festival and Belgium's Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur

Egyptian director Sameh Alaa's last short film Setashar (I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face) is competing in two ongoing festivals this week: the Moscow International Film Festival (1-8 October) and Belgium's Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur (2-9 October).

"You can imagine my feeling -- very excited," the Belgium-based director told Ahram Online this week.

I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face also took part in Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival last week.

The film follows youngster Adam on a tough journey to reunite with his lover after 82 days of separation.

"I cannot reveal more about the plot because it is based on a small situation. But I can say it's a road film with a teenager that goes on a journey that changes his life somehow," said Alaa.

Distributed by Wouter Jansen, the short film stars Nourhan Ahmed and Seif Hemeda.

The crew also includes producers Mark Lotfy, Ahmed Pachaa, Ahmed Zayan and Mohab Shehab Eldin, cinematographer Giorgos Valsamis, art director Shaimaa Magdy, editor Yasser Azmy, sound designer Moataz AlQammarii and assistant directors Omar El Halawany, Menna Eldiaby, AbdElrhman Shafik and Ahmed Mahmoud.

I Can Hear Your Voice Still

The thrilling times continue for Alaa as his upcoming first long feature film I Can Hear Your Voice Still was shortlisted for the Cairo Film Connections seventh edition, as part of the 42nd edition of Cairo International Film Festival next month.

Alaa, who studied German literature and filmmaking techniques at the Academy of Cinema Arts and Technology, worked as an assistant director in various commercials and feature films before moving to Europe in 2012. There he studied directing at FAMU in Prague before moving to Paris for a masters at EICAR Film School.

In July, Alaa celebrated the online broadcasting of his 2019 acclaimed short film Khamastashar (Fifteen).

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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Netflix recently welcomed one of the most highly anticipated movies of fall with the mystery film "Enola Holmes."

Launched on September 23, the book adaptation set social media on fire with the hype and recognition from the public -- allowing it to land the No.1 spot on the streaming giant's chart.

From the book series written by Nancy Springer, the film featured the story and misfortunes of Enola, played by Millie Bobby Brown, who is the youngest sister of Mycroft (portrayed by Sam Clafin) and the already-famous Sherlock Holmes (played by Henry Cavill).

The trio, alongside award-winner Helena Bonham Carter who played the role of Enola's mother Eudoria, gave justice to the character with their commanding performance.

Aside from the powerhouse cast, the movie also shed light on the famous detective's personal life as a brother and a son.

With that said, we take a look at the the intriguing "Enola Holmes" easter eggs that you might have missed.

Sherlock Holmes as a Young Detective

Set in 1884, the film covered Enola's quest to find her mother after she mysteriously disappeared.

In the movie, the 16-year-old Holmes has collected newspaper clippings about her brother and his achievements, dubbing him as "mysterious young detective."

This implies that Sherlock was in the early stages of his career and hadn't met Dr. John Watson, a British physician who later became his devoted friend and associate.

The "Pugilist's" Sherlock Holmes

Upon meeting her brothers at the train station, the young Enola went to describe the Sherlock as "The famous detective, scholar, chemist, virtuoso violinist, expert marksman, swordsman, singlestick fighter, pugilist, and brilliant deductive thinker."

The characteristics mentioned were all accurate based on the description of Sherlock Holmes series creator, Arthur Conan Doyle.

Furthermore, when Enola mentioned the word "pugilist," an illustration of Henry Cavill punching an individual at the pub was shown. It depicts the scene of Sidney Paget's illustration "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist," which is also one of the short stories written by Doyle relating to the series Sherlock Holmes.

Mycroft Holmes and His Odd Job

Another "Enola Holmes" easter egg revolved around the mysterious and eldest Holmes, Mycroft.

With Eudora gone, both Sherlock and Mycroft were figuring out Enola's future.

During the train scene with the trio, the young detective said that Mycroft -- who works as a government official and a founding member of the Diogenes Club -- "doesn't need the money" before wondering if the government has cut his salary.

Although his character only appeared in three series, including "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans," "The Greek Interpreter," and "The Final Problem," Sherlock onced describe his brother as an employee who has a modest salary of "four hundred and fifty pounds a year...remains a subordinate, has no ambitions of any kind...but remains the most indispensable man in the country."

Some avid fans were convinced that the eldest Holmes works for a secret service group and that his responsibilities and even his salary were much more significant than they seemed.

READ MORE: Stephen King 'Firestarter' Reboot: Zac Efron Arrives, Plot & More Updates
US President Donald Trump has said that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19.

Reuters

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!," Trump said in a tweet. Read more

Delhi Police Bans Large Gatherings At India Gate, Section 144 Imposed

The gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh has triggered massive protests in the state and beyond.

BCCL

The reverberations of it are being felt in the national capital too, which is around 200 Kms away from Hathras.

Hathras Sealed, HC Summons Top UP Officials

The district of Hathras has been sealed and prohibitory orders (Section 144) are in place, turning the district into a fortress in anticipation of protests against the alleged gang-rape, death of the girl.

Reuters

This comes as scores of Ghaziabad lawyers on Thursday demanded imposition of President Rule in Uttar Pradesh. Read more



Kerala COVID Situation Is Turning Bad As It Now Imposes Section 144 After 2 Days Of 8000+ Cases

From Saturday, assembly of more than five people at a time will be barred in Kerala as the state government has decided to impose section 144 of CrPC to control the surge in coronavirus cases in the state.

BCCL

The decision was taken on Thursday night, hours after Kerala recorded more than 8000 daily COVID-19 infections. Read more

14-Year-Old Girl Killed In UP's Bhadohi, Head Allegedly Smashed With Bricks, Stones

A 14-year-old Dalit girl, was found murdered in Bhadohi district on Thursday.

BCCL

The girl, according to the police, had gone to the field to relieve herself and did not return home. Read more

Tiger Found Beheaded In MP Was Mutilated For Its Genitals By A Man To Increase His Libido

The Madhya Pradesh state tiger strike force (STSF) has claimed that they have solved the case of a tiger that was found dead in August.

BCCL/ Representational Image

The headless carcass was found floating in the Ken River in Panna Tiger Reserve, with its genitals and claws missing. Read more
Donald and Melania Trump Test Positive for Coronavirus: 'We Will Get Through This TOGETHER!'

PLUS: Melania Trump Speaks Out After Being Diagnosed with COVID-19: 'Please Be Sure You Are Staying Safe'

Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace said he will get tested for the novel coronavirus next Monday, after having been exposed to President Donald Trump on Tuesday night while moderating the debate with Joe Biden.

"My doctor is telling me that I shouldn't get a test today because it takes five days for the virus to load up enough and that I could have a test, but it might well be a false negative," Wallace said on Fox News on Friday. "The significance of that to me is that if the president had a test yesterday and it tested positive, then I think he had the coronavirus during the debate."

Wallace said earlier in the morning there was "no sign" Trump had any health issues during Tuesday night's debate.

However, he later speculated on the timeline after consulting his own doctor about when the virus begins to show up on test results.

"This talk about  well, he was with [adviser] Hope Hicks on the plane in Minnesota on Wednesday, I don't think you'd have a positive test," Wallace said, clarifying, "Again, I'm not a doctor, I'm simply telling it in terms of what I was told by my doctor. It wouldn't load up enough to have a definitive, positive test for about four or five days, which is why I'm not getting tested until next Monday."

The longtime news anchor pointed out in multiple interviews Friday morning that he, Trump and Biden are all older and of a higher risk when it comes to the respiratory illness.

The three were together on stage for an hour and a half Tuesday night, though they remained distanced and did not shake hands. (At the debate, the president also spoke disdainfully of Biden wearing a mask, though he said face coverings were "okay" and he wore them "when needed.")

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"The three people on that stage were all 70-plus," Wallace said on Fox & Friends in an earlier interview Friday. "Obviously, the vice president is 77. The president is 74. I'm 72. We are all in the high-risk factor."

During that interview, Wallace said "you can bet I've already been asked by a lot of people" about the news overnight that Trump, 74, and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, had tested positive for COVID-19.

JIM WATSON/Getty Images Chris Wallace at Tuesday's presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 2, 2020

"I'm going to have to get a test because, although I think I was far enough away, we all take that question: Were you exposed to somebody who was tested positive for COVID? The answer is yes," Wallace added.

Debate organizers said the audience members were screened for the virus beforehand, though the candidates' testing was reportedly conducted by their campaigns and not debate or health officials.

The White House has remained officially tight-lipped about what symptoms, if any, the president and first lady are showing while confirming that Vice President Mike Pence and others have since tested negative.

White House physician Sean Conley said in a memo sent to reporters early Friday that the Trumps were "both well at this time," and sources told The New York Times and other outlets that the president had only "mild" symptoms so far.

"Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments," Conley said in his memo.

The president said he and Mrs. Trump were quarantining while they recover; aides said their teenage son, Barron, had tested negative and precautions were being taken with his health.

The president's age and weight put him at a higher risk of having complications from the COVID-19 respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

RELATED: Donald and Melania Trump Test Positive for Coronavirus: 'We Will Get Through This TOGETHER!'

Win McNamee/Getty From left: First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump at the first debate with Joe Biden, on Tuesday

Wallace said Friday morning that he chafed at the news, as he assumes most Americans did, that the president has tested positive for the virus which has killed more than 207,000 people in the U.S. this year  the grimmest reality in a year of turmoil.

Biden has largely campaigned on what he called Trump's negligent mishandling of the virus, while Trump has increasingly blamed China, where the first major outbreak was reported.

"I turned to my wife and I said, as I'm sure a lot of us have said, 'It's 2020, because the unthinkable seems to be the next thing around the corner. You know, here's the next 2020 thing,' " Wallace said Friday.

"It's hard to predict how it'll impact [the election]. But I don't know, fairly or unfairly," he continued. "I don't think there's any question it's going to raise questions again about how seriously the president has taken the coronavirus."

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from the WHO and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.
This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Chris Ringrose who has served as CEO of Cullen Resources Limited (ASX:CUL) since 2006. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for Cullen Resources.

Check out our latest analysis for Cullen Resources

Comparing Cullen Resources Limited's CEO Compensation With the industry

Our data indicates that Cullen Resources Limited has a market capitalization of AU$8.4m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as AU$206k for the year to June 2020. That is, the compensation was roughly the same as last year. We note that the salary portion, which stands at AU$180.0k constitutes the majority of total compensation received by the CEO.

On comparing similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations below AU$279m, we found that the median total CEO compensation was AU$303k. That is to say, Chris Ringrose is paid under the industry median.

Component 2020 2019 Proportion (2020) Salary AU$180k AU$180k 87% Other AU$26k AU$26k 13% Total Compensation AU$206k AU$206k 100%

On an industry level, around 69% of total compensation represents salary and 31% is other remuneration. According to our research, Cullen Resources has allocated a higher percentage of pay to salary in comparison to the wider industry. If salary is the major component in total compensation, it suggests that the CEO receives a higher fixed proportion of the total compensation, regardless of performance.

A Look at Cullen Resources Limited's Growth Numbers

Cullen Resources Limited's earnings per share (EPS) grew 25% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 1,657%.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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Has Cullen Resources Limited Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 30% over three years, some Cullen Resources Limited investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. Therefore, it might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

To Conclude...

As we touched on above, Cullen Resources Limited is currently paying its CEO below the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. Importantly though, the company has impressed with its EPS growth over three years. Although we would've liked to see positive investor returns, it would be bold of us to criticize CEO compensation when EPS are up. But shareholders will likely want to hold off on any raise for Chris until investor returns are positive.

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 5 warning signs for Cullen Resources you should be aware of, and 4 of them are concerning.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
As a result of an aggressive disinformation campaign, about half of Republicans believe voter fraud is a major problem. Now that President Trump has tested positive for covid-19, what will the impact be on his partys push to question the validity of the election?

On this weeks Kicker, Yochai Benkler, a professor at Harvard Law School and codirector of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, and Kyle Pope, editor and publisher of CJR, discuss Benklers study of online media stories and social media posts that referred to the risk of voter fraud, all posted between March 1 and August 31 of this year. His team found that Trump is central to the dissemination process and that, in the medias effort to remain neutral, we adopt and amplify his framing.

SHOW NOTES How the media has abetted the Republican assault on mail-in voting, Yochai Benkler, CJR

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Amanda Darrach is a contributor to CJR and a visiting scholar at the University of St Andrews School of International Relations. Follow her on Twitter @thedarrach.
Mumbai: Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has categorically denied rape allegations levelled by actor Payal Ghosh and sought severe action against her for hijacking the Me Too movement, his lawyer said on Friday. The suburban Versova police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Kashyap (48) on September 22 after Ghosh, in a compliant, alleged that he had raped her in 2013.

Kashyap has categorically denied that any such alleged incident ever took place, his lawyer Priyanka Khimani said in a statement. The police have invoked IPC sections 376 (I) (rape), 354 (assault on woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement) in the case.

Kashyap was on Thursday questioned by the police in connection with the rape case for nearly eight hours. The director-producer has sought severe action against the actor for misusing the criminal justice system and for hijacking the Me Too Movement for ulterior motives, the lawyer said in the statement.

The statement said Kashyap has provided documentary proof to the police to establish that throughout August 2013, when the alleged crime took place, he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with a film shoot. It demonstrates that the compliant of the actress is an outright lie, she added.

The lawyer claimed that belated allegations have been widely publicised by Ghosh for the purpose of vilifying Kashyap. The film-maker is confident that falsity of the complaint has been exposed, not only by the evidence presented by him, but also the ever-shifting version of events put forth by Ghosh in the media, Khimani said.

As per the statement, Kashyap intends to vigorously pursue the legal remedies available to him.
An election year already defined by a cascade of national crises descended further into chaos, with President Donald Trump quarantined at a military hospital with the coronavirus after consistently playing down the threat.

Democratic challenger Joe Biden took down his attack ads Friday and pressed a bipartisan message in battleground Michigan after he and his wife tested negative.

This cannot be a partisan moment. It must be an American moment. We have to come together as a nation, Biden declared at a speech in Grand Rapids, warning that the virus is not going away automatically.

While Biden vowed to continue his cautious approach to campaigning during the pandemic, the presidents diagnosis injected even greater uncertainty into an election already plagued by crises that have exploded under Trumps watch: the pandemic, devastating economic fallout and sweeping civil unrest. With millions of Americans already voting, the country on Friday entered uncharted territory that threatened to rattle global markets and political debates around the world.

The development focuses the campaign right where Biden has put his emphasis for months  and where Republicans dont want it: on Trumps uneven response to a pandemic that has killed more than 205,000 people in the U.S. And for the short term, its grounded Trump under quarantine at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, denying him the large public rallies that fuel his campaign just a month before the election.

Biden and other Democratic officeholders wished Trump well in the wake of his diagnosis, although some could not help but admonish the Republican president, who openly ignored his own administrations social safety recommendations for much of the year.

Going into crowds unmasked and all the rest was sort of a brazen invitation for this to happen, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on MSNBC.

The White House reported Friday evening that Trump will spend a few days at the military hospital; the presidents doctor reported that Trump was fatigued and had been injected with an experimental antibody drug combination still in clinical trials. His campaign announced that all of Trumps scheduled campaign events were being moved online or temporarily postponed. Trumps family, a steady presence on the campaign trail, was also grounded.

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel have tested positive for the virus as well. But Vice President Mike Pence, who has tested negative, will attend his campaign events as planned.

Other world leaders, including Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have contracted the virus and made full recoveries. But strategists in both parties acknowledged the timing is bad.

Millions of Americans have already begun voting in several key states, and tens of millions more will receive absentee mail-in ballots or begin in-person early voting in the coming weeks.

Trumps main advantages, including incumbency, have been removed. Rallies, his main vehicle for mobilizing his base, will no longer be possible. Fly-bys with Air Force One as a backdrop are gone, said Republican strategist Rick Tyler, a frequent Trump critic.

He said that Trumps infection also fundamentally undercuts his entire campaign strategy, which was to ignore the pandemic and make unsubstantiated claims that weve turned the corner and are making an economic comeback.

Biden, meanwhile, moved to take down his ads attacking Trump, according to deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield, who noted that the campaign would continue running positive ads. The decision was made before news surfaced that Trump would be moved to a military hospital.

Otherwise, Biden is not expected to alter his approach to the campaign significantly as Trump recovers.

The Democratic nominee has been much more cautious on the campaign trail than Trump. Having spent much of the spring and summer avoiding crowds, Biden has held far fewer public events since returning to the campaign trail last month  all of them with small crowds, if any, following social distancing guidelines. Only on Thursday did Bidens campaign announce that it would resume door-to-door canvassing in addition to its phone and digital outreach to voters.

Biden traveled from Delaware to Michigan on Friday afternoon for a campaign event, while Jill Biden was attending a separate event in New Hampshire. Bidens running mate, Kamala Harris, made her previously scheduled trip to Las Vegas as well.

The campaign confirmed Biden, his wife and Harris all tested negative for the virus.

This is not a matter of politics. Its a bracing reminder to all of us, Biden said in Grand Rapids, calling for a nationwide mask mandate as he spoke wearing a surgical mask. We have to take this virus seriously.

Trump now faces tremendous pressure to adjust his rhetoric and campaign tactics after spending much of the year downplaying the severity of the virus and repeatedly declaring COVID-19 would disappear.

As recently as Tuesday, Trump ridiculed Biden on national television for his cautious approach.

I put a mask on when I think I need it, Trump said during the debate. I dont wear masks like him. Every time you see him hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

Two additional debates are scheduled for Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. The Commission on Presidential Debates has not yet commented on any changes in the debate schedule or health protocols, but has confirmed that next weeks vice presidential debate is on as scheduled.

Both presidential candidates are in high-risk categories for COVID-19 complications. Trump is 74 years old and clinically obese. Biden is 77 years old.

Should Trump emerge with no visible effects, he could declare a speedy recovery as proof that hes been right about COVID-19 being overblown. But that still would be at odds both with established science and with what Trump himself has said privately. Recordings by journalist Bob Woodward captured Trump in early February detailing the deadly consequences of coronavirus, contrary to his public dismissiveness.

From now until we get to the election, attention is going to be back where it should be: on COVID, the presidents response and the impact  and on health care, said Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright, a Biden supporter. This proves our candidate was right all along.

___

Associated Press writer Zeke Miller and Alexandra Jaffe contributed to this report.
An Upstate New York couple in their 70s is shook up" after being kidnapped and smuggled across the Canadian border.

NBC-5 reports James Helm Sr., 76, and his wife Sandra Helm, 70, were abducted from their home in the Franklin County town of Moira, just outside of St. Lawrence County, earlier this week. Town supervisor Justus Martin told WWNY-TV that the septuagenarians were reported missing when employees couldnt get ahold of James Helm, the Moira highway superintendent for the past 12 years.

Monday morning, I heard from highway employees that Jim is not reachable by phone, Martin said. They went to his house, they couldnt find him, they called the police. Jim and his wife Sandy, an elderly couple in the community, were suddenly missing.

According to The Montreal Gazette, the couple were found safe and sound around 5 p.m. Tuesday at a residence in Magog, a town in Canadas Eastern Townships less than 20 miles from the U.S. border.

They had been apparently taken across the border against their will in what Martin described as a hostage situation." The Helms returned home Wednesday.

My understanding from the family is that theyre shook up, but doing fine, Martin told WWNY. Trying to deal with the reality of what took place.

Five people were arrested by the Surete du Quebec on kidnapping charges after an investigation that involved New York State Police, FBI, Royal Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Akwesasne Mohawk Police, and municipal police forces.

The suspects range in age from 36 to 75. Three are reportedly Quebec residents, one is a resident of the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation, and the fifth has been identified as Graigory Brown, 50, of Plattsburgh. Brown and the four others were charged Thursday with conspiring to kidnap the elderly couple; all are being held until a bail hearing next week.

The Department of Justice said Friday that Brown and his co-conspirators forcibly entered the victims' Northern New York home on Sept. 27 and kidnapped them. The victims were driven to Snye, Quebec, where they were put in a boat, taken to mainland Canada, and then transported to Quebecs eastern townships where they were held. Browns co-conspirators allegedly demanded ransom from one of the Helms' children before the couple were rescued two days later.

Additional details, including a possible motive for targeting the couple, have not been named.

Brown is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a 5-year term of supervised release.
An offshoot of IS operating in south India, known as the Al-Hind module planned to establish ISIS Daishwilayah (province) inside the jungles of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala as recently as in late 2019 according to a July charge sheet by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against 17 members of the module.

This is the first time NIA or any investigative agency has unearthed an ISIS plot of this nature in India, although the terror groups playbook has always revolved around creating Islamic states in areas it controls.

Also Read: NIA court sentences IS recruit from Kerala to life imprisonment

The arrests were made between December, 2019, and January this year.

To understand how to survive inside the deep forest, the 20-member module, led by Bengaluru-based Mehboob Pasha and Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu)-based Khaja Moideen even bought books on famous sandalwood smuggler Veerappan who successfully dodged the police of several states.

Significantly, in November 2019, Pasha, along with four others from this highly radicalised module of IS, even visited the Shivanasamudra area in Karnataka to identify an area in the jungle where they could train, create a suitable hideout for all Al-Hind members and establish the first IS Daishwilayah (province) in the country.

Also Read: NIA arrests Al-Qaeda operative from Bengals Murshidabad

In its charge sheet, reviewed by HT, NIA has further stated that on the directions of Khaja Moideen, module members procured tents, rain coats, sleeping bags, ropes, ladders, pulleys, bows and arrows, jungle boots, knives, arms and ammunitions, as well as large quantity of firecrackers and sparklers with an intention to extract explosive content from them for making powerful IEDs.

The outfit even identified hideouts in Kolar, Kodagu, and other places in Karnataka; Jambusar in Gujarat; Ratnagiri in Mahatrashtra; Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh; and Burdwan and Siliguri in West Bengal where they could hide, according to the NIA chargesheet.

Their plan was to target/murder Hindu religious and political leaders, police officers, government officials and other high profile individuals all over India and then retreat to the forest, the charge sheet added.

Pasha was receiving instructions from an unknown foreign handler called bhai, NIA said.

Also Read: Arrested al Qaeda operatives spill more names to NIA investigators

At its prime in 2014-15, the Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi led global terror outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS) managed to control a significant territory in Iraq, Syria and even Afghanistan. The outfit influenced hundreds of Indian youngsters  some of whom travelled to the held territories, while many stayed here to carry out attacks in different cities. However, never in last six years, have we heard that there was a plan to create a physical territory here in India by the outfit, said a senior counter-insurgency official who didnt want to be identified.

The Al-Hind module, which operated from the Al-Hind Trust office of Pasha in Guruppanpalya, Bengaluru, was unearthed by agencies in January this year with multiple raids in Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The NIA charge sheet adds that Khaja Moideen even sold his inherited land in Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu) and gave an amount of 5 lakh to buy jungle survival and training items. The outfit members practiced Taekwondo and Kung Fu at the Al-Hind Trusts premises. On the directions of Pasha, the module members also participated in anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) protests in different cities.

Moideen was arrested in the murder of a Hindu leader KP Suresh Kumar in Tamil Nadu in 2014 but was released on bail in July 2019. Since then, he was in touch with Pasha to create a new module, NIA said.

NIA officials familiar with the case said some members of the module are still absconding.
13 things Costco has decided it won't sell anymore

Costco often sends members and fans into a frenzy when news breaks of a popular items discontinuation.

Some departing products have inspired online petitions, others quietly disappeared from store shelves or the food court menu.

Once a product enters the warehouse chain's graveyard theres often very little indication itll rise again. Take some time to mourn and remember Costco items that have come and gone throughout the years.

Here are 13 things that Costco wont sell anymore.

1. Half-sheet cakes

Costco

Add Costcos iconic half-sheet cakes to the growing list of things COVID-19 has canceled this year.

The warehouse chain shelved these sweet slabs in the spring. A staple at birthday parties, the half-sheet cakes were an inexpensive way to feed around 50 people a pop. The company informed Delish that it has no immediate plans to revive the fan favorite.

Instead, Costco has been directing people to its 10-inch round cakes, which serve about a dozen people, as a more suitable option for todays socially distanced gatherings.

2. Polish dogs

pengrin / Flickr

It came as a shock to us all. To make room for more healthy items on its food court menu, Costco got rid of its Polish dogs in 2018.

The decision outraged loyal customers, who took to Twitter to protest under the hashtag #SaveThePolishDog. Sadly, their efforts were in vain, and Polish dogs are still missing from the menu.

But dont fret, friends. You can still snag the regular, all-beef frankfurter, and Costcos $1.50 hot dog and soda combo is in no danger of disappearing any time soon.

3. Kirkland Signature Light Beer

CJ P. / Yelp

For better or for worse, Costco stopped production of its Kirkland Signature Light Beer in 2018.

The 48-packs sold for $22  less than 50 cents per can. While the beer had a cult following of party-goers on a budget, it certainly had its critics as well.

One reviewer on RateBeer famously compared the brews smell to a urine-soaked diaper sitting on a piping-hot radiator. With feedback like that, its no surprise Costco didnt keep it around.

Story continues

4. All American Chocolate Cake

Matthew Jansick / Change.org

This glorious mountain of rich, chocolatey goodness was abruptly abandoned by Costco without explanation, leaving customers confused and distraught.

The four-layer chocolate cake was packed with frosting and garnished with chocolate shavings. No one knows why Costco stopped making it, only that it vanished some time in 2019 and now remains the stuff of legend.

The loss even inspired a petition on Change.org, which garnered more than 3,000 signatures.

If you're ordering anything from Costco online, be sure to use WikiBuy to compare prices and secure the lowest price available..

5. Hand-dipped ice cream bars

TJ Thomander / Change.org

Costco got rid of this delectable dessert way back in 2013, but seasoned shoppers remember it well.

The vanilla ice cream bar, dipped in chocolate and encrusted in toasted almonds, sold for only $1.50 at the food court.

Some speculate that rising almond and dairy prices may have prompted Costco to remove the treat from its menu, although the company has been known to sell at a loss with its roast chickens.

6. Roundup

Mike Mozart / Flickr

A Change.org petition with over 85,000 signatures may have led Costco to drop this Mosanto-owned weed-killer from store shelves.

Founder of Moms Across America, Zen Honeycutt, created a petition calling for the retailer to drop Roundup, following billion dollar lawsuits that claimed the herbicide caused cancer. Honeycutt announced on her website that she had confirmed with three people from Costco headquarters that Roundup would no longer be sold in American warehouses.

Bayer, the company that owns Monsanto, maintains that Roundup is safe to use. Yet the World Health Organization classifies Roundups active ingredient, glyphosate, as probably carcinogenic to humans, and numerous U.S. cities have either banned or restricted the substance.

7. BBQ beef brisket sandwich

theimpulsivebuy / Flickr

Although this food court favorite was only available at select Costco locations, fans grieved when the retailer swept grease aside to make room for healthier meals.

The sandwich was crammed with juicy beef dripping in sweet BBQ sauce and topped with a creamy coleslaw. At $4.99, however, it probably didnt get the same following as cheaper items on the menu.

Fortune reported in 2018 that at least some warehouses had dropped the BBQ beef brisket sandwich, however Kitchn suggested in 2019 that it occasionally resurfaces as a seasonal item.

8. Chocolate frozen yogurt

Emilee Crowder / Change.org

Costcos chocolate frozen yogurt was another item that didnt make the cut when the warehouse was revamping the food court menu, though you can still get vanilla.

San Luis Obispos The Tribune first reported in 2018 that a Costco in the California county had discontinued the chocolate yogurt and it seems as though other locations followed.

Despite the 300 petitioners on Change.org who have refused to accept the transition, Costco doesnt seem to plan on bringing it back.

Costco apparently swapped this tasty treat for a healthier option: an acai bowl with banana chips, granola, blueberries and strawberry slices.

9. Kirkland Signature Turkey Burgers

Costco

The same year that Costco cleared many fattening items from its food court menu, it also removed this healthy item from its store shelves.

The extra-lean turkey patties, at only 200 calories each, were a welcome alternative to beef and a popular choice for customers looking to drop a few pounds.

Thankfully, the reviews for the Columbus turkey burgers currently sold at Costco have been pretty positive.

10. Kirkland Signature American Cheese

Costco

Millennials are speedily killing off American cheese, so it comes as little surprise that Costco discontinued this Kirkland Signature product.

Unlike the still-popular Kraft Singles, Kirkland Signature cheese slices werent individually wrapped. Consumers disagreed about whether the convenience would be worth the wasteful packaging.

Many felt that the store brand product beat its name brand competitor in taste, but in the end Kraft has survived where Kirkland has not.

11. Fresh made gelato

Costco Gelato / Facebook

Some of you may remember this one, depending on whether your Costco food court offered it.

Some locations served gelato in flavors like strawberry, chocolate, stracciatella, pistachio or mixed berry, costing $1.50 for a three-scoop waffle cone and $4.99 for a quart to go.

A petition on Change.org (with over 100 supporters) claims Costco stopped offering gelato in 2015.

12. Kirkland Signature 5-Pocket Jeans

David B. / Yelp

In 2016, Costco briefly discontinued its Kirkland Signature 5-Pocket Jeans for men and then reintroduced them with design improvements.

However, fans of the original dad jeans were not pleased with the changes. A customer posting on Reddit argued the newer version was a poor substitute because of its thin material and different fit and design.

Costco seems to have canceled production of these jeans entirely (possibly replacing the Kirkland Signature brand with Urban Star), according to dozens of distraught commenters on Facebook.

Costco still carries Kirkland Signature Men's Jeans; however, reviewers on the stores website still fondly remember the 5-Pocket version.

13. Cuddle With Me dolls

WXII 12 News / YouTube

In 2009, Costco stopped carrying a Cuddle With Me doll that customers found racially offensive.

The dolls came in three different ethnicities  Caucasian, African American and Hispanic  and each was accompanied by a plush panda or monkey. A Costco member in North Carolina filed a complaint regarding the African American doll, which was paired with the monkey and a banana and wore a headband with the label lil monkey.

Costco immediately pulled all of the sets that included the plush monkey out of its stores. Although the other versions were available for a while, Costco seems to have banished the collection entirely.
DeGraw characterized it as extortion, saying the investors told Price law enforcement wouldnt get involved if he handed over the property. But the investors attorney had already set up a meeting with the FBI, and after the deeds were handed over, emailed the FBI to cancel the meeting, saying they no longer considered themselves victims and would testify in Prices favor, according to court filings by the government.

It was roughly a month before the meeting in which he signed over the deeds that Price staged his own abduction. Price "decided he needed to find somewhere to hide" when he learned that representatives for the investors were sending someone out to Virginia to confront him, prosecutors wrote.

He and his family had moved back to Virginia in May 2017 and he continued working for the mine remotely for part of 2017.

The contractors who built the mansion were sentenced to probation in August for tax evasion in a scheme tied to the mansions construction costs. James and Timilynn Kisling were also required to pay a $50,000 fine each, on top of joint restitution of $678,755.55 to the federal government.
ROMAN Catholic Church Mutare Diocese Bishop Paul Horan has hailed the measures put in place by Government to curb the spread of Covid-19 as well as the general populaces co-operation.



Speaking last week at the hand-over of personal protective equipment to 37 schools under the churchs administration in Mutare Diocese, Bishop Horan said due to the measures put in place by the Government of Zimbabwe, Covid-19 is now under control.

Covid-19 has brought a lot of suffering the world over and it appears the virus will be in our midst for some time to come. However, life has to go on. We therefore need to continue being cautious. We are where we are today due to the measures put in place by Government. The co-operation of all Zimbabweans also needs to be applauded.

I applaud President Mnangagwa and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for deciding to re-open schools. Parents were becoming anxious about the future of their children. Yes it is risk as students, teachers, ancillary staff and suppliers converge but life has to go on. We pray that there will no spike in Covid-19 due to the opening of schools, said Bishop Horan.

He reminded everyone to adopt the precautionary measures recommended by the World Health Organisations (WHO).

All players in the education sector are now frontline workers and should get all the necessary support from everyone, he said.

All schools should have proper strategies in dealing with suspected and confirmed cases in their institutions to stop the virus from spreading, he said. Manica Post
New Delhi: India on Thursday (October 1, 2020) received its much awaited new generation of VVIP aircrafts at the Delhi International Airport from Boeing's facility in the US. The VVIP Boeing 777-300 ER duo will be used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on their official tours to countries abroad.

The aircraft has advanced features in electronic warfare suits, it has its own missile defence system called the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) which is capable of countering missile threats.

This will be the first Indian aircraft equipped with Self-Protection Suits (SPS) which can jam the enemy's radar signals and also divert the direction of nearby missiles.

It is equipped with advance communication system which allows availing audio and video communication function at mid-air without being hacked.

The aircraft comes complete with a conference room, a cabin for VVIP passengers, a medical center as well as seats for other dignitaries, staff. Once refueled, this aircraft will be able to fly continuously for 17 hours.

The new aircraft has got 'Air India One' painted with Ashok Emblem with one side while 'Bharat' in Hindi and 'INDIA' in English has been printed on the other side. Also, the tail has the National Flag, tricolour painted on it.

The American-made aircraft has been sourced from US-based Boeing for a whopping Rs 1200 crore.

The Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), which is a subsidiary of the Indian national carrier, will be maintaining the two new planes. A team of 40 Air India pilots have beebn trained alongside IAF Pilots to fly the state-of-the-art VVIP planes.

Once in use, it is being reported that the new 777 will be as advanced as the Air Force One Boeing 747 of the US President.

Live TV
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has tested positive for Covid-19, and he isn't the first sitting president to contract a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus in the middle of a pandemic.

Former President Woodrow Wilson became ill with the 1918 flu when he was in Paris in April 1919 organizing a peace treaty and the League of Nations following World War I.

Wilson wasn't a healthy man and "always frail," said Howard Markel, a physician and medical historian at the University of Michigan. He would go on to have symptoms such as headache, high fever, cough and runny nose, Markel said. Many of Wilson's aides would also contract the flu, including his chief of staff, he added.

Trump tweeted overnight that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus after the White House confirmed that aide Hope Hicks had tested positive and had some symptoms.

Trump was experiencing "mild symptoms" after testing positive for the coronavirus, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows confirmed to reporters Friday morning. The announcement came hours after the administration confirmed that White House aide Hope Hicks tested positive for the virus.

For Wilson, the virus "took its toll on him," Markel said. "That can have neurologic and long-term complications. And he was already at the time traveling and living on a train and giving five to 10 speeches a day. That's not healthy."

When he got back to the United States, Wilson went on a whistle-stop tour to get the League of Nations ratified, which ultimately failed, Markel said. While on his tour, Wilson became thinner, paler and more frail, Markel would write in a column. He lost his appetite, his asthma grew worse and he complained of unrelenting headaches, he added. He would later have a bad stroke.

"His wife basically took over the presidency after that," he added.

Many infectious disease experts and medical historians have drawn other parallels between 1918 and today. Schools and businesses were also closed and infected people were quarantined a century ago. People were also resistant to wearing face masks, calling them dirt traps and some clipped holes so they could smoke cigars.

Several U.S. cities implemented mandates, describing them as a symbol of "wartime patriotism." In San Francisco, then-Mayor James Rolph said, "[C]onscience, patriotism and self-protection demand immediate and rigid compliance," according to influenzaarchive.org, which is authored by Markel. But some people refused to comply or take them seriously, Markel said.

"One woman, a downtown attorney, argued to Mayor Rolph that the mask ordinance was 'absolutely unconstitutional' because it was not legally enacted, and that as a result, every police officer who had arrested a mask scofflaw was personally liable," according to influenzaarchive.org.

As with Trump, some reports and historians have suggested that Wilson downplayed the severity of the virus. But Markel said that is a "wrong and a false trope of popular history."

The federal government played a very small role in American public health during that era, he said. Unlike today, there was no CDC or national public health department. The Food and Drug Administration existed, but it consisted of a very small group of men.

"It was primarily a city and state role, and those agencies were hardly downplaying it," Markel said.

Unlike today, Wilson did not get sick during his reelection, Markel said. He said the public needs to know "how healthy or how not healthy" Trump is before the election on Nov. 3.

"When you're voting for a president now, you really are potentially voting for the vice president," he said. "Because what if Trump gets sick and gets incapacitated or worse between Election Day and Jan. 20 because of Covid? Well then the elected vice president becomes president."

"The importance of him being clear, open and honest  or his doctors  with his health conditions is something I'm skeptical we'll see. But it is critical," Markel said.
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 | Oct. 2, 2020

Pennsylvania reinstates crowd restrictions for the time being. Pennsylvania House of Representatives ends its voting session after a member tests positive for COVID-19. President Trumps campaign sues Philadelphia over poll watchers and satellite election offices. A pregnant woman goes to prison for shooting her boyfriends eye out, but hes already forgiven her.

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.
When the production team was preparing to shoot The Shoes of the Fisherman, a 1968 religious drama set partially at the Vatican, they asked for permission to shoot some scenes in the Sistine Chapel.

The answer was no.

So when clergy members invited to the premiere saw characters meeting in the chapel, surrounded by some of the most famous artwork in the world, they were outraged. Their reaction may have been one of the very best reviews ever of movie magic, because the cameras never rolled inside the Sistine Chapel. All of the frescoes originally painted by such masters as Michelangelo and Botticelli were played in the film by backdrops.

They were so convincingly painted, they fooled the clergy, said Karen L. Maness, who co-wrote the 2016 book The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop and worked on the Backdrop Recovery Project, a campaign to preserve 200 pieces from MGM films that seemed destined for destruction.

For her effort, Maness was permitted to select 50 backdrops, which are now stored at Texas Performing Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. Maness teaches at the university and is scenic art supervisor for the performing arts center. Among the 50 backdrops she chose were those from The Shoes of the Fisherman.

The movie "Shoes of the Fisherman," a 1968 drama starring Anthony Quinn and directed by Michael Anderson, was based on the best-seller by Morris West about the election of a new pope at the height of Cold War tensions. It is available to rent on streaming services such as iTunes and Amazon Prime. See More Collapse

McNay Art Museum visitors can judge the quality of some of the Fisherman backdrops for themselves. Six of them form the spine of Hollywoods Sistine Chapel: Sacred Sets for Stage & Screen, an exhibit in the museums Brown and Tobin Theatre Arts galleries.

The exhibit, the first time the backdrops have been shown to the public, is a collaboration between the McNay and Texas Performing Arts.

On ExpressNews.com: Lost Pearl Brewery mural now at Texas State University

Theyre part of Hollywoods hidden history, Maness said. They were part of the illusion of transporting the audience into the belief that they are someplace else, part of the magic of Hollywood storytelling.

Those who take a good look at the backdrops, enormous works that take up a lot of real estate in the galleries, can get a sense of how they were used, said R. Scott Blackshire, curator of the museums Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts.

Theyre hardworking pieces of set, he said. And you can see on the edges, you can see where theyve been taped, where theyve been numbered, you can see staple marks where theyve been stapled onto the frame for the set. And you can see the artistry.

The group of artists who created these were some of the best artists from around the world at the time to come in and make, in a sense, copies of Renaissance masters.

The murals are hung throughout the galleries alongside maquettes for operas, which give a sense of how backdrops are used in those productions, and some related contemporary art pieces.

I wanted it to feel theatrical, said Blackshire, who co-curated the show with Maness and Timothy J. Chagolla Retzloff, co-curator of the Tobin Collection. I knew that the large scale of these would be something of a spectacle. At the same time, I wanted to relate these backdrops to Renaissance-inspired theater designs that are in the collection, as well as look at some of the Renaissance art from the McNay collection.

The balance is to be clear that these are not Renaissance murals. So its really focusing on the theater art aspect of it, the painting, the canvases, and the fact that they were used to re-create the Sistine Chapel for a movie set in the exact same way (backdrops) would be used for an opera or for musical theater or for a play.

There also are videos, including scenes from the film, as well as information about the Backdrop Recovery Project, which saved 207 pieces, many of which had been featured in such iconic movies as North by Northwest, Singin in the Rain and The Wizard of Oz.

The Backdrop Recovery Project and the book Maness co-wrote with Richard M. Isackes, were inspired by a desire to preserve an artform and the history behind it, both of which threatened to be lost.

Prior to that book being published, scenic artists had never been credited for their work, Maness said. They never got screen credit. This was an effort by the Art Directors Guild to capture their knowledge and conduct interviews with these artists. So much of that skill and the need for backdrops was being supplanted by digital technology.

They recognized, especially Tom Walsh, the former director of the Art Directors Guild, the need to capture these stories before they were gone.

The recovery project began when JC Backings, a rental company whose stock included hundreds of backdrops used by MGM, reached out to the guild. Demand for the backdrops had been dropping, and the company no longer needed to keep so many. So they offered them to the guild, which sought to document and to find new homes for them. Some were taken by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; some went to museums and colleges.

On ExpressNews.com: McNay staffer shows his own work

In the backdrops Maness chose for UT-Austin, she aimed for a range of painting and design styles to maximize their usefulness for students. She selected two from National Velvet and one from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. And she couldnt resist the Shoes of the Fisherman pieces: Honestly, I think it was having the Sistine Chapel at UT that pretty much sealed the deal.

Richard Aste, director and CEO of the McNay, happens to be an Italian Renaissance scholar who is intimately acquainted with the works in the actual Sistine Chapel. He praised the connections that Blackshire creates between the backdrops and the other artwork in the exhibit, which forge connections across time. And he is impressed by the skill of the backdrop artists.

Because of the remarkable scale of these works and the impact that they have from a distance, you do feel like youre looking at an original fresco from 500 years ago, he said.

Deborah Martin is an arts writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Deborah, become a subscriber. dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN
EU/UK trade developments and rumours triggered high volatility on Thursday while President Trumps positive coronavirus tests created major waves in global markets. There will be no let-up in exchange rate volatility on Friday with a key EU/UK trade briefing as well as US political headlines.

Crucial EU/UK trade statements on Friday

Sterling was subjected to very volatile trading on Thursday with initial losses on news that the EU would launch legal action against the UK over the Internal Markets Bill.

There was a fierce rebound on reports that the UK and EU had found a landing zone on the level playing field with pound-to-dollar (GBP/USD) highs near 1.2980. Gains reversed again as the EU denied these reports with GBP/USD dipping to lows below 1.2850 and the pound-to-Euro rate settling below 1.1000.

German Foreign Minister Maas stated in call with Irish counterpart Coveney that a Brexit deal was still possible while insisting that there is no room for compromise and signed treaties have to be respected.

There will be scope for further volatility on Friday as key officials give their briefings following the end of the negotiating round.

EU Chief Negotiator Barnier and UK counterpart Frost will hold a meeting on Friday and there is likely to be a press briefing afterwards.

Sterling will strengthen sharply if it is confirmed that the talks will now enter the tunnel with two weeks of intensive talks ahead of the October 15th Summit. An acrimonious tone would send the UK currency sharply lower while a commitment to keep on talking would be seen as relatively neutral.

Terence Wu of OCBC Bank commented; Without a commitment to progress to the next stage of talks, the first support at 1.2800 may come into play. If 1.2800 is breached, the next support will be at 1.2700, expect 1.3000 to cap.

Neil Jones, head of FX sales at Mizuho commented; volatility will be greater and the potential ranges for the pound on a daily basis will be greater as well.

Global risk appetite slides, Trump tests positive for coronavirus

Overall risk appetite held firm on Thursday amid hopes that the US Administration and Congress would secure a fiscal stimulus.

There was, however, a sharp reversal in Asian trading on Friday with markets initially disappointed that there was no fiscal deal.

Selling pressure intensified following reports that President Trump was self-quarantining as a close aid had tested positive for coronavirus. There was a fresh round of selling after it was confirmed that Trump had tested positive.

The weaker tone in risk appetite and a dip in equity markets also tended to undermine UK currency support, although initial dollar gains reversed with GBP/USD back above 1.2850.

Pound Sterling will be vulnerable if risk conditions continue to slide.

Westpacs Sean Callow commented; It has the potential to reduce Trumps campaigning ability. It also hurts him as far as the whole narrative that its really not much to worry about - it puts the COVID crisis itself back front and centre...But does it shift polls? I just dont know.

Bank of Singapore FX analyst Moh Siong Sim noted; The U.S. infection rate is not going down anymore. This reminds people that the virus is still around.

Markets also remain wary over domestic coronavirus developments with further restrictions in part of England and Northern Ireland.
We could be looking at a very hard winter We could be looking at a very hard winter

Despite government measures, prospects for the street homeless are looking grim as winter approaches. Lucy McKitterick, manager of the Kings Lynn night shelter, explains.
BATON ROUGE, La.: A Louisiana trooper accused of shooting a 19-year-old man in the back during a traffic stop two years ago has been indicted on charges of aggravated second-degree battery and illegal use of a weapon.

A state police news release said Trooper Kasha Domingue was indicted Thursday by an East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury. Her attorney, John McLindon, declined to comment because he hadnt read the indictment, The Advocate reported.

Clifton Scott Dilley, who sued Domingue, the department and the state last year in federal court, was present in a wheelchair when the indictment was handed up, the newspaper said.

He did not comment. But his attorney issued a statement that Dilley and his family were grateful for this first step in the prosecution of Kasha Domingue.

The bullet damaged a bone and the spinal cord in Dilleys lower back, according to the lawsuit. Attorney Don Cazayoux has told news outlets that Dilleys lower body is paralyzed.

The family understands the difficulties associated with these prosecutions and also respects the jobs that the men and women in law-enforcement do every day to protect us and keep us safe from harm, the statement said.

The police news release said Domingue was put on paid leave and troopers would arrest her once a grand jury warrant was issued. It said only that the shooting occurred during a traffic stop on July 10, 2018.

Dilleys lawsuit accused Domingue of shooting him in the back and then lying about it. She first reported the incident with a radio code that indicated she had used a stun gun on him, delaying medical care, then said she shot him as he charged at her, according to the lawsuit.

A business surveillance camera recording showed unequivocally that Trooper Domingues story of being attacked was completely false, and that she instead shot a fleeing, unarmed passenger of a car stopped for a minor traffic violation, the lawsuit said.

State police said Domingue, who began working for the department in August 2015, was placed on desk duty after the shooting.

Colonel Kevin Reeves, the state police superintendent, said in the news release that Louisiana State Police began an immediate investigation into the shooting and has cooperated fully with the East Baton Rouge District Attorneys Office.

I remain confident in our investigative process. Through the judicial system, I expect a fair and just outcome to this incident," Reeves said in the statement.

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 Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War

By Michael Gorra

Liveright. 433 pp. $29.95

- - -

In one characteristically lyrical passage of "The Saddest Words: William Faulkner's Civil War," Michael Gorra describes a scene from Faulkner's novel "The Unvanquished," in which "time hangs suspended, and yet so does a sense of enduring crisis," followed by "ever-faster change, faster fall." When I first opened the book, we were all in quarantine, and nothing seemed to change except the rising covid-19 death toll. By Chapter 2, we had hurtled into protests, tear gas and statue removals, with the looming prospect of a tumultuous election hanging over everything. Gorra could not have foreseen our current moment when he began this work of biography, history and literary criticism. Yet his extended meditation on whether and why we should continue to read the work of a privileged White novelist from Jim Crow Mississippi often seems to describe exactly where we are.

The saddest words - "was" and "again" - come from Faulkner's novel "The Sound and the Fury" (1929). Jason Compson, a lawyer corroded by drink and disappointment, tells his son, Quentin, that "was is the saddest word of all" because something that "was is fixed and unchangeable, forever in the past, an event - a mistake - that can be neither altered nor redressed." Quentin later decides "that again is even sadder than was, saddest of all. For the term suggests that what was has simply gone on happening, a cycle of repetition that replays itself, forever."

Repeated mistakes and cruelties trapping families over centuries in one Mississippi county make up Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha fiction, which loops forward and backward in time, through prequels and sequels published over 30 years, to tell the story of this imagined county modeled on Faulkner's Mississippi home. All of it wrestles with the legacy of the Civil War, "the central quarrel of our nation's history," caused by the problems of slavery and violent structural racism. The war resolved the first problem but not the second. Faulkner knew that truth, and though he could not meet its demands in his life, his fiction could not look away from it, which is why, according to Gorra, it remains necessary.

Gorra builds his case through three sections. The first is chiefly biographical, unspooling Faulkner's own story from his birth in 1897 backward through prior generations and forward through a career that took him from Mississippi to Paris, to Hollywood, to Stockholm, and back to Mississippi. The section culminates by narrating Yoknapatawpha's story in more straightforward chronological order than the novelist himself ever did. The second section recounts the Civil War and emancipation in Mississippi, noting where historical events appear in particular novels. The third section sifts and excavates Faulknerian passages for revelations about race.

Faulkner often falls short. His fiction developed Black characters less fully than Whites, sometimes portrayed enslaver families as the patrician paternalists they pretended to be, and never depicted the beatings or sales of enslaved people that made enslavers' worlds possible. In his life, he represented Whites' violent overthrow of Reconstruction as a noble crusade, "used racial epithets almost every day" and claimed that "Southern Negroes would be better off under the conditions of slavery." Gorra does not shy away from these failings, but he does try to soften them with regretful sighs about how such views were typical of most Mississippians in Faulkner's day. We say that sort of thing a lot, but we are wrong, because the majority of Mississippians - 57.6 percent when Faulkner was born, according to the census, and 56.2 percent when he began to write - were Black. We excuse the racism by refusing to see Black Mississippians, which is something Faulkner did not do.

The argument, then, for why we should still read Faulkner is not a "man of his time" apologia. Rather, the argument grows from Faulkner's insistence that the only thing worth writing about was "the human heart in conflict with itself." His fiction grapples with the conflict over race that roiled his own heart and that sent the heart of the nation to war with itself. That conflict entangles Yoknapatawpha families - the Sartorises, Sutpens, Compsons, McCaslins, Beauchamps, Bundrens - with one another and turns them against themselves. Faulkner's refusal to look away explains why the novels return to the same places and characters. His fiction provides a landscape in which his failings - which were also his region's and his nation's - can be faced more squarely.

One example of the heightened clarity enabled by Faulkner's famously opaque fiction comes in the character of Ike McCaslin in "Go Down, Moses" (1942). McCaslin first appears as a 16-year-old who walks away from his inheritance upon discovering that his family's fortune grew from exploiting land and turning people into cash. Reappearing later as a childless old man, he meets a mixed-race woman and her baby, his relations, who could be his link to the future, but the embittered McCaslin banishes them. Turning away from a history of racist violence is one thing, remedying its consequences quite another. McCaslin could not do it. Neither could Faulkner, but he could craft scenes in which readers feel disappointment and loss about that failure.

By creating characters like McCaslin, Gorra demonstrates, Faulkner "became better than he was" and spoke in a voice we still need to hear. That voice tells us that slavery was. The Civil War was. Violent racist oppression was. And here we are again.

- - -

Manning is a professor of history at Georgetown University and the author of "Troubled Refuge: Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War."
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  The Wisconsin Department of Justice on Wednesday released the training records for the three Kenosha police officers involved in last month's shooting of Jacob Blake, which sparked several nights of unrest.

Officers Ryan Sheskey, Brittany Meronek and Vincent Arenas responded to a domestic disturbance on Aug. 23. Sheskey ended up shooting Blake seven times in the back, leaving him paralyzed. Blake is Black. Sheskey is white.

Some of the protests following the shooting turned violent. Prosecutors have charged 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch, Illinois, with shooting two people to death and wounding another during one of the demonstrations.

Sheskey's records show he attended multiple classes since he became a Kenosha officer in 2013, including courses on bike patrol, a 2017 class on the 2012 mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek and a 2017 class on how to interact with citizens and a 2019 course on crisis intervention.

Meronek's records indicate she joined the Kenosha Police Department in January and had just finished her basic training in May.

Arenas' records indicate he joined the department in February 2019. He noted in a letter to the department that he previous served as a U.S. Capitol police officer in Washington, D.C.

The Justice Department redacted the officers' birth dates, Social Security numbers, drivers' license numbers, military service records, educational records as juveniles and the the results of their criminal background searches.
Manchester Underwriting Management Ltd. (MUM) has acquired the portfolio renewal rights of Pinpoint Underwriting. The underwriting team at Pinpoint will be joining MUM with immediate effect.

Pinpoint is a well-established MGA, specializing in writing UK professional indemnity. Pinpoint is headed up by Scott Ruff who has worked in the industry for over 35 years, previously with Aviva before setting up Pinpoint.

Joining Ruff are Roger Wallace and Brian Kerrigan.

Manchester Underwriting Management is about providing quality products, fantastic service and first-class security. Our underwriters make decisions and we provide a great claim service, said Charles Manchester, chief executive of Chesham, England-based MUM.

It is great to have Scott and his team on board, they have a great reputation and are respected and well known in the market. Their approach to underwriting fits with the MUM ethos. Scott and the team will only strengthen MUM, Manchester said in a statement.

It has been a pleasure working with the team over the last seven years to create, develop and build Pinpoint into the success it is today, said Ruff.

However when the opportunity was presented to become part of the Manchester Underwriting Management team, it was a perfect fit for the Pinpoint team to join a much larger progressive organization with a similar underwriting philosophy and who understands the importance of good customer service and broker relationships. We look forward to our new journey with MUM and continuing to give a great service to our existing customers and developing new relationships.

As part of the acquisition, MUM will retain Pinpoints Perth office in Scotland, adding to its existing London, Chesham, Bristol and Leeds offices.

Source: Manchester Underwriting Management

Topics Mergers Underwriting Insurance Wholesale
Nicky Hilton looked nothing short of ethereal in a flowing blue and white maxi dress, after a shopping trip around Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old fashion designer, who has been married to banker James Rothschild since 2015, looked in high spirits, as she flaunted her sophisticated street style.

While strutting around in a pair of sky-high heels, the socialite kept her shoulder-length blonde hair stylishly straight with a few strands separated into two braids.

Street style: Nicky Hilton looked nothing short of ethereal in a flowing blue and white maxi dress, after a shopping trip around Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood on Wednesday

She paired her stylish ensemble with a chic, crocheted bag and a white CDC-recommended face mask.

After slipping out of her facial covering, Hilton showed off her flawless complexion and sun-kissed skin.

The beauty opted for a camera-ready makeup look, which included a sweep of bronzer on her cheeks, layers of mascara and a slick of glossy pink lipstick

Effortlessly chic: The 36-year-old fashion designer, who has been married to banker James Rothschild since 2015, looked in high spirits, as she flaunted her sophisticated street style

The hotel heiress, who shares daughters Teddy, two, and four-year-old Lily-Grace with her husband, has been busy attending several pandemic-era presentations.

Meanwhile, her older sister Paris Hilton has been making headlines lately with the release of her YouTube documentary, This Is Paris.

In the movie, the 39-year-old former Simple Life star revealed her trauma at being sent to a boarding school for troubled youth in Utah at the age of 16 because her parents couldn't control her.

Ethereal: While strutting around in a pair of sky-high heels, the socialite kept her shoulder-length blonde hair stylishly straight with a few strands separated into two braids

Glowing: After slipping out of her facial covering, Hilton showed off her flawless complexion and sun-kissed skin

Nicky recently told E! News about the first time she watched the documentary, in the company of her sister.

'It was very, very emotional,' she recounted. 'She didn't even want to show my mother the movie. So we snuck downstairs and we were watching it together.

'She said, 'I don't want mom to see it.' I was like, 'Well she's going to see it in a few weeks when it's on YouTube for the whole world to see.''

All in the details: She paired her stylish ensemble with a chic, crocheted bag and a white CDC-recommended face mask

Busy: The hotel heiress, who shares daughters Teddy, two, and four-year-old Lily-Grace with her husband, has been busy attending several pandemic-era presentations in September

Nicky continued: 'We laughed. We cried. I'm just so proud of her, because going through so much trauma and reliving it with the whole world watching is very brave.'

Paris, 39, revealed a never-before-seen side of herself in the documentary, stripping away the shallow socialite character she's been pigeonholed into portraying.

She told Variety of her portrayal in the film: 'I feel that I've grown up so much, especially in the past year. Doing this film, I just had so many realizations and realized who I truly am and why I am the way I am.'
Police cars are stationed outside Bruno's Bakery and Restaurant on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, as officers respond to a burglary at the eatery. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 00:18:18|Editor: huaxia

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SHANGHAI/XI'AN, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese citizens started their eight-day golden holiday on Thursday for the National Day and traditional Mid-Autumn Festival.

The long holiday is a season of tourism and consumption boom that is set to inject momentum into China's recovering economy.

Amid regular epidemic control, hundreds of millions of Chinese will be traveling for family reunions or leisure staycations after some trying months due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Xu Jie, a 35-year-old photographer with the Shanghai-based Spring Tour travel agency, celebrated the National Day with 15 local tourists. They took a city walk, strolling along the Bund, an iconic scenic spot of the metropolis. He guided the visitors to catch sight of the magnificent sunrise on the Huangpu River.

"More and more people are developing a fondness for city walks, which can help them better understand the place. Especially since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, most people choose not to travel abroad to avoid risks of infection," said Xu.

Spring Tour has launched such city-stroll services in Shanghai to help people develop a deeper understanding of the city's history and culture.

"Photowalks led by Xu sold out quickly after they were launched. City strolls involving coffee tasting or watching performances are also quite popular," said Ke Yiming, marketing manager of Spring Tour.

To speed up the recovery of domestic tourism amid regular COVID-19 control, China further eased restrictions by raising the limit on daily reception numbers at scenic spots, theaters and performance venues to 75 percent of their maximum capacity, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in mid-September.

During the holiday, the total number of domestic tourists nationwide is expected to reach 550 million. Booming travel demand has driven the speedy recovery of the country's tourism and consumption sectors.

In the third quarter, the number of tourists at the A-level tourist attractions nationwide reached about 70 percent of that during the same period last year, while the numbers at some local tourist attractions were close to the figures seen over the same period last year.

"Thanks to the new measures to boost business resumption, China will embrace a stronger recovery of tourism and consumption," said He Jianmin, a professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

On Thursday, a scenic moat area along the city wall in northwest China's Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, opened to the public for free after renovations.

Luo Qiang, a tourist from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, arrived in Xi'an with his family members on Thursday morning after a 10-hour self-driving trip. They braved the drizzle to visit the city wall as the first stop of their planned six-day tour of the city.

During the first hour and a half after opening, the number of tourists exceeded 1,000, said Cao Ling, spokeswoman for the Xi'an city wall scenic area. Strict disinfection measures were taken in all public areas each day, and the reception volume was kept below 75 percent of the maximum capacity, she said.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, on the first day of the holiday, more than 150 major tourist attractions in the city received 950,000 tourists, up 110 percent year on year. Shanghai's 90 museums held 46 temporary exhibitions and received 80,400 visitors, up 98.8 percent year on year.

The holiday features traditional customs as the Mid-Autumn Festival coincides with the National Day holiday. The traditional festival is marked by family reunions, with people eating mooncakes and enjoying lanterns and views of the full moon.

Famous bakeries and restaurants in Shanghai have developed new flavors for mooncakes, such as cheese mooncakes, and milk-and-tea mooncakes, to attract customers.

"The sales volume of our mooncakes so far this year has surpassed that of the same period last year," said Jiang Yong, assistant to the general manager of Godly, a Shanghai-based food company with nearly 100 years in the business.

Shanghai has planned more than 140 cultural and tourism activities for the holiday, including a lantern festival, according to local officials. Enditem
The news everyone dreadedwas finally announced.

The Quebec government declared on September 21 that the province has entered the second wave of COVID-19, and new measures were implemented over the Montreal, Quebec City and Chaudiere-Appalaches regions.

They are all considered in the red zone, placing Kanesatake in the highest level of the COVID-19 alert. As of Wednesday, September 30, Quebec recorded 838 new cases, and the community currently has no active cases.

This being said, the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) spokesperson Robert Bonspiel said everyone needs to remain vigilant.

If we dont do this now, Christmas might be wiped off the map for us, said Bonspiel, reiterating words of both the prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau and premier of Quebec, Francois Legault.

The new measures imposed by the Quebec government, which the ERU will be following, were framed under a 28-day challenge, starting on Thursday, October 1.

Bonspiel explained that the idea is to lower the number of cases in order to prevent an overload of hospitalization. It implies the closure of bars and restaurants, along with no public or private gatherings.

Bonspiel said that since Kanesatake has not seen any community cases as of yet, they are not looking to shut down stores, however businesses need to be responsible and aware.

I dont care if its your anniversary, we cannot have a large group of people coming into this community and contaminate Kanesatake, said Bonspiel.

Over the last little while, Kanesatake has seen a rise in outdoor parties on the territory with gatherings of well over 200 people, according to various sources.

People are partying and breaking all the directives, no social distancing or wearing masks, said a source that asked to remain anonymous.

Community members are terrified of this pandemic and with all this other stuff from car racing to food trucks, martial arts fights and musical bands, it only jeopardizes the health and safety of the community! It needs to stop, said the source.

Although the ERUs main objective is to manage COVID-19 in the community, Bonspiel responded to complaints of inactions by explaining that the ERU lacks policing forces that would assist in intervening.

Im one guy, Im not a police officer, said Bonspiel.

He also confirmed that they have been made informed of community members placing calls to the Surete du Quebec (SQ). Yet the SQ spokesperson, Marc Tessier claimed that they were not aware of such parties nor complaints.

Its a state of lawlessness with no governing body, said the anonymous source. We need law and order with an effective government and a police force that will bring back some normality in this community.

With the second wave threatening the health of the community, the ERU asked in their latest video shared on their Facebook page for everyone to take responsibility in keeping each other safe.

When we decide to work together as a community, theres nothing we cant achieve, said Bonspiel. Lets look at this as a challenge and attestation of what we are capable of doing, he added.

Riverside Elders Home

Part of the measures that were announced by the ERU reinforced the no-visitation rule at the Riverside Elders Home.

Criticism from certain staff and family members who wished to see their elders were brought forward in a recent article published by The Eastern Door. It raised concerns as to whether or not the Elders Home had the proper management to deal with the pandemic.

When asked about these issues, the ERU recognized that changes are necessary, but it also emphasized the fact that their approach helped prevent the spread of the disease.

I understand that peoplewant to see their families, but they also have to understand that we are doing our best, said Bonspiel. The ERU empathize with all the families and elders, our priority is to find a solution that is safe for everyone, continued Bonspiel.

Bonspiel said that the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake and the Health Centre are currently addressing the human resources issues to put together a cohesive staff.

For Clifton Nicholas, one of the community members that has previously voiced his concerns, this is not enough.

How many years is it gonna take to do this? said Clifton, whose mother Janet has been a resident at Riverside for the past three years. Its not good enough, you got to do better.

Nicholas wishes the community was consulted on how to handle the situation. He explained that it would be better if everyone could help, and it felt less like they were just being dictated what to do.

All we asked was a little patience and it wasnt given to us, said Bonspiel.

virginie.ann.news@gmail.com

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Asda vowed to cut prices after a 6.8billion takeover by two brothers from Blackburn took it back into British hands after two decades of American ownership.

The UK's third biggest supermarket chain, which was bought by Walmart in 1999, has been sold to a consortium led by Zuber and Mohsin Issa backed by private equity group TDR Capital.

The deal comes 18 months after the collapse of a planned merger between Asda and Sainsbury's.

The UK's third biggest supermarket chain, which was bought by Walmart in 1999, has been sold to a consortium led by Zuber and Mohsin Issa backed by private equity group TDR Capital

Asda chief executive Roger Burnley, who will stay in the job, said: 'Great products and great prices are in our DNA. We wake up every day working out how we can cut prices on our products.'

The Issa brothers own EG Group, which they built from a single petrol station in Bury in 2001 to a global juggernaut with more than 6,000 sites around the world and an annual turnover of 20billion.

Last night the brothers were hailed as a 'great British success story' who will bring 'entrepreneurial flair' to Asda.

Bosses said customers can expect to see a major expansion in the number of convenience stores, including into EG's 340 UK petrol stations.

Asda finance chief Rob McWilliam said: 'The Issas have tremendous experience in convenience retail  they've made it profitable and scaled it from one outlet to 6,000.

'We expect to learn a lot from them. Our core strategy is to lower prices and bring those low prices to more customers.'

The sale is the latest example of a private equity firm swooping on British firms whose 'bargain basement' valuations have been depressed by Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.

Flair: Last night the brothers were hailed as a 'great British success story' who will bring 'entrepreneurial flair' to Asda

Bain Capital is in taken pole position to buy insurer LV, entering exclusive talks yesterday ahead of Royal London.

Earlier this week security group G4S had to face down a 3billion bid by Canada's Garda World, backed by BC Capital.

Asda chief executive Roger Burnley will stay in his job and Walmart will retain a minority stake and a seat on the board as part of the agreement.

The American supermarket group has been looking to sell most of its Asda stake to focus on defending its position in the US against Amazon.

It is thought Walmart was wooed by the Issas' entrepreneurial flair and the growth potential from expanding Asda convenience stores.

Two other private equity bids led by former Debenhams boss Rob Templeman and former Asda executive Paul Mason were both rejected in the lengthy auction process, which began in February.

The deal is a crowning glory for the Issas, who have started their petrol station empire when they bought a single garage in Bury for 150,000 in 2001.

They now operate more than 6,000 petrol stations and convenience stores across three continents and employ 33,000 staff.

The brothers grew up in a two-bedroom terrace in Blackburn after their father arrived from India 'with nothing' to work in the garment trade. Their fortune is now valued at 3.56billion.

Speaking after securing the Asda deal yesterday, Mohsin, 49, and Zuber, 48, said they were 'proud to be investing in Asda, an iconic British business that we have admired for many years'.

Last night Lord Haskins, former chairman of Northern Foods, said: 'They're not fools. But Asda has been trading quite badly for many years  so good luck to them. It's a gamble.'

Independent retail expert Richard Hyman said: 'I think it's a good deal. Retail has become so corporate. These guys are self-made entrepreneurs.'
The Women in Energy webinar, which was co-hosted by Africa Oil & Power and the African Energy Chamber on Thursday identified education, gender bias and access to capital as key inhibitors to proportionate female representation within the oil and gas industry; a recent McKinsey study places female industry participation at just 15%; the webinar served as part of the Women in Energy series and #EqualBy30 initiative, which centers on driving female participation in the global transition to clean energy future.

The Women in Energy webinar hosted by Africa Oil & Power (AOP) and the African Energy Chamber on Thursday united Africas female energy leaders in answering how women can help bridge the talent gap, break the glass ceiling and overcome obstacles to equal participation in oil and gas.

The webinar panel comprised Selma Usiku, Head Exploration, Azinam; Khadijah A Ba, Executive Chairman, Der Mond Oil & Gas; Oluseun Solanke, Principal Reservoir Engineer, Oando Energy Resources; and Mirelle Toulekima, Managing Director, MT Energy Resources.

According to a recent study conducted by McKinsey, women make up just 15% percent of the worlds oil and gas workforce; 17% of the power and utilities sector and 32% of the renewable energy workforce.

In Africa and the Middle East, women make up just 9% of senior management positions in the energy sector, with gender diversity decreasing with seniority. Women make up less than 8% of technical jobs in the oil and gas sector, and just 9% of management positions in the utility sector.

One of the primary inhibitors to active female participation within the industry was identified as access to education, specifically in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Boston Consulting Group published a study on gender parity in the oil and gas industry that found that 54% of post secondary scholars are female, yet only 27% are in the STEM subjects, said Oluseun Solanke. Why is this? One of the reasons put forth by the study is that traditional ideas about the oil and gas industry are quite macho-centric.

In some cases, limited and unequal access to education has come as a relic of former government regimes that denied indigenous populations the opportunity to take ownership over natural resources and related employment.

There is a social-political motivation behind it. For example, Namibias political history pre-independence was extremely difficult  the existing regime not only focused on racial segregation, but also the types of employment that were available to Namibians who were black, says Selma Usiku. The apartheid government saw the education system as a major vehicle for the propagation of its beliefs, which created the first barrier for Namibians to participate in the economys priority sectors. The legacy of apartheid persisted for a very long time. Going forward, it starts with our people taking ownership of their natural resources.

Another solution to the discrepancy in education comes in the form of female and minority representation, coupled with active mentorship, for youth and students.

Similar to issues with race, when people see people who are like them doing things, it can change their sense of their own capabilities. One of Oandos initiatives is to open mentorship programs to schools, where we talk to young girls and offer one-on-one mentorship. We have to let them know that STEM is open to them, added Solanke, noting that 47% of Oandos workforce is female.

Mentorship, on-the-ground job training and early career exposure were all identified as key success factors to women harnessing employment opportunities within the industry.

It was very interesting to me, early on in my career, to see all the functional departments supporting the operations of oil and gas  finance, human resources and so on, Khadijah A Ba noted. I had the opportunity to have strong mentors in each company that I went to. If you have the education, you need to practice it. If you have just the education, you wont be able to see whats on the ground because theory and practice are different.

For girls and women without access to mentorship or connections within the industry, the panel highlighted the importance of looking to other industries to help navigate gender and social bias.

The mentorship that you get doesnt necessarily have to be within the industry, said Usiku. Look for someone who has maintained integrity in their work, focused on their personal development and overcome challenges. You can take those principles with you.

The panel also addressed limited access to capital in driving the growth of female-driven, small and medium-sized enterprises both in and outside of the oil and gas industry. According to a survey conducted by AOP during the webinar, 85% of participants said that women do not have equal access to funding for small and mid-sized enterprizes.

The problem is that women are primarily in markets in which there is not a key influence  retail, informal businesses and the like, stated Mirelle Toulekima. There are a lot of factors to this, including access to capital for women, especially in Africa. But if we can open up this market to them, the impact will be huge. Women are half of the population in Africa  you dont want to leave them behind because thats a fair amount of contribution to the economy. We must take into account social empowerment.

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A LOOK AT LIFE IN A NORTH INDIAN VILLAGE

304pp, 699; Aleph

Anil Singh, a banker working in London, finds out that his uncle has died in Palanpur a village in north India, and that he is the sole heir. Egged on by his India-loving girlfriend, Pat, Anil decides to go and take charge of his property (a small house and some farmland) and learn more about the country his parents came from. An ardent photographer, he takes his cameras along to avoid boredom and with the hope of later publishing photos of the village in a coffee-table book. He even thinks he might try his hand at being a gentleman farmer. On the way to the village, Anil discovers his uncle was murdered and the police has arrested his uncles domestic help, a Dalit woman named Neetu, but no one believes that she could be the killer.

While the murder mystery is one thread of the story, we follow Anil as he bumbles along through Palanpur, making friends and mistakes. He is determined to help the villagers by bringing modern amenities and development to the village. This leads him to a sometimes confusing, yet eye-opening journey through the myriad complexities of northern India  the politics of different caste groups (The thakurs, the muraos, the dalits) jealousies, disruption, bureaucratic nightmares, poverty, gender disparity, power struggles and the turmoil of a village divided.

Rumble in a Village starts out as a murder mystery but the narrative soon broadens into an entertaining and insightful fictional look at life in a village. The novel based on Jean Drezes observations as a researcher in real life village paints a compelling portrait of the darkness and light that invests the lives of villagers in northern India.

*All copy from press releases.
(JTA) - As Jews in the United States prepared to light candles to welcome Rosh Hashanah, they were hit with the last terrible news of a terrible year: the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At 87, and with a lifetime of accomplishments that few can match, she has earned her rest. But the exquisite, agonizing time of her passing underscored one of the great lessons of her own life and of Rosh Hashanah: how we make use of the time God grants us matters.

On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, while we attended a small, masked, socially distanced outdoor minyan in the spacious bac...
Mr Macron, youre going to have problems with me personally, warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan two weeks ago after the French president advised European leaders to be clear and firm, not with Turkey as a nation and people, but with the government of President Erdogan, which has taken unacceptable actions.

Echoing his bosss defiant mode, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar quipped that Macron was trying to take on the role of Napoleon, who died 200 years ago. But we can all see that he is neither powerful enough nor tall enough to do it.

As the EU meeting on the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean approached, together with looming sanctions, Erdogan has had to soften his tone. Last week he even called up Emmanuel Macron to plead with him for permission to let Turkey take part in the production of the French-Italian SAMP/T missile defence system. According to a report by Bloomberg on 25 September, Macron responded that Erdogan would have to clarify Turkish objectives in Syria before Paris would consider his request.

The mere mention of Syria was a stinging rebuff. Turkey has occupied and effectively annexed big chunks of northern Syria, the first target of Erdogans neo-Ottoman expansionist ambitions. However, his influence and control there has been steadily dwindling while his mortal enemy in Damascus, Bashar Al-Assad, has been gradually regaining ground thanks to support from Russia.

Russia, too, has been increasingly vocal in its criticism of Turkish behaviour in northern Syria and recent developments have led some observers to predict that Putin and Erdogan may soon part ways in Idlib. Judging by news reports and developments on the ground, the agreement they signed in March, and the understandings they reached in Astana before that, over the creation of a demilitarised zone and the removal of terrorist groups from Idlib, are very shaky. Hardly a day goes by without some violation of the truce on the part of Al-Assads forces, which could not occur without a green light from Moscow. Al-Assads advances weaken Ankara not just strategically but also, and more importantly, in the eyes of the militant groups it backs.

Moscow, for its part, appears determined to expand its presence in Idlib city, strategically located just north of the M4 international highway and to the west of the even more vital M5 which runs north to south between Damascus and Aleppo. This has been one of the main bones of contention recently between Russia and Turkey. Erdogan refuses to believe Moscows claim that the security patrols are under threat. Instead, he believes that Russia is in a hurry to reopen that vital overland artery in order to offset the impacts of US sanctions against Damascus and stimulate the Syrian economy. Russia is also keen to prepare the climate for the elections that Al-Assads regime has envisioned for 2021  a vision that the Turkish regime rejects out of hand.

Russia has been pressuring Turkish and Turkish-backed forces to withdraw to a depth of 35 kilometres south of the M4, claiming that Turkey has failed to meet its commitments under the Sochi Agreement to clear terrorist groups out of the area. Turkey counters that is Russia that is not living up to its end of the bargain which involves expanding the area in Idlib under control of a joint Russian-Turkish peacekeeping force. Moscow is dragging its feet and reneging on its word as usual, complain pro-government mouthpieces in Turkey.

But not only are developments in Idlib working against Erdogans designs in Syria, the same applies to the situation to the north from Tel Rafat and Manbij to the region east of the Euphrates. The Turks complain that Russia has failed to meet its commitment to hand over control of Tel Rafat, Manbij and other designated towns to the control of Turkish-backed forces.

Some Turkish analysts believe that Moscow is taking advantage of Turkeys predicament in the Eastern Mediterranean, the EUs mounting anger over Ankaras aggressive policies in the region and the fact that the situation in Libya has taken a turn contrary to Erdogans plans. Conditions were ripe for pushing the Turks and the Turkish-backed opposition in Syria into a corner in Idlib. But what the Turks had not anticipated was that Putin would reach some accommodations with the US, on the one hand, and with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the other, heedless of Turkeys oft-repeated concerns regarding the latter, which it regards as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

On 15-16 September, Russian and Turkish interagency delegations met in Ankara for technical consultations on the situations in Idlib and Libya. According to Western diplomatic sources, on the second day of that meeting Moscow intensified pressure on Ankara to reduce its military presence in Idlib. Ankara had recently intensified that presence to an estimated 10,000 Turkish troops stationed in dozens of bases in Idlib. As follow-through, on Sunday, 20 September, Russian fighter jets bombarded portions of northwest Syria controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian militias. It was the most intense wave of Russian strikes in the vicinity of Turkish observation points in Idlib since the Russian-Turkish agreement to cease major combat activities six months ago. The Syrian army has also launched intermittent strikes against Turkish bases in Idlib, while Damascus and the militias allied with it have continued to amass troops along the fronts.

In light of the foregoing, it comes as little surprise that a recent report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) concluded that, in that meeting with Russia on 16 September, Turkey may have agreed to cede control of territory in southern Idlib to pro-Assad forces and, if so, then a pro-Assad offensive in southern Idlib is probably immanent. The report described a pattern of recent events that substantiate the likelihood of a partial Turkish withdrawal from Idlib. It cited, for example, the withdrawal of hundreds of Turkish special forces and infantry and Turkish-backed opposition fighters from southern Idlib towns in the Jabal Zawiya area on 8 September and the reduction in the frequency of Turkish military logistics convoys into Idlib from one every one or two days to only three conveys in the 13 days prior to the publication of that report.

The report also noted several pro-Assad protests staged outside several Turkish observation points on 16 September, which it described as a tactic the Syrian regime uses to emphasise the unpopularity of the Turkish presence in Idlib as a means to ratchet up the pressure on Ankara. It added that although Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied on 16 September that negotiations with Russia were productive, Cavusoglu may be trying to temporarily conceal the details of an agreement with Russia in order to preserve Turkeys reputation among greater Idlibs population and avoid backlash from opposition groups.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 1 October, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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(Natural News) The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to cripple the economy, but instead of providing laid-off workers with the help they need to put food on the table, the government, vaccine companies and mainstream media have teamed up to ensure that the public remains scared and uninformed.

Now, people around the world are facing the same threat of being bullied into vaccination.

But in a video for Childrens Health Defense (CHD), health freedom advocates from different organizations and countries, including Natural News very own Health Ranger, Mike Adams, spoke up against mandatory vaccines.

Fight for health freedom, urged RFK Jr.

The participants featured in the video encouraged the public to make a stand, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer, activist, author and chairman of CHD.

Aside from Kennedy, other experts like Dr. Judy Mikovits, a former research scientist and author of Plague of Corruption: Restoring Faith in the Promise of Science and Mary Holland, also from the CHD, encouraged others to take a stand.

Kennedy explained that he and the other participants in the video are representing millions of people who want health freedom for themselves and their families. (Related: Childrens Health Defense and RFK Jr. release message of unity video calling for health freedom advocates to #StandFirm against vaccine mandates.)

The coronavirus pandemic has caused countless infections and deaths across the globe, along with food shortages, school closings, shutdowns, quarantines and lockdowns, along with other restrictions. Yet it looks like theres more to come as the public faces a new threat: The threat of being bullied into vaccination.

Some are saying that no one can resume their normal lives until you get vaccinated. Others even warn that everyone on the planet needs to be vaccinated and tracked before anyone can return to their pre-pandemic routines.

But is the vaccine mandates are forcing upon the public even backed by legitimate science? Are these so-called experts qualified to make these alarming claims?

The participants in the CHD video come from various backgrounds. The group includes respected scientists, physicians, nurses, lawyers, religious leaders, journalists and concerned parents: All freedom-loving individuals who will never allow liability-free, poorly tested products to be used on themselves or their children.

Like other medical procedures, vaccines are risky

Saying no is the responsible thing to do, advised Barbara Loe Fisher from the National Vaccine Information Center, particularly since mandating an invasive medical procedure violates your most fundamental rights. Dr. Andrew Wakefield from 1986: TheAct added that all medical procedures, including vaccines, carry risks and that they must be voluntary.

Brian Hooker, also from CHD, warned that vaccine injuries are common, with one occurring out of every 40 doses, according to a US agency for health research quality 2010 study. Is that a risk youre willing to take?

Being pressured to vaccinate so you can stay in school, keep a job, receive welfare benefits or board a plane violates you God-given right to bodily autonomy, informed consent, parental rights, religious freedom, medical freedom, equal protection and due process. What will you do when someone shows up at your door to vaccinate you or your children against without your consent?

Say no. If your school, employer, or government can bully you into vaccinating, whats next? More forced medicine and tracking, all for the greater good?

Heres why you should be worried about vaccine mandates

The video participants stand for the publics rights, including your right to consent. But they warned viewers of one thing: That no federally-recommended vaccine has ever been tested against a real placebo.

Dr. Rachael Ross, a family medicine specialist in Indiana, explained that vaccines are often tested against other vaccines or vaccine ingredients, masking any negative side effects the drugs may have. Additionally, the American government has never tested the entire childhood schedule in vaccinated versus unvaccinated children.

According to Dr. James Lyons-Weiler, the founder and CEO of the Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge, vaccines are typically tested for days and weeks, not years, like other drugs are. Government agencies charged with vaccine safety are, in essence, vaccine companies that earn patents and receive royalties.

These agencies merely act as sock puppets for Big Pharma. Meanwhile, mainstream media heavily censors information that criticizes vaccines.

Vaccine companies spend billions every year on advertising revenue to the big media companies in America. The vaccine industry also buys ad space and dictates mainstream media content.

Hooker said that its crucial to know that you cant sue a vaccine manufacturer if you suffer from a vaccine injury or death. Instead, you must go to a government claims program where people often lose.

While vaccine makers reap the profits, those injured by vaccines have nothing but physical, mental, emotional and financial losses. COVID-19 vaccines have already received billions of government subsidy and private funding. These vaccines have become too big to fail even if clinical trials have been disastrous.

Even health experts who werent part of the CHD message of unity video have their doubts about the vaccine President Donald Trump is pushing for. Dr. Shruti Gohil, associate medical director of epidemiology and infection prevention at UCI Health, cautioned that the meticulous clinical trial process used to test vaccines was developed over decades. If vaccines tested for years still have adverse effects, what about COVID-19 vaccines that were developed haphazardly by manufacturers to reach a deadline set by the American government?

Pfizer and Moderna have both developed vaccines that deliver mRNA, an intermediary between DNA and a protein, to cells in the body. However, this type of vaccine has yet to be approved before for any condition.

Stand up for your medical freedom

Dont let Big Pharma win. Be courageous, say no and stand up for your right to consent or refuse. Protect your God-given rights.

You decide, not the government, what substances can be injected into your body and your children.

Below is a list of all the countries and organizations that helped shared CHDs message to the rest of the world:

Countries in unity:

Argentina

Australia

Belarus

Belgium

Brazil

Canada

Chile

Cyprus

Denmark

England

France

Germany

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Mexico

New Zealand

Nigeria

Northern Ireland

Norway

Scotland

Spain

United States

*Organizations in unity:

*If you want to add your organization name to the list above, send a General email using the CHDs Contact Us page.

Your health, freedom and your future depend on what you do now. Say no to mandatory coronavirus vaccines and stand firm.

Watch:



Sources include:

Brighteon.com

Healthline.com
A major fire broke out at a shopping complex in Hiranandani Estate along the Ghodbunder Road in Thane on Friday morning.

The fire, which gutted around eight shops in the complex, was doused four hours after it began. The reason for the fire was unknown and no one was injured. Three fire engines, two rescue vehicles and three water tankers were sent to the spot to contain the blaze.

As per the fire officials, the fire broke out in a wine shop in Arcadia Shopping Mall around 8.10 am on Friday morning. The eight shops on the ground floor which include a wine shop, medical shops, stationery and gift shops, hardware, mobile repair and sweet shops were damaged.

Santosh Kadam, chief, RDMC, Thane, said, Eye witnesses informed that the fire broke in the wine shop due to a short circuit but our team is yet to ascertain the source. It took four hours to douse the fire. It was brought under control at around 12.30 pm. The enclosed space of the shopping complex made access difficult for the fire vehicles leading to the spread of fire.

A fire brigade official said, All the shops in the complex were closed when the fire began, so it spread rapidly inside the complex. We are trying to find the reason behind the fire.

Amit Jadeja, 42, owner of one of the shops, Shreeji Telecom, was the first to reach the spot after a watchman in the nearby building informed him about the fire.

He said, I stay near the shop and therefore I received a call from some of my friends and a watchman that they saw few sparks near the wine shop. I immediately reached the spot and called the wine shop owner. Till he came, there were three four sparks and fire started spreading to other shops. We could not open the wine shop to douse the fire and called the fire brigade. My shop is safe as it was five shops away from the fire.
WASHINGTON - Another military judge has stepped down from the Sept. 11 war crimes tribunal at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a further blow to an already long-stalled case.

Marine Col. Stephen F. Keane said in an order issued Friday that he must recuse himself from the case because of his past work for the government and personal connections to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He was appointed last month.

Keane is the fifth judge to preside over the trial by military commission for five men held at Guantanamo who are charged with planning and assisting the hijacking plot that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Keane said he believes he could serve as an impartial judge in the death penalty case. But the Marine colonel said he did not want to cause further delays or grounds for appeal in a case that has been bogged down in pretrial proceedings since the May 2012 arraignment.

My continued presence as the military judge in this case arguably creates an appearance of bias, Keane wrote, before concluding that his recusal is immediately required.

Keane, describing his possible conflicts, noted that he grew up in the New York City area and had a close relative who worked for the Fire Department but retired before the Sept. 11 attacks. He also served in a Defence Department counter-terrorism task force, in which he conducted legal reviews concerning the transfer of detainees from Afghanistan to Guantanamo, where the U.S. now holds 40 prisoners.

He also served as a Marine Corps fellow at the Justice Department, working on counter-terrorism issues dealing with al-Qaida, though not on any work directly involving the five defendants in the Guantanamo war crimes case.

In addition, Keane said has a significant personal connection to people who were directly affected by the events of 9-11, though he did not provide any details.

The five defendants face charges that include terrorism and nearly 3,000 counts of murder in violation of the laws of war. The men include Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, who has portrayed himself as the architect of the Sept. 11 attack and other plots.

Their case has been stalled by its complexity and the challenge of staging a proceeding that combines military and civilian law at the remote base, with prosecution and defence teams flying in periodically for pretrial hearings.

It has also been delayed over legal challenges stemming from the brutal treatment of the five defendants in CIA custody before they were charged. Their lawyers are challenging statements they made to authorities as the product of torture.

The case also has been held up by non-legal issues, including the coronavirus outbreak and the departure of the previous judges.

The initial judge, Army Col. James Pohl, announced his retirement in August 2018 after a long career. The judge who replaced him then retired as well. A third judge, also a Marine colonel, left to take another position last year, leaving a senior judge to preside for about six months until Keane was appointed to the case in September.

A trial before a jury of military officers had, at one point, been scheduled to start in January but a new date has not been set. The next pretrial hearing is in March.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is heading to Grand Rapids on Friday, making a play for voters in a traditionally Republican county that has become more blue in recent elections.

President Donald Trump won Kent County in 2016 when he became the first Republican to flip Michigan in nearly three decades. Four years later, its among the top targets for Democrats emboldened by their success in recent elections.
Lebanon has requested Interpol issue international arrest warrants for two Russians allegedly connected to the explosive cargo blamed for the blast that killed nearly 200 people in Beirut.

Bound for Mozambique in 2013, the MV Rhosus cargo ship stopped at the Beirut port with 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate on board. After failing to pay port docking and other fees, the Rhosus was impounded and the next year its cargo was unloaded and stored in the ports Warehouse 12.

Lebanese authorities determined that the improperly stored highly explosive chemical, which is often used in fertilizers, was responsible for the explosion that ripped through the city on Aug. 4 and left a quarter of a million residents without homes. The blast gutted entire neighborhoods and damaged some 8,000 structures.

Lebanons state prosecution asked the international police organization Interpol to arrest the owner of the Rhosus and its captain, according to Reuters, citing Lebanons National News Agency on Thursday.

The news agency didnt provide names, but other news outlets identified Boris Prokoshev as the ships captain in 2013, and he named Russian businessman Igo Grechushkin as the shipowner. After a request from Interpol Lebanon in August, Cypriot police questioned Grechushkin over his role but did not take him into custody.

Lebanese authorities say the massive stockpile of ammonium nitrate that set off the explosive was stored improperly at the Beirut port for years. Nearly 20 people, including port and customs officials, have been detained in connection with the blast, Reuters reports.

Under pressure from accusations of corruption and mismanagement, Lebanons government resigned shortly after the blast. Within weeks, the president tapped a little-known diplomat, Mustapha Adib, to serve as prime minister-designate.
A Queensland mother went on a drug-fuelled crime spree that continued even after her young child ingested methamphetamine and ended up in hospital.

The 24-year-old Townsville mother-of-two, who is pregnant again and due to give birth in 60 days, faced Townsville Magistrate Court on 21 charges.

The woman's defence barrister Justin Greggery QC, told the court she was on drugs at the time she committed her string of offences.

The 24-year-old mother of two is now pregnant again and due to give birth in 60 days, but has just been sent to prison for 50 days of a 15-month sentence after facing Townsville Magistrates Court on 21 charges over a drug-fuelled crime spree

In December last year, one of the woman's young children ate her ice and went to hospital

'It was a reversion to her teenage years when she went back on the ice,' he said, as reported in the Townsville Bulletin.

The court then heard how she was traumatisted when one of her young children ate her methamphetamine.

'It was a traumatic event in December last year when her child ingested that drug and went to hospital.'

The court heard how the woman, high on methamphetamine, first led police on a high-speed chase along Dalrymple Road just after midnight on February 10 last year.

She ran a red traffic light and nearly hit a taxi as she sped up to avoid police.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, then went on a drug-fuelled crime spree for which she faced Townsville Magistrates Court after being eventually caught and charged with 21 offences.

During her spree, she stole a $300 pair of polaroid sunglasses and $922 worth of fragrances.

She also stole a $999 pram.

Townsville Magistrates Court where the woman was sentenced to 50 days jail and banned from driving for two years over her crime spree fuelled by the drug ice

Police again saw the woman speeding through the Townsville suburb of Gulliver just before 3pm on May 15 this year.

She had one of her children in the back seat of her car as she swerved onto the wrong side of McDonald Street, overtaking vehicles and narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with oncoming traffic, police prosecutor Tim Madsen told Townsville Magistrates Court.

She continued her wild and erratic driving as she fled police, speeding up the wrong side of Mooney Street, cutting corners, driving over designated bicycle and bus lanes, the court heard.

Magistrate Ross Mack said the woman had unfairly put other road users at risk.

The heavily pregnant woman was sentenced to 15 months in jail but will only serve 50 days, the Townsville Bulletin reported.

A parole release date was set for November 14 and she has been banned from driving for two years.
Podiatrist Dr. Mark Lewis greets his first patient of the morning in his suburban Seattle exam room and points to a tiny video camera mounted on the right rim of his glasses. This is my scribe, Jacqueline, he says. She can see us and hear us.

Jacqueline is watching the appointment on her computer screen after the sun has set, 8,000 miles away in Mysore, a southern Indian city known for its palaces and jasmine flowers. She copiously documents the details of each visit and enters them into the patients electronic health record, or EHR.

Jacqueline (her employer did not provide her last name) works for Augmedix, a San Francisco startup with 1,000 medical scribes in South Asia and the U.S. The company is part of a growing industry that profits from a confluence of health care trends  including, now, the pandemic  that are dispersing patient care around the globe.

Medical scribes first appeared in the 1970s as note-takers for emergency room physicians. But the practice took off after 2009, when the federal Hitech Act gave health care providers incentives to adopt electronic records. These were supposed to simplify patient record-keeping, but instead they generated a need for scribes. Doctors find entering notes and data into poorly designed record-keeping software cumbersome and time-consuming. So scribing is a fast-growing field in the U.S., with the workforce expanding from 15,000 in 2015 to an estimated 100,000 this year.

A 2016 study found that doctors spent 37% of a patient visit on a computer and an average of two extra hours after work on record-related tasks. Electronic-record use contributes to physician burnout, increasingly considered a public health crisis in itself.

Before COVID-19, most scribes  typically young, aspiring health professionals  worked in the exam room a few paces away from the doctor and patient. This year, as the pandemic led patients to shun clinics and hospitals, many scribes were laid off or furloughed. Many have returned, but scribes are increasingly working online  even from the other side of the world.

Remote scribes are patched into the exam rooms sound via a tablet or speaker, or through a video connection. Some create doctors notes in real time; others annotate after visits. And some have help from speech-recognition software programs that grow more accurate with use.

While many remote scribes are based in the United States, others are abroad, primarily in India. Chanchal Toor was a dental school graduate facing limited job opportunities in India when a subcontractor to Augmedix hired her in 2015. Some of her scribe colleagues also trained or aspired to become dentists or other health professionals, she said. Now a manager for Augmedix in San Francisco, Toor said scribing, even remotely, made her feel like part of a health care team.

Augmedix recruits people who have a bachelors degree or the equivalent, and screens for proficiency in English reading, listening comprehension and writing, the company said. Once on board, scribes undergo about three months of training. The curriculum includes medical terminology, anatomy, physiology and mock visits.

Revenue has grown this year, and his sales team has grown from four to 14 members, Augmedix CEO Manny Krakaris said. Sachin Gupta, CEO of IKS Health, which employs Indian doctors as remote scribes for their U.S. counterparts, projects 50% revenue growth this year for its scribing business. He said the company employs 4,000 people but declined to share how many are scribes.

Remote scribe Edwin gives internist Dr. Susan Fesmire more time, freeing her from having to finish 20 charts at the end of every day.

It was like constantly having homework that you dont finish, she said. With the help of Edwin  Fesmire said he declines to use his real name  she had the time and energy to become chief operating officer of her small Dallas practice. Edwin works for Physicians Angels, which employs 500 remote scribes in India. Fesmire pays $14 an hour for his services.

Doctors with foreign scribes say notes may need minor editing for dialectal differences and scribes may be unfamiliar with local vocabulary.

I had a patient from Louisiana, said Fesmire, and Edwin said afterward, What is chicory, doctor? But she also praised his notes as more accurate and complete than her own.

Kevin Brady, president of Physicians Angels, said their scribes start at $500 to $600 per month, plus health care and retirement benefits, while senior scribes make $1,000 to $1,500  middle-class family incomes in India.

Employers are required to provide employees with health insurance, although many scribes are contractors, and the job site Indeed.com says the average salary for a scribe in India is $500 a month. Scribes in the U.S. get about $2,500.

Remote scribing is still a small part of the market. Craig Newman, chief strategy officer of HealthChannels, parent to ScribeAmerica, the largest scribing company in the U.S., said that the firms remote scribing business has increased threefold since the pandemics outset but that a large majority of the companys 26,000 U.S. scribes still work in person.

Its a highly unregulated industry for which training and certification arent required. The service typically costs physicians $12 to $25 an hour, and studies show scribe use is linked to less time on patient documentation, higher job satisfaction and seeing more patients  which can mean more revenue.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

For patients, studies suggest scribes have a positive or neutral effect on satisfaction. Some have privacy concerns, though, and state laws vary on whether a patient must be notified that someone is watching and listening many miles away.

Only 1% of patients refuse a remote scribe when asked by physicians at Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, said Dr. David Ting, the practices chief medical information officer. His group, an IKS Health client, always seeks patient consent, Ting said.

Scribes arent for everyone, though. Janis Ulevich, a retiree in Palo Alto, California, declines her primary care doctors remote scribe.

Conversations with your doctor can be intimate, said Ulevich. I dont like other people listening in.

Some patients may not have the opportunity to decline. With limited exceptions, federal laws like HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, dont require doctors to seek a patients consent before sharing their health information with a company that supports the practices work (like a scribe firm), as long as that company signed a contract agreeing to protect the patients data, said Chris Apgar, a former HIPAA compliance officer.

About one-quarter of U.S. states require all parties in a conversation to agree to be recorded, meaning they require a patients permission. Some states also have special privacy protections for certain groups, like people with HIV/AIDS, or very strict informed-consent or privacy laws, said Matt Fisher, a partner at Massachusetts law firm Mirick OConnell.

Remote scribing also raises cybersecurity concerns. Reported data breaches are rare, but some scribe companies have lax security, said Cliff Baker, CEO of the health care cybersecurity firm Corl Technologies. UCSF experienced this in 2003, when a worker in Pakistan with a medical transcription company threatened to post patients confidential files online unless she was paid more.

The next step in the trend could be no human scribes at all. Tech giants like Google, EHR companies and venture-backed startups are developing or already marketing artificial intelligence tools aimed at reducing or eliminating the need for humans to document visits.

AI and scribes wont eliminate physician burnout that stems from the nature of the health care system, said Dr. Rebekah Gardner, an associate professor of medicine at Brown University who researches the issue. Neither can take on burnout-driving EHR tasks like submitting requests for insurance company approval of procedures, drugs and tests, she said.

Sarah Kwon is a California Healthline contributor. California Healthline is published by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
tech2 News Staff

In a move to make international research more accessible to researchers in India, the government is pushing for a 'one nation, one subscription' access plan to scholarly journals. Currently, research papers are hosted by academic publishers (Elsevier, Oxford University Press, Wiley, etc.), who offer subscriptions to a selection of journals in various research disciplines for an annual fee. A nationwide subscription would give scholars and researchers in the country access to a variety of journals under a single, national subscription plan. The Indian government is reportedly negotiating with scientific publishers around the world to set up the journal-access plan, with researchers consulting on the process, as per a report in Nature. The proposal comes under the new science, technology and innovation policy, under development by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and the Department of Science and Technology.

In the weeks to come, a draft of the journal-access plan will be released, and an approval from the Cabinet could be expected by the end of the year, the report added. If successful, India would be the largest country to strike a deal that would give access to articles otherwise behind a paywall, to all citizens, researchers said.

The national journal access plan is a subscription service at discounted rates, and not the same as the open access (OA) movement, which is relatively new. Conceived some 25 years ago around the time of the internet, OA has since become a global movement to promote the free and rapid sharing of scientific information among researchers. It ensures greater (digital) dissemination and findability of research results, and as a result, a larger potential impact on both science and society. But, open access has also attracted the interest of members from the broader public. In Germany among other countries, research institutions have come together to purchase subscriptions that allow its academia and citizens to access research from around the world under a national journal-access plan.

A different, politically-motivated global effort is underway to make for open-access to research, called 'Plan S'. Led primarily by funders, researchers and institutions in Europe for Europe, the scheme is looking to speed up the transition to a fully OA-world. The consultation period for Plan S came to an end in early 2019, and generated responses that filled thousands of pages, and igniting a broad debate around OA, said Jon Tennant in a story he authored for the Conversation on Plan S. Some of these concerns overlap with that of nationwide open-access.

"Publishers want to make money in exchange for a service. Senior academics, who have built careers on publishing in traditional journals, might feel that disrupting this undermines their status. Learned societies need revenues generated from publishing to support other activities for their members," Tennant said. "One difference to the Plan S debate is that the ideological and practical case made for Open Access has already been won. The question now is simple about implementation and the development of an equitable system for access to research around the world."

Plan S requires scientists and researchers who benefit from state-funded research organizations and institutions in the EU to publish their work in open repositories or in journals that are available to all by 2021.

India has already made its stand clear on Plan S  it doesn't work for us. The volume of research coming out of India is high  the third-highest in the world as of 2018. But journals, and particularly open-access publications, ask for processing fees up-front to have research published in them. This isn't a feasible option for India, with its diverse research output coming from a variety of institutions that may not be able to afford the fees on an ongoing basis.

A national journal-access plan would be a considerably different approach to OA, and one that the government is already considering, with a fair degree of seriousness. Whether these discussions are a success will largely depend on whether publishers accept discounted rates for having research published in their journals, according to the Principal Scientific Adviser to the government.

"We must formally discuss with publishers, learned societies and OA journals to come forth with a policy, and negotiate with them...what we do will be what we think is best for our context.," Prof VijayRaghavan, told The Wire in an October 2019 interview. "A separate matter from all of this, which simultaneously must be addressed at its full level for this to be effective, is how we must evaluate individuals, groups of individuals, institutions and research in general. Unless that undergoes a sea-change globally, all of this will be cosmetic."
Community Chaplaincy Norfolk (CCN) is seeking more volunteer mentors as it continues to provide a Both Sides of the Gate support service to people leaving prison in Norfolk.

Community Chaplaincy Norfolk (CCN) is seeking more volunteer mentors as it continues to provide a Both Sides of the Gate support service to people leaving prison in Norfolk.

New chief executive for Aylsham Care Trust Philip Macdonald has been appointed chief executive of the Aylsham and District Care Trust (ACT) which has been providing care and support for older people in the community for over thirty five years. Read more

Pandemic drove Norfolk church community online New figures show that across the height of the pandemic lockdowns in 2020, churches across the Diocese of Norwich saw their in-person congregations halve but they retained 94% of their worshippers with the help of online and church-at-home services. Read more

Why we need the water of life Regular columnist James Knight explains why water is so important in our lives, especially the spiritual variety. Read more

Norwich church needs Outreach Weekend Cafe Manager St Stephens Church is seeking an Outreach Weekend Cafe Manager to become part of its successful and dynamic Cafe team, serving the community and city. Read more

Trustee treasurer role at King's Lynn foodbank Kings Lynn Foodbank are urgently seeking a new Trustee Treasurer to work with a fun, friendly, team who are all passionate about combating food poverty in Kings Lynn. Read more

Christian pregnancy charity gets Yarmouth hub TimeNorfolk, the Christian pregnancy loss charity, has opened a space dedicated to counselling for bereaved parents in Great Yarmouth. Read more

Family days at Norwich Cathedral The schools and families learning department at Norwich Cathedral are holding two sessions  morning and afternoon for a Family Activity Day at the Cathedral on Wednesday February 16. Read more

Churches prepare Queen's Platinum Jubilee plans Churches, Christian charities and youth organisations are working together to celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee over the four-day Bank Holiday from June 2-5 and a new website has been created to celebrate the Queen's 70 years of faith and service. Read more

Eckling Grange cares for the elderly Despite some bad press, there are some Care Homes where 'Care' really does mean 'what it says on the tin', and a star example of this is the Norfolk Christian residential care home, Eckling Grange, at Dereham. Read more

New Commission to look at use of Norfolk churches A new Church Buildings Commission has been launched with the purpose of looking at the church buildings across Norfolk and Waveney in terms of their use and sustainability. Read more

Norfolk link to teaching opportunity with TCKs A Norfolk couple working in Asia have been helped by teachers of Third Culture Kids, and a programme is now inviting more people to get involved with it. Read more

Norfolk charity seeks mentors for prison leavers Community Chaplaincy Norfolk (CCN) continues to provide a Both Sides of the Gate Mentor support service to people leaving prison in Norfolk. Read more

Prayer and Worship week for Sheringham church Lighthouse Community Church in Sheringham has launched a Prayer and Worship week as they seek Gods guidance for 2022 Read more

South Norfolk church schools are set to merge The Diocese of Norwich St Benets Multi Academy Trust has been given the green light to amalgamate Harleston CE Primary Academy and Archbishop Sancroft High School into one All Through School. Read more

Norwich conference looks at how to tackle spiritual abuse Following a series of revelations about high-profile Christian leaders, a group of Norfolk churches is organising a conference to look at spiritual abuse and godly leadership. Read more

Revelation vacancy for Centre Manager The Revelation Christian Resource Centre and Cafe is seeking to appoint a Centre Manager. Read more

Gardening morning at N Norfolk Christian centre The Pleasaunce Holiday Centre in Overstrand is holding a work-party morning on Saturday February 5 and would like as many people as possible to join in to help get the gardens ship-shape. Read more
Millie Bobby Brown has become one of the most recognizable young names in Hollywood since making her debut in Stranger Things.

And the two-time Emmy nominee has been promoting her starring role in the Netflix movie Enola Holmes.

She recently revealed that her dream role would be to portray 'icon' Amy Winehouse in a biopic about the late British actress, as she discussed the women who have influenced her.

Dream role: Millie Bobby Brown recently revealed that her dream role would be to portray 'icon' Amy Winehouse in a biopic about the late British actress (pictured in June, 2019)

Music icon: The 16-year-old told Netflix Latinoamerica: 'I wouldn't say she's historical, but I'd love to play her. Amy Winehouse, I personally think is like an icon to R&B, blues and basically the whole culture of music' (pictured in May, 2007)

The 16-year-old told Netflix Latinoamerica: 'I wouldn't say she's historical, but I'd love to play her. Amy Winehouse, I personally think is like an icon to R&B, blues and basically the whole culture of music.'

She continued: 'I just love her music, and I really was impacted by her whole story. And so, I always say that I would love to play her.'

Winehouse was known as a vocal powerhouse and rapidly rising star in her short life, releasing such hits as Rehab, Back to Black and Valerie.

The six-time Grammy winner tragically died in July of 2011 at the age of 27, after suffering accidental alcohol poisoning.

True story: She continued: 'I just love her music, and I really was impacted by her whole story. And so, I always say that I would love to play her'

Rising star: Winehouse was known as a vocal powerhouse and rapidly rising star in her short life, releasing such hits as Rehab, Back to Black and Valerie (pictured in January, 2007)

RIP: The six-time Grammy winner tragically died in July of 2011 at the age of 27, after suffering accidental alcohol poisoning (pictured in December, 2006)

Perfect impression: Brown previously showed off her best Winehouse impression last May, when she sang a bit of her 2006 track You Know I'm No Good on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

A star is born: Fallon showed a childhood home video of Brown singing Valerie, before she clarified: 'Now I can listen to her and actually impersonate her'

Brown previously showed off her best Winehouse impression last May, when she sang a bit of her 2006 track You Know I'm No Good on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

'Amy Winehouse is like my favorite,' she told the host, adding: 'Still a kid, but when I was like a kid kid, baby, Amy Winehouse was my thing. Still is.'

Fallon showed a childhood home video of Brown singing Valerie, before she clarified: 'Now I can listen to her and actually impersonate her.'

In addition to Winehouse, Brown cited her other female influences to Netflix Latinoamerica, including Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Jodie Foster, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and Stranger Things costar Winona Ryder.

Leading lady: She's proving to be quite the influential young woman herself, not only starring as the titular character in Enola Holmes (which is now available to stream on Netflix), but receiving her first producer credit

Family business: She stars alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin in the mystery, which is about famed detective Sherlock Holmes' younger sleuth sister

Produced by: Brown told Netflix Latinoamerica: 'To be a producer and actually put my two cents in and actually mean something, it meant a lot to me. I really wanted my voice to be heard, and that's why I wanted to be part of the production' (pictured in January, 2020)

The Godzilla vs Kong star added: 'I would say those are my heroines. I genuinely believe they... they make me feel very empowered when I'm around them. And so, that's when I know I've been really impacted by someone.'

She's proving to be quite the influential young woman herself, not only starring as the titular character in Enola Holmes (which is now available to stream on Netflix), but receiving her first producer credit.

Brown told Netflix Latinoamerica: 'I really wanted it to be true, a true coming-of-age story. I wanted to capture all elements of becoming a teenager and being truly understood. And I personally know what that is, and I know what that's like.

'So, to be a producer and actually put my two cents in and actually mean something, it meant a lot to me. I really wanted my voice to be heard, and that's why I wanted to be part of the production, because I wanted to say, "Hey, this is truly how you grow up, because I'm doing it right now."'

Girl power: In addition to Winehouse, Brown cited her other female influences to Netflix Latinoamerica, including Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Jodie Foster, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and Stranger Things costar Winona Ryder

Empowering presence: The Godzilla vs Kong star added: 'They make me feel very empowered when I'm around them. And so, that's when I know I've been really impacted by someone' (pictured in September, 2016)

Coming soon: Brown can soon be seen in season four of Stranger Things, in which she's starred as young psychic Eleven since the show premiered in 2016

She stars alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Henry Cavill and Sam Claflin in the mystery, which is about famed detective Sherlock Holmes' younger sleuth sister.

Brown can soon be seen in season four of Stranger Things, in which she's starred as young psychic Eleven since the show premiered in 2016.

Netflix took to social media Thursday to indicate the show has resumed filming after going on hiatus in March, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The streaming platform posted a photo of a clapperboard to Twitter, writing: 'Today in Hawkins...'
The mayor and council of Baltimore say the nearly two dozen companies being sued have known for decades about the direct link between fossil fuel use and global warming, yet engaged in a coordinated campaign to conceal that knowledge; to discredit the growing body of scientific evidence documenting the catastrophic future impacts of fossil-fuel-triggered climate change; and to promote continued and expanded use of their products without providing warnings about these known dangers.
As we expand our services to reflect the evolution of the clean energy marketplace, we needed to refresh our manual in-house process and trust Adapt2s platform to provide current technology and added functionality for future growth opportunities.

Adapt2 Solutions, a leading provider of AI enabled multi-market operations and trading software, today announced a new partnership with New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) to support the companys growing distributed energy resources (DERs) and renewable assets in ISO-New England (ISO-NE) energy market. Leveraging the flagship SaaS Adapt2 Bid-to-Bill (B2B) solution coupled with Adapt2 Green, the collaboration enables NHEC to fully integrate their settlement system on the Azure cloud and move away from manual spreadsheets for direct access to large volumes of settlement data and enhanced forecasting and bidding strategies.

This strategic realignment positions NHEC to lead the fast-growing renewable energy market simplifying access to ISO market data and reducing the complexity to properly settle and contract renewables within ISO-NE with a scalable cloud-based environment  a first for our team, said Brian Callnan, VP of Power Resources and Access, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative. As we expand our services to reflect the evolution of the clean energy marketplace, we needed to refresh our manual in-house process and trust Adapt2s platform to provide current technology and added functionality for future growth opportunities.

As global demand for renewable power generation, new regulation for DERs, and the associated ISO market integration continues to increase, NHEC will utilize Adapt2 as an integral part of their enterprise level settlement management and renewable optimization efforts within ISO-NE. The proposed move announced today are part of a broader effort on the part of NHEC to position the company to meet the evolving needs of the power market including the growth of renewable energy leveraging Adapt2s cloud expertise and Tahoe Data Lake as the foundation to automate workflows and analyze settlements from ISO-NE seamlessly.

The cooperative spirit is one of making lives, communities and cities better by increasing reliance on renewables, said Jason Kram, Executive Vice President of Adapt2 Solutions. NHEC is delivering on that by enhancing their power supply functions and were pleased to play a part in how they are creating an environment to facilitate business growth and move toward a transactive energy business model. With over 20 ISO-NE implementations to date, the Adapt2 team knows the ins and outs to successfully and efficiently ramp up NHECs presence in the market.

Enabled by AI and big data, Adapt2 B2B and Adapt2 Green are market tested to provide energy participants across all North American ISO markets a strategic advantage in optimizing renewables from the first bid to the last bill. To learn more about how Adapt2 is accelerating power and gas market operations, visit https://www.adapt2solutions.com/ or follow Adapt2 on Linkedin (@Adapt2 Solutions) for more information on upcoming energy management webinars.

About Adapt2 Solutions:

Adapt2 Solutions (Adapt2) is the leading provider of AI enabled multi-market operations software designed to help market participants streamline all of their front and back office operations. Founded in 2008, Adapt2 delivers market-based solutions on the latest and most current technologies providing customers with fast, intuitive and stable user experience and performance. With over 135 market implementations representing over 2500 market participants, Adapt2 is a leading solution provider in the energy industry. Adapt2 Solutions is a privately held company based in Houston, Texas. To learn more about Adapt2, please visit http://www.adapt2solutions.com.

About New Hampshire Electric Cooperative:

The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) is a member-owned and controlled electric

distributor serving 84,000 members in 115 towns and cities. NHEC maintains over 5,500 miles of energized line that traverse nine of the 10 counties in New Hampshire. Headquartered in Plymouth, the Cooperative serves members in nine operating districts: Colebrook, Sunapee, Andover, Plymouth, Meredith, Conway, Alton, Lisbon, Ossipee, and Raymond. More information about NHEC is available at https://www.nhec.com/.

Media Inquiries:

Sanah Sadaruddin

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Secret Reports for Chinese Communist Party Elite Whitewashes News About Beijing

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a longstanding custom of compiling internal references, known as nei can in Chinese, for top officials. These publications vary by degree of confidentiality and are available to different levels of leaders, from the Partys upper echelons down to county-level governments. They are only allowed to be seen by Party officials.

This tradition can be traced back to 1948, when the CCP was about to come to power in mainland China. They serve as a secret source of news to keep officials informed of the latest major events at home and abroadwhich would not be available to ordinary citizens due to Beijings strict censorship rules.

State-run media Xinhua is the sole provider of internal reference documents, which contain a section on how the world views the Chinese regime. The Epoch Times recently acquired some of these documents, which show that an overwhelming portion of the reports referenced information that portrayed Beijing in a positive light, while negative news were deliberately overlooked.

On Global Sanctions

One section of the documents listed the latest global sanctions, categorized by different targeted countries, firms, and individuals. In the 12th issue (for the week of May 6-13, 2020), the nei can mentioned that Europe and the UK had imposed sanctions against six human rights abusers in Nicaragua. However, it did not include information about U.S. President Donald Trump extending an executive order issued the year prior that barred U.S. companies from working with or buying telecom equipment from companies deemed a threat to national security. The order was widely considered to be targeting Chinese telecom giant Huaweiwhich had been banned from the United States 5G rollout on security grounds.

Director of Trade and Industrial Policy Peter Navarro arrives before President Donald Trump signs trade sanctions against China, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 22. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Negative Public Opinion over CCP Virus Filtered Out

Another nei can report summarized overseas public opinion on the CCP virus pandemic, as reflected in foreign media. In the report, the severity of the pandemic in foreign countries was highlighted. But there was no mention of growing criticism from the international community about the Chinese regimes coverup of the pandemic.

The report made no mention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirming that it was investigating China-linked cyber actors and monitoring their attempts to identify and illicitly obtain valuable intellectual property (IP) and public health data related to vaccines, treatments, and testing from networks and personnel affiliated with COVID-19-related research.

Another notable omission was a BBC interview with Chris Patten, the last British governor in Hong Kong, titled Is China using coronavirus to bully the world? Patten bashed the Chinese regime for exploiting the pandemic to flex its muscle and bully Taiwan and Hong Kong. His remarks drew widespread attention in international media.

As expected, the internal documents remarked positively on authorities domestic handling of the pandemic, mentioning school reopenings and measures to stimulate the domestic consumer market.

Economic Problems

The reports also made mention of economic reviews, which spoke favorably of Chinas economy, the internal documents stated. They cited statements in foreign media explaining that India could not replace the role of China as the worlds factory; post-COVID-19 China was likely to lead the world into reopening; and China remained a popular destination for U.S. corporate investment.

The reports did mention some negative news. A Financial Times report on May 18 stated that nearly 500 listed companies in China suffered investment losses in the 1st quarter of 2020. Analysts cited in Financial Times said the companies spent too much effort on stock speculation while ignoring their core business. The nei can documents also mentioned a paper that stated Chinas capital markets were likely to face the worst outflow in four years; and a report compiled by Goldman Sachs foreign exchange strategists that said tensions with the United States likely spurred the process of capital outflow.

Online Public Opinion about Two Sessions

The Two Sessions, annual meetings of the CCPs rubber-stamp legislature and its advisory body to enact policies and agendas, was held this year in May. During this period, nei can documents showed that Beijing kept track of domestic public opinion by analyzing online social media posts.

According to a trends chart, on May 25 at 6 p.m., the degree of attention on the Two Sessions reached 40,000 points. Another analysis showed that attention on the subject reached 72 percent on social media platform Weibo and 20 percent on messaging app WeChat.

Trend of Popularity-Based Public Opinion. (Provided by The Epoch Times)

Political commentator Li Linyi noted that these so-called internal references are in fact not complete and censor out negative news in order to please Party leaders. To save the CCPs face and comfort its officials, negative reports are discouraged within a one-party state, he said.
White House doctors are treated President Donald Trump with Regeneron's experimental coronavirus antibody cocktail drug, but he is now being transferred to Walter Reed National Medical Center where he will be monitored and treated.

Regeneron's antibody cocktail has shown promise in early trials but the drug is very much experimental and the tests were only done in patients that did not need to be hospitalized.

If President Trump's condition worsens, he may be treated with other drugs that have been tested in severely ill patients and improved their survival odds and recovery times.

Because Trump is 74 and obese, he is five times more likely to develop severe enough coronavirus to be hospitalized for coronavirus compared to someone in their 20s.

His age also makes him 90 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than someone between ages 18 and 29, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As president, Donald Trump is sure to get the most promising treatments for COVID-19 - but only a handful have shown promise to bat back the disease.

Since announcing that he and first lady Melania Trump announced they had tested positive for coronavirus late Thursday night, the president has begun exhibiting mild 'cold-like' symptoms, according to the New York Times.

Currently, only the antiviral remdesivir and plasma from COVID-19 survivors have been given emergency use authorization to treat coronavirus by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

And with his risks, drugs to keep the president's blood pressure and cholesterol may also be important to how well he copes with COVID-19.

DailyMail.com breaks down how the president might be treated for COVID-19.

President Trump currently has mild symptoms of coronavirus, meaning his is not yet a good candidate for treatment with the antiviral remdesivir (file)

So far, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only given emergency use authorization (EUA) - an expedited, interim form of approval with a lower standard - just three therapeutics to treat coronavirus.

The agency has already revoked its EUA for hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug that Trump infamously promoted, and took himself as an unproven preventive.

That leaves just two authorized treatments: remdesivir and convalescent plasma.

REMDESIVIR COULD HELP KEEP THE PRESIDENT'S VIRAL LOAD LOW AND SHORTEN HIS ILLNESS

Gilead's antiviral remdesivir is the most well-proven treatment for coronavirus that has received the FDA's emergency approval.

Remdesivir was originally developed to treat Ebola, but failed to help patients in clinical trials.

The shelved, experimental drug was dusted off and repurposed by its developer, Gilead, when the coronavirus pandemic emerged earlier this year.

The drug appears to help stop the replication of viruses like coronavirus and Ebola alike.

It's not entirely clear how the drug accomplishes this feat, but it seems to stop the genetic material of the virus, RNA, from being able to copy itself.

That, in turn, stops the virus from being able to proliferate further inside the patient's body.

Gilead's antiviral remdesivir is the most well-proven treatment for coronavirus that has received the FDA's emergency approval

HOW DOES CORONAVIRUS PROGRESS AND WHEN IS IT LIFE-THREATENING? By Natalie Rahhal, US Health Editor Most people who contract coronavirus develop symptoms between two and 14 days after they are infected, and symptoms stay mild for the first few days. If COVID-19 is going to become severe, patients tend to take a turn for the worse between days five and 10 of the illness. It's during this period that patients - especially older ones like Trump, or those with underlying conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes - may develop respiratory issues that can leave them struggling to breathe as the virus attacks the lungs and oxygen levels plummet. What remains unclear is when Trump was actually infected and started to show signs of COVID-19. Hope Hicks was on Air Force One without a mask with thep president on Tuesday. She began to feel ill Wednesday, and Trump became 'lethargic' Thursday before testing positive. Coronavirus symptoms may start out much like those of other respiratory infection. Many patients, like President Trump, first notice they are fatigued. They may develop a dry, persistent cough, and spike a fever. Symptoms often appear like those of the flu, and may include a headache, shortness of breath and body aches. The CDC added loss of smell or taste as a tell-tale sign of coronavirus over the summer, and recent research suggests these may be earlier, more reliable indicators of COVID-19 than a cough. But we now know that although coronavirus is spread like other respiratory infections - primarily transmitted when people inhale droplets expelled by someone with the virus - it attacks many parts of the body, including the cardiovascular and digestive systems and the brain. So not everyone's first symptoms are respiratory ones like shortness of breath or coughing. Scientists at King's College London have split COVID-19 into six different 'types,' with progressions from mild or moderate illness to severe: (flu-like with no fever): Headache, loss of smell, muscle pains, cough, sore throat, chest pain, no fever. (flu-like with fever): Headache, loss of smell, cough, sore throat, hoarseness, fever, loss of appetite. (gastrointestinal): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, diarrhea, sore throat, chest pain, no cough. (severe level one, fatigue): Headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness, chest pain, fatigue. (severe level two, confusion): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain. (severe level three, abdominal and respiratory): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, abdominal pain. A crucial sign for the turn of coronavirus from mild to severe is the decline of blood oxygen levels. Normal blood oxygen levels are considered to between 95 and 100 percent, as measured by a pulse oximeter. Anything below that is a worrying sign. Low blood oxygen levels usually come with shortness of breath and chest pain, but many doctors have reported that COVID-19 patients appear unaffected - talking, texting and sitting up in their hospital beds - despite having dangerously low blood oxygen levels. Inflammation is also a crucial factor in the severity of COVID-19 infection. As the immune system attempts to mount a defense against coronavirus, the body can become overrun with cytokines, immune cells that can go haywire and cause dangerous inflammation. This poses a particular threat to people who are obese or have underlying health conditions because they have higher baseline levels of inflammation. Some doctors also use blood tests to detect high levels of D-dimers, which indicate high risks of blood clots and may indicate severe COVID-19. People over 65 become sick enough to be hospitalized for coronavirus about five times as often as people in their 20s do, and are 90 times more likely to die of the infection. Men also account for 70 percent of US COVID-19 deaths. Patients who don't become severely ill tend to start recovering within a week to 10 days of their first symptoms. After this period of improvement, the CDC advises that people are likely no longer infections 10 days after their symptoms began and after they've gone 24 hours without a fever. Advertisement

In April, Gilead announced the results of a clinical trial testing the drug in people severely ill with coronavirus.

Half of the 397 patients, who were sick enough to need additional oxygen, but not to be placed on ventilators, improved within 10 days of a five-day treatment course and those who were on a 10-day regimen were better by the eleventh day.

More than half of the patients were discharged from the hospital within two weeks.

The National Institutes of Health's (NIH) own 1,063-person trial of remdesivir showed that severely ill patients who received the drug recovered 30 percent more quickly than those who got a placebo.

Patients who got remdesivir were also 40 percent less likely to die of COVID-19, compared to those who did not get the drug.

Data has since suggested that the drug works best when given early, but timing is key because it is most effective in severe cases.

As President Trump has only had mild symptoms so far, he may not be a good candidate for treatment with remdesivir.

Gilead also announced Thursday that the drug is on the cusp of full FDA approval, which would make it the first and only therapeutic to get regulators' seal of approval so far.

FDA OFFICIALS APPROVED PLASMA FROM COVID-19 SURVIVORS TO TREAT THOSE STILL SICK AMID OUTCRY THAT ITS BENEFITS MAY BE LIMITED

Plasma is rich in immune cells developed by the body as it combats coronavirus and some studies have suggested that transfusions of the blood component can bolster the immune systems of the sick.

Specifically, plasma contains antibodies, immune cells that the body generates in response to particular pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, once a person has had the infection.

FDA officials issued an EUA for so-called convalescent plasma in August, but it was met with criticism from scientists - including NIH director Dr Francis Collins - that the emergency approval was premature.

Most research suggests that levels of antibodies in plasma start to decline three months after the donor developed symptoms.

And plasma transfusions may do little to help someone with COVID-19 unless the donated blood component has high levels of antibodies.

Plasma transfusions have been used for more than a century to treat infections, and is considered generally safe if the donated plasma has been screened for other diseases, but it just may not be a particularly worthwhile treatment.

OVER-THE-COUNTER ACETAMINOPHEN MAY HELP COMBAT INFLAMMATION IN AT-RISK PATIENTS LIKE TRUMP

Inflammation is a particularly dangerous symptom in coronavirus patients.

The body's immune response to the utterly foreign virus often runs off the rails and the 'cytokine storm' - a deluge of inflammatory immune proteins - can overwhelm and inadvertently damage healthy organ tissues.

French physicians suspected early on that the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen might actually make coronavirus patients worse.

That's now thought unlikely, but the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends acetaminophen as a first-line over-the-counter anti-inflammatory in case there was validity to the observation that patients given ibuprofen fared worse.

But officials add that people who can't take acetaminophen (due to kidney or liver problems) can likely substitute ibuprofen.

DEXAMETHASONE IS PROMISING FOR TREATING SEVERE COVID-19 - BUT IT COULD BE DANGEROUS FOR TRUMP TO TAKE IF HIS CASE STAYS MILD

A University of Oxford study found in July that, for patients so ill that they need to be on ventilators, dexamethasone can cut the risk of death by more than a third.

Dexamethasone is a type of steroid widely used to tamp down inflammation, which can become severe and prove fatal in later stages of COVID-19.

About 2,104 patients given the drug were compared to 4,321 patients getting usual care.

It reduced deaths by 36 percent for patients sick enough to need breathing machines: 29 percent on the drug died versus 41 percent given usual care.

It curbed the risk of death by 18 percent for patients needing just supplemental oxygen: 23 percent on the drug died versus 26 percent of the others.

However, it seemed harmful at earlier stages or milder cases of illness: 18 percent of those on the drug died versus 14 percent of those given usual care.

For patients so ill that they need to be on ventilators, dexamethasone can cut the risk of death by more than a third - but it may make the illness worse in people with milder cases

The clarity of who does and does not benefit 'probably will result in many lives saved,' Dr Anthony Fauci and his colleagues wrote in response to the findings.

But timing is crucial to effective treatment with dexamethasone, data suggests.

Severely ill patients fare best when treated early, but some research has suggested that the drug may actually worsen COVID-19 for patients who are mild or moderately ill.

For now, President Trump is only mildly ill from coronavirus, but because he is obese and at-risk for heart disease, he is also be at high risk for developing severe COVID-19.

DRUGS THAT TRUMP ALREADY TAKES INCLUDING STATINS AND ASPIRIN MAY HELP HIM SURVIVE CORONAVIRUS

Former White House physician Dr Ronny Jackson revealed in 2018 that Trump takes a handful of medications on a regular basis.

He takes aspirin to reduce his risks of having a heart attack or stroke, and a statin called Crestor to keep his cholesterol at bay.

Being at risk for heart disease means that the president is also at risk for severe COVID-19 because the virus that causes the infection is now known to attack the cardiovascular system as well as the lungs and airway.

President Trump already takes the statin Crestor to lower his cholesterol and it may improve his odds against coronavirus (left). He also takes aspirin to reduce his heart attack and stroke risks, which may in turn reduce his otherwise high risk for severe COVID-19 (right)

The cholesterol-lowering drug, Crestor, could be key to combating the dangerous effects of coronavirus on the president's cardiovascular system.

Recent research conducted by Chinese researchers in collaboration with University of California, Los Angeles, scientists found that people treated with statins were 45 percent less likely to die of COVID-19 than were people not taking the drugs.

However, these drugs act on a group of cell receptors known as ACE receptors. Coronavirus attacks cells via ACE-2 receptors, and early data suggested statins may actually give the virus more targets.

But now scientists are beginning to think the benefits outweigh the risks.

They also have anti-inflammatory effects which could be crucial if Trump's immune system mounts a cytokine storm.

Because Trump is technically obese, with a BMI over 30, he is particularly at risk for this deadly complication.
The Italian government said it plans to prolong a national state of emergency linked to the novel COVID-19 pandemic until January 31, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte says.

The proposal [the government is considering] is to prolong the state of emergency until Jan. 31, Conte says in a news conference in Brussels after a EU summit.

A state of emergency is a common response in Italy to calamities such as earthquakes or public health crises.

It allows public authorities to act more quickly and bypass red tape.

The measure is currently due to expire on October 15.
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Two more men have been charged as accessories in the capital murder of a Gautier man whose body was found floating in the Pascagoula River Sept. 22.

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell said Friday afternoon that 27-year-old Zachary Cooper of Moss Point and 36-year-old Jason Lee Miller of Lucedale have been both been charged with accessory after the fact to capital murder.

Ezell said on Wednesday 23-year-old Taylor Allen Carpenter of Escatawpa had been charged as accessory in the murder of 29-year-old Gautier resident Dustin Lee Suttles.

Already jailed at the Jackson County Adult Detention Center was 33-year-old Joseph Paul McLeod of Pascagoula, charged with capital murder in Suttles' death.

Suttles' body was found Sept. 22 near the Roy Cumbest Bridge near Wade-Vancleave Road, according to Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks recovered the body about 1 p.m.

The man had no identification on him, so investigators put out a photo of a distinctive tattoo on the mans arm in the hopes of determining his identity. By the next day, family members had seen the photo and notified the JCSO and identified Suttles as the victim.

At the time Suttles' body was recovered, an abandoned boat was also located about a quarter-mile from the body.

An autopsy was performed last week, but Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd Jr. said Thursday he would not release information on the cause of Suttles' death until the investigation concludes.

Although bond for the accessory charge was set at $100,00 for all three charged as accessories, none of the three is eligible for bond. Cooper is charged with probation violation, making him ineligible for bond; Carpenter was already out on bond for an unrelated charge, so that bond has been revoked and he cannot post bond for the new charge; and Miller has been additionally charged with kidnapping, a non-bondable offense.

Bond is also not permitted with a capital murder charge, making McLeod also ineligible, so all four men will remain in the ADC awaiting trial.
Security guards wait in line to undergo COVID-19 coronavirus swab tests at a testing station in Beijing on June 30, 2020. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

In the Name of Fighting Pandemic, China Strengthens Surveillance State

The Chinese regime has taken advantage of the current pandemic to step up surveillance of citizens, with local security bureausakin to police departmentsworking closely with hospitals and other medical institutions.

Based on a number of leaked documents obtained by The Epoch Times and a review of announcements made by Chinese authorities, police have obtained broad powers to collect health data and track citizens movements as authorities have tried to stop the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

Data Collection

In a leaked document issued by the health commission in Daxing district of Beijing on June 26, authorities requested that police and health officials work together closely to enter households and investigate.

The operation was named security bureaus inspect and gather big data, whereby police would record their interviews with people at home. Health officials would then collect biological samples, including throat tissue and blood, from high-risk people who had been to a local market called Xinfadi.

In mid-June, the city of Beijing experienced a new wave of infections. Local authorities claimed that the Xinfadi market was ground zero for the outbreak.

The effort to collect big data should not slack off, stated a notice dated June 26 that was issued by health authorities in Baoding city, Hebei Province. It listed the chief duties of special government teams set up for combating the virus, and said authorities should identify important targets to be tested for the virus in the following three days.

Big data collection also involves the use of facial recognition cameras. For example, the security bureau, or police, in Wenshang County of eastern Chinas Shandong Province, announced on its WeChat social media account in February that it had just completed the task of upgrading its surveillance cameras in the region in an effort to combat the virus.

According to the WeChat post, high-resolution facial recognition cameras were installed at 3 local public hospitals, 14 health centers, and 30 supermarkets.

The Wenshang police demanded that these locations strengthen their effort in ensuring the cameras stay online, as they would be used for epidemiological investigations.

State media reports about such investigations describe tracking down people whom infected patients might have come into contact with.

And in Shanghai, police demanded that the citys health facilities install facial recognition cameras that are able to distinguish peoples faces even when theyre wearing a protective mask, according to a March 13 announcement. It also requested that these facilities purchase a system that can pass on the data to police.

Chinese authorities have also adopted the widespread use of health code apps to monitor peoples movements. A barcode indicating a citizens COVID-19 risk is scanned at public checkpoints, or in some cases the entrances to apartment complexes.

In at least one area, the health code app was developed by local police. In February, police in Hure Banner located in Inner Mongolia, stated that it had successfully expanded an existing registration system to monitor people coming in and out of the region to a QR code system to be used at all medical institutions in the region, according to Chinese state-run media.

Such tracking of peoples movements in public places raises privacy concerns, said Chou Kuan-ju, a project officer at the Taiwan-based NGO Taiwan Association for Human Rights.

Is the method proportionate? Do they collect the minimum data necessary for containing the pandemic? Chou said in an email to The Epoch Times. Once the surveillance tools are built, it might be hard to stop it in the future.

It is also unclear whether authorities would delete or retain the data they collect, Chou said.

Shes also concerned whether theres a way for citizens to challenge the decisions made through the tracking systems.

Tight Cooperation

The pandemic also paved the way for Chinese police to extend their physical presence at health facilities.

The health commission of the Beijing municipal government issued a document on June 18 demanding that local disease prevention centers each send a staff member to the citys police bureau. Such staff must be on standby 24 hours a day. Additionally, these centers must report basic information regarding all infection cases to the police bureau right away.

The health commission claimed that these measures were meant to facilitate communication as part of an effort to better track down people who have come into contact with those infected.

Two public announcements also show that police units were mobilized to impose tight social control during the pandemic.

The General Hospital of Yangtze River Shipping, located in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, issued a public thank you letter to the local police in March. The hospital thanked the police for stationing officers at the hospital 24 hours a day and doing a good job in thought stability control of patients and their families.

A month earlier, on Feb. 15, the police in Changbai County, located in northeastern Chinas Jilin Province, stated on its WeChat account that it was stationing its officers at the countys hospitals 24 hours a day for the objective of maintaining strong stability.

Both thought stability and maintain stability are the Communist Partys jargon for controlling local populations.

For example, the term is used in announcements by Xinjiang authorities about stamping out any indication of public protest or dissent. The Chinese regime has heavily suppressed the local population of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities, including by detaining roughly one million inside concentration camps.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging he is running his government in an atmosphere of "fear". On Gandhi Jayanti, she also invoked the Father of the Nation, to assail the government which, she claimed, swears by his name but demolishes his ideals through its actions.

The Congress leader also accused the Centre of having weakened laws like MNREGA and Right to Information (RTI) Actwhich her party's government had enacted to protect the interests of common people. "Some people swear by Gandhi jis name but demolish his ideals and principles through their actions. Anarchy, atrocity and mistreatment prevail everywhere. An environment of discrimination has been created in the society where atrocities are being inflicted on innocent people," she said.

She was virtually addressing a 'Gandhi Chetna Rally'at Congress party office in Motihari, the headquarters of East Champaran district in Bihar, to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It was in Champaran where Gandhi had experimented with'Satyagraha' for the first time in India. It would later become his most potent weapon in the fight against the British rule.

"Enough is enough. I would like to say that some people are running the government by creating an atmosphere of emotion, confusion and fear (bhavna, bhram aur bhay). You(people) need to remain alert and cautious and take the right decisions, she said. "We have to fight it out together and that will be our real tribute to Gandhi ji." The Congress leader also unveiled a life-size statue of the Mahatma, and asserted his ideals are the "soul andspirit" of her party.

In her speech, which many saw as the launch of her party's campaign for the Bihar elections, the process of which has already started, Sonia Gandhi said the common man was always at the centre of Congress's welfare programmes. "But whenever the Congress tries to work for the development of the poor, certain forces stand up against the party for their vested interest," she alleged.

She said the Modi government first ridiculed the MNREGA, the UPA government's rural livelihood scheme, but later continued with it. "Just imagine what could have happened if there was no MNREGA during the COVID pandemic? People in large numbers would have starved," she asserted.

She also drew a parallel between the times when Mahatma Gandhi launched Champaran Satyagraha for the farmers,who were being forced by the British to grow indigo, and now when agriculturists were up in arms against the new farm laws. "A handful of people are getting richer, while millions are losing their livelihood," she said.

The Congress leader said lakhs of youth were losing jobs as small industries were closing down and big public sector undertakings being privatised. The RTI Act introduced by the previous Congress government for bringing in greater transparency in governance has been diluted, she alleged.

"You keep asking questions through RTI but will notget suitable replies," she said. She said several laws enacted by the UPA governments for the welfare of women, workers, the health and education sectors, have been "weakened".

"The weakening of these laws has deprived people of their rights," she asserted.
FOX News- Louisville Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Friday released the much-anticipated recordings of the grand jury proceedings in the deadly shooting of Breonna Taylor involving three Louisville police officers earlier this year. The audio, which The New York Times reported to be an estimated 20 hours long, was ordered to be released by noon ET Friday, after Cameron requested a delay on earlier this week so his office could have more time to redact peoples names and other personal information before it was made public. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who worked as an emergency medical worker, lived with her sister in an apartment in Louisville. She and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were in her bedroom on the night of March 13 when police came to her door with a narcotics warrant.

Cameron, a Republican and the states first Black attorney general, said Louisville Metro Police Sgt. John Mattingly entered Taylors home after the door had been broken in. Walker then allegedly shot him in the leg, later explaining that he thought an intruder was breaking in, according to reports.

For months, the raid had been characterized in reports and by officials as the execution of a "no-knock warrant," meaning law enforcement officers enter without knocking or announcing themselves. But Cameron later clarified that officers did knock before breaking down the door. Mattingly, Det. Brett Hankison and Det. Myles Cosgrove then returned fire; Taylor was shot six times, Cameron said. Last week, the grand jury announced it had voted to indict one of the three officers, Hankison, on wanton endangerment charges for allegedly firing bullets into the neighboring apartment with three people inside. He pleaded not guilty on Monday. But none of the officers were indicted on charges directly related to Taylors death. Cameron presented the evidence to the jury and later admitted he did not recommend murder charges. A member of the grand jury filed a motion to have the transcripts released and for jurors to be allowed to speak publicly about the proceedings, which are typically kept private.

This is a developing news story. Please check back here for updates. Fox News Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
In order to control dust on the city roads, the Ghaziabad municipal-corporation on October 2 began washing the roads. Twelve vehicles with treated water from sewage treatment plants (STPs) and staff to spray it into every nook and corner will roam the city roads to keep dust from spreading as vehicles pass by.

Officials said the drive will cover major connecting roads in the city.

The roads that will be covered in the first week include UP-Gate to Sahibabad, Budh Chowk to Vaishali sector-6, Chaudhary Morh to Meerut Road, Meerut Crossing to Duhai, Hindon airbase to Hindon river and Bhopra to Hindon airbase, among others.

The weekly schedule for different roads will be prepared in advance. The roads which we have included are the major roads which connect to highways, major district roads and other major road stretches passing through the city. The 12 vehicles which have been roped in for the purpose will bring treated water from STPs. This will save a lot of fresh groundwater, said MS Tanwar, municipal commissioner.

Ahead of winter, when Ghaziabad air is most polluted, road dust is one of the major contributors to coarse particulate matter, PM10, that are bigger than 10 microns. During his recent visits and review meetings, Environment (Pollution and Control) Authority chairperson Bhure Lal had directed officials to keep an eye on this critical pollutant.

Our road washing initiative will continue throughout the year. This will also give a clean look to the city. On October 2, we also initiated the concept of dust bags where 10000 bags have been provided to five zones in the municipal-corporation area and the cleaning staff will collect dust from internal residential roads. This way, we plan to collect about 50 tonnes of daily dust from roads, Tanwar, added.

The officials said that apart from washing of roads and collection of dust through dust bags, the other means of mechanised road sweeping and sprinkling of water will continue as usual.

We have also planned that washing of roads which have initiated during early hours should be taken up at night timings when the traffic flow is reduced considerably. We are chalking this out and the road washing activity will also be initiated during night timings, Tanwar, added.

Environmentalists said that the corporation must ensure daily monitoring.

It has been our experience that once the corporation starts any initiative it generally remains unmonitored and then slowly comes to a halt. Road dust is one of the major contributors to the air pollution in the city. Once the initiatives start producing results, the corporation should also focus on other areas like monitoring of incidents of garbage bruning which also pose serious issues for the air quality, said Akash Vashishtha, a city based environmentalist.
Lene Andersen says its hard to feel optimistic about Ottawas plans for Canadians living with a disability after waiting months for emergency funding that was promised, but never came. Thats something Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough takes personally.

Its so unacceptable and its been so frustrating because of how quickly we identified this need, said Qualtrough, adding that the government is only weeks away from having the money being dispensed.

It has taken way too long, and it will not happen again, she said during an interview with the Star this week.

Andersen, a Toronto-based author and advocate who lives with rheumatoid arthritis, is one of millions who lives with a disability in Canada and who the government had in mind when they promised emergency funding four months ago. Shes lived in a wheelchair for decades, writes a blog on her website called The Seated View, and writes books for people who are struggling with chronic illness.

In June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged funding in a one time, tax-free payout of up to $600 for people holding a Disability Tax Credit certificate. At the time, he acknowledged significant challenges faced by people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thats still not in anyones bank account, Andersen said.

Shes someone who fell through the cracks of the system when the pandemic shook the country in March. She wasnt eligible for CERB and doesnt have support through a disability benefit because she has an income. As a self-employed author with a disability, Im in that grey zone of not bad enough off that I have to apply for benefits, but not to the point where I can actually be as comfortable as I would like to be, Andersen said.

The emergency funding is not a huge amount, but it is certainly something that would be welcomed, she added.

It feels a little bit like people with disabilities are yet again the last on the list, and optional at that.

For advocates, people with disabilities and the federal government, the pandemic has laid bare systemic issues that have been in place in the country for a long-time.

Maureen Haan, president of the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work, says people with disabilities in Canada already live life at the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to social supports. But the pandemic has made that evident in an easy to grasp dollar amount, she said.

When the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) came, eligible Canadians could apply for $2,000 per month if their jobs were impacted by the pandemic. Millions of Canadians qualified.

For people with disabilities on supportive income, in normal times, they get $1,000 per month on average, Haan said.

So, the average person whos contributing to society, theyre worth $2,000. But a person with a disability, theyre worth $1,000, she said.

When the next pandemic hits, or if theres a huge second wave, we cant be in the position where the federal government cant get money to people with disabilities.

Qualtrough acknowledged its been embarrassingly hard to effectively distribute the funding the government promised.

It comes down to not having a comprehensive list of people with disabilities, she said, like ones they have for seniors on Guaranteed Income Supplement or Old Age Security. To get money to seniors, they could just fire off payments to everyone on those lists since theres a delivery system in place, Qualtrough said.

What we knew going in, and what has really been highlighted, is we dont have necessarily that kind of system for people with disabilities, she said.

Partially because disability supports have historically been so very much delivered by the provinces, and partially because our disability policy in this country is very much driven by tax policy.

In order to direct payments to Canadians with disabilities, Ottawa tried to use the list of people with a Disability Tax Credit certificate, but that doesnt capture everyone. Officials looked at lists from Veterans Affairs and people on the Canada Pension Plan with disabilities, but there was a lot of overlap or different data collecting processes, she said.

However, the process is almost done and Qualtrough said they tried to capture as many people as possible as theyve prepared to finally distribute the funds.

In September, the governments throne speech pledged even more in support for Canadians with disabilities, including a national employment strategy, a new Canada Disability Benefit, and a revamp in how eligibility is determined for programs and benefits.

When they restructure the eligibility side of things, Qualtrough said it wont be a function of tax policy, meaning theyll be able to identify people through the new eligibility criteria for programs and then directly help them.

Andersen said shell wait to see details of the plans outlined in the throne speech.

People with disabilities and anything involving people with disabilities is, honestly, I think its based on a charity model, she said.

Its framed as being something that people do because its a nice thing to do. So it becomes more about the privilege and more about something we do if we have extra money.
The Uttar Pradesh polices claim that forensic sampling and post-mortem examination of the 19-year-old Dalit woman of Hathras did not establish rape has raised questions about the authenticity of the two reports as the assertion has been made before completion of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe, said forensic and legal experts. The deadline for the SIT probe ends on October 7.

The Hathras woman was allegedly gang-raped and brutally tortured on September 14. She succumbed to her injuries at Delhis Safdarjung hospital on Tuesday.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday had set-up the three-member SIT to probe the Hathras incident, they have been asked to submit the report in seven days. The SIT is headed by home secretary Bhagwan Swaroop. Its two other members are deputy inspector general Chandra Prakash and Commandant, PAC Agra, Poonam (who goes by one name).

Social activist and lawyer Nutan Thakur said it was highly objectionable that police officials were denying rape when the investigation was still underway. It showed the premeditated attitude of the police investigators, she alleged.

Thakur said senior police officials should properly analyse the facts before jumping to any conclusion during the course of the investigation in such a serious offence. She also questioned the delay in collecting samples for forensic examination as it could change the line of investigation.

Moreover, the victims statement recorded before death, during which she had alleged sexual assault, is crucial to the investigation, she said.

The statement denying rape also suggested that the police were trying to put pressure on the victims family, she alleged.

A Lucknow-based senior forensic expert, requesting anonymity, questioned whether the victims sample was collected within a certain time period to ascertain whether she had been subjected to sexual assault.

He asked whether the police preserved other evidence, like the clothes that the victim was wearing at the time of the crime and samples of her nails, as there was the maximum possibility that these could establish if she had been sexually assaulted or not.

It is not yet confirmed whether the police preserved other evidence, like clothes and samples of her nails.

The state police have always lacked in forensic evidence of sexual assault, he stated, questioning the police efficiency in handling such serious cases.

He said DNA of semen would not be detected if the vaginal swab was collected a week after the rape or sexual assault. In this particular case, the sample was collected 10 days after the alleged rape on September 14, he added.

He said the presence of semen on clothes could be detected lifelong.

Additional director general (law and order) Prashant Kumar had stated that the samples for forensic examination were collected when the victim spoke about sexual assault at an Aligarh hospital and they (the samples) were sent to the Agra forensic science laboratory on September 25.

On Thursday, ADG Kumar and Hathras district magistrate Praveen Kumar had denied rape on the basis of post-mortem examination and the report from Agra forensic science laboratory (FSL).
OSH, Kyrgyzstan -- Police in the southern Kyrgyz region of Osh say they have detained a person affiliated with a pro-government party for "distributing cash" among potential voters just two days before parliamentary elections.

Osh regional police spokesman Jenish Ashirbaev told RFE/RL on October 2 that the suspect, who was detained in the village of Nariman in the Kara-Suu district, was part of the election campaign team of the Mekenim Kyrgyzstan (My Homeland Kyrgyzstan) party.

Mekenim Kyrgyzstan spokeswoman Elnura Alkanova rejected the accusation, saying that the detained man had nothing to do with the party's campaign.

Ashirbaev said that the suspect had 313,000 soms ($1,650) in cash in separate five envelopes addressed with the names of individuals to whom the cash was planned to be given.

"At this moment, a pretrial investigation has been launched into what Article 192 of the Criminal Code describes as the illegal buying of votes," Ashirbaev said.

Mekenim Kyrgyzstan, along with two other pro-government parties, Birimdik (Unity) and Kyrgyzstan, as well as the opposition Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party, are expected to gain seats in the October 4 elections.

In all, 16 political parties have been registered for the vote.

Kyrgyzstan's unicameral parliament, the Jogorku Kenesh (Supreme Council), consists of 120 seats.

No party is allowed to hold more than 65 seats in the Supreme Council.
The highly awaited Ka Pae Ranasingam starring Vijay Sethupathi and Aishwarya Rajesh has released today (October 2, 2020) on Zee Plex. Though the film was earlier scheduled for a theatrical release, the makers decided to opt for the pay per view model initiative of Zee Network, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.

Ka Pae Ranasingam will become the first Tamil movie to release on an OTT platform on a pay per view model. Well now, the film has become the latest victim of piracy, as it has been leaked online by the notorious website Tamilrockers.

Notably, the film's teaser released recently, was highly appreciated by netizens, especially for the impactful dialogues and performances of the lead actors, who are seen locking horns with the government for justice. The film deals with the life of people in rural areas and the injustice they suffer by the authorities on a day to day basis.

Interestingly, the social-emotional drama based on a true story marks the fourth collaboration of Vijay and Aishwarya Rajesh after Pannariyaarum Padminiyum (2014), Rummy (2014) and Dharma Durai (2016). The film directed by Virumandi has script and dialogues penned by Shanmugam Muthusamy while cinematography has been taken care of by Sudarshan Srinivasan.

Valimai: The Thala Ajith Starrer To Reinvent Action Sequences Of Tamil Cinema?

Thalapathy 65: Vijay Starrer To Start Rolling From January And Release On Diwali 2021?
It's only a few months until 2020 ends, and 2021 is fast approaching, and for those Korean drama lovers, we know that you can't wait for the new upcoming dramas to be released soon!

We know for sure that Korean dramas are loved worldwide and are accepted on a broader scale. The "Korean wave's" popularity has been increasing over the years, and since some Korean dramas have been available on Netflix, they're getting even more recognised internationally.

So without further ado, here is the list of Korean dramas to be released in the first half of 2021. Note: The titles and air dates of these dramas might change depending on its production circumstances.

Vicenzo

Channel: JTBC

The drama "Vincenzo" is about a mafia counsellor who decided to come back to Korean from Italy due to misunderstanding within the organisation. Vicenzo then gets entangled with a veteran evil lawyer and represents justice in their bad way.

Fly High, Butterfly

Channel: JTBC

Fly High Butterfly tells the story about working people placed in the background of a hair salon.

Oh! Master

Channel: MBC

Oh! Master is a romantic comedy-drama that tells the story about an actress who acts in romantic themed dramas but isn't good with her romantic relationships and a screenwriter who "won't" and refuse to date. They then both live under the same roof.

Senior, Don't Put On That Lipstick

Channel: JTBC

Senior, Don't Put on That Lipstick tells the story of a girl who works for a cosmetic company to build her cosmetic brand and start her own business.

Jiri Mountain

Channel: tvN

Jiri Mountain tells the story about the people trying to climb the famous Mount Jiri and a national park ranger that goes around the said mountain to save some survivors.

All Of Us Are Dead

Channel: Netflix

The thriller themed drama "All Of Us Are Dead" will tell the story of a group of high school students who are forced to face an unexpected extreme crisis when they were trapped in their school while the outside world is in chaos with a zombie virus that spreads like wildfire. This series is based on the hit Korean webtoon titled Now at Our School.

D.P.

Channel: Netflix

D.P. is an action drama about the soldiers who are assigned in the D.P. (Deserter Pursuit) team and were given the task to catch deserters. This drama is based on the well-known webtoon of the same name by author Kim Bo-tong.

Law School

Channel: JTBC

Law School is a drama that exhibits the hardships of the law school students who grow and learn how the law and justice work, with their passion.

Dear M

Channel: KBS2

Dear M is a romantic themed drama where a search was conducted to find the mysterious person called 'M' he has written something in the community board of Seoyeon University's website that caught the attention of many which turned the said University upside down.

Mouse

Channel: tvN

The drama starts with the question, 'What if we can sort out psychopaths first?' This drama is about a rookie police officer who works at a police substation; he is an honest person. He then gets involved with a psychopath murderer who is feared by many. This murderer, however, changes the police officers' life.

Undercover

Channel: JTBC

Undercover will tell the story about a female prosecutor general who starts to grow doubts about her husband, whom she has been married for 20 long years.
Though the name Virginia Hall might not be familiar to most, during World War II, the American from Baltimore, who was living in Europe before war broke out, ended up becoming one of the most powerful and revered spies working for the Allied forces.

The new IFC film A Call to Spy (out now on Demand) stars Sarah Megan Thomas as Hall (who also wrote and produced the film), Stana Katic as fellow spy Vera Atkins, and Radhika Apte as a spy and wireless operator Noor Inayat Khan.

In real life, the three women were part of Winston Churchill's Special Operations Executive, which helped undermine the Nazi regime in France.

Hall's story is particularly fascinating. Though she was born into a rich family in Baltimore and studied at Radcliffe, Columbia, and George Washington University, she craved more adventure, eventually traveling to Europe to finish her schooling, and later trying to get a job as a diplomat in France.

However, her wooden legwhich she gained after shooting herself in the foot while hunting birdsprohibited her from joining the U.S. Department of State.

courtesy of Catlings Virginia Hall

In 1941, a chance meeting with a British intelligence officer led to a role with the Special Operations Executive or the SOE, where women were being hired as spies by Churchill. She was soon stationed in Paris where she posed as a reporter for the New York Post.

She quickly became adept at organizing resistance operations, where she supplied agents with money and weapons in Lyons, France. Hall eventually befriended a brothel owner who conscripted prostitutes working there to get information from German soldiers and pass it on to her and her team.

RELATED: Queen Elizabeth Recalls Going Incognito 75 Years Ago Today to Mark End of WWII

A master of disguise, Hall was eventually declared "the most dangerous spy of all time" by the Axis Powers, and the Gestapo had her on its most-wanted list. It's rumored that notorious Nazi Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie, known as "The Butcher of Lyon" for his torture of Jews and French resistance fighters, once said of Hall, "I would give anything to get my hands on that limping Canadian bitch."

Story continues

courtesy of Catlings A portrait of Virginia Hall

Undeterred, Hall continued working in France to support the Allied Powers' efforts against the Nazis via the resistance groups until the collapse of the regime. After the war, she joined the CIA, becoming one of the first women hired by the intelligence agency where she supported undercover activities to prevent the spread of communism.

At the age of 60, Hall retired to a farm in Maryland, where she lived until her death in 1982. In 2019, a book about her life, A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of WWIIs Most Dangerous Spy, Virginia Hall, by Sonia Purnell, was released.

A Call to Spy is the first film to focus solely on Hall's workand highlight the true importance of women's role in wartime spying. The film is now available on Video on Demand.
Well, at least it wasnt boring, because we needed a little more rancor and yelling to round out 2020. Perhaps a cable news segment of Boomers interrupting one another to the extent that no clear message can be heard, extended to 96 minutes, is the debate we deserve.

Tuesday nights presidential debate had more than its fair share of fireworks, but as the smoke cleared in the auditorium, it was hard to discern a winner. Former Vice President Joe Biden gave composed answers in the initial part of the debate, which focused on the Supreme Court and COVID response, while the president overdid his attack-dog posture, at times coming off as petulant and reluctant to answer the questions as presented.

However, when the topic turned to race relations and the breakdown of law and order that Americans are witnessing in their cities, Trumps belligerence stopped working against him. Biden may have claimed to be the Democratic Party (le Democrats cest moi?) but he knows perfectly well that he can barely say the words law and order without further depressing turnout among already-unenthusiastic progressive voters.

Bidens denial of the existence of Antifa and his rosy picture of radical Critical Race Theory trainings will fail to win over independents concerned about the rising power of the woke left, while his description of his economic plans as Wall Street approved, and his blatant reversal on endorsing the Green New Deal will further alienate Bernie voters.

The unfair media narrative arising out of an exchange about far-right violence  which Trump condemned but only with a follow-up accurately blaming the radical left for the spasms of urban violence in cities from Portland to Chicago  will likely end up on voters cutting room floor, alongside desperate attacks about the presidents taxes and anonymously sourced remarks.

None of this is really a surprise. Fairly or not, COVID response remains an Achilles heel for the president, with just a third of independents approving his performance. And Bidens greatest challenge is simultaneously separating himself from the rioters, while avoiding pushing away his partys left flank, already on the fence about him.

Ultimately, whoever wins this election, the Democratic Party will have to resolve its internal tensions. The energy on the left has split itself into dueling camps: the woke neoliberals, who focus primarily on culture war issues, and the Rust Belt Bernie bros, who see the cultural fights as a distraction from the underlying class divide. The latter camp may defect in still-larger numbers to a Trumpist Republican Party that focuses on an anti-globalist message about manufacturing and trade. But Biden himself pleases neither.

Trumpism is in a far more popular position on the right than Bidenism is on the left, which is at best, as the former VP has said himself, transitional.

But at the end of the day, this debate was a missed opportunity for Trump. If the polls are to be believed, hes trailing the former vice president. A draw leaves the current status quo, and with the campaign-from-the-basement strategy Biden has been pursuing thus far, Trump may run out of opportunities to unload on his opponent directly. A missed one may hurt more this cycle than it would have in past elections.

More than for Trump, though, this debate was a missed opportunity for voters who likely would have liked to hear about competing visions on actual policy challenges like education, which has surged to the front of many families priority lists due to battles over re-opening, as well as perennial issues like health care reform and immigration.

Its become a cliche to curse the calendar year, but many Americans are really struggling with the virus effects, along with the economic fallout from lockdowns, and millions are watching the urban unrest from coast to coast with fear and dismay. If voters were looking for real answers to the challenges of 2020, they didnt hear them Tuesday night.

A little WWE-style quip here or there makes the political world (and the viral clips) go round, but 90-plus minutes trying to listen to three men talking over one another does not make for a debate that helps resolve independent minds. In fact, in one post-debate focus group, the debate persuaded some undecided voters not to vote at all.

One thing is for certain, future debates need a stronger, ruder moderator to force these two belligerent septuagenarians into an actually informative exchange. According to a recent poll, a majority of Americans would tune in to watch popular podcaster Joe Rogan moderate the first podcast debate, an idea with considerable merit. It surely couldnt get any worse.

Inez Stepman is a senior policy analyst at Independent Womens Voice. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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In their first major move since taking over Torstar, entrepreneurs Paul Rivett and Jordan Bitove announced Thursday that theyre taking on senior roles within the company, with Rivett becoming the new chair and Bitove becoming publisher of the Toronto Star, Canadas largest daily newspaper.

Im humbled by the position of publisher. What we have seen in a very short amount of time is the power of this organization, said Bitove, flanked by Rivett and former Ontario premier David Peterson, who was previously announced as Torstars vice-chair. Every day, I go through the papers and so does Paul, and so does David. To be associated with this, it makes us proud. Were inspired.

John Boynton, who is handing off his publishing role to Bitove, will continue in his role as president and CEO of Torstar, with a renewed focus on the digital transformation he started when he became president back in March of 2017.

Bitove and Rivett, whose $60 million purchase of Torstar closed in early August, have spent the last two months speaking with executives and employees across the company, which runs the Star, six other daily newspapers and 70 community papers, as well as the flagship website thestar.com. The purchase by Bitove and Rivetts company NordStar Capital beat out a late bid from Canadian Modern Media Holdings.

We dont have all the answers. Were just trying to take in as much as we can, said Bitove.

Rivett, a long-time senior executive with Fairfax Financial who retired from that company before joining up with Bitove, said that while the digital transformation is vital for the Stars long-term success, the newspaper still matters.

We still believe in print, Rivett said.

One thing Bitove said he and Rivett will be doing is investing in the Stars newsroom, including restarting the Stars highly touted internship program, and putting more resources into the papers award-winning investigative team.

Were going to have trusted journalism that people are going to respect.  It starts with great local journalism. Our focus is going to be on Toronto. We have the most important market in the country, and these people need us, said Bitove, adding that the need for credible information is greater than ever.

Were at this incredible moment in time. To see whats happening in the U.S., and COVID, and Black Lives Matter, its never been more important than today to have trust in journalism, Bitove. said.

Investing in the newsroom and paying attention to the civic mission of journalism are also good for business.

Weve got to give people more of what they want. And to do that, you need to invest in the journalism, Bitove said.
New Delhi, Oct 2 : Amid the discomfort over the number of seats offered to it by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan has called a meeting of the party's parliamentary board on Saturday to decide whether to go solo or remain with the NDA for the Bihar Assembly polls.

The development comes a day after Paswan met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda here to discuss the seat-sharing formula.

An LJP leader said that the meeting at 5 p.m. would discuss the seat-sharing formula and also whether the party should fight the elections on its own or in alliance.

According to party sources, the LJP has been demanding 36 Assembly and two MLC seats in the state. However, the Janata Dal-United is not keen to give more than 20 seats to the LJP.

Last month, during a parliamentary board meeting, the LJP had asked its leaders to prepare a list of candidates for 143 of the 243 seats going to the polls.

The LJP has been critical of the Nitish Kumar government in the state, including its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, migrant workers and flood issues.

LJP supremo Ram Vilas Paswan has on several occasions written to Nitish Kumar, with the Chief Minister not responding even once.

The Bihar Assembly elections are slated for October 28, November 3, and November 7. Counting of votes will take place on November 10.

The LJP won only 2 seats in the 2015 Assembly polls.
Armenia has expressed its readiness to work with international mediators to clinch a ceasefire with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorny-Karabakh region where fierce fighting has entered a sixth day.

The country 'stands ready' to engage with France, Russia, and the United States, who co-chair the OSCE group of mediators to the conflict, 'to re-establish a ceasefire regime,' foreign ministry in Yerevan said.

The announcement comes as French President Emmanuel Macron demanded that Turkey explains the use of 'Syrian jihadists' in the disputed region.

Macron said intelligence reports had established that 300 fighters from 'jihadist groups' in Syria had passed through Turkey en route to Azerbaijan.

He added that 'a red line has been crossed, which is unacceptable' and demanded an explanation from Ankara.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in a telephone call that a failure to halt the fighting would 'bring the risk of an out of control escalation,' his office said.

He also warned them 'over the risk that an internationalisation of the conflict' would represent.

Azerbaijani forces earlier today struck Stepanakert, the main city in Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region, wounding 'many' people, an Armenian official confirmed.

'There are many wounded among [the city's] civilian population, civilian infrastructure is damaged,' Yerevan-based defence ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said on Facebook without providing further details.

Armenia has expressed its readiness to work with international mediators to clinch a ceasefire with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorny-Karabakh region where fierce fighting has entered a sixth day. Pictured: Image purporting to show an attack the Armenian army's artillery gun by Azerbaijan's forces

Armenia 'stands ready' to engage with France, Russia, and the United States. Pictured: Image purporting to show an attack the Armenian army's artillery gun by Azerbaijan's forces

Armenia's tentative move toward a ceasefire comes after the country claimed to have evidence that Turkish drones and F-16 jets had been bombing civilian areas.

'We have proof,' Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, told French newspaper Le Figaro.

'They are using drones and Turkish F-16 (fighter jets) to bomb civilian areas in Nagorny Karabakh'.

His country has previously accused Turkey of sending mercenaries to back its ally Azerbaijan.

Yesterday, the presidents of America, Russia and France in a joint statement called for a return to negotiations without delay.

'We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities between the relevant military forces,' the three presidents said in their capacity as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.

'We also call on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.'

The announcement comes as French President Emmanuel Macron (pictured) demanded that Turkey explains the use of 'Syrian jihadists' in the disputed region

The group was set up in 1992 to mediate a peaceful resolution over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in the South Caucasus.

But Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan later said that it was unacceptable that the countries were involved in a search for a ceasefire in the disputed region given they neglected problems there for some 30 years.

Erdogan also repeated that he expected a 'full Armenian withdrawal' from Nagorno-Karabakh if there is to be lasting peace in the region.

Russia has since suggested it had been making progress in diplomatic efforts with Turkey.

It said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu had confirmed they were ready for 'close coordination' to stabilise the situation.

Armenia and Karabakh declared martial law and military mobilisation on Sunday - while Azerbaijan imposed military rule and a curfew in large cities.

Nearly 200 people have since been confirmed killed, including more than 30 civilians, and there are fears of the fighting expanding into an all-out, multi-front war that could suck in regional powers Turkey and Russia.

The defence ministry of Karabakh's separatist government reported the deaths of 54 more of its troops as of today.

It said there was fighting all along the frontline after 'a relatively calmer night'.

Azerbaijan's defence ministry also said the fighting was ongoing and both sides claimed to have inflicted heavy losses.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry released footage purporting to show Azerbaijan's forces attacking an Armenian army's tank during fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region

Donald Trump (left), Vladimir Putin (centre) and Emmanuel Macron have all called for an immediate ceasefire in Karabakh as Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (right) demanded 'full Armenian withdrawal'

It comes after local media reported that two French journalists were injured by shelling in the Armenian town of Martuni.

The two French nationals working for France's Le Monde newspaper had been wounded during Azeri shelling.

An Armenian government source said they were in grave condition.

Television footage released by the Ankara-based Anadolu Agency showed reporters running for cover behind a wall at an unidentified location in Nagorno-Karabakh after what it said was Armenian shelling. Loud blasts could be heard in the background.

A car carrying journalists (pictured) was allegedly shelled by Azeri forces in the town of Martuni, in the self-proclaimed Nagomo-Karabakh Republicon Thursday

Blood was spattered across the Nissan Micra after the attack which occurred yesterday

The two French journalists were injured in the attack, according to local media

Russia had also previously accused Turkey of sending Syrian and Libyan fighters from illegal armed groups into the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Russia called on the countries involved to prevent the use of 'foreign terrorists and mercenaries' in the conflict.

Two Syrian rebel sources have said that Turkey is sending Syrian rebel fighters to support Azerbaijan, which Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied.

Earlier this week Armenia revealed photos of the wreckage of its SU-25 fighter jet which it claims was shot down by a Turkish F-16 amid accusations that Ankara is throwing its military might behind Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan also announced it had 'neutralised' 2,300 Armenian soldiers in the worst eruption of violence between the two countries since a 1994 ceasefire over an Azerbaijani territory which is largely inhabited by Armenians.

Azerbaijan's forces allegedly destroyed Armenian army's multiple rocket launcher during fighting (pictured)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan repeated that Armenia must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh. Pictured: Image purporting to show a rocket shell in the Ivanyan community in the breakaway Nagorny-Karabakh region

Despite Azerbaijan and Turkey denying that an F-16 had downed Armenia's SU-25, the defence ministry in Yerevan named its dead pilot as Major Valeri Danelin and published photos of the jet painted in the Armenian Air Force colours, smouldering on a mountainside.

Turkey has been stridently backing Muslim Azerbaijan, raising fears that Russia - which has a military base in Christian Armenia - could be drawn into a proxy war after Moscow and Anakara came close to trading blows in Syria last year.

French President Emmanuel Macron slammed Turkey's fighting talk as 'reckless and dangerous' after Ankara pledged its full support for Azerbaijan to reclaim the ethnically-Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

The Kremlin, which also wields influence over the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, has called on the hostilities to be 'immediately ended' and warned Turkey not to 'add fuel to the flames.'

Macron on Wednesday pledged his support to Yerevan, telling reporters: 'I say to Armenia and to the Armenians, France will play its role.

But the French President also said it was too soon to speak of a regional conflict.

He said he would discuss the tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday evening and US President Donald Trump on Thursday before reporting on the situation to the European Council of EU leaders.

Armenia revealed photos of the wreckage of its SU-25 fighter jet which it claims was shot down by a Turkish F-16 over the the Caucasus Mountains

The colours of the Armenian flag painted in a roundel on the plane's fuselage (left) and identification markings (right)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow was willing to host the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks, a ministry statement cited him as saying.

He said Russia would continue to work both independently and together with other representatives of the Minsk group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to mediate in the conflict.

Ethnic-Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh are fighting for secession from Turkish-backed Azerbaijan and the dispute has led to decades of unresolved violence.

Erdogan's aide Fahrettin Altun has said that Turkey 'stands with Azerbaijan, our friend and brethren' despite UN condemnation for the violence.

'Let there be no doubt that the world will hear our roar if Azerbaijan were to suffer from the slightest injustice under international law,' he said on Tuesday.

Azerbaijan also aired footage of two Armenian tanks being blown up on the battlefield, while Armenia claimed to have taken out 80 armoured vehicles, 49 drones and four helicopters in the latest fighting which has killed dozens of people, allegedly including civilians.

However, Altun dismissed the F-16 claim as 'absolutely untrue' while Azerbaijan described it as 'yet another lie of Armenian propaganda'. 'Armenia should withdraw from the territories under its occupation instead of resorting to cheap propaganda tricks,' Altun said.

Turkey denies that one of its F-16 fighter jets was involved in a dog fight, but Armenia has named Major Valeri Danelin as their dead pilot (the wreckage pictured on the mountainside)

Russian-backed Armenia warned that it would deploy more destructive weapons in the conflict because of what it described as an Azerbaijani offensive, saying the fighting had been 'elevated to a new level'.

Armenia last night accused Turkey of 'supporting Azerbaijan to carry out genocidal acts', a reference to the early 20th-century massacre which it calls the Armenian Genocide and which still poisons relations between Turkey and Armenia.

Both nations have accused each other of firing into each other's territory beyond the Karabakh region, raising fears of an all-out war which could draw in nuclear-armed Russia.

The Kremlin has a military base in Armenia but has called for the hostilities to be 'immediately ended' - warning Turkey not to 'add fuel to the flames' by raising the prospect of intervention.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that 'both sides need to stop the violence' while German chancellor Angela Merkel called for an 'immediate ceasefire' and France called for a revival of peace talks.

Martial law has been declared in both countries and Armenia has banned men over 18 in its military reserves from leaving the country as the warfare continues despite global appeals for calm.

Crossroads between the Middle East and Russia: The fighting is in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh of Azerbaijan which is controlled by separatists allied to Armenia. Turkey borders Armenia but is an ally of Azerbaijan, and Ankara's support for Baku is the latest military adventure in the region after incursions into Syria and Libya. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are former Soviet republics that border Iran. Moscow has called for both sides to stop the fighting

Why Armenia and Azerbaijan are fighting WHAT AND WHERE IS NAGORNO-KARABAKH? Karabakh is a region within Azerbaijan which has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since a full-scale separatist war ended in 1994, after killing about 30,000 people and displacing an estimated one million. Nagorno-Karabakh is about 1,700 square miles in size, but Armenian forces also occupy other nearby territory. HOW DID THE CONFLICT START? Long-simmering tensions between Christian Armenians and mostly Muslim Azerbaijanis began boiling over as the Soviet Union frayed in its final years. Once the USSR collapsed in 1991 and the republics became independent nations, war broke out. A 1994 cease-fire left Armenian and Azerbaijani forces facing each other across a demilitarised zone, where clashes were frequently reported. WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE? International mediation efforts have brought little visible progress. The conflict has been an economic blow to the Caucasus region because it has hampered trade and prompted Turkey to close its border with Armenia. Fighting periodically breaks out around Nagorno-Karabakh's borders, often deadly, notably in 2016 and this July. Since new fighting erupted on Sunday, dozens have been killed and wounded in apparent shelling by both sides. Each country blamed the other. WHATS THE BROADER IMPACT? In addition to causing local casualties and damage, the conflict in the small, hard-to-reach region is also of concern to major regional players. Russia is Armenias main economic partner and has a military base there, while Turkey has offered support to Azerbaijanis, fellow Muslims and ethnic brethren to Turks. Iran neighbors both Armenia and Azerbaijan and is calling for calm. Meanwhile, the United States, France and Russia are meant to be guarantors of the long-stalled peace process, under the auspices of the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Advertisement

Azerbaijan's defence ministry said earlier this week that the opposing forces attempted to recover lost ground by launching counter-attacks in the directions of Fizuli, Jabrayil, Agdere and Terter.

The ministry said there was fighting around Fizuli on Tueday morning and the Armenian army shelled the Dashkesan region on the border between the two countries, miles away from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia denied those claims, but reported fighting throughout the night and said that Nagorno-Karabakh's army repelled attacks in several directions along the line of contact.

Both sides blame each other for causing the latest flare-up, with Armenia claiming that the separatists in Nagorny-Karabakh are resisting a 'thoroughly planned attack'.

'Defence forces of Nagorno-Karabakh are left with little option but to defend themselves,' Armenia's foreign ministry claimed.

Military leaders in the Armenian enclave say that 84 servicemen on their side have been killed so far, while both sides blame the other for alleged civilian deaths.

Azerbaijan says 10 civilians have died on its side, but has yet to give details on military casualties.

Armenia claimed on Tuesday that a nine-year-old girl was killed in shelling, while her mother and a brother were wounded, while Azerbaijan says five members of a family died in the gunfire.

Armenia's defence ministry said a civilian bus was set on fire after being hit by an Azerbaijani unmanned drone.

Armenia accuses its enemy of using Smerch and TOS-1A rocket launchers, saying it was forced to use 'military hardware with larger power' in response.

'Since early morning the Azerbaijani side resumed large-scale offensive ops. TOS-1A heavy flamethrowers are being employed. The use of TOS, Smerch and other large-caliber systems changes the philosophy and the scale of mil ops, elevating them to a new level of escalation,' claimed defence spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan.

As a result, Armenian forces are 'compelled to use pieces of equipment and munitions designed to engage wide area targets, intended for large and indiscriminate destruction of manpower, and static and mobile property alike,' she warned.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan came down firmly on the side of Azerbaijan, which shares ethnic, cultural and linguistic ties with the larger power.

'The time has come for the crisis in the region that started with the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh to be put to an end,' Erdogan said. 'Now Azerbaijan must take matters into its own hands.'

Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev on Monday ordered partial military mobilisation and General Mais Barkhudarov vowed to 'fight to the last drop of blood in order to completely destroy the enemy and win'.

Armenia has accused Turkey of sending mercenaries to back Azerbaijan, a claim which Erdogan's government denies.

Turkey informed the fighters they would be tasked with 'guarding border regions' in Azerbaijan in return for wages of up to $2,000, said Rami Abdul Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Anna Naghdalyan, a spokeswoman for Armenia's foreign ministry, said people in Nagorno-Karabakh were 'fighting against a Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance'.

'Turkey, which a century ago annihilated Armenian people in their historical homeland and justifies that crime, now supports Azerbaijan by all possible means to carry out same genocidal acts in South Caucasus,' she said.

As many as 1.5million Armenians were rounded up and killed by their Turkish rulers in mass killings which started during World War I, but Turkey fiercely disputes the term 'genocide'.

Turkey has also conducted drills with F-16 jets in Azerbaijan, but Baku denied claims that it has any of the fighter planes or that one been involved in a shootdown.

Russia has previously supplied Armenia with weapons in the sensitive region, where pipelines shipping Caspian oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan to the world pass close to Nagorno-Karabakh.

How the military forces compare AZERBAIJAN 82,000 armed forces personnel 570 tanks including T-55, T-90 and modified T-72 upgraded by Israel 29 combat aircraft (five MiG-21, 12 MiG-29 and 12 Su-25 planes) ARMENIA 49,000 armed forces personnel 110 tanks including T-80, T-72, T-55 and BMP models 13 combat aircraft (nine Su-25 and four Su-30 planes) TURKEY 510,000 armed forces personnel 3,000 tanks including 339 German-made Leopard 2A4s and 1,200 American M60 tanks 206 combat aircraft (48 F4 jets and 158 F-16 jets) RUSSIA 1.45million armed forces personnel 12,950 tanks including Soviet-era T-72 and T-80, Russian-era T-14 Armata and T-90 models 1,616 combat aircraft including MiG, Sukhoi and Tupolev models 7,000 nuclear warheads with land, air and sea-based launchers Advertisement

Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously urged the opposing sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to hold their fire, during a conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin emphasised the urgent need for a ceasefire and for all sides to take measures to de-escalate the crisis, the Kremlin said.

Azerbaijani state energy company SOCAR said that the country's oil and gas infrastructure was safe thanks to measures taken by the army.

The report of Turkish intervention comes after the European Union warned regional powers not to interfere in the fighting and condemned a 'serious escalation' that threatens regional stability.

Omer Celika , spokesman for Erdogan's ruling party, denied reports that Turkey had sent arms or foreign fighters to Azerbaijan.

'Armenia is disturbed by Turkey's solidarity with Azerbaijan and is producing lies against Turkey,' Celik said.

Erdogan criticized France, the US and Russia - the three chairs of the so-called Minsk group that was set up in 1992 to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict - saying they had failed to resolve the issue for 30 years.

'They have done their best not to solve this issue. And now they come and counsel and issue threats. They say, is Turkey here, is the Turkish military here?,' Erdogan said.

France had warned previously it would 'trigger a co-ordination of the Minsk Group' in the coming days to 'find a way out' of the crisis.

Armenia and Karabakh declared martial law and military mobilisation on Sunday, while Azerbaijan imposed military rule and a curfew in large cities.

Analysts warn that the conflict could escalate into a proxy conflict between Moscow and Ankara, who both wield influence in Syria and Libya already.

Michael Carpenter, a former Pentagon official, said any Turkish involvement would be 'hugely destabilising' and 'could lead to a proxy war between Turkey and Russia'.

Rita Katz, director of the SITE Intelligence monitoring group, said the two countries 'continue to vie for control across region, backing proxies on contentious non-secular lines' - referring to the fact that Azerbaijan is a majority-Muslim country, while most Armenians are Christians.

In addition to the EU and Russia, France, Germany, Italy and the United States have urged a ceasefire.

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States would seek to end the violence. 'We're looking at it very strongly,' he told a news briefing. 'We have a lot of good relationships in that area. We'll see if we can stop it.'

Democratic nominee Joe Biden urged the White House to push for more observers along the ceasefire line and accused Russia of 'cynically providing arms to both sides.'

Erdogan last night discussed the crisis in a phone call with British PM Boris Johnson, with Downing Street calling for 'urgent de-escalation in the region'.

German chancellor Angela Merkel - who has clashed with Erdogan in the past - has called for an 'immediate ceasefire and a return to the negotiating table' after speaking with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Five European countries - Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany and Britain - asked for a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council on the escalating conflict on Tuesday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to both countries' leaders and called for 'an immediate stop to the fighting, a de-escalation of tensions and a return to meaningful negotiations without preconditions or delay.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the situation 'is a cause for concern for Moscow and other countries.'

'We believe that the hostilities should be immediately ended,' Peskov said, adding that the process of resolving the conflict should shift into 'a politico-diplomatic' dimension.

Nuclear-armed Russia has a military base in Armenia and considers it to be a strategic partner in the South Caucasus region, supplying the ex-Soviet country with weapons.

The Kremlin has cast itself as a mediator but Azerbaijan claimed last month that Moscow was 'intensively arming Armenia' after earlier clashes in July.

Hostilities this year have been the worst since 2016, when intense fighting killed dozens and threatened to escalate into all-out war.

Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in a conflict that broke out as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Although a ceasefire was agreed in 1994, after thousands of people were killed and many more displaced, Azerbaijan and Armenia frequently accuse each other of attacks around Nagorno-Karabakh and along the separate Azeri-Armenian frontier.

During the worst recent Karabakh clashes in April 2016, around 110 people were killed.

In July 2020, heavy clashes along the two countries' shared border - hundreds of miles from Karabakh - claimed the lives of at least 17 soldiers from both sides.
Three men were shot, one fatally, early Friday in an ambush attack outside a southwest Houston gas station, police said.

Police officers were en route to a separate call about 1 a.m. when they were flagged down near a Raceway gas station at 10445 Bissonnet Street, said Lt. R. Willkens of the Houston Police Department. There they found three gunshot victims.
Homegrown utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday launched the new Thar at a starting price of Rs 9.8 lakh going up to Rs 13.75 lakh for the top-end variant. A modern rendition of the iconic Willys Jeep that Mahindra used to assemble in India in the initial years of its existence, the new Thar is powered by two engines--a 2.0 litre mStallion TGDi petrol engine, and a 2.2 litre mHawk Diesel engine.

These engines are offered with a choice of 6-speed manual transmission or 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission, with 4x4 manual shift transfer case with a low ratio. The petrol engine produces 112 kW (150 bhp) of power & 320 Nm of torque while the diesel engine has a peak power output of 97 kW (130 bhp) of power & 320 Nm of torque.

The car may be booked either online or at any of the company's dealerships with an initial payment of Rs 21,000 and deliveries would begin on November 1. "Over the years, the Thar has been a part of Mahindra's rich history and has found its way into the hearts of many as an object of desire. On the occasion of the Group's 75th anniversary, we have written another chapter in its glorious history. In its all new avatar, the Thar is a notch higher in its timeless appeal, owing to its ability of being as comfortable on paved roads, as it has always been off-road," said Dr Pawan Goenka, MD & CEO, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. "We are confident that the Thar tribe will grow stronger as a new set of customers come into its fore, in addition to the traditionalists".

While the outgoing version of the car had its share of followers, a vast majority of SUV buyers in India gave the vehicle a miss due to the lack of refinement, fit and finish and features in the car. With the new Thar, Mahindra has tried to address some of the issues with a whole range of modern features to attract a wider set of consumers. "Brand Mahindra is tough, edgy, and unique and the New Thar is its flagship brand. It embodies the value of Exploring the Impossible with a greater level of refinement and sophistication," said Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto & Farm Sectors, M&M Ltd. "Since its unveil, the response has been phenomenal, clearly proving to be one of the most awaited launches this year. We believe our attractive pricing will appeal to the adventure lovers as also to the urban lifestyle seekers."

Unveiled on August 15 this year, the company said the new Thar trended nationwide amongst the top 3 with over 500K searches on that day and saw over 15 lakh website visitors and an overall digital reach of over 2.9 crore. "The test drive for the new Thar will start in phases and the deliveries will commence from November 1, 2020," said Veejay Nakra, CEO - Automotive Division, M&M Ltd. "It has been a labour of love for everyone at Mahindra and we are confident that it will make a lasting imprint as India's most desirable, yet affordable SUV."

Designed and engineered in India and manufactured out of the company's Nashik factory, the vehicles would be available in six colours, namely - Red Rage, Mystic Copper, Galaxy Grey, Napoli Black, Rocky Beige and Aquamarine. It also comes at a time when Mahindra dearly needs a hit. Its last two new launches-the XUV3OO and Marazzo, have been modest successes at best.

Once the leader in utility vehicles in the country, Mahindra has seen itself overtaken by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor in the category in the last few years thanks to their compact SUVs. Now, new entrant Kia Motors that launched its own compact SUV Sonet last month is snapping at its heels and has already overtaken Mahindra as the fourth largest carmaker in India in the first nine months this year.

All-New Thar feature list
Dennis Amakiri, a former Deputy Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), has said that Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State w...

Dennis Amakiri, a former Deputy Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), has said that Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State was actually warned against embarking on the recent trip that led to the attack on his convoy by Boko Haram terrorists.

Amakiri said the Governor ignored the intelligence report and felt he could go on with the trip.

The former DSS chief said this during a special programme on Channels Television to mark Nigerias independence anniversary on Thursday, October 1, 2020.

Amakiri said, The Governor of Borno State was given the intelligence that this road is not safe, he felt he could go.

And being the Chief Executive, he ventured out. He was attacked twice. I hope he will not go again because at least they continue telling him, managing him to make sure that he keeps himself safe.

According to him, before Very Important Persons move, there are certain procedures to be carried.

The ex-DSS boss said that the public figures are exposed to danger if such procedures are not met.

Recall that late last month, a convoy conveying officials of Governor Zulum was attacked near Monguno town by terrorists, killing at least 11 security operatives among others.

In his reaction, President Muhammadu Buhari had described the ambush on the entourage of Zulum as orchestrated sabotage against the long planned return of displaced persons to their local communities.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly leaving Leinster House, Dublin, having appeared before the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response (Brian Lawless/PA)

The Government has accepted recommendations from public health experts to introduce tighter restrictions on household visits.

The public health team advising ministers urged that a maximum of six people from a single household be allowed to go to another house, in all parts of the country.

The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the Government has accepted the advice.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) said people should be able to continue to meet socially in other settings, but only with those from one other household.

When we do the right thing we're protecting ourselves and the people around us. COVID-19 is still a problem, and we're all the answer. Lets arm ourselves against COVID-19 by covering our cough or sneeze or having a tissue handy. https://t.co/TxwKnlnlMR #StaySafe #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/x1EkCa8g5K  HSE Ireland (@HSELive) October 2, 2020

The clampdown on household visitors are being introduced to curb the spread of Covid-19 after more than 400 new coronavirus infections were detected on Thursday.

Mr Donnelly said he received a very stark letter from acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn after the Nphet meeting yesterday.

Unfortunately, in spite of superb efforts by people across the country which are slowing the acceleration of the virus, it is still moving fast, he told RTE Morning Ireland.

We are now at 94 cases per 100,000. The five-day average, which is quite concerning, is now over 400 new cases per day.

One thing I look at is the impact on our hospitals. We have seen a 30% increase in hospitalisations just in the past week.

Expand Close People prepare to dine in the outdoor seating area of a cafe in Dublins city centre (Brian Lawless/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp People prepare to dine in the outdoor seating area of a cafe in Dublins city centre (Brian Lawless/PA)

We are now at 119 people and the number of people going into intensive care is rising as well and unfortunately the evidence from across the world is, as those numbers go up, fatalities follow.

The R number is now about 1.3 which means the level of the virus is doubling every two weeks.

He said that the primary mode of transmission is close contacts and the main clusters around the country are within households.

What is spreading this virus more than anything is different households meeting up with each other, Mr Donnelly warned.

The Cabinet does not have to meet to approve the recommendation as it forms part of the Governments five-level alert plan.

Mr Donnelly also said that the overall positivity rate is up to 3%.

Officials from Nphet did not recommend that any other counties be moved up a level in the Governments phased plan for dealing with Covid-19.

The Government increased restrictions in Dublin and Donegal last month and these include 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.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the ongoing issue of coronavirus had become the dominant issue at the European Council meeting in Brussels on Friday.

Mr Martin said concerns were raised over the health and economic impacts of Covid-19, and also the duration over which this will continue.

Speaking in Brussels, Mr Martin said: It is very, very clear that this second wave essentially is under way across Europe.

He added that a pattern was emerging across the European Union of younger people becoming infected first and then a higher incidence of the virus being recorded in older people.

The story in Ireland is not unique, the Taoiseach said.

Its quite similar to the pattern across Europe.

The Taoiseach also wished US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania the very best for a speedy recovery from Covid-19.

Mr Martin said: Its difficult for them to have tested positive for Covid-19 but we wish them a speedy recovery.

I think it reminds us all of the ever-present prevalence of this virus.

One more person has died with Covid-19 in Ireland.

Another 470 infections were confirmed, the National Public Health Emergency Team said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer Calls for Testing And Tracing Program on Capitol Hill

After President Donald Trumps testing positive for the CCP virus, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said it is imperative that a program for testing and contact tracing be implemented in the Senate.

This episode demonstrates that the Senate needs a testing and contact tracing program for Senators, staff, and all who work in the Capitol complex. We simply cannot allow the administrations cavalier attitude to adversely affect this branch of government, Schumer said in a written statement.

It is imperative that all results be made public in order to contain a possible outbreak and so we can determine the need for Senators and staff to quarantine or self-isolate, he added.

Adding to the urgency for having such a program in place was Sen. Mike Lees (R-Utah) positive result.

Lee also tested positive for the virus and it is unclear where he might have been exposed to it. He said he began to experience allergy-like symptoms and decided to get tested for the coronavirus out an abundance of caution. He said he had tested negative during a White House visit several days ago but tested positive Thursday.

Lee, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and said he will be back to work in time for the confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Trumps Supreme Court nominee. Those hearings are scheduled to begin Oct. 12.

The Senate does have proxy voting in place so, it should not slow the pace of Barretts confirmation hearings.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) turned down a White House offer in May for rapid testing for the Capitol complex, writing that they wanted to keep directing resources to the front-line facilities where they can do the most good the most quickly.

Schumer was adamant that after Trumps diagnosis, the White House should move forward with contact tracing including Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. The White House said Barrett is tested daily and that her test came back negative Friday.

In his statement, Friday Schumer indirectly scolded the president for not socially distancing and wearing a mask at his large events. President Trump has held a number of large events at the White House and campaign rallies in the last few weeks.

What happened to President Trump is a reminder of why the whole country, including Senators and staff, must follow the science and follow the protocols laid out by the CDC and public health officials, Schumer said. When you ignore the science, you dont wear a mask, and you dont follow social distancing guidelines, it puts you and everyone around you at risk. Following science is a must.
Will brands stand up against toxic content? The more noxious the news channel, the more viewership it has garnered. Will advertisers rethink strategies?

During a recent show on business news channel CNBC TV18, R. Balakrishnan (better known as R. Balki), veteran advertising professional turned film-maker, weighed in on toxic news channels in India and why advertisers must review their associations with them.

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Television news plays a huge role in India and without sound media you cannot have a great democracy, he said. He also urged brands to take the responsibility of looking at content closely before making advertising decisions.

Balakrishnans remarks come in the wake of questionable standards of television journalism in the country, especially in the lurid coverage of actor Sushant Singh Rajputs tragic death. Peddling fake news, misleading and biased reportage have become the hallmark of some news channels in an attempt to drum up viewership and, hence, advertising.

However, the fact remains that the more noxious the news channel, the more viewership it has garnered. Evidently, Indians are watching the tamasha being served. Toxicity fetches eyeballs.

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Aajtak





That brings us to whether advertisers will withdraw from these platforms. Sanjay Sarma, founder, SSARMA Consults, a boutique branding and communication advisory, believes brands that value their reputation and have an eye on the future will review their arrangements. However, he says, many news channels rarely get high-quality advertisers. And the smaller local brands may not have such deep concerns, says Sarma.

That may not be true for every channel though as big national advertisers, even on the news channels that have become controversial over the past few months, include companies and brands like Amazon, Airtel, Kia Sonet, MG Hector Plus, Vivo, Flipkart, Hyundai, Colgate, Amul, Honda City and Samsung Galaxy Note. Any big brand moving out will be bad news for these channels.

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Social media-savvy consumers are quick in calling out brands with questionable behaviour, Sarma says. He is optimistic that any brand that associates with toxic content will eventually be rejected.

Partho Dasgupta, former chief executive of TV viewership monitoring agency BARC India and an independent management consultant, agrees that brand safety is an important issue for all advertisers. A negative environment has a negative rub-off on the brand and the audience doesnt take it kindly, he says. There are 400 news channelsand brands have enough choice. But whether they exercise these options is another matter. Mint reached out to a number of Indian and multinational advertisers to check if they would take a stand. All declined to comment. Privately, a senior executive working for a leading advertiser said that his company had shifted big media money to news channels in the belief that this was what people were watching during the pandemic. For brands to move out of news channels, viewers have to move out first, he says. If TRPs drop, my brands will walk out. So it is the consumer who has to take a stand first.

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Shashi Sinha, CEO of the Indian arm of advertising company IPG, agrees. News channels come very cheap and brands buy commercial time in bulk and do long-term deals on time bands. So monitoring programming at a micro level is very difficult. While some brands are clear that they will chase only ratings, others who quietly withdraw will not admit openly as some of these media houses are powerful.

Given this reality, it is doubtful if there will be any real activism by advertisers. Boycotting TV channels requires a bold stand and brands are guided by the ROI metric, not yet by softer aspects like philosophical compatibility, said a brand expert.

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To end the media circus, Sarma offers a solution: Ratings for news channels should be stopped and paid subscription should become the norm.

Shuchi Bansal is Mints media, marketing and advertising editor.
By AFP

BARCELONA: Police arrested 16 people who took part in overnight protests marking the anniversary of the illegal referendum on Catalan independence that triggered Spain's worst political crisis in decades, a spokesman said Friday.

But compared with previous years, the demonstrations on the third anniversary of the October 1, 2017 referendum were sparse, with all mass gatherings banned under coronavirus restrictions.

Fifteen of the arrests took place in Barcelona while another person was detained in the city of Girona, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) further north, police in the wealthy northeastern region said.

This year's anniversary came as Spain battles a second wave of coronavirus cases, chalking up close to 780,000 infections as of Thursday night, the highest number in the European Union, and almost 32,000 deaths.

The 2017 referendum saw police violently cracking down on would-be voters as regional leaders pushed ahead with a ballot that Madrid had declared illegal.

Later that month, Catalan lawmakers narrowly approved a motion to declare an independent republic, sparking an immediate backlash from Madrid.

The failed independence bid also stoked political divisions within the Catalan separatist movement, which have sharpened in the ensuing three years.

On Thursday night, several hundred demonstrators gathered outside the Catalan regional government's headquarters in Barcelona, accusing the authorities of not making good on their promise of independence from Spain.

Around 300 protesters later continued the protest in the city centre, hurling objects at police vans and burning barricades, an AFP correspondent said.

Although the regional government is dominated by separatist parties, there are deep divisions within their ruling coalition about what strategy to adopt to achieve independence.

Catalonia is now heading towards an early regional election after its president, Quim Torra, was disqualified from office earlier this week when Spain's Supreme Court upheld a previous conviction for disobedience.

Torra was convicted for refusing to remove a banner with separatist slogans from his government's headquarters in the run-up to the April 2019 general election.

Torra's deputy, Pere Aragones, is to serve as interim regional chief until the election, which is expected to take place in February.
In announcing the change in Texas, Mr. Abbott described it as necessary for security. His spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon about why the governor considered the satellite drop-offs insecure.

The state of Texas has a duty to voters to maintain the integrity of our elections, Mr. Abbott said in a statement accompanying his proclamation. As we work to preserve Texans ability to vote during the Covid-19 pandemic, we must take extra care to strengthen ballot security protocols throughout the state. These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting.

There is no evidence that mail-in ballots lead to widespread fraud.

The move drew immediate criticism from Democrats, who are more competitive in Texas this year than they have been in past election cycles, and from voting rights groups.

Republicans are on the verge of losing, so Governor Abbott is trying to adjust the rules last minute, Gilberto Hinojosa, the chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, said in a statement.

The Harris County clerk, Chris Hollins, also denounced the change, saying he would have been willing to allow poll watchers at drop-off locations in order to keep those locations open, and noting that the county had been advertising the now-closing locations for weeks.
Nick Hampton has been the CEO of Tate & Lyle plc (LON:TATE) since 2018, 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 Tate & Lyle.

Check out our latest analysis for Tate & Lyle

Comparing Tate & Lyle plc's CEO Compensation With the industry

Our data indicates that Tate & Lyle plc has a market capitalization of UK3.1b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as UK2.5m for the year to March 2020. We note that's a decrease of 18% compared to last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at UK665k.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations ranging from UK1.6b to UK5.0b, the reported median CEO total compensation was UK1.3m. Hence, we can conclude that Nick Hampton is remunerated higher than the industry median. Moreover, Nick Hampton also holds UK3.6m worth of Tate & Lyle stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Component 2020 2019 Proportion (2020) Salary UK665k UK665k 27% Other UK1.8m UK2.4m 73% Total Compensation UK2.5m UK3.0m 100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 74% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 26% of the pie. Tate & Lyle sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall 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 Tate & Lyle plc's Growth Numbers

Over the last three years, Tate & Lyle plc has shrunk its earnings per share by 1.3% per year. Its revenue is up 4.6% over the last year.

Story continues

Its a bit disappointing to see that the company has failed to grow its EPS. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the EPS is down. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Tate & Lyle plc Been A Good Investment?

Tate & Lyle plc has generated a total shareholder return of 16% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.

In Summary...

As we noted earlier, Tate & Lyle pays its CEO higher than the norm for similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. Unfortunately, EPS has not grown in three years, failing to impress us. And shareholder returns are decent but not great. So we think more research is needed, but we don't think the CEO is underpaid.

So you may want to check if insiders are buying Tate & Lyle shares with their own money (free access).

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
Physician to the President U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 16, 2018. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Former Trump Physician: President Can Return to Normal Following Two Negative Tests

President Donald Trump can get back to his normal routine after two negative COVID-19 tests, former White House physician Ronny Jackson said Friday.

Trump, 74, tested positive for the new disease late Thursday.

Once he has two negative tests, that are 24 hours apart, he should be good to go back at that point, to go back to normal, Jackson said during a virtual appearance on Fox & Friends.

That could take place before 10 days have elapsed, Jackson added.

Trump is scheduled to debate Democratic presidential nominee on Oct. 15.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, 50, who also tested positive, are both well at this time, Trumps current physician said in an Oct. 1 statement.

President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One, alongside Attorney General William Barr, right, Ronny Jackson, second from right, Republican nominee for Texass 13th Congressional District, and Tommy Tuberville, Republican nominee for the United States Senate from Alabama, upon arrival in Dallas, Texas, on June 11, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The first lady said via Twitter, We are feeling good.

The Trumps plan on quarantining in the White House for now.

Trump is showing mild symptoms, as is his wife, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters later Friday.

I think we have to remember that hes in great physical health, otherwise. He doesnt have comorbidities, Jackson said, referring to underlying serious health conditions, a known trigger for serious COVID-19 cases.

Thats going to be big for him. And I think thats he going to continue to move forward. Most of the people his age, even in his category, the vast majority of them, they recover from this very quickly. Most of them dont even know they have it.

If Trump wasnt getting tested on a daily basis, and didnt get tested based on a positive result from White House aide Hope Hicks, the former presidential physician believes Trump may have gone on living his life without being aware of the diagnosis.

He may have moved on and not even known he had this, Jackson said.

Several health experts on Friday said White House doctors are probably considering giving Trump remdesivir, an antiviral that has shown some success in treating COVID-19.

A lab technician holds the COVID-19 treatment drug Remdesivir at Eva Pharma Facility in Cairo, Egypt, June 25, 2020. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

Remdesivir is indicated for hospitalized patients. But there is thinking that it probably improves outcomes earlier it is introduced in the course of the disease, Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration chief in the Trump administration, said during an appearance on CNBCs Squawk Box.

Gottlieb, who said Trump has a good chance of doing well because he was previously in good health by all reports and will get excellent care, was joined by Dr. Qanta Ahmed, a New York pulmonologist who has been treating COVID-19 patients.

Ahmed said on Fox & Friends that she believes remdesivir is being considered even if the Trumps arent showing symptoms.

This is the president. The goal is to bring him to PCR negative as soon as possible, not just for the confidence of the country, but the less viral burden in the patient, the better theyre going to do. Remdesivir shortens that, she said.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing detects whether a person is currently infected with COVID-19.

A bottle and pills of hydroxychloroquine sit on a counter at Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on May 20, 2020. (George Frey/AFP via Getty Images)

Jackson said he would support remdesivir use if Trump developed symptoms.

Jackson said its also possible the White House re-implements a course of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial, along with zinc and the antibiotic azithromycin.

The combination has shown some success against COVID-19, particularly when taken early in the course of a case.

Those are some medications that have very few side effects, and its possible that they would do those at this early point, Jackson said.
Which? is calling for the introduction of a new mandatory aviation ombudsman, saying proposed changes to the 'broken' airline complaints system fall far short of what is needed to restore consumer trust in travel.

The consumer champion has responded to the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) consultation on potential changes to its current Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) policy, highlighting how it believes the current rules do not work for consumers and risk further damaging trust in the travel sector.

Which? says it has repeatedly heard from passengers who have been let down by the 'convoluted' dispute resolution process. It claims some have battled for over a year to receive compensation for their case, despite promises that cases would be resolved within 90 days.

Which? claims that the current complaints system makes it 'too easy' for airlines to shirk their responsibilities to promptly refund or compensate consumers  even allowing them to quit dispute resolution schemes, as no-frills Ryanair did in 2018

It says others have had to rely on claims management firms, with one woman Which? spoke to saying she had to hand over nearly half of the compensation she was entitled to as payment to her solicitors.

The CAA's proposed changes to the internal rules for ADR schemes include a new process for 'complex and novel' cases and a post-decision review process that could give airlines an opportunity to influence how future cases are handled.

Trust in the travel industry is worryingly low, with nearly a third (31 per cent) of consumers saying they do not trust airlines and travel operators

Which? says it is concerned the proposed changes will do little to address the 'weaknesses of the existing system' and 'amount to little more than tinkering around the edges'.

It adds that the proposals also 'appear to prioritise airlines' perspectives over consumers' and risk already weak consumer protections being further diluted'.

Which? claims that the current system makes it 'too easy' for airlines to shirk their responsibilities to promptly refund or compensate consumers  even allowing them to quit dispute resolution schemes without penalty, as no-frills airline Ryanair did in 2018.

The consumer champion says it also involves unreasonably long waits for passengers as they go through a 'long and convoluted dispute process, which puts too many people off complaining at all'.

Instead, Which? says it is calling for the government to introduce a new aviation ombudsman scheme that all airlines operating in the UK must be made to join to improve the passenger complaints process, as part of its upcoming aviation recovery plan.

The review of the 'broken' complaints system comes as consumer trust in the sector continues to dwindle as a result of the coronavirus outbreak's impact on the sector.

According to the latest figures from Which?'s Consumer Insight tracker, trust in the travel industry is still worryingly low, with nearly a third (31 per cent) of consumers saying they do not trust airlines and travel operators.

The majority of the largest airlines flying from the UK are currently signed up to one of two UK schemes, AviationADR or CEDR.

Which? is calling for the government to introduce a new aviation ombudsman scheme

After Ryanair was told to pay millions to passengers whose flights were cancelled by strikes in 2018, it quit the AviationADR scheme.

The consumer group explained that in the first 11 months of 2018, AviationADR received more than 14,000 Ryanair complaints, resulting in the airline being told to pay out more than 2.6million to passengers in compensation between October 2018 and the end of March 2019. Ryanair also had to pay at least 75 for each complaint AviationADR handled  suggesting a bill for more than 1million in fees alone during 2018, Which? says.

Ryanair paid out the compensation it owed through the AviationADR scheme, but subsequently passengers had to pursue claims against the carrier through the CAA - which cannot compel the airline to pay out even if it finds in a passengers favour.

Which? points out that in the four months after November 2018 - AviationADR ceased accepting new Ryanair passenger claims on Friday, November 30 - the number of passengers pursuing claims against the carrier plummeted to just 553.

It says this fall suggests a huge saving in fees and compensation for the airline.

Kasia Nieduzak received a ruling from the arbitrator in July 2018 and finally received her Ryanair compensation in November 2018  but only after a 14-month battle that involved around 170 phone calls and sending 45 emails

Some passengers had claims being routed through the CAA rejected by Ryanair, so the regulator began enforcement action.

The court case may not be heard until 2022.

Which? says it is also concerned that allowing airlines a choice between resolution schemes could enable them to 'game the system' and 'switch between schemes based on which one they think will deliver more favourable outcomes', with concerns that 'ADR schemes might prioritise attracting new business over delivering for consumers'.

The consumer watchdog claims passengers are also let down by the current system as many are either put off using ADR schemes because of the long and complex process of doing so or aren't aware they may be able to use them to escalate their complaints.

It says that instead, many choose to take court action themselves or rely on a claims management firm to fight their claim on their behalf.

Thousands of court proceedings are issued against airlines by claims management firms every year, with passengers having to pay a significant fee to their solicitor out of any compensation they win.

Which? member Premini Mahendra used a claims management firm to fight her case against Tui after her flight was delayed by 13 hours. The case took 12 months and a bailiff was eventually required to collect the compensation.

On the left is Which? member Premini Mahendra, who used a claims management firm to fight her case against Tui after her flight was delayed by 13 hours. The case took 12 months and a bailiff was eventually required to collect the compensation. On the right is Kasia Nieduzak, who had a 14-month battle for compensation for a cancelled Ryanair flight

Premini was awarded 400 (365), of which the solicitors took almost 180 (164). She said: '[Tui] just wanted to frustrate me and string out the process. Lots of people probably just give up.'

Meanwhile, Kasia Nieduzak told Which? Travel she made a complaint to AviationADR after her Ryanair flight was cancelled in September 2017 - when the carrier was still a part of the scheme.

She received a ruling from the arbitrator in July 2018 and finally received her compensation in November 2018  but only after a 14-month battle that involved around 170 phone calls and sending 45 emails.

Kasia said: 'It took me over a year to get my compensation and I only received it because I was extremely persistent and didn't give up. I am very certain that many people whose flights were cancelled between September and October 2017 did not get their rightful compensation.'

Which said: 'If the government's aviation recovery plan  due this autumn  is to deliver for passengers, it should be published without delay, and must include clear plans to introduce a single, statutory-backed aviation ombudsman scheme that all airlines operating in the UK must be members of, to help restore consumer trust in the travel sector, which has plummeted in recent months.

If the government's aviation recovery plan  due this autumn  is to deliver for passengers, it should be published without delay, and must include clear plans to introduce a single, statutory-backed aviation ombudsman scheme that all airlines operating in the UK must be members of

'In the interim, the CAA must ensure it makes the existing ADR schemes work better for passengers. The regulator should step up scrutiny of existing ADR bodies, and ensure greater transparency for the complaints handling process. It must also improve its requirements for data reporting and encourage airlines to act on their complaints data.'

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, added: 'Throughout the coronavirus crisis, passengers have seen their consumer rights ripped up by some airlines that have consistently flouted the law  but they have found there is nowhere to turn for support.

'This situation has only served to highlight that the current complaints system is broken, and tinkering around the edges will not be enough to reform it and make it work for passengers.

'The government must ensure that passengers' needs are front and centre in its aviation recovery plan, starting with the introduction of a mandatory, single ombudsman scheme for airlines, as a first step to restoring trust in the sector.'

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: 'There are no AviationADR claims outstanding and Ryanair meets all of its obligations relating to EU261. In the small number of cases where claims are rejected we refer passengers to the CAAs Passenger Advice Complaints Team (PACT) or the European Commissions Online Dispute Resolution service.'

Richard Stephenson, Director at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: 'The Civil Aviation Authority was a leading force in the creation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme in the UK which has enabled thousands of consumers to receive compensation from airlines.

'We have received Which?s response to our consultation and we will review its proposals for how improvements can be made to the existing arrangements for the benefit of consumers.'

Tui said: 'We're sorry to hear of the delays Ms Mahendra faced back in 2017.

'We can confirm that currently, all airline compensation claims are responded to within 14 days, and compensation is received within 28 days of us issuing it. We work hard to respond to customers as quickly and efficiently as possible.'
RTHK: India gang-rape victim's family get protection

A court in India has ordered police to protect the family of a woman allegedly gang-raped and killed by four high-caste men, as her brother said they feared reprisals over the accusations.

The 19-year-old woman was attacked in mid-September and died this week, sparking outrage and shining the spotlight again on sexual violence in India, particularly attacks against women of a lower caste.

With her home village in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh barricaded by hundreds of police, the victim's brother on Thursday told Indian television they were frightened.

"We're not safe in this village. They can do anything to us. We don't trust the police or the administration. Our fears have increased now," he said.

"We're on their radar more than ever before. They won't let us live. We might have to leave the village. We don't trust politicians."

The state's high court on Thursday ordered authorities to "ensure that no coercion, influence or pressure is exerted upon the family members of the deceased in any manner, by anyone."

It sharply criticised police for reportedly cremating the young woman in the middle of the night - against the family's wishes and religious custom - after her body was brought back from the New Delhi hospital where she died from her injuries on Tuesday.

"As it is, the deceased victim was treated with extreme brutality by the perpetrators of the crime, and what is alleged to have happened thereafter, if true, amounts to perpetuating the misery of the family and rubbing salt in their wounds," the judges said.

They set a hearing for October 12, summoning both police and the victim's family.

The late-night cremation further stoked accusations that local police were protecting the alleged culprits - who have been arrested on charges of gang-rape and murder - and their well-connected, high-caste families.

On Thursday the local police issued a statement saying that according to a forensic report "no rape was committed".

The findings, confirming those of a preliminary medical report and a postmortem, "exposed the conspiracy of those who tried to push the state into a caste turmoil", the statement quoted local police official Prashant Kumar as saying.

This contradicts statements from both the victim and her mother, and also findings from the Delhi hospital when she was admitted, media reports said.

Experts cast doubt on the forensic test cited by the police, saying it was conducted too long - eight days - after the attack.

Mishika Singh, a lawyer and activist, said the findings were "in no way conclusive proof to say rape was not committed".

"Ignoring the dying declaration of the victim on the basis of a non-conclusive forensic report goes to show the murky investigation being done by the police," Singh said.

The young woman's death comes months after four men were hanged for the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a student on a bus in New Delhi, in a case that came to symbolise India's problems with sexual violence.

The latest incident - and another gang-rape and murder this week in the same area - has sparked days of protests and candle-lit marches as well as condemnation from politicians, activists and Bollywood stars.

An average of 87 rapes were reported in India every day last year, according to data released on Tuesday by the National Crime Records Bureau, but large numbers are thought to go unreported. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2020-10-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
"Untitled, circa 1980," by Gilbert Lewis at Kapp Kapp. One of several shows to see right now. Read more

Given the turmoil of the past months and continuing uncertainty over COVID-19, its no surprise galleries have responded with more modest shows than in past fall seasons.

Also not unexpected: Art that projects a noticeably somber or reflective mood, as in Neysa Grassis enigmatic paintings evoking the passage of time; Anna Bogatin Otts paintings of vertical bands of color inspired by the light of the sun and moon and the vastness of the sky, and all of the works in Re-materialize, whose artists (El Anatsui, Shari Mendelson, Jackie Milad, and Alison Saar) have recycled discarded materials with a remarkable sensitivity to their past lives.

Activism is alive and well in Carrie Mae Weems' billboards on the UArts campus addressing COVID-19s disproportionate impact on communities of color, Jennie Thwings unsettling animation and cut-felt installation expressing her view of the Trump era, and Temple Contemporarys 11-artist untitled group show on the theme of Americas current state of upheaval.

 READ MORE: Things to do in Philly this weekend: Our weekly events calendar will keep you busy

Gilbert Lewis: The Mind of Man, Portraits 1982-2009. Lewis, who attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and graduated from Philadelphia College of Art (now UArts) in 1975, is the subject of concurrent exhibitions at Kapp Kapp and at PAFA, the Woodmere Art Museum, and the William Way LGBT Community Center. Kapp Kapps focus is on Lewis highly-detailed gouache portraits of queer young men who posed for him in his Philadelphia studio apartment. (Through Oct. 23, Kapp Kapp, by appointment only, 215-309-5315, kappkapp.com)

Touching From a Distance. Colorful, often humorous, works in various mediums by gallery artists. Standouts include Jennifer Levonians cut-paper animation, Lost Islands of Philadelphia, in a which a distraught mother chases her bookish young daughter (whos on a bike) perilously on skates through South Philadelphia to the Delaware River, where she finds her daughter hoping for a glimpse of long-gone Smiths and Windmill Islands; Tristin Lowes sculpture of the lower half of a jeans-clad figure protruding, work boots-first, from the gallerys ceiling; Kambel Smiths meticulously executed three-dimensional reproduction of the historic Philadelphia synagogue Rodeph Shalom; and Knicoma Fredericks entertainingly devilish untitled painting. (Through Nov. 7; Fleisher/Ollman, 215-545-7562; fleisherollman.com)

Carrie Mae Weems: Resist Covid Take 6! This is phase 1 of a public art project presented by the University of the Arts focusing on the devastating effect of COVID-19 on the Black, Latino, and Native American communities. Billboards in four locations on UArts' campus feature Weems' photographs and related graphic messages, which offer useful information and hope to passersby. (Ongoing; UArts' Hamilton Hall, 320 S. Broad St.; Terra Hall, 211 S. Broad St.; Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery/Window on Broad, 333 S. Broad St., Philadelphia Art Alliance at University of the Arts, 251 S. 18th St., uarts.edu/resistcovid)

Derrick Velasquez: Greatest Attempts. Velasquez is showing his first-ever series of paintings, which take their inspiration from clothing made for royalty and military commanders in the 17th and 18th centuries. Hes also presenting a video, Lux, and works on paper incorporating photographs of European Baroque and Victorian architecture. (Through Oct. 25, Pentimenti Gallery, 215-625-9990, pentimenti.com)

Re-materialize. Among the works worth seeing in this exhibit: wall-hanging sculptures fashioned from bottle caps and other aluminum items, by the Ghanaian-Nigerian artist El Anatsui. Vessels by Brooklyn sculptor Shari Mendelson, which resemble ancient glass artifacts but are made from discarded plastic bottles. From Baltimore artist Jackie Milad: collages on paper and hand-dyed canvas that incorporate parts of her own earlier artworks and found graphics. And woodcut and intaglio prints on vintage textile fragments that are meditations on the neglected history of Southern Black communities, by the California-based artist Alison Saar. (Through Dec. 20, Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania, by appointment only, 215-898-2083, arthurrossgallery.org)

Anna Bogatin Ott: Wanderland. A new series of paintings based on the light of the moon and the sun at various points in time, each one containing sharp contrasts of hue and line scale. (Oct. 17-Nov. 28, Larry Becker Contemporary Art, by appointment only, 215-925-5389, artnet.com/galleries/larry-becker-contemporary-art)

2020: Jennie Thwing. The video and installation artist is offering her personal perspective on the Trump era, Black Lives Matter, the pandemic, and the 24-hours news stream in an animation and a cut-felt installation. (Through Nov. 29, Grizzly Grizzly, by appointment only, grizzlygrizzly.com)

Temple Contemporary at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture. An untitled group exhibition addressing our current moment in America, with works by Indira Allegra, Noel W. Anderson, Phillip Stearns, Cecilia Vicuna, others. (Through Nov. 20, 215-777-9139, templecontemporary.org)

Lisa Naples: Using the Sun to Find North. Painted plates narrating the peregrinations of a middle-aged red-tailed female hawk and ceramic figures of hares in motion. (Through Nov. 15, Clay Studio, 215-925-3453, claystudio.org)

Neysa Grassi/Joanna Pousette-Dart: Floating World. Grassis recent paintings evoke the ineffable, with atmospheric images that seem to be illuminated within the surfaces of her canvases. Pousette-Darts graphic abstract works borrow their forms from common curved shapes, including the human eye. (Through Oct. 17, Locks Gallery, by appointment only, 215-629-1000, locksgallery.com)
Today, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) released the first results from the NIH-funded AGA Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) National Registry, the largest real-world study on the safety and effectiveness of FMT. Published in Gastroenterology, the registry reported that FMT led to a cure of Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection in 90% of patients across 20 North American FMT practice sites. Few serious side effects were reported.

While the value of fecal microbiota transplantation for treating recurrent C. difficile infection is clear from research studies, the potential long-term consequences of altering a patient's gut microbiota are not fully known. Releasing the initial results of the AGA FMT National Registry is an important step toward understanding the true risk and benefits of microbiota therapeutics in a real-world setting." Dr. Colleen R. Kelly, Associate Professor of Medicine at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and co-principal investigator of the AGA FMT National Registry

This new report details effectiveness and safety outcomes from the first 259 patients enrolled in the registry between December 2017 and September 2019. Almost all participants received FMT using an unknown donor from stool banks. The most common method of FMT delivery was colonoscopy followed by upper endoscopy. Of the 222 participants who returned for the 1-month follow-up, 200 participants (90%) had their C. difficile infection cured with 197 of those requiring only a single FMT. Infections were reported in 11 participants, but only two were thought to be possibly related to the procedure.

FMT response was deemed durable, with recurrence of C. difficile infection in the six months after successful FMT occurring in only 4% of participants. This data includes patients with co-morbidities, such as inflammatory bowel disease and immunocompromised status, who are typically excluded from FMT clinical trials.

"These initial results show a high success rate of FMT in the real-world setting. We'll continue to track these patients for 10 years to assess long-term safety, which will be critical to determining the full safety profile of FMT," added Dr. Kelly.

What is fecal microbiota transplantation?

Fecal microbiota transplant, or FMT, is a medical procedure in which the stool from a healthy person is prepared and then put into the intestine of a sick patient. FMT is most commonly used to treat Clostridioides difficile infection, if antibiotics have not been able to get rid of the infection. Recurrent C. difficile infection is common and increasing within the U.S. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and frequent failure of standard medical treatments, making FMT a potentially life-saving procedure. Learn more in the AGA GI Patient Center.
Linder shared personal anecdotes from his career in law enforcement that suggested to him that marijuana was a gateway drug to more serious drug abuse.

Regardless of what some people might say, marijuana is a precursor to worse things to come, Linder said.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse some research suggests marijuana use preceded the use of other drugs, but the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, harder substances.

The NIDA also said that other factors like a persons social environment were critical to drug use, and that tobacco or alcohol were also typically used before a person progressed to more harmful substances.

Bob Sise, an addiction psychiatrist at Billings Clinic, said he saw an increase in depression and anxiety in frequent cannabis users and was concerned more youths would abuse the drug.

Billings Clinic and its foundation have not taken a stance on the issue, said Clinic spokesman Zach Benoit, who attended the rally.
As Pakistan announced its plan to capture Gilgit Baltistan, several activists have objected the move, accusing Islamabad of joining forces with China to bring the illegally occupied region as its fifth province. One such activist, Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza from Pakistan occupied Kashmir raised the matter during the 45th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Pakistan is attempting to illegally make Gilgit Baltistan her fifth province. On October 31, 1947, Pakistan instigated a coup d'etat in Gilgit agency with the collaboration of British officers of Gilgit scouts and occupied Gilgit Agency. By attacking the state of Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Agency, Pakistan has committed a war of aggression, crime against peace and crime against humanity, all I wish tend to amount to war crimes," Dr Mirza said.

READ | India Responds To Pakistan's 'cosmetic' Gilgit-Baltistan Election Bogey; Says 'vacate Now'

The European Foundation for South Asian Studies perceived the decision as Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's delayed response to India's abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. The decision to capture Gilgit Baltistan could only have been made in Rawalpindi, not in Islamabad, it said.

"More importantly, however, it is the constant Chinese pressure on the military establishment to ensure a proper legal cover under Pakistan's legal jurisdiction for its investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which enters Pakistan from China through Gilgit Baltistan, that has forced the establishment to act," the European think tank argued.

Recently, Pakistan Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said that the government has decided to raise the status of Gilgit-Baltistan to a complete province. He said that PM Imran Khan would soon visit the region and make a formal announcement in this regard.

READ | MEA Lambasts Pakistan's Attempt To Alter Illegally Occupied Gilgit-Baltistan's Status

India responds to Pakistan's claim over Gilgit Baltistan

In a sharp response to Pakistan's decision to usurp Gilgit Baltistan, India said Islamabad has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it and Government of India completely rejects the recent actions such as the so-called "Gilgit-Baltistan (Elections and Caretaker Government) Amendment Order 2020 and continued attempts by the Pakistan establishment to bring material changes in areas under its illegal and forcible occupation.

"Action such as these can neither hide the illegal occupation of parts of Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh by Pakistan nor the grave human rights violations, exploitation and denial of freedom to the people residing in Pakistan occupied territories for the past seven decades. These are cosmetic exercises intended to camouflage its illegal occupation. We call upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said.

READ | Ex-Pakistan Defence Min Warns Imran: Altering Gilgit-Baltistan status Will Harm 'K' Agenda

READ | PoK Activist Raises 'Merge Gilgit-Baltistan With India' Demand At UNHRC As Imran Plots

(With inputs from agency)

(Image credits: AP)
Flex Alert logo View Photo

Sacramento, CA  Californias power grid operator is no longer calling for emergency energy conservation measures.

A Flex Alert was issued yesterday from 3-10pm, and the California Independent System Operator confirms that it has now been lifted. No rolling blackouts were needed. The Flex Alert was out of concern that energy demand would spike yesterday, primarily by the use of air conditioners, when the temperatures increased.

All PG&E customers were asked to keep the thermostat above 78-degrees and to limit appliance use.

The Associated Press reports that the heatwave is being produced by a ridge of high pressure covering the entire West and extending into Alaska.
A trust representing many has moved the seeking a direction to the to release all outstanding dues to them on account of imparting education to students from the economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.

Under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, also known as RTE, the Directorate of Education of ensures free education to students of economically weaker sections (EWS) and disadvantaged groups (DG) even in unaided by reimbursing them the expenses.

Delhi-based Private Land Public Schools Trust filed the petition through lawyer A P Singh in the top court on Thursday on the issue and it is likely to be taken up in coming few days.

"Issue a writ of mandamus...against the respondent 2 and 3 (DoE and respectively) to release all the payments outstanding towards



imparting of education to EWS/DG category students, by the private land unaided schools and in future, pay the same quarterly at the beginning of each quarter, so as to enable the school to manage its precarious finances in a more viable manner..."



Singh said the trust represents over 150 of the capital which are facing difficult times due to delay in payments by the DoE to them for providing education to EWS and DG category students.

The trust, in the petition filed through its General Secretary Chandrakant Singh, has also sought a direction to the Delhi government to release the funds as per the rates "proposed and approved on July 2, 2018 and w.e.f 2017-18 instead of 201819".

The plea said funds disbursed by central government to the Delhi administration for implementation of RTE Act should reach its rightful recipients which are private unaided schools like the petitioner.

It also sought deposit of fees in advance to make good the financial deficit of such schools and would help them in payment of salaries to staff members amid this global pandemic COVID-19.

"Fixing the liability of the officers delaying payment of EWS reimbursement to private unaided schools along with calculation of interest on such delayed payments, and for making future payments to member schools of petitioner association in timely manner in order to effectuate timely payment to be given to staff members of such schools," the plea said.

Twelve months fees of EWS category students should by paid to all such



schools irrespective of the month of admission of such students, it said.

The DoE and the Delhi government have a "solemn duty" under section 12 of the RTE Act, 2009, to reimburse to private unaided school which are providing free and compulsory elementary education, it said.

It has been alleged that there has delay in reimbursement of fees and other expenses to such schools by the Delhi 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.)
Removing the background of a video you've shot can be a real pain if you don't have the kind of tools and setup used by professionals  and even then it isn't as easy as it should be. Kaleido's one-step background removal tool for images, remove.bg, has graduated to full-motion video with the company's new product, Unscreen.

The service itself is simple enough. You drag a video onto the Unscreen webpage, and a few minutes later (depending on the size and resolution of the content) you get it back, with everything gone but the person or object in the foreground.

The company's first product was remove.bg, which was the same sort of thing but for still images; it was a big hit on Product Hunt. As someone who has to do a bit of work in that line myself now and then, it's nice to know there's a very simple, effective web service for snipping out the background quickly and accurately, even though I know I could do the same thing in Photoshop with a bit of work.

After nine months out there, remove.bg is serving millions of users monthly, 25,000 of which are actually paying customers. Clearly there is demand for this type of service, and going from stills to video is a natural move, though of course the amount of computing power required is many times more. Kaleido tested the waters with an experimental MVP back in March, and developed Unscreen on the back of that.

The idea is, understandably, to become the go-to tool for creators who have little time to spare or don't want to deal with heavy-duty options like Premiere. On YouTube and other platforms, speed is paramount if you want to have the first unboxing video or reaction to news, but maintaining production value is important, and people will be put off by janky live background removal that makes the creator look like an amateur.

Speaking of which, Kaleido chose to compete in the offline video processing space because there are entrenched and competitive offerings available from Zoom, Microsoft and others in the video chat space, where "good enough" is just fine. But there are comparatively fewer options for offline video editing, and fewer still that anyone can operate with no expertise at all.

Story continues

In Hollywood (which is to say in cinema and high-end video production in general) the world of compositing is changing, with LED walls like those used on The Mandalorian an attractive, though expensive and complex, alternative to the standard green screen or frame-by-frame rotoscoping. A simple one-step process to easily remove backgrounds for quick-turnaround shoots, dailies and other situations could be a godsend for many a VFX tech or production studio.

At all events the market is evolving but clearly exists, as paying customers attest. Kaleido is totally self-funded so far, with no need or desire to take on investors, since its income scales with its expenses and exposure.

As with most media products these days, Unscreen comes in a freemium subscription model. You can try it out with clips up to 10 seconds long for free (but the watermarked, low-resolution files aren't really suitable for publication), then there are the usual subscription tiers, from $9 to $389 per month depending on how much footage you plan on uploading. Two-thirds of its income is from small businesses, but it also counts several major enterprises and media companies among its paying customers.

Of course, none of that matters if the product itself doesn't work. I tested it out on a five-minute, 720p video of a woman with long hair, and it finished in about 45 minutes. The end result was good, with the hair nicely preserved and only a handful of small glitches that would be easy to paint out if desired. A minute and a half of myself talking into the camera in 1080p took about 33 minutes, and a somewhat clearer 23-second video of a colleague turned out very crisp in about 10 minutes.

I bet at first you thought this still was from Fashion Week too, right?

You might say, why so long? Zoom does it in real time. Yes, but at a low resolution and quality. It's not the kind of thing you'd want to put online publicly and permanently, or use in a commercial shoot. From what I could tell, the quality of Unscreen's removal was considerably better, but not straight-to-final good. You'll want to watch it first to snag any issues.

Users have the option to render the video directly with a still, video or solid color background, or a two-channel (alpha and color files) version for feeding into an editor. Other options are limited, so if you want to upscale, resize, re-render with a different color, etc., you're out of luck. This isn't an online video editing platform  it's a web-hosted video effect and should be treated as such.

One thing Kaleido has been careful to demonstrate  and it's sad to think that this is a differentiator  is that its products work with people whose skin tone and hair confound other solutions. The bare fact that some background removal processes work better with light-skinned people than dark-skinned, or with straight hair than curly, is a sad indicator of a lack of diversity in the training set that produced those tools.

Curly hair is notoriously difficult for computer vision algorithms, but Unscreen's does a decent job of it.

Kaleido's Bernhard Holzer told me that this was top of mind from the beginning, and that the team has been careful to assemble training data from all over the world to make sure the product works equally well no matter which country or hemisphere the user is in. They keep an eye out for unexpected issues; for instance, it was found that a person with a commencement cap on moving the tassel from one side to the other wasn't handled well by the system  so they added a bunch of data to fix it. Users are encouraged to give feedback and the system is constantly evolving to take advantage of it.

The company itself is growing, and expects to double in size to about 30 employees this year  and as noted remains funded by its own income. The appetite for web tools is certainly considerable, and until now the idea of a single-click background removal one didn't exactly make sense. But by being the first, Unscreen hopes to become -- and remain -- the best.
A day after filmmaker Anurag Kashyap appeared for questioning in the sexual assault case filed against him by a female actor, he has denied all accusations in a statement by his lawyer Priyanka Khimani. Mr Anurag Kashyap has denied all wrongdoing in the matter and has provided his statement to the police, the lawyer wrote.

Calling the complaint an outright lie, the statement continued, Mr Kashyap has provided documentary proof of the fact that throughout August, 2013 he was away in Sri Lanka in connection with the shooting of one of his films. Mr Kashyap has categorically denied that any such alleged incident ever took place and has also denied all allegations levelled against him.

The allegations have been made with the purpose of vilifying the filmmaker, the statement continues. Mr Kashyap is distressed with the false and reckless allegations made against him that have caused pain to him, his family and his fans. Mr Kashyap intends to vigorously pursue the legal remedies available to him.

The filmmaker has has sought for severe action against the complainant, for misusing the criminal justice system and for hijacking the Me Too Movement for her ulterior motives.

The actor, who had filed an FIR against the filmmaker, accusing him of sexual misconduct, had said that she is the one being grilled while the guilty is chilling at his home. Chief of National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma was quick to respond to the actors tweet and assured her that she has also written to Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) regarding the same.

Also read: Taapsee Pannu says she will break all ties with Anurag Kashyap if he is found guilty of sexual harassment

Mumbai Police had registered an FIR against Anurag after the actor accused him of rape in 2013. Anurag had dismissed the allegations as baseless. The FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 376 (I) (rape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 342 (wrongful confinement), an official said, adding that further investigation is underway, as per PTI.

Anurag called the actors claim an attempt to silence him for his outspoken views. Earlier, his lawyer said in a tweet, My client, Anurag Kashyap, has been deeply pained by the false allegations, these are completely false, malicious and dishonest.

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We've all heard the analysis: If only Black voters had turned out in the same numbers to vote for Hillary Clinton that they did for Barack Obama, we wouldn't have Donald Trump today. The razor-thin margins for Trump in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania would have turned into razor-thin margins for Clinton, and that would have been it.

So, yes, Black voters were certainly important in 2016, and they're going to be crucially important this year, too. But will they turn out? This is far from certain.

One thing we do know, however, is that Democrats shouldn't assume anti-Trump sentiment among Black voters is enough, in and of itself. One tip-off was surveys of Black nonvoters conducted a couple of years after the 2016 election in a couple of cities in the swing states. By then, Trump's support of white nationalists, his unwillingness to condemn police violence, his sledgehammer attacks on health, public education and housing programs were all well known. And those were all issues of particular importance to Black voters. Yet, many of the Black nonvoters still voiced no regret for having stayed home on Election Day.
New Delhi, Oct 2 : The Delhi Police on Friday cautioned against any gathering around India Gate due to imposition of Section 144 CrPC.

Police also said that a gathering of up to 100 people is permissible at the Jantar Mantar, but with a prior permission of the competent authority.

"The general public is hereby informed that in view of DDMA order on September 3, a total gathering up to 100 persons is permissible at the designated place, i.e. Jantar Mantar and that too with prior permission of the competent authority," PRO Delhi Police and DCP New Delhi, Eish Singhal said.

The order comes after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has planned a protest at the India gate on Friday against Hathras gangrape and murder case.

The party's official Twitter handle said: "Let's stand in solidarity against the barbaric Hathras incident. Today at 5 PM. Location - India Gate." Earlier in the week, a major protest was seen near the India Gate, where Congress workers burned a tractor during a protest against the farm laws. The Delhi Police arrested at least 10 people in this connection.
Two Bandidos bikies, including the president of the gang's Brisbane chapter, have been arrested and charged with extortion and armed robbery following sweeping raids, according to police.

Two members of the Bandido outlaw motorcycle gang were arrested during sweeping raids on Friday. Credit:Queensland Police Service

It will be alleged victims of the outlaw motorcycle gang members were threatened with violence if money wasnt paid, and they also had property stolen.

Detective Inspector Tim Ledbetter said the pair were accused of working together to "bully" everyday Queenslanders, and "threatened victims with violence for money".

"They have used their gang association to further intimidate victims to both meet their demands, but also to discourage them from complaining to authority," he said.
India has got the delivery of one of the two specially modified Boeing 777 aircraft, which will fly VVIPs like president, vice president and prime minister. The custom-made B777 aircraft arrived from Texas, the US, in Delhi on Thursday this week after undergoing modification for over two years.

Boeing had earlier planned to deliver the aircraft to Air India by August after a postponement in July due to COVID-19 but the delivery was delayed again due to technical reasons, PTI quoted officials as saying.

Boeing will now deliver another custom-made VVIP aircraft to Air India by this month. These two planes will incur the retrofitting cost worth Rs 8,400 crore.

The VVIPs like PM or president earlier flew on Air India's Boeing 747 aircraft. These 20-year-old planes lack ultra-modern security features like sensors to detect and jam missiles and safe and secure communications systems.

These two special planes will be flown by two Indian Air Force pilots, who have been trained by Air India to operate the VVIP planes.

The aircraft's call sign is 'Air India One' like that of US President Donald Trump's, which is Air Force One. The current Boeing 747 planes of the president, vice president and the prime minister also bear the call sign 'Air India One'. Unlike the new modified planes, Boeing 747 planes are flown by Air India staff.

These planes are also used by the national carrier for commercial flights when they are not flying VVIPs. In a change, the new planes will be used for the travel of the dignitaries only. Both these modified planes were briefly included in the Air India fleet in 2018 but were later sent back to the US for modification.

Here are some special features of VVIP plane:

State-of-the-art missile defence systems called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS)

The LAIRCM is an advanced missile detection system that automatically detects and jams enemy missile systems, without any action required by the pilot

Self-Protection Suites are also used by the US President's Air Force One. It includes countermeasures dispensing systems and defensive warfare suites

They provide extraordinary comfort, have superior range, are best in terms of fuel efficiency

Also read: Two Boeing wide-body planes for Modi, Kovind, Naidu to cost Rs 8,458 crore

Also read: Govt to sell 100% stake in Air India; issues bid document

Also read: Air India sale: Deal terms look 'sweet' but is govt misleading buyers?
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 05:54:55|Editor: huaxia

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Namibia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (front L) waters a tree during an event to mark the International Day of Non-Violence in Windhoek, Namibia, Oct. 9, 2020. The United Nations General Assembly designated Oct. 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence through a resolution in 2007. (Xinhua/Musa C Kaseke)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for a global ceasefire on Friday, commemorating the International Day of Non-Violence, which is taking place this year in the shadow of devastating human and socio-economic impacts from the coronavirus pandemic.

In a message, the UN chief reminded everyone of their special duty to stop the fighting and to focus on the common enemy, COVID-19.

"There is only one winner of conflict during a pandemic: the virus itself," said Guterres.

"As the pandemic took hold, I called for a global ceasefire. Today we need a new push by the international community to make this a reality by the end of this year," he added.

Ceasefires would ease immense suffering, help to lower the risk of famine, and create space for negotiations toward peace, said the secretary-general.

"Deep mistrust stands in the way. Yet I see reasons for hope. In some places, we see a standstill in the violence," he said, noting that many member states, religious leaders, civil society networks and others backed his call.

"Now is the time to intensify our efforts. Let us be inspired by the spirit of Gandhi and the enduring principles of the UN Charter," Guterres added.

In an appeal issued on March 23, the UN chief urged warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the "bigger battle" against COVID-19: the common enemy that is now threatening all of humankind.

He repeated the call a number of times ever since.

In his centerpiece address to the opening of the General Debate of the historic and unprecedented 75th session of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 22, Guterres said that some 180 member states had endorsed the appeal, as had religious leaders, regional partners and civil society networks. Several armed movements also responded, some of whom announced ceasefires, though they were not sustained.

The UN General Assembly, through a resolution in 2007, designated Oct. 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence to coincide with the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, who led the Indian independence movement and pioneered the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. Enditem
Flights to other countries bring 50 percent of Vietnam Airlines total revenue, but the number remains modest. And domestic air transport has just begun to recover.

Explaining the low post-tax profit in the first half of the year, Vietnam Airlines said total revenue and other income of the holding company decreased by 67 percent compared with the same period last year by VND18.012 trillion.

The revenue from service provisions dropped sharply by 50 percent, or VND18.296 trillion (revenue from domestic passengers decreased by 43.5 percent, international passengers 63.1 percent and from chartered flights by 67 percent).

The total costs of the holding company in H1 decreased by 30 percent (VND10.845 trillion). As the decrease in revenue was higher than the cost reduction, the post-tax profit of the national flag air carrier dropped sharply.

Meanwhile, Vietjet Air (VJA) reported net revenue of VND10.97 trillion from sales and service provisions in H1, a decrease of 55 percent compared with the same period last year, and a loss of VND1.44 trillion from air transport operations.

This was the first time that VJC had taken a loss from air transport operations since December 2011.

Vietnam Airlines, which had 500 flights a day, is now providing 200-300 flights daily. The revenue from international flights accounts for 50 percent of total revenue of Vietnam Airlines and VJA, the two largest air carriers, but most flights have been frozen because of Covid-19.

The air carrier has transferred financial investment projects accumulated for many years to offset cash flow reduction and maintain its core business  aviation.

After COVID-19 broke out in Da Nang and some localities, people restricted travel, and domestic flights have entered the low season.

Vietnam Airlines, which had 500 flights a day, is now providing 200-300 flights daily. The revenue from international flights accounts for 50 percent of total revenue of Vietnam Airlines and VJA, the two largest air carriers, but most flights have been frozen because of Covid-19.

The government has recently restored commercial air routes to some countries which have controlled the epidemic well, including China, South Korea and Japan.

However, the number of flights remains modest and the passengers are not normal travelers. Domestic airlines with 30,000 workers still have to cope with difficulties.

Support needed soon

Economists said the 2-2.5 percent growth rate will increase GDP by 1 percent. The figure shows the importance of aviation to the national economy.

Governments around the world have provided bailouts worth $100 billion, or 25 percent of total losses, to rescue airlines.

According to Luong Hoai Nam, an aviation expert, support has been provided through three major packages.

The first is a credit policy which helps airlines pay salaries to workers, retaining jobs and minimizing layoffs.

The second aims to help airlines cut operation costs and the third helps airlines increase capital capability.

The Aviation Business Association has proposed that the government provide a medium- and long-term support package, offering preferential loans to all airlines, no matter if they are state owned or privately run. The package would be worth VND25-27 trillion, or $1.2-1.3 billion.

Nam said the rescue needs to be provided as soon as possible. The package is estimated to be equal to one-third or one-fourth of the losses airlines have incurred because of Covid-19.

This support package should be done early so that capital can reach businesses before they can no longer handle any outbreak, he said.

The tax and fee cuts will help airlines cut operation costs. In fact, some measures have been taken, but the validity period is too short, just 5-6 months, which will only save several hundreds of billion of dong. And they still are awaiting guidelines to be implemented.

Nam suggested extending the validity time of the package to 18-24 months, which would help airlines save VND5-7 trillion.

Nam stressed that airlines must be treated equally and that it is necessary to create healthy competition.

He also suggested that the state invest in private airlines. The German government has invested in Lufthansa, while Thai Airways has received investment from non-state sources, though it is a state-owned airline.

Ha Yen

Airline pilots, flight attendants see salaries plummet The aviation industry is facing the toughest days in its history: airplanes have been left idle for several months, while the salaries of pilots and flight attendants have seen unprecedented sharp cuts.
The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said the COVID-19 testing regime for passengers arriving in Ghana at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) must be celebrated and not attacked.

He said the government is so far satisfied with the work of the private company; Health Frontiers, contracted to offer the testing service.

Speaking at a press encounter in Accra, the Minister said the service is playing a critical role in protecting the health of 30 million Ghanaians in the country adding that government has no plans of suspending the tests at the airport, changing the company or suspending the contract.

We are very satisfied with their tests which have helped prevent 50 [COVID-19] cases from getting into the general population as of the end of September 2020. It will be irresponsible of us to tinker with the successes being achieved so far, he said.

The Ministers comment comes on the back of demands by the Minority in Parliament that the deal must be suspended because it lacks transparency and breaches the procurement laws of the country.

The Ranking Member on the Health Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, earlier this week requested that the COVID-19 testing at the airport be given to Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research rather than Health Frontiers saying that the company lacks credibility.

But the Ofoase Ayirebi legislator rubbished claims, saying that Health Frontiers are credible and have so far performed to the satisfaction of government.

Their services were well procured, their standards meet global requirements, and we have no qualms with them. If indeed the minority wants answers to questions, they know the appropriate place to file those questions as parliament resumes.

The COVID-19 airport testing regime commended on September 1, 2020, when Ghana reopened its international air borders.

Each arriving passenger is required to pay $150 for a PCR COVID-19 test that is administered by Frontiers Health Care Limited, a private company.

---Citinewsroom
Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti said on October 2 the "suspicious" action of UP police in the Hathras incident has "dented" the image of the BJP, the state government and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and requested him to allow mediapersons and politicians to meet the victim's family.

Bharti, who has been admitted to AIIMS-Rishikesh after she tested positive for COVID-19, said had she been fine she would have herself visited the family in Hathras.

She said she will definitely visit the family after getting discharged from the hospital.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, the senior BJP leader said, "UP police's suspicious action has dented the image of BJP, UP government and the state chief minister Yogi Adityanath."

Bharti, who said she has been keeping a close watch on the entire Hathras incident, urged Adityanath to allow media and political leaders to meet the aggrieved family.

Bharti, who said she has been keeping a close watch on the entire Hathras incident, urged Adityanath to allow media and political leaders to meet the aggrieved family.

She said she was hesitant to speak about the incident, as she thought the chief minister must be taking appropriate action in this regard.

The 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped at a village in Hathras by four men on September 14. After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to Delhi's Safdarjung hospital where she breathed her last on Tuesday.

She was cremated in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.
In June, as millions of Americans filled city streets with Black Lives Matter demonstrations and millions more rushed to share their solidarity online, the composer Jessie Montgomery noticed something unusual.

Orchestras across the country, already in upheaval because of the coronavirus pandemic and in the process of improvising new seasons, were asking to perform her music. A lot of orchestras: By the end of this year, her works will have been programmed more than twice as much as they were in 2019.

Im sort of flabbergasted, to be honest with you, Ms. Montgomery, who is Black, said in an interview. Its also happening with my Black colleagues. Theyre getting a lot more attention. Its clearly a response.

Classical music is not generally known for its swift responsiveness to current events. It is a field in which events are planned well  often years  in advance and the repertoire is overwhelmingly antique, white and male. In past seasons, concerts with works by composers of color tended to be noteworthy merely for existing; but this fall, orchestral programming has made a sudden, drastic leap forward in racial representation.
Tesla Inc chief executive Elon Musk has indicated that the U.S. electric carmaker will make a foray into India in 2021. Next year for sure," Musk said on Twitter in reply to a post with a photograph of a T-shirt with the message: India wants Tesla".

Thanks for waiting," Musk said.

This wont be the first time that Elon Musk has said that Tesla will be coming to India. In 2018, the CEO of the electric car company had said on Twitter that Tesla could be hopefully be entering India next year, in 2019. This was followed by a statement issued by IIT Madras in 2019, which mentioned that Elon Musk had said that the companys entry to our country is probably going to happen in a years time.

If Tesla is coming to India, its entry could come at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is increasingly becoming focused on promoting the use and manufacture of electric vehicles.

Indias auto sector, already reeling from a slowdown in demand last year, has been further hit by the novel coronavirus pandemic and carmakers are seeking government support to push sales.

Also Watch:

Last year, Musk had also mentioned about coming to India in response to someone on Twitter who asked: What about India sir?".

Also Read: First Tesla Research Centre in India Could Soon be in Bengaluru, Second in the World after U.S.

Would love to be there this year. If not, definitely next!" he said in March 2019.

(WITH INPUTS FROM REUTERS)
The US Constitution has a built-in mechanism that allows the presidents powers to be transferred to their vice president if they become incapable of discharging them.

Both Ronald Reagan and George W Bush used the 25th Amendment to do so temporarily before they were put under medical anaesthesia.

But could it be used to oust Donald Trump if he is deemed unfit to serve? In the wake of the US Capitol riots, Democratic lawmakers have called on Mike Pence to invoke the amendment and remove Mr Trump from power. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would give Mr Pence 24 hours to use the amendment to remove Mr Trump before the House moves to impeach him for a second time.

On Monday, the motion to give Mr Pence the 24 hour time slot was introduced by House Democrats, but was blocked by Republicans.

House Democrats vowed to pass the measure on Tuesday, and threatened that if by Wednesday Mr Trump is still in office, they will move on to a second impeachment.

Read more: What exactly is impeachment?

A deployment of the 25th Amendment to oust Mr Trump would require a number of variables to fall into place: Mr Pence and eight of the 15 members of the cabinet would have to decide to go ahead with it and be prepared to prove their case before securing a two-thirds majority vote in Congress if Mr Trump were to challenge them.

But Dr Jacob Parakilas, assistant head of the US and Americas Programme at Chatham House, said he believed such a measure was extremely unlikely.

The idea of it being used to forcibly depose a president is, I think, incredibly far-fetched. It would instantly create a political crisis that would very quickly become a constitutional crisis, he said.

You would see the emergence of factionalism within the government. Its an incredibly powerful tool but it has the potential for spectacular levels of blowback.

The operative part of the 25th Amendment is Section 4:

Whenever the vice president and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the vice president shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as acting president.

Experts have already said impeachment is unlikely to be a threat for Mr Trump, because of the strong position in which he has put the Republican Party.

Assistant professor Rebecca Thorpe, a political scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, previously told The Independent: Given Trumps numerous financial conflicts of interests, the potential for corruption and the likely violations of the Emoluments Clause, the legal possibility for impeachment is rife.

Trump is an unconventional Republican in many ways, but he has appointed a cabinet full [of] far-right conservatives with a conventional conservative agenda of tax cuts, reduced spending on health care and social services, and extensive deregulation.

President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media Show all 16 1 /16 President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "You are fake news!" Then President-elect Trump directed this insult to CNN's Jim Acosta while refusing him a question at a press conference on January 11 2017. The President-elect's anger was due to the publishing by Buzzfeed of unverified memos that implicated Michael Cohen in Russian collusion. CNN had reported on a briefing of Obama and Trump on the memos by US intelligence chiefs, but knowing the content to be unverified had not revealed it AFP/Getty President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "They are among the most dishonest human beings on earth" President Trump said this of journalists during a visit to the CIA on the the day following his inauguration. His claim of having the largest crowd of any inauguration ceremony in history had been debunked and he clearly wasn't happy Reuters President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "Failing New York Times" President Trump commonly addresses the New York Times in this way, contrary to its increasing profit margins and expanding global readership. He is pictured here in the midtown Manhattan office of the paper Getty President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "Enemy of the American People" President Trump has since repeated the claim that such news outlets are the enemy of the people, often after they break negative stories about him President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "They have no sources" Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 24 2017, President Trump suggested that a Washington Post article with 9 sources was "made up". The article in question exposed how then National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence over a phone call to a Russian ambassador. That the article was "made up", while highly doubtful at the time, seems even less likely since Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the same phone call Reuters President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media Access denied for major publications Protesters gathered outside of the New York Times office after Trump's White House barred a number of publications from attending a press briefing on February 24 2017. Just hours after the President had again denounced the media, then Press Secretary Sean Spicer denied access to news outlets such as CNN and the New York Times, while permitting Breitbart News, CBS, Fox and others AFP/Getty President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "#FNN" On July 2 2017, President Trump tweeted an edited clip from his Wrestlemania XXIII appearance in which the CNN logo had been imposed onto the face of his wrestling opponent Vince McMahon. CNN is a common target for President Trump and here he suggests that he is getting the better of the network through his repeated attacks President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "The most powerful TV show in America" On July 27 2017, President Trump quoted a New York Times article about Fox & Friends. The President is known to watch Fox & Friends every morning, often tweeting about matters discussed on the show, leading to speculation over its influence on his outlook and policies Getty President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "It's frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write" In a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on October 11 2017, President Trump suggested that the press ought not to be allowed their constitutionally secured freedom. He added "people should look into it", suggesting that he also doesn't respect the protection of sources. At the time, he was angry at an NBC report claiming that the President had expressed a desire to return the size of the US' nuclear arsenal to its 1960s height, a claim that he and others in his administration dismissed as fake news AFP/Getty President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "negative (Fake)" In a tweet on 9 May 2018, President Trump conflated negative reporting about him with fake news President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "I didn't criticise the Prime Minister" In a press conference with the Prime Minister on his visit to Britain, President Trump disputed claims published in the Sun that he had criticised Mrs May's Brexit strategy Reuters President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "Horrible, horrendous people" At a Republican rally in Pennsylvania on August 3 2018, President Trump deemed all journalists in attendance "horrible, horrendous people". He later denounced the "fake, fake, disgusting news" for falsely reporting that he was late to his meeting with the Queen when visiting Britain AFP/Getty President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media Trump's rhetoric "very close to inciting violence" In an interview with the Guardian on 13 August 2018, the outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein suggested that President Trump's attacks on the press are "very close to inciting violence". Zeid singles out the President's repeated claim that the fake news (negative coverage) media is the "enemy of the people" as dangerous Reuters President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "anonymous source" = fiction President Trump claimed that any report citing anonymous sources is fiction. The protection of sources is a vital matter of press freedom, without it a potential source's fear of repercussions could lead them to withhold important information President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "You are a rude, terrible person" At a press conference in the wake of the midterms, President Trump clashed with CNN's Jim Acosta when he asked about the President's use of language during the campaign Reuters President Trump's most shocking attacks on the media "I would never kill Journalists" For any journalists frightened by President Trump's attacks on the press, perhaps you can take solace in his words from a campaign rally in Grand Rapids on December 21 2015. Responding to remarks over Vladimir Putin's handling of journalists, Trump stated: "I hate some of these people, but I'd never kill them... I'll be honest - I would never kill them. Uhhh lets see.. no, I never would" Getty

Thus far, he has also received support from congressional Republicans who have blocked legislation to investigate or curb Trumps massive financial conflicts of interests.

But Professor Angelia Wilson, from the University of Manchester, has said she believed the trail of scandals in his wake had become an embarrassment to the Republican Party, leaving him vulnerable to impeachment by members of the party seeking re-election to the House.

Whether it will be about the Russia dossier or other scandals that are undoubtedly there, he has become a liability for the Republican Party. At some point they will need to distance themselves from him in order to solidify re-election for the House.
Britain's Brexit negotiator said the two sides have held constructive discussions

Chief negotiator David Frost said the 'outlines of a deal' were on the horizon

Talks could go on into next month if both sides feel an accord is in sight

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen also spoke of progress on many, many fronts

Britains Brexit negotiator last night declared the outlines of a deal were visible even as it emerged the process could last into next month.

Following the latest round of talks, David Frost said the two sides had held constructive discussions in a good spirit.

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Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, also spoke of progress on many, many fronts.

Boris Johnson has suggested he could walk away from the negotiating table if no agreement is struck before an EU summit on October 15.

However the Mail understands that talks could last into next month if both sides feel an accord is in sight.

United Kingdom's Brexit envoy David Frost arrives for a meeting with European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom Michel Barnier at the European Commission in Brussels today

Environment Secretary George Eustice told the Mail last night that talks could continue for another three weeks.

Weve really got to have some kind of heads of terms understanding about whether theres a landing zone by the middle of October, he said. And we really cant let things stretch on much beyond the first week of November because businesses need to know where they stand.

A source told the Mail that Michel Barnier, the lead EU negotiator, believed an agreement might not be signed until early next month.

In an interview last night, Mr Johnson appealed for European leaders to be commonsensical and come to terms.

I hope that we get a deal, its up to our friends, he told the BBC. Theyve done a deal with Canada of a kind that we want, why shouldnt they do it with us? Were so near, weve been members for 45 years. Its all there, its just up to them.

Mrs von der Leyen called for trade talks to intensify as she prepared to take stock of progress with Mr Johnson. The two leaders are to speak later today to discuss the next steps following the conclusion of the final scheduled round of formal talks.

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News of the conference call prompted speculation of a final series of intensive talks  dubbed the tunnel.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, takes off her protective mask prior to making a statement regarding the Withdrawal Agreement at EU headquarters in Brussels yesterday

Mrs von der Leyen said the most difficult issues  including fisheries and state aid rules  still had to be resolved to get an agreement in place before the Brexit transition period ends on December 31. It is good to have a deal, but not at any price, she said. We have made progress on many, many different fields but of course the most difficult ones are still completely open.

But overall, where there is a will, there is a way, so I think we should intensify the negotiations. We are running out of time  around 100 days to the end of the year  so it is worth stepping up now.

Speaking after the end of the ninth round of negotiations, Lord Frost said: These were constructive discussions conducted in a good spirit.

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In many areas of our talks, although differences remain, the outlines of an agreement are visible. I am concerned that there is very little time now to resolve these issues ahead of the European Council on 15 October.

For our part, we continue to be fully committed to working hard to find solutions.

German chancellor Angela Merkel said the bloc was in a constructive mood to seal a deal but that there had been no breakthrough so far. As long as negotiations are ongoing, I remain optimistic, she said.

It will be a crucial phase over the next few days.

Mr Barnier said: We will continue to maintain a calm and respectful attitude, and we will remain united and determined until the end.

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He held a private meeting with MEPs earlier this week and a source familiar with the discussions said he downplayed the possibility of a deal before the summit.

A Downing Street spokesman said: The middle of October is where we believe we would need to see a resolution to this in order to make sure we have all the things we need to have in place for the end of the transition period.

If the EU want a Cod War, we'll give them a Cod War! Environment Secretary George Eustice threatens standoff with EU trawlers if Brexit trade talks collapse

Britain is ready to fight and win a new Cod War with the EU if Brexit trade negotiations collapse, the Environment Secretary said last night.

In an interview with the Mail, George Eustice said ministers have quietly put in place a five-fold increase in our enforcement capacity over the last year in preparation for a possible stand-off with European trawlermen.

Fishing remains one of the key sticking points to a deal, with Boris Johnson unwilling to bow to demands that would allow EU trawlers to maintain permanent access to British waters.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice arrives in Downing Street in central London to attend a Cabinet meeting on 30 September, 2020 in London, England

Officials fear this could lead to a repeat of the 1970s Cod Wars, when British trawlers backed by the Royal Navy clashed with Icelandic coastguard vessels in a doomed attempt to maintain historic fishing rights in the North Atlantic.

Asked directly if Britain was ready to defend its waters in the event of No Deal, Mr Eustice said: Yes, we are. And in fact, the main lesson of the Cod War was its much easier to protect your waters against access from overseas vessels than it is to try to defend a notion of an historic access thats no longer available to us.

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By the start of next year the so-called cod squad of Royal Navy patrol craft will have doubled from three to six.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 and will quarantine after one of the president's closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the coronavirus.

On Twitter, Trump wrote: "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"

The White House sent out an updated Friday schedule for the president, which did not have the trip to Florida on it that had been on his previous schedule.

Sean Conley, the president's physician, confirmed in a statement released by the White House that Trump and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19.

"The president and first lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence." Conley wrote.

Related stories

The physician added that he expected the president would "continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering."

Melania Trump tweeted Friday morning that she and the president are "feeling good."

"As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together."

Vice President Mike Pence says he and his wife, Karen, are sending their love and prayers to the president and first lady.

Pence says on Twitter, We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery.

Trump, 74, learned of Hicks' diagnosis on Thursday evening, he told Fox News in an interview. "We spent a lot of time with Hope and others. So we'll see what happens," he said.

"It's a tough kind of a situation. It's a terrible thing. So I just went for a test, and we'll see what happens. I mean, who knows," he said.

Other top White House aides have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent months, including a valet for Trump; Katie Miller, a top media aide to Vice President Mike Pence; and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien.

Trump and Pence, with the election approaching, have increased their travel and attendance at crowded events with little social distancing and minimal use of masks, indoors and outside.

"It's very, very hard when you're with people from the military, or from law enforcement, and they come over to you, and they want to hug you and they want to kiss you because we really have done a good job for them. And you get close, and things happen," Trump said.

In July, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that Trump was being tested daily for the coronavirus. Trump said it was more like every other day.

Since that time, administration officials have declined to offer details on the president's testing regimen.

The president in recent weeks has told Americans that the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken the lives of more than 207,000 people in the United States, is nearing its end, and that his administration would soon "defeat" the novel pathogen with a vaccine produced at record speed.

On Thursday night, in a taped message to the annual Al Smith Dinner, Trump offered a similar message.

"The end of the pandemic is in sight, and next year will be one of the greatest years in the history of our country," he said.

Our earlier story ...

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, he said Friday.

Trump has canceled plans to attend a fundraiser and to fly to Florida for a rally on Friday, but he did keep on his schedule a previously planned midday telephone call on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors.

Read the statement from Dr. Sean Conley, physician to the president:

I release the following information with the permission of President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

This evening I received confirmation that both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our our country's greatest medical professionals and institutions. Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.

 Associated Press
OPINION: Trumps latest campaign demonstrates the racial blindness of the administration and serves as a preview of what we can expect from four more years

Here is the truth, African Americans built this country for free.

Yes, I said it. The horrors of the American slave trade contributed to Americas current economic success, military might, and role in shaping global culture. Sadly, these truths have not been part of the curriculum taught in Americas public schools. What students got instead was a whitewashed history that downplayed the enslavement and commoditization of Black bodies.

Read More: Trump attacks 1619 Project, will sign executive order for 1776 Commission

For the nations students, this culturally watered-down history of enslavement has actually done more harm than good. Instead of telling historical truth, our students were subjected to storylines about enslaved people being treated well, and the connection between Americas greatness and Western European enlightenment.

Well, that was until parents, students, community members and educators raised their voices and forced school districts to teach our young people the truth.

President Donald Trump walks to Marine One on the south lawn of the White House Thursday en route to Bedminster, New Jersey for a roundtable event with supporters and a fundraiser. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Truth-telling has drastically changed how our students learn American history. After years of campaigning, students are receiving the fullness of the American story! One of the most recent contributions to this education agenda was The 1619 Project  an ongoing initiative of The New York Times Magazine that started in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of American slaverys beginning. The 1619 Project bursted onto the scene with an invite to serious dialogue about slavery, race and racism.

Once President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos caught wind of the seeds of change, they made it their mission to take us two steps backward. Their latest move would fund efforts to make the public school curriculum more patriotic. As Trump and DeVos see it, theres too much emphasis on what they call negative aspects of American history  what most understand as the realities of Americas dismal past.

Story continues

These attempts to rewrite history should not be taken lightly. They should also not be dismissed as too outlandish to be real. Ignoring race and paying little to no attention to racial injustice, as it shows up in public education and other parts of American life, has been a key aspect of the Trump administration.

Whether it was in Charlottesville, where Trump affirmed the goodness of Neo-Nazis, or during DeVos attempt to describe HBCUs as the first chapter in school choice, we know where the Trump administration stands on racial equity. While parents, students, educators and the community-at-large seek to advance the cause of equity, truth and racial justice in our nations classrooms, Trump and DeVos are doing what they do besttaking us back to the time where racial justice was not part of the national conversation.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefing at the U.S. Department of Education July 8, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

By attempting to whitewash American history and exclude centuries of racial injustice visited upon the bodies of Black and brown people, Trump is making it clear that Black lives dont matter in history, currently or in the future.

Instead of accepting revisionist and whitewashed history, we must lift up public schools and educators committed to a curriculum that teaches history and challenges students to make meaningful contributions to ending racial injustice. We must also be engaged in the fight to equip school buildings with well-trained educators and enough resources to identify and meaningfully address biases.

Read More: Trump wants to pull funding from schools that use 1619 Project curriculum

With the election nearly 30 days away, we as people of color have to think about which candidate will take our contributions seriously and make sure that our history is part of the story taught in schools. Now is the time for students to learn the truth about Americas blood-soaked history. That starts with a history curriculum geared toward racial justice and equity instead of an untruthful and less negative approach.

We want schools where history is taught truthfully, resources flow freely, discipline practices are fair, just and equitable, and students achieve their full potential. Trump and Devos have been wrong on most things related to schools and public education. Their latest campaign demonstrates the racial blindness of the administration and serves as a preview of what we can expect with four more years of Trump and DeVos.

Keron Blair is the Executive Director for the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, an unprecedented alliance of parent, youth, community and labor organizations that together represent over 7 million people nationwide. Follow him on Twitter, @Keronblair

Have you subscribed to theGrios new podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Integrity of The 1619 Project, Americas education system at risk with election appeared first on TheGrio.
An openly gay MTV star has been inundated with death threats and vile homophobic abuse on Twitter from K-pop fans.

Alex Illest, who previously starred on MTV Canada's talk show 1 Girl 5 Gays, was repeatedly told to kill himself on Friday after calling fans of the South Korean girl group Blackpink 'toxic' and 'psychotic' on Twitter.

The 30-year-old was targeted by the group's fans after they started harassing rapper Cardi B on Twitter for not promoting Blackpink's new album, which she features on.

Toxic fandom? Hundreds of fans of the South Korean girl group Blackpink (pictured) sent death threats and homophobic abuse to an openly gay MTV star on Twitter on Friday

In a since deleted tweet, Cardi wrote: 'I really love the girls but I won't let you lil kids play with me. I already got payed to do what I had to and I won't do no more.'

Alex responded to the tweet, telling the WAP hitmaker not to worry about the girl group's 'psychotic' fans - known as Blinks.

After the Blinks started to attack Alex for the comment, he followed it up by tweeting: 'I love BLACKPINK but their stans are so toxic.'

A 'stan' is defined as 'an overzealous or obsessive fan of a particular celebrity.'

Alex also made fun of the group's album for only containing eight songs, joking that it should be an EP instead.

Target: Alex Illest (pictured) was targeted by the group's fans after they started harassing rapper Cardi B on Twitter for not promoting Blackpink's new album, which she features on

'I love BLACKPINK but their stans are so toxic': After Alex called Blackpink's fandom 'toxic' he received death threats and homophobic abuse

Alex soon received hundreds upon hundreds of abusive tweets from the group's fans, with many of them containing death threats and homophobic slurs.

'They hate f*ggots just like you, go slit your wrists or some gay ass s**t,' wrote one.

'F*GGOT NEEDS TO BURN IN HELL,' added another, while one wrote: 'They hate white gays we know that's why we stan.'

'They hate f*ggots just like you': Alex soon received hundreds upon hundreds of abusive tweets from the group's fans

Vile: Many of the tweets contained racial and homophobic slurs

'They hate white gays we know that's why we stan,' tweeted one of the group's fans

Another troll tweeted: 'F*ggots like you should worry about you getting AIDS and fighting for your rights in countries worldwide instead of worrying about queens like Blackpink.'

'Dirty white f*g,' said another, while one tweeted: 'You are a white gay man without rights.'

Alex, who currently works with the Equality and Human Rights Council of Scotland, then posted screenshots of the abuse to his own Twitter feed.

When contacted for comment by Daily Mail, he said that he'd decided to share the abuse he received on Twitter to highlight the rampant homophobia on social media and among Blackpink's fandom.

Relentless: The vile attacks continued for hours, with many of the group's fans attacking Alex's sexuality

'She would spit on you stupid f*g,' wrote one

'Burn in hell': The homophobic death threats included telling Alex to 'burn in hell'

'Shut up stupid homo!' The K-pop fans continued their targeted harassment campaign for hours

'I dont believe Blackpink are homophobic or prejudice in any way and its a shame that a large portion of their fan base are defaming them in such a manner,' he said.

'I dont want to discredit the millions of k-pop or Blackpink fans who conduct themselves in a civilized manner but if you mention k-pop stans to anyone who frequents Twitter theyll shudder,' he continued.

'I decided to post a fraction of the disgusting comments I received in an attempt to bring awareness to the horrendous filth many innocent people endure on a daily basis. Im an out, visibly queer person with experience in television, with not-for-profit organizations and Ive been on social media for over a decade; I have thick skin. I can take it. I just fear for those who cant.'

'I decided to post a fraction of the disgusting comments I received in an attempt to bring awareness to the horrendous filth many innocent people endure on a daily basis,' said Alex. (Pictured with his fiance)

Flashback: Alex starred on MTV Canada's talk show 1 Girl 5 Gays in 2014 (pictured)

Blackpink officially debuted in 2016 and are currently one of the most successful pop acts in the world.

In addition to working with Cardi B, the girls have also collaborated with Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez and Dua Lipa.

The group has a strong Australian connection, as member Rose Park was born in New Zealand and raised in Melbourne.

Her bandmate Jennie Kim also spent five years studying in New Zealand before returning home to South Korea.

They released their long-awaited debut album, titled The Album, on October 2.
MINSK -- The United States and EU on October 2 slapped sanctions on Belarusian officials responsible for fraud in the August presidential election and a brutal crackdown on protesters and opposition members, drawing a sharp response from Belarus and its ally Russia.



Belarus immediately retaliated with its own list of people barred from entering the country, accusing the European Union of imposing the "punitive measure" on Belarus because it "did not comply with a set of ultimatum requirements that no self-respecting sovereign state would satisfy."



After nearly six weeks of diplomatic wrangling, EU leaders were able to overcome a stalemate created by Cyprus and agreed at a summit in Brussels on October 2 to sanction 40 Belarus officials.



The leaders also urged the EUs executive arm, the European Commission, to prepare a comprehensive plan of economic support for democratic Belarus.

Crisis In Belarus Read our ongoing coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election, widely seen as fraudulent.

The EU sanctions target Belarus officials in the Interior Ministry and police and security services for a crackdown on protesters and the opposition, as well as election officials blamed for falsifying the August 9 election results that gave strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term as president. Lukashenka is not on the sanctions list, but EU diplomats have said he may be added at a later date.



Among those hit by the travel bans and asset freezes are Interior Minister Yury Karayeu, who the EU described as responsible for repression and intimidation in the wake of the election, including the arrest and illtreatment of peaceful demonstrators as well as intimidation and violence against journalists.



Central Election Commission chief Lidia Yermoshina was also sanctioned for misconduct during the election and falsification of election results.



This sends a strong message of EU support to the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect their president through free and fair elections, and our condemnation of repression and violence against people exercising their fundamental rights, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.



In a coordinated move, the United States slapped sanctions on eight Belarusian officials, including the interior minister, the Treasury Department said.



The Belarusian peoples democratic aspirations to choose their own leaders and peacefully exercise their rights have been met with violence and oppression from Belarusian officials, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The United States and our international partners stand united in imposing costs on those who have undermined Belarusian democracy for years.



Britain and Canada have already sanctioned Belarus officials, including Lukashenka.



Belarus quickly responded with tit-for-tat sanctions against the EU, although it was vague on those targeted on its blacklist.



The Foreign Ministry advised the embassies of its western neighbors Poland and Latvia to reduce their staffs and summoned the ambassadors of the two countries.



In tandem with the moves against Latvia and Poland, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said it was revoking the accreditation of all foreign media, claiming it was a long-considered move aimed at streamlining the process.



As of October 5, the ministry said that journalists working for foreign media organizations in the country must reapply with a revamped accreditation commission.



It said priority during the accreditation process will be given to citizens of the country where a media outlet is based, a move which could severely limit Belarusians from working for foreign outlets, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.



The Kremlin, which has endorsed Lukashenka, described the imposition of EU sanctions as a sign of weakness.



But spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Lukashenka's absence from the sanctions lists is more of a positive signal because blacklisting him would deprive the EU of any opportunity to maintain dialogue with Belarus."



Following through on the threat of sanctions against Belarus was a crucial test for the EU, after tiny Cyprus blocked their implementation -- agreed to in August -- over a separate dispute with Turkey about maritime borders and energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean that has also drawn the ire of Greece.



Speaking to reporters early on October 2 after the first day of the summit, European Council President Charles Michel said it was important to overcome the Cypriot veto to show the EU remained credible in responding to election and human rights abuses in Belarus.



Cyprus had demanded the EU act consistently when responding to the violation of core principles and demanded sanctions on Turkey. EU sanctions require unanimous consent from member states, making the Cyprus hold up on Belarus a blow to EU's image.



To overcome the embarrassing diplomatic row with Cyprus, EU leaders agreed on a strong statement of support for Cyprus, as well as for Greece, and a warning that Turkey could face sanctions if it continues drilling in disputed waters. A summit in December is now expected to assess any progress with Turkey on issues in the Eastern Mediterranean.



"That we could now agree to those sanctions is an important signal because it strengthens the hand of those who are protesting for freedom of opinion in Belarus," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told journalists on October 2 after the EU summit in Brussels.



A German government spokeswoman earlier said that Merkel will meet with Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Berlin on October 6, a week after the Belarusian opposition leader held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Vilnius.



Tsikhanouskaya, whose supporters say won the presidential election, took refuge in neighboring Lithuania following the vote. She announced on September 30 she has begun creating a shadow cabinet, saying "Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime is not just illegitimate, but also is not capable of carrying out its duties."

With reporting by AFP, AP, Reuters, Tagesschau, and Interfax
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 00:52:18|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Work Safety Committee of China's State Council will supervise the investigation into a scenic spot fire that killed 13 people Thursday in Shanxi Province, the Ministry of Emergency Management said.

The fire engulfed an exhibition hall of snow sculptures around 1 p.m. at the Taitaishan scenic site in Xiaoshanyan Village in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi, according to the information office of the provincial government.

All the 15 injured have been rushed to hospitals and are in stable condition, and an investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire, the office said.

Fourteen task forces have been organized to conduct comprehensive safety checks on major regions and areas, especially high-risk services in tourist attractions. Enditem
Harvey Weinstein has been charged with six additional counts of sexual assault ahead of the disgraced producers Los Angeles trial on sex crime charges, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Laceys office announced Friday.

The amended indictment against Weinstein added three felony counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation stemming from a pair of new victims coming forward. The incidents include an alleged rape of a female victim that took place at a Beverly Hills hotel between September 2004 and September 2005 and another alleged rape of a different woman that occurred on two occasions at a Beverly Hills hotel between November 2009 and November 2010

I am thankful to the first women who reported these crimes and whose courage have given strength to others to come forward, District Attorney Lacey said in a statement. The willingness of these latest victims to testify against a powerful man gives us the additional evidence we need to build a compelling criminal case.

Following Fridays announcement, Weinstein now faces a total of four counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint and one count of sexual penetration by use of force, involving five victims for crimes that span from 2004 to 2013. If found guilty to all of those charges, Weinstein could receive up to 140 years to life in state prison, prosecutors said Friday.

Weinstein  who tested positive for coronavirus earlier this year while in prison  is currently serving a 23-year sentence after being found guilty of New York charges for third-degree rape and a first-degree criminal sexual act. Prosecutors are seeking the temporary custody of Weinstein from New York, with an extradition hearing is set for December 11th in Buffalo, New York.

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News that the worlds most powerful man was infected with the worlds most notorious disease dominated screens large and small, drawing shock, sympathy and some barbs for President Donald Trump.

The outpouring from world leaders and flagging markets Friday left little doubt that Trumps illness will have global implications even if theyre still unknown. Trumps announcement on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus prompted a multitude of responses on the same platform, as well as others.

The positive test reading adds to investors worries, especially about its effect on the Nov. 3 election between the Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. stock futures and most world markets fell on the news as did the price of oil.

From India to Qatar to Mexico, world leaders were quick to offer official sympathy from the top, many in the form of tweets directly to Trump, while something approaching schadenfreude bubbled up from elsewhere. Trump is the most prominent on a growing list of powerful people who have contracted the virus, including many who were skeptical of the disease.

Im sure that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in a direct message to Trump released by the Kremlin.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a full and speedy recovery. The Trump administration in July formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from WHO, although the pullout wont take effect until next year. Trump claims the U.N. health agency is in need of reform and is heavily influenced by China. The U.N. secretary-general also sent in best wishes.

Italian right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini tweeted: In Italy and in the world, whoever celebrates the illness of a man or of a woman, and who comes to wish the death of a neighbor, confirms what he is: An idiot without soul. A hug to Melania and Donald.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized for a week in April after he contracted COVID-19, wished Trump a speedy recovery.

Dr. Bharat Pankhania, who advises Johnsons government on communicable disease control, said he hopes that Trumps positive test sends a message.

We need politicians, especially politicians like President Trump who has a lot of power and influence, to take this seriously and to support their scientists and clinicians in leading the outbreak management, rather than have political influence in trying to deny that this virus is in circulation and drag your feet around control measures because it suited your agenda.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference, did not mention Trumps reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection, but she said the news reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan.

Major media across the globe played up the announcement, with bulletins crawling across TV screens in Paris and Rome, Seoul and Beijing.

To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, Rabobank said in a commentary. Everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this U.S. election campaign.

Chinas official Xinhua News Agency flashed the news, and an anchor on state broadcaster CCTV announced it; there was no immediate comment from the government Friday, the second day of an eight-day national holiday.

The positive test result was the most searched topic in China on the widely used social media app Weibo for hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

One user darkly joked that Trump had finally tweeted something positive.

The Chinese government has bristled at Trumps attempts to blame China, where the disease emerged, for the pandemic and called for global cooperation in fighting it. Its a message that has resonated with the public.

Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19.

Multiple Arab news media outlets continuously broadcast footage of Trump and his wife after the virus announcement.

Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel based in Dubai, cut to a long live shot of the White House. Qatari state-owned Al Jazeera channel brought in four commentators to discuss the prevailing state of uncertainty in the United States, questioning whether Trump could effectively steer a reelection campaign and run the country from quarantine.

Iranian state television announced Trump had the virus, an anchor breaking the news with an unflattering image of the U.S. president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses. U.S.-Iran ties have suffered since Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

Social media platforms were ablaze with quick reaction.

Would Trump blame the Chinese? Would he thumb his nose at his critics and enemies by breezing through the quarantine without serious symptoms, tweeting away from the White House? Would he become gravely ill, or worse, and, if he did, what would that mean for the U.S. election, one of the most contentious in recent history? What would it mean for U.S. leadership during tumultuous times?

While the uncertainty seemed palpable on a scroll through various social media in an array of languages, many seemed to revel in the announcement.

And the satirical Australian news site, the Betoota Advocate, posted a story with this headline: Trump Family Records More Cases Of Community Transmission Than Entire State Of Queensland.
Classes and education programs that blend different academic disciplines and real-world perspectives deliver powerful learning experiences.

Universities and colleges are now using a range of educational tools to bring these experiences to classrooms, including community-engaged learning (also called service learning) and multidisciplinary studies.

Multidisciplinary programs are the definition of a multi-perspective education. They bring together courses from different disciplines to give students multiple angles on a topic. For example, students in cognitive science programs at universities across Canada take courses including philosophy, linguistics and computer science, according to a report by Higher Education Strategy Associates.

Community-engaged learning (CEL) is also focused on giving students the opportunity to see academic topics from a real-world perspective. Michelle Arnot held her first CEL class at the University of Toronto in 2009, called Pharmacology and Toxicology in Society.

I was really concerned with the fact that students often take university classes to tick a box, and they dont necessarily always understand the applicability of the knowledge that theyre learning, says Arnot.

She designed the course to help students learn through real-world experiences in the field by partnering them with community organizations, many of which provided harm reduction services for substance-using communities in Toronto.

A key tenant of community-engaged learning is personal growth, says Arnot. Students go through a broadening of compassion, if you will. They gain a different perspective.

As CEL has grown in popularity, faculty skepticism has evaporated. When Arnots course launched in fall 2009 it was one of only 18 CEL courses at the university. Now the university has around 4,000 students in 53 CEL courses spread across a diverse range of disciplines at undergraduate and graduate levels. And the diversity of disciplines that offer CEL courses is growing, says Arnot.

Theres growing support for faculty that teach CEL, too. The University of Torontos Centre for Community Partnerships has created a fellowship program to help faculty develop more CEL courses.

Community-engaged learning makes you more aware of the community around you and things you normally wouldnt understand, says Sami Ul Haq, a graduate student doing his masters on lung cancer at the U of T Institute of Medical Science in the Faculty of Medicine.

He took Arnots class and worked at Davenport Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre for his community placement. His work there included preparing harm reduction kits for community members who used illicit substances.

The kits included clean needles to help drug users avoid blood-borne infections that might result from sharing needles, as well as a safe sex kit.

It was really eye-opening for me, says Ul Haq. Its not as simple as telling people to just stop using [drugs]. Thats not how it works. With the harm reduction kits, people are still using, but at least theyre still using in a safe way.

Up until that point Ul Haq had only learned about substance use and addiction on lecture slides in class. The experience shattered a lot of biases and incorrect beliefs and assumptions I had, he says.

Community-engaged learning also helps students remember the course material better than they might otherwise. When I first started, people were like, Students arent going to learn anything, says Arnot, but over time she was able to demonstrate that her students tend to do well academically.

Doing this helps you learn the things you learn in lecture better because youre actually applying them, as opposed to learning things in lecture for an exam and then forgetting about it, says Ul Haq.

These are also experiences students take with them into the world when they graduate. More community-engaged learning means better educated graduates ready to tackle the diverse challenges that await them in their chosen careers.

Isabelle Laksono attended Arnots class four years ago and did her community placement at StreetHealth in Regent Park.

I was really excited, she says. Especially at the U of T where there are really big classes in science programs. In Pharmacology, for us its a lot about lectures and learning from textbooks.

She volunteered twice a week over four months to survey community members and identify how the organization could serve them better.

It gave me a better understanding of the importance of healthcare access, says Laksono, who is now a third-year medical student at the U of T. Now every time Im interacting with patients I use that learning to have an open mindset and advocate for considering different socioeconomic factors in all of my interactions with patients.
- The main suspect in the Professor Benneh case has spoken of the motive with which he went into his former boss's home

- According to James Womba, he only wanted to rob his boss and not end his life

- During interrogations, he added that due to his boss's refusal to heed to his (Womba's) demands, he hit him with an iron rod

- Professor Benneh died as a result and was later discovered in a pool of blood in his room

Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

James Womba, the main suspect in the murder of University of Ghana's Law lecturer, Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh, has spoken to the police in a new confession.

According to a report sighted by YEN.com.gh on Ghanaweb, James Womba said he went into the late professor's home with the intention to rob him and not to cause any harm to him.

The Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service, COP Isaac Ken Yeboah, while speaking in a media briefing, indicated that Womba and his accomplice knocked out Professor Benneh, killing him in the process.

Prof Benneh and the logo of UG. Source: Ghanaweb

Source: Instagram

COP Isaac Ken Yeboah said Womba was compelled to hit Professor Benneh because he was not forthcoming with what they were demanding from him and he also wanted to blow an alarm over the attack.

Womba is reported to have given a new name to the police as the one he committed the dastardly act with after he gave a different name in his first interrogation.

Interrogators say Womba confessed to hitting Professor Benneh with an iron rod and gagged him.

After incessant requests, Womba and his accomplice took two phones and an amount of GH450 cedis from the professor's wallet.

Womba then took a CPU attached to a computer in Professor Benneh's room and threw it into a septic tank in the house.

In his confession James Womba said he was the brain behind the whole attack since he had a spare key to Professor's Benneh's room unknown to the late Law lecturer.

Professor Yaw Benneh's death was reported and went viral on social media after he was found dead in his room on September 12, 2020, at his Adjiriganor mansion.

The late professor was found in a pool blood with his hands tied.

Police, in conducting their investigation into the murder arrested four suspects who were all workers of the lecturer.

James Womba, a cleaner who had been recently employed by the lecturer broke down during interrogations and confessed to committing the crime.

Source: YEN.com.gh
Theres a lot of land for few Indians. So goes the tired creed, recently revived by President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil. And yet those few Indians, representing 305 Indigenous groups and speaking 274 languages, have accomplished what governments have tried and failed to do for decades: control deforestation in more than 440,000 square miles of Amazon forests.

Indigenous people manage about half of the Brazilian Amazon, and year after year their lands have experienced the lowest rates of deforestation in the region. But lately, Indigenous peoples work has gotten harder, as the government has failed to enforce constitutional protections of their rights to the land. Illegal loggers, land grabbers, gold miners and drug traffickers are penetrating even deeper into the forest, now under the cover of a pandemic.
BEIJING  The departing U.S. ambassador on Tuesday defended a tough approach to China that has riled relations between the world's two largest economies, saying the Trump administration has made progress on trade and that he hopes that will extend to other areas.

Terry Branstad, the longtime Iowa governor chosen by President Donald Trump to be envoy to China, agreed however that China has generally reacted to pressure by responding in kind, from closing consulates to imposing import tariffs.

"The unfortunate thing is we're trying to rebalance the relationship so we have fairness and reciprocity, but every time we do something, they keep it unbalanced," he said in an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Branstad is returning to Iowa this weekend after three years and three months as ambassador in Beijing, the longest he and his wife have lived outside of his home state. No successor has been named.

After launching a trade war in 2018 and restricting Chinese telecom giant Huawei on national security grounds, the Trump administration has further ramped up pressure on China this year.

It imposed new restrictions on Chinese diplomats and journalists; closed the Chinese consulate in Houston and repeatedly criticized China on multiple fronts, from its handling of the coronavirus to its military moves in the South China Sea and its human rights record in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang region, home to largely Muslim ethnic groups.

China has rebuked the U.S. and taken parallel measures, including the closing of a U.S. consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu. With almost daily heated exchanges, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that ties face their gravest challenge since the normalization of relations in 1979.

Branstad downplayed such fears, noting the relationship has weathered ups and downs in the past. He conceded, though, the concern that pressure on China could lead to a downward spiral of growing restrictions.

He cited the so-called phase one trade deal, reached in January, and China's agreement to list fentanyl as a controlled substance as positive developments. The U.S. has been trying to reduce the flow of the opioid from China.

On trade, China promised to strengthen protection of foreign technology rights and industry secrets. China has made similar promises in the past, and companies say they are waiting to see how the commitments are carried out.

"I think in the area of trade, we've got their attention and we're making progress," Branstad said. "I hope we can in the other (areas), in terms of the treatment of our media, the treatment of our diplomats."

Branstad, who traveled widely in China during his stint, complained about needing to get government approval for every visit. He asked to go to Tibet three times before his visit last year. Once there, though, he said he had open exchanges with students and teachers. Elsewhere, his experience varied.

The former Iowa governor has longstanding ties to Chinese leader Xi Jinping and was initially seen as someone who could soothe relations. He came to China as governor in 1984 after signing a sister-state agreement with Hebei province, and he met Xi the following year when the then-county level Communist Party official visited Iowa as head of an agricultural delegation.

While the U.S.-China relationship has become fraught, Branstad maintained that such long-term ties remain valuable. He said he has met Xi several times since arriving in China in 2017, including a private family dinner in early 2018 that included Branstad's daughter and grandchildren.

"I think he still has very good feelings about me and about Iowa and the way we treated him," Branstad said. "And, you know, I found in this culture, personal relationships are important. And yet I represent the United States."

Branstad blamed the coronavirus for souring the relationship, saying Xi had assured Trump the outbreak was under control when in fact it wasn't. China has been criticized for covering up the crisis in the initial days, though praised for its strict measures to stem the spread later.

"0bviously, that's had a lot to do with, I think, the president's feelings towards China," Branstad said.

Trump has blamed China for the pandemic, which some analysts see as an attempt to deflect blame from his handling of the crisis ahead of a tough re-election battle in November.

Branstad expects to campaign in Iowa for Trump and other Republican candidates. He said he would focus in part on what the administration has done in China and the need to maintain a relationship but insist on fairness.

"I've never lost an election and it's still in my blood," the 73-year-old political veteran said.

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ARCHIVED - Narcodrone caught flying hashish over the Ceuta and Morocco border



Ceuta is a Spanish territory on the African Continent, bordering with Morocco

Covid or no covid, the war against drug trafficking continues right along Spanish borders, as traffickers continue to seek holes in the defences of Frontex and Spanish customs, to export hashish from Morocco into Europe.

Just this week weve reported on the use of jet-skis to transport small quantities across to the Andalucian beaches of Marbella, with traffickers landing on the beach in full view of surprised bathers, and on Thursday the Civil Guard of Ceuta recovered another vehicle used to transport small quantities of hashish between Ceuta and Morocco; a Narcodrone.

Drones have become an increasingly irritating foe for the forces of law and order as they are difficult to detect, can be used across even the most difficult of terrains and can be used in both daylight and at night-time, limited only by their battery range and carrying power.

In this case, the handler had obviously lost control of his vehicle which was initially detected by thermal cameras on the high border fence that separates Ceuta from Morocco.



The drone crashed at around 04.30 in the morning in the forests of Garcia Aldave.



El Faro de Ceuta reports, 

This morning, between four and five, the incident occurred, when the person who was driving the drone from Ceuta was introducing a 4kg package of hashish from Morocco with the collusion of individuals in the neighboring country. It flew over the Mendizabal prison area, but something must have happened when instead of completing its shipping route, the aircraft plunged into the void, ending up in an area that was difficult to access. The patrols of the Benemerita of the Rural Company that were on duty searched the ground, discovering a package of hashsish hanging from the bottom of the drone.



This isnt the first time drones have been used to fly hashish over the border fence, and the paper reports two incidents last year in which drones were used to smuggle drugs, both of which have resulted in successful arrests.



Needless to say, an investigation has now been opened to search for the operator of this particular hashish-laden drone.


YouTube star Jeffree Star is facing allegations of physical violence and sexual abuse, including an accusation that he forcibly performed oral sex on a homeless teen without his consent.

In a lengthy report by Insider, people who knew the 34-year-old beauty mogul at the height of his MySpace fame in the late 2000s claimed he 'groped men around him without consent' and used a stun gun to intimidate people.

Star, who now has 17 million followers on YouTube as well as his own makeup brand, has a history of controversial behavior, but his attorney denied the allegations in the article.

Serious allegations: YouTuber Jeffree start has been accused of physical violence and sexual abuse in bombshell report by Insider

Back in the day: The outlet spoke with people who knew Star at height of his MySpace fame in the late 2000s. He is pictured performing at the Vans Warped Tour in 2009

In one instance, five people alleged to Insider that Star tased a homeless teen, then-17-year-old Gage Arthur, after he rejected his advances in a movie theater in 2009.

Someone who claimed to be with them that night told Insider that Star said he wanted to 'f**k Gage' that night and tried holding the teen's hand, even though he's straight.

After Arthur failed to reciprocate, Star reportedly walked out of the theater. When the group joined him in the parking lot, he allegedly chased the teen around a car and tased him.

Arthur told Insider that later that night, when he stayed over Star's house, the MySpace celebrity 'gave him Ambien until he was intoxicated and forcibly performed oral sex on him without his consent.'

Not shocked: Zach Neil, a former Warped Tour stage manager, told Insider that he has seen Star 'grope both guys and girls'

Violence: It was also reported that Star used a stun gun to intimidate people. The influencer tweeted a photo of himself with a taser in 2010

Star's lawyer called the allegations 'false and defamatory,' saying Star 'has never tasered or drugged anyone for sex.'

According to the publication, several people and public internet posts corroborate key components of Arthur's claims, which he also shared with the online gossip blog StickyDrama in August.

However, Arthur recanted his story three weeks after Insider had asked him to comment.

According to Insider, several people who made on-the-record claims about Star  including Arthur contacted them to recant their stories after the YouTuber allegedly offered them $10,000.

Chris Avery Bennet said she turned down a $10,000 payout from Star to renounce her claim that he had sent her a nude photo when she was 15.

Bennet, who is transgender and used male pronouns, said she was running a gay-rights MySpace page when she received an anonymous email featuring a penis.

Accusation: Star allegedly tased a homeless teen, then-17-year-old Gage Arthur, after he rejected his advances in a movie theater in 2009

Evidence? Star tweeted about going to the movies with Arthur in 2009, but later deleted it

Then and now: Arthur (pictured) accused Star of later giving him Ambien until he was intoxicated and 'forcibly performed oral sex on him without his consent,' but later recanted

Speaking out: Chris Avery Bennet said she turned down a $10,000 payout from Star to renounce her claim that he had sent her a nude photo when she was 15 and bullied her

She believes Star was the one who sent it to her because she noticed an ice-cream-cone tattoo that looked like the one the YouTuber has on his finger.

Star's attorney denied that his client sent a nude photo to Bennet, noting that she didn't identify any of the additional tattoos on his hand that would have been visible.

Bennet also claimed Star bullied her online after she reached out to him to share a story on her page in 2009.

'He replied saying, "You are f*****g disgusting and nobody will ever take you seriously, stop calling yourself fierce,"' she told Insider. 'And it turned into an all-out war. Like an absolute all-out war.'

She said the online abuse from Star's fans contributed to her suicide attempt and subsequent in-patient psychiatric treatment.

'Jeffree has never hidden any of this,' she told Insider. 'The only thing he's ever done is shut people up. But what needs to happen is somebody needs to speak up and open that door for people who have more serious encounters. And nobody's done that. And I'm not afraid to be that person.'

Hitting back: Star's attorney denied the allegations, calling them 'false and defamatory'

Controversy: Star has faced backlash because of his past use of racist and offensive language

Zach Neil, a former Warped Tour stage manager, told Insider that he has seen Star 'grope both guys and girls.'

'I think anybody that has seen him in concert has seen that. That's just part of his thing, feeling people up and groping people and a**-slapping and d**k-grabbing,' he added.

Neil said he didn't like how Star would pull young-looking fans on stage to feel them up and have three-way kisses.

He also recalled how his friend gave Star a stun gun because he was facing gay-bashing on the tour. The person told him to use it to defend himself if someone tried to physically hurt him.

'And then we got called into production's office by the owner of the tour the next day [...] apparently, he was going around stunning everyone,' he said.

A spokesperson on behalf of Star told DailyMail.com: 'While Insider may believe that generating click-bait is more important than honest reporting, facts still matter.

'This so-called expose is nothing but a defamatory collection of long-discredited allegations, misleading hearsay from more than a decade ago and outright lies. Tellingly, all of the key individuals involved have refused to substantiate Insiders bogus claims, while many, including Jeffrees representatives, presented the reporter with a mountain of evidence proving that these allegations are false. She, regrettably and unethically, chose to ignore that evidence because it did not fit with her predetermined narrative.

'Insiders article is textbook defamation, rife with malice and demonstrating a reckless disregard for the truth, and, as a result, Jeffree is considering all of his legal options.'

Speaking out: In June, YouTuber Tati Westbrook claimed Star was behind the public accusations she made against online star James Charles in a controversial video last year

Making it clear: When Westbrook's first video came out, Charles denied the accusations about his alleged predatory behavior, but apologized to her for mistakes he made in their friendship

At fault? Westbrook accused Star and fellow influencer Shane Dawson of 'weaponizing' her in an alleged plot to destroy Charles' career

Star is no stranger to controversy, and earlier this summer, makeup retailer Morphe dropped his line because of his use of racist and offensive language in the past.

Most recently, YouTube star Tati Westbrook accused Star and fellow influencer Shane Dawson of 'using' her in a plot to destroy the career of beauty guru James Charles by 'manipulating' her into making a video exposing his alleged predatory behavior.

'I can tell you this. It is my opinion that Jeffree and Shane were both bitterly jealous of James Charles' success,' she said. 'Neither of them were happy with standing in his shadow on YouTube anymore.

'I believe James Charles was gaining more followers, and receiving more views and more press faster than anyone in the history [of] the platform. And it is also my opinion that Jeffree and Shane needed James marginalized and out of the way for the November launch of [their makeup] palette and...merch.'

In a frantic Instagram Live video shared shortly after Westbrook's video was posted, Dawson hit back at her claims, branding the YouTuber 'manipulative' and 'insane.'

Star also shared a video response, though he didn't apologize for anything specific aside for not connecting with Charles offline.

He said he's 'fully admitting [his] flaws' and that 'when you accept that you are the problem, you can become the solution.'
In downtown Louisville, Ky., the ground floors of apartment complexes and storefronts are boarded up with plywood. Street telephone kiosks are tightly wrapped in cellophane so no phone calls can be made. The business district is barricaded off, and checkpoints have been set up to make sure those entering have a stated purpose for being there other than to protest.

For many residents of the community, the scene feels like something from an apocalyptic film, but its become the reality in Louisville following unrest that accompanied the decision last week by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron not to charge three police officers with homicide in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Normally bustling with people and commerce, the cordoned-off business district  an area stretching five blocks north to south and six east to west  is now the site of very little activity. There are only a handful of people on the streets and even fewer cars. The small number of businesses that remained open during the coronavirus pandemic feel even more rarefied since protests erupted on Sept. 23 over the decision in Taylors case.

Protesters on Wednesday stand on a truck that is being used as a roadblock near Jefferson Square Park in Louisville, Ky. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

By early that Friday morning, the protests had boiled over into full-blown rioting, leaving windows smashed in and property damaged in the downtown section of the city. Since then, Louisville residents and other supporters of Taylor have continued daily marches through the streets, decrying the police brutality and racial injustice that they say Taylors death, and the decision not to charge the Louisville Metro Police officers involved in her killing, epitomizes.

Caught up in the turmoil are the proprietors of the mom-and-pop shops and small businesses downtown that have taken a dramatic hit from both COVID-19 and the protests. Fearful for their safety, many locals say they no longer want to come downtown, and as a result, business owners have found themselves in the unenviable position of taking sides on the protests that threaten their livelihoods.

Story continues

Its just property

Olivia Rose Griffin, owner of Riot Cafe and the Limbo, a tiki bar in downtown Louisville, likened the last several months to slow-motion whiplash.

Everything changed when COVID hit for everybody, especially here downtown, Griffin told Yahoo News. Theres few people traveling here and theyre for business purposes, but were talking reduced so dramatically.

Griffin said that when the news broke about George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis in May, Taylors case was put on the national radar. So it was little surprise that Camerons decision resulted in more protests in Louisville.

The protests ramped up right away, Griffin said. Thursday night protests went into Friday night riots. And, in my opinion, that was the only night that we have ever experienced riots. There were serious riots, and they occurred mainly downtown, mainly on the corner where my businesses are located. A lot of glass was broken. A lot of businesses were looted.

Restaurant workers outside the Limbo show support as protesters march in downtown Louisville on Sept. 26. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Yet Griffin said she understands the communitys anger. To her, damaged property is nothing compared with a life lost.

It was very violating. However, its just property, she said. Its just windows. Its not people. Nobody died.  So that definitely drew a hard line in the sand. Im sure in every city where there are riots, [there is a distinction] between the people and the business owners who believe that destruction of property is the worst thing ever, and those on the other side of the line that believe people are more important than property.

The police officers are not bad people

Richard Red Bryan is the owner of the Alley Way Cafe Restaurant, a dine-in and catering business in the Shelby Park neighborhood near downtown. It was right outside his restaurant where two police officers were shot the night Cameron announced his office would not pursue homicide charges against the officers who killed Taylor. After police approached him, Bryan turned over surveillance footage taken outside his restaurant to aid in their investigation of the shootings.

Already reeling from the slowdown in business due to the pandemic, Bryans losses have mounted over the last week.

I built this company from the ground up  so when anything goes wrong its immediately my money, he said. Its been tough.

Yet Bryan refuses to blame the protesters.

A lot of people think there are two paths to take, but as a Robert Frost guy, I want to take the path less traveled, he said. I stand with my neighbors and the people who live around me.  When my neighbors blockaded the road to keep everybody safe, I was with them.  Thats what we were doing.

Bryan believes all the unrest wouldnt be taking place if police had tried to save Taylors life after they shot her.

She was on the ground not receiving medical attention, he said. They were finding a reason to bust down the door and not trying to save her life.  This could have been avoided if they calmed down and tried to save her, but they didnt.

A protester marches by a police line in downtown Louisville on Sept. 23. (Jeff Dean/AFP via Getty Images)

A licensed gun owner, Bryan believes that if you pull the trigger of a gun, then you are responsible for its bullets. While he hasnt had to shoot at anyone, Bryan has had to brandish his gun several times over the past few months, as his place has been ransacked on at least four occasions. He believes rampant homelessness, drugs and overall despair have contributed to a climate in Louisville that isnt safe.

The police are very strung out  a lot of them work two jobs, Bryan said. The police officers are not bad people, but they have bad days.  [The city needs to appoint] someone to work with the children, work with the mentally ill and the officers who need help.

I have no problem with people protesting

Bucks Restaurant and Bar has been a part of the downtown community for 28 years, and its general manager, Lisa Imrie, said it has never experienced anything like the unrest of the past several months.

Its been a roller coaster up and down, Imrie told Yahoo News. With COVID and protests downtown, its hurt our business.

While she blames the protests stemming from the Taylor decision for the cancellation of several large reservations, she also wishes more lasting solutions could be found to help her community.

I have no problem with people protesting, Imrie said. But nothing ever changes through protests. It only changes through laws. You cant prosecute anyone in the street.  It happens in the courts.

Imrie lamented that the unity behind the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of Floyd seems to have been lost.

Protesters carry a painting of, from left, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd while marching on June 5 in Louisville. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

Its gotten totally out of hand, she said. When George Floyd happened, everyone was behind it. There is no message in it anymore.

In part, Imrie said, thats because the circumstances surrounding the two cases are different.

She wasnt all that she was made out to be, she said. This all had to do with drugs, which kills people. She was committing the crime. There is a lot more to it.

(The three officers involved in the case were serving a no-knock warrant at Taylors apartment as part of a narcotics investigation into her ex-boyfriend.)

Its not fair

Mimi Kim, owner of Mimis Wigs, called the area around her shop a ghost town.

[Theres been] no business, said Kim, who has lived in Louisville for 26 years and has owned her wig shop for the past three. Coronavirus was one thing, and on top of the riots, its wiped out every little bit of business that weve had.

Kims shop was untouched in last weeks unrest, but she has been fearful that things could change any day. She said she has empathy for how the community feels, but added that small businesses are not to blame.

I understand that whats going on is not right, she told the Courier Journal. Its not fair, but whats going on has nothing to do with the small businesses. They shouldnt be destroyed.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
The upcoming US presidential election is characterised by several factors that may not have happened before in any other elections since the founding of the United States in July 1776

The US presidential election, which will be held on Tuesday, 3 November, is characterised by several factors that may not have happened before in any other elections since the founding of the United States in July 1776.

The first is the increased voting by mail due to the spread of COVID-19, which may delay the announcement of the results for days. The second factor is that for the first time, an American president -- Donald Trump -- has said openly that he might not accept the election results if he does not win because of his suspicion of fraud in the mail-in voting, and he has also refused to pledge to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses to Democratic rival Joe Biden. He has even predicted the elections will go before the Supreme Court.

The third factor is the spread of the COVID-19 virus itself, which may hinder those aged over fifty from voting, even though they are the largest voting bloc and usually vote in high numbers for the Republican candidate.

Polls show that Trump has lost some of his popularity among voters aged 65 and over in six states due to his mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, while Biden has grown increasingly successful among older voters. The fourth factors will be the votes of Latinos and women, which may affect or decide the election result for the first time.

The US State Department, in cooperation with the Meridian International Diplomacy Center and the Center for Foreign Press, organised several virtual interviews for about 200 leading journalists around the world for a period of eight weeks with a number of senior American specialists and experts. Al-Ahram was chosen as the representative of the Egyptian press.

Trump may not accept the results

Dr. Mark J. Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, responded to a question by Al-Ahram on Trumps hints that he may not accept the results so did it happen, or could it happen that one of the candidates doesn't accept the results.

Weve never had this situation; you'd have to go back to the early 19th century where there was a disputed outcome. Remember the year 2000, we had a disputed outcome to the presidential election for 36 days after election day. So, the electoral college count was extremely close between Al Gore and George W. Bush. The entire election came down to the popular vote in one state, Florida. Out of several million votes, only about 500 votes separated the two candidates. There were recounts of ballots, allegations of miscounting and improperly counted ballots. The Supreme Court of the United States after 36 days told the state of Florida, since states control their own elections, including elections for the presidency and the electoral college system, he said.

The Supreme Court told Florida to stop the recount and certify the election. It was a very controversial decision by a five-to-four majority. And George Bush was ahead by about 500 votes at that point. But Al Gore held a press conference to congratulate George Bush on becoming the next president of the United States, urging all Americans to get behind their new president and offering their full support to America's newly elected president. He showed such respect for our constitutional order and the rule of law that even though many people alleged that there were voting irregularities and that the result had not been properly determined, that there needed to be a continuation of the recount of the ballots to get the right result. The Supreme Court of the United States is the law of the land in this country. When the Supreme Court speaks, that's it, there is no recourse beyond that.

Al Gore did not even think for a minute about contesting that outcome. Thats the hallmark of the stability of our political system, that that's the way it works. There is concern in this election cycle, and I'm just repeating words that the president himself has said  that the president might not accept the legitimacy of the outcome of this election if the ballots counted by mail put Joe Biden over the top and make him the winner, which is one very possible outcome in this election. The president has been declaring publicly that there was an enormous amount of fraud as a result of voting by ballot. And he is calling into question the very legitimacy of the process that we have adopted. But again, this comes back to federalism and the states controlling their elections. The states decide, the federal government doesn't decide. Donald Trump can say all he wants about voting by mail and questioning its legitimacy, but it's up to the states to decide how to conduct their election procedures.

So it would be very destabilising to our system to have one of the two major party candidates refuse to acknowledge the outcome and concede the election. And it would be especially troubling if it happened to be the incumbent president of the United States. All I'm going to say is that there are procedures in place to take care of this situation should it happen. I don't live in fear that we're going to go past inauguration day, 20 January, with a dispute over the outcome of this election," he concluded.

Effect of mail-in voting

Rozell, who is the author of nine books on topics related to US politics, spoke about the effect of mail-in voting in the coming election. The election results normally come in state by state, and at some point late at night, the networks declare a winner, somebody who got 270 or above in the Electoral College. Because of the pandemic, we are having much more voting by mail this year and also early voting, so that voting in person can be staggered over time, so we minimise the risk to people.

In Virginia, where I teach, they just started voting last week, even before the first presidential debate, and there were hours-long lines of people lining up already to vote. So what's going to happen on election night? Results will be coming in based on people who voted in person the traditional way on 3 November, election day. But counting of the mail ballots will take a few, perhaps several days, perhaps even longer. I'm not sure. We've not done this before. Therefore, we will not know most likely the result of the election on election night itself as had always been the case. We will have to wait for the mail-in votes to be counted.

And this has raised some concerns in our system because Joe Biden supporters, Democrats, based on polling data, tend to be much more likely people in our country than Trump supporters to wear a mask  to vote by mail, to not want to take any risk with the pandemic.

Trump supporters, statistically, are more likely to vote on election day and less likely to wear masks in public. It's strange that we're talking about the pandemic as having a political impact, but it is possible that the election results as they're coming in on election night will show Donald Trump winning and winning and winning all over the place, but that's based on more of his voters showing up to vote in person. Then as the results come in from the mailed-in ballots, his margin is going to narrow, narrow, and perhaps be overtaken by Biden after several days.

So it may take some time to really know who's going to win. But the Electoral College doesn't meet until a month after election day. That happens in December. So this process is not going to have any impact at all on what the electors do when they vote in the Electoral College, he concluded.

Latino and women voters

Answering a question by Ahram Online concerning the effect of Latino, women and minority voters, Rozell said that the Republican party looks very much like a white party these days -- it's about 90 percent or more non-Hispanic whites. The Democrats are about 70 percent white, by contrast.

But Democrats have appeal among the fastest growing segments of our population, minority populations, particularly Latinos and African Americans who typically vote well over 90 percent Democrat. The Latino votes, very interesting to watch this year. Democrats have tended to do very, very well with the Latino vote in recent election cycles, he said.

Hillary Clinton got about two-thirds of the Latino vote in 2016, he continued. Barack Obama got over 75 percent of the Latino vote. That was about a 10 percent drop off from Obama to Clinton and was actually really important in some of the key swing states in the election. There are some polls right now showing that Trump is actually picking up even a little bit more support. So the key for Trump is to hold down his losses among minority voters and to ratchet up the white Republican-leaning vote as much as possible. Also, Republicans tend to vote at slightly higher rates than Democrats, which is an interesting phenomenon that's held for many, many years.

Rozell added that minority voter turnout has not always, but has usually lagged behind white turnout. The Democratic Party is a coalition of minorities to some extent. So many different minority populations heavily identify with the Democratic Party. Black voters, heavily Democratic, Latino voters by two thirds, three quarters, Democratic, Asian Americans, a fast-growing segment of our population, increasingly democratic. A generation ago there were more Republicans, particularly the older generation immigrants who came to this country in the sixties, seventies and eighties. But their children and grandchildren have tended to be much more Democrat and new immigrants have tended to be much more Democrat because of the perception that Donald Trump and the Republicans are the anti-immigrant party. Whether fair or not, that perception very strongly exists right now.

So, who turns out is key to the outcome of this election. Where Joe Biden and the Democrats, I think, are very concerned right now, and something to look at, is the Latino vote. The fastest growing segment of the American population is the Latino population. The fact that it dropped from three-quarters to only two-thirds Democrat from 2012 to 2016 was a problem for Hillary Clinton in that very, very close election. The fact that some polls are showing Donald Trump has picked up a few more percent of the Latino vote, better than how he performed in 2016, should also be a serious concern to Joe Biden and the Democrats. So I think a lot of this campaign, going forward, is going to focus very, very heavily on the Latino vote, which I think will be critical in some of the most important states of the electoral college, particularly the state of Florida, he concluded.

Appointing a new Supreme Court judge

Dr. Jeffrey M. Stonecash, a distinguished professor emeritus of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York, answered a question from Ahram Online concerning the effect of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

"That is the $64,000 question. No one's quite sure right now. I think Donald Trump presumes that if he can get someone on the court, it will sure up his base because he'll appoint some conservative. I think a lot of Republicans think this is their shot. So they believe they can then shore up their support among conservatives. What no one knows right now is whether or not there might be a reaction that this is a little rushed, it's too blatantly political, the Supreme Court is not supposed to be a partisan organisation. To the extent it is portrayed as a raw partisan institution, it's probably going to be trouble. So it may backfire, but no one knows. We're just going to have to wait and see," he said.

Stability and the divide between the parties

Stonecash, who is an expert on political parties, spoke about the ideological differences between the US two main parties and its effect on stability.

I think we now have a society in which there's a growing percentage of people on each side who thinks the other side is a threat to America. They think that if this other side gets in power, America's going to end. If you follow the campaign, Trump has been telling people that I am the only thing that stands between you and the demise of America. Liberal groups are out there saying that if Donald Trump gets elected, it could risk the demise of America. So as you can imagine, it's not easy to get a conversation going when you think the other side is a threat to the continuation of American democracy. he said.

He added that Trump has really increased unity in his party through three means. He has a remarkable dominance of the media. He's a master at getting himself into the media. And he uses social media and Twitter enormously. He is not afraid to attack his opponents. Anyone that criticises him at all he goes after, and then he has a very loyal following and they really listen to this. And so you have many senators and House members who are afraid over the Twitter attack from Trump, and that leads to greater party unity. They are really reluctant to defy him because he has such strong support among his supporters. So we have a system that's seemingly very decentralised, but it is simultaneously being pulled together within each party because of these trends of the same outcomes. And because of what Trump does.

I might say we have no idea whether Trump is the future, or he's a unique character as a presidential candidate, he said.

Immigration

Concerning immigration, Stonecash said: "I don't mean this to pick on Donald Trump, but he's a perfect example of a person who seized on issues to try to bring voters over to his side. When he ran in 2016, he constantly talked about immigration and crime and I think he really strongly believes that if he can get Americans afraid that they will move over to his call. In 2018, he made immigration a really serious issue, all sorts of stories about caravans coming to invade America, et cetera. Now he's using riots and protests in cities as an argument about, We need law and order, and you need to elect me because I'll protect the integrity of the country and the safety, et cetera.

Does it cause division? Oh yeah it causes division. People get really angry. I mean, his supporters become really jacked up about it ... Why isn't somebody doing something? His opponents become really angry about the portrayal of all immigrants as rapists and murderers ... And so it causes real anger on both sides. And it's really an explosive mix. I think, when we had several black men who were killed by police this summer, it will affect black population voters, he concluded.

*The writer is the Deputy Chief Editor of Al Ahram Alarabi Magazine

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Okendo, the leading customer marketing platform that helps fasting growing Shopify stores build social proof and increase online shopping conversions, today announced the launch of their official partner program.

With 100+ Shopify focused design, development and marketing agencies already participating, including The Working Party, MuteSix and WeMakeWebsites, the launch of the Okendo partner program is a recognition of the important role agencies play in helping Shopify merchants design and implement the necessary technology infrastructure to succeed.

Okendo is a key component of our best-in-class eCommerce success strategy with Shopify Plus. As a partner, Okendo provides our clients with white glove onboarding and an unrivalled set of features. Collaborating with Okendo on high-visibility and complex eCommerce projects is always a seamless experience, said Cal Wilson, founder and chief executive of The Working Party, the leading Shopify Plus Agency in APAC.

Perks of the partner program include revenue share on subscription fees, access to Okendos partner portal for submitting referrals, a dedicated partner manager, partner team training, priority support and early access to new features and integrations.

Rachel Tyers, Okendos newly hired VP of Strategic Partnerships, and previously the Co-Founder of headless developer platform, Nacelle, is leading the initiative.

I am incredibly excited to launch Okendos partner program. We believe that there is a clear need among the merchants our agency partners work with for an alternative to the expensive, often overly complex tools currently in the market, said Rachel. Our goal for the Okendo partner program is to drive awareness of Okendo as this alternative and then provide partners we work with all the resources, tools and support necessary to ensure client success.

Steve Weiss, Co-Founder and Chief Executive at the world's largest DTC marketing agency said, At MuteSix were hyper-focused on providing the best solution to our clients, so it was a no-brainer to partner with Okendo. Theyve created a platform that is unrivaled in product, service or price, and the partnership has provided us with valuable exposure through co-marketing opportunities and more.

About Okendo

Okendo has all the tools brands need to capture and showcase customer-generated content including product ratings and reviews, photos and videos and Q&As. Brands use this content to build shopper trust, drive conversions, and maximize CLTV. With headquarters in Sydney, Australia and offices in Miami, Florida, Okendo is trusted by over 2,000 of the world's leading consumer-facing brands such as SKIMS, Knix and Born Primitive. For more information on how to access Okendos partner program visit: okendo.io/partners

For media inquiries, contact:

Kelsey Clutter

kelsey.clutter@okendo.io
A police officer stands guard at a checkpoint in the Orcasitas neighbourhood in Madrid (AP/Manu Fernandez)

Some 4.8 million Madrid residents will be barred from leaving the area from Friday evening, making it the first European capital back into lockdown due to surging coronavirus cases.

Restaurants and bars in the Spanish capital and nine satellite towns will shut early and slash capacity by half in what has again become Europe's worst infection hotspot.

Read More

The new restrictions, to start at 10pm (8pm GMT), are not as strict as the previous lockdown from March, when people were barred from leaving their homes. However, authorities advised residents not to move around unless absolutely necessary.

"Madrilenos" were exasperated at political wrangling between the central and regional governments, and anxious about whether the measures would work.

"We have been eight months with masks and without nightclubs and parties, and there is still contagion. Then what kind of impact will these restrictions make?," said Sonny van den Holstein, owner of Sanissimo restaurant.

"People are confused, they hesitate to go out ... they are in fear," he said, as a customer called to cancel a reservation.

The conservative-led Madrid area authority reluctantly complied with the order from the Socialist-led central government to ban travel except for school, work, health or shopping.

Famous for its late-night carousing and usually lively tourist flow, Madrid's bars and restaurants must close at 11 p.m. instead of a previous 1 a.m curfew, while restaurants, gyms and shops are having capacity cut by half.

Gatherings of more than six people remain banned indoors and outdoors, but parks and playgrounds can this time stay open.

Legal challenge

Some 4.8 million Madrid residents will be barred from leaving the area from Friday evening, making it the first European capital back into lockdown due to surging coronavirus cases.

The measures widen a confinement already in place in poorer parts of the city with high infection rates.

People who do not comply will face fines.

Other busy European cities have tightened measures in recent days, including limiting numbers in restaurants and making face masks compulsory in more places.

But none have gone as far as Madrid.

Conservative regional head Isabel Diaz Ayuso has launched a legal challenge, fearing economic damage and accusing central government of exceeding its mandate by ordering the measures.

With Madrid's international airport Barajas staying open, Diaz Ayuso tweeted her anger at the prime minister: "From tomorrow one will be able to get to Madrid from Berlin but not from Parla. Thanks for the chaos, Pedro Sanchez."

Parla is a periphery town south of Madrid.

In its appeal, the region argues that the measures do not adequately fight the pandemic and would cost 750m per week to the local economy.

But Sanchez said the only goal was saving lives and protecting health. "All decisions are made based on scientists' citeria," he said at a summit in Brussels.

With 850 cases per 100,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, the Madrid area has Europe's worst rate.

Spain has recorded a total of 778,607 coronavirus cases, more than any other Western European nation, with almost 32,000 fatalities. Daily deaths are now around their highest levels since early May - an average of 78 a day in the last week - but far below the late March record of nearly 900.
New York states daily count of new coronavirus cases topped 1,500 for the first time since late May as Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned local governments Friday that theyll face fines if they dont enforce social distancing and mask rules.

Officials are increasingly concerned about virus flare-ups in some places, mainly parts of New York City and suburban Rockland and Orange counties. Although an often-cited measure of the virus spread  the percentage of tests that come back positive  was about 1.3% statewide on Thursday, it was 6.4% in a group of 20 ZIP codes under scrutiny, Cuomo said. And the raw number of new cases reported statewide on Thursday hit 1,598, the most since May 27, when about 65,000 New Yorkers were tested, compared to 119,000 on Thursday.

The hot spots are a significant problem, Cuomo said Friday in a conference call with reporters, and compliance is not where it needs to be.

The Democratic governor has complained for days that local governments havent been cracking down enough on violations of state virus safety regulations. He ratcheted up pressure Friday by saying the state health commissioner would tell local officials in hot spots that they have to step up enforcement and can be fined up to $10,000 a day if their efforts are found wanting.

New York City said it had inspected nearly 1,000 businesses in the last three days.

Were enforcing guidelines with the speed and rigour this crisis demands  not because we fear fines, but because we know our measures will help combat this crisis, mayoral spokesman Mitch Schwartz said in a statement.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday he was dispatching hundreds of city workers to the zones of concern to hand out masks and issue fines if people refused to put them on in places where they could be within 6 feet (1.8 metres) of others.

Some 130 warnings and 16 violation citations were issued Wednesday alone, according to the mayor. Among other steps, the city has also told businesses they can be shuttered for repeated noncompliance.

The Rockland County executives office said later Friday that it was waiting to see the details of the state order. A message seeking comment was sent to the Orange County executives office.

New York was an early epicenter of the coronavirus in the U.S., reporting about 800 deaths daily statewide on some days in early April. The surge was wrestled down to fairly low transmission by summer, remaining stable for months as New York officials held up the state as an example of a successful response.

Deaths from COVID-19 now total in the single digits or very low double digits per day; seven were reported Thursday.

But the number of positive tests has been ticking up in recent weeks. The tally topped 1,000 on Sept. 25, for the first time since June 5.

___

Associated Press writer Carolyn Thompson contributed from Buffalo.
A car with a small child inside was shot at on Route 1 in Chelsea on Thursday, leaving a man injured, according to police.

The shooting was reported around 7:40 p.m. in the southbound lanes of the highway near the Carter Street off-ramp in Chelsea, Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.

Three people in a black Mitsubishi SUV are accused of firing shots at the car and hitting it three times, WBZ reported.

The man who was shot suffered a non-fatal wound, according to state polices statement.

The child was not harmed, according to WBZ. Boston 25 reported the child was 1 year old.

To help the investigation, the southbound side of Route 1 in the area of the shooting and the Carter Street ramp were closed for a period of time. Both the roadway and ramp have since been reopened, state police said.

The shooting remains under investigation.
The foreign minister of Bhutan Tandi Dorji, on October 2 paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and penned down a heartfelt note. Taking to Twitter, he wrote that that the great freedom fighter touched limitless souls through his principle of nonviolence. Calling it an auspicious day he wished people on the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

151 years ago, the great freedom fighter walked on this planet and touched limitless souls through the noble lessons of non-violence. On this auspicious day, I wish everyone a Happy Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.  ForeignMinisterBhutan (@FMBhutan) October 2, 2020

Earlier today, PM Modi took to Twitter to share a video message and spoke about the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi. Narendra Modi also spoke about Mahatma Gandhi's dream of an independent, self-reliant India while adding that following Gandhian values will help us establish a better world. He also shared a video message to mark the birth anniversary of former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Read: Gandhi Jayanti: PM Modi Pays Tribute To Mahatma Gandhi, Says 'We Bow To Bapu'

Read: Gandhi Jayanti 2020: Importance, Meaning And History Of Celebrating This Day In India

In his video message, PM Modi detailed how Mahatma Gandhi's values and ideologies are relevant in today's time. He also added that there is 'much to learn from his life and noble thoughts'. "May Bapus ideals keep guiding us in creating a prosperous and compassionate India," read his tweet. PM Modi also paid tribute to the father of the nation at Raj Ghat on his birth anniversary on Friday.

151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

This year will mark the 151st birth anniversary of Gandhiji. He was a lawyer, a political enthusiast, a leader who contributed greatly towards the Indian Independence movement in his non-violent ways. He invoked patriotism in every citizen of our country and instilled inspired movements for civil rights all and freedom.

Dandi March, the Quit India Movement, the abolition of foreign goods, were some of the remarkable freedom movement led by him. Not only that, but he also played a massive role in abolishing heinous practices like untouchability. The great leader also led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding womens rights, building amity between various religious and ethnic groups and above all of them achieving Swaraj (Self-rule) was one of the main aims of his life.

Read: 'Captain' Rahul Gandhi Wants Sidhu At His Rallies? Rawat Eyes Peacemaking With Punjab CM

Read: Gandhi Jayanti 2020: Importance, Meaning And History Of Celebrating This Day In India
"Why Nawaz Sharif always had a dispute with army chiefs, because he was involved in corrupt practices and wanted to control them," he added.

"Nawaz Sharif is playing a dangerous game against Pakistan and I am 100 per cent sure that India is supporting him.

In an interview to a private television channel, Khan accused his predecessor for creating a "huge mischief" by attacking the Pakistan Army.

Khan said Sharif is now playing the same game that was once being played by former founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain, who he said was also working on India's agenda and had his supporters chant 'Pakistan Murdabad' along with calling for India's help to what he called free Pakistan from oppression.

"He (Sharif) is becoming the next Altaf Hussain. He is a coward, I am sure he has support from India. India's interest was to weaken our army. India's think tanks say they want to break Pakistan. Some foolish liberals were agreeing with the narrative of Sharif, who is creating a huge 'fitna' (mischief) by attacking the army," he said.

The convicted former leader, who was allowed to fly to London for treatment late last year, broke his long silence last month, saying that the opposition was up not against "selected prime minister" but against those who had brought him into power in the 2018 elections.

Khan's statement comes after Sharif's speeches to his party members and opposition leaders targeted Pakistan's military establishment for supporting, facilitating and backing the incumbent leader to come in power through rigged elections.

Sharif, during his speech revealed and claimed that his government, in a bid to soothe ties with the Pakistan Army, back-engineered the US Tomahawk missile to enhance the defence capabilities of the country.

"I have made immense contributions for army and spent billions and trillions... We made the country a nuclear power and developed JF-17 fighter jet with the collaboration of China," he said in a speech to party members from London via video link.

"Half of the missiles that country's armed forces have were developed during my tenure. Tomahawk missile was developed because of me. We brought it from Balochistan when Clinton had fired missiles into Afghanistan. The Tomahawk missile was found undamaged and reproduced through back-engineering."

Sharif's statements have also prompted the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to block speeches and statements from being aired by declared absconders, which includes the former premier, who is wanted in cases of corruption of assets beyond means by the country's courts

He was allowed to leave the country on medical grounds by the Pakistan courts.

However, with Sharif looking active in his last two video link speeches, questions are being raised over the credibility of his health condition.

--IANS

hamza/ksk/
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Supporters of President Donald Trump listen to speakers during a rally at the Duluth International Airport in Minnesota on September 30. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

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By Michael McAuliff and Julio Ochoa, WUSF | Jackie Fortier, LAist | Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio Nils Hase, a retiree who lives in Tarpon Springs, Florida, is wearing a mask and loading his Home Depot haul into his car on a recent weekday afternoon. In the store, because Home Depot insists customers and staff across the country wear masks, most faces were covered. But out here in the parking lot, in a state with a serious infection rate but no mask mandate, plenty of those masks hang down around people's chins.

"It bothers me. They are being defiant," Hase said. "And most of the people I see that walk in without a mask are just looking for a fight. They are asking you to 'Just ask me. Just give me a reason to yell at you.' I just stay away from them and keep on with my own life."

Six and a half months after President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus emergency, COVID-19 has killed more than 207,000 Americans and infected 7.3 million, now including Trump himself and the first lady.

Scientists are warning of a larger wave of infection this winter. They agree the simplest, easiest way to fight that surge is to get most people to wear masks most of the time.

Yet the political fight over face coverings rages. It plays out on city streets, in suburban grocery stores, in rural sheriff's offices and at the highest echelons of government -- all the way to the presidential debate stage this week in Cleveland. There, most of Trump's contingent refused to wear required masks, and one of them tested positive soon afterward. Only time will tell if they spread the infection, but their behavior is mirrored across the nation.

HEFTY PRICE IN IOWA

In April, Iowa health officials cut an agreement with Iowa University to do modeling on the impact of coronavirus. Among the data are estimates of future death rates and the projection that more than a thousand Iowans could be saved by adopting a universal mask policy.

Later that month, the researchers warned Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds not to ease restrictions aimed at curtailing the virus, saying a spike would result later in the year. They also recommended a strong policy on facial coverings, producing a report that said face shields would dramatically lower the virus's toll.

Reynolds took none of that advice. She started easing restrictions in late April. She argued it was more important to reopen the state's economy while encouraging people to be responsible and wear masks than to throw down a mandate she called unenforceable.

"I think the goal is to strongly encourage and recommend that people wear them," she said in late August. "I believe that people are."

Yet at that moment, Iowa was proving the university's predictions true, suffering the highest infection rate in the nation. In late September, the state was one of only seven that remained in the "red zone," averaging more than 890 new infections a day.

The governor's intransigence on masks highlights a troubling problem. At a time when experts believe the nation needs to unite around a strategy to curb a potentially catastrophic winter, the cheapest, best option -- masks -- have become increasingly politicized. Even Republicans like Reynolds, who agree masks work, refuse to take the advice of their experts. They oppose mandates and favor an educational approach that many people actively resist.

DISSENT WITHIN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The trouble starts at the top. The Trump administration's leading medical advisers have testified repeatedly that masks were the country's best tool to blunt a second wave that could be significantly deadlier than the initial spike.

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, went as far to say face coverings were a more certain bet than a vaccine if everyone would wear them.

"If we did it for six, eight, 10, 12 weeks, we'd bring this pandemic under control," Redfield said during a Sept. 16 hearing. "They are our best defense."

Trump contradicted him before the day was done, and just a few days earlier, as the president and his coterie did in Cleveland, Trump modeled exactly the opposite behavior. At a campaign rally of thousands in Nevada, he cheered on the mostly maskless crowd. The next day, he held a massive mask-optional indoor rally at a warehouse in Henderson, Nevada, defying state restrictions. He advised the owner (who was later fined $3,000) that he'd protect the man if the state went after him.

"I'll be with you all the way. Don't worry about a thing," Trump said.

But Trump's actions and statements are worrisome for scientists and public health experts. They have watched in horror and frustration as the president's dismissive attitude toward masks and COVID-19 itself has gone hand in hand with growing politicization of the public health response.

Meanwhile, the White House Coronavirus Task Force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, issued a "state report" on Montana on Sept. 20 that included the suggestion that the state "consider fines for violations of face mask mandates in high transmission areas." At a press conference, Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, said fining people would not be "the Montana way." The state is, however, one of 34 with a mask mandate in place.

Indeed, the single-strongest predictor of whether or not a state will mandate strong mask policies bears little relationship to a state's disease problem, according to a recent study by a team at the University of Washington.

After analyzing comprehensive data on mask policies, researchers led by Chris Adolph, a professor of political science and statistics, found that having a Republican governor would predict a 30-day delay in recommending mask policies. In a state that is also ideologically conservative, the delay would be closer to 40 days. A state's death rate or infection rate had a much weaker influence.

"Because mask mandates are far less costly than business closures or stay-at-home orders, when we started to monitor these policies in April, we hoped their adoption would be universal," Adolph said. "Instead, we found the same pattern: Republican governors resisted mandating masks even when public health conditions called for them."

Adolph's research suggests Trump is at least amplifying disdain for masks and, in fact, the phenomenon has been playing out across the country, most strikingly among some of Trump's most ardent supporters -- law enforcement and extremely conservative politicians.

ANTI-MASK SHERIFFS

In Washington state, Florida and even Democratic California, sheriffs made headlines by taking actions in opposition to local masking guidelines.

In Washington's Snohomish County, where the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in the United States, Sheriff Adam Fortney declared in an April Facebook post: "The impacts of COVID 19 no longer warrant the suspension of our constitutional rights."

Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee ordered people to wear masks in public in late June, just as a summer-long rise of infections began. Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza responded by telling a cheering crowd outside a church, "Don't be a sheep." Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer on the radio called Inslee "an idiot" over the order.

In Florida, anti-mask resistance has been especially fierce. Again, sheriffs offered the most startling opposition. One, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, banned masks for his deputies and visitors to the sheriff's department offices, though he later relented on visitors.

Even in solid-blue Los Angeles County, the sheriff's office was reprimanded by the county inspector general because deputies refused to wear masks, in violation of public health orders.

Surprisingly, officials there who support masks were disinclined to push tough enforcement.

"One of the things in all of this is we're not going to enforce or fine our way out of this," L.A.'s top public health official, Dr. Muntu Davis, told reporters recently.

Researchers disagree with Davis and Reynolds, not because education doesn't work, but because it takes a long, sustained effort.

"Developing and deploying health education programs takes time, so in emergencies where rapid compliance is essential for reducing the spread of a novel pathogen, mandates are a critical element," said Adolph.

TICKETS IN TENNESSEE

That's the path officials took in Nashville, Tennessee, though initially officers opted for a more lenient approach than the mayor wanted. They had to be forced to write tickets with a potential fine of $50. The police still mostly have been giving warnings -- thousands on any given weekend -- but they've also written dozens of tickets and made some arrests.

City officials credit the crackdown with curbing COVID-19, even as it ran rampant in rural Tennessee counties where there are no mask mandates. In late September, Nashville's Davidson County had 13.5 cases per 100,000 people, while more than three dozen less populous counties had "red zone" infection rates, with more than 25 cases per 100,000 people.

Amid the conflicting messages, including where enforcement has worked, not everyone is convinced that covering your nose and mouth is something that should rise to the level of police.

"I think they have better things to do than force anybody to wear a mask," said Jennifer Johnson, an X-ray tech in downtown Nashville. "I think it should be at your own risk, but that's just my opinion."

LAWSUITS PLUS WEEKLY PROTESTS IN FLORIDA

Plenty of conservative-leaning citizens and lawmakers agree with her, to the point of suing to block mandates.

In Hillsborough County, Florida, home to Tampa, county commissioners must vote each week to renew a state of emergency that requires masks to be worn in indoor public places.

Jason Kimball, a regular speaker at those meetings opposing the order, grew so angry he started a GoFundMe campaign for a lawsuit. He hit his $5,000 goal in 24 hours.

"You can only do so much as a commission legally, without violating the state constitution and the United States Constitution," Kimball said at a recent meeting.

Rep. Anthony Sabatini, a state lawmaker who has filed 15 similar lawsuits on behalf of others all over the state, took the case. He claims mask ordinances are an overreach by government and a violation of Florida's privacy clause.

"The government has never done this before," Sabatini said. "It's never told people that they have to wear masks everywhere they go all day long, and that's basically what it's come to."

A judge dismissed Sabatini's case in Hillsborough County and several of his other lawsuits have been denied.

Like Kimball and many other mask opponents, Sabatini insists masks don't work, saying anyone can Google it to find out.

Scientists beg to differ, and are distressed political ideology has trumped real data and made it impossible for science to dictate the best responses.

"That's certainly been a source of frustration for those of us who work in public health," said Joe Cavanaugh, who runs the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Iowa's College of Public Health and helped build the modeling distributed to Gov. Reynolds.

WATCHING OTHER COUNTRIES SUCCEED

Dr. Ali Mokdad, a former outbreak scientist at the CDC who works for the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington's School of Medicine, finds it especially painful to watch other countries deal with the pandemic better than the United States.

He traveled the globe to stop outbreaks, and now other countries are using the methods he and his former colleagues at the CDC taught them.

"Why aren't people wearing a mask? For the first time in our history, of humankind, we have a measure that is really very cheap," he said. "You can make it at home yourself from something old you have. It saves lives. It saves the economy."

It is doubly frustrating -- and alarming -- because while mask adoption had been rising over the summer, it's recently begun to slip. The shift caused IHME to adjust upward its model of how many people would get infected and die by Jan. 1 in the United States.

"This change in the last week is due mainly to the decline in masks and the increase in mobility," Mokdad said.

The death rate estimate has since moderated -- projected this week at 372,000.

One place where mask use has declined is Iowa, where Mokdad said only 28% of people say in surveys they are always likely to wear a mask when they go out.

Scientists at the University of Iowa had been using data similar to what IHME uses for its coronavirus models. The state won't let the university make its modeling public, but when some of its data was online, the projection was that Iowa would see more than 1,000 deaths by the end of August if no additional safety steps were taken. As of Tuesday, the state's official toll was 1,328.

By IHME's most recent similar estimates, more than 3,400 Iowans will die by Jan. 1. With a universal mask requirement, some 1,600 could be saved. Nationally, nearly 115,000 lives could be spared.

WINTER IS COMING

Cavanaugh would welcome even a toothless mandate to spare some of those lives. "Just sending that message at the state level is, I think, an important step in emphasizing the importance of it," said the University of Iowa researcher.

Sixteen states still do not have a mandate, all of them led by Republicans.

The especially frightening element to the anti-mask movement is that it can only worsen what scientists already warn is going to be a bad winter.

When it's cold, the virus can survive longer on surfaces, and people are stuck indoors where it can become more concentrated in the aerosolized droplets people exhale.

"We've seen it in our data. We've seen it in other countries," Mokdad said. "It's very strong, and it's going to happen in the U.S., unfortunately."

Back in Florida, Nils Hase will keep wearing his mask.

"I've always believed in the science behind it," Hase said. "It's a virus and we need to be aware of what's going on. People who don't, they're just idiots."

This story is from a reporting partnership that includes Health News Florida, KPCC, Nashville Public Radio, KHN and NPR.

Subscribe to KHN's free Morning Briefing.
Singapore -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/01/2020 -- Singapore provides a fast paced, exciting environment for engineer professionals looking to further their career in some of the world's top engineering companies. With an increase in economic development in recent years, infrastructure investment is a priority for the wellbeing on Singapore's financial markets. This has led to an advanced search for individuals who can keep Singapore in the black and out of the red whilst making significant differences to our day-to-day lives. LVI Associates are helping to solve the number one challenge of talent across Singapore with a dedicated team working behind the scenes to secure fantastic recruitment deals.



LVI Associates have a team of 750+ passionate consultants working around the clock in 11+ office locations worldwide to connect local specialists with a global perspective. The firm offers permanent, contract and multi-hire recruitment solutions to engineering professionals looking to advance their career in Singapore and beyond. LVI Associates pride themselves on being able to provide peace of mind for engineering managers in their talent acquisition search. The firm ensures their consultants receive regular training in the best-in-class recruitment technology to enable fast hiring solutions with optimal results. Consultants at LVI Associates are committed to taking every step of the recruitment process with their candidates from source through to hire. As part of the Phaidon International group, the firm is the preferred recruitment partner for 71 world-leading organisations.



LVI Associates' produce a globally consistent service to ensure their consultants are providing exceptional recruitment solutions for engineers, project managers, directors and originators within the industry. Individuals working with the industry have the benefit of knowing they are making a substantial difference to the everyday lives of those around them through ensuring clean drinking water is accessible to all and that there is consistent electricity access as well as safe housing and usable roads. The firm's consultants are experts in their chosen field which spans a multitude of sectors in the industry from engineering to building services, construction, forensics, renewable energy, transportation and water & environmental. Careers in the industry are hugely varied with immense career growth potential. Job roles currently available include: solar construction manager, geothermal construction manager, wind construction manager, hydro construction manager, roadway project manager and lead superintendent.



Singapore is set to invest US$26 trillion between 2016 to 2030 to ensure the infrastructure industry continues to grow in the same succession as it has done so far this year. Joining the industry as an ambitious engineer will provide a satisfying and fruitful career. The engineering sector has battled many challenges recently, particularly the continuation of projects due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Singapore has powered through and maintained a successful rate of growth which has seen a real difference made to many people across Asia Pacific. LVI Associates' consultants are dedicated to ensuring their candidates and clients find the recruitment solutions provided as rewarding as the infrastructure industry can be for them. Flexible, responsive engineering individuals are the key to securing a bright future for Singapore's economy.



"During uncertain times, LVI Associates offers reassurance. Crises come in many different forms  financial crashes, oil gluts, and now a global pandemic", commented Andrew McNeilis, Managing Director of APAC at LVI Associates. He went on to say, "Yet, whatever the challenge, we remain steadfast in our service. We continue to offer guidance to clients in the engineering and infrastructure sectors and help them secure top talent."



To find out more information about Engineering careers in Singapore visit https://www.lviassociates.sg/.



For any media enquiries please contact Gary Elliott at Iconic Digital  020 7100 0726.



For all other enquiries please contact LVI Associates Singapore: +65 3165 1400.



- For more information about LVI Associates Singapore services, please go to https://www.lviassociates.sg.



- LVI Associates Singapore is the leading specialist recruitment agency for the infrastructure sector. Reimagining recruitment for this fast moving and innovative industry has enabled the firm to bring together the brightest talent and key enterprises to help continue to drive the sector forward.
Brussells: A Belgian artist who has fought a seven-year legal battle to prove that Belgium's former King Albert II is her father secured a literally crowning success in court on Thursday when she officially became a princess.

Belgium's appeals court granted Delphine Boel the title "Princess of Belgium" after the former monarch's DNA test proved that he was her father, Boel's lawyers said in a statement, adding Boel was "fully satisfied" with the ruling.

Artist Delphine Boel will become a royal after a Brussels court ruled in her favour in a decades-old royal paternity scandal pitting her against former King Albert II. Credit:AP

The DNA test revealed in January that Albert II is the biological father of Boel, putting an end to Boel's long-running paternity claim.

Albert, who abdicated six years ago in favour of his son Philippe, had long contested Boel's claim.
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ViaClean Technologies, a biotech company that owns and manufactures BIOPROTECT 500 and BIOPROTECT RTU, groundbreaking antimicrobials, that inhibit the growth of bacteria*, mold, mildew, algae and fungi for up to 90 days, today announced that it has donated their FDA registered BIOPROTECT Hydrating Hand Sanitizer to select Feeding America facilities across the United States. The announcement was made by Greg Tipsord, President and Chief Executive Officer of ViaClean Technologies.

As Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization, faces an unprecedented demand amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic, ViaClean Technologies has offered to donate the company's BIOPROTECT Hydrating Hand Sanitizer for employees and volunteers nationwide to use as their personal hand protection as they work daily in the fight against hunger. In an effort to help mitigate the spread of germs and bacteria among hotspot states that reported a spike in cases, ViaClean Technologies has already donated its hand sanitizer product to a number of facilities throughout the country, including United Food Bank, Yuma Community Food Bank, Feeding The Gulf Coast, Central Texas Food Bank, East Texas Food Bank, and Atlanta Community Food Bank, among others. As ViaClean lives to fulfill its promise to support communities in the fight against COVID-19, the company continues to develop relationships with Feeding America facilities across the nation and plans to donate more product.

"As America pushes through the pandemic, it is not only our duty but our pleasure to support safeguarding and protecting the nation during this critical time," said Mr. Tipsord. "With the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and the increased demand for Feeding America facilities nationwide, ViaClean is truly honored to help."

BIOPROTECT Hydrating Hand Sanitizer by ViaClean Technologies is a water-based, foam hand sanitizer that moisturizes and hydrates your hands as it cleans away surface germs and bacteria, providing up to 6-hours of extended hand protection.

For more information on ViaClean Technologies and the BIOPROTECT Hydrating Hand Sanitizer, please visit www.bioprotect.us.

About ViaClean Technologies

ViaClean Technologies LLC, a biotech company, develops, manufactures and markets groundbreaking, innovative and environmentally responsible solutions that protect surfaces by disinfecting and safeguarding both interior and exterior physical surfaces from microbial contaminants (*odor and stain causing bacteria, fungi and algae). ViaClean Technologies' pioneering and proprietary technologies, products and services provide antibacterial, antimicrobial, disinfectant and advanced odor control solutions for commercial, institutional and consumer use. ViaClean's BIOPROTECTUs System products include BIOPROTECT for textiles, plastics and metal goods. ViaClean is headquartered in Philadelphia with a satellite office in New York. For more information, visit the ViaClean website (www.bioprotect.us).

SOURCE ViaClean Technologies

Related Links

http://www.bioprotect.us


Social justice activists, young voters and members of her partys progressive wing are enthusiastic about Rodgers campaign. But its unknown whether that momentum will propel her to victory over challengers that include an incumbent supported by established community and party leaders and a councilwoman who is backed by neighborhood leaders and moderate voters who feel the protests have caused more harm than good.

Rodgers, however, said she thinks she can convince voters who are unsure about her campaign.

With my progressive message, were trying to reach out to as many people as possible to bring them into the fold and make sure they understand how their lives will benefit from my ideas, she said.

Rodgers, the youngest candidate in the race at 28, has been a Democratic organizer, a former policy director for Gov. Ralph Northam during his term as lieutenant governor and an advocate for Medicaid expansion as a former communications director for Planned Parenthood.

Rodgers said she believes her background in grassroots organizing as well as her commitment to pursuing racial justice, new affordable housing strategies and plans to make public transit free and city services more efficient and accessible will resonate with voters.
On Wednesday, at a rally in Duluth, Minn., Trump had delivered his usual upbeat message. We had the greatest economy in history and we had to close it down because we would have lost millions of lives, he said. Now were opening it up and were doing it at a level like nobodys ever seen before, and its a great thing, and were going to be back in business very soon.
Conservation officials say Alabama will stick with its plan to open three days of recreational snapper fishing this month, but have cautioned anglers to be wary of hazards created by Hurricane Sally.

Hurricanes and other high-water events create all kinds of debris that can be hidden just under the waters surface and scattered at public boat ramps along the coast, said Scott Bannon, director of the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). We encourage boaters to take it slow and be cautious when heading out on the water for these additional days. This could remain a concern over the next few years.

Many coastal marinas and launches suffered damage or obstruction as the Category 2 storm came ashore in Baldwin County on Sept. 16, and a comprehensive accounting of their status is not available. In a post by David Rainer of the ADCNR, an ADCNR official said that most ramps operated by the state had minor damage.

Rainers post also said that Sally might also have shifted offshore reefs from their familiar locations.

The impact of a storm like this goes surprisingly deep, Bob Shipp, professor emeritus at the University of South Alabama Marine Sciences Department, told Rainer. Several studies have been done, and with a major hurricane like this, the impact is well over 100 feet deep. For fisheries, what we have is the ones really impacted are the reef species. Weve been tagging red snapper and triggerfish for years. What we found is they stay put year after year. They dont leave the reef until theres a storm. Then they may show up 50 miles away to another reef. The (fish) movement is usually west to east, but I dont know if that is something we can count on.

Bannon told Rainer theres some concern that because of Hurricane Sallys aftereffects, including the widespread damage to boats, participation in this round of fishing could be light. Bannon said that we want to use all of the quota we have. If the weather is bad or participation is extremely low, we could look at additional days.

The window for private angler recreational red snapper fishing opens at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, and runs until midnight on Monday, Oct. 12. The opening applies to state and federal waters adjacent to Alabama; the limit is two fish per angler with a 16-inch total length minimum.
AUBAGNE, France, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

Combination of businesses will create a premium portfolio for advanced therapies

BIA Separations will be Sartorius Stedim Biotech's center of excellence for purification of cell and gene therapeutics

Sartorius Stedim Biotech, a leading international partner of the biopharmaceutical industry, announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with purification specialist BIA Separations in a transaction totaling 360 million euros of which 240 million euros will be paid in cash and 120 million euros in Sartorius Stedim Biotech shares. Both parties have further agreed on three tranches of earn-out payments based on performance over the next five financial years. The transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory conditions, is expected to close in late 2020, and therefore will have no material impact on Sartorius Stedim Biotech's 2020 results.

BIA Separations develops and manufactures market-leading products for purification and analysis of large biomolecules, such as viruses, plasmids and mRNA, which are used in cell and gene therapies and other advanced therapies. BIA's technology for manufacturing scale purification is already used in production of the first commercialized advanced therapeutics and the company also has a strong presence with such novel drug candidates in the clinical pipeline. "Combining the teams and technologies of Sartorius Stedim Biotech and BIA will create a premium offering for the manufacturing of advanced therapies. The goal of our partnership is to enable such therapeutics to reach more patients faster and we are committed to continue delivering relevant innovations across the entire production chain," commented Joachim Kreuzburg, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO.

Expecting continued very strong double-digit sales growth over the next few years, BIA is forecasted to earn sales revenue of approx. 25 million euros in 2020 at profit margins that will be accretive to the underlying EBITDA margin of the Sartorius Stedim Biotech Group.

Founded in 1998, BIA Separations has invented and commercialized the unique CIM (Convective Interaction Media) monolith chromatography technology. In addition, it offers analytical technologies for process monitoring and optimization. At its headquarters in Ajdovscina, Slovenia, BIA employs a workforce of some 120 people. Following its strong growth, the company is currently more than quadrupling its production capacity, which will be operational in beginning of 2021. Furthermore, the company is significantly expanding its market leading process development services.

Ales Strancar, founder and CEO of BIA Separations, commented: "Partnering with Sartorius Stedim Biotech provides BIA Separations with a global sales and service network which will grow the sale of BIA Separations' products by an order of magnitude in the coming years. I am especially excited that our combined R&D groups will result in one of the strongest development teams in bioprocessing worldwide which will rapidly increase the number of products under development while substantially reducing time to market."

Rene Faber, Member of the Board of Directors of Sartorius Stedim Biotech, said: "We are really excited and very much looking forward to joining forces with BIA's experienced and highly talented team. Together, we will continue to invest into innovation and growth, accelerate the utilization of their superior solutions and provide customers worldwide with offerings that will advance their important work."

William Blair has been acting as financial advisor and Milbank and RPPP as legal advisors to Sartorius. EC Mergers served as financial advisor and Schoenherr Attorneys at Law as legal advisor on the sell-side.

This press release contains forward-looking statements about the future development of the Sartorius Stedim Biotech Group. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Sartorius Stedim Biotech assumes no liability for updating such statements in light of new information or future events. This is a translation of the original French-language press release. Sartorius Stedim Biotech shall not assume any liability for the correctness of this translation. The original French press release is the legally binding version.

A profile of Sartorius Stedim Biotech

Sartorius Stedim Biotech is a leading international partner of the biopharmaceutical industry. As a total solutions provider, the company helps its customers to manufacture biotech medications safely, rapidly and economically. Headquartered in Aubagne, France, Sartorius Stedim Biotech is quoted on the Eurolist of Euronext Paris. With its own manufacturing and R&D sites in Europe, North America and Asia and an international network of sales companies, Sartorius Stedim Biotech has a global reach. The Group has been annually growing by double digits on average and has been regularly expanding its portfolio by acquisitions of complementary technologies. In 2019, the company employed approx. 6,200 people, and earned sales revenue of 1,440.6 million euros.

Contact

Petra Kirchhoff

Head of Corporate Communications

+49 (0)551.308.1686

[email protected]

Follow Sartorius on Twitter @Sartorius_Group and on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Sartorius AG

Related Links

https://www.sartorius.com/en


YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Recruiting jihadists for fighting against Armenians is a tool for escalating the civilizational confrontation with the Christian nations and there are risks that it will have impact also on Europe. ARMENPRESS reports Vincenzo Sofo, Member of the European Parliament, said in his statement over the Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia.

Following the Azerbaijani military aggression against the Armenian people I, together with my colleague Rinaldi applied to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for making efforts to avoid destabilization in Caucasus. Obviously, those actions will have negative impact for Europe for two reasons

- Recruiting jihadists for supporting Azerbaijan is a tool for escalating the civilizational confrontation with Christian nations and there are risks that it will have an impact also on our region

- Turkish dominance in the construction region of the southern gas corridor will allow Erdogan to blackmail us in the future not only using the factor of migrants but also the energy corridor, reads the statement.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
The Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila, has assured the nation that the commission is now better positioned to contribute more meaningfully towards the generation of employment for our teeming youth and funding of developmental projects of the federal government.

Mr Gabajabiamila, in his Independence Message to the stakeholders in the lottery business, disclosed that the commission was fully in sync with the efforts of the federal government in fighting poverty and unemployment in the country and that it would do all within its power to create avenues for generation of wealth and employment opportunities for Nigerians.

The Director General stated that the commission had already put machinery and policies in place that were steadily effectuating enhanced revenue generation and remittance of funds to the coffers of the government.

Not only that, the NLRC helmsman said that the commission has also become more dexterous and innovative in its activities and programmes with superior capacity for developing profound games that would automatically translate to greater prosperity and more jobs for the Nigerian youths.

He said that the commission under his leadership was totally committed to the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari in making life easier for the people, stressing that aftermath of the break out of the COVID 19, the commission has dedicated more time and resources to creativity and innovation in order to improve on its activities.

Mr Gbajabiamila disclosed that a new technology driven game, Naija National Game, to be launched very soon was the outcome of out of the box innovative engagements of the commission adding that the National Game alone was capable of turning things around for the commission and in the lottery business generally.

The Director General appealed to the operators of the lottery business to always abide by the rules and regulations of the commission, maintaining that the commission would spare no operator found guilty of any misconduct or any act of criminality.

At 60, he said that the lottery business in Nigeria has been taken to a higher plane compared to the level he met it when he assumed office about three years ago, assuring that with the level of support and cooperation the commission was getting from the supervising minister and its governing council, the National Lottery Regulatory Commission would soon become a major source of revenue for Nigeria.

While pledging the total commitment of the leadership of the commission to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Gbajabiamila thanked the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Minister of Special Duties, George Akume and the Governing Council of the commission under the chairmanship of Fatai Ibikunle for their unflinching supports.

According to him, all the accomplishments of the commission, including the new innovative Naija National Game were made possible through the exceptional support of the supervising minister and the effective governance of the board over the NLRC.
Kathmandu: Nepal's Civil Aviation Ministry has sent a proposal to resume flights to and from India from October 17, confirmed an official from Nepal's COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC).

Nepal had earlier blocked all flights to and from India from March after the imposition of a nationwide lockdown in the Himalayan nation, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nepal's Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has proposed to open its air connection with India again after a period of seven months, with adherence to a health protocol, confirmed Joint Secretary of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ministry Kamal Prasad Bhattarai with ANI.

"We have proposed resumption of flights from October 17, the proposal has been sent to the CCMC for consideration but we are yet to receive any response. Once they decide over the date we can further sort out the number of flights and permits to be issued," Bhattarai said in a telephonic conversation.

Once the proposal is approved by the CCMC, it will be sent to the cabinet meeting for the final decision over the reopening of flights. In addition to the proposal, the Ministry has also sent a health protocol, that would be similar for all the passengers arriving in Nepal via the airways.

"The CCMC or the cabinet might also draft a new protocol but as of now, we have proposed the existing protocol, which would also be applicable for people who are arriving from different nations," added Bhattarai.

According to the existing protocol, a mandatory RT-PCR negative report for COVID-19, not exceeding 72 hours from the time of boarding the plane, would be required. Airlines would not be allowed to bring passengers who do not have a RT-PCR report and those with the report in same flight.

Nepali citizens who are arriving from India would be required to place themselves in home quarantine for 14 days, while foreigners would be required to stay in seven days quarantine in the hotel.

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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In The Tower of Nero, the fifth and final book in the Trials of Apollo series, Rick Riordan brings his epic saga, which began in 2005 with The Lightning Thief, to a conclusionat least for now. Apollotrapped in the form of a teenage boy and mostly bereft of his godly powersmust face off against the greatest evils of the Roman Empire in order to save the world. With 549 weeks and counting on the New York Times bestseller list, Percy Jackson and the Olympians has proven massively popular over the last 15 years. We spoke with Riordan about the end of this journey, and what to expect next.

After 15 books and assorted related projects, youre apparently wrapping up the Percyverse. Is The Tower of Nero really the final chapter for our heroes?

Well, its the last book of the last series. I dont anticipate doing any more epic five-book series. Ive pretty much gone that route and done what I wanted to. Im not closing the door on telling smaller stories or one-off novels, but I dont see any more grand adventures. Honestly, Ive done Greek and Roman mythology pretty thoroughly. There arent a whole lot of corners I havent dusted out looking for new and interesting monsters and villains.

My operating strategy from the beginning was to not hold back, to make every book as much of a thrill ride as I can. The fact that Ive been able to get 15 books out of this tells you a lot about how deep Greek and Roman mythology is, and how much there is to it. But the ending of Tower of Nero leaves things in a pretty solid place. You get a good sense of where all the characters youve met in the last 15 books are going and how their lives are unfolding. I dont want to seal everyones fate forever; Im a big nonbeliever in epilogues, and I want to leave a little room for the readers to imagine what happens next.

So you chose to end things with Percy finally heading off to college as a symbolic moment?

He gets to road trip off into the sunset and into a brand-new chapter of his life, yes. It was time to finally, after all these years, let him turn 18 and become an adult. He may have more adventures, but hes in a good place and living his life.

How does it feel to end things after so much has happened?

It feels really good. Its bittersweet, of course, because Ive been living with these characters for so long and have watched them grow up in tandem with my own children. But my own are 26 and 21, and have gone through the college experience, and now its Percys turn. This has been such a huge part of my life for so long, and the characters really are like family members. But I feel lucky and fortunate that Ive gotten the chance to do this and that so many readers have followed the story. Its a lot to ask readers to stick with a story for 15 books, but they have. Its been a pretty incredible ride.

You started writing Percy Jackson for your son, right?

Thats right. My older son, Haley, has ADHD and dyslexia, and was the impetus for Percy Jackson when he was eight or nine years old. I started telling him a bedtime story, and everything came from that. He needed a story that would tell him that it was okay, that seeing the world differently, processing information differently is okay, and can be a sign of strength. And my son just got his masters degree in higher education with a certificate in learning disabilities. He took that whole life experience and turned it around, and now wants to help other kids.

How else have things changed over the past 15 years for you? Has your process evolved at all?

Its easier to say what hasnt changed. When I started, I was a middle school teacher, and my wife was at home with the kids. We were just struggling to get by. After Percy took off, it became a whole different thing. The success didnt happen overnight; after about five years we looked back and said Whoa, whats happened here? But its been an incredible ride. Ive learned more about myself as a writer. Writing books never gets easy. Im on book 31, and its still hard. Ive learned that outlining really makes a difference. And its good for me to mix things up a bit. For instance, Percy was a first-person narrator, while I told The Heroes of Olympus from seven different third-person points of view. And then for The Trials of Apollo, I went with a first-person narrator again, but instead of a 12-year-old boy, its a 4,000-year-old god, whos totally full of himself.

And of course I try to write like I taught in the classroom. I try to educate without making it seem like Im lecturing, to make it fun and relevant, so kids will enjoy it without realizing theyre learning along the way. They learn mythology and folklore in a way thats easy to relate to.

Youve written several other series that stand alone but share the same world. Do you consider the Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase series to be part of the Percyverse?

It depends on how you look at it. From an intellectual property point of view, my lawyers would love for me to say theyre separate. From a narrative point of view, there have been crossovers. The Kanes have met Percy and Annabeth in a series of short stories. Magnus is Annabeths cousin and so Percy and Annabeth have both made cameos in that series. They exist in the same universe, but theres room for a lot of mythologies in the same world. There always have been. The Romans and Greeks certainly understood that the Egyptians had a completely separate pantheon, and so did the Celts and the Persians. It wasnt a contest between them. The truth depended on where you were, and there was a lot of overlap.

Youve mentioned that one of your potential upcoming projects is Celtic-related, and you recently pursued a masters degree in Gaelic literature. What can you tell us about that?

One of the most interesting mythologies I havent yet explored, that I feel I could do so with a certain degree of authenticity, is Celtic. Its my own ancestral heritage, and its fascinating stuff. Its really quite different and hard to quantify the mythology from its beginnings simply because the Druids didnt write anything down. Were left to rely upon archaeology and accounts from outsiders like the Greeks and Romans, or much later medieval accounts. So it was a great treat to get my masters degree with the University College in Cork. They were fantastic. I did my thesis on the god Lugh and the Tuatha De Danann. I havent decided exactly what I want to do yet, but I have more ideas than I can possibly use. Itll probably be a standalone story, until we see how its received and how I feel about it. I dont anticipate another big epic series quite yet. I dont even know if I want to do modern-day or something set in ancient times.

When asked about the possibility of telling stories from cultures whose identity you didnt share, you partnered with Disney to create the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. What can you tell us about that?

The Rick Riordan Presents imprint has been the most amazing, rewarding experience, with so many fantastic authors and stories. I love to talk about books I enjoy, and this gives me a chance to do that, and share them with a huge audience. I feel comfortable saying that if you like my books, if you like that blend of humor and action and folklore and mythology, youll love these authors too. I feel that its so much better to let people tell their own stories. For instance, I love Chinese mythology, but Im by no means an expert. Theyre not the stories I grew up with. So its better to find an author whos from that background and knows that perspective and is really integrated into those stories, and have them take on their own traditions and heritage. And weve gotten amazing support for the imprint from just about everybody, and so its succeeded beyond my wildest expectations. At this point, these authors are like a found family, and a fabulous group to work with.

As the Percyverse developed, youve introduced a number of LGBTQ characters, despite critics who claim middle grade is no place for this sort of identity exploration. What are your thoughts on this?

Whenever Im writing, I try to think of my own students and what theyd want to read, whats important and relevant to them. No matter who you are, middle school is a very tough time. Its all about identity exploration, whatever that means for each individual. Youre trying to figure out who you are, where you stand with family, with friends, with authority figures. Youre changing physically, emotionally, developmentallytheres no way youre not changing when in middle school. If thats not a perfect time to talk about exploring identity, I dont know when it is. Its a critical time we need to acknowledge for all kids. The best message we can give them is that youre not alone. Youre seen and supported no matter what youre going through. To pretend that a huge cross section of our kids doesnt exist, that doesnt serve anybody.

New live action adaptations for Percy Jackson and the Kane Chronicles have been announced. Can you share anything about these?

Its kind of funny. Id decided last October to go into a semi-retirement. Id just finished my masters degree, and was planning to go for my doctorate in Celtic studies. Id been accepted to the Ph.D program at Harvard, and was ready to spend the next six years as a student while the writing took second place. And Hollywood called. Thered been changes in the companies who owned the rights to the properties, and there were new openings for things to happen. Last time, my wife, Becky, and I, had a very poor experience. We werent involved, we werent consulted or listened to. It left a bitter taste in our mouths. A year ago, if youd asked me if Id ever work with Hollywood again, Id have laughed at you. But we thought about it, and I decided to bite the bullet. I felt I owed it to my fans to give it another shot, after the way the feature films disappointed everyone. I declined my admission to Harvard, and instead of learning ancient Celtic languages, I started learning the language of Hollywood. This time, were fully involved, every step of the way, as full producers on the Percy Jackson television series on Disney+, and for the Kane Chronicles movies on Netflix. Im guardedly optimistic that well see some high-quality adaptations out of this.

What else are you working on?

Currently, Im working on the stuff for Hollywood, like the pilot episode for the Percy Jackson series. Thats taking most of my bandwidth. I have a good team helping me, but adapting for television is still difficult. I have a few other irons in the fire, like four standalone novels Im tinkering with simultaneously, but nothing I can really speak of. Well see what comes of it eventually.

The Tower of Nero (Trials of Apollo, Book Five) by Rick Riordan. Disney-Hyperion, $19.99 Oct. 6 ISBN 978-1-4847-4645-5
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While CNBC reports that since the President is 74 years of age and overweight, he is at "high at risk for adverse effects from the disease," former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says that the President and his wife "... all have a good chance of doing well. was previously in good health by all reports and will get excellent care." This, coupled with new reports that he is experiencing mild symptoms, sounds like a reason for cautious optimism for recovery.

But what happens in the event he can no longer continue his presidential duties due to his illness? The President's diagnosis poses a new question regarding the often-overlooked third section of the 25th Amendment. So what exactly does this amendment do? "Under the 25th Amendment, a medically incapacitated president has the option of temporarily transferring power to the vice president and can reclaim his authority whenever he deems himself fit for duty," The New York Times reported earlier today.

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Although seemingly extreme, it turns out this has happened several times before, mainly during everyone's favorite decennial (or more like decenni-anal) event -- colonoscopies. Believe it or not, sometimes shoving tiny cameras up one's ass for an often life-saving procedure is enough to shift the entire power balance in Washington.

Since the amendment was ratified in 1967 after JFK's assassination earlier in the decade sparked concerns about Presidential succession, it has been used a whopping three times, each involving a presidential colon, according to Business Insider (in a fact that gives a new meaning to the term "insider"). The first was on July 13, 1985, when President Regan gave then-Vice President George H.W. Bush his first taste of oval office life, telling him to perform his duties for approximately eight hours as he underwent surgery to "remove cancerous polyps from his colon."

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The second and third instances also involved Bush -- this time, Dubya. During his tenure as POTUS, he handed off his power to Vice President Dick Cheney twice, once in 2002 and again in 2007, both for routine colonoscopies. I'm sure that total time of 4 hours and 20 minutes (I kid you not) where Dick was technically President were the best of his life. Moral of the story? Wear a goddamn mask and get your goddamn colonoscopies -- even if it means temporarily giving up your presidential power.

For more bad puns, you can follow Carly on Instagram @HuntressThompson and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.
The nation has been left shell-shocked for the past couple of days after a series of brutal sexual assaults were reported.

Even before the anger and protest over the gang-rape and the subsequent death of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras subsided, three more heinous crimes against women have surfaced, two in Uttar Pradesh and one in Madhya Pradesh.

reuters

For the past few days, social media have been full of calls for hanging, public execution, encounter killing, mob lynching, and other ways to kill the four rapists to give justice for the victim.

Vociferous calls for capital punishment

This includes ordinary people and some celebrities, who feel that setting an example will deter others from committing such crimes in the future.

But if history is anything to go by, it is clear that fear of law or other repercussions is the last thing on the mind of people committing such acts.

BCCL

December 2012 saw arguably the biggest of its kind protest in India following the brutal gang rape and death of a 23-year-old paramedical student on a moving bus in the national capital.

Thousands protesting

As thousands of young people hit the streets demanding justice for the victim, the then government tried the case in a fast track court and found four of the six accused guilty and sentenced them to death. One of the accused had died in jail, allegedly due to suicide, while another was tried as a juvenile as he was just a few months short of turning 18, at the time of the crime.

AP

The lenient punishment for the minor resulted in further protests and the law was later amended to allow minors to the tried as adults based on the nature of the crime.

While this was happening, the four men who were sentenced to death were making a mockery of the system, filing appeals after appeals at various court.

The family which lost their daughter went from one court to another for seven long years until finally the four men were hanged in May 2020.

The death penalty, which is awarded only in rarest of rare cases in India, has always been a controversial topic.

AFP

Those in favour of it says the death penalty will help in reducing such crimes in the future, but others say the threat of death will only harm the victim as the criminals will try to kill them to prevent identification.

Rise in rape cases

There has been an increasing number of rape and murders in the country, especially after the POCSO (Amendment) Act, 2019 which proscribed the death penalty for aggravated sexual assaults on children below the age of 16.

December 2019 saw another dramatic incident, which many believe was an act by the police to satisfy the collective consciousness of the public.

On November 27, a 26-year-old veterinary doctor was gang-raped and murdered by four men in Hyderabad.

The accused were arrested the next day and on December 6, they were shot dead by police in what they claim was an encounter.

REUTERS

The police said that they had taken the accused to the crime scene to reenact the events when one of them allegedly tied to snatch the gun from an officer and tried to flee, resulting in the fire exchange that killed them.

Despite the police narrative being riddled with inaccuracies, the encounter was 'celebrated' by a large section, and it even became a demand by the kin of other rape victims.

The family of the Unnao rape victim who was set ablaze by her rapists had in fact demanded that the accused in the case should be killed in an encounter.

BCCL

Even in Hathras, there is an increasing demand for the four accused to be killed in an encounter.

This is especially worrisome, given the track record of the UP Police when it comes to encounter killings.

Rise in police encounters in UP

Ever since Yogi Adityanath took office as the Chief Minister, there has been a number of encounters, where police shot dead many wanted criminals, which many allege were fake encounters and that those deaths were extra-judicial killings.

The most high-profile of them is the death of Vikas Dubey, a Kanpur gangster who was behind the killing of eight policemen.

Dubey who was on the run since the murders had surrendered to the police at the Mahalak Temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.

afp

Dubey was being brought to UP via road when the vehicle carrying him allegedly met with an accident and the gangster tried to escape after attacking the police, who shot him dead in an encounter.

Just last week, Feroz Ali, a gangster from Uttar Pradesh who was being brought back to the state from Mumbai was killed in a road accident when the police car he was travelling in overturned in Guna district.

While encounters or executions may satisfy the crowds or make the families of the victims feel they have got justice such acts have not helped in reducing crimes.
(Natural News) Things are going exceptionally poorly for the four major drug companies rushing to be the first to introduce a vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (covid-19). Trial participants are reportedly coming down with all sorts of bizarre side effects that, quite honestly, sound far worse than what the virus itself could ever do to most people.

Luke Hutchison, a 44-year-old computational biologist from Utah, is one such participant who, after receiving a booster dose of Modernas controversial mRNA vaccine, developed a fever of over 101, along with shakes, chills, a pounding headache and shortness of breath. He also experienced severe pain in his arm where the injection was given, describing it as feeling like a goose egg on my shoulder.

Twelve hours later, Hutchison says he felt mostly back to normal, but described his horrific experience in a tweet as being full on Covid-like symptoms  meaning the jab caused just as much, if not more, harm than the Wuhan coronavirus (covid-19) itself would have in the event that Hutchison contracted it naturally.

Participants in Pfizers trials are reporting similar side effects, high fever, severe exhaustion and bad headaches being among the most common. In one case, a person who took Pfizers vaccine candidate woke up with chills so severe that he cracked a tooth while his teeth were chattering uncontrollably.

In another trial, an individual woke up with a fever of 104 degrees, which is dangerously high and possibly life-threatening. Others said the jab left their arms feeling like they had just gotten a tetanus shot, with lingering pain that persists for days on end.

If this proves to work, people are going to have to toughen up, one participant stated, noting that youre not going to be lifting weights or working out after getting vaccinated.

The first dose is no big deal, she added. And then the second dose will definitely put you down for the day for sure  You will need to take a day off after the second dose.

Amazingly, all five of the participants who experienced these and other nasty side effects, and who were interviewed, stated that despite the horrors endured, they still believe it was worth it to protect themselves against the Wuhan coronavirus (covid-19).

More news like this can be found at Pandemic.news.

Most Americans distrust covid-19 vaccines

And to think that all of this is taking place in response to an alleged pandemic that is, quite frankly, already over, according to a former executive at Pfizer who says that the only second wave to strike will be the one based on false positives and phony data.

Even so, some people continue to line right up to get jabbed, believing that by doing so they are protecting themselves and others from a dreaded contagion that is barely affecting anyone, except for those whose lives and livelihoods are being destroyed by having their businesses shut down and their social lives decimated due to continued restrictions.

The good news is that nearly half of all Americans are questioning the safety of such vaccines, and will more than likely not take any of them once they become available. This has led the drug industry to scramble for a public relations solution to quell their fears and encourage them to stand with science.

Im hearing from people who say they want other people to test it (the vaccine) first, stated Kolina Koltai, a vaccine researcher from the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington.

In Koltais view, President Trumps use of the word speed to describe the vaccine development process is not going over so well with many people, and has caused a lot of uncertainty.

Sources for this article include:

CNBC.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Three brothers from Dublin who had been drinking heavily became involved in a fight amongst themselves at their accommodation in Dromod and had to be removed by Gardai.

Appearing before Carrick-on-Shannon District Court were Thomas O'Donnell, 5 St Philomena's Park, Ballycoolin Road, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, and Francis O'Donnell, 6 Meakstown Close, St Margaret's Road, Finglas, Dublin 11, both on a plea of guilty to criminal damage on January 23, 2020 at The Copper Still, Dromod, Co Leitrim.

Brian O'Donnell, 6 St Philomena's Park, Ballycoolin Road, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 pleaded guilty to the same offence and to being intoxicated in public and engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour on the same occasion.

He further pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the directions of a garda at Wine Street, Sligo on November 10, 2019.

Sgt Michael Gallagher outlined the facts to the court. He said that on January 23 last, Gardai were contacted by the owner of The Copper Still in Dromod who had difficulty with three occupants in a room upstairs. They were fighting amongst themselves in the room and considerable damage was caused.

In dealing with the matter the Gardai arrested all three defendants and they became confrontational, with Brian O'Donnell telling the Gardai to f*** off and the owner, Derek Hunt, that he would be back to sort him out in the future.

The Sligo issue related to difficulties security personnel at The Glasshouse Hotel had with Brian O'Donnell who refused to comply with the directions of a garda.

The court heard the three men had numerous convictions for a variety of offences over the years.

Gerry McGovern, solicitor, said Brian O'Donnell is 29 years-old and is married with six children. He has a drink problem and is on medication for depression and drinking does not mix well with it.

He said the three men had been drinking in the premises but the difficulty was at closing time when they went upstairs to their room.

Mr McGovern said there was an argument in the room but things calmed down. However it flared up again and the Gardai attended and brought the men to Carrick-on-Shannon Garda Station. He said that once they were taken away by the Gardai there were no more difficulties.

He said they had too much to drink and all three have addiction problems.

Mr McGovern said there was 1,500 in court to pay for the damage caused and he asked the judge not to send them to prison. He said the men did not want to see Leitrim or Sligo again.

Judge Kevin Kilrane said he would differentiate Brian O'Donnell from the others as he has numerous previous very serious convictions.

This is a man who has six children, the youngest of whom is four months, and he is drinking down in Dromod to the point that he is out of his mind on drink and perhaps others substances, he said.

He convicted and sentenced him to four months in prison for the Sligo offence and four months for the criminal damage offence in Dromod, concurrent. He further convicted and sentenced him to two months in prison for the public order offence in Dromod, consecutive to the expiry of the previous four months. He was also convicted of intoxication in public and it was taken into consideration.

Recognisances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

In respect of the other two defendants, Judge Kilrane ordered that 500 each be paid over to the owner, Derek Hunt, from monies in court.

He sentenced Francis O'Donnell to three months in prison for criminal damage and two months concurrent for the public order offence, suspended for two years.

Judge Kilrane made a similar order in respect of Thomas O'Donnell, sentencing him to three months for criminal damage, suspended for two years.
Route Mobile, a cloud communications service provider, has completed the acquisition of intellectual property and its associated contracts from TeleDNA for over Rs 12 crore.

Route Mobile, which was listed on the BSE last month, said it had entered into a business transfer agreement (BTA) with TeleDNA Communications in June for acquisition of intellectual property and its associated identified customer contracts on a slump sale basis.

"The company (Route Mobile) has subsequently signed an amendment agreement to the BTA on October 1, 2020, and has completed the acquisition," Route Mobile said in a regulatory filing on Thursday night.

Bengaluru-based TeleDNA specialises in the development of telecom-related solutions like MMSC (Multimedia Messaging Service Center), SMSC (Short Message Service Center) platforms, SMS HUB and SMS firewall.

The filing said the lumpsum purchase consideration for the transaction is Rs 12 crore plus taxes.

"The present acquisition largely constitutes acquisition of the intellectual property and its related customer contracts...no equity shares are purchased," it added.

One of the group companies of Route Mobile, 365squared Ltd (step-down wholly-owned subsidiary), is an existing customer of TeleDNA, the filing noted.

"After the success of our IPO (initial public offering), we plan to be in line with our vision of inorganic growth. We believe this strategic acquisition will augur really well for Route Mobile group and for 365squared Ltd in particular," Route Mobile CEO and MD Rajdipkumar Gupta said in a filing on Friday.

He added that the acquisition will enable the company to offer a deeper and comprehensive portfolio of products to telecom operators, and drive a strong momentum.
The Milan Court of Appeals did not consider the issue of attaching a package of expert opinions in the case of Ukraines National Guard member Vitaliy Markiv that could prove his innocence. At the same time, the court ordered to carry out an additional expert investigation.

"The Court has not yet considered the issue of attaching package of expert opinions, prepared by lawyers, which can prove the innocence of the Ukrainian National Guard serviceman," Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov said after the court hearing, Ministrys Spokesperson Iaroslav Trakalo posted on Facebook.

Instead, according to Avakov, the prosecution is trying to attach to the case files a phrase "killed a journalist" taken out of context, recorded during Markiv's interrogation in a pre-trial detention center, which the prosecution is trying to interpret as "I killed."

As noted, the court ruled to investigate this circumstance in the case, by re-translating the records to determine the exact meaning of the phrase.

"Lawyers from our side filed their motion, an additional examination was ruled to be carried out. The prosecution is trying to interpret Markiv's indirect words said during interrogation in prison. [The prosecution] tries to interpret that [Markiv] allegedly said I killed, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs quoted Avakov as saying.

According to Avakov, the Ukrainian side handed over the entire package of expert opinions to the court.

The minister said that law enforcement officers conducted an experiment back when Italian photographer Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian interpreter Andrei Mironov were killed.

"We insist that a machine gun cannot be used at 1,500 m and kill someone with aimed fire at the same time. Both Rocchelli and Mironov were not at a line of sight. We also want to attach the recordings, where the shooting which took place 200m away and not from the side of Mount Karachun, can be seen and heard, Avakov said.

At the same time, according to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, law enforcement officers found a note in Mironov's pocket which revealed his correspondence with so-called press secretary of "people's mayor" of Slovyansk, Stella Khorosheva.

"They arranged a meeting with Girkin. Therefore, we suppose that might have been a provocation: to send foreigners under fire and then ascribe blame to Ukraine," Avakov noted.

He also stressed that the Italian side was officially invited to come to the scene, but no one ever came. "In my opinion, this violates the right of defense, and the judgment of the court of the first instance was emotional," Avakov said.

The Minister also informed that the relatives of the deceased Mironov had held a press conference on Wednesday, and, according to Avakov, they were dissatisfied with Markiv's sentence and considered it invalid.

The next hearings of the Milan Court of Appeals are scheduled for October 15 and 23.

As reported, the first appeal hearing in the case of Ukraines National Guard member Vitaliy Markiv, sentenced to 24 years in prison for alleged involvement in the murder of Italian photographer Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian interpreter Andrei Mironov in Donbas in May 2014, ended in the Milan Court of Appeals on September 29.

During the hearing, the Court considered the issue of attaching additional evidence of Markiv's innocence to the case files.

In particular, the presented evidence included a part of The Wrong Place documentary made by Italians Cristiano Tinazzi, Ruben Lagattolla, Danilo Elia, and Ukrainian Olha Tokariuk.

In the summer of 2017, Ukraines National Guard member Vitaliy Markiv was detained in Italy on charges of alleged involvement in the murder of Italian photographer Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian interpreter Andrei Mironov. They died as a result of a mortar shelling at the foot of the Karachun Mountain near Slovyansk town on May 24, 2014. At that time, the territory in Donetsk region was controlled by the militants.

On July 12, a court in the Italian town of Pavia sentenced Ukraines National Guard member Vitaliy Markiv to 24 years in prison.

Photo credit: Iaroslav Trakalo (Facebook), Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine

ol
A German court sentenced the wife of rapper-turned-jihadist to three and a half years in prison for having taken part in the enslavement of a Yazidi girl in Syria.

Named by the court as Omaima A., 36, the German-Tunisian woman was found guilty of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) group by a regional court in Hamburg.

The judges also found her in violation of her duty as a mother by taking her three small children to a war zone, and of a war weapons control act for use of a Kalashnikov rifle.

Early in 2015, the woman and her three children joined her first husband in IS-controlled areas in Syria.

After his death, she married a notorious Berlin gangster rapper who had joined the ranks of the jihadist group.

The rapper Denis Cuspert, better known under his pseudonym Deso Dogg, had joined IS in 2014. According to media reports, he was killed during an air attack in 2018 in Syria.

The judges found the defendant to be complicit in the enslavement of a 13-year-old girl from the Yazidi minority community.

In the trial, Omaima A. said that she made a serious mistake five years ago, public broadcaster NDR reported, when she joined her first husband in Raqqa, then the capital of IS in Syria.

She claimed that the Yazidi girl was a guest in their house.

I apologise to her for not having been able to help her, the woman said.

But the public prosecutors office said that she had never truly broken with the jihadist organisation.

Her lawyer argued that she had been content to maintain the home and look after her children without supporting the militant actions of her two husbands.

Two other trials are being held in Germany in connection with abuses committed against the Yazidis.

A German woman has been in the dock since April 2019 for war crimes and murder, accused of having left a five-year-old Yazidi girl dying of thirst in Iraq.

Linked to the same crime, an Iraqi man has been on trial since last April in Frankfurt for murder and genocide, reportedly unprecedented against a member of IS.

The Islamic State group committed atrocities against the Yazidis in 2014 that are being investigated by the UN to determine whether they can be qualified as genocide.
ALAMEDA, Calif., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Magnetic Insight, Inc., the leader in magnetic particle imaging (MPI) solutions, is pleased to announce it was awarded a Fast-Track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The project, "Color MPI as a Novel Method for in vivo Assessment of Magnetic Nanoparticle Dynamics and Binding," proposes a new imaging method called "Color MPI (c-MPI)," which can add new image contrast to MPI images. Principal Investigators Patrick Goodwill, Chief Technology Officer, Magnetic Insight, and Steven Conolly, Professor of Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering at the University of California Berkeley, spearhead this research alongside a team of engineers, application scientists, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows.

Current biomedical imaging methods are indispensable for diagnosing high-mortality diseases like Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke. For decades, researchers have attempted to improve the contrast of these imaging methods by injecting two-component molecular imaging tracers: an invisible, physiologically specific targeting agent (peptide, antibody, etc) attached to a visible reporter. A stubborn challenge that reduces the sensitivity and specificity of these methods is that unbound reporters greatly outnumber bound reporters, often by 100-fold, effectively obscuring the pathophysiology. It would be a major advance in medical molecular imaging if bound and unbound reporters could be separated in the image, as contrast would improve dramatically. However, current imaging modalities cannot distinguish bound from unbound tracers.

In this grant, we develop a new imaging method, called Color MPI, which is capable of distinguishing between bound and unbound tracers that bind specifically to diseased tissue. The work builds on top of MPI, which is a revolutionary, noninvasive, and exquisitely sensitive imaging method that shows outstanding promise for biomedical imaging. The unique physics of MPI allows enables detection of bound and from unbound nanoparticles.

"With this grant, we aim to develop and then incorporate c-MPI into our commercial pre-clinical imager to enable our customers to explore the limits of the technique," said Goodwill. "I'm looking forward to advancing and expanding the capabilities of MPI."

Research reported in this press release was supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health under award number R44EB029877. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About Magnetic Insight 

Magnetic Insight is an early stage diagnostic imaging company accelerating preclinical research with direct translation into the clinic. Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is an ultrasensitive, safe, and quantitative technology built on high-contrast detection of iron-oxide nanoparticles. MPI provides faster, safer, and more accurate detection of cells, blood perfusion, and targeted biological events. Meet us: www.magneticinsight.com

CONTACT:

Colleen Sullivan, Marketing Assistant

510-291-1200

[email protected]

SOURCE Magnetic Insight, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.magneticinsight.com


Hillsong Church apologizes for tweet calling President Trump a bully during debate

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Hillsong Church apologized late Tuesday night for a post on its Twitter account that called President Donald Trump a bully and suggested his microphone be cut during the first presidential debate.

Cant they just mute Trumps microphone!! Hes coming across as such a bully. No respect for him sorry. #PresidentialDebate2020, said the since deleted tweet that criticized the president nearly an hour into Tuesday's debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Despite the deletion of the tweet, a screenshot of the post quickly became viral on social media and drew concern from people like Greg Locke, popular internet personality and leader of the Global Vision Bible Church in Tennessee.

Dear @Hillsong, that was deleted very quickly. Careful. I sat beside @brianhoustontv at the RNC acceptance speech at the White House. Your boss secretly likes Trump, Locke cautioned on Twitter at about 11:00 p.m., referring to Hillsong founder Brian Houston.

Dear @Hillsong, that was deleted very quickly. Careful. I sat beside @brianhoustontv at the RNC acceptance speech at the White House. Your boss secretly likes Trump. pic.twitter.com/nfVGkLU4ge  Pastor Greg Locke (@pastorlocke) September 30, 2020

About nine minutes later, the international evangelical church posted its apology.

Earlier today a staff member accidentally posted on this account personal comments about the US presidential debate that were meant for a personal account. Hillsong does not comment on partisan politics & apologizes. These comments do not represent the views of Hillsong Church, the church said.

Last December, during a visit to the White House, Houston, whose church spans more than 150,000 members in 23 countries, explained how honored he was to pray for President Trump.

Its a great honor, of course, to have had the chance to go into the cabinet room, even into the Oval Office and pray for the president of the United States of America, he said in a post on Instagram. To me, its not about the politics, its about the position, and a significant man like the president of the US can use all the prayer we can possibly give him.

Many voters were turned off by the 90-minute face-off between Trump and Biden, which was the first of three scheduled debates ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. The event saw both candidates frequently interrupting each other. Biden at one point told the president, Will you shut up, man?

Veteran Republican pollster Frank Luntz told CNBC on Wednesday that participants in his focus group were disappointed with what they saw in the first debate.

I have never had a session blow up where the participants were disappointed on both sides, where everyone was embarrassed and everyone was upset about what had happened, Luntz said.

They felt like they didnt get the policy they were looking for, such as on economic issues, Luntz, who had more than a dozen participants in his debate focus group, explained. They felt like the candidates behaved as though they didnt deserve to be president. It actually makes them less likely to vote for any candidate.

Some political analysts like NPRs Domenico Montanaro declared in an op-ed Wednesday that this was maybe the worst presidential debate in American history.
New Delhi, Oct 2 : The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday appealed to the people living in the National Capital Region (NCR) not to throw eatables or waste in the open as these would pose a bird-hit threat to IAF aircraft manoeuvres at low levels on October 8.

The IAF will celebrate its 88th anniversary on October 8, which includes an air display of various aircraft at the parade-cum-investiture ceremony slated to be held at the Hindan Air Force Station in Ghaziabad.

The force said that rehearsals for the air display started from Thursday itself.

It emphasised that the general area over which the aircraft will fly at low levels are Wazirpur bridge, Karwalnagar, Afjalpur, Hindan, Shamli, Jiwana, Chandinagar, Hapur, Philkua, and Ghaziabad.

The force requested the people of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida to ensure that they don't throw eatables in the open.

"The Indian Air Force requests all residents of Delhi, Ghaziabad and its neighbourhood not to throw eatables and garbage in the open as these attract birds. Also, if they find any carcass/dead animals lying in the open, they must report this matter to the nearest air force unit/police station to arrange for its disposal," Wing Commander Indranil Nandi said.

This year, the air display will commence with flag-bearing skydivers of the famous 'Akash Ganga' team dropping out of an AN-32 aircraft in their colourful canopies at 8 am on October 8.

The flypast would include the vintage aircraft, modern transport aircraft and frontline fighter aircraft. The ceremony will conclude at 10.52 am with a spellbinding aerobatic display.

The force has been making such appeals to the public since 1989. On October 8, 1989, a Mirage 2000 fighter jet had crashed and exploded during a final acrobatic manoeuvre on IAF Day, killing the pilot who had attempted an extra roll.

The pilot, Commander Ramesh Bakshi, the 39-year-old commander of the Mirage squadron, was killed instantly though no one on the ground was killed. Around 2,000 spectators however suffered sprained ankles or bruises while running away from the crash site.
Detention of Irkutsk lawmaker accused of $2.5 mln embezzlement appealed

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

10:35 02/10/2020

MOSCOW, October 2 (RAPSI) - Andrey Levchenko, lawmaker of the Irkutsk Region Legislative Assembly and son of a former regional Governor, on Thursday challenged his detention in a 185 million-ruble embezzlement case ($2.5 million), defense lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky told RAPSI.

On Monday, the defendant was transported to Moscow and charged with embezzlement. Searches were conducted at his place of residence, office and at premises of his father Sergey Levchenko. On Tuesday, he was put in detention until November 20,

The official pleaded not guilty.

According to investigators, Levchenkos involvement in the crime was established as part of a criminal case against CEO of Zvezda company. Allegedly, Oleg Khamulyak along with other persons in October 2017 filed forged documents with the regional Ministry of the procurement contractual regulation to the applications for participating in a capital repair contractor tender. Later, Khamulyak and Levchenko signed a 167 million-ruble lift equipment supply contract with a foreign company and submitted it to the regional overhaul fund in order to receive advance in accordance with the concluded agreements.

Then the defendants created one more company through which they unfoundedly increased the sum of repair works to nearly 3.2 million rubles and continued sending overpriced equipment cost documents to the repair fund. In total, they stole over 185 million rubles, the Investigative Committees statement reads.

In mid-August, Moscows Basmanny District Court extended house arrest of Khamulyak until October 20.
The Supreme Court said Friday that it will review a petition from Big Oil companies  including BP, Exxon and Chevron  that argues that mounting climate lawsuits against them should be kept out of state courts.

Why it matters: "The high courts interest in the issue is good news for oil and gas companies, which have tried for years to push climate liability cases to federal courts, and ultimately defeat them," Bloomberg Law reports.
SHERMAN OAKS, Calif., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ideal Living, a direct-to-consumer health and wellness company from Los Angeles, and makers of AirDoctor Pro air purifiers, recently donated 200 air purifiers to St. Mary's Center, a non-profit organization in Oakland, CA, serving at risk seniors and pre-school children.

Ideal Living Management

The need for clean air and air purification has become urgent across all American communities in the time of COVID-19. However, in the Bay Area, as wildfires continue to rage, air quality worsens each day, heightening the need for air purification especially in low income and homeless communities.

As hundreds of requests pour in from across the Bay Area, with the list growing each day, St. Mary's Center, is assisting local distributing centers to deliver air purifiers to struggling families impacted by the wildfires.

Says Janny Castillo, Director of Community Outreach and Services: "Within hours after their arrival, Candice Elder, ED of the East Oakland Collective had picked up 100 air purifiers for curbside community members who can use them. Some settlements are using solar panels and/or have electricity. Our transitional house seniors received one for their room, and we are identifying medically vulnerable housed seniors to deliver the rest to. This gift improves quality of life."

"Jaws simply dropped when people saw the number of air purifiers, the fact that they were NEW and in original packaging. Can't say enough how grateful everyone is," says Sharon Cornu, Executive Director of St. Mary's Center.

Peter Spiegel, founder and inventor of Air Doctor, says: "As communities and governments work together to resolve these crises, the private sector must do its part to provide innovative solutions. Air Doctor is committed to raising awareness on the need for air purification and giving back to our most vulnerable communities."

About Ideal Living and Air Doctor

Ideal Living invents, markets and distributes innovative health and wellness products for home environment and healthy living, to impact the well-being and quality of life of individuals and communities. AirDoctor Pro is the leading brand of Ideal Living, with medical grade Ultra HEPA filter, independently lab-tested to remove 99% of tested bacteria and viruses. AirDoctor Pro has been able to provide satisfied customers a peace of mind during the unprecedented times of the pandemic.

For more info visit AirDoctorpro.com or join our community on Facebook or Instagram.

Media Contact:

Sunita Lal

Ph: 214-404-2151

[email protected]

Related Images

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Volunteers receiving Air Purifiers at St. Mary's Center, Oakland, CA

SOURCE Ideal Living Management
Mike Pompeo

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday he was reconsidering his upcoming trip to Asia as a precaution after President Donald Trump and his wife tested positive to coronavirus.

No decision has been taken yet, Pompeo told journalists on a flight from Rome to Dubrovnik in Croatia.

"I spoke with the Vice Presidents office this morning as well," Pompeo said. "Were taking this obviously very seriously."

"We are praying for the President and First Lady that theyll have a speedy recovery," he said.

Pompeo said that both he and his wife tested negative on the plane 20 minutes prior to landing in Dubrovnik. He said he last saw Trump in person on September 15.
Judge bars school district from deceiving parents about student's gender transition

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A court in Wisconsin has ruled that the Madison Metropolitan School District cannot deceive parents about their child's chosen gender identity at school.

Dane County Court Judge Frank Remington issued a temporary injunction on Monday that impacts certain parts of the school districts gender identity guidance on how school officials engage parents about a students gender transition.

The order comes after the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), along with the Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit in February on behalf of a group of anonymous parents.

The parents challenged the school district guidance adopted in April 2018 that advises employees to assist students in their gender transition at school without notifying their parents.

WILL argues that the districts guidance tells employees to deceive parents about the gender identity their son or daughter is identifying as at school and encourages teachers to have students' permission to notify or speak with parents about issues relating to their gender identity.

The lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that the Guidance & Policies to Support Transgender, Non-binary & Gender-Expansive Students document violates parental and religious freedom rights enshrined in the state constitution.

Remington partially granted the plaintiffs motion for an injunction.

The school district is enjoined pending the plaintiffs appeal from enforcing any policy, guideline or practice that allows or requires District staff to conceal information or to answer untruthfully in response to any question that parents ask about their child at school, including information about the name and pronouns being used to address their child at school.

This injunction does not create an affirmative obligation to disclose information if that obligation does not already exist at law and shall not require or allow District staff to disclose any information that they are otherwise prohibited from disclosing to parents by any state or federal law or regulation, Remington wrote.

WILL Deputy Counsel Luke Berg said in a statement that the order is an important win for parental rights as the court considers this matter.

We are pleased Judge Remington issued this injunction that will require honesty when Madison Metropolitan School District staff interact with parents about critical matters impacting their childs health and wellbeing, he said.

According to The Wisconsin State Journal, the April 2018 guidance is not formally adopted school board policy but is an administrative guidance.

School district spokesperson Tim LeMonds disputed the conservative groups' claim that school officials are instructed to deceive or conceal information from parents. In a statement given to local media outlets, LeMonds said that what is in question with the guidance is not an official policy.

MMSD prioritizes working in collaboration with families to support our students and it is always our preferred method of support," LeMonds said. "MMSD will continue to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of every individual student to the best of our ability.

Arguments over the motion for temporary injunction were held last week amid the organizations appeal of an earlier denial to a request for the plaintiffs to proceed anonymously in the case.

The request for the plaintiffs to proceed anonymously without disclosure to the school districts attorneys was again denied by Remmington, who initially denied the request in May.

Furthermore, the inescapable effect of being anonymous, the court additionally finds that the Plaintiffs have not adequately demonstrated irreparable harm to them, the order states.

The Plaintiffs demand preliminary relief that would otherwise convert the case to a de facto class action, rather than a plea for relief by particular, albeit anonymous, parents. By not identifying themselves, Plaintiffs have not provided facts sufficient for this court to find irreparable harm or to find that they do not have an adequate remedy as to themselves.

WILL also argued in the lawsuit that the school district cant enable a gender identity transition at school without parental notice. However, Remington declined to issue an injunction based on that argument at this stage of the litigation.

It also argues that the judges ruling sends a clear warning message to the District that its policy is problematic.

WILL initially reached out to the school district with a demand letter sent in December 2019.

The group stressed that the guidance essentially allows children of any age to transition to a different gender at school without parental notice or consent. The legal groups contend that employees were also instructed to deceive parents by using the childs legal name and pronouns when talking with parents while using the preferred names and pronouns of the students in the classroom.

A long line of cases from both the United States Supreme Court and the Wisconsin Supreme Court establishes that parents have a constitutional right under the due process clauses of the state and federal constitutions to direct the upbringing and education of [their] children, The demand letter written by Burg argues.

WILL initially represented 14 parents and the number has since dropped to six. Considering that Remington has denied the plaintiffs' request to proceed anonymously, that request has been appealed to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, an intermediate appellate court.

Berg told the State Journal that the parents who have dropped out of the lawsuit have either moved out of the school district or pulled their children from its schools.
CHERRY HILL, NJ  Two more Cherry Hill residents have died after testing positive for the coronavirus, Camden County officials announced on Friday.

Following the passing of a woman in her 90s and a man in his 70s, 146 Cherry Hill residents have now died as a result of the coronavirus, according to numbers provided by the county.



There are 1,463 total Cherry Hill residents who have tested positive for the virus as of Friday. A Cherry Hill woman in her 50s and a man in his 30s were among the 43 additional cases of the coronavirus identified in Camden County on Friday.



New Jersey Coronavirus Updates: Don't miss local and statewide announcements about novel coronavirus precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.



As of Friday, there are 10,764 Camden County residents who tested positive for the coronavirus. Along with the two Cherry Hill residents and a Camden man in his 40s whose death was also announced on Friday, there have been 558 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths in Camden County.



I am deeply saddened to announce that three Camden County residents have lost their lives in recent days due to COVID-19, Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. Today has been a stark reminder that this pandemic is not over, the fight against this virus has not been won, and each of us still faces tremendous risks. We cannot let our guards down, and we must continue to take all precautions to protect ourselves and one another. Wear a mask, social distance, and work with our contact tracing team if they call.



According to the Camden County Department of Health, there are 1,448 confirmed cases among residents at the county's long-term care facilities, with 327 deaths. Another 607 cases were reported among staff members, with three deaths.



Residents who are having difficulty coping with the coronavirus crisis can call the Mental Health Association in New Jersey, Inc. at 877-294- HELP (4357) between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. for emotional support, guidance and mental health referrals as needed. For additional information and services, call Camden County's Office of Mental Health & Addiction at 856-374-6361.



See related: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

This article originally appeared on the Cherry Hill Patch
An Allentown woman will head to Northampton County Prison later this year for stealing close to $100,000 from her former employer.

Anagabriella Stebbins, who also goes by Ana Harley, initially faced more than a dozen theft- and fraud-related charges stemming from stolen deposits and forged checks from a group of businesses in Freemansburg that are all owned by the same person.

Under a plea deal, the 35-year-old Stebbins pleaded guilty in July to forgery and theft by failure to make the required distribution of funds, and the rest of the charges with withdrawn, Assistant District Attorney Abigail Bellafatto said.

On Wednesday, Stebbins was in Northampton County Court to be sentenced in the case.

A sentencing agreement was not part of the plea deal, and Northampton County Judge Stephen Baratta sentenced her to six months to 23 months in prison, followed by 10 years of probation, Bellafatto said.

Were certainly happy with that sentence, Bellafatto said.

Stebbins has been free on $10,000 unsecured bail in the case, and will not have to report to prison until November. She must also pay $96,000 in restitution, Bellafatto said; by the sentencing date she had already paid back $10,000.

Stebbins, her mother and her pastor spoke during the hearing, and she apologized for her actions, the district attorney said. An attorney was not listed for Stebbins, and efforts to reach her Friday were unsuccessful.

Prosecutors said Stebbins was in charge of bookkeeping and payroll, among other duties. Her LinkedIn page says she was responsible for accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, taxes, 401k management, bank reconciliation and customer draws.

She was accused of stealing $85,000 in deposits and forging deposit slips from Freemansburg Storage Depot; taking $15,000 in rent from business tenants at the Anthony Building in Freemansburg; and making more than $3,600 in withdrawals from a PayPal account used by Anthony Construction Co.

Investigators said they matched missing amounts to Stebbins' personal deposits and transactions, including a $1,500 purchase on her birthday last year.

Stebbins admitted the crimes to police and Bellafatto said she was cooperative with the investigation, which was taken into account when offering the plea deal.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
Governor Whitmer Announces MI Clean Water: A Historic $500 Million Investment To Rebuild Michigan's Water Infrastructure

Governor Whitmer Announces MI Clean Water: A Historic $500 Million Investment To Rebuild Michigan's Water Infrastructure

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October, 1, 2020

Contact: press@michigan.gov

Governor Whitmer Announces MI Clean Water: A Historic $500 Million Investment To Rebuild Michigans Water Infrastructure

MI Clean Water will provide clean, affordable water to Michiganders, direct investments into communities, and support over 7,500 clean water-based jobs; Governor Whitmer calls on the legislature to work together to improve water quality Michigan





LANSING, Mich. - Governor Gretchen Whitmer today, along with bipartisan and bicameral partners, announced MI Clean Water, a $500 million comprehensive water infrastructure investment in Michigan's water systems from source to tap. The MI Clean Water plan marks a significant investment after decades of underinvestment in Michigan's infrastructure.





Since the first day I took office, I have made an unwavering commitment to ensuring that Michiganders have access to clean and affordable water. The MI Clean Water Plan marks a significant step toward that goal, said Governor Whitmer. The MI Clean Water investment will help us rebuild Michigans water infrastructure and will prioritize and invest directly into protecting our public health, environment, and economy. The MI Clean Water Plan is a critical part of the solution, but the work cannot stop here. I look forward to working with the legislature to find creative solutions to address our water infrastructure backlog. Everyone must remain committed to ensuring that every Michigander has access to clean water."





The MI Clean Water investment is a unified approach to cleaner, more affordable water. This provides direct investments for communities, helps provide safe, clean water to residents, and will support over 7,500 Michigan jobs, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.





Access to clean drinking water is a cornerstone of our work at EGLE, and this exciting package of water protections pulls together a wealth of resources to help ensure clean water for all Michiganders, said EGLE Director Liesl Clark. Now is the perfect time to invest state and federal dollars in a coordinated way to encourage job growth in water infrastructure jobs. This work will ripple throughout both the economy and the systems that protect public health, strengthening both.



MI Clean Water confronts the large infrastructure issues that Michigan faces, such as lead-laden water service lines, toxic contamination like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), undersized sewers, failing septic systems, unaffordable water rates, and constrained local budgets. MI Clean Water will reduce barriers for communities and allow them to access needed funds for necessary and timely infrastructure upgrades.



This historic investment includes a proposal combining federal dollars for lead service line replacement in low-income communities ($102.1 million) with bonding authority for water quality protection ($290 million), one-time General Fund appropriation for drinking water infrastructure and innovation ($105 million), and asset management grants ($2.9 million) to help communities develop, update, and improve their plans for wastewater and stormwater systems resulting in a comprehensive water infrastructure investment of $500 million in Michigans water systems. The MI Clean Water investment will be done without raising the taxes of Michiganders.



A $207.1 million investment in drinking water quality, including:

Lead Service Line Replacement in Disadvantaged Communities Program - $102 million

Lead and Copper  Drinking Water Asset Management Grants - $37.5 million

PFAS and Emerging Contaminants - Contamination and Consolidation Grants - $25 million

Non-Lead Drinking Water Infrastructure Grants - $35 million

Affordability and Planning Grants - $7.5 million



A $293 million investment in wastewater protection, including:

Clean Water Infrastructure Grants (eliminating sanitary sewer overflows; correcting combined sewer overflows; increasing green infrastructure) - $235 million

Substantial Public Health Risk Grants (removing direct and continuous discharges of raw sewage from surface or ground water) - $20 million

Failing Septic System Elimination Program - $35 million

Stormwater, Asset Management, and Wastewater Grants - $3 million



Its time for the legislature to take bold actions to invest in Michigans infrastructure and protect our water from toxic contamination. I'm calling on the legislature to authorize EGLE to use the remainder of the voter-approved 2002 Great Lakes Water Quality bond during this legislative session, said Governor Whitmer. Michiganders are tired of waiting for action, the time is now. We must all work together to improve the quality of the waters of our State.

"I fully support Gov. Whitmer's aggressive plan to invest in our state's water infrastructure and appreciate her leadership on this issue," said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan." In Detroit, where we have the oldest infrastructure in the state, it would give us the ability to greatly expand our water main replacement program and replace an additional 2,000 lead service lines beyond our current program. As we do with all of our capital projects, we will hire Detroiters to do this work. We also plan to dedicate a portion of these funds to expand our affordability programs to help our most impoverished residents, who cannot take advantage of our other assistance programs."

At a time when the federal government has retreated from science and public health protections, Michigan is once again leading the nation to rebuild the critical infrastructure necessary to keep Michiganders healthy and safe. It is proactive investments like this that will prevent future public health crises, reduce inequities, and ensure the promise of generations of Michiganders to come, said Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, MSU College of Human Medicine pediatrician and professor.

Michigans infrastructure has seen systematic disinvestment for years, and my constituents in the 18th House District and residents across the state are experiencing the results. Sewage overflows in Southeast Michigan impacting Lake St. Clair, PFAS and dioxane found in multiple drinking water sources, and, of course, the lasting impact of the Flint Water Crisis are just some of the impacts were already facing, and we need to act now to prevent further harm, said Representative Kevin Hertel, D-St. Clair Shores. This plan will allow us to address these issues while creating thousands of good-paying jobs. I am excited to put Michiganders to work to clean up our state.

As Benjamin Franklin said, when the well is dry, we know the worth of water. I dont think we should wait and find out what that cost would be, said Senator Rick Outman, R-Six Lakes. Health and safety of our residents is a top priority. The Legislature has invested millions of dollars on improving the quality of Michigans drinking water and these essential water infrastructure investments would allow us to use both federal and existing state funds to further improve our water infrastructure. Having access to quality water is a fundamental, basic need that every Michigan family should have the right to. There are several solid solutions in this proposal that I look forward to seeing further fleshed out. "

###
LONDON, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 'Staycation' was undoubtedly the travel buzzword of 2020. With travel restrictions limiting people jetting off to far-flung destinations for some of the summer months this year, Brits looked to explore what was on their very own doorstep more so than ever before.

IHG Hotels & Resorts, which has more than 360 hotels in the UK & Ireland with brands including Holiday Inn, voco Hotels, Crowne Plaza, InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites and Kimpton, reveals new data about how British travellers chose to spend their summer.

Karan Khanna, Managing Director UK & I, IHG Hotels & Resorts commented on the findings; "We've seen that people's appetite to travel and explore hasn't changed, but understandably their confidence in when it's safe to do so has. Cleanliness and flexibility are top of mind for everyone now, and by introducing enhanced cleaning measures and offering more flexibility, consumers have continued to travel this summer, with many opting for a staycation in the UK."

Home is where the heart is - despite some borders opening for European travel over the summer, most people chose to stay close to home with 95% of UK bookings being made for domestic stays, which is higher than previous years. (Based on UK IHG Rewards Club member bookings during June - August 2020 ). More than 85% of guests also chose to travel to their destination by car, and 9% opted for public transport.

The ruralisation of travel - IHG hotel bookings during summer 2020 saw rural locations rise to the top with areas such as Kent, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, East & North Yorkshire entering the list of the Top 10 most visited UK locations, while big cities dropped down the list. According to Karan Khanna , Managing Director UK&I at IHG Hotels & Resorts, "There's been a reawakening in appreciating small-town life, our families, quiet communities, reconnecting with nature and unplugging from technology. There's an argument to be made that when travel resumes to pre-pandemic levels, it will be done with a greater sense of purpose and appreciation for local communities and the environment."

A hotel (almost) never sleeps - The Covid-19 crisis has impacted the everyday lives of billions of people globally, severely damaging economies and posing the biggest challenge the travel industry has ever faced. Despite many people putting their life on hold and some businesses coming to a halt, for open IHG Hotels in the UK the proportion of business and leisure bookings was similar in June - August 2020 compared to previous years, in part due to rooms being booked by housing key workers, essential services and the homeless. Karan Khanna , Managing Director, UK&I commented that "From China and Australia , to the UK and US, we've worked with governments, organisations and hotel owners to help provide accommodation to those who need it most. This includes looking after thousands of healthcare workers, delivery drivers and the homeless across the UK."

Spontaneity is key - With so much uncertainty and regularly changing travel restrictions, hotel booking lead times have shortened compared to previous years. 67% of bookings are happening within 7 days of stay, compared to 46% during the same period last year. IHG Hotels & Resorts introduced flexible booking options such as Book Now, Pay Later to give travellers enhanced peace of mind and the flexibility they need.

Booking window

2020 2019 0-2 days 38% 23% 3 -7 days 31% 23% 8-90 days 36% 50%

Age is more than a number - The number of 65-year olds and above travelling dropped from 16% in 2019 to 11% in 2020 (March to August). Given the nature of the virus and the recommendations for older populations, unsurprisingly, older guests saw the steepest decline in activity during the peak of Covid-19 in April. Since then, while other age groups have witnessed a steady recovery, it's much stronger among younger guests (35 years old and below).

NOTES TO EDITORS

Based on UK IHG Hotel Bookings from June - August 2020, unless otherwise stated.

About IHG

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels, HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, voco, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts , Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, avid hotels, Staybridge Suites, Atwell Suites, and Candlewood Suites.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,900 hotels and approximately 883,000 guest rooms in more than 100 countries, with over 1,900 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. Approximately 400,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: https://www.ihgplc.com/en/news-and-media and follow us on social media at: https://twitter.com/ihgcorporate, www.facebook.com/ihgcorporate and www.linkedin.com/company/intercontinental-hotels-group.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1306059/Hotel_Indigo_Stratford_Upon_Avon__2.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/180702/ihg_logo.jpg
H undreds of modular homes that can be built and furnished in a single week are being planned for London to help alleviate the capitals homelessness crisis.

The homes are to be constructed on land earmarked for development in the long term, which would otherwise remain largely unused.

Because they can be packed down and moved, they do not need to be on permanent sites - opening up new possibilities for temporary accommodation.

The first batch of homes has been assembled on a test site in Tower Hamlets.

London Councils' Darren Rodwell, London's deputy mayor for housing, Tom Copley, Sir Steve Bullock, chair of PLACE, and Tower Hamlets mayor, John Biggs at the site (David Rose ) / Photograph by David Rose

London Councils aims for families to be living there within months, with plans for a further 200 homes to be constructed across the capital by early 2022.

The scheme, funded with 11million from the Mayor of London, will be run by the Pan-London Accommodation Collaborative Enterprise (PLACE), a social enterprise set up by London boroughs. A London Councils spokesperson said that if proven successful, the scheme will be rolled out further.

John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: It could make a real difference to how we accommodate homeless Londoners at a time when our city is experiencing an ongoing housing crisis.

The capital has a chronic shortage of temporary accommodation - places for homeless individuals and families to live while they wait for a long-term social home. Thousands of families are on waiting lists. Currently, due to low housing stock, families often end up in too-small apartments.

London Councils told the Standard boroughs collectively spend approximately 750 million on temporary accommodation each year, and that it is the most significant strain on boroughs homelessness budgets, accounting for around 80 per cent of their total homelessness costs.

The homes, which have a predicted lifespan of more than 60 years, will have high quality interiors (David Rose ) / David Rose

Sadiq Khans critics have argued the Mayor has done too little to actually deliver new social housing provision during his term.

Each of the new modular homes will cost between 150,000 and 180,000 to create and build, with a predicted lifespan of 60 years. Each will provide homeless families with two or three-bedroom temporary accommodation complete with a private balcony or garden space.

All will be erected on meanwhile development sites - where land will be otherwise unused for at least seven years.

After that time, the homes will be dissembled, moved, and easily reconstructed on an alternative site.
David Frost, the UK's chief negotiator, said 'familiar differences remain' - OLIVIER HOSLET/AFP

Lord David Frost, the UK's chief negotiator with the European Union, has said the "outlines" of a free trade deal are now in sight but "familiar differences remain".

Lord Frost sent a briefing at the end of another week of talks, as the deadline to reach an agreement draws closer.

Boris Johnson's official spokesman said a deal must be reached by the middle of October to allow UK businesses to prepare for a no-deal exit if necessary before the end of the transition period on January 1.

Lord Frost said he was "concerned" there was "very little time" to resolve remaining disputes.

There was "some limited progress" on the issue of state aid but that the EU needed to "move further" if there was to be an agreement," he said.

"On fisheries the gap between us is unfortunately very large and, without further realism and flexibility from the EU, risks being impossible to bridge. These issues are fundamental to our future status as an independent country," he said in a statement.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, earlier called for trade talks with the UK to "intensify" as she prepared to take stock of progress with Boris Johnson.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, confirmed the remaining stumbling blocks are fisheries, governance and state aid.

See the rest of the day's news below.

04:40 PM

That's all, folks

We're going to leave it there for today.

Story continues

We're going to leave it there, but we're back tomorrow with all the latest from the virtual Conservative Party Conference. Here's the best of today's news from Westminster:

Lord Frost has said the "outlines" of a free trade agreement with the EU are starting to emerge, but Michel Barnier has warned there are still divisions over fisheries, governance and state aid .

Margaret Ferrier is under intense pressure to resign over bringing coronavirus into the Commons, not least from the First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon . Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, is also furious.

The Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said Ms Ferrier's breach was worse than Dominic Cummings'.

Boris Johnson has wished Donald and Melania Trump a speedy recovery from coronavirus after both tested positive last night.

We asked you....

Was Margaret Ferrier's isolation breach "particularly egregious," even from an MP, or just another example of "people who think they're above the law"?

973 of you replied, and the results are in:

66 per cent said it was particularly egregious and should be punished more harshly.

34 per cent said it was more of the same from people who think they are above the law.

And finally

Here's Matt:

matt

03:46 PM

Lord Frost: Familiar differences remain in Brexit negotiations

Britain's Brexit negotiator Lord Frost has said the "outlines" of a free trade agreement with the EU are now "visible" but that "familiar differences" remain.

Following the conclusion of the final scheduled round of formal negotiations in Brussels, he said there had been "some limited progress" on the issue of state aid but that the EU needed to "move further" if there was to be an agreement.

"On fisheries the gap between us is unfortunately very large and, without further realism and flexibility from the EU, risks being impossible to bridge. These issues are fundamental to our future status as an independent country," he said in a statement.

"I am concerned that there is very little time now to resolve these issues ahead of the European Council on October 15."

03:11 PM

Irish PM: Deal not likely in the next fortnight

Mr Martin in Brussels yesterday - Anadolu Agency

Ireland's premier Micheal Martin has said there is a "mood to engage" within Europe with the UK Government but that nobody was underestimating the task ahead. Speaking in Brussels, Mr Martin also said it was highly unlikely that a deal would be struck between the EU and the UK in the next fortnight.

"There is a sense whilst there is a mood to engage, no-one is underestimating the task that lies ahead," the Taoiseach said.

He added: "I think it's highly unlikely that there will be any deal by the 15th of October, by the middle of the month. It is fair to say that's not the timeframe within which now people are looking at the possibility of a deal.

"That said, certainly by the end of the month, the beginning of next month, there would have to be some clear pathway to an agreement in order to facilitate all the work that will then be necessary to get a deal over the line."

Mr Martin added: "Part of our discussion this morning in relation to Covid was the continued negative impact of Covid-19 on our economic performance across Europe.

"The last thing we all collectively need now is another hit to the economy occasioned by a no-deal Brexit. It doesn't make sense and that's the spirit within which people want to approach these negotiations."

02:39 PM

Barnier's three barriers to a deal

The European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said there remains three key areas where agreement needs to be found to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK. The pair are still at odds over:

fisheries governance state aid

In a statement after the final scheduled round of talks in Brussels, Mr Barnier said: "To reach an agreement, these divergences must necessarily be overcome over the next weeks.

"We will continue to maintain a calm and respectful attitude, and we will remain united and determined until the end of these negotiations."

02:24 PM

Home Office should steer clear of 'morally abominable' off-shore asylum, lawyer warns

Britain should not copy Australia's "morally abominable" off-shore asylum system under any circumstances with "ludicrous and inhumane" ideas like sending migrants to Ascension Island, a human rights lawyer has said.

Sonya Sceats, who is also the chief executive of charity Freedom from Torture, said she was "totally horrified" by a series of leaks which suggested the British Government was considering ideas based on the approach her home country Australia takes towards asylum seekers.

These are said to include processing asylum seekers on Ascension Island - some 4,000 miles from the UK - or turning disused ferries out at sea into processing centres.

A leaked document also suggested the Government launched a secret consultation on building floating walls to block migrants from crossing the English Channel.

Ms Sceats told the PA news agency: "This is Britain and we can do better than that.

"I was, as an Australian, totally horrified to see us looking to Australia's morally abominable off-shore asylum system as a template for this country."

Boris Johnson's spokesman said the UK was considering a range of options.

01:47 PM

Donald Trump's Covid timeline

From Westminster now to Washington, our video team takes a look at the timeline of Donald Trump's coronvirus diagnosis.

01:38 PM

DUP MP isolating after coming into contact with Ferrier

Jim Shannon - UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

The DUP MP Jim Shannon is self-isolating after coming into contact with Margaret Ferrier, the SNP member who travelled the length of the UK twice with coronavirus.

The DUP said Mr Shannon was self-isolating at home "as a precaution" but had tested negative for the virus on Thursday afternoon.

A spokesman said: "Jim Shannon was seated at the same dining table as Margaret Ferrier on Monday evening. The room seating arrangements included proper social distancing measures.

"On Wednesday evening, the Speakers Office alerted Mr Shannon that he had been identified as a close contact of an individual who had tested positive for Covid-19.

"Upon receiving this news, Mr Shannon immediately self-isolated and on Thursday afternoon he received a negative Covid-19 test result.

"Mr Shannon sought and at all times has followed the advice of Public Health England and the House of Commons Covid-19 team in dealing with every element of this incident.

"As a precaution, Mr Shannon is self-isolating at home."

01:08 PM

Too early to tell if infections levelling off, says ONS

It is too early to say whether coronavirus infection rates across England are levelling off, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Its survey of thousands of households found an average of 8,400 new infections per day between September 18 and 24, down from 9,600 for the period September 13 to 19.

The ONS said there is some "limited evidence" that the incidence rate "may be levelling off following steep increases during August and September", but uncertainty around the figures means it is too early to say.

It comes as scientists advising the Government said the R value - the number of people an infected person will pass coronavirus on to - is between 1.3 and 1.6.

Boris Johnson's spokesman this morning reiterated the Prime Minister's words that it is still too early to see the effect of the latest measures to beat the virus.

12:54 PM

Joe Biden wishes Donald and Melania Trump 'swift recovery'

Joe Biden has wished his presidential rival Donald Trump and First Lady Melania "a swift recovery" after the pair tested positive for coronavirus.

The Democrat candidate, who Mr Trump berated for wearing face masks during their debate earlier this week, said: "We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family."

12:43 PM

Tom Harris: Margaret Ferrier's behaviour is another sign the SNP are taking Scottish votes for granted

Even the SNP leadership is ramping up the rhetoric against the Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP, with Nicola Sturgeon describing Margaret Ferriers actions as indefensible.

This scandal has three aspects to it, the first of which will have limited negative impact on the party Ferrier has represented at Westminster on and off since 2015. Her mistakes and hypocrisies are her own. Her party took decisive action to suspend her from the party whip at lightning speed  just 36 hours after finding out about it and after First Ministers Questions at Holyrood on Thursday was safely over with.

The second aspect, as Tom Harris sets out, is more serious for the SNP.

12:30 PM

Have your say on: Margaret Ferrier

The silence coming out of Rutherglen & Hamilton West is defeaning but it seems inevitable that Margaret Ferrier will resign, after she admitted travelling across the country having tested positive.

Nicola Sturgeon has asked the former SNP MP to "do the right thing" and quit as an MP, echoing a sentiment expressed by several other colleagues this morning including Ian Blackford.

But her actions - on the back of Jeremy Corbyn, Dominic Cummings and Prof Neil Ferguson - raise a broader question about whether the political class and their supporters believe they are above the law.

Have your say in the poll below.

12:24 PM

Brexit trade deal cannot be agreed 'at any price', says von der Leyen

Ursula von der Leyen has said she will use her phone call with Boris Johnson to "have a look at the time coming up" as the two sides attempt to thrash out a deal.

Both sides have set the middle of October as the deadline for a post-Brexit trade deal, if it is to be ratified before transition ends on December 31. The pair will speak tomorrow to "take stock of the negotiations," she said.

The European Commission president added: "We want a deal because we think it is better to have a deal as neighbours. Also... in these Covid times with devastating impact on the economies, it is good to have a deal - but not at any price.

"And, mainly, the topic of the level playing field - how can we make sure that it exists between both economies - and the question of fisheries are very difficult, so we will see how we will progress on that."

12:12 PM

VP Mike Pence negative for coronavirus

US Vice President Mike Pence tested negative Friday for Covid-19, his spokesman said after President Donald Trump confirmed that he and First Lady Melania have contracted the coronavirus.

"As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for Covid-19 every day. This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for Covid-19," spokesman Devin O'Malley tweeted.

As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day. This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.  Devin OMalley (@VPPressSec) October 2, 2020

12:02 PM

Lobby latest: Boris Johnson's spokesman refuses to be drawn on Margaret Ferrier

Boris Johnson's spokesman has said the Prime Minister believes everyone must follow the coronavirus rules - but refused to be drawn on whether Margaret Ferrier should step down as an MP.

A No 10 spokesman said: "That is a matter for her and her party. We have been clear of the need for people to follow the rules. This is all about saving lives and protecting vulnerable people.

"The Prime Minister has been clear that everybody needs to follow the rules in order to allow us to reduce the spread of the virus and protect lives."

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick went further than that earlier - see what he had to say in the video below.

11:51 AM

Nicola Sturgeon insists it is not 'one rule for politicians and another rule for everybody else'

Nicola Sturgeon has insisted that there is "not one rule for us politicians and another rule for everybody else", after MP Margaret Ferrier was discovered to have broken the law on self-isolating.

Taking questions during her regular press conference, the First Minister said it was "an almost incomprehensible error of judgement on Margaret's part".

Ms Sturgeon added: "I don't like being in a position of asking people not to visit their elderly relatives... telling young people not to go to the pub... or to stay out of each other's houses.

"But I can't do that if people who should know better don't lead by example."

The SNP leader, who has asked Ms Ferrier to quit as an MP, said the "only thing I can do" was to "insist on the consequences", stressing it is "not easy to ask one of your own MPs to resign."

11:27 AM

Margaret Ferrier's actions were 'reckless, dangerous and completely indefensible', says Nicola Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon has said she does not have the power to force an MP to step down - but she has "made my views known" to Margaret Ferrier.

Speaking during her regular Covid update, the First Minister said the Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP was a friend of hers and that her comments came with the "heaviest of hearts".

But she said "her actions were reckless, dangerous and completely indefensible" and that she was "very angry on behalf of all of you". Self-isolation was not "voluntary", she added.

The most serious sanction a party can impose is removing the whip, which was done last night, Ms Sturgeon added.

Margaret Ferrier has been asked to resign by Nicola Sturgeon - AFP

11:15 AM

Covid transmission rate may be levelling off, ONS figures suggest

There were an average of 8,400 new infections per day of Covid-19 in private households in England between September 18 and 24, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is down from an estimated 9,600 new infections per day for the period from September 13 to 19.

The ONS said there is some "limited evidence" that the incidence rate "may be levelling off following steep increases during August and September", but uncertainty around the figures means it is too early to say.

Finger's crossed that means the two chief's chart of gloom will be proven wildly inaccurate.

11:08 AM

Boris Johnson confident Donald and Melania Trump will 'both stage very strong recovery'

Boris Johnson has said he is confident Donald Trump and his wife Melania will "both stage a very strong recovery" after the pair confirmed they had tested positive for coronavirus this morning.

The Prime Minister, who has himself suffered with Covid, said: "Obviously I think we all want to send our best wishes to the president and the first lady and I've done that this morning as you can imagine, and I'm sure that they'll both stage a very strong recovery."

11:01 AM

Speaker Sir Linday Hoyle criticises 'reckless' Margaret Ferrier

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has attacked Margaret Ferrier for "reckless" behaviour in putting Parliamentary staff and the wider public at risk.

He confirmed that he was only told about her positive diagnosis at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon, saying it was "not acceptable".

"I would have expected better, but what made it worse was only being told about it on Wednesday when the MP knew on Monday," he added.

Once he had been informed the response was "in full swing" within 20 minutes, he said, noting that the "safety and security of staff members" was paramount.

As well as being in touch with Public Health England, authorities have contacted the train companies, he added.

"We are doing everything right to ensure people feel safe and are safe... but you can have the best rules in the world but if someone breaks them, it's just a dangerous thing to do," he added.

Asked if he though she should quit, Sir Lindsay stressed it was "not for me to decide", but added:" I am sure she will be reflecting on what she has done."

10:55 AM

Boris Johnson 'reluctant to recognise border' between England and Wales

Boris Johnson is "reluctant to recognise the border" between England and Wales by refusing to prevent people in English local lockdown areas from holidaying in Welsh tourist hotspots, Mark Drakeford has said.

The First Minister has previously asked the Prime Minister to impose travel restrictions in areas of England with high levels of coronavirus, following concerns people from those areas were able to travel to parts of Wales with much lower rates.

Asked why Mr Johnson had refused to consider the travel restrictions, Mr Drakeford told LBC: "I think he is reluctant to recognise the border. I think that's part of his way of thinking about things.

"But all I want is for people in England to be in the same position as the people in Wales. People in England living in low areas of coronavirus would still be able to come here.

"It's only places in local lockdown that we would like to see that restriction. And that's the rule we have for ourselves."

10:33 AM

Margaret Ferrier's Covid breach worse than Dominic Cummings, says Scottish Tories leader

Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross has compared Margaret Ferrier's actions to those of Dominic Cummings when the PM's aide travelled to Durham while he and his family were suffering symptoms.

Mr Ross, who quit as a minister over the Cummings scandal, said both actions were "indefensible" but claimed Ms Ferrier had acted more rashly.

"I am not here to defend Dominic Cummings... I resigned over that, it is quite clear my position on that," he told Sky News. "Despite whatever anyone thinks about Dominic Cummings... he did not travel for five hours on public transport potentially infecting many other people, knowingly having had a Covid test like this MP did."

"She has to resign, she must stand down because her credibility on this issue has gone... her actions have absolutely undermined the public health message."

Nicola Sturgeon had not taken "firm action", despite the First Minister calling on her to resign, saying there were "serious questions" about why action was not taken when the SNP whips were first made aware of the situation, Mr Ross said.

10:13 AM

No ratings bump when Boris Johnson caught Covid, says YouGov

If you're trying to read the runes of what Donald Trump's Covid diagnosis mean for his election hopes, YouGov has put out an interesting piece of data.

Although you might expect Boris Johnson to have seen a sympathy bounce in the ratings after his brush with coronavirus, it seems the public have hearts of stone.

No, Boris Johnson catching coronavirus did not prompt a surge of support for the government. The surge had already taken place by 23 March - 4 days before the PM announced he had COVID-19 https://t.co/DHPyOsnm6f pic.twitter.com/BVkastVkET  YouGov (@YouGov) October 2, 2020

Of course, the political system in the US is quite different to ours - but given that both Mr Trump and Mr Johnson are what you might call "personality candidates", some comparisons can be drawn.

10:09 AM

Wombling free: David Frost arrives in Brussels as talk of 'tunnels' ebbs

At the start of this week there were high hopes that Brexit negotiators would be entering "the tunnel" - a period of media blackout, which usually indicates a deal is imminent. Indeed such were hopes that some have even started referring to negotiators as the Wombles.

But those hopes have ebbed as the week has worn on, not least after Ursula von der Leyen's confirmation that legal proceedings were being launched against the UK over the Internal Market Bill.

However, David Frost has arrived in Brussels for his meeting with Michel Barnier - we will find out more about where the talks have ended up later today, but it feels almost certain that informal negotiations will continue into next week at least.

David Frost arrives for a meeting with Michel Barnier at the European Commission in Brussels, - AP

09:55 AM

How will Donald Trump's Covid diagnosis affect the presidential election?

The US - and indeed the world - is still digesting the political repercussions of Donald Trump catching coronavirus a month away from the presidential elections.

It's a hugely complicated question, and makes an already unpredictable campaign even harder to call.

If Mr Trump shrugs it off relatively easily, he and his supporters will see it as proof of his strength, and the argument that rival Joe Biden is taking precautions too far. Naturally his critics are already painting it as proof that he hasn't taken it seriously enough.

And there are plenty of other factors at play, as the Telegraph's US Editor Ben Riley-Smith sets out here.

Two obvious political impacts



1) Time off the campaign trail just when Trump was ramping up. No cheering supporters, no trips to states he needs to close the gap



2) Focus right back on Covid-19 and Trumps approach to it: the ground the Biden camp wants to fight the election on  Ben Riley-Smith (@benrileysmith) October 2, 2020

09:41 AM

Labour demands answers over chronology of Margaret Ferrier's isolation breach

Labours shadow Scottish secretary has written to the SNP's Westminster leader demanding answers to the serious questions surrounding the behaviour of Margaret Ferrier.

Ian Murray has asked 17 questions, focusing on the chronology of events and how many people she is estimated to have come into contact with during her trip from Scotland to Parliament and back again.

In the letter, Mr Murray writes: These revelations have caused a great deal of confusion and concern within Parliament.

"We are faced with catastrophic, negligent actions by an MP which have put lives at risk. You and your partys slow response leaves much to be desired, and the party must come forward with a full and clear explanation. Commons staff and the wider public deserve nothing less.

09:38 AM

Have your say on: Margaret Ferrier and an elite who think the rules don't apply to them

It seems inevitable that Margaret Ferrier will resign, after she travelled across the country having tested positive.

Nicola Sturgeon has asked the former SNP MP to "do the right thing" and quit, echoing a sentiment expressed by several other colleagues this morning.

But her actions - on the back of Jeremy Corbyn, Dominic Cummings and Prof Neil Ferguson - raise a broader question about whether the political class and their supporters believe they are above the law.

Have your say in the poll below.

09:24 AM

'Do the right thing' Nicola Sturgeon tells Margaret Ferrier

Nicola Sturgeon has said she has urged Margaret Ferrier to "do the right thing" and step down as an MP.

The First Minister tweeted: "I've spoken to Margaret Ferrier and made clear my view that she should step down as an MP.

"I did so with a heavy heart - she is a friend and colleague - but her actions were dangerous and indefensible.

"I have no power to force an MP to resign but I hope she will do the right thing."

Ive spoken to Margaret Ferrier and made clear my view that she should step down as an MP. I did so with a heavy heart - she is a friend & colleague - but her actions were dangerous & indefensible. I have no power to force an MP to resign but I hope she will do the right thing.  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 2, 2020

09:23 AM

Liz Truss wishes Donald and Melania Trump 'a speedy recovery'

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has said she is "sorry" to hear US president Donald Trump and his wife Melania had tested positive for Covid-19.

So sorry to hear the news about the  President and First Lady. Wishing them both a speedy recovery.  Liz Truss (@trussliz) October 2, 2020

09:21 AM

Wales to reintroduce social bubbles for people living alone

People living alone in areas of Wales under local lockdown will be able to meet one other household indoors, the First Minister has said.

The local lockdown rules, affecting more than 2.3 people, currently ban household mixing unless it is outside - but with the weather turning miserable, outdoor socialising is becoming less appealing.

This morning Mark Drakeford said those living alone in the areas would be able to form an exclusive "bubble" with one other household in the same county. This could be a person meeting indoors with a family, or with another adult from a single household.

"We are easing the restrictions so that single adult households will be able to form an alliance with one other household from within that county area," Mr Drakeford told BBC Breakfast. "The idea is to ease some of that sense of loneliness, isolation, not being able to talk to anyone else.

"There's more than one form of harm from coronavirus and a sense of mental wellbeing is an important thing that we can make a difference to through this change."

Mr Drakeford will give further details at a press conference later today.

09:05 AM

Fraser Nelson: The public is already 'living without fear'. No 10 might want to do the same

When Boris Johnson first asked people to stay at home, something incredible happened: they did. Police were not needed: compliance was near-absolute. But next time, when he asked people to go back to work, he was taken less seriously. He gave up on this message within a few days.

His latest plea  work from home if you can  was made last week. It has been heard politely, but ignored. People have carried on pretty much as they were. The first wave of the virus caused panic: the second one has not.

Read Fraser Nelson's column here.

08:49 AM

Chopper's Politics Podcast: Building the blue wall with Amanda Milling

Raise your coffee cups! We're back in the Red Lion, and joining Christopher Hope this week is Amanda Milling, co-chairman of the Conservative Party.

In a chaotic week for the Tories, she refutes the suggestion that Boris Johnson isn't on his best form, reproaches Chopper for referring to the non-existent "Red Wall", and rubbishes the idea that Laurence Fox's new anti-woke party could ever prove a real threat.

Plus, she brings Chopper a very on-brand gift...

08:32 AM

Boris Johnson wishes Donald and Melania Trump a speedy recovery

Boris Johnson has wished Donald and Melania Trump "a speedy recovery from coronavirus" after the President and First Lady confirmed this morning they had tested positive for the disease.

My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 2, 2020

The Prime Minister of course knows what it is like to catch it - his rictus grin as he clapped for carers on the doorstep of Downing Street came just before he was hospitalised, and subsequently admitted to intensive care.

He then had a period of recovery at Chequers - but his subsequent public appearances were dogged with a croaky voice and breathlessness. Mr Johnson has since rejected claims he is suffering from the lingering after-effects, known as long Covid, insisting he is "as fit as a butcher's dog".

Boris Johnson took several weeks to recover from coronavirus - 10 Downing Street

08:23 AM

Ministers' curfew rationale is wearing thin

The Government is fighting back against growing criticism of its hospitality curfew plan - but ministers are still not able to offer much in the way of concrete evidence for it.

During a debate in the Commons yesterday Matt Hancock drew ire from the likes of Sir Desmond Swayne and Philip Davies - both of whom had voted against renewing the Coronavirus Act - over the national 10pm shuttering of pubs and restaurants.

He also was quizzed on the rationale for the measure by former business secretary Greg Clark - in response, his argument largely rested on the fact that people mingle more when they are drunk and that shutting an hour or so earlier would reduce contact time.

Pressed on the policy this morning, Robert Jenrick told BBC Radio 4's Today programme much the same.

"The advice that I received, along with other ministers, was that, because the virus thrives on close contact between individuals, the longer one stays in pubs and restaurants and cafes, inevitably, the more likely it is that the virus will spread," he said.

"And, the later that you stay and the more drinks that you have, the more likely you are to have close contact with other individuals and the less likely you are to comply."

Read Madeline Grant's excellent sketch: Matt Hancock claims the policy is 'constantly under review'. So what exactly would be needed to end the curfew?

08:13 AM

Watch: Margaret Ferrier accuses Dominic Cummings of 'undermining public trust' by breaking lockdown rules

Margaret Ferrier has been accused of hypocrisy, pointing out that she had previously claimed Dominic Cummings' position as Boris Johnson's chief adviser was "untenable" after his trip to Durham.

In the video below the MP rails against the Prime Minister's aide for "undermining public trust in lockdown rules" and breached "integrity" standards.

Watch below and make your own mind up.

08:03 AM

Labour and Conservative figures question Margaret Ferrier timeline

The SNP's version of events around Margaret Ferrier's breaking of coronavirus laws is being questioned by people who claim the timeline of events don't add up.

Labour MP and shadow Scotland secretary Ian Murray tweeted:

Speaker directly contradicted what SNP are saying. Who drafted Ms Ferriers apology & was it assisted by SNP press office? SNP run their group with an iron fist. I doubt they didnt know until Thurs when speaker knew Wed & I doubt Margaret went home Tues w/o informing SNP whip! https://t.co/oPI87GzmVB  Ian Murray MP (@IanMurrayMP) October 2, 2020

Amid reports that Ferrier voted by proxy on Tuesday, - meaning she had to notify the Speaker on Monday - he added: "You dont need reason for proxy vote as the system operates in good faith but I think any reasonable person when applying due to testing positive would tell speaker, parly authorities, and party why?"

Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross told Times Radio: "There's an awful lot of questions to be answered here as to when the SNP found out."

He said the party might have been aware as early as Monday evening when Ms Ferrier first asked to be granted a proxy vote.

Mr Ross himself resigned as a Government minister over his party's refusal to condemn Dominic Cummings' trip to Durham with his family at the height of lockdown while suffering coronavirus symptoms.

07:56 AM

Robert Jenrick denies that politicians consider themselves above the law

Robert Jenrick has denied that politicians consider themselves above the law, after he repeatedly refused to say whether Margaret Ferrier should resign, stressing that "nobody is above the law".

The MP, who was stripped of the SNP whip last night, has "accepted that she has broken the law - that is now a matter for the police authorities who are investigating the matter."

But he stressed it was "for her to consider what her political future is", adding: "It is a matter for her to decide what she wants to do."

The Housing Secretary added: "Nobody is above the law, and Margaret Ferrier has accepted that she broke the law. That is a serious situation and she needs to decide what she needs to do."

But challenged on why he would not call for her to quit - and whether it was because politicians do believe they are above the law, Mr Jenrick said: "I don't think it's wise for politicians to be passing judgement.... with respect that isn't the case, plenty of politicians are quick to pass judgement."

07:50 AM

EU must show 'final degree of flexibility' on talks, says Cabinet minister

The EU must show a "final degree of flexibility" if a trade deal is to be reached within the deadline, the Housing Secretary has said.

Speaking just as Downing Street revealed that Boris Johnson would speak to Ursula von der Leyen tomorrow to "take stock" of negoations, Robert Jenrick said it was "too early to say" whether that call would have any bearing on a final deal.

"Clearly there is a lot to do and there isn't very much time now," he told the Today programme. "We are urging the EU to show flexibilty and pragmatism in talks.

"We will hear from Lord Frost later today... and there is the scheduled call for tomorrow. We hope we can move swiftly to reach the kind of trading arrangement we would like to see along the lines of one agreed with Canada."

But failing that the UK would be "perfectly happy" to adopt Australia-style terms after transition, he added.

"Let's see what happens - there are still some very significant issues to be resolved.... The EU knows our position. We are happy to be trading on same terms as Australia if they are not able to show that final degree of flexibility."

07:43 AM

Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen to 'take stock of negotiations' tomorrow

Boris Johnson is to hold talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to take stock of negotiations on a post-Brexit free trade deal, Downing Street has said.

The two leaders will speak on Saturday to discuss the "next steps" following the conclusion of the final formal round of talks in Brussels.

The chief negotiators Michel Barnier and Lord Frost are meeting today in the Belgian capital at the end of a week of talks.

A No 10 spokesman said: "The Prime Minister will be speaking to President von der Leyen tomorrow afternoon to take stock of negotiations and discuss next steps."

The announcement raises fears that the talks are still at deadlock and David Frost has not achieved a much-needed breakthrough.

But other EU sources have suggested that the fact the two leaders are talking means a deal could be close. It has long been expected that the leaders would be brought in to find a solution to the hardest to solve issues.

07:41 AM

Government may have to consider local furlough for longer-term lockdowns, says former minister

The Government may have to consider introducing local furlough schemes if restrictions last for longer than a couple of weeks, a former minster has said.

Simon Clarke, the MP for Middlesbrough South and Cleveland East, said he had been "desperately reluctant" for a local lockdown to be imposed, because of his "wider concern about how you escape once it is imposed", but accepted that restrictions were necessary.

The "focus for the town" was now to get back to normality as quickly as posssible, he added, urging local residents to follow the rules that would allow restrictions to be eased.

Asked about a local furlough for those under tighter rules, Mr Clarke said: "Obviously there is an element whereby we have to keep an eye on how long these local interventions last. If we are in restrictions for two-to-three weeks as opposed to two-to-three months, that will make a difference.

"If we are not going to be in position where able to make a rapid exit then clearly we will need to keep how this plays out for communities like mine under review."

Simon Clarke (R) with the Telegraph's Christopher Hope - Geoff Pugh

07:30 AM

MPs must be 'judged by highest standards', says Ian Blackford

MPs have to be "judged to the highest standards", SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has said as he told Margaret Ferrier to "reflect on her situation".

The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West admitted to travelling to Parliament without waiting for test results, speaking in the Commons, and then returning home by train after receiving a positive result.

Mr Blackford stripped her of the whip last night.

Asked if he wanted Ms Ferrier to resign, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is a very serious situation. We have been living with this Covid for a number of months. Now, people are making enormous sacrifices and MPs have to be judged to the highest standards.

"And, we have a situation here that not only has the guidance been broken, but the law has been broken.

"And, I would simply say to Margaret that people will expect her to reflect on the situation that she has put herself in."

07:25 AM

Scottish Tory calls for Margaret Ferrier to be expelled from SNP

John Lamont, Scottish Conservative MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, has said Margaret Ferrier should be expelled from the SNP.

He told BBC Good Morning Scotland: "The SNP could expel her from the SNP party, they have suspended her, based on her own account she has broken the law and I think it's sufficiently serious to warrant expulsion from the SNP and that is an option which is open to the First Minister and to Mr Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster.

"Such is the seriousness of this, such is the potential risk to hundreds of other travellers and people within the country who potentially came into contact with Ms Ferrier as she travelled between Scotland and Westminster and back from Westminster to Scotland, I think the SNP should be expelling her."

Here is what his boss, Douglas Ross, had to say last night:

We are the middle of a pandemic - travelling hundreds of miles on public transport having tested positive for this deadly virus isnt a mistake, its complete disregard for everything we are fighting against. @MargaretFerrier must go, with immediate effect.  Douglas Ross MP (@Douglas4Moray) October 1, 2020

07:21 AM

Middlesbrough Council requested lockdown, says Housing Secretary

The Housing Secretary has insisted that Middlesbrough leaders asked the Government to impose local restrictions, following complaints councils and mayors have been bypassed in Covid-19 decision making.

Some local leaders who claimed they have been completely sidelined when regional lockdowns have been imposed on their communities.

Speaking to Times Radio, he insisted the Government was in regular contact with hundreds of local leaders, saying: "In many cases the restrictions being imposed now are coming at the request of local councils, that's certainly what happened in Teesside for example.

"I know there's been some suggestion that the Mayor or Middlesbrough didn't want the measures but in fact Middlesbrough Council actually requested that further measures were put in place."

He added: "We want the best possible relationship we can with local councils and mayors, they're leaders of their communities and they play an absolutely critical role in disseminating the messaging to local people."

Read more: Lockdown will destroy jobs and damage mental health, warns Middlesbrough Mayor

07:16 AM

Cabinet minister admits there is lockdown 'divide' forming across country

A Cabinet minister has admitted there is "a divide" forming between parts of the country under lockdown and those that remain with the lightest restrictions.

Yesterday Matt Hancock confirmed further restrictions would be brought in for Liverpool and other parts of the North West, prompting one local leader to say he would "defy" the Government. Currently at least 16m people in the UK are under lockdown.

The 10 local authorities with the worst rates are all in the North. Of those with the lowest rates, eight are in the South, sparking concern that the tighter restrictions could destroy the Prime Minister's levelling up promise.

Robert Jenrick, the Housing Secretary, told Sky News: "There is as you say a divide, there are some parts of the country where virus running much faster."

He insisted lockdowns were "not exclusively in the North of England, but when virus takes hold of a particular place we do have to take action" or risk a "domino-like" spread of cases.

07:11 AM

Donald and Melania Trump's diagnosis reminder of the 'seriousness' of coronavirus, says Housing Secretary

Donald and Melania Trump's Covid-19 diagnosis is a reminder of the "seriousness" of the disease, Robert Jenrick has said.

The news that the US President and his wife have caught coronavirus has sparked memories of Boris Johnson's brush with the disease, which saw him admitted to intensive care.

The Housing and Communities Secretary told Sky News: "We know what it is like to have - in our case the Prime Minister - who tested positive.

"Setting aside politics we all want to see [President Trump] get better soon."

He added: "Everybody has to rally around in those situations. In our case were were fortunate the Foreign Secretary took that role, the whole Cabinet came together and acted collegiately."

But there was a "moment of realisation of the seriousness of that disease, when someone close to you gets the virus and, God forbid, gets very ill.

"Let's hope he gets better very quickly."

06:52 AM

Donald and Melania test positive for coronavirus

Donald Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for coronavirus, the US President has confirmed.

It comes after a top adviser to Mr Trump tested positive for coronavirus and has symptoms - prompting the US President and his wife to quarantine ahead of their test results.

Hope Hicks travels regularly with Mr Trump on Air Force One and, along with other senior aides, accompanied him to Ohio for the presidential debate on Tuesday and to Minnesota for a campaign event on Wednesday.

"Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid-19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process," Mr Trump tweeted.

Two hours later he followed that up with this:

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

The President and his staff regularly do not wear masks. Mr Trump has denigrated people who wear them - despite health professionals saying masks are one of the key things people can do to help prevent the spread of the virus.
NEW DELHI: India is open to launching its own mobile app store or expanding an existing one if it receives enough demand from domestic firms for an alternative to Apple and Google platforms, a senior government official said on Thursday.

The country has some 500 million smartphone users, most of whom use Googles Android platform, but Indian start-ups have criticised the company for policies they say stifle their growth.

SoftBank-backed Paytm, one of Indias leading payments firms, protested against the U.S. tech giants decision to remove its app for a few hours last month citing violations of gambling policies.

Alphabet-owned Google also said this week that it will strictly enforce a policy which will levy a 30% commission on payments made within apps on its Android store.

In response to an earlier media report, a senior Indian official told Reuters New Delhi hasnt received any formal request but was willing to consider developing a mobile platform where apps could be downloaded.

Before we open one we need to know there will be takers for it," said the government official, declining to be named as he is not authorised to speak with media.

India already runs a mobile app store that lists over 1200 mainly government-backed applications, but also Paytm, and the government could also consider expanding that instead of starting from scratch, the official added.

Indias technology ministry, Google and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Google has previously said that fewer than 3% of developers with apps on its Play store sold digital goods over the last 12 months, and nearly 97% comply with its payment system policy.

Nonetheless, several Indian start-up founders are calling for a local app store that doesnt charge a high service fee.

Its absolutely necessary to have a local app store," said Vishal Gondal, co-founder of Bengaluru-based gaming firm nCore Games.

If we have to give 30% fees to Google and also pay for customer acquisition, how will our budding businesses survive?"

Paytm disagreed with Googles assessment but removed certain promotions to have its app reinstated. The companys founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has said in interviews that Google was acting as judge, jury and executioner".

Without referring to Paytm by name, Google later said its policies were aimed at protecting users from potential harm and were applied and enforced on all developers consistently.
Judge Catherine Staines, said she wanted to see a victim impact statement from three nurses who were assaulted by defendant Tina Fee (28) of 23, Cloncollig, Tullamore.

Ms Fee appeared before last week's sitting of Tullamore District Court.

Sgt James O'Sullivan, in his evidence to the court, said that on August 30 last at the Midlands Hospital in Portlaoise, Ms Fee lashed out and assaulted the nurses. She pushed one against a wall and spit in her face. She made a full admission, the court heard.

The defendant had nine previous convictions, five for assault.

Her solicitor Donal Farrelly said Ms Fee had serious mental difficulties and was on various medications for anxiety. Tina Fee told the judge she was ''very sorry.''

In requesting the victim impact statements, Judge Staines said she had to take into account how the nurses felt. Ms Fee asked her if she would go to prison.

Judge Staines said she would ask for a Probation Report.

She told Ms Fee she will have to cooperate with her Probation Officer. She also ordered a psychiatric report on the defendant.

Tina Fee told Judge Staines that she didn't want to go back to Portlaoise saying she didn't ''get on with them.'' She asked if she should pay compensation and agreed to pay 50 to each nurse.

Judge Staines put the case back to December 2, 2020, and extended legal aid to that date.
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A former University of Connecticut student charged with killing two people in Connecticut before leading police on a multistate manhunt made a brief appearance in state Superior Court in Vernon on Friday.

Peter Manfredonia, 23, has remained incarcerated since authorities took arrested him in Maryland on May 27.

Authorities allege he slashed one man to death with a Samurai sword in Willington, held another man in his home at gunpoint, and then shot and killed a former Newtown classmate in Derby before kidnapping that mans girlfriend fleeing through several states.

During Fridays hearing, Manfredonias attorney agreed to the release of an ATV held by investigators has evidence in the assault in Willington.

Theyve processed it photographed it and swabbed it for DNA, said attorney Michael Dolan, who is representing Manfredonia in all three cases pending against him stemming from the two alleged murders and home invasion.

He declined to comment when asked how his client is doing.

The spree of violence began around 9 a.m. on May 22 in Willington.

State Police allege Manfredonia fatally attacked 62-year-old Ted Demers with his sword after DeMers offered Manfredonia a ride on his four-wheeler.

Another man John Franco, 80, was also injured in the attack.

Witnesses said the assailant took off on a red Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle. Police later found the bike belonging to Manfredonia in Willington.

State police learned a female acquaintance of Manfredonias lived near the crime scene, according to the warrant for his arrest. The woman told investigators Manfredonia had an obsession with Samurai swords and she had considered getting a restraining order against him after she said he hacked into her social media accounts.

Two days later, state troopers were alerted to a Ford F-150 truck found abandoned near Osbornedale State Park by Derby police.

The registration showed the trucks owner lived not far from where Manfredonias motorcycle was recovered.

When police went to check on the trucks owner at his home, they found the 73-year-old tied to a chair in the basement.

According to the warrant, the man told investigators he woke up abruptly to a male with a gun to the back of my neck and shouting at me not to turn around or he would blow my (expletive) brains out.

He told police Manfredonia held him hostage in his home at gunpoint for more than 24 hours, during which time they watched TV and the man said he tried to reason with his captor to turn himself in.

I suggested that we call the authorities and work something out for him, the homeowner told troopers, according to the warrant. He was calm and apologetic, but couldnt explain why he did that. I asked how old was the guy that he got into the confrontation with and he said he wasnt that old. He said he couldnt believe that he could do that but then his demeanor switched immediately.

Manfredonia told the man he expected he would have two good weeks before the crime spree ended in either a shootout, the death penalty, or life in prison.

When Manfredonia left the home on May 24 he took the mans guns, ammo, credit cards, cash and food in his truck after leaving him in the basement.

Soon after, Derby police found Nicholas Eisele, a former Newtown High School classmate of Manfredonia, shot dead in his Roosevelt Drive home near where the truck was abandoned.

According to the second arrest warrant against Manfredonia, Eiseles girlfriend awoke to find the two in a tense standoff.

When the woman tried to call 911, Manfredonia ripped the phone out of her hand and began tussling with Eisele,

(I)t was like Manfredonia was trying to come after her and Nick tried to stop him, the womans account in the arrest warrant said.

She heard gunshots and saw Eisele lying on the floor.

The woman told police Manfredonia forced her to drive him to New Jersey in her Volkswagen Jetta, eventually letting her go after he took an Uber from a truck stop near the Pennsylvania border.

Days later, police caught up with Manfredonia at another truck stop in Hagerstown, Md., and arrested him without incident.

Manfredonia has been charged with murder, criminal attempt to commit murder, first-degree assault, home invasion, first-degree kidnapping with a firearm, first-degree robbery, first-degree larceny, two counts of first-degree stealing a firearm, and third-degree assault of an elderly person in the Willington assault and home invasion.

He also faces charges of murder, felony murder, first-degree kidnapping, home invasion, first-degree robbery and carrying a pistol without a permit in the Derby incident.

Manfredonia has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

He is due back in court on the Willington charges Nov. 20, his attorney said, and court records show he is due to appear in Superior Court in Milford on Oct. 29 for the Derby charges.
Todd Yates, technical director of Nestle Vietnam made the opening remarks

On the occasion of International Coffee Day on October 1, Nestle Vietnam has shared about its 10-year journey of developing sustainable coffee. Over the past 25 years of operating in Vietnam, Nestle Vietnam has joint hands with stakeholders to implement various Creating Shared Value initiatives, with NESCAFE Plan being one of the flagship programmes.

Todd Yates, technical director of Nestle Vietnam said that NESCAFE Plan has made significant contributions to the coffee industry and to the overall socioeconomic development of the country in the last 10 years. Specifically, the programme has improved the income and living standards of Vietnamese farmers by helping them increase coffee yields and making them into agripreneurs through interventions such as the distribution of high-yield seedlings to rejuvenate aging coffee areas, training, technology transfer, and assistance in achieving international certifications for sustainable coffee, among others.

In addition, NESCAFE Plan also supports local communities by injecting around $600 million per year to the rural economy through coffee purchases. Meanwhile, it strengthens sustainability practices in local coffee production by introducing sustainable coffee cultivation and practices to farmers that help reduce both water consumption and reliance on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Last but not least, the programme also harnesses the power of technology through an advanced software called FARMS to assist NESCAFE Plan participants.

"Through NESCAFE Plan, we have also helped strengthen the reputation of Vietnam as a source of high-quality coffee. Nestle uses coffee beans produced by farmers under the NESCAFE Plan in many of our products which are, in turn, distributed to more than 25 countries across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania. This includes markets with very high standards for quality and compliance such as Japan, Korea, the United States, and several countries in the European Union," he added.

These successes are not Nestles alone. Instead, it is the result of the company's on-going collaboration with Vietnamese stakeholders who share Nestles values and goal of further developing the countrys coffee industry. Among Nestles collaborators are the Department of Crop Production from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, its co-chair in public-private partnership (PPP) Coffee Task Force; the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (WASI); and Provincial Agricultural Extension Centers (PAECs) in the Central Highlands.

Binu Jacob, managing director of Nestle Vietnam, gave a briefing on the NESCAFE Plan

According to Binu Jacob, CEOof Nestle Vietnam, "We, at Nestle, remain deeply  if not even more  committed to the NESCAFE Plan. We are fully aware that we have an important role to play in supporting the sustainable development of Vietnams coffee industry. For the next decade, we have set our sights on not only continuing our work but bringing it to the next level."

Specifically, Nestle will add more value to Vietnamese coffee by continuously increasing the volume of processed coffee for both the domestic and export markets. The company continues to work with farmers and other coffee stakeholders to improve and monitor agricultural practices and to increase the adoption of sustainable coffee farming methods. Meanwhile, the company is committed to driving the circular economy by strengthening ustainability across our coffee value chain  from farming to production  and bringing new product choices to young and demanding local consumers.

"Together with the rest of the Vietnamese coffee community, we plan to do our part in helping Vietnam maintain its status as the second-largest coffee exporter in the world and become the global benchmark for Robusta coffee bean production," he stated. "More importantly, we aim for the NESCAFE Plan to help deliver one of Nestles overall goals which is to 'Unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone today and generations to come'."

In the past 10 years, NESCAFE Plan distributed 46 million high-yield coffee plantlets to farmers, significantly improving in yields as the plants mature

246,00 training sessions were given to farmers in the key provinces of Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, and Gia Lai, enabling them to increase their skills in coffee farming
As President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government admitted that they were manipulating the figures of COVID-19 cases from the beginning, there is a growing mood of militancy among workers in Turkey against the governments homicidal response to the pandemic.

This opposition targets not only the government, but also its co-conspirators in bourgeois opposition parties and trade unions. Workers increasingly sense that the entire political establishment, including the trade unions, only defend the profit interests of the ruling class at the expense of the workers health and lives.

The Erdogan government implemented a herd immunity policy backed by the bourgeois opposition led by the Republican Peoples Party (CHP). With CHP votes, the Erdogan government extended the forced unpaid leave process until July 2021 for hundreds of thousands of workers. It means receiving only 1,170 Turkish liras (about US$150), or half the minimum wage. The governments collaboration with the CHP against the working class reached a new low when they forced healthy workers of the Dardanel canned fish company in the western city of Canakkale back to work for 14 days alongside their COVID-positive workmates.

The trade unions were also complicit in this reactionary policy. As COVID-19 cases surged in workplaces in March, the pro-opposition Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DISK) declared that it might invoke the constitutional right to not work in unsafe conditions. However, it has never called strikes up to this day. Similarly, the pro-opposition Education and Science Workers Union (Egitim-Sen) supported the official back-to-school campaign, stating: Egitim-Sen thinks that face-to-face education should start in schools as soon as possible. Three teachers in Ankara have already lost their lives due to coronavirus last week.

Amid mounting anger among workers at these actions, the World Socialist Web Site recently discussed the pandemic with seven workers from four separate CHP-held district municipalities in Istanbul. Their names have been withheld to protect them from retaliation.

One worker from Sisli municipality said: Municipalities began lock-downs after March 15 and then many workers (nearly 800 workers in Sisli) were sent to their homes with a short-time working allowance, that amounts to just 60 percent of their wages.

He stated: In early July, the return to work began and almost no measures were taken in any municipality. In this way, just like the governments policies, positive cases were hidden from workers and work continued. The unions had no demands on this matter.

Though a new presidential decree allowed remote working for municipality workers, many local administrations did not send workers home. The worker explained that municipalities have just begun short-time or remote working again on October 1, after a resurgence of the coronavirus among workers and executives: One executive recently died from COVID-19.

Another worker in Sisli said: I think the government did not take adequate measures during the pandemic. And it is the same for municipalities. Measures taken for the workers are insufficient.

Asked about the role of trade unions in the process and the formation of rank-and-file safety committees among workers in the United States and Europe, she replied: I have not seen a positive role of trade unions in the pandemic. I think this [formation of committees] is due to the dysfunction of the unions. And I find these attempts very positive.

Referring to the recent exposure of the Turkish government deliberately lying and downplaying the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19, she added: Especially in the number of positive cases in the pandemic, we can see that [the government] is not acting honestly, as stated by the Turkish Medical Association. She went on to denounce the municipality administration: Employees in the municipality are not tested [for COVID-19]. There are only minimal precautions. For example, units that can work remotely are brought to the municipality. This means more working people and an increased risk of contamination.

She was very angry against unions, stating, The unions were like ghosts throughout the pandemic. We could not see them in any way, and workers were not informed about the process.

Workers must unite, she responded about the initiative for rank-and-file committees internationally, adding: The fact that they act together independently of some corrupt institutions means that the workers whom the boss unions want to keep under control are now awakening.

Another worker from Sisli also said: Commercial concerns are overriding public health, adding, Simple safety measures are not taken. The health care sector is about to collapse, and health care workers and public workers suffer the most [from the pandemic] among working people. She also supported building rank-and-file safety committees against herd immunity policies of governments around the world, stating: Workers of the world unite, but maintain social distancing.

One worker from Kadkoy municipality said, I think the implementation of herd immunity explicitly or implicitly stems from the fact that those countries maintain the economy is more important than human health.

Another worker from Buyukcekmece municipality denounced the ruling elites calls for normalization in the pandemic: Masses were encouraged to go out on the streets by making normalization propaganda. Harder, more precise and solution-oriented measures should be advanced.

A worker from Maltepe municipality expressed the widespread suspicion among workers about the official statements on the pandemic, stating: It is known that, from the beginning, the government did not manage the process transparently and constantly manipulated data. We are living in a period where only the employers are supported, the workers are not supported and they are forced to work without safety. They are the first to be sacrificed, and the policy of herd immunity is pursued in the background.

He also denounced municipal administration, saying: it has only implemented the decision taken by the governorship and government. They did not take serious measures; did not make widespread tests among workers, and hid information from us.

He also criticized the reactionary policies of the trade unions: Unions across the country have once again proved that they are collaborators of the government and business, arguing that the normalization process should be started as soon as possible. He declared his support for independent initiatives of workers such as rank-and-file safety committees, emphasizing that they must be organized internationally.

Amid a developing movement among auto workers, educators, bus drivers and other layers of workers, the powerful response to the rank-and-file committees among municipal workers in Istanbul is an important sign of a growing international trend with revolutionary implications. Workers increasingly want to and seek to organize independently from the political establishment and the trade unions against the homicidal policy of the ruling class.

Sosyalist Esitlik calls on municipal workers and other sections of the working class who support this initiative, to join our Facebook group to establish rank-and-file safety committees in your workplaces independently of the political establishment and the trade unions in a fight to save lives and oppose the death policy of the ruling class.
Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said he was disappointed that the company's work was politicized during this week's presidential debate.

Bourla issued the statement as he tried to reassure U.S. staff that the company will not be pushed to rush the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to a staff letter that Bourla wrote, he told employees on Thursday that the company is "moving at the speed of science" and not on any political timing.

"The only pressure we feel - and it weighs heavy - are the billions of people, millions of businesses and hundreds of government officials that are depending on us," Bourla noted.

Top federal health officials had repeatedly said that a vaccine is unlikely to be widely available until 2021. President Donald Trump, on the other hand, maintained that a vaccine would be ready before election day.

On Tuesday's debate with former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump said that he had talked with the companies whose COVID-19 vaccines are furthest along in testing.

Trump noted that he has spoken to Pfizer and all the other people he had to talk with, including Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and others. He said these companies could "go faster than that by a lot."

"It's become very political," Trump noted.

Pfizer said it expects to have data from its ongoing late-stage by October that could show whether its potential vaccine is safe and effective.

In his letter, Bourla said he hopes to have a hundred million doses delivered by the end of the year. Those doses could not be publicly distributed until the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews Pfizer's data.

The FDA would then decide whether to issue an emergency use authorization. With the emergency use authorization, the distribution of the vaccines would be allowed on a limited basis.

Initial shots are expected to go to medical and other frontline workers, nursing homes, and people most at risk of catching or becoming seriously ill from the virus.

Moderna's chief executive, Stephane Bancel, announced on Wednesday that Moderna would not be ready to apply for emergency use authorization with the FDA for its potential vaccine until Nov. 25 at the earliest.

Johnson & Johnson has already started the late-stage and final patient study of its vaccine last week. AstraZeneca, on the other hand, has its U.S. study on hold while the FDA reviews a potential safety problem. AstraZeneca has a candidate in late-stage trials around the world.

Bourla and top executive of eight other companies developing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments vowed in early September not to seek an emergency use authorization for their products until they were proven safe and effective.

Meanwhile, a team of experts have said that a successful COVID-19 vaccine will not conquer the spread of the virus alone.

A report from a multidisciplinary group convened by the Royal Society called Delve said there are serious challenges in procuring a vaccine. These challenges include manufacturing and storage, how effective the vaccines are, and problems with public trust.

Prof Nilay Shah, the head of the department of chemical engineering at Imperial College London, said that COVID-19 vaccines would have to answer questions about effectivity and passing regulations. Shah is also an author of the report.

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I made a personal commitment to her, he said. I told her I would do all in my power to find the person or persons responsible for killing her, or I would die trying. That commitment would lead Mr Glennon to establish a fund and raise nearly $1 million to help the Macro Taskforce carry out lie detector testing, mass DNA testing and FBI profiling in the early years of the investigation. He thanked the hundreds of police officers who had worked on the case throughout the past 23 years. My family has no criticism of what the police or the scientists might have done better during the very lengthy investigation, he said.

Ciara Glennon. They did the very best they could with the information, with the methods, with the equipment that they had available to them at that time. Mr Glennon, however, did criticise the "countless" media reports in the years between Ms Glennons disappearance and Mr Edwards arrest in 2016, saying many were based on speculation and caused needless suffering to his family. They serve little or no legitimate public interest value or purpose, he said. The dramatic headlines, the subjective content, repeatedly cast doubt on the investigative work of the police and the analytical work of the scientists, all of whom I know were working diligently and conscientiously with what they had to work with.

This form of reporting I can assure you inflicted needless additional suffering on my family. Of Sarah Spiers case, he said the 18-year-old's parents Don and Carol Spiers deserved justice after Edwards was acquitted over her death due to a lack of evidence. Dennis and Una Glennon leave court after Bradley Edwards was convicted of murdering their daughter Ciara Glennon. Credit:Nine He spoke of his desire for himself and Una to move forward now with the memories of their daughter always close to their heart. Crimes such as these inflict unforeseeable collateral damage, they take their toll physically, emotionally and spiritually on those left behind, he said.

As a family we will not allow ourselves to be prisoners of the past. We have chosen not to provide victim impact statements. The past is unquestionably for us engulfed by sadness, and that is a powerful force, but as a family the past is transcended but the fond memories of Ciara. As you know Ive had a deep personal involvement for more than 20 years in this case, I now intend to cease that personal involvement but I depart with a peaceful belief that justice has been delivered to Ciara. Ms Glennon was the third woman to vanish off the streets of Claremont in the mid-90s. On Thursday, Edwards was found guilty of her murder, and the murder of Jane Rimmer, 23.

Loading In the moments before her death Ms Glennon fought for her life, gouging at Edwards. That last desperate act by the young lawyer would deliver the crucial piece of evidence which would eventually see justice served more than 23 years after her death - Edwards' DNA embedded under her fingernail. The Glennon's are the second family to speak publicly following Thursday's monumental verdict. The Rimmer's released a statement shortly after the decision was made by Justice Stephen Hall.
NEW DELHI : No gathering is permissible around India Gate due to imposition of Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) which prohibits assembly of five or more people at a time, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) New Delhi.

"No gathering is permissible around India Gate due to imposition of Section 144 CrPC," DCP New Delhi wrote on Twitter.

On September 28, around 15-20 people belonging to the Punjab Youth Congress had gathered at India Gate and set a tractor on fire, while protesting against the new farm laws.

Six people have been arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the incident.

They also said that gathering of up to 100 people is permissible at Jantar Mantar and that too with prior permission of the competent authority.

"The general public is hereby informed that in view of DDMA order dated 03.09.2020 a total gathering up to 100 persons is permissible at the designated place i.e. Jantar Mantar and that too with prior permission of the competent authority.

"No gathering is permissible around India Gate due to imposition of Section 144 CrPC," New Delhi DCP Eish Singhal tweeted.

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MITWITZ, Germany  Two men, one riding a bicycle, the other wearing binoculars, met in a field in the middle of Germany on a recent afternoon. Both 61, they started arguing politely, the way strangers do, about where exactly the border between East and West Germany had been. Soon, it became clear that both had good reason to think they were right.

One used to be an East German border guard; the other grew up just west of the border and started bird-watching in the area at 13.

You might have seen me here with my big binoculars, said Kai Frobel, the onetime birder, thinking back more than three decades.

There were quite a few of those here then, laughed Mario Wenzel, the former guard, before predicting that all too soon nobody would remember the reality of a border within Germany.
Jantar Mantar buzzes with activity as protesters gather to seek justice for Hathras gang-rape victim

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Oct 02: Jantar Mantar in central Delhi buzzed with activity on Friday as the venue witnessed perhaps its first biggest protest ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with hundreds of protesters gathering there to demand justice for the Hathras gang-rape and murder victim.

Social distancing norms and wearing of masks went for a toss as many of the protesters raised slogans without wearing masks.

A sea of people from different walks of life -- students, activists, citizens and political leaders -- attended the protest which was initially supposed to be held at India Gate but was shifted to Jantar Mantar owing to the prohibitory orders in place around Rajpath area.

Hathras incident: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal joins protest at Jantar Mantar

"They are silencing the family but they would not be able to silence the people. I am scared due to the COVID-19 pandemic but raising my voice to demand justice for the Hathras victim is more important. That is what forced me to step out at this time," said Neha Dwivedi, one of the protesters.

People also held a candlelight vigil for the Hathras gang-rape victim as slogans demanding the resignation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth and seeking justice for the victim rent the air. Left leaning student activists carrying 'dhaplis' also raised slogans against the UP government.

The police had said gathering of up to 100 people is permissible at Jantar Mantar and that too with prior permission of the competent authority. However, the number of protesters were more than 100 at the protest site.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott framed his order limiting counties to only one location for collecting completed mail ballots as a way to enhance ballot security protocol and ensure COVID-19 safety measures. We need to call it what it is:

Voter suppression. Clear and simple.

There is, after all, no evidence of widespread mail-in ballot fraud; voting experts have repeatedly debunked that claim, as did FBI Director Christopher Wray to Congress on Sept. 24. And there is no proof that shutting down drop-off sites will do anything to protect the integrity of the election. If anything, the Harris County collection sites make voting even more secure, as they require voters to deliver their own ballots, sign in, speak with an assistant clerk and provide identification.

Abbotts order will only make it harder and riskier for vulnerable Texans  the elderly and those with underlying health conditions  to cast ballots amid the pandemic.

In Harris County, which has more than 4.7 million residents, 11 drop-off sites located at county clerk annex offices had to be shuttered under the governors order, which went into effect Friday, the same day voting rights groups sued in federal court to reverse it. If allowed to stand, it will force voters from all corners of the sprawling 1,777-square-mile jurisdiction to travel to the county election headquarters at NRG Arena if they want to hand deliver their mail ballots.

In a statement, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins accused Abbott of reneging on a July 27 proclamation designed to facilitate voting during the pandemic.

Our office is more than willing to accommodate poll watchers at mail ballot drop-off locations, Hollins said. But to force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single drop-off location in a county that stretches over nearly 2,000 square miles is prejudicial and dangerous.

More than 200,000 mail ballots have already been sent to Harris County voters, mostly to residents over the age of 65. Closing the drop-off sites will only sow confusion  and could discourage many voters from even casting a ballot.

That seems to be part of the Republican strategy for winning elections, which in recent years has ranged from Attorney General Ken Paxtons efforts to stop Harris County from sending mail ballot applications to the countys 2.4 million registered voters to lawsuits challenging voting laws in Pennsylvania and more than a half-dozen other states filed by the Republican National Committee, the Trump campaign and other GOP groups. Those efforts follow years of effort to make it harder, rather than easier to vote: the gutting of Section V of the Voting Rights Act and subsequent refusal to amend it, the widespread passage of voter ID laws, and relentless pressure against online, mail-in and early voting innovations.

In this case, Abbotts rationale for ordering the drop-off locations closed is so thin as to be almost laughable. On Wednesday, Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins told the state Supreme Court that his July 27 proclamation allowed voters to drop off mail ballots any time before election day and that state law permitted county clerks to designate multiple locations to do so.

This is one mistake that Abbott shouldnt wait for the courts to make right. He should rescind his order immediately  and pledge to do everything he can to make it easier for everyone to vote. Thats what common decency and the U.S. Constitution require. No one, not even Abbott, is above that.
There is no way to mourn a parent in advance, but that doesnt stop some of us from trying. When documentary filmmaker and cinematographer Kirsten Johnson noticed a decline in the health of her aging father, Dick, living alone in Seattle and still working at his lifelong profession as a psychiatrist, she opted to move him to New York, where shed be better able to take care of him. At the same time, finding herself unable to imagine life without him, she decided to enlist him in a playful experiment: shed use her filmmaking skillsand a cadre of helpers including set designers and stunt, makeup and sound peopleto create fake death scenarios in which Dick would star. Making an absurdist film in which her father would seemingly die but also come back again and again would be one way to allow him to live forever. The result is the sometimes funny but often probing documentary Dick Johnson Is Dead, now streaming on Netflix, and although it focuses on one particularly close and joyful father-daughter relationship, its bound to resonate with anyone who has watched, and worried, as a parent ages.

Dick Johnson is an affable guy with an easy laugh and a wry sense of humor, qualities his daughter shares: sometimes we see her in the frame, but more often shes off-camera, explaining to her father what theyre going to do next, or asking him a seemingly direct question and then laughing at his intentionally off-kilter answer. Johnson has built a solid career as a cinematographer, and has directed several films as well: Her 2016 documentary Cameraperson is both a memoir and a visual essay about what it means to view life through a camera lens. Johnsons mother (footage of whom appears in Cameraperson) died in 2007, living the last years of her life with Alzheimers. Dick carried on, until Johnson and other family members were made aware of certain problems: at work, hed been double-booking patients; behind the wheel, he ploughed through a construction site and kept on driving as if nothing had happened. Johnson knew it was time to intervene, and Dick Johnson Is Dead includes several scenes that show how wrenching it can be to deprive a formerly independent adult of certain freedoms. In one sequence Johnson explains to her father, off-camera, that she must sell his car before the move to New York; maybe hell drive again, but probably not. Johnson began working on the film in 2017, and as it progresses, Dick suffers some memory loss, and will eventually slide into dementia. At one point he acknowledges his dependence on his daughter, referring to himself as her little brother, whose job is to simply tag along. Its a funny observation, but a piercing one too.

Story continues

Mostly, though, the gallows humor shared by Dick and his daughter makes a good leavening agent, as Johnson sets up elaborate kicking-the-bucket scenarios for her father to play-act: Hes accidentally whacked with a beam by an absent-minded construction worker, causing a spray of obviously fake blood to spew from his neck. He tumblesbut not reallydown a flight of stairs and lands unconscious at the bottom, faking serious injury. He gets beaned by a falling air-conditioner that is, in actuality, a movie prop. The point of these exercises is to acknowledge the certainty of actual death while reveling in the fact that this time, at least, its not real. Its also a project that father and daughter could work on together, a small distraction for Dick as Johnson gets him resettled in a new life. This is both a work of catharsis and generosity.

Dick Johnson Is Dead is an odd and novel filmthere has never been anything like it, and its not something that could be easily imitated by anyone else. Its tones shift gently, like the rocking of the sea. One minute its fanciful: Johnson has concocted a magnificent heaven for Dick to inhabit after death, an afterlife grown-up-kids party replete with fountains of bubbling chocolate (Dick is a big fan of chocolate), famous dinner guests like Frida Kahlo and Buster Keaton (strangely convincing even though theyre just regular humans wearing big cardboard masks) and, most significantly, the presence of Dicks wife and Johnsons mother, looking young and vital (her face, too, is represented by one of those cardboard masks). Dick was born with deformed toes, something hed been self-conscious about his whole life. In the heaven Johnson has concocted for her father, Jesus pours magic water on his feet, rendering them perfect. Then Dick and his wiferepresented by dancers with lithe, youthful bodies, wearing cardboard masks of the duos younger selvesperform a rapturous Fred-and-Ginger style dance in evening clothes and bare feet. If this is heaven, who can wait to get there?

Kirsten and Dick Johnson in a scene from 'Dick Johnson Is Dead' Barbara Nitke/Netflix 2020 Netflix, Inc.

Yet one of the movies more willfully macabre moments presents some murky problems. Johnson stages a mock funeral for Dick at the Seventh-Day Adventist church he has long attendedhe climbs inside a casket and folds his arms beatifically, ready for his close-up. During the service, Dicks friends speak fondly of himits a fulfillment of the classic fantasy of being present at your own funeral and bearing witness to all the nice things people might say about you. Johnson presents the faux-service ambiguously: At first were not sure if Dick really has died. But then we see him and Kirsten watching the whole thing from the back of the church, laughing through parts of it. And while this may be giving away the ending, as of the completion of the film, Dick Johnson is still with us.

But during the fake funeral, one of Dicks oldest friends gets up to read a text and can barely get through it. He knows the service isnt realweve seen him, earlier, dismayed at the sight of his friend in the coffin but reminding himself, nervously, that its all just a movie. Even so, when the service begins, hes overwhelmed by sorrow. Later, Johnson and her father emerge from the back of the church, smiling and laughing and striding forward to greet the guests. But Dicks old friend is nowhere to be seen. Johnson shows him, alone in another part of the church, head bent, still crying. Hes in on the joke, yet he cant bear the joke. This mans suffering is very real to him, even if theres no need for it yet.

One of Dick Johnson's many fake deaths Netflix

This is a complicated moment, from a documentarians vantage point but also from a viewers. Johnson certainly didnt intend to be cruel. Perhaps shes merely stressing the idea that when Dick really is dead, his loss will be particularly devastating to some. And perhaps she simply didnt resolve the moment as gracefully as she might have. At one point Dick asks his daughter, with characteristic jocularity, why she doesnt make fiction films, where the big bucks are. Johnson tells him that real life is often much more fascinating than anything you can make up.

But even a documentarianas Johnson knows better than anyoneisnt just turning the camera on and capturing real life. There are decisions to be made, things to show and things to cut; a documentary about real people is a shaped vision of real life. Dick Johnsons death isnt, for now at least, real. But his friends grief, as its revealed to us, is. Johnson and her father share a sense of humor, and the bond between them informs the finest moments of Dick Johnson Is Dead. Yet I cant stop thinking about the friend crying, alone, in the church, so verklempt he forgot he was in a movieone place where this documentarys joyful dark humor isnt as amusing as it should be.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 2) - A think tank group believes that the soon-to-rise 735-billion international airport in Bulacan will not be a tax burden, but it would create jobs instead to revitalize the economy amid the pandemic.

The millions of jobs the project will create in the short, medium to long-term is a much-needed shot at our economy pushed to its knees by the Covid 19 pandemic, said Pinoy Aksyon in a statement on Friday.

The group made the statement following criticisms on the proposed tax exemption by the Congress to be granted to the project proponent San Miguel Corporation.

The House of Representatives recently approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 7575, which seeks to exempt SMC from all direct and indirect taxes, as well as fees to build, develop, and operate the 2,500-hectare New Manila International Airport.

A similar bill was also filed at the Senate.

The incentives Congress had afforded through a franchise is not only a reciprocation of the timely, appropriate and patriotic investment, it is the least we can do for a Filipino company willing to invest this much and help government pump-prime the economy, said the group in a statement.

Pinoy Aksyon noted that the government has nothing to lose if ever the airport will not push through.

Fears of losing potential tax revenues have no basis to start with, because if the project does not push through, there will be no collectibles to be accounted, it said.

The government said early this year that it may forfeit the 11-billion performance bond of SMC if it fails to fulfill its agreement to construct the airport.

The group also said that Filipino investments like this must be supported. It added that the airports possible economic contributions must be studied as well.

What may need to be studied is the economic contribution this project could create. Downstream and upstream businesses will eventually create taxes aside from the jobs and other economic assets the project will create, said Pinoy Aksyon.
Breitbart devoted several posts to criticizing Moore, Pelosi and The Washington Post  the latter for tweeting and then quickly deleting a link to an op-ed column published prior to news of the presidents positive test. The column carried the headline, Imagine what it will be like to never have to think about Trump again. (The Post said that the tweet was sent by an automated program and that editors removed it because the subsequent news of President Trumps infection rendered it tasteless.) The conservative site took Pelosi to task for her Friday morning comments on MSNBC that Trump going into crowds unmasked was a brazen invitation for his positive test. (Pelosi went on to acknowledge the great sadness of the news and say that she prays for the president and his family.) Moore drew attention, meanwhile, because, as Breitbart said, the liberal documentary filmmaker floated the conspiracy theory that Trump could be lying about having COVID-19 to prepare us and counteract his game and gain sympathy ahead of the presidential election.
A group of Houston police officers was sued this week over a 2019 arrest that turned violent when one officer fatally shot a familys German Shepard and recklessly injured a bystander, according to a complaint filed Monday in federal court for the Southern District of Texas.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of siblings Lesslie and Michael Rivera, names the city of Houston and six Houston police officers as defendants. The officers were assisting a federal task force in executing an arrest warrant for the siblings father, who had been indicted on federal charges including conspiracy and possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute.

According to the complaint, authorities had already handcuffed the father on the morning of Jan. 10, 2019, when Officer Juan Garza fired his weapon multiple times toward the familys German Shepherd, Max. One bullet injured Lesslie, who was standing next to the dog with her two-year-old child in her arms, the complaint said.

Further, the complaint said, Lesslie and her brother were falsely arrested after the shooting.

The officers named in the lawsuit include Garza, George Michael Potter, Roger Delarosa, Jonathan Montana Villarreal, Heraclio Chavez and Maria Virginia Rodriguez.

A Houston Police Department spokesperson said the agency cannot comment on pending litigation. Mary Benton, the citys communications director, said Thursday morning the city had not yet been served with the lawsuit.

If and when served with the complaint, the City will respond to and handle the matter in court as may be appropriate, she said.

In a news release the day of the shooting, Houston police said the dog charged at the officers in an aggressive manner. The news release said Lesslie was struck by a fragment, and that medical staff at the hospital could not determine what caused her wound.

The officer was shooting in a downward motion at the dog and ricochet marks could be seen on the concrete driveway, the release said.

The lawsuit contends the news release was a cover-up for what it described as a reckless and malicious use of deadly force. It blames the city for not providing enough training for the officers and suggested that race played a role in the shooting.

Lesslie, her brother and the 2-year-old child were traumatized from the incident, according to the lawsuit, which asked for compensatory damages of at least $8 million.

The encounter centered on an arrest warrant for Lesslies father, Mario Pizano Rivera, who has since pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin. The task force, composed of DEA, ICE and FBI agents, was heavily armed when officers confronted him at the home in the 7700 block of Greenstone Street in southeast Houston, the lawsuit said.

Mario complied with officers commands to take the dog in the house, where Lesslie, then 22, and Michael also lived. The officers were placing Mario in handcuffs in the front yard when Lesslie appeared from the back door, watching her father from afar with the toddler in her arms.

Meanwhile, the dog escaped through a window and sat next to Lesslie. They were positioned about 35 feet away from the officers, separated by a closed iron fence, the lawsuit said. The dog began barking.

Seconds later a round of bullets was fired in the direction of the dog, Lesslie and the baby, the lawsuit said.

The officer fired five to six rounds, the lawsuit said, and the dog died in surgery.

After the shooting, the officers named in the lawsuit told Lesslie she was under arrest, though she was never charged with a crime, the complaint said. She was treated for her wound at a hospital.

The same day, other members of the task force arrested Michael and his mother while she drove him to his high school. They, too, were released without charges, the lawsuit said.

julian.gill@chron.com
Gandhi Jayanti: Farmers protesting farm laws will be successful, says Sonia Gandhi

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, Oct 02: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday expressed confidence that protests by her party and farmers against the central government's three farm laws will be successful as she issued a video message on the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

"Today, when we are observing the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, farmers are protesting against the three anti-farmer laws. I believe that the agitation by farmers and Congress will be successful and farmers will emerge victorious," Gandhi said in her message in Hindi.

This Gandhi Jayanti, an e-marketplace only for tribal sellers

It can be seen that farmers across the country have taken to streets against the three laws, which, they say, will lead to the dismantling of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

However, Congress is on the forefront of protests against the farm laws. In fact, Gandhi had asked Congress-ruled states to explore ways to 'bypass' the three new laws. The Modi government, on its part, has hailed the three laws as 'pro-farmers' and 'revolutionary'.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

Hathras rape victim burnt like orphan under police force: Sonia

Farmers have continued to protest, with the northern states of Punjab and Haryana being the epicentres of the stir. In Punjab, farmers have been holding a 'rail roko' agitation since September 24.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, have thrown their weight behind the protesting farmers. Punjab's Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was forced to break its ties with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the three laws.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 2, 2020, 11:53 [IST]
An entrepreneur has opened the 'world's smallest takeaway', opening a curry house from a disused red phone box.

Tayyab Shafiq, 25, set up his business in a red phone box on Uxbridge High Street in North West London.

He is renting the three booths from the Red Kiosk Company, which works with BT to provide unused telephone boxes to local businesses.

Tayyab Shafiq, 25, set up his business in a red phone box on Uxbridge High Street in North West London

The 25-year-old told MailOnline: 'It's the first of its kind as it's going to be the world's smallest takeaway. I thought it would be a great benefit to turn a place where people vomit on Friday nights into a useful thing.

'I discussed it with my landlord [who runs the Red Kiosk Company] and he agreed. I had all the professional cleaning and everything done and then started.

'From afar it looks like a small telephone booth but it has refrigeration, drinks, cookies, curries, biryani, samosas and kebabs. We have a wash basin too, and we had a full hygiene inspection with a good response.'

He is renting the three booths from the Red Kiosk Company, which works with BT to provide unused telephone boxes to local businesses

He added: 'We have a lot of regular clients who are part of the community. The plan is to scale up and open other places in London to make it a franchise, people are loving it.

'It gets attraction, and we make sure to give the best quality food, taking twice a day from a kitchen company and making sure health, safety and quality is maintained.

'It makes me sad when I see these telephone booths which have been used as toilets for people on nights out. I want to maintain this iconic British heritage.'

The Red Kiosk Company was conceived by a pair of market traders who found two unused phone boxes by Brighton Pier and asked BT if they could buy them to use as a kiosk for sunglasses and hats.

Mr Shafiq: 'It makes me sad when I see these telephone booths which have been used as toilets for people on nights out. I want to maintain this iconic British heritage'

They have since accumulated 125 booths from across the UK, including sites in Edinburgh, Leeds, London and Plymouth.

Eddie Ottewell, one of the market traders who helped to come up with the idea of renting out unused telephone boxes, told MailOnline: 'Most people use the booths as a coffee or souvenir shop, Tayyab is a little bit different and a bit of a one-off really.

'We've refurbished it for him and the public love him, they think it's great. I believe he's been helping the homeless people too by handing out the food to them at certain points.

'He transformed the boxes and attracted loads of attention. We rent sites out from 5 a day and up to 50 a day on a long-term let.

'We've been inundated with enquiries since the lockdown, and we've ended up selling some of our sites so it's been really good from the government's view financial wise. It couldn't have worked better for some of our tenants.'
President Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, joining a small group of world leaders who have been infected. Trump is 74, putting him at higher risk of serious complications. Heres a look at other leaders who have had the virus. Some are sending Trump their wishes for a speedy recovery.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Pippa Fowles/10 Downing Street via AP, File)AP

BORIS JOHNSON

The British prime minister was the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, after facing criticism for downplaying the pandemic. He was moved to intensive care in April after his symptoms dramatically worsened a day after he was hospitalized for what were called routine tests. He was given oxygen but did not need a ventilator, officials said. He later expressed his gratitude to National Health Service staff for saving his life when his treatment could have gone either way. Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, also tested positive in March and showed mild symptoms.

JAIR BOLSONARO

The Brazilian president announced his illness in July and used it to publicly extol hydroxychloroquine, the unproven malaria drug that hed been promoting as a treatment for COVID-19 and was taking himself. For months he had flirted with the virus, calling it a little flu, as he flouted social distancing at lively demonstrations and encouraged crowds during outings from the presidential residence, often without a mask.

JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ

The Honduras president announced in June that he had tested positive, along with two other people who worked closely with him. Hernandez said he had started what he called the MAIZ treatment, an experimental and unproven combination of microdacyn, azithromycin, ivermectin and zinc. He was briefly hospitalized and released. He has added his voice to growing pleas for equitable access to any COVID-19 vaccine, asking the recent U.N. gathering of world leaders, Are people to be left to die?

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO

The president of Belarus, who dismissed concerns about the virus as psychosis and recommended drinking vodka to stay healthy, said in July he had contracted it himself but was asymptomatic. Belarus is one of the few countries that took no comprehensive measures against the virus. Other top officials in former Soviet states who were infected include Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO

The palace of Monaco in March said the ruler of the tiny Mediterranean principality tested positive but his health was not worrying. He was the first head of state who publicly said he was infected.

ALEJANDRO GIAMMATTEI

The Guatemalan president said he tested positive for the virus in September. My symptoms are very mild. Up to now, I have body aches, it hurt more yesterday than today, like a bad cold, he said during a televised address. I dont have a fever, I have a bit of a cough. He said hed be working from home.

JEANINE ANEZ

The virus drove the Bolivian interim president into isolation in July, but she said she was feeling well.

LUIS ABINADER

The newly elected president of the Dominican Republic contracted and recovered from COVID-19 during his campaign. He spent weeks in isolation before the countrys July election.

IRAN

Iran, the epicenter of the Mideasts initial coronavirus outbreak, has seen several top officials test positive. Among them are senior Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar. Cabinet members have tested positive, too.

INDIA

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, 71, recently tested positive but his office said he had no symptoms and was quarantined at home. Home Minister Amit Shah, the No. 2 man in Prime Minister Narendra Modis government, was hospitalized for COVID-19 last month and has recovered. Junior Railways Minister Suresh Angadi last week was the first federal minister to die from COVID-19.

ISRAEL

Israels then-Health Minister Yaakov Litzman tested positive in April and recovered. Litzman is a leader in Israels ultra-Orthodox community, which has seen a high rate of infection as many have defied restrictions on religious gatherings. The minister for Jerusalem affairs, Rafi Peretz, tested positive over the summer as cases surged nationwide and recovered.

SOUTH AFRICA

The countrys defense minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, mineral resources and energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, and labor minister, Thulas Nxesi, were infected as cases surged in June and July.

SOUTH SUDAN

Vice President Riek Machar was among several Cabinet ministers infected.

GAMBIA

Vice President Isatou Touray tested positive in July along with the ministers of finance, energy and agriculture.

GUINEA-BISSAU

Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam in April said he tested positive.
Home Search ICH Full Disclosure



By Paul Edwards



October 01, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - At last! Good news!



Hows that, you say. Youre wondering what universe I refer to after having just seen the most absurd, disgraceful excuse for a Presidential debate in the history of the Republic.



Its got to be something else, something that happened that you missed that will lessen the seeping shame and bilious nausea you feel, the sense of having been personally defiled by that dirty, grotesque mud wrestle you cant unsee, as you cant a gross, invasive image generated by a sick flasher or fatal accident.



But no In a larger senseand the only one that mattersthe good news is the grisly thing itself, the debate, the source and cause of your disgust and revulsion. Understand: this is not to invalidate the only appropriate response to the woeful spectacle of two shallow, hollow, blithering cyphers, mewling and puking on each other. There could be no other sane response to that.



The good news is not in what they did or what they are: the good news is that by their clownish, degraded Lucha Libre hog-rassle they have exposed openly, indisputably, the obscene charade our political system has evolved into: a stark horror that craftier, more elegant behavior and smoother, more amiable burlesques, have kept hidden from the American people for generations. Forever! No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Newsletter We are a blinded, despised, bamboozled people. To keep us so is the purpose and intent of the system that rules us. From its beginnings, America was a Capitalist racket run on manipulation and exploitation of its people. From Sheas Rebellion to Citizens United it has jammed one vicious, rank perversion of justice after another down our throats. Lincoln knew betteras his letters revealthan to laud a government of, by, and for the people.



The job of Presidents, Congress, and the nomenklatura of the Deep State has been to keep the great mass of Americans completely oblivious to the Capitalist Tyranny that owns them. Our leaders are trained to present a wholesome, ideal image of the nation, using the deep hunger of the ignorant and powerless to identify with a heroic, victorious force to bind their loyalty in the brazen face of their endless betrayal, feeding them poison exceptionalism instead of the nurture proper to a civilized state.



While their bought employees in elected offices composed and sang hymns of deception to the gullible people, the Capitalist oligarchs and combines devised and implemented means and methods to simultaneously steal and sell the natural bounty of the land that belongs to all for their gain, to create legal mazes to abuse, degrade and pauperize labor, and to kill its every attempt to defend itself with unified power. Labor history in America is a bitter saga of brutal repression and violent reaction by Capitalism and its legal and illegal military/police gestapos against the lives and well-being of working people. And Federal propaganda has schooled workers to bow and be grateful for it. And most are.



If that were all Capitalism had done, it would be a civilizational crime as massive as any in human history but its only one part, and a lesser one, of its dark and devious malignity. Beyond the crippling damage done to its own, it has enslaved and brutalized the worlds people with its raging, insatiable voracity, violated and destroyed the greater part of wild nature, and shattered whole countries of simple, peasant people with its diabolical War Machine. Perhaps as criminal as anything it has done is to have cauterized the consciences of Americans to the point that they view our rape and destruction of other peoples with indifference.



This is a short list of what the criminally deceptive dignity and decorum of our governmental process has covered. This litany of intentional, cynical evil is what generations of Presidents vetted and empowered by the Capitalist oligarchy that owns the parties have brought us. This is where those poised, genteel figureheads, from the cornfed, homespun Main Street lingo of Truman, who atomic bombed Japan, and Eisenhower, who sold us to the Military-Industrial Complex and then warned us about it, to the Oxbridge Suthrun drawl of Clinton who oversaw the charnel house of Serbian race murder and the disease deaths of half a million Iraqi kids, and the elegant Harvard glosses and locutions of Obama, who lulled and soothed us through eight years of unrestrained mayhem and murder around the world.



So good news? You goddam betcha! Because this sick farce, televised to the astonishment and consternation of any but the most hopeless morons, has shown by its ugliness, its vacuity, its sheer, unredeemed stupidity, the naked truth of the pit of human folly and incompetence into which American politics has sunk.



That these two contemptible specimens are standard bearers of parties jousting for our votes has ripped the decayed masks off the oligarchy and shown what a barrenly empty, dirty game American polity is, and how stupid, cowardly and false is the system and its owners, who put faith, trust, and money on these sorry, blowhard Punch and Judy puppets. And if this pageant of imbecility and buffoonery in its supreme vulgarity can awaken Americans to their reality there can be no better news than that.



Without a major revolution in this countrynot minor eruptions in city streets, squares and shopping malls, which cuts no serious ice and invites its own defeat, but in the minds and hearts of Americansthis country cannot stagger on much longer before chaotic meltdown. What we still have is far too sick and rotten and moribund to continue. A new consciousness is the key to a survivable future.



The blinders are off now. The gruesome thing has shown what it is. And there are none so blind as those who will not see. Paul Edwards i s a writer and film-maker in Montana. He can be reached at: hgmnude@bresnan.net Post your comment below See also How The U.S. Got Divorced from Reality: Christian Utopias, Anti-Elitism, Media Circus The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Search Information Clearing House === The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load.
Two interconnected political facts dominated the 10th Congress of the International Committee of the Fourth International, held in January 1985, though neither of them were discussed. The first was the devastating political crisis within the Workers Revolutionary Party. The second was the suppression of the political differences which had arisen within the International Committee during the previous three years.

The political degeneration of the WRP was at the heart of the crisis inside the International Committee. Not only had the British section abandoned its responsibility to provide theoretical, political and organizational leadership to the world movement; it was now the main source of revisionist politics and disorientation within the ICFI. Its work inside the International Committee had assumed the character of a world-wide wrecking operation. For Healy the International Committee now existed only as a source of financial income and political prestige. Outside of these pragmatic considerations, he was opposed to its continued existence. As far as Slaughter was concerned, the IC was nothing more than an occasional diversion and a useful travel office for his summer vacations.

Neither Healy, Banda nor Slaughterthe main British delegates to the 10th Congresshad any up-to-date detailed knowledge of the international workers movement nor the day-to-day political life of any IC section outside Britain. None of them systematically followed the press of the IC sections or read their documents. In the course of the 10th Congress, it emerged that a major document produced by Canadian comrades had rested on Bandas desk for more than one year without being read. Correspondence from IC sections and sympathizers in other countries generally went unanswered. Healy, who had maintained an extensive correspondence with the Workers League between 1966 and 1974, wrote just two brief letters to David North during the following decade. On the other hand, Healy wrote regularly to various bourgeois nationalist leaders in the Middle East.

From 1975 the WRP leaders reduced their visits to the international sections to a bare minimum. Prior to the split with Wohlforth inside the Workers League, Healy had made regular visits to Canada in order to maintain contact with the leading members of the American organization. But after 1974 Healy never again visited the North American continent to meet with the Workers League Central Committee. On one occasion, in 1979, he flew to Alaska to visit Vanessa Redgrave on location during the filming of a pot-boiler called Bear Island. A meeting with the Workers League had been scheduled to take place in Toronto during Healys return to London. Deposits were put down by the Americans after suitable accommodations had been found. At the last minute, without any explanation, Healy cancelled the stopover and flew directly back to London.

Relations with the other sections were no better, and, in some cases, even worse. The Bund Sozialistische Arbeiter (BSA), the German section of the International Committee, was not visited by Slaughter after 1975. Its leaders were not given the opportunity to conduct systematic political work within Germany; instead, they were used, year after year, to organize lengthy marches throughout Europe, which inevitably ended with rallies in London that served the immediate political needs of the WRP. The British section looted their reserves to the tune of tens of thousands of marks. In 1980 Healy turned up in Munich for a printing exposition and forced the young German comrades to commit their section to the purchase of a web-offset press costing several hundred thousand pounds. To meet their obligation, they were forced to organize massive loans that crippled the organization. In the end they were forced to default on the contract. The WRP, however, which negotiated the termination of the contract with the printing company, profited handsomely. As the International Control Commission later learned, Healy lied to the Germans about the sum of the final settlement with the Solna Company and skimmed about 35,000 marks (c. 10,000) off the top.

The Sri Lankan section, one of the oldest in the International Committee, having emerged out of the fight against the historic betrayal of the LSSP, was last visited by a political leader of the British movement in 1972. Later visits were made by Alex Mitchell and Corin Redgrave and their political value to the Sri Lankan Revolutionary Communist League was what might be expected. Correspondence from RCL leaders frequently went unanswered and they were not informed of IC work or even given advance notice of most of its meetings. As far as the WRP was concerned, the limited resources of the Sri Lankan Trotskyists did not justify claims on its time.

The Australian section was visited twice in the space of a decadenot counting the theatrical tour of Vanessa Redgrave in 1982, which proved immensely lucrative for the WRP but came close to bankrupting the Socialist Labour League. Moreover, Redgraves tour poisoned the relations of the Australian section with the Arab community, for she was seen by many as an opportunist who used the Palestinian cause as a fund-raising gimmick.

Promising sections in other countries were destroyed. A group of Portuguese members, who had come around the ICFI after the April 1974 Revolution, were lost without any explanation. The Spanish section, which at one point had several dozen active members in the political aftermath of Francos death, was, by 1985, reduced to no more than three active members. The Irish group was simply abandoned. No less criminal was the attitude of Healy to the building of a movement in France. A devoted young comrade was instructed to spend all her time in France running a small business, on the grounds that this would create a secure foundation for the establishment of a section. This work was placed under Healys personal supervision and could not be broached inside the ICFI.

Young comrades from different sections who showed promise were ordered to London were they were integrated into Healys apparatus and kept in the country for years. Even worse, their activity was generally of a technical and apolitical character. When they were finally returned to their sectionsusually after being denounced by Healy for one or another imaginary offensethese comrades were politically disoriented and most of them soon dropped out of the revolutionary movement.

These horrifying organizational practices were inseparable from the political sabotage carried out by the Healy-Banda-Slaughter leadership. Functioning as a clique within the ICthey never disagreed amongst themselves during meetings of the International Committeethey were either indifferent to the questions raised by the sections or they willfully intervened in their work to impose disastrously wrong political lines.

The ultra-left line devised by the WRP in 1975 was forced on all the other sections in Europe and Australia where there existed large Social-Democratic parties. The demand for the bringing down of Labor and Social-Democratic governments was transformed into a universal strategy, and this had a catastrophic impact upon the sections involved. The BSA was nearly destroyed by this policy, as the German working class responded with hostility to this ultra-left nonsense. The imposition of the same line produced political disorientation within the Australian SLL.

Special mention must be made of the role played by Bandathe self-proclaimed expert on the Theory of Permanent Revolutionin undermining the work of the comrades in Sri Lanka. In 1972 they were told by Banda that their position in support of the right of the Tamil nation to self-determination was wrong and had to be reversed. By 1977, after the Tamil national liberation movement had attracted mass support and established its legitimacy, the RCLs previous position was proved correct. Banda then suggested that the Sri Lankan section should change its line. However, when an openly Sinhalese chauvinist tendency emerged within the RCL in opposition to this necessary and belated correction, Banda lined up with the right-wing minority against the RCL leadership. Prior to the 10th Congress of the ICFI, the RCL submitted a lengthy perspectives document for discussion which was based on the Theory of Permanent Revolution. Banda denounced the RCL comrades for having imposed upon his time with a 50-page documentasking them sarcastically if they thought they were preparing a doctoral thesisand refused to circulate it amongst the international delegates.

After the Seventh Congress in 1977the last meeting of the ICFI that dealt at all with problems of international perspectivepolitical discussion with the British became virtually impossible. Beginning with the Eighth Congress in 1979, every major gathering of the ICFI was made the occasion for disloyal provocations staged by Healy with the assistance of Banda and Slaughter. These provocations were used to prevent any discussion on the political documents and practical work of the sections, as well as to silence any criticism of the WRPs work that might be brewing within the ICFI. Petty incidents which were of no political significance were blown up to prove that one section or another was hostile to the WRP. Looking back on each of these experiences, it is possible to connect them to a very definite attempt to sabotage political discussion within the ICFI. Healy himself had no interest in political questions outside Britain. Except on rare occasions, when he was fishing for a pretext to launch a factional attack, he did not read the newspapers of any other section.

The attitude of the WRP leadership toward the International Committee was dominated by an almost unbelievable chauvinism that governed every aspect of its dealing with the sections. Exploiting the political authority that was based on their role in the struggle against Pabloism in the 1960s, they consciously subordinated all the work of the international movement to the immediate practical needs of the British section. Their own participation within the internal life of the ICFI was of a privileged and exceptional character. They prepared no political reports on their own work. The real nature of their relations with the Arab bourgeois was concealed and lied about. When attending sessions of the ICFI, their delegates came and went as they pleased. The only thing they did speak about at length were their astonishing organizational advancessales of 17,000 News Lines per day; a membership approaching 10,000; and vast resources. The secret of their successes, or so they claimed, was summed up again and again with the phrase, We know how to build and this was counterposed to the problems of all the other sections. It took some time, due to the inexperience of the sections, but the ICFI finally learned what Healy had been buildinga centrist dungheap!

It must be stated that the political degeneration of the WRP during the 1970s had created a situation in which the ICFI could not develop politically as a homogeneous organization. None of the sections which were formed after 1973 came into the ICFI on the basis of a genuine agreement on questions of principle. The sections of the ICFI were not functioning on the basis of a common international program. From 1975 on, Healy worked consciously within the ICFI to prevent a genuine international clarification. When differences arose, they were settled bureaucratically. In Greece, the leadership which raised political differencesthough incorrectwas expelled on bogus organizational grounds. The leader who replaced D. Toubanis was driven out as well, also without any discussion of his differences on the ICFI. Savas Michael was the unfortunate product of this process, which might be best described as the survival of the unfittest. Later on, as we have already explained, Healy and S. Michael worked out an international line in relation to the Iranian regime that directly contradicted the official programmatic position of the ICFI. The leadership of the Spanish movement, which had been developed during the period of illegality, was also driven out after differences had been blown out of proportion. In this case, the maneuver was related to Healys squalid personal affairs.

In the aftermath of the split, Healy and his associate Michael attempted to portray the opposition within the International Committee as an illegal rebellion against the decisions of the 10th Congressin much the same way as Pablo denounced Cannons Open Letter as an attack on the historic Third Congress. Michael of the Workers Internationalist League and E. Romero of the Spanish group issued a joint communique which justified their refusal to attend a constitutionally-convened meeting of the ICFI by declaring our loyalty to the Tenth World Congress of the ICFI as the highest body of the ICFI and its policies and resolutions can only be changed by another congress. They called upon Comrade Gerry Healy as the historical leader of this movement and as the leader of the Tenth World Congress as well as the most outstanding fighter for its perspectives to call an emergency meeting of the International Committee of the Fourth International and we will not recognize any other factional meeting called fraudulently in the name of the ICFI.

History can mete out to Healy no punishment more terrible than for him to be remembered as the most outstanding fighter for the perspectives of the 10th Congresswhich was, without any question, the most wretched document ever produced in the history of the ICFI. It would make the Draft Program of the Sixth Congress of the Comintern look like a masterpiece of Marxist literature.

The pedigree of this document was inauspicious. It was originally drafted by Slaughter for discussion at the February 1984 meeting of the ICFI and it was denounced then by the Workers League. An additional sectionwhich supposedly dealt with the world situationwas tacked on the document in time for the Seventh Congress of the WRP, which passed it before the 10th Congress of the ICFI was convened.

This document was a living monument to the suppression of political discussion within the IC by Healy, Banda and Slaughter. Despite the fact that the last IC congress had been held in February 1981, this document could deal with none of the major developments in the world economic and political situation of the previous four years. All the strategic experiences of the international class struggle and of the ICFI and its sections went unmentioned. Between February 1981 and January 1985, there had been three major wars: the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the Malvinas War, and the continuing conflagration between Iran and Iraq. The Indian subcontinent was in turmoil: there had been the assassination of Gandhi and the Punjab crisis, the bloody pogroms in Sri Lanka and the expansion of the Tamil struggle for self-determination, a series of coups in Bangla Desh and the mass demonstrations in Pakistan.

In Africa, there had been a coup in Nigeria, imperialist intervention in Chad, and, above all, the massive growth of the revolutionary movement in South Africa. In Latin America and the Caribbean, there had been the downfall of the Argentine junta, the emergence of civilian rule in Brazil, the growth of the Sendero Luminoso guerilla movement in Peru, the US invasion of Grenada, and the continuing threats of imperialist aggression in Nicaragua. In Europe, Pasok remained in power in Greece and the Socialist Party won the French electionbut elsewhere the tendency toward right-centrist regimes predominated in the Common Market countries.

In Australia and New Zealand, the Labourites were returned to power; and in the Philippines the assassination of Aquino began the death agony of the Marcos regime.

The crisis of Stalinism within the USSR and Eastern Europe reached immense proportions with the suppression of Solidarity and the on-going crisis of leadership inside the Soviet bureaucracy, as the war in Afghanistan dragged on. In China, the post-Maoist leadership continued its right-wing economic policies and signed an agreement pledging to preserve capitalist rule in Hong Kong.

In North America, the conservatives came to power in Canada and Reagan was re-elected to a second term.

And last but not least, there was the British miners strike.

Most of these events were not even mentioned; and those that were, merited, at most, a sentence. There was not a single political development which was concretely analyzedeven in those countries where the ICFI has sections. The section of the document dealing with the objective world situation consisted of just under nine small printed pagesconsisting of nothing but generalities, platitudes, banalities, and gross theoretical blunders.

The central thesis of the document was that there existed on the planet a universal and undifferentiated revolutionary situation marked above all by the fact that the working class and all the oppressed masses have now entered upon a course of struggles against the capitalist state, under conditions where the necessity of revolutionary taking of state power is brought before these masses every day. From the proletariat of the capitalist countries of Europe to the workers in the United States, from the Latin American masses to those of South-East Asia, this common level of revolutionary class struggle is established. (Resolution on International Perspectives, p. 1)

This analysis was established not on the basis of any specific analysis or concrete examination of the class struggle on any continent. Rather, it was supported through further assertions, themselves based on abstract references to the necessary working out of the objective laws and the accumulated historical contradictions of the world capitalist system. (Ibid. p. 2)

There was no concrete analysis of the economic crisis, based on a serious examination of world trade, industrial production, employment, the impact of technological developments, etc. Rather, the resolution simply declared that economic contradictions have now broken through the dam of Bretton Woods with irrepressible force, and the dam cannot be reconstructed. That is the key to the international situation and it is the content of the political struggle in every country. (Ibid. p. 3)
News that the worlds most powerful man was infected with the worlds most notorious disease dominated screens large and small, drawing shock, sympathy and some barbs for President Donald Trump.

The outpouring from world leaders and flagging markets Friday left little doubt that Trump's illness will have global implications  even if they're still unknown. Trump's announcement on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus prompted a multitude of responses on the same platform, as well as others.

The positive test reading adds to investors' worries, especially about its effect on the Nov. 3 election between the Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden. US stock futures and most world markets fell on the news as did the price of oil.

From India to Qatar to Mexico, world leaders were quick to offer official sympathy from the top, many in the form of tweets directly to Trump, while something approaching schadenfreude bubbled up from elsewhere. Trump is the most prominent on a growing list of powerful people who have contracted the virus, including many who were skeptical of the disease. Among his well-wishers were at least two who have recovered from the illness.

I'm sure that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in a direct message to Trump released by the Kremlin.

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

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a full and speedy recovery. The Trump administration in July formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from WHO, although the pullout wont take effect until next year. Trump claims the U.N. health agency is in need of reform and is heavily influenced by China. The U.N. secretary-general also sent in best wishes.

Italian right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini tweeted: In Italy and in the world, whoever celebrates the illness of a man or of a woman, and who comes to wish the death of a neighbor, confirms what he is: An idiot without soul. A hug to Melania and Donald.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized for a week in April after he contracted COVID-19, wished Trump a speedy recovery.

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who also recently recovered from a serious bout with coronavirus, has sent a message to Trump and the first lady extending his best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I know this illness from direct experience, that can manifest itself also in an insidious way, but which can be overcome with correct and courageous behavior, Berlusconi said in a message.

Dr. Bharat Pankhania, who advises Johnson's government on communicable disease control, said he hopes that Trumps positive test sends a message.

We need politicians, especially politicians like President Trump who has a lot of power and influence, to take this seriously and to support their scientists and clinicians in leading the outbreak management, rather than have political influence in trying to deny that this virus is in circulation and drag your feet around control measures because it suited your agenda.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference, did not mention Trump's reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection, but she said the news reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan.

Major media across the globe played up the announcement, with bulletins crawling across TV screens in Paris and Rome, Seoul and Beijing.

To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, Rabobank said in a commentary. Everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this US election campaign.

Chinas official Xinhua News Agency flashed the news, and an anchor on state broadcaster CCTV announced it. Late Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying tweeted that he was saddened to learn President and the First Lady of the US tested positive. Hope they both have a speedy recovery and will be fine.

The positive test result was the most searched topic in China on the widely used social media app Weibo for hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

One user darkly joked that Trump had finally tweeted something positive.

The Chinese government has bristled at Trumps attempts to blame China, where the disease emerged, for the pandemic and called for global cooperation in fighting it. It's a message that has resonated with the public.

Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19.

Multiple Arab news media outlets continuously broadcast footage of Trump and his wife after the virus announcement.

Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel based in Dubai, cut to a long live shot of the White House. Qatari state-owned Al Jazeera channel brought in four commentators to discuss the prevailing state of uncertainty in the United States, questioning whether Trump could effectively steer a reelection campaign and run the country from quarantine. Middle East leaders closely allied to the US sent out their best wishes, including Kuwait's new ruling emir.

Iranian state television announced Trump had the virus, an anchor breaking the news with an unflattering image of the US president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses. Later, an anchor noted that the American president, who treated the coronavirus almost like it was nothing, finally caught it.

US-Iran ties have suffered since Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

Social media platforms were ablaze with questions and quick reactions to all the unknowns.

Would Trump blame the Chinese? Would he thumb his nose at his critics and enemies by breezing through the quarantine without serious symptoms, tweeting away from the White House? Would he become gravely ill, or worse, and, if he did, what would that mean for the US election, one of the most contentious in recent history? What would it mean for US leadership during tumultuous times?

While the uncertainty seemed palpable on a scroll through various social media in an array of languages, many seemed to revel in the announcement.

And the satirical Australian news site, the Betoota Advocate, posted a story with this headline: Trump Family Records More Cases Of Community Transmission Than Entire State Of Queensland.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-29 00:37:17|Editor: huaxia

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VALLETTA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The China Cultural Center (CCC) in Malta launched on Monday a week-long series of events to mark the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, the second most important traditional festival in China. Also known as Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, the Maltese rendition of this event is entitled "Mid-Autumn Festival: A Moonmoment to Remember" and will last until Oct. 5.

The organizers have pledged to provide online exhibitions and concerts, short video screenings and training classes live streamed over the internet. Their aim is to acquaint the public in Malta with the treasures of Chinese culture.

The program includes a concert entitled "Oriental Beauty in Blossom," which will also be shown on the social media platforms of the Maltese capitals's Pjazza Teatru Rjal theater.

A short video contest to promote the cultural and touristic resources of both Malta and China will also be offered by the CCC, in cooperation with the Malta Tourism Authority, under the title "Mid-Autumn Festival: Sharing Memories."

A photo exhibition entitled "Beauty of Nature" will conclude the cultural week outside the Pjazza Teatru Rjal building.

The aim is to encourage further partnerships in the sectors of culture and tourism between the two countries, commented Yang Xiaolong, director of the CCC in Malta.

The event, jointly organized by the Network of International Culturalink Entities and the overseas China cultural centers, is hosted by the Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Enditem
A man accused of getting two children to engage in sexual contact for years so he could record them was sentenced to 600 years in prison Friday, federal prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler sentenced Matthew Tyler Miller, 32, of Cottondale to what amounted to a life term a year after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges of sexually exploiting young children.

The crimes for which Miller has admitted guilt are not only disturbing, they are sickening, and his actions robbed these children of their childhood, FBI Special Agent Johnnie Sharp Jr. said in a statement.

Miller enticed children to have sexual contact between 2014 and February 2019, an indictment said. A statement from prosecutors said the two victims were as young as 4 when the incidents occurred.

An examination of electronic devices owned by Miller turned up 102 pornographic images that had produced of the children, prosecutors said. Miller pleaded guilty in October 2019.

Miller still faces a state sodomy charge that accuses him of having sex with a child younger than 12 last year, records show.

In another event, the U.S. State Department said it was outraged by a rocket attack a day earlier that killed Iraqi civilians and called on the government to take action amid an impending diplomatic crisis between Baghdad and Washington.

The condemnation comes after the U.S. threatened to close its embassy in Baghdad unless Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimis administration reigns in armed groups responsible for frequent rocket fire and roadside bomb attacks targeting the American presence in the country.

We are outraged by yesterdays rocket attack in Baghdad that killed civilians, including a mother and her children, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

The attacks have not let up, despite the U.S. threats.

Iraqi security officials believe the rocket was intended for nearby Baghdad airport, a frequent target of such attacks, where U.S. troops maintain a presence.

( with inputs from AP)
Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

Harvey Weinstein, the convicted rapist and imprisoned film mogul, is facing six new sexual assault charges, prosecutors in Los Angeles announced on Friday.

Weinstein, 68, was charged with three additional forcible rape felonies and three forcible oral copulation charges stemming from alleged attacks between 2004 and 2010 in Beverly Hills. The new criminal complaint expands the LA case to a total of five victims, authorities said.

The disgraced movie producer, who is serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape after a high-profile New York trial, has been facing a criminal case in California since January. He was first charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in separate incidents in a two-day period in 2013 in LA. In April, the LA district attorneys office expanded the case, accusing him of sexually assaulting another woman at a hotel in May 2010.

Two of the charges announced this week relate to an alleged rape that occurred sometime between September 2004 and 2005. The other new charges relate to a fifth victim who was raped on two separate occasions between November 2009 and November 2010, according to court filings. Both victims were attacked in a Beverly Hills hotel, prosecutors said.

One of the original LA allegations comes from a model who already provided a detailed account when she testified in New York. She told the jury that Weinstein invited her to a Beverly Hills hotel room, led her into a bathroom and undressed, saying, He stepped in front of me when I went to approach the door with his naked body right in front of me. I felt so trapped  I said, no, no, no, the whole time.

If convicted on all 11 counts he is currently facing in LA, he could face up to 140 years to life in California prison, the district attorney said.

Weinsteins closely watched trial in Manhattan became the most significant criminal case of the #MeToo movement that launched in 2017 after a string of actors and celebrities publicly accused the producer of sexual harassment, abuse and rape throughout his career.

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Donna Rotunno, Weinsteins lead defense attorney in the New York case, faced widespread backlash for her intense character assassination of the six women who testified, accusing them of seeking money and spreading lies, and blaming them for maintaining relationships with the producer. Advocates for survivors of sexual violence were particularly enraged at the lawyers remarks to a reporter that she had never been assaulted because I would never put myself in that position.

In January, the LA district attorney, Jackie Lacey, said it took her two years for her office to build the case, and prosecutors have said that one woman did not initially report the assault because Weinstein threatened her life if she disclosed.

It is unclear when an LA trial could move forward. California prosecutors are pursuing temporary custody of Weinstein from New York and have scheduled an extradition hearing for December in Buffalo, where he is currently incarcerated. He tested positive for Covid in March.

Juda Engelmayer, a Weinstein spokesman, declined to comment on the new charges, but said in a statement: Harvey Weinstein has always maintained that every one of his physical encounters throughout his entire life have been consensual. That hasnt changed.
Among the many works currently on display at Cairo's Aisha Fahmy palace are masterpieces by Delacroix, Gauguin, Matisse, Rodin, Monet, Manet, Pissarro and Degas

Visiting Princess Aisha Fahmy Palace on the bank of the Nile in Zamalek is always a nostalgic experience of beauty and splendour, recalling Egypts belle epoque during the first half of the last century.

The experience of the palace this time is even more unique, as it is hosting an exhibition of neoclassical, Impressionist and post-Impressionist masters of European modern art of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Delacroix, Gauguin, Matisse, Rodin, Monet, Manet, Pissarro and Degas, among others.

Designed by Italian architect Antonio Lasciac, the palace was built in 1907 on an area of 2,700 square metres. The palace was owned by Ali Fahmy, an Egyptian aristocrat and army leader under King Fouad I. After his death, his daughter, Aisha Fahmy, also the wife of famous actor Youssef Wahbi, bought her siblings shares in the palace. In the 1970s the building was given to the government and was transformed into a centre of arts, aiming at raising awareness of cultural and artistic heritage.

The current exhibition displays 118 works of art selected from the collection of the most important museums of fine art in Egypt: Cairo Gezira Museum, Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum and the Museum of Fine Art in Alexandria. According to Ihab El Laban, the centres director and the curator of the exhibition, the centre is using international standards and practices on safety, both for its visitors and for the artworks hosted.

Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museums priceless collection includes masterpieces by great artists from Europe from the 19th and 20th century. The majority of the museums 208 works are from the Impressionist school.

The whole collection was donated by Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil and his wife, along with their palace overlooking the Nile in Giza, to the Egyptian government. Khalil was agriculture minister in 1934, and was also a great patron of art.

The Museum of Fine Arts in Alexandria houses a collection of works by Egyptian artists and a selection of works in the Baroque, Romantic, Rococo and Oriental styles. It was started in 1904 when the Alexandria Municipal Authorities received a collection of paintings as a gift from Edward Farid Heim. In 1936, the French trader Baron de Menasha donated a villa in Moharram Bek to house the collection. The building was destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in 1949.

It houses three main important collections. They are the Heim Collection, the Orientalists collection donated by Mahmoud Khalil, and the third collection, a contribution of the Cairo Museum of Modern Art, as well as other private art patrons, artists and foreign collectors.

Cairo Gezira Museums priceless collection includes the royal family collection gathered from the royal palaces and confiscated after the 1952 revolution, among which are rare works of Western modern art.

These collections of 19th century and 20th century Western art represent a less well-known part of Egypts cultural heritage -- one that needs to be rediscovered by being thoroughly documented and by being showcased and put into context, said Valerie Hess, specialist in Impressionist and Modern Art at Christies Paris.

Shedding light on these precious treasures that have not been shown to the public for decades will place those museums of Egypt alongside major international institutions and raise awareness of the richness and variety of Egypts cultural heritage and history, she added.

Such strong provenance adds value and importance to the collection as a result of the related history and culture background, which needs to be highlighted and properly documented. A strategic plan to renovate our museums to world-class standards of layout design and curatorship is highly required, in order to display our cultural richness and preserve our heritage. Nowadays, digital online platforms represent a great opportunity to spread knowledge, awareness and exposure, and as such they are often used by museums around the world.

Unravelling our national treasures from Western modern art and putting them in the right context would position Egypt as an important destination of world finest art collections, and would raise awareness of Egypts cultural role in modern and present times. In addition, this will help raise appreciation and recognition among new generations and art appreciators of Egypts cultural influence, thus paving the way to cultural development and highlighting Egypts role as a significant international and regional player on the art scene.

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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German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday hailed the agreements reached by European Union leaders over issues with Belarus and Turkey as a "great step forward". EU leaders agreed to impose sanctions on dozens of senior officials in Belarus accused of falsifying presidential election results and leading a crackdown on peaceful protesters, after unblocking a veto against the move by one of the EU's smallest member countries.

In an embarrassing standoff, Cyprus had insisted that its EU partners take action against Turkey for its energy exploration work in disputed waters off the Mediterranean island nation's coast before it would agree to the Belarus sanctions. But after several hours of talks into the night, the leaders agreed on a strong statement of support for Cyprus, as well as for Greece, and a stern warning to Turkey that it could face punitive measures if it continues the undersea drilling work.

Praising the decisions Merkel said: "I think that the sanctions against Belarus on the one hand and the procedure against Turkey on the other that have been agreed are a great step forward." European Council President Charles Michel told reporters after chairing the summit in Brussels that a special written procedure would be launched on Friday to impose sanctions on about 40 Belarus officials.

The political row has tarnished the EU's image. It is also unusual in that all 27 EU member countries, including Cyprus, reject the result of the Aug. 9 election that returned Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to power for a sixth term. They all want a new election and agree that sanctions should be slapped on several officials. Throughout Thursday evening, the leaders debated what approach to take in the EU's increasingly tense ties with Turkey over its drilling in the Mediterranean Sea.

In a summit statement, they agreed that if Turkey continues to react positively in talks with Cyprus and Greece the bloc will launch a positive political EU-Turkey agenda with trade and customs incentives, and they held out the prospect of more money and benefits for continued cooperation on migrant flows. If not, the leaders warned, the EU will use all the instruments and the options at its disposal, to defend its interests and those of its Member States.

(Image Credits: AP)

This story has not been edited by www.republicworld.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Small rivals of Alphabet Inc's Google say signs are emerging of more benevolent behavior from the online advertising leader amid accusations by the U.S. government and states that the company uses its dominance to thwart competition.

Among the dozens of software companies who rely on Google as an intermediary to ad buyers and sellers, six told Reuters that the company has become more collaborative on data privacy and other changes with them and industry groups, helping these entities instead of ignoring requests as they have done in the past.

John Nardone, chief executive of Flashtalking - which works with advertisers to personalize messages - said Google recently agreed to open a pipeline to crucial data.

It was an undertaking "that previously I might not have imagined they'd be open to," said Nardone, who publicly criticized Google's rigidity last year.

Two other companies also said Google this year enabled them to use its services in ways previously restricted, one involving using outside algorithms to analyze Google data and the other gaining sales opportunities Google had reserved for itself.

An executive at another ad software company said Google in the last year had not tried to poach any customers by offering discounted or early access to other products, tactics it had long aggressively pursued to lure lucrative accounts. Google also stopped using top executives to lure customers, the source added.

"The fangs are down right now," the person said.

The softening stances come during year-long antitrust investigations by the U.S. Justice Department and states' attorney generals led by Texas. Federal prosecutors are expected to sue Google as soon as next week on search and search advertising while their probe continues into ad software.

The search lawsuit will likely kick off years of court hearings over whether Google uses its outsized market power unfairly.

Despite the increased responsiveness, sources said Google's small rivals continue to answer questions from investigators about the market shares of Google's ad tools and the practices it uses to promote their adoption. Those rivals eagerly await a possible resolution, including the break up of Google's ads business in an attempt to weaken its control.

"They are both the dominant market operator while also a participant," one executive said. "It's hard to be a referee and player."

Google rejected the assertion that its approach to competitors has changed due to the investigations, saying it always has sought to collaborate. Texas' attorney general and the Justice Department declined to comment.

The antitrust scrutiny across Big Tech has prompted several concessions this year to smaller companies' longstanding gripes. For instance, Apple Inc started allowing browsers beside Safari as the default on iPhones, and Google on Monday vowed to better support alternatives to its Play app store on phones using its Android system.

To be sure, other complaints about market power have not been addressed, and Google and other online powerhouses continue to defend their dominance as beneficial to customers and consumers.

The state and federal investigations into Google followed complaints from advertising software companies and internet publishers that Google had cut them from prized data or selling opportunities. Google has said many of its actions have been needed to better safeguard users' information amid global scrutiny on online privacy.

Google is still pursuing additional protections, including preventing tracking of its Chrome browser users, that rivals fear will hurt their ability to personalize ads.

But rather than pursuing a "my way or the highway" change, Google this time around has publicly consulted rivals and demonstrated through its comments that its proposals for changing Chrome are amendable, two ad software executives said.

"That's quite reassuring," said Colm Dolan, CEO of publisher software maker Publift and a former Google salesperson.

Chetna Bindra, senior product manager at Google, said the company was "encouraged by the industry participation in the process and the positive feedback on a number of proposals." (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
OTTAWA - Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canada will have its own forensics team examine the evidence on the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752.

Iran admits an air-defence battery shot the airliner down near Tehran in January, blaming human error.

Champagne says the Canadian team will be led by a former deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and will have members from several federal departments.

Canadian experts have been present as observers in the probe of the crash being carried out under international air travel rules, but can play only a very limited role.

Fifty-five Canadians and 30 permanent residents were among the 176 people killed in the crash, with many more of the passengers bound for Canada as well.

The route from Tehran to Kyiv, Ukraine, was a popular first leg of the voyage from Iran to Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.

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Earlier this month they learned that they were set to welcome a baby boy.

And Charlotte Dawson gushed that she loved her future son so much already, as she cradled her blossoming baby bump in a snap shared via Instagram on Thursday.

The Celebs Go Dating star, 27, looked stylish in a chic pink and blue lingerie set, as she posed for a snap and joked her bundle of joy was 'not that little.'

'I love my little man so much already': Pregnant Charlotte Dawson gushed about her future son as she cradled her baby bump while posing in pink and blue lingerie on Thursday

Charlotte wore her brunette locks in loose waves that fell over one shoulder, while she used a light palette of make-up for the snap.

Gushing about her little one, she wrote in the caption: 'I love my little man so much already... even tho hes not that little.

'bump is getting bigger, isnt it crazy how much the womans body change being preggo? So proud of my girl @hjgflanagan with her edit with @pourmoiltd its fabulous.. love this set makes me feel fabulous...'

Mother-to-be: Gushing about her little one, she wrote in the caption: 'I love my little man so much already... even tho hes not that little'

Radiant: Charlotte wore her brunette locks in loose waves that fell over one shoulder, while she used a light palette of make-up for the snap

Charlotte is set to welcome her first child with fiance Matthew Sarsfield just a week before what would have been her dad's 90th birthday in February 2021.

At their baby shower earlier this month, the daughter of late comedian Les Dawson told OK! magazine: 'So excited, were having a chuffing boy! Were having a mini Matt! A mini Matt and a mini Les together!

'I just am so excited to have a boy! So excited! A mummys boy!'

Here in spirit: The TV star is due to give birth just a week before what would have been her dad Les' 90th birthday in February 2021, he passed away when she was just eight months old

The TV stars have celebrated many milestones in recent weeks, as they announced their expecting their first child together in August and confirmed their engagement earlier this month.

Charlotte took to Instagram to share the news after her beau got down on one knee in front of Les' statue at Memorial park in Lancashire.

The funnyman passed away from a heart attack in 1993 aged just 62 when she was just eight months old.

The mother-to-be wrote: 'OMG OMG OMG my darlings IM CHUFFIN ENGAGED!!!!! To the man of my dreams.

'I cant believe it!!! My baby my life my world @matt_sarsfield couldnt of done it better... he got on one knee at my dads statue!!!

'The day before we find out what gender our baby is ... I cant cope. My fairytale came true I feel the luckiest girl in the world. My dad got to witness me get engaged ... Im so happy. Love you so much @matt_sarsfield xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx WOW my ring.'
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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA)  The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has led African ministers of finance and development in talks with international development partners, emphasising the importance of addressing the capital needs of international financial institutions and a debt renegotiation in favour of African countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic
US President Donald Trump and First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump on Friday tested positive for Coronavirus. Earlier in the day on Thursday, it was reported that Hope Hicks, a top adviser to President Trump, tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing symptoms.

United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on Friday tested positive for Coronavirus. Donald Trump shared this information in a tweet, he wrote that he and First Lady have tested positive for Covid-19. He added that they both would begin their quarantine and recovery process immediately.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) said that he and first lady Melania Trump had undergone COVID-19 tests after one of his senior advisers tested positive for the infection, and added that they will begin their quarantine process.

Earlier in the day on Thursday, it was reported that Hope Hicks, a top adviser to President Trump, tested positive for the coronavirus and is experiencing symptoms. Trump tweeted that Hope Hicks, who had been working so hard without even taking a small break, had just tested positive for Covid 19. Trump wrote, Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!

Also read: Will no longer remain quiet on dual accountability standards, says Nawaz Sharif

Also read: Pakistan HC fixes hearing on appointment of defence council for Kulbhushan Jadhav on October 6

The White House said in a statement that Trump takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously and that it followed guidelines for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible.

Also read: US, European officials mulling to create Asian NATO to contain Chinas expansionist ambitions
Members of the Joint Task Force Sulu secure an area after an encounter with Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu province, southern Philippines, May 31, 2019.

An Indonesian captive who was executed by Abu Sayyaf militants on southern Jolo Island was not killed by gunfire, the Philippine military said Friday, correcting its own report from a day earlier.

The body of victim La Baa bore a head wound but the cause of death was not determined during an autopsy, authorities said. The 32-year-old fisherman was among five Indonesian sailors kidnapped off eastern Malaysias Sabah state in January.

The mans family identified his body on Thursday after Philippine authorities turned it over to Indonesian officials in Zamboanga city. Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, chief of the militarys Western Mindanao Command, said results of a post-mortem indicated that the victim had no bullet wounds.

He was not shot as it turns out, but had sustained an injury to the head caused by a blunt object which could have possibly caused his death, Vinluan told BenarNews. What is still correct, however, is that he was executed as his Abu Sayyaf captors fought with the military.

The cause of death is yet to be determined, Joint Task Force Sulu said in a statement.

On Thursday, military officials in Jolo said La Baas captors shot him as he tried to escape a firefight in a remote village in Patikul municipality earlier in the week.

Troops from the 45th Infantry Battalion recovered La Baas remains hours after engaging in a firefight on Monday with 40 Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members and killing its sub-leader Arsibar Sawadjaan, a bomb maker and cousin of Mundi Sawadjaan, officials said. Authorities identified Mundi Sawadjaan as mastermind of twin suicide bombings that killed 15 people on Jolo on Aug. 24 and were carried out by female bombers.

La Baa and his four fellow Indonesian fishermen were abducted at sea off an island in Sabah, a state in nearby Malaysian Borneo, on Jan. 16 and taken to the nearby Sulu Islands in the southern Philippines.

The four other Indonesians are believed to be held by ASG, an Islamic State-linked group based in the southern Philippines and notorious for carrying out kidnappings.

Meanwhile, the military said that troops in Jolo were on the trail of a group led by Mundi Sawadjaan, who was believed to be traveling with two Indonesians being groomed as suicide bombers.

Mundi is the nephew of Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, the head of the Philippine branch of the Islamic State (IS). Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan took over the IS affiliate following the death of Isnilon Hapilon in October 2017. Hapilon was killed by security forces toward the end of a five-month battle between government forces and IS-linked militants who had seized the southern city of Marawi in May of that year.

In as much as we want to finish the ASG the soonest possible time, the safety of the kidnap victims during operations is our equally significant concern, said Brig. Gen. William Gonzales, the leader of government forces in Sulu.

We abide by rules of engagement during armed encounters to safely rescue the KVs (kidnap victims) and destroy the ASG, he said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has lashed out at the fiery speeches made by former premier and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, stating that he was playing a dangerous game by targeting Islamabad's powerful military establishment at the behest of India.

In an interview to a private television channel, Khan accused his predecessor for creating a "huge mischief" by attacking the Pakistan Army.

Nawaz Sharif is playing a dangerous game against Pakistan and I am 100 per cent sure that India is supporting him.

"Why Nawaz Sharif always had a dispute with army chiefs, because he was involved in corrupt practices and wanted to control them," he added.

Imran Khan said Sharif is now playing the same game that was once being played by former founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain, who he said was also working on India's agenda and had his supporters chant 'Pakistan Murdabad' along with calling for India's help to what he called free Pakistan from oppression.

"He (Sharif) is becoming the next Altaf Hussain. He is a coward, I am sure he has support from India. India's interest was to weaken our army. India's think tanks say they want to break Pakistan. Some foolish liberals were agreeing with the narrative of Sharif, who is creating a huge 'fitna' (mischief) by attacking the army," he said.

The convicted former leader, who was allowed to fly to London for treatment late last year, broke his long silence last month, saying that the opposition was up not against "selected prime minister" but against those who had brought him into power in the 2018 elections.

Khan's statement comes after Sharif's speeches to his party members and opposition leaders targeted Pakistan's military establishment for supporting, facilitating and backing the incumbent leader to come in power through rigged elections.

Sharif, during his speech revealed and claimed that his government, in a bid to soothe ties with the Pakistan Army, back-engineered the US Tomahawk missile to enhance the defence capabilities of the country.

"I have made immense contributions for army and spent billions and trillions... We made the country a nuclear power and developed JF-17 fighter jet with the collaboration of China," he said in a speech to party members from London via video link.

"Half of the missiles that country's armed forces have were developed during my tenure. Tomahawk missile was developed because of me. We brought it from Balochistan when Clinton had fired missiles into Afghanistan. The Tomahawk missile was found undamaged and reproduced through back-engineering."

Sharif's statements have also prompted the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to block speeches and statements from being aired by declared absconders, which includes the former premier, who is wanted in cases of corruption of assets beyond means by the country's courts

He was allowed to leave the country on medical grounds by the Pakistan courts.

However, with Sharif looking active in his last two video link speeches, questions are being raised over the credibility of his health condition.
BAE Systems will produce and deliver Bofors 40 Mk4 and Bofors 57 Mk3 naval guns for the UK Ministry of Defences Type 31 general purpose frigate programme.





Image courtesy BAE Systems



The agreement, through a contract with Babcock International, will supply the Royal Navy with a set of advanced, multi-purpose gun systems for its fleet of five ships, with the first ship expected to go into service in 2027.



The contract includes five Bofors 57 Mk3 medium calibre guns and 10 Bofors 40 Mk4 small calibre guns. Both close-in weapon systems are designed to protect the ships against modern and future complex threats. The guns also offer the Royal Navy optimised ammunition types, including the cost-efficient programmable Bofors 3P all-target munition.



We will be providing the most cutting edge gun system technology available which can adapt to different levels of conflict, including peacekeeping missions, local coastguard operations and military operations, said Lena Gillstrom, managing director for BAE Systems Bofors. This contract increases the number of European nations deploying our advanced, flexible weapon systems.



BAE Systems scope of work for the Type 31 programme also includes services, tools, spares, documentation and support. Both naval gun systems will be manufactured at BAE Systems facility in Karlskoga, Sweden, with deliveries expected to take place in 2023 and 2024.



The Bofors 57 Mk3 naval gun is installed on various ship types around the world and is in use with the allied navies and coast guards of eight nations, including Canada, Finland, Germany and Sweden, as well as the United States, where it is known as the Mk110 naval gun.



BAE Systems has built and delivered more than 100 Bofors 57 Mk3 naval guns to customers around the world. The Bofors 40 Mk4 naval gun is the latest generation in the 40mm family and with this contract, the Royal Navy will become its fifth operator.








"Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to shed all possible light on the origin of the bombardment that injured four journalists covering the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh yesterday, and to ensure that the injured can be evacuated safely.

The four journalists were among a group of reporters that was shelled in the town of Martuni on the fifth day of the violent clashes that have broken out between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

A reporter for the French daily Le Monde and a French photographer accompanying him had to be hospitalized for urgent treatment to their injuries. Armenia TV cameraman Aram Grigoryan and a reporter for the Armenian news agency 24news.am, Sevak Vardumyan, were also injured.

Several other journalists, including an Agence France-Presse crew and a deputy editor-in-chief sent by the independent Russian TV channel Dozhd, narrowly escaped being hit by the shelling. All of the journalists and their vehicles were clearly identified and bore the word Press. They were accompanying local authorities in order to interview residents and see the damage from previous bombardments.

This bombardment was unjustifiable because civilians, and journalists in particular, are not military targets, said Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSFs Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk. We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to conduct an investigation to determine the origin of the shelling and to do everything necessary to enable the injured journalists to be evacuated in a completely safe manner.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced yesterday that he was sending a medical plane to repatriate the injured French journalists."
NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeanniey Walden, of DailyPay, has been named the winner of a Bronze Stevie Award in the "Woman of the Year" category in the 17th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives, entrepreneurs, employees, and the companies they run worldwide. The Stevie Awards have been hailed as the world's premier business awards. More than 1,500 entries were submitted this year for consideration in more than 100 categories.

Walden is an award-winning, brand innovator, recognized author and mentor. She was the first female C-suite hire at DailyPay and has led impressive brand growth over the past year. Her commitment to culture, diversity and innovation has enabled the company to be recognized as the Gold Standard in the emerging on-demand pay industry.

"Jeanniey inspires all of those who work with her on a daily basis. She is a true team player who knows how to scale for growth," said Jason Lee , CEO of DailyPay. "Her insight and leadership have enabled us to evolve our brand presence and industry impact."

A recognized "Women in Business" and a nationally-acclaimed speaker, author, and entrepreneur, Jeanniey takes pride in inspiring and mentoring the next generation of female fintech and business leaders as the first woman in the C-Suite at DailyPay. Most recently, she was named Transformational CMO of the Year by the CMO Club and "Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology" of 2020.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 180 business professionals around the world, working on seven juries.

Maggie Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards, said, "In a year like no other in our lifetimes, we've produced a cohort of amazing, Stevie-winning women, organizations, and achievements like no other. At all times our winners show themselves to be fearless and indomitable, but their leadership and example are especially valued this year. We congratulate all of our winners."

Winners will be celebrated during a virtual awards ceremony on Wednesday, December 9. Registration for the ceremony is now on sale .

About DailyPay

DailyPay is the award-winning, gold standard on-demand platform offering comprehensive pay-experience solutions to world-class companies and their millions of employees, including Kroger, Adecco and Berkshire Hathaway. DailyPay is headquartered in New York City with operations located in Minneapolis. For more information, visit www.dailypay.com/press

Contact: Sehrish Sayani

Email: [email protected]

Website: dailypay.com

About the Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com .

SOURCE DailyPay
President Trump is pushing ahead with efforts to mobilize fascist thugs, intimidate voters, and use force to hijack the 2020 elections, while the Democratic Party response has been limited to ineffectual verbal protests or abject silence.

During Tuesdays debate with Democrat Joe Biden, Trump refused to disavow the fascist Proud Boys, telling the group to stand back and stand by. He continued, Somebody has to do something about Antifa and the left. This is not a right-wing problem. This is left-wing.

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room in Washington, August 31, 2020, (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

This open appeal to fascists to come to his defense has been answered by representatives of the Proud Boys and similar groups pledging their support to his campaign and offering their services against anti-Trump voters.

The Washington Post reported Thursday, President Trumps debate-stage call for volunteers to stand watch at voting locations has prompted an enthusiastic response from known neo-Nazis and right-wing activists, leading many state election and law enforcement officials to prepare for voter intimidation, arrests and even violence on Election Day.

The newspaper said that more-extremist supporters appeared to be joining the effort launched by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee to assemble a 50,000-strong force of poll watchers they have given the title Army for Trump.

Another olive branch from the Trump administration to the fascists was reported by NBC News, which obtained internal communications from the Department of Homeland Security in which officials were instructed to provide favorable comments to the media about 17-year-old Trump supporter Kyle Rittenhouse, who used his assault rifle to kill two demonstrators against police violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 25.

Officials were told that in response to questions from the media about Rittenhouse, they should suggest that he had acted in self-defense (although both men he killed were unarmed) and that he took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners. Rittenhouse was actually responding to a call from a local right-wing militia. Internet appeals by gun groups and Christian fundamentalists have already raised over $500,000 for his legal defense.

Trump aims to mobilize right-wing thugs to intimidate voters, particularly in the major cities. In Tuesdays debate, Trump singled out election officials in Philadelphia because they did not allow right-wing activists to enter election offices where voters were applying for mail ballots. The heavily African American city traditionally provides a huge margin for the Democratic Party. Reducing voter turnout in Philadelphia is an important part of the Trump campaigns effort to capture Pennsylvanias 20 electoral votes, which would be critical to an Electoral College victory.

Combined with voter intimidation is voter suppression, which includes myriad actions to make it more difficult for voters either to send in mail ballots or to go to the polls. In the most blatant act of voter suppression of the fall campaign, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott issued a proclamation Thursday limiting the number of drop-off locations for mail-in ballots to one site per county. This means that small rural counties with a few thousand voters will have the same number of drop-off locations as Harris County, which includes the city of Houston and has nearly 5 million residents.

The heavily Democratic county, with a large Hispanic, African American and Asian American population, will be forced to shut 11 of its 12 drop-off locations. Travis County (Austin) will have to shut three of its four locations.

Abbott claimed his order was to maintain the integrity of our elections, adding, As we work to preserve Texans ability to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic, we must take extra care to strengthen ballot security protocols throughout the state. These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting.

The decree has nothing to do with preventing vote fraud, which repeated state and federal investigations have found to be effectively nonexistent. The sole purpose is to make it more difficult for urban residents to vote, because they are more likely to cast ballots against Trump. Texas is one of a dozen states won by Trump in 2016 that are regarded as highly competitive in 2020. Loss of its 38 electoral votes would mean a landslide defeat for the Republican campaign.

While Trump and the Republicans press ahead with plans to rig the outcome of the November 3 electionif it happens at allthe Democratic Party has responded with a mixture of complacency and complicity. In the course of a campaign swing through Ohio and Pennsylvania, Biden made no reference to Trumps repeated declarations that he would not accept the outcome of the 2020 vote and would not commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

Biden and his campaign surrogates pretended that Trumps refusal to abide by the rules for the debateagreed to in advance by both campaignswas merely the manifestation of a childish personality. In reality, Trumps performance laid bare his fascist politics, driven by a hysterical hatred of the working class and fear of socialism.

Meanwhile, in Washington, congressional Democrats continued their day-to-day horse-trading with the White House as though its occupant had not spent 90 minutes on the debate stage threatening American democracy and inciting fascist violence.

On Wednesday, the Senate passed a continuing resolution worked out on a bipartisan basis, to continue funding the federal government until December 11, avoiding the prospect of a federal shutdown at the beginning of the new fiscal year October 1. This means that the Democrats declined to use a funding cutoff as a means of pushing back against Trumps threats not to honor the election results.

The same day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a lengthy meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trumps representative in talks over passage of a new coronavirus bailout bill much desired by Wall Street and specific industries like the airlines. Again, there was no suggestion that Trumps incitement of fascists against Democratic voters should call into question the desirability of a deal with the White House.

The response of the Democratic Party-aligned media, spearheaded by the New York Times and the Washington Post, has mirrored the fecklessness of Biden, Pelosi & Co.

The Times published an editorial on the debate which appealed to the Republican Party, arguing, Conservatives in pursuit of long-cherished policy goals can no longer avoid the reality that Mr. Trump is vandalizing the principles and integrity of our democracy. It described Trump merely as petulant, self-centered, rageful, as though it were a matter of his personality.

The Times consoled its readers with the thought that Trump is losing the election and knows it, but it did not address the consequences of this fact: having concluded he will lose the election, Trump is now seeking to intimidate voters with fascist thugs, manipulate the vote count through Republican-controlled state governments, and rubber stamp a stolen election through a right-wing Supreme Court majority newly reinforced by his latest nominee, the religious zealot Amy Coney Barrett.

Even after outlining Trumps plans to rig the election, and labeling him a would-be autocrat, the Times seeks to limit any popular response to casting the ballots that Trump has already declared he will ignore.

Equally bankrupt was the editorial in the Washington Post, which conceded that Trumps assault on democracy is escalating, but drew the same conclusion: the only possible response to the threatened hijacking of the election was to vote against the president.

Trumps message and behavior reflected a deep contempt for the nation and its voters, the editors declared. His actions presaged an attempt to reject and delegitimize the election results, while inciting violence. Thats a threat that must be taken seriously by election and law enforcement authoritiesand by responsible leaders in both parties.

In other words, the Washington Post, owned by the worlds richest man, Jeff Bezos, advises the American people to put their faith in the police, the various state governments that administer the elections, and the leaders of the Democratic and Republican partiesi.e., Biden, Pelosi, Schumer and Mitch McConnell.

The principal concern of the capitalist politicians and the editorialists of the corporate media is that Trumps grab for power will provoke a massive upsurge among American working people and youth, which will threaten to sweep away not only the fascistic president, but the entire capitalist system. They are far more afraid of such a movement from below than from the repression and violence of a Trump dictatorship, which would be directed, in any case, largely against the working people.
Regulatory News:

Korian (Paris:KORI):

Christian Chautard has announced his intention to step down from his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors after nine years for personal reasons. The Board met on 1st October and has appointed Jean-Pierre Duprieu to succeed him.

Jean-Pierre Duprieu was previously a member of the Air Liquide's group executive committee, notably in charge of Europe and the Healthcare division, as well as a member of Michelin's supervisory board and a director of Groupe SEB. At Korian, Jean-Pierre Duprieu has been an independent director since June 2016, Chairman of the Compensation and Appointments Committee until then and a member of the Audit Committee. His extensive experience in the healthcare sector, international development and operational integration, along with his acknowledged expertise in governance, will be particularly valuable in supporting Korian's development in the coming years in line with the Group's existing strategy.

Christian Chautard has been a member of Korian's governance bodies since 2011, first as Chairman of Korian's Supervisory Board then as Chairman of its Board of Directors since 2012. Under his leadership, Korian has grown sixfold and it has become Europe's leading care group for elderly and fragile people, operating in 600 communities across six countries and offering a diverse array of medical and medical-social services including post-acute and rehabilitation care, long-term care nursing home care, assisted living facilities and home care. Although he will also cease to be a director of Korian on 1st October, he will remain Chairman of the Korian Foundation in Germany.

Following this change, the Board of Directors is comprised of 11 directors (including 2 directors representing employees), including 5 independent directors (i.e., 55% of the directors, without taking into account directors representing employees) and 5 female directors (i.e., approximately 55%, whithout taking into account directors representing employees).

In addition, Anne Lalou was appointed Chairman of the Compensation and Appointments Committee and Holding Malakoff Humanis represented by Anne Ramon was appointed Chairman of the Ethics, Quality and CSR Committee.

Taking these changes into account, the Company continues to comply with the recommendations of the AFEP-MEDEF Code regarding independent directors and gender diversity.

The Board of Directors would like to offer Christian Chautard its sincere thanks for having contributed so much to Korian's development over the past decade. The Board's members are pleased to be ensuring continuity in the Group's governance, with Jean-Pierre Duprieu as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Sophie Boissard as Chief Executive Officer.

About Korian

Korian, the leading European Care Services Group for elderly and fragile people.

www.korian.com

Korian has been listed on Euronext Paris (Compartment A) since November 2006 and is included in the following indices: SBF 120, CAC Health Care, CAC Mid 60, CAC Mid Small and MSCI Global Small Cap

Euronext Ticker: KORI ISIN: FR0010386334 Reuters: KORI.PA Bloomberg: KORI.FP

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001006193/en/

Contacts:

INVESTORS



Sarah Mingham

VP Investor Relations and Financing

sarah.mingham@korian.com

Tel.: +33 (0)1 55 37 53 55



Carole Alexandre

Deputy Head of Investor Relations

carole.alexandre@korian.com

Tel.: +33 (0)7 64 65 22 44



MEDIA



Jean-Marc Plantade

VP Press Relations

jean-marc.plantade@korian.fr

Tel.: +33 (0)7 62 90 32 58



Cyrille Lachevre

Deputy Head of Press relations

cyrille.lachevre@korian.fr

Tel.: +33 (0)7 61 53 54 86



Marjorie Castoriadis

Media Relations Manager

marjorie.castoriadis@korian.fr

Tel.: +33 (0)7 63 59 88 81
The Narendra Modi government plans to launch as early as next week, a massive campaign to urge people to be cautious about their behaviour in the upcoming festive season that will see more social gatherings and outdoor activities amid the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic.

The campaign, according to officials involved in the planning who spoke on condition of anonymity, is likely to start from October 7, continue for at least three months, and cover the entire festive season including the New Year celebrations. The new campaign, which stresses on a change in behaviour, comes days after the government announced the conditional re-opening of schools and multiplexes from late October and also allowed open-air social and religious events to be held.

Union home minister Amit Shah held a meeting on September 28; attendees included Cabinet secretary Rajeev Gauba, Niti Ayogs member health Dr VK Paul, secretaries of home affairs, health, information and broadcasting, rural development and panchayati raj .

According to people familiar with the proceedings who spoke on condition of anonymity Shah suggested that as people in large numbers will participate in the festivals, there is a possibility that the gains achieved in controlling the pandemic might be lost and that there is need for a campaign to remind people that they should be careful .

Shah added that to be effective, the campaign needs to be simple, such as the PMs coinage of do gaz ki doori which a distance of two gaz. Thats around 6 feet.

Shah, the people added, said that campaigns that appeal to bureaucrats, might not be attractive for common people and suggested that the campaigns taglines include key phrases such as Covid, suraksha (protection) and do gaz ki doori.

It has been decided to tap places such as bank branches, anganwadi centres and post offices to spread the word around. Shah asked VK Paul to talk to hospital groups to support the campaign, said one of the officials present at the meeting.

A second top official present in the meeting said, it is absolutely essential to launch such a campaign as we have to take our battle against Covid to the next level. And already people are lowering their guard which is a dangerous thing to do now.

A third official said that the cabinet secretary has since the meeting held two follow-up meetings,with government of India secretaries and chief secretaries of the state, to focus on the campaign. Information and broadcasting secretary Amit Khare has been entrusted with finalising the slogans for the campaigns, the people said.

The government has also indicated that there will be special emphasis on wearing masks in the campaign. Dr VK Paul, member of Niti Aayog and one of the key advisors to Modi on Covid, said in a press conference that the coming festive season will be all about masks mask wali chhath, mask wali eid, mask wala dussehra aur mask wali diwali.

This is all for our own good; and needs to be promoted big time. There is scientific basis to it. We dont have to gather in groups; large gatherings must be totally avoided; and no big congregations should be allowed. Community heads should ensure and appeal that festivals should be celebrated with caution; not in large groups but smaller groups. Large gathering, especially in market places, could be detrimental, so we have to be careful, said Paul, during the governments weekly Covid-19 media briefing on Tuesday.

Experts agreed that public awareness campaign is crucial. Wearing a mask, and wearing it properly, is as good as vaccine against Covid-19. It also helps reduce the viral load that may go in when you breathe in, which is why its essential to wear a mask, said Dr Giridhara Babu, head, epidemiology, Indian Institute of Public Health, Public Health Foundation of India.

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NEW YORK: In a movie year mostly lacking big, ambitious releases, Steve McQueens Small Axe anthology is an unqualified main event. While many other filmmakers are on hold, the 12 Years a Slave director has raced to finish not one but five new films.

The movies, spanning 1968 to 1985, are each individual stories about the West Indian community in London. They are testimonies of resistance. Each tale resurrects a chapter of recent history to illuminate the daily oppressions of institutional racism and the struggles against it in courtrooms, in all-white police precincts, in segregated schools.

These are stories that have made my life possible as an artist, as a British Black man, McQueen, who was born in West London to Grenadian parents, said in an interview from London. You look back to look forward, and also to judge how far weve come.

The scope of McQueens achievement has been gradually coming into focus during the New York Film Festival. As of Friday, three of the films will have bowed (two had been set to premiere at the canceled Cannes Film Festival). All will play on the BBC and Amazon in November. For the filmmaker of Hunger, Shame and Widows, Small Axe is a shattering masterwork a compendium, both damning and celebratory, of Black resilience.

The format isolated films that are most powerful as a collective is itself symbolic. The title comes from a West African proverb popularized by Bob Marley: If you are a big tree, we are a small axe.

Its a story about why we are here. Its not just about the past but the present, says McQueen. Peoples sacrifices, peoples determination thats why these films are important. They reshaped the landscape of the United Kingdom. They paved the foundation for multicultural London society.

The films will run in a different order in November, but McQueen began by premiering Lovers Rock as the festivals opening night gala. The only fictional tale of the bunch, it brings to vivid, pulsating life a blues party from 1980, when young London Black people found refuge, and love, at house parties. The movie joyous and sensual is wall-to-wall reggae bliss.

Still, in this, the brightest of the five acts, there are reminders of the cruelties lurking outside.

Its festering, its moldering. Even with Lovers Rock, there are sharks and alligators circling constantly. At the blues party, you come out the door and whats greeting you? Some thugs. You go to work and whats greeting you? A racist boss, says McQueen. Within that narrative, you have to find your own joy, your own celebration.

Police brutality is more at the forefront in Mangrove and Red, White and Blue. The title of Mangrove refers to a Notting Hill Caribbean restaurant run by Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes). A proudly Caribbean community gathering place, police regularly harass its customers, spurring protests (Letitia Wright plays British Black Panther leader Altheia Jones-LeCointe) and leading to a historic trial.

Red, White and Blue, which was to premiere Friday, is about Leroy Logan (John Boyega, in his most arresting performance yet), an aspiring research scientist who, after his father (Steve Toussaint) is beaten by police, elects to join the force to attempt to create change from the inside. Someones got to be the bridge, he says. Yet his colleagues mostly just heap racist abuse on him.

Both films have moments of battles won, and an ominous sense of a longer war. They also have beautiful, full-hearted scenes of family, music and love.

I would describe it in some ways as surviving the stench. Thats what it is, says McQueen. You have to transcend that environment. And often, as Black people, we do. Youre limited so you invent things. You invent break dancing, you invent jazz. Inventing things from nothing, thats how you survive.

McQueen dedicated Lovers Rock and Mangrove to George Floyd. He has also been calling out inequities in the film industry. Earlier this summer, he penned an op-ed for the Guardian about the blatant racism of the British film industry. The U.K., he said, is far behind Hollywood in representation. Casting Small Axe, he has said, was easy because of all the untapped talent just in need of an opportunity.

I dont necessarily think Hollywood is that much better at all, but its way better than whats happening in the U.K. for sure, no doubt, says McQueen. What Im interested in is that the industry is welcoming to black talent. For a long time, I dont think it was welcoming and thats why people didnt take it up as a career option. They didnt think it was for them.

The week-by-week rollout of Small Axe through virtual and drive-in festival screenings, has only heightened the anticipation of what McQueen has coming next. The final two films are Alex Wheatle, which leads up to the 1981 Brixton Uprising; and Education, which deals with a 12-year-old boy unfairly classified as special needs and the West Indian women who created school programs to fight back.

The anthology is, in a way, mapped against the first half of McQueens life. He was born in 1969, about the beginning of the films, and he, too, was unfairly treated as a young student when he was misdiagnosed with dyslexia. But if anyone expecting an arc to Small Axe, McQueen says thats not its shape.

Theres no beginning and end. Its a circle more than anything, he says. Its evidence, questions and thats it, really.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

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 Coastal Development Authority (CODA) has inspected and taken delivery of 622 Suzuki outboard motors.

This is the second tranche of 5,000 outboard motors procured by the Authority with funding from the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP) under the Ministry for Special Development Initiatives (MSDI) to be distributed to fishers at highly subsidised prices.

The first tranche of 1,300 outboard motors have already been distributed to fishers in Greater Accra, Central, Western and Volta Regions.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CODA, Lawyer Jerry Ahmed Shaib, on Tuesday, 29th September, 2020 led officials of the Authority to inspect and take delivery of the equipment at the premises of CFAO in Tema.

Briefing the media, the CEO stated emphatically that, the Authority procured the outboard motors on the directive of the President to purposely help alleviate poverty among fishers by empowering them to do their business through distribution of outboard motors at highly subsidised prices".

Regarding resale of the equipment, Lawyer Jerry Ahmed Shaib sounded a note of caution to all that it would constitute an offence for anyone, irrespective of their status, to acquire an outboard motor from CODA at a subsidised price and resell same at a higher price.

Subsidy

Under the intervention, a 40 horsepower outboard motor which costs GHS20,000 is being sold for GHS10,000 representing a subsidy of 50 percent, while a 15 horsepower outboard motor with a market price of GHS14,500 is being offered to fishers at GHS5,000 representing a subsidy of about 65 percent.

Modalities for distribution

Under the arrangement, interested fishers who had their names captured by CODA during needs assessment and stakeholder engagement, prior to procurement of the equipment, can visit the Head Office of CODA in Accra to pay and collect their outboard motors. This is the only mechanism by which distribution of this second tranche will be done.
When they were asked to summarize their relationship in one word, Mavis Baah and Jay Jones, who are both 32 and working in Norfolk, Va., blurted out the same word at the exact same time: partnership.

Ms. Baah, a public relations manager for the PRA Group, a financial services company, and Mr. Jones, a lawyer for Bischoff Martingayle, met in August 2017 through a mutual friend, Melinda Gainer. She reportedly had told Mr. Jones, This is the person you are going to marry.

I think she saw in Mavis a kind of brash spirit and a willingness to go on adventures no matter what the future may hold, and thats something she knew I would appreciate, someone who would challenge me intellectually on a daily basis, said Mr. Jones, who was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017, becoming the youngest member at that time.

Mr. Jones, who is currently running for attorney general of Virginia, graduated from the College of William & Mary and received a law degree from the University of Virginia.
To mark the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Gandhi Jayanti, a Tamil Nadu-based artist is going viral after his spectacular art designed inside an aquarium.

On Gandhi Jayanti, the Coimbatore artist scrapped all the algae inside the fish tank and made several images of Gandhi appearing in a greenish shade of colours, reports ANI.

I have put fish of different colours inside the tank to show unity in diversity of our country," the artist said.

Tamil Nadu: A miniature artist from Coimbatore says he has made images of #MahatmaGandhi inside a fish tank by scrapping algae that had grown inside it. He says, "I have put fish of different colours inside the tank to show unity in diversity of our country." (1.10.2020) pic.twitter.com/311FCVl5V5  ANI (@ANI) October 1, 2020

In another recent incident, a 10-year-old boy in Gujarat went to get tested for coronavirus but while dressed as Mahatma Gandhi.

The boy dressed up as Gandhi just a couple of days before Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 and has gone viral on social media. He was dressed in a white dhoti and his look was complete with Gandhis iconic round glasses and a stick.

The boy said that his main aim is to spread awareness about coronavirus and testing and he hopes that his gesture will help educate people about the importance of getting tested for Covid-19.

f Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, Gujarat. He is honoured for his huge contributions towards Indias Independence movement, and his philosophies towards life. His philosophies has impacted peoples lives in a great way.

In his honour, the United Nations General Assembly on June 15, 2007, announced October 2 as International Day of Non-Violence. The day is celebrated to the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence and the desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence. Gandhi also provides recognition to the handloom and local weavers.

On October 2, several places organise commemorative activities, cultural events and special prayer sessions. Raj Ghat in Delhi, Mani Bhavan in Mumbai and Sevagram Ashram in Wardha are the favourite place for tourists to visit on this day. The President and Prime Minister of India also pay homage at Raj Ghat.

( with inputs from ANI )
The New York Times reported in September that the U.S. Africa Command (Africom) seeks authorization to conduct drone attacks in Kenya against Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabab. If President Donald Trump and the Defense Department approved the move, that could represent a significant escalation in U.S. military activities in a region already beset by a complex history of violence.

The request is reportedly a response to a January al-Shabab attack on a U.S. military base located in the Kenyan coastal county of Lamu that killed one American soldier and two U.S. defense contractors. Approval of the authorization request would give the U.S. military the ability to conduct drone strikes in Lamu and Garissa, two-Muslim majority Kenyan counties that border Somalia.

Considering the history of security agencies' human rights violations, drones usage risk further deepening historical grievances in the region. It also comes at a crucial moment for neighboring Somalia, which is gearing up for elections as well as the drawdown of an African Union peacebuilding mission in the country.

The expansion of drone strikes into a new country would be a turning point in U.S. military action in the East and Horn of Africa region. To some analysts this moves U.S. engagement closer to the "forever wars" that have characterized post-9/11 military action in other parts of the world.

The regions at issue are at the center of Kenya's counterterrorism efforts. Since commencing a military invasion of Somalia in 2011 to curb the threat of al-Shabab, Kenya has conducted significant domestic counterterrorism operations in both Garissa and Lamu counties.

Human rights groups accuse the Kenyan Anti-Terror Police Unit of committing extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and torture. Al-Shabab then used Kenya's government security practices as recruitment propaganda.

In April 2015, one of the deadliest al-Shabab attacks in Kenya left 148 people, mostly students, dead at Garissa University College. In 2014, the group killed at least 48 people in Mpeketoni, a town in Lamu county. However, counterterrorism efforts have thus far failed to address historical grievances and marginalization in northern and coastal Kenya.

Northeastern Kenya, including Garissa county, has a predominantly ethnically Somali population. A British-created commission, created before independence to assess northeasterners' views, found most of the population significantly preferred unity with Somalia, instead of being part of Kenya. Kenya's independence leaders strongly rejected any proposals to split this area from Kenya, which led to an insurgency.

Kenyan Somalis fought to secede from Kenya, with the Somalia government's help. The new Kenyan government reacted by declaring a State of Emergency in late December 1963, just two weeks after independence. Insurgency and counterinsurgency in Kenya's Shifta War lasted from 1963-1967.

A Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission set up in Kenya found government security forces committed "widespread and systematic" human rights violations and between 2,000 to 7,000 people were killed in the fighting. Since then, the region has been marred by cyclical violence and significant militarization - and allegations of abuses by Kenyan security forces. For example, in 1984, security agents reportedly killed an estimated 5,000 people in the Wagalla region.

Kenya's coastal area, which includes a sizable Swahili population, has historically also faced discrimination. In the late 1960s, the government confiscated large areas of land to give to poor ethnic Kikuyus under resettlement programs, altering the ethnic compositions of Lamu county and fueling interethnic tension. Government suspicion of local Swahili populations as being "foreign" further perpetuated discrimination.

Studies analyzing Kenya's counterterrorism efforts in Lamu, which have included roundups of Muslim leaders and alleged extrajudicial executions, have found these programs have fueled a sense of further injustice among the population, and they have thus far failed to curb extremism.

Kenya is a crucial partner in the U.S. global "war on terror" - and this has meant sustained financial and technical assistance from the United States. In the past decade, the Defense Department has provided Kenya roughly $400 million in counterterrorism "train and equip" support.

The request to expand the use of drones to Kenya comes as the United States increases its regional military involvement. The U.S. has focused its East Africa counterterrorism efforts on Somalia, and carried out its first drone strike there in 2007. Under the Trump administration, the U.S. military significantly increased the frequency of drone attacks and loosened the oversight required to approve strike targets in Somalia. In March 2017, the Trump administration reportedly secretly designated parts of Somalia "areas of active hostilities." This meant the high-level, interagency vetting of proposed strikes and a need to demonstrate with near certainty that civilians will not be injured or killed no longer applied.

Last year, the U.S. military acknowledged conducting 63 airstrikes in the country and, as of late August, Africom revealed the U.S. military had carried out 46 strikes in 2020.

Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the Africom commander at the time, testified in a Senate hearing in February 2019 that strikes "are not going to defeat Al Shabaab," saying their purpose is "to provide the opportunity for the Federal Government and the Somali national army to grow and assume the security of that country."

However, Somalia's political and security conditions remain fragile. Somalia's parliamentary and presidential elections, initially scheduled for November, were postponed because of "significant technical and security challenges." Somalia's government struggles to control significant portions of the country with the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) scheduled to exit Somalia in December 2021.

More than a decade after the first U.S. drone strikes in Somalia, the security situation continues to be precarious, both in Somalia and in neighboring Lamu and Garissa counties in Kenya. There remains a significant trust deficit between communities and national security forces in northern and coastal Kenya. Conducting drone strikes in these areas would probably add another complex layer to an already fragile region.

- - -

Halakhe is a Horn of Africa analyst. Parrin is the associate director of the Project on War Crimes and Mass Graves at the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute. For other analysis and commentary from The Monkey Cage, an independent blog anchored by political scientists from universities around the country, see www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage
Reading police confiscated 10 guns, some with high-capacity magazines, during a raid on a house in the 200 block of Pear street that resulted in the arrests of seven people, Chief Richard Tornielli announced Friday.

Four teens were arrested along with three young adults as a result of an investigation of gun violence incidents in the neighborhood over the past several weeks, Tornielli said in a noon press conference outside City Hall.

Five of the guns were reported as stolen, the chief said.

City investigators saw some of the defendants wielding the firearms recently, and the arrests culminated 48 hours of investigation that focused on the house, Tornielli explained.

Alarmingly, the chief said, police have noticed a trend over the last couple of years in which perpetrators of gun violence in the city seem to be getting younger and younger.

All the suspects are being held in Berks County Prison awaiting hearings on firearms and related offenses.

According to police:

After serving a search warrant on the home about 6 a.m. Thursday, officers saw several individuals in the home.

Arrested in the house were Rahkeem Elliott, 18, of the 4800 block of North Wentzel Avenue, Muhlenberg Township; Kesleyann Rentas-Rivera, 20, of the 100 block of Maple Street; and four male juveniles, two 16-year-olds and two 17-year-olds.

Salvadore Vializ Jr., 18, of the 500 block of Wunder Street was taken into custody elsewhere. He and Elliott were initially arrested Tuesday on drug-trafficking charges, but they were released on $15,000 bail each before being re-arrested Thursday, Tornielli said.

Elliott and Rentas-Rivera were jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail and $50,000 bail, respectively, following arraignment Thursday night before District Judge Dean Patton in Reading Central Court. Bail information was unavailable for Vializ.

Firearms, some with extended magazines rendering them capable of firing as many as 30 rounds, were confiscated.

Tornielli said the guns are being sent to the new ballistics lab operated by the Berks County district attorneys office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. County and federal officials announced the opening the state-of-the-art gun lab in December 2018.

Tornielli said hes confident the seized firearms will be forensically linked to shootings and other violent crimes in the city.

The Reading Police Department continues to make targeting violent crime in our community its main priority and is working with local state and federal partners to make our neighborhoods safe for residents and visitors, Tornielli said.

In addition, the department will continue to conduct various enforcement initiatives targeting the illegal riding of dirt bikes and ATVs, and loud music, among other quality-of-life problems.

Tornielli invited residents with information about crime or quality-of-life concerns to call the city dispatch center at 610-655-6116 or Crime Alert Berks County at 877-373-9913.
Prudes death in police custody is not the first in which a medical examiners findings were interpreted differently by representatives of officers involved. In New York City, the medical examiner determined that the banned chokehold used on Eric Garner during an attempt to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes in 2014 triggered his chronic health conditions  including asthma and hypertension. When the report made its way to former NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleos legal team, the head of the union representing Pantaleo said in a statement that it found conclusively that Mr. Garner did not die of strangulation of the neck from a chokehold which would have caused a crushed larynx (windpipe) and a fractured hyoid bone.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan visited the Sisian military hospital and the medical center to get acquainted with the organization of medical care for citizens wounded from the Azerbaijani attack, the ministry told Armenpress.

The minister also talked to the wounded soldiers, wishing them a speedy recovery.

At the same time, the needs of organizations providing medical care to the wounded were clarified, especially in terms of equipment of medical devices. All these issues were solved, and the necessary devices will soon be provided to these medical centers.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
A boy who claimed to be a relative of the deceased woman, alleged their family's phones have been confiscated and their outdoor movements confined.

IMAGE: Members of various organisations hold placards during a protest over Hathras victim, in Mathura, on Friday. Photograph: PTI Photo

No politician or mediaperson will be allowed entry into the village of the gangrape-murder victim in Hathras until the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Uttar Pradesh government completes its probe, an official said on Friday.

The Hathras administration had Thursday clamped prohibitory orders under Code of Criminal Procedure Section 144, which bars assembly of more than four people.

Political parties had staged protests to demand justice for the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died earlier this week, a fortnight after she was allegedly raped.

Amid a countrywide outrage over the case, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Wednesday formed a three-member SIT, which was instructed to submit its report by October 14, according to officials.

"In view of the current situation, no political representatives or media personnel would be allowed entry into the village till the SIT completes its probe," Hathras Additional Superintendent of Police Prakash Kumar told reporters.

Meanwhile, a boy who claimed to be a relative of the deceased woman, alleged their family's phones have been confiscated and their outdoor movements confined.

The boy made the claims while speaking to reporters outside the village where he said he reached after walking through the farms.

"My family members are being threatened. My uncle asked me to try to reach out to the media. My uncle was assaulted by DM sahib yesterday, after which he fell unconscious," he alleged.

The developments came as Friday saw Aam Aadmi Party and Samajwadi Party workers staging protests in Hathras, while a two-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress was manhandled in a ruckus at the village's border.

Some media personnel alleged manhandling by the administration and police officials at the site.
NEW DELHI: In view of growing protests over Hathras gang-rape, the Delhi Police on Friday (October 2) cautioned against any gathering around India Gate due to imposition of Section 144 CrPC. Police also said that a gathering of up to 100 people is permissible at the Jantar Mantar, but with a prior permission of the competent authority.

No gathering is permissible around India Gate due to imposition of Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) which prohibits assembly of five or more people at a time, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) New Delhi.

"No gathering is permissible around India Gate due to imposition of Section 144 CrPC," DCP New Delhi wrote on Twitter.

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On September 28, around 15-20 people belonging to the Punjab Youth Congress had gathered at India Gate and set a tractor on fire, while protesting against the new farm laws. The Delhi Police arrested several people in connection with the incident.

The order comes amid Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announcement that some party leaders and members of Delhi Legislative Assembly would gather at India Gate on Friday evening to protest against Hathras gangrape-murder case. The party's official Twitter handle said, "Let's stand in solidarity against the barbaric Hathras incident. Today at 5 PM. Location - India Gate."

Also Read: Hathras gang-rape: Forensic report says victim was not raped, she suffered 'fracture'

Several civil society groups, individuals, students unions have also called for protest at the India Gate on Friday to demand justice for the Hathras victim.

Earlier on October 1, AAP had staged a protest in Mumbai over the Hathras gang-rape and murder incident and demanded the resignation of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. The Delhi-based party criticised the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the midnight cremation of the victim.

"The body of the woman was cremated in the dark. The family was not allowed to conduct final rites in a bid to wipe out evidence the chief minister has to resign immediately and the matter has to be probed by a Supreme Court judge, AAPs national spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon told PTI.

Amid the nationwide outrage over the brutal incident, a senior Uttar Pradesh police officer on Thursday said that the forensic report has revealed that the 19-year-old Hathras woman, who succumbed to her injuries at a Delhi hospital, was not raped.

On Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi at Yamuna Expressway in Noida while they were on the way to meet the Hathras incident victim's family, who had died while receiving treatment in Delhi's Safdarjung hospital on Tuesday.

Gandhis were later released. Both Congress leaders alleged they were manhandled and roughed up by police personnel while they were marching towards Hathras to meet the victim`s family.

A day after the incident, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that Gandhi's collar was caught and he was pushed to the ground, in a way it is a 'gangrape' of country's democracy.

"Rahul Gandhi is a national political leader. We may have differences with Congress but nobody can support Police's behaviour with him...His collar was caught and he was pushed to the ground, in a way it is gangrape of the country's democracy," said Raut.

"We should not forget that Rahul Gandi is Indira Gandhi's grandson and Rajiv Gandhi's son. Both of them have sacrificed for the country. The country will never forgive this behaviour done to Rahul Gandhi. The way in which action is being taken against Rahul Gandhi and others who raise voice is against the democracy of the country," he added.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a charge-sheet, in the special NIA court in Jammu, against three accused persons in the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) recruitment case of Kulgam in Jammu and Kashmir.

The charge sheet was filed against three accused persons--Muneeb Hameed Bhat (Nanibugh village), Junaid Ahmad Mattoo (Khudwani village), and Umer Rashid Wani (Khudwani village), all from Kulgam district, under section 120(B) of Ranbir Penal Code, Sections 13 (2), 18, 39 and 40 of UAP Act, 1967.

It pertains to subversive activities of LeT in Kulgam district whereby it was motivating youth such as Bhat and others to join the terrorist organization. It also organized their travel to Pakistan for terrorist training on the basis of valid travel documents on the recommendation of separatist leaders. Later, the NIA took over the case on September 25.

The investigation by NIA established that Mattoo motivated Bhat to join LeT and go to Pakistan for terrorist training and Wani gave him funds to meet the expenses of his Pakistan visit. In July-August 2017, Bhat visited Pakistan on valid travel documents for terrorist training with the assistance of separatist leaders. He was imparted weapons training and also training for using secret social media chat platforms.

After returning from Pakistan, he remained constantly in touch with LeT handlers in Pakistan and active terrorists of Kulgam on secret messaging platforms for carrying out subversive and terrorist activities in Kashmir. He was working as a sleeper cell of LeT and further intended to join the terrorist ranks of LeT.

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The investigation has also established that from 2016-2018, many Kashmiri youths were sent by separatist leaders to Pakistan on Valid Travel Documents for getting terrorist training with the active assistance of the commanders of terrorist groups. These youth got terrorist training in the terrorist camps of Pakistan for a period ranging from 5 to 15 days. After returning, they are initially used as sleeper cells by terrorist organizations and subsequently recruited for active terrorism.

Mattoo and Wani were killed in separate encounters in 2017 and 2018. Further investigation in the case is on.
A massive protest erupted in Delhi on Friday evening as a number of civil society activists, students, women and political leaders gathered at Jantar Mantar against the alleged gangrape and death of a young woman in Hathras district and the Uttar Pradesh government's response to it.

IMAGE: Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad and Bollywood actress Swara Bhaskar during a protest against the gang-rape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, on Friday. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

Wearing masks and raising slogans against the UP administration, they demanded justice for the 19-year-old victim and asked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to resign.

The protest was to be held at India Gate initially but had to shifted to Jantar Mantar owing to the prohibitory orders in place in the Rajpath area.

IMAGE: Members of various organisations during a protest at Jantar Mantar. Photograph: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo

Several political leaders, including from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Left, joined the protest.

Most of them said they were outraged over the way UP police cremated the body of the victim, who died in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital, a fortnight after she was allegedly raped by four upper caste men.

IMAGE: Several political leaders, including from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Left, joined the protest. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/ PTI Photo

The woman's family alleged the police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

But local police officers said the cremation was done 'as per the wishes of the family'.

"What is happening in UP is goondaraj," lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan said.

IMAGE: Wearing masks and raising slogans against the UP administration, they demanded justice for the 19-year-old victim and asked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to resign. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/ PTI Photo

"The police have surrounded the village, are not allowing opposition leaders and mediapersons to enter it and have taken away the mobile phones of the family members of the victim."

Bollywood actor Swara Bhaskar, Bhim Army chief Chandrasekhar Azad, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj, Left leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury also attended the protest.

IMAGE: Enhanced security at India Gate ahead of the protest by Bhim Army. Photograph: PTI Photo

Azad demanded that a fast-track court be set up to hear the case daily.

"The culprits should be punished as soon as possible so that others get scared before committing such crimes.

"We will go to Hathras and till the time the matter doesn't come to Delhi, there is no chance of getting justice," he said.

Photograph: / Rediff.com IMAGE: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal during a protest against the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was allegedly gang-raped in Hathras, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma) (PTI02-10-2020 000285B).

He also said that there is no hope for justice for the 19-year-old woman till Adityanath resigns and the Supreme Court takes cognisance of the issue.

Bhaskar said people from different groups have gathered at Jantar Mantar, which shows how enraged people are.

"It is time we start fighting against the rape epidemic.

"Today, we are standing against it here and we have to win," she added.

IMAGE: Police personnel detain Samajwadi Party activists during a protest against the Hathras incident, in Lucknow, on Friday. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav said the Hathras incident 'brings out the complete breakdown of anything called rule of law'.

"It's not just that a rape happened, or that she was killed which is worse. There is a political patronage right from the beginning... The Uttar Pradesh administration is out there to ensure that this news doesn't come out."

Yadav alleged the family was denied even a decent cremation, which even criminals are entitled to.

Calling what happened a 'shutdown of democracy', he said, "The UP government has no basis to exist anymore".
Dubai, Oct 2 : Images of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of Indias freedom movement, will be displayed on Dubais Burj Khalifa on Friday as a tribute on his 151st birth anniversary.

The Indian Consulate in Dubai in a tweet said it would telecast live through its social media pages a special programme on "Relevance of Gandhi's message in the 21st century" at 7 p.m., followed by a LED projection on Burj Khalifa at 8.15 p.m., reports Gulf News.

On Gandhi Jayanti in 2018, a special LED show on the Burj Khalifa marked the commencement of the two-year line up of programmes of 150 years of Gandhian ideologies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The show was jointly organised by the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the Consulate and Emaar Properties.

Images of Gandhi and the Indian flag were beamed on the world's largest LED-illuminated facade once again on the same day in 2019.

"The special Gandhi show on Burj Khalifa will be live-streamed on social media pages of the consulate. We are thankful to Emaar for their support," the Indian Consulate told Gulf News earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, Consulate officials is also holding a cleanliness drive in the premises of the mission.

With the support from the Indian community, 151 trees will be planted on different sites to mark the occasion.

The annual debate for students, held under the patronage of the mission at GEMS Our Own Indian School, will be organised online due to Covid-19.

Essay writing and drawing competitions are also being organised for students.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-01 23:27:02|Editor: huaxia

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses a high-level meeting on the 25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women at the United Nations headquarters in New York, on Oct. 1, 2020. Guterres on Thursday urged member states to make concrete, time-bound and ambitious commitments to women's leadership and full participation. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged member states to make concrete, time-bound and ambitious commitments to women's leadership and full participation.

"COVID-19 demonstrates that we urgently need a strong push to meet the unfulfilled promise of Beijing (the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995). This is fundamentally a question of power, so it starts with the equal representation of women in leadership positions, in governments, boardrooms, in climate negotiations and at the peace table -- everywhere decisions are taken that affect people's lives," the UN chief told a high-level meeting on the 25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

"Achieving this will require targeted measures including affirmative action and quotas. This is a human rights issue and a social and economic imperative," said the UN chief.

The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was convened by the UN during Sept. 4-15, 1995 in Beijing, where governments from around the world agreed on a comprehensive plan to achieve global legal gender equality, known as the Beijing Platform for Action.

"The Beijing Conference was a watershed; a landmark; a turning point. For many of us, it was a moment for deep reflection. The bold vision and transformative agenda of the Beijing conference made clear: first, that women's rights are central to equality and justice everywhere; and second, that they are denied, obstructed and ignored -- everywhere," said the UN chief.

"Since then, we have made some important gains. Maternal mortality is down by nearly 40 percent since 1995. More girls are in school than ever before in history," said the secretary-general.

Speaking about what can be improved, the UN chief said that "we have not fulfilled the ambitious vision of the Beijing Declaration."

"One woman in three still experiences some form of violence in her lifetime. Every year, 12 million girls marry before the age of 18. In some parts of the world, levels of femicide -- the killing of women -- could be likened to a war zone. In 2017, an average of 137 women around the world were killed by a member of their own family every day," he said.

"Women are still frequently excluded from peace negotiations, climate talks, and decision-making roles of all kinds. Worldwide, women have just 75 percent of the legal rights of men," said the UN chief.

Citing a study by the World Bank, Guterres said that "it could take 150 years to achieve gender parity in lifetime earned income. And that closing that gap would generate 172 trillion U.S. dollars in human capital wealth."

Talking about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women, the UN chief said that "women and girls are bearing the brunt of the massive social and economic impact of the pandemic."

Referring to gender equality in the UN system, the secretary-general said that the UN has "achieved gender parity in our leadership at the beginning of 2020, with 90 women and 90 men as full-time senior leaders."

"We are now working for parity at all levels, not only for the sake of our women staff, but because women's leadership and participation make institutions more effective -- as we have seen in the response to the pandemic," Guterres said.

"I repeat my call for urgent, comprehensive action on gender-based violence. The United Nations is working to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, including through our partnership with the European Union, the Spotlight Initiative," said the secretary-general.

Guterres said that "we need transformative, women-led changes to the failed structures and frameworks exploited by this pandemic."

"That is the only way we will implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve lives of dignity and opportunity for all," he said.
To the Times:

What are school districts in Delaware County actively doing to create an anti-bias anti-racist culture? I recently read an article on Teachingtolerance.org entitled Anti-Racist Work in Schools: Are you in it for the Long Haul that I encourage all leaders to read. The article raises a number of important questions for these times.

How is this district being intentional and thoughtful in ensuring their school is anti-racist and anti-bias? How are leaders in the district encouraged to support these anti-racist and anti-bias efforts? How are you ensuring that these efforts are throughout your community and district and not just a box to check? How are you going to create long-lasting change in your community so that all families, all students, all people feel welcomed and safe? Specifically, how are BIPOC (black, Indigenous and people of color) being heard, included, and supported in this work?

I am also the mother of a biracial son who grew up and witnessed racism in Delaware County first-hand. One thing that always struck me was the inability or hesitancy for leaders to speak up and out about racist behavior. However, one of the key messages of the article was What we permit, we promote. We must promote anti-racism and anti-bias in our communities, in our schools, and in our homes.

Dr. Laura McLaughlin, Springfield
THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking expressions of interest from people who may want to participate in the upcoming oral hearing into Irish Cements plans for Mungret.

As part of a 10m renewal plan, the firm is seeking to phase out the use of fossil fuels at its local plant, replacing it with compressed waste and used tyres.

The project has led to opposition from residents who are concerned the impact the reforms will have on the local environment. Around 3,000 locals have already objected to the EPA which will ultimately grant the firm an operating licence.

But Irish Cement has always insisted that because the burning of materials will be at such a high temperature, the impact on the environment will be negligible.

The EPA was set to hold an oral hearing into the plans back in May, but the Covid-19 lockdown saw it postponed.

Now it has written to those who originally objected to advise if they want to take part in the oral hearing.

It will be held on a socially distanced basis, with contributors asked to present through video link if they prefer.

A date for the oral hearing has yet to be confirmed.

It's the final hurdle Irish Cement will need to clear before starting production after getting the go-ahead from An Bord Pleanala for the construction aspect of its plan.

This came after a three-day oral hearing back in September 2017.

For more Limerick news click here
In an extremely horrific incident, a 30-year-old social media star was burnt alive by ex-husband while she was recording a live stream. The Chinese influencer suffered burns on 90 per cent of her body before succumbing two weeks later.

Tiktok

The vlogger, popularly knows as Lamu, was allegedly doused in petrol and set fire to in front of her family members by her former husband.

Incident happened on September 14

The incident happened on September 14 when Lamus ex-partner Tang, who has a history of domestic abuse, broke into her home armed with a cleaver and petrol before attacking her, Daily Mail reported.

The local media reports stated that the screens on the live stream went pitch black soon after the live streaming started.



Tiktok

Chinese media has said that Tang was seeking revenge on Lamu because she had initiated their divorce due to domestic violence. Earlier this year, she had divorced him over repeated instances of domestic abuse. Both of them got custody of one child each. Later, he had threatened to kill one child if she didnt re-marry him.



According to a BBC report, Lamu was a popular name on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, where she would put up videos showing her rural life in Sichuan province. She was much loved for her no-make up look and authentic videos showing a rural livelihood. She had 7,82,000 followers and 6.3 million 'likes' on Douyin.

Lamus death has triggered massive social media outrage against domestic violence across China with many blaming police over inaction.
He was booked into jail on suspicion of first- and third-degree sexual assault but was charged with the latter. Adler, who pleaded not guilty, posted $2,500 bail Tuesday and must appear in court in November.

The alleged victim also took out a sexual-assault protection order against Adler in Douglas County District Court on Tuesday. Her statement to obtain that order said that she is also a dental student and that she feels extreme anxiety when I see him. She also expressed fear of retaliation.

A source close to the victim said the woman tried to work through the Creighton office that handles such cases but wasnt satisfied with the result. She spoke to Omaha police this year in February and May. Police then contacted Adler, who said he would provide no statements to them and would hire an attorney.

Neither the woman nor Adler could be reached for comment Thursday, and Adlers attorney, Ryan Hoffman, declined to comment. Creighton also had nothing to say about the matter. Theres really not much we can say, spokeswoman Cindy Workman said.
Welp, the first weekend of October is here and the foliage is right on cue. Not only that, the foliage is bucking the 2020 trend--it's spectacular!

Related: The 10 best fall foliage drives in the Capital Region

This is derived from the I Love New York Fall Foliage Report, which comes out every Wednesday. Thanks to the spotter volunteers!

When you check out the map, you can see the north/south gradient from peak and near peak to around halfway. Here are some more particulars:

If you're looking for some instant gratification to peak foliage, you can find that in both of New York's mountains: above 1500' in the Catskills, from Windham to Hunter to Haines Falls.

Lake Placid and on Whiteface Mountain are right at peak, too. You can also head to Adirondack beauties like Saranac and Tupper Lakes, as well as over to Old Forge to check out a range of 85-100%.

Heading south from there, you'll find things taper off to about 60-65% from the southern shores of Lake Champlain to Lake George Village.

Keep on going, you'll see about a halfway mark for foliage in Saratoga County and across the Hudson to Washington and Rensselaer counties.

Across to Thacher Park, you'll be seeing 40% or so with 40-60% down the Hudson Valley.

Related: The best apple orchards in the Capital Region

Enjoy, leaf peepers! The weekend will be a good one to take a spin.
As students began to arrive at several public schools in Vernon B.C. on Sept. 30, 2020, they were met with hundreds of small pieces of paper and leaflets scattered across sidewalks, streets and in parking lots. The papers link back to websites supporting white supremacy. This was particularly jarring to Indigenous parents, as Sept. 30 was Orange Shirt Day, a day for people to come together to recognize the impact of the residential school system on Indigenous kids.

I fear for my babies future. I am scared, says Devyn Louis, a mother of two from the Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) whose five year old attends a school in her community.

Since Sept. 30, notes have continued to appear near schools.

We as humans need to understand that inflicting this kind of pain on each other helps no one, says Louis.

OKIB lies just west of Vernon, most of the children from the First Nations community attend the public schools where the notes are being left. OKIB Chief Byron Louis does not condone these events.

We condemn any form of hate literature and hateful words, says Chief Louis. I dont believe for a moment that these hateful views are shared by the majority of the people of Vernon. Still, people on the fringe can do a lot of damage, and they dont just hurt me, they hurt everyone with their attitudes.

Many parents are turning to Facebook community forums, calling for help in finding the perpetrators.

I am petrified of what the world will come to be, and as a mother I beg you to please stop, if you dont know what its like living in fear, please stop, says Louis.

The RCMP shared in a press release on Oct. 1, 2020 that the leaflets were, turned in to police who examined the content and found it is linked to a specific, extreme ideology.

They say if anyone has information that may assist investigators they should call the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP.

Many public officials also condemned the incident.

It is very disturbing that white supremacist website information was distributed on the streets around some of our schools, writes Joe Rogers, the Superintendent of the School District 22 in an email with IndigiNews.

There is no place for racism, discrimination or intolerance in B.C.  in our schools or anywhere else, shared the Senior Public Affairs Officer for the Ministry of Educationl, Craig Sorochan in an email statement.

Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming said in a statement: I am disheartened and deeply sorry about the events that took place in our community yesterday, with the distribution of hundreds of notes linked to racist propaganda and a white supremacist website.

While the Vernon Mayor condemns the ongoing incidents, he and city officials are receiving backlash online regarding the city not passing an Anti-Racial Discrimination and Anti-Racism Policy.

Put your money where your mouth is Mayor and Councillors. Pass the anti racism policy drafted by your lawyers. Lead by example, writes one person on the Vernon community Facebook forum.

In July 2020, the mayor and two councillors voted in favour of passing the policy but it failed to be approved by the majority. The policy would have created a framework that would have allowed for more programming and training to be offered within the city.

Despite the anti-racism policy not being approved, the mayor continues to condemn the incidents.

We must be willing to confront discrimination, hate and racism in all its forms. I encourage you to speak with your children and loved ones about these things so we can learn from our past, Cumming said in the news release on Oct. 1.

Meanwhile, the Province of B.C. has recently introduced a Community Roundtable on Anti-Racism that will include voices from First Nations leadership and student advisory committees.

The development of an anti-racism action plan and to strengthen the K12 curriculum, ensuring the culture, beliefs and ancestry of all students and staff are accepted, celebrated and understood, the governments website states.

As her kids continue to head off to school, Louis hopes that this creates an opportunity for communities to come together and learn more about each other.

For us to heal we pray that you take the time to understand many of my non-Indigenous friends have reached out to gain a better understanding. she says.

This step will help us heal.

Chief Louis shares a similar sentiment.

We must continue to learn to love our neighbours and to live in peace because history has proven this to be the only way forward, he says.

Read more about:
Actor Abhishek Bachchans back-and-forth with Twitter trolls continued into the night after hed responded to a couple of them on Thursday. Abhishek was attacked once again for belonging to a prominent film family, which certain people on the internet believe gave him an unfair competitive edge in his career.

Aapko nahi lagta ke aapko filmon mein kaam sirf Amitabh Bachchan ke bete hone ki vajah se milta hai (Dont you think you get work only because youre Amitabh Bachchans son)? one person asked Abhishek. The actor replied, Kaash jo aap keh rahe hote sach hota. Sochiye, kitna kaam milta mujhe. (I wish what youre saying was true. Imagine how much work Id get).

When another person, also named Abhishek, said that Abhishek was given his first film, Refugee, only because he was a nepokid, the actor responded, Arey yaar, yeh saare duniya ke Abhishek mere peeche kyu padh gaye hain. Baksh do maharaj, chup chaap apna kaam kar raha hu (Oh my, why have all the Abhisheks of the world started attacking me. Have mercy, Im just trying to do my job).

On Thursday, when Abhishek expressed his excitement on Twitter at the news of movie theatres reopening after several months of coronavirus-induced lockdown, one person wrote, But arent you still gonna be jobless? Abhishek wrote back, That, alas, is in your (the audiences) hand. If you dont like our work, we wont get our next job. So we work to the best of our abilities and hope and pray for the best.

When a Twitter user asked him if he has any hash, the actor wrote back, No! Sorry. Dont do that. But will be very happy to help you and introduce you to @MumbaiPolice am sure they, will be very happy to learn of your requirements and will assist you.

Also read: Abhishek Bachchan replies to troll who says you are still gonna be jobless after theatres reopen: That is in audiences hands

Abhishek, who along with his father Amitabh, wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and daughter Aaradhya, recently recovered from the coronavirus, was last seen in Amazon Primes Breathe: Into the Shadows. The actor has several projects lined up, including The Big Bull, which will be released on Disney+ Hotstar, and Ludo, which is due out on Netflix.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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West Kingstown MP and the New Democratic Party (NDP) Shadow Minister for Health, Daniel Cummings said that there is a need for an independent investigation, following confirmation from the Ministry of Health on Monday that four persons have died from Dengue Fever.





Cummings, who made his appeal during an NDP Press Conference on Wednesday at Democrat House, Kingstown, emphasized, though, that the investigation should not be about scapegoating anyone, but should be conducted with a view to correcting the inherent problems in the Health System.





The Health Ministry confirmed in a press release last Monday that there have been some 432 laboratory confirmed cases of dengue fever, 58 more cases than what was confirmed 5 days before.





The release also confirmed the death of four persons from Dengue Fever: one adult female and one nine-year-old male; a four-year-old male who died before the dengue test could be completed but who was confirmed from a sample taken after his death, to have had Dengue Fever; an elderly male, who died on Friday, September 25 at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.





"I am saying categorically there must be a serious investigation into the deaths of the four persons who died from dengue, particularly the four-year-old, to understand if there are problems in the delivery of healthcare, Cummings asserted, and repeated that the problems must be addressed, not with any intentions of scapegoating but to pinpoint the problems.





Cummings told media persons and a Facebook audience that from his discussions with health professionals, he understood that deaths as a result of Dengue are rare.





"And certainly to have four deaths in a short space of time speaks to a break down in the healthcare delivery system, he assessed.





He reasoned that from the very first confirmed case of dengue, there should have been a very detailed programme, establishing the protocols for every health centre and hospital in this country, so as to ensure every doctor in the Public Health System is alert to the threat, especially the doctors who continue to have serious problems communicating because English is not their first language.





From the information received concerning the deaths, Cummings said that in the case of the four-year-old, for a child to be left for four days unattended with very high temperature, is to say the least, shocking.





"If as we are told, the first diagnosis was upper respiratory infection .. from what we are told they actually thought that the child had the Coronavirus, said Cummings, explaining further that the parents followed the medical information given to them by the clinic, but by the time the child, his condition having worsened, got to the Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, it was "downhill.





The Shadow Health Minister told the conference that he visited the A&E of the MCMH last week, and he was heartbroken after seeing the dozens of parents with children waiting hours for assistance.





"Reports are there werent any doctors in the A&E and the parents were furious after that, at a press conference, we are being told that the Ministry is looking to recruit ten more doctors.





"Its a situation, Cummings said, "in which the Ministry has the warning, the Ministry has the statistics. (but) the Ministry does nothing, (until) long after the horse is bolted and people are dying, (and) you are talking about hiring doctors?




Lucknow, Oct 2 : A shoe manufacturer associated with Kanpur's leather industry for decades has taken up the task to curb pollution through his eco-friendly shoes as well as advance the cause of "Aatmanirbhar Bharat".

Rajendra Jalan has made the eco-friendly shoes out of special khadi cloth, cork-mixed rubber from Kerala, latex foam, jute and special nylon threads.

Cork, mixed with rubber, is used to make the shoe sole whereas latex foam will be used for inner sole, while Jalan is using khadi cloth to make the shoe's upper part and jute for the back support. The stitching is being done by specially-made nylon threads, and the shoe packed in a recycled paper box.

Jalan has been associated with the leather industry since 1974 after completing his chemical engineering from the city's Harcourt Butler Technological Institute. He owns two shoe units in Panki and Kanpur Dehat and his shoes are exported to the US, Spain, Germany, Australia, South America and South Korea.

About the idea of making eco-friendly shoes during the lockdown, Jalan said the global corona outbreak changed a lot of things. "People have become aware of health and environment. In such a situation, I felt that the future would be of sustainable and eco-friendly things. So, I thought of making eco-friendly shoes with fully hand-woven Khadi cloth, he said.

He contacted Additional Chief Secretary, Micro, Small, Medium Industries and Khadi and Village Industries Navneet Sehgal, who not only encouraged him but also assured of all possible help. The eco-friendly shoes which Jalan made in such a short period of time only became possible after Sehgal helped him in procuring Khadi cloth in short span of time.

Terming his venture an attempt to take up Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of creating a self-reliant India, Jalan said that he is hopeful that these shoes will get national as well as international recognition.

"This will help in promoting entrepreneurship in the country and employment opportunities will be created by promoting cottage industry," he added.
"What is now unfolding is a convoluted and flawed process," she said. "It is high on rhetoric and well-rehearsed: co-design, empowerment, doing things with us, rather than to us. But if we look closely, the practice continues to be poles apart." Pat Turner: A supporter of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Illustration: Joe Benke Credit: Turner traced the fight for Indigenous self-determination from first contact to the present, noting that anything resembling a Voice has historically been dismantled the moment it becomes uncomfortable for the government. She pointed to the Closing the Gap agreement as an example of "shared decision-making" between governments and Indigenous people, but claimed the Voice co-design was not following the same process  relying instead on hand-picked groups to advise on, rather than help negotiate, options on what a Voice might look like. She said the commitment to shared decision-making was "not to be applied only at the discretion of governments". Turner surmised that the Voice proposal was "doomed to fail" unless these issues were urgently rectified. Why is it important?

First Nations people in Australia have long sought to have a meaningful Voice in their own affairs. As Turner notes, other liberal democratic nations such as Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Finland have better-developed institutions and structures that allow Indigenous peoples to be heard. After centuries of struggle, the landmark Uluru Statement from the Heart put forward three reforms in 2017 to "empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country". At the top of the list was a First Nations Voice enshrined in the constitution. Supporters of the Uluru Statement say a constitutionally-enshrined Voice is an integral step in eliminating Indigenous disadvantage, by ensuring First Nations people have a say in shaping the laws that affect them. The proposal was rejected by the Turnbull government. Last year Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt instead embarked on a "co-design" process for a Voice to government, rather than Parliament, which would not be enshrined in the constitution. When asked on Wednesday whether she would accept any model that falls short of the proposal in the Uluru Statement, Turner's reply was a concise "no".

Wyatt established three advisory groups as part of the design process. Turner is a highly respected and prominent member of the senior advisory group. Her comments will likely cast a shadow over the Voice co-design process at a crucial moment. This is the first time she has made her concerns public. Loading In response, Marcia Langton, the joint leader of the senior advisory group, said it appeared Turner had misunderstood the process for creating the Voice, and claimed the partnership with the government was working well. Wyatt has defended the process, saying any body set up to advise the government cannot be developed independently of the government. What happens next?
Axtrias CEO and President, Jassi Chadha, is one of ten entrepreneurs spotlighted for exceptional business growth in Salesforces inaugural program.

Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, Oct. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Axtrias CEO and President, Jaswinder (Jassi) Chadha, is honored to be selected as one of the entrepreneurs featured by Salesforce in their new program, Trailblazing Entrepreneurs. Salesforce launched the initiative to inspire and engage business people and founders as they explore the Salesforce AppExchange. As part of the program, Salesforce has released an e-book and podcast series. These two mediums spotlight entrepreneurs who have scaled their businesses to succeed in the Salesforce ecosystem.

Ten individuals leading the race in innovation and entrepreneurship have been selected and featured. In addition to Axtrias Jassi Chadha, other honorees include Kimbles Sean Hoban and Spekits Melanie Fellay. In the e-book, Salesforce explains, you will examine the winding roads that led these entrepreneurs from an inkling of an idea to a full-fledged business in the Salesforce ecosystem. Click here to read about these entrepreneurs beginnings, their learnings from the journey, and how they were able to scale successfully.

In the e-book, Jassi discusses his aha moment when he discovered various process-related inefficiencies crippling life sciences companies running their commercial operations across spreadsheets and ad hoc models instead of software systems. He also shares his secret to scaling Axtria and what he has learned from his entrepreneurial journey. In the podcast (available here), Jassi dives deeper into his learnings and discusses how he turned his passion for mathematics and data analytics into a successful business.

Axtria, under Jassis leadership, has demonstrated outstanding innovation by intelligently harnessing the value of data. Axtria enables its customers to efficiently manage data, leverage data science to deliver insights for sales and marketing planning, and manage end-to-end commercial operations.

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The complete e-book is available for download at this link. Peruse through the pages to find thought leaders giving their unique and veteran perspectives on entrepreneurship. When asked about his view on the topic, Jassi said, in the journey of entrepreneurship, it is all about the team. The team that comes together to build a plan and strategy, and then goes out and executes it. I would say we have been very fortunate to have an amazing team.

Connect With Axtria:

About Axtria

Axtria is a global provider of cloud software and data analytics to the life sciences industry. Axtria helps life sciences companies transform the product commercialization journey to drive sales growth and improve healthcare outcomes for patients. Axtria is acutely aware that their work impacts millions of patients, and they lead passionately to improve patient lives.

Since the companys founding in 2010, technology innovation has been its winning differentiation. Axtria continues to leapfrog the competition with platforms that deploy artificial intelligence and machine learning. Their cloud-based platforms - Axtria DataMAx, Axtria InsightsMAx, Axtria SalesIQ, and Axtria MarketingIQ - enable customers to efficiently manage data, leverage data science to deliver insights for sales and marketing planning, and manage end-to-end commercial operations. Axtria helps customers in the complete journey from data to insights to operations. With customers in over 75 countries, Axtria is one of the biggest global commercial solutions providers in the life sciences industry. Axtria continues to win industry recognition for growth and is featured in some of the most aspirational lists - Inc. 5000, Deloitte Technology Fast 500, NJBIZ Fast 50, SmartCEO Future 50, Red Herring 100, and several other growth and technology awards.

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Axtria, Axtria SalesIQ, Axtria MarketingIQ, Axtria InsightsMAx, and Axtria DataMAx are registered trademarks of Axtria. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies of every size and industry to digitally transform and create a 360 view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

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CONTACT: Rebecca Lorenzo Axtria Inc. (1) 862 2190380 Rebecca.Lorenzo@axtria.com




SACRAMENTO  Jewish groups angered by their exclusion from a proposed ethnic studies curriculum for California high school students credited their concerns in large part for Gov. Gavin Newsoms veto of a bill requiring the course for graduation.

It was the latest twist in a fight that has lasted more than a year over whether Californias high school students should be required to take an ethnic studies class and, if so, what should be included. The bills author pulled it in 2019 after a similar dispute over the course material. This year a revised version of the bill easily passed the Legislature, but Wednesday night, Newsom vetoed it.

In his veto message, the governor said only that the curriculum still needed more work because it was insufficiently balanced and inclusive.

AB331 would have added a one-semester ethnic studies course to the high school graduation requirement, starting with the 2029-30 academic year. Newsoms veto infuriated the bills supporters, who said he missed a chance to address divides laid bare by the police killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests over racial inequality.

Assemblyman Jose Medina, the Riverside Democrat who carried the bill, called Newsoms veto a failure to push back against the racial rhetoric and bullying of Donald Trump.

Newsom wrote in his veto message that he supports the concept of teaching students about the history of marginalized groups. But he said the latest draft of Californias Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum must be rewritten to ensure it achieves balance, fairness and is inclusive of all communities.

Newsom didnt cite specific examples of bias in the course manual, but advocates and legislators said the Jewish community was the crucial source of concern about the curriculum.

Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press 2017

Tyler Gregory, executive director of the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council, said concerns about the bill were reignited in recent weeks after Jewish leaders learned the draft curriculum had been updated to add lessons about Arab Americans and Pacific Islanders, but not Jews.

Gregory said Jewish groups and synagogues across the state sent dozens of letters to Newsoms office urging him to intervene. Gregory said he wanted Newsom to direct an overhaul of the curriculum or veto the bill  Newsom did both.

We think its imperative that education around anti-Semitism and Jewish identity be included in the context of ethnic studies, Gregory said. The Jewish community is more than a conversation about the Holocaust.

However, the bill also had significant supporters in the Jewish community: Every member of the Legislative Jewish Caucus voted for it, and it was endorsed by the Anti-Defamation League.

State Sen. Ben Allen, the Santa Monica Democrat who chairs the caucus, said many who raised concerns simply wanted the curriculum to be revised, not have Newsom veto the bill outright.

The Jewish community is a large and diverse community, with lots of different perspectives, he said. If anything, what I heard from the mainstream Jewish community leadership was not opposition to the bill, but was concern that the curriculum be developed in a way that was fair to the Jewish community.

The veto reignited the debate about the purpose and nature of ethnic studies, a movement that began on Bay Area college campuses in the late 1960s.

Supporters of the curriculum argue the concept of ethnic studies isnt intended to be a general discussion of diversity. They said the discipline is traditionally focused on people of color in America  their contributions and historic oppression.

They said they were caught off guard by Newsoms veto and some Jewish groups opposition.

I do very much think that it was a lost opportunity, given this historical moment, Medina, a retired high school teacher who taught ethnic studies, told The Chronicle. Weve never seen students more hungry for the kind of knowledge that ethnic studies would provide them.

Medina shelved the bill last year because of backlash over an earlier draft of the curriculum. Controversy appeared to have dwindled after the California Department of Education released the new draft in July.

The revised curriculum encouraged teachers to add lessons that emphasize the history of ethnic groups in their community. But it kept the focus on four groups that ethnic studies courses traditionally emphasize: African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The draft also removed content that Jewish groups said evoked anti-Semitic stereotypes, in particular a reference to Israel controlling the media.

Some critics still said the draft was politically charged and excluded historically marginalized ethnic and religious groups, such as Armenians.

But the latest version had eased many legislators concerns, and the Legislative Jewish Caucus withdrew its opposition this summer. The Legislature passed the bill after Medina agreed to delay the graduation requirement beyond the original target of the 2024-25 academic year.

Gregory said concerned Jewish groups wanted to review recent additions to the draft curriculum to ensure anti-Semitic tropes hadnt been included.

We can do it in a way that continues to center communities of color, Gregory said of Jewish groups desired changes to the curriculum. Were not trying to take over this process.

Medina said he plans to reintroduce the bill next year, and Newsom has already directed state education officials to draft a revised curriculum.

Alvin Lee, a 17-year-old high school student in Fremont, advocated for the bill along with GENup, a student advocacy group he founded. He said students were sad and drained by the veto but will continue the fight.

Lee, the son of Chinese immigrants, said students of color are tired of learning a Eurocentric version of history. He said the curriculum will never be able to cover all marginalized groups in one semester.

Its so important to see ourselves reflected in history books, he said. Too often, its just like the white savior on the horse.

Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner
Clout today explores how difficult and expensive a statewide race in Pennsylvania can be for a candidate with not much name recognition.

Nina Ahmad, a former deputy mayor from Philadelphia, spent almost $500,000 of her own money to win the six-candidate Democratic primary for state auditor general. That was after she spent more than $650,000 in a failed 2018 bid for lieutenant governor.

What did she get for dipping into her bank account to the tune of more than $1 million?

A Monmouth University Poll last month showed her statistically tied with the Republican nominee, Dauphin County Controller Tim DeFoor. Ahmad led DeFoor by 43% to 41%, with 12% of registered voters in the poll undecided, and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

DeFoor, who ran unopposed in his primary, has raised a little more than $23,000 this year and had just under $17,000 in the bank as of mid-September, according to campaign finance reports filed last week.

Still, hes optimistic, and said the Monmouth poll sparked interest.

Individuals and entities have reached out to me, wanting to support my campaign, DeFoor said.

One group taking an interest is Commonwealth Leaders Fund, a conservative political action committee that has spent between $21,000 and $28,000 on Facebook ads to tout DeFoor since last week. The PAC has also spent almost $1.2 million this year to help Republican Heather Heidelbaugh in her bid to deny Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro a second term.

Ahmad, who had $106,814 in the bank as of mid-September, isnt surprised her primary spending on television ads only went so far.

She sees voters synching up her race with the presidential election: DeFoor picks up supporters of President Donald Trump while she does the same with former Vice President Joe Bidens supporters. And Biden is holding a sizable and consistent lead over Trump and in the state.

I have a much broader coalition supporting me, she said. So there is a ground game across Pennsylvania that I dont have to pay for.

Does that mean she wont be dipping back into the bank account she shares with her husband, real estate developer Ahsan Nasratullah?

We are sort of saving our powder, she said. That doesnt mean you dont use it. But that would be a strategic decision we make as a team.

Shapiro punches up at Trump in TV in mail ballot battle

Regular readers know Clouts rule on politics as pugilism: Always punch up, never down. That means, pick a big target to make the ring a more prominent platform.

If you turned on a television in the last two weeks, you probably saw Shapiro, Pennsylvanias top prosecutor, throwing rhetorical jabs and uppercuts at Trump for the presidents many unsubstantiated claims about fraud with mail ballots in Pennsylvania and across the country.

Shapiro, who has been challenging Trumps campaign in court, said on 60 Minutes last week that the president should put up or shut up" by providing proof of his claims. That was followed by a flurry of appearances on CNN, including one Wednesday evening, followed by a spot on MSNBC an hour later.

Shapiro, widely seen as mulling a run for governor in 2022, is making the most of the exposure. He sent Clout a statement calling out Trump and his crew for sowing doubt and confusion about the election.

Voters must have confidence in this election and the information they need, so from Pittsburgh to Scranton to cable television, he said, "I am taking facts and evidence to the people and calling bulls on the lies.

Trumps campaign did not respond when Clout asked for comment.

Former DA Seth Williams to out-of-jail citizens: Vote

Former Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams spent Wednesday, which had been his originally projected release date from federal prison, in City Hall registering to vote. He also took to Twitter to urge other former prison inmates to learn about their right to vote.

If you made bad decisions in the past and have paid your debt to society, dont compound them by not voting! Learn your rights and #vote #GreatThingsHappenInPhilly, Williams, a Democrat, tweeted Wednesday, with a nod to Trumps claim during a presidential debate this week that bad things happen in Philadelphia elections.

Williams, who was released early in April after serving three years of his five-year sentence on a bribery charge, followed up Thursday with this tweet:

Approximately 300,000 Philadelphians have criminal records. If you care about anything: economic justice, heath care, public safety, world peace, climate change, criminal justice reform, educational equity  Do something. #vote.

Commonwealth Court, in a ruling that turns 20 years old in December, overturned a state law that said convicted felons had to wait five years after their release from prison to register to vote. Theyre now eligible as soon as they are released.

Now more than ever," Williams told Clout, Philadelphians in general and returning citizens in specific need to learn your rights, how to register and how to vote.
IT managers are often responsible not just for overseeing an organizations IT infrastructure but overseeing its IT teams as well. To succeed, you need to understand the fundamentals of security, data storage, hardware, software, networking, and IT management frameworks  and how they all work together to deliver business value. Plus, you must be adept at managing teams, projects, and processes.

Certifications can lend credence to your ability to do these things. Which certs youll want to pursue will vary depending on the technologies you work with and the methodologies your organization employs. But whether youre on the management track or have your eye on an IT management career, any one of these 17 IT management certifications should help give you a leg up in the industry.

Top 17 IT management certifications

AMA Certified Professional in Management

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)

Certified in Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT)

Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)

Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Certified Information Technology Manager (CITM)

Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)

COBIT 5 Foundation

CompTIA Network+

CompTIA Project+

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

Information Technology Management and Leadership Professional (ITMLP)

PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Six Sigma

TOGAF 9

AMA Certified Professional in Management

The AMA Certified Professional in Management isnt an IT-specific certification, but its a great start for anyone interested in a management path. As an IT manager, you will need all the technical skills of an IT professional, but its also important to have the soft skills necessary for effective management. The certification is offered through the American Management Association and covers professional effectiveness, relationship management, business acumen, and analytical intelligence.

Exam fee: $450 plus a $50 application processing fee

Expiration: Three years

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)

As an IT manager, youll be responsible for overseeing multiple IT projects during your career. The CAPM certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) will demonstrate your ability to manage a product or service lifecycle. The CAPM is a generalized entry-level exam, so its a great place to start if youre looking to add project management skills to your resume to help pave a future in IT management. The certification requires a secondary degree and 23 hours of project management education before you take the exam. If youre further into your career and already have a background in project management, a higher-level certification such as the PMP (see below) might be a better fit for your IT management career path.

Exam fee: $225 for members, $300 for non-members

Expiration: Does not expire

For more information, see CAPM certification: Cost, salary, training, and more.

Certified in Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT)

The ISACA claims that IT professionals with a CGEIT certification are among the highest paid, citing an average salary of $141,000. This certification will show youre capable of dealing with any security threats and that youre well-versed on the requirements for IT governance. Youll need at least five years experience in IT governance or management to qualify for the exam. Maintaining your certification also requires an annual maintenance fee of $45 for ISACA members and $85 for non-members.

Exam fee: $575 for ISACA members, $760 for non-members

Expiration: Every three years; at least 20 CPE hours annually and 120 CPE over the course of three-years

For more information, see What is CGEIT? A certification for seasoned IT governance professionals.

Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)

As an IT manager, youll need to be aware of risk management, which is why the Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) certification can be a valuable addition to your resume. Offered by the ISACA, the CRISC certification validates your ability to understand and mitigate enterprise IT risk using the latest best practices to identify, analyze, evaluate, assess, prioritize, and respond to risks. The exam covers topics such as IT governance, IT risk assessment, risk response and reporting, and information technology and security.

Exam fee: $575

Expiration: Does not expire

Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

The Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) certification from the ISACA verifies your knowledge and expertise in information security governance, program development and management, and incident and risk management. IT security is a growing priority for businesses and the CISM certification is often required by government agencies hiring IT workers. As an IT manager, you will need to have your pulse on enterprise IT security and the CISM certification can show you have the skills and knowledge to help the business stay secure and mitigate risk.

Exam fee: $575 for ISACA members and $760 for non-members

Expiration: Three years

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Security is a main concern for the enterprise and once you start heading into management and leadership positions, it will become one of your top priorities. A CISSP certification from the ISC can demonstrate your knowledge and abilities around IT security and information assurance. The certification covers high-level topics such as organizational structure, budgeting, managing risk, monitoring and assigning deliverables, communicating with remote teams and executives, and managing complex large-scope projects.

Exam fee: $749

Expiration: Three years

Certified Information Technology Manager (CITM)

The Certified Information Technology Manager (CITM) certification offered by the Global Association for Quality Management (GAQM) is designed for management professionals who wish to gain an in depth understanding of the management of information technology in the modern corporation. The certification covers business frameworks, IT frameworks, software, database management, information systems, corporate IT strategy, corporate governance, risk, finance, and management of technology personnel. GAQM offers an e-course that takes 30 to 35 hours on average to complete that you can take prior to taking the exam.

Exam fee: $300 for the e-course and exam; $170 for the exam

Expiration: Does not expire

Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)

The CSM certification from Scrum Alliance is designed to certify you as a point person to help Scrum teams work efficiently. The CSM is responsible for leading the team, limiting distractions, and working across teams and departments to keep projects on track. It requires all the soft and hard skills IT managers need to effectively manage projects and teams. With the certification, youll receive a logo to showcase your credentials as well as a two-year membership with Scrum Alliance, which will give you access to online social networks, discounts on events and other resources.

Exam fee: Free for initial certification

Expiration: Two years

For more information, see CSM certification: What you need to know.

COBIT 5 Foundation

If your company subscribes to the COBIT 5 IT management framework, you might be interested in the ISACAs COBIT 5 Foundation exam. The foundation and implementation exams will demonstrate your ability to understand IT challenges and how COBIT can be applied to fix organizational and process problems. It can demonstrate you have the management skills necessary to align IT goals with strategic business objectives, understand the value derived from IT, and are versed in the various types of IT governance frameworks. The COBIT exam is offered by a variety of vendors  some include training or bootcamp programs if youre not familiar with COBIT 5, while others will let you just take the exam.

Exam fee: Varies by vendor

Expiration: Does not expire

CompTIA Network+

The CompTIA Network+ certification verifies you have the knowledge and skills to design, implement, configure, manage, and maintain networks and network devices. It also verifies you are capable of implementing network security, standards, and protocols and can troubleshoot network problems. While its not a management-specific certification, networking is a core skill for any IT professional and it will be a vital skill on your path to IT management. A new CompTIA Network+ N10-008 certification exam was released in September and the prior N10-007 exam, originally released in 2018, is set to retire in June 2022. The exam was updated and reorganized to cover topics such as critical security concepts, key cloud computing best practices, new hardware and virtualization techniques, and the most recent skills needed to keep networks resilient.

Exam fee: $338

Expiration: Three years

CompTIA Project+

CompTIAs Project+ certification is a high-level exam designed for professionals who need to manage smaller, less complex projects as part of their other job duties but still have foundational project management skills. Its a versatile certification that covers multiple methodologies, frameworks, and management concepts  best suited for those who coordinate or manage small-to-midsize projects. The certification validates your ability and knowledge with managing project life cycles, change management, managing resources and stakeholders, and maintaining appropriate communication and documentation.

Exam fee: $338

Expiration: Does not expire

For additional project management certs, see our roundup of top project management certs.

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

The ITIL framework from Axelos is a cornerstone in IT service, and if your organization subscribes to the methodology, a certification will help prove your ITIL 4 expertise. Its a great certification for IT managers because it focuses heavily on implementing effective management strategies to improve team efficiency and to improve organizational processes. You can be certified up to the expert level, which demonstrates high competency in ITIL 4 best practices. Like the COBIT 5 certification, youll have to find a third-party vendor that offers an accredited program or exam. Prices will vary depending on the company or training provider you choose.

Exam fee: Varies, depending on vendor

Expiration: Does not expire

For a deeper look at the ITIL cert, see ITIL certification: Mastering IT services management.

Information Technology Management and Leadership Professional (ITMLP)

The Information Technology Management and Leadership Professional (ITMLP) certification offered by the IT Management and Leadership Institute was designed to validate your skills and abilities as an IT manager. The certification includes a three-day boot camp that covers topics such as technical leadership, managing hybrid and virtual IT teams, creating innovative IT solutions, IT funding and cost management, vendor management, and client services. At the boot camp youll also learn more about IT trends including digital transformation, virtual and augmented reality, big data, machine learning, DevOps, cybersecurity, and more. Its best suited for CIOs, IT executives, current or future IT managers, project managers, and business analysts.

Exam fee: $1,995

Expiration: Does not expire

PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)

IT managers and leaders who rely on the agile framework will benefit from a PMI-ACP certification. This certification demonstrates your ability to work on or lead an agile team. It covers Scrum, Kanban, Lean, extreme programming (XP), and test-driven development (TDD). To qualify for the exam, you will need a secondary degree, 21 contact hours of training in agile practices and eight months of agile project experience within the past five years. Youll also need at least 12 months of general project experience within the past five years but if you already have a PMP or PgMP certification, that will also satisfy this requirement.

Exam fee: $435 for members, $495 for non-members

Expiration: Three years

For additional agile-related certs, see our roundup of agile certs to take your career to the next level.

Project Management Professional (PMP)

If you already have a strong background in project management, you might want to consider PMIs Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. The PMP exam requires extensive experience and a background in project management, which makes it more difficult to obtain. You will need a four-year degree, 36 months of experience leading projects, and 35 hours of project management education or a CAPM certification. You can also qualify for the exam with a high school diploma or associates degree, 60 months experience leading projects, and 35 hours of project management education or a CAPM certification.

Exam fee: $405 for PMI members, $555 for non-members

Expiration: Three years

For more information, see PMP certification: How to ace the Project Management Professional exam.

Six Sigma

There are 5 levels of certification within the Six Sigma methodology, starting with green belt. From there, youll move up the hierarchy to the top level: Executive Leadership. Its a mentorship and training program that emphasizes IT project management and leadership. Each level mentors a lower level of Six Sigma trainees, emphasizing effective leadership through change and staying agile through organizational transformation. Certifications are offered through your organization or through third-party vendors, so pricing will vary depending on the available options.

Exam fee: Varies by vendor

Expiration: Does not expire

TOGAF 9

TOGAF 9 is a standard developed by The Open Group for enterprise architecture management. TOGAF 9 certification is designed to certify your knowledge in a common body of core knowledge about the methodology and framework. The framework is specifically focused on enterprise architecture and aligning IT goals with business goals. As an IT management framework, it will help demonstrate your capabilities with cross-departmental communication, defining business and IT goals, and eliminating process errors across the organization. Like the ITIL and COBIT 5 certifications, youll need to find a third-party vendor to take the exam.

Exam fee: Varies by vendor

Expiration: Does not expire
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 16:36:09|Editor: huaxia

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Wang Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, addresses a forum held in Beijing via video link, Oct. 2, 2020. The forum was attended by heads of law schools from across the world. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Wang Chen, vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, on Friday said China is willing to strengthen mutual learning with law scholars from various countries.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while addressing a forum held in Beijing via video link.

Wang hoped for more exchanges and cooperation in law education, research and practice, calling for joint studies with foreign law professionals and experience sharing to strengthen the legal protection of public health. He also emphasized reforming the global governance system and training law talent.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has been sticking to the rule of law in coordinating epidemic control with economic and social development, Wang said.

The forum was attended by heads of law schools from across the world. Enditem
JOHANNESBURG (AP)  President Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, joining a small group of world leaders who have been infected. Trump is 74, putting him at higher risk of serious complications. Heres a look at other leaders who have had the virus. Some are sending Trump their wishes for a speedy recovery.

FILE - In this April 12, 2020, file photo issued by 10 Downing Street, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks from 10 Downing Street praising NHS staff in a video message after he was discharged from hospital a week after being admitted with persistent coronavirus symptoms, in London. (Pippa Fowles/10 Downing Street via AP, File)AP

BORIS JOHNSON

The British prime minister was the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, after facing criticism for downplaying the pandemic. He was moved to intensive care in April after his symptoms dramatically worsened a day after he was hospitalized for what were called routine tests. He was given oxygen but did not need a ventilator, officials said. He later expressed his gratitude to National Health Service staff for saving his life when his treatment could have gone either way. Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, also tested positive in March and showed mild symptoms.

FILE - In this July 17, 2020, file photo, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro wears a protective face mask as he flashes thumbs-up at supporters during a Brazilian flag retreat ceremony outside his official residence Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)AP

JAIR BOLSONARO

The Brazilian president announced his illness in July and used it to publicly extol hydroxychloroquine, the unproven malaria drug that hed been promoting as a treatment for COVID-19 and was taking himself. For months he had flirted with the virus, calling it a little flu, as he flouted social distancing at lively demonstrations and encouraged crowds during outings from the presidential residence, often without a mask.

FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2020, file photo, Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernandez, accompanied by his wife, Ana Garcia, arrives for the swearing-in ceremony for Guatemala's new President Alejandro Giammattei at the National Theater in Guatemala City. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)AP

JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ

The Honduras president announced in June that he had tested positive, along with two other people who worked closely with him. Hernandez said he had started what he called the MAIZ treatment, an experimental and unproven combination of microdacyn, azithromycin, ivermectin and zinc. He was briefly hospitalized and released. He has added his voice to growing pleas for equitable access to any COVID-19 vaccine, asking the recent U.N. gathering of world leaders, Are people to be left to die?

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO

The president of Belarus, who dismissed concerns about the virus as psychosis and recommended drinking vodka to stay healthy, said in July he had contracted it himself but was asymptomatic. Belarus is one of the few countries that took no comprehensive measures against the virus. Other top officials in former Soviet states who were infected include Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO

The palace of Monaco in March said the ruler of the tiny Mediterranean principality tested positive but his health was not worrying. He was the first head of state who publicly said he was infected.

FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2020, file photo, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei wearing a protective face mask as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus sings the national anthem during the independence day celebration in Guatemala City. Giammattei said he tested positive for the virus in September. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)AP

ALEJANDRO GIAMMATTEI

The Guatemalan president said he tested positive for the virus in September. My symptoms are very mild. Up to now, I have body aches, it hurt more yesterday than today, like a bad cold, he said during a televised address. I dont have a fever, I have a bit of a cough. He said hed be working from home.

FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2020, file photo, Bolivia's interim President Jeanine Anez, wearing a mask amid the coronavirus pandemic, attends an Independence Day event in La Paz, Bolivia. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)AP

JEANINE ANEZ

The virus drove the Bolivian interim president into isolation in July, but she said she was feeling well.

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2020, file photo, Dominican Republic's President Luis Abinader, wearing a face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic, waves during his swearing-in ceremony in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (Orlando Barria/Pool Photo via AP, File)AP

LUIS ABINADER

The newly elected president of the Dominican Republic contracted and recovered from COVID-19 during his campaign. He spent weeks in isolation before the countrys July election.

IRAN

Iran, the epicenter of the Mideasts initial coronavirus outbreak, has seen several top officials test positive. Among them are senior Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar. Cabinet members have tested positive, too.

INDIA

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, 71, recently tested positive but his office said he had no symptoms and was quarantined at home. Home Minister Amit Shah, the No. 2 man in Prime Minister Narendra Modis government, was hospitalized for COVID-19 last month and has recovered. Junior Railways Minister Suresh Angadi last week was the first federal minister to die from COVID-19.

ISRAEL

Israels then-Health Minister Yaakov Litzman tested positive in April and recovered. Litzman is a leader in Israels ultra-Orthodox community, which has seen a high rate of infection as many have defied restrictions on religious gatherings. The minister for Jerusalem affairs, Rafi Peretz, tested positive over the summer as cases surged nationwide and recovered.

SOUTH AFRICA

The countrys defense minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, mineral resources and energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, and labor minister, Thulas Nxesi, were infected as cases surged in June and July.

SOUTH SUDAN

Vice President Riek Machar was among several Cabinet ministers infected.

GAMBIA

Vice President Isatou Touray tested positive in July along with the ministers of finance, energy and agriculture.

GUINEA-BISSAU

Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam in April said he tested positive.

By CARA ANNA, The Associated Press
Imagine heading on a remote holiday with your buddy and intentionally enjoying a break from electronics, only to discover that harmless-looking yet violent aliens are attacking the world.

That is what happens in Save Yourself! The latest sitcom will be streamed on Friday until next week, which comes to select theaters. The film coincidentally, eerily overlaps with elements of the socially distant days in which we exist. However, director Eleanor Wilson came up with the idea three years earlier in upstate New York with inadequate mobile phone coverage.

"I was just thinking about how paranoid I get when I'm disconnected from my phone, and this idea came [to me]-what if something bad actually did happen?" she told Fortune.

Film's sneak peek

The film was filmed in 2019 and finished earlier this year, just before it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. "And then they scrapped every other party," says Alex Huston Fischer, who co-wrote and co-directed Save Yourself! with Wilson.

The film focuses on Jack (John Reynolds, Quest Party) and Su (Sunita Mani, GLOW), a Brooklyn couple. With Mani in mind, the filmmakers had written the screenplay (Wilson points out that Fischer went to college with her and already collaborated with her) and were fans of the work of Reynolds in Search Group. For their part, from the New York comedy scene, the actors were already buddies, Reynolds says. And playing this peculiar pair came naturally to them, too.

"Knowing each other and having this shared sensibility even though it's in this goofier bombastic comedy capacity, we just brought a shared language to Jack and Su," says Mani.

Fischer and Wilson intended the film to sound somewhat vintage. Hence, the producers combined the aspects of cherished rom-coms like When Harry Met Sally and Steven Spielberg's "curiosity" and "mystery" in previous sci-fi and adventure films.

The aliens look like round shaggy balls or "puffes," as the characters name them in the film. "When you go into the history of furry aliens in pop culture, we're in good company with Tribbles [from Star Trek] and Critters," she adds.

What makes the film different from others?

For the most part, the design team used physical effects to bring the so-called pods to life on film, controlling them in ways influenced by Aliens' face-huggers.

"It was fun to see which practical and old-school movie effects they were going to bring on which day," Reynolds says.

As far as the timing of the release of their film is concerned, Fischer says that they initially "felt that the film was important, albeit a few decades away."

"One positive we learned is that everybody understands what a starter for sourdough is now, so we don't have to think about people not having that," he says.

Release date

Without delving into spoilers, Save Yourself! ends on more of an open-ended level. The filmmakers realize that the ending will be absorbed differently by multiple individuals.

The film will hit select theaters on October 2 before being launched online on October 6.
Thirteen people have died and 15 injured in a fire at a tourist site in China on the first day of an eight-day national holiday, according to authorities.

The fire engulfed an exhibition hall of ice lantern and snow sculptures Thursday at the Taitaishan theme park on the outskirts of Taiyuan city in Shanxi province.

Another 15 people were injured and taken to hospitals, where they were in stable condition.

The fire engulfed an exhibition hall of ice lantern and snow sculptures Thursday at the Taitaishan theme park on the outskirts of Taiyuan city in Shanxi province, authorities said

Footage shows thick smoke billowing into the sky from the blazing hall as ambulance rushed to the theme park in Shanxi on Thursday, the start of China's eight-day National Day holiday

The Shanxi provincial government has shut down the theme park. The site's owner and senior staff are now under police probe.

The rescue has completed while further investigation of the incident is underway, the provincial government said in a statement.

Footage shows thick smoke billowing into the sky from the blazing hall as an ambulance rushed to the theme park.

Thursday marks the start of China's Golden Week, an eight-day national holiday which saw hundreds of millions of people flock to tourist attractions all over the country.

The incident, which killed 13 and injured 15, occurred on Thursday afternoon at the Taitaishan theme park on the outskirts of Taiyuan city in Shanxi province of northern China

Thirteen people have died and 15 injured in a fire at a tourist site in Taiyuan, Shanxi of north China on October 1, the first day of an eight-day national holiday, authorities said

The Taitaishan park is a sprawling park with several museums, rides and other attractions

Taitaishan is a sprawling park with several museums, rides and other attractions.

The Work Safety Committee of the State Council, a national-level organisation, will oversee the investigation into the fire, the emergency management ministry said.

Millions of people are expected to travel in China during the holiday in a much anticipated a boost to an economy hit hard by COVID-19.

It is also the country's first major public holiday since it beat the coronavirus outbreak.
Company Announcement

President Dr. Betsy Oudenhoven announces retirement in 2021 after 42-year career in higher education.

President Dr. Betsy Oudenhoven announces retirement in 2021 after 42-year career in higher education.

DENVER, Oct. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Community College of Aurora (CCA) President Dr. Betsy Oudenhoven will step down on July 31, 2021 as part of her planned retirement, concluding 10 years of leadership at the college and a remarkable 42-year career in higher education that includes various leadership roles at 2 and 4-year colleges in Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, and Illinois.



During her tenure, CCA has been recognized for its trailblazing leadership and innovation across a wide range of key student success areas including equity and inclusive excellence to close achievement gaps, and hands-on programs including its nationally and internationally recognized Film School, award-winning Model United Nations simulation team, NASA-funded space program, and regionally-renowned Disaster Management Institute for emergency first-responder training.

Dr. Oudenhoven started at CCA as the Vice President for Student Affairs in 2011 and became President in December of 2013 after serving as the interim president for five months. Today, she made her retirement announcement in a heartfelt message to employees and students. She will continue leading CCA through the academic year as the institution embarks on plans for the spring semester amidst COVID-19.

Serving at CCA has been the greatest honor of my 42-year career in higher education, said Dr. Oudenhoven. "I am incredibly proud of all that has been accomplished over the past ten years and I know that our hard work will continue to provide transformative opportunities for our students and our communities for years to come.

Our successes are the collective result of the dedication and hard work of CCAs senior leaders; the commitment, creativity and student-centered focus of our talented faculty and instructors; the passion and compassion of our dedicated staff; and most importantly, the resolve, resilience and hard work of our incredible students.

Story continues

Among Dr. Oudenhovens major accomplishment are:

Advancing CCAs leadership and commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. Over the course of several years, CCA pioneered a comprehensive approach to becoming a more equity-minded institution, diversifying their workforce, and closing the equity gap for students of color. CCAs equity work has become a resource for institutions across the nation and received national recognition with the American Association of Community Colleges prestigious Advancing Diversity Award .

Overseeing comprehensive academic transformations to support student success through CCAs developmental education redesign and implementation of a Guided Pathways approach that reimagined college advising and created a more transparent career mapping model.

Reaffirming CCAs support to the surrounding community by significantly increasing concurrent/dual enrollment for high school students, and community enrollment in English as a Second Language (ESL) and High School Equivalency programs.

Expanding resources to increase support services for students by securing federal designation for CCA as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and acquiring a number of grants, including several high profile federal grants: National Science Foundation, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Grant; National Science Foundation, S-STEM Grant; U.S. Department of Education, TRIO Student Support Services (Regular and ESL) Grants; U.S. Department of Education, Title V HSI Grants; and the U.S. Department of Labor Strengthening Working Families (SWFI) grant.

The early announcement allows the Colorado Community College System (CCCS) time to conduct a comprehensive search for CCAs next president during the 2020-21 academic year and have a successor in place as Dr. Oudenhoven departs. CCCS will make more details available regarding a search committee and opportunity for community participation in the coming weeks.

"Dr. Oudenhoven will be tremendously missed, said Joe Garcia, chancellor of the Colorado Community College System. Her insight, her genuine care and concern for others, and her ability to expertly move forward the priorities of equity, inclusive excellence, and student success has left a lasting legacy that will benefit CCA, the surrounding region, and the higher education sector for decades to come. We are deeply grateful for her exceptional service, and we appreciate that she will continue to lead CCA through this challenging and unprecedented time in the college's history."

About the Community College of Aurora

The Community College of Aurora (CCA) provides high-quality instruction and student support services to Aurora and Denver, Colorado. The college offers courses on two campuses, online and through its high school concurrent-enrollment program, helping students prepare for employment or transfer to a four-year institution.

About the Colorado Community College System

The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) is the states largest system of higher education, delivering more than 1,000 programs to over 125,000 students annually through 13 colleges and 40 locations across Colorado. Our open access mission ensures all Coloradans who aspire to enrich their lives have access to quality higher education opportunities. The System Office provides leadership, advocacy and support to the colleges under the direction of the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education (SBCCOE). Join us in changing the way Colorado goes to college.

Contact:

Fiona Lytle

Colorado Community College System

fiona.lytle@cccs.edu

(720) 393-9824

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/994d9dd9-7f7c-4a60-a727-a5ffe1fe0678




Season two of "The Chosen," from distributor VidAngel Studios, is slated to be completed in 2021 and is currently in production in Goshen, Utah, just a short drive from the headquarters of BYU Broadcasting in Provo.

"Presenting the first broadcast network showing of what could very easily be the most watched production ever on the life of Jesus Christ is a phenomenal opportunity and significant win for BYUtv," said Michael Dunn, managing director of BYUtv. "'The Chosen' has already been seen by nearly 50 million people in more than 180 countries, and the feedback from viewers has been overwhelmingly positive about the touching and realistic portrayal of well known biblical characters in a new light. We are thrilled to have played a role in facilitating and negotiating the filming of season two on the Jerusalem set in Goshen, and especially to help share this new season of episodes with the world next year."

The first three episodes of season one will air together on BYUtv on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 7:50 a.m. ET/5:50 a.m. MT/4:50 a.m. PT. Episode four will air later the same day at 3 p.m. ET/1 p.m. MT/12 p.m. PT. Episodes five through eight will air weekly on Sundays beginning Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. ET/4 p.m. MT/3 p.m. PT.

"We want 'The Chosen' to get into as many homes as possible, and BYUtv does that as well as anyone," said Dallas Jenkins, creator of "The Chosen." "When I first made a short Nativity film at my friend's farm in Illinois, I had no idea it would lead to 'The Chosen' and its global response. I'm grateful for BYUtv's belief in the series and their desire to share the stories of the gospels with the world."

In addition to "The Chosen," BYUtv's programming slate includes "The Fixers," chronicling an "A-team" of experienced builders that travels to remote locations in significant need; "Dwight in Shining Armor," a scripted adventure comedy in which the Middle Ages meets Middle America; new family survival competition "Survivalists"; the long-running, viral sketch comedy series "Studio C"; and "Random Acts," an unscripted hidden-camera reality show that features real people who are the recipients of random acts of kindness. BYUtv is available across the country via cable, satellite and multiple digital media platforms.

For a complete listing of BYUtv's programming and to view full episodes, visit www.byutv.org or download the app. BYUtv streams for free with no subscriptions, in-app purchases or ads. The network is always streaming live, and past and current seasons are all available to binge. Press access to video, photo and other assets is available at www.byutv.org/pressinfo.

About BYUtv

BYUtv provides families more than 1,700 hours of entertaining and compelling programming they can enjoy together. The network's content is trusted, contemporary and clean, yet clever and sophisticated enough to inspire children and parents alike. BYUtv's diverse portfolio of original, co-produced and acquired content includes scripted and unscripted dramas and comedies, 700+ hours of live HD collegiate sports, game shows, and holiday special made-for-tv movies, docudramas and concerts. BYUtv is available in more than 50 million homes in every state of the country on DISH Network, DirecTV and 146 other major cable systems. A digital pioneer, BYUtv was the first U.S. television network to stream all of its content live and unencrypted over the Internet. Today, BYUtv has more than two million YouTube subscribers and nearly two billion views and is available live and on-demand on multiple digital platforms free of charge, including Apple TV, YouTube, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, Xbox One, Windows Media, digital apps for iOS and Android, and BYUtv.org. Based in Provo, Utah, BYUtv is part of BYU Broadcasting, which is owned by Brigham Young University.

SOURCE BYUtv

Related Links

http://www.byutv.org


The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan held a press conference on the Constitutional Law On Changes and Amendments to the Constitution of Turkmenistan that was adopted at the recent Khalk Maslakhaty (People's Council) meeting. The Constitutional Law provides for establishment of a bicameral parliament in Turkmenistan.

The press conference was attended by the heads and staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Institute of State, Law and Democracy, the Institute of International Relations of Turkmenistan, heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in Ashgabat, as well as national and foreign reporters.

In his statement, the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov noted that the important political events that recently took place in the country are of great significance in terms of development of the state and society and the Turkmen foreign policy. He stressed that Turkmenistans foreign policy course is inseparably connected with the ongoing reforms in the economic and social spheres of the country, improvement of the political system and application of the international democratic norms and practices.

The Turkmen Foreign Minister also touched on the main provisions of the video statement by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the participants of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022
Republican President Donald Trump announced in the early morning hours on Friday that he and First Lady Melania Trump had become two of nearly 7.3 million American who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

The news came after one of Trumps closest aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive for COVID-19. Those who have been in close proximity with the president in recent weeks have since undergone testing or are expected to soon be tested.

Those officials include Vice President Mike Pence, who tested negative for the viral respiratory infection early Friday, and former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, who shared a debate stage with Trump earlier this week.

Trumps diagnosis has sent ripples through social media, with people expressing a range of emotions in response to the announcement. Some shared sadness and compassion, others anger and undisguised glee, The Associated Press reported.

The announcement has also raised several questions. Chief among them: Who would take over as commander-in-chief if the president becomes incapacitated by the virus or is too sick to fulfill his duties?

American history offers some insights.

What history tells us

For now, it looks like Trump is capable of performing his presidential duties. White House officials have pointed out that he and the first lady are both well at this time.

The United States Constitution and U.S. presidential history shed some light on what would happen, though, if Trump becomes too ill to act as commander-in-chief.

Under the 25th Amendment, a medically incapacitated president has the option of temporarily transferring power to the vice president and can reclaim his authority whenever he deems himself fit for duty.

Section 3 of the Amendment, which outlines such a procedure, has rarely been used, though.

The section has only been employed in cases where the commander-in-chief was physically incapacitated, including when Republican President Ronald Reagan temporarily handed over leadership to then-Vice President George Bush during his colon surgery in 1985 and twice later when Bush as president was sedated for a colonoscopy, according to the Brookings Institute.

The last time a president suffered a life-threatening wound or illness while in office and the 25th Amendment was on the verge of being used was 39 years ago, when Reagan was shot in an assassination attempt.

While the White House at the time prepared the letters needed to invoke Section 3 of the amendment, they did not wind up signing the documents. Surgeons were able to successfully remove the bullet from the president, and Reagan recovered.

The line of succession

What happens if a president dies in office has been set in stone by the U.S. Constitution for more than 200 years.

Eight presidents have died in office, four from natural causes and four from being assassinated. The reigns of the presidency were handed over to the vice president in each case.

The Constitution said little about presidential succession until the mid 1900s, though, only specifying that the powers and duties of the presidency should devolve on the vice president if the commander-in-chief is removed from office, resigns, is incapable of performing his job or dies.

That constitutional language was shored up in 1947 with the revision of the Presidential Succession Act.

The original act of 1792 had placed the Senate president pro tempore and speaker of the House of Representatives in the line of succession, but in 1886, Congress removed them from that list, according to the U.S. Senate.

On July 18, 1947, Democratic President Harry Truman signed the succession act into law that reinserted those officials but placed the House speaker ahead of the Senate president pro tempore.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, therefore, would assume the office of the presidency if both Trump and Pence become unable to serve.

In the spring, the White House said that it had no plan for such an eventuality.

Thats not even something that were addressing, said Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary. Were keeping the president healthy. Were keeping the vice president healthy and, you know, theyre healthy at this moment and theyll continue to be.

Still, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, an analyst for CNN, said during an interview with the news outlet that Pelosi should keep herself safe and employ heightened public health precautions.

The continuity of government requires that we have a clear leader here. Its very possible that the president and the vice president could both become sick right now, Reiner said. So I would limit activity for the speaker of the House and make sure that shes really isolated in a relatively sterile environment.

Order of Succession: 1. Vice President - Mike Pence 2. Speaker of the House of Representatives - Nancy Pelosi 3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate - Chuck Grassley 4. Secretary of State - Mike Pompeo 5. Secretary of the Treasury - Steven Mnuchin 6. Secretary of Defense - Mark Esper 7. Attorney General - William Barr 8. Secretary of the Interior - David Bernhardt 9. Secretary of Agriculture - Sonny Perdue 10. Secretary of Commerce - Wilbur Ross 11. Secretary of Labor - Eugene Scalia 12. Secretary of Health and Human Services - Alex Azar 13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Ben Carson 14. Secretary of Transportation - Elaine Chao* 15. Secretary of Energy - Dan Brouillette 16. Secretary of Education - Betsy DeVos 17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Robert Wilkie

*Chao is not a natural-born US citizen, therefore, is ineligible to become acting president.

Trumps health and the risks of COVID-19

Reiner pointed out this is not the time for Americans to panic. He claimed it is very likely the president and first lady, who are currently being quarantined, will recover from the virus.

The Constitution of the United States has a very well-defined mechanism for transferring power, even temporarily, he added.

A memo released to the public by Dr. Sean P. Conley, the White House physician, said both Donald and Melania Trump are well at this time and plan to remain at home during their recovery.

The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our countrys greatest medical professionals and institutions, Conley wrote. Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments.

Trumps age, 74 years old, still presents risks, however.

Older individuals are more likely to develop serious side effects after contracting the coronavirus and are far more at risk of dying from the virus compared to younger patients.

As of Sept. 30, more than 190,000 people had died from COVID-19 in the U.S., and roughly 153,000 were above the age of 65. Nearly 42,000 of the recorded deaths were among people between the ages of 65 and 74, with older men more likely to die than older women, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many coronavirus patients who are the same age as the president have recovered, though the severity of peoples symptoms and the length of individuals' recoveries have varied greatly.

Citing health experts, The New York Times reported that next week will be crucial in determining the course of Trumps illness.

Related Content:
The Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG), has called off its intended industrial action scheduled to begin today, Thursday October 01.



This is after an emergency meeting held between the Government and the Association on Tuesday September 29th, agreed to address concerns of the workers and ensure the implementation of a favourable working condition for them by October 28th, this year.



The Association, on Saturday September 24, issued a statement to notify Government that its members would withdraw their services from today, if issues on their poor condition of service were not addressed.



In a communique, jointly signed Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister for Employment and Labour Relations (for the Government) and Richard Kofi Jordan, General Secretary of MOWAG, (for the Association), the meeting agreed; that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission collaborates with MOWAG to resolve all issues related to the Associations salaries and allowances, taking into consideration the risks and uniqueness of the job of members.



It also agreed that mortuary attendants in health facilities with recorded cases of COVID-19 deaths be considered front-line workers and be given benefits.



The meeting also asked that the Ministry of Health expedited action on the issuance of appointment letters to eligible mortuary workers and that the Ministry of Health should ensure the provision of adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to mortuary workers in all health facilities at all times.



The Association was asked to liaise with the Labour Department to resolve matters relating to the issuance of a Collective Bargaining Certificate to MOWAG and that all decisions reached, be implemented within a month and convened among the stakeholders including; MOWAG on or before October 27, 2020, to bring finality to the discussions.



Mr Jordan told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Accra on Thursday that, the Association and its members were happy that the agreement had time lines.



Now the government has committed its self by giving and agreeing on a time and so it means that if nothing happens within a month, MOWAG will not be blamed for anything that happens, we expect the Government to do the needful once they have agreed, he said.



Mr Jordan noted that this is the first time the Association has had such a positive response from the Government, saying if the Government has now realised that it is prudent to pay attention to mortuary workers, we are ready and willing to make sure peace prevails.



He said members of the Association were working in all mortuary facilities across the country and urged the public to visit the mortuaries to pick up their dead relatives.



Mr Jordan claimed that since the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme, mortuaries had become the core revenue mobilization point for the Scheme, because it generated a lot of money for the Government and bemoaned the low attention given to players in the death care industry in Ghana.

Source: GNA









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Dear Chuck,

My wife is urging me to retire. I am not ready yet and do not know if I ever will be. I enjoy working. However, what do you think are the best financial moves to be ready?

Prepping for Retirement

Dear Prepping for Retirement,

This year has caused many people to consider retirement. There are several factors to consider which I address below.

From the way you stated your question, I think it would be wise to discuss this and pray with your wife to be sure you are united about the issue of if and when you should retire. There is great strength in being united with your wife. She will have insights and intuition that will help clarify your decisions and plans.

Transitional Options

Unless you are offered an exceptional retirement package, I suggest you ease into this new chapter by cutting back on your hours slowly. If you like your current employer, explore the possibility of consulting or work part-time. Crowns CFO took this step by taking off every Friday as a transitional move.

The extra income, as well as staying mentally and socially active are benefits of this approach. Perhaps there is an opportunity for you to work somewhere completely different that can involve more time with your wife and family. I recently met a gentleman who retired from a successful career in the insurance business and opened a real estate office with his wife in an area where they wanted to live out their retirement. They are an incredible duo working wholeheartedly in their 70s because they love serving people.

Working Longer is a Trend

In her article, Why Are People Working Longer? Its Not What You Think, Kerry Hannon observes:

Although the popular press and financial advisory firms would have us believe that fiscal insecurity is driving the trend, for those fortunate enough to have a choice and to be in good health its job satisfaction, having a sense of purpose, finding meaning in the work; using knowledge, skills, abilities and experience acquired over many years; helping others, making a difference; mentoring younger workers; enjoying their colleagues, clients, patients, or students. In short, they tell me that they love what they do. And, its older women even more than older men who are powering the extended work life, or EWL, phenomenon.

Financial Considerations

Create a retirement budget. Make sure you have an adequate emergency fund. If your overhead is too high then make some lifestyle cuts. Housing and cars are usually the main culprits.

Lifestyle choices will dictate how much income you will need.

Set a goal to pay off your home. It is often a great relief for retirees.

Take care of major expenses while you are still working. Replace that leaky roof or dying HVAC.

Declutter and simplify. Dont spend money on renting a storage unit. Sell, give, donate, or trash unnecessary items. You will enjoy living with less and your beneficiaries will be grateful.

Develop an exercise routine and a healthy meal plan. Stewarding your health impacts your finances.

Understand Medicare costs and benefits. Know what your plan covers and what it does not.

Have a plan for long term care.

Determine the date you plan to begin drawing Social Security. Crunch the numbers on your options for early or delayed election.

Update your will and provide passwords to important accounts.

Pick your Best Housing Option

Many retirees want a place free of snow and ice in the winter or extreme heat in the summer. Maybe they want a second home for some rental income or a place that will entice friends and family to come visit. Be cautious. Real estate is tricky. It can appreciate in value over time and potentially generate income through rentals, or it can be a money pit. Before buying a second home, consider taxes, insurance, HOA fees, maintenance, utilities, management fees if renting it out, and travel expenses. Know the tax ramifications of renting and selling. Consider it an asset, not an investment. I do not recommend timeshares.

Repurpose

The knowledge, experience, and wisdom elders accumulate over a lifetime can be shared with the younger generation. The Bible emphasizes helping the younger generation to grow in faith, to live godly lives, and to strengthen the family unit.

Think about getting involved in missions, discipling others, learning and sharing skills to help your children or grandchildren thrive in their businesses, or volunteering with an organization to help the poor in your community.

Leave a Legacy

Seek this next chapter of your to be your most fruitful for Gods kingdom. Paul said, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. (Philippians 1:21-24 ESV)

Write a brief autobiography for your family that includes your testimony, favorite Scripture passages, things that molded your character, and hopes for the readers. This could be a lasting blessing to generations that follow you. My grandfather left us only his journal which included many insights from his daily Bible reading. It has impacted far more than a financial inheritance would have.
This week marks a major breakthrough in the campus free speech wars  the battle over what many see as the evolution of Americas top academic institutions from bastions of truth-seeking to indoctrination camps for the next generation of political activists. The new College Free Speech Rankings from RealClearEducation injects some much-needed transparency into the education market by revealing contrasts  and therefore, options  for prospective students and families who prioritize campus speech climate in the college hunt.

Speech climate is not just a niche issue for conservative young adults  it is a direct indicator of an institutions commitment to broadening students minds and fostering genuine academic freedom and flourishing. Parents would be well advised to steer their children towards the more accepting top schools like the University of Chicago or Ohio State, ask tough questions on college tours, and avoid the laggards; alumni and families of current students should be phoning administrators to investigate the climate theyre creating versus their peer institutions, and whether students are really being educated and not simply indoctrinated.

After all, the true purpose of higher education is to teach students how to think, not what to think  or so I was reminded constantly at Georgetown as an undergraduate, which, embarrassingly, falls in the bottom ten of the 55 schools surveyed by RealClear on speech climate.

Not too long ago, I was a young contrarian undergraduate  not conservative, exactly, but certainly skeptical of progressive dogma. I entered Georgetown in 2009 and pursued the liberal arts. And I did in fact receive just such an education, based on critique and argumentation, from open-minded instructors, and peers of diverse ideologies and backgrounds. I encountered my fair share of leftist professors, and a burgeoning  but still, in the early 2010s, small  strand of intolerance from a hard-left faction on campus. They were just emerging as I passed through my undergraduate years. Now, they are the dominant faction on many campuses  and the data, specifically on conservative students self-censoring, bears this out.

Would the Georgetown of today support me as an undergraduate, giving me the space to explore ideas openly, and defend me from the countless instances of harassment and social shaming on campus today? And, if the answer is no, do its administrative leaders care?

Experts on campus issues Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff have laid out how the trends of campus safetyism and groupthink hurt every student (including the most left-leaning), stymying their educations and forging coddled, fragile psyches ill-equipped for the stresses of the outside world.

Even casual observers will note that the defenestration of journalistic ethics from publications such as the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer  jettisoning their editorial management and officially yielding editorial veto power to younger staffers  coincides with the graduation and subsequent hiring of the youngest and most radical cohort of college students in American history.

Young, woke staffers in the media, corporate, and tech worlds act as professional agitators, looking for vestiges of racism, sexism and homophobia to expiate. The campuses that created them, by marginalizing even the most anodyne of moderate opinions, have not only produced intellectually inferior graduates, but also miserable ones, and at a significant financial cost.

Those who reject all this must remember that the market for education is ultimately responsive to market forces. If parents, donors, and prospective students shift toward the more hospitable environments for speech (and, therefore, education), it will create an incentive to further buttress the best performers  and for the laggards to change course.

The new 2020 College Free Speech Rankings provides just such an incentive, rewarding the schools at the top of the speech climate ratings, and naming and shaming those at the bottom.
Americans awoke Friday to find that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Additionally, the University of Notre Dames president has tested positive for COVID-19, a school spokesman confirmed Friday morning, less than a week after he attended Amy Coney Barretts Supreme Court nomination ceremony at the White House without wearing a mask.

In Illinois, public health officials on Friday said 28 counties, none in the Chicago area, were considered at warning level for the coronavirus, and again scolded businesses that blatantly disregard mitigation measures such as social distancing.

The warning list came out as the state reported 2,206 new known cases of COVID-19 and 47 deaths connected to the virus. The death toll is the highest daily count since late June, but still far below the 24-hour numbers reported during the pandemics peak in June.

There have now been 297,646 known cases and 8,743 deaths in Illinois since the pandemic began.

A day earlier, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled Thursday a series of rules for Halloween that she said will allow people to celebrate safely, including a requirement that everyone including candy-givers wear masks.

Among the rules, candy-givers are asked to leave a light on or hang a sign in their window letting people know whether theyre participating in the holiday while following social distancing rules and providing hand sanitizer. Trick-or-treaters are asked to stay on the move in groups of six people or fewer.

Heres whats happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:

7:15 p.m.: Someone present at Lane Tech high during SAT exam has tested positive for coronavirus

At least one person who was at Lane Tech College Prep High School during SAT testing last week has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to an email from principal Brian Tennison.

Despite Chicago Public Schools giving classes remotely this fall, many of its high schools opened last Wednesday for the SAT test, a makeup date for seniors who missed the test last year because of the pandemic. State education officials have been criticized for not waiving the SAT as a graduation requirement and providing the in-person testing.

Read more here. Hannah Leone

7 p.m.: CPS violated union contract by failing to provide safe work environment for clerks: arbitrator

An independent arbitrator has ruled that Chicago Public Schools violated its contract with the Chicago Teachers Union by making employees such as clerks work in school buildings that may not have been safe.

The ruling that CPS did not fulfill its promise of safe and healthful working conditions came a day after a teacher at Funston Elementary died from COVID-19, according to the union.

The arbitrator ruled that clerks, assistants and others who have been reporting to school buildings during remote learning should be allowed to work from home when feasible, and gave the parties two days to agree on how to move forward.

Read more here. Hannah Leone

6:05 p.m.: Cubs co-owner, RNC finance chair Todd Ricketts was tested for COVID-19 after attending Trump fundraiser in Minnesota

A member of the Ricketts family that owns the Chicago Cubs got tested for COVID-19 after attending a Minnesota fundraiser this week with members of President Donald Trumps family.

Todd Ricketts, the finance chair for the Republican National Committee and a co-owner of the Cubs along with other members of the Ricketts family, has not received results from the COVID-19 test, but is exhibiting no symptoms, a Ricketts family spokesman said Friday afternoon.

Ricketts attended a Wednesday fundraiser with Trump in a suburb of Minneapolis, the spokesman said. Trump announced late Thursday night on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump had both tested positive for COVID-19. Ricketts got the test after learning of Trumps positive test.

The Cubs were eliminated from the playoffs Friday by the Miami Marlins. Ricketts did not attend the game and is quarantining until he gets the results, the spokesman said.

John Byrne

3:49 p.m.: Looking to buy a new car? Auto industry is rebounding from pandemic shortage, but you still may need to wait till 2021 for next years model.

The hardest part about buying a new car during the pandemic may be finding a new car.

While the automotive industry is showing signs of recovery, months of production stoppage, supply chain interruption and stay-at-home disruption has left many Chicago-area dealers with few new cars and lots of empty spaces.

Adding to the inventory shortage, the new model year  an automotive rite of fall  has yet to hit showrooms in any significant numbers. Many 2021 models may not actually arrive until 2021.

Its kind of hard to sell from an empty cupboard when you dont have any new vehicles, said John Webb, a principal with family-owned Packey Webb Ford, a 58-year-old Downers Grove dealership.

Read more here. Robert Channick

3:14 p.m.: Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis sends final stage of election into further chaos  and no one knows exactly what comes next

An election year already defined by a cascade of national crises descended further into chaos Friday, with President Donald Trump declaring that hes tested positive for the coronavirus after consistently playing down the threat.

Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who spent 90 minutes on stage with Trump in their Tuesday debate, tested negative and moved forward with plans to attend a campaign event in Michigan Friday afternoon.

No one knows exactly what comes next.

Read more here. Associated Press

2:53 p.m.: Illinois puts 28 counties on latest coronavirus warning list; daily death toll of 47 is highest since late June as total cases climb toward 300,000

Illinois public health officials on Friday said 28 counties, none in the Chicago area, were considered at warning level for the coronavirus, and again scolded businesses that blatantly disregard mitigation measures such as social distancing.

The warning list came out as the state reported 2,206 new known cases of COVID-19 and 47 deaths connected to the virus. The death toll is the highest daily count since late June, but still far below the 24-hour numbers reported during the pandemics peak in June.

There have now been 297,646 known cases and 8,743 deaths in Illinois since the pandemic began.

The counties on the warning list are put there after surpassing two more metrics such as the number of cases per 100,000 people and test positivity rates. The counties on the latest list are:

Bond, Boone, Brown, Calhoun, Christian, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, DeKalb, DeWitt, Fayette, Greene, Hancock, Jasper, Lee, Livingston, Macon, Massac, Monroe, Morgan, Pulaski, Putnam, Richland, Saline, St. Clair, Wabash, Washington and Winnebago.

On Saturday, the northwest region of the state, which includes Rockford, DeKalb and Galena, will be placed back under tighter restrictions after its seven-day average of positive cases reached 8% or higher for three consecutive days. The Metro East region outside St. Louis has been under the same stricter rules since Aug. 18.

Read more here. Chicago Tribune staff

12:38 p.m.: Notre Dame president also tests positive for COVID-19 after attending Rose Garden ceremony

The University of Notre Dames president has tested positive for COVID-19, a school spokesman confirmed Friday morning, less than a week after he attended Amy Coney Barretts Supreme Court nomination ceremony at the White House without wearing a mask.

The Rev. John Jenkins has mild symptoms and contracted the illness from a colleague he was in regular contact with at Notre Dame, according to university spokesman Paul Browne.

Jenkins, whos led the Catholic university since 2005, has drawn scrutiny in recent weeks for appearing not always to follow COVID-19 safety precautions.

Read more here. Elyssa Cherney

12:10 p.m.: 2,206 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 47 additional deaths reported

Illinois public health officials reported Friday they had logged 2,206 newly diagnosed cases and 47 additional confirmed deaths of people with COVID-19, raising the statewide tally to 297,646 known cases and 8,743 deaths.

Chicago Tribune staff

8:05 a.m.: US hiring slows for 3rd month but jobless rate falls to 7.9%

Americas employers added 661,000 jobs in September, the third straight month of slower hiring and evidence from the final jobs report before the presidential election that the economic recovery has weakened.

With Septembers hiring gain, the economy has recovered only slightly more than half the 22 million jobs that were wiped out by the viral pandemic. The roughly 10 million jobs that remain lost exceed the number that the nation shed during the entire 2008-2009 Great Recession.

The unemployment rate for September fell to 7.9%, down from 8.4% in August, the Labor Department said Friday. Since April, the jobless rate has tumbled from a peak of 14.7%.

Read more here. Associated Press

7:32 a.m.: Amazon: Nearly 20,000 workers tested positive for coronavirus

Amazon says nearly 20,000 of its workers have tested positive or been presumed positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.

Amazon says in a corporate blog it examined data from March 1 to Sept. 19 for its 1.37 million workers at Amazon and Whole Foods Market.

It said it compared COVID-19 case rates to the general population, as reported by Johns Hopkins University for the same period. Based on that analysis, if the rate among Amazon and Whole Foods employees were the same as it is for the general population, it estimated it would have seen 33,952 cases among its workforce.

Read more here. Associated Press

6:35 a.m.: Bloomington-Normal police discourage door-to-door trick-or-treating this Halloween

Bloomington and Normal police are discouraging door-to-door trick-or-treating on Halloween because of COVID.

We strongly recommend families social distance and choose alternative ways to celebrate Halloween this year, Normal police Chief Rick Bleichner said in a statement released by the Bloomington Police Department. We recognize some families are going to participate and we want them to do this as safely as possible. To ensure this, weve set trick-or-treat hours and released safety tips in line with guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

If residents do take part, the agencies encouraged them to take steps to prevent the spread of infection. State officials earlier this week released guidelines for safely celebrating the holiday.

Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph via Tribune Content Agency, Tribune staff

5 a.m.: Loss, heroism and hope: Catching up with Chicagoans whose lives were forever changed by COVID-19

Some of them fought the new coronavirus from hospital beds, others at makeshift testing sites.

Some mourned their closest loved ones; others came to the aid of strangers.

And some saw the pandemic upend their lives and dreams.

Six months into the greatest public health crisis in a century, how are they now faring? Heres an update on six COVID-19 stories of loss, heroism and resilience.

Read more here. Stacy St. Clair, Christy Gutowski, Karen Ann Cullotta and Susan Berger

In case you missed it
The United States Defense Innovation Board (DIB) has recommended that the Pentagon hire civilians to work from home who can handle classified information as a way of attracting people with technology expertise.

DIB in its September 15 report proposes a highly limited, temporary and specific use of waivers for a small percentage of the workforce to ensure two things: First, key innovation and technology initiatives are fully staffed, and second, that the most service members with the greatest potential are retained.

The individuals sought will have technical degrees and/or highly specialized skills in digital technologies and innovation needed across the U.S. Department of Defense, which is undergoing digital transformation.

These skills include modern software development, cyberphysical systems, data science, and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML); rapid capability development and adoption, and applied innovation methodologies such as design thinking and Lean Startup, which emphasize critical thinking, experimentation, and iteration.

According to Gartner these systems underpin all connected IT, operational technology (OT) and Internet of Things (IoT) efforts where security considerations span both the cyber and physical worlds, such as asset-intensive, critical infrastructure and clinical healthcare environments.

Modernize the DoD

DIBs recommendation to recruit civilians from home is aimed at helping facilitate the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) digital modernization strategy for 2019 to 2023.

Digital technologies and capabilities, including the integration of software with legacy systems, will transform every facet of DoD operations, from human resource systems to weapon systems, according to the DIB.

DoD faces a digital readiness crisis, the DIB said. With each passing day, the gap with the private sector grows bigger, and we are seeing near-peer competitors and would-be adversaries display accelerating progress. In contrast, the [DoD] has yet to determine the right metrics to begin assessing digital readiness or understand the gaps in its digital innovation workforce; there is an institutional blindness to our digital deficits.

People with tech expertise are sorely needed by the DoD, which published a classified artificial intelligence strategy and is establishing a Joint AI Center (JAIC); publishing a strategic roadmap for AI development and fielding; and establishing a National Security Commission on AI.

The DoDs AI strategy aims to identify appropriate use cases for AI across the department, rapidly piloting solutions, and scaling the successes across the enterprise, through the JAIC.

The JAIC will use AI to solve large and complex problem sets across multiple services, then provide those services real-time access to libraries of data sets and tools that will constantly be updated and upgraded.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Meanwhile, the DoD is working to create a Joint Common Foundation, an enterprise-wide cloud-based foundation that will provide the development, test, and runtime environment and the collaboration, tools, reusable assets, and data that military services need to build, refine, test, and field AI.

To that end, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) in August awarded a four-year US$106 million contract to Deloitte Consulting, LLC, an arm of management consulting firm Deloitte to design and build the Joint Common Foundation Artificial Intelligence development environment.

DoD Struggles to Retain Trained Tech Staff

Meanwhile, people with high-tech skills have been leaving the military because most of its personnel policies and systems were designed for the industrial era, the DIB noted. Many digital innovation skillsets do not fit within existing career tracks, therefore service members with these skills are often left unidentified and ignored in DoDs talent management systems.

The DIB recommended in 2017 that the DoD overhaul its personnel policies and systems to focus on training, developing and retaining individuals with the requisite technological expertise and skills, but change has been slow in coming because it involves several layers of law, regulation, policy and culture.

The current system  as effective as it has been in the past  simply will not allow us to optimize the potential of our workforce going forward, then-Secretary of the Army Mark Esper said in June 2019.

If we are to attract, develop and retain the nations best and brightest, we must manage our people in a way that accounts for their skills, their knowledge, their behaviors, and indeed, their preferences, Esper remarked.

With the current system, there is little need or desire to consider an individuals unique talents or personal preferences, he added. Oftentimes, only rank and military specialty are all that are used in most cases to determine a persons next to assignment. Such rudimentary management of our people is no longer sufficient for todays generation.

The Army faces a competitive labor market where highly skilled people are in great demand, and winning the war for talent requires a new approach to personnel management, Esper noted.

However, hiring new staff has not been easy for the DoD.

The department has traditionally struggled to compete for digital talent for reasons ranging from relocation requirements, to hiring speed, to access to modern IT and tools, the DIB said. The new work from home (WFH) norm attendant on the pandemic creates an opening for the DoD to either adapt and narrow the gap or fall further behind in competing for top-notch technical talent.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The recommendation to hire civilian tech experts working from home focuses on immediate, short-term actions to better use and retain active duty service members with digital innovation skills.

Remote Workers Could Threaten National Security

Hiring outside contractors is risky. Edward Snowden, who in 2013 blew the whistle on secret mass surveillance of Americans communications by the National Security Agency (NSA) through its PRISM program, was a subcontractor to the NSA, working for NSA contractor Booze Allen Hamilton, a management and IT consulting firm that works closely with governmental institutions and different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Snowden copied thousands of highly classified documents on the PRISM program from the agencys files, fled the U.S. with the documents, and later released several to journalists who published them, causing outrage among many Americans when they learned of the secret surveillance.

Edward Snowdens actions illustrate the insider threat to cybersecurity. Security experts consider insiders more of a threat to organizations and businesses than outside hackers as they can easily access the organizations networks and data.

Insiders were responsible for 57 percent of database breaches, according to the Verizon 2019 Insider Threat Report.

The DoD follows battle-tested protocols for granting and controlling access to classified information, which also define the parameters and requirements of remote access, Vahid Behzadan, an assistant professor at the University of New Havens Tagliatela College of Engineering, told TechNewsWorld.

These can be supplemented by technologies such as data loss prevention software, which uses business rules to control or restrict the sending of sensitive or critical information outside the network, reducing the risk of insider threats and data leaks, Behzadan said.

However, the lack of physical supervision and inspection in such scenarios will undoubtedly increase the risk of such compromises.

The extension of access to remote users escalates the vulnerability of the DoD to cyberattacks, Behzadan warned, but cybersecurity is always a tradeoff between reducing the risk of security compromises and increasing the efficiency and efficacy of the core mission.

Technology alone is not enough, Daniel Castro, vice president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), told TechNewsWorld.

To prevent a future Snowden, arguably the answer is dont lie to the American people, not tighter security, Castro said. If we dont trust the people working at these levels of government, we have much more than a technical problem. The technology is in place to mitigate the size of a potential breach, but it cannot stop one from happening.

WFH the New Threat Frontier

Putting sensitive data on devices in an unsecured environment like a home is risky because the equipment can be stolen, the people can be coerced, and the data can be manually copied, Castro pointed out. These risks are difficult, if not impossible, to circumvent.

Akamai Technologies, a global content delivery network, cybersecurity and cloud service company, considers working from home the new threat frontier.

It doesnt make much sense to allow remote workers to access the nations most sensitive secrets from a home computer, Castro said. This is the same reason banks keep money in the vault  and they havent decided to let the bank manager bring it home at night just because of COVID-19.

Organizations are moving to zero trust architecture, which enables better security even when the device, network or user cannot be fully trusted, Castro noted, but there are limits to this model and its not something that DoD can implement overnight.

Zero trust architecture treats all users as potential threats and allows a user full access but only to the bare minimum they need to perform their job. If a device is compromised, zero trust can help ensure that the damage is contained.

Security Controls for Remote Access

The DoD has made moving to the cloud a priority and this might help ensure cybersecurity for projects being worked on by civilian tech experts from home.

The leading concern for many practitioners is maintaining visibility into and control over sensitive data as it moves across cloud applications  as these apps serve the needs of remote workers so effectively, Pravin Kothari, Founder and CEO of cloud security solutions CipherCloud told TechNewsWorld.

The DoD should enact cloud security controls to mitigate remote access vulnerabilities and use a centralized platform to implement multi-cloud security, Kothari said.

Most organizations use multiple cloud apps, such as Microsoft Office 365, Slack, and Box, and need to protect access and data across all of these in a unified way, Kothari explained. They also want to apply a centralized set of security and compliance data security policies.

Using a cloud access security broker is currently the leading approach to securing a centralized platform, he advised.

Kothari recommended the DoD also use encryption for strong data protection. Encrypting cloud data and securing the key away from the cloud service provider is absolutely essential.

The latest trend is to use rights-based management and authorize specific users to decrypt data when, and only when, they are using it, Kothari remarked. Some organizations also encrypt cloud data broadly as an additional precaution.
City Editor

Tom Roeder is the Gazette's City Editor. In Colorado Springs since 2003, Tom has covered the military at home and overseas and has covered statehouses in Denver and Olympia, Wash. His main job, though, is being dad to two great kids.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Global Tensions and Emerging Strategies in a Changing World Order | Lathika (...)

The present world order is experiencing changes in various areas such as foreign policy international relations and a new trade order.The present pandemic has made it necessary for govts.to question the efficacy of regional organization and the functioning of the U.N. and its specialized agencies in dealing with emergent issues. The crisis that confronts all nations because of covid-19 poses serious consequences in the near future. Due to economic slow-down, new geo-political alliances have been forged both large and small nation have been affected because all were unprepared to deal with the pandemic. This crisis has led to large scale chaos in most societies with unparalleled problems. Geographical indicators as to the origin of goods and services are the new norm and will lead to a new international trade order. This could be manifest in new border controls, and strict focus on health and hygiene. Consequentially leading to a paradigm shift in the very functioning of the state to meet present day demands.

The deadly pandemic covid-19 shattered the world economies and wellbeing. It posed a challenge to be best healthcare systems of developed nations, but also impacted humanity the world over. The right to livelihood, healthcare, employment movement etc., received a serious setback. Presently we are re-defining the extent of these human rights and freedoms. The right to life took a toll of society. India rose to the occasion with help and medicine. India sent large doses of CLQ to many countries in the world.China has been at the center stage of international dislike and distrust. Her expansionist policies are evident of her sinister designs in the South China Sea and with her neighbors. India is still dealing with the situation at Galwan. By making large donations to various international originations and by supporting projects in some countries.China is trying to fend off calls for a thorough investigation into Wuhan. This has led to shift international attention to Taiwan which has been deliberately kept out of international affairs all these decades. Recognition of Taiwan, a move which will definitely be opposed by China, will significantly change international relations all world over. A move is being made to grant Observer Status to Taiwan at the W.H.O.

The State is vested with the task of maintaining public health. Every state according to its capacity and needs, takes care of its citizens Medical, health and such issues to create a well-structured society. Monitoring and maintaining health care facilities and checking the spread of infectious diseases is within the purview of the welfare states Polio, TB etc.,

The recent pandemic rendered most of the healthcare systems of developed countries useless to deal with the magnitude and the numbers of those infected. Unable to cope with the demand for doctors, medical staff medicines and equipment the state was unable to deal with it a hitherto unknown strain of corona virus. The WHO also failed in its duty to inform nations at an early date, while China played down the seriousness of the situation. Economic slowdown, shaken economics and international trade were seriously affected. Most nations took to emergency provisions and lockdowns for temporary respite.

Covid-19 is said to have originated fromWuhan. Wuhan is an important political and economic centre of China. The Wet markets of this city are said to cater to exotic animals, which are slaughtered and sold openly with little control by the China authorities. The entire market area has since been thoroughly sanitized nothing remains that could make us understand the events that took place months ago.

Wuhan is important to many western countries as well. France, U.S. Republic of Korea and UK have Consulates there. Many manufacturing companies have set up units in Wuhan. Its importance lies in the investments by many developed countries of the west which contributed to its phenomenal growth. Presently it is a center for trade technology and education in China including biological engineering. The bio medical laboratory The Wuhan Institute of Virology is said to be a level IV biomedical lab set up there. The research undertaken there is now of academic interest.

The Chinese govt. functions in a very different way from most govts. in the world. By late last year, the outbreak of covid-19 could not be contained any longer and had spread to some countries. The news and details were released very late by the Chinese govt. and the WHO. What measures that were undertaken by the Chinese authorities, the various tests, data collected from patients etc., are not known to the world at large.

Foreign policy and international relations are important functions of the state. The present situation has forced govts. to review their foreign policy. The interest of state and welfare of its citizens assumes importance. Disease and death has had a disastrous effect on economics, all over. As states grapple with it there is a lack of consensus among nations including the U.N. Strategic interests of trading partners with China is an important aspect and some nations do not wish to go against China.

The situation is amply reflected in the UNGA. The lack of consensus in the veto power of the five permanent members of the UNSC including China. Any discussion would be blocked and has defied all attempts at expansion for all these decades. Therefore international issues can be stalled irrespective of the global economic slowdown China has recovered faster and will cater to global markets easily. Consequentially the effects are devastating for all.States have used most of their resources to deal with the pandemic, with little resources for development, trade and industry. China has stepped in with aid, development projects and support. This has lead to a re-alignment of foreign policy, significantly affecting international relations. According to the ILO thousands of jobs would be lost from the labour market UNCTAD estimates a decrease about 30% on direct investment. A significant set back to the tourism industry and according to UNESCO billions of children out of school just to mention a few areas.Yet the UN has been a spectator. Sanctions enforce international law.It is also effective in reigning in recalcitrant states. Yet with no action from the world body in this issue, is surprising.

The WHO is a specialized agency of the U.N. its goal being the highest standard of health for all, the world over. This is fundamental for the attainment of peace and security States are under a duty to promote and protect the health of all its citizens. There is a duty and responsibility to promote adequate health and social measures for its citizens, especially the prevention of communicable diseases. The primary duty of the WHO is to make recommendations regarding national health matters. The failure of it to look into the Covid-19 situation in China and lack of interest in reporting posed a serious threat to the world resulting in the pandemic of unprecedented proportions. Perhaps the serious consequences were unnoticed by the Director-General who is said to have received Chinese support in the elections for the post. Had travel restrictions and other information been made public, perhaps the spread to international borders could have been checked. Some countries have been able to calculate their economic losses and will perhaps take it up with the Chinese govt. it is necessary for the U.N. to thoroughly evaluate the working of the WHO in present day conditions. China backed by Russia and South Africa were able to cancel a meeting earlier this year. States must manifest the will and international opinion must be mobilized to make China accountable.

Amidst all our concerns, the right to health has become more clearly defined The socio-economic impact cannot be clearly evaluated. The effect of geo-political concerns will need to be clarified. The consequences of this pandemic is unemployment, poverty, illness, collapse of some state machinery and a rise in the crime rate everywhere. Economic instability will bring down fragile and overburdened political systems. Sustainable development will take on a new meaning in the present context. Health care systems and allied services will have to be evaluated as other diseases may occur in future. Bio-terrorism is now a reality and not theory any longer. Urgent need exists to make stringent rules for such lab experiments. Many feel that the WHO has lost its credibility.The functioning of this agency was in the forefront when it endorsed Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The WHO approved of TCM in its global compendium, 11th version of the ICD. This medicine is said to use body parts of about 36 wildlife species and is seen as a boost to trading in wildlife. Wildlife conservationists and animal rights activist are of the view that endangered species such as tiger pangolin, rhino and bear will be used in manufacturing. China has been pushing ahead with such Medicare related products. In China alone the market share is about $ 130 billion for TCM.

In the field of public health it is the duty of the state to maintain the highest standards for its citizens. Developed countries have enacted laws/rules to govern this area of state activity, Facilities, Medical help, prevention and cure, sanitation are regulated and monitored by the states. This includes check on the spread of infectious diseases. As the WHO failed in its primary duty states could not deal with the pandemic. Well functioning health care systems fell short,as they were over burdened by the large number of people who were affected. China did offer some help in a clearly planned strategy to capture markets and earn goodwill.

India does not have a public health law and had to work under the parameters of the Disaster Management Act. The National Health Bill 2009 is perhaps gathering dust and forgotten. India offered help to many neighbors including the SAARC Nations. The Epidemic Act of the colonial era offered some guidelines. The police stepped in rendering service to the public. India known for her vaccination programme, strained her resources to help other countries (The BCG vaccine is well known the world over). India exported CLQ tablets to treat the pandemic to some extent to many countries.

Due to disruption of goods and services Chena has seized the opportunity to push ahead with the agenda of world market domination. Chinese investments in various business enterprises worldwide has forced some countries to take steps like Japan to regulate their economic interests with a shift in international commerce and trade, the WTO will surely have to step in and regulate the same.Some countries are offering incentives to pull out of China.

For decades China has sought to expand her interest. For this she adopted many strategies. Taiwan was ousted from the U.N. and the PRC took over. India supported China, however China is against India with reference to India claim to a permanent in the UNSC. Her strategic advances, whether it was Tibet or the South China Sea is a manifestation of her expansionist policies.Of late they include many countries of SE Asia and Australia. Her interests are land and water bodies as seen recently in Ladakh. Consequently because of business interest, investments and contributions to various agencies are made. As these countries take a stand there will be a paradigm shift. It is time that the members of the U.N. take action to stop the expansionist policies of China.

The PRC and Taiwan have had an uneasy relationship. Taiwan dealt very efficiently with the Covid-19 situation. It also questioned the WHO. It would be in the interest of many countries if Taiwan were to be granted Observer Status before the WHA. Perhaps it could pave the way for future recognition by other countries.

The loss of lives, livelihood and slowdown of the world economy has had a serious impact.It would be difficult to hold China accountable before the ICJ or tribunal. The information and the Wuhan market both have been cleaned up and the facts will remain unknown. China wields power and influence internationally.The volume of international trade and goods remains the same. Even the companies that are pulling out, need to set up elsewhere and start production. International ramifications will manifest itself in trade commerce, industry and development. Human rights have been violated eg-right to life, livelihood, movement, personal liberties have been pushed aside. The state took charge in an emergency situation. In many countries there is no judicial review.Life is slowly coming back to what is perhaps a new change to the existing system.

The race for power, position, territory and resources has made a significant impact in the 21stcentury. India has emerged as an important regional power, changing the equation with neighbors. Some with Chinese support are changing their stand in the race for power and position. India can play an important role at this juncture with the manpower and materials, we can forge ahead. China wishes to control global markets and has built roads and ports. It is necessary to stop Chinese expansionist policies. This is clearly evident to the world at large. China shares borders with fourteen countries and coast line with six others. The dependence of many nations on Chinese goods contributes to her economic status and power. India has taken a firm stand in the recent standoff at Galwan. Other measures are being considered as well. Many countries have appreciated our efforts and position eg.U.S. There is an urgent need for policy change and a reduction in trade with China.Global acceptance and action by various trading partners will no doubt go a long way is making China, less aggressive internationally and regionally.

Before aggressive designs are put into action it is important for the nations of the world to put into place geo-political strategies. At the outset it is necessary to discuss the present crisis at the United Nations. Also it is necessary to enlarge the UNSC to represent all nations of the worldthe new world order. India should be given a permanent seat. Further it is necessary to review the working of the WHO in the present context. It is now incumbent on to the world body to play an important role in world affairs in the interest of international peace and security.

(* Dr. Lathika Nath is M.A, LL.M, Ph.D Assoc. Prof of Law (Retd),, Bangalore University,, Bangalore.)
The High Court in Accra has placed a 10-day prohibition on pressure group, Lawyers In Search of Democracy (LINSOD), led by Mr. Chris Ackumey, from picketing and demonstrating at the head office of the Electoral Commission.



The group had intended to picket at the EC head office in Accra on Friday, October 2, 2020, and in the words of lead convener Lawyer Chris Ackumey, to ask very pertinent questions of the EC why it is not performing, however the court agreed with the police that the circumstances were not conducive.



The police in response to a notice served it by LINSOD to embark on the demonstration, had told the group that owing the recent secessionist activities in the Volta region, a good number of its personnel have been deployed to the area to provide security.



It said many more police personnel are to be posted to registration centres to support the one-day voters registration extension scheduled for the same Friday, October 2.



The Regional Police Command wishes to inform you that restrictions on social/public gathering (demonstrations) have not fully been lifted as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.



Additionally, the premises where you intend to picket is a security zone and the police will therefore not support such activity.



You are therefore requested to suspend your picketing/demonstration until restriction on social/public gatherings is fully lifted.



Subsequently the police went to court to secure the prohibition order prohibiting the group from embarking on the demonstration.



In a telephone interview however, LINSOD convener, Chris Ackumey told Graphic Online that members of the group, numbering about 35, are law-abiding and thus would not do anything untoward.



He however disagreed with the police that the EC office is a security zone, wondering since when the EC office was designated as such.



Even the Flagstaff House, before it became Jubilee House, was occupied, was it not. And were we not in this country when that happened. Well the courts intervention (prohibition) is for only 10 days, we shall see what happens thereafter.

Source: Graphic.com.gh









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Kessler Foundation and University of New Hampshire nTIDE Report--featuring more on the 2020 Kessler Foundation National Employment and Disability Survey and the experiences of college graduates with disabilities who came of age under the ADA

East Hanover, NJ - October 2, 2020 - The downshift in the September job numbers sparks concerns about employment prospects for Americans with and without disabilities, according to today's National Trends in Disability Employment - Monthly Update (nTIDE), issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD). The declines in the economic indicators reflect the impact of the COVID pandemic on the ability of workers to stay engaged in the labor market.

nTIDE COVID Update (month-to-month comparison)

In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released Friday, the employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 28.8 percent in August to 28.3 percent in September (down 1.7 percent or 0.5 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio increased from 69.7 percent in August to 70 percent in September (up 0.4 percent or 0.3 percentage points). The employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the percentage of people who are working relative to the total population (the number of people working divided by the number of people in the total population multiplied by 100).

"August's modest gains in the employment-to-population ratio for people with and without disabilities have been lost due to the continued effects of COVID-19," said John O'Neill, PhD, director of employment and disability research at Kessler Foundation. "And for next month's nTIDE report," he added, "we are likely to see these declines continue as more workers move from furlough to termination."

The labor force participation rate for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 33.6 percent in August to 32.7 percent in September 2020 (down 2.7 percent or 0.9 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate also decreased from 76.1 percent in August to 75.7 percent in September 2020 (down 0.5 percent or 0.4 percentage points). The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is working, not working and on temporary layoff, or not working and actively looking for work.

"The labor force participation rate is a bell-weather of the long-term employment prospects of people with disabilities," cautioned economist Andrew Houtenville, PhD, research director of the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability. "September's decline in this indicator suggests that people with disabilities are leaving the labor market--they are no longer on furlough or actively looking for work. As the pandemic continues and more workers are permanently let go, we are likely to see further declines in the labor force participation rate."

nTIDE COVID Update - Friday, October 23 at 12:00 pm Eastern

Stay tuned for more about the employment of people with disabilities as we follow the impact of COVID-19 and look at the numbers in more detail.

Traditional nTIDE Numbers (comparison to the same time last year)

The employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 31.4 percent in September 2019 to 28.3 percent in September 2020 (down 9.9 percent or 3.1 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio also decreased from 74.9 percent in September 2019 to 70 percent in September 2020 (down 6.5 percent or 4.9 percentage points).

The labor force participation rate for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 33.7 percent in September 2019 to 32.7 percent in September 2020 (down 3 percent or 1 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate also decreased from 77.4 percent in September 2019 to 75.7 percent in September 2020 (down 2.2 percent or 1.7 percentage points).

For reference, in September 2020, among workers ages 16-64, the 4,208,000 workers with disabilities represented 3.1 percent of the total 137,815,000 workers in the U.S.

Beyond the Numbers

In 2020, we mark 30 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and 75 years of celebrating October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. To commemorate these important milestones, Kessler Foundation released the results of the first national survey of college graduates with disabilities who came of age since the passage of the ADA - the 2020 Kessler Foundation National Employment and Disability Survey: Recent College Graduates.

The Survey, which was commissioned by Kessler Foundation and implemented by the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD), showed that recent college graduates with disabilities were as likely to be employed as their peers without disabilities, with 90 percent of each group holding jobs after college. "This Survey clearly suggests that higher education pays off for people with disabilities," said Dr. Phillips, research assistant professor at UNH-IOD and project director for the Survey. For all recent graduates, preparing for careers by engaging in internships, paid employment, and career counseling services correlated positively with working after graduation. "Students with disabilities were just as likely to engage in these activities, and benefit from them, as their peers without disabilities," reported Dr. Phillips.

The Survey findings counter traditional viewpoints about the potential for young people with disabilities. "Our surveys give voice to people with disabilities, dispelling many of the myths about their participation in higher education and the workplace," asserted Katz, senior VP of the Center for Grants and Communications at Kessler Foundation. "With our 2020 survey, we lay to rest more myths about people with disabilities - that college isn't a good choice for them, that they cannot perform as well as their peers, that they won't find jobs after graduation." The Survey can also guide decision making made more complicated by the COVID economy. "Now we can be confident in advising high school students with disabilities to pursue higher education," said Katz, "even in an environment of widespread unemployment."

Bryce Stanley, BA, MS, PhD candidate, and research assistant at the University of New Hampshire shared how his experiences compared with the survey's main findings. Stanley was encouraged when the survey showed that peers with disabilities were striving to work and transitioning to jobs, but cautioned that disparities remain in job quality (e.g., earnings, hours working) between college graduates with and without disabilities.

Dr. Phillips continues to dig deeper into the survey results, seeking better ways to support and advise youth with disabilities, their families, and educators. "Clearly, there is room to build on the gains achieved since the ADA," she concluded, "and improve the educational experiences and employment outcomes of people with disabilities."

###

Ask Questions about Disability and Employment

Each nTIDDE release is followed by a noon nTIDE Lunch & Learn webinar at noon ET. series. This live broadcast, hosted via Zoom Webinar, offers attendees Q&A on the latest nTIDE findings, provides news and updates from the field, as well as invited panelists to discuss current disability-related findings and events. On October 2, Kimberly Phillips, PhD, and Bryce Stanley, MS, join Drs. Houtenville and O'Neill, and Denise Rozell, Policy Strategist at AUCD. Join live or watch the recordings at: ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE.

NOTE: The statistics in the nTIDE are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers but are not identical. They are customized by UNH to combine the statistics for men and women of working age (16 to 64). nTIDE is funded by Kessler Foundation.

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes -- including employment -- for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.

About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire

The Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. For information on the NIDILRR-funded Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, visit ResearchonDisability.org.

For more information, or to interview an expert, contact:

Carolann Murphy, 973.324.8
Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui says theres a reflection of all things Indian in his latest Serious Men, a film which presents the ground reality of the country and yet has the potential to reach the global audience. Directed by Sudhir Mishra, the movie is an adaptation of author Manu Josephs 2010 novel of the same name.It chronicles the story of an ambitious underachiever who capitalises on his sons newfound fame as a boy-genius to improve his familys fortunes.

The film offers a stark commentary on caste discrimination and upper class privilege through its protagonist Ayyan Mani (Siddiqui), a Tamil dalit, who keeps challenging the system which has oppressed people for generations. It is such a local character, that a (reflection) of every Indian can be seen in him. It is a real character with qualities to be found in everyone, which is why it feels so personal. To digest the reality, however, is difficult, the 46-year-old actor told PTI.

Manis means to turn around the system for the betterment of his family might not necessarily be ideal, but Siddiqui believes that society doesnt function on idealism. We want everything to be ideal, even our films to be idealistic with the hero doing something great in the end. But theres nothing idealistic in a society. The film is real. The novel, film and the character is extremely local and hence has a global appeal.

Serious Men marks Siddiquis first collaboration with Mishra, who has helmed acclaimed films like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Dharavi and Chameli.

Released on Netflix on Friday, Siddiquis performance in the film is already being considered one of his finest and the 46-year-old actor credits Mishras skilful guidance for the work. I enjoyed playing Ayyan Mani immensely. The way he was written, the kind of freedom I got from Sudhir sir, the track that he led me on, it made me feel the man is somewhere me. All I had to do was just play him then.

Mani has been brought to life by Siddiqui not only through silences but a hurried, restless body language. The actor said Mani had to be given a certain physicality as the character believes hes carrying the world with him, never existing in isolation.

There are several people whose emotions you cant make out with just their eyes. There, the body language helps a lot. Ayyan walks with his entire world around him. Its a film from his point, his inner self. A father, who comes with his enormous past baggage, wants his kid to succeed at all costs. And that past is bound to seep out from somewhere, including his physicality. Itll burst, he added.

Siddiqui, who made a name for himself by playing gangster characters in Gangs of Wasseypur movies and Netflix series Sacred Games, said he is not averse to playing a character he has already performed.

He believes that the real test of versatility is taking up similar roles and giving varied results. I never think that just because Ive done a role Ill never repeat it. Both Ganesh Gaitonde and Faizal Khan are gangsters who belong to different world. My two cops, in Raees and Raat Akeli Hai, are poles apart because theyre seperate human beings. Versatility is not playing different characters. It is playing the same character ten times in ten different ways, Siddiqui added.

Writen by Bhavesh Mandalia and produced by Bombay Fables and Cine Raas, Serious Men also stars Aakshath Das, Shweta Basu Prasad, Nassar, and introduces actor Indira Tiwari.
President Trumps announcement early Friday that he had contracted the coronavirus upended the presidential race in an instant, inviting significant questions about his cavalier attitude toward the pandemic and the future of his campaign just 32 days before the election.

Mr. Trump had already been trailing Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the polls, in part because of his mishandling of a virus that has disrupted the day-to-day lives of voters for over six months. The president compounded his difficulties by disregarding and at times belittling the basic precautions, such as wearing a mask, that his health advisers were urging Americans to take to protect themselves.

Strategists in both parties and even senior aides to Mr. Trump said the president would face a harsh judgment from voters for throwing the country into greater uncertainty after one of the most trying years in American history.

Its hard to imagine this doesnt end his hopes of re-election, said Rob Stutzman, a Republican consultant, pointing to Mr. Trumps flouting of obvious precautions.
David Kent / MCT

Devon Energy has sold its natural gas assets in the Fort Worth area to Denver-based Banpu Kalnin Ventures for $570 million.

The Oklahoma City-based shale producer on Friday said it received a cash payment of $320 million from Banpu Kalnin Ventures, a U.S. natural gas producer backed by Thailand-based energy company Banpu. Devon received an earlier $170 million deposit in April, and is eligible to receive additional cash payments of up to $260 million over the next four years if Henry Hub natural gas prices climb above $2.75 per cubic feet.
A powerful tool to boost confidence in an election, Shackelford said, are risk-limiting audits, in which a statistically significant sample of ballots is compared to the reported results and that gives you a very clear indication of whether or not anything fishy is going on without needing to do a manual recount of all the votes that are cast.
New Delhi [India], October 2 (ANI): The Union Ministry of Finance has recommended that 850 MW Ratle Hydro project be developed in Jammu and Kashmir through Joint Venture Company (JVC) between JK Power Development Corporation (JKPDC) and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), according to the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Information and Public Relations.



The Public Investment Board (PIB), in the Ministry of Finance also recommended an investment approval for Rs 5,281.94 crores for the project including an Infusion of Equity of Rs 808.14 crores by NHPC in the joint venture company.

The department said that 850 MW Ratle HEP was the first project in India which was awarded through tariff-based bidding. However, the project was stalled due to the unilateral withdrawal by the erstwhile developer from the project.

"All the clearances for the project are already in place and the project is expected to be completed within 36 months of the start of work. The initiation of the project will be yet another step in adding to the revenues of the UT from its abundant hydro resources," read the department's release.

Jammu and Kashmir have over 20,000 MW of hydropower potential, out of which 16,000 MW has been identified. (ANI)


New Delhi: Amid huge public outcry over the horrific Hathras gang-rape, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday (October 2) issued strict order to suspend top police officials of the Hathras district. The Chief Minister also ordered the narco test of both the parties along with the police officials.

According to reports, the Yogi government ordered to suspend SP Vikrant Veer on the basis of a preliminary investigation conducted by the state government. Other officials suspended are CO Ram Shabd, Inspector Dinesh Kumar Verma, SI Jagveer Singh and head constable Mahesh Pal.

A statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Friday evening said, "In the Hathras case, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed to suspend the SP, DSP, inspector and some others officials, based on the preliminary investigation report."

"Narco-polygraph tests of the SP and DSP will also be conducted," the statement further said.

Hathras District Magistrate PK Laxkar, however, has been spared. Earlier on Thursday, he denied "negative rumours" about the rift between him and the family of the gangrape victim.

Laskar had told ANI, "I met with six family members of the victim yesterday and we spoke for about an hour and a half. I met with them again today to see their point of discontent," adding "I deny the negative rumours which are rife about my interactions with them."

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the culprits behind such heinous crimes will face the strictest possible action. He took to Twitter to condemn the rape cases that have come to light in the past week in Hathras, Balrampur, Bulandshahr and Azamgarh and said the culprits will face consequences that will set an example for others and will be remembered by people.

He tweeted in Hindi, The ones who even think of harming the respect and dignity of the mothers and sisters of UP will be destroyed. They will face consequences of the kind that will set an example to others. The government is committed to the safety and progress of your sisters and mothers. This is our commitment, this is our promise.

Live TV

Notably, a family member of Hathras incident victim today complained that they are being stopped from speaking to media. The administration has imposed section 144 of CrPC in this village of Hathras.

On Friday morning, a minor from the victim`s family was sent by the family members to reach out to the media anyhow and ask to connect with them. He revealed that they were asked to switch-off their mobiles have and some mobiles are being taken from them.

BJP leader Uma Bharti today raised doubts about the investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Hathras incident. She said that there is no rule that the family cannot meet anyone during the SIT probe according to her knowledge.

Bharti, who is under treatment for COVID-19 in AIIMS Rishikesh, took to twitter and said, "To my knowledge, there is no such rule that the family could not meet anyone during the SIT investigation. With this, the investigation of the SIT itself will come under doubt."

She said that the image of the Uttar Pradesh government and BJP has been tarnished due to the suspicious action of the police in this incident and requested the authorities to let the family meet media and political parties.

"You are the ruler with a very clean image. I request you to allow media persons and political parties to meet the aggrieved family," she tweeted

The 19-year-old Hathras woman died at Delhi`s Safdarjung hospital on September 29, a fortnight after allegedly being gang-raped. All the four accused in the incident have been arrested

The post-mortem report reads that the victim suffered a fracture of "C6 cervical vertebra" and there was "extravasations of blood along the fracture line" and the underlying spinal cord was "contused with ascending oedema". The postmortem report, however, denies rape charges.
An Easton man is facing a handful of drug charges after methamphetamine, pills and paraphernalia was found in his city home, Pennsylvania State Police said.

Patrick Mohrs home at 357 W. Nesquehoning St. was searched on Sept. 10, but charges werent filed until Tuesday in district court.

The 34-year-old Mohr was arraigned Thursday on two counts each of possession with intent to deliver controlled substances and possession of controlled substances, as well as a single count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Mohr was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Troopers were interviewing Mohr Sept. 10 at the Belfast barracks, they didnt detail why, and he gave written consent for them to search his home, according to state police.

Mohr met the troopers at the home that night, state police said.

Inside the second floor bedroom Mohr shared with his wife, troopers said they found 517 grams of meth, 269 pills of unknown origin, hypodermic needles, smoking pipes and packaging material.

Records show Mohr was free on $5,000 unsecured bail since January in a receiving stolen property and drug case in Montgomery County, where he is awaiting trial.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
TELTOW, Germany, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- At the first virtual EURETINA Congress, OD-OS presents its affordable entry to the digital ecosystem of navigated retinal laser therapy. The Navilas Laser System 577s Pro supports precise and fast treatments of common retinal diseases. It comes with the core tracking, mapping and registration technology of retina navigation combined with flexible upgrade options for advanced patient comfort, reporting, teaching, and advanced connectivity via integration of external diagnostic images and a DICOM interface.

During and after the Euretina weekend, October 2-4, 2020, ophthalmologists can book a virtual demo of the Navilas Pro to see the handling in a simulated treatment scenario with our clinical team.

Please request such a meeting in the digital space via the OD-OS booth at Euretina 2020 or via the OD-OS website www.od-os.com (independent from Euretina participation).

Watch video trailer: https://youtu.be/aLNgBsncb9M

With the Navilas Laser System, OD-OS has successfully revolutionized the retinal laser market. In many clinics, retinal laser treatments are still performed with manually operated single spot or multispot laser systems which only provide a small slit lamp view on the retina. The high-resolution color fundus image of the all-digital Navilas Laser System provides better overview during treatment. Caution zones on sensible areas like the fovea and the optic disk combined with the integrated eye tracking allow for tracked and therefore highly precise lasering.1 As a result, over the past years navigated laser technology has been adopted by leading institutions around the world.

The Navilas Pro combines the advantages of retina navigation with a competitive price point while flexibly growing with application needs. Navilas supports panretinal photocoagulation with uniform spot distribution which is faster and less painful for patients than PRP treatment with conventional slit-lamp lasers.2,3 This way, doctors may perform more treatments in less time contributing to higher economic efficiency.

Prof. Albert Augustin, Stadtisches Klinikum Karlsruhe: "Our experience in everyday clinical practice shows that the treatment with Navilas is much faster and, based on this, reduces the number of laser sessions, so that we can cope better with the steadily growing number of patients. Our patients report less pain than with conventional lasers."

"As therapists, we value, among other things, the targeted spot planning with defined spacing. This increases safety during focal treatments and supports secure closure of foramina even in the far periphery."

To learn more about the digital ecosystem of navigated retinal laser including the Navilas Pro, please visit. https://www.od-os.com/navilas-laser-system/

1) Liesfeld, Ben et al: Navigating Comfortably across the Retina; World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, 2009

2) Chhablani J, Mathai A, Rani P, Gupta V, Arevalo JF, Kozak I. Comparison of conventional pattern and novel navigated panretinal photocoagulation in proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2014 May 1;55(6):3432-8. doi: 10.1167/iovs.14-13936. PubMed PMID: 24787564.

3) Amoroso F, Pedinielli A, Astroz P, et al. Comparison of pain experience and time required for pre-planned navigated peripheral laser versus conventional multispot laser in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Acta Diabetol. November 2019. doi:10.1007/s00592-019-01455-x

www.od-os.com/publications

About OD-OS

OD-OS GmbH is a privately-held medical device company founded in 2008 with offices in Teltow, Germany, and Irvine, CA.https://www.od-os.com

For further information, please contact:

Stefanie Gehrke, Director Sales and Marketing | stefanie.gehrke@od-os.com, +49 (172) 3808 537

OD-OS GmbH | Warthestr. 21 | 14513 Teltow | Germany
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she does not expect an agreement on Thursday with the Trump administration on a fresh coronavirus relief package.

Asked if there would be a resolution to her negotiations with the administration on Thursday evening, Pelosi told reporters, "No." She added: Even if we came to some agreement, nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. It's the language."
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis as its in-charge for the Bihar Assembly elections scheduled to be held at the end of October.

Many within the BJP say that Fadnavis has been given charge of Bihar as part of the partys policy of assigning key leaders the responsibility of holding state elections.

But speculation rife in political circles, even before the official announcement, linked the former Maharashtra CMs new role in Bihar to the controversy over the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, among other reasons.

Sources said the BJP chose Fadnavis to draw some political mileage ahead of Bihar polls considering heightened sentiments over the Rajput case in the state. Fadnavis was one of the most vocal leaders to demand the CBI probe in the high profile case.

The death of Sushant Singh Rajput amid allegations of nepotism symbolises the end of dreams of making it to Bollywood that a common Indian has. This sentiment exists among people in Bihar as well. The party wouldnt want to lose the opportunity, said a BJP leader who did not want to be named.

Rajput, the Patna-born Bollywood actor, was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14, triggering a political controversy involving a war of words between the state governments of Bihar and Maharashtra over conduct of their police departments. Two months later, the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government recommended a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Fadnavis has been regularly attending BJPs internal meetings on the Bihar elections before the official announcement. He has also visited the state a few times.

Political parties are mirror of peoples feelings and hence we will not spare any efforts to ensure justice to the late Bollywood hero, he said in one of the meetings in Patna on September 11 calling the late actor the Son of Bihar whose death, he said, was not a political issue.

Bihar will vote in three phases, for 238 seats, beginning October 28 and the results will be announced on November 10. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) and its allies in the NDA, including the BJP, are aiming to retain power in the state. The ruling coalition is being challenged by the Grand Alliance comprising the Tejashwi Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and other smaller parties.

The 34-year-old actors death has resonated in Bihars political circles with regional parties focusing on the the case in their campaign. CM Kumar, speaking at his first virtual rally on September 7, said that the death had affected the family. I have faith that the CBI investigation will ensure justice in the Sushant case to the satisfaction of everybody, he said. On September 30, actors father KK Singh met with him to thank the JD(U) chief for initiating the probe.

In the 2015 Assembly polls, the BJP had appointed the late Ananth Kumar as the in-charge. This time, Fadnavis, 50, will lead the party's electioneering in Bihar along with general secretary in-charge Bhupender Yadav. The two have worked together in the Maharashtra elections before.

With deep roots in the Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and his organisational skills, Fadnavis was handpicked over his seniors in Maharashtra by then-national chief Narendra Modi in 2014 after the BJP's landslide victory in both general and assembly elections.

Read: Bihar elections | Sushant Singh Rajputs death no longer a poll issue?

Most BJP leaders, however, dismissed the link of the appointment with the Sushant Singh Rajput case. Some said that Fadnavis has been roped in for his negotiating credentials that can help the BJP in striking a deal with Chirag Paswans Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) over seat sharing and end the ongoing differences between the two key NDA allies, the other being the JD(U).

The BJP, JD(U) and the LJP will fight the polls strongly along with Jitan Ram Manjhi, who has joined hands with JD(U), and will form government again with a three-fourth majority, Yadav said while announcing Fadnavis new role earlier this week.

Paswan has been demanding more than 30 seats, sources said, even as the party had earlier said it had prepared a list of 143 probable candidates for the elections to the 243-member assembly. The BJP under Fadnavis and Yadav, they said, will play a balancing role between the two partners and seal the best deal.

In 2015 assembly polls, the JD(U) contested 101 seats and won 71 as part of the Grand Alliance, which has now become the Opposition in the state. The BJP won 53 seats. The LJP won just two seats of the 30 it contested.

The Bihar role is the first major responsibility for Fadnavis after serving as CM of Maharashtra between 2014 and 2019. His second term as CM in 2019 lasted only three days before his government was toppled by an alliance led by the Shiv Sena, and he was compelled to resign for Uddhav Thackeray.

But if the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition retains Bihar, Fadnavis may be back under the spotlight again. Unlike the former CMs of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Fadnavis could not make it to any post in the organisational overhaul announced last week. Maybe he will be rewarded after the polls, said a party leader.

Another factor, some say, has to do with Fadnavis caste, Brahmin, a community comprising 6 percent of Bihar voters that has traditionally voted for the Congress. In 2014, Fadnavis become the only second Brahmin CM of Maharashtra, a state dominated by Marathas.

Son of RSS activist Gangadhar Fadnavis, Devendra Fadnavis joined the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students wing of the RSS, in 1989. At 22, he became a corporator in the Nagpur civic body and its youngest mayor in 1997, when he was 27.

A law graduate, Fadnavis comes with a long organisational and electoral expertise. From being ward president of BJPs youth wing Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BYJM) in 1989, he climbed up the ladder to become BJP general secretary in Maharashtra in 2010 and then president in 2013.

Since 1999, Fadnavis has won five consecutive terms as MLA. In 2014 he became CM of Maharashtra after leading BJP in having its first government in the state without allies.
CHEYENNE, Wyo., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cherry Creek Mortgage Company's (CCMC) Cheyenne branch held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening celebration for their new downtown office on Oct. 1, 2020. The branch, which opened in March 2019, moved into their new space last month and occupies the entire lower level. Thursday's grand opening event brought together the CCMC team, as well as community partners, to celebrate the branch's new location.

CCMC is proud to offer a wide variety of home loans to home buyers and home owners in the greater Cheyenne area. With over 100 years of combined experience, the Cheyenne team, led by Branch Manager Brittany Winges, is highly skilled in creating customized loan options, and they are committed to serving their community. The branch regularly hosts community events and giveaways with an emphasis on supporting small businesses.

"We are so excited to now be located downtown in the heart of the Cheyenne community," said Winges. "We love to give back to our community, and our new location will make it even easier to engage with the people we serve. We look forward to continuing to support the people and businesses of Cheyenne."

At the celebration, guests enjoyed appetizers and beverages at the branch's new location. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held by the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce and officially welcomed CCMC to downtown Cheyenne.

About Cherry Creek Mortgage Company

Cherry Creek Mortgage Company Co., Inc. NMLS #3001 has a 33-year tradition of serving the needs of home buyers across the country. With a reputation built on a passion for responsible lending and dedication to personal relationships, Cherry Creek Mortgage has helped thousands of customers realize their goal of home ownership. Cherry Creek Mortgage's specialized internal processes and proprietary technology deliver a digital mortgage experience with a personal touch. The company is headquartered in Colorado and is licensed in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Learn more at cherrycreekmortgage.com.

Media Contact:

Kim Holliday

[email protected]

SOURCE Cherry Creek Mortgage Company

Related Links

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MILWAUKEE: Cesar Hernandez says he has made thousands of phone calls since June urging Latinos in the battleground state of Wisconsin to support Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Its a tough sell, admits Hernandez, especially where he lives on the South Side of Milwaukee, the heart of Wisconsins Latino community. He said Bidens Spanish-language ads on Hulu and Facebook arent connecting with the neighborhoods voters, many of whom would prefer a more personal touch.

Latinos have seen almost nothing from Biden here," said Hernandez, 25, who works for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group working to mobilize Democratic voters. There is very little enthusiasm for him."

As the race to the Nov. 3 election enters the home stretch, appeals to Latino voters have taken on new urgency for Biden and incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. Both campaigns are pouring resources into the battleground states of Florida and Arizona, as well as increasingly competitive Nevada, whose large Latino populations could determine the outcome in those states.

Even in Wisconsin, where 87% of the population is white, the states 230,000 eligible Latino voters could prove critical. Trump won the state by just 22,000 votes in 2016.

A string of recent polls show Biden ahead in Wisconsin. The polling aggregation website RealClearPolitics has Biden leading Trump by an average of 5.5 percentage points from six polls conducted in September.

Trump has visited the state five times this year. His campaign has opened an office on Milwaukees South Side, where authentic taco outlets jostle with bilingual tax preparers and a Puerto Rican barber shop. The windows of the campaign storefront are plastered with Trump signs and its shelves bear merchandise such as Latinos for Trump" hats.

The Biden campaign said in statements to Reuters that its outreach efforts to Latinos in Wisconsin and nationally were unprecedented in scale.

It said it had a full-time Latino outreach director in Wisconsin and dozens of staff organizing in predominantly Latino communities. It is running Spanish-language phone and text banks and has ads on multiple platforms, including Spanish-language radio and Spanish-language mailers. Dozens of virtual roundtables, rallies and other events targeting the Latino community have been held, the Biden campaign said.

The campaign has communicated with tens of thousands of Latino voters about the clear choice in this years election," said Jen Molina, Bidens national Latino media director.

But Reuters interviews with 30 Latino residents and activists on Milwaukees South Side suggest those efforts may be falling short, reflecting what some call an enthusiasm gap" for Biden among Latinos nationwide that has been noted by pollsters and analysts.

Several residents interviewed said the only contact theyve had with the Biden campaign are phone texts in English soliciting donations. Fifteen of 24 Latino voters interviewed said they would vote for Biden, albeit with little fervor. Some said he was too old and seemed more focused on Black voters and their concerns about social justice.

Its like hes not listening to us," Hernandez said, adding that many feel Biden is taking them for granted. Were not being heard."

Others blamed the novel coronavirus pandemic. With cases surging in Wisconsin, Bidens team has stuck to a mostly virtual campaign; plans for a campaign office in Milwaukees South Side were scrapped, said Darryl Morin, a Biden campaign volunteer focused on turning out Latino voters.

Trumps Wisconsin team, meanwhile, has continued door-to-door campaigning and in-person outreach, a strategy that Morin said resonates with Latino voters.

I completely get why people feel there has been a lack of presence" from Bidens campaign, Morin said. Sometimes its frustrating the degree we are having to limit the operations. Only one side is continuing to go out in person - the Trump campaign."

BATTLEGROUND STATE WORRIES

Nationally, Biden leads Trump among registered voters who identify as Hispanics: 53% said they would back the Democrat, while 30% said they would vote for Trump, slightly more than backed the Republican in 2016, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling in September.

But Bidens 23-point advantage is smaller than the 39-point lead Clinton had over Trump among Hispanic voters on Election Day four years ago.

If his campaign fails to make up that ground, it could prove disastrous" for Biden in closely contested states with significant Latino populations, said Jaime Regalado, an expert on Latino voters at California State University in Los Angeles.

Trumps anti-immigrant policies and harsh rhetoric about migrants are widely unpopular with Latinos. Yet polls show many trust him on the economy. In Florida, a must-win state for Trump, he has made inroads with conservative Cuban-Americans with the false claim that Biden and the Democrats are socialists." In battleground Arizona, Trump held a Latinos for Trump" roundtable with voters in Phoenix last month.

The Biden campaign says its virtual events in Wisconsin focused on the Latino community have involved high-profile officials, including Michelle Lujan Grisham, the first Latina Democratic governor of New Mexico. Last month, a virtual bus tour with Democratic members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus held an event in Wisconsin.

Bidens running mate, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, met last month with representatives of Voces de la Frontera, Wisconsins biggest immigrant-rights group, which has endorsed the Democratic ticket. Voces says it has staff and volunteers working across the state to register 23,000 new voters by Election Day.

SOUTH SIDE MICROCOSM

The South Side of Milwaukee is a microcosm of Bidens broader struggles.

Jose Vasquez, 71, a community leader, said it didnt matter how many text messages, virtual events or phone calls the Biden campaign said it has made.

You can hand out a thousand fliers, but if youre not knocking on a single door or talking face-to-face with a single person, you have little impact," he said in an interview.

Vasquez, a retired school principal, said he wants to see more from Biden on issues Latinos care about, such as a visit to Puerto Rico, which still needs massive aid after a 2017 hurricane, or a trip to the southern border with Mexico to discuss immigration reform.

Democrats had planned to hold Bidens nominating convention in Milwaukee this summer but were forced to host the four-day event virtually because of the pandemic.

SWITCHING TO TRUMP

A third of the two dozen Latino residents interviewed by Reuters in Milwaukee were enthusiastic Trump supporters.

Among them is Mayra Gomez, 41, a lifelong Democrat. The Puerto Rico native said she began looking at the president after receiving an unsolicited Facebook message from a conservative group urging Latinos to break away from the Democratic Party.

Gomez said she was attracted to Trumps law-and-order message and his economic policies. She said shell vote for him in November, and is urging family and friends to do the same.

Remember, Trumps not a politician. Hes a businessman," Gomez said. What he says may sound funny, but hes actually speaking the truth."

The Biden campaign says it is ramping up efforts as the election nears.

On Sept. 26, Todos con Biden, a national coalition of Latino organizers and volunteers working to elect Biden, held its first outdoor event in Wisconsin. At a park on Milwaukees South Side, it handed out 500 campaign yard signs.

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
An Afghan immigrant who tried to groom a 14-year-old girl for sex told police large age gaps were 'the norm' in his country.

Mustafa Naseri, 21, from Adelaide, thought he was texting a teenage girl in March and July last year over messaging app Kik.

Naseri, who arrived in Australia in 2008, repeatedly asked her for a photograph and inquired whether the 14-year-old had reached puberty.

An undercover police officer was the real recipient of Naseri's messages and he faced court on grooming charges this week, news.com.au reported.

Afghan immigrant Mustafa Naseri, 21, tried to groom a 14-year-old girl (file image pictured) for sex last year. He was communicating with an undercover police officer and was arrested

Naseri texted the teenager before asking if she would meet up and engage in sexual activity with him.

A meeting was arranged but the 21-year-old was arrested at an Adelaide railway station and later faced the District Court of South Australia.

He pleaded guilty to communicating to make a child amenable to sexual activity and procuring a child for sexual activity.

The court heard Naseri started the conversations because he was bored and lonely.

Judge Geraldine Davison said Naseri told police he was from Afghanistan, where there is no strict age of consent.

'You did not understand that there was a barrier in relation to this because you understood in your culture an age gap was the norm...

'But you said you were really looking for someone to engage in a sexual relationship with,' Judge Davison told Naseri in his sentencing.

'You had, in your own mind, justified the fact that if the girl had reached puberty, then that would not be as bad as if she was very young.'

A psychologist's report agreed Naseri's behaviour was partly 'underpinned' by his 'cultural and traditional beliefs about children and marriage'.

Judge Davison said his offending was not as serious as other cases that came before the court and did not justify sentencing Naseri to time in jail.

The court heard Naseri had a troubled upbringing but worked hard and was enrolled in an architecture degree.

Convictions were recorded but Naseri escaped imprisonment with a two-year good behaviour bond. He could also be required to participate in counselling.
Should home sellers have to pay commission on a sale if the transaction doesnt close?

The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), an industry group representing realtors, thinks so. It publishes the listing agreement which is used in virtually every real estate transaction in Ontario.

Recently I reviewed an OREA listing agreement that a client was about to sign. My comments surprised him and led to a number of negotiated changes.

The agreement says that the seller will pay the full commission for any valid offer to purchase the property from any source whatsoever obtained during the listing period and on the terms and conditions set out in this agreement.

There is no explanation of what is meant by a valid offer.

The agreement also says that the commission is payable on the scheduled closing date even if the transaction is not completed, if such non-completion is owing or attributable to the sellers default or neglect.

The agreement obliges the seller to pay full commission whether or not a transaction closes. Even if, for example, the title is defective, if the buyer is unable or unwilling to close or if the house is damaged by fire or flood.

This obligation to pay commission has been upheld in the Ontario courts. In 2008, Richard Fody listed a parcel of vacant land with T. L. Willaert Realty Ltd. for sale at $199,900. Some months later, after a number of rejected offers, Willaerts buyer submitted an unconditional offer at the full asking price.

Fody never accepted the offer and the deal did not close. Willaert sued Fody for its commission in Small Claims Court and won. Fody appealed to Superior Court and lost again.

Acceptance of the offer is not required, the court ruled. The listing agreement clearly contemplated payment of the commission upon presentation of an offer at the full asking price.

A similar case arose in 2018 with a different result. In April, 2017, Marlene Nemeth listed her home with Homelife Eagle Realty, a brokerage owned by Hams Ohrstrom. A month later, she received a $900,000 offer but the buyer couldnt close on the purchase.

Even though the deal fell through, Ohrstrom demanded payment of commission and eventually sued Nemeth in Small Claims Court.

Based on the listing agreement, Ohrstrom was clearly entitled to the commission but after the story was publicized on Global News, the brokerage dropped the case.

Last week I emailed Tim Hudak, CEO of OREA, and members of its forms committee responsible for the listing agreement. I asked how the organization defines a valid offer, if it was the intention of the form that commission is payable whether or not the deal closes, and for whatever reason it may not close.

A spokesperson declined to answer any of my questions (and accused me of seeking legal advice). The form, however, is explained on the OREA website behind a members-only wall.

Sellers should always think twice before refusing to pay their real estate agents. But I also advise sellers to seek legal advice when listing their properties for sale with an OREA listing agreement.
ANN ARBOR, MI  The University of Michigan has clarified some factors used when considering responses and strategies related to campus operations during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Campus Health Response Committee monitors several metrics and considers mitigation measures based on those factors, according to a university release. The metrics focus on three areas  disease spread, public health capacity and health care capacity  and use specific information to prompt consideration of actions, the release states.

There are several situations that might change the universitys campus plans, including:

Five days of sustained test positivity over 20%

More than 70 new cases per million; sustained 10% positivity

Three consecutive days of more than 10% case increase

80% projected capacity for isolation and quarantine housing within 14 days

All metrics are evaluated in partnership with the Washtenaw County Health Department, university officials said.

When those situations are identified, UM leaders and public health experts would evaluate the use of enhanced mitigation strategies, which could include restricting in-person activities, a pause of in-person classes and switching to remote classes for the remainder of the semester, the release states.

One potential strategy is closing residence halls and sending students home, according to the release, but care would need to be taken to minimize the risk of infection to hometown communities.

Our COVID-19 response metrics detail the range of data around viral spread, public health factors, and health care capacity we are using in our decision-making, President Mark Schlissel said. I commend the faculty and staff of the Campus Health Response Committee who worked to develop the metrics as part of their work to support the health and safety of our community during this pandemic.

"We understand that the university community will have questions and feedback about these plans, and we look forward to hearing them.

According to UMs COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 36 positive cases since Sept. 27. However, from Sept. 20-26, there were 242 positive cases, with 179 of those cases being tested outside of UM.

There have been 508 cases since the end of August, according to dashboard numbers.

The university updated its dashboard recently to reflect the number of tests administered within the university, which take place at University Health Services or Occupational Health Services, and those that are done outside of UM.

Schlissel and Provost Susan Collins will host their first weekly video COVID briefing at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, to provide updates and information about campus conditions and a discussion about the metrics and mitigation strategies.

The briefings are being recorded for people who arent able to watch them live, and will be posted under the Messages section of the Campus Maize & Blueprint website.

READ MORE:

Coronavirus cases surge in University of Michigan residence halls

Is the University of Michigan cracking under pandemic pressure?

Coronavirus forces University of Michigan to cancel winter study abroad programs
An SNP MP who flouted coronavirus self-isolation rules by travelling hundreds of miles across Britain to attend the Commons visited a gym, shops and a beauty salon on the day she became ill.

Margaret Ferrier posted images on her social media showing her out and about in her Rutherglen and Hamilton West on Saturday - the day she was tested for Covid-19.

Scotland Yard confirmed it was looking into the 60-year-old's admission last night that she travelled 400 miles from Glasgow to London and then back again while suffering with Covid-19 this week.

She travelled by train to London from Scotland last Monday while awaiting the results of a Covid test taken on Saturday, and then travelled back the following day after being told the test was positive.

Images on her Twitter page showed her in several public places likely to have been busy on a Saturday, including the Vanilla Salon and South Lanarkshire Eastfield Lifestyle leisure centre in Rutherglen, and Sweet P gift shop in Burnside.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle lashed out at her astonishing actions as she faced calls from her own party leader to quit the Commons.

Sir Lindsay told Sky News he learned the 60-year-old had coronavirus while in the Speaker's Chair in the House of Commons at around 4pm on Wednesday.

He said: 'Obviously this is completely reckless behaviour for a Member of Parliament - to put staff and fellow MPs at risk is not acceptable.'

He added: 'What made it worse was only being told on Wednesday on something that people knew about on Monday - well the MP themselves knew about it on Monday.'

Margaret Ferrier posted images on her social media showing her out and about in her Rutherglen and Hamilton West on Saturday - the day she was tested for Covid-19

Images on her Twitter page showed her in several public places likely to have been busy on a Saturday, including the Vanilla Salon and South Lanarkshire Eastfield Lifestyle leisure centre in Rutherglen (pictured)

He said the reaction was immediate and 'within 20 minutes we were in full swing on what we needed to do to ensure the safety and security of staff and members'.

He also voiced anger than some in the SNP knew of the situation long before he was informed.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed tonight that it was investigating the journeys along with British Transport Police over potential breaches of the Health Protection Regulations 2020.

Ms Ferrier could face a 4,000 fine for a first-time offence of 'recklessly' coming into contact with others when she should have been self-isolating under a law that came into force on the day of her positive test.

The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged Margaret Ferrier to 'do the right thing' as she faced universal condemnation for her 'utterly indefensible' behaviour .

Ms Sturgeon said she had made it 'crystal clear' to Ms Ferrier that she must resign. 'I've spoken to Margaret Ferrier and made clear my view that she should step down as an MP,' she said.

'I did so with a heavy heart - she is a friend & colleague - but her actions were dangerous & indefensible. I have no power to force an MP to resign but I hope she will do the right thing.'

Astonishingly, the 60-year-old received a positive result on Monday night and still appeared in the Commons chamber (pictured), speaking in a debate on coronavirus and its impact on the economy and jobs

Nicola Sturgeon urged Margaret Ferrier to 'do the right thing' as she faced universal condemnation for her 'utterly indefensible' behaviour

Margaret Ferrier's statement in full 'I apologise unreservedly for breaching Covid-19 restrictions by travelling this week when I shouldn't have. There is no excuse for my actions. 'On Saturday afternoon, after experiencing mild symptoms, I requested a Covid-19 test which I took that day. Feeling much better, I then travelled to London by train on Monday to attend Parliament as planned. This was wrong, and I am very sorry for my mistake. 'On Monday evening I received a positive test result for Covid-19. I travelled home by train on Tuesday morning without seeking advice. This was also wrong and I am sorry. I have been self-isolating at home ever since. 'I have used Test and Protect and I have notified the House of Commons authorities who have spoken with Public Health England. I have also notified the police of my actions. 'Despite feeling well, I should have self-isolated while waiting for my test result, and I deeply regret my actions. I take full responsibility and I would urge everyone not to make the same mistakes that I have, and do all they can to help limit the spread of Covid-19.' Advertisement

DUP MP Jim Shannon revealed this afternoon that he dined with Ms Ferrier at Parliament on Monday night and was told to self-isolate, but had since tested negative.

Earlier, the SNP's Westminster chief Ian Blackford, who has already stripped her of the whip, said this morning that she must 'reflect on her position'. 'I think it is obvious what she needs to do,' he told BBC Breakfast.

The Commons said one person who had come into contact with Ms Ferrier had been told to self-isolate, with investigations into who else might be at risk set to continue. Extra cleaning precautions have also been taken - although the damage might already have been done.

The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP said she took a test on Saturday afternoon after experiencing 'mild symptoms', meaning she should have self-isolated, before travelling by train to London on Monday having felt better.

Labour suggested the party covered up knowledge of Margaret Ferrier's actions after it emerged they knew of her diagnosis a day before she disclosed it on Thursday evening.

She spoke in the coronavirus debate in the House of Commons on Monday and, by her account, tested positive for Covid-19 that evening. She did not make clear whether she received the result before or after she spoke.

In a statement, she said she travelled home to Glasgow on Tuesday, where she has been self-isolating ever since.

'Despite feeling well, I should have self-isolated while waiting for my test result, and I deeply regret my actions,' she said.

Ms Sturgeon was repeatedly grilled on the situation at her daily briefing this afternoon.

But she swiped back by comparing her response to that of Boris Johnson when his chief aide Dominic Cummings was accused of breaching rules.

'Trust me, it's one of the easiest things in the world in politics to call for tough consequences when one of your opponents breaks the rules, that's not hard for any of us,' she said.

'The litmus test, though, is whether you're prepared to do the same when it's one of your own breaking the rules.

Speaker's fury at delay in alerting him to MP's coronavirus status The Commons Speaker today vented fury at the delay in informing him about Margaret Ferrier's 'reckless' actions. Sir Lindsay told Sky News he only learned Ms Ferrier had coronavirus while in the Chair at around 4pm on Wednesday. He said the reaction was immediate and 'within 20 minutes we were in full swing on what we needed to do to ensure the safety and security of staff and members'. He said: 'Obviously this is completely reckless behaviour for a Member of Parliament  to put staff and fellow MPs at risk is not acceptable.' He added: 'What made it worse was only being told on Wednesday on something that people knew about on Monday  well the MP themselves knew about it on Monday.' Advertisement

'And in these abnormal times when everybody has been asked to do difficult things, I think that is more important than ever.

'That's why the SNP whip has been withdrawn from Margaret, and that is the most serious sanction a party can impose on an elected representative.

'I've also spoken to her directly and made crystal clear to her that I think she should now resign as an MP.'

The DUP issued a statement saying that Strangford MP Jim Shannon was seated at the same dining table as Ms Ferrier on Monday night.

'The room seating arrangements included proper social distancing measures,' the party said.

'On Wednesday evening, the Speaker's Office alerted Mr Shannon that he had been identified as a close contact of an individual who had tested positive for Covid-19.

'Upon receiving this news, Mr Shannon immediately self-isolated and on Thursday afternoon he received a negative Covid-19 test result.

'Mr Shannon sought and at all times has followed the advice of Public Health England and the House of Commons' Covid-19 team in dealing with every element of this incident.

'As a precaution, Mr Shannon is self-isolating at home.'

The SNP gained the Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat from Labour in the 2019 general election, when Ms Ferrier won with a majority of 5,230.

But her colleagues turned on her overnight after it emerged she had flouted the rules.

David Linden, the SNP MP for the Glasgow East constituency neighbouring Ms Ferrier's, has called for her to go.

He told BBC Question Time her behaviour is 'utterly inexcusable', adding: 'I don't think her position is tenable and she should resign.'

The DUP issued a statement saying that Strangford MP Jim Shannon was seated at the same dining table as Ms Ferrier on Monday night, but has since tested negative for Covid

The actions of Ms Ferrier are all the more astonishing because earlier this year she was outspoken in criticising the Government for defending No10 advisor Dominic Cummings when he was accused of breaching lockdown

Margaret Ferrier said she was 'very sorry' for travelling from her Rutherglen seat to attend the Commons.

Margaret Ferrier: Comeback MP who won her old seat off Labour in 2019 - only to be suspended less than a year later for Covid-19 train journey Margaret Ferrier, 60, is MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, in central Scotland. As an SNP candidate, she won the seat in 2015 in the party's landslide on the back of the 2014 Independence referendum. She was almost instantly made a party spokesperson on Scotland and was elected to the Commons Scottish Affairs Committee. However she was narrowly beaten by Labour in the 2017 General Election. But in last year's poll she retook the seat. Until tonight, she was the SNP's spokesperson on manufacturing. Ms Ferrier was born in Glasgow but lived in Spain for several years when she was a child. In an interview with the Daily Record, she said she had been a member of Scottish Labour in her youth. Advertisement

This has since been echoed by Kirsty Blackman, SNP MP for Aberdeen North, and Stephen Flynn, SNP MP for Aberdeen South.

Ms Blackman said that while Ms Ferrier is an 'unparalleled' campaigner for the party, she must resign.

'Margaret's actions cannot be overlooked,' she added in a tweet.

Mr Flynn retweeted Ms Blackman's post, writing: 'Impossible to disagree. The public will expect nothing less.'

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, who resigned from Boris Johnson's Government over Dominic Cummings' lockdown movements, said 'the public deserve clear answers'.

'We now know that the SNP were informed on Wednesday that Margaret Ferrier had been tested, after she had already travelled back to Scotland from London by public transport while infected with the virus,' he said.

'These actions not only broke the law, they will have put lives at risk.

'We must hear from Nicola Sturgeon and Ian Blackford about exactly when they knew and why they kept this information secret from the public for hours or maybe even days.'

Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray also demanded answers from First Minister Ms Sturgeon and Mr Blackford.

The Labour MP tweeted: 'SNP in chaos & appear to be covering up serious breach of public health laws.

'FM & Blackford must hold press conference tomorrow am to answer questions about what they did & didn't know.'

An SNP spokeswoman insisted the party did not know until Thursday that Ms Ferrier had taken a test prior to travelling to London.

'Ms Ferrier informed the SNP on Wednesday, when she was in Glasgow, that she had tested positive,' she said.

'The SNP's chief whip immediately informed Parliament authorities. The SNP only became aware on Thursday that Ms Ferrier had been tested prior to travelling to London and had travelled back to Glasgow, knowing that she had a positive result.'

On Monday, Ms Ferrier gave a four-minute speech in the Commons from 7.15pm and focused on the 'economic health' of her constituents, calling for greater financial support.

A Police Scotland spokesman said officers are liaising with colleagues in the Metropolitan Police.

'Margaret Ferrier MP contacted Police Scotland earlier today about travelling between London and Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus,' he said.
(Newser)  Although no women have yet qualified to become Navy SEALs, the elite US combat unit recently changed the language in its official guiding beliefs in anticipation that female service members may one day join its ranks. As reported earlier this week by American Military News, the ethos and creeds of both the SEALs and the Navy's Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen have been tweaked. Words like "man" and "brotherhood" have been replaced with more gender-neutral termsfor instance, saying "Common citizens with uncommon desire to succeed" instead of "A common man with uncommon desire to succeed." Naval Special Warfare spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Stroup explained the changes were made to comply with a law that now allows women to vie for spots in special ops units.

story continues below

But while female service members may be thrilled to hear about this change, one big name isn't, per Politico. "I will be overturning this ridiculous order immediately!" President Trump tweeted Thursday. The president's response accompanied a retweet of an account announcing the wording change, reports the Navy Times, which notes it's not clear if Trump has actually issued an order yet to that effect. A defense official tells US News & World Report that Trump hadn't been officially briefed by the Navy on the change beforehand. Stroup tells Task & Purpose, however, that "updates were overdue" and that the handful of alterations were "favorably endorsed" by major commanders and command master chiefs in each unit. (Read more Navy SEALs stories.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 18:53:21|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait has multiple challenges to meet in the light of the global COVID-19 crisis as the country's new emir took office after the passing of the old ruler, Kuwaiti experts said.

Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah took the oath before the National Assembly, the legislature of Kuwait, on Wednesday to become the 16th Emir of the Gulf Arab country, a day after the death of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

- - - -

KABUL -- Afghanistan on Friday reported five new COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 39,290, the country's Ministry of Public Health confirmed.

"During the past 24 hours, 211 suspected cases were tested, out of which five cases were tested coronavirus positive in Kabul, Zabul and Daykundi provinces of the country's 34 provinces," the ministry said in a statement.

- - - -

SOFIA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bulgaria topped 21,096 after another sharp daily rise, official figures showed on Friday morning.

According to the country's health ministry, 263 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, the fourth consecutive day that the daily increase stayed above 200.

- - - -

WELLINGTON -- New Zealand has released additional measures aiming to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading into the country through the air border, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said on Friday.

"As part of our precautionary approach and strategy of constant review, we're tightening the requirements around international aircrew," Hipkins said in a statement.

- - - -

CAIRO -- Egypt confirmed late on Thursday 119 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number registered in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic to 103,317, said the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, 16 patients died from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 5,946, while 361 others were completely cured, increasing the total recoveries to 96,855, the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

- - - -

MANILA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 316,678 after the Philippines' Department of Health reported 2,611 new daily cases on Friday.

Friday's new daily cases recorded means that the Philippines' daily increase in virus infections has been below 3,000 for the fourth consecutive day.

- - - -

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said early Friday morning that he and his wife, Melania, have tested positive for COVID-19, after a close aide had contracted the virus.

"We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately," he tweeted. "We will get through this TOGETHER!" Enditem
CALEDONIA  The Caledonia Village Board of Trustees began the process of publicly crafting a 2021 budget with discussions of new police radios, future legal representation and an overall desire to continue providing quality services in a tough economic year.

The trustees met last week to allow the heads of each department to present their proposed budgets.

The village has an estimated $15,568,803 operating budget for 2021, a $583,000 increase from 2020. There are anticipated cost increases in such items as health care and other benefits. Additionally, employees are eligible for a merit raise up to 1.5%.

Negotiations are underway for union-represented employees in the police, fire and highway departments, so those figures have not been determined.

A hefty portion of the meetings concerned capital fund requests by the Caledonia Police Department, which included new radios, software updates, and vehicles. There was also a request for additional personnel.

Costs of policing

Police Chief Christopher Botsch explained that currently Caledonia police officers, who have an analog radio system, cannot communicate with regional departments on digital systems, such as the Racine Police Department. In order to communicate with Racine, messages must go through dispatch  a concerning delay.

The problem involves both the radios installed in patrol vehicles and handheld radios. Handheld radios are assigned, and not shared among the officers, due to the fact the radios and bodycams are linked.

All but three of the radios installed in patrol vehicles are capable of communicating with the digital system, but need to be programmed to do so. Botsch requested $20,000 for that programming.

As for the three that are not capable of communicating with the digital system, Botsch explained it was his intent to replace two radios this year and one in the future.

However, the trustees expressed concern about the lack of communication between Caledonia and Racine, and were amenable to finding money in the budget for all three radios to be replaced sooner rather than later.

The police department also needs to replace ten of its handheld radios that are not capable of communicating with digital systems. Botsch proposed buying two a year, for the next five years, at a cost of $7,500 per year.

However, all of the handheld radios currently being used by the police department need to be programmed to communicate with digital systems, at an estimated cost of $40,000. The chief expects to present the cost of that in the 2022 budget.

Botsch also requested four new vehicles at an estimated cost of $148,000 with an additional $40,000 to make them compatible for police work.

He explained the vehicles he wanted to replace were 2013-2017 models and had 100,000 to 130,000 miles on them, making the maintenance expensive, and the safety of the driver questionable at higher speeds.

Lastly, Botsch requested that four new patrol positions be created. The police department currently has 34 employees.

Botsch said the national average is one officer for every 500 people. He made it clear he was not asking for that large of an increase in staff but rather sought to demonstrate just how understaffed the department is; with 34 officers in a village of around 25,000 people, that means the police department only has one officer per every 735 residents.

Calls for service, calls per population, population, activity levels, our sheer geographic size  under every metric that is commonly used for determining personnel, we are understaffed by all of them, Botsch told the trustees.

The trustees did not dispute the chiefs assertions. But they said that simply the village does not have money in the budget for additional personnel right now

If you look at our general fund balance, it has a disturbing trend going the wrong way  capital projects fund, same, Trustee Lee Wishau said. We have to determine the difference between wish list items and must-haves (because) we cant fund everything.

Ultimately, an accounting maneuver allowed the board to utilize funds from the utility department for one extra position in the police department while the chief pursued personnel grants for additional personnel.

In-house attorney mulled

In other matters, Village Administrator Tom Christensen presented a proposal wherein the villages contracted legal service would be replaced with an attorney employed by the village.

After discussion, the board determined in-house counsel would ultimately cost more and deliver less.

The contracted counsel, Elaine Ekes and Chris Geary  of the law firm Pruitt, Ekes, and Geary  were on hand to answer the boards questions.

As noted, there are multiple benefits to retaining Pruitt, Ekes, and Geary, including the fact there are multiple professionals available, with institutional knowledge of village issues, and their $158/hour fee was considered modest as law firms go.

Big projects

Also under discussion was the potential for future big-ticket capital projects, such as a new police department and/or a new firehouse. One firehouse was built in 1963 and another in 1976. The maintenance on the aging buildings is becoming expensive.

The capital projects fund has about $3.2 million. Among the requests:

Highway Department:

A new rubber tire backhoe ($300,000), bucket truck ($130,000), and $710,000 for asphalt projects.

Fire Department:

New ambulance ($140,000) and fire truck ($675,000), along with a new roof for Fire Station No. 10 ($50,000).

Village Clerk:

New electronic poll books ($24,000).

The board is expected to adopt a budget for publication at its Oct. 19 meeting.

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WEST HAVEN - City residents will get the chance to vote in this years election on a sweeping charter revision proposal that would drastically change city management and the political structure - but first, an education campaign for the public is underway.

The primary concern of the (education) committee is the potential for a disinformation campaign by detractors on social media platforms, said Ed Granfield, chairman of the education committee, who also served as chairman of the Charter Revision Commission.

We saw this during the research and development phase of the CRC effort and it is impossible to monitor and police, he said.

The West Haven Charter Revision Education Committees public information campaign is the final chapter of a more than two-year effort of the Charter Revision Commission.

The City Council accepted the charter revision report that, if it were approved by voters, would include hiring a city manager, making the mayors position part-time and requiring professional credentials for all department heads.

Mayor Nancy R. Rossi said shes in favor of the public having access to education on the proposal so they can make an informed decision.

But Rossi declined to express her opinion on the charter revision measure because, she said, I would not want to make any comments that may bias the voters.

Rossi thanked the Charter Revision Commission for all of its work to craft proposed revisions and recommends voters visit the website and read the mailer that will be sent to them.

City Council Chairman Ron Quagliani said the council created the outreach and education committee to ensure a transparent process in providing information to our residents to make an informed decision on the recommended charter changes.

When we created this committee last year we envisioned in person discussions as a component of the outreach but needed to adjust based on the current environment, Quagliani said.

The City Council in January created an education committee, which had planned on an extensive education effort to begin in July, but because of a lack of resources, combined with government restrictions resulting from the pandemic, those plans were curtailed, Granfield said.

He said that with the recent push toward mail in-voting, the commission was able to meet and develop a timely and informative effort within a limited budget that all seem satisfied with.

The education effort includes: weekly full page advertisements, a mailing to every household, and a comprehensive website at www.whcharter.org.

The website includes a copy of the final report, a written version of the PowerPoint presentation by the CRC, along with a link to the live presentation and a frequently asked question section.

In addition, there is an email dropbox where residents submit questions that will be answered by committee members.

Granfield said city voters should do their own research and make an informed decision, not to be influenced by folks that may have an agenda, or uneducated opinion.

The proposed revision of the charter is the most comprehensive charter revision effort in the history of the city. The charter question is located in the lower left corner of the Nov. 3 ballot.

In the last (60) years this document has barely been tweaked and our track record as a city speaks for itself, Granfield said. We believe the comprehensive changes along with the sweeping reforms proposed in this report are worthy of your time and consideration, and most importantly a vote by the people.

Some highlights in the proposed revised charter include:

 Professional credentials for all departments heads.

 Change the city clerk, tax collector and city treasurer from elected to appointed positions due to the new credential requirements.

 Reconfigure the City Council to 12 members from three voting districts, with no more at large seats.

 Reduce the mayor to part-time status, but still elected citywide, and would become the leader of the City Council as a 13th member.

 Reconfigure the Board of Education to a district-based format with nine members from the three voting districts, with no more at large positions.

 Four-year terms for all elected officials.

 Empower an independent City Ethics and Charter Compliance Commission with oversight authority.
Some mornings after are accompanied by headaches. The ache on Wednesday came with a dose of menace in the way the aftermath of overt racial abuse often does.

Its that familiar combination of not being surprised, but still feeling shocked by the blast of contempt from a sitting American president for his fellow humans, of a commander readying his dogs to attack. That powerlessness of knowing that no amount of shouting back or naming the abuse or shaking people by the collar and asking them to wake up is going to change anything.

This was the abuse Donald Trump heaped in his shouting match  purportedly a debate  with his rival Joe Biden Tuesday night.

After moderator Chris Wallace asked the Republican nominee if he would condemn white supremacists and armed groups and Biden suggested he condemn the Proud Boys, Donald Trump said: Proud Boys. Stand back and stand by. Then he went on to blame the left wing for racial discord.

Instead of grace and dignity, Trump embodied privilege and fragility. To be clear, he stood at the combustible nexus of white privilege and white fragility.

Trump can flagrantly flout the ground rules of debate. He can stoke serious dysfunction in his country. He can bring the U.S. global image crashing down. He can threaten violence against dissenters and enable authoritarian leaders worldwide.

None of it matters. Thats white privilege right there, this ability to get away with a level of wrongdoing a non-white person has no chance of surviving.

Trumps predecessor Barack Obama was called divisive in 2013 for saying Trayvon Martin could have been my son, in reference to the teen who was shot and killed by a self-appointed neighbourhood watchman, George Zimmerman, in Florida for no credible reason at all. His sympathy so incensed some white Americans that they switched their allegiance from Obama to Trump.

Whereas Trump has no such fetters. He can be openly bigoted. Openly racist. Openly a xenophobe. None of that hampers him one bit. On the contrary, it strengthens his base and fuels white extremism elsewhere.

All lives matter chanted attendees of a white supremacist rally in Edmonton right after the debate. Of course, all lives should matter, but they dont  which is why people are underlining that point for Black lives. But this is the crux of racial discord: the rejection of theories, evidence and facts of systemic racial discrimination.

The Proud Boys  a hate group with Canadian origins  who say their goal is to fight political correctness and anti-white guilt, promptly adopted Trumps words into their logo.

What you think stand back and stand by means is irrelevant, tweeted former white supremacist Christian Picciolini. Trump knows what it means to white supremacists and so do they.

After the debate, Trumps son Donald Jr. said his father must have misspoken when he said stand by. You do you, junior. Meanwhile at a Thursday briefing White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Trump did not misspeak.

White fragility  the extreme responses of white people on having to deal with racism  is often described as manifesting in anger, fear, and guilt, silence and avoidance. Fragility suggests feebleness. It is anything but. Its a move to keep the power, and in the hands of white extremists, its agenda turns into vicious policy-making that presents a danger to many of us.

In practice, white fragility gives rise to denial. Denial turns into resistance, turns into backlash.

The American Civil War was supposed to have ended slavery. But the backlash to reconstruction came in the form of Jim Crow laws. The laws from the Civil Rights movement were supposed to have ended segregation. But the backlash led to white flight, the creation of poor housing projects, and a pipeline to prisons where predominantly Black inmates are turned into cheap labour.

This was supposed to be a summer of reckoning of Americas original sin that has always spilled north to deadly effect. Early in September, Trump issued what was essentially an all-lives-matter executive order, banning federal contractors from conducting racial sensitivity training that addresses white privilege and critical race theory  the framework that helps understand how white supremacy operates.

The order labelled the training offensive and anti-American race and sex-stereotyping and scapegoating. On Tuesday night, Trump said anti-racism training is racist.

On Thursday, the Trump administration proposed to slash the number of refugees the U.S. could admit in 2020-21 to a maximum of 15,000. The new proposal represents an 82 per cent cut from the 85,000 limit in Obamas final year in office and comes when there are 80 million displaced people around the world. Whether or not Trumps policies are labelled a Muslim ban, admissions of Muslim refugees are down to 2,503 from approximately 38,900 in 2016, the Miami Herald reported.

None of this will matter to those who are not threatened by racism. Its against this relentlessness that anti-racist activists will be asked to conduct a civil discourse no matter how uncivil the perpetrator, to protest calmly no matter how violent the extremists, to express no frustration no matter how complicit the police, and to definitely go along with the lie that racism has been overcome.

Ive earned everything I have, a Trump voter from Illinois said on CBCs The Current on Thursday. Im sympathetic to people whove been down on their luck. His tone was neutral. His words were not. To have generations of people on welfare, I dont think is proper.

Then he said, without a hint of irony: Something were losing in the United States is respect for one another.

As I said, relentless.

Shree Paradkar is a Toronto-based columnist covering issues around race and gender for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @ShreeParadkar

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New Delhi, Oct 2 : Setting aside the conviction of a man in the abetment of suicide of his wife, the Supreme Court has said to prove the offence of abetment, as specified under Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code, the 'mens rea' or state of mind to commit a particular crime must be visible to determine the culpability.

A bench comprising Justices N.V. Ramana, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy on Thursday set aside the conviction of Gurcharan Singh, who was charged under sections of the IPC dealing with dowry death, harassment of woman by husband or relatives, and common intent, but convicted for driving his wife to suicide.

The verdict by a trial court was upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Singh's counsel contended that the conviction cannot be justified unless evidence disclosed some positive act or conduct of the accused, which might have compelled the woman to commit suicide.

The bench said the ingredient of mens rea cannot be assumed to be ostensibly present but has to be visible and conspicuous. "However, what transpires in the present matter is that both the trial court as well as the High Court never examined whether appellant had the mens rea for the crime he is held to have committed," it said.

The bench noted in all crimes, mens rea has to be established and to prove the offence of abetment, as specified under Sec 107 of the IPC, the state of mind to commit a particular crime must be visible. "In order to prove mens rea, there has to be something on record to establish or show that the appellant herein had a guilty mind and in furtherance of that state of mind, abetted the suicide of the deceased," said the bench.

The bench said the trial court itself was uncertain on the nature of the act to be attributed to the accused. "Moreover, even while noting that no direct evidence of cruelty against the husband and the in-laws is available, the court assumed that section 306 IPC can be applied against the appellant," noted the top court.

The bench said with such conjecture, while acquitting all three accused (in-laws of the deceased) of the charged crime under sections 304B and 498A, the husband was convicted under section 306 (abetment of suicide).

"In the present case however, there is no direct evidence of cruelty against the husband or the in-laws. There is nothing on record to show which particular hope or expectation of the deceased was frustrated by the husband," said the top court.

The top court noted that the conviction of appellant by the trial court and High Court on the theory that the woman with two young kids might have committed suicide, possibly because of the harassment faced by her in the matrimonial house, is not at all borne out by the evidence in the case.

Singh's wife had committed suicide in 1997 in Punjab's Barnala.
Hindustan Times, in a bid to shine light on new-age travel experiences in India, hosted the second season of its Tourism Conclave during September 24 and 25. The event was focused on the theme, Indian Tourism  Road to Recovery Refocus, Reboot, Revive. As marketplaces and economies start getting back on their feet, there is an urgent need to fill the void that has taken over the industry in these past few months.

The e-conclave, divided into eight sessions spread over two days, had a host of State heads, industry leaders, business owners, and filmmakers looking at the problems of various sectors and charting out a future course for Indian travel and tourism in the post-pandemic world. In the true spirit of Incredible India, the discussions veered towards the revival of travel and tourism sector, and their auxiliary sectors. Domestic tourism remained a common talking point among the panelists. The top priority, however, remained the safety of the tourists. The unanimous outcome of these discussions was to gain the trust of travellers by ensuring safety protocols.

Ritu Mehrotra, country manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Booking.com, says, Until travellers feel comfortable travelling, I dont see recovery happening any time soon. But there are green shoots of recovery throughout the business, such as alternate accommodations. It is a question of when. The most important thing for travellers is safety... There is a pent-up demand for domestic holidays; weekend destinations are favoured. Stay windows have increased because work from home could be from anywhere. In the initial phases of the pandemic, businesses had to undergo massive right-sizing. Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO, MakeMyTrip, feels that it was all about resilience. The short-term focus has been on survival, globally. The second track is to map changes in consumer behaviour and how to come out of the crisis. Leveraging technology and proactive strategic thinking, plus the agility to go back to the drawing board would work out well to bounce back, he says.

For Pratik Mazumder, CMO, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India limited, the biggest challenge was to follow new protocols and regulations, and after that, engaging with lakhs of members. He says, We have launched programmes to assure members of travelling safely from home to resort and back, with other offers. At locations with lesser restrictions, membership bookings are up. Other resorts occupancy numbers are going north... We believe in the philosophy of being physically distant but social active and present.

While Covid-19 brought problems, it gave solutions, too, believes Rajni Hasija, director tourism & marketing, IRCTC. She says, In the first quarter, only shramik trains were running, and subsequently few more trains were added. New trains are being added where situation is improving and the load is more. As an organisation, we are not just a booking agency but we also have to arrange for hospitality simultaneously.

Time to focus on India and travellers

Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog

Ive been associated with tourism for a long time. Globally, World Tourism Organisation tracked 217 destinations, out of which 72% had closed borders to international tourists [amid the pandemic]. Covid-19 has impacted the tourism industry, which is a big job creator. We must follow proper precautions, promote domestic tourism and become an adventure tourist. We need to discover hills and mountains and seek fresh air. This time is an opportunity to make India the safest place for travellers, particularly women. It is time to build good protocols and guidelines, sensitise the local community, create world-class infrastructure and make the community a part of tourisms growth process, Kant says.

Safety and hygiene are priorities

Anbalagan P, IAS, Secretary (Tourism), Government of Chhattisgarh

Almost everyone in this sector  travel, tourism, hospitality  is affected. The first priority is to fight Covid-19; we have to be ready to adapt to the new normal. We have issued our own safety and hygiene protocols to all restaurants, hotels and places where people stay, he says. Shedding light on domestic tourism, he adds, We have to tell people about the travel options available within the country  from mountains to beaches and forests, we have everything. In Chhattisgarh, one-third of the population is tribal, and they have very distinct and valued traditions and culture. So, to showcase that is also one of the best efforts that the tourism board here is making, along with the credit players in the market.

Expecting footfall by early next year

Rakesh Mohan, Director (Tourism), Government of Bihar

We are planning advertisements so that tourists may come with confidence. We have spoken with travel agents and hotel associations for precautionary measures. We are providing training to all persons associated with the sectors so that when tourists start coming, they are prepared, Mohan shares. Giving a peek into tourist favourites in Bihar, he says, Gaya is a hub for international tourists and we have taken precautions. Tourists will get the confidence in due course of time. I expect it to start by February, as it is the peak season for Gaya.

Travel to get away from mundane routine

Meenakshi Sharma, Director general tourism, Government of India

Tourisms importance goes beyond its contribution to the economy. It is one of those pleasurable recreational activities, and reminds us how life should be. All of us need a vacation at various points in life, says Sharma. Talking numbers, she adds, Tourism contributes about 5.07% to Gross Domestic Product and offers about 90 million jobs. In 2019, international tourists visiting India contributed USD 33 billion to the economy. There are some other important figures to note: Around 1.4 billion domestic visits were made, out of which 60% can be religious, historical, cultural, etc. So, domestic travel is also very crucial for India. Tourism covers a wide spectrum  from heavy investment sectors such as civil aviation, railways, road transport to smaller ones such as bed-and-breakfasts, dhabas.

Preparing to welcome tourists in winter with safety protocols in place

Vikram Kapur, Additional chief secretary, Tourism, Culture & Religious Endowments Department, Government of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu has been one of the preferred tourist destinations. But the pandemic made it worst affected and it is alarming. So, it will take a while for tourists to come back. However, we have encouraged the sector to set in place standard operating procedures, safety and hygiene at each and every tourist site, hotel and help in making it Covid-19-free. It may take time for tourists to develop renewed interest. We lost the summer season travel but winter is also a tourist season, so we are gearing up for that and counting on the festive season as well as it attracts international tourists. Pandemic was a setback, but we used it as an opportunity to prepare better and ensure that tourists are able to enjoy the holiday, Kapur says.

A step towards revival

TP Rajesh, MD and commissioner of Tourism, TTDC

The situation during the first week of April and now are very different. Earlier, people had fear, but now awareness has increased. We are slowly re-opening now, and with effective contact tracing and other safety measures, Tamil Nadu is able to see revival. My forecast is that focus will be on domestic tourism, especially from neighbouring states, with safety norms in place. Hotels and stakeholders are taking adequate measures and sensitising people about safety precautions, giving training. I feel that in the future, travellers will choose destinations keeping safety in mind. Tamil Nadu is taking steps in that direction. And now with the recent re-opening of inter and intrastate travel, people might want to step out, he says.

Coming back stronger than before

Debojo Maharshi, CMO, Spice Jet

Due to Covid-19, we were also hit heavily, as shown in our first quarter results. Tourism industry is the worst impacted [sector] in the pandemic; and airlines, in particular, across the globe are worst affected. Some shut down and others are on the verge of collapse. The revenue fell by 83%, he says. On a positive note, he adds, Five years ago, we came back stronger, and showed profit for 30 consecutive quarters, and it is a similar story this time. In every adversity, we try to find an opportunity, we have been sensing the opportunities and encashing on them. During first 30 days of the lockdown, we spent time building the existing cargo business and provided medical equipments to keep the supply chain intact, among other measures.

Interdependence of film and tourism industries is the way ahead

Kunal Kohli, Filmmaker

Stating the obvious, there is going to be a change in the way we shoot and travel. As far as work is concerned, a lot of shoots have started. This will generate employment in other states and cities as well. We need to help each other  states and the film industry. The heavy film production states should work with the industries for revival. I am getting calls for scripts that require shooting in one bungalow or one location. But you cant force feed things. We have to change inclusively, taking everyone along, Kohli says. Talking about his love for the Maximum City, he adds, Mumbai has so much to offer in terms of tourism. This is the beauty of cities which have evolved over years. 

Controlled crew and crowd for film shoots

Madhur Bhandarkar, Filmmaker

We have seen a major paradigm shift; the situation is the same everywhere. People are taking baby steps. When we shoot in a particular state, it is great for the local economy. Technicians, junior artistes, daily wagers who worked day in and day out in our industry need to be taken care of. We are prepared to follow guidelines and shoot accordingly. Size of the crew, crowd management  there are a lot of perspectives; a lot of actors are still not okay to shoot such scenes, he says. On the subject of his favourite shoot locales, Bhandarkar adds, I am a hardcore Mumbaikar so I am obsessed with this city. We have Mukesh Mills where a lot of movies have been shot and I have also shot there, so I miss that.

The event was in partnership with Bihar Tourism, Chhattisgarh Tourism, Delhi Tourism, Gujarat Tourism, IRCTC, Jharkhand Tourism, Tamil Nadu Tourism, Spice Jet, and Club Mahindra.

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Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has announced that he would not mind even to fight with the God to protect the interests of Agriculture and farmers in Telangana.

Speaking at a high-level meeting with officials from Water Resources Department at Pragathi Bhavan on Thursday, KCR recalled that the movement for separate Telangana was originated from discrimination against the region in the matters of river water sharing.

Chief Minister was finalising the required strategy to adopt at the Apex Council meeting to counter the AP and also expose the Centre and get the rightful water share to Telangana.

He said after the formation of a separate state it has now transformed into a granary of the country and the State succeeded in strengthening the water resources sector by saving every single drop of the river water.

He said in the new state there was a festive atmosphere in the agriculture sector with farmers of Telangana reaping bumper crops and becoming a role model for the entire country. KCR made it clear that The rightful share of every drop of water from Godavari and Krishna rivers would be utilised optimally and without

fail.

He has instructed the officials to put forth a powerful argument supported by all the required data before the Apex Council meeting. The Apex Council meeting scheduled on Oct 6 will be chaired by the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Chief Ministers K Chandrashekhar Rao and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will be attending the meeting via video conference.

The meeting was necessitated because of the unresolved disputes between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regarding sharing Krishna and Godavari River waters.
Ahead of its 30th anniversary in November, Lone Star Flight Museum has a full schedule of fall events and reintroduces its TBM Avenger on Friday, Oct. 2.

The Avenger is the same model of plane as the one former President George H.W. Bush was shot down in over the Pacific during World War II in 1944. Bush had to eject from the aircraft, and two crew members were killed. He was picked up by a submarine and went on to fly around 54 combat missions.

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We are terrifically honored and privileged to be able to honor President Bush in this way, said retired Lt. Gen. Doug Owens, president and CEO of the museum.

The plane has been out for restoration for more than a year and now has a brand-new paint job. Not only is it the same model, but it also replicates Barbara III, which is what Bush called his airplane after his then fiancee Barbara Pierce. Bush named all his planes after her.

But the Avenger is just a part of what is available at the museum, which has two 30,000-square-foot hangars that are home to more than two dozen aircraft.

Weve got aircraft from World War II, Korea. Weve got commercial and general aviation aircraft, Owens said. Its a wonderful place. And the thing that sets us apart is all of our aircraft are operational. So this is a museum that brings flying to life.

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Located at Ellington Airport in southeast Houston, Lone Star Flight Museum is around 20 minutes from downtown Houston. It started in Galveston nearly 30 years ago but took on a lot of damage during Hurricane Ike. So the museum built a new facility at Ellington and was slated to open in August 2017, the same week that Hurricane Harvey pummeled the Houston area with rain and flooding. Instead, the 130,000-square-foot facility opened the next month.

It was built to tell the story of Texas aviation, to honor those aviators that are from Texas. And were home of the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, Owens said.

He said the museum runs on the idea that aviation inspires achievement and endless possibilities. The flight museum uses aviation as a tool to teach young people in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math, and Owens recognized that the past can equip them for the future. There are classrooms on-site. Since the facility is at an airport, guests can also fly in some of the airplanes on weekends.

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An aviation learning center allows school groups to better understand the principles and processes that go into flying. Students create a flight plan, go through a pre-flight check and then implement their flight plan in a simulator.

Owens explained while Space Center Houston educates people about flying in space, Lone Star Flight Museum is the only museum in the Houston area that teaches them about flying airplanes. Guests can study what aircraft looked like over different periods and for different uses and see how the models evolved over the years. During the weekends, they can see the planes start up and move around.

Were all about flying in aviation and everything that inspires young people to grow and realize their potential, Owens said.

The museum is open during the pandemic. Some of its health and safety protocols include requiring face masks, taking temperatures of everyone that enters the facility and having a directional flow that helps guests to socially distance.

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Lone Star Flight Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $14.95 for adults; $12.95 for seniors and youth 12 to 17 years; and $9.95 for children 4 to 11 years. Children 3 years and younger are admitted for free. Active and retired military, National Guard and Reserves receive discount pricing.

Scouts can complete their Aviation Merit Badges on Saturdays, Oct. 24 and Nov. 21.

Visit https://lonestarflight.org/ for more information, and follow the museum on Facebook and Instagram. Lone Star Flight Museum is a $35 million endeavor operated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It largely depends on the generous donations from the public.

Fall events at Lone Star Flight Museum include:

Friday, Oct. 2: TBM Avenger returns

Check out the fully restored Avenger. The torpedo bomber is fully operational. The museums programs and events during the weekend (Friday through Sunday) will feature the aircrafts return. The airplane will remain at the museum.

Friday, Oct. 9, through Sunday, Oct. 11: Wings Over Houston Airshow

The airshow will give families a great drive-thru experience. The museum will be open during the airshow from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Guests can see and enjoy aircraft, exhibits and occasional flyovers. Parking will be available for museum guests only.

Saturday, Oct. 24: Patriots Day

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, the community is encouraged to share photos, artifacts and memories of veteran family members to be displayed in the museums Heritage Hangar. The purpose of Patriots Day is to honor veterans and their families. The public can register on the website.

Saturday, Oct. 31: Halloween in the Hangar

Children 12 years and under that arrive in costume receive free admission all day. The safe but entertaining twist on trick or treating should be a hit. Since its always a good time to give blood, the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center will be on hand to take donations.

Thursday, Nov. 5, through Sunday, Nov. 8: The Lone Star Flight Museum Celebrates 30 Years

As Tuesday, Nov. 3, is the museums 30th anniversary, the public is encouraged to celebrate. The weekend will provide a look back at the museums history, complete with aircraft tours, Hangar Talks, demonstrations and more. Also during the four days, there will be a $30 discount off Warbird Rides in the Stearman, T-6 Texan or the Mescalero.

Saturday, Nov. 14: Third Annual Hangar Bash - Red, White & You

The annual fundraising event will feature food and good times: a big band, swing dancers, a silent auction, a virtual preview party and barbecue, beer and wine. The event is 21 years and up, and event tickets are required.

Saturdays, Dec. 5, 12 and 19: Stearman Santa Set for Holiday Cheer

Santa is cleared for landing. Santa will taxi to the museum in the yellow Stearman Biplane, which is also available for Warbird Rides.

tracy.maness@hcnonline.com
Money does not itself win elections. But this year Democrats might be forgiven for wishing it did.

Some of the early fund-raising reports from the third quarter began trickling in on Thursday, and they showed a trend that has been underway throughout 2020: Democratic donors are giving vast sums up and down the ballot for the chance to oust President Trump and his Republican allies.

At the top of the ticket, Joseph R. Biden Jr.s campaign broke its own record, set in August, of $364.5 million raised in September, according to people familiar with the matter. That sum will almost certainly increase Mr. Bidens financial lead over Mr. Trump, which already stood at $141 million entering September.

The disparity is playing out on the television airwaves, where Mr. Biden has been outspending Mr. Trump for weeks.

A few Democratic candidates for the Senate volunteered their fund-raising figures on Oct. 1, and all far surpassed their previous totals, with a swell of September donations coming after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Our best wishes go to the president and the first lady, but it demonstrates that no one is immune from COVID-19 and catching it. So it shows that no matter the precautions, we are all susceptible to this, Australian Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, deputy leader of the conservative Nationals party, said on Australian Broadcasting Corp. TV. A trying time, and it just goes to show that a global pandemic can in fact touch anybody, even the president of the United States.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > Criminal Raj in Uttar Pradesh | Barun Das Gupta

Under the benign` leadership of Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh has become a paradise for criminals in cahoots with politicians in power. Four men in Hathras had brutally raped a 19-year old dalit girl. Not only was she raped but the criminals chopped off her tongue so that she could not speak, but her spine was broken and she sustained multiple fractures on her body. That was on September 14. She was first admitted to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital at the Aligarh Muslim University which referred her to Delhi AIIMS. But strangely, she was taken instead to the Safdarjang Hospital in New Delhi where she died on Tuesday.

If the rape and murder were heinous crimes, the subsequent events have made the UP Government an accessory after the crime. The victim girls family were locked up and prevented from being present at the cremation. The police burnt her body without post mortem examination. The media was barred from covering the cremation, while the Deputy Commissioner of the district threatened the victims family to keep their mouth shut. He gave the family a stern warning: The media will leave tomorrow, but we will not; we will be here.

Then came the police claim that the victim was not raped at all. Her vagina and pelvis bore no sign of rape. This atrocious claim was refuted by the victim herself who in her dying declaration named the criminals who had brutalized her. The UP Government and the State BJP are busy defending the police and the civil administration and playing down the seriousness of the crime as much as possible.

The Congress is protesting against the crime. But the Yogi raj is so scared lest the truth in all its ugliness and repulsiveness should come out that the police are preventing anyone to go to the village. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi tried to reach the victims family but they were not only not allowed, but Rahul Gandhi was shoved by a police officer who felled him to the ground. Ultimately, Rahul and his associates were arrested by the police on the specious charge of obstructing government servants from doing their duty.

Targeting women, dalits and the minorities has become the new normal in UP. A three-year old girl was gangraped and killed early last month in Lakhimpur Kheri disrtrict. In Maharajganj district, a 12-year old girl was raped and murdered on August 28. Four days before that the police found the body of a 17-year old girl near her house in the same district. Ten days before that another dalit girl was raped and murdered in the same district. Had such heinous crimes been committed with such frequency in a non-BJP ruled State, the BJP would have rent the sky with the demand for the immediate dismissal of the State Government and imposition of Presidents rule. But in UP where the BJP is in power, it looking the other way.

The PM is far too busy with the welfare of the farmers to find time either to pull up the Yogi Government for its total failure to maintain law and order or to sympathize with the relatives of the victims who have been raped and murdered. The politician-bureaucrat-police-criminal-lumpen raj is having a free run of UP. If things ever turn too hot for the senior police bureaucrats, they can always discard their khaki uniform, change into civvies and become politicians, if not ministers.. Nitish Kumars Bihar has shown the way. Only a strong and unified movement of the people can end the criminal raj in Uttar Pradesh.

(The author was a correspondent of The Hindu in Assam. He also worked in Patriot, Compass (Bengali), Mainstream. A veteran journalist, he comes from a Gandhian family and was intimately associated with the RCPI leader, Pannalal Das Gupta.)
Although it looks like a police car, its actually just 2020 911 wrapped to look like one, made so to honor one of the countrys fallen officers. But that doesnt make it any less cool.The car is the work of the Rusnak/Westlake Porsche dealership in Thousand Oaks, California. It was commissioned to pay tribute to the 12 victims gunned down at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks back in 2018. Among the 12 was Sergeant Ron Helus from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.The car, which was shown for the first time in mid-September, wears the same color and graphics of the cruiser that took Helus to the scene of the shooting, with his name written on the drivers side and at the back.We are not told if any modifications (especially to the powertrain) have been made to the car, but thats very unlikely.Sergeant Ron Helus was killed during the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill when he and another officer were the first law enforcement officials to arrive on scene responding to an active shooter call. Sgt. Helus died a hero protecting his community, the dealership said in a statement.He served the department for 29 years and was looking to retire in the next year or so. He is remembered by his wife and son.In the near future, this special Porsche will be used as a display at various community events, in an attempt to help raise fund for the creation of the Helus Training Facility. This state of the art location will be used to train officers on how to behave when securing a building while under fire.
A company plans to convert cargo containers at Los Angeles International Airport into a coronavirus testing facility with an on-site lab. Above, a traveler at LAX. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Financially strapped airlines are pushing an idea intended to breathe new life into the travel industry: coronavirus tests that passengers can take before boarding a flight.

Several airlines, including United, American, Hawaiian, JetBlue and Alaska, have announced plans to begin offering testing  either kits mailed to a passenger's home or rapid tests taken at or near airports  that would allow travelers to enter specific states and countries without having to quarantine.

The tests will cost fliers $90 to $250, depending on the airline and the type of test.

At Los Angeles International Airport, a design company has announced plans to convert cargo containers into a coronavirus testing facility with an on-site lab that can produce results in about two hours. On Thursday, Tampa International Airport began offering testing to all arriving and departing passengers on a walk-in basis.

It's an idea that has gone global, with a trade group for the world's airlines calling on governments to create a testing standard for airline passengers as a way to fight the COVID-19 pandemic instead of using travel restrictions and mandatory quarantines.

"Testing all passengers will give people back their freedom to travel with confidence," Alexandre de Juniac, director general and chief executive of the International Air Transport Assn., said in a statement. "And that will put millions of people back to work."

Although the idea is primarily designed to help passengers avoid quarantine requirements at their destinations, health experts say testing passengers immediately before a flight would also lower the odds that an infected person will board a plane and pass the virus to others.

But, the experts emphasize, testing won't make flying free of health risks.

For one, coronavirus tests aren't 100% accurate. Additionally, people who are tested a few days in advance have time to catch the virus before flying. And, of course, optional testing can't detect the virus in travelers who choose not to be tested.

Story continues

"If it's an accurate test, a good one, it will help," said Dr. Timothy Brewer, a professor in the division of infectious diseases at UCLAs David Geffen School of Medicine. "It won't eliminate the risk, but it will reduce it."

Experts fear that if testing expands, there may not be enough rapid tests available for all passengers who request it, and that if enough tests are produced, the process could take hours rather than minutes, creating added gridlock at airports.

"There are a lot of logistics that would have to be worked out," said Dr. James Zehnder, director of clinical pathology at Stanford University Medical Center.

Despite the obstacles, the airline industry is describing rapid preflight testing as one of the best ways to revive a slumping travel industry, short of distributing a COVID-19 vaccine to all Americans.

"We view this as an important step in our work to accelerate an eventual recovery of demand, Robert Isom, president of American Airlines, said in a statement Tuesday.

Although the number of Americans flying on commercial airlines has increased slightly in the last few weeks, overall travel demand is down about 70% compared with pre-pandemic numbers.

Several of the nation's largest airlines have been pleading for financial relief from the federal government to avert massive layoffs. The nation's air carriers have already shed about 45,000 full-time positions, mostly via buyouts and early retirement, according to an industry trade group. On Thursday, United and American furloughed more than 32,000 workers combined. And five regional carriers, including Compass Airlines and Trans State Airlines, have ceased operations because of the effects of the pandemic.

Travelers seem to like the idea of testing passengers to reduce the virus risk on flights. A survey by IATA of 4,700 travelers in 11 countries, including the U.S., found that 84% supported testing all travelers.

United, American, Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines plan to offer coronavirus tests in select airports for passengers traveling to Hawaii. The Aloha State requires all visitors to either quarantine for 14 days upon arrival or show a negative result from a recent coronavirus test.

On Oct. 15, United will begin offering Hawaii-bound fliers the option of taking a test at San Francisco International Airport, with results available in about 15 minutes. Passengers can also order a test to be mailed to their home so they can collect their own sample within 72 hours of their flight and mail it to a laboratory that will send the results via text or email within 48 hours. United plans to charge $250 for the rapid test and $80 for the mail-in test.

Hawaiian Airlines will also begin Oct. 15 to offer passengers flying to Hawaii access to drive-through coronavirus testing near the San Francisco airport and LAX, charging $150 for the day-of-travel express service and $90 for results within 36 hours.

American Airlines announced this week that it will also offer preflight testing for passengers flying to Hawaii as well as tests for fliers heading to Jamaica and the Bahamas, with additional markets to be added in the coming weeks and months.

For passengers flying to Hawaii, American will offer either at-home tests or tests that can be taken at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport or at an urgent care facility near the airport. At Miami International Airport, the airline will offer tests to fliers bound for Jamaica and the Bahamas  island nations whose quarantine requirements are similar to Hawaii's.

Also this week, JetBlue announced plans to offer at-home coronavirus tests for passengers flying to destinations that call for a negative test result. The samples from the at-home saliva test will be shipped overnight to a laboratory that will produce results in 72 hours or less.

Alaska Airlines said it will direct its passengers to take the coronavirus tests at pop-up clinics throughout the West Coast, starting Oct. 12 in Seattle.

SG Blocks, a designer that specializes in converting cargo containers for other uses, and Grimshaw Architects announced plans to build a modular coronavirus testing center at LAX by Nov. 1. The testing facility is slated to house a laboratory operated under a partnership with SG Blocks and New Jersey-based Clarity Labs.

Coronavirus tests that are currently available fall into one of two categories: a molecular test, which looks for genetic material from the virus and must be analyzed in a lab, with results in a day or two, and an antigen test, which detects certain proteins in the virus and offers results in minutes. The antigen test can be administered at home like a pregnancy test.

The rate at which the tests fail to detect the virus in a person who actually is infected  known as the false negative rate  is as low as 2% and as high as 37% for the molecular test, according to a Harvard Medical School blog post. The false negative rate for the antigen test can be as high as 50%.

The rate of false negative results can be influenced by how soon a test it taken after a person is infected. Studies by Johns Hopkins University researchers found that the false negative rate is much higher when a coronavirus test is taken within a few days of being infected, when virus levels are still low.

Zehnder, of the Stanford University Medical Center, said testing passengers with either test comes with disadvantages: The molecular test is more accurate but requires a laboratory and health experts to perform, while the antigen test is quicker but less accurate.

"There are trade-offs," he said.

He said he looks forward to the day when the coronavirus will be detected at airports more quickly and accurately, perhaps with a device that relies on mass spectrometry to detect the virus from a quick swab taken from a passenger, similar to the way airport security agents detect explosive residue on a passenger's luggage.

The airlines that are offering the coronavirus tests say they have no concern about a limit on testing supplies and agree that the tests' accuracy does vary. But representatives for the carriers say they are still hopeful the tests will help bring back demand for air travel.

After adding the testing, Hawaiian Airlines resumed several previously canceled nonstop flights to Hawaii and increased the frequencies of other flights to coincide with the launch of the testing program.

"We believe offering our guests from the U.S. mainland convenient and accessible testing options will help to bolster the existing demand were seeing," Hawaiian spokeswoman Tara Shimooka said.

Even if everybody on the plane is tested, health experts say they would still recommend that passengers continue to wear masks and maintain physical distancing as much as possible.

"All the other things, you still need to do, even if they were going to test me and everyone else," Brewer said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
"The kids, they say, 'Wow I will have my own bed? I will sleep on the bed? I will have a cabinet for my clothes?' It's so sad to hear it but they didn't have that in their own countries, they sleep on the floor," Melania Trump says on the tape. "They are taken care of nicely there. But you know, yeah, they are not with parents, it's sad. But when they come here alone or with coyotes or illegally, you know, you need to do something."

The first lady also cast doubt on the authenticity of some immigrants' accounts of fleeing danger in their home countries.

"A lot of like moms and kids they are teached how to do it. They go over and they say like, 'Oh, we will be killed by a gang member, we will be, you know, it's so dangerous,' " she said, mimicking a dramatic voice. "So they are allowed to stay here."

"It's not true that they would, you know what I mean," Melania Trump said, adding that "they're not professional but they are teached by other people what to say to come over and to you know let them go to stay here. Because they could easily stay in Mexico but they don't want to stay in Mexico because Mexico doesn't take care of them the same as America does."

Photos: A look at Donald Trump's busy week
Islamabad, Oct 2 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has lashed out at the fiery speeches made by former premier and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, stating that he was playing a dangerous game by targeting Islamabad's powerful military establishment at the behest of India.

In an interview to a private television channel, Khan accused his predecessor for creating a "huge mischief" by attacking the Pakistan Army.

"Nawaz Sharif is playing a dangerous game against Pakistan and I am 100 per cent sure that India is supporting him.

"Why Nawaz Sharif always had a dispute with army chiefs, because he was involved in corrupt practices and wanted to control them," he added.

Khan said Sharif is now playing the same game that was once being played by former founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain, who he said was also working on India's agenda and had his supporters chant 'Pakistan Murdabad' along with calling for India's help to what he called free Pakistan from oppression.

"He (Sharif) is becoming the next Altaf Hussain. He is a coward, I am sure he has support from India. India's interest was to weaken our army. India's think tanks say they want to break Pakistan. Some foolish liberals were agreeing with the narrative of Sharif, who is creating a huge 'fitna' (mischief) by attacking the army," he said.

The convicted former leader, who was allowed to fly to London for treatment late last year, broke his long silence last month, saying that the opposition was up not against "selected prime minister" but against those who had brought him into power in the 2018 elections.

Khan's statement comes after Sharif's speeches to his party members and opposition leaders targeted Pakistan's military establishment for supporting, facilitating and backing the incumbent leader to come in power through rigged elections.

Sharif, during his speech revealed and claimed that his government, in a bid to soothe ties with the Pakistan Army, back-engineered the US Tomahawk missile to enhance the defence capabilities of the country.

"I have made immense contributions for army and spent billions and trillions... We made the country a nuclear power and developed JF-17 fighter jet with the collaboration of China," he said in a speech to party members from London via video link.

"Half of the missiles that country's armed forces have were developed during my tenure. Tomahawk missile was developed because of me. We brought it from Balochistan when Clinton had fired missiles into Afghanistan. The Tomahawk missile was found undamaged and reproduced through back-engineering." Sharif's statements have also prompted the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to block speeches and statements from being aired by declared absconders, which includes the former premier, who is wanted in cases of corruption of assets beyond means by the country's courts

He was allowed to leave the country on medical grounds by the Pakistan courts.

However, with Sharif looking active in his last two video link speeches, questions are being raised over the credibility of his health condition.
I can only talk about Komandoo, but can say that the attention to hygiene and safety is excellent. Some examples:

- all staff wear face masks at all times - inside and outside.

- only person allowed in your villa is the villa attendant, who comes once a day to minimize contact. He is wearing protective clothing, including gloves (which in the heat seems uncomfortable.

- public areas are cleaned using appropriate products after every use, for example the gym and bathrooms. Even the bar chairs are sprayed after someone has sat there.

- restaurant is table service, so no walking around or sharing serving spoons.

- hand sanitizer is placed in all public areas and you are encouraged to disinfect your hands before entering.

- your temperature is also taken twice daily before mealtimes.

It feels like a very safe environment and everyone is going above and beyond to make the holiday not only enjoyable, but also safe. I wouldnt hesitate to come, if I wasnt already here!.
People are seen at a booth of Vanguard Group at a fair during the INCLUSION fintech conference in Shanghai

By Paulina Duran

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Vanguard Group Inc said on Wednesday it will close most of its business managing money for institutional investors and large pension funds in Australia and New Zealand, and focus on serving retail clients.

The U.S. investments giant, which has roughly A$164 billion ($118 billion) in assets under management in Australia, will stop offering customised products called segregated mandated accounts (SMA) to large institutional investors.

The exit comes as Australia's pension funds, which make up the world's third-largest pool of pension assets, have moved towards managing a larger portion of their investments internally to lower costs. This has intensified competition for investment mandates and forced the closures of several funds.

The Pennsylvania-headquartered manager will continue to offer some investment products that are "pooled" rather than customised, a spokeswoman said in an email.

It will work with existing SMA clients in Australia and New Zealand to ensure a smooth transition that is expected to take between 12 and 24 months, she added.

Vanguard declined to disclose the value of the assets managed in those SMAs.

In April, Vanguard launched an Australian platform for retail investors providing access to a range of its managed funds, listed ETFs and shares. It has also registered a superannuation product with the regulator, which hasn't launched yet.

Vanguard said in August will close its Hong Kong and Japan operations and cut jobs across both locations as it shifts its Asian headquarters to Shanghai.

(Reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Nobel Peace laureate Denis Mukwege said Thursday that anyone denying crimes against humanity and genocide had been committed in DR Congo were acting in bad faith as he lobbied for an international criminal tribunal into rights abuses in his country.

The renowned gynaecologist and surgeon received death threats earlier this year after campaigning for the end of impunity for rapes and killings during the two Congo Wars, between 1996-98 and 1998-2003, and the subsequent bloodshed that still afflicts the countrys east.

But the threats have not stopped Mukwege, who shared the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work against sexual violence in war.

He spoke to AFP in a rare interview on Thursday to mark the 10th anniversary of a United Nations mapping report that outlined the most serious human rights violations surrounding the two wars but has been widely ignored.

To deny that there have crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo  even to deny there has been genocide in DRC  is to be in bad faith, Mukwege said during a teleconference from his Panzi Hospital.

He has treated thousands of rape victims at the hospital in South Kivu provinces capital Bukavu, and he found time between two operations on Thursday to reiterate the reports message.

This report mapped the crimes that have been committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said Mukwege.

It proposed an international criminal court for DR Congo or a specialised mixed court with Congolese and international judges, he added.

 Death threats 

In late July the doctor and his family received death threats when he spoke out about a massacre a few days earlier in the South Kivu village of Kipupu.

The Kipupu affair was just a pretext. The core issue is the mapping report. I have been threatened for a very long time, he said Thursday.

There are still executioners in the army and police who continue to intimidate victims, who are forced to stay silent.

There was a protest in Bukavu on Thursday against perpetrators long-standing impunity over the violence, but Mukwege did not attend, likely due to security concerns.

His campaign received support from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on Thursday.

Congolese authorities and the UN have not done enough to hold human rights violators to account and deliver justice to victims a decade after the landmark United Nations Congo Mapping Exercise Report was published in October 2010, the NGOs said in a joint statement.

 Answer for their actions 

Though it claims fewer lives than two decades ago, militia violence continues to plague eastern DR Congo.

More than 1,300 people were killed in the first six months of 2020 in the three eastern provinces of Ituri and North and South Kivu, according to a tally compiled by UN sources.

Mukwege said he regretted that former militia fighters had been integrated into the countrys regular armed forces during programmes aimed at demobilising armed groups.

Promotions were given to those who should answer for their actions before national or international justice, he told AFP.

It is an issue of national debate as President Felix Tshisekedi reaches out to numerous armed groups operating in the east.

Some have responded to his call for peace by presenting demands, mostly for amnesty and further integration of their fighters into the armed forces.

The UN report also denounced the involvement of neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda in the two Congo Wars, which Mukwege said claimed millions of lives.

Rwanda has strongly rejected the reports findings.

We cannot start from a contested draft report like this one to launch an international criminal tribunal, Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta told weekly Jeune Afrique on Wednesday.

However Mukwege said that if they think this report is badly made, they should accept an independent jurisdiction.

If they are accused, they can come up with arguments to exonerate themselves, he added.

Tshisekedi has sought closer ties with Rwanda since his election last year, and the government was muted in marking the reports anniversary although a minister attended a demonstration in the capital Kinshasa.

Another protest was banned and dispersed in the city of Kisangani, which has come to symbolise the countrys violent past after Ugandan and Rwandan troops fought there in June 2000.
BAGHDAD  Since he took office in May, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has made a series of changes in senior and sensitive security positions to improve the security institutions performance. The moves have raised concerns in various political blocs that see these changes as strengthening Kadhimi's power.

Among the most prominent changes was the reinstatement of Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi  who had been dismissed in 2019 by Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi  to lead the counterterrorism agency. Kadhimi also appointed former Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji as national security adviser, replacing Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) head Faleh al-Fayadh. Fayadh also was replaced as head of the National Security Agency by Gen. Abdul-Ghani al-Asadi, a former commander of the antiterrorism agency.

Kadhimi appointed Gen. Arqan Watout as the manager of the intelligence department protecting public facilities and figures. Also, former Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi was appointed as head of the operations center in the Iraqi National Intelligence Service; Maj. Gen. Maan al-Saad was appointed as commander of the air force, succeeding Lt. Gen. Jabbar Kadhim; and Maj. Gen. Hamid al-Zuhairi was placed in charge of protecting public facilities.

A source close to Kadhimi told Al-Monitor, Kadhimi seeks to save the security institutions from political and partisan conflicts and to develop their capabilities by appointing competent leaders."

Kadhimi is targeting the so-called deep state that has practically controlled and managed the states key posts since 2006. Since that year, successive governments have limited the distribution of security and administrative positions to the large traditional blocs, based on the quota system. That was due to parliament failing to resolve the issue of appointing directors of national bodies. Article 61 of the Iraqi Constitution stipulates that parliament is to approve the appointment of ambassadors and directors of national bodies. However, this has not been done due to the sharp differences between political parties. As a result, prime ministers have appointed many such officials on a supposedly temporary basis.

Kadhimi, commenting on objections to the aforementioned appointments, stressed that these changes have a legal basis. He said the fact that the objections had crossed so many party lines showed he had no party's interest in particular.

Al-Monitor learned from various sources that the Shiite blocs that are close to the PMU are working to put together a parliamentary majority to annul Kadhimis security appointments and come up with a comprehensive deal that includes appointments for all public posts. Katei Najman, a member of parliament for the Fatah alliance, told Al-Monitor, The parliament will invite Kadhimi for a discussion of the recent security appointments, adding, The parliamentary security and defense committee has not reviewed these appointments yet and has some legal objections in this regard.
New sun and optical collections designed under this new partnership will roll out globally beginning January 2021. Taking cues from the brand's legendary footwear, most notably the Chuck Taylor All Star and Pro Leather, eyewear styles will feature recognizable motifs and design elements such as the "All Star" patch and "Star Chevron" logo.

With a classic yet modern approach, the eyewear assortment addresses adults and teens with 16 sunglasses and 43 optical styles at compelling price points. Customers can expect to see a mix of classic and trend-right shapes with the brand's unique color palettes and design features that will be familiar to the avid Converse fan. The brand targets all genders and ages 12  35, but truly resonates around the world and across generations. Converse is the original brand of youth culture, with its rich 110 year heritage and the global adoption of its classic and accessible sneakers.

"Marchon is thrilled to partner with Converse, an iconic brand that has a longstanding position in the footwear and apparel industry," said Nicola Zotta, President and CEO of Marchon Eyewear. "We look forward to designing unique eyewear collections which will embody Converse's style and authenticity, while also being a part of the brand's growth and continued legacy."

"We are excited to announce our partnership with Marchon Eyewear," said Jon Tappan, VP/GM of Apparel & Accessories for Converse. "As we work to strengthen the Converse accessories business, we know that Marchon's expertise in the eyewear space will complement and enhance our efforts to create products that serve the needs of our consumer, while enabling their individual style."

The new eyewear line will be sold globally in select sun and optical retailers, as well as online at eyeconic.com.

About Marchon Eyewear

Marchon Eyewear, Inc. is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of quality eyewear and sunwear. The company markets its products under prestigious brand names including: Airlock, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Columbia, Diane von Furstenberg, DKNY, Donna Karan, Dragon, Flexon, Karl Lagerfeld, Lacoste, Lanvin, Liu Jo, Longchamp, Marchon NYC, Marni, MCM, Nautica, Nike, Nine West, Pure, Salvatore Ferragamo, Skaga and Victoria Beckham. Marchon Eyewear distributes its products through a global network of subsidiaries and distributors, serving over 80,000 accounts in more than 100 countries. Marchon Eyewear is a VSP Global company, which is a doctor-governed organization focused on connecting its 88 million members to affordable, accessible, high quality eye care and eyewear. For more information, visit www.marchon.com and follow @marchoneyewear.

About Converse

Converse Inc., based in Boston, Massachusetts, is a wholly owned subsidiary of NIKE, Inc. Established in 1908, Converse is recognized as a brand of self-expression around the world and across cultures. The interpretation and adoption of its iconic sneakers, including the Chuck Taylor All Star, the One Star and Jack Purcell span decades. Follow @Converse and visit Converse.com for more information.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD BRAND IMAGE:

https://marchon.box.com/s/f4zl2llbp8lj956jylr8mgf92ytd69z1

IMAGE CREDIT: Courtesy of Converse

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Marchon Eyewear, Inc.

Kelly Petrone, Public Relations Specialist

[email protected]

+1-631-629-3801

Converse

Marianna Friedman, Global Media Relations

[email protected]

+1-917-226-4446

SOURCE Marchon Eyewear, Inc.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress workers exchanged blows near the Clock Tower on Friday, even as social organisations were paying their respects to the father of the nation on Gandhi Jayanti celebrations near the municipal corporations Zone A office.

BJP workers were protesting outside the Congress office to condemn Thursdays vandalism at its office which they claim was carried out by Youth Congress workers. Timely intervention of police, prevented the situation from taking an ugly turn, even as the episode lasted for around two hours.

Jeevan Gupta, state general secretary of the BJP, said party workers were protesting peacefully. The Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government has failed on all fronts. The government has triggered farmers protest to divert attention of people from scams, Gupta claimed, adding that Congress workers had also damaged the posters of BJP leaders in the Clock Tower area.

With a large number of workers of both parties gathering at the spot, police blocked the Old Sessions Chowk flyover; vehicles heading from Jagraon Bridge towards Clock Tower were diverted, leading to a jam on the Jagraon Bridge and the Domoria Bridge.

District Youth Congress president Yogesh Handa said, BJP reflects the ideology of Nathuram Godse. They tried to instigate Congress workers and deliberately chose Gandhi Jayanti to create ruckus.

Instead of protesting against the Congress government, the BJP should reflect upon its misrule. Farmers are on roads, businessmen are suffering losses, economy is at all-time low and rapes are happening every day under the PM Narendra Modi-led regime, said Handa.

Later, both the parties separately visited the statue of Gandhi to pay homage to the father of the nation.
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) released the following statement today:

The Co-Chairs strongly condemn the continued violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone as well as against targets in the territory of Armenia and Azerbaijan away from the Line of Contact, and express our alarm at reports of increasing civilian casualties. Targeting or threatening civilians is never acceptable under any circumstances. The Co-Chairs call on the sides to observe fully their international obligations to protect civilian populations.

The Co-Chairs also stress that participation in the escalating violence by external parties undermines efforts to achieve lasting peace in the region.

Recalling the October 1 statement of the Presidents of the three Co-Chair countries, the Co-Chairs once again call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the resumption of substantive negotiations, in good faith and without preconditions.

The Co-Chairs also call urgently for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to enable the repatriation of remains of fallen servicemen in coordination with the OSCE and ICRC.
Chuseok, literally "Autumn eve", also known as hangawi, from archaic Korean for "the great middle (of autumn)", is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar on the full moon. Like many other harvest festivals around the world, it is held around the autumn equinox, i.e. at the very end of summer or in early autumn.

In contemporary South Korea, on Chuseok, masses of people travel from large cities to their hometowns to pay respect to the spirits of their ancestors. Chuseok celebrates the bountiful harvest and strives for the next year to be better than the last. People perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning. Then, they visit the tombs of their immediate ancestors to trim plants and clean the area around the tomb and offer food, drink, and crops to their ancestors. South Koreans consider autumn the best season of the year due to clear skies, cool winds, and it is a perfect harvesting season. Harvest crops are attributed to the blessing of ancestors.

Chuseok is commonly translated as "Korean Thanksgiving" in American English. Although most South Koreans will be visiting their families and ancestral homes, there are festivities held at the National Folk Museum of Korea. Many places are closed during this national holiday, including banks, schools, post offices, governmental departments, stores, etc. Travel tickets are usually sold out three months in advance, and roads and hotels are overcrowded.

Korean celebrities are greeting their fans for Chuseok in their unique ways. For Park Seo Joon, it was by sharing baby photos of himself. On the 2nd, Seo-joon Park posted a photo on his Instagram with a post saying, "It will be difficult for all of you to spend time with your family, but have a good holiday." Fans were quick to point out that one of the first things that caught their eye was his naughty and playful charm and gleaming eyes. Fans were overwhelmingly happy with this photo.

Park Seo Joon is currently filming Lee Byeong Hun's 'Dream' alongside IU and fans can't wait to see him on the big screen again. We wish Park Seo Joon all the success with his upcoming film!
President Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus, joining a small group of world leaders who have been infected. Trump is 74, putting him at higher risk of serious complications. Heres a look at other leaders who have had the virus. Some are sending Trump their wishes for a speedy recovery.

Boris Johnson

The British prime minister was the first major world leader confirmed to have Covid-19, after facing criticism for downplaying the pandemic. He was moved to intensive care in April after his symptoms dramatically worsened a day after he was hospitalized for what were called routine tests. He was given oxygen but did not need a ventilator, officials said. He later expressed his gratitude to National Health Service staff for saving his life when his treatment could have gone either way. Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, also tested positive in March and showed mild symptoms.

Jair Bolsonaro

The Brazilian president announced his illness in July and used it to publicly extol hydroxychloroquine, the unproven malaria drug that hed been promoting as a treatment for Covid-19 and was taking himself. For months he had flirted with the virus, calling it a little flu, as he flouted social distancing at lively demonstrations and encouraged crowds during outings from the presidential residence, often without a mask.

Juan Orlando Hernandez

The Honduras president announced in June that he had tested positive, along with two other people who worked closely with him. Hernandez said he had started what he called the MAIZ treatment, an experimental and unproven combination of microdacyn, azithromycin, ivermectin and zinc. He was briefly hospitalized and released. He has added his voice to growing pleas for equitable access to any Covid-19 vaccine, asking the recent UN gathering of world leaders, Are people to be left to die?

Alexander Lukashenko

The president of Belarus, who dismissed concerns about the virus as psychosis and recommended drinking vodka to stay healthy, said in July he had contracted it himself but was asymptomatic. Belarus is one of the few countries that took no comprehensive measures against the virus. Other top officials in former Soviet states who were infected include Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Prince Albert II of Monaco

The palace of Monaco in March said the ruler of the tiny Mediterranean principality tested positive but his health was not worrying. He was the first head of state who publicly said he was infected.

Also Read| Shock, sympathy, mockery: World reacts to Trump being coronavirus positive

Alejandro Giammattei

The Guatemalan president said he tested positive for the virus in September. My symptoms are very mild. Up to now, I have body aches, it hurt more yesterday than today, like a bad cold, he said during a televised address. I dont have a fever, I have a bit of a cough. He said hed be working from home.

Jeanine Anez

The virus drove the Bolivian interim president into isolation in July, but she said she was feeling well.

Luis Abinader

The newly elected president of the Dominican Republic contracted and recovered from Covid-19 during his campaign. He spent weeks in isolation before the countrys July election.

Iran

Iran, the epicentre of the Mideasts initial coronavirus outbreak, has seen several top officials test positive. Among them are senior Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar. Cabinet members have tested positive, too.

India

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, 71, recently tested positive but his office said he had no symptoms and was quarantined at home. Home minister Amit Shah, the No. 2 man in Prime Minister Narendra Modis government, was hospitalized for Covid-19 last month and has recovered. Junior railways minister Suresh Angadi last week was the first federal minister to die from Covid-19.

Also Read: US Prez Trump, Melania test positive for Covid-19; could hit his presidential campaign

Israel

Israels then-Health Minister Yaakov Litzman tested positive in April and recovered. Litzman is a leader in Israels ultra-Orthodox community, which has seen a high rate of infection as many have defied restrictions on religious gatherings. The minister for Jerusalem affairs, Rafi Peretz, tested positive over the summer as cases surged nationwide and recovered.

South Africa

The countrys defense minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, mineral resources and energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, and labor minister, Thulas Nxesi, were infected as cases surged in June and July.

South Sudan

Vice President Riek Machar was among several Cabinet ministers infected.

Gambia

Vice President Isatou Touray tested positive in July along with the ministers of finance, energy and agriculture.

Guinea-Bissau

Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam in April said he tested positive.
The news that Enniscorthy Greyhound Track will remain in operation until at least the end of 2022 was welcomed at last week's meeting of the local authority in the Riverside Park Hotel.

At the beginning of the meeting Cllr Kathleen Codd-Nolan drew attention to the matter and expressed delight at the news.

'I'm delighted about the greyhound track news that it will remain open until the end of 2022,' she said.

'It's great news for the town, district, county and the south east,' she added.

Cllr Codd-Nolan went on to compliment everyone involved in lobbying to keep the track open and said: 'Well done to the committee and all who helped out.'

The Irish Greyhound Board announced the previous week that an agreement had been reached that made provision for measures to improve the financial sustainability of the track and of a similar facility in Youghal.

Commenting on the development the Chairperson of the IGB, Frank Nyhan, said: 'The May, 2020, Indecon Report provided an opportunity to Enniscorthy and Youghal to address challenges and issues identified by Indecon and for key performance measures to be set.'

He complimented the representatives of the Enniscorthy track for the positive manner with which they engaged in the discussions and 'the clear commitment' that is there to improve the sustainability of the track.

The Cathaoirleach of the local authority, Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy, also welcomed the news and said it was very positive for the town.
Perhaps the clearest evidence of President Trumps total lack of regard for the values espoused by our military is in the military representatives he does promote. These men present to America the worst possible face of the military. He pardoned  and has since included in White House events  former Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher, described by his fellow snipers as indiscriminate, reckless and bloodthirsty. Army Maj. Mathew Golsteyn was also pardoned by Trump, even after he admitted in a 2016 interview with Fox News to killing an unarmed man because he thought he might be a bomb maker. And, of course, there is an admitted liar, former Army Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, who, according to President Trump, is a wonderful man who has been treated very unfairly. Trump even went so far as to nominate retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, who admitted to adulterous affairs, called President Obama a terrorist and tweeted that the former CIA Director should suck on his pistol, for Undersecretary of Defense for Policy.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The single most-significant driver of misinformation related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been traced back to President Donald Trump, Cornell University researchers have found.

The study, which will be published Thursday and was first reported by the New York Times, analyzed over 38 million articles in English-language media about the pandemic across the world and found mentions of Trump made up almost 38% of the overall misinformation conversation"  making him the most prolific driver of false information about the virus.

The biggest surprise was that the President of the United States was the single largest driver of misinformation around COVID Cornell Alliance for Science Director Sarah Evanega, the studys lead author, told the Times. Thats concerning in that there are real-world dire health implications.

The research included fact-checking articles that corrected misinformation but found that those articles only accounted for 16.4% of those that included misinformation, suggesting that the majority of COVID misinformation is conveyed by the media without question or correction.

The study collected articles from Jan. 1 to May 26, 2020, and found English-language traditional media outlets published over 1.1 million articles mentioning COVID-19 misinformation, though that total represented just under 3% of the overall conversation during that same timeframe.

Researchers identified 11 main subtopics of specific misinformation, the Times reported, including conspiracy theories that said the virus was manufactured by Democrats, along with mentions of Bill Gates, 5G and population control.

The most common sub-topic, however, was miracle cures, which accounted for over 25% of the overall misinformation.

Examples of this infodemic," which is what the World HealthOrganization has termed falsehoods involving the pandemic, include Trumps promotion of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the virus, despite it not being proven as an effective tool, and his assertions that injecting disinfectants could be used to fight the virus  a claim he has said was made sarcastically.

Misinformation about COVID-19 is a serious threat to global public health, the researchers wrote in the study. If people are misled by unsubstantiated claims about the nature and treatment of the disease, they are less likely to observe official health advice and may thus contribute to the spread of the pandemic and pose a danger to themselves and others.

More than 1 million deaths from the coronavirus have been reported worldwide, including nearly 207,000 deaths in the U.S.  more than any other country  according to Johns Hopkins University as of Thursday.
The release of a new Martin Amis novel is always a literary event, and the publication last month of Inside Story  the 15th by perhaps Britains most famous living novelist  was no different.

Billed as his most intimate work, Amis  now 71 and married for the past 24 years to his second wife, the writer and heiress Isabel Fonseca  has said it is largely autobiographical. Among the cast of characters is Phoebe Phelps, described as alluringly amoral, and by whom the protagonist is captivated.

I asked a friend who had read the book to give me a quick description of Phoebe.

Antonella Gambotto-Burke, pictured, believes she is the 'tattooed Catholic' featuring in Martin Amis' latest novel - as she had an affair when she was 19 with the then 35-year-old writer

Martin Amis, 71, pictured, has published his 15th novel 'Inside Story', described as his most intimate

Tattooed Catholic, my friend replied. She has a five-year relationship [with the protagonist based on Amis].

My heartbeat accelerated, just as it has for years whenever I  a tattooed Catholic myself  learn the details of another powerful Amis heroine to whom I bear more than a passing resemblance.

For this isnt the first time that I believe Martin has used me as an unconsenting muse for his characters: he has been recognisably basing his most iconic heroines and anti-heroines on me for 35 years, all the way back to the time we began a secret and intimate five-year relationship when I was just 19.

Martin was 35  16 years older than me  and newly married to the American academic Antonia Phillips.

While our affair was never fully consummated  we only ever kissed  our connection was profound, and Martins ongoing desire and longing are laid bare in the letters he wrote to me, some typed, some penned in his distinctively small handwriting, which I store at a friends house for safekeeping.

Yet over the years Martin has taken his obsession  I do not think the word is overstated  much further, ploughing it into some of his best-known novels that catalogue my words, insights, clothes and gestures.

So extensively has he mined my life that I could go through his most celebrated books with a highlighter pen and show how they are littered with things I have said, done, worn and experienced.

The tone changes but the themes are always the same: the messed-up girl, her enthralled male victim, secrecy and the lack of closure, as he calls it in Inside Story.

Phoebe in the new book is no different.

Ms Gambotto-Burke said she took this photograph of the novelist moments before their first kiss in 1985

While timelines and other details are fudged in this autobiographical novel, the slender, slightly unstable Catholic drinker and smoker he describes with large breasts, hair hennaed when she met him, a wide, off-centre, feral smile and single tattoo is clearly my 19-year-old self.

My only tattoo was inked in my 19th year. My own lopsided grin means I rarely smile in photographs. Like me, Phoebe is appalled by her own handwriting and has a complicated relationship with sex.

For all these years, I have kept my counsel and swallowed my distress. But this time I feel that a line has been crossed.

Martin has made this latest character based on me into an escort who poses for pornographic pictures. On hearing this news, I was incredulous. Shaking, I imagined the small circle of people who knew about me and Martin people I may, in future, approach for work, or in friendship  wondering whether I had once been a sex worker.

It felt like deliberate provocation.It is the reason I have decided to speak out publicly for the first time about what happened between us  my way of reclaiming ownership of a story that, had Martin behaved differently, I would have happily taken to my grave.

It is not what happened between us, but what he has done with it since, that causes me such pain. Our affair was not sordid, but to me his exploitation of it is.

I first met him in 1985, the year after I had arrived, aged just 18, from my native Sydney, a wide-eyed Italian-Australian girl lured by punk, fashion and English literature. I had already written for national Australian newspapers and literary magazines and fell easily into music journalism, writing for publications including the NME and interviewing everyone from Nick Cave to Gene Simmons of Kiss and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones.

It was my editor at the NME who gave me a copy of Money, Martins 1984 book, which had just been published to great acclaim.

His distinctive literary style was enough for me to suggest a profile interview to the editor of ZigZag, an indie magazine I wrote for at the time. So it was that I arrived one afternoon at Martins bolthole near Notting Hill in West London: more student digs than literary retreat, with its old throw on the sofa, scattered books and overflowing ashtrays.

There was no immediate attraction on my part, but I recall him being extremely kind and trying to put me at ease. I had been asked to photograph Martin too but had either forgotten my camera, or it malfunctioned. Either way, it necessitated another meeting, which Martin seemed happy to arrange. This time though, when I began to pack away my camera, he suggested I stay for a chat. A bottle of vodka was opened, and as the afternoon wore on, we put a significant dent in it.

There was a lot of talking, a lot of laughter. I became aware that he was staring at me and, drunkenly, I smiled. This was his cue: he leapt on me from his chair.

Ms Gambotto-Burke, pictured here in 1984, worked for NME at the time she met the writer

I fell backwards against the sofa and his mouth  warm and smoky  closed over mine. It felt as if we kissed for hours in the lamplight, the start of something I have always struggled to describe.

It was an intimate connection that fell some way between friendship and lovers. We only ever kissed; and though Martin wanted more, I knew that sex would turn this into something I was not prepared for, and he never pushed it.

On occasion, his hand caressing my knee would sometimes move higher up my leg, but when I batted him away, he did not fight it.

He was lovely  even if, as it now seems, he was taking notes. He even told an interviewer in 2011: When youre having an affair, keep notes.

Perhaps it would be easier for people to understand if our liaisons had been sordid: older married man romps with naked teen. But it was never like that. Crushed up beside each other on the sofa, we would kiss, smoke and read each other news items from the tabloids or poetry, from Keats to Eliot.

We played chess and Scrabble, talked and danced. I remember Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band on the turntable and us in stockinged feet, drunkenly doing the Mashed Potato.

This Martin was not the pontificating man of letters that the public sees. He was a sweet man, albeit engaging in some form of infidelity to the wife he had married just a year before we met.Looking back, at 55, I know I was no siren, but a vulnerable girl mired in personal trauma.

My arrival in London came in the wake of the recent death of an adored grandmother and would shortly be followed by the horror of learning that my father, a paranoid schizophrenic, had jumped three storeys on to concrete and broken almost every bone in his body. I was lonely and grieving  so much so that as I reported in my book The Eclipse: A Memoir Of Suicide, on Christmas Day, 1986, I overdosed on pills.

Later, in his novel London Fields, Martin wrote of his heroine as a failed suicide; in The House Of Meetings, the heroine takes her own life; and in Inside Story, Phoebe has a suicide pacts worth of pills stored away. Against this backdrop, my time with Martin became a sanctuary.

Even then, however, he was using me in his fiction. I recall reading his short story collection Einsteins Monsters in 1987 and recognising myself in the character of the Andromeda, the young mistress, barefoot in a white dress.

In a letter to me he signed Love, love, love, he had written that he had kept thinking of me 'that afternoon', when I had been dressed in white.

The turning point in our relationship was my announcement in 1988 that I had become engaged to my American boyfriend Michael VerMeulen, at the time the features editor of GQ mens magazine. Martin knew I had seen other people throughout our time together  he could hardly have asked me not to  but I will never forget his shock when I showed him my Tiffanys engagement ring. Despite the fact that he was married, Martin burned with an anger that only superficially abated over time  even though, a year later, I broke off my engagement to Michael, unable to deal with his drug use (my heart broke when he died from a cocaine overdose in 1995).

It is an anger which, in 1989, after I had returned to Australia, Martin would channel into his London Fields and its heroine, Nicola Six.

Clad in black as I often was, a heavy smoker just as I was at the time, he made her 19 when her parents died  my grandmother, who helped raise me, had died just before we met  and gave her a mild, interesting and glamorous disorder. I have Aspergers.

Nicola was so clearly based on me that friends repeatedly asked me about it. Laughing, Martin and I had danced the Mashed Potato but, years later, I watched with dismay Amber Heards provocative, thigh-rubbing gyrations as she played Nicola Six in the 2018 film adaptation of London Fields.

Among other parallels in the book, Martin writes: Her mouth was full, and unusually wide. Her mother had always said it was a whores mouth.

(My mouth is unusually wide as it happens  and I had mentioned to Martin that my mother once said it was the mouth of a whore.)

Enraged, I rang Martin from Australia accusing him of selling me down the river for money.

He became very upset and wrote me a letter, full of passion and yearning and a brutality that shocks me to this day. Laying bare a terrible fantasy that his wife and their two sons would be wiped out in some plane crash overnight, he explained that all men have dreams of leaving and starting a new life.

He acknowledged using me in the book, saying that if he had used me it was because I had been a part of his life, whether I liked it or not.

The following year, we met at a brasserie in Londons Sloane Square for what would be the last time. I moved back to Sydney soon after (returning to Britain permanently three years ago).

Our correspondence faded after London Fields: I was too hurt.

What did not fade was Martins apparent obsession with writing me into his work. I wasnt always aware of it: I have been busy on the other side of the world, with my own writing career, marriage (which sadly ended in divorce) and daughter Bethesda, now 14, to think about. Friends, though, have pointed out to me the endless similarities that rolled out of Martins literary offerings.

After Nicola Six, there came Times Arrows Rosa (who was too young), with whom a male character experiences love at first sight but then misses the boat.

Then there is Zoya in the novel House Of Meetings, 19 when she meets the narrator, who, like me, never crawled as an infant. She breaks the narrators heart.

Lev and Zoya got married, the narrator proclaims. If I can survive that, then Ill never die. I had, after breaking a number of engagements, married the year before the novel came out. Both Zoya and Nicola Six wear black gloves, hats and mourning wear. So did I  and still do. (My other pseudonym at the NME was Antonella Black.) There are countless other parallels, but each time they came out I resolved to say nothing.

Then, in 2008, Martins second wife Isabel  the woman for whom, in the early 1990s, he had left Antonia  had her turn when she

published her first novel Attachment. It is a book about a wifes insane jealousy of her husbands very young mistress.

The adulterous husbands daughter is 19, while his tattooed, red-haired, buxom, slut mistress Giovana  an Italian-Australian like me  is nicknamed Ginger. I sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Ginger Meggs for the NME.

Attachments protagonist Jean discovers her husbands affair by intercepting a salacious note intended for him. Addressed Dear Thing 1, it is signed Thing 2 and includes a Hotmail email address for future correspondence.

Years earlier I had written Martin a brief note from Australia  intimate but in no way salacious  which also began Dear Thing 1 and which I signed Thing 2.

I had mailed it in a plain, typed envelope via an editor in London. I became suspicious it had been intercepted after receiving an email to the Hotmail address I had provided in my letter from Martins account, but in a tone I knew was not his. The sender wanted to know my identity.

This is Antonella, I wrote back, and never heard anything again.

Martins and my relationship had unfolded before he met Isabel. It seems that it was a secret Martin had kept from his second wife.

I believe her revenge, when it came years later, was to make my character in the book a pornographic model so stupid that she could not spell her own name (Giovanna normally has two Ns.) I was horrified.

Now they were both writing books about me, yet still I said nothing.

Until now. Until Inside Story and Phoebe Phelps.

Is Phoebe really based on me? Well, exactly how many unknown, five-year relationships with busty, slender, reckless, foreign-born, tattooed, playful, ravenously smiling Catholic smokers with hennaed hair and with whom he was obsessed for decades has Martin had?

Martin describes himself during the five years of their involvement as very closely resembling Humbert Humbert in . . . Lolita, Vladimir Nabokovs novel about the fixation of a man in his mid-thirties with a young girl.

It is, I believe, nothing less than an exploitation of our intimacy.

If he had photographed me without my consent I could have legal recourse, yet I am expected to shrug off this repeated use of me as the basis for his most iconic female characters.

Why has he kept doing this? I cannot say. Martin was always considerate, playful and gentle with me  and the established dynamic gave him, the older man, all the power.

Perhaps it is merely his way of him letting me know he is still there. Yet he has ruined a memory precious to me, and his actions have had very serious repercussions in my life, making it very hard for me to trust men.

I have no doubt that Martins retaliation to this piece will be scathing. I have no doubt that Isabel, too, will say her piece.

But I am tired of flinching every time London Fields and other books are mentioned. I am tired of feeling as if I do not have a right to the truth of those five years of my life, years that Martin has, for 35 years, distorted and made his own.

By making Phoebe an escort in Inside Story, Martin crossed a line. And so I am saying to him now that it must stop here  that we are done.

This is the closure he claims to want. I never want to see myself in any of his books again.
UP Elections Opinion Poll: What percentange of people want BJP's Yogi Adityanath to return as CM?

Committed to women safety: Yogi Adityanath amid Hathras row

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Oct 02: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has been criticised for handling of the brutal Hathras gangrape and death case, on Friday said he would ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Adityanath, while warning the perpetrators against heinous crimes such as rapes and violence against women, has expressed commitment of his government towards protecting the "mothers & sisters" of UP.

"Those who even think of harming mothers and daughters in UP, their destruction is assured. They will get such punishment that will set an example for the future. The govt of UP is committed to the safety and security and development of all mothers and sisters. This is our commitment and promise," the Chief Minister wrote in Hindi.

Opposition leaders have demanded dismissal of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over the alleged gang-rape and death of a Dalit woman in Hathras.

'Will go to India Gate at 5 pm, PM must answer on Hathras': Bhim Army Chief

The police action triggered outrage after rushing to cremate the woman's body at 2.30 am, after allegedly locking up her family in their homes and preventing them from saying a final goodbye to their child and sister.

The father of the woman, whose death has triggered a massive outrage in the country and sharp criticism for the UP government, said he was being pressured by government officials and demanded a CBI probe into the matter.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

The father, around 50, claimed that he was "pressured" into going to a police station where the district magistrate and police officials made three members of his family sign some document.

"But we are not satisfied with this. My daughter's case should be probed by the CBI and monitored by a Supreme Court judge. We are under pressure from officials and confined to our home while the media has also been disallowed from meeting us," he said in a purported video shared by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Twitter.

The development came as a video surfaced purportedly showing Hathras District Magistrate Praveen Kumar Laxkar meeting the family at their home, where he allegedly asked the woman's father to "reconsider" if he wants to stick with the statement or change it.
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.

While most Canadians would likely wish a vaccine for COVID-19 into existence, oh, yesterday, if they could, there are many who wont be rolling up their sleeve when one eventually arrives.

Vaccination is always an emotional topic. Though vaccines are considered one of the most successful public health stories of the past century, vehement anti-vaxxers have seeded doubt about their safety, while many more people just have a lot of questions about how they work and why.

The conversation has been dialed up by factors swirling during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are those worried about the safety of what would be a brand-new vaccine, as well as those who fear politics might push one into use before its been shown to be safe. Fewer than half of Canadians say theyd get a vaccine as soon as one became widely available, suggests a poll released by Angus Reid on Friday.

On the frontlines of this conversation is Dr. Cora Constantinescu.

Listen to Alex Boyd discuss the road to a vaccine

If you find youself face to face with the Calgary pediatric infectious disease expert, two things are often true: Youre a parent, and youre struggling with the decision to vaccinate your kids.

Constantinescu runs a public vaccine hesitancy clinic  one of the few of its kind in Canada. Other doctors refer to her people who want to talk the decision through. Her appointments are an hour, and can often go longer, she says.

There is such an emotional tie to this decision.

As Constantinescu sees it, walking into her clinic takes guts: I think it takes a lot of courage to actually come in and talk about something that I know, based on the people weve seen, theyve researched for so long.

Experts say the coming months will require politicians, public health experts and even pharmaceutical companies to work together to convince people that a vaccine will be safe. While the decision to roll up your sleeve is personal, enough people are going to have to make that choice if Canada stands a chance of stopping community spread or achieving herd immunity.

While a poll in July found 46 per cent of people would get a vaccine right away, that number has since dropped seven percentage points, according to the survey results released Friday.

The online survey was conducted from Sept. 23 to 25, among 1,660 Canadian adults who are members of AngusReid Forum. A probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, the pollsters said.

Much of the reluctance seems to be spurred on by worries about side effects, which almost three quarters of respondents said were a concern.

Worries that U.S. President Donald Trump  who has now himself tested positive for COVID-19  is putting pressure on pharmaceutical companies have also made their way across the border.

During the first presidential debate Wednesday, Trump said that we were weeks away from a vaccine, and said repeatedly that it was a possibility that a vaccine could be ready to deploy by early November  before election day, in other words.

He said that vaccine-making companies had told him they could go faster, but, Its a very political thing.

That statement contradicts Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who has maintained that most Americans will have to wait until sometime next year for a vaccine.

The disconnect has stoked fears in some. There have also been competing headlines from China, about that countrys government rushing out a vaccine to front-line workers before it has completed clinical trials.

The biopharmaceutical companies working on vaccines have repeatedly stressed that clinical testing will not be rushed, and any potential vaccine used in Canda would have to be cleared by Health Canada first.

Vaccines have an established track record. According to Canadian numbers, the reported cases of serious diseases such as rubella, diptheria and polio all dropped by 99 or even 100 per cent in the years after a vaccine was introduced.

Most experts recognize a difference between anti-vaxxers, who are adamantly against vaccines in any form, and people who are open, but feel uneasy, or need more information. Its this second group that public health experts say are going to have a lot of questions in the coming months.

Canada has tapped a pool of experts, leaders in fields such as epidemiology and pharmaceuticals, to provide advice on locking down a vaccine as soon as possible, but even the Vaccine Task Force realizes that just securing a successful vaccine is not enough.

Pretty early on, we realized we could find all the vaccines in the world, as safe and efficacious as they might be, but Canadians have to want to take them, says co-chair Dr. Joanne Langley, a professor in the departments of pediatrics and community Health and epidemiology at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

The issue of addressing hesitancy is something the task force has talked about a lot, added fellow co-chair J Mark Lievonen.

But despite allegations of political interference in the United States, he said, its imporant to note that Canada has a totally separate regulatory system.

In practice, that means that regardless of where a vaccine is developed, or by whom, it still has to pass Health Canadas bar.

And while this vaccine is coming along very quickly  up until now, the fastest vaccine ever developed was for mumps, and it took a comparatively glacial four years  he says COVID-19 has also seen an unprecedented level of co-operation and collaboration.

Nine biopharma companies even banded together earlier last month and vowed to uphold the integrity of the scientific process, and pushed back against the idea that their products could be rushed.

Lievonen, who is also a former president of Sanofi Pasteur Ltd., an arm of Sanofi, whose CEO signed the letter, said on the one hand, its positive that all these competing companies took a stand together, but on the other, its notable that they felt they had to.

Up until now, that would have been the assumption that companies would (uphold the scientific process), it wouldnt have been called into question, he said.

He said that companies are taking steps to speed up the vaccine, but not by cutting corners on safety. For example, some are running multiple clinical trial stages at once, or scaling up manufacturing capacity before their vaccine candidates are approved so that if they get the green light, theyre ready to start pumping out doses.

In Canada, the regulator is also planning rolling submissions for COVID-19 vaccines, which means companies can submit the paperwork from their clinical trials for inspection as they go, rather than waiting until the end to hand in all their results, Lievonen said. Think of it as Health Canda looking over the shoulder of vaccine makers as they work.

We are very comfortable and very confident that science will rule the day in Canada, he said.

Still, if we dont have the same legitimate concerns about political interference in Canada, the question becomes, how do you communicate that?

The thing that alarmed me, was that even in the height of a pandemic, the likes of which we havent seen in a century, we didnt see a major switch on vaccine hesitancy, we didnt see people being swayed, said Sarah Everts, the science journalism chair at Carleton University.

Everts has co-led a couple of studies on Canadian attitudes toward an eventual COVID-19 vaccine. One survey of 2,000 Canadians, released in May, found that more than a quarter of people who responded either opposed a vaccine or were hesitant.

The survey also tested peoples beliefs in a series of myths and conspiracy theories, such as debunked claims that COVID-19 is a bioweapon birthed in a Chinese lab, or is being spread to cover up the harmful effects of 5G technology.

While almost half of Canadians believed at least one myth, Everts says they found that people who believed a false claim were more likely to say they were also skeptical of vaccines.

At least in Canada, we found that there was a lot of trust in public health, she said. I think the reality is that we are, at least when we were in lockdown, spending an obscene amount of time in our homes looking at the internet, which is a firehose of information; good, bad and ugly.

But theres a message here, she argues, for public health communicators tasked with getting out the vaccine message.

She points out that being vaccine hesitant is not one size fits all. A lot of critics are dismissive of people who are skeptical of vaccines, and assume that any concerns stem from the debunked claim that theyre linked to autism.

But Everts argues that focusing messaging on that may cause people to shut down if theyre concerns are more around the role of the pharmaceutical industry, for example, or the use of live virus in some vaccines.

In fact, her study found that almost three quarters of those who werent sure theyd get a vaccine were interested in science-based news stories, and more than half said they were very or somewhat interested in stories that debunk conspiracy theories or unscentific arguments.

Especially in a conversation that has become so polarized, she says, its important that officials try to reach people where theyre at.

More listening, and not talk down preaching an important way forward, she said.

Shame has never ever gotten anybody anywhere in terms of influencing opinion.

At the vaccine hesitancy clinic, Constantinescu says those she meets just want to do whats best for their kids.

Its always a good thing when people want to be informed about their own health, and Constantinescu argues that the people who come to her are courageous: I mean, bravery is doing something youre afraid of, and theyre afraid to talk to health-care professionals about it, theyre afraid to expose their insecurity and their thinking about it, and theyre afraid to do it, she said.

It really is about their lack of trust, and their fears around this decision. And ultimately, and parents have actually said that this to me, is they take what they perceive as a leap of faith, towards protecting their children.

As a result, correcting misinformation is a relatively small part of her job  its more about addressing the emotion tied to making the decision to vaccinate.

After all, smokers continue to light up despite knowing the cancer risk, she notes. Instead, anti-smoking campaigns target the way people feel about smoking in a bid to change their behaviour: think the graphic images of diseased lungs that have replaced branding on cigarette packaging.

Theres emotion here for medical providers, too, she notes, who realize that the need for information and guidance on vaccines will soon be greater than ever before.

Ive felt passionate about vaccine hesitancy for 10 years, she said. It was a fire ignited when she became a parent herself. You do feel this call to action, you know? That we have to use all of our abilities and knowledge and skills and will and dreams and put it into something thats going to help the Canadian population.

To that end, shed like to see the conversation focus less on just feeding people information and more on recognizing that this will be a major personal decision for many people  but that theres a major common goal here, too.

At the end of the day, everyone just wants the pandemic and the lockdown and the business restrictions to end, she said.

Conversation needs to change around this vaccine. We need to stop talking about problems and concerns and worries and talk about this common goal of ending this. Im not saying were not going to do the science, or saying were not going to be as rigorous as possible, she said.

But heres our chance.

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New Delhi: There is lack of awareness about tribal heritage and products, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said on Friday and called on industry leaders to join efforts to develop the potential of Scheduled Tribes. The minister made the remarks while inaugurating a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Tribal Entrepreneurship Development set up by apex industry body ASSOCHAM.

A differentiated value proposition mooted by ASSOCHAM should help position and develop tribal offerings and in turn, create better livelihood opportunities for tribal artisans and the community at large," the minister said. Munda said the potential of the Indian tribal community has largely remained untapped due to various reasons, and there is lack of awareness about tribal heritage and the range of their produce across the country".

The minister called upon all stakeholders, including the industry members, to join in the efforts of developing the potential of the tribal communities and building their capacities to enhance their contribution in socio-economic growth. ASSOCHAM president Niranjan Hiranandani said, Considering that scheduled tribes are almost 20 years behind the average Indian population in terms of their development, the potential of approximately eight per cent of our population must be fully developed and leveraged." The Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Programme would optimise their contribution to the growing economy of our country and support Indias vision of becoming Atmanirbhar, he said.

In a separate event, Munda also launched an e-marketplace only for tribal sellers and organisations working with them. The Tribes India e-Marketplace will be similar to selling your products on e-commerce giants Amazon or Flipkart. The difference is just that it will only be for tribals," Managing Director of TRIFED Praveer Krishna said.

The government had set up Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India in 1987 with an aim to provide fair price for products of tribals across the country. The agency functions under the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry.

The objective is to bring around 5 lakh tribal artisans online, thus connecting them to a larger national and international market, Krishna said. The suppliers comprise tribal artisans, tribal self-help groups and NGOs working with tribals. The platform provides tribal suppliers with an omni-channel facility to sell their goods through their own retailers and distributors, TRIFEDs network of outlets and e-commerce partners as well as their own account in e-Marketplace," he said.

Around 5 lakh tribal items across 20,000 categories, including textiles, paintings, home decor items, jewellery, and metal crafts, will be available on the website.

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
Not safe to change border restrictions says CM

The Chief Minister says the Island's borders will remain restricted.

Howard Quayle addressed the nation during a media briefing yesterday.

He raised concerns over the rising number of coronavirus cases in the UK and said the situation was too unsafe for a move to level 3a of the borders framework, where close, non-resident, relatives could come for a sponsored visit.

The Manx Government has confirmed COVID-19 briefings will return every Thursday following feedback from the public.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 1)  Acting Malay town Mayor Frolibar Bautista said there will be no liquor ban as Boracay reopens to local tourism.

However, in a press conference on Thursday, Bautista said that disco bars will not be allowed to operate in the island.

Boracay started accepting local tourists outside Western Visayas from both areas under general community quarantine and modified general community quarantine on Oct. 1. Tourists are required to have a negative RT-PCR test result 48 to 72 hours prior to their travel to the Aklan island.

The top destination is allowed to welcome 19,000 tourists a day, and 4,474 rooms, and 204 accommodations have been authorized.

The Department of Tourism will closely monitor the slow reopening of Boracay to local tourism before they allow foreigners, according to Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

She added that the restarting of economy is much urgent among workers in the tourism sector who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said some 4.8 million workers in the tourism industry have been laid off or have had their salaries cut.

You can imagine yong hirap na dinadanas ng ating stakeholders (the hardship our stakeholders are experiencing)," Romulo-Puyat said. "Ninety-nine percent of those in the accommodation sectors are from MSMEs.
Amazon confirmed that 19,816 of its employees tested positive for coronavirus as of Thursday. These cases also include those employed at Whole Foods Market, which is owned by the organization.

CNBC reports that these cases were observed by the company between Mar. 1 and Sept. 19. Amazon has been condemned by many for the way in which it treats its worker even prior to the pandemic; warehouse employees went on strike on Prime Day in 2019 to call attention to the companys unjust working environment.

Criticism of the company occurred early on in the pandemic when Amazon continued operations despite the coronaviruss outbreak. The BBC News notes how the companys sales managed to increase by 40 percent in three months during this time, reaching the biggest total profit the company has seen since the nineties. An Amazon blog post published the same day as the announcement highlights and stresses how the company is supporting their staff through the pandemic.

Just hours before the news of Trump testing positive, Amazon revealed that Covid had spread like wildfire among its American workers. They will receive a fraction of the attention but their case tells you a lot more about America todayhttps://t.co/1cPLtEllYt  Aditya Chakrabortty (@chakrabortty) October 2, 2020

In the early days of the crisis, we enlisted several of the worlds leading epidemiology and outbreak-response doctors to work with our 5,000-member global safety team to devise and implement process changes throughout our buildings, reads the post. All in, weve introduced or changed over 150 processes to ensure the health and safety of our teams.

Some have noted the hypocrisy in Jeff Bezoss call for human rights innovations and equality while continuing to expose and exploit workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. The company had up to this point consistently refused to share the number of employees who tested positive for coronavirus. Now Amazon claims that the numbers it revealed are far lower than previously expected.

I'm sorry but Jeff Bezos can't say "Black Lives Matter" and then allow this to happen.https://t.co/DC4u6owQgG  Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) October 2, 2020

The company continues to gear up for its annual Prime Day event on Oct. 13 and 14.
Wardha: Printed copies of a speech given By Mahatma Gandhi 84 years ago were circulated among visitors at the Bapu Kutir here to mark the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation on Friday. The Bapu Kutir is a small hut where Mahatma Gandhi used to stay in Sewagram in Wardha district of Maharashtra during the freedom struggle. It has now become a tourist attraction and a place regularly visited by Gandhians.

After being closed since March-end due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the place was opened for visitors on the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Every year, the Sewagram Ashram Pratishtan organises various programmes to mark Gandhi Jayanti, but due to the pandemic, it did not invite anyone this time and kept its events low-key. However, the ashram management decided to open the Bapu Kutir for visitors from Friday.

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Secretary of the Ashram, Mukund Mhaske, said all COVID-19 guidelines are being followed in the premises after it was opened for public after more than 6 months.

"We are allowing only five persons at a time inside the Bapu Kutir. Visitors have to follow COVID-19 rules formulated by the state government," he said.

The ashram used to organise a special event and invite hundreds of Gandhians and common people on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. But this year, the ashram management printed a speech which was delivered by Mahatma Gandhi on his first visit to Sewagram village, then known as Shegao, on April 30, 1936.

Later, Gandhiji changed the name of the village from Shegaon to Sewagram and told its residents he has come there to serve them.

District Guardian Minister Sunil Kedar unveiled the first printed copy of the speech which was later circulated among visitors.

Mhaske said, "Due to the pandemic, we thought there will be no visitors to the ashram on October 2, but now I am seeing that people are coming from across the county without any invitation or any formal programme."

Many social groups are visiting Sewagram and organising programmes on Gandhi Jayanti, while a padyatra' was also taken out, he said.

Gururaj Raut, a young social activist, said, "I joined a prayer meet at the ashram in the morning and later took part in a padyatra from the Gandhi statue near the collector office to the Bapu Kutir."
Remember the presidential debate? The revelation about how much President Donald Trump pays in taxes? The nomination of a new U.S. Supreme Court justice?

They all happened within the past week. Then, just as quickly, they receded into memory with the revelation Friday that Trump had tested positive for COVID-19. News, substantial news is rushing by at the speed of light.

Memory more than full.

I don't know how many writers who were working on political melodramas have just deleted their files and opened up a bottle of Scotch, said veteran journalist Jeff Greenfield.

The coronavirus story unfurled shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern on Thursday when Jennifer Jacobs, Bloomberg News White House reporter, tweeted that sources had told her that Hope Hicks, one of Trump's closest aides, had tested positive. Trump confirmed that news in a tweet two and half hours later, adding that he and First Lady Melania Trump were being tested and awaiting the results in quarantine.

Then, at 12:54 a.m. Eastern, the president tweeted that both of them were positive.

It's a lot to wake up to, Savannah Guthrie said at the top of NBC's Today show for those who were asleep when the news hit.

ABC's political prognosticating guru Nate Silver tweeted Not sure what to say shortly after the news broke. Seven hours later he had his answer: a shoulder shrug emoji.

The story, not unexpectedly, unleashed raw political feelings on the airwaves.

This is awful, said Nia-Malika Henderson on CNN. This is devastating. This is tragic. And the president bears so much responsibility for this, given the way that he has talked about wearing masks.

Fox News Channel's Pete Hegseth predicted haters of Trump would quickly surface.

Cue the wild conspiracy theories at this point," he said. Cue the rabbit trails, cue the vitriol and the rabid speculation. None of this has anything to do with the president's best interests, the first lady or the rest of the country.

Online, some of those outlandish theories flourished.

But, at least initially, there was enough legitimate news for reporters to chase. When did the president know his top aide was sick? How many people did he come into contact with while knowing there was a possibility of danger? Were reporters who attended a White House news briefing on Thursday at risk?

ABC's hiring of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as an analyst paid dividends, as he told a Good Morning America audience that he had been at the White House for several days until Tuesday for debate preparation and that none of Trump's aides were wearing masks. Looking shaken, Christie was preparing for a test himself.

Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace, who moderated Wednesday night's Trump-Biden debate in Cleveland, said that he got no closer to Trump than it appeared on television, but that Biden said something quietly to him quietly afterward.

Wallace and others noted how Trump aides and family attending the debate did not wear masks, contrary to rules that were set in place prior to the debate, and waved off a doctor who tried to give them masks if they didn't have one. The Biden team wore them.

Wallace also had harsh words for Scott Atlas, a former Fox guest who lately has had the president's ear offering advice on coronavirus policy.

Listen to the independent people who do not have a political axe to grind, Wallace said. And I frankly don't think Scott Atlas is one of those people.

Through much of Friday, Twitter was a whack-a-mole of announcements about people testing positive (like Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee) and negative (Democratic opponent Joe Biden and his wife, Jill).

It was all a little exhausting. This past day and a half has been quite a month, tweeted the Washington Post's Paul Farhi.

Greenfield, who is 77, said he can't remember a time when such major news has come so fast and furiously. It makes Bob Woodward's book about the Trump administration, and the revelations therein, feel like ancient history.

Greenfield recommends people take some time away from social media and the television. Read a novel. Watch some sports.

You may want to go out for a walk, he said. But by the time you come back, the asteroid may have hit or the aliens landed and you have a whole new story.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

As daily new case counts of COVID-19 climbed across the country in late September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada was now in the second wave of the pandemic.

Dr. Nitin Mohan, Assistant Professor, Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry is a physician epidemiologist who teaches in the Master of Management and Applied Sciences and Master of Public Health Programs. He explains exactly what a second wave is, why it happens, and how we can prepare.

When we talk about a "second wave" what do we mean?

Traditionally, a second wave is an increase in cases during a short period of time. When we had our first wave, we enacted broad public health measures to drive our case counts down with the aim of building capacity in lab testing, contact tracing and also in the community.

Once we lift restrictions, in a perfect world we hope that the case counts don't jump too high, but typically what happens is you lift restrictions, you see a rise in case counts.

With the weather getting colder in the fall and now with schools and other sectors reopening, it's predictable to see a second wave. What we really watch is how high that wave gets. We want to keep that peak of the wave lower than the first time.

Is a second wave just inevitable in a pandemic?

The second wave is predictable. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that we are experiencing a second wave. I think what we have to focus on is how high the wave gets again.

Historically, we can look back to the Spanish Flu in 1918. The last time this happened was 100 years ago, and we did see some distinct second waves. The areas that had higher second waves tended to have shorter first wave precautions. So, what that means is that they lifted the restrictions earlier than places that had a lower second wave.

How do we know we've entered the second wave in Canada?

The second wave isn't going to introduce itself politely, it just shows up; and it's here.

We can talk about what the first blip was, and when we were officially there - but I think what's more important to understand is that we are in that second wave now and we need to take this with the precaution that it deserves, continue on with public health measures and drive the case count down.

Credit: University of Western Ontario

What can be done to keep down the second wave peak?

The broad-based public health measures have to continue  so, wear a mask when you are not able to physically distance, wash your hands, and then again physically distance as much as possible and avoid non-essential activities.

As much as we hope and wish we can return to pre-pandemic normal, we are not there right now. So, you have to be cautious in everything that you are doing.

We call COVID the ultimate "we issue" - something like wearing a mask protects your community members more than it protects you. We all need to be looking out for each other.

What is unique or different about this wave compared to the last?

Younger folks are driving the numbers up this time, specifically, those under the age of 40, and in many cases, under the age of 20. That may be driven in part by the belief that COVID-19 only impacts the elderly.

We do know that younger folks aren't as severely harmed by COVID-19, that being said, there are many instances where these folks do end up in hospital or ICU and these are individuals that are otherwise healthy. We're still learning a lot about the virus and we know now that even if you recover there are lasting long-term effects.

Will we go back into complete lock down again?

We have a lot more data coming into this second wave than we did for the first. So, through contact tracing and lab data, it is easier to pinpoint where these cases are arising from so that there can be targeted public health interventions.

The hope is not to close down all parts of the economy and all sectors all at once. When we talk about public health, it's not just infectious disease transmission, we're talking about social and economic issues, we want our students to go school and get an education, we want businesses to continue to make money. So, if we know that there are areas that drive transmission - and these areas we call high-risk areas - we can do targeted closures there and this allows us to keep the rest of the economy open.

How will cold and flu season going to influence the second wave?

Colds and flus still exist, and people will get them this year. There are symptoms of a cold and the flu that mimic the symptoms of COVID-19; we call these confounding symptoms. This can influence capacity in primary care providers' offices and testing centers.

That is why this year it is extremely important to get your flu shot. It is important every year, but this year especially. Get your flu shot, get it early, and encourage all your friends and family to get it as well. It will help our primary care providers and will help our communities stay safe.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
San Francisco, Oct 2 : Shedding some inhibitions about sharing data related to the impact of Covid-19 on its warehouse workers, Amazon has said that 19,816 front-line employees in the US have tested positive or been presumed positive for the disease.

Amazon had earlier tried to play down the importance of sharing data on how the pandemic affected workers, despite criticism from current and former employees over the protection measures put in place by the e-commerce giant.

However, Amazon on Thursday said that it has done a thorough analysis of data on all 1.37 million Amazon and Whole Foods Market front-line employees across the US employed at any time from March 1 to September 19.

"We compared COVID-19 case rates to the general population, as reported by Johns Hopkins University for the same period, accounting for geography and the age composition of our employees to make the data as accurate as possible," Amazon said in a blog post.

"Based on this analysis, if the rate among Amazon and Whole Foods Market employees were the same as it is for the general population rate, we estimate that we would have seen 33,952 cases among our workforce," it added.

Amazon said that in reality, the number of employees who have tested positive or been presumed positive for Covid-19 is 42 per cent lower than the expected number.

You can see a full state-by-state chart of case rates among our front-line employees, along with additional details about our methodology and data sources, here.

"We've already launched and are ramping quickly, conducting thousands of tests a day and growing to 50,000 tests a day across 650 sites by November as part of our effort to keep our front-line employees safe," Amazon said.

And because we've built this testing capacity ourselves, we're adding to the total number of tests available --not taking supply from others," it added.

Amazon said it is investing "hundreds of millions of dollars" in testing initiative, besides other safety measures for its front-line employees.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, has told an electoral debate that she admires the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

When asked if she could name International Leaders that she admired, Prime Minister Ardern didnt hesitate for a second.

Of course I can, Pedro Sanchez, from Spain and the Prime Minister of Denmark," she said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Ardern is known for her progressive policies and good management of the Covid-19 crisis which resulted in 1,848 cases and 25 deaths in New Zealand.

Last year, Sanchez and Ardern held a Climate Crisis meeting for Political Leaders in New York.

"The Spanish Governments plans for a just ecological transition and the inclusive budget that the New Zealand Government has just carried out were the main topics of conversation," Sanchez tweeted at the time.

New Zealand's conservative candidate, Judith Collins named German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the International Leader she admired most.

On October 17 New Zealanders will also vote in referendums on the legalisation of recreational marijuana and the legalisation of euthanasia.

During the debate, Prime Minister Ardern admitted that she had tried marijuana.

Ardern has been applauded worldwide for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic, she's highly popular and favourite to win the election on October 17.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made public location tracking data for its Mars probe.

The location of Hope Probe, its speed and trajectory are now viewable on the Emirates Mars Mission website. The probe is currently between Earth and Mars and is heading counterclockwise around the sun like Mars orbit.

In July, Hope launched from Japan. The UAE expects the probe to reach Mars in February 2021. Hope aims to study Mars properties and this will include gathering data on the planets dust storms.

Earlier this week, the wealthy Gulf state announced plans to land a space rover on the moon. The Emirates aims to launch the rover named Rashid in 2024.

The Emirates Mars Mission is the first of its kind from an Arab state. If the UAE successfully lands its rover on the moons surface, it will only be the fourth country in the world to do so after the United States, the Soviet Union and China.
Police believe a British camper van driver may have deliberately crashed into a lorry after murdering his wife several days earlier.

Detectives think that the 38-year-old man ended his life with the horror smash while he was still carrying his alleged victim's body in their mobile home.

The unnamed Brit died instantly in the crash last Friday afternoon on the A-381 motorway close to the town of Los Barrios near Gibraltar.

Police and firefighters later discovered the body of his 41-year-old French wife in what was left of the campervan.

The unnamed Brit died instantly in the crash (pictured) last Friday afternoon on the A-381 motorway close to the town of Los Barrios near Gibraltar

Reports at the time said it was being driven on the wrong side of the motorway when the head-on smash happened.

And today Civil Guard investigators said everything was pointing to the accident being a probable murder-suicide after an autopsy revealed the woman had died days before the collision.

One police source said: 'It does appear at this stage that the driver deliberately crashed his vehicle when his wife was already dead inside.'

Spanish press are reporting the incident as a murder-suicide and say the police probe is now being conducted as a domestic violence investigation.

Reports at the time said the campervan was being driven on the wrong side of the motorway when the head-on smash happened (aftermath pictured)

The crash happened around kilometre 75 of the A-381 motorway at 2.15pm last Friday.

The 43-year-old lorry driver, believed to be a Spaniard from Dos Hermanas, near Seville, was taken to hospital 'seriously injured.'

His current condition was not immediately clear today.

The local Civil Guard force has yet to make any official comment.
It is behavior that has gotten college students kicked off their campuses, led business owners to be threatened with hefty fines and landed dozens of people in jail. But before announcing his positive coronavirus test result on Twitter early Friday, it was simply the norm for President Donald Trump.

In the seven months since the outbreak first spread across the U.S., he has flouted seemingly every basic health guideline put forth by his own government in response.

He repeatedly refused to wear a face mask, and held large rallies with hundreds of supporters who did the same, often in violation of local ordinances. He allowed the White House to continue its daily operations with scant social distancing, exposing himself to dozens of people who had taken few protections against the virus.

And again and again, he insisted such an approach was fine - because the White House was testing his close contacts every day, or because he was taking an antimalarial drug with no proven effect on healthy people exposed to the virus. Pressed on the issue during Tuesday's presidential debate in Cleveland, he said: "So far, we have had no problem whatsoever."

Yet as the pandemic has carried on, killing more 205,000 Americans many have pointed to that pattern of medically risky behavior to explain Trump's own infection with the virus.

Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist at the University of Washington, said that the diagnosis was the inevitable consequence of Trump and his aides ignoring social distancing guidelines and failing to wear face masks.

"The fact that this even occurred is a damning indictment [of] their months and months of misrepresenting good public health practice," he told MSNBC's Brian Williams. "This did not have to happen."

Now, Trump, a medically obese 74-year-old man whose age and weight may increase the risk of complications, must contend personally with the virus that he has spent much of his fourth year in office downplaying.

After he announced the test results early on Friday morning, White House aides said all his political events would be canceled for the foreseeable future. Trump wrote on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump would "begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately."

That is a swift reversal from the loose adherence to health guidelines that he has displayed for months.

In March, as his administration scrambled to contain an outbreak quickly spreading across the country, he urged for Americans to practice social distancing at news conferences, where he and his aides often ignored that advice. Trump and members of his coronavirus task force were seen touching their faces, exchanging handshakes and congregating shoulder-to-shoulder behind the lectern.

With much of the country on lockdown, that behavior continued for months. In May, after news broke that two White Houses staffers had tested positive for the coronavirus, Trump told White House physician Sean P. Conley that he wanted to start taking hydroxychloroquine.

By then, the Food and Drug Administration had already warned against using the antimalarial drug outside a hospital setting or a clinical trial, as scientists noted the drug could in fact increase the risk of death among patients with heart problems.

But Trump demurred, noting that hydroxychloroquine had been approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other ailments for decades. Following discussions with Conley, they decided that "the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks," the doctor wrote at the time.

"I think it's good. I've heard a lot of good stories" Trump said, "And if it's not good, I'll tell you right. I'm not going to get hurt by it."

Weeks later, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that the drug did not prevent healthy people from getting covid-19 if they had been exposed to someone with the virus.

In April, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new recommendations on face masks, Trump again contradicted the science. During a visit the following month to a Michigan auto plant, he removed his mask before speaking to reporters, saying he did not pose a risk because he had been tested for the virus that morning.

At one point, he appeared to suddenly change course, tweeting a photo of himself with his face covered and calling it a "patriotic" act. But later in the summer, it was back to his old routines. He mocked former vice president Joe Biden for wearing a mask, insisting that reporters remove theirs at news conferences and effectively abandoned a short-lived mask policy at the White House.

As cases and deaths rapidly spread across the country, and hotspots shifted from dense, left-leaning cities like New York to his geographic base in the Sun Belt and Midwest, Trump traveled to both of those regions to stage massive rallies - where social distancing rules were repeatedly ignored and neither he nor his supporters wore masks.

At a June event in Tulsa, supporters were reportedly instructed to cover their faces while entering the arena, but allowed to take masks off inside, where many stood standing shoulder-to-shoulder despite plenty of empty seats.

Last month in North Carolina, he jeered the state's limit on crowd sizes, suggesting that his airport rallies had received less leeway to break similar rules than racial justice demonstrations.

"We call you peaceful protesters, you know why?" Trump told the group. "Because they have rules in these Democrat-run states that if you're campaigning, you cannot have more than five people. They did that for me."

Hope Hicks, a top aide who traveled extensively with the president and met with him for long hours of debate prep earlier this week, was also often pictured without a mask around him. On Thursday, after White House officials had learned of Hicks testing positive, Trump did not immediately quarantine, as recommended by the CDC.

Instead, he boarded a plane to New Jersey, where he attended a fundraiser and delivered a speech while standing close to dozens of other people.
Halloween and Thanksgiving would not be complete without pumpkins. Pumpkins have always been part of these two festivities as these add a festive ambiance or atmosphere with these events. Most of the time, it's the kids that are readily quick to look for pumpkins to participate cheerfully in almost all pumpkin activities during these seasons.

Fortunately, there are so many pumpkin fun-filled activities to do this forthcoming holiday. There's just no shortage of what you can do with pumpkins. Whether you use the for decoration or for food, you'll have a blast with pumpkins during these festivities. If you are looking for pumpkin activities that are fun not only for the kids but for all ages in the family, check out these pumpkin activities for a perfect pumpkin season!

Create Your Mini Backyard Pumpkin Patch

Instead of taking that Pumpkin Patch trip with the family, why not create your own mini backyard pumpkin patch? It doesn't have to be as vast as the other pumpkin patch farms. Your main goal in this activity is to create that fun spirit with your family just right outside your home.

This activity is more feasible by growing pumpkins at home, which is not that complicated if you are still a pumpkin novice. The first important thing you need to do is find the right location for your homegrown pumpkins. These pumpkins must be well-watered every day. Your pumpkins must be well-cared. You might also need to fertilize your pumpkins to create a beautiful pumpkin patch for the coming holiday.

Bake a Pumpkin Pie with the Family

When your creation of a pumpkin patch in your backyard has turned out to be successful, it is best to harvest some pumpkins from it to bake delicious pumpkin pies with your family. Baking a pumpkin pie together is one of the great ways to solidify your bond with your family. No one can ultimately celebrate a holiday season without these yummy pumpkin pies on your table.

Also, pumpkin pies have impressive health benefits to the person. Pumpkin Pies are rich in Vitamin A, which is good for the eyesight. Pumpkin pies can also boost your immune system. Undeniably, baking pumpkin pies with the family will create a stronger family bond and will even yield positive health effects.

Paint your Pumpkin Activity

Another fun way of celebrating a holiday or thanksgiving is to paint your pumpkins with different funny or smiling faces. You may also paint your pumpkin with a look that best reflects your holiday emotion. You may also make this activity a fun competition to paint the most creative pumpkin among the family members or friends.

This activity not only allows you to showcase your creativity, but can also function as therapy. Considering that you may express your emotions through pumpkin painting, activities such as these are often therapeutic. Try this fun activity with your family and friends, and expect a very positive effect it will have on your relationships or friendship.

Pumpkin Carving

If you do not want to do away with holiday traditions, then making jack-o-lanterns is for you. This activity is always fun for younger kids, older kids, and even adults. Carving may be a little challenging to you, but you can use many fresh ideas and ways to arrive at a unique design. You can also upgrade this activity into a more exciting and diverse one.

It does not have to be always spooky. You may opt for an elegant pumpkin carving design, playful sporty pumpkin carving design, mermaid pumpkin carving design, or even fashionable pumpkin carving design. The choice is yours, for there should be no limit to a person's creative mind.

Pumpkin Cooking Competition Activity

Although it has been a long-standing tradition of the people to always have a pumpkin pie around the table every holiday or thanksgiving, people are highly encouraged to try different pumpkin food recipes. The best way to achieve this goal is through a pumpkin cooking competition where your family or friends can showcase their cooking talent.

With all the health benefits that one can derive from a pumpkin, it is more beneficial for people to try and prepare different pumpkin food recipes during this coming holiday. Examples of these pumpkin food recipes are Stuffed Pumpkin, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Caramel Cake, and Pumpkin Pancakes. This activity can only be made possible through a healthy pumpkin cooking competition. Now is the best time to let your cooking talent shine!

Takeaway

Indeed, pumpkin is a very significant part of the holiday or thanksgiving as it is a symbol of harvest time. It is difficult to imagine a holiday celebration or thanksgiving table without pumpkins on it. Pumpkins are there to stay forever in every event or thanksgiving celebration. And now that the holiday is coming prepare yourself to engage in all these fun pumpkin activities to enjoy a perfect pumpkin season!
The Trump administration has proposed including a $20 billion extension in aid for the battered airline industry in a new stimulus proposal to House Democrats worth over $1.5 trillion, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said on Wednesday.

Theres $20 billion in the most recent proposal for the airlines that would give them a six month extension," Meadows told reporters aboard Air Force One, noting that the industry was in urgent need of support.

American Airlines and United Airlines, two of the largest U.S. carriers, said they were beginning furloughs of over 32,000 workers on Thursday as hopes faded for a last-minute bailout from Washington. U.S. airlines have been pleading for another $25 billion in payroll support to protect jobs for a further six months after the current package, which banned furloughs, expired at midnight EDT.

Coronavirus relief talks between the White House and House Democrats had stalled in large part over the price tag, with Democrats seeking $2.2 trillion and the White House staying firm at $1.5 trillion.

Meadows declined to provide the total value of the White Houses latest proposal but said the figure is certainly above the $1.5 trillion that has been articulated to date."

As you get above $1.5 trillion, it gets extremely difficult to justify based on the facts," he cautioned, explicitly stating that $2 trillion was too much. If it starts with a 2, its going to be a real problem," he added.

Speaking on a flight to Washington from the swing state of Minnesota where U.S. President Donald Trump had headlined a rally ahead of presidential elections in November, Meadows said he was hopeful talks will continue with Democrats on Thursday.

Meadows also told reporters that a stop-gap spending bill approved by the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratically-led House to fund the government through December 11 had been received by the White House. Trump has signed the bill.

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
Les smsmbres du Cabinet ministeriel ont pris note de l aprpmulgatiopn du Education (Amendment) Regulations 2020 concernant la rentree de lannee scolaire et lage pour les jeunes qui vont commencer le cycle primaire, du Beach Management Plans pour les plages de Mont Choisy, Belle Mare, Flic en Flac et La Prairie, quau 2 octobre 2020 il y a eu 358 cas de Covid-19 dans le pays entres autres.

1. Cabinet has agreed to the Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology promulgating the Education (Amendment) Regulations 2020. Following closure of schools as from 19 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial school calendar was adjusted and the third term 2020 would now end on 26 March 2021. In the context of admission of pupils to Grade I as from June 2021, amendments would be made to the Education Regulations to provide that:

(a) no pupil shall be admitted to a Government primary school or an Aided primary school unless  he has attained the age of five years on or before 31 May of the year in which he seeks admission; and

(b) in every school in receipt of public funds  the school year, which shall begin on

01 June, shall be divided into three terms, the dates of which shall be approved by the Minister.

2. Cabinet has agreed to the alignment of the fines applicable for offences of littering and illegal dumping in four Local Authorities with that of the Local Government Act 2011 and to the Local Government (Dumping and Waste Carriers) Regulations 2003 being amended to provide for tougher penalties for the offences of littering and illegal dumping as well as additional technical specifications and new conditions being attached to the issue of a Waste Carrier Licence.

3. Cabinet has agreed to the phased implementation of Beach Management Plans at Mont Choisy, Belle Mare, Flic en Flac and La Prairie public beaches. The amenities would comprise among others, vigilance towers, parking facilities with surface drainage system, public toilets, kiosks/gazebos, main garbage bins, litter bins, benches and picnic tables, LED solar lighting system, open showers, open gyms and landscaping works.

4. Cabinet has agreed to the recruitment of a Consultant for the provision of consultancy services for coastal protection, landscaping and infrastructural works at 16 sites for the period 2020-2024. Taking into account the nature and magnitude of the protection and rehabilitation works required, the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change proposes to recruit a Consultant to, inter alia, :

(a) carry out detailed site assessment in terms of ecological and hydrodynamics surveys to come up with integrated coastal protection measures, taking into consideration environmental, socio-economic and recreational aspects, as well as, the need to adapt and increase resilience to climate change impacts;

(b) prepare preliminary design, detailed design and bidding documents;

(c) conduct an Environment Impact Assessment for the recommended protection works in line with the Environment Protection Act;

(d) supervise the execution of the works; and

(e) monitor the sites and liaise with the Contractor during the implementation of the works as well as during defects liability period.

Cabinet has also agreed that a Consultant would be recruited to undertake a site assessment for the implementation of coastal protection, landscaping and infrastructural works at Riviere des Creoles public beach. The Consultant would, inter alia, also prepare the preliminary designs and detailed designs and bidding documents as well as supervise the execution of the works.

5. Cabinet has taken note of the activities being organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management to mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction celebrated on 13 October, namely:

(a) a march from the Headquarters of the Mauritius Meteorological Services to the Town Hall of the Municipal Council of Vacoas-Phoenix involving some 200 participants. The objective of the march is to create awareness among stakeholders as well as the general public on the need for preparedness and response in situation of disaster;

(b) an official function in the Town Hall of the Municipal Council of Vacoas-Phoenix;

(c) an exhibition of photographs, posters and equipment on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in the compound of the Town Hall which would be open to the public; and

(d) a demonstration by the personnel of the SMF on disaster risk operations.

6. Cabinet has taken note of the status of allocation of land to former employees of the sugar estates. In November 2019, some 14 projects for land allocation to the former employees of some sugar estates had been identified, out of which the outstanding issues of six projects have been resolved and discussions are ongoing with the sugar estates for the remaining eight projects.

7. Cabinet has taken note of the activities being organised by the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity, in collaboration with the National Social Inclusion Foundation and the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF), in the context of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, commemorated on

17 October. The theme chosen by the United Nations for this year is Acting together to achieve social and environmental justice for all. The activities being organised include, inter alia, :

(a) the organisation of a main event on 17 October 2020 at the Caudan Arts Centre, Port Louis, comprising:

(i) the handing over of keys to 25 beneficiaries across the island of the Fully Concrete Housing Scheme under the NEF and to the first 47 beneficiaries of the NHDC Housing Scheme under which 10% NHDC houses are reserved for households eligible under the Social Register of Mauritius (SRM);

(ii) the handing over of certificates and toolkits to some 500 beneficiaries of the NEF, who have successfully completed their training courses in different sectors such as manufacture of aluminium openings and food processing;

(iii) testimonial from two beneficiaries having received empowerment support from the NEF; and

(iv) an expo-sales of products manufactured by some 50 SRM beneficiaries. The beneficiaries would have the opportunity to meet potential customers during the expo-sales to showcase and market their products;

(b) the hosting of a dinner for some 150 homeless persons in Port Louis on

17 October 2020, in collaboration with the National Social Inclusion Foundation; and

(c) the launching of the first Learning Corner at Camp Levieux on 24 October 2020.

Various activities would also be held in Rodrigues.

8. Cabinet has taken note of the status of implementation of the 10-Year Master Plan for the SME sector, launched by the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives in March 2017 with the objective of reshaping the entrepreneurship landscape as well as accelerating SME innovation and growth.

9. Cabinet has taken note of the organisation of an Empowering Programme for Housewives on Healthy Lifestyle in 30 localities throughout the island which would target around 1500 housewives. The Programme would start in October 2020 and would end by June 2021.

The objectives of the programme are to:

(a) encourage housewives to adopt a healthy lifestyle;

(b) empower housewives with the required knowledge and skills for choosing as well as preparing healthy foods/ meals for their families;

(c) teach housewives how to take anthropometric measurements (height, weight and waist circumference); and

(d) show housewives how to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) indicator to determine underweight, overweight and obesity.

10. Cabinet has taken note of the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic prevailing worldwide and in the region. As at 2 October 2020, 385 cases of COVID-19 had been registered in Mauritius. The last local case was registered on 26 April 2020.

As at 2 October 2020, there were 26 imported active cases of COVID-19 in Mauritius.

The public should continue to observe strict sanitary precautions in order to avoid any importation or resurgence of COVID-19 in the country.

11. Cabinet has taken note of the completion of the COVID-19 related repatriation of Mauritians and other stranded persons. By the end of the repatriation phase, some 8,979 passengers have returned to Mauritius on board repatriation flights including 8,383 Mauritians out of whom there were 2,430 former cruise workers. The remaining 596 were non-Mauritians who were experts, diplomats, Occupation Permit and Resident Permit Holders and foreign students. The outcome of the repatriation phase ending 30 September 2020 is as follows:

(a) repatriation of the near totality of stranded former cruise workers;

(b) repatriation of the near totality of hardships cases registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade;

(c) repatriation of the vast majority of Mauritians holders of a return ticket issued on or before 20 March 2020; and

(d) repatriation of at least half of all Mauritian registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade desiring to return to Mauritius.

Cabinet has also taken note that the requests of Mauritians stranded abroad, holding a return ticket issued on or before 20 March 2020 and who could not return to Mauritius before the end of September 2020, would be looked into by a Committee on a case to case basis.

12. Cabinet has taken note of the consolidation of the COVID-19 Preparedness Plan of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. The objective of the Plan is to present the measures to be taken in case of a resurgence of COVID-19. The Plan takes into account international recommendations and guidelines, including those formulated by the World Health Organization, and also all the best practices developed and acquired locally following the experience gained in responding to the first infection wave registered in Mauritius.

13. Cabinet has taken note of the measures taken to implement a phased COVID-safe Reopening of Borders as from 01 October 2020, to all Mauritians and non-Mauritians willing to undergo mandatory quarantine in a state-designated Quarantine Facility. A new detailed Protocol has been prepared and covering prescribed measures and behaviour in respect of:

(a) airline operations including crew;

(b) airport operation and passenger facilities (arrival and departure) including Duty Free outlets;

(c) contingency planning for Airport Personnel;

(d) transfer to quarantine facilities by Destination Management Companies under police supervision;

(e) operation of quarantine facilities by hotel personnel under supervision of Ministry of Health and Wellness, and

(f) integrity of quarantine facilities ensured by Ministry of Health and Wellness with Police assistance.

In line with the new Sanitary Protocol, training sessions are ongoing since

09 September 2020, targetting hotel personnel, airport and airline personnel and Destination Management Companies personnel. Passengers intending to travel to Mauritius are purchasing airline tickets through normal sales channels, including travel agencies and are directed to a dedicated Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority online page for information as to hotels available in respect of each flight and then proceed to purchase a quarantine hotel package inclusive of accommodation on full-board basis and transfers, from the chosen hotel.

Mauritians would be exempted from payment of the three PCR tests and medical expenses in Mauritius. All non-Mauritians are being charged, in addition to quarantine costs, medical expenses amounting to Rs13,500 including three PCR tests, quarantine related Health staff costs as well as a COVID-19 insurance subscribed by the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority from an insurance company.

14. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between Airport Terminal Operations Ltd (ATOL) and the Ministry of Health and Wellness for the operation of a full-fledged Airport Health Laboratory at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport with the objective of providing adequate testing facilities at the Airport to rapidly identify all COVID-19 positive cases among incoming passengers.

15. Cabinet has taken note of the National Laboratory Policy which has been prepared by the Ministry of Health and Wellness with the technical assistance of the World Health Organization. The National Laboratory Policy has been developed to perform testing for the purpose of disease diagnosis, screening, prevention and monitoring of treatment and finally to contribute to the ongoing surveillance of diseases of public health importance not only in the local context but also in the regional and international contexts. The National Laboratory Policy provides for the overall framework and strategies for establishing, strengthening and maintaining the National Health Laboratory system. The Policy is aligned with the Health Sector Strategic Plan 2020-2024.

16. Cabinet has taken note of the status of implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Management System across the public service, as announced in the Government Programme 2020-2024. The Ministry of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms has set up the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Committees in all Ministries and Departments to look into safety and health matters. Since 2016, the ILO-OSH 2001 Guidelines, which have been drawn up by the International Labour Organisation, in consultation with Government, employers and trade unions, are being implemented on a pilot basis in 19 Ministries, covering 43 worksites, as most of these Ministries are already certified compliant to ISO 9001:2015. In 2018, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) came up with the ISO 45001:2018 standards to provide organisations with a tool for implementing safety and health norms and standards at workplace based on international best practices. The 43 worksites would now migrate into the new standard in order to avail these organisations of the accrued benefits. Based on the outcome of the pilot phase, the system would be deployed to other Ministries and Departments in a phased manner.

17. Cabinet has agreed to the National Land Transport Authority (NLTA) introducing a new category of Public Service Vehicle Licence (PSVL), namely the H-Licence to address transport issues at remotely located areas. The absence of public transport in the proximity of some remotely-located regions causes hardship to the inhabitants and poses security hazards in their daily activities. The H-PSVL would be introduced, on a pilot basis, in a few specific localities which are situated at least one kilometre away from the nearest point of accessibility to the bus transport system. The prime objective of the proposed H-PSVL would be to contribute towards the provision of a dedicated transport service that would act as a modal transfer between the point of residence/activity to the bus system to ensure the safe and secure movement of the inhabitants. If the service meets the satisfaction of the NLTA and responds adequately to public demand, it would be extended to other remotely-located regions of the island.

18. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management would carry out a fresh Human Resource Audit exercise in Local Authorities. The conduct of a Human Resource Audit exercise in all Municipal and District Councils is important so as to determine whether the organisational structure of each Council was appropriate to meet its objectives as laid down in the Local Government Act and to develop a strategy to strengthen, with a consistent budget, the share of operational expenditure in the key areas of a local authority. A multidisciplinary team would be constituted to carry out the exercise which would start by end October 2020 and be completed in February 2021.

19. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of a Consultation Mechanism between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia.

The Consultation Mechanism with Estonia would not only reinforce our bilateral relations through regular meetings in a structured format but would also serve as a platform to address issues of pertinence, to follow-up on developments as well as to identify new areas of cooperation. Over the last three years, bilateral relations with Estonia have been mainly geared towards collaboration in the Information and Communications Technology sector. Other potential areas of cooperation with Estonia include, inter alia, cyber security, blockchain, fintech, education sector, health sector and exchange of best practices in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector.

20. Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development would promulgate the Statutory Bodies Pension Funds (Amendment of Schedule) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 for the listing of the National Youth Council in the First Schedule to the Statutory Bodies Pension Funds Act for the establishment of a pension fund with SICOM for its employees, with effect from 01 September 2020.

21. Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development would promulgate the following regulations to provide for the implementation of measures mentioned in the Annex to the Budget Speech 2020-2021 relating to revenue laws as well as technical amendments to clarify, fine tune and harmonise various provisions in revenue laws:

(a) Customs (Amendment) Regulations 2020;

(b) Customs Tariff (Amendment of Schedule) (No. 3) Regulations 2020;

(c) Customs (Movement Certificate EUR 1) (Amendment) Regulations 2020;

(d) Excise (Amendment) Regulations 2020;

(e) Excise (Amendment of Schedule) (No. 3) Regulations 2020;

(f) Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2020; and

(g) Value Added Tax (Amendment of Schedule) (No. 3) Regulations 2020.

22. Cabinet has taken note that the Financial Services Commission (FSC) intends to enter into agreements with its sister institutions in Abu Dhabi, Canada, India, Kenya and Qatar for the purpose of, inter alia, promoting mutual assistance, technical and information exchanges and, collaboration on Innovation and Fintech related matters. One of the functions of the Commission relates to the establishment and maintenance of such links and liaison with international bodies in the field of financial services and global business as may be necessary for the furtherance of its objects. The FSC proposes to enter into agreements with the following institutions:

(a) the Abu Dhabi Global Market Financial Services Regulatory Authority;

(b) the Ontario Securities Commission, the Autorite des Marches Financiers (Quebec), British Columbia Securities Commission, the Alberta Securities Commission, the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan, the Manitoba Securities Commission, the Financial and Consumer Services Commission (New Brunswick), the Nova Scotia Securities Commission;

(c) the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India;

(d) the Capital Markets Authority, Kenya; and

(e) the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority.

23. Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution of the Board of the National Transport Corporation with Mr Amarnath Jagannath as Chairperson.

24. Cabinet has taken note of the composition of the Nursing Council of Mauritius for the period 2020 to 2023, following the election of members of the Council on 19 September 2020.

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Its logical that when outgoing Sen. Pat McGuire, D-Joliet, announced his retirement, his House mate, Rep. John Connor of Lockport, tossed his hat in the ring for the Senate seat. In this heavily Democratic district, Connor is the favorite. But like other medium-sized cities across Illinois, Joliet has been hurt by lack of attention to pro-growth policies that would keep jobs there. Want change in Springfield? You have to vote for it. Republican Ben Bierly of Elwood, a newcomer, opposes the graduated income tax on the ballot, which if passed will hit large businesses with a tax hike too. He wants state government to reduce spending and dedicate savings to making pension payments to protect benefits promised. And he says House Speaker Michael Madigan should resign. Connor has not only said next to nothing about the corruption scandal unfolding in his party, he is taking gobs of campaign money from Madigan-allied groups, including Personal PAC and trial lawyers. Will voters finally reject the Madigan machine? Bierly is endorsed.
Allo has greatly expanded its services since Nelnet purchased it, growing from a small rural telecommunications company serving central and western Nebraska to one with a footprint across Nebraska. It built out a fiber network to serve Lincoln with internet and other services, and also expanded to Hastings, Norfolk and two cities in Colorado. As of June 30, the company had more than 53,000 customers.

"Allo has established itself as a leading provider of fiber-to-the-premise services in Nebraska and Colorado, and we are thrilled to support its growth alongside Nelnet," Clinton Karcher, principal at SDC, said in the release.

Nelnet, which has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on capital improvements for Allo, stands to gain more than the $197 million. According to its securities filing, it will redeem $160 million worth of secured notes as part of the sale and may redeem an additional $100 million worth of secured notes.

That is dependent on Allo securing at least $100 million in debt financing, which also could be used to pay for further expansion costs. The news release mentioned possible further expansion across the Midwest.
Of course, in the movies, right about now one of those nameless public servants  or maybe a heroic team of them  would emerge to tell the truth about what may go down in history as Americas most dysfunctional presidency. But the Avengers arent assembling. If we succumbed too credulously to cynicism about politics, that might be because we naively believed in what the movies told us about how politics work, and what they should look like, at their best and at their worst.
HOLYOKE  Embattled Holyoke Soldiers' Home Superintendent Bennet Walsh resigned Thursday, acting a step ahead of ongoing efforts to fire him following a coronavirus outbreak at the state run facility that left dozens of elderly veterans dead.

In a letter dated Oct. 1 and addressed to the Holyoke Soldiers Home Board of Trustees, Walsh called his service at the home a tremendous honor and waived his right to a hearing scheduled for Monday, Oct. 5.

A notice for the special meeting included a brief agenda listing an executive session to discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual. The trustees also met in executive session Wednesday evening.

Kevin Jourdain, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said Friday that the Oct. 5 meeting has been canceled.

The Board of Trustees looks forward to a thoughtful and robust search process to fill this critical leadership position," Jourdain said in a statement. "The Board of Trustees will seek a candidate who is highly qualified and able to lead the facility to its full potential to provide our veterans with the outstanding care they so richly deserve.

Walsh and Dr. David Clinton  once the top medical adviser at the Soldiers' Home  have each been charged with 10 criminal counts related to the deadly COVID-19 outbreak that claimed the lives of at least 76 residents.

Walsh and Clinton are accused of negligence for combining units at the home and thus, according to state prosecutors, enabling the spread of virus.

Walsh, 50, was appointed head of the Soldiers' Home in 2016 after the retirement and resignation of the facilitys two top administrators over what they described as deficiencies in staffing and funding. He was put on paid administrative leave in late March as deaths mounted at the home and the state sent in an emergency response team.

Walsh was fired by Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders and Gov. Charlie Baker on June 24, the day a report on the outbreak by Boston attorney Mark Pearlstein was released to the public. Clinton, the facilitys medical director, resigned the same day and Francisco Urena, secretary of the states Department of Veterans' Services, resigned ahead of the reports release.

In April, Walsh filed a complaint in Hampden Superior Court seeking to delay a meeting of the trustees on his employment status. He later amended the complaint to challenge his termination by the Baker administration, and last month Hampden Superior Court Judge John S. Ferrara ruled the firing was invalid. Only the trustees have the authority to fire the homes superintendent, the judge ruled.

Reached for comment Friday, Walshs uncle and attorney William Bennett said, The litigation is going to be resolved as well."

Court records show the case was dismissed on Oct. 1. A stipulation of dismissal signed by Bennett and John G. Bagley, an attorney for the trustees, vacated a temporary restraining order that blocked a meeting of the trustees originally scheduled for April 11.

In a letter to Bagley on Friday, Bennett wrote that he had been looking forward to Walshs opportunity for a hearing before the trustees.

However, recent events, most specifically the indictment of Superintendent Walsh and doctor Clinton, make a hearing before the Board unreasonable, Bennett wrote. The Board needs to focus on their important work with confidence in a new Superintendent and Bennett Walsh needs to focus all his effort and attention on clearing his good name.

This is a developing story that will be updated after additional reporting.
S tudents are self-isolating after a small cluster of coronavirus cases were confirmed in the first known outbreak of Covid-19 at a London university.

About 50 students at the Royal College of Music have been told to stay in the Prince Consort Village in Hammersmith after receiving an email warning of one confirmed case and two other suspected cases.

A spokeswoman for the university said no other buildings have been affected.

She added: Our student accommodation is not in lockdown. We currently have a small cluster of confirmed cases of Covid-19 at our halls of residence and these individuals, and those who share their facilities, are self-isolating while being fully supported by staff.

Those who are self-isolating are continuing their studies online. The campus in South Kensington remains open with strict social distancing and students have said a mobile testing site has been set up.

One student told the Standard she is self-isolating despite not having symptoms or being in contact with anyone confirmed as having the virus. She said: Its a bit scary, you never know if youre doing the right thing or not  whether you should be here or not.

Hammersmith and Fulham council leader Stephen Cowan told Politics Home: This is the type of event that weve been planning for all summer.

Our team is fully engaged with everyone affected and doing our best to ensure the infection does not spread. Its absolutely important that people socially distance, wear a face mask, wash hands and carry hand sanitiser.
Israeli troops in the West Bank wounded 15 Palestinians with rubber bullets Friday in clashes marking 20 years since the start of the second intifada, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

The incident took place in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near Nablus in the north of the occupied territory, it said, adding that four of the injured were taken to hospital and the others treated on the spot.

The Red Crescent told AFP that it had also aided "dozens" of protesters who inhaled tear gas fired by Israeli forces.

The Israeli army said it had no knowledge of clashes in the village.

Bearing Palestinian flags, a few hundred demonstrators gathered there in the early afternoon, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

Protests against more than five decades of Israeli occupation are a regular weekly occurence in the West Bank.

Friday's demonstrators also marked the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising which followed late Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon's contentious visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on September 28, 2000.

The second intifada ended in February 2005, after the deaths of some 4,700 people, nearly 80 percent of them Palestinians.

Palestinian officials, including the vice-chairman of the Fatah party Mahmoud al-Alul, participated in Friday's march.

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Balti launches work on Green City Action Plan

Moldovas second city committed to improving environment and peoples lives

Measures include renewing trolleybus fleet with EBRD, E5P funds

Moldovas second largest city, Balti, is beginning its journey towards a greener future by developing its Green City Action Plan. The policy document will help identify, prioritise and implement key actions to improve the urban environment and peoples lives.

The development of the action plan is funded by the government of Sweden and is part of the EBRDs flagship urban sustainability programme Green Cities, which Balti joined in 2019.

Under the programme, the municipality is renewing its trolleybus fleet. Last month Balti ordered 11 new energy efficient trolleybuses, the funds for which will come from an EBRD loan and a grant from the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P). In Moldova, the E5P is funded by the European Union (the largest contributor), Sweden, Moldova, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Lithuania.

The new vehicles will run on electricity and technology which enables them to be powered without overhead wires in remote areas. The new fleet is expected to hit the streets of Balti later this year.

The project will also help extend the existing trolleybus routes to serve densely populated areas and improve overall service efficiency.

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Moldova. To date, the Bank has invested 1.3 billion in the country in over 135 projects, targeting the banking sector, sustainable infrastructure, trade and agriculture. In Balti, it has previously financed an upgrade of district heating infrastructure.
The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened a crisis for democracy across the world, providing for governments to disrupt elections, clamp down on critics and the press, and undermine the accountability needed to protect human rights as well as public health, Freedom House said on October 2.



Since the pandemic began, the state of democracy and human rights has worsened in 80 countries, according to Democracy Under Lockdown, a new report produced by the U.S.-based democracy monitor in partnership with survey firm GQR.



Experts surveyed in the report said that a particularly sharp deterioration was observed in struggling democracies and highly repressive states.



In Azerbaijan, the government has used the pretext of breaking quarantine to crack down on opposition political activists, it noted.



In Kazakhstan, there is an increase in the persecution of civic activists and political opposition for expressing their critical opinions on social media or disseminating information about human rights violations, including through the initiation of criminal cases.



The report said that abuses of power during the pandemic have had a disproportionate impact on communities that were already marginalized.



In Bulgaria, Romany neighborhoods were placed under harsher movement restrictions than areas where Roma did not constitute a majority. In Serbia, one respondent said, migrants were portrayed as possible carriers of the virus.



In a gloomy prediction, more than 60 percent of the respondents said they expect that the pandemics impact on political rights and civil liberties in their countries of focus would be mostly negative for the next three to five years.



The experts identified four acute problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: lack of government transparency and information on the coronavirus, corruption, insufficient protections for vulnerable populations, and abuse of power by governments.



The report noted that activists, journalists, and citizens have been working aggressively to overcome the obstacles. They are trying to push back against government abuses in new ways, often using online platforms to engage with audiences and form new partnerships.



Unprecedented mass protests in Belarus represent a powerful example of pushback in a country where freedom of assembly has long been severely restricted.



Large nationwide rallies against Alyaksandr Lukashenka erupted in August following his claim of victory in a presidential vote marred by repression of opposition figures and allegations of widespread fraud.



Resistance against Lukashenka, the report said, was sparked at least in part by his denial of the pandemic, which contributed to a deadly outbreak of the virus. Thousands of protesters have been detained, and many have been subjected to brutality by security forces, including torture.



With Russian President Vladimir Putin helping to prop up Lukashenka, Freedom House said that the international community should support protesters demands for government accountability and democratic change.



In many countries, the pandemic has had an impact on elections as well. In the United States, election officials across the country appear ill-prepared for the November 3 election, given increased demand for mail voting, possible staffing shortfalls, and last-minute changes to electoral rules.



"The Trump administration has created a fog of misinformation around the pandemic, regularly making false or misleading statements that put lives at risk and undercut the broader government response," the report said.



In Hong Kong, the government used the pandemic as an excuse to delay legislative elections by one year, in a move "widely seen as part of a broader effort by Beijing to cement its elimination of Hong Kongs remaining freedom and autonomy," it said.



The report highlighted that although protests were restricted by the pandemic, they could not be stopped.



"Though 158 countries have had new restrictions placed on protests, a significant protest has taken place in at least 90 countries since the outbreak began," it said.



Freedom House conducted its research from January to September 2020. The work included an online survey by GQR, conducted from July 29 to August 15, in which 398 experts reported on the state of democracy in 105 countries and territories.



In addition, Freedom House consulted its global network of analysts, bringing the total number of countries examined to 192.
Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio was one of Bidens guests at the debate. He has since tested negative for coronavirus, but Friday he expressed his frustration at Trump and his family, telling Politico: Not a one of 'em wore masks. It was obnoxious when I saw it that night, but after having a Q-Tip jammed down my nose again, Im angry at them. Its the height of arrogance. Its dangerous. They endangered other people. They were up on the stage where Joe Biden was.
The Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a (5G) are here, and Google is offering a pair of Bose QC35 II headphones with pre-orders in multiple countries. The reason for bundling such expensive headphones with pre-orders may owe to the state of Google's smartphone business, which has plummeted over 60% in the last year.

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Google unveiled the Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5 yesterday, its more premium answers to the Pixel 4a that it released in August. Both devices are decidedly cheaper alternatives to the Pixel 4 series though, which is underlined by their mid-range price tags. Google claims that it designed the Pixel 5 to 'go on sale during an economic downturn', a statement that reflects the device's 599 price tag and lack of innovations that were present in the Pixel 4 series.

Claiming to have designed a smartphone for when economies are contracting does not necessarily mean that Google believes it will sell many Pixel 5s, though. According to Nikkei Asia, Google plans to produce between 800,000 and 1,000,000 units this year, along with additional 2 million units of the Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a (5G), combined. For context, Google sold 1.5 million smartphones in 1H 2020, a 63% decrease in the volume of smartphones it sold in the same period the year before.

Even selling 1 million units of a 599 smartphone seems a stretch for Google currently, though. Last year, Google offered a Google Store credit with Pixel 4 pre-orders, but it has expanded this to a pair of Bose QC35 II headphones with Pixel 5 pre-orders. The QC35 II still costs 259.95, so that is quite the pre-order bonus. You must pre-order the Pixel 5 by October 19 to be eligible for the offer, but it will return between November 5 and November 18 for Pixel 4a (5G) pre-orders. Arguably, the latter deal is more impressive as it effectively reduces the price of a Pixel 4a (5G) to 239.05.
Derek Mahon, a leading Irish poet whose verses could be lyrical or pessimistic, somber or witty, classically structured but full of contemporary themes, died on Friday at his home in Kinsale, on Irelands southern coast. He was 78.

Stephen Enniss, whose biography, After the Titanic: A Life of Derek Mahon, was published in 2015, confirmed the death. The Belfast Telegraph in Northern Ireland said he died after a short illness.

Mr. Mahon, who also translated poems and works for the stage, drew on personal demons as well as the demons of modern history in composing poetry that, in contrast to much modern poetry, often favored rhymed verses.

Derek Mahons life was one of repeated crises, an early suicide attempt while a student at Trinity, a broken marriage, alcoholism, and all of it set against the violent bloodletting of the Troubles, Dr. Enniss said by email. As a poet, he found consolation in poetic forms, in rhyme, which he once called the prelinguistic drumbeat, and his body of work can be read as an attempt to impose form on the otherwise formlessness of his own life.
Sterling rose early on Friday before Britain's David Frost and the European Union's Michel Barnier meet to continue Brexit talks.

Significant issues remain between Britain and the EU Union about their post-Brexit trade relationship, British housing minister Robert Jenrick said on Friday.

A more important meeting is set for Saturday, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss the next steps.

"This meeting is what sterling longs needed," said Jordan Rochester, forex strategist at Nomura. He expects sterling to continue rising because the risk-reward getting a deal over no-deal.

Still, the pound is unlikely to strengthen by much until it becomes clear in which direction the talks are headed, he said. "With each (Brexit news) headline you get sucked in to put trades on and within minutes a denial comes in and it turns either way."

The pound had a tumultuous day on Thursday, rising and falling in direct response to Brexit-related news, as Britain and the EU neared the end of the last scheduled round of trade talks before the bloc's leaders assess progress on Oct. 15-16.

Rochester has been advising not to trade sterling unless they have to.

The pound was last trading up 0.4% versus the euro at 90.78 pence and up by 0.2% against the U.S. dollar at $1.2914.

Sterling overnight volatility gauges receded however. The cost for options on a three-month contract for protection against volatility also fell to a one-month low.

Britain is struggling with a coronavirus-induced economic recession, another headache in addition to Brexit.

The events industry warned Johnson on Friday that more than 90,000 people in the exhibitions business would be made redundant in the coming weeks unless he offered more support to replace a government job-furlough scheme.

More British companies reported a fall in sales over the past three months than an upswing, despite the lifting of lockdown restrictions for most parts of the economy, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said on Thursday.

However, Britain on Thursday reported 6,914 new COVID-19 cases, a decline from the previous two days, when more than 7,000 cases were reported daily. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
U.S. schools from kindergarten to high school have avoided a spike in COVID-19 cases, early data show, but medical experts say the real test is coming as students in large densely-populated cities such as New York and Miami return to classrooms.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week said more than 270,000 COVID-19 cases had been reported in children aged 5-17 since March. Cases in school-age children ticked slightly higher in mid-September as more schools reopened, but remains well below the peak set in mid-July.

Over 700 primary, middle and high schools that have at least partially reopened, reported that 0.07% of students and 0.14% of staff had a confirmed coronavirus infection in the first half of September, according to data collected by Brown University https://bit.ly/3kWpwnJ.

While the Brown sample is a fraction of the United States, and national statistics are scarce, a study by Switzerlands Insights for Education of 191 countries found reopening schools https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N2GQ2UV is not linked to an increase in COVID-19 rates.

There is starting to be some reassuring data that when you put in place the right measures - and have control of community spread  you can open schools safely," said Dr. Nathaniel Beers, co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics school opening guidelines.

Tougher days may be ahead.

Attendance so far has been mostly voluntary and reopenings concentrated in suburbs and smaller cities. Medical experts said additional challenges for big cities include space constraints, older buildings with painted-shut windows, inadequate air circulation, little outdoor space and limited funding for efforts such as tracking down contacts of those infected.

The $2 trillion federal stimulus package passed in March included $13.2 billion for K-12 education, but progress on another bill has stalled.

Many urban school districts are struggling," Beers said. The COVID-19 virus has had a disproportionate impact on Black, brown and indigenous people as well as lower socioeconomic groups."

New York City, the largest public school district in the United States, this week began reopening https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1N2GQ0Q0 after two delays. Infections have spiked in some neighborhoods, though, and officials have said they could reverse course if that endures.

In response to criticism that poorer students were being hurt the most in the Los Angeles area, county elected officials this week agreed to consider reopening early grades for a limited number of schools and expressed caution.

We have to remember that with every re-opening there is increased risk for COVID-19 transmission," the public health director, Barbara Ferrer, said in a statement.

Floridas Miami-Dade County, the fourth largest school district, plans to return students to classrooms on a staggered basis starting next week. The state required its public schools to reopen in August, but areas where the virus was too prevalent - such as Miami - were exempted.

Floridas September cases in school-age children fell over the month, as measured by seven-day averages of new cases, according to epidemiologist Jason Salemi at the University of South Florida. New case rates during the month were steady to down in elementary-age kids with more variation in middle and high school populations. They are down dramatically from mid-July. http://covid19florida.mystrikingly.com

If you implement as many mitigation strategies as you can, I believe you can be relatively safe in bringing kids back to school," Salemi said.

The American Federation of Teachers union lost a lawsuit to delay Florida reopenings, but President Randi Weingarten said stricter adherence to virus mitigation measures lowered infections in August and September.

The lessons are that masks work and physical distancing works  But if you take your foot off the cautionary safeguards then woe is us," Weingarten said.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
New Delhi, Oct 2 : Irked over non-payment of salaries, doctors and staff members of North Delhi Municipal Corporation's Hindu Rao hospital have warned the authorities that they would hold an indefinite protest if their three-months' dues are not released immediately.

Aakanksha Khajuria New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Irked over non-payment of salaries, doctors and staff members of North Delhi Municipal Corporation's Hindu Rao hospital have warned the authorities that they would hold an indefinite protest if their three-months' dues are not released immediately.

The doctors and staff members of the hospitals have not been paid since June, for almost 109 days. The residents are currently on a 'Pen Down Strike' from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for one week to display their ordeal. The North MCD employs at least 1,000 senior doctors, 500 resident doctors, and 1,500 nursing officers.

In a letter to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation Commissioner, the Resident Doctors Association said, "We have continuously demanded for timely disbursement of salaries, but no action has been taken since the past 6 months. Presently, the salaries have not been paid for the past 3 months." It added, "We strongly urge you for releasing 3 months' pay and giving us an immediate permanent solution. We apologise to announce if following issues are not rectified, we would be forced to hold an indefinite protest considering strictly 'No pay, No work'." The association rued that despite the High Court's order and repetitive issues in the past, the salaries of North MCD doctors and staff are long overdue for three months and its ongoing four months. The letter penned by RDA president Abhimanyu Sardana further stated that it is a basic violation of human rights, norms by the Medical Council of India, along with the contempt of court.

"It has become a trend in NDMC hospitals time and again that the salaries are not regularized, and healthcare workers are deeply suffering in the pandemic times," the doctors' body said, adding that the healthcare workers are providing their valuable services while risking their lives during the greatest humanitarian crisis.

In every compensatory way the salary should be of high priority and this issue must be addressed with sincere authority and pragmatism, the RDA further said, requesting the civic body to provide a prompt and efficient solution.

Besides Hindu Rao hospital, doctors and nurses of other hospitals like Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases, Kasturba Hospital, Girdhari Lal Maternity Hospital and Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis have also been protesting over non-payment of dues.

Meanwhile, barring emergency, the Resident Doctors Association of Delhi government's Maharishi Valmiki hospital have withdrawn all essential and non-essential services in the hospital from Tuesday morning.

It came after the hospital did not lodge FIR against a patient and her attendant for allegedly assaulting an on-duty doctor.

( can be contacted at aakanksha.k@ians.in)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 09:51:43|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Thursday sent a letter of congratulations to Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai on the occasion of China's National Day.

My wife "Rosalynn joins me in wishing you a joyous Chinese National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival," said Carter in the letter read out at a virtual reception and concert hosted by the Chinese embassy Thursday evening.

"During these trying times, it is important for us to still come together to celebrate, even if virtually. As we continue to encounter unprecedented challenges, events such as this will remain crucial in helping to improve U.S.-China relations," said Carter, who turned 96 on Thursday.

China's Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, falls on Oct. 1 this year. It is the second most important festival in China after the Chinese New Year and traditionally falls on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. Enditem
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 08:11 478 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4899f69 1 World diplomacy,UN,Nuclear,weapon,prohibition Free

Indonesia is still dragging its feet in the ratification of an international treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons that it signed more than three years ago, even as its neighbors have one by one made good on their commitments.

Malaysia was the latest to submit its instrument of ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on Wednesday, making it the 46th country to pass the treaty into law.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the countrys ratification brought the international community one step closer to amassing the 50 national endorsements needed to bring the treaty into force, Bernama reports.

Adopted on July 7, 2017, the treaty prohibits all activities related to nuclear weapons, including their development, testing, manufacturing, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, use and stationing.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand was the first nation to sign and ratify the treaty, only a few months after it was adopted. Vietnam ratified it the following year, followed by Laos in 2019.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said Indonesia was one of the first 50 countries to sign the treaty in 2017, but the ratification itself was still ongoing.

Of course, ratification cannot be done instantly, because it involves many stakeholders and progress is currently a bit constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said on Wednesday.

Read also: Indonesia must ratify nuclear weapons treaty to bolster global efforts

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is expected to participate virtually at the High-Level Meeting on Friday to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which fell on Sept. 26.

Muhadi Sugiono, a campaigner for the Nobel Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), expressed regret that the ratification of the nuclear prohibition treaty had not been made a priority issue in Indonesias foreign policy.

Muhadi said he did not understand why it was taking so long for Indonesia to ratify the treaty, given its overall feasibility. The treaty, he noted, did not prohibit the use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes, and the military doctrine in Indonesia had never included the use of nuclear weapons in its arsenal  the government has even firmly opposed its use.

If implemented, no industry will be harmed by the prohibition. ICANs study suggests that there is only one company [in the country] that is suspected of investing in nuclear power, but it isnt even producing goods, he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. So, theres virtually no economic impact.

He further suggested that, with ratification, Indonesia would be showing real leadership in establishing a new international order on disarmament.

Read also: US discussed holding first nuclear test in decades: Report

Separately, a member of House of Representatives Commission I, which oversees foreign affairs and defense, Dave Laksono, said the treaty had yet to be discussed at the legislature.

We havent had any discussions scheduled. We are waiting for the government to start it, he told the Post on Wednesday.

The Foreign Ministry's director general for multilateral cooperation, Febrian A. Ruddyard explained that, before it could table it at the House, the government had to form an inter-ministerial committee, discuss academic input and report to the president, so that an initiator could be appointed.

The government has prepared the academic texts to be discussed by the committee, which comprises agencies like the National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN), Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten), the Defense Ministry, the Research and Technology Ministry and the Indonesian Military.

Besides that, we are now drafting a bill on nuclear security, so at some point of the ratification, we will also have to put this into consideration, Febrian said.

He emphasized that ratification would affect not just the government but the entire country, and that all Indonesians would be legally bound to respect the treaty.

So we have to be careful and proper, both procedurally and in terms of substance, as well as in existing provisions in our national laws. Thats why we dont want to set an artificial timeline, the ministerial official said. This is not a matter of speed but a matter of commitment, which is implemented in accordance with our national interests and laws.

Read also: Indonesia urges P5 to respect NPT commitment

As the de facto leader of ASEAN, Indonesia is expected to shore up resources against global nuclear proliferation, which the bloc collectively agrees to oppose through the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) treaty.

As a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and a coordinator of its working group on disarmament and nonproliferation since 1994, Indonesia was among cosponsors of the 2017 United Nations General Assembly resolution to enforce the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. Various observers have since called on Indonesia to make good on its advocacy.

Topics : diplomacy UN Nuclear weapon prohibition
NEW YORK - In a movie year mostly lacking big, ambitious releases, Steve McQueens Small Axe anthology is an unqualified main event. While many other filmmakers are on hold, the 12 Years a Slave director has raced to finish not one but five new films.

The movies, spanning 1968 to 1985, are each individual stories about the West Indian community in London. They are testimonies of resistance. Each tale resurrects a chapter of recent history to illuminate the daily oppressions of institutional racism and the struggles against it  in courtrooms, in all-white police precincts, in segregated schools.

These are stories that have made my life possible as an artist, as a British Black man, McQueen, who was born in West London to Grenadian parents, said in an interview from London. You look back to look forward, and also to judge how far weve come.

The scope of McQueens achievement has been gradually coming into focus during the New York Film Festival. By Saturday, three of the films will have bowed (two had been set to premiere at the cancelled Cannes Film Festival). All will play on the BBC and Amazon in November. For the filmmaker of Hunger, Shame and Widows, Small Axe is a shattering masterwork  a compendium, both damning and celebratory, of Black resilience.

The format  isolated films that are most powerful as a collective  is itself symbolic. The title comes from a West African proverb popularized by Bob Marley: If you are a big tree, we are a small axe.

Its a story about why we are here. Its not just about the past but the present, says McQueen. Peoples sacrifices, peoples determination  thats why these films are important. They reshaped the landscape of the United Kingdom. They paved the foundation for multicultural London society.

The films will run in a different order in November, but McQueen began by premiering Lovers Rock as the festivals opening night gala. The only fictional tale of the bunch, it brings to vivid, pulsating life a blues party from 1980, when young London Black people found refuge, and love, at house parties. The movie  joyous and sensual  is wall-to-wall reggae bliss.

Still, in this, the brightest of the five acts, there are reminders of the cruelties lurking outside.

Its festering, its mouldering. Even with Lovers Rock, there are sharks and alligators circling constantly. At the blues party, you come out the door and whats greeting you? Some thugs. You go to work and whats greeting you? A racist boss, says McQueen. Within that narrative, you have to find your own joy, your own celebration.

Police brutality is more at the forefront in Mangrove and Red, White and Blue. The title of Mangrove refers to a Notting Hill Caribbean restaurant run by Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes). A proudly Caribbean community gathering place, police regularly harass its customers, spurring protests (Letitia Wright plays British Black Panther leader Altheia Jones-LeCointe) and leading to a historic trial.

Red, White and Blue, which is to premiere Saturday, is about Leroy Logan (John Boyega, in his most arresting performance yet), an aspiring research scientist who, after his father (Steve Toussaint) is beaten by police, elects to join the force to attempt to create change from the inside. Someones got to be the bridge, he says. Yet his colleagues mostly just heap racist abuse on him.

Both films have moments of battles won and the ominous sense of a longer war. They also have beautiful, full-hearted scenes of family, music and love.

I would describe it in some ways as surviving the stench. Thats what it is, says McQueen. You have to transcend that environment. And often, as Black people, we do. Youre limited so you invent things. You invent break dancing, you invent jazz. Inventing things from nothing, thats how you survive.

McQueen dedicated Lovers Rock and Mangrove to George Floyd. He has also been calling out inequities in the film industry. Earlier this summer, he penned an op-ed for the Guardian about the blatant racism of the British film industry. The U.K., he said, is far behind Hollywood in representation. Casting Small Axe, he has said, was easy because of all the untapped talent just in need of an opportunity.

I dont necessarily think Hollywood is that much better at all, but its way better than whats happening in the U.K. for sure, no doubt, says McQueen. What Im interested in is that the industry is welcoming to black talent. For a long time, I dont think it was welcoming and thats why people didnt take it up as a career option. They didnt think it was for them.

The week-by-week rollout of Small Axe through virtual and drive-in festival screenings, has only heightened the anticipation of what McQueen has coming next. The final two films are Alex Wheatle, which leads up to the 1981 Brixton Uprising; and Education, which deals with a 12-year-old boy unfairly classified as special needs and the West Indian women who created school programs to fight back.

The anthology is, in a way, mapped against the first half of McQueens life. He was born in 1969, about the beginning of the films, and McQueen has said he, too, was assumed less capable as a student than he was. But if anyone expecting a neat arc to Small Axe, McQueen says thats not its shape.

Theres no beginning and end. Its a circle more than anything, he says. Its evidence, questions  and thats it, really.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

-

This story corrects the final festival premiere of McQueens films to Saturday, not Friday.
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan participated in a virtual information session of World Health Organisation (WHO) on Covid-19, ahead of the Special Session of the WHO Executive Board.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Thursday participated in a virtual information session of World Health Organisation (WHO) on COVID-19, ahead of the Special Session of the WHO Executive Board.The session was chaired by Jane Ellison, WHOs Executive Director, External Relations and Governance. Today, I participated in a WHO virtual information session on COVID-19 chaired by Executive Director, External Relations and Governance, WHO, Jane Ellison. Member States dedicated the session to preparations for the Special Session of the WHO Executive Board, Union Minister wrote on Twitter.

He said that Director, Governing Bodies (WHO), Timothy Armstrong provided an update on methods of work being done at WHO in view of the coronavirus.Director, Governing Bodies, WHO Timothy Armstrong provided an update on methods of work and Asst DG, WHO Mariangela Simao on ACT-COVAX. Head of Secretariat, Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, WHO, Anders Nordstrom spoke on EB draft program, Vardhan said.

Director-General, WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and WHO Representative to India, Dr Hendrik Jan Bekedam were also present.

Assistant Director-General, WHO, Dr Hanan Balkhy, CEO, FINDdx, Boehme Catharina and Executive Director, Global Fund, Peter Sands provided an update on ACT-Diagnostic pillar. Director-General, WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and WHO Representative to India, Dr Hendrik Jan Bekedam were also present, Vardhan said in a subsequent tweet.

ALSO READ: Gandhi Jayanti 2020: PM Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat

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Director Darren Lynn Bousman has a lot of experience with horror films. He directed Saw II, III and IV and returned for the upcoming Spiral. Between Repo! The Genetic Opera, The Devils Carnival, Abattoir, Mothers Day, St. Agatha and more, Bousman knows his way around horror. His new film, Death of Me posed challenges that kept some of his monsters out of the movie.

Maggie Q | Saban Films

Bousman spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet by phone about making Death of Me. The film is now available in select theaters, digital and VOD.

Filming the horror movie Death of Me in Thailand

Death of Me is about a couple (Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth) whose vacation in Thailand turns into a nightmare. Filming on location in Thailand posed some new challenges for Bousman.

Darren Lynn Bousman (center) | Saban Films

RELATED: Halloween Horror Movies Streaming on HBO Max in October

The people there were amazing, the location was amazing, that was top notch. This was a really quick shoot. I want to say that we prepped for two weeks and then the shoot was around 20 days, 21 days. It was, in a lot of respects, probably the most guerilla style shoot that Ive done in a long time. It was challenging. There were things that I wasnt prepared for. Unlike Los Angeles or Toronto, when you need something, you say, I need X, Y and Z and its there a couple of hours later. When youre in Krabi and you say you need a 20 foot, 30 foot, 60 foot crane, its not coming that quickly. Darren Lynn Bousman, interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet, 9/22/2020

The horror of heat and humidity

Conditions in Thailand also make traditional monster makeup unfeasible. When youre in an air conditioned studio, you dont have to worry about keeping the makeup on.

Maggie Q | Saban Films

RELATED: Halloween Horror Movies To Stream on Hulu October 2020

One of the other things was the humidity and heat which affected things quite a bit due to the sweating that would happen, Bousman said. We had a lot of prosthetic effects that we had planned but you would spend hours in the makeup chair, youd get out into the scene and they would jus sweat off five minutes later. That was something we had to think on our feet a lot because things were just not applying the way that we thought they were supposed to.

Death of Me lost these creatures too

The vacationing couple runs afoul of supernatural forces on an island off Thailand. Some of the ways those forces manifested werent possible to capture on film. There are plenty of creepy scares in Death of Me, but these were casualties.

The witch looking things, the creatures with no eyes or mouth or nose, that was a whole thing that we werent able to do, Bousman said. The original idea they were supposed to run and leap and be contortionists, but they were wearing these silicon masks that welded to their face. We were going to put these masks on. They were going to be way out of focus always in the background, never really featured but they were there [but] they were these presences. They were supposed to move weird and be weird.

The masks were an idea to avoid having makeup melt off, but they posed new problems.

Darren Lynn Bousman (center) and Maggie Q (right) | Saban Films

RELATED: Halloween Horror Movies Coming To Amazon Prime in October
Rumours have swirled that she's set to appear on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

And Caitlyn Jenner kept things casual as she stepped out for a takeout dinner in Malibu on Thursday.

The reality star, 70, sported a pair of slim blue jeans and a tight-fitting pale pink polo shirt as she grabbed a bite to eat at Kristy's restaurant.

Dinner time: Caitlyn Jenner kept things casual as she picked up a takeout in Malibu on Thursday

For footwear, Caitlyn made the most of the Californian climes in a pair of leopard-print flip flops, while she kept out the late evening glare in a pair of dark Ray Ban-style shades.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist wore her chestnut tresses loose, as she strolled along the pavement with her dinner.

Caitlyn, the father of Keeping Up With The Kardashians siblings Kendall and Kylie Jenner and former husband of Kardashian momager Kris Jenner, announced her gender transition five years ago in 2015.

She went on to star in the E! reality show I Am Cait which ran for two seasons.

Casual look: The reality star, 70, sported a pair of slim blue jeans and a tight-fitting pale pink polo shirt as she grabbed a bite to eat at Kristy's restaurant

Caitlyn's latest appearance in Malibu comes amidst recent rumours that she and Sophia Hutchins - her live-in manager since 2018 - are 'in talks' with Bravo to join the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in season 11.

Sophia reportedly reached out to producers about becoming a 'friend' of the reality show with the transgender trailblazer as a full-blown Housewife.

But fans of Caitlyn had their hopes dashed earlier this week, when TV chief Andy Cohen dismissed rumours of their appearance.

The Bravo ringmaster didn't beat around the bush when asked about the casting gossip on his SiriusXM channel Radio Andy.

He claimed Caitlyn and Sophia's camp was actually the source of the rumours, telling fans: 'This is one of those where the call is coming from inside the house people, as they say.'

Andy went on saying: 'I know that they have expressed their interest publicly.'

'On social media they've tagged me in posts saying we think this is a great idea, but, um, it is not, we've never talked to them formally.'
Calls for an unconditional ceasefire in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh have been rejected by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and by Turkey  which has reportedly sent weapons and even Syrian mercenaries to aid its ally Azerbaijan.

Why it matters: The risk of a full-fledged war appears to be growing after five days of clashes and more than 100 deaths. Armenia claims it shot down an Azeri drone Thursday night near its capital, Yerevan.

What they're saying: President Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin  the "Minsk Group" co-chairs  released a joint statement Thursday calling for an "immediate cessation of hostilities.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan replied: "Given that the USA, Russia and France have neglected this problem for nearly 30 years, it is unacceptable that they are involved in a search for a ceasefire.

Armenia has raged over Turkey's intervention and also withdrawn its ambassador from Israel. As Axios' Barak Ravid scooped, Azerbaijan is using Israeli weapons including kamikaze drones in the fighting.

Armenia has a powerful military ally in Russia. But Russia also has deep ties to Azerbaijan and is trying to maintain its mediator role.

What to watch: Erdogans involvement in the conflict is a wildcard, the International Crisis Groups Olesya Vartanyan told the Global Dispatches podcast, as it's unclear just how far hes willing to push things.

It's also now "much harder to mediate because theres nothing to offer through talks  all negotiations have broken down," she says, including after previous skirmishes in July.

Background: The mountainous region of around 150,000 people is populated mainly by ethnic Armenians but lies within the borders of Azerbaijan. The countries have both claimed the territory since the collapse of the Soviet Union, fought a war over it from 1992-1994, and stood on the precipice of further conflict since.
FOX News- Utah Sen. Mike Lee revealed Friday he's tested positive for the coronavirus and "will remain isolated for the next 10 days," days after visiting the White House, and hours after President Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive. Lee, R-Utah, is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and met with Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Tuesday.

The White House said Friday that Barrett has tested negative for the virus.Lee said he experienced symptoms Thursday morning that he thought were allergies, but got tested out of an abundance of caution.

"Unlike the test I took just a few days ago while visiting the White House, yesterday's test came back positive," Lee said in a statement. "On advice of the Senate attending physician, I will remain isolated for the next 10 days."

Lee's announcement comes hours after President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump revealed they have contracted coronavirus and are experiencing mild symptoms.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Republican Peter Meijer and Democrat Hillary Scholten, who are vying to replace U.S. Rep. Justin Amash in Congress, sparred over health care and misleading campaign advertisements in a debate Thursday night but found common ground on the need for a second coronavirus stimulus package.

One of the biggest topics of the debate, broadcast on WOOD-TV, was the Affordable Care Act.

Scholten, who worked at the Department of Justice during the Obama administration, criticized Meijer for pledging to support a repeal of the health care law if elected. Meijer has signed a pledge from the conservative group, Campaign for Liberty, that stated he would support legislation to fully repeal ObamaCare and oppose efforts to give the federal government more control of health care.

A million people in Michigan would lose their health care coverage without this law, said Scholten, 38. It is so crucial that we fight with everything we can to expand access. Were in the middle of global pandemic.

On Thursday, Meijer said he would not support a repeal of the Affordable Care Act without making sure there was a workable replacement that protected pre-existing conditions and expanded access.

The Affordable Care Act has failed in that first word  to be affordable, said Meijer, a 32-year-old U.S. Army veteran. It has just incentivized companies to profit off of taxpayer dollars rather than encouraging them to compete off of value and quality.

Scholten and Meijer are locked in what appears to be a close race to replace Amash, who was elected to represent the 3rd Congressional District in 2010 but is not running for reelection.

The district encompasses Grand Rapids, a large portion of Kent County, part of Montcalm County, as well as Ionia, Barry and Calhoun counties.

The West Michigan region leans conservative, and a Democrat hasnt represented Grand Rapids in Congress since 1976. But Democrats say theyre well positioned for victory in November, pointing to changing demographics in the district and big fundraising numbers brought in by Scholten.

Elsewhere in the hour-long debate, Scholten and Meijer spoke about the coronavirus pandemic, racial justice, environmental pollution and misleading statements and campaign advertisements.

Meijer pushed back against Scholten, after she  while answering a question about pollution and the environment  said Meijer owns stock in a major coal mining corporation that has put PFAS chemicals into our waterways and has personally profited from that. Scholten did not identify the company she was referring to.

My opponent consistently accuses me of putting profits ahead of people, Meijer said. I did not profit when I went to Iraq to serve my country. I did not profit when I went to Afghanistan as a conflict analyst. I didnt profit in the humanitarian aid sector either, and Im not running for Congress to profit.

Scholten, in reply, said we honor your service as a veteran but we have to know where the obligations of our elected officials lie. She pointed to her recent pledge to divest from individual stocks, saying she did so to ensure people know Im putting the needs of our constituents first. Scholten has said she owns about $400,000 in mutual funds.

Meijer has previously declined to commit to divesting from any stocks he owns but says he would put his holdings in a blind trust. On Thursday, he said the only stock that I personally hold today is five shares in John Deer that my grandfather Jim gave me when I was born." He said he would sell that stock if my opponent suggests that at the end of the day were here for the people, not to profit.

Meijer, whose family founded the Meijer retail chain, has assets of at least $60 million, according to a personal financial disclosure form covering the period of January 2019 through April 2020. The total includes trusts, life insurance policies and stocks that he either controls or is the beneficiary of.

While there were plenty of areas of contrast between Meijer and Scholten, they both said they would support a second stimulus package, agreed on the need for more bipartisan cooperation in Washington, and told viewers that adding term limits for U.S. House members was a bad idea.

We absolutely do need another stimulus, Scholten said. But we cant just be handing out a blank check and running up our federal deficit. If you want frugal, targeted spending, send a Dutch mom from West Michigan to Congress to get it done.

Meijer, when asked how much the second stimulus package should amount to, said I think its unwise to put what that direct dollar figure would be right now before understanding where are the key areas we need to be supporting. He said he supports providing direct cash payments to Americans to give that cushion to help folks get through these hard times.

Read more:

As Grand Rapids police look to recruit, national policing climate may be obstacle

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Mauritius oil spill cleanup efforts gets funding boost

by Shem Oirere

October 02,2020 | Source: SeafoodSource

Weeks after the Mauritius government ordered fishermen to keep away from the countrys beaches and lagoons due to the oil spill that has impacted the coastal Blue Bay, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced a USD 500,000 (EUR 429,118) emergency assistance grant to support international recovery efforts in cleaning up the oil spill that has drawn global attention.



Mauritius, which has one of the largest Exclusive Economic Zones of all countries in Southern and East Africa at 1.28 million square kilometers, is likely to utilize the banks financing in support of ongoing cleanup operations to pave the way for a quick resumption of fishing operations and other blue economy activities.



The oil spill incident involved a Japanese vessel, MV Wakashio that spilled nearly 1,000 metric tons of oil off the coast of Mauritius last July.



The bank says the funding, which has been drawn from the Special Relief Fund, will complement ongoing activities by the government of Mauritius, development partners, and other actors to undertake salvaging and cleaning operations, conduct damage and loss assessments, along with other socio-economic evaluations.



According to AfDBs Director for Agriculture and Agro-industry Martin Fregene, the grant is an important contribution to the International Recovery effort towards restoring the pristine marine ecology, so important for livelihoods in the blue economy and tourism sectors, which is now threatened by the unfortunate oil spill.



Meanwhile, international non-governmental organization, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), had previously termed the oil spill tragic and preventable incident.



It said the Mauritius tragedy joins growing list of marine accidents in the Southwestern Indian Ocean region, including a phosphate spill in southern Madagascar in August 2009, and the mass stranding of dolphins in 2008 following underwater seismic sounding by Exxon Mobil in northwestern Madagascar.



This oil spill is a severe threat to critical ecological resources, including coral reefs, fish, and other coastal and marine life of the southeast coast of Mauritius, WWF Madagascar Country Director Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana said in a release. The impact on 2,300 artisanal fishermen and women and the 1.5 percent of Mauritius GDP derived from the fishing industry are devastating.



Although Mauritius is yet to avail precise data on the impact of the oil spill on its fishing industry, the incident comes at a time when the country, with a per capita fish consumption of 23.2 kilograms per-person per-year, is implementing a raft of measures to harness its blue economy potential.



For example, Finance, Economic Planning and Development minister Dr. Renganaden Padayachy recently said Mauritius will, in the 2020/2021 financial year, focus on wooing investments in joint ventures engaged in fishing activities and its value chain as part of its post COVID-19 recovery scheme. The country is also finalizing plans to set up an inland aquaculture scheme that comes with an 8-year tax holiday and exemption on payment of duties and VATs on imported aquaculture equipment.



Mauritius has also increased the daily rate of the bad weather allowance to fishermen from MUR 365 (USD 8.90 EUR 7.70) to MUR 425 (USD 10.40 EUR 8.90).



During the 2019/2020 financial year Mauritius announced plans to set up an online and physical fish auction market will be set up to act as an interface between local fishermen, fishing companies and buyers both local and international.



Mauritius is also seeking to consolidate and diversify our fisheries and seafood industry through a stock assessment to better manage and protect species such as lobsters, squid and other small commercial pelagic fish.

 2020 Diversified Communications. All rights reserved

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KING TOWNSHIP, Ont. - Police north of Toronto have laid 20 new sex charges against a doctor for alleged incidents spanning nearly a decade.

York Regional Police initially charged the 49-year-old man from Richmond Hill, Ont., last month with seven counts of sexual assault related to two alleged female victims.

They now say 11 additional alleged victims have since come forward.

Police say all alleged similar experiences of being sexually assaulted during appointments.

One of them was 17 years old at the time of the alleged incident.

Police say the accused, Wameed Ateyah, worked at the Schomberg Medical Centre in King Township, Ont., from 2008 to 2017.

Theyre asking any other potential victims to come forward.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.
Actor Jatin Sarna, who rose to fame after playing the henchman Bunty in Netflixs Sacred Games, has said that he was hesitant about appearing in the nude in the show, but was calmed down by director Anurag Kashyap, who told him that he could keep his underwear on. But Jatin was in for a surprise later, when he learned that the filmmakers would be using CGI to digitally remove the underwear from the final version.

In an appearance on a special Sacred Games reaction video with comedian Tanmay Bhat, Jatin narrated the story of what transpired. The scene involves Nawazuddin Siddiqui, as Ganesh Gaitonde, whipping Bunty with a belt. Jatin said that although they didnt use an actual leather belt on set, Nawaz was so involved in the scene that it ended up hurting.

Immediately before the scene, Bunty was involved in a romantic moment. On that day, I was very nervous, Jatin said. I went to Anurag sir and asked him if something could be done... Jatin said that Anurags response was, Tu paagal hai kya (are you mad)? The filmmaker reassured him that hed be wearing underwear in the scene, so he neednt worry. So I did it, and it was beautifully shot, he said.

But some time later, Jatin was in for a surprise. He was called in to the Phantom Films office, and was told that there was something that he needed to see. He was taken to a room where they were playing the beatdown scene. I saw myself nude, and I was like what is this!? Jatin said. They had also planted a penis, and I was like what is this, I wasnt even naked!

Also read: Serious Men movie review: Furious and fabulous, Nawazuddin Siddiquis new Netflix film is one of the finest of 2020

Jatin said that they told him that while filming the scene, hed moved around so much that for a brief moment, his legs parted. It would be weird if we smoothened it out, they told him, and even asked him if the measurements were fine. I told them to do whatever they wanted, but remove that shot, Jatin said. But he was told that he had signed a contract that mentioned appearing in the nude.

This is a mistake that actors make, they only look at remuneration and number of shoot days, they dont read the fine print, he said. So this is my personal request to all the actors, please read the documents carefully!

Previously, actors Elnaaz Norouzi and Kubbra Sait had both spoken about how Anurag had made them feel comfortable on set, before explicit scenes.

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BERLIN - The widow of a German-born rapper who joined the Islamic State extremist group in Syria and was killed in an airstrike was herself convicted Friday of membership in a terrorist organization.

The Hamburg state court sentenced Omaima A., 36, to three years in prison, the dpa news agency reported.

The Hamburg-born woman of Tunisian heritage, whose last name wasnt provided in line with German privacy laws, was also convicted of failing to properly care for her children, weapons violations and aiding in the enslavement of a Yazidi girl.

The woman followed her first husband to Syria in 2015 and lived in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa with their three children, according to the court.

After her husband was killed in 2015, she married his friend, German rapper Denis Cuspert, who went by the stage name Deso Dogg before giving up the profession and joining IS.

Cuspert, who toured in the U.S. in 2006, lent his voice to record anthems for the militants to use in recruiting videos they circulated online.

The U.S. government designated him a global terrorist. The Pentagon initially said in 2015 that Cuspert was killed in an airstrike, but withdrew the claim the following year. In 2018, Islamic State announced the Cuspert had been killed in an airstrike in Syria.

By that time, Omaima A. had already returned to Germany.

Germany has been aggressively prosecuting both men and women who have returned after fighting with the Islamic State group or other extremist groups in the Middle East.

On Friday, federal prosecutors said a German woman had been arrested at Frankfurt airport on her return from Syria on allegations she was a member of IS.

The suspect, identified only as Kim A., faces charges of membership in a terrorist organization and other crimes.

Shes alleged to have travelled to Syria with her husband, Onur E., in 2014 where both joined the Islamic State.

Onur E. is said to have undergone military training and then fought against Syrian government troops with the group. He is also alleged to have taught Kim A. how to use an assault rifle.

The two were given homes to live in that the Islamic State had seized from their rightful owners.

A. fled Syria in 2016, and returned to Germany on Thursday on a flight from Turkey, authorities said.

It was not clear what happened to her husband.

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I think Monday, March 16, was the day (Prime Minister) Boris Johnson said, Dont go to theater anymore. And there was some confusion, because he had omitted to tell us that first.

We had one show All of Us, and the cast said, Tomorrow was supposed to be our dress rehearsal. Is there any way we could do that? So the last performance was actually to an invited, very, very small, socially distanced, audience.

It was very emotional. And after it, I went up to the office to get my stuff and started to feel very weird. I then cycled home and went to bed for two weeks.

What word can sum up the past six months? Bewildering. But theres nothing to do but get on with it, make decisions, keep making decisions and keep as many plates spinning as you can.

We were hemorrhaging money, and we had to stop that. Our survival is a combination of several things: NT at Home, which brought in a certain amount of money, philanthropy and radical cost saving. Weve had wage cuts across the board and very, very sadly, a round of redundancies.

Weve had to apply for a government loan. If we dont get that, do we go insolvent? Yeah, probably.

Of course Im worried we might have to shut again. The whole thing is brinkmanship. We are rolling the dice and it might go wrong, but youve got to make the best judgment with the facts in front of you.
ORLANDO, Fla. - A federal judge ordered the Census Bureau to text every 2020 census worker by Friday, letting them know the head count of every U.S. resident is continuing through the end of the month and not ending next week, as the agency previously had announced in violation of her court order.

The new order issued late Thursday by U.S. District Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, instructed the Census Bureau to send out a mass text saying an Oct. 5 target data for finishing the nations head count is not in effect and that people can still answer the questionnaire and census takers can still knock on doors through Oct. 31.

The judge also ordered Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham to file a declaration with the court by the start of next week confirming his agency was following a preliminary injunction she had issued last week.

Besides deciding how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets, the census also determines how $1.5 trillion in federal spending is distributed annually. Among other things, that spending includes highway funding and money for health care and education.

Judge Koh wrote in Thursdays decision that the Census Bureau and Commerce Department, which oversees the agency, had violated her injunction in several ways. She threatened them with sanctions or contempt proceedings if they violated the injunction again.

Defendants dissemination of erroneous information; lurching from one hasty, unexplained plan to the next; and unlawful sacrifices of completeness and accuracy of the 2020 Census are upending the status quo, violating the Injunction Order, and undermining the credibility of the Census Bureau and the 2020 Census, the judge wrote. This must stop.

Kohs injunction last week suspended a Sept. 30 deadline for ending the head count and also a Dec. 31 deadline for turning in numbers used to determine how many congressional seats each state gets in a process known as apportionment. By doing this, the deadlines reverted back to a previous Census Bureau plan that had field operations ending Oct. 31 and the reporting of apportionment figures at the end of April.

By issuing the injunction, the judge sided with civil rights groups and local governments that had sued the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Those groups had argued that minorities and others in hard-to-count communities would be missed if the counting ended in September.

Koh referred to a tweet by the Commerce Department and Census Bureau last Monday that they now were targeting Oct. 5 as the date to end the census as a hasty and unexplained change to the Bureaus operations that was created in 4 days.

The decision also risks further undermining trust in the Bureau and its partners, sowing more confusion, and depressing Census participation, Koh wrote.

In court papers, attorneys for the federal government argued that the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau had been complying with the judges injunction.

The Census Bureau said it sent out the mandated message Friday afternoon. As a result of court orders, the October 5, 2020 target date is not operative, and data collection operations will continue through October 31, 2020, the message read. Employees should continue to work diligently and enumerate as many people as possible. Contact your supervisor with any questions.

The Census Bureau reported that 99.1% of the nations households had been counted, though several states in the South were trailing that figure. About a third had been counted by census takers knocking on doors and two-thirds had been counted by people self-responding online, by mail or by phone.

Despite Thursdays order, there was still confusion on the ground about when the census would end. Pam Coleman, who is chair of a statewide committee responsible for census outreach efforts in New Mexico, said census staff in her area had not received directions on what they should do as of Friday afternoon.

While there is justifiable cause for hope, it is not completely clear when the count will end, said Coleman, who chairs New Mexicos State Complete Count Commission.

Earlier this week, Koh had told attorneys for the civil rights groups and local governments that she would be open to a contempt motion against the Trump administration.

While the court has the authority to find the Trump administration in contempt, the plaintiff attorneys said in a motion that they were not seeking a contempt finding at this time. Instead, they said they wanted full compliance with the judges order, arguing the Trump administration had violated it several times over.

An unrushed, full and fair count is paramount to ensuring the accuracy of the 2020 Census, said Melissa Sherry, one of the plaintiff attorneys. This ruling brings us one step closer to realizing that important goal.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP.
Sadiq Khan has called for tighter rules in London in recent days, saying the capital is at a 'tipping point'. (Getty)

A London borough has urged residents to avoid mixing with other households unless absolutely necessary.

It comes amid fears coronavirus is spreading more rapidly in the capital than official figures show.

In an open letter, the mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London John Biggs wrote: Despite a fall over the summer, we are seeing cases of COVID-19 rise and we need to accept that the situation is once again worsening. Tower Hamlets now has one of the highest levels of COVID-19 in London.

As a second rise in infections hits us, we must take all steps necessary to limit the spread of the virus and protect those most at risk.

He added: With this in mind, now is the time we must take further action. I am clear that the current national rules are a minimum and my advice to you all is to do everything in your power to protect each other. Our individual actions have consequences for us all.

John Biggs has written over his concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in Tower Hamlets. (PA)

The next few months will be very challenging. Without a vaccine or more effective treatment, our primary weapon against the virus is responsible behaviour. Measures to curb the spread of the virus will only work if people follow them.

In addition to the national measures, we're asking residents to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 locally.

Many cases of COVID-19 in Tower Hamlets are as a result of people visiting other households, so we are asking residents to avoid this unless absolutely necessary.

This really is a matter of life and death and we need to act urgently.

Read more: COVID intensive care admissions double in London

The move by Tower Hamlets comes as ministers have face renewed calls in recent days for the imposition of local lockdown restrictions.

Fears about the coronavirus' spread in London have been raised. (Photo by Dinendra Haria / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)

Earlier this week, Jas Athwal  the leader of Redbridge Council, the London borough with the highest infection rate  said cuts to testing capacity in the city meant the true picture was being distorted.

He called for an immediate ban on different households mixing in the most overcrowded areas to prevent the situation getting worse.

Story continues

Read more: Weekly Covid infection rate in capital passes 3,000

Quite clearly I think in overcrowded parts of London we have got to be looking at bringing that in so that different households cant mix, he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

Mixing face-to-face should be stopped immediately because there are problems and we are seeing there the pandemic take hold. It is only going to get worse with the flu season coming into play as well.

The warnings came after London mayor Sadiq Khan issued a call last weekend for immediate action to stem the spread of the virus in the city, saying the capital was at a tipping point.

Infections increasing in London

On Friday, the Office for National Statistics said it is too early to say whether coronavirus infection rates across England are levelling off.

In its report, the ONS said there is evidence of higher infection rates in the North West and North East, as well as Yorkshire and the Humber and London.

Watch: London added to COVID-19 watchlist

Also on Friday, scientists advising the Government said the R value  which measures the number of people an infected person will pass coronavirus on to  is between 1.3 and 1.6. For London, it was estimated to be between 1.2 and 1.6.

Anything above 1 would indicate the virus is growing.

Were at greater risk

In his letter, Biggs highlighted concerns at the disproportionate impact the virus is having on black, Asian and minority ethnic people.

A study commissioned by the London Mayor found this week that black people were 1.9 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white people, with the disparity partly due to long-standing socio-economic inequalities as well as the over-representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people in careers such as health and social care  professions thought to be more susceptible to exposure to the virus.

The study also suggests a lack of London-focused, COVID-specific data was hindering efforts to assess the diseases full impact on those with protected characteristics, and on the capital in general.

London has been put on the coronavirus watch list. (PA)

While the virus is a threat to everyone, we know it has a higher impact on older and medically vulnerable residents, as well as on some Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups. We also know that young people are catching and spreading the virus in growing numbers, Biggs said.

The diverse communities in Tower Hamlets are what make our borough great, but it also means Tower Hamlets is at greater risk. Every single one of us must play our part to protect our communities and stop the virus spreading.

Khan said the report proved Covid-19 has had a disproportionate impact on disabled Londoners, people in areas of high deprivation and those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Watch: Anti-lockdown protests see 16 arrested

Coronavirus: what happened today

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Presentations to include follow-up MINDACT study data and evaluations on the use of MammaPrint to guide treatment decisions in lobular cancers and for screen-detected breast cancers versus interval-detected breast cancers

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Agendia, Inc., a world leader in precision oncology for breast cancer, today announced the presentation of four studies at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-12). The data include a poster on further stratification of subtyping with BluePrint in breast cancer, as well as oral presentations that focus on the MINDACT trial, with a general trial update and in-depth analyses on screen- versus interval-detected breast cancers and the use of MammaPrint to evaluate lobular cancers.

Following are the four data sets accepted to the EBCC-12, which can be found at www.conferences.eortc.org/ebcc12:

Screen-detected breast cancers have different tumor biology and better prognosis compared to interval breast cancers (Presentation #ORAL-011, 12:50-1:00PM CEST , 3 October)

(Presentation #ORAL-011, , 3 October) Clinical Utility of MammaPrint testing in Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Results from the MINDACT phase III trial (Presentation #ORAL-007, 1:50-2:00PM CEST , 2 October)

(Presentation #ORAL-007, , 2 October) Updated results of the MINDACT trial: 70-gene signature to guide de-escalation of chemotherapy in early breast cancer (Presentation #ORAL-021, 1:00-1:10PM CEST , 3 October)

(Presentation #ORAL-021, , 3 October) BluePrint Molecular Subtyping Recognizes Single and Dual Subtype Tumors with Implications for Therapeutic Guidance (Abstract #518, Poster Session B, 2 October)

Oral presentations for MammaPrint focused on sub-studies within the 9-year follow-up data for the ground-breaking MINDACT study. These data included:

An evaluation of the association between tumor biology and survival by mode of detection, which found that while both screen-detected and interval breast cancers showed very good 8-year DMFI rates, in patients with MammaPrint High Risk tumors, there was a significant difference in DMFI between screen- and interval-detected cancers. The results suggest that combining MammaPrint and the cancer detection method may improve risk stratification of patients with early stage breast cancer.

An analysis that showed that MammaPrint is a clinically useful test for patients diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma, the second most common histological subtype of breast cancer. In this evaluation, MammaPrint classified 16% of lobular tumors as genomically High Risk, for which more aggressive treatment would be recommended. In contrast, the assay classified 38% of this type of cancer as genomically Low Risk, for which the standard should be omission of chemotherapy even if the patient is clinically high risk. These data reinforce MammaPrint's ability to help facilitate treatment decisions based on the biology of a tumor.

In addition, new data in a general MINDACT follow up was presented by Emiel Rutgers, M.D., Ph.D., FRCS, Chair and Professor in Surgical Oncology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. The analysis confirmed the clinical utility of MammaPrint, with the data shown at EBCC-12 confirming that a MammaPrint Low Risk score can guide de-escalation of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with clinically high risk breast cancer.

Finally, an Agendia-led study found that a small proportion of tissue samples (about 2%), when evaluated by the molecular subtyping test BluePrint, will display a dual genomic subtype instead of the typical single subtype. This secondary or even tertiary subtype, in some cases, has specific genomic characteristics that may help physicians understand the deeper biology of these tumors and the possible implications for treatment.

"These data are evidence of Agendia's continuing commitment to support research to further our knowledge of breast cancer, for optimal patient care," said William Audeh, M.D., M.S., Chief Medical Officer at Agendia. "We are proud to share these multi-faceted data with the researchers, physicians, and advocates who will attend EBCC-12 and apply this information to improve treatment outcomes for their patients."

The variety of data accepted for inclusion at EBCC-12 underscore Agendia's commitment to the pursuit of research that will allow for breast cancer patients and their care teams to confidently make the most personalized treatment decisions.

About MINDACT

MammaPrint, the 70-gene risk of recurrence assay for patients with early-stage breast cancer, is supported by level 1A clinical evidence from MINDACT, a landmark trial sponsored by the EORTC (EORTC-10041/BIG3-04). The study found that clinically high-risk patients with a MammaPrint Low Risk result could safely de-escalate treatment and forgo chemotherapy. Long-term follow-up data from MINDACT, presented at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), confirmed and built upon the findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2016.

The MINDACT trial enrolled 6,693 breast cancer patients. At the five-year follow-up mark, the trial showed that tumor analysis and reclassification by the MammaPrint 70-gene expression signature enabled a 46 percent reduction in the use of chemotherapy for clinically high-risk patients that were reclassified by the genetic assay to be genomically Low Risk. Nine-year follow-up data will be published in depth later this year, and further validate MINDACT as a positive de-escalation study for chemotherapy and continues to demonstrate MammaPrint's clinical utility when determining a breast cancer patient's need for chemotherapy.

View trial information here.

About Agendia

Agendia is a precision oncology company headquartered in Irvine, California, committed to bringing early stage breast cancer patients and their physicians the information they need to make the best decisions for the full treatment journey. The company currently offers two commercially-available genomic profiling tests, supported by the highest levels of clinical and real world evidence that provide comprehensive genomic information that can be used to identify the most effective breast cancer treatment possible for each patient.

MammaPrint, the 70-gene breast cancer recurrence assay, is the only FDA-cleared risk of recurrence test backed by peer-reviewed, prospective outcome data and inclusion in both national and international treatment guidelines. BluePrint, the 80-gene molecular subtyping assay, is the only commercially-available test that evaluates the underlying biology of a tumor to determine what is driving its growth. Together, MammaPrint and BluePrint provide a comprehensive genomic profile to help physicians make more informed decisions in the pre- and post-operative treatment settings.

By developing evidence-based novel genomic tests and conducting groundbreaking research while building an arsenal of data that will help treat breast cancer, Agendia aims to improve patient outcomes and support the evolving clinical needs of breast cancer patients and their physicians every step of the way, from initial diagnosis to cancer-free.

Agendia's assays can be ordered on core biopsies or surgical specimens with results in as little as 5-7 days to inform pre- and post-operative treatment decisions. For more information on our assays and our ongoing trials, please visit www.agendia.com.

SOURCE Agendia

Related Links

https://www.agendia.com


A central Pennsylvania man convicted of shooting his brother-in-law during an argument over marijuana will be staying in prison for a while, even though he claimed he justifiably fired in self-defense.

A state Superior Court panel assured that Friday by denying Bruce Fetters Jr.'s appeal of his assault convictions and 62-month to 12 -year jail term.

Fetters, 31, of Lewistown, is behind bars because of what happened in 2018 after his brother-in-law Scott Powell angrily accused him of smoking Powells last joint. The brothers-in-law had a volatile relationship and Fetters had a stabbed Powell during a previous argument, President Judge Jack A. Panella noted in the state courts opinion denying Fetters' appeal.

Panella wrote that the argument between the men over the marijuana escalated when Powell started throwing punches. None of them connected, but Fetters pulled a 9 mm pistol from his pants and fired a warning shot into the air.

Powell did not give ground. Moments later, Fetters pressed the guns barrel against Powells stomach and fired a non-fatal shot, the judge wrote. After doing so, Fetters put down his firearm, called the police, and waited for their arrival.

A Mifflin County jury acquitted Fetters of attempted murder but convicted him of aggravated and simple assault and reckless endangerment. Fetters claimed on appeal that he didnt receive a fair trial because the presiding county judge refused his request to instruct the jury on the stand your ground provision of the states Castle Doctrine self-defense law. The judge did instruct the jurors on the elements of self-defense, however.

Panella found that a stand your ground instruction wasnt warranted because Powell was unarmed when he was shot. The law provides that a person has the right to stand his ground and use force, including deadly force, if the person against whom the force is used displays a firearm or any other weapon readily or apparently capable of lethal use, the state judge wrote.

Panella also rejected Fetters' argument that the jurors should not have been told about his prior conviction for stabbing Powell.
Hyderabad, Oct 2 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary on Friday.

The two leaders offered floral tributes at Bapu Ghat at Langer Houz here, where the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were immersed in the Musi river.

The official programme was held as per the COVID-19 protocols. The Governor and the Chief Minister paid their respects at the Samadhi and later garlanded the statue of the Father of the Nation.

Only a few selected leaders were allowed to accompany the Governor and the Chief Minister. Assembly Speaker P. Srinivas Reddy, Legislative Council Chairman G. Sukehender Reddy, some Ministers and top leaders of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) were present.

The authorities permitted a limited number of participants in the brief programme, which was over in half-an-hour. Wearing masks and social distancing was mandatory.

Paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, the Governor tweeted "Gandhiji's principles of truth, non-violence and service are more relevant today. Our country is becoming Atmanirbhar Bharat by following his path." Union Minister of State for Home, G. Kishan Reddy offered floral tributes at Bapu Ghat. He later garlanded the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Secunderabad and distributed happiness nutrition kits (poshan kits) among students of a government primary school.

The Assembly Speaker and Council Chairman also paid tributes by placing flowers at the pedestal of the life size statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Assembly premises.
Instructed in Scripture to pray for all those in authority, Christians offered their prayers for President Donald Trump after he shared on Twitter late Thursday night that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Several pastors and ministry leaders encouraged Americans that this was a time to pray for the president and the country regardless of their political stances.

Trumps coronavirus infection comes a month before the election and following a busy campaign week that included multiple out-of-state events and the first presidential debate.

Twitter petitioners included pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in California. Laurie previously prayed with the president in the White House and had spoken up about the need for the church to respond appropriately to the threat of the coronavirus.

Eugene Cho, a former Seattle pastor who now leads the Christian advocacy organization Bread for the World, asked Twitter followers to put aside partisan politics and genuinely lift up the President and FLOTUS in prayer.

In their messages on Thursday night, some Christian leaderslike Joe Carter of The Gospel Coalition and McLean Bible Church, outside Washingtonquoted from 1 Timothy 2:14: I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all peoplefor kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

The passage has long inspired Christians to pray regularly for the president, regardless of who is in office, and has trended online on landmark dates during Trumps presidency.

As CT previously reported, searches for 1 Timothy 2:2 reached 10 times the average on the day after the 2016 presidential election, according to the popular Bible site Bible Gateway, and increased again around the inauguration the following January, according to Google Trends. It was the theme for a 2019 day of prayer for Trump organized by Franklin Graham.

Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee and president of the National Day of Prayer task force, told CT last year, As a pastor of Southern Baptist churches for more than 40 years, I do not recall a time when there wasnt prayer for our nation, our president, and our elected leaders during our Sunday services, regardless of which party was in power. Why? We are instructed in 1 Timothy 2 to pray for those in authority.

Many of those who pray regularly for the president pray not only for his leadership and policies but also specifically for his health. At a recent Evangelicals for Trump rally, supporters brought up how they have prayed more urgently for the presidents protection as the election nears.

Another line from Scripture referenced in tweets on Trumps behalf was 2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Despite the politicization around the coronavirus response, white evangelicals are as worried about the spread of COVID-19 as the rest of the population (70 percent say they remain concerned) and as likely to know someone infected with the disease, according to a Data for Progress survey.

Back in March, CT shared 20 prayers to pray during the pandemic, asking God to heal and help the sick, protect vulnerable populations, and more.

This post has been updated.
Chennai: Anna University Teachers Association (AUTA) is demanding the retention of the name Anna University with the unitary university and giving another name to the new affiliating university that would be formed after the bifurcation.

In a letter to the State Governor, AUTA president I Arul Aram said the proposed name Anna Technological and Research University did not go well with the teachers, students and alumni, who get an ill-feeling of their intellectual property rights being robbed.

Urging the Governor to advice the State government to make appropriate amendments to the Bills passed to divide the university, Aram said for 42 years the College of Engineering (CEG), Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), Alagappa College of Technology (ACTech) and the School of Architecture and Planning (SAP) had gained name and fame as Anna University.

All our credentials such as ranking, journal papers, patents and MoUs are in the name of Anna University, he said.
The India-China standoff in Ladakh persists even after multiple rounds of commander-level talks and two ministerial meetings between the defence and foreign ministers of the two countries. This amounts to India living with the Chinese encroachments since May. That there was no reference to reverting to the status quo ante in the joint statement after the foreign ministers met in Moscow suits China well.

Chinas military obduracy in the Himalayas reflects its assertion as an emerging Asian hegemon and expansionist power. Many of its neighbours have experienced the effects of this. However, the Ladakh situation is not just about China asserting its dominance.

The Aksai Chin region has a strong strategic value for China. In the late 1950s, when it first transgressed into Aksai Chin, the then Chinese premier, Zhou Enlai made a proposal to accept Indias hold over Arunachal Pradesh (then called North East Frontier Agency) in return for Chinese control over Aksai Chin. This region of Ladakh was critical to China to shield its turbulent periphery of Tibet and Xinjiang.

China also, subsequently, deepened its links with Pakistan, which handed over parts of Indian territory under its occupation to China. This partnership has only grown, with Beijing now having invested billions of dollars to consolidate its strategic outreach. Chinas officially blessed commentators often highlight the significance of Aksai Chin, and the centrality of Pakistan in the region.

It was in this backdrop that Indias stated intent to recapture Aksai Chin rattled the Chinese. Union home minister Amit Shahs statement in Parliament, in September 2019, after changing the status of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir to Union Territories, may be recalled: Kashmir is an integral part of India. When I talk about Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin are included in itWe will give our lives for this region. China strongly questioned this statement and has refused to endorse the new status of Jammu and Kashmir.

The fate of mutually-agreed non-escalation between India and China will depend on the Chinese side. China will try to sustain the standoff by all means possible. Diplomatically, Beijing is keenly awaiting the outcome of the United States (US) presidential elections and hopes that a Joe Biden victory will open a window of opportunity to soften US hostility.

China is also preparing to further pacify the Japanese approach towards it under Prime Minister (PM) Yoshihide Suga. Japan has heavy economic stakes in keeping the peace with China and Suga, unlike his predecessor Shinzo Abe, may also like to steer clear of the deepening US-China rivalry.

This may sound speculative at the moment, but geopolitics often shifts radically. Chinas success with the US and Japan will be bad news for India. An internationally-emboldened China could be far more aggressive towards India. In Chinas perception, India is asserting itself against Chinese moves in the Himalayas only because it is backed by the US and its allies. India has to carefully monitor and adequately respond to such developments. PM Narendra Modis conversation with PM Suga, in this context, is a welcome initiative.

The theories that the Ladakh moves are primarily led by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), which is not comfortable with President Xi Jinping and the Chinese political establishment, are untenable. Xi is the chief of Chinas military command and the massive movement of troops in Ladakh by PLA could not have taken place without his endorsement. Xi, at the Seventh Central Symposium on Tibet (August 18-29), also made a strong policy move on Tibet, asking for developing a new socialist Tibet, where its Buddhism must conform to the Chinese context. This, in Xis approach, would be done by taking the Tibetans away from the Dalai Lama, changing their Lamaistic religious and social practices, and integrating them closely and ethnically with mainstream China.

This approach aims to control Tibet in three principal ways. One, to cut off its external linkages and deflect international pressure on Tibet; two, change its demographic composition, and; three, institutionalise mass surveillance. This will be on the lines of similar repressive moves in Xinjiang.

The massive military movements and deployments of Chinese forces in Ladakh and the projection of a so-called Indian military threat will help in this repression. The standoff is thus in Chinas internal political interests of stability in Tibet. One wonders if China is doing this out of enhanced confidence that it can control Tibet or a lurking sense of vulnerability in the context of a post-Dalai Lama Tibet.

Xi is also using the Ladakh standoff in his internal political campaign of silencing critics who are cautioning him against hostility towards India and other neighbours, while the principal challenge is to confront the US. The official media has also projected the Ladakh conflict as an answer to India for the so-called setback in Doklam. It has been woven into Chinas resurgent territorial nationalism. The local media plays up the idea that India is too weak to stand against Chinas might. There does not appear to be any easy way out of this Chinese domestic political dimension of the Ladakh stand-off. There is a reactive internal political dimension to the military situation in India as well. It is seen as a defence for the changed status of Jammu and Kashmir and is also linked to Indias resurgent nationalism, where any plea for moderation on the border with China will come in for criticism.

One wonders if the internal political dimensions can be decoupled from the Ladakh standoff through a summit meeting between Modi and Xi. Or, will there be hostilities in the Himalayas again?

SD Muni is professor emeritus, JNU, member, Executive Council, IDSA and former ambassador and special envoy, Government of India

The views expressed are personal
02 Oct 2020, 10:34 AM

Mubadala to invest Rs 6,247 crore in Reliance Retail

Abu Dhabi's sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company will invest Rs 6,247.5 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, the retail arm of Reliance Industries. This marks the second significant investment by the sovereign investment company in a Reliance Industries subsidiary after $1.2 billion investment in Jio Platforms earlier this year. This investment will translate into 1.40 per cent equity stake in the Mukesh Ambani-led retail major on a fully diluted basis.

SC orders full refund for cancelled flight tickets during lockdown

Full refund will be provided by airlines for tickets booked during the coronavirus lockdown for domestic or international travel upto May 24, the Supreme Court ordered on Thursday. The apex court approved the refund and credit shell plan proposed by civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to reimburse passengers whose flights were cancelled during nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.

UPI transactions stand at Rs 3.29 lakh crore in September

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions stood at Rs 3.29 lakh crore in September with number of transactions at 180 crore, NPCI data showed on Thursday. The transactions were higher by over 10 per cent from Rs 2.98 lakh crore in August. Volume wise, it grew nearly 12 per cent month-on-month.

India open to launching own app store as start-ups criticise Google: govt source

India is open to launching its own mobile app store or expanding an existing one if it receives enough demand from domestic firms for an alternative to Apple and Google platforms, a senior government official said on Thursday. The country has some 500 million smartphone users, most of whom use Google's Android platform, but Indian start-ups have criticised the company for policies they say stifle their growth.

GST revenue collection rises 4% to Rs 95,480 crore in September

Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collection for the month of September stood at Rs 95,480 crore, breaching Rs 95,000 crore level for the first time this fiscal, the government data showed on Thursday. The revenue for the month is 4 per cent higher than Rs 91,916 crore collected in the same month last year.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who attended Tuesdays presidential debate in Cleveland, will take a COVID-19 as a precaution following President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trumps positive coronavirus tests.

Husted sat at least 50 feet from the stage and Trumps debate party, and didnt meet with the president or any of his staff during the event, according to Carolyn Cypret, a spokeswoman for the lieutenant governors office. He also wore a face mask for the entire debate.

Though he has no reason to believe that he came into contact with anyone who was positive with COVID-19, the Lt. Governor will take a test today and we will release those results when they are available, Cypret said.

Attendees of the event were required to get a coronavirus test.

Gov. Mike DeWine did not attend the debate, held at the Cleveland Clinics Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion between Trump and the Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden.

DeWine, a Republican, issued a statement Friday morning wishing the Trumps well.

Fran and I join our fellow Ohioans in praying for President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after they announced early today that they have both tested positive for COVID-19, DeWine said.

Along with millions of others, we extend our prayers and best wishes to the President and First Lady during this time for a speedy recovery and for their good health.

In a tweet Thursday morning, Husted, a Republican, wished the Trumps a full and fast recovery."

Wishing the President and First Lady a full and fast recovery. https://t.co/tHfxK0OnHD  Jon Husted (@JonHusted) October 2, 2020

Sen. Rob Portman and Rep. Jim Jordan, both Republicans, said Friday they will get COVID-19 tests after attending the debate.

Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, an Akron Democrat, another attendee, said Friday she will go into isolation and get a COVID-19 test. She said on Twitter members of Trumps party were offered masks by Cleveland Clinic officials, but refused to wear them.

COVID is serious," she said. Proper precautions are a must. Wearing masks is a must. We must follow this advice. Lives & livelihoods are at stake.

This morning I saw on the news that the Trumps tested positive for COVID. While I await guidance from the proper authorities, I will isolate.



COVID is serious. Proper precautions are a must. Wearing masks is a must. We must follow this advice. Lives & livelihoods are at stake.  Emilia Sykes (@EmiliaSykesOH) October 2, 2020

The DeWine administration has promoted the use of face masks, including issuing a statewide mask mandate, as a way to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, following the advice of medical experts. Husted was harshly booed at a recent Trump campaign rally in Dayton after while serving as a warm-up speaker for the president, he opened his speech by urging the crowd to wear them.

The White House announced the Trumps' diagnosis overnight, plunging the country into deeper uncertainty with about a month to go before the Nov. 3 election. The White House physician said the president is expected to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.

The Trumps were tested after a close aide, Hope Hicks, fell ill on Wednesday and tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday. Hicks also attended Tuesdays debate.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this article
TOKYO  News that the worlds most powerful man was infected with the worlds most notorious disease drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity surrounding everything about President Donald Trump.

Trump's announcement Friday, on Twitter, that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and the deep uncertainty that accompanied it, flashed across screens large and small, upending countless plans and sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands looking to weigh in on social media.

The positive test reading for the leader of the worlds largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors' worries, especially about its effect on the Nov. 3 election between the Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. stock futures and most world markets fell on the news as did the price of oil.

World leaders were quick to weigh in, with official sympathy from the top and something approaching schadenfreude elsewhere. Trump joins a growing list of the powerful who have contracted the virus, including many who were skeptical of the disease.

I hope that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in a direct message to Trump released by the Kremlin.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump test positive for the coronavirus WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, the president tweeted early Friday.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a full and speedy recovery. The Trump administration in July formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from WHO, although the pullout wont take effect until next year. Trump claims the U.N. health agency is in need of reform and is heavily influenced by China.

Italian right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini tweeted: In Italy and in the world, whoever celebrates the illness of a man or of a woman, and who comes to wish the death of a neighbor, confirms what he is: An idiot without soul. A hug to Melania and Donald.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized for a week in April after he contracted COVID-19, wished Trump a speedy recovery.

Dr. Bharat Pankhania, who advises Johnson's government on communicable disease control, said he hopes that Trumps positive test sends a message to the president and other leaders.

We need politicians, especially politicians like President Trump who has a lot of power and influence, to take this seriously and to support their scientists and clinicians in leading the outbreak management, rather than have political influence in trying to deny that this virus is in circulation and drag your feet around control measures because it suited your agenda.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference, did not mention Trump's reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection, but she said the news reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan.

Major media across the globe also played up the announcement, with bulletins crawling across TV screens in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Dubai and Beijing.

To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, Rabobank said in a commentary. Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this U.S. election campaign.

Chinas official Xinhua News Agency flashed the news, and an anchor on state broadcaster CCTV announced it; there was no immediate comment from the government Friday, the second day of an eight-day national holiday.

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

The positive test result for Trump and his wife was the most searched topic in China on the widely used social media app Weibo a few hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

One user darkly joked that Trump had finally tweeted something positive.

The Chinese government has bristled at Trumps attempts to blame China, where the disease emerged, for the pandemic and called for global cooperation in fighting it, a message that has resonated with the public.

Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19.

Multiple Arab news media outlets on Friday continuously broadcast footage of Trump and his wife after the virus announcement.

Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel based in Dubai, cut to a long live shot of the White House. Qatari state-owned Al Jazeera channel brought in four commentators to discuss the prevailing state of uncertainty in the United States, questioning whether Trump could effectively steer a reelection campaign and run the country from quarantine.

Iranian state television announced Trump had the virus, an anchor breaking the news with an unflattering image of the U.S. president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses. U.S.-Iran ties have suffered since Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

Social media platforms were ablaze with quick reaction.

Would Trump blame the Chinese? Would he thumb his nose at his critics and enemies by breezing through the quarantine without serious symptoms, tweeting away from the White House? Would he become gravely ill, or worse, and, if he did, what would that mean for the U.S. election, one of the most contentious in recent history? What would it mean for U.S. leadership during tumultuous times?

While the uncertainty seemed palpable on a scroll through various social media in an array of languages, many comments seemed to revel in the announcement.

Here comes a chance for him to actually try out his idea of injecting disinfectant into himself and fighting back (against allegations that) it was fake news! tweeted Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese internet entrepreneur, referring to an idea Trump floated earlier this year for treatment.

Keio University economics professor Masaru Kaneko tweeted that populist leaders like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro "got infected because they tended not to take the coronavirus seriously. The two other leaders seriously tackled (the virus) after they got infected themselves. Will the United States follow their examples?

And the satirical Australian news site, the Betoota Advocate, posted a story with this headline: Trump Family Records More Cases Of Community Transmission Than Entire State Of Queensland.

By LORI HINNANT and FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press

Lori Hinnant reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London; Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Ashok Sharma in New Delhi, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, Mari Yamaguchi and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo and Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.
The Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta Province of Dong Thap has 13 bird species that are facing the danger of extinction and need urgent protection, according to park authorities.

Rangers at the Tram Chim National Park in Dong Thap Province keep watch from a tower.  VNA/VNS Photo Chuong Dai

They include the red-headed crane, yellow  breasted bunting, common kestrel, eastern grass owl, eastern marsh  harrier, spot billed pelican, painted storks, and white-rumped shama.

According to a survey, 42 per cent of the birds live in freshwater swamp, 10 per cent in grasslands, others make use of the riparian forest areas, channels, bush or mixed habitats.

The park, which spreads over more than 7,300ha in Tam Nong District and has mostly cajuput trees, is a Ramsar wetlands site of international importance.

It also has 101 other bird species, and among the countrys major bird sanctuaries.

The parks co nang kim (Eleocharis ochrostachys) and co nang ong (Eleocharis dulcis) habitats provide food to its iconic birds like red-headed cranes and painted storks.

The former typically grow up to 1.8m and are the worlds tallest flying bird.

The parks lotus, wild rice, cajuput, and other plant growing areas provide habitats for the birds to nest and roost.

Nguyen The Hanh, deputy director of the park, said the park is well protected, especially against forest fires in the dry season.

Hunters are not allowed in the park.

Its water resources are carefully regulated to protect the environment, he said.

It regularly carries out activities to conserve birds like doing surveys of them, protecting red-headed cranes, protecting habitats, and providing food during the reproductive season, he added.

The park has renovated 22 areas to provide food for birds that have attracted 16 species that live there now, and also provided food in a reproduction area located in its A2 Zone.

But the number of birds in the latter area has been falling every year because of a decline in the density of cajuput forests and food sources, illegal entry by people into the bird reproduction area, and bad weather.

The number of red-headed cranes returning to the park has reduced consistently since 2015 because of various reasons including a decline in food availability.

The habitats of co nang kim, which are the main prey for red-headed cranes shrank from 190ha in 2015 to 80ha last year.

In the event, only 11 red-headed cranes came to the park last year. VNS

Wetland forest management project launched for Tram Chim National Park A $625,000 project for ecosystem management at Tram Chim National Park in of Dong Thap was launched at a conference held by the Vietnam Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI) in HCM City on August 5.
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks were moving lower on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus. Closer home, infections and the number of intensive-care patients have climbed past the 'maximum alert' level, French Health Minister Olivier Veran told reporters and added that the capital and its nearby suburbs will be classified as high risk areas, if the trend continues. Investors also await the all-important nonfarm payrolls data later today for clues about the direction of monetary policy. The U.S. economy is forecast to have added 900,000 jobs in September, compared to 1.37 million jobs in August. The unemployment rate is projected to fall to 8.2 percent from 8.4 percent. The benchmark CAC 40 dropped 25 points, or half a percent, to 4,799 after gaining 0.4 percent in the previous session. Sanofi was moving lower. The pharmaceutical company said that the European Medicines Agency has accepted to review the Marketing Authorization Application of avalglucosidase alfa, an investigational enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of patients with Pompe disease. Telecom companies Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad climbed 1-3 percent after the final stage of the French 5G tender ended on 01 October. 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.
GREENWICH  Its national Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, which makes October a crucial time to focus on the year-round problem, according to the YWCA Greenwich.

The nonprofit asked supporters to walk the walk and encouraged them to log 100 miles of steps throughout September to put a spotlight on the issue. And on Sunday, Oct. 4, in Bruce Park, a group will walk a ceremonial final mile.

All supporters are invited to take part in the Sunday event and show support for the YWCA Greenwichs mission. To sign up, visit https://bit.ly/33iKDKQ.

We really see this as a symbol of the community coming out and supporting victims of domestic violence, men, women and children, YWCA Greenwich President and CEO Mary Lee Kiernan said.

YWCA Greenwich is the only accredited local provider of domestic abuse services in town. Services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 203-622-0003.

Domestic abuse is the No. 1 violent crime in Greenwich, Kiernan said. And the coronavirus pandemic, which forced so many people to remain in their homes, has only made it worse, she said.

There were 3,700 calls to the emergency hotline in 2019, she said. When the fiscal year ended on June 30, nearly 5,300 calls had come in, Kiernan said.

Victims are in crisis as they quarantine with abusers, she said. We provided so many services remotely to support victims during this period.

With the need greater than ever, support from events such as the walk is critical, Kiernan said.

The walk will take place in two rounds on Sunday: at 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. to ensure social distancing for participants. The meeting spot is at the Wood Road Picnic Area in Bruce Park at Davis Avenue and Wood Road in Bruce Park. Participants are asked to wear masks and practice social distancing. People can register online or before each round.

The walk kicks off the YWCA Greenwichs observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, with event co-chair First Selectman Fred Camillo reading a proclamation on behalf of the town.

The YWCA Greenwich also traditionally holds an annual vigil during October. Kiernan said this years event will take place virtually at 6 p.m. Oct. 14.

For more information about the events and the nonprofits 24/7 domestic abuse services, visit www.ywcagreenwich.org.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, call the YWCA Greenwich Domestic Abuse hotline at 203-622-0003. All calls are confidential. All services are free of charge, and no one is ever turned away.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
President Donald Trump is showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, but mild ones, according to two people familiar with his condition.

The president, who said early Friday that he had tested positive for the virus, has had what one person described as coldlike symptoms. At a fundraiser he attended at his golf club at Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday, where one attendee said the president came in contact with about 100 people, he seemed lethargic.

A person briefed on the matter said that Trump fell asleep at one point on Air Force One on the way back from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday night.

A White House official said that as of Thursday night, the presidents treatment plan was still being discussed. So was a possible national address or a videotaped statement from the president to demonstrate that he was functioning and that the government is uninterrupted.

The disclosure upended the presidential race in an instant, inviting significant questions about his cavalier attitude toward the pandemic and the future of his re-election campaign.

Trump, who for months has played down the seriousness of the virus and hours earlier Thursday night told an audience that the end of the pandemic is in sight, will quarantine in the White House for an unspecified period of time, forcing him to withdraw at least temporarily from the campaign trail only 32 days before the election Nov. 3.

Trailing in the polls, the president in recent weeks has increasingly held crowded campaign events in defiance of public health guidelines and sometimes state and local governments. When he accepted the nomination on the final day of the Republican National Convention, he invited more than 1,000 supporters to the South Lawn of the White House and has held a number of rallies around the country since, often with hundreds and even thousands of people jammed into tight spaces, many if not most without masks.

His dramatic disclosure came in a Twitter message just before 1 a.m. after a suspenseful evening following reports that Trumps close adviser Hope Hicks had tested positive.

Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey urged people who attended Trumps Bedminster fundraiser to get tested and said that the state was using contact tracing to try to find them.  MAGGIE HABERMAN and PETER BAKER

Mike Pence and his wife tested negative Friday morning.

Vice President Mike Pence announced Friday that he and his wife, Karen, had tested negative for the coronavirus, just hours after Trump and the first lady announced they had both tested positive and were quarantining at the White House.

As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day, said Devin OMalley, his spokesman. This morning, Vice President Pence and the second lady tested negative for COVID-19. Vice President Pence remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery.

Trumps daughter Ivanka, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his son, Barron, all also tested negative, the White House said.

Pence, who has been campaigning separately from the president on Air Force Two, was last with him Tuesday morning in Washington.

Earlier this week, he was also on Capitol Hill, meeting with the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the presidents nominee for the Supreme Court.

It was not immediately clear whether Pence, who has been traveling extensively since March in battleground states, would keep up his travel schedule while the president quarantined.  ANNIE KARNI

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Friday (October 2) slammed Uttar Pradesh for stopping and allegedly manhandling Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi while they were on their way to meet the kin of Hathrape gang-rape victim. Raut said that Gandhi's collar was caught and he was pushed to the ground, in a way it is a 'gangrape' of the country's democracy.

"Rahul Gandhi is a national political leader. We may have differences with Congress but nobody can support Police's behaviour with him...His collar was caught and he was pushed to the ground, in a way it is gangrape of the country's democracy," said Raut.

"We should not forget that Rahul Gandi is Indira Gandhi's grandson and Rajiv Gandhi's son. Both of them have sacrificed for the country. The country will never forgive this behaviour done to Rahul Gandhi. The way in which action is being taken against Rahul Gandhi and others who raise voice is against the democracy of the country," he added.

Also Read: Political storm over Hathras gang-rape intensifies; AAP leaders to protest at India Gate, Section 144 imposed

On Thursday, UP Police registered a case against Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and over 200 others under section 188, 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Epidemic Act, according to the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police.

Live TV

Rahul and Priyanka were arrested by the police at the Yamuna Expressway in Gautam Buddh Nagar while they were on the way to meet the Hathras incident victim's kin. A 19-year-old girl, belonging to Scheduled Caste was gangraped and brutally assaulted in Hathras. After battling for her life for almost a fortnight, she succumbed to her injuries at Delhi's Safdarjung hospital on September 27.

Both Congress leaders alleged they were manhandled and roughed up by police personnel while they were marching towards Hathras. However, Noida Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Ranvijay Singh said that there was 'no lathicharge' on anyone.
What started out as a company in a small Washington, DC office focused on international satellite broadcasts has become a global leader in continuing medical education (CME), offering both live and online courses. Over the last twenty-five years, Rockpointes focus has been on practical clinical education with a concentration on translating science for local implementation.

On October 2, 1995, Rockpointe was officially incorporated in Virginia as Rockpointe Broadcasting. Initially, the company focused on global broadcasts working with the United States State Department to promote US-based medical innovation. The companys first major program was Best of American Heart Associations Scientific Sessions, which went to 40 countries. Rockpointe rapidly expanded to developing a US-based hospital satellite network that now serves as the base of their Grand Rounds and Residency Connect health system education programs.

Innovation has always been a focus in Rockpointes evolution. Seeing that the internet was rapidly evolving, the company began to explore online offerings shortly after launch. In 1999, Rockpointe was one of the first organizations to launch live webinars and online interactive courses. Their courses included educational activities for organizations such as the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National MS Society. In 2000, Rockpointe developed the first PDA handheld CME program on vascular disease  even before the Palm Pilot! At that time, Rockpointe also produced 3D animations for certain conditions, including strokes, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases, as well as an image database for the Virtual Prostate.

On September 11, 2001, Rockpointe was conducting a primary care meeting in conjunction with the TCT at the Washington Convention Center. Once the news of the terrorist attacks reached the convention center, Rockpointe helped manage logistics for attendees and speakers to safely return home. When walking back to the Rockpointe offices, employees saw tanks in the park across from our office. That event caused innovation as well, we trained 500+ pharmacists via slides and audio at 6 locations for Walgreens across Florida and produce a clinical investigator meeting via satellite in less than 30 days.

Rockpointe has moved around a few times during the last twenty-five years: the first office was at 480 National Press Building in downtown Washington, DC. Then, Rockpointe moved around the White House to 1400 Eye Street NW and to 1660 17th Street NW. In 2006, Rockpointe moved to Columbia, Maryland where the main offices remain to this day.

After the move to Columbia, Rockpointe turned its focus to creating a world class science and clinical education team. To that end, the company recruited some of the best science minds in the industry and to this day, science and clinical education are at the forefront of Rockpointes success. More than 6,000 medical experts have served as faculty at Rockpointe continuing education courses, which are always focused on translation of science for frontline clinicians. Rockpointe has gone so far as to focus on clinical education at the local level with a Grand Rounds program and regional/state meeting series, conducting over 4,000 hospital-based programs and 1,000 regional meetings.

Over the years, Rockpointe established strong relationships with federal agencies including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Veterans Administration (VA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and others, delivering education in partnership with federal agencies.

In 2004-2005, Rockpointe launched the Bone Health Council to support the Surgeon Generals Report on Osteoporosis, which spurred meetings across the country with former HHS Secretaries Donna Shalala (Clinton) and Tommy Thompson (Bush).

In 2006, Rockpointes Potomac Center for Medical Education received accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to provide CME for physicians and pharmacists. Since that time, Rockpointe received Accreditation with Commendation in 2012 and has been listed by the ACCME as one of the top 30 overall providers of CME credit in the US.

In 2008, Rockpointe launched Policy and Medicine (www.policymed.com) and since that time, has provided daily legislative, regulatory, and legal news to the life science and CME communities. Policy and Medicine has served as a news source for NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and Nature Publishing. Through Policy and Medicine, Rockpointe has given over 100 talks on legal and regulatory issues.

In 2009, Rockpointe was instrumental in establishing the Association of Clinical Researchers and Educators with Thomas Stossel, MD, at Harvard to push back on the conflict of interest mania that was sweeping through the country at that time. The subsequent meetings at Harvard and NYU were instrumental in pushing back to show the value of industry funded drug and device development.

In 2011, Rockpointes President Thomas Sullivan, Jeff Drezner at Clinical Care Options (CCO), and Andrew Rosenburg and Chris Lamond of Thorn Run Partners, started the CME Coalition to give CME providers and supporters a voice in Washington, DC. Since its founding, CME Coalition has morphed into a strong organization with over 50 member organizations representing CME on a variety of issues. Some of CME Coalition wins have included a MIPS improvement activity for CME, proper definitions for CME in Open Payments and the elimination of restrictions on CME in several states.

In 2013, Rockpointe was one of the first CME providers to embrace the Array iPad technology and in March of that year, held the companys first meeting where all attendees had an iPad to view the slides and record their responses to questions. Since that time almost all of our national and regional meetings and symposium include iPads for users. Rockpointe also pioneered a bring your own device technology to develop outcomes from its local hospital-based meetings.

In 2014, Rockpointe launched Life Science Compliance Update a monthly publication for compliance professionals, later renamed Policy and Medicine Compliance Update, the publication serves as the journal for life science compliance professionals.

In 2016, Rockpointe launched the MEDX primary care meetings, which combined technology with primary care meetings. In 2017, MEDX meetings became hybrid meetings, with webcast sessions that increased the audience by 50%.

In 2018, Rockpointe produced and accredited the first ever CME program for the Amazon Alexa with Audio Educate.

Also, in 2018, Rockpointe launched Residency Connect to involve more residents and fellows in accredited CME programs to prepare them for their future role as attending physicians.

In 2019, Rockpointe and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) launched CE Link, an adaptive learning platform for medical boards. The first program was for the Opioid Analgesics: Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) and the New FDA Blueprint.

In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rockpointe has been at the forefront of converting hundreds of live activities to webinars. On February 14, 2020, Rockpointe and the Potomac Center for Medical Education sponsored the first ever live webinar on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. Early in this COVID-19 crisis, Rockpointe and MedChi joined forces to host weekly webinars for state medical society CME executives and managers, so everyone could all stay up to date with the crisis. Stemming from this collaboration, Rockpointe was able to release a 2000 physician survey discussing the impact of COVID-19 on clinical practices. On July 7th, Rockpointe released one of the first webinars on racial disparities in healthcare.

Important statistics since the start of Rockpointe, 29 employees have bought new homes, 12 babies born, 9 marriages taken place, and 2 retirements.

We are grateful to all current and former staff, faculty, partners and supporters for a great 25 year run, without their hard work and commitment to quality we would have never come close to the success we have accomplished and we look forward to working together to bring further innovation in the coming years.

P.S. I have it on good authority Rockpointe may be doing a cancer symposium on the moon in 2045 the year of our 50th anniversary, all comers welcome.
OPINION: As the country grapples with Trumps diagnosis, heres whats going to pop off politically that Americans should be paying attention to.

Donald Trump has coronavirus. Also known as COVID-19, the package, Dat Rona, whatever professional, personal or cultural slang you want to use, the leader of the Free World is now one of the millions of Americans to contract a disease that has brought this country to a screeching halt.

The reactions to this news are going to be a Rorschach test for America, if you like Donald Trump, then youll be sympathetic to his plight and demand a civility toward him and his family during this time (civility that Trump has never chosen to extend to others) and if you dont like the president then the internet is literally a buffet of memes, gifs and snark about how his diagnosis is chickens coming home to roost.

Read More: Trumps clownery coming back to bite him is a cautionary tale for virus naysayers

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on his way to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on September 30, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Trump is traveling to Minnesota for a fundraising event and a campaign rally. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

There will be plenty of time to sort through the comedy, schadenfreude and bad faith defensiveness in the coming days but right now there are more immediate things that are going to pop off politically that everyone whos concerned about America needs to be paying attention to.

Yes, Trump really does have coronavirus.

I got a lot of texts last night with people wondering if this was real; if Trump was pretending to have coronavirus to avoid future debates or elicit sympathy or some other sort of three-dimensional chess game that Democrats always think the president is playing. It should be obvious by now that Trump is not a crafty messenger or a particularly deep guy, he tells you exactly who he is and what hes going to do, assuming hes not lying, and hes a really bad liar.

There is no political benefit to Trump pretending to have COVID-19. Absolutely, zip, zero, nada. First, Americans are a petty and occasionally vindictive people (Iraq War could literally be renamed Ws Revenge and America would still have eaten it up). There will be no sympathy for Trump from voters if he suffers greatly from COVID-19 and he wouldnt know how to be a sympathetic character anyway.

Story continues

Read More: Biden tweets that hes praying for Trump after positive COVID-19 diagnosis

The harsh truth is that Trump is a living co-morbidity, hes over 70, out of shape, eats terribly and doesnt believe in science. In other words, his chances of dying of COVID-19 despite the best medical team in the country being at his side are still higher than the average person, and the likelihood of Trump having long -erm complications from COVID-19 are high as well (his virus-doubting English counterpart Boris Johnson was on a ventilator and almost died of the disease this past summer). Not to mention the more than 200,000 Americans who have already died from the virus.

Politically, the more the nation is thinking about COVID-19 the more theyre reminded of how Trump lied about its impact, suggested that Americans drink bleach to cure it, and amplified a doctor who believes in Demon Sperm to give us medical advice. This is not a hoax or a stunt, Trumps got the disease and most Americans still wont like him.

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to the White House residence as they exit Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on September 11, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Trump and the First Lady traveled earlier to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania to mark the 19th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

This is just the beginning

The public knows that White House advisor Hope Hicks has COVID-19 and that she was in close contact with Trump on Air Force One, members of his staff and family. Do you know what we dont know? We have no idea if Hicks is patient zero or if she might have contracted the virus from someone else. This means that the Track and Trace process for these superspreaders is going to be a mixture of a really complicated episode of House M.D. and the Mueller Report.

Was it Hope Hicks in the Oval Office sneezing on a pen? Was it Stephen Miller on the White House lawn talking too close to Jared Kushner? In order to track and trace, the public will be finding out about all of the potentially nefarious characters and shady figures that interact with the Trump campaign. Imagine a track and trace of the 2016 Trump campaign staffers, the nation would have known about dozens of Russian operatives at the infamous Trump tower meeting before they even went to the polls.

Expect there to be more, and potentially disturbing surprises as the track and trace process continues and as regular men and women who came in contact with Trump and his team begin to fall ill.

What about Joe Biden?

Thankfully, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden have tested negative for COVID-19. Biden and Trump were anywhere from 6 to 10 feet apart from each other for the entire debate which lessened the chances of transmission, assuming Trump was contagious at the time. Members of Trumps staff and family were in the debate audience, not wearing masks, while Bidens team was.

The potential of spreading to members of the Biden campaign staff or family beyond Joe Biden and Jill Biden are still unknown. Given Trumps diagnosis, the remaining presidential debates will likely be canceled (which I dont think anyone would have a problem with). Considering the entire Trump administrations irresponsible behavior regarding the virus, Biden would be within reason to avoid getting anywhere near anybody with a MAGA hat for the next 30 days.

Politically, Biden retains his lead in the polls, Americans have already started voting and the former vice president again benefits from Trump committing yet another unforced error. If Biden had tested positive along with Trump, it still wouldnt change how most Americans are going to vote.

The election is still happening

Doesnt it seem like just yesterday we were talking about President Trump encouraging neo-Nazis to attack Democratic voters, Melania Trump reminding us that she doesnt really care about migrant children (she never did), Trump surrogate Kimberly Guilfoyle auditioning as a very loud replacement for Jennifer Aniston in the next Horrible Bosses movie and Trump attempting to trigger Joe Biden into stuttering on a national stage?

Well, it was yesterday, and theres still an election going, and do not for one second think that the news of Donald Trump becoming victim to the same virus that hes denied the impact of for months is changing what Republicans are doing on the ground. The Republican governor of Texas just declared that instead of 12 sites, all drop off ballots in highly Democratic Harris county, home to over two million voters, have to go to one location. Which is akin to saying everybody in the state of Texas has to return movies to the same Red Box.

Republicans are still trying to stop post-election day vote-counting in Michigan, and GOP thugs are still harassing Democratic candidates around the country. Trumps diagnosis is not a distraction, but it is a reminder that in the midst of chaos evil is still busy and will continue to be until hes removed from office.

Get out, vote, and bring as many people as you can with you.

Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Making political sense of Donald Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis appeared first on TheGrio.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 02:06:03|Editor: huaxia

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File photo taken on July 27, 2020 shows U.S. Democratic presidential nominee and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden paying his respects to late U.S. congressman and civil rights figure John Lewis at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., the United States. 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, have tested negative for COVID-19, his doctor said on Oct. 2. (J. Scott Applewhite/Pool via Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, have tested negative for COVID-19, his doctor said on Friday.

"Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 today and COVID-19 was not detected," Kevin O'Connor, the Bidens' primary care physician, said in a statement.

Biden, 77, confirmed the negative results in a tweet later.

"Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. I hope this serves as a reminder: wear a mask, keep social distance, and wash your hands," he wrote.

The couple took the tests hours after U.S. President Donald Trump, whom Biden shared a stage with for the first 2020 presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio Tuesday night, announced that he and his wife, Melania Trump, had contracted COVID-19.

The presidential candidates did not shake hands that night. There was a distance between their podiums. But neither Biden nor Donald Trump wore masks on stage.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters on Friday that Donald Trump, 74, has mild symptoms but the president and the first lady "remain in good spirits."

"He continues to be not only in good spirits but very energetic. We've talked a number of times this morning," Meadows said of Donald Trump. "The doctors continue to monitor both his health and the health of the first lady."

The chief of staff also said he expects more people in the White House to test positive for COVID-19.

"I fully expect that as this virus continues to go on, other people in the White House will certainly have a positive test result," he added.

Melania Trump later tweeted that she also has "mild symptoms but overall feeling good."

"I am looking forward to a speedy recovery," she said.

Donald Trump tweeted out the positive test results on early Friday morning after White House counselor Hope Hicks, a close aide to him, had tested positive for COVID-19.

Hicks traveled with Donald Trump multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to the Cleveland debate.

Meadows said on Friday that they were aware of Hicks' positive diagnosis before Marine One, carrying Trump and his aides, took off Thursday afternoon for Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, from where the president flew to New Jersey for a fundraiser.

"We discovered that right as the Marine One was taking off yesterday, we actually pulled some of the people that had been traveling and in close contact," the White House official said. "The reason why it was reported out was just frankly is that we had already started the contact tracing just prior to that event."

Vice President Mike Pence and other members of Trump's cabinet have taken COVID-19 tests and the results were negative.

In addition to the Trumps and Hicks, multiple White House officials, including the president's national security advisor Robert O'Brien and Pence's communications director Katie Miller, as well as other staffers, have previously tested positive for the virus. Enditem
A 28-year old man in Hyderabad was allegedly abducted and killed for marrying a woman from a different caste, the police said. The Cyberabad Police have arrested 14 people, including the parents of the woman, and 10 other members of her family in connection with the murder.

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The case bears a strong resemblance to the horrific 2018 Pranay honour killing case in Telangana.

Eerie similarity to 2018 honour killing case

The victim Hemanth Kumar, who belonged to the Vysya community, was an interior designer. His wife, Avanthi belonged to the Reddy community. Both of them lived in the same locality in Chandanagar and had known one another for eight years. The police said they got married on June 10 this year at the Sub-registrar Office in Quthbullapur against their parents wishes and knowledge.



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As per local news reports, the police said that Avanthis relatives had hired killers to murder her husband Hemanth as they were unhappy with their alliance. The main accused in the case was hired by her family, along with their driver Shaik Pathan to execute the plan.



Madhapur District Commissioner of Police M Venkateshwarlu said that all accused went in three cars to abduct the couple.

The accused then strangulated Kumar to death around 7.30 in the evening on the outskirts of a village in Sangareddy district, the DCP added while Avanthi allegedly escaped. His body was found abandoned by the national highway. The police added that based on Avanthi Reddys complaint, a case was registered against all 18 people under various sections of the IPC relating to criminal conspiracy, murder and kidnapping, among other charges.

Google maps

In her complaint, Avanthi Reddy said that around 10 people stormed into her house and forced the couple into a car, claiming they wanted them to meet her parents.



I am yet to come to terms with what has happened," Avanthi Reddy told reporters. Whatever has happened to me will haunt me for the rest of my life...Whoever is involved should be severely punished so that no other girl meets my fate.



Avanthi suspects her father is behind the entire conspiracy while police is yet to nab the four absconding accused.
The political differences with the IKD, whose perspective was endorsed by the Shachtmanites, found its reflection within the Fourth International and the Socialist Workers Party with the emergence of a tendency led by Felix Morrow and Albert Goldman. The Three Theses of the IKD was only the most explicit articulation of a perspective that reflected a movement by broad sections of the middle class toward the anti-communist camp of democratic imperialism.

Morrow and Goldman had played prominent roles within the Trotskyist movement since the 1930s. Goldman was a socialist attorney whose most outstanding contributions to the party had been made during the Dewey Commission proceedings of 1937 in Coyoacan, Mexico, where he assisted Leon Trotsky, and as the SWPs chief defense counsel during the Minneapolis frame-up trial, at which he was also a codefendant. A gifted speaker and a talented propagandist, his political sympathies were generally with the right-wing of the movement. In his opposition to the SWP leadership, he tended to place the greatest emphasis on the organizational questionthe hallmark of petty-bourgeois elements.

Morrow was a more substantial figure than Goldman, and his authority in the movement was based on his brilliant journalistic gifts, which found their outstanding expression in his analysis of the Spanish Revolution, Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Spainthough it must be said, for the historical record, that the writing of this book was a collective effort in which a number of party leaders played an important role. But for all his talents, Morrows political makeup exhibited many of the characteristics of the New York petty-bourgeois intellectual, quite similar in many ways to Max Shachtman. It was well known that Morrow rejected dialectical materialism, and it came as a surprise to many that he supported the Cannon majority in the 193940 struggle.

Although Morrow remained loyal to the Fourth International in 1940, his approach to the struggle against the petty-bourgeois minority, reflecting his own false theoretical position, focused simply on the central political issue in the dispute: the vexatious Russian question. From his standpoint, the central figure in the petty-bourgeois minority was Shachtman. For Trotsky, the principal representative of the opposition was James Burnham, the philosophical leader of the anti-Marxist bloc.

The implications of Morrows rejection of the dialectic and the unreliability of political agreement based solely on concrete questions emerged as early as 1943, when he began to drift back to the positions of Shachtman. An important aspect of this process of degeneration was reflected in his political relations with Jean Van Heijenoort, the former secretary of Leon Trotsky, who was living in New York during World War II and was responsible for the maintenance of communications with the European sections.

An odious and cynical subjectivistwhom Trotsky had dismissed from his household in November 1939Van Heijenoort had pronounced differences with dialectical materialism, rejecting its validity as the science of the most general laws of all motion. He argued against the existence of dialectical processes in nature, claiming:

All the themes of dialectic have a great value in the epistemological field, but become empty abstractions outside.  the general conclusion is: materialist dialectic belongs to the field of epistemology. It deals with the development of knowledge. In this field it brings extremely valuable contributions. But when transferred into the external world, it can only formulate extremely vague abstractions which, as a duplicate or substitute for precise scientific laws, have neither value nor use. And in attempting this transfer, one always risks falling into the old trap of metaphysics.[ 1 ]

Even before major and irreconcilable political differences were to emerge, the SWP mounted a theoretical offensive, led by John G. Wright and George Novack, against Van Heijenoorts attack on the dialectic, demonstrating that it had taken to heart the lessons of Trotskys struggle against the pragmatism of Burnham and contradicting Bandas wild and ignorant claim, Dialectics had long since ceased to inspire the FI. Vulgar empiricism had taken its place.

Referring to the above-quoted statement by Van Heijenoort (who wrote under the name Marc Loris), Wright argued:

If these words mean anything at all they mean that no physicist, no chemist, no biologist, no psychologist, no sociologist could have any possible need or use for all the themes of the dialectic. Epistemologists alone are exempt. But why? It remains a mystery what earthly use any epistemologist could have for a theory of knowledge that cannot be transferred to other fields of science. We await an explanation why any rational being should bother at all with a development of knowledge that evaporates into thin air (or in Loris words, turns into extremely vagueand valueless and uselessabstraction) the moment it is applied to the external world. (Included in this last sweeping phrase, by the way, are not only the heavens and the earth but society as well.)  Comrade Loris is surely acquainted with the ideas of a whole school of renegade radicals headed by the notorious Hook, who tried to restrict the dialectic to the sphere of sociology. They pretended that they were thereby purging Marxism of heresies by Engels, vestiges of Hegelianism, and so forth and so on. It remains inexplicable why anyone in our movement should seek to compete with these gentlemen in restricting the dialectic still further. All our great teachers, instead of pigeonholing the dialectic into any single field whether that of sociology or epistemology, taught us that it applied to the processes in the whole external world, including man and mind. Far from conceiving that the dialectic becomes dissolved into empty abstractions from contact with objective reality, our great teachers stressed, on the contrary, the urgency and fruitfulness of such a transference. And moreover they taught us that it was Nature itself (the external world) that implanted the dialectic in the human mind.[ 2 ]

The political ramifications of Van Heijenoorts hostility to the dialectic were soon revealed. In the speed of his movement to the right, he outstripped even Morrow and Goldman. Eventually, they all wound up in the same place: in the camp of US imperialism, thus vindicating once again Trotskys warning to Burnham: Anyone acquainted with the history of the struggles of tendencies within the workers parties knows that desertions to the camp of opportunism and even to the camp of bourgeois reaction began not infrequently with rejection of the dialectic.[ 3 ]

Initially, the differences raised by Morrow appeared to be over the tempo of revolutionary developments in Europe. Earlier, before going to prison as one of the SWP 18, he had opposed the Three Theses of the IKD and urged the German group to think out its position to its ultimate conclusion. When Mussolini was overthrown in 1943, Morrow hailed this event as the harbinger of the socialist revolution that Trotsky had foreseen. Yet, when the further progress of the revolution was forestalled through the betrayals of the Stalinists and the intervention of the allied imperialist forces with whom they collaborated, Morrow almost immediately fell back to the most pessimistic conclusions.

The characteristic of a Marxist revolutionist is that he is the last to leave the field of battle. As late as 1907, long after the Mensheviks and the liberals had proclaimed the proletariat defeated, Lenin was still trying to ignite the remaining embers of the 1905 Revolution. Morrow, on the other hand, became convinced by 1944 that the prospects for a revolutionary conclusion of the war in western Europe were nonexistent and that agitation on the basis of revolutionary socialist slogans drawn from the Transitional Program should be prohibited within the sections of the Fourth International. Instead, all activity of the European sections, he argued, ought to be concentrated on democratic slogans. Even the call for the United Socialist States of Europe had to be shelved.

Morrow initially objected to certain ultraleft formulations which appeared in the documents of the European Trotskyists, and, indeed, some of his earlier criticisms were not unfounded. He claimed that his contributions were aimed at developing a better understanding of the tempo of events.

But as the discussion developed, it became clear that Morrow was rapidly moving to the right and his obsessive preoccupation with democratic demands was becoming transformed into an open repudiation of the whole perspective of socialist revolution. He called for the liquidation of the European sections of the FI into the existing social democratic parties, and even urged the French Trotskyists to accommodate themselves to Andre Malraux, who was functioning as a henchman of de Gaulle. Delighting in each indication that bourgeois rule was being stabilized and that the Stalinists and social democrats were bringing the mass movement under control, all of his advice was based on the conviction that there existed no prospect for socialist revolution.

The subjective idealist foundations of Morrows perspective were established in the following declaration:

The absence of the revolutionary partyand it is absentchanges the whole situation. Instead of saying, Only the revolutionary party is lacking, we must instead say, at least to ourselves, The absence of the revolutionary party transforms the conditions which otherwise would be revolutionary into conditions in which one must fight, so far as agitation is concerned, for the most elementary demands.[ 4 ]

The European Secretariat of the Fourth International replied emphatically, Objectively revolutionary situations have existed, do exist and will continue to exist independently of whether a revolutionary party is present on the scene or not.[ 5 ]

Morrows perspective had a form of opportunism which was to emerge again and again inside the Fourth International. Proceeding from an impressionistic assessment of the immediate political conjuncture, Morrow worked out a political line which promised to make the Trotskyist movement more accessible to the masses, but in reality threatened the dissolution of its historically-developed revolutionary program. Even if one were to concede that petty-bourgeois democratic sentiments dominated the consciousness of the proletariat, it was a betrayal of Marxism to conclude that such a situation called for the ditching of revolutionary socialist slogans in favor of more popular democratic ones. Marxists do not seek to find a way out of political isolation by transforming their proletarian socialist party into a petty-bourgeois democratic one. Rather, like Lenin and Trotsky in 1917, they fight against the prevailing moods and seek to educate the working class and raise the level of its political consciousness.

Morrow spoke for all the skeptics who felt that they had been betrayed by Trotsky: he had promised them that World War II would end with socialist revolution in Western Europe and the overthrow of Stalinism in the USSR. In fact, Trotsky had promised them nothing. As he had explained shortly before his death:

Every historical prognosis is always conditional, and the more concrete the prognosis, the more conditional it is. A prognosis is not a promissory note which can be cashed on a given date. Prognosis outlines only the definite trends of the development. But along with these trends a different order of forces and tendencies operate, which at a certain moment begin to predominate. All those who seek exact predictions of concrete events should consult the astrologists. Marxist prognosis aids only in orientation.[ 6 ]

The European Secretariat, then led by Pablo, fought back against Morrow and his supporters, insisting that despite all the unforeseen and unforeseeable developments which followed Trotskys death, his vision of the revolutionary implications of the imperialist war had been vindicated on a world scale, with mass revolutionary struggles in Yugoslavia and throughout Asia.

Only the superficial and cowardly petty-bourgeois mind can see a refutation of our revolutionary perspective in these facts: that war did not, either during its course or immediately thereafter, bring about the revolution in Europe; that the German revolution has not taken place; that the traditional organizations, and foremost among them, the Stalinist parties, have experienced a new and powerful rise. While recognizing that all these facts represent so many defeats for the revolutionary proletariat, the IVth International cannot for one moment forget that the mortal crisis of capitalism, the destruction of its equilibrium, the sharpening of all its fundamental contradictions, constitute far more important facts, and upon them rest our revolutionary perspective and our vastly increased opportunities for building the Revolutionary Party.  What confronts us now is a world-wide crisis transcending anything known in the past, and a world-wide revolutionary upsurge, it is true, developing at unequal tempos in different parts of the world, but unceasingly exercising reciprocal influences from one center to another, and thus determining a long revolutionary perspective.[ 7 ]

From the time of their release from prison, the right-wing evolution of Goldman and Morrow was bound up with their demand that the SWP reunify with Shachtmans Workers Party. This demonstrated that Morrow and Goldman were breaking with the one fundamental question of principle upon which they had opposed Shachtman in 193940, the defense of the USSR. However, they claimed that the differences between the SWP and the Workers Party were exaggerated and did not justify the existence of two separate organizations. In reply, the SWP produced an exhaustive analysis of the irreconcilable differences between Trotskyists and Shachtmanites, entitled, Revolutionary Marxism or Petty-Bourgeois Revisionism? The SWP laid down the

following rock-bottom programmatic criteria operating today to demarcate the revolutionary tendency from all forms and varieties of opportunism: 1. Evaluation of the Soviet Union and the attitude toward its defense. (Rejection of all theories of a new bureaucratic class and all derivatives of this theory.) And, the corollary of this point: Evaluation of the Stalinist parties in the capitalist countries and the attitude toward these parties. (Rejection of all theories that deny the working class character of these parties.) 2. Evaluation of the character of the epoch, attitude toward the European revolution and the tasks of the vanguard. (Rejection of all varieties of revisionism in the form of retrogressionist theories, conclusions or derivatives.) 3. Attitude toward the Bolshevik conception of the party. (Rejection of all Menshevik conceptions of all-inclusive parties or Internationals.)[ 8 ]

Tracing the evolution of the Workers Party since the 1940 split, the SWP concluded that the

Workers Party has consistently broken with the essentials of our program, has consistently developed an opportunist position on the major political questions, has continued to wage unremitting warfare against our organization, our concepts, our methods, our leadership. On the three basic international criteria which delineate the Marxist current from the opportunist, the Shachtmanites have established themselves as the consistent and front-line champions of opportunism and revisionism. The tendency represented by Shachtman and Co. can thus be established with scientific precision on the basis of this study. The Workers Party is a petty-bourgeois, centrist, ingrown sect, moving ever more swiftly away from Marxism toward left Social Democracy.[ 9 ]

This evaluation of Shachtmanism, which, if anything, was shown by history to be overly generous, sharpened the political struggle against the Goldman-Morrow tendency. The class character of this group and its international supporters as a petty-bourgeois tendency capitulating to the pressure of imperialist democracy was exposed on two questions.

The first was the question of the 1946 French referendum on the proposed bourgeois constitution of the Fourth Republic. Banda makes a special reference to this issue: The failure of the IS (International Secretariat) and IEC (International Executive Committee) to address themselves to the major events of this post-war period was complemented by the most shameless toadying to the bourgeois democracy in Western Europe, e.g. Mandels support for the 1946 Referendum in France. 

As usual, Banda is wrong. In fact, the IEC and the IS majority (with the support of the SWP leadership) opposed the referendum, and Ernest Mandel wrote some of the major resolutions condemning the opportunist support for a Yes vote given by the majority of the French PCI leadership.

At a plenary session of the IEC in June 1946, the IEC and IS majority explained its position:

The referendum of May 5 did not imply a forced choice of the bourgeois state. It was not a question of choosing between a bourgeois monarchy and a bourgeois republic; or between a parliament of two houses and a single assembly. The referendum of May 5 consisted simply in acceptance or refusal of a bourgeois constitution. The revolutionary party utilizes the period of agitation around the constitutional question in order to put forward democratic and transitional demands, and supports the most democratic provisions against more reactionary proposals. But this does not imply acceptance ever of an entire bourgeois constitution, no matter how democratic it may be. In the case in question, there was not a choice among various constitutional provisions but merely one of rejecting or accepting the constitution as a whole. To vote Yes meant, whether one wanted to or not, to sanction the bourgeois state, capitalist property, national defense and colonial oppression. It is not a matter of tactics but a matter of principle to remain under all circumstances hostile to a bourgeois constitution, whatever it may be. No tactical reason could justify abandonment of this principled position with regard to the bourgeois state.[ 10 ]

So much for the shameful toadying to bourgeois democracy! The position denounced by Banda was actually held by the opponents of the SWP and Mandel in the leadership of the French PCI which, under the influence of Morrow, called for a Yes vote, on the opportunist grounds that the most powerful sections of the French bourgeoisie opposed the constitution, that the fight for its victory was a form of the class struggle, and that a democratic constitution was about the best the proletariat could hope for under the existing circumstances.

By 1946 Morrow had repudiated his previous criticisms of the German IKD, embraced their views on the national question and, in a speech delivered at the May 1946 plenum of the SWP, enthusiastically endorsed the referendum (as did Jock Haston, the leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party in Britain, one of Morrows principal international allies).

Morrow went so far as to state that if he were in France, he would split the party over the question of the referendum, prompting Cannon to reply, Lenin would split for the sake of the revolution. Morrow and Goldman and Company would split for the constitution that would protect bourgeois property. This is an absolute betrayal of Marxism in the first place and a very poor issue for splitting in the second place.[ 11 ]

The second question was the defense of the USSR. Morrow proclaimed at that same plenum that the Fourth International must recognize that all the reasons we gave for defending the Soviet Union have disappeared.[ 12 ]

Morrows performance at the plenum brought the inner-party struggle almost to its conclusion. Goldman was about to resign from the SWP to rejoin Shachtman. Morrow lingered a few months more before being expelled at the SWP Convention at the end of the year. But at the plenum, Morrow made it clear that there was nothing in the program and perspective with which he still agreed. Cannon, he announced, used to scare me but now he was no longer frightened and was not scared of facing up to the political failures of the Fourth International: The Italian experience showed what had happened to our 1940 prognosis of a wave of proletarian revolution in the course of the war. Instead of the masses overthrowing fascism as we had expected, fascism was being overthrown by its imperialist opponents, not only in Italy but in Germany and occupied Europe as well.[ 13 ]

Morrow conveniently ignored the not inconsiderable role played by the Red Army in smashing fascisman oversight facilitated by his Stalinophobic view that the Soviet troops were nothing more than the spearhead of counterrevolution. In his speech replying to Morrow at the SWP plenum, Cannon declared:

Now we can quit fighting about trivials and incidentals. [We can get down to the basic questions] upon which the existence of our movement depends. Listen to this. The perspective was false not only in Europe, and in Russia. The analysis was false.  The perspective and the analysis was common to all of us and its chief author, as you know, was Trotsky. And if the fundamental analysis of the epoch and the perspectives derived from it were false, then Trotskyism is no good and something different, a substitute for it, must be found. Isnt that the conclusion? The whole analysis was wrong. The perspective was wrong. The whole movement shared it, the movement educated and trained by Trotsky. Trotsky was the author of it and that is what he [Morrow] should saythat Trotskyism has failed the historical test. And that is what he would say if he were not scared. He is getting rid of his fears and phobias in stagesfirst the fear of Cannon and after that comes Trotsky. All opportunists go in stages and that is next. You will get rid of the phobia of Trotskyism in the not-too-distant future.[ 14 ]

Cannon never had the opportunity to meet Michael Banda, but he would not have needed to read more than a few sentences of his 27 Reasons to immediately recognize him as a member of the same political species as Felix Morrow. No wonder Banda would like to dismiss the struggle against the Goldman-Morrow tendency as merely an alibi and diversion.

One final point should be made on the fight against Goldman and Morrow. Banda is reluctant to discuss the implications of the struggle within the SWP for the development of the Trotskyist movement in Britain. He deftly avoids this question by claiming that the British section played little or no rolemerely echoing Cannons pragmatism in the case of Healy or swinging wildly between Trotskyism and state capitalism (in the case of Haston, Grant and Cliff).

As a matter of fact, the British section played a major role in the internal struggle within the SWP. The majority of the RCP, led by Jock Haston, intervened repeatedly in support of Morrow and Goldman and functioned as their chief spokesman in Europe. While denouncing Mandel for a position that he did not hold, Banda hardly touches on the political line of Haston, whose unvarnished opportunism was graphically exposed in the debate over the referendum.

Haston introduced a resolution on the IEC which declared that the struggle for the dictatorship of the proletariat and opposition to bourgeois state rule was merely a general principle, which could be modified according to the flow of class forces. In the case of the constitution, Haston argued that the defense of capitalist property was only the form of the conflict. The real content, he claimed, was a showdown between the bourgeois reaction and the workers parties.

Here we have an illustration of the pragmatic method which Haston glorified when he declared in a reply to the leader of the RCP minority,  It is precisely in the field of tactics that empirical adaptation is necessary. When Comrade Healy learns this he will raise his stature as a Marxist. [ 15 ]

When Haston was hammered for this statement, it was not because he had been quoted out of context. His subordination of general principles to the flow of class forcesthe method of empirical adaptation in the field of tacticswas a carbon copy of the procedure of Shachtman, who subordinated the general principle of the class nature of the state to what he called the realities of living events. It was no accident that Hastons political degeneration followed the same pattern as Shachtmans.

Healys emergence into the leadership of the Trotskyist movement in Britain was the outcome of the principled struggle he waged against Haston. Healys betrayals in the 1970s and 1980s do not detract from his positive achievements in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. In fact, we oppose Healy today precisely because we still defend the ideas and principles in which he once believed, but which he has now abandoned. It is, however, ironic that Healys political degeneration was bound up with his unabashed reversion to Hastons view that empirical adaptation in tactics requires the subordination of general principles to the flow of class forces.

In the period which this chapter examines, Healy opposed Hastons defense of Morrows line on bourgeois democracy and the Soviet Union. Moreover, Healy correctly fought for an entrist line in relation to the British Labour Party. In depicting this necessary tactical orientation as the transformation of the Healy group into an adjunct of the Bevanite left, Banda is simply regurgitating the old arguments thrown up by Haston, who soon deserted the Trotskyist movement and became an out-and-out anticommunist and a servant of the extreme right wing of the TUC bureaucracy!
On Cocoa and Peruvian Chocolate Day, the city of Lima celebrated the Choco Peru Fair with exhibitions by cocoa producers, chocolate makers and farmers from various regions of the country.

Many producers have been adversely affected due to the strict restrictions imposed on the country to combat the advance of COVID-19.

The fair in downtown Lima, allowed attendees to support cocoa and chocolate producing families by acquiring products such as cocoa paste, chocolate with Peru's famous golden berry, honey, coffee, desserts, cocoa powder, and many other derivatives.

All exhibitors respected biosecurity measures, such as wearing personal protective equipment and by following current customer sales protocols.

Limited travel within the country, closures of stores, bars, and restaurants along with an accompanying curfew, have taken their toll on the cocoa and chocolate industry as a whole.

Friday's expo initiative is aimed at promoting the consumption of Peruvian chocolate and to aide families involved in its production.

This story has not been edited by www.republicworld.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.

(Image Credit Pixabay)
The second edition of bilateral naval exercise between India and Bangladesh is scheduled to commence in Northern Bay of Bengal on October 3, the Ministry of Defence said on Friday.

Exercise 'Bongosagar', first held in 2019, is aimed at developing inter-operability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises and operations. In the upcoming edition of Bongosagar, ships from both navies will participate in surface warfare drills, seamanship evolutions and helicopter operations.

This exercise will be followed by the third edition of the Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) in Northern Bay of Bengal from October 4 to 5, wherein Indian and Bangladeshi naval units will undertake joint patrolling along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). The Ministry said CORPATs has strengthened understanding between both the navies and instituted measures to stop the conduct of unlawful activities.

Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kiltan, an indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette, and INS Khukri, an indigenously built Guided-Missile Corvette are participating along with Bangladesh Naval Ship (BNS) Abu Bakr, a Guided-Missile Frigate and BNS Prottoy, a Guided-Missile Corvette. In addition to ships, maritime patrol aircraft from both navies and integral helicopter(s) would also be participating in the exercise.

The two neighbours have a close, long-standing relationship covering a wide spectrum of activities and interactions, which has strengthened over the years. This edition of Exercise Bongosagar assumes greater significance since it is being conducted during 'Mujib Barsho', the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a revered figure in India too. Rahman, with active Indian support, led the Bengali nationalist movement and won Bangladesh independence from Pakistan in the 1971 war.

READ | India's Outgoing Envoy Hands PM's B'Day Note To Sheikh Hasina; Meets Bangladesh President

Earlier this week, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will hold a virtual meeting in December. Momen himself had a conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on September 29 as part of the Joint Consultative Commission meeting.

Momen said he laid emphasis on "early resolution" of the Teesta water-sharing issue apart from resolving water sharing of other common rivers during the meeting.

Over the last month, India has held naval exercises with the United States, Japan, Australia.

READ | Indian Citizenship Granted To 2,120 Pakistanis, 188 Afghans, 99 Bangladeshis In Last 4 Yrs

READ | EAM Jaishankar Holds Telephonic Talks With Bangladesh Counterpart
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

Federal prosecutors in San Francisco have accused an alleged drug dealer of selling fentanyl in the city's Tenderloin neighborhood, which ultimately led to the death of one victim and hospitalized another.

According to prosecutors, on May 18, Celina Doblado-Canaca, 38, sold fentanyl near the corner of Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street, and the drugs were later ingested by the two victims in San Bruno, who believed they were ingesting cocaine.

A family member then discovered both victims the next day. One died, and another was rushed to the hospital, police said.

Investigators were then able to track the drugs back to the Tenderloin and ultimately identified Doblado-Canaca as the person who sold the drugs.

On Aug. 21, federal agents arrested Doblado-Canaca near Hyde and Turk streets. Once detained, they discovered more than a dozen small baggies containing substances believed to be fentanyl and heroin.

"Fentanyl is pouring into our community from China and Mexico. Because it is incredibly powerful in even the smallest doses, fentanyl is being mixed with other drugs and marketed as other drugs. Many drug users who die of fentanyl overdoses never even know that they have been given fentanyl. The epicenter of this fentanyl disaster is the Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco," U.S. Attorney David Anderson said in a statement. "I feel strongly that the Tenderloin is a wonderful neighborhood, a diverse neighborhood, a relatively affordable neighborhood, a neighborhood of children and the elderly. However, the Tenderloin neighborhood is also home to an open-air drug market that is spreading death throughout the Bay Area. The drug dealing that is openly oppressing the Tenderloin is quietly undermining neighborhoods across San Francisco, Oakland, San Mateo, Sonoma, Marin County and elsewhere. What happens in the Tenderloin does not stay in the Tenderloin."

If convicted, Doblado-Canaca faces a maximum sentence of 20 years and a fine of $1 million for each violation.

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.
Barron Trump, 14, has tested negative for the coronavirus after his parents tested positive for the disease and his siblings are being tested.

'Barron has tested negative and all precautions are being taken to ensure he's kept safe and healthy,' Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump, told DailyMail.com in a statement on Friday.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID late Thursday after the president's longtime close aide Hope Hicks received a positive test result.

It's unclear what precautions are being taken for the president's youngest son.

Melania's parents, Viktor And Amalija Knavs, live in suburban Maryland, near Barron's school and often help care for him.

Barron Trump, 14, has tested negative for the coronavirus after his parents tested positive; the president's youngest son is seen with Donald and Melania Trump at the president's speech to the Republican National Convention in August

Melania Trump's office said precautions are being taken to keep Barron Trump safe and healthy - above he's seen with his parents returning from a trip to New Jersey in mid-August

Melania's parents, Viktor And Amalija Knavs, live in suburban Maryland, near Barron's school and often help care for him - above they are seen behind Donald, Melania and Barron Trump in November of last year

Shortly before 1am EST Friday, Trump confirmed he and the first lady had the virus, writing: 'Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!'

Barron Trump is rarely seen in public as his mother, Melania Trump, is fiercely protective of his privacy.

The 14-year-old, unlike his older siblings, did not travel to the presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday.

Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eric and Lara Trump and Tiffany Trump were all present, traveling on Air Force One and sitting together in the debate hall, where they took off their face masks for the event, in violation of the rules of the venue.

Jared Kushner traveled to Minnesota with Hope Hicks on Wednesday to Minnesota; he tested negative for COVID on Friday

Ivanka Trump posted a pic from Air Force One on Tuesday when she traveled to Cleveland for the first presidential debate with her father

Barron Trump, seen with President Trump in mid-August boarding Air Force One, is rarely seen in public as Melania fiercely guards his privacy

Also on board for that trip was Hope Hicks, the close adviser to President Trump who tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday.

Additionally, Jared Kushner was with Hicks on the president's trip to Minnesota on Wednesday. Hicks reportedly felt unwell on that flight back and quarantined herself on Air Force One.

Both Ivanka Trump and Kushner tested negative for COVID on Friday.

'Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were tested again today for COVID-19 and both are negative,' reported White House spokesperson Carolina Hurley on twitter.
- President Uhuru Kenyatta said he will make a decision on whether to support his deputy William Ruto once the general election draws closer in 2022

- The head of state who remained non-committal directed jibes at the DP saying it was time to work for the people and hence he should stop his premature campaigns

- In January, a frustrated Ruto said he was taken aback after the president and former PM Raila Odinga suddenly turned against his quest for the presidency yet he supported them before

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President Uhuru Kenyatta has finally addressed his tense relationship with Deputy President William Ruto.

President Uhuru Kenyatta (r) speaks as France President Emmanuel Macron looks on. Photo: State House.

Source: Facebook

The head of state said he will make a decision on whether to support his deputy once the general election draws closer in 2022.

Speaking to France 24 on Thursday, October 1, Uhuru who remained non-committal, directed jibes at Ruto saying it was time to work for the people and hence he should stop his premature campaigns.

"I have always maintained and my position has always been in the public domain that we have an agenda as a government and it is almost complete so it's not time to start campaigning. It's my hope that those in my party will work with me," said Uhuru as he evaded a question on whether he will back Ruto.

Working for inclusivity

The president said he was working together with other leaders led by ODM's Raila Odinga to achieve inclusiveness in the country.

"My intention which I have made it clear is to bring the people of Kenya together to ensure the next election will be free of tension and that is why I reached out to those in the Opposition. My commitment is to peace and stability, we have a mutual responsibility to ensure we work together," he said.

The Jubilee party leader insisted he would seek a third term in office after the expiry of his 10-year Constitutional period.

Ruto (second left) has been dishing out goodies to various youths and women groups as part of his charm offensive ahead of 2022. Photo: William Ruto.

Source: Facebook

"...Oh no please...I won't seek a third term...I would rather come and enjoy holiday in France every summer," he added.

Frustrated Ruto

In January, a frustrated Ruto said he was taken aback after the president and the former prime minister Raila suddenly turned against his quest for the presidency yet he supported them.

Speaking during a secret meeting in Lumo Wildlife Conservancy, Mwatate constituency in Taita Taveta county, the DP confessed he was facing humiliation as Uhurus deputy and blamed some of his woes on the ODM leader.

I will not quit government despite the humiliation. I wonder why Raila and the president are taking issue with my quest for the top seat yet I supported them through thick and thin in past years, said Ruto.

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With mere weeks remaining as the Columbia Valley Metis Associations (CVMA) president, Debra Fisher is asking for the communitys help now that hunting season is upon us.

She is looking for a hunter, Metis or not, that would be willing to help the CVMA and Metis citizens in the Columbia Valley learn how to safely process a hyde from start to finish.

Her goal is twofold: education for new hunters in the community as well as in hopes of storing animal hydes throughout this winter so that it can be tanned in the spring in order to run community workshops for making moccasins and gloves with local members of the community.

Its just a matter of trying to get someone who knows how to process the animal hide, so the hyde isnt nicked when the animal is skinned, so the leather is of good quality and long lasting, explained Fisher. Typically, leather lasts longer when the animal hasnt been nicked when it is skinned.

In the spring, Fisher hopes to continue to facilitate cultural workshops for the Metis community to learn traditional arts that meet the needs of cardholders, whether it be hunting, finger weaving or making moccasins and gloves.

After her duties as MNBCs regional director have been finalized and the schedule has been provided, Fisher plans to begin scheduling activities based around cultural education. She hopes to offer the supplies for these courses to be free to citizens that hold cards with the Metis Nation of B.C. when the events are scheduled. In fact, Fisher is currently awaiting an order for the wools traditionally used by Metis people for finger weaving crafts to facilitate workshops for those who are interested in attending.

One of my last acts as community present will be to make sure that we can complete what we have started, said Fisher.

Read more about:
Alphabet Inc.s Google will start paying select media outlets to display curated content on its news app in a concession to the industry which has accused the search engine and other tech giants of unfairly using content for years.

The company has set aside more than $1 billion to cover the programmes first three years, and will extend the program beyond that, Google said in a statement on Thursday. The search giant will pay publishers to provide blurbs for its news app and to give readers free access to certain paywalled articles, Google said.

The Google News Showcase product, which launches Thursday in Brazil and Germany, will display branded story panels curated by partner publishers, allowing them to highlight their content using timelines, bullets and related news articles. Panels will also link directly to the news publishers website, Google said.

Google and Facebook Inc. have faced heat from news executives and regulators whove urged the platforms to pay for the rights to host news articles.

Publishers argue that their journalism is whats drawing users to those platforms, while the two tech giants are capturing most of the online ad dollars. Thursdays launch builds on a licensing program Google announced in June to pay publishers for high-quality content".

Google News Showcase lets publishers curate stories on news that matters, develop deeper relationships with readers and provides a new revenue stream for essential reporting," Brad Bender, a Google vice-president, said on a call with journalists.

More than 200 publications in Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the UK and Australia have signed up to the News Showcase program, with more markets to come, Google said in the statement.

Bender said the funding wouldnt be able to cover all news organizations also because not all publishers produce the volume and type of content necessary for this product."

Google is deciding who to partner with on a market-by-market basis, he said.

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenias foreign ministry issued a statement over the targeting of civilian infrastructures of Artsakh by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

Armenpress presents the MFAs statement:

On October 2, the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan continues the criminal targeting of the civilian settlements of the Republic of Artsakh. This time Stepanakert, the capital of the Republic of Artsakh, and the city of Hadrut were attacked, resulting in casualties among the civilian population.

Having failed to achieve any success in the battlefield, the armed forces of Azerbaijan, reinforced by foreign terrorist fighters, resorted to the perpetration of mass atrocities against the civilian population of Artsakh.

The attacks are mostly carried out with coordination of the Turkish military specialists and with the military equipment and armaments provided by Turkey to Azerbaijan within the framework of their military-political cooperation.

At the same time, in an attempt to justify these and other gross violations of international humanitarian law committed during the hostilities instigated against Artsakh, Azerbaijan is spreading false fake news that the Armenian side is targeting its civilian settlements.

The Republic of Armenia strongly condemns this crime of the Azerbaijani-Turkish alliance and reiterates its determination together with the authorities of Artsakh to neutralize any existential threat to the people of Artsakh by all means.
Scopolamine - known as the Devils Breath - is popular with robbers and rapists

Prosecutors claim couple used Grindr to arrange for Osei to meet men at flats

A second man survived after Osei allegedly administered Scopolamine to him

A teenager accused of murdering a champion Irish dancer with a Devils Breath drug popular with robbers and rapists gave a huge gasp when police told her the victim had died, a court heard.

Joel Osei, 25, and girlfriend Diana Cristea, 18, are alleged to have killed Adrian Murphy, 43, who was found dead in his apartment in Battersea, southwest London on June 4, 2019.

A second unnamed 40-year-old man was rushed to hospital and narrowly survived after Osei allegedly administered Scopolamine to him at his flat in Walthamstow, east London on 30 May.

Joel Osei, 25, and girlfriend Diana Cristea, 18, are alleged to have killed Adrian Murphy (pictured), 43, who was found dead in his apartment in Battersea, London

Scopolamine - also known as the Devils Breath - is popular with robbers and rapists in South America and Columbia who use it to incapacitate their victims, the court heard.

Prosecutors claim both victims were enticed by the pair of ruthless grifters who used the dating app Grindr to arrange for Osei to meet the men at their London flats.

Cristea is said to have been following the events closely as she plotted behind the scenes, the court heard.

DC Sarah Heywood was responsible for searching Mr Murphys flat on 7 June following his death and was tasked with contacting everyone who he had called before the incident.

On Monday 10 June I was given an action, to call Diana Cristea to find out her relationship with Adrian Murphy because the telephone number ending in 2528 was shown as the last call made by Mr Murphy before he died, the officer said.

When the call went to voicemail, DC Heywood contacted the Young Generation Childrens Care Home where Cristea lived at the time but was told the 18-year-old was unavailable.

Mr Murphy's body was found in his flat in June 2019 by his best friend and the property's owner

Colombian 'Devil's Breath' date rape drug Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine or 'Devil's Breath', is made from Borrachero trees in Colombia, and used throughout the country to aid sexual predators and robbers. The odourless powder is blown into people's faces, which once inhaled can cause victims to lose their memory, free will, and in high enough doses, can even kill. It has been described as 'the most dangerous drug in the world'. In the past two years cases have been reported in Spain, France and the US. But last month, UK actor Robert Lindsay told Met Police a young woman he knew was attacked with a substance bearing a chilling resemblance to 'Devil's Breath' outside a London night club. The drug, also referred to as Burundanga in its native Colombia, is almost impossible to detect, as it disappears from the blood stream in two to six hours and can only be found in urine samples within 12. This makes it extremely difficult for victims to prove they have been given it  as they don't remember anything and it's untraceable in their system. Advertisement

Care home staff told the officer Cristea had a new number which the officer tried.

She said: I called Diana Cristea about an hour later, she said she hadnt used the 2528 phone for a month.

Cristea told the officer she had sold the phone in a market after the SIM card broke.

The officer said: I asked her if she knew Adrian Murphy, she said she didnt. I informed her that Mr Murphy had died.

Dianna Cristea let out a huge gasp and seemed shocked that Mr Murphy had died. But she maintained that she didnt know Adian Murphy.

Osei and Cristea allegedly stole a PlayStation, an iPhone, an Ipod, a laptop, three pairs of sunglasses, a school bag, and wallet from the man who cannot be named for legal reasons.

They also are said to have used the mans Tesco credit card to purchase items at Aydin Food and Wine shop valued 7.43.

The pair allegedly booked a hotel on the same day through Booking.com for 180 and spent $2,995 on software from Chief Architects using Mr Murphys card.

They used Mr Murphys Lloyds bank card to buy 54.63 worth of food from Deliveroo and spent 9.99 on Gumtree, it was said.

Mr Murphys Barclays Delaware MasterCard was also used by the pair on 2 June 2019 where they attempted to spend $80,049 (61,000) on stones from Padmavati Diamonds Company based in New York, it was said.

Osei, from Seven Sisters, denies murder, poisoning by administering a substance to endanger life, two counts of theft, and eight counts of fraud.

Cristea, from Tottenham Hale, denies denies murder, poisoning by administering a substance to endanger life, two counts of theft and seven counts of fraud.

Mr Murphy, a seven-time All-Ireland Irish dancing champion, produced and choreographed numerous Irish dance shows, including Feet of Fire, and FireDance The Show.

He was laid to rest in his native County Kilkenny besides his parents on July 17 last year.

The trial continues.
Mali's military junta has abandoned a contentious measure that would have enabled its leader to potentially replace the interim civilian leader of the Sahel state, according to an official document released Thursday.

Under an early roadmap for restoring civilian rule after the August 18 coup, seen by AFP, junta head Colonel Assimi Goita was empowered to replace the president of the interim government if the latter were incapacitated.

Goita is vice president of an interim government that is due to govern Mali for 18 months before staging elections; former colonel Bah Ndaw is its president.

But the possibility of Goita replacing Ndaw sparked friction among the country's neighbours, who said it was unacceptable.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) heaped pressure on Mali to swiftly restore civilian rule after army officers toppled president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, imposing sanctions against the country and shutting its borders.

The bloc has also urged Mali to publish the roadmap -- or 'transition charter' -- that sets out the interim government's powers.

On Thursday, a final version of the roadmap was published in Mali's official journal, with no mention of the interim vice president replacing the president.

"The vice president is in charge of defence and security," the document said.

Current ECOWAS trade restrictions include a ban commercial trade and financial flows, but not basic necessities, drugs, equipment to fight coronavirus, fuel or electricity.

As well as pushing for civilian leaders for Mali's interim government, the bloc wants the junta to release officials arrested during the coup.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden took to Twitter Friday morning to wish President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump good health.

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery, he wrote on Twitter. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 2, 2020

Trump announced overnight that he and the first lady tested positive for the virus.

We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately, Trump announced in a tweet just before 1 a.m. Friday. We will get through this TOGETHER!

The president was tested after close aide, Hope Hicks, tested positive for COVID-19. Hicks experienced mild symptoms on the plane ride home after a campaign rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening, the Associated Press reported.

Sean P. Conley, physician to the president, said overnight that the President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

Conley said he and the rest of the White House medical team will maintain a vigilant watch over the Trumps. Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering and I will keep you updated on any future developments.

At 74 years old, Trump is within the higher risk category for the disease.

Biden is at higher risk as well, at 77 years old. He will be tested for COVID Friday morning.

During the first presidential debate, Biden and Trump stood at socially distanced podiums. They did not shake hands with each other or moderator Chris Wallace before the debate. Neither wore masks on stage.

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery, Biden said in a tweet Friday morning. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

Related Content:
The Airforwarders Association today announced its intention to advocate for a broad relief effort from Congress to support the airline industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Airforwarders Association represents airfreight forwarding companies throughout the United States, employing thousands of workers who arrange and transport vital cargo around the world in partnership with U.S. scheduled commercial passenger airlines.

The ongoing health crisis has had a significant impact on passenger airlines and the aftermath could be devastating to national supply chain operations. If Congress cannot reach an agreement for the fourth coronavirus relief package, several leading carriers have announced that they will be forced to pursue massive layoffs when the current aid package ends on 30 September. Further, Congressional inaction will drive vital commerce away from U.S. carriers and onto their foreign counterparts, rendering our countrys airline system less competitive as a result.

Half of all air cargo is transported via passenger aircraft, so the resilience of commercial airlines is essential to the nations recovery from this crisis. If an agreement to provide additional financial aid to the U.S. airlines is not reached soon, there will undoubtedly be a significant negative impact on trade, commerce and distribution of critical medical supplies such as the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccine. The Airforwarders Association calls on Congress to meet the request of transit agencies for $32 billion to aid recovery this year.

When a vaccine develops and we recover from this unprecedented pandemic, airlines must be prepared to lead the recovery effort by having planes available to fly immediately, said Brandon Fried, Executive Director of the Airforwarders Association. Our members will play a critical role in transporting vital medical and commercial shipments on passenger flights, but the airlines need adequate funding to operate these planes now. Congress must act now to avoid a further loss of airline jobs and to keep vital cargo moving for the sake of U.S. citizens who rely on this critical industry medical supplies and urgent goods.

###

About the Airforwarders Association

The Airforwarders Association (AfA) represents more than 275 member companies dedicated to moving cargo throughout the supply chain. The association's members range from small businesses with fewer than 20 employees to large companies employing more than 1,000 people and business models varying from domestic to worldwide freight forwarding operations. In short, they are the travel agents for freight shipments, moving cargo in the timeliest and most cost-efficient manner whether it is carried on aircraft, truck, rail or ship. For more information, visit the association's website at http://www.airforwarders.org.
In order to justify a completely opportunist political shift toward full support for an Iranian victory, Healy had to attack the analysis made by the ICFI and replace it with a bogus assessment of the class nature of the Khomeini regime. This plan was secretly worked out, without any discussion within the International Committee, between Healy and his personal agent in Athens, Savas Michael, the hand-picked general secretary of the former Workers Internationalist League (renamed Greek Workers Revolutionary Party in November 1985 after this organization split from the ICFI).

S. Michael agreed to go to Iran and produce for Healys use an anti-Marxist travelogue which, based on his subjective impressions and revisionist sociology, would prove that the Islamic Republic was being transformed into a socialist republic of the masses. Just as Healy had been unconcerned about the persecution of members of the Iraqi CP, S. Michael was not troubled by the fact that his trip to Iran coincided with the ferocious repression of every left-wing tendency in the country. In fact, the high-point of his trip was an appearance on Iranian television, which amounted to a public act of solidarity with the regimes suppression. Not since the Sri Lankan LSSP renegade Colvin R. Da Silva appeared on Soviet television in 1958 to sanction the repressions carried out by the bureaucracy in Hungary had such a shameful act of class treachery been carried out by a man claiming to be a Trotskyist. This action undermined the credibility of the Fourth International in the eyes of countless Iranian workers.

The articles produced by Michael, published in the News Line in February and March of 1983, were a travesty of political journalism, rivalling only Mitchell for the crassness of its impressionism and theoretical ignorance.

He dismissed all allegations of state repression by referring to his tourist observations: For a person coming from the West, especially from a country like Greece that has gone through decades under the police state of the right wing and through dictatorship, one fact is striking: nowhere can one see a policeman.

Nor is an armored car anywhere to be seen as was usual in Pahlavis time or as still is usual in the various police-military regimes across the five continents. (February 24, 1983)

This, presumably, meant that the liquidation of the capitalist state was already achieved. This deep political insight was further confirmed by yet another striking observation: Revolutionary Iran is a country undoubtedly ruled by the youth. With a military jacket on top of their humble civilian clothes, a submachine gun hanging from the shoulder, with burning revolutionary devotion, these young children of the people, the vanguard of the people, direct, safeguard, mobilize, and sacrifice themselves.

To demonstrate the non-bourgeois nature of the state, which he characterized as the rule of the deprived, Michael argued that the Iranian regime was the most popular in the world, enjoying virtually unanimous support. He based this on a wildly subjective conception of state power:

If we consider the degree of popular support as a basic criterion for estimating the degree of political stability of a regime then, undoubtedly, the Islamic regime of Tehran must be considered as extremely stable. Between the masses and their leadership, especially Imam Khomeini, there are mighty bonds forged in the furnace of the revolution.

To deduce the political stability of a given regime from an abstraction called popular supportrather than a scientific analysis of the interrelationships between class forcesis nothing but idealist torn-foolery. However, there was an element of truth in Michaels claimbut on an entirely different level. Comprehended in the political terms of Marxism, the popular support for the Khomeini regime reflects the illusions of the masses, which is hardly a firm political foundation.

The depth of his charlatanry was summed up in the following renunciation of Marxism: In the forging of these very deep bonds, an immense role was and is played by the influence of Islam upon the masses. Thus in Iran, presumably, there was no longer any need for the struggle of Marxists against religious obscurantism.

In analyzing the nature of the Iranian developments, S. Michael proved, by quoting a conversation with an Iranian student, that the theory of Permanent Revolution is derived from the Koran: The incessant revolution is a fundamental Islamic principle. Healys agent then chronicled the evolution of the five revolutions that had occurred between 1979 and 1982: first, the overthrow of Bakhtiar; second, the takeover of the US Embassy; third, the defeat of Bani-Sadr; fourth, the cultural revolution; and, finally, the fifth revolution which as Imam Khomeini said, aims at establishing social justice. It is the social revolution.

Whoever fails to see the social dimension of the Islamic Revolution in Iran will never understand its depth.(News Line, February 28, 1983)

In describing the social revolution, Michael remained tactfully vague on the state of property relations and profits: The private sector still includes small and medium scale enterprises, the bazaar, various services as well as agriculture, after the agrarian reform. Translating these details into the language of Marxism, it is obvious that private property is thriving, commodity production predominates in the coun^ tryside, and internal trade flourishes under the auspices of bazaar merchants.

This can only mean that the class struggle is raging beneath the surface of Iranian societya fact which Michael then attempted to gloss over with the following remark: The social contradictions, of course, have not been eliminated. But the revolution is orientated towards grappling with them in a radical way through the mobilization of the masses.

Finally, in the third article, entitled War and Revolution, Michael got down to business and carried out his main missionjustifying the invasion of Iraq and the expansionist war aims of the Iranian bourgeoisie. Noting that battles were now being waged on Iraqi soil, Michael reported that he discussed with various Iranians the advisability of continuing the war.

He quoted at length the self-serving rationalizations of the supporters of the regimeone of whom states that the conclusion of the war may be followed by social unrest that Iraq would attempt to exploitand then declared his own emphatic support for the continuation of the Iranian invasion.

In a complete departure from Marxism, Savas Michael made the progress of the world revolution dependent on the military successes of the Iranian bourgeoisie:

A military crushing of the Baghdad regime would destabilize everything in the regime [region?]. The Hashemite monarchy in Jordan would in all probability be the first victim, according to Iranian estimations. The other reactionary regimes will follow suit. The Palestinian question, undoubtedly, will be placed on a new basis.

This last opinion, it should be noted, was definitely not shared by the PLO, which has repeatedly declared that the continuation of the war has been an unmitigated disaster for the Palestinian masses.

Since this analysis was published, close to a half-million Iranians and Iraqis have been slaughtered, the economic development of both countries has been set back by decades, and immense obstacles have been placed in the path of creating fraternal ties between their suffering proletariat. Only the socialist revolution will lead the masses out of the bloody quandary into which they have been led by the Iranian and Iraqi bourgeoisie.

The results of Michaels cheap journalistic adventure provided Healy with the necessary cover for his complete repudiation of the ICFI statement of February 12, 1979. By the autumn of 1983 the WRP was ready to announce a complete shift in its political line. Using the decision of the French government to supply the Iraqis with Exocet missiles as a flimsy pretext, the News Line of October 10, 1983 issued a call for the military victory of Iran and denounced the Iraqi regime in the following terms: The Iraqi regime has been militarily defeated and comprehensively exposed as a tool of imperialism. It must be overthrown by the Iraqi masses without delay. Its continued existence is giving imperialism a military base and a pretext for their war plans.

With this statement, the Healy leadership of the WRP had truly completed its passage into the camp of the counterrevolution. It had reached the point at which it was prepared to violate the most basic principle of Marxism and subordinate the proletariat to the predatory war aims of a bourgeois state.
A four-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress, led by senior party leader Derek OBrien, was on Friday stopped by the police from going to the village of the 19-year-old gang-rape victim in Hathras of Uttar Pradesh to meet her family.

The woman was allegedly raped by four dominant-caste men on September 14 when she had gone to the fields in her village to gather cattle fodder. She was left partially paralysed and admitted for treatment in the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College of Aligarh Muslim University and then shifted to New Delhis Safdarjung Hospital when her condition did not improve. She died on Tuesday morning. The womans family has said she was forcibly cremated late in night

The Mamata Banerjee-led party said in a statement later that the delegation was stopped by police around 1.5 kilometres from the victims home. The delegation included OBrien, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mondal and former member of Parliament Mamata Thakur.

A 29-second clip tweeted by ANI showed a woman leader of the party being physically turned away by a person in plains clothes as O Brien comes into the frame. He is seen being pulled away by the person and falling to the ground as a number of police personnel surround him. He is then seen helped get up as other leaders are also pushed away.

He was pushed to the ground. Maybe he is injured too. He was attacked. How can they do it? Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, another TMC leader who was a part of the delegation, was quoted by ANI as asking.

#WATCH: TMC delegation being roughed up by Uttar Pradesh Police at #Hathras border. The delegation, including Derek O'Brien, was on the way to meet the family of the victim of Hathras incident. pic.twitter.com/94QcSMiB2k  ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2020

A delegation of Trinamool MPs have been stopped by UP Police from entering Hathras. The delegation had travelled about 200 kms from Delhi. The Trinamool MPs were on their way to the village in Hathras, travelling separately, to express solidarity with the grieving family and convey their condolences, the TMC said in the statement.

At this moment, we are just 1.5 kms from the victims home in Hathras, explaining to police officials that we will walk the 1.5kms to the victims house in Hathras, the statement said quoting one of the lawmakers.

Also read | Senior AAP leaders to protest at India Gate today

One of the MPs, who was stopped, said, We are peacefully proceeding to Hathras to meet the family and pay our condolences. We are travelling individually and maintaining all protocols. We are not armed. Why are we stopped? What kind of jungle raj is this that elected MPs are prevented from meeting a grieving family.

This comes a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were stopped and briefly detained while going to the meet the womans family. The Congress has criticised the Uttar Pradesh government for its handling of the case and has been demanding justice for the victim.

Also read | Shiv Senas Sanjay Raut condemns police action against Rahul Gandhi

The Gandhis were later released. Both the Congress leaders alleged they were manhandled and roughed up by police personnel while they were marching towards Hathras to meet the victims family. However, Noidas additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) Ranvijay Singh said that there was no lathi charge on anyone.

(With agency inputs)
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - Justin Case of America Newscape welcomes friends Alicia Medina and Ralph Vargas to brief us on the Desert Cruisers Car Club and National Cop Cruise Saturday, members of the Yuma Chapter of the Desert Cruisers will join sister clubs from across the country for the National Cop Cruise.

Organized by the Yuma Chapter of the Desert Cruisers car club Saturday, October 3rd, 2020 - 10am YCSO Foothills Substation 13190 E. South Frontage Road, Yuma Event Flyer: https://www.facebook.com/Americanewscape/photos/a.127366342080276/197024958447747/
A pandemic was ravaging America, thousands were dead or dying, and the president was infected.

His name was Woodrow Wilson and one century ago he was in a situation similar to the position Donald Trump finds himself in now.

Only then, the illness that laid Wilson low had been dubbed the Spanish flu, not the coronavirus that has infected Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and more than 7 million other Americans.

And when Wilson got sick in April 1919 while in Paris negotiating the end of World War I, his wife, Edith, quickly stepped in to make sure as few people as possible knew the president was ailing.

Peace Conference attendees Italian Premier Vittorio Orlando, British PM David Lloyd George, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson at Wilson's Paris home prior to the signing of the Versailles Treaty. (U.S. Army Signal Corps / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)

Wilsons wife was able to conceal his illness by setting up a bubble around him, Thomas Schwartz, a professor of history at Vanderbilt University, told NBC News. They explained the disease as coming from overwork, something people would have believed as Wilson was known to be a workaholic.

Edith Wilson did the same thing a few months later when Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke and she stepped in to help run the country in the waning days of her husband's presidency.

Trump, on the other hand, announced via Twitter early Friday that he and the first lady had tested positive for Covid-19 and were self-isolating. They were among the 300,000 Americans who got infected this week with the coronavirus, the latest NBC News figures showed.

It was a very different media environment back then, Schwartz said.

The first news radio broadcast in the United States did not happen for another year and most Americans got their news from newspapers that did not cover the president as closely or as critically as they do now, he said.

While the federal government and other institutions like Johns Hopkins University report daily how many people in the U.S. have died of Covid-19 (209,103 deaths out of 7.3 million confirmed cases, according to the NBC News tally), most Americans back in Wilsons day did not grasp how deadly the Spanish flu was.

Story continues

It wound up killing 675,000 Americans and 20 to 40 million people around the world.

Against the backdrop of World War I, President Wilson significantly downplayed the 1918 pandemic that infected a quarter of Americans, Dr. Howard Koh, a Harvard University professor who was the assistant secretary of health and human services during the administration of President Barack Obama, said in an email. A century later, the deadliest pandemic since has arrived on President Trumps doorstep. Unfortunately, pretending that a pandemic does not exist will not make it so."

Wilson immunized himself from the harsh criticism Trump has received for his bungled response to the coronavirus by simply not talking about the Spanish flu.

"Woodrow Wilson never made a public statement of any kind about the pandemic," Patrick Maney, a professor of history at Boston College, said. "As a result, it's one of the least known catastrophes of any kind."

Not that Wilson would have listened if anybody told him to focus more on the pandemic and less on the war, said John Barry, author of The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.

Much like Trump, he did not tolerate criticism from friend or foe, Barry said of Wilson in an interview with The New Yorker. All this makes Wilsons complete silence on the pandemic understandable in only one context: he would do nothing to distract him or the nation from the war effort.

Schwartz largely agreed.

Wilson did face some criticism for the way he handled the pandemic, but not at the level Trump has, he said. Part of the reason is because World War I really overshadowed the pandemic, somewhat diminishing the degree to which Wilson was criticized.

Trump, who never served in the military, dubbed himself a wartime president as the pandemic was accelerating. But he has also repeatedly downplayed the danger of Covid-19 and politicized the recommended safety precautions like wearing masks by refusing to don one in public until just recently.

Not only has the Trump base taken its mask avoidance cues from the president, but so also has his family. And now, Trump himself has fallen victim to his own false messaging.

In addition, a Cornell University study found that Trump was responsible for at least 38 percent of the Covid-19 misinformation that has stymied the public health response to this plague and sown so much confusion in the American public.

Among other things, Trump promoted unproven miracle cures for the coronavirus and claimed with zero evidence that the pandemic was a Democratic Party hoax aimed at derailing his presidency.

While publicly diminishing the pandemic's danger during daily briefings or at campaign rallies where his followers rarely wore masks or practiced social distancing, Trump was caught on tape privately telling the reporter Bob Woodward back in February that Covid-19 was deadly stuff.

The result was a chaotic response to an unfolding crisis in a country where a big chunk of the population doesnt seem to understand it is still in danger.

Rather than heeding the warnings of 1918, this country has continued to underestimate this virus  and we cant allow that to continue any longer, Koh said.
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, a former presidential candidate who serves on two House Appropriations subcommittees, Defense and Milcon-VA, where he oversees the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. Ryan posted a video on TikTok just last month.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, also a former presidential candidate, who serves in the Army National Guard and sits on the Armed Services Committee.

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., whose committee assignments include Veterans Affairs.

(TNS)  Despite official warnings for nearly a year about the security risks of the Chinese-owned TikTok video-sharing app, several politicians who might be ideal targets for Beijing's spies still have accounts.These include two former presidential candidates, plus members of Congress who oversee military, intelligence and digital security programs. Also on the list are at least a couple of House candidates, including a former Green Beret with a top-secret security clearance who is a consultant to defense contractors.Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., a former CIA officer, said she has "deep reservations" about her fellow members of Congress using TikTok."Lawmakers are the target of significant intelligence operations, especially given the information they have access to and their influence in setting policy," Spanberger told CQ Roll Call in a statement. "What's more, if they do not take precautions, their actions could inadvertently send the message that TikTok is completely harmless."The TikTok app became available in the United States two years ago. By some accounts, nearly half the U.S. population has downloaded it.TikTok does not operate in China, but its parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, would be legally bound to give the Chinese government information about TikTok users if it were sought, digital experts said.The Defense Department banned TikTok nine months ago, and experts' warnings about the app's potential risks date even earlier than that. Now, President Donald Trump is trying to ban TikTok in the United States.In an executive order last month, Trump said the app could allow China "to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage."TikTok executives have said the accusations are unfounded, and some experts contend the concerns are overblown. But U.S. military personnel and thousands of government civilians are officially forbidden from using the app on their work phones and discouraged from using it on their personal devices.Some members of Congress who once had TikTok accounts have deleted them, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., now an outspoken critic of the app. Rubio is the acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.Yet a handful of senior lawmakers still have TikTok accounts. These include Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy. Markey is also a senior member of the Commerce Committee's panel on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet. And he has long criticized social media companies for failing to adequately protect privacy.Markey is using TikTok in his reelection campaign, including with a video posted this week.Other members with TikTok accounts include:One of the House candidates who has a TikTok account is Democrat Rishi Kumar, a Saratoga, California, councilman and Silicon Valley software executive. Kumar is running to unseat fellow Democrat Anna G. Eshoo in California's 18th District, located west of San Jose on the Pacific coast.Another TikTok user is Nick Freitas, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates who is looking to unseat Spanberger in Virginia's 7th District, west of Richmond.Freitas is the former Green Beret with a "top secret/sensitive compartmentalized information" security clearance, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is president of Gold Team Consulting, a company that helps contractors secure bids at the Pentagon and other federal offices.Joe Desilets, Frietas' campaign manager, said the candidate removed TikTok from his phone earlier this year. But Desilets did not reply to a question about precisely when that happened. Freitas' account is still on TikTok. His most recent post was in March, three months after the Pentagon warned its personnel and contractors not to use the app.Other than Freitas, the politicians with TikTok accounts did not reply to CQ Roll Call's repeated requests for comment.Ryan has previously downplayed the security risk from his use of the app."It's not like I'm doing some high-level counterintelligence through TikTok," Ryan told CQ Roll Call in May.The politicians use their TikTok accounts to post everything from serious campaign videos to silly lip-syncing. Some post videos only rarely, if at all. Or, like Freitas, they stopped doing so a few months ago and have taken the app off their phones. In Gabbard's case, there are no posts at all.Most experts said the frequency of posting videos on TikTok is not what creates the risk. Signing up to begin with is the action that provides TikTok with user information, they said.Taking the app off one's phone reduces the amount of additional personal data that the Chinese government could potentially access _ but does not undo previous transmissions, they said."The app is collecting a lot of information about users' interests, locations, habits and social networks," said John Dermody, a digital security expert who was formerly an adviser to the National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security and who is now counsel at O'Melveny & Myers. "This can be very valuable if you are a foreign intelligence service trying to identify vulnerabilities in another government or trying to identify a particular individual."Ainikki Riikonen, a research assistant in the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, a think tank, said in an email that taking the app off one's phone might lessen the risk. But, she said, "You can't exactly ask for your data back."Adam Segal, a digital security expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said taking the app off a lawmaker's phone probably ensures that the security risk is relatively low."My concern would not be how much they used it (tracking would happen no matter how much you used it), or if they used it for a certain type of content, but if the app was on the same phone that they did official U.S. government business or that had significant other personal information," Segal said via email.At TikTok's request, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction Sunday that froze part of Trump's proposed ban on the company's app.TikTok is in talks with Oracle and Walmart about possibly forming a U.S.-based company that would satisfy Trump's demands, but those talks have hit snags.Not everyone agrees with Trump about the seriousness of the TikTok threat. Segal and others have pointed out that Beijing's reported hacks of the personal data of millions of Americans, including government officials, through intrusions into the personnel files at the Office of Personnel Management and other entities, has created more of a risk than TikTok."But," Segal said, "if in your job or campaign you are warning about the national security risk of Chinese technology, it is not a great look to be using TikTok."Riikonen of the Center for New American Security agreed."It certainly doesn't set a good example," Riikonen said. "And the fact that they are more likely to be intelligence targets than your average citizen likely increases the risks for them, too."
The US Ambassador to Romania, Adrian Zuckerman, had a meeting with the rector of the University of Bucharest, Marian Preda, on the occasion of the beginning of the new academic year, the dialogue aiming, among others, at the initiation of an educational and tutoring support program for "gifted children" who come from disadvantaged areas and, especially, from rural areas, according to information published on the website of the higher education institution, according to Agerpres.

According to the quoted source, the aim of the project will be to provide children from disadvantaged backgrounds with material support, but also moral support for the transition from school to faculty, through mentoring programs supported by students and professors from the University of Bucharest.

The program is set to be launched by the end of this year, in a partnership between the University of Bucharest and the US Embassy.

The visit aimed at consolidating and expanding the partnerships and collaborations that the University of Bucharest has developed over the years with both the Government of the United States of America and the universities in the American space.

According to the quoted source, the US ambassador paid a visit to the University of Bucharest in early August, when the officials discussed the intention of the higher education institution to become a key-partner of the American academic and research community in the Black Sea region, cooperation ways with the new center within University of Bucharest's Research Institute - the Black Sea Area Studies Center - as well as the intention to create a research center dedicated to the study of information accuracy and freedom of expression.
The saga continues on reopening the Ste. Genevieve License Bureau with a new delay by the state of Missouri after awarding the contract.

The Ste. Genevieve Chamber of Commerce has applied for and won the contract, however, there has been a wrinkle in the process. Dena Kreitler, executive director of the chamber, reported to the Ste. Genevieve County Commission Thursday on the latest problem.

We were ready to announce our hires last Friday, because weve interviewed and did all that stuff, she said. Then Friday at 11:30 a.m. we were contacted and told that we were being protested.

The award was made to the chamber on Sept. 10. One of the entities that bid against us is now protesting the award. We had to halt everything. We couldnt hire, our construction was supposed to start last week for the buildout for our building, that had to halt.

According to Kreitler, one of the other bidders contested to the state on the scoring of the bids.

They said that the scoresheets would be made public in 72 hours, she said. That was Wednesday. We did receive our scorecards and we did see how everything played out.

"Theyre protesting four different areas. Three of the areas that they are protesting is of their own negligence. They failed to provide the information to the state. It was mostly around their customer service and their training.

Its a total of 18 points. But, even with their 18 points they still wont beat us. One of the points that they are protesting is the proximity. Theyre saying that theyre closer than 75 miles, which is not true, because they are in Jefferson City. It is their primary location of business.

"The state said the way the crow flies. Its still 81 miles the way the crow flies. They got like three points. We got all 24 points because were within five miles of the area. None of the people that bid against us are local.

The protest was levied by License Office Services (LOS). The company currently has 25 license offices in the state of Missouri. Kreitler said that was 13% of the offices in the state that they have.

We are not the only one they are protesting, they are protesting four other awards as well, she said. If they get all these awards they will be up to 29. We dont really have an answer. We were on a roll, we had deadlines we were meeting. We had a great plan in place, and I just hope the state does not pull this.

Kreitler is adamant that if the chamber runs the license office, all the funds generated would be returned directly back to the community as scholarships and donations to local groups.

The people that are protesting this from us, they are not going to keep those dollars here, she said. Theyre going to take those dollars. Their home base is in Jefferson City.

"Part of our mission is to give back and not only that, I talked to the state Tuesday and said its been six months, do you know how much revenue has been lost in our community? Not just from that office being closed, but from people that come to our office and go to Country Mart or Oberles or whatever. We have lost way more than that office being closed for six months. This company, LOS, is taking it right out of us and more from us, and thats not right.

Presiding Commissioner Garry Nelson asked if LOS could gain enough points to pass the chamber.

Kreitler said no.

Nelson added, So, were still pretty confident we are getting the license office?

Kreitler said she doesnt know, but feels confident.

Nelson continued, Its got to be pretty political if we dont.

Kreitler said that out of the five bidders, LOS came in fifth place. They didnt even come in second. Even if they brought up their 18 points, it would still only be 141, and we have 156.8.

Nelson commented, We dont need another delay, because it takes you six weeks to get going once you are awarded, now youre on hold. People still have to go out of the county to get their license.

Kreitler said that she was told that the protest should be settled next week. If the protest is in our favor, they will issue us a whole new set of deadlines. The other issue we ran into is that we had all our contractors lined up last weekend. Now, theyre not there. They were just doing it out of the graciousness of their hearts. Now, we dont know if thats going to happen.

Another thing, if they lose this protest, they can appeal it over and over again. LOS appealed an office in Columbia for four years.

The potential continued stalling of the award concerns Kreitler. I know CARES Act money is up in December. Were afraid if they stall us and stall us again until the end of the year, were not going to be able to utilize any money from the CARES Act, which is going to hurt some of our funding.

The Potosi Chamber of Commerce President called Kreitler Wednesday. They had their license office, LOS protested them and they won the first protest, LOS protested again, and they lost it. They take ownership Thursday, as matter of fact.

Thats just politics, Nelson said.

Kreitler commented, Im encouraged, but I dont want to get my hopes up. I feel like if the chamber loses this and LOS does come in, our community is going to be mad.

Nelson is urging local residents to contact the Missouri Department of Revenue to bring a resolution to the issue quickly.

For more information, contact the Missouri Department of Revenue at 573-751-4450, or https://dor.mo.gov.

Mark Marberry is a reporter for the Farmington Press and Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3629, or at mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com

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Law officers serve warrants on three sex offenders

Law officers from the Henderson County Sheriffs Office, United States Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Sex Offender Registration Unit, after developing information as to possible locations of suspects, served outstanding warrants early Wednesday on three alleged sex offenders.

Charged were:



Terry Lee Branks, 40, who was wanted for felony failure to report a new address  sex offender. Branks was taken into custody and is being held in the Henderson County Detention Center on a $25,000 secured bond on the current violation, He is also charged with a probation violation and is being held under no bond.



Jason Lydell Davis, 40, who was wanted for failure to appear on two sex offender violations for felony failure to report a new address  sex offender and failure to return a verification notice. Davis was taken into custody and is being held in the Henderson County Detention Center on a $20,000 secured bond.



Brittani Ann Paris, 31, who was wanted for felony failure to report a new address  sex offender. Paris was taken into custody and has since been released after posting a $25,000 secured bond.





The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force is comprised of state and local law enforcement officers from South Carolina and North Carolina, who work directly in conjunction with Deputy U.S. Marshals in order to apprehend state and local violent offenders and sexual predators. The Asheville Division of the CRFTF consists of law enforcement officers from the Henderson County Sheriffs Office, Transylvania County Sheriffs Office, Buncombe County Sheriffs Office, Rutherford County Sheriffs Office and North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Donald Trump recorded a brief video message on Friday before departing for Walter Reed hospital, where he will undergo treatment for the coronavirus.

"I want to thank everybody for the tremendous support. Im going to Walter Reed hospital. I think Im doing very well, but were going to make sure things work out," he said in a short video filmed in the Oval Office.

"The First Lady is doing very well. So thank you very much, I appreciate it. I will never forget it," he added.

Mr Trump tested positive for the virus late on Thursday evening and airlifted to hospital some 17 hours later after suffering chills and a fever throughout the day.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Mr Trump will work in a special suite at the hospital for the next few days as a precautionary measure.

White House doctor Sean P. Conley said the president is being treated with an experimental drug cocktail and is "fatigued but in good spirits."
The Chicago Center for HIV Elimination, housed at the University of Chicago, has been awarded $5 million over two years through the National Institute of Health's (NIH) RADx Underserved Populations program. The money will support a COVID-19 testing project across eight rural and urban sites in the Central U.S. to engage two disenfranchised populations: low-income Latinx individuals, and people of any ethnicity who have previously been involved with the criminal justice system, but are not currently incarcerated.

A part of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative, the RADx Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program will support research that aims to better understand COVID-19 testing patterns among underserved and vulnerable populations; strengthen the data on disparities in infection rates, disease progression and outcomes; and develop strategies to reduce the disparities in COVID-19 testing.

"There's no point in coming up with a new medical treatment or test if no one will take it," said project leader John Schneider, MD, MPH, a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at UChicago Medicine and Director of the Chicago Center for HIV Elimination.

Both groups targeted by this project face some of the highest COVID-19 infection and death rates in the United States. The researchers plan to implement and evaluate a COVID-19 testing approach that combines an evidence-based Social Network Testing Strategy (SNS) with community developed COVID-19 public health messages.

"SNS is an evidence-based testing intervention that has been widely used in multiple settings with marginalized individuals who facilitate the recruitment of their social contacts into testing and prevention services," Schneider said. "Most commonly used for HIV testing, SNS effectively engages partners, family, friends, co-workers and others who may be susceptible to COVID-19 by further building community partner capacity for COVID-19 testing and prevention services. SNS capitalizes on the individual as a trusted messenger and compensates them for their time, which increases uptake of testing."

The researchers will also build community-driven COVID-19 messages that both correct misinformation and support an individual's beliefs and agency to build trust among network members. Their goal is to evaluate these approaches for their effectiveness at increasing COVID-19 testing rates and improving contact tracing within the community, which then improves diagnosis and treatment of the virus in these underserved populations.

UChicago is one of 32 institutions that received an NIH award through the RADx-UP program to support projects designed to rapidly implement COVID-19 testing strategies in populations disproportionately affected by the pandemic. These groups include African Americans, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Latinos/Latinas, Native Hawaiians, older adults, pregnant women and those who are homeless or incarcerated.

"It is critical that all Americans have access to rapid, accurate diagnostics for COVID-19, especially underserved and vulnerable populations who are bearing the brunt of this disease," said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD. "The RADx-UP program will help us better understand and alleviate the barriers to testing for those most vulnerable and reduce the burden of this disease."

The existing infrastructure and community partnerships of the Center for HIV Elimination will allow for rapid implementation of these approaches, with the network already mobilizing to begin recruiting participants by the start of the new year.

"It's really important to do this community work and to understand their concerns and needs if you want to get them on board and to trust the resources you're offering," Schneider said. "The collaborative community-academic partnerships, research and engagement infrastructure we already have will allow us to rapidly recruit, enroll and engage some of our most disenfranchised community members in testing and through this process, accelerate any forthcoming COVID- 19 public health prevention interventions."

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About the University of Chicago Medicine & Biological Sciences

The University of Chicago Medicine, with a history dating back to 1927, is one of the nation's leading academic health systems. It unites the missions of the University of Chicago Medical Center, Pritzker School of Medicine and the Biological Sciences Division. Twelve Nobel Prize winners in physiology or medicine have been affiliated with the University of Chicago Medicine. Its main Hyde Park campus is home to the Center for Care and Discovery, Bernard Mitchell Hospital, Comer Children's Hospital and the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine. It also has ambulatory facilities in Orland Park, South Loop and River East as well as affiliations and partnerships that create a regional network of care. UChicago Medicine offers a full range of specialty-care services for adults and children through more than 40 institutes and centers including an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Together with Harvey-based Ingalls Memorial, UChicago Medicine has 1,296 licensed beds, nearly 1,300 attending physicians, over 2,800 nurses and about 970 residents and fellows.

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Sometimes, you must slow down to move forward in the right direction. To be agents of Christs love and healing amid the darkness of racial division, racial violence, and racial inequity, you must be willing to be still to know.

Are you willing to slow down for self-reflection? Ask Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and Father God to refine what is of the flesh and to deposit what is from heaven. Make the choice to be compelled by Christs love. Prayerfully consider (emphasis on prayerfully) these questions:

First, are you engaging with information to better understand how you can contribute to the healing, the well-being, the honor, and restoration of people of color? What is your motivation as it relates to reconciliation and justice? People of color can feel when a white Christian is committed to growth and love as it relates to race and justice, cultural humility, and reconciliation. People of color can feel when a white Christian is committed to her own value system or his own way of living, thinking, and being. We can also feel when white Christians are only in the conversation to defend themselves, be right, analyze, object, and scrutinize. We can feel when it is about you being able to say you did something versus putting your preaching into practice, humbling yourself, pursuing understanding, and choosing to become a Christlike lover of our community.

Second, if your motivation is to be a contributing, life-giving, and restorative participant in racial reconciliation, are you honoring the voices and resource recommendations of those you desire to be reconciled with? There is a difference between honoring the voices and resource recommendations of a small, contrarian subset and honoring the voice and resource recommendations of the majority of the people with whom you seek reconciliation. For example, I am increasingly weary of engaging in race-related discussions with white Christians who make time to take in content from productions like the recently released Larry Elder film Uncle Tom but cannot make time to listen to Henry Louis Gates Jr. or consume historically rich resources like Michael O. Emersons Divided by Faith.

Have you considered how the Enemy and your flesh might tempt you to respond defensively rather than humbly and openly?

Third, are you motivated enough to be open to hearing hard things about your own culture, your unconscious participation in the harm of people of color, and your interpretation of Jesus words and actions that do not actually align with the Scripture? Have you considered how the Enemy and your flesh might tempt you to respond defensively rather than humbly and openly? Will you arise as you grow?

Fourth, do you apply a double-standard that makes actions from your group acceptable but diminishes and dismisses those behaviors when they come from an ethnic group different than your own? For instance, are you accepting or tolerant when a white political candidate (who claims to follow Christ) designs his gubernatorial commercials with racially coded phrases similar to Ill round up all them criminal illegals in my truck but believe it is divisive and unchristian for believers of color to say, Im struggling with how white Christians unravel as soon as you attempt to point out racist patterns in their communications and behavior? Or do you deem it un-American when a black First Lady says, I am finally proud of America but feel camaraderie and a sense of understanding when a white male, political leader says, Make America Great Again? Or do you have negative reactions when people groups who have experienced recurring injustices react in organized (primarily peaceful) ways, while every July you celebrate the independence of the United States of America, which was attained through the destruction of property (Boston Tea Party) and bloodshed?

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As it relates to race and justice, slow down and apply what youve learned. As you do, pursue feedback from people of color. One starter question could be, What can I do to ensure you feel equipped to challenge or confront me when my communication, actions, or lack of action does not align with the gospel and hinders the work of reconciliation? Soliciting, receiving, and giving feedback can be hard, but feedback is an irreplaceable component of true reconciliation work. Ready yourself with humility to remember that perfection exists in only one being, the Trinity, and in one polis, New Jerusalem. Every other person and every other nation (including you and yours) should be expected to reflect glorious aspects of God and life-stealing aspects of the Devil. Ready yourself to feel anger, but do not sin. Ready yourself to manage the guilt, shame, joy, and apathy that will undoubtedly arise as you discover the heavenly and hellish ways you have engaged in racism.

Lastly, how do you view Christs love and Gods commandment to do justice? Do you believe Jesus commands you to love individuals of other ethnicities and groups of other ethnicities? Do you believe Jesus calls you to sacrificially love other individuals, entire groups of individuals, and yourself? Do you believe Christs love requires you to advocate with and for groups that are suffering and disenfranchised? As you slow down, you might find that your convictions about Christlike love are more reflective of your ethnic groups interpretation of Christ rather than the Scriptures description of him. We are all prone to over-elevate our cultures view of Christ, but this is idolatry. We cannot pledge our allegiance to two mastersour culture and Christs kingdom. Every moment, we make conscious and subconscious choices to love one or to hate the other.

You do have a choice. Slow down; make space to make a clear decision. Consider its likely consequences. If your motivation is to love with the no greater love Christ describes in John 15:13 (NLT), your only option is to lay down your way of life so you can find Jesus' way and his life. No individual or ethnic group (Christian or non-Christian) can demand Christs love from you. The beauty of the gospel is that God gives his love to those who follow his example and those who do not. It is your choice.

If, instead of choosing courage and humility, you choose to disengage and/or perpetuate the paradigms that have helped to maintain the unjust status quo, it is likely that black people, indigenous people, and people of color (BIPOC), as well as conscious white Christians will leave or avoid your church, your ministry, your company, your small group, and more. Our departure or avoidance will be our choice. We can be kind, practice honor, advocate for your well-being, and celebrate your victories whilewe worship and pray at a distance to ensure our discipleship experiences align with the true gospel, not your cultural idolatry. You are not being canceled, coerced, or manipulated. You are receiving an appropriate response based on the choices you make.

So slow down, self-reflect, gather feedback, re-examine, make conscious choices, and stand on them when you are called to give an account by your brothers and sisters in Christ and ultimately by Jesus.

Zakiya Mims is founder and lead consultant at Shepherd & Stone Consulting, which serves marketplace, church, and nonprofit leaders committed to being agents of reconciliation in their local communities.
That kitchen chemistry experiment youve seen on almost every commercial about home schooling during the pandemic, the one that produces a mammoth amount of colorful foam? Here it is.

Its adapted from a San Antonio Charter Moms lesson on how to make elephant toothpaste. Just a few ingredients are needed to create the chemical reaction.

Audrey Hagopian, regional director of primary schools for BASES.ed, performs the experiment and explains the science behind it on Charter Mom Chats, a program on the organizations YouTube channel. The lesson also can be downloaded at sachartermoms.com.

The experiment requires adult supervision because it involves hydrogen peroxide. And it can get messy.

The resulting elephant toothpaste is safe to touch, but avoid contact with eyes and face. Cleanup is easy; the foam is safe to wash down the sink.

Ingrid Wilgen

What you need

Hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, dry yeast, warm water, food coloring, a plastic bottle, a small cup or bowl, measuring cups, a funnel, a pan or other container, an apron or lab coat.

What to do

Set up your workspace by covering the surface with plastic or, better yet, placing the dry, empty plastic bottle in a container or pan to catch spills.

Pour 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide into the plastic bottle, then add a big squirt of dish soap and about five drops of food coloring. Give the bottle a swirl.

In a separate bowl or cup, put three tablespoons of warm tap water. Add one tablespoon, or one packet, of dry yeast to the water. Stir for about 30 seconds or until the mixture resembles the consistency of melted ice cream.

Now the fun begins. Place the funnel in the opening of the plastic bottle. Carefully but quickly, pour the yeast mixture into the hydrogen peroxide mixture in the bottle.

Watch what happens.

How it works

Mixing yeast with hydrogen peroxide causes a reaction that breaks down the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2) . The escaping gas forms bubbles, which causes the dish soap to foam.
Tractor rally

Chandigarh: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will now hold tractor rallies in Punjab and Haryana from October 4-6 to protest against the contentious new farm laws.

Earlier, Gandhi was scheduled to hold tractor rallies from October 3-5, the party had said. However, the rest of his itinerary will remain the same.

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Raveen Thukral tweet

"Change in @Rahul Gandhi tractor rallies programme; rescheduled to October 4, 5, 6. Rest (itinerary) remains the same," Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's media advisor, Raveen Thukral, tweeted.

A spokesperson of Punjab Congress had said on Thursday that the tractor rallies were expected to be supported by farmers' organisations and will cover more than 50 km over three days.

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Tractor rally The rallies are scheduled to begin around 11 am on each of the three days and will be conducted amid strict Covid-19 protocols, the spokesperson had said.

Gandhi is likely to address rallies at Kaithal and Pipli in Kurukshetra district of Haryana on October 6 instead of October 5, following which he will return to Delhi.
Environment Secretary told the Mail Britain is ready to fight and win a 'cod war'

George Eustice said ministers have quietly put in place a five-fold increase in our enforcement capacity for a possible stand-off with European trawlermen

Fishing remains one of the key sticking points to a deal, with Boris Johnson unwilling to bow to demands that would allow EU trawlers to maintain permanent access to British waters

Britain is ready to fight and win a new Cod War with the EU if Brexit trade negotiations collapse, the Environment Secretary said last night.

In an interview with the Mail, George Eustice said ministers have quietly put in place a five-fold increase in our enforcement capacity over the last year in preparation for a possible stand-off with European trawlermen.

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Fishing remains one of the key sticking points to a deal, with Boris Johnson unwilling to bow to demands that would allow EU trawlers to maintain permanent access to British waters.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice arrives in Downing Street in central London to attend a Cabinet meeting on 30 September, 2020 in London, England

Officials fear this could lead to a repeat of the 1970s Cod Wars, when British trawlers backed by the Royal Navy clashed with Icelandic coastguard vessels in a doomed attempt to maintain historic fishing rights in the North Atlantic.

Asked directly if Britain was ready to defend its waters in the event of No Deal, Mr Eustice said: Yes, we are. And in fact, the main lesson of the Cod War was its much easier to protect your waters against access from overseas vessels than it is to try to defend a notion of an historic access thats no longer available to us.

By the start of next year the so-called cod squad of Royal Navy patrol craft will have doubled from three to six.

Hopes rise on Brexit deal (but talks may last till November)

Britains Brexit negotiator last night declared the outlines of a deal were visible even as it emerged the process could last into next month.

Following the latest round of talks, David Frost said the two sides had held constructive discussions in a good spirit.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, also spoke of progress on many, many fronts.

Boris Johnson has suggested he could walk away from the negotiating table if no agreement is struck before an EU summit on October 15.

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However the Mail understands that talks could last into next month if both sides feel an accord is in sight.

United Kingdom's Brexit envoy David Frost arrives for a meeting with European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom Michel Barnier at the European Commission in Brussels today

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Environment Secretary George Eustice told the Mail last night that talks could continue for another three weeks.

Weve really got to have some kind of heads of terms understanding about whether theres a landing zone by the middle of October, he said. And we really cant let things stretch on much beyond the first week of November because businesses need to know where they stand.

A source told the Mail that Michel Barnier, the lead EU negotiator, believed an agreement might not be signed until early next month.

In an interview last night, Mr Johnson appealed for European leaders to be commonsensical and come to terms.

I hope that we get a deal, its up to our friends, he told the BBC. Theyve done a deal with Canada of a kind that we want, why shouldnt they do it with us? Were so near, weve been members for 45 years. Its all there, its just up to them.

Mrs von der Leyen called for trade talks to intensify as she prepared to take stock of progress with Mr Johnson. The two leaders are to speak later today to discuss the next steps following the conclusion of the final scheduled round of formal talks.

News of the conference call prompted speculation of a final series of intensive talks  dubbed the tunnel.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, takes off her protective mask prior to making a statement regarding the Withdrawal Agreement at EU headquarters in Brussels yesterday

Mrs von der Leyen said the most difficult issues  including fisheries and state aid rules  still had to be resolved to get an agreement in place before the Brexit transition period ends on December 31. It is good to have a deal, but not at any price, she said. We have made progress on many, many different fields but of course the most difficult ones are still completely open.

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But overall, where there is a will, there is a way, so I think we should intensify the negotiations. We are running out of time  around 100 days to the end of the year  so it is worth stepping up now.

Speaking after the end of the ninth round of negotiations, Lord Frost said: These were constructive discussions conducted in a good spirit.

In many areas of our talks, although differences remain, the outlines of an agreement are visible. I am concerned that there is very little time now to resolve these issues ahead of the European Council on 15 October.

For our part, we continue to be fully committed to working hard to find solutions.

German chancellor Angela Merkel said the bloc was in a constructive mood to seal a deal but that there had been no breakthrough so far. As long as negotiations are ongoing, I remain optimistic, she said.

It will be a crucial phase over the next few days.

Mr Barnier said: We will continue to maintain a calm and respectful attitude, and we will remain united and determined until the end.

He held a private meeting with MEPs earlier this week and a source familiar with the discussions said he downplayed the possibility of a deal before the summit.

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A Downing Street spokesman said: The middle of October is where we believe we would need to see a resolution to this in order to make sure we have all the things we need to have in place for the end of the transition period.
Curtis Stone is keen to return to Australia after what he calls a 'crazy time' living in the USA.

The celebrity chef has been based in Los Angeles with his family and just opened a new restaurant, Picnic Society.

However the 44-year-old told The Herald Sun on Friday: 'I really miss it, more than ever. It's a chaotic time over here in the US so I miss it even more knowing that where you are is a little nuts'.

Homeward bound? Curtis Stone (pictured) is keen to return to Australia after what he calls a 'crazy time' living in the USA. The celebrity chef has been based in LA with his family

He added that it would feel 'safer' and more 'stable' in Australia for himself and his family.

'We have that conversation a lot in our house at the moment. Australia has never looked so enticing.

'We've always held out hope we'd live between the two places or maybe move back one day,' he said.

The 44-year-old told The Herald Sun on Friday: 'I really miss it, more than ever. It's a chaotic time over here in the US so I miss it even more knowing that where you are is a little nuts'

Family man: He added that it would feel 'safer' and more 'stable' in Australia for himself and his family. Pictured with his wife Lindsay Price, 43, and their sons Hudson, 8 and Emerson, 6

Curtis was forced to shut down two of his Los Angeles restaurants in April, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Appearing on The Project in April, Curtis told Gorgi Coghlan coronavirus had forced him to shut down both of his Los Angeles restaurants.

'It is brutal. We are in Los Angeles, one of the hardest hit areas of America, and both our restaurants were closed,' he explained.

Safer: 'We have that conversation a lot in our house at the moment. Australia has never looked so enticing' he added

Aussie local: 'We've always held out hope we'd live between the two places or maybe move back one day,' Curtis said

The Australian chef was left with no choice but to turn his restaurant, Maude, into a marketplace and deliver food to people.

'You accept it and move on, and you've just got to be flexible and keep your people taken care of and employed, and that was always our goal,' he said.

Curtis is married to actress Lindsay Price, 43, and they have two children, sons Hudson, 8 and Emerson, 6.
Japan Outbound Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism market is expected to surpass US$ 7 Billion by 2025



(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - September 30th, 2020 - Japan Outbound MICE Tourism Market: Traveler Flows, Spending Patterns, Main Destination Markets and Forecast to 2025 offers the most uptodate industry data on the actual market situation and future outlook for Japan outbound MICE tourism market. The report offers an in-depth analysis of traveler flows, spending patterns, main destination markets and current and future opportunities for tourism businesses seeking to tap into the Japan outbound MICE tourism market. This report also provides readers with insight into MICE tourism, a rapidly growing segment within the travel industry. The report includes historical data from 2013 to 2018 and forecasts until 2025.

This report provides clear insight into current and future tourism developments of the Japan outbound MICE tourism market. Furthermore, this report uses main destination-focused analysis to explore Japan outbound MICE tourism market. A detailed main destination analysis of the market is provided, covering a total of 20 destinations. The report also explores detailed description of growth drivers and inhibitors of the Japan outbound MICE tourism market.

The main MICE destinations for the Japanese travelers covered in the report are United States, Hawaii, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Macau, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand

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Japan Outbound MICE Travelers Visitation & Forecast (2013  2025)

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Japan Outbound MICE Travelers Visitation & Spending Share & Y-o-Y Growth (%) (2013  2025)

Japan MICE Travelers Visitation to Major 20 Destinations & Forecast (2013  2025)

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An election year already defined by a cascade of national crises descended further into chaos Friday, with President Donald Trump quarantined at a military hospital with the coronavirus after consistently playing down the threat.

Democratic challenger Joe Biden took down his attack ads and pressed a bipartisan message in battleground Michigan after he and his wife tested negative.

This cannot be a partisan moment. It must be an American moment. We have to come together as a nation, Biden declared at a speech in Grand Rapids, warning that the virus is not going away automatically.

While Biden vowed to continue his cautious approach to campaigning during the pandemic, the presidents diagnosis injected even greater uncertainty into an election already plagued by crises that have exploded under Trumps watch: the pandemic, devastating economic fallout and sweeping civil unrest. With millions of Americans already voting, the country on Friday entered uncharted territory that threatened to rattle global markets and political debates around the world.

The development focuses the campaign right where Biden has put his emphasis for months  and where Republicans dont want it: on Trumps uneven response to a pandemic that has killed more than 205,000 people in the U.S. And for the short term, its grounded Trump under quarantine at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, denying him the large public rallies that fuel his campaign just a month before the election.

Biden and other Democratic officeholders wished Trump well in the wake of his diagnosis, although some could not help but admonish the Republican president, who openly ignored his own administrations social safety recommendations for much of the year.

Going into crowds unmasked and all the rest was sort of a brazen invitation for this to happen, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on MSNBC.

 READ MORE: President experiencing mild symptoms, White House official says, after Donald and Melania Trump test positive for COVID-19

The White House reported Friday evening that Trump will spend a few days at the military hospital; the presidents doctor reported that Trump was fatigued and had been injected with an experimental antibody drug combination still in clinical trials. His campaign announced that all of Trumps scheduled campaign events were being moved online or temporarily postponed. Trumps family, a steady presence on the campaign trail, was also grounded.

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has tested positive for the virus as well. But Vice President Mike Pence, who has tested negative, will attend his campaign events as planned.

Other world leaders, including Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have contracted the virus and made full recoveries. But strategists in both parties acknowledged the timing is bad.

Millions of Americans have already begun voting in several key states, and tens of millions more will receive absentee mail-in ballots or begin in-person early voting in the coming weeks.

Trumps main advantages, including incumbency, have been removed. Rallies, his main vehicle for mobilizing his base, will no longer be possible. Fly-bys with Air Force One as a backdrop are gone, said Republican strategist Rick Tyler, a frequent Trump critic.

He said that Trumps infection also fundamentally undercuts his entire campaign strategy, which was to ignore the pandemic and make unsubstantiated claims that weve turned the corner and are making an economic comeback.

Biden, meanwhile, moved to take down his ads attacking Trump, according to deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield, who noted that the campaign would continue running positive ads. The decision was made before news surfaced that Trump would be moved to a military hospital.

Otherwise, Biden is not expected to alter his approach to the campaign significantly as Trump recovers.

The Democratic nominee has been much more cautious on the campaign trail than Trump. Having spent much of the spring and summer avoiding crowds, Biden has held far fewer public events since returning to the campaign trail last month  all of them with small crowds, if any, following social distancing guidelines. Only on Thursday did Bidens campaign announce that it would resume door-to-door canvassing in addition to its phone and digital outreach to voters.

Biden traveled from Delaware to Michigan on Friday afternoon for a campaign event, while Jill Biden was attending a separate event in New Hampshire. Bidens running mate, Kamala Harris, made her previously scheduled trip to Las Vegas as well.

The campaign confirmed Biden, his wife and Harris all tested negative for the virus.

This is not a matter of politics. Its a bracing reminder to all of us, Biden said in Grand Rapids, calling for a nationwide mask mandate as he spoke wearing a surgical mask. We have to take this virus seriously.

 READ MORE: Trump was supposed to come to Philly for a firefighters endorsement thats divided the union

Trump now faces tremendous pressure to adjust his rhetoric and campaign tactics after spending much of the year downplaying the severity of the virus and repeatedly declaring COVID-19 would disappear.

As recently as Tuesday, Trump ridiculed Biden on national television for his cautious approach.

I put a mask on when I think I need it, Trump said during the debate. I dont wear masks like him. Every time you see him hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

 READ MORE: Shock, sympathy, criticism: The world reacts to Trumps coronavirus infection

Two additional debates are scheduled for Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. The Commission on Presidential Debates has not yet commented on any changes in the debate schedule or health protocols, but has confirmed that next weeks vice presidential debate is on as scheduled.

Both presidential candidates are in high-risk categories for COVID-19 complications. Trump is 74 years old and clinically obese. Biden is 77 years old.

Should Trump emerge with no visible effects, he could declare a speedy recovery as proof that hes been right about COVID-19 being overblown. But that still would be at odds both with established science and with what Trump himself has said privately. Recordings by journalist Bob Woodward captured Trump in early February detailing the deadly consequences of coronavirus, contrary to his public dismissiveness.

From now until we get to the election, attention is going to be back where it should be: on COVID, the presidents response and the impact  and on health care, said Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright, a Biden supporter. This proves our candidate was right all along.

Associated Press writer Zeke Miller and Alexandra Jaffe contributed to this report.
When Ron Bedard planned to ride his motorcycle from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back, COVID-19 wasnt in the cards

But he refused to cancel his trip.

Now, three years, three quarantines, 22 countries, over 150,000 kilometres and a couple of motorbikes later, the Vancouver native is back in Canada and this week, hes been exploring New Brunswick.

It hasnt all been easy riding for Bedard, who said he is making a documentary along the way.

On one occasion in Mexico, he said he was surrounded by a cartel bearing weapons and robbed. Hes wiped out on his bike and once, after waiting in the cold for five hours in Death Valley for a tow, he realized his bike wasnt recoverable, he said. That was crushing, both emotionally and literally, he said, as they took his bike to the wrecking yard to be crushed into a cube.

But each time, you start over, he said, even if that means flying home, getting another bike and transporting it right to the spot you left off.

If I can learn something new, Ive had a good day, he said.

Getting into Atlantic Canada turned out to be one of the many obstacles on his trip, thanks to the pandemic border closures. I count myself extremely lucky, he said, noting he gained access through the government of Newfoundland & Labrador, after explaining he was making a documentary about a motorcycle trip across the Americas.

The 14-day quarantine after entering the Atlantic Bubble was worth it, he said, adding that he has been taking everything about the pandemic seriously and would have been disappointed but understanding if his request had been denied.

The adventurer had never been to New Brunswick before this visit, and said being able to be here to capture the fall colours has been stunning, with the covered bridges another highlight.

But the pandemic has also delayed his timing to return to the Arctic. Now winter is part of the picture whereas, it wasnt before, he said. But he resolved the issue by acquiring studded tires and snow chains. Im putting a sidecar on the bike, and I will continue to ride up there in the winter, he said.

When asked if he would have embarked on his odyssey if he knew about the pandemic ahead of time, he admits he would have waited. He was in the United States in March, he said, and had accelerated home to Canada, making it across the border the day before the borders closed. He paused for a couple of months before continuing.

After living with a goal for three years, the goal was strong, he said, adding that he had hoped to return to the Arctic in August to make in three years exactly since he left. Thanks to COVID, it will now be three and a half years; he plans to reach the Arctic by December.

He does miss the human contact COVID has blocked, saying, its strange not to be able to shake hands with someone you meet.

Bedards advice as he enters the last phase of his own adventure? Get out there. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. And dont be afraid to engage, he said.

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The impossible Rana Ayyub Journalist Rana Ayyub's no-filter critique of New India make her impossible to ignore. In a year of international awards and honours, Lounge catches up with her as she prepares to receive an award from the US-based Muslim Public Affairs Council next week

Her significance is that she has been consistently brave and outspoken about all of the pivotal issues in Indias recent past, says Mukul Kesavan, historian and author. Portrait by Avani Rai.

Rana Ayyub feels happiest when shes on the move. Its more than that. She needs to be on the move. Its when she pauses that she must grapple with anxiety, isolation, and the burden of being a relentless no-filter critic in New India. Make that Muslim woman critic though she has often been told, even by the liberal establishment, to not make it about religion. But at a time when even conservative commentators like Tavleen Singh agree that Prime Minister Narendra Modis second term, whether intentionally or not, seems to have the singular purpose of showing Indian Muslims that they are inferior citizens, Ayyub is unapologetic about her identity.

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The award-winning investigative journalist will be honoured on 10 October for her tenacious reporting on the rise of authoritarian Hindu nationalism by the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a US-based non-profit that works to promote pluralism.

In February, she won the 2020 McGill Medal for journalistic courage. In April, she was shadowed for an HBO documentaryproduced by American journalist Ronan Farrowwhich investigates threats to four journalists across the globe.

Until the pandemic shut down airports, Ayyub, 36, was zipping through countries with the ease of a tech company CEO, packing and unpacking her largely black-ivory-grey speaking wardrobe. Last year, for example, she was the keynote speaker at international journalism conferences in Norway, South Africa and New Mexico. She closed a conference in Greece; gave a talk at a journalism conference in Italy; addressed UN special rapporteurs in Geneva; gave lectures and talks in the US; and was interviewed by at least two Pulitzer-winning journalists.

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The year ended with her on the cover of The New Yorker as journalist Dexter Filkins told the story of Modis rise through Ayyubs eyes. The magazines award-winning editor, David Remnick, emailed her to thank her for all the time and heart and soul you put into your extraordinary work.

In a world where journalists are under siege, Ayyubs relentless critique, large public following and reporting chops make hers a voice thats impossible to ignore. Every time a big story breaks, she messages me, Im going. Are you coming?

Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemicwhen her international travel came to a standstillshe raised 1.75 crore on a crowdfunding platform and drove across the country, spearheading her own relief drive. Along the way, she contracted the virus and found herself in yet another controversy on Twitter.

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Ayyub raised  1.75 crore on a crowdfunding platform and drove across the country, spearheading her own covid-19 relief drive.

She may be among the most popular Indian invitees to global journalism conferences but when I asked an organizer of a local conference if they had ever invited Ayyub to their annual jamboree, he wasnt sure. Later he messaged to say she hadnt ever been at their event. Some of her detractors point out that other media critics of the government do their work quietly and dont turn themselves into the story like Ayyub does. Others say the West has a saviour complex about her.

Her significance is that she has been consistently brave and outspoken about all of the pivotal issues in Indias recent past, says Mukul Kesavan, historian and author. She has been not just on the right side but ahead of the curve in calling the state out.

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Kesavan believes Ayyubs outspokenness deprives non-Muslims of behalfism, namely the need to speak like Galahads on behalf of Muslims.

One thing is clear: If the global media didnt have her back, she would be even more vulnerable in an India thats increasingly cracking down on any form of dissent. The fact that shes a Muslim woman only makes her courage shine brighter.

Truth and dare

The tidal wave of international invitations began in 2016 after the release of her self-published book The Gujarat Files: Anatomy Of A Cover-Up. The book opened the floodgates more than anything elsesuddenly the world discovered me, Ayyub says.

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The bookan account of an eight-month-long undercover sting that investigated the Gujarat riots and its aftermathhas sold 750,000 copies and been translated into 15 languages. Ayyub just signed on with leading Beverly Hills-based talent agency William Morris Endeavour (WME) for the documentary and feature film adaptation.

WME will also market her next book, a personal history, due to be published in end-2021. In this book, about growing up Muslim, she looks back at key events in her life, from the impact of getting polio at the age of 4 to the murder of her dear friend, human rights lawyer Shahid Azmi, in 2010 and her subsequent depression.

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Write about the mental health pandemic, Ayyub, who regularly battles anxiety and insomnia, urges me every few weeks.

These days, she jokes, when she wants to feel calm she squeezes sideways into her four-year-old nephew Zulfiquars battery-operated BMW toy car and answers calls. When I sit in it, I feel like things are working, things are going to be fine, she tells me.

She wants me to inform readers that shes single and looking for love, ideally something lasting. Its the only space in my life where theres a void, she says. Ayyubs writing may be grim but her friends know she is full of joie de vivre.

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At the International Journalism Festival in Italy in April, where we shared a stage, I got a ringside view of her ability to hook an audience as she shared the story of her book, and the harassment that followed. She introduced me to the whos who in the world of global press freedom organizations.

Ayyub as lone warrior is an enduring image for many.

She has been pretty much alone in her trying to get to the truth about Modi, past and present, despite all threats and obstacles, Filkins tells me. not letting go until she gets answers to her questions.

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Political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta says he finds Ayyubs Ekla chalo re courage inspirational. She has singlehandedly braved the entire might of the right. But the impact of her work has been more outside India. This is partly due to censorship and fear; partly because 2002 ceased being a live political and legal issue, especially after the Supreme Courts interventions; partly because in India it was easy to construct her as a polarizing figure rather than a crusader for truth.

It is a tribute to her that even in India the right completely loses its mind over her. It would have to invent someone like her if she did not exist to satisfy its victimhood, he adds.

In recent years there have been death threats, rape threats, threats to her family, hateful fake tweets attributed to her, and even a deepfake pornographic video in 2018. She handles this onslaught with the support of family and friends but the video (briefly) broke her spirit. Ayyub was in Delhi when the video broke and thatnight, she called an editor friend and said she might need to go to a hospital. She was having a panic attack. Her brother Arif flew in from Mumbai the next day. For a few days, the trolls had won.

South African editor Ferial Haffajee, who met Ayyub at a conference a few years ago, flicks away Ayyubs critics. As a third-world global citizen that can happen to any brown or black woman who dares to stake a place on the global stage. She clearly understands where shes fromshes Indian, shes Muslim and shes also a citizen of the world. Haffajee says she was drawn to Ayyub for her no bullshit view of the world.

She tells it straight, without embroidery.

Home and away

In addition to frequent appearances on international media and the conference circuit, as a Global Opinions writer at The Washington Post since September 2019, Ayyub has had access to another important platform to show the world how India is changing.

Her audience may be varied but her topics are consistent: Islamophobia, the rapid erosion of press freedom and Indias rising majoritarianism. Abroad, many see her as the Indian equivalent of Rappler founder Maria Ressa, who makes Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte see red. In the most contemporary form of violence against women journalists, along with Maria Ressa, Rana is our totemic figure about how to fight this latest scourge to media freedom, says Haffajee.

Ayyubs appeal is not restricted to an overseas audienceshes a favourite with students at home too. Shes equally comfortable talking about the parallels between Kashmir and Palestine and the plummeting standards of television news at a posh south Mumbai school as she is discussing her Marathi-medium education, her childhood polio, which made her an introvert, and her early inferiority complex when addressing a womens college in Kozhikode with mostly Muslim students. I become their best friend. I talk in a language they understand, she tells me in one of many conversations for this piece.

Young women often ask her how they can convince their parents to allow them to lead similarly independent lives. Ayyub has never really had to try too hard to convince her family about her life choices; they are her biggest cheerleaders and her strongest support. If it wasnt for my family her voice trails off. She lives in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, with her homemaker mother Safia, her father Waquif, a prolific Urdu author and former school principal, and her brother Arifs family.

Crowdfunding hope

Maybe its not so much the desire to be on the move as it is the need to direct all of her energy into something purposefulkeeda (inability to sit still), in her words. Weeks into a sudden national lockdown that began in March, she found new purpose.

Ayyub and Arif were headed to pick up Alphonso mangoes from a farmer who was selling directly to housing societies. Near the Kopar Khairane slum (in New Mumbai), they saw a child playing alone in the middle of the road. Ayyub got out of the car to investigate. His mother said hes happy, let him be. We have nothing to eat. If he sits at home he will only bother me. The womans husband was a municipal sewage cleaner who had lost his job and her last meal was a banana she had eaten the previous day.

One thing led to another and, in seven days, Ayyub raised 1.25 crore on Ketto. She put out a call for relief workers on Twitter; one gent showed up with his white Mercedes and volunteered to chauffeur the team; a computer shop in Dharavi doubled up as a place to store food supplies. When the money ran out, they raised another 50 lakh.

They used the money to send migrant workers back home, to fund emergency medical procedures, buy oxygen cylinders and tarpaulin for flood-prone regions. They distributed 13kg packets of ration to 60,000 families across five states, she says.

The relief work kept me sane, she says. I was out every day.

A 280-character portrait

Her Twitter account is where you can come closest to understanding what its like to be Rana Ayyub. This year she has been accused ofamong other thingsfaking news that she had covid-19 (she then uploaded her report) and feeding Muslims while ignoring Hindus during the relief drive she organized. A man from Mumbai filed a police complaint against her in February after she tweeted a video of men attempting to hoist a saffron flag on a minaret. He said she had shared an old video with an intention to spread hatred. Fact-checking website Alt News verified that the video was accurate.

A columnist who didnt want to be named in this piece voiced another common criticism of AyyubI dont think activism is journalism.

I am not an activist, I am an active journalist, says Ayyub. I am not a journalist who wont cry when she sees the suffering of riot victims. In the new world order, journalism has new meaning.

Ayyub believes wrong must be called out, just as feminists are calling out the witch-hunt against Rhea Chakraborty after the suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Or just as her editor at the Post, Karen Attiahand countless other black journalistshave in recent times repeatedly called out the discrimination against African-Americans. I cannot remove my lived experience as a Muslim from my journalism. Thats not me making myself the story.

Ayyub angered Kashmiris when she said in December that Kashmir is being repeated all over the country. They argued that to compare the citizenship struggle of Indian Muslims to Kashmiris decades-long fight for self-determination was false equivalence. Liberals got upset when she called the Delhi riots a pogrom and when she said What is left for a virus to kill in a morally corrupt nationin response to news that Ranjan Gogoi, the former Supreme Court chief justice who had been accused of sexual harassment by a woman staffer, had been nominated to the Rajya Sabhaall hell broke loose.

I am not an activist, I am an active journalist, says Ayyub. I am not a journalist who wont cry when she sees the suffering of riot victims. In the new world order, journalism has new meaning.

Then there is the constant stream of abuse from bigots and misogynists who say things that are not worth repeating herethough Ayyub often takes screenshots of the vilest comments and shares them with her friends and followers so they can get a taste of her life.

And then she tweets again

For Time magazines 100 Most Influential People of 2020, Ayyub recently wrote about 82-year-old Shaheen Bagh Dadi Bilkis, one of the faces at the heart of protests led by Muslim women against the recent Citizenship (Amendment) Act which, for the first time, put citizenship through a religious sieve. Modi also featured on Times list. The crucible of the pandemic became a pretense for stifling dissent. And the worlds most vibrant democracy fell deeper into shadow, writer Karl Vick said about the PM.

Ayyub will continue to tell the uncensored story of unrepresented Indians to anyone who wants to listen, and irrespective of your opinion.

Priya Ramani is a Bengaluru-based columnist. She is on the editorial board of Article-14.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Tokyo, Japan  Fri, October 2, 2020 10:24 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48a5672 2 Business Japan,unemployment,COVID-19,natural-disaster,Yoshihide-Suga,labor Free

Japan's unemployment rate rose to 3.0 percent in August, the highest figure since mid-2017, official data showed Friday, illustrating the pandemic's effect on the country's tight labor market.

The figure, up 0.1 percentage points from July, is the first time since May 2017 that the rate has stood at three percent or higher, according to the internal affairs ministry data.

Separate data compiled by the labor ministry showed there were only 104 job openings for every 100 job-seekers in August, worsening from 108 to 100 in the previous month.

Japan was already struggling with the effects of natural disasters and a hike in consumption tax before the coronavirus pandemic crippled the global economy.

Once it hit, there were no mandatory lockdowns in the country, with the government instead asking people to stay at home  a request that was largely heeded.

But that, coupled with a shuttering of the country's borders, battered tourism and consumer spending, with the hospitality industry hit particularly hard.

Japan's labor market is notoriously tight, with employers struggling to hire and the working-age population shrinking in a rapidly ageing society.

Former prime minister Shinzo Abe sought to address that by bringing more women and older people into the workforce, as well as slightly loosening the country's strict immigration policy.

His successor Yoshihide Suga, who took office last month, has pledged to continue Abe's policies.
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LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell today accused a council of 'homophobia' for taking out a court injunction to stop gay men having public sex in a park.

The 68-year-old activist complained London's Southwark Council had failed to liaise with the local gay community before taking legal action concerning Burgess Park.

The year-long injunction, which began last month, means anyone taking part in an illegal activity at the park can be taken to court and face up to two years in prison.

Mr Tatchell also claimed the council were carrying out 'eco vandalism by cutting down bushes, to increase the likelihood that members of the public will see sex acts'.

LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has accused a council of 'homophobia' for taking out a court injunction to stop gay men having public sex in a park

LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell complained London's Southwark Council had failed to liaise with the local gay community before taking legal action concerning Burgess Park

He tweeted: 'Instead of liaising with local LGBT+ community, @SouthwarkLabour has got a COURT INJUNCTION to stop gay men cruising in #BurgessPark AND are committing eco vandalism by cutting down bushes, to INCREASE the likelihood that members of the public will see sex acts! HOMOPHOBIA!'

The order by Southwark Council, which is also intended to target illegal raves, is said to have followed increasing complaints of men having sex at the park.

One incident allegedly saw a woman with young children see three men having sex in a wooded area of the park at 8am one morning during the school holidays in August.

Neighbours have also complained about live music in the park until 3am and claim there has been a huge amount of litter including condoms in recent months.

There are also said to have been problems with drug-dealing gangs in the park as well as people carrying weapons, with police carrying out sweeps in the area.

Southwark Council's injunction, which was brought in on September 2, now bans amplified music, carrying a weapon, fighting and sexual activity.

It also prevents gatherings of more than 20 people after 9pm, although this has now been superseded by the 'rule of six' law brought in on September 14.

Speaking after the injunction was granted, Rebecca Lury, deputy leader of Southwark Council, said: 'We are delighted that the courts have agreed to help us better address dangerous behaviour in Burgess Park, by granting our temporary injunction application  for one year.

'Recorder Lambert QC, at the County Court at Central London, recognised the impact that unlicensed events and other illegal behaviour, has had on neighbouring residents, our staff, the police and other emergency services, this summer.

People jog through Burgess Park as the Shard is seen in the background in London in August

'As ever, our goal is to educate and prevent dangerous behaviour in our parks, but this injunction will allow our officers greater powers.

'If people refuse to do as they ask, in line with the seven terms of the injunction, they will be found in breach of a court order and in contempt of court.

'This could result in a fine, and up to two years in prison. This injunction is designed to help us tackle illegal raves, violence and other dangerous behaviour in the park.

'It will be used responsibly to maintain Burgess Park as one of south London's biggest and most beautiful open spaces, and a place that families and local people can safely enjoy.'

Southwark Council has been contacted for comment.
Children are invited to trick-or-treat in the parking lot at Sedgwick Park between 10:30 a.m. and noon Oct. 10. Volunteers will hand out candy from the trunks of their vehicles. La Grange Park District staff will control the flow of people, letting no more than 50 people at a time in the parking lot at 10th Avenue and 48th Street in La Grange, so there may be a wait to enter.
U.S. employers added a disappointing 661,000 jobs in September as Sunbelt states resumed business reopenings that were disrupted over the summer by COVID-19 spikes.

The gains offset persistent layoffs at businesses that have exhausted federal aid.

The unemployment rate fell to 7.9% from 8.4% in August, the Labor Department said Friday. But that's because the labor force -- which includes people working and looking for jobs -- shrank by about 700,000.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated that 870,000 jobs were added last month.

In this photo taken Thursday, June 4, 2020, a pedestrian wearing a mask walks past reader board advertising a job opening for a remodeling company, in Seattle.

The jobs report is the last before a Nov. 3 presidential election that could serve as a referendum on President Trumps handling of the pandemic and its economic fallout. Overall, the economy is still recouping jobs in outsize fashion after shedding a record 22.1 million in early spring but the recovery is slowing, raising the specter of a deficit that could take several years to close.

September marks the third straight monthly pullback in payroll gains after employers added a record 4.8 million in June, 1.7 million in July and 1.5 million in August. All told, the nation has clawed back 11.4 million jobs, slightly more than half the total wiped out as states shut down nonessential businesses and Americans avoided travel and public gathering spots out of contagion fears.

"The slowing momentum in the labor market bodes poorly for the broader recovery and points to increasing scarring effects from the crisis," economist Kathy Bostjancic of Oxford Economics wrote in a note to clients.

Kent Syler, a political scientist at Middle Tennessee State University, said the disappointing jobs report could damage Trumps chances for re-election.

Managing the economy is one of the few areas where polling favors President Trump, Syler said. Any sign that the recovery is weakening could cost him that already narrow advantage. The lack of a stronger jobs report is also a lost messaging opportunity for the Trump campaign on a day when they could have used some good news. 

Story continues

Several factors held down job gains last month. Janitors and other school staffers didnt return to work as usual last month because of remote learning in many regions, leading to 231,000 local government education losses on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to Labor figures and a Goldman Sachs analysis. Plus, the research firm says, parents who cant get child care may not be able to work.

And federal government payrolls fell by 34,000 as temporary workers brought on for the 2020 Census were let go. The private sector added a sturdier 877,000 jobs.

At the same time, states have been reopening in phases and some in the South and West that halted those plans are now easing restrictions, Goldman Sachs says, potentially paving the way for hundreds of thousands of job gains. San Francisco, for example, allowed limited indoor dining this week following similar moves in some California counties weeks ago.

Such steps mean many employees furloughed by restaurants, shops and movie theaters are being rehired. Last month, the number of Americans on temporary layoffs fell by 1.5 million to 4.6 million. About 36% of unemployed workers said they were on temporary layoff, down from 45% the previous month.

Yet the ranks of workers permanently laid off jumped from 3.4 million to 3.8 million, underscoring that a growing number of temporary layoffs have become permanent.

With COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rising across the U.S., some states are keeping business constraints in place. And Congress remains deadlocked over a new stimulus package that would provide more funds for beleaguered firms and renew at least part of a $600 federal supplement to state unemployment benefits that expired in late July.

Many businesses that exhaust their forgivable federal loans are laying off workers a second time after rehiring them when they first received the money in the spring, according to a Cornell University survey.

Other measures of labor market activity are also flagging. The number of small business employees declined last month for the first time since the start of the pandemic, a drop that can only partly be traced to the Labor Day holiday, according to Homebase, which makes scheduling software.

If that trend continues, it could signal a loss of 500,000 jobs this month, says economist Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics. That would be the first fall in employment since the depths of the pandemic in April.

Industries that are hiring

Leisure and hospitality, the sector hardest hit by the crisis, led the payroll gains with 318,000, mostly at bars and restaurants. Retail added 142,000; professional and business services, 89,000; and transportation and warehousing, 74,000.

Manufacturing, still recovering from a sharp drop in demand and supply disruptions from overseas, added 66,000 jobs in a sign the sectors recovery may be picking up. And construction added 26,000 jobs amid a healthy housing sector driven by low mortgage rates and many Americans desire to move to rural and suburban areas less affected by the outbreak.

Labor force participation falls

In September, the share of Americans working or looking for jobs  which together make up the labor force  fell to 61.4% from 61.7%. Thats disappointing because the rate generally had risen since April as an improving labor market drew in people who had been on the sidelines.

Some economists also believed the expiration of the extra $600 in weekly jobless benefits should be prodding more people to hunt for work.

The drop in participation highlights "a potential long-term risk for the economy as the pandemic may have created lasting unemployment for many people," Contingent Macro Research said in a note.

For example, many older workers who have lost jobs in the crisis have struggled to find new positions and are retiring early.

Morgan Stanley, however, at least blames the decline on home schooling that resumed last month in much of the country and that's keeping many parents from working or looking for jobs.

Contributing: Michael Collins

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jobs report: 661K jobs added in September as some states continue to reopen
Congress prepares draft model law to annul central farm laws

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Oct 02: The Congress has prepared a draft model law that will be legislated by party-ruled states in order to annul the central farm laws.

Sources said on Friday that the model law has been drafted and will soon be sent to Congress-ruled states to replicate it in their state assemblies.

The move comes days after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi asked states under party's rule to enact legislations to bypass Centre's three farm-related laws that have triggered protests by farmers.

The move also comes ahead of the tractor rallies to be taken out by the Congress in Punjab and Haryana from October 4, in which party leader Rahul Gandhi will participate. The rallies are part of Congress agitations against the farm legislations.

The Congress is strongly opposing the three legislations and it has launched countrywide protests in each district and Vidhan Sabha on Gandhi Jayanti.

The Congress president had advised the Congress-ruled states to pass laws in their respective states under Article 254(2) of the Constitution which allows the state legislatures to pass a law to "negate anti-agriculture central laws" that "encroach" upon the state's jurisdiction under the Constitution.

Sonia Gandhi urges Congress-ruled states to pass laws to negate central farm acts

The Congress claims that rules under Article 245(2) allow a state legislature to enforce laws "repugnant to the parliament law", a provision used by the BJP earlier against the central land acquisition act.

The sources said that while Congress-ruled states are set to pass the law, some of the non-NDA ruled states are also likely to pass it, as they are opposed to the central farm legislations.

Parliament had passed The Farmers' 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 during the Monsoon Session and the president granted his assent for them.

The laws seek to liberalise the agriculture sector and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country they want at a better price.

The model law brought by the Congress will be called the Protection of Farmers Interest and Farm Produce (Special Provisions) Bill that has been cleared by party MP and legal expert Abhishek Singhvi.

US judge blocks Trump's H-1B Visa ban, major relief for Indian IT professionals|Oneindia News

The model law shall declare "null, void and inoperative" anything that is inconsistent in the three central legislations with the state law. It will also include a provision to ensure that no farmer shall be paid below the minimum support price for the price of the produce.

The draft model bill seeks to ensure safeguards for farmers including the minimum support price regime and the framework under the APMC Act to protect their interests.
MIDDLETOWN  Within a few days, state construction crews will be working on a busy downtown intersection as part of the final stages of road work being conducted downtown and in the North End area.

State Department of Transportation officials, who offered updates Tuesday afternoon at a Zoom meeting presented by the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerces Arrigoni Bridge Project Committee, are asking for the publics patience in the meantime.

Soon, construction at the intersection of busy Washington Street / Route 66 and Main Street will begin in earnest, according to Southington-based Mohawk Northeast project manager Tim OConnell.

Traffic backups will happen, but well get it done quickly, and with the least amount of impact we can, he said during the chambers Central Business Bureau Zoom meeting Thursday morning.

Motorists have been facing some traffic congestion, mostly during rush hour in the Hartford Avenue and St. Johns Square area, when work is conducted there, said Mohammad Bishtawi, assistant district engineer at the state Department of Transportation.

Traffic signal poles and mast arms have been installed downtown in anticipation of new signals being installed, and crews will be pouring the sidewalk on Hartford Avenue shortly, Bishtawi said. Drainage work is in progress, and the widening of Main Street in that area will begin shortly.

We are in the home stretch, hoping to finish St. Johns Square by the end of the month if all goes well, Bishtawi said.

Traffic light wiring will begin going north to south on Hartford Avenue, OConnell said.

The pouring of a concrete sidewalk at the southeast corner of Washington and Main is expected to be complete by Friday, OConnell said. Crews will also be pouring concrete on the sidewalk in front of ORourkes Diner near the railroad bridge.

Diners seated outside of ORourkes have been experiencing the effects of road construction at St. Johns Square and Main Street, including noise, dust and dirt, which is hardly conducive to enjoying a meal, owner Brian ORourke said.

Its hard for people to walk and park, and people dont like waiting in traffic. Everyone understands construction has to happen  but its all at the same time, Sandra Russo-Driska, coordinator of the Downtown Business District, told The Press earlier this week.

Also, during the next two weeks, milling and paving from Rapallo Avenue north to Hartford Avenue will be complete, OConnell said.

Work is being conducted simultaneously with the Arrigoni Bridge project, which has an expected completion date of spring 2022. The Portland side has been paved and the sidewalk is nearly done, Bishtawi said.

On the Middletown side, what remains is the decking and sidewalks.

Were getting ready to wrap it up before the cold weather starts, according to Michael Bugbee, a transportation engineer with the DOT.

The Portland side is paved and looks great. Well be rubbing the parapet, putting on a nice clean coat of concrete on there to make it all look uniform and nice, OConnell said. The bridge railing and fence are installed and nearly finished.

There will be lane closures as sidewalks are being installed on the bridge over Route 9 and heading toward the old St. John Cemetery on St. Johns Square, he said. Milling and paving are up next, which is expected to take two weeks.

Once stage two of the project begins, traffic will be pushed to the north and south as work begins in the center of the bridge.

The chambers Arrigoni Bridge Project Committee is intent on being sure access to the bridge is not compromised during the construction, and that emergency and other critical vehicles can access the construction zones at all times, chamber President Larry McHugh said in his column Monday in the Middletown Press.

Rich Bergan, owner of Bergan Architectural Woodworking on North Main Street, said hes been experiencing a continuing problem with motorists not observing the stop sign at North Main Street and Stack, which carries drivers over the Portland Bridge.

They think its an on ramp for the bridge and they just roll around, he said, causing a potentially dangerous situation.

Last week, construction workers cars were parked on both sides of the bridge, with flaggers and lift equipment along the span. It was really precarious to watch people trying to get through, said Bergen, who would like to see vehicles on only one side.

Portland Public Works Director Bob Shea said a couple of mishaps took place recently on the bridge, including one accident that caused severe injuries to those involved. Thats an issue with drivers slowing down when theyre going through a construction area.

Middletown Deputy Public Works Director Chris Holden said hed like to see signs letting pedestrians know one block ahead of impassible crosswalks before its too late. You get down there and theres nowhere to cross, he said. Holden also asked DOT officials whether it was possible to make temporary pedestrian lanes to protect walkers.

DOT officials said they would look into possible solutions

To view the DOT project, go to portal.ct.gov.
President Trump could potentially be forced to relinquish executive control to Vice President Mike Pence or be replaced on the GOP ticket altogether, if he becomes incapacitated from COVID-19.

The president confirmed on Friday that he and First Lady Melania tested positive for coronavirus after traveling with counselor Hope Hicks, who fell ill on Wednesday.

'Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!' he tweeted.

Trump is 74 years old, which puts him at higher risk of serious complications from virus.

With the presidential election less than 32 days away, the positive result means the government may have to consider contingency plans in line with the Constitution should Trump become too ill to go through with the race.

The 25th Amendment states that the vice president can replace the commander-in-chief temporarily in the event that Trump is incapacitated.

If the VP is also unable to assume control, the powers are then delegated to the Speaker of the House, in this case, Nancy Pelosi.

THURSDAY: Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 1, 2020, following campaign events in New Jersey hours before revealing he has COVID-19

The president tweeted to confirm the news shortly before 1am EST Friday

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump began 'their quarantine process' Thursday evening after Hope Hicks tested positive for COVID-19

Line of succession: Under the 25th Amendment, Vice President Mike Pence is next to assume executive control if the president cannot finish his term. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is second in line, if neither the president nor VP can take over

RNC RULES FOR FILLING VACANCIES FOR PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS The RNC's rules state it is authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention. The RNC may also reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies. In voting under this rule, the RNC members representing any state 9 of 43 shall be entitled to cast the same number of votes as said state was entitled to cast at the national convention. In the event that the members of the Republican National Committee from any state shall not be in agreement in the casting of votes, the votes of such state shall be divided equally, including fractional votes, among the members of the RNC present or voting by proxy. No candidate shall be chosen to fill any such vacancy except upon receiving a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the election. Advertisement

However, the looming election further complicates the matter, as the Democratic and Republican national committees could also pick a replacement to run on their party's ticket if the nominee were to withdraw.

The committee could choose to nominate the vice presidential candidate, or another member of their party.

The selection process would depend on the parties' respective bylaws.

Under this scenario, all 168 members of the RNC would have to meet to vote on Trump's replacement.

The rules require all members - three from each state and three from six territories - to cast the same number of votes they were entitled to cast at the national convention.

If members of a given state fail to unanimously agree on the casting of votes, they would then divide it equally and cast a third of those votes.

That scenario, although hypothetical, would be the first of its kind since no presidential candidate of either party has ever died or withdrawn before an election.

A statement from the White House doctor said both the president and first lady are 'well at this time' but did not say if either have symptoms.

If Trump becomes seriously ill, there are constitutional procedures that would allow Vice President Pence to assume power temporarily.

The Constitution's 25th Amendment spells out the procedures under which a president can declare themselves 'unable to discharge the powers and duties' of the presidency.

If he were to make that call, Trump would transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Pence would serve as acting president until Trump transmitted 'a written declaration to the contrary.'

This has happened occasionally, with Ronald Reagan briefly putting George H.W. Bush in charge during surgery in 1985, before George W. Bush temporarily transferred powers to Dick Cheney during colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007.

These were all brief, scheduled transfers of power and came nowhere near a re-election campaign.

There is also a second, never-used option: the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet can declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, in which case Pence would become Acting President until Trump could provide a written declaration to the contrary.

There has also been speculation about a delayed election, but this is highly unlikely because voting is already underway.

While the Constitution does not specify an election date, moving the poll would require an act of Congress including support from the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

And regardless of the election date, Trump's term ends on January 20.

First lady Melania tweeted: 'As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.'

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and looked to be in good health.

WEDNESDAY: Counselor to the President Hope Hicks, left, with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, walk from Marine One to accompany President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One as he departs to a rally in Minnesota. It was on the way home from this trip that Hicks is said to have first shown symptoms of the virus

WHAT DOES THE 25TH AMENDMENT SAY? CAN TRUMP'S CABINET REALLY TOPPLE HIM? The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution deals with presidential authority in the event of death or removal from office, and was ratified in 1967, in the wake of John F Kennedy's assassination. What does the 25th Amendment say? It is in four sections, all dealing with the president leaving office during his or her elected term. The first section states that the vice president takes over the Oval Office if the president dies or resigns  or is removed  something which the original Constitution did not clearly state. Presidents of course can be removed by impeachment, a feature of the constitution from the start. They can also be removed through the 25th Amendment - of which more below. Section II states that if the vice president dies, or resigns  or is fired  both the House and Senate have to confirm a new vice president. Until 1967, presidents could change vice presidents mid-term on their own if they got the vice president to agree to resign - not something that actually happened, but which was possible in principle. Section III makes clear that a president can temporarily delegate his powers to the vice president, and later reclaim them when he - or she - is capable of serving. This is most often invoked if a president is under the influence of surgical anesthetic for a short period of time. Section IV is the amendment's most controversial part: it describes how the president can be removed from office if he is incapacitated and does not leave on his own. The vice president and 'a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide' must write to both the president pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, saying that 'the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.' The term principal officers of the executive departments would normally mean the cabinet secretaries. So at least eight of the president's 15 most senior Cabinet members together with the vice president must agree that a president should be removed before any plan can move forward. Notifying the House Speaker and the Senate president pro tempore is the act that immediately elevates the vice president to an 'acting president' role. The deposed president can contest the claim, giving the leaders of the bloodless coup four days to re-assert their claims to the House and Senate. Congress then has two days to convene  unless it is already in session  and another 21 days to vote on whether the president is incapable of serving. A two-thirds majority in both houses is required to make that determination. As soon as there is a vote with a two-thirds majority, the president loses his powers and is removed, and the vice president stops acting and is sworn in as president. But if 21 days of debate and votes ends without a two-thirds majority, the president gets back his powers. What could happen to trigger the 25th Amendment? Vice President Mike Pence and eight of the 15 'principal' Cabinet members would have to agree to notify Congress that President Donald Trump was incapable of running the country. That group is made up of the Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Interior Secretary, Agriculture Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Labor Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretary, Transportation Secretary, Energy Secretary , Education Secretary, Veterans Affairs Secretary and Homeland Security Secretary. Their formal notification would go to the House Speaker and, in the senate, to the 'president pro tempore', the Senate's most senior member. As soon as the letter is sent, Pence would become 'acting president.' Alternatively, Congress could set up its own mechanism to decide if he is fit for office - maybe a commission, or a joint committee. Pence would still have to agree with its conclusion and then write formally to the Speaker and president pro tempore. Or another possibility is that the pool of 'principal officers' is considered to be bigger than the 15 and a majority of that group call Trump incapable. What if Trump does not agree? If Trump claims he is capable of holding office, he would write to the House Speaker and the president pro tempore of the Senate within four days, setting up three weeks of intense debate in both houses of Congress. Trump would be removed from office if both two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate agreed with Pence and his cabal. If either of both chambers fell short of that mark, Trump would retain his powers and likely embark on a wholesale housecleaning, firing Pence and replacing disloyal Cabinet members. Are there any loopholes? The 25th Amendment allows Congress to appoint its own panel to evaluate the president instead of relying on the Cabinet  the men and women who work most closely with Trump  to decide on a course of action. It specifies that some 'other body as Congress may by law provide' could play that role, but Pence would still need to agree with any finding that the president is incapable of discharging his duties. That commission could hypothetically include anyone from presidential historians to psychiatrists, entrusted to assess the president's fitness for office. Another loophole is that it does not spell out that the Cabinet is needed to agree, but says that the 'principal officers' of the departments are needed. That term is undefined in the constitution. In some departments legislation appears to name not just the secretary but deputies and even undersecretaries as 'principal officers', so many more people could be called in to the assessment of Trump's fitness. But Trump's cabinet has a swathe of 'acting' cabinet officer - and it is unclear if they could therefore take part in removing him. Could Trump fire Pence if he rebelled? No. The vice president can resign or be impeached and removed - but he does not serve at the pleasure of the president. Is there any precedent for this? No. Only Section III, the voluntary surrender of presidential powers, has ever been used - and only very briefly. In December 1978, President Jimmy Carter thought about invoking Section III when he was contemplating a surgical procedure to remove hemorrhoids. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush both voluntarily relinquished their powers while undergoing procedures under anesthetic. Section IV has also never been invoked, although there have been claims that Ronald Reagan's chief of staff Donald Regan told his successor, Howard Baker, in 1987 that he should be prepared to invoke it because Reagan was inattentive and inept. The PBS documentary 'American Experience' recounts how Baker and his team watched Reagan closely for signs of incapacity during their first meeting and decided he was in perfect command of himself. Advertisement

The White House had earlier distributed a schedule for Friday that showed he planned to go forward with a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and a political rally in Sanford, Florida. That has since been canceled.

Fears that the president may have contracted the virus were raised after it was revealed Hicks had traveled on both Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One in the past week.

Along with the trip to Wednesday night's rally, Hicks had been aboard Air Force One to fly to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland.

She was spotted by DailyMail.com getting off Air Force One in the city without her mask.

Hicks also traveled with the president to a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday where she was seen maskless and clapping to the Village People's YMCA.

Confirming the news of Hicks' positive test earlier in the evening Trump had told Fox News: 'Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know.

'I just went for a test and we'll see what happens.'

He later tweeted to confirm he and Melania were in quarantine, writing: 'Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!'

Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota Wednesday evening, according to an administration official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to disclose private information.

She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, that person said.
Russian police officers - TASS

A Russian journalist has set herself on fire and died outside police headquarters in an apparent protest against months of official harassment.

Irina Slavina, editor-in-chief of the Koza Press news website in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, died at the scene, her news outlet said.

Just an hour before she died by suicide, she wrote on her Facebook page: Blame my death on the Russian Federation.

Russias top investigative body on Friday confirmed Ms Slavinas death and said they opened an official probe into self-immolation.

A day earlier, police raided her home in connection with an investigation into a man linked to an organisation bankrolled by exiled Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Police seized her laptop, phone and notebooks, she wrote in a Facebook post: They took away everything they could find. They left me with no means to work.

  ,     ,  .    ,   . pic.twitter.com/2UO1H9u2dW       (@teamnavalny_nn) October 2, 2020

Ms Slavina, like many independent journalists in Russian provinces, faced persistent harassment from authorities for her work. She was previously fined for disrespect to authorities over a Facebook post, disseminating fake news as well as her efforts to organise a march last year to commemorate slain opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, a Nizhny Novgorod native.

Ms Slavinas death has shocked many in Russia including opposition figures who have experienced government pressure first-hand.

Alexei Navalny, who is recovering in Berlin after a nerve agent poisoning, has blamed the government for pushing the journalist to commit suicide, calling it a crime that not only law enforcement agencies of Nizhny Novgorod who have been harassing the citys opposition for many months, should be held responsible for.

Those in the Kremlin who gave them orders should be held responsible as well.

Residents of Nizhny Novgorod, a city of 1.3 million about 400 kilometres east of Moscow, were bringing flowers to the metro station near the police headquarters where Ms Savina died.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19, he announced early on Friday.

Trump tweeted on Friday morning "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for Covid-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!"

White House physician Sean Conley issued a statement confirming the diagnosis, saying the president and the first lady were "both well at this time" and planned to remain at the White House during their recovery.

If Trump becomes incapacitated, Vice President Mike Pence would be next in line to act in his place. But Conley said he expects Trump to remain able to serve as president during his isolation.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

He wrote: "Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering."

Conley did not say whether Trump has any symptoms, or how long Trump had been infected.

Trump is at increased risk of a serious infection as he is over 70, male, and clinically obese.

Trump was tested for the novel coronavirus after his close confidante and White House counselor, Hope Hicks, tested positive earlier this week.o Insider's Walt Hickey, a period of isolation will likely hurt his reelection efforts.

Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has now killed more than 207,000 Americans and more than one million people around the world.

Joe Biden, the former vice president and Trump's Democratic rival in the November presidential election, said he and his wife "will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family."

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 2, 2020

Trump and Hicks met with other senior figures

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that he tested negative.

But Trump and Hicks have been close to other figures who have not yet provided updates.

At Tuesday night's debate, Trump Biden for being vigilant about wearing a face covering to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

"I put a mask on when I think I need it," Trump said, drawing a contrast with Biden. "Every time you see him, he's got a mask."

At the debate, Trump's entourage removed their face coverings while seated and watching the debate, and declined to wear masks offered them by a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic.

Neither Trump nor Biden wore a mask during the debate, though as a precaution they avoided the traditional pre-debate handshake.

Hicks also met with figures like White House adviser Stephen Miller, campaign adviser Jason Miller, and advisor and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.

And he held meetings, fundraisers, and a rally during the week before he tested positive.

Hours before he tested positive, Trump told a fundraiser at his Bedminister resort that "the end of the pandemic is in sight."

Trump administration members have previously tested positive: O'Brien recently recovered from COVID-19, as did Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, who is married to Stephen Miller.

Before his test came back, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he spends a lot of time with Hicks.

"She did test positive. She is a hard worker, a lot of masks, she wears masks a lot. She tested positive. I just went out with the test, we will see," he said.

"We spend a lot of time, the first lady just went and got a test also. Whether we quarantine, whether we have, we don't know."

The world reacts

Vice President Mike Pence said a statement early on Friday morning: "Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump.

"We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery."

And Democrats said they wished Trump a fast recovery, with some saying they hope the diagnosis will spur him on to change his attitude towards the virus.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who almost died from the coronavirus earlier this year, said he wishes Trump and Melania "a speedy recovery."

Russian President Vladimir Putin wished Trump a speedy recovery, and said Trump's "innate vitality" and "good spirits" will help him.

Related:

Closing the Covid-19 Gender Gap

Americans Want Facebook and TikTok Banned Over Privacy Concerns

Amazon: Nearly 20,000 Employees Caught Covid-19 Out of 1.3 Million Workforce



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Suspiciously eyeing a stranger walking past her home Thursday afternoon in Todt Hill, a woman who has lived in the area on and off for decades said neighbors have been on edge.

Theres too many prowlers around here and I dont like it one bit, she said. Someone is lurking around your property  its scary.
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., who died last year, is unlikely to ever be forgotten by the Hoosiers he represented in the U.S. Senate for 36 years between 1977 and 2013.

But Lugar's name and memory also now will live on at a post office in downtown Indianapolis, the city where he served two terms as mayor from 1968 to 1976.

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed into law a measure designating the capital city postal facility at 456 N. Meridian St. as the Richard G. Lugar Post Office, at the request of U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., who holds Lugar's former seat.

"Senator Richard Lugar is a towering figure in Hoosier history and one of the greatest statesmen ever to serve in the U.S. Senate; it's only fitting for us to rename the Indianapolis post office after him and glad we got this accomplished," Braun said.

Young, who once served on Lugar's Senate staff, described the experience as having "a front row seat to history" and getting to watch "a statesman at work."
Local sources say that the area's population opposed the arrival of Russian troops, SY 24 reports

The Russian Army tried to establish a new military base in the areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria, which was met with popular refusal, forcing it to withdraw from the area.

Local sources said that the people of the village of Burza in the countryside of the city of al-Malikiyah in the province of Hassakeh, expelled Russian forces after their arrival to the area.

The same sources emphasized that the Russian forces brought military vehicles and heavy machine guns to the village, whose location is considered strategic, as it is located between the Syrian, Iraqi, and Turkish borders.

Commenting on the incident, Syrian Tribes and Clans Council spokesperson, Hammad al-Assad, said in an exclusive statement to SY-24 that Russia in general is resented by the Syrian people, especially the Jazira and Euphrates region, because of Russias assistance to the Syrian regime and the horrific massacres it committed when the regime still had control over the region. The Russian aviation committed massacres in the south of Hassakeh, especially in al-Shaddadi and other areas of Hassakeh, ar-Raqqah, and the Deir Ez-Zor governorate.

Al-Assad emphasized that there is a rejection of the Russian presence because of its complete support for the Syrian regime and because of their veto votes in the UN Security Council. There is also a rejection by the Kurds of the Russian presence because they do not trust Russia, in addition to everyone elses rejection of the Russian presence  especially since Russia has committed horrific massacres against the Syrian people in most regions  including but not limited to Homs, Hama, Ghouta, and southern Syria.

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.
DHHS manager Noel Cleaves appears before the inquiry into hotel quarantine. "There has been a collusion between the culture that Daniel operates in and the willingness of the public service to do what they are told," a former cabinet minister said. This particularly applies to programs like hotel quarantine or the housing commission tower lockdowns which require rapid deployment of a specialist workforce that doesnt exist in the modern bureaucracy. Highly regarded, career civil servants have watched the inquiry hearings with a mixture of dismay and resignation. One pointed out that since the election of the Andrews government, the executive ranks of the Victorian public service had become swollen with senior, generalist bureaucrats, most with little to no private sector experience, while ground level "doers" remained in short supply. This imbalance is evident in the most recent Victorian Public Sector Commission report and the testimony before the Coate inquiry of Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen. Deputy Chief Health officer Annaliese van Diemen. Credit:The Age

Between 2014, the year the Andrews government was first elected, and 2019, Victoria's public service  not to be confused with the broader public sector which includes nurses and paramedics and police  grew from 36,000 to 50,000 people. Over the same period, the number of public service executives doubled from 691 to 1259. Contrast this with what Dr van Diemen told the inquiry. She testified that on the day Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Mr Andrews announced the mandatory quarantine of returned travellers, there was one infection prevention and control consultant employed by Victorias Health Department. The public health response to the pandemic is, in one way or another, about the prevention and control of infections. Yet, across the department, only one person was employed to do this job. Inquiry chair Jennifer Coate made sure she hadnt misheard. "So just to be really clear about this, as at 27 March of this year, the Victorian Department of Health had one person fulfilling the role of infection prevention and control, one full-time position?" Ms Coate asked. "Yes," Dr van Diemen responded. As the Deputy Chief Health Officer remarked in her statement to the inquiry: "I think we all could have treated the hotel quarantine program more as a health program than a logistics or compliance exercise."

This was a common refrain. Counsel assisting Tony Neal, QC, submitted to Ms Coate that the "superordinate goal" of the hotel quarantine program  infection control  was not honoured in its implementation. He submitted that the program failed, in part, because the people who designed it didnt understand its primary purpose. Loading The cost of his blind spot continues to mount. As of Friday, 783 people had died from Victorias second wave epidemic, genomically traced to two quarantine hotels. The Coate inquiry this week launched fresh investigations into how workers at a third hotel became infected after the quarantine program was overhauled. How did it happen?

The initial work to design and build a hotel quarantine program was done by bureaucrats from within the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions led by Simon Phemister. Mr Phemister is another rising star of the public service who received a letter from the Premer inviting him to lead one of the COVID-19 missions. Mr Phemister, like Ms Peake, was hand-picked by Mr Eccles to serve as a deputy secretary inside the governments central agency, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, after Mr Eccles arrived in Melbourne from NSW in late 2014 to take charge of the Victorian public service. Both were candidates to replace Mr Eccles as the states stop bureaucrat. Now, all three careers are at the mercy of Ms Coate, who has been asked to consider whether the trio failed to discharge their obligation to brief their respective ministers and in doing so, "unsettled" traditional Westminster accountability. The Victorian government, in its reply submissions, is likely to argue strongly against such a finding. Ms Coate is due to hand hers down on November 6, four days before the state budget. Mr Andrews has publicly backed the three bureaucrats. Premier Daniel Andrews has backed three senior bureaucrats whose careers rest on the findings of the Coate inquiry. Credit:Getty Images

An adverse finding would almost certainly bring an ignominious end to the long career of Mr Eccles, who has previously run the South Australian and NSW public service. It would also put paid to any succession plan involving his two proteges. With her findings, Ms Coate could reshape the future of Victorias public service. Mr Eccles stepped out of a national cabinet meeting about midday on March 27 to call Mr Phemister and tell him Victoria needed to quarantine returned travellers for 14 days. Mr Phemister was told he had 36 hours to find 5000 hotel rooms. He testified that from about 4.30pm, he knew hed be using private security to guard them. Mr Phemister thought he was in charge of the program. By the next morning, things had changed. Mr Phemister was told that although his department was still required to contract hotels and security companies and other services for the program, DHHS would take the lead. This was sound in theory. In practice, it never really happened. Kim Peake told the inquiry she did not accept her department had "command" of hotel quarantine, a program that became known as Operation Soteria. She said DHHS was there to co-ordinate a "joint operation on the ground".

Much has been made of whether accountability for Operation Soteria was shared or shirked. A bigger problem is that, within the design, implementation and oversight of the program, there was next to no involvement from the DHHS public health team. These were the people best qualified to ensure that hotel quarantine suppressed rather than spread the virus. Three members of the public health team, Deputy Public Health commander Finn Romanes, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton and his deputy Ms Van Diemen, raised concerns in the first two weeks of the program about the lack of oversight by anyone with clinical experience. Although their intervention triggered a review of the governance of the program, it did not lead to meaningful involvement by public health officials. The DHHS bureaucrat put in charge of the COVID-19 public health division, Jacinda de Witts, provided evidence that public health advice was prepared for Operation Soteria but she didn't know whether it was implemented. It is worth reflecting why Professor Sutton and Dr van Diemen, two highly qualified public health officials, were reporting to Ms de Witts, a department general counsel who manages the department's legal affairs. Like so many bureaucrats seconded into the COVID-19 response, she is a capable professional asked to do an unfamiliar job.

Under the health emergency mission plan, Ms de Witts was the senior bureaucrat responsible for pandemic containment. In her statement to the inquiry, she explained she didnt have the expertise to say whether people working in quarantine hotels were given adequate information and training. She also declined to comment on what caused the outbreaks from the Rydges and Stamford Plaza hotels. There is no evidence before the inquiry that Professor Sutton and Dr van Diemen, having expressed concerns about the lack of public health oversight in the hotel quarantine program, kept an ongoing interest in how it was run. Professor Sutton testified that he didnt have any "direct experience" with the program and wasnt aware until after the outbreaks of any problems or that private security guards were being used. Dr van Diemen said she provided advice to the programs but took no steps to ensure it was properly followed. "I understood that I had responsibility for the availability of IPC [infection prevention control] advice and guidance but did not have accountability for its appropriate implementation," she said. It is apparent that no one did. Everyone, it seems, was staying in their lane.
When the Blue and White party had a noisy breakup last March, it looked like the partys No. 2 candidate  Yair Lapid  finally had his chance to offer an alternative to Benjamin Netanyahu in the prime ministers office. Six months later, Lapid might have missed his chance.

The third election round in a row on March 2 did not produce a clear winner. Lapid led the partys aggressive line against joining a Netanyahu government. But the coronavirus pandemic reshuffled the deck. Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz decided that it was in the countrys best interests for him to join an emergency government headed by Netanyahu. Lapid refused to join and the party split, after almost replacing Netanyahu in power. With the collapse of Blue and White, hundreds of thousands of Israelis saw their hopes for a different future dashed.

More so, this rift was the cause of enormous disappointment among the center-left. Throughout it all, Lapid seemed to be a man of principles, especially when compared to former Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. It was Gantz who broke his election promise by entering the new coalition, even though the prime minister was under indictment for bribery.

After the split, Lapid returned to his old position as head of the Yesh Atid party, one of the partners in Blue and White. When the new government was formed in May, he also became head of the opposition, another powerful government position and an ideal launching pad for anyone seeking to become prime minister.

Gantz began crashing in the polls, while Lapid started gaining momentum. Many even saw him as the best alternative to Netanyahu. The stars seemed to be in alignment, so that, at just 56 years old, it looked as if Lapid was about to walk away from the political crisis as its big winner. Thats when things started going wrong.

Five months after assuming the new role of chairman of the opposition, Lapid hasnt been able to lift himself up, even though he meets all the conditions to become the leading candidate for prime minister. The health and economic crises are only getting worse, while the Netanyahu-Gantz coalition is barely functioning at all. In fact, the government is wallowing in endless squabbles between the Likud and Blue and White over conflicting agendas and egos. Meanwhile, Gantz is still crashing in the polls, with many pollsters predicting that the number of seats his party would win in a new election would number in the single digits. And then there is Netanyahu himself. He is all tangled up with his bribery trial. In addition, the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates is not proving to be the electoral draw Netanyahu had expected, and the protests against him are getting even more militant.

The problem is that Lapid hasnt been able to turn this energy into real political strength. Instead, the rising star on the horizon is Yamina Chairman Naftali Bennett. He may now head a minor party with just six seats, but polls predict that he will win 20 seats or more in the next election.

Bennett is now the most effective opposition to Netanyahu from the right. He attacks the government mercilessly, while presenting his own plans to stop the coronavirus from spreading. Voters disappointed with Netanyahu and Gantz have found a political home with him, rather than with Lapid.

It turns out that Lapid has a glass ceiling of his own, which he hasnt been able to break. He is an outstanding speaker and a sharp and determined campaigner. He has ambition, motivation and killer instincts. Nevertheless, people dont see him as a good fit for the job of prime minister.

The first person to identify Lapids weakness in the opposition was, of course, Netanyahu. He realized that the best thing that could happen to him would be to have the chairman of Yesh Atid as his main rival in the next race for the prime ministers office. This explains why he began attacking Lapid directly.

Thats what happened Aug. 12, when the Knesset debated a new law proposed by Yesh Atid, which would prohibit anyone indicted for a crime to form a new government. In fact, the law was intended to stop Netanyahu if he called a new election. The proposal did not pass, but Netanyahu took advantage of it to lash out at Lapid from the Knesset dais, while targeting his weak points. He pointed out that Lapid has no formal education, and that he heads a party without any internal democratic mechanisms. He then turned to Lapid and said, Everything is fake with you. You are constantly pretending. Without a matriculation certificate and without a bachelors degree you tried to get a fake doctoral degree. Lapid, you are a fake democrat." Netanyahu said that Lapid wrote himself the chart of his Yesh Atid party, placing at its leadership people whom he alone selected.

Lapid played right into Netanyahus hands, with aggressive speeches and statements of his own. On Sept. 11, for instance, he tweeted, "People have nothing to eat. There is no limit to the detachment and obtuseness of this man.

Although he was congratulated for taking a firm stand against the prime minister, this fight did not benefit Lapid in the least. In contrast, Netanyahu got exactly what he wanted. He laid the groundwork for a campaign between the two of them, while emphasizing his own advantages. Over time, it is becoming clear that Netanyahus real rival is not Lapid but Bennett, who continues getting strong and gets high marks as a suitable candidate to serve as prime minister, leaving Lapid trailing him from behind.

As if that was not enough, the No. 2 man in Yesh Atid  Ofer Shelah  who has been Lapids friend for the last 30 years, has challenged his leadership and demanded that he hold primaries for the partys leadership. Lapid was surprised and hurt by this. Having founded the party in 2012 and dominating it since, he responded curtly that he has no plans to succumb to any ultimatum. But Shelah did not fold. He explained to the press that Lapid hasnt been able to provide the goods, and that he has no chance of beating Netanyahu.

It came as a devastating blow to Lapid. He and Shelah havent been in contact since then, and it is not at all clear how they will continue to serve together in the same party. What is certain, however, is that Shelahs remarks against Lapid will figure prominently in the Likuds next election campaign.

Still, Lapid is not one to give up. When he entered politics after a long and brilliant career in the media as a journalist and TV personality, he promised that he would not have any new career after this. In the early days, he skyrocketed. He emerged from his first election in 2013 as head of the second-largest party in the Knesset. While Lapid has never been able to repeat that remarkable success, he became a stable political player and the sole leader of a centrist party with a hard core of supporters. Now that the next round of elections could be moved up to March 2021, Lapid is facing a critical moment in his career. Will he surprise everyone by translating public disappointment with the handling of the coronavirus outbreak and Netanyahus trial into a political force that actually brings Netanyahu down, or will he continue to be the personification of an unfulfilled promise?
The on Friday held a daylong protest against the Centre's farm laws in all 90 assembly constituencies of with party leaders vowing to force the government to withdraw the legislations.

Party workers sat on dharnas at various places, including Panchkula, Kaithal, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Fatehabad, Sirsa and Mahendergarh.

They took out tractor rallies and protest marches, demanding that the "black laws" be rolled back.

The simultaneously protested against the alleged gang rape of a Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras with senior leader Randeep Singh Surjewala and state party chief Kumari Selja flaying the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government over the incident.

Kumari Selja led a protest in Mahendergarh.

Addressing a dharna in Kaithal, Surjewala slammed the new farm laws as "anti-farmer" and "anti-labourer".

He alleged that the BJP-led Union government wanted to undo efforts of the hard working farmers who ushered in the green revolution.

"They want to snatch the livelihood of farmers, labourers and small shopkeepers.Through these laws, they want to extend benefits to some big corporates," he said.

"Till these anti-farmer laws are not rolled back, our struggle will continue. And we will rest only after we force the government to roll back these Acts, said Surjewala.

Selja too said the laws are meant to benefit big corporates.

The party will continue to raise the voice of farmers and force the government to withdraw the anti-farmer laws, she said.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Anil Vij slammed the opposition, telling reporters, Farmers have understood their game. They know the opposition is trying to use their shoulder to further their political interests.

Vij on Thursday had said Rahul Gandhi's proposed tractor rally won't be allowed to enter

"They will not be allowed to disturb Haryana's atmosphere. Earlier, two Congress-sponsored rallies were stopped from entering the state. Likewise, we will stop his rally and won't allow him enter Haryana," Vij had told reporters.

Rahul Gandhi is holding tractor rallies in Punjab and Haryana from October 4-6 to protest against the contentious new farm laws.

"Rahul will start his Kisan Mazdoor Yatra on October 4 from Punjab's Moga. On October 6, this yatra will enter Haryana from the Pehowa border," said Surjewala, adding if the BJP-JJP government tried to stop him from entering Haryana, workers will court arrest.

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his deputy Dushyant Chautala, Surjewala said both leaders are using helicopters to travel these days instead of going through the road due to people's anger against their government.

Surjewala also slammed the state government for its alleged failure to ensure smooth paddy procurement.

Neither Khattar nor Dushyant Chautala has gone to a single mandi. Dushyant had said if farmers will not get MSP he will resign. Now, both Khattar and Dushyant should resign because they have failed to procure farmers' crop, he said.

The daylong protest of the Congress was dubbed as the "Kisan-Mazdoor Bachao Divas". The party has launched an over a month-long agitation against the laws.

(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.)
Courtesy ASPCA

Savage and his owner, Iraq war veteran and former paramedic Henry "Andy" Roach, are together again thanks to the ASPCA.

In late August, with Hurricane Laura barreling towards his home in Sulphur, Louisiana, Roach prepared to evacuate. As he was packing up essentials, Roach, 51, realized his truck would only fit himself and the four other adults he vowed to keep safe, including his 88-year-old mother, leaving no room for his rescue German shepherd Savage.

Roach made the difficult decision to get his human family and friends to safety and then return for Savage. Unfortunately, when Roach planned to make his way back home and pick up the dog, he learned from a neighbor that the storm had collapsed part of his backyard fence, allowing Savage to wander off.

The owner was heartbroken to be without his 6-year-old furry friend and unsure of his pet's safety. Thankfully, Roach later learned that shortly after Savage escaped, he was spotted by a Good Samaritan and picked up by Calcasieu Parish Animal Services. The shelter, caught in Hurricane Laura's path, sustained serious damage during the storm, so the ASPCA deployed a disaster response team to the local shelter to help the facility look after the animals under its care.

RELATED: Man Reunites With Lost Cat While Looking for a New Pet in Maine Animal Shelter

Courtesy ASPCA

Savage stayed at an ASPCA emergency shelter until Roach was able to reunite with his loyal companion. At the reunion, Savage ran towards Roach, with his tail-wagging, the second he laid eyes on his owner. Roach was "ecstatic" to see Savage again and was especially pleased to see no serious harm had come to his loving dog.

Courtesy ASPCA

RELATED: Watch Troye Sivan Emotionally Reunite with His Dog Nash After 7 Months Quarantining Apart

"I was ecstatic to see Savage not only alive, but in good spirits and healthy," Roach said in a statement to PEOPLE.

"Its gratifying to see pets go home after such a stressful time. He was definitely glad to see Andy," Jessica Rushin, the ASPCA's senior director of placement partnership, said of the reunion she witnessed.

Story continues

Courtesy ASPCA

The ASPCA hopes that Savage's story inspires other pet owners to include their pets in their disaster preparedness plans, so no one will be forced to make the difficult decision Roach had to endure. ASPCA has lifesaving tips on how to easily incorporate your pet into your disaster plan.
Two months after a wildfire burned through Paradise, Calif., in 2018, Kevin Phillips, then a manager for towns irrigation district, walked from one destroyed home to another.

Burned out cars, the occasional chimney and the melted skeletons of washers and dryers were the only recognizable shapes.

You started to actually be shocked when you saw a standing structure, he said.

Mr. Phillips, now Paradises town manager, was following the team taking samples from intact water meters connected to homes that were now reduced to gray ash. He knew from the Tubbs Fire in 2017 that toxic chemicals were likely in the water distribution system: Rapid action would be needed to protect people returning to the community from the dangers of substances like benzene, which can cause nausea and vomiting in the short-term, or even cancer over time.

Wildfires, which turned skies a dim orange over cities from Seattle to Santa Cruz this year, are increasingly engulfing peoples homes, continuing to rage in California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado in recent weeks. But even when homes dont burn, other dangers arise in the aftermath, and experts are focusing more attention on what happens to municipal water systems after a fire, when released toxic chemicals can get pulled into plumbing systems, and other damage can linger in pipes for years.
Kyiv, Ukraine (October 1, 2020)  LIGA.Money, a unique, reliable, accurate and free for consumers online-service that allows for comparing loan offers provided by Ukrainian banks, was officially launched today on money.liga.net . LIGA.Money is a tripartite public-private partnership among the USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project, Ligamedia and participating banks (Acordbank, Bank of Investments and Savings, OTP Bank, Pravex Bank, Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Tascombank and Ukrsibbank) to improve consumer lending and consumer protection in Ukraine.

In Ukraine, finding the right loan can be confusing, especially when you need to visit several banks and then compare the different terms, conditions, and overall requirements, said James Hope, USAID Mission Director for Ukraine and Belarus. To help Ukrainians find their way through this difficult process, USAID has joined into partnership with Ligamedia and several Ukrainian banks to significantly improve the ability of Ukrainians to compare loan products online. USAID is pleased to be part of this partnership with the private sector that leverages their knowledge and helps ensure that our support is market-driven, efficient, impactful, and sustainable.

LIGA.Money is a consumer-oriented comparison shopping tool (a Creditmeter) for 4 types of bank loans (personal loans, car loans, mortgages and credit cards). The Creditmeter allows for comparison of consumer loans based on the real annual percentage rate (with all loan-related fees included). Banks upload their credit offers data that are subject to mandatory verification for accuracy into the Creditmeter using agreed upon templates. Based on these data, the Creditmeter calculates the real annual percentage rate and other indicators in line with the methodology that takes into account all legislative requirements. This insures the independence of ranking. LIGA.Money also features useful and accurate information about personal finance in a plain and easy-to-understand language to contribute to responsible financial decisions by Ukrainians.

Robert Bond, Chief of Party for the USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project said, We believe that Ukraine needs a new money culture, one based on trust and on accurate and reliable information for the public about the cost of financial services. We hope Liga.Money will become the go to place for comparison shopping for consumer loans.

I am very happy that Liga.net became the platform for the LIGA.Money project whose approaches fully comply with our principles, including the main one: the consumer is above all, said Dmytro Bondarenko, CEO of Ligamedia. Everything is done only in the interests of the consumer. LIGA.Money provides necessary information and the comparison shopping tool to evaluate and compare offers and to make right decisions for the sake of improving well-being of Ukrainians. LIGA.Money has no ads and is fully independent from banks in its rankings, advisory and financial literacy content since the materials we publish are our own views and the views of experts. We take great care of security and protect personal data of our users.

The LIGA.Money platform is open to all Ukrainian banks that wish to participate and subscribe to the principles of the new platform.

A day-long LIGA.Money Fest on October 1 features demonstrations of how to use the Creditmeter, an online Ask the Expert program where consumers get answers and advise on consumer finance, videos, contests, and other activities at: https://www.facebook.com/LigaMoney

###

About USAID

USAID is the world's premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID has partnered with Ukraine since 1992, providing more than $3 billion in assistance. USAIDs current strategic priorities include strengthening democracy and good governance, promoting economic development and energy security, improving health care systems, and mitigating the effects of the conflict in the east. For additional information about USAID in Ukraine, please call USAIDs Development Outreach and Communications Office at: +38 (044) 521-5753. You may also visit its website: http://www.usaid.gov/ukraine or its Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/USAIDUkraine .

About the USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project

The USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project supports financial sector reform in Ukraine and provides assistance in the following focus areas: consumer lending, legal and regulatory reform, increasing access to finance in the non-bank financial sector; expanding digital finance solutions; and promoting better involvement of the people in financial markets and financial consumer protection. More information about the USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project is available at http://www.fst-ua.info/en/ and https://www.facebook.com/FSTProject.

About Ligamedia
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Loyalty Brands, the parent company for multiple like-minded business service franchises, recently announced that after two years of litigation, the Class Action Suit filed against its CEO, John Hewitt, has been dismissed by the United States Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgement of the United States District Court for Eastern New York handed down in January of 2020. At that time, it was found categorically that claims raised by class action plaintiffs were to be dismissed before ever reaching trial.

The Lead Plaintiff-Appellant IBEW Local 98 Pension Fund appealed the motion to dismiss the January 21st judgement. This dismissal of the Class Action suit by two federal courts upholds a consensus that the shareholders of Liberty Tax Service, the company in which Hewitt was the Founder and former CEO, were not hurt by any actions taken by the company in prior years.

In the January ruling, the Judge of the United States District Court for Eastern New York, found categorically that the claims raised by the class action plaintiffs had to be dismissed as they did not establish a legal basis that could lead to a finding against John Hewitt. The United States Court of Appeals has upheld that opinion.

"This court decision proves definitively what I have said all along, which is that the claims against me and the company never had any merit, and now two United States Federal Judges have vindicated me," said Hewitt.

Hewitt is the founder and CEO of Loyalty Brands, LLC, a company he founded in 2018. Loyalty Brands is an umbrella franchise development company that engages with emerging franchisers to help build and strengthen their operations and marketing to increase sales and revenues.

For more information about these franchise opportunities, please visit https://loyaltybrands.com/.

About Loyalty Brands

Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Loyalty Brands is an umbrella franchise company founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur John Hewitt. The Loyalty Brands consist of business brokerage, small business accounting, tax preparation and added services, networking and bartering. The company maintains a community first outlook, meaning that involvement in local communities and giving back is a core value. The multi-brand concept involves businesses that are synergistic and compatible, so potential franchisees could possibly own one or more of the brands for additional customer acquisition and co-marketing opportunities. To learn more about Loyalty Brands, please visit https://loyaltybrands.com/.

Media Contact: Martha O'Gorman, Loyalty Brands, [email protected] or 757-802-4635

SOURCE Loyalty Brands

Related Links

https://loyaltybrands.com


As the coronavirus has spread around the globe, world leaders have not been spared.

With his positive coronavirus test, President Trump joins the ranks of others like Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil who have been infected. Also having tested positive are the presidents of Bolivia, Guatemala and Honduras and the prime ministers of Armenia and Russia.

Some leaders have been gravely ill  including Mr. Johnson, who was hospitalized for a week with the illness, which has killed at least a million people worldwide and infected more than 34 million. Others like Mr. Bolsonaro appeared to have had only mild cases. In Nigeria, a top aide to President Muhammadu Buhari died of the coronavirus in April.

Here is a rundown of world leaders who have fallen ill and how they handled it.

Britain

Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Mr. Johnson, 56, who in the early part of the pandemic resisted a lockdown and social-distancing measures, contracted the virus in March. He was later hospitalized, spending three nights in an intensive care unit, and deputized the countrys foreign secretary to carry out his duties.
A woman who developed a large growth on her face due to a rare congenital disorder says she has 'higher self-esteem than anyone else in the world' after learning self-love.

Lu Dorini, 41, from Mangueirinha, South Brazil, was diagnosed with Arteriovenous Malformation when she was just eight-months-old, but has refused to let the defect affect her.

The disorder, a large growth on the right hand side of her face is due to an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, which disrupts normal blood flow and oxygen circulation.

Because of heavy blood flow from the artery, the vein becomes engorged from too much blood causing a growth.

Scroll down for video

Lu Dorini, 41, from Mangueirinha, South Brazil, was diagnosed with Arteriovenous Malformation at 18 months old, but has not let it affect her and lives life to the full

As a result, Lu, who works as a public accountant, professor, speaker, and writer, has has undergone 19 surgeries just to stay alive due to countless haemorrhages in her gum and skin.

The brave woman has also nearly lost her life a number of times due to the rare condition, Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM).

Now Lu hopes to educate others about AVM by sharing her love for life and encouraging other sufferers to do the same on her blog and social media platforms.

Lu said: 'I am a woman with AVM but I don't let it control me. I have always studied normally, I've been working since I was 13 and I haven't stopped my routine just because of my disorder. In fact, if anything I have evolved more as a person.'

Using her blog and social media platforms Lu has helped to educate others about Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM)

Lu pictured as a teenager (left) and as she is now (right). She has worked on practicing self-love to ensure that she gets the love and acceptance she deserves

'I have always loved myself just the way I am, ever since childhood. I am a beautiful, smart, capable woman and I have never thought I needed to be a different way to be accepted. I'm just like everybody else and I deserve love and acceptance. I love myself, I really do love me.'

Speaking about her blog, Lu explained, 'I created my blog after speaking to a very worried mother whose daughter had hemangioma like me.

'I've connected with people across the world now and also gives lectures on social media in the hope that I can inspire people to be happy and to love themselves and enjoy life.'

Lu enjoys time on the beach. The Brazilian native regularly shares videos to Instagram

She has 31,900 Instagram followers and has even written a book on her experiences with AVM

WHAT ARE ARTERIOVENOUS MALFORMATIONS? An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a specific term used to describe a tangle of blood vessels with abnormal connections between arteries and veins. High pressure arteries containing fast flowing blood are directly connected to low pressure veins, which normally only contain slow flowing blood. This means that blood from the arteries drains directly into the veins - without stopping to supply the normal tissues in that part of the body with essential substances like oxygen and nutrition. Over time this can lead to the normal tissues becoming painful or fragile. It also means that the AVM gets progressively larger over time as the amount of blood flowing through it increases, and it can cause problems due to its size. Finally, it may also mean that the heart has to work harder to keep up with the extra blood flow. Some doctors describe an AVM as 'a ring road that bypasses the high street of a town'. Traffic (or blood) will use the bypass rather than the high street which suffers as a result. AVMs are thought to affect approximately 1.4 in every 100,000 people. Source: Great Ormond Street Hospital Advertisement

Lu has also written a book, 'Between Waves of Emotion' to share her own story of AVM 'to help people to understand that it is possible to be happy even with an aesthetic difference or a serious health problem.'

The Brazilian native regularly shares videos with her 31,9000 Instagram followers, providing them with daily reflections, about life in general, physiology questions, and focusing on positive psychology, which is her specialisation.

'My videos focus on themes like self-esteem, self-knowledge, character strengths, emotions, and matters of the mind and heart.

'I do all of this for one purpose; to fulfil my mission in the world of sharing my story, and making people smile because I believe that it is possible to change the world if each of us does our part.'

Lu as a teenager before the effects of the congenital condition were physically evident

Lu pictured with her book, Entre Ondas De Emocao, or 'Between Waves of Emotion'

Here Lu delivers a speech on the importance of self love. She has received marriage proposals from strangers online

Lu said that while 99 per cent of people send her kind and affectionate comments, even including marriage proposals, she's also been on the receiving end of negative comments.

'Of course, I have received some bad comments because everyone has their own opinion but it doesn't make me less happy.

'When you're putting yourself out there on social media, you need to be prepared for everything, and I must confess that I have previously cried after receiving rude comments or a rude attitude from people.

'But currently, it doesn't affect me at all, it doesn't make me happy but it doesn't make me upset either.

'If anything, my self-esteem is high right now, I might even have the highest self-esteem in the world!

'I only respond to those who see my beauty and if you don't think I'm beautiful, then it's your problem and not mine because I'll continue to think that I'm stunning.'

Lu as a young girl. She says she is not affected by the negative attitude of people who are rude to her about her appearance

As for her top tips for self-confidence, Lu says, 'allow yourself to be free, look at yourself with affection, focus on your qualities; like what you see in the mirror and don't blame yourself for any of your failures.'

'Believe that you are capable, don't complain about what is not and be thankful for what is, respect yourself and don't compare yourself to others, and most importantly, understand that everyone is unique.

'We are all human beings so don't waste your time and your life trying to be someone else, or better than others because all you need to do is love yourself and to improve day by day.'

Lu as a young girl, the growth is only slightly seen as she dresses up in costume

Lu urges others to believe that they are capable and look at themselves with affection

She believes that people should love themselves and not spend time trying to be someone else
Six percent of FDA probes under Obama were classified as 'official action indicated' compared to less than one percent of all probes under Trump

The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) oversight of clinical trials has become more lax under President Donald Trump, a new report finds.

Fewer warning letters have been sent to scientists conducting trials and fewer investigators have been disqualified compared to the first and final three years of former President Barack Obama's tenure.

An investigation by the magazine Science, which reviewed thousands of FDA documents, found that fewer scientists have faced disciplinary action over the last three years than under Trump's predecessor.

In fact, in most instances, the FDA concluded that no action was needed and that the trials could continue.

An investigation by Science found that during the first three years and final three years of Barack Obama's presidency, the FDA sent out 99 and 36 warning letters, respectively, but just 12 have been sent out during Donald Trump's first three years

A total of 24 scientists were disqualified from continuing research in the US under Obama's eight years while only two have been disqualified during Trump's tenure

For the investigation, Science reviewed nearly 1,600 inspection and enforcement of trials reported to be in violation of rules or the law.

The records cover the entirety of Obama's two terms and the first three years of Trump's term.

Science reports that the FDA has 102 inspectors who respond to whistleblower complaints, visit labs conducting clinical trials, and review records.

Over the 11-year-period, the agency conducted about 6,700 investigations.

Final results can declare no action is needed, voluntary changes are required or 'official action indicated,' known as an OAI.

Warning letters may also be sent out and, in the most serious of circumstances, scientists may be disqualified from continuing research.

During the first three years of Obama's presidency, the FDA sent 99 warning letters to researchers over 'serious transgressions' committed during clinical trials.

Over the last three years of Obama's tenure, the agency issued 36 such letters.

However, during the first three years of Trump's term, the FDA issued just 12 warning letters.

More investigators were also disqualified during the Obama administration.

A total of 24 investigators were disqualified during Obama's presidency, an average of three per year.

Meanwhile, two investigators have been disqualified during Trump's tenure.

Six percent of FDA probes under Obama were classified as 'official action indicated' compared to less than one percent of all probes under Trump. Pictured: Lisa Taylor receives a COVID-19 vaccination from RN Jose Muniz as she takes part in a vaccine study in Hollywood, Florida, August 7

'It certainly looks like FDA is enforcing clinical trial requirements much less frequently, which is troubling for protecting subjects' welfare and ensuring the validity of data for our medical products,' Patricia Zettler, an attorney who reviewed Science's findings and worked at the FDA between 2009 and 2012, told the magazine.

In one instance, the Science investigation noted the case of Dr Michael Harris, an osteopath who was cited numerous times by the FDA for serious errors made in clinical trials.

Among the errors include not obtaining consent from trial participants, not disclosing medications the volunteers were taking and backdated records from his private firm, Aspen Clinical Research in Orem, Utah.

Dr James Baker (pictured) was one of two investigators disqualified during the Trump administration in 2018 after being investigated four times from 2009 to 2017

The FDA allegedly warned Harris that he could face fines or prosecution - and be disqualified from performing medical research in the US again.

However, he never faced any repercussions, trial volunteers were never told they may have been put at risk, and his firm still contracts with pharmaceutical and medical companies to this day testing various drugs.

Under Obama, the number of FDA inspections classified as OAI reached above 120 during his first three years and about 60 during the final three years.

That is about six percent of all agency probes, reports Science.

In contrast, fewer than 20 investigations have been classified as OAI during Trump's first three years, making up less than one percent of all investigations.

What's more, according to Science, the FDA halted trials or prevented review boards from approving new trials seven times during Obama's first term.

Not one such instance as occurred during Trump's tenure.

Sanctions have also been slower during the Trump administration. One of the two disqualified scientists was Dr James Baker, an allergist-immunologist based in Oregon.

According to Science, he was investigated four times between 2009 and 2017, and each investigation found at least one violation.

He broke numerous rules including injecting patients with experimental drugs while they were on other medication that could have interacted, had volunteers participating in more than one trial at a time, and even pretended he had seen patients on days he was not in the lab.

Each time, Baker apologized and promised the errors would never occur again. But, in 2018, he was finally disqualified.
A dairy farm in Buckinghamshire has created the UK's first 'fuel station' which transforms cow poo into power in a bid to be more sustainable.

The three month on-farm trial will use manure from around 500 cows to create 27,000kg of biofuel to power dairy delivery trucks.

It is part of a sustainability initiative to reduce Arla's carbon footprint by 80 tonnes.

The co-op's farmers will send their cows poo to anaerobic digestion plants where it will be broken down into different components, including clean bio-methane, and converted into usable fuel.

The trial makes the dairy co-operative the first UK business to use waste from its own farms to generate power for its fleet.

The process will also create nutrient rich, natural fertiliser which farmers can put back on to farms, making it an entirely closed loop.

The test will involve two special tankers that have been adapted to run on biofuel transporting milk between dairy processing sites.

Together they are expected to cover around 90,000km and help reduce Arlas carbon impact by 80 tonnes  the equivalent to 23 car journeys around the world.

Ian Barker, who farms in Winslow, Buckinghamshire, said: Many of us recognise how valuable a cows milk is, but many arent aware that manure is just as important.

"A dairy farm in Buckinghamshire has revealed the UK's first 'fuel station' which transforms cow poo into power in a bid to be more sustainable.

"Processing cow manure in this manner provides us with a limitless source of energy, plus the digestate, or solid matter, left over after the process makes an even richer fertiliser for my fields, so its a win-win.

Graham Wilkinson, Agriculture Director at Arla, said the initiative could be 'revolutionary' in helping fuel a greener future.

Using manure from our farms is helping us reduce our waste and rely less on air-polluting fossil fuels so its a no brainer for us.

"With the help of our farmers and partners, we have a fully closed loop which at scale.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, on Sept. 2, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/Pool via Reuters)

Pompeo, Mnuchin Test Negative for COVID-19

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have tested negative for COVID-19.

Pompeo told reporters on Friday that he and his wife have both tested negative for COVID-19. He made the remarks on a plane 20 minutes prior to landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where he is scheduled to meet with officials as part of his European tour.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19, they and their doctor announced on Friday.

We are praying for the President and First Lady that theyll have a speedy recovery, Pompeo told reporters, adding that he is feeling well and that he had not interacted with Trump since Sept. 15, the day a diplomatic agreement was signed at the White House between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.

Pompeo also told reporters that, as a precaution, he was reconsidering his upcoming trip to Asia upon news that the first couple tested positive for COVID-19.

While in Croatia, Pompeo will discuss key areas of mutual concern, including defense cooperation, the growing U.S.-Croatia investment relationship, and Croatias strong efforts to advance Western Balkan integration, according to a State Department statement.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin departs from the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 30, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Monica Crowley, a spokeswoman for Mnuchin, said he was tested as part of regular protocol and tested negative.

He will continue to be tested daily, she added.

Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence also tested negative.

Following his diagnosis, Trump said in a social media statement that he and the first lady would begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately.

We will get through this TOGETHER! he added.

The first lady later announced on Twitter, As too many Americans have done this year [the president] I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19.

We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together, she said.

Sean Conley, physician to the president, said in a statement released by the White House that both Trumps are well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

The White House Team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of the countrys greatest medical professionals and institutions. Rest assured, I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments, Conley said.

Trump planned to hold a roundtable with supporters in Washington and fly to Florida on Friday for a rally. Both events are now canceled, according to the White House.

White House aide Hope Hicks tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines advise people who have been in close contact with a COVID-19 patient should quarantine for 14-days because the incubation period for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus can last up to two weeks.

Zachary Stieber, Mimi Nguyen Ly, Katabella Roberts, and Reuters contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump has been filmed throwing hats into the crowd at a campaign rally in Minnesota - just one day before confirming he and first lady Melania tested positive for coronavirus.

Video shows Mr Trump, 74, toss at least two caps - emblazoned with the 'Make American Great Again' slogan - into a crowd of tightly packed together supporters chanting "USA" at rally in Duluth on Wednesday.

The president had been visiting the key battleground state of Minnesota after the first presidential debate on Tuesday night, in which he mocked his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden for wearing a mask during the pandemic.

Every time you see him, hes got a mask, Mr Trump said of Mr Biden, 77. He could be speaking 200 feet away from it. And he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen, he added when quizzed by debate moderator Chris Wallace about his views on the efficacy of mask wearing.

The White House was on Thursday night thrown into disarray after officials confirmed that the president and first lady, 50, had contracted the disease, which has claimed some 207,000 US lives - more than any other country in the world.

Mr Trump's doctor said the commander-in-chief was feeling "well" and would continue his duties "without disruption" - sentiments echoed by campaign adviser Mica Mosbach, who took to the airwaves on Friday morning to issue assurances the president was in good health.

Mr Biden, who has made relatively few public appearances during the campaign, wished the president and his family well on Friday morning. "Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family," he said.

It is not how the president got infected, but he has been in close contact with aide Hope Hicks, who also tested positive on Thursday. He has recently spent time with vice president Mike Pence, Supreme Court nominee Amy Barrett and senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was aboard Air Force One with Mr Trump and Ms Hicks on Wednesday, as the campaign travelled to Minnesota.She took to the podium on Thursday to deliver a press conference at the White House, with reporters in attendance, not wearing a mask.

It is highly likely that at that point Ms McEnany will have known about Ms Hick's positive test.

Mr Trump's campaign team has been keen to stress that the president has not yet experienceed any coronavirus symptoms, but it remains to be seen whether or not he will develop complications associated with the disease. The virus hits the elderly and those with underlying health conditions - such as obesity - hardest.

Should the president become incapacitated - which his campaign team has already said won't happen - he could be forced to withdraw from the race for the Oval Office. In that event, it is likely the GOP would put another name on the ballot.

A vice president assumes power when a president is out of action, but it is less clear what happens when the incumbent is fighting for re-election. Some commentators have suggested that November's poll could now be delayed.
She may have been the woman to win Locky Gilbert's heart on The Bachelor.

But Irena Srbinovska, 31, has failed to become verified on Instagram, while her fellow contestants Bella Varelis, Bec Cvilikas and Laura Calleri have all been approved for the coveted blue tick.

On Friday, eagle-eyed fans noticed that Irena's profile was lacking that all-important tick, generally reserved for businesses and well-known celebrities.

Ouch! She may have been the woman to win Locky Gilbert's heart on The Bachelor, but Irena Srbinovska (pictured) has failed to become verified on Instagram

Missing tick: On Friday, eagle-eyed fans noticed that Irena's profile was lacking that all-important blue tick, which is generally reserved for businesses and well-known celebrities. Irena's fellow contestants Bella Varelis, Bec Cvilikas and Laura Calleri all have one

According to Instagram, the blue tick symbolises that the company has confirmed that the account is 'the authentic presence of the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents'.

While anyone can request to become verified, Instagram doesn't guarantee that it will happen.

In order to become verified, the account must represent a 'well-known, highly searched for person, brand or entity'.

Meaning: According to Instagram, the blue tick symbolises that the company has confirmed that the account is 'the authentic presence of the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents'. Pictured Bella Varelis

Rules: In order to become verified, the account must represent a 'well-known, highly searched for person, brand or entity'. Pictured: Laura Calleri (L) and Bec Cvilikas (R)

But the lack of verification doesn't appear to be worrying Irena, who was all smiles as she shopped for hiking and camping gear with Locky on Friday.

The former Survivor star, 30, shared the couple's trip to the Decathlon store in Sydney's Tempe on his Instagram stories.

In the video, bronde beauty Irena, 31, was checking out water flasks on sale.

Not bothered! But the lack of verification doesn't appear to be worrying Irena, who was all smiles as she shopped for hiking and camping gear with Locky on Friday

Locky told fans: 'So me and Irena have got everything we need, pretty much for any hike, any camping trip and we are ready to go.'

In a following clip, Irena can be seen pulling a cart behind her as Locky panned around the store.

At the end of their shopping expedition, he shared a photo of the pair looking very pleased with their purchases outside the warehouse store.

'Happy little vegemites,' Locky wrote in the post.
Now Is the Time for the US to Take a Stronger Position Against the CCP

Ending the CCP should be the No. 1 goal

Commentary

May President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump speedily recover from the CCP virus. Their contracting it is a reminder to us all.

Their falling ill from this disease that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allowed to spread around the world underscores how close the CCP threat has come to cutting out the heart of our nation.

The Trump administration has already taken an unprecedented level of action against the CCP, but this has been at the level of waking up to the threat and defending our country from further damage. There is still a lack of understanding that this is a life and death fight to save humanity.

During the 71 years of its rule, the CCP has always seen the United States as its No. 1 enemy. To the regime in Beijing, the very idea of freedom is an existential threat. Because of this, it has built its economy and policies with a goal of beating America, at any cost and with no limit on the methods used.

During the 1950s, the CCP pushed a movement called The Great Leap Forward. Its real aim was to try to catch up with the United States within 10 years, and its mad dash to do so resulted in a great famine that cost at least 30 million lives.

This disaster, however, never changed the CCPs determination to compete with and beat the United States. The CCP recruited U.S.-educated Chinese scientists to develop nuclear weapons. In recent decades, despite huge investment from the United States and the great transfer of wealth and technology, the CCPs goal has remained unchanged: to defeat the United States.

The CCP has long known that a strong America will ultimately result in the end of the Party. Communist ideology, at its heart, is against humanity, and the example of Americas principles and the idea of freedom would result in its demise.

This is why any engagement, any negotiation, or any other kind of agreement with the Chinese communist regime will fail. You cant put your trust in the devil, so to speak, nor should you acknowledge it as a normal entity.

America is strong because we are blessed. We are blessed because we are bestowed with great responsibility. We are at a historical moment where we either give in to the communists and let this cancer of communism take over the world, leading freedom and moral decency to perish, or we fight the communists and save the world.

One thing is clear: The Chinese people are ready for a country without communism. Since The Epoch Times published the series Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party in 2004, more than 350 million Chinese people have been inspired to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliates. The Chinese people will forever be grateful if America ends the CCP soon.

While the Trump administration has taken a strong stance against Chinese infiltration, its not clear yet that ending the CCP should be the No. 1 goal. Just about all the problems we have internally or internationally are caused by the CCP. Not enough people realize that the CCP is really life-threateningand more vicious and sly than the Soviet Union ever was.

Trump has an opportunity to become to China what President Ronald Reagan was to the Soviet Union.

The regimes strategy is to create a state of crisis by replicating the purges and policies of Mao Zedong, using them to tighten its grip over the nation, and, with its chokehold on China secured and unbreakable, to rise out from the crisis.

The Trump administration and the leadership of many other countries have taken stronger stances against the CCP, but these focus on ending the Partys unfair practices and protecting the interests of each respective country. While these are heavy blows to the CCP, theyre not strong enough to topple it and, in the greater scheme of things, act as merely an inconvenience to the regimes strategies, which work on decades-long programs.

The trade war and other policies ultimately act as merely a speed bump on the regimes long road toward achieving its goal to overtake the United States. Any policy short of ending the CCP will result in only a short-term solution to a long-term problem, deferring the crisis now facing the world to future generations, at a time when the CCP may not be in as weakened a state as it is now.

The United States policy on China should recognize that the communist state is a murderous totalitarian regime with the blood of tens of millions of Chinese people on its hands. Its a regime that commits every atrocity the free world has always claimed to oppose. And its publicly stated goal is to export this style of rule to every corner of the globe.

Mr. Trump, tear down this regime and secure the future of freedom not just for the United States, but for the Chinese people and the entire free world as well.

Diana Zhang, Ph.D., is a staff writer with 20 years experience in the study of China. Based in the United States, she uses a pen name to protect her family members in China.
Cocoa is among the most popular crops in the world, and a new study has shown that to increase its yield, as well as the income of small scale farmers, hand pollination is a better option to adopt instead of the intensive use of agrochemicals. (Photo : Pixabay)

Cocoa is among the most popular crops in the world, and a new study has shown that to increase its yield, as well as the income of small scale farmers, hand pollination is a better option to adopt instead of the intensive use of agrochemicals. (Photo : Pixabay)

Cocoa is among the most popular crops in the world, and a new study has shown that to increase its yield, as well as the income of small scale farmers, hand pollination is a better option to adopt instead of the intensive use of agrochemicals.









Cocoa's Popularity and Importance

One thing to be presently said about cocoa is that its demand is high all over the world, and is only getting higher.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic affected cocoa demand negatively, its demand has been increasing steadily at 2% per year. Still, the outlook remains good for the long term and demand is expected to increase until at least 2025.

With this in mind, it thus becomes important to focus on how to efficiently improve cocoa production.

READ: Honeybee Pollinators of the Almond Industry Experience Die-Offs by the Billions





Cocoa Reproduction

The cocoa plant needs insects to cross-pollinate it in order to bear fruit. Currently, its main pollinators still have to be conclusively determined, and it is not clear how wasps, flies, or other insects can be induced to pollinate it in a natural manner. Midges have been identified as its pollinators.

In the natural setting, more than 9 out of 10 cocoa flowers do not become fruits because no insects visit them. It shows how intensive agricultural production with the use of agrochemicals may not be the best method for production to be efficient or bountiful.

READ ALSO: Biological Pest Control Saved Coconut Farmers in Asia Billions of Dollars





Manual Pollination Versus Agrochemical Use

University of Gottingen researchers compared the effectiveness of fertilizers and pesticides versus manual pollination. They conducted the study in agroforestry set up in Indonesia.

Their field trial has been well replicated, and the results show that the latter is better. They concluded that cocoa yield and the income of cocoa farmers are better served by manual pollination instead of agrochemical application and methods.

Their findings are presented in a publication in the Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment journal, entitled: "Hand pollination, not pesticides or fertilizers, increases cocoa yields and farmer income," authored by Manuel Toledo-Hernandez and colleagues. The research team also collaborated with other scientists as well as students from Universitas Tadulako in Palu, Indonesia.

The scientists discovered that hand or manual pollination caused a large yield increase of 161 percent. They computed the costs involved in manual pollination and found that small farmers can increase their income by 69% if they opted to use this farming method. The use of more fertilizers and pesticides resulted in no increase in yield.

Researchers' Recommendations

According to the first author and University of Gottingen Department of Agroecology Ph.D. student Manuel Toledo-Hernandez, their study concluded that intensifying agroecology may become a successful venture by taking advantage of natural, biological processes, or alternately, utilizing innovative techniques like hand pollination.

This study was conducted under the supervision of Agroecology department chair Professor Teja Tscharntke and China's Westlake University professor Thomas Cherico Wanger. According to them, the lower levels of yield were due to lack of pollination, which is having a significant negative effect on a lot of tropical and temperate crops.

They advise that instead of the intensive use of agrochemicals, hand pollination must be considered in future agricultural endeavors to increase the production of these crops, not the least of which is cocoa.

READ ALSO: Agriculture Now the Largest Source of Sulfur to the Environment





Check out for more news and information on Soil Conservation on Nature World News.
Photo: (Photo : YouTube/KFOR Oklahoma's News 4)

Oklahoma couple could finally see their five-year-old daughter after being separated for ten months. They dropped their child to her grandparents on New Year's Eve, not realizing that it would take that long to see her again.

Not seen daughter for almost one year

NBC affiliate KFOR reported that John and Vanesa Galvan had not seen their daughter, Samantha, for almost one year. Now, they are days away from hugging their baby again. John told the outlet that it had been a nightmare for them because they felt like the government has forgotten about their child.

He said that the government would bend over backward if "an athlete or something like that" would have to go somewhere.

See also: Texas Couple Bravely Weathers Through Many Storms, Including COVID, in Nearly 50 Years of Marriage

Left the girl to her grandparents on New Year's Eve

The outlet said that the couple left Samantha off in Columbia, where her grandparents live, on New Year's Eve. They were hoping the little girl could learn about her family's culture before they bring her home in the summer for good.

Three months later, COVID-19 has caused many countries to close their borders and allow travel restrictions. The Galvans thought that Columbia's restrictions would only last for a few months. However, their planned visit in April was pushed back due to the health crisis.

Desperately want to get daughter back home

When it happened, the couple desperately searched for ways to get Samantha home. John told NBC affiliate KXAS-TV that there were no dates, so they started to panic upon thinking that the lockdown is getting longer and longer. He added that their daughter barely speaks English anymore.

See also: Lonely 75-Year-Old Widower Puts up Poster to Find Friends, Thousands Responded

Soon, the couple found out that their child could only go home to them on a humanitarian flight. However, since Samantha would have to travel alone, the parents were not convinced to let it happen.

Missing many milestones

In the end, they decided to wait so that they could get her instead. John also shared that they have already missed out on many of Samantha's milestones. He told KXAS that apart from missing the Fourth of July, her birthday, Father's Day, now the little girl's tooth is almost falling.

John also told KFOR that they miss the precious everyday moments they shared with their daughter. He explained that Samantha used to knock on their door at bedtime to sleep near them. They were heartbroken for not having her there with them on those nights for ten months.

See also: Surrogate Idaho Woman Cares for Newborn Baby for over 4 Months Due to Lockdown

This weekend, John finally gets to travel to Columbia to pick up Samantha after being separated for ten long months with her. He told KFOR that a lot awaits his daughter at home. They will give her a ton of affection, but apart from that, they have a lot of special homecoming gifts for her.

John said that they bought a new playhouse for her and are planning on having a drive-by parade with their neighbors. He added that all they want is to have her back in their arms again.
Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/02/2020 -- According to a research report "EdTech and Smart Classroom Market by Hardware (Interactive Displays, Interactive Projectors), System (LMS, SIS, TMS), Technology (Gamification, Analytics, Advanced Technology), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", size is expected to grow from USD 85.8 billion in 2020 to USD 181.3 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.1% during the forecast period. The major factors driving the growth of the EdTech and smart classroom market include increasing penetration of mobile devices and easy availability of internet, and growing demand for online teaching-learning models, impact of COVID-19 pandemic and growing need for EdTech solutions to keep education system running in lockdown.



Browse 241 market data Tables and 47 Figures spread through 223 Pages and in-depth TOC on "EdTech and Smart Classroom Market - Global Forecast to 2025"



Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=1066



Interactive Displays segment to hold the largest market size during the forecast period



The interactive display is a hardware device that opens up content, predominantly technological content, and inspires a level of interactivity that is challenging to attain with conventional textbook-based learning. The presence of an interactive display can impact learning in several ways as it serves to raise the level of learner engagement, inspires students, and encourages enthusiasm for learning. Interactive displays are progressively being seen as a vital requirement for teaching in K-12, higher education, and corporate organizations. These displays are innovative, new generation hardware using wireless technologies. Interactive displays are entirely technology-enabled and are widely used in an advanced and mature market. This hardware has been widely used globally since it allows organizations to process and present data in an effective manner. Interactive displays are used to display content, such as images, videos, and video calls. The education sector is the most primitive adopter of interactive displays influenced by encouraging responses from trainers, students, and teachers.



Cloud deployment type to record the fastest growth rate during the forecast period



In the cloud-deployed EdTech, solutions are hosted over the internet connection, and users can log into the service provider's site. Teachers or trainers can upload course content, create new courses, and interact with learners via their internet browsers to refrain from the installation of the required management software. Instructional designers can store any information on the cloud, and this can be remotely accessed by approved users in any location. This deployment type is preferred for its features, such as better and enhanced security, lower setup costs, easy accessibility, quicker deployment, highly scalable, customizable, enhanced storage space, ease of maintenance, automatic upgrade of course materials, and automatic licensing done by vendors. In this type, learning is delivered to the learner, anywhere and anytime via the browser.



Speak To Expert Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=1066



APAC is projected to be the fastest growing region during the forecast period



APAC countries considerably contribute to the growth of the EdTech and smart classroom market. The adoption of EdTech solutions has explicitly been implemented in this region to discover the power of innovative learning methodologies. Intrinsic strength and rapid economic growth make this region one of the fastest-growing education markets internationally. Countries such as Australia and Japan are expected to experience significant growth because of a wider technological infrastructure. The EdTech and smart classroom market is an upcoming segment with high growth potential in this region. The demand for custom eLearning content and technologies is one of the factors is driving the Asian EdTech and smart classroom market. APAC continues to be the largest exporters and consumers of education services. APAC countries differ greatly, some being among the most technologically developed, while others still show signs of major weakness in terms of adopting the latest technologies. APAC is considered to be one of the major regions for EdTech solution providers, as it covers a large terrestrial area and holds significant growth in this market. APAC continues to experience rapid growth in all areas of technology. The region being broad and diverse, not all countries enjoy the same levels of technological expansion and approachability.



Market Players



Some prominent players across all service types profiled in the EdTech and smart classroom market study include Apple (US), Cisco (US), Blackboard (US), IBM (US), Dell EMC (US), Google (US), Microsoft (US), Oracle (US), SAP (Germany), Instructure (US).



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A reporter for a local TV news station was attacked by a supporter of Donald Trump outside the president's rally in Minnesota on Wednesday.

Mr Trump flew to Duluth on Wednesday for his first post-debate campaign rally, in which the president told a protester to "go home to mum" and the crowd chanted "lock her up" to congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

On assignment outside the event, WCCO-TV journalist Dymanh Chhoun began filming a man confronting a group of Joe Biden supporters, according to the station's report.

"You guys want to be peaceful? Be peaceful! You want to be violent? Come to me and I'll..." the man can be heard saying in video of the clash.

He punches or knocks the camera phone out of the hand of Mr Chhoun, who says he had identified himself as media and was recording in a public space.

WCCO assignment manager Guy Still, who sent Mr Dymanh to cover the Trump rally, said on Twitter that his newsroom's journalists have been unlawfully detained by police, pepper-sprayed, shot with non-lethal rounds, intimidated, assaulted, sworn at and had effigies mutilated in their driveways.

"He's not some yahoo operating without regard for his safety. He's got a wife and young kids at home who mean the world to him," Mr Still said.

"I take personal exception when anyone puts my guy in danger."

The attack was condemned by both Democrats and Republicans, with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chairman Ken Martin saying political violence is never acceptable.

"It is essential that political campaigns remain peaceful and that everyone treats members of the media with the respect they deserve," Mr Martin said, according to the Associated Press.

Republican US Senate candidate Jason Lewis, who has been endorsed by Mr Trump, tweeted that the attack was "very upsetting", and that police should investigate.

"Freedom of the press is protected by the constitution, and that needs to be understood and respected," he said.

Police confirmed on Thursday that they were attempting to identify the man seen in the video.
Pep Guardiola has hailed Phil Fodens mature response to the public fall-out that followed his high-profile England disciplinary breach last month.

The Manchester City midfielder was sent home from the England camp in Iceland, along with Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood, after the pair were found to have broken Covid-19 protocols.

The punishment has continued, with both players omitted from England manager Gareth Southgates latest squad for this months triple-header against Wales, Belgium and Denmark.

Foden scored twice in Citys first three games of the season (Mike Egerton/PA)

Yet since the incident Foden, 20, has started Citys first two Premier League games of the new season, as well as a Carabao Cup tie against Bournemouth. With two goals in those three appearances, Guardiola has been pleased with his attitude and performances.

The City manager said: I think everyone knows the reason why, but Phil has worked incredibly hard every day. His performance is high and has been good.

When Gareth thinks its the moment to come back, hell come back. He is still playing as well as possible to be ready.

I think he has shown incredible maturity because, after what happened, he played the first game against Wolves (when) it was not easy and (in) the second game against Bournemouth he led the team.

The third was difficult for everyone  Leicester played so well in the defensive area  and he was a bit tired.

But I think his approach in every training session and match has been right.

Stockport-born Foden has had to deal with high expectations since graduating from Citys academy. He had long been been earmarked as the natural successor to David Silva in the City side and the current season will be a big one for him as the first since the influential Spaniards departure.

Story continues

Yet Foden has taken much of the praise he has received in his early career in his stride and Guardiola feels his natural level-headedness is serving him well now.

He was from the beginning so mature, Guardiola said. Hes handled the good and bad things and put aside the good and bad moments, and just thinks about the next thing.

Phil is good  hes in good terms.

City bolstered their defence this week with the signing of Portugal international Ruben Dias from Benfica. The 23-year-old is the second centre-back acquired in the current transfer window after the arrival of Nathan Ake in the summer.

Eric Garcia could be allowed to rejoin Barcelona (Mike Egerton/PA)

That could clear the way for 19-year-old Eric Garcia to leave. The Spaniard is in the final year of his contract and has indicated a desire to move, with his former club Barcelona reportedly interested.

Guardiola, whose side travel to Leeds on Saturday, said: Today hes our player and on Monday I think the transfer window finishes. I dont know what will happen.

I know he wants to leave and that Barcelona want him but there is no deal between the clubs right now. How its going to finish I dont know.
One North Dakota farmer received an outpour of support from his community after suffering a heart attack while working on his farm.

Lane Unjem, 57, was hard at work when one of his combines that harvests crops caught on fire. While racing to put the fire out, Unjem suffered from a heart attack and was airlifted to a local hospital where he is still recovering.

In their efforts to help support a fellow farmer during one of the most critical times of the year, family friend Jenna Binde organized a harvesting event to help harvest Unjems crops. Around 60 farmers reached out to Binde on their own to offer their help.

The volunteers that came that day did more than just volunteer their time, Binde told CBS News. They all had their own fields to still harvest, but they selflessly put that behind them and made the Unhjems a priority that day.

The group worked together to harvest Unhjems durum wheat and canola crops. A week later, another group came to help harvest his soybeans, relieving the recovering farmer of a lot of worry and stress.

Bind also said that rallying together to help Unjem was Just kind of the farming way of lifeyou help your neighbor out when they need it, and dont expect anything in return.

The farmers spent around seven hours harvesting the 1,000 acres of crops. When they were done, they all sat down for dinner made by another group of volunteers.

What seems completely normal and natural to us here, unfortunately, isnt the case across the nation, Binde said. I hope others read this story and forget about all the turmoil going on currently and just remember to lend a hand when needed and expect nothing in return. If we could all just do that, wed be in a better place.
Colorado Secretary of State Urges Media Not to Report Results on Election Night

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold on Thursday asked news outlets not to make projections or post any results on Nov. 3.

Griswold, a Democrat, said in a lengthy statement on social media, Our democracy cannot be held hostage to a ratings race. If you care about our democracy, you will protect it. Full Stop.

Griswold, the states top elections official, said the COVID-19 pandemic, and President Donald Trumps alleged indication that he may claim victory on election night, was motivating her call.

Indisputable facts: 1. This is no normal election. A record number of Americans will be voting by mail. 2. Election night will be dramatically different than ever before. We need an UNPRECEDENTED plan from the media for how they will cover an unprecedented election, she wrote.

That is why I am calling on national media networks to pledge to #PressPause for democracy and: 1. Make NO projections on election night 2. Announce NO election results on election night.

Griswolds office didnt respond to a request for comment.

Griswold later deleted the tweets and apologized.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold in an undated photograph. (Colorado Secretary of States Office)

I would like to apologize for a tweet I put out earlier tonight. It was confusing, and the point I was trying to make was made inartfully. My intention was to draw attention to the fact that other states across the nation are drastically adopting new voting procedures, and it is critically important that these changes be taken into account in election night reporting, she said.

Some states may not be able to process ballots until Election Day or after, though Colorado is not one of them, Griswold said.

She also called the press a key pillar of our democracy, adding, I have full confidence the media will handle this professionally and accurately.

In a separate missive, Griswold said nothing about her offices election night reporting has changed.

Just asking national media to not declare winners/losers when there will be millions of mail ballots uncounted, she said.

President Donald Trumps and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Bidens campaigns didnt respond to requests for comment about Griswolds statements.

The Colorado GOP reacted early Friday.

Colorado has been voting by mail for years and simultaneously releasing results on Election Night. It is shocking that @JenaGriswold is now trying to order the media to not report election night results, the party stated.

A voting sign sits outside the Union Station polling center in Denver, Colo., on June 30, 2020. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

At least one Republican member of Congress is also calling for a federal investigation into Colorados sending of voter registration postcards to non-citizens and dead people.

CBS4, a Denver broadcaster, reported last week that about a dozen of the postcards went to people who were not citizens or deceased.

The broadcaster later deleted the story under pressure from Griswold and published an interview with the secretary of state in which she defended the mailings.

I think the key is that the mailing to encourage potentially unregistered people to register is not the same mailing as our ballot mailing. Those are two separate universes, she said.

When we send you a ballot or the county clerk sends out a ballot, those are to people who are registered. This postcard, encouraging people to register, goes to people who are potentially eligible but unregistered and, you know, the mailings arent always 100 percent correct.

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) said the Department of Justice and Federal Election Commission should investigate the matter to see if there were any violations of federal election law.

In Colorado, the secretary of state sent out postcards to dead people, to migrant workers on farms that were not U.S. citizens, to visitors from foreign countries, Buck said Thursday night on Fox News Ingraham Angle.

They are trying to get people registered to vote who are ineligible to vote, he added later.

On Twitter, Griswold accused Buck of doing Russias job by spreading election misinformation while Buck fired back, saying, Im surprised you havent tried to send ballots to Russians trying to register them to vote in Colorado.
Patna: The seat-sharing for "Mahagathbandhan" has been finalised ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, sources said on Friday adding that Congress will be contesting nearly 70 seats whereas the Left parties will field candidates on around 30 seats.

According to news agency ANI, Lalu Yadavs RJD will give 70 seats to Congress but will not let them have a seat of their choice. Senior NDA leaders also held a meeting in Patna on Thursday regarding the finalisation of seats for the Assembly polls and are likely to announce the seat-sharing formula before October 4 in Delhi.

The first phase of the nomination has already begun in Bihar for 71 seats and the Election Commission of India is busy in the preparation of state election monitoring all poll-related matters with officials.

According to an announcement by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Sunil Arora, the Bihar assembly election 2020 will be held in three phases beginning from October 28 amid strict COVID-19 protocols and results for all seats will be announced on November 10.

Live TV

"Bihar assembly election 2020 will be held in three phases from October 28 and November 7, and the counting of votes will be held on November 10," the CEC had said.

In the first phase, elections will be held in 71 Assembly constituencies. In the second phase, 94 Assembly constituencies will go to polls. In the third phase, polling will be held in 78 Assembly constituencies, the CEC said in a press conference adding that ''the counting of votes for all seats will take place on November 10.''
Earlier this year, the bureau had said it was extending the count until Oct. 31 because the coronavirus pandemic had made its original schedule unfeasible. In April, it asked Congress to extend the statutory deadline for delivering the data for reapportionment  allocating congressional seats to the states  to the president, from Dec. 31 to April 30. The House approved the change but the Senate never acted on it.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 16:54 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48c4459 1 National Sexual-assault,South-Sulawesi,North-Buton,regional-elections,Home-Ministry Free

The Home Ministry has temporarily dismissed Southeast Sulawesi's North Buton deputy regent and current acting regent, Ramadio, from his position following allegations he sexually exploited a minor.

The decision was taken on Thursday after the province's governor, Ali Mazi, filed a request for Ramadio's dismissal to Home Minister Tito Karnavian on Wednesday.

"[Ramadio] has been temporarily dismissed from his position as North Buton deputy regent and current acting regent," the ministry's acting regional autonomy director general, Akmal Malik, said on Thursday as reported by Kompas.com.

He said the ministry had also appointed the North Buton regional secretary as a temporary replacement for Ramadio.

Akmal explained that Ali had proposed three names for the regency's acting regent position.

Read also: Komnas Perempuan concerned about alleged rapist's appointment as acting regent in SE Sulawesi

They are Hery Alamsyah, a member of Ali's team of experts, Basiran, the provincial administration's assistant for public welfare, and Pahri Yamsul, head of the Southeast Sulawesi Cipta Karya, Construction and Planning Agency.

Ramadio was appointed as North Buton acting regent after regent Abu Hasan took unpaid leave as he seeks reelection in the upcoming regional election in December.

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) had raised concerns about Ramadio's appointment over his alleged involvement in a sexual assault case against a minor.

Ramadio was named a suspect in December 2019 for allegedly paying Rp 2 million (US$134.71) to a pimp, identified only as T, to have sex with a 14-year-old girl.

While T was found guilty in the case, and was sentenced to nine years in prison and fined Rp 100 million, Ramadio was not detained and prosecutors have yet to bring his case to court.

Ramadio currently faces charges under Article 81 of Law No.35/2014 on child protection, which carries a sentence of five to 15 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rp 5 billion. (nal)
While hearing troubling stories from hundreds of parents of special education students, Christine Levesque said she too faced difficulties after classes resumed.

Levesque, a Niagara Falls resident and co-founder and chair of Autism Advocacy Ontario, said more than 600 people have filled out an online survey her organization launched three weeks ago, asking families if they have concerns about safety and the challenges their children might face returning to school.

She said 80 to 90 per cent of parents who completed the survey opted for online learning, concerned about ensuring support they needed in the classroom would be available.

But theyre struggling beyond belief, she said. Theyre saying, I cant send my kids to school and I cant do the virtual learning. My kid is having mental breakdowns every minute of the day, basically.

Levesque said she too chose to enrol her eight-year-old daughter, Elihka, in online French immersion programs while home-schooling her son Larz, who has autism.

She said Elihka loves to learn.

She loves school and she loves her academic classes.

But after being verbally bullied by a classmate, she said, Elihka went from an eager, happy learner to hating having to open that Chromebook, while in tears.

Levesque said its clear from the survey responses she has received that her daughter isnt suffering alone.

Welland resident Fallon Chisholm said her son has been spared the bullying Elihka faced, but he is coping with undue stress while attending online grade 6 classes  without the supports he would typically have available to him in the classroom setting.

Part of the problem is delays in forwarding her sons updated individual education plan to his teacher.

Here we are in October and we still dont even have it, she said. Its 2020, you cant just email it?

Chisholm said she too is considering homeschooling her son, although she would prefer to keep him in class if possible.

Niagara school boards were unable to provide information for this article prior to deadline.

But Levesque said students elsewhere in Ontario have struggled, too.

I have a couple of families in Ottawa whose children were removed from their specialized learning programs, she said. They cant read or write and were told basically tough luck when they have to use the chat room to ask questions.

She said special education students in other parts of the province such as the GTA have yet to even begin their classes due to a lack of teachers.

RELATED STORIES Niagara Region As classes resume, new online survey focuses on concerns for special needs students

Levesque said many parents who completed the survey say they are now considering homeschooling their children.

Although school boards receive thousands of dollars in subsidies for each special education student attending classes there, that funding isnt redirected to parents who choose to home-school their child.

She said the survey asks how that funding would be used if available to parents.

One-hundred per cent of the families said they would take the money for their child and run from the public education system  100 per cent, she said. Its failing our kids.

Levesque said the organization will continue running the online survey for one more week, in the hope of getting more than 1,000 responses to share with the provincial government and school boards.
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In the early hours of Friday morning, President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

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On Thursday, news broke that one of Trumps closest advisers, Hope Hicks, had tested positive for COVID-19 after being in close contact with the president. According to the New York Times:

[Hicks] traveled with Mr. Trump to the presidential debate in Ohio on Tuesday and accompanied him aboard Air Force One to Minnesota for a campaign rally on Wednesday night.

In response to Hicks positive test, Trump had tweeted that he would be quarantining for 14 days:

Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

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In a phone-in appearance on Fox News on Thursday night, Trump had suggested that Hicks might have contracted the disease from military personnel.

Shes a very warm person, Trump told Sean Hannity on Fox News. When soldiers and law enforcement come up to her, he said, she greets them.

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.

Shortly after Trumps announcement that he and Melania had tested positive themselves, the first lady tweeted:

As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.  Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 2, 2020

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Trump, who is 74, had been holding regular indoor and outdoor rallies in the final weeks of the presidential campaign. Now that hes tested positive, though, it is unclear how he will spend the remaining 4 weeks until Election Day, though the implication of the quarantine is that he will indefinitely halt his public appearances. The presidential physician, Sean P. Conley, confirmed the positive test in a statement, saying, I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.

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Trump had been scheduled to appear over the weekend at Make America Great Again events in Janesville, Wisconsin, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. That state is critical to Trumps Electoral College prospects, and it is also currently undergoing one of the worst COVID-19 spikes in the country. Trump has trailed in recent national polling averages by more than 7 points.

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More than 200,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19 since March. In July, Trump supporter Herman Cain died a little over a month after attending a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, an event that public health officials had warned the campaign against holding. Several attendees tested positive for COVID-19 afterward. During Tuesdays presidential debate, Trump mocked challenger Joe Biden for constantly wearing a mask. Every time you see him, hes got a mask, Trump said.

The next in line of presidential succession is Vice President Mike Pence, and after him is Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. In May, Trump claimed to be taking a preventative regimen of a malaria medication that has no proven effect against COVID-19. Earlier on Thursday during the Al Smith Dinner, Trump said: I just want to say that the end of the pandemic is in sight.
Despite COVID limitations, the 2020 Valley Fun Day held in Simms was a resounding success, with about the same amount of money being raised as the previous year.

On August 28, Ruth Mortag, with the Sun River Valley Lions Club, came to Fairfield to deliver a check for a $200 donation to the Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department.

Mortag left the check with Town of Fairfield Clerk and Treasurer Tammy Comer.

The Ernie Thorn Swimming Pool also received a $200 donation.

Each year, the proceeds from the Valley Fun Day are distributed to communities across the region.

This years Fun Day took in about $4,000.

In addition to the Fairfield pool and fire department, $200 donations also went to the Vaughn Volunteer Fire Department, Vaughn American Legion, Sun River Volunteer Fire Department and Fort Shaw Volunteer Fire Department.

In Simms, $200 was donated to the Volunteer Fire Department and $200 went to Simms Park for picnic tables.

A $200 donation was made to the Augusta Volunteer Fire Department, Cascade Fire Department and the Choteau Swimming Pool.
To paraphrase former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, we dont know what we dont know.

When it comes to COVID-19, thats a dangerous position to be in. If we dont know someone has the novel coronavirus, that person will unknowingly spread it.

This makes Metro Healths failure to either count or investigate asymptomatic cases in which people test positive for COVID-19 through antigen tests puzzling.

Metro Health Director Colleen Bridger portrayed a concern over such cases not being added to the larger COVID-19 tally as a whole lot of ado about nothing.

But how does the community benefit from not tracking these cases? Also, this attitude makes San Antonio an outlier. Other health departments in Texas big cities  Houston, Dallas and Austin  count and investigate this cohort of virus carriers, with the perfectly reasonable rationale they play a large role in the silent spread of the disease.

San Antonio hasnt even been counting them as probable cases.

Until the work group in charge of contract tracing  the folks who locate and inform people whove been exposed to COVID-19 and urge them to self-quarantine  started making noise about this, the failure to count asymptomatic positive antigen cases wasnt on the citys radar.

Express-News reporter Brian Chasnoff on Sunday documented this hole in local coronavirus data, an article that included Mayor Ron Nirenbergs about-face on the issue. Previously hed said, in error, that other cities werent counting this population of test results.

Its my goal that we always implement the best practices to ensure that were protecting public health, and Im confident that were going to begin following through and investigating these asymptomatic cases, Nirenberg said in his mea culpa.

An antigen test is different from the so-called PCR test, a nasal swab considered the gold standard for determining if someone has the coronavirus. Its also different from an antibody test, a blood draw that can detect if someone already had COVID-19 and has recovered.

Positive antigen tests are highly accurate  they correctly pick up the virus 99 percent of the time in secretions from the nose and throat. And theyre quick, with results within minutes. But negative tests arent as trustworthy and may require a follow-up PCR.

Nearly half of people infected with the virus will show no symptoms but still will be contagious, studies show.

The case count in Bexar County is already troubling enough. For at least the second time, more than 2,500 cases Monday were added to the local tally, the result of a statewide backlog of electronic reporting from labs.

The local testing scenario doesnt make the situation any easier. Those who want to take a COVID-19 antigen test but lack symptoms must go to a private urgent care clinic, doctors office or hospital clinic, and either open their wallet or present proof of insurance.

Only people who are experiencing symptoms can be tested at the free city-run sites.

Bridger said the city hasnt been counting or investigating antigen-positive asymptomatic cases because the Food and Drug Administration only authorizes the use of such tests in those with symptoms.

It seems incredible asymptomatic people cant get free tests through the city. The populace shouldnt have to depend on entrepreneurs like Graham Weston  who is focused on silent spreaders  to create nonprofits to test those without symptoms.

Dr. Anita Kurian, assistant director of Metro Health, said the city is working to expand free testing to the asymptomatic population. The sooner, the better.

Bexar County has accrued more than 57,000 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began  but this only represents the cases we know. And apparently the number does not include all of them since antigen test results have not been tracked.

The work group is now researching adding positive asymptomatic antigen cases. It will report to Metro Health soon. It cant happen quickly enough.
WINDSOR LOCKS  Airlines struggling during the coronavirus pandemic warn theyll be forced to eliminate 40,000 jobs nationwide if they dont get a second $25 billion federal aid package now being hashed out in Washington.

What they are not saying  yet  is exactly where those cuts will happen. But Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, said Thursday its reasonable to assume much of the pain will hit medium-sized hubs like Bradley International Airport and its smaller cousins like Worcester Regional Airport.

Weve already sustained significant cuts in activity levels, Dillon said of Bradley, which is run by the quasi-public Airport Authority. Naturally the airlines are not sharing those plans at this point until they see whats happening with the funding bill. I cant see how they can cut activities much more than they have already cut.

Airports had to compete for service even in pre-pandemic days. Now, with fewer flights and crews, Dillon said he can foresee airlines deploying those resources to larger airports where they are more likely to generate revenue.

I do think we offer a fairly good population base to the airlines here, he said. That competition is only going to be more intense once we start to emerge from this.

In Washington, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, supports a $2.4 trillion coronavirus aid package  a smaller figure than the $3.4 trillion Neal and his fellow Democrats proposed before negotiations with Republicans. Neal is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Bradley already made use of its $28 million share of the $10 billion set aside for airports across the country in the last coronavirus relief act, the CARES Act. But that $28 million is only three months of revenue.

Kevin A. Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority which oversees Bradley international Airport. (Photo Provided)

Dillon said the airport was $10 million under its $21 million revenue projections in the second quarter of 2020, and he expects that trend to continue. He hasnt laid off any of the airports 140 or so staffers, but salaried white-collar employees didnt get raises and there is a hiring freeze.

Companies that do business at the airport have laid people off, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act reports field with the state of Connecticut. Avis Budget Car Rental laid off 12 in Windsor Locks in June. The Sheraton Hotel in the airport laid off 78 and put 13 on reduced hours in March. The DoubleTree Hotel nearby laid off 63 in March.

A 2019 estimate found 14,183 people work for businesses connected to the airport.

Dillon said much will depend on how fast the economies in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts recover. Jobs mean income for vacations. Jobs mean business travel.

On Wednesday the airport began offering COVID-19 tests for travelers in its baggage claim area, so that people arriving from coronavirus hot spots can potentially avoid quarantining.

Test results are ready usually within 24 hours, Dillon said. Without a negative test, many people would face a 14-day quarantine either when they get to their destination or when they get home.

Travel through Bradley has improved since the darkest days of March and April. But departures are about a third of what they were last year at this time, Dillon said.

Before COVID, Bradley saw 90 planes leave and 90 planes arrive each day. Today, 30 leave and 30 arrive daily. Southwest Airlines has gone from 20 planes a day to four.

Statistics from the Airport Authority show passenger traffic at Bradley down 58% through July. In the first seven months of 2019, Bradley had 3.9 million passenger boardings and arrivals. This year, it was 1.6 million. Traffic in July, normally a busy vacation month, was off 74%, from 603,144 enplanements and deplanements to 155,444.

Thats quite a reversal for an airport that was on track to break the 10 million passengers per year barrier in 2020.

Bradley drew about 7 million passengers in 2019, besting its 2018 mark of 6.7 million by more than 2%.

Bradley has had a lot of growth in the last few years, said Richard K. Sullivan Jr., president and CEO of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts. Its' a growing airport.

The factors driving that growth will likely still be in play when air travel opens up and begins to grow again.

Without question Bradley is a huge asset and a resource, he said. Its clearly our international and reginal airport.

The Airport Authority is continuing construction on its $210 million ground transportation project, one funded by rental car surcharges.

Bradleys international business  Aer Lingus service to Ireland and Air Canada and Delta service to Canada  has completely disappeared, accounting for thousands of lost passengers each month. The U.S.-Canadian border is still closed.

Legally, Aer Lingus could resume its flights to Dublin. But Dillon said its unlikely given that fall and winter are slow times for its European service. Restoring nonstop trans-Atlantic service was a major coup for Bradley in 2016.

3/18/2020 - Aer Lingus is now closed at Bradley International Airport as the United States enforced a travel restrictions on Europe nations, the U.K and Ireland as COVID-19 public health crisis strikes globally. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

Were very hopeful, Dillon said. We have had some preliminary conversations with Aer Lingus. They are not making any commitments.

Bradley got some good news earlier this month from JetBlue. The low-cost airline announced in September that it is expanding service at Bradley with four nonstop routes to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Cancun, Mexico. These routes are part of JetBlues strategy to add routes with high potential for leisure demand, and will set the airline up to be the largest carrier in Connecticut by 2021. The new flights are expected to begin in November and December.

More recently, JetBlue announced it will suspend its flights from Worcester and said it has no date for returning there. The suspension, and other cutbacks by American Airlines and Delta, has left the airport with no arriving flights, according to the Massachusetts Port Authority.

JetBlue said Thursday in response to an emailed question that crewmembers in these markets will be offered a variety of options allowing them to remain with the company.

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce is already surveying residents and business on the need for more service to the airport, said David Sullivan, an economic development fellow with the chamber.

The virus has changed the economic model, he said. At the same time, we know that this is one day going to be over.

He said smaller airports have an opportunity. They can offer travelers a way to avoid crowds and socially distance in terminals with fewer people.

At Bradley, Dillon said the flying public will need to have confidence in safety and sanitation. Thats why the airport offers touchless boarding, increased cleaning and other high-visibility precautions.

One thing business travelers are apparently doing is flying via private jet, not scheduled air service, said Westover Metropolitan Airport President and CEO Michael W. Bolton. He said the Chicopee airport has seen an increase in business jets.

People with the wherewithal who can afford to go on business aircraft will do it, he said. But the rest of us? I havent left town since January.
It is a far cry today from the time when the strategists of the Comintern announced the victory of Hitler as being merely a step toward the victory of Thaelmann. Thaelmann has been in Hitlers prisons now for more than five years. Mussolini has held Italy enchained by fascism for more than sixteen years. Throughout this time, the parties of the Second and Third Internationals have been impotent, not only to conduct a mass movement, but even to create a serious illegal organization, even to some extent comparable to the Russian revolutionary parties during the epoch of Tsarism.

Not the least reason exists for explaining these failures by reference to the power of fascist ideology. (Essentially, Mussolini never advanced any sort of ideology.) Hitlers ideology never seriously gripped the workers. Those layers of the population which at one time were intoxicated with fascism i.e., chiefly the middle classes, have had enough time in which to sober up. The fact that a somewhat perceptible opposition is limited to Protestant and Catholic church circles is not explained by the might of the semi-delirious and semi-charlatan theories of race and blood, but by the terrific collapse of the ideologies of democracy, Social Democracy and the Comintern.

After the massacre of the Paris Commune, black reaction reigned for nearly eight years. After the defeat of the 1905 Russian revolution, the toiling masses remained in a stupor for almost as long a period. But in both instances the phenomenon was only one of physical defeat, conditioned by the relationship of forces. In Russia, in addition, it concerned an almost virgin proletariat. The Bolshevik faction had at that time not celebrated even its third birthday. It is completely otherwise in Germany where the leadership came from powerful parties one of which had existed for seventy years, the other almost fifteen. Both these parties, with millions of voters behind them, were morally paralyzed before the battle and capitulated without a battle. History has recorded no parallel catastrophe. The German proletariat was not smashed by the enemy in battle. It was crushed by the cowardice, baseness, perfidy of its own parties. Small wonder then that it has lost faith in everything in which it had been accustomed to believe for almost three generations. Hitlers victory in turn strengthened Mussolini.

The protracted failure of revolutionary work in Spain or Germany is but the reward for the criminal politics of the Social Democracy and the Comintern. Illegal work needs not only the sympathy of the masses but the conscious enthusiasm of its advanced strata. But can enthusiasm possibly be expected for historically bankrupt organizations? The majority of those who come forth as emigre leaders are either demoralized to the very marrow of their bones, agents of the Kremlin and the GPU, or Social Democratic ex-ministers, who dream that the workers by some sort of miracle will return them to their lost posts. Is it possible to imagine even for a minute these gentlemen in the role of future leaders of the anti-fascist revolution?

And events on the world arenathe smashing of the Austrian workers, the defeat of the Spanish Revolution, the degeneration of the Soviet statecould not give aid to a revolutionary upsurge in Italy and Germany. Since for political information the German and Italian workers depend in great measure upon the radio, it is possible to say with assurance that the Moscow radio station, combining Thermidorian lies with stupidity and insolence, has become the most powerful factor in the demoralization of the workers in the totalitarian states. In this respect as in others, Stalin acts merely as Goebbels assistant.

At the same time, the class antagonisms which brought about the victory of fascism, continuing their work under fascism too, are gradually undermining it. The masses are more dissatisfied than ever. Hundreds and thousands of self-sacrificing workers, in spite of everything, continue to carry on revolutionary mole-work. A new generation, which has nor directly experienced the shattering of old traditions and high hopes, has come to the fore. Irresistibly, the molecular preparation of the proletarian revolution proceeds beneath the heavy totalitarian tombstone. But, for concealed energy to flare into open revolt, it is necessary that the vanguard of the proletariat find new perspectives, a new program and a new unblemished banner.

Herein lies the chief handicap. It is extremely difficult for workers in fascist countries to make a choice of a new program. A program is verified by experience. And it is precisely experience in mass movements which is lacking in countries of totalitarian despotism. It is very likely that a genuine proletarian success in one of the democratic countries will be necessary to give impetus to the revolutionary movement on fascist territory. A similar effect is possible by means of a financial or military catastrophe. At present, it is imperative that primarily propagandistic, preparatory work be carried on which will yield large-scale results only in the future. One thing can be stated with conviction even at this point: once it breaks through, the revolutionary wave in fascist countries will immediately be a grandiose sweep and under no circumstances will stop short at the experiment of resuscitating some sort of Weimar corpse.

It is from this point onward that an uncompromising divergence begins between the Fourth International and the old parties, which outlive their bankruptcy. The emigre Peoples Front is the most malignant and perfidious variety of all possible Peoples Fronts. Essentially, it signifies the impotent longing for coalition with a nonexistent liberal bourgeoisie. Had it met with success, it would simply have prepared a series of new defeats of the Spanish type for the proletariat. A merciless exposure of the theory and practice of the Peoples Front is therefore the first condition for a revolutionary struggle against fascism.

Of course, this does not mean that the Fourth International rejects democratic slogans as a means of mobilizing the masses against fascism. On the contrary, such slogans at certain moments can play a serious role. But the formulae of democracy (freedom of press, the right to unionize, etc.) mean for us only incidental or episodic slogans in the independent movement of the proletariat and not a democratic noose fastened to the neck of the proletariat by the bourgeoisies agents (Spain!). As soon as the movement assumes something of a mass character, the democratic slogans will be intertwined with the transitional ones; factory committees, it may be supposed, will appear before the old routinists rush from their chancelleries to organize trade unions; soviets will cover Germany before a new Constituent Assembly will gather in Weimar. The same applies to Italy and the rest of the totalitarian and semi-totalitarian countries.

Fascism plunged these countries into political barbarism. But it did not change their social structure. Fascism is a tool in the hands of finance capital and not of feudal landowners. A revolutionary program should base itself on the dialectics of the class struggle, obligatory also to fascist countries, and not on the psychology of terrified bankrupts. The Fourth International rejects with disgust the ways of political masquerade which impelled the Stalinists, the former heroes of the Third Period, to appear in turn behind the masks of Catholics, Protestants, Jews, German nationalists, liberalsonly in order to hide their own unattractive face. The Fourth International always and everywhere appears under its own banner. It proposes its own program openly to the proletariat in fascist countries. The advanced workers of all the world are already firmly convinced that the overthrow of Mussolini, Hitler and their agents and imitators will occur only under the leadership of the Fourth International.
Supplier News

2 October 2020

WANAKA, FRANKFURT, MUNICH - As the global economy slows and the travel sector seems to have all but stopped, we see adoption rates of technology skyrocket. This creates a bright future for early adopters to embark on new technological initiatives that would likely have never seen the light of day without all of the intense pressure to optimize.

Unlike most accommodation providers, who settle for standardizing their room categories despite having unique attributes, Duncan Fraser of Cardrona Terraces took the creative approach and applied reverse-thinking for their tech stack, working with apaleo's platform and GauVendi's Retail System to make feature-based selling a reality.

Buying hotel accommodation has predominantly been led by selection of room types and price; however, GauVendi's new customer-centric focus, liberates customers from such restrictions. Thereby inviting them to, first and foremost, indicate their preferences and then ultimately design their desired stay. Floor layout, room size, orientation, as well as add-ons including wining and dining, guests can travel with peace of mind assured that at check-in, their accommodation will be exactly as they had desired and booked and nothing is left to chance with the usual ubiquitous 'On Request'.

Duncan Fraser says "Customers would have endured months of restrictions to personal lifestyle and travel and with this, true personalization and customization of their desired experience is even more relevant. Working in consultation with GSA Hospitality, we believe we have found the ideal way to deliver this via the systems and technology provided by both apaleo and GauVendi."

"At the start of a new change cycle for travel distribution technology, we are excited to be the first feature-based retail solution on the market," states Markus Mueller, co-founder of GauVendi. "Already ahead of the learning curve, our system reinvents the way the industry retails hospitality experiences. Thanks to the successful collaboration with apaleo, we are able to achieve our ambitious goals."

"It's easy for our industry to recognize that it always needs to be more customer/guest-focused, but often struggles to adopt innovative tech solutions, such as feature-based-pricing, to achieve this goal," says Uli Pillau, CEO and apaleo founder. "Having found Cardrona Terraces as the innovative hotel partner to pilot the way forward in New Zealand, we expect to help delight more customers while also pioneering new ways for hotels to survive a changing market. apaleo is a champion for hotels and app partners to build such creative tech stacks through our completely open, yet dynamic platform."

Pictures for download

About GauVendi

GauVendi is a novel retail system for hospitality experiences, allowing for real personalization during the purchasing process and making the hotels own sales channels non-comparable to third-parties. There are no classical room types anymore, customers select their preferred room features & attributes and are presented with best room matches showing a percentage score. GauVendi's retail system empowered by Inventory Management Intelligence enables feature-based selling, monetizes all valuable room features, allows for unlimited room configurations & setups, pre-sells ancillary hotel services, provides detailed insights into buyer preferences and automates room assignments.

apaleo

apaleo is an open software platform for hospitality industry players. Every accommodation provider has the power to integrate solutions into an ideal technology stack, including property management and integrated payment services as well as any kind of 3rd party or in-house application. Every tech lover has the foundation to create innovative solutions based on a universal infrastructure.
SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Opdivo (nivolumab) in combination with Yervoy (ipilimumab) for the first-line treatment of adults with malignant pleural mesothelioma that cannot be removed by surgery. This is the first drug regimen approved for mesothelioma in 16 years and the second FDA-approved systemic therapy for mesothelioma.

"Today's approval of nivolumab plus ipilimumab provides a new treatment that has demonstrated an improvement in overall survival for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma," said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the FDA's Oncology Center of Excellence and acting director of the Office of Oncologic Diseases in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "In 2004, FDA approved pemetrexed in combination with cisplatin for this indication, and now patients now have an important, additional treatment option after more than a decade with only one FDA-approved drug regimen."

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a life-threatening cancer of the lungs' lining caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that about 20,000 Americans are diagnosed with each year. MPM accounts for most mesothelioma diagnoses, and most patients have an unresectable (unable to be removed with surgery) tumor at time of diagnosis. With currently available therapy, overall survival is generally poor. Opdivo and Yervoy are both monoclonal antibodies that, when combined, decrease tumor growth by enhancing T-cell function.



This combination therapy was evaluated during a randomized, open-label trial in 605 patients with previously untreated unresectable MPM. Patients received intravenous infusions of Opdivo every two weeks with intravenous infusions of Yervoy every six weeks for up to two years, or platinum-doublet chemotherapy for up to six cycles. Treatment continued until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or completion of two years. The objective was to determine if Opdivo in combination with Yervoy improved overall survival compared to chemotherapy. At the time of the analysis, patients who received Opdivo in combination with Yervoy survived a median of 18.1 months while patients who underwent chemotherapy survived a median of 14.1 months.

The most common side effects of Opdivo in combination with Yervoy in patients with MPM include: fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, rash, diarrhea, dyspnea (difficulty breathing), nausea, decreased appetite, cough and pruritis (itching). Yervoy can cause serious conditions known as immune-mediated side effects, including inflammation of healthy organs, such as the lungs (pneumonitis), colon (colitis), liver (hepatitis), endocrine glands (endocrinopathies) and kidneys (nephritis). Patients should tell their healthcare providers if they have immune system problems, lung or breathing problems, liver problems, have had an organ transplant, or are pregnant or plan to become pregnant before starting treatment.

The FDA granted approval to Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

This review was conducted under Project Orbis, an initiative of the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence. Project Orbis provides a framework for concurrent submission and review of oncology drugs among international partners. For this review, FDA collaborated with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA), Health Canada, and Switzerland's Swissmedic. The application reviews are ongoing at the other regulatory agencies. FDA approval occurred approximately 5 months ahead of the goal date.

Media Contact: Chanapa Tantibanchachai, 202-384-2219

Consumer Inquiries: Email or 888-INFO-FDA

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Related Links

http://www.fda.gov


A worthwhile read imagines polling data is anything but a ploy for a lady politico who FAILS to resonate more than her empty suit opponent. Like it or not, only Kris Kobach was strong enough to turn over Kansas to the Democratic Party like he did with the governor's office.

The Democratic Party has opted out of this contest and a far-fetched cable news write-up was cheaper than any real financial commitment in this election.



Read more:


Defeated National Chairman of the PNC Bernard Mornah has accused the party of highjacking delegates in the just-ended national congress where he was kicked out.

Mr Mornah having served as party chairman since 2016 lost to Moses Dani Baah who polled 1,297, beating the former by 31 votes.

But Mr Mornah believes delegates were highjacked monetarily, as he did not possess adequate resources to secure him a win.

Speaking to Regina Borley Bortey on the Campaign Trail Thursday Mr Mornah even though did not want to admit the votes went to the highest bidder, contended resources played a major role when asked about what went wrong in his campaign.

He said, if today the party has decided that lets give another person an opportunity, it does matter what strategy I deployed but I think they had a superior strategy, they had a lot of resources which I didnt have thats one.

Number two, they could have done so many things. Those of you who were on congress grounds in Greater Accra yesterday, it is not everything that you have to say. But you saw that virtually they highjacked the delegates and therefore when that happened I simply had to move out of the grounds.

He went on well, you can ask the MC of the day, fortunately, it is one of your own Kafui Dey who was there. And at a point, he had to interject because delegates were shouting no allowance no vote.

So, if deliberately they decided they will not give money to the party, but you will give it to individuals to go and propagate sometimes malicious things, you will just have to say the delegates chose the leadership they wanted, he maintained.

Mr Bernard Mornah joined the PNC as a student and subsequently founded the Tertiary faction of the party. he then motivated the party to make him the national youth organizer.

He contested parliamentary in 2004, contested as the general secretary in 2007/08 and won.

In 2016, the party rewarded him as the national chairman.

---starrfm
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan has finalised its seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, sources said on Friday.

The Congress will contest on 68 of the 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly, sources told News18. Currently, the party has more than two dozen MLAs in the state assembly.

Earlier on Friday, the Congress had issued an ultimatum to the RJD. Bihar in-charge of the party Shaktisinh Gohil said that the Congress is prepared for any eventuality and can also contest the elections on its own.

The RJD has been wary of giving leverage to its allies after its poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections last year. It fears that the Congress may opt for a post-election alliance with Nitish Kumar in the event that there is a hung Assembly.

The RJD has decided to form a grand alliance including three Left Front parties by allocating 19 seats to the CPI(ML). The Marxist-Leninists, who had insisted on at least 20 seats, has a support base among the sub-altern castses in the Bhojpur belt.

The CPI and the CPM will jointly contest on 10 seats. The RJD will accommodate Mukesh Sainis VIP some seats from the remaining 145.

The Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) have quit the grand alliance due to the RJDs stance on the seat-sharing so far.
File under 'unclear on the concept.' Or more directly, the New York Times has disgraced itself yet again.

The Times in this instance has yielded its precious column inches to one Regina Ip, a Hong Kong functionary who defends China's treaty-busting crackdown on the enclave, something millions of Hong Kongers oppose. But never mind them. She's got the New York Times to serve as her megaphone. In an op-ed for the Times, she writes:

To some, the new national security law is especially chilling because it seems simultaneously vague and very severe. But many laws are vague, constructively so. And this one only seems severe precisely because it fills longstanding loopholes  about subversion, secession, local terrorism, collusion with external forces. One persons severe is someone elses intended effect.

Oh.

So us schmoes thinking the Chicom crackdown and repression of the former island of freedom on the South China Sea is 'severe' were merely missing the point. See, if Beijing intends it, then all us workers ants here should be all in for 'severe.' It sounds like something out of Mao.

It's totalitarian garbage, actually, published by the paper of Walter Duranty.

Here's what the freedom-loving Hong Kong locals think of Ip, no translation necessary:

Now she's got space in the New York Times for her nasty op-eds, defending China's thugcraft in Hong Kong, which by the way, is a violation of its 1997 treaty with Britain.

As National Review's Jimmy Quinn notes:

Its a PR coup for the dictatorship thats snuffed out the remaining elements of democratic governance in the city. The only reasonable argument for publishing it would have been to expose the CCPs aims  but these are already widely known.

It's also grotesquely self-abasing, an unfit act for a paper in a country that supposedly prizes its First Amendment freedoms. The ChiComs in fact have brutalized the New York Times' reporters in just this year alone, beating them up, yanking their visas, kicking them out. Just recently a New York Times reporter trying to cover COVID in the people's hellhole found herself beat up and detained for a day or two by ChiCom regime goons.

But all we see from the Times is kowtowing. Back in March, a New York Times columnist, Li Yuan, wrote that China's expulsions of the Times reporters showed Beijing's 'confidence' in their own message, which is about as masochistic and Orwellian an interpretation as any coming from the Times, when the reaction should be simple outrage. Seems the ChiComs now have not only kicked out the Times' reporters, they've commandeered the Times's op-ed page, too. In the military, that's called hot pursuit. But at the same time, if they were all that confident, why would they still need the Times to use to get their message out? What they're confident in is not their message but their ability to control the Times.

There's all kinds of creepy stuff happening to reporters over there - a recent local reporter who was disappeared and detained for two months came back singing the regime's praises. The ChiComs are totalitarians, remember, they have a yin and yang relationship with use of force and use of lies to reinforce each other, and they can make you say black is white. Freedom of thinking and freedom of speech is not their thing. Force of violence is what they are about.

Which is what makes every last thing this nomenklatura says a total lie. Publishing any of this dreck from these people is disgusting for that alone. You don't run op-eds by Hitler or Mussolini, you don't need to turn your pages over to the ChiCom propagandists either, it's common sense. These people don't 'think' What they do is propagandize in the name of strengthening their own power, and the Times is a convenient vehicle for them. This is not about ideas.

The Times itself may argue that all sorts of points of view should be represented in its op-ed pages.

There's just one problem with that: They effectively fired their op-ed page editor for running the point of view of Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican conservative not too long ago, forcing him to resign. So only leftists get to express different points of view? Somehow that's not quite the freedom of speech they think it is.

More likely, they got muscled, agreeing to publish this crap in exchange for a promise not to beat up or jail some reporter, or worse still, some kind of stock deal from the upper reaches. They probably gave something to get something, and it wasn't pretty. And if it's so, they sold their integrity.

Image credit: Alfredoko, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0
Farmers are worried Australia could be forced to give up the name of cheeses such as feta if a trade agreement with the EU goes through.

The National Farmers' Federation fears the EU will use the ongoing negotiations to dig their heels in on Geographical Indicators like Gruyere, Gorgonzola, Pecorino, Parmigiano, Gouda, Grappa and Prosecco.

European producers want exclusive rights to 172 food names and 236 spirits that are both the name of the product as well as the region in which it originated.

Farmers are worried Australia could be forced to give up the name of cheeses such as feta if a trade agreement with the EU goes through

Although Australian farmers are excited by the prospect of selling into Europe's 450 million-strong consumer market, they say agreeing to the trading block's GI demands will harm sales.

'A lot of businesses have built their brands around these names and their is common acceptance of them,' NFF's general manager for trade Ash Salardini told Daily Mail Australia.

'When people buy their feta cheese, they don't think it's flown in from Greece - they know it's the style of cheese not the location.

'But the GIs that they're putting forward right now would bar any use of the word and you would probably have to call it something like continental-style white cheese.'

Mr Saladrini says there would also be a large cost involved relabelling and repackaging products.

'Anyone who has Parma ham on their label or Mortadella, Kalamata olives, prosciutto, the list goes, would be forced to change their labelling.'

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham is adamant the government will only go through with the ambitious free trade deal if it's in Australia's overall best interests.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham (pictured) says government will only agree to free trade deal if it's in Australia's best interests.

The government has been carrying out consultations with producers, businesses and consumers in Australia to determine a potential GI framework.

'These consultations do not give any commitment on GIs but will ensure that any future framework, should one be required, is informed by Australian farmers and businesses,' Mr Birmingham said.

'We have made it clear to the EU we will make no commitment on GIs until later in the negotiations and only if the overall deal is in our interests, including by delivering commercially significant new market access for our agricultural products.'

Australian exports have been impacted dramatically by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing turmoil surrounding its largest trading partner, China.

Mr Birmingham said new opportunities for trade in a large, stable market such as the EU is more important than ever during the pandemic and will give farmers and businesses more export options around the world.

The National Farmers' Federation fears the EU will use the ongoing negotiations to dig their heels in on Geographical Indicators like Gruyere, Gorgonzola, Pecorino, Parmigiano, Gouda, Grappa and Prosecco (pictured, a farming tens to his sheep near Bolton in Queensland)

'Australians can be assured we'll drive a hard bargain to not only reduce tariffs and increase or eliminate quotas, but to grow our services sector and improve investment flows with the EU,' he said.

But the NFF insists the GI consolations send the wrong message to the EU during negotiations.

Mr Salardini says farmers and producers are 100 per cent behind free trade agreements and support the government's push for an FDA with the EU.

But Australia shouldn't have to put up with these 'onerous' GI systems, he added.

Trade negotiations between Australia and the EU are expected to conclude in the latter stages of 2021.
By Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Friday that President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis shows the importance of taking the pandemic seriously, telling Americans that wearing masks is more important than being a "tough guy."

Biden's remarks as he campaigned in the battleground state of Michigan hours after testing negative twice for the virus, served as an implicit criticism of the Republican president. Trump has played down the deadliness of the virus for months, frequently eschews masks and has held campaign rallies of thousands with little social distancing.

Trump's illness put even greater attention on the novel coronavirus pandemic a little more than four weeks before the Nov. 3 election. The president was experiencing mild symptoms and will be off the trail indefinitely. The White House said Trump was being moved https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-trump/trump-moved-to-military-hospital-after-covid-19-diagnosis-idUSKBN26N0K4 into a special suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for the next few days as a precautionary measure.

At a union hall in Grand Rapids, Biden said he and his wife, Jill Biden, were praying that Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, had a swift and full recovery. He delivered the entire speech while wearing a blue medical mask, a departure from prior events where he typically took off his mask before speaking.

"This is not a matter of politics," Biden said. "It's a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously. It's not going away automatically."

Biden urged all Americans to follow scientific guidelines, including wearing masks, washing hands frequently and staying 6 feet (1.83 m) apart. Health officials, including the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, have said masks are a crucial tool for slowing the spread of the virus.

Story continues

"Be patriotic," Biden said. "It's not about being a tough guy. It's about doing your part."

During Tuesday's chaotic presidential debate, Trump mocked Biden for wearing a mask at his events, even when he is far away from other people.

Trump's diagnosis is likely to reinforce Biden's message about the president's failed response to the disease, which has killed more than 207,000 people https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/united-states in the United States, and undermine Trump's argument that the end of the pandemic is in sight. Opinion polls show voters trust Biden more than Trump to handle the pandemic.

"It's hard to say 'it's under control' when you fall victim to it," said Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis. "If we are talking about the pandemic for the next four weeks, Donald Trump loses."

During a virtual grassroots fundraiser on Friday, Biden's running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, and former President Barack Obama both wished the Trumps a speedy recovery.

"Doug and I are sharing our deepest prayers for the health and recovery of the president and the first lady," Harris said. (Her husband is entertainment lawyer Douglas Emhoff.) "Let it be a reminder to all of us that we must remain vigilant and take care of ourselves - and take care of each other."

As Biden's motorcade traveled through Grand Rapids, dozens of supporters stood along the road waiving placards. One woman held a small American flag and a cardboard sign that read, "Masks work."

The Biden campaign is temporarily taking down ads criticizing Trump for his handling of the coronavirus after his diagnosis, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Biden leads Trump in national opinion polls, although surveys in the battleground states that will decide the contest show a closer race. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month showed Biden leading Trump by 5 percentage points among likely voters in Michigan.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason in Grand Rapids, Mich., Trevor Hunnicutt in New York and Doina Chiacu and John Whitesides in Washington; Writing by John Whitesides and Joseph Ax; Editing by Alistair Bell, Matthew Lewis and Grant McCool)
New Delhi, Oct 2 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal joined the citizens protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Friday against the recent incident of alleged gang rape in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh.

Kejriwal appealed to the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure the strictest punishment for the accused in the Hathras rape case. He demanded that the alleged culprits be hanged till death so that such an incident is never repeated in the country.

Along with Kejriwal, several senior leaders and volunteers of the Aam Aadmi Party participated in the protest to demand justice in the recent incident of alleged gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl.

AAP leaders have also been at the forefront in raising voices against injustice meted out to the victim from the day of incident. Party leaders in several states have been demanding a probe into the matter.

Kejriwal said, "We are in a deep pit. I am not here to give a speech, we pray to God for our daughter to rest in peace. They should be given the harshest punishment so that nobody in the world tries to repeat such an act." "Some people have been feeling that attempts are being made to save the culprits and the whole incident is being covered, this is wrong. What happened is very painful and a gruesome act has been meted out against the victim, and she lost her life at the end. The FIR for rape was not lodged for many days, no proper treatment was given to her, and her body was cremated at night going against the Hindu customs. Several actions have made people believe that the whole incident and the culprits are being shielded. The culprits must be punished," added the Delhi CM.
Occupants of a living area above the apartment shared by Boswell and Trail said they smelled a very strong odor of bleach on the day after Loofe disappeared.

Boswells lead attorney, Todd Lancaster of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, challenged Connollys assumption that the stains came from bleach, questioning if the shirt had been tested for bleach and asking if other chemicals might have caused such stains.

Connolly said he wasnt sure if a bleach test was done, but acknowledged that it was just an assumption on his part that the white stains were caused by bleach. Saline County District Judge Vicky Johnson, who is presiding at the trial, told jurors that it will be up to them to determine whether the stains were caused by bleach or not.

Later Friday morning, Melissa Helligso, a forensic DNA analyst with the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, testified that she had tested the shirt and found DNA matches with both Trail and Boswell.
New Delhi: The nation celebrated the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Friday (October 2). Mahatama breathed his last at the age of 79 in 1947, but his life is still a source of inspiration for millions across the world. The DNA report, however, will inform you about Gandhi's surname and its legacy currently inherited by the most powerful political family of India. The Nehru- Gandhi family has ruled the country for nearly 50 years, but the question arises how this family earned this most powerful aura.

In a tweet, the Congress party remembered the Father of the Nation saying Gandhi was neither afraid of sticks then nor will Gandhi be afraid of lathis now. The party thus compared the Gandhi family with the Father of the Nation. Ironically, the comparison is based on the lie whose truth has never been allowed to come before the country. The names like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Sonia Gandhi give the impression that they are the real descendants of Mahatma Gandhi, but the truth lies somewhere else.

The Gandhi surname in India is used by around 1.56 lakh people, but merely one family has taken the advantage of it. Most people in the world including India feel that the Nehru-Gandhi family is the real descendant of Mahatma Gandhi.

Notably, Mahatma Gandhi never promoted his family in politics as he was opposed to dynasty politics, but the current Gandhi firmly believes in it. From Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, the political legacy continues.

On the contrary, Mahatma Gandhi always stayed away from politics despite being the biggest leader of the freedom struggle. After independence, he wanted to abolish the Congress party, but current Gandhis treat politics as their profession.

The thirst for power is another difference between the real and the current Gandhis. Mahatma Gandhi never assumed any office. Since the Congress Party was established in the year 1885, Mahatma Gandhi became its president only once in the year 1924, and he could have easily become President or Prime Minister after independence. The fake Gandhi family's hunger for the post remains unsatiated. Probably, for this reason, the party is reduced to now reduced to just 52 MPs, but the family still controls the top post.

Mahatma Gandhi pursued simplicity and he lived his life on minimum needs. On the contrary, the fake Gandhis enjoy a regal life, and their simplicity is shown to the public, but in personal life, they nevertheless live a lavish lifestyle.

Mahatma Gandhi had 4 sons, and his 154 descendants live in 6 countries of the world. Some of them are doctors, some are professors, some are engineers, some are lawyers, and some are scientists. Among his descendants, Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma, contested from Amethi in 1989 against Rajiv Gandhi.

Another grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Gopal Krishna Gandhi, also contested the election of Vice President in the year 2017 but lost the election. Another great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Tushar Gandhi also tried his luck in politics. He contested the Lok Sabha elections in 1992 on a Samajwadi Party ticket from Mumbai.

With Gandhi's surname, a family has ruled the country for about 50 years, but the real Gandhi is hardly recognised. About 4 years ago in May 2016, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Kanubhai Gandhi, 87, was living in an old age home in Delhi with his wife. He stayed in the US for 40 years and then returned to India in 2014. He had no children, so he had to live Delhi's old age home in for two months. He then moved to an old age home in Surat where he died of a heart attack in November 2016.

The DNA report will now tell you how a word in surname can do a miracle or prove to be a boon for a family. Yes, the same has happened with the Gandhi family, which capitalized on Mahatma Gandhi's struggle for freedom. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are the children of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was the son of Indira Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi's father was Feroze Jahangir Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi thus got this surname from his father Feroze Gandhi. But was Feroze Gandhi's original surname? Was it Gandhi?

A famous Swedish author Bertil Falk wrote a book: Feroze The Forgotten Gandhi. Falk writes that Feroze Gandhi was born in Bombay's Parsi family and his father's name was Jehangir Faredoon Ghandy and his mother was Ratimai Ghandy. In his birth certificate, Feroze Jehangir Ghandhy was stated to be born on September 12, 1912. The spelling of the surname is written as GHANDHY not GANDHI.

According to this birth certificate, the Bombay hospital where he was born was Parsi.. Lying-in Hospital, which was closed in the 1960s. The book says that when Feroze Ghandhy became active in politics, the newspapers changed the spelling of his surname from GHANDHY to GANDHI. On December 8, 1933, an English newspaper named, The Leader, reported the arrest of Firoze GHANDHY in Allahabad. In the headline, Feroze GANDHI was written in place of Feroze GHANDHY. This is how with media reports the name of Feroze GHANDHY becomes Feroze GANDHI.

There are different opinions among writers and historians, as some claim that Firoze GHANDY changed his surname as he greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi.

Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi are very active on Twitter, but they always failed to remember Feroze Ghandhy while they never forget the birth and death anniversaries of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Priyanka Gandhi visited Prayagraj for the poll campaign and stayed in her ancestral house, Anand Bhavan, but she did bother to visit the tomb of Feroze Gandhi, just 3 km away from there. Rahul Gandhi, however, visited the tomb of his grandfather during the 2012 UP assembly elections.

Notably, the Congress party leaders as well as many others claim that Mahatma Gandhi gave his surname to Feroze Jahangir Gandhi and got his religion changed, but this fact is not in the written documents of Mahatma Gandhi, and this contradiction still persists.

Experts too opine that Mahatma Gandhi never gave his surname to Feroze Jahangir Ghandhy. Feroze Jahangir Gandhi's nephew Rustom Gandhi, who lives in Allahabad, also supports this fact.
Shortly after Houston ISDs 2019-2020 school year ended, Adela Justice decided her soon-to-be second-grader, Laurenzo, would remain in online-only classes for the foreseeable future.

For Justice, a Mexican-American single mother watching COVID-19 disproportionately impact Houstons Latino community, the prospect of sending Laurenzo back to Parker Elementary School with hundreds of other children remained too risky.

Its just the two of us, and if he brings it to me, we could be done for, Justice said Friday. Hes doing fine both physically and mentally. Ive asked him repeatedly, Do you want to go back? and he says, No. Hes happy to be home with Mommy and have the room to move around.

If the states largest district follows through with reopening campuses to students on Oct. 19  the tentative plan, still based on public health conditions  more than half of the districts nearly 200,000 could remain at home for at least one grading period, HISD officials said this week.

Newly released data shows that 80 percent of the districts families committed in recent days to a back-to-school option. Of those, about 40 percent chose in-person instruction and 60 percent opted to stay in virtual classes. HISD officials are unsure whether the remaining 20 percent of families will send their children back to classrooms, but district staff are planning as if they will show up on campus.

With those totals in hand, HISD officials are using the next few days to finalize arrangements for Oct. 19, which marks the start of the districts second grading period. Key decisions are expected to land next week, including whether to limit attendance at some high school campuses and shuffle students already-assigned teachers.

Based on the enrollment data breakdown, campus principals will create schedules to accommodate students returning for face-to-face instruction and those continuing remotely, HISDs administration said in a statement.

The close divide in back-to-school selections reflects the difficult choices facing families across the country amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

While some families worry about the safety implications of sending kids back to classrooms, others have concluded the academic, behavioral and emotional benefits outweigh the health risks. HISD families who choose in-person classes can switch to online-only instruction once campuses reopen, but those selecting virtual classes must remain at home until at least early December.

Nearly all of the Houston areas largest districts resumed in-person classes for families that want it in recent weeks, though a few remain in the early stages of reopening, including Alief and Fort Bend ISDs.

To date, only Crosby ISD has reported more than 10 active cases of COVID-19 at a single campus. The district temporarily closed Crosby High School this week and Crosby Middle School last week for cleaning.

HISD will be the regions last district to offer face-to-face instruction, though the district has operated learning centers at 36 campuses and churches for students without at-home technology access since the 2020-21 school year started virtually in early September.

If HISD reopens classrooms in mid-October, the district likely will bring back thousands of employees who remain fearful of returning to work.

A survey of roughly 7,400 teachers conducted between mid-June and early July found that 35 percent were more comfortable staying in online-only classes, while 14 percent were ready to return to the classroom. About half of respondents said they were open to a hybrid model, in which students wanting in-person instruction spent part of their week on campus and part in at-home classes.

There have been numerous concerns about the size of the classrooms, said Scott Parker, a science teacher at Navarro Middle School. You have literally thousands of students coming back, and theyre all within a closed, confined area.

Nearly all of the districts 280 campuses are expected to host all students wanting in-person instruction for five days each week. HISD officials did not release a campus-by-campus breakdown of expected in-person attendance rates Friday.

State education leaders are allowing public school districts to employ a hybrid model only at high schools, an option HISD is considering at 13 of its larger campuses. They include Bellaire, Chavez, Lamar and Westside high schools, as well as Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center.

We look at the capacity of the building, we look at the number of students based on enrollment, and then can they accommodate physical distancing and students moving throughout the building, HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said.

At Lamar High School, home to about 2,900 students just west of downtown Houston, Principal Rita Graves told parents this week that meeting social distancing recommendations may be difficult if more than 30 percent of students choose in-person classes. About 35 percent ultimately opted to return to campus, while another 10 percent did not respond and could unexpectedly show up to school, Graves reported Thursday.

While district officials have warned that some schools could move around teachers to accommodate schedule changes, Lamar students will remain with their current instructors.

As a parent, it was comforting to know that, no matter which decision I made, my child would have a measure of consistency either way, said Chrysi Polydoros, president of Lamars parent-teacher organization.

Guidance issued by the Texas Education Agency dictates that public school districts must offer five days of in-person instruction to all students who want it  with the exception of high schools on a hybrid schedule  starting with their ninth week of classes.

For HISD, that day arrives on Nov. 2, giving Lathan a two-week cushion for any further delays beyond the districts tentative return date.

jacob.carpenter@chron.com
Issues relating to increasing mutual exports of goods were discussed at the online meeting titled Turkmenistan-Belarus: prospects for bilateral cooperation that was organized by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the two countries. Representatives of relevant ministries and departments of Turkmenistan, as well as heads of some eight dozen Belarusian companies participated in the discussion.

The sides looked at the prospects of increasing the bilateral trade turnover and developing business contacts between business structures of the two countries. Noting the interest of the Belarusian business community in building up cooperation with Turkmenistan, the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Belarus suggested holding online business forums, round tables and meetings on a regular basis to study in detail the opportunities to increase bilateral trade.

The sides also made presentations of their capacities, focusing on textiles and building materials industries.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022
Recent COVID-19 data seems unremittingly bleak. Cases on are the rise. For the first time in months, St. Catharines hospital has pandemic patients.

New restrictions on social bubbles, bars and long-term care homes have been imposed with the province warning it is willing to do more to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

But in data that shows clusters of infections, new cases in schools and a rising second wave of COVID-19, Niagaras top public health official said there are some silvering linings that should give residents hope and spur them to take action to tamp down the spread of the virus.

I think there is some good news stories here, said Dr. Mustafa Hirji, Niagaras acting medical officer of health. There are things that everyone can do.

There were 18 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in the past 48 hours  further evidence of the rising tide of local novel coronavirus infections  and Hirji said it is not yet clear if the new average count will continue to rise into the double digits.

He said most of the cases are the products of social gatherings, largely, although exclusively, attended by people under the age of 40.

These are people getting together in their homes and in their backyards and that is how the virus is infecting people, Hirji said.

On the one hand, these cases are reflections of the scenario that Hirji has been warning about for weeks  social gatherings where people do not stay two metres apart and dont wear masks are ideal places for the virus to find new hosts. And for several weeks, data shows younger people are producing the majority of new cases.

But Hirji said where the cases are not coming from should give Niagara residents a sense of hope.

They arent coming from gyms, or grocery stores or those kinds of businesses. They arent really coming from restaurants. When that is the case, it is mostly one person passing the virus to someone they are dining with, rather than the virus spreading around the restaurant.

To Hirji, this suggests the Stage 3 economic reopening has largely been successful in Niagara and the increase of business activity following the most stringent lockdown has not yielded significant clusters of cases.

That means if residents follow infection control behaviours  including distancing, wearing a mask, staying home from work when sick and frequent handwashing  Niagara can bring its infection rate back down and avoid having the province close those businesses down for a second time.

That is not something anyone wants to see, Hirji said. That is why I keep banging on that drum. Now is the time for people to really tighten up their social bubbles, not go to these gatherings and really bring these numbers back down.

Hirji is not alone in his call for renewed public attention to infection control measures. This week Niagara Health president Lynn Guerriero, and the hospital systems chief infectious disease expert Dr. Karim Ali, urged the public to take COVID-19 prevention more seriously.

In a Tuesday interview, Guerriero said the hospital learned a great deal from the first wave of COVID-19 and have put into place measures  including screening of all visitors to the hospital and improved cleaning protocols  to manage a second wave while still continuing to offer its usual services and surgeries.

During the first wave in the spring, Niagara Health shut down many services at its hospitals to limit the spread of COVID-19. Even so, there were several outbreaks during that period as the virus spread to staff and patients.

I think we are very well prepared for a second wave, Guerriero said. It is our intention to continue to offer all our services and not shut them down.

As of late Thursday, Niagara Health had three patients admitted to St. Catharines hospitals designated COVID-19 ward for treatment. That brought the total number of new hospitalizations to four this week, with one patient being discharged Wednesday.

For months, the hospital had no COVID-19 patients as the community spread of the virus  particularly in long-term care and nursing homes  dropped.

Guerriero said while the plan is to keep everything running at hospitals during a second wave, she said if the local case count explodes again, she may have to reassess the situation.

We recognize that as there is more community spread of the virus, that means there will be more hospitalizations, he said. So for instance, we have to ensure we have enough beds for COVID-19 patients. If the number of patients really rises, we may have to make changes.

The 18 cases over the past two days brings Niagaras total COVID-19 case count since March to 1,082. Ninety-nine of those cases are active, the highest number of active cases since late May when the overall infection rate had begun to drop.

Since March, at least 64 Niagara residents with the virus have died. The last death was announced on July 12.
The Virginia House of Delegates and Senate this week both passed a revised state budget that would fund various criminal justice and police reform measures, housing relief, assistance with utility payments and aid to public schools.

The budget bills from the House and Senate  both of which are controlled by Democrats  have numerous differences. A group of delegates and senators will discuss those over the coming days so they can put forward a final budget for both chambers to approve.

The special session has been going on for seven weeks, and its unclear when it will end because of the lack of an efficient plan between the House and Senate.

Meanwhile, law enforcement, courts, utility companies, school divisions and Virginians are waiting to see what relief lawmakers provide through the budget. The Senate passed its budget Friday; the House passed its version Tuesday.

The budgets call for $95 million from new tax revenue from newly regulated electronic gaming machines to K-12 public schools to backfill reduced sales tax revenue. That would provide Salem with approximately $219,000, Superintendent Alan Seibert said. Roanoke School Board Chairperson Lutheria Smith said the city schools would receive approximately $800,000.

In addition, the school system would receive $2.1 million from $200 million in federal funds to assist in school reopening costs, Smith said.

I cant even tell you how wonderful that would be for us, Smith said. That would certainly address the additional expenditures we could face this year because, really, we dont know what else were going to need this year, she said.

Local school divisions receive funding from the state based on their average daily membership, based on attendance counts taken in September and March.

This year, school divisions across the state have seen a decline in enrollment due to parents deciding to homeschool their children or enroll them in private schools. Some parents of kindergartners have also decided to defer enrollment for a year.

As a result, funding will decline when the state adjusts payments in January, which school divisions didnt project when they created their budgets in late spring.

A budget amendment approved by the House would delay adjustments to school divisions state funding until after the final ADM is calculated in March, allowing the General Assembly to address the issue in its regular session.

As it stands, Salem, for example, would lose $391,000 from its enrollment drop, Seibert said. Roanoke County would lose at least $750,000 based on projections from its school boards Sept. 1 work session.

Most every school that Ive talked to, their enrollment is below budget projection, said Seibert, who is also the Region 6 representative for the Virginia Association of School Superintendents legislative committee. Seibert said it has been a frequent topic of discussion among superintendents.

The House also passed language giving school divisions flexibility in how to use certain funds, which Smith and Seibert both said would be beneficial.

The Virginia Education Association has for months pushed for additional education funding, and President James Fedderman on Thursday praised the House for its ADM amendment.

Were relieved that the House passed hold harmless budget language to protect public school funding from possible cuts due to temporary enrollment declines, and were pressing the state Senate to do the same, Fedderman said in a statement. Without that, in many of our school divisions, educators would be facing furloughs and layoffs. As we come through COVID and, eventually our schools fully and safely reopen, our students and educators will need the states support more than ever.

The Northam administration estimates $2.7 billion will be lost in revenues over the next two years because of the pandemic. The coronavirus upended the biennium budget the legislature passed in March, causing lawmakers to put on hold priorities like free community college tuition for certain students. The legislature will return in January for its regular legislative session and make additional changes to the budget.

The House passed its bill on a nearly party-line vote of 58-40 on Tuesday. The Senate passed its version 24-15, with three Republicans joining Democrats.

This budget is still a great budget for the people of the commonwealth, said Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, chairperson of the Senate Finance Committee.

Republicans have complained that education challenges and the strain on families didnt receive enough attention during the special session.

House Republicans tried to secure $100 million to reimburse parents for costs associated with teaching pods, which have cropped up across the country as schools announced virtual learning as a component to education. Families have pulled together and hired a private tutor to offer in-person learning to a small group, or pod, of children.

Senate Republicans pushed for $300 million to go to localities to reimburse parents up to $500 per child for expenses incurred from the disruption to schooling, such as tutoring, technology, internet access and education supplies.

I certainly think it would be appropriate to spend coronavirus relief funds to relieve some of challenges associated with coronavirus, said Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico. And for our families with kids in K-12, there is no greater challenge than figuring out how you work, how your kid gets the support they need for an online education and maybe where they are to be safe during that day and the technology equipment they need to accomplish that.

Republicans also made last-ditch efforts to get measures  like salary increases for sheriffs deputies and prohibiting a mandate for a COVID-19 vaccine for people who object to it for religious reasons  into the budget bill, but Democrats defeated them.

Both chambers have also set aside in their budget funding for a host of police and criminal justice reform proposals that still need to be passed. Reforms include making it easier to decertify officers who commit misconduct and creating a new system to send mental health workers along with police to stabilize people in crisis situations. Lawmakers are also working on legislation to allow certain criminal records to be sealed.

The Senates budget includes a one-time $500 bonus to members of law enforcement, while the House version provides a one-time $1,500 bonus to all state employees, including police.

Del. Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, criticized the budget for including funding he described as anti-law enforcement.

Its given me great concern this session, especially as far as law enforcement goes, all you have to do is talk to your local sheriff or police department, youve heard this speech over and over again: they are demoralized, said Cox, who voted against the budget along with nearly all of the Republican delegates.

Del. Luke Torian, D-Prince William, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, chastised Republicans for voting against the budget that lawmakers and budget staff spent seven weeks working on.

What has happened, and I respect everyone across the aisle, but it saddens me we put together a budget with all the challenges we have in this commonwealth.

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Amy Friedenberger Amy Friedenberger is a reporter for The Roanoke Times. Follow her on Twitter at @ajfriedenberger. She can be reached at 540-981-3356 or amy.friedenberger@roanoke.com. Follow Amy Friedenberger Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
New Delhi, Oct 2 : Hundreds of Kisan Congress workers on Friday protested outside BJP President JP Nadda's residence here over the alleged misbehaviour of Uttar Pradesh Police with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra en route to Hathras to meet a gang-rape victim's family.

The protesters led by its Vice President Surender Solanki rallied outside Nadda's residence and raised slogans against the central and Uttar Pradesh governments.

Speaking to the media, Solanki said: "The way the Uttar Pradesh government came down to dictatorship on Thursday just to prevent Rahulji from meeting the bereaved family exposes the state government." He alleged that Rahul Gandhi was "roughed up" by Uttar Pradesh Police in a bid to deny him a chance to meet the Hathras family.

He also condemned the detention of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and scores of other party workers, before they were sent back to Delhi.

"Taking them into custody, lathi-charging the Congress workers and even mistreating women activists shows that the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh wants to eliminate the opposition," Solanki said.

The Kisan Congress leader also accused the state government of "suppressing the truth" in the Hathras gang-rape case as the victim's family was not allowed to meet anyone. He pointed out that a video cluipping of the Hathras District Magistrate putting pressure on the family had gone viral on the social media on Thursday.
To the editor:

As a UAW member, I recently received a political flyer in the mail from the UAW telling me, and I quote: How you vote is a personal choice. But your union has dug into the candidates records and done the research on the issues that matter most to members and their families. And they endorse Joe Biden for president. They didnt give any results of that research," so I am left to wonder, just what is it that they believe matters most to UAW members and their families. They didnt ask me! If they had, I would have told them the murder of unborn children matters. The fact that Joe Biden supports the abortion of babies right up the moment of birth is disgusting. The Second Amendment matters, especially now when the rioters and looters have no respect for the lives or livelihoods of others.

Fair trade also matters. It was Joe Biden that supported NAFTA, an agreement that hurt the autoworkers more than any trade agreement in history. Donald Trump negotiated an agreement with Mexico and Canada, a much better deal for many, including Autoworkers. The police, I want to see them respected not defunded. A border wall to protect our country and citizens. Joe Biden wants to tear down the wall. Energy policies, school of choice, lower taxes, a strong military, taking care of our veterans, freedom of religion, on all of these issues Joe Biden does not represent me.

In my career at GM, I have watched the UAW go from an organization that cared about and helped autoworkers get good pay and benefits to a business themselves, complete with dirty politics, power, greed and corruption. I am sorry to say these things have infused the UAW. Perhaps this is why the leadership asks their members to blindly endorse any democrat that is running for office. Their support of Joe Biden and his political ideals do not represent or speak for me.

I will be voting for Donald Trump, John James and other Republicans that will put the USA and her citizens first.

ROGER KIPFMILLER

Midland
Emmanuel Macron has described Islam as 'a religion that is in crisis all over the world' as he unveiled a proposal to battle Islamic radicalism which had created a 'parallel society' living outside of French values.

In a keynote speech lasting more than an hour, France's head of state said earlier today that Islam was in crisis due to 'an extreme hardening' of positions in recent years.

He said the government would this year present a draft law aimed at strengthening secularism in France against what Macron described as 'Islamist separatism' in the country.

Macron insisted 'no concessions' would be made in a new drive to push religion out of education and the public sector across the country.

He coined the term 'separatism' to describe the underworld that thrives in some neighborhoods around France where Muslims with a radical vision of their religion take control of the local population to inculcate their beliefs.

But members of the nation's six-million-strong Muslim community  the largest in Western Europe  immediately accused him of stirring up Islamophobic and racist feeling so as to appeal to far-Right voters ahead of the presidential elections.

Emmanuel Macron (pictured earlier today) has described Islam as 'a religion that is in crisis all over the world' as he unveiled a proposal to battle Islamic radicalism which had created a 'parallel society' living outside of French values

In a speech broadcast live from Les Mureaux, north of Paris, Mr Macron said 'we must tackle Islamist separatism' while not 'stigmatising all Muslims'.

A new law will allow the dissolution of religious groups that 'attack the dignity of people, using psychological or physical pressure, and break the values of France'.

There will also be an end to the system of 'seconded Imams' which allows extremist clerics and other preachers to be trained abroad before moving to France.

'We ourselves are going to train our Imams and Chanters in France, and therefore we must detach this link which is what is called consular Islam,' said Macron.

He said all French Imams would have to be certified from now on and could be shut down at any time.

The equivalent of more than 9.7million will be spent to work France's Islam Foundation  a moderate organisation which promotes traditional Muslim study in culture, history and science.

Macron said this would help to ensure the dominance of a religion 'respects the values of the Republic'.

The head of state added that there would also be closer scrutiny of the curriculum at private schools and stricter limits on home-schooling for reasons other than a child's health problems.

Some 1,700 private Muslim school and colleges currently teach around 85,000 children in France.

Community associations that receive state subsidies will have to sign a contract avowing their commitment to secularism and the values of France.

Today's speech comes as a trial is underway in Paris over the deadly January 2015 attacks on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo (above) and a kosher supermarket by French-born Islamic extremist

The new measures will also include a ban on the wearing of religious symbols for employees of subcontractors providing public services, such as transport operators.

The rule already applies to public servants.

Macron said there had been increased reports of abuses by sub-contracting staff, including bus drivers refusing women entry for wearing clothing considered too revealing.

He emphasised that it was necessary to 'liberate Islam in France from foreign influences,' naming countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

Macron stressed that the measures did not seek to stigmatise or alienate France's Muslims but to bolster 'our ability to live together'.

He urged better understanding of Islam and said the problem of radicalisation was partly a product of the 'ghettoisation' of French cities and towns where 'we constructed our own separatism'.

'We have concentrated populations based on their origins, we have not sufficiently created diversity, or ensured economic and social mobility' in segregated areas, he said.

Radical Islamists have swooped in, taking advantage of 'our withdrawal, our cowardice,' he added.

But Macron was immediately criticised for stirring up Islamophobic and racist feeling to appeal to far-Right voters ahead of the presidential elections.

Yassar Louati, a prominent civil liberties activist based in Paris, has said: 'The repression of Muslims has been a threat, now it is a promise.

'In a one-hour speech #Macron burried #laicite, emboldened the far right, anti-Muslim leftists and threatened the lives of Muslim students by calling for drastic limits on home schooling despite a global pandemic.'

Rim-Sarah Alaoune, a French academic, also took to social media to say: 'President Macron described Islam as "a religion that is in crisis all over the world today". I don't even know what to say.

'This remark is so dumb (sorry it is) that it does not need any further analysis I won't hide that I am concerned.

'No mention of white supremacy even though we are the country that exported the racist and white supremacist theory of the "great replacement", used by the terrorist who committed the horrific massacre in #Christchurch.'

Today's speech comes as a trial is underway in Paris over the deadly January 2015 attacks on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket by French-born Islamic extremists.

Last week, a man from Pakistan stabbed two people near Charlie Hebdo's former offices in anger over its publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

Earlier this month, divisions were highlighted when MPs walked out when a university student entered parliament in a headscarf.

And in January, a renewed debate about freedom of expression erupted when a teenager received death threats for attacking Islam in an expletive-laden Instagram rant.

Macron's long-awaited address came 18 months before presidential elections where he is set to face a challenge from the right, as public concern grows over security in France.

The proposed law is expected to go before parliament for debate in the first part of next year.
No new COVID-19 deaths were reported in Northwest Indiana, but the Region saw another 189 additional cases, according to updated statistics provided Friday by the Indiana State Department of Health and local health departments.

A total of 13 new deaths were reported Indiana, bringing the state's tally to 3,429.

New deaths were reported between Sept. 26 and Thursday. All data were provisional and subject to change as more information is reported to the state.

In Northwest Indiana, death totals stood at 327 in Lake County, 49 in Porter County, 42 in LaPorte County, 11 in Newton County and two in Jasper County.

ISDH listed another 227 deaths as probable, meaning there was no positive test on record but a physician listed COVID-19 as a contributing cause, based on X-rays, scans and other clinical symptoms. One of the deaths in Porter County's total was probable, county officials said.

Lake County added 116 more cases for a total of 10,985. Porter County had 32 more cases, upping its total to 2,305. LaPorte County's count increased by 38, for a total of 1,596. Jasper County's total increased by one, for a total of 407. Newton County added two cases, bringing its total to 177.
Democrats have a problem on the Texas border that could cost them dearly in what is setting up as the closest presidential election the state has seen in decades.

While the 200-mile stretch from Brownsville to Laredo is the most reliably Democratic region in Texas, it has also become one of the most confounding for the party. The area has been beset by abysmal voter turnout, years of state party neglect and local party ambivalence. All are major obstacles for the Joe Biden campaign as he seeks to be the first Democrat to carry Texas in 46 years.

In a close race, if Democrats boost turnout along the border to match statewide turnout averages, it could be enough to give Biden the states 38 electoral college votes. That would mean President Donald Trump has no viable pathway to re-election.

Now Playing: Organized by Latinos for Trump, hundreds gather on the northwest side of San Antonio to show support on the 'Trump Train.' Video: San Antonio Express-News

But if those areas see the same dismal turnout as in 2018, tens of thousands of Democratic votes would be lost.

I dont know if weve realized the power we have, said Laredo Democrat Sylvia Bruni, chairwoman of the Webb County Democratic Party.

The problems were on display in 2018, when Democrat Beto ORourke skateboarded and livestreamed himself to record-shattering turnout in most of the state.

CRUCIAL VOTING BLOC: Trump has enough support from Latinos to win Texas, study finds

While ORourke won a whopping 68 percent of the vote in the five counties between Laredo and Brownsville, the combined turnout was just 39 percent compared to the statewide average of 53 percent. If those five counties  with nearly 800,000 registered voters  had matched average turnout, ORourke would have added tens of thousands of votes to his total.

While that would have still left ORourke short against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, it is clear those votes could mean the difference for Biden if his campaign builds off what ORourke was able to do in the rest of the state.

If they turn out, Biden wins, ORourke said earlier this week.

The Laredo region was one of the worst for ORourke. Its where Democrat Hillary Clinton received 32,000 more votes in 2016 than ORourke did in 2018.

That loss of votes counter-balanced ORourkes surge in Harris County, where he received 39,000 more votes than Clinton had.

We let Beto down, said Ana Saenz, a longtime Democratic activist from Laredo. We just didnt get the vote out.

2020 SURGE: Texas shatters voter registration records again as Trump-Biden election draws closer

The Biden campaign knows the numbers well. They and the Texas Democratic Party have hired staff from the border, invested more in getting out the vote and are promising to reach out to more voters than in past elections. Even actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is aware of the issue, this week announcing his foundation is sending $250,000 to Cameron County for an early voting center to help 25,000 people vote safely.

Were specifically focusing on South Texas and border communities, said Rebecca Acuna, Bidens state director.

Acuna, herself a Laredo native, said the Biden campaign is reaching out to voters over multiple platforms in both English and Spanish to boost the areas Democratic turnout.

But it is not happening in a vacuum. While the Democrats try to drive up their turnout, Republicans are rattling their cages. Just two weeks ago as many as 7,000 trucks, cars and motorcycles decked out with Trump gear honked and screeched tires for miles through the streets of Laredo in a message to Democrats that they have a fight on their hands this year.

Weve got them scared, Webb County Republican Party chairman William Young said with laugh. And for good reason.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Plenty of outrage

It would be hard to find a region with more at stake in the presidential election than the five counties along the border between Brownsville and Laredo. Immigration, the impact of COVID-19, and health care  the three most dominant issues in the presidential election  hit this region harder than most.

While the five counties represent just over 5 percent of the state population, they have recorded nearly 20 percent of Texas deaths from COVID-19. So far, 2,847 deaths have been attributed directly to COVID-19 in the five counties with a combined 1.6 million residents. That is more deaths than Harris County, which has triple the population.

And while Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the nation, it is even worse on the border. Before the pandemic hit, U.S. Census data indicated about 20 percent of people under 65 in the state were uninsured as of 2018. But in the five border counties, the average uninsured rate for those under 65 was 30 percent.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who campaigned along the border during his presidential bid, said both of those issues are motivating voters in the Valley this year.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

So many families there can see just how much they have been short-changed by the Trump administration and by Republican leadership, Castro said.

And no region is more impacted by President Trumps signature campaign promise of building a wall along the border. The same five counties are Trumps top priority for building barriers, which requires seizing land from private landowners through eminent domain and further separating cities in the U.S. from larger metro areas in Mexico where many South Texas residents have families.

Its become a polarizing issue, said Melissa Cigarroa, a landowner along the border who is also an activist with the No Border Wall Coalition. Its not just this wall or high fence. It is a 150-foot clearing. It is semi-militarized zone, with all of the sensors, towers and roads. And all the lost public lands.

Even without a wall, border security is impossible to miss in Laredo. The city stands on a stretch of the Rio Grande with a riverside park that leaders have dreamed of developing as a tourist destination. But instead, border patrol agents are everywhere  one day last week, four of their white-and-green SUVs tracked every vehicle and pedestrian, not to mention the Border Patrol trucks that make pass-throughs along neighborhood streets.

Trumps aggressive push for a border wall has more appeal in the region than Democrats might want to acknowledge, Webb County GOP chairman Young said. He said not all of the people cutting through the region illegally are dangerous, but there can be aggressive confrontations. He said people want a wall. They want someone to prevent illegal crossings.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Why vote?

Laredoan Amber Avis-Hinojosa, 30, says that even with all those issues, its a challenge to get people out to vote. Generations of noncompetitive local elections make it still more difficult.

The participation is very low in Laredo, said Avis-Hinojosa, who has become active in the Democratic Party and is trying to run for local office herself. Were trying to find innovative ways to get people out.

Democrats have dominated the regions politics for more than a century. Most local races are determined in primary elections and there is nearly zero threat of a Republican ever carrying any of the border counties. Bruni said she was among the complacent at one point. With races mostly decided, many dont worry about voting in November, despite the presidential candidates and statewide candidates who needed their votes.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

As long as we were doing well in Webb County, why should we worry? Bruni said.

Then Trump was elected. Bruni, an educator, was always a Democrat, but never went too deep into partisan politics. That changed with the tone of the immigration debate, the governments failure to stop COVID-19, and the August 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, where Latinos were targeted by a white man linked to an online post about a Hispanic invasion of Texas.

She says all that has spurred a new intensity from local Democrats, many of them young.

Those younger Democrats have tried to modernize a local party that had fallen behind, and was out of shape.

Weve realized how unorganized the Democratic Party was before, said Avis-Hinojosa, who is now the party treasurer in Webb County, where Democrats didnt have balance sheets or even bank statements to track the finances.

Meanwhile, Bruni went to work on restaffing the countys precinct volunteers, who are the backbone of get-out-the vote operations. She said for years the party left most of those types of positions unfilled, assuring dozens of neighborhoods with no coordinated effort to get voters to the polls.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Will the Trump Train backfire?

For the Biden campaign, it has been critical to hire Democrats from the border who understand the terrain, such as Acuna.

Our organizing director is from and lives in Mission, Texas, Acuna said. We have organizers in Webb County. We are having dozens of events every single day there.

Just this weekend, Biden campaign officials showed reporters a list of 29 different events in South Texas over four days ranging from phone banks and training sessions to virtual rallies and online outreach programs to faith groups, veterans and other targeted audiences.

Many of the events, in both Spanish and English, include special guests. Next week in McAllen, comedienne Cristela Alonzo speaks at one event, while another in Harlingen calls on Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez to make an appearance to help rally volunteers.

And beyond that, the State Democratic Party hired Rafael Benavides, another Laredo native, to serve as its Spanish language press secretary with a focus on engaging voters in new ways. Benavides said that has meant reaching out to voters through bloggers, Spanish language podcasters and an array of social media messages.

Were reaching out to people who had never been reached out to before, he said.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Back in the spring, Biden was struggling to match Hillary Clintons appeal to Latino voters, lagging by nearly 20 percent points.

More Information GET READY FOR NOVEMBER To vote in the November presidential election, new voters must register by October 5. Voters who are not sure if they are registered can check online at https://www.votetexas.gov. Oct. 5 is also the deadline to change the address on a voter registration. Address changes made within the same county are effective 30 days afterward. Voters who move to a new county must submit a new voter registration application. People can also register to vote with the local county voting registrar. In Bexar County, voters can submit an application with the Bexar County Elections Department, call 210-335-8683 or visit online www.bexar.org. In Harris County, voters can apply with the Harris Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar Office by calling (713) 274-8200 or visiting online at www.hctax.net See More Collapse

But that appears to be changing: A poll released this week by the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Houston and Univision found Biden leading with 66 percent of the Latino vote, compared with 25 percent for Trump. It found that Latino support for Biden has almost doubled since March.

Texas is competitive because Latino support has shifted to the Biden-Harris ticket, which translates to support down-ballot for Democrats, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a UH political science professor. Latinos feel the Democratic Party has better outreach to their communities and is better equipped to handle recovery from COVID-19, the economy, health care and ending racial divisions.

The turnout in the region in 2018 shows the work Democrats have before them. In Webb and Cameron counties, just 38 percent of voters made it to the polls. In smaller Starr County it was 32 percent  second-worst in the state. Only neighboring Zapata County was worse, at 29 percent.

Democrats say the Republicans gave them an unintentional gift with that Trump Train through Laredo.

When the Trump supporters stormed through town, disrupting traffic, Bruni said the phone at the Democratic Party office started ringing. Thousands of yards signs were handed out in a matter of hours, and thousands signed up for a Ridin with Biden car parade Democrats were planning.

This place has been nonstop ever since, Bruni said.

They came in and they shook a hornets nest, said Laredo Democratic activist Robert Tellez.
02.10.2020 LISTEN

Regent of Katamanso, Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, has denied support for any political party or candidate in the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections slated for December 2020.

Im there for everybody; I dont have a favourite, I dont have an enemy and I dont have a brother for being in this position, was how he put it Thursday evening.

This was when Vice President Bawumia called on Afotey Agbo who happens to be the Member of Parliament for the Kpone-Katamanso constituency and now the Regent of the area following the death of his father, the late Chief.

Dr Bawumia was at the Katamanso palace to inform the chiefs and elders about his campaign activities and also introduce the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate in the area, Hopeson Yaovi Adorye to them.

In a brief reward however, Lion as Afotey Agbo who is the incumbent is affectionately called said you all know Im the Member of Parliament and at the same time the Regent. Im trying to stay the course of my position as regent. If not for that, I would have been sitting in a pickup going round campaigning.

But since the campaign begun and even though a strong NDC, he indicated that Ive not set foot anywhere and that he has been observing events from afar.

He stressed the need for all Ghanaians to live in peace and not allow politics which is a game to divide them or make them enemies.

That, he said was because it is the right of every Ghanaian to belong a political party of his or her choice and therefore we must see each other as brothers and sisters; and if you can do that as an individual, you will enjoy life and you will enjoy the leadership of everybody.

He talked of the cordial relations that exist between him and some key and influential members of the NPP even though he is a known NDC, including the Greater Accra regional Chairman of party, Divine Agorhum who he said was his classmate at Teshie Salem.

He also considered the party's Parliamentary candidate, Hopeson Adorye his son and the Mayor of Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, a very good friend.

If something is going wrong and you need to advise, you advise; you dont need to be insulting people and be telling people things that you are not supposed to say. As I speak to you, NDC is not in government but Im still okay; nobody is harassing me, nobody is chasing me up. The police, when I see them, they give me respectwhen I was in office, I gave them the needed respect and I worked with them as my own, he noted.

Interestingly, Afotey Agbo who prides himself as having been Member of Parliament for Kpone-Kantamanso for the past 16years and having the support of almost everybody was literally begging the Vice President to help finish an uncompleted Teacher Training College and a Secondary school project which they started.

He however considered the courtesy call on him by the Vice President a privilege, saying he is our Vice President, I must give him that respect; so I had to cancel all my programmes to come and sit and wait for him; he is not my enemy, I wish him good luck in his endeavour in the campaign and everything.

---Daily Guide
Pro-Trump supporters are silhouetted against a hazy sun as they wave his flag while anti-Trump supporters join them at Independence Mall in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. Read more

President Donald Trumps announcement Friday that he and his wife, Melania, had tested positive for the coronavirus jolted the race for the White House a month before Election Day, as both campaigns were forced to directly confront a public health crisis that has consumed the country and killed more than 207,000 Americans.

Trump, who went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment on Friday, where the White House said he would spend a few days, will need to figure out how to campaign while isolated. His campaign said all previously announced events involving the president or his family were being moved to a virtual setting or postponed. Vice President Mike Pence, who tested negative, will resume scheduled campaign events.

The Biden campaign issued a statement Friday from the former vice presidents doctor saying Joe and Jill Biden had tested negative. He was set to fly to Michigan to deliver a speech later in the day.

The uncertainty came as both campaigns have been lavishing attention on the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Biden this week took a chartered Amtrak tour through Western Pennsylvania, where he hopes to chip away at Trumps support among rural and white working-class voters. Bidens campaign events were socially distanced but included some of the largest crowds hes seen since the pandemic began. His campaign was set to begin going door to door for the first time since then  something the Trump campaign has been doing for months.

Trump has held several large, mostly outdoor rallies in Pennsylvania over the last couple of months, where hundreds and sometimes thousands of supporters gather in close quarters  many without face masks, which Trump has often shunned. He was in Harrisburg for one rally on Saturday, and had been scheduled to appear in Philadelphia on Sunday before he tested positive.

It remains to be seen how Trumps testing positive for a virus that has already hobbled him politically will affect the race between him and Biden, who has built a consistent and sizable lead in Pennsylvania and in national polls. And voting is already underway in Pennsylvania, with counties sending voters mail ballots. Philadelphia and other counties are also opening new elections offices where voters can request and submit mail ballots on the spot.

 READ MORE: Biden has a clear lead over Trump in Pa. as the 2020 election enters the homestretch

Lisa Walton, an Allentown Republican who is leaning toward Biden this year, said Trumps diagnosis bolstered her belief that he has mismanaged the pandemic.

Hes said one thing and done another this whole time, said Walton, 55, a member of The Inquirers Election 2020 Roundtable of Pennsylvania voters. Hes said wear masks, but then he doesnt. Hes been out there, exposing himself without the proper protection, spending time around people. Eventually, it caught up to him.

Judy Straight, 45, of McConnellsburg, in heavily Republican Fulton County, questioned whether Trump had done enough to protect himself.

Its sad he got it. I feel its because he didnt wear his mask as much as he should have, she said. Theres a lot of people in our town that dont.

Still, she said, I voted for him last time, and Im going to vote for him again.

 READ MORE: Biden ends his Amtrak tour with a message for blue-collar Pa. voters: Trump doesnt have a plan to help you

The news again divided an already polarized electorate, which has been increasingly susceptible to misinformation. On social media and in call-in radio shows, some Democrats expressed skepticism Trump had actually contracted the virus. There is no evidence to suggest otherwise

Polls show most Americans disapprove of the presidents handling of the pandemic, and think Biden would better manage it. But the race has remained remarkably stable despite the virus, a punishing recession, nationwide protests against systemic racism, and a contentious political fight over replacing the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Trumps diagnosis will again put the pandemic front and center, where Bidens campaign has tried to keep it. Biden has taken a starkly different approach to campaigning during a public health crisis, for which he is often mocked by the Trump campaign. But the moment could also be a political tightrope for Democrats eager to elevate what they see as Trumps inability to take the virus seriously while also showing compassion for Trump  who is now among the millions of Americans to contract it.

Its going to be challenging for the vice president, said T.J. Rooney, a former Pennsylvania Democratic Party chairman. How people react and how people perceive you of taking advantage of an unfortunate situation are all relevant considerations. ... Theyre going to have to determine what the necessary balance is.

One thing is clear, he said: Trumps infection refocuses attention on the Trump administrations failures or shortcomings in its pandemic response.

Its a negative that is reinforced 50 times an hour on network television from now until hes no longer ill, Rooney said.

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.), a top Biden ally, said this moment should be a bracing reminder for the entire country about the seriousness of the virus, if the president of the United States, surrounded by people getting tested daily, still contracts it.

And with the second debate scheduled for Oct. 15, Coons said the commission that runs the debates should consider taking them virtual. "It should make every candidate reconsider how theyre going to protect the public themselves and whether they do public events at all, Coons said.

But Trumps rallies are tough to replace, said Lee Snover, chairwoman of the Northampton County GOP. Nothing can replace the local story, the local newspaper, that he cares about our area," she said. "It energizes the base.

Snover said she had just told a top Trump campaign official in Pennsylvania on Thursday that the president has got to get to Northampton County. The county is one of three in the state that voted for President Barack Obama in 2012 before backing Trump in 2016.

I thought he needed a trip to the Lehigh Valley in the next two weeks, she said, adding Trump could still campaign there once he has recovered.

In the meantime, Snover said, she hopes the Trump campaign dispatches surrogates, like the presidents children, to travel the state while hes quarantined at the White House. She said Trump could campaign virtually, too. Get him back on the damn TV, she said of the former reality television star. Are we all forgetting where he came from?

Former Gov. Ed Rendell, a Biden backer, said he hopes this moment changes peoples attitudes about the seriousness of the virus.

I dont think it changes the political dynamic in terms of whos getting how many votes, Rendell said. I hope it changes the national dynamic, though. I hope this is the turning point that he can convince everyone that wearing masks is important, social distancing is important.

Trump tested positive after attending a fun in Bedminster, N.J. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has since urged anyone who attended to get tested. Biden had a virtual fundraiser in Philadelphia last week and another planned for Friday night with Rendell and longtime Democratic fundraisers David L. Cohen, Ken Jarin and Alan Kessler.

You got to believe the campaigns are going to take a step back. Even Republican campaigns at this point," Kessler said. "Just because theyre presidential candidates doesnt mean theyre somehow immune to what we all face. I think it dramatically affects the last five weeks of campaigning.

Staff writers Allison Steele, William Bender, and Jessica Calefati contributed to this article.
The European Central Bank has taken a step closer to issuing a digital version of the euro currency shared by 19 countries, saying it has to be ready to launch digital money if a changing world requires it.

The bank issued a comprehensive report outlining why it might need to take the step. The ECB also said it would hold public consultations on the idea with citizens, academics and bankers.

It said no decision has been made and that any digital euro would complement cash, not replace it. The consultations will start on October 12.

The euro belongs to Europeans and our mission is to be its guardian, said Christine Lagarde, ECB president.

Europeans are increasingly turning to digital in the ways they spend, save and invest. Our role is to secure trust in money. This means making sure the euro is fit for the digital age. We should be prepared to issue a digital euro, should the need arise.

I am pleased to see our findings on the benefits and the challenges of a digital euro. In these times of rapid technological progress we must ensure that our payment systems continue to keep up with the needs of the people who use them. https://t.co/H1PiGDXn69  Christine Lagarde (@Lagarde) October 2, 2020

A digital euro would be different from current cashless payment systems run by the private sector because it would be official central bank money  trustable, risk-free and likely to be less expensive to use.

A central bank digital currency could also be used offline, for instance, to transfer small amounts between individuals using digital wallets on their phones.

The use of cash is dwindling in some countries, led by Sweden, where most bank branches no longer handle cash, and shops, restaurants and museums accept only cards or mobile payments.

The pandemic has led to an increase in touchless, non-cash payments in shops, but cash still has its adherents because it is convenient and private, and the ECB was at pains to make clear it was not proposing doing away with notes and coins.

The ECB is not alone in studying the issue. Chinas central bank is already testing an official digital currency, while the central bank of Sweden says it has initiated a pilot project.

The US Federal Reserve is looking at the issue but is taking a more long-term view.

Lael Brainard, a member of the board of governors at the Fed, said in August that the Fed would need to ask how US law would apply. She said no decision had been made as we are taking the time and effort to understand the significant implications of digital currencies and CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) around the globe.

A taskforce of experts from the ECB and the 19 national central banks of the eurozone noted that as demand increases for cashless payments, there should be a Europe-wide, risk-free digital system.

They said the potential launch of global private digital currencies could raise regulatory concerns and pose risks for the stability of the financial system.

Facebook last year proposed launching Libra, a digital currency that would be backed by existing government-issued money. Libra would not be run by Facebook but by a non-profit association based in Switzerland.

Central banks and regulators have raised concerns about privacy, money laundering and consumer protection, and the project suffered a setback when high-profile financial companies such as MasterCard and Visa abandoned it.

The technical basis could be so-called distributed ledger technology, a decentralised way of keeping track of payments, or the existing ECB payment infrastructure, TIPS. Ways for the currency to be used in practice by consumers would be developed by the private sector.
The Met Police have served up one of London's first Covid curfew fines to a fast food restaurant which handed a burger to a customer at 10.04pm.

Three businesses were fined 1000 in East London as a 'multi-agency team' scanned the Ilford area for coronavirus rule breached on Thursday.

Bim's Burgers on Ilford Lane was slapped with a fine when a customer was served their food four minutes after the deadline, according to Rebridge MPS.

Bim's Burgers (pictured) on Ilford Lane was slapped with a fine when a customer was served their food four minutes after the deadline, according to Rebridge MPS

Police said that rules were breached by the business having one customer in its store waiting for his takeaway meal.

When the customer's receipt was inspected it showed the customer was served at 10pm 'on the dot' and 'staff were not handing the customer his food until 10.04pm.'

The owner's of Bim's burgers said that the incident 'was made in good faith' and with new rules regarding Covid-19 being 'made thick and fast' it sometimes it isn't 'clear exactly how they should be interpreted.'

In a statement from Bim's Burgers, a spokesperson said: 'We very much regret that our staff unknowingly breached the Government's 10pm curfew. A customer entered the restaurant a few minutes before 10pm, just as we were shutting up for the night. He was the only customer on the premises at that time.

'We began processing his food order before the curfew and his final receipt was printed at 10pm. Our staff were under the impression that if an order was placed by 10pm it could still be served. The food took less than four minutes to arrive and he left at 10.04 pm.

'Our staff were then shocked to be informed that they had breached the new laws by a matter of four minutes. New rules regarding Covid-19 are being made thick and fast and sometimes it isn't clear exactly how they should be interpreted.'

The takeaway company defended its actions by stating that staff had not let anyone in after 10pm and the customer was on the premises prior to that time.

The business argues that it would have been insulting to the customer if he had been asked to leave.

The spokesperson added: 'This was a very minor mistake, but it was made in good faith. Under the circumstances we think it would have been reasonable for us to receive a verbal warning as opposed to a 1000 fine.

'Had we served a customer at 10.15pm or even later then without doubt this fine would have been fully justified. However, we will not be complaining about the police operation and our staff will obviously take greater care in future to abide by the law.'

The supervisor on was issued with the fine on behalf of the owner.

Fireaway Pizza on Ley Street, Ilford, was also fined for breaching coronavirus rules.

Fireaway Pizza (pictured) on Ley Street, Ilford, was also fined for breaching coronavirus rules

According to police two people were inside the premises at 10.20pm having just placed an order with the company.

The two customers were then both sat waiting for their food on stools inside the store and not wearing face masks.

The multi-task agency issued the manager with a fine. The third takeaway that broke curfew rules was Spice on High Street, Ilford.

Police said the store 'breached Covid-19' and was issued a '1,000 fine for subsequent breaches.'

Government rules introduced on September 24 set out that businesses selling food or drink must be closed between 10pm and 5am, including takeaways, however delivery services can continue after 10pm.

Spice and Fireaway Pizza were contacted for comment on the fines issued but did not respond.
UK Oil & Gas PLC - oil and gas exploration company - Raises GBP2.2 million to fund its share of initial drilling and seismic costs of Resan oil project in Turkey. Places 1.37 billion shares at 0.16p each, a 16% discount to the 0.19p closing price on Thursday. In July, the company had signed an agreement to take a 50% interest in the Turkish Resan oil appraisal and exploration project.

Current stock price: 0.16 pence, down 13%

Year-to-date change: down 81%

By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
The conflict flared up Sept. 27, when at least one Azerbaijani helicopter was shot down. Pro-Armenian officials governing Nagorno-Karabakh introduced martial law and total mobilization of its male population. Two days later, in another escalation, Armenia's Defense Ministry said one of its jets had been shot down by a Turkish F-16, which Turkey and Azerbaijan denied.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to shed all possible light on the origin of the bombardment that injured four journalists covering the fighting in Nagorno Karabakh on October 1.

The four journalists were among a group of reporters that was shelled in the town of Martuni on the fifth day of the clashes.

A reporter for the French daily Le Monde and a French photographer accompanying him had to be hospitalized for urgent treatment to their injuries. Armenia TV cameraman Aram Grigoryan and a reporter for the Armenian news agency 24news.am, Sevak Vardumyan, were also injured.

Several other journalists, including an Agence France-Presse crew and a deputy editor-in-chief sent by the independent Russian TV channel Dozhd, narrowly escaped being hit by the shelling. All of the journalists and their vehicles were clearly identified and bore the word Press. They were accompanying local authorities in order to interview residents and see the damage from previous bombardments.

This bombardment was unjustifiable because civilians, and journalists in particular, are not military targets, said Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSFs Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk. We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to conduct an investigation to determine the origin of the shelling and to do everything necessary to enable the injured journalists to be evacuated in a completely safe manner.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced yesterday that he was sending a medical plane to repatriate the injured French journalists.
The Duchess of Sussex chose to champion a black fashion designer during an exclusive interview with the Evening Standard to mark the start of Black History Month.

Meghan appeared with Prince Harry in a video call with staff at the Standard to launch their list of BHM Next Gen Trailblazers, wearing a camel-coloured asymmetrical slash-neck top by Haitian-born, New York-based designer Victor Glemaud.

Pairing the $375 merino wool knit, part of the designers autumn/winter 2020 collection, with brown leather trousers and a slicked-back up-do, Meghans look was at once understated and fashion-forward.

Her choice was timely, for at Paris Fashion Week Glemaud, known for his bold knitwear, launched In the Blk, a network designed to support black designers and creatives to achieve economic independence through mentorship, community and business-building resources.

Glemaud has since posted a photograph from the interview, writing: The Duchess of Sussex wears Victor Glemaud in honour of Black History Month in the UK. Thank you for choosing me for this very special moment.

Glemaud has earned himself a long list of celebrity fans, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ashley Graham and Selena Gomez all photographed in his creations.
Lawyer Stephen Barnes of personal injury law firm Cellino & Barnes has been killed in a plane crash alongside his niece, Elizabeth.

Authorities confirmed two people died Friday when the single-engine Socata TBM-700, crashed about 11:45 a.m. in a wooded area near Pembroke, New York.

The aircraft was registered to a corporation that shares an address with Cellino & Barnes, which has offices in New York and California and is known for its catchy TV jingle.

'It is with great sadness that I learned of the tragic passing of Steve Barnes in a plane crash,' his longtime business partner Ross Cellino said in a statement to People.

'He was always a fearless advocate for his clients. His passing is a significant loss for the legal community.'

Cellino & Barnes began as small firm in Buffalo but became well known in New York City and beyond for its ubiquitous advertising on billboards and on television. Pictured: Steve Barnes

Barnes' niece, Elizabeth, 32, who was also a lawyer at the firm died in the crash alongside him

Elizabeth Barnes was traveling with her uncle to her grandmother's birthday party. At the time of her death, Barnes was working as an assistant regional counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Boston

A helicopter circles the site of a small plane crash near Pembroke N.Y., Friday, October 2

Authorities confirmed two people died Friday when the single-engine Socata TBM-700, crashed about 11:45 a.m. in a wooded area near Pembroke, New York

'Equally heartbreaking is the passing of Elizabeth Barnes, sister of Brian Barnes and daughter of Rich Barnes, Steve's brother and an attorney at our firm.'

Cellino told PEOPLE that Barnes' greatest accomplishment was his children Josiah, Rachel and Julia.

At the time of her death, Elizabeth Barnes was working as an assistant regional counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Boston.

The pair were on their way to a birthday party in Buffalo for Barnes' mother when the plane crashed.

Two sources told The Buffalo News that Barnes owned the plane.

Neighbors described the plane making a loud, whining noise, then dropping into a wooded area, Sheron said.

'[The airplane was] pretty much disintegrated,' Genesee County Sheriff William Sheron told reporters during a press briefing. 'There's not much left at all.'

Barnes was a registered pilot and before becoming an attorney was an officer in the Marine Corps. He was a combat veteran of the Gulf War.

Cellino & Barnes old-time jingle, in which the law firm's phone number was put to song, has been the subject of a sketch on Saturday Night Live, and other late-night TV host jokes for years.

The pair decided to partner with one another in 1992 and worked together for almost 30 years.

Eventually, Cellino filed to dissolve the firm in May 2017 after a number of built-up tensions and disagreements.

Neighbors described the plane making a loud, whining noise, then dropping into a wooded area

Such were the disparities it took a further three years before the terms of their split was agreed, this June, according to the New York Post.

After the split, Barnes formed his own law firm, The Barnes Firm Injury Attorneys.

The site states that accidents including drink driving, wrongful deaths and airplane accidents is the firm's speciality.

Broadway actors in 2018 posted viral videos of themselves singing the jingle in what was dubbed the 'Cellino & Barnes Challenge.'

The law firm's principal lawyers, Ross Cellino and Stephen Barnes, who appeared together in the advertisements, had a falling out in recent years and battled each other in court.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the cause of the crash.

NTSB spokesman Terry Williams said the agency would release its initial report within seven to 10 days.
Hathras case: AAP, Bhim Army party to stage protest at India Gate today

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, Oct 02: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has said that several senior party leaders and members of the Delhi legislative assembly (MLAs) would gather at the India Gate in the evening to protest against the gang rape and murder of a Dalit teenager by four upper caste men in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh earlier this week.

"We will gather in large numbers at the India Gate at 5 pm to protest against the Hathras incident. All our MLAs and several senior leaders are supposed to join us. We demand a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into the incident, security for the family of the victim, compensation, charge sheet to be filed at the earliest and the case be assigned to a fast-track court," said Rajendra Pal Gautam, a minister in the Delhi government and an AAP leader.

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According to reports, several civil society groups and individuals have called for a protest at the India Gate on Friday to demand justice for the Hathras victim.

Also, activists from the Bhim Army, actor Swara Bhaskar, students' activists from Delhi University (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), members of All India Students Association (AISA), Students' Federation of India (SFI) and others have planned to gather at the India Gate on Friday evening to demand justice for the Hathras victim.

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On Thursday, Delhi Police reiterated that all gatherings are prohibited near the India Gate under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The prohibitory order banning assembly of four or more persons at one place has been in place since the end of March to ensure that the public comply with social distancing norms amid the coronavirus outbreak in the national capital.
Street vendors in the national capital have demanded that all weekly markets be allowed to open as usual as all other commercial activities have now been permitted by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority(DDMA). This comes a day after the DDMA allowed only two weekly markets to function in each municipal zone under the guidelines of Unlock 5.

Weekly markets in Delhi were among the first set of commercial activities to be shut by the government in mid-March, to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). While a majority of commercial activities have been permitted, restrictions on weekly markets continue.

The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) has written to Delhi lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal requesting that all weekly markets be permitted.

Despite repeated attempts, L-Gs office did not respond on the matter.

Street vendors associations say the current order will adversely impact the livelihood of lakhs of vendors, as although weekly markets were given permission to operate in August itself, the nod came with several riders and restrictions.

Arbind Singh, national coordinator of NASVI, said, When gyms, restaurants and other commercial activities have been allowed, why not street vending? Our business is done in open spaces. The governments decision to restrict the number of weekly markets is adversely impacting the livelihood of lakhs of vendors.

Singh said as per a conservative estimate, there are over 300 weekly markets in the city. Each municipal zone has about eight to 10 weekly markets daily.

Rajiv Kumar Gupta, president of a weekly market in Madhu Vihar, said, I have nearly 200 vendors associated with me. We organise markets in Madhu Vihar, Kalyanpuri, and other places. For the past six months, it has been a struggle to make ends meet. When other commercial activities have been allowed, weekly markets too should be allowed. There are usually about seven to nine weekly markets daily in a zone. The government should rethink its order.

Gupta said due to the pandemic, the size of stalls is smaller now as social distancing has to be maintained in the markets.

Singh said street vendors will stage a protest if weekly markets are continued to be restricted. They (vendors) were given no financial assistance during the pandemic. They are now not allowed to earn their livelihood. How will they take care of their families? he said.
Boris Johnson has set out funding for 32 of the 40 'new' NHS hospitals he promised in his 2019 manifesto.

The Prime Minister won headlines with his promise to voters last September that he would build '40 new hospitals across England over the next decade' if they handed his party its fourth election win in a row.

But it turned out many of the projects included refurbishments of existing hospitals, with only six trusts actually being rebuilt.

In an announcement today, Mr Johnson boasted he would be pumping 3.7billion into 32 trusts across England, with a further eight schemes invited to bid for future funding.

The premier said the coronavirus pandemic had brought into focus how important it was to 'build back better', one of Mr Johnson's favourite new tripartite slogans.

But more than half of the projects are either rebuilds of existing hospitals, or building a hospital on the site of one that already exists.

Boris Johnson has announced a 3.7billion drive to improve or rebuild 40 hospitals in England by 2030 following a decade of brutal Tory cuts to the health service

While the government has committed to fully fund all 40 projects, that money won't be available for several years. At the moment only six have received cash to go ahead.

Mr Johnson said: 'The dedication and tireless efforts of our nurses, doctors and all healthcare workers have kept the NHS open throughout this pandemic.

'But no matter what this virus throws at us we are determined to build back better and deliver the biggest hospital building programme in a generation.

'From Morpeth to Milton Keynes, we are building 40 new hospitals across England to level up our NHS so more people have top-class healthcare services in their local area.'

Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, said: 'We protected the NHS through the peak of coronavirus.

'Today we recommit to protect the NHS for years to come with the 40 new hospitals we will build over the next decade.

'I love the NHS and I will do all I can to make sure it is there for you and your family over the years to come.

'The biggest hospital building programme in a generation will help protect the NHS long into the future.'

Of the 32 sites listed today, 11 are in the South West and five are in London. By comparison there are three in the Midlands, three in the South East, two in the North West, and two in the North East and Yorkshire.

It comes as cancer checks, heart scans and blood tests are set to be carried out in hundreds of NHS 'one stop shops' on high streets across the country.

The diagnostic hubs will allow patients to have vital checks close to their home  while ensuring hospitals are left clear for serious care.

Empty shops in town centres and retail parks will be targeted for the scheme which will see 160 centres set up to deliver MRI and CT scans, X-rays, ultrasounds and blood tests.

This will allow doctors to quickly diagnose conditions such as cancer, heart disease, strokes and breathing problems. In time they could be also used for breast cancer screening, antenatal ultrasound scans, ear tests and eye tests.

Health bosses last night stressed the centres would be 'Covid-free', hopefully giving patients confidence they will be safe from the virus.

Officials are increasingly concerned that thousands of patients died during the first lockdown because they were afraid of going to hospital.

The toll is expected to grow in the coming years because cases of cancer, heart disease or diabetes that were not diagnosed will escalate until they are impossible to treat.

Figures published by Breast Cancer Now this week revealed nearly one million women had missed out on mammograms because screening programmes had been paused.

Professor Sir Mike Richards was commissioned by NHS boss Sir Simon Stevens to review diagnostic services. His report, presented to the NHS at a board meeting yesterday, said establishing these centres would be quicker and safer for patients.

Sir Mike, who was the first NHS national cancer director and the Care Quality Commission's chief inspector of hospitals, said: 'The pandemic has brought into sharper focus the need to overhaul the way our diagnostic services are delivered.

'Not only will these changes make services more accessible and convenient for patients but they will help improve outcomes for patients with cancer and other serious conditions.'

His report also called for a major boost in staffing, with 2,000 radiologists and 4,000 radiographers needed, as well as other support staff.

Officials said the proposals would be implemented with some to be introduced with immediate effect and incorporated into the NHS post-pandemic 'recovery plans'. Several testing hubs are set to be introduced in the coming weeks.

Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said: 'Doing these checks in the community rather than in hospital could support trusts as they grapple with a second wave of Covid-19, winter pressures and tackling backlogs of care.' The wider plan will be implemented over the next five years.
If you're longing for an ocean getaway on a Carnival cruise out of Galveston, you're out of luck for 2020.

Carnival Cruise Line announced Thursday that some of the cruises from all U.S. homeports, with the exception of Miami and Port Canaveral, are canceled for November and December due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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The health and safety of our guests, crew and communities we serve remain the cornerstone of our plans and decisions," President of Carnival Cruise Line Christine Duffy told the Houston Chronicle's Julian Gill. "The patience and support of our guests and travel agent partners have been a huge motivation to our team as we have worked through this unprecedented situation and we are dedicated to getting back to operations when the time is right.

Carnival's announcement came a day after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended a ban on the large cruises in U.S. waters through October 31.

"Recent outbreaks on cruise ships overseas provide current evidence that cruise ship travel continues to transmit and amplify the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19," the CDC stated.

Following the CDC's extension of the no-sail ban, Carnival Cruise Line released more information about their plans for 2020, including the combination of future cruise credit and refunds.

"Carnival continues to work on protocols and procedures that would allow for the resumption of cruise operations, with a gradual, phased-in approach, designating Miami and Port Canaveral as the first two homeports for embarkations. Cruises currently scheduled for November and December from those two homeports will remain in place for the time being while Carnival evaluates options. However, the cruise line is providing guests booked on cruises in November and December out of Miami and Port Canaveral the ability to voluntarily cancel their reservation and receive the same offer that all other impacted guests are receiving, which includes a combination future cruise credit and onboard credit, or a full refund."

After news of Carnival's cancellation, Twitter erupted with some heated and humorous responses.

If you need a full refund or wish to choose a future cruise credit, Carnival Cruise Lines vows to accommodate passengers with two options, including a bonus value offer and a refund.
Awudu Ishaq, National Communications Secretary of the People's National Convention

02.10.2020 LISTEN

The newly-elected National Communications Secretary of the People's National Convention (PNC), Awudu Ishaq has extended his gratitude to the leadership of the party for endorsing him for the top position.

At the just ended National Congress of the party held across the country on September 30, the former National Youth Organizer was the sole candidate for the position in the party.

With overwhelming endorsement, Awudu Ishaq has been elected as the new National Communications Secretary of the PNC and will work with other elected leaders to wrestle power from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government in the upcoming general election.

In a press release from him today, he has noted that he is ready and fired up to maximize the fortunes of the PNC through relevant and timely communications that would inure to the benefit of the party.

The PNCs voice shall be heard loud and clear on issues of national interest and concern as the party is a very prominent stakeholder in nation-building, part of the press release reads.

Meanwhile, Awudu Ishaq has vowed to offer his support to elected Presidential Candidate, Hon David Apasera, and the National Chairman, Hon Moses Danibah ahead of the December 7 polls.

I congratulate all aspirants and further pledge my total and unflinching support to the new leadership of the party led by the Presidential Candidate, Hon David Apasera and the National Chairman, Hon Moses Danibah as we chart a new path of unity and progress for the PNC. Together, we shall make the PNC stronger, the press release concludes.

Below is the full press release from Awudu Ishaq:

AM HUMBLED BY YOUR ENDORSEMENT

It is a great mark of honour and elation for me to be unanimously acclaimed as the National Communications Secretary of the PNC at the just ended National Delegates Conference of the party. It is humbling and inspiring to have been the sole candidate for this enviable position at the end of the processes leading up to the Congress.

As a former National Youth Organizer of the Party, I am ready and fired up to maximize the fortunes of the PNC through relevant and timely communications that would inure to the benefit of the party. The PNCs voice shall be heard loud and clear on issues of national interest and concern as the party is a very prominent stakeholder in nation building.

I owe enormous gratitude to the leadership of the party who have shown so much belief in my abilities as witnessed during my tenure as the National Youth Organizer of the Party. I feel indebted to all members of the party especially our Constituency and Regional Executives who have always stood by me and encouraged me in my service to the PNC.

To my friends, family and benefactors who sacrificed their resources, time and ideas in helping shape my political destiny, I say a very big thank you and I assure you that I would always justify your support which would never be in vain.

I congratulate all aspirants and further pledge my total and unflinching support to the new leadership of the party led by the Presidential Candidate, Hon David Apasera and the National Chairman, Hon Moses Danibah as we chart a new path of unity and progress for the PNC. Together, we shall make the PNC stronger. Thank you!!!!

.. signed

Awudu Ishaq

(Nat Communications Secretary)

PNC

2nd October, 2020.
Serious Men

Director - Sudhir Mishra

Cast - Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Aakshath Das, Shweta Basu Prasad, Nasser, Indira Tiwari

While Netflix India has been busy projecting Radhika Apte as some sort of mascot, it should really have been paying attention to Nawazuddin Siddiqui, an actor who has consistently delivered top-tier content for the streamer. His latest, Serious Men, completes a hat-trick of Netflix hits for the actor, after Sacred Games and Raat Akeli Hai. More of this, please.

Based on a novel by Manu Joseph, the film tells the story of Ayyan Mani, a Dalit personal assistant to a Brahmin scientist. After a lifetime of being called names such as moron and imbecile, he decides to channel his anger at the world by conning it. Ayyan begins a journey of upward social mobility by convincing everybody that his 10-year-old son is, in fact, a genius.

Watch the Serious Men trailer here

Its interesting to observe how director Sudhir Mishras perception of the common man has changed since Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro in 1983. While the two protagonists of that film were naive do-gooders with modest ambitions, the following four decades have made the common man angrier, it would seem, deserving of an equally enraged movie.

Ayyan is a complicated fellow. On one hand, his fury is justified  he has been systematically oppressed by a nation that would prefer he remain at his socio-economic station  but on the other, he is hard to like. Serious Men is, in many ways, a jail-break movie. Ayyan is trapped in the metaphorical prison of Mumbai, the towering high-rises surrounding his chawl like bars on a cell.

As wickedly funny as the film is, and as perversely enjoyable Ayyans schemes are to watch, Serious Men would not have worked if there had not been a collective rage directed at the establishment. Its a movie that captures what it is like to live in India, circa 2020. Its a time capsule that, like so many satirical movies that were released in the post-Emergency era, captures the mood of the nation.

This is a stunning film, one of those rare experiences where it seems as if every department  costumes, sound, lighting  is in a jazz-like groove. This is ironic, considering how the film is also about how everybody these days seems to exist in echo-chambers.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is flawless in Netflixs Serious Men.

While bigger stars boast about physical transformations and surviving six-month boot camps, Nawaz effortlessly slips into his characters without so much as a change in hairstyle. How he is able to seemingly alter his physical stature, simply through body language, continues to baffle me. Here is a man who is neither diminutive nor imposing, but through sheer performance can convincingly pull off both.

Serious Men gives Nawaz the opportunity to exercise both the submissive and the dominant aspects of Ayyans personality. Thats the thing about class structures  youre rarely at the top or at the bottom. There is always someone above you, waiting to pounce, and someone below, prepared to be pounced at.

It takes four generations, Ayyan sermonizes to his wife in an early scene, for a man to summit the social ladder. He tells her that they belong to the second generation, which he likes to call 2G. It is a generation that is incapable of having a good time. Their child will belong to the third generation  highly educated and capable of pondering lifes bigger questions, like why some condoms have dots on them. And his child, Ayyans grandchild, will have nothing to work for, and indeed, no reason to work.

But the odds, Ayyan realises, are stacked against him. Society has set up roadblocks around every corner for men like Ayyan, almost deliberately, it seems. And so, Ayyan figures, he must take short cuts. Why must he play by the rules of a system that values neither him nor his son?

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Serious Men is also a critique of the broken Indian education system, as rote as the curriculum it prescribes, and a takedown of that age-old Indian tendency of parents projecting their unfulfilled dreams upon their children. After a point, it seems like Ayyan isnt continuing his grand con for the sake of his sons future, but to vent out his own frustrations. Its a tricky tightrope to walk. One false step and Ayyan becomes irredeemable.

But Mishra and his team of four writers dont put a foot wrong. In an industry that routinely finds it difficult to produce tonally consistent films, and often views poverty through a romanticised lens, Serious Men is sharp from start to finish.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

The author tweets @RohanNaahar
KINGSTON, N.Y.  Ulster County Industrial Development Agency officials are being asked to scrutinize the financial beneficiaries of the proposed Kingstonian apartment and retail complex as well as become better aquatinted with the projects impact on school budgets.

The comments were made Thursday during a public hearing on $28.21 million in property tax savings over 25 years, sales and use tax exemptions of $1.48 million, and $325,575 in waived mortgage recording tax.

Among the 18 speakers was Kingston school board President James Shaughnessy, who spoke as an individual but provided details about how a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement would hurt the district tax levy margin.

If there is new construction, the state Department of Taxation and Finance calculates a tax base growth factor that allows for a small increase in the tax levy limit, he said. When the new construction is under a PILOT, the growth factor is zero at the beginning of the agreement and is not included in the growth factor at the end of the agreement. So the districts tax levy limit is permanently reduced below what it would be without a PILOT.

The agreements payments would also count as revenue for the district, which would reduce the amount of the tax levy limit.

Under the plan, Kingstonian Development LLC and Herzog Supply Company will use the existing Herzog-owned property on the east side of Fair Street and the city-owned vacant lot on the west side to construct a complex that has 129 market-rate apartments, 14 affordable housing units, and 9,000 square feet of retail space.

Shaughnessy noted the school board is waiting for the agency to directly send the application to the district before voting on a request to support the project. He said there it would be reasonable to assume that the Kingstonian would house children and that would increase school enrollment.

Those concerns did not sway some supporters of the project, with Hurley resident Rick McColgan saying the district would still see an increase in taxes over the life of the tax agreement.

Right now the school doesnt have those dollars, he said. Why is the school against a project like this when dollars are not there? What should be happening is the school board  should be very accepting of a project going forward to help increase tax dollars.

Under the agreement, developers would pay a total of $1.67 million over 25 years in school, county and city taxes. If the project were built without the agreement, the official forecast the amount would be $28.94 million.

City Assessor Daniel Baker supported the agreement and told the agency that the forecasted amount was misunderstood by the public.

If a new project is built in a taxing jurisdiction no new additional money is received by that taxing jurisdiction, he said. Property tax in New York state is zero-sum. Additionally, it is not widely known or understood that industrial development agencies are in place to foster economic development and to promote the overall economic welfare of the community they serve.

Questions about the fiscal impacts of the project were also raised by county Legislator Lynn Archer, D-Accord, who asked the agency to evaluate whether the economic benefits from the project would be as realistic as developers have forecast.

We strongly encourage the Ulster County IDA to engage an independent, third-party firm to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the Kingstonian project and to present the results of these findings to the various taxing authorities, she said. We are currently relying on the people benefitting from the project to provide the projected cost of the project without validation from an independent third party.

Agency members were also encouraged to examine whether city officials have ties to developers, with Olive resident Ilona Ross noting that information about the membership of the limited liability corporations has been withheld from the public.

They have concealed the identity of investors under the guise of trade secrecy and contrary to their professions of openness they are hiding the individual human beings who are members of the  two LLCs, she said.

Several business owners did support the project, saying that Uptown Kingston needs housing, increased parking, and an increased customer base.

We couldnt ask for better folks doing this project, said business owner John Perry, who is also Hurley town supervisor.

This parking garage is a necessity for the current and future development of Uptown Kingston, he said. Ive been here for over 20 years, this parking lot garage needs to happen. It would potentially create much more sales tax to offset whatever potential revenues would not be coming in.

Under the plan, developers would receive grant funding from the city, with Mayor Steve Noble justifying the contribution as being for a promise to have 277 of the projects 420 parking slots dedicated for public use. City officials have previously put the amount of the funding at $3.8 million but the application filed with the agency states the amount would only be $3 million.

Agency officials have left open the written comment period until Oct. 14 and expect to have the application on the boards Oct. 21 agenda.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Defense has officially denied as disinformation the information spread by Azerbaijani officials that claimed the Azeri territory is being targeted by TOCHKA-U missiles from Armenia.

Despite the fact that for already several days Azerbaijan is targeting the settlements near the Armenian town of Vardenis with UAVs and various caliber artillery systems, not a single missile has YET been fired in the direction of Azerbaijan from the territory of the Republic of Armenia. The Ministry of Defense is strongly advising the Azerbaijani side to refrain from such provocations and not instigate the Armenian Armed Forces to real missile counterattacks with all subsequent consequences, she said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Disclaimer The results here are provided for general informational purposes from the CMLviz Trade Machine Stock Option Backtester as a convenience to the readers. The materials are not a substitute for obtaining professional advice from a qualified person, firm or corporation.

Preface

There is a trigger in Banco BBVA Argentina SA (NYSE:BBAR) that has preceded a large stock move and that move has created a powerful option trading opportunity in the past.

The Short-term Option Volatility Trade in Banco BBVA Argentina SA

RESULTS

BBAR: Long 40 Delta Strangle

% Wins: 60% Wins: 3 Losses: 2 % Return: 46.3%

Tap Here to See the Back-test

Setting Expectations



Checking the Moving Average

WHAT HAPPENED

The strategy won't work forever, but for now it is a volatility back-test that has not only returned 46.3%, but has also shown a win-rate of 60% while taking no stock direction risk.Simply owning puts and calls together, like a straddle or a strangle, can be a huge winner, as it was at the end of 2018. But, equally, it has been a huge losing strategy outside of that time frame. So, the need has arisen -- an empirical and structured trigger that indicates when a large stock move is coming so owning a strangle has a higher probability of succeeding.There is such a technical condition, and we will review it, right now.Here is a quick 3 minute video that demonstrates the back-test:It's time to take advantage of volatility. Fear, uncertainty, doubt, unclear news headlines -- these are all trade-able events. Today we look at exactly what has worked in BBAR, and the special technical trigger that starts it off.We will examine the outcome of going long a short-term out-of-the-money (40 delta) strangle (buying an out of the money call and buying an out of the money put), in options that are the closest to 14-days from expiration. But we follow three rules:Let's not worry about stock direction or earnings, let's try to find a back-test that benefits from volatility. Here it is, first, we enter the long strangle.Wait until the day that the stock price crosses below the 200-day moving averagethe stock price is below the 10-day moving average. Here is a nice simple image of the technical requirement:* Use a 20% limit* Close the trade after 10 days, if the limit has not been hit.At the end of each day, the back-tester checks to see if the long strangle is up 20%. If it is, it closes the position. If after 10-days the limit has not been hit, the strangle is closed so not to suffer total time decay.Here are the results over the last three-years in Banco BBVA Argentina SA:The mechanics of the TradeMachine stock option backtester are that it uses end of day prices for every back-test entry and exit (every trigger).We can also see that this strategy hasn't been a winner all the time, rather it has won 3 times and lost 2 times, for a 60% win-rate and again, that 46.3% return in less than six-full months of trading. The trade will lose sometimes, but over the most recent trading history, this momentum and optimism options trade has won ahead of earnings.While this strategy had an overall return of%, the trade details keep us in bounds with expectations:The average percent returnwas 8.17%.You can check to see the moment a stock dips below the 200-day MA for BBAR on the Pivot Points tab on www.CMLviz.com This is how people profit from the option market, its empirical testing, not luck. Trade Machine gives you the capacity to trade beyond luck. This is just one example of what has become a tradable phenomenon in Banco BBVA Argentina SA.
Madigans speakership could be on the line. One House Democrat, Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego, has indicated she will challenge him for the job in January when members vote. And thats why Pritzkers statement on Wednesday was so important: It sent a clear signal, from the states second-most powerful Democrat  second to Madigan  that the House investigative process actually could be legit.
A former Liberian leader and Africas first elected female president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has given an insight into her tortuous political journey.

Her political career had ended with her expulsion by her own political party after she had served as her countrys president for 12 years .

I was jailed twice and sent on exile from my own country because I chose to be a resounding voice for the people, Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf said on Thursday at the maiden edition of the annual gender equality conference organised by the Kwara State Government.

The conference co-hosted by Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, and his wife, Olufolake AbdulRazaq, was held virtually.

Themed Galvanising the Will to Take Actions on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, the event featured as speakers, Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf; United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed; and Nigerias Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, among others.

Speaking on the challenges and opportunities for women in politics in Africa, Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf, 81, took the participants through her journey.

She said she could not remember how many times she narrowly escaped death.

Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf served as the 24th President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018.

Prior to her emergence as president, she had served as assistant minister of finance between 1972- 1973 under President William Tolbert and later as a finance minister in Samuel K. Does military dictatorship.

She became known for her personal financial integrity and clashed with both heads of state. For that, she was imprisoned twice and narrowly avoided execution.

In the 1985 national election, she campaigned for a seat in the Senate and openly criticised the military government, which led to her arrest and a 10-year prison sentence. She was released after a short time and allowed to leave the country.

The octogenarian said she will always give credit to the doggedness and resilience of Liberian women which contributed to her emergence as the first Liberian and African female president.

This shows how much difference women can make when they come together for a common cause, she said.

Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf took office at the end of a 14-year civil war in which an estimated 200,000 Liberians were killed.

Thousands of Liberian women, through mass action, played a pivotal role in ending the conflict in 2003.

They organised sex strikes, until their men put down their arms, according to a BBC report.

These same women also took risks to elect Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf on her promise to sustain peace and make gender equality central to her administrations agenda.

The conversation reported how some women hid their sons voter ID cards to prevent them from voting for Sirleafs opponent while others tricked the young men into exchanging their cards for beer.

On Thursday, the former Liberian leader said the COVID-19 pandemic was another opportunity for women to display their remarkable leadership role.

The leadership roles played by women in many countries during the coronavirus have been remarkable and should be celebrated, she said.

She however frowned at the high rate of domestic violence experienced mostly by women during the pandemic lockdowns.

She called for action and advocacy towards tackling gender violence and inequality, noting that it is only through proper legislation and the quota system that women can get a better deal in politics.

The former president also gave kudos to the Kwara State government for bringing up such an initiative to galvanise support for more inclusion of women in the governance process.

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To mark the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Gandhi Jayanti, a young artist from Philippines has created something extraordinary. The artist named Ryan Managaysay paid his tribute by creating a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi on a big fern leaf.

Embassy of India in the Philippines shared a video on their official Facebook profile which showcases the creation of the art. It also details the artists motivation behind creating the portrait.

In the video, Managaysay introduces himself and says that he is a social studies student. He adds that hes going make a leaf art.

The video then shows Managaysay explaining why he chose that particular type of fern leaf. He also takes the viewers through step by step creation of the art. The clip concludes with him saying In this century, I hope we value, more than ever, the lessons that the worlds one and only Mahatma Gandhi had taught us.

Take a look at the wonderful clip:

The video, since being shared, has gathered close to 2,500 views and about 200 reactions. That is really awesome, wrote a Facebook user while commenting on the clip. Another individual shared a thumbs up emoji to showcase their appreciation for the clip.

What do you think of the Managaysays creation?
A MAN was charged with handling the proceeds of crime following a Garda operation which resulted in the seizure of almost 4m in cash in Kerry and Laois.

The seizure - which followed an operation in Dublin, Laois and Kerry - ranks as the largest one-off cash haul by Gardai in history.

Darren Hoey (46) appeared before a special sitting of Fermoy District Court.

Hoey, with an address at Oak Drive, Ballacollig, Mountmellick, Co Laois was charged with two counts contrary to the Criminal Justice-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act, 2010.

He is charged with engaging in the possession of property that was the proceeds of criminal conduct, namely 3m in cash, at Farranstack, Lisselton, Co Kerry on September 30.

The charge was brought contrary to Section 7 (1) A of the Criminal Justice-Money Laundering Act.

He faces a second similar charge of engaging in the possession of property that was the proceeds of criminal conduct, namely 694,845, at Ballacollig, Mountmellick, Co Laois on September 30.

Evidence of arrest, caution and charge was given by Detective Sergeant Liam Brennan of the Garda National Drug and Organised Crime Unit.

He said that when both charges were formally put to the defendant at Tralee Garda Station he made no reply.

Defence solicitor, Kieran O'Keeffe, confirmed to the court that there would be no bail application at the current time.

He also indicated that the issue of free legal aid would be dealt with at the next court sitting.

Judge Brian Sheridan was told by Inspector Tony O'Sullivan said that Gardai were applying for the defendant to be remanded in custody to appear again before Tralee District Court next week.

Judge Sheridan granted the order and remanded the defendant to appear again at 10.30am on October 7 in Tralee.

The defendant, who wore a face mask throughout the proceedings, did not speak during the hearing beyond confirming his identity.
Its the first weekend of October, or as many Kenyans call it  end month. This is whats trending on Twitter today.
The newly-opened Tsuutina Trail received an unexpected piece of seth cardinal dodginghorse today.

The young Tsuutina member cut off his braids and left them on the portion of Calgarys southwest ring road that displaced his family six years ago.

Im going to speak and youre going to listen, said artist dodginghorse as he moved in uninvited and undisturbed to take over the microphone after Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi congratulated Tsuutina Chief Roy Whitney for his hard work in getting the ring road realized.

Today is not a day to be shaking hands and smiling. Today is a sad day. My mom is probably at home right now crying. Shes probably going to continue to be crying for the rest of the day and for who knows how long? This is something that affects my family and I need you to know that. My family has been mourning for years, said dodginghorse after reading a letter his mother had written about being displaced from land.

dodginghorses mother wrote that her land, 210 Weaselhead Road, had been the home of five generations of Tsuutina grandmothers. She also wrote that she was not included in any discussions about the ring road or her land.

She said she was forcibly removed from her land in 2014 and erased from any services offered by Tsuutina. She said that a pledge made by Whitney to walk with the displaced families had not happened.

You cant build prosperity and you cant build relationships when you erase the women that came from this land, said dodginghorse.

Whitney responded strongly when asked by a freelance journalist, who has been following dodginghorses story, to comment.

It was a community decision and, as our Elders would say and I am an Elder now so I can say it, there is a time and place for everything. This is not the time or place, said Whitney.

If a statement has to be made, it should be made internally by nation membersWe conduct our business among ourselves. We dont do it here.

Whitney said that about 80 per cent of members voted in favour of the building the ring road.

It was voted on in terms of the future generations, he said.

Nation members approved the deal offered by the province, the chief said, which would see other land exchanged for the property needed to build the Calgary ring road. He said there were agreements signed with every displaced family to receive homes or land.

Whitney and Nenshi were joined by Premier Jason Kenney, Transportation Minister Rick McIver and local Calgary-Glenmore MLA Whitney Issik to open a stretch of the Tsuutina Trail, which will now see traffic flowing southwards from Glenmore Trail and Sarcee Trail over three crossings across the Elbow River in a stretch that will include a tunnel at Weaselhead Road linking the Tsuutina First Nation.

The 12-kilometre portion that is now open makes up just under 40 per cent of Tsuutina Trail, which remains on track for completion in fall 2021. Construction of the Tsuutina Trail has created about 2,000 jobs.

The total estimated cost of Tsuutina Trail is $1.4 billion, with $459 million committed by Alberta in Budget 2020 over three years and $333.6 million from Canada through the National Infrastructure Component.

Kenney called it a historic day of partnership and prosperity.

(This was a) win-win solution with the nation to ensure that they could reap the benefits of this major infrastructure project as with all of the residents of Calgary and area, he said.

Kenney recalled making the announcement to fund the ring road in 2015, when he was a federal minister with the Conservative government.

Its pretty cool to see things that you announce as concepts actually become asphalt and become big infrastructure that will improve peoples lives, he said.

The ring road has been in planning for 50 years, said McIver, and in informal discussions for another two decades.

McIver has also followed the project from the start.

It was my hope then and still is now that this agreement and this piece of infrastructure will lead to hundreds of years of prosperity and good employment for the people of the nation while building on long-term friendship and partnership between the nation, the city and all of Alberta, said McIver.

Whitney, who has served as chief intermittently for 22 years, was also involved at the beginning of the project.

The patience, the understanding of our community, the forward thinking that they had in terms of the opportunities that will create economic prosperity, and jobs for future generations, thats when the decision was made for this roadway. It was the thinking of that generation to provide this opportunity to move forward, said Whitney.

Related story: Modern day colonialism

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Anytime of the month is a student led social enterprise working to alleviate the effects of period poverty in Ireland. On Saturdays show I chatted with the very inspirational UL student Catriona O'Halloran about her involvement in this project.

Catriona and her colleagues in UL aim to combat period poverty in Ireland, in particular aiding students in UL, and those in direct provision.

If you are unfamiliar with the term, Period poverty  it occurs when purchasing sanitary products puts a financial strain on a person. Catriona informed me of some worrying statistics that she uncovered while researching the reality of period poverty in UL. Catriona found that:

35%of people have found it difficult to pay for sanitary products.

75%of people have gone longer than the recommended 4 hours wearing a sanitary product due to financial strain.

64%of people have borrowed a sanitary product from a stranger.

82%of people found it uncomfortable or fairly uncomfortable asking for a sanitary product from a stranger.

Worrying figures for a first world country. The group of students behind this research are part of ULs ENACTUS  A social entrepreneurship society who work voluntary to tackle social and environmental issues.

This year the group have partnered with UL student life who provide free pads and tampons for students on campus. They have also officially launched a brand-new website that allows you to support their efforts. By following three simple steps you can make a big difference!

Step 1: Log on to anytimeofthemonth.com and purchase an Anytime of the Month Package

Step 2: Display the logo and become and Any time of the Month ambassador. Someone in need of a sanitary product can approach you, a friendly stranger and get a sanitary product from you or you can direct them to a partner.

Step 3: Profits from your Anytime of the Month purchase go to alleviating period poverty with the people that suffer most, in an environmentally sustainable way through period cups or reusable sanitary pads for example

I am proud to be an Anytime of the Month ambassador and urge you to support if you can do so. Find out more and get involved at anytimeofthemonth.com/ or on social media - Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

_______________________________

Irish Woman in Harmony search for young female voices!

Dreams - the debut single by Irish Women In Harmony (IWIH) - has been one of the feel-good, positive energy stories to emerge from the summer of lockdown in Ireland.

Thrilled by the reception and success for Dreams, Irish Women In Harmony are now making plans to release an exciting new Christmas single, and are looking for twelve talented girls, aged twelve years and under, to join them as a tween choir for the recording.

I spoke with IWIH Harmonizer-In-Chief Ruth Anne Cunningham who says: Irish Women In Harmony is all about inspiring young Irish girls to get into music and dream big. When I was younger, I always wanted to sing at any opportunity I got, so wed like to give 12 X 12s-and-under the chance to sing with us on our Christmas project. And we are so excited to hear your submissions.

If you think you have what it takes to be one of the 12 x 12-and-under tween choir and join Irish Women In Harmony, please submit a 30-second video clip of you singing Dreams to irishwomeninharmonygmail.com or post/dm your video on Instagram tagging @irishwomeninharmony and the hashtag #IWIHSearch.

Good luck!
Co-Chairs of the Germany-South Caucasus friendship group of the German Bundestag Albert Weiler and Till Mansmann issued a joint statement over the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to Armenpress, the statement has been published at Albert Weilers official website.

The statement says in particular:

As Co-Chairs of the Germany-South Caucasus parliamentary friendship group of the Bundestag we urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to stop the military operations around Nagorno Karabakh. All participating sides should return to the negotiation table and take joint constructive works together with the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. The attempts to settle the conflict through military means destabilize the region and endanger the security of the local people.

Civilian settlements, including the capital Stepanakert, as well as the territory of the Republic of Armenia are being shelled. Numerous civilians have been killed, there are a number of wounded. We strongly condemn any act of aggression: violence cannot be a solution. All sides should remain committed to the international humanitarian law.

Moreover, we are deeply concerned over Turkeys involvement in this war. The involvement of Turkish forces will have a further dangerous negative impact on the already fragile stability. For that purpose we also call on Turkey to stop the military rhetoric.

At this painful moment our minds are with the families and relatives of the victims of the two sides."
Nishabdham

Director: Hemant Madhukar

Cast: R Madhavan, Anushka Shetty, Shalini Pandey, Michael Madsen, Subbaraju

What is the use of lining up top actors, like Madhavan and Anushka Shetty as in Amazons new thriller, Nishabdham (Silence), in Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam, and placing them in a plot which rests on the implausible? Here is what you can expect: dime a dozen murders, marital infidelity all across, ridiculous reasoning, an unstable policeman, an equally unbalanced musician and a jealous friend. To top all this, the so-called thriller is thrilling in the least.

Well, the story begins 47 years ago in 1972 on a Christmas night at Woodside Villa, 70 km from Seattle in the U.S. A young man and a woman are having wine and dancing to a record playing on a gramophone. The girl goes upstairs, and the boy steps into the basement. There is a flickering bulb and a demonic voice. The girl walks down and shrieks as she sees her boyfriend crucified and dead. The villa gets a haunted tag till 2019 when it is finally bought and refurbished. But the basement remains in a state of neglect with the wood painting of French Empress Josephine Bonaparte intact.

Cut to 2019, and we are introduced to a young deaf-mute girl, Sakshi (Anushka Shetty), who along with her best friend, Sonali (Shalini Pandey) has grown up in an American orphanage. Sakshi is a great artist, whose paintings are adored. In walks Madhavans Anthony, a celebrated cello player, whose dashing and debonair good looks attract an endless number of women. Anthony is smitten by Sakshi, and buys one of her paintings for a million dollars, half of which she says will go to her orphanage. Sakshi falls in love with Anthony, and they get engaged  in spite of Sonalis apprehensions about him. Despite Sonali falling in love with a wildlife photographer, Vivek (Subbaraju), her almost suffocating attention on Sakshi remains.

I really would not like to go any further with the story, but let me affirm that the highlight of the movie is Madhavans brilliant piece of acting. A greying, handsome musician, he brings into his character glory, a fleeting sense of joyful fulfillment, disappointment, and frustration coming out of betrayal and disappointment. Admittedly, he does not have much of screen time, most of it going to Shetty  who is really pretty, but so wooden that she turns her character into an almost lifeless form. Let us not forget Sakshi suffers much, much more than Anthony.

Directed by Hemant Madhukar, Nishabdham, much like an earlier thriller, Penguin, also an Amazon original, totters through a multitude of characters, some of whom do not fit the bill. While Michael Madsens Richard Dawkins (best remembered for his parts in Quentin Tarantinos Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill 2) as a Seattle cop is reasonably interesting as one who loses his sense of mental equilibrium after he catches his wife cheating on him, Anjali, as Seattle detective Maha, is totally unconvincing. Hers is an obvious case of miscasting.

Lovely landscape, an alluring Seattle by night (captured through Shaneil Deos lens) and designer clothes notwithstanding, Nishabdham hardly gripped me. The plot tries in vain to rope in the supernatural element, but the writing lets it down. A case of biting more than what it can possibly chew!

Rating: 2/5

(Gautaman Bhaskaran is author, commentator and movie critic)
The European Commission announced Thursday that it was pressing ahead with legal action against Britain over Brexit legislation that the government in London has said would permit it to break international law.

The commission, the European Unions administrative arm, gave Britain an ultimatum last month, threatening to take it to court unless it dropped plans to override parts of an agreement on withdrawal from the bloc that Prime Minister Boris Johnson struck last year.

With the deadline having expired, the commission said in a statement that it had sent the British government a letter of formal notice for breaching its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement.

Britain has 30 days to respond, and any legal action could take months to unfold. That gives the two sides the opportunity to resolve their standoff if they can strike a deal in wider Brexit talks on a trade agreement.

At the heart of the dispute are parts of the withdrawal agreement designed to prevent the creation of a hard border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland, which will remain in the European Union. There are currently no border controls between the two, allowing for the free movement of goods and people.

Sections of a proposed law being considered by the British parliament, known as the United Kingdom internal market bill, would override that withdrawal agreement by allowing British ministers to take key decisions on Northern Irish trade unilaterally, rather than through a process involving Brussels.

Despite Thursdays move, talks on a trade agreement between Britain and the European Union are still underway. If those are successful, they could resolve many of the points at the centre of the legal action and pave the way for a compromise.

The standoff comes less than 100 days before Britain is scheduled to leave the European Unions trade zone. Britain formally quit the bloc Jan. 31 but remains under its economic rule book until the end of this year.

Maros Sefcovic, a vice president of the European Commission, warned this week that Brussels would not hesitate to use legal remedies in the withdrawal agreement against Britain if it refused to drop the contentious legislation.

On Thursday, the commissions president, Ursula von der Leyen, said that Britains legislation was a full contradiction of previous commitments over how a hard border in Ireland should be avoided.

The British government said it would respond later to the EU move.

We have clearly set out our reasons for introducing the measures, it said in a statement.

We need to create a legal safety net to protect the integrity of the U.K.s internal market, ensure ministers can always deliver on their obligations to Northern Ireland and protect the gains from the peace process.
A crucial Senate crossbencher with the power to decide the fate of the government's university funding reforms says he will reveal his position within days ahead of a potential vote on budget day.

In a sign the Morrison government is eager to push the reforms to a vote in the Senate, the Job-Ready Graduates Bill is the first bill listed for debate when Parliament resumes on Tuesday, the same day as the federal budget.

Centre Alliance Senator Stirling Griff says he will finalise his position on the government's university funding reforms in the coming days. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

The outcome of the bill hinges on the vote of Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff, from South Australia, who said on Friday the party was still in discussions with the state's universities and the government.

"We're continuing to work with our local unis and discuss ways to improve the offerings for students," Senator Griff said.
Married At First Sight star Jules Robinson is believed to have given birth to her first child with husband Cameron Merchant.

On Friday, Cameron, 36, was seen bringing a number of supplies to the Sydney hospital where Jules, 37, is currently a patient.

The former reality star carried a bag of items from Chemist Warehouse as well as what appeared to be a baby carrier or car seat.

Daddy duty! Married At First Sight star Jules Robinson is believed to have given birth to her first child with husband Cameron Merchant (pictured)

He also had on hand what looked like a cosy cardigan or small blanket in a black and white pattern.

After a visit to the ward, Cameron left the hospital alone, again with a number of supplies.

Ready! On Friday, Cameron, 36, was seen bringing a number of supplies to the Sydney hospital where Jules, 37, is currently a patient

Transport: The former reality star carried what appeared to be a baby carrier or car seat

Shopping for bub: He also carried a bag of items from Chemist Warehouse

Warm up: He had on hand what looked like a cosy cardigan or small blanket in a black and white pattern

Those items included tins of baby formula, which he was presumably taking home to get things ready for when Jules and the baby are discharged.

Cameron looked serious and focused on his mission, his face covered in a blue surgical, mask and a pair of sunglasses.

He wore an all-beige outfit consisting of a matching t-shirt and slacks worn with black and white trainers.

Dad on a mission: Cameron looked serious and focused on his mission, his face covered in a blue surgical, mask and a pair of sunglasses

Drink up! The items in his bag included tins of baby formula

Setting up: Cameron left the hospital alone, presumably to set up for when Jules gets home

The couple have not yet announced the arrival of their bundle of joy, with Jules last posting to Instagram on Tuesday, promoting a hair product.

On Saturday, the mother-to-be shared another video to Instagram of herself shuffling her way to the couch and lying down for a rest.

The humorous clip featured commentary from Cathy Freeman's historic 400-metre sprint at the 2000 Olympic Games.

Baby love: Jules (right) and Cameron announced they were expecting their first child in April, via a spread in Stellar Magazine

She compared her pregnancy waddle to Cathy's gold-medal victory, writing in the caption: 'My shuffle, slide that gets me around in the evening, here you have it.'

Close to a week ago, Jules revealed that her baby was due that day, but had not yet arrived.

The couple chose to keep the sex of their unborn child a secret until birth, but already had a name picked out.

Waiting to announce: The couple have not yet announced the arrival of their bundle of joy, with Jules last posting to Instagram on Tuesday, promoting a hair product

Jules and Cameron announced they were expecting their first child in April, via a spread in Stellar Magazine.

Jules and her husband Cameron met on season six of Channel Nine's Married At First Sight, which was filmed in late 2018 to early 2019.

They were legally married in November 2019, airing their wedding day on A Current Affair.

It was reported the couple recently bought a $1.8million property on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
China has shown off a new military drone that carries two grenade launchers.

The weapon appeared during a recent combat exercise in southern China, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The rotary-wing aircraft is also capable of firing guided munitions and conducting various missions, including tactical reconnaissance and midair interceptions, it is reported.

China's state broadcaster CCTV has shown off a new military drone that carries two grenade launchers. The rotary-wing aircraft is also capable of firing guided munitions, it is reported

Beijing's latest fighting drone was reportedly deployed during a combat exercise by a special brigade under the land force of the People's Liberation Army in a rain forest in southern China

China has stepped up its military drone race with the United States in recent years.

Among others, its arsenal includes unmanned stealth fighter jets fitted with AK-47 rifles and deadly drone bombers which can fly 35 hours without refuelling.

Beijing's latest fighting drone was deployed during a drill by a special brigade under the land force of the People's Liberation Army, CCTV said in a video report released by its social media account.

The military exercise is said to have taken place in a rain forest in Yunnan Province.

CCTV's report suggested that the weapon was produced by Harwar, a Chinese company specialising in the development and manufacture of drones with 'special equipment'.

CCTV's report suggested that the weapon was produced by Harwar, a Chinese company specialising in the development and manufacture of drones with 'special equipment'

It has been reported that the unmanned aerial vehicle is the 'Zhanfu H16-V12' from Harwar

A military column published by state-run eastday.com claimed that it was the 'Zhanfu H16-V12' from Harwar.

The model, whose name means 'War Ax' in English, was showcased by the company at a drone expo in Shenzhen last month.

According to the manufacturer, the drone can fly as high as 5,834 metres (19,140 feet) and carry a maximum load of 25 kilograms (55 pounds).

It is said to be able to withstand high winds of up to 17.1 metres (56 feet) per second and a temperature range from minus 40 degrees to 85 degrees Celsius (minus 104 degrees to 185 degrees Fahrenheit).
New Delhi, Oct 2 : Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched a 100-day campaign under the Jal Jeevan Mission on Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on Friday to ensure safe piped water supply to schools and anganwadi centres across the country.

Speaking to reporters on the occasion, Shekhawat said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while launching the logo of Jal Jeevan Mission on September 29, called for ensuring drinking water supply in all the schools and anganwadi centres across the country. In this backdrop we are launching a 100-day campaign to ensure the same." "We are asking all the state governments to ensure piped drinking water in all schools and anganwadi centres in the next 100 days.

"It will be a fitting tribute to our Father of the Nation on his 151st birth anniversary," Shekhawat said.

The Minister also wrote to the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors requesting them to lead this 100-day campaign in their States/UTs starting October 2. The Minister appealed to them to make it a "Jan Andolan".

"This 100-day campaign is an opportunity to bring a smile on the face of every child of the country, by ensuring their holistic development," Shekhawat wrote in his letter.

"The campaign demands concerted efforts in the form of a time-bound campaign involving Public Health Engineering/Rural Water Supply Departments and other departments like Education, Women & Child Development, Tribal Welfare, Gram Panchayats/VWSCs/Pani Samitis, local communities, sector partners, NGOs, Self-Help Groups, etc. so as to make it a true 'Jan Andolan'," he said.

The Centre is working on the Jal Jeevan Mission with the objective to provide safe drinking water through household taps to all households in rural India by 2024.

Under this, the 'Har Ghar Jal' aims at tap water supply to households with special focus on women and children. Ensuring safe water to children is a priority under JJM as they are most susceptible to water-borne diseases like typhoid, dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera, etc.

"Repeated infections due to consumption of unsafe water in their formative years may have debilitating effects, resulting in stunting. The situation is much more complex in areas where water sources are found to be contaminated with arsenic, fluoride, other heavy metals and prolonged consumption of water having these contaminants may lead to degenerating diseases resulting in serious health problems," Shekhawat added.
The House of Congress passed and voted over the $2.2 trillion stimulus package on Thursday amid the negotiation between the White House and Pelosi.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initially started their weeks stalled stimulus negotiation on Wednesday. However, they decided to put a halt in their negotiation to come up with a more significant deal on Thursday.

Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives are already set to vote on the relief measures under the $2.2 trillion stimulus package. This is to make sure that millions of Americans will receive the relief aids they need as they continue to suffer the economic impact of the global pandemic.

The relief measure passed the Congress with 214-207 votes. Meanwhile, none of the Republicans voted for the relief aids while 18 Democratic representatives voted against the bill. Almost all Democrats who voted for the $2.2 trillion stimulus package are those who are in a tight race.

One of the Democratic Representatives who voted against the stimulus package, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, said "Today's package is another partisan exercise that will never become law. My focus remains on working with Democrats and Republicans to get relief to my district immediately, and partisan gamesmanship will not do it."

Moreover, the new stimulus legislation that passed Congress is known as HEROES 2.0. It is a scaled-down version of the HEROES Act which the Democrats proposed in May. The Congress Representatives voted for the HEROES 2.0 while Steven Mnuchin and Nancy Pelosi attempted to have a bipartisan agreement.

On the other hand, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the reporters on Late Thursday night that she spoke to Steven Mnuchin for multiple times. However, she clarified that there is no agreement or stimulus deal yet. When she was asked if there is a possibility for a stimulus agreement, she said: "It depends."

The agreement between Steven Mnuchin and Nancy Pelosi is almost near. The only thing that hinders their negotiation is the total amount of the stimulus package Meadows already said that the White House offered over $1.5 trillion while Pelosi keeps on pushing for $2.2 trillion.

Since the new stimulus dubbed as HEROES 2.0 already passed the Congress, the Senate is expected to deliberate it. Even though there is only a slim chance that it will pass the Senate, things could still change after Pres. Trump said that he would urge the Republicans to vote for a larger stimulus.

Once it passes the Senate, Pres Trump is more likely to sign it into a law a day after. This means that the Internal Service Revenue could start sending the $1,200 stimulus checks to millions of Americans across the country. That also includes other benefits like the dependent payment.

Hopefully, the relief aids under the new stimulus package will be sent before the election to help those who continue to suffer the economic devastation of the global pandemic. Meanwhile, if this will not pass the Senate, Trump's administration is already considering to release a series of executive orders.

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Cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch has sparked a fierce debate online after her recipe for the quickest pie ever featuring a tin of spaghetti hoops and mash potato went viral.

Sophie Hinchliffe, 30, from Essex, shared a series of clips on her Instagram stories with her 3.7 million followers revealing her recipe for the quick and easy meal.

The recipe includes layers of spaghetti hoops, spinach and mashed potato topped with fried eggs and grated cheddar cheese before being baked in the oven.

But after Twitter user @RachelDocca shared the clips online, some fans said they were horrified by the meal, while others leapt to the social media star's defence.

Cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch has sparked a fierce debate online after her recipe for the quickest pie ever featuring a tin of spaghetti hoops and mash potato went viral

The recipe includes layers of spaghetti hoops, spinach and mashed potato topped with fried eggs and grated cheddar cheese before being baked in the oven

Sharing the clip, Rachel posted: 'Its been over 24 hours and yet my mind is still consumed by the chaotic slop Mrs Hinch had for her lunch yesterday.'

In the videos, Sophie fried two eggs in a saucepan before adding spaghetti hoops to a small casserole dish.

The social media star then added a sprinkling of cheese, followed by a layer of spinach, before repeating the process.

She topped the creation with buttery mash, before adding further spinach and cheese.

Social media users were divided over the controversial dish, with some saying it was 'chaotic slop' and others defending the mother-of-one

Sophie completed the pie with the two fried eggs before 'popping it' in the oven for an undiclosed amount of time.

But after revealing the final product of her efforts, many social media users were divided by the 'pie'.

Some said they were horrified by the lunch, with one saying: 'Well individually, aside from the hoops and the clearly packed-bought mash, and the uncooked random spinach, and the -

'Okay nevermind, it's just bad.'

The cleaning sensation offered her Instagram followers a step by step guide on how to make the simple meal

Another wrote: 'Chaotic slop should be the name of her next "book".'

A third commented: 'This is the lady who gives processed ham to her one-year-old and puts cheese strings on a cottage pie.

'Seriously, who is letting this woman share recipes on her cleaning page like this?'

However others jumped to the defence of the social media star, with one saying: 'She's making food that her toddler can eat - erm - what's the problem?'

It comes as Mrs Hinch opened up about how 'daunting' and 'petrifying' her experience of fame had been

Another commented: 'Sweet god what a disgraceful thread! What any parent chooses to feed their child is absolutely no ones business but theirs.

'I had spaghetti hoops as a child and still eat them as an adult. Judgemental much.'

It comes as Mrs Hinch opened up about how 'daunting' and 'petrifying' her experience of fame had been.

Speaking to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on This Morning yesterday, the social media influencer said she had struggled to keep up with her ascension to fame.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk from the Marine One helicopter back to the White House after traveling to Fort McHenry in Baltimore for Memorial Day holiday commemorations from Washington on May 25, 2020. (Erin Scott/Reuters)

Chinese State Media Editor Mocks Trump Over Virus Diagnosis

Some Chinese state media outlets reacted with scorn after President Donald Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 early on Oct. 2.

Their diagnosis had to do with the administrations response to the pandemic, suggested Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state-run tabloid Global Times.

President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19, he wrote on Twitter. The post, which has since been deleted, was published about an hour after Trump first announced the test results.

Hu further suggested that Trumps infection will impose a negative impact on the image of Trump and the US, and may also negatively affect his reelection.

Three of Chinas main central government-run outlets, Xinhua, CCTV, and Peoples Daily, published short articles on the news without commentary.

Late on Oct. 2, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters that the nation hopes the Trumps will recover soon.

Trump confirmed their COVID-19 diagnoses shortly after his close aide Hope Hicks tested positive on Thursday. They have both begun self-quarantining at the White House, and are both well at this time, according to the presidents physician Sean Conley.

State-run outlet China Daily said the positive test is yet another reminder that the coronavirus continues to spread and went on to criticize the administrations handling of the pandemic.

On the Chinese internet, netizens expressed disbelief and well wishes upon hearing the news of Trumps infection.

Some small business owners used the news as an opportunity to promote their products, with one small private cell phone shop declaring on Weibo that it would give a 200 to 500 yuan ($30 to $74) discount on cell phones to celebrate Trumps positive diagnosis. A coffee shop said it would give away a cup of American coffee to all patrons.

Another group of Chinese criticized these business owners and those who expressed schadenfreude at Trumps diagnosis.

Blogger Cai Xiaoseng, who has more than 113,500 followers, quoted German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on Weibo: When people really deteriorate, their only contribution is malicious joy in the misfortune of others.

A Chinese netizen who called himself Fatty Qiang expressed a similar sentiment: If you gloat over other peoples afflictions, you are not worthy of being called a human.

Some overseas Chinese-language media speculated about the reason why Beijing has largely refrained from making huge headlines about Trumps diagnosis.

A commentary on Taiwan-based Liberty Times said that should the president become incapacitated, those next in lineVice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosiboth have tough attitudes on China issues, so Beijing is uncertain about how to react.

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
Studies for many years have shown that minorities in California are more likely than whites to be stopped and arrested by police. A new report shows particularly wide disparities in police stops for non-traffic infractions, like sitting on the sidewalk, loitering in public or jaywalking, all punishable by hundreds of dollars in fines and fees.

During a recent 18-month period in Oakland, the report said, Black adults were 9.7 times as likely as whites, and Latinos and Latinas 5.8 times as likely, to be cited for such offenses by police. In San Francisco, the white and Latino citation rates were roughly equal, but Black people were 4.5 times as likely as either group to be stopped and cited.

These are not citations police commonly give in white, wealthy neighborhoods, said the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, which issued the statewide report. They do not include harms to people or property, but instead criminalize everyday behaviors such as standing, sleeping, owning a dog and crossing the street. Owning a dog requires a license in some cities.

Another report in 2016 found that in all types of criminal cases, Blacks were nearly three times as likely to be arrested as white or Latino Californians.

Unlike more serious criminal charges, the new report noted, people accused of non-traffic infractions have no right to a court-appointed attorney. The fines for most infractions range from $25 to $100, but the state has tacked on mandatory fees to fund the financially strapped court system, raising a $100 fine to a $490 penalty. For those who miss a deadline to pay, the bill can run as high as $815. And in some counties, though not San Francisco or Alameda, judges can issue arrest warrants for those who fail to pay their fines.

Despite the attempts to deter or punish nonpayment, the report said, California has more than $10 billion in uncollectable debts from infraction fines and penalties.

Out of 4.77 million criminal cases filed statewide in 2017-18, the report said, more than 256,000, or 5.4%, were for non-traffic infractions. In the last decade, overall criminal charges have declined by 43%, while non-traffic infractions have dropped by 27%.

Jeff Cretan, spokesman for San Francisco Mayor London Breed, said Thursday that Breed has worked for years to reduce the harmful impacts of punitive fines and fees that disproportionately impact low-income families for years. He said the mayor led a successful effort to eliminate some court fees and is working to change our citys response to calls for service so that our police officers can focus more on the violent crimes and dangerous situations for which they are trained.

The new report said San Francisco has taken positive steps with a District Attorneys Office program called Connect, which allows homeless people to get non-traffic infractions dismissed if they receive 20 hours of social service assistance from a city-approved organization.

But participants must complete paperwork and navigate confusing bureaucracy, the report said, and San Francisco police are still issuing citations for ordinary life-sustaining activities such as sitting or sleeping.

The Lawyers Committee said enforcement of non-traffic infractions has been neither even-handed nor effective and should be scaled back substantially or halted altogether.

Non-traffic infraction enforcement punishes acts that do not call for punishment, expends money on policing that causes harm but achieves no important purpose, and is rife with racial disparity, the report said. At a time when it is not only crucial but possible to reimagine policing, California should end enforcement of these laws.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
For Jodie Bruce, known by her performance name Jodie B, releasing her first album is four years in the making.

Its just kind of [a] reflection, personal perspective on the last few years of my life, she says.

Bruce is a live loop performer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, and she has fans across the country, including fan bases in Kelowna, Calgary and Toronto. While she is no stranger to performing live at festivals such as Shambala Music Festival, Fozzy Fest, and Astral Harvest Music Festival, to name a few, this is her first time dropping a full album  and she produced it herself.

I started to record an album quite a few years ago, and then really fell in love with the engineering and mixing process of it, she says.

I decided right then and there that I wanted to be more involved in the producing side of the tracks.

The album is called equanimous, which means to be calm and composed.

The name actually came to me when I was attending a 10-day meditation retreat. I took a vow of silence, and basically just meditated all day, every day for about 10 days. And I think it was about the eighth or ninth day I really decided that, in there, that I wanted to do an album and title it equanimous, she says.

It just sort of goes to show that no matter what happens in your life all these different lessons and setbacks and what not, I think its really important to try to remain in a state of equanimity.

Equanimous is an 8-track album with songs titles: Soul City, Bad Apple, Wanderer, Russian Aggression, The Riddle, Swamplands, Unbreakable, and War Cry.

Bruce explains what pushed her to release a full album, as opposed to releasing singles: I think because I had so much involvement in this album, not just writing and creating the tracks, but also mixing my own vocals, she says.

I cant tell you how many hours went into mixing my own vocals on all of these tracks. Honestly, I think it just got to a point where I was ready to release it as an entire body of work that reflects, like, a good last few years of my life.

So I feel really good about it. And I feel really excited to apply what Ive learned on the next project.

The opening track for her album is titled, Soul City, and Bruce will be releasing a music video to accompany the song soon.

I think thats probably one of my favourites, she says.

Another song that holds a lot of meaning for Bruce is War Cry. Bruce explains the meaning behind and backstory behind the song: I felt really trapped at the time. I felt like I was in a place where on the outside it would appear to be everything is perfect and I felt like I couldnt express myself, and I couldnt be myself around other people.

In the opening of the song she sings, My war cry, Its so great up here in the nest, when everyone around you tells you whats best.

The song is about her feeling societal pressures, and expectations.

I didnt really want to fall into that Monday to Friday, 8 to 5 kind of office job. So I think when I did find myself there, I did find it very suffocating it and so that song was a reflection of that.

When asked how she got into music, Bruce responded immediately, My dad actually.

My dad he raised my sister and I. I have an older sister. Shes featured on a lot of the tracks as well, playing saxophone and mandolin and singing with me.

Bruce says she learned how to play instruments early on, and was performing from the age of three.

Our dad, he raised [us] the street performing so busking in Calgary when we were younger. And every weekend, every Saturday, Sunday, we would go down to Eau Claire Market or Stephen Ave in Calgary and we would busk, she says.

So we would play music, and then the money that we made from busking my father would buy us instruments and lessons, says Bruce.

Bruce says she is very appreciative for her upbringing as she explains, Its also taught me a very valuable work lesson, just always putting the money back into the craft and into further developing itself.

Bruce first learned how to play the harmonica and then piano, guitar, and she explains that her father put her and her sister in mandolin, accordion, violin and trumpet lessons.

I first learned how to play the harmonica. My dad is a bit of a bluesman, so hes always playing blues. And always when my sister and I were younger, we played at the King Eddy hotel of like in the early nineties, she says.

When it came to songwriting Bruce explains that it wasnt until the loss of a best friend before she wrote her first full song.

My older sister at the time, she was always writing songs in it. I felt a little envious, I think, how I wasnt able to write as quickly as her, she says.

And then my best friend actually passed away and I was in Australia at the time, and she ended up, kind of visiting me in a few dreams there. And I ended up waking up one nights dream, and I wrote us a song about the memories that we had together one specific summer in particular that we traveled together.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, most venues are shut down so touring is no longer an option. Instead, Bruce says that she will be releasing more music videos.

One of her goals with the new album is to raise awareness for Indigenous and non-binary music producers.

I want to try to spread more community and awareness within the Indigenous and with the women and non binary music producers, she says. Im just still trying to involve being more into that community and creating a network.

The album, which was released today, is now available on iTunes, Soundcloud, YouTube, and her website she says.

Bruce hopes that people pay attention to and take away from the principle of the title equanimous.

I really hope that people take away the title of it more than anything honestly because I think its really important to remain calm and composed.

She explains that being equanimous can impact all areas of your life, it was just a very fundamental principle that should be applied to every other area that affects your life to just really just trying to not overreact.
By Amira Hass

September 30, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - The second intifada erupted because Israel exploited the negotiations with the Palestinians to advance its land grab project. The hypocrisy cried out to the heavens  talk of peace on one hand while continuing to take over Palestinian expanse for the benefit of the Jews. The hypocrisy cried out, but the Israelis didnt listen.

The anger and disgust at Israeli underhandedness built up over years of disappointment and sobriety following the Oslo Accords, erupting on September 29, 2000 (the day after the provocation by Ariel Sharon, with the approval of then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak). But the second intifada was not an intifada in the standard sense of the word: Aside from its first days, it was not a popular civil event and a majority of the public did not participate in it, unlike the uprising that erupted in 1987. The popular-collective characteristic that was preserved in it was the sumud (steadfastness) displayed by all the Palestinians in the face of the Israeli oppressive and punitive measures and policy of economic attrition.

The Israel Defense Forces, Border Police and police, which used lethal means to suppress the protests from the very first day, managed to deter potential protesters. Yasser Arafat and his entourage worried about the criticism that could be heard in those demonstrations, directed at the Palestinian Authority and Fatah. They gave a green light to Fatah and the security forces to use weapons at friction points with the Israeli army and thus, by putting on the hat of resistance once more, seized control of the demonstrations. They also calculated that this militarization would strengthen the Palestinian negotiating stance. They still believed they could halt the Israeli settler-colonial drive in the 1967 territories.

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The well-oiled mechanism of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit and the government spokespeople succeeded on the propaganda front in constructing the lie that the battles in the field were being fought between equal armies and that the Palestinians started it. Then, as now, the Israeli majority paid little heed to the Palestinian casualties, and did not view the seizure of their lands as institutional aggression. At the same time, the number of unarmed Palestinians killed by Israel kept growing. With every funeral, the Palestinian call for revenge grew stronger. With and without a green light from above, armed Palestinians shot at Israeli civilians (also armed, as many of the settlers are) in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hamas joined somewhat belatedly and showed that if success is measured in the number of Israeli dead bodies, it was more effective than Fatah. Israel erased the Green Line  so why shouldnt it resume attacking Israelis inside Israel? The armed wings of Hamas and Fatah competed with one another and lost in the competition with the IDF on the number of those killed. The suicide bombings created a balance of terror with the Israelis but they didnt halt the Civil Administrations bulldozers.

There are four failures in all. The first intifada, with its hopeful demand for a sovereign state within the June 4, 1967 lines, failed. The Madrid and Oslo talks, which began in the wake of it, did not diminish Israels ravenous appetite for Palestinian land. Mahmoud Abbas tactic of diplomacy and acceptance in the UN also failed: The condemnations by Western countries do not amount to a policy  they are only meant to cover their butts. With the exception of a few isolated successes, the popular and legal battles against land seizures also failed. And the use of weapons, which many Palestinians still view as the pinnacle of the struggle and the resistance, even though only a few actually choose to do so, did not stop the process either. The use of arms is an expression of anger and the desire for revenge. It has no strategic value.

Twenty years later, the Israeli victory is nearly complete: The well-planned armed robbery of Palestinian land goes on daily unhindered. The model that Israel created in Gaza is being copied in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and translated into something akin to Pales of Settlement which, as long as they dont show signs of fury and rebellion, are of no interest to the Jews in Israel, the supreme ruler.

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By JILL COLVIN and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump will spend a few days at a military hospital after contracting COVID-19, the White House said Friday.

Trump was to depart the White House by helicopter late Friday for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a White House official said. The official said the visit was precautionary and that Trump would work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

Earlier Friday the White House said Trump remains fatigued and had been injected with an experimental antibody cocktail for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

Just a month before the presidential election, the revelation came in a Trump tweet about 1 a.m. after he had returned from an afternoon political fundraiser. He had gone ahead, saying nothing to the crowd though knowing he had been exposed to an aide with the disease that has infected millions in America and killed more than a million people worldwide.

First lady Melania Trump also tested positive, the president said, and several others in the White House have, too, prompting concern that the White House or even Trump himself might have spread the virus further.

Trump has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the virus, rarely wearing a protective mask and urging states and cities to reopen and reduce or eliminate shutdown rules.

The presidents physician said in a memo late Friday that Trump received a dose of an experimental antibody cocktail by Regeneron that is in clinical trials. Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley said Trump remains fatigued but in good spirits and that a team of experts was evaluating both the president and first lady in regard to next steps.

The first lady, who is 50, has a mild cough and headache, Conley reported, and the remainder of the first family, including the Trumps' son Barron, who lives at the White House, tested negative.

Both Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have tested negative, their campaign said. Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus Friday morning and remains in good health, his spokesman said.

Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was with him and many others on Saturday and has been on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, also tested negative, the White House said.

Trumps diagnosis was sure to have a destabilizing effect in Washington and around the world, raising questions about how far the virus has spread through the highest levels of the U.S. government. Hours before Trump announced he had contracted the virus, the White House said a top aide who had traveled with him during the week had tested positive.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately, Trump tweeted just before 1 a.m. We will get through this TOGETHER!

While House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday tried to assure the public that Trump was conducting business as usual, even as he confirmed that the White House knew Hope Hicks, the aide, had tested positive before Trump attended a Thursday fundraiser in New Jersey.

I can tell you in terms of Hope Hicks, we discovered that right as Marine One was taking off yesterday, said Meadows. Several staffers were pulled from the trip, but Trump did not cancel and there was no direct evidence that her illness was connected to his.

Many White House and senior administration officials were undergoing tests Friday, but the full scale of the outbreak around the president may not be known for some time as it can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test. Officials with the White House Medical Unit were tracing the presidents contacts.

Trumps reelection campaign said it was putting on hold all events featuring Trump and members of his family but that Pence would resume campaigning since he tested negative.

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and did not appear ill. He is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide.

Trump has been trying all year to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them. In the best of cases, if he develops few symptoms, which can include fever, cough and breathing trouble, it will likely force him off the campaign trail and puts his participation in the second presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami, into doubt.

Trumps handling of the pandemic has already been a major flashpoint in his race against Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware citing concern about the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday nights debate.

I dont wear masks like him, Trump said of Biden. Every time you see him, hes got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask Ive ever seen.

In a tweet Friday morning, Biden said he and his wife send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.

World leaders offered the president and first family their best wishes after their diagnosis, as governments used their case as a reminder for their citizens to wear masks and practice social distancing measures.

Trumps announcement came hours after he confirmed that Hicks, one of his most trusted and longest-serving aides, had been diagnosed with the virus Thursday. Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private information. She was isolated from other passengers aboard the plane, the person said.

Hicks had been with Trump and other senior staff aboard Marine One and Air Force One en route to that rally and had accompanied the president to Tuesdays presidential debate in Cleveland, along with members of the Trump family. The Trump contingent removed their masks during the debate, in violation of the venue rules.

Multiple White House staffers have previously tested positive for the virus, including Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, national security adviser Robert OBrien and one of the presidents personal valets. An RNC official confirmed Friday that Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel learned she had tested positive Wednesday afternoon. She has been at her home in Michigan since last Saturday and did not attend the debate.

But Trump has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable. He has mostly refused to abide by basic public health guidelines  including those issued by his own administration  such as wearing face coverings in public and practicing social distancing. Instead, he has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of often maskless supporters.

I felt no vulnerability whatsoever, he told reporters back in May.

As for Trumps attendance at Thursdays fundraiser, press secretary Kalleigh McEnany said, He socially distanced. It was an outdoor event, and it was deemed safe by White House Operations for him to attend that event.

McEnany and Trumps social media director Dan Scavino, who were originally set to join him on the trip, were replaced at the last minute by other aides. McEnany briefed the press Thursday morning and made no mention of any suspected illness, raising anew concern about White House transparency.

It is unclear where the Trumps or Hicks may have caught the virus, but in a Fox interview, Trump seemed to suggest it may have been spread by someone in the military or law enforcement in greetings.

The White House began instituting a daily testing regimen for the presidents senior aides after earlier positive cases close to the president. Anyone in close proximity to the president or vice president is also tested every day, including reporters.

Trump is far from the first world leader to test positive for the virus, which previously infected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent a week in the hospital, including three nights in intensive care. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was hospitalized last month while fighting what he called a hellish case of COVID-19.
Northern Irelands chief medical officer has warned there could be a second lockdown if cases of Covid-19 continue to rise (Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/PA)

Northern Irelands chief medical officer has advised the public to prepare for a potential second lockdown.

The Stormont Executive announced local restrictions for the Derry City & Strabane Council area on Thursday in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19.

They include hospitality businesses limited to takeaway, delivery and outdoor dining, and a call to avoid unnecessary travel.

Expand Close Londonderry is set to face further restrictions (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Londonderry is set to face further restrictions (Liam McBurney/PA)

The new rules apply from next week but Foyle SDLP MP Colum Eastwood has urged residents to act now to reduce their contacts.

Chief Medical Officer Michael McBride said further restrictions are likely in the coming weeks if the numbers of the virus continue to rise, and did not rule out a short intensive lockdown, known as a circuit breaker.

I do believe that we need to plan and prepare and look at options around a so-called circuit breaker, he told the BBC.

For us to get through the next number of months we may well need to apply further restrictions, perhaps for a short period of a couple of weeks  and then if the virus starts to increase again we may need to reapply some of those wider further restrictions.

It is crucially important that we keep on top of this virus and we deploy all of the tools in our toolbox.

There may come a point, if we see very significant transmission at a Northern Ireland level, that we need to move away from local restrictions to wider restrictions at a Northern Ireland level, and that may include a circuit breaker Dr Michael McBride

There is no magic bullet here, no hammer that you can take out that will suppress this virus; it is about the combination of interventions, restrictions that reduce mixing between people.

There may come a point, if we see very significant transmission at a Northern Ireland level, that we need to move away from local restrictions to wider restrictions at a Northern Ireland level, and that may include a circuit breaker.

He added: We have a very narrow window now to act, the consequences would be profound if we dont.

Dr McBride said he is deeply worried about the increase of case numbers in Derry City and Strabane.

He also voiced concerns about rising case numbers in the Belfast, Newry, Mourne & Down, and Mid Ulster Council areas.

He said it is an extremely and deeply worrying time.

Were seeing a rapidly deteriorating situation in terms of the number of new cases, but also the number of admissions to hospital and the number of admissions to our intensive care units, he said.

The number of new cases are doubling every nine days. The number of admissions to hospital is doubling every nine days, and we could be back to wave-one numbers of people in our hospitals with Covid-19 as early as three weeks from now.

We have a very, very short window of opportunity to put in place wider restrictions to actually stop the spread of this virus.

Expand Close (left to right) First Minister Arlene Foster, Chief Medical Officer Michael McBride and Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill (Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp (left to right) First Minister Arlene Foster, Chief Medical Officer Michael McBride and Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill (Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/PA)

On Thursday, First Minister Arlene Foster said any new period of full lockdown in the region should only happen as part of a co-ordinated move across the UK.

Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill said a lockdown, if it were to be required, should be undertaken across the island of Ireland and the UK.




According to the government official, the South American nation has signed agreements with Pfizer and the COVAX Facility , which secures COVID-19 vaccine doses to immunize more than 11 million Peruvians in the first quarter of 2021.





In statements to ATV channel, he claimed that these were the first agreements made in the region, which were followed by other countries.





On the other hand, he explained that the payments will be made on an established schedule. In the case of the COVAX Facility, the payment is scheduled for October 9, while the payment to Pfizer is slated for late October.





"We should not accelerate the negotiations, which are underway with countries, in some cases, and with laboratories, in others. The cost may vary as the vaccine prototypes are developed. Negotiations are proceeding well, so trust the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the multisectoral group seeking access to the vaccine ," he remarked.





As stated by the minister, Peru has a wide range of possibilities to access the vaccine in the first quarter of next year, since the vaccines are still undergoing Phase 3 of trials and there is no confirmed date for when they will be available.





"We expect to be supplied (with the vaccines) in the first quarter. We are making progress, and we have a variety of options. If a project does not go at the pace we expected, we will look for another one. We have secured the COVAX Facility vaccine," he added.





(END) FHG/RMB/MVB

Peru will be among the first countries to get access to the COVID-19 vaccine in the first quarter of next year, Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Lopez affirmed.Published: 10/2/2020
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-03 02:24:04|Editor: huaxia

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Women wearing face masks pose by the Beatles statue in Liverpool, Britain, on Oct. 2, 2020. Another 6,968 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 467,146, according to official figures released Friday. Tougher coronavirus restrictions, including a legal ban on different households meeting indoors, will be introduced in Liverpool, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough from Saturday. (Photo by Jon Super/Xinhua)

LONDON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- A total of 770 students have tested positive for coronavirus in a British university in one of the major outbreaks in Britain since the reopening of the campuses in September, a university spokesperson said Friday.

The spokesperson for Northumbria University, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, said all of those students who tested positive are now self-isolating and 78 were displaying symptoms.

Meanwhile, flatmates and any close contacts are also going into isolation, the spokesperson added.

In a statement, the university said it was supporting those affected by providing food and other essential items, such as laundry and cleaning materials.

The university is offering "welfare support including 24/7 online mental health support and one-to-one support from our wellbeing teams", according to the statement.

The report came as Britain's R number, which shows the coronavirus reproduction, has risen to as high as 1.6, the latest official figures showed Friday.

The R number is now between 1.3 and 1.6, up from between 1.2 and 1.5 last week, according to figures released by the British government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

If the reproduction rate is above one, it means the number of cases will increase exponentially.

Another 6,968 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 467,146, according to official figures released Friday.

The coronavirus-related deaths rose by 66 to 42,268, according to the latest data.

At least 16 million people are now living under some form of enhanced restriction, according to Sky News.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States, are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

The British government's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance has said that 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. Enditem
A Washington state man is awaiting trial after being accused of helping smuggle seven people across the US - Canada border.

Robert Boule - who owns the Smuggler's Inn bed and breakfast in the US border town of Blaine - is set to be tried in Canada, after he was charged by that country's government with 21 counts relating to human smuggling.

According to a report published in the Global News on Friday, the 70-year-old innkeeper allegedly charged each of the seven illegal immigrants up to US$700 'for directions to a nearby gas station'.

That gas station was technically located north of the border in the Canadian jurisdiction of British Columbia.

The alleged offences occurred between May 2018 and March 2019, and the seven immigrants originally hailed from Afghanistan and Syria.

It is unclear whether they still remain at large in Canada.

Robert Boule - who owns the Smuggler's Inn bed and breakfast in the US border town of Blaine -is awaiting trial after being accused of helping to smuggle seven people across the US - Canada border by charging them for directions to a gas station in British Columbia. He is pictured in a 2007 photo, with the inn in the background

The inn sits just below the US- Canada border, in an area where there are no fences, walls or permanent border patrol agents

A Canada Border Services Agency investigation claims that Boule 'operates a high-volume, highly profitable smuggling business'.

However, that accusation has been questioned by both US and Canadian attorneys.

'If this truly were a high volume operation, CBSA would have more evidence than seven payments for seven people,' Vancouver based lawyer Richard Kurland told Global News.

Meanwhile, US based immigration lawyer Len Saunders say Boule is being used as a 'scapegoat'.

He says the Canadian government is deliberately preying upon an elderly man who did not actually transport the illegal immigrants across the border himself.

'Who cares how he gets paid as an innkeeper?' he told The Global News.

'That's irrelevant. He has a service that he does at the border, and I don't think it's up to him to determine where his clients go after they spend the night at his inn.'

Boule has owned the popular Smuggler's Inn for more than two decades. The residence backs onto the US- Canada border

Boule is out on bail, with the case scheduled for trial in the coming months. He is pictured this week

On Friday, Global News filed a report from the scene and spotted a family walking through the grounds of Smuggler's Inn attempting to leave the United States

Boule has owned the popular Smuggler's Inn for more than two decades. The residence backs onto the US- Canada border.

He has previously told media publications that people have been nabbed by police and border agents while trying to cross his property to enter Canada illegally.

On Friday, Global News filed a report from the scene and spotted a family walking through the grounds of Smuggler's Inn attempting to leave the United States.

The area is reportedly a hot spot for illegal border hoppers as there are now walls, fences or permanent agents in the area.

Meanwhile, Boule is out on bail, with the case scheduled for trial in the coming months.
It depends on your citizenship /permanent residencey, If youre' a Portugese and want to fly to Finland, you wil not be allowed to enter Russia even if Russia is opened for Finnish citizens.

You many only enter if you hold citizenship/PR of selected countries (now Finland is not yet in the list though) and provided you take a direct flight from one of these coutries.

Allegro train is not operating as of now, and there are no even rumors for it to resume any time soon.

On a brither side, Turkey is in the list of allowed countries. If you're a Turkish resident, or PR holder, you can fly to Russia but again, it should be directly from Turkey. So, if you really, like really want to travel to Russia, you need to obtain Turkish PR (it costs about 600usd in Antalia +;pus you need to stay there for 3-4 weeks to process residency and then obtain a Russian visa (there are companies dearling with PR in Antalya regiona you may google) and then fly to Russia.

Edited: 1 year ago
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu reported 5,595 Covid-19 cases and 67 deaths on Friday, taking the tally to 6,08,885 and toll to 9,653.

Chennai alone recorded 1,278 cases. Its neighbouring districts Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur recorded 396, 157 and 255 cases respectively, while most of the remaining fresh cases came from the western districts.

While Coimbatore reported 495 cases, Salem reported 355, Tiruppur 149, Erode 194 and Namakkal 163 cases. However, Dharmapuri, Nilgiris and Krishnagiri recorded 62, 73 and 76 new cases respectively.

According to the media bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health, the State tested 84,991 samples and 83,123 people on the day, taking the total number of samples tested to 75,26,688 and people to 73,04,809.

Meanwhile, one more private lab, Ganga Diagnostic Care in Chennai, has been approved for Covid-19 testing.

As many as 5,603 people were discharged on the day taking the total number of people discharged after treatment to 5,52,938. The State now has 46,294 patients undergoing treatment.

Among the deceased, only five patients did not have any comorbid conditions. A 34-year-old man from Pudukkottai who died on September 21 was one such patient. The man was admitted to a private hospital with complaints of fever and difficulty in breathing for seven days on September 9. He tested positive on September 10 and died on September 21 due to Covid-19 pneumonia.

Meanwhile, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar told reporters that Oxford Universitys Covishield vaccine was being administered to volunteers in the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital from last week and so far no volunteer had complained of side effects.

The minister addressed the reporters after inspecting the Covid hospital at King Institute, Guindy. He along with the Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan inspected the Covid wards and inquired about the treatment with the patients.
The United States is in the grips of the worst social crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Eight months after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and barely one month before the presidential election, millions of workers and young people are unemployed or underemployed and facing eviction, hunger and the loss of health care coverage. This coincides with an acceleration of the coronavirus pandemic, which has already taken more than 210,000 US lives, spurred on by the homicidal herd immunity policy championed by the Trump administration and administered at the state and local level by Democratic as well as Republican officials.

Fueled by the campaign of both parties to reopen the schools and campuses, COVID-19 infections are on the rise in 28 states.

On Thursday, some 50,000 airline workers were laid off or furloughed. Having received tens of billions of dollars in government handouts and virtually free credit from the Federal Reserve Board, compliments of the bipartisan CARES Act passed last March, major US airlines and defense contractor Boeing are carrying out mass layoffs.

The unprecedented corporate bailout was cynically packaged as a move to save jobs. But the billionaire bankers, investors and CEOs have used the money to permanently downsize and restructure their operations while further enriching themselves and boosting their stock prices. They destroy the jobsand the livesof their workers with complete impunity, knowing they will face no opposition from either of the two big business parties or the pro-corporate trade unions.

Meanwhile, the same politicians conspire to strip workers of the $600-per-week federal unemployment supplement, allowing it to expire two months ago, and permit state unemployment pay to run out for growing numbers of workers. Millions of laid-off workers, including some 600,000 in California alone, are unable to register for jobless pay because of antiquated and overwhelmed state unemployment systems.

The jobs bloodbath in the airline industry is part of a broader and accelerating corporate assault on jobs. On Tuesday, Disney announced it will eliminate 28,000 jobs in the US. Royal Dutch Shell announced this week it will be cutting between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs, while Dow Inc. said it will reduce its workforce costs by 6 percent.

As for small businesses, over 97,000 across the US have closed for good since March 1, according to data from Yelp Inc.

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker is leading the industry attack, announcing Wednesday that his airline will go ahead with 19,000 layoffs, or 14 percent of its pre-pandemic workforce. American received $5.81 billion through the CARES Act. Parker took in $12 million in compensation in 2018.

United Airlines is following suit, announcing that workers should expect about 13,000 furloughs in the coming weeks.

Delta, which received $5.4 billion in grants and low-interest loans from the government, started the year with over 90,000 workers and now employs fewer than 75,000. The airline plans to furlough roughly 1,900 pilots. Delta CEO Ed Bastian received a total compensation package of nearly $15 million in 2018.

It should be noted that the bailout scheme was supported almost unanimously by the Democratic Party and enthusiastically endorsed by Bernie Sanders.

The US government reported Thursday that over 837,000 new workers filed for unemployment assistance last week. The total pool of Americans on state benefit rolls remained at nearly 11.8 million for the week ended Sept. 19. However, the real number of workers receiving unemployment benefits, including aid from federal programs separate from state unemployment pay, or waiting to be approved, is 28 million.

Millions of workers are struggling to pay rent, utilities and car payments, and put food on the table for their families on the basis of their starvation unemployment rations. Nearly one-third of adults are reporting difficulty meeting their regular household expenses.

Hundreds of people wait in line for bags of groceries at a food pantry at St. Marys Church in Waltham, Mass., Thursday, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Restrictions on utility cutoffs and evictions have expired or are set to expire in dozens of states across the US. As of Friday, only 12 states and the District of Columbia still have disconnection bans in place for basic utilities. Over 200 million Americans are at risk of losing service, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

Meanwhile, the wealth of the 643 richest US billionaires grew by $845 billion, or 29 percent, in the first six months of the pandemic. The wealth of Tesla founder Elon Musk, who defied pandemic restrictions to reopen his plant in Northern California, surged 273 percent to $92 billion.

Fourteen percent of Americans, some 46 million people, say that since the virus was declared a pandemic, their emergency savings have been wiped out, according to a new study. Another 11 percent of adults have had to borrow money to cover everyday expenses.

Young workers in particular have been hard hit. Over half of people under the age of 45 say that the one-time $1,200 payment from the government under the CARES Act covered less than two weeks of expenses. Roughly a quarter, or 26 percent, of those ages 25 to 34 say they had completely depleted their emergency funds.

The response of the ruling class to the pandemicDemocrats and Republicans alikehas been dictated entirely by the interests of the financial aristocracy.

The catastrophe for the working class did not even come up in the first presidential debate, held Tuesday night. Democratic candidate Biden did not even mention the cutoff of unemployment benefits or the mass layoffs. In fact, both parties, controlled by different factions of the same corporate-financial oligarchy, support the use of mass unemployment and poverty as a club to force workers back to unsafe workplaces, so their labor can be exploited to pump out more profits to back up the trillions in grants and loans to the corporate elite.

The ruling class is acutely aware of the fact that it confronts mass social anger that threatens to take an explosive and potentially revolutionary form. Already there have been signs of massive opposition among teachers, autoworkers and other sections of the working class on the front-lines of the pandemic.

Terrified of the development of social opposition, a substantial faction of the ruling class, expressed most openly in Trumps effort to defy the results of the November election, overthrow the Constitution and establish a presidential dictatorship based on sections of the military, the police and fascist militia, has decided it has no way out except through violence.

Trumps biggest asset is the spinelessness and duplicity of the Democratic Party, which represents sections of Wall Street, the military and the intelligence agencies, in alliance with privileged sections of the upper-middle class.

Its role is to downplay and obscure the immense dangers to democratic rights and cover up the source of the crisis in the failure of the capitalist system. Its response to the mass multi-racial protests against police violence and racism has been to double down on its promotion of racial politics in order to obscure the fundamental class issues, presenting police brutality as the result of white racism, rather than the violence of the armed enforcers of the capitalist state against the working class. This aids the ruling class by sowing confusion and division within the working class.

The precondition for a successful struggle to defend democratic rights, contain and eradicate the pandemic and secure decent-paying jobs, housing, education and health care for all is a complete break with the political corpse of the Democratic Party and the building of a mass independent movement of the working class for socialism.

Popular organizations independent of the pro-corporate trade unions and the two big business parties must be established in workplaces and working class communities across the countryand around the worldto prepare a political general strike against the ruling class drive to dictatorship.

The Socialist Equality Party and the World Socialist Web Site urge all those opposed to police state rule, fascism, social inequality and the impoverishment of workers and youth to get off the sidelines and make the decision to fight back. Join the Socialist Equality Party, take up the fight for socialism.
Remaining Gracious

Button-Making Machines

No matter how serious President Trumps bout with COVID-19 turns out to be, his diagnosis has already revealed an illness in the country at large. Rather than rooting for the presidents recovery, some decided it was fitting to kick him when hes down.Almost instantly after Trump tweeted early on Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus, a series of insults, mean jokes and ill wishes began to appear on social media. They havent let up.The combination of the unceasing partisanship of our times with the unending anger that sometimes seems to dominate social media has left at least some people incapable of expressing sympathy, or without any sense of shame about expressing malicious feelings toward the nations leader during a time of trouble.On social media, people have expressed hope that Trump ends up on a ventilator, or worse. Many suggested that he might be faking his illness. Some have wished that he infect other Republicans. A tweet posted minutes after Trumps announcement that read, my tl (timeline) just turned into whatever the opposite of a prayer circle is, has received more than 300,000 likes. One illustration showed the words "thoughts" and "prayers" tattooed on a pair of extended middle fingers.By Friday morning, Merriam-Webster reported that searches for schadenfreude  the German word for taking pleasure in someone elses misfortune  had spiked by more than 30,000 percent.Many threw Trumps own past words back at him, parodying his past parade of insults.  Just saw thousands of muslims dancing on a rooftop in jersey city .  I like people who dont get covid .  He demanded Obamas birth certificate, Im going to need to see his COVID-19 test and his tax returns. Theres no question that Trump has routinely insulted his opponents  mocking a disabled reporter and a Gold Star mother, calling numerous women who have questioned him nasty, and suggesting that non-Anglo women members of Congress  all native-born or naturalized citizens  return to their countries of origin.When Utah Sen. Mitt Romney announced in March that he had tested negative for the coronavirus  not long after casting the sole Republican vote in favor of Trumps impeachment  Trump tweeted sarcastically, This is really great news! I am so happy I can barely speak. He may have been a terrible presidential candidate and an even worse U.S. senator, but he is a RINO, and I like him a lot!If Trump has set a bullying tone, however, many Democrats have forgotten the celebrated admonition from former first lady Michelle Obama, when they go low, we go high.Trump has been a polarizing figure, the fourth president in a row that roughly half the country couldnt stand. With just over a month to go before the election, partisan tempers have been running high. For his critics, who have long criticized his often-dismissive response to the pandemic, theres a sense that his own illness is just some form of karmic debt.Theres been a lively debate in political science circles in recent years about whether the general populace is as polarized as political elites, such as elected officials and party operatives. The response to Trumps illness suggests that average individuals may be more polarized than the professionals.Elected officials, activists and prominent members of the media have remained gracious in a way rank-and-file Democrats have not.Politicians who have been regularly insulted by Trump, including Romney , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo , all extended good wishes for the Trumps health.Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery, tweeted Joe Biden . We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.Its notable, however, that many of the responses to his tweet attack either Biden or Trump. Biden campaign manager Jen OMalley Dillon sent a memo to campaign staff warning, As this situation continues to unfold, we ask that you refrain from posting on social media unless otherwise directed by your manager.Theres a risk for people directly involved in politics in attacking an opponent on a personal level when hes ill. In Georgia, Republicans expressed offense at a late-night tweet from state Sen. Nikema Williams, who chairs the Georgia Democratic Party. Given the timing, her tweet offered an implicit criticism of Trump: Looks like somebody should be more consistent with wearing a mask like our next POTUS @JoeBiden.Georgia Democrats noted in turn that Republican Congressman Doug Collins tweeted on the night of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs death condolences not for her but for the more than 30 million innocent babies that have been murdered during the decades that Ruth Bader Ginsburg defended pro-abortion laws.Collins opponent in a U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler , took to Twitter on Friday to score a political point. Remember: China gave this virus to our President @realDonaldTrump and First Lady @FLOTUS, she wrote. WE MUST HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE.In his 1933 novel, Nathanael West describes a group of cynical journalists drinking at a bar who make fun of someones religious experience. They were machines for making jokes, he writes. A button making machine makes buttons, no matter what the power used, foot, steam or electricity. They, no matter what the motivating force, death, love or God, made jokes.Social media seems similarly to have trained people to make snarky or even obnoxious comments regardless of the seriousness or magnitude of the real-life events theyre commenting on. Many of the attempts at finding humor in Trumps diagnosis were essentially mild, adapting tropes that have recurred all year, such as the idea that theres something especially cursed about 2020, or that the scriptwriters of the reality show we all seem to be living in have pushed things too far.But many posts were of the couldnt have happened to a nicer guy variety, suggesting nothing would change about Trumps work habits during quarantine as long as the remote for his TV is still working. Many people made either lewd suggestions about the closeness of his relationship with aide Hope Hicks, who was reported Thursday to be infected before the Trumps, or attempted plays on her name such as Hope is contagious.Would he lose any voters if he shot himself in the middle of Fifth Avenue? asked novelist Gary Shteyngart Making fun of presidents is a time-honored tradition. Perhaps there was something irresistible about mocking Trump after he fell prey to the worst infectious disease to hit the country in a century, one that he suggested would soon go away as recently as Thursday. Debate footage from Tuesday of Trump saying that Biden had taken mask-wearing to an extreme has played repeatedly on television since his diagnosis.He failed to protect the country, George Conway , a frequent Trump critic and husband to Trump aide Kellyanne Conway, tweeted as the news broke. He couldnt even protect himself.The alternatively angry and gleeful reactions to Trumps illness, however, reflect something other than mere disagreement. They express disgust. They also suggest that politics is something more akin to war, with no sympathy or humanity involved. Trump himself has spent much of the campaign alleging that Biden is senile, while during Tuesday's debate belittling Biden's son's addiction.No matter what happens to the other side is all fair game, because their loss is necessarily our gain. Not long ago, Americans recognized that even when they disagreed with a president, he represented the nation as a whole. During the transition between their presidencies, George W. Bush told Barack Obama, Ultimately, regardless of the day-to-day news cycles and the noise, the American people need their president to succeed.The old expression was respect for the office, if not the man. In this century, no president can count on that kind of automatic respect, just venom.
Keeping up With the Kardashians has been on the air now since October 2007. Throughout these years, the Kardashian sisters have had their fair share of relationships.

While fans have witnessed a lot of the Kardashians partners come and go, one man has remained a staple on the show. This man is none other than the Lord, Scott Disick.

KUWTK fans have seen Scott Disick transform from an arrogant, irresponsible, twenty-something into a slightly less arrogant, doting father of three. While Scott and his longtime girlfriend, Kourtney Kardashian, ended their romantic relationship in 2015, Disick remains heavily involved with the Kardashian family and KUWTK.

While some fans are still rooting for Scott and Kourtney to get back together, other fans are over it. Read on to learn more about Scott and Kourtneys relationship and why some fans are frustrated that the pair remain a popular ship.

Scott and Kourtneys love story

Kourtney Kardashian | Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashians love story actually began before the days of KUWTK. The couple started dating back in 2006, after meeting at a mutual friends house party in Mexico. Since Scott and Kourtney were already together at the start of KUWTK, its of little surprise that O.G. KUWTK fans are still shipping the duo.

While Scott was a wild party boy during the early seasons of KUWTK, fans got to see him grow up quickly after Kourtney gave birth to their first child. In 2009, just three years after the pair began their relationship, they welcomed their first child, Mason, into the world.

The birth of Mason not only shifted the dynamics between Kourtney and Scott, but the entire Kardashian family as Mason was the first grandchild to be born. Since Masons arrival, the grandchild crew has increased significantly.

Mason is now the oldest of 10 Kardashian-Jenner grandkids, including Scott and Kourtneys two younger children, Penelope and Reign.

The end of Scott and Kourtney

RELATED: Just Friends: Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian Show Some Insta Love in the Comments

Scott and Kourtney had some iconic moments on KUWTK as a couple. Despite some troubling moments, they remained a couple to root for among fans. However, after the birth of their youngest son in December 2014, the pair started to drift apart. Scott started drinking and partying heavily again. Kourtney didnt want that for her life, and the pair went their separate ways in July 2015.

While Scott and Kourtney called it quits romantically, the two maintained a great co-parenting relationship for their children. The co-parenting relationship they have been able to create serves as a good inspiration for many parents out there.

Scott didnt just maintain ties with Kourtney for the kids sake, either. Scott has become an integral part of the Kardashian-Jenner family in his own right. Kris Jenner continues to treat Scott as a son, and the Kardashian-Jenner siblings treat him as a brother.

Will Scott and Kourtney love again?

Since their split, both Scott and Kourtney have had other long term, romantic partners. Kourtney most notably dated Younes Bendjima, an Algerian model, between 2016 and 2018.

Scotts most notable relationship after his split from Kourtney was with Sofia Richie. Scott and Sofia began dating in 2017 but called it quits early this year. Now, with both Scott and Kourtney single again, it has some fans playing matchmaker.

Scott and Kourtney have certainly had their ups and downs over the years. Fans have been privy to it all, but many fans are still holding out hope that the couple will rekindle their relationship over five years later.

KUWTK fans took to Reddit to discuss the potential of a Scott and Kourtney reunions. While some were thrilled with the idea, others werent so keen. One fed-up fan wrote, Yeah I dont know how many times Kourt has to say we are co-parents so when he comes on vacations and goes to events with us, its because hes the father of my children and nothing more before people will get it.

However, only time will truly tell if Scott and Kourtney are serious about remaining strictly co-parents, or if they might decide to rekindle their romance now that theyre both in new places in their life.
A 15-year-old schoolboy has broken the record for the youngest person to sail around the coast of Britain solo in an arduous 1,600-mile journey that took him 11 weeks.

Timothy Long undertook the immense feat on his 28ft Hunter Impala boat Alchemy sailing an average of 50 miles a day - sometimes on just 20 minutes of sleep - before arriving back at the Hamble Point Marina in Hampshire yesterday.

The teenager faced bone-shaking winds and enormous waves while raising 7,000 for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust which uses sailing to help young people build back their confidence after the debilitating disease.

Timothy Long, 15, (pictured arriving back in Hampshire yesterday) broke the record for the youngest person to sail around the coast of Britain solo

Timothy credits Dame Ellen as an 'absolute inspiration' of his and mostly followed the route the world-renowed English sailor took back in 1995 - when she was just 18 herself.

Timothy said the trip - where some days saw 100-mile journeys - was the 'hardest thing' he has ever done.

Even so, he mostly managed the trip without any help - but did have to call his mother in July asking for help cooking pasta.

Timothy took guidance over the phone - but still managed to spill pasta sauce in his bungling attempt.

The teenager faced bone-shaking winds and enormous waves while raising 7,000 for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. Pictured: Timothy stepped off the boat to be greeted by his father Nick and mother Sue

Writing on his Just Giving page, he said: 'This is by far the hardest thing that I have ever done because when you are solo sailing there is no one there to help - no support boat, nothing.

'This means that you have to be able to do everything ranging from navigation to looking after yourself and knowing how to fix anything that goes wrong on the boat.

'The British coastline presents numerous hazards, from the busiest shipping lane in the world in the Dover Straits to the extreme tides of the Bristol Channel, among many others.'

Timothy undertook the immense feat on his 28ft Hunter Impala boat Alchemy sailing an average of 50 miles a day - sometimes on just 20 minutes of sleep - before arriving back at the Hamble Point Marina in Hampshire (pictured) yesterday

He added: 'Ellen MacArthur has been an absolute inspiration to me and that is why I am raising funds for her Cancer Trust charity.

'What I have always loved about sailing is the freedom it brings and the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust enables young people who are a similar age to me and have been through the worst of times to experience that feeling and boost their confidence. It's a cause that is close to my heart, so please do support them.'

Dame Ellen praised Timothy's efforts, telling The Daily Telegraph: 'It is an incredible achievement for anyone to sail singlehanded around the UK, but to do it at 15 really is something else.'

To donate to Timothy's fundraiser, click here.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Google's Chromecast with Google TV both cost $50. They also have access to their respective voice assistants at a push of a button. And when it comes to the important features, both are tied since they each have support for Dolby Atmos audio and 4K UHD video.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K vs. Google Chromecast with Google TV: Strengths and weaknesses

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K is already over two years old since its release. Despite this, it has no plans of showing its age since it offers the best value among the Fire TV variants currently available. Suffice to say, it's the overall best streamer fans and consumers can purchase from Amazon. Compared to Google's offering though, you can't obviously access any Google services or apps except for YouTube.

Read also: Best Samsung Tablets: Superb Options for Every User

On the other side of the ring, we have Chromecast with Google TV. To be fair, it is a giant leap forward for Google's own Chromecast brand. Still, we cannot deny the fact that it is in reality still trying to catch up with more established brands like Amazon and Roku. Though it may not have dedicated fast forward or rewind buttons, its overall features, designs, and a revamped UI make its price justifiable.

Google TV might already have a new UI. But it's never too late to reinvent yourself. The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K's Fire TV OS will also soon be having a new interface. On top of this, improved viewer recommendations and the overall user experience are factors that Amazon is seriously considering.

Google may have Stadia, but its counterpart, Amazon's own Luna cloud gaming service, is also set to arrive on Fire TV devices during the next few months. We're not sure yet how the latter will fare compared to the former but knowing how things are in the tech world, this one's going to be a competition worth (figuratively) watching.

Read also: NASA's OSIRIS-REx is about to make History

Google's TV streaming device has cooler colorways-Sunrise (pink), Snow (white), and Sky (blue). Do take note though that unless your TV has front-facing ports, most of the time, you'll only see those color options on the remote. The dongle will mostly be connected behind the TV.

Both the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K or Google Chromecast with Google TV, aside from having similar primary functions and features, also have similar hardware specs when it comes to RAM and storage.

Their individual remote controllers come with their respective voice assistants that get activated once you press the dedicated button. Still, Amazon's offering takes the cake here since the Alexa Voice Remote is more functional. It even has dedicated rewind and fast forward controls.

Which one should you get then?

At the end of the day, you can never go wrong with choosing either the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K or Google Chromecast with Google TV as both are good options when getting a TV streaming dongle. They may have differences that could make consumers divided on which one to get but the big picture is, both are equipped with the right set of features for activities that matter much when you just want to spend quality time in front of your TV.

Read also: Virtual Presentations: How to Surely Overcome Your Fears
Considering todays data-savvy consumers, expanding data regulations and the revenue impacts of poor policy, a comprehensive data ethics strategy supported by robust data governance tools should not be optional.

Messaging Architects, an eMazzanti Technologies Company and data compliance solution provider, discusses three factors that motivate enterprise business leaders to adopt data ethics business strategy in a new article on the Messaging Architects website.

The informative article first reviews the data ethics problem. The author then discusses data-savvy consumers, regulatory fines, and revenue impacts as factors that elevate data ethics to the level of business strategy. He concludes by listing several data ethics principles for readers to consider.

Considering todays data-savvy consumers, expanding data regulations and the revenue impacts of poor policy, a comprehensive data ethics strategy supported by robust data governance tools should not be optional, stated Greg Smith, Vice President of Services Delivery at Messaging Architects.

Below are a few excerpts from the article, Embrace Data Ethics as an Essential Part of Business Strategy.

The Data Ethics Problem

According to Deloitte, 9.7 billion data records have been lost or stolen worldwide since 2013. And since it went into effect in 2018, more than 95,000 complaints have been filed relating to the EUs GDPR statute. Despite advances, legislation is not keeping up with the ethical issues raised by the large volume and variety of data collected.

Data-Savvy Consumers

Building customer satisfaction and trust provide ample motivation for creating a data ethics strategy. In the modern business landscape, and a world where data breaches continually grab headlines, the conclusion is inescapable. As data-driven technologies expand, e.g. AI, you can expect the demands for ethical data practices to also increase.

Regulatory Fines

In a previous post, we looked at current International and U.S. Data Protection Legislation. And fines recently levied against Facebook and Google indicate the seriousness of regulators. Googles recent record GDPR fine by the French data privacy enforcement agency totaled $57 million, many times larger than previous penalties.

Revenue Impacts

In addition to the damage done by data breaches, more people grow skeptical of how their personal data is handled. Many are influenced by the prevalence of personal data-related stories in the news. Thus, organizations can leverage an excellent data governance record to establish data ethics as a component of their brand strategy.

Look to the Data Experts

As countries and states add to the legal requirements and organizations consider the revenue impacts and adapt to please data-savvy consumers, data ethics strategies stand to grow in importance and visibility.

Messaging Architects encourages every company to begin the journey of creating a viable data ethics strategy by adopting a set of data ethics principles. Its data experts stand ready to assist with data ethics, information governance and regulatory compliance initiatives.

Have you read?

Why Data Catalogs are Hot

International and U.S. Data Protection Legislation Outlook

About Messaging Architects

Messaging Architects specializes in effectively managing and securing an organizations most precious asset, its information. With over 20 years of information management and technology consulting experience, the Messaging Architects team has provided corporations, educational intuitions, health care facilities and nonprofits with methodologies, procedures and technology to keep their data organized, compliant and secure.

About eMazzanti Technologies

eMazzantis team of trained, certified IT experts rapidly deliver increased revenue growth, data security and productivity for clients ranging from law firms to high-end global retailers, expertly providing advanced retail and payment technology, digital marketing services, cloud and mobile solutions, multi-site implementations, 247 outsourced network management, remote monitoring and support.

eMazzanti has made the Inc. 5000 list 9X, including eight consecutive years, is a 4X Microsoft Partner of the Year, the #1 ranked NYC area MSP, NJ Business of the Year and 5X WatchGuard Partner of the Year! Contact: 1-866-362-9926, info@emazzanti.net or http://www.emazzanti.net Twitter: @emazzanti Facebook: Facebook.com/emazzantitechnologies.


A Stafford County woman charged in connection with the death of a 4-month-old boy last year was granted a $250,000 bond Friday.

Teresa Lynn Council, 57, was granted the bond by Judge Bruce Strickland at the end of a hearing in Stafford Circuit Court. The bond comes with multiple conditions, including being under house arrest and having no unsupervised contact with children.

Council is charged with felony murder, involuntary manslaughter and child neglect. She was indicted last month by a county grand jury following a lengthy investigation.

Prosecutor Ryan Frank, who opposed the request for bond, said Council was the caregiver when the child suffered his fatal injuries on Nov. 12 at her home on Spinnaker Way. She told police the baby had been feeding and acting normally when he choked on some formula and suddenly went limp.

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The infant was taken to Stafford Hospital before being flown to the VCU Medical Center in Richmond, where he was pronounced dead Nov. 15.

Frank said the ensuing investigation was slowed by the COVID-19 crisis. He said it wasnt until May that authorities received autopsy results that showed that the child suffered extensive internal head injuries.
In another year of surging gun violence in Toronto, a downtown courtroom Thursday offered a detailed look at how two men used a DIY approach to put illegal firearms into the hands of GTA criminals.

These handmade guns werent smuggled into Canada from across the U.S. border. Nor were they stolen from a gun collectors safe. They were assembled by the defendants using legal parts, sometimes customizing the orders for customers, all of which they helpfully explained to police covertly listening in on their phone conversations.

On Thursday, Bruce McKinnon, 49, and Jon Rasmussen, 31, pleaded guilty to multiple firearm manufacturing and gun trafficking offences. The pair admitted in 2017-2018, they purchased pellet guns and gun conversion kits throughout Ontario  neither requiring firearm licences  and created 87 fully functional, restricted handguns that they sold on the black market, Superior Court was told.

Their profit, given the minimal cost of parts, tools and time, was about $1,000 per gun, according to an agreed statement of facts.

Hundreds of communications between McKinnon and Rasmussen were intercepted wherein the pair discussed the procurement of parts, the adaptation, manufacture and testing of firearms, Crown attorney Phil Tsui said, reading from the facts agreed upon by the men.

Intercepts also captured the trafficking element of their criminal enterprise, which included frequent discussions of prices, customers and arranging the details of multiple illegal firearm transactions.

Police in Ontario have recovered about 50 of the guns. So theres a possibility another 37 handguns havent been found yet, Tsui told the court.

The enterprise was a relatively large-scale commercial firearms manufacturing operation with a distribution network, which clearly distinguishes it from a lone, do-it-yourself gun enthusiast building a single homemade weapon, Tsui said.

Were in the midst of a pandemic, but theres another epidemic thats plaguing our city  an epidemic of gun crimes in Toronto, the prosecutor told Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly.

But fuelling this plague of gun crimes are gun traffickers, like Mr. Rasmussen and Mr. McKinnon, who manufacture these deadly weapons and supply them to criminals.

The prosecution and defence agreed that a nine-year sentence was appropriate for Rasmussen, who had no criminal record, and 11 years for McKinnon, who has been convicted of gun offences.

Ten years is the maximum sentence for weapons manufacturing and trafficking.

Police began seizing the adapted firearms in 2017. They started investigating McKinnon in 2018 after receiving a tip from a gun shop about his purchasing practices  and after his DNA was found on a gun seized by Halton Regional Police, Tsui read from the agreed statement of facts.

The two men were arrested at the end of December 2018 after police conducted surveillance, used wiretaps and an undercover officer to establish they were building and selling the illegal guns  using pellet gun frames  to others who would re-sell them to end users with silencers and ammunition.

Court heard both men have battled opioid addiction and have worked on and off at legitimate jobs.

Rasmussen, a tall, bearded man wearing a black-and-white checked shirt, jeans and a mask, apologized for causing an incomprehensible amount of damage, and said he was looking forward to staying sober and getting back in the community. He has been in custody since his arrest at his home in Smithville, Ont.

McKinnon, who was living in Rockwood, Ont., at the time of his arrest, also spoke from his seat in the jury box  a social distancing precaution  though his comments were inaudible in the body of the court because of his mask.

Defence lawyers have asked the judge to consider giving their clients enhanced credit for pre-trial custody, as a result of jailhouse lockdowns, COVID-19 and medical issues.

Kelly said she was agreeing to the joint position on sentences, but will return to court Oct. 15 to indicate how much of a pre-trial discount the pair will receive in these extraordinary times.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-02 14:27:35|Editor: huaxia

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by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- In the lead up to a super tight U.S. election, the leadership of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is biding its time to see how things play out politically in the United States, experts have said.

Pyongyang is sitting back and watching the U.S. election, in a bid to determine whether the DPRK will have to work the next four years with President Donald Trump or whether Democratic candidate Joe Biden will come to the helm.

"At the moment, U.S.-North Korea (the DPRK) relations are in hibernation," Troy Stangarone, senior director at the Washington-based non-profit Korea Economic Institute, told Xinhua. "Once the election has passed, that could change."

Trump believed early in his administration that a close, personal relationship with top leader of the DPRK Kim Jong Un would form the basis of a policy change.

Trump has spoken fondly of Kim, remarking that Kim wrote Trump a series of "beautiful" letters, and held a series of summits with the DPRK leader, which ultimately failed to produce results.

If Trump wins re-election, it remains unknown if the U.S. president will continue to try to use his amiable relationship with Kim to change policy, as U.S.-DPRK ties have been on the back burner over the past six months, with the White House battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the desire to create a relationship with Kim is something new in decades of U.S. diplomacy, and will not likely repeat itself if Biden clinches the White House.

Experts argued that Trump's 2018 and 2019 summits in Singapore and Hanoi have demonstrated that personality cannot substitute for policy in negotiating with Pyongyang.

Biden would be less involved on a personal level in dealing with Pyongyang than Trump, Douglas Paal, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Xinhua.

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.

Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon told Xinhua that for his part, Kim knows it is too soon to have any talks prior to the U.S. election, but wants to move ahead with a relationship with whoever clinches the White House on Nov. 3.

If Biden is elected, some U.S. experts contended that the DPRK will follow what they said is Pyongyang's tendency to test new U.S. presidents, but warned that such moves would be counter-productive.

"If former Vice President Joe Biden wins and North Korea (the DPRK) engages in its previous tactics to test a new administration, all that may be achieved is pushing back the possibility for progress," Stangarone said, adding that this could not achieve much beyond delay.

At any rate, Paal said future U.S. administrations would need to adopt a more pragmatic and stage by stage approach to the denuclearization.

"We will have to wait and see when the U.S. ceases to repeat that the president will not permit North Korea (the DPRK) to become a nuclear power and adjust to a more realistic policy," Paal said. Enditem
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Thousands of middle- and high-school students reported to classrooms in New York City on Thursday. Its hardly a traditional start to the school year students have already been learning remotely. Instead, Thursdays return marks the start of Mayor Bill de Blasios blended learning plan. Students who opt in to the program head to school on the days they arent virtually learning from home. Its not entirely clear what theyll find when they walk back through the doors, though, because the reopening plan is mired in chaos and confusion, reflecting de Blasios complex strategy for blended learning.

In order for his plan to work, principals must essentially create three groups of teachers: one group for in-person instruction, another for students on the days they learn from home, and a third for students whose parents opt for all-remote classes over the blended model.

That requires teachers  a lot of teachers. And the union representing the citys school principals and administrators says they have nowhere near the staff they need to make de Blasios vision a meaningful reality  going so far as to pass a vote of no confidence in the mayor last Friday. Education workers have a reliable advocate in Councilmember Mark Treyger, a Democrat who chairs the City Councils Education Committee.

In an interview with Intelligencer on Wednesday, the former high-school history teacher says the mayors blended-learning plan is unworkable, starved of resources, and failing students. Treyger repeatedly called out reported plans that might see students still taught virtually when they are in classrooms because of an expected teacher shortage. It all adds up to a model designed to fail, he said.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sarah Jones: Blended learning for elementary-school students started earlier this week. What are you hearing from constituents and school workers so far?

Mark Treyger: To this day, we are experiencing continued staff shortages in our school system and in all grades. But the high-school grades are going to be particularly affected by the staffing shortage because in high school  and Im a former high-school history teacher, so I know a bit about this  you are required to have a license to teach the specific content subject. If a high school has, lets say, three chemistry teachers, and theyre all out on medical accommodations working from home, you cant just put a history teacher to teach a chemistry class.

And there is no infinite pool of substitute science teachers in the school system. So whats happening is that they are simply just shifting personnel to supervise students who are receiving remote instruction from their teacher whos working from home. I call this supervised remote instruction. This is not in-person instruction. When high-school students return for in-person school, they will not be getting in-person teaching. They will be getting an adult who is not licensed to teach them. Or not even licensed to supervise them, because Im being told now that paraprofessionals are being asked to supervise students in classes, which is against state regulations.

The other issue, and this is affecting elementary-school grades as well, is that we have thousands of kids still without technology. We have thousands of kids still without internet access. The city will tell you that they ordered back in March, which is true, about 300,000 iPads. But some schools had to wait months to receive the iPads, so what they did was they gave out whatever laptops they had. Incoming high-school freshmen who might have gotten a laptop instead of an iPad in middle school had to return the laptop to the school. Now some are entering high school without a laptop at all, and theyre asking their new school for technology, and they dont have it.

Given the issues youve mentioned, do you think its feasible to continue with blended learning or would all remote instruction be preferable?

I think that the blended-learning model is a failure and that it was designed to fail. It was not designed to succeed because the city was never realistic about the severe challenges that come with the blended-learning model. Again, its very simple to me.

Your model calls for three sets of teachers, but it also requires you to hire thousands more people when many of your existing staff is requesting medical accommodations to work from home. So I dont understand how they reached this conclusion. I dont understand why they thought that this was feasible. But its just not happening.

I am told now that high schools will be opening their doors. They are not going to deny kids entry, but it wont be in-person teaching. Theyre going to have a random adult watch kids who are working on laptops or an iPad, communicating with their teacher whos working from home  that is whats going to happen on Thursday. [Editors note: The city claims this practice isnt universal and will end as staffing shortages are addressed.] That is not the in-person instruction which the mayor promised to the public and misled the public about.

You said this model was designed to fail. Can you explain what you mean by that?

The model sounds very lofty. But when you operationalize it and put it in motion, you realize that you need more teachers, substantially more teachers, than the system currently has. What I dont understand, and what many union officials dont understand, is when youre telling the school communities that were granting medical accommodations, which I support, why did they feel that they can make up for the loss of teachers? Where are the teachers coming from? Why did they pursue a plan that they knew from the start was not going to operationalize the right way?

So that is why I think it was designed to fail. It was not designed on reality.

You have mentioned the impact that a lack of in-person instruction has on low-income kids in particular. How do you bridge the needs of those children and those families with those of school workers who are worried about the risk inherent in going to work right now?

Thats a very important question. But I would just note that many school educators and staff are parents too and that theyre facing the same dynamic. One teacher shared with me that she has four children and the cost of child care for her kids exceeds what she brings home in terms of her pay. This is a crisis on top of a crisis here.

I do think that there is a path forward, and a path forward for me is to build trust in our school system, which is shattered right now. And I think that the reason why a lot of staff are requesting medical accommodations is that theyre very nervous about returning to work. This is the same mayor that refused to shut the school system down when the pandemic was clearly taking shape in this city. This is the same mayor that still told them to report to school, knowing that there were infections breaking out in school communities.

Just a few weeks ago, the mayor publicly said on television that he was promising a comprehensive, robust ventilation inspection system to fix any ventilation issues in the City of New York. The following morning, I got photographs and a video of a school called the MLK campus in Manhattan, showing DOE staff waving a piece of toilet paper near a light bulb to see if theres any air coming out.

So he promised a comprehensive system and schools got toilet-paper tests instead. He promised schools and parents that they can have in-person instruction. But youre going to have someone babysitting your child, getting remote instruction from a teacher. He promised working parents that hell find them child-care options. Many families today are emailing me that theyre not hearing back from the Learning Bridges program, which is that whole promise of child care for kids.

A twofold question for you. The pandemic brings long-standing disparities to the fore. What does this crisis tell us about the state of inequality in New York City? And how should this shape our priorities going forward?

I want to first answer you by giving you a real-life example of what happened at the start of the pandemic. There were certain school districts that come from some of the wealthier Zip Codes in the city, and they had a complaint they were messaging to me and others  that the DOE was not allowing them to use Zoom. And I was conflicted about this because in my district in Coney Island, there are a lot of folks who live in poverty and were still waiting for the iPads that they were promised back in March. This is at the end of April. Meanwhile, other folks are worried about Zoom versus Google Meet. That was very telling to me.

In some communities that were hard hit by COVID-19, the school nurse  if they had one  was the only primary health-care access point for kids and families. So when people say to me, Mr. Treyger, when do we go back to normal?, my answer is that there were preexisting conditions plaguing our school system that contributed to the fact that we cannot have a full reopening or a safe reopening. The fact is that we had hundreds of schools without a full-time nurse. We had 700 schools without a full-time social worker.

So it is my vision and my hope that every single school in our public-school system becomes a community school and has full-time social workers, full-time counselors, food pantries, a full-time nurse. We have to do more than just give kids notebooks and pencils. We have to meet the whole needs of the child. I think that this pandemic has really shown clearly that schools are lifelines to communities.

Back to this question of priorities. Weve been talking about a mayor who ran as a progressive and who just ran for president as a progressive. In your view, how has Bill de Blasios tenure changed the way progressives might campaign for city office in the future?

I think your question has the answer embedded in it. You mentioned that he campaigns. Theres a big difference between campaigning and governing. Theres a big difference between advancing these lofty goals and having flashy PowerPoints. The mayor might have had luck with campaigning with some progressive slogans, but it has not been an applied practice for him in the sense that when the rubber hits the road, hes fallen short.

I think it does a disservice to the progressive movement when you take important issues and make promises and then fail to realize them. So I think that this is a lesson for those who are seeking higher office to be mayor or to be governor or beyond. Be very careful when you pick up the mantle of progressive ideals, because you need to actually keep your promises.
First, the hard facts. An individual is president of the United States from the moment she or he takes the oath of office in the January after the election, and remains president until the next person takes that oath, except in cases of assassination or successful impeachment. The sitting president has an unquestionable right to do all the things a president does right up to the last hour of his term.Nothing in the Constitution prevents a sitting president from appointing a Supreme Court justice in the weeks or months before the election, or even after the election  even one he or she loses  and before the next president is sworn in. In other words, President Trump is absolutely within his Constitutional rights to nominate someone to fill the seat of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, at the age of 87.In 2016, the U.S. Senate refused to entertain President Barack Obamas nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court. It was seven months before the 2016 election. Under our separation of powers doctrine, in which each branch of government is free to act in the way it thinks best so long as it adheres to the letter of the Constitution, the Senate was absolutely within its rights to refuse to confirm or reject Mr. Garland or even vet him.So if President Trump nominates a new justice and the Senate confirms the appointment, not only would there be no violation of the Constitution, but it would conform to the legal doctrine that the president is invested with his full Constitutional powers for the entire length of his term. There is no ebbing of his power as the election approaches or  even if he loses  during the interim between the election and the inauguration of the next president.Second, the Constitution does not specify the number of justices who sit on the Supreme Court. Over the course of American history, the number has jumped around, from six to five and back to six, and at one point as high as 10. The number nine was set by Congress in 1869 and it has not changed since, though in 1939, frustrated by conservatives on the court, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to increase the number dramatically, perhaps to as high as 15. Congress balked.Because the Constitution is silent on the size of the court, Congress is free to change that number any time it wishes. The number of justices could be three, 30, or 300 if both houses of Congress pass the bill and it is not vetoed by the president. So if President Trump and the Senate nominate and confirm a new justice and Joe Biden wins the presidency in November, and if the Democrats control both houses of Congress, they would be perfectly within their Constitutional rights to pack the court by increasing the number of justices and filling each of those seats with individuals of their own choosing.If President Trump and the Republican Senate fill Ginsburgs seat in the next weeks or months, the Democrats will howl, and not without reason. Four years ago, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to act on President Obamas nomination of Merrick Garland, declaring that it was too close to the 2016 election, that it would be unseemly to fill the seat before the people had the chance to express their will for the future direction of the country. If this proximity principle was important a full seven months before a presidential election, it must be even more valid just six weeks before a national election. Unfortunately for the Democrats, what Senator McConnell and the Republicans did in 2016 was not based on any provision of the Constitution.It was apparently only a power play disguised as a principle and now that the situation is reversed, McConnell and the Republican leadership have reverted to another principle, enunciated above, that a president is entitled to do whatever his office requires or allows right up to the end of his time in office. Hypocrisy? Of course  whopping, soul-numbing hypocrisy. But that is where we are in 2020.The Founding Fathers intended the judiciary to be the least political branch of the federal government. Since the failed Robert H. Bork nomination in 1987, filling a vacant Supreme Court seat has become one of the most deeply politicized events in Washington, D.C. The notion that Majority Leader McConnell would choose not to use the power he has to put a serious conservative on the Supreme Court, that he would, in the name of consistency and deference to the people, postpone any action on a future justice until after the Jan. 20, 2021, inauguration, sounds merely quaint in the face of the bitterly partisan political wars of our time. Nor is there any certainty that the Democrats would do the magnanimous thing if the situation were reversed.The Democrats' only real hope for postponement lies in the hands of a handful of Republican senators  Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, and perhaps Chuck Grassley of Iowa  who have indicated their uneasiness about punching through a nominee this side of the momentous election on Nov. 3. Without a Republican majority, no new nominee could be confirmed. But as this crisis unfolds, the Democrats will find no solace in the Constitution. They will shout hypocrisy to the skies, but their Republican adversaries are more likely to feel exultation than shame.Everyone understands that elections matter because they distill the will of the people. If, for example, Joe Biden won by a landslide on Nov. 3, and the Republicans also lost control of the Senate, it would be problematic for the outgoing Trump administration and the lame-duck Republican-controlled Senate to confirm their own nominee, because it would ignore the emphatic voice of the people. It would be problematic, but it would not be illegal.The problem of lame-duck decision-making in a democracy is perplexing and inherently frustrating. Thats one reason the date of the inauguration was moved up in 1933, thanks to the 20th Amendment, from March 4 (four months after the election) to Jan. 20 (11 weeks). Given the astounding pace of life in the 21st century, and the magnitude of presidential power, even 11 weeks seems like an eternity. The outgoing president has enormous power  think of executive orders, pardons and commutations, and judgeships.The question of what deference an outgoing president owes to his successor is a difficult one. Thomas Jefferson believed that the outgoing executive should not hamstring his successor in any way, that it is in the interests of a republican system of government for the outgoing president to grant his successor a maximum amount of freedom to surround himself with individuals of his own stamp, to move the country in the direction of his vision (or of his partys platform) and that the use of lame-duck power to thwart a duly chosen successor was a breach of gentlemanly decency as well as a thumbing of the nose at the American electorate. Even when he hand-picked his successor and best friend James Madison in 1809, the retiring Jefferson avoided making any decisions that would tie Madisons hand. Jeffersons extreme deference was in part a reaction to the unsmooth transfer of power that had attended his election in 1800, when he displaced his old friend John Adams in the presidency.After it was clear that Adams had lost his bid for re-election in 1800, the discredited one-term president made a number of last-minute appointments to the judicial branch of the national government, not merely to fill vacancies, but to concentrate as much anti-Jeffersonian power in the judiciary as possible so that Jeffersons Second American Revolution would have a harder time changing the direction of the country. These became known as the Midnight Appointments.Jefferson was doubly offended, first because he believed Adams appointments violated the sacred principle of popular sovereignty (elections matter); and second because he and Adams were old friends, at odds in 1800, but both ardent supporters of a republican system of government, and Jefferson felt that the ancient friendship, even in its fractured state, would cause Adams to defer to his successor. Adams was bitter. He was no longer interested in the politics of politeness and deference. In fact, he left Washington at dawn on March 4, 1801, refusing to stay in town long enough to see his old friend, now temporary enemy, inaugurated in his place.Life goes on. Soon enough, the Jefferson administration did what it could to chasten the judiciary, first by passing its own Judiciary Act (1802) that eliminated some recent Federalist judgeships, and then by impeaching two federal judges, John Pickering of New Hampshire (removed Jan. 4, 1804) and then Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Chase (acquitted by the Senate, March 1, 1805). Most historians believe that if the impeachment of Justice Chase had been successful, Jefferson might even have gone after Chief Justice John Marshall. The Senates courageous decision in the Chase case probably saved the principle of separation of powers and the independence of the U.S. Judiciary.In April 1804, President Jeffersons younger daughter Maria died at the age of 25. Jefferson, who had already buried his wife Martha and four of their six children, was devastated. Retired on a farm in Quincy, Mass., former First Lady Abigail Adams chose to break a long silence to commiserate with her former friend Jefferson. She had known Maria back in 1787, when the 9-year-old arrived in England on a ship from Virginia. Jefferson had summoned Maria to join him and her older sister Martha in Paris, where he was serving as the American minister to the court of Louis XVI. Abigail Adams was immediately drawn to young Maria, whom she characterized as a child of the quickest Sensibility, and the maturest understanding, that I have ever met with for her Years. . . . In short she is the favorite of every Creature in the [Adams] House. Mrs. Adams condolence letter of May 10, 1804, was sincere and heartfelt, but nevertheless somewhat stiff. She signed off with the words, That you may derive comfort and consolation . . . is the sincere and ardent wish of her, who once took pleasure in subscribing Herself your Friend. Ouch.Jefferson replied from Washington, D.C., on June 13. After politely acknowledging Abigails letter of condolence, the Sage of Monticello made one of the biggest mistakes of his epistolary life. Perhaps wishing to account for the breakdown of his longstanding friendship with John Adams, Jefferson wrote, I can say with truth that one act of Mr. Adamss life, and one only, ever gave me a moments personal displeasure. I did consider his last appointments to office as personally unkind. It seemed but common justice to leave a successor free to act by instruments [i.e., justices] of his own choice.Jeffersons letter served only to enrage Abigail Adams and reopen old and deep wounds. She responded with a blistering reply on July 1, 1804. I think it a duty to explain, she lectured. The constitution empowers the president to fill up offices as they become vacant. . . . This was done by president Washington equally, in the last days of his administration so that not an office remaind [sic] vacant for his successor to fill upon comeing into the office. Think of this delicious moment of American history! Abigail Adams, who under our system could not vote or hold public office, the wife of a former one-term president, lecturing the eminent political theorist (and sitting president) Thomas Jefferson about constitutional doctrine!Abigail Adams was right, of course, and Jefferson was wrong. She also knew enough to play the ultimate trump card  the practices established by the great and untouchable George Washington as president. Just for good measure, she went on in her July 1 letter to excoriate Jefferson for hiring the scurrilous pamphleteer James Callender to write dirt about her husband in the run-up to the election of 1800. After the election, Jefferson and Callender had a falling out and Callender went on to break the notorious Sally Hemings story in September 1802 in a Richmond, Va., newspaper. Mrs. Adams could not help exulting over the karma. The serpent you cherished and warmed, bit the hand that nourished him, and gave you sufficient Specimens of his talents, his gratitude, his justice, and his truth.At this point, Jefferson gave up and slipped away into a stoic silence. John Adams Midnight Appointments proved to be of enormous consequence in American history. The most important of those late-term nominees was John Marshall, who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court for 34 years. He is widely regarded not only as the greatest justice in American history, but the one who interpreted the Constitution as creating a strong national government, not a confederation of sovereign states.That was his greatest achievement, and it altered the course of American history. The other midnight appointee of consequence was one William Marbury, who had been appointed by Adams to a minor post. In the haste and chaos of the last days of the Adams administration, Marburys commission had not been physically delivered to him, so Jefferson decided to discard the document, even though Marbury had been informed by Adams that he was to be nominated. As every first-year law student learns in constitutional law, Marbury sued the Jefferson administration under a Writ of Mandamus to deliver up the commission.Justice Marshalls decision in the case (Feb. 24, 1803) gave poor Marbury no relief, but it was in that famous decision that Marshall declared that the Supreme Court would be the final arbiter of which laws passed by Congress are constitutional and, more importantly, which are unconstitutional and therefore of no legal validity under our system. In other words, the now universally accepted doctrine of judicial review was not enumerated in the 1787 Constitution itself, but in a Supreme Court decision that resulted from John Adams lame-duck Midnight Appointments.
Adnkronos

(Adnkronos) - "Sono molto ottimista sulla situazione" covid "in Lombardia. Non ci sono afflussi esagerati negli ospedali e rispetto alla seconda ondata siamo su un altro pianeta in termini di terapie intensive e ricoveri. E' evidente che se ci troviamo in una situazione diversa rispetto all'anno scorso e grazie alla campagna vaccinale". A dirlo all'Adnkronos e Giulio Gallera, consigliere regionale lombardo in quota Forza Italia ed ex assessore al Welfare in Regione Lombardia, che traccia un quad
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Washington, DC - Addiction to alcohol, illicit drugs, and prescription medications fuels havoc, heartache, and hopelessness in the lives of far too many Americans, as well as their friends and family members. During National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, we renew our unyielding commitment to breaking the grip of alcohol and drug addiction. Through our continued national effort, we will save lives and work to ensure a stronger and healthier country.

It has been my priority and promise to win the critical battle against opioid misuse, which has ravaged our Nation for too long. In total, close to 400,000 Americans have lost their lives to opioid overdoses since the turn of the century. While one life lost to drug addiction is too many, nearly half a million is unconscionable. In response, I declared a Public Health Emergency and initiated a whole-of-government approach dedicated to ending this tragedy. To bolster this effort, I signed the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, a law that reduces access to opioids while expanding access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services. The SUPPORT Act is the single largest commitment to combatting the drug crisis in our Nations history, and it is making a difference.

In addition to the opioids public health emergency, my Administration is also advancing several initiatives to address substance abuse more broadly. We have strengthened the DrugFree Communities program, which provides grants that mobilize communities to prevent youth substance use at the local level. We created the Rural Community Toolbox, which is an online resource that connects small town leaders with funding, data, and information to combat drug addiction in rural America. And the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program is collaborating with community-based organizations and coalitions to fund evidence-based and evidence-informed prevention activities within the HIDTA communities. These initiatives, along with actions taken by State, local, tribal, and territorial stakeholders, including faith-based organizations, are helping families and communities save lives by engaging young people most at risk of developing a substance use disorder.

As our Nation continues its unprecedented fight against the coronavirus pandemic, we are acutely aware of how isolation affects mental health and can encourage the misuse of legal and illegal substances. Through collaborative, community-based efforts, we are strengthening the support systems that deter our Nations young people from drug use and improve overall mental health and wellness.

This month, we pause to remember the lives lost to addiction, and recommit to protecting all Americans  particularly our Nations young people  from the devastating effects drugs can have on them and their loved ones. We also commend the healthcare professionals, law enforcement officials, educators, family members, and community volunteers who raise awareness about the risks and dangers of alcohol and drug use, treat the afflicted, and support prevention. Together, we will build healthy families, safe neighborhoods, and thriving communities by preventing substance misuse.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2020 as National Substance Abuse Prevention Month. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.

DONALD J. TRUMP
The Fourth Congress of the WRP, which dragged on for nearly two weeks, was held less than a month after the overthrow of the imperialist puppet Bakhtiar and the victory of the Iranian national revolution under the leadership of Khomeini. In a lengthy programmatic resolution written by Michael Banda, the WRPs fundamental revisions of Marxism and Trotskys Theory of Permanent Revolution were codified. In light of the critical role which this document played in sanctioning the transformation of the WRP into an agency of bourgeois nationalist regimes, it merits careful analysis.

There were two essential and interconnected aspects of this eclectic document. First, it tailored its analyses to justify the already-established opportunist relations of the WRP with various bourgeois regimes and the PLO. Thus, the necessity for socialist revolution was only recognized in those countries where the WRP had not yet established ties with the bourgeois nationalists, as in Iran (for the time being). Second, it presented for the first time a perspective which virtually obliterated class divisions in the semi-colonial countries and, in turn, elevated the armed struggle to the level of strategy and transformed it into the essential criterion for evaluating the anti-imperialist credentials of various nationalist leaderships. This document clearly establishes Bandas central role in the political degeneration of the former British section. He had failed to assimilate the critical component of the theory of Permanent Revolution as a strategy of the international proletariat. Instead, he advanced a petty-bourgeois line which was nothing but Pabloism in pseudo-Maoist attire.

In a section of the document dealing with the struggle in Zimbabwe and the attempts by British imperialism to force a negotiated settlement, the document proclaimed that the effect of the world economic crisis drives the multi-millioned masses of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East to armed revolt. (Perspectives of the Fourth Congress, p. 14)

There would be nothing wrong with this statement if the subsequent exposition correctly identified the antagonistic social forces present among these multi-millioned masses and defined the class nature of the political tendencies in the leadership of the armed revolt. In fact, the document never referred to the independent class interests and tasks of the proletariat in the struggle to establish its hegemony in the anti-imperialist struggle. Instead, Banda legitimized the subordination of the proletariat and the peasantry to the national bourgeoisie.

Painting the role of Nkomo and Mugabe in bright colors, the document asserted: The powerful hammer blows of the Patriotic Front guerillas struck against the armed forces of the Smith regime have effectively demolished the conspiracy of Muzorewa, Si thole, and Chirau and given new strength and courage to the Zimbabwean people in their struggle for complete liberation of their country.

These remarks, which replaced analysis with adjectives and adverbs, served only to disarm members of the WRP and Zimbabwean workers and peasantsas subsequent events were to demonstrate. It exaggerated the political depth of the opposition of Mugabe and Nkomo to Muzorewa, Sithole and Chirau. While this trio functioned as the most craven stooges of imperialism, Mugabe and Nkomo, with whose representatives the WRP was in regular contact, represented a more dominant section of the Zimbabwean bourgeoisie, skillfully manipulating the mass movement to secure a better deal with Britain and the United States.

The crafty and treacherous formula devised by Banda to justify the WRPs capitulation to the Zimbabwean agents of British imperialism read as follows:

The Workers Revolutionary Party stands unconditionally on the side of the African working class and peasantry against the ruling regimes and their agents in the national movement. We support the Patriotic Front of Mugabe and Nkomo in so far as the Front continues the armed struggle against Smith and rejects a constitutional compromise. Only the armed overthrow of the capitalist state in South and Central Africa and the establishment of a workers and peasants government can put an end to apartheid and restore the land to the peasantry and nationalize the mines, estates and factories. (Ibid., p. 15)

This conception was based on the fraudulent reconcilation of irreconcilable class opposites. In complete violation of all Marxist principles, the WRP program replaced class program with armed struggle as the basis for determining the attitude of the Fourth International toward a bourgeois national leadership. The armed strugglepresented as a political abstractionserved as the bridge for justifying the program of the Popular Front in the underdeveloped countries. Rather than stating clearly that the Zimbabwean bourgeoisie is incapable of securing genuine national independence and that it will prosecute the armed struggle only within the limits of its class interests, the document hitched the fate of the working class to the policies of the bourgeoisie. Bandas in so far as was a hoax which pretended that the armed struggle, under the leadership of Nkomo and Mugabe, flowed automatically into the overthrow of the capitalist state and the realization of socialist policieswithout the building of an independent revolutionary leadership of the working class.

The condition placed by Banda, Slaughter and Healy upon the Patriotic Frontthat it rejects a constitutional compromisewas politically worthless and amounted to placing confidence in the African bourgeoisie. It represented a denial of the responsibility of the Trotskyist movement to fight for the political organization of the working class independently of the native bourgeoisie and prior to the latters inevitable betrayal of the anti-imperialist struggle.

Moreover, it was a political farce to suggest that a workers and peasants government could be established under the aegis of the Patriotic Front, regardless of the duration of the armed struggle. This reference to a workers and peasants governmentrealized through an armed struggle led by the national bourgeoisie enjoying the uncritical support of the WRPconstituted a Pabloite deception of the working class, which assisted in the disorientation of the Zimbabwean masses and left them unprepared for the treachery of the Patriotic Front leaders.

These fundamental revisions of Trotskyism were based politically on Bandas petty-bourgeois conception of armed struggle as the supra-class strategy of anti-imperialist struggle, rather than a tactic which is employed by definite social forces in pursuit of their class interests. This position repudiated all the lessons of Trotskys struggle against the Cominterns 1927 betrayal in China. In opposition to all Stalins support to the bourgeois Chiang Kai-shek in so far as the bourgeoisie does not obstruct the revolutionary organization of the workers and peasants and wages a genuine struggle against imperialism, Trotsky wrote:

The sole condition for every agreement with the bourgeoisie, for each separate, practical, and expedient agreement adapted to each given case, consists in not allowing either the organizations or the banners to become mixed directly or indirectly for a single day or a single hour; it consists in distinguishing between the Red and the Blue, and in not believing for an instant in the capacity or readiness of the bourgeoisie either to lead a genuine struggle against imperialism or not to obstruct the workers and peasants. For practical and expedient agreements we have absolutely no use for such a condition as the one cited above. On the contrary, it could only cause us harm running counter to the general line of our struggle against capitalism, which is not suspended even during the brief period of an agreement. (The Third International After Lenin, New Park, pp. 127-28)

The treachery of Bandas formula and the Menshevik-Pabloite character of his policy was to be graphically exposed within less than a year when the WRP abandoned its one conditionthat the Patriotic Front reject a constitutional compromisein order to preserve its cowardly alliance with the Zimbabwean bourgeoisie.
A California Highway Patrol officer watches flames from the Zogg fire on Clear Creek Road near Igo, Calif. (Ethan Swope / Associated Press)

As fire crews continue working to get a number of significant blazes in Northern California under control, they've also endeavored to prevent a mega-fire merger that would take the top off the state's record books.

The potential stems from two fires  the historically mammoth August Complex and the far smaller but still devastating Zogg fire  that have burned to within roughly nine miles of each other in an area southwest of Redding.

While crews have increased containment of both blazes recently, particularly on the Zogg fire, officials this week acknowledged some concern that the two could eventually meet.

"Nobody wants them to merge. We have every plan in place for them not to merge. But its 2020, and time will tell," said Kale Casey, public information officer for the Alaska Incident Management Team that's assigned to the north zone of the August Complex.

Fusing with the 56,000-acre Zogg fire would swell the August Complex's already massive footprint to more than 1 million acres  a previously unthinkable milestone in an unprecedented fire season.

Fire crews, however, have made progress corralling the Zogg fire, which by Friday evening was 56% contained. Whereas some 1,500 structures were threatened Thursday night by flames, by Friday evening only 100 structures were in jeopardy. The Zogg fire has already destroyed 170 structures.

The progress is particularly promising around the fire's southern edge  the area nearest the August Complex.

Chris Waters, an operations section chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Friday that the fire has calmed significantly in "the area from Igo south to Highway 36 and then back north to Platina Road."

"We have engines still patrolling looking for hot spots and making sure that thing doesnt cause us any problems," he said in a video briefing. "And then theyre also going to be available to do initial attack in the event that another incident starts."

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The eastern flank of the August Complex also appears to be in good shape, according to the Alaska team's operations section chief, Karen Scholl.

But that could easily change if the winds pick up. Strong gusts can carry embers miles beyond a fire's burn area, potentially jumping containment lines, Casey said.

"The potential is there for fires to merge, certainly," he said Friday. "The original lightning strikes all merged to create this mega-fire. Though everyone has their defensive plan  that doesnt mean that the fire won't loft right over all that in a wind event."

The August Complex began Aug. 17 as more than 30 separate fires sparked by dry lightning in the Mendocino National Forest.

Some of those burned together over the following days and weeks, and by Sept. 10, the complex was officially the largest blaze in California history.

Already at 970,000 acres, more than twice the size of any in state history, it could surpass 1 million acres even if it doesn't merge with the Zogg fire.

Containment of the overall complex  burning in and around the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers national forests  stood at 55% as of Friday evening.

Though its march has slowed in recent days, the Zogg fire has devastated an area southwest of Redding since igniting Sunday afternoon near the community of Igo. Four people have died, and 170 structures have been destroyed in the fire, authorities said.

Shasta County identified two of the victims Thursday. Sheriffs Lt. Logan Stonehouse, the countys chief deputy coroner, said the body of Karin King, 79, was discovered about 7 a.m. Monday on Zogg Mine Road in Igo.

Stonehouse said Kenneth Vossen, 52, of Igo died Tuesday at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where he was being treated for injuries suffered in the fire.

Two others found in the fire zone havent been positively identified yet, Stonehouse said, adding that the cases are still under investigation.

The Zogg and August Complex fires are just two of the significant blazes that have scorched sections of California during a devastating fire season.

Officials said this week that the state is poised to reach a grim milestone: 4 million total acres burned, easily the most in a single year.

Its likely that, over the next day or two, we will crest the 4-million-acre mark, Cal Fire director Thom Porter said Thursday. The biggest year before this year: 1.54 million. We are dwarfing that previous record, and we have a lot of season left to go.

Crews are continuing to battle roughly two dozen major blazes statewide.

Those include the Glass fire, which has grown to more than 60,000 acres and has destroyed at least 220 homes in Northern California's wine country.

Officials said that fire remained active overnight, with above-average temperatures, low humidity and dry fuels "continuing to challenge control efforts."

The fire was 6% contained as of Friday morning.

Areas around the Glass fire remain under a red flag warning through early Saturday because of dry and breezy conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

California's calamitous fire season has brought with it a cost that goes far beyond the number of acres burned and structures engulfed.

The price in lives lost reached 31 on Friday, when Cal Fire announced that another victim of the LNU Lightning Complex fire had died.

The announcement came shortly after crews fully contained that complex, which at 363,220 acres is the fourth-largest fire in state history. The fire started Aug. 17 and burned in Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Yolo and Solano counties.

Full containment also has been reached on California's third-largest fire: the SCU Lightning Complex, which scorched 396,624 acres in areas of Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.

Times staff writers Maura Dolan and Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The picture taken on September 5, 2018 near Israel's Rosh Hanikra border crossing with Lebanon shows the Naqoura border town in southern Lebanon where Lebanese and Israeli delegates are to hold UN-mediated talks on their disputed border

Lebanon and Israel said Thursday they will hold US-brokered negotiations on their disputed maritime border, in what Washington hailed as a "historic" agreement between two sides technically still at war.

The issue of the sea frontier is particularly sensitive, as Lebanon wants to drill for hydrocarbons in a part of the Mediterranean disputed by Israel.

The United States will act as a facilitator during the talks to be held a the UN peacekeeping headquarters in the southern Lebanon border town of Naqoura, Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told a news conference in Beirut, without giving a date.

US envoy David Schenker said a tentative date for the discussions had been set for October 14, but would be confirmed.

In Israel, Energy Minister Youval Steinitz said in a statement that there would be "direct negotiations".

But an adviser to Berri, Ali Hamdan, said the talks would be "indirect".

"They will sit in the same room, but there will be no direct conversation between both sides. It will rather be via the UN team," he told AFP.

He said the last US-backed talks between both sides were held in 1983, when they signed a peace deal that quickly became obsolete.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed what he called a "historic" agreement between the two countries to discuss their disputed borders, a "result of nearly three years of intense diplomatic engagement".

In a statement, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he "welcomes" the agreement, adding that talks will be held "at the premises of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura," southern Lebanon.

The UN "will remain fully committed to supporting the process as requested by the parties and within its capacity and mandate," he added.

- Blue Line up for discussion -

Berri said a framework agreement had been reached to start the negotiations, and read out a September 22 copy of it.

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The United States was asked "by both sides, Israel and Lebanon, to act as a mediator and facilitator to draw up the maritime border, and it is ready to do this," he quoted the agreement as saying.

"The US representatives and the UN special coordinator for Lebanon are prepared to provide meeting minutes together that they will sign and present to Israel and Lebanon to sign at the end of each meeting," Berri added.

The text Berri read also mentioned seeking an agreement on the land border, where both sides dispute several areas along the Blue Line, a UN-drawn frontier established in 2000 after Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon.

But Schenker said this talks track would however be held separately from the maritime border discussions.

"We welcome... new steps by the parties to resume expert-level discussion on remaining unresolved Blue Line points with the objective also of reaching agreement on that," he said.

But "that's a separate track and that obviously is a discussion traditionally between the Israelis, the Lebanese, and UNIFIL," he said, referring to the UN mission in Lebanon.

The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis, hailed what he described as "important positive news, confirming the decision of Lebanon and Israel to begin discussions on the delineation of the maritime boundary... with the US participating as mediator and facilitator."

"A different set of discussions on (the) Blue line will take place as well," he added.

- Offshore drilling -

UNIFIL said it welcomed the announcement of "a framework agreement to launch negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on maritime and land boundary demarcation between the two countries".

Israel's Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi thanked Pompeo and his staff, and said he believed success in talks would "contribute to the stability of the region".

Lebanon's president, Michel Aoun, welcomed the framework agreement.

In February 2018, Lebanon signed its first contract for offshore drilling for oil and gas in two blocks in the Mediterranean with a consortium comprising energy giants Total, ENI and Novatek.

Lebanon in April said initial drilling in Block 4 had shown traces of gas but no commercially viable reserves.

Exploration of the other, Block 9, has not started and is more controversial as ownership is disputed by Israel.

Lebanese energy expert Laury Haytayan said both sides agreeing on the maritime frontier was in Lebanon's interest so it could press forward with oil and gas exploration off its coast.

The maritime "border demarcation is necessary because first it will facilitate work on Block 9, and could also spark interest from international firms for Block 8, more than half of which lies in the disputed area," she said.

Israel and Lebanon's Shiite movement Hezbollah fought a devastating war in 2006.

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After eight terms in Congress, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul has emerged as a key player in foreign affairs and national security. He has also built a reputation for bipartisanship in an increasingly polarized political landscape.

In a recent ranking of lawmakers by their support for bipartisan legislation, McCaul, a Republican, led the Texas delegation and placed ninth overall. McCauls bipartisan accomplishments include creating a federal cybersecurity agency and bills to fight childhood cancer and human trafficking.

I work across the aisle to get things done for the American people, McCaul, 58, told the editorial board.

That ability has served McCaul and his constituents well in the 10th Congressional district, which stretches from the greater Austin area to Cypress, Katy and other suburbs just northwest of Houston. Also invaluable is his experience on the Foreign Affairs committee and as chair of a congressional task force on China.

McCauls challenger in the race is Democrat Mike Siegel, an attorney for the City of Austin and former public school teacher who lost in 2018 to McCaul by 4.3 percentage points  or 13,000 votes  as the district has become more competitive for Democrats. Libertarian Roy Eriksen a Houston-area entrepreneur, is also running and says voters need a third choice  someone less liberal than Siegel and more in touch with constituents than he says McCaul has been.

Siegel knocks McCaul for failing to use his power to check the Trump administrations extreme policies on immigration, asylum and other issues, even while he chaired homeland security during President Trumps first two years in office.

Its a fair criticism  to a point. Even when McCaul objected, such as when he told Chris Wallace on Fox Sunday that the child separation policy was inhumane, he stopped short of using his clout to hold hearings and work to end it. He was right to support a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2018, but was unable to convince his party to go along and the bill died.

Seigel also brings a sense of urgency to needed reform, such as tougher environmental oversight in Texas, expanding health care and speeding Americas transition to alternative energy.

Still, trading an accomplished and pragmatic congressman would not serve the district well. We recommend McCaul for another term. Texas clout in Washington is already dimming, and the state will be better off with McCaul still in office when the dust settles from the 2020 election.
A man fills out paperwork while waiting for his number to be called at an unemployment event in Tulsa, Oklahoma on July 15, 2020. Nick Oxford for The Washington Post | Getty Images

Washington lawmakers say they are still optimistic that a coronavirus stimulus deal can go through. But if both political parties do not agree on a package before the November election, that could lead to a long wait for Americans who are in need of more financial relief. House Democrats passed their updated $2.2 trillion HEROES Act bill on Thursday after talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to result in a compromise. The bill is not expected to pass the Senate. Republicans instead are pushing for $1.6 trillion in aid. Though the parties are divided on how much to spend, they do agree on multiple areas where they would provide support, including a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks.

"When you take a step back, the deal seems to be there for the taking if someone wants to take it," said Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James. On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House could pass a standalone bill to send the struggling airline industry more money. She also said she is confident more stimulus aid can get done. "We'll find our middle ground," Pelosi said. "We're legislators. We'll get the job done."

What if a deal doesn't happen now?

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 15, 2020. Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The stakes of the conversations are high. If Republicans and Democrats are unable to strike a deal now, it could be a long wait before more aid is finalized. Legislators are poised to go home to their districts in coming days. However, the office of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said that House lawmakers could still be called back to vote. The Senate is also due to take up confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett in the next few weeks. If current efforts are not successful, negotiations could get pushed until after the election in a lame duck bill, Mills said. There is also the possibility that lawmakers would hold off until after the inauguration.

The view I have is the Trump re-election gets the money the fastest, and a Democratic sweep is the outcome that provides the most amount of funding. Ed Mills Washington policy analyst at Raymond James

At that point, something might not come together until February or March  one full year from when the CARES Act was passed, Mills noted. The outcome of the November election could be a key influence on the fate of more aid. "The view I have is the Trump re-election gets the money the fastest, and a Democratic sweep is the outcome that provides the most amount of funding," Mills said.

Aid amounts still unclear

Events and entertainment workers protest unemployment on Aug. 19 in Las Vegas. BRIDGET BENNETT/AFP via Getty Images)

One of the sticking points in the negotiations is how much direct money to provide to Americans. Both parties want to send another round of $1,200 stimulus checks. Democrats want to make everyone with a taxpayer identification number eligible, rather than the Social Security number requirement included with the first checks. That could help those who were left out of those payments. Republicans are balking, Mills said. "This injects immigration politics into the debate," Mills said. Democrats have also proposed $600 per week in enhanced federal unemployment benefits through January.
Springfield to Boston is not Hartford to New Haven. The commutes between cities are too different to be fairly compared.

This was state Sen. Eric P. Lessers argument to Massachusetts transportation officials during a meeting Wednesday regarding the proposed East-West passenger rail, which would better connect Central and Western Massachusetts to Boston.

Massachusetts Department of Transportation held a virtual advisory committee meeting Wednesday to provide updates on the rail study.

Consultants estimate the ridership for a passenger rail connecting Boston, Worcester, Springfield and Pittsfield would be under half a million annually, a ridership estimate based on the Hartford Line.

Such ridership estimates would make it uncompetitive for federal funding.

Both Boston and Springfield are larger cities than New Haven and Hartford, Lesser said Wednesday, and asked why the Massachusetts Department of Transportation continue to use the same comparisons after this was pointed this out in the last advisory meeting.

MassDOT project manager for the study Ethan Britland said that they used a comparison to the Hartford line because of similar geography to Western Massachusetts.

We also enhanced it to try to larger markets such as New Haven, said Ethan Britland, project manager for the study. We hear you, Sen. Lesser, that you feel that the ridership range we gave you isnt representative. But I think from MassDOT side, you know, we feel weve beefed it up enough given the tools and data information we have at our disposal right now.

The meeting on Wednesday was presented by MassDOT to the 33-member east-west rail advisory committee on the final three options for the line and what the next steps will be. Service performance, cost, environmental and community impacts were all discussed.

MassDOT told MassLive on Wednesday evening that they want to continue to work with members of the advisory committee, stakeholders and the general public to solicit feedback that will be used to inform the final analysis and findings.

A proposed project of this magnitude will eventually require support from the Massachusetts Legislature and the federal government, read the statement from MassDOT.

Lesser did note that MassDOT now included the Downeaster line that is a better comparison but took umbrage at the market comparisons.

I think that their methodology is flawed. They continue to use comparisons, that we at the advisory committee, have repeatedly said are not accurate, said Lesser. We love Connecticut rail and weve all worked to support the Connecticut rail, but nobody would consider the Hartford- Springfield link to be equivalent to Springfield- Boston.

We need to build something that will last for the next 200 years, said State Rep. William Pignatelli during the east-west rail advisory committee meeting on the importance of the rail linking communities across the state.

Three design options were presented that would expand rail service west from Worcester to Springfield and then on to Pittsfield. The cheapest proposal could offer an average travel time of three hours and nine minutes from Pittsfield to Boston, while the priciest one would make the trip at an average time of two hours and 49 minutes.

The final report on the much-anticipated rail link will be made available on Nov. 30. The draft report will be published on Oct. 16 and open for a 30-day public comment period and a meeting has been scheduled for Oct. 22 to present the analysis of the final three options.

The three lines proposed for consideration each travel through Boston on to Framingham, Worcester, Palmer Springfield, Chester and finally Pittsfield.

The cost estimates range from $2.4 to $4.6 billion and will attract between 278,000 and 469,000 annual rides.

Federal funding rules say that a [benefit-cost analysis] of 1.0 or higher makes it more competitive for federal funding, so were only at about 10%, said Britland. As we all know, these are very expensive cost estimates, so federal participation, we feel, is key for any future project development that may happen. But with BCAs this low, it would be challenging for federal competition.

The Massachusetts Senate approved nearly $17 billion in borrowing to fund the states transportation system, including nearly $50 million in spending earmarked for the east-west rail project in July.

The $50 million for east-west rail will be set aside as a down payment on preparatory work as a state-sponsored feasibility study nears completion.

Pignatelli voiced his concern that if the federal government doesnt commit to the project, his grandchildren wont live long enough to see it come into fruition and urged Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal to push for the line to start in Springfield and work east and west at the same pace.

Neal, a longtime backer of the effort who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, said a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package House Democrats proposed would create a five-year, $19 billion grant program for which east-west rail could compete.

I really believe this is a generational, once in a hundred plus year investment, said Pignatelli. It started in the west, much like the Mass. Pike did and then made it to Boston. I do not believe, personally, that the state is truly committed to a legitimate west-east rail.

Pignatelli repeatedly called the project the west-east rail because he believes the state is not fully committed to the initiative from Pittsfield to Boston.

I wont live long enough, and my grandkids wont live long enough if we start in Worcester to get to the Berkshires  so lets do it right, Pignatelli said.
Two conservative operatives were charged Thursday with felonies in connection to robocalls that aimed to dissuade residents in Detroit and other US cities from voting by mail, Michigan's attorney general announced.

Jacob Wohl, 22, and Jack Burkman, 54, each face four felony counts in Detroit, including conspiring to intimidate voters in violation of election law and using a computer to commit crimes, Attorney General Dana Nessel said.

The calls falsely warned thousands of residents in Detroit and urban areas in at least four other states  New York, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio - that voting by mail in the November 3 election could subject people to arrest, debt collection and forced vaccination.

In total, at least 85,000 calls were believed to have been made across the nation.

The men, who have a history of staging hoaxes and spreading false smears against prominent Democrats and government officials, are not in custody and no date for their arraignments has been set.

Jacob Wohl (pictured left with Trumo), 22, and Jack Burkman (right), 54, each face four felony counts in Detroit, including conspiring to intimidate voters in violation of election law and using a computer to commit crimes

The calls falsely warned thousands of residents in Detroit and urban areas in at least four other states  New York, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio - that voting by mail in the November 3 election could subject people to arrest, debt collection and forced vaccination (file photo)

Nessel said her office would work with local law enforcement to secure their appearances if necessary, saying the men could face arrest and extradition or could voluntarily come to Michigan to face the charges.

A judge found probable cause Thursday to support the charges, which carry the potential for years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines upon conviction. The computer charges carry up to seven years apiece while election law violations could bring up to five in all.

The robocalls falsely claimed that voting by mail would put voters into a database that would later be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debt and force voters to get mandatory vaccines.

The voice on the robocall in question identified itself as part of a civil rights organization founded by Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl.

Don't be finessed into giving your private information to the man, the caller said. Beware of vote by mail.

Nessel's office warned the public about the calls and launched an investigation in late August after thousands of Detroit residents received them.

Wohl and Burkman both denied involvement at the time. Burkman didn't immediately reply to a Thursday voicemail seeking comment about the charges and Wohl didn't immediately reply to an email.

Nessel said her office would work with local law enforcement to secure their appearances if necessary, saying the men could face arrest and extradition or could voluntarily come to Michigan to face the charges

Nessel said the investigation found that Burkman and Wohl created and funded the robocalls in an attempt to deter voters of color from participating in the November election.

Michigan is a key battleground state that Trump narrowly won in 2016 in part due to a drop in turnout for Hillary Clinton in heavily Democratic Detroit. In Michigan, voters can cast an absentee ballot for any reason, either by mailing it in, dropping it off or filling one out at a clerk's office.

Were all well aware of the frustrations caused by the millions of nuisance robocalls flooding our cellphones and landlines each day, but this particular message poses grave consequences for our democracy and the principles upon which it was built, Nessel said. Michigan voters are entitled to a full, free and fair election in November, and my office will not hesitate to pursue those who jeopardize that.

Nessel said 85,000 calls were believed to have been made across the nation. She said nearly 12,000 residents in the 313 area code received the calls in Detroit, and that similar calls also blanketed urban pockets of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and New York.

The Attorney General encouraged anyone who received such a call to file a complaint with her office.

Wohl has been banned from most social networks, including Twitter and Instagram, for operating fake accounts and peddling misinformation.

Along with Burkman, the pair have made a name for themselves for orchestrating political dirty tricks and hoaxes on President Donald Trump's political opponents.

The stunts often attempt to paint their designated targets as rapists, criminals or deviants  even frequently using hired actors who were unaware that they were being used for political stunts.

Such failed schemes have targeted the likes of vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, former special counsel Robert Mueller and Elizabeth Warren, each with elaborate conspiracy theories which were all discredited almost as quickly as they arose.

Just last month, the Washington Post said that it was duped into falsely reporting that FBI agents had conducted a raid at Burkmans home in Arlington, Virginia, when it was actually a staged event featuring actors.

Wohl and Burkman have a history of supporting President Donald Trump and attacking his political opponents, often attempting to pain them as rapists, criminals or deviants  even frequently using hired actors who were unaware that they were being used for political stunts

Wohl (above) has been banned from most social networks, including Twitter and Instagram, for operating fake accounts and peddling misinformation

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, like Nessel a Democrat, in August called the robocalling effort an unconscionable, indefensible, blatant attempt to lie to citizens about their right to vote.

She praised Nessel for a swift investigation Thursday, saying the charges show the state will use every tool at our disposal to dispel false rhetoric and protect voting rights.

Investigators served search warrants in California, where Wohl lives in Los Angeles, as part of the inquiry last week, Nessel said.

In August, Wohl told The Associated Press that they suspected leftist pranksters were behind the robocalls because recipients were shown a caller ID that was Burkmans mobile number. Burkman called the situation a joke, saying nobody would use their mobile number for a robocall and threatening to sue Benson for defamation.

This isn't the first time the two have come under scrutiny in Michigan.

Last year, a Michigan college student said the duo recruited him to falsely claim he was raped by Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and then published the smear without the student's permission.
Regina, Moose Jaw  A frequent point brought up early in this provincial election is the topic of eliminating the provincial deficit, currently at $2.1 billion for this year, and that of austerity, making cuts to bring spending in line with revenue. Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe has pledged to bring in a balanced budget in 2024, while New Democratic Party Leader Ryan Meili has accused Moe of planning to implement austerity budgets, cutting social programs like health and education.

At a media availability at the Global Transportation Hub, west of Regina, Meili used the Hub, and the adjacent Regina Bypass project, as examples of profligate spending. When asked by reporters what year he would like to eliminate Saskatchewans deficit, Meili responded, We want to eliminate the deficit as soon as possible. But we want to make sure that we actually invest, now, in the people of Saskatchewan and in the things that will grow the economy. And if we commit to, you know, an arbitrary date, instead of actually committing the investments to get us to a point where our economy grows, and we can decrease that deficit, well see what well see under Scott Moe.

His plan is to go down the road of austerity, hes got a target of three to four years from now, there is no way he can reach that without deep cuts to public services, without hiking taxes on ordinary people. Its simply not possible. And we think thats the wrong way to go to choke our economy. And to hurt people. We think we need to invest now.

As for when they would get to zero deficits, Meili responded, Were going to move as quickly as possible to that, but with the proviso that we are not going to be cutting services for families, were not going to be increasing taxes, we need to make the investments now, so that we dont go down the road of longer deficit. Scott Moe has said he will balance the deficit by that time, but hes mistaken, if he goes down the road of austerity, either hes going to choke the economy, balance the budget and hurt every family in Saskatchewan. But the reality is, even by doing that, hes going to slow things down so much, our revenues will decrease, theres no way he will achieve that goal.

Meili promised a costed platform in the coming days. The NDPs proposed wealth tax wouldnt cover all of what they need, he said, but it is a pretty big contribution.

Moe said in Moose Jaw, Now were into day three of the campaign. We do have some commitments around what we will be providing to people in the province if they choose as the Saskatchewan Party to continue as their government here in the province. We did put forward our Q1 report, which had a plan the balance by the year 2024. Later in the campaign we will be unveiling our entire costing platform, which will take into account where we were in that Q1, adding in any of the any of the commitments that we have made up until, and including our entire platform, and we will have a commitment to balance by 2024.

Its a good question because this is a significant difference between us and Saskatchewan NDP as they are going on what is, quite frankly, a reckless spending initiative. They had over a billion dollars committed by day one of the campaign. Again, some additional dollars, yesterday. And on day one, they came forward with a tax hike on Saskatchewan people, introduced the tax hike as their signature platform announcement. And I think, right there on day one, you have seen the difference between the Saskatchewan NDP in the Saskatchewan Party. One party is going to tax and spend, and the Saskatchewan Party is going to continue with investing in communities across the province, doing so in a very prudent fashion and always with a plan to get back to balance here in the province.
NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kennedy Lewis Investment Management ("Kennedy Lewis"), an opportunistic credit manager, has funded a $50 million committed secured corporate loan facility (the "Loan") to Tricolor Auto ("Tricolor"), a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and one of the nation's largest used vehicle retailers focusing on the sale and financing of vehicles to underserved communities. The Loan provides financing to Tricolor against its portfolio of auto receivables and highlights Kennedy Lewis' expertise in structuring complex lending facilities to specialty finance companies. This infusion of funds will support Tricolor's efforts to continue to scale its platform and retail network, as well as increase access to its responsible auto financing options.

Dik Blewitt, Kennedy Lewis' Partner, Head of Tactical Opportunities and Co-Head of ESG Investments, said: "We are excited to partner with Tricolor and its outstanding team with whom we have an aligned ambition to extend responsible financial products to underserved communities. We continue to be impressed by Tricolor's exceptional reputation, differentiated business model and proprietary technology. We look forward to working with the company to significantly grow its footprint."

There are more than 45 million people in the United States who are considered credit invisible, which limits their financing options for a major purchase, such as a motor vehicle. Tricolor's innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning provides underserved customers with access to affordable financing on high quality, certified vehicles in order to enhance the quality of their lives and ultimately help them to build a better future. Since its founding in 2007, the company has served over 65,000 customers and disbursed over $1 billion in affordable auto loans by using its proprietary model to segment risk.

Daniel Chu, Founder and CEO of Tricolor, said of the partnership, "We are excited to partner with Kennedy Lewis given its impressive track record and industry expertise. This funding comes at a time of rapid growth for Tricolor and will help fuel the continued expansion of our responsible lending platform so that we can provide affordable, credit building auto loans to even more underserved Hispanic consumers."

About Tricolor

Tricolor is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and mission-driven company which sells and finances high quality, certified used motor vehicles through its premium brands, Tricolor Auto Group in Texas and Ganas Auto Group in California, utilizing advanced data analytics and technology to advance financial inclusion to a highly underserved market and offer responsible, affordable, credit-building auto loans to individuals with no or limited credit history.

Headquartered in Dallas, Tricolor and its affiliate Ganas Auto Group operate 38 retail dealerships across 12 markets in Texas and California, as well as a shared services center in Guadalajara, Mexico.

About Kennedy Lewis

Kennedy Lewis (www.klimllc.com) is an opportunistic credit manager founded in 2017 by David K. Chene and Darren L. Richman. It pursues event-driven situations in which a catalyst may unlock value and focuses primarily on corporate and structured credit opportunities in North America and Europe.

Contact:

Carly Causey

[email protected]

SOURCE Kennedy Lewis

Related Links

http://klimllc.com


The Houston Chronicles Live Updates blog documents the latest events in the coronavirus outbreak in the Houston area, the state of Texas and across the U.S. with a focus on health and economic impacts.

The Houston Chronicles ongoing coverage is available to subscribers. Subscribe now for full access and to support our work.

Total coronavirus cases:

 783,844 cases in Texas, including 16,192 deaths.

 201,868 in the Houston region, including 3,479 deaths.

 More than 7.3 million in the U.S., including 208,669 deaths. Click here to see a U.S. map with state-by-state death tolls and the latest coronavirus case counts.

 More than 34.4 million in the world, with over 1,026,176 million deaths. More than 23.9 million people have recovered. You can view the worldwide totals here.

Resources on COVID-19 and Texas' reopening: Use our interactive page to track the spread of cases through Harris County and the rest of Texas. For a detailed look at our state, check out the Chronicle's Texas Coronavirus Map. To get regular updates on our coverage, sign up for our coronavirus newsletter.

Latest updates from today:

9:45 p.m. Kellyanne Conway, former senior advisor to President Donald Trump, announced she has tested positive for COVID-19.

Conway was at a press conference at the White House Rose Garden Saturday, which President Donald Trump attended. She is the seventh person who was at the event and has tested positive for the virus, PBS reports.

8:38 p.m. Congressional leaders said Friday they are taking a fresh look at requiring virus testing on Capitol Hill after President Donald Trump's virus infection revived fears of an outbreak in the close, increasingly tense quarters of the House and Senate, the Associated Press reported.

Just hours after news of Trump's diagnosis shook Washington and the 2020 campaign, Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., became the latest members of Congress to test positive for the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans. All three attended the White House Rose Garden introduction Saturday of Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett.

As Trump's campaign canceled or postponed in-person events, anxiety spiked on Capitol Hill, where testing and tracing is offered, but not required, for anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to COVID-19.

8:29 p.m. The total of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Texas is now 783,844, an increase 5,663 cases Friday, according to a Chronicle analysis. Another 90 deaths were confirmed in the state, bringing the total to 16,192.



The number of new cases in the state was higher Friday than 73 percent of all other days during the pandemic. The number of new deaths was higher than 67 percent of all other days since the pandemic began. The positive test rate is now at 6.64 percent and the rolling average of viral tests is now at 65,042.



In the Houston region, there are a total of 201,868 confirmed cases, up 2,935 from yesterday. There have been 3,479 deaths in the Houston region, up nine from Thursday.



Statewide, there were 3,227 patients hospitalized for lab-confirmed COVID-19 on Friday. There are 58,828 total staffed hospital beds, 11,986 beds and 1,187 ICU beds available. There are 7,581 ventilators available.

7:50 p.m. Both Texas senators attended hearings this week that U.S. Sen. Mike Lee  who tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday  also attended.

Those included a high-profile hearing on Wednesday in which GOP senators  including U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz  grilled James Comey, the former FBI director. The committee also met on Thursday to discuss judicial nominees.

Its unclear from recordings of the hearings to what extent Cornyn or Cruz were in the room at the same time as Lee, as senators often come and go from hearings. In the hearings, Lee, who announced Friday he tested positive for the virus, spoke without a mask, as did Cornyn, Cruz and several other senators. Lee sat near Cruz in the hearing.

-Reporter Benjamin Wermund

7:36 p.m. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement released by his office Friday night.

Tillis was at a press conference at the White House Rose Garden Saturday, which President Donald Trump attended.

4:25 p.m. President Donald Trump will spend a few days at a military hospital after contracting COVID-19, the White House said Friday. Trump was to depart the White House by helicopter late Friday for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a White House official said. The official said the visit was precautionary and that Trump would work from the hospitals presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties, the Associated Press reported.

4:20 p.m. Donald Trump Jr. was supposed to be in Texas today, but that plan was scrapped after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle were scheduled to be at a luncheon get-out-the-vote event at the Valencia Event Center in McAllen this afternoon, but because of the COVID-19 scare in the White House, they had to postpone the trip.

According to the Hidalgo County Republican Party, Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle had been in close proximity to President Trump, the first lady and senior adviser Hope Hicks, all whom have tested positive for COVID-19.

-Reporter Jeremy Wallace

4:16 p.m. President Donald Trumps doctor says Trump is being treated with an experimental drug aimed at supplying antibodies to help fight his coronavirus infection, the Associated Press reports.

Trump is getting a two-antibody combo drug thats currently in late-stage studies from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. Its given as a one-time treatment through an IV.

Trumps physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said the drug was being given as a precautionary measure, and that Trump also was taking zinc, vitamin D, an antacid called famotidine, melatonin and aspirin. None of those have been proven to be effective against COVID-19.

Trump apparently is not receiving hydroxychloroquine, a drug he widely promoted that has been shown in many studies to be ineffective for preventing or treating COVID-19.

3:06 p.m. The Trump campaign announced Friday it would be temporarily postponing all of President Donald Trump's previously planned campaign events after he tested positive for the coronavirus. Some events would move to virtual settings.

Meanwhile, the University of Utah will host Wednesday's vice presidential debate as planned, BuzzFeed reports. Vice President Mike Pence's doctor had previously issued a memo saying that Pence was not "considered a close contact with any individuals who have tested positive for COVID," including the president, and therefore did not need to quarantine.

New: The University of Utah is set to host the VP debate as planned this Wednesday, spokesman Shawn Wood tells me. Their policy will require everybody inside the security perimeter  save for the three people onstage  "to wear masks at all times," Wood says.  Ruby Cramer (@rubycramer) October 2, 2020

2:35 p.m. Breast cancer screenings in the Houston region dropped off significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, HCN's Savannah Mehrtens reports.

An IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science report published in April shows that a reduction of cancer screenings in the three months leading up to June 5 may have resulted in 36,000 delayed breast cancer diagnoses in the U.S.

However, the impacts of coronavirus on mammograms depended on the severity of the spread of cases in that region, according to studies presented on July 22 at the American Association of Cancer Research Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer.

12:26 p.m. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was diagnosed with the coronavirus earlier this year but has since recovered, three officials familiar with her diagnosis told The Washington Post.

As the Supreme Court nominee, Barrett is now tested daily and most recently had a negative diagnosis for covid-19 on Friday morning, according to deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere.

Deere said she was last with President Trump, who has tested positive for the virus, on Saturday, at her Rose Garden ceremony announcing her nomination to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barrett has been on the Hill at least three times this week, meeting with roughly 30 senators in one-on-one meetings to discuss her nomination.

12:15 p.m. A federal judge has ordered the nationwide census count to continue through the end of October, instructing Trump administration officials to retract an impromptu announcement that data collection would end on Monday, the Chronicle's federal court reporter Gabrielle Banks reports.

The order from U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose admonishes officials in the Census Bureau and Commerce Department for overriding her ruling last week that shortening the time period in order to meet statutory deadlines would cause irreparable harm and by officials own calculations would result in a census with fatal data quality flaws that are unacceptable for a Constitutionally-mandated activity.

Census officials extended the deadline for completing the population count in the months after the coronavirus pandemic took hold, setting Oct. 31 as the new deadline. In August, officials announced they planned to bump up the end date to Sept. 30, prompting a court challenge by civil rights groups, civic organizations, and tribal and local governments.

Koh did not mince words.

Defendants dissemination of erroneous information; lurching from one hasty, unexplained plan to the next; and unlawful sacrifices of completeness and accuracy of the 2020 Census are upending the status quo, violating the Injunction Order, and undermining the credibility of the Census Bureau and the 2020 Census. This must stop, she wrote.

She also insisted they show proof in the coming days that theyd followed up on her instructions.

11:51 a.m. The Justice Department is fighting a court order that halted the use of a COVID-era loophole to detain hundreds of children in hotels rather than licensed immigration facilities and then expel them from the country without access to lawyers or deportation proceedings, the Chronicle's federal court reporter Gabrielle Banks reports.

Hotel detentions for children, toddlers and infants  which sometimes lasted weeks  came about when the CDC issued a public health order March 20 that shut the border to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Under this provision, Customs and Border Protection began funneling minors who wanted asylum or lacked entry visas through a different chain of custody that bypassed protections that date back decades. These accompanied and unaccompanied children were detained under the CDCs coronavirus order, the government said, so they werent privy to safeguards for children detained under immigration law.

The majority of at least 660 child detentions between March and July occurred in Texas, including some at a Doubletree hotel in Houston. The mostly unaccompanied children were held in 25 hotels in Texas, Arizona and Louisiana, according to court documents.

ICE officials said in the wake of a ruling banning this practice, no unaccompanied children have been housed in hotels since Sept. 11.

11:30 a.m. As a growing number of coronavirus cases are reported in Texas public schools, the state is changing how it provides that information to the public, citing privacy concerns  changes that make it more difficult for Texans to identify school districts where outbreaks occur, Cayla Harris reports from Hearst's Austin Bureau.

The Texas Education Agency and Department of State Health Services on Wednesday released a spreadsheet of coronavirus infections in school districts, after posting and then taking down the data last week because of inaccuracies. The latest numbers are confusing for a different reason: officials decided to suppress data from any school district that had fewer than 50 students in classrooms during the first week of classes.

That means the state is reporting 9,857 total coronavirus cases among students and staff in public schools statewide  but only 7,130 of those cases are linked to specific districts. Its unclear, at least for now, where the rest of the roughly 2,700 positive tests have occurred since late July, when districts began reopening on different weeks and at varying paces.

11:21 a.m. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has tested negative for the coronavirus, NBC News reports. Biden was in the same room as President Donald Trump on Tuesday night when the two squared off in a nationally-televised debate in Cleveland, Ohio. Trump tested positive for the virus on Friday.

11:04 a.m. Voting rights groups including The League of United Latin American Citizens and the League of Women Voters of Texas on Friday sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in federal court for his order Thursday limiting mail ballot drop-offs to one per county, Taylor Goldenstein reports from Hearst's Austin bureau.

The proclamation, which took effect today, forced several of the states largest counties, including Harris and Travis, to get rid of additional dropoff sites they had added for voter convenience and safety during the pandemic. Abbott claimed the move was to combat voter fraud, though he offered no evidence and election law experts have said it is highly unlikely.

The suit, filed in federal court in Austin, alleges that the order violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments, which guarantee equal protection of the right to vote, and will disproportionately affect minorities and older citizens who are at higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner denounced Abbott's decision on Twitter on Friday.

10:38 a.m. Anti-viral treatments, plasma therapy, and steroids are among the range of treatments available to President Donald Trump after he tested positive for the coronavirus early Friday, the Chronicle's healthcare reporter Todd Ackerman writes.

Trump, who was showing "mild symptoms," according to the White House, is likely to get any or all of the three most commonly deployed treatments: Remdesivir, the anti-viral developed for Ebola that was the first drug for the disease granted emergency approval; convalescent plasma therapy, which is based on the idea transfusing patients with the blood plasma of recovered patients transfers its healing power; and dexamethasone, an approved steroid used in a wide range of conditions for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant effects.

Any other treatment would be experimental. The leading candidate would probably be monoclonal antibodies, which are synthetically produced versions of proteins made by the immune system. In late-stage clinical trials, there have been positive reports in recent days that two such drugs helped in people infected with the virus not yet seriously ill.

10:24 a.m. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is being tested for the coronavirus today, the Associated Press reported. Biden was exposed to Trump when the two squared off in a nationally-televised debate in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP)  AP Source: Biden has been tested for coronavirus and is awaiting results.  Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) October 2, 2020

9:07 a.m. Gov. Greg Abbotts approval ratings were in a tailspin as he prepared for the states GOP convention. Far-right members of his own party were calling for censure because of his mandatory mask order. One of his key medical advisers appeared on CNN days before and conceded Texas had reopened too early during the pandemic.

The third installment of a new Houston Chronicle investigation, Exposed, explores how state officials have used flawed data to guide their decision making about the COVID-19 pandemic and inform the public, sparking confusion and forcing the government to make several embarrassing changes to statistics published on its main COVID-19 website.

Case counts fluctuated wildly as the Texas Department of State Health Services added in thousands of backlogged test results. The DSHS public dashboard showed plenty of available ICU beds while doctors in South Texas were forced to decide whom to send home to die. Critically, the state relied on an antiquated reporting system for its daily death updates, giving a distorted picture at the pandemics peak of how many people were dying.

While Texas reporting lagged, Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick repeatedly said it had one of the lowest death rates in the country. They cited the states death rate to justify reopening, noting Texas had lost fewer lives per capita than California and New York.

But by mid-July, Texas already had surpassed California in the number of deaths per capita, death certificate data shows. Now, Texas has a higher rate than 33 states  nearly 53 deaths per 100,000 people.

8:34 a.m. Texas officials on both sides of the aisle weighed in on President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus Friday morning, with some sending well-wishes, while others mocked the president's previous remarks downplaying the virus, the Chronicle's Ben Wermund reports.

I hope this is a wake up call that this virus is not a hoax or something cured by injecting bleach, Julian Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary, tweeted after wishing the president well. We need a plan, not the same divisive, dangerous rhetoric.

Travis County Republican Party Chairman Matt Mackowiak said the news was a stark reminder that COVID remains very serious and that everyone should follow public health guidance, including wearing masks when unable to practice social distance.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul, a Republican, and Henry Cuellar, a Democrat, meanwhile, all tweeted that they were praying for the president.

May Gods healing powers touch them, strengthen them, and raise them up, Abbott tweeted.

Others joked about the news, given Trumps history of downplaying the virus.

How is this possible? Coronavirus disappeared in July when it got warm, tweeted state Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat.

8:30 a.m. U.S. stock futures and Asian shares fell Friday after President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the new coronavirus, AP Business reports.

The future contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials dropped nearly 2% but were trading 1.2% lower several hours later. Oil prices tumbled about 3%.

A statement issued by Trump's doctor saying both he and his wife were well and that he would continue his duties appeared to calm the markets' reaction.

Beyond potential political developments, investors will be watching for job figures due out Friday. Data released Thursday painted a mixed picture for the economy, with one report showing the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits last week fell to 837,000 from 873,000. That was less than economists expected, but incredibly high compared with before the pandemic.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continued their talks to send more cash to Americans, restore jobless benefits for laid-off workers and deliver assistance to airlines and other industries hit particularly hard by the pandemic on Thursday. But no breakthrough arrived before stock trading ended on Wall Street.

8:24 a.m. Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for president, tweeted a message of support Friday morning for President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after they tested positive for the coronavirus.

Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 2, 2020

Meanwhile, CNN reports that the Trump campaign never alerted the Biden campaign that they may have been exposed to the coronavirus at Tuesday's debate in Cleveland.

.@sarahmucha reports: There was no contact from the Trump campaign or WH to alert the Biden campaign of possible exposure, a senior campaign official, who was with Biden at the debate, says. They add that they do not believe they have much risk because we were never near them  Caroline Kenny (@carolinerkenny) October 2, 2020

8:14 a.m. President Donald Trump had a busy schedule in the week leading up to testing positive for the coronavirus, including a Rose Garden event, traveling to Cleveland for the the first debate of the presidential campaign, and traveling to Minnesota for a private fundraiser, followed by an outdoor rally, according to the Associated Press.

White House aide Hope Hicks, who tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, was part of a large entourage that traveled to Ohio with Trump aboard Air Force One for the debate, including members of the Trump family. Trump's adult children and senior staff did not wear masks during the debate, which violated host rules.

Hicks was among the White House aides who accompanied Trump on the trip to Minnesota. She reported feeling unwell on the return trip and isolated herself aboard Air Force One.

After Hicks tested positive for the virus on Thursday, Trump flew to his Bedminster resort in New Jersey for another private fundraiser. Several aides who were in proximity to Hicks scrapped plans to accompany Trump.

Trump announced in an evening interview on Fox News Thursday that he and the first lady were being tested for the coronavirus. He later tweeted that they will begin our quarantine process! Early Friday morning, he tweeted that he and the first lady tested positive.

7:53 a.m. President Donald Trump said early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, just one month before the election, the Associated Press reports.

Trump, who has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of a virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans, said he and Mrs. Trump were quarantining. The White House physician said the president is expected to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.

Trump was last seen by reporters returning to the White House on Thursday evening and did not appear visibly ill. Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide.

The presidents physician said in a memo that Trump and the first lady, who is 50, are both well at this time and plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.

Trump's announcement came hours after he confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of most trusted and longest-serving aides, had been diagnosed with the virus Thursday. Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private information. She was isolated from other passengers aboard the plane, the person said.

There was no immediate comment from Democratic nominee Joe Biden's campaign on whether the former vice president had been tested since appearing at the debate with Trump or whether he was taking any additional safety protocols.

7:24 a.m. Texas COVID-19 cases increased Thursday by 3,704, bringing the statewide total to 778,181, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of state data.

Another 113 deaths brings the fatality count to 16,102.

Dallas County did not post new case numbers because of an update on their data platform. Thursday's new cases were higher than 54 percent of all other days in the pandemic, while new deaths were higher than 75 percent.

The state's seven-day rolling average for new cases is now at 4,239.

The Houston region's case count is 198,933, up 1,083 from yesterday. Harris County added 849 cases today, and is at 143,530 cases total. There have been 3,470 deaths in the Houston region, up 14 from Wednesday.

The positive test rate is now at 6.45 percent. The rolling average of viral tests is at 60,214.

Statewide, there were 3,190 patients hospitalized for lab-confirmed COVID-19. There are 58,381 total staffed hospital beds, 12,029 beds

available and 1,214 ICU beds available. There are 7,465 ventilators available.

- Jordan Rubio
Nick Sandmann, wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, looks at Nathan Phillips, a Native American anti-President Donald Trump activist,in Washington on Jan. 18, 2019. (Survival Media Agency via AP)

Motions to Dismiss Denied in Nick Sandmanns Suits Against NY Times, Rolling Stone, ABC, CBS

The New York Times, Rolling Stone, ABC, and CBSs motions to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought forward by teenager Nick Sandmann have all been denied, the 18-year-old announced on Twitter on Thursday.

Sandmann filed suits against a number of media entities after video footage surfaced of an incident in January 2019 which showed the Covington Catholic student, then 16, and his classmates standing outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

In the footage, the high school student can be seen standing opposite activist Nathan Phillips, a Native American, who was banging a drum while participating in an Indigenous Peoples March.

The edited clip that was widely circulated on social media showed Sandmann, who was in Washington for a March For Life rally, smiling at Philips as other students were seen in the background wearing MAGA hats while repeating school cheers. At the time, it was alleged that the Covington boys who appeared in the footage had harassed 64-year-old Philips.

However, further video footage that emerged later showed the students had themselves been on the receiving end of racist verbal attacks from a group of Black Hebrew Israelites, and that it was Philips who approached Sandmann and beat a drum within inches of his face.

Sandmann filed suits against The Washington Post and NBC Universal in March 2019 for $800 million in damages, alleging that the media outlets falsely attacked and bullied him. CNN settled the defamation lawsuit with Sandmann in January 2020 for an undisclosed amount. The Washington Post also settled the lawsuit with Sandmann in July 2020 for an undisclosed amount.

Lawyers for Sandmann had argued that the news outlets publications of statements from Phillips claiming that the teen had stood in his way and blocked him are false and amount to defamation.

In this image from video, Nicholas Sandmann speaks from Washington, during the second night of the Republican National Convention, on Aug. 25, 2020. (Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via AP)

Sandmann further alleged that the defendants failed to exercise reasonable journalistic care in determining whether Phillips statements should have been published at all.

As well as defamation, the suits allege emotional distress.

Today marks another important step towards achieving justice against a media that thinks it has a license to smear, Sandmann told The Post Millennial.

In August, Sandmann delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention, where he recounted the incident that saw him face backlash from mainstream media.

The teenager said, My life changed forever in that one moment. The full war machine of the mainstream media revved up into attack mode. They did so without ever researching the full video of the incident; without ever investigating Mr. Philips motives; or without ever asking me for my side of the story.

He continued, And do you know why? Because the truth wasnt important. Advancing their anti-Christian, anti-Conservative, anti-Donald Trump narrative was all that mattered. And if advancing their narrative ruined the reputation and future of a teenager from Covington, Kentucky so be it. That will teach him not to wear a MAGA hat!

The now-college freshman was subsequently hired by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnells re-election campaign.

GQ Pan contributed to this report.
Ukraine will not provide military assistance to any of the parties to Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

"Ukraine will not provide military assistance to any of the parties to Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict," Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov posted on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

Earlier, MP from the Servant of the People party faction Liudmyla Marchenko said on the air of the Ukraine 24 TV channel that Ukraine "will not neglect" to provide military assistance to Azerbaijan, if necessary.

As reported, Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh region on the morning of September 27, blaming each other for shelling border areas and provoking violence. Both countries declared martial law and mobilization. The fighting has already resulted in military casualties on both sides and numerous civilian casualties.

Ukraine called on the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to settle it in accordance with the principle of territorial integrity of states.

Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh region began in 1988. In 1994, after six years of war, the Bishkek Protocol was signed, according to which Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on the ceasefire. Nagorno-Karabakh region declared itself an independent "republic" but Azerbaijan did not recognize it, saying the territory was occupied by Armenia.

Ukraine and most world countries also consider Nagorno-Karabakh region an occupied part of Azerbaijan.

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Seven fleet operatorsNFI, Total Transportation Solutions, Inc. (TTSI), MDB Transportation, Tradelink Transport, Pacific 9 Transportation, Overseas Freight, and Green Truckingparticipated in the clean truck parade, highlighting the fleets' near-zero emission natural gas trucks.

A class-8 CNG-powered Mack Anthem DayCab from Tradelink Transport hauling freight from the San Pedro Bay port complex.

A class-8 CNG-powered Mack Anthem DayCab from Tradelink Transport hauling freight from the San Pedro Bay port complex.

A class-8 CNG-powered Mack Anthem DayCab from Tradelink Transport hauling freight from the San Pedro Bay port complex.

A class-8 CNG-powered Mack Anthem DayCab from Tradelink Transport hauling freight from the San Pedro Bay port complex.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, Oct. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Southern California trucking companies are set to proudly showcase their near-zero-emission (NZE) natural gas trucks in a clean truck parade to commemorate the opening of the new Port of Long Beach bridge. The seven fleet operatorsNFI, Total Transportation Solutions, Inc. (TTSI), MDB Transportation, Tradelink Transport, Pacific 9 Transportation, Overseas Freight, and Green Truckingcollectively operate 157 natural gas heavy-duty trucks that log more than 6.4 million miles per year, hauling freight daily to and from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. In total, more than 700 natural gas trucks regularly haul freight to and from the two ports, representing approximately 6 percent of the active drayage truck fleet.

The newly opened Port of Long Beach bridge will serve as a vital part of the country's trade infrastructure, with 15 percent of the nation's imported waterborne cargo trucked over it. The $1.5 billion bridge project was a joint effort of Caltrans and the Port of Long Beach, with additional funding support from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The commemorative clean truck parade was organized by the Port of Long Beach and the Harbor Trucking Association, a coalition of intermodal carriers serving America's West Coast Ports.

Todays clean truck parade demonstrates our members commitment to reducing their carbon footprint by investing in sustainable transportation technologies and fuels, noted Weston LaBar, Chief Executive Officer of the Harbor Trucking Association. The near-zero emission natural gas trucks on display today have already made a measurable impact on emissions from the drayage truck fleet serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and have played a large role in the success of the ports Clean Trucks Program.

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In May 2020, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles upgraded near-zero-emission (NZE) heavy-duty natural gas trucks to the highest Technology Readiness LevelTRL 9 in the Feasibility Assessment for Drayage Trucks. NZE natural gas trucks are the first technology in the Ports assessment to achieve the TRL 9 rating.

The fleets in the parade operate natural gas trucks that were factory built by Freightliner, Kenworth, Mack, Peterbilt and Volvo, and are commercially available for purchase across the nation. The heavy-duty, class 8 trucks feature Cummins Westports NZE ISX12N near-zero emission (.02 g NOx / bhp-hr) natural gas engine, which is 90 percent cleaner than the EPAs current heavy-duty NOx emission standard. The near-zero ISX12N engine even powers several heavy-duty trucks that operate in the ports overweight corridor with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of up to 96,000 pounds, providing comparable operating capabilities as its diesel counterparts.

MDB Transportation has had great success with the 30 near-zero emission natural gas trucks in our fleet and plans to deploy another 40 trucks by mid-2021, said Jack Khudikyan, Principal Owner from MDB Transportation. The 12-liter natural gas trucks have been a seamless replacement for our diesel trucks given their 600-mile range, and the great power and speed they offer when hauling a full container.

The current generation 12-liter natural gas trucks are absolutely built for prime time, which is why we plan to add another 20 to our fleet by mid-2021, said Vic LaRosa, CEO and President of TTSI. TTSI has been hauling freight with natural gas trucks since 2008, having added more than 100 CNG and LNG trucks to our fleet over the past 12 years. With both battery-electric and fuel cell trucks also running in our fleet, I can tell you that todays natural gas trucks are a decade beyond the early pilot and demonstration stage of zero emission technologies.

Each day, more than 17,000 drayage trucks haul freight to and from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beachnearly 40 percent of the nation's total containerized import traffic and 25 percent of its total exports combined. Heavy-duty diesel trucks are one of the largest sources of emissions in Southern California, contributing to the regions consistently poor air qualitythe worst in the nation.

Several of the fleets participating in the parade have received incentive funds from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) or other programs in California to accelerate their fleet turnover. Southern California only has until the end of 2022 to significantly cut ozone-forming NOx emissions in order to reach minimum standards set by the federal government for clean and healthy air, known as National Ambient Air Quality Standards, or NAAQs. Failure to meet these federal air quality standards can trigger fines and penalties, including withholding billions of dollars of federal highway funds.

I commend the fleets participating in todays clean truck parade for being at the forefront of reducing emissions. Cleaning up our heavy-duty fleets is critical to improve our air quality across the entire region, particularly in disadvantaged communities, said Wayne Nastri, executive officer at South Coast AQMD.

Clean Energy provides the drayage fleets represented in the clean truck parade with 100% renewable natural gas (RNG), a low-carbon fuel produced from organic waste, enabling each organization to further lower its carbon footprint. Southern California drayage fleets have access to an extensive public natural gas refueling network from Clean Energy, Trillium, SoCalGas and other fuel providers, including multiple high-volume truck capable stations in the San Pedro Bay Ports, Southeast Los Angeles, and Inland Empire region.

In July, Clean Energy announced a partnership with Chevron called Adopt-a-Port that will allow truck operators serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to subsidize the cost of buying new near-zero natural gas trucks. Truck operators participating in the program will fuel with renewable natural gas (RNG), reducing smog-forming NOx emissions by 98% while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to diesel trucks.

As part of our environmental and sustainability goals, Pacific 9 has fueled its fleet of 27 near-zero natural gas trucks with renewable natural gas since early 2018, enabling us to drive a million a miles per year with wheel-to-wheel emissions that are equivalent to a battery-electric truck, said Alan Ta, chief operating officer at Pacific 9 Transportation. No other commercially available technology enables us to achieve these significant emission reductions while continuing to meet the demands of our daily operations. We have plans to add another 10 to 15 near-zero natural gas trucks to our fleet by the end of 2021. This effort has greatly contributed to our customers environmental goals, as well.

To learn more about how NZE natural gas trucks fueled by renewable natural gas offer one of the best options to help California achieve clean air and climate change mitigation as quickly, effectively, and efficiently as possible, visit www.cngvp.org.

For high resolution truck photos from Tradelink Transport, Total Transportation Solutions, Inc (TTSI) and MDB Transportation, please email Celeste.Griffy@gladstein.org

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About CNGVP

The California Natural Gas Vehicle Partnership (CNGVP) is an alliance of air quality, transportation and energy agencies, vehicle and engine manufacturers, fuel providers, transit and refuse hauler associations, and other stakeholders interested in increasing and strengthening the deployment of near-zero emission (NZE) natural gas vehicles throughout California. www.cngvp.org

Attachments

CONTACT: Celeste Griffy California Natural Gas Vehicle Partnership (424) 744-4489 celeste.griffy@gladstein.org




A special project has been launched to honour people who have volunteered within their local communities during the ongoing pandemic.

Volunteer Now, the lead organisation for promoting and supporting volunteering in Northern Ireland, has launched a new photographic series capturing the work of volunteers helping local communities in need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Proudly representing the local area area are volunteers from Limavady Volunteer Centre and Age Concern Causeway.

Busy mum and French teacher, Karine Deniau-Miles, wanted to volunteer with Limavady Volunteer Centre for quite some time but found it difficult to find the time with work commitments and looking after a young family.

The Covid-19 response network set out by the centre gave Karine the opportunity to volunteer in a way that she hadnt previously been able.

She said: I volunteered in the food-bank three days a week for four months and since lockdown ended Ive been able to continue volunteering one day a week. It almost felt like a selfish thing to do, as it made me feel so good to have such a positive impact on the local community at such a difficult time.

I would recommend this experience to everyone and anyone who is able to spare some time to volunteering.

The Limavady Volunteer Centre offers a range of services including dog-walking, newspaper delivery, food and meal deliveries and companionship.

Throughout the lockdown period they saw over 300 people volunteer their time and assistance.

Age Concern Causeway, another local organisation featured in the series, is an independent charity based in Coleraine.

Its aim is to provide social and support services for older people in the Causeway Coast and Glens area.

As the pandemic took hold of normal life, many older people found themselves in a vulnerable position, feeling scared and isolated.

To combat the uncertainty that many older people in the community were feeling over lockdown, the charity launched the Community Care in Action initiative, offering telephone befriending services, grocery delivery and prescription collection for local residents.

Fergal Quinn, Manager of Age Concern Causeway, praised the invaluable work of the volunteers.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of this organisation, he said.

With their hard work and sacrifice, we were able to provide 7,500 acts of service during lockdown

We helped to combat fear, anxiety and confusion in older people, as well as working together with local businesses to provide essential services.

The Ordinary People  Extraordinary Times Photographic Series featuring the local volunteers follows on from Volunteer Nows #HelpEachOther Campaign launched in March which aimed to recruit volunteers to undertake specific Covid-19 related volunteering activity.

The campaign received a huge response, with over 4,000 people from every county across Northern Ireland stepping up to help their communities and register as a volunteer.

Denise Hayward, Chief Executive Officer of Volunteer Now, said: In the 10 years that Volunteer Now has been established in Northern Ireland, the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly been our greatest challenge. We are immensely proud of the work of the volunteers in helping to navigate this crisis.

We want to ensure the efforts of Northern Irelands volunteering community are acknowledged and recorded for future generations as they look back on this unprecedented period of time.

As such, we have embarked upon a photography project over the last number of months to capture volunteers in action at a time when ordinary people became extraordinary community heroes.

We are delighted to now launch Ordinary People  Extraordinary Times Photographic Series and provide a first glimpse of some of the striking images of the wonderful volunteers in action.

The series is a fantastic testament to the spirit and generosity of the people of Northern Ireland and is our way of saying a huge thank you to the dedicated volunteers who continue to make Northern Ireland a better place.

Communities Minister Caral Ni Chuilin paid tribute to the project.

I am delighted that this photographic series has captured the efforts of the thousands of volunteers, who have been true heroes throughout the crisis, and have selflessly given their time to benefit others.

Throughout the pandemic I have been truly heartened by the generosity and wonderful sense of community displayed in every corner of our society where people from all walks of life stepped forward to help.

I have no doubt anyone who views the series online will feel a sense of pride in all our volunteers efforts.

Volunteer Now also plans to launch the full photographic series as a regional photography exhibition across each county in the coming months, in association with local Councils, when safe to do so.
He recently found himself embroiled in controversy after he shared a social media snap of himself playfully holding fiancee Nicola Peltz's neck.

But Brooklyn Beckham, 21, kept things steamy in his latest Instagram post late Thursday, when he was seen sharing a passionate kiss with the 25-year-old actress.

And, in a reflection of the times amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple kept their face masks on as they lovingly locked lips for the selfie.

Steamy: Brooklyn Beckham and his fiancee Nicola Peltz were seen sharing a passionate kiss while wearing face masks in a shot shared on Instagram late Thursday night

In sharing the shot, the son and David and Victoria Beckham added the caption: 'I love you baby.'

Keeping the romantic theme going, American beauty Nicola reposted the image on her own Instagram Stories, adding: 'my '.

Brooklyn has been defended by fans after he was slammed for playfully holding fiancee Nicola's neck on social media.

Controversial: The snap comes after Brooklyn found himself embroiled in controversy after he shared a social media snap of himself playfully holding Nicola's neck

The founder of KWRO Women's Rights Organisation, Diana Nammi, had said it was 'disgusting' to share online and believes it is a mistake to turn such a serious matter into a joke.

But others thought this was an overreaction given that Brooklyn deleted the snap as soon as the criticism came to light and his intention, even if misguided, was to be lighthearted.

One fan wrote: '@Diana Nammi and her rant against Brooklyn Beckham is why sometimes causes get lost in the sauce.

'Anybody with eyes could see there was nothing untoward about their pic but i guess "the sky is falling" for Diana...focus on actual domestic violence ma'am and not silly pics on IG.'

Romance: Keeping the romantic theme going, American beauty Nicola reposted the image on her own Instagram Stories, adding, 'my '

Others took to social media to send their 'love' to Brooklyn after the comments were made.

However, others defended the newly engaged couple. One commented: 'Love you guys'. A second typed: 'Adorable,' while another wrote 'couple goals.'

In the snap, posted earlier this week, David Beckham's eldest son flashed his tattooed arms as he held the actress by the neck while drinking wine at dinner

KWRO is a charity that campaigns against issues such as domestic violence, honour-based violence and forced marriage.

Reacting to the picture of Brooklyn holding Nicola by the throat, which was posted by the Bates Motel star, Nammi said: 'It is disgusting and I think with serious matters no one should allow themselves to make a joke.

'This is very important, an organisation like ours has seen so many women become victims of honour based violence, domestic violence, forced marriage - and they have been strangled by their own family and they have been killed by husbands, partners or boyfriends.

'So we are talking about real life, even if it's a joke it is disgusting in my opinion. I think it should be banned from Instagram this kind of picture.

'He is 21 so mature enough to know it is a very serious matter and I think he has to apologise openly and tell people that he made a huge mistake.

'We are talking about living people - it is not a doll to play with, so I think this is sending a very wrong message, a very dangerous message to young people especially.

Photos: In another image shared on Nicola's Instagram she held Brooklyn around his neck

'This kind of attitude is not acceptable and both men and women, especially women, need to be respected and their life needs to be celebrated.

'It is so dangerous and his position is so important and not only him but his family need to discuss it to say something in the media that they are not that approving of that, because of their position especially.

'In his position he should not do it at all and not even be thinking about that and I could not believe this kind of thing has happened. He is mature enough, he is not a baby playing with a doll.

'We are talking about an adult man talking about his girlfriend - and his girlfriend definitely must not accept that. I urge them to put a message of apology on Instagram and Twitter and everywhere on the media for their wrongdoing.

Close: The couple love to share loved-up pictures of themselves on social media

'People like us fighting on a daily basis, talking in schools, trying to educate people about the issues of domestic violence and how to have a healthy relationship.

'On a daily basis we are trying to bring these things to the school curriculum - for example healthy relationships need to be educated to people - but one message from an irresponsible like him gives a very big message to the whole world and this is so dangerous.

'I think he has to really learn how to treat women, he has to go to healthy relationship education courses and learn how to act as a responsible human being.'

MailOnline reached out to representatives for Brooklyn and Nicola for comment.

The photograph also caught the attention of Brooklyn's fans, some of whom were alarmed by the way he clutched her throat.

Some warned it could normalise domestic and sexual violence to their combined Instagram following of more than 14million people.

Jaye Taylor said: 'Every girlfriend he has had there are photos of him holding them round the neck. Even when he puts his arm around them it's really tight and looks like a headlock.

'Really odd the way he's never pictured with any male friends just his gfs who he falls in love with in two mins and then holds them by the throats etc.'

Jordan Moral asked: 'Why is he choking you though?' Another user echoed Jordan, saying: 'Why is he choking you?'

Last week, Nicola uploaded a black and white snap of her holding a shirtless Brooklyn by the throat while his face is covered in shaving cream.

She captioned the snap: 'i love you more everyday.' Brooklyn replied: 'I'm the luckiest boy in the world to have you by my side.'
The Minister of Health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has hailed the support of the donor partners and the United Nations Family towards Ugandas efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Minister was receiving equipment worth USD 250,000 procured by the World Health Organization (WHO) with funding from the Irish Government.

The COVID-19 outbreak is a complex pandemic and remains so as we wait for the WHO to approve a vaccine that can protect everyone from the disease. This, in turn, has presented complications in controlling the outbreak and as you will note, we continue to register a rise in the number of cases globally and in Uganda, she said.

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At the event held at the Ministry of Health headquarters, the minister received patient care equipment to care and support critically ill COVID-19 patients. They include 60 Hand-held Pulse Oximeters, 49 Oxygen Concentrators, and 31 High Nasal Cannulas with accessories to manage the first 100 critically ill patients. The equipment will be installed at treatment centres in the country.

The newly established COVID-19 command centre at the Ministry was also equipped with conference furniture. This donation is part of the support worth 1.8 million Euros that the Irish Government has extended to the Ministry through WHO for the COVID-19 response.

On behalf of the government, I thank the Irish Government and WHO for the support in the response. We are committed to fighting COVID-19 and urge the public to adhere to the Ministry Standard Operating Procedures, said Dr Aceng.

While handing over the equipment, the Irish Deputy Ambassador to Uganda, Ms Nicole McHugh commended the Ministry of Health and WHO for the efforts mounted in the COVID-19 response thus far. She mentioned that her government was cognizant of the complexities in responding to the outbreak noting that, the COVID-19 pandemic has proven rather difficult to contain but we have unwavering faith in the Minister and her team that it will be contained.

This equipment is part of our continued support through WHO to the government and you can count on our commitment to support you to bring COVID-19 to an end, she added.

The WHO Representative in Uganda, Dr Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam said that Uganda is at a critical phase of the response because of the evident rise in cases. He added that with the progress of the epidemic to Scenario four which is characterized by widespread community transmission, the number of COVID-19 cases has gradually increased in the past one month. We need to be more alert than ever, abide by the directives and guidelines and implement all the Standard Operating Procedures.

Dr Yonas commended the Ministry of Health on the effective leadership and coordination of the response which in turn has enabled Uganda to keep the number of cases and deaths relatively low compared to other countries.
The Indian Government took a series of measures for ensuring safety, security and wellbeing of women during the pandemic and the country is committed to building a just and equal post-COVlD-19 world for women and daughters, Minister for Women and Child Development has said.

Women numerically constitute half of the humanity but their influence transfuses all dimensions of society, polity and economy. In India, we recognise the centrality of gender equality and women's empowerment in all aspects of our developmental journey, Irani said in her address to the High-level meeting on the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women on Thursday.

As hit, Irani said the Government of India took a series of measures for ensuring safety, security and wellbeing of women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These included One Stop Crisis Centres' providing medical, psychological, legal, police and shelter facilities to women under a common roof.

Additionally, during the pandemic all efforts are being made to ensure continuity of care for women, especially pregnant and lactating women and women in vulnerable situations, she said.

She further added that the Nutritional Mission' launched to improve nutritional status of children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers seeks to make India malnutrition free by 2022.

Irani reiterated India's commitment to the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

What we achieved 25 years ago at the Fourth World Conference on Women still remains our guiding light and source of inspiration, she said adding that India remains committed to building a just and equal post-COVlD-19 world for us and our daughters.

During the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, the high-level meeting was convened with the overall theme of Accelerating the realisation of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

Twenty-five years after its adoption, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action remains the most comprehensive and transformative global agenda for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Its 2020 progress review for the first time takes place in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 2030 Agenda, including SDG 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, highlight the centrality of gender equality to progress across all the Goals and targets.

The Decade of Action and Delivery to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, launched by world leaders in September 2019, contributes to the mobilisation of stakeholders to tackle both emerging and existing gaps in the realisation of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

Irani said India is now focused on inclusive growth and deep reforms that together are bringing about transformational changes.

Heralding these changes under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has moved from a paradigm of women's development to women-led development", she said.

She noted that reservation of seats for women in local government has ensured that more than 1.3 million elected women representatives provide leadership in formulating and implementing gender sensitive public policies at the community level.

More than 200 million Indian women have been brought into the formal banking system through the Government's Financial Inclusion Initiative.

Innovative use of digital technologies has provided equal opportunity for women to access insurance, loans, and social assistance.

Further, Celebrating Girl Child and Enabling her Education' is a multi-sectoral package of interventions and awareness campaigns that challenge gender stereotypes and realize girls' right to education, she said.

India today is attaching the highest priority to ensuring gender parity in all spheres of life and elimination of all forms of gender-based discrimination, Irani said adding that several of the legislations in India such as those pertaining to sexual harassment of women at workplace, protection of women from domestic violence, protection of children from sexual offenses, and criminal laws' amendments have been strong enablers of women empowerment and protection of children especially girls, over the past six years.

(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.)
B oris Johnson has blamed a recent rise in coronavirus cases on members of the public becoming "blase about transmission".

Experts have warned the Covid-19 epidemic is still "growing exponentially" across the country.

New figures released on Friday by Sage show the estimate for R for the whole of the UK has risen to between 1.3 and 1.6 compared with last week when it was between 1.2 and 1.5.

The Prime Minister told BBC Scotland on Friday that people were not obeying social distancing rules as they previously have done.

"Alas, probably what happened since then is that everyone got a bit, kind of complacent and a bit blase about transmission," said Mr Johnson.

"The rules on social distancing weren't perhaps obeyed in the way they could have been, or enforced in the way they could have been, and that's why we've had to put in measures both in Scotland and elsewhere to bring it down again."

He added: "I'm afraid some of the muscle memory has faded and people are not following the guidance in the way that they should."

In a separate interview with BBC North East, the Prime Minister denied that a lack of coronavirus testing was the cause of a rise in infections.

He said: "That's not the reality the nation came together in March and April, what happened over the summer was a bit of sort of fraying of people's discipline and attention to those rules."

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Mr Johnson also told reporters that concerns about his health following his recovery from Covid-19, was sinister disinformation.

Sir Humphry Wakefield had reportedly suggested Mr Johnson could be forced to step down because he was still struggling to recover from his bout of Covid-19, having been admitted to intensive care for his symptoms during the first wave of the illness in April.

But Mr Johnson told BBC South on Friday that he felt considerably better and that he was about two stone lighter than he was a year ago.

Boris Johnson warns stricter rules may be needed to fight coronavirus

Earlier this week Mr Johnson had to apologise after getting muddled when trying to explain what the latest social restrictions were for people in the North East of England.

Asked on BBC Look North (Yorkshire) how the public could be expected to follow the rules when the Prime Minister did not understand all the variations, he said he thought people do understand the area-by-area restrictions.

He stressed that there was a very tough balance to strike when coming up with bespoke rules for individual regions.

Boris Johnson: "People do understand the area-by-area Covid-19 restrictions

In Liverpool, local leaders wanted the restrictions to go further than they did on Thursday while the independent Mayor of Middlesbrough, Andy Preston, said they were over zealous.

Mr Johnson said: I think we have done everything in our power to control this virus. A lot of people are criticising the Government for applying too stringent a lockdown in places  a lot of people feel we could be doing more.

Its a very tough balance to strike and I can see why people feel frustrated.

A man in a face mask walks past the Liver Building in Liverpool / PA

It comes as the Prime Minister set out funding for new NHS hospitals. He had previously told newspapers in September last year that he planned to build 40 new hospitals across England over the next decade.

In an announcement on Friday, Mr Johnson confirmed funding for 40 new hospitals across England, with a further eight schemes invited to bid for future funding.

In some cases, new hospitals will be built on new sites, the Department of Health said, but in other cases, a new hospital will be built on an existing site to replace existing facilities.

The Government said the package is worth 3.7 billion, with trusts that received seed funding now all fully funded to deliver 25 hospitals.

Mr Johnson said: The dedication and tireless efforts of our nurses, doctors and all healthcare workers have kept the NHS open throughout this pandemic.

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

But no matter what this virus throws at us we are determined to build back better and deliver the biggest hospital building programme in a generation.

From Morpeth to Milton Keynes, we are building 40 new hospitals across England to level up our NHS so more people have top-class healthcare services in their local area.

Labour branded the announcement a rehash and said not enough attention had been paid to mental health services with the investment.

Shadow mental health minister Rosena Allin-Khan said: This rehash of an old announcement is a missed opportunity and extremely disappointing.

And it is an insult that mental health  which represents one-quarter of all health need  has again lost out.

Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, added: Whether hospitals are rebuilt or wholly new, they will struggle to provide safe patient care without enough nurses.

Unfair salaries are pushing nursing staff out of jobs they love when Englands NHS is already missing tens of thousands.

NHS Providers deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery welcomed the announcement, but said there was an absence of any meaningful investment in our crumbling mental health estate.

Additional reporting by PA Media.
Furious locals have fly-tipped outside Tim Burton's 2.9million Cotswolds home amid a row over a wooden fence the Hollywood director erected around his property.

Multi-millionaire filmmaker Burton, 62, moved into the Grade-II-listed 18th-century Mill House with his partner at the time, Helena Bonham Carter, in 2008.

But a row with locals started earlier this year when a three-foot-high wooden fence appeared around the property in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire.

They said it was blocking a path used by the public to access weirs and pools around the River Thames.

The long fence erected around the Grade-II-listed 18th-century property in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, which is owned by multi-millionaire Hollywood filmmaker Tim Burton

Mill House, pictured, which Burton moved into with his partner at the time, Helena Bonham Carter, in 2008. The house was once owned by her great-grandfather, Herbert Asquith

Villagers claim the fence spoils the view. But it has now been claimed the row has heated up and some angry locals have fly-tipped the home.

However, Sutton Courtenay Paris councillor Richard Webber explained that Burton put up the fence after antisocial behaviour on his land, including littering.

Now councillor Mr Webber has written to the film director in an effort to de-escalate the ongoing dispute.

He said: 'I have considered carefully how I could help and have come to the following conclusions.

'Given the potential consequences of legal confrontation, that it might take years to resolve and the only certain beneficiaries would be lawyers and one side only, this route should be avoided.

'The best chance of a satisfactory outcome for everyone is to be patient, reasonable and polite.

Multi-millionaire film director Burton (above), 62, has directed Beetlejuice, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edward Scissorhands

'I have written to the landowner a letter which includes an apology for the behaviour of a small minority of irresponsible people who have left litter and displayed some antisocial behaviour - this is an undeniable fact.

'Any other approach, is likely to be counterproductive. We need to negotiate a solution for the future involving restoring some limited public access.'

People have been complaining to White Horse District Council since July and the local authority launched an investigation into the legality of the build, which is ongoing.

It is understood the fence is on land which belongs to Mr Burton's home, but blocks a route the locals have used for years.

Villagers are said to be mounting a campaign to have the fence removed or 'the heart of the village will be gone forever'.

It is understood the fence is on land which belongs to Mr Burton's home, but blocks a route the locals have used for years.

Locals have threatened to tear it down if it's not removed and said the structure was 'selfish and heartless'.

Resident Chris Dalton previously posted: 'I live in the village and believe there are a few things we can do to organise and fight the fence.

There appears to be a gate along the fence erected by Burton around his property in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire. The gate's precise location or where it leads to is unclear

Neighbours claim, it blocks a path used by the public to access weirs and pools around the River Thames and have previously threatened to tear it down if it is not taken away by officials

'I have opened a planning dispute against the fence [...] This is based on it being a listed building and being next to a footpath. They should have put in planning.

'If everyone would email [the council] to add to the complaint the would be appreciated. I believe that ultimately money wins planning disputes but this is worth a try.'

Other locals previously vented their anger online too.

Nicola Lewis wrote: 'I'm now in my 50s but I grew up with everyone having fun down there and took my children there and now take my grandchildren.

'It should not be taken from the public - Helena and Tim have more than enough space, don't take ours.'

It is not the first time Mr Burton has angered his neighbours with a fence on his land. In 2018, he put up a 7ft-tall, 130 foot-long wooden structure (pictured) which walkers said cuts out the light and narrows the public footpath next to the property

Permission was sought for the much-taller fence retrospectively and was granted despite opposition

Luke Stroud added: 'My family have been in the village for four generations and all used the Weir pools.

'If it comes to it I'll remove the fence myself.'

Burton, who directed Beetlejuice, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edward Scissorhands, bought the house five years after meeting actress Bonham Carter, with whom he has two children.

The house was once owned by her great-grandfather, Herbert Asquith, the prime minister who took Britain into the First World War.

On its lawns Asquith used to entertain Winston Churchill, Lloyd George and the Aga Khan. Asquith, known as 'The Sledgehammer', found escape from weighty pre-war politics, and it was where he mourned the death on the Somme of his son, Raymond.

Mr Burton first bought the property five years after meeting actress Helena Bonham Carter, with whom he has two children. The pair split in 2014 after 13 years together

Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916 and the leader of the last Liberal government, he bought the 18th-century Mill House along with neighbouring Wharf Mill, where he lived, in 1912.

Asquith loved the area - his biographer Roy Jenkins said it played a 'great part' in his life - so much so that he chose to die there, and asked to be buried in the churchyard rather than Westminster Abbey. His widow sold the property in 1932.

Jane Stevens, who served as lady-in-waiting to the late Princess Margaret and was also a close friend, was its owner for 30 years before it was sold to Burton.

More recently, Johnny Depp is believed to have sought solace there with his friends Bonham Carter and Burton following the bitter fallout from his divorce from Amber Heard.

Bonham Carter and Burton split in 2014 after 13 years together but they remain friends and both spend time at the house with their children Billy and Nell.

This is not the first time Burton has been embroiled in a planning row, after he was previously warned he needed to protect trees during renovations to his 11million Edwardian mansion in Hampstead Heath.

Tim Burton bought the Edwardian home (pictured) in north London's exclusive enclave, Hampstead Heath, from the actor Tom Conti in November 2018 for 11million

Designed in 1903 by mathematician and educationist William Garnett, the house is thought to have been inspired by Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem Jabberwocky

Camden council earlier asked him to put in measures to protect several large trees that overhang from his neighbour's property.

His planning agent said there was a 'potential zone of interaction between operatives and branches' from a nearby beech tree.

In planning documents, Daniel Pope, Camden Council chief planning officer, previously said: 'Prior to the commencement of any works on site, details demonstrating how trees to be retained shall be protected during construction work shall be submitted to and approved by the local planning authority in writing.

'All trees on the site, or parts of trees growing from adjoining sites, unless shown on the permitted drawings as being removed, shall be retained and protected from damage.'

Designed in 1903 by mathematician and educationist William Garnett, the house was supposedly inspired by Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem Jabberwocky.

Before purchasing the property, Burton and Bonham Carter lived in adjoining properties in Hampstead before their separation in 2014.
A 31-year-old Marion man has been arrested for an attack at a Grayson County church.

On Sunday evening at about 8:30 p.m., approximately 20 people were gathered inside a rural church on Flatridge Road in Troutdale. Those gathered heard banging on the main entrance doors.

According to a Virginia State Police report, an off-duty trooper opened the door and came face to face with a man and dog standing just outside. When the trooper asked if he could help the man, the police report said, the man yelled back at him. The trooper then saw the man was holding a hatchet.

As the trooper tried to close the door, the VSP said, the man swung the hatchet and struck the troopers hand. Nonetheless, the trooper was able to close the door and get the other members of the congregation to the church basement for their safety. The suspect left the property and then the trooper helped the others to their vehicles.

The trooper sustained minor scratches and was treated at the scene. The others were able to leave without injury.

A search for the suspect got under way.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m. today (Sept. 29), the VSP report said, the agency obtained information about the suspects location. With the assistance of the Marion Police Department and Grayson County Sheriffs Office, the state police took Gregory D. Graham of Marion into custody without incident at his home in the 300 block of Brushy Mountain Road.

Graham was arrested on one count of malicious wounding.

He is being held without bond at the New River Regional Jail. Additional charges may be placed after consultation with the Grayson County Commonwealth's Attorney. The incident remains under investigation.
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Linkedin Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 13:52 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48b42df 1 World Indonesia,Foreign-Minister-Retno-Marsudi,Foreign-Affairs-Ministry,foreign-affairs,Foreign-Ministry,Kemlu,Azerbaijan,Armenia,armed-conflict Free

Indonesia has expressed concern over the escalating armed clash between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh and urged the two countries to end the fight.

Indonesia calls on both sides to exercise self-restraint, ceasefire, return to dialogue, and peacefully settle their disputes, in accordance with international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the Foreign Ministry tweeted on Thursday.

Indonesia Urges Azerbaijan and Armenia to End Fighting



1. Indonesia is concerned by escalating armed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh.



2. Indonesia calls on both sides to exercise self-restraint, ceasefire, return to dialogue, and peacefully settle-  MoFA Indonesia (@Kemlu_RI) October 1, 2020

Indonesia also called on both countries to resume dialogue in the framework of the Minsk Process facilitated by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The Foreign Ministry advised Indonesian citizens in Azerbaijan and Armenia to observe policy and regulations imposed by local governments and maintain close contact with the nearest embassy.

There are currently 130 Indonesian citizens in Azerbaijan, according to the Indonesian Embassy in Baku, and two Indonesian citizens in Armenia, according to the Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv, as quoted by the ministry.

"All Indonesian citizens are reported safe," the ministry further tweeted.

Intense clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia over a decades-long territorial dispute erupted on Sunday and has continued on the ground for days, claiming military and civilian casualties on both sides.

In a televised address to the nation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev vowed victory over Armenian forces, AFP reported. Both Armenia and the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh declared martial law and military mobilization.

World leaders have condemned the bloody clashes in the southern Caucasus that have killed some 30,000 people since 1988.
Queensland will reopen its border to all of NSW on November 1, provided NSW goes 28 days without any mystery COVID-19 cases, a roadmap released by the government reveals.

NSW is on track to meet the 28-day target on October 22.

The roadmap of eased restrictions also allows for Queenslanders to eat and drink while standing at inside and outdoor venues from 4pm on Friday, October 2.

From November 1, up to 40 people will be able to gather in homes and public spaces in Queensland.
Two people were arrested and police seized drugs after a traffic stop on Thursday afternoon.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Two people were arrested and police seized drugs after a traffic stop on Thursday afternoon.

At approximately 12:50 p.m. police conducted a traffic stop in the 1700 block of Highland Avenue. Police say the driver of the vehicle didnt have a valid licence and the licence plate was from another vehicle.

The officers allegedly saw drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. Police say officers searched the vehicle and found methamphetamine, fentanyl and stolen ID, including two Canadian passports.

A 35-year-old from British Columbia and a 21-year-old woman were arrested. They are scheduled to appear in court Friday.

The Brandon Sun
German police say French urban climber Alain Robert faces a criminal investigation and fine after scaling one of Frankfurts tallest buildings on Thursday.

Robert, known as Spider-Man for his daring stunts, clambered to the top of rail company Deutsche Bahn 166-meter-high (545-foot-high) office building in Germanys financial capital, untethered and wearing a silver suit and cowboy boots.

Frankfurt police spokesman Thomas Hollerbach told The Associated Press that Robert is in triple trouble after the unauthorized climb.

French urban climber Alain Robert reaches the top of the Deutsche Bahn high-rise. (AP)

First, Deutsche Bahn has filed a criminal complaint for trespassing against Robert. Second, he may be required to pay the cost of the police operation to secure the area during the climb. Finally, a drone that Roberts team used to film the climb didnt have the required authorization and could incur a further fine.

As a foreign resident, Robert was required to deposit a security against possible future criminal proceedings and then released, Hollerbach said.

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FLINT, MI -- Councilman Eric Mays has been kicked out of another virtual City Council meeting after contentious exchanges with Mayor Sheldon Neeley and for being disruptive after discussing his federal lawsuit against the city and his colleagues.

Mays, who last month filed a federal lawsuit against Neeley, one of the mayors top aides, the city attorney, council members and others, has claimed theyve violated his constitutional rights, denied him equal protection under the law, and subjected him to false arrest for allegedly disrupting other meetings.

Mays said Thursday, Oct. 1, that his removal from the councils meeting Monday, Sept. 28, was another example of city officials treating him differently than other council members when he attempted to question City Attorney Angela Wheeler. The attorney had requested a closed meeting of the council to discuss pending lawsuits against the city, including the federal lawsuit filed by Mays in U.S. District Court.

One hundred percent, I was not being disruptive, said Mays, who represents the citys 1st Ward and who did not attend the closed session about his case.

Mays' phone connection to Mondays meeting was cut by President Monica Galloway, who warned the councilman he was disrupting the meeting before ordering his removal.

Earlier in the meeting, the councilman challenged Neeley, who had come to the meeting to discuss the citys response to the COVID-19 pandemic, blight reduction efforts and the upcoming election.

Mays had repeatedly requested Neeley come before council since the start of the coronavirus emergency and he interrupted the mayors remarks several times Monday to question him. At one point, the mayor told the councilman he would not engage in (any) type of interrogation."

Neeley said Thursday that hes willing to work with Mays, but said his behavior definitely has to be at a level (that) we can all appreciate his input.

We have very serious issues (and) we have to approach these with a clear and sober mind ... We have to engage in a dialogue, the mayor said.

Mays has been reelected by voters in three straight elections and ran for mayor in 2015. He has been removed or voluntarily left council meetings before he could be escorted by police at least eight times since 2012, including at least once before he was elected.

In March, he was handcuffed and led out of Flint City Council chambers and the remainder of the council voted to ban him from meetings for a month.

When the council met in person, prior to the COVID-19 emergency, a police officer had typically been posted at council meetings to remove anyone causing a disruption, but Mays is the lone council member to be removed from his seat since he took office.

His lawsuit against the city officials seeks nearly $1 million in damages -- more than $100,000 for each of nine counts of wrongdoing he alleges. The case has been assigned to a federal magistrate.

Flint Councilman Eric Mays files federal lawsuit against council members, mayor and city attorney

If the teeth fit, you must acquit, Eric Mays has a colorfully weird history in Flint politics

Eric Mays insisted on handcuffs after Flint Council vote to remove him

Eric Mays arrested, suspended from Flint Council meetings for month
By Stanley Gajete, KYODO NEWS - Oct 2, 2020 - 19:28 | World, All, Coronavirus

The Philippines reopened the famous Boracay resort island in the country's central region this month as part of its bid to boost the country's economy as threats from the coronavirus pandemic linger.

The reopening came after the idyllic island known for its white sand beach has recorded zero virus cases since June. The government has decided to allow both Filipino and foreign tourists onto the island provided that they have negative COVID-19 test results.

Thirty-five tourists visited the island on the first day, Thursday, followed by 13 the following day, according to a local government. With so few tourists, the beach was largely empty.

"I'm very happy that after many months, we were able to open Boracay for all tourists," Frolibar Bautista, acting mayor of Malay in Aklan Province, of which Boracay is a part, told reporters on Thursday. "I'm expecting that many will come."

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, speaking in a virtual briefing due to her having been in close proximity to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, stressed the need to restart tourism.

"Many lose their jobs, and we need to find a way to restart tourism, to restart the economy, but with health and safety protocols," she said.

After three months of travel restrictions amid the pandemic, the island reopened to the Western Visayas region covering six central provinces in mid-June. But a full reopening needed to wait another three and a half months.

Before Thursday's reopening, officials examined whether businesses certified to operate are complying with the health protocols.

Some hotels and resorts have been offering up to 75 percent discounts on room rates to attract local and foreign tourists in the coming days.

Romulo-Puyat said it is better to start with a small number of tourists so the health protocols in place can be tested. "We still have many things to improve," the secretary said.

She also underlined the importance of tourism for economic revival in the wake of the pandemic, noting that the sector accounts for 12.7 percent of the economy.

"Boracay is one of our top tourist destinations. So we really need to reopen," Romulo-Puyat said.

The Philippines had recorded 316,678 cases of COVID-19, the highest number in Southeast Asia, as of Friday, including 5,616 deaths, according to the Health Department.

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Philippines begins 9-month clinical trials on Avigan
HARRISBURG, Pa. - President Donald Trumps campaign followed through on a threat to sue Philadelphia, filing papers in court Thursday night over city officials preventing campaign representatives from watching people registering to vote or filling out mail-in ballots in election offices there.

The lawsuit comes amid Trump claiming that he can only lose the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania if Democrats cheat and, as he did in 2016s campaign, suggesting that the Democratic bastion of Philadelphia needs to be watched closely for election fraud.

The 14-page lawsuit, filed in a state court in Philadelphia, revolves around the question of what rights there are for campaign representatives to watch people in election offices where they can register to vote, apply for mail-in ballots, fill them out or turn them in.

Bad things are happening in Philadelphia, the campaigns lawsuit said. While transparency and accountability are hallmarks of election integrity, the actions of Philadelphia election officials to date have undermined election integrity by shrouding the casting of ballots in secrecy.

The campaign is asking to be able to assign representatives to observe inside satellite election offices that Philadelphia began opening Tuesday around the city to help collect what is expected to be an avalanche of mail-in ballots in the Nov. 3 presidential election.

But election lawyers, city officials and the states top elections official all say that there is no right under Pennsylvania law, even for a certified poll watcher, to watch people do things like register to vote or fill out a mail-in ballot.

Those rights, they say, are limited to certified campaign representatives to observe voting at a polling place on Election Day or the opening of absentee and mail-in ballots in an election office.

A spokesperson for the citys election board chairwoman said Thursday night that he had not reviewed the lawsuit, but the board generally does not comment on litigation. The Trump campaign originally threatened to sue Tuesday night.

Some recent Pennsylvania polls show Trump and Biden in a competitive race, while others have Biden slightly ahead.

Philadelphia on Tuesday opened the first seven of what is expected to be 17 satellite election offices. The offices are a new creation, deemed to be legal under state law last month by the state Supreme Court in a lawsuit brought by the state Democratic Party.

Trump campaign employees promptly showed up, insisting they be allowed to go in and observe the activity inside. However, city election officials  including a Republican member of a three-member city election board  prevented them, although they offered the campaign a tour of the facilities to let them see how they operate.

Trump referred to that confrontation in Tuesday nights debate with Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, saying bad things happen in Philadelphia.

The fight could widen. A number of counties, including the states most heavily populated counties, are opening satellite election offices and putting out drop boxes for voters to drop off mail-in ballots.

Philadelphia is home to one in five registered Democratic voters in Pennsylvania, and its turnout is closely watched in presidential elections.

In 2016, Trump won Pennsylvania by about 44,000 votes, or less than 1 percentage point. But he lost Philadelphia to Democrat Hillary Clinton by 67 percentage points, or about 475,000 votes, a gap that was slightly smaller than the historic margins produced for Barack Obama.

It is at least the second lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania by the Trump campaign, in an effort to expand poll watching rights and limit how counties can collect mail-in ballots and which mail-in ballots can be counted.

___

Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/timelywriter.
In graphic, matter-of-fact chatter picked up on his body-camera mic, a Louisiana State trooper implicated in the death of a Black man can be heard talking of beating and choking him before all of a sudden he just went limp.

I beat the ever-living f out of him, the trooper said in a 27-second audio clip obtained by The Associated Press.

It is the most direct evidence to emerge yet in the death last year of Ronald Greene, which troopers initially blamed on injuries from a car crash at the end of a chase. The long-simmering case has now become the subject of a federal civil rights investigation and growing calls for authorities to release the full body-cam video.

Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth, who died last week in a single-car crash, is heard recounting the May 2019 arrest of Greene in rural north Louisiana on audio provided to the AP through an intermediary who asked not to be identified because the case remains under investigation. Its veracity was confirmed by two law enforcement officials familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity. State Police did not dispute the tapes authenticity.

Choked him and everything else trying to get him under control, Hollingsworth is heard saying, apparently in his part of a phone conversation with a colleague.

We finally got him in handcuffs when a third man got there, and the son of a b was still fighting him, was still wrestling with him trying to hold him down, he said. He was spitting blood everywhere and all of a sudden he just went limp.

It is shocking that this evidence has been withheld for over a year, said Lee Merritt, an attorney for Greenes family. He called on state officials to immediately release the full footage.

Eugene Collins, president of the Baton Rouge branch of the NAACP, called Hollingsworths remarks disgusting and morally bankrupt and said the recording raised new questions about the actions of other law enforcement officials familiar with Greenes death.

How far did this coverup go? Collins asked in an interview. We are deeply saddened in the actions of State Police and call on the governor to take swift and aggressive action.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, told reporters last week that footage of Greenes arrest would be made public at the conclusion of the state and federal investigations.

Hollingsworth, who was white, was the only one of six troopers placed on leave last month following an administrative investigation that State Police did not open until late August.

He died in a single-car crash last week hours after he learned he was being fired for his role in the Greene case. Even after the troopers death, the State Police have refused to comment on Hollingsworths use of force or say which policies he was accused of violating in Greenes arrest. The agency declined to comment due to ongoing investigations.

Initially, Greenes family was told that the 49-year-old died from injuries suffered in a crash into a shrub/tree at the end of a long car chase near Monroe that began over an unspecified traffic violation.

A State Police crash report obtained by AP omits any reference to troopers using force  or even arresting Greene  but notes that he was not wearing a seat belt in the crash. State Police later acknowledged there was a struggle with troopers who were trying to arrest him.

Greenes family has a filed a federal wrongful-death suit alleging troopers brutalized him, shocked him three times with a stun gun and left him beaten, bloodied and in cardiac arrest.

Last month, they disputed the car crash narrative by releasing graphic photos of Greenes body that appeared to show deep bruises on his face and cuts on his scalp, as well as photos of the SUV he was driving showing it with only minor damage.

Greene, a barber who had lived for years in central Florida, was not known to be wanted on any charges at the time of the police chase. He had a criminal record in Florida that included arrests ranging from theft to drug possession. Court records show he served more than a year in prison following a 2015 conviction for burglary and grand theft.

The State Police crash report does indicate whether alcohol or drug use was involved.

___

Mustian reported from New York.
McDonald's Australia is threatening to supersize its trademarks lawsuit against Hungry Jack's after its rival launched a television campaign claiming the Big Jack burger is "clearly bigger" than "some American burger".

The fast-food giant filed Federal Court proceedings on August 28 against Hungry Jack's over the registered trademark "Big Jack", which McDonald's claims is "substantially identical with or deceptively similar" to its Big Mac trademark. It is seeking to have the trademark cancelled.

But Hungry Jack's says the trademark plays on the company's name and the name of "its founder and current owner, Jack Cowin".

Following the lawsuit, Hungry Jack's released television advertisements saying "someone's suing Hungry Jack's" but the Big Jack was "clearly bigger" than "some American burger" and had "25 per cent more Aussie beef".
HALIFAX - Nova Scotia is requiring new restaurants, lunch counters, cafes and delis to be accessible to people with disabilities under rules that take effect at the end of the month.

The province says any new restaurant with seating will need to have accessible entrances, pathways and washrooms in order to get a food safety permit.

The changes will be paired with updated Nova Scotia Building Code requirements around accessibility that take effect Oct. 31.

They will apply to new eateries opening in a new space, or spaces that have not been used as a restaurant in the past 12 months, while restaurants that are undergoing major renovations may also be subject to the change.

Accessibility advocates, building owners, the restaurant industry and several government departments took part in a restorative justice process to address washroom accessibility in restaurants beginning in 2019.

It was part of the provincial governments commitment to make Nova Scotia inclusive by 2030.

In September 2018, a Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission board of inquiry ruled that the provincial Environment Department must require restaurants to have accessible washrooms for the public under its Food Safety Regulations.

Environment Minister Gordon Wilson called the change for new restaurants a positive step forward in a news release on Friday.

This is a first and important step, and we are committed to working with stakeholders as we consider additional changes that support improved accessibility, said Wilson.

Gordon Stewart, president of the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, also applauded the change

We support having all new restaurants accessible, and eventually, as many restaurants as possible, Stewart said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020

Read more about:
Russian Interior Ministry ordered to pay $400 to victim of police tortures

 pixabay. com

16:58 02/10/2020

MOSCOW, October 2 (RAPSI)  A court in Russias Nizhny Tagil obliged the Interior Ministry to pay 30,000 rubles ($400) in compensation to Maxim Chervotkin, who had suffered from tortures at a police station, his attorney Alexey Bushmakov told RAPSI on Friday.

The ruling would be appealed as soon as possible, the lawyer added.

The victim demanded nearly 2.5 million rubles (about $32,000) from the Ministry.

In September 2019, a court in Nizhny Tagil sentenced three former police officers to prison terms ranging from 4.5 to 5 years in prison for abuse of power with the use of violence and banned them from working at law enforcement agencies for 2 years.

According to case papers, on October 3, 2018, the police officers under the threat of tortures demanded confession from arrested Chervotkin. They beat the man 40 times and put packages on his head making him breathe difficult. The victim was forcedly held in a police office more than 24 hours.

The defendants pleaded not guilty.




Shoppers were left in shock after spotting a young man taking his 12-foot python 'for a walk' in a busy town centre.

The reptile owner was seen strolling with his friend and his pet snake in Brighton, East Sussex, on Tuesday afternoon.

Concerned locals contacted the police who confronted the man and persuaded him to take the python home.

The young man was spotted with his pet snake in the centre of Brighton, East Sussex

How deadly can pet pythons be? Popular snakes that have turned on their owners in killings around the world Pythons are found in sub-Saharan African countries and in parts of Asia. They are non-venomous snakes and kill by constriction, latching on with their teeth and coiling around their prey. Burmese pythons can grow up to 23ft with other species, like the ball python growing to around 6ft. Due to their docile natures, pythons are one of the most popular snake breeds to be kept as pets. However, attacks on their handlers are not uncommon. A python had never been known to have killed a person in Britain until the death of Dan Brandon in 2018. A man was killed by a python in Indonesia in 2018, while two boys died in Canada after one escaped from a pet shop in 2013. Noah Barthe, four, and his brother Connor, six, were at a sleepover at Jean-Claude Savoie's flat above the shop, called Reptile Ocean, in August 2013. The African rock python got out through a ventilation duct in Campbellton, New Brunswick, and dropped into the living room where the two boys were sleeping. It strangled and bit them to death and sparked a court trial, where the owner was cleared of responsibility. Advertisement

The man and his friend are thought to have been intending to film the snake for their YouTube channel where they post videos of reptiles in unusual places.

Police said the pair dropped to snake on the ground and were inviting people to hold it as they filmed them.

Erik Selby, 30, caught the bizarre incident on camera after hearing the disturbance from his office.

He said: 'There was a lot of commotion and somebody said something about a snake, but I thought they meant a tiny snake. I had seen a big yellow thing on the floor, but it didn't even cross my mind that was a snake at first.'

The two police officers ask the man to remove the reptile from the street, before he argues that his pet is 'content' where it is.

Eventually the officers managed to persuade him to take it home and he walks away with the python wrapped around his neck.

Steven Allain, from the British Herpetological Society, told the Argus: 'A cold September afternoon is not the time to take a tropical snake into a town centre.

'The owner is the person most at risk, all it takes is for the python to get a little spooked or hold on a little too tight when being carried around the neck and you could quickly lose consciousness or worse.

'A snake of that size isn't going to eat you but it could easily inflict harm without even realising it.'

One person said on Facebook: 'If you see this idiot in Brighton, make sure you tell him what he's doing to that snake is cruel.

'Reptiles require heat to digest there food correctly and if they don't get the correct heating it can lead to serious health problems.. Mug.'

Erik, a video production company owner, added: 'The man was arguing 'how is this different to walking a dog?'

'The officers didn't answer back to that. They kept encouraging him to take the snake home.

'They were as baffled as anyone else. They were saying how it was an interesting end to a shift.'

Police officers were trying to persuade him to remove the snake from the street

The reptile owner argued that his pet python was 'content' where it was

He was eventually persuaded and walked away with the snake wrapped around his neck

A Sussex Police spokesman said: 'Police were called to Ship Street in Brighton at 2.35pm on Tuesday (September 29), following concern for the welfare of a large snake that was being carried in the street.

'It was reported that the snake had been dropped to the ground and being used for filming with people being invited to hold it.

'The young man with the snake agreed to return it to his car and was escorted back to his vehicle.'
Kaisei High School, located in Tokyoas Nishi Nippori neighborhood, is a very respected academic institute. Its major claim to fame is that for 39 years and counting it has sent more students to the University of Tokyo, Japanas most prestigious university, than any other high school in the country.

As such, Kaiseias entrance exam is no joke, and sure enough, a recent investigation discovered that the entrance exam for one student at the school had actually been taken by someone else. OK, so some underqualified kid hired a ringer to take the test for him right? Nope, so put on your thinking cap as we go through the bizarre chain of events.

Kaisei held its entrance exam back on Feb 10, and one applicant, who weall call A-kun, showed up to take the test. A few days later Kaisei informed him that head passed, and on Feb 16 he attended an orientation session where he completed the paperwork to officially enroll in the school. On both days he had to show a photo ID to confirm his identity.

In an ordinary school year, an entrance ceremony would have been held in April to welcome new students to the school, and regular classes would have begun. However, with coronavirus infection numbers spiking from late February, the entrance ceremony (which studentas parents often attend) was cancelled, and classes for A-kun and his classmates began online. Kaisei resumed on-campus classes in late June, and the school yearas first semester wrapped up in late July.

Around this time, Kaiseias administrators noticed something unusual: they still hadnat received a copy of A-kunas academic record from the junior high school head attended. Initially, theyad chalked this up do to a paperwork delay caused by the coronavirus situation, since the pandemic has been especially disruptive for schools. Still, half a year seems like plenty of time for someone to email a PDF or drop a hard copy in the mail, so Kaisei contacted A-kunas junior high schoolaonly to be told that they had indeed sent his records, but to a different high school where A-kun was attending classes.

In other words, A-kun didnat have someone else take his entrance exam for him, but instead took the entrance exam, passed, and then had another boy, who weall call B-kun, attend his classes, both online and in-person, for an entire semester.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2020 > On Bhagat Singhs Birth Anniversary: Revisiting Bhagat Singhs Sociological (...)

by Naren Singh Rao

Bhagat Singh is one of the most unique and rarest of revolutionaries who significantly stand out amongst all revolutionists- his predecessors, contemporaries and successors. He did not just go to the gallows as a nationalist revolutionary. Rather, while striving to achieve political transformation, he ardently aspired to bring about deep social revolution by annihilating the retrograde and reactionary societal-cultural practices, ideologies and institutions. Hence, his intellectual and revolutionary legacy continues to inspire the generations to come.

The ruling classes of the post-decolonised India have continued to project Bhagat Singh as a gun-toting, macho-nationalist- an image which was essentially manufactured by the British Empire for the official records in service of its (mis)rule. It is indeed a colossal tragedy that the exploitative forces of communalism and capitalism against whom Bhagat Singh fought so resolutely have, of late, managed to co-opt him within their fold while cunningly eliding his Marxist-socialistic revolutionary beliefs and ideals.

Bhagat Singh was a gifted, young intellectual and a committed writer who passionately wrote on almost all pressing issues of his time. Even after hundred years, all his writings stand out as highly progressive and pertinent texts. They testify to the historical fact that when most of the leaders of the Indian freedom struggle including the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohandas Gandhi were merely looking at the immediate enemy- the British Empire, he could very well see beyond the immediate and accordingly addressed the issues and concerns head-on. He presciently informs, the struggle of India would continue so long as a handful of exploiters go on exploiting the labour of the common people for their own ends. It matters little whether these exploiters are purely British capitalists or British and Indians in alliance, or even purely Indians.

Bhagat Singhs most celebrated article Why I am an Atheist offers profound insight into his sociological imagination. It points out the significance of reason and logic being informed by scientific-socialism and materialist philosophy. It attests to the fact (which the right-wing forces deviously hide without fail) that all his life Bhagat Singh doggedly refused to believe in any supernatural power and steadfastly believed that God is an invention of a weak human imagination, and religion is nothing more than a weapon of exploitation in the hands of the ruling classes. In fact, he perceptively observes that all ruling classes across societies have utilised the concept of God in pursuance of the exploitation of the ordinary people.

Originally, the article was written for a fellow political worker who levelled a wild charge against Bhagat Singh that his atheism was a product of his excessive vanity and unnecessary pride. On the face of it, the article comes across as a text which questions the existence of God. However, a close reading of it clearly reveals that it is essentially a critique of the idealist philosophy and the exploitative modes of production associated with it.

In the article, Bhagat Singh clinically takes on the outdated, regressive beliefs and value systems existing in society due to prevalence of blind belief which, in turn, deprive human beings of their true comprehension power and make them reactionary. He vociferously advocates rigorous reasoning guided by scientific thinking which helps in criticising every phenomena of the universe. He firmly says that everything should be questioned under the sun. There must not be anything which is beyond the purview of doubt. Every human being who stands for progress has to think rationally and critically, and hence criticise every tenet of old beliefs in the strongest terms possible. Each belief system has to be critically evaluated with the prism of reason. And any belief which cannot withstand the onslaught of reason needs to be outrightly rejected.

Further, Bhagat Singh argues that poverty and caste system are the worst curse in the world. He asks the believers of God  Why did God (if he or she does exist at all) create such systems of oppression against human kind? He lambasts those believers who say that the God has created such systems of oppression to punish those human beings who committed sins in their previous birth. He remarks, Tell me, has this tomfoolery, perpetrated in the name of punishment, any reformative effect on human man? How many of them have you met who were donkeys in their previous births for having committed any sin? Absolutely no one of this sort! The so called theory of Puranas (transmigration) is nothing but a fairy-tale.

Clearly, the article establishes Bhagat Singhs fearless character at an individual level. At political level, it points to his firm belief in human agency-driven progressive political and social change. He held that only through resolute will and action, human beings can bring about a change. He notes, Society must fight against this belief in God as it fought against idol worship and other narrow conceptions of religion. In this way man will try to stand on his feet. I dont think that by strengthening my belief in God and by offering prayers to Him every day, I can bring improvement in my situation, nor can I further deteriorate it.

Bhagat Singh takes a solid stand against the brahmanical order which has been the ruling force for the longest time. Here, it is important to note that Bhagat Singh was the only prominent freedom strugglers alongside B.R. Ambedkar who exposed and vehemently opposed the brahmanical order. In the article, he meticulously highlights the atrocities committed against the people belonging to the lower castes and oppressed communities and categorically holds that these systems are created by the ruling establishments in order to serve their political interests. He observes, If by chance these poor creatures heard a few words of your sacred books, Vedas, these Brahmans poured melted lead into their ears. If they committed any sin, who was to be held responsible? Who was to bear the brunt? My dear friends, these theories have been coined by the privileged classes. They try to justify the power they have usurped and the riches they have robbed with the help of such theories.

Indeed, the text of Why I am an Atheist proves beyond doubt that Bhagat Singh was deeply influenced by progressive, Marxist politics and accordingly developed his political line and programme. At this critical juncture when India is witnessing acidic, fascistic-communal politics and unabashed display of neo-liberal economics, this article must be read by the public intellectuals, activists and common citizens alike in public and private spheres as often as possible. It is high time when Bhagat Singhs true politics and ideals were reclaimed and disseminated in every nook and corner of the country. Certainly, this will counter the efforts of the ruling regimes which have deceitfully subverted Bhagat Singhs true political legacy by projecting him as mere macho jingoist who happily chose to go to the gallows for the cartographic notion of mother India!

(Naren Singh Rao is a Delhi-based media critic, educator and social commentator.)
Hes playing the same role in the debates that he did in 2016, which is coming in after the president had a big debate and made a lot headlines. Hell just be Mike Pence, said one senior White House official who was not authorized to discuss debate prep. That means hes going to be a conservative guy, this calm former talk radio host who talks up MAGA and Trump and owns the libs.
HOLMDEL, NJ - Holmdel High School senior Daniel Wang has always felt passionate about volunteering, and has dedicated countless hours over eight years addressing inequities in and around his neighborhood. From assisting in rebuilding his local church after Hurricane Sandy to donating leftover bread at Bell Market to local pantries, Wang has proved his dedication to battling food insecurity, which affects roughly 44,140 individuals in Monmouth County alone.

But amid the coronavirus pandemic  and an estimated 54 million Americans projected to be food insecure by the years end  Wang has decided to take up a new challenge. Alongside his friend and classmate Alex Tian, Wang is creating an app dedicated to connecting food-insecure residents of Monmouth County with local shelters and food pantries.

Wang told Patch that he came up with the innovative idea for an app as Google searches for area food banks render convoluted, confusing or sometimes downright wrong information.

The app, dubbed Hidden Hunger, is currently in Beta mode. Wang reports that he and his collaborators are still inputting data into the system in hopes of releasing the new technology "very soon."

It was really confusing to maneuver through different Google searches, and I realized that on top of needing more volunteers, we also need more resources, Wang said. [Food insecure] people look around and they try to find different places where they can get food or where they can help. We wanted to make sure that anyone who wants to volunteer or anyone in need of food will be able to have the necessary information to be able to do. So thats why we created the app.

But while this venture may be Wangs first delving into the tech space, the 17-year-old is certainly no rookie when it comes to battling food insecurity. Wang has been offering his services to the community since 2012 when Hurricane Sandy ripped through the Jersey Shore when the Holmdel resident was just nine years old.

Story continues

Hurricane Sandy itself 100% had a lasting impact on me, Wang reflected. I just thought it was so devastating because we drove through hurricane Sandy in 5-10 minutes and right next to the beach we saw houses that were torn in half. We could see the insides of the house and where everything stood. We were like this is so close to us. It hit so close to our hearts. These people were having a hard time finding help.

In the aftermath of the hurricane, Wang began to assist nearby Holy Family Parish in Union Beach rebuild. Wang told Patch that the experience "absolutely" changed his perspective on food insecurity as it was the first time he witnessed instances of hungry neighbors in his own community. While he initially volunteered to help restore the flooded place of worship, another issue caught the young advocate's attention.

I started realizing that most of the church members there actually went to bed hungry and so the storm really exacerbated that problem, especially since it was very hard for them to be able to get the food necessary and while also making sure that their physical needs were met, Wang said.

In 2017, the Holmdel High School senior began working with Bell Market to donate any unsold bread. The 17-year-old estimated that the market would toss anywhere from 100 to 150 loaves per day before he offered his services.

I just went up to them and asked them, hey, if you guys throw this out every week, and if its still good to eat, maybe I could help you guys and drive it to a local church. They have a small food pantry for the church members there, and so I told them that I can just give it to them and we can repurpose this bread," Wang said.

Overtime, the high school student expanded his services to other restaurants and bakeries around town and enlisted his friends to help volunteer. Were really glad that, as high school students, were able to use what we have and help our community that way, Wang said.

Because of quarantine, Bell Market has stopped donations for a little bit, but the student is looking to start again soon.

Food is one of the most basic human rights. Food, water and shelter, Wang said. That is one of the most basic things you need to survive, and so something so basic thats so lacking, especially in a first world country. We would expect that everyone has adequate food and adequate shelter. Unfortunately that's not the case. Whatever I can do to help solve that, I will.

Thanks for reading! Got a news tip? Email nicole.rosenthal@patch.com.

Click here to get Patch email notifications, or get breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app, download here. Follow Holmdel-Hazlet Patch on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on the Holmdel-Hazlet Patch
It was a tough day for the airline industry Thursday as tens of thousands of workers were furloughed all at once.

The numbers are over 8,000 flight attendants at American alone and 19,000 total workers that as of today will be out of a job without an extension of the payroll support program, said Paul Hartshorn Jr., the communications chair at the Association of Professional Flight Attendants.

American Airlines and United Airlines collectively took more than 32,000 workers off the payroll after a federal block on job cuts expired and Congress struggled to reach a deal on the coronavirus relief package Wednesday. American Airlines told FOX 13 that its workers in Tampa represent 3% of those furloughed in Florida. The APFA said the job loss has a bigger impact.

There are many, many industries that depend on a healthy aviation industry system, said Hartshorn. Im talking about the hotel van drivers that receive their healthcare through the hotel and support a family, their jobs are in peril, the hotel front desk workers.

Thousands of airline furloughs

American Airlines and United Airlines say they will begin to furlough 32,000 employees after lawmakers and the White House failed to agree on a broad pandemic relief package that includes more federal aid for airlines. Jesse Gary reports

Hotel leaders said its already been a devastating year for travel, and they hope it doesnt get any worse.

If a hotel in a local community closes shop, its going to affect high school graduation. Its going to affect weddings. Its going to affect parties. Its going to affect your local community groups that may gather there, said Chip Rogers, the president and CEO of American Hotel and Lodging Association, who added that hotels need help through the low-traffic winter months. Thats really all were asking for, just to make it to next spring. There are not big, large corporations. In fact, almost two-thirds of hotels are classified as small businesses.

So airline and hotel representatives are pushing for action and federal aid to get workers on the job.

If we dont get this passed and cleared up in the next couple of days, thousands, it could be up to 75,000 aviation workers out of work, said Hartshorn.

United and American sent FOX 13 statements that went out to employees, saying they are not giving up on reversing the furloughs. As for the hotels, the AHLA said about 1.7 million jobs could be lost by next year if nothing changes.

---fox13news.com
Between 1849 and 1869, the Isthmus of Panama, which had been a tropical backwater for almost 200 years, became one of the most traveled places in the world. And for the first few years, it was also one of the most unpleasant.

The California Gold Rush was responsible for turning the wasp waist of the Americas into a crazily congested thoroughfare. When the stampede started, the Argonauts had three main ways to get to San Francisco: across the continent, by ship around Cape Horn, or by ship to the Atlantic side of Panama, across the Isthmus, then again by ship up the Pacific Coast.

Because it cut thousands of miles off the almost 15,000-mile-long Cape Horn route, many chose the Isthmus route. It was only a 60-mile journey from the east to the west side. But at the height of the Gold Rush, traveling those 60 miles was an uncomfortable, dangerous and not infrequently fatal ordeal.

Ships put into a decrepit harbor village called Chagres, whose 700 inhabitants lived in bamboo huts under the ruins of an old Spanish fortress. Chagres was on a beautiful bay but had a reputation for disease, so travelers were advised to head 40 miles up the Chagres River to the town of Gorgona.

As Oscar Lewis writes in Sea Routes to the Gold Fields: The Migration by Water to California 1849-1852, this was not easily accomplished. The only way to go up the shallow river was by taking a dugout, called a bungo, which native boatmen alternately paddled and poled against the current.

When the Gold Rush ships began putting into Chagres in December 1848, the bungo boatmen were able to demand exorbitant fees  as much as $50 per passenger. They often cheated their customers, either by taking payment from a group of passengers and then making a deal with another party and leaving the first one stranded, or by stopping midway and demanding more money.

For those able to secure a bungo, the journey to Gorgona usually took three or four days, with overnight stops at villages along the way. The journalist Bayard Taylor described his accommodation at a village called Gatun:

A notched pole, serving as a ladder, led to a sleeping-loft, under the pyramidal roof of thatch. Here a number of the emigrants who arrived late were stowed away on a rattling floor of cane, covered with hides. After a supper of pork and coffee ... the owner of the hut swung my hammock ... and I turned in to secure it for the night.

To lie there was one thing, to sleep another. A dozen natives were crowded round the table, drinking their aguardiente (brandy) and disputing vehemently; the cooking fire was on one side of me, and every one who passed to and fro was sure to give me a thump, while my weight swung the hammock so low, that all the dogs on the premises were constantly rubbing their backs under me.

Another traveler observed one of the natives, a teenage girl, sweetening coffee by spitting sugar-cane juice into it as it was being made. He declined a second cup.

Beyond Gatun the river current was stronger, and the boatmen needed all their strength to pole the bungos upstream. They would periodically vanish into the jungle and return with bottles of aguardiente, from which they would take frequent pulls to restore their energy. Since many passengers believed that drinking alcohol would prevent them from acquiring tropical diseases, it was common to see boats veering unsteadily upstream, with crew and passengers alike drunkenly warbling Oh! Susanna and Yankee Doodle, the boatmen having quickly learned the American songs.

After arriving at Gorgona, the Argonauts had to travel the remaining 20 miles to Panama (now called Panama City) either by foot or, more commonly, by mule. The trail was precipitous and at the bottom of ravines sometimes so narrow that a loaded mule could barely squeeze through.

This part of the journey usually took an entire, exhausting day. One traveler wrote, After being jolted to almost paralytic unconsciousness on the mules, alternately burned by the tropic sun and soaked by the tropic showers, and liberally bespotted by the mosquitoes and other nameless visitors of the previous three nights, the Argonauts hailed Panama with delight.

More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond.

Their delight was short-lived. Panama, the crown jewel of Spains colonial empire before it was sacked by the British pirate Henry Morgan in 1671, then for generations a gently decaying village, had turned overnight into a teeming, filthy frontier port. A traveler described his accommodation: The hotels, if such they could be called, were huge old native houses, utterly unadapted for the purpose; the barn-like rooms, damp, windowless and overrun with vermin, looked more like prison vaults than sleeping apartments.

Trivia time The previous trivia question: What is Tennessee Valley Beach named after? Answer: The steamer Tennessee, which was wrecked off the cove in 1853. This week's trivia question: What birthday present did the Board of Supervisors once give to Golden Gate Park Superintendent John McLaren? Note: A previous Trivia Time asserted that Emperor Norton threatened to fine anyone using the word "Frisco." According to John Lumea, founder of the Emperor Norton Trust, no primary documents have been found to support this claim. Editor's note Every corner in San Francisco has an astonishing story to tell. Gary Kamiya's Portals of the Past tells those lost stories, using a specific location to illuminate San Francisco's extraordinary history - from the days when giant mammoths wandered through what is now North Beach to the Gold Rush delirium, the dot-com madness and beyond. His column appears every other Saturday. Dig deep into Chronicle Vault Like what you're reading? Subscribe to the Chronicle Vault newsletter and get classic archive stories in your inbox twice a week. Read hundreds of historical stories, see thousands of archive photos and sort through 153 years of classic Chronicle front pages at SFChronicle.com/vault. See More Collapse

Most hotels were booked, so thousands of 49ers camped outside the citys ancient walls. Lack of sanitation, overcrowding, exposure, the tropical climate and heavy drinking led to epidemics of dysentery, yellow fever and cholera. Thousands fell ill, and many died.

Nor was it easy to get away. Most Argonauts had not booked the last leg in advance and were unable to secure places on the steamers headed to California. For these adventurers, rightfully fearful that any delay would result in the gold fields being played out before they arrived, being trapped in Panama was purgatorial. In May 1849, 2,000 men were stranded on the isthmus. Some bought small boats and set sail for San Francisco themselves; others gave up and returned home.

As reports of the dire conditions in the isthmus got back to the States, the owners of the steamship lines increased sailings and put their ships on regular schedules. But what transformed the arduous trek was the building of the Panama Railroad, one of the great engineering feats of the 1850s. In 1855, the line was completed ocean to ocean. The running time was three hours.

As the isthmus route became easier, it became more popular than going around Cape Horn. By 1851, three out of every four people traveling between the two coasts crossed at Panama or the alternative Central American route, Nicaragua. Between 1848 and 1869, when the transcontinental railroad was completed, an astonishing 808,769 people crossed the isthmus  a volume of travelers across the narrowest part of the continent never seen before or since.

Gary Kamiya is the author of the best-selling book Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco, awarded the Northern California Book Award in creative nonfiction. All the material in Portals of the Past is original for The San Francisco Chronicle. To read earlier Portals of the Past, go to sfchronicle.com/portals. For more features from 150 years of The Chronicles archives, go to sfchronicle.com/vault. Email: metro@sfchronicle.com
Acreage Holdings, which has an agreement to merge with Canopy Growth when federal legalization of marijuana occurs in the U.S. or other rules change to make it permissible, plans to sell the beverages in its own dispensaries and those operated by competitors. Acreage operates two Natures Care dispensaries in Illinois, one in Rolling Meadows and another on Chicagos Randolph Street restaurant row, which opened this week.
The president and the first lady have both tested positive for coronavirus, and those who have recently attended Trump campaign rallies are encouraged to take precautionary measures.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has released guidance to anyone who attended President Donald Trumps rally on Saturday at Harrisburg International Airport after it was revealed the president tested positive for the coronavirus.


Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, tested positive for the coronavirus Wednesday and has been isolated in her Michigan home since.

McDaniel, a Michigan native, wished President Donald Trump and the First Lady a speedy recovery Friday morning after Trump announced they tested positive. The RNC confirmed McDaniels diagnosis, which comes a week after she toured Michigan in a bus to stump for Trumps reelection campaign.

McDaniel tested negative for COVID-19 during the bus tour and on both Thursday and Friday of last week at events with Trump, according to the RNC. McDaniel was tested again this week after a family member was confirmed to have carried the virus.

An RNC spokesperson aid McDaniel has remained in quarantine at her home in Michigan this week. She has exhibited mild symptoms, the spokesperson said.

Read more: Trump wrongly says experts are divided on mask use to prevent coronavirus. Now he has the virus.

Michigan Republican Party spokesman Tony Zammit said there have been no reports of anyone associated with the event showing symptoms of the virus.

Obviously, anyone that comes down with the symptoms we encourage them to get tested, Zammit said. But we believe that the transmission happened after the bus tour and most COVID cases, from what we can see, show within seven to 10 days so were kind of outside the window now.

For too long, presidential candidates in both parties ignored Michigan.



But from @realDonaldTrumps very first visit, I knew he would never overlook the people of this great state.



He has fought for us, and now we need to deliver for him in November! pic.twitter.com/Aa1fSxDfya  Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) September 22, 2020

According to a release from the RNC, the bus tour stopped at 14 field offices across Michigan, including Lansing, Oakland County and Macomb County.

McDaniel could be seen in photos posted to social media surrounded by large crowds of supporters without wearing a mask. She was joined by Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox and other Michigan Republicans.

Read more: As coronavirus fatigue sets in, contact tracing remains critical to reducing spread

Trump has downplayed the risk of the coronavirus at rallies across the country.

McDaniel was admitted to a Michigan hospital in March after contracting flu-like symptoms, but a test found she did not contract COVID-19.

READ MORE ON MLIVE:

Prayers for the fighter: Michigan leaders wish President Donald Trump speedy coronavirus recovery

Thursday, Oct. 1, coronavirus data by Michigan county: 6 U.P. counties at red; Genesee moves up to orange

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: No one is immune as President Donald Trump tests positive for coronavirus

As coronavirus fatigue sets in, contact tracing remains critical to reducing spread
On Sunday, Oct. 4, members of the Dufferin County Cultural Resource Circle (DCCRC), community leaders, and others from the community will gather together to recognize the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).

These events, which are held across the country, aim to draw attention to the crisis, demanding action from all levels of government to stop the violence.

In a 2015 report from the Native Womens Association of Canada (NWAC) it was noted that between 2000 to 2008, Aboriginal women and girls represented approximately 10 per cent of all female homicides in Canada, despite making up only three per cent of the countrys population.

The local event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 4, and will begin at the courthouse on Zina Street. Individuals wishing to participate are asked to gather at 10:30 a.m.

DCCRC and Family Transition place are hosting the first (local) National Day of Action to bring awareness to the MMIWG, said Debbie Sipkema of the DCCRC. We are honouring those whose family or friends are missing or murdered. We are also recognizing the work completed and presented to the government by the task force for the MMIWG Inquiry.

The walk will follow a route from the courthouse, down Broadway, and ending at Alexandra Park in Orangeville, where there will be speakers and discussions on the issue.

At their Sept. 29 meeting, Coun. Lisa Post reminded everyone that the DCCRC and Family Transition Place have requested that everyone observe social distancing protocols and wear a mask as per public health guidelines.

This is going to be a very important walk to bring awareness to a very important cause, said Post.

For more information, visit the event Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1614684755358962.
President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, have tested positive for coronavirus.

My first reaction was a sleepy  albeit, giddy  grin. Too bad, so sad. He lied to Americans about the severity of the coronavirus for months. He flouted science. He didnt wear a mask. He held mass maskless rallies as case counts rose across the country. He made fun of people who did wear masks as recently as Tuesday at that farce of a debate.

From where I sit, Trumps actions are all reprehensible. Im of the opinion that Trumps reign of terror should end on Nov. 3. Thanks to Trump, close to 210,000 Americans are dead. My friends. My friends parents.

He deserved this. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

In the morning, I felt differently.

 READ MORE: What should we do with our anger right now?

Not because I felt bad for Trump. I felt bad for myself, afraid that by secretly thanking karma and virtually high-fiving my liberal friends in a smug I told you so way, Im becoming the monster. Im no better than Trump. Thats not good for me. And collectively, its not good for our country.

What kind of person was I turning into that I was taking such glee in someone elses pain? For months, weve heard how scary and deadly this disease can be. As a person who strives to be compassionate, I shouldnt wish this on anyone.

In this time where politics feels so poisonous, is it possible to find compassion right now? Is it worth it? Heres why  and how  we should try.

Its OK to feel conflicted

The moral confusion we feel right now is totally normal, said the Rev. Charles Howard, chaplain of the University of Pennsylvania and the universitys vice president for social equity and community. So many of us have been hurt by his policies, by his words and by his manner. We felt assaulted by him after that debate. Its very natural for humans who want those who hurt us to hurt, Howard said. So, for a split-second, Trumps illness might feel good, because finally the Universe, or God, is fighting on our behalf, like karma finally caught up to this meanie and got to him.

But taking joy in someone elses suffering  or potential pain  only hurts you in the long run, Howard said. Because that hate builds up and colors everything we see. Justice becomes less and less important as getting even becomes the focus. It can be very spiritually dangerous to think this way, Howard said.

Think about whom you want to be

In this moment, we should be thinking about who we are and whom we want to be, said Michael Baime, director of the Penn Program for Mindfulness. And even if we are angry  in my case livid  about this president, hoping for the worst isnt healthy for us emotionally or spiritually. In a way, Baime said, we are mirroring the monster we hate.

The whole country is feeling more hatred and less kindness. This is a moment where we need to take stock, pause, and think about what matters for ourselves and our whole country."

Know the difference between justice and vengeance

There is a difference, Howard said, between seeking justice and wishing that someone suffers. Its important to keep our focus productive, and vote.

 READ MORE: Dont unfriend someone who isnt going to vote. Heres how to engage them.

Also, Howard said, showing compassion is by no means letting the president off the hook. If hes guilty of the crimes hes accused of, yes, he should be be held accountable, and if that means going to jail, so be it," he said.

But I dont want his kids to hate him, for his wife to leave him and for him to lose his life in the process. I would hope that he would learn from this, not be destroyed in the process."

Being kind is not the same as forgiving or forgetting

Compassion isnt about forgetting the evil that has been done to you. Its not about ignoring the wrongs. Its not about making excuses for things that are just flat-out wrong.

Its about having empathy. Its about seeing yourself in someones shoes, no matter how different they are  and still extending kindness.

Being truly compassionate means you have empathy even when its really hard to do

Its hard, Baime said. At times it can feel impossible, but you have to remember that the hatred you may be feeling doesnt really make you feel good, even if in some ways its satisfying.

Basically, Howard said, it boils down to this: We cant fight against hate and be hateful at the same time. Trump mocked people who got tested, he made fun of people who wore masks, and now we are cheering him all the way to the hospital. We are literally turning into that mean-spirited guy, and we have to fight that. If we can get over this hump, that will be a major moral and spiritual victory for all of us."
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: For the past few weeks, I have had a hoarse voice, even though I dont have a cold. Is this something I should be concerned about?

ANSWER: Its not uncommon to experience hoarseness once in a while, especially with a cold or even after cheering loudly at a sporting event. But when a hoarse voice doesnt go away after three to four weeks, its a good idea to see your health care provider. Thats because hoarseness can be more than a temporary nuisance and result from numerous treatable problems.

Your voice is created when air from your lungs flows up through the vocal cords  also called vocal folds  in your voice box, or larynx. The vocal cords are made up of layers of delicate tissue from an elastic surface to deeper tissue of muscle, all within a cartilage framework. As air passes through the vocal cords, they vibrate, producing sound. Alone this sound is similar to a buzzing sound, but when the sound travels through your vocal tract, throat, mouth and nose, you shape this sound into speech.
Members of the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate will gather in Austin come January for a legislative session far different than the one held in 2019.

How are we going to take care of going to and from the capitol? asked state Rep. Tom Craddick of how the session will look amid the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

Will we limit the number of people coming into the capitol? the Midland Republican wondered as he participated in the Permian Basin Petroleum Associations 58th Annual Meeting, held virtually this year. Will you limit the number of people allowed in an office at one time? Will we allow people like the PBPA to have Permian Basin Day at the capitol? Will they be able to use conference rooms to be able to meet at the capitol? Theres even talk of limiting the number of bills members can file.

The top priority for legislators will be to file an appropriations bill funding the state budget, he said.

State Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, who joined Craddick for the traditional legislative panel, noted that legislators will be facing a more than $4 billion revenue deficit when they meet next year due to the pandemic. When he arrived for the legislative session in 2011, he said, the shortfall was an estimated $10 billion.

I hope it wont be that dramatic, but it certainly could, Darby said. Legislators do have tools to address the budget shortfall, he said, but will have to live within their means and balance the budget. His hope, he continued, is that legislators will find a way to honor the budget commitments theyve made on issues important to Texans, like transportation.

Another pressing issue will be redistricting, said Craddick, expressing hope the legislative redistricting committee can successfully draw new districts based on new Census data and avoid having the courts draw those districts.

The urgency is to ensure that West Texas  the portion of Texas west of Interstate 35 and represented by Craddick, Brooks Landgraf of Odessa and Darby, along with a handful of others  doesnt lose representation, he said.

Darby pointed out that though two-thirds of the states land mass lies west of I-35, only 19 House members represent the area whereas Harris County  home to Houston  alone has 25 representatives. Midland and Odessa, and San Angelo, have posted significant growth over the last decade, but not enough to match the larger urban areas.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

We need to do it, not the courts. Thats why elections matter and this one is critical, Darby said.

The two men agreed that the regions representatives need to come together, reach agreement on new districts and present that agreement to the redistricting committee. Unity of mission will be critical in the effort, they said.

Alongside the need to expand and upgrade the regions roads, Craddick said pipelines will be an important issue as Permian producers seek to move their crude and natural gas to market. That raises the question of eminent domain, something legislators, industry and landowners have struggled with in recent years. Craddick said its important to finally craft a landowner bill of rights that satisfies industry and landowners. Its important to producers to move their product and its beneficial to the environment to get trucks off the road and railcars off the tracks, he said.

We need to balance that need with the rights of the property owner, stated Darby. We need to make some progress on the issue. Ive worked with Speaker Craddick and others over the last two sessions and tried to deliver a bill. I hope the industry and all parties  TxDOT, pipelines, producers, cattle raisers, farm bureaus, can all get to a product we can agree on. I hope theres work done over the interim so we can walk hand-in-hand when we start the session and agree in principle. I look forward to the debate on that, and I hope the energy industry leads on that, and we find a product that balances the needs of a growing state with the rights of property owners.
(Scribner)

Who made America? Men made America. Big men. Men like Pecos Bill, who could tame a mountain lion and make a lasso out of a rattlesnake. Or Paul Bunyan, who felled entire forests with one mighty swing of his ax and carved the Grand Canyon by dragging his giant pick behind him.

Needless to say its false. Folklore, fakelore, tall tales. Not just the literal facts but the Great Man spirit of Manifest Destiny. And yet America has never quite shaken its admiration for stories about manly men with the power to conquer and tame a lawless land. Recent polling suggests that about 40% of U.S. registered voters remain keen on the concept of a macho, I-alone-can-fix-it folk hero bringing law and order to a wild country. We can recognize the ridiculousness of folk tales, by they have a way of worming into our national narrative infrastructure.

Pete Beattys very funny, rambunctious debut novel, Cuyahoga, is not a Trump-era allegory. It could be read with pleasure in 2002, or 1950. Or 1837, when most of it is set. Its a satire of tall tales, but not a distant, too-cool treatment. Beatty, a Cleveland-area native, deeply inhabits the tone and style of the form, paying sidelong homage to an essential American genre. He knows that we needed these big guys to rationalize Americans headlong urge to press forward, consequences be damned.

Its also just a hoot of a tale about a man who reputedly drank a barrel of whiskey and belched fire. Big Son comes straight from tall-tale central casting, possessing shoulders wide as ox yokes, according to the narrator, his brother Medium Son, or Meed. A waist trim as a sleek schooner. Muscles curlicued like rich mans furniture. Big has single-handedly cleared the forest west of the Cuyahoga River and south of Lake Erie, establishing Ohio City as a rival to the budding metropolis of Cleveland to the east. Its thankless work. Hed like to be paid for his labors, but money is scarce. And alas, his feats fail to win the heart of Cloe, a woman as pretty as Big were strong.

Story continues

The plot turns on a plan to construct a bridge across the Cuyahoga. Clevelanders see an opportunity for expansion, but Ohio City residents fear the span will siphon off business and force the communities to merge. Nativist suspicion of Clevelanders escalates, and the bridge soon becomes a target of sabotage, with Big recruited to repair the damage. Meed reports that some residents would rather the bridge remain half-exploded, using the wisdom of a cockeyed Solomon. If half the bridge belonged to Ohio [City], then Ohio [City] had the right to half-destroy the bridge. Cleveland could do with their half how they liked.

Pete Beatty, author of the debut novel "Cuyahoga." (Pete Beatty)

That folksy tone comes straight out of Twain. Beattys style in the novel is what you might call Modified Huck: Grammatically concussed but knowing and down to earth. Beattys sentences in this mode are homespun and lyrical, without coming off as hokum: I drank down a gulp of autumn air and looked through my brains for what I ought to do Or: The whole assembly went quiet with the work of believing their eyes. Describing Bigs accomplishments, he rattles a run-on sentence like hes speaking in tongues: lied to the devilstalked the deepest woodshogtied panthersdrained jugsgot stung by one thousand hornets and only smiled.

The mytho-rustic tone of Cuyahoga is its own pleasure, but its also essential to the story. To remunerate Big and shore up the notion of Ohio Citys greatness, Meed is recruited to write an almanac that will detail Bigs accomplishments, most of them wildly fanciful (Climbed to heaven and dared Christ to a rastle). With Bigs reputation preceding itself, Beatty sets the stage for a climax that requires Big to prove his mettle  to conquer the river and Cloes affections.

Cuyahoga is as fun as any well-told campfire tale, all the more so for having few rivals. There is a touch of George Saunders limber satire, and some of the grit of other Ohio-bred writers obsessed with folklore and myth  William H. Gass Omensetters Luck, Toni Morrisons Beloved, Donald Ray Pollocks The Devil All the Time. But none of these wrote tall tales, which present a particular challenge to a novelist: They allow the writer to be freewheeling but dont leave much room for the readers empathy.

Big is more myth than person, so he becomes hard to get a grip on. Meed suggests that theres a moral in Bigs origin story (he discovered his might after he was kicked in the head by a horse). We cannot live without gobbling up the world  taking its trouble into our bones and flesh  a kick will bust the trouble loose, he writes. How should we feel toward a hero whose defining feature is getting kicked in the head? Admiring? Pitying?

But theres another suggestion in the line: Perhaps we put a little too much stock in heroes who are defined by their kicked-in-the-head-ed-ness. Meed is an unreliable narrator on behalf on behalf of an unbelievable character. He spins a lot of lies in the name of progress, independence and civic pride, and Ohio Citys anxiety over Cleveland is largely a phantom. Clevelanders, Meed reports, look the same and generally act the same. The only difference is that Clevelanders are wrong all over.

Cuyahoga covers a particular moment in history as well as a wide swath of Americas historical consciousness. Every age and place has got its Big Sons, Beatty writes. Folks who hang the sky that we shelter under. Stand up the timbers of a place. A healthy society might stand to be more skeptical of the myth-making that creates such figures. But in the society we have, they endure, and Beatty wrings absurd and serious pleasure from them. Let us have tenderness but also a dash of cussedness and tragedy, Meed promises early on. He delivers.

Athitakis is a writer in Phoenix and author of The New Midwest.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
An artist paints a poster carrying a get-well message for U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania in Mumbai, India, on Oct. 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

Trudeau Sends Well Wishes to Trump, First Lady

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie sent their best wishes today to U.S. President Donald Trump and the First Lady after they both tested positive for COVID-19.

Sophie and I are sending our best wishes to @POTUS Trump and @FLOTUS. Trudeau said via Twitter. We hope you both get well soon and have a full recovery from this virus.

Other world leaders also sent wishes for a speedy recovery to Trump and his wife Melania, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Earlier today, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters that Trump is experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms. The First Lady also confirmed that she is having mild symptoms but overall feeling good, he said.

While there are fears that Trump, at age 74, is at higher-risk for COVID-19, former White House physician Ronny Jackson said on Twitter that well over 99% of healthy individuals in the Presidents age group recover completely and most never even become symptomatic. I fully expect this to be the case with President Trump as well.

Trump went for a test on Thursday after his closest aide Hope Hicks tested positive.

I just went out for a test, it will come back later I guess, he confirmed during a phone interview Thursday night with Foxs Sean Hannity. And the first lady also because we spend a lot of time with Hope and others.

Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19, Trump had said on Twitter. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!

Senator Lindsey Graham said he called the president this morning. First thing I asked him about was the First Lady. Shes doing good, he said during an event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The President was in good spirits.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is awaiting the results for his COVID-19 test, while Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife Karen say they have tested negative.

We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery, Pence wrote on Twitter. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.
Undoubtedly, the retail sector is suffering, but the closure of some venerable mall anchors, like Sears, has more to do with hedge fund mismanagement than shoppers online habits. And the trend of dead and dying suburban malls has much deeper roots, reaching back to a development model that encouraged an unsustainable boom in their construction, especially in the 1970s and 80s. Cheap land and increased auto access from new roads, among other factors, all led to overbuilding of suburban retail: By 2000, the United States had much more retail square footage per capita than any other country  twice as much as Australia and 10 times as much as Germany. The tax code allowed mall owners to write off the value of buildings in as little as seven years, encouraging poor construction and discouraging maintenance; as historian Dolores Hayden writes: After time, the result was abandonment.
Members from Brahmin and Thakur communities, among others, attended a mahapanchayat at Baghna village - two kilometres from the Hathras gang rape and murder victims village Boolgarhi - on Friday and said all the four accused in the case were innocent. They also demanded a CBI probe. The accused have been arrested and all of them belong to the so-called upper castes.

The mahapanchayat threatened to launch an agitation if the accused are not released and also referred to the report of the Agra Forensic Science Lab. On Thursday, additional director general of police (law and order) Prashant Kumar and Hathras district magistrate Praveen Kumar had quoted the report of the forensic science lab to deny the gang rape.

There was representation of all in the mahapanchayat. We demand a CBI probe into the matter, besides the narco test of the accused and the victims families so that the actual culprit gets punished. The forensic science lab has not confirmed gang rape, thus all four (accused) should be released, said Sumant Kishore Singh, representative of Hasayan block.

Also read: Allow politicians in Hathras, tweets elder sister Uma Bharti to Yogi

We will meet the members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday and apprise them of the truth. If we do not get justice even then, a bigger agitation will be called, said an upper caste member who attended the mahapanchayat.

The state government has formed a three-member SIT to probe the case and the district administration has claimed that the matter will be heard in a fast-track court. The victim belonged to the Valmiki (Dalit) community and had named four accused for brutalising and gang-raping her.

She was allegedly gang-raped and brutalised on September 14. After battling for life at JN Medical College in Aligarh, she was moved to New Delhi on September 28 and died at Safdarjung Hospital the next day.

Initially, a case under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code (attempt to murder) was registered against an accused. Thereafter, Section 354 (attempt to outrage modesty) was added. Finally, a case of gang rape (376D) was registered against four accused, all of whom are in custody.

Victims village out of reach

As for Boolgarhi village, it became inaccessible to the media on Friday with barricading and police personnel deployed at all possible locations. Officials said the ongoing SIT probe was the reason for the restrictions.

The three-member Special Investigation Team is conducting the probe in the village. Till then, entry of the media is to remain restricted. We are also maintaining law and order. Hence, no political delegations and individuals are allowed inside the village, said additional superintendent of police (ASP) Prakash Kumar in Hathras.

Also read: Hathras protest latest updates - No politics on this issue, says Arvind Kejriwal at Delhi protest

All through the day, journalists tried in vain to enter the village for an interaction with the victims family. There were allegations that the cell phones of the family members were taken. But the police denied such charges.

We are simply asking for permission to meet the family members which is being denied. We are not allowed to enter the village, said a journalist.

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been imposed to ensure law and order. Section 144 prohibits the assembly of four or more people.

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CINCINNATI, Ohio, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dynegy today announced a $50,000 donation to support Ohio food banks, still working through soaring demand and resetting logistics amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Dynegy is deeply committed to supporting the communities we serve, and right now, that means linking arms with organizations on the ground, working to end hunger," said Brad Watson, Dynegy's senior director of community affairs. "Our company understands that Ohio food banks are doing what  just months ago  many would have said was impossible. Staff members and volunteers are stepping up to meet record demand head-on and handling first-time clients with grace and sensitivity."

The $50,000 donation is directly supporting food banks in meeting their most pressing needs.

$20,000 is going to the Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati

is going to the Freestore Foodbank in $10,000 is going to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank

is going to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank $10,000 is going to Mid-Ohio Foodbank in Grove City

is going to Mid-Ohio Foodbank in An additional $10,000 will be split between the Dayton Foodbank and the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank

"This donation comes at a critical time, as food insecurity related to COVID-19 continues to affect the communities we serve," said Trisha Rayner, the Freestore Foodbank's vice president of external affairs. "We are grateful for the Dynegy team who volunteers with us on a regular basis and who, in this crisis, has stepped up to support the organization and the families we serve to ensure no one goes hungry."

Dynegy's donation to food banks across Ohio is part of a $225,000 commitment to food banks nationwide from Dynegy's parent company, Vistra. Serving nearly 5 million residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers with electricity and natural gas, Vistra is the largest competitive residential electricity provider in the country and is also the largest competitive power generator in the U.S.

About Dynegy

For over 30 years, Dynegy has helped millions of Americans throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest power their homes and businesses. Dynegy delivers simple, price-protected electricity plans for residential, municipal aggregation, commercial and industrial customers alike. Dynegy is committed to the communities it serves and gives back through local partnerships. Visit dynegy.com for more. Dynegy is a subsidiary of Vistra (NYSE: VST).

Media

Jenny Lyon

214-875-8004

[email protected]

SOURCE Dynegy
Madrid is set to go into partial lockdown after an order from the Spanish government, but is determined to fight it in the courts.

Measures that ban all non-essential trips in and out of the capital and nine of its suburbs  covering around 4.8 million people  are set to be enacted on Friday evening.

Spains Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, said there was a critical need to take the new steps in the European coronavirus hot spot.

(PA Graphics)

But officials in the capital, whose regional government is managed by the conservative Popular Party, baulked at the order, saying it would bring chaos and further sap the economy.

It has filed an appeal at the National Court against the new measures.

Under the national order, travellers will need to prove they are going to or from work, to see a doctor or to conduct essential administrative or legal errands in order to leave Madrid or the town where they live.

Restaurants must close at 11pm and shops at 10pm, with a restriction of 50% capacity.

Similar measures already apply to more than a million residents, and the region has limited social gatherings to a maximum of six people.

Madrids legal challenge argues that restrictions violate regional self-rule laws.

The city is leading the resurgence of the virus in Spain, which has Europes highest cumulative caseload  770,000 since the onset of the pandemic.

(PA Graphics)

The capital had a two-week infection rate of 695 cases per 100,000 residents on Thursday, more than twice the national average of 274 and seven times the European average, which stood at 94 per 100,000 residents last week, according to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

But Madrid regional health chief Enrique Ruiz Escudero said the situation is improving, with the infection rate falling to 607 per 100,000 on Friday and four consecutive days of fewer people being admitted to hospital.

The numbers give us reason for hope, he told a news conference.

Madrid legal chief Enrique Lopez said authorities will comply with the order, deploying more police, even though they believe it will create chaos.

He estimated the order will cost the Madrid economy 8 billion euros (7.2 billion).

Mr Sanchez has refused to budge, saying Madrid faces a moment of extraordinary seriousness.

Pedro Sanchez (Francisco Seco/AP)

The situation in Madrid is critical because (the region) has 33% of (Covid-19) deaths, he said in Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit.

Some passengers at Madrids main train station, Atocha, welcomed the new steps.

I think they need to take strong measures to control the epidemic here in Madrid, said Vicente Mira, a 62-year-old retired teacher.

Communication manager Pablo Torres, 36, wanted officials to get tough, saying the current measures are nonsense and a sticking plaster on something that is a lot bigger problem.

It was not immediately clear how the new measures might affect the few tourists arriving in Madrid, but regional authorities cannot ban foreign visitors unless Spain closes its borders.
CLEVELAND, Texas, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Modern Heart and Vascular Institute will be adding a new location in Cleveland, Texas. The cardiology practice is expanding, and is ready to see patients at various locations over the greater Houston area. The Cleveland, TX location will begin seeing patients on October 5th, 2020. Patients can begin calling to set-up appointments.

Modern Heart and Vascular Institute Helps With:



High Cholesterol

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Rajiv Agarwal, MD, FACC, FSCCT is excited with the expansion of Modern Heart and Vascular. He says, "We are able to provide world-class cardiovascular care in the comfort of your home community."

The focus of Modern Heart and Vascular Institute is prevention. The technologically advanced practice can diagnose and prevent numerous cardiovascular diseases and conditions by utilizing the very best imaging and non-imaging modalities.

Patient Testimonial: "Dr. Agarwal is a great physician with an awesome bedside manner. He is insistent without pushing too hard. He is a very nice man overall. I have been his patient for 4 years and have always had a pleasant and thorough experience. He takes his time to hear what I have to say as well as insuring I understand what he is telling me. His new PA is a pleasure as well. She is very concerned and asks the right questions.

The office staff is wonderful, very nice and go out of their way to accommodate the patients in the front and back office. In the new office all my testing is done on-site, no running here and there for all the tests. I am extremely happy with my experience every time.

I would definitely recommend him to anyone I know who needs a good heart and vein doctor." (Verified Google Review)

To Read More Patient Testimonials, Click Here.

For comprehensive cardiovascular care, contact Modern Heart and Vascular Institute by phone or online today. Same-day appointments are available to suit your needs. The majority of insurance plans (including commercial, Medicare, and Medicare replacement) are accepted.

Website: www.modernheartandvascular.com

Modern Cardiovascular Care for Modern Patients Using Modern Technology

Contact:

Rajiv Agarwal, MD, FACC, FSCCT

Phone: 832-644-8930

Email: [email protected]

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Modern Heart and Vascular Institute

Modern Cardiovascular Care for Modern Patients using Modern Technology

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US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, he said in a tweet early on Friday.

"We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately," he said as they awaited the test results after a top aide he spent substantial time with this week tested positive for COVID-19.

Trump's comments came after he confirmed that Hope Hicks, one his closest aides, had tested positive for the virus Thursday. Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride home from a rally in Minnesota Wednesday evening, according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private information. She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, the person said.

Trump tweeted late Thursday: "The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process." Earlier, during a call-in interview with Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity, Trump said: "Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know. I just went for a test and we'll see what happens." Hicks, who serves as counselor to Trump, also traveled with Trump to the first presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday. She is the closest White House official to Trump to test positive for the virus so far.

The positive test is yet another reminder that the coronavirus continues to spread, even as Trump has tried desperately to suggest it no longer poses a danger. Since it emerged earlier this year, Trump, the White House and his campaign have played down the threat and refused to abide by basic public health guidelines  including those issued by his own administration  such as wearing masks in public and practicing social distancing. Instead, Trump has continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of supporters. The virus has killed more than 200,000 Americans and infected more than 7 million nationwide.

The White House had not responded earlier to multiple questions about the last time Trump was tested and whether he and other staffers who spent time with Hicks in recent days will be asked to quarantine.

Trump traveled to New Jersey Thursday for a fundraiser and the White House sent out a schedule for Friday that includes an intelligence briefing, a phone call on COVID-19 support for "vulnerable seniors," a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and another rally in Sanford, Florida.

Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from the virus. He said he expected to have the results back either Thursday night or Friday morning. In a statement, White House spokesman Judd Deere said the president "takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously." "White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling," Deere said.

Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night's first presidential debate in Cleveland.

Hicks is one of the president's most trusted and longest-serving aides, having worked as spokesperson for his 2016 campaign. She originally served as White House as communications director, and re-joined the administration this year as an adviser ahead of the election. Her positive test was first reported by Bloomberg News on Thursday evening. She did not respond to a request for comment.

Multiple White House staffers have tested positive for the virus, including Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, national security adviser Robert O'Brien, and one of the president's personal valets. Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is dating Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tested positive in South Dakota before an Independence Day fireworks show at Mount Rushmore.

Still, Trump has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable to contracting COVID-19. "I felt no vulnerability whatsoever," he told reporters back in May.

After earlier positive cases close to the president, the White House instituted a daily testing regimen for the president's senior aides. Anyone who will be in close proximity to the president or vice president is also tested every day, including reporters.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 quarantine for 14 days, White House staffers are considered essential workers. CDC's guidelines for exposed essential workers allows them to return to work if they take precautions, including taking their temperature before going into work, wearing a mask at all times and practicing social distancing.

US stock futures extend losses

US stock futures extended losses on Friday after President Donald Trump said he and his wife had tested positive for the coronavirus, weeks ahead of elections.

Futures for the S&P 500 slid 1.21% by early afternoon in Asia, while Treasury yields also fell.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) had issued guidelines on Wednesday for Unlock 5.0 for the opening up of more activities in areas outside the containment zones. In the new guidelines, the ministry has allowed the reopening of schools outside of the containment zones in a graded manner from October 15.

But the final decision has been left on states and Union territories. The states will make a decision based on their assessment of the pandemic situation. They have been advised to encourage online classes and students will be allowed to attend classes only with the written consents from parents. Attendance will not be considered necessary.

All the states and Union territories have been directed to prepare their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) suiting to the local requirements. Schools which will be allowed open will have to follow the SOPs issued by the states and Union territories. The SOP will be issued after consultation with the officials of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

Many states have decided against reopening schools till the end of this month, considering the rising numbers of Covid-19 infections. Uttar Pradesh is the only state which is ready to reopen schools in a graded manner from October 15 in response to Unlock 5.0 guidelines.

Awanish Awasthi, UPs additional chief secretary (home) said district administrations will assess the situation in their respective jurisdictions and decide in consultation with the management of schools and other educational institutions when to reopen. He, however, said online education would be encouraged.

If students preferred to continue their studies online instead of physically attending classes, they would be allowed to do so, Awasthi added. Students would be able to attend school only with the written permission of their parents or guardians, he also said.

Maharashtra, which has recorded the highest number of Covid-19 infections in the country, has decided against opening any educational institutions at least till October 31. West Bengal has postponed the decision to reopen schools till mid-November.

The governments of Delhi, Rajasthan and Kerala have decided to continue keeping schools shut till October 31. The Delhi government has issued an order on Wednesday to maintain the status quo for all prohibited activities in Delhi until October 31.

Andhra Pradesh has decided to defer the reopening of educational institutions till November 2.

Some of the states Assam, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir which had earlier decided to call students to schools for guidance  are puzzled on whether they should re-open the schools from October 15. Many states, including Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, are also yet to come up with re-opening plans.
Sergio Delavicci and Wire Electric Scooter Delavicci states, Scooter for Unity is about bringing positive change. Its an initiative reminding us, we are united as one race, travel as one race- the human race."

Human initiatives begin with our communities, a group of like-minded individuals who provide a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves. It is our collective values that bring a commitment to a cause by creating a shared voice that spans beyond us. Scooter For Unity is a collective of scooter fans who will ride together in support of unity in the community and our New York City servicemen and women led by Sergio Delavicci, actor in John Wick 3 and Power, humanitarian and philanthropist along with brand partner, Wire a nationwide electric scooter subscription service.

The campaign will hit the streets of New York City peacefully championing unity while sharing the love of scooters to transport our united initiatives in solidarity and simultaneously doing our small part to decrease carbon footprint on our planet. Riders will gather at New York Citys Battery Pl. and West St. (At the Pier A North River Building) on October 7, 2020 (if rain/ snow, alternative date October 8, 2020) and ride together on the Hudson River Greenway Bike Path ending at West 57th Street.

Delavicci states, Scooter for Unity is about bringing positive change. Its an initiative reminding us, we are united as one race, travel as one race- the human race. Our younger generation is looking to us as examples of how to lead while our older generations are the keeper of wisdom. By bringing together generations we are mobilizing our next generation for success to change the world.

Our commitment to unity is an ongoing goal to ascertain regardless of what community you are part of. It is a global language that supersedes countries, cultures, and generations in a language without words wired for the human race to champion around.

ABOUT SERGIO DELAVICCI

Sergio Delavicci is an actor, motivational speaker, professional athlete, model, philanthropist, and humanitarian known for his role in films such as John Wick 3, Creed 2, The Post, You Were Never Really Here, TV Series Power, Quantico, and more.

In his ongoing humanitarian efforts, Delavicci is passionate about giving back to the community working with at-risk youths, prisons, women empowerment groups, and motivating the next generation. He is also involved in the "Real Men Read Initiative," where prominent men are invited

to read at NYC schools to promote literacy. Sergios giving back initiatives extend to working closely with organizations such as Project Avary, an organization that meets the unique emotional needs of children with a parent who is incarcerated, Bowery Mission, and The Relief Program helping those who are in need.

His efforts in giving back to the community have awarded him a Certificate of Merit (NY Assembly), Proclamation of Achievement (Senator of NY Kevin S. Parker), Ambassador of Goodwill (International Film Festival of Manhattan), Maurice Talington Hero Award, and more.

For additional information about Sergio Delavicci visit thechigroup.co/sergiodelavicci or follow Sergio on Instagram @ruffryder_84

To register for Scooter For Unity visit Eventbrite

ABOUT WIRE

Wire is an innovative micro-mobility company that launched the nation's first electric scooter subscription service giving affordable access to your very own personal electric scooter with all-inclusive, worry-free maintenance. Wire's portable, industrial-grade electric scooters are equipped with the latest smart IoT, GPS, telemetry, and predictive maintenance, and are currently available in all 50 states and countries around the world. Wire focuses on social impact and human-centered design to solve challenges in urban mobility aspiring to bring mass adoption to alternative forms of transportation that are affordable, stress-reducing, and eco-friendly reducing the reliance on fossil fuels.

For more information about Wire visit wirerides.com or follow them on Instagram @wirerides


Dolph Lundgren and fiancee Emma Krokdal proved they're still in the honeymoon phase as they enjoyed a sunny lunch date this week.

The 62-year-old Swedish star put on an affectionate display with his young wife-to-be as they left The Sunset restaurant in Malibu.

For the casual outing the 24-year-old personal trainer wore a colorful tie-dye top and black shorts which she teamed with slides.

Lunch date: Dolph Lundgren put on an affectionate display with fiancee Emma Krokdal on Thursday

She reached up to kiss The Expendables star as they made their way to the valet stand.

Dolph was all smiles as he put on a stylish display in a blue polo shirt and white shorts.

The Swedish actor's engagement was revealed in June after he proposed in Stockholm.

Dolph shared a picture of the couple on Instagram, with Emma showing off her engagement ring, and wrote: 'Something very special happened here in Sweden. D [heart emoji] E.'

His close pal Sylvester Stallone was one of the first to congratulate him, writing: 'Congratulations my good friend. You're the best. Sly.'

Sunny spot: The 62-year-old actor and his 24-year-old fiancee were spotted at Sunset restaurant in Malibu

Dolph - who was previously married to Anette Qviberg from 1994 to 2011 - reportedly started romancing Emma last year and they went public at the Cana Dorada Film & Music Festival in the Dominican Republic in January.

Dolph previously revealed how he used to have group sex with Grace Jones and 'four or five' other women - but complained it left him too tired for work.

The Creed II actor dated the Pull Up to the Bumper hitmaker in the 1980s and though he admitted their life in the bedroom was eventful, he insisted it wasn't always a 'good thing'.

Happy couple: The Swedish actor's engagement was revealed in June after he proposed to Emma in Stockholm

He said: 'That happened on occasions, with or without Grace. Sometimes she would bring a girlfriend home and then I'd have to get up for work the next day and that kind of thing.

'I'd say at the most it was four or five girls, perhaps. It's great in theory but when you have to get up and fight Sylvester Stallone in the morning it's not such a good thing.'

Dolph met Grace when he was hired as her bodyguard but once he found fame after playing notorious villain Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, their relationship quickly deteriorated.

Bride-to-be: Emma is a personal trainer from Norway and is the same age as Dolph's eldest daughter Ida

He said: 'I literally walked in the theatre [for the movie premiere] as her boyfriend with people trying to shoo me out of the way to take pictures of her and, 90 minutes later, when I walked out, people were trying to take pictures of me, instead.

'It was one of those things that happens once in a while in Hollywood, somebody totally unknown becomes famous overnight.

'Other women showed up, she got jealous and she couldn't handle it. People wanted me to go to openings. It was a lot of strain and, within six months, the relationship was over.'
"Pakistan strongly condemns today's shameful acquittal of the criminals responsible for demolishing the centuries old Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992," said Pakistan foreign ministry spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri during a press briefing.

Resorting to half truths, lies and prevarication, it attacked India's state institutions saying they too had succumbed to Hindu ideology.

"Yesterday's flawed decision by the Special CBI Court in India in the Babri Masjid demolition case is yet another manifestation of permeation of extremist Hindutva ideology in all state institutions of India," Chaudhri added.

Lashing out at the Modi-led government, Chaudhri said that the Ayodhya decision is a sad reminder that Hindutva ideology has superseded principles of justice and international norms.

"The pliant judiciary's decision is a sad reminder of the fact that under the fascist BJP-RSS regime, extremist 'Hindutva' ideology takes precedence over all principles of justice and international norms," he said.

Pakistan called on the Indian government to "ensure safety, security and protection of minorities, particularly Muslims and their places of worship and other Islamic sites on which the Hindu extremists and zealots have laid unfounded claims," he added.

Pakistan's angry response came after a special court in India acquitted all of the 32-surviving accused in the Babri Mosque demolition case. The verdict in the criminal case came after almost 28 years after it was pulled down by an angry mob in Ayodhya.

"Taking almost three decades to decide on the criminal act which was televised live and happened as a result of well-planned Rath Yatras and on the instigation to mobs by the accused BJP, VHP and other leaders of Sangh Parivar, tells the world that the Hindutva-inspired Indian judiciary miserably failed to deliver the justice again," alleged the Pakistan foreign office.

"The demolition of the mosque had resulted in BJP-led communal violence leading to thousands of killings. If there was a semblance of justice in the so-called largest 'democracy', the individuals, who had boasted of the criminal act publicly, could not have been set free," the statement added.

Pakistan also reminded over the decision by Indian Supreme Court last year, handing over the site of the historic Babri mosque to Hindus, stating that "the Indian top court set a wrong direction earlier by handing over the Babri Masjid premises for building of Ram Mandir to the very Hindu parties which had demolished the historic mosque."

"The acquittal today is even against that verdict which had noted that the demolition was 'an egregious violation of rule of law'. These reprehensible developments with state complicity, coupled with RSS-BJP's deep-rooted hatred against minorities, particularly Muslims, point to India's fast descent into a Hindu Rashtra, where minorities have been relegated as second-class citizens," Pakistan foreign office maintained.

--IANS

Hamza/ash


A Chinese video blogger has allegedly been killed by her ex-husband who set her on fire after splashing her with petrol while she tried to live stream a video.

Local press says the influencer who is known as Lamu endured burns on 90 per cent of her body and died two weeks after the incident took place.

The social media stars ex-husband is said to have broken into her home with a cleaver and petrol in the middle of September before launching an attack on her while her relatives were present.

Lamu had carved out a big following of thousands of people on Douyin - the Chinese equivalent of popular video-sharing app TikTok - accruing millions of likes on her videos.

State press, the Beijing Youth Daily, reported that Lamu's screen went black quickly after she began live-streaming on 14 September. The paper reports her former husband, who has only been named by his surname Tang, had a history of domestic violence.

The 30-year-old influencer is reported to have divorced her ex, who she had two children with, back in May - with Tang afterwards allegedly threatening to kill one child if Lamu did not get married to him again, according to the paper.

The influencer then remarried him but wound up fleeing him - with her former husband then reportedly beating her sister after he interrogated her about where Lamu was and she did not disclose her location. Relatives claim this incident was reported to the police but they did nothing.

Lamu, who was famed for penning happy posts about life in the countryside, is said to have gone on to have divorced him again.

The saga has sparked an outpouring of discussion online in China - with more than 70 million people using a hashtag which refers to her death.

China saw a threefold increase in cases of domestic abuse reported to police stations in February during the coronavirus lockdown in comparison with the year before.

But women in dire need of fleeing their homes were not able to access permits to leave the city and escape their abusers  with the hashtag #AntiDomesticViolenceDuringEpidemic ## gaining traction on social media.

While discussions about domestic abuse in China have become more common, the first law which directly targeted the issue was only implemented five years ago in 2015.
Ghanaian hiplife artiste Emmanuel Kofi Botchwey, known by his stage name Kwaw Kese has made a strong call for the presidential debate between President Akufo-Addo and former President John Dramani Mahama.

According to him, Ghanaians must come together to ensure that this debate comes off since it will provide all citizens with the opportunity to access the thinking and vision of these key politicians.

In an Instagram update, Kwaw Kese said the debate will not only let Ghanaians know what these individuals have to offer but it will also influence the outcome of the general election.

Ghanaians must ensure that President Akufo-Addo and former President Mahama have a debate before the elections. We are not in Ghana at the moment but we know what is going on and debate is a must.

Governemnt comes and go and they come to fleece the public purse. The current Western Togoland unrest must be taken seriously before it escalates, he said.

Kwaw Kese reiterated the need for a presidential debate between the two aforementioned political actors. He urged Ghanaians to be vigilant and ensure that they know what each politician is bringing to the table.

Meanwhile, Mahama has already challenged Akufo-Addo to a debate which the latter has honourably declined. In other jurisdiction, President Trump and Joe Biden had a debate some days ago which was described by many as messy but very necessary.

"Will a debate be staged before the start of voting on December 7?" Kwaw Kese thinks when there is a will, there is a way thus Ghanaians must make it happen.

---ghbase
Kathmandu, Oct 2 : The Nepal government has announced its decision to waive off the seven-day quarantine period for tourists from October 17 when commercial international flights will resume, the media reported.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation is working to carry out instant antigen test for Covid-19 for foreign tourists upon their arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport, The Himalayan Times reported citing an official as saying on Thursday.

"Visiting tourists who carry a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test report can be allowed to walk free after carrying out the antigen test," the official said.

On Tuesday, the Ministry had released protocols stating that foreigners would have to compulsorily stay in hotel quarantine for seven days after landing here post October 17.

"If everything goes as per plans, Nepal is fully opening up for tourism after October 17," said the official.

Officials at the Department of Tourism has already notified the Ministry that it couldn't issue permits to mountaineers if strict provisions, including a $5,000 Covid-19 insurance and one-week quarantine rule were applied.

Currently, Nepal's coronavirus tally stands at 79,728 after 1,911 new infections were reported on Thursday, reports The Himalayan Times newspaper.

Also with the emergence of 11 new fatalities, the country's death toll increased to 509.
The Japan oncology drugs market accounted for $9,405 million in 2018, and is expected to reach $14,109 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 5.2% from 2019 to 2026.

Cancer is a serious medical condition marked by the presence of tumor cells present in the body. The formation of tumor cells take place when the normal cells grow at an abnormal rate. Moreover, these tumor cells also have the ability to spread to other parts of the body through blood and lymphatic system. In addition, cancer has different stages which are based on the growth pattern of tumor.

Get Access to sample pages: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/13268

Therefore, the treatment of cancer differs depending on the stage of cancer. Chemotherapy drugs are mostly employed in the treatment of early stage cancers and similarly targeted therapy and immunotherapy drugs are generally preferred in the treatment of late stage cancers.

Surge in research related to new drug discovery for cancer treatment, rise in incidence of cancer in Japan, and increase in healthcare expenditure boost the growth of Japan oncology drugs market. Moreover, rise in awareness related to early diagnosis of cancer leading to rise in demand of oncology drugs for treatment is another factor that fuels the growth of the market in Japan.

Furthermore, surge in geriatric population also contributes to the growth of the market as the elderly are more prone to certain cancer such as prostate cancer. In addition, rise in number of pipeline products is expected to provide lucrative opportunities during the forecast period. Conversely, stringent approval process of oncology drugs in Japan hinders the growth of market.

The Japan oncology drugs market size is studied based on segments, drug class type and indication. Based on drug class type, the market is divided into chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy. By indication, it is categorized into blood cancer, breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, kidney cancer and others.

KEY BENEFITS FOR STAKEHOLDERS

 The study provides an in-depth analysis of the market along with the current trends and future estimations to elucidate the imminent investment pockets.

 It offers a quantitative analysis from 2018 to 2026, which is expected to enable the stakeholders to capitalize on the prevailing market opportunities.

 The profiles and growth strategies of the key players are thoroughly analyzed to understand the competitive outlook of the Japan market

 A qualitative analysis based on innovative products facilitates strategic business planning.

Key Market Segments

By Drug Class Type

 Chemotherapy

 Targeted Therapy

 Immunotherapy (Biologic Therapy)

 Hormonal Therapy

By Indication

 Blood Cancer

 Breast Cancer

 Gastrointestinal Cancer

 Prostate Cancer

 Lung Cancer

 Skin Cancer

 Ovarian Cancer

 Cervical Cancer

 Other Cancers

More Info of Impact COVID-19@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/13268

List of key players profiled in the report:

 Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd

 Johnson and Johnson

 Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd

 AstraZeneca plc

 AbbVie Inc.

 Celgene Corporation

 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

 F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG

 Astellas Pharma Inc.

 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd

LIST of OTHER PLAYERS IN THE VALUE CHAIN (These players are not profiled in the report. The same will be included on request)

 Sanofi

 Amgen Inc.

 Bayer AG
A new Netflix documentary about family killer Chris Watts captures the disturbing moment his neighbor warned police he 'wasn't acting right', after unknowingly showing the murderer footage of himself loading the body of his pregnant wife into his truck, along with his daughters, before dumping them at a work site.

American Murder: The Family Next Door explains in chilling detail how Watts, from Frederik, Colorado, killed his pregnant wife Shanann and strangled their daughters Bella and Celeste with a New York Yankees blanket, before dumping their bodies in an oil tanker in 2018 and reporting his family as missing.

The murderer, who was sentenced to life in prison for his vile crimes in 2019, was eventually forced to confess after failing a polygraph test.

However the new Netflix documentary lays bare the moments leading up to Watts' confession that raised serious suspicions about his behavior - including his unnamed neighbor's stark warning to cops that he 'was not acting right'.

Scroll down for video

Netflix's chilling new documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door details how family killer Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife Shanann and their daughters Bella and Celeste

In the documentary, Watts' neighbor is seen warning police that the killer was 'not acting right at all', insisting that he was far more 'fidgety' than usual

Viewers could not believe how quickly the neighbor caught on to the fact that Watts was not being his usual 'quiet' self

The conversation came just moments after the man had unknowingly shown police and Watts footage of the murderer loading the body of his pregnant wife Shanann into the back of his truck, before forcing his daughters, Bella, four, and Celeste, three, into the vehicle with her.

He then drove them to a nearby work site, smothered his daughters with a New York Yankees blanket, and buried his wife, before dumping his children's bodies in an oil tank.

Hours later, Shanann's friend Nickole Utoft Atkinson contacted the police to do a welfare check on the mother-of-two, because she was not replying to text messages or calls.

After police went to the home and found nobody there, a seemingly-panicked Watts turned up at the house and walked the officer through each room, voicing his concern about the wellbeing of his wife, and even texting her phone to check in on her.

At the time, Shanann had only been suspected missing for a few hours, and Watts could be heard pointing that she had left her wedding band in their room, and left her phone, as if he was discovering these pieces of information for the first time.

The neighbor offered to show the police officer his camera recording to see if any cars had come in or any suspicious activity had taken place the night before.

'Because if there is any sort of action out there, I would have got it,' he said.

What the neighbor didn't realize at the time was that he had just showed police and Watts security footage of the murderer loading his dead wife's body into his truck after killing her

Watts looked on in horror as he realized that his neighbor's security cameras had captured him leaving his house after killing his wife, moments before he smothered his daughters

The neighbor warned that Watts was never usually 'fidgety' which he seemed while watching the security video - having clearly just realized what the cameras had captured

Watts murdered his family in the early hours of August 13, 2018, but pretended he thought they had disappeared while speaking to the police hours later

Meanwhile a very talkative Watts was standing next to the neighbor's TV and commenting on the footage.

When CCTV footage showed him moving his car on his driveway at 5:17am, he tried to explain that he usually parked it there so that it was easier for him to bring his tools in.

After the exchange, the policeman stuck around to get the neighbor's take on events - at which point he told the officer: 'He's not acting right at all. He's never fidgety.

'He's never rocking back and forth, and if you look,' he added, motioning the police officer to his backlog of security recordings, 'he never loads his stuff in and out of the garage ever.'

The neighbor added: 'He's normally, you can ask them, he's quiet, really subdued, he never talks, so the fact he's over there blabbing his mouth makes me kinda suspicious of something.'

Playing devil's advocate, the police officer told the neighbor to put himself in Watts' shoes, suggesting his nervousness could be explained by the fact his family was missing.

But the neighbor was proved right when Watts confessed killing Shanann three days later.

Viewers were impressed by how quick the neighbor caught on that something was not right with Shanann's supposed disappearance

Duplicitous Chris was pretending to hope his family would return when he already knew they were dead and had dumped their bodies in an oil tank

Viewers were impressed by how observant the neighbor had been, and praised the fact he pointed out something was wrong before anyone else twigged.

'Chris and Shannon's neighbour solving the case in first five minutes,' one wrote on Twitter.

'Chris and Shananns neighbor saying only hours after the murder that Chris "aint acting right" was absolutely W I L D with what we know now in hindsight,' another tweeted.

'DAMN the neighbor said "he's not acting right" and then called him out about his daily habits and how he doesn't load up his car in the garage... EVER. He f****** called it,' another observed.

'Andddd the neighbor knew right away!!! He told the cops he never loaded his van that way,' another added.

Watts, who had started an affair with his work colleague Nichol Kessinge and wanted out of his marriage, strangled his pregnant wife, 34, killing her and their unborn son Nico.

He then drove their daughters, Bella, four, and Celeste, three - with their mom's corpse in the car - to a remote oil field where he worked, and smothered them with a New York Yankees blanket before squeezing their bodies into an oil tank.

The documentary revealed Watts sent his dead wife a text message reading: 'Can you call me please?' not long after he strangled her and dumped her body.

The new documentary looks into the grisly murders including the apparent picture perfect family life that led up to the crimes and the killer's efforts to convince cops his wife had ran away with their kids

In a clip shown during the interview with the police, Chris claimed he killed his spouse in a fit of range because she had killed their children. He later eventually admitted to all of his crimes

Watts squeezed Celeste's body through an eight-inch hatch in one of the oil tankers. Pictured: The site where Watts dumped his daughters and buried his wife

Footage showed how he attempted to deceive law enforcement that his wife had disappeared and taken their children with her. When someone asked if there was a note, he replied: 'No. I don't know what to do right now.'

During a police interview, he continued the facade, saying: 'I think about like, did I cause this? Did I make her feel like she needed to leave?'

Chris was arrested on August 15 after failing a polygraph. He asked to talk to his father and then confessed to killing Shanann.

In a clip shown during the interview with the police, Chris claimed he killed his spouse in a fit of range because she had killed their children. He later eventually admitted to all of his crimes.

Watts took a plea deal to avoid the death penalty after pleading guilty to the four murders. He will spend the rest of his life in prison and is currently being housed at Dodge Correctional Institution, Wisconsin.
Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland

Bern, 02.10.2020 - On 02.10.2020, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) carried out three house searches in the canton of Fribourg as part of two criminal investigations, arresting four persons. They are alleged to have violated Article 2 of the Federal Act on the Proscription of the Groups Al-Qaeda and Islamic State and Associated Organisations (SR 122) and to have supported or participated in a criminal organisation (Art. 260ter Swiss Criminal Code (SCC)).

The three house searches were carried out as part of two criminal investigations that the OAG is conducting, each against two suspects. One investigation was opened in August 2020 against a 28-year-old Kosovar woman and a 29-year-old Macedonian man. The OAG opened the other case in September 2020 against a 26-year-old Kosovar man and a 34-year-old Swiss-Kosovar dual national. All four suspects live in the canton of Fribourg. The two criminal investigations relate to suspicions of the violation of Article 2 of the Federal Act on the Proscription of the Groups Al-Qaeda and Islamic State and Associated Organisations (SR 122) and of supporting or participating in a criminal organisation (Art. 260ter SCC).

The four suspects were arrested and brought to the OAG. As they had been in contact with each other, the house searches and arrests were all carried out at the same time.

The OAG wishes to thank the Federal Intelligence Service FIS and fedpol as well as the Fribourg Cantonal Police for their valuable assistance in this matter.

No additional information may be given at present for tactical reasons related to the investigations; the OAG will issue a further statement on the criminal proceedings in due course. The presumption of innocence applies to all the suspects.

Prosecutions related to jihadist-motivated terrorism

Todays house searches and arrests are in line with the consistent policy of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland of prosecuting anyone in Switzerland who attempts to participate in jihadist-motivated terrorism or to support such terrorism by spreading propaganda. The OAG is currently conducting around 70 criminal proceedings in this connection. The cases primarily relate to suspected offences of spreading propaganda or recruiting persons for terrorist organisations, funding such organisations and the activities of jihadist-motivated travellers, including persons who have returned to Switzerland.

Address for enquiries

Communications Service of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, info@ba.admin.ch

Publisher

Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland

http://www.ba.admin.ch/




Two men sought in connection with a Marengo County shooting were taken into custody in Birmingham Friday.

The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Birmingham Police Departments Crime Reduction Team arrested Antonio Brown and Tadarius Elmore in the 1900 block of Fourth Street N.E. in the Center Point area.

Both were wanted on first-degree assault charges in connection with an Aug. 23 shooting in Demopolis. Authorities said Brown and Elmore were in a verbal altercation with the victim in the middle of the street when one or both men pulled a gun and shot the victim.
A specially-constituted Indian court has exonerated all 32 living accused in the Babri Masjid conspiracy case, including numerous former top leaders of the ruling Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Among them are L.K. Advani, a former head of the BJP and Indias Home Minister from 1998 to 2004, Murali Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati, and Kalyan Singh.

On Dec. 6, 1992, Hindu fanatics, mobilised and incited by Advani, Bharati, other top BJP leaders and associated Hindu extremist organisations, demolished the Babri Masjid, a 475-year-old mosque located in Ayodhya in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The culmination of a vile years-long communalist campaign aimed at replacing the historic mosque with a temple to the mythical Hindu God Lord Ram, the razing of the Babri Masjid provoked the biggest wave of communal violence in India since the 1947 communal partition of the subcontinent into an expressly Muslim Pakistan and a predominantly Hindu India.

The court ruling was a legal travesty. Ignoring a mass of evidence, including what tens of millions of Indians had seen play out on their television screens on Dec. 6, 1992, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court ruled that the Babri Masjids demolition was not the outcome of a preplanned conspiracy.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992 was done illegally by a large group of activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organizations in relation to the Ayodhya dispute. (Source: Wikimedia)

The decisions tens of thousands of Hindu extremists took to arrive for a rally in Ayodhya armed with axes, crowbars, ropes and other instruments that could be used to raze the historic mosque and then to storm the site were spontaneous, or so claimed the court. Similarly, the court explained away the failure of the police, who were under the control of the Uttar Pradesh state government, to intercede to prevent the demolition, even though Chief Minister Kalyan Singh had given a commitment to the countrys Supreme Court that the mosque would be protected.

While outrageous, this verdict cannot be called surprising, given the extent to which the whole of the Indian state apparatus, including the judiciary, has been Hindutva -ised in recent decades. This process has intensified under Indias current six-year-old BJP government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who himself first came to national prominence for his role in the 2002 Gujarat anti-Muslim pogrom.

Wednesdays court ruling will further embolden Modi and the BJP government and their Hindu chauvinist allies in their communal provocations and brutal assault on the most basic social and democratic rights of Indias workers and toiling masses. As soon as the verdict was announced, leading government figures started crowing about it.

The razing of the Babri Masjid was a criminal conspiracy, instigated and organised by the BJP, its ideological mentor, the RSS, and affiliated Hindu supremacist organisations like the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), with the aim of asserting that India is first and foremost a Hindu nation.

On Dec. 6, top BJP leaders, like Advani, Joshi and Bharti gave inflammatory speeches to a 100,000-strong mob of kar sevaks (religious volunteers), in which they invoked slogans like Give one push and demolish the mosque. They then beamed from the rostrum as their supporters did just that.

The CBI court refused to accept over 100 videotapes of the demolition and related events as evidence, on the pretext that the audio was not clear and some may have been tampered with. Ignoring the testimony of hundreds of witnesses and more than 800 prosecution documents, the CBI court ruled that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was not a conspiracy, but a spontaneous act carried out by unknown anti-social elements. As a result, the accused were exonerated of all the criminal charges against them, which included incitement to violence, conspiracy to commit a crime, and unlawful assembly.

The courts decision is a contrived political judgement that plays directly into the hands of the Modi governments promotion of Hindu communalism to mobilise extreme right-wing forces and unleash state repression to intimidate and suppress its political opponents. The main targets of this state repression are the working class and rural toilers, who are entering into struggles against the ruling elites austerity measures and pro-investor economic reforms. Anger is also mounting due to the Modi governments catastrophic handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with even the severely under-counted official death toll fast approaching 100,000.

Wednesdays judgement is the corollary to a ruling issued by the Supreme Court last November that handed over the site of the demolished Masjid to the Hindu right. Setting aside an earlier ruling that the site be divided among Hindu and Muslim groups, the court ordered the BJP to build a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ram on the sitethat is to carry out its own longstanding demand. In line with this, Modi personally laid the foundation stone for the Ram temple on August 5.

The judgement of Indias highest court thus validated the Babri Masjids illegal destruction by BJP-incited Hindu extremists.

Whilst the Supreme Court wilfully mangled the law to give the Modi government, the BJP and the Hindu right what was uniformly recognised as a massive legal and political victory, it was still forced to concede in its November 2019 ruling that the Masjids demolition was an egregious violation of the law. Following a public outcry, the Supreme Court had earlier been forced to reinstate the charges against the 32 accused after they had been dropped, and to refer the case to a CBI court, which are used to expedite complex and politically-charged cases.

In its final report, issued in 2009, 17 years after it had been mandated by the Narasimha Rao Congress Party national government to probe the events of Dec. 6, 1992, the Liberhan Commission concluded that the razing of the mosque was neither spontaneous nor voluntary. Rather, it was orchestrated and planned. The report named over 60 people, including Advani, Joshi, Bharti, Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Indias prime minister from 1998 to 2004), senior RSS and VHP leaders, and UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh of being culpable for leading the country to the brink of communal discord. It stated, They either actively or passively supported the demolition.

Following Wednesdays court ruling, former Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan, who led the commission, told the Indian Express, From all the evidence produced before me, it was clear that the Babri Masjid demolition was meticulously planned  I remember Uma Bharti categorically took responsibility for it. However, he refused to comment on the CBI court verdict, merely remarking, I believe everyone does his job honestly. The court has the right to differ, there can be no dispute about its power or working.

As was the case with last Novembers Supreme Court decision, Wednesdays verdict highlights how the entire Indian political establishment is immersed deeply in Hindu communalist reaction. This applies not only to the BJP, RSS, and their associated organisations, but also to the official opposition Congress Party. In a clear attempt to cover up the connivance of their party in the Hindu extremist campaign to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted, The decision of the Special Court to acquit all the accused in Babri Masjid Demolition Case runs counter to Supreme Court Judgement as also the Constitutional spirit.

In reality, last Wednesdays verdict builds on the Supreme Court decision, which the Congress welcomed, although it effectively awarded the site of the Babri Masjid to those who had illegally torn it down, plunging India into communal violence in the process.

The Congress, it should be noted, furiously attacked the BJP-aligned Ram Mandir Trust, which is overseeing the construction of the Ram temple, for not inviting its party leadership to participate alongside Modi in its bhoomi pujan (ground-breaking) programme on August 5.

Congress adaptation to the most vile forms of communalism is nothing new. In the 1980s, when the Hindu right was beginning to make the Babri Masjid a major focus of its agitation, Congress Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi lent the movement support. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao did nothing to prevent the illegal destruction of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, although he had been forewarned of the attack.

Wednesdays court verdict is not an aberration. Rather, it is yet another example of the longstanding failure of the Indian state to hold to account political leaders who incite, if not directly organise, mass communal violence, most notably the 1984 Congress-fomented anti-Sikh pogrom, the wave of anti-Muslim violence in 1992-93 in the wake of the Babri Masjid's demolition, and the 2002 Gujarat anti-Muslim pogrom.

The CBI court verdict exonerating Advani and an earlier generation of BJP leaders came as the current BJP government and the Delhi police, which is under its direct control, are conspiring to frame up opponents of its anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), for last Februarys communal violence in northeast Delhi. Those riots, in which Muslims were the principal victims, were in fact incited by local BJP leaders.

The Stalinist Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) criticised Wednesdays court ruling as a travesty. However, its main concern was that it could discredit the institutions of the capitalist state. This verdict will blemish the image of India as a secular-democratic country governed by the Constitution, warned the CPM.

Under conditions in which popular opposition to the Modi government is mounting, the Stalinists are determined to subordinate Indias workers and toilers to the big business Congress Party, other right-wing regionalist and caste-ist parties and the reactionary state institutions of the Indian Republic, which they invariably hail as secular and democratic. It is this ruinous policywhich has paralyzed the working class, preventing it from advancing a socialist solution to the manifest failure of Indian capitalism to lift the masses out of squalor and wantthat has paved the path for the growth of the BJP and Hindu supremacist reaction.
Time, you slippery bastard -- the immutable aspect of reality cannot be controlled any more closely than one can stifle the flow of sand through a tightly gripped fist. Time can only be observed, and even then, only indirectly based on the entropy generated by its passage. But that hasnt stopped humanity from wishing for and working towards a feasible means of going back in time since our earliest ancestor smacked their palm against their forehead and muttered to themselves, Aw cripes you idiot, why did you say that, what were you even thinking?

There is definitely something funny going on with time travel, Dr. Paul M. Sutter, research professor in astrophysics at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science at Stony Brook University, told Engadget. We have one theory of physics which is general relativity -- our story of gravity -- which is perfectly cool with time travel. You can construct special situations that allow you to travel back in time but, every other area of physics says, no, you can't travel back in time. So, which one is right?

On Monday, a research team from the University of Queensland, Australia reported that they had potentially, mathematically devised a solution to one of the primary roadblocks against time travel. The Grandfather paradox, as depicted in Back to the Future, is a veritable brick wall of theoretical physics nuh-uhs. Essentially, the grandfather paradox argues that if you went back in time to kill your own grandfather, then you wouldnt ever have been born to go back in time to kill your grandfather because he would already be dead and you wouldnt exist on account of the lack of necessary reproduction.

However, the Queensland University study suggests that the universe is slightly more flexible than that. Their work argues that even if one were to go back in time and off their grandpappy, the universe would reorganize itself around the event in such a way that the existing timeline remains valid, regardless of whatever action the time traveller took.

In the coronavirus patient zero example, you might try and stop patient zero from becoming infected, but in doing so you would catch the virus and become patient zero, or someone else would, University of Queensla physicist Dr Fabio Costa said in a statement. No matter what you did, the salient events would just recalibrate around you. This would mean that  no matter your actions - the pandemic would occur, giving your younger self the motivation to go back and stop it. Try as you might to create a paradox, the events will always adjust themselves, to avoid any inconsistency. The range of mathematical processes we discovered show that time travel with free will is logically possible in our universe without any paradox.

That is, imagine if Marty McFly had let Biff beat the heck out of his dad. The universe automatically would have found a way to ensure that Marty still existed, somehow, to go back and change history this way. He and his siblings wouldnt have disappeared from the photograph, because, well, we dont want to imagine how.

In short, The Simpsons got it wrong:

Thats not to say that time travel is impossible. Technically everybody alive is a time traveller though were generally limited to 1x speed.

Skipping forward into the future is actually totally legit and totally fine, Sutter said. All our understanding of physics allows it. All you need to do is go fast. You can just get in a rocket ship, travel close to the speed of light, and your internal personal clock slows down relative to the rest of the universe. Then when you're done you've skipped forward in time.

And as Einstein's theory of special relativity argues, motion through space can be converted to motion through time if given enough energy. The problem, however, is our apparent need to retread historical timelines.

Sure, fantasies about stopping Hitler, James Earl Ray or any other historical baddie might be our first instinct.. However, brutalizing bigots in their respective historical eras isnt nearly as easy as the Bill and Ted series would have you believe.

The reason we're so fascinated by traveling backwards in time, is that we don't understand, time itself, Sutter explained. We don't understand this every day experienced in quantity, this facet of our universe. We have more questions than answers when it comes to time and we feel like if we can solve conclusively one way or another, if time travel into the past is allowed, it means we will learn something fundamental about the nature of time itself.

Humanity has spent centuries spitballing the concept of time travel. Hindu mythology recalls the Mahabharata saga whereupon King Raivata Kakudmi travels to Heaven only to return to the mortal world ages after the fact. Or the Japanese folktale of Urashima-no-ko, who visited the Sea Dragons Palace and returned to the surface world some 300 years later. Even the story of Rip Van Winkle dips into the concept of future skipping with his 20 year nap.

Princeton University professor of astrophysical sciences, J. Richard Gott III has argued that time travel may be possible with the use of cosmic strings -- that just so happen to be infinitely long. Similarly the Tipler Cylinder concept. First noted by Willem Jacob van Stockum in 1936 and rediscovered by mathematical physicist Frank Tipler in 1974, it argues that should an infinitely long tube rotate fast enough, it would create a frame-drag effect, allowing travelers to move backwards through time, given specific circumstances. Alternatively, University of Connecticut professor and astrophysicist Dr. Ron Mallett offers a time travelling option that involves rapidly rotating laser rings to mimic the time dilatory effects of the event horizons found at the edges of black holes.

One of the most frustrating parts about time travel, is that we need to go infinitely high up the technological ladder, Sutter explains. For example, Gotts time travel machine is allowed in the mathematics of general relativity but good luck actually building an infinitely long cylinder. That's just not gonna happen in our universe because our universe is not infinitely long and does not contain an infinite amount of stuff.

Despite these fantastical ideas, we are at least dozens of generations away from even beginning to scratch the surface of this technology.

I love the explorations of time travel in the implications and the philosophical exploration. It's so tantalizing because we don't know why travelling into the past appears to be forbidden, Sutter argued, which opens up the possibility that maybe someday we could figure it out but then we would have to confront all of these issues and meanings and answers to the fundamental questions about the nature of time and freewill and consciousness, which is beautiful to explore.
Q: A surgeon successfully operates on your knee. He later sends you a beautiful card thanking you for the fine bottle of cognac you have sent him. In fact, you have sent him nothing. Do you correct his error or hold your peace? P.H., Clayton North, Vic

Illustration by Simon Letch. Credit:

A: Lets role-play this: what if you dont say anything to the surgeon? He thinks you sent the cognac. He may find out one day you didnt. Your other knee needs surgery. Just before you go under, he leans downs and whispers, Ein know ze cognac vas not yourz with a menacing German accent, because as far as I know, the only people who drink cognac are old Nazi generals from bad war movies.

You wake up to find your knee is held together with craft glue and Paddle Pop sticks, because hes prepared to break his Hippocratic oath just to make a petty point about possibly taking credit for other peoples gifts.

Okay  so that didnt go well. Now what if youre honest with him? You tell him you didnt send the cognac. Hes deeply embarrassed by his mistake. He offers to fix your other knee, which doesnt need fixing, but its a free offer, so why not?
TOKYO (AP)  News that the worlds most powerful man was infected with the worlds most notorious disease drew instant reactions of shock, sympathy, undisguised glee and, of course, the ever-present outrage and curiosity surrounding everything about President Donald Trump.

Trump's announcement Friday, on Twitter, that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and the deep uncertainty that accompanied it, flashed across screens large and small, upending countless plans and sparking comment everywhere from presidential offices to the thousands looking to weigh in on social media.

The positive test reading for the leader of the worlds largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors' worries, especially about its effect on the Nov. 3 election between the Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. stock futures and most world markets fell on the news as did the price of oil.

World leaders were quick to weigh in, with official sympathy from the top and something approaching schadenfreude elsewhere. Trump joins a growing list of the powerful who have contracted the virus, including many who were skeptical of the disease.

I hope that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in a direct message to Trump released by the Kremlin.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted My best wishes to President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS for a full and speedy recovery. The Trump administration in July formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from WHO, although the pullout wont take effect until next year. Trump claims the U.N. health agency is in need of reform and is heavily influenced by China.

Italian right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini tweeted: In Italy and in the world, whoever celebrates the illness of a man or of a woman, and who comes to wish the death of a neighbor, confirms what he is: An idiot without soul. A hug to Melania and Donald.

Story continues

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized for a week in April after he contracted COVID-19, wished Trump a speedy recovery.

Dr. Bharat Pankhania, who advises Johnson's government on communicable disease control, said he hopes that Trumps positive test sends a message to the president and other leaders.

We need politicians, especially politicians like President Trump who has a lot of power and influence, to take this seriously and to support their scientists and clinicians in leading the outbreak management, rather than have political influence in trying to deny that this virus is in circulation and drag your feet around control measures because it suited your agenda.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, speaking at a weekly news conference, did not mention Trump's reluctance to wear masks when asked about his infection, but she said the news reminded me of how widely masks are worn in Japan.

Major media across the globe also played up the announcement, with bulletins crawling across TV screens in Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Dubai and Beijing.

To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, Rabobank said in a commentary. Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this U.S. election campaign.

Chinas official Xinhua News Agency flashed the news, and an anchor on state broadcaster CCTV announced it; there was no immediate comment from the government Friday, the second day of an eight-day national holiday.

The positive test result for Trump and his wife was the most searched topic in China on the widely used social media app Weibo a few hours after the announcement, with most comments mocking or critical.

One user darkly joked that Trump had finally tweeted something positive.

The Chinese government has bristled at Trumps attempts to blame China, where the disease emerged, for the pandemic and called for global cooperation in fighting it, a message that has resonated with the public.

Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, tweeted in English that President Trump and the first lady have paid the price for his gamble to play down the COVID-19.

Multiple Arab news media outlets on Friday continuously broadcast footage of Trump and his wife after the virus announcement.

Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel based in Dubai, cut to a long live shot of the White House. Qatari state-owned Al Jazeera channel brought in four commentators to discuss the prevailing state of uncertainty in the United States, questioning whether Trump could effectively steer a reelection campaign and run the country from quarantine.

Iranian state television announced Trump had the virus, an anchor breaking the news with an unflattering image of the U.S. president surrounded by what appeared to be giant coronaviruses. U.S.-Iran ties have suffered since Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

Social media platforms were ablaze with quick reaction.

Would Trump blame the Chinese? Would he thumb his nose at his critics and enemies by breezing through the quarantine without serious symptoms, tweeting away from the White House? Would he become gravely ill, or worse, and, if he did, what would that mean for the U.S. election, one of the most contentious in recent history? What would it mean for U.S. leadership during tumultuous times?

While the uncertainty seemed palpable on a scroll through various social media in an array of languages, many comments seemed to revel in the announcement.

Here comes a chance for him to actually try out his idea of injecting disinfectant into himself and fighting back (against allegations that) it was fake news! tweeted Hiroyuki Nishimura, a Japanese internet entrepreneur, referring to an idea Trump floated earlier this year for treatment.

Keio University economics professor Masaru Kaneko tweeted that populist leaders like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro "got infected because they tended not to take the coronavirus seriously. The two other leaders seriously tackled (the virus) after they got infected themselves. Will the United States follow their examples?

And the satirical Australian news site, the Betoota Advocate, posted a story with this headline: Trump Family Records More Cases Of Community Transmission Than Entire State Of Queensland.

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Lori Hinnant reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London; Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Ashok Sharma in New Delhi, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, Mari Yamaguchi and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo and Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump testing positive for the coronavirus (all times EDT):

8:10 a.m.

Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence tested negative for COVID-19 Friday morning, hours after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Spokesman Devin OMalley says Pence "remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery."

Pence is tested every day for the virus, OMalley confirmed.

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Vice President Mike Pence speaks at an event hosted by The Family Leader Foundation Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

5:15 a.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is extending wishes of a speedy recovery to U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, and expressing "sincere support in this difficult moment," according to a statement released by the Kremlin on Friday.

Trump announced on Twitter early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Kremlin says Putin sent Trump a telegram saying, "I hope that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus."

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5 a.m.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he and his wife have tested negative for the coronavirus after they were examined on their airplane 20 minutes prior to landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on Friday.

He said it was the fourth time in two weeks he has been tested.

President Donald Trump announced on Twitter early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Pompeo says the last time he was with Trump was on Sept. 15, at the White House, for the signing of normalization agreements among Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The top U.S. diplomat says he is reconsidering upcoming travel to Florida on Saturday and Asia starting Sunday as a precaution.

He says, "We are praying for the president and the First Lady and we hope they have a speedy recovery."

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4:30 a.m.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is wishing U.S. President Donald Trump a "speedy recovery" from COVID-19.

Johnson tweeted Friday morning: "My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus."

Johnson was hospitalized for a week in April after he contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. After he was released, the prime minister thanked doctors and nurses at St. Thomass Hospital for saving his life. Johnson was treated in the hospitals intensive care unit, where he received oxygen but was not put on a ventilator.

Trump announced on Twitter early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.

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4:20 a.m.

The Kremlin is sending wishes of speedy recovery to U.S. President Donald Trump after he said he and his wife Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.

"We certainly wish President Trump a speedy and easy recovery," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday.

Russia currently has the fourth largest coronavirus caseload in the world with over 1.19 million confirmed cases and more than 21,000 deaths. The outbreak in Russia started to grow rapidly in September, with health officials reporting 9,412 new confirmed cases Friday in the largest daily surge since late May.

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3:55 a.m.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wishing the U.S. president and the first lady a "full and speedy recovery" after they said they tested positive for the coronavirus.

"Like millions of Israelis, Sara and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery," Netanyahu tweeted on his official account, referring to his wife.

Netanyahu led an Israeli delegation to the White House for the Sept. 15 signing of normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain at an outdoor ceremony attended by hundreds of people. Attendees did not practice social distancing and most guests did not wear masks.

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2:20 a.m.

Vice President Mike Pence says he and his wife, Karen, are sending their "love and prayers" to President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump after the Trumps announced early Friday that they had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Pence says on Twitter, "We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery."

Trumps positive test came just hours after he confirmed late Thursday that senior aide Hope Hicks had come down with the virus.

The White House had no immediate comment on whether Pence had been tested after the Trumps and Hicks diagnoses.

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1:40 a.m.

President Donald Trumps White House doctor has issued a statement saying the president will continue carrying out his duties "without disruption" after contracting the coronavirus.

Dr. Sean Conley, the physician to the president, says the president and first lady Melania Trump "are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence."

Trump has canceled plans to attend a fundraiser and to fly to Florida for a rally on Friday, but he did keep on his schedule a previously planned midday telephone call "on COVID-19 support to vulnerable seniors."

President Donald Trump gives the thumbs-up as he walks from Marine One to the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, as he returns from Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Dr. Coffman is being honored for his dedication to his profession, our students, and the school. He will receive the award virtually in January at the FMEA Professional Development Conference.

Dean Shelton G. Berg, stated: Congratulations, Don! This is a wonderful and significant recognition of your contributions and service to your students, our school, and the field of music education. Dean Berg also acknowledged Dr. Carlos Abril, Professor of Music Education and Associate Dean of Research at Frost for nominating his colleague.

In notifying Dr. Coffman, Debbie Fahmie, FMEA Awards Chair, stated: Thank you for your dedication to our profession and for all that you do to enhance music education for Floridas students. I look forward to honoring you as part of this years FMEA Professional Development Conference. 

Dr. Coffman remarked, I am honored to be recognized. And I wish to thank my wonderful colleagues and students (current and former) for sharing their lives with me. The rewards of teaching come from experiences with others because we teach people, not music. Teaching is an invitation to learning, so how we treat others has to come first.

About Dr. Don Coffman:

Dr. Coffman is a Professor of Music Education and Chair of the Department of Music Education and Music Therapy at the Frost School of Music. He teaches courses in instrumental conducting, methods of teaching instrumental school music, and community music programs.

Professor Coffman has over 40 years of teaching experience spanning elementary, junior high, high school, university, and community band settings. He is an internationally known scholar with over 100 publications and 100 presentations in 13 countries around the globe. He holds the title of Professor Emeritus at the University of Iowa, where he taught for 24 of those 40 years. In his storied career, Professor Coffman has conducted over 300 wind band performances and clinics. He founded the Iowa City, Iowa New Horizons Band in 1995 and led it for 16 years. That program continues to provide an opportunity for senior adults to learn or reacquaint themselves with wind and percussion instruments and the opportunity to use them to make music. He continues to teach adults in Frosts New Horizons Band program. In 2002 he spent three months as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Tasmania (Australia) researching their community music band program. His greatest passion is making music with chronologically gifted adults in wind bands.

Professor Coffman has chaired the Community Music Activity Commission of the International Society for Music Education and the Adult and Community Music Education Special Research Interest Group of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). He has served on NAfMEs Society for Research in Music Education Executive Committee and twice served as a member of the editorial board of NAfMEs Journal of Research in Music Education. He is an associate editor of the International Journal of Community Music and editor of Research Perspectives in Music Education. Professor Coffman received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, an M.M.E. from Wichita State University, and a B.M.E. from the University of Kansas.
September 30, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee grilled Michael Pack, who President Trump recently appointed to head the US governments state propaganda arm, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM)

Pack was appointed in June and started a big shakeup at the US state media outlets run by the USAGM, like Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. Pack fired senior staffers, pushed out management, and froze funding.

During last weeks hearing, Democrats and Republicans on the committee teamed up to attack Pack for his purges. But what seemed more important to Congress and former USAGM officials was Packs move to freeze funds to the Open Technology Fund (OTF). The OTF was formed in 2012 and operated as part of Radio Free Asia for seven years. In 2019, the OTF became an independent non-profit, although it is financed by US taxpayer dollars through the USAGM.

According to former USAGM officials and OTF board members, the OTF supports protesters in other nations across the world. In many places around the globe, OTF quietly is providing support to protesters, said Grant Turner, the former USAGM chief financial officer, who Pack removed in August. So the Hong Kong protesters are protecting their identities from surveillance by OTF tools; protesters in Iran; weve seen it in Beirut, Turner said.

Ambassador Karen Kornbluh, who sits on the board of the OTF, also testified and spoke of how the OTF helps protest movements. OTF has a long history of supporting internet freedom efforts, and was poised to expand its efforts in Hong Kong, Kornbluh said. It was going to serve support for circumvention tools and expand support for digital training.

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Kornbluh explained that the USAGM froze OTF funds before Chinas national security law for Hong Kong came into effect. And then USAGM froze, and continues to withhold, its funding  and did that just weeks before the new security laws came into effect, Kornbluh said. So OTF hasnt been able to support any of these efforts.

The frozen Hong Kong funds were first reported by Time magazine in June. According to Time, Pack froze $2 million that would have directly benefited the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. One project the OTF was working on in Hong Kong was a cybersecurity incident response team that would have analyzed Chinese surveillance techniques in Hong Kong. The team would have shared information with developers who would design apps for protesters to use. The freeze in funding made this project impossible to go through with.

Another OTF project hampered by the freeze was a $500,000 rapid response fund, designed to provide fast relief for civil society groups, protesters, journalists, and human rights defenders. According to Time, this initiative has already made several payouts to groups in Hong Kong since the civil unrest began in June 2019.

The cut in funding inadvertently revealed the US governments covert role in the Hong Kong protest movement. The US government-funded National Endowment for Democracy also provides funding for pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong.

Besides the US government supporting Hong Kong protesters through cutout organizations like the OTF and NED, there has been more overt interference in the city. Throughout the demonstrations, protesters were seen waving US flags and calling for Congress to pass legislation. Leaders of the movement even traveled to Washington and testified before Congress, pleading for US intervention.

President Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law in November 2019. The administration has since sanctioned Hong Kong officials and changed the citys special trade status. This US interference gave Beijing the foreign boogeyman it needed to pass the controversial national security law.

Pack was appointed to head the USAGM after the White House accused Voice of America of repeating Chinese state propaganda in its coronavirus coverage. Considering this, the damage Packs overhaul did to the OTFs support for protesters in Hong Kong was likely an unintended consequence.
SCARSDALE, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 2, 2020 / The law firm of Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP, located in Scarsdale, N.Y., is pleased to announce the addition of Jessica Hill as an associate attorney. Hill will concentrate her practice in consumer bankruptcy and small business restructuring.

Prior to joining Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP, Jessica Hill spent the past decade working for a boutique bankruptcy law firm in the Hudson Valley, first as a paralegal and then returning as an associate. She is a member of the Hudson Valley Bankruptcy Bar Association, Westchester County Bar Association and American Bar Association, as well as an active volunteer with The Rashad Jennings Foundation.



Jessica Hill, Associate, Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP

"Jessica has a proven track record of helping clients take charge of their money problems and regain control of their lives," said Dawn Kirby, Partner, Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP. "We are thrilled to welcome Jessica to our team. Her ability to anticipate clients' needs and commitment to ensuring they make the very best choices to obtain their 'fresh start' make her an invaluable asset to our firm."

Hill received a J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law, where she was recognized with the CATIC Foundation Award and the Academic Achievement Award for Highest Grade in Accounting for Lawyers. She is admitted to practice law in New York.

"As a bankruptcy attorney, the help and relief you can provide clients is extremely rewarding - I can almost see the weight being lifted off of their shoulders after the first meeting," said Jessica Hill. "Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP has a sterling reputation and extensive knowledge in the field of bankruptcy law. I'm excited to be part of the team."

The women-owned law firm of Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP focuses in the areas of corporate and individual bankruptcy, restructuring, real estate, commercial transactions, foreclosure defense and mortgage modification. Commercial clients range from sole proprietors and family-owned businesses to small public companies in a broad range of industries, including real estate, not-for-profit, technology, hospitality, healthcare, marketing, retail, legal, lending and automotive.

Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP is located at 700 Post Road, Suite 237, Scarsdale, N.Y. and can be reached at (914) 401-9500 or by visiting www.kacllp.com.

About Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP

The law firm of Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP works with individual and corporate clients to overcome their financial and legal challenges and move forward toward growth. The firm offers outside general counsel services for small- to medium-size businesses that have varying legal needs, but not the means to hire exclusive counsel in-house. Small- and middle-market companies can benefit from the firm's expertise in areas such as real estate, corporate turnarounds, strategic consulting, complex debt restructurings, and debtor bankruptcy. The firm's Westchester County location is conveniently situated to serve the needs of clients in New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Rockland Counties, and the lower Hudson Valley. Visit Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP online at www.kacllp.com.

Press Contact

Kelly Lee

Co-Communications

914-666-0066

kelly@cocommunications.com

SOURCE: Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/608832/Kirby-Aisner-Curley-LLP-Welcomes-Associate-Attorney-Jessica-Hill
Study is first to assess the impact of climate change on the global population of river deltas

Thirty-one million people living in river deltas are at high risk of experiencing flooding and other impacts from tropical cyclones and climate change, according to a study by Indiana University researchers.

"To date, no one has successfully quantified the global population on river deltas and assessed the cumulative impacts from climate change," said Douglas Edmonds, the Malcolm and Sylvia Boyce Chair in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and lead author on the study. "Since river deltas have long been recognized as hotspots of population growth, and with increasing impacts from climate change, we realized we needed to properly quantify what the cumulative risks are in river deltas."

The findings are the result of a collaboration facilitated by IU's Institute for Advanced Study with support from the Environmental Resilience Institute.

The teams analysis shows that river deltas occupy 0.5 percent of the earths land surface, yet they contain 4.5 percent of the global populationa total of 339 million people. Because river deltas form at the ocean at or below sea level, they are highly prone to storm surges, which are expected to occur more frequently due to climate change-fueled sea-level rise and coastal flooding.

In the study, IU researchers analyzed these geographic regions, which include cities like New Orleans, Bangkok, and Shanghai, using a new global dataset to determine how many people live on river deltas, how many are vulnerable to a 100-year storm surge event, and the ability of the deltas to naturally mitigate impacts of climate change.

River deltas present special challenges for predicting coastal floods that deserve more attention in discussions about the future impacts of climate change, said IU Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Eduardo Brondizio, a co-author of the study who has been working with rural and urban communities in the Amazon delta for 3 decades. Our estimates are likely a minimum because the storm surge and flooding models do not account for the compound interactions of the climate impacts, deficient infrastructure, and high population density.

With Edmonds and Brondizio, co-authors on the study include Rebecca Caldwell and graduate student Sacha Siani.

In addition to the threat of flooding, many of the residents in river deltas are low-income and experience water, soil, and air pollution, poor and subnormal housing infrastructure, and limited access to public services. According to the study, of the 339 million people living on deltas throughout the world, 31 million of these people are living in the 100-year storm surge floodplains. To make matters worse, 92 percent of the 31 million live in developing or least-developed economies. As a result, some of the most disadvantaged populations are among the most at-risk to the impacts of climate change.

These communities are already dealing with health risks, lack of sanitation and services, poverty, and exposure to flooding and other environmental risks. Climate change is exacerbating all of these issues and creating more impacts, Brondizio said.

To conduct their study, the researchers created a global dataset of delta populations and areas, aggregating 2,174 delta locations. They then cross-referenced the dataset with a land population count to determine how many people were living in the deltas. To determine the natural mitigation capacity of the deltas, researchers looked at the volume of incoming sediment deposited by rivers and other waterways flowing out to sea. The volume of incoming sediment was compared to the relative area of the delta to determine if the delta would be considered sediment starved and thus unable to naturally mitigate flooding.

Decades of engineering have expanded the habitable land area of river deltas, but theyve also starved the regions of flood-preventing sediment. Without the sediment being renewed naturally, the shorelines will continue to recede, worsening the impacts of storm surges

To effectively prepare for more intense future coastal flooding, we need to reframe it as a problem that disproportionately impacts people on river deltas in developing and least-developed economies, said Edmonds. We need better models for the climate impacts that are capable of stimulating compound flooding in densely populated areas so that exposure and risk can be mapped to more accurately assess risk and vulnerability.

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LOS ANGELES - Harvey Weinstein was charged Friday with the rape of two more women. The former movie mogul now faces 11 sexual assault counts involving five women in California as he serves prison time in New York, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 2/10/2020 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this July 9, 2018 file photo, Harvey Weinstein arrives to court in New York. Prosecutors say Weinstein has been charged with the rape of two more women in Los Angeles County. The district attorney's office said Friday that Weinstein faces three new counts of rape and three new counts of forcible oral copulation involving two women. The incidents span from 2004 to 2010 and all took place at a hotel in Beverly Hills. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

LOS ANGELES - Harvey Weinstein was charged Friday with the rape of two more women. The former movie mogul now faces 11 sexual assault counts involving five women in California as he serves prison time in New York, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.

Weinstein was charged with three new counts of rape and three new counts of forcible oral copulation involving two women, the district attorney's office said.

An amended criminal complaint alleges that Weinstein raped one woman at a hotel in Beverly Hills between September 2004 and September 2005, and raped another woman twice between November 2009 and November 2010 at a Beverly Hills hotel.

Weinstein spokesman Juda Engelmayer said in response to the charges that Harvey Weinstein has always maintained that every one of his physical encounters throughout his entire life have been consensual. That hasnt changed. At this moment we cannot comment on the additional charges until we learn more about them.

The 68-year-old Weinstein is serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York after convictions in February for rape and sexual assault against two women.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles have begun the process of extraditing him to face charges, but agreed last month to delay attempts to bring him to California because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Weinstein was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this year while serving time in a maximum-security prison near Buffalo, New York.

His next extradition hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11.

In California, Weinstein was first charged with rape in January, just as his trial was beginning in New York. More counts were added in April.

He now stands charged with four counts of rape, four counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint and one count of sexual penetration by use of force. The counts involve five women and stem from events in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills spanning the years 2004 to 2013.

The combined charges could bring a maximum of 140 years in prison.

The charges came from a task force established by District Attorney Jackie Lacey to investigate sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry after the initial wave of allegations against Weinstein in media outlets in the fall of 2017 gave force to the #MeToo movement.

The task force had little to show for its work in its first two years, taking on more than 20 cases involving major entertainment figures but declining to file charges in most of them.

This year, however, the task force has brought rape and sexual assault charges against Weinstein, porn performer Ron Jeremy, and film producer David Guillod in a joint operation with Santa Barbara County.

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The district attorney's office also recently brought rape charges against That '70s Show actor Danny Masterson, though that investigation predated the task force.

Jeremy, Guillod and Masterson have all denied the allegations and are awaiting trial.

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Associated Press Writer Michael R. Sisak contributed to this report from New York.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19.

We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately, Trump announced in a tweet just before 1 a.m. Friday. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Trumps announcement came a few hours after he and the first lady began a quarantine process as they awaited test results, after a close aide, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the virus.

The president and his wife join the more than 7.2 million Americans infected by the virus, which has killed nearly 208,000 in the U.S., reshaped daily life and thrown the economy into turmoil. While most recover from COVID-19 and many never experience any symptoms, Trump at 74 is within the higher risk category for the disease.

The news comes about a month before Election Day, during a volatile campaign season when the pandemic  which has left more than 1 million dead worldwide over the last seven months, according to Johns Hopkins University  is already one of voters' chief concerns.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will be tested for coronavirus Friday morning, a source familiar with the plans confirmed.

While Trumps physician said he is well, it remains unclear if the president is experiencing symptoms. The confirmed positive test raises questions on how the president handles daily duties in the West Wing while continuing a heated campaign against Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who has relentlessly targeted the administrations response to the pandemic.

The president admitted downplaying the virus early on this year, telling journalist Bob Woodward he did not want to create a panic, and telling reporters he believed the president ought to be a cheerleader for the country. He has aggressively called for states to relax restrictions on businesses, and pushed schools to reopen with in-class learning this fall despite confusion and health concerns among parents and teachers.

Trump, who has held several public re-election campaign rallies in recent weeks, knew the dangers of the outbreak back in February, when he told Woodward that COVID-19 was more deadly than even your strenuous flus"  perhaps five times as lethal, he said at the time. But that didnt stop him from publicly comparing the virus to the flu and pushing for the economy to start churning again.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

The president and first lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence, White House physician Sean P. Conley said in a statement, The New York Times reported.

Conley did not say how long the convalescence would last.

Rest assured I expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments," he added.

The first lady, in a statement on Twitter around 1:30 a.m., said she and Trump were feeling good.

As too many Americans have done this year, @potus & I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19. We are feeling good & I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe & we will all get through this together.  Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 2, 2020

As too many Americans have done this year, (the president) and I are quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19, she said. We are feeling good and I have postponed all upcoming engagements. Please be sure you are staying safe and we will all get through this together.

Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.  Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) October 2, 2020

The strength of the entire country is with President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS.



America stands united.



Our country stands strong.



Your President will continue to put the People first!  Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) October 2, 2020

According to the Associated Press, Hicks experienced mild symptoms on the plane ride home after a campaign rally in Minnesota on Wednesday evening. Hicks was quarantined away from others on the plane.

The president late Thursday night said Hicks has been working so hard without even taking a small break.

Terrible! he said, of her positive test, before noting that he and the first lady would quarantine while waiting for test results.

Trumps handling of the public health and economic crises in his fourth year in office has rallied Democrats, who have pilloried the administration over what many public health experts say was a sluggish response.

Trump claims that his moves to restrict travel from China in late January, combined with shutting down the economy in mid-March, saved millions of lives. The president has also touted his administrations mobilization of equipment, including personal protective gear and ventilators.

But several experts, and most Americans, according to polling, believe the administration failed to deliver a consistent response and was slow to act, including in testing and implementing social distancing guidelines that helped curb the spread of the virus.

Last month, Trump clashed with governors in multiple battleground states over rallies that sparked alleged violations of mask requirements and limits on public gatherings. Following Trumps first rally after the pandemic began, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June, the city reported record numbers of new cases.

The White House physician last month said Trump was healthy and fit for his Oval Office duties.

The president remains healthy and I have no concerns about his ability to maintain the rigorous schedule ahead of him, Conley said in a statement.

Speaking from the White House to guests at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, Trump on Thursday said the nation mourns for all those who lost a loved one, and in their memory, we will defeat the virus.

Through advances in treatment, we have reduced the fatality rate by 85 percent since just April, he added. We are on track to develop and distribute a vaccine before the end of the year, and maybe substantially before. And I just want to say that the end of the pandemic is in sight, and next year will be one of the greatest years in the history of our country.

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A police officer was fired for his involvement in the fatal shooting of a California rapper last year, the Vallejo Police Department said Thursday.

The officer, Ryan McMahon, was given a notice of termination Wednesday, police said.

"The Notice of Termination was issued after an Internal Affairs investigation concluded, among other things, that McMahon violated department policies by engaging in unsafe conduct and neglect for basic firearm safety during the incident," police said in a statement.

Police spokeswoman Brittany Jackson confirmed to NBC News that the incident referred to in the statement was the February 2019 death of Willie McCoy, a local rapper who was shot 55 times in 3.5 seconds.

"Any conduct outside the level of professionalism this City deserves will not be tolerated by the Vallejo Police Department," Police Chief Shawny Williams said. "I understand we have a long way to go in rebuilding trust among the residents of Vallejo and I will continue to take the necessary steps to better serve this community."

The statement said the city could not comment further because of McMahon's privacy rights. McMahon was one of six officers involved in the shooting. Police had no comment Thursday about the statuses of the five other officers.

In a letter to McMahon in March, Williams said he endangered the lives of other police officers, neglected basic firearm safety and demonstrated "unsatisfactory work performance including, but not limited to, failure [and] incompetence" in connection with the McCoy incident.

McMahon could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday. A lawyer who has represented him previously did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Police were called after McCoy, who was Black, had fallen asleep in a running car in the drive-thru lane at a fast food restaurant. Police said McCoy was ordered to keep his hands visible and claimed that he reached for a gun, prompting six officers to open fire.

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Body camera video showed McCoy with his head slumped to his left as police surrounded his car with guns drawn. He appeared to scratch his left shoulder, sat up and turned away from officers who shouted, "Show me your hands!" and fired at him within a few seconds.

McMahon was also involved in a fatal shooting in 2018. Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams said this year that McMahon was justified in using deadly force against Ronell Foster, a bicyclist he had stopped for not wearing a headlamp at night. Abrams said Foster, who was Black, grabbed McMahon's flashlight and threatened him during a struggle.

The city of Vallejo agreed to pay $5.7 million to Foster's family in September to settle a civil rights lawsuit they had brought against the city and McMahon.
A Washington County home was destroyed Wednesday afternoon after a fire, officials said.

According to a social media post from the Washington County Firefighters Association, Rocky Creek Volunteer Fire Department and Gay Hill VFD were called to a home in the 9500 block of Lake Forest Circle around 5:45 p.m. Berlin VFD also provided aid, officials said.

When firefighters arrived, heavy smoke and flames were visible. The structure was deemed a loss. Firefighters said no injuries were reported, but two pets were killed in the blaze. The fire was brought under control after 4 1/2 hours.

The cause of the fire is undetermined, officials said.
The Scottish First Minister said she has spoken to the MP, who had the SNP whip withdrawn after the incident emerged, and made clear my view that she should step down.

Ms Ferrier admitted she was tested for coronavirus on Saturday after developing symptoms but still took a train to Parliament on Monday when she should have been self-isolating.

She gave a four-minute speech in the House of Commons at 7.15pm on Monday during a debate on coronavirus.

Ive spoken to Margaret Ferrier and made clear my view that she should step down as an MP. I did so with a heavy heart - she is a friend & colleague - but her actions were dangerous & indefensible. I have no power to force an MP to resign but I hope she will do the right thing. Advertisement  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 2, 2020

The same evening, Ms Ferrier said she received her positive test result  although it is not known if this was before or after speaking in Parliament. She then travelled back to Glasgow.

Ms Sturgeon has now joined mounting calls for Ms Ferrier to resign as an MP over her dangerous and indefensible actions.

She tweeted: Ive spoken to Margaret Ferrier and made clear my view that she should step down as an MP.

I did so with a heavy heart  she is a friend & colleague  but her actions were dangerous and indefensible.

I have no power to force an MP to resign but I hope she will do the right thing.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said Ms Ferriers position as an MP is untenable following the tremendous error of judgment.





He said Ms Ferriers SNP whip was withdrawn on Thursday morning when the party learned of her breaches of coronavirus rules.

He told BBC Radio Scotlands Good Morning Scotland programme Ms Ferrier must now reflect on the circumstances that she is now in and do the right thing for her constituents.

Asked if he is calling for her to resign, Mr Blackford said: I would say to her that her position isnt tenable, given the circumstances that were in, and she has to accept her own responsibilities of what she must do. I cant force that upon her, she is no longer an SNP MP.

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Im pretty angry at what has happened, it is not acceptable.

Its important that it is beyond reproach that everybody, absolutely everybody, must obey the rules and we have to think about the signal that gives the public and the sacrifices that people are having to make, and its in the light of that that Margaret will have to do the right thing.

A number of other SNP MPs, including David Linden whose Glasgow East constituency neighbours Ms Ferriers, have also called for her to quit.

Ms Ferrier, the Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP, said she took a test on Saturday afternoon after experiencing mild symptoms, meaning she should have self-isolated.

In a statement, she said she travelled home to Glasgow on Tuesday, where she has been self-isolating ever since.

She apologised for her actions and said there was no excuse.

Police Scotland said the MP informed them of her behaviour on Thursday and officers are looking into the circumstances along with the Metropolitan Police.

She could face a 4,000 fine for a first-time offence of coming into contact with others when she should have been self-isolating, under a law that came into force on the day of her positive test.

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UK Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Margaret Ferrier has accepted that she has broken the law.





Thats now a matter for the police, the authorities who are investigating the matter, and it is really for her to consider what her political future is, and for her party, the SNP.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross branded Ms Ferriers decision to travel between London and Glasgow on a train with coronavirus symptoms as reckless and dangerous.

Mr Ross himself resigned as a Government minister over his partys refusal to condemn Number 10 aide Dominic Cummingss trip to Durham with his family at the height of lockdown while suffering coronavirus symptoms.

He said Ms Ferriers position is now completely untenable.

No-one can take what she says with any credibility because she has flouted the rules at every opportunity when she first became aware of the symptoms back on Saturday, Mr Ross said.

SNP in chaos & appear to be covering up serious breach of public health laws. FM & Blackford must hold press conference tomorrow am to answer questions about what they did & didnt know. Speaker contradicts SNP story. There cant be 1 rule for the SNP, another for the rest of us.  Ian Murray MP (@IanMurrayMP) October 1, 2020

Meanwhile, shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray demanded answers from Ms Sturgeon and Mr Blackford.

The Labour MP tweeted: SNP in chaos & appear to be covering up serious breach of public health laws.

FM & Blackford must hold press conference to answer questions about what they did & didnt know.
The UK warned that the standoff in Brexit trade talks might be 'impossible to bridge' tonight as the two sides cooled hopes of a breakthrough.

Speculation that a deal is looming was fueled this morning when it emerged Ursula von der Leyen and Boris Johnson will have discussions tomorrow. Angela Merkel also said she believed there was a 'constructive path' towards a resolution.

But the EU commission president used a press conference in Brussels to play down the optimism, saying that although 'progress' had been made the 'most difficult' problems were still 'completely open'.

The chief negotiators for the UK and the bloc also sounded distinctly negative tones this evening after wrapping up the latest round.

Mr Barnier said tensions remained over fisheries, governance and state aid. 'To reach an agreement, these divergences must necessarily be overcome over the next weeks,' he said.

Meanwhile, Lord Frost said despite 'limited progress' the EU 'need to move further', warning that the gap on fisheries 'risks being impossible to bridge'.

'I am concerned that there is very little time now to resolve these issues ahead of the European Council on 15 October.'

If they can see a way through, the two sides could decide to enter 'the tunnel' - an intensive phase of negotiations where both sides work on the same legal text amid high secrecy.

The PM (left) and Ursula Von Der Leyen (right) will 'take stock' of progress in the fraught negotiations to 'discuss next steps', No10 said

The UK's Lord Frost (pictured today) and Michel Barnier are due to meet this morning after another week of behind-closed doors efforts to thrash out a compromise

Both sides will continue trade talks next week and until a summit of the bloc's leaders on October 15-16, sources told Reuters this morning

Lord Frost said the 'outlines' of a free trade agreement with the EU remained 'visible', but there were 'familiar differences'.

He said there had been 'some limited progress' on the issue of state aid but that the EU needed to 'move further' if there was to be an agreement.

'On fisheries the gap between us is unfortunately very large and, without further realism and flexibility from the EU, risks being impossible to bridge.

'These issues are fundamental to our future status as an independent country,' he said in a statement.

Earlier, Ms von der Leyen said the UK had to accept the need for a 'level playing field' on issues like state aid to get a deal.

'We have made progress on many many different fields but of course the most difficult ones are still completely open,' she said.

'There is still a lot of work to do but it is a matter of fairness. If you want to have the full access to the single market these fairness rules must apply.

'But overall where there is a will there is a way so I think we should intensify the negotiations because it is worth working hard on it.

'We are running out of time - around 100 days to the end of the year so it is worth to step up now.'

But after a gathering of EU leaders, Mrs Merkel sounded more positive, pointing to the UK's recent agreement with Norway on fishing rights.

'The agreement with Norway is at least an indication that [the British] are on a constructive path and I wouldn't interpret that as bad news for us but rather as sign that agreements can be found,' she told reporters.

Both sides will continue trade talks next week and until a summit of the bloc's leaders on October 15-16, sources told Reuters this morning.

This week's round of negotiations between the EU and London on a new trade agreement after Brexit, the last scheduled, failed to resolve all the outstanding issues, the sources said.

It comes despite Ms von der Leyen dramatically confirming yesterday that the EU is launching legal action against the UK for breaking the terms of the divorce terms in the Withdrawal Agreement.

Brussels had given Downing Street until the end of September to scrap the Prime Minister's controversial proposals which are contained within the UK Internal Market Bill.

But the UK Government refused to budge and Ms von der Leyen said this morning that as a result the bloc has now started legal proceedings.

It has sent a 'letter of formal notice' to Number 10 which is the first step in the so-called 'infringement procedure' which could ultimately result in Britain being fined.

Speaking in Brussels she said: 'This draft Bill is by its very nature a breach of the obligation of good faith laid down in the Withdrawal Agreement.

'More over if adopted as is it will be in full contradiction to the protocol of Ireland/Northern Ireland.

'The deadline lapsed yesterday. The problematic provisions have not been removed.

'Therefore this morning the Commission has decided to send the letter of formal notice to the UK Government. This is the first step in an infringement procedure.

'The letter invites the UK Government to send its observations within a month and besides this the Commission will continue to work hard towards a full and timely implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement. We stand by our commitments.'

Downing Street said it 'will respond to the letter in due course' as it defended the approach it has taken.

'We have clearly set out our reasons for introducing the measures related to the Northern Ireland Protocol,' a Government spokesman said.

'We need to create a legal safety net to protect the integrity of the UK's internal market, ensure Ministers can always deliver on their obligations to Northern Ireland and protect the gains from the peace process.'
EDWARDSVILLE  A Jerseyville man on Thursday received a 65-year prison sentence after a jury in March found him guilty of murdering an Alton woman.

Roger Carroll, 54, said at the sentencing hearing that he was looking forward to his appeal and never admitted to killing 47-year-old Bonnie L. Woodward in 2010, according to the Madison County State's Attorney's Office, who prosecuted the case.

"When Bonnie went missing, we lost one of our own, and our whole community shared Bonnies familys suffering over those eight long years," said Madison County State's Attorney Tom Gibbons. "Thanks to our Cold Case Unit, working in cooperation with the Jersey County States Attorney, our Sheriffs and with local law enforcement in both Madison and Jersey counties, we never lost hope and never abandoned our calling to keep searching for her."

In 2018, Carroll's son told a grand jury that he heard gunshots, then saw his father drag Woodward's body across a yard. The son also testified that his father forced him to burn her body and bury the ashes.

Woodward was initially reported missing in June 2010. Her daughter, a minor at the time, had run away from home and had been living with Carroll, according to a spokesperson for Madison County State's Attorney's Office.
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 initiates anti-dumping probe against two Chinese products

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Oct 2: India has initiated an anti-dumping probe against two products imported from China, following complaints by domestic companies.

The commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is probing alleged dumping of 'Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) Blends', used in commercial and residential air conditioning; and 'Decor paper' from China. SRF Ltd has filed an application before the DGTR seeking initiation of anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of HFC Blends' from China.

Chinese firm to test COVID-19 vaccine in teenagers, children on Sep 28

Similarly, ITC Ltd has filed an application seeking initiation of anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of Decor Paper from the neighbouring country. Both the companies have alleged that dumping of these products has impacted respective industries.

On the basis of the duly substantiated written application by or on behalf of the domestic industry, and having satisfied itself, on the basis of the prima facie evidence submitted by the domestic industry, the DGTR has initiated the investigations, according to two separate notifications of the directorate. If it is established that dumping has caused material injury to the domestic players, the DGTR would recommend imposition of anti-dumping duty on the imports from China.

The finance ministry takes the final decision to impose the duties. The directorate is also probing alleged dumping of 'Caprolactam', used in nylon making, from European Union, Korea, Russia and Thailand. Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd has filed the application for the same.

"The applicant has alleged that material injury is being caused to the domestic industry due to dumped imports from the subject countries and has requested for the imposition of the anti-dumping duties on the imports," according to a separate notification of the DGTR.

An investigation is also started against alleged dumping of 'Elastomeric Filament Yarn' exported from Singapore following a complaint by Indorama lndustries Ltd. Countries start anti-dumping probes to determine whether their domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports.

As a countermeasure, they impose these duties under the multilateral regime of the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO). The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters. India has already imposed an anti-dumping duty on several products to tackle cheap imports from various countries, including China.
Veteran investor Nelson Peltz has snapped up stakes in asset managers Janus Henderson and Invesco in a bid to shake up the industry.

The American billionaire, who has previously agitated for change at companies such as Heinz and Cadbury, has bought a 9.9 per cent stake in each firm through his investment company Trian Fund Management.

The shares in Invesco and Janus Henderson would have cost around 685million.

Shake-up: Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz has snapped up stakes in asset managers Janus Henderson and Invesco

Trian said it planned to encourage the firms to consider strategic options such as consolidation.

Traditional investment firms like Invesco and Janus Henderson have been struggling in recent years as they compete with powerhouses like Blackrock, which are able to offer lower fees.

As markets have generally been on the rise, investors have also been moving away from funds managed by stockpickers to cheaper passive funds which track an index.

A wave of consolidation has already swept across the industry and Peltz, 78, who began his career working for his grandfathers wholesale foods business, is ready for more action.

Both Invesco and Janus Henderson are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but have significant businesses in the UK.

Invesco has been conducting a review of its business here following a period of underperformance for several of its funds, and earlier this year fired long-standing stockpicker Mark Barnett.

And Janus Henderson offers a slew of popular UK-based funds for its British customers.
(Newser)  The editor of a Russian news website has died after setting herself on fire Friday outside a government office, a day after police searched her home. "I ask you to blame the Russian Federation for my death," Irina Slavina had posted on Facebook. Video from Nizhniy Novgorod, a city of about 1.3 million, showed a man being pushed away by a woman after rushing over to help put out the flames with his coat, the BBC reports. Slavina was editor-in-chief of Koza Press, a small site that says it offers "news and analytics" with "no censorship." After Slavina's death was confirmed Friday, the site went dark. Slavina had a husband and daughter.

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"This news was a real blow for me, I knew her," said an aide to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the exiled founder of the pro-democracy organization Open Russia. "I know she was harassed, detained, fined all the time." An article last year brought Slavina a fine for "disrespecting authorities." She posted Thursday on Facebook that police and investigators had just searched her apartment for brochures, leaflets and accounts from Open Russia, per the Guardian. They took her laptop, her husbands mobile phone, and her daughter's laptop, the post said. Russia's Investigative Committee said Slavina was a witness in their case, not a suspect. (Read more Russia stories.)
New Delhi, Oct 2 : The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Friday released a poster carrying the names and photographs of 515 doctors -- 492 males and 23 females -- who died on the line of duty while treating Covid-19 patients.

The poster is a tribute paid to the martyred doctors on the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, said the apex association of doctors in the country.

"IMA dedicates the sacrifice of 515 Indian doctors in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic to the nation. We salute these martyrs, and all the nurses and healthcare workers who sacrificed their lives as well," the message along with the poster read.

The IMA also said that as per its records, as many as 2,425 doctors have been infected by the virus till September. Here's a break-up: Practicing doctors: 1,215

Resident doctors: 849

House surgeons: 361

Total infected: 2,425

The association recorded the maximum number of fatalities in doctors between the age group of 60 and 70 years, followed by the age group of 50 and 60 years. The least fatality among doctors has been reported under the age of 35.

Above 50-60 years: 171 Above 60-70 years: 201

Above 70 years: 66

Above 35-50 years: 59

Less than 35 years: 18

Total martyrs: 515

However, the association is pained by the fact that the sacrifice of the doctors' community was not resonated by the government.

"The government does not have data on doctors who died due to Covid-19, but they managed to procure the data on the deaths of NRIs. You see where their (government) priority is," IMA President Rajan Sharma told IANS.

Sharma's comment was directed at the statement by the Central government where it admitted not to have maintained data of the healthcare workers who lost their lives to COvid-19.

The Central government had said in the Parliament last month that data on the number of healthcare workers infected by coronavirus or have lost their lives while on Covid-19 duty is not maintained at the central level by the Health Ministry.

"It is unfortunate that the government hails us as Covid warriors but fails to do the minimum, that is to acknowledge the warriors who have sacrificed their lives while treating patients suffering from the deadly virus," Sharma said.

R.V. Asokan, honorary Secretary-General of IMA, said that if the government did not have the data, then at least it should consider IMA data.

"If they have doubts over our records, they can simply ask us to verify. We would do so. However, outrightly rejecting our data is a dishonour to the entire doctors' community," he said.

"We have sent the data thrice, but the government never acknowledged. We will not send them anymore but release them to the public so that they know the sacrifice made by our healthcare workers. The government is not the nation. Our allegiance is towards the nation and our fellow countrymen," Asokan said.
SACRAMENTO  California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state Wednesday to ban new gas vehicles within 15 years, a rebuke to President Donald Trump and other federal leaders already challenging the state's strict fuel economy rules.

Newsom made clear that he wants to use California's gigantic market as a hammer to force automakers to focus on electric vehicles. He said the move is a necessary step to combat climate change as his state battles historic wildfires that have scorched more than 3.6 million acres this year.

But California Republicans immediately seized on Newsom's order as an overstep in a year of unprecedented executive decisions on coronavirus closures. And Trump could use it as another cudgel to portray Democrats as out of touch by forcing drivers into electric vehicles still spurned by the vast majority of Americans.

After signing his executive order, Newsom seemed to welcome Trump criticism. He sent a fundraising email within hours drawing a contrast between Trump's actions on auto emissions and his own. And he braced for a presidential tweetstorm.

"I expect a tweet within 24 hours of me signing the executive order," Newsom said in a "Now This" video he posted Wednesday afternoon on Twitter. "I expect the usual pablum, somehow we're taking something from people or we're denying people choice, when in fact we're accelerating innovation."

Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign at the Center for Biological Diversity, said it appears California would need EPA approval to end sales of internal combustion engine cars. California has almost always been granted Clean Air Act waivers to more stringently control tailpipe pollution  but the Trump administration last year revoked its permission for California to regulate greenhouse gases from cars, casting doubt on whether it would approve this new measure as well should the president be re-elected.

Story continues

Under ordinary circumstances they would get it, Becker said. If Trump were re-elected, maybe not.

The state could argue that switching to zero-emissions vehicles will significantly curb conventional pollutants, such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides in addition to carbon dioxide. The state has struggled to meet air quality standards because of its car-heavy culture, growing population and unique geography. But its not clear the EPA would buy that argument either.

This is yet another example of how extreme the left has become, White House spokesman Judd Deere said. They want the government to dictate every aspect of every Americans life, and the lengths to which they will go to destroy jobs and raise costs on the consumer is alarming. President Trump wont stand for it.

But Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also did not endorse Newsom's order Wednesday. Spokesman Matt Hill said Biden considers a transition to electric vehicles an "enormous opportunity" to create a million union jobs and work on the climate crisis. "He's got a plan to do that and thinks of it in terms of incentives and investments, not bans," Hill said in a statement.

The Golden State is the world's fifth-largest economy, with more than half of its emissions stemming from the transportation sector, so the move is expected to significantly help reduce tailpipe pollution from vehicles with internal combustion engines.

California's influence on the market is so great that it won support last year from five automakers, who sided with the state instead of the White House on vehicle efficiency standards. One car company  Ford  went so far as to launch new ads Wednesday that call out Chevrolet, Jeep and Toyota for siding with Trump.

The Ford logo

Newsom was clearly pleased with Ford's support: He singled out a red electric Ford Mustang on which to sign his executive order.

"We are marking a new course," Newsom said during the signing ceremony and press conference at the state fairgrounds in Sacramento. "We are setting a new marker. We're advancing the cause, with the support of the California Air Resources Board, to once again lead not only this nation but in many respects lead the world."

But it was not immediately clear if Ford and the other four automakers who signed on with California are backing Newsom's latest executive order. The Alliance for Automative Innovation, which includes all five signatories in addition to other automakers, said in a statement that while the industry is committed to expanding electric vehicles, "neither mandates nor bans build successful markets."

"Currently, electrified vehicles account for less than 10 percent of new vehicle sales in California," the group said. "While that is the best in the nation, much more needs to be done for California to reach its goals. It will require increased infrastructure, incentives, fleet requirements, building codes, and much more."

Honda, another signatory to last year's California agreement, did not say one way or another where it stands on Newsom's order. The automaker said in a statement that "reaching ambitious climate targets will require thoughtful collaboration between all parties."

Under the order, California would rely on its air regulator, the California Air Resources Board, to establish rules for phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035.

Residents would still be able to own gas-fueled vehicles and sell them on the used market at that point, but the governor's executive order is sure to give rise to questions surrounding the logistics and equity of the transition from internal combustion engines in car-dependent California. The state would join 15 other countries that are already phasing out gas-fueled vehicles.

Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols said Wednesday that California wants to phase out hybrid vehicles over the next 15 years and have Californians purchase fully electric cars.

"We're not taking anything away," Newsom said, emphasizing that used gas vehicles can still be sold in California after 2035. "We're providing an abundance of new choices and new technology."

Still, passing new regulations against a mountain of industry opposition will prove difficult. California business groups, from the California Chamber of Commerce to the California Manufacturers & Technology Association, criticized the executive order as unrealistic.

California Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley said in an interview that the "radical step" to ban internal combustion engines "makes no sense" and is a rushed decision, with no guarantee of affordability for many who live in an already-expensive state.

Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro said that his electric utility wants more to be done on economy-wide electrification, saying that the state's recent approval of Edison's proposed 38,000 charge ports is just a "drop in the bucket" for what's needed to reduce emissions.

State Senator Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) said the move would spur a backlash among California residents already struggling with the state's high cost of living and unemployment due to coronavirus closures. She said many could perceive his order as "taking away their choice."

State Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) stressed the affordability issue and posted on Twitter an old clip of Newsom talking about his own expensive electric cars and solar panels.

Melendez said the statement was a surprise to lawmakers just 40 days from the election, and it certainly did put more moderate Democrats in a precarious situation, having to defend what he did."

But Democratic strategist and veteran pollster David Doak said that with so many major issues now competing for attention, I cant see that this is going to move things, one way or the other. Even Wednesday, Newsom's announcement coincided with the announcement in Kentucky that two Louisville police officers were not being charged for the death of Breonna Taylor  which was carried on California television stations instead of the governor's press conference.

Newsoms overall comments in support of zero-emissions vehicles in California are relatively consistent with Bidens expressed support for more programs to boost their manufacture in America. And its no shock that on issues like this, California tends to be the vanguard, he said.

Newsom directed agencies to develop a zero-emission vehicle market development strategy by the end of January and update it every three years. He also asked them to accelerate existing efforts on charge ports.

The governor's order also called for agencies to craft "an integrated, statewide rail and transit network," a pronouncement that came over a year after Newsom shrunk the scope of the state's high speed rail project. He also outlined plans to support more bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Eric Wolff contributed to this report.
Bucks County author James Michener at work on a serialization of his novel "South Pacific" for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Read more

Back in the day, according to James A. Micheners recollection, Doylestown was a duopoly.

There was the dominant English Doylestown about twice as large as the lesser Germany, populated largely by Mennonites from the surrounding farm area, Michener writes in a recently discovered essay just published in the Bucks County literary and historical journal Neshaminy.

The five-page, typewritten essay is dated Sept. 8, 1987. Don Swaim, executive editor of Neshaminy, came across the untitled piece in the files of the Doylestown Historical Society a year or so ago and has now published it in the journal.

Swaim said he was delighted by Micheners recollections and the vivid portrait of old Doylestown that emerges from the essay.

It seems, for one thing, that in pre-World War II Doylestown, Democrats were scarce among the English" and the Germans. The author of South Pacific and countless other best-selling books quotes his aunt as saying there was once a family of Democrats living on the edge of town, but they werent very nice people.

Michener once ran for Congress as a Democrat and lost. He died in 1997 at the age of 90.

The Michener family was not welcoming to difference, apparently. He notes in the piece that relatives were not happy that his new bride was Japanese American.

Michener goes on to describe his days as a paperboy, his school years, and his classmate Margaret Mead, who became an acclaimed anthropologist. Michener and Mead received the first two library borrowing cards when the new Doylestown library opened.

Swaim said in an interview Wednesday evening that Michener apparently gave the essay to Doylestown Intelligencer reporter W. Lester Trauch, for possible publication in the newspaper. The typescript, containing Trauchs editing comments and marks, was never published, for unknown reasons, and was given to the Doylestown Historical Society by the lawyer for Trauchs estate.

There it languished until Swaim heard about its existence and rescued it from the files.

Swaim says he has no idea why the piece was not published in 1987.

Neshaminy, which began publication last year, contains the essay in its Fall/Winter 2020 issue, now available in local Bucks County bookstores and on Amazon.com in both digital and print editions.
New Delhi, Oct 2 : India's merchandise exports in September rose by 5.27 per cent on a year-on-year basis, official data showed on Friday.

The country shipped out merchandise worth $27.40 billion as compared to merchandise worth $26.02 billion exported during the like period of the previous year.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the top five commodities that showed positive growth during September 2020 vis-a-vis September 2019 were other cereals, iron ore, rice, oilmeal and carpets.

On Thursday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had tweeted: "Make in India, Make for the World: Indian merchandise exports grow 5.27 per cent in Sep 20 as compared to last year. Another indicator of the rapid recovery of Indian economy as it surpasses pre-COVID levels across parameters." In terms of sequential movement, India's merchandise exports in August stood at $22.70 billion as against $25.99 billion exported during the like period of the previous year.

However, exports during April-September 2020-21 were $125.06 billion, exhibiting a negative growth of 21.43 per cent over the same period last year.

Similarly, India's imports declined, falling 19.60 per cent to $30.31 billion in September from $37.69 billion reported for the corresponding month of 2019.

"Merchandise imports during April-September 2020-21 were $148.69 billion, as compared to $248.08 billion during the same period last year, exhibiting a negative growth of 40.06 per cent," the ministry said in a statement.

"India is thus a net importer in September 2020, with a trade deficit of $2.91 billion, as compared to a trade deficit of $11.67 billion, showing a substantial improvement of 75.06 per cent," the ministry said.

Commenting on the data, EEPC India Chairman Mahesh Desai said: "While the reversal in trend for merchandise exports turning into positive territory in September 2020 is a matter of relief, the challenges in external trade would continue, given the present state of global health emergency and its economic impact on the major economies.

"The engineering exports too have shown a positive trend of 3.73 per cent in September, although the major turnaround has come about thanks to a sharp increase in pharma exports for understandable reasons." Reacting to the September 2020 export figures, FIEO President Sharad Kumar Saraf said that anti-China sentiments across the globe has also been one of the reasons for the improved performance in exports.

Saraf added that exporters have started receiving a lot of enquiries and orders from across the globe, helping many sectors to further show improved export performance, which is likely to get better and better in next few months.

According to ICRA Principal Economist Aditi Nayar: "The YoY growth in merchandise exports in September 2020 is heartening, after the faltering trend seen in the previous month.

"Regardless, the sharp gap in non-oil, non-gold merchandise imports on a YoY basis remains a cause for concern with regard to the strength of domestic demand." TPCI Chairman Mohit Singla said: "Export is on the path of recovery as the international market is opening up and buyers have started placing orders. Food and agri sectors will continue to thrust exports as they have done even at the worst of times in the past."
Kanehsatakehro:non SoniaBonspille-Boileau has a few awards under her belt, but the filmmaker might have to make space for one more.

The 41-year-old was recently nominated by the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) for outstanding directorial achievement in a feature films award for her latest movie, Rustic Oracle.

Boileaus ninth film was selected from 300 submissions and is now competing against four other feature films; Akillas Escape (Charles Officer), Les Notres (Jeanne Leblanc), Target Number One (Daniel Ruby) and In the Tall Grass (Vincenzo Natali).

The winner will be announced at the 19th annual DGC award ceremony, which is taking place on consecutive nights beginning October 24.

Boileau, who found out about the nomination through social media, feels honoured to be among talented filmmakers she looks up to.

Someone tagged me, said the filmmaker. I was really surprised.

In an interview with The Eastern Door, Boileau explained that while she never felt like an activist, she needed to voice her outrage towards missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG). As her film addressed the appalling reality, Boileau said that seeing the film obtain this type of recognition shows her message is being received.

The film follows the story of a missing teenage girl, Heather (McKenzie Kahnekaroroks Deer) told through the eyes of Ivy, her seven-year-old sister (Lake Kahentawaks Delisle) and her mother (Carmen Moore). Set in Kanesatake, it follows their heartbroken journey, searching for their lost loved one.

Hopefully, these people (who watch the film) will spread the word on this social injustice and help change the status quo, said Boileau. It shows that people care about MMIWG, she expressed.

Rustic Oracle started playing in movie theatres across the province August 21, a year after circling in festivals. So far, it has won 26 awards at both national and international film festivals, including Best Actress for Delisle and Best Supporting Actress for Moore.

This award, Boileau confesses, would be different as it comes from filmmaking peers. For her, it reinforces the feeling that shes on the right career path.

The DGC is a national organization representing more than 5,000 professionals such as directors, editors, assistant directors, location managers, production assistants and others.

Its nice to see that other professional filmmakers value my work, said Boileau.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 2, 2020 17:38 477 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c48c5d34 1 National COVID-19,covid-19-Indonesia,regional-elections,Muhammadiyah,Bawaslu,Pilkada-2020,pilkada,KPU,2020-regional-elections,LIPI,NU,Nahdlatul-ulama Free

The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and prominent Muslim groups have urged the government to delay simultaneous regional elections scheduled for December over COVID-19 concerns.

LIPI political research center head Firman Noor said the decision to go ahead with the elections during a public health crisis showed the governments imprudence.

This is not a wise attitude of a democratic government formed based on the will of the people, Firman said on Thursday.

Holding regional elections in the middle of a pandemic would lead to humanitarian violations as a result of neglect of human safety, he argued.

Citing data from the national COVID-19 task force, Firman said the number of COVID-19 cases in September was almost four times the average figure in July and August.

And this figure basically does not reflect the real condition because of a relatively small number of rapid and swab tests, he said, adding that the situation was worsened by poor public adherence to health protocols.

Read also: COVID-19 handling: Bekasi mayor asks West Java governor to visit regions

The 2020 Regional Elections Vulnerability Index issued by the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) shows that 50 districts and cities set to hold elections in December are in the highly vulnerable category, so are nine provinces, Firman said.

Meanwhile, 126 districts and cities are in the medium-prone category and 85 districts and cities in the low-prone category.

At least 63 candidate pairs have also been exposed to COVID-19, showing the election had the potential to create new clusters, Firman said.

On the one hand, the government has restricted community activities, he said as quoted by kompas.com. On the other hand, it provides an opportunity for mass [gatherings] during the process of regional elections, from pre-campaigning and the campaign season to voting day.

The argument that regional elections must go ahead to avoid a leadership vacuum was unfounded because local administrations can still be led by acting heads, he said.

Read also: KPK identify graft methods used by regional heads to get back campaign funds

The nuances of political participation of this kind will substantially reduce the essence of regional elections as a manifestation of channeling the interests of the people.

Even if the government proceeds with the elections this year, many voters would be hesitant to go out to the polls, he added.

Indonesia's two largest Islamic organizations, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, have voiced similar concerns over the issue.

We request that the General Elections Commission[(KPU], the government and the House of Representatives postpone the 2020 regional elections until [Indonesia] passes the health emergency, NU Executive Board (PBNU) chairman Said Aqil Siradj said recently.

In a press conference held on Sept. 2, Muhammadiyah general secretary Abdul Mu'ti said: We recommend that [the government] carefully consider postponing the elections.

The government and House Commission II overseeing home affairs have decided to go ahead with the elections on Dec. 9, though the House has asked the KPU to revise KPU Regulation No. 10/2020 on the 2020 regional elections to specifically include provisions prohibiting mass gatherings and to promote online campaigns instead. (syk)
Associate Professor Maui Hudson, Professor Tahu Kukutai and Associate Professor Te Taka Keegan are leading Tikanga in Technology: Indigenous approaches to transforming data ecosystems.

This programme aims to test Maori approaches to collective privacy, benefit and governance in a digital environment with a view to increase the benefits to Maori and reduce data harms.

The work will focus on how tikanga Maori (customary protocols) and Matauranga Maori (Indigenous knowledge) inform the construction of digital identities and create a better understanding of relational responsibilities to data.

The team of researchers will explore tools and processes that can help IT workers understand and incorporate Indigenous perspectives when working on data sets, not only in terms of storage and data processing but also in the creation of algorithms that have the potential for bias.

With research spanning a broad range of population topics from iwi demography and census methods to the impacts of colonisation on Indigenous health, Kukutai (Ngati Tiipa, Ngati Kinohaku, Te Aupouri) brings a wealth of knowledge to the programme.

Kukutai says its more critical now than ever to address the issue of Maori data sovereignty.

Tikanga in Technology includes projects co-designed with Maori communities, which allows us to help build flaxroots data capability and do research that meets their priorities and aspirations, she says.

Winner of the Prime Ministers Supreme Award for Excellence in Tertiary Teaching and an authority on Maori language technologies, Keegan (Waikato-Maniapoto, Ngati Porou, Ngati Whakaaue) is looking forward to bringing his experience and passion to the research.

A founding member of Te Mana Raraunga Maori Data Sovereignty Network and the Global Indigenous Data Alliance alongside Kukutai, Hudson (Whakatohea, Nga Ruahine, Te Mahurehure) says recent innovations in digital technologies are a double-edged sword for Indigenous peoples.

Rapid advances in data linkage create vast potential for improved wellbeing as well as major risks for group exploitation so we need a profoundly different approach to individual data rights and protection - one that recognises collective identities, he says.

Our project will look at the tools, processes and mechanisms we can offer the community of developers to enable ethical use and to generate more equitable outcomes for Maori.

Hudson says its important to encourage developers to be more thoughtful about what they create and to support them in optimising data ecosystems that recognise and benefit Indigenous societies.

The teams research will move beyond current efforts to reduce bias in algorithms and explore what it means to decolonise algorithms that adversely affect Maori communities.

Ongoing discussions about Maori data sovereignty are occurring beyond central government, but even though the private sector appears to be further behind, I think Indigenous data sovereignty is an area where Aotearoa New Zealand can lead the way, he says.

We have a global advantage in Indigenous research and, with funding for projects like this, we can continue to optimise this edge to transform data ecosystems so that they are beneficial for Indigenous peoples.

Situated at the interface of Matauranga Maori and data science, this interdisciplinary programme has strong support from key data stakeholders across Te Ao Maori and Government.

Hudson says the goal for Tikanga in Technology is to impact on data science projects in communities, at the University of Waikato, and beyond.

This funding success is a wonderful result for our team of researchers and for the evolving area of Indigenous data rights, he says. The research team plans to make publicly available a range of tools, frameworks and principles that will promote ethical and equitable engagement, with data grounded in Te Ao Maori world-views.

The Tikanga in Technology: Indigenous approaches to transforming data ecosystems programme is due to get underway in October 2020.
Britain joins EU's anti-Russia sanctions over Kerch Bridge

21:59, 02.10.20 2170

The new restrictions were imposed on two persons and four entities.